#pony is role model material | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jupyyter · 1 year

Text

infodump for characters in a little thingy thing i’ve made

Francis:

• 14 years old

• talks to their schizophrenia

• pretty sure they’re meant to be in jail

• murderer by profession and hobby

• gender, who?

• if you asked for pronouns they’d stab you, so who really knows

• has a pet pig :3 her name is Sonnenschein (Sonny for short)

• the local farmers nicknamed them ‘the anti-shepherd’ because they keep killing sheep

• also throws stones at birds, except corvids and blackbirds

• are they one person? are they four? who knows!

• nobody knows where they live, they’ve just been seen running into forests for days on end

• Mommy issues™

• 73 mental illnesses and banned from most public spaces

• bities. screamies. stabbies.

• probably wants Matt dead

• Lani is safe though

• the Great War <3

• couldn’t tell you what you said a second ago but can tell you everything you would need to know about the first world war

• fuck cops

• practices witchcraft!! they suck at it!!!

• they’ve probably tried cannibalism before

• speaks in a confusing jumble of English, Spanish, Irish and German

• on the topic of their languages, they use a different surname depending on their language. German is Durchdenwald, Irish is O’Dubhthaigh and Spanish is Vasco. they won’t use their English (birth) Surname

• also each country thinks they’re a different person because when they go for the yearly visits they change appearances

• their dads are a teenager with the mentality of a two year old and their imaginary friend

• hasn’t cut their hair in ???

• can probably see ghosts

• like bigfoot if he was just some guy

• they probably talk to Mothman about his day, they’re friends with cryptids we think

• always cold, like always always cold

Schizophrenia:

• told you Francis spoke to their schizophrenia

• kinda a hallucination/delusion in herself

• just a little shadow girl

• Schizo or Schizy by name, sometimes gets Skips as a nickname

• she wears a my little pony shirt and still acts like the baddest bitch alive, what a role model

• has tried to fist fight people who don’t even see her

• can inflict a single symptom of schizophrenia on anyone, but only one symptom and one person at a time

• annoying af

Sammy:

• the imaginary friend who gained too much sentience

• tulpa probably

• soldier from the Great War!

• also a pacifist

• he was conscripted to the war and was shot for cowardice after a year of service

• had a baby called Francis who died due rations not providing enough, hence why they latched on to this Francis

• can talk Francis out of killing when they’re still semi sane

• professional alcoholic

• taught Francis to use a musket and a flame thrower

• has a little gas mask, puts it on Sonny sometimes

• dad of the year award goes to

Danny:

• about 19 years old? no-one knows for sure how old he is

• likes women but is still somehow the gayest guy to exist?

• has a horse called Stormy, Francis gets to ride her

• would love a dog, might get one some day

• speaks English and a small bit of German

• dumbass by trade

• Francis’ dad by law, older brother by bond, partner in crime by police registration

• has been arrested 3 times

• wants a kid but won’t have one because of his reputation, he doesn’t want the kid to be fatherless like he was

Matt:

• huge history and geography nerd

• from Francis’ history class

• has suspicions that Francis is the local murderer but hasn’t said anything

• has a huge crush on Lani

• bullying material

• intimidated by Francis, but wants to be their friend

• is followed everywhere by his dog

Lani:

• knows full well Francis is the murderer, has seen them kill

• her dad is a cop

• she still won’t say anything

• wouldn’t consider Francis a friend but they’ve spoke a few times

• would help hide a body

• thinks Sonny is cute

• girlboss <3 we stan Lani

• cannot stand Matt

• might steal his dog

• pretty sure she had a crush on Danny a while back

Sonnenschein:

• oink

2 notes · View notes

florestawpc · 9 months

Text

How Floresta Contributes to Green Building Practices and Sustainability

Introduction

In the age of eco-friendly building practices, Wood Polymer Composite (WPC) has emerged as a game-changer, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional waterproof plywood. Let's learn about how Floresta's WPC sheets and doors contribute to green building practices and foster a more sustainable construction industry.

1. Environmentally Responsible Material:

Floresta's WPC is crafted from a blend of wood fibers and polymer resins, creating a sturdy and durable material without the environmental impact associated with traditional waterproof plywood. By utilizing recycled and renewable resources, Floresta minimizes the strain on forests, contributing to the conservation of natural habitats.

2. Reduced Carbon Footprint:

The manufacturing process of Floresta's WPC involves lower energy consumption compared to conventional plywood production. This results in a significantly reduced carbon footprint, aligning with the principles of sustainable construction. Builders and architects opting for Floresta's WPC actively contribute to mitigating climate change by choosing a greener alternative.

3. Enduring Durability:

WPC sheets and doors are designed to withstand the test of time, reducing the need for frequent replacements. This durability not only extends the lifespan of buildings but also minimizes the demand for raw materials. As a result, the construction industry is moving towards a more sustainable model, prioritizing longevity over dispensability.

4. Water Resistance without Harmful Chemicals:

In the realm of waterproof alternatives, Floresta's WPC stands out for its exceptional water-resistant properties. Unlike some traditional waterproof plywood alternative treated with harmful chemicals, Floresta's solution achieves water resistance through its intrinsic composition, eliminating the need for environmentally damaging additives. This ensures that the material is safe for both construction workers and the environment.

5. Versatile Applications:

WPC isn't just a one-trick pony; it offers versatility in design and application. From WPC sheets used in interior finishes to WPC doors enhancing the aesthetic appeal of a space, the versatility of this material allows architects and builders to explore creative and sustainable solutions for various construction needs.

6. Minimal Maintenance:

Green building practices extend beyond the construction phase into the maintenance of structures. WPC doors require minimal upkeep, reducing the need for frequent renovations or repairs. This low-maintenance characteristic not only saves resources but also promotes a sustainable approach to building management, aligning with the long-term goals of green construction.

7. Responsible Waste Management:

Incorporating Floresta's WPC into construction projects contributes to responsible waste management. The material is recyclable, allowing for efficient utilization of resources at the end of its life cycle. This closed-loop approach aligns with the circular economy principles, further establishing Floresta as a frontrunner in sustainable construction solutions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, WPC is more than just a waterproof plywood alternative – it's a catalyst for change in the construction industry. By choosing Floresta, builders, and architects embrace a greener, more sustainable approach without compromising on performance or aesthetics. As we look towards the future of construction, WPC stands tall, embodying the principles of green building practices and paving the way for a more environmentally conscious industry.

Also, Read:

The Role of WPC in Sustainable Architecture: A Case Study on Floresta's Contributions

The Future of Construction: WPC Sheets and Floresta's Vision

Originally Published by: https://florestaproducts.blogspot.com/

#floresta #wpc sheets #wpc doors #waterproof plywood alternative

0 notes

monstermaster13 · 2 years

Text

Corey and Oats in…

Cinnamon: Princess of the Flowery Forest

-------------------

It’s no secret Oatsie loved feminine things and he loved to play female roles, he loved being a ‘mommy’ to his unicorn family, he loved being a nurse, he loved being a model, and he loved being a princess. His biggest desire was to be beautiful, beautiful enough to be admired by other horses, he would go out of his way to request clothing that was as pretty as possible including flowing dresses, pink bikinis for the summer, pink hats, and he even wanted to have his mane dyed pink.

He loved sniffing flowers and wearing some in his mane and on his dress, he wasn’t an actual princess but he always felt like one and on the afternoon of December 10th, 2022 he was going to meet another princess, you see there was this princess who had her eye on him and she was a pony and her name was Cinnamon, she was a very beautiful pony who neighed, whinnied and talked in such a cute way.

Oats and Corey sat together singing a special birthday song with Mel as they were excited to celebrate, that’s where they saw her entering…the lovely Princess Cinnamon, the flowery equine princess had caught glimpses of Oats and she liked what she saw. ‘You must be Oats, I am a huge fan of yours.’ ‘Oh my goodness, it is her…it is Cinnamon.’

Cinnamon galloped over to Oats as she picked up some flowers and gave them to him, he smiled and thanked her. Corey introduced himself to the pony princess as he and Oats both asked Mel to take them on an adventure, and Mel replied with yes. ‘Since Cinnamon is our guest, she should get to choose the adventure.’ ‘That sounds amazing, Cinnamon, would you like to show us a magical adventure?’ ‘I sure would.’

Cinnamon pulled out a special magical wand from inside her stable and used it to create a special pathway which led to an enchanted meadow and flower patch with lots of flowers and adorable pony princesses in floral dresses. ‘These are all beautiful, I wish as pretty as those girls.’ ‘Oh Oatsie, you don’t need to be anything but yourself.’

“Definitely, you are fine as you are.”

‘Yaaaay!’ Oats cheered as he hugged Cinnamon as she showed him around the garden, picking flowers and singing happy equine songs together. She showed him and Corey to her palace where they were given a special royal tour, and they got to explore the palace and the garden. Cinnamon invited them over for a tea party and they had some lovely tea sandwiches and cakes, and even had cookies. Oats took part in a gardening session with the flowery pony as he frollicked around.

The duo came across a pond with wishing stones and Oats tossed a stone into the pond and made a wish, he didn’t tell Cinnamon what his wish was but he felt like he didn’t need to, because it had come true already, which was to have a friend, a special friend.

“Cinnamon, you’re the prettiest pony ever.”

“You’re also really pretty, Oatsie.”

An hour later Mel gestured for the duo and Cinnamon to come home, as a flowery carriage materialized and they hopped inside it and it took them back to their house in 28 Rosemary Avenue, when they got back they had lunch and some carrot cake for afternoon tea which Oats shared with Cinnamon.

When dinnertime came around Oats and Corey sat at the table and had dinner, after dinner they relaxed and had fun, listening to music and playing webkinz. They had some treats for dessert, which theyl oved.

They ended their sessions at around ten thirty that night when Jill and Mel told them it was time for bed, when it was time for bed, Oats and Mel put on their nightclothes and got into bed along with Corey and all of the microbes, their fun day came to an end but they never forgot their magical adventure with their new friend, they listened to Radio NZ Concert as they drifted off to sleep and had sweet dreams.

This may be over but that doesn’t mean their adventures for this week are, stay tuned for several more specials and a few new upcoming stories including a new 2022 holiday special.

#tumpix please pick this up #Monstermaster13 #fanfic

0 notes

studiesof-fandom-primaryblog · 4 years

Text

Library Update

Fan Culture Anastasia Salter; Bridget Blodgett - Toxic Geek Masculinity in Media: Sexism, Trolling, and Identity Policing Katherine Larsen; Lynn S. Zubernis - Fan Culture: Theory/Practice Linda Duits; Koos Zwann; Stijn Reijnders - The Ashgate Research Companion to Fan Cultures

Fandom & Fan Practices Bob Rehak - Materializing Monsters: Aurora Models, Garage Kits and the Object Practices of Horror Fandom Francesca Davis DiPiazza - Fandom: Fic Writers, Vidders, Gamers, Artists, and Cosplayers Joseph Brennan - Queerbaiting and Fandom_ Teasing Fans Through Homoerotic Possibilities Lucy Neville - Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys_ Women and Gay Male Pornography Matt Yockey - Monster Mashups: At Home with Famous Monsters of Filmland Melissa A. Click - Anti-Fandom: Dislike and Hate in the Digital Age Nancy K. Baym - Tune In, Log On: Soaps, Fandom, and Online Community Roos Gerritsen - Intimate Visualities and the Politics of Fandom in India Suzanne Scott - Fake Geek Girls: Fandom, Gender, and the Convergence Culture Industry

Fanfiction Ashton Spacey - The Darker Side of Slash Fan Fiction: Essays on Power, Consent and the Body Heather Urbanski - Writing and the Digital Generation: Essays on New Media Rhetoric

Boys Love & Yaoi Sandra Youssef - Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys: Ethnography of Online Slash/Yaoi Fans

Games Melanie Swalwell; Helen Stuckey; Angela Ndelianis - Fans and Videogames: Histories, Fandom, Archives

K-Pop Crystal S. Anderson - Soul in Seoul: African American Popular Music and K-Pop

Specific Fandoms [Buffy] Allyson Beatrice - Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby? True Adventures in Cult Fandom [Comic Books] Bill Schelly - Founders of Comic Fandom: Profiles of 90 Publishers, Dealers,Collectors, Writers, Artists and Other Luminaries of the 1950s and 1960s [Doctor Who] Matt Hills - Triumph of a Time Lord: Regenerating Doctor Who in the Twenty-First Century [Doctor Who] Paul Booth; Richard Wallace - Fan Phenomena: Doctor Who [Harry Potter] Christopher Bell - From Here to Hogwarts: Essays on Harry Potter Fandom and Fiction [Harry Potter] Travis Prinzi - Harry Potter for Nerds: Essays for Fans, Academics, and Lit Geeks [Jane Austen] Deborah Yaffe - Among the Janeites: A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen Fandom [Jane Austen] Sarah Glosson - Performing Jane: A Cultural History of Jane Austen Fandom [Music] Daniel Cavicchi - Tramps Like Us: Music and Meaning among Springsteen Fans [Music] Eoin Devereux; Aileen Dillane; Martin J. Power - Morrissey: Fandom, Representations and Identities [Music] Mark Duffett - Popular Music Fandom: Identities, Roles and Practices [Music] Toija Cinque; Sean Redmond - The Fandom of David Bowie: Everyone Says Hi [Supernatural] Katherine Larsen; Lynn Zubernis - Representations of Fans on Supernatural [Supernatural] Travis Langley; Lynn S. Zubernis; Jonathan Maberry; Mark R. Pellegrino - Supernatural Psychology: Roads Less Traveled [Westworld] James B. South; Kimberly S. Engels; William Irwin - Westworld and Philosophy [Twin Peaks] Marisa C. Hayes; Franck Boulègue - Fan Phenomena: Twin Peaks [Hunger Games]Nicola Balkind; Emma Rhys - Fan Phenomena: The Hunger Games [Mystery] Marvin Lachman - The Heirs of Anthony Boucher: A History of Mystery Fandom [Lost] Jon Lachonis, Amy Johnston - Lost Ate My Life: The Inside Story of a Fandom Like No Other [My Little Pony] Edwards; Chadborn; Plante; Reysen; Redden - Meet the Bronies: The Psychology of Adult My Little Pony Fandom [Shakespeare] Johnathan H. Pope - Shakespeare’s Fans: Adapting the Bard in the Age of Media Fandom [Sports] Adam Brown - Fanatics: Power, Identity and Fandom in Football [Sports] Carrie Dunn - Football and the Women’s World Cup: Organisation, Media and Fandom [Sports] Dağhan Irak - Football Fandom, Protest and Democracy: Supporter Activism in Turkey [Sports] Erin C. Tarver - The I in Team: Sports Fandom and the Reproduction of Identity [Sports] Gary Armstrong; Alberto Testa - Football, Fascism and Fandom: The UltraS of Italian Football [Sports] George Dohrmann - Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom [Sports] Jamie Cleland; Mark Doidge; Peter Millward; Paul Widdop - Collective Action and Football Fandom: A Relational Sociological Approach [Sports] Mariann Vaczi - Soccer, Culture and Society in Spain: An Ethnography of Basque Fandom [Sports] Nina Szogs - Football Fandom and Migration: An Ethnography of Transnational Practices and Narratives in Vienna and Istanbul [Sports] Phil West - The United States of Soccer: MLS and the Rise of American Soccer Fandom [Sports] Radosław Kossakowski - Hooligans, Ultras, Activists: Polish Football Fandom in Sociological Perspective [Sports] Stacey Pope - The Feminization of Sports Fandom: A Sociological Study [Sports] Steve Redhead - Post-Fandom and the Millennial Blues: The Transformation of Soccer Culture [Sports] Tamar Rapoport - Doing Fandom: Lessons from Football in Gender, Emotions, Space [Sports] Younghan Cho - Global Sports Fandom in South Korea: American Major League Baseball and Its Fans in the Online Community

#library update

40 notes · View notes

justgottafinishthischapter · 6 years

Text

Worldbuilding Tips: The Five Visitors

You’ve done it. You’ve come up with an idea for your fantasy world, but right now it’s mostly curb appeal and decorations without much else. So, you have the skin and flavor of your fictional world, but what if you’re having a bit of trouble coming up with the meat needed to make your world juicy and delicious? Well, I have a little game that can help flesh out your world.

Imagine a ship or whatever other kind of vehicle arriving on the shores or outskirts of your fantasy land and from that vehicle emerges 5 people from our own mundane world: a historian, an economist, an anthropologist, a diplomat, and a cartographer. There are some other visitors, but these are going to be the most universally beneficial.

The Historian:

This person is going to be interested in the backstory of your world. They don’t need to know every minuscule detail (though they wouldn’t turn that much information down) and just a general overview would be much obliged. Many fantasy worlds such as Tolkien’s Middle Earth and Martin’s Westeros are far more rich and interesting due to the amount of effort put into crafting their world’s histories. If you’re stumped, look to real world history for inspiration. It doesn’t even need to come from the middle ages so long as it works for your story. You should be able to answer questions like: How long has the dominant civilization been around? What are the biggest defining moments in your world’s history? What things are common knowledge that every child is expected to learn (such as George Washington being the first president of the USA) and which stuff is known more by historians and social studies teachers? And as you’re discussing the rest of the visitors, think back on how the answers you give would impact the historical aspect.

The Economist:

You don’t have to know the exact cost of every single thing in your world, but have a good guess. Be able to at least have a scale of price. If someone can buy a loaf of bread for 13 of your world’s currency, but a house costs 17, that would mean that either that bread is very expensive, that house is very cheap, or each unit of your currency is equal to a lot of real world money. Whatever you use to refer to your currency, keep not only price scaling in mind, but economics. If you have a port city, there’s going to be a lot of merchants in that area. The first primary export you’re likely to see in such a port town would be seafood, but also keep in mind the things that are closet to that port, as well as the climate. Greece for instance is a very rocky and mountainous country, so while they can grow crops, they would not have been any match for medieval French Aquitaine, the crown jewel of medieval farming territory. It’s also worth remembering that food in the middle ages was far more valuable than it is today. There was an old saying that wheat is worth its weight in gold. It was southern France’s bountiful soil that caused it to become one of the richest and most coveted territories in medieval Europe. So, keep in mind where resources would come from and where they would need to go, as well as trade that would be useful. A seaside farming town might not have any good access to raw minerals, while a city in the frozen mountainous north might not be able to grow crops, but are bountiful in minerals. The correlation of supply and demand now opens a vital trade route between them. This becomes more complex when the topic of war comes into play. The kingdom that supplies your crops and food is at war with your oldest ally. Now there’s a dilemma between having enough food to feed your people, or betraying the trust of a long time friend. Now your world building can be used as a part of your drama and narrative tension. The economy also impacts culture. What is considered a display of wealth, or is a common status symbol? What are the living conditions of the poor, the working class, the rich, and the aristocrats? Is there upward mobility? In the middle ages, you were what you were for the most part, especially serfs: peasants tied to their land. It was illegal to leave your territory, but there was a saying in the middle ages that “city air makes you free” that once a serf made it to a city, they’d be free of the life they’ve escaped.

The Anthropologist:

Every society has a culture. The way they act, think, dress, believe, talk. It’s all impacted by culture. Beliefs tend to be tied either to what has come before, or based on the world as observed. While many modern fantasy pantheons are based on ancient Greece, it’s not the only model to live by. In a loose interpretation, religion in it’s earliest stages was a rudimentary science used to explain why things happened. A culture that developed along rivers, sea coasts, and other popular trade routes are far more likely to be diverse melting pots due to the frequent traffic of people coming and going, and the common sight of foreigners choosing to set down roots. Meanwhile, a more out of the way and isolated culture is far less likely to have widespread cultural diversity. Tying back into history, a country that has experienced a number of successful wars may tend to think of themselves as invincible, or may try to police the issues of other countries, assuming they’re always on the right side, or that they can’t be defeated. The same culture may ask a high price of any other culture that asks them for militaristic support. Ask what things your people value, be they material or abstract ideals. However, try to refrain from creating a Planet of Hats, a trope often seen in Star Trek and similar Sci-Fi shows and even some Fantasy stories where everyone of a single race all have mostly the same skills, interests, personalities, and roles in the global culture. This is also the time to start thinking about myths, legends, folk heroes, and historical people and events worth celebrating, as this may be when you start to craft holidays or celebrations. This could also lead into discussing religion, and the gods or lack there of that might be celebrated by your culture. How does your society reflect itself in art, music, literature, dance. Does the way someone dresses tell you something about their place in society? Some taboos come from simple logic. The reason it’s frowned upon to eat a cow in India is the same reason it’s immoral to eat horse in western culture. Both are beast of burden livestock worth a lot more alive than dead. Cows produce milk, a source of nutrients and health. Horses are strong and were used in just about everything from plowing fields to pulling entire families or communities a great distance. Horses even became status symbols, as even in modern culture, owning a horse or pony is still considered to be (largely) a snobby rich person thing. Understanding not only what your people believe, but even just a vague idea why they would believe it is a vital aspect.

The Diplomat:

As this landing party is your fantasy world’s first contact with our own reality. How would they react to the newcomers? If there’s more than one society in your world, how would each society, country, kingdom, race, etc. react to something completely foreign? Would they try to forge an alliance? Open trade negotiations? Declare war? Prepare a feast? How would they feel about the way we dress? act? talk? How would they react to different levels of progression in technology? Could an unbiased third party from our world help two feuding sides come to peace with one another? How would they feel about knowing of a world beyond their own? Are there actions or behaviors acceptable in our own society that are considered offensive to them?

The Cartographer:

Although it’s not necessary that all fantasy worlds have a fully designed map, it is a good idea to have at least a rough idea of where things are in relation to one another. This can tell you about climate, resources, wildlife, natural borders, natural disasters, food chains, and more. It’s worth at least taking a crash course in understanding how geographical biomes tend to be laid out in order to make your world feel more real. Some authors claim that a world map is the single most important feature, others say it’s not that important. Frankly, trust your gut based on the kind of world you have. You may need a map, you may not. It really depends on the size and scope of your world. For instance, with Disney’s

Zootopia

, the entire world doesn’t matter. The audience doesn’t need to know where in the world Zootopia is, or what climate or biome it’s in. Zootopia itself is the world being built, and the separate districts and biomes of the city explain the world that’s being focused on.

Secondary Visitors:

They may still be important to your world, but are less likely to be universally helpful to all people.

Biologist: if your world has creatures beyond those found in our real world, it may be worth exploring how their bodies work on a more scientific level in order to give more realistic weight to their supernatural abilities.

Linguist/Translator: If you feel compelled to come up with a language no matter how basic or complex, it may be worth while to consider the problems with communication. this may also extend to unique idioms, colloquialisms, and slang native to your fantasy world.

Teacher/Scholar: Regardless of whether or not there is a formal education system in place in your world, a teacher may be interested in how knowledge is passed down, and what information the culture might have that would be unknown to people of our world. Whether that’s how to keep a wild animal from charging you, to knowing how to forge a mineral that exists only in your world, being able to readily answer questions is generally considered to be a good thing.

Healer: There may be healing spells in your world, there may not, but most fantasy stories tend to involve either action or adventure, both of which tend to cause fights. And since fights tend to lead to injuries, it’s important to know what can and cannot be treated, and how readily available these healing abilities are to the public.

#world building #worldbuilding #fantasy writing #writing tips #writing advice #writing worldbuilding

5K notes · View notes

dragonturtle2 · 4 years

Text

What’s The Use in Feeling... Pink?

Long long ago, Cadence, Princess of Love was the most controversial story development in Friendship is Magic. Accusations abounded of corporate mandates, cheapening the Alicorn mythology, straying from the “original vision of the creator” (nowadays that statement makes me gag), and either being redundant next to the Magic of Friendship, or MAKING it redundant.

I was never in that last camp (although I WAS expecting some origin by next season or so). From the very start, I saw that the different types of loves could complement each other, just like Sun and Moon. Even though it was clear early on that the show wouldn't be exploring situations of romance for main characters.

Halsemon by Dani2540

The Crystal Empire draws heavy inspiration inspiration from Greece, which has an very interesting naming convention for the different types of love:

Philia is friendship, in which a person tries to make life better for close associates, and subsequently improving themselves as a person. This is the premise of the whole show, so not much to go over. So is that obviously Twilight's domain? I would say no. The line between a [i]platonic[/i] and [i]romantic[/i] relationship is that with the latter, it can evolve from Ludus and Eros. But not exclusively. So Shining and Cadence could represent Philia-Ludus and Philia-Eros.

"Eros" is infatuation, and the Greeks could often portray it as dangerous, but still very real and healthy. Cadence could maybe represent this, but of course, it's also associated with subject material not quite appropriate for a kids show. Ludus is playful flirtation and young infatuation. But that stage of love isn't what Canterlot Wedding was meant to be touching on. When most people think of a 'love story,' they think of the two leads on their own, then meeting for the first time. But like Twilight, the audience is thrown into their story when they can already make things work, and like Twilight, we have to deal with it. Although the excellent IDW arc featured Cadence and Shining's first date, and it's classic Ludus. Done much better than with Twilight and Flash or Timber.

Maybe Eros could be represented as a Mania corruption by Chrysalis, who is initially presented as a foil to her. Chrysalis doesn't lust for any person, but sees love as a mindless devotion to exploit. It could be said she has a boundless lust for power though. Or perhaps “Pragma,” which nowadays seen as a societal relic when marriages were seen perfectly acceptable vehicles strictly for money and governing.

"Storge" is depicted in raising Flurry, but it could also be counted in how Celestia and Luna view all their little ponies in Equestria. But with how the Two Sisters nurture an entire society, looking at the long-term and big picture way more often, they could also connect to Agape, our basic respect and dignity towards complete strangers. If we had to assign one to each, Celestia would be Storge, and Luna Agape. While Celestia is mainly defined through the relation with her apprentices, Luna's conflicts have more to do with public relations (usually based on damage she feels responsible for). Luna is also noteworthy because although she always liked Twilight, back in "Crystal Empire," she questioned the soundness of staking so many lives on Celestia's favorite graduate. So again, that's her focus on the lives of the many.

Also of note is Philautia, self love. I'd say that the gold standard for this in cartoons is Steven Universe, culminating in "Battle of Heart and Mind" where Steven's Id and Superego literally need to hug each other to save the day. Legend of Korra has this theme running throughout, but the PTSD storyline of Book 4 is of it’s greatest renown. Lessons on Philautia come in a lot of shapes and forms through the Mane 6, but I don't think any of the existing Princesses can effectively be assigned to that branch of love. Twilight has moments of intense self doubt for a lot of the finales, but a lot of times that just rounds back to relying on others as a lens for herself, or a motivation to press forward (this is hardly a bad lesson though). When I think of other Princess(-esque) characters with pivotal moments of learning self love, I think of Luna, Sunset, and Starlight. But with those three, their arcs feel more like lessons in forgiving oneself for having done sincerely monstrous things. For pony characters going through great Philautia arcs of varying stages, I recommend everyone check out the Pandoraverse next-gen storyline by @lopoddityart. Of course, I recommend her work at the drop of a hat, for her excellent illustrations, writing, and journals. This entire post started as a response to one of her Patreon posts.

I suppose if we wanted to count Discord, he'd be the aspect of Ludus, with him treating everything like a performance or game, and his interactions can be a pretty catty.

But enough of me dreaming up a pony god love pantheon. Back to Cadence's involvement, even though her introduction was jarring, I really liked how we had a new pair of Royal Sisters(in-law) with a theme of complementing values. A shame Cadence got shoved aside. I could accept that this show was GOING to be focused on Twilight and Ponyville. That Hasbro wouldn't order new episodes to suddenly shift to the married couple. But although I never thought the show writers RESENTED Cadence, they found a reason pretty quick to keep her segregated from the rest of the story. Lauren Faust has stated that Cadence was created on request for Season 2, and wouldn't have been an Alicorn if the final decision came down to her. The show would make use of her in the role of being a big sister for Twilight, which was wholesome, but in terms of affecting world events, major storylines, or politics? Minimal, even by the light standards of this show. By the finale when we see Twilight ruling the entire country, we couldn't be bothered to even glimpse Cadence.

At least the Crystal Empire got a bone, with a stain glass mirror showing that Flurry turned out pretty rad and takes care of them. I think Cadence was viewed (not correctly) as a concept that threw off the broad character path that Lauren Faust set up, and that the showstaff wanted to reach at the conclusion. Even with the positive role she ended played for Twilight anyway. Twilight got a female role model that wasn't just the motherly authority figure Celestia. (While writing all this, it's made me realize how dang rare it is for any media, for kids or adults, to ever portray that much of a positive relationship between in-laws. Even when someone does, it's mostly guys.) But honestly, besides the wonderful symmetry of a new Diarchy, I would have wanted Cadence and Twilight to ascend to de-facto rulers just because it seems unfair for Twilight to get SO MUCH work.

The Third Alicorn, Donut Days, and The Premiere! by NCMares @ncmares @ask-majesty-incarnate

Princess Cadence sonic love boom by Dormin-Kanna

#my litte pony friendship is magic #princess cadence #mi amore cadenza #alicorn #magic of friendship #magic of love #lopoddity #halsemon #NCMares

8 notes · View notes

mostlysignssomeportents · 5 years

Text

#5yrsago Disneyland's original prospectus revealed!

Thanks to an anonymous benefactor, Boing Boing is pleased to present the first-ever look at the original Disneyland prospectus.

Thanks to an anonymous benefactor, Boing Boing is pleased to present the first-ever look at the original Disneyland prospectus. These extremely high-resolution scans were made from one of the three sets of pitch-documents Roy and Walt Disney used to raise the money to build Disneyland. There are no archive copies of this document. Neither the Walt Disney Company nor the Walt Disney Family Museum have it. But we certainly hope both organizations will download these documents for inclusion in their collections.

Roy Disney -- the Disney brother who controlled the company's finances - -- didn't like the idea of Disneyland at first. Walt Disney poached the best talent from the studios to help him flesh out his idea for a new kind of amusement park, eventually winning over Roy, who helped him raise the $17 million it took to build Disneyland.

The first animator Walt took into the project was the legendary Herb Ryman. Over the course of a weekend in 1953, Walt and Herb drew the storied first map of Disneyland, as pictured here. An additional eight typed pages of description and sales copy were added to these pages and the resulting "brochure" was used as an unsuccessful pitch session that Walt and Herb conducted for three different New York bankers.

This document changed hands at auction last year. The new owner has not indicated his interest in exhibiting or sharing the contents of this document. The new owner is Glenn Beck, a noted jerkface, so this is not surprising.

As for the document itself, there's a lot of interesting detail in it. I was quite struck by the extent to which the document focuses on Disneyland as a unique place to shop. This being the post-war boom-years, shopping was coming into its own as an American recreational passtime. And indeed, Disneyland has, at various times in its history, focused strongly on unique gifts. In the 1950s and 1960s, doing your Christmas shopping at Disneyland was quite the thing in LA (in those days, there was a separate, low charge for admission, and ride tickets were extra, so it was very cheap to pass through the gates in order to shop). In the 1970s and 1980s, the parks sported loads of wonderful, bespoke materials (I loved the Randotti souvenirs, especially the Haunted Mansion material). At various times since, the corporate emphasis on merchandise has varied wildly, though thoughtful, high-quality, distinctive merchandise now appears to be back in the mix.

But Walt's vision for what the company at one point called "merchantainment" (!) was more ambitious than anything yet realized inside the berm. Page one boasts of a "mail order catalogue" that will offer everything for sale at Disneyland (a kind of super-duper version of today's Disneyland Delivears). This catalogue was to feature actual livestock, including "a real pony or a miniature donkey thirty inches high."

Once we get to "True-Life Adventureland," we learn of even cooler (and less probable) living merchandise: "magnificently plumed birds and fantastic fish from all over the world...which may be purchased and shipped anywhere in the U.S. if you so desire."

The contrafactual Disneyland of 1953 wrestled with the future just as much as today's Disney parks do. The prospectus promises "slidewalks," a scientifically accurate space-simulator, robotic open kitchens and (of course) merchandise. But what merch! This being the golden age of science kits, Walt and Herb promised to send kids home from Disneyland with "scientific toys, chemical sets and model kits." We were also promised space-helmets. (I want a space helmet!)

Futurism and science fiction have been tough nuts for Disneyland to crack. When the park opened in 1955, there wasn't much budget to kit out Tomorrowland, so a bunch of corporate sponsors were quickly brought in to host some pretty dubious exhibits: the Kaiser Aluminum Hall of Fame (a giant tin telescope, a tin pig, and exhibits about the role of aluminum in American industry); a Dairy of the Future that featured models of cows with IVs in their hocks gazing at videos of pastures; the Dutch Boy Color Gallery (exploring the future through paint mixing). The crowning glory was a big-top tent housing the special-effects kraken from the film of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; it was staffed by a little person who hid inside it all day, making the tentacles wave.

There have been several attempts to remake Tomorrowland, of varying success. At one point, it became a focal point for insouciant Orange County goths, who congregated there every day after school, making good use of their annual passes. These days, Tomorrowland is thoroughly grounded in fiction from recently acquired franchises -- not futurism and the "factual world of tomorrow." There's a rather good Marvel Comics exhibit in the otherwise lacklustre Innoventions building, and lots of Star Wars-themed stuff to go with the revamped Star Tours ride (which is also rather good). No one seems to mind that a franchise set "a long, long time ago" is a dominant feature in Tomorrowland. Pixar is represented through a Buzz Lightyear ride/shooting gallery (where my wife regularly and thoroughly trounces me).

Finally, the prospectus makes a big deal out of the idea of a miniature walk-through land, "Lilliputian Land," where "mechanical people nine inches high sing and dance and talk to you." This is clearly inspired by Walt's experiences touring Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens, and is the lineal ancestor of the Small World boats (created for Unicef's pavilion at the 1964 NYC World's Fair) and the Storybookland Boats. More to the point, it shows off how much Disneyland was really an elaborate plan by Walt to let extend the miniature train-set he'd build in his garden as therapy after his mental breakdown. The classic photo of Walt Disney hanging out of a train locomotive, grinning with pure, unfaked joy contain, for me, the real story of Disneyland: a man who struggled with depression and his relationship to the company he founded, restless with corporate culture and anxious to lose himself in play in a world of fantasy.

We are forever grateful to our anonymous source for this extraordinary document. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Disneyland Original Prospectus [archive.org]

A zip file of high-res TIFF files [4GB!] is also available.

https://boingboing.net/2014/05/20/disneylandprospectus.html

19 notes · View notes

if-it-keeps-raining · 5 years

Text

The Cannibal Text Or

The Homestuck Epilogue(s) Happened and I’m Gonna Write About That

When we speak of the production of the meta-narrative, that is, of the text which is aware of itself, there emerges a question regarding the text’s ideology of itself. All text is ideological - all production is - but the standard model of textual ideology is outward facing - an interpretation of material reality. The meta-narrative distinguishes itself by explicitly engaging in a discursive ideology which constructs itself as a unified subject/object complex. The text emerges as an act of self-interpretation and as the material which is interpreted. I explore this process in the context of fan works in the essay Opposed Meanings in Detective Pony, but here I will elaborate on further principles regarding the application of a critical schema to the “canonical” meta-text of the epilogue(s).

This process of self-interpretation reveals a secondary ideological framework which I will term the meta-ideology. This meta-ideology can manifest itself as either a direct commentary on the text, from within the text (”breaking the fourth wall”) or by introducing secondary paratextual conceits (Pale Fire’s footnotes, or The Blair Witch Project’s persistent VHS-aesthetic framing). These modes of meta-commentary are are not mutually exclusive: Homestuck, our primary subject, blends the two frequently. Fundamentally, para-text covers a category of narrative conceits which comprise a mode of communication that is pragmatically distinct from the standard narrative convention. For a mundane example of this, we can look to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which utilizes letters, diary entries, and newspaper clippings to communicate its story. These para-textual features form a passive commentary on the narrative they convey. Though para-text does not explicitly recognize itself as an interpreted object, its employment implies a consideration of audience that is not present in naïve, or traditionally expository, texts. Manifest meta-narrative, broadly “breaking the fourth wall”, comprises those texts which acknowledge their positions as fictional or otherwise textual works. This can range from the incidental or comedic (Scream commenting on genre tropes) to the fundamental or paradigmatic (Six Characters in Search of an Author and its play-within-a-play).

Using this basic organizational framework, I will make an attempt to analyze the meta-ideology of the epilogue(s), with reference, where appropriate, to the “body” of the work, being the comic itself. This will not comprise a value judgement, and will not be a commentary on the validity of the text, except insofar as canonical validity is destabilized within the text itself.

I will begin with the technical features of the epilogue(s), focusing particularly on the paratextual techniques employed and their contrast with the “body”. The epilogue(s) are primarily conveyed through traditional expository text in the 2nd and 3rd person. This is interspersed with frequent conversation formatted in the style of pesterlogs/tagged speakers, typical of the “body”. The epilogue(s) differ, then, from the “body” by employing the 3rd person frequently (where the “body” almost exclusively used 2nd) and in eschewing visual representation entirely. Additionally, the epilogue(s) introduced one innovative paratextual feature, in the form of a frontispiece designed to resemble an AO3 descriptor page. I categorize this innovation as paratextual, owing to its lack of manifestation in the narrative proper. This paratextual feature accomplishes two pieces of meta-ideological work: first, it destabilizes the concept of “canonicity”, which normally we would assume to be innate and unvarying, by recalling a fanfiction site, and second, by prefacing the epilogue(s) (along with the epilogue(s) being hosted on a separate section of the site), it introduces a discontinuity in time/canon which is integral to later manifested ideology. As for the PoV and medium changes, those also play a role in reinforcing the meta-ideology, but do not, alone, imply a meta-ideological commentary.

When reading the epilogue(s) we are really considering two interlaced narratives which share three chapters of prologue, and trace their differences to a binary decision made by what passes for our protagonist: Meat or Candy? Within this prologue, Rose gives us a principle which may guide our broader interpretation of the epilogue(s) meta-ideology. Rose gives an expository monologue on the supposed conflict of the story, concerning the degree to which the story remains canon, defined as an unfixed attribute delineated by degrees of truth, relevancy, and essentiality. The latter two appear, per Rose’s examples, to be indistinguishable, but truth is distinguished by acting as an indicator of “canonicity”, conditioned by relevance/essentiality. What is true and relevant/essential is canon, while what is true but not relevant/essential is outside of canon, but not necessarily apart from it (”conditionally true”). Finally, non-canon events have no truth, but may still be relevant/essential, existing on an imaginary axis (or, one might suppose, in “fanon”). This is the framework that the epilogue(s) invoke to frame themselves, but it is not one that the narrative intuitively supports. As readers we expect one of two things from a story: an objective accounting of fact, or the motivated retelling of a particular character. Documentary or unreliable narrator. The epilogue(s) embrace neither.

Let’s begin with ‘Meat’: at first it appears to be an objective 2nd person narration, with John as the receiving subject. Later, it is revealed that Dirk has been narrating the the entire first half. For the remainder of the story, he competes for narrative control with Calliope. Dirk is not an unreliable narrator in the traditional sense, as his descriptions are shown to be factually accurate, at least insofar as physical action is concerned. In fact, Dirk’s narration exerts a degree of directive control over the story, compelling characters to act in ways they otherwise would not have. Calliope, while wielding a similar power, avoids utilizing it, instead opting for pure description. But pure relative to what? That is, when Rose speaks of canon, what are these events relevant/essential to? Does Dirk’s description presuppose the actions it describes a la mind control, or is it a more privileged control, essentially narrative in nature?

The answer I propose is that, in-universe, there exists, under the typical Homestuck complications, a purported objective reality against which truth is judged. Relevance/essentiality, on the other hand, only make sense as concepts to us, the privileged audience. The epilogue(s) defy the binary of reliable/unreliable narration because the conceit of narrativity itself is known to the characters within the story, and has an effect on their subjective reality. ‘Meat’ deconstructs the viability of its own abstraction in-universe, by framing itself as a viewed text, with a privileged viewership. (Note that privileged here refers to the position of a generic viewer relative to the narrative, receiving the recognition of the narrating characters, but privy to the competition between them as well.) This privileged viewership is what allows Dirk to conceive of himself in terms of a ‘villainous’ arc; whether this awareness is actual (the character aware of a real viewership) or megalomaniacal (a delusional fantasy on the part of the character) is irrelevant, since the conceit of the privileged viewership is reified by Dirk and Calliope’s belief in it.

On to ‘Candy’. Though I have chosen to deal with it second, this is not meaningful. The works may have been read in any order, and I myself read them piecemeal, jumping back and forth where I thought appropriate. What to say about ‘Candy’? It is (non)-canonically inconsequential. It is exposited factually, and at first appears to be generically narrated, though it is later revealed that Calliope acts as an aloof narrator. A great many things happen which can be described uncharitably as ‘fanficcy’. John, refusing the call to action, struggles to find meaning in this version of Earth C. What is this story’s role in reinforcing the meta-ideology? It does not deal with profound questions of canonicity or narrative authority, as ‘Meat’ does. Even Rose, our central expositor, drops these themes wholesale. Dirk kills himself, unable to conceive of living in an inessential/irrelevant timeline.

I said earlier that ‘Meat’ positioned itself as a viewed text, with the attention of the privileged viewership as the arbiter of relevance/essentiality. ‘Candy’ is the answer to the question of what it is relevant/essential to. There is no objective reality to which ‘Meat’ refers, but in juxtaposition with ‘Candy’ it is given a sense of relative weight. ‘Meat’ and ‘Candy’ form a semiotic pair with “Canonicity” as the common referent, ‘Meat’ being a positive/manifest aspect, and ‘Candy’ being its negative/absent aspect. ‘Meat’, being manifest, has more to say about the actual content of the meta-ideology regarding “canonicity”, but just as sheep and mutton derive their meaning from a contrastive différance, so ‘Meat’ depends on the contrastive position of ‘Candy’ to give meaning to the proposed meta-ideology.

This brings me to the notion of The Cannibal Text. While ‘Meat’ and ‘Candy’ are both necessary to the construction of their contrastive différance, their roles in it are not equivalent. In Opposed Meanings in Detective Pony I described a derivational relationship between the two Detective Ponys in which one took an active role, and one a passive role. The epilogue(s) present a similar contrast. ‘Meat’ does not only derive its relevance/essentiality from ‘Candy’, but also destroys what relevance/essentiality ‘Candy’ may otherwise have had alone. We are presented with two timelines, in a story whose “body” insists on a single valid timeline (all others being doomed or overwritten). Though ‘Candy’ avoids either of these fates, it is nevertheless positioned as the “wrong” timeline, in other words, one which is un-canon. It is only through the interplay between ‘Meat’ and ‘Candy’ that the meta-ideology of “canonicity” can emerge and be applied meaningfully to the text. The text consumes itself, and in consuming itself, is reified. The act of consumption invalidates one timeline to give narrative weight to the other. It is a Cannibal Text, which in commenting on its own position relative to a privileged viewership, must justify its “objective” meaning with the symbolic sacrifice of that which is merely imagined. “Fanon”/’Candy’ is both necessary to contrastively reify canon, and utterly alien to it, having its purported meaning destroyed by the mere juxtaposition of the positive, ‘Meaty’ signifier.

#homestuck #upd8 #detective pony #homestuck epilogue #rose lalonde #dirk strider #john egbert #i hate myself for writing this #and i hope you will too

18 notes · View notes

vm-design-posts · 4 years

Text

Celtic Sculpture

Given their preference for abstract or stylized forms, it is scarcely surprising that the Celts should have left us comparatively few images of their gods. Most of the finest examples of Celtic sculpture involve disciplines like metalwork and jewellery art, as well as stone carving. Of the stoneworks, many of the finest surviving examples were placed in or near important burial sites.

Cernunnos

Pride of place is usually given to depictions of Cernunnos, the horned-god, since he is the only deity that has been positively identified through an inscription. This was discovered on a rather worn altar relief, originally located beneath the present-day church of Notre-Dame de Paris. The monument was erected by Parisian sailors and was dedicated to Tiberius. On the strength of this, a number of other portrayals of the deity have been identified.

The most notable of these is a Gallo-Roman altar from Reims, which shows Cernunnos sitting cross-legged between the figures of Apollo and Mercury. The sculpture dates from the 1st century CE, after Gaul had been Romanized. This accounts for the overtly classical appearance of the group. Even so, several of the god's traditional attributes are clearly recognizable. These include his horns, the torc around his neck and the animals at his feet. In his lap, he holds a sack of money, which represents abundance. The rat above his head relates to the underworld and, in this instance, probably refers to Mercury rather than Cernunnos. The horned god was most popular in Gaul, although evidence of his worship has also been found elsewhere. On some of his shrines, the deity's antlers were removable. This implies that the rites associated with him may have been seasonal, coinciding with the natural growth of a stag's antlers.

Epona

After Cernunnos, the most widely represented deity was the horse-goddess, Epona. This may be due to the fact that, alone of all the Celtic divinities, she was worshipped at Rome. In most cases, Epona was shown riding side-saddle on a mare or, alternatively, standing between a pair of horses. On coins, she was occasionally represented as a horse with a woman's head. The goddess represented fertility, particularly in relation to horse-breeding, but she was also linked with death. On some images, she was portrayed with a key. One of her roles, it seems, was to conduct human souls to the Otherworld and the key symbolized her access to this legendary realm. Predictably, the cult of Epona was especially popular with cavalrymen. Her name is the source of the English word 'pony'. Iconographic Themes

Regrettably, many of the surviving items of Celtic religious art (sculpture) can no longer be identified. Nevertheless, they can be classified under a number of different thematic groupings. It is noticeable, for example, that many Celtic deities had zoomorphic overtones. Cernunnos himself was often represented with cloven feet, and this tendency can be discerned in a variety of other figures.

Euffigneix Statue

The tiny sandstone statue from Euffigneix in eastern Gaul (1st century BCE) is particularly striking. Measuring just over 25cm, it was probably intended for private devotions, rather than for a larger tribal shrine. The stylized face has been damaged but this is overshadowed, in any case, by the spirited depiction of a boar on the front of the figure. Its dorsal bristles are erect, an aggressive feature which normally underlined the creature's role as a war symbol. On one side of the statuette, there is also an outsized carving of a single human eye, its prominent eyebrow echoing the line of the boar's crest. No one has been able to find a satisfactory explanation for this combination of motifs, although the figure is sometimes thought to represent a hunting god.

Bouray Bronze Figure

Sculpted from bronze rather than stone, the curious figure from Bouray (50 BCE - 50 CE) falls into the same category. A cursory glance might suggest a classical source, but closer examination reveals not only the torc around the neck, but also the figure's awkward, squat-legged position. The tiny legs, which are out of proportion with the rest of the figure, resemble the hooves of a deer. Indeed, if it were not for the complete absence of antlers, it would be tempting to interpret this as a depiction of Cernunnos. The figure was dredged out of the River Juine, to the south of Paris, in 1845. It was fashioned out of sheet metal, and it seems quite possible that its designer was a specialist cauldron-maker. Certainly, there are some stylistic affinities with the figures on the cauldron from Rynkeby.

Pillar Statues

Many of the other worthies represented by Celtic stonemasons take the form of pillar-statues. This reflects their original purpose, which was to crown the summits of ancient burial mounds. One of the oldest discoveries in this vein was the life-sized figure of a warrior, carved out of sandstone, which was found near the German tomb of Hirschlanden. The statue dates back to the 6th century BCE and was originally placed at the top of the barrow, until it was broken off at the feet. Its various attributes - the conical helmet, the weighty neck-ring, the dagger hanging from a belt, and the erect phallus - were all designed to emphasize the heroic status of the princeling in the tomb below. The distorted facial features are sometimes thought to represent a mask. The stone monuments at other Celtic burial places offer variants on this theme. At Pfalzfeld in the Rhineland, the stele takes the form of a tapering, four-sided pillar. This was decorated with a series of stylized human faces, each with a leaf-crown headdress and a lotus-bud carved on its forehead. The emphasis on various plant forms suggests that the pillar may have been intended as a representation of a sacred tree. The shaft of the pillar is broken at the top, and it is likely that it was once surmounted by a larger version of the stylized heads. Janus Heads

Janiform figures provided an alternative format for the pillar-statue. With their ability to gaze out in two directions at once, Janus heads were particularly appropriate for the tops of tumuli, dominating their entire surroundings. The best surviving example is a sandstone pillar-statue from Holzerlingen. This is slightly more than life-sized and shows Celtic stylization at its most severe. The mouth is nothing more than a horizontal gash and the heavy, hooded eyes exude menace. Unlike the Hirschlanden figure, which was meant to glorify the occupant of the tomb, this is clearly a deity of some kind. By tradition, Janus figures fulfilled a protective, custodial function, and this may well have been the intention here. Originally, there was a horn-shaped protrusion between the heads. It is not clear whether this was a variant of the leaf crown, as seen on the Pfalzfeld pillar, or whether the deity was actually horned. Smaller janiform figures have also been unearthed at the Gaulish shrine of Roquepertuse, in Provence. Here, the finds consist solely of heads and there can be no doubt about their watchful purpose. They were designed to be placed over a doorway or entrance. This is confirmed by the fact that there is no modelling on the sides of the sculpture, emphasizing that it was never meant to be seen from that angle. At an early stage, the heads were painted and, as is so often the case with Janus heads, the two faces are different. The frown on one of them is rather more intense than the other. Roquepertuse

The sanctuary at Roquepertuse was thoroughly excavated in the 1920s, offering a rare insight into Celtic ritual practices. It may date from as early as the 6th century BCE and it was in continuous use for several centuries, until it was destroyed by fire at the start of the 2nd century BCE. At the entrance to the shrine, there was a portico consisting of three limestone pillars. These contained niches, where the skulls of defeated enemies were triumphantly displayed. Similar activities were carried out at Entremont, another Provencal retreat. This featured the same arrangement of severed heads, nailed into cavities in pillars, but at Entremont there were also a number of carvings of these grisly trophies. On these, the faces had no mouths and were shown with their eyes closed, pointing to the fact that they were dead. At Roquepertuse, archaeologists also made a number of other discoveries: a series of carved birds, a crudely executed frieze of horses, damaged statues of two cross-legged figures, and traces of animal paintings. Originally, there were five statues, perhaps mounted on pedestals. The remaining pair have lost their heads and arms, making it hard to determine their initial purpose. It is likely that they represented either heroic soldiers or war gods. Sections of armour can still be discerned at the top of the torsos and, like the Janus heads, the figures were once coloured. It has also been suggested that the missing hands may once have presented severed heads towards the spectator. This theory is based on comparisons with the Tarasque de Naves, a chilling sculpture which portrays a ravening monster, probably a form of lion, holding two severed heads beneath its paws. From its jaws, a human arm dangles lifelessly. A similar creature was found at Linsdorf, in Alsace. In both cases, the inspiration is thought to have come from classical funerary art. The Romans often used scenes of animals devouring humans in this context, to symbolize the triumph of death. Votive Figures

Comparatively little wood-carving has come down to us from the Celtic era, largely because of the perishable nature of the material. The majority of the surviving pieces are votive figures, which were cast into the water at sacred springs or river shrines. Unlike the magnificent weapons and items of jewellery that were discarded at other sites, these wooden figurines were usually plain, cheaply made objects. They were also deposited for a very specific purpose, namely to invoke the healing powers of tutelary deities. The most important healing shrines that have come to light are both in France, at Chamalieres in the Massif Central and at Sources-de-la-Seine near Dijon. The latter was dedicated to Sequana, the personification of the River Seine. Between them, these two sites have yielded up several thousand votive offerings. In general, the sacrificed items appeared in two main guises. Often, they took the form of the limb or organ that was diseased. In other words, the supplicant might offer up a wooden image of a damaged hand in the hope that, in exchange, the deity would restore their real hand to health. The second type of offering was the so-called 'pilgrim' figure, representing the actual donor. These ranged from fairly naturalistic pieces, frequently betraying the influence of classical art, to stylized, armless figures, wearing thick, hooded cloaks. Their appearance is reminiscent of the Cucullati, the hooded deities who were worshipped in many parts of the Celtic world.

Other Celtic Sculpture

Famous monumental Celtic stonework such as the La Tene style Turoe Stone in County Galway Ireland, the Killycluggin Stone in County Cavan, the Mullaghmast Stone in County Kildare, the Derrykeighan Stone in County Antrim, and the Navel Stone at Delphi, in Greece, is more engraving than sculpture. Likewise the 3-D goldwork of the Broighter boat and other similar artifacts is considered under Celtic Metalwork art rather than sculpture.

As for the famous ringed Celtic High Cross Sculptures, sculpted during the medieval period (c.750-1150) of early Christian art, such as the 10th century Muiredach's Cross, the Celtic-style designs (eg. the interlace, knotwork and spiral designs on the South Cross of Clonmacnoise, the St. Mullins Cross, and the Ullard High Cross) are almost all abstract (the few exceptions being zoomorphic images), while the figurative reliefs owe little to the art of the Celts.

1 note · View note

shirlleycoyle · 5 years

Text

Why Are Résumés Still a Thing?

A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, a twice-weekly newsletter that hunts for the end of the long tail.

Is there anything more nerve-wracking than having to sell yourself to a prospective employer?

They don’t know you. You don’t know them. And much of the pressure of making sure that connection makes sense too often falls on the individual rather than the potential employer.

At the center of this is the résumé, a document sent to potential employers, often with a customized cover letter, that explains who you are, what you’re doing, and the references you’ve gained over the years.

But where did this approach come from, and why are job applicants seemingly slaves to this dog and pony show?

Let’s look into the history of the résumé—and analyze whether they even make sense anymore.

“Having now sufficiently seen and considered the achievements of all those who count themselves masters and artificers of instruments of war, and having noted that the invention and performance of the said instruments is in no way different from that in common usage, I shall endeavour, while intending no discredit to anyone else, to make myself understood to Your Excellency for the purpose of unfolding to you my secrets, and thereafter offering them at your complete disposal, and when the time is right bringing into effective operation all those things which are in part briefly listed below.”

— Leonardo da Vinci, in a famous letter to Ludovico Sforza, then the duke of Milan and also known as Ludovico il Moro, offering his services to the Lord. This letter, featured in full on the excellent site Letters of Note, is often cited as the first résumé or cover letter. (Some, however, cite the letters sent to guilds in the Middle Ages.) While not as sharply structured as a modern résumé, it shares much in common with the application letter, a common structural element used for job applications hundreds of years later.

Typewriters, with their ability to indent, helped formalize the application letter. Image: Laura Chouette/Unsplash

Before the world of employment became obsessed with the résumé, we called them application letters

The business world is defined by its ever-changing terminology, and one sign of this is that we used to rely on a far more straightforward term to describe what a résumé effectively does.

For decades, we called them “letters of application,” or “application letters.” Written about in business correspondence books of different kinds throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, the documents slowly evolved in level of formality, and were reliant on recommendation letters from prior employers. In the 1883 book The Universal Self-Instructor, a general reference manual, it’s portrayed as serving a similar role to a simple cover letter. An example from the book, for an apprenticeship:

GEORGE S. GORDON, Esq.:

Sir :—

I beg to apply for the situation mentioned in the above advertisement, clipped from today’s Morning Post. I have been employed for the last four months in the foundry of Wheeler & Co., where I was bound apprentice. The recent failure of that concern and closing of the foundry has caused the canceling of my articles, and I am now anxious to obtain work elsewhere. I am permitted to refer to Mr. Charles Wheeler and Mr. Edwin Hoyt.

Hoping that you will be willing to take me on trial, I remain,

Very respectfully,

SAMUEL HENDERSON, 220 Main Street.

This type of letter would appear in books about “business correspondence,” which were a form of reference book for their day. While many books of this nature appeared throughout the first half of the 20th century, they were not written around the résumé, as many later books were.

This type of cover letter-like thing, once handwritten, eventually became more formalized with the addition of the typewriter, which allowed for some rudimentary organizing through the use of indents and tab stops. The approach became more rigid over time, the realm of bullet points and horizontal lines.

As the 1930 book A Course in English for Engineers puts it:

The application letter is essentially a sales letter. It is the means by which a person seeking employment attempts to market his training, his experience, and his personality. He who is successful in selling his services by letter is usually the one who has thoroughly analyzed every essential detail that goes into the writing of an application.

But the interesting thing is that the résumé, as the application letter came to be called, eventually evolved into a much more important form of business correspondence than anything else … at least for a while.

“While a résumé alone almost never earns a job for a person, a good one often serves as the deciding factor in obtaining the all-important interview.”

— Jill Smolowe, a The New York Times contributor, discussing the nature of the résumé in a 1979 article for the paper, written as part of a “Careers in the ’80s” insert, that in many ways seems to be written to introduce the concept to readers.

How the application letter evolved into the résumé

If you walk into any bookstore or library in the world, you’re going to see dozens, possibly even hundreds of books about how to write a good résumé, how to structure it in a way that maximizes what you do best—complete with a great cover letter and a minimal number of typos. Many will tell you to keep things under a page if you’re not above a certain age range; others will tell you that there’s nothing worse for making a first impression than a misplaced comma or repeated word.

But one thing that you likely will not find is a book that explains how to make a résumé that dates before 1970 or so. (Probably the first book on the topic with any long-lasting authority is Richard Bolles’ long-running What Color is Your Parachute? series, a self-help book that discourages the use of spray-and-pray tactics.) Most of them will date to 1980 or beyond, in fact.

While both the résumé and the curriculum vitae existed before then and were frequently asked for in want ads as early as the late 1940s in some professional fields, something appears to have changed in their role starting in the late 1970s and early 1980s—around the time when many service-oriented fields first gained prominence—in which the résumé, particularly in North America, turned into a de facto requirement when applying for most new jobs.

Companies started treating humans as resources around this time, and many workers traded in their blue collars for white ones. It was a big shift, and the résumé was in the middle of it.

Why the name change, though? There are a lot of reasons why “résumé” won out over “application letter,” but I think one of the biggest might come from the education field of the era. The U.S. Department of Education’s Education Resources Information Center launched in 1965, and early in its life, relied on the terminology “document resume” to refer to its bibliographic entries. This information reached schools through documents produced by the Education Department, and my theory is that the influence of this material on educators might just have touched the business world, too.

The shifting nature of work also made the need for more personalized applications more necessary. A 1962 book, Analyzing the Application for Employment, noted the overly complex nature of fill-in-the-blank application forms, and that they would often take hours for prospective employees to fill out. In the book, author Irwin Smalheiser of Personnel Associates highlights an example of one such person stuck dealing with complex application processes:

One man we know, who perpetually seems to be looking for work, has devised a neat system for coping with the application blanks he encounters. He has taken the time to complete a detailed summary of his work history which he carries in his wallet. When he is asked to fill out the company application form, he simply copies the pertinent dates and names of the companies for which he worked.

In many ways, a résumé solves this problem. While some level of modification comes with each specific job, you often can reuse it again and again without having to repeat your work—no need to repeat your references for every job opening, but a cover letter refresh might be helpful. Sure, job applications stuck around for lower-end jobs, like fast food, but the résumé stuck around nearly everywhere else.

In a slower world, it was the best tool we had for applying for a new job. The problem is, the world got faster—and the model began to show its flaws.

This 1995 book, from the Princeton Review, is a good example of a job search advice book.

Five factors that made the résumé a more prominent part of workplace life in the ’80s and ’90s

Culture. With a growing number of companies able to compete on a regional, national, or even global scale, this created additional complexity that facilitated the need for new types of hiring and employee management practices. Starting in the late 1970s, the field of personnel administration took on the name human resources management (HRM), and the role became a more significant element of many companies.

Regulations. The 1965 creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the U.S.—part of a general movement against workplace discrimination—along with regulations on issues such as safety, created a need for a more objective approach to hiring. This played into the need for human resources departments to ensure that the company was an equal opportunity employer.

Technology. Sure, typewriters were nothing new, but access to them, along with the then-new computer and the growing ubiquity of the copying machine, made it easier for people to apply for multiple jobs at once. It was simply easier to apply for a job through the mail than it was to fill out an application form. (And when we got the internet, some of the earliest digital hubs, such as the free web host Tripod, offered résumé writing and job-hunting services to their users. And that was years before LinkedIn.) And when graphical interfaces and word processors became a thing, the first experience many people got with word processing software such as Microsoft Word was in modifying a cover letter template.

Economy. In many ways, the rise of the résumé reflected a shifting role of the employee in an economy built around white collar work. “Indeed—a point to be stressed—HRM in most companies was and is primarily concerned with managers and white-collar employees, not blue-collar workers,” George Strauss, of UC Berkeley’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, wrote in 1991. The résumé, for better or for worse, shifted the burden of hiring onto the employee in most cases, particularly during economic dry spells.

Publishing. I wouldn’t put it in the same category as “going viral,” but the business press had a major surge in presence during the 1980s and 1990s, with the nearly century-old Harvard Business Review being rethought for general audiences, old-guard magazines like BusinessWeek and Fortune reaching the peak of their influence, and newer players like Inc. and Fast Company gaining readership. Likewise, reference and resource books targeting business audiences—especially those about how to get a job—had a real moment around this time. The combined result likely helped reinforce the résumé’s role in the business world.

Does the résumé really work anymore? Maybe not.

When I wrote about my desire to research the history of the résumé on Twitter the other day, something interesting and surprising happened: The result attracted a few business types that complained about the ineffectiveness of this tool and the problems it surfaced along the way.

Initially, this bothered me, because it seemed like it was getting away from my main reason for researching this history. But having thought about it some, it makes sense—it hints at the fact that we’re stuck with this outdated research tool, that nobody seems to be happy with, because it fails in a lot of subtle ways.

For all its success in the 1980s and 1990s, the rise of the résumé creates brand new issues.

While they generally do not include photographs, they can allow for latent discrimination, as prospective employers can judge a worker’s eligibility not on the quality of their work or their potential for success, but their implied background. Even a name is enough to throw off a potential employer.

Then there’s the ease of being able to make stuff up, something that has caught up some big-name companies over the years—most famously Yahoo, who lost a CEO, Scott Thompson, after it was revealed he lied about his education.

There’s also the factor of investment: It's often a game of who has the most polished result, not who has the most qualifications. Around 1988, Reagan administration White House staffers ran to professional resume-writing firms to get a layer of slick polish to their job history in an effort to get hired on with then-President George H.W. Bush. Good for them, and anyone else who can pay a lot of money for a professional resume rewrite—but what about people who don’t have the resources to play that game?

And as with things like standardized testing, they put a focus on surface issues that will not correctly tell the story of a person’s true potential. In many ways, work experience matters less in a world where modern technical skills won’t stay the same even five years after the fact.

Too often, many experts note, they focus on the wrong things. Speaking to Fast Company, Carisa Miklusak of the algorithmic hiring firm tilr notes that prior experience matters far less than current abilities and skill set. As a result, results have been pushed off to the side quite often.

“Employers are interested in skills and the results someone can generate, rather than titles or previous employment,” Miklusak told the magazine. “Focusing on skills provides a fuller understanding of the candidate’s experience and capabilities, and opens up more opportunities.”

Some of the most recent startups in the employment space largely eschew the résumé approach entirely. Triplebyte, for example, offers a really challenging quiz intended to find the best technical employees out there for equally technical jobs, leaning on a skill-based referral over a good cover letter in helping to fill a potential dream job. Likewise, other parts of the tech economy are leaning on abilities over degrees.. Likewise, other parts of the tech economy are leaning on abilities over degrees.

Is that strategy going to play out long-term? Who knows. But let’s just say that the CV, or whatever you call it, is really starting to show its age.

Building a good résumé is often a challenge, because the rules keep changing.

As a designer, it was only one part of my portfolio, and I had to combine everything together, cover letter and all, while making it look well-designed and clever. That often meant it was a little less straightforward, because that was the field I was competing in. (No templates here.) As the web came into play, that portfolio needed a digital element. And it also needed to live in other contexts.

As a job seeker I had a pretty decent track record, barring that time I interviewed at a newspaper on the day Pope John Paul II died. (That’s not made up. It was an odd situation that probably cost me a job, but one I don’t blame on the newspaper itself. Plus, it earned me an opportunity at an equally good job a couple of months later.)

For a while, I would update my résumé and portfolio every year, even if I wasn’t looking for a new job, just to keep in the habit, because the ground is always changing. But increasingly, I sort of feel like the approach had grown out of date—it especially doesn’t hold up well to career changes. For the last job I legitimately applied for, roughly eight years ago, I sent over a design portfolio and a one-sheeter about a website I ran. My current position didn’t even have very much to do with graphic design, but it was what I had been doing, so that was what I sent along.

I feel challenged to explain what I do today in this form. I feel like, if you care, you’ll find me—because that’s what the “gig economy” is all about.

In a way, this philosophy isn’t all that far off from the thinking of one of the earliest innovators in resume writing, an English land surveyor named Ralph Agas. During the 16th and 17th centuries, he used a variety of methods to market his relevant skills to the public, and one of those was by creating flyers that told the public of his sizable skills as a surveyor. He was advertising at a time few other people were, and it stood out.

Often, this is cited as one of the first cover letters, but I think it’s something else: This might be the first Facebook Page, and he might be the first influence marketer, beating out Bob Vila by 400 years. (Sorry, Bob.)

Maybe that’s the problem: Getting a job means standing out—and because the résumé has gotten so old and staid, it’s not doing that anymore.

Why Are Résumés Still a Thing? syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

0 notes

kevinparkerhorseboxesltd · 5 years

Text

#Horseboxes and a new blog from #KPH - https://www.kphltd.co.uk/kph-usps/ KPH – Our Unique Selling Points (USP)

Recently, I was reading a post regarding unique selling points and thought it was perhaps about time I wrote some down for KPH …it has turned into quite a project!

1. Our number one unique selling point has to be safety. This does not mean just the word added to a list for advertising; it means we manufacture our horseboxes, designed from the bare chassis up, completely around horse and occupant safety. From the very conception of the company (Kevin Parker Horseboxes LTD) safety was our paramount concern. This was the top priority on our very long design list and has been an integral part of our horseboxes for many decades. Safety and especially horse and pony safety encompass every single part we manufacture and fit, from picking materials for strength and longevity, all the way through to how the item is used and how it feels (no sharp edges).

2. Building safety in a horsebox has to touch on longevity, our second USP. Safety is for the life of our horseboxes and this is actually the point where cost is disregarded, in every case the best materials for the job, are by nature longer lasting and more expensive. As an example, wherever possible, we replace aluminium with stainless steel adding far superior strength and longevity. This is especially evident in our stainless steel safety cell, horse ramps, hinges, horse gates and horse partitions.

3. We cannot emphasize how truly ground-breaking our Coat-X spray on Polyurea protective coating is. Encompassing both safety and longevity, our non-slip Coat-X finish has been independently slip tested and outperforms rubber matting in both wet and dry tests (rated to British Standards 7976-2). It has totally transformed our horse areas, adding both safety and longevity. Developed to replace heavy rubber matting, kick sheets, joins and cappings …and being one hundred percent waterproof and impervious to cleaning chemicals, it allowed us to design stylish horse areas that can be power washed or steam cleaned on a daily basis. Our horse areas really do stand out from the crowd!

4. It would be very remiss of us to list the first three USP’s and not mention our 32mm Coat-X protective padding specifically designed for our Aeos and Helios horseboxes. We use these waterproof safety paddings as extra protection for our customer’s horses. They are designed tough, to withstand kicking and daily power washing or steam cleaning with detergents. They add even more longevity to our tough horse areas.

5. This would have to be truly bespoke horseboxes that we take the time designing, so they fit each customer exactly and are they are proudly manufactured by our skilled KPH craftsmen (in the UK). Our long serving team take great pride in their work and everything from manufacturing, through to spraying and even weighing the horseboxes is undertaken at our very clean Lancashire site.

6. The next USP is for our team that add the ooooh! KPH has an incredibly skilled paint team, who, on a weekly basis make customers dreams become reality. It has to be said that the real USP paint magic is a hidden one that customers will rarely see; however, it sets us apart and is why our horseboxes last so long. Our team spray the cab underside, chassis and subframe with oil resistant paint and Waxoyl. They also remove doors and fittings to spray separately, covering every edge for added longevity.

From amazing colours to amazing paint designs, from the smallest, all the way up to maximum length HGV horseboxes we paint everything in our purpose built 22m commercial spray shop and oven. It is often a favourite destination for visiting customers and you could say we have it covered!

7. One area where we literally, shine very brightly and a major KPH unique selling point is our outstanding stainless steel designs. Manufactured in our dedicated fabrication workshop to be super strong, our stainless steel work, including horse partitions and rear doors are truly eye catching.

8. This is an unusual USP, although one that our customers just love. On a weekly basis, we walk customers around the entire site and openly show every single aspect of the manufacturing process. It has proved invaluable, as it shows we are proud of our build quality and workmanship. It also highlights how we treat goods in trust as well as our own facilities and team members.

I would tag onto this that it goes hand in hand with the weekly photo updates we send out showing customers’ builds.

9. Living with a compromise almost never works and often horseboxes that do not fit the customer’s exact needs are sold within a very short period of time. So, perhaps one of the most important unique selling points of a KPH build is that each one is bespoke, tailored to fit exactly.

We allocate plenty of free time to sit and chat with each customer, advising on what is possible and the implications on safety and payload. Customers can specify everything from the size of the horse area and living, to the size and placement of tack lockers. The meeting will include axle loadings, where the horses stand and even overhang behind the rear axle.

KPH builds are tailored to fit our customers’ exact requirements and just one more reason why customers keep them a very long time indeed. In fact, even with decades of horseboxes on the road, it is a very rare thing to see one of them for sale anywhere!

10. We firmly believe that standing still is as good as going backwards. Innovation has always been a driving force for KPH. We tested the first curved roof over 27 years ago. Even then the cost of transport was increasing yearly. Rather than copying what had gone before we designed a shape around fuel economy and aerodynamics. Straight away we could see that there were clear advantages in fuel savings, wind noise reductions and it added a stunning shape to our Helios horsebox models. The curved roof is a great USP and it clearly sets us apart from other manufacturers.

Very recent innovations include, a stainless steel ramp for all the Aeos horsebox models and a new stainless steel partition fastening system for the Helios horsebox models.

Rest assured, other innovative designs are being tested and will eventually become standard on our models, adding safety, ease of use, strength and longevity.

11. KPH passive design is an integral unique selling point in all our models; it is a method of construction where a comfortable interior environment is created by using very little energy. With years of manufacturing experience, combined with materials research and testing, we think about the little things, that when added up considerably alter the whole experience of loading and driving one of our horseboxes, this applies equally to the customer and their horses.

As a few examples of the passive design, we choose the roof material to insulate and we choose the colour to reflect heat (hot in winter and cool in summer). We design for much reduced heat build-up and improved air flow across the horses, adding comfort even before the extraction fans are turned on. The composite floor and double skinned walls are for strength; however, we insulate and soundproof them adding another layer of comfort for the horses.

12. Another USP to give confidence is that we don’t dabble in the cheapest chassis available. We buy for reliability, suitability and more to the point, we specialise with just two manufacturers.

For 7.5 tonnes to 26 tonnes we only manufacture on the DAF chassis. For 3.5 tonnes to 4.5 tonnes builds we specialise in the Sevel platform cab. This is a joint venture between Fiat and PSA Peugeot Citroën and includes Fiat Ducato, Citroen Relay and Peugeot Boxer (all the same vehicle manufactured on the same production lines).

13. Payload is a USP where we specialise and one that in recent years has become a very hot topic. Manufacturers who previously never gave it a thought are now playing catch up and the marketplace is flooded with overweight horseboxes.

At KPH it is something we have designed for from day one and it is standard on every horsebox commission. This does not mean we just have good payloads; it means we have designed carefully and placed the payload appropriately for the front and rear axle loadings. It means that customer’s horses are in the best possible place for a smooth ride. It also means we carefully consider and advise on what is possible and what is not.

We were the very first horsebox manufacturer to issue weight certificates and design completely around payload, ride comfort and safety. In fact, the very last job before handing over is weighing each vehicle with our onsite equipment and producing a certificate to go with the horsebox paperwork. Our customers can buy and much later on sell with confidence, knowing payload and placement has been carefully considered and that each one can legally carry the horses it is stalled for.

14. A great USP for our company is that we include a two year warranty and 24 hour customer care!

We take great pride in the finish and quality of our builds and we have confidence that the materials used are the best for each role. When a new horsebox is collected, the hand over can take a couple of hours and admittedly with all the excitement, it is a lot to take in. So, we give each customer my direct number and if they cannot remember or forget something important, a quick phone call sets everything straight. From time to time customers do have other questions and even more rarely a product can get a defect, if this ever happens, we are still available to chat in person anytime and dealt with an issue as speedily as possible.

Reading back through the edited down list above of unique selling point, if nothing else, it demonstrates how we do not blindly follow others, rather we lead through innovation and design, manufacturing bespoke horseboxes that last!

0 notes

mtwy · 7 years

Photo

Vanity Fair

USA August 1985

The media have really got ants in their pants over Madonna. Holy cow, you’d think she was the Linda Lovelace of the microphone. Doubting Thomas JAMES WOLCOTT went to check it out

Let the Mascara Run

Madonna Louise Ciccone (hallowed be her name) always seems to have her finger in the cake icing. Pleasure for her packs calories. She makes a slow raid on the street, a guiltless show of self indulgence. Like Mae West, Madonna knows how to loll, how to primp; in Desperately Seeking Susan she looked as if she could be happy lazing away the afternoon sampling chocolates and reading trashy magazines, turning a suburban sofa into a royal barge (with an investment banker as her Mark Antony).

Unfortunately, Madonna doesn’t have Mae West’s husky, musky aplomb as a boudoir hostess. In interviews, she comes across as a me-first snot. Yet vertical, Madonna moves generously, even wittily; repartee rides on her hips. In her Virgin Tour performances she slapped a tambourine off her bottom like Ann-Margaret in Viva Las Vegas and, flanked by a pair of sequined go-go boys, gyrated into a land of a thousand dances. She did the Pony, she did the Swim, she did the Hitchhike, she did the Cool Jerk, she did the Shake ‘n Bake, she did the Mashed Potato. It was like seeing reruns of Shindig and Hullabaloo transmitted through one electric-boogaloo outlet. Even more amazing is her white-mink work in the “Material Girl” video, a spoof of Gentleman Prefer Blondes in which she plays a diamonds-are-a-girl’s-best-friend gold digger, but sane and funny. A Marilyn Monroe without cracks in the porcelain.

More vamp than vampire, Madonna has been vilified in the rock press as if she were an invitation to a gang bang and a threat to the nation’s morals. The anti-Madonna diatribes have gone beyond professional criticism of her music, act, persona; they’ve become stabbingly personal. Madonna bashers seem to be trying to carve “Die, Bitch” in her high-school yearbook. Why are they all in such a righteous huff? No one considered Tina Turner a threat to the Republic when she made moaning throaty love to the microphone in Gimme Shelter. Prince didn’t even catch as much grief for flouncing about like a Regency-dandy pimp in Purple Rain. Could it be the white critics expect black performers to be loose? Or that they can accept sexual forthrightness only when accompanied by bluesy suffering?

The latter, perhaps.

Unlike Prince, to whom every orgasm is a knock on God’s door, Madonna doesn’t sacramentalize sex and self-arousal. In her songs, the bed is not a satin altar. And this seems to bug Madonna’s buggier critics. According to the Los Angeles Reader, “her brand of uncomplicated eroticism and autoeroticism is the very antithesis of Prince’s, in which the world of sex has a flip side of guilt, self-denial, and divine love.” I don’t know about divine love, but as for guilt and self-denial - thanks, but I already went through adolesence.

Madonna, with her crass on stage allusions to her “box” (”Every lady has a box, but.....mine makes music”), belongs to the frank she-cat tradition of coquetry that stretches back to Zola’s Nana and culminates in that audacious moment in Last Tango in Paris when Maria Schneider lifts her wedding dress in the elevator and, smiling, presents her pubic hair. Madonna, descending a staircase with a wedding bouquet in her “Like a Virgin” number, is also proclaiming her sex from beneath a curtain of white lace. So no wonder she’s considered a bad role model for her legion of girl fans. Certainly the audience for the show I caught in Chicago was teenage-tease heaven, all bared navels and white mesh gloves and thick applications of mousse. Yet there was also something harmlessly overdone about this dress up, and it was the best-behaved rock audience I’ve ever seen (no booze, no wafts of marijuana, no firecrackers); I didn’t have the impression that they were on an express train to Gomorrah. For all its camp, even Madonna’s mod bridal outfit seemed finally an emblem of pop liberation. Virginity is mine to claim, is Madonna’s message. I’m pure as long as I belong to myself. This seems to me healthier than Brooke Shields campaign to make a national shrine out of her hyman.

Detractors are eager to dismiss Madonna as this year’s model, a disposable craze, a pet rock. She will end up, they suggest, in the remainder bin with Deborah Harry and all the other bottle blondes who came to the sad end of their peroxide. This seems to be fantastically mistaken. If she doesn’t turn coy, Madonna could be the American star who fulfills the erotic promise teased to a fire in Last Tango. Like Scheider’s Jeanne, Madonna clearly has the nerve to confront a sexual equal on his own turf, redefine the boundaries of desire, then walk away from the bed unscathed. Body confidence like hers is rare - even in an R movie her strut and pout would say X. So perhaps those Nervous Nellies who worry about Madonna’s wayward influence are right after all. But it’s too late for her to tuck in her skirts and aerosol the room with good intentions. Madonna’s walk has to be on the wild side. Let the mascara run.

Photo Credit: Bert Stern

#1985 #vanityfair #bertstern #virginera

2 notes · View notes

bankingintel · 4 years

Text

How AIG's Collapse Began a Global Run on the Banks

Something very strange is occurrence in the financial markets. And I tins fairs you what it is and what it means. If September didn't give you enough to worry about, consider what evidence happen to actuality estate prices as unemployment grows steadily over the next several months. As wrong as things are now, they'll get scads worse.

They'll get worse for the obvious reason: because more clan testament default on their mortgages. But they'll also remain depressed for far longer than anyone expects, for a reason most clan testament never understand.

What follows is one of the real secrets to September's inventory bazaar collapse. Once you understand what really happened vitality month, the events to come testament be much clearer to you...

Every great bull show has similar characteristics. The speculation must - at the onset - start with a reasonably good idea. Using long-term mortgages to salaries for homes is a good idea, with a few important caveats.

Some of these limitations are obvious to any intelligent observer... like the need for a substantial down payment, the proof of income, an independent appraisal, money But human nature dictates that, given enough time and the benefit incentives, any article testament be corrupted. This is one of the two critical elements of a bubble. What was once a good plan becomes a farce. You already know all the stories of how this happened in the housing market, where loans were eventually given without fixed rates, without profits verification, without down payments, and without legitimate appraisals.

As bad as these practices were, they would not have created a global financial scare without the second, more critical element. For things to get really out of control, the farce must evolve further... into fraud.

And this is where AIG comes into the story.

Around the world, mound must comply with what are known as Basel II regulations. These direction determine how much cash a heap must maintain in reserve. The rules are based on the importance of the bank's loan book. The riskier the loans a slope owns, the more capital it must agreement in reserve. Bank managers naturally seek to employ as scads influence as they can, especially when interest rates are low, to maximize profits. AIG appeared to application cashier a way to get around the Basel rules, via unregulated insurance contracts, known as faithfulness default swaps.

Here's how it worked: Say you're a major European bank... You have a surplus of deposits, because in Europe tribe actually still bother to save money. You're looking for something to maximize the expansion between what you must pay for deposits and what you're able to earn lending. You want it to be safe and reliable, but also salaries the highest possible annual interest. You know you could buy a portfolio of high-yielding subprime mortgages. But deed so evidence limit the numbering of leverage you can employ, which testament barrier returns.

So rather than government out having any high-yielding securities in your portfolio, you simply tattoo up the friendly AIG agent you met at a convention in London end year.

"What would it charge me to insure this subprime security?" you inquire. The broker, who is selling a five-year position (but who will be paid a recompense annually), says, "Not too much." After all, the historical loss rates on American mortgages is close to zilch.

Using incredibly sophisticated computer models, he agrees to assurance the subprime security you're buying against default for five age for say, 2% of disguise value.

Although AIG's credit default swaps were really insurance contracts, they weren't regulated. That meant AIG didn't have to put up any funds as collateral on its swaps, as long as it maintained a triple-A trust rating. There was no actuality capital charge to selling these swaps; there was no limit. And respect to what's called "mark-to-market" accounting, AIG could book the yield from a five-year monopoly default swap as soon as the covenant was sold, based on the expected default rate.

Whatever the computer said AIG was likely to make on the deal, the accountants would write down as actual profit. The broker who sold the swap would be paid a gratuities at the end of the first year - long before the actual profit on the compact was made.

With this structure in place, the European bank was able to assure its regulators it was carrying only triple-A credits, instead of a pigtails of subprime "toxic waste." The slope could leverage itself to the full gauges allowable under Basel II. AIG could publication hundreds of millions in "profit" each year, without having to pony up billions in collateral.

It was a fraud. AIG never any funds to back up the insurance it sold. And the incomes it booked never materialized. The default rate on mortgage securities underwritten in 2005, 2006, and 2007 turned out to be multiples higher than expected. And they continue to increase. In some cases, the securities the riverbank claimed were triple A have ended up entity value less than $0.15 on the dollar.

Even so, it all worked for years. Banks leveraged deposits to the hilt. Wall Street packaged and sold dumb mortgages as securities. And AIG sold faithfulness default swaps without bothering to collateralize the risk. An enormous count of funds was created out of thin air and tossed into global actuality nation markets.

On September 15, all of the adult credit-rating method downgraded AIG - the world's largest insurance company. At issue were the soaring casualties in its faithfulness default swaps. The first big writeoff came in the fourth boroughs of 2007, when AIG reported an $11 billion charge. It was able to raise capital once, to repair the damage. But the losses kept growing. The moment the downgrade came, AIG was forced to come up with tens of billions of additional collateral, immediately. This was on top of the billions it owed to its commerce partners. It didn't have the money. The world's largest insurance enterprises was bankrupt.

The dominoes fell over immediately. Lehman Brothers failed on the same day. Merrill was sold to Bank of America. The Fed stepped in and agreed to lend AIG $85 billion to facilitate an orderly sell off of its properties in exchange for essentially all the company's equity.

Most people never understood how AIG was the linchpin to the entire system. And there's one more mystery yet to come out...

AIG's largest commerce partner wasn't a nameless European bank. It was Goldman Sachs.

I'd wondered for years how Goldman avoided the sort of huge mortgage-related writedowns that plagued all the other investment banks. And now we know: Goldman hedged its photograph via faith default swaps with AIG. Sources inside Goldman say the company's abandoning to AIG exceeded $20 billion, definition the importance AIG was downgraded, Goldman had to begin marking down the value of its assets. And the value AIG went bankrupt, Goldman lost $20 billion. Goldman immediately sought out Warren Buffett to raise $5 billion of additional capital, which also helped it raise another $5 billion via a public offering.

The defeat of the faithfulness default swap bazaar also meant the authorization banks - all of them - had no means to borrow money, because no one would insure their obligations.

To fund their daily operations, they've become totally reliant on the Federal Reserve, which has allowed them to formally become commercial banks. To date, banks, insurance firms, and authorization heap have borrowed $348 billion from the Federal Reserve - nearly all of this lending took situation following AIG's failure. Things are so wrong at the siege banks, the Fed had to innovations the rules to allow Merrill, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman the capacity to use equities as collateral for these loans, an unprecedented step.

The mainstream press hasn't reported this either: A food in the $700 billion bailout loop permits the Fed to pay interest on the collateral it's holding, which is simply a funds to funnel citizen dollars directly into the authorization banks.

Why do you necessity to know all of these details? First, you must understand that without the government's actions, the stampede of AIG could have caused every major mound in the land to fail.

Second, without the trust default swap market, there's no medium slope tins description the true countryside of their assets - they'd all be in default of Basel II. That's why the government will push through a measure that requires the delay of mark-to-market accounting. Essentially, heap will be allowed to pretend they have far higher-quality loans than they actually do. AIG can't envelope for them anymore.

And third, and most importantly, without the huge forgery perpetrated by AIG, the mortgage bubble could have never grown as large as it did. Yes, other factors contributed, like the role of Fannie and Freddie in particular. But the key to enabling the huge global growth in custody during the vitality decade can be tied directly to AIG's sale of monopoly default swaps without collateral. That was the barn door. And it was left open for nearly a decade.

There's no medium to replace this massive credit-building machine, which type me very skeptical of the government's bailout plan. Quite simply, we can't replace the credit that existed in the world before September 15 because it didn't deserve to be there in the first place. While the authority can, and certainly will, paper over the gaping gap left by this enormous trust collapse, it can't actually replace the monopoly and faith that existed... because it was a fraud.

And that guide me to believe the entrance economic consumption will be longer and deeper than most clan understand.

You effectiveness discovery this strange... but this is great news for those who understand what's departing on. Knowing why the economy is shrinking and knowing it's not departing to rebound quickly gives you a huge odds over bulk investors, who don't understand what's occurrence and can't layouts to income advantage of it.

How can you income advantage? First, make sure you have at least 10% of your weave importance in precious metals. I prefer gold bullion. World governments' gigantic liabilities testament vastly decrease the importance of paper currencies.

Second, I can tell you we're either at or approaching a moment of maximum pessimism in the markets. These sort of scare give you the chance to buy world-class businesses incredibly cheaply [ https://bankingintel.com/ ]. A few value mentioning are ExxonMobil, Intel, and Microsoft. I have several lineage like these in the portfolio of my Investment Advisory.

0 notes

gigslist · 5 years

Text

11 Cool & Weird Film Funding Grants & Job Boards

Weird and Interesting

Cool and Weird Funding & Job Orgs

11 Cool and weird arts and film funding grants, film job boards and a little weird bit of editorial.

I’m compiling a new gigs list of film and media job sites and job boards and film funding grants, film sponsors, scholarships, and residencies etc. Over 1000 resources. Billions of dollars every year in cash and in-kind resources. While surfing I found a few weird and interesting and cool resources GigsList.info readers might have fun reading or joining or applying for. These are not paid ads. I just happen to think they are cool and weird and interesting.

Anonymous Production Assistant

Anonymousproductionassistant.com

“The TAPA blog is a place to freely discuss the life of a production assistant. And a repository for the knowledge I’ve accumulated to future generations of PAs. Who the hell are you? I’m anonymous. It says so right there in the title. No, really, who are you? I’m not saying, bub. Deal with it. The New York Times recommended my blog. As did The Los Angeles Times. Also, LA Magazine. KCRW’s The Business interviewed me, as did as LA Women. That’s something, I guess.”

Burning Man

Burningman.org

Funding art that is accessible to the public, civic in scope and prompts the viewer to act. Burning Man has a long and rich history of granting seed money to new and emerging artists around the world. To date, we’ve granted 202 projects in 34 U.S. states and 34 countries. “Burning Man isn’t a ‘place you put art’, but a ‘context in which art is created.’ You don’t have to have been to Black Rock City to be a Burner.

Cannabis Media

Fromtheheartproductions.com

The grant seeks heartfelt documentaries, short films, features, and web series. Revealing how cannabis has benefited and changed people’s lives. With the legalization of marijuana in the U.S. Much of media focus has been on the business aspects of the cannabis industry. Cannabis Media Grant is for filmmakers to create films that show where the cannabis market is going. How cannabis has become an important part of people’s lives, and how it’s improved those lives for the better.

Celebrity Scholarship

Celebrityscholarship.com

Through costume, role-playing, props and self-expression. The person with the funniest, quirkiest and most authentic celebrity impersonation. Tell us about your celebrity and why you chose them. Send us your picture or video for scholarship funds. Feel free to use makeup, funky clothing and a smart caption.

CJ Pony Auto Videos

Cjponyparts.com/cj-pony-parts-scholarship-video-contest

CJ Pony Parts is proud to offer two scholarships each year to students who are enrolling in post-secondary education in their next semester. Create a short video, under 3 minutes long, on provided topics. You can be inspirational, funny, serious, educational, or even musical! Winners will be selected based on creativity and content rather than video editing skill or how many views the video gets. Submitted videos must be your own work.

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Cbldf.org

Non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the First Amendment rights of the comics medium. We provide Legal aid, education and advocacy. Protecting the rights of readers, creators, retailers, publishers, and librarians. All involved with comics, manga, and graphic novels. - GigsList Note: Ok so they don’t give money, but they are interesting.

Fine Awards Scholarship

Fineawards.com/scholarship

Competitive award for college students. To share their story about someone in their life deserving recognition. A person who helped, inspired and/or motivated you. A parent, sibling, friend or other role model. A stranger you saw paying it forward without expectation of recognition. Tell us your story.

RxLaughter

Rxlaughter.org

Improving quality of life through positive entertainment research, therapeutic care and education. Founded in 1998 by ABC and CBS veteran primetime programming executive Sherry Hilber. Founded as a laughter research charity for children with physical illnesses at the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center. How comedy can ease pain and anxiety for children during painful medical procedures. Using the power of comedy to improve quality of life for people with emotional and physical challenges. Our programs are volunteer-based.

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

Thesisters.org

Grants supporting small organizations and projects that provide services to underserved communities. Projects that are progressive grassroots projects. Promoting wellness and joy, tolerance and diversity supporting LGBTQ+ communities. San Francisco Bay Area projects preferred.

Stockade Works Film Producer Apprenticeships

Stockadeworks.org

Apprenticeship program for Hudson Valley residents. Feature film and documentary production, admin and marketing. By learning as you work on local productions. Part internship part paid gig. The ins and outs of budget, pitch materials, social media and audience development. As well as hands on training in production and post production.

Tattoo Trends in Australia

wsartsalliance.com/tattoo-trends-in-australia-a-big-yes-and-a-small-no

In depth article by the Washington State Arts Alliance. Tattoos are officially a serious fine art form. Excerpt: “Tattoos are rapidly finding their market in Australia compared to a few years ago when they were regarded as a tabloid. This massive growth was mostly led by the tattoos designs that included a word or a phrase category. However, a recently conducted surveys reveal that around 70% of Australian’s now prefer to have a symbol or picture...” (GigsList note: Includes professional tips and howtoos about tattoos.)

Thiel Fellowship $100,000 to Drop Out of College

Thielfellowship.org

Thiel Fellowship grants $100,000 to young people who want to build new things instead of sitting in a classroom. Some Thiel Fellows are programmers. Others have started nonprofits, created consumer products, launched media companies, and built hardware. We look to support young people who want to bring their ideas to the world. Not only film, anything.

GigsList Explains Apprenticeships

And why apprenticeships can save your ass and your country’s economy. The short version.

The other day I had to explain what an apprenticeship is to a person with a college degree. I was kind of very shocked. So... I've included a real apprenticeship and explanation of apprenticeships by a former apprentice. Me:)

Apprenticeships are the old school way of learning film business and production ropes. Where you learn and make industry contacts and get paid. Apprenticeships are how I and my friends learned the biz and production.

No college loans to pay back and more budget to create art and support our arts friends. Plus we’ve never had to surf job boards for gigs, it’s all who we know from learning on the job. You join a family not an industry.

If everybody in film in the USA learned on the job. How much money could go back to the USA economy and funding film arts and underserved? And save the whales. Talk to your local entertainment unions and gov film offices. They should be more than happy to help with local apprenticeship programs :)

#film jobs #film funding #film grants

0 notes