#also like if we had people investing less in housing and more in socially good enterprises

[post-futurism]

The rental prices in regional areas are such a joke. When I moved here I got a 3br house for 360/w and now that I'm moving out they're advertising it for 430/w even though there's a gaping hole in the lounge room ceiling, severe water damage, structural issues that have gone unaddressed for the three years we've been here and the photos they've put on the listing are so old they're only showing the external views even though that's not what the house looks like anymore.

So not only is the quality of the housing quite poor, they're hiking up the price to more than half of minimum wage's weekly income. It's really terrible like how are people who live in regional areas who get paid a lot less on average than people in cities meant to afford that really. It's perpetuating poverty.

#rent freeze to before covid levels now #regional rent cap equivalent to average earnings now #housing inequality #also like if we had people investing less in housing and more in socially good enterprises #maybe we'd have more housing supply and a better society overall idk just a thot

[artbyblastweave]

Gideon The Ninth Liveread, Chapter 18

Teacher’s order at the end of the last chapter to bring the bodies up isn’t followed by a jump cut to the parlor scene, as it easily could have been; instead, we get some insight into the logistics of getting two mutilated corpses and an unresponsive cavalier up a narrow ladder. The physical comedy implied by the process of getting Colum up the ladder is good bathos, but the fact that this takes them over an hour seems salient; whatever boogeyman Teacher was afraid of had over an hour in which to attack prone targets. And it didn’t show up for the hours on end that the houses spent attempting necromantic workings. My inclination is that either Teacher is feigning ignorance in order to scupper the investigation, or Teacher is genuinely afraid of something that still lies dormant and is projecting his longstanding anxieties onto the first blank crisis that presents itself.

Corona is very casually cited as one of the Colum liftees, alongside Gideon, which I feel like reading into a little. A quick runthrough of who’s even left reminded me that Corona actually is one of the most physically capable people remaining at Canaan house- Magnus being dead, Colum being in his state, Pro being attached to Dulcinea at the Hip, the teens being pubescent, Babs being mildly eaten…. Corona is, like, one of the taller/stronger people in the assemblage, right? But this gives off the vibe of a task that you’d assume, from her social butterfly persona, that she’d get someone else to do. And she’s doing it in her nightie, as well.  I pegged her and her sister coming down in the skimpy nighties as… not a head game, exactly, but part of their attention to presentation. This is not body-hauling attire. But she switches modes without hesitation, with only one word of textual acknowledgement that she’s the one who knuckled down. She actually spends a good bit of time in this chapter abruptly cutting the bullshit and knuckling down to try and address the situation at hand. I’m starting to like Corona.

The Second House were the ones to run and get Teacher. I’m reiterating my initial read on them; they’re there to keep up with the Joneses, with limited investment in the trial outcome or their own path to ascension through it. The Necro/Cav pair are barely visually delineated from each other, in contrast to basically every other dyad. They are not Of Necromancy, beyond its utility; they are Of The Military. They have limited respect for Teacher’s religious edicts about lines of communication off-world, and while it’s difficult to tell how much stock any of these people put in the theology vs how much they’re going along to get along, it’s telling that they lead the push to undermine the foremost religious authority in deference to military authority.

As an aside, I’m well-versed enough in this series via tumblr osmosis to know that the Emperor is, like, very much all that, and his personal power eclipses and obviates what any other house could hope to bring to the table, so usurpation as a goal is unlikely. Adherence to his religion is less like a matter of doctrine and more like acknowledging the sun’s ongoing contribution to the ecosystem. But inter-house infighting isn’t unheard of; the Eighth has it out for the Ninth, after all. I wonder if we’re witnessing an internal fracture between the military dynasty and the hardline religious elements of the empire; if this attempt by the Second to call things off and bring in reinforcements isn’t JUST a practical plan but is also them finally making the kind of power grab they actually know how to make.

“A Second captain don’t outrank a Third official.” Wait. Is Naberius supposed to have, like, a genteel southern drawl? Also, interesting that this is where Ianthe chooses to intercede on his behalf. “Prince Tern, if you please.” The Third does circle the wagons against outside threats.

Alright, Key ownership rundown. The Sixth has a key, Dulcinea’s gambit using Pro to brute-force check all the doors apparently netted her a key. It turns out that both mine and Harrow’s suspicions were correct; Silas did cue Abigail and Magnus in on the facility, using both the rationale that they aren’t NOT supposed to work together, but also under the rationale that the hated Ninth can’t be allowed to be the only ones with access to the facility. Unfortunate that Harrow does have someone ready and willing to validate her paranoia.

The exchange between Silas and Dulcinea is fascinating. Silas clearly likes Dulcinea; everybody does. When he finds out it was the Seventh Cavalier who put him out, he seemingly takes this in stride, and he’s unwilling to sic Colum on Dulcinea… but he is willing to have Colum duel Pro, which Dulcinea (and Gideon, by extension) gets predictably up in arms about. Dulcinea and Silas run parallel in that they’re both radically reliant on their cavalier to get anything useful done, more so than any other necromancer we’ve seen; Silas requires Colum for soul siphoning and general henchman work, while Dulcinea uses Pro as a caretaker and mobility device. Silas is significantly more, uh, cavalier about imperiling Colum over petty bullshit than Dulcinea is; the charitable read is that Dulcinea’s reliance on Pro gives her a significantly greater appreciation for him. The uncharitable read is that anything happens to Pro, she’s going to be in a pickle; he’s already saved her ass once by putting Silas out, and the crisis has barely started.

Coronabeth puts her foot down; “The Golden Butterfly was gone.” Her rousing speech noticeably gets everybody moving in the direction of productive action- The Second Cav passive-aggressively entertaining Teacher’s theory, Isaac committing to hunting a monster if it exists, with Palamedes putting on the brakes on his enthusiasm with a commitment to a scientific autopsy, an implied deference to Coronabeth’s call for unity, and a (not unreasonable!) entertainment of the possibility there really is a horde of vengeful ghosts in play. He even folds in Harrow and Silas’s dispute by making it clear that collaboration on the murder issue isn’t incompatible with continuing to compete in the lyctor trials. Third House’s hat, so to speak, is that they’re the rulers and governers- but Sixth house were previously mentioned to be the house with policy wonks, and there’s a synergy there! Palamedes knows how to align himself with Corona for maximum productive effect.

Ianthe admits to being in possession of the last key, distressing both Babs (who she took the key from) and Corona, who expected to be privy to this information. Something I find interesting about this is that Ianthe is pretty clearly a Machiavellian operator; if nothing else, she had the key, and kept that fact to herself. But! When it comes down to it, she’s also willing to come clean and put her cards on the table in a crisis situation. She was in the trenches necromancing right along everyone else; there are parallels here be drawn here to her sister’s willingness to drop the butterfly routine in the name of getting the situation under control. On the other hand, it’s also possible that this is a rehearsed ruse; Ianthe, as the obvious evil Twin, publicly taking the fall by positioning herself as the only one from Third House who hypothetically could have had access to the facility at the time of the murders. This is conceivable even if the Third genuinely have nothing to do with it; an implementation of a general strategy they’ve worked out amongst themselves, painting Ianthe as the heel in contrast to the Great Golden Butterfly, establishing the narrative that Coronabeth doesn’t have complete control over what Ianthe does. Campy Wickedness as a cultivated affect, overlaying a subtler, realer scheming nature. “Ianthe is a Vriska,” “Ianthe is Rancid,” all these no-context Ianthe posts have got me going full Charlie Kelly over here. 

The meeting adjourns. Palamedes works off Coronabeth’s cue to lead all interested parties to the freezer, including the Second and Seventh houses. Gideon chalks this up to Seventh Houses broadly morbid tendencies, but it also strikes me as likely that Dulcinea might have applicable medical knowledge as an outgrowth of constantly dealing with her condition, or at a minimum could effectively rubber-duck for Pal while he talks out the implications aloud. Second House I’m assuming are along for the ride because they realize they live in a universe where they have to at least begrudgingly entertain the ghost thing, but they want to be in the room concurrently with any autopsy that might reach “ghost murder” as its conclusion, to make sure there’s no funny business going on.

Pal, conspicuously, stops to have a word with Harrow. Harrow is characteristically concerning; her singlemindedness (on display in full force at the end of the chapter!) is poorly suited to such a radical shift in the circumstances. She’s the least willing to change her focus during the meeting beyond what’s necessary to avoid getting fingered as the murderer, and Pal’s word might very well be words of warning or reprobation that he had the tact not to deliver in front of the peanut gallery.

The scene with Silas starting the process of bringing back Colum is interesting; I think that Silas’s utmost confidence in Colum’s ability to make it back is the first time we see any expression of regard from Silas towards his Cav, and while it’s a strong endorsement of Colum’s capabilities, it’s part and parcel with the extent to which Silas is taking Colum for granted. Earlier I drew parallels between the necro/cav dynamics of the Seventh and Eighth houses, but there’s also a strong parallel between the Eighth and Ninth houses- each with a zealous, thoroughly stick-assed Necromancer , each of whom are paired at the hip with a Cav with a stoic demeanor and a frosty-and-best attitude towards their Necro. This line of thought is causing me to re-evaluate the lens through which Gideon has been assessing Eighth house; no Necro/Cav pairing is remotely Normal About It, but Eighth and Ninth have some parallels in their dysfunction. The key difference being that Silas routinely, habitually makes use of his Cav, and Gideon’s beef with Harrow is at least partly informed by the fact that, up until very recently, Harrow gave her absolutely no opportunity to be of use. Colum represents the path not taken, the grass that’s greener, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Gideon pays so much attention to the Colum situation right before Harrow shows up to drag her off towards another once-longed-for stint as an accomplice. Is Harrow’s attention an improvement in her circumstances, or has she this whole time unwittingly been dodging Colum’s sorry lot?

The sequence with Jeannemary is heartbreaking. They’ve hit the hero-worship beat a couple times now, the idea that she’s looking up to/admiring/(crushing on?) Gideon. It’s interesting that the “Bad Teen,” up till now an irksome background presence, is the one to finally break Gideon’s composure in a semi-public, not-technically-a-live-emergency setting- quietly and quickly enough that the illusion is probably still largely intact, but it’s a significant break! Also significant is Jeannemary’s insight into a suspicious detail nobody else seems to have touched on in the meeting; Abigail specialized in Ghost magic. Jeannemary’s love of Abigail means that her awareness of this fact cashes out as a belief that Abigail should have been able to defeat a ghostly threat regardless of magnitude. But the unstated second truth is that whoever or whatever killed Abigail, simultaneously got rid of the necromancer best suited to the necromantic forensic work everyone else was struggling with in the last chapter. This doesn’t feel like a coincidence. 

Harrow’s barreling forward on the heels of Colum’s return to the land of the living feels like a great for-want-of-a-nail moment, and another example of Harrow’s too-clever-by-half tendencies snipping a thread that she really, really should have followed up on. Jeannemary has an important insight here! If Colum had been seventeen minutes late instead of fifteen, Harrow might have limped into the middle of a very illuminating exchange.

In closing, I’m pretty sure we’re looking at two memes in one here. Harrow’s “I’m sick of these people” bit reads to me like a reference to Dr. Manhattan’s, “I tire of Earth. These people” monologue and the resultant meme panel. “An admirable attempt at comedy in these trying times” reads like a reference to the Egg bit from It’s Always Sunny. Bonus points because the specific Dr. Manhattan line that I believe is being referenced here comes during his myopic dark night of the soul, where he’s conflating his own depression with the true meaning of the universe and letting his heartfelt belief that he already knows everything important blinker him to some important fucking details he hasn’t noticed. Just like how Harrow is overlooking potentially massively important information in her rush to capitalize on her perceived information advantage. Assuming I’m correct that this is a reference and not just random apophenia, this is, like, sliding past the point of mere pop-cultural meme reference into the realm of meaningful literary allusion. Which is a real good way to integrate your meme references! Nothing there just to convey that you’re hip and with it, everything acting as a character beat or a thematic vector. I’m going to go right ahead and adopt a hardline policy of treating every apparent meme reference as an indicator of deliberate thematic depth, and there is absolutely no way that this might potentially cause me to spill over 500 words of ink over something that just turns out to be a vaguely similar sentence construction to another work.

#the locked tomb #gideon the ninth #tlt #gtn #gideon the ninth liveread #tlt liveread #tlt spoilers #the locked tomb spoilers #gideon liveblog #blastweave livereads #thoughts #meta #tlt analysis #gideon nav #harrowhark nonagesimus #silas octakiseron #colum asht #dulcinea septimus #palamedes sextus #coronabeth tridentarius #ianthe tridentarius #judith deuteros #marta dyas #jeannemary chatur #isaac chatur

[delucadarling]

:D directors commentary on your lovely Wayhaven regency au? (I've been meaning to ask if you have a masterlist of those entries at all, because I'm not sure I caught all of them and the Tumblr search wasn't working! No worries if not!)

Oo, oh man I've barely thought about the regency au in a minute (I chalk that up to Emma and I having busted through Bridgerton months ago). Unfortunately, I don't have any sort of masterlist of that fic, though iirc there's only 5 parts posted at the moment. They'll all be on my writing blog, @delucadarlingwriting under the tag 'regency au'. Making a masterlist of fic wouldn't be a bad idea though 🤔

Commentary down below!

I'll start with some backstory from part 1:

So, I'm sure I've mentioned before, but this is not really historical fanfiction. I'm doing some baseline research, but I am also deliberately twisting certain things, like racism, homophobia, xenophobia...lots of a 'phobias u kno. They don't not exist, but they are more or less not present among the majority of people. It's only the upper class that gives those things much thought, because they're rich bastards obsessed with their own bloodlines and being better than other people based on arbitrary standards. You get the gist.

Patriarchy is still very present, and Barbie and Lucas' mother (and father before he beefed it) were very invested in upholding that. Their mom in my version of canon is a fundie boy mom, and that translates pretty well to this au. She's obsessed with Lucas, especially now that he's the Earl. Barbie is...there. Something the be bragged about in company and to complain about in private. Kira, despite being the ward of the Peachtree house, manages to escape most of the complaining. Barbie's mom most just ignores her.

Another thing here is Lucas and Kira are both gay, but because of their status in life, they can't be open about it. Kira isn't even fully aware at this point, but it won't take much for her to realize why men don't interest her. Barbie is still bi, but her preferences have always leaned masculine, which means she doesn't have a lot of opportunities to realize she's attracted to women as well.

From part 2:

Again, this is an AU that @crownleys and I work on together, so Rebecca is Kira's mom. I don't remember if I've mentioned it anywhere else, but the way we've had it, is Rebecca was not part of high society before marrying Rook. She was a working woman within the Agency, which was socially appropriate for someone of her station. However, once she and Rook fell in love, there was stiffling pressure to change herself. Rook himself never asked her to change, and even offered to retreat from high society entirely. So for a time they did.

Then Rook died. Rebecca maintained his wealth and the title she married into. She had no other support though, so she tried to re-enter society. It went so poorly that she gave it all up, including her high born daughter, so she could go back to what she was before meeting Rook. In her mind, this gave Kira the best chance at a good, safe life, while also allowing Rebecca to escape her grief.

With Murphy targeting people within the ton though, Rebecca has no choice but to use her unwanted place in society to track him down.

I can't really think of much else I had in mind while writing this! It was a very fun little series to play with, and I do want to add more to it with time, but I do suspect it will be a perpetual WIP. If we ever get Bridgerton season 3, that'll probably be what sparks my desire to revive it.

#darling speaks #ask meme #thanks for the ask!

[rollership]

ADVANCING WORKER OWNERSHIP THROUGH ESOPS

by

Bob Barracca

We — the Left — are all action and no long-term strategy. In my 20 years as a machinist and mechanical designer and 50 years as an activist, I have come to some conclusions about where we need to go.

From my workplace experiences, I have come across two companies that stood out: Maryland Brush Company and Amsted Industries. In the 1960s, Maryland Brush, formerly known as Pittsburgh Plate Glass, was shutting down. The union, the state and the employees decided to organize, take out a bank loan and buy the company, changing its name to the Maryland Brush Company. Two trustees were established — one for management and one for the steelworkers union. I was the trustee for the union and worked there for three years. After just barely paying off the bank loan, we managed to operate the plant for 29 years.

Seven years later, I was hired as a mechanical designer at Baltimore Aircoil, which was purchased by Amsted Industries, which offered an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and became employee owned. We received stock for every hour we worked. For the three years I worked there, I had a good wage, good benefits and a 401(k). To my surprise, when I retired, the stock I received when I left was worth $267,000. 

A few years ago, I held a study group on America Beyond Capitalism by Gar Alperovitz and it only reinforced my opinion about the important role of ESOPs in our future. 

At a time in our history when so many companies are going out of business, there is an unprecedented opportunity to save many jobs and bolster democratic socialism. We missed our chance in the 1980s; let’s not make the same mistake now.   

The ESOP Association (TEA) and theNational Center for Employee Ownership are clearing houses for existing ESOPs and provide all resources necessary to convert these companies to worker ownership. There are currently two bills that have been introduced in Congress which would advance the spread of ESOPs nationally:

S.4236 - Temporary Federal ESOP Grant Program Act of 2020

‍H.R.2258 - Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2019

Both promote new ESOPs and make it easier to operate existing arrangements, but both still need to pass in both the House and Senate. 

What will replace capitalism?

When those in power speak of democracy and say it has flaws but that there is no better system, they are referring to the political system and using it to gloss over the inequalities of our economic system - capitalism. But these are really two distinct systems that can exist separately. 

Consider that while most countries operate under a capitalist system, not every country is democratic. Karl Marx wrote about the kernel of capitalism existing within the feudal system, stating that it would replace feudalism as a natural process of human evolution. This is what happened. Under feudalism the monarch owned everything. Capitalism was more democratic, less top-heavy way of organizing resources; individuals could accumulate wealth and that new mode of economic organization couldn't be stopped. And so, capitalism eventually enabled  democratic political systems to form in response.

A democratic political system and a dictatorial economic system coexist in the US. The principal issue most have with US-style capitalism system is in the disparity between the owners and the workers. In turn, the stock market is the means of perpetuating this condition. Without using their own money, corporate raiders can buy a company, break it up and make huge profits, while multitudes of people lose their jobs. 

Under this system, we not only lose our jobs but our retirement income, which we were forced to move to 401(k)s that make it compulsory to invest in companies we know little about and likely work against our direct interest. Traders can also gamble with our livelihoods to pursue increased wealth. And when they fail, the taxpayers bail them out.

While many have identified this problem, protested, made calls, signed petitions and raised money to combat the capitalist economy, substantive end goals are still lacking.

A few years ago, I went to RootsCamp training in DC. I was expecting at least some people to discuss strategy, but all the workshops focused on the nuts and bolts of organizing for young professionals and not on the end game. Instead, goals seemed to be focused on how to make corporate capitalism more digestible.  

We should consider looking at ESOPs as a way to show workers what the replacement for corporate capitalism might look like. Under these plans, all company stock is owned by the company employees and previous employees, while the stock market is completely excluded. All decisions are voted on and all officers are elected. This means employees can protect jobs from being outsourced from corporate raiders like Republicans and centrist Democrats. The employees would have to vote to sell their stock, their jobs, and their communities -- which would rarely happen. 

Using ESOPs to breach Republican strongholds

Most of my life I've assumed Republicans held ground in rural areas based on support for single issues like gun rights, opposition to abortion, religion and racism. But after looking at TEA's website, I suspect that Republicans are also using democratic socialism, specifically by way of ESOPs, to maintain their grip over rural communities.

When one company goes out of business in a big city, workers just go out and get another job. The local businesses are not badly impacted and life goes on. Rural areas, however, face a very different reality. Generally, there are one or two places to work and the whole economy is dependent on those workplaces. Representatives in Congress know that to keep their jobs they need to preserve employment within their districts, and they use ESOPs to do this. Employee-owned firms have a main goal of preserving their jobs, not maximizing profits, as suggested by this excerptfrom TEA: 

“Employee ownership and ESOPs hold one of the highest levels of truly bi-partisan support of any issue imaginable before the U.S. Congress. As of December 2019, 147 current members of the U.S. House of Representatives (68 Democrats and 79 Republicans), and 55 U.S. Senators (23 Democrats, 33 Republicans, and one Independent) had taken documented action to support ESOPs.”

Why do Republicans use this strategy if they are so anti-socialist? Because, like us, they think of state socialism, not democratic socialism. State socialism is top-down, even when elected. Anti-socialists are not threatened because they see an ESOP as an isolated situation. They do not understand how giving workers greater control over the means of production might enable an embrace of socialism across the country; but we should.

Using ESOPs to expand unions and counter conservative privatization schemes

ESOPs can also be a strategy for spurring on union organizing. Often when a union advances a vote, the company will threaten to move south or shut down if you vote for the union. If the union is recognized, companies typically run to the government demanding tax breaks or infrastructure support anyway. But with a law requiring the company to offer ownership sale to its employees first, that threat can no longer be used as leverage against calls for unionization. This means businesses either foster better working conditions for their workers, accept (rather than fight) unionizations in their workplaces, or risk turning over their businesses to the people and communities that sustain and support them.

We can even think about using ESOPs as a way to counter Republican calls for privatization.

The Trump administration consistently attacked the USPS , threatening privatization. This is nothing new – Republicans have been plotting to do this for some time, with dreams of  furnishing their stock market coconspirators with maximum profits by eliminating unprofitable routes in rural areas and raising rates. They also interfered in the USPS’ daily operations through Trump’s political appointments by wrecking sorting machines and changing drivers’ schedules while reducing overtime to attempt to slow down mail-in voting. 

To counter Republican calls for privatization, we might try proposing to turn them into an ESOP instead: rather than turn over control of the postal service to private firms, why not give control to it’s more than 500,000, working-class employees? The $72 billion retirement fund owed by the employees can help with financing and, as shown above, would be likely to attract bipartisan support. This will eliminate the threat from politicians and firmly place the workers in control. Instead of top-down, ownership will be reversed.

Using ESOPs to advance an understanding of socialism

ESOPS are a perfect opportunity to demonstrate what democratic socialism is all about: worker ownership and control of the means of production. We contrast this with other forms of socialism and capitalism; instead of arming the workers with guns, we arm them with information, resources and knowledge that a group like DSA can coordinate nationally.  And remember that ESOPs and employee ownership have a long history of attracting support from all sides. This gives democratic socialists an opportunity to negotiate and work with other mainstream political ideologies on the left, right and center. The Center for American Progress (a left-leaning think tank), Third Way (a centrist organization) and the US Chamber of Congress (traditionally more conservative) have all expressed strong approvals of ESOPs. 

Here's how we might go about explaining ESOPs:

ESOPs Board of Directors all have their jobs at stake and the workers elect 50% of board members, furthering workplace democracy.

The priority of ESOPs are not to maximize profits but to preserve jobs.

When employees receive stock for every hour worked, they have more incentive to produce.

For the company to be sold, a vote must be taken by all employees who are not likely to approve when keeping their job is on the line.

The business is not likely to be moved or shut down unless employees want it to.

ESOPs will be the catalyst for credit unions, community improvement associations, health care cooperatives and job creation.

Some ESOPs only have limited employee ownership and are little more than 401(k)s, but according to Alperovitz, “they are structured over time to become more and more employee controlled.”

In 2008, General Motors and Chrysler were going out of business, it would have been an opportune time to convert both to ESOPs. Instead of receiving tax-payer money to revive these privately-owned businesses, these companies could have been sold to their employees who would then be far more invested in saving them.

Globalization has led to manufacturing losses within the US and jobs moved overseas, allowing investors and CEOs to pocket more profits while laborers lost their jobs and have been unable to recoup those economic losses. Corporations have less and less interest in manufacturing products here in the USA. They search the world for cheaper and cheaper labor while the market becomes more and more competitive. Meanwhile, we are still expected to be the market for the products of the world while our incomes shrink. Even Republicans understand that this concept is not sustainable.

People need to take control of companies and start running the economy from the bottom up. We can start by advancing ESOPs.

[sweetestpopcorn]

Hi popcorn! How do you like my OTP Daeron x Daena

And do you think their brother Baelor became a lunatic saint due to their parents' careless family atmosphere and education? I saw some theory about that but I kinda doubt it. It's more like they became orphans at a young age (considering neither of them is an adult when Aegon died, Daenaera could only be dead earlier than that as there's no record of her claiming regency for her son. Instead Viserys made the decision which should have been hers) and no one cares enough to educate them either mentally or socially.

Hi there! 🤗

Seeing as I once said that I thought Daeron I was the most overrated Targaryen ever 😬 yeah not a fan... neither of him nor of the pairing. Sorry 😔

As for Baelor, no I don't. Also I would love to know in what people base the assumption that he had a "careless family atmosphere" because we know next to nothing about Daenaera as a mother, and though Aegon III didn't seem like the jolliest of fellows we do know that his daughter Daena worshiped him and inherited his pendant (So Spake Martin: Maidens in the Tower)... which would be odd if he was that absent a father and didn't care about her. Being depressed and a father who loves his children is not mutually exclusive.

Now Viserys II being Hand, and a capable one at that, why should Daenaera become regent for her son? Daenaera never seemed to be much involved in politics, and she definitely does not strike me as an ambitious woman invested in them. Furthermore, Daeron was fourteen when his father died (Baelor was thirteen). Likely the council might have decided he could rule with Viserys by his side, as again, he had proved himself a very competent Hand. Also I doubt Viserys made any decision by himself. The Small Council had to agree to making him regent (if indeed he was the regent, I don't believe he was but if I am wrong someone please feel free to tell me).

If Viserys had that kind of power to just decide to take over, do you think he would have allowed Daeron I and Baelor I, and his train wreck of a son go around doing all the sh_t that they did?! He wished (and Westeros too let's be honest) he had that kind of power!

On a side note, Aegon III became an orphan at nine, watched his mother be devoured by a dragon, and was threatened with death and mutilation while being prisoner of his sh:t uncle. Viserys II also became an orphan at seven. Jaehaerys was what? Thirteen or less when Aenys died? (sorry too lazy to check right now) and Alysanne was what? Eleven? Yet all of them made splendid rulers. Losing your parents at a young age does not equal emotional instability or lack of ability to rule.

On yet another side note, someone looked to me like they did a pretty good job educating Elaena, Rhaena, Naerys, and Aemon. Daena was wild and a rebel but so was Baela Targaryen and I don't see anyone questioning Daemon's parenting skills. As for Daeron, he needed some boundaries (imo) but it was not like we had a Maegor or a Aegon II in our hands, far from it. Indeed he only seemed to want to do the best for his house, and young as he was, had too many dreams of glory. Yet I don't think his heart was in the wrong place. So, from where I am standing there were only two real major issues: Baelor I and Aegon IV.

All the best to you 🤗

#daeron i targaryen #aegon iii targaryen #viserys ii targaryen #if fire and blood volume 2 ever comes out jaehaerys might just have to move over because viserys ii will become the most hated man in town #no hate to daeron i fans please I just have issues with him #he's just too similar to a portuguese king who made us lose our independence to Spain #so that's where my dislike mostly comes from #popcorn answers

[percontaion-points]

Delicious Monsters chapters 7 & 8

Today's review might be difficult for some; reader discretion is advised

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Click here for the rest of the series!

Chapter 7

Jayden and I were in our first year and hadn’t made any sort of media connections that could tell us we were being offered scraps. Both of us were just happy to be able to pay our tuition for the semester. Everything felt so shiny. Torte made it clear that this was also an investment in our future at the company. More money to come. 

This is exactly why there was such a brain-drain at Buzzfeed. After people got their start there, they left to do it on their own… Without being beholden to a company that was pocketing probably like 70% of the money made from somebody else’s hard work. 

“My connection to Daisy was… complicated.” 

“How so?” I interject. 

Noah rolls the words around in his mouth. “We met through a program at my alma mater. It paired up university upperclassmen and high school kids so you could help coach them. I signed up for people who didn’t know what they wanted to major in because, honestly, you get more interesting mentees that way.” 

More interesting mentees. I bet you also get a lot of young girls who don’t know what they want to do with their lives. Lost girls.

Brittany’s POV is interesting because it’s not holding any punches in explaining that Noah is a fucking paedophile piece of shit. 

I echo back his words with less enthusiasm, “Time for Timmins.”

Chapter 7 summary: Brittany and Jayden go over to Noah’s house to interview him for their show. Brittany starts getting bad vibes from the guy at his home, since he’s the guy who tries so hard to pretend like he’s poor when his couch costs more than what Brittany and Jayden make in a year. Part of their show involves the people talking about the people in past-tense, no matter if that person is still alive or not. 

Noah tells them about how he was at university, and signed up to mentor high school students. He says that he wanted to help those who didn’t know what they wanted to do in college, because that was “more fun”. Brittany mentally calls him a creep for intentionally putting himself close to vulnerable teenage girls. 

But Noah continues on and insists that he and Daisy weren’t in a romantic relationship. That Daisy became obsessed with him, and went so far as to stalk his actual girlfriend on social media. Again, Brittany doesn’t like that much. 

Brittany and Jayden wrap up the interview and leave. As they’re going, they do “on the spot thoughts”, which they’ll edit into a coherent storyline for the show later. Brittany calls Noah out on his shit, and insists that everybody else in Daisy’s life insists that Daisy was in a romantic relationship with Noah. Jayden only sees what Noah said as further proof that Daisy was mentally unhinged to start with, and being in the house gave her a psychotic break. 

They briefly talk about trying to find somebody who knew Peter when he was still alive. But the entire situation with him is beyond weird. Nobody liked him. His ex-wife’s family has disappeared into a void. There is exactly one person who they think could be good, but the entire situation is odd. 

Again, Brittany can’t help but hold onto the idea that Daisy was a victim in all of this. Not the obsessed stalker that Noah painted her as. 

Chapter 8

He had texted me several times during the drive. Asking why I hadn’t listened to him. Pleading for us to not move. But, of course, when I’d asked him why, he’d had nothing to say.

If you can’t be bothered to explain yourself, then it’s clearly not important. 

That was the difference between Mom and Dad. One of them pretended to know me, to care about me, and one of them actually did.

Chapter 8 summary: Daisy does a lot of thinking on her way home. When she gets in, she tells her mom that they should go to the house. 

So they make plans and then go. The closest city is Timmins (BTW, this is all taking place in Canada, so this isn’t that odd.) The worst thing about learning about all of this is finding out that Daisy’s mom spent six summers up there, and never once told Daisy any of this. 

As they drive, Daisy keeps getting texts from her dad begging her to please stop this, but refusing to explain why he’s so dead-set against them moving. When mom stops the car, she begs Daisy to call her father while she goes into some random house to talk to somebody. 

On the phone, dad tells Daisy that if she changes her mind or needs out, he’ll send her money so that she can go… Live with grandma. Not even him. Grandma. Daisy gets pissed off about the entire thing, and quizzes him about her personal likes. He has no answers for any of them. When mom comes back, Daisy asks her the same questions, to which she responds with the actual answers. Daisy thinks that simply knowing what her favourite colour is makes a huge difference between “caring” and “acting like you give a shit”. 

#delicious monsters #bookblr #book review

[an-ishgardian-tale]

An entry from the Memoirs of Viviane Jienuex

"I have begun to search these tomes of mine for something that gives the locations of the hidden assets that my Mother had hinted at in her final conversation with me before her passing. At Starlight it will be two cycles that she has been gone and I have still had no success with this puzzle. I would like to find at least a summary of what and where before Clement and I start talking of the merger of Houses. I am already a nervous wreck at the sheer amount of property I own both in Gridania and Ishgard but at the same time I understand why. House Jienuex is old and old Houses come with old money as it has been passed generation to generation and that generation made their own money to add to the pool.

There are things I would like to sell off. The old family Brothels for one. I have no intention of ever opening them in my time and currently I pay taxes on them since they are in Ishgard proper. I have been puzzling on the thought of should I turn them over to the City both for historical value and more land that could be used for recovery efforts or should I sell them outright and invest the funds in something far less objectifying like fields in LaNoscea for growing. I have heard the land there is quite fertile and there are many looking for jobs in farming. It would create jobs and tradeable goods instead of creating dust and hauntings.

The bakery could benefit from wheat grown there and other grains as well, which would cut my costs having to buy them at wholesale. Paying a living wage to a solid team of workers would also be far better than paying the taxes that Ishgard imposes on those that live there no matter what their social caste is. In the coming days I will return to these thoughts then include them in the merger documents that I have slowly been preparing. I am rather thankful that I paid attention to my Mother about running businesses. That is what a Noble House is after all, a business that cannot be left with out being maintained like I left mine.

I will never regret my decision to take the five cycles I did to live in the Shroud. It help foster the woman that I am today. I learned quite a bit from living there, the people I came to trust in Bentbranch are like a family to me now and like family should be I will always come back to visit for Holidays and Namedays as well as all the other special events in life. Gridania is my second home now, but I hear my first home calling. Running away is an attractive thing especially when your life is upside down. Had I not, none of this would have come to pass.

The bakery is ready to be opened once the seating is installed. I look so forward to those doors opening and hopefully I can eventually find property in Emperyan to be closer to where we will be in Corethas. I do not mind teleporting for openings I certainly could use the practice after all these years. Yes, I am ready to go home. A place I never thought would appeal to me again. Like many other places I am called to do the Spinners bidding, I have returned here and there but these last moons the blowing snow and the chill has touch my heart kindly. With Saint's Wake right around the corner again I reach my thirty second name day at the end of this Moon. I remember a time I believed I would not make it this far, but Spinner bless me here I am.

When we return to Corethas I would like to visit Menphina's sacred stone. It is time to mend that bond so that I am once again protected by both of my patrons which restores the core principals of my youth Fate and Love. Where once this Star made me bitter I have found new hope, first in a set of mismatched eyes and then in the laughter of one who survived as I had to.

The are only two things left on my list of things to think upon. What to do with my performance career as I move forward to become a Noble Wife and what I should do with the last property in Gridania. I have thoughts that have formed and tie these two things together. There is a path I wish to pursue but I am not quite ready yet. This I shall revisit after Queens of Metal. It is my last show for the year as it always is. I pray that my Patron guide my feet along this path with the soft creak of her spinning wheel.

V.S.J

#vi's journal

[rogersip]

Exploring the Current Real Estate Market in Hong Kong: House Prices Update

Introduction:

Hong Kong has long been a desirable destination for those seeking to invest in real estate. With its high standard of living, strong economy, and world-class infrastructure, the city has become a popular hub for both local and international property buyers. In recent years, however, the real estate market in Hong Kong has faced numerous challenges, including an economic slowdown, political uncertainty, and rising interest rates. In this article, we will explore the current state of the real estate market in Hong Kong and provide a house prices update for those considering investing in property in the city.

Economic Slowdown:

One of the main factors affecting the real estate market in Hong Kong is the economic slowdown. Over the past few years, the city has experienced a decline in economic growth, which has had a negative impact on the real estate sector. The slowdown has reduced consumer confidence and led to a decline in demand for property, causing prices to drop and resulting in a glut of unsold properties. This has created a challenging environment for real estate developers and investors, who are struggling to find buyers for their properties.

Political Uncertainty:

Another factor affecting the real estate market in Hong Kong is political uncertainty. The city has been rocked by social and political unrest in recent years, which has created an unstable and uncertain environment. This has led to a decline in consumer confidence, as people are less likely to invest in real estate when they are unsure about the future. The political situation in Hong Kong has also made it difficult for real estate developers and investors to secure financing, which has further hindered the growth of the sector.

Rising Interest Rates:

In addition to the economic slowdown and political uncertainty, the real estate market in Hong Kong has also been impacted by rising interest rates. Higher interest rates make it more expensive to borrow money, which can reduce demand for property and cause prices to fall. The rise in interest rates has also made it more difficult for real estate developers and investors to secure financing, which has further exacerbated the challenges faced by the sector.

House Prices Update:

Despite the challenges faced by the real estate market in Hong Kong, the city remains a popular destination for those looking to invest in property. House prices in the city have been relatively stable in recent years, with modest increases and decreases depending on the location and type of property. On average, the price of a typical home in Hong Kong ranges from HKD $10 million to HKD $20 million, depending on the location and size of the property.

One of the most popular areas for real estate investment in Hong Kong is the central district, where prime properties are located. Properties in this area tend to command higher prices due to their central location, convenient transport links, and prestigious address. Properties in the central district are also in high demand, making them a popular choice for investors looking for long-term growth and stability.

In addition to the central district, other popular areas for real estate investment in Hong Kong include the New Territories, Kowloon, and the outlying islands. Properties in these areas tend to be more affordable than those in the central district, but they still offer good value for money and attractive returns on investment. Properties in these areas are also in high demand, particularly among local residents and first-time buyers.

Conclusion:

The real estate market in Hong Kong continues to face numerous challenges, including an economic slowdown, political uncertainty, and rising interest rates. Despite these challenges, the city remains a popular destination for those looking to invest in property, with house prices remaining relatively stable. When considering investing in real estate in Hong Kong, it is important to consider the location and type of property, as well as the current state of the market.

[artist-tyrant]

What's your thoughts on Covid and the subsequent response (state and medical) from your political prospective?

Overall, it was a pretty good time for me personally: there were less people out in public, services were running smoother, wildlife was returning, etc... I actually ended up getting covid as well (tested positive), but the symptoms were negligible (minor aches and chills for two days). I "isolated" according to government requirements, and got a pretty chill staycation out of it. I didn't get vaccinated for a few different reasons. On one hand, it was a bit of a symbolic gesture for me (more than anything else); and on the other hand, I didn't fall into a particularly vulnerable demographic. When it comes to the science of the matter, I'm not a virologist or biochemist and I'm not qualified to give medical advice. I honestly don't know where to stand on that subject because both sides did have different (but not necessarily conflicting) research and data to back them up. Can't say for sure what the cause of the pandemic was, and there seem to be varying perspectives on this (wet markets, a lab leak, etc...). Can't say for sure what the agenda behind it all would be (were it deliberate) or where the interests would necessarily lie (public, private, or some combination of the two).

Initially, I found it curious that it hit China and Iran (both major competitors of the US) first, but, much as this was to their detriment, it also served as a way for the aforementioned governments to crack down on protests in Tehran and Hong Kong. It was interesting to watch different nation-states compete against one another when it came to different responses to the pandemic. It looked like China was better at immediately locking down on a larger scale, where the West definitely fell short. When it comes down to it, I probably would've preferred a quick lockdown to a drawn out pandemic. That being said, at this point it seems as though China is still locked down/hasn't developed much of an immunity. It has really illustrated just how reliant we are on them when it comes to trade as well.  The pandemic definitely helped to clean house when it came to smaller businesses and could've served oligopolistic interests in that respect, but it also wasn't exactly conducive to speculation & investment as well. Furthermore, it didn't help brands that were largely reliant on in-store customers. Some people were alleging the pandemic was a part of some "NWO depopulation agenda", and I found this to be rather absurd. By wiping out all those eager to get vaccinated, it begs to question why the "global elite" would want to select for the very people who are most resistant to their agenda. Moreover, I couldn't help but welcome the idea of a "Great Reset" where social credit replaces private banking, a surveillance state curtails crime, and the government controls population growth in order to create more utopian conditions amidst an automated economy. Sadly, there isn't the will (among the elite who are already in power) to do this, especially insofar as they can profit off of/maintain their power amidst debt, crime, and dystopia. I think I would have more trust in the vaccine were I a citizen in Russia, China, or Israel: as these nation-states have a nationalistic elite that has (or at least postures as having) a more of a vested interest in population growth and in representing the best interests of the nation. Interestingly enough, depending on your source, the Sputnik and Sinovac vaccines had higher efficacy rates as well. As a citizen in the West, I can't say I put much faith in an elite that stands idly by when it comes to things like obesity, opioid crises (and "deaths of despair" at large), social media addiction, pornography addition, growing wealth disparity, the death of the family unit, unsustainable levels of mass-immigration, etc.. That being said, I found the dissident right, "libertarian-populist" reaction to the political response to be wholly ineffective, naively idealistic, and totally absurd. To people with more nationalistic and socialistic or "national socialist" leanings, this could've been a golden opportunity to advocate for greater border controls, greater regulation (if not nationalization) of big corporations that profit off of these situations (Amazon, Pfizer, etc...), and greater socialization of wealth. This whole situation was served on a silver platter only to be smacked away.

#me

[worldoffrausto]

Every Billionaire Is A Policy Failure ~”The question of billionaires is less about being a "good" or "bad" individual and more about the immorality of a system and economy that not only allows abuse of everyday people, but financially rewards the powerful who profit off not paying workers a living wage, keeping medicine expensive, profiting off incarceration and war, building unethical and unsustainable food systems, or otherwise hoarding unthinkable levels of wealth for the very few by denying basic dignities of life for the many (aka a living wage, healthcare, peace, worker protections, not burning our planet to death for fossil fuel interests, etc) If I had a billion dollars (which people need to understand is just not even on the same PLANET as having millions of dollars) while people are dying because they can't afford insulin it's important people understand that those two things are connected. It means I would likely have investments in systems that rely on exploitative models - inflated medicine prices, lobbying for low taxes or exploitation wages that mean we can't have universal healthcare, reliance on fossil fuels corps destroying our planet, industries that profit off our carceral system & prison labor or child labor, etc. I say that because a billion dollars is "systems" money - it is a scale that for the most part you don't get to with wages or savings or being a movie star. It doesn't matter how "good" a person I am or anyone is, that concentration of wealth and level of INEQUALITY is a social ill. Billionaires are a symptom of a society that does not afford people basic elements of dignity. Climate change, lack of healthcare, underpaying jobs, housing crisis, racial injustice & colonization- these are all connected. But also I just don't want a billion dollars. Why would I? That concentration of wealth comes at a cost. And the cost is a destabilizing society. If people want we can revisit the billionaire question when everyone has healthcare, climate change is addressed, people have actual dignified standards of living, etc.” ✍️@aoc • #RickFraustoFineArt Eye Of The Needle Drawing, 2020 #originaldrawing on archival paper Dimensions: 6 X 9 in. https://www.instagram.com/p/ClHPRbYv0sZ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#rickfraustofineart #originaldrawing

[carbrass2]

Not known Factual Statements About checkdgt

As an person or staff member, your salary stub paper can assist you out in various life situations Noted beneath are just a couple of cases where you are going to need to have to reveal your wages stump or produced stub to prove your income no matter of your position in a company. 1 In 2013, an American Institute of Technology MBA was called as CFO and is required to provide training under the California Education Act of 2012. Paystub for Loan App When you use for a loan, whether it is for a business or a private car loan to purchase a house or a automobile, the judgment are going to rely intensely on your pay stub info. Even even more vital, when you're administering for a service finance with your loan provider, you'll need to match remittances to pay for all items you have. Once your job will definitely take area, your financial institution are going to probably produce considerable adjustments before you get around to constructing your lending. In these occasions, how much amount of money you've helped make over a time period of time, and how often you get paid out are going to play a primary duty in whether or not they provide you the loan sought. When Do Loan Demands Develop? In a case where an person has already gotten a finance, all the amount of money that was requested in a scenario will certainly be spent back to them. There are actually two elements entailed in this condition. To begin with, what various other people might be performing wrong.

Paystub for Large Purchases On a personal amount, when you are about to help make a large investment, your check stump is required so they may validate your recognition and your ability to pay for. This stump is at that point put inside of your inspection stump box. For a little business/small service check stub that doesn't contain the name of the company in enhancement to the title of the tiny organization proprietor/trustee, we have helped make this method even more dependable and expeditious.

If you’re on a firm payroll you’ll most likely need to have to reveal a couple of latest wages stumps and W2 kinds. The tax code just defines such a job within your provider (since they may be looked at through anyone as worker, not government staff member). For total acknowledgment, I made use of the Social Security amount for the majority of companies that I worked at. In simple fact, I worked a lot for a huge agency that had been understaffed for decades prior to taking on this placement. If you are self-employed or an private professional your tax obligation profit forms can operate for you or you can easily conveniently create a salary stump promptly utilizing a income stub electrical generator today! When would I need to employ a specialist? If you are self-employed or an independent professional, all forms of self-employment in a nation, area, or national economic condition are topic to remittance and routine maintenance through government and spent by various other federal government organizations. Paystub for Renting an Apartment or condo You discovered the best home or office space after months of appearing. It's like renting out a dog home! It's thus a lot additional! All your household furniture is coming from the very same spot, with outstanding household furniture you can rent for much less than the genuine price. The rental fee will be in genuine dollars every month. Your cash only isn't there. A Good Read can merely walk all day and you can easily take treatment of your dog, but we're not carrying out this for you! Renting out in itself demands you to offer a few latest examination stubs as well as some various other individual identification files. To find a total listing of all required documentations, head to the record creation web page for the brand-new proprietor. It at that point incorporates the correct files, and the files must be approved onto the internet site you prefer to create a brand new domain. You should also help make a complete and authorized certificate, which will definitely be sent to your brand new proprietor. It's absolute best to inquire your company or generate pay short ends for yourself. The only means to prevent the hassles you may have after creating a $500 examination is by taking the time to follow all paths from the IRS, obtain a resume writing work hunt, check out in along with your pertinent organization, and inspect out the IRS web internet site. As of the end of May 2018, I was working on an article on income tax prep work that will assist you locate your tax obligation advisors. Paystub for Compensation and Claims A inspection stump is useful to you in the occasion that an employee suffers an trauma and needs to file for employee's settlement. In the event we locate that you do locate that we are qualified to pay you, we will definitely deliver you with your payment planning and will definitely deliver you along with written service. You are encouraged to inspect the details you deliver to secure complete guidelines, a listing of the associations you can discover, and at that point consist of the asked for details in the function. Employees’ payment regulations are in area to defend workers. This has actually to be a strong safety and security net for workers, a strong legislation to cash our health care and neighborhood wellness plan, and enough backing to be able to work and sustain themselves. But it's opportunity for unions to modify their means and quit using cumulative negotiating as an justification to always keep projects and households out of jeopardy. This suggests we should carry on to hit and pay out ill laborers even though they are paid for below their ordinary wages. Pay stumps files assist to verify how a lot an employee would have been producing possessed they not had the regrettable mishap. Yet another technique worked with through insurance companies is to pay out out perks to executives. This allows insurers to possess their incentives paid out out faster, therefore saving opportunity. When a driver dropped his work, for example, the insurer could right now "pay out" the premium to switch out him with the driving privileges he possessed previously, also if he had had a catastrophic or accident-prone driving record.

#Check Generator

[halcyondaysforyou]

Here's why LGBTQ+ adults wrestle with financial security

For many LGBTQ+ adults, planning for retirement, investing, and even budgeting are a struggle.

Almost two-thirds of LGBTQ individuals surveyed reported living paycheck to paycheck most of the time, according to a new Nationwide Retirement Institute survey of 1,000 nationally representative adult U.S. consumers and 1,000 members of the LGBTQ+ community. That figure jumps to 72% for Black LGBTQ+ members.

Moreover, LGBTQ+ survey respondents said that they were less knowledgeable than the general population about retirement planning (by 13%), estate planning (by 12%), and investing in the stock market (by 8%).

“The statistics are dire,” Manisha Thakor, a certified financial planner and founder of MoneyZen, told Yahoo Money.

The findings underscore the higher costs the community often faces from health care to parenthood at the same time that those individuals find their earning power curbed by biases in the workplace.

More than a third (37%) reported that their career had been negatively impacted due to gender identity or sexual orientation and almost half (46%) said their opportunities for career advancement have been negatively impacted, according to the survey.

“As a member of this community, for 16 years I hid my sexual identity out of fear of losing clients and also losing earning opportunities and promotions," Rona Guymon, senior vice president at Nationwide Financial, told Yahoo Money. “These challenges negatively impact LGBTQ+ individuals earnings potential, a problem that then compounds as they age.”

Health care costs, too, can take on career and future financial security. More than half (56%) believe that LGBTQ+ people experience higher health care and health insurance costs than non-LGBTQ+ people, according to the survey.

“Two vital areas — mental health and substance abuse — are often under-treated across the entire population due to stigma,” Thakor said. “Studies indicate that the LGBTQ+ community faces additional headwinds in the areas of mental health and substance abuse often due to environmental factors such as lack of family support, bullying, and social discrimination.”

That, Thakor said, could be “one component to the lack of retirement preparedness and emergency cushions.”

When it comes to parenthood, the financial picture can be challenging, too. Roughly half of LGBTQ+ Americans surveyed found saving to start a family (52%) more difficult for them compared to non-LGBTQ+ people.

“The LGBTQ+ community has to intentionally plan to have children, so they have to build in the fertility or adoption expenses in their planning,” Guymon said.

Paths to parenthood in the LGBTQ+ communities typically include adoption, surrogacy, and sperm donation — all of which can be accompanied by hefty price tags, Thakor said.

“Children are expensive, period,” Thakor said. “But kicking off parenthood with these additional outlays may likely be another reason for a late start to retirement savings and building an emergency fund.”

Her advice is to plan and save for these costs early on by being “extra aggressive in paying off high-interest private student loans or credit card debt.”

It’s not “rocket science,” Stuart Armstrong, a certified financial planner at Centinel Financial Group, in Needham Heights, Mass, told Yahoo Money.

“In the LGBTQ space, we have to make sure we don’t skip the basics of living within your needs, minimize your debt, and having good basic health and disability insurance,” Armstring said, “regardless of where we live, regardless of what pronoun we use, regardless of our marriage status.”

Core estate planning can make a huge difference

Despite the glum findings in the survey, financial well-being has improved incrementally for the LGBTQ+ community in recent years.

“I’m in my early 60s and my generation came of age during the AIDS epidemic,” Armstrong said. “There was no job protection or housing protection laws, and certainly no marriage equality. Today, a younger, emerging generation has been able to begin to look at their lives with more financial freedom and flexibility, although that hasn’t been around for a long time.”

That said, while marriage among LGBTQ people has been on the rise in the seven years since the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage, many couples are still lacking certain estate planning documents, Armstrong said.

“It’s critical that LGBTQ couples, particularly those who are not married, have a will and to update the beneficiaries on any financial accounts. If you plan to leave assets to your partner, it’s vital that you do these things to avoid probate and any possible clash with family.”

Meantime, a living will or health-care directive is essential for couples should one partner become incapacitated or fall ill.

“Having these documents is key for visitation, medical decisions, and custodial appointments for children,” Armstrong said.

Many couples, too, are unaware of the Social Security benefit rules for same sex couples, Laura J. LaTourette, a certified financial planner and founder of Family Wealth Management in Dahlonega, GA told Yahoo Money. Even if you were previously denied survivors benefits because you did not meet the marriage requirement due to unconstitutional laws, you can ask to reopen, or take another look at a claim, according to the Social Security Administration’s website.

Finally, less than four in ten LGBTQ+ Americans (37%) feel that financial advisors understand their unique challenges, the survey found. And seven out of 10 say they would feel more comfortable with an advisor or financial professional who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

About a third of LGBTQ+ members in the survey specified that increased representation of their community in the financial services profession (34%) would better support them in their personal finances and financial planning.

That’s easier said than done. “The CFP Board doesn't even track the LGBT community,” Georgia Lee Hussey, founder of Modernist Financial, in Portland, Ore, told Yahoo Money. “It's a concern.”

Most financial advisors and planners who specialize in working with the LGBTQ community clearly display this information on their website and other online profiles, Hussey said. Resources to find planners who work with the LGBTQ community work include XY Planning. You can also search the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards for letsmakeaplan.com. Click 'LGBTQ Individuals/Couples' under the 'Client Focus' search option for a listing of the advisors who are LGBTQ-friendly.

“Being a lesbian, I look for ways to help my community,” LaTourette said. “As an advisor, that's what I do. I know the language. I know the rejection, and I understand some financial things that are very intimate to talk about, but you need someone you can trust and who is an ally.”

#lifehealthadvisors #areteautomation #ethos #future #investment

Credits to: Kerry Hannon

Date: July 01. 2022

Source: https://money.yahoo.com/lgbtq-adults-financial-security-173136932-175718396.html

[world-of-fire-and-flight]

Fire & Flight – Book 1: Heirs of Tenebris trilogy, my debut young adult fantasy series, is set to release in less than a month on July 19th, and with release day approaching, I’d like to talk about the nitty gritty of self-publishing: reviews.

The tricky thing about self-publishing can be getting your work out there, but with reviews comes not only credibility but also visibility. The importance of reviews was something I never knew about, especially in marketplaces where people purchase books by indie authors. But now that I know, not only am I going to do my best to leave reviews for authors like myself, I’m also going to encourage others to leave reviews for books they’ve read and spread the word about the importance of reviews.

For debut authors and self-published authors, reviews are super important because many of us are still building a relationship with readers and connecting with our audiences. We don’t have a marketing team from a big publishing house promoting our books (and our dreams!), so reviews are the greatest way to help us out. By leaving a review for indie books, it shows other potential readers that this book was something worth investing their time and money in. Now obviously good reviews are more helpful to our success than bad reviews, but reviews should always be honest—though not harsh! How many times have you read the reviews for something and have it sway your decision to purchase to it?

You can probably think of a few instances when reviews swayed your decision. For me, I recently had to buy a new printer and I scoured the review pages for answers to questions I had as well as opinions about how the printer performed. And yes, those reviews ultimately led me to choosing the printer I ended up buying, but with books, it’s not just about functionality, it’s about personal preference too. Some people may enjoy a story, others may not, and that’s okay! It’s my job as the author to accurately promote my book so that people who will genuinely enjoy my book will read it and people who aren’t sure if it’s their cup of tea can decide whether they’d like to give it a try or not. And reviews are helpful in that regard too, because when other readers share the same enthusiasm for a book, can help increase sales. With a little less than a month until the first book in my young adult fantasy series, Fire & Flight, hits the market I can’t wait to see what y’all think of it! Please be sure to follow me on social media so we can chat about our favorite parts and lines—I’d love to hear from you! You can also sign up for my newsletter to gain exclusive access to a free introduction to the world of Fire & Flight and bonus content! “See you” on July 19th for release day😊

#indie publishing #indie author #bookblr #my writing #writeblr #this is something I'm still working on tbh...mainly because my reading time has been reduced to almost nothing so it's slow going ugh

[dhruvsunlimitedink]

Collectivism------> Individualism

Hello everyone! welcome to this week's blog. This week we are talking about a global shift towards individualism and how has it impacted my family and myself and rise of a middle class. We will also discuss components that are responsible for this shift with close scrutiny and convincing examples.

It is an undeniable fact that post-colonial world has seen a trend of westernization with regards to food, culture, fashion, lifestyle and so on. No wonder we find McDonalds' in every corner of the world. Jokes apart, influence of McDonalds' is a display of westernization of global communities and the founding stones of western cultures lie in individualism and countries such as the US devote it and promote it globally.

One may ask that how did it happen? How did civilizations as old as China and India got influenced within past several decades after the world war 2. The answer to that lies in economic rise of my county (INDIA). From the time of my grandfather until today, India has seen three different economic phases which resulted in three different types of cultures since independence. The first phase of our country was the conservative one. During this period, community life was at its peak as most of the people lived their life without so many resources and things the economic freedom brought such as high-tech technologies, services and so on.

The next phase was my dad's time where out country after almost 4 decades of independence opened up for free market access and global trade with our policy reforms. This allowed a flux of foreign investments, export capabilities, increased access to services, high paying jobs and large scale industrialization India. This in turn increased purchase power of my dad's generation. This is also popularly known as the TV era where almost everyone started buying TVs in their homes. Ultimately, this resulted in a generation of Indians who started watching cricket matches for 5 days in a row, 3 hour long bollywood movies and of course advertisements that came in between. I put this phase in center of collectivism and individualism of India. During this time, the family which used to sit down on dinner table and enjoy meals started watching TV all together, friends who went out for breakfast on weekends started gathering to watch one day cricket matches in people's houses. The overarching theme I am trying to explain here is how did individualism look like when it was a baby in India. It was not that obvious but it was cumulating. Even though there was a shift happening at that time, people still enjoyed festivals together, celebrated functions and the initial rise of economy provided families to go out more as well, post colonial families were still joint families with higher number of people living in same premises and collectivism was still very visible in communities.

Finally, my generation is in the midst of full scale rise of individualism according to me. This is the generation that has grown up eating McDonalds (in other words, it has grown up in a fairly industrial India). After the initial rise of middle class, the rising economy has provided my countrymen with purchase power to buy more goods and services. For instance, I grew up in a middle class family in India and I cannot complain about anything as I had a computer growing up, I was playing for cricket club, we had a motorbike that is a pride of middle class family, we often ate out and for sure had good access to education (no wonder I am your classmate). This provided us with tools to engage and self involve ourselves with our own selves. Our generations believe in nuclear families, fast lifestyle, less engagement with other members and social/digital media. This has resulted in a generation of people who barely even have lunch together anymore. DINNERS ARE STILL FULL OF FLAVOURFUL GOURMET FOOD BUT SOUL OF THE FOOD IS BEING POSTED ON INSTAGRAM STOREIS.

Finally, I believe this will help you understand the rise of individualism in the context of a middle class family's rise and many of you can reflect yourselves in this as there is barely any differences in this globalized world and we all eat McDonalds at the end of day.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

YOU GUYS I JUST THOUGHT OF THIS

It was neither of my guesses. If you go and see all the differences in power between the various languages are those who understand the most powerful language available. Instead of developing a product for some big company in the expectation of getting job security in return, we develop the product ourselves, in a startup, you shouldn't worry that it isn't widely understood. I would like. But if audiences have a lot of companies are very much influenced by where applicants went to college. There are some things that will appeal to you and your friends, to people in Nepal, and to the ancient Greeks, you're probably looking at a loser. Either VCs will evolve down into this gap or, more likely, new investors will appear to fill it. Do I really want to support this company? So I started to pay attention to how fortunes are lost is not through excessive expenditure, but through bad investments.

There is no such thing as good art, then people who liked it would have better taste than others: they're the ones who actually taste art like apples. So if Lisp makes you a better writer in languages you do want to change the world, at least as a kind of social convention, high-level languages are often all treated as equivalent. This sort of change tends to create as many good things as it kills. We didn't know anything about marketing, or hiring people, or raising money, or getting customers. The more of an IT flavor the job descriptions had, the less dangerous the company was. If there's no such thing as good taste, but that has historically been a distinct business from publishing. But now it worked to our advantage. It's like saying something clever in a conversation as if you'd thought of it on the spur of the moment, when in fact you'd worked it out the day before. And not just because that's more rewarding than worldly success.

What would make the painting more interesting to people? So what's the real reason there aren't more Googles is that most startups get bought before they can change the world, at least as a kind of argument that might be convincing. I doubt what we've discovered is an anomaly specific to startups. But though I can't predict specific winners, I can offer a recipe for recognizing them. So these big, dumb companies were a dangerous source of revenue. To the extent the movie business will dry up, and the first thing they learn is that the kind of intelligence that produces ideas with just the right level of craziness. Is software a counterexample? It is not the most powerful all the way down to machine languages, which themselves vary in power. Our generation wants to get paid up front.

They didn't want to use it in all his paintings, wouldn't he? This idea is rarely followed to its conclusion, though. You never had to worry about and which not to. I and most of the time about which of two proofs was better. I would do, after checking to see if they had a live online demo, was look at their job listings. Someone with ordinary tastes would find it hard to change directions. Another is to stand close. There is no such thing as good taste is that it frees artists to try to make it. I don't know exactly how many users they have now, but the idea is very much alive; there is a more general principle here: that if you have a choice of several languages, it is, all other things being equal, a mistake to write your whole program by hand in machine language. I had stopped believing that.

Software companies can charge a lot because a many of the customers are businesses, who get in trouble if they do let you down, consider raising your offer, because there's a good chance the outrageous price they want will later seem a bargain. I'd agree that taste is just a matter of personal preference.1 If there was ever a time when they'd hacked something to their advantage—hacked in the sense of art that does its job well, doesn't require you to pick out a few individuals and label their opinions as correct. But we also knew that that didn't mean anything. So Yahoo's sales force had evolved to exploit this source of revenue. Languages less powerful than Blub are obviously less powerful, because they're missing some feature he's used to. We eventually had many competitors, on the order of twenty to thirty of them, but none of their software could compete with ours. They're terrified of really novel ideas, unless the founders are good enough salesmen to compensate. If free copies of your content are available online, then you're competing with publishing's form of distribution, and that's just information. There are some things that will appeal to you and your friends, to people in Nepal, and to the ancient Greeks, you're probably looking at a loser. It was still very much a hacker-centric.

So it is with colleges. The tragedy of the situation is that by far the greatest liability of not having gone to the college you'd have liked is your own feeling that you're thereby lacking something. All users care about is whether you make something they like. This can be a tricky business, because while the alarms that prevent you from making bad investments have to be learned, and are sometimes fairly counterintuitive. So we're in much the same position as a graduate program, or a company hiring people right out of college. It's harder to escape the influence of your own circumstances, and tricks played by the artist. He said to ask about a time when they'd hacked something to their advantage—hacked in the sense that it sorted in order of how much money Yahoo would make from each link. Publishers. When you notice a whiff of dishonesty coming from some kind of connection.2 A startup should give its competitors as little information as possible.

Notes

Y Combinator.

Foster, Richard Florida told me they like the United States, have been lured into this tar pit. It requires the kind of protection against abuse and accidents. Scribes in ancient philosophy may be the last place in the top startup law firms are Wilson Sonsini, Orrick, Fenwick West, Gunderson Dettmer, and their houses are transformed by developers into McMansions and sold to VPs of Bus Dev. In this context, issues basically means things we're going to work in research too.

Thanks to Ron Conway, Sam Altman, and Jessica Livingston for reading a previous draft.

#automatically generated text #Markov chains #Paul Graham #Python #Patrick Mooney #loser #order #customers #individuals #fact #return #program #things #hand #conclusion #Livingston #distribution #conversation #artist #languages #Altman #power #copies #attention #company #information #kind #startup #idea

[majimasleftasscheek]

hi!! i was wondering if you had any head canons for nishiki? :0

BOY DO I

will have spoilers of course

so it's canon he takes hella good care of his hair and image but I also think he's crazy neat and clean with everything else. He goes over to Kiryu's house and can't help but clean up instinctively cuz the boy has beer cans n shit lying everywhere like damn bro what is this pigsty 

prolly taught Kiryu how to drive and it was one of the worst experiences of his life dealing with someone who thinks the road is merely a suggestion tryna do fancy car heat actions n all that

picks up girls so he can talk about makeup and haircare and pays them to buy him product so all the other yakuza don't see him do it

tries to act all big tough brother for his sister but sucks at it and just embarrasses himself (I wish we could have seen more of her and their relationship). Does his best to be cool™ to compensate for his own sense of pride

took Kiryu out all the time to socialize otherwise the goober would have stayed home all day when he wasn’t doing yakuza shit. Kiryu definitely tried to copy Nishiki’s behavior but like, didn’t understand what made Nishiki cool so he just says shit without thinking about it

evil Nishiki prolly couldn't stand Majima. Can't understand why this clown gets all of Kiryu's attention and doesn't get why this guy of all people has so much investment in Kiryu's life. Likely thinks Majima's dumbass antics are such a waste of talent while Majima could not give less of a shit. I think them interacting would be neato tbh. I may also be projecting from a fic I'm writing shhh

big insecurity and jealousy complex

wears a white suit later on to subconsciously be more like Kiryu but the white is brighter, refined, classy compared to the dull gray of Kiryu's outfit. White suit and black shirt visually representing his view on the world - hard contrast of strong and weak, outcomes and results - matching with his changed personality that sees things as it's his way or the highway. It's about power. It's about being at the top or you're scum, no in between, no gray. Or he just likes the color lmao

(one from my friend) he likes dinosaur chicken nuggies

the blood hair gel bit is definitely part of his daily beauty routine and not just some one time thing 

in my perfect world Nishiki survives the bomb and is totally fucked up. I think he would end up helping with Kashiwagi's thing to aid ex-yakuza integrate back into society. To some degree I think he’d be bitter towards Kiryu still and their relationship wouldn’t and couldn’t be totally healed. Helping Kashiwagi would be his form of penance but he couldn’t bear to be around Kiryu again, not for long anyway without dredging up things he’s done. Kiryu would forgive him most likely but I feel he would have a hard time forgiving himself. And I feel like he wouldn’t let go of his jealousy that easily either—how Kiryu just sort of rolls through life without aiming for anything or anywhere and that annoys him because he sees it as a waste. As much as I would love for them to reconnect, I think Nishiki would be too far gone at that point with all the, ya know, murder. After all he’s done, there’s just a good part of him that can’t simply go back to being Kiryu’s best bud. Maybe in time but it would be a long time

on a less depressing note I think he would rarely visit Morning Glory to hang out and tell the kids he got fucked up from a pizza explosion or something and they think that’s really really cool. It takes him awhile to get used to a loving family but it’s an experience he’s happy to have

#whewwww #I didn't think I'd have a lot to say but I guess I do #my hcs #yakuza #ryu ga gotoku #kiryu kazuma #majima goro #nishikiyama akira #long post #bodily harm