#or “one who is emploied to manage to affairs of another”/“person who takes charge of or acts for another” according to wikipedia

[employee052]

idk, crowsx3 design??? sdkjfh

the heads are all made of porcelain, and can rotate like that one horror short film with kevan brighting voicing in it

[bp--builders]

Smash Repairs Melbourne

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He is the Manager of Landspace for the Linfox Property Group company, which is the organization that is in charge of the company. George Wilson is the person in control of the company. In his status as an employee of the corporation, he operates in this capacity. In addition to his function as a representative of the corporation, he is also actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the business. It is in this capacity that he fulfills his role.

[astrognossienne]

scandalous beauty: athalia ponsell lindsley - an analysis

“Not that St. Augustine citizens went around killing people they didn’t like. But Athalia was not on a level playing field. Nobody liked her, so there was not a big hue and cry when she was killed.” - Sally Boyles, a neighbour of Lindsley’s

For someone so brash, loud, and ballsy, her life, especially her early life, was quite a mystery. Just like her controversial death. On January 23, 1974, former model, dancer, political activist and television personality Athalia Ponsell Lindsley was murdered with a machete by an unknown assailant on the front steps of her home in St. Augustine, Florida. Her murder is notorious more than four decades after it occurred. The only eyewitness said a man attacked Lindsley with a machete in broad daylight on the front steps of her white mansion. Gossip swirled that neighbour Frances Bemis knew who killed Lindsley and would notify authorities. Bemis was later murdered on her nightly walk. Police arrested only one suspect for Lindsley's murder, which remains unsolved to this day. For someone who was a Leo, I don't think Athalia was a very happy person. I think she tried to bring others down, with her based on her ill-concealed dissatisfaction with the way things were. Unfortunately for her, her demise happened in a town that didn’t care for her.

Athalia Ponsell Lindsley, according to astrotheme, was a Leo sun and Libra moon (the moon is speculative). She was born Mary Anne “Athalia” Fetter in Toledo, Ohio in 1917. Her parents were both wealthy New Yorkers; her father was a utilities magnate and her mother a socialite. Shortly after her birth, she and her family moved to Isle of Pines (now known as Isla de la Juventud), Cuba where she was raised until the age of 12. By the time the parents moved to Jacksonville, Florida and enrolled her in parochial school, she was winning beauty contests and pursuing an acting career. After high school, she moved to New York City, where it didn’t take her long to be employed as a fashion model for the celebrated fashion designer John Robert Powers, which helped her land work in some Broadway musicals and as a hostess on a TV game show. By 1949, she was the hottest model in NYC. She was just as hot off the runway as well; the list of Ponsell’s sexual conquests was long, including the likes of actor Tyrone Power and Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. She was reported to have been married three times, one of  them to a man named Ponsell, but there is no information on him or her other two spouses. She had a scrapbook of all the celebrities and people she was acquainted. But success had quickly gone to the young model’s head, and by 1954, she’d burned all her bridges at her modeling agency, and her reputation as “the bitch of New York” was well-earned and kept her from earning any more work in the entertainment industry.

Out of work, over the hill, and her looks fading, Ponsell quit her 20-years of modeling and entertainment work and retired to a white stucco mansion in St. Augustine in 1972. By that time, the 55-year-old washed-up model became embittered. From the moment she arrived in St.Augustine, she did her best to position herself at the top of the city’s high society. But the sides of that pyramid were very steep, and to the city’s old-school cultural hardliners, she was an outsider, and an obnoxious one, at that. St. Augustine is known for being a rather cliquish town, and unless you have Spanish, Menorcan, or WASP roots, any newcomer is looked at as an outsider. She was known as a pain in the ass, criticizing everything she thought was wrong with the town and its citizens. Naturally the upper crust didn’t take too well to her. She may have annoyed them, but she did catch the eye of another important person, Mayor James Lindsley, a St. Augustine native who went by the nickname “Jinx”. Jinx was known around the city for his ability to work hard and drink even harder. He was of the generation where if he was wronged, or if there was a problem, he settled his differences with his fists. Despite his passionate love affairs with ass kicking and Jack Daniels, Athalia was drawn to Jinx’s good standing with St. Augustine’s old guard, Jinx was attracted to her still-good looks and fiery personality. The two courted hard and fast, and just a few months after they met, they married.

Their marriage was rocky from the start, providing the town with juicy gossip. In fact, just 3 months into the marriage, the two separated. They wound up living in separate homes, fighting back and forth about possessions and property. She may have treated her husband and the town like dirt, but she was very moved by animals and took in a lot of strays and accumulated a coterie of animals. This didn’t endear herself to the neighbours, and they complained of dogs barking and other noises coming from her makeshift “animal shelter”. One neighbour in particular that took exception to Athalia and her animals was a hot-headed county manager called Alan Stanford. Stanford lived next door to her on Marine Street, and the two clashed from day one. Stanford filed several noise complaints against Athalia and her pets, resulting in her arrest. In revenge, she made Stanford’s life as county manager a living hell. She became a fixture at City Hall, attending every county meeting she could and accuse Stanford of all sorts of improprieties, from the mismanagement of county funds to stealing equipment from the road department. Some of these accusations weren’t entirely unfounded, but it got to the point where her presence was dreaded. She was after his job and wanted him fired. Stanford, in turn, threatened her life. December of 1973, she found out that Stanford lacked the civil engineering degree required for all county managers, and went to the state to report him.

On January 23, 1974 she attended her last city hall meeting, armed with petitions of several citizens calling for Stanford to resign. She exposed the fact that Stanford forged documents and padded his experience and qualifications as county manager. Later that day, to celebrate, she met her estranged husband Jinx for lunch. The day went surprisingly well, going shopping in Jacksonville and running errands. At approximately 5:30 pm, they both went home to their respective houses. As Athalia walked her pet blue jay around in her front yard, an intruder emerged from her back yard, armed with a machete. Moments later, the police department received a call about a murder. The police arrived to the provided address and found Athalia sprawled across the front steps of her porch, nearly decapitated and hacked to death with a machete in broad daylight.

The scene was chaotic, with neighbours trampling all over the grass trying to get a look, contaminating evidence. In their great police work, the cops never thought to rope off the crime scene. When her husband Jinx was notified of his wife’s murder, he took his time getting to her house, making a pit stop to his attorney’s office along the way. A few hours later, the cops find a machete in his pickup truck. But an open-and-shut case this was not. In February of 1974, the rumour was that Jinx killed her in a drunken rage. Even though Jinx had a violent temper and smacked his wife around, in the eyes of local investigators, he was “unarrestable”; they had no real evidence against the mayor and he even passed a lie-detector test. A tip from one of Athalia’s neighbours came in: it seems the neighbour’s 19 year-old son claimed to have witnessed her old nemesis Alan Stanford kill her. There was a trail of blood that led from Athalia’s front porch directly into Allen Stanford’s back yard. More than a few weren’t concerned with Athalia being killed because she was such a bitch that they feel that she deserved what she got.

In March of 1974, there was a blood-stained machete, a watch, and blood-soaked trousers found in a bag in a swamp; the blood on the clothes matched Athalia’s, and the clothes belonged to Stanford. On February 22, 1974, Alan Stanford was arrested and charged with murder. On January 1975, the murder trial commenced. The prosecution had a strong case and a guilty verdict seemed almost certain. Just before closing arguments, Stanford’s defense team called the 19-year old witness to the stand. Despite previously identifying Stanford as the killer, the young man was now unsure of the identity, having never actually seen the assailant’s face. On the day following the killing, a young nurse rode her bicycle as she always did. The police stopped her and questioned her about the murder. The nurse picked out a third suspect, deputy sheriff Dewey Lee, as the killer, further muddling the waters. The jury found Alan Stanford not guilty, despite the mountain of evidence against him. Local authorities were so upset by the verdict that they refused to re-open the case. Even though Stanford was acquitted of the murder, Athalia wound up getting the last laugh in the end, they local county board voted 4 to 1 to fire Stanford due to his lying about his credentials. He wound up leaving town shortly afterward. Today, St. Augustine is different; most who lived on Marine Street during the 1960s and 1970s have either moved away or passed away. Athalia’s house, now a historical landmark, still stands today, a grim reminder of how local resentment can go too far.

the murder of frances bemis

Frances Bemis was a socialite and neighbour of Athalia Ponsell Lindsley who happened to be a close friend of hers. Shortly after Lindsley’s murder, Frances started gathering information in order to write a book about the murder, claiming that she had information on what really happened. On November 3, 1974, she went for an evening walk and disappeared. Her body was found near her house, her skull crushed by a cement block. Her murder has never been solved.

This was the next analysis that I planned to do after the Robert Mitchum one, so I decided to just get this one out of the way.

Stats

birthdate: July 25, 1917*

*note*: due to the absence of a birth time, this analysis will be even more speculative.

major planets:

Sun: Leo

Moon: Libra

Rising: unknown

Mercury: Leo

Venus: Leo

Mars: Gemini

Midheaven: unknown

Jupiter: Gemini

Saturn: Leo

Uranus: Aquarius

Neptune: Leo

Pluto: Cancer

Overall personality snapshot: She had a prestigious, compelling presence, even when she was just clowning around, and a natural ability to command both respect and affection from her friends and colleagues. In the nicest possible way she assumed the position of the leader because she had a strong independent streak and believed in her lofty, worthy ideals, but she also gravitated towards collaboration and an impartial examination of the facts. She could be bossy and yet her bossiness was so diplomatic that it was convincing, even impressive. Although she wanted esteem and tended to identify with honourable goals and people, she could work alongside others she respected and she really wanted the best for everyone. She had style, and she instinctively knew that ‘manners maketh man’ and that, if for some reason they didn’t, they went a long way in making life worth living. When she came into her own, she developed a strongly aesthetic approach to life and are naturally creative. She needed a very positive, active medium through which to express herself, such as drama, teaching or running her own business.

Anything to do with beauty and harmony interested her, such as decorating, design and painting. Her interest in social equality took her into politics or the law. She had a strong sense of herself and stubbornly followed her own personal code of ethics, yet she also enjoyed being part of a group that had a common purpose or bond. She cherished ideals of liberty and equality, but if there were some distasteful tasks to perform she moved very smoothly into the role of delegating – well, she thought, someone has to give the orders around here or we would have no harmony at all. Although she seemed to enjoy an easy, breezy approach to life, there was quite a serious side to her personality, and she could be surprisingly controversial and provocative. She was willing to stand up and be counted, and perhaps make it look easy. She had a natural appreciation and enjoyment of the good things of life; she assumed that they should be hers by birthright. And through cunning charm, calculated boldness, and intelligent maneuver she managed to have plenty.

She was ambitious, sound at giving orders, carried responsibility well and was a good teacher, especially able to bring out the best in children. She believed in herself and generally knew the right thing to say at the right time, although she could show a stubborn and dogmatic side. She had a high opinion of her mental powers, and it was certainly true to say that he had plenty of mental energy. She was a mentally restless person, both versatile and broad-minded. She experienced personal growth through analysis and using her intellect, although the collection and communication of facts may have been an end within itself. She was a reliable and loyal person. Her will and sense of honour were strong and she was a great organizer. On the downside, her self-assuredness could become dogmatism and imperiousness. Conservatism may have affected her creativity, artistic values and love affairs. This expressed itself as self-imposed restrictions or as selfishness. She often felt inadequate, which created an insidious form of oppression over all her forms of expression. She could also take herself so seriously, that people think that she was older than her years.

She belonged to a generation that could be unpredictable in that it liked to instigate change simply for the sake of shaking things up and providing stimulation. Humanitarian ideals became extremely important, as well as the belief in absolute freedom for every individual. She came up with radical new ideas which she stubbornly followed. As a member of this generation, she may have felt deep spiritual convictions, although she may not have seen herself as religious in the traditional sense of the word. She was part of a very artistically talented and creative generation that wanted to escape from the demands of the world around them into a world of excitement and glamour. Members of this generation loved the theater and the cinema, in fact, any sort of creative self-expression. They also believed in the rights of any individual to express themselves. This generation was both idealistic and romantic, selfish and individualistic. Lindsley embodied all of these Leo Neptunian ideals. Also, as a member of the Leo Neptune generation, she experienced and fully embraced changes in sexual mores and attitudes, changing the way people approach the whole issue of romantic relationships. Changes were also experienced in the relationships between parents and children, with the ties becoming looser. She was part of a generation known for its devastating social upheavals concerning home and family. The whole general pattern of family life experiences enormous changes and upheavals; as a Cancer Plutonian, this aspect is highlighted with Lindsley’s father dying relatively young and her having to care for her mother until she died.

Love/sex life: There is never any question as to the ground rules of her erotic universe: what best served her ego, best served her libido. She had a marvelous capacity for enjoying sex but her pride and self-possession always came first. Some people might have found the egotism of this position offensive but many others hardly noticed. After all, a lover as lively, generous and exciting as she had good reason to be proud. There was always a distinctively theatrical quality about her love making. She wanted sex to be a big event, full of drama and intellectual significance. This grandiose approach to sex can certainly be entertaining but it often made her romantic moments seem less than spontaneous. More importantly, real life sex rarely met her cinematic standards. This is one reason why she often found the idea of love much more appealing than its physical manifestations.The sex in her head was never common or clumsy, and she could always count on great reviews.

minor asteroids and points:

North Node: Capricorn

Lilith: Virgo

Her North Node in Capricorn dictated that she needed to develop the more caring and compassionate side to her personality and try to place less emphasis on the materialistic aspects of her life. Her Lilith in Virgo ensured that she exhibited a Madonna-whore complex; she made her way through the world with her sensational wits and she had no time for constricting judgments. She confronted the grittier facts of life, especially sex. She was good at sex but not as a form of sappy emotional expression.

elemental dominance:

fire

air

She was dynamic and passionate, with strong leadership ability. She generated enormous warmth and vibrancy. She was exciting to be around, because she was genuinely enthusiastic and usually friendly. However, she could either be harnessed into helpful energy or flame up and cause destruction. Ultimately, she chose the latter. Confident and opinionated, she was fond of declarative statements such as “I will do this” or “It’s this way.” When out of control—usually because she was bored, or hadn’t been acknowledged—she was be bossy, demanding, and even tyrannical. But at her best, her confidence and vision inspired others to conquer new territory in the world, in society, and in themselves. She was communicative, quick and mentally agile, and she liked to stir things up. She was likely a havoc-seeker on some level. She was oriented more toward thinking than feeling. She carried information and the seeds of ideas. Out of balance, she lived in her head and could be insensitive to the feelings of others. But at her best, she helped others form connections in all spheres of their daily lives.

modality dominance:

fixed

She wasn’t particularly interested in spearheading new ventures or dealing with the day-to-day challenges of organization and management. She excelled at performing tasks and producing outcomes. She was flexible and liked to finish things. Was also likely undependable, lacking in initiative, and disorganized. Had an itchy restlessness and an unwillingness to buckle down to the task at hand. Probably had a chronic inability to commit—to a job, a relationship, or even to a set of values.

planet dominants:

Sun

Mars

Pluto

She had vitality and creativity, as well as a strong ego and was authoritarian and powerful. She likely had strong leadership qualities, she definitely knew who she was, and she had tremendous will. She met challenges and believed in expanding her life. She was aggressive, individualistic and had a high sexual drive. She believed in action and took action. Her survival instinct was strong. She wanted to take herself to the limit—and then surpass that limit, which she often did. She ultimately refused to compromise her integrity by following another’s agenda. She likely didn’t compare herself to other people and didn’t want to dominate or be dominated. She simply wanted to be free to follow her own path, whatever it was. She brought about complete and profound transformations in her life, good or bad (and it was often bad). She felt the need to let go of what was familiar to her and accept new and different ways of being and doing things. There were areas in her life where she had to accept regeneration, which involved the destruction of the old and the creation of the new.

sign dominants:

Leo

Gemini

Cancer

She loved being the center of attention and often surrounded herself with admirers. She had an innate dramatic sense, and life was definitely his stage. Her flamboyance and personal magnetism extended to every facet of her life. She wanted to succeed and make an impact in every situation. At her best, she was optimistic, honorable, loyal, and ambitious. She ventured out to see what else was there and seized upon new ideas that will expand their communities. Her innate curiosity kept her on the move. She used her rational, intellectual mind to explore and understand her personal world. She needed to answer the single burning question in her mind: why? This applied to most facets of her life, from the personal to the impersonal. This need to know sent her off to foreign countries, where her need to explore other cultures and traditions ranked high. She was changeable and often moody. This meant that she was often at odds with herself—the mind demanding one thing, the heart demanding the opposite. To someone else, this internal conflict often manifested as two very different people. At first meeting, she seemed enigmatic, elusive. She needed roots, a place or even a state of mind that he could call her own. She needed a safe harbor, a refuge in which to retreat for solitude. She was generally gentle and kind, unless he was hurt. Then she could become vindictive and sharp-spoken. She was affectionate, passionate, and even possessive at times. She was intuitive and was perhaps even psychic. Experience flowed through her emotionally. She was often moody and always changeable; her interests and social circles shifted constantly. She was emotion distilled into its purest form.

Read more about her under the cut.

Athalia Ponsell Lindsley was a former model, Broadway performer, actress, dancer and television personality who died in a savage late-afternoon attack at her home on Jan. 23, 1974. Wife of the once mayor of St. Augustine, James "Jinx" Lindsley, who died a few years after her death. Mrs. Athalia Lindsley was very active politically.

She also took in many animals, such as dogs, cats and even two goats. At the time of her murder, she was outside trying to rehabilitate one of her rescue birds, a blue jay named Clementine which had an injured wing. She had rescued the little bird from neighborhood cats.

Athalia Ponsell Lindsley was a very devoted daughter who took care of her mother full time until her mother passed away.

She was 58 years old when her life was brutally cut short.

A neighbor and local politician was the only person ever arrested and tried for her murder, after a very dramatic trial, a jury found the defendant not guilty, and he was acquitted

(x)

[swordoforion]

The Orion Manifest - a Declaration of the Tenets, Mission, and Formal Structure of Orion

Respice ad futurum, respice ad astra. This is the motto of Orion – look to the future and look to the stars. For millennia, humanity has looked up at the stars and wondered what lies beyond, what secrets could be contained beyond such unimaginable heights and distances. Though we have caught glimpses, the vast realm of the cosmos continues to be a mystery, with all of human history only scratching the surface. It stands to reason, then, that in our future, we should and will seek to venture outwards into the unknown, to know the unknowable, the reach the unreachable, to do the undoable.

But though we look to the future and to the stars, they act as only a goal, and our path ahead cannot distract too much from where we lie now. We live in an era of crisis – sea, land, and sky burn as people shed their blood fighting the wrong enemy. The world, wracked by constant war, races toward it once more, as those with power march forward unceasingly to grab more of it. We face threats of extinction from all around us, and though the power to save the world is well in the hands of the people, they do not know that they have it, they do not know how to wield it.

Our mission is one of necessity – to ensure the survival and prosperity of our charge, that being the whole of humanity, we must first ensure that they can survive long enough to make it off this planet and flourish. To do that, we need to ensure that the environmental habitat of Earth is sustainable and will preserve – thus the first Tenet of our mission is Environmentalism.

The damage to the environment has been spurred largely in part by our unceasing and unstable growth – the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century set our worldwide society on a course that has bred such a hunger of its drivers for power that everything – people, species, and eventually the precious few resources of our home planet – is only temporarily capable of sating such an appetite. Following principles that emerged alongside the genesis of capitalism, our second Tenet is Socialism, the transfer from greed-based industry to need-based democracy.

To get to the stars, we need to preserve the environment. To preserve the environment, we need to regulate our industry and secure the rights of the people. But to do this most truly and effectively, it cannot be done in merely one part of the world. To isolate this change would fail to make enough of a dent in our problems and would abandon the rest of humanity to the same fate we seek escape from. Thus, if we are to make a change, it must be universal, and the last Tenet, following suit, is World Federalism, the establishment of a representative world government.

The establishment of a world federation will allow the universal regulation necessary to implement socialist economic structures, allowing us to slow our growth to a sustainable level and put resources towards the revitalization of Earth. With these needs met, we can move forward as a species, at peace and not raising our weapons at each other’s throats but raising our eyes to our final destination – the cosmos. And so, it is with this document that Orion is established – an organization devoted to the establishment of eco-socialist federalism, and to the mission of prosperity and survival of all humankind.

Article I: The Tenets.

Section I: Environmentalism.

The interest of both protecting pre-existing natural resources and species as well as fostering new habitats and growth, to ensure the continued existence and flourishment of Earth’s ecology. Our numbers are growing as a species while our resources shrink, and while there are ways to preserve and help the environment recover, we are not employing them in the interest of economy. However, if we reach a point of environmental decay at which the ability of Earth to sustain human life is threatened, we face a universal and uncompromising threat – extinction. Preventing this climate crisis will take potentially centuries of action, which means that the sooner, the better to make a stand.

To accomplish this goal, we need to lower our output – decreasing emissions as much as possible and slowing production from what will grow the economy to what we need, which will slow the rate of human population, until a time comes at which the world population can sustainably increase at the exponential rate it has kept thus far. Not an end to modern comforts, not a retreat into the Dark Ages – but a matter of prioritizing what we need in our lives, on both personal levels and large-scale, economic levels.

While this is done primarily to ensure that the human population of Earth can survive the oncoming crisis, the preservation of other species and the beauty of nature is both an obligation and a reward. Despite the fragility of other species, continued biodiversity allows us to observe many different types of evolved life, and with that broad spectrum available for our observation, we can discover much more about life itself than if we were to isolate the ecological population of Earth to a selective pool of species.

Section II: Socialism.

While a broad term, socialism in reference to the interests of Orion is defined as a system of economic organization in which the resources used for production of goods and services are made publicly accessible, and businesses are ran democratically by the workers. Unregulated privatization of capitalist economies has resulted in a growing inequality of both power and wealth, which threatens both the ability of citizens to have their basic needs met through economy, as well as the balance of democracy, as the affluent gain more power and representation in elected democratic governments.

The goal of socialism is to focus more on equality than the ability to reach heights of power – instead of the few having exponentially greater than the many, all would be able to live comfortably and have minimal contribution to labor, and be granted freedom through unbiased democratic government. With the people producing goods and services motivated by their own need and not by a unceasing need for profit, not only would a market be more catering to the interest of the common citizen, but would not produce overwhelming surplus that contributes to environmental destruction through rapid resource usage.

Of note is that socialism is not just a matter of political and economic change – it also seeks a change in social order and views, as capitalism relies largely on self-interest and competitive pursuit, concepts which have become engrained in modern culture, at the expense of care for community, for the plights of others who are less successful. Those in power seek only more, and everyone else tries to take what they can, breeding mistrust and greed rather than camaraderie. To establish a more equal and just social order would require an end to the mechanisms, social and economic, that make most see the world as ‘eat or be eaten’.

Section III: World Federalism.

In the face of threats that care not of borders or political history, we must also realize the limits of dividing ourselves off from each other. International relations are long and storied, carrying much weight in the culture of respective nations, but to be bitter and mistrusting of our neighboring countries will only worsen the situation, as we try to keep a fragile peace while also fixing the world. Simply put, the resources needed to compete with other nations are wasted, when a single, cooperative nation could much more easily manage international crises as listed above.

Federalism implies a nation consisting of multiple smaller regional governments, which allows for a balance between sovereignty and uniquity and peaceful coordination. The integration of the nations of the world into a federal nation would mean that limiting systems such as military reconnaissance and deterrence, international trade strategy, and intense border security would lose relevance and importance, allowing far more necessary concerns to take center stage. The need to be the most powerful nation would subside when there is only one entity to be concerned with – economy will be focused on what is best for all people, military will protect every citizen of the world, and government services will be applicable to everyone.

One of the most important elements of such a federation is the vital inclusion of democracy – allowing every region to have a say in the affairs of world government, just as smaller federal governments include representation from their constituent states. A world government that simply commanded the people of Earth would simply create another elitist order on top of capitalist monopolization; the people and individual regions must have a say in what happens to them, and regional governments should keep a degree of authority to better manage their own affairs.

Section IV: Eco-socialist Federalism.

The combination of the above tenets into a single theory, eco-socialist federalism advocates for the creation of a federation of socialist states with expressly engrained policy to preserve and replenish the environment of Earth through universal economic regulation and investment in sustainability until a point at which technology and global ecosystems develop enough to allow for rapid growth in consumption and production.

The socialist federation could continue to manage past this threshold, and environmental policy would remain to ensure that we would not repeat our past mistakes, but the end goal would be to develop the capability for manned interplanetary travel, such that we could create sustainable colonies on other planets to increase our influx of natural resources and habitable space for human population.

Once sustainable human colonies are established on other planets, and the technology of reaching the colonies is efficiently produced, the problem of ensuring the survival of humanity will be dealt with; in that regard, Orion’s goal will transfer mainly to exploration and expansion; the never-ending goal of learning what is out there.

However, with the creation of a socialist federation, there must also be from its inceptions safeguards on fundamental human rights, which are listed below, and must be ensured to achieve the completion of the second goal – the prosperity of humanity. If only a ruling class is to benefit from this change, we have become little better than our forebearers.

Section V: Fundamental human rights.

Important among the principles of an eco-socialist federation is the universal and enforced protection of human rights – equality and freedom are two virtues that must be upheld in any moral society. The fundamental human rights are as follows:

- No matter the circumstance of one’s birth, the color of their skin, their physical ability, their sexual orientation, their gender identity, their religious affiliation, the culture they belong to, or the value of what they own, all human beings are deserving by birth of the same, unalienable rights, and shall not be discriminated against for any of the reasons above.

- Everyone has the right to life and liberty, and as such, either welfare or employment should provide for the basic essential needs (food, water, shelter), as well as proper medical care.

- All should have the right, when charged with a violation of federation or regional laws, to a fair and public trial to determine either guilt or innocence before a jury of peers. Here, they will be assumed innocent until their guilt is proven.

- All citizens shall have the freedom to move within both their own region and into any other region of the federation without persecution or inhibition.

- All citizens, granted they consent and are of legal age, shall have the right to engage in a relationship and be entitled to marriage, recognizable by the state.

- Everyone shall have the freedom of speech and expression, which includes the ability to assemble, speak, write, and/or practice as long as it is publicly safe to do so.

- Everyone shall have the ability to run for public office and participate in democratically elected, representative government, or work democratically in organizations in a market for the acquisition of resources, via the form of goods and services.

- Everyone who, in working, produces goods and services through their labor, earns and is deserving of the value of their labor.

- Every citizen shall have the right to free and equitable public education, with necessary skills and information instituted universally within the federation’s public education system.

- Everyone shall have the right to rest – labor is required only as long as is necessary for those able-bodied to provide it, and any time beyond necessity is up to the discretion of the citizen. Maximum working hours and days on shift shall be limited to humane numbers.

- No citizens will be subject to intrusion or arrest without just cause, and all citizens, regardless of the defined categories, are subject to equal protection and review under the law.

Article II: The Mission.

Section I: To establish the organization.

The establishment and growth of Orion and its branches is necessary first to ensure that Orion exists to seek and bring about this change in the first place. If by any means, Orion is destroyed or somehow disbanded, the next in line for the Operational Manual should use the instructions contained within to reorganized Orion, at least until the other steps of the Mission are completed.

Section II: To spread awareness.

Through both the Sword of Orion, data supplemented by Museion, and in-person movements by Liberius, the first goal once the organization is established is to bring progressive and eco-socialist federalist ideas to the attention of the public, as well as raise support for organizations and movements of interest.

Section III: To connect with allies.

One of the most essential functions of the Sword of Orion will be to find other organizations with cooperative goals, and to build a network to coordinate efforts towards large-scale change, using the resources and reach of allied groups to reach a common goal.

Section IV: To move founder nations towards federation.

The goal of social change is to move key nations towards a political position where their governments would be supportive of the formation of a world federation. While the ideal result would be to have all the nations of the world agree to such an idea upon first suggestion, a few powerful founding members could get the ball rolling, and would prove much easier a task to concentrate effort around.

Section V: To complete world federation.

Over time, once a world federal government is established, other nations could be approached and persuaded to join as members. Of note is that the current power system within a given nation is irrelevant – a government is not its people, and should the structure of a nation change, the decision to be a member could as well.

This Manifest is written to be of universal use so long as the Mission is incomplete, which means that the hierarchy and international organization at the time of writing are always subject to change. Given that Orion has a vested interest in ensuring environmental security and protection of human rights post haste, the pressure of democratic or even revolutionary change is not off limits, so long as the means by which change is acquired is moral, and in the interest of the citizens.

Section VI: To create environmental and economic regulation.

The requirement for states of an eco-socialist federation will abide by the principles of human rights stated in Article II, Section V, as well as to have a minimum level of regulation in their own economies to ensure that output of emissions and use of nonrenewable resources is kept at acceptable levels and that businesses within their markets are registered. A registered business will follow certain guidelines in terms of workers’ rights and representation and will not be allowed to monopolize privately.

Section VII: Develop means of interplanetary travel.

Government research into space travel and technological development will continue and be given adequate funding to pursue the goal of cost and production efficient manned space travel, in addition to sustainable and eco-friendly technologies for public use. The end goal is to be capable of carrying humans to other livable planets, as well as establishing further stations for observation and management in our solar system.

Section VIII: Reach sustainable growth.

The goal of any society is to grow – to grow the population, economic output, technological advancement, and knowledge. Currently, our global society has grown rapidly and will continue to grow on its current rate, but it has done so unsustainably, and puts us at risk. The goal of a stable and rational global society would then be to become coordinated and advanced enough that this pattern of growth can resume without burning our resources at a rate we cannot keep up. By this point in the Mission, society will be self-sufficient with no sign of long-term instability and will be moving to other planets to provide an extra layer of security. Once Section VIII is met, Orion’s function will be relegated to management and exploration.

Article III: The Structure of Orion.

Section I: Sword of Orion.

The Sword of Orion is the first, largest, and most essential branch of Orion – the public face and the means by which alliances are forged and information is spread. The functions of the Sword of Orion are writing, activism, and communication, which means publication of resources and operation of social media to provide news and information on why we need change, supporting action that makes positions clear to public representatives, and assisting and connecting different organizations already in the fight.

The Sword of Orion will be the only branch of Orion to have a multi-chapter structure – wherever available, local chapters composed of in-person or regional online members working to communicate with the people, politicians, and organizations in their area. While there are universal messages that can reach people from all over the world, the advantage of having additional, regional based campaigns is the familiarity and uniquity of regional culture and politics. The problems of one area may require special attention, attention that only people of that area know to give.

Above all chapters, however, is the Sword of Orion’s presence as an online organization. All chapter leaders and members can communicate with each other and coordinate more general writing projects, larger gatherings, and communications with national and international organizations. This online hub allows for an easier form of membership and participation, representation for members without a local chapter, and organization-wide coordination.

The Sword of Orion, in its communication to both the public and with other large-scale movements, is the main arm of diplomacy and democracy, as well as the central structure of Orion itself.

Section II: Liberius.

The second branch of Orion, Liberius is more of an ancillary corps within the greater structure of the Sword of Orion – instead of having it’s own chapters, Liberius members are specialized members of Sword chapters. Where the Sword of Orion focuses on writing and communication, Liberius is a branch of action – activism, volunteering, campaigning, aid drives, and protests are where they will work. Any in-person events that the Sword organizes or assists with, Liberius agents will help head and coordinate, and they will represent Orion at more general, impromptu events like marches and picketing.

As the nature of Liberius involves much more rigorous, hands-on work, Liberius agents will receive more training and preparation for events, consisting of skills like communication, first-aid, and self defense, to both aid and protect people in the case of violence or accident. Liberius Leadership will be responsible for this sort of training, as well as what type of events and work there will be a focus on.

Each branch of the Sword, at full capacity, will have one or more associated Liberius agents, ready for local work and chapter assistance. Liberius, while having separate channels for planning and training, will also communicate organization-wide through online hubs. To become an agent of Liberius first requires membership in the Sword; after which, one can volunteer and apply to do activist work.

Section III: Museion.

The third branch of Orion, Museion, as per its namesake institution of research and study, will be a primarily information and research-based sect of Orion focused on keeping track of environmental status, technological developments, and political trends. Separate from the overall combined structure of the Sword and Liberius, Museion will consist of a singular chapter/organization that functions as a think tank; doing studies of its own and working with other organizations and institutions to provide information to both the Sword and the general public on relevant matters.

The function of Museion is more evident in the later sections of the Mission – scientific research into eco-friendly technological developments for everyday life and economic growth as well as innovation of space travel to allow for interplanetary travel will rapidly become one of the top priorities once the political matters are out of the way. However, not only can Museion provide statistics and news to backup the publications of the Sword of Orion, but starting early on matters of innovation will prove an investment that pays off when the tech we need is started in advance.

Like Liberius, one must be a member of the Sword of Orion before volunteering for Museion, but the partnerships and communications of Museion can be separate from the Sword of Orion, due to being more scientific rather than political in nature. At full capacity, there will be in-person Museion facilities, but online research and organization is always an option.

[bookofjin]

Rise of Sixteen States: 300

(Zhao Xin rebels)

7 February 300 – 25 January 301

(Jin's 1st Year of Yongkang)

Summer, 4thMonth, guisi [7 May], the King of Liang, Rong, and the King of Zhao, Lun, falsely decreed the demotion of Empress Jia to be a commoner. The Minister of Works, Zhang Hua, and the Supervisor of the Masters of Writing, Pei Wei, were both murdered. Palace Attendant Jia Mi and his faction with several tens of people were all executed.

On jiawu,[8 May], Lun falsely decreed a great amnesty, himself to be Chancellor of the State and Commander-in-Chief of All Armies in the Centre and Outside and like Xuan and Wen assisted in the old affairs of Wei.

(Li Te)

1stYear of Yongkang [300 AD], a decree summoned the Inspector of Yi, province, Zhao Xin, to become Great Prolonger of Autumn, and moved the Interior Clerk of Chengdu, Geng Teng, to be Inspector of Yi province and General of Smashing Charges, and follow the clothes and pendants worn by Xin. Xin was Empress Jia's relative by marriage, and when he heard the summons was very afraid.

Earlier, Xin considered Jin's government to be declining, and the Stars of Zhao's Yellow Divinations said “The one whose star is yellow will be King.” Xin thereupon secretly held close disloyal plans and had aspirations of the Liu clan for cutting away and occupying. The lands of Shu had defiles on all sides, and could be used to secure oneself. He therefore poured out the granary stores, to succour and provide for the drifting people, and so gather the heart of the multitudes. Li Te's partisans and kind were all people of Baxi, they and Xin were of the same commandery, and they led many brave and strong. Xin treated them lavishly and considered them as claws and teeth. For that reason Te and others assembled a multitude, and concentrated on robbing and thieving. The people of Shu suffered from them.

Teng several times covertly petitioned:

The drifting people are tough and simple minded, and the people of Shu are weak and timid. Guest and host being unable to regulate each other will surely be the base for chaos. [We] ought to move them back to their original lands. [If we] do not, grant them the narrow passes of the eastern three commanderies. Observe their feelings and attitudes, and do not gradually allow it to grow, otherwise [I] fear the calamities of Qin and Yong will collect in Liang# and Yi.

He also told:

The granaries and storehouses are empty and exhausted, they have nothing with which to respond to the urgencies of spear-points of and arrowheads. Certainly this will add to the sagely court's worries over western concerns.

Xin heard and detested him.

(According to HYGZ2, the “eastern three commanderies” refers to Weixing, Shangyong, and Xincheng, located east of Hanzhong.)

At the time Chengdu was seated in the lesser city, and Yi province was seated in the greater city. Xin was still in the greater city and had not yet departed. The province had received the written decree, and had already dispatched civil and military officials, more than a thousand people, to go and welcome Teng. Teng, since Xin and not yet set out from the province, was at the commandery. Xin summoned Li Xiang's partisans Luo An, Wang Li, and others to take Teng by force, and kill those who had passed on the decree. They where greatly defeated at Xuanhua precinct in Guanghan.

Teng discussed his intention to enter the provincial city. The Board of Merit [official] Chen Xun remonstrated, saying:

Now province and commandery both administer troops, the enmity and discord is deepening daily. To enter the city will surely be a great disaster, It is not as good as calmly lodging in the lesser city, to observe their alterations, and call to arms the various counties to combine villages for protection, and so prepare against the Di of Qin. Chen of the Western Yi is going to arrive, [we] should wait for him. If [we] do not, [we] can withdraw to stay in Jianwei, and go west and cross at Jiangyuan to forestall irregularities.

Teng did not follow.

Winter, 12thMonth [28 December 300 – 25 January 301], Teng led the multitudes to enter the province, and ascend the western gate. Xin dispatched a close intimate, Dai Mao, to attack Teng. Mao told him and then left. Xin again dispatched troops to chastise Teng. Teng's army was defeated, he threw himself off the lesser city and died.

A functionary, Zuo Xiong, carried Teng's son Qi, and relied on a commoner, Song Ning, to hide them. Xin offered as reward a thousand gold, but Ning did not set out. Xin soon after was defeated, and he managed to escape.

The commandery functionaries all ran away and fled, only Chen Xun bound himself and went to Xin, requesting mourning for Teng's death. Xin [found him] right-principled and did not kill him. Xun and a Board of Households official, Chang Chang, together prepared the coffin and tomb, and buried him.

Xin again dispatched troops to confront the Colonel of the Western Yi, Chen Zong. Zong arrived at Jiangyang, and heard Xin had disloyal aspirations. The Master of Accounts, Zhao Mo, advanced to say:

Now province and commandery, are not in concord, surely this will birth a great disaster. However by taking quick action, our office have troops of critical importance. Assist the compliant and chastise the disobedient, and nothing will happen.

Zong increasingly clung to the road, slowing and halting. Hence when he arrived at Yufu Ford in Nan'an, he and Xin's army met each other. Mo made clear to Zong:

Scatter wealth and goods, and recruit soldiers to resist in battle. If we overcome the provincial army, then the province can be gained. If we do not overcome, follow the currents and withdraw, there surely will be no harm.

Zong was not able to again, and said:

Zhao of Yi province was furious at Marquis Geng, and for that reason killed him. He and I have no enmity, how could it be like this?

Mo said:

Now when the province has launched an affair, they surely will establish dominance. Even if we do not fight, we will have no gains.

He talked until tears flowed down. Zong did not listen, and the multitudes slackened. Zong escaped into the grass. Mo put on Zong's clothes, and grappled and fought. Xin's troops killed Mo, and saw he was not Zong, they then searched and looked for Zong, and killed him.

(JS004: 12thMonth [28 December 300 – 25 January 301], a broom star seen in the east. The Inspector of Yi province, Zhao Xin, and Li Xiang, a drifting person of Luoyang [sic], murdered the Interior Clerk of Chengdu, Geng Sheng, the Grand Warden of Jianwei, Li Mi, the Grand Warden of Minshan, Hou Gu, and the Colonel of the Western Yi, Chen Zong. They seized Chengdu in rebellion.)

Xin declared himself Great Commander-in-Chief, Great General, and Shepherd of Yi province. He used the Prefect of Wuyang, Du Shu of Shu commandery, the Separate Carriage Zhang Can, Zhang Gui of Baxi, the Marshal of the Western Yi, Gong Ni, the Prefect of Jiangyuan, Fei Yuan of Jianwei and others as Senior Clerks of Left and Right, Marshal, and Army Advisors. He moved the Grand Warden of Jianwei, Li Xiang, to be General who Daunts the Bandits. He summoned the Prefect of Linqiong, Xu Yan of Fuling, to be Commander of the Serrated Gates. He summoned the various kingly officials, and nobody dared not to go. He also used the Grand Warden of Guanghan, Zhang Wei, the Grand Warden of Minshan, Yang Bin, and the Prefect of Chengdu, Fei Li, as Army Libationers.

At the time Xiang, his younger brothers Liu and Xiang#, his brother-in-law Li Han, Ren Hui of Tianshui, Shangguan Jing [also of Tianshui], Li Pan of Fufeng, Fei Tuo of Shiping, the Di [leaders] Fu Cheng, Wei Bo, Dong Sheng, and others were at the northern gate with 4 000 cavalry.

Xin sent Xiang to block the northern road. Xiang had long standing as Good Commander of Eastern Qiang and was aware of army deployment. He did not employ banners and flag, but raised a lance to make them move in squads. He beheaded people among his section subordinates who had not followed instructions, and the section columns became respectful. Xin detested his uniform orderliness, and wished to kill him but had not yet talked about it.

Senior Clerk Du Shu and Marshal Zhang Can talked to Xin, saying:

The Transmittals state “the Five Greats do not stay at the border”. The General raising troops has begun this way, readily dispatching Li Xiang to hold strong troops at the outside, [I] humbly venture to be puzzled by it. Moreover he is not of our kin and kind, and his heart is surely different. To turn around the halberd and hand it over to [another] person, [I] venture is not possible, and desire the General plan for it.

Xin with composed features said:

The Dignitaries' words precisely fit my thoughts, and can be spoken of as “The one who raised me up is Shang.” This is Heaven sending the Dignitaries to complete my affairs.

(Du Shu is quoting the Zuo zhuan, and Zhao Xin the Analects.)

It happened that Xiang was at the gates, and requested to see Xin. Xin was greatly pleased, and pulled in Xiang to see him. Xiang wished to observe Xin's thoughts and aims, and bowed twice, advanced and said:

Now the Central States are in great chaos, and are again without mainstays and support-ropes. The house of Jin will not be able to flourish again. Your Enlightened Excellency's Way puts together Heaven and Earth, your potency is delimiting their eaves. The affairs of Tang and Wu are truly happening in the present. [You] ought to respond to the Heaven-given time, obey the hearts of the people, help the hundred families among the mud and soot, and cause the beings' feelings to know where to revert to. Then Under Heaven can be settled, not only Yong# and Shu and that is all.

Xin angrily said:

How are these proper words for a subject!

He ordered Shu and others to debate it. Hence Shu and others sent up that Xiang was greatly disobedient and did not follow the Way. Xin therefore killed him, and his sons, nephews and clansmen, more than thirty people.

(HYGZ08: Xiang recommended he declare the great title of Han. Xiang's section subordinates were unrestrained and agitated, Xin and others were hostile to him. Thereupon at a meeting they beheaded Xiang, and his older brother's son Hong and others, more than ten people.)

Xin worried Te and others would make difficulties, and dispatched a person to explain to them saying:

Xiang had improper words, and the response to his crime reached death. It does not extend to his brothers.

He also instructed them to be supervising commanders, and to calm and comfort their multitudes, and returned to Te Xiang's body. That night, Te and Liu thoroughly dispersed the multitudes and returned to Mianzhu. Xin dispatched the former Prefect of Yinping, Zhang Heng, Sheng Qian, and Fei Shu to go and soothe and take them in. All were killed by Te.

The Commander of the Serrated Gates, Xu Yan, sought to be Army Overseer of Badong. Du Shu and Zhang Can firmly held it was not allowable. Yan was angry, and at the provincial postern gate, blade in hand, killed Shu and Can. Shu and Can's left and right then killed Yan. All were Xin's belly and heart.

Li Xiang, courtesy name Xuanxu, was Te's third younger brother. As young he gained a reputation due to his ardent spirit. He served the commandery as Supervisor of Couriers and Master of Accounts, in both cases he was commended by the officials. 4thYear of Yongkang [294 AD], he was examined as Filial and Upright, but did not go. Later, since he was good at riding and shooting, he was recommended as Good Commander, but likewise did not go.

The province considered Xiang's talents to combine both the civil and martial, and recommended him as Flowering Marvel. He firmly refused due to illness. Province and commandery did not listen, and so his name was sent up and made known. The Army Protector of the Centre urgently summoned him, he could not avoid and responded to it. He was designated Cavalry Supervisor of the Centre Army. With bow and horse he was practised and nimble, his bodily strength was beyond other people. At the time opinion compared him to Wen Yang.

Since Luoyang was soon to be in chaos, he claimed illness and left office. He by nature was dutiful and gallant, and fond of helping people with their difficulties. The province's factions strove to adhere to him.

He and the drifting people of the Six Commanderies escaped from difficulties to Liang# and Yi. On the roads and paths there were those who were straving or ill. Xiang regularly kept watch over and protected them, and grieved and cared for them. He aided and provided for the destitute and poor, and greatly gathered the hearts of the multitudes.

When he arrived in Shu, Zhao Xin deeply esteemed him. He discussed the principles of war with him, nothing he did not praise as good. Always when speaking about him to his friends, he said:

Li Xuanxu is perhaps the Guan and Zhang of these times.

When he was about to have disloyal aspirations, he entrusted him with duties of heart and spine, and therefore petitioned for Xiang to be Supervisor of Private Troops. He sent him to summoned and unite the strong and brave of the Six Commanderies, they reached more than ten thousand people.

Due to his merit in chastising rebellious Qiang, he petitioned for Qiang to be General who Daunts the Bandits, to make use of red banners and curved canopy, be ennobled Marquis of Yangquan Precinct, and be bestowed a million cash and fifty-four horses. On the day of his execution, nobody among the gentlemen and myriads of the Six Commanderies did not fell tears for him. At the time he was aged fifty-five.

[fillingthescrapbook]

Rewriting The CW's Kung Fu, Part 6: Act II

We're nearly to the end, but if you're somehow seeing this before any of the previous posts, you can find them here:

Part 1: The Characters

Part 2: The Pilot

Part 3: The Mythology

Part 4: The Story Map

Part 5: Act I

If you've read all that, I am hoping that you've gotten to know Nicky enough that you're willing to ride along for the next part of her journey. Because we're going to the territory that the show actually covered (with a few rewrites, of course): the hunt for the mystical weapons.

Episode 6: Bond

We start this episode with Nicky reeling over two revelations: one, that Althea is a survivor of sexual harassment, and two, that Zhi-Lan is her dead mentor's sister. But she's going to focus first on what's more important: her own family. Nicky tells Althea that she will be there to support her whatever Althea decides to do. Althea admits that she doesn't know yet--

When Dennis tells Althea that his family's been invited to a gala at the museum for a loaned Chinese exhibit, Althea also finds out that her former boss at Cloudrush Capital will be in attendance--as a donor. Althea asks Nicky and Ryan to come with her for support--but Ryan has hospital duties. So Nicky asks Henry to accompany them instead.

At the house, Ryan can feel that there's tension between him and Mei-Li. He thinks it's because he's gay--until he realizes that his parents don't actually know that he had come out when he stood with Joe (in the last episode). Ryan explains to Jin and Mei-Li that the reason he only had one girlfriend, who quickly dumped him, is because he is gay. Jin and Mei-Li are speechless. Mei-Li walks out, uncertain of how to act. Jin, trying and failing to be supportive, just taps Ryan on the shoulder.

At the museum, Henry recognizes one of the weapons on display. It's one of the eight mystical weapons. But when he is about to point it out to Nicky, the latter had already left him. Because Nicky spotted Zhi-Lan at the gala. She is about to follow Zhi-Lan when she sees Althea having a panic attack upon seeing her former boss. Nicky weighs her options, but chooses to stay with Althea instead.

With Althea calmed down, Nicky tells Henry that Zhi-Lan is at the gala. Henry figures out that Zhi-Lan is there for the weapon, explaining to Nicky that one of the eight fabled weapons that he mentioned to her before is part of the loaned exhibit. He takes her to the still-closed exhibit--and they catch two crooks trying to steal the weapon. They get into a fight with the crooks. They win. But when they turn to the display case, the weapon is gone.

Nicky sees Zhi-Lan making her way out of the museum. In a hurry. Nicky chases after her. The get into a fight and Nicky is holding her own against Zhi-Lan, thanks to her different training with Henry. But something is holding her back: her need to understand how Zhi-Lan could kill Pei-Ling. Which she asks Zhi-Lan point blank during a stand-off. Zhi-Lan is taken aback for a second before quickly recovering, saying she lost her sister when she was a kid. That the woman she killed at the monastery was of no relation to her. Zhi-Lan manages to knock Nicky down before getting away. Henry and Althea find Nicky and get her home.

Althea and Henry bring Nicky to the community center where Ryan is cleaning her wounds. Nicky explains that the woman she fought with was the woman who killed her mentor at the monastery. Henry explains that the woman, Zhi-Lan, is probably collecting the eight mystical weapons from folklore. According to legend, bringing the eight together and taking them back to where they were forged would grant the collector untold power. Nicky whispers, "Bian-Ge." Althea frowns. "Change?" Ryan is concerned. "Transformation." But Nicky doubts that that Zhi-Lan can find all eight weapons soon. It took her three years before she found the longsword, and she probably only lucked out with her second weapon because it was included in the exhibit advertisement. Nicky is more worried about Althea.

Nicky remembers a memory of her time at the monastery, when Pei-Ling told her about important decisions having a lot of weight. How she lost people she loved because she chose to honor what she believed is right. In the memory, Pei-Ling tells Nicky that time has a way of giving them clarity on what they should've done. But during a moment of crisis, all they can do is trust that their heart is in the right place.

In the present time, Althea tells Nicky that she doesn't think she has the courage to speak up. Not yet. Nicky understands. They all have their own pace when it comes to dealing with problems. She ran away for three years. Althea notes that Nicky is back now, that she's facing her problems now. Nicky hugs her sister, saying: "and you will face your problems too. When you're ready."

Nicky and Henry are targeted by the goons they fought at the museum. They think the two have the weapon that was stolen from the museum. Nicky and Henry get into another fight with the goons. This time, when they defeat the goons, Nicky calls Evan for police help.

Althea talks to her former colleague who wants to speak up against their ex-boss. Althea apologizes and says she cannot come out. Not right now. But she is willing to talk to whoever she needs to talk to. Under anonymity. To save those they can still save. The woman thanks Althea.

At the house, Ryan tells Nicky that he's moving out of the house. Nicky apologizes for not being there when he came out to their parents. Ryan tells Nicky that he didn't need her there after all. But he will need her moving forward. To watch over their parents with him out of the house, to keep him updated, and to still be there for him when he calls. Nicky promises. They hug. Ryan leaves.

Jin sees Mei-Li pulling out an old shoe box. Something he hasn't seen in years. It contains an old photo of Mei-Li...with her sister Mei-Xue. She tells Jin that she swore she wouldn't be like her mother. But why does it feel like she's doing what her mother had done too? Pushing her own children away?

Evan visits Nicky at Happy Dumplings to talk about the goons she and Henry stopped at the museum. Nicky tells Evan that she knows who the goons are working for "Zhang Zhi-Lan." Nicky reminds Evan that he was the one with the info on her connection with the Triad. Evan shakes his head, telling Nicky that they were bailed out by a business owned by a Raymond Tan. This makes Nicky think. Is there another party interested in the weapons?

We will have a mini-reveal here of Henry's apartment. It has a map of the world with markings. Photos of the eight weapons that have strings tying them to locations where they have been sighted. It seems that Henry is keeping a secret from Nicky.

Episode 7: Rage

In this episode, Nicky and Henry work together when one of Henry's students at the community center ask for their help. A friend of his has gotten involved with a dojo that cons their trainees into taking part in an underground fight club. The student shows them footage of the fight, which is a bloody affair, and Henry spots a pair of deer-horn knives in the decor that he tells Nicky later are among the mystical weapons.

Henry's first course of action is to go straight for the source--only to get injured by the guy in charge of the dojo. This leaves Nicky as their only viable way to get into the fight club.

Throughout the course of the story, Nicky remembers moments from the monastery where Pei-Ling teaches her how to use an opponent's emotions against them. Even sharing a story where a loved one got the better of her because she felt overwhelming concern while they were sparring. This is what Nicky will use to win the fight.

To get into the fight club, Nicky borrows money from Althea--which Dennis finds out about. When Nicky explains what's going on, Dennis is all in with helping out, saying he believes in helping the helpless--even when they look like they can take him down. Which gives Althea the idea that Dennis might be okay knowing her secret too. Ryan's in charge of putting first aid on Nicky afterwards, to keep her crime-fighting life a secret from their parents.

Meanwhile, Evan tries to investigate Raymond Tan, wanting to know why a business of his is employing thugs and goons. He gets caught by Raymond's son, Kerwin, who becomes curious about his father's non-business affairs.

Jin tries to reach out to Ryan, apologizing for his and Mei-Li's non-reactions to his coming out. While Ryan is appreciative, he doesn't want to move back in. He's better now, living with Joe.

At Althea's apartment, Ryan and Dennis have set up a laptop to find out what's going on at the fight club. They root for Nicky to go through a tournament so she could face off with the underground operation's main boss.

While Nicky is fighting, Henry goes about a second operation--to take the deer-horn knives from the dojo. In the ring, Nicky imagines Pei-Ling beside her. Cheering her on while she faces different people with different strengths. Telling her that the strengths and weaknesses are both important--because one person's weakness can also be used as their own strength, like how Nicky's small build can allow her to hit lower or drive more power in her hits.

At Althea's apartment, Mei-Li visits wanting her daughter to help with getting Ryan to move back in. Only to catch the livestream of Nicky's fight. Seeing Nicky in action. This makes Mei-Li back away and run. Althea and Ryan become worried.

When Althea and Dennis are left alone, Althea decides to tell Dennis about her experience at Cloudrush. At first Dennis is angry, he wants to strangle Althea's ex-boss himself. But after calming down, Dennis tells Althea that her secret doesn't change the way he feels about her.

The episode ends with Nicky winning the tournament. Henry getting the knives--and evidence that would help shut down the dojo front of the fight ring, preventing them from recruiting more fighters. But when Nicky gets home, Mei-Li is waiting for her. "I saw what you did. At that martial arts tournament." Nicky is perturbed. "That's not the life I wanted for you. But I feel like I pushed you into doing that. Like I pushed your brother into leaving our house. I don't want to push my children away, Nicky. So I'm no longer going to meddle in your lives. Go back to who you wanted to be before I sent you on that arranged-marriage trip three years ago. Get back together with Evan. Go back to law school. Just, please: stop fighting." This leaves Nicky speechless.

Episode 8: Silence

Happy Dumplings is in trouble. A lawsuit has been filed against the restaurant for discriminating against disabled people. Nicky is immediately able to prove that it's a fraudulent lawsuit designed to shakedown store owners who can't speak in English fluently--but unlike Happy Dumplings, other Chinese businesses in the neighborhood don't have former law school students under their roofs.

Mei-Li encourages Nicky to work with Evan to find out out what's going on with the fraudulent lawsuits, hoping that it will keep Nicky out of the warrior way. Jin confronts his wife with regards to her pushing Nicky towards Evan, when Henry is already helping their daughter move on. Mei-Li tells Jin the truth: she saw Nicky fighting people to save someone. She's scared for their daughter. Jin is confused. What's wrong with having a daughter who knows and is willing to defend others? Mei-Li decides to tell Jin the truth. (Off-screen, because there's a revelation--and it helps story-wise if we find out about it with the main character.)

While Nicky and Evan are busy canvassing the businesses in Chinatown that have received a lawsuit, they get assistance from Ryan and Joe--the latter of whom is working with the San Francisco Disability and Aging Services. None of the lawsuits can stand in court, but some of the business owners have already paid up, wanting to keep their head down and not rock the boat. Nicky and Evan trace the lawsuits back to Triad connections. Evan tells Nicky they need to get the police involved. Nicky, angry at Asians knocking down other Asians, thinks it's time to take measures into their own hands.

With Nicky busy with the fraudulent lawsuits, Henry heads back to Professor Chau's office to find out why he hasn't heard back. He learns that the professor still hasn't returned--so he breaks into the office to take a manuscript that was on loan to the professor. While inside the office, he finds a puzzle box that has a connection to the mystical weapons. He takes it too.

Meanwhile, Althea is roped into a family dinner night with Dennis's family. The dinner gets awkward when Dennis's father brings up the news about Althea's co-worker speaking up about sexual harassment in Cloudrush. Dennis is about to stand up for Althea's co-worker when his mother says the woman is probably just trying to shakedown the boss into giving her money or a higher position. Althea defends her co-worker. Dennis and his sister Chloe sides with Althea. But Mr and Mrs Soong tell them that they're just idealistic. They've had experience with people who use social justice just to get a leg up in the business. That not every victim is a real victim. This forces Althea to speak her truth. That she was a victim too. She just didn't want to say anything because she feared people won't believe her. And she feared right. She walks out. Dennis follows her against his parents' wishes.

Nicky almost gets in trouble with the Triad, but Evan is there to back her up. He tells her that he will lose his job if they find out what he's doing, and Nicky says that they're helping people--what's wrong with that? They discover that the Triad is now being run by the former boss's son, with the previous head still being in prison. Nicky wants to know why they're shaking down the Asian business owners. The new boss reasons that those business owners benefited from his father's protection for many years--and they turn their back on him when he needed them the most. Nicky tells him that his dad is a jerk who took advantage of people. "And you're worse because you're using important fights to your own gains--which makes it harder for people who are legitimately fighting for their rights to be heard." Nicky lays the smack down on the new boss of the Triad and his men. Evan points to Nicky everything the police will need to shut down the new Triad operations because he has to leave before the cavalry arrives.

Nicky, Althea, and Ryan get together to compare their days. Althea tells her siblings that Dennis's family now knows about her secret. And Dennis is standing by her. But she doesn't know if she has the courage to actually go public with the truth. Ryan breaks the news that he's going to be living on his own for the first time ever, as Joe has accepted a gig that would take him out of San Francisco for a month, because of the work they had done against the fraudulent lawsuits. And Nicky tells them how easy it was for her and Evan to return to their groove. Which makes her a little torn now, because she thinks she has feelings for Henry...but she still has feelings for Evan too.

At the district attorney's office, Evan gets a visit from Sabine. She shows him CCTV footage of Henry breaking into Professor Chau's office. She tells Evan that she's worried that Nicky might have fallen in with the wrong crowd.

And at the end of the episode, Henry brings the puzzle box he stole to Nicky. Nicky recognizes it as having the same puzzle as Pei-Ling's safe at the monastery. She opens the box. There's a jade key inside. And this is when Mei-Li and Jin arrive. Jin tells Nicky that Mei-Li has something important to tell her. Mei-Li sees the jade key in Henry's hand and tells him that he might as well hear what she has to say too. Their family comes from a lineage believed to be descended from a great warrior called Liang Dai-Yu. Mei-Li turns to Nicky: this belief already cost her a sister. She doesn't want to lose a daughter too. She pleads with Nicky; "you can build the life you want, and I won't argue. But please don't follow in my sister's footsteps. Please don't follow the warrior's destiny."

Episode 9: Isolation

In the last episode of this arc, Nicky wants to find out what happened to the aunt she never knew about. Mei-Li gives her all of Mei-Xue's letters and postcards, and notes that the last postcard came twenty-one years ago. Looking at the postcard, Nicky sees an odd red panda mascot. She searches for it on the internet with Althea's help, and they find out that it's in Canada. In a small town near Vancouver. Nicky invites Henry to go with her to look for Mei-Xue. Mei-Li wants to stop Nicky, but Jin tells her that they have to let Nicky see this through. Maybe meeting Mei-Xue will give her the clarity she needs.

Evan meets with Ryan at the community center, looking for Nicky. Ryan tells him that Nicky and Henry went on a road trip to Canada. Evan is alarmed. Ryan asks if Evan's jealous of Henry. Evan says it's more than that. He believes that Nicky is in jeopardy with Henry. This worries Ryan, so he calls in favors to cover his hospital shifts--as well as his shifts at the community center. He and Evan leave to follow Nicky to Canada.

While on the road, Henry takes Nicky to an old friend--who turns out to be a very sketchy person. Nicky begins to see Henry in a new light, and not a good one. When the old friend sells them out to someone who has it in for Henry, he and Nicky have to fight to get out of there. Henry apologizes to Nicky, and he starts to open up about his past.

Meanwhile, Althea gets targeted by the lawyers of Cloudrush Capital. They want her to sign a non-disclosure agreement for everything that happened to her at the company. Althea refuses. They threaten her career. Althea refuses to sign. This makes her want to stand up against her former boss even more. But first she needs to talk to her parents.

In Vancouver, Evan and Ryan are searching for Nicky. Mei-Li tells them that Nicky was looking for a small town with a red racoon mascot. Evan and Ryan drive towards the only town they could find on Google with red panda mascot and sees that Nicky and Henry have just arrived. Evan is about to accost Henry when Nicky sees the red panda statue from her aunt's last postcard.

After a bit of asking around, Nicky finds Duke--the artist who sculpted the Red Panda--and finds out that he knows Mei-Xue. Duke invites Nicky and Ryan out back to talk about Mei-Xue, leaving Evan and Henry alone. Evan quickly accuses Henry of not being true to Nicky. He shows Henry photos from the cctv footage that caught Henry stealing from Professor Chau's office. Henry tells Evan he can explain. When Nicky returns. But when they realize that they can't hear Nicky, Ryan, or Duke anymore, the two quickly head to the back of the Duke's house--but there's no one there.

Nicky and Ryan are following Duke on a trail. When they reach a certain area, Duke turns against them. He says that Mei-Xue told him that there would be people after her. Duke promised Mei-Xue that he will keep her safe. Nicky and Ryan explain that they really are Mei-Xue's niece and nephew. Nicky even shows the postcard. But Duke doesn't want to believe them. Until Nicky calls Mei-Li, to asks her to talk to Duke. Which finally makes Duke believe. He tells Nicky that he's no longer welcome at Mei-Xue's house, but if they follows his map--they will find what they're looking for.

At home, Althea has already told her parents about what she had gone through Cloudrush Capital. Mei-Li wants to know what Althea wants them to do. She tells them that there's nothing they can do, that they have already done everything she could ever want or need: because they love her and believe her. She just wanted them to know what she had gone through before she goes public. Jin and Mei-Li hug their daughter.

Nicky and Ryan reach Mei-Xue's house, but it's abandoned. There are clear signs of someone recently fleeing the scene though. Nicky finds journals in the house. She takes photos of the pages. She is about to leave when Ryan finds a photo of Mei-Xue and Mei-Li with their own parents. Ryan recognizes their Wai-gong and Wai-po. Nicky hears something from the back and exits through the kitchen--to find that there's a grave in the yard. A grave with Mei-Xue's face. Nicky calls Mei-Li. "Mom, I've got bad news." Inside the house, Ryan finds a long box that has inscription. "Duke, send this to Mei-Li if something happens to me."

At the end of the episode, Nicky and Ryan reunite with Evan and Henry, apologizing for setting off on their own. Evan then tells them that Henry has something important to say. Henry sighs and comes clean to Nicky: His father was a guardian of one of the eight weapons. He's been helping Nicky because it is his duty to keep the weapons, at least the one that his family was supposed to keep safe, separate from the others.

[fycarmensandiego]

1995 Animation Magazine article

After months of trying to find a library to supply this over interlibrary loan, I’ve finally managed to get a copy of the cover story from February 1995′s Animation Magazine, about Where on Earth. Aside from the truly cringetastic headline on the cover, the article itself is poorly written and just as poorly researched (for example, saying that Carmine appears on the cartoon), but it does have snippets from interviews with several execs at both Brøderbund and Dic.

A scanned copy of the article (featuring some concept art of Carmen, Ivy, Zack, and a nameless goon in regrettably low quality) is available in my online archive, or read the text (with some spelling and punctuation corrections) below the cut.

Lady in Red by Morrie Gelman, special to Animation Magazine

The commercial television version of Carmen Sandiego, the lady in the stylish red hat and shoes who steals national treasures such as all of the sushi in Japan is, surprisingly, the most successful program ever produced by DIC Entertainment. Maybe not so surprising, since with more than 4 million units sold since 1985, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, currently out in a junior version on CD-ROM, is computer software’s best-selling history and geography title ever.

Carmen is the first software character ever to make the leap to television. In addition to the DIC-produced Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? educational/entertainment series for Fox, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, a game show, is in its fourth season on PBS.

It was four years from the time Andy Heyward, president and C.E.O. of DIC, spotted Carmen as a computer game designed by Brøderbund Software to provide young people with exposure to world geography and cultures before it ever got on commercial television.

Heyward read a story about Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? in the business section of the Los Angeles Times. He went to the Northern California community of Novato, where Brøderbund Software is based, and met with company officials. He said at the time, “I would like to option the property,” and then took it over to CBS.

DIC had the property in development at CBS for three consecutive years. It was still in the running when Heyward had lunch with Margaret Loesch, president of Fox Children’s Network at the Big Boy restaurant in Burbank.

“CBS developed it and at the final bell decided that educational programming was too risky,” Heyward recalls.

At a NATPE in the early ’90s, Barbara Kriesman, the FCC attorney in charge of the Video Services Division, was the main speaker at a children’s seminar. The seminar was focused on compliance with the recently enacted Children’s Television Act requiring broadcasters to air programming that meets the educational and informational needs of children. Stations were told, in effect, they would lose their licenses if they did not comply.

It was clear that Fox had to protect itself. Margaret Loesch is a very competitive person. She was ready to take a chance.

Heyward told her of DIC’s developing Carmen Sandiego with CBS. She asked if it was picked up yet and he said, “No, it wasn’t.”

Loesch said Fox would pick up the series if it could have an exclusive.

According to Heyward, Loesch made “a big pitch” on why Fox would be a more competitive environment for Carmen Sandiego. Heyward listened and agreed, finally saying, “OK, let’s go.” The show made its debut on Fox’s Saturday morning line-up from 11:30 to noon last February as Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?

By Heyward’s evaluation, Carmen has been more successful than any “educational” show, ever, especially because “kids don’t think of it as an educational show.”

That it be highly entertaining was DIC’s hope and aspiration from the start.

“We work very hard to get a lot of stuff in there that kids learn from,” Heyward says. “The production has not only cel animation but computer graphics, source footage and live action.”

Heyward confirms that “Carmen Sandiego is far and away the most successful program we’ve ever produced.”

For Robby London, senior vice president, creative affairs at DIC, Carmen Sandiego is the company’s “flagship” program and one of his “favorite, favorite topics to talk about.”

While London admits that everybody always says that some show or another is “unique,” that label is totally valid for Carmen.

Some of the things that make Carmen unique are the many disparate production elements not often seen on Saturday morning television.

Carmen includes regular cel animation to carry the narrative forward. Silicon Graphics Inc.’s computer animation takes characters from place to place throughout the world, allowing viewers to learn about the places. Within the SGI platform, still photos are used, such as source footage of Franklin Delano Roosevelt making a speech, along all sorts of other visuals, including graphs.

Another component is “limited animation,” which is quick, little, perhaps 5-second, images of a rather silly animation that is in a completely different style from the regular cel animation. Live action appears throughout the episodes in terms of the players playing at home on the computer against Carmen Sandiego. This is the whole basis by which DIC tells the story.

Michael Maliani was executive producer and producer of Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? the first season of the show. With DIC currently working on the third season, Joe Barruso, who previously directed the show, is now producer.

Maliani, who was in at the earliest stages of development, remembers that “What we were trying to do was make something entertaining and educational. We wanted to be different. We really wanted to make it interesting to watch. That’s why we wanted to have so many elements.”

Kids like variety, Maliani contends. With that in mind, DIC decided to produce Carmen with different media, including standard cel animation, other computer graphics and some live-action added in. “We thought we could show the educational stuff without being boring,” Maliani explains. “We didn’t want to make the show a lecture. We wanted to weave the education into the plot.”

Like the computer game, the DIC series is full of visual and spoken clues about the mysteries Carmen Sandiego, her cunning cat Carmine and her gang of goofball thieves stealing such ambitious treasures as the roof off the Taj Mahal and statues from Easter Island. Viewers (players in the computer game) get help in trying to stop Carmen and her henchmen form the ACME Detective Agency. The DIC series (and now Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Junior Detective Edition on CD-ROM as well) features the young characters Zack and Ivy who report to The Chief. The plot of each episode (and the objective of the computer game) is to follow geography-based clues and “bag the bad guys, recover the stolen loot and put Carmen Sandiego and Carmine in the clink.”

Along the way, viewers learn such facts as the height and location of Mt. Everest, and that the Sphinx in Egypt has the body of a lion with the head and breast of a man.

“We knew we were going to fit right in the 6 to 11 age demographic,” explains Maliani, “but we wanted to make Carmen a little more sophisticated so we could get the older kids.”

A major difference between Carmen the computer game and the commercial TV series is in visualizing the capers. The computer game offers as a premise that the Eiffel Tower or the Taj Mahal is stolen. DIC’s production team had to estimate the weight of the Taj Mahal and then figure out what it would take to lift it.

DIC’s researchers established that four Russian helicopters could hoist the estimated weight of the Taj Mahal roof.

The next problem was how to accomplish the feat. DIC’s solution? Use a laser to cut off the roof. Add hooks to it and lift it off.

“We had to figure this stuff out,” Maliani notes. “It’s kind of fake but almost real.”

London explains that many shows on Saturday morning have had a degree of pro-social values. One of the things that is different about Carmen from all these other shows, according to London, is that Fox and DIC took the “conservative high road” that pro-social is not sufficient to fulfill the mandate of the Children’s Television Act.

“Carmen can’t just show good moral values and teach little lessons in living,” he points out. “It must have a measurable curriculum that actually teaches information, not just lessons in living.”

Among the consultants on Carmen is Dr. Peter Kovaric, a professor at UCLA in the Graduate School of Education, who is also director of the school’s educational technology unit. Kovaric is an acknowledged expert on using technology, such as television, to teach kids.

He reviews all Carmen scripts and helps DIC’s production team conceptualize shows. “It’s an exemplary relationship,” affirms Kovaric.

“One of the very good things about Carmen is that it is a commercial venture and is reasonably successful. That may help lower the reluctance of broadcasters to try something new and different,” he observes.

DIC also employs Barbara Wong, a teacher and principal of Baldwin Middle School in the Alhambra (Calif.) school district. Wong credits the DIC production team with being “very concerned” about having quality programming for kids. “They’re very in tune with people like myself and very open.”

Carmen, she points out, “has a lot of elements in it that readily apply to a teaching situation.”

Wong explains that while Carmen is not a “surrogate teacher,” the show does quality as “a nice addendum – a nice resource to have.”

Wong gets screen credit as Curriculum Consultant. Kovaric is Educational Consultant.

According to London, Carmen, in addition to gaining an educational seal of approval, invariably wins its time period. In the Sept. 1993 to July 1994 Nielsen data, Fox’s Saturday morning line-up, which includes Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, X-Men, Bobby’s World, Tiny Toons, Taz-Mania, Eek the Cat and Carmen demonstrates the last is one of the top shows not only with kids 2 to 11 but with persons 6 to 17.

It averaged a 6.0 rating with kids 2 to 11 and 5.1 with the older demo, suggesting that as an educational program it’s holding its own handily against traditional animated entertainment, including action/adventure.

Another measure of Carmen’s appeal is that in the same Nielsen measured time-span, “the lady in the red hat” has more viewers than Beekman’s World and Bill Nye combined – not only with kids 2 to 11 but with persons 2 and over.

“It’s by no means a loss leader,” emphasizes London. “It’s not even number one by default. It really holds up Fox’s ratings.”

Maliani, who is senior vice president in charge of development, knows he risks sounding hokey but points out that in his 10 years with DIC he has wanted to try “to make a difference.” In Carmen Sandiego, he says, “we have a property where you could actually learn.”

In large measure, Maliani speaks for everyone connected with the Carmen Sandiego property when he comments: “This is the one show that really meant a lot to me and I gave it my all. I gave it everything I had and everything I could think of creatively. I wanted it to be special.”

————————————

Carmen Sandiego began life as a computer game – a history, geography, educational title – by way of Brøderbund Software Inc., Novato, Calif., a diversified consumer software company. Founded by Douglas Carlston, Brøderbund is one of the hottest names in educational software publishing.

For the recent holiday season Brøderbund published Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Junior Detective Edition, an icon- and dialog-based CD-ROM product designated for 5- to 8-year-olds.

But Carmen Sandiego isn’t just a game. The software series inspired two TV shows for kids: DIC Entertainment’s animated adventure Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? On the Fox Kids Network, and the PBS game show, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? produced by WGBH Boston and WQED Pittsburgh.

Brøderbund constantly works at new ways to update the original product. Software titles include Where in the USA Is Carmen Sandiego?, Where in Space Is Carmen Sandiego?, Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? and Where in America’s Past Is Carmen Sandiego? in addition to the signature Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?

Brøderbund has creative input on every Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? script, but not necessarily every storyboard.

Ken Goldstein, publisher of Brøderbund’s Education and Entertainment Products Group, describes his company relationship with DIC Entertainment as “very healthy.”

He was deeply involved in the first season of the DIC/Fox series, establishing the working relationship and the new ground rules. Since then he’s passed on regular contact to his staff, yet still signs off on every set of script notes (drafts of every script are read by Brøderbund staff and every storyboard reviewed).

For the most part, the DIC series scripts are different from those used by Brøderbund, but there’s some synergy. Brøderbund has introduced a new character into its most recent software, Stretch the Crime Dog, described as “a lovable, clue-sniffing, crime-busting canine” who works for the ACME Detective Agency.

Reciprocally, the software is now using agents Zack and Ivy and The Chief from the DIC animated TV series.

“Carmen is a perennial for us,” notes Goldstein. “It really is an evergreen product, a premier intellectual property. I’m delighted to manage its existence.” According to Goldstein, Carmen Jr. will probably go Gold in the software business, which is 100,000 pieces, within a couple of months.

Brøderbund, Goldstein also reports, does a lot of licensing, including T-shirts, mouse pads and backpacks, among other items. Carmen is also very much an international product. Goldstein says Carmen software is “very big” in Spain and Mexico, and also especially popular in Israel.

There’s a Japanese version of Carmen, plus a cartridge version on Nintendo and Sega, which has not done as well as Brøderbund would like. “I don’t think it’s the right venue for that product,” Goldstein remarks.

Brøderbund is stepping up to a new level of international distribution on March 1, opening its own Brøderbund Europe office and publishing localized versions of new Carmen products from that time forward.

By Brøderbund’s design and demand, there are no guns or other weapons in the Carmen Sandiego TV show or software. The Carmen character does have henchmen, but, points out Goldstein, “it’s very much ‘Three Stooges.’ They botch things and they use such things as big suction cups, funny gadgets and outlandish vehicles, but there are never any guns, no bombs, no grenades, no violence. They never threaten the detectives. It’s all a game of wits.”

Brøderbund also has been very careful not to portray stereotypes, to make sure with the software that all different types of international cultures are reflected positively. DIC is equally sensitive about portraying stereotypes and respecting different cultures.

“Computers have revolutionized the teaching world, and now classrooms will never be the same,” suggests one reviewer of Carmen software.

“Programs like Carmen let students explore their own paths of learning,” points out another.

Morrie Gelman is the president of Ventures in Media, a market research, information packaging and television development firm.

[sweetsmellosuccess]

TIFF 2020: Days 1 & 2

Films: 5 Best Film of the Day(s): One Night in Miami

One Night in Miami…: I guess you could form an argument that basing a film on a pre-existing play would make the feature easier to put together, but that wouldn’t be taking into account the tremendous differences between the mediums, their relative strengths and weaknesses. For her feature debut, the Oscar-winning actress Regina King has cinematically adapted the stage play  by Kemp Powers about a fictionalized fateful night amongst four famous Black men in 1964. Those men, Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), are all in town ostensibly to celebrate Clay’s beatdown of Sonny Liston to first become the heavyweight champion of the world at the tender age of 22. But the film puts them all together in Malcolm X’s modest hotel room, watched over by Nation of Islam security men, to spend a night, essentially, debating the merits of what they bring to the struggle for Black equality and economic emancipation, and arguing back and forth about their distinct positions. Here is precisely where many play adaptations falter, without the dramatic friction of a live performance to power the emotional core, such conventions generally fall flat on the screen, but King’s virtuoso acting instincts serve her able cast well, and her work with DP Tami Reiker allows the film to flow, seemingly organically between its few location movements. Working from a skilled script by Powers, the celebrated figures feel three dimensional, which gives even their more didactic diatribes (Malcolm), and pithy rebuttals (Cooke) enough weight to avoid sounding contrived. The cast work wonders on the material, granting a needed organic vibe to their nonfiction characters, echoing the essences without tipping into caricature. It’s a strong debut for King, and the film’s complex ruminations on the responsibility of successful Black people towards their community as a means of bringing attention to the country’s oppression couldn’t be more on point. At one point Clay tells Cooke the four of them will always remain friends, because they are among the few who can possibly understand what it’s like to be “young, Black, famous, righteous, and unapologetic.”

Shiva Baby: Danielle (Rachel Sennott) is in the midst of having a day. Turns out Max (Danny Deferrari), the sugar daddy with whom she has frequently been visiting as part of her regular prostitution gig, is somehow a friend or cousin of the deceased at the same Shiva she has come to attend with her well-meaning, but completely overwhelming parents (Polly Draper and Fred Melamed). If that weren’t enough in Emma Seligman’s spry comedy, Danielle is also horrified to find Maya (Molly Gordon), a successful young woman she’s known for years, and a recent ex, also there. Crammed into the Shiva house, full of cousins and aunts and uncles all kvetching about everyone else, and being physically grabbed and moved about by her mother, Danielle faces this house of horrors, with everyone commenting concernedly on her weight-loss (“You look like Gwyneth Paltrow  —  on food stamps!” her mother hisses at her), and her lack of job prospects when she graduates, and her parents telling scathingly embarrassing stories about her in front of Max and his shiksa wife (Dianna Argon), whose 18-month-old baby, her mom says is “freakishly pale  —  and no nose,” with no respite in sight. As a result of this sort of hyper-scrutiny, Danielle goes the only route that makes any sense: Lying to everybody about nearly everything, from her current major (“gender business”), to the many job interviews she has supposedly lined up. She’s just trying to get through the ordeal, one that Seligman, along with a continually spiraling score from Ariel Marx, ratchets up, until, near the end, poor Danielle is in a near fugue state, sweat glistening on her face, and the attendees, shot in unflattering slo-mo, and distorted lenses, take on the sheen of a waking nightmare. At a brisk 77 minutes, the film still doesn’t have quite enough to sustain its running time  —  at a certain point it begins doubling back on itself  —  but it’s still a lot of horrific fun, as Seligman expertly captures the absolute loss of agency one can feel, swallowed up in a claustrophobic family gathering, where escape feels futile.

Limbo: If Scotland has a cinematic identity, as such, it seems like the kind of place, desolate and unforgiving, where individuals come to exit regular society and come to a land filled with eccentric loners (stoic and unique in their oddities), in order to get better in touch with their souls. Ben Sharrock’s serio-comedy captures both the pitiless beauty of the land, and the lonely plight of a Syrian immigrant, Omar (Amir El-Masry), waiting with a group of other men from across the Middle East and Africa, on an island off the mainland, for word from the Immigration Office that his bid for political asylum has been accepted. Omar, sweet-faced and approachable, was a musician by trade in his native Syria, and walks around everywhere carrying his precious oud, bequeathed to him by his grandfather, also a musician, even though his right hand is locked in a cast from an unspecified injury. Even without the cast, however, you get the sense that his heart really isn’t into playing, despite the entreaties from Farhad (Vikash Bhai), his Afghani roomie and self-appointed “agent and manager,” who wants him to enter a local music contest. Omar is carrying a significant amount of weight beyond missing his mother’s fragrant home-cooking. Talking to her on the lone payphone on the island, where other immigrants-in-waiting stand in line for a chance to hear from home, she implores him to speak to his older brother, who chose to stay behind in Syria and fight in the Civil War that has plagued the region for years. Omar feels guilty for having left, and suffers from having disappointed his father in the process. It doesn’t help him that the culture he finds himself in seems so foreign to him, despite his speaking flawless English. Sharrock’s brand of deadpan perfectly suits the setting, but as funny as the film can be (when asked in a culture/language class to create a sentence using the “I used to” construction, one immigrant offers “I used to be happy before I came here”), it doesn’t paint a rosy affirmation for Omar and his ilk, stuck as they are, as the title suggests, between countries and lives. Omar’s pain is real, and for every positive step forward he takes, it’s one further away from his family and his beloved home country.

Enemies of the State: Sonia Kennebeck’s challenging and curious documentary seems at first to present a case for its protagonist, Matt DeHart, a young teen hacker interested in social justice, who through his work with Wikileaks runs afoul of the U.S. government, and his beleaguered parents, Paul and Leann, who vigorously defend their only child against the evil forces conspiring against him. Through a series of personal interviews with Paul and Leann, both retired Air Force intelligence officers, who believe their country has turned against them for what Matt had downloaded from his computer into secret thumbdrives shortly before the FBI arrived at their door and confiscated all his equipment, and various lawyers they employed, first to protect Matt from what they claim as utterly bogus child-porn charges, then, after they slip away to Canada in the middle of the night, the lawyers trying to earn them asylum. While in Canada, under close supervision and confined to his parents’ apartment, Matt uses his charms, his hackavist bonafides, and his skill at PR, to generate enough interest in his case to become a digital cause celebe, along the lines of Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. Protests are fronted, defense funds gathered, and pressure put on the government to come clean about why they seem so hard-driving against the young man. During a peculiar reenactment set in a Canadian immigration hearing  —  Kennebeck employs actors who apparently lip sync their lines in perfect time with the actual recorded audio  —  DeHart describes a harrowing ordeal earlier in the affair, after having moved to Canada to attend college, being abducted by the FBI shortly after crossing the border to renew his Visa, and tortured for days for information related to the material on the thumb-drives. Some documentation seems to corroborate his claims (even Paul and Leann, as fierce supporters as can be, were shocked to see just how ready the FBI were to snatch him), but as the film continues, and we hear more and more from the investigators and prosecuting attorneys about the original child-pornography crimes, it becomes clear that our sympathies are being played with by Kennebeck. By the end, the film itself becomes an indictment of our rapid-assumption culture, in which decisions of guilt and innocence are determined in seconds online and forever after based on the presentation of information before us.

The Way I See It: For non Trumpites, the switchover from eight years of the dignified, intelligent, and measured leadership of Barack Obama, to the perma-tanned tackiness of power-mad, narcissistic bloviating of Donald Trump, was like a double-feature that went from Citizen Kane to Kevin James’ Loudest Farts. One man better than most to measure Obama’s time in office against the subsequent regime is photojournalist Pete Souza, who served as the official White House photographer for both of Obama’s terms, and has gone on to become an outspoken critic of Trump by way of his devastating IG account, in which he juxtaposes stately Obama photos with Trumps scandal-du-jour. Lest you think he’s just another divisively partisan liberal, you have to take into account his previous turn in the White House, as one of the official photographers for Ronald Reagan’s presidency. In fact, Souza’s fly-on-the-wall quality was considered one of his strengths in the oval office. Documentarian Dawn Porter travels with Souza as he makes the media rounds promoting his newest book, Shade, a collection of those IG photos that have earned him millions of social media followers (a sort of companion piece to his previous book Obama: An Intimate Portrait). Hauling from far-off India (where he gets a standing ovation before he even takes the stage), to domestic conferences and speaking engagements, Souza emerges as a man becoming more used to being out from behind his ever-present Canon lens. Through that lens, as he displays to his rapturous audiences, he has taken many hundreds of indelible photos, showing Obama’s various interactions with foreign dignitaries, his council of cabinet members, and his more raucous time with his two daughters (one shot of Obama with his girls making snow angels on the rear lawn during a heavy snow storm remains his computer screensaver, Souza says with pride). As Porter moves from talking heads to public oratories, Souza’s remarkable photos  —  brilliantly composed, and inspiringly intimate, having been given nearly unlimited access to the president  —  play throughout, showing us a collection of images that capture the inspiring hope the president inspired and the agonizing rigors of the job he was elected to perform. The film spends little time on his Reagan years, except to note how media and image-savvy the former Hollywood actor and his wife were (Souza professes no political ill-will towards the Reagans, other than noting that while he didn’t always agree with him, he was a genuinely caring man, who at least understood the parameters of leadership). At first, the film trolls Trump by a sort of subtweet level of backhandedness: Without directly naming names, Souza makes it entirely clear who he finds failing in comparison to Obama’s empathetic, engaging deportment, but by the time the film comes around to his notorious IG account, there can be no doubt the subject of his ire. Souza maintains it has less to do with his partisan feelings (his political affiliation is never revealed), and more the way he finds the current president’s undignified manner and total disrespect for the office and the leadership it demands unacceptable. Trumpers will of course take great exception to the portrait the film portrays of the sitting president, but even the most hardcore GOP folks won’t be able to help noting the blatant differences between the loving, genuinely close Obamas; and the preening, viciously competitive Trumps, each trying to outdo the others in acting as their father’s primary sycophant.

In a year of bizarre happenings, and altered realities, TIFF has shifted its gears to a significantly paired down virtual festival. Thus, U.S. film critics are regulated to watching the international offerings from our own living room couches.

[cbk1000]

GATHER ROUND MOTHERFUCKERS.

I have dirt on the clinic I used to work for. Under a cut because this is long.

So, one of my former co-workers also got a job with the company I now work for. He works for a clinic they own and I work at the business office so we don’t actually work together, but there’s an inter-office instant messaging system, and most days we check in with one another to see how the other’s day is going (he was one of my fave co-workers at the clinic and we both served as a reference for each other, so he’s one of the few I’ve kept in touch with). Naturally, throughout the course of our conversations, we’ve both mentioned how happy we are in our current jobs, how nice our bosses are, and how relieved we are to be out of that toxic environment, so the clinic and our old bosses come up now and again. Today we’re on the topic of how happy we are in our current positions and how much we both like our bosses, and he tells me, “I’m hearing more and more stuff coming out of the clinic. Supposedly Bob (the husband; also I changed everybody’s names, FYI) and Veronica (the wife) are heading for a divorce, and Karen (the problem child secretary who treated people like shit and caused 98% of the clinic’s issues and was consequently promoted to a manager, as you do) and Bob are having an affair. I don’t want to believe that, but the person who told me is really close with Bob and Veronica.”

Naturally, I text my sister and tell her the latest, because you gotta’ keep your girl in the loop. This is earlier in the afternoon; a few hours later, as I’m pulling out of the parking lot at work, I feel my phone vibrate from a text message, but obviously can’t look at it. I make a stop at the grocery store on my way home, and pull out my phone to see who texted me, and it is a very excited text from my sister, all in caps, informing me that she ran into Veronica at the very same store, and she was going on about all the shit my former co-worker mentioned (she had texted me as soon as she got home, so this was probably half an hour or so before I arrived at the same store, because I’m always just shy of the good shit, dammit). I, of course, call her to get the good shit.

So here’s what Veronica tells my sister.

They are getting a divorce; he’s already living somewhere else, but some of his stuff is still at their house, so he’s been going back and forth. Apparently he will not tell anyone where he’s living, but my sister and I posit that he simply doesn’t want HER knowing where he’s living, because based on our observations of them over many years, we have every reason to believe that she’d kick down his door and murder him with an axe. He’s also leaving the clinic. One of the billing employees (there are only two in their billing office) quit because of all the garbage going on, and the other girl wanted to quit, and was only talked out of it because Veronica moved her out of the billing office (which is upstairs) into the area where my sister and I used to work, which is downstairs and away from all the drama, and Bob (he works in their billing office for most of the day, and while Veronica handles payroll, he handles the actual billing portion, along with these two other employees). Allegedly, he was really mean about their break-up, demanded she sign the divorce papers, caused a big scene, etc.; we highly doubt this, however. It most definitely might have happened, but it was probably her doing all the screaming and making demands. She has a tendency to not only be very aggressive, but also to turn everything around so that it’s his fault. My sister and I worked right around the corner from her office, and overheard many fights. They’d go something like this: she would scream at him while he stood there silently, every once in a while offering a tired-sounding word or two in response. Then he would leave, and once he was back upstairs, she’d come out to our area, and immediately launch into a woeful speech about how mean he was to her, how aggressive, how he completely attacked and blindsided her, etc. etc. To his credit (and I don’t give him much, because he’s no prize either), I never once heard him say anything bad about her. She, on the other hand, was all kissy face while he was in the room, and then as soon as he left it, would start telling my sister and me about how stupid and useless he was, that he was a pussy, that he was worthless, etc. etc., all in a tone I would use to talk about my worst enemy. I’ve had the impression for a long time that she loathes him. If at any point I’d ever come downstairs to find him murdered on the floor, I would have been like, “Ah; saw this coming.”

As to the affair, Veronica claimed that multiple people at the office knew about it, and just never mentioned it to her. She also claimed that Bob forced her to make Karen the manager and give her a big raise, that he badgered and badgered her till she finally caved and agreed. She said in hindsight it makes sense knowing there was an affair going on and he wanted to give her things, but this smells like bullshit to both my sister and me. A couple of reasons: it was long known by several people at the clinic that Karen would have been fired long ago if not for Veronica, because Bob couldn’t stand her. In fact, my sister said he outright told her more than once that he hated Karen because she caused so many problems with everyone. It wasn’t till recently that he suddenly started to take her side on things, which is a point in favour of the possibility of an affair, but let’s go deeper. A while before I left, I overheard a big messy blow-out between one of the medical assistants, Karen, and Veronica. Karen, as usual, had poked her nose somewhere it didn’t belong, acted like a jerk about it, and when the medical assistant stood up for herself, she got in trouble. I talked about this a bit some time back, so I’m not going to go into it again; let’s just say I was sitting across from Veronica’s office and heard a lot of what happened, and that poor medical assistant was railroaded by both of their gaslighting asses. I myself overheard Veronica tell the medical assistant that Karen had done a lot for them, so they really valued her, and that basically she was in charge and could do whatever she wanted, and tough shit. Also, I heard her say that she would fire everyone in the clinic if it meant keeping Karen, and other co-workers said they had heard her express a similar sentiment. Also to the second power: I don’t believe for one second that Bob ever bullied her into doing anything she didn’t want to do. So it’s highly suspect to me that making her a manager was all Bob’s idea when Karen had her nose so far up Veronica’s ass that they were essentially the same person.

So, while my sister is telling me all this, I say, “Well, whether there is or isn’t an affair, I’m guessing Karen doesn’t have a job anymore, because Veronica at least thinks they’re having one..” And my sister goes, “NO, that’s the fucking weirdest part--KAREN IS STILL THERE.” I’m the surprised Pikachu meme at this point. You are telling me that this woman, who gets angry just because Bob may have possibly given another woman a passing glance, is convinced that the manager, who has been her bosom ass-kissing buddy for years, fucked her husband, who is no longer part of the business and therefore has no hand in the hiring and firing process...just...lets her...stay employed??? That makes fuckall sense to me. I tell my sister maybe they’re actually the ones who are fucking; Mr. Jenn’s theory is that both Veronica AND Bob had an affair with her. Additionally: Veronica claimed that one of the other secretaries came to her and reported that Karen had told her she and Bob were standing out in the parking lot of the clinic, and Bob told her he loved her. Now, I believe this may have been said to the secretary; but I have a hard time believing Bob is THAT stupid, so I suspect that was probably Karen trying to stir up shit. Regardless, Veronica now thinks that her husband not only fucked her bosom ass-kissing buddy, but was ballsy enough to make declarations of love to her in the parking lot of their business, in the middle of the day, with patients and employees coming and going...and...she’s not...going to fire her???

I’m only half-joking when I say I suspect maybe there’s actually some torrid lesbian shit going on between them, and she twisted it around so that A. She could be the victim and B. Preserve her image as a Good, God-Fearing, Homophobic Christian. I just can’t fathom why she would keep that lady on, and she has ALWAYS been the driving force behind Karen getting special privileges and keeping her job when she otherwise would have been out on her ass years ago.

And that’s what I got for now, kids. Stay tuned, because I’ve got people on the inside, and I wouldn’t be surprised if more comes out in the following weeks. This is a goddamned soap opera.

[youthagainstrape]

Prostitution: A Huge Business

What Is Prostitution? Almost all states have laws making it illegal to engage in, promote, or profit from prostitution. The term "prostitution" generally means the commission by a person of any natural or unnatural sexual act, deviate sexual intercourse, or sexual contact for monetary consideration or another thing of value. An escort service is any business, agency or person who, for a fee, commission, hire, reward or profit, furnishes or offers to furnish names of persons, or who introduces, furnishes or arranges for persons, who may accompany other persons to or about social affairs, entertainments or places of amusement, or who may consort with others about any place of public resort or within any private quarters. Escort services are generally legal, but if they are a cover for prostitution, they are not. Besides engaging in, offering, or soliciting acts of prostitution, laws, which vary by state, also make it a crime to do the following: Cause or aid a person to commit or engage in prostitution. Procure or solicit patrons for prostitution. Provide persons or premises for prostitution purposes. Receive or accept money or another thing of value pursuant to a prior agreement with any person whereby he or she participates or is to participate in the proceeds of any prostitution activity. Operate or assist in the operation of a house of prostitution or a prostitution enterprise. The following is an example of a New Mexico statute defining prostitution: "Prostitution consists of knowingly engaging in or offering to engage in a sexual act for hire. As used in this section "sexual act" means sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, masturbation of another, anal intercourse or the causing of penetration to any extent and with any object of the genital or anal opening of another, whether or not there is any emission. Whoever commits prostitution is guilty of a petty misdemeanor, unless such crime is a second or subsequent conviction, in which case such person is guilty of a misdemeanor." Types Of Prostitution Independent Call Girl/Escort Independent escorts work for themselves in hotels and private buildings like houses, charge high prices, and stay away from the public eye. They likely advertise their services online, and they get to keep their profits since they're self-employed. Escort Agency Employee Like independent call girls, employees of escort agencies work in private locations or hotels and charge relatively high prices. ( Weitzer says these employees face "moderate exploitation" since they have to give a cut of their earnings to their agencies. Brothel Employee Brothels are dedicated locations where people pay for sex and can include saunas and massage parlors, Weitzer writes. The prices they charge are "moderate," and brothel workers endure "moderate exploitation" since they have to give part of their earnings to the brothel owners, he said. Window Worker This type of prostitution, enticing passersby to enter houses of prostitution by prominently displaying the women in windows. Here's an excellent description of window work, which pays women a low-to-moderate wage. Bar or Casino Worker These sex workers make initial contact with men at a bar or casino and then have sex at a separate location. In bars in Thailand, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic, guys pay "bar fees" to leave a club with a worker and spend several days with her, Weitzer writes. The guys (often foreigners) pay the women's expenses during that time, in an arrangement that often confers status on the prostitute. The women earn low-to-moderate salaries. Streetwalker Streetwalkers earn relatively little money and are vulnerable to exploitation, Weitzer writes. Not surprisingly, they report less job satisfaction and get paid less than "indoor prostitutes" (bar workers, brothel workers, or call girls). Child Prostitution Child prostitution is done when sexual activity is done and it is a form of commercial exploitation. Surveys show there are an estimated 1.2 million children involved in prostitution. Main reasons for prostitution There are always different sides to the story. The same way the reasons for prostitution are many. Some are forced to do and some do as there several reasons. Boys, as well as girls both, are there in this activity. Let's look at the reasons. Poverty Nowadays our population is increasing more and more. So poverty also rises at some point. So to fulfill their regular needs they came into prostitution. For their survival hey came into this thing. Also, rural women do as they don't earn much, some people just say them to give more money for this. Lack of proper guidance from parents Many youths came into this as they don't have someone to guide. They got into the touch with this kind of activities and they just go deeper into it. As no one was there to told them. To stop them. Forced into prostitution Women were kidnapped and they are forced to do this thing. Also in some cases, they are forced from the backward family to do this. There was a research in which the researchers found from the answer of prostitutes that they do it for their sexual curiosity and money. This was the main reason for that survey. Difference between consent and forced prostitution There is a huge difference between consent and forced prostitution. Consent prostitution takes place when he/she wants to do this for their sexual curiosity or for money. Like it was in research that up to 70 % are doing it for money and sexual curiosity. Child prostitution does not come under consent prostitution as he/she is not mature enough and they are considered as minors. Forced prostitution takes place when someone deliberately forces someone to get involved in this kind of activity. They are not happy to do that and nobody asks for their consent. And if they want to leave this they are just not allowed. They are forced more and more to do this and get them money or other things. Child prostitution falls under this one. Causes of Prostitution As it was also in reasons that poverty is also a reason for it. Therefore, the lack of financial resources forced them to be a prostitute. Every day or another they have to face a lot of criticism from society. As child prostitution is also there, they don’t have much education as from smaller age they were just forced to do this all activity. Due to this, their family relationships are also not good. They don’t have a proper person to guide. In addition, some more points:- feelings of abandonment and inferiority inability to establish satisfying and heterosexual relationships mental deficiency Consequences Many diseases are spread during sexual activity and it is dangerous for both males and females. Also, it can lead to bad habits like drugs and alcohol. If someone is forced to this then it could be very harmful to one’s mental health. AS a prostitute they have to face much social rejection and also a broken relationship with their families. Impact on society The reasons behind prostitution are mainly financial assistance. The impact of prostitution can be classified into four parts as physical and psychological, social, economic and financial. Physical and Psychological impact- The sex workers often suffered major, sometimes incurable diseases, like HIV/AIDS, etc. Even their kids to face such health issues. Social impact: Women's sex workers and their kids face hurdles in society. Dignity is inherent to human life and a fundamental right too under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution,1950. But this is not the same in their case, from the viewpoint of a narrow society. The children of the sex workers do not, unfortunately, get equal lifestyles like other children. And they refrain from getting mingle with other children in society. Legal issues: The complicated legal system often places these sex workers to get exploited and punished. If a woman gets arrested, she used to face problems in getting legal assistance due to her identity as a sex service provider. Economical issues: Sex workers also face an economic problem. If anyone tries to come out from prostitution, get rehabilitated, after this she needs financial assistance. But they are denied any other jobs due to their past. Laws The governments of many Indian princely states had regulated prostitution in India prior to the 1860s. The British Raj enacted the Cantonment Act of 1864 to regulate Prostitution in colonial India. At present, the primary law dealing with the status of sex workers is the Immoral Traffic (Suppression) Act, 1956 (SITA). But the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is often used to charge sex workers with vague crimes such as "public indecency" or being a "public nuisance". In 1986 the old law of 1956 was amended as the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act or ITPA, also called the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA). It was amended as a result of the signing by India of the United Nations' declaration in 1950 in New York on the suppression of trafficking. The ITPA’s scope is limited to commercial sexual exploitation or prostitution and penalizes those who facilitate and abet commercial sexual exploitation, including clients and those who live off the earnings of prostitutes. It also provides for welfare measures towards the rehabilitation of victims in the form of protective homes to be set up and managed by state governments. The Act was enacted in order to limit and abolish prostitution in India. Under the Act, sex workers are free to practice their profession 'privately'. But the law provides punishment for conducting sexual activities in public places. Also pimping, brothels, procuring and trafficking of women and minors is punishable. Therefore, if a sex worker tries to solicit or seduce client in the public domain, or where their phone numbers may be punished with imprisonment up to 6 months. A client if seeks the services of a sex worker within 200 yards in public places, he may be punished with imprisonment for up to 3 months. Pimps and Babus: Those that are earning a living from a sex worker are guilty under this Act. He may be imprisoned up to 2 years with fine. An adult male who permanently lives with a sex worker may be charged unless he proves otherwise. Brothel: Owning and managing a brothel is illegal. Offenders shall be charged under this Act. Imprisonment may last up to 3 years in some cases. Landlords and brothel-keepers can be prosecuted, maintaining a brothel is illegal. (From 1 to 3 years' imprisonment with fine for the first offense) Detaining someone at a brothel for the purpose of sexual exploitation can lead to prosecution. (Imprisonment of more than 7 years) Prostitution in a hotel is also a criminal offense. Procuring and trafficking: a person procures or attempts to procure anybody is liable to be punished. Also, a person who moves a person from one place to another, (human trafficking), can be prosecuted similarly. 7 years' imprisonment with fine for the first conviction, and up to life imprisonment. Rescued Women: The government is legally obligated to provide rescue and rehabilitation in a "protective home" for any sex worker requesting assistance. Public place in the context of this law includes places of public religious worship, educational institutions, hostels, hospitals etc. A "notified area" is a place that is declared to be "prostitution-free" by the state government under the PITA. Brothel in the context of this law is a place that has two or more sex workers. In 2006 the Ministry of Women and Child Development put forward a bill aimed at reducing human trafficking. The bill proposed criminalizing the clients of trafficked prostitutes. However, it stalled during the legislative process, and legislation against human trafficking was subsequently effected by amendments to the Indian Penal Code. In 2009 the Supreme Court ruled that prostitution should be legalized and convened a panel to consider amending the law. In 2011 the Supreme Court held that the "right to live with dignity" is a Constitutional right and issued an order relating to "creating conditions conducive for sex workers to work with dignity". The court directed the Central Government, States and Union Territories to carry out a survey to determine the number of sex workers in the country willing to be rehabilitated. Punishment For prostitution Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act was passed in 1986 and is an amendment to the SITA. As per this law prostitutes will be arrested for doing the wrong activity. Call girls are not allowed to make their phone numbers public. They can be imprisoned for a maximum of 6 months along with financial penalties if they are caught doing so. Clients who consort with prostitutes can be imprisoned for a maximum of 3 months and they need to pay fines for the same as well. If someone is found indulges in activity with someone who is under the age of 18 then he or she can be jailed for 7-10 years. Those who run business or brothel-keepers and landlords in the first offense they will be imprisoned for a maximum of 3 years. And if they are found to keep the prostitute forcefully then they will get 7 years of imprisonment. Conclusion Prostitution is not a crime in India. But it is considered as an evil and a curse on women. The existing laws regulating prostitution are not enough to cure the problem. By these provisions as we discussed in the article, we are unable to stop the menace in our society. Also, there is no law recognizing and regulating male prostitution in our country. And the rehabilitation process to sex workers is also not impactful. To change the present condition we need stricter laws plus proper education. And there should be equally concerns about the employment opportunity of these workers side by side education of their children. A better tomorrow for women who provide sexual assistance is a dream indeed

[innovationsmanagementsoftware]

Business Consulting Made Easy

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Regardless of how great a director is at running his staff, finishing his tasks, working his business and thinking of answers for squeezing issues, there will come when he would address a difficulty for which he doesn't have an answer. All things considered, no one is great, individuals do submit missteps, and data that might be current today will surely get out of date in the days to come.

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Business specialists should be specialists in their specific field. They may practice on a particular part of business or a particular industry, for example, the executives, account, activities, HR and advancement, research, and so on. They may hold fast to a specific business hypothesis or guideline and are confirmed to direct trainings, workshops and consultancies. Business experts should be more educated and more proficient about specific methodologies in business. In any event, they can give new understanding on how things should be possible better at the workplace.find more info Innovationsmanagement Software

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Obviously, the business expert shouldn't be truly present at your office to lead an assessment. Maybe a video meeting can be set up among you and your business advisor so you two can have a real to life talk about your interests about your organization. Your key staff individuals can likewise participate in the video gathering. Conferences should be possible on the web, all things considered, paying little heed to the area of the gatherings in question, because of video web based advancements over the Internet.

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Recruiting a business advisor is more often than not accommodating in improving the efficiency in the working environment. The business advisor can offer an alternate point of view on how tasks and methods can be smoothed out and improved. In the midst of emergency, a business advisor might have the option to introduce an answer that you and your staff might not have thought of.

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[creditrepair70801-blog]

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[holmesoverture]

The Christmas Party - Chapter 4

lol see this is why I never post fic, because I’m lousy at updating

First chapter be here Previous chapter be here More info on my fics in general

Warnings: Holmes is kinda stupid in this chapter and I’m too lazy to go back and fix it

Time for exposition woooo

*

“Eight months ago, I was hired to locate some Egyptian artifacts that had gone missing from the home of Sir Gideon Hibbert.  I am sure you all are familiar with the details, so I won’t waste your time by reciting them now.  So far as the Yard was concerned, the case concluded with Sir Gideon declining to bring any charge against young Harvey, but I was greatly dissatisfied with the product of my labour.  I knew that Harvey must have had an accomplice, as he was thoroughly ignorant of archaeology and yet he had managed to steal only the most valuable items in his father’s collection.  Due to the nature of Sir Gideon’s work, Harvey knew a great many people who possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject, but none of them had particularly compelling motives beyond a potential desire for wealth, a desire so generic as to be useless to an investigator.  And so, in the absence of other clues, I had little choice but to put the case aside until such time as a fresh lead presented itself.

“That lead arrived to me this afternoon in the form of a letter from Lilly Archer, a parlour-maid in the employ of the Hibbert family.  In her epistle she expressed concern for her mistress’s plans for the Christmas party. But here, it will be much simpler for you to hear it in her own words.  Dr Watson will be delighted to read them out loud to you.”

He abstracted an envelope from his sleeve and pressed it to my chest with rather more force than I thought necessary.  I nevertheless accepted the missive, which ran as follows.

To Mr Sherlock Holmes,

I hope this letter reaches you in time to be of some service.  I should have sent it sooner but I allowed fear to stay my hand.  Now, at last, a sense of integrity has overcome my qualms about telling you the cause of my uneasiness.

I am a parlour-maid in the service of the Hibbert family of Belgravia.  You made the acquaintance of my employers during one of your previous cases, so I’ll not bore you with lengthy accounts of their characters and habits.  In the three years I have been in this position, I have been satisfied and content in every respect, excepting of course for the incident to which I previously alluded. The entire household was dismayed by Harvey Hibbert’s betrayal of his father’s love and trust, but we have learned to find a new, happy equilibrium following this loss.  Life seemed quite normal again until this past Saturday when Philomena Hibbert told me of her plans for her Christmas party, the same affair to which your friend Dr John Watson has been invited.  It all seemed perfectly routine until she said my services would not be required the night of the party, as she intended to hire outside help especially for the occasion.  I cannot tell you how disconcerted I was by this statement. During my time with the Hibberts I have served at many a party, even at very large ones, so despite Miss Hibbert’s assurances that her decision was in no way a reflection upon my capabilities, I could not but take the news personally.

This alone would not have been enough to arouse in me more than hurt feelings, but on the next night, I bore witness to Miss Hibbert engaging in a most curious ritual. It was very late, and I had bid Sir Gideon a good-night.  As I walked the hall toward the stair, the door to Sir Gideon’s study suddenly opened and Miss Hibbert stepped out.

“Oh good evening,” she greeted me very calmly, though I thought I noticed her jump when first she saw me.  “Going up to bed, I assume?”

“That’s right.  Do you need anything before I retire?”

“Not a thing.  I was just finishing some letters before the party tomorrow.  Sleep well, Lilly.”

“You as well, Miss Hibbert.”

Her presence in her father’s study was not itself suspicious, as she frequently makes use of it when Sir Gideon is not there.  Yet I could not forget her insistence upon hiring new maids for the Christmas party, nor her surprise upon seeing me in the hall.  Her excuse about why she had been in Sir Gideon’s study also lacked the ring of truth.  I had never known her to write letters so late in the day, and even if she had altered her routine, she could not have altered her skill with a pen.  Upon writing a letter, she always emerged with fresh ink stains upon her hands or her cuffs, but when I saw her last night skin and cloth alike were perfectly spotless.

When I reached my room I spent a great deal of time considering these very trivial matters and decided that they were, perhaps, not so trivial after all.  I began to suspect Miss Hibbert did not want new parlour-maids for the sake of the party as she claimed, but rather because she feared I might see something untoward if I were present.  I cannot begin to guess at what that something could be, and so I place the matter in your hands with the sincere hope that the only response I receive will be a firm chastisement for libelling such kind employers with my overzealous imaginings.

Very truly yours,

Lilly Archer

“A very observant girl, your Miss Lilly Archer,” Holmes said as he took back the letter.  “By the time I received her letter I had mere hours to prepare myself for the party, so I dressed in the only raiment which I knew was guaranteed to grant me access to the Hibberts’ home and left my rooms at once.”

I had closely watched Holmes’ door before I departed and seen nothing.  I could only conclude that he had left by his bedroom window, gown and all.

“It is very brave of you, exposing your source’s name,” said Professor Angues.

“Surely you are not implying that she is in any danger from you or Miss Hibbert, you who were too indolent to do anything more than nudge her brother in the direction of your dirty work?  I think Miss Archer is quite safe from you, though given Sir Gideon’s propensity for laying the blame for his misfortunes at the feet of the innocent, she may find herself at the employment agency come morning. Given the events of the past year that may be a relief to her.”

Sir Gideon said nothing, but I was heartened by Miss Linwood’s look of resolute concern.  I could only hope she would intervene on behalf of the upright Miss Lilly Archer, should such action become necessary.  In the days that followed Holmes and I had several long discussions on the importance of protecting the anonymity of his clients regardless of how little harm he believed such an action would cause, or how much better his explanations would be received with the inclusion of such information.  I cannot speak to whether or not he truly understood my arguments, but at the very least he has not revealed another client in such a fashion since that day.

“Miss Hibbert, you’ve been very quiet,” said Holmes. “Perhaps you would care to share with us the history of your association with the distinguished Professor Angues, and he can check you if he remembers differently.”

Miss Hibbert raised an eyebrow and I thought for a moment that she would refuse to speak.  She must have realised, however, the futility of her situation and that nothing she said could make it any worse for her.

“I have known Rodrick since I was a small child. He and my father often spent their days working away in Dad’s study, and Rodrick spent more dinners here than anywhere else.  For years he seemed to me a jovial man, forever sending my siblings and myself on small errands and paying us in sweets.  But as the years passed, maturity opened my eyes and I saw that his good humour concealed a most resentful soul, jealous of the heights to which my father’s career had risen over his own.”

“You do me an injustice,” Professor Angues interjected. “I was not always the bitter creature you describe.  When I thought of Sir Gideon and myself as equals I was both content in my work and proud to be his associate.  But after he accepted his knighthood I reflected upon my own professional achievements and accolades and found them miserably deficient when compared with those of my colleague.  For forty years I devoted myself to my career, foregoing the comforts of marriage and family in order to better serve my chosen field, and to what end?  To see my accomplishments overshadowed by a man who had not sacrificed so much as a quarter of what I had?  It was too much, too much for me.”

“It would be most uncharitable of me to begrudge him such sentiments,” said Miss Hibbert.  “Dad encouraged my interest in Egyptology and sent me to the finest women’s colleges, for all the good it’s done me.  The only expeditions I went on were those in which my father invited me to participate and I derived no pleasure from them, harassed and belittled as I was by the very men whom I had hoped would welcome me as their peer.  I should have been very happy indeed to be an equal to them, but their mockery ignited within me the desire to prove myself their better.”

She paused for a sip of wine.  I thought, with no small regret, how tragic it was that so many brilliant sparks should be snuffed out by the world’s unfair and uneducated expectations.

“Without ever giving voice to our grievances we bonded over them.  With every tribute that came Dad’s way, our admiration for him and our acrimony towards everyone else grew in tandem.  Finally, one clear April night, we aired our mutual complaints to each other and made a fateful decision: if our knowledge and our experience could not earn us true greatness, we would settle for notoriety.  My brother Harvey was always something of a misfit, flitting from occupation to occupation with an incurable restlessness.  He was unemployed at the time and we thought he might be receptive to the idea of any method by which he might gain wealth and excitement.  Upon securing his cooperation, we agreed to move forward with our plans.

“The night before we acted, I was seized by piercing doubt.  After all, every reputable Egypt enthusiast had snubbed me, so why would the disreputable ones behave differently?  I said as much to Harvey, who quickly put me to rights.

“‘I very much doubt anyone willing to illegally buy Egyptian artifacts is going to quibble over the sex or the rank of his suppliers, so long as the merchandise is of a good quality,’ said he.  I took his words to heart and have never doubted myself since.”

“How lovely it must be to have such a supportive brother,” said I, and Miss Hibbert ignored me.

“Our first attempt was unsuccessful, as you well know. Poor Harvey bore the brunt of our failure but loyalty sealed his lips and shielded us from your efforts to identify us.  Rodrick escaped to the States without the treasures he had hoped to sell there, Harvey was evicted, and I was left alone to brood for six long, lonely, infuriating months.  Even if I had conceived of a new plan during this period I would not have had the courage to implement it so soon after such a devastating blow.  Was this my destiny, to never accomplish a thing no matter how diligently I devoted myself?

“On the day Rodrick Angues returned from his lecture tour, I paid him a visit at his home in Surrey and found him in a joyous mood.

“‘I have always believed that even the gravest misfortunes serve a higher purpose,’ he said. ‘But it is only now that I realise what the reason for our failure was.  During my time in America, I was approached by many a gentleman who expressed the heartiest enthusiasm at the idea of owning a piece of Egyptian history. They were so enthusiastic, in fact, that most dropped subtle hints to indicate the method by which certain objects were obtained for them was of no consequence.  I have here a list of the items they specified.’  He handed me a slip of paper containing a lengthy list of artifacts.  ‘Now that we know precisely which artifacts are in demand and how much my contacts are willing to pay to obtain them, we can take from your father those for which we can guarantee a buyer rather than assuming that the most valuable are the most desired.’

“As I perused Rodrick’s list, I became more and more certain that his plan was a solid one and that he and Harvey and I should have little trouble in making a success of it.  Although my father wanted no association with my prodigal brother, I have remained as close to him as before, and Dad never begrudged a sister’s love for her brother.  I was certain that Harvey, cut off as he was, would be keener than ever to lay his hand upon our father’s treasures.  When I later consulted with him I would be proven correct, but in that moment, I felt compelled to warn Rodrick of a probable obstacle to our success.

“‘This thing won’t be as simple as it was last time,’ said I.  ‘Dad has grown paranoid since the incident with Harvey and locked his Egyptian valuables away where no-one can see or get at them.  The only time he displays them anymore is when he is expecting company.’

“‘Has he not told you where they are and how to access them?’

“‘Of course, but that is a problem.  It is only me he has told.  If anything of his were to suddenly go missing, he would know I have betrayed him.’

“‘Then we must plan accordingly,’ said Rodrick. ‘If he only exhibits his collection at social gatherings, then we will raid it during a social gathering.’

“I reminded him of the Christmas party Dad liked to have every year, and thus the date of our undertaking was decided.

“I had intended to hire an additional parlour-maid for the night of the dinner-party to help Lilly in her duties.  Now, however, I made up my mind to give Lilly the night off, and to tell Dad that I would hire two parlour-maids who had special experience in serving at such events to see if it was worth the extra cost or if our regular parlour-maid was good enough.  He agreed at once, never suspecting that one of the supposed servants was his own son, and the other an associate of his whose true identity I would not divulge even if I had such information.”

“I won’t say anything either!” cried Harvey Hibbert, in what turned out to be his first and last contribution to our conversation.

“But Mr Holmes was the other maid,” said Miss Linwood.

“I could hardly be expected to know that,” Miss Hibbert replied, lips thinning with irritation.  “I had never met the woman Harvey employed to help him in this endeavour, so I had no reason to suspect that ‘Chastity Page’ was anyone other than who she said she was.  Harvey did appear to me somewhat anxious when he arrived but I blamed this on simple nerves, and as we never had a moment alone together, there was no opportunity for him to warn me of the unlucky turn of events.”

“I believe I might shed some light upon this matter,” said Holmes, cheerfully.  “It was mid-afternoon when I arrived at Lowndes Square, and I waited at the corner until I saw two women approach this house.  I intercepted the pair and begged them to allow me to replace one of them at the party.  They were at first resistant, so I told a most extravagant lie about my violent drunkard husband and starving babe.  Oh, it was an exquisite performance!  I wish you all could have seen it.  I carried on until one of the women acquiesced and hurried away without so much as a ‘good-day.’  It would seem that even thieves are not without some heart.  The woman who remained, whom we now know to be Harvey Hibbert, seemed very uneasy about the whole business but said nothing as we ascended the stair together.

“Harvey, who had identified himself as Miss Mildred Myers, and I spent most of the afternoon preparing for the party, and I am sure you will agree that we executed our duties most efficaciously, with two notable exceptions.  The first, as you saw, was when I fainted in the middle of the second course.  I was a bit overzealous with the corset, I suppose. The second was instigated by Harvey himself.  As soon as we served dessert he excused himself from the kitchen, giving a pretext that I could not quite hear.  By this time I had already deduced that Miss Myers was not who she appeared to be, so I followed him through the conservatory and into the parlour.  There I found him checking the bottom of each artifact and, if they met some standard that was quite unknown to me, he loaded them into a satchel he had procured from somewhere.  I confronted him and we came to blows.  But I’m afraid I am monopolising the conversation.  Do continue, Miss Hibbert.”

“There is not much to tell that has not already been told.  The reason for Harvey’s disguise was simple.  Everyone knows he is no longer welcome in this house, so were any witnesses to see him coming or going, suspicion would be cast in his direction. But if the parlour-maids perpetrated the crime, then not only would the police have no reason to suspect Harvey, they would spend all their energies trying to locate the sticky-fingered women while Harvey rested easily and Rodrick arranged for the shipment of the stolen goods to America.  We all would be completely safe and free of suspicion.

“As for the supposed letters I was writing last night, Lilly was quite right to distrust my excuse.  I was using pen and ink to place a small mark upon the underside of each artifact Harvey was to remove from our father’s possession. Harvey had complained of having to memorise which items to take and which to leave during our first attempt, so I thought this would make his task all the simpler.  I could not but feel tense and anxious as I hurried to finish my assignment before Dad caught me, hence my surprise upon seeing Lilly just outside the door to the study.”

“But why did you do it, Philomena?” cried Sir Gideon.  “Have I been such a horrible father that I deserve such mistreatment from not one but two of my children?  And you, Rodrick!  How many hours did we spend studying together at university?  How many adventures have we had?  We have known each other these thirty-seven years!  Did all of that time and work and amity mean nothing to you? To either of you?”

“Not everything is about you,” Miss Hibbert crisply replied.  For the world I could not remember what about her had so captured my fancy mere hours before.  “Our feelings towards you are unchanged.  It is only that our feelings towards personal glory have grown enough to overtake all other sentiments.  Now that those feelings are laid bare and our plans brought to ruin a second time, I will pack my belongings and leave this house to seek my fortunes elsewhere.”

Sir Gideon made no move to stop Miss Hibbert as she swept from the dining-room, straight-backed and stone-faced.  She was followed moments later by Rodrick Angues and Harvey Hibbert, who withdrew with neither a look nor a word to the man whose heart they had so casually shattered, and that was the last Holmes and I ever saw of Sir Gideon’s cold-blooded friend and his even more cold-blooded children.

The party could not survive such a loss, and Sir Gideon bid us an awkward, tremulous good-night shortly thereafter.  The other guests, including myself, did not loiter, dispersing into the raw frigid night in a decidedly less than merry humour.  Holmes and I hailed a cab that offered only nominal shelter from winter’s biting chill.

“I fear that whatever gratitude I earned from saving the life of Sir Gideon’s son has been outbalanced,” said I, “and that his disinclination towards you has redoubled.”

Holmes lit a cigarette and made no reply.  I really had hoped the challenge and the exhilaration of the case would have superseded that afternoon’s dispute in his mind. Perhaps such had been true during the investigation, but now that it was all ended, enough space in his brain-attic was freed for him to remember that he was justly angry with me.  I took a breath and allowed myself one minute, no more, of private hysteria over the impending conversation.

“I believe I owe you an apology,” I said.

“Then we are in agreement.”

“I was wrong to dismiss you as I did.  Although we were introduced only months ago I like to think that we have come to know and to trust one another, and you had every right to expect better of me.  You are as always correct: one’s appetites are no reflection of intelligence, as my own actions this morning ably demonstrate.  I pray you will afford me the opportunity to mend whatever damage my thoughtlessness has inflicted upon our friendship.”

His face was turned toward the window and away from me, making it impossible for me to gauge his reaction.  The molokheyyah threatened to make an unpleasant and unwelcome reappearance, but then Holmes looked at me.  The shadows from the cab and the light from the streetlamps combined in his thin face to great and enigmatic effect, but the smile, though small, was unambiguous.  I smiled as well, and without a word all the tension that filled the cab dissolved.

“Where did you learn to be a parlour-maid?” I asked after a brief but comfortable silence.

“How does one learn to be or to do anything?  I practised,” Holmes replied.  It was unsatisfactory, so far as answers go, but I thought it best to not press the issue.  “Now it is my turn to pose a question.  It is one to which I have not been able to deduce a definitive answer, and I thought perhaps you would be willing to provide some insight into the matter?”

“I should be glad to assist you in any way I can, though I don’t see how I could solve any aspect of this case that has puzzled you.”

“Oh, it’s nothing to do with the case.  I have already put the matter from my mind.  This difficulty relates to the quarrel which we have since happily resolved.  Why did it affect you so?”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“Your reaction to the knowledge that I hold that sort of intimacy in such low regard and am unlikely to ever change my opinion seemed rather more intense than the occasion warranted.  I simply wish to know why.”

For the second time that day he had rendered me speechless.  Everything seemed so clear that afternoon, but now it was as though a thick London fog had obscured my innermost thoughts.

“I cannot say,” I confessed at last.  “I suppose it was the novelty of the idea.  I have never before met a man who was so vehemently opposed to such activities, at least not one who felt comfortable enough to share his inclinations with me.”

Holmes regarded me with keen, steady eyes.

“I suppose I must believe you for now,” he said as he flicked his cigarette out of the window.

[mypaintersforaday-blog]

Painters For A Day

Facts About Hiring a Painter and Decorator

Just as marketing a paint job that needs to be done every day of the year, bringing in new folks needs to be an ongoing proposition. We should be consistently filling the pipeline with folks; because, individuals will depart and it's much better to be ready and ready than not.

And as the advertising and marketing plan must be used as a map to find our manner, we want a hiring plan to keep us heading in the right direction. From the preliminary contact with us, till the day he's employed we want a process to comply with. We'd like a description for every position as to what meets our criterion.

We keep a stack of envelopes, already sealed and stuffed into an envelope with another stamped self addressed envelope inside, next to the cellphone once we call the applicant. And all we do is ask a number of questions to ensure the applicant ought to get an hire a painter software. Then we just jot down their title and addresses and ship them on their means. This part really functions as a check, everything is done for them, envelop, stamp, and deal with all they need to do is assemble the package deal after filling it in.

Next is the nose to nose interview, and when you've got ever been on both aspect you will know both sides are interviewing one another. The applicant may be very motivated in seeing what he may be entering into, and naturally the hirer desires to know who it is he is perhaps bringing into the household.

Risky enterprise on both sides. Questions like: What was it about your final job that you simply preferred? Or, what happened to cause you to leave your final job? And what was it about your last job that you hated? The important thing being that they're very open ended questions and can't be answered with a yes or no. The very best technique Painters For A Day is to sit back and listen, without emotion or judging. You can see that individuals if left long sufficient will tell you worlds of issues. Many books have been written about body language, and there are some that present physique postures and what they imply. It is not so necessary which postures; but, after they use those postures.

Does this individual know how to paint? We've an previous double hung window that has been mounted in a frame that is free standing. It is a 6/6 divided Here is Social Profile double hung window. Give the painter a brush and paint and simply watch. In half of a minute you'll know volumes about this persons portray abilities.

Lastly having the painter read the Operations manual will give him and you, a very good really feel for one another. I discover the better job of hiring Read Blog here comes from listening and watching. The minute I start to preach, is when I lose management, so I've realized to only shut up and pay attention.

A recent coat of paint can do wonders for the within or outdoors of your home. Hiring Click here for Wikipedia painters may also help you achieve a glance that can add to the worth of your house.

When householders are searching for a good way to freshen up the seems to be of their properties, a paint job could make an enormous difference. Choosing to use interior and exterior paint to a home can really do quite a bit to extend its worth, too. In case you're fascinated by selling your own home in the close to future otherwise you just wish to preserve the value of your property, then investing in a brand new paint job is a smart alternative.

Hiring painters to add some colour to your inside space is a good way for you to add value to your property. If your partitions are dingy or colorless, you could have a troublesome time attracting buyers; however, a recent coat of paint will make your property far more interesting. Potential consumers desire a dwelling that is aesthetically pleasing and cozy to spend time in, and new paint will give the inside of your house a clear and relaxing feel.

Hiring painters to complete this work will price you a little, but in the end it would allow you to get a higher price to your residence. Keep in mind that impartial colors enchantment to the best number of home buyers, however don't go so neutral that your own home looks sterile. Warm lotions and basic browns are each great selections.

In case you are portray a person room or perhaps your complete dwelling, getting achievement starts by hiring the correct painter to do the job. Finding a great painter involves extra than just opening up the cell phone guide and calling the http://paintersforaday.com/ first portray contractor that you simply discover. Instead, you want to put some careful thought and consideration in to the decision. Here are one of the vital in style mistakes people make when hiring house painters so as to avoid them:

A lot of individuals contact the very first portray company that they'll find without bothering to do any research at all. Unfortunately, most of the time, this winds up in catastrophe. You should always hang out researching a business prior to getting those to focus by yourself dwelling. Ultimately, the ultimate results of your painting undertaking rely on the contractor you rent knowing what they may be doing. In the minimum, you should read critiques and verify qualifications prior to hiring a company.

You may additionally wish to think about asking around for suggestions out of your friends, family members and coworkers. There isn't a higher endorsement for a painter than a advice from somebody you trust.

One of many more frequent mistakes folks make when selecting a painter is selecting the smallest value. If one contractor will come in far lower than the others with their quote, there's usually a cause. Perhaps they lack experience. Worse, they will minimize corners by using inferior high quality merchandise or rushing with the job to be succesful to supply tremendous inexpensive prices.

On the entire, you can anticipate to be much better off going with an organization which is available in somewhere in the middle making use of their quote. That usually means that they are not cutting corners, nevertheless they aren't overcharging you, both.

Earlier than any work begins on your private home, it's essential to sign a written settlement together with the painting contractor that clearly outlines what job is being carried out and exactly how much you are being charged for the position. Be sure that to include any details like whether the contractor is accountable for cleansing after the job.

The more clear and concise your agreement is, the unlikely you can see any misunderstandings between you and the contractor. Plus, with the settlement in place, the contractor will need to run another work or adjustments to the plan by you earlier than continuing. This means you won't wind up with any unexpected bills or unanticipated outcomes after the mission.

By avoiding these common errors, you will be able to get the perfect house painters for no matter undertaking you could have lined up. Taking the time to choose a corporation that's qualified for the place and clearly outlining what your expectations are for the challenge may help you get the outcomes you want at a value you actually can afford.

So, that you must hire a face painter. While the art of face painting is nothing new to the vast majority of us who've frequented carnivals, festivals, and different occasions that draw the attention of kids, the apply of hiring one for private, intimate affairs like birthday parties is. Previously, such efforts have been reserved for those who needed extravagance and had the money to carry it to even the simplest of get togethers. In recent years, the face painter has made onto the want listing of many a child with a party looming across the corner... much to bafflement of some of their parents.

As with all entertainer you invite into your personal events, hiring a face painter could be a stressful course of when you aren't armed with slightly primary data and some insider methods that can assist you smooth out the waters. If you happen to take the time to line up your ducks and make use of the guidelines beneath, your baby shall be thrilled to have an extra special treat for his/her special day, and you will have some fairly colourful memories to pat yourself on the back with.

[bookofjin]

After Fei, 383b

Previous posts:

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Murong Chui escapes capture

(This section is a redo of the final section of the previous post, as I managed to dig up another source)

While Fu Jian had allowed Murong Chui's journey to Ye, Quan Yi secretly dispatched soldiers at night to intercept him before he crossed the bridge across the During the night Murong Chui dreamt he was travelling along a road. The road came to an end, and he looked back to see Master Kong's grave, flanked by eight mounds. When he woke up, Murong Chui summoned someone to interpret the dream. The dream interpreter thought that the road coming to an end meant it could not be travelled. Furthermore, at Master Kong's tomb, the grave-site (丘) is paired with eight (八) mounds.  丘 and  八 combines to form  兵 "troops”, meaning there would be troops hiding in ambush on the road. (TPYL400 quoting the Xu Jinyangqiu)

Murong Chui instead left the road and prepared rafts to cross at a different place. He also sent his Army Director Cheng Tong, dressed in his clothes and riding his horse, with some of the page boys to the bridge. When the ambushers sprung their trap, Cheng Tong galloped away and escaped. (ZZTJ105)

I would guess the dream sequence is an original part of this story, which Sima Guang has excised in his retelling. I am not sure if Sima Guang used the Xu Jinyangqiu as a source, he may have gotten it from the SLGCQ where supernatural stories are very common.

Fu Jian arrives at Chang'an

In the twelfth lunar month, 10 January – 7 February 384, Fu Jian arrived back at his capital Chang'an. Before entering he wept for the loss of his brother Fu Rong. Once inside the city, he announced his defeat to the ancestral temple, proclaimed a great amnesty and increased  the rank of his civil and military officials by one grade. He also announced several fairly generic government reform measures, such as honing the troops and inspecting agriculture, relief for orphans and the elderly, and tax remittance for the families of those lost during the campaign. Fu Rong was given the posthumous rank and titles of Grand Marshal and Duke Ai (“the Lamented”) of Yangping. (JS114)

Lü Guang lays siege to Qiuci

Meanwhile the Qin empire was still expanding in the west. Earlier Fu Jian had appointed his general Lü Guang Envoy Holding the Tally and Commander-in-Chief of All Army Affairs of Western Chastising, and tasked him with conquering the city states of the Western Regions with an army if 70 000 troops and 5 000 heavy cavalry. Lü Guang like Fu Jian was of Di ethnicity. (JS122)

When Lü Guang arrived at Gaochang he heard that Fu Jian had invaded Jin. He first hesistated, wishing to wait for further orders, but his advisor Du Jin convinced him he should speedily attend to the important task he had been given. So Lü Guang set out across the desert. For a long distance there was no water and his men grew worried. But Lü Guang reminded them how a spring had burst forth to reward the old Han general Li Guang (different character than Lü Guang) for his virtue. Heaven would surely reward them as well. Soon after there was a heavy rainfall. (JS122)

Lü Guang arrived at Yanqi, and the king of Yanqi, Niliu, submitted together with the other neighbouring states. Bochun, the King of Quici, however decided to resist. So Lü Guang marched against Quici, where he arrived in the twelfth month, and laid siege to the city. Lü Guang's army took position south of the city and built fortified encampments every 5 li (about 2 km). They built imitation soldiers dressed in wooden armour, and placed them on the walls of the encampment. Bochun on his side pulled the people living outside the wall, and employed commoners and nobles alike in defence of the city. (JS122)

As the siege dragged on there were several portents pointing to Lü Guang's future greatness. The blood vessels on his left arm rose up to form the characters  巨霸, “Vast Hegemon”. One night a huge black creature appeared, moving with a swaying motion, with horned head and eyes shining like lightning. The creature disappeared in the morning clouds, but left behind a track five li long and thirty paces wide, and the scales now hidden in the earth shone like if they were still there. Lü Guang recognized this as a black dragon. Soon after a rain storm wiped out the dragon's track. Du Jin explained that dragons were portentous creatures of good fortune, and demonstrated Lü Guang's virtue and future greatness. (JS122)

Qifu Guoren gathers forces

The Qifu branch of the Xianbei are said to have originally migrated south from north of the desert and settled in the Longxi. During the early Western Jin, their leader Youlin (or Tuolin) united many of the local Xianbei. A century later, in 371 AD, his descendant Sifan was forced to submit to Qin. Fu Jian appointed him General who Garrisons the West. When Sifan died, his son Guoren inherited his titles. (TPYL127)

In 383 AD, when Fu Jian was planning his Shouchun campaign, he summoned Qifu Guoren to be General of the Van, planning for him to command the vanguard cavalry. Then news arrived that Guoren's uncle Butui had rebelled in Longxi, so Fu Jian instead chose to send Guoren to deal with him. (JS125) Presumably because Butui was not only a rebel against Qin, but also posed a challenge to Guoren's leadership of the Qifu Xianbei.

But Butui welcomed Guoren's return, and pushed him forward to take leadership. Guoren gathered followers for a great feast, and held a speech where he said that the Fu clan had only risen to power due to the chaotic downfall of Zhao. Having acquired a vast territory, they did not allow for peace to show their virtue, but rather engaged in distant schemes, wasting the lands, defying Heaven and angering the people. It was the Way of Heaven that such a thing must be brought down. With his followers' support, Guoren would become the ruler of the region. (JS125)

When news reached Guoren that Fu Jian had been defeated, he summoned and assembled the various local tribes. Those who did not submit willingly, he conquered and annexed. Eventually he had gathered a force numbering a hundred thousand. (JS125) We next hear from Qifu Guoren in 385 AD, so this was not an instantaneous process.

Murong Chui comes to Ye

Murong Chui arrived at Anyang, and sent his Army Advisor Tian Shan with a note to the commander at Ye, Fu Pi, Duke of Changle and Fu Jian's oldest son. Fu Pi worried about Murong Chui's true intentions, but decided to go south and meet with Murong Chui personally. (ZZTJ105)

Fu Pi at first planned to attack Murong Chui, but his Attendant Gentleman Jiang Rang protested that since Murong Chui had so far not openly displayed any rebellious intentions, Fu Pi could not kill him on his own initiative. Instead he should treat Murong Chui with all courtesy but put stern soldiers in charge of guarding him. Then he could inform the court of his feelings, and, after receiving official advise, start plotting against Chui. On the other side Murong Chui was advised by one of his officials, Zhao Qiu, that he ought to seize Fu Pi at meeting, but Murong Chui rejected this plan. (ZZTJ105)

And so, while I guess it was a fairly tense meet-up, no hostile actions were taken by either side. Fu Pi found quarters for Murong Chui to the west of Ye, and Murong Chui explained the circumstances around the defeat south of the Huai. (JS123) One source adds that Murong Chui now began plotting the restoration of Yan with former Yan officials. (ZZTJ105)