#part of my ongoing project to be more outgoing

[freepassbound]

5K... again

Okay, well... after seven years... feeling like the time has come:

Hello, y'all! 😊

(my friend @thatsuccubabe is unfortunately gone - hopefully temporarily, or more importantly whatever is best for her - but she suggested a tagged selfie post-train as a good idea; I don't really know a lot of people who post selfies 😅 - but I will go out on a limb and tag @i-am-ms-rebel-heart, @reddevilgoddess, @stormblessed912, @skinreflectsthesun, @brujadelsur, and @bumpintheroad)

[vale-studies-ir]

Hello lovely people!

It seems that life made me take a leave of absence from tumblr. Thanks to all of you who have continued to interact with my page! I'm sorry if I've missed any messages or questions in the time that I've been away. I'm back now and I'll continue to share my journey with you all...

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In order to be able to keep moving forward, I think it's important to accept the past and move on. Accept any of the difficulties that happened, and see them as moments you've gone through that have made you stronger. My way of accepting and turning over a new page will be through this post.

I haven't shared too much information about my studies and how they've been going. My studyblr was very new, and I was using it more as a means for motivation by seeing all the wonderful things people in the community were doing. Little by little, I started to make posts of my own.

So let me formally introduce myself and share my ongoing journey...

My name is Valentina, I go by Vale for short. I jumped from graduating from my BA in International Relations and Political Science in the Spring of 2018 to starting my PhD studies in International Relations the Fall semester of that same year. No break, very smart... I know. That's only just the beginning. I'm not sure how it works abroad, but here doctoral students usually go through most of their studies being funded by a graduate assistantship. This pays tuition and provides a stipend through working as a TA (graduate teaching assistant). Of course they vary across universities and departments. When I was applying to the PhD program, one of my professors advised me not to accept if I was not given funding. There are only a limited number of spots that are given to incoming students each year that will be accepted as a TA.

In March of 2018 I received notification that I was accepted into the PhD program in International Relations at my university, however, the department could not guarantee funding for me. This put me at a loss, and I spend months wondering where this was going and what I would do. Because I'm an immigrant in the US, though I've been living here practically my whole life, I didn't have too many options. My mobility is constrained.. my access to scholarships is constrained (even though I may qualify for them in terms of academics and merit, migration status trumps over all of it). I was lost, to say the least. My family can't afford to have paid for this program or a Master's program out of pocket, and I am not able to take out student loans even if I wanted to.

Regardless of this all, I still attended the incoming graduate student orientation; which surprised the outgoing graduate program director. She did not think I would show up, considering the whole funding predicament. She and the new GPD told me that they would try to find something for me. On the first day of class, I showed up, still not knowing what would become of this situation. Not knowing if I would actually get to start the semester or not. We are usually given a week to pay tuition - because of status, I am considered an international student so my tuition came out to nearly $10,000 for three courses. That day, out of nowhere, I was told that the dean of our school (School of International and Public Affairs) was looking for a graduate assistant for new projects that he wanted to work on. In the span of a few hours, I ended up interviewing with him, being told that they would let me know because there was another student they were considering, and later being called and told that I got the position. I was ecstatic. I called my parents in tears. This was actually happening; I was actually going to be able to start my PhD.

It all happened so fast. It all seemed so exciting. The dean seemed very enthusiastic and pleased that I would be working with him. Things eventually took a turn for the worst...

Transitioning into graduate school itself is extremely difficult. Many graduate students find themselves experiencing heightened stress and strain on their mental health. I did not give myself the space to transition into graduate school without the added stress of being a doctoral student, without the added expectations. On top of that, the dean had not had a graduate assistant before. This was new for him too. The expectations of me were blurred and my contract would only last for a year to be considered for possible renewal (the typical TA contract in my original department lasts 4 years), this led to disaster. I needed this position to continue to fund my studies, so I needed to make sure that I was on top of my work expectations. Because these expectations were unclear, the dean's secretary took advantage. It seems they were short staffed, and I was given administrative tasks that did not belong to me. I was made to come in to the office for strictly 20 hours a week. (Our contract states that we work up to 20 hours a week). If I was ever sick and missed a day, that would be added onto the hours for the next week. So if I missed a day where I was supposed to be in the office for 5 hours, I'd have to be there for 25 hours the following week. A breach in the contract, I know - but who was I, a lowly student, against the dean? This office (a shared space) was not a place where a person could focus on studying. There were students coming in and out, loud conversations occurring, and having to see if the actual student employee in charge of taking phone calls was at their desk - if not, I would have to man the phone. While I was doing administrative tasks for the dean's secretary, the dean was having me create themed presentations and CO-LECTURE with him. Me, a person who had been an undergraduate student only months earlier. I had to create these presentations from scratch and know all of the material. All of my focus had to be on this. My performance in my own classes and mental health declined quickly. I could not focus, I could not get my reading assignments done, I felt unprepared. I felt like a failure.

After a year, I realized that it was not worth to have my tuition paid for if I could not focus on my classes and was set up for failure. It took a lot, but ultimately I turned down the contract renewal. Here comes the fun part. My GPA dropped tremendously. I graduated Magna Cume Laude just a year before. I developed depression and didn't realize it; to the point where a friend practically made me go to counseling. The office manager at my actual department knew what I was going through. I had shared a lot of my experience with her. She advocated for me. Because of this, I was told that there was a student who had been awarded an assistantship for the incoming Fall 2019 semester, but had decided not to take it. The contract was going to be made for me instead, for not 4 but for 5 years since I had only come in with a BA degree. When they ran it through the associate dean's office... it was denied. My GPA was lower than the threshold. A LOT lower. I was told by the GPD - the same woman who had just started her position that said she would help me, the woman that had gone on maternity leave during that whole year after she started meaning she was not aware of the situation - that I should really take my studies more seriously. She received a very long email from me and apologized afterwards, to say the least. Nothing could be done.

I had no funding, only savings and ended up working Full Time in Fall of 2019 in order to try to pay for 1 course, that costed me a little over $3,000. Somehow, even though I strongly considered it, I managed not to drop out. By this time, the majority of the courses I had taken before had INs - incomplete grades. Two of them had automatically turned into Fs. Things were not okay.

I got a bit of a mental break during that Fall semester. I worked in a friendly environment. The office manager pulled some strings and let me work as an office assistant there... so I was still at my department, but working as staff. It was a little awkward. I'm eternally grateful to her, she became a close friend. And because of her, someone at another department got word that there was a graduate student who needed funding.

This office manager was good friends with a recently graduated phd student from our department who is now working for a different center in the university. Because she was part of my department, many of my current colleagues know her, and are good friends with her. We spoke, I rushed to get my GPA up to the 3.0 threshold and with the help of my professor's I was able to be awarded an assistantship with that center. I started in December of 2019.

Again, I was ecstatic. Things were looking up. When I went in for the first time, I immediately felt a huge difference. It was a smaller, more homey place; and a lovely environment to be in. The people there were sweet and caring. I've gotten along with the few professors I've had the chance of meeting and working with.

Where did it start going downhill? The professor that recommended me (graduate from my home department) continuously requested that I work with her. Her reason being that I got along better with her (something that I was not aware of). Because she considered herself as my friend, professional lines were horribly blurred. I found myself doing additional work for her as a "favor for a friend." She then started having us meet multiple times a week for hours - distracting from the time I needed to actually get work done. This center does not cap classes - I've had to grade for up to 400 students in one semester. The meetings she scheduled were incredibly unproductive, and I found myself having to take extra time to get the grading done. Again, my own studies were effected. The past academic year went on like this. I ended up assisting in creating a new course and new assignments from scratch.

Later I noticed that something was wrong. I was doing way more work than stipulated by my contract. She was giving me access to her courses that I was not assigned to grade for. Instead of assisting for one course in the semester (the one with the highest enrollment), I was assisting for three. This was constantly under the guise of 'friendship'. How was I supposed to reject my 'friend'? When I tried to draw professional boundaries, I was met with resistance.

My mental health declined again in the fall and I missed a few of her scheduled meetings (meetings which she said were NOT mandatory). Because of this, she decided to throw me under the bus with the director and making it seem as if I was not actually working - when I was addressing students' needs and getting grades in. This worsened in the Spring. With the help of my counselor I finally got the courage to communicate with her. Albeit through text, because she's the type of person that does not allow you to get a word in during conversation.

"On that note, there’s something I’ve wanted to talk about. I’ve been struggling with concentration and fatigue. This is something that I’ve been working on with my doctor to try to find solutions. I’ve noticed that being in Zoom meetings in general where there’s casual conversation makes it exceptionally difficult for me to focus on what I’m trying to get done. This has been problematic in the work zoom meetings. You probably have noticed I seem really quiet, that is because I’m trying my hardest to focus.

I need to be able to focus during the time I’m assigned to work as a GA. Otherwise, I must take more time to complete tasks that normally wouldn’t take up that long or just wait until the weekends to finish them. That is conflicting as I have set that time to work on class assignments and my own projects. So in the end I end up falling behind and not working well because my productivity levels are being affected."

She seemed to understand me and be supportive. Then I noticed coldness, and condescending passive aggressive texts from her part.

I realized that I could not do this any longer. I could not allow myself to continuously be taken advantage of. Both of the people I've worked for were aware of my vulnerable situation due to migration status. They both knew that it was not easy for me to pay for my studies through any other means. My studies depended on these people, and if they 'liked' me. They abused and absorbed my time to the extent that my studies suffered tremendously.

But I finally stood up for myself. I spoke with the director and she affirmed that my concerns were valid. Time and time again she assured me that my studies should always come first. She supported me. I will no longer be assigned to work with this person.

I finally feel heard.

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It's been 3 years since I started my program. A lot has happened in this time. I have a lot of catching up to do this summer if I want to stay on track and take my comprehensive exams by the end of the year. But someone finally heard me, acknowledged the wrongdoings and helped me.

Don't let people walk over you and take advantage of you. I'm learning this the hard way.

Speak your truth.

[a-student-out-of-time]

Rambling about V3 Again

Today I saw a really interesting quote from author Brandon Sanderson and it honestly got me thinking. He talked about what he considers the single worst thing you can do with critique in writing, and that’s if a critic “tries to make your story into one they would write, rather a better version of one you want to write.”

That got me thinking about V3.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that V3 is a very polarizing game, and I’ve seen many people talk about how they would’ve preferred to see the story play out, from character arcs to deaths to story conclusions. And while I do honestly enjoy seeing alternative perspectives and takes and AU’s, I feel like a lot about the game, what it’s trying to say and be, is skewed by those ideals.

I’m not saying that the critiques about the game are invalid, because there are a fair share of flaws with the game. What I am saying is that we end up talking so much about what we wish V3 could’ve been that what V3 was trying to be often ends up lost in that, and I want to talk about it.

It wasn’t until I really saw this quote that I was able to articulate all my likes and dislikes about the game and the reactions to it into a cohesive whole, which is what I’d like to do here.

So let’s ask this: what was V3 really trying to be?

Let’s start from the game’s theme: the relationship between truth and lies. This is best exemplified by the fact that you have the option to lie during trials, that you can use deception to find the truth. That’s a very different take from the previous games, where hope was associated with finding and confronting the truth.

Kokichi is another example, as he’s a self-admitted liar who claims to lead a criminal organization and it’s hard to tell exactly what he’s thinking or saying. Yet Kokichi actually helps bring the group to several truths: he helps find the culprit in trials, he reveals Maki’s identity as the Ultimate Assassin, tells the truth about Gonta murdering Miu and it’s thanks to his actions that the group later discovers the reality of their situation.

Throughout their journey, the group is confronted by numerous truths they don’t want to acknowledge, even refusing to do so and attacking people who continue to push them through. And with every revelation, there’s always those lingering details that don’t really make a lot of sense.

Let’s look at the game’s main narrative. At the start of the game, Kaede remembers she was kidnapped in broad daylight, thrown into a van, and brought to some abandoned school with a bunch of other people. She doesn’t act like a particularly nice person and is dressed differently, at least until the Monokubs arrive and give everyone their new clothes and memories. From that point, the narrative shifts considerably.

Kaede is suddenly an outgoing, optimistic leader and Shuichi is a sullen, withdrawn detective who serves as her deuteragonist for Chapter 1. She’s resolved to escape the Killing Game and tries to rally the group together. However, when her methods don’t prove successful and they start drifting away from her, she considers saving them by any means necessary and goes so far as to attempt murder against the mastermind. When that happens, she’s found guilty and executed, leaving Shuichi to take up her role as protagonist.

As you go through the game, using devices called flashback lights that apparently reawaken lost memories, you learn more and more about the reason that the group was brought here: the Gofer Project. When meteors began raining down on earth, all seemed lost until they established this project to send a group of survivors into space to colonize a new planet. A group of Ultimates.

They had established early on that Ultimates have even greater rights in this world: they’re the only ones allowed to vote and hold office. As the meteors came down and the news of this project got out, some people formed a cult that believed it was divine judgement and that mankind should be destroyed. That’s when they began the Ultimate Hunt, pursuing the candidates for the Gofer Project across the world. The Ultimates, with no other way out, decided to erase their memories of talent and live their last days as normal people.

To protect them, the people in charge spread a false story that the Ultimates had died, even holding a fake funeral for them and sent them into space secretly. However, while everyone was in cold sleep, one member of the cult- Kokichi- had sneaked aboard and piloted the ship back to the ruined and now inhospitable earth. They have no way back and no way to survive outside, and thanks to Kokichi’s claims to be the mastermind, they’ve been killing each for nothing. The group ultimately loses hope.

However, they’re resolved to continue on in their fight against the mastermind when they find a flashback light that reveals they weren’t just any ultimates: they were the next generation of ultimates from Hope’s Peak Academy. It wasn’t really the meteorites that got everyone, it was an alien virus that pushed mankind to the brink of extinction. That the cult that rose in the wake of this was Ultimate Despair.

That seems like a definitive way to link this game with its predecessors...until you really begin to stop and pick it apart. If this was about saving mankind, why did nobody have their memories right away? Why would you only bring 16 people? Why students who don’t make them suited to colonization? Why people like a death row inmate, a serial killer, a self-proclaimed liar and criminal, and an assassin?

Furthermore, going through many Fte’s highlights how much of the characters’ backstories seem very out there. Gonta wasn’t raised by wolves but a race of dinosaur people living in the woods, Kirumi is so hyper-competent that she became prime minister during the meteor crisis, Korekiyo’s killed almost 100 women and yet has never been caught, Maki can attend high school despite Japanese orphanages being too underfunded for kids to usually attend, Tenko’s neo-aikido breaks all the rules of traditional aikido and she's impulsive, has low pain tolerance, and disregards fair rules, none of which are very befitting of a martial artist.

And to conclude, even I thought that the reveal of their connection to Hope’s Peak felt very fanficy and out there, especially when the game had made no references or implications of it beforehand. But the reason for all of this is simple and effective:

None of this is real. It’s all staged.

Chapter 6 reveals that everything from their identities to the outside world they thought they knew was all just a fabrication. In truth, Tsumugi shows herself as the mastermind and that they’re actually in the 53rd season of an in-universe show called Danganronpa. Something alluded to even in the beginning of the game with the Team Danganronpa logo. This moment was very make or break for a lot of people, but let’s treat it fairly.

According to Tsumugi, the outside world has become a peaceful, boring place and Danganronpa is the only source of real entertainment the people have. A place where people literally come to have their identities replaced with those of Ultimates and then made to kill each other. This, as it turns out, was an outgrowth of the actual series we’d played before. A game that’s gone over 53 times.

This revelation is devastating for the characters. The lives and memories they’d known were all fabrications, which Tsumugi claims to have intentionally written. The Flashback lights were designed to implant fake memories to manipulate them, which is why that Hope’s Peak connection was set up after everyone gave up following the reveal of the outside world. A truth that could lead the world to despair, a lie that could lead the world to hope.

She even goes so far as to show everyone’s audition tapes, claiming that Kaede, Kaito, and Shuichi himself were willing to participate in the killings out of sheer misanthropy, popularity, and morbid excitement 

Kiibo is also revealed to be the audience’s means of interacting with the game, able to carry out their wishes and can even be hijacked and used as a way to fight against the characters’ decisions.

In the end, Tsumugi claims that the ongoing battle of hope vs despair needs to continue in perpetuity and that the survivors need to sacrifice someone, since only two people can survive Danganronpa. Shuichi, however, convinces Maki and Himiko not to vote for anyone and actually convinces the in-universe audience to give up on the series. Kiibo then blows the set to hell and allows Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko the chance to escape and see the world outside and what sort of influence they could have.

Now, let’s this break this down piece by piece here, because I feel like this part of the game is often conflated. Often I’ve seen people say that Chapter 6 is a giant middle finger to fans of the series, that nothing about the series really mattered, or that the flaws of the game can simply be attributed to bad writing on the creator’s part.

I honestly used to be in that camp myself, but the more I’ve thought about it, the more I feel those statements don’t hold up to scrutiny. We often conflate writing and narrative decisions we don’t like with bad writing. However, if the creator deliberately wants the narrative to move in that direction and has made intentional foreshadowing, references, and motivations that match it, we can’t simply equate that with it being “badly written.”

It’s not bad simply because we would’ve preferred they do something different. There’s a lot of very acclaimed books out there that I’ll admit I don’t care for because of their narrative decisions, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re badly-written.

Furthermore, if something intentionally doesn’t make sense in-story, that is not bad writing. That is purposeful on the part of the creator, not a plot hole. The Gofer Project is not supposed to be a logical narrative, it’s meant to serve V3′s role: deconstruction of the nature of the series. It does this in many different ways:

Sequelization: 53 is a ridiculous amount of entries in a franchise and as I’m sure we’re all aware, as the number of entries goes up, the writing quality tends to go down. The Gofer Project story was purposefully meant to be nonsensical because it’s a story in an in-universe franchise that jumped the shark long ago.

A lot of people found it confusing or ridiculous that Shuichi and Kaede would have a romantic connection despite knowing each other barely a few days. That’s also the point; quick romances are a convenient narrative device to establish a means for character growth, followed by fridging her, a bad narrative trope designed to propel Shuichi toward development. Tsumugi even said as much during Chapter 6.

Similarly, Maki’s role in the story and her feelings for Kaito were reminiscent of that as well, with him helping her come out of her shell. 

When you go back, you can see Danganronpa is loaded with references to other series. Tsumugi is an obsessive otaku and went so far as to fill the entire story with deliberate references and callbacks to things she enjoys.

The Monokubs are deliberate references to executive decisions to add more marketable and merchandisable characters as the series drags on.

The fact that there are (supposedly) people willing to sign up for a killing game deconstructs the idea that some in the fandom may have had. That is, actually being in a killing game would not be fun or exciting, but horrific and traumatizing. Most of us wouldn’t be badass detectives or heroes, we’d be scared out of our minds, afraid, and want to find a way out.

Furthermore, Shuichi being repeatedly told that he’s just a fictional character and that his role is to be the protagonist, to go through hardships and come out stronger for the audience’s entertainment pisses him off so much that he wants no part of it. 

The climax is ultimately a deconstruction of what the series is famous for: the battle of hope vs. despair. In-universe, this has been reduced down to a simple narrative where the audience wants the same thing again and again: to see hope win in the end. Because hope keeps winning, the audience keeps wanting more. It’s become so formulaic that the audience doesn’t want to break out of its shell and just wants to see it over and over.

The final PTA against Kiibo is not meant to be an insult to the audience, but a representation of fighting against toxicity and entitlement in the fanbase, especially the ones that don’t want change. It’s not saying “you’re stupid for liking this series,” it’s saying “don’t be like these people.”

And how does the game? An unsatisfying ending that’s so bad that it drives the audience to give up on the show, finally allowing the killing to stop. Tsumugi decides she can’t live in a world without her favorite show and decides to die.

And that brings me to what I think is the ultimate thing that people conflate about the ending: that it’s all fiction, so nothing about it matters. That the entire franchise was fake, so it’s not worth your time.

That’s exactly the opposite of what V3 is trying to say.

First, Tsumugi is a completely unreliable narrator. The kind of person who let fiction consume her entire life, yet she believes it can’t change reality. She’s a liar and a hypocrite, and there’s no way of knowing if anything she says about the outside world is even true. It could be like she says or it might not be.

The fact that they have technology that can remove memories and add fake ones adds an entire dimension of ambiguity to everything she says, especially when you consider how the beginning of the game does not match up with what she says. We have no idea what the kids were really like before the killing game, so why should we believe anything she says?

And how can we be certain of her claims that she just wrote everything as planned? Kokichi and Kaito managed to put together a plan that completely threw her and Monokuma for a loop

Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko ultimately choosing to take the words of Kaede, Kaito, and Tenko to heart, even if they were part of a fictional narrative, is proof that they still had an influence on the trio. They choose to take something meaningful from their experiences regardless of the reality of their situation. And that’s something we all do.

The media we consume has an influence over who we are as people, and it’s part of why so many of us have such strong attachments to works we love. They were often influential in help shape who we are as people now, for good and for ill, and it’s important to take that into account.

V3′s message is that yes, that is important, and that you should read and enjoy stories and fiction, just as long as you don’t let it consume your life. They can influence you and even the world at large, and so it’s our responsibility as writers, artists, and creators to use that influence positively, to use the medium as a way to change the world for the better. That the only way for stale franchises that we’re tired of seeing over and over is to demand change, even if that means walking out on them. That the only way for things to change is for us to take action and demand change.

And by the end, we may not see immediate results, but we can at least work hard at trying to bring them about. V3 ends with Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko facing an uncertain future in a world they really know nothing about, but hopeful that their actions can and will change the world for the better. Real life doesn’t have solid, satisfying conclusions and it always doesn’t play out like a story, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on ever finding something satisfying or hopeful out there.

This, by no means, is me saying that V3 is a flawless story. I can point to numerous critiques that I still think hold water. However, Sanderson’s point is that we shouldn’t criticize a work based on what we wish it was rather than how it is and what it was trying to do.

I know there’s a lot about the story that bothers people, I know there’s a lot that wasn’t polished and a lot that feels uncomfortable and hard to swallow. Like Shuichi, coming out feeling confused, lost, unsure of what to do, but choosing to see merit and things to take to heart even in a story that turned out to be full of lies and uncomfortable truths.

If you didn’t enjoy V3, I wouldn’t force you to enjoy it. If you did love it, then you should love it. These are all just my thoughts on a story that, as time goes on, honestly feels more and more relevant to me.

[plutau]

tension between the ascendant and midheaven; part one

many people will have their ascendant and midheaven signs square one another in their charts, meaning the signs will be of the same quality (cardinal, fixed, mutable). the struggle presents itself due to the ascendant's presentation of identity and approach to life, vs. the midheaven’s presentation of the person’s desired public image, i.e. the person they wish to become, or wish to be viewed as. 

this post applies to charts that don’t necessarily have the ascendant and midheaven aspecting one another (as we’re looking more so at how the signs present themselves in these positions), however the tension will present more strongly should they aspect.

aries ascendant -- capricorn midheaven

aries risings tend to come off as the more boisterous of the bunch. the heads of the zodiac, they have a “large and in charge” attitude, as they’re fiercely independent and enthusiastic. they keep their emotions within arm’s reach, and can come off as aggressive or blunt, or bubbly and sensitive -- they’re highly reactive to their surroundings. they’re the first leaders of the zodiac, and they know it; they’re also known as the “children” of the zodiac, and can come off as impulsive. 

the capricorn midheaven, on the other hand, wishes to be more subdued -- its saturn influence shies away from aries’ temperament. while aries wants to have fun and get involved with others, capricorn tends to be more inwardly-focused; he wants to sit down, gather himself, and get to work. capricorn has a more serious demeanor that screams “business,” which is often read as being more mature. growing into this midheaven will mean toning down some of the rising’s brashness and gaining self-control over their reactive emotions.

how they work together: they’re both cardinal signs, which means they’re ambitious and looking to start projects. aries’ fiery enthusiasm and capricorn’s earthy steadfast work habits can form a powerhouse once the person has a clear focus on what they want to do. others can see this person as fun and bold, while also being able to get serious and down to work.

people with these placements: aisha tyler, joseph gordon-levitt, brie larson, hunter s. thompson, louis armstrong, lin-manuel miranda, stevie nicks

taurus ascendant -- aquarius midheaven

taurus risings tend to have a practical, gentle aura about them that manifests as moving somewhat slowly through the world. they take their time to smell the roses -- ruled by venus, they appreciate beauty and possessions. but they’re cautious as well, which can give off an “old school” vibe as it encourages sticking to traditions and what is known. practicality is their middle name, and they tend to look long and hard before they leap.

the aquarius midheaven wants to take that caution and throw it to the wind. it tends to embody the things that taurus is wary of: innovation, progression, novelty, and rebellion. aquarius here can feel agitated by taurus’ seeming inability to move, and wants to push taurus out of her comfort zone. aquarius wants to take what is known and flip it on its head, wanting to take action. growing into this midheaven will mean getting past a discomfort with the unknown, and looking past traditions to explore what could be.

how they work together: this is a balancing act between caution and rebellion. too much caution can leave one stagnant, while too much rebellion can be reckless. striking a balance can assist in the person taking much-needed risks, while also keeping a level head in how they pursue changes in their lives. others may see this person as timeless and calm, with minds that produce innovative and rebellious work.

people with these placements: toni morrison, carl sagan, peter jackson, ronda rousey, gene wilder, george r.r. martin, miley cyrus

gemini ascendant -- pisces midheaven

gemini risings tend to be social and chatty, yet detached, jittery, and even nervous. as the first air sign, they can be particularly hard to pin down; they just want to keep things lighthearted and fun. they’re intrigued by the fast pace of life, the coming and going of trends, topics, and fashions. they’re also focused on the intellectual side of things, and can be sponges gathering information. they tend not to dwell too deeply on things.   

the pisces midheaven can struggle with gemini’s detachment on some level, as this is an emotional, deeply sensitive sign. this isn’t to say that pisces isn’t detached themselves -- they can seem to be off in their own worlds -- but their tendency to get deep into emotional ventures can make airy gemini shy away. gemini’s lightheartedness and attraction towards novelty clashes with pisces’ “old soul” nature. growing into this midheaven will mean accepting these deeper inclinations and slowing down a little to dwell on the emotional side of things, as well as the intellectual. 

how they work together: as mutable signs, these two are very flexible, and are able to adapt to what life gives them. they’re both highly creative, with gemini’s need for novelty and pisces’ neptunian affinity for art and music. pisces brings some depth to gemini’s lightheartedness, while gemini can keep things moving so pisces doesn’t dwell too long. others may see this person as fun and fast-paced, with soulful, meaningful work in the arts or with helping others.

people with these placements: kamala harris, ricky martin, ben stiller, julianne moore, lebron james, rupaul, ally sheedy, katey sagal

cancer ascendant -- aries midheaven

cancer risings tend to have a soft and shy outer shell, while keeping their rather strong emotions on the inside. this is a placement about nurture and comfort, both needing to bring comfort to themselves as well as to those they’re close to. they can be prone to moodiness thanks to its moon rulership, and find their emotions are easily swayed by their given situation. this rising in particular enjoys the coziness of home. they have a tendency to see the world through rose-colored glasses, but can be very intuitive.

the aries midheaven wishes to be bolder and more straightforward with their emotions. aries is a sign that encourages action and movement, and can even be restless or reckless in how it manifests. this doesn’t sound immediately desirable for homebody cancer to take on themselves; for the most part, they would rather not have their coziness disrupted. growing into this midheaven will mean moving out of their comfort zone to embrace some of the more outwardly confident aspects that aries brings, learning how to be assertive in the midst of their gentleness. 

how they work together: even though they display it differently, both cancer and aries have a well of energy within them, and finding the right outlet can be conducive to stabilizing that energy. actionable aries encourages cancer to rise to the occasion, while cancer can bring a comforting presence to the aries midheaven’s public persona. others may see this person as approachable and sweet, while also being surprisingly bold and risk-taking in their work.

people with these placements: tyra banks, jack black, zach braff, octavia butler, elisabeth moss, marvin gaye, julien solomita, julia roberts, paul rudd, angelina jolie

leo ascendant -- taurus midheaven 

leo risings tend to be more open and extroverted, exuding warmth to those around them. they’re rather friendly types, and can be generous to people they hardly know. this is partly due to their ongoing search for acceptance and validation among their peers; despite their self-confidence, they’re sensitive to rejection. they like being a part of social and competitive events, enjoying their time in the spotlight. their search for attention can make them rather showy in their personality and fashion. 

the taurus midheaven wishes to be more mellow and self-validating, finding issue with how leo seeks out reassurance from others. taurus is known for being occupied with their possessions, and this can give some pause to leo’s giving streak. ultimately, their differences lie in how they go about obtaining self-worth, and how they feel reassured in their accomplishments; taurus tends to depend on herself in both of these areas, while leo looks to others. growing into this midheaven will require trusting themselves, and building that self-value from the inside out, rather than from the outside in. 

how they work together: both placements like to indulge in pleasures, wanting to feel good about themselves and their accomplishments. personally, this is my favorite duo, as it’s favorable for those wishing to be on the stage. leo’s friendly disposition can give way to many opportunities for practical, stability-seeking taurus, bringing a combination of charm and extroversion to the more modest midheaven. others may see this person as outgoing and proud, able to channel their wants and talents into work that is practical and long-lasting. 

people with these placements: ella fitzgerald, maya angelou, tina turner, justin timberlake, josh groban, vanessa hudgens, natalie cole, selena gomez, jake gyllenhaal, marilyn monroe

virgo ascendant -- gemini midheaven

virgo risings tend to be on the more serious side, as they’re rather controlling of themselves and their surroundings. they have a deep appreciation for research and analyzing, and tend to process these things internally rather than talking about it right away. there’s a perfectionist side to them that can cause them to be preoccupied with their bodies and environment, but above that, they are helpful, practical, and detail-oriented in their day-to-day lives. 

the gemini midheaven, frankly, wants virgo to loosen up a bit. gemini is known for being more of a dabbler in things, versus virgo’s tendency to focus on a few things extensively. while they’re both ruled by the same planet, gemini tends to look at the larger picture, interested in a multitude of things and not focusing on the deep stuff; this is a struggle for detail-oriented virgo. growing into this midheaven will mean moving away from the critical details in order to appreciate the unexpected, fast-moving nature of life, while also holding onto virgo's grounded common sense. 

how they work together: this is an interesting combination, as they’re not only both mutable, but also both ruled by mercury. there’s a lot of mental stimulation here, and this combination can either encourage a more outgoing, searching intelligence, or intelligence gathered by being more secluded and “in their head.” others may see this person as practical and serious, perhaps being more fun and unpredictable in their work life.

people with these placements: michael b. jordan, uzo aduba, elizabeth olsen, renee zellweger, gene kelly, sarah paulson, sean astin, donald glover, tom hanks

[lolli4587]

Blown Away

So reading for me in general is usually difficult for me to get into. I tend to lose interest so fast. Also I don’t read a lot of fan fiction, I never got into the majority with shipping stories which I tend to find a lot bias. I always liked out of the box, unique type stories. And today I wanted to share something for anyone is a huge Pokemon Adventures Special fan or just in love with Ash in general. 

Last month during my Christmas break I stumbled into this story called “Off The Path”, and I started to read it. In the story, takes place in AU where Ash never meets Misty or Brock, and travels with gym leaders that worked for Team Rocket but hides it. So Ash travels with Sabrina, Lt. Surge, Koga, and Blaine. Anyone who read Pokemon Adventures this is true, they were with Team Rocket who basically gave hell, I loved the series. At the time I began reading it, I didn’t know it was sequel. (I found it odd that he barely introduces to anyone) so I had to read the first story called “Changing the Plan.”

Changing the Plan: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12920734/1/Changing-the-Plan

Sequel 

Off the Path: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13089490/1/Off-the-Path

So Changing in the Plan, this where the AU starts out with Ash on his journey just like an anime excepts he stumbles into Giovanni first. Giovanni takes in Ash personally due to Ash’s natural aura of possibly attracting legendary Pokemon. Ash seeing and talking about Ho-oh. Giovanni wanting to make sure this was true takes to Sabrina who is psychic. Sabrina had to bond with Ash in order to able get a reading which she does and confirms that there is something special with Ash, and goes from there. 

What I really liked about both stories, Ash acts like a 10 year old kid. He have his personality quirks where he gets excited and cares for his Pokemon needs. His Pokemon team is the same from 1st season of the anime. He has Pikachu, Butterfree, Pidgeotto, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charizard (started as Charmander). He does get stubborn and very competitive. He has a very trusting nature which all took notice. Due to Ash’s pure nature, no one wanted to corrupt him, and he was key getting the legendaries to notice. (#angel) He actually learns how to bond with his Pokemon thanks to Lt. Surge and Koga who are the mentors to Ash. Giovanni does initially teaches Ash in the beginning mostly basics and battling. Do not want to give out much, Giovanni true intentions shine after his main Mewtwo project was finished. 

Out of the characters, Giovanni was Giovanni from what I got out of it. He only cares about power and money which true in all versions. He does hide that he works for Team Rocket, Ash doesn’t know the truth until Off the Path comes along. Due to Giovanni’s investment into Ash, Giovanni’s top personal agents, Sabrina, Lt. Surge, and Koga all thought it was weird. One out of the 3 GL actually screwed up badly with Giovanni as Silver mentioned and is on thin ice... (As of now, the author still didn’t reveal the story yet)

Now comes the 3 MVPs in the story shines...

Sabrina in this story is different from the manga and anime. Her interpretation was more taken from the games but also the author took liberties on his own characterization. She mainly can sees visions in the future and sense auras from others she is close too. Due to being sensitive to other auras, she easily can get overwhelmed. Out of the 3, she interacts with Ash the least, and often would follow her companions and knows how to deal with Giovanni. She really shines when she with Surge and Koga. It was implied that they known each other for at least 15 years + (which put everyone possibly 30+ yrs old or older). 

Although she tend to be on quiet side, she enjoys their company and implied they worked great together. There were some hints from the anime which the author took a liberty which I thought it was great when talking in her past. Also there was moments due to sensitive to other feelings, she would lose it, and would be vulnerable.

Then we have Lt. Surge. Omg, I am in love with his character, and I want to say the author as well since his character gets fleshed out the most of the 3. He was introduced due to Pikachu causing blackouts and needed someone who can help control its power. His personality I want to say taken some liberties on the author’s part, but there is a mix of anime, manga, and game counterpart. He is the most outgoing out of the 3. He loves to goof off and play pranks on his friends and annoy them. Surge actually bonds with Ash the most. (I found it adorable. WHY THERE IS NO FANART WITH ASH AND LT. SURGE TOGETHER!!)

Ash took a huge liking to Surge since he shares many of traits that he believes in, except for evolving his Pokemon too quickly which at times would clash. It was implied Ash looks up to him in Off the Path. But despite the fun and games, Surge is also the most complicated out of the 3. He has a dark secret which traumatizes him and begins to have a 180 degree personality shift in Off the Path. The most recent chapters I read, I hoping he is ok...

And now Koga, Koga was introduced fairly late into the story. He was introduced due to Ash not able to control Charmeleon and Bulbasaur in a fight which Surge haven’t an idea to do so. Koga has a daughter in this story Janine, and due of him being a father, he was the one who worried most of Ash’s safety and Giovanni’s true intentions with him. Koga’s personality also taken the author’s own liberties, but he does have also little bit of everything from anime, manga, and games. 

Koga helps with Ash a lot with his training with all his Pokemon and also puts his ninja skills in use to watch over Ash. Koga isn’t too shy to use violence whenever Surge decides to provoke him which I found their interactions hilarious. There was some parts in the story that made me laugh and also references the anime. Koga does take a backseat after an incident happened towards end of Changing the Plan. The most recent chapters I read of Off the Path, he was able to play a role between Blaine and Ash, and able to mentor Ash again on his training.

Then we have a former Rocket member, Blaine.

Blaine was introduced very late in Changing the Path in Cinnabar Island after Ash was alone. Blaine is taken largely from the manga for anyone read the manga (he created Mewtwo). The author also took his own liberties with him, and Blaine is the most cautious of the bunch. He is very friendly with Ash, but not so friendly with the other 3 which they all travel together in Off the Path. This rubs Lt. Surge the wrong way, which Off the Path goes on of the two fighting most of the time. (It does escalate)

Blaine took a liking to Ash, but due to his paranoid nature, he had Ash try not to reveal anything about their true mission which the conflicts begins as well in Off the Path. Right now, I am happy that he and Ash made up as the recent chapter.

Phew, ok so the author does a great job drawing in these characters, and it is easy to visualize. I love how fluid the interactions he writes with Sabrina, Surge, and Koga, and it was fun reading some things they used to do which tied in from the manga. I never read a story of 4 gym leaders traveling with Ash over legendary Pokemon, and it is very unique. Also almost all the characters are complicated and complexed which makes it very interesting as they tie in real life scenarios. This story is still ongoing on fanfiction.net, which I have linked on top. Changing the Plan is currently completed while Off the Path is ongoing. The author mentioned he might have another sequel after Off the Path.

So if your into Pokemon Adventures or loves Ash in general, I do recommend to give a read. Its one the best Poke fanfics I ever read after Triumvirate and Another Road (I don’t read too many Poke pics)  and I would bug my friends so much about it. Thanks barely with me <3

PS: If anyone knows the author on fanfic or your the author reading this! I really love it and please keep writing ^^

[hackett-out]

I took a swing at jotting up some character info for my current royal bisexual wip, Etiquette, bc I really love this plot a lot and I need to info dump about it.

I have no names yet so everyone is just defined by roles.

The Prince - main lead #1

Adopted son to The Queen and brother to The Princess, The Prince has grown up in his older sister’s long shadow, eager to be a kind, caring royal who helps all he can, especially those less fortunate. Charming and warm, he’s the ideal face for a royal line overshadowed by tragedy and cheap tabloid fodder, even as many only see how free he is with money as a sign of frivolity and luxurious excess. In truth, The Prince is more of a philanthropist, giving himself to others sometimes to the point of exhaustion. He’s shadowed by The Assistant, who acts as a go-between, butler, and general servant to the Prince’s needs, though their introduction to romantic interest The Lady changes their relationship from professional to something more. 

The Assistant - main lead #2

The only surviving child of Korean parents, The Assistant has spent nearly 20 years as a servant/assistant to numerous wealthy and important families. Leaving his home after the death of his parents, he joins the royal family as the assistant to The Prince, initially butting heads due to his cool, reserved demeanor against the warm and outgoing charm of his charge. Increasingly lonely with no family he clings tightly to his work, taking on nearly any task for The Prince without question until they both meet The Lady. When a single kind gesture on the Prince’s part turns into an ongoing ruse, the Assistant finds himself in the middle - wrestling with his growing affection for The Lady every time he delivers a gift on the Prince’s behalf, and a blooming jealousy that grows every time he reads romantic words written by The Prince. 

The Lady - main lead #3

A working-poor commoner living a reclusive life, The Lady lives her adult life purely to survive comfortable and safe. Though she has dreams of flowing creativity and world-wide travel, a childhood of poverty and the weight of considerable debt tempers both. Wary of kind gestures, especially from those with a lot of wealth, she tends to spend her time shouldering her burdens alone, only letting her worries out through a set of diaries hidden in her cozy little apartment. A regular of a local floral shop where she buys dying flowers for small creative projects, she finds joy in the little ritual, and it’s there that she catches the eye of The Prince and The Assistant. Though she’s at first wary of the anonymous, kind gestures of The Prince, it slowly becomes a welcome change from her every day life, leading her to two very different men who both capture her heart.

The Princess, supporting role #1

Biological daughter to The Queen, The Princess has been the dark shadow thrown over the royal family since her teenage years. The rebellious royal in her youth, she is the reason journalists spend so much time trying to cast The Prince as a frivolous party boy. Though she’s redeemed herself from her former temper as an adult, her relationship with her brother is fractured due to her decision to pursue medicine instead of taking up after her mother, leaving the royal life - and her family - behind. A hard-working doctor, she spends her time attending to the less fortunate in her own way, while putting up strong walls to keep out those who would drag her back to the life she hated. 

The Queen, supporting role #2

A young woman when she gave birth to The Princess and shortly after lost her husband, The Queen is an aging matriarch slowly coming to terms with her own prejudices toward her son as a ruler and successor in place of her daughter. Though her daughter’s work as a doctor makes her proud, her disappearance from and avoidance of the family has created a strained relationship (eventually repaired in a separate plot line). While she was married and affectionate with her husband out of duty, she’d never considered remarrying at the behest of advisers, mostly because she’s a lesbian. 

[jeremystrele]

The Show Must Go On, With Photographer Sarah Collins And Family

The Show Must Go On, With Photographer Sarah Collins And Family

Family

by Sally Tabart

Photographer and performer Sarah Collins and actor and TV writer Justin Kennedy, with their daughters Polly (6) and Daisy (1). Photo – Zoe Eley.

Sarah and Polly in their gorgeous garden. Photo – Zoe Eley.

Hanging out on a beautiful day in the garden. Photo – Zoe Eley.

The family live in Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges. Photo – Zoe Eley.

Baby Daisy was born in the height of lockdown in 2020. Photo – Zoe Eley.

Polly is a born entertainer! Photo – Zoe Eley.

‘Polly adores her little sister so much and Daisy thinks Polly is a total rockstar’, says Sarah. Photo – Zoe Eley.

Polly and Justin having a kick in the back yard. Photo – Zoe Eley.

The family love their life in the hills. Photo – Zoe Eley.

‘If we take Daisy out of the house she looks as though her mind is being constantly blown’, says Sarah. Photo – Zoe Eley.

Patting the chickens. Photo – Zoe Eley.

Justin and Polly. Photo – Zoe Eley.

Daisy exploring the garden. Photo – Zoe Eley.

Photo – Zoe Eley.

Polly getting her cowgirl on! Photo – Zoe Eley.

Polly exploring the garden. Photo – Zoe Eley.

Justin and Sarah, who first met while judging an improv comedy show! Photo – Zoe Eley.

Photographer and performer Sarah Collins and her husband, actor and TV writer Justin Kennedy, have one of the best ‘meet cute’ stories of all time.

There was a Hairhouse Warehouse commercial on air around 2006, and Sarah became inexplicably captivated with its starring character dubbed the ‘freaky bald guy’ (Justin!). ‘I was living by myself at the time, and if the ad came on and I was in another room, I would literally race through my apartment to get to the TV’ Sarah recalls. ‘I thought the freaky bald guy was the funniest person I’d ever seen in my life. I would think about him constantly.’

In a completely random coincidence, a year later the pair ended up judging an improv comedy TV show together (although she didn’t clock him then) and randomly bumping into each other at a party shortly after. It wasn’t until they eventually went on a date that Sarah figured out that her new beau Justin was, in fact, the ‘freaky bald guy’ from the Hairhouse Warehouse commercial she had been so obsessed with! And the rest, as they say, is history.

Sarah and Justin are now married and have two daughters – Polly (6) and Daisy (1). Daisy was born during the height of lockdown in 2020, and Polly has experienced her first year of schooling almost completely through a screen. They’ve been through the full spectrum of pandemic parenting highs and lows.

But despite all the scary stuff,  Sarah, Justin and their two girls are making it work, mostly by making each other laugh. This is a family of born performers – and after all, the show must go on!

hey Sarah! Your second baby, Daisy, was born during the pandemic. What has her first year been like?

Sarah: Well, it’s basically been a massive sociological experiment. I think all babies born in the lockdowns need to be studied. Will they have better attachment because the parent-child dyad has been unbroken for the better part of two years? Will they have more anxiety? Less? It’s so fascinating.

For the most part it’s been hugely positive. No one ever came up to me in the grocery store asking to rub my pregnant belly. I got very little unsolicited advice from strangers.

At the hospital, all the midwives were saying there were better breastfeeding rates because parents weren’t trying to navigate loads of family members coming in to see the baby. They were saying it had been so positive to the experience new parents were having.

If we take Daisy out of the house she looks as though her mind is being constantly blown. People comment on it. She looks at other humans like they’re the biggest novelty because she’s very rarely seen ones other than us.

In lockdown I’ve had no in-person family support or babysitting, but because Justin has been home this entire time I’ve felt so supported. When we had Polly he was head writer of The Project so he would spend the morning with Polly but not be home until 8.30pm. He worked Sundays too. He was such an attentive dad when he was home, but he was absent for a lot of milestones. With Daisy, because he’s working from home, I’ve been able to call out to him to come see when she crawled for the first time or started waving.

Polly and Daisy are around 6 years apart. What does she think of Daisy?

They are nearly 6 years apart and it has been an amazing age gap for us. There is no jealousy because they have literally nothing in common. Polly adores her little sister so much and Daisy thinks Polly is a total rockstar.

It took us 2.5 years to have Daisy and we nearly gave up trying because we felt the age gap was getting so large. Now I cannot believe how much of a blessing it’s been. Daisy has kept Polly engaged all lockdown with her development, and Polly adores reading and singing to Daisy and making her laugh. They’re such sweet little buddies.

What kind of kid is Polly? How has everything that has gone down over the last couple of years affected her?

Wow. That is a huge question.

Polly is like a supernova. By the time she was two she was already the most interesting person I’d ever met. She was that kid freaking out the the educators at daycare with her oracle insights. She has an immense inner world and seems to know things long before she logically should.

In a five minute period she’ll ask questions about anything from Harriet Tubman and slavery, to Marie Antoinette and the Boston Tea Party. She’s morbidly into celebrity deaths and constantly gets me to check how various people she’s interested in have died.

At times it’s hard to believe she’s 6. She calls BS on so much stuff adults say and do and doesn’t suffer fools. She’s both totally cynical and yet spent most of 2020 pretending to be a horse. You can’t argue with her. If you tell her to go to bed she’ll just point blank tell you she’s a cowgirl and needs to stay up late to stargaze. We’ve learned you can’t easily negotiate with cowgirls.

This also means she can be highly anxious and her brain is so busy she can get really overwhelmed. She started having nightmares after Daisy was born that were so debilitating she couldn’t go anywhere in the house without us. She was so worried something would happen to Daisy. It was both the most heartwarming and horrendous thing to witness as a parent.

How has homeschooling gone for you guys?

Teaching Polly through the pandemic has been tricky to navigate, because she absolutely loathes learning through the screen. During term three it was getting progressively harder to hold her attention and I was pleading with her to at least give her teachers some respect and honour the work and time they were putting in, but she would sit in front of the screen for five minutes then walk away.

Then I had this big realisation: She is learning all by herself constantly. She’s such a good learner! She might be walking away from the screen, but then she’s asking about the Great Fire of London and researching how Harry Houdini died – who cares if she hates subitising?!

We’re just letting her do her thing and watching on in awe and fascination for the most part, with support where she needs it.

You’ve talked a little on social media about how the Pandemic has really affected your household financially. Things got a little scary for you guys last year, with your incomes so greatly impacted. Can you tell us a little about that?

It was an absolute perfect storm.

I discovered I was pregnant in early January 2020, right as this thing called Coronavirus was in its infancy. Because of morning sickness I had to stop the majority of my photography work earlier than expected. I had started up a pretty successful Airbnb that we ran out of our home, but once things started ramping up with the virus, we cancelled all our upcoming reservations. At the time everyone was quite shocked because they didn’t think it was that serious.

Of course we know what happened then… we never reopened and I never went back to work.

Once the Government assistance packages kicked in, I wasn’t eligible for Job Keeper and wasn’t able to do Job Seeker because I was so ill, but also worried about getting the virus while pregnant. Then, despite the fact that you pay tax, Airbnb’s don’t count as real work, so I wasn’t able to claim for that. My days turned into being a full time sick, tired, pregnant lady/mum/kinder educator to Polly.

In 2020, the filming schedules for Justin’s work changed and he had a 6 month gap between shows which had never happened before. We lived off our savings and he began to re-skill, teaching himself how to do SEO work. He received Job Seeker for a short while too, but it was barely enough to make a dent in our outgoings. We began realising things were only going to get worse, and would most likely have to sell the house. We were looking to possibly move back to Toowoomba (my hometown) until things calmed down, or renting in Melbourne for a while.

Once Daisy was born we thought we could get the parental leave payment, but her birth certificate didn’t arrive for 8 months (the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages closed its offices completely throughout the pandemic) and so that was another stress. Our parenting payment finally came through last week after 12 long months of waiting!

Despite everything though, we feel genuinely lucky because despite huge pockets where neither of us was working, we were able to just scrape by (some days by the skin of our teeth).

Another thing you speak about a lot is the ongoing challenges for the entertainment industry as a result of the pandemic. Can you explain a little more about this impact, and how it makes you feel as both a part of this community, and also as a parent?

Well, you know that old adage about parents not wanting their kids to go into performing arts? For the first time in my life, that is finally making sense.

Seeing other friends rehearse show after show and have them literally all close before they’d even opened was, and still is, completely shocking and heartbreaking.

There is no assistance on offer to the smaller productions and artists in general, but shockingly who knows how many of our seasoned artists Australia will lose because of this? And who is to say that when we finally do get to go back that it will even be sustainable? The insurance will be an absolute nightmare. At the other end of the scale, how many school leavers will choose not to pursue performing arts, because… why would you? HOW could you?

I would love to say the future looks bright, but there is a cost to all of this. As a parent I feel so deeply sad at the cultural cost to our children as they grow up without seeing their experiences reflected back at them.

And I’m just so sad for any kid who had hoped to go to performing arts school and will be robbed of the opportunity to be a cherry blossom in a rehearsal room for three hours a day like I did. Those were really good days. And really good things come out of pretending to be a cherry blossom.

What brings you joy, and what are you hopeful for?

Our beautiful hills life brings me so much joy. The trees, the fresh air, the parrots and cockatoos. Justin and I are also loving seeing what fun things Daisy finds to put on her head. Today it was undies, followed by pants then a Christmas ornament. 

Honestly the next generation gives us so much hope. Have you met them? They’re awesome.

Kallista in the early springtime. Photo – Zoe Eley.

FAMILY FAVOURITES

Family outing?

We love love love visiting shops in our incredible hills community. Nat at The Patch Store, Josephine who runs Kallista Cellars, Mirakye at Epoche and Jo at Clementine By Design. All of them have known our children from birth, and they are the aunties to so many children and families in our community.

Restaurant or cafe?

Bam Bam Italian – it’s the favourite restaurant of every child in the hills. 

Go-to album or playlist?

Because Polly chooses the music so often (thanks Alexa) we’ve been stuck on a heavy rotation of Hamilton, Trolls 2, Vivo and Hamilton. 

Sunday ritual?

Now that picnics are allowed, we go and see Justin’s mum in a park on the cusp of both our 10km radiuses. After months of not seeing each other it’s something we will never take for granted again.

And we always get Pizza from Mad Raven in Kallista. Like, it’s a non-negotiable. We’ve eaten it every weekend for a decade haha. Best pizza in the world.

Follow along with Sarah’s family here and check out her beautiful photography work here! 

[architectnews]

London Festival of Architecture appoints Rosa Rogina as director

The London Festival of Architecture has been appointed a new director, Rosa Rogina, who is the event's outgoing programme director.

An architect, researcher and curator, Rogina served as the London Festival of Architecture's (LFA) programme director from 2016 and has also been involved in the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale and 2020 Venice Design Week.

She takes over from Tamsie Thomson, who has taken on the chief executive role at the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland. Rogina will head up the festival's 2022 programme.

Director brings international festival experience

In addition to her ongoing work with the festival, Rogina was part of the international team behind the Montenegrin Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale and was curator in residence at Venice Design Week in 2020.

She also teaches architecture at the University of East London and holds an MA in architecture from the Royal College of Art and an MA in research architecture from Goldsmiths, University of London.

She has extensive writing and speaking credits to her name, and has previously worked at the offices of Dutch studio MVRDV and UK studios Grimshaw and Farshid Moussavi Architecture.

Peter Murray, who is curator-in-chief at New London Architecture (NLA), the organisation behind the festival, said that Rogina's appointment represented a "welcome continuity" for the organisation.

"I'm very pleased that Rosa has agreed to take on the role of director of LFA," said Murray.

"She is well known to all those who have been involved with and supported the festival in recent years and brings a welcome continuity to the role which is enhanced by her work in practice, academic teaching and international curatorial projects."

Festival with impact "needed more than ever", said Rogina

Rogina signalled that topics around the pandemic and climate change would continue to be a focus for the LFA and that she intends for the event to make an impact on the city.

"I am thrilled to become the new director of the London Festival of Architecture," said Rogina. "I cannot wait to work with my festival colleagues and the New London Architecture team, as well as our wonderful network of supporters to shape the future of the festival."

"Ever since joining the festival team in 2016 I have been struck by the LFA's ability to impact everyday experiences of the city: something that's going to be needed more than ever as London emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, and as we focus more keenly on the climate emergency," she continued.

"I'm proud to be part of a team that does so much to promote the value of London's built environment, and I'm excited for the festival's future."

Festival to return in 2022 following callout for theme

The LFA is the world's largest annual architecture festival. After going online in 2020, it presented a hybrid programme of digital and live events in June 2021 under the theme of "care".

Projects included the Daylight Robbery exhibition by photographer Andy Billman capturing bricked-up windows of homes and the annual City Benches installation of imaginative seating designs.

The "care" theme was picked following a callout for suggestions from the LFA's network of existing and new event organisers. It was chosen by a curation panel, who also had input into the event.

The 2022 event will be shaped by a similar process, with the theme set to be announced later this year.

The post London Festival of Architecture appoints Rosa Rogina as director appeared first on Dezeen.

[gigslist]

24 Film Jobs and Casting Calls - SF and Worldwide

Paid and unpaid. The unpaid gigs looked interesting.

Casting Two Female Actresses For A Short

Location New York City, New York

Genre Action / Adventure

 Deadline Aug 14, 2021

Casting two female actresses (height 5'2 to 5'8) race is unimportant, age range 18 to 35 to play leading actor's girlfriend.  Script is already written, second half has been shot and edited. This is a pay job. Contact: GiovanniMota@msn.com  Please only serious inquiries.

==================================

Wanted: 2 Female Actors For Lgbtq Short

 Seeking Actor

 Location Los Angeles, California and Hollywood, California

 Status Development

 Type Short film

 Genre Female-driven • Romance

Deadline Oct 23, 2021

 About the job

WANTED: Two female Actors for LGBTQ Short “My Gabrielle.” Where SAMI (25) shy, poet, androgynous, falls in love with GABRIELLE (23) who is tall, thin, mocha skinned African American beauty. Her hair in long ringlets, (or braids) cascades down her back.  Gabrielle is a Las Vegas showgirl and dances in a chorus line. Sami got her MFA in creative writing, is a poet, and drives a motorcycle.

“My Gabrielle” is a 10-page short to be filmed in Hollywood. Two locations. Two actors. Would like to film as soon as possible, but willing to wait to find the perfect actors.

Please email Melissa at: melissa@melissalwhite.com with your resume, headshots, and link to your reel.

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Office Assistant

 Seeking Assistant Production Office Coordinator

 Location Studio City, Los Angeles County, California

 Status Post-production

 Type Episodic

 Genre All genres of TV • Television

 Deadline Jan 29, 2022

 About the job

DigitalFilm Tree, a post and production veteran

facility in Los Angeles, is a leader in cloud based dailies, remote editorial and finishing, VFX, archival services and on site/in house needs. We are an authority in cyber security for media & entertainment with ongoing R&D efforts that have contributed meaningful software applications to our community. As a multi talented collective of thought leaders, DigitalFilm Tree is hoping to add another super hero to our team - the glue of our team, the Office Assistant!

The role of DFT's Office Assistant encompasses a myriad of duties, from keeping phones, deliveries and pick ups covered, to keeping the facility sanitized every hour for the health and safety of our minimal on site staff, while pivoting quickly when one of those staff members has an urgent or client facing need. This role will also directly support and be an extension of our Chief Operations Officer who supports and serves every single department - flexibility, fast on your feet, clear and concise communication are critical to this role. If you love ''The West Wing,'' you're going to love working with our COO. Seriously, don't be shy about sending your long winded essays about the critical role Charlie played in the Bartlet Administration.

Soft Skills we seek:

• Interdisciplinary: meaning we all possess more than one strength across the scope of facility needs (i.e. our CTO is also our Senior Colorist, our Director of Content is also an authority in billing and data security, our Online Editor is also one of our content producers, etc.)

• Clear Communicator: Context is incredibly important to us. Because of the large scope of innovation we put forward, teams could easily lose track of what hand is doing that impacts the other. We prioritize efficiency, but never at the cost of leaving anyone in the dark.

• Endlessly Curious: While we respect the advancement being made outside of DFT, we know we have an incredibly gifted team of people in house who are and have built some of the most progressive M&E platforms in use on cutting edge shows. So we're constantly learning, building, breaking, battle testing and imagining new solutions for our client partners and do our best to remain brand and workflow agnostic.

What we're looking for in this role (in addition to comfort with the above):

Working in a fast-paced and busy facility, the Office Assistant is responsible for managing the heavy rotation of calls, deliveries, upkeep of common areas, ordering lunches, planning office events (on site and remote) to honor staff birthdays, holidays, etc. They also manage supplies for facilities management like kitchen, bathroom and printing needs.

Responsibilities Include:

• Significant project management in keeping track of receipts, office supplies, team preferences, birthdays, in bound deliveries (like media drives and machinery) and ensuring we never run out of supplies for the kitchen, bathroom, printers, and basic office supplies (i.e. pens, paper, post its, etc.)

• Phones - you are both a gate keeper, protecting the time of all those on site, as well as the very first or only touch point someone may have with our company. How you speak to people matters and we need to know we can trust you with our people and how we're being represented to anyone turning to us for support.

• Security Cameras and property awareness falls to the Office Assistant who is one set of eyes on our cameras. You'll alert various team members should their be an issue on property, you'll issue guests security badges (when we actually have guests again), and you'll be mindful of our neighborhood to ensure we're being a good member of our tiny Cahuenga community.

• Learn. Yep, that's a responsibility. We cannot teach ambition. Most folks at DFT have grown immensely from their first day to where they are now, with a large number of our team having been with us for over a decade. The number one responsibility of any DFT'er is to stay curious. Every single job here matters. Every single job here supports someone else on the team. We are interdependent and interdisciplinary.

• Covid Safety Protocols: You temperature check every employee and guest to DFT as well as sanitize surfaces and door handles every hour. You handle and sanitize inbound packages (packages are placed on the floor inside our door by vendors and you use a sanitizing spray gun to disinfect before touching with gloves). You ensure that everyone in office is wearing a mask at all times unless alone behind a closed door (most folks have a door at DFT).

• Billing Support: the Office Assistant provides a necessary hand to our accounting department, by facilitating weekly scanning and filing of financial documents, managing and filing receipts, and copying/scanning any additional financial documentation required.

• Honoring and supporting team members. Their birthdays should matter to you deeply. This is a hard enough time to try and connect, we want to make sure that our people know they're seen, valued and cared for - not everyone loves a big hulabaloo, but everyone does appreciate knowing they matter.

• Coffee. We cannot stress this enough. You're going to need to make a mean cup of coffee. This office is full of admitted coffee snobs with a borderline consumption problem.

• Lunches, Dinners, Catering - you'll be responsible for our twice weekly on site lunches (which may increase to 3x during busier seasons) and dinners for those working late - both lunches and dinners are also often extended to our team working from home, so you'll place orders you never see, but also need to check in with staff after delivery to ensure all went well and they're not left to solve for issues with their meals. Catering and holiday meals are generally organized through a vendor for us to offer as a pick up and re/heat at home (i.e. Thanksgiving were meals from Gelson's catering, Christmas we offered Whole Foods meals and ensure GF, Vegan, Allergies are accounted for with each person). Food is a love language we take seriously.

Experience & Education:

• High end hospitality background preferred.

• Media & Entertainment background a strong plus.

• Billing or accounting strengths are helpful.

• Direct support of a management role - having to anticipate needs - very helpful.

• Project management experience a strong plus.

If the above sounds like you and you're looking to join one of the strongest and most innovative teams in town, we'd love to hear from you!

Compensation: Range and categorization (salary versus hourly) DOE Dog friendly office / Fully or mostly paid

health insurance (depends on your choice of plan) / PTO One Medical service for ongoing Covid tests as well as virtual care and dedicated, on time visits with on site labs / Parking / Twice a week fitness sessions (virtual w/ trainer) / WFH often possible / Lunch provided 2-3x per week.

Contact Us: dftjobs@digitalfilmtree.com

Please attach your resume and tell us a bit about yourself in the email. It would help us to know:

1) What is the most effective way you've found to show people you care and are genuinely interested in supporting their goals?

2) Are you comfortable working on site, regularly sanitizing surfaces, providing your Covid vaccination card and taking Covid tests?

3) What is one movie you think best represents what it means to be a great team player and/or assistant?

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Actor

 Seeking Actor

 Location San Antonio, Texas

 Status Production

 Type Episodic

 Genre Comedy

 Deadline Aug 6, 2021

 About the job

Casting call. Unpaid but will get IMDB credit. Looking for a real-life acting couple to play these parts below.

Filming in San Antonio, TX but you can be located in any city as filming will be done remotely.

Mr. Campbell-30s to 40s. Socially awkward. He is trying to be more confident in the bedroom with his wife but he’s a little frightened by her.

Mrs. Campbell-30s to 40s. Bubbly and very outgoing. Loves her husband but annoyed he doesn’t want to indulge in her solicitous bedroom antics.

Email your headshot, reel and resume to lynette@chevalnoirfilms.com and kitina@chevalnoirfilms.com

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Videographer

 Seeking Videographer

 Location Montréal, Canada

 Status Production

 Type Internet project

 Genre Documentary / Docuseries

 Deadline Sep 7, 2021

 About the job

Looking for a videographer with equipment for a web docuseries. The details are:

Estimated shooting days: 5.

Estimated schedule: September 3rd to September 7th.

Location: Montréal, Canada

Task: Filming and derush of minor corrections of files if necessary.

Includes: Rental, installation, and handling of equipment.

Please send portfolio and cv at dickinson.seb@gmail.com

==========================================

Crew Up And Create A New Entertainment Source

 Seeking Crew, Actor, Editor and Director of Marketing & Distribution

 Location Washington, D. C., Los Angeles, California, San Francisco, California and New York City, New York

 Status Development

 Type Internet project

 Genre News

 Deadline Jan 28, 2022

 About the job

Hey Everyone, 

I am looking to build an Entertainment News source with a hungry team that wants to create something that would be also theirs. I am looking for Anchors, writers, editors, and more to help create this vision. With 20 years of working with networks, I have access to footage, interviews, and behind-the-scenes content that will make our channel unique and stand out. I would love to set up a small crew for a meeting and talk about what we can build together. 

This position isn't paid but all would have equal rights to the project and as the project grows and creates monetization, we'd all share equally. 

I am doing this because I love storytelling and would like to have a channel that would focus more on the art and not on the "Jen and Ben are back together!" moments. 

I've done a soft launch test on Facebook: https://fb.watch/715u4FsSDu/

========================================

Vfx-Artists For Star Wars Fan Film In Denmark

 Seeking Compositor, Concept Artist, Storyboard Artist and Visual Effects Artist

 Location Copenhagen, Denmark

 Status Post-production

 Type Pilot

 Genre Action / Adventure • Drama • Fantasy • Sci-Fi • Indie • Independent

Deadline Sep 8, 2021

 About the job

SHROUDED DESTINY: A STAR WARS LONG TALE - FAN PRODUCTION IS LOOKING FOR VFX-ARTISTS, CONCEPT ARTISTS AND MORE! (PRO BONO):

What is this?

"Shrouded Destiny: A Star Wars Long Tale" is the world's biggest independent fan film made in Denmark!

With more than 350 volunteers having lent their talents to the making of this 70 minutes pilot episode, this is an unsolicited pitch to Lucasfilm and Disney in the effort to get a meeting with the topfolks at Lucasfilm to meet myself and the producers to create an entirely original story in the Star Wars Universe!

Starring actors like International Emmy-Award winner, Lars Mikkelsen (House of Cards, Sherlock Holmes, Ride Upon The Storm); stunt performer Laûren Okadigbo (Justice Leauge, Wonder Woman, Krypton, Ready Player One); Magnus Bruun (The Last Kingdom, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla) and others, the fan film is a "pilot" aimed at showing the visual style and storyline in a small part of the planned 8-season storyline that takes place in the years 550-510 BBY. Imagine the scale of Game of Thrones; the meticulousness of The Wire, and the dysfunctional family relations of Breaking Bad spiced with the violence of The Raid, and you have an idea of what this film is all about. 

What do you need?

We've finished filming and are currently looking to recruit people in two areas: Immediate post production and creating illustrations for a Virtual Production Pitch Presentation. 

The post work includes things like: 

Keying

Matchmoving / camera tracking

Houdini DOPs

All-round compositors

If you have skills in these departments, why not send our VFX-supervisor, Peter Rongsted, an e-mail at pr@divopost.dk with an application?

We really want to engage people who are ambitious about their lives and their careers and are willing to set the time matching said ambitions to come work with us. This is a stepping stone for so many of us on this production and we're eager to make it a stepping stone for as many people as possible! Like every single soul working on this production, it is an unpaid assignment.

If you don't fit into the post-production categories we're looking for right now, send an email anyway. We're sure we'll be able to find something for you anyway.

For the Virtual Production Pitch, we're looking to emulate the style of "Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj", where illustrations of characters and environments are playing in the back, as we present the story of the film. 

It's an insanely ambitious endeavor and we hope that you as an illustrator, concept artist or Storyboard Artist can see the logic of being attached to a project, where the end goal is to have your work seen by the biggest folks in the film industry.

If you feel like this could be something down your alley, send an email to: mail@shahbaz.dk and we'll continue the conversation there. :-)

What do I get out of this?

Since a paycheck currently isn't in play, this project has to make sense to you on a different scale. 

We want to put this film out this year (Covid has already post-poned it more than a year) and this will offer you credits on a film that will most likely be viewed by millions of people via YouTube, since we're not selling this film, but merely working on a very over-zealous proof of concept. 

So you're in that point of your career, where you have the talent and time, but don't have the jobs right now and are looking to add things to your portfolio and you're not afraid to put forth ideas that you believe will strengthen the final product. 

Whatever time you have to offer, we'll gladly take, whether it's a few hours a day, a week or full-time commitment, we appreciate you. :-) 

You might just also be a really huge Star Wars fan and are ambitious of one day working for Disney or Lucasfilm and want to be able to get an in somehow. This project might be it, if you're not in the near vicinity of getting hired by a company working for them. :-)

=========================================

Actors, Sound

 Seeking Actor, Boom Operator and Makeup Artist

 Location Anchorage, Alaska

 Status Pre-production

 Type Episodic

 Genre Horror

 Deadline Jan 19, 2022

 About the job

Hi, this is strictly for fun. Just throwing this out there to see if anyone's interested with date TBA. We've just finished a fun, short horror film that we're proud of & would like to shoot a web series from it. We've already got quite a few eps written. Think Supernatural meets Stranger Things. *Actors need comic timing. This is not a paid job, but food will be provided. You must be in the  area, have training at least. We prefer experienced actors. We have an experienced crew & equipment. The set will be 100% safe. Please tell anyone you think might be interested! Thanks.

Contact me at: newsongmedia2@gmail.com - Kym

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Screenwriter Looking For Fellow Screenwriter

 Seeking Screenwriter

 Location Chicago, Illinois, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, Wheaton, Illinois and Downers Grove, Illinois

 Status

 Genre Thriller / Suspense / Mystery

 Deadline Jan 23, 2022

 About the job

Screenwriter available with whom I can collaboratewith Seeking to team up with someone to come up with new ideas, Putting strong hook in five pages.of the script looking for a fresh perspective for my ideas

50/50 split. writing new Movie Script. I have allots of new ideas for that.

If interested you can massage me here or Email me screenwriter892v3@yahoo.com or any other location you are at.

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Texas Snowstorm Victims

 Seeking Actor and Crew

 Location San Antonio, Texas, Austin, Texas, Dallas, Texas and Houston, Texas

 Status Pre-production

 Type Documentary

 Genre Historical / Biopic / True-stories

 Deadline Sep 1, 2021

 About the job

Looking for REAL PEOPLE who were impacted by the Texas Snowstorm 2021 for documentary to be shot in early September. 

AND CREW.

Message pkfilmsent@gmail.com

=====================================

Writer For Science Fiction Tv Show For Stream

 Seeking Screenwriter

 Location Brooklyn, New York

 Status Development

 Type Television

 Genre Drama • Sci-Fi • Television

Deadline Aug 15, 2021

 About the job

New York Production Company is seeking an experienced TELEVISION writer that writes Dramatic Science Fiction and who can think outside of the box. . This is NOT A REMOTE JOB. We are located in Brooklyn, NY and you will be required to report to location for the writer's room/ work each day.  For this job, there is no zoom interview and it is not a zoom job, you would have to come in person for the interview.  On-site Hours: Monday-Friday, 11am-7pm This project lasts for 1 month. Compensation: $660 per week We cannot stress enough that this is NOT a remote job. We need someone as soon as possible, ready to work, with open availability. If you have any doubts, please do not apply. Qualifications: - Must have at least 5-6 years experience writing drama and SciFi - Must have at least 5 years of experience writing for SERIES! as member of the writing team, you will be working to complete the entire first season of a SciFi television show for online streaming.  This means you MUST: -Be able to write, organize, and intertwine multiple plot lines and character arcs in a way that is real, appealing, and that does not create plot holes. -Be fantastic at scene creation. -Be meticulous with taking notes. We depend on our writers to accurately follow and update series bibles. Whatever is verbally created in writer's room meetings MUST make it onto paper! -Be punctual! Arrive on time for work each day and meet all deadlines. -Be creative, openminded, and a team player. -All writing, but especially something as fantastical as science fiction, works best when the writer is able to open their mind to all possibilities. - You must be ego-free, and be able to throw an idea out completely in order to facilitate a better one. Please submit Cover Letter, Resume, Samples of your EPISODIC work to wholepicassistant@gmail.com

=================================================

Screenwriter

 Seeking Screenwriter

 Location East Lansing, Michigan

 Status Development

 Type Short film

 Genre All genres, all formats.

 Deadline Sep 17, 2021

 About the job

OVERVIEW: The Department of Theatre is looking for original short film script submissions for consideration of production in May of 2022. This is an annual film production opportunity in collaboration with the students and faculty of the Department of Theatre. If selected, your script will go through the entire production process: Development, Pre-Production, Principle Photography, Post-Production, and Distribution (submitted for film festivals in the professional category.) 

You are expected to be available (either in person or via video conference) for two development meetings in Fall Semester 2021, and one in early Spring Semester 2022. These are primarily for script notes, which are also expected to be addressed. 

Submissions will be accepted now through September 15th, 2021. 

SCRIPT GUIDELINES: Scripts should be between 10 - 20 pages in standard screenplay format.  There must be 7-10 roles in the film (think ensemble pieces). The characters should be aged between 16 - 30 years old.  No driving with dialogue scenes. Some stunts are okay, but should be relatively limited.  Limited special effects requirements. Limited visual effects requirements. No period pieces at this time. Open to a variety of genres or styles as long as it adheres to the guidelines above. 

SELECTION PROCESS: Each script will be read by the Film Initiative Selection Panel. Final notifications will be made by October 15th 2021. 

COMPENSATION: The writer of the selected script will receive a $500 honorarium. 

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Please complete the Form Submission (https://forms.gle/koH25cp6BkA7...) and attach your screenplay with no identifying information. These are blind submissions, meaning, the pdf of your script should not have your name on the cover sheet or any other part of the document. Make sure your script includes a title page with the title of the film only. Global majority, female, and LGBTQI+ strongly encouraged to apply.

If you have any questions, please email Ryan: welshry2@msu.edu

================= ========================

Voice Over Artists And Actors

 Seeking Voice Artist

 Location Paris, France

 Status Post-production

 Type Feature film

 Genre Drama • Female-driven • Horror

 Deadline Sep 1, 2021

 About the job

Hello everyone,

I'm looking for V.O artists, actors or anyone willing to help me out on my first feature "CONFINED" (you can check out the movie on my page for more infos), entirely funded with personal funds. 

- I have 9 positions to fill (male or female) for American-English V.O: Journalist 1 (3 Lines) / Journalist 2 (3 Lines) / Journalist 3 (5 Lines) / Paranoid Dude (4 Lines) / US Official (4 Lines) / Journalist 4 (6 Lines) / Journalist 5 (5 Lines) / Evangelist ( 6 Lines) / Journalist 6 (4 Lines)

- I have 2 positions to fill (male or female) for Asian (can be any Asian language) V.O: Journalist 1 (2 Lines) / Asian Official (1 Line).

If you're interested by the roles, please contact me on here or at louis.tete@nyfa.edu

Thanks so much in advance for your help.

Louis.   

========================

Development And/Or Creative Executives - Pane

 Seeking Director of Marketing & Distribution

 Location Miami, Florida

 Status Development

 Genre All genres, all formats.

 Deadline Aug 30, 2021

 About the job

FILMSTOCK EVENTS "where talent meets opportunity"

 FILMSTOCK is the first of it's kind as the only industry expo offering in person meetings with agents, casting directors, film distributors, show runners and vendors and other industry professionals. Our date for the first annual FILMSTOCK is set for November 13th 2021 right in the middle of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF). 

Our vision is not a Sundance or a Tribecca Film Festival but a Business Industry Expo which I know is the first of it's kind. I am not talking about a networking event where everyone there is simply talking nonsense claiming to be in the business.

I am talking about professional and industry leaders from Photographers, Videographers, Industry Organizations, Graphic Artists, Make-up, Wardrobe, Set Design, Casting Directors, Soundstage Production House owner / operators, Kraft food services, executive transportation services, etc. These individuals / vendors will all be in the main lobby area where they have each purchased a table for the day at a cost of $79. Tables are standard six foot table with access to power, where they will display a banner ad or backdrop. 

 SPEEDCASTING -We are the first to offer a face to face live in person slate where Actors pay a fee to do a 10 minute monologue or just who they are to a panel (2 to 4) of Casting Directors and Agents. 3 hours 1pm to 4pm allows us 18 Actors to do their thing in front of the pros to hopefully get picked up. When an Actor registers he / she must upload a media bin, headshots, resume and if they plan on performing a monologue it cannot exceed 5 minutes. 

PITCHFEST - Same as above only now we have independent film makers pitching their project. They have already registered with a Treatment, Teaser, etc and they get 10 minutes to tell their story in hopes that a panel (2 to 4) of Distributors / Investor Producers may just give them a shot. Same time slots of 10 minutes each over 3 hours same = 18 pitches. 

We have broken down the above with a general admission day ticket $25.  All Access VIP ticket for $199 and in between for those interested in only the Pitchfest or Speedcasting a lower priced ticket. Door Prizes / raffle of high end electronics already in house donated from industry related companies such as Lume Cube. 

 NOTE - we are compensating the above professionals each $100.00 for their time on site open to close 12 noon to 4 pm paid at days end and they must be on site before 12 noon call time to set up . 

 Between social media, the coordination and support from FLIFF we expect a few hundred in attendance between 11 am and 4 pm that day.

 Sara Rogers is our CEO and has a huge following in the industry with over 40 years experience. Also included in this email is Rion Heldibridle our CFO and actively involved with Artserve in Sunrise Florida where the event will take place on Saturday November 13, 2021 along with Lou Silver, the COO with over 30 years experience in marketing and promotion and business development.

  Lou Silver, COO (954) 895-5801

Sara Roger, CE0 (786) 247-7761

FILMSTOCK EVENTS 

==================

Help With Writing Script

 Seeking Screenwriter

 Location Mission Viejo, California and Los Angeles, California

 Status Development

 Type Television

 Genre Drama

Deadline Dec 17, 2021

 About the job

I need help writing my script. If you know anyone who can help me out, I’d appreciate it. You can reach me at +13108632713 or ashleyadams531@gmail.com

===================

Cast, Crew and Admin Wanted 

 LocationLos Angeles, California StatusDevelopment TypeFeature film GenreSci-Fi • Action • Romance

The storyline

One day a young man discovered the meaning of Kleroterion, the ancient Greek model of elections of the rulers.  From that point on, he tries to rearm “The Kleroterion” based on an Artificial Intelligence. 

Actors

Development department

Production management department

Craft department

Technical department

Post-production department

Sales and distribution department

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScXOGVN93x60UHa-GSxV1-T58blaHT1QaSA_EApyGLtl_BdjA/viewform

=================

Dop And Editor (Collaboration Only)

 Seeking Director of Photography

 Location Guwāhāti, India

 Status Development

 Type Feature film

 Genre Drama • Female-driven • Independent • Romance

Deadline Aug 31, 2021

 About the job

Hi, I am all set to shoot my second feature film "MINI" by second half this year . Looking for DOP and editor who can come as   collaborators only . I can give rights accordingly . Feel free to write to me at arunjit.borah@gmail.com for more details .

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7961313/

========================

Nonbinary Social Media Take On Romeo & Juliet

 Seeking Screenwriter

 Location Los Gatos, California, New York City, New York and Los Angeles, California

 Status Development

 Type Episodic

 Genre Drama • Romance

Deadline Nov 25, 2021

 About the job

SEARCHING FOR WRITER TO TACKLE NON-TRADITIONAL TAKE ON ROMEO & JULIET

I’m the Director of Content Development for Sideway - an innovative new streaming service that uses the mechanics of social media to tell fictional stories - and we are looking for a writer to develop a new, gender nonconforming version of Romeo and Juliet for our platform. If you have any kind of direct, personal connection to nonconforming gender praxis, or fall anywhere on the LGBTIAQ+ spectrum, this is the gig for you. If you are a straight white guy, probably not.

A little more about the platform itself: Sideway is a mobile-only app that resembles a social media app in how it’s navigated, but populated by fictional characters rather than real people. Each show on Sideway takes place within an entirely simulated social world, complete with video chats, DMs, posts, likes, comments, all of which make up the stories told.

In bringing this new version of Romeo & Juliet to life, we are hoping to retain as much of the original text as possible, while at the same time not being sacred about prudent dramatic changes. That said, the framework of the story - the setting, character relationships, world and texture - are entirely up to you. It needs to be set in the present day, given the nature of the app itself, but all other aspects of the story are open to creative interpretation. 

Please submit resume and a brief pitch to brian@sideway.com. Am happy to discuss the concept, platform, compensation and expectations further, and answer any and all questions.

Happy writing!

==================

Open Theatre Auditions: Ben Hur (Brixham, Dev

 Seeking Actor

 Location Brixham, United Kingdom

 Status Production

 Type Theatre

 Genre Action / Adventure • History • Faith-based / Inspirational • Drama

Deadline Aug 29, 2021

 About the job

OPEN THEATRE AUDITIONS We are casting all roles in a regionally touring, plus globally streamed production of Ben Hur Auditions for all roles on Sunday August 29th 2021, at 1pm onwards at our home rehearsal base of Chestnut Community Centre, 1-3 Poplar Close, Brixham TQ5 0SA (this is as long as Covid restrictons allow. If they do not, we will be conducting alternative auditions online using Zoom) * Actors must be based in/ near Devon, UK. (Rehearsals - as long as Covid allows - are in Brixham, Devon), * All roles open for casting. * Paid profitshare as minimum (funding for higher cast/crew payments actively being sought) plus portfolio material. * Many roles being cast "genderblind". * All ethnicities needed and welcomed. *We do not charge you anything to audition or work with us. Download the full audition information pack from https://www.southdevonplayers.com/auditions.html SYNOPSIS: Based on the famous novel by Lew Wallace, and brought to life by strong, memorable characters, both male and female, Ben Hur is set in the first century AD. Judah Ben Hur, a young nobleman of Jerusalem, a city under the occupation of the Roman Empire, is framed for the attempted murder of the Roman governor, by his erstwhile closest boyhood friend, Massala, now a Roman commander. Sentenced to life as a galley slave; a sentence which usually led to death within months, Judah survives, and after a pirate attack on the Roman navy in the Agean sea, travels to Rome a hero, having saved the life of the Roman commander in his escape. He once more returns to Jerusalem, seeking his mother and sister, who were imprisoned for the same attack, and finds no trace of them. He does however, find Massala, and blinded by rage, challenges Massala at the annual Roman “games”. Massala is killed in the Games, with his dying breath, reveals to Judah that his mother and sister were in fact released and driven from the city as lepers. With all hope, and all lust for revenge, gone, Judah is lost, but fate is not finished with him. He eventually finds his mother and sister, who are miraculously healed by a preacher, who has recently come to the city. A historical action drama set in Biblical times, interwoven with the life and death of Jesus Christ, who appears twice in the drama, this is ultimately a powerful tale of hope and love, set within the dramatic and often brutal times of the Roman Empire. We are a female-led theatre company based in the beautiful fishing port of Brixham, in Southwest England, to create top quality local opportunities for local creatives to create work in theatre, and to bring new productions to audiences across the South of England. Founded in 2005. Creating internationally awardwinning theatre based on historical events (including new writing) and stage adaptations of classical literature. Breaking down barriers to participating in theatre for actors, crew, and audiences alike. We love to hear from new prospective actors, creatives and audiences at any time, regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, or experience. www.southdevonplayers.com www.facebook.com/sdevonplayers www.twitter.com/sdevonplayers email: southdevonplayers@gmail.com

================

Actors: Act From Home - Online Table Reads

 Seeking Actor

 Location Los Angeles, California, New York City, New York, Chicago, Illinois and London, England

 Status Development

 Type Live event

Deadline Sep 12, 2021

 About the job

ONLINE TABLE READS - We pay actors to bring scripts to life! Your voice can help a writer experience their work in a different way. Does the dialogue work? Do the twists and turns actual twist and turn?

Go to https://onlinetableread.com/ to apply for ongoing positions.

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Screenwriter Writing Partner

 Seeking Screenwriter

 Location Chicago, Illinois and Wheaton, Illinois

 Status

 Genre Thriller / Suspense / Mystery

Deadline Sep 11, 2021

 About the job

Someone I know seeking Writing Partner is asking to bonce ideas back and fourth. Make script workable putting strong hook in 5 pages. Make script vary intresting.

If intrested send me email screemwriting892v3@yaoo.com ty

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Dancer And Performer

 Seeking Dancer

 Location San Francisco, California

 Status Pre-production

 Type Music video

 Genre Music • Musical • Indie • Experimental • Fantasy • Mystery

Deadline Sep 11, 2021

 About the job

Hi everyone,

I am directing and producing a music video for an indie singer and songwriter. I am looking to find female and male dancers (ballet or modern dance).

If you are interested in collaborating, please contact me. 

asadi.designer@gmail.com 

Niloo Asadi

================

Editor For A Short Teaser

 Seeking Editor

 Location Stockholm, Sweden

 Status Pre-production

 Type Promo

 Genre Crime

Deadline Sep 10, 2021

 About the job

Looking for an editor with great skills and has significant experience. 

We will be shooting a promo of 1-2 min length ( Max ) If you have a editing reel please send it. 

Open to worldwide applicants. 

Send to houseofredproductions@gmail.com

===================

Actors

 Seeking Actor

 Location Denver, Colorado

 Status Pre-production

 Type Short film

 Genre Horror

Deadline Oct 31, 2021

 About the job

Dark Park Films Presents: Reign of Vibrant Screams: Tales of Cosmic Horror Director- Gino Alfonso Ginome Films Fresh Cola Four preteen friends go out in search for a new hot soda, called Fresh Cola with some bizarre side effects Short - Unpaid This is for an anthology series that will be released in January filming for 2 days sometime in Nov - (masks will be worn on set when not shooting and six feet apart and temperatures will be taken upon arrival on set) Need - kids ages 12 Mia - Hispanic - 12 Chris - African-American - 12 Jake - Caucasian - 12 (sandy blond hair) Katie (Jake’s sister) 12 (sandy blonde hair) Mom (30’s) of Jake and Katie Dad (30’s) of Jake and Katie Curtis - Store clerk any age adult any ethnicity Please email headshot/resume and if you have a reel - to Ginomefilms@gmail.com

==============

[the-for-real-af-deal]

From my "My Brother's Keeper" RWBY AU, team JADE. Jaden Nikos, the teams leader, came to Beacon with a mixed reputation: his skills as a sharpshooter and his dashing looks, both modeled after the Mistral Skirmishers of the Great War, are countered by a distant manner, with a sense almost of guilt hanging over him. To say nothing of rumors about his final trials at Sanctum combat school... His deepest secret, one only discovered by his teammates on accident, is a weak Aura, one that has left him with more than a few scars. While he tends to harbor many sectrets, he is still a capable leader, if one determined to carry the heaviest loads, to the annoyance of his partner... Amber Valewood, idealistic, no-nonsense, and compassionate rolled into one, could not have been more disappointed when she discovered her partner, Jaden, did not live up to his Mistralian sterotype of artistic and vivacious. The distant, almost dour way which Jaden carried himself left her wrong-footed, for a time at least. Only upon discovering and confronting him over the pain pills he used to put up with his plethora of injuries wrought by his weak Aura was she able to break through his shield, using her own skills as a herbologist and apothecary student to help him, To say nothing of her refusal to be put off by the air of guilt he carried on his shoulders. A powerful dust-user, Amber's most potent abilities lie in the use of Wind Dust, though her hand-to-hand skills are lacking, much to Jaden's amusement when the two would train together. As dour as Jaden as wont to be, he looked positively cheerful compared to Dietrich Feldgrau. A son of old Mantle nobility, Dietrich's upbringing had been dark as his manner, as his family lost prestige and fortune in the wake of Atls' rise to prominence in Solitas. A Stark contrast to both his partner Ebony and his twin brother Friedrich, Dietrich's deadpan voice often serves as a purveyor of blunt wisdom, cutting through "emotional softness" to get to the heart of a matter. Only through his violin is he willing-and indeed, able- to truly express himself. Nevertheless, his own skills as a sharpshooter allowed him to bond with his team leader, and his emotionless air has slipped-slightly- on occasion, particularly to Fawn over Jaden's ultra-rare Skirmisher rifle. If any personality could round out team JADE, it would be that of Ebony Shale. Vivacious, outgoing, and extroverted almost beyond logic, she played no small part in the building of her team's reputation for dash and elan, often telling long, winding stories of her team's exploits, each one containing enough truth to add to the legends all the mote. Her perpetual optimism often quelled the arguments that would spring up among her teammates. Nevertheless, she can be serious when it is called for, and her skills with her paired lever-action shotgun-scimitars and years of survival skills wrought by her Vacuo upbringing have made her a crucial part of her team. Her ongoing project is, of course, to get her partner Dietrich to SMILE for once, for goodness' sake! [=] The main "past" team in my "My Brother's Keeper" AU, or MBK!AU, as found in my fanfiction. Link to come.

[notes-from-a-small-english-woman]

Kindness Is Key

As part of the Huffington Post’s “All Women Everywhere” project, which aims to reflect the diversity of the British female experiences and voices through journalistic articles throughout March, actress Emilia Clarke wrote an article entitled “The New Sexy”. In this article, she approaches the topic of feminism and her own place within it with tact and grace. She recognises and admits that her own upbringing, grounded in equality, gave her a privilege that not all women have; the confidence and opportunity to have a voice that can be heard. She also addresses the problem of how women in her position who hold feminist views are made to feel like “guilty feminists” because they have not experienced oppressive sexism as strongly as others, but again approaches this issue tactfully, explaining that her situation has given her opportunity to understand the oppression of other women and the means to stand up against this. Moving on to the crux of her article, Clarke emphasises the importance of kindness in the fight for equality, to eradicate hate from our society where people are so used to tearing each other down (and being torn down themselves). It was at this point during my reading of her piece that I really began to engage with what she was saying, because it was a philosophy I already try to live by.  

There’s a phrase I’ve seen circulating around Facebook, on those “inspirational quotes” pages, which really strikes me: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This quote, while not directly reflecting Clarke’s argument, outlines the basic aim I believe everybody should try to have within their lives: to make other people feel good around you. This may seem like an obvious ideal, as everybody likes to be liked, but in eighteen years of life I have had so many experiences with people who seem to live to tear other people down. Sadly, this is one big issue in social justice groups such as feminists, as women (thought they are fighting for equality) have this sense of competitiveness and individualism ingrained so deeply within them that they often fight among themselves about who actually deserves to be called a “real feminist”. In this sense, Clarke’s argument comes into play, with the idea of building other people up, as she says that “one woman’s success, is every woman’s gain”. If every woman in the world decided to stop fighting with each other and sectioning themselves off into sub-categories of “women”, the equality movement would move a whole lot more smoothly as its opponents would find it much harder to fight a unified force than a fragmented and dissonant one.

Extending this idea past feminism and equality movements into a general philosophy of life, simply the idea that everybody should just try to be kind to each other speaks to me on a very personal level. As a person who feels a bigger rush of happiness and achievement from making somebody smile than from getting a high grade on an essay, I can completely say that kindness is underrated in our society. I don’t think for one second that people are innately cruel, or that we as a species are becoming unkind – there are so many examples of some amazing acts of kindness by so many people – but I feel like maybe we have lost sight of the little everyday things we could do to make everybody’s lives just that little bit more pleasant. Something that really struck me was the influx of stories coming out about George Michael, after he died, detailing hundreds of his anonymous acts of incredible generosity. The sheer number of people who had these experiences with him really overwhelmed me, to think that this amazingly talented artist had a legacy of such kindness and pure humanity really gave me faith that there is a true essence of goodness in us. One thing that people seem to say in stories about George Michael or other celebrities who they have had similar experiences with is “I will always remember them as the person who did ...” It got me thinking about what I want to be remembered for when I die and the truth is, I would much rather be remembered as a kind-hearted person who made people who met them feel good than as a successful artist or professional. As a university student, I think sometimes about how the people I know now will remember me in ten, twenty, thirty years’ time. I hope they remember me as being the girl who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, whether it be to say something contrary to popular opinion (as an English literature student with not much experience with the classics, I often have different views on the literary canon to my fellow students) or to simply tell someone I enjoyed their presentation or love their outfit today. If someone is looking back through their yearbook in the year 2047 with their children, sees my picture and says “Oh that’s Kesi, I remember her, lovely girl”, I will be ecstatic. Too often I see people trying their utmost to impress everyone with their intellectual remarks, but there is a fine line between intellectual and pretentious, and they often fall to the side of the latter. At the end of the day, nobody will remember you for the grades you got, they’ll remember how you made them feel.

I used the example of large-scale random acts of generosity by celebrities because these are the things we hear about through social media, it’s something we are aware of as a collective. An issue with this is the distance it creates between the individuals and the acts of kindness, as they are often too big to be done by people who don’t have millions of pounds to give to strangers or the superstar status to perform a free concert for NHS staff. Because of this distance, people possibly feel like there is nothing they can do to help others and so they don’t bother. This is why I love movements such as “pay it forward” or “random acts of kindness”, which encourage little, achievable gestures towards others which, while only really requiring minimal effort to do, can have a huge impact on the person on the receiving end. I mean, I once spent the last three hours of a shift at work with a huge grin on my face and a spring in my step because some customers (an elderly couple) told me I had a beautiful smile. Working in retail, I tried to make my interaction time with customers as pleasant as possible, which involved generally being polite, making conversation and smiling a lot. Receiving that once compliment made my entire work ethic feel validated in a job where most of the time it felt pointless (people can be quite rude to minimum wage retail workers), and it made my day a million times better. To refer to my earlier point about how people remember you, I will always remember that couple as the lovely people who made me feel so happy when they complimented me at work, whereas I have some people who I will always recognise on the street as people who made me miserable when they were rude to me as customers.

The idea that people remember traits such as kindness more than anything else about you was introduced to me, funnily enough, through Harry Potter. One of the few things Harry is told about his mother, that is repeated constantly throughout the series, is her kindness. In the film of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Remus Lupin tells Harry that his mother was “ an uncommonly kind woman” who had “a way of seeing the beauty in others, even, and perhaps most especially, when that person couldn't see it in themselves.” The series also presents a certain value of kindness, with Dumbledore telling Harry that he is “ unfailingly kind: a trait people never fail to undervalue”, comparing him to his mother. Growing up seeing these kind of traits celebrated in the stories I loved so much, I started to absorb these kinds of values myself. My moral education is ongoing, of course. I am one of those people who spent a lot of time watching YouTubers during my teenage years (and currently into my adult years) and one YouTuber I have continued to be inspired by is Carrie Hope Fletcher (her channel is called ItsWayPastMyBedtime if you want to check it out). She is one of my idols for many different reasons, but the one I want to focus on here is her philosophy that she first talked about in her video “Nice for No Reason”, where she encouraged her audience to carry post-it notes and a pen around and leave nice messages in public places to brighten other people’s days. She often talks about how she tries to be polite and friendly to service staff and strangers, the importance of smiling and the power in a simple act of kindness such as saying “have a nice day” to somebody. Watching her videos from the age of around fourteen, the values she promotes helped to shape my attitudes towards others and inspired me to try to be as kind as she encourages people to be.

Another inspiration I had for aspiring to kindness was my mother. Having grown up in the USA, she has a quite bubbly, outgoing personality compared to the slightly more reserved manner of the typical English person, so I was always very aware of how her behaviour towards others was different – she will just chat and joke with random strangers next to us in a queue or with service staff. I remember asking her why she did this, when I was probably around twelve or thirteen and in that moody hormonal phase where your family’s very existence is embarrassing, and she said “they’re a human being, not just a machine that’s there to serve me”. Her answer stuck with me. I had never really thought about that before. I wasn’t rude to customer service people or anything, I just got away with the bare minimum of communication and then left (in my defence, I was a shy child, but even so I probably should have said thank you more than I did). She made me realise that the bare minimum really isn’t enough, that being a kind person requires putting in that tiny bit of extra effort in your daily interactions with others. I remember once walking around a supermarket with my family when I was quite young and seeing this older teenage girl, probably around seventeen years old, who looked absolutely stunning. I can’t remember exactly what she was wearing, but I remember her entire outfit and her hair and makeup were just beautiful. I really wanted to go up to her and tell her how amazing she looked, but I didn’t because I felt like that would be weird and unappreciated. Looking back on that now, I realise that a lot of people are probably stopped by that fear, which is crazy really because what seventeen-year-old girl would be offended by a ten-year-old coming up to them and telling them they’re beautiful? I feel like the world would be a lot nicer to live in if people said more of the nice things that they thought about others and less of the negative.

A great thing I think we could all try this year is to do something nice for someone every day. It doesn’t have to be something big, simply saying “thank you” and “have a nice day” to the driver as you walk off the bus would be a start. Complimenting people’s outfits is always a nice thing to do, and it doesn’t mean you have to lie, if you don’t like someone’s outfit don’t say you do, but you are very unlikely to legitimately think that everybody around you is dressed poorly. Just make someone smile. It’s not difficult, it doesn’t put you out in any way. It can only be a positive thing.

Make someone smile today.

Until next time, folks!

[kendrixtermina]

Extra Typology Vol #1 - Jovial Funfacts

Stats: passive and positive - 

(Positive Nature is easily regocnized in their sunny, humorous demeanor, the passivity not so much as they tend to be involved with many people or projects & care for many dependents - It has more to do with their tendency to be accepting with their surroundings & social circles rather than feeling that they must be changed)

Rough Analoga: ENFx, soc 2, soc 7,  Exuberant, Dramatic

Particularities:

Basics: Jolly, nurturing, harmonizing, parental, generous

Enjoy bright colors, rich fabrics and flamboyant costumes and may own a large collection of clothing for a variety of social events

Like to have many visitors or even semi-president visitors; Love to care for people’s wellbeing.

Lovers, supporters & occasionally great producers of all manners of arts. Has well-developed verbal abilities. 

Enjoys life’s finer pleasures and seems to naturally avoid or ignore unpleasant or darker things

Enjoy their possesions; Have a hard time not buying lovely things, including as generosity towards others, always tempted to buy gifts or invite everyone for dinner; Can be sort of agressive in their hospitality, making sure every guest gets their plate filled

Usually have as many different pursuits, hobbies and undertakings as they have friends, but follow them more in the periodical manner of a shifting current obsession than all at once; Might spend months engrossed in a topic & then not look at it for years. Inclined to a harmonious & creative lifestyle with a natural depht.  Can be polymaths. 

Each hobby or sphere of life (job etc.) may come with its own cluster of friends

One of their greatest strenghts is their skill at harmonizing; Good at mediating disputes, resolving differences, smoohing over disagreements and reaching mutually satisfactory agreements. Should the fighting actually break out, tho, you can expect them to get out of there. Though they’ll do their best to keep things pleasant and civil, they have a low tolerance for life’s unpleasant side. 

Little tolerance for solitude - won’t necessarily have a ton of friends but at least a small, devoted family might be required to meet their needs

Strenghts:

emotional sensitivity to people

intellectual capacity for sholarship

empathy

genuine concern for others

effective speaking & persuasion

frequently very accomplished

can be good managers because of their ability to work well with people and keep their subordinates satisfied (though someone else might need to do the flowcharts and gritty organizational designs)

Common Pitfalls:

When the periodical interest-shiting becomes too pronounced, there can be a risk of indecisiveness, dilletantism, flightyness and superficiality, leading their pursuits to remain pipe dreams

Vanity over own abilities

keeping score of every favor; insufficient reciprocation might lead to resentment and vindictiveness

Generosity can be exagerrated to the degree of overwhelming/ smothering others

Career Recomendations:

Business & Sales, particularly where discriminating tastes and customer interactions are required; Genuinely want to help the customer

Diplomats & ambassadors

Teachers of any kind - would be simultaneously aware of their student’s needs and respectful of the standards required in the subject areas

Doctors & nurses

Psychologists & psychiatrists

Politics

Anything where they can interact with others

In relations:

Their harmonizing abilities make them generally popular and well-liked by almost anyone

Would prefer to mantain a self-image as fine fellows who get along with anyone, but under the surface they have preferences & aversions just like anyone else.

As a parent, has a winning combination of warmth & discipline out of a genuine concern for the child’s welfare in both present and future

Will tend to pay host to all the other children in the neighborhood if their kids play with them

Intertype Relations:

Their ideal match is the mercurial, likely to share a lot of interestes an inclinations despite their vastly different speed of movement. Both are likely to be natural entertainers who enjoy the spotlight, but in ways that complement rather than compete with each other. This combination if often found attending cultural/ artistic events in flashy clothing, be it as a married couple, business partners or good friends. 

They also tend to get along with the other negative types - they do well in business partnerships with the energetic Martials who can implement their extensive plans and take care of the solitary portions of work while the Jovian smoothes over their lack of diplomacy. 

Though Lunars are not inclined to come to the Jovian’s parties, the Jovians see a challenge in and occasionally suceed ad softening up their gloomy demeanor. 

They are, however, not inherently drawn to the other positive types, possibly because they feel positivity is their territory or because they feel that Saturns, Solars and venusians don’t make appreciative audiences.

They might clash with the Saturns in particular as neither is likely to be interested in the other’s wise guidance and both have their own systems of ‘satelites’ to manage. Besides, the Saturn’s natural reserve asceticism doesn’t exactly endear itself to the Jovial’s outgoing and indulgent nature. 

How to get along with:

If you have a Jovial in your life, you can count yourself fortunate. There are many ongoing benefits to being part of their family or their entourage of friends; They are not only sympathetic to your problems but will not rest until they are solved.

If you ever need a loan, a job or a place to stay, the Jovial will either provide it or pull some contacts among their friends - The only payment they ever want is for you to be happy and perhaps just a little grateful

The Jovial thrives on admiration and affection, so as long as you remember to supply these commodities, you can count on a harmonious and pleasant relationship

How to parent:

Jovial children are usually a joy to raise and will create pleasantness & harmony around them throuhout their childhood and adolescence

It is tempting to indulge or spoil such a child as they will greatly appreciate the spoiling, but as your kid is already bound to have a lot of charme and talents, you’ll do better to try to teach them self-control, discipline and preseverance which does not come to them as naturally

Subtypes/ Aspects:

Instinctual: Might be drawn to healthcare or gastronomy professions. Tend to be homebodys very attached to their family unit.

Moving: Your basic eccentric inventor or the sort to run some small business with an original idea behind it; might be good at stuff like bridge or chess. likely inventive. 

Intellectual: Most likely drawn to the humanities. Great debaters. Might fill leadng roles in academic settings

Emotional: The most common subtype. Might be drawn to the arts as a writer or musician, or become a religious community leader. 

(AN: This is so my mom. Shout out to my mom. Bless you mom. Best mom ever. I <3 mom.)

[agplus3]

Job Of The Day 3-5-2020

*US CITIZENS*  JOB OPENINGS!!

Are you in the market of finding a new career? Are you actively seeking a new position? If so, tell me what it is you're looking for. I am a recruiter and I have access to many job openings that may not be posted on job search engines.

Send me a message , we can talk in private. Or, if you want, leave a comment. I'll be happy to help! :-)

AG Plus 3 Recruiting

agplus3@hotmail.com

 If you see a job you are interested in or may be qualified for and want more details on that job, message me with the Job Title, City and State of that job and I can get you all the information needed!

 Also, like and follow my page AG Plus 3 Recruiting to stay up to date with the most recent job openings!! You can find me on Instagram, Liknedin, FB Page, Twitter and Youtube!

 Just because you don’t see a job listing in your city or state, doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t one. It might just mean I didn’t get to that one today. You can always message me and ask what it is you’re looking for and I will be happy to take a look 😊

  SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGER

LOCATION

Dover, DE

TYPE

Direct Hire

SALARY

$115 - $130,000 / yr

POSTED

Mar 2, 2020

 TITLE:  Manager, Supply Chain  

Bonus eligible; Relocation package; Outstanding benefits

JOB SUMMARY:

The Plant Supply Chain Manager for 300+ person industrial equipment manufacturer. Oversee all procurement, materials supply, and logistics. Supervise a team of several dozen personnel. Reports to Site Manager.

 REQUIREMENTS:

BS degree

8 years of supply chain experience in a plant manufacturing environment.

  CNC PROGRAMMERS / MACHINISTS

LOCATION

Orlando, FL

TYPE

Direct Hire

SALARY

$27 / hr

POSTED

Jan 28, 2020

Our client is in need of Multiple CNC machinists with computer numeric controlled (CNC) experience.

From setup to operation to produce parts and tools from metal, plastic or other materials.

Computer numeric controlled equipment is precision machinery that cuts, grinds, or drills into the material.

CNC machinists make adjustments to the machine to control speed, material feed and path of the cut, as well as make sure the machines are set up properly, working well, and producing quality product.

CNC machinists make sure their machines are working at full capacity, are stocked with needed materials, well-maintained and perform periodic checks on output.

They look at the finished product to ensure it is defect-free and ready for the next step in production.

 OVERALL DUTIES:

Must be able to program, setup, and operate CNC machines

Must be able to deburr own parts

  ACCOUNTING MANAGER

LOCATION

Alpharetta, GA

TYPE

Direct Hire

SALARY

$70,000 - $80,000 / yr

POSTED

Mar 4, 2020

We are currently seeking an Accounting Manager in the Alpharetta, GA area

Responsibilities and Requirements:

A global manufacturer having multiple locations across North America as well as throughout the world. The Accounting Manager will direct and manage the plant financial reporting and cost accounting activities.

This position has a strong focus in cost accounting, inventory control and production planning capacity. The candidate should have strong experience in manufacturing cost accounting, cost variance reporting, inventory control, scrap reduction efforts and in working with Plant Management in helping to make the facilities cost efficient. This role is responsible for the plant financial analytics to include plant analytics, dashboards and plant KPI’s and internal control procedures.

This position will report to the Business Unit Controller.

Key Responsibilities:

Control of the plant costs factors of labor, overhead and freight

Control the plant waste of scrap, raw and finished goods inventory and control of material variances

Performs product line profitability analysis and analyze the daily job variance with plant supervisors

Tracks and monitors production capacity

Prepares and reviews various daily operating metrics to monitor business performance

Analyzes and reviews bills of material to ensure accurate product costing

Prepares actual versus budget analysis, manufacturing profit variance analysis, and actual to standard cost comparisons

Performs product line profitability analysis

Organizes and leads the annual physical inventory and manages the cycle counting process as appropriate and monitor of inventory levels (raw material, WIP and finished goods)

Prepares month end manufacturing variance reports with KPI's and Dashboards

Job Qualifications:

BS Degree in Accounting / Finance

4+ years of cost accounting experience in a manufacturing environment providing Cost Accounting oversight and experience in manufacturing plant settings

Strong experience with inventory control, plant reporting metrics, capacity planning and providing and preparing operations financial analysis tools

Solid plant operations experience including key plant metrics drivers, cost containment, inventory and scrap control

Demonstrated experience as a business partner and financial leader to Plant Managers / General Manager of Business Units

Dynamic and outgoing personality

Experience with larger ERP manufacturing fully integrated softwares

Strong Excel skills

Excellent communications skills; verbally and in writing

Some travel is required for this position to plant location(s)

 INSIDE SALES SPECIALIST

LOCATION

Garden City, NY

TYPE

Direct Hire

SALARY

$45,000 - $45,000 / yr

POSTED

Mar 5, 2020

Our client is a leading publisher of business directories and due to rapid growth and increased demand, we are looking to hire an Inside Sales Specialist onto our client’s team who enjoys speaking with people and has a talent for presenting our company’s products and services to prospective clients who have expressed interest in learning more about the products and services. As an Inside Sales Specialist, you will have opportunities for ongoing development in the company and a great team supporting you in the sales processes. You will receive training on our products along with their content and pricing to convey to your clients. The ideal candidate will have a great work ethic, sales experience, and a desire to win. This exciting position will maximize your sales skills and provide substantial financial rewards.

 Compensation-Base salary plus commission -$80,000 earnings the in first year and over $100,000 in the second year

 Requirements and Responsibilities:

 Able to handle/overcome objections by providing clients with accurate information and emphasizing the benefits of the services we provide

Must be able to generate new business by outbound calling

4+ years of inside sales and/or outbound selling experience

Must be capable of the closing process

Assisting members in gathering new and updated biographical information for our database of 1.5 million people

Offer products and services to executives and professionals online to increase their credibility and visibility

Present our clients with new products and services offered by our company

Create new branding customer base

Converse with business professionals on any level.

Time management and organizational skills

Ability to work at own pace, independently

Must have exceptional verbal and written communication skills

Maintaining detailed notes in our database

Work independently in a fast-paced work environment

Qualifications

 4+ years of sales experience required

Your determination to succeed matches our desire for you to succeed

You are flexible and self-motivated

   RN / HOSPICE DIRECTOR OF NURSING

LOCATION

Charleston, SC

TYPE

Direct Hire

SALARY

$85,000 - $92,000 / yr

POSTED

Mar 2, 2020

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:  Do not apply for this position unless you have home health or hospice experience.  No exceptions.  Thank you.

 Description:

The Director of Nursing is responsible for the overall clinical operation of the hospice care agency. Key responsibilities involve budgetary, management, leading the activities of the nursing team, providing clinical direction, and ensuring growth and profitability of the agency. Our candidate will possess the ability to work well with an interdisciplinary team to ensure quality levels consistent with professional standards and goals.

 Job Requirements:

Leadership and strong clinical leadership experience is a must. At least 2 years Hospice/Home Care clinical leadership experience is required

 Educational Requirements:

Currently licensed as a Registered Nurse (RN) in good standing with the State Board in which he/she practices. Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing preferred.

IDEAL CANDIDATE

Leadership and strong clinical leadership experience is a must. At least 1-2 year Hospice/Home Care clinical leadership experience is required

  PLANT SAFETY SPECIALIST

LOCATION

Springfield, IL

TYPE

Direct Hire

SALARY

$75,000 - $85,000 / yr

POSTED

Mar 3, 2020

Safety Specialist position will support a large industrial facility and drive the continuous improvement of the health & safety process for the site. Develop and implement safety systems and programs, audits, training, industrial hygiene, emergency response and related activities.  This position is part of the EHS Department and will report into the site EHS Manager.    

Technical expertise in areas of developing and delivering training, machine guarding assessments, LOTO and EHS Management System implementation highly preferred.

Bachelor degree plus (3) years of plant level safety experience required.  Relocation assistance will be offered along with excellent benefit program and competitive compensation.  

  ELECTRICAL ENGINEER

LOCATION

Jacksonville, FL

TYPE

Direct Hire

POSTED

Jan 15, 2020

In the Electrical Engineer role, you will have the opportunity to serve as Project Manager, Client Manager, and Senior Project Engineer. In addition, you will have the unique opportunity to help to lead and continue to grow our office’s electrical engineering team. Advancement opportunities exist beyond the position of Electrical Engineer as our upper leadership team continues to transition into new roles and additional branch offices are formed.

 Requirements:

• 5+ years of experience in the design of buildings and related projects

• Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering

• Registered Electrical Engineer with ability to obtain registration in Florida

• Experience in the design of power distribution, lighting and fire alarm systems for healthcare,

commercial, multi-family, assisted living and institutional projects

• Experience with AutoCAD/Revit

• Design and management experience with a focus on:

        o Client Satisfaction

        o Quality

        o Managing architectural projects

 Design and management experience with a focus on Client Satisfaction, Quality, Leading and managing a technical staff, Managing architectural projects

 Recommendations:

• NCEES License

• LEED AP accreditation

• Understanding knowledge of applicable codes and healthcare guidelines

 Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the leadership to the office’s Electrical Engineering Department

• Lead multi-discipline engineering teams on selected projects, serving as the client’s main point of contact for the engineering team

• Provide oversight of electrical engineering projects

• Maintain and foster relationships with selected established clients

   SR. SUBSTATION ELECTRICAL ENGINEER

LOCATION

Newark, NJ

TYPE

Direct Hire

SALARY

$130,000 / yr

POSTED

Mar 3, 2020

Senior Substation Electrical Engineer

Locations: Newark NJ, Atlanta GA, Boston MA, Manchester NH, Portland ME, Augusta ME

Global EPC Engineering firm is seeking experienced Substation Electrical Engineer to help lead a dramatic surge in T&D engineering services in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. The scope of work will encompass high level engineering designs ranging from 15 kV - 765 kV. Position will be responsible for development of physical layout of equipment, protection and control logic, elementary and wiring diagrams and will be required to supervise subordinate engineers and designers to assure the quality of design deliverables.  Position will also be responsible for specification and procurement of engineered equipment, as well as development of design scope and cost estimates.

Requirements:

10 - 15 years experience in the design of electric utility substations

PE License and/or ability to obtain

Proficiency with AutoCAD and/or MicroStation

Significant experience in the “physical” design of substations

Coordination with P&C specialists, designers, and transmission engineers

Preferable experience in Substation design for large utility clients

Ability to work in support of marketing efforts as well as project execution

=====

Salary is dependent upon experience

Relocation assistance

Comprehensive benefits package

Must be authorized to work in US

   AUTOMATION AND CONTROLS SPECIALIST - TECH SUPPORT

LOCATION

Cumming, GA

TYPE

Direct Hire

POSTED

Feb 27, 2020

Automation and Controls expertise needed in Cumming, GA, for troubleshooting issues and answering technical pre-sales and post-sales questions received via, phone, email and/or chat. Questions may involve any product from any line which include: PLC's/I/O/PC Control, HMI's/Communications, Drives/Motors/Motion, Process/Fluid Power, Power Distribution and Industrial Components.

 Why work here?:

NO TRAVEL

8-5 or 8-6 with half day off each week, NO OVERTIME

Quarterly bonuses and generous profit sharing

Team-based culture

Training provided first month and ongoing training every few days

Excellent benefits: health/dental/life insurance, 401k, bonus, profit sharing

On-campus cafe and gym and exercise classes

Tuition reimbursement

 Requirements:

Customer Support/Troubleshooting - Provide solutions to customer issues received via, phone, email and/or chat. Maintain internal database (Heat application) of call information. May conduct technical research, testing and/or re-create customer issues using actual equipment and configurations to assist in trouble-shooting.

Training – Attend team meetings and training sessions to learn new products. When not taking calls, may also train/re-train on existing products to increase knowledge.

Documentation – May create application notes, review product documentation and update hard-copy or online documentation as needed.

Point of Contact – Act as a Tech Support liaison with other teams when new products are considered. This may include documentation development and review for new products as well as evaluation and/or development assistance for new products.

Qualifications:

Requires 5 years experience, or Technical Degree with a minimum of 3 years experience.

PLC programming and troubleshooting/start-up experience.

Experience setting up and troubleshooting Windows to industrial Ethernet network.

HMI programming and troubleshooting experience.

Communications experience with various industry networking solutions (Devicenet, Profibus, etc.) desirable.

Experience with AC servo, Variable frequency drives, and stepper systems products a plus.

   SWISS CNC MACHINIST

LOCATION

Fort Myers, FL

TYPE

Direct Hire

POSTED

Jan 28, 2020

Successful candidates will have at least three years of experience/training setting up, operating and troubleshooting CNC machines in a manufacturing environment. Experience with Citizen, Star, Tsugami, Tornos or other Swiss machines is preferred.

 Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

 Receives work order and verifies that the components are correct

Receives material and loads on bar feeder; adjusts bar feeder for proper size of material and performs a dry run without material; verifies material against work order for correct lot number

Performs first PC inspection when setup is completed

Adjusts tools or dyes to meet blueprint specifications.

Downloads programs to the machine, dry run machine with no material and all tools in place.

Performs first cut-off

Ability of make tool off-set

Returns all axis to the home position

Monitors screen pages and machine operation to detect malfunctions or out-of-tolerance machining and adjusts machine controls or control media; verifies the correct program in the machine is running

Uses various types of measuring instruments

Replaces tooling at the machine

Verifies conformance of finished work piece to specifications, using precision measuring instruments

Confirms that inspection process is kept at AQLS C=0  Example: check parts every 30 minutes

Sets up and operates machine on trial run to verify accuracy of machine settings or programmed control data

Stops machine to change settings, offsets and setup according to required machining sequence or to measure parts for conformance to blueprint specifications using precision measuring instruments

Recommends process improvements with supervisor or programming personnel to resolve problems

Ensures work area, machine, tooling and parts are cleaned regularly and free from excess oil deposits

Demonstrates ability to streamline processes to increase productivity and quality; production and prototype jobs are set up consistently, timely and accurately

Installs and adjusts collects with proper pressure

Cleans and assembles all collect assemblies, removes or replaces fixture, collects and tools. Inspects old collects and guide brushes

Verifies correct tools against tool sheet and program; sets up any type of tool in the pre-setter and/or machine

Notifies programmers of issues and updates required for improvements

Shows exceptional teamwork.

Ability to drive others to exceed goals.

Very good communication skills.

Knowledge and skills on the areas where the training is going to be performed, be at least a set-up person.

Attention to detail

 Education and Experience:

 High School Diploma or equivalent.

  If the stars were made to worship, so will I.

John 16:33

[the-record-newspaper]

Elections in N. Wilkesboro and Wilkesboro set for Nov. 5

North Wilkesboro Town Board

By JERRY LANKFORD

Record Editor

Three seats are up from grabs on the North Wilkesboro Town Board of Commissioners in the Tuesday, Nov. 5, elections.

And, Bert Hall, 62, is the only incumbent seeking re-election. Commissioners Joe Johnston and Junior Goforth have decided not to run again.

Chad George, another candidate listed on the ballot, chose not to participate in our questionnaire. George told The Record, “I’m not really running.”

That Hall and four newcomers, Otis Church, 73; Andrew Palmer, 35; and Michael Parsons, 60 – all three businessmen — along with Tiger Posey, running for these seats. Posey did not respond as of press time.

The Record recently submitted questionnaires to the candidates. Below is biographical information and their responses to the questions submitted.

Biographical information:

Bert Hall: He is the owner/operator of Wilkes Steel, Inc for 37 years. He has served on the North Wilkesboro Commissioners since 2001, has been a member of Wilkes Developmental Day School Board since 1995, Wilkes Developmental Day School President since 2010, Wilkes Community College Trustee since 2014, Wilkes Regional Medical Center Board from 2006 to 2008, Wilkes Regional Medical Center Chair 2006 to 2007, Western North Carolina Economic Development Commission (Advantage West) from 2010 to 2016.

Otis Church:  West Wilkes High School graduate, served in the United States Air Force in Vietnam, retired from management with E.I. Dupont in 1991 and returned home to Wilkes. He and his wife, Jo Ann Parsons, have two sons and four granddaughters. The couple owns and operates A Baby Celebration in Downtown North Wilkesboro. He has served on the Downtown Historical Board and the N.W. Planning Board. Active member of Lions Club and attends Oak Grove Baptist Church in Millers Creek. Member of the Board of Trustees Reddies River Church.

Andrew Palmer: Owner and operator of Peace Regime Boxing Club until November 2018, owner and operator of Andrew X Music (Publishing Company) and Peace Regime Records (Independent Record Label). Also works at City Florist.

Michael Parsons: Owner of Michael’s Jewelry in Downtown North Wilkesboro for 34 years. Appointed to North Wilkesboro Planning Board in January 2016. Serving as the current chairman for the last year. Selected as an alternate for the North Wilkesboro Board of Adjustment.

Question 1) Why are you seeking office?

Bert Hall: “I feel my leadership ability and experience will serve the town and the new board well. Especially the new board members who may not know the inner workings of local government.”

    Otis Church: “I have numerous reasons for wanting to be a commissioner for the Town of North Wilkesboro. My wife and I chose to return to our hometown after my retirement. We chose to establish our business, A Baby Celebration, in North Wilkesboro because we love our town, the people here and we believe in the growth of the town. I have served on the North Wilkesboro Downtown Historical Board and presently serve as the co-chairman of the North Wilkesboro Planning Board. I want to be involved with the necessary improvements to the water and sewage systems, continued growth, as well as ongoing beautification of our town. North Wilkesboro is a great place to live and to work but we can make it better.”

Andrew Palmer: “I love North Wilkesboro and the people who live here. I am concerned about the future of our town, particularly the local economy. I feel I have some skills I can bring to the table that may be helpful in moving our town in a positive direction. I feel called to serve and to do everything that I possibly can to see everyone in our town have the best quality of life possible. 

“In a nutshell, I feel throughout my lifetime I’ve seen our community take blow after blow. I’ve seen big business leave and shops close. I’ve seen it become a place where kids head off to college and don’t come back because there is nothing for them here. 

“I believe it doesn’t have to be this way. I believe there is a bright future ahead for our town and all of us if we believe it, have a vision for it, and have a strong plan that is properly executed. I want to see good things happen for everyone in North Wilkesboro. I want to see our town vibrant and flourishing! I believe North Wilkesboro’s best days are ahead of it!

“I want to see North Wilkesboro grow and thrive for years to come and I want a local government that listens to, serves, and appreciates all of its citizens.”

Michael Parsons: “North Wilkesboro has been my home since November of 1985. I have been blessed to be a part of this great town and area. During my last years serving on the planning board I have attended many of the town meetings and feel I have a good grasp of the business and issues that our town faces. It is my true wish to serve and give back to the town that has been my home. I feel that I can bring new ideas and a sensible style of leadership that will make me an asset to the position.”

Question 2) What if any changes would you like to see implemented in town government and why?

Bert Hall: “The law, demographics, and economy have constantly changed during my time on the town board. The hardest part of change is adapting to it. Our town runs smoothly due to the dedicated staff of people who take pride in their jobs. A significant change is not necessary. However, I would like to see the town management be more interactive with the citizens. In the past our managers have not been as outgoing as I would like to see. I feel the new town manager and town planner will be more responsive to the needs and concerns of our citizens.”

Otis Church: “I would like to see more involvement from our citizens and our business owners at the commissioners’ meetings. We need more input from the business owners and the citizens of North Wilkesboro on town projects. This will ensure that the citizens know where their tax dollars are spent. The commissioners’ meetings need to be video recorded and made available for future viewings.”

Andrew Palmer: “When it comes to projects I would like to see the town have a vision, a plan, and proper execution of that plan. I feel we have had several projects in the recent past that have not been dealt with in this fashion and it has possibly undermined the confidence of North Wilkesboro’s citizens and service workers.

“I believe we should do more to open the lines of communication between the town and local business owners and concerned citizens to get more input and ideas to help us find solutions for the issues our town is facing. 

“I believe we need to look at every thing the town does as a business opportunity for the town and its businesses. We need to focus our efforts on projects that support commerce and growth. We need to focus on bringing more people into the town through the things we do.”

Michael Parsons: “The current board has accomplished and faced many difficult choices over the last period of time. There are still many tasks to that face our town if we are to continue to grow and prosper. One of the main changes I would like to see is a way for the public to be more engaged with the elected town officials. It is only with the citizen’s input that we as leaders can make decisions that help us to make North Wilkesboro continue to be the town we all love. The town’s new updated website is one method to strengthen that connection. Keeping the citizens informed is of vital importance to me.”

Question 3) What are your immediate plans in office if elected (re-elected)?

Bert Hall: “During my time in office, we have talked about building a new fire station. The present station was built in the 1950's when trucks and equipment were different and is inadequate for modern trucks and equipment. We should immediately start planning and determine where the new station needs to be built. Personally, I do not like the second street location due to traffic concerns. I think we should form a site selection committee comprised of persons from the fire department, the town board, and town staff to make the location decision.”

    Otis Church: “In August the North Wilkesboro commissioners received a report from Gary Flowers of MESCO on the town’s water and sewage system. The presentation included slides and pictures of the water and sewage system in North Wilkesboro. I was appalled at the condition of our systems. Our water and sewer systems are in dire need of upgrades. Our city workers do a good job to repair pipes but antiqued systems need replacement. As commissioners, we need to develop a long range plan to incorporate the goal of replacing our water and sewer systems.”

Andrew Palmer: “I plan on working with the other board members on finding a vision and direction for the future of North Wilkesboro. Next I would like to talk about what it will take to make that vision possible. Then we need a plan with specific goals, priorities, timelines, and other things that will provide us with an achievable pathway toward success and positive improvement for the town.

“I think that it is important that when we are going through the process of coming up with a vision for the town that we get input from passionate business owners and citizens. We need to find creative solutions and think outside of the box. We need ingenuity. We need to work hard and work smart. If we do all of these things we should be able to reach desirable outcomes for our projects.”

Michael Parsons: “If I am elected my first priority will be to address the infrastructure issues that face our town. We need to work on how and where long term water is going to be sourced. Water and sewer lines are in need of updating and replacing. Street repairs in many neighborhoods are of vital need of consideration. All of these projects are high cost to taxpayers so it will need to be a slow and steady task to complete. Without proper infrastructure we cannot promote and market the potential growth that North Wilkesboro can offer.”

Wilkesboro Mayoral Race

By JERRY LANKFORD

Record Editor

Longtime Wilkesboro Mayor Mike Inscore will face political newcomer Dallas Handy in the Nov. 5, election.

The Record recently submitted questionnaires to the candidates. Below is biographical information and their responses to the questions submitted.

Biographical information:

Mike Inscore: Mayor of Wilkesboro from 2007 to present. Member of the Wilkesboro Town Council from 1997 to 2007. Former member of the Wilkesboro Planning Board. Lifelong member of Wilkesboro United Methodist Church, former member of Wilkes Community College Board of Trustees, current member of Wilkes family YMCA Board, current member of Wilkes County’s Comprehensive Transportation Committee, current member of Wilkesboro Tourism Development Advisory Board, former member Wilkes Economic Development Corporation Executive Board, former member of Wilkes Community College Endowment Board, former board member for Smart Start (Partnership for Children) former mentor Communities in School Lunch Buddy Program.

Dallas Handy: 22, businessman, seeking real estate license.

Question 1) Why are you seeking office?

Mike Inscore: “My reasons for seeking re-election is based on my desire to continue the Wilkesboro tradition of conservative leadership, to uphold the position with integrity and honesty, while maintaining the trust of our Wilkesboro citizens and business partners. The growth of Wilkesboro must have forward-thinking individuals willing to put the interest of our town first and foremost.”

Dallas Handy: “I have lived in Wilkes my entire life and had the opportunity to make a lot of friends through school and sports, and have a lot of great experiences along the way. I love this community and I want it to continue to prosper and become a place my children can one day enjoy as I have. I believe the only way to keep progressing, is to allow new ideas and leadership into the administrative position.” 

Question 2) What if any changes would you like to see implemented in town government and why?

Mike Inscore: “I want changes made to our policies on zoning, subdivisions and land uses whereby best management practices can be combined into a unified development ordinance. This ordinance then becomes a document that can evolve and adapt with the needs of Wilkesboro and its citizens to changing goals, objectives, new development trends, technologies and state and federal regulations.”

Dallas Handy: “Under a new administration, I want to make the voice of the people heard and act upon their call to change. There is no room for egotism in small town government. The time has come for a new wave of energy and I plan to bring that to the city of Wilkesboro.” 

Question 3) What are your immediate plans in office if elected (re-elected)?

Mike Inscore: “I commit to continue to improve the quality of life for our citizens by being a good steward of their taxes, they pay and the uses it’s spent for based on costs to benefits of the expenditures.”

Dallas Handy: “My first step, if elected Mayor of Wilkesboro, will be small business growth. As an entrepreneur, this is something I am very passionate about and want to see more of, in our community. My goal is to see the community grow with small businesses and flourish in the downtown area.” 

  Wilkesboro Town Council

By JERRY LANKFORD

Record Editor

Incumbent Wilkesboro Town Councilmen Jimmy Hayes and J. Gary Johnson, former Town Councilman Andy Soots and former Wilkes County Commissioner Gregory Minton, are seeking two seats available on the Wilkesboro Town Council

The election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

The Record recently submitted questionnaires to the candidates. Below is biographical information and their responses to the questions submitted.

Biographical information:

Jimmy Hayes: Self employed. Currently serving his 12th year on the Wilkesboro Town Council

J. Gary Johnson: Graduate of Wilkes Central High School, Madelene P. Johnson, current owner of Max Express LLC, courier service providing delivery to poultry industry in southeast U.S. Retired from Tyson Foods, Wilkesboro after 28 years service plant manager, Advanced training as Certified Management Trainer for all levels of Poultry managers. Board Member of Wilkes Community College Foundation, board Member of Wilkes Economic Development Corp, board member Yadkin River Greenway 15 years, former president and founding board member of West Wilkes Medical Center. Ten Years service as Wilkesboro Councilman to present. Lead Wilkesboro in development of downtown revitalization with The Carolina West Community Commons project. Town Council appointments include: Fire Department, Police Department, Finance, Human Resource/Insurance.

Gregory A. Minton: Graduate of Wilkes Central High  School. Married to Lee Ann Minton. They have two daughters, Katherine, 20, and Elizabeth, 17. He is the Dean of Public Safety at Wilkes Community College. Minton holds the following degrees: Doctor of Education in leadership and policy analysis from East Tennessee State University; Specialist in Education concentration in post-secondary leadership from Appalachian State University; Master of Criminal Justice with concentration in law enforcement management from the University of South Carolina; Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Appalachian State University; Associate in Arts from Wilkes Community College. U.S. Air Force veteran where he served as a Security Specialist (Security Forces).

Andy Soots: “I have lived and worked with several departments of the town since 1972, Assistant Chief, and retired fireman, worked with the police department where I was certified while serving as assistant Coroner and State appointed medical examiner, started the camping at the waste water treatment plant along with superintendent and past council member Mike Testerman.  Have been in business many years and deal with the day to day task it involves, president of the Wilkes County Cruisers Inc. one of the only car clubs with a 501C3 rating in N.C. and S.C., who raise money and give back to our schools and under privileged children is Wilkes County.  I am also proud to be involved with The Gospel Voices of Union Grove who have been together for over 50 years; they also do many projects to provide for those in need. I am a mason and Past Master X2 of Liberty Lodge in Wilkesboro, past president of Wilkesboro’s Business and Professional Club, Past president of Wilkes Civitan Club, Organized Wilkes County’s Burned Children’s Club, Optimist Club.”

Question 1) Why are you seeking office?

Jimmy Hayes: “To serve the citizens of Wilkesboro. It’s not about me, it’s about them and what I can possibly do to help them.”

J. Gary Johnson: “Phase One of downtown revitalization is nearing completion and I want keep the project on the correct path we have begun. I want to maintain Wilkesboro as a destination for visitors, while providing our current residents with a safe and low cost place to live. Provide a strong vision for the growth of Wilkesboro in terms of commercial, recreational, single and multi family homes. Continue to provide updated infrastructure in water and sewer systems. Hold tax rate at lowest rate possible.”

Gregory A. Minton: “I feel my previous service as a Wilkes County Commissioner, along with my entire adult life in public service, and my educational background, have prepared me for the responsibilities of this office. Historically, I have been as issue by issue official. If elected, I promise to continue that process and side on what is best for all citizens of Wilkesboro.  I have a strong background in fiscal management and working within public service budgets and I understand the importance of operating within those projected revenues.”

Andy Soots: “I have heard and seen the needs of our area, and it does not stop at the city limits. I also have love and respect for our town and a true desire to serve our citizens and earn their trust. This is why I have put myself and family thru many elections, not  for the reason of getting back or having someone make remarks about how many times I have ran, but because I truly want to serve.  I have said to those who say, are you running again? And I ask would you want someone who loses their election and does not try again representing you? So the question asks what qualifies you to serve as a Wilkesboro Town Council Member, the answer, My heart.”

Question 2) What if any changes would you like to see implemented in town government and why?

Jimmy Hayes: “I’m satisfied in the direction the town is going. There could always be improvements in different areas. As a whole, I think the town is in good shape. I think people are pleased with the Downtown revitalization. It has brought the community together. The concerts and other events we have in Wilkesboro have brought more people Downtown to enjoy what we have.”

J. Gary Johnson: “My experience in operating a private business with a focused budget leads me to demand the same in town government. I question the way the town’s budget is presented annually.          Government operates at a snails pace as compared to private business. I would prefer to see decisions made quicker and put into action quicker therefore coming to completion quicker. Such as sidewalks needed in Wilkesboro have been discussed and placed on priority for the past five years, yet they are not complete today.”

Gregory A. Minton: “Moving forward I would like to encourage all citizens to become more involved in the process of governance. It is extremely important that individuals know what is going on or planned within their community. I feel full transparency in government should be publicized more and the boards intentions/votes should not come as a surprise to any citizen. Predictability within a board actions should be well established prior to the final vote. This allows for citizen comments and feedback well before they have occurred.”    

Andy Soots: “Stopping the receiving of yard waste at our compost sight and selling our grinder for this purpose.   By the town not receiving this waste our citizens have to pay someone or company to remove the residue or take it to the county land fill.  This material can and was being ground and composted in an area that is well suited for this operation. I made material available to our citizens and a very low cost, material for our community garden and tens of tons of mulch available for all the intersections and parks in town. 

    “But I was fought from the start by some on the board, for wanting to start this operation.  Recently our grinder was sold by the town, and the yard has been closed to public.  We need this and the town would benefit from having it in place when a ice storm, or another tornado occurs.  We were approved by FEMA as a place to receive this for several counties, if needed and paid very well by FEMA to use it. 

      “We can achieve so much; if only we did not worry you got the recognition.”

Question 3) What are your immediate plans in office if elected (re-elected)?

Jimmy Hayes: “I’d like to see us continue with infrastructure improvements, such as water plant upgrades and waste water plant upgrades and continue that. In doing that, we are planning for the future. And in doing that, we are trying to keep up with Tyson’s pace. We’re continuing to do upgrades on our infrastructure such as water and sewer in residential areas.”

J. Gary Johnson: “Continue to promote a strong level of communication between the two towns. Support the study to improve Wilkesboro’s Fresh Water Treatment Facility in order to grow for future volume increases in commercial and residential needs, reducing cost to produce and improve the Yadkin River Intake Site. N.C. DOT has two major road projects on the immediate schedule. Planned enhancement and widening of Brushy  Mountain Road corridor is critical to both towns. This will provide a direct access point to both towns from Hwy 421. This is currently on hold due to budget constraints in Raleigh. Hwy 421 Super Street design is currently on hold due to budgeting constraints in Raleigh. The traffic count continues to grow and therefore the problem worsens. It is imperative to Wilkesboro that the business retail corridor of 421 continues to thrive. While at the same time the design must provide safe travel to all in the area. I will keep the focus of achieving all these items through better communication with DOT management. At the same time, the drainage issues around Winkler Mill Road will be corrected and improved to handle future growth. Measures are in place to get this accomplished.”

Gregory A. Minton: “The Superstreet project- the US 421 corridor business district has continually been pushed back and delayed because of the state’s shifting budget priorities. This project will save lives and provide for restricted and controlled access along this often excessively busy and thriving section of US 421. These plans are in place and N.C. DOT has ranked this extremely high in importance. Expansion/Implementation of new Water Intake System- One of the largest natural assets we have is water. More and more jurisdictions across the country do not have what we seem to have in abundance. A new system of raw water intake whether from the Yadkin River or W. Kerr Scott Reservoir is needed to provide for our use and future stability.”

Andy Soots: “First I believe a person should not serve in an elected position more than two terms, and not make a career out of it, but you will never get those in an elected office to agree.  There are a couple of things that are very important to our area. One is the availability of clean water not only to both towns but also the county. Without it no large user of water will be interested in locating here. We can build housing, larger medical facilities, roads and all the infrastructure needed but we must have water. The other is the relocation of Samaritan’s Purse operations. This is an origination that provides global help to areas of need. They have land located very close to our town limits and could be brought in very easy. We need to help them in their relocation efforts as North Wilkesboro has done. Their presence will not only provide jobs for our area but would give them a place to grow and expand as their needs require.”

[dydturktek]

Nem Kurutma | Nem Alma | Rutubet Kurutma | DYD 444 0 719

Barclays Standard bank Total High-quality Management (TQM)

Barclays Standard bank Total High-quality Management (TQM)

EXECUTIVE SUMMATION

Banks think they are within the finance market, and not on the service industry. Thus they tend to be competitive in terms of financial prowess rather than service level of quality. People, methods, time, along with systems usually are devoted a great deal more to dealing with assets plus cash rather than managing prospects and service plan. In fact many bank techniques are designed to management customers rather than satisfy consumers. Products and types of procedures are assemblage for the ease of the bank rather than that of the debtor. Banks often give customer satisfaction and full satisfaction very low priority. (Rene T. Domingo)

The exact lifeblood my english homework with any company is their customers. Prospects decide sales and profits based on their very own perception with product along with service good quality. Therefore , quality determines profit margins, and users alone explain and will be that excellent is and ought to be.

Intro

This examine will restrict itself on the assessment regarding operations office at Barclays Bank PLC. Information provided is absolutely confidential regarding the only intent being this study.

1 . zero Introducing Barclays Bank PLC

‘Our tactic is to boost the growth probable of Barclays by ongoing to mix up our company by customer, product plus geography. ’

John Varley, Group Chief Executive, Barclays Set

With through three hundred years of history and bckground in deposit, Barclays operates in more than 61 countries plus employs a hundred and 35 thousand people today. Barclays on, lends, invests and helps to protect the money about over twenty five million clients around the world.

Barclays Bank Plc, Mauritius having its ninety years of presence in the land, has built once more a very great reputation. For a branch of Barclays Plc (UK) operating in Mauritius, the bank attracts the household and world divisions with the financial critical. As a fast growing multi-national bank using approximately a thousand two hundred staff members, Barclays Lender, Mauritius offer a wide range of services for individual and corporate shoppers.

Barclays Mauritius has noted outstanding final results for the Calendar year 2010 using a profit following tax raising by 119% to reach Mur 2 . 38bn. This includes some one-off attain of Rs 1 . 33bn from the sale made of the custodianship business so that you can Standard Chartered Bank. Subsequently, income has increased by thirty three percent with Mur 4. 8bn.

The Surgery Strategy

1 . 1 The very Operation Program in Mauritius

The treatments area may be the driving program of the lender with a headcount of 435.00 employees put into the Consumer together with Commercial Action. These two fields will have higher and sharper focus towards business capabilities to which they feature support. The actual operations function is in the direction by the Key Operating Police officer assisted by managers plus team frontrunners from just about every section.

The very Operation Feature chart

one 2 Reason for the Project

Barclays Traditional bank Plc must maintain impression, reputation, in addition to credibility to get your house their position as custodians of some other people’s income. But progressively, the intricate systems along with bureaucracy were definitely set up and even added from the name of control though sacrificing and also neglecting support service in the process. The very management is concerned with productivity, growth and also resource new release. But just a few inspectors are responsible for checking product or service quality. If perhaps one examines the concept of Top quality and its success over the years properly, it is plain that Top quality has always been a major element for the success connected with any company.

pay substantially attention to the unemployed of their purchasers – prior to, during, soon after sales.

The is thinking of implementing a quality system that conforms to ISO standards. Overall Quality Managing (TQM), which can be about entire customer service and also continuous customer care, is applicable not only in the creation industry employing the service sector as well, where the shopper is just as very important. In fact , prospects in the company industry will be more sensitive so that you can service excellent and service plan delivery than in manufacturing because they’re always in contact with front-line company personnel.

Starting a total high-quality management (TQM) programme definitely will upgrade along with improve specialized skills within the employees and also the proposed programmes will also emphasise the need of excellence in all spheres of control.

For model, development plus implementation of a QMS, the very ISO 9000 approach seemingly compatible with the overall quality doctrine. ISO product is about standardizing the approach organizations almost everywhere take in evening out and boosting the processes the fact that ultimately contribute to producing quality products and services.

The standard management system is often implemented all at one time throughout the firm. Where took implementation occurs, the effectiveness of the method in picked out areas may be evaluated. It will be a good idea originally to evaluate locations the chances of a beneficial evaluation are generally high, to keep the assurance of both management together with staff within the merits with implementing the high quality management system. As outlined by initial projects, the recommended training course will have a couple of stages.

The best phase will be implemented in the industry operations team. In the next point, TQM is going to be applied all over all business units across the loan provider.

The process with regard to implementation associated with a quality management depends on how big the the organization as well as complexity with the actual process. Let’s have a look at these in your next part.

Current Predicament

2 . one Literature review

Supplier level of quality management is a vital aspect of TQM since products and purchased parts are often a major way to quality troubles (Zhang ainsi que al., 2000). Many experts advocate which companies must establish deliver chain relationships to encourage suppliers to present materials were required to meet user expectations (Harrison et aqui., 1996; Kumar, 1996; Lambert et geologi., 1996; Clifton, 2001; Jabnoun, 2000; Thakur, 2002). The actual gurus think supplier has to be viewed as a fundamental element of the organization’s business operations (Ishikawa, 1985; Deming, 1986; Crosby, 1989).

2 . 2 Definitions about Quality

Complete Quality Managing (TQM) is understood to be a quality-centered, customer-focused, fact-based, team-driven, senior-management-led process to realize an organization’s strategic essential through uninterrupted process production. The Oxford American thesaurus defines Good quality as “A degree or maybe level of excellence”. Feigenbaum, 1983, defines excellent as: “Quality is defined as simply being about value”. According to Juran, 1989, “Quality is conditioning for use”. The word “total” in TQM means that everyone in the organization must be active in the continuous advancement effort, the saying “quality” demonstrates a concern with regard to customer satisfaction, and also word “management” refers to the individuals and procedures needed to get the quality.

2 . 3 Methods and techniques to depict current situation

All of departments around the Commercial Process Functions will be linked to both with the similar aim to match business systems. However one can find no crystal clear interactions and synergies provide between them to provide all area functions properly. The provider level among each department is small as there may be great levels of competition to perform a lot better than the other.

2 . 3. one particular Flow Information

Figure 2 below, depicts the current circumstance in the Commercial Operations department.

List of tasks to become performed by means of:

1) Travel operators:

file all arriving and domestic instructions

Providers may liaise with alternative customer by face to face call, emails and also signed send,

Nature associated with instructions/queries by just telephone : statements, geneva chamonix transfers, debit or perhaps credit suggests, swift replicates, queries upon cheques/interest/charges

acceptance of education form purchaser either through fax/mail/diskette with regard to salary transfers/or original records being put forward personally through client

Dynamics of guidance by fax/mail – brand-new account opening up, change in official signatories, geneva chamonix transfers, payments of bills or import money, salaries, obtain of statement/advices/swift copies, complaints/, of letters of credit/bills/import loan zynga poker chips, access to world wide web banking,

Liaise with interior customers for example the Consumer Treatments department in an effort to respond to prospects queries

2) Workforce leader:

verifies/sample lab tests whether most incoming plus outgoing recommendations are logged properly

once instructions fixed by romantic relationship managers mail all instruction manuals to be processed to concerned department

Does sample verifications whether employees performing work as needed

3) Line office manager:

liaises with other division to help improve high-quality of service/ attend queries/complaints when same are an excellent source of priority just in case involves loss to the standard bank

Simply no wonder teams do not pay attention to customer service because it does not have an impact on their operation evaluation. Most banks have no a system to manage errors or perhaps customer conditions. Few banking companies realizes that when they endlessly cut just about all processing occasions, it becomes a WIN-WIN circumstance – customers are more happy, and the loan providers make more money.

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