#when i got 100 on an end of unit social studies test i was like. deep sigh thats alright but i didnt study till i was crying so it wasnt

[cashmerescarf]

Scarves Cashmere For Girls

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The Women’s Foundation Nepal was based in 1988 by 45 college students as a non-revenue, non-governmental group to help girls who've been violated or persecuted. From it emerged the cooperative “Samajik Sip Bikash Udhyog” .

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Maheela supports this cooperative to which eighty two woman and 4 males belong. As an entrepreneur who helps women discovering meaningful employment in Nepal and who makes the WFN extra financially independent. When purchasing a shawl, please note that it's a certainly one of a form. Deviations within the measurement, colour and thread dimension are at all times possible and due to this fact no reason for grievance.

Handmade Natural Plain Orange Cashmere Scarf Pashmina Scarf Shawl Wrap Tremendous Soft Heat Unisex Nepalese Best For Presents

Avoca.com makes use of cookies to reinforce your browsing experience and to create a secure and effective web site for our prospects. By using this website you agree that we could retailer and entry cookies on your units, until you have disabled cookies. The final fall-winter companion, regardless of personal style. Our generously sized scarf is woven from the best Cashmere-Merino wool mix. With the luxurious heat from the Merino and incomparable softness from the Cashmere, you'll be begging summer to stay away. Irresistibly delicate cashmere scarves woven with our Thomas Burberry Monogram and check. Sophisticated scarves in superbly delicate cashmere by REPEAT caress your neck, hold you heat and pep up any outfit.

Wrap your self in pure luxurious cashmere scarves this season. Dreamily gentle to the touch and ideal for teaming with cashmere jumpers for those chilly days out. Featuring our most liked cashmere wraps & snoods, our cashmere scarves are certain to turn into your wardrobe favorite. See our cashmere cardigans assortment for more ways to put on your scarf. Embrace the soft and light-weight touch of pure fibers and uncover the number of scarves for ladies in cashmere, wool, silk and the other precious fibers from the collection. Our luxurious collection of women’s cashmere scarves, snoods and shawls effortlessly mix warmth, comfort and class.

If you do not need to just accept all cookies or want to study more about how we use cookies, click "Customise cookies". With the purchase of our Maheela scarves you assist the Women’s Foundation Nepal , which permits the weavers a residing wage. Maheela is a piece of development cooperation, promotes good working circumstances and proves that exclusive products and truthful working situations are straightforward to reconcile. By creating an account with our store, you will be able to move by way of the checkout process quicker, retailer multiple delivery addresses, view and track your orders in your account and extra. Personalise our cashmere scarves in an array of colours with as much as three initials. All orders are despatched within 1-2 working days from our warehouse in Denmark. Due to circumstances surrounding COVID-19, transport carriers worldwide are experiencing delays.

Softly flowing viscose scarves create thrilling notes. Discover classically lengthy scarves and trendy shawls, both with or without fringes. A stunning scarf is best set off towards a determine-hugging pullover or prime. Bundling up in a soft scarf is considered one of life’s best pleasures, and we’ve got it lined with cashmere, lightweight organic cotton and brilliant prints. We use cookies and related tools to reinforce your buying expertise, to supply our companies, perceive how prospects use our services so we are able to make improvements, and display ads, including curiosity-based mostly ads. Approved third parties also use these instruments in reference to our show of advertisements.

If you can't return it or return the acquired items to us in a deteriorated condition, you should compensate us for the worth. This solely applies if the deterioration is because of dealing with the item, which matches beyond testing and making an attempt out the respective goods, as is possible and customary in a store. The identical means of payment that you used in the authentic transaction will be used for this refund, except expressly agreed otherwise with you; on no account will you be charged any fees for this refund. If the cooperative generates revenue, it flows into the WFN applications and makes it financially extra unbiased. The WFN can provide authorized advice and legal assistance in addition to a safe home for girls and youngsters and supplies help in emergency conditions by granting small loans and emergency help. From the shopping for of the yarn to the top product, the entire process takes about 5 to 7 days! The finished scarf may have gone via 15 individual operations.

From premium cashmere scarves and temperature-regulating HEATTECH, to vibrant checked prints and muted tones, we’ve got every little thing you’ll need when the temperature drops. Opt for a fringe-trimmed stole layered over your knitwear.

<h2>Pure Luxuries London Pink Cambridge Cashmere Scarf</h2>

All of our workers are following authorities tips and working safely, and we thank you for your endurance and understanding that your order might take a little longer than traditional to be despatched. Subscribe and be the first to hear about new clothing, exclusive cashmere offers, and more. More detailsOpens a pop-upClick to search out out the transport and returns options for the chosen item.

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Made in our Scottish mills with the world’s finest cashmere fibres, it is incredibly soft, warm, and lustrous. We imagine in great quality, lengthy-lasting clothes which you will like to wear for years to come. With over 30 years of experience, we only provide 100% pure cashmere.

Fantastic Cashmere Merino Scarf

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Personalisation choices can be found on all our cashmere scarves. Whether you’re shopping for a present or a deal with for yourself, why not match the headscarf with our cashmere hats and glovesfor luxurious safety from cold weather. Whether you’re simply wrapping up heat or looking for a ending flourish on your outfit, our assortment of stoles and scarves for ladies is bound to tick your bins.

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Scarf Kind

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No mixing of fibres, simply a hundred% in every little thing we do. For more information, consult the Eric Bompard private knowledge safety policy. Created in several textures, Eric Bompard scarves could be worn all year long. Opt for woven or knitted cashmere to protect you from the chilly and winter winds, then lightweight and ethereal cashmere voile for these mid-season chills. Send me unique offers, unique present ideas, and personalised tips for buying and selling on Etsy. Be the first to know about new collections, promotions and our new favorite things.

Our scarf is densely woven from an opulent Merino-Cashmere mix, combining the heat and adaptability of Merino wool with the delicate softness of Cashmere wool. It's the product of seventy years of expertise, woven, minimize and packed completely in Prato, Italy, in a factory that is been run by father and son since 1959. Whether it’s a women’ or men’s cashmere scarf you’re after, our expertly crafted accessories add an effortlessly stylish touch to any wardrobe. From traditional shades of navy, black, grey, and red to daring pinks and yellows as well as tartans and striking ombre designs, every bit in our assortment matches type with sustainability. Add a touch of luxurious and comfort to your wardrobe this season with our vary of cashmere scarves. From beautiful patterns to basic stripes and bold monochromatic colours, discover the proper rigorously selected range of cashmere scarves for ladies, utilizing the best fabric to melt your look when you have to layer up.

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[garethandjude]

Sam’s Eulogy

Sam’s funeral was 1 year ago today. Writing Sam’s Eulogy was emotionally the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Reading it in the service was beyond me. Jude and I are ever indebted and thankful to Marc for doing this so well on the day.  It read as follows:

I stand before you today, a representative of a family that feel truly blessed to have such amazing support not just through the numbers here but throughout Sam’s journey. Family, friends, the Russell school, social clubs, the medical teams, work colleagues, the whole Chorleywood community and beyond, we are all united in our love, and desire to pay our respects to our wonderful warrior Sam.

Samuel George Hanson, was born in St George’s hospital on St George’s day, the most precious present on his Dad’s birthday. He was instantly welcomed and loved by his brother Rhys and his family. Whether from his brother’s tickles, or the delight of smearing food all over his face, it wasn’t long before he was smiling and chuckling in his unique way, filling our lives with Sammy sized fun.

As a baby and toddler Sam was seldom without a muslin blanket for comfort – Mum and Dad wouldn’t dare leave the house without one. This set a theme for the rest of his short life. The muslin was eventually superseded, by George bear, Sven, Camo. He loved his teddies and each had a name. Over the past few years there was one teddy that Sam would never be without - Rabbity. Rabbity was so precious to Sam that the internet was scoured for an identical backup to be used when Rabbity was washed. Shipped in from the US, Rabitto was always on standby. Rabbity went everywhere with Sam. Every night he cuddled him, during all his stays in hospital, every operation Rabbity was in the theatre with Sam. Up until the very end, right now, and forever – Rabbity will be with Sam to comfort him.

As Sam grew up, some other Sammy traits soon appeared. With his white blond hair, and golden skin he was a beautiful toddler, with a propensity to wear nothing on his feet. Was he destined to be a surfer dude? He had the look. If he could, he would always be barefoot. At a push he would be in crocks, as a last resort trainers. If he went out, shoes and socks were always the last things on and the first things off. When home, he was easy to find as his shoes and socks would leave a Sammy trail from the door to wherever he was going.

As all children should be, Sam was full of life, a little mischievous and very inquisitive. He loved finding crystals in rocks and bringing pretty stones or fossils home. If it sparkled, it got his attention. Was he a budding geologist or was it a palaeontologist? He was encouraged to do it all. Only a few weeks ago he was busy foraging on the beach intently studying what the tide was washing in. Crab shells, dismembered crab claws, pretty shells, he was intrigued by them all and they all went into our bucket to bring home. Maybe he was destined to be an ecologist?

In hospital Sam would relax by watching his favourite movies. Whether they were Disney animations, classics like Oliver or epic compilations like the Lord of the rings, Star wars, DC and Marvel, he enjoyed them all. He also loved dressing up. Inspired by the heroes and villains in all the movies, when he dressed up, his imagination would whisk him away and he became that character. Woody or Buzz, the Gruffalo, a Dinosaur, a Rabbit, Captain Phasma or America, Kylo Ren or Thor. He would boisterously tear around the house in character, wielding his weapon of choice. Rhys was usually the victim and would laugh out loud as Sam battered him with a foam sword or hammer (most of the time!)

There was one costume, more than any other that Sam just loved – his reindeer onesie. He would wear it around the house, camping trips, on visits to the hospital, he even wore it to school. His size 3-4 years was worn until the legs looked like ¾ lengths and the body was skin tight. He didn’t care, he’d say it was snuggly, and it tickled us to see him in it. Sam loved being snuggly and snuggling up to his teddies or under blankets. But if there was some snuggling to be done, top of the list was always snuggling with his Mummy.

Even when Sam was poorly one of the activities he’d still find the strength to do was Nerf battles. If it rained, the battle would be indoors, if it was dry it would be outside with bullet guns or water pistols. When Sam was less mobile, whole house or garden battles were reworked so that Sam could take up a static sniper position, and take pot shots at his victims, family or friends. Rhys has a fond memory of when he and a friend were speaking and playing with some girls in a neighbouring garden. The talk soon became squeals and laughter as Samster the Gangster popped around the edge of the shed, naked, brandishing a water pistol and soaked them all.

When Sam was young he had always been a healthy child. When the family had colds he seemed to be unscathed, but in the autumn of 2015 Sam became pale, he was low on energy, and he had a rash. At first the GP thought it may be viral, but after a couple of weeks nothing had improved and his tummy was starting to swell. By this point the family were fearing this could be something bad but the odds said they should be wrong. A blood test was done on the 1st of December 2015, a day the family will never forget. Sam was diagnosed with Leukaemia and their Sky fell in.

Sam’s journey since then has been a tough one. His beads of courage are a lasting memory to the 100’s of procedures he endured over the 3 and a half years of treatment. He amassed 1,850 beads in all and the family give thanks to the medical staff here today, representing everyone that has worked at every hour of the day to care for Sam during his battle with Leukaemia. He was inspired so much by your commitment and professionalism that he’d said he wanted to grow up to be a nurse. Would that have been his future? Sadly we will never know.

If there is one thing that blossomed in hospital, and epitomises Sam it would be his love for Lego. Over the years we had various activities to fill the time. Card games, dart guns and dart boards, Qixels and crafts. He would enjoy them all but the favourite was definitely LEGO. What started with a small Lego set to help while away the time, grew into a ritual fuelled by both Sam’s and his Dad’s enjoyment of it. If Sam was spending any length of time in hospital he’d be doing Lego. The anticipation and the walk to collect a new set from the Amazon lockers in GOSH were all part of the excitement. The real magic was watching him build; so focussed and determined, his tongue out during the tricky bits. When he completed something, the sense of achievement was always evident on his face - in the big beaming smile. From timid beginnings, he fumbled through his first few sets but soon became a master builder completing multi bag sets intended to last days in just a few hours. If there is one thing that demonstrates how much time Sam spent in hospital, and particularly the months in isolation it would be the size of his Lego collection. On display in his room he was always proud to show it to people.

The last 9 months were particularly tough. The disease and treatment taking its toll. Sam was a third heavier, had lost his hair again, and then grew dark hair back almost everywhere. His hearing was impaired and his legs were weak. He would be unrecognisable to those that had not witnessed the change. But to those that had it was still Sam and he was a fighter, he would get through this. His attitude to all the pokes, prods and procedures was inspirational “let’s just get it over with” he would say. He hated general anaesthetics, but to overcome the fear he developed his own routine of yoga breaths and a snuggle with Mummy or Daddy while he had his sleeping milk and just got it over with. His animated moral – “Never give up” that we are so blessed that he made, will live with us forever. Sam you’re a trooper - thank you for being so brave.

Despite everything he’d been through he was still the cheeky, inquisitive boy we all loved. He always had a willingness to learn and would look forward to his lessons in hospital, at home or in school. Even on days post BMT when his mouth was too sore to speak he still had his lessons, writing or using the iPad to communicate. It would be the highlight of his days only missed if he was asleep.

Sam was doing so well in his treatment, he was winning his battle with leukaemia. He was in remission, his transplant was a success and his diseased white blood cells had been replaced 100% by his brother’s donor cells. His recovery was not without issues, that would, and did make him feel lousy, but the bigger picture was always good and in a few more months he was going to get through this. One day, he was going to ring the bell in Hospital that signified the end of his treatment.

On the 21st March Sam was taken by his parents to Watford because of his rapid breathing. This was thought to be a visit like many other. On the 22nd of March suddenly and unexpectedly Sam’s condition deteriorated and after many hours he was stabilised in Watford and transferred to intensive care in GOSH. Sadly, despite battling his biggest battle and supported by an overwhelming number of people and well-wishers, Sam was never to leave. He passed away peacefully in his parents’ arms on the 4th of April 2019. Sam never got to ring the bell.

Sam didn’t quite make the 8th Birthday that he was so excited about, but during his short time with us has achieved more than many may achieve in a lifetime. In his name, 10’s of thousands of pounds have been raised for charities that have benefited him or his family; CLIC Sargent, Be child cancer aware, Children with Cancer and Spread a Smile. The Radio 5 Live broadcast for the ‘No Isolation’ robot has over a million views and touched thousands of people. The hope is that these contributions may bring unforgettable memories, or lead to new treatments that help save the lives of other children in a similar situation and maybe one day ensure nobody has to endure the loss of a child from Leukaemia. Sam, you should be proud.

Everyone gathered here today has been touched in some way by Sam’s life. It may take a long time for friends and family to adjust, but after the grief and mourning, we will be left with the memories and sparkle that Sam brought to our lives. We will reflect on a life full of amazing adventure, love and bravery. Sam’s courageous battle and attitude should and will inspire us to never give up. We will all miss you Sam but may your star forever shine bright. ⭐

02.05.20

[blackpinkofficial]

On a modest stage inside a tent in downtown Los Angeles, the four members of the South Korean girl group Blackpink assume a diamond formation and aim their fingers like guns at the audience as they launch into the chorus of their breakout hit, “Ddu-du Ddu-du”: “Wait till I do what I ... Hit you with that ddu-du ddu-du du!”

It’s the afternoon before the Grammys at Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge’s annual showcase, where he presents the company’s prospective superstars to a crowd of record executives and industry types. (Past performers have included Ariana Grande, Halsey and Shawn Mendes.) With their intense choreography, dance-heavy beats and Clueless-esque high-fashion looks, the four women offer the kind of bells-and-whistles pop production that makes them an anomaly not just on today’s lineup, where rappers like 2 Chainz and Lil Baby abound, but also on the charts, where women like Grande serve up their divadom with an extra dose of realness.

The showcase marks Blackpink’s first stateside performance, though the band made history long before: “Ddu-du Ddu-du” became the highest-charting single by a Korean girl group on the Billboard Hot 100 when it peaked at No. 55 last June, and this April the act will be the first Korean girl group to play Coachella, before embarking on a North American arena tour. “Ddu-du Ddu-du,” sung mostly in Korean, is a boastful warning to those who underestimate Blackpink, with a hook (meant to imitate the sound of bullets flying) that’s also a canny invitation to non-Korean listeners -- anyone can sing the words. The buttoned-up UMG crowd seems a little unsure, but also intrigued: Just as Blackpink’s Jennie -- soft-spoken in person, but onstage a fierce singer and rapper -- slides into a rat-tat-tat flow in the second verse, more and more audience members whip out their phones to capture video.

There’s no longer any question that K-pop is happening in America. BTS, the seven-member South Korean boy band, scored two No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 in 2018 and became the first K-pop group to sell out an American stadium when it played New York’s Citi Field in October. Yet despite the group’s visibility here, K-pop remains somewhat detached from the mainstream: It receives relatively little top 40 airplay despite fan-army pressure on radio stations, its artists rarely tour with non-K-pop acts, and outside of its intensely passionate fan groups, K-pop stars hardly drive the wider “conversation” that someone like Grande can dominate with a single tweet.

Blackpink represents Korean music’s latest, greatest hope at breaking out of the American K-pop box. The group believes its multinational identity gives it global appeal: Sweet-voiced Jisoo, 24, is a South Korean native; buoyant rapper Lisa, 21, is from Thailand; guitar-playing Rosé, 22, grew up in Australia; and Jennie, 23, was born in South Korea but spent some formative years in New Zealand. “You don’t have to understand Korean to understand the music, the visuals, the vibe,” says Jisoo, through a translator. (Rosé and Jennie are fluent in English; Lisa alternates between English and Korean during our interview.) “We’ve got so much Korean culture and so much Western culture in us,” adds Rosé, her Australian accent still pronounced.

And though occasional English lyrics already pepper their tracks, Jennie notes that recording all-English songs is something they “definitely want to do” in the future. (They’re focused on making their debut album first.) Even their sound -- an omnivorous fusion of fist-pumping EDM and booming hip-hop beats with flashes of house, ’80s pop and harmonica-driven folk -- seems conceived for the widest possible audience. “I was immediately drawn to their fierce and empowering energy,” says Dua Lipa, who asked the group to guest on last year’s bilingual banger “Kiss and Make Up.” “They are not just giving you hit songs -- they are sending a message that resonates beyond the lyrics.”

Last fall, Blackpink signed to Interscope Records, which will serve as both a creative and business partner to YG Entertainment, the group’s Korean home and one of South Korea’s three main music companies along with SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment. These companies serve as label, management firm and production studio, controlling almost every aspect of their artists’ careers. Interscope chairman/CEO John Janick says that YG’s leadership -- Hyunsuk “YG” Yang, its founder, and Teddy Park, Blackpink’s main producer and creative director -- “runs the show,” but the relationship is collaborative: Sam Riback, Interscope’s pop-rock A&R head, has made multiple trips to YG’s Seoul headquarters and “has been sending them lots of different ideas,” according to Janick. “Our goal,” he says, “is to amplify what YG has been doing globally.”

If Interscope can help turn Blackpink into a truly global superstar act, the partnership could become a model for other labels looking to invest in K-pop and even pave the way for joint imprints. “This deal could be a benchmark,” says YG’s Joojong “JJ” Joe, who heads the company’s U.S. operations from a small house near Los Angeles’ Echo Park. It will also confirm Interscope’s foresight about K-pop. In 2011, the label signed the group Girls’ Generation during one of the earlier waves of K-pop imports, when artists like BoA and Wonder Girls worked with Western producers and companies.

At the time, those artists barely made a dent on the mainstream charts, and their backers took a hit: Despite high-profile promotional appearances, Girls’ Generation’sThe Boys LP sold only 1,000 copies in the United States during its first week in 2012, according to Nielsen Music. Since then, however, streaming platforms have made it easier for fans to discover and support Korean music, while the growth of social media has also allowed them to forge deep connections with artists everywhere. “In this era, people find their music and their talented artists on the internet,” says Susan Rosenbluth, senior vp at AEG Presents/Goldenvoice, who helped book Blackpink’s North American tour and notes that K-pop’s stateside audience “does not follow along ethnic lines.”

To Janick, the success of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s chart-topping Latin hit, “Despacito,” aided by a Justin Bieber remix, made English-speaking listeners more open-minded in general to music in other languages. “We’re going to have hits from all different territories -- more of them, and more often than we’ve seen in the past,” he says.

But the onus isn’t just on listeners to embrace Korean music -- it’s on industry gatekeepers too. At the UMG showcase, the reaction to Blackpink is enthusiastic, but it feels muted compared with the rousing ovation the crowd gives classic-rock revivalists Greta Van Fleet, whose 2018 debut album was notoriously panned by some critics as derivative. The response to Blackpink’s Interscope deal, however, suggests that attitude could change.

“So many artists on our roster started calling, saying, ‘I want to work with these girls.’ Radio stations were asking when new music was going to be out,” says Interscope executive vp business development Jeremy Erlich, who facilitated early conversations between the label and YG (he and Joe attended business school together). “The industry’s ready. When the music comes out, I don’t think there’s going to be many people saying, ‘This is just a fad.’”

The day before the showcase, the ladies of Blackpink are ensconced in a hotel suite high above downtown L.A. Lisa, dressed in a gray fleece and a checkered coat, spies the Hollywood sign through a corner window and bounds off a couch for a closer look. Her bandmates, cozied up in brightly colored sweatshirts and cardigans, admit they weren’t expecting Los Angeles in February to be so chilly. During some rare downtime the previous day, they went shopping in Santa Monica. “It was supposed to be for fashion,” says Jennie, “but we ended up just grabbing anything that was warm.”

This is Blackpink’s first trip to L.A., but it has been almost a decade in the making. The group’s members came to Seoul from all over the world starting in 2010 to take part in YG’s rigorous recruitment and training process. The company and its competitors hold tryouts both within and far beyond Korea (Rosé traveled to Sydney from her home in Melbourne), seeking recruits who are typically preteens or teens, ethnically Korean and fluent in the language, though these qualities are not mandatory. Lisa, who auditioned in her native Thailand in 2010, didn’t speak any Korean when she began training in Seoul in 2011.

For all four women, joining YG meant enrolling in a kind of full-time pop-star academy that Jennie calls “more strict than school” and that Rosé likens to The X Factor with dorm rooms. For 12 hours a day, seven days a week, the future members of Blackpink -- along with, by Jennie’s estimate, 10-20 other aspiring singers who cycled through the project -- studied singing, dancing and rapping, taking part in monthly tests designed to identify their strengths and weed out subpar trainees. “Somebody would come in with a piece of paper and stick it on a wall, and it would say who did best, who did worst, who’s going home,” recalls Jennie, whom YG initially steered toward rapping because she spoke fluent English. “You get a score -- A, B, C,” Lisa explains. “Lisa would always get A’s for everything,” adds Jennie with a laugh.

The process was lengthy. Before Blackpink debuted in 2016, Jennie spent six years in training, Lisa and Jisoo five and Rosé four. For the members who had left behind life outside South Korea, the pace of training on top of the culture shock was sometimes tough. “I’d call my parents crying,” recalls Rosé. “But as much as it was hard for me to cope with all of that, it made me more hungry. I remember my mom would be like, ‘If it’s so hard for you, just come back home.’ But I’d be like” -- she mimics a surly teen’s glare, much to the others’ amusement -- “‘That’s not what I’m talking about!’” Lisa credits her future bandmates with easing her transition. “Jennie would speak English to me, and Jisoo helped me out with my Korean,” she says. Rosé was the last of the bunch to enter training, but she remembers the four of them bonding during an all-night jam session when she arrived. “We just clicked,” she says.

That’s clearly still the case: Rosé sometimes puts her hand on Lisa’s knee when translating for her, and at one point Jennie and Jisoo huddle close together to silently adjust one of their necklaces, displaying the intimacy of close friends. “We don’t really have a day off,” says Lisa. (Once every two weeks, Rosé clarifies.) And because their families are so far-flung, they often spend their time off with each other anyway. “We’re stuck together,” says Rosé, laughing.

While K-pop companies have a reputation for packaging groups assembly line-style, Blackpink’s members insist they have plenty of creative input, despite having no official writing credits on their tracks. Park plays them music he’s working on and “really tries to put our thoughts into our songs,” says Jennie. “He really gets his inspirations from us.”

“It’s important as recording artists that they actually truly own their songs,” says Park. The women all make suggestions about who should sing what, and if a part doesn’t feel right to someone, he will make adjustments. “He doesn’t just bring us a song, like, ‘Go practice,’” says Rosé.

Besides, the members of Blackpink have another creative outlet: Last fall, YG announced that they would all release solo material, starting with Jennie, whose debut single, “Solo,” topped Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart in December. Though the music is still created and put out by YG, the idea that group longevity and solo success aren’t mutually exclusive is a radical development in girl-group history -- one that Janick says only “makes the brand stronger.”

Stars who come through companies like YG are called “idols” in Korea and have historically been expected to maintain a squeaky-clean image. When Blackpink debuted, Jennie says YG was very selective about its promotional appearances: “We were trained to be a little more...” “Closed in?” Rosé suggests.

“Closed in” is exactly what the outspoken women ruling the U.S. charts now, from Grande to Halsey, are not -- they make deeply personal, even raw, music. But while Blackpink may well find success catering to an audience craving its kind of TRL-era pop spectacle -- Interscope’s Erlich calls the group “the modern Spice Girls” -- lately the band has been less concerned with appearing perfect, both onstage and off. “We always wanted to be out there, to be more true to ourselves and a little more free,” says Jennie. “Even we can get things wrong sometimes. We want to just show them the real us.”

Jennie and Lisa do just that when I ask how they expect to be received as rappers in America. Lisa lets out an embarrassed groan, withdrawing into her fleece. She has loved hip-hop since childhood and is obsessed with Tyga (“I love his swag,” she says, blushing). But she and Jennie seem well aware that a group of Asian women adopting a style pioneered by black American artists might be a hard sell for some stateside listeners who are keenly attuned to debates about cultural appropriation.

“Me and Lisa don’t talk about it out loud, but I know we have this big pressure,” says Jennie, who adds that she studied artists like Lauryn Hill and TLC when she first started rapping. She looks across the room at Lisa: “She’s going to kill it.” Lisa just scrunches up her face.

That kind of vulnerability may be what ultimately endears Blackpink to an American pop audience. “The artists that are the most successful in these situations are really authentic with how they can relate to a coming-of-age experience” in their music, says Goldenvoice’s Rosenbluth. “There’s a certain amount of authenticity to Blackpink that I really love. The dedication is heartfelt.” 

Back at the showcase, the band finishes its set with the reggaetón-tinged “Forever Young,” featuring an intricately choreographed, hair-flipping dance break. As the beat reaches its booming climax, the bandmembers whip toward each other and strike a statuesque pose with their hands on their hips, just in time for the music to stop. They hold still for a moment as the lights dim, then drop their arms and turn toward each other, catching their breath and grinning like four young women who can’t quite believe they’re here.  

#blackpink #ot4 #m:billboard #press #090103

[thoughtsofatck]

The Countdown: Worries and Expectations

I had just finished explaining instructions to my 6th graders - all four of them - as they proceeded in the Speaking portion of the ACCESS test. I returned to my desk and checked my phone to look at the time. My mouth gaped open as I read the introductory lines to an email sent from Fulbright. My co-teacher, sitting across from me, looked up concerningly. “Did you get it?” 

We were on the edge of our seats for weeks whenever an email notification pinged. I had been named a semi-finalist at the end of January and it was now the third week of March. “You got it?”

I nodded eagerly, half in shock, half purposely remaining silent not to interrupt my students taking quite possibly the most important standardized test that would ultimately determine if another year of ESL would be necessary.

I had learned about Fulbright in high school while looking at study abroad programs. It seemed like everything that I had wanted to pursue - hold a prestigious English teaching position abroad, learn a language in the progress, and travel. 

Five years later, I had achieved it. I would be teaching English in a secondary school in Malaysia for 10 months. What a dream - right?

I pep-talked myself for the next eight months, assuring that I was well-equipped culturally, socially, and educationally to assume a position 9000 miles from home. Sure, I have an advanced degree and experience in teaching ESL; I grew up speaking the national language, Malay or Bahasa Malaysia; and I have a firm grasp of the culture - traditions, customs, and peculiarities of the country. However as time went on, I saw many within my cohort - 99 other American ETAs from various racial, religious, and educational fields - with much more experience abroad, either working or for fun. Meanwhile, I had only applied for my American passport in the summer, shamefully knowing that this would be my first time outside of the United States since arriving in 1997. I was known for my love of languages and cultures and yet, I had never spent time abroad. With that in mind, of course there would be no better country to travel to first than Malaysia. 

As I read more and more blog posts, curriculum materials from ETA Coordinators, and reflected on my time as male teacher of color working with CCKs (cross cultural kids) and English Language Learners, I realized that the experience I had envisioned was likely to be far from the reality. I remain proud to come to Malaysia as a Malaysian-American, knowing that there are not many of us in the United States (as most opt to move to Commonwealth nations like Australia and Canada), and that my unique perspective offers a cultural bridge between the two nations for better mutual understanding and relations. However, I also know that “white worshipping” is an unfortunate but widespread bias leftover from British colonialism. To quote a past Malaysian-American ETA, Shaina Mackin, “I have and will always move through time and space encountering perceptions based on my race. These perceptions bring with them expectations, most of which I have never been able to meet. I could not hide my genetic roots even 8,000 miles away from home; almost immediately upon arrival I discovered I would not be accepted as American without an explanation for my brownness.” I, myself, also had worries I would be treated as not being “truly” Malaysian enough and yet also not treated like many of my other American ETA cohort members. 

Growing up in the United States and being the only Asian-American in my class up through middle school, I inadvertently have had to speak to topics related to my race whether genuine or stereotyped in fashion. I was always seen as Asian to my American (read: caucasian) classmates and teachers. It would seem logical to think that in Asia, I would be seen as American but perhaps not. I’m sure it will be surprising to many at my host school (as it already is in the US) when no tall, blond, blue-eyed “American” aptly named “Stephen CAMPBELL” is called up to introduce himself. The expectation for anything less other certainly baffles anyone bold enough to ask how I acquired such an “interesting” name [for myself] even though Campbell is the 40th most common name in the U.S. and Stephen continued to trend in the top 100 boy names through the 2000s. 

Lastly, I look at my time as a teacher of color in America, priding myself on how I was able to build relationships with my students around (1) a shared interest and respect for their languages and cultures and (2) their social-emotional well-being - my Haitian students and I appreciating French music and letting them teach me the similarities between French and Creole; mentioning that I love (and more importantly eat) roti, a flaky flatbread, to an Indian student of mine during his snack time; exchanging pleasantries in Arabic to my Syrian and Yemeni students in the morning; and giving my Chinese students time to eagerly show me what they’ve learned during their weekend Chinese school. Even while teaching private enrichment, I distinctly remember being thanked by a high schooler who said that she appreciated having a teacher of color because she finally felt respected, listened to, and in turn, inspired to “help other minorities” just as I want to by teaching. 

Can I assume this would translate over in Malaysia, considering that I keep up on new Malaysian music, drama Melayu, use the language frequently, and eat/cook Malaysian dishes. Sometimes, that’s all that we as 1st generation-hyphen-Americans can culturally participate in, fostered by our parents’ hope that it isn’t watered down by assimilation. Perhaps that’s why it means so much to my CCKs and ELL students in America that the parts of their lives that aren’t visible in schools are still seen and respected by individuals within those institutions.

Nevertheless, coming in as an American, one of my duties is to showcase the highlights of American life, cultural nuances, and offer insight (more like personal experience and thoughts) to some possibly touchy but important questions about life in America. Is it trivial to think that my students won’t care if I know a lot about Malaysia - all of their other teachers naturally already do. Wouldn’t they care more about learning how true American life is than from the amalgamation I grew up in. Surely, jamming to the new Mimpi or bonding over how good roti canai is won't cut it. How disappointing it must be to have this “American” who already knows so much about Malaysia - nothing new to introduce to him if he already knows the language and has experienced the wide variety of foods (although by Western proxy). Partially overthinking and partially having read too many ETA posts from past years, I might be expecting too much in general. New encounters are awkward and uncomfortable enough without adding on the thought of being too culturally Malaysian and ethnically by default, pseudo-American.

This dichotomy of being too East for the West and too West for the East is not unique to myself. Many multiracial, immigrant, and 1st generation individuals speak to their journey of self-identity when feeling as though they have to choose one over the other. This dilemma is only heightened by returning [metaphorically] to my ancestral homeland. Must I choose one or will both be accepted to the perceptions of my audience abroad - American and Malaysian.

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to Political Confessional, a column about the views that Americans are scared to share with their friends and neighbors. If you have a political belief that you’re willing to share with us, fill out this form — we might get in touch.

This week, we spoke with C., a 42-year-old biracial woman who lives in New York City and is a scientific researcher. C originally wrote this:

“I feel very strongly that private schools — especially in a place with very segregated schools, like where I live in NYC — should be massively reformed. I would uphold a change banning these schools or promoting a requirement that an amount equal to the tuition of these schools must be paid into the public school system. This would have to also be upheld with ‘donations’ and monies earned with ‘benefit’ events. OR every private school has to offer a public school or two access to its classes and school offerings (teachers, sports involvement, travel, etc.).”

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Clare Malone: So how did you come to this position?

C: I’ve always felt pretty strongly about it. Just my personality must be one of being hyper-aware of inequality, and that’s why I’m in HIV research. When I was in my 20s and early 30s, before everyone I knew started having children, I was very much pro-public school. And then as some of my friends who are more well off than others decided on private school, there was a huge divergence in thinking. Some parents feel it’s their job to do only what’s best for their child in a vacuum, and then there are other people who feel what’s best for society is what’s best for my child. It was very stark when that started to happen. I didn’t lose friendships over it, but it made me see some people who I was very close to in a different light.

CM: What would you say your social class is?

C: It’s complicated for me. I’m not married to my boyfriend, but we have been dating and together for more than five years and we live together in a a renovated brownstone that’s all ours. Are we the richest people in New York City? No, because we don’t work in finance. But we are extremely lucky and extremely well off. So I would say that we’re on the low end of upper class.

CM: Do you have kids?

C: I don’t have any children of my own. People say, “Well, you don’t have your own kids.” It’s an argument that has only gotten worse as we’ve gotten into this individualistic politics of identity so that I feel even more unable to express my opinion because I don’t have kids. It’s almost to the point where I would have a child just to send them to public school.

CM: What kinds of schools did you go to?

C: I’ve had this discussion with my boyfriend. He knows how I feel because his son goes to a $50,000-a-year high school. I was talking to him about how I felt, and he said, ‘You had a very unique public school experience.’ We had no less than 87 flags of different countries flying in our foyer because it represented our student body. It was minority white, majority black. We had an amazing curriculum. We had a planetarium, and I took oceanography. We offered German, Spanish, Russian, French, Latin.

Who were you and what were your politics if you decided not to send your child there? The kids who went to private school tended to be what would colloquially be termed frat boys. That was the sort of cultural identity that I put on those kinds of kids. They had boats and lake houses and third homes.

CM: Is there any legitimate reason in your eyes for going to private school? For instance, in the milieu you grew up in, what if a kid’s parents were very Catholic and they wanted to send their kid to a particular Catholic school because they wanted him to have a Jesuit education?

C: That’s complicated. I do see subtle nuances in the world even though it may not sound like it! I have a hard time with religious schooling because I don’t like the idea that children, because they’re voiceless and helpless and need the guidance of adults, don’t get to learn things like basic reproductive health. Or experience other cultures. I just don’t like that they’re different curriculums.

CM: I want to go back to that conversation you had with your boyfriend where he says you went to a special kind of public school. Do you accede that point? How do you grapple with the reality of lower middle class people who, given the opportunity to go to a private school, might well choose that option?

C: The only way to make public schools good is to have children go there of all socioeconomic classes. I do think that it’s complicated for people who’ve been given a scholarship to a private school. It’s very hard for me to judge someone who doesn’t have a lot of money who’s been given the opportunity for their child to go to one of these schools. I guess my sympathy always lies with the people who have fewer opportunities. I don’t have a perfect answer. But let’s stop vouchers.

CM: Let’s go to the pretend world where you have control over this. Would you outright abolish private schools?

C: If I could choose a real solution, it would actually be a little less harsh. What it probably would be is that wherever a private school is, it has to have a sister school of children who aren’t given the same opportunity. If parents could push for them to have some of these experiences, I would think that would be a step in the right direction. I think that the hardest thing is that these children are in a bubble and the private school children are in a bubble.

CM: This is a New York City specific question, but there has been some recent controversy over “the test” to get into the city’s specialized public high schools — only seven black kids were admitted to one of the top schools this year …

C: Which makes me want to vomit. It’s gross to me.

CM: So there are even problems in the best of the best public schools — there are a large number of Asian students who get into the best New York City high schools and there’s debate over whether getting rid of the test would diminish opportunities for those students. How do you think about that? How should New York City handle the test?

C: It’s complicated because, listen — I’m biracial. My mother was a tiger mom, she’s Indian and, unfortunately, I was not a good high school student but graduated magna, got on the dean’s list every semester in college. It was definitely because my mother was a tiger mom and I know how to study and that was instilled in me. I understand what these Asian kids are doing and how much pressure their parents put on them, especially if they’re first generation parents and second generation children.

It’s not that I want to take away from them. I just feel that the class issues and the identity issues with African Americans in the United States are unique, that they have for generations been deprived and depressed and removed from any chance of success. We have to acknowledge that. We just absolutely do.

And if that needs to be done through affirmative action, I think it needs to be done through affirmative action. And I think that there is something to be said for being inclusive of all races. I think it benefits even these tiger kids who get into Stuyvesant — their lives are going to be better to have a diverse population around them, to have more white kids, more black kids, more Latinos.

CM: I want to go back to how personal this issue is — people can be in a relationship and have different schools of thought about how to school their kids …

C: My boyfriend is a saint because he listens to my opinions and still knows that I love him and his son just as much as if I shared his opinions 100 percent, so I feel lucky. He co-parents with my stepson’s mother very well, and they had a culture of raising him that I respect. They did what they thought was best for him, so I give way in a different way than I feel politically. I’ve hung out with a couple that have children and those daughters go to private school. I brushed on it lightly, and the mom said, ‘Oh, I lost that battle.’ She was like, ‘I wanted them to go to public school, but these kids are spoiled.’ And those are her own children.

CM: In the world in general but New York City in particular, class differences show themselves pretty clearly. What are factors besides education that you think affect the way children grow up aware of class and privilege? And are there ways to solve the inequality problem outside of simply reforming public and private schools?

C: This was brought up at a diversity evening my boyfriend attended. It came up that for the kids who are there on scholarship, they’re hyper-aware and feel different simply because of things like trips to Utah to go skiing for the weekend. Vacations, I think, are a big sign that you have money. And then probably social activities.

CM: Do you have a person you see on the political scene who represents a vision of education that lines up with your view?

C: I have no idea what any of these political candidates feel about pre-college education. Zero. I know Bernie Sanders wants free college tuition for everyone. I don’t know how they feel about these issues. Politically, I would love for someone to come out and call BS on private school vouchers.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Clare Malone

[lightsandlostbells]

Skam Austin episode 1 reaction

I wasn’t planning on writing long-winded reactions to Skam Austin, I thought I might just have fun with the clips as they happened. Because there’s such a different context with this remake as opposed to the French/German/Italian ones, that it’s hard to take in! Julie Andem’s direct involvement, the Facebook factor, that it’s American rather than European. I’m processing this one very differently. I’m not even sure how to gather all my thoughts about it.

But then a few things got my attention so here’s episode 1 a week late. I don’t think I say anything that hasn’t already been said, lmao, unless you want to hear about my high school English unit on The Scarlet Letter.

Clip 1 - Frozen is #relatable

Let’s point out all the signs we see during Poonam’s opening monologue:

“Be a winner, be you”

“Work hard, finish strong”

“Always victorious”

“Shoot for the moon”

a board full of college acceptances

IDK guys, I think there might be a theme about the pressure to succeed here.

Poonam’s monologue and the overall themes about pressure and success may seem generic or #relatable depending on your POV. For me, I found it worked, mostly because it’s funny in how mundane and teenage-y it is and the bit about Elsa from Frozen is so weirdly specific, and I knew a million kids like Poonam in high school. But I do get how Julie could have done something more topical considering the world of shit that is going on in the US politically and culturally, including in our schools. (I don’t know exactly how much of the show was filmed before or after the Parkland shooting and I don’t know if/when/how it will be mentioned, but I certainly hope they address it. That’s the kind of issue that Skam is made to cover: things that are directly relevant to the youth of the culture.)

Poonam is talking super loud and were she not serving up our thesis statement, the teacher would tell her to shut up.

I tried to listen to what more of what the teacher actually says, and it’s hard to make out, but of course she concludes with “draw a connection to something happening in present day” … hmmmm….

I was really confused because the test Megan looks at in class appears to be a state-mandated standardized test, not a regular exam you’d take in class. You can clearly see on her paper that it says 68th percentile, which means she scored as well as or better than 68% of students tested. But Marlon seems to be grabbing a similar-looking paper and he says he got a 99, like … is he in the 99th percentile? And Shay’s in the 100th percentile somehow (which cannot be a thing because you can’t go higher than the 99th, lol)? Is there an actual score out of 100 on these tests? Are they talking about a different test?

I’m not from Texas so I don’t know the format of this specific test, but I took a similar standardized test for my state and this is not how I remember it. Also we didn’t go around sharing our scores on those tests the way we would a regular math test or even the SATs or something. And no one studied for those things. 

Meg swaps the numbers around (68 to 86) and he says, “That’s not bad” in a somewhat patronizing way so you know she feels great about it.

The music for the Kittens’ slow-motion walk is very apropos lyrically.

I like Shay, she’s charming. There’s a lot of American “bro” talk and shit like that in the dialogue and it gets cringeworthy, but I think she and Tyler seem pretty natural and I buy them as friends.

Clip 2 - Survival kit

As people have pointed out, The Scarlet Letter is incredibly thematically relevant to Meg’s past. In fact it’s so on the nose that I’d almost say it’s overkill, however that book is so widely taught in American classrooms that yeah, I buy it, it works for me. At least they’re keeping it fairly subtle so far - we notice it because we know the S1 story, a new viewer wouldn’t necessarily realize the connection. And I have seen so many versions of the classroom scene where the inspirational teacher openly talks about the themes of the novel/impact of the historical event/educational topic that just so happens to coincide with whatever’s going on in the protagonist’s life, that yes, this is actually relatively subtle.

Pointless personal anecdote #1: In high school I had one of those stereotypically artsy English teachers and every year she had her students do a mock trial based on The Scarlet Letter, where the goal was to determine which of the main characters was the least guilty. It was a huuuuge project and worth a ton of our grade, and the year we did it, there was tons of drama and crying and name-calling outside of the classroom due to everyone taking this trial 200% too seriously. I drew the team representing Dimmesdale (the minister who fathers a child with Hester Prynne) and miraculously everyone else on the team was smart but chill; we were the only team that didn’t blow up into drama, and we won the trial. I had a great time doing the project, but as time went by I started to think about the point of the trial and whether it was a good assignment, and how our biases crept into the result. Because I remember when kids drew the Hester team, they groaned, because they knew they wouldn’t win. One of the male characters was going to win. Chillingworth might win even though he’s an evil piece of shit and some readers think he straight-up poisoned a dude, but he wasn’t Hester. Hester was definitely guilty because she had sex outside of marriage and had a baby. And if we want to tie this back to Skam, it gets me thinking about how Eva/Meg is the one who loses everything and Jonas/Marlon’s life seems to be more or less intact. The girls lose their friends and in Meg’s case, her hobby/passion, while the boys are OK. Then the same thing happens later with Eva where P-Chris is just a fuckboy but Eva is a slut. Because the girls are the guilty ones. 

Megan’s homework mentions the “life-changing event happens to Hester when she is in the forest away from her community. What do you think this says about the role of community in the outcome of her life?” hMMMMMM. The next question is also about the story centering around a “strong female character.”

Shay talking to Meg while stretched out on her back sure is quite flirty.

Meg’s parents are arguing and contributing to making her feel like a loser, building up some of that pressure (theeeeeme). She has a survival kit which implies that this is a regular thing and she feels the need to escape a lot. 

I do think Julie is getting in some nice shots of the city and making these teens look all picturesque.

Clip 3 - Sad sad eating alone time

I wish Poonam had a Frozen lunchbox.

I'm wondering what Meg’s and Poonam’s relationship is supposed to be. Are they old friends? Are their parents friends? Are they acquaintances who share a class? Does Poonam just want a sounding board to vent about her busy life? I knew people like that in high school. 

Poonam is self-centered in a rather teenage way, not just in talking about herself and being insensitive, talking about how quitting extra-curriculars makes you a loser, assuming Megan doesn’t care, etc. but also how she ditches Megan to go sit with her choir friends instead of like … inviting Meg to sit with her and the choir kids.

There's the THEME!!! of community again as Poonam encourages Meg to be more social, because people who engage in community have happier, healthier, more successful lives. The clip starts with both Meg and Abby alone, but ends with Meg alone and Abby not, because Abby is part of a community and Meg is not.

Also Meg has to be super checked out not to notice the giant Talent Night posters everywhere, including right next to her. It’s too bad they probably won’t go into this but I feel like she’s depressed on a level that Eva wasn’t, which is likely due to losing not just her friends but also purpose of being on the dance team.

“Talent night is the one night of the year where the entire school comes together to celebrate the foundation of our social hierarchy - sports.” Lol, no it’s not. I guarantee you it’s not, no matter what your school is, but especially not this school where sports appear to be a big deal. Try Homecoming.

Marlon is the worst. The woooorst. It really feels as if he, Shay, and Tyler are a group that Meg is just not in, in a way that I didn’t feel with Eva. Because while Eva was often excluded and was the third wheel to Jonas and Isak, Isak was also in some situations the third wheel to her and Jonas. Megan feels like she’s completely on the outskirts of this group. She’s friendly with Shay but I wouldn’t say that they’re friends, while Eva and Isak had some history and were decently close on their own. Some of the other remakes emphasize this too - in particular Italian Eva and Isak (Martino) feel like great friends in their own right. Plus if Marlon does opt to hang with Megan over his friends, Shay and Tyler still have each other.

But for fuck’s sake, Marlon, why didn’t you ask your girlfriend to get some damn food with you? Unless you didn’t really go for food...

Clip 4 - Conservative

How many times has Meg had to listen to Marlon’s music? Yet when she asks him to go do something with her, he doesn’t want to do it. Dump him.

In terms of Marlon’s comments about sports culture … OK, on the one hand I would say there are bigger issues in sports culture, particularly in high school - for example, how sports gets more funding than any other high school program, just to name one issue. His thing about sports culture being about winners working hard, losers are lazy, is maybe not the most relevant, it’s kind of trite. However, I can see a so-called “woke” teen saying something like that, much like I can see a teenager rhapsodizing about Elsa from Frozen. And I get it, it fits in thematically.

Megan used to be on a sports team (and dance teams often do all kinds of competitions so I’d consider it a sport) and clearly misses it so maybe he should chill. And don’t ask your girlfriend to go with someone else when you know she doesn’t have any friends.

Dump him.

Clip 5 - Talent Night

Besides the dance memorabilia, in her room Meg has a poster for a costume party around Halloween, which is possibly when she hooked up with Jo.

Marlon is the worst!!! Worse than other Jonases!!! At least they canceled ahead of time, Marlon just bails last second to go do something fun he likes. Rude and inconsiderate! He doesn’t even invite her along to the concert (and gives an excuse in the next episode, but dude, if you’re going to CANCEL YOUR ESTABLISHED PLANS AT THE LAST SECOND you should at least ASK).

Plus she really needs an escape from her house at that moment due to her parents’ fighting. Great job, dude. 

The B-roll is nice. Again, good shots of the city.

Discussion was happening on @softnorwegians’ Tumblr about the plausibility of Talent Night in terms of location, setup, importance, etc. and I agree with a lot of the criticisms. I absolutely do not buy an official school-sponsored event taking place at what looks like a bar with no chaperones or adults around. Talent Night would probably be held at the school, in the auditorium or gymnasium. Maybe a community center. Maaaybe at a local coffee shop or restaurant, something like that, but that’s pushing it IMO - there would be so many people there that you need a large venue. This doesn’t seem like a small school. My high school did talent shows and there were always tons of adults present, teachers, parents filming their kids.

Also, Talent Night is typically not to fund sports teams! Talent Night is something put on by student government maybe, or if any school group is going to fundraise from it, it would definitely be the arts programs. Or it would be to raise money for charity. Sports teams already have a bunch of fundraisers, also a lot of them are for the individual teams, like swim team will have one, football will have one, etc. I guess it’s not impossible, but it feels a bit contrived. But there are probably some schools that do Talent Night for the sports teams, IDK. (Also, if it’s for the sports teams ... it seems weird to me that the athletes like Jordan don’t seem involved, either on stage or working at the venue? All fundraising I did for the school clubs/activities I was in, I had to do some actual work for the event - sell tickets, serve food, clean up, etc. Lol, here it seems like the sports teams are just hanging out and reaping the profits while random kids earn some money for them.)

Some of the graffiti in the bathroom: 

Sk8ers gonna Sk8 (I’m blanking on where this came from originally, I think it was on an IG post or text?)

Alt er love

Daniel + Grace

That last one, believe it or not, is what made me interested in reacting to this show. Because Grace is our Noora, there are hints of our William being called Daniel … and yet, what’s the context of that graffiti? It makes no sense when you think about it. New girl Grace surely doesn’t know Daniel. Is that supposed to be a hint to future Noorhelm, or is it a shoutout to something that won’t happen - like is Julie teasing us?

I mean, Grace and Daniel are very very common names, but the choice of graffiti was deliberate as we can tell from the other Skam references.

Lol @ me thinking Julie won’t do Noorhelm again but let me have this for now.

The Facebook/fandom reaction to Grace is an example of one of the worst parts of doing a close remake. If this were a completely new show and no one knew the plot, the reaction would have been, “Oh yay, Megan met someone nice :) Maybe they can be friends :) ”

But because she is supposed to be The Noora, a bunch of people had expectations for how she was supposed to act and (especially) look, and when she didn’t fit their expectations, complained. First of all, Grace was quite pretty to me so I didn’t even understand the backlash on a superficial level. Second, get the actual fuck out if you think any of these girls aren’t attractive enough to be a part of the squad. This show has never been about depicting the hottest, most physically perfect people. In fact that’s a reason people like Skam, that there are a variety of body types, their teeth, skin, and hair aren’t perfect. 

Pointless personal anecdote #2: “Let’s give it up for Natalie on nunchucks” is how I want everyone to greet me when I walk into a room, I’m going to have to start practicing.

Jo is great! So good. “I want to see your dumbass routine.” “Ballet shit?!” That whole bit was awesome. What a true friend.

This was so awkward. Painfully awkward.

General Comments:

The IGs are nice work, I’m sure FB pulled some strings to get the pictures backdated. There are some good clues in them - Meg appearing in the old Kittens pics and the Mannequin challenge, Abby has pictures set in Megan’s bedroom where she has clearly cropped out Megan. Abby and Marlon have pictures of a beach from the same day.

Poonam’s super paranoid text about posting things on IG made me laugh a lot. 

I didn’t talk about the acting. It’s ... not great in a lot of places, and sometimes it takes me out of the scene (especially in the Talent Night clip) but it’s not something I want to focus on a whole lot. The cast appears to be teenagers, many of whom have no acting experience, and I’m not totally comfortable being negative about them (NOT saying that no one can criticize their acting, just that for me personally I feel bad doing it). Besides, the fact of it being a direct remake is the more pressing problem for me. As for positives about the acting, I think Shay and Jo are great and have some natural comedic timing.

I am not rooting for Meg/Marlon at all. At all. No version of Eva/Jonas has induced this much annoyance in me. There’s a lack of chemistry, Marlon is more inconsiderate than the other Jonases, and they don’t seem to have much in common.

Unpopular (?) opinion but I have no problem with naming the Jonas character Marlon, or calling him marlonf9000 on IG. It’s an affectionate homage, sure. I guess my only problem with it is that Marlon the character sucks so far and Marlon the actor deserves better.

Man, I don’t even know what to feel about this show at this point. It feels so surreal. I don’t hate it? I’m not angry at it? I’m disappointed that we have to get yet another S1 more than anything. I actually want this show to succeed, believe it or not - even if I don’t care for it personally, I would rather have a lot of other people love it than not. 

I also feel stupid for making any type of speculation on what could happen! Because we’re going to come up with these elaborate theories about how Julie could adapt the story and take it in a different direction, and it’s likely to be all for nothing and we’ll just watch an awkward redo of a scene we’ve already seen.

I do want to say good job for increasing the cast diversity. That was a main fear, that Skam Austin would be lily-white, and we’ve already got 5 prominent WOC in the cast (including Zoya) which is terrific. 

I don’t take the millions of views on the first clip/first episode super seriously since FB was promoting it pretty hard and I heard something about a three-second rule? I’m more interested in seeing how the viewership on the episodes/clips manifests week by week.

It’s also clear that a lot of viewers were confused by the format and don’t get the concept of real-time clips vs. the compiled weekly episodes, which I can hardly blame them for since it’s not typical. 

#skamus reactions #skam austin reactions

[b34utiful-d1s4st3r-blog]

What Does IA have That Is Similar To The Uberization Around The Globe?

John and Ken start by attempting to define intelligence in systems, and choose that anything with intelligence must have the ability to receive data in the exterior world, after which change the way it works according to that have. John thinks that anything able to such functions has some kind of intelligence, but Ken wonders: why do considered artificial? It might be synthesized instead of organic, but important artificial instead of genuine? John notes this meaning of intelligence enables for a lot of systems which display intelligence but achieve this in very odd and truly inhuman ways. Ken compares intelligence to flight, noting that lots of things fly: wild birds, insects, planes, helicopters, and blimps, but each in the own various and unique way. John and Ken will continue to describe artificial intelligence like a tool for cognitive science so that as an approach to computer engineering, and just how both of these distinct approaches differ.

  James H. Fetzer is really a upon the market philosophy professor in the College of Minnesota Duluth. The writer or editor in excess of 20 books within the philosophy of science as well as on the theoretical foundations of information technology, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science, he's printed greater than 100 articles and reviews. The editor from the journal, MINDS AND MACHINES, he's even the series editor of STUDIES IN COGNITIVE SYSTEMS. He's adapted Peirce’s approach toward signs in creating a theory of mind in ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: ITS SCOPE AND LIMITS (1990) as well as in PHILOSOPHY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCE, second edition (1996).

  His newest work concerns evolution and mentality. I believe that's a great background grounding for considering ethics in AI because many of the central ethical questions center around what’s going to take place whenever we replace humans with AI or enhance humans with AI.

  I guess you can rephrase it as being saying what goes on whenever we replace biological human intelligence or agency with a thing that is non-human?. So, I believe raising the issue of methods our biology affects who we're and just how we relate around the world is important to approaching the moral questions.

  And there's much more detail besides. Inside a Go game between astute players, personal feelings might be a decisive factor. AlphaGo's coolness is based on its indifference to rivals rather of testing a person’s characteristics of his rivals, it might rather demonstrate pure and conquering rationality. Where, as with the situation of Newell and Simon, intelligent situations are also thinking things and (conscious) minds, understood as physical computers processing syntax under an interpretation. The issue is to pair in the syntax and also the semantics the right way.

This summer, a really shocking bit of news arrived on the scene about how an automatic hands broke the arm of some other man by trembling hands. Within this context, the moral conundrum that came about was who's responsible if your automatic arm destroys the hands that squeezes it? Technologies concerned with human performance belong to this umbrella. This really is not new the very first set of these originated from the United States and dates back to 2002.

  The word, NBIC describes Nanotechnologies, Biotechnologies, Information technologies, and Cognitive sciences. And also the greatest danger I see here, is a little exclusivity culture happening in AI circles, where individuals who study AI appear to consider themselves a lot smarter and capable that average folks, that frequently they simply assume we won’t know very well what is even happening. Searching for why is us human, recently we found Einstein’s quote the intuitive thoughts are a sacred gift and also the rational thoughts are a faithful servant. We've produced a society that honors the servant and it has forgotten the present. This technique combines different marketing strategies to approach users non-intrusively and also to positively drive them value based on the their demands in their interaction using the organization, from the first contact until they be a customer, which after they've left the organization. , with what could be known as an existence cycle. In this cycle the individual experiences 4 different phases (attract, convert, develop and delight).

  Harnad, however, may underestimate the epistemic sources at our disposal. The pattern of reasoning referred to as inference towards the best explanation offers a methodology that may transcend his conceptions. This method involves selecting one person in the group of available choices because the hypothesis that gives the very best reason behind the accessible evidence. Any ideas that specify a lot of available evidence are more suitable to individuals that specify less. Individuals which are incompatible using the evidence are rejected as false.

  Individuals which are more suitable when sufficient evidence opens up will also be acceptable. Ideas which are acceptable might be false, making inference of the kind fallible, however they remain probably the most rational one of the available choices. When the hypothesis of the presence of mentality ends up to supply a better reason behind the accessible evidence than its alternatives, its acceptance could still be warranted. There are specific stuff that computers do very well. They're amazing at computation and systems. They're efficient at executing instructions rapidly and precisely. For this reason an internet search engine formula works more effectively for many searches than the usual person looking at a card catalogue.

  But . . . if you are ever inside a bind and also you need anyone to find research within an unpredicted area, librarians will invariably outperform a Search.

Technologies concerned with human performance belong to this umbrella. This really is not new the very first set of these originated from the United States and dates back to 2002. The word, NBIC describes Nanotechnologies, Biotechnologies, Information technologies, and Cognitive sciences. She clearly links the tech towards the social issues as well as shows how, in example after example, it’s frequently exactly the same group who don't get insurance, don't get good education, and don’t obtain the job. It is the same individuals who frequently finish up getting discriminated against. I believe that's a very essential requirement of AI, which we have to take a look at: how were using algorithms.

  Machine learning is just like the information set that you have. So, if were all of a sudden beginning where we're now and getting a large remove in making use of by doing this of attempting to make decisions, what we should may not get is a few glorious future.

  What we should could get rather is a few dystopian form of the current because were just reproducing the information that we’ve already got, and often amplifying its biases. What’s still missing is purchase of jobs focused on the social, ethical and policy implications of AI. The Vector Institute is hiring research scientists and postdocs, and MILA is hiring interns, postdocs and professors, however in each situation, knowledge of machine learning may be the primary job qualification. CIFARs AI and society workshops offer gather interdisciplinary teams to understand more about emerging questions regarding how AI may affect the planet, but you will find precious couple of jobs in Canada (or elsewhere) for those who study AIs effects in the outlook during the humanities and social sciences.

  Alongside the development of new tenure lines and graduate levels in AI, we have to purchase training and employing experts within the social, ethical and policy implications of AI if were to possess a hope of predicting and stopping harmful outcomes.

#ai #philosophy #artificial intelligence #machine learning #deep learning

[cindylouwho-2]

RECENT NEWS, RESOURCES & STUDIES, April 6, 2021

Welcome to my latest summary of recent ecommerce news, resources & studies including search, analytics, content marketing, social media & Etsy! This covers articles, podcasts, videos and infographics I came across since the early March report, although some may be older than that.

I am hoping to launch a new ecommerce resource page on my website in May, although that is looking a bit ambitious with everything else I have on the go. (I've released the latest version of my Etsy search ebook, and am working on updating the keyword research ebook this week as well as still drafting a few new blog posts on Etsy search.)

If you have any questions, please drop me a line here on Tumblr, reply to this post, email me, or contact me on Twitter.

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES

Etsy Ads have been turning themselves on without sellers taking any action. There are threads here, here, here, and here. There is a video here with more people reporting the issue in the comments. A few cases seem to be related to using vacation mode, and at least one person reports a much higher budget than they would have chosen. So go check to make sure they ae still off (unless you want them running).

eBay, Etsy and some other marketplaces have formed a coalition to lobby against proposed laws they say could harm small sellers and microbusinesses. The Coalition to Protect American’s Small Sellers (PASS Coalition) is currently fighting the INFORM Consumers Act, which “would require online marketplaces to disclose third-party seller information to consumers, including name, address, email and telephone, or face civil penalties.” An Etsy rep said that this would be problematic because it would affect the privacy of sellers, and could potentially move communications off-site meaning Etsy would have less “ability to ensure seller integrity and consumer protections.”

PayPal is now allowing Americans to pay using cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin; this is rolling out over the next few months.

ETSY NEWS

Remember when Etsy Ads got way more expensive and stopped working for some people? Here’s the technical explanation of what they changed. [It is very technical in some parts, so most people will struggle with a lot of it] Note they explain that the Etsy Ads algorithm “ranks listings based on their bid price, multiplied by their predicted click-through rate”, and that they added contextual factors such as the time, the day of the week, and the buyer’s platform to tailor the bidding, and the expected order value is supposed to be part of the final bid calculation. They also mention that the current system is using the “30-day listing purchase rate” as a factor. The results of testing: “[t]he buyers saw more relevant results from ads (+6.19% CTR), the buyers made more purchases from ads (+3.08% PCCVR) and the sellers received more sales for every dollar they spent on Etsy Ads (+7.02% ROAS).” It’s clear that Etsy Ads are designed for the really big spenders, not small shops.

April’s attribute updates include candles and desks.

In their latest sustainability initiative, Etsy will now offset carbon emissions from packaging.

Etsy’s “disaster relief fund” has launched, but it is only available to US sellers, which is something not stated until you click to the application form. The FAQs actually state it is available to “all sellers”. Because everyone on Etsy is American, right?

Etsy donated $500,000 to two groups working against Asian hate. Ironically, they also got called out for having an algorithm that was surfacing “erotic” photos of Asian women as recommendations on listings that were completely unrelated items with only “Asian” as a common keyword. The issue was also noted in searches for “Asian photo”. Etsy’s response was to remove 3 listings and to promise to “continue to work on improving our algorithm to avoid surfacing recommendations where not relevant or appropriate.”

The Spring and Summer Trend Report is out, with the usual detail on trending items and keywords used. Some of the search trends:

“143% YoY increase in searches on Etsy for checkered prints”

Things like mushrooms, and “waves and squiggles” are hot

Outdoors, plants and gardening, staycations & decor related to travel are all expected to continue to be popular

“286% YoY increase in searches on Etsy for vintage colored glassware”

“42% YoY increase in searches on Etsy for pendant necklaces”

“86% YoY increase in searches on Etsy for clothing patterns”

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES

If you are fairly new to SEO for search engines such as Google, you may find that it seems way too complex, and you might worry that you are missing something. Here is a great basic checklist for websites. Most of these items will not apply on marketplaces such as Etsy; e.g., Etsy rewrites the file name, and doesn’t allow you to create an URL separate from the listing title, or a meta description different from the listing description.

One of the most common questions I get is “how do I get backlinks”? Fortunately, Moz just came out with the Beginner's Guide to Link Building.

You know that links are very important for Google ranking, but do you know how Google decides that? Read this, and you will. [text with lots of graphics]

If you really want to know everything about SEO, Search Engine Journal compiled a fabulous list of resources. Some get very technical, so this list is definitely not for everyone.

A new study says that ⅔ of Google searches do not result in a click; people are getting the information they seek from various Google features on the search page. The study does not separate out simple searches such as the temperature outside, or a spelling check, in which users wouldn’t benefit from clicking. But while the click rate is dropping, users are still growing, so the total number of clicks continues to increase. Here’s a bit of commentary on the study.

Although Google says it likely won’t change ranking much, here’s a good overview of the upcoming Core Web Vitals algorithm update.

Good news! Bots don’t hurt your Google ranking.

SEO for videos on Google, appropriately in the form of a video. [links and highlights in the video’s description]

Former Google employees are involved in Neema, a subscription-based search engine which will protect users’ privacy. The site is currently in beta and there is a waitlist.

(CONTENT) MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA (includes blogging & emails)

Trends in the best headline/caption/title for sharing have changed. BuzzSumo’s review of 100 million posts shows that emotional phrases are no longer as big as they were in 2017, and the most shared headlines are now shorter: only 11 words/65 characters. There is a lot of analysis of Twitter and Facebook as well as general info here.

Ideal image size is different on every social media platform; this infographic gives you all the sizes for the major sites.

Reminder: don’t buy Instagram followers. A lot of the services sell bots and inactive accounts, which means you won’t get any engagement. The article ends with a few tips on how to get authentic followers that will actually help you.

Coming to Instagram: the ability to save drafts of Stories.

Reddit has opened a Canadian office, a logical decision since Canuck Redditors are the third-largest country base, and are increasing by 40% a year.

Which app was downloaded the most in the first quarter of 2021? You will be unsurprised to hear it is TikTok.

ONLINE ADVERTISING (SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL MEDIA, & OTHERS)

You can’t know how successful your ads are, or how they could be improved, if you aren’t paying attention to several different metrics. Here is what to watch on Facebook.

Here is an overview of what we know about how Google is doing away with advertisers’ third party cookies; the new set up is called Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC).

Ad design can be tricky; here are 11 tips for creating Facebook ads that will work.

TikTok is forcing users to see ads related to their TikTok history; as of April 15, you will not be able to opt out of ad personalization. You can still refuse to let them use your activity on other sites, though.

STATS, DATA, OTHER TRACKING

Here’s an overview of how the new version of Google Analytics works.

Facebook Analytics will be retired June 30, 2021, and some people do not feel there are adequate alternatives.

ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS

Poshmark now has listing videos. Any videos added also show up on a seller’s Posh Stories. eBay is also rolling out videos on listing pages and storefronts.

Walmart’s Marketplace now allows sellers from outside the United States; the first new group is from China.

Hudson’s Bay Company is the latest to invite third-party merchants to sell on its site, the Hudson’s Bay Marketplace. There isn’t much there yet, though.

BUSINESS & CONSUMER STUDIES, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE

Half of Americans hate seeing the same ads all of the time. 40% were interested in learning about deals through ads, while almost as many want ads that are “entertaining”.

Make sure you are using the correct words to get buyers to convert. This infographic lists some of the most useful psychological trigger words, depending on your goals.

Increasing the average order value is a smart way to increase your income without adding more new customers. Here are 4 pricing strategies to get you there.

Ecommerce spending is projected to continue increasing, and installment plans have been popular early in 2021.

How fast a website loads is directly related to sales and conversions. “If a page’s load time slowed from one second to three seconds, the chances of a bounce increased by almost a third (32%). And going from one to five seconds increased bounce rate by a whopping 90%!”

#etsysellernews #Etsynews #search engine optimization #content marketing #microbusiness #ecommerce

[humblyquentin]

Get to Know Me 1. What is your middle name? Trent (Quentin Trent Williams) 2. What is your favorite color I go back and forth on this , so imma give you both of them , blue & green . Definitely comes from my love of the outdoors . 3. Who was your first best friend? My first best friend is Julian , he was one of my first male friends . Love him like a brother 4. How tall are you? I’m 5’11 Pretty much average for a man 5. Cats or Dogs? I’ve never had a dog before lmao , so I guess cats . I do currently have a African wildcat (Commonly known as a Savannah Cat , cross breed of a wild African cat and a common house cat) 6.Funniest moment throughout School? Lol in 8th grade I printed a 100 page document on mistake (I only wanted to print 1 page ) as it happened I was mortified as page after page printed. 7. How many countries have you visited? One, or two if you count the United States . I’ve been to Mexico 8. Are you in/have you gone to college? Currently in College , getting degree in Biomedical engineering. 9. What was your favorite/worst subject in High School? My favorite subject was math, but to be honest I liked all the subjects . I was able to sit in class and get the material easily . I hardly ever studied and I routinely passed tests and exams . I will say that my hardest class was APUSH (Advanced Placement US History) chile I’m having nightmares just talking about it 10. What is your Favorite drink? Lmao what kinda drink we talking about ? Uhhh non-alcoholic would be root beer 😍and alcoholic would be Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey. Shoutout to K Michelle , she’s the reason why I tried in the first place . 11. What is your favorite animal? A seahorse , my birthmark looks a seahorse So every since I realized my birthmark I’ve loved seahorses 12. What is your favorite perfume? Uhhh... I rarely wear cologne lmao ... but I got an adidas cologne set for Christmas 13. Tea or Coffee? I don’t drink coffee , and I love sweet tea 14. What would you (or have you) name(d) your children? I don’t have kids (love them though) I would name my son Saxton I would name my daughter Saxoniya 15. What Sports do you play/Have you played? Football (of course ) I ran track and as well as play basketball 16. What is your favorite book? Oh my god my favorite book has to be Anonymous Lawyer, it’s fucking hilarious. It’s about a lawyer at a major firm , voicing his true feelings about his job on an anonymous blog . In the end the blog blows up and they eventually figure out who he is . 17. Who are some of your favorite YouTubers? My favorite YouTuber is Jayla Koriyan : https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCWD296-oeygjyIY8WSOFbBA She’s my friend in my head lmao , she’s also the reason why I Finally started my website . I also watch a lot of 4itsrox https://m.youtube.com/user/4itsrox BondyBlue https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCXD7kOvZrLgl55U2MIQ3XdQ 18. What is your favorite movie? My favorite movie is cheesy af , it’s called 9 months and sure nobody else has seen it and that’s fine . 19. Are you Single or Taken? I’m single as fuck 20. Whats your idea of an ideal first date? Dinner and a nice walk afterwards to just talk and get know each other 21. How many Girlfriends/Boyfriends have you had? I’ve never had a girlfriend and I’ve had two boyfriends 22. Favorite memory from childhood? I would say family events, my family doesn’t do it anymore . When I was little we used to get the entire family together for thanksgiving and pull names for dirty Santa . 23. Do you speak any different languages and how well? I speak English , I suppose pretty well lmao I took 3 years of AP Spanish in high school and I know a little bit of Portuguese 24. Do you have any siblings? Yes I have a older sister and two younger sisters . My older brother died from cancer 4 years ago . 25. How would you describe your fashion sense? Preppy when I actually dressed up but most of the time it’s laid back and sporty 26. What is your favorite restaurant? It’s the local spot , that you would only know about if you lived here . 27. What are some of your favorite tv shows? S’murder (How to get away with Murder ) Real Housewives of Atlanta Atlanta But most of the time I’m watching sports 28. PC or Mac? Uhhh I guess PC , the only Mac computer I’ve used was in yearbook class . 29. What phone do you have? (iOS v Android?) I have an iPhone 7 Plus Gloss Black 30 Tell us one of your bad habits! I bite my nails lol , I can’t help it lmao. 31. Are you named after anyone? Yes my father named is also Quentin but I’m not a junior lmao 32. When was the last time you cried? I cried when Cardi B got her #1 , because I was so proud of her . Seeing her go from social media fame to commercial success was emotional for me . 33. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself? Uhhh Hell the fuck yes Because I’m a great friend, I keep it real with you 34. Do you use sarcasm a lot? The Aries in me just cackled at this question hell Yeah I do all the fucking time 35. What’s the first thing you notice about people? The energy that comes off of them , whether it’s positive or negative 36. What is your eye color? Brown 37. Scary movie or happy endings? Happy endings are general unrealistic 38. Favorite smells? Food lmao , I love smelling some good ass food cooking 39. What’s the furthest you’ve ever been from home? Cancun Mexico 🇲🇽 40. Where were you born? Dauphin Island Alabama 41. What are your hobbies? I love to write hence why I started a blog website . 42. Do you have any pets? Yes a cat 43. What do you want to be when you grow up? I’m well on my way to achieving this . I want to be an engineer 44. Are you status conscious? Lmao nope I’m not 45. Are you a good competitor? Absolutely I love to compete 46. Do you get jealous of others? No I’m not , I’m blessed I can’t be worrying about what somebody else got 47. Which country do you wish to visit? France 48. Which place do you like to visit often? The bank lmao to deposit these checks lmao 49. What is your favorite food? Chicken 50. Do you like bright colors? No lol 51. Do you write with a right hand or left? Right handed 52. Do you drive furiously? Lmao yes I do omg , get tf outta my way 53. Are you afraid of darkness? Uhh a little bit , lmao I run back to my room at night and I keep my door locked 54. Which smell do you like the most? Typically sweat lmao since I workout a lot

[fineliners]

A MASTERPOST OF MY TIPS ON LEARNING ANCIENT GREEK!

I am by no means a master of this subject, as I’m just taking my first semester now. But I am getting like 100% in the class literally and at this point I think I’ve amassed a good amount of tips that can help people.

I’m making this masterpost because i always looked for info like this when I was thinking about studying classics but couldn’t find anything. A lot of the tips for learning modern languages don’t really work for dead languages--you can’t watch a Netflix show in ancient Attic Greek!

Without further ado, here is what to expect and all of the tips that I’ve learned so far. If anyone has any questions about Ancient Greek or classics feel free to message me!

01. Starting Ancient Greek: What to Expect

If you’re learning Ancient Greek I’m assuming you’re taking it in school. I understand wanting to learn it on your own however I really wouldn’t recommend it, resources are hard to find/expensive and it’s a difficult language so you’d be better off learning with some guidance. I’d recommend just taking a course at your university and seeing how you like it--so this post doesn’t have any particular tips for self-studiers.

That being said, starting Ancient Greek even in a classroom setting is daunting. It’s a difficult and unpopular language and there’s a lot to learn--sorry folks but it will probably be about three years before you start reading any Homer. Readings in first year courses are fairly simple and highly adapted from their ancient sources.

So anyway, this is what you can expect from Ancient Greek: it’s a big time commitment. You will be studying it more days of the week than not, and it takes dedication, practice, and a lot of memorization. If you already have a heavy or difficult course load then it might just stress you out, but it’s up to you to decide how much you can handle. I take the class four days a week and have nightly homework that’s taken up in class, plus a longer translation assignment every weekend that’s due on Mondays. My class also has weekly quizzes to study for.

The one good thing about this language (well there are lots of good things but) is that your class size will likely be small unless your university/high school has a freakishly large classics program. For me this means that there’s a lot of discussion, class participation, and going over homework, which keeps me accountable. I deal with a fair bit of social anxiety but in this case it works to my advantage--I’m so scared to embarrass myself in class that I’m extra motivated to keep up and do all my homework!

Long story short: learn Ancient Greek if you love it. Learn it if you desperately want to know it. Learn it if you love classics and ancient authors. It’s a difficult, convoluted, confusing beast, but I love it and I hope that you will too.

02. Learning Stuff

Vague title, I know. These are just my general tips on how to actually learn the information like vocab, verb and noun forms, clauses, etc.

for basically every set of tenses or declensions that you need to learn, I like to make a chart. I make my own printables to help me memorize all the forms and then I basically just write in the chart over and over again to study for my quizzes

however, this won’t work for everyone. it works for me because I’m a visual learner, but you can adapt my methods to your learning style

also, it’s a bit more complicated than just copying out the chart. To form memories in my head I need to make connections. If two endings are the same, or if a row of endings are similar but with a different vowel for example, I note those connections and write them down first when filling out my chart

as for vocab, the best thing is doing quizlets/flashcards and reading the words aloud to connect with the meanings. Also doing your homework because it’s likely that the vocab will show up in the homework and sort of force you to learn it

Ancient Greek can be very hard because in all likelihood most of your work will be parsing and translations--since it isn’t spoken anymore you don’t learn “conversational” Greek skills or anything like that and it’ll be a while before you start reading more than a short paragraph of sentences at once. So it’s hard to study because you can’t really use the usual tips that people give to immerse yourself in the language. If you feel like you need to do more but don’t know how, do as many problems in your textbook as you can and even make up sentences for yourself to translate

03. Keeping Up

Keeping up in Ancient Greek class is absolutely necessary to your success. You can come back from falling behind if you’re a strong student but it’s not fun and I don’t recommend it, so just try to keep up really. How do I do this?

practice five days a week. I have this class an hour a day for four days a week, so I practice each of those days. I also usually practice on Sunday nights, doing the homework that’s due on Monday. I like to leave my homework to Sunday night because it takes me out of weekend mode and gives me a quick refresher on what we were learning so that I’m prepared for Monday’s class

take advantage of weekly diagnostics such as quizzes and make sure you’re doing well on them. If you get a bad mark, make sure to find out why

DO YOUR HOMEWORK. It sounds obvious but it’s very important. Ancient Greek is cumulative and if you aren’t doing your homework and keeping up then you’re not going to do well. 

use the homework to actually learn. Do the exercises to the best of your ability and note any problems you have or anything you couldn’t figure out. Take them into class the next day. Even if your teacher doesn’t take up the homework in class, talk to a classmate or the professor about your questions and try to learn from what tripped you up in the homework

stay organized, of course. Make sure you write down important dates from the syllabus like the day of the midterm and the exam so you stay focused

review old concepts. For my current project, I’m making a simple notebook that I will be filling with lists of vocab by unit and a quick guide to every declension and verb voice, mood, and tense ending so that I can flip quickly through the notebook for reference while I’m studying/doing my homework. Doing something like that may be a good opportunity to review anything that tripped you up when you first learned it

a fun little tip I have is using my other classes to study. I’m taking all classics courses so if in an English-speaking class we start talking about the ekklesia, I’ll rewrite it in Greek as εκκλησια or whatever at the side of my page. It’s fun and it helps me remember my vocab!

04. Studying for Exams

to study for my quizzes and midterms, I mostly just do all the things listed under the “Learning stuff” section but in one sitting

review EVERYTHING. Review it even if you think you know it because Greek is confusing and overwhelming and you don’t want to let your hybris get in the way...

learn the vocab first, that will make it easier to do parsing and translation exercises

if you’re learning verbs or nouns in particular, parse over and over until you feel confident that you can recognize all the forms

do as many translation exercises as you can and look out for repeating formulas and conventions that might confuse you (for me, I just got very tripped up on a relative clause where there was no verb in the main clause, instead the adjective was in predicate position so the main clause was very short and the relative clause had a regular verb and an infinitive. Nasty shit like that. Just look out for it)

focus on what you find the most difficult and what will yield the most marks. For me, I focus on memorizing verb forms and that stuff, rather than English to Greek or Greek to English translations, because I find I’m usually good enough at figuring those out as I go along. However this will vary depending on what you know best

honestly, this will depend on you as a person, but I don’t recommend starting to study too soon if you’re caught up and familiar with the material. A lot of Ancient Greek is memorization so if you start studying too early you’ll probably forget a lot of stuff by the time the test comes around. This might be just me but I always carve out a few hours the night before to refresh my mind and re-memorize all of the forms. If you’re keeping up (as per above), doing well on your homework/quizzes/assignments, and feel comfortable with the material, this will probably work for you too.

I hope this post helped someone! I know I’ve always been disappointed because tumblr has tons of studyblr posts for Latin but very very few for Ancient Greek, so I wanted to make something that would be useful for any Greek lovers like me :) If anyone has any questions about the language, classics in general, or anything, feel free to drop me an ask!

#ancient greek #classics #classicsblr #greekblr #studyblr #studyspo #smartblr #smartspo #university of toronto #university #tagamemnon #masterpost #mine #my masterpost

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Syndication service later onand Mr Jack Douglas who produced Johnand Yoko Ono’s current album double fantasy who was with Johnand Yoko shortly before his tragic death here in New York last night I would be right back to run the 1975 interview with John Lennon after these announcementsand I hope that you will stay with us we back in about two minutesand seconds John Lennon in a Best Dad Bod Ever Since 1965 Vintage Father T Shirt little bit later on in the program will talk about the possibility of us having to leave the United Statesand at that time his attorney Mr Leon Wilds will join us to make certain that John or I make no mistakes in the legalities but I welcome you hereand I’m glad that you’re here as I said at the outset the back in 1964 by after the cataclysmic arrival of the Beatles here in the United Statesand the great popularity had on the Ed Sullivan programand others there were many people who did not really understand what you were doingand and they thought then that your hair was longand that you looked might. They can escalated to a vaccine invention so is very important that we resist this mashup not only is truth on our side the Constitution and the law on our side but logic and common sense is on our side and a lot more people out there that are frustrated with this mask shipping you think they just don’t know the lawn he don’t have the intimate knowledge about what’s really being done to us like we do there pushing the coalition shut the schools down and the church is why because schools and churches aware boating happens if they can shut down a bolt of the polling places guess what happens mail in voting Horowitz study of our thousand hundred UK schools show very little evidence that the virus is transmitted in school you know why because everybody has tested positive is asymptomatic the CDC and the World Health Organization already said asymptomatic people do not get the do not. Like John Snow Amy’s motivation is drivenand the nonsense in the service of keeping him sympathetic relative to Dragon Lady bad we know what kind of a guy Jamie is based on his actions so for him to say even really giving us a why only serves as a cheap twist surprising but not unexpected isn’t it after all he’s explaining his motivation with wordsand motivations are explained with words that means a defect to make telling the audience the thing makes sense with your dialogue while not supporting the thing with the characters actions is kind of the trends in the last season game of thrones Thursday one of the greatest villains not just in TV history but arguably all of literature she she didn’t have much to do battyand there did she all of tearyand stupid mistakesand wildly out of characterand unmotivated sudden trust in his evil sister serve the purpose of keeping Circe in the game optional remember I chose to help promises or assurances which feels even more insulting given that Circe closed lowing up that faces no consequences nor has a secret evil plan beyond staring on a balconyand glowering over my domain with a glass of wine which I get it that’s my usual Friday night but all she in season eight is a scene of the thing was not to be the most in the show makes Circe sympathetic but it’s like in the most condescending way possible be characters somehow just go she just got he says come when the plot says so Circe’s armies instantly crumbleand she dies a weirdly sympathetic death in Jamie’s arms who is here for some reason in a rocks fall everyone dies situation that feels more on par would like a your Disney movie is in line with someone who once said how or how this is important to look at Circe for who she is presented as a monarchand what the show built her up to be before dinner is torched King’s Landing elements multivitamin will take off the big thing hereand I mean big scene as a defining actionand Circe’s rule is are effectively blowing up the in universe equivalent of the Vatican as a means to wipe out her enemiesand flex on how many foxy gives which is zero is the scene was awesomeand yes it feels like something someone as recklessand vengeful as Circe would do when pushed to the editor Brink but prior to season for most of the plot of game of thrones is centered around the direct consequences of one guy Ned start getting his head lopped offand what pretty much everyone who wasn’t a child who ordered it even Circe felt was a massive dick move meanwhile postseason six Circe not only blew up one of the largest buildings in West Rosen wiped out a decent chunk of the faithand its leader but also decimated one of the most powerful wealthyand well liked familiesand mistress with a lot of loyal Bannermanand apart from a few stray remarks from other characters you sister this major act of mass violence just kind we just move on it nobody cares there are no consequences for this she is crownedand life goes on the only person opposing her is Dragon lady who would have invaded no matter who is on the throne so let’s break this down why in God’s name when they set up Circe finally exacting revenge on the faceless masses that through literal feces on her during the walk of shameand weeding out religious extremism with impunity only to conveniently forget the internal logic of much smaller scale political issues like that starts execution causing massive upheaval dimension again wasting someone likely entities talent’s well here is why because of how season eightand this one act necessitates that yes Circe would be considered an unparalleled top tier Megatron grade tyrant she couldn’t have wiped out all of the faith militant or even most of them let alone the countless followers of the seven in West Rose who would feel understandably very pissedand personally attacked by this maneuver is also to say nothing of all people who saw her as 100 illegitimate or believe that her children were inbred pastors or who would want revenge on her for what she did the house Tyrell to the dumb dumb throated juicy situation which in theory could have led to some of the best acting from one of the most talented players but the problem here is that it would have revealed her as a tyrant leading to a situation where literally anyone with a claim to the throne would be looked upon by the people attend landing as a liberator which leads us to the person who at least far as everyone knows has the best claim to the throneand wouldn’t you know it has already defined herself as a liberator so Dragon lady shows up writing some dragons like okay hi I’m here to liberate y’all on the breaker of chains love me please it’s fair to say that DD created a situation where I actually does a pretty great for the small book of Kings Landingand the vast vast majority of the nobles who already support herand pretty much everyone who is in the iron Bank of bravos to whom the Lancers a lot of money can count on the back support our students to go should they wrote a situation where there’s no way Circe would be able to maintain power after her move with the septic without being a complete totalitarian who stomps out dissent before it even manifests she created a situation where she had no choiceand she is a personality to relish that sort of thing like oh God yes revenge please I live for thisand I remember the face of every peasant who flung shit at meand I will pull each of their fingernails out myselfand on a related note you really expect me to think alike Circe’s good I like be upset that the nurses murdering that the innocence of Kings Landing after what they did to her she should be like go girl so the only way to deal with the fallout of Circe’s actions while still barreling full steam ahead to this predetermined ending is to ignore them altogether the show must maintain that the people of Kings Landingand help greater West Rose are never affected by their monarchand that they don’t care that social trends do not apply to the rabble or the common folk even though that was a huge chunk of the Kings Landing plot for seasons six that yes the machinations of the powerful do have effectand politically savvy nobles like Marjorie Tyrell have sound methodsand this development in later seasons especially with Circe kill me because what set game of thrones apart for the first few seasons was how it was so conscious of the house that intrigues a magical or otherwise have realistic consequences that affect not only the lives of the major characters but also the culture of the world itself like in season seven during the latrine attack dinners recklessly burns all that food from the reach that surely should have some consequences right may be set up a touch of the old starvation but like the destruction of the set they wrote a situation that should have had consequences but didn’t that the existence of a gun create a situation where it makes perfect sense not only for the people of West rest to reject an heiress for her own sense of entitlement to make her descent into power up session makes sense only based on the situation but also based on the character that we know unfortunately that is not the situation at the Chapel Road facility with the nearest nurse came to power effectively from nothing not only because of an important nameand some dragons but because people believed in her once so it was like the service provider leaving with whom I know a lot of people problematic writing or no sacrifice a lot because they believed what she believed this isand then she went some more crimesand you didn’t even see it coming because she pretty don’t you feel stupid

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Our Important Techniques That Can Really Increase Your Business Resilience

Concerned about your company stopping working due to COVID-19? Resilience is critical for business owners today, and it will prove to be a key dimension for measuring success over the next decade. Here are three potent techniques to build continuity planning into your company to get rid of and make it through 2020 and beyond.

Strategies to Make Your Business Resilient

Anxious About The Future? Rest Easy!

In this series, I will show you how to safeguard your business and credibility against the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and go over a few of the practices, programs, resources, and techniques that are readily available to small business owners, soloprenuers, and gig economy employees.

Business Continuity and Resilience Planning

In this post, I'm going to discuss what "business resilience" implies and why it's crucial to get management in your company concentrating on business continuity planning prior to an emergency.

I'll also propose 3 agile methods for constructing resilience into your company now that might assist your business endure the next worldwide pandemic.

Twenty-twenty will definitely decrease as one of the hardest years many of us have actually dealt with in our lifetimes. For me, 2019 was right up there. I lost my papa, my pet dog, and a new service within the latter 6 months of the year.

Geopolitics, financial downturns, and many other elements can have significant results on your functional capabilities and efficiency.

Customer spending in the United States fell by ~ 20% throughout the very first two months of Coronavirus's speeding up spread, according to the US Department of Commerce, while the pandemic also disrupted ~ 75% of supply chains, according to the Institute for Supply Chain Management.

Economic Disruption and Natural Disasters?

Even before COVID-19, lots of services were struggling to prepare for, react to, resume speed and keep pace with technological change.

Sarah Bond and Gillian Shapiro of the Harvard Business Review performed a survey of 835 employees from public, personal, and not-for-profit companies about what was occurring in their lives that required resilience. What did they figure out? They didn't indicate disasters or the economy-- they pointed to business culture and their colleagues.

Social Dynamics Caused the Biggest Drain

Comprehending that, in times like these, the secret to moving on is thinking favorable (albeit challenging), and ending up being durable. While I've been dealing with my own individual resilience, I've also been working hard to make sure that my relationships, my other business, and my neighborhood and environment, are gotten ready for unforeseen difficulties and hardship.

As Diane Coutu reports in "How Resilience Works":

You can bounce back from challenge with simply one or two of these qualities, but you will just be genuinely resistant with all three. These 3 characteristics hold true for resistant organizations as well ... Resilient people and companies deal with reality with staunchness, make significance of difficulty instead of crying out in anguish, and improvise services from thin air.

Why is resilience in business crucial?

When others are failing, it indicates your company makes it through-- or even grows--.

Resilience Reduces Stress

Resilience is a term typically utilized in psychology to describe "the procedure of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, disaster, risks or considerable sources of tension."

Establishing an Increased Capacity to Identify Additional Sources of Stress Builds Resilience

For individuals, resilience indicates you recover (instead of falling apart) after a crisis (like relationship difficulties, health problems, work conflicts, or financial setbacks).

Resilience will not eliminate danger or solve your issues, but it can provide you the chance (and clarity) to see past them while better managing your tension levels.

Resilience Planning Recession-Proofs your Business

Miriam Webster defines resilience as the "ability to recover from or change easily to misfortune or change."

SearchCIO extends this meaning, keeping in mind that "business resilience is the capability an organization needs to quickly adjust to disturbances while keeping constant service operations and protecting individuals, possessions and overall brand equity."

Business resilience planning is also often described as business continuity planning , and is an assessment of the sustainability of a given organization.

In the past, I taught week-long courses to skilled Fortune 100 organizations and their executives on catastrophe healing and center and business continuity planning in the enterprise, with a more comprehensive focus on details, computer, and network security.

For these companies, business resilience indicates carrying out digital systems and processes to ensure business continuity, while offering product and services that remain (or ended up being) desirable in the face of global events, financial instability, or dangers to a service's core operations.

" In the face of a crisis or financial slowdown, resistant companies ride out uncertainty rather of being subdued by it."-- McKinsey Quarterly

During the last downturn, McKinsey & Company traced the paths of more than 1,000 openly traded companies in various markets and with various maturity designs, and discovered that just about 10 percent of those companies fared materially better than the rest.

While the last slump was extreme, some business flourished in spite of present dangers

They found some intriguing parallels in how sustainable companies would weather a storm: how they got ready for them, how they acted throughout tougher phases, and how they came out of them.

With most of these organizations relying greatly on information, analytics, and automation, it ended up being clear that digital technologies will prove to be a significantly vital component of business resilience tomorrow.

Still, one core insight prevailed: the business that made it through-- those that showed real resilience-- moved early, ahead of the slump. They started preparing early, their numbers dipped less, and they came out on top.

" When the economy started heading south, what differentiated [them] was revenues, not revenue. By the time the decline reached its trough in 2009, the earnings, determined as revenues before interest, taxes, devaluation, and amortization (EBITDA), of [these business] had increased by 10 percent, while market peers had actually lost almost 15 percent." A resistant business responds quickly to tackle crises, recovers from difficulty so that it can surpass its competitors, and transforms itself to remain ahead of peers in the future.

In the past four downturns since 1985, only about one in 7 business increased both its sales development rate and its earnings margins, according to a 2019 BCG research study. These companies grew sales by 14% more and enhanced their margins by 7% more than the 44% of business in distress that declined on both criteria.

" A business requires to embed resilience in every element of the company, from its go-to-market approach to its operations to its most crucial facilities. Vulnerabilities in any location might impact the business's capability to prosper and survive," says BCG.

The 3 Fastest Ways to Make Your Business Resilient

In their research study, McKinsey & Co identified 3 core strategies that assisted these business avoid downtime and develop this revenues advantage:

They created a safety buffer by cleaning up their balance sheets before the dip A lot of companies cut costs ahead of the curve They focused on growth, even if it suggested sustaining costs

While useful, these techniques can be a bit tough for smaller companies to do something about it on. So, for maximum impact, my goal in this post is to cover 3 strategies that leaders at the majority of business will find:

simple to understand, ( reasonably) simple to carry out, and repeatable across different verticals.

It is this mix of elements that makes these strategies effective for creating business continuity. And proven methods can help in reducing the sources of stress that test your resilience in the very first location.

The 3 techniques that match all of these elements are:

Repeating Revenues Productized Service Offerings Automated Client Acquisition

Strategy 1: Recurring Revenues beget Business Continuity

While this very first method might seem a little "on the nose," the reality is that a number of you are running pure service organizations that count on you to repeatedly "offer" every job to each and every client, each and every time they require your help (I understand since I asked).

When you change to a recurring design, you're automating the continuation of a service over a period of time (be it every month, quarter, or week), and with it, increasing your CLV (consumer lifetime worth).

Understanding that, it's easy to comprehend why automating recurring earnings is one of the most effective ways to produce resilience in your service, despite your service model, and it's a technique everybody need to consider.

It may not be as easy as simply altering your billing frequency however, because clients will require an inspiration to transfer to a recurring payment model.

You'll have to adjust your prices, use annual or quarterly discount rates for innovative renewal, and productize your service offerings to make it easier for clients to understand what they're purchasing, and why they ought to pay in advance.

Which brings us to technique 2 ...

Strategy 2: Productize Your Service Offerings, Now!

Stop Trading Time for Money Whether you're making a living as a freelancer or consultant, or running a traditional "service business," you are trading your hours for dollars. Your service likely still depends on project-to-project earnings to keep the lights on if you have a a group.

Even when your consulting business is prospering, you still only have a lot time to exchange for money. This makes it very difficult to scale, and is a huge factor a lot of service business are not resistant.

While service businesses are arguably the simplest to begin (and can be some of the most lucrative, at scale), they're also typically the most difficult and expensive to grow.

To have the ability to keep growing as you quickly adapt, you need to:

constantly find, educate, and transform brand-new customer leads, thoroughly certify those cause sell them high-ticket offerings, constantly handle new customers, even when your skills and time are restricted.

By productizing your service offerings, you can reduce your sales cycles while automating 80% of the acquisition and certification processes.

What does it mean to productize your service offerings?

From your client's perspective, it most often implies a "done for you" solution with a strong worth proposition at a set rate and with a predefined scope.

From a company owner's viewpoint, a productized service is one that runs systematically, scales geometrically, and continues to grow and produce incomes with or without your consistent care and feeding. That is how you construct resilience into a service company and grow as your rivals flail.

To be successful in productizing your business, you don't require to provide more services, you just require to use better ones.

Technique 3: Automate Your Client Acquisition

The last strategy, and the one that increases the efficiency of both of the previous strategies, is that of client acquisition automation.

In basic, there are 3 distinct stages of customer acquisition, each of which can generally be enhanced with automation:

Preliminary Lead Generation Thorough Lead Qualification Ongoing Lead Segmentation

By automating each of these 3 stages, you create a "funnel," where numerous thousands (or perhaps millions) of prospective prospects enter into the top of the funnel, and as you tactically qualify, segment and nurture those prospects, hot leads come out the bottom, prepared to buy your repeating, productized service( s).

This is the essence of what the marketing world describes as a "sales funnel," and we'll enter into more information on each of these phases in the 3rd installment.

This post is intentionally light on strategies and heavy on technique, and it's indicated to make you think of what you've been doing up to now.

Throughout the remainder of this series, my objective will be to help you create resilience by guaranteeing your organization:

Exists in a growing market Concentrate on repeating earnings Does not count on loopholes Automates numerous human activities Concentrate on high ticket sales Delivers results quick

Whether you know it or not, resilience is the key to longevity, scalability, and eventually, the success of your company.

Does your service have a recurring revenue stream?

Are your services already productized?

Are you utilizing systems to automate your customer acquisition?

Do you have an excellent foundation to develop resilience in your company?

Resilience is top of mind for business owners today, and it will prove to be an essential dimension for determining success over the next years. Here are 3 powerful techniques to develop resilience planning into your business to endure and conquer 2020 and beyond.

I lost my dad, my pet dog, and a new organization within the latter 6 months of the year.

Sarah Bond and Gillian Shapiro of the Harvard Business Review carried out a survey of 835 employees from public, personal, and not-for-profit firms about what was happening in their lives that needed resilience. These 3 attributes hold real for durable companies as well ... Resilient individuals and business face reality with staunchness, make significance of challenge instead of weeping out in despair, and improvise services from thin air.

[loudlytransparenttrash]

This Week Within Our Colleges: Part 17

UC-Berkeley students protested their own exam and demanded a "take-home essay with significant time to prepare" in its place. “Our well-beings are being put on the line because of the emotional, mental, and physical stress that this university is compounding with what is already going on in our everyday lives,” the student protestors cry. They go on to claim that their professor is unqualified to teach because he’s a white man, and after nearly four minutes of non-stop bitching, one student said he just wanted to take his exam, which got him named a “white boy with privilege” by the protestors. Just as the group was leaving, one stayed behind to tell off the rest of the class, “I don’t know why you’re still, like, sitting down. I really don’t understand. Y’all can take your fucking test, but people are dying out there. Y’all can take your test, but this university is protecting white supremacists, and y’all are protecting them too.” 

Stevens Institute of Technology students are demanding that the school completely rename a building named after Republican Greg Gianforte, who paid for the academic center to be built. The school agreed to change its name to highlight Gianforte’s wife and parents although the students want his surname removed from the building completely. The students are hoping to raise $20 million, the same amount donated by Gianforte, to buy out the building and rename it themselves, however, the students have only raised about $1,500.

The University of Wisconsin, Madison students are demanding for a disclaimer to be added on an Abraham Lincoln statue accusing him of genocide. Katrina Morrison, chair of the Associated Students of Madison, said that while she appreciates “Lincoln’s role in creating land-grant institutions,” she supports a plaque on his statue to recognize what she called “his brutality towards indigenous people.” “We want a plaque because we want the university to recognize his part in the massacre and killing of innocent people.” Mariah Skenandore, co-president of an indigenous student organization, likewise supported the measure, saying the university doesn’t “acknowledge the impact that it is having on their students” by not having the plaque in place. 

Seattle University's law school withdrew its sponsorship of a debate over illegal immigration in fear exposing students to “painful” conservative viewpoints. The goal of the debate was to examine and talk about DACA. More than 200 students signed a petition demanding that the school not host the event, calling it “hateful xenophobic and anti-immigrant rhetoric“ and both “harmful and unsafe” for the school’s undocumented students. Following the petition, law school dean Annette Clark announced that the institution would no longer sponsor the debate as part of its “Social Justice” duties. 

University of Oregon students forcefully disrupted a speech by the school’s president as he attempted to outline how the school plans to put a massive $50 million donation to use. He was prevented from coming onto the stage by students shouting chants such as “Nothing about us without us!” and cries of fascism and Nazis. President Michael Schill was instead forced to stay in his office and make a video announcement to the students, where he promised the money would help fund a new Black Cultural Center, which includes tutoring and support staff for black students.   

A University of Nevada-Las Vegas professor told her class that Trump may have played a role in encouraging the mass shooting days earlier. Tess Winkelmann was captured on video telling her students that Trump has only encouraged violence since being president and violence is a consequence to his words. Winkelmann boasts about her early warnings that Trump was going to end up getting people killed, “When he got elected, I told my classes three semesters ago, some of us won’t be affected by this presidency, but others are going to die. Other people will die because of this.” She also accused Trump of white nationalism and “threatening nuclear violence against North Korea.” 

Two Mount Allison University professors wrote an article arguing that white students from Western countries need to take workshops to confront their "white fragility" and “white privilege” before going on study abroad trips. If students fail to critically reflect upon their fragility, the professors warn that they risk perpetuating “harmful outcomes” to these countries and could possibly “overlook and perpetuate racism.” To fight this, they recommend robust “pre-departure programming and preparation” for white students. Though the professors warn that this training may not be enough to fully address students’ white fragility. “The antidote to white fragility is on-going and life-long, and includes sustained engagement, humility, and education,” they conclude.

A Pennsylvania State University-Brandywine professor criticized her students for believing in “whiteness ideology” which includes acknowledging “if I work hard, I can be successful” and that “everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve success.” Angela Putman designed a comprehensive three-day seminar on “white privilege” for her students, and became concerned when she realized most students have been “socialized to believe that we get to where we are through our own individual efforts.” Instead, she claims, our fate is decided by “racism and whiteness functioning in various contexts, the powerful influence of systems and institutions, and the pervasiveness of whiteness ideologies within the United States.” Once students “learn more,” Putman hopes that they will “resist perpetuating and reifying whiteness through their own discourse and interactions,” and learn to fight “manifestations of racism and whiteness within U.S. institutions and systems.”

Members of the Black Student Union at the University of Vermont forced their way in to the president's office this week to present a set of demands. In addition to "mandatory diversity training" for all faculty and frat/sorority members, the students also demand increased funding for non-whites and expulsion of students who commit "hate crimes" such as removing a BLM flag. The ultimatum concludes by demanding the administration renames an on-campus building named after George Perkins, an environmentalist who served in the Abraham Lincoln Administration. “If the University of Vermont is truly ashamed of its disgustingly racist history, then the name of this building needs to be changed.” The group was originally told that University President Tom Sullivan was unavailable, but they took it upon themselves to barge their way in.

A group of professors recently warned college administrators that “diversity educators” risk “burnout and fatigue” from “the emotional weight” of their jobs. Seven diversity educators from a “predominantly white research institutions” were interviewed, and they found that many of the subjects described suffering from “burnout” and “racial battle fatigue” from their microaggression prevention efforts. This burnout is caused by diversity educators’ “consistent exposure to various microaggressions,” noting that microaggressions can be described “as forms of assault and torture.”

UC Riverside student Edith Macias became hysterically outraged when she saw a male student wearing a MAGA hat. She abused him and stole his hat, saying it represents genocide and “freedom of speech is genocide, homeboy.” The butch Mexican goes on to say that stealing his property is no big deal because the student’s ancestors stole land, later calling him a white boy. Liberal students rallied around Macias and defended her actions to take the MAGA hat, which they say represents “a violent white supremacist regime.” They also demand UC administration to “pay for alternate housing accommodations for Macias while simultaneously covering her current housing costs” and “grant Macias amnesty and protection from any student or legal charges.” The students go on to demand for the school to release a statement against “white supremacist violence,” as well as one in support of sanctuary campuses. 

California State University, Long Beach is looking for a new professor to teach classes on “gender variant theories.” The new hire will be asked to develop courses on topics such as queering gender, queer studies, feminist transnationalism, trans feminism, transmigration, and gender variant theories. Notably, the Women’s Studies Department which invents these bizarre courses, also offers a variety of other feminist courses, including one on “the social construction of masculinity” another titled “lesbian histories” and a class on “queer spirit.” 

Swarthmore Indigenous Students Association burned the American flag and issued a set of demands, including the removal of the flag from campus. The demands called on Swarthmore College to “admit and recruit native students” and for the school to create a fund to pay for flights “to and from home” for all students who are unable to afford travel expenses. The demands were made public at one of their flag-burning events. “We burn the American flag not just for ourselves, but for our ancestors who died because of that flag. We burn it for our indigenous siblings across the globe and for all of the people across the globe exploited by the United States and other Western imperialist states. We burn this flag because we want you to know it’s not just you who is angry and fighting against this oppressive apparatus, we are too.” 

A University of Connecticut professor is calling for a “more expansive inclusion of feminism” by colleges to help female students recognize the oppression they face. Cristina Mogro-Wilson surveyed over 100 female students and found that the overwhelming majority of them do not believe that “discrimination and subordination” are issues in women’s lives. The findings were deeply problematic, she contends, because without a sense of their own oppression, female students may be disinclined to protest in order to “create change.” Worrying about the potential of a “post-feminist standpoint among younger women who no longer see discrimination against women as being a salient issue,” Mogro-Wilson calls for even more feminism and intersectionality into the school’s curriculum. It’s really sad to watch old feminists beating a dead horse, desperately trying to keep their paychecks coming in. 

Another feminist professor joined the dead horse flogging, saying more feminism needs to be taught to female students in response to their "waning attention to feminist concerns.” Katherine Cruger from Chatham University says she has noticed students “wary to acknowledge that they could be suffering at the hands of an imperialist, white-supremacist, capitalist patriarchy.” We’ve heard of “race fatigue,” now Cruger cites “feminist fatigue” as a possible reason why female students aren’t bothered by their so-called oppression. Cruger says she was disturbed when one female student said she is “sick to death of feminism.” To combat this dissidence, she encourages students to learn how to better appreciate feminist activism through more extensive teachings of feminism in the classroom, noting that without this activism, “we will be stuck in a heteronormative, racist society that never grows.”

Two Seattle Pacific University professors argue that it is necessary to redefine science in order to combat "white male privilege," which they believe is the primary reason that more men are interested in and excel in STEM fields. According to the pair, professors must work to "disrupt privilege" in their classrooms by de-emphasizing "male-socialized traits such as independence, competition, and individual victories." The professors also assert that science has been used as a tool of racial oppression, complaining about “science disproportionately advantaging white people.” To combat this, they call upon fellow professors, especially those who are white males, to “disrupt privilege” in their classrooms by “recognizing their own privilege” and coming to see themselves as “agents of change who can contribute to the disruption of systems of unfair advantage."

The University of Missouri released a set of guidelines on how to host inclusive events, asking students to consider having “a counselor present” for “potentially triggering” events - their words, not mine. The guidelines lists dozens of questions students should ask themselves during the planning stages, including, “If my event is potentially triggering, do I have a counselor present?” and “do I need to create a ‘safe space’ for this event?” Another series of questions warns students making advertisements for their event to be “conscious of colors and how they can be exclusionary or stereotypical” while considering the language used on advertisements as it “can potentially be biased.” Another set of questions focuses on the “decorations” used at events, which students should assure “aren’t culturally appropriative or misrepresenting to other cultures” by “doing my research on a culture I am attempting to appreciate.”

The president of Albion College says that it is “appropriate” for people of privilege to feel “uncomfortable.” President Mauri Ditzler made the remark during a meeting with a conservative student who was harassed and abused by protestors after he made talking points derived from Ben Shapiro quotes. Ditzler came out in solidarity with the protesters, lecturing the conservative student about how he was “only made to feel uncomfortable for a day,” while “many of those demonstrating feel uncomfortable every day.” He goes on to say that while the violent protestors made him feel uncomfortable himself, this discomfort was actually “an example of his own privilege.” 

A group of protestors shut down a discussion on “civil discussion” (the irony) at the University of California, Los Angeles, forcing the event to be relocated. The video shows one female shouting, “We need to actually organize ourselves to create a political crisis to get this fascist regime from power,” claiming the “country was founded on genocide and slavery” and “was never fucking great.” “We can’t normalize fascism,” she proceeded to scream, leading audience members to stand and raise a fist with her in protest... “Stand up because this is what the good Germans were facing. This is what the people in Nazi Germany were facing,” she declared as another protester joined in, eventually leading the unoriginal chant of “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!” As the auditorium emptied, protesters repeatedly shouted “November 4, it begins. Trump and Pence must go!” referencing Antifa’s planned uprising on this date where they intend to create havoc “day and night” until Trump resigns...

The University of Maryland-Baltimore County Women’s Lacrosse team has been labelled “racist” and “ignorant” after the team’s twitter account liked a tweet by President Trump which he wrote about honoring the American flag which men and women have fought and died for. UMBC’s Black Student Union noticed the Women’s Lacrosse team’s twitter account's grave wrongdoing, telling them, “You’re welcome to come to a meeting and voice your ignorance and blatant disregard for students within your campus let alone your own team. If you are going to be racist please come correct.” The women’s team twitter account was later entirely deleted after other black students jumped on the bandwagon of calling them racists. 

Brown University students voted to end the purchase of feminine hygiene products from the company “Tampon Tribe,” due to cultural appropriation. They claim that the company “affected them really deeply” due to both “the name and some of the branding as well.” One student organizer said she “had concerns about Tampon Tribe’s name over the summer when they first considered using the company,” but pushed on after gaining assurance the company had “Afro-diasporic and indigenous identities” as leaders. Fatal mistake. They soon realized that it was still cultural appropriation to buy these tampons, so they stopped purchasing them immediately. 

A University of Southern California professor argues that condemning protesters who disrupt and shut down conservative speakers can reinforce “white supremacy.” Charles Davis believes because the protesters are disproportionately “students of color” or “students representing other marginalized groups,” any attempt to stop protestors from shutting down these events, it’s actually the protestors who are made to feel unsafe. Davis says these protesters are simply people who “use disruptive tactics to shut down hate speech and engaged in resistance against white supremacy.” Instead of criticizing the protesters, Davis encourages to “spend substantive time listening to their concerns” as they’re justified because “colleges have exacerbated racial issues by allowing the presence of white supremacy on-campus.”

A pair of student groups at Kent State University, including one named WOKE (World Of Kolored Empowerment... I’m not even kidding), staged a protest where they all stood in a circle, and then took a knee. According to the group’s flyer, the students took a knee for “the Dreamers, the brutalized by the authority, the ones who have been under and misrepresented” and “the oppressed who don’t believe that a change will come." One student who attended the demonstration said he felt it was his “duty as someone who has privilege to express my voice," while another had tears streaming down her face as she held a sign to protest against the hurricanes in Puerto Rico.

Another group of students at Cornell University took a knee against white supremacy and whatever else they were displeased with when they woke up. While the kneeling only lasted two minutes, the rally was filled with speeches covering topics of white supremacy, racism, and privilege. “Our society is steeped in white supremacy. Why should we expect Cornell, an enterprise built on stolen land, to be any different?” Professor Russell Rickford said during his speech to the crowd of students. He went on to show his communist ties, saying the school is a white supremacy because it supports “hierarchies of privilege, upon which global capitalism rests.” He later led chants of “free Palestine!” which the student drones eerily repeated collectively. 

Students at Reed College are protesting a required humanities class for freshmen that focuses on texts from the great thinkers of ancient Greece and Rome, saying that “students taking Western Civilization courses is harmful” because “the course in its current iteration draws from predominantly white authors.” Remember this is a course on ancient Greece... The protest group claims the class should be “reformed to represent people of color” in a list of 25 demands, which also includes “anti-oppression workshops, scholarships for black students, paid positions for black students and the hiring of more black faculty.” The protestors stormed the class and overtook the stage, while giving the class a lecture of their own and vowing to hold silent protests during every lecture. The student activists also brought in mental healthcare advocates for students who have reported having “panic attacks” due to the course material.

Two feminists at Columbia University are campaigning for the class presidency by promising free “Lego, bubble-wrap, and Play-Doh” to classmates. “Do you want Legos, Bubble Wrap, and Play-Doh?” asks their campaign flyer, which is posted around campus. “If so, vote for the STEMinists” - the name the feminist duo, Michael and Riya, have given themselves. If elected, the pair hopes to sponsor events focused on women’s empowerment, but they’re also set on showing students that school is fun! “We would do events to destress. For example, we'd create a Lego area and it'll be fun. One of the activities we also plan on doing is giving out free Bubble Wrap.” 

A bulletin board at Kent State University residence hall is urging students to “stop cultural appropriation this Halloween” by eschewing costumes based on other cultures. According to the display, cultural appropriation occurs whenever somebody “adopts aspects of a culture that’s not their own," particularly if the person is part of a "dominant culture," which yes, is just another way to say white people. Towson University announced that is has joined “Ohio University and universities across the country in reminding our community this Halloween that ‘we’re a culture, not a costume.’” DePauw University also publicized the campaign, telling students that “stereotypes hurt.” Similarly, Central Michigan University announced plans to host an October 25 event dedicated to ending stereotypical costumes in a recent Facebook post, encouraging students to “Get involved and take a stance against the appropriation of costumes.” 

A professor at the University of Illinois has become highly concerned that algebra and geometry perpetuate “unearned white privilege” because “terms like Pythagorean theorem and pi” give the impression that math “was largely developed by Greeks and other Europeans.” She also worries that teaching more advanced math can perpetuate discrimination against minorities, especially when they do worse than their white counterparts. “On many levels, mathematics itself operates as whiteness. There are so many minorities who have experienced microaggressions from participating in math classrooms, where people are judged by whether they can reason abstractly,” the professor states. She also wonders why math professors get more research grants than gender and women’s professors.

A teaching assistant at the University of Pennsylvania admitted to intentionally ignoring white male students and will only call on them if she has to during class discussions. “I will always call on black women students first. Other POC get second tier priority. White women come next. And if I have to, white men.” Close your eyes and think of the most stereotypical man-hating, smug feminist with a man’s haircut and you’ve just pictured Stephanie McKellop. She was not happy when the school issued a statement condemning her blatant classroom bias, saying, “I had the cute idea that Penn could defend me against Nazis.” No love, Penn has an obligation to defend its students against sleazeballs like you. 

#college

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‘The virus will be back’: Preparing for the second wave of Covid-19

Epidemics of infectious diseases can be unpredictable but they often come in waves. History has left hard lessons showing that a virus can quickly return – and with deadlier force. Just over a century ago, the three-wave Spanish flu pandemic that claimed at least 50 million lives, killed more people in the more virulent second wave in the autumn of 1918 than in the first that spring, including in Ireland. Public health responses during that pandemic were complicated by the fact that the world was at war. Regional inaction and the increased movement of people as the war drew to a close deepened the severity and death toll in 1918 and 1919. Now, as Ireland reopens from a severe lockdown imposed to flatten the curve of infection and death, the risk of coronavirus infection rates rising again remains high with the increased interaction and movement of people. The risk is particularly high given that a vaccine to eradicate Covid-19 is some time, possibly years, away and seroprevalence studies which measure past rates of infection show little “herd immunity”, leaving large swathes of populations still susceptible to the virus. The two-month steady descent from Ireland’s peak of deaths and infection in mid-April has allowed the country to move into the second phase of lockdown relaxations and accelerated the Government’s plan to reopen society and the economy. This will, inevitably, put more people in closer contact with each other and raise the possibility of new infections increasing again. In the early stages of the pandemic, public health specialists were able to predict how infections would soar in an unmitigated scenario, where, based on the reproductive rate of a highly transmissible disease, one Covid-19 case would infect four or five others. Now, even the experts admit they cannot predict how the virus will spread if it returns. “I honestly don’t have a crystal ball on this one. I don’t know what we’re going to learn about this virus over the next six months,” Prof Philip Nolan, chair of the modelling advisory group on Covid-19, told the Oireachtas special committee on the pandemic response on Tuesday. Opinion is divided on how an increase in infections could come or indeed whether it is even likely. The State’s chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan has said that a second wave is “not inevitable”. He said he hoped the reopening could proceed “without seeing a change in the level of disease that causes us either to have to pause or go back on some of the measures we have used”. “This virus will almost definitely come back again. It is not a case of ‘if’ it is almost guaranteed that it will be a case of ‘when’,” says Prof Sam McConkey, infectious diseases specialist at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Given the prevalence of the disease in countries such as the United States, Rusia and Brazil, McConkey believes the virus will be circulating in the world for the foreseeable future, possibly for between five and 10 years, and that the State has to become better at keeping coronavirus out and, if it is discovered again in the community, identifying it quickly and managing its suppression again. “If we do a really good job, it might be a second ripple rather than a second wave and there might be a second and third and fourth ripple. We might deal with it better. If we do a really bad job, it will be a second tsunami and then we have learned nothing,” says McConkey. 1 Tracing and testing The view of most public health and medical specialists is that the second wave will be different. The past three months of lockdown have been so traumatic for people and caused such an upheaval in their lives that the response the next time around, should the virus return, has to be less severe and managed differently. “There are two issues: one is when it will happen and the other is how big it will be. With a little bit of luck it will be just a wave, not a surge, and that it will be entirely manageable.” Among the advantages heading into any potential second wave is that there is now a greater understanding of the virus, how it spreads and presents itself clinically in sick patients. In March the State struggled to test people for Covid-19; it has since built a capacity to test up to 15,000 people a day for the disease, turning around tests from swab to result in 1.2 days on average, and taking three days to trace contacts of the newly infected. Some believe the rapid Covid-19 alert and surveillance system may need to go further. McConkey says the State may need to extend checks to second- and third-degree contact tracing, similar to how Facebook generates contact suggestions for friends of friends and friends of friends of friends. He uses the example of his wife potentially getting infected and people he works with being her second-degree contracts and having to self-isolate. “The aim there is to try to control the resurgences of the disease really thoroughly and in a way that prevents it spreading into the general population again, through more extreme isolation and control of the people in the immediate vicinity of others who have it, but then at the same time have more relaxation on the general population,” he says. Few expect a return to full lockdown or “phase zero” should the virus return, not because of the likely public anger to such a response, but because there may be strong evidence that the risk of transmission of the virus is lower in creches and primary schools, for example. “We used a big sledgehammer when we locked people into their homes,” says Motherway. “It would be very hard to lock people down totally again but hopefully over the next few weeks we will learn which bits of those public health measures did the most to reduce the curve and which bits can be applied without interfering with our economic life as much as we have,” she says. From his position on the modelling advisory group, Nolan said this week that “the management of the second wave will be different” and that there could be “more targeted measures introduced to control the future outbreaks before the sort of blanket measures that we have seen”. Contingency plans will be needed, he said. In Asia, large second waves were averted by such targeted, quick actions. Nationwide lockdowns being replaced by ones on regions or sectors and the partial reimposition of restrictions. “The lesson for Ireland here is that we must remain vigilant for new cases,” said David Higgins, an analyst with consultancy firm Carraighill which tracks and compares new Covid-19 cases against first-wave peaks. “We cannot rule out some restrictions being imposed again.” 2 Being vigilant about indoors and alcohol Two issues identified as posing the greatest danger for a return of the virus are indoor crowds and alcohol. The State’s chief medical officer has warned about house parties – events that can combine the two. “Alcohol is a distance inhibitor because it doesn’t take more than one or two drinks for us all to say, ‘Ah sure I’ll be grand, I’m only here for 10 minutes’,” says Favier. “By three or four drinks, everybody is everybody’s best friend and everybody’s sharing a corner of the bar along with bottles, glasses, food and cutlery,” say the doctor. “That is the biggest one we have to negotiate: the impact of alcohol on our social inhibitions and our ability to self-monitor.” In South Korea, a cluster of new infections was discovered in early May after weeks of almost no fresh cases and traced to Seoul’s nightclub district as social distancing was relaxed. Some 90,000 people were traced for contacts and almost 300 infections were linked to the clubs. The infection of more than 100 people was linked to a single person attending three clubs over one weekend. 3 Being sensible about individual behaviour Personal responsibility and individual action – from adhering to physical distancing and respiratory etiquette to early awareness of symptoms and contacting a GP quickly – is seen as essential to building an early-warning system that could help avoid a second wave. “All of us with sniffles, coughs or fevers should be getting our Covid-19 tests,” says McConkey. “Then if it does start to spread in Ireland again, we will see it at a very early stage, rather than waiting until there are thousands of cases.” The low prevalence of the disease makes individual, preemptive action essential. The reopening of society means public health officials can no longer rely on the few simple rules that applied during the lockdown for the multitude of risk scenarios facing the public. “We have to rely on people’s individual decision-making and good sense in order to reduce the risk,” says Pete Lunn, head of behavioural research at the Economic and Social Research Institute. “People need to be alert to and understand situations that are more risky than others and act to reduce the risk of transmitting the disease.” 4 Preparing the hospitals The risk of a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic coinciding with an outbreak of other infectious diseases, such as seasonal flu or measles, raises the potential for a “double wave”. Doctors want the prepandemic “baseline” of 250 intensive care beds across the State’s hospitals doubled permanently and more isolation units to segregate Covid and non-Covid cases over the winter. “You can’t do that in one season but they need to start making significant plans,” says Motherway, whose term as president of the Intensive Care Society ended last week. Unlike during the first wave, when hospitals suspended non-Covid care to create capacity to cope with the pandemic, the acute care system must have plans to tackle a second wave of Covid-19 along with managing surgeries and accidents that were not happening in the first wave. “We only got one shot at the first wave where we could just suspend everything. You can’t do that a second time. It is just not going to be tenable,” says Favier. “The big challenge now with any surge is that we now have to run non-Covid work in parallel with Covid and our hospitals will really, really feel that strain. I would have more concern about that than we did in the first place with how many ventilators we had.” She says there is now no situation that carries zero risk from Covid-19 and hospitals “need to find workarounds and doing the new normal” and to move beyond “this paralysed, rabbit-in-the-headlights of Covid” that is preventing the return of some regular healthcare. 5 Preparing the nursing home sector The sector worst hit by the pandemic is the one facing the biggest challenge from a second wave. Many nursing home staff were forced out of work having contracted Covid-19, leaving care facilities struggling to cope with a virus that killed many elderly residents. McConkey believes care homes will need at least 20 per cent extra staff for “surge capacity” for a second wave. This will inevitably result in some privately-run homes not being economically viable and the larger nursing home groups being able to staff-up more quickly and to cope better. “Nursing homes have been chronically under-staffed for several years. They are going to have to start cherishing their staff as the most important thing they have,” says McConkey. Given the risks to nursing homes from Covid-19, staying prepared generally, not just for a second wave, is essential to beating the virus, with increased focus on stringent restrictions on visitors, social distancing, hand hygiene and the wearing of personal protective equipment. Regular, mass testing of care homes – or even batch testing of all nursing home staff and residents before testing individuals to identify the positive cases – is considered critical to being able to isolate Covid-19 cases and protect the most vulnerable group to the coronavirus disease. Appetite for risk Predicting how or when a second wave might emerge is even more unclear than preparing for the first wave because it comes down to the risks members of the public are willing to take. “Some people will take more risk, some less. That is the nature of humans. They differ in how much risk they could take whereas before we just knew we had to get the number of cases down,” says behavioural economist Pete Lunn. “The world has become more complex and then you are also in a far more complex set of rules for governing the behaviour so it has become much more messy and hard to predict.” https://crohnsdigest.net/hand-sanitizer-will-be-hard-to-find-for-a-long-time/ https://crohnsdigest.net/hand-sanitiser-handrub-formulation-100ml/ click here to buy hand sanitiser Read the full article