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girlfriendsofthegalaxy · 2 months

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tuesday again 2/27/2024

this is the longest ive ever been unemployed and media is only doing so much to beat back the horrors. so let’s talk about the media instead of the horrors

listening

Come Up For Air by We The Commas, off i think one of the autogenerated spotify indie mixes?

youtube

sort of a rollicking modern little surf rock thing, they describe themselves as "surf and alternate rhythm and blue" which is pretty bang on imo. they're all brothers (their last name genuinely is Comma, which i salute as a fellow weird last name haver), and cite john mayer (i don't really hear it) and the beach boys (yes i hear this very much) as some of their influences. a song i had on loop for an entire forty minute drive and did not get tired of. spotify

reading

three books that MUST go back to the library tomorrow bc their autorenew is up and i was emotionally unable to get a library card without tooling around and getting a stack of books a month ago.

thank you philip.

i really only liked the Carmilla adaptation by Amy Chu, bc it really gets at what i didn't realize was the heart of the original 1872 lesbian vampire novella: a toxic gay housing situation you have fallen into and can't get out of bc your area is so so so expensive and housing is so so so tenuous. i have read the original but not in a while, this is an excellent modern adaptation centering around a nyc social worker in the late seventies that presupposes no knowledge and intertwines the original novella in the form of a stolen rare book. (nonconsecutive pages)

i don't have much to say about the DC young adult comic about the circus career of one of the Robins (Dick Grayson). i didn't love the loose artstyle and am not in its intended age range plus it had a bit too much therapyspeak, but it did have a clever use of a very limited color palette.

let's yank the amazon description for the detective novel, which i grabbed bc it vaguely pinged something in my brain about one of the fallout 4 sidequests and i've picked books up for worse reasons (SPOILERS):

Jacob Rigolet, a soon-to-be former assistant to a wealthy art collector, looks up from his seat at an auction—his mother, former head librarian at the Halifax Free Library, is walking almost casually up the aisle. Before a stunned audience, she flings an open jar of black ink at master photographer Robert Capa’s “Death on a Leipzig Balcony.” Jacob’s police detective fiancée, Martha Crauchet, is assigned to the ensuing interrogation.

i simply fucking hated this authorial style and tone and ditched it two chapters in. i don’t currently have the patience for reading about a clinically insane mother and hate crimes against Jewish people. despite the fairly dark premise, the first two chapters veer into cozy mystery with very short sentences, which do not a noir make. now, it does not advertise itself as noir or neo-noir, but as an homage to noir. it is for me unbearably smug. in my most unkind heart of hearts i want to say it's like if wes anderson tried to make a noir. this is a book that wants you to know it has read other noirs. yes thank you ive read several others, that’s why im reading this one, stop reminding me of better books i could be reading.

there's some weird descriptions of womens' bodies in here. chandler (my beloved) is certainly guilty of this as well, but he lavishes a sort of equal opportunity eye on the men in his mysteries. cf the infamous daniel lavery description.

when i read a chandler description of someone’s physical appearance there’s a fruity bisexual aftertaste in my mouth. Howard Norman, below, saying a woman takes great care of herself puts my hackles up. i understand the difference between an author and a character believing something and i don’t want to read a book where either the author or the character have this sort of pitying condescension towards a woman’s body. im feeling extremely terrible about my own body right now due to the various maladies, and another sort of breaking point for me is when an author repeatedly describes "naked breasts" (exact wording) pressing against someone's torso. it feels so juvenile. that's the sexiest thing you can possibly think of??? that's the sexiest way you can think of to describe an early mornign moment of intimacy???? augh i read the NYT review and it gets worse.

shut the FUCK up. i left my apartment at 1130 PM to go put this book in my CAR. i don't want it in my HOUSE.

watching

Bullitt (1968, dir. Yates, free on Tubi). the baddie in this is Robert Vaughn (who i know from cowboys), a guy i fucking love to see. i can take or leave Steve McQueen but he does such a killer job parallel parking in this movie and i wish all driving movies made their leads parallel park. shockingly realistic hospital, morgue, and police work scenes, apparently was one of the big films to popularize blood squibs. also love to see a haunted man splash water on his face and stare into a mirror.

youtube

if you asked me how long the famous car chase was i would have said like 2:30? substantial but snappy. no!!! eleven minutes!! (video a bit trimmed). also a rare movie that makes a foot chase through an airport as exciting as that eleven minute car chase!!!

the mob dodging plot was a little hard to follow, but i was operating on like four hours of sleep and a rum and coke. this has got to be a tremendous movie to watch when you’re home and sick on the couch huddled under a blanket. i mean this as a compliment, as someone who watches Escape from New York whenever i feel very sick

playing

really wanted to get to 69 shrines before writing this post and finally did it. all the little divine beasts walking along the loading screen are SO cute i've never gotten all four before

all the divine beasts are unlocked and the champions laid to rest! im feeling some type of way emotionally speaking about all of them telling link IMMEDIATELY that it wasn't his or zelda's fault they died

rudania has the worst boarding mission (in order of ones i most enjoyed it's camel [SO fast and SO fun], bird [lots of time to think and plan and aim], elephant [did not make me do a tedious stealth mission but i am bad at locking on to rapidly moving things behind me, much like in real life], and lizard. the lizard stealth mission is simply unpleasant). however, my brain really clicked with the puzzles in rudania: i had to consult a walkthrough once for an optional chest. in order of interior beast puzzle enjoyment for me it's lizard, bird, elephant, and camel. really got stuck for a long time on the waterwheels with the elephant before consulting a walkthrough.

the yiga clan stealth mission was not as hard as i thought it would be. i don't know why i put that off for two real life weeks but i will not learn my lesson and i will never improve. this boss battle was just silly.

the vah naboris interior puzzles were not fun. idk what it was about them or my brain that made me have such a bad time, but i spammed revali's gale and skipped a lot of chests bc i was not having fun. this is why god invented the walkthrough but sometimes. shit is just too fiddly.

i did succeed on the thunder ganon boss battle first try, but i came in with extra hearts from mipha's grace, used another mipha's grace in the fight, went through five fairies and seven hearty simmered fruits that were 5x durians (which gives you 20 extra hearts or some shit). fucking nightmare. i was stuck on one hit left on ganon for like five minutes bc he got stuck in the very fast flurry attack cycle. unpleasant. deeply grateful it only made me smack him with the magnesis pillar once bc that was also really fiddly with my poor reaction time + poor fine motor skills + previously mentioned ancient controller with some drift. in order of boss battle enjoyment i think it's lizard (made me think and kept me on my toes a little but i did have to look up how to break the shield), elephant (you can just kind of tank it), bird (same), and camel (extremely not fun).

this was WITH a fully upgraded gimp suit btw. that shit (ganon) just hits hard.

shrine shenanigans:

crowned beast very fun, i have one or two of kass' songs left and then i hope i get to see him back in rito village with his family??? a little nervous bc i went right to the jungle spring without hearing his song first so idk if that will. count??? or softlock me.

the MOUNDS of failed cooking attempts around this shrine on the grasslands side of the gerudo barrier mountains were SO funny.

unlocked all the spring shrines. what a fun mission. what a fun climb.

went to my FAVORITE shrine!!! going into what you think will be a normal cave and discovering it is DEEP with a BIG WHALE INSIDE is top three video game whale moments (the other two are diving with the whales in ABZU and meeting the last whale in the first dishonored).

other bits and bobs:

eggman rocks???

this quest was really cute and i wish there was a corresponding quest for the guy hanging around the broken heart pond, but it always makes me laugh whenever a dragon shows up in the background of a screenshot. a really great touching moment but watch out for the elemental orbs rapidly approaching us

also made me chortle. get it together barta.

i wish the helm was upgradable but i think making me kill a molduga in order to borrow it is a pretty fair trade actually.

making

i originally had a really long thing here about litterbox trials and tribulations but i have decided to spare you all. you're welcome.

many balcony improvements, including putting up trellises and installing bird spikes to hopefully keep a very persistent orange tom off my balcony and away from my girls.

there are a goofy number of obstacles in the way of me making a proper planting diagram (sketchbooks buried deep in closet. flung the seeds in a box on a shelf i need to find my stepstool for. can't find pencil sharpener) so for the second week in a row that's not happening. however, sprouts.

baby italian lettuce blend

bush beans in the front and cucumbers + sweet peas in the back.

#tuesday again #tuesday again no problem

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blackswaneuroparedux · 11 months

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Θαρσείν χρη, τάχ’ αύριον έσσετ’ άμεινον. Eλπίδες εν ζωοίσιν, ανέλπιστοι δε θανόντες.*

- Theocritus

You need to have courage, because tomorrow will be better. While there's life there’s hope, and only the dead have none.*

My ex-regiment proudly traces its lineage back to the Glider Pilot Regiment which spearheaded British airborne forces to take Pegasus Bridge on D Day 6 June 1944. During my service I had the privilege to travel there and take part in the commemorative ceremonies whenever D Day came around. I loved listening to the stories of some of the surviving veterans and also some of the local French too. The British taking of Pegasus Bridge - re-named partly after the emblem of pegasus of airborne forces - was one of the stand out events of the first days of D Day by British forces.

Airborne landings in the British Sector were targeted mainly at the Orne River/Caen Canal crossings and the artillery installations of the Merville Battery. The strategic purpose was to secure river crossings for the beach break-out and to reduce enemy defences.

At 00:16 hours on 6th June parachutists and gliders from the Airborne Division, consisting of D Company of the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, began to land east of the River Orne and the Caen Canal.

The small force of 181 men was commanded by Major John Howard and joined with a detachment of Royal Engineers who landed at Ranville-Benouville in six 28-men Horsa gliders. Having taken off from Dorset, the gliders were towed across the Channel by Halifax Bombers. With perfect navigation and piloting skill, the gliders landed on time and on target within few yards of each other.

Major Howard’s glider landed within a few feet of the canal bridge. The bridge was captured after a fierce ten minute fire fight, the action all over by 00:26, a full six hours before the beach landings.

But the success of the mission was also down to intelligence gathered by locals and passed onto British intelligence through the French resistance channels.

One of these was Georges Gondrée and his wife, Thérèse. Georges and Thérèse moved to Bénouville where they bought a small café in 1934 on the shore along the Bénouville Bridge, called Café Gondrée. During the Invasion, they had three small daughters: Georgette, Arlette, and the newborn Françoise.

The family certainly hated the German occupation. Among other things, they refused to allow their café to serve as a billet for German soldiers. But they went further by joining the French resistance at great danger to themselves.

As the war progressed, the more risks and dangerous activities they undertook against the Germans. Thérèse, who grew up in Alsace, knew quite a bit of German. Local residents did not like her Germanic Alsatian accent but she took care to keep her knowledge of German secret from the German soldiers themselves. This often helped her to eavesdrop on conversations of the soldiers and then pass on important information to the resistance through her husband, Georges. There were a few times when they were nearly caught but somehow they survived.

The information gathered by the Gondrée family contributed greatly to the insight of Major Howard and his troops to better assess the defensive positions around the bridge. Among other things, Thérèse was able to pinpoint the exact location of the detonator that was supposed to have detonated the bridge during the attack. Georges was also known to British intelligence and even Major Howard had heard his name mentioned during the planning of the invasion itself.

The importance of the family’s contribution to the success of the British attack can also be seen from an example during early May 1944. When Field Marshal Erwin Rommel came to inspect the bridge, he had given the order to place an anti-tank gun beside the Bénouville Bridge. Within two days Major Howard had been informed that a new structure was being built along the bridge and within a week Georges’ observation had helped to confirm both its function and exact location.

So, just 90 minutes after taking off from RAF Tarrant Rushton in England, Major Howard was able to send the code words “Ham and Jam”, indicating that both bridges had been captured. In this early action of D-Day, the first house on French soil was liberated, and the first British soldier of the Normandy Invasion was killed in action: Lieutenant Den Brotheridge.

It was No. 1 Platoon which knocked out a machine gun position firing from the bridge and rushed across to capture the far side, firing from the hip and lobbing grenades during the charge. Lt. Brotheridge was mortally wounded by gunfire as he made a grenade attack on a second machine gun position. The bridge had been prepared by the enemy for demolition, although the Royal Engineers removed the unset charges.

Within half an hour of the bridge being taken, 6th Airborne parachutists landed to provide reinforcement. The Ox & Bucks were reinforced half-an-hour after the landings by 600 men of 7th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment who were the relieving force to bear the brunt of German counter-attacks to the west of the Caen Canal throughout the 6th of June.

The Battalion distinguished itself in holding a wide bridgehead around ‘Pegasus Bridge’ against constant enemy attacks which were often armour supported. In particular the “A” Company, based in the nearby village of Bénouville, suffered the most severe fighting and were eventually cut off from the remainder of the 7th Battalion.

The first relief in force was from 6 Commando, led by the commander of the 1st Special Service Brigade, Lord Lovat, who arrived to the sound of the Scottish bagpipes, played by the 21–year-old so-called ‘Mad Piper’, Private Bill Millin.

The remnants of the 7th Battalion’s “A” Company continued to hold out until 9:15pm on the 6th June when British infantry, in the form of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Warwickshires, arrived from the invasion beaches and secured Bénouville, and so allowed the evacuation of “A” Company’s many wounded.

In honour of the distinctive emblem of the Parachute Regiment, the distinctive bridge at Benouville was renamed and will forever be known as “Pegasus Bridge”.

Arlette Gondrée being kissed by two veterans who remember her parents.

Over the years, many thousands of pairs of British boots have crossed the threshold of the Café Gondrée. General Montgomery in 1945, veterans paying tribute to fallen comrades and numerous members of the Royal family. Arlette Gondrée, the daughter of Georges and Thérèse, still recalls with crystal clarity the very first occasion a British soldier arrived at the cafe on the night of June 5, 1944, when she was just four-years-old, cowering with her family in the basement during the start of the D-Day invasion.

Commemorating the landings in 1945, General Montgomery visited the Café Gondrée Pegasus Bridge, renamed after the winged emblem of the British 6th Airborne Division, with some widows of the soldiers lost in the Normandy campaign. Georges produced some of the vintage champagne he had hidden, including a 1926 Pouilly-Fuissé.

Over the ensuing years, the family never ceased to celebrate their liberation. “Daddy would make a large U-shaped table in the café and we would eat together as a happy family, and very, very thankful to the British for what they did for us. And that remains so to this day.”

Life was hard for years, made worse by rationing. The effect of the ordeal on the girls was subtle, but not invisible: in November 1944, the Red Cross visited and told Arlette if she stopped biting her nails, they would give her a real doll to replace her cardboard toy. The café didn’t open properly again until June 1945.

To this day, Mme Gondrée keeps her “little house” as a shrine to the British Airborne forces that liberated her family. She has said that she always felt honoured to have the privilege of being custodian of the memories of that fateful day.

Photo: Major John Howard is flanked by George Gondrée and Lt. David Woods raising a glass to the successful capture of Pegasus Bridge that day.

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triviareads · 3 months

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Hello, sorry to bother, can you recommend historicals where the hero or heroine play an instrument? Or even don't play but like music

Always Be My Duchess by Amalie Howard: Montcroix a cellist and there's an EXCELLENT scene where he's hard after watching Nève dance and he's trying to play his cello to exercise his frustrations but then she shows up and he proceeds to play her like a cello, vibrato and all.

Theory of Earls by Kathleen Ayers: Maggie plays the piano so stirringly that apparently it borders on wanton for her Victorian audience. The hero Tony is also a gifted pianist and this book features piano fingering, piano oral, and a ruination... on a piano.

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing A Rake by Sarah MacLean: Ralston is secretly a great pianist and he's playing very angstily when Callie sneaks into his house to request that he give her her first kiss.

Patience by Lisa Valdez: Both Matthew and Patience are cellists, I think they duet at some point, and there's a this super hot scene where she's in his lap with her legs spread and they're both playing his cello which leads to more.

Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas: Helen is an accomplished pianist and plays for Rhys in the prior book while he's recovering from his injuries and he's *entranced*. In Marrying Winterborne, Rhys also tries to bribe her into sleeping with him by offering to buy her a new piano. It does work. Kind of.

An Island Princess Starts A Scandal by Adriana Herrera: I mean, they must enjoy the opera enough for Cora to go down on Manuela in their private box during a performance.

In Which Winnie Halifax is Utterly Ruined by Alexandra Vasti: Ditto for Spencer and Winnie ^^

And if you wanna read about endearingly shitty musicians, there's always the Smythe-Smith Quartet series by Julia Quinn.

EDIT:

M is for Marquess by Grace Callaway: Thea and Tremont first meet after she plays the piano and he's super stirred by it and he later admits he wanted to take her on said piano.

#amalie howard #sarah maclean #kathleen ayers #lisa valdez #lisa kleypas #adriana herrera #alexandra vasti #julia quinn #book recs #historical romance #romance novels #ask

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 9 months

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By: Douglas Murray

Published: Jul 15, 2023

Twenty years ago there was a famous marketing campaign featuring a jolly banker named “Howard” dancing and singing about the allegedly great advantages of being with the Halifax building society. Last month the Halifax hit the news for a less happy marketing gimmick. Customers were no longer being invited to answer the question, “Who gives you extra?” Nor was there any other question or invitation. Just an assertion, “Pronouns matter”, followed by the hashtag “It’s a people thing”. Below was a photograph of a name badge of a Halifax staff member called “Gemma” with pronouns listed below. In this case “She/ her/ hers”.

A number of customers responded swiftly to the message. As they pointed out, there is no ambiguity about the name “Gemma”. Gemma is a woman’s name, so adding pronouns to Gemma’s badge was, as one customer said, “pathetic virtue-signalling” by a company hoping to hitch on to the end of the tedious Pride-month bandwagon.

But it was what happened next that was most interesting. Amid criticism from customers, a representative of the Halifax social media team called Andy M said: “We strive for inclusion, equality and quite simply, in doing what’s right. If you disagree with our values, you’re welcome to close your account.”

If the furious responses to this retort are anything to go by then hundreds of Halifax customers have indeed chosen to take their accounts elsewhere. Andy M’s intervention has been described by a number of market-watchers as Halifax’s Gerald Ratner moment.

If it was only Halifax behaving this way, perhaps that might be believable: a single company going off-piste thanks to an inexperienced junior marketing person with plenty of views and little judgment. But what is remarkable about the Halifax case is that it is nothing new.

Indeed the moment there was some customer pushback, another bank — HSBC — decided to speak out in solidarity with Halifax. Retweeting their competitor’s original message, HSBC said: “We stand with and support any bank or organisation that joins us in taking this positive step forward for equality and inclusion. It’s vital that everyone can be themselves in the workplace.”

Of course there was no evidence that “Gemma” was having any trouble being herself in the workplace. But for HSBC the whole contorted issue of pronoun usage (a core tenet of the new trans faith) appeared an important hill to stand on. They are not alone. In recent years nearly every high street bank has made similar statements of politically dogmatic intent. Five years ago Barclays bank celebrated Pride month by decking their branches in the rainbow flag and promoting the advertising line “Love happens here”. As I remarked at the time, it was a strange claim for a bank to make. After all, most of us do not want either sex or love to happen at our bank. We just want there to be an adequate number of staff manning the place and not to be overcharged when we lose our back statements.

Even the Queen’s bank, Coutts, has got in on the act. Last autumn the bank’s headquarters on the Strand in London was bedecked with an image of the footballer Marcus Rashford. An accompanying laudatory blurb on the building front talked of how Rashford was a “shining example” and “political activist” who “leads the way in celebrating and championing difference”. That is as it may be. But what does it have to do with Coutts?

Four years ago I wrote a book called The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity about the intrusion of woke identity politics into every facet of our lives. Increasingly, you could not avoid it anywhere. Not even eating. Marks & Spencer started producing an LGBT sandwich (lettuce, guacamole, bacon and tomato), as though sexual preferences are a suitable basis for sandwich fillings.

Back then I tried to describe the nature of the new quasi-religious movement being forced on our societies. Specifically, the intense doubling down on the significance of sex, race and sexuality just when most of us had hoped to have got past the stage of obsessing about these things. There were plenty of reasons why this change had come about. But it required another writer to fill in one of the last remaining pieces of the jigsaw.

Because in the four years that have followed, it has become clear that the movement known as “woke” is not just a grassroots movement. It is a grassroots movement that has gone so far so very fast because it is gigantically fuelled by old-school capital. This is what the entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy described in a superb book published last year as Woke, Inc.

Ramaswamy filled in the blanks that had not previously been able to be filled. Why were “social justice” campaigns no longer about campaigns on the street, protest marches and much more, but about top-down lecturings by highly privileged individuals and corporations? Why had it become the case that we were being urged to “do better” not just by certain princes and duchesses, but by major companies and brands who would once have just taken our money and run? Why were firms like Goldman Sachs and Blackrock boasting about their commitment to such things as “racial equity and social justice”?

The answer starts with the way in which energy companies began to rebrand themselves in recent decades. From the early part of this century oil companies like Shell and BP went out of their way to present their public image as being one of unbelievable green-ness. As it happens, both companies, like most other energy companies, are trying to diversify their energy bases and are hardly any longer reliant solely on the pumping of oil. But even when they were, they presented themselves as though they positively existed to make the world greener and to ensure each field was filled with flowers.

And this in many ways explains the far grander and more comprehensive examples of something similar that is happening today.

What we now know as “woke” is a legacy product of legitimate and indeed venerable human rights campaigns. The campaigns for women’s rights, gay rights and racial minority rights were just and noble enterprises which ended up achieving the overwhelming majority, if not all, of their aims.

[ Shell, the oil company, presents a public image of great greenness ]

But at the point of victory something strange happened. People remained on the barricades long after the battle had been won. Partly because careers and pensions were at stake. But also because a new generation of activists wanted to experience the moral high of fighting for rights which had been honourably fought for before their time. So it was that legacy rights organisations like Stonewall ended up fulfilling the dictum of Eric Hoffer. Which is that every good cause “begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket”.

When Stonewall started out it was an important movement which did a great deal to improve the lot of gay people in this country. But by the time the fight was essentially won, with the passing of civil partnerships and gay marriage, Stonewall stopped being a good cause. For a brief time it became a business. But it swiftly degenerated into a racket. For the point of victory was of course the exact moment when everybody wanted to be on board. After the battle was won, who didn’t want a piece of the civil rights action? The big banks and corporations may have been nowhere when people were fighting for their rights in the 20th century. But in the 21st century, at the point of victory, everyone wanted a piece of the action. And some were willing to sell it.

As this newspaper has reported, in recent years Stonewall started raking in money from government departments and vast corporations. It came up with the brilliant idea of a “UK Workplace Equality Index”. Through this process Stonewall got paid by companies to approve them and mark their “social justice” and “diversity” homework. Of course the charity used this not just as a money-making scheme but as a way to push their agendas, which in the mid-2010s moved from concentrating on gay rights to trans rights.

As The Times reported last June, documents show that Stonewall used its equality index to force organisations to lobby for their policies. If a company, NHS trust, government department or local council did not lobby aggressively for what Stonewall wanted then the group would mark them down, or drop them off its “Top 100” employers index. Even firms that had bent over backwards to placate Stonewall would find themselves told they had room for improvement. For a healthy further donation of course.

It is quite obvious how this benefited Stonewall. They became richer and more powerful than they had ever been. And now the boot was on the other foot they used it to kick around companies and governments and get whatever they wanted while being exceptionally well paid for doing so.

But what did the companies get out of it? And there lies the answer to much of the corporate wokery of our time. Because it is clear by now that the relationship between woke lobby groups and the corporate world has become symbiotic. One side gets rich. The other gets a camouflage, or wokescreen.

Suddenly companies that certainly do not prioritise radical left-wing causes can present themselves as though they are on top of — even ahead of — all the social issues of their time. In the process they can do a number of things. One is to ask the angel of social media death to pass by their door. If they paint themselves with enough rainbow flags and diversity policies then they can evade notice.

For the benefits for Woke Inc are very great indeed. Even the negative publicity that may come from woke over-reach cannot even slightly approximate the negative attention that corporations might otherwise run into. For instance when the Halifax was in the news for its new pronouns policy, it was almost certainly banking that a sizeable number of people — perhaps especially younger potential clients — would be impressed by their “forward-looking” and inclusive policies. What people will not be focusing on is the fact that Halifax has become yet another one of the high street banks that has decided to retire from the high street.

In recent years the Halifax has continuously closed branches. It is a high street bank that has abandoned the high street. This year alone Halifax has closed 27 branches across the country. In other words, while it witters on about the pronouns of an employee called “Gemma” and people become agitated about either this being a great leap forward for humanity or that Gemma could hardly be anything other than a woman, they fail to notice their chances of ever having any interactions with Gemma or any other physical, actual employee of the Halifax. In reality you won’t need Gemma’s pronouns because a Halifax customer’s chances of ever encountering a Gemma diminish every week.

Other things that end up getting covered over include the Halifax’s simple poor performance as a bank. For example, its appalling mortgage rates. While the internet was tearing into the Gemma issue, you had to search the financial pages to discover that at the same time the Halifax had once again hiked its mortgage rates, with the lender’s 60 per cent LTV remortgage rate rising by almost 300 per cent in a year. Gemma may be better news fodder, but she actually covers over the real stories.

It is the same with corporation after corporation. What did HSBC think it was doing when it joined its rival in planting the pronoun flag as the most important issue of the moment? It doubtless thought it would get good publicity and public acclaim from tweeting about how much it stood for “equality and inclusion” and everyone being able to “be themselves in the workplace”. But these words are cheap. Just as it is comparatively cheap to bung some thousands of pounds each year to Stonewall or cover your branches in rainbow flags for a month, compared to the criticisms you might actually be having to face. Woke is camouflage for these firms.

The reality with HSBC, for instance, is that it has proven itself not just uninterested in equality and inclusion, but brutally, cynically, money-grubbingly uninterested in them. In 2020 when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) effectively fully subsumed Hong Kong into the communist state, there was a range of options open to individuals and corporations. They could either agree to the new regime, stay silent or leave. That year the CCP brought in new security laws which included making it illegal to criticise in any way the activities of the communist authorities, undermine their power or permit foreign interference in Hong Kong. HSBC could have left and gone to Singapore. It could have made a stand. It could have stayed silent. It did none of these things. HSBC backed the security laws. Because it prioritised access to the Chinese market over human rights. As clearly as anyone could.

When HSBC talks about pronouns, it hopes we won’t know about its complicity with the CCP. In corporation after corporation the same cynical game is played. Four years ago Nike started to run adverts featuring the black NFL player Colin Kaepernick, most famous for taking the knee during the playing of the American national anthem. Through this and other campaigns Nike likes to present itself as wildly on the right side on all racial and other justice issues. It should have come as no surprise two years later when reports revealed that parts of Nike’s products were being made in China’s forced labour camps by Uighur prisoners. The same revelations came out for Apple in due course.

It doesn’t matter where you turn, the cynicism of Woke Inc hits you every time. There is not a political issue that the fattening ice cream Ben & Jerry’s does not try to speak on. Why ice cream should speak in the first place is a question we might park for another day. But among much else, Ben & Jerry’s have in recent years expressed their views on Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Priti Patel’s proposed reforms on illegal migration across the Channel. All of which may well distract from the fact that Ben & Jerry’s parent company, Unilever, has been accused of underpaying £550 million in tax in the UK. Or that the parent company of this oh-so-woke entity still sells skin-lightening creams across Asia.

There was a time when people assumed that corporations were going woke because they wanted to get with the times. As Ramaswamy and others have now shown, nothing could be further from the truth. Corporations go woke because they know it is the best way to get away with worse and more expensive habits. So I would suggest that this should become a new rule in our society. As obvious as the fact that the most outspoken male feminists reliably turn out to be sex pests.

There was a time when people thought Woke Inc was well-meaning at best, naive at worst. But as the saga of Gemma reminds us, when a company advertises its woke credentials, we should assume it is trying to hide something. And then go looking for it.

[ Via: https://archive.is/ziEDT ]

when a company advertises its woke credentials, we should assume it is trying to hide something. And then go looking for it.

Repeated for emphasis.

Stop getting taken in by this virtue bullshit.

#Douglas Murray #Big Woke #Woke Inc #wokescreen #Woke Passover #virtue signaling #virtue signal #virtue signalling #woke #wokeism #cult of woke #wokeness as religion #religion is a mental illness

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mermaidsirennikita · 22 days

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Do you have any good recommendations for best friend’s little sister? Thanks!

Yeeeep!

The Earl I Ruined by Scarlett Peckham. The first book in the series, The Duke I Tempted, is about the heroine's older brother; in this book, you find out that his best friend has been in love with her for years... But he's less than fond of her after she spreads a rumor that threatens his political career, so to make it up to him she offers to fake an engagement and make him respectable again.

Ever Yours, Annabelle by Elisa Braden. The heroine tagged along with her brother and his best friend when they were kids, until an accident severely injured (with chronic mobility issues after) said friend and she felt responsible. Years later, they reconnect when he's looking for a wife.

The Duke in Question by Amalie Howard. The heroine ends up doing this sort of covert mission thing, and her brother's friend, a retired spy himself, figures it out and ends up following her. This one is very memorable for a scene when he bends her over up against a tree and has sex with her (which she enthusiastically consents to) and after he finds a handkerchief with a teeeeny bit of blood on it and realizes she was (gasp) A VIRGIN and she's like ".... calm your shit dude".

In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation by Alexandra Vasti. Margo goes on a roadtrip to stop her sister from marrying a Bad Man, and her brother's best friend, who's been in love with her for years, accompanies her.

A Rake's Guide to Seduction by Caroline Linden. The heroine's brothers (twins) are friends with the hero, who realized that he was falling for her and was about to ask to court her... just when her engagement was announced. Years later, she's widowed and depressed and he's a notorious rake, and they reconnect at a house party.

Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare. The heroine is a hoyden~ who's besotted with her brother's friend, but her OTHER brother's friend basically gets roped into a situation wherein she thinks she's using him to make the other friend jealous, and her brother thinks he's using him to distract the heroine from the friend (who's about to get engaged to another woman). MESS.

Deep by Kylie Scott. This is a contemporary, and it's technically "best friend's little sister-in-law" buut it's effectively the samke because the brother-in-law really considers her a little sister. The hero has been trying to resist her (he's late 20s and very experienced, she's like 21 and in college and much less so) but they've developed a friendship that ends up resulting in a one night stand. And theeeeeeen........... she's pregnant. Oops!

#romance novel blogging #book recs #romance novels

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noloveforned · 9 months

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no love for ned airs on wlur tonight from 8pm to midnight and we're sneaking a few last 90's halifax bands into our theme. you can also catch up with last week's show over on mixcloud, the setlist is below!

no love for ned on wlur – july 28th, 2023 from 8-10pm

artist // track // album // label les gluetones // reincarnated // trim crusts if desired compilation // cinnamon toast the molds // 1987 // the molds ep // (self-released) the sprouts // i want to be an idiot // eat your greens cassette // tenth court limbo district // encased // encased 7" // chunklet industries the 39 clocks // a look into you // pain it dark // no fun tuff bluff // poppies // poppies 7" // snappy little numbers cb radio gorgeous // the devil // 7" ep // thrilling living advertisement // cryin' wild // this is advertisement cassette // help yourself abi ooze // "nice" guy // julie's apartment (demos) cassette // (self-released) split system // alone again // volume two // goner rick white // doctor doctor // twenty golden hits of the sixties // (self-released) woods // be kind my love // reflections, volume one (bumble bee crown king) // woodsist alien eyelid // easy times // bronze star // tall texan connie converse // talkin' like you (two tall mountains) // how sad, how lovely // squirrel thing shannen moser // two eyes // the sun still seems to move // lame-o primitive motion // portrait i // portrait of an atmosphere // a guide to saints thomas strønen, ayumi tanaka and marthe lea // eyre // bayou // ecm alabaster deplume // child playing in the forbidden ruins // salty road dogs victory anthem ep // international anthem malcolm jiyane tree-o featuring grandmaster cap // we're not buying it (dennis bovell dub) // red hot and ra- the remixes compilation // red hot organization napoleon da legend and giallo point // soldier of truth // coup d'etat // fxck rxp phiik featuring lungs//lonesword // don quixote // another planet four // novelty el michels affair and black thought // i would never // glorious game // big crown vince howard // can't get enough // heart-soul and inspiration // tidal waves the undisputed truth // you got the love i need // the undisputed truth // gordy suep // in good health // shop ep // memorials of distinction present electric // imogene coca // present electric cassette // paisley shirt the palisades // knight in gale // a month too soon 12" // easter autocamper // never end // you look fabulous! cassingle // discontinuous innovation the oilies // touch me! change colors // (bandcamp mp3) // (unreleased) the occasional flickers // capitalism begins at home // capitalism begins at home 7" // cloudberry

#wlur #radio shows

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whatdoesshedotothem · 1 year

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Wednesday 5.. February 1840

8 ½

monsieur came in the night? chemise much soiled at noon on Thursday – Refreshed after having slept perhaps 1 ½ hour – finished the little bit of packing that remained to be done – breakfast over at 11 ½ and at 11 ½ sent Gross to Mr. Marc’s with note enclosing five £25 circulars nos. 8592, 3, 4, 5, 6 to be cashed and A-‘s letter to her sister and my own letters to “Miss Marian Lister North Cave Yorkshire Angleterre” “Robert Parker Esquire Solicitor, Halifax, Yorkshire England” – “Messrs. R. and H. Hunt, Hamburg” and packet to “John Hodgson Esquire English Quay, St. Petersburg” (containing civil note to Mr. Hodgson himself thanks for his attention etc. and asking him to forward thro’ Mr. Buchanan by the bag my 2 half sheet-notes to the “Honourable Lady Stuart” and to “Lady Stuart de Rothesay” both undercover to Lord Stuart de Rothesay 3 Carlton house terrace London) and packet to “Messrs. Hammersley and co. Bankers London” containing a thin ½ sheet close and small written note in envelope to “Lady Duff Gordon 34 Hertford street” from 11 ½ to 6 at accounts and settling with George the courier Grotza who leaves us on our setting off on our journey, and Gross – paid the latter his ¼ years wages due on the 16th instant and 30 days board in advance £1 for every 6 days i.e. 24 Roubles for every 6 days = 21 x 5 = 105 R. per 30 days – Had Mrs. Howard sundry times on one account or other – I had ordered the Kibitkas’ to be packed immediately on Gross’s return from Mr. Marcs’, but somehow this was not understood and it was 4 p.m. when Gross came to ask if they were to be packed – and it being a 3 or 4 hours job made us off so late – Mr. Marcs’ cashier brought the money I having omitted to indorse the circulars – asked for tea about 6 – wrote and left with Mrs. Howard the following character of Grotza – Mrs. Lister will be obliged to Mrs. Howard to inform anyone who may apply for the character of Elizabeth Catherine Gross that she has lived in Mrs. Listers’ service as Ladys’ maid from the 10th of May 1839 to the 5th of February 1840, and that Mrs. Lister has found her strictly honest, well-conducted and trustworthy, clean and neat in her person and about her work and a good hairdresser, and getter up of fine linen – Mrs. Lister has had no occasion of trying her in dress-making, but she had a good character for ability in this respect from the lady with whom she lived last – Wednesday 5 February 1840. (I am not certain whether the paper was dated or not) –

we had had tea and waited some time for all [?] announced ready when the summons came at 7 25/.. – but our kibitka so uncomfortable the little alteration that could be made took till 7 ¾ vid. p. 7

SH:7/ML/E/24/0006

(vid. p. 7) still the seat too high – our kibitka uncomfortably pace – no help for it till morning – never dreampt of being off so late – in the dark – now at 7 ¾ as we drive off from Mrs. Howards’ in the Great Dimitri Street Moscow – A- and I and our government post courier in our covered kibitka (3 horses) followed by our Russian servants George and his wife, and our German Gross in an ordinary ½ mat-covered kibitka also with 3 horses – uncomfortable

Leave Moscow fine day

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chrisryanspeaks · 2 months

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Tokyo Police Club Announce Farewell Tour Dates and Share Last Songs

In January, Tokyo Police Club announced their decision to disband following a final farewell tour. The Canadian group has now unveiled the details of this tour, which will conclude with four performances at Toronto's History. Find the tour dates listed below. Additionally, Tokyo Police Club has released their last two tracks, produced by Jesse Turnbull at Toronto's Taurus Recording. The songs, titled “Just a Scratch” and “Catch Me If You Can,” are available for listening below. Tokyo Police Club, comprising vocalist and bassist Dave Monks, guitarist and keyboardist Graham Wright, drummer Greg Alsop, and guitarist Josh Hook, was formed in Ontario in the mid-2000s. The band first caught attention with EPs like A Lesson in Crime and Smith, leading to their debut album, Elephant Shell, in 2008. They subsequently released three more albums: Champ in 2010, Forcefield in 2014, and TPC in 2018. Josh Hook reflected on the journey, saying, "We've been incredibly lucky and honored to share our music and to experience so many personal moments with our fans, from graduations and birthdays to onstage proposals. Seeing familiar faces from our early tours and connecting with so many over nearly two decades is a true privilege. This final tour is the ultimate retirement celebration we could have hoped for. We're profoundly grateful for everyone who has joined us on this incredible journey." 07-04 Ottawa, Ontario - Ottawa Bluesfest 08-01 Halifax, Nova Scotia - Marquee Ballroom 08-03 Saint John, New Brunswick - Area 506 Festival 09-14 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom 09-17 Calgary, Alberta - The Palace Theatre 09-18 Edmonton, Alberta - Midway Music Hall 09-20 Seattle, WA - The Crocodile 09-21 Portland, OR - Revolution Hall 09-23 San Francisco, CA - August Hall 09-24 Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory 09-25 Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theater 09-28 San Diego, CA - House of Blues San Diego 09-29 Mesa, AZ - The Nile Theater 10-30 Denver, CO - Summit 11-01 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater 11-02 Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre 11-03 Chicago, IL - House of Blues Chicago 11-05 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant 11-07 Dallas, TX - The Echo Lounge & Music Hall 11-08 San Antonio, TX - Aztec Theatre 11-09 Austin, TX - Emo’s 11-11 Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theatre 11-12 Charleston, SC - Music Farm 11-14 Washington, D.C. - The Howard Theatre 11-15 Philadelphia, PA - Brooklyn Bowl 11-16 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club 11-19 New York, NY - Irving Plaza 11-26 Toronto, Ontario - History * 11-27 Toronto, Ontario - History * 11-28 Toronto, Ontario - History ^ 11-29 Toronto, Ontario - History # Read the full article

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audiofuzz · 2 months

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Tokyo Police Club Announce Farewell Tour Dates and Share Last Songs

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ukimmigrationmatters · 4 months

Video

youtube

Buying a house is not “that difficult” NatWest Chairman Sir Howard Davies claims!

Buying a house in the UK is not “that difficult”, according to banker Sir Howard Davies, who is paid £763.000 a year by NatWest.

His remarks in a BBC interview have caused outrage, especially among the ‘generation rent’ who are struggling to save for a deposit while rental prices reach record highs and the cost of living crises continues.

This week, the average two-year fixed rate is 5.83%, while a five-year deal was 5.43%, according to Moneyfacts.

He Halifax Mortgages say mortgage rates are easing and buyers' confidence could increase in the coming months.

They added that house prices rose for the third month in a row to average £287,105 in December, but it forecast a fall this year with buyers perhaps becoming more cautious due to economic uncertainty. Their data shows annual rise of 1.7% in 2003 and 1.1% month-on-month rise in December.

Halifax is the UK's biggest mortgage lender, but its own lending figures only take into account buyers with mortgages - about two-thirds of all sales - and do not include those who purchase homes with cash or buy-to-let deals.

Figures from the Bank of England published on Thursday showed the number of mortgage approvals rose slightly in November.

Many sellers have had their properties o the market for as long as two years and not sold despite dropping the asking price.

Earnings and cash saving are falling behind values of assets, such as stocks and shares, gold and silver and property prices rises.

Inflation is eating away at your savings and cash.

Chinese shadow bank files for $63 billion bankruptcy.

Where to find me:

Money Tips website: https://moneytipsdaily.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2tLUxod264Qy0gPntvx6Eg

Money Tips Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/No1businessopportunities

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/charles-kelly-ba-cmgr-fcmi-b5300a2

See: – Transfer Property Into A Limited Company Without Paying CGT or Stamp Duty ⁠https://youtu.be/mtGq7WaVxLA ⁠

What’s in Store in 2024? Stock Markets, Property and Gold

Watch full video on Money Tips Podcast YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/difmr0fp5-Q

For a free gold, investment report, and Discovery Call, click here.

7 Things To Make 2024 Your Best Year Ever - Watch video version at Charles Kelly Money Tips Podcast: https://youtu.be/8oZ30NHVAr8

Join me online on my free live money management training Wednesday at 8.00PM.

Places are limited, so register now below to avoid disappointment.

⁠https://bit.ly/3QPp8IH⁠

Wishing you a prosperous New Year.

#money #gold #silver #inflation #natwest #propertyprices #rent #generationrent #investing

#youtube

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random-jot · 1 year

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Nominations for some NEW Tumblr Sexymen:

Gary King from 'The World's End'

Dream Of The Endless from 'The Sandman'

The Corinthian from 'The Sandman'

Wacky Waving Inflatable Tube Man from real life

Quagsire from 'Pokémon'

Maurice Moss from 'The IT Crowd'

Konshu from 'Moon Knight'

Red Guy from 'Don't Hug Me I'm Scared'

Ultimate Tumblr Sexyman from 'Drawfee'

Gojo Satoru from 'Jujutsu Kaisen'

Hawks from 'My Hero Academia'

Muzan Kibutsuji from 'Demon Slayer'

Ice Pick Joe from 'Goncharov'

Howard from the old british Halifax ads

The Entire Cast of 'What We Do In The Shadows'

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atlanticcanada · 10 months

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No vacancy: vintage Halifax inns being demolished

Weary travellers along the Bedford Highway in Halifax now have fewer places to lay their heads as demolition gets underway on several vintage inns.

An excavator was outside the former Wedgewood Motel at 10 Kearney Lake Road Wednesday, with growing piles of debris and appliances in the parking lot.

The Halifax Regional Municipality approved the demolition permit June 27, said Klara Needler, a municipal spokesperson, in an email.

"The municipality has issued a construction permit for a 99-unit multiple-unit residential building." wrote Needler.

Operating until recently, motorists and passersby had noticed rapid decay at the motel, with growing numbers of broken windows and trash along the walkways.

A Google search confirms the Wedgewood is now closed, but interestingly is still showing up as a booking option on sites like Trip Advisor.

Further up the road, demolition is also underway at the former Howard Johnson Bluenose Inn at 636 Bedford Highway.

Demolition crews were on site Wednesday, removing insulation and other materials.

The city confirms that the permit was approved on June 13, 2023, but there's no word on what will eventually replace it.

"The municipality has not received a building permit for 636 Bedford Highway," said Needler.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/BfohrLE

#new brunswick #prince edward island #nova scotia #news #politics #canada #CTVAtlantic

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jijimtw2023 · 1 year

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Essay 2 Woodlawn Planation Proposal

To: Shawn Halifax, Executive Director of Woodlawn Plantation, Alexandria, Virginia,

From: Njideka Maduakor, Sophomore Biology Major Chem Minor, Howard University,

Washington, DC

Date: February 27, 2022

Subject: Reduce and Reuse. A plan to restructure the Woodlawn Plantation site.

Purpose: The purpose of this proposal is to recommend first taking a further critical look at the wedding expenses. Then after you have restructured the expenses of the site, replace it with whatever revenue is absolutely necessary to keep the plantation in good standing, financially and morally. By transitioning away from weddings over the course of a few years, Woodlawn site coordinators can evaluate the cost of maintenance and potentially replace weddings with an event equivalent-though potentially not as profitable as weddings currently are.

Problem Description: Shawn Halifax requested Howard University Students in the ENG-009 Tech writing course to propose a solution to replace wedding events on Woodlawn Plantation in Alexandria Virginia. These weddings account for 34% of the plantation's income. Weddings on plantations are problematic. While it is George Washington's estate, it once housed 155 enslaved people. With the majority of the weddings being hosted by white Americans, it is culturally tone deaf to have such a celebration where so much inhumane suffering occurred. Murder, rape, torture, all just some of the horrific things blacks were subjected too on those grounds. Woodlawn’s current mission is to “Engage with our community to preserve history and care for nature at this former site of enslavement…promote sustainable practices, nurture wellbeing, and contribute to community repair.” Weddings do not align with the mission of the site and in fact- no matter the demographic- is actively against the mission.

Proposed Solution: I propose a slow and steady approach to the problem. After a discussion with Shawn Halifax, he already expressed interest in looking at requests for weddings with more scrutiny. I do not agree with this potential idea. Instead, start reducing the number of weddings. If 25 weddings are held during the wedding season, next year make it 20, the year after that make it 10, and so on and so forth. As the years pass, assign a cost benefit analyst. Keep track of all the upfront costs, unexpected costs,tangible costs, intangible costs and ongoing or future costs, as well as for the rest of the revenue where that money is being put down. Finally consider how much of the costs are actually going to the maintenance of the site. Discovering which areas can be as subsidized or reduced. Replacement of weddings can be done with community events, school events, collaborations with Howard, or anything that may be equivalent to whatever costs may be necessary when weddings are gone. Community events could include; Farmers markets or Spotlight nights. School events could include classes, Critical race theory classes, educational tours, or student cleanup projects to help with maintenance. These events could be run by Woodlawn staff, or have a representative from the community as a way to provide a job position.

Alternative Solution: The alternative solution is to possibly not remove weddings at all, but as part of your mission to inform and collaborate. Make sure that both the wedding planners and the guests have full understanding of the location. Maybe offer a tour, or a pamphlet encouraging guests to treat the land delicately and send donations of their own accord to your program. Of course this would happen during the wedding, or before the wedding starts so people can contextualize the location. This may help in the future dissuade people from continuing to have weddings at this location.

Budget and Timeline: Unless a similar position is already filled, a cost benefit analyst will need to be hired, the job pay rate averages from 53k - 103k a year. On to the costs of weddings you will need a full breakdown of where the costs are going. ‘Upkeep’ could be a wide range of things. This plan could stretch between five years, with a reduction of 5 weddings per year, or a seven year plan with a reduction of 3 weddings per year. Woodlawn Plantation operating budget was likely around $1,023,153.21 last year, based on budgets from previous years and accounting for inflation. 34% of that money is equivalent to $347 872.10 US Dollars.which means if twenty five weddings are hosted, one wedding needs to cover $13,914.88. According to eventective.com micro weddings with only 25 guests can cost upwards of $10,000 dollars. Huge weddings with over 300 + guests on average are $25,000 dollars. This potentially signals places where costs could be cut as weddings are slowly reduced, and would need further analysis and full breakdown of operations budgets with the woodlawn board.

The budget regarding post restructure events will mostly be up to Woodlawn. Though the cost for a ticket to a plantation tour can cost anywhere from 79-100 USD according to similar sites pricing. At the current costs that weddings cover that would require around 3,500 guests a year to match the pricing. It seems unrealistic, but if the budget could be reduced to only need 3,000 or even 2,000 that could create an easier to overcome hurdle. With the amount of weddings hosted, Woodlawn already receives at least 7,000 guests. It is already a popular site in Washington D.C which makes it all the more likely they could sell tickets at that price and still have visitors.

Experience: I am put in a unique position as a Howard student, that is first generation African American that did not descend from slavery. I was personally appalled by the mere suggestion, even though I have no connection to these sites I can deeply empathize with the feelings of those who were victimized at woodlawn.

Conclusion: The journey to eliminate a problematic practice is a long one. Replacing weddings with any other events will be difficult, many people would likely not come to a plantation for any other reason. Perhaps with the implementation of this proposal you may be able to delay the search for a suitable replacement.

#essay #essay 2 #TW2023

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