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zensharks · 3 years

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𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 - 𝙙𝙞𝙡𝙪𝙘 𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙧

you create more questions in his mind than he would like - and what does one do when they have a question? they find the solution.

ᴀ/ɴ: ohhhh boy this is the longest, most dialogue-y piece i’ve written - i am very open to constructive criticism ^^ enjoy!!

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: none

ᴡᴄ: 2.2k

he has loved you for longer than he thought possible. every chaste glance between the two of you he thought would be the death of him only led to stronger feelings, more knots tying in his chest, and less rationality. diluc is a reasonable man. love is an unreasonable feeling. and it was because of this that his love for you was so confusing - how could you ever feel the same? was it possible for another to feel with the same intensity? was there another fire that burned as bright as his? as he attempted to answer these questions, he hoped to the archons that you were the answer.

one particularly cool evening, he was closing the tavern for the night when you appeared, peering through the crack in the doorframe. he was so invested in his cleanup that your presence went unnoticed as he placed bottles back in their correct spots on the shelves. you softly cleared your throat, diluc whipping his head towards the source of the alarmingly sudden noise. the rapid movement caused his hair to hit a bottle that sat precariously, knocking it into the ones nearby. he quickly steadied them on the shelf before turning his attention to you, straightening his posture and brushing his gloved hands against the front of his shirt.

“what brings you here? the tavern will be closing soon.”

“oh, um-” you replied, searching for an reason for your presence that did not include his name, “wine?”

slightly bemused by your reply that seemed to disregard what he had told you, he coughed lightly. “o-of course. you can have a seat here, if you’d like.”

despite the fact that it was now past the closing hours, diluc was glad to let you stay. he was aware that nothing would come from time alone with you, but whether it was to slightly give in to his feelings or the fact that he held on to a shred of hope that they were exchanged, he began to pour you a glass.

“dandelion wine,” you remarked.

“of course. you order this consistently, every time you visit.”

diluc wasn’t always working at the tavern, rather, he was often stuck in his business at the winery. how did he know your usual? did he check the tavern’s order history? the realization that he made an effort to know more about you brought a flush to your cheeks, that diluc did not take notice of as his attention was fixed on pouring your drink. he promptly slid it across the bar towards you with a nod that you exchanged back at him in silent thanks. this silence continued for a moment - a moment longer than you or diluc would have liked. it weighed the air down, creating a pressure that pushed harder and harder on your skull as you looked down at the bar below you-

“why are you at the tavern?” you suddenly spoke up, a little too loudly, making diluc’s brow furrow slightly.

“i’m not sure i understand.”

“i meant why are you working in the city today? you’re usually at the winery, so i got the picture that you’re quite busy”

“ah, yes. in truth, the winery can feel rather dull. the business of the tavern is a nice change of scenery,” diluc explained as he continued cleaning the counter behind the bar.

“that makes sense, i can imagine how the same view every day could get a little repetitive, even if it is quite a sight.”

“of course. i don’t take the winery’s scenic location for granted, but after seeing the same cliffs every morning it can feel ordinary, to an extent.”

“naturally,” you agreed, taking a sip of your wine. the taste had a sort of gentle sweetness to it that filled your mouth with warmth.

the two of you were usually well-versed in conversation, as you often found yourself spending far too many hours at the counter of the tavern on the days that diluc was present. your talks lasted throughout the day as customers came and went, ogling at the sight of the famously stoic master diluc laughing at your jokes and gazing fondly at you with a soft smile as you told him about your recent commissions from the guild.

on one of these days as you were explaining to diluc the many troubles that dragonspine has given you, kaeya decided to make his grand appearance. the sight of his adoptive brother so immersed in a discussion with another was greatly amusing to kaeya, resulting in it being the topic of his teasing for many days to come. this got on diluc’s nerves more than many of his other jokes, resenting the sound of kaeya’s voice bursting through the tavern doors. however, kaeya’s interest in your and diluc’s strange dynamic faded as he moved onto other topics; but the feelings that the two of you shared did not, which is exactly what brought you to the tavern at such an hour.

you traced your forefinger around the rim of your glass as the silence returned after your small-talk fizzled out, the both of you waiting for the other to say something. and to diluc’s own surprise, he was the first to speak.

“have you been in love before, [y/n]?”

the shock from this very straightforward question was apparent on both of your faces, diluc’s face contorting into confusion as to why he would dare to utter such a thing.

“i think so,” you replied steadily, “have you?”

“i think so,” he repeated, after a momentary pause. “it’s strange - love is said to be wonderful, but in all truth it’s quite uncomfortable.” his words were now at the mercy of the wind, the bewilderment at his own sentences remaining plastered across his face as he silently begged for the anemo archon’s mercy.

“how so?” you pushed, wanting him to continue. you knew the point, it was simple to understand, he was just waiting for your green light.

“it’s not easy to read. the others’ thoughts are crucial, yet there’s no way to determine if the feelings are exchanged or one-sided. then arises the issue that if, in fact, the interest is not mutual, then it was futile from the beginning.” as diluc rambled he vigorously scrubbed at the same spot on the counter which had been polished to perfection many minutes ago. you let out a soft laugh at his uneasiness, the sound causing butterflies to fly through his stomach and out of his throat. he longed to hear your laugh again.

at this point, it was clear to you that diluc had similar feelings towards you. he was under the impression that you were not conscious of the way he was always gently studying your expression on your visits to the tavern, and his now very strong uneasiness in your presence, but on quite the contrary you were well aware. each action of yours that brought down his professional and polished front was another answer to your question that, yes, diluc ragnvindr has feelings for you. on the other hand, the winery owner himself was very unsure of your stance. he was so engrossed in keeping a hold on his own behaviours that he barely noticed yours - the way that your gaze always lingered after he had looked away, the frequent and seemingly aimless visits to the winery when diluc was not present at the tavern, and of course, your unexpected appearance at the door tonight. you did not hide your feelings for the ragnvindr, rather, he did not take notice. for this reason, the idea that you could even slightly return his feelings was far out of reach, if not impossible.

“and if it’s not futile?” you questioned, teasingly. your reply made diluc go red in the face, and with nothing to hide the fire that lit before you he was made to simply endure it.

“that’s not probable,” he stated matter-of-factly as he forced himself to regain composure. the tone in his voice implied he already knew the answer, but he could not have been more wrong.

“don’t be so sure.”

diluc was stubborn, but not totally oblivious. he was able to pick up on hints, or at least the more direct ones. knowing this, you were direct. this had his mind running circles as your eyes seemed to look directly through him, straight to his heart - he has lived with his questions for so long, that the idea of finding the answer is terrifying. the storm that had amassed in his head barely manifested itself for you to see; only in the smallest of gestures like the repetitive and almost mechanical way that he tucked the same loose strand of hair behind his ear, even when it had already been put in its place. he simultaneously loathed and relished in the way that you danced around the answer, loving the chase yet dreading the end.

“and why shouldn’t i be?” he challenged, his voice painted with more annoyance than he intended. your expression stiffened.

“i think you know why.” as much as you enjoyed the nature of your conversation, the end goal was tugging on your sleeves as you drew nearer.

diluc then proceeded to do something he had previously thought impossible. he slung over his shoulder the towel that had now nearly polished a hole in the counter, moving around to the front of the bar where you were seated. he could feel the beat of his heart in his head, the pace quickening as you stood up from your barstool. despite your certainty in the situation you couldn’t help but feel a hint of nervousness as diluc stood in front of you, eyes looking down piercing directly into yours. moving as if it was second-nature, diluc took one of your hands in his, keeping his eyes locked on yours as he snaked his free arm around the middle of your back. you instinctually brought your empty hand to the back of his neck, the touch sending a chill down diluc’s spine.

as the two of you stood silently, chest to chest, keeping both of your stares fixed on the other, diluc spoke up, “you’re right,” he breathed. if it weren’t for your closeness, his words would have been inaudible. “can i?”

the second you began to nod your head you were pulled into a kiss, stealing away any breath left in your lungs. it was chaste, gentle but with purpose. his lips said what his words could not. he was the first to pull away, the way that you relaxed into his touch swiftly forcing him back into reality; he refused to meet your gaze, the contrast to his previous actions forcing a small laugh out of you. there it was - that sound that he loved, again.

“yes,” you laughed, “you can.” you let go of his hand to place both of yours on the sides of his head, bringing his eyes to meet yours. “i told you, you knew why.”

with neither you nor him able to think coherently, you remained still for a moment, eyes locked on each other’s. any onlookers could only assume that this is where you would remain forever, the look that you shared and the weight in the air making you both appear to be roots planted in the ground.

diluc could not help but smile at the irony in the timing of your remark, a bit of confidence returning. “did you know i play piano?”

“i did not,” you replied with exaggerated formality, tilting your head with a slight smirk.

“i have a piano at the winery, would y-”

“i’d like to hear,” you interrupted, letting your hands fall from where they rested on his face.

“it’s quite late,” diluc points out, of course needing to take all considerations into account.

“i’m assuming you have a couch?”

“we have plenty of unoccupied guest bedrooms.”

“oh my, luxurious!” you grinned, drawing a similar expression out of diluc as he reached for a ring of keys.

wordlessly, he led you out of the tavern, the slightest of smiles remaining on his face and a more obvious one on yours. he shot you one final glance before locking the door as you gave him an affirming nod.

when you first entered the tavern that night, neither diluc nor you expected for the evening to end with both of you having confessed months worth of feelings within half an hour of conversation. diluc especially was in quite a haze of disbelief, unsure of what to do with the masses of doubt that had accumulated being suddenly reduced to nothing. moreover, he had acted solely driven by emotions with not a hint of rationality; it was rare that diluc was led by emotion, but your presence was enough to quell any logic or reason that he had established.

diluc lives his life driven by questions remaining unanswered. the resolve is unnecessary, and often underwhelming at best. however tonight, as diluc led you back to the winery surrounded by the cool evening air, he came to a realization: perhaps questions exist to be answered - and perhaps the answer is worth chasing.

✦ 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥! 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 :)

#genshin #genshin impact #genshin fanfic #genshin impact fanfic #genshin headcanons #genshin x reader #diluc #genshin diluc #diluc x reader #diluc fanfic #diluc headcanons #diluc ragnvindr #dawn winery #mondstadt #diluc ragnvindr x reader #diluc ragnvindr fanfic

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ask-de-writer · 4 years

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THE HOUSE, (part 3 of 3), a tale of Flocking Bay

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to Flocking Bay

THE HOUSE

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

7357 words

Written 1990

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

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Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions. I will allow those who do commission art works to charge for their images.

All sorts of Fan activity, Fiction, Art, Cosplay, Music, or any other thing is actively encouraged!

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I was still curious about the rest of the file in the town library, so I decided to take a break and go into town. As I stepped out the front door, I felt the wind. The trees along the road were still, yet I was buffeted from all sides at once by a wind that did not swirl but pressed my clothes tight to me from all sides at once. I felt more like I was being held comfortably than pushed like a wind usually would. It was warm, where the day and been chill. When I got into the car I left the door open to see what would happen. The wind closed it. This time there was a perceptible pause before the glove box opened.

When it did, a rush of wind gusted out and raced about inside the car. Once again, there were five of the odd gold coins within it. As before, I thanked whatever Power had put them there. Though brisk, the day seemed clear enough to risk the walk into town after all, so I got out of the car strolled down the road to town. Having everything that I needed within walking distance was one of the reasons that I liked the small town of Flocking Bay so much.

The Flocking Bay Bank of Maine was my next stop. I had some difficulty getting them to accept the coins for credit to my account. They insisted on a slate test by a local jeweler to ascertain the purity of the coins. They were twenty four carat. Then they wanted to take the coins at current spot price less ten percent, which was fine with me. They also wanted to count the coins at three to the troy ounce, as Hiram Wickes had counted them in the 1850’s and 60’s, which was not. I insisted that the same jeweler weigh the nine coins that I was depositing. With gold at nearly four hundred dollars to the ounce, the six tenths of an ounce per coin seemed worth the effort. The business was finally done to the satisfaction of all.

My steps now lead me down aged, tree lined streets to the library. Mrs. Alderman had set out the file in readiness for me. I added the tenth coin and a notarized account of its origin and the number of coins to date.

“You have been so helpful, she said brightly, “setting things in order the way you have. Do you know, I’ve been studying some, after hours. I hope that you will have a great book.”

“Mrs. Alderman,” I said in a confidential tone, “I’ve allowed you to deceive yourself. See, I too, put something in your file. I’m not a writer. I’m John Peaslee. I live in the old Wickes place, and I wanted to find out about its history.

My uncle, Gordon Wetherbee, is a scholar at Miskatonic University and he may indeed wish to publish a book or monograph on the subject of my house.”

She looked like a person seeing a ghost. In a faint voice, she replied, “Oh, my! I had hoped it was not you. You were such a nice young man, too.”

Noticing the past tense, I chided gently, “I still am, Mrs. Alderman. I live yet and I have not changed from the person that you first met. The nice young man who set your file in order is not dead.”

“Yet,” she said firmly. “Nobody as lives in that house does so for long. None has ever escaped it.”

“Yet,” I completed with a smile, and crossed the room to the battered pine table by the old mullioned window.

I had put the botanical report off until last, not knowing anything about plants. The report described in dry detail what were called “some of the most unusual genetic monsters that I have ever seen.” The report was issued by Miskatonic University. It described roses that were nothing of the sort. The “rose” plants were carnivorous. There were low pansy and violet-like plants that were some strange form of thallophyte. The mycelium of these fungi was linked in some fashion to the roots of the “roses.” Both forms died instantly upon being plucked and began rotting with almost supernatural speed. No pressings were possible due to the rapidity of decomposition, so only photos and rapidly drawn pictures of what was seen by microscope were included. The grass was as unusual as the “pansies” and “roses.” The leaves all rose from rhizomes, which spread from a central node, like some ferns. This “grass” was no fern, however. None of the plants could be cultivated away from the Wickes house. “The plants fit no known classification and must be regarded as unique to science,” the report concluded.

That evening the wind came again, and blew at my back all the way to the house, like a great friendly beast hurrying its master home. I had forgotten to buy batteries for my flashlight, but I did not turn back.

I resumed my search of the library. The evening passed uneventfully, I did not finish with the library that night. I was feeling restless.

So were the rats of the spectral brigade. I could hear a few upstairs but most were in the basement. Taking a candlestick, I worked the hidden spring of the concealed door to the basement. I could hear the rats below.

The stair was longer than I remembered it. The basement was larger than I recalled it being. The corners were dim in the candlelight. The spectral brigade was upstairs, of course. Still no dust or spider webs. I nearly dropped the candle in shock when I saw it. There was a table in the corner. I knew that the basement had been empty. Bare stone.

My curiosity led me cautiously to the table. It had on it a candlestick with a burned-out stub of candle, a box of papers, and six largish portfolios of leather, each labeled with the name of a continent. They also were filled with papers. A cursory examination revealed that I had found Hiram’s correspondence. There was a lot of it. It was clear that he had the habit of making copies of his missives and attaching the replies to the letters for easy reference. He may have been messy but his mind had been well organized. Taking the folder marked Australia because it was the smallest, I went back up the stairs. I placed the folio on the desk in the study to read by tomorrow̓s daylight. In checking my calendar, I noticed that tomorrow was the day of the new moon.

Bed was welcome, after the tension and labors of the day, but not a relief. My night passed in troubled dreams. It was a place of incomprehensible, invisible obstacles and wind. The wind blew at me from all directions at once, forcing me away in a direction that was not a direction. Resisting the wind caused it to go away. It came back with gold for me. As I refused the gold, my frustration mounted. It was not what I wanted. My tears spilt forth in a flood. I wanted something else - and I could not remember what.

The morning light awakened me on sweat-drenched sheets. Slowly, as dreams will, the terrors faded. I got up and began my day.

As I had begun to expect, the books did not materialize. None of the books in the library was a rebound Necronomicon or Black Book. I reshelved the last book with a sigh. The precious books appeared have eluded me.

I turned my attention to the Australia folder. Its pages yielding information for the first time in about a hundred and twenty years. Apparently, Hiram had a number of correspondents in Australia. His questions ranged from searches for rumored ‘houses of stone’ in the outback to tracing the aboriginal folk carvings and paintings and asking about the most secret rituals and ceremonies of the aboriginal Australians. His questions, piercing and analytical, illuminated every subject with stark clarity, like flashes of lightning. He had known exactly what he was looking for and was not at all afraid of finding it.

Now, with the day beginning to close, there came a knock at my door. Opening the door revealed a postman with a bulky Next Day Letter envelope. Signing for it, I noticed that it was from Miskatonic University. Uncle Gordon had responded almost the instant that he had received my letter, and by the fastest possible post. Impressed, I opened the flap of the letter. A single sheet was all that the large envelope held. Uncle Gordon̓s hasty scrawl read:

Dear John:

It is with simple horror that I have read that you have purchased the house of Hiram Wickes. Delay not an instant! Get out of that house! Leave before the new moon! I pray that this reaches you in time!

Come to me in Arkham! There, I will tell you all that I know of this matter. I hope that you are still alive and well and will come to hear my reasons for so urgent a request.

You are involved with Powers beyond imagination. Things there are that are worse than even what is in the Necronomicon. Hastur, Whose Name Must Not be Uttered, is involved, and Cuthulu, as well, whose coin you sent a tracing of.

This must sound mad to you. A very hodgepodge of fear. And it is. Fear for you. Come to me at once! Upon your life it is necessary!

In regard and fear for your life,

I remain,

Gordon Wetherbee

It was remarkable. I had never seen evidence of such agitation from uncle Gordon before. This, along with all that I had learned, made up my mind. I would take his advice. Packing my few clothes took almost no time. Seeing the Australia folder, I realized how important Hiram’s letters could be to uncle Gordon. I placed it with my bag, by the front door.

I raced to the library, took up a candlestick and plunged down the long flight of stairs to that huge gloomy vault of a basement. As I gathered the box and folders into my arms, I saw them at last! Among others, the Necronomicon and Black Book had been hidden behind the letter portfolios. Putting down the letters in the face of a far greater treasure, I examined the precious books. There was what had to be the only complete 1784 edition of the Necronomicon. Priceless. Also, there was the almost as rare 1635 edition of the Black Book. There was an apparently genuine medieval Latin Philippus Faber. Last was a hand-bound copy of a manuscript, written on a fine supple parchment of a type that I could not identify, labeled in Hiram’s now familiar script, Pnakotic Manuscripts, subtitled, “Being a Collection of Ante-human Lore.” The writing in this last volume was of a sort that I had never seen before. It was disturbing just to look at. The very notion of actually reading it made me shudder.

Knowing that I should not tarry, I placed the books with my other burdens and gathered them up. There was a sudden rushing of wind from all sides at once, forcing me away in a direction that was not a direction. The candle in my hand burned bright and unwavering, despite the wind. It did not blow out.

In a blind panic, I ran up the long, crumbling, dusty, spider-bedecked stair. I found myself back in the basement. I no longer had my load of letters and books. Two more attempts to go up the stairs left me still in the vast, dusty crypt of a basement… Raising the candle high, I looked intently up the stair, trying to see why I could not get to the top. After a few minutes, or perhaps hours, I got my eyes to work properly and the nausea stopped. The stairs offered no escape.

In searching for a way out of this vast stone lined vault of a basement, I found all of the fifty nine other people who had vanished. They are all dead. They have dried to sere brown mummies. Many still show signs of bleeding from eyes, nose or ears, as if their brains had burst within their skulls. It seems that transport to wherever this is, killed the others outright. Some were in bed, others at table, some at other tasks. Each family or person seems to have their own area. The next group is in a different spot. It helps me to sort them out. All of my goods are by the stair.

Examining the bodies so closely may seem to be a ghoulish exercise but it gives me something to do.

I do not need the candle. There is a pale sourceless illumination everywhere. Dust is thick on the floor and everything else. Cobwebs shroud everything.

There, in the corner lies what was Hiram Wickes. The notes and papers with him tell the story. Unable to stand his own mess, he had the house cleaned attic to basement. The yard was manicured to perfection. He then made the simple blunder that has cost so many lives and so much misery.

He bound Hastur of the Winds, Whose Name Must Not be Uttered, to keep his house and grounds exactly as it was on that day in 1866. Every new moon, everything that does not fit goes to the basement but that too gets cleaned. Hastur has no choice but to sweep the excess to someplace else…

I am lucky. I have the opportunity to starve. I was in the basement when the cleaning came. I was pushed through a distance too short to kill. The unvarying light seems to erase time, except that I am getting hungry.

Uncle Gordon has solved many occult mysteries and seems to know something of this one. I know that he will come soon. I wonder if he can do anything.

I found a pen among my things and paper from the possessions of the many dead. I have determined to make this account.

I leave my curse on Flocking Bay Realty. They knew that this would happen. They have sold the house many times, without warning. They have been battening on this evil since 1908.

I have found the rats. They are everywhere here. They do not touch the bodies or Hiram’s books and papers. They are disgusting. If I get hungry enough, I shall eat them.

-THE END-

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Return to Flocking Bay

#THE HOUSE #Part 3 of 3 #flocking bay #Written by De Writer

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leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid · 6 years

Text

You Gave Me That Last Year

Pairing: Dean x Krystal (OFC? Its a real life person too)

Word Count: 3302

Warnings: plus size female doubts, loving praise, smut, mild spanking, female on top, lots of sweet Dean with a touch of domination.

Summary: It’s Krystal’s birthday and Dean is not above regifting.

Author’s Note: This is a commissioned piece by @dorky-and-i-know-it for her birthday. Happy belated birthday, dear. I hope this gift leaves you feeling happy and loved.

Krystal stopped just a few feet from the door of her office building, the temp on her phone already warning her it would be hot, muggy, and miserable. Summer in Lebanon was not forgiving, not even on her birthday. But despite the heat, Krystal smiled to herself, she knew what would be waiting for her when she got home. Her gorgeous boyfriend Dean had promised he’d get the bunker cleared out for the night and cook her dinner.

In the last few days the place had been a madhouse. Scores of people from Apocalypse world now called the Men of Letters halls home. And it was getting to be too much for the woman who enjoyed a quiet night in with her boyfriend, a beer, and the lasted Marvel releases while curled up in bed.

As promised, when Krystal walked into the parking lot, there was Baby, her black paint shining in the afternoon sun, her emerald eyed driver sitting behind her wheel, radio turned up, singing off key, and drumming the last of Aerosmith’s Walk This Way with his fingertips against the steering wheel.

“I love getting serenaded,” she giggled as she leaned down to peer through the rolled down window. A chunk of red hair fell next to her cheek and she tucked it behind her ear as Dean reached across the bench seat to open her door.

“I’m always willing to sing to the most beautiful woman I know.”

“Oh, I didn’t know Donna was here.”

Dean rolled his eyes and threw his right arm over the back of the seat, his mouth closing the distance between the two of them as Krystal settled in next to him. His plush, pale lips brushed hers in greeting before parting.

“Donna’s got nothing on you, babe. How was work?”

Krystal sighed, as Dean maneuvered around the parking lot and onto the main drag. It had been a long day. “We had a power surge and the stuff I was working on got lost. It’s Friday and I didn’t even want to try calling the IT department. I just wanted to go home and be alone with you.”

“Yeah, about that,” Dean muttered, his words hanging in the air as he stopped at the only light between them and their home. “There was an issue with getting everyone to go out and leave us alone for the weekend.”

Dropping her head back against the warm leather and letting her greyish blue eyes shut for a moment, Krystal slowly rolled her neck until she was looking at the man at the wheel. “What kind of issue? Could you even just get us tonight?”

Dean took his eyes off the road briefly. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I did the best I could. Even offered to get everyone a room at the hotel here in town but no one wanted it. Except Bobby, even from another world he still loves those little bottles of shampoo.”

Huffing a laugh, Krystal asked, “so, no romantic quiet weekend with movies and sex in the dungeon?”

“Oh, sex in the dungeon is still happening. I worked too hard getting all the blood off the walls for it to go to waste.” Krystal landed a light punch on Dean’s shoulder and he chuckled as they turned onto the road that would take them to the entrance of the garage.

“Okay, this is only going to be a short stop. Shower, change, pack up a bag for the weekend because I got us a room at The Honeybee and Sunflower Suites.”

There was an extra spring in Dean’s step as he ran around the car to hold open the door for his lady.

“Don’t forget to pack something sexy. Like that black lacy thing I got you for Valentine’s day.” Dean pulled his bottom lip between his teeth with a grin.

Krystal walked ahead of Dean, shaking her head. “I look awful in that thing. I’m too fat for stuff like that.”

Without missing a beat, Dean reached out, grabbing her forearm and stopping her for walking inside the main part of the bunker. “Hey, that’s not, you look so sexy in that stuff.” He pulled her closer until her large breasts pressed into his firm chest. His hands smoothed up her arms and into her long red locks. “You always look amazing to me. And if I could, I’d have you naked all the time. There isn’t an inch of you I don’t enjoy looking at. Every curve, the weight of your tits in my hands.” To emphasize his point, Dean reached down, cupping both of her breasts, squeezing them through the cotton of her blouse. “And god, you have an ass like a goddess.” He reached around, nuzzling his scruffy face into the side of her neck as he groped handfuls of her backside. “There are times where I can’t get enough of you.” He nipped at her flesh, making goosebumps rise to the surface.

With a sigh, Krystal melted into Dean’s embrace, her arms wrapping around his neck as he mouthed at hers.

“You win, I’ll bring it along.”

“Yes,” Dean shouted enthusiastically as he pulled away, lacing his fingers with hers and yanking her towards the doorway. “Alright, let’s get what we need so I can give you your birthday presents.”

“If it’s your dick, you got me that last year.”

Before reaching the hotel, Dean stopped at the diner they’d met in, the blue vinyl booths still cracked from wear as they took their respected sides of the table. There was no worry there, no one to judge the relationship the two of them had because despite the size difference, the town knew how crazy in love they were with each other.

After a simple dinner and a quick drive up the road, Dean produced a black and yellow key card from his wallet.

“For the next couple days, this is our home sweet home.”

It was cheesy but Krystal smiled nonetheless, walking into the room and taking in the tacky decor. It was like every motel Dean had ever sent her photos of. Cliche fake sunflowers in cheap white plastic vases sat on the table by the window and on each bedside and a fuzzy and dust ridden stuffed honeybee perched on the bathroom counter on top of pale yellow towels.

“Well, this is, the tackiest room I’ve ever seen and I love it. It's so quiet!”

Dean chuckled, dropping the two bags he held aloft in each arm to the floor.

“It’s ugly but that don’t matter,” Dean growled as he crossed the room in two long strides, “cause I got a beautiful woman right here to look at all night long.” His arms wrapped around her body, pulling her close and crashing his mouth to hers.

A soft moan fell from her lips, letting them part to accept the wet muscle of his tongue in, mewling as he licked against hers and flicking the tip of his tongue over her upper lip.

“I want you,” he growled, “I want you so bad.” His hands landed on the globes of her ass, kneading them as he walked the two of them backwards towards the bed.

When his knees hit the edge of the black comforter, he sank down, pulling Krystal until she was perched in his lap.

“Dean,” she whined, always so afraid she’d hurt him with her weight.

“No, not tonight. Forget about all that crap in your head. Tonight it’s just us and watching this gorgeous creature ride me.” Dean mapped out the curves of Krystal’s body as he spoke, his tongue peaking out, pink and wet, coating his bottom lip as his eyes traveled down to the swelled and exposed cleavable before him.

Krystal worried her lip between her teeth, watching as Dean got his fill of her body.

“It’s your birthday, darlin’ and tonight you are all mine. Now stand up, grab your bag and go put on that little number. I’ll be waiting here for you.”

Dean leaned back on his hands and Krystal climbed gingerly out of his lap, a shiver running down her spine at his commanding tone. She snagged her bag up off of the floor and locked herself in the bathroom.

The lingerie set was shoved into the bottom and Krystal stripped down quickly, always avoiding the mirror beside her. Once her clothes were meer heaps on the floor, she reached for a hand towel, running it under warm water and wiping her body down. The creases of her thighs, under her belly, her boobs getting a good swipe too. The fear that Dean might think she was some smelly fat chick always lingered when it came to them having sex even after three years together.

Once she was satisfied, Krystal slipped into the sheer, black babydoll set, the satin tie fitting snugly under her boobs that were hardly covered by sparse floral lace. The panties that had come with it was a cheap looking g-string that was thrown away the day after Krystal opened her gift. She had replaced them with black boyshorts, the floral lace just as sparse and clearly different but she didn’t care. They were comfortable and they made her feel sexy. Plus Dean seemed to like the added feature of the rounded bits of her ass that fell just below the hem.

She licked her lips, grabbed the handle to the bathroom door and tried her best to saunter out of the bathroom with more confidence than she really had. But as soon as she entered the bedroom, she halted in her tracks. There sprawled against the pillows, his back supported by the headboard was Dean, his clothes long gone and his cock already twitching to life in interest as he took his fill of her body.

“Damn,” he breathed, his cock fattening against his belly and he crooked a finger in her direction. “Come’ere.”

A shiver ran down Krystal’s spine and on naked toes she navigated her way to the bed, her knees sinking into the end of the unmade bed.

“Crawl up here, darlin’ and have a seat. I wanna feel you.”

A light blush crept across her cheeks as she planted her palms against the bright yellow sheets, crawling towards him.

Dean reached for his length, giving it a few strokes as he watched, a groan falling from his lips as Krystal threw a leg over either side of his thighs. His hands were on her in an instant, tracing her thick thighs and traveling to her waist, then higher.

“You look so fucking sexy. I can’t wait to throw this on the floor.” Dean’s fingers tugged lightly on the tie between her breasts, releasing it enough to let each side open up but still remain in place, obscuring his view of her gorgeous tits. “Fuck.’

A soft smile pulled at the corners of her pink lips at the effect she had on him. She shook her shoulders back and forth, urging the soft fabric from her upper body and Dean let out another groan as she revealed herself to him. His hands mapping out her upper body until he held each breast in his hands, thumbing the dusty pink nipples until they hardened into stiff peaks .

“Damn if you don’t get more beautiful every time I see you. Scoot up a little more, baby. I gotta have a taste of your tits.”

She shimmed her way forward, her covered pussy pressing into the thick vein on the underside of Dean’s shaft, her clit twitching at the small bit of friction and making her hips tilt back and forth to feel the soft roll of desire through her core.

Dean pushed her tits together, bringing his mouth closer, and planting kisses over the swelled globes, mouthing at them until he pulled a taut bud into his mouth. His tongue swirled over her nipple, pleasure jolting through her body, her pussy clenching around nothing and spurring on her need to grind against him.

Pulling away, Dean gazed up at her. “That feel good, sweetheart? Keep grinding that beautiful pussy against my cock. Make yourself cum on my dick. Get nice and wet for me.” He buried his face once again and Krystal mewled above him.

Her hips rocked back and forth, clit pulsing as she rubbed against him, slowly dragging her pussy up his length and pausing as a wave of pleasure rippled through her. Dean’s mouth ravaged her chest, lips sucking, teeth tugging at her puffy nipples, a tightening knot of desire in her belly growing until she cried out her release.

Dean smiled against her breasts, he could feel how wet her panties were and his cock was already full, excited to be snug inside her center. He let go of her tits, watching them fall back into place as he moved his hands onto her arms, the ones still planted on his sides as she panted for breath.

“You make the hottest sounds when you cum.” He trailed his hands up to her shoulders and into her hair, pulling her down into a searing kiss, tongue licking into her mouth and sucking on her bottom lip before letting go. “Take your panties off,” he commanded, smacking his right hand against the soft flesh of her ass.

Krystal yelped at the sting and climbed off him, his thighs draped in her lace top and she tugged the fabric off, the ends skirting over Dean’s cock, making it jerk and leak over the fabric as she discarded it onto the floor. She took a breath, Dean stroking his cock as he took his fill of her nearly naked form, and slid her thumbs into the sides of her panties. Slowly she pulled them down her legs, watching it roll itself up as they fell to her ankles.

Dean licked at his lips, nodding his head in a slight tilt. “Sit on my cock. I wanna watch your tits bounce while you get yourself off.”

Another blush creeped across Krystal’s cheeks and she bit her lower lip before climbing back onto the bed. Once again she straddled him, rubbing her pussy against his thick length before raising a leg and reaching down to lift his member towards her opening. Notching his cock head against her cunt, she slowly sank down, moving her hand to his chest and bringing her leg back down to the mattress. She didn’t stop until Dean was fully seated inside her, his girth stretching her, and a low groan left her pouty lips.

“Fuck me, you look awesome up there.”

She tried not to giggle at his phrasing but one bubbled up anyway. “I think fucking you is kind of the point.” To drive it home, Krystal ground her pussy against him, her snug, wet walls clenching around him.

“Yeah it fucking is. Get riding, birthday girl.” Dean slapped his hand against her ass before grabbing two handfuls, squeezing as she lifted her self up slowly. “Damn.”

Krystal curled her fingers around Dean’s shoulders, holding onto them as she slowly moved, the friction from Dean’s pubic bone rubbing her clit smoothly; a shiver running down her spine.

She set a steady rhythm, bouncing leisurely, sweat dotting her flesh as her tits jiggled in Dean’s face, making her laugh as he tried to catch them in his mouth. “Knock it off. You’re distracting me,” she said as she stilled, Dean buried deep inside her.

“Good,” he chuckled, his lips sucking her right nipple into his mouth, hard, before releasing it. He’d moved his hands up her back, wrapping them around her waist. “Grab the headboard and hold on.”

Knowing what was coming next, she reached forward, creating enough room for Dean to start thrusting up into her core, his thighs slapping against her ass as he fucked himself into her. A moan sounded from her lips as the head of Dean’s cock struck her sweet spot over and over again, her pussy making an obscene sucking sound as he pounded into her.

“You feel fucking amazing. I’m so glad you’re mine.” He keep moving, feeling her clench her velvet walls around him, her thighs shaking as she practically knelt above him. “On your back, sweetheart.”

His words floated through her lust filled brain and she rose off Dean completely, his cock slapping his belly wetly as she rolled onto her back, her thighs spreading and giving him room to settle between them.

He grabbed both of her legs, holding them open wide as his cock brushed through her thick folds before sinking into her heat. He kept her thighs open and started thrusting, hammering into her, watching himself disappear inside her over and over as he chased his climax as well as trying to bring hers on.

“Dean,” she whimpered, the need for more churning low in her belly.

He knew what she wanted and he let her legs go, feeling them rest heavily against his thighs and calves as he fell over her. Balancing himself on his arms, Dean captured her mouth in a kiss, pounding in deep and rolling his hips, rubbing her clit back and forth as he slid in small moves, in and out of her sodden pussy before dropping his head into the crook of her neck.

A burning knot grew between her thighs and Krystal couldn’t resist reaching to claw at Dean’s freckled shoulders, feeling sweat cover her fingertips as she held on tight. Dean started pulling back and slamming back in three times before rutting against her again; her own hips gyrating against him. His cock throbbing inside her as he started to fill her with cum.

That was all it took and Krystal was joining along with Dean in his chorus of groans in her neck, her own long, drawn out moan melding with him and echoing around the hotel room.

When they both started coming back down, Dean pulled out and fell beside her in bed, both of them covered in sweat. Cum slowly started leaking from her hole and Krystal cringed at the feeling.

“I have to get up but I don’t want to. I’m too hot.”

Dean looked over at her and nodded. “Yeah, you are hot.”

Scoffing, Krystal sat up and groaned, more of Dean’s release dribbled out, coating her thighs as she stood up. “Whatever, Winchester. I’m gonna go wash your cum off me and shower. Join me?” Her confidence was boosted much higher than when they had gotten to the hotel, the endorphins of her orgasm floated through her system making her forget her insecurities.

Dean practically jumped out of bed and followed close behind into the bathroom. His hands reaching out to grope every curve he could get his hands on.

“Man, I feel like it's my birthday,” he muttered at she bent slightly to turn on the shower.

“Too bad it's not. When we get out you can give me my presents.” Krystal stepped in under the warm spray as Dean smirked and joined her.

“Oh, baby, I already did.” He wink as she turned and looked up at him.

“I thought I said you got me your dick last year. I was hoping it would be something else,” she said in a faked whine.

With a shit eating grin Dean replied, “no one said I wasn’t predictable. But I do have a thing or two in my bag you might be interested in.” Stepping closer, Dean drew her into his chest, his arms around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck. He looked into her blue grey eyes, a smile shining in his olive orbs. “Like matching rings.” Her gaze widened and he dropped his head down beside hers, his lips pressed against her ear. “Marry me?”

Thank you so much for reading and if you like what you’ve read, maybe buy me a whiskey or two.

Want one? Commission info here!

#Dean x OFC #dean winchester x ofc #Dean smut #Dean Winchester smut #dean fanfic #dean fanfiction #dean fan fic #dean one shot #dean winchester fanfic #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester fan fic #dean winchester one shot

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bryonysimcox · 4 years

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Keep On Pushing: Week 20 and a 1/2, Spain

Move on up, and keep on wishing Remember your dream is your only scheme So keep on pushing

In looking for a title for this week (and a half)’s blog, I was reminded of the words of Curtis Mayfield. These words, from one of my all-time favourite songs ‘Move On Up’ are also painted across the walls of my all-time favourite nightclub, World Headquarters in Newcastle.

‘Keep on Pushing’ feels like an appropriate mantra for the last ten days for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the longer life is affected by measures to manage the Covid-19 pandemic (despite us no longer being under strict lockdown), the more I have to push to stay positive. As I’ve mentioned in this blog before, part of that process is making my peace with a new 2020, one in which we travel less in the van, stay put in Spain for longer and innovate to make Broaden, our videography project, stay afloat amid it all.

On that note, the last week and a half has seen George and I make progress on a number of projects. I’m still working on the video about ‘Ecological Economics’ which I’ve been making for a while now, and last Saturday we recorded a voiceover to go with some of the footage of an interview I did with the wonderful economist Simon Mair. It was pretty fun to make a homemade vocal booth (basically a den made with chairs, sheets and cushions) in order to record the sound! I’ll be starting on animated graphics for that video too, so hopefully it’ll be out soon.

I’m really looking forward to starting a conversation about what alternative economic futures might look like post Coronavirus.

In addition to the Ecological Economics video, we’ve wanted to film the beautiful little town of Corbera for a while now. On Sunday we finally got around to doing just that as part of an initiative called ‘Have You Ever Heard Silence’. The project, started by a videography firm in Germany, seeks to bring people from around the world together to capture footage of life throughout the pandemic.

(images, left to right) Filming in the town of Corbera, recording a voiceover, and more shots for the ‘Have You Ever Heard Silence’ project.

As part of this project, we wanted to capture the essence of the town when it’s still relatively quiet - before the cafes have filled up and the church opens its doors for service. So we headed out early morning, as the first signs of life emerged - people out walking their dogs, cafe owners setting up chairs and tables, and old ladies out in their aprons sweeping their front doorsteps. It was a special experience to capture this place that we’re staying in and have grown to love, and I can’t wait to see the footage as part of the ‘Have You Ever Heard Silence’ documentary.

I’ve started to cut together some of that footage into shorter videos on our instagram too, including one with a quote from writer and thinker Charles Eisenstein. It’s from his recent essay ‘The Coronation’, which is absolutely worth a read and presents an interpretation of this pandemic in a slightly different way than the mainstream save-lives-at-all-costs approach. He says:

“How much of life are we willing to sacrifice at the altar of security?

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A post shared by George Webster & Bryony Simcox (@broaden._) on Jun 13, 2020 at 6:28am PDT

(video) Shots from filming in Corbera.

The other reason that ‘Keep On Pushing’ felt an apt title is the ongoing struggle against systemic racism. I discussed some of my initial shock at George Floyd’s murder in last week’s blog post, but this week I have observed a shift both in terms of the messaging from the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement as well as a shift internally. As time unfolds, I push forward to process not only George’s killing, the ensuing protests (and even now, the counter protests from far-right groups), but the underlying issues at play in society and the potential solutions to such a systemic problem.

While the movement against racism is finally receiving mainstream visibility, it doesn’t mean this fight hasn’t been going on for centuries. In the words of Audre Lorde, “Revolution is not a one-time event”. There has been some fantastic archival footage doing the rounds on social media, of the likes of Gil Scott-Heron on racism and change back in the 90s, or of David Bowie calling MTV out for their lack of black representation in 1983. In a way, the more I realise people have been demanding justice, equality and fairness for so many years, fighting the same fight that people today are fighting in the name of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, the more shocking it is that there is still so much work to be done.

Revolution = Knowledge + Empathy + Action

This is Rachel Cargle’s ‘recipe for revolution’. I’ve found it to be such a clear, logical and empowering approach to changing a systematic problem and knowing where to start. And whilst this recipe is referring to a revolution where people are no longer discriminated based on race, I think this combination of learning plus feeling plus doing is a pretty powerful combination for taking on other issues too, like climate change, sexism and neoliberalism.

For me, part of this learning process has been looking back at my own life and the ways in which I’ve been on the receiving end of an invisible bias - a bias based on the colour of my skin. And time again when I ask myself this question, the most obvious (and also uncomfortable) example of this privilege is my experience of living in Australia (2016-19).

Moving to a country on the other side of the world gave me an insight into the kind of rigorous process migrants face as they try to obtain visas and work permits to get into places like Britain. And while the visa process I experienced as I transitioned my ‘Working Holiday Visa’ onto a ‘Skilled Temporary Worker Visa’ was invasive, expensive and unpleasant, I absolutely know it would be so much harder for people from ‘less favourable’ countries or with more ‘foreign-sounding’ names to go through the same process. On top of that, this kind of entry process discriminates against older people (you can’t get the Working Holiday if you’re over 30) or people whose skills aren’t deemed ‘Skilled’, or who don’t have the money for the process either. In so many ways, my experience in Australia was made easier because I’m white, I’m from the commonwealth and English is my mother tongue.

Beyond observing the ways in which I was treated in Australia, whilst I lived there it quickly became apparent that the country has a long way to go to reconcile its oppressive and colonial past, and the ongoing racism directed towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Beyond the utterly appalling fact that these people weren’t even recognised as human beings until 1967, their subsequent treatment continues to be unjust. It is with sadness, and even shame, that I’m able to reflect so joyfully on my time spent in a country in which its own government treats the very people from that land so poorly. My memories of a beautiful country, a well-paid job and a fantastic circle of friends sit uncomfortably alongside a different reality played out in shocking statistics. First Australians are the most incarcerated race in the world, have some of the highest suicide rates globally, and there have been over 432 Indigenous deaths in custody (since the 1991 Royal Commission into this statistic).

Fuelled by statistics like these, and in light of global ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests, Vanessa Turnbull Roberts recently made an utterly compelling speech. Vanessa is a Bundjalung woman, law & social work student and human rights activist, and she spoke in anticipation of a march planned the following day in Sydney. She spoke about the pain of Aboriginal people in Australia, the need for accountability, and the importance of justice in a way which was deeply, deeply moving. And whilst I highly recommend watching the whole speech, what she specifically said about kinship has really stuck with me:

“Law is what builds the colonial system. But where my sisters and brothers come from, we’re built off lore. L-O-R-E: where we work on kinship and we stand up for one another.”

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A post shared by Nessa Turnbull Roberts (@nessaturnbullroberts) on Jun 5, 2020 at 1:15am PDT

(video) Vanessa Turnbull Roberts speaking in Sydney.

There’s been a tendency for people to look at the situation in places like Australia or America and say that racism doesn’t exist in the UK. But the colonial systems which have affected those countries have deep roots tracing back to the UK, and the legacy of colonialism is alive and real there. Artists and activists like George the Poet (whose recent interview with Emily Maitlis on BBC Newsnight is well worth a watch) and Akala have spoken out about race and the UK. The voices of Black people living in Britain like these two inspirational guys have really encouraged me to peel back the layers of the UK’s history and to take a deeper look at the country that I’m from.

All of this has in some ways left me feeling overwhelmed and deflated. This past week, as I’ve balanced an unplanned period living in Spain with enormous systemic issues like racism (a strange dualism which I wrote about in last week’s post), I guess the single thread is that I’ve tried to keep on pushing. And someone who really embodies that impassioned quest for a better world is Tommy Caulker.

Tom Caulker is one of those people that I am honoured to have met. As a DJ, night-club owner, and activist for racial harmony, Tom’s life is his mission, and his mission is to make Newcastle a more tolerant and inclusive place.

(image) A portrait I took of Tom in his home back in 2015 for my blog post.

So I conclude this post with the third reference to ‘Keep on Pushing’, as those same words are painted across the walls of World Headquarters nightclub, the club that Tom Caulker founded. I first came across the club in my time at uni, and fell in love with the place’s unpretentious character, inclusive atmosphere, and the Northern Soul, funk and disco music that was played. It was only after I learnt a bit more about the club’s founder that I became intrigued in its story and its mission, and ultimately asked Tom if I could interview him (believe it or not for a blog post on here almost five years ago!).

In that interview, it became apparent that Tom is a man who lives his mission. He wears his heart on his sleeve, believes in a better world, and takes concrete actions to create that world. In that interview, we spoke about a short film that Channel 4 were in the process of making about him and the club. Five years on, and I’ve stumbled across the finished video and watching it in lockdown has been a real inspiration.

youtube

(video) The Channel 4 short documentary about World HQ.

In the video, Tom talks more about his experiences growing up in the UK and being subjected to racism at school, a formative background which influenced his later position at the renowned Trent House pub. In response to overt racism displayed by police, doormen and institutions in the North East in the 80s and 90s, Tom used music to promote inclusion - first at Trent House and later at World Headquarters, which he continues to run and DJs at. Tom describes the place as “a beacon of tolerance”. Far more than just a club, World Headquarters is a place that stands for something, and proudly displays its values on its walls through paintings, posters and slogans, of which include the mural of Curtis Mayfield with his powerful ‘Move On Up’ lyrics.

So as I wrap up another post, reflecting on the pleasure of interviewing Tom and the energy he exudes, I’m left feeling optimistic. There is much work to be done, but we’ve just got to keep on pushing...

#keep on pushing #Curtis Mayfield #Black Lives Matter #World Headquarters #Sydney #Newcastle-Upon-Tyne #lifeinlockdown #journal #growth

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thisdaynews · 5 years

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‘This makes me a little queasy ... which is good.’

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/this-makes-me-a-little-queasy-which-is-good/

‘This makes me a little queasy ... which is good.’

After recruiting thousands of donors for the American Conservative Union — the powerful organization behind the annual CPAC conference — a Republican political operative pushed the same contributors to give millions to a PAC that promised to go after then-President Barack Obama, but then steered much of their donations to himself and his partners.

The PAC, called the Conservative Majority Fund, has raised nearly $10 million since mid-2012 and continues to solicit funds to this day, primarily from thousands of steadfast contributors to conservative causes, many of them senior citizens. But it has made just $48,400 in political contributions to candidates and committees. Public records indicate its main beneficiaries are the operative Kelley Rogers, who has a history of disputes over allegedly unethical fundraising, and one of the largest conservative fundraising companies, InfoCision Management Corp., which charged millions of dollars in fundraising fees.

Story Continued Below

The saga of how politically connected fundraisers used one of the nation’s leading conservative organizations as a springboard for fundraising that mainly benefited the fundraisers themselves sheds light on the growing problem of so-called scam PACs — organizations that take advantage of loosened campaign finance laws to reap windfalls for insiders while directing only a small portion of receipts to actual political advocacy.

Watchdogs have long complained that ethics laws fail to prevent the exploitation of donors by organizations operating with little or no oversight, and even President Donald Trump’s campaign issued a warning this year about “dishonest fundraising groups” using the president’s name to raise funds.

Rogers’ and InfoCision’s work on behalf of the ACU also shows how lax regulation allows big-name political organizations to recruit donors without identifying either the source of the calls or the ultimate beneficiaries of the donations. ACU appears to have had little control over the PAC’s operation and was not the source of its fundraising scripts.

“The individuals — or many of the individuals — who seem to be profiting off of scam PACs are the same people who also provide services to mainstream players,” said Adav Noti, a lawyer who worked for more than 10 years at the Federal Election Commission. “Obviously, not every political consultant is fleecing small donors. But the consultants who are fleecing small donors, largely the way they’re able to do that is because they have experience and connections.”

Rogers and InfoCision did not respond to repeated requests for interviews — including lists of detailed questions. But the extent of their operation is detailed in a series of emails and documents obtained by ProPublica and Politico from a person with direct knowledge. In the records, Rogers and his cohorts discuss how to contour their pitches to collect the most money, betting that the most red-meat appeals would draw the most dollars.

“This makes me a little queasy … which is good,” Rogers wrote after reviewing a script for a fundraising call that questioned Obama’s citizenship. “This is approved.”

The emails raise questions about Rogers’ work ostensibly on behalf of the ACU, which burst to fame in the 1970s and calls its conference “the birthplace of modern conservatism” for its role in elevating Ronald Reagan. The CPAC conference, most recently held at National Harbor, Maryland, is widely considered a crucial point of connection between GOP leadership and the grassroots activists who whip up excitement for the party’s agenda.

In 2010, the ACU enlisted Rogers to find new donors for the organization. To do so, Rogersformed a political nonprofitcalled the New Conservative Coalition and began soliciting money. It raised nearly $3.4 million between 2010 and mid-2012, although none of that money went to the ACU,IRS filingsandrecords from Coloradoshow, because prospecting for new donors routinely consumes most or all of the money brought in.

By early 2012, the group appears to have test-marketed pitches to donors that were too extreme or embarrassing to be associated with the ACU itself. The emails reflect the insistence of then-ACU Chairman Al Cardenas, the veteran conservative lobbyist, and others in the organization that no trace of the ACU’s fingerprints be visible in the scripts given to telemarketers.

“Kelley just left me a voicemail that ACU has received a few calls in their office from people who ACU thought had received a [fundraising] call … [and] been directed to the ACU’s conservative.org website (and then called the ACU office.),” wrote one of Rogers’s colleagues. “… it may be nothing … but would you double check to make sure their [sic] in NO reference to ACU, conservative.org or Al Cardenas in any script, including the thank you call script?”

After finding references to ACU affiliates in some of the scripts, an operative asked, “I’m assuming we need ALL ACU references removed — is that right?”

“Yes … just get rid of all of them,” responded another.

At another point, Rogers’ colleagues expressed concern about Cardenas’ Hispanic heritage and the tenor of their anti-immigration message to donors. The script, drafted in January 2012, declared that undocumented immigrants “account for a large percentage of our crime — and prison costs … and take jobs away from Americans.” Those claims are not supported by evidence.

“Cardenas, the ACU Chairman, is Hispanic,” the consultant working with Rogers wrote. “In an effort to keep this script under the radar I think we should re-name it ‘Obama’s Plan.’”

In an interview, Cardenas said he didn’t recall any disagreements between ACU and InfoCision. He said ACU had been careful to run the fundraising project by its lawyers.

“The only thing I remember is making sure our executive director thought it was a good idea” to seek out new donors, Cardenas said. “Probably, the consultants got upset with the parameters that our legal counsel set.”

Asked why ACU would shield its identity when pitching donors, Cardenas said, “Using our name and my name is something we wouldn’t want to happen because a) it would hurt our own fundraising purposes, and b) we have very little control over content and we didn’t want our reputation to be tainted in any way — but I’m only guessing.”

The ACU executive director at the time, Gregg Keller, declined to comment. The ACU and current director Matt Schlapp did not respond to repeated requests for comment, including an emailed list of specific questions concerning the organization’s dealings with Rogers and InfoCision.

What’s It Like to Fall Prey to a Political Fundraising Campaign? See for Yourself.

By the end of the summer of 2012, Rogers and InfoCision had broken with the ACU andcreated a new federal PAC, the Conservative Majority Fund. It began raising money using the New Conservative Coalition donor list and aggressive fundraising tactics, which painted Obama as a shady figure whose real name was “Barry Soetoro” and who “had long-term relationships with terrorists,” according to scripts for calls circulated among people working on the fundraising campaign. Neither claim is accurate. The PAC said it was hiring investigators to press the case that Obama was ineligible to be president.

That message struck gold:$2.8 millionpoured in from more than 30,000 donors during the five months from July to December of that year alone. To kick off its campaign, the PAC paid $371,000 in August 2012 fora television adthat briefly aired on cable television and urged viewers to call the PAC, where they would be solicited for donations. After August, it ran no television ads and made no expenditures for anything other than fundraising.

FEC records show almost all the money went for calls to donors like Mike Miller, a jeweler in Barrington, Ill.,who gave $500.

“At the time they called, it seemed like such an important thing,” Miller said in a phone interview. “I was assuming they were legitimate.” When told about the group’s lack of spending on disqualifying Obama from the ballot, he said, “If they did this, and didn’t use it for intended purposes, I want my money back.”

On the day after Obama won reelection, the PAC changed its call scripts, telling donors that Obama’s “immediate plans are to pardon the terrorists at Guantanamo, give full amnesty to illegal aliens and give the United Nations the authority to tax Americans,” according to a fundraising script in the emails. There is no evidence that any of those plans were under consideration by the Obama administration. Donors were told that the PAC had hired a team of investigators and lawyers to press for impeachment. There is no evidence in FEC records that it ever did.

The fundraising scripts included suggested responses if the prospective donors said they were unemployed, on a fixed income or had significant medical bills to pay, encouraging them to give a smaller amount. When recipients asked not to be called again, the script instructed the telemarketers to offer to place them on a “restricted list” so that they would not get more than one call every 30 days. If recipients insisted, they would be added to a no-call list.

Rogers has previously come under harsh scrutiny for raising large amounts of money but spending little on the promised advocacy. Former Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinellisued Rogersfor his involvement in a PAC that raised money purportedly to support Cuccinelli’s unsuccessful bid for governor in 2013 but did not spend anything to help Cuccinelli win. The case was settled in 2015. In 2017, Rogers’ Maryland office wasraided by the FBI, but no charges were brought.

Election integrity experts have warned that alleged scam PACs are siphoning tens of millions of dollars in political donations into the coffers of fundraisers each year, while misleading donors.

Lynne Archer, 72, gave the Conservative Majority Fund $3,800between 2012 and 2018. Archer said she tries to be wary of potential scams, but the Conservative Majority Fund had always sounded “like a legitimate group” when it solicited money.

“Damn, I gave a lot to them,” said Archer, who lives in Sugar Land, Texas, and works for her husband at an automobile dealership. “I don’t like that at all.”

Noti, who used to work at the FEC, called the proliferation of scam PACs “incredibly corrosive to American democracy” because of the impact on donors like Archer — many of them elderly — who give money in good faith to political causes.

“It’s going to chase people out of the system once those donors realize their money’s been stolen,” Noti said. “They’re going to be disillusioned and disenchanted, and rightfully so.”

Both Rogers’ Annapolis, Md.-based Strategic Campaign Group and the Akron, Ohio-based InfoCision, a direct marketing firm, were once staples of GOP fundraising. Rogers’ clients included Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran and national security adviser John Bolton, while InfoCision helped raise money for the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Rifle Association.

When the ACU sought to expand its roster of donors, it contracted with Rogers and InfoCision to make calls to a large number of potential contributors — a time-consuming, and therefore expensive, process known as “prospecting.”

During the spring and summer of 2012, several employees who worked in the political division at InfoCision, along with Rogers and other consultants, began using increasingly aggressive fundraising tactics for ACU — though the organization was never supposed to be named in fundraising materials or scripts.

The scripts tapped into voter concerns about illegal immigration. One, in the midst of the 2012 presidential campaign, declared that there was a “huge scandal” that the group had “recently uncovered,” in which Obama was “now planning to deliberately target 20-million poor Latino immigrants — a desperate effort to win re-election,” according to the emails.

Those pitches led to a flurry of emails discussing the nature of the appeals — and whether they might alienate Cardenas. Rogers was the main conduit for complaints, often relaying concerns from ACU leaders to the fundraisers crafting the various appeals.

Several months later Rogers proposed something else entirely: He and InfoCision would take the lists of donors they had harvested while working with ACU, split off their own fundraising operation, then open it as a PAC and raise money without ACU as a client.

“It’s becoming very apparent to me for many reasons that we are going to have to de-affiliate” the fundraising with ACU, Rogers wrote. “I am still trying to resolve issues with them but I can tell we are headed for trouble.”

Tensions between the ACU and the people operating the donor recruitment operation continued, emails among InfoCision employees indicate, because the PAC’s early fundraising pleas sometimes included references to ACU despite ACU’s wishes that they didn’t.

“We now have to eliminate ALL ACU references” in the materials for the group, wrote Erik Byers, an account executive who helped oversee the work done on behalf of ACU, to his colleagues on June 29, 2012. “Kelley got blasted by ACU.”

Soon after, in early July, Rogers and a handful of other individuals established the Conservative Majority Fund and began raising money.

Because InfoCision telemarketers (called “Communicators”) might recognize that they were reusing fundraising appeals, a company manager stressed the importance of a separate identity.

“We’re starting a new, independent PAC, with an established donor base,” Matthew Birkbeck, then a marketing executive at InfoCision, wrote. “It’s exciting, so sell it! We can’t have the Communicators talking about ACU. There are threats of lawsuits surrounding this!!!”

Calls and emails to Birkbeck were not returned.

By mid-August, Rogers wrote to the ACU that the fundraising operation with them “is completely shut down in all fronts.”

In the months that followed, the InfoCision managers created increasingly provocative call scripts focused onvoter fraud, Obama’s (false) country of birth and — after his reelection — an impeachment drive to remove him from office.

In addition to Rogers, the InfoCision account manager Byers, a consultant and two other InfoCision employees, including Birkbeck, were involved with the Conservative Majority Fund, according to the emails. All of those people had also been involved with the previous work with the ACU, and the group worked quickly to close accounts and reassign paperwork to the new organization.

Scott Mackenzie, a Republican bookkeeper who serves as the treasurer for dozens of political committees, was treasurer of the group, responsible for filing its reports with the FEC.

Mackenzie did not respond to a request for comment. Byers, of InfoCision, did not respond to requests for comment.

The PAC’s executive director was Dennis Whitfield, a former deputy secretary of Labor in the Reagan administration. Whitfield worked as a consultant for ACU in 2012, according to the group’s website. He also worked with Rogers at Strategic Campaign Group. Whitfield’s name was used to help promote the Conservative Majority Fund, for example on anOctober 2012 letterabout voter fraud that cautioned: “I mean, imagine how you’ll feel if Obama wins because of all this? We’re scared to death!”

Phone calls to Whitfield were not returned.

The InfoCision staff and Rogers got their first look at a fundraising script and a television ad for the new Conservative Majority Fund on July 5, just two weeks after Rogers floated the idea for opening the PAC. They described an effort to remove Obama from the ballot and raised questions about his eligibility to be president.

“We need to gather 10,000 signatures from each congressional district to have him removed from the ballot,” one script read, before callers asked people for donations. The procedure for removing candidates from the ballot varies by state, but does not require the specific goal claimed by the script. If the donor gave money using a credit card, the caller was instructed to try to upsell them: “I want to let you know that we’re developing some new TV ads about Obama’s past that are going to shock people. We need to get the ads on the air quickly, so can we count on you for an additional gift[?]”

Rogers approved both pitches, according to the emails.

Using the ACU donors and lists of conservative donors pulled from InfoCision’s collection or purchased from other vendors, the new group raked in large amounts of money: From 2012 to 2018, the Conservative Majority Fund disclosed raising more than $9.6 million, almost entirely from small-dollar donors. At least $9 million of that has been paid to InfoCision for expenses reported as fundraising costs. Strategic Campaign Group, where Rogers works, received an additional $229,000, while Mackenzie was paid $172,000 as the PAC’s treasurer.

In its reporting to the FEC, the Conservative Majority Funddisclosedspending $5.3 million on what it described as expressly political expenditures, but nearly all of it was on fundraising calls — placed by InfoCision — that criticized Democratic politicians, particularly Obama and Hillary Clinton. The Conservative Majority Fund produced two TV ads, but it appears to have spent little money airing them. Most of itsrecent activityhas been phone calls and social media posts supportive of Trump, whose image figures prominently onthe PAC’s website.

There’s no further evidence in records that the Conservative Majority Fund was active in the 2012 elections. Nonetheless, the group bragged in various solicitations to donors that it was taking on a range of anti-Obama organizing, which included employing a “Truth Squad” to lobby states to remove Obama from the ballot; “hiring undercover researchers” to expose attempts by the Obama campaign to commit voter fraud; and putting “media specialists” on television and radio shows, as well as authoring newspaper and magazine articles and social media posts, “giving regular updates on Obama’s dirty tricks.”

ProPublica and Politico did not find any record of experts from the Conservative Majority Fund appearing on television or radio to discuss the election and could find no evidence from the states cited by the group — Alabama, Tennessee, Arizona and Illinois — indicating it lobbied to remove Obama from the ballot. And the Conservative Majority Fund could not have worked in states to stop “phony [voter] registrations,” which an October 2012 letter to donors said it would do. By then, the voter rolls were closed in many states and could not be changed by anyone.

Starting the day after Obama was reelected, employees at InfoCision began circulating plans for a new message for callers: a case for impeaching the president.

“Impeachment is our only option,” said a recording that InfoCision planned to play to potential donors, according to emails circulated among the operatives on Nov. 7, 2012. “And Republicans are already considering Obama investigations. As the nation’s most effective conservative group … We are launching the official ‘IMPEACH OBAMA’ campaign.”

At least from a fundraising perspective, the campaign was a success: In the first six months of 2013,FEC records show, the PAC raised an additional $1.7 million.

At least since 2015, federal regulators have been aware of complaints about the tactics used by the Conservative Majority Fund, as well as other PACs linked to Rogers and Mackenzie, the PAC’s treasurer. But the Conservative Majority Fund continued to operate with relatively little attention from authorities, a reflection of how federal laws do little to protect the public from potential scam PACs, according to watchdogs.

The FEC has twice probed the Conservative Majority Fund’s activities — but the commission, despite being the main federal regulator, is limited in what it can do. In July 2016, the FEC found the Conservative Majority Fund had misreported items on its federal disclosures during the 2013-14 election cycle. It paid a $3,500 fine. In October 2017, the FEC approvedan auditcovering the last six months of 2012 that found the Conservative Majority Fund had misstated its financial activity.

Both inquiries only skimmed the surface, looking at financial forms submitted to the commission.

The commission rarely chooses to launch full investigations — which allow it to ask questions, interview employees and demand documents from a group — without first having evidence of wrongdoing.

There are also holes in federal law that make it difficult for the commission to exercise meaningful oversight of groups like the Conservative Majority Fund. While the law prohibits raising campaign money while fraudulently “acting for or on behalf of any candidate or political party,” it does little to address a PAC like the Conservative Majority Fund that didn’t do this. The bar for federal law enforcement in proving a broader criminal statute like wire fraud is far higher. Last year, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York for the first time indicted two men for wire fraud who ran PACs that raised money in the name of causes such as autism awareness and helping police.

In a2016 memo on the issue, two FEC commissioners implored their colleagues to take action against scam PACs but acknowledged that federal law gives political committees “great leeway on how they use the funds” they raise.

“The power of the Commission to directly and comprehensively protect political contributors is limited,” the two commissioners concluded.

In late 2018, the FECformally asked Congress to take actionagainst “fraudulent PAC practices” by some PACs. “These committees solicit contributions with promises of supporting candidates, but then disclose minimal or no candidate support activities while engaging in significant and continuous fundraising, which predominantly funds personal compensation for the committees’ organizers,” the commission wrote.

When Cuccinelli, the former Virginia attorney general and gubernatorial candidate, sued Rogers and a PAC called Conservative StrikeForce, he said they’d used his name to raise more than $2 million but donated just $10,000 to his campaign.

Cuccinelli settled with Rogers and Conservative StrikeForce in May 2015 for $85,000. Cuccinelli’s spokesperson did not respond to an interview request.

In 2017, the FBI raided the Annapolis office of Rogers’ consulting firm. At the time, Rogers said the FBI appeared interested in work his firm did in the 2013 Virginia gubernatorial race, but the FBI did not shed any light on its actions. The pre-dawn raid was a nearly unheard of occurrence in the political sphere, but it didn’t result in charges being brought against Rogers or the PAC. Rogers’ firm shut down its website and closed the office in Annapolis.

InfoCision, meanwhile, paid a $250,000 settlement in 2018 for “deceptive charitable solicitation calls” in an unrelated case. InfoCision callers initially told potential donors they were not calling to solicit donations when that was not the case, according to the Federal Trade Commission. But the FTC does not have similar jurisdiction over political fundraising, highlighting that business solicitations are more highly regulated than political fundraising.

Election law experts have proposed changes that would discourage scam PACs by broadening anti-fraud provisions in federal election law or enacting an anti-self-dealing provision that prohibits PAC operators from turning an excessive profit. Smaller changes, such as expanding the requirements for PACs to disclose more information to donors who visit their websites, could also help curb the number of scam PACs operating in the political space.

“It seems that it would not be that hard, and it should be something that is bipartisan, you would hope,” said Ann Ravel, former chair of the FEC.

The argument for enacting more regulation on scam PACs is “similar to why there’s oversight over nonprofits who take money from individuals in the name of good causes, and then use it to enrich themselves,” Ravel said. “It’s stealing.”

We’re still reporting on the booming scam PAC business. Do you think one has been asking you for money? Tell our reporter Maggie Severns at [email protected] or via Signal at 612-669-8689.

This story was co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to get their biggest stories in your inbox.

#Foreign #little #Politics #queasy

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gratex-wallpaper-blog · 5 years

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New directions in wallpaper design & art

Wallpaper in the 20th century had become very much associated with the 'country house' look, with chintzy florals, Morris revivals and historic patterns predominating. There was a brief flowering of new and original design directions in the 1950s and 1960s, when architects and artists revitalised the industry; designers such as Lucienne Day initiated a trend for adventurous patterns inspired by contemporary painting and sculpture, while John Line's Palladio and Modus ranges were characterised by bold large-scale contemporary designs, many by artists new to wallpaper. However, this confident phase was soon overwhelmed by a taste for nostalgic patterns, reproductions and pastiches. And as one journalist put it, wallpaper in the 1990s had been a 'no-no', out of fashion for so long 'we're almost scared to say its name.'

A renaissance of sorts has been underway since the 1990s, as 1950s, 1960s and 1970s furnishings were rediscovered as design classics and retro styles found a new and enthusiastic audience in the style-conscious generation, readers of the new aspirational interiors magazines, Elle Decoration and Wallpaper. Original 1960s and 1970s wallpapers got a new lease of life as collectibles, used on feature walls or framed as pictures and murals. At the same time, the very unfashionability of wallpaper, which had become associated with a certain kind of restrained middle-class 'good taste', prompted designers to reinvent it.

One of the most striking aspects of the best contemporary wallpaper design is its rejection of traditional imagery and motifs, or the radical reworking of conventions. The new wallpapers take their cue from the best of the Palladio and Modus ranges, and use strong, uncompromising designs and colours.

David Oliver, who established a wallpaper range, the Paper Library, in 1998, claims he was inspired by the furore about 'the Chancellor's wallpaper' (the controversial refurbishment of the Lord Chancellor's apartments at the House of Lords in 1997). He said 'I just thought wallpaper was getting such a negative press, it was a wonderful time to do something new and fresh and funky.' Oliver deliberately avoided conventional motifs and certainly did not look to the history of wallpaper for inspiration. Instead, his first design, was based on a drawing he had made, tracing the white space between the columns, pictures and headlines in a copy of the French newspaper Libération. The result is a bold geometric pattern which has proved very popular; Oliver himself has used it in his hallway, where he says it has created a feeling of movement. It has since featured regularly as the backdrop to fashion and lifestyle features in magazines and newspaper colour supplements.

Minimalism, a decorating style which has largely coincided with an increase in 'loft-living' in converted industrial buildings or architect-designed urban developments, has tended to exclude the traditional use of wallpaper. Not only is there too much wall to cover, wallpaper itself still carries overtones of a cosy suburban domesticity which the urban loft-dweller is emphatically rejecting. However, artist and designer Sharon Elphick sees this shift towards living in larger open-plan spaces as an opportunity to use wallpaper in a new way. As she says 'People have got the space for an interesting paper without it dominating everything.' Again this is an acknowledgement of wallpaper's new place in the decorative hierarchy; it is not simply a background, but a feature which complements other furnishings and fittings, or serves as a talking point in its own right, much as a painting or poster might do. Inspired by her own photographic limited edition wall-panels, Elphick has designed the quintessential wallpaper for the inner-city loft - Prefab Stripe is an all-over repeat of an image of a 1960s prefabricated tower block. Printed in dull blues and greys with stripes of thinned colour veiling the image it perfectly captures the stained concrete façade, with its monotony and anonymity embodying the alienation of urban life; it also looks like a typical urban landscape viewed through a pall of rain - a neat replication of the likely view from the loft's picture windows!

Several contemporary designs have been inspired by this idea that wallpaper should make some visual reference to the urban context, rather than reproducing the nostalgic fantasy of a rural lifestyle. In 1996 four wallpapers were commissioned by Glasgow's Centre for Contemporary Arts, and sold through the city's fashionable interiors store Nice House. These included David Shrigley's Industrial Estate, a cartoon vision of the anonymous uniformity of the contemporary urban landscape with everything from carpet warehouse to garage, church and sauna inhabiting the same brick box or blank walled shed. By his own admission, the paper would be 'very oppressive' to live with. Martin Boyce designed a geometric black, grey and white grid, From Now Until Night, intended to evoke the pattern of darkened office-block windows. He designed the paper for public spaces where people were simply passing through - hotel lobbies, waiting rooms, corporate foyers - rather than domestic settings. Domestic life itself provides the motif for Hayley Tomkins' design: a 'messy' collage of babies' heads in shades of pink, Cry Baby suggests that there can be a claustrophobic aspect to the domestic ideal.

Limited editions, commissions and unique prints have produced wallpapers with the kind of exclusive status previously enjoyed by flocks, Chinese papers and French scenics. One of the finalists in the Peugeot Design Awards for 2000 was Deborah Bowness with her Hooks and Frocks wallpaper. Each version of the design is unique to the client, whose furniture and possessions are photographed and reproduced in pictorial montages on lengths of wallpaper. When hung, real hooks are added, so the client can if they wish, hang the actual frock, shirt or bag over its two-dimensional counterpart. She has since produced a variety of trompe l'oeil papers with photographic imagery.

Ella Doran has also broken with the tradition of repeating pattern and conventional mural decoration in wallpapers such as Gloriosa, with its bold single image of a lily blown up to wall-size. She also produces more conventional repeating designs of photographed objects - shoals of fish, asparagus, artichokes and pebbles - but the images are manipulated on computer and can be printed so that every piece is different. This is expensive, about £700 ($1000) for one average living room wall, but the appeal lies in the fact that the decoration would be unique; as she says 'nobody else would have exactly what you've got.' And though these limited edition designs and one-off commissions are relatively dear, the cost is offset by using the paper on only one wall, in a corner or an alcove. Indeed, Doran sees her papers as being too assertive to be used for a whole room and says the result 'would be a nightmare.' In fact, the new generation of designs are generally limited to use on one wall - a 'feature' wall, as in the 1950s and 1960s. Advertising agency Mother has used original 1960s papers in this way in their Clerkenwell premises; textile designer Neisha Crosland likewise used her own wallpapers (for Paper Library) in her Fulham Road shop.

Wallpapers like these continue the trend which began in the late 19th century for the home and its furnishings to be seen as self-expression, an extension of the owner's personality and taste. 'Good taste' is no longer the issue - the kitsch, eccentric or ironic are all valid characteristics of personal taste, and are 'read' and appreciated as such by [Source]-http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/n/new-directions/

Buy Waterproof Wallpaper For Walls Online with best offers at Gratex. Check trendy Wallpaper Design And Price. Get installation guide and service from us.

#wallpaper design and price #waterproof wallpaper for walls #wallpaper for walls online

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fmplc-blog · 6 years

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Drug Taboo

One of the main reasons I wanted my project to help raise awareness and reduce taboo around psychedelics is because of the medicinal values these drugs hold. Little research into psychedelics has been conducted, compared to other medicine and even less into their benefits in treating illness.

To combat the taboo I decided to look at some of the origins of the negative public perception of psychedelics.

Its clear to see that drugs and the people that use them are generally viewed negatively in the public eye. Most popular media about drugs focuses on the negative side of its usage. This is a valid representation of drug use however the amount of negativity in drug based cinema does not reflect the good experiences some people have with drugs. Skins is a popular drama about a group of teenage friends that all use soft and hard drugs recreationally.

(Skins, 2007)

Their drug use is irresponsible and dangerous and it results in many of them dying or becoming injured. Unfortunately this is a common occurrence especially among younger people.

Skins also shows the effect reckless drug use has on families and friends of the users. These elements make these negative aspects seem more real and is effective in making the viewer remember the pain drug usage can cause.

Whereas Skins paints drug abuse accurately many other films and shows don’t. In the film Shrooms a group of friends go to the woods to pick and take magic mushrooms. As soon as one of the friends eats a one, fresh liberty cap she experiences acute episodes of psychosis. She then has wild hallucinations and sees her friends as monsters and mistakenly kills them all. Although entheogens can cause psychosis and vivid hallucinations, it's near impossible with the dose she consumed. A recommended dosage to achieve desirable effects are between 20-30 caps. (DrugWise, 2016)

As this is a work of fiction the information they provide doesn't have to be accurate however with hallucinogens still being viewed as taboo many people are willing to believe cinemas portrayal of drugs as accurate.

Many are puzzled at the current state of drug legislation. Seemingly harmless drugs such as Cannabis remains illegal, despite having little to no direct deaths associated with it. (Robinson, 2017) Professor Douglas Husak explains “If the rational for [drug prohibition] is to prevent persons from killing themselves, … the state has made the wrong recreational drugs illegal” (Duke, 1993) . Duke notes that tobacco “is a major culprit in human sickness, misery and death, easily dwarfing all other drugs combined”. (Duke, 1993) yet remains legal.

A possible explanation for seemingly illogical drug prohibition and one of the things often cited as the origins of the public's negative image and confusion around drugs is America's famous war on drugs. The term “war on drugs” is used to explain the great lengths America has gone through to rid their country of drugs they deem illegal. The term can be traced back to Richard Nixon’s 1971 press conference where he addresses the problem of drug abuse and declares a nationwide war on drugs.

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(Nixon Foundation, 2016)

In the conference he declares a new initiative that will deal with drug abuse. He states he will create a new organisation, with the help of John Ehrlichman, proposes a budget of $155 million to addresses drug related crime, drug abuse, addiction and also claims the initiative will help families affected by drug abuse.

Although seemingly innocent and with good intent Nixons war on drugs was a front for something much darker. John Ehrlichman, a top Nixon aide, confessed Nixons parties true intentions in an interview with Harper magazine. He explains that "The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people… You understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin. And then criminalising both heavily, we could disrupt those communities… We could arrest their leaders. raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did"(LoBianco, 2016)

Essentially Ehrlichman is admitting that the war on drugs was a ploy to aid Nixons campaign that created an association between illicit substances and minority groups that would oppose his policies. While many people at the time had theorized that this was the true intentions of the war on drugs campain, this interview confirms this. Another issue with the war on drugs is the way it’s worded. Labeling Nixons plans as a ��war’ on drugs creates the notion that drugs and those associated with them are “external to the real nation: an army that had invaded the national body rather than a condition that was the product of it.” (Elkins, 2010)

Despite Nixons war on drugs many states kept marijuana legal for medicinal and recreational use. The Shafer Commission was appointed by Nixon to determine the correct legal status of marijuana “recommended that marijuana be decriminalised and thus removed from Schedule 1. Nixon vehemently rejected the Commission’s report.” (Martin, 2016)

Other subsequent efforts to legalise drugs were also abandoned due to the drug hysteria the war on drugs had created. The war on drugs continued to negatively affect minority groups however further policies and campaigns such as the ‘Just Say No’ and ‘D.A.R.E’ started spawned banned things such as syringe access programs, contributing to the issue of HIV/AIDs infection among drug users. Leading into the 80s “the proportion of Americans polled who saw drug abuse as the nation's "number one problem" was just 2-6 percent. The figure grew through the remainder of the 1980s until, in September 1989, it reached a remarkable 64 percent – one of the most intense fixations by the American public on any issue in polling history. Within less than a year, however, the figure plummeted to less than 10 percent, as the media lost interest.” (Drug Policy Alliance, 2018) However the drug related incarceration figures, especially among minority groups, continued to grow further displaying the negative ripple effect the initial war on drugs has had (Drug Policy Alliance, 2018)

From talking to my peers I began to see the lingering effects the war on drugs has had on the way we think about drugs. Two of my housemates had no knowledge of psychedelics advantages in medicine and were hesitant to the idea. When asked what single thing or research they had seen to prove this they explained that, that was just what they assumed. When talking to others about the true intentions of Nixon's war on drugs the unanimous response was one of shock and disgust. During my project I will attempt to educate viewers on the origins of drug taboo in an attempt to make them question their views on psychedelics and their users.

In a psychedelic science talk Feilding describes the main problems with a negative public view on psychedelics. She talks about how the block in research drug policy has formed has made it “so that millions of people have been deprived of psychedelic assisted therapy which could have improved, or healed, their conditions”. (The Beckley Foundation, 2017) It is this point that makes myself so passionate to see modern drug policies questioned. As I will discuss in later posts, psychedelics have research confirming their benefits among a plethora of conditions. One of which being cluster headaches, which is known for being incredibly painful and debilitating.

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(NewsHub, 2017)

I believe normal people should not be made to feel like criminals for self medicating using drugs governments deem illicit based on outdated and biased research. Feilding also tells us how for a long time after the war on drugs, psychedelic research found itself in a catch 22. “Policy-reform was impossible without scientific evidence to support it; and scientific research was impossible without policy-reform” (The Beckley Foundation, 2017) She also cites that the US has since “made great strides… in reforming cannabis policy”. (The Beckley Foundation, 2017) With drug policy reform becoming more common and recent years acting as a sort of turning point for the public's relationship with drugs; I believe my project could be effective in aiding this shift.

Sources

The Beckley Foundation. (2017). From Taboo To Treatment: The Coming of Age Of Psychedelic Medicine. [online] Available at: http://beckleyfoundation.org/from-taboo-to-treatment-the-coming-of-age-of-psychedelic-medicine/ [Accessed 30 Nov. 2018].

Drug Policy Alliance. (2018). A Brief History of the Drug War. [online] Available at: http://www.drugpolicy.org/issues/brief-history-drug-war [Accessed 30 Nov. 2018].

DrugWise. (2016). Magic mushrooms. [online] Available at: https://www.drugwise.org.uk/magic-mushrooms/ [Accessed 30 Nov. 2018].

Duke, S. (1993). America's longest war. 1st ed. New York: Putnam's Sons, pp.22-29.

Elkins, J. (2010). The Model of War. Political Theory, [online] 38(2), pp.214-242. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0090591709355389?journalCode=ptxa [Accessed 30 Nov. 2018].

LoBianco, T. (2016). Report: Nixon's war on drugs targeted black people. [online] CNN. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/23/politics/john-ehrlichman-richard-nixon-drug-war-blacks-hippie/index.html [Accessed 18 Nov. 2018].

Martin, S. (2016). http://time.com. [online] Time. Available at: http://time.com/4298038/marijuana-history-in-america/ [Accessed 30 Nov. 2018].

Nixon Foundation (2016). President Nixon Declares Drug Abuse "Public Enemy Number One". [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8TGLLQlD9M [Accessed 30 Nov. 2018].

NewsHub (2017). The filmmaker using magic mushrooms to treat his incredibly painful cluster headaches. [image] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8LU1bzTdls [Accessed 30 Nov. 2018].

Robinson, M. (2017). This is how much weed it would take to kill you. [online] The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/how-much-marijuana-take-to-kill-you-fatal-weed-a8043856.html [Accessed 30 Nov. 2018].

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nofomoartworld · 7 years

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Hyperallergic: On the Hunt for Depictions of Queer Sexuality at the Prado

Lawrence Alma-Tadema, “The Siesta” (1868) oil on canvas, 130 x 369 cm, (all images courtesy the Museo Nacional del Prado)

MADRID — The Prado’s The Other’s Gaze: Spaces of Difference uses the museum’s permanent collection to trace the history of same-sex relationships within Western art, “making visible the invisible,” according to curator Carlos Navarro. The exhibition, which opened in tandem with Madrid’s 2017 WorldPride festival, is based on a selection of thirty works that depict either same-sex relationships, transgender individuals, or cross-dressing individuals, or were created by artists who themselves were persecuted for their sexuality. Rather than sequester these artworks in an exhibition space, the curators have left the objects in their usual locations in order to illustrate the rich history of representing non-normative gender and sexuality already present within European painting and sculpture, while simultaneously highlighting that history’s silence.

Upon entering the collection, visitors are offered a pamphlet explaining the objectives of the exhibition and mapping out itineraries based on four different themes: “Immortal Friends,” “Pursuing Desire,” “Deceptive Appearances,” and “To Love Like the Gods.” Not for those with a troubled sense of direction or difficulty reading maps, viewers are invited on a treasure hunt through the labyrinth of the Prado, searching for dark blue labels that identify paintings, drawings, and sculptures that are part of the exhibition. The Other’s Gaze also includes two works from the Prado’s collection not usually on display that have been hung specifically for the exhibition: Rosa Bonheur’s “El Cid” (1879) and Francisco Goya’s “El Maricón de la Tía Gila” (1803–1824).

Anonymous (Workshop of Leonardo da Vinci), “La Giaconda” (1503–19), oil on canvas, 76.3 x 57 cm

Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio are each represented within the show as examples of artists persecuted for their sexuality and tried for sodomy — facts little known despite their continuing eminence and fame. Leonardo is believed to have conducted a romantic relationship with two of his closest disciples, Salaí and Francesco Melzi, one of whom painted a second version of the famed “Mona Lisa (La Giaconda)” (1503-1519). That painting was purchased for the Spanish royal collection in 1666 and is now housed within the Prado. Modern analysis of the two paintings has given further support to the theory that Leonardo was romantically involved with its author. Each minute change Leonardo made in his original “Mona Lisa,” to the bust, outline of the veil, and position of the fingers, is incorporated into the Prado’s version, suggesting that it was painted by someone intimately involved in Leonardo’s practice and that the two works were created almost simultaneously.

Room 12; “Hermaphrodite;” Route: “Deceptive Appearances”

“Hermaphrodite” (1652) by Matteo Bonuccelli is an exquisitely rendered life-sized bronze sculpture of the Greek god, Hermaphroditus, and an example of European art’s celebration of the beauty of the androgynous form. Both the sculpture’s subject matter as well as the word “hermaphrodite” originate in the classical myth from Ovid’s Metamorphoses of Hermaphroditus, the exceptionally handsome son of Hermes and Aphrodite who merges with the female nymph, Salmacis, to create a single body that is both male and female. “Hermaphrodite” is a copy of one of the most renowned sculptures from the collection of the Villa Borghese in Rome, commissioned by Diego Velázquez during his visit to Italy in search of artworks to decorate the Royal Alcázar of Madrid. That Velázquez sought out this work for the Spanish royal collection illustrates his own interest in the figure of the hermaphrodite, as well as a general acceptance of the subject at the seventeenth-century Spanish court. (Though the word “hermaphrodite” was also often used in a pejorative sense to describe a cultured woman who crossed the boundaries of Golden Age Spain’s strictly prescribed gender norms.)

Francisco de Goya, “El Marícon de Tía Gila” (1803–24), wash, brush, bistre on laid paper, 205 x 141 mm

The Prado’s exhibition also unearths artists’ meditations on prejudice towards and stereotypes of homosexuality. “La Maricón de Tía Gila” appears among drawings of deformed and handicapped figures in Goya’s private collection of drawings, Album C, intended to represent those at the social margins. The word “maricón,” meaning “faggot,” is a term now considered a homophobic slur. The haunting drawing is of a small man with a gnarled face and contorted expression, wearing a large dress and standing with his hands on his hips, his pelvis thrust forward. Its title, found directly below the figure, is believed to have been written by Goya himself. By bringing this work to light specifically for this exhibition, the Prado confronts head on the uncomfortable place this work inhabits within Goya’s oeuvre as well as the poignant suffering and mockery of the figure represented, which Goya directly correlates with non-normative sexuality.

Through two Peter Paul Rubens paintings that depict moments of discovery, The Other’s Gaze also uncovers other aspects of European art history that have typically been avoided or ignored. In Rubens’s “Achilles Discovered by Ulysses and Diomedes” (1617–1618), the central female figure dressed in flowing red robes and surrounded by a group of gaggling ladies is, in fact, the god Achilles disguised as a woman in order to hide his identity. Looking more closely at the figure, the viewer may recognize not only the cross-dressing man, but also, directly behind him, a small black boy paired with a fair-skinned, blonde-haired girl with their gazes fixed upon each other. Similarly, another large Rubens painting, “Diana and Calisto” (c. 1635), depicts the tragic romance between the goddess Diana and her nymph Calisto at the moment at which Diana discovers that Zeus disguised himself as her in order to impregnate Calisto. Rubens’s painting highlights not only the commonplace nature of rape but also the existence of female as well as male homosexuality within Greek mythology. At the far left edge of the canvas, one may also notice a black female figure who helps lift or wash one of Diana’s astonished nymphs.

Rooms 28 and 29; Route: “Deceptive Appearances” and “To Love like the Gods”

The issues presented by The Other’s Gaze are not what one expects to see within the Prado’s comprehensive collection of canonical old master artists. However, the exhibition illustrates that though these issues can seem exclusive to modern and contemporary art, in reality, artists since antiquity have personally confronted and actively chosen to represent diverse forms of love and sexuality. It is difficult to envision an exhibition of this kind taking place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The show’s popularity is, in contrast to the US, an example of the progressive attitudes of Spain, one of the first nations in the European Union to legalize same sex marriage.

Pupil of Pasiteles, “Orestes and Pilades or The San Ildefonso Group” (ca 10 CE), white Carrara marble, 161 x 106 cm

The Other’s Gaze also offers a lesson in close looking that challenges our traditional expectations of what is to be found in museums such as the Prado. The exhibition forces viewers, who often wander through museums half preoccupied by their cellphones or by taking selfies, to recognize the benefits of slowing down to look at works of art for longer than a cursory thirty seconds. In a conversation between Estrella de Diego, professor of gender and contemporary art at Madrid’s Universidad Complutense, and Jamie de los Santos, director of Madrid’s Office of Culture and Tourism, moderated by journalist, Javier Moreno, Diego describes The Other’s Gaze most subversive element. It is, she says, its revelation of how necessary it is to keep looking in order for works of art to talk to you and begin a conversation in which you discover the multiple perspectives they offer.

Room 8; Route: “Deceptive Appearances”

The Other’s Gaze is an exhibition that is as much about rediscovering the Prado’s formidable collection as it is about rewriting art history. It allowed me to rediscover a museum to which I make an almost annual pilgrimage, one I thought I knew well. Wandering through the galleries, with the exhibition as my guide, I was forced to stop and notice paintings to which I had never before been drawn, as well as figures and meanings within them that have always been hidden in plain sight.

The Other’s Gaze: Spaces of Difference continues at the Prado National Museum (Calle Ruiz de Alarcón 23, Madrid) until September 10.

The post On the Hunt for Depictions of Queer Sexuality at the Prado appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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webpostingpro-blog · 7 years

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New Post has been published on Webpostingpro

New Post has been published on https://webpostingpro.com/australian-regulator-sues-apple-over-iphone-disabling-software/

Australian regulator sues Apple over iPhone disabling software

Australia’s client watchdog has sued Apple Inc. Alleging it used a software program update to disable iPhones which had cracked monitors fixed by means of third parties.

The united state’s technology large “bricked” – or disabled with a software program replace – hundreds of smartphones and pill devices, and then refused to free up them due to the fact that clients had had the gadgets serviced by way of non-Apple repairers, Reuters reports, mentioning a courtroom filing by the Australian Competition and client Commission.

Consumer assures rights underneath the Australian client Regulation exist independently of any producer’s assurance and aren’t extinguished definitely because a patron has items repaired with the aid of a third birthday party,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said in a declaration.

An Apple spokeswoman did no longer immediately respond to an email asking for the remark.

The regulator stated that among September 2014 and February 2016, Apple customers who downloaded software updates then linked their devices to their computers received a message announcing the tool “could not be restored and the device had stopped functioning”.

clients then asked Apple to restore their devices, handiest to be instructed by using the organization that “no Apple entity … become required to, or could, offer a remedy” without cost, the files introduced.

Apple engaged in “deceptive or deceptive conduct and made false or deceptive representations to customers” about its software program updates and customers’ rights to have their products repaired by way of the business enterprise, the Commission said.

As well as fines, the ACCC stated it turned into looking for injunctions, declarations, compliance software orders, corrective notices, and expenses.

The lawsuit was filed overdue on Wednesday, per week after the consumer watchdog granted Apple a win by way of denying Australia’s banks the right to introduce a cell payment gadget to rival its Apple Wallet, the information employer said.

What Does a Fuel Pressure Regulator Do to Your Car’s Performance?

Overall performance gasoline regulators are devices which are placed between the tank and simply before the injectors. Those assists alter the flow of gasoline and guarantees that there’s constant strain to manipulate the gas being brought about the injectors. The unit of dimension used for the pressure being regulated is pond per rectangular inch or PSI.

Fuel strain regulators come in specific shapes and sizes but there may be handiest one use for them – to preserve the stress above the intake manifold. This ensures that there is a most useful degree of fuel being injected into the device. The extra gasoline is constrained and back to the tank, therefore saving them for the next cycle.

This piece of equipment may be observed in which the gas rail is. This gasoline rail is the pipe, which holds the fuel for distribution to the injectors and cold start valve. This system is the ultimate stop for the gasoline because it receives pumped into the engine compartment. It’s far regularly cylindrical in shape and is fabricated from steel.

The principle process of the gas regulator is as it calls implies, to regulate the pressure in the fuel machine to a fashionable regular of 28 psi. This varies depending on the auto make. To perform this task, the machine employs a diaphragm, which controls the valve. Excessive stress inside the line will open this valve up and launch the gas but will thrust back extra fuel to the tank.

The regulator’s vacuum additionally facilitates decrease emissions as the auto halts

When deceleration occurs, the vacuum opens the valve in which the gasoline is returned to reduce the pressure inside the system. This helps prevent Excessive manufacturing of hydrocarbon for the reason that there’s much less gas being injected due to the low stress.

There is a want to put in a gasoline stress regulator so that it will alter fuel pressure in step with any modifications you would possibly have already done with your engine. Those regulators are essential if you have installed excessive float aftermarket fuel pumps for your vehicle.

Some adjustable gas regulators are in particular beneficial because it presents an automatic self-adjusting regulator and emissions controller in one. Those devices are often very reliable.

there’s an offshoot of this regulator gadget, that’s known as the gas Control Unit (FMU). It serves as a supplemental upgrade to the gas gadget, that could increase each air and gasoline float to your car’s engine. The FMU is an adjustable or variable gasoline stress regulator that robotically offers a lift to your device. What it does it that it restricts the waft of gas that is going again to the tank. When the flow is restricted, stress builds up. This boom in pressure will deliver more gas with the identical amount of time it takes for an everyday gasoline regulator.

Simple iPhone 7 Repairs And Fixes For Common Problems Users Encounter

The launch of the iPhone 7 and seven Plus has been awaited through several people. However, there are some customers who declare that they experience sudden and unusual issues while using such phones. To help you, under are some easy iPhone repairs and fixes you may do.

Activation issues

One of the maximum common issues people encounter with the iPhone 7 is activation issues. In order to correctly and efficaciously make use of such mobile phone, you need to prompt it. But, there are cases whilst activating the smartphone may be an annoying challenge. Some of the reasons bearing on this issue are because of server visitors or perhaps unstable internet connection. Consequently, the satisfactory answer is to connect to a dependable a connection and plug the phone into the laptop to hold through the system. Plus, people additionally need to make sure that their iTunes are updated, that is crucial in activating your private iTunes account.

Disconnects frequently

The subsequent common trouble iPhone 7 users revel in is disconnections. Of direction, most people leave their telephones linked to you to want to without difficulty surf the net. Regrettably, a few users claim that their cell phone disconnects often. Consequently, the best answer to this quandary is to check the modem for sign stability. Apart from that, you furthermore might want to make sure that you are in the range of the sign.

Lightning earpads prevent operating

Every other problem that iPhone 7 customers may additionally revel in is troubles with regard to lightning ear pads as it unexpectedly stops to paintings. The lightning earpads are basically an up to date version of the prevailing EarPods. And, those earpads simplest hook up with the iPhone through the Lightning port. Lamentably, there are cases while new EarPod headphones are freezing and leaving them not able to perform their tunes, with volume management, name answering, and Siri activation. To aid this issue, individuals want to update their iOS since the producer has fixed this difficulty.

Customer Relationship Management Software

CRM stands for Patron Courting Management. CRM is a software which streamlines the method in an agency. Constructing and maintaining high-quality relationships with the customers is of prime significance. It’s far very essential for the enterprise to recognize and apprehend what the Consumer wishes to stay ahead within the opposition. CRM software program helps you to manipulate your leads i.E. Your destiny/prospect clients, and vendors by monitoring their activities.

Gain of imposing CRM software program

Task Control: Meeting deadlines is vital in present day business international. by using inputting facts like scheduled appointments and important obligations, it removes the guesswork out from the photo. Numerous ranges additionally permit this information to be adjusted with a agenda to keep you educated of up and coming assignments and due dates.

For example

Inside the event that you have a business call booked with a profitable lead, CRM programming would send you an email in advance of time so you bear in mind to determine. At something point, a client has an up and coming birthday, you or a business rep could be told so you expeditiously deliver birthday needs. Ultimately, you can make clients experience extra esteemed and manufacture similarly connections.

Along these traces, you can juggle the general public of your assignments at the same time as making sure that every client receives the attention they need and nothing is omitted.

Sales Management: inside the occasion that you have accrued a group of gives reps, it is important to display their strengthen and know precisely how a hit they’re at sustaining leads and bringing offers to a near. Making use of this form of programming will deliver a firsthand inspect every colleague’s enterprise insights, including facts like everyday lead touch time, errand end time and trade charge. Alongside these traces, you can compensate the pinnacle entertainers and mentor individuals who require a few extra offer assistance.

After some time, your enterprise office ought to work like very tons oiled device wherein offers are amplified.

Extra Promoting Possibilities: As data on clients masses, it is regular for greater probabilities to provide themselves. As an instance, monitoring a specific purchaser’s purchasing examples might make it clear what they are maximum stimulated by.

On the point whilst propelling any other object this is comparative

You could reach that customer and let them recognize. Thus, this makes it doable to expand offers without having to continually publicize to new customers.

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universeinform-blog · 7 years

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The new FCC boss has taken his latest shot at today's open-internet laws

New Post has been published on https://universeinform.com/2017/03/18/the-new-fcc-boss-has-taken-his-latest-shot-at-todays-open-internet-laws/

The new FCC boss has taken his latest shot at today's open-internet laws

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday voted alongside celebration traces to exempt more internet provider companies (ISPs) from a more advantageous transparency rule that requires them to absolutely inform clients on any promotional prices, extra costs, and facts cap and throttling regulations they will follow. The guideline was to start with enacted as a part of the 2015 Open internet Order, which greater famously set in the vicinity the net-neutrality policies that prevent ISPs from giving preferential treatment to positive net offerings.

That order to start with shielded ISPs with one hundred,000 or fewer subscribers from the transparency regulations, but that exemption expired ultimate December. On Thursday, the now-GOP-led Commission put it lower back into the vicinity but bumped it up to include any ISP with 250,000 or fewer subscribers. The exemption now applies to January 2022. The FCC is brief to observe that the transparency regulations dictated by using the 2010 Open internet Order – which widely require ISPs to “publicly disclose correct records regarding the community management practices, performance, and business phrases” in their broadband offerings in a way it really is “sufficient for clients to make knowledgeable picks” – will nonetheless practice to each ISP going forward. The 2015 Order’s transparency regulations, but, mandate that ISPs usually be aware the subsequent:

Fee – the overall month-to-month provider charge. Any promotional prices should be surely referred to as such, specify the length of the promotional length, and note the entire monthly provider fee the client will incur after the expiration of the promotional period.” Different fees – all extra one time and/or ordinary fees and/or surcharges the client may additionally incur both to provoke, preserve, or discontinue provider, which include the call, definition, and price of each extra fee. These may additionally include modem condo expenses, set up prices, provider expenses, and early termination charges, amongst others.” Records Caps and Allowances – any statistics caps or allowances that are a part of the plan the patron is buying, in addition to the consequences of exceeding the cap or allowance (e.G., additional fees, lack of carrier for the rest of the billing cycle).”

My First Open Residence Revel in

I in the end determined to write my first publish. Why no longer? But what ought to I possibly write about this is thrilling and educational as properly. I’m able to write approximately the market, loan policies, down payments, and so on

Or read the newspaper and write a properly digested post.

So, right here we move, I take into account that day as though it became an hour in the past! It has scarred me for all time and ever. Every time a customer asks me to run an open House, I sweat and swallow exceptional difficult. Even after having masses of a hit “open houses”, this one still manages to make me run to the bathroom and take hold of the famous Pepto-Bismol.

So, long ago, after I became an authorized real estate agent, at the start of my time as a Realtor. The new demanding situations I was dealing with, a piece demanding But super excited at the same time. Understanding what I am made from, a totally difficult running, honest, reliable, moral man or woman could not wait to run my first actual open Residence!

Considering the fact that I had no listing of my own and couldn’t simply run an open House by myself Residence and tell everybody entering via the doorway: thank you for coming, However, this Residence is without a doubt no longer on the market! It’s miles just for me to practice my new abilities”

So I requested some fellow agents in my workplace and at last, after 2 months of attempting, one in every of our dealer requested me to help him out!

I used to be so excited that I had a difficult time falling asleep! I did a CMA, I appeared up all of the past, gift income inside the location; regarded up all the colleges from public, personal, catholic, French, and so forth inside the neighborhood. I had a lot of data on the vicinity that I felt like an on foot Google!

I requested myself such a lot of questions that human beings should come up with and I had the answer to each unmarried one in every of them memorized!

The day of, I put on my excellent tailored suit, ensure nothing become caught among my teeth, and so on. I just wanted to run it as professionally as viable.

Anyways, after opening the lock field to the unit, I realized that my healthy had no pockets! and I failed to take my handbag with me, so the only relaxed place I ought to provide you with storing the property’s key for two hours became my bra. No big deal, who might discover, in any case, I showered and my bra become brilliant easy and my fit just got here out of the dry cleaners. I may want to use a bit of water and cleaning soap after and put it returned within the lock field. Hassle solved!

Open Residence was over at 4 pm, now not too many human beings showed up However I had the whole lot underneath control. I was extremely happy with the outcome. It becomes Fantastic, besides for the key saved in my bra and commenced to be a little uncomfortable.

Domestic-Based Internet Marketing Enterprise

Why are so many human beings turning to their computers nowadays to create their personal Domestic-Primarily based Net Marketing Enterprise? There is a diffusion of different incentives which motivate human beings to head down this precise path. A few will first of all be seeking to decorate their income from their existing employment. A few, on the other hand, are looking to replace their modern-day employment with their personal Home Commercial enterprise.

For the ones in the latter class, it’s miles possible to start constructing their very own Home-Based Enterprise alongside present paintings. Just a few hours each week may be all that it takes. While the time is proper they are able to then hearth their boss and go solo with their new Enterprise.

For maximum the key-word for his or her flow is not money but Freedom its Freedom from a boss; Freedom from the each day commute; Freedom to spend more first-class time with own family and pals; Freedom to offer extra time and power to pastimes and hobbies; Freedom from money issues; Freedom to make their very own alternatives and live their lives the manner they need to stay them. There’s a pronouncing that: “money is a means to a cease and no longer an result in itself”. The value of cash is within the freedom and first-class of existence which it can deliver. That is what is motivating many people to discover a way to begin a Home-Based totally Business.

Manifestly money is crucial. We adore sensing that we are earning sufficient to provide ourselves and our households the lifestyle we want for. We adore the concept of being on top of things of our personal future, but the world of employment denies us that. A Home-Primarily based Internet Advertising Commercial enterprise has the electricity to give us both the liberty and the manipulate that we crave.

Internet Advertising and marketing is a Business; – it’s far paintings! That paintings wish to be performed, however with a Home-Based totally Enterprise you could do that work Whilst and in which you want. This is one of the big pluses with one of this Enterprise, however, its miles, oddly, also certainly one of its troubles. Operating for yourself calls for excellent discipline and perseverance. You haven’t any boss to direct your paintings so you should direct yourself. Some humans discover this hard, in particular, While Running at Domestic.

Detuning Towers Solves Reradiation Problem – FCC AM Compliance

Interference between land mobile or microwave towers and fashionable broadcast (AM) radio antenna structures is becoming more and more not unusual. The solution to those troubles is frequently complicated and, for the reason that AM band at 540 to 1600 kHz is thus far removed from land cell frequencies, non-AM broadcast technical personnel are regularly not familiar with the demands of lower frequency generation.

Within the AM broadcast band, stations are certified to keep very specific radiated subject intensities from their antenna structures. That is authentic of each directional and non-directional structures. The massive interference variety of AM stations, coupled with crowded band situations, make the AM allocation Trouble a complex one. Very tight radiation sample tolerances on the order of zero.

Five dB are not unusual. The tremendous near area of an AM antenna, in addition, complicates the Problem. near-field effects may additionally expand to two miles or more, compared to dozens of feet at VHF, and measurements used to decide the station antenna pattern can also expand out as far as 20 miles. To compound matters, tower heights normally utilized in land cell and microwave are a widespread part of a regular AM broadcast wavelength. Hence, they’re all too often great radiators of the AM signal.

Recognizing this ability for troubles, the FCC typically includes conditions with creation permits that recommend new towers inside miles of an AM station to make certain that they do now not interfere with the AM station operation. Although a land cellular license doesn’t ensure such situations, the licensee is liable for correcting issues bobbing up after tower production. The FCC takes the attitude that the first station in is to be included, placing the burden upon the land mobile or microwave licensee to solve any unfavorable interplay his station set up may additionally have with the AM broadcast station.

A word about economics. The adjustment and preservation of an AM broadcast directional antenna gadget are complicated and expensive. The value of preliminary changes might also range from $20,000 to $one hundred,000 or extra. For this and other technical reasons, it’s far hardly ever feasible for the proprietor of an interfering tower to solve a reradiation Trouble via readjusting the AM station antenna sample. An awful lot greater possible is the set up of a device at the communications tower to detune it. Detuning is the technique of changing the modern-day flow to a minimum on a reradiating object, For this reason lowering or removing its impact on an AM station. by using incorporating the ideal AM detuning tool at some stage in tower construction, prices are usually only a few thousand bucks, and destiny licensing delays and costs can be averted.

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manish-modi-blog · 7 years

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My Journey in the field of Arts Preface I Manish Modi belong to a small town in North Gujarat. My inclination towards art made me take up Fine Arts as my career. And as a result I did Diploma in Painting from Sheth C.N. College of Fine Arts, Ahmedabad. My further step was to join Faculty of Fine Arts M.S. University, Baroda. I completed Post Diploma from the Department of Painting. There is no limit to gain knowledge and my inner thirst gradually started developing with time. This was the beginning where the language of expression gave birth resulting to the transformation in a rhythmic shape within me. My Thinking Process Newspaper agency being a family business some or the other way influenced me and my work. Many a times in my childhood it happened that I myself use to sell the newspapers. This lead me, to visualise the newspaper as an object and also perceived with hypothetical meaning too. Newspaper or mainly known as print media, interwoven in daily life of an individual snatches few moments for news in the morning. With this idea at the initial stage I depicted various uses as how, after the basic purpose this object serves as saviour of many other activities, thus showing the life of an object which here is “News Paper” for e.g. A fruit is wrapped or its holding some hot snacks within it. On the other side there even lies a thought of the term ‘recycle’ where I relate a normal man’s life with this object. I believe that newspaper also possess a life, A life where this object firstly serve as an informative substance, then secondarily it is used as a Saviour, and at last ends its life by transfiguring into a state of pulp hence saving the environment. Similarly a normal man’s life starts with work, - Hard work in his young age for survival, later serving as a support to other members of the family and at last sacrificing life and attaining the state of rebirth. Seek Desire & Experiments: This has been a very simple thought regarding the subject matter of my work during my academic years. Now, talking about certain technical aspects of my work during that period, I would say that I just adopt those as simple object drawings, visualing them with acrylics and oils on the canvass. Then, slowly and gradually a period of technical change arrived in my work. I started referring as well as using carbon tracing in my work. I use to trace the whole text of newspaper keeping the smallest thing in my mind which was a real time consuming procedure. But, somehow this started giving me a spiritual feeling – just as a discipline continuously recites “Rama's” name. Also that made me realise about a subtle thing that an object which means nothing to us after having had read it at once is indeed an upshot of several people’s endeavour. After this stage my mind started focusing on the subject matter printed on the paper and I got more aware with the hidden contrast Say – “Some religious news with some sexy images”, or say – some “Educational information along with a few highly politically sensational issues”. This concern of mine lead to paintings like :- “Who?”, “The Speaking Tree”, “Pledge” and many more. Somewhere in my canvases due to a lot of exploration a door opened for advertisements. This is the result how I made a painting where an old man is sitting on a bench and also painted hoardings of a ancient Car Model and finished with motifs of the renaissance period and internally relating the three of them with each other as according to their age. My mind always has a scour of carrying experiments with new things and new colour scheme as in I always love a refreshing colour palate. At present I am passing through a period where one can see that I give emphasis to the texture quality and photo image transfer. Also make use of stickers, Brass items, studded stones in context with Brail language I have an intense desire to portray each and every content present within it, may be about Art & Culture, or social affairs and political issues, may be of further depiction, Educational informational, the column of weather forecast, without eliminating the minutiae of the story. Conclusion: Till now I have used direct images from Newspapers, or I myself have clicked photographs and made use of them. Now what I want is to utilise the images using computer graphics also have a crave of using offset plate as a means and characterise the actual workshop. Also want to try the medley of wood with offset fabricating into a relief work. Now, let me say that I see this whole summary just as an exercise to represent my art in a enticing, vigorous and pure manner. And I really feel that I am not a creator, perhaps, I am seeker….. MANISH MODI “REHASHED” “I have nothing to teach the world. Truth and non-violence are as old as the hills,”-Mahatma Gandhi Scrawled along the insides of an A 18th century English writing desk, and painted in hand that is evocative of its famous speaker, these words reflect the magic realism of Manish modi’s ‘Rehashed’. Modi’s recent paintings and painted furniture address contemporary issues such as violence, misuse of power, freedom of speech and political oppression, through the medium of visual archives from the Gandhian era. In Modi’s works, popular photographic images and text from our collective history become a tool rather than a style to portray contemporary crisis. The artist uses various new media tools to create a unique technique that includes a digitised half tones and realm of recognition. The result is a highly sophisticated abstraction which questions the very nature of these images and pushes the limits of media tic realism. Modi’s selection of furniture is extremely thoughtful; the look, makes, time and feel is a conceptual exploration that confirms certain Gandhian thoughts in the artist’s eye. The art-deco cupboard from the 1930s has an image of Pablo Picasso giving the finishing touches to his famous painting ‘Guernica’. Guernica was commissioned to Picasso after the Spanish civil war. Inside the cupboard, is an image of the Mahatma standing behind a barbwire fence during a prayer meeting at juhu beach, Mumbai; another global symbol of perseverance against brutality. Both images embody events that are timeless symbols of peace and humanity. Born in 1977 in Himmatnagar to a family of newspaper merchants, young Manish was both familiar, and inspired, with the power of the print media and its mechanics. His eye for the small print, and its ability to act as an indelible post-script on world issues, is reflected in his early works. Some of his works on canvas are an attempt to a dematerialize the recognition of a popular and historic photographic image through superimposition, resulting in the creation of a certain imagery that serves as an abstract pattern purely dedicated to aesthetical pleasure. At once modern and historical, evocative and whimsical, Modi’s expressions are based on a potent perception: one that allows the viewer to straddle the threshold of time and reality, and look into two eras at once- disparate in their feel, and yet inextricably linked by their lessons. Manish Modi