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fusonzai · 3 years

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花束みたいな恋をした

Hantaba mitai na koi wo shita

When I first moved to Japan, to say I had some struggles would be an understatement.

It was my first time living away from home, and in a foreign country where I didn’t speak much of the language. I mismanaged my savings, overestimated how much I’d be getting paid, and greatly underestimated just how bad the dreaded daily train ride was.

I was living in a pretty worn down apartment in a somewhat far area called Chofu. Life there was certainly interesting. The apartment was built at least 100 years prior to me living there and it was located 30 minutes from the station. Even though the rent was cheap I was still living pay check to pay check, misusing my credit card in an attempt to feign normalcy.

(First book store, pretending I could read anything)

Suffice to say five years later, when I stepped into the cinema to watch 花束みたいな恋をした, I was taken aback when the films male lead was also living pay check to pay check in a decrepit apartment in Chofu. Shots of Chofu station and the recently completed shopping mall all made me nostalgic for a time that I feel was incredibly formative for me now, years later.

The two leads are both incredibly talented and popular entertainers in Japan. Suda Masaki (the male lead) has appeared in countless television shows and released acclaimed albums while Arimura Kasumi comes off to me as Japan’s sweetheart; starring in romantic dramas in both television and cinema. Their popularity could be compared to that of Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya. I’m not one to spoil films for people, or re-tell stories already told on the screen, but due to the sheer unlikelihood of this film being translated or released anytime soon; some concessions had to be made.

(Tell me these two aren't adorable)

The film centres around the 5 year relationship between two soon to be university graduates, Mugi (Suda Masaki) and Kinu (Arimura Kasumi), and the highs and lows that they experience as a couple in their twenties, navigating their first adult relationship. Mugi is a creative type, writing short comic strips on commission, not too sure of his own direction post university whilst Kinu describes herself as the type of person whose luck is so bad that whenever she drops toast, it always falls butter side first. Kinu comes off as more earnest and less outgoing than Mugi, however the two are both still on that precipice of adulthood. Not quite sure where their lives will lead, still enjoying that idle time between the end of university and the jump into the working world.

(Mugi & Kinu during that honeymoon phase)

We start in 2020 with both Mugi and Kinu sitting in a cafe with different partners; they’ve clearly broken up and don’t even acknowledge each other when they first notice one another. A chance at rekindled love seems unlikely, this is going to be a how they got to where they are type story. A little less ‘The Notebook’ and a little more’500 Days of Summer’.

We’re then taken back to 2015 and see the two meet at the always busy Meidaimae station. They both fail to catch that last train home and spend a night together in Karaoke Bars, Izakayas and eventually Mugi’s apartment where Kinu falls asleep watching his 3 hour long movie on Gas Tanks. They go on three dates where Mugi (afraid of being relegated to only friends) confesses his feelings towards Kinu, and the two start dating.

These initial encounters are so important in detailing the striking amount of shared interests they have. They read the same books, use movie tickets as bookmarks for said books, like the same music, even wear the same white converse sneakers. Yet they tend to hide their differences from one another. Kinu isn’t all too interested in Mugi’s 3 hour gas tank short film and Mugi wasn’t as interested as Kinu in the Egyptian exhibit they both had tickets for before they met. This hiding of differences only gets worse as time passes.

They both graduate and move in together. We’re shown the harshness of Japan’s shuushoku. This is a practice where everyone applies for career orientated jobs at the same time, but those that fail generally have to wait until next year. Kinu fails initially and works part time jobs. Things don’t go well for Mugi either; his freelance work dries up and he decides to bow to the pressures around him and begin looking for a real job. After an almost honeymoon like two years together, the two eventually begin their ‘adult’ jobs, and we first see the cracks of their relationship start to show.

Throughout the next 3 years, we see two people who have gotten through their relationship solely via common interests, suddenly see those shared hobbies crumble. They’re left with the realisation that they can’t actually communicate that well, and feel helpless in trying to stop the conflict that ensues. Mugi works overtime at the new job that he clearly doesn’t enjoy, because he believes, as a man, that he has to provide and protect the status quo and that the adult thing to do is abandon those things that once brought him enjoyment. Meanwhile Kinu struggles to figure out what she wants to do. She eventually gets a job through shuushoku however it doesn’t seem to suit her at all and she ponders changing to a more fulfilling yet lower paying job. The two both get so caught up in their own situations that they often don’t see each other for days at a time. Their walks home together and time spent playing Zelda on the couch gradually fade until they’re no longer. Their arguments about work and life get worse with neither of them managing to get through to the other, at times wondering how they even ended up together.

This all culminates in them deciding to break up after their friend’s wedding, sharing one last happy day together before going their separate ways.

There’s a lot of scenes in this movie that I’d like to break down but for now I want to talk about the break up scene. This scene felt so reflective of some dated, but still prevalent, ideas about love and marriage in Japan that were often espoused to me here by co workers and friends.

Kinu can’t relate to her boyfriend anymore, they don’t have sex, nearly every conversation ends in a fight and anything she tries to do just seems to push the two further apart. Mugi seems too caught up in his job and the future: he believes it’s natural for two people to grow apart after the love fades, and that marriage and starting a family is key to get over this hurdle.

Foregoing the wedding reception afterparty, the two have their break up at the same chain restaurant where Mugi first confessed his love. They go to sit in their original seats, but they’re already occupied. Something about this stung in some indirect way, almost as if the film maker is forewarning that the two can no longer go back to how they were. After some debate, they both air their grievances. Kinu has fallen out of love but Mugi believes that this is normal and believes marriage is the answer. There’s this beautifully acted monologue from Mugi where he ruminates on a future where he and Kinu get married and have children. He romanticises how nice it’d be to be called Mama and Papa, to go on holiday, to take the kids to Disneyland and to have people say, ‘those two had some issues but they really sorted it all out’. He believes love is a like a raw object and has an expiration date, with marriage being the key to prolonging that expiration.

For almost a second it looks as though Kinu is going to accept this fanciful, but sadly flawed, proposal until a young couple behind them is seated in their old spot. This part is almost too on the nose. The couple displays that same youthful awkwarkdness that Mugi and Kuni once had and goes through the exact same motions they did; swapping books, and talking music interests and of course they’re also wearing white converses.

Their youthful bliss and naivety is piercing to both the audience and the sombre couple. Mugi realises it’s over, Kinu realises it’s over, and judging from the sniffles in the audience everyone watching does too. There are some things you just can’t get back, there isn’t a reset button, and you can’t use marriage and children to fix your issues.

This seems common sense to me, however the interactions I’ve had since moving to Japan suggest that that might not be the norm here.

Marriage and weddings in the west always seemed liked a celebration of two peoples’ relationship up until that point and then the beginning of the next chapter of their life together. I used to work catering at weddings, and it’s strange to think that statistically half of those incredibly stressed, but incredibly joyous, couples will divorce, or already have.

So why do these once happy couples decide to go their separate ways? Extramarital affairs is still one of the top cited reasons in the west. It’s also probably the only thing I don’t think I could ever forgive. From an early age this ideal had been drilled into me that people that were married were in love and if you’re in love why would you cheat? If you didn’t want to be with that person, why would you marry them? I think infidelity is still incredibly strong grounds for divorce in the west. If you’re caught you can apologise and maybe make amends but there’s always a stain on the relationship from the outside, once a cheater always a cheater etc. There’s a strong emphasis on faithfulness above almost all else.

Flash forward a few years to me moving to Japan. Now before the move here, I’d seen the Youtube videos and the stories from friends of friends about rampant infidelity in Japan. One of my favourite entertainment personalities found out his wife was cheating on him for the entirety of their marriage and waited until she got citizenship to tell him. I don’t believe anyone is in a position to make broad claims about the culture of a country based on some internet articles. I believe you need experience to shape your world view but that doesn’t mean your world view is necessarily the correct one.

Whilst being an advanced country in many facets, gender roles in Japan often feel as though they have some catching up to do. Whilst there’s this heavy pressure to get married early (if you’re female, 25 and not seeing someone with the intention to get married, what the hell are you doing?) and a market much like the west promoting incredibly expensive weddings and honeymoons, there isn’t that much to care about after the marriage (provided you’re having children, of course). It’s strange in that I found I admired the whole one unit aspect of marriage here. Financially, it seemed that whilst most of my co workers and friends wives controlled the purse strings, big decisions were made together. There is a coldness to the lack of emotion to some of these decisions, but they were often best in the long run.

However there also seemed to be this separation of marriage and of love. Friends wouldn’t consider it cheating if their partner slept with a sex worker or if it was only because they were drunk. I had friends who were actively cheating on their partner whilst being aware that their partner was actively cheating on them. However there was this weird agreement that as long as neither was too obvious it was alright. I had an old boss who said if he was feeling the urge, he��d just go see a sex worker as that arrangement was better for both him and his wife. It was almost as if being married and being in love weren’t mutually exclusive. Love and sexual attraction were for young people, marriage was about creating a family and supporting that family. Marriage was the next step in a relationship to further your life (married people often get paid more, there are large subsidies for having children etc.) As responsible adults, a couple would get married by 30 or so to have children and protect the status quo. If you didn’t disturb that status quo too much; some cheating was allowed and often expected.

(My boss & I, sunglasses and all)

“Marriage is a result, not a destination” is a line my boss uttered to me. I was dating a girl who shared different views on marriage than I did. Our relationship was expected to end in marriage in a sense; her family knew of me and mine her. I didn’t want to get married but at the same I loved her so much that I thought the only way to show that was marriage. My boss thought there was a flaw in her and a lot of Japan’s way of thinking. He believed that marriage wasn’t something to strive for, but merely the result of a happy relationship. He also thought my love had an expiry date and his estimation wasn’t far off.

I don’t think his line of thinking is all that idealistic, the heavy expectation of marriage at the start of a relationship puts pressure on a base that isn’t that well established. Is there a line we can draw between knowing what you want from a relationship and expecting too much before you even know the other partner? Had Kinu and Mugi discussed their differences earlier on would that have saved them down the track or only led them to a faster break up where they could then move onto more suitable partners?

Looking at Mugi’s proposal from a purely western lens, it seems ludicrous and somewhat insulting. Looking at it from my own experiences, it’s still not romantic, but it has an appealing practicality that I’m sure some older people in the audience may relate to.

(Wise words, to translate it roughly: Young hearts, don't run free)

With all this in mind, the break up scene really is layered with expectations and differing ideologies. What surprised me the most was that after this tear laden break up, the two lived a plutonic and, by all accounts, friendly 3 months together whilst they both sorted out their individual accommodation. They both opt to move out and leave the old apartment and those old memories behind. The idea of living with someone for 3 months post break up seems almost ludicrous. The fact that they live these three months as if they’re in their honeymoon phase again is baffling initially, but once you remove romance and talk to the person you’re with, without the expectations you once had, it isn’t really all that surprising. These two had and still have more in common than they do apart. Whilst initially off putting, it’s charming that these two best friends can live together even though they’ve separated. I look at the countless times people break up; sides are chosen in friendship groups and efforts are made to not invite both people to the same event. Could you live with your ex after you broke up for 3 months? Doesn’t it make more sense for you to still want the person you shared so much of your life with to still be in it regardless of what once was? Regardless of what was, wouldn’t you still want someone you shared so much of your life with to still be around in some way?

Three months pass and we’re back to the cafe again, both Kinu and Mugi with their respective new partners. They leave the cafe at the same time, ride the same long escalator down whilst not acknowledging each other. They split at the end of the escalator, both of them raise their hand waving goodbye, not knowing if the other is waving as well.

There is something sobering and satisfying about such an anti-climactic ending. They didn’t run into each other’s arms, this meeting wasn’t the start of the second act of the film like I suspected it would be. It was simply two people that once were together continuing down a different road. We often watch romantic films to see two people fall in love and learn to live a life together. Depending on the film it can often seem too idyllic or fanciful but it always seems in reach…if you find that right person. Hanataba mitai na koi wo shita presents a more grounded argument. The right person isn’t always enough. Your situation, your beliefs and your respective flaws might get the best of you. Your own happy ever after might not be all you thought it would be, hell it might not even be one at all.

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kurtblogs · 3 years

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Kurt's Blog

Hi my name is kurt paul L perez and im 17 years old,When i grow up i would like to be a biologist or a wildlife researcher

I see our community as a cheerful and a hardworking community however their are times we are often ignorant and greedy on our acts.As a student i would raise awareness by spreading the proper knowledge on our current social issues so that people will be woke with the current issues and how we can work together in order to fix it.

Reflection paper.

Significance and scope

1)This issue matters to me kse usto ko lng na talaga umunlad ang philipinas sa hirap at para ren may mga trabaho na ang mga walang trabaho at di na magugutom ang mga tao ulit.

2)The people because we depend on it on our everyday life and this is were we get our expenses.

3)this issue started at the 1990 when we stopped focusing on our agricultural practises.

Connections

1)This issue did not change people are still blind and did not mind the fact that we could become rich and powerful if we would just trust in our own agricultural powers and resources and that we would not need to depend on other countries for their help.

2)If we would not do anything about it the philipines would just depend much more on exported goods rather than making and importing the things we could make and do.

3)This is connected to everything because if we just trusted in our agricultural practises like before our economy would prosper and this could have an huge impact on the philipines just because we are good at farming and making rice.

4)Yes it is cause agricultural before is our source of income and that is the thing that boosted our country before but it changed just because of people now a days are buying exported products.

5)Its a problem cause farmers are now struggling just to make a living everyday because philipinos buy exported rice from other country's rather than on supporting our's.

6)This is a problem if we don't do anything our local farmers would go hungry and would not earn any money.

Reflection

1)I feel sad because our government did not noticed this and did anything because that we could make quality rice more than any country could because that is the best thing we do and that our land is rich with minerals,I just felt really dissapointed also because they could have done something just by selling our own rice to other countries and eating our locally made food.

2)We could have prevented this from happening this from the start if we just trusted and that we should not depend on other countries for their rice and other products.by now if we did not stopped making and selling our own rice the philipines today is very prosperous and that everyone would have a job.

First trime exam

Family disaster vid link.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RQflysr1ZMIbPKqDbx80fgx0155icAm3shvFeeIaRnw/edit?usp=drivesdk

Second trime SA 1

SS SA#1

So the COVID-19 pandemic previously began at Wuhan at a wet commercial center from defiled

bats or different creatures that are on the lookout and that individuals are beginning to get

tainted individually from the infection until it spread worldwide from transportation, canned

products, conveyances, creatures, and from the ordinary items we contact. In any case, I accept

that this should be a bioweapon that china was trying and was made within a lab in Wuhan

where they made the infection and tried it to individuals on what could the impacts be

nevertheless nobody knows reality with regards to it however we likewise should be cautious on

what we eat to ensure that it is truly consumable and appropriately cleaned before serving or

eating it to keep getting any sort of disorder from it.

The Coronavirus pandemics truly did an enormous effect on us monetarily as well as in any

conceivable manner, our economy truly dropped drastically yet now is gradually turning out to

be ordinary again.this also did a very huge impact on our health because old and young kids

tend to be more susceptible to the virus because of weak or weakened immune systems and

that all of us need to do a mandatory quarantine when we go back to the philippines and a swab

test to see weather they are positive or negative once they got their results if they are negative

they would travel and go to other places if not they are going to be forced for self quarantine.

The safety of the filipinos is in-danger because we tend to not be serious at this pandemic only

from the start and that people now are being not aware that the covid pandemic is still here and

is very active and we tend to not mind it anymore by going outside and not wearing a mask and

going into huge gatherings like going to the mall and party celebrations. Even tho we are

protected by wearing masks and "social distancing" we can't deny the fact that the covid it over

because when you look at how many filipinos are infected it is already at the 300000 plus and

even going up even more slowly but surely if we don't do anything about this in no time we

would reach 1millon people that are infected at the philippines from this virus,to be honest the

government is not doing that much to help stop the covid pandemic.they are not putting more

efforts into our healthcare instead they had the money to improve manila bay instead of

spending it for our healthcare helping people. And funding more hospital beds or places where

people are infected could stay first.the citizens are helping as much by giving relief goods for the

people who could not get out of their places and by donating money to the hospitals to further

improve their healthcare.the ongoing developments on helping the pandemic ease is slow but is

working,by mass testing and giving people loan or money to the people to help finance their

everyday needs,for me all we need to to is full cooperation and trust on the government

hopefully that they would take this pandemic very seriously and help us rise again from the

pandemic and to be covid free for us to have a normal life again.

Editorial cartoon and writing about duterte's Administration.

BRAIN DRAIN.

Every Filipino medical professional knows the statistics. In recent years, this Southeast Asian

nation has ranked number one for exporting nurses and number two for sending doctors

overseas, according to the University of the Philippines in Manila.

Between 2004 and 2010, nearly 72 000 Filipino nurses were newly employed or rehired abroad,

according to data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. The latest specific

numbers date back to 2008, when then-health secretary Francisco Duque estimated that 85% of

Filipino nurses were working in Western countries, while 70% of Filipinos were dying without

medical attention — a death rate not seen since the 1970s.

But Kenneth Ronquillo, director of the Health Human Resource Development Bureau of the

Department of Health, says the much-reported brain drain is, in fact, a myth.

“In terms of absolute doctors and nurses, the Philippines has always had an ample supply,” he

says.

And in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, the Philippines may actually be facing the

opposite problem — a surplus — as a result of the fall in overseas demand. In mid-2011, the

Philippine Nurses Association warned that 287 000 nurses in this country of 90 million people

were either unemployed or lacking sufficient hours.

The other key concern has been that, too often, the best-qualified and best-trained doctors and

nurses are the ones who leave. Though overseas demand has, conversely, raised domestic

standards, says Ronquillo.

“The international community preference for our experienced nurses has led to higher

expenditures for training and development of fresh, local graduates,” he says, adding that

Western countries typically require two to three years prior experience.

The real problem in the Philippines, says Ronquillo, is that money is not being spent to make

sure that medical human resources are spread equitably across this archipelago nation; remote

areas are not only lacking doctors and nurses, but also hospitals and clinics.

So first of all i just wanted to point out that the main reason for this is low salary and on how

much we don't look at the naturally talented ones with the proper education because on how

some families don't have the sufficient money to help their sons to go onto proper education and

that itself is just wasted potential and that only the smart and talented doctors are almost all

overseas because of the high pay and lots of benefits for me its a waste cause we need them

here more. However due to the low pay and less benefits they rather work abroad and that the

cause of these is the government they don't give them a rise when they are the one of the most

important people we need for me lastly is that i hope that the government would do something

abt this cause for me this is just a huge waste on professional doctors because it would really

help us even now, because of the pandemic,

Sources:pssc.org.ph › Papers › Brain ...PDF

Brain Drain in the Philippines* Fact and Figures on the Drain - Philippine Social Science Council

CONTRACTUALIZATION

There are many companies in the Philippines who have resorted to hiring people on a

contractual basis even if they are working on regular, ongoing tasks like normal employees

would in a company. As a result, these non-regular employees are deprived of the opportunity to

get secure, long-term employment. In most cases, they also do not receive the employee

benefits due them.

What is “endo?”

Endo is a colloquial term coined from shortening the phrase, “end-of-contract.” Here in our

country, employers are required to regularize employees after six (6) months of working for the

company, so some companies try to game the system by means of only hiring workers for a

maximum of five (5) months. The governing law regarding this matter is detailed under Article

281 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, which reads:

Probationary employment shall not exceed six (6) months from the date the employment.In most cases, they also do not receive the employee

benefits due them.

What is “endo?”

Endo is a colloquial term coined from shortening the phrase, “end-of-contract.” Here in our

country, employers are required to regularize employees after six (6) months of working for the

company, so some companies try to game the system by means of only hiring workers for a

maximum of five (5) months. The governing law regarding this matter is detailed under Article

281 of the Labor Code of the Philippines.

8)Second trime exam

) The issue is about ladies segregation and sexual orientation separation that they generally

consider ladies or and others in unexpected sex in comparison to they couldn't dominate same

as men do and that ladies or others of another sex consistently have been peered down

grinding away and are constantly tormented and annoyed. It's not generally men who are

predominant they generally imagine that they are prevalent than ladies since they think they are

more grounded and we ladies are powerless, well truth be told we are altogether equivalent.

With regards to the work environment, there is a much more grounded sense among the public

that the battleground is lopsided, still a disparity in compensation for people during a similar

occupation which is a demonstration of sex separation in the work environment. Sex

segregation is characterized as bias or separation dependent on a person's sexual orientation.

Sexual orientation balance is achieved when people can get to and appreciate equivalent. With

regards to the work environment, there is a much more grounded sense among the public that

the battleground is lopsided, still a disparity in compensation for people during a similar

occupation which is a demonstration of sex separation in the work environment. Sex

segregation is characterized as bias or separation dependent on a person's sexual orientation.

Sexual orientation balance is achieved when people can get to and appreciate equivalent prizes

and openings independent of their sex. Different nations have gained generous ground

concerning sex balance in ongoing periods. On the other hand, ladies actually persevere

through less compensation.

2) The difficulty that has caused this is that men's voice consistently pondered giving ladies the

simpler activities at work since they figure ladies couldn't find men doing the things they

accomplish in their work. Also, that the impact is that men regularly consider fewer ladies in light

of this that on the off chance that they are given a similar undertaking as to the men they

couldn't do it or do it as same as them. Large numbers of the state laws presently set up are

comparative in nature to government social liberties laws yet may offer extra assurance against

work related separation. Practically all states have received segregation laws identified with

work, with security against separation dependent on different elements, for example, race,

sexual orientation, age, conjugal status, public beginning, religion, or handicap.

The parts of government that are resolving this issue is the branch of equity that expresses

that any sort of separation or harassment of various sexes isn't permitted and you could be

placed into prison for segregating anybody regardless of the sex nor race of the person in

question is in no means are in effect yet appeared or improvement however for me I would

solve is to treat everybody the same and to never peer down on their gender, race nor

monetarily and that they base them on their skills, hard work and outlook on their work as

opposed to being one-sided based by the sex.

Research output about political dynasty

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C1tVLv3jJ6znLxdPTqnJdGigmP5fSNsRFbFwLFx8Ebs/edit?usp=sharing

Article bill of rights.

On automatic review is a decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Bogo, Cebu, Branch 61,

finding appellant Dindo "Bebot" Mojello guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape with

homicide defined and penalized under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by

Republic Act No. 7659, and sentencing him to the supreme penalty of death.1

Appellant Dindo Mojello, alias "Bebot" was charged with the crime of rape with homicide in an

Information dated May 22, 1997, as follows That on the 15th day of December 1996, at about

11:00 o'clock in the evening, at Sitio Kota, Barangay Talisay, Municipality of Santa Fe, Province

of Cebu, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named

accused, moved by lewd design and by means of force, violence and intimidation, did then and

there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously succeed in having carnal knowledge with Lenlen Rayco

under twelve (12) years of age and with mental deficiency, against her will and consent, and by

reason and/or on the occasion thereof, purposely to conceal the most brutal act and in

pursuance of his criminal design, the above-named accused, did then and there willfully,

unlawfully and feloniously with intent to kill, treacherously and employing personal violence,

attack, assault and kill the victim Lenlen Rayco, thereby inflicting upon the victim wounds on the

different parts of her body which caused her death.On January 21, 1999, the trial court rendered

judgment finding appellant

guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape with homicide, and sentencing him tosuffer

the death penalty. From the facts found by the court a quo, it appears that on December 15,

1996, at or around 9:00 p.m., Rogelio Rayco was having some drinks with agroup which

included Roger Capacito and his wife and the spouses Borah and Arsolin Illustrismo at the

Capacito residence located at Barangay Talisay, Sta. Fe, Cebu. Rogelio Rayco left the group to

go home about an hour later. On his way home, he saw his niece, Lenlen Rayco, with appellant

Dindo Mojello, a nephew of Roger Capacito, walking together some thirty meters away towards

the direction of Sitio Kota. Since he was used to seeing them together on other occasions, he

did not find anything strange about this. He proceeded to his house. On December 16, 1996,

between 5:00 to 6:00 a.m., the Rayco family was informed that the body of Lenlen was found at

the seashore of Sitio Kota. Rogelio Rayco immediately proceeded to the site and saw the

lifeless, naked and bruised body of his niece. Rogelio was devastated by what he saw. A

remorse of conscience enveloped him for his failure to protect his niece. He even attempted to

take his own life several days after the incident. Appellant was arrested at Bantayan while

attempting to board a motor launch bound for Cadiz City. On an investigation conducted by

SPO2 Wilfredo Giducos, he admitted that he was the perpetrator of the dastardly deed.

Appellant was assisted by Atty. Isaias Giduquio during his custodial interrogation. His

confession was witnessed by Barangay Captains Wilfredo Batobalanos and Manolo Landao.

Batobalanos testified that after it was executed,

Newsletter.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o1WYl_P1h4yEfohWuAqLrU-M_fTtD5m8rjE5svY14JY/edit?usp=sharing

Final exam.

Definition of extrajudicial killing is when a government official is involved in an incident when they kill a person without sanction of any legal process.The usual targets are: political,trade union,dissident,religious.The well known example is a grade 11 Senior high school named Kian Loyd Delos Santos.

He was killed in Caloocan City.And the police claim that Delos Santos was involved in a drug operation in the place,and then they said that the victim was a drug runner and fired at him with a .45 caliber pistol during the incident.But the eyewitness said that they saw the policeman dragged Delos Santos in the dark alley,and shot him three times,leaving his body in a pen for pigs.Both PAO and NBI filed murder charges to those officers involved in the Delos Santos incident.Two days later a similar case also in Caloocan city also there was a teenager named Arnaiz 18 year old,and a former student in the University of the Philippines.Police claimed that the victim was robbing a taxi driver,and automatically shot him.According to Dr Edwin Erfe,chief of the Public Attorney’s Office forensic laboratory services,found in their autopsy that Arnaiz has deep abrasion and marks of showing he was handcuffed,dragged and severely beaten.De Guzman,Arnaiz’s last known companion,was found in a creek in Gapan Nueva Ecija province on September five.It was quite unclear how De Guzman Really died.After the forensics examination it showed that De Guzman has been stabbed 26 times, the knife pierce to his lungs and heart.According to Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre III,that some wounds Deguzman gain ,and indicated that the killers continue stabbing the victim even he already died.According to Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency,4,948 suspected drug users and dealers died during police operations from July 1,2016 to September 30,2018.They do not include the others who was killed by “unidentified gunman”.Philippine National Police claim 22,980 deaths since “war on drugs”.And began to be classified as “homicides under investigation”.his law has to stop,because it doesn't give a chance to the drug pushers and dealers to have a second chance to restart all over again ,and to those who were brutally murdered the innocent should be removed from their duty to set an example to not make the same mistake twice.

Speech link.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mRL773R5FDE-zqVzDfUPve9YuIg_vssj/view?usp=drivesdk

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ihaveneverbeengivenflowers · 5 years

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(Not so) Random considerations on birth control methods and menstrual cycle

Although absolutely nobody fucking asked, I wanted to talk about my personal experience with birth control pills and menstrual cycle. First of all, let's catch up on how did I get here.

I started taking oral contraceptives (OC) since my mother took me to a gynecologist for the first time. The doctor made me a prescrition because I told her I suffered with cramps during my period. I was about 13 years old.

I kept taking OC every single day for the following 11 years, until I reached 24. Several doctors I passed by along these years changed the dosage and combinations of hormones I took, because each of them gave me a different bunch of adverse effects. Headache, nausea, menstrual cramps, recurrent urinary tract infections, candidiasis, vaginal bleedings... the list goes on.

During my teenage years I found out some women from my mother's family have circulatory problems, from varicose veins to venous thrombosis. There are also cases of cancer possibly induced by sexual hormones. That is: conditions that make OC, especially the combined ones, contraindicated for me. I got worried and decided to come back to the doctor and talk about another options available. The only one that was presented to me was the so called minipills, which are OC made with a single hormone instead of a combination of two. I took it for the following 5 years straight, and it seemed a good idea at the time because I've spent all my life struggling with underweight and anemia. Since the OC completelly suspended my period, I was supposed to be fine.

However, last January I had a major vaginal bleeding, even though I didn't stop taking my OC. I had terrible abdominal pains, and the bleeding continued for almost 10 days straight. Like I said, being underweight didn't improve the situation and my immune system shut down very quickly. Besides, I was having a hard time to keep up with my bills and wasn't covered by any health insurance at that time (I live in Brazil, and for those who are not familiar, things are a little bit different here. Theoretically we do have a public health system, but in real life we can't barely count on it and the access to the private system is kinda surreal for those living with minimum wage).

Well, as soon as I could, I saved enough money to go see a private doctor. I paid for the appointment and a several exams to find out that my bleeding was possibly caused by multiple ovarian cysts. Both of my ovaries were 3 times bigger than the normal size, and the doctor hypothesized that a big one of them (or a few) must have simply ruptured, and that the whole shit was probably induced by the fucking OC.

In summary, the doctor said I had polycistic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Plus, I should stop taking my actual OC and go back to the combined ones. Yeah, those same I was not supposed to take both because of my family history and the previously described adverse effects. He emphasized that was the only treatment available, and that my condition actually had no cure, so I should just take it for the next 30-40 years until I’d reach menopause, while praying for not having cancer or thrombosis or embolia and... well, to die of something else not related with OC.

So, well... I quit. I smiled and waved to the doctor and left the office. I was about to turn 25 and I decided I wasn’t going to take it that way. Now that you’re up to date in the story, let’s move on to where I was really trying to get with this post.

Please note: I ain't no gynecologist nor physician, but nowadays I’m a post-graduate health professional with a couple years of clinical practice. And I think I’m allowed to apply the little knowledge I acquired during 7 years (so far, still counting) of higher education to see through this situation with a tad of criticism. Not only regarding my own case, but regarding the doctors’ position when it comes to women’s reprodutive health - at least in my country. Therefore, let’s consider some key points:

Is there a real need to prescribe OC to young girls aged 13 years or less just because they come to the office complaining about menstrual cramps? During the period the lining of the unfertilized womb is being shed through the vagina. It involves muscular contractions, so of course it might get painful. There’s nothing abnormal about it, so why purging it like a plague instead of teaching them that’s a physiological process and how to relieve the pain in case it happens? Nutritional counseling, physical exercises, simply using a hot-water bottle or even taking an occasional painkiller can totally solve the problem.

The primary aim when taking OC is expected to be, should be, birth control. Yet, they’re frequently prescribed to girls that don’t even have an active sex life because of light acne, oily skin, menstrual cramps and/or intense menstrual flow without any further clinical complications... or just because. You might take it as some conspiracy theory, but you know what it looks like to me? Creating a very profitable market for pharmaceuticals. And nothing more. If women get sick and end up developing cancer or whatever, even better, so more drugs (way more expensive ones) will be sold.

In fact, there are another treatments available for PCOS. But it seems doctors are too lazy, or too comfortable in their position of filling a single standard prescription, that they completely ignore any alternatives. Can you wonder why? Maybe because it requires a minimum of health and sex education, and that takes time. How are they going to be able to attend people in less than 5 minutes if they’ll have to talk to their patients, right? Simply doesn’t worth it. Anyways, again, alternatives include acupunture, homeopathy, phitoteraphy, dietotherapy throught nutritional counseling and regular physical activity. Each case is different, but keep in mind: OC aren’t the only way, indeed, literally speaking they’re not even a treatment because they don’t treat it.

Opening a parenthesis: of course there probably are exceptions and good doctors no matter where. But doctors at public health system are in general unsatisfied with their working conditions and environment, while doctors at the private system usually are anything but well paid by insurance companies. In overall terms, the more academically qualified the doctors get, the less prepared for attending real life demandings in developing countries they are. Also, the less willing to work in such places they are. (If you’d wish to read more about it, I highly recommend seeing Chapter 5 - An example of a paradigm and its social conditions: scientific medicine of La construction de sciences, by Gérard Fourez.)

Still on PCOS topic: first of all, having multiple cyst on one or both ovaries doesn’t necessarily mean PCOS. PCOS, as a syndrome, means there are multiple criteria that need to be fulfilled for closing the diagnostic. In this case, criteria involve imaging exams, symptomatology, clinical and biochemical evaluation. In my case, for instance, PCOS is a diagnosis that simply doesn’t suit my medical history, but no doctor has ever bothered making an anamnesis. I’m not trying to say anybody should go to Dr. Google’s opinion (seriously, don’t), but look out for more information than it’s given to you at the office, even because often none is given.

I know suspending the menstrual cycle can make life much more easier. No worries about pads, unexpected leaks, cramps, PMS etc. But take it from a different perspective for a second. There seems to be a lot of content over the internet nowadays about body positivity, empowerment and tons of so called movements of deconstruction of established paradigms in our society about feminility and feminism. I’ve seen a lot of girls online sharing their experiences on stopping taking OC etc. I don’t know how far it’s good or not, but there’s a point that can be taken from all of it: the menstrual cycle is a natural part of every woman’s reprodutory phase in life. It’s not disgusting, embarrasing or whatever nonsense we’ve been told. And it can be a good way for us to conect with ourselves, to listen to our bodies. Observing symptoms such as pain, fatigue, cravings, emotions, sex drive; checking on cervical mucus, body temperature, hours of sleep... all of this can be part of a daily self-care routine and, moreover, be useful to birth control.

Talking about birth control: I’m genuinely surprised on how much the doctors whom I interacted during my life underrate condoms as a method against unwanted pregnancy. They say out loud that it’s not safe and, unless the conspiracy theory about selling drugs is real, I simply don’t get the reason why they do that. In first place, this is bullshit because condoms are a very effective fisical barrier that prevent even a single spermatozoid from swimming along the vaginal canal and straight up to the womb. Second, there’s no 100% safe method except for sexual abstinence; not even OC + condoms (theoretically not even tubal ligation) are 100% safe, since the human body isn’t a static machine and everything is prone to error. So, yes, opting for non-pharmacological methods of birth control instead of synthetic hormones can be valid.

Obs: condoms work as long as they’re properly stored, used and discarded. But the same can be said about OC and any other contraceptive methods. And, important: choosing a contraceptive method involves not only statistical data on the margin of error of condoms and pills, but also individual phychossocial aspects. In other words: a determined method might not be the doctors’ first option and they might not personally like it, but they can suck it up and use their fucking knowledges to find the best alternative for you.

Again, I’m not trying to encourage you anybody else to contradict their doctors. However, I think that questioning is part of a healthy and constructive process. First because doctors are human beings, therefore they’re as prone to error as anybody else (or even more due to long working hours). Second, because they’re supposed to be the primary source of information for any questions you might have about your own health. Third, because I believe with all my heart that the relationship between health professionals and their patients must include, if not be based in, trust.

#menstrual cycle #period #menstruation #contraceptives #pills #health #womens health #epiphanies

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toongrrl-blog · 4 years

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The Mommy Myth: The War Against Welfare Mothers (Part One)

This gif is from the 1970s film Claudine, a romantic comedy starring James Earl Jones and Diahann Carroll about a garbage man and a welfare mother trying to make the relationship and where he helps provide for her home and kids without the social worker checking in.

We check in with The New Yorker, who took a break from their cartoons to cover a welfare mother named Carmen Santana (not her real name): she is Puerto Rican American (and judging by the text’s descriptions of her “wide nose”, complexion, curly dark hair, and thick lips, she must be Afro-Latina) who weighs over 200 lbs and boy the writer was having a field day describing her heft and body. She has no interest in “national or international events” (common flaw that goes across class lines), she spends her day watching soap operas, cursing in Spanish and giving her many kids “a good cuffing” and they just throw the trash out the window. Her kitchen is filthy and her philosophy is “what will be, will be” (a common thing) and sits all the time even when she is cooking while her kids’ bedroom is decorated with obscene graffiti; she had her first child at age 15 and went on to have eight more kids by three different men and her mother had three children by different men and now Carmen’s daughter is also on welfare. She spends the money from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) on makeup and perfume and hair (honestly wasn’t that a thing at some point? Like Midge Maisel and her mother make sure their husbands never see them without perfect hair and makeup) and junk food for the kids and she also plays the numbers where she spends her winnings on “jewelry , beer, and liquour” and “trips to Puerto Rico”. I guess we are not supposed to sympathize with this woman.

Carmen was an example of a stereotype that was used to represent and demonize welfare mothers. Johnnine Tillmon, the first chairwoman of the group National Welfare Rights Organization saw welfare and the stereotypes as a feminist issue.

I’m a woman. I’m a black woman. I’m a poor woman. I’m a fat woman. I’m a middle-aged woman. And I’m on welfare. In this country, if you’re any one of those things---poor, black, fat, female, middle-aged, on welfare---you count less as a human being.

She even said that the biggest reason that people believe the stereotype of the welfare mother is that they are “special versions of the lies that society tells about all women”, sadly she wasn’t listened to in the mainstream media where welfare mothers were deviants in a culture that valued the rugged individual, relentless hard work and sacrifice, slim bodies aided by Bowflex or Thighmaster, and shiny blond hair with perky smiles. Yo because of this stereotype, women of color with several children are considered suspect. It was also another way to pit moms against moms, the resentment of packing the kids’ lunch and work at a dull 9 to 5 job or scrub the kitchen floors while this stereotype gets to have sex with whoever and drink booze with tax dollars. Even Time magazine went in:

Here’s a few facts: the average welfare family in 1994 had three members, the mother and two children. 39% were White and 37% were Black, African Americans numbered 12% of the national population but were about 35-37% of the welfare population and African Americans were three times as likely as White Americans to live below the poverty level. Only 10% of AFDC mothers had four or more children and 80% had one or two kids and figures in 1993 shown 75% of adults left welfare within two years and 1/2 of single mothers worked while on welfare and 1/3 were working to supplement the minuscule allotment and get off from unemployment. But that was lost on the media that focused on families with two or more generations on welfare (a tiny fraction of welfare recipients) even focusing on unwed teen welfare moms because they were...SHOCKING! Only 1% were teen mothers. Welfare mothers were known only by first name and she lived in the urban decay of New York, Camden (New Jersey), Chicago, or Detroit; they were black and unmarried and had a bunch of kids who don’t share a common biological father and she smoked and painted her nails and gave soda to her baby (OMG imagine 2010s soda freaks) and her face was pixelated in the media. Some of them were depicted as cynical about life and motherhood, it wasn’t sexy for them and at least they felt ambivalence (which was soooooo disco era).

youtube

Then came the 1990s where the moderate Democratic Clinton administration introduced “Welfare Reform” where President Bill Clinton ended “welfare as we know it” and he was just following his predecessors: Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George Bush (the first) regarding their attitude towards welfare recipients. The Welfare to Work program who were being trained by job placement programs that prepared them for low-paying jobs in retail and in service and the resources for job training were limited (also if your hours took you away from your kids?). Also it was hard for welfare to work moms working to move up in their jobs and often mostly got gigs like seasonal retail.

The depiction of welfare mothers was different from the celebrity mom: she wasn’t ascribed emotions where her eyes welled up with tears or laughed, she wasn’t well lit with a light or a rosy focus, never seen holding her child up or clutching the child and magazines like Redbook or McCall’s never did a cover story with a welfare mom and her kids done up and showing the readers fun things they do with little or no money or touring New York City on $10 for a day or games to play while waiting in long lines (honestly that is a good idea, someone pay Susan and Meredith if the magazines do that). Also if you were a woman of color, especially a young one or a poor one (or both) you weren’t supposed to have the “baby lust” so gushed about in celebrity mom profiles; trust me I grew up a Latina kid in Central California and many older women like my mom would worry about the girls that want to have babies so bad or fall in love hard and fast, a young Karen Wheeler in 1967 can give all to family and babies and staying home but it is more precarious for a young girl of color.

The media depiction of poor people wasn’t always so negative: political scientist Martin Gilens found that when the “War on Poverty” began, where the Lyndon B. Johnson administration focused on eliminating poverty and started programs like Head Start rather than piss on poor people, coverage focused on poor white people in rural areas like Appalachia or in the Rustbelt where mines or factories closed down, these were the faces of The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family who fought against hardship on their way to a better life. After Michael Harrington published his book The Other America, public support for ending poverty was strong. But then came the riots in Watts, Newark, and Detroit (just a few) where mostly people of color fought back against law enforcement and the media used images of African-Americans to illustrate their pieces on welfare, which reinforced stereotypes about welfare and as the coverage became more negative, the skin color got darker (even though statistics then and now showed many more white recipients of welfare)

How about how the face of welfare became so feminized? In the 1930s, when the Welfare program and Social Security began under the New Deal by President FDR, a lot of women of color were barred from welfare because of discriminatory practices, this changed with the Civil Rights Movement which opened up some doors for women of color to get assistance for their children and households. Before the Welfare recipient was faceless or usually a man, who got rich off welfare and bought Cadillacs with the money, something that Richard Nixon really clung to and he asked Johnny Cash to perform the song “Welfare Cadillac” at a White House event sparking controversy. Indeed when Cash met with Nixon, he gave him a private concert with songs that were more compassionate and less reactionary than what Nixon wanted. In the early 1960s, magazines like Look or Reader’s Digest wrote to readers about women who sent their many children to beg for money while the mother ate steak with their boyfriend, or worse, spent the money on narcotics and kept giving birth to more than 10 kids. The image of poor, fertile mothers on taxpayer money was more infuriating than that of a able-bodied man getting the money, but making welfare moms work was shocking (as the system was designed for widows to stay home with their children and not worry about money), even a stinging David Brinkley chafed at leaving kids at a daycare center...it would cost the taxpayer more.

Ronald Reagan coined the term “welfare queen” (look it up) and made exaggerated anecdotes and given how people were drawn to him (looking at you Mike and Nancy’s parents), he was believed despite him not citing sources or studies. Reagan voters fell for the image of a welfare mother who spent money for fancy cars, vacations, designer clothes, and played the system (there were a few like Dorothy Woods, but again if this were common, the landscape of the inner city would look a lot different...) It was a dark time, the Religious Right took control, Proposition 13 in California put a limit on property taxes and started many tax revolts to limit government spending, and let’s not forget Ronald Reagan opposed the following:

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Fair-Housing Legislation in California

Legislation to declare Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a national holiday

How does that Reagan/Bush ‘84 sign look Ted and Karen?

Stay tuned.....

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paleorecipecookbook · 5 years

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Ancestral Health: What It Is and How It Can Help You

We’re living in a time of incredible innovation and advancement, yet we’re sicker and more overweight than ever before. And unfortunately, there’s every indication that, based on projected statistics, many people will never get healthy and stay that way.

Some days it seems as if there’s no solution for our health woes, not to mention the pain and suffering caused by the financial burdens of chronic illness. But I can assure you that that’s far from the case and that we can break this cycle.

It’s possible to halt and even reverse the current disease epidemic—using a strategy we have access to right now. It isn’t a brand-new drug, device, or surgical procedure. The solution is ancestral health. By following the blueprint for healthy living that our hunter–gatherer ancestors laid out for us so long ago, we can stave off the long list of uniquely modern chronic conditions, stay naturally lean and fit, and age gracefully.

Chronic disease has reached epidemic levels, and modern medicine can’t seem to halt its progression. Find out how ancestral health—moving, eating, and living more like our ancestors did—can stem the rising tide of chronic illness. #paleo #healthylifestyle #chriskresser

Chronic Disease Is Common, But It Isn’t Normal

Chances are that either someone close to you has a chronic disease or you’re dealing with one yourself, if not both of these scenarios. Chronic illness is so prevalent now that it’s almost impossible to imagine life without it: six in 10 U.S. adults have a chronic disease, while four in 10 suffer with two or more chronic conditions. (1)

Nearly six million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s. (2)

More than 100 million Americans have either prediabetes or diabetes. (3)

Some 50 million people in this country have an autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto’s, rheumatoid arthritis, or multiple sclerosis. (4)

Worldwide, an estimated 2.2 billion people are either overweight or obese; among the most populous countries, the highest prevalence of obesity can be found, you guessed it, here in the States. (5, 6)

One-third of Americans suffer from high blood pressure, with some statistics suggesting that hypertension may actually affect half of all U.S. adults. (7, 8, 9)

Yet throughout most of our species’ enduring existence, humans did live largely free of these illnesses that today shorten our lifespan and make us miserable. Chronic disease may be our “new normal,” but it definitely isn’t our “normal normal.”

Paleontological and archaeological findings have confirmed this, but perhaps the best evidence is the fact that remaining hunter–gatherer societies—who live as closely as possible to the way our Paleolithic ancestors did hundreds of thousands of years ago—don’t generally suffer from the most common chronic conditions.

One study of the Tsimané people in Bolivia found that they have a prevalence of atherosclerosis 80 percent lower than ours in the United States and that nine in 10 Tsimané adults aged 40 to 94 have completely clean arteries and no risk of heart disease. Researchers also found that the average 80-year-old Tsimané male has the same vascular age as an American in his mid-50s. (10) Studies of the Hadza of Tanzania reveal that less than 2 percent of Hadzan adults qualify as overweight. And type 2 diabetes is so rare among these and other contemporary hunter–gatherer populations that few reports looking into its prevalence even exist. (11)

Mismatch: Why Your Health Is So Different From Your Ancestors’ Health

So what happened? How did the majority of us go from being naturally inclined toward health to being seemingly guaranteed at least one debilitating diagnosis?

In a word: mismatch—between our genes (hardwired genetic programming), our physiology, and our biology on the one hand and the modern environment we’re living in on the other.

All organisms are adapted to survive and thrive in a particular environment. When that environment changes faster than the organism can adapt, mismatch occurs. This is a fundamental principle of evolutionary biology, and it applies to humans as much as it applies to any other organism in nature.

Our environment is almost unrecognizable from that of our ancestors, and we aren’t eating, moving, or resting like the hunter–gatherers that we still are, biologically. We know from hard evidence that this mismatch—pitting environment against biology—is the primary driver of chronic disease.

Some of the starkest examples of this include studies and observations of existing 21st century hunter–gatherers reporting that when they leave their villages and trade their traditional ways for a Western lifestyle, they develop diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular complications. (12, 13)

Back in Balance: The Basics of an Ancestral Lifestyle

It’s clear: the fastest way to recover your natural health is to return to a way of eating and living that more closely matches what your genes and biology are designed for. I’ve written and talked extensively about this approach online, in my books, and on my podcast, but here’s a broad overview to set you on the path, right now, to reclaiming your vitality through ancestral health.

Eat Real, Nourishing, High-Quality Foods

We know, without a doubt, that our Paleolithic ancestors ate animal products. Indeed, most researchers believe that consuming meat and fish is what led to our larger brains and smaller guts compared to other primates. (14, 15, 16) Though no ancestral population following a completely vegetarian or vegan diet has ever been discovered, it’s evident that hunter–gatherers did also enjoy plant foods, such as starchy root vegetables. (17)

Some traditional cultures also consumed grains and legumes. But those who did went to great lengths to break down the natural nutrient inhibitors these foods contain; these methods included soaking, sprouting, fermenting, and leavening.

We also know, without a doubt, that hunter–gatherers did not consume refined sugar, flour, and seed oils, or what I call “the three horsemen of the apocalypse” because they promote overeating and inflammation, which is at the root of all modern disease. To my mind, the introduction of industrial food processing has had the most detrimental effect on our health of any other factor in the last few hundred years—and possibly in the entire history of humankind.

In addition to the harmful presence of refined sugars, flour, and seed oils, processed foods also deliver high levels of chemical additives and preservatives. Some of these ingredients have known negative effects, from leaky gut and autoimmune disease to stroke and kidney damage, while the effects of others are still unknown. (18, 19, 20)

Here’s your ancestral diet action plan:

Bypass bags and boxes. Of course, not all foods that come in bags and boxes are harmful, so this isn’t meant to be taken literally. It’s just a helpful guideline to steer you toward real food (see below). Butter is often packaged in a box, and frozen vegetables (and some fresh) come in plastic bags. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat butter and vegetables. But in general, if you follow this precept, you’ll minimize your intake of health-damaging flour, sugar and other sweeteners, industrial seed oils, and other processed and refined ingredients.

Base your diet on real, whole, nutrient-dense foods like meat, organ meat, fish and shellfish, eggs, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, herbs and spices, and starchy plants like potatoes and sweet potatoes, along with healthy fats to aid in nutrient absorption.

Exercise caution with grains and legumes. If you choose to eat these foods, it’s best to soak them prior to cooking to maximize nutrient bioavailability.

Focus on quality over quantity. Choose local and organic produce and pasture-raised animal products or wild-caught fish whenever possible, which most closely mimic the foods available to our ancestors via hunting and foraging.

Sit Less and Move (Much) More—Sometimes Intensely

Movement played a major role in daily life for hunter–gatherers. After all, they spent the majority of their time, well, hunting and gathering. They had to exert themselves, and often quite strenuously, to survive: our ancestors sprinted, jogged, climbed, carried, and jumped intermittently throughout the day, on top of walking an average of six miles and running one-half to one mile per day. (21)

In other words, they didn’t sit all day like so many of us do. We spend endless hours working at computers, watching TV, and commuting by car. In fact, the typical U.S. adult is now sedentary for about 60 percent of his or her waking life and sits for an average of six or seven hours every day. (22, 23) Sitting has been called the new smoking, and for good reason: it’s linked to heart disease, insulin resistance, cancer, and the list goes on. What’s more, research has found these same negative health outcomes in those who exercise but still spend the majority of their day seated.

Your ancestral movement action plan:

Stand up. It’s the simplest way to sit less. I recommend standing for half of your day.

Talk a walk. Actually, take lots of walks and regularly engage in other low-intensity activities. Consider walking or bicycling to work, doing your own household chores, and finding a hobby like gardening that, quite literally, moves you. If you can build a daily walk into your workday—parking further away from your office, walking during your lunch break, or walking with your child or a pet after work or dinner—it becomes a habit that’s easy to keep.

Push yourself occasionally throughout the week with bouts of more intense exercise; just don’t overdo it. I recommend a protocol established by my friend and colleague Dan Pardi.

Sleep More and Stress Less

I’m sure if I asked you to conjure up an image of a hunter–gatherer, he or she wouldn’t be lounging lazily on a sofa. Although they were almost always on the move, these people relaxed, too. Our ancestors alternated strenuous and demanding days of physical activity with days of rest, an instinctual response that protected them from injury and fatigue.

Our modern lifestyle is a stark mismatch in this regard. We live in a culture that values productivity and activity above all else and is almost scornful of rest and relaxation. “Resting” for many people means browsing the internet or engaging with some other kind of sleep-sapping, artificial light-emitting electronic device that is anything but restful for the brain and the body. We’ve not only forgotten the value of rest—we’ve forgotten how to do it.

Thus, we’re stressed out. Constantly. Our ancestors experienced stress when fleeing a predator or out on a hunt. But, as I shared above, they punctuated these stressful times with moments of calm. We simply aren’t built for chronic stress, as evidenced by the immense amount of research illustrating that it wreaks total havoc on our bodies.

Your ancestral action plan for R&R:

Sleep soundly, and for seven to eight hours a night. You can’t be healthy without adequate sleep. Period. Check out my steps for beating insomnia and adopting good sleep hygiene.

Manage your stress. There’s no way to completely remove stress from your life, but you can avoid unnecessary stress by learning to say no to projects or commitments you can’t handle, staying away from people who get your blood boiling, and turning off the news (or at least limiting your exposure to it), as examples. To mitigate the harmful effects of the stressors you can’t avoid, try relaxation practices and techniques such as meditation, yoga, and calm breathing.

Prioritize pleasure. Listening to music, playing with your pets, laughing with friends, and spending time outdoors all can help you cultivate more pleasure in your life, and pleasure is the antidote to chronic stress.

Now I’m interested to hear your thoughts. Is your lifestyle in line with that of our ancestors? What changes can you make to your habits to get more in tune with your hunter–gatherer heritage? Comment below and let me know!

The post Ancestral Health: What It Is and How It Can Help You appeared first on Chris Kresser.

Source: http://chriskresser.com February 21, 2019 at 05:57PM

#paleo #recipe #food #delicious #healthy #yum #diet

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narniakid · 5 years

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The majority of 2018 I spent educating people about the worst drought in 800 years. The Central Coast listened; we not only banded together to raise thousands of dollars, but we filled an entire truckload of donations to deliver to farmers in Western NSW.

It all began sometime around February, when I can recall seeing an article somewhere about how Australia was currently in drought. My family own and operate Mangrove Produce and Hardware, where we supply hay, grain and feed to locals in the Mangrove Mountain region. My mum had mentioned she was having a bit of trouble sourcing feed, because with no grass for cattle to eat, the demand was quickly rising – and so were the prices.

One night when I was reading statistics and stories about the drought, I stumbled across a charity called Rural Aid, who’d been running their fundraising campaign, Buy A Bale, for some time. The aim was to encourage donors to purchase a bale of hay for a struggling farmer by donating $20 or more. It was a fantastic idea, and I got in contact with them. At a time when they weren’t a very well-known non-profit nationally, they were eager to send me fundraising materials to help raise money and spread the word.

March 2018: Help my Mum & I raise money for Buy A Bale!

As I asked around friends and family, and began posting about the drought on social media, I found that most didn’t even realize the majority of our own state was in the middle of severe drought. My good friend and photographer Andrew Cooney approached me with an idea; he discussed travelling to the worst of the drought-affected areas to document the damage, and we agreed to team up with our fundraising efforts to educate the Central Coast and just how bad it really was. Below are some of his photographs from his first visit to a farm in Gunnedah, NSW, and they speak for themselves.

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His photographs caught the eye of Samuel Lentini from Eastcoast Beverages – a local juice company on the Central Coast. Sam decided that he wanted to come on board our fundraising campaign as well, and so – with me still busy collecting our donations, spreading the word, and putting together marketing materials – Andrew and the Eastcoast Beverages team headed to Gunnedah once again, where they delivered a truckload of orange peels from the factory for the cattle to eat. It was such an extraordinary site, it attracted a lot of media attention, including The Daily Telegraph, ABC and Prime 7!

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We spent another few weeks fundraising in person and online, when all of a sudden, the national media seemed to wake up. TV stations and major news publications started to report on all the debt, all the cattle lost, and all the mental struggles the farmers were dealing with.

That was when I met a lady named Sara Evans. She came into my workplace at the radio station, after listening to the breakfast shows discuss the massive impact of the drought. A co-worker steered her in my direction, as I had already been campaigning and fundraising to support our farmers for several months. Sara basically said to me, ‘I’ve got a truck and a driver who’s willing to donate his time, I want to do something really BIG to help these farmers.’

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We both agreed to organize a Coast-wide donation drive, which was a huge job, and we’d only given ourselves a month to plan, market and collect donations leading up to the event day. The idea was to run a drive-through drop-off zone in a central location near the freeway, as we wanted to make it as easy as possible for the public.

We both had a bit of previous fundraising experience, but nothing of this scale, and we hadn’t taken into account exactly just how much help we were going to need – pallets to pack the donations on, a place to sort and store the goods before they were loaded onto the truck, a forklift and qualified driver, traffic control on the day, a LOT of fuel money to get the semi-trailer across the state and back… we’d sort one problem, and then another would arise. And we were juggling this all while still working full-time. It was definitely a giant learning curve for both of us, but we were so incredibly grateful to have the help from dozens of local businesses.

Working for a media company, I was lucky enough to have marketing materials at my disposal – radio interviews and commercials, flyers and posters, and access to our promotional cars to draw listeners in on the day. My whole workplace was extremely supportive, and I am still so thankful to this day for all of their help. I couldn’t have pulled it off without a platform to send out the message across in the first place.

The Central Coast For Our Farmers Donation Drive was a success – while the number of people we had wasn’t as many as we were hoping, the amount that came brought an enormous amount of goods. There were donors who had collected that much dog food, groceries and water that they had to make second and third trips to bring it all to us. We had local schools collect items, business owners filling boxes and boxes of stuff at their workplaces, and families who had added extra items into their trolleys every week when they did their own shopping. It was just phenomenal how much people wanted to help. I certainly didn’t expect collecting enough donations to fill the entire truck, but we did!

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When deciding on where we were going to deliver the donated goods, we had a look into some of the most remote parts of the state, where help hadn’t yet reached. We chose the Packsaddle region, an area about 180km north of Broken Hill. The standout feature of this barren land was a popular venue called Packsaddle Roadhouse on Packsaddle Station, where tourists and truck drivers would often stop to stay the night and grab a feed. The roadhouse was also home to the local SES Base, and Sara got in contact with the venue owner, who kindly offered up the venue for free to deliver and unpack the donations for the farmers, as well as a place for us to stay the night.

We began the road trip about 2 weeks later, with volunteers from Rotary Gosford North coming along as well. My wonderful Dad offered to drive my partner and I in his car, and on the first day, we traveled 14 hours to Broken Hill. As soon as we passed the Hunter Valley region, it was like entering a different country – the overcast weather and rolling hills of the wine country suddenly turned into flat open plains scattered with gumtrees. Everything was so incredibly dry and brown, it was hard to believe that it was once all green. We passed lots of herds wandering the roadside, with farmers leading them from behind to any patches of greenery they could find – the paddocks had turned to dust, so they were forced to look beyond their own properties for food.

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The halfway point to Broken Hill was a town called Cobar, and that was really when the effects of the drought were evidence. I almost expected a tumbleweed to roll past as we got out of the car for a stretch. From there, it got worse – we passed countless signs marking where rivers once were, now dry as a bone. The amount of dead animals on the roadside almost doubled, and as we drove the endless, straight route towards Broken Hill, there was almost no evidence that it had actually rained 50mm in the previous 24 hours. Most of the puddles had dried up already, and the sudden dump of rain had washed away the top soil on any spring crops that were planted. It was heartbreaking to think that at the time we were travelling, it was supposed to be the peak season for growth, but there wasn’t a blade of green grass in sight.

After a night’s stay in Broken Hill, we drove another 4 hours north to deliver and unpack around 60 pallets of donations. Sara and I had organized a party for all the local farming families at the roadhouse, and some had already arrived when we got there to help us set up.

The people I met were just amazing – the most hardworking, honest and down to earth people who could laugh at anything. The best part was seeing the joy on their faces. These farmers, they’d been stuck in a depression, some had really been struggling to get up to work each day. I feel so humbled and privileged to get to see first hand these people reunite with their neighbors and friends, some who they hadn’t seen for months, but had known all their life. We cooked them a free feed for lunch and dinner, treated them to plenty of free beer and set up the truck as a stage where they sang, danced and partied on till early hours of the morning.

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Most of them owned well over 100,000 acres. I spoke to a beautiful woman who’d lived on the land her whole life. To give you an idea of the size, the entire city of Chicago in the USA is around 149,000 acres – she had 250,000 acres, with a few thousand head of cattle. I asked when she’d last received rain. She laughed and said the last time she can recall was late 2015 – more than 3 years ago.

She had 10 working dogs, and the bagged dog food cost too much, so she was shooting kangaroos for them to eat instead. Each dog needed about 2 kangaroos each for a decent feed, but the ammunition for the bullets cost hundreds as well, with each bullet equaling about $5 each. There were hundreds of goats on her property which she could also shoot and sell (too skinny for the dogs to eat), but their value had dropped to $2 per goat – less than the cost of the bullet needed to shoot them.

This same lady had broken down in tears when we showed her the shed full of donations, because it wasn’t the donations themselves that brought these people overwhelming joy – it was the fact that we had gone to the effort to collect them, bring them out here, and put on a big party for them.

We wanted to show them that we cared beyond just making a cash donation for a farm thousands of kilometers away, we wanted to say ‘we hear you, we know you’re there, and we’re coming to give you a well deserved break from the day-to-day stresses of the big dry.’

Every farmer would only take the bare minimum of what they needed, insisting that there were others that needed it more. It was like a big supermarket; they could grab bags and boxes and fill up their utes with whatever they needed. They put aside boxes and pallets of stuff for their friends and neighbours who couldn’t make it.

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Many had told me that a major problem they’d encountered was the rise of bore water in the area. The water quality from the bore water, due to a substantial increase in bores being put in, meant they had to go deeper, and the little water that they could get was full of poisonous minerals and wasn’t drinkable. Most of the money they had went to buying bottled water and bagged feed, because hay prices had skyrocketed.(My family’s own business was suffering too, and we were getting phone calls from all over the state with people willing to travel hours and hours for any hay available to purchase). A lot had told me in terms of food, water and feed, they were down to about 3-4 weeks supply on hand at a time, because they couldn’t afford to redirect any money to stock up. The donations we brought have added another few weeks’ worth of supplies for them and – as equally as important, if not more – a well needed mental relief.

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Andrew and I have continued to raise funds for Buy A Bale, long after I returned from delivering donations with Sara and the Rotary team. We just recently crossed the $19,000 mark, thanks money raised at our local Grill’d restaurants through their Local Matters program. We also raised money through selling merchandise and continuously spreading the word through an online campaign, radio commercials, money tins in our workplaces and articles in local newspapers and magazines.

Despite raising the money and delivering the donations, what truly touched my heart and made this experience stand out from other non-profit work I’ve done was actually travelling there and seeing the devastating impact of drought for myself. It’s one thing to press a button, share an article, give some money, but to actually see the difference it’s making is just extraordinary, and to this day it is one of the most challenging but life-changing things I’ve ever done.

Local businesses are doing it tough and desperately need an economic boost from visitors. A recent NSW Business Chamber survey in regional areas found the drought has negatively impacted more than 84%. Domestic tourism is the backbone of many regional communities, with 86% of domestic travel done by car.

Tourists spent $110 billion in local towns, cities and communities in regional Australia during 2016-17. However, of the international tourists that do visit, over 90% only stay in Sydney or Melbourne.

The best thing you can do to support our farmers is get out and shop in the local shops, eat at the local pubs, and get the money flowing through the local economy again, because the drought affects everyone – not just everyone in these remote towns, but our whole economy.

Drought conditions of NSW as of 24th January 2019 (Source: edis.dpi.nsw.gov.au)

How I Led A Team Of Volunteers to Deliver A Truckload Of Donations & Raise Over $19,000 For Aussie Farmers The majority of 2018 I spent educating people about the worst drought in 800 years. The Central Coast listened; we not only banded together to raise thousands of dollars, but we filled an entire truckload of donations to deliver to farmers in Western NSW.

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wiresandstarlings · 5 years

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boats ease into the harbor, bearing real suspicious cargo

1. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 131,200 people employed as writers and authors in the United States in 2016. If you assume writers work an average of 8 hours a day, that writing is 10% efficient, and that 5% of writers are worth reading, the United States produces 131,200 * 8 * 0.1 * 0.05 / 24 / 365 * 12 ~ 7.2 months of quality reading material each day. Even if you assume that only 0.1% of writers are worth reading, then that's still 4.4 days of reading per day of writing in just the United States. It's physically impossible to keep up with all the good writing being produced, even without sleeping, and setting aside catching up on the centuries of backlog.

When you look at even more popular and efficient media like streaming and YouTube content, the numbers are even scarier. The world is producing more information than even the world can reasonably consume.

Writing in the face of that knowledge feels wasteful, like driving an SUV or golfing. At the same time, writing has a fundamental urgency to it.

When I write, I'm forced to vocalize and confront my beliefs. I've written essays where, having finished, I don't agree with anything that I’ve said. It's like I've built up this latent energy by reading and thinking and watching, and I need to write to convert that energy, a muddy fuel of insights and exaltations and fears, into action and belief.

Reading good writing, I feel this total connection to humanity, on a primal and ineffable level. And trying to write well, I feel that connection again.

So, I guess, to whoever's reading this, I’m grateful you've chosen to share your time with me, and I hope you get whatever you need and whatever you're missing out of it.

2. On a practical note, I've been spending a lot of time reading about personal finance lately and want to summarize what I’ve learned. I've been fortunate enough not to have to worry about my finances for most of my life, but I realized a couple months ago that having my entire net worth parked in a Citi savings account was blatantly irresponsible. Panicking, I overcompensated.

Fortunately, the most prevalent and reliable personal finance advice is all straightforward. Still, given that I wasn't familiar with it, and apparently my parents weren't either, I figure there's value here. If you already have your life in order, feel free to skip this section.

Re: banks, don't use banks with physical locations. Physical locations are expensive, and you pay for them with the interest on your savings and the premiums on your loans. Online banks like Ally and Alliant Credit Union offer much better rates and services and also have better digital infrastructure.

There are a lot of online banks with various costs and benefits, but Ally and Alliant seem to be the most popular and reliable. I have some money in both right now, but I've mostly been using Ally because it has better integration with other online platforms.

Re: brokerages, that logic still applies. Use Vanguard, not Fidelity.

Re: investing, put all your money in a U.S. market index fund, ideally VTSAX, and forget about it until retirement. Services like Betterment or Wealthfront, which algorithmically invest your savings, are a reasonable alternative. However, they charge $25 per $10,000 they manage for you, and it's unclear whether they outperform plain index funds by enough to justify their price. They do provide some tax optimization services which likely cover their cost for accounts with $100,000 or more.

I'm currently using Betterment because my friend sent me a referral link with the first 3 months free, so I figured I might as well try it and reevaluate after the trial. I'm happy so far. I like that it's less involved than using a brokerage, and my account has almost enough to appropriately benefit from tax-loss harvesting.

This is my referral link, if that sounds interesting to you.

Re: credit cards, they're not worth learning about unless you inherently enjoy solving complicated systems. Personally, my ultimate plan is to get a 2% cash back card, the Amazon Prime card (for 5% back on Amazon purchases), the Uber Visa (for 4% back on restaurants and 3% back on travel), and the Amex Blue Cash (for 3% back on groceries). Cash back isn't as rewarding as travel points or signing bonuses, in terms returns per dollar spent, but those games are much more complicated for just an additional 2-4% back.

If you're having trouble getting approved for credit lines, it will likely be worthwhile to learn everything: about credit scores, secured cards, how to efficiently build a credit profile, etc. A lot of why I'm not interested in travel points and signing bonuses is that the additional 2-4% back I'd get from them could only be spent on things I don't care much about, like fancy flights and hotels. But the difference between getting a 2+% discount on everything and not is enormous.

3. I've spent an unhealthy amount of time watching YouTube lately. YouTube has been seductive substitute for games because it isn't obviously useless. When I watch videos on fashion, personal finance, self-improvement, and so on, I feel like I'm making progress even if the information in the videos is useless. There's something inherently satisfying and exhilarating about watching videos at 2x speed.

As a result, I've incidentally learned about the economics of YouTube, which are fascinating. Like, the idea of even a single media company focused entirely on YouTube content is wild to me. Yet there they are, the young thousands. There's just a tremendous amount of money in YouTube, such that it’s almost difficult to comprehend the scale.

Like, a video with 12 million views @ 1/3 a cent per view represents $40k, a respectable annual income. 12 million views is a lot, but it's a small fraction of the attention that YouTube commands. Like, there are random tours of capsule hotels in Japan with that many views. The music video for Gangnam Style must have made almost 100 million dollars.

In a real twist of late capitalism, content creators get paid more or less based on their primary demographics. Like younger women are less likely to use an ad blocker than 20-something men, so a greater fraction of their views get monetized. Views from wealthier countries like the U.S. and Canada are worth more than views from poorer ones.

There's so much at stake in getting us to click around these websites. And it's not just recommender systems. Whole content companies are fighting for even a couple minutes of our attention.

4. In Lineup, by a Seattle company called Cut Media, hosts are tasked to sort a lineup of strangers into different categories. In one video, for example, the hosts need to guess the lineup's sexual orientations. In another, they need to match people to their outfits. The general idea, of course, is to demonstrate how limited stereotypes are. The hosts typically don't take their task seriously, and their inability to perform it is humorous, heartwarming, enlightening, etc.

Ironically, from a purely statistical standpoint, the series makes a much stronger case for stereotypes than against them. For example, in the video about guessing occupations, a host choosing at random would get an average of 1 person right and would get 3 or more matches only 8% of the time. Yet every one of the 4 hosts got at least 1 match, they managed an average of 2.25 matches altogether, and 2 of the hosts got 3 or more. Those numbers look like failures on the surface, but stereotypes actually led the hosts to perform significantly better than chance.

Better than chance is, of course, not the strictest criterion.

5. Two series I’ve found helpful are Glamour's How One Woman Spends Her $N Salary and CNBC's Living On $N A Year in Location. I've been struggling lately to figure out how I should spend my income and the insight into how other people relate to money was valuable.

I feel like I'm making enough money now that I should buy whatever happiness is available to me, but I have no idea what to buy. The things I really want – like reading more, being healthier, having better self-discipline – aren't readily for sale. I used to think it was ridiculous that people spent thousands of dollars on life coaches, gym memberships, logos, and so on, but I'm starting to understand why. At this point, I'd happily spend hundreds of dollars on a guarantee that my life would even marginally improve.

At the same time, I guess opportunities to trade money for happiness will inevitably present themselves over time, and maybe there’s no need to seek them out.

6. I feel that, as a society, we're far too private about our finances. If we talked openly our income, for example, the prevalence and severity of the gender pay gap would have become obvious decades earlier. Everyone with credit card debt would have someone in the life to tell them how stupid credit card debt and how important living within our means is. Maybe economists and sociologists could even determine what purchases actually make us happier, and what we only think makes us happy.

I think we've adapted to obscure our finances because we have this like limbic compulsion to organize ourselves into hierarchies and fight based on where we land, and income is a very natural hierarchy. But if we just resist that compulsion, we'd collectively benefit from greater knowledge.

Like, in decision theory, more information is inherently good. We can only interpret it badly.

7. At the same time, I guess I have little interest in writing about my own finances. Not out of any desire to hide them, I just don't find the topic particularly compelling. But if you'd like to know, contact me through whatever channel and I'd be happy to share my accounting sheet and answer whatever questions you have.

Not that I have any great wisdom to share, clearly.

8. There's a “5 Minute Rule” in self-help theory that instructs people to complete tasks will take less than 5 minutes as soon as they think of them and are able to. I'm a fan of the 5 Minute Rule and have made a similar rule for myself where if I need something and it costs less than $20, I'll buy it without hesitation or deliberation.

Like, I was opening a box with scissors a couple weeks ago and I couldn’t cleanly cut the threads in the packing tape. My hands hurt trying to push the scissors through. So I bought an utility knife for $3 and opening boxes has been far more pleasant since it arrived. I noticed my wrist was hurting at work, so I bought a better mousepad for $8. And so on.

Overall, one thing I have learned is to buy the things I need and the things I know will make me happier. Maybe that should have been obvious.

9. Yield and overcome; Bend and be straight; Empty and be full; Wear out and be new; Have little and gain; Have much and be confused. Be truly whole, and all things will come to you.

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niamhdonlan · 2 years

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Our brand promotion

As a group we had many discussions on how we would promote our brand, and from this we feel that we have decide the best ways to promote. In this post I will give you a run down on our promotion decisions and why I felt they were the best choices for us.

PR packages;

We felt as though PR packages were a good idea for us, with the popularity of social media influencers especially on TikTok. Brain Dean for backlinks.com writes about the statistics of who uses TikTok, and revealed that 'TikTok has 1 billion monthly active users... has been downloaded 3 billion times and was the most downloaded non-game app in the first six months of 2021...American’s 18 and over will spend 1.43 billion hours on TikTok in March 2020. On average, U.S. adult users spent 33 minutes per day on TikTok, ranking it 2nd by daily engagement after Facebook with 35 minutes.' After looking into these statistics I found that sending out packages to users of TikTok would be a very good idea as it would reach such a large audience, and following this most people that are big on TikTok also have instagram accounts with a large following as well so that reaches two platforms in one go. We thought it was best to pick influencers that are in the UK, because we are going to be based in the UK, and that will reach an audience also mostly in the UK that our store and online shipping more accessible, and as a long term plan possibly reach other countries, therefore we would change out PR packages to a more global audience. After taking this idea to the group we started discussion on who we felt was best to send our packages to, these are some of the people we chose;

Lozeak- 18 year old singer with 592.3k followers on TikTok and 138k on instagram who is very out there with her clothes and is obviously very into fashion, she also already gets sent clothing from places like Urban Outfitters and shows unboxing's on her TikTok.

Maddy Lucy Dann- Not quite sure on her exact age but she's in her mid 20's, she has 770k followers on TikTok and 138k on Instagram. She not only makes comedy videos on TikTok but is also a doctor currently working in A&E, and creates informative videos on health for her veiwers. We felt that this was a perfect person as she has quite a fun style wearing bold colours and posing unboxing on her TikTok account, but she also is a working woman who could use the brand to fit into her schedule of going to work but also needing clothes to go out in.

Olivia Neill- 20 years old with 1.3 million followers on TikTok and 773k on instagram, with her main platform being YouTube where she has 783k subscribers on her channel and videos with 1.9 million views. She is quite big on fashion having her own line for Motel Rocks and being invited to Paris and London fashion week, as she was being sponsored by high end brand Miu Miu to wear their clothing to these fashion weeks and The Brit Awards.

MaybeTamsin- 30 years old with 333.5k dollars on TikTok and 14.8k on Instagram. She uploads comedy videos to TikTok but also has a very well paying job in Tech, this why we felt she was perfect being the independent woman we could show for our brand.

In our mid term plans we hope to send our packages to more people, of different races and different sizes as we want our brand to be very inclusive and further prove that 'anyone can be Libby', and I feel as though our current choices of PR packages perfectly show that, but for our first one we thought these people would be the best fit for us.

-lozeak

-Olivia Neill

- Maddy Lucy Dann

-Maybetamsin

PR events

We have a few PR events in mind as a way to promote our brand, the first idea we had was off the back of the thrift section of our shop, and it was to set up a Kilo sale where we could donate some of our profits to non-profit organisations. The organisation we chose are;

-Housing for women: This is a non profit organisation that supports women in finding housing in situations such as survivors of trafficking, getting out of domestic abuse, leaving prison or just women struggling to get by.

-LGBT foundation: This is a charity based in Manchester that supports LGBT communities giving advice and support to those who need it.

-Women for Women: This is a international charity that helps women survivors in war torn countries, to help change their lives and their communities.

Here we would would team up with thrift stores such as Cow and Red Brick market and also out some of our original designs in our Kilo sale for a one time only event. This lets customers try out our products for a cheaper price, and therefore hopefully feel that shopping at our shop for full price is worth it as they are such good quality. Kilo sales are also a very sustainable way to sell clothes, as these clothes are vintage, up-cycled and re worn.

We went through a few ideas for events such a piercing event, as at first we wanted a pricing section in our shop, however it did match up to our age range that well, so we scrapped this idea. I then had the idea of a bar event, where there would be a free bar, and DJ where people could come and network with other people and also see our clothing on display, however I didn't feel like this was suited to our customer who may find it hard to get to places like this and we also didn't want to just invite influencers, as we want our brand to be accessible to the normal working woman. However off the back of this idea we decided on having a supporting small artist event.

For this event you would be able to buy tickets for £10, and we would have many small artists from fashion, art and music be able to come and showcase their work in pop ups, while also have a out pop up there as well. We would set up a campaign for people to send in their work, and we would choose from these which ones we can showcase at our event. We would plan to have these every 3 months as well, to make it an event people can get excited for and we could also showcase our new collections there as well. I feel like this is a good move for our brand as we can show we support independence, and being able to be creative which is feel like shows through our brand.

We also hope to have pop up shop events, in places such as London, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, and Birmingham, this is a way to let customers who don't go to the store will still be able to see out products, and if they like what they see they may be more inclined to go to the store, or if they don't live in Birmingham to shop on the online store.

Lastly when we were deciding of our social media, we first felt as though an Instagram was the best idea as its such a popular and well used app, and with this we could interact with out followers even easier. However there are thousands of brands on Instagram that are trying to be seen, therefore to find something so stand out that it gets noticed in the sea of other accounts would be really difficult, therefore we thought if we had an website as well instead of focusing fully on the Instagram it would help us to be notice more. Meg created our website with help from the website Wix.com, just creating a basic design for how we would start to show off our brand, and therefore adding more and more details as we gained popularity, such as a reviews section where customers could interact, and showing out collections through photoshoots.

Here is the first website design:

Here's our Instagram:

As our brand would go on we would add more aspects to our instagram and website to make it more exciting, and more of an experience in which we wanted our actual stores to be.

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fossadeileonixv · 3 years

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Mercato Madness: The Final Say

One thing is certain, you are not to soil this man’s name in this here house.

So the summer transfer marker of 2021 is over.

Let’s take some time to rejoice.

Since banter officially began way back in the summer of 2012, I can recall few players, events, coaches, matches that have divided Milanisti quite like this market. We have some that are singing high praise for Maldini’s ability to capture eleven new players on an 80 million euro budget. Then we have others ridiculing a transfer strategy that culminated in Junior Messias as the answer to the right wing issue, hours before the window closed. The human condition is manifold, reason a flawed and subjective invention, and as such a definitive manichean yes or no, good or bad solution or explanation for nearly anything we can perceive and comprehend is inherently out of reach. The summer 2021 transfer market is no exception. It can be seen as both a failure and a success and it would be difficult for me to argue in favor or in opposition to either position, resolutely.

To highlight this point, I’m publishing a Twitter DM convo between Mike and I, which I think also kind of covers how each of us feels not only about the players, but the strategy in general. Mike is more optimistic than I, but after re-reading this a few times, I can’t even disagree with him:

TR: I'm trying to just put my faith in Pioli and hope that Brahim lights shit up. Minus this, I'm not even mad at the moves per se, but more experienced or creative minds could have done more.

MIKE: We still desperately need an AM. To me that is the difference between a good window and not.

We replaced Donna, held onto Tomori and Diaz, added a LB, bolstered the midfield with Bakayoko and brought in what could be a 20+ goal scorer in Giroud. That's not bad.

TR: Ya I dunno. RW/AM were like the two areas I expected to be addressed with quality and early and here we are

MIKE: We also brought in Florenzi and Messias as band aids at RW. Not that I'm thrilled with either.

That all being said I think we are at a solid 7; get me an AM and we are at an 8.

I think people are really underestimating how much we needed another striker to go with Ibra and just how good Giroud is gonna be.

TR: It isn't a terrible market and the MF depth is huge, I just think we coulda done better.

Giroud is gonna be great, there is no doubt in my mind. I don't see how Zlatan regains his starting spot tbh, because I also don't see us playing with 2 strikers

MIKE: Also, Maignan for peanuts is a coup. Look at the keepers at the other top clubs in the league.... Ospina, Handanovic, Reina, Szcezny.....

We may very well have the best keeper in the league again

TR: We could. Oddly kind of a low bar which is weird when you think about how stacked the league was with keepers 3 or 4 years back

MIKE: I think he's levels above those guys.

TR: We’ll see.

MIKE: If Leao WOULD SHOW UP AND BE WORTH 40 MILLION we could live with whoever plays on the right. Amazing how he gets a free pass while folks run Castillejo out of town.

LW was trash last year yet the RW was the problem? We've but 10s of millions into that area and gotten fuck all. I don't get it. We paid 9 for Casti and 4 for Saelemaekers and they catch all the hate?

Sorry I'll climb off my soapbox.

TR: LW was at least productive, statistically. Samu was a net 0 and Saele is just not a good enough finisher to play that advanced. Also, we paid like 24m for Casti.

I get it. I gripe about players all the time, but there are certain ones like Saele and Samu where its like, this is as good as they can get. If you're unhappy with it, that's someone else's problem. I think the difference with Leao is that Leao's ceiling is literally world class so the patience is and should be a bit longer.

MIKE: What I don’t understand is people think these rumors m an we had a chance at these players or that somehow Maldini failed.We are a mid level team that made the CL for first time in years. We are barely relevant. Certainly not a destination.

The days of a guy like Sabitzer having a great euros and coming here are loooooong gone.

TR: My counterpoint top that is that mid-level teams playing for nothing are signing quality. Villa signed Emmy Buendia. Wolves signed Sanches. Roma signed Tammy. James/Bernardo, I never really expected but players the level of Vlasic were certainly within our reach.

But again, my issue is more the plan. Taking younger players that can't break into Chelsea and Madrid is fine here and there, but it isn't a transfer strategy. They pay a lot of lip service to the RB model but can't land the sort of players necessary to make that work.

MIKE: I’m sorry but there’s no comparison between us and even a mid level EPL team.

The spending power and attraction of those clubs is light years above us. All we can do is hope they are dumb enough to pay 25 million for Cutrone.

25 million is nothing to them

TR: Spending power sure, but there are a lot of players that don't care for the league or the country (weather/food/family/ etc.) otherwise these clubs would be thriving in tourneys like Europa and they don't.

I've been telling my brother that the model is the right one, but the coach, owners, and directors aren't really qualified enough to make it work. They are however, good enough to finish top four in Italy if all goes right.

And we've sucked for a decade, but players generally hate leaving Milan barring some kind of real personal thing.

The attraction, I believe, is still there. They just don't really have a coherent plan.

And look, the situations were bad, and I hate to beat a dead horse, but arguably two of your three most valuable assets walked out for free. One to a rival. I can't think of a real-life business comparison but that is a reallllllyy bad screwup.

MIKE: I can. You let older workers go and hire replacements at a third of their wages. Happens all the time

TR: But if you could have sold those older workers....

Well, that's slavery, nm. but you get my point.

The four ounce glass has two ounces of water, this we can be sure of. On one hand, we are definitely half full. We’re undoubtedly good enough to compete at a high level as indicated by our second place finish last season and first two games this year. This is as complete a team as we have had since the beginning of banter, and the work that management has done so far is admirable considering the restrictions. Mike is correct in that we aren’t in a financial position to acquire world-class talent, so names like Bernardo, Sabitzer, or even James aren’t quite our reality yet.

But we’re definitely half empty. Big Mike looks the part so far, but sorry Don-haters, he is not at good as PSG’s backup. In fact it would be difficult for me to say that we are substantially a better starting eleven than the one that huffed over the finish line last season, sans maybe Giroud. We’re good enough to finish top four, but it isn’t wild to think of scenarios where we finish anywhere between fifth and seventh. We have depth in almost everywhere, but we also accrued that depth at the expense of two positions that were burning for quality. And while we can’t flex and grab the names mentioned above, you do have to think that with a little more cunning, a bit more panache, and better negotiating skills, we could have done a bit more to make those odds of finishing 5th less likely.

But who is to say? It’s done, thankfully. And now it is time to enjoy the ride. So with our respective thesis’ laid out, let’s rate and speculate with a few questions and answers on the mercato by Mike and I!

MIKE LISI’S THOUGHTS

Biggest coup: Maignan for 14 million. He might already be the best keeper in the league and no one misses Donnarumma. On top of that, Maldini showed that he won't be bullied by the backup keeper for PSG.

The Biggest Surprise: Giroud. I bet he scores 20 goals.

The Biggest Oversight: The attacking midfield spot. Runner up is CB. Kjaer’s health worries me and we’re a little thin at that spot.

Overall Rating: 8/10; Maiagnan, Tomori, Torre, Bakayoko, Florenzi, Brahim, Adli, Pellegri, Giroud. All we lost was Hakan and Donnarumma and we have easily improved each of those spots. No complaints really. Also, we only spent 70 million. Between Hakan and Donnarumma we would have spent that much on their salaries alone.

Are we a better team than last year: Hell yeah we are better. Last year I think we greatly overachieved to finish where we did. This year I expect us to be top 3. Big difference in my mind.

TEEN ROCKETT’s TAKE

Biggest coup: Giroud. Unlike Mike, I won’t be surprised if he scores 20. I think for the price, the return is going to be higher than any other player we purchased this season.

The Biggest Surprise: Junior. I am letting my romanticism for his story cloud my judgement, but considering what he did with Crotone last year, I don’t think it is inconceivable we get five or six goals and a few assists platooning with Saele.

The Biggest Oversight: Not solidifying RW and AM. I just really don’t understand how we waited until the dying hours to address one and chose to take a considerable gamble putting the load all on Brahim for the other. Runner up will be not selling Kessie and or Romagnoli. But talk to me this time next year.

Overall Rating: 6.5/10; I am impressed with what we did for 80 million and I think we are a more rounded team, with depth in almost every position. We did a good job balancing youth and veterans. Additionally, moves like Pellegri, Traore and Clinton (the latter two being youths) are the kind of moves that get me excited for the future. But while I think we’re capable of about the same point total as last season I’m not sure we did enough to beat out Atalanta, Juve, Inter and to a lesser extent Napoli, and yes I’m saying it without really believing it, Roma. And from a strictly business standpoint, not capitalizing the Don and Hakan departures were massive mistakes. There’s no way around that.

Are we a better team than last year: We’re more complete. We will see what that translates to on the pitch. I’d have a tough time saying that we are out and out better, but if not, we didn’t take a step back.

Allright Leoni. That’s that. In the damn books. Sound off below and feel free to hit us with your own biggest coup, biggest surprise, major oversight, overall rating, and whether we are better or not.

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canaya96 · 6 years

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On my first day in Iceland, I rode the bus from the Keflavík airport to Reykjavík. Along the way, the bus driver mentioned several interesting places I should visit, as he pointed beyond the vast volcanic landscape that enveloped the main highway on either side. He said this was the site of a big construction controversy. He explained a road had been proposed to ease the commute from the Álftanes peninsula to Gardabaer, a suburb of Reykjavík. But the project was interrupted because a rock that was proposed to be move, was a home for elves. Now, I was doing quite well with this gentleman’s Polish accent, but I had to ask for confirmation, “Did you say elves?” “Yes, elves,” he replied. And that was my first exposure to the rich and colorful folklore of Iceland.

A month later, I was on a Reykjavík city tour and our tour guide kept mentioning areas of the city that were linked with the elves (again, with the elves). I have come to learn that elves, in fact, are a part of the Icelandic culture and are known to wreak havoc when disturbed. As a result, elf mitigation has now become a business in Iceland. For example, the builders of the Kárahnjukastífla dam in eastern Iceland hired an elf consultant. The clairvoyant consultant is used to act as a mediator between the Hundufólk (hidden people, as elves are known) and humans to prevent any problems when elfin homes or churches must be moved. This use of a clairvoyant stems from problems that have occurred in the past when elves were not considered.

Careful, any large rock could be a home for elves!

Enchanting, moss-covered landscape

In 2015, workers were called to clear mud on a highway caused by heavy rainfall. From the beginning, a series of unfortunate events plagued the project including work injuries, broken machinery, and further flooding as workers continued to remove mud from the road. It turns out, they were dumping mud onto a large rock in the vicinity known as the Elfin Lady Stone, or Álfkonusteinn. To some, these unfortunate events might be the result of dangers associated with construction projects, but for others, the incidents are a result of what happens when the human world collides with the elf world.

It seemed that during my first few months in Iceland, elves continued to pop up. So, I started searching the internet and learned about “Elf School”. What does one learn at Elf School? I had to find out! According to their website, elf school is where attendees can learn “everything that is known about elves and hidden people, as well as gnomes, dwarfs, fairies, trolls…and mythical beings in Iceland and in other countries.” The website also claims we will learn “about hundreds of Icelanders that have had personal contact with elves.” You are also enticed with the promise of a diploma and traditional Icelandic food for the low price of $64. Because I love acquiring certificates and I was exited to share elves on my blog, I would be happy to pay my tuition.

The school is in a business district a few kilometers east of downtown Reykjavík. As I walked to the main entrance, located at the top of a dark corridor, there was quite a bit of clutter spewing from the purple outline of the doorway. As I walked in, I took a quick scan of the room which appeared to look like the inside of someone’s house. In fact, the décor took me back, back to my grandmother’s house circa 1970’s. There were gnomes everywhere. As I proceeded through the dimly lit room, I noticed a large bearded gentleman sitting behind a counter. All I could think was “clutter”. Could this be the school? Was I in the right place? “You’re here for Elf School?” the man behind the counter asked. I quietly nodded still unconvinced I was in a school. As he collected my payment, the room was eerily quiet except for the humming of the credit card machine. I was handed my free book and told to take a seat while we wait for others to arrive. I entered a smaller room that contained two rows of chairs on either side of the room with a small table in the center. I squeezed through the rows of chairs taking a seat in back where I could quietly observe and take notes. Over the next 10 minutes people quietly trickled in. This did not look like a school. “Should I leave?” I thought. I could not make out the quiet murmurs, but I am pretty sure we were all noticing the cluttered walls donned with shelves containing various statues, pictures, and hints of elves. Maybe they wanted to leave, too. Altogether, the people quietly seated, the indifferent facial expressions, and the shifting eyes that contemplated why we are all here was reminiscent of waiting at a doctor’s office, dreading to hear the results of a test no one wants to take. I just did not get the sense that people were excited. Maybe it was shock and awe of being at a “school” that looked like we entered a time capsule; it even smelled like 1970, if that was possible. So, there we all sat quietly, waiting for the headmaster.

In all there were 12 attendees, a husband and wife team from public news radio in Germany, a U.S. couple from Arkansas, a student from the local university, four American tourists who were very happy to share their knowledge and interest in the supernatural, a couple of honeymooners, and myself. At last our headmaster arrived, wearing a large corduroy blazer draped over sweat pants. He claimed the classroom was upstairs, but we would all be more comfortable and intimate in this room; he probably spent too much time talking about the closeness of it all. It did not make me feel comfortable, quite the opposite, in fact. He started with pleasantries and welcomed everyone. Perhaps appealing to the majority of us who were American, he opened with his connection to Barrack Obama. The headmaster’s brother, a former member of the Icelandic Parliament, was asked by Obama if Icelanders believe in elves and does his brother really teach at elf school. This was the lead-in to Icelanders and their belief in elves-54%, in fact, believe in elves. But according to online reports, the 1998 poll showed 54.4% of respondents checked the box that they “do not deny the existence of elves”. In comparison, 8% said they believe in elves while 3% actually had an encounter; still quite a bit for a country of ~334,000 inhabitants (not including the elves). I think it’s time for another poll. The headmaster’s introduction went on for about 30 minutes and continued with Republican bashing, the trouble with American politics, etc. and it was apparent he was having a good time. The tone of the stories was slow and choppy. Maybe he was trying to create a dramatic tone using short sentences, followed by long dramatic pauses. During the pauses, it seemed the headmaster was elsewhere. I wanted to scream. I wanted to run. But I wanted to know what was coming next because I quickly realized there was a story to be had, not about elves, but about elf school. At some point I looked over to my Arkansas neighbors-he was asleep, she was playing games on her phone. I must admit, I was struggling to keep my eyes open. Throughout the next three hours, we repeatedly heard the statistics that 54.4% of Icelanders believe in elves and then he would tell a story to validate that statistic. In fact, he claimed, the reason he knows the stories are true is because each time he interviews people who have had run-ins with elves, they repeat the same story without changing details from year to year. He claimed, if people are lying, they will consistently change their stories. Sometimes, in between quiet pauses came completely off topic statements. “I should tell you I’m married, to a man”. “Do you know, schizophrenic people are clairvoyant? They are in two dimensions at the same time”. “By the way, did you notice the weather changes in Iceland”. More pauses, more short, choppy stories. Buddy, I think you are in another dimension, I thought. Things livened up a bit when a prop, I mean evidence, was passed around the group. It was a metal tea kettle, supposedly very, very old. It looked like the metal coffee pots used for camping. As it was passed to me, I looked for “Made in China” stamped into the bottom, but nothing and I mean nothing–no signs of use or wear, either. Other stories followed, mostly about lost children being saved by the elves during a snowstorm, an elf structure appearing and then disappearing. I wanted to know how others were feeling so during the 30-minute break, I asked a few people what they thought. I already knew how the four-supernatural fans felt because they were already making plans to meet with an elf clairvoyant. I could sense the Arkansas couple were quite angry- or maybe it was because they had to wake up for the break. I asked, “Is the school what you expected?” The response was quick, “NO! We thought it would be different because some of the reviews were good”. I meekly agreed but I was not disappointed with the experience because now I knew I had a story. The single woman (besides myself) was a student, she made it clear she was here to write an assignment for school, thwarting any ideas that she was here voluntarily. After break, the long, slow stories with intermittent pauses continued. “Hold on, you can make it”, I kept telling myself. As I mentally dozed away, I began to make a revelation. Now, from my point of view, the headmaster was sitting sideways so that I could see a complete, body profile. He looked so familiar; a white beard, wire-rimmed glasses, a big belly that shook like a bowl full of jelly when he laughed at his own jokes. “Santa?!” I thought, shifting in my seat, trying to hold back laughter. Hadn’t I heard Santa was king of the elves-or just an elf. He looks like Santa and he’s talking about elves! Does anyone else in the room notice this irony?

Sometimes, the landscape looks dark and macabre, perfect habitat for trolls and other legends.

Before coming to elf school, there were several people who warned me to save my money. My reply was that I needed to learn about elves so that I can share elves on my blog and besides, I will get a free book out of it. What I did learn during that very slow, backward-step-in-time experience, was that the story was the school itself and its headmaster, not the elves. Unfortunately, the elves were overshadowed, both in the school and in this story I am writing. But I will eventually talk more about elves and their connection to the land and Icelandic people.

Today, as I read the experience of others at elf school in blogs or reviews online, their experiences and the tales they heard during their class, appear to be the same. I would expect the headmaster to tell new stories, as more people have run-ins with elves, but the stories seem to have not changed over the years. In the end I did not learn anything during the 3.5-hours I lost. I have learned more reading on the internet or reading the tales presented in Icelandic folklore books. At the end of class, the experience got even weirder when the headmaster proposed we all get naked and take a group picture. In all, the word naked was used three times. If you read online reviews and blogs, you will find this is a common theme, some inappropriate request followed by uncomfortable silence. In the end, we did not learn “everything about elves” or stories from “hundreds of people” as the website claimed. What I did get was a good laugh and an experience.

The volcanic landscape around Lake Myvatn makes a great backdrop for Icelandic folktales.

Dimmuborgir, featured in Game of Thrones, is said to be the home of the 13 Yule Lads who are another group deeply rooted in Icelandic folklore.

Just another picture to demonstrate the enchantment of Iceland.

Graduation

Secret Santa and Why We Don’t Mess with Elves On my first day in Iceland, I rode the bus from the Keflavík airport to Reykjavík. Along the way, the bus driver mentioned several interesting places I should visit, as he pointed beyond the vast volcanic landscape that enveloped the main highway on either side.

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meryllgabionza · 3 years

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My Mobile Day: A Journey

Our mobile phone… our best friend, our day-to-day partner, a part of our daily routine. No doubt, it became a necessity nowadays. People tend to be emotionally attached to these gadgets, and this leads to our completely detachment to the real world. Okay, I must admit it is nearly impossible to live without out it. All the things that we do the entire day have something to do with it or in better term, connected to it – our job, finance, school, even our day-to-day meal planning, it is all in there!

So now, let talk about what we are here for in the first place -- I walk you through a journey of my mobile day. Let me start off with a question to you- yes, You. Have you ever counted how many apps you have in your device? Have you ever wondered which one of them are the most valuable to you? Well, I consider myself as a “below average” to “average” user. Let us just say that in an active weekday, I only spend a half to an hour and a half mobile phone usage (this depends on how much work I have that day). Comparing it to my boyfriend, he has almost 3 hours spent each day using is mobile phone. Disclaimer! This differs during the weekends of course and let us not forget the lockdown that is currently in effect, my screen time is so much higher than my usual days.

24 over 80

| Fun Fact! According to a statistic gathered by Build Fire, there are an average of 80+ applications downloaded in a user’s device.

So, by that fact I just gave you—I think you have already figured out why this section is entitled that way. This is also another proof that I am not in to using mobile phones. I only have 24, let me spell that out – TWENTY-FOUR, out of EIGHTY applications on my phone which is roughly 15% of the average user’s (I am bad at Math, so sorry). Okay, okay I know I sound a “little” bit exaggerated. I have this phone for almost two years now, and of course I have un-installed some apps that I rarely/never used to open-up some space from my storage.

It is just mind-boggling for me to think that people have a lot of data stored in their phones; that they have 80 different software on their device, and they are willing to share their information with its owners. This just means that truly trust our phone or we just are fixated on them.

Socials.

Like the famous quotes go...

“Humans are social beings.” Or,

“No man is an island.”

We are born to communicate and collaborate with other people. They help us grow, define, and shape our beliefs, philosophies, personalities, lifestyle, etc. Other people influence us to be the person that we are now. This reflects our activities online as well. By examining my daily mobile routines, I have figured that I tend to open more social media channels that anything else – for example Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. I launch it mostly for entertainment and communication. As a recent immigrant (just landed almost two years ago- April 2019), I had difficulty to find people my age. Most of my friends back in my country I have met during my academic journey. I am not a social person per se and I do not usually approach a person for the first time. So, during the early months of my stay here in Canada, I usually open-up my socials to catch-up and talk to my friends back home. And as the time goes by, I go out and meet people along the way (this is way before COVID). Well, not only these I also use my phone in other way for games (i.e., Call of Duty), transportation (tracking TTC buses- I use Transit Now), and tracking my activities and diet (Samsung Health). Two of these apps are also kind-of related with social and communications as well, the main obvious one is Call-of-Duty Mobile. If you are not familiar of the game, this is a multi-player shooter game that you can team up with your friends or strangers to complete an objective. This game allows players to use their microphones and speakers to talk with your teammates during a match. In Samsung Health on the other hand, lets the users connect with their friends or strangers compete on challenges and compare stats of their fitness progress which in my opinion is a great way to communicate with people with the same interest as you.

Oh! To add furthermore to this section, I give Google Search a special mention. This is one of the apps on my phone that I could never un-install. This helps with every search or query I need. No matter what you are looking for – recipes, locations, a weird thought. It will answer you in a milli-second.

Micro-moments

Let us go back to Google Search… have you ever thought what do you usually search about?

Have you heard about the term, Micro-Moments?

During my last semester, I learned about this term that is firstly coined by Google. Basically, it is an occurrence where the user looks for information of their queries whether these are location, shopping, basic questions, etc. These are the “I want to go”, “I want to know”, “I want to buy”, and the “I want to do” moments that initiates the customers’ buying journey.

Okay, let us stop talking about the definition of the word and move forward to what are some micro-moments that we deeply identify lately these days. Well, for starters the first moment for me is “I want to breathe”. Why, you might ask? From all what happened to the world this past year and all the misfortunes, it is important for us to just pause for a moment and breathe. I like to take an hour or a half to just clear up my mind and listen or watch peaceful things on the internet through my phone or smart tv before going to work or start the class. I also do some feel-good readings about hope, serenity, and just good news to help me and my mind get that moment of calmness that we all need and aim for these days.

Another moment is “I want to explore”, this also came up during the lockdown. All of us stayed mostly at home and sometimes I know it is feeling restrictive and suffocating. So, I what I do is research about different places around the world and learn about their culture through videos and articles. In this way, you will be able to help you mind looking forward to a better future.

The Downside

Like all the things in life, everything has its downside. Being online most of time can be draining--constantly checking our phone each minute hoping for a new notification to pop out. Also, just by scrolling around social media all day, we might bump into bad news that can ruin your whole day. Oh! Do not let me start on the sudden crashes or malfunctions! Especially when you are in the middle of a game or you are anticipating the exact time of the bus arrival! It can be real frustrating for the users, especially when you are running late for work and you are highly reliant on that certain app. This frustration can also be applied to mobile games where you play or interact with other users. Another, downside of mobile is the miscommunications on social media. I have heard a lot of stories about arguments because of just a miswording or other type of unfortunate occurrence that can end relationships or hatred between people. I have lost a lot of friends and ended relationship because of this, which to think of it I sometimes can be a good thing—you know to end some “toxic” relationship that can greatly affect your mental health.

At the end of day, we just need to accept and embrace the un-ending evolvement of our world. We need adapt to these changes but also take precautions so it can help us rather than destroy us. We also should not let social media or our mobile define us. We should you this as an aid rather than the focus of our whole day. Okay, enough “lecturing for today” and let us end this with a question…

If our mobile phone can only have five apps on its system (except of the essentials to run the system of course), what are those and why?

#digital media #mobile day #apps

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