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dyde21 · 4 years

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Shady Percabeth

So the awesome @flyingdonuuts .made a super cool picture about Percy and Annabeth in suits, then said I could write a story for it so I did! Have a brief Mob/Shady business!AU for Percabeth. I had plenty of ideas for this, but wanted to get at least something out!

XxXxXxXxX

Pulling at the tie around his neck, Percy sighed. He didn’t usually get nervous anymore, he had experienced enough shit in his life that he was over that. But something about this situation had him on edge. Taking a deep breath, he had to keep his composure. If he wasn’t careful, he probably wouldn’t make it home tonight.

“So you’re Percy?”

A voice cut off his internal monologue as he opened his eyes. A woman was standing in front of him, her wavy brown hair and striking eyes caught him off guard. He had a playful smirk on her face as she rested a hand on her hip.

“Yes Ma’am.”

“Ma’am? I like that.” She said with a slight laugh. She blatantly looked him up and down once, before nodding. “Well then, let’s get started shall we? Follow me.”

The woman walked away, pulling out her phone to send a message and Percy wordlessly followed behind her.

She led him back behind the bar, down a long hallway. The walk was quiet, but she was humming some sort of tune to herself. The woman stopped suddenly, and Percy almost ran into her. “What?”

She was staring at her phone. “Business. Wait here for a moment, I need to take this call.” She said, before walking towards a door in the hallway. “Just in case you are stupid, I really don’t reccommend doing anything stupid while you wait.” Her cheerful disposition dropped for just the slightest moment, and instantly Percy’s survival instincts kicked in. This woman was dangerous, far more than her cheerful smile would lead you to believe.

He nodded, and she flashed him another playful grin before she brought the phone up to her ear and stepped in the room with a quick “Jason?”

Standing there, Percy leaned against the wall and crossed his arms in front of him. He had no idea who was watching, but he figured playing it safe was the smartest move.

A door at the end of the hallway opened up and someone else started walking down it. Percy tensed up slightly, ready for anything. Would she get on his case for being there? Most people didn't take well to strangers. He really hoped that lady would come back so he wouldn’t have to talk. He found his job usually went better when he didn’t have to talk. Especially cause he tended to piss people off.

The woman, a blonde he could tell better now, just walked towards him at a brisk pace. As she approached, Percy braced himself for anything. The woman passed by him, for the briefest moment he could have sworn time had slowed down.

The woman was striking, there was no other way Percy could think of to describe her. Her curly blond hair had been pulled back into a tight ponytail, and her hands were in her pockets. Her gray eyes were intense, but they had only flicked to him for a moment as she walked past. Her head was held high, and she didn’t falter a step as she walked past. The air of confidence around her intimidated Percy, she seemed to radiate a sort of power. He had no idea who she was but he knew messing with her was one of the worst things someone could do.

As swiftly as they came, her footsteps echoed through the hallways as she left out the other end, leaving Percy staring after her as the door across from him opened up.

“See something?” The voice was teasing and playful, even if Percy could detect a layer of concern underneath.

He shook his head, instantly forming his composure again. “No Ma’am. Just… a blonde. She was… intimidating.”

The brunette was grinning now. “An intimidating blonde? I see. She has that effect on people, don’t worry. She’s not as scary as she seems.” She paused, tapping a finger to chin. “Well she is, but she’s not a bad person. Just don’t piss her off.”

“Noted.” Percy replied quickly, it was generally a good idea to figure out who to be extra careful around.

“Sorry for the delay. I had to deal with something. Now let’s go.” The woman offered before continuing to walk down the hallway. Percy followed behind her, a few steps slower. Eventually she slowed to a stop and motioned towards a door. “After you. We’ll talk in here.”

Percy glanced at her for a moment, trying to read her a bit. Well, it was too late to back out now probably. Walking through the door, he wasn’t quite sure what he expected, but the room was nice. It looked like a conference room. A large table with comfy chairs around it, a plate of pastries on one end. He raised an eyebrow, this was a lot classier than he expected.

Without missing a beat the woman grabbed a donut, before walking over to the side of the table and hopping on it, crossing her legs. “Feel free to help yourself! Take a seat.” She said, gesturing towards one of the office chairs that she pushed away from the table with her foot.

Giving her a strange look, Percy was suddenly concerned he may have actually seriously made a mistake and ended up in an interview for a bartender or something.

Taking the seat, and taking a donut, Percy settled in. If they were offering, it’d be rude to decline.

“So what’s your story?”

She asked between bites, raising an eyebrow as she continued to munch on the snack like she was chatting with a long time friend.

“I have 4 years in the milit-”

Shaking her head, she sighed. “Not your resume. We know that. Why are you trying to work for us? Surely you know that’s not a smart choice.”

Squaring his shoulders, Percy’s head started to race. How much did he say? What answer were they looking for?

“Money.” He said after a moment. This seemed to genuinely catch the girl off guard. “You don’t gie off the greedy type. Surely you can make more money eventually being a banker or something. This job is dangerous.”

“So am I.” Percy replied instinctually, making her roll her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something but he took a risk and cut her off. “Not like that. I just… don’t do well in normal jobs. Offices don’t work for me, but I’m good at protection. Fighting is something I can do well. I’ve heard this job pays well. I need the money.”

The woman regarded him for a moment, letting his words sink in. “Gambling debt?”

Shaking his head, Percy crossed his arms. “Not my vice.” He paused, wondering how much was too much to say. “Medical bills.” He finally confessed.

This seemed to be the answer the brunette was looking for because she started grinning. “There we go.”

“Excuse me?”

“We already know everything about you, and your family. At least I do. It’s my job to look into these things, and if you think you could have made it through the door without us knowing you inside and out, you’re crazy. The real question was what kind of person you were. You can only learn so much without talking to someone yourself.”

Percy was caught off guard by her candor. He figured they knew most of this about him, but they really had him dancing in their palm already.

“So what’s my character?” He asked.

The woman brushed her hands together, letting some crumbs fall on the table. “Honest. Straightforward. Simple.” She offered, a smirk daring him to challenge her. It seemed to falter for a moment. “Honestly, you’re probably too good of a person for this job. You know our work isn’t exactly clean. You really could do better for yourself.” She said, almost reluctantly.

Shaking his head, Percy shrugged. “I have a habit of finding trouble for myself anyway. I’ve heard this place pays well, and that it treats its members well. I’ll do whatever it takes.” He said, fist clenching. He had too much riding on this.

He paused as a thought occurred to him. “Though obviously the details on what exactly I would be doing were… vague at best. I only found out about this place from Frank.”

The woman nodded again. “He mentioned you were interested. That’s what got you in the door. We’re very selective about who we work with.”

Hopping off the table, she motioned for him to follow her again. “As for your job. It’s simple. You need to keep someone alive, no matter the cost.”

Percy followed her down the hall quietly. Protection detail wasn’t new to him. He had even done some protection gigs after he got out of the military that never stuck.

Knocking twice on a set of double doors, she paused, until she heard a voice and pushed one open, ushering him inside.

Walking into the large office, Percy was surprised. The blonde he had seen before was sitting behind the desk, leaning back in a chair with a folder open on her lap. She closed the folder, setting it on the desk as she looked between them.

“Who’s he, Piper?”

So Piper was her name, he thought as he looked at the brunette.

“Your new bodyguard.”

“Are you kidding me?” The blonde said, leaning forward, resting her elbows on the table as she laced her hands together, glaring at Percy with enough force to unnerve him a little.

Shaking her head, Piper crossed her arms and returned the glare. Percy wasn’t sure he’d even have the courage to glare at a woman like that. Piper must either be really brave, or have some real credit with the woman.

“You know you need someone. Things are getting sketchy recently. I don’t care how tough you are.”

The woman glared at her, before shifting her gaze back to Percy. “I don’t know you, so I don’t trust you.”

Piper shrugged. “I know him perfectly. Leo did plenty of research and I interviewed him. I think you’ll like him if you get to know him.”

“Can he even do the job?”

Percy nodded. “I believe I can. I have plenty of exp-”

Next to him Piper had reached behind her, into her jacket. Almost out of reflex, Percy’s attention snapped to her as he saw something metal start to leave her jacket.

Side stepping around her, his hand shot out to grab her wrist as he grabbed it, slamming it against the wall as he ripped the gun free with his other hand. Kicking the back of her knee he wrenched her arm behind her as he forced her down to a knee, the gun against the back of her head though he made sure to keep his finger no where near the trigger.

“Ow! Son of a bitch, careful!” She complained as Percy instantly released her.

Percy stared at her wide eyed for a moment, before handing her back her gun.He noticed it was too light as well. “It wasn’t loaded.”

Rubbing her wrist, she stowed her gun again. “Of course not. I wasn’t actually trying to kill you and I didn’t want you accidentally shooting someone.” She glanced at him over. “That was pretty smooth though.”

The blonde regarded him carefully for a moment. “It seems you aren’t useless at least.”

“Thank you Ma’am.”

“Call me Annabeth.”

Piper’s eyes widened. “Awesome! I’ll go finish up the paper work.”

“What?” Percy asked confused.

“That means you’re hired. For now. Take a seat.” She said, gesturing to the chair across the desk from her.

Piper patted him on the shoulder. “Good luck! Try not to die.” She offered as she bounced out the room, seemingly pleased with herself.

Sitting down across from Annabeth, he fiddled with his tie for a moment.

“So you’re Percy. It seems you’re my new babysitter.” She replied drily.

“Yes… Annabeth.” He said after a pause.

Quirking an eyebrow, she looked at him. “Something wrong with my name?”

Percy shook his head quickly. “Not at all, Ma’am. It just sounds… real. Not many fake names use Annabeth.”

She shrugged. “That’s because it’s my real name. At this… company. We trust each other. That’s how we survive, and that’s how we get our work done. We don’t know each other, but if you really have a future here we’ll have to learn to trust each other.” She offered, catching Percy off guard. He knew for a fact this company didn’t deal completely above the table, and was even warned that often it was better not to ask questions. But she seemed genuine, which caught him off guard.

“Plus, if you made it this far that means Piper has enough information on you to absolutely ruin you if you so much as think about turning against us.” She said with a devilish smirk. “Trust, but always have a plan B.”

“Noted.” He said simply, ignoring the fresh wave of danger he felt from her.

Leaning back in her seat, she cross her arms as she smirked at him.

“So Percy. What’s your story?”

#percabeth #Percy Jackson #Annabeth Chase #PJO #HoO #Mob!AU #Probably not really mob ish #but I dont know how shady shit works #IM TOO VANILLA #D:

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marjansmarwani · 4 years

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For a prompt, how about an alternate version of a meet cute? Like maybe TK keeps on stealing Carlos’ coffee order without knowing it until one day he finally does? Feel free not to use this, just thought it would be adorable ❤️

I obviously did not get to this in time for Lone Star week, but I still wanted to do it, so here you go.

It’s also the first entry into my new drabble collection on ao3, which is pretty cool. And yes, it is adorable - if I do say so myself.

standing on the ocean (until I start sinking)

[Ao3 Link]

Characters: TK Strand, Carlos Reyes

Pairings: TK Strand/Carlos Reyes

Length: 1,527

Summary: A collection of drabbles from tumblr prompts

1. A coffee mix up and an alternate meet-cute for our boys

———————————————————————

TK thought he was settling into Austin pretty well. He had been keeping busy with the renovations at the stations and the interviews for the crew, but in his downtime he had been doing his best to explore the city. So far he had found a good jogging route, a great organic market, even a decent boba place. The only struggle had been a coffee shop.

There was one right around the corner from the station that he had been hopeful about. The decor was kind of a cozy modern style and they had a great tea selection. He had ordered a matcha latte and leaned back to wait. The vibe of this place was pretty great; it was somehow simultaneously energetic and laid back. His name was called and he stepped forward, grabbing the cup nearest to him on the edge of the counter, flashing a smile to the barista. He took a sip as he turned around and almost spit it out. It was definitely not the green tea he had ordered, but he opened the lid to confirm.

The lid lifted to reveal the warm brown of coffee rather than the vivid green matcha he had been expecting. He turned around to say something, but one look at the barista drove any thoughts of complaining from his mind. She was a young girl, no more than 19, and she was working by herself. She already looked frazzled - TK couldn’t bring himself to put anything else on her. With a sigh he replaced the lid and exited the shop. As he took another sip he gave thanks that she had at least managed to put some hazelnut in when she screwed up his order; it actually wasn’t half bad.

-----

The first time the coffee shop screwed up his order he knew it was an accident. It had been busy and the poor barista had been overwhelmed.

But the second time? He was starting to wonder if this was personal.

Of course it was the one day he was running late so by the time his order arrived on the counter he grabbed it and was out the door and halfway down the block before he even took a sip. He faltered in his steps as he peered down at the cup. Not only was it not his order, but it was the same exact mix up as last time. He ran through the process of ordering in his head and wondered if maybe it was something about his inflection that made “matcha latte with oat milk” sound like “hazelnut coffee.” He glanced back at the shop and considered going back and asking for a replacement, but a quick glance at his watch told him that was not happening today. He sighed and took another sip of the hazelnut coffee as he continued his walk to the station.

He hoped whoever had his matcha was enjoying it.

------

The third, fourth, and fifth time it happened TK simply accepted his hazelnut coffee without question.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like coffee; it was just that he preferred to not drink it before a shift because they certainly drank more than enough of it during shift. Though if it was going to keep showing up with hazelnut, he supposed he couldn’t complain too much. It could be worse; it could be caramel, or something fruity.

He had mentioned the predicament to the others once in passing and Mateo had asked him why he didn’t just go to a different coffee shop. TK really didn’t have a good answer to that. There was just something about that place that he liked. It had a good feeling and the employees - despite the fact that they apparently had a mental block when it came to his order - seemed really nice. He had gotten chatting with some of them during slow mornings and had found that they were genuinely kind and interesting people. The proximity to the station didn’t hurt either.

Paul suggested that maybe they just thought that hazelnut coffee should be his drink, and TK didn’t know how he felt about being essentially set up on a blind date with his drink order. Judd simply wondered why he was even going to a coffee shop anyways when that had a “monstrosity of a coffee maker or something” (his words) there at the station. TK waved him off with a roll of his eyes, but the truth was that it was kind of a ritual. Something he always did and had always done before his shift. It helped to ground him; to calm him before the start of another inevitably crazy and stressful day.

So it continued; each day before his shift TK would enter the coffee shop, greet the baristas, order his matcha latte, and leave with his hazelnut coffee. It became a routine; just another aspect of his life here in Austin.

On one such morning, TK relayed his order to the usual barista - Shannon - manning the register. This morning there were two people on shift so she relayed the order to the other barista, who picked up a cup and labeled it with a sharpie from her apron pocket. TK furrowed his brows, “Have you always labeled the cups?” he asked, “I don’t remember ever noticing that before.”

Shannon shook her head, “Jayla’s new. She just moved to town and apparently that’s what they used to do at her last job, so when she asked if we did I figured we may as well try it.”

TK nodded as he stepped out of line and let the person behind him step up to place their order. As much as he liked this place experience had shown him that accuracy was not their strongest suit, so this labeling practice could be interesting.

He leaned on his usual spot against the wall before the counter, idly fiddling with his phone as he waited. When his name was called he stepped forward and grabbed the cup. He was about to take a sip when the inscription caught his eye. He turned the cup to see it better.

“Carlos?” he read aloud, puzzled. He heard a chuckle from behind him.

“So you must be the coffee bandit,” a smooth voice said. TK spun around to find a (very attractive) police officer smiling at him. TK gaped at him for a moment before his brain managed to put together the pieces. “Carlos?” he asked.

The officer grinned and stuck out his hand, “Carlos Reyes, nice to meet you. Should I just call you Mr. Green Tea, or do I get to know the name of the man who has been stealing my coffee for the past month?”

Oh. Oh.

“TK Strand,” he said weakly, reaching out to shake the offered hand, “and I am so sorry. I had no idea; I just thought it was a mistake.”

Carlos raised his eyebrows, “For an entire month?”

TK shrugged, “Stranger things have happened. Besides, it seemed like something silly to get worked up over. What about you? You clearly were not looking to be drinking matcha every day, why didn’t you say anything?”

Now it was Carlos’s turn to look a little sheepish, “Same as you I guess. It didn’t seem like enough of an issue to make a fuss and I was honestly curious to see how long it would take before you figured it out.”

TK looked at him incredulously, “You knew I was taking your coffee? For how long?”

“It is kind of my job to figure things out,” Carlos said dryly, gesturing towards his uniform (which TK could not help but notice fit him very well), “I was pretty sure after the second time, and certain after the third. I have to say that the matcha kind of grew on me though.”

It was TK’s turn to laugh, “The hazelnut coffee’s not too bad either.”

The stood in silence for a few moments before TK spoke again, “I suppose I owe you some coffee, at the very least.”

Carlos hummed consideringly, “I supposed that’s fair. Besides, if we order together I think I stand a much better chance of actually seeing my coffee.”

“So, is it a date?”

Carlos reached around him to the counter and grabbed the cup waiting behind them. He grabbed a pen from the jar next to the register and scribbled something on it. He replaced the pen and handed the cup to TK with a sly grin.

“Count on it,” he said before taking his coffee from TK’s other hand and exiting the coffee shop.

TK remained rooted to his spot by the counter, stunned by this latest turn of events. He couldn’t believe that had just happened. There is no way any of this was real. But a glance down at the cup in his hand proved him wrong. His name was scrawled underneath the rim in sharpie, and below that; in blue pen and neat handwriting, was a phone number.

TK felt a grin spread across his face even as his heart fluttered. He knew there was a reason he liked this coffee shop.

Got a moment? Leave a comment!

#911 Lone Star #911 lone star fanfic #tk strand #carlos reyes #tarlos #prompt fill #ao3theskyisblue #my writing #drabble

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canaryatlaw · 5 years

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today was a hard day. harder than they’ve been in a while. I got to bed at like 3 am last night so I was pretty tired and slept in till like 12 something. I went on my phone while lying in my bed and checked my email, where I had an reply from the public guardian’s office (where I interned in law school) informing me that I hadn’t been selected for an interview after initially telling me they would contact me to schedule one shortly. This was....totally gutting. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I had the experience, they were doing interviews, this was supposed to be a shoo-in. This was the job that I had been holding out for all this time and then it was just gone. I started crying and couldn’t stop for a solid half hour. the first thing I did was send an email to my mentor/former supervisor from there who is retired now but was a very prominent member of the office for like 25 years, so I just told him and that I was pretty destroyed about this. He got back to me fairly quickly, trying to assure me that things would be okay and that he was going to call the deputy PG tomorrow and find out what’s going on (he’s actually on vacation in Arizona till the 28th but he’s still taking time to call tomorrow while on vacation because he’s awesome). I’m trying not to get my hopes up that he’ll be able to do something, because I really don’t know if he will or not and I don’t know what the factors were that influenced this decision. It just doesn’t make any sense to me, I was supposed to be the perfect candidate....I guess unless they didn’t want to hire attorneys right out of law school? I know a hella lot more about the child welfare system than some hack who’s worked in personal injury for five years though...it just doesn’t add up. But I guess at some point I’m going to have to deal with the fact that this happened and this isn’t the road I’m going to go down. It’s just difficult because pretty much all the other prospects I’ve been getting have been firms that want me to work late every night and come in on the weekends and like....it’d already be an area of law I didn’t actually want to work in, but to be taking up all my time and not letting me see my friends? that sounds like actual hell, not to mention my health is always shit and would not respond well to working 60 hours a week. The whole thing was with the government I’d be limited to 40 hours, anywhere else is kind of all bets are off....so I feel really anxious about that. But I went to the job boards and started looking, at least got like 5 or so applications in today, some firms but also an appellate state’s attorney position which could be interesting (and I mean, it’d be government, so that could work) and the legal counsel position for a children’s hospital here in Chicago that’s a big deal, and I mean I don’t have experience in health law but I can argue I have experience working with kids in and outside of the legal field and have a lot of experience working with law that directly impacts kids, so I guess we’ll have to see where that goes. Not long after I finished the applications (while watching The Americans after listening to a podcast episode) I got an email back from a firm asking if I could come in for an interview this week, so that’s going to happen on Thursday hopefully. It was funny because I almost didn't apply to that position because I felt like I didn't have any experience in their field of law, but it could be good, I guess we’ll have to see (they do copyright defense and aviation law regarding drones which sounds interesting?? and part of the job post said a lot of it would be communicating with clients via phone about copyrights and such which sounds like it could be cool), but that was encouraging at least. I kept watching The Americans while I got a few other things done until The Gifted came on at 8. It was a good episode, I’m glad Andy came back to his family at the end and that Lorna is finally away from the inner circle and with Marcos, and that Jace was finally having to deal with facing the emotional consequences about what he's done. I went back to The Americans afterwards, I’m in season 4 now and it’s getting really good (but Nina! sad). The show is very serious obviously but it’s definitely become enjoyable to watch. and yeah, I did that until I showered and started to get ready for bed and now I’m here. I guess I’m still dealing with the emotional fallout of it all, it was something I had set my hopes on for a long time now, I thought it was definitely my easiest route into working in the system and eventually working for a nonprofit and now I’m just like now what? Nothing is going according to plan. This is the whole damn reason I wanted to go to law school, and now I can’t use my legal degree for it? And I mean, if I don’t have what it takes to get hired by them out of law school who the hell is good enough to get hired by them right out of law school?? because I know they do hire people right out of law school and you can’t possibly more experienced than I am in this area, I’m literally the gold standard here, I did everything right....and still nothing. It just doesn’t make any sense. I’m reminded though that shortly before the new year someone had posted on one of my fb groups about having a “theme” word for the year and I thought it was a nice idea, and decided mine was going to be “trust” as in trust God that his plan and his timing will do what’s needed, and I know this is just another area I need to trust that He’s bringing me to the right place in. It’s so hard when I can’t see what He’s doing at all, but I know my perspective is so limited compared to His. So I’m trying to trust and pray, and be open to whatever comes down the path, that’s really the best thing I can do at this point. I’m trying not to get my hopes up that anything will result from my mentor talking to them, but I can’t help but hold out some hope in the back of my mind that he’ll be able to fix it, but I keep telling myself it’s a shot in the dark and I have no way of knowing what’s gonna happen with it. So we go forward and see what happens with the job interview on Thursday. Forward, always, that’s what I said when I got my tattoo fixed with an arrow over the scar from my wrist surgery. So we’re moving forward, one way or another, trusting that I’ll make it to the right place. Sigh. It’s past 1 am now so I should probably be getting to bed. Goodnight babes. Hope you had a better day than me.

#daily journal #February 2019 #Rachel's lawyer adventures

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goldira01 · 4 years

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Some call him the Bill Gates of the crypto industry, but I personally think he is not just pushing forward our industry but transforming deeply rooted economic and social culture. He fills concert halls talking about the importance of decentralization and the freedom of money. He finds time to organize dinners for journalists, introducing them to the empire he built before briskly leaving for another meeting with his team. He is idolized by his colleagues, respected by his competitors, and radiates positive energy when you meet him.

In the 2019 bear market, he managed to keep Binance’s position as one of the leading crypto exchanges by launching its first initial exchange offering in January, developing its native blockchain Binance Chain, running a decentralized trading platform, launching a United States trading desk, and keeping it competitive with Binance’s futures trading platform — to cite just a few developments.

So, when the time came to make a choice for the winner of Cointelegraph’s first-ever Top 100 list, Changpeng Zhao’s selection was a unanimous decision among our editors.

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend an hour with CZ on the eve of Valentine’s Day — a holiday he would spend with his true love: his work — to talk a bit about himself and his plans (with the next major move being the launch of Binance Cloud, exclusive details on which will be revealed very soon).

[embedded content]

Keep everything simple and work hard

Upon learning that he was selected for the top spot on the list and being asked about his favorite accomplishments in 2019, he was characteristically humble: “Other than just putting together a really good team and then leading them forward, I personally didn’t really do that much. But the team did a lot of really hard work.”

2019 was certainly a year full of initiatives and product launches, all of which received CZ’s thorough participation. Within the next couple of years, though, he plans to build up a “more unneeded situation” for himself, so that nothing depends too much on him. After that, he shared, he can probably relax and spend more time traveling the world, breaking the limits of the mode “airport–hotel–back to airport–kind of gone.”

It is hard to believe he will one day do less than he does now, as he is such a maximalist when it comes to work. He is known, however, as being rather minimalistic in his personal life. No big houses, no yachts, not even a business suit. Neither did he celebrate the last new year, explaining that he stayed home because “it is just another day.”

“I’m not materialistic because it’s kind of hard to carry anything that’s physical. I like to keep mobile. I like to be able to live in a different city every month if I want to. And with a shared economy, it’s so much easier now. So we don’t need a car — you have Uber everywhere. You have Airbnb, so I don’t need to buy a house. I don’t feel the need to own a lot of stuff, to have a really complicated life. Just keep everything simple.”

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

“There’s got to be a few recently, actually [with enthusiasm] I can’t remember what they are, but there’s got to be a couple of first times [starts thinking deeply] recently. [long pause] I actually can’t remember that much, to be honest.”

I asked CZ whether he likes being famous and what the biggest challenge to being a person in the public eye is. If he had a choice, he promptly responded, he would prefer not to be famous. But Binance had to have a public face in order to raise money and continue to grow. It is also very important, according to CZ, to have a public face to establish trust with customers who entrust their funds to Binance’s custody. “I know we’re in an industry that technically we don’t need trust, but there’s still a lot of trust that’s needed in a lot of different places.”

CZ also revealed with a smile that he was forced to be a public face, as other members of the team did not want to go public.

“I was actually hoping there would be a better face, to be honest. I don’t think I’m a very good public speaker. There are also much better-looking people. But unfortunately, for Binance, it’s me. So Binance is kind of stuck with me for now.”

Keep calm and go all-in on Bitcoin

It was in 2013 that CZ began to learn about Bitcoin. He read the white paper and started going to thematic events. Later, at a small conference in Las Vegas, he met some of today’s giants of the industry: Charlie Lee, Matthew Roszak, Vitalik Buterin. There was also a representative of Ripple who taught CZ how to use it. In the process, he transferred some XRP to CZ. When they were done, CZ wanted to transfer the coins back, but heard in response, “You can keep it and you can use it to teach the next guy.” This sparked a wild crypto adventure.

CZ quickly became enthusiastic about the technology: “I thought that community was really nice. I had a really high confidence in Bitcoin succeeding, in cryptocurrency succeeding.”

In 2014, CZ sold his house to go all-in on Bitcoin. Within three months, BTC dropped from $600 to $200, losing him two-thirds of the value of his house for roughly two years before the price went up again. When asked whether he would advise someone to take such a risk, CZ responded more as a wiseman than a poker player: “For different people, that risk appetite and risk situation is different. I would not recommend people who are struggling to pay off mortgages on their house and who need a guaranteed income from their investments to pay off some loan, to sell their house and go all-in on crypto, because crypto is highly volatile.”

You seem such a calm person. Do you meditate, or were you born like this?

“I don’t meditate that much. I tried it. I find it a little bit boring, to be honest. I don’t need it. I’m already very calm. I have a low heart rate. My resting heart rate is like 50-something. In Binance, I’ve never shouted. I’ve never yelled at anybody. I’ve never sort of become really sort of agitated. I’m always a very calm person.”

Not only did he sell the house, he also quit his job. Within two weeks, he managed to find a new one at blockchain.info, where he stayed for five months before joining OKCoin as chief technical officer. There, he spent no more than a year. It was 2017, the year of Binance’s foundation.

Along the way, CZ contributed to a considerable number of startups, many of which failed. He has a tip that helps him stay optimistic, a parable he once heard from someone: “If you walk to the bottom of a valley, what do you do? And the answer is pretty simple: You just keep walking as long as you keep walking. Then you eventually get out of the valley.”

Keep coding and get an MBA

CZ majored in computer science at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. But the last time he was coding something, he said, was a couple of years ago. He has never coded for Binance — all its code is written by others — but he was writing scripts for himself. Now, he admits to not having any time to sit down and stare at a computer screen uninterrupted. It is simply not his current life situation. He called his time very segmented, as he gets interrupted very often.

“I tell other people that now I have a memory of a goldfish, like I can’t remember anything longer than seven seconds.”

When asked for advice to the next generation of founders on whether it is better to get a degree in computer science or a master’s degree in business administration, CZ rejects the premise of the question and says to go for both. His view is that, in this sector and at this capacity, you are forced to deal with everything: technology, business models, business development, deal negotiations, marketing, customer service, compliance, legal, accounting, finance, HR. And guess what? CZ doesn’t consider himself an expert in any of these areas. With my objection to CZ’s claims of being a poor public speaker quickly dismissed earlier, I decided that contesting him at this point would be futile.

Keep being number one and go forward

The first interview with CZ I took part in dates back to 2018. Back then, he told us that Binance tries very hard not to be number one, “because being number one creates other problems sometimes, especially with regulators.” In 2020, I asked whether CZ still agrees with that, or if he’d finally given up on trying not to stand out too much.

CZ admitted that two years ago, the market was riddled with regulatory uncertainty, while today’s situation is much better. “I think today it’s OK to push forward, get the market share, and you will not be the lonely one at the top who all the regulators come for.” He also added that there is more fierce competition on the market today, so it’s become harder for small players to build themselves up.

“But we are still at the early stages. We want to see more exchanges, because right now, all over the world, if you can see more exchanges, we can see more people coming into crypto.”

CZ seems very satisfied with his professional career: “I feel I’m really lucky to have the chance to be doing what we’re doing, which is to increase access to crypto, increase the freedom of money for people around the world. That is something I’m really energetic about doing. And I just feel lucky to be in a position to be able to do that.”

If you could clone yourself, what would you like that clone to do?

“I would love the clone to do other work [laughing]. I’d make a lot of clones to do a lot of work. We can do like ten different interviews at the same time.”

Keep cool, we are living in a simulation

Binance’s current focus on developing the freedom of money is intended to give people funding power to do more research on biotech, space exploration (this field, CZ leaves to Elon Musk) and AI — all of which, according to CZ, will help our species advance significantly. For example, CZ thinks, the Coronavirus issue could be solved once funding on research is sped up.

CZ definitely wants the existing world to get better, but at the same time, he is a big believer of simulation theory. It means that we are living in an artificial, digital simulation that is conceived or orchestrated by a more sophisticated intelligence. It also means, according to CZ, that in 100 or 500 years, the advancement of technology will make the simulation we are living in controllable.

“I believe it’s 99,99999 % we’re living in a simulation. So mathematically it is basically 100 percent.”

“If you look at that Nintendo Super Mario, we can simulate the guy moving forward, moving backwards. The tricky part is I don’t know what kind of simulation we are yet. We see it being simulated by a higher being, a different dimension — or are we just sitting, sleeping there, dreaming similarly about ourselves or our own kind.”

Even though we do not know in which simulation we are living, CZ explained, it does not mean we do not have to take it seriously. On the contrary, even if it’s a full simulation, everything in the simulation still matters. “There’s a Coronavirus that matters, there’s a flooding in places, climate change, all of those things are challenges that are thrown on our way. And we should try our best to help where we can.”

Another positive aspect of believing in simulation is that it helps dealing with difficult situations and stress, it kind of gives you a lighter view on things. “Sometimes you say, ‘Well, you know, it’s just a simulation, it’s just a game.’ My role here is just to do the best I can. So I just keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep marching forward. So it makes life a lot easier, actually.”

Rapid fire questions for CZ

Sea or mountains?

I’d probably choose mountains, but I do like ocean sports as well.

Beer or wine?

Beer.

McDonald’s or Burger King?

Burger King, because at least some of them accept Bitcoin and Binance coin.

Black or yellow?

Black.

Snowboarding or work?

I really enjoy snowboarding, but you can’t snowboard all the time. You can do a couple of days a year, it’s good enough.

Simulation or reality?

Definitely, simulation. There is no reality.

Changpeng Zhao is ranked #1 in the first-ever Cointelegraph Top 100 in crypto and blockchain.

#Timor Invest

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miggy-figgy · 6 years

Photo

Ludovic Saint Sernin By Miguel Figueroa Photos by Alex Franco

One of the best ways to get your first foot in fashion - or any type of business for that matter - is through apprenticeship. Back when they were the new kids on the block, Yves Saint Laurent, Donna Karan and Alessandro Michele learned and paid their dues, respectively, under the tutelage of Christian Dior, Anne Klein and Tom Ford. Three years after working at Balmain with Olivier Rousting, 27-year-old Ludovic Saint Sernin struck out on his own, presenting his first collection; a gender fluid homage to late nineties minimalism. We caught up with the designer on his birthday to talk about his influences, obsessions, next steps and unusual morning routine.

Hi Ludovic, let's start with the basics. What time did you get up this morning? I woke up at 10, I usually wake up earlier but I just got back from California and the jet lag is real. It was an amazing holiday/research trip, very inspiring!

Do you have a routine? What did you have for breakfast? Yes, I do! It is kind of ridiculous though. I have apple juice and cereal in bed and I religiously watch an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians or The Real Housewives, just to ease in the day. Then I start work at 11, and right now I am researching and sketching for next season.

What did you want to be when you were a child? I have always wanted to be a fashion designer for as long as I can remember. When I was just a little boy I was obsessed with The Little Mermaid, I had the Barbie, the sun lounger, everything and I would dress her etc. This obsession for her slowly transitioned into an obsession with Lindsay Lohan, when I was a teenager I would draw her everyday. Lukas Heerich who did the soundtrack for the presentation included some bits of interviews from her and mixed it with minimal music as a nod to her.

I was probably 10 when a friend of my mom’s introduced me to Yves Saint Laurent, not literally but she had some old VHS of his most iconic shows and I remember thinking, this is it, this is what I want to do.

Who were or still are your fashion icons? Alaïa has always been a model for me. He's built something so unique and special. I recently watched the documentary by Joe McKenna who I'm obsessed with and it was so fascinating to see how he works. There's no one else like him he's such a perfectionist. Helmut Lang is obviously a big reference as is Rei Kawakubo and Issey Miyake. Kirtsen Owen, I don't think there's a single image that she's in that doesn't inspire me, she's a huge inspiration. I posted a picture of her from Steven Meisel the other day and the caption simply said : mom.

You broke from working at Balmain - which is the antithesis of your style - and created a beautiful, minimal first collection. What were your biggest lessons working there? Balmain was my first fashion family, they have been amazing to me and I am very grateful for everything I have learnt there. I was working on embellishment and textiles which was so exciting to do there because you can really propose stuff and create amazing pieces. And their approach was very artisanal which I really appreciate.

Have you always played with gender bending? What do you consider to be the most masculine feature in a woman and the most feminine trait in a man? I actually only had done womenswear up until that first presentation and initially I thought it was going to be women’s. I was doing a project on Instagram where I would recreate pictures of me with boys I knew from Instagram and make them pose in my clothes. I created some really cool relationships with some of these boys and one of them became my fitting model/muse.

So even tough the clothes were originally women's, turns out as we were trying them they looked really good on a boy too. And I decided that it wasn’t really relevant anymore to try and categorize my pieces to one sex only. I myself don't really look whether it's women's or men's when I'm shopping. As long as you feel good in it and it fits your body why restrain yourself. I knew I wanted to show it on guys though. I worked with this really talented casting director and friend, Piotr Chamier, we share the same aesthetic when it comes to casting and he did an amazing job finding boys. What I really appreciate is that even though it was presented during Men's after the show we received loads of press requests for women’s shootings. It’s been about equal with that of the men’s. I am looking forward to seeing how they work in both contexts.

With regards to the second part of the question, I am struggling to answer that. Truth is I don’t really think in that way. I have long hair so you might say that is the most feminine thing about me but others might find it quite masculine. Likewise the neck of my fit model is long and thin but I don’t think it looks particularly feminine. I really don’t think that way and interestingly I think a lot of people my age and younger are not categorizing through sex or sexuality.

Who would be your ultimate person to dress? Yesterday I watched Basketball Diaries for the first time and Leonardo DiCaprio is just beautiful and so good in it, he was just twenty years old but looks sixteen. I wish I could have dressed him back in the days, he had that special something about him and also this androgyny that I love. But to answer your question, I love the idea of dressing sons or little brothers of celebrities: for instance Uma Thurman's son is gorgeous, looks just like her but in a boy. Or Pamela Anderson's son is actually really hot too. I recently met up with Niels Schneider's little brother Vassili, and I'd love to dress him for a special project.

What is your favorite scent? For the presentation I used Potpourri from Santa Maria Novella, it smells amazing and looks really beautiful. It was displayed all over the conservatory where I had the presentation on little ceramics plates I brought back from Kyoto. I wanted the scent to blend in with the natural smell of the boys in the presentation, it was a really hot day, and they were walking around between plants in a manner that evoked cruising. The scent of the potpourri, the boys sweat and the plants just all worked really well together.

Hot! Which are your favorite hide-outs in Paris? I spend most of my free time in London, so I am going to give you my favorite hide-outs there: breakfast at the Towpath in de Beauvoir, their grilled cheese sandwich is to die for, I love walking along the canal, brunch at Rawduck, Epping forest, in the fall the colors are splendid, the British library is the best place to read a book, you need to make an appointment for the reading room and it's great to hide away from the crowd. Then back at the Towpath for drinks and dinner at Gujurati Rasoi, they have my favorite dish on earth there, I always order the same thing.

What turns you on? A Wolfgang Tillmans picture. I went to see his exhibition at the Tate in London it was simply breathtaking.

What turns you off? Being unthoughtful or unconscious. I'm quoting Jake Gyllenhaal, I had to google this answer, I couldn't think of anything that turns me off.

Can you share with us your latest obsessions? I have discovered this beautiful bookstore in Paris, where they have an amazing selection of queer literature and art. I recently read L’Age d’or by Pierre Herbart which I highly recommend. And I am in the middle of reading Call me by your Name by André Aciman which is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents villa on the Italian Riviera. It is being released as a film next year and I cannot wait to see how they will translate this beautiful book.

Where would you like to take your brand to next? I have some very exciting projects and collaborations coming up but it is a bit too early to reveal. It is amazing how quickly things can move these days but most of the time it’s just me and I’d like to do things slowly and well rather than rush them.

What are you doing after this? It's my birthday today [28th of August], so I am going to eat some cake and enjoy a lovely dinner with my family! Originally published in the Fall & Winter 2017/18-Spring 2018 issue of Hercules Universal, Neon Dreams. Out now.

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koroazu-eng-blog · 7 years

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Entertainment Station Interview (2017-09-25)

Source:https://entertainmentstation.jp/121352

In the short PR time that I had, I was saved by my ‘special skills’

- First of all, I would like to ask about the trigger that made you want to participate in the “Horipro’s Talent Scout Caravan”

Azusa Tadokoro When I was in my second grade of junior high, I saw [Inuyasha] and thought, “It’s amazing how the voices alone can become the backbone of the characters! What is this occupation!?” It was from there that “I want to be someone like that, that can move people’s hearts through acting” started to become my aspiration and ultimately became the trigger.

- The subtitle that was attached to the Scout Caravan was “Audition for the next generation’s Seiyuu-Artist”, so your goal from the beginning was to be a voice actress

Tadokoro That’s right. Even then I still really liked singing, it in turn felt perfect. But buying audition magazines and such was a first for me……so you’d end up thinking that this “audition” might just be a scam, wouldn’t you?

- Hahaha (lol) Just a little bit I guess

Tadokoro However, “Horipro’s Talent Scout Caravan” was a name even I knew, so I thought to myself, “This definitely won’t be a scam,” So I thought that even if the whole thing was rigged, they wouldn’t take and scam me of my money…..(lol) But in reality, to personally prove that it wasn’t rigged definitely surprised me..

- Then, the moment when you realized “I’m taking an audition”, was it during the selection process?

Tadokoro That’s right. I was getting more and more scared at the time. Of course I had the “I want to be a seiyuu” feeling, but it was also my first time in an audition, so my feelings at that time was to “try and get used to the audition atmosphere”

- During the audition, was there anything that happened that left a lasting impression on you?

Tadokoro It was after the documentation screening during the second judging, where it was done in a face-to-face manner. Before you go for it, you’d look up, “What should I do in an audition?” wouldn’t you? And it was written “You’ll be given about a minute do your self-PR” on the internet. But at the during the actual audition, I was told “You will be given 30 seconds for your self-PR.” So since I only had 30 seconds, I thought it would be better if I showed off my special skills instead of talking (lol).

(TL Note: PR means appeal time)

- I see. So what you prepared beforehand became unusable.

Tadokoro But, I liked the seiyuu Akiko Yajima, and I was good at doing a Crayon Shin-chan impression and that saved me… or rather I was glad that “I had it with me.” Even now I still feel that I was really lucky.

- The final round was held at the Shinagawa Stella Ball. Do you remember the sight from that stage?

Tadokoro I don’t remember a thing! It was really bright, and it didn’t feel real at all. I didn’t expect to get the Grand Prix at all, and when they played the drum roll (before the results announcement), I felt a little lonely thinking, “It’s over……..” So when my name was called to receive the Grand Prix, I thought, “It can’t be, I won!?”

- In your eyes, what points of yourself do you think helped capture the judges’ eyes?

Tadokoro Well….. After it was done, during an interview I had with Kanari-san (Mr. Kanari was the person who awarded Azusa Tadokoro with the Grand Prix award in the final round of “Horipro’s 36th Talent Scout Caravan”, and is currently Tadokoro’s manager) he said something about “soothing” but…… I don’t really get it myself (lol).

[Aikatsu!]’s script is my “textbook”

- Next, following the Grand Prix award and your debut, I would like to ask if there were anything that left a deep impression within you be it from your lessons or something you started working on personally

Tadokoro I didn’t receive any voice acting related work at all, and I was also falling behind other people during lessons. So, I also participated something like a workshop that teaches pronunciation. But I think that my first real voice acting work was the dubbing for [Aikatsu!] (A TV anime that aired on December 2012)

- I see, so you improved from that job

Tadokoro That’s right. It was a job that I started almost immediately after passing the audition…..I couldn’t really do it well, and that really surprised me (lol). Later on, I found out that the Sound Director had, “Is this her best?” thoughts. From there, that Sound Director personally came to the office and took time to give me personal lessons. I was really learning every single time, and I did it so many times that it was up to the point where I thought, “[Aikatsu!]’s script is my textbook.” All the scripts I have received since my early days are all my treasures.

- On the other hand, before you debuted as a seiyuu-artist, you did lives in a small live house didn’t you

Tadokoro That’s right. Initially, I would tremble when standing in front of people, and my voice would also be trembling which caused my singing to be all over the place. I first need to do something about this…….was where I started working on in the beginning. So my vocal teacher said, “Stand diagonally (not perpendicular to the stage), put your hand on your chest, don’t move and sing like that” to me because if I had more detailed moves to remember, I wouldn’t be able to sing anymore.

- So, through the lives, you built the courage within you too?

Tadokoro Yeah I did. Without that, I think it would have taken a little more time. But, as I continued my activities, I got to stand on the same stage with other people who were ‘standing on stage for their first time’ and watching them I would think to myself, “I really couldn’t do that.” (lol). They were so brilliant even when they were just starting out.

- But Tadokoro-san also just recently showed a brilliant performance on the Anisama stage (Animelo Summer Live 2017 that was held at Saitama Super Arena)

Tadokoro That’s true. My senses were kind of paralyzed at the time.

- You were paralyzed? (lol)

Tadokoro When I stood on the stage solo last year, I of course thought that the it was ‘really wide and big’. However when I was there as a group, I didn’t really feel the size of the venue. But, the scene/view you get to see from the Saitama Super Arena stage or the Nippon Budoukan stage, it isn’t something you would normally be able to see right? And just being able to see that, I am certainly grateful for it.

[Wasureranneyo] Shibata-san’s scratch track is the permanent track

- So to continue on with Tadokoro-san’s seiyuu-artist activites, you’ll be releasing your new album, ‘So What?’ on the 25th of October. This time, regarding the song “Super Star Loser” which was the coupling song of the “Unmei Dilemma” single, a special “So What? Mix” was made for the album where Tadokoro-san herself played the guitar for the song. How was the recording for the guitar part?

Tadokoro First of all, not being in the recording booth with the microphone but instead an amplifier took my place, I thought that was really amusing (lol). I thought that I would be sitting in front of a microphone and playing the guitar, but it was actually just me, playing the guitar with everyone sitting down around me. I also thought, “My flaws/poor playing would definitely stand out in the recording” but it surprisingly sounded cool once the sound went through the microphone and that made me go “Ooohhh!.” Furthermore, Yohske Yamamoto, who was in charge of the music arrangement was making changes to the arrangement during the actual recording, and putting it even cooler sounds that evolved the song even more, so I would be happy if you are looking forward to listening to it.

- By the way for this album, if you had to name one song that you would like everyone to listen to carefully, which song would it be?

Tadokoro If it were me, I’d strongly recommend the song “Koro Aruki”. Shibata-san from my beloved band, “Wasureranneyo” kindly offered to write lyrics for one of my songs, and that really touched me……”Things like this really do happen!?” was how surprised I was coupled with happiness, and the feelings are still overflowing to this day. I still do not know how the song arrangement will turn out to be (※In production stage), but when I received the demo version with Shibata-san playing and singing the song, “This, this is already the final product!” was what I thought (lol). The song itself is also really good, so I’d like for everyone to look forward to it.

The story that started with “I will take this audition”, I think it’s interesting

- Regarding your activities as a seiyuu-artist, do you have any goals to strive for or things you want to do at the moment?

Tadokoro I do have a lot of things I want to do. But I think I would to try my hand at stage performances and musicals.

- If you were to try them out, what kind of genre would it be?

Tadokoro If I were to be involved in a play that has a lot of conversation in it, I think it will be fun and I will be able to learn a lot from it. I actually did a storytelling live this year, it was filled with conversations, and I had a lot of fun and learned a lot from it. So I want to be able to do more things like that. Furthermore, I belong to Horipro so I’m always shown a lot of musicals, being able to combine your emotions with the song is really wonderful isn’t it? I feel like I’ll learn a lot from it, so I want to try it out too.

- Then finally, please give some advice to the people who are trying out for the “Next Generation Voice Actor ☆ Miracle Audition”

Tadokoro I was saved by my special skill when I was going through my audition, wouldn’t it be good to bring along something you’re good at with you to the audition? Is what I think. Also, I think that enjoying life normally is a good thing. For example, even if you are hosting a radio, it’ll be more fun to listen to if you talk about topics that you want and like to talk about. And even if you were to fail the audition, the stories of you having the chance to “take this audition” and telling them will be kind of interesting, won’t it? So, no matter what, I think you won’t lose anything from trying it out.

- I see. It is important to save the food you have to live, but at the same time taking this opportunity could end up producing the food you need, or something like that (This phrase is hard to translate to English and retain it’s original meaning, but it basically means that this audition could possibly become your job and provide you with a stable income, rather than not taking the audition and aiming to be a normal worker somewhere)

Tadokoro Well, I think it’s also fun to challenge and try a lot of different things. By going through the audition, I think you will be able to gain a lot of courage from it too. So ‘taking’ this audition can somewhat help you in your life whether you pass or not. Also, this is really important……this audition is of course, not a scam! (lol)

- Yes, that’s definitely important (lol)

Tadokoro This is a real, proper audition. So, if you happen to be interested, I think it wouldn’t hurt for you to apply!

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preciousmetals0 · 4 years

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Keep Calm and Work Hard: The Story of Binance’s CEO From A to CZ

Keep Calm and Work Hard: The Story of Binance’s CEO From A to CZ:

So, when the time came to make a choice for the winner of Cointelegraph’s first-ever Top 100 list, Changpeng Zhao’s selection was a unanimous decision among our editors.

[embedded content]

Keep everything simple and work hard

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

CZ also revealed with a smile that he was forced to be a public face, as other members of the team did not want to go public.

Keep calm and go all-in on Bitcoin

CZ quickly became enthusiastic about the technology: “I thought that community was really nice. I had a really high confidence in Bitcoin succeeding, in cryptocurrency succeeding.”

You seem such a calm person. Do you meditate, or were you born like this?

Keep coding and get an MBA

“I tell other people that now I have a memory of a goldfish, like I can’t remember anything longer than seven seconds.”

Keep being number one and go forward

“But we are still at the early stages. We want to see more exchanges, because right now, all over the world, if you can see more exchanges, we can see more people coming into crypto.”

If you could clone yourself, what would you like that clone to do?

“I would love the clone to do other work [laughing]. I’d make a lot of clones to do a lot of work. We can do like ten different interviews at the same time.”

Keep cool, we are living in a simulation

“I believe it’s 99,99999 % we’re living in a simulation. So mathematically it is basically 100 percent.”

Rapid fire questions for CZ

Sea or mountains?

I’d probably choose mountains, but I do like ocean sports as well.

Beer or wine?

Beer.

McDonald’s or Burger King?

Burger King, because at least some of them accept Bitcoin and Binance coin.

Black or yellow?

Black.

Snowboarding or work?

I really enjoy snowboarding, but you can’t snowboard all the time. You can do a couple of days a year, it’s good enough.

Simulation or reality?

Definitely, simulation. There is no reality.

Changpeng Zhao is ranked #1 in the first-ever Cointelegraph Top 100 in crypto and blockchain.

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mastcomm · 4 years

Text

The Hidden M.V.P. of the Super Bowl? J. Lo’s Choreographer

Parris Goebel is no stranger to being on a global stage.

So she dove right in when given the assignment of a lifetime: choreographing for Jennifer Lopez, at the Super Bowl halftime show.

The job demanded ongoing collaboration with the N.F.L., the technical team behind the digital stages, the lighting crews, the camera crews and in this case, Shakira’s full teams of dancers, musicians and crew.

As soon as the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs left the field at the end of the second quarter, hundreds of crew members rushed to the 50-yard line to build the stage in minutes. Screaming fans, there to populate the stage’s fringes, filed out onto the field, joined shortly by dozens of dancers. Seconds after Lopez and Shakira finished their performance, the halftime show crews ran off the field as players returned.

In a show that lasted 13 minutes and was broadcast to hundreds of millions of people around the globe, there was no room for error.

But Goebel wasn’t intimidated by that. The 28-year-old choreographer masterminded the dance portions of Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” music video, one of the most viewed videos on YouTube, with 3.2 billion views. (For what it’s worth, Bieber isn’t even in the video.)

Routines performed by Goebel’s dance crews have repeatedly gone viral. In September, Goebel choreographed Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty show in Brooklyn, an event that was translated to a feature on Amazon Prime.

Drafting a routine to entertain 102 million viewers, with extreme technical precision? No problem. The performance drew glowing reviews for its mix of high-intensity moves and affirmations of Latin pride.

We caught up with Goebel a week after the Super Bowl, when she was in New York for Fashion Week, having recently signed with IMG Models.

This interview was condensed and edited for clarity.

Was this the first time you were working with Jennifer Lopez?

Jen gave me my first job in the industry when I was about 19 years old. She was the first global artist to book me. I was still living in New Zealand at the time. She really nurtured me as an artist.

When she asked me to do the Super Bowl, it felt full circle to come back and collaborate on this huge moment for her and her career. I really wanted to put together a great show, because if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be where I am today. There was a lot of emotional depth in this job for me.

How do you begin visualizing choreography for a performance of this magnitude?

It’s like building a house, it just doesn’t happen straight away. There are so many layers that you could keep building and building and building.

If I hear the music and have a blank canvas, I see what my body wants to do. It’s this combination of having those memories of moving to Jen’s music as a little girl to now as a woman.

You’re trying to predict how people at home are going to feel about it, but you’re in a big empty room. So you try and anticipate people screaming at the TV. That’s why I like surrounding myself with dancers. I watch them and see what they react to, that’s always a good indication.

How did you select the group of dancers?

It was a collaborative process. I basically sent Jen my dream team. She was really passionate about having a lot of Latinos in it, so we kept looking so that she had her people and her team representing. That was really important to her. But she really trusts me, so anyone I put forward she’s cool with.

What was preparing for the halftime show like? When did your work really begin?

We started about three months before the Super Bowl. It was a lot of workshopping.

We began in New York with a really small team. We got to the meat of the show when we started training in Miami. By then we had about 20 guys and 20 girls, and we’d do six days on, then a day off, nine-hour days.

About a month out, we had a really good idea of what we wanted to do, but every day, things were changing. There were a lot of moving parts.

The halftime stage is put together in five minutes. The show lasts for around 13 minutes, with Shakira and J. Lo getting around 6 minutes each. There are endless moving parts, and it’s lightning-fast. How did you train for that kind of performance?

We had all the dimensions tapped down at rehearsal. The last week before the Super Bowl, we rehearsed in “the bubble,” the space where the actual stage was built out with the stairs and everything. Having 80 dancers coming on and off that stage in six minutes is it’s own thing, so we had to really train with that and make sure we weren’t hitting each other.

On Instagram, you posted a video of rehearsal, where you created a dance break to a “Mi Gente” remix with “Love Don’t Cost a Thing.” How did that come together?

Jen kept texting me: “We’ve got to have a dance break.” We just kept playing with different songs, but it wasn’t quite working. She wasn’t in town one day and I was like, “Girls, we’re going to do a dance break, we’re going to make something up and I’m going to show her.”

When she came in the next day, we showed her and she could not contain her excitement. She stood up and was hugging me and saying, “That’s amazing!” And even though we had to cut down on some things, the one thing for sure was that we were going to have to keep that dance break in.

What may viewers at home not know about J. Lo’s performance?

I think probably how athletic it was — what she was doing was not easy. And I’m sure people know that, but I don’t know if they know know that. She could do the choreography straight away, but you have to build your stamina to make it look easy. She makes it look so effortless, it just shows you that she’s a true entertainer.

Every time our dancers would run it, it’s at one hundred percent. You’re performing, you’re pushing your body. They get sore, they had injuries, all of the things that athletes also experience.

When you watch the show, you watch her, but you also see how amazing the dancers are behind her. It was such a group effort. By the end of the two months we were all family, we were dancing for each other, and dancing for Jen, and when you have that connection, there’s a unity and a message.

from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/the-hidden-m-v-p-of-the-super-bowl-j-los-choreographer/

#Sport

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cryptswahili · 5 years

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Entrepreneurship as an Asset Class

Wanna get rich? Just become an entrepreneur!

Want the freedom to do whatever you want? Easy! Just become an entrepreneur!

Entrepreneurship is commonly depicted as the bastion of easy success, but the simple reality is that entrepreneurs consistently face a long, painful journey.

Thought leaders might try to condense entrepreneurship to a simple definition or soundbyte. My favorite from Elon Musk. In an interview TechCrunch, he said that being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death.” Doesn’t he make it sound so… cool? It’s no wonder so many people have thrown their hats into the entrepreneurship ring, chasing the lifestyle they see in happy-go-lucky media coverage glosses over the many negatives.

It’s too bad the media doesn’t transmit a different message: entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. That may sound judgmental and negative, but it’s just like saying that not everyone should be a doctor.

Entrepreneur or not, you still have access to the value created by entrepreneurship. For many years, the one true solution was the stock market. But and like many other industry professionals monitoring the markets, we’ve come to believe the modern IPO ecosystem is broken and is due for an overhaul. Here’s why:

The problem with stocks

Investing in a stock on the day of its IPO can feel like getting in on the ground floor. For the average investor, they’re actually getting in on the 90th floor.

By the time a company reaches IPO stage, it’s gone through a series of funding rounds that sees new investors take home pieces of ownership. Even though people own less of the company, the company is worth more overall.

This cycle continues for years, and by the time the IPO takes place, much of that ground floor value has been sucked up by existing investors. The general public is actually purchasing the shares from previous investors, who generate a massive gain for themselves as they leave the new investors to ride the public company roller coaster.

Of course people can actually generate a return by investing in IPOs. But think about the investors who got in during the earliest stages, when a company was worth almost nothing. Consider Benchmark capital’s investment in Uber. They invested $12 million back 2011. It grew 538 percent, and that investment today is worth an estimated $7 billion.

Unless you’re member of the financial elite with access to this category types of investment (and you have a strong appetite for risk), you’d never get the chance to invest at that level. What’s more,most of these companies aren’t actually generating profit. Their valuations are based on hype. This gets at the difference between startups and businesses.

Businesses versus startups

Let’s use the word “startup” to refer to any Silicon Valley-style company. Startups operate on a model where the short-term objective isn’t profit, but to gain traction, build hype, and raise money.

Investing in startups is tough because a majority of them fail, CB Insights uncovered in a November 2018 report that approximately 70 percent of emergent tech companies fail even if they raise money. If the people who do this for a living have a low rate of success ratio, how the hell are we supposed to do any better?

But entrepreneurship isn’t just about startups. An entrepreneur owns your local pizza shop, for example. Same as the local storage business or marketing agency. These companies don’t move forward on on hype, they survive based on their actual profits.

When the Jobs Act went into effect in 2012, these businesses couldn’t raise money from the general public at all. That’s changed today — while there are still regulations in place, the average business has sufficient regulatory infrastructure to raise capital from the public and give investors the opportunity to invest in an entire new asset class that was never previously available: entrepreneurship.

Security token offerings enable entrepreneurship as an asset class

A security token offering is a blockchain-powered fundraising and investing mechanism that’s gained popularity over the past six months. Don’t worry, you don’t need to understand how it works to understand what it can do for you. Most of us can’t explain how the internet works, but we’re still able to use it. So rather than dive into a heady conversation on how blockchain technology works, let’s just talk about what it can actually do for you as an investor.

Blockchain technology makes it possible to “securitize” practically anything. You can take a physical asset, like real estate or ownership in a local business, and turn it into a digital security that can be bought and sold by anyone, anywhere.

This type of investing used to require lots of paper-pushing and a generally high barrier to entry, but blockchain takes this process digital. There’s no need for middlemen to complete these transactions, and it’s easier than it’s ever been to conduct this kind of investing.

Our vision for the future

As security token offerings grow in popularity, we believe their true power will come from reconceptualizing entrepreneurship as an asset class.

For the first time ever, profitable local businesses have the same opportunity to raise capital that was formerly only available to a select handful of companies.

Instead of investing in a company on IPO day at the 90th floor, after all the value has been sucked out by previous investors, the average investor can now invest in businesses (not startups) that generate true cash flow, have real assets, and demonstrate value on financials instead of hype.

We believe everyone in the world should have access to the value of entrepreneurship whether they run a business or not. That’s why we’re excited about security token offerings — they are the technology to make this a reality.

Entrepreneurship as an Asset Class was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

[Telegram Channel | Original Article ]

#cryptocurrency

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vfxserbia · 5 years

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Eric lives in Montreal, Canada where he works in the Entertainment Creation Products Division of Autodesk as a Senior Software Development Manager for Arnold, Bifröst and Maya where he’s been for more than 10 years. Before joining Autodesk, he completed a post-doctoral fellowship with Pierre Poulin at the University of Montreal in the LIGUM graphics lab. Eric obtained his PhD in Computer Science from McGill University where he specialized in computer graphics at the Centre for Intelligent Machines under the supervision of Gregory Dudek. He has also completed a Master of Science (computer science) at McGill and a Bachelor of music at McGill where he majored in jazz performance (saxophone) and computer science.

Great to see you back again Eric! Does this mean you had a great time at CGA conference last year?

Definitely! Last year was my first time in Belgrade, but I was spoiled since one of my close colleagues at Autodesk is from here (Nikola Milošević), and made sure that I got to see many of the special things Belgrade has to offer. It was clear from the outset that VFX Serbia and CGA Belgrade take this event very seriously and the organization and content are top-notch. It was great to hang out with everybody, make new friends, and catch up with others during the event. The presentations were great, and I had some good meetings with customers as well. The student participation is high, which is always encouraging to see at these kinds of events.

Developing the CG community must be very important to Autodesk as one of the main supporters of CGA conference from day one? How do you see your users worldwide?

Yes, at Autodesk we try to support the VFX community as much as we can. We sponsor many conferences as well as events worldwide and also host some of our own community events in various cities to try to keep the local communities thriving. We understand that people are using many products to accomplish their ultimate job of making art, and are happy to do our part to try to keep the ecosystem healthy.

Judging by your research publications, your interest in computer graphics has started, for most of our audience, in the early days. How do you see the 90s compared to almost now 20s in the CG industry and the software development?

Yeah, I guess I’m old! Hehe 🙂 I can still remember seeing some of the earlier renders with global illumination for the first time and how amazing they were! They were using all kinds of approximation techniques just to make the rendering tractable on the Silicon Graphics machines at the time. Fast forward, and we have things like deep-learning-based denoisers for Monte Carlo renders that are performing remarkably well for static images. This would have looked like science fiction back then!

Blade Runner 2049 by Framestore

One of the things I find really cool looking back is that Marcos Fajardo bet his future on pure Monte Carlo path tracing when it wasn’t the popular thing to do at the time. As CPUs got faster and started having higher thread counts, and recently as GPUs are starting to exist with dedicated path tracing hardware, pure path tracing is proving to be the most widely adopted approach to final frame rendering for Film & TV. It’s really impressive that Marcos committed to that idea early on, and didn’t stray from it while others kept adding different approximation features which made many of the renderers more complicated to use. Arnold’s ease of use and artist friendliness stems from that commitment early on to Monte Carlo path tracing. It’s also great to see that while rendering could be considered to be a mature research area now, there is still a lot of great research work going on in light transport, material representation, participating media, etc.

Thor: Ragnarok by Rising Sun Pictures

Programming and jazz music, how do they play together?

“The finest dozen computer scientists I know are all musicians” – Steve Jobs.

There’s really some truth to this 🙂 Most people I knew when I was studying music were immensely talented at mathematics and computer science, and most computer scientists that I’ve met along the way have shown a serious interest in music. I think jazz musicians are even more adept at dealing with abstract problems, and reacting to the system around them since that’s what they’re always doing when they’re playing. I guess jazz musicians would make great pipeline engineers 🙂 While software development can be seen as being methodical, there is definitely art in programming. And even more creativity in debugging! I’ve always enjoyed pair debugging with someone to observe how they tackle a problem, and what “tools” they’ve built up over their career. The same way it’s really fun to watch a shot and figure out all the details of how the plate was filmed, lit, and how the CG elements were added to it. Sometimes on interviews I show candidates short selected clips from movies and ask them to tell me what they’re seeing – it’s a great way to see how people think and communicate about what they’re seeing 🙂

Moving from a programmer to a lead and manager role, what is the difference for you? Do you still have fun?

Yeah, I guess I’ve just continued to scale through our organization, first moving from an individual contributor, then to the lead of a small team, then a bigger team, then a few teams, and now I have an organization of around 50 people in my group. It’s really a lot of fun – I have people on my team all over Europe, the US and Canada, and a lot of very interesting people who have deep specializations in rendering, simulation, pure mathematics, systems programming, etc. As I’ve moved up the ranks, I’ve also been able to visit a lot more of our customers all over the world which is really inspiring since it’s great to see all the great work people are doing. While I manage a large team now, I do still get to have fun and find the right places to have an impact. Sometimes it’s through architectural work, sometimes it’s just about social engineering; putting the right people together so that the sum is greater than the parts.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 by Framestore

Is your team all in one building or on multiple locations, how do you manage to support them on the distance, what are the tools to keep the whole team up-to-date?

I have larger teams in Montreal, Toronto, London, and Madrid, a few people scattered in Scandinavia, and then other individuals a little all over the place. We always try to use video for our meetings (currently using zoom for video conferencing which is great!) because that somehow bridges the divide, and lets you get all the non-verbal. We do try to bring people together at least once a year for bigger planning meetings and team building since it’s always easier to work with someone remotely after you’ve met them in person. We use a bunch of online tools like trello, mural, jira, etc., but I have yet to find something ideal for whiteboard sharing. I think that’s what I miss the most when doing a remote meeting with people vs a local one – I really like to use a whiteboard.

At the last year CGA conference, we had the honour to get the first-hand update on Arnold development from Frederic Servant, Arnold celebrity. What can we expect this year?

Arnold celebrity … hehe. Love it! Fred’s awesome – I’m sure he has something exciting up his sleeve. He’s a French rendering nerd with a British sense of humour, so his presentations are always fun.

What is the latest news in the Bifröst world of particles and liquids?

The work we’re doing on Bifröst is really exciting. Our adaptive data structures and new solvers that run on top of them are making for really impressive high-resolution volumetric simulations for a fraction of the memory (both during the solve and for the cached result). The same adaptivity applies to the other elements in the scene like colliders and emitters, so we’re able to get some great improvements in efficiency. Check out our SIGGRAPH paper presented by Michael Nielsen from this year for more details! The main thing we’re working on right now is making really nice artist tools for people to be able to do arbitrary procedural work using the Bifröst visual programming language. Keep checking The Area (http://area.autodesk.com) for the latest updates, or join the Bifröst beta for a sneak peek.

Leading the team on both Arnold and Bifröst, can you tell us about their relationship? Any juicy gossip? 🙂

Bifröst and Arnold are definitely in a relationship, and it’s not “complicated” 😉 Expect a baby Arnold Bifröst procedural sometime soon …

The latest trend in deep learning is to go into the computer graphics. Has this buzzword the same interest in your team too? Where do you see deep learning implementation in the rendering technology in the future?

I think there are a lot of interesting possibilities using deep learning for rendering. But at the same time, I think it’s important to understand that it’s not a panacea: the main drawback with AI today is that while it can do things that are very impressive based on good training data, it’s not possible to fine-tune the result. In our industry, that’s a pretty big problem since artists are always looking to tweak things, create variations, and to creatively go from one variation to another. AI-based denoising is a great example of how you can assist a look-dev artist by allowing them to iterate faster since they can render at lower sample counts, and therefore reduce their iterative render time while developing the look of the asset. It should also be possible to use AI in other ways as well to assist artists; for example to catch a mis-configured scene before spending time rendering it, or helping to light a scene from scratch based on a bunch of a priori scenes used for training. I think those areas are actually quite interesting and exciting. Another would be to use AI to help choose optimal paths for light integration in a Monte Carlo path tracer. But my hesitation will remain around general use of AI until we develop ways to fine-tune deep networks and to understand what’s in the black box to a point where you can push it artistically in a given direction. Otherwise, there will be too many stressful moments when the director asks for that last minute change 😉

You’ve been to Belgrade for the first CGA Belgrade conference; how was your experience? What are your thoughts on our local talents and Serbian CGA scene?

I had a great time at the first CGA Belgrade for many reasons. I liked the intimacy of the event; it really felt like you could talk to everybody, and the events surrounding the conference were a lot of fun. I still recall an impromptu dinner where we had Mikhail from Mainroad, Szabolcs from Digic, a few guys from the Foundry, and a few of us from Autodesk. We had a bunch of great food, good laughs, great stories, and some fun competitive banter 😉 I also got a chance to visit Nordeus, where Ivan Stojisavljević treated us like royalty. It was a great experience, and some local artists like Igor Žanić and Dušan Ković attended and gave us feedback on the direction our products are taking. There’s obviously some very strong talent in Belgrade if Igor’s FX work and Dušan’s look-dev work are any indication.

Oh, and please, let us know – are there any places that you would love to visit in Belgrade again this time? What’s your impression of the city? How would you describe the flavour of Belgrade? Anything to recommend to our new guests?

I got to do a lot of fun extra-curricular stuff last time, and hope to again this year! We got to see a basketball game between Serbia and Austria last year, accidentally met Novak Djoković and his wife, walked all around the ruins, ate too much great food, found the best bartender in Belgrade, maybe even in Europe in my opinion, had some great espresso at a few different discerning coffee shops … and I might have had a bit too much rakia 😉 If I can do half as much this year as I did last year, it will be a success for me! Now, to find that bartender, since I heard he left Bar Central …

Once again, November becomes the month of computer graphics, as CGA Belgrade hosts its two-day journey through the latest news, trends and developments in the VFX industry. We have worked especially hard this year to expand our main program, which we are proud to announce will feature two separate tracks! For big-picture thinking and groundbreaking ideas, make sure to look for the Know It All sign. For hands-on training and insider tips & tricks, don’t miss the Know How stage.

Eric Bourque, Autodesk (CGA2018) Eric lives in Montreal, Canada where he works in the Entertainment Creation Products Division of Autodesk…

#Autodesk #CGA #CGA Belgrade #CGA conference #interview

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realsamcalloway · 6 years

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Now is the Time for Men Survivors to Admit: It Happened to #MeToo

By Sam Calloway

October 2nd, 2018

I, like millions of others in the country, tuned in on Thursday September 27, 2018, to see who Christine Blasey-Ford is; what she looked and sounded like and to see if I thought she was credible. I was also curious to see what Brett Kavanaugh would say, following Ford’s remarks. I, like thousands of others across the country and world, wasn’t prepared for what Ford’s opening statement would do to me.

Listening to Ford speak in her opening statement was rough, as was the proceeding Q&A session, which lasted for hours. Like you, I watched and rode the rollercoaster with her; from her having to relive what little details she could remember and successfully articulate, to answering what her “strongest memory” is. It was at this moment, with the question posed to Ford by Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, that my own sexual assault memories came flooding back.

To be expected, by those who are at least somewhat educated with sexual assault and rape statistics, the Internet was set on fire with people’s own survival stories. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN, for short) help hotline received such a huge influx of calls that people were having to be put on hold. RAINN later announced that they had a 147% spike in calls during, and immediately following, the Ford hearing. In the midst of this slow-running and unending train ride that is the #MeToo movement, Ford’s testimony thrusted attention back on to survivors of sexual assault and reshuffled the deck to place victims and their stories at the forefront once more. However, this time is different.

What was on display at the Senate on Thursday, September 27th was shameful, to put it lightly. Using a victim of an alleged sexual assault as a political pawn, without supportive evidence, was a disgrace. Watching old-time, Republican men elect a much younger, female prosecutor to do their bidding, only to scream at their Democratic counterparts across the aisle once given the chance to speak (I’m talking to you, Lindsey Graham). Ford admitted that she was terrified but also that she felt it was her “civic duty” to come forward. With her story, brushed aside especially on the Republican side of the line, America witnessed a true patriot who was about to unwittingly become the face of so many peoples’ own pain and trauma; people who, like Ford, have worked to forget their own sexual assault horror stories.

People like me.

Eighteen years ago, I was sixteen years old and the year was 2000. I was a confused teenager—I thought maybe I was bisexual but was beginning to lean gay. I wasn’t out to neither one of my parents and only a few, select friends. At that time, we gays didn’t have smartphones or the apps that are available today, oh no; we had to work to find and make like-minded friends. Around that time, I will admit that I did have some sexual encounters, but never intercourse. I can be honest about that, unlike that sad display we all witnessed by Brett Kavanaugh, the man who claims to “REALLY LIKE beer” but then cringes when asked about sex or blacking out (or sex while blacked out), as if to say to the Senate without using words, how dare you. I am not ashamed to admit it, I was a hormonal teenage boy. However, I would not consider myself promiscuous at that stage of my life, by even a far stretch. (See how easy that was for me, and I’m not even on a job interview. I have nothing to lose, whereas Kavanaugh has a lot on the line and still tried to sell us his devotion to his university studies and his faith, working out and abstinence.)

I eventually met an older guy named Vincent. We spent many days and nights, exchanging emails back and forth. He eventually talked me in to coming over to check out his place. I was scared at first but that quickly went away the first time I got into his car and we headed to his place; he was smiley, very attentive and responsive to my habit of talking too much. He had this weird comfort about him. Keep in mind that I wasn’t officially out, so it was nice to be able to talk freely about things I enjoyed; female musicians like Madonna and Mariah Carey or female-fronted bands like No Doubt… you know, that kind of stuff. Stuff that would have had me automatically labeled “Gay” and laughed at by the boys at my school because it seemed soft or girly and not macho enough. Vincent was my first openly gay, adult friend.

The first time I was over, we did get on the subject of sex at one point. I explained to him, when he had asked if I’ve ever had intercourse, that I had not and that I felt it was special and should be saved for that special someone. I, with rose tinted glasses, explained my fantasy of how great it will be once it is experienced with my first, true love. He said to me that that “was great,” and that it “should be sacred” and should happen “when it feels right.” I appreciated that, and it only made me more vulnerable to him. Not only did I like how cool and hip he was, but I enjoyed the conversation, talking about guys and now, my being open with him about my ideals and how I viewed intercourse as sacred. I hadn’t shared that with anyone up to that point.

What didn’t cross my mind at that time was that I was ripe-for-the-picking, naïve, fresh fruit hanging upon a tree of whimsical innocence. I didn’t even think about how I was fresh meat that had entered the lion’s den… that I was prey, being circled and about to be devoured by a shark. When you’re a teenager who is somewhat socially awkward and out-of-touch, your mind just doesn’t go there. I was more focused on being this open book to him and having him actually listen to me and I anticipated his response and his knowledge. I liked that he was 47, older and out with his sexuality. I enjoyed talking about his life experiences over our spaghetti dinner. I liked when he told me about his time in Italy and when he said lines to me in Italian (he was Italian). I just thought he was cool, and he felt like a safe place. He was also very attractive for his age. I went back over to his apartment a handful of times. In between those visits, we spent a good amount of time chatting and really building a friendship and trust.

I didn’t know then that this was all a part of his plan.

I was his underage, dirty little secret whom he was conditioning to become an easy kill. He was essentially building me up to let me down. The second-to-the-last time I was over at his apartment was when he raped me.

I remember being tired during this visit and if I remember correctly, it was kind of a late visit, about 9:00pm, give or take. I remember that he had a gigantic TV in his living room, with a surround sound system. He had put on a DVD of Madonna’s music videos for me, I laid on the couch and he said he was going to take a shower. Not too long after, he came back out and sat in a chair with only a robe on. I remember he had an erection at one point, and I remember thinking that tonight was going to be the night we fooled around. I remember being excited. We went to bed eventually, shutting down Madonna and heading into his room. I remember once the living room was shut down and before we began walking to the bedroom that it was dark. It was also dark in his bedroom… no mood lighting, just the moonlight, peering through the bedroom window from outside. Looking back at these little details now, if I weren’t so naïve then I would have taken it as a sign, a red flag.

I was laying on my stomach at one point in the middle of the night when I was awakened to him on top of me. I felt him slide his hand down the back of my boxer shorts and I asked him what he was doing. He didn’t say anything. I asked him to stop and to please get off of me. He said it was “too late now.” I then felt him trying to enter me. It was an excruciating, stretching, stinging pain. He eventually got all the way inside of me. It hurt really bad (I’ll spare the details but remember that he was Italian). I remember my mouth being wide open. I remember crying and salivating, but I also remember that I was omitting no noise, like a silent shout of muted cries. It didn’t last long, but it felt like forever.

I remember being numb while I was entered without invite and looking up at the window above the bed and seeing the moonlight that creeped a line of space inbetween the blinds and onto the pillow. I remember smelling his heavy breath on my neck, coming from behind. I remember his groans and his piercing, painful thrusts.

Once it was over, he said “go take a shower.” It was a command and not his typical, seemingly compassionate demeanor that I was used to. In just one moment immediately after being violated, I was downgraded to a meaningless fuck puppet.

I remember crying in the shower and biting the meat of the palm of my right hand to try and muffle myself. I remember watching blood trickle down my right inner thigh and down the drain. I remember feeling like I couldn’t get clean. When I was done showering and dried off, I eventually manned up, opened the bathroom door back to the bedroom, and crawled into bed.

That night and the next day I don’t remember either of us saying anything. Once I was home, I showered again.

And then again. I could not be clean.

I didn’t tell anyone and for a lot of reasons.

First, I wasn’t out so how could I possibly tell people I was raped by a man… let alone a 47-year-old man. Second, I felt guilty-- It was my fault it happened because it was my fault for hanging out with him to begin with. Also, I went to bed and had messed around with him, which might have sent the wrong signal so dammit, I got what I deserved.

Two weeks after the rape, I took a bus to his apartment. I don’t know what I thought I was going to do, I guess confront him and tell him how I felt? To my shock, he didn’t live there anymore. The apartment was empty. He had moved. It hit me right then that he was probably a serial rapist and that there were likely other victims. But I was paralyzed in my own guilt and I couldn’t tell anyone because it was my fault. I rationalized that it’d be too big of a burden for anyone to take on… for my mom and dad. Not only was I gay, but I was raped by a man who is older than my parents.

I dealt with this secret, took on this burden and this blame for two years, but not before I began doing coke, ecstasy, acid and abusing over-the-counter medications.

Not before I began drinking hard alcohol.

Not before I began huffing aerosols.

Not before I became promiscuous.

Not before multiple suicide attempts.

During my teenage and early adult years, I didn’t care. I liked that every day was a game of Russian roulette because I had no self-worth and didn’t care if I lived to see another day or not.

For the rest of my life, from age 16 and forward, I’ve dealt with intimacy and trust issues.

That is my story of rape and, unfortunately, Christine Blasey-Ford’s story is my story.

There are similarities in that my rape was years ago (18 years), where Ford’s alleged assault was 36 year ago. I don’t have any evidence, other than my word, however, like Ford, I would have corroborating witnesses who could attest for my telling them about my rape two years later when I was eighteen.

Because there is no evidence, it doesn’t invalidate my experience.

To the people who have said that Ford isn’t credible because she waited for 36 years; Saying she “waited” is not a luxury that she was afforded, trust me. She has spent 36 years, based on her testimony last Thursday, trying to forget about her assault by burying it. And when she wasn’t attempting to bury it, she was trying to work through it by sharing her experience with her husband, her psychiatrist and a few close friends.

I wish that we, as sexual assault and rape survivors, do just wait.

What Ford did, coming before the Senate and some 20-million viewers worldwide (and those were early viewership estimates), took real courage.

Simply just sitting around “waiting” to use something so vile and soul-crushing would be a gift.

What we sexual assault survivors really do is hope. We hope that if we don’t give the traumatic experience anymore life, it’ll just go away and suddenly cease to exist. We hope that we will get better and not continue to let our triggers completely paralyze us and/or sabotage us. We hope that our assailants don’t do what they did to us, to others. We hope we can curate real, meaningful connections, both intellectually and physically, with our partners. We hope we can get out of bed and make it through each new day.

While in the grand scheme of things I’m not exposing a potential Justice, who is applying to serve a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court of the United States, and I’d proudly describe myself to you as a nobody, I refuse to make myself fully believe that. I’ve done that for eighteen years. Sexual assault survivors aren’t nobodies, and that kind of self-deprecating language is only a small part of the many reasons why we don’t report or come forward in the first place. It is a toxic, useless thought that falls under the broad, unfortunate umbrella of what life is like, being a survivor. Considering ourselves’ unimportant and as nobodies comes from a place of self-hatred and worthlessness… a sort of safe place we’ve all been comfortable in for far too long.

We aren’t nobodies and all of our stories matter, regardless of how people will try and water them down or brush them aside as unimportant or small. Or in Ford’s case, where her story is being exploited as politically motivated. Those are all subconscious excuses that become realized by people who are either in denial or have no idea what it’s like to be sexually victimized and violated.

There is never an inappropriate time to come forward with your story. 18 years or 36 years later, there’s never been a better time to transition from a victim to a survivor.

My story matters and so does yours.

To say we “wait” when what we’re really doing is seeking and holding onto hope, is an insult.

I encourage you to share this article on your social media, however, if you’d like to republish or post it on your blog/magazine, send me an email so we can discuss.

If you like my writing and would like to support me, consider donating (I am working on a book!) please click here (Paypal).

Stay in Touch w/ Sam

Contact Me Directly : Click Here (Email)

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#metoo #lgbtq #lgbt #mensurvivors #womensurvivors #believesurvivors #sexualassault #sexualabuse #rape #mystory #sam calloway #christine blasey-ford #brett kavanaugh #scotus

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thetapelessworld · 6 years

Text

Interview with Jesús Ginard from Wavesfactory

Here’s an Interview We Did with Jesús Ginard from Wavesfactory

Wavesfactory is and Audio Plugins and Software Instruments Company Based In Spain. Wavesfactory was Started in 2010. With the goal to deliver high-quality audio tools for musicians and engineers. A mindset on improving on every product release in terms of audio quality, ease of use and powerful but simple features.

- What got you interested in music?

I grew up in a family full of musicians. My two grandfathers played in the same band when they were young, both my father and my brother are superb drummers and my uncle is a band director. It's no surprise that I got interested in music from an early age. I've been studying classical music since I was 6 years old and followed studying modern music, guitar, piano and drums.

- Do you remember the first piece of music that moved you? And how has that influenced you?

I remember precisely the moment where a song really moved me for the first time. I was like 9 years old and I was listening to the song "Everything's Alright" from Jesus Christ Superstar's soundtrack. There's a crescendo when Jesus ends his part that gave me goosebumps all over my body. I was like "What the hell did just happened?" and my father that was next to me told me "this is because you like music so much".

- What are some of your favourite musicians, composers or sound Designers. and how Does that influence Wavesfactory?

I really like musicians who do all on their own because I feel sympathetic to them as I do everything in Wavesfactory.

People like Gotye who made a whole album on his parent's barn.

There're two spanish musicians that I also like very much: Guille Milkyway and Damien Lott. Both make stunning records in solitaire. They compose, produce, play, record and mix their own songs. That's definitely inspiring for me.

- What made you decide to start making sample libraries?

"Find something you'd pay to do and make that your job". That's what my father said to me at the time I ended my studies. I love computers, I love music, I love recording. If you do the math the outcome is Wavesfactory.

- I've been a fan since you started making cool inexpensive Kontakt Instruments. Wavesfactory has come a long way. Wavesfactory has great libraries and plug-ins.

Thank you! When I started in 2010 sample libraries were just too expensive for me, there wasn't libraries priced at less than €50. I decided to start offering sample libraries at a lower price point.

Since I was just learning I think it was just fine at the beginning, but over the years I learnt a lot and the libraries were still priced at €9.95. So in mid 2016 I decided to make the switch to a higher price point because I think that the instruments really deserved it.

- I would say everything Wavesfactory releases has character. What do you think sets Wavesfactory apart from others and makes you unique?

I think that what makes Wavesfactory different from the rest is that Wavesfactory is just one person and it's inevitable to print my personality in everything I do.

If we were a team of 30 people surely there will be a "company image" because every company has it, but it won't be that personal.

- Where did the Idea to Make Mercury Piano come from? It's a great piano library.

Thanks! I've been a Queen fan since I was 12, it's the only band that I listened in my childhood. I was following Metropolis Studios on Facebook and I saw a picture of the Studio A with their Fazioli with the title "Freddie's piano".

I know Queen recorded Innuendo and Made In Heaven in that studio, the 2 final records, so I asked "is this Freddie's piano or you just call it that way?". They said that it's actually Freddie's piano so we started arranging the sampling session.

- What are some of Mercury Piano's special Features?

Mercury is a very special instrument for me because I wanted to make it perfect in every way. I didn't want to make something that was just "ok", so I wrote down a list of my personal favourite piano libraries like Orange Tree Samples Rosewood Grand, Native Instrument's Alicia's Keys, Cinesample's Piano in Blue and also some others suggested by customers. "I won't release Mercury until it is at least as good as these libraries". It was a big challenge as you can imagine!

It took me a year to make the script, always comparing Mercury's current state with the big piano libraries. One day I came up with a new way of dealing with release samples that was much more realistic than the previous one (the one that everybody uses). When compared with the big boys Mercury sounded superb and alive. Going back to the other libraries was disappointing, I wanted to keep playing Mercury all the time. That was the time I said "OK, this is perfect!".

- Two of my favourite Wavesfactory Libraries are Drum Circle and Newmello I and II. Making Drum Circle must have been fun and challenging. Can you tell us about recording the library? And what are some of the most important features?

Drum Circle is a very special library since it was the first one that involved a large number of people and a big studio.

It's also the first library that featured Kontakt Scripting since that was the time I first started coding. For the first time I was able to implement the features I wanted like articulation remapping and built-in effects.

Perhaps the best feature on the library is being able to select any number of drummers playing at the same time.

Looking at it in perspective it feels to me like I took a big step forward.

- You guys were known for Kontakt libraries, where did the idea of making plug-ins come from? Track Spacer is definitely a one of a kind plugins. What did the idea come from?

I was recording original music for a tv documentary and in the mixing process I just thought I needed a plug-in like Trackspacer that will make the job much easier. I googled it, searched on forums for some time and I didn't find anything so I thought "I'm going to do it on my own!". At the time I didn't had the knowledge to code plug-ins so I got in contact with Xavier Oudin and together came up with Trackspacer.

- Can you explain what it does?

Trackspacer is a unique plug-in, no other plug-in can do what Trackspacer does even 6 years after its release.

It analyses the frequency spectrum of the side-chain signal, then it uses and internal 32-band EQ in order to reduce that frequencies in real-time.

It's similar to side-chain compression (or even multi-band compression), the difference is that a compressor will just analyse the envelope of the side-chain as a whole and will reduce the volume also as a whole. A multi-band side-chain compressor will analyse the envelope of the side-chain as a whole and will reduce the volume on multiple bands independently with different compressor settings. Trackspacer will analyse the side-chain in 32 chunks and will reduce each chunk separately. It's like having a 32-band EQ that reacts automatically inverting the spectrum of the side-chain.

Imagine you have a kick drum and a bass that are in conflict with each other. You will insert Trackspacer to the bass channel and have it listen to the kick (side-chain). Every time the kick hits Trackspacer will analyse the frequency content and will reduce it to the bass. That way the kick will always get on top of the bass when needed, but the bass will still retain all the frequencies when needed too.

- You have just released your second plug-in Spectre. So it’s an eq/saturation and enhancer all in one. Can you tell us about Spectre? Where did idea come from? Can you explain and tell us what it does.

Spectre is a sound-shaping tool that combines the best features of an enhancer coupled with a graphical parametric equaliser.

It processes the difference between the input signal and the EQ signal, introducing harmonic content to just the part of the spectrum that you want from a variety of saturation algorithms based on classic recording hardware.

I have loved enhancers since I tried the original Aphex Aural Exciter, then BBE Sonic Maximizer and on. I always thought of a plug-in like those in which I could set the type of saturation applied and exactly where and how-much. That's possible with a graphical EQ.

You can use Spectre as if it was a classic boosting EQ with different sonic colours and a very special sound.

- I love the idea of being able to saturate the signal as I want. I think you’ve got a hit plug-in on your hands with this one.

Thank you! It has been very well received by the audio community and I'll keep releasing updates with new requested features.

- What applications do you see people using Spectre for tracking instruments, mixing and mastering? Please give some examples of what you think we should use it for.

Spectre is great on mixes, sub-mixes and mastering too.

I use it to make a fuller bottom-end on kick drum and bass by boosting on the 60 hertz range just a little bit using the Tape color with aggressive setting.

It's also very useful for getting sparkle on the top end by boosting the high-shelf on the Tube setting.

Try boosting the high-shelf in 'Side' processing mode and you'll get a stereo spread that's more natural and pleasing than regular stereo wideners.

- What are some sample instruments (non Wavesfactory) that you like or wish you made?

That's a very good question. I would probably say the Toontrack product line.

- Who are some of your favourite Kontakt developers? (non Wavesfactory)

I have special admiration for small developers that do all on their own like AudioThing, Orange Tree Samples and Fluffy Audio.

I also like Native Instruments, Spitfire Audio and Cinesamples.

- What are some of your favourite plugins (non Wavesfactory)?

I use Xfer’s Serum all the time for all types of synths, I think it’s a masterpiece. I recently discovered OP-X by 'sonicprojects' and I absolutely love it. I don't know what it has but it triggers the nostalgia bit on me on every patch.

- Who are some of your favourite Plug-in developers? (non Wavesafactory)

If I had to choose only one I'd stick with U-he. I love their philosophy and style.

- Which Wavesfactory product are you most proud of?

Tough question again! When creating something there's always a feeling of "I could have done that bit better". I don't have that feeling at all with Sharine. Sharine sounds great, I love the interface (which took me a long time to do!) and it fixes a common problem with shakers and tambourines that wasn't even tried to be solved before. I'm referring to the problem that these percussion instruments have an amount of pre-roll or pre-shift before the main transient and you have to manually shift the midi notes in order for the transient to be placed on beat. Sharine advances the midi notes for you depending on the sample that it's going to be played.

- What’s your favourite hardware or software gear to process samples?

The only process that I do to the samples is de-noising and I think iZotope RX is the best on the market right now being able to de-noise in bulk.

I don't process samples with EQ or compression not even at the recording stage, I like to provide samples as raw as posible and then provide effects in the library.

- What are some dessert-island things you use?

I recently discovered 'Talkbox' by 'mda' and I'm using it all the time for vocals, maybe just a touch of it on a saw-tooth synth following the main chords and the vocal gets fuller instantly. It's also a good way of getting that doubler effect.

I couldn’t live without Celemony’s Melodyne and Voxengo SPAN. I recently got a copy of Soundtheory’s Gullfoss and I think I’m going to love it…

- What direction do you see Wavesfactory taking?

I would like to continue delivering unique plug-ins and Kontakt instruments as long as I can since it's what I love to do.

- Are you working on something that you would like to tells us about?

I'm working on new plug-ins, new Kontakt instruments and also new versions of old libraries like The Tack.

I have a few ideas for audio plug-in effects that have never been done before (like Trackspacer) and I don't know if they are useful or not until they are released, so I hope you like them! I’m sorry I can’t explain more on future projects…

- Anything else you would like to share?

Thank you for the interview and good luck with The Tapeless World!

Also Be sure to check out there Plugins and Sample Libraries

https://www.wavesfactory.com/

I Highley Recommend Trackspacer. https://www.wavesfactory.com/trackspacer/

youtube

Trackspacer is an award-nominated plug-in that creates space in a mix by carving the frequencies that the main track needs into another track in real-time.

Trackspacer is no ordinary plug-in, it is similar to a sidechain compressor plug-in but much more powerful, transparent and precise.

TapeOp said: “TrackSpacer is a ridiculously affordable, easy way to get various elements of your mix to interact in useful and musical ways… Final words: buy it! It works!”

https://www.wavesfactory.com/trackspacer/

Also Be sure to check Out

MERCURY PIANO - THE ICONIC FAZIOLI GRAND PIANO USED ON LEGENDARY HITS

Mercury piano is a grand piano instrument for Kontakt Player featuring a Fazioli F-228 recorded at Metropolis Studios in London.Mercury piano was one year in the making, taking care of the smallest details in order to make it perfect.The combination of the unique tone of this piano, exquisite recording and leading coding leads many to consider this as one of the best piano instruments on the market.

youtube

https://www.wavesfactory.com/mercury-piano/

Spectre is a sound-shaping tool that combines the best features of an enhancer coupled with a graphical parametric equaliser.Spectre processes the difference between the input signal and the EQ signal, introducing harmonic content to just the part of the spectrum that you want from a variety of saturation algorithms based on classic recording hardware.Spectre can be used on individual tracks, sub-mixes, the entire mix and is ideal for mastering.

youtube

https://www.wavesfactory.com/spectre/

#news #wavesfactory #interview #plugins #samplelibaries #sounddesign #sounddesigner #musiccomposer #mixing #musicproducer #kontakt

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bchainxplained · 6 years

Link

Lachlan McDonald, MOVA Co-founder & CEO

Coin Central’s Steven Buchko recently spent an afternoon (or morning for Lachlan) speaking with MOVA co-founder and CEO Lachlan McDonald. Living in Australia, Lachlan has a rich history in supply chains working with companies such as BHP Billiton and Loch & Co.

Now, Lachlan and his MOVA team want to connect disjointed supply chain entities and bring accountability to the space in the best way they know how – through blockchain. In this interview, we dive into the motivations behind this new blockchain company and how logistics systems can benefit from the decentralized technology.

The Interview

SB: How did you first get involved with blockchain technology and cryptocurrency?

LM: Funny story, actually – they are two parts to it. First, I’ve been hearing about blockchain for quite a while. In my regular job, I work in contracts and procurement for firms like Boston Consulting and BHP Billiton. What I do for them is transform supply chains.

I heard a lot about blockchain, but I hadn’t seen any practical, real-world technology that’s working at the moment. The big guys that are using it are all optimizing for themselves. There’s Maersk, but they’re optimizing it for Maersk, not for global supply chains in general.

I had this in the back of my head when I took my kids to Disneyland a couple months ago. My cousins in America were really into crypto, so I’d heard of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. They were really into all the new, cool stuff coming out with the technology, and they wanted to run it past me to get my take on what things they should invest in.

After repeated attempts to get me to check it out, I sat down and took a look at where the markets were at. I wanted to see if the technology was operational. Did they have real-world clients and if so, who were those clients? Are they big Fortune 500 companies or are they a small trucking company out of Minnesota. Nothing against the trucking company out of Minnesota, of course.

There seemed to be a real absence of practical engineering solutions to real-world problems. There was this very well marketed, exciting technology that could potentially revolutionize a whole range of different areas – financing, person-to-person value transactions, business-to-person value transactions, and intermediary removal. A lot of that was really exciting.

But, having been on the business end of trying to make technical change happen for companies worth 30 or 40 billion dollars, I know it’s really hard. When you have to rely on people and behavioral change, that’s where stuff breaks down. The tech can be cool, but unless it works in a real-world environment, it’s pretty challenging.

So, I turned to my cousin and said, “I think we could do this better.” I knew that the distributed ledger of blockchain would give me the ability to operate smart contracts. As long as you’ve got the engineering problem nailed, you could deploy this stuff out and start generating real-world products for customers. That’s where my practical experience comes in.

This company [MOVA] was born in trying to mesh those two worlds together. The problems that I’ve seen in the global supply chain throughout my career and a practical use of the technology in trying to get it into real-world customers’ hands now.

I completely agree with you. You need to have that focus on real-world use cases to get actual adoption, especially in supply chains. How is MOVA accomplishing this?

At its core, MOVA is an application that makes moving things easier. Moving things is hard, currently.

Enterprise companies have large, complex supply chains and move millions of items a year. If anything is late, the downtime is usually measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars an hour.

What we do is really quite simple. We utilize smart contract technology to link supply chain parties up and get them to agree to clear terms because often, that’s where it all goes bonkers. For example, the director of authority should be here on Thursday, but it was actually Wednesday and somewhere in the middle, it all broke down. So, they agree to clear terms, and those terms are executed autonomously on the blockchain.

The great thing about leveraging smart contracts is that it gives us real-world performance tools. If the item left late and the performance of the truck driver is below par, you pay less. When forming the contract, you can select a range of penalties in case they’re late.

We’ve managed to get the Ethereum blockchain smart contract platform to integrate with real-time, real-world GPS technology from a range of platforms. It gives you visibility into where your fleet is at any moment. It also gives you performance history, so you can look back and gather logs.

Another example: those ten loads that were late last month wasn’t actually a truck driver’s fault, it was my warehouse. You can see that the queue times at the warehouse are terrible.

MOVA is threefold. It gives you clarity for the delivery terms, automates the execution of those delivery terms, and gives you real performance tools.

Additionally, sales for transportation companies are currently paid out in 60 to 90-day terms. This leads to significant cash flow problems that can cause a company to go bankrupt. Because these companies have to factor in the risk of receivables when setting rates, their base rates rise to above normal market price. With MOVA, their payment terms will go from 60 to 90 days to essentially instant.

This will have a reduction in costs for both the customer and the client because it’s stripping out all those risk premiums everyone’s putting in. The client is putting risk premiums in because they need everything there tomorrow. They usually have very poor delivery schedules and their systems don’t interface well with the transportation company’s systems.

Can you tell me some examples of who would most benefit from MOVA?

Last year, I worked with one of the world’s largest manufacturer of mining and construction equipment. They have millions of deliveries, but over 82% of those deliveries were express freighted when less than 5% of them should have been. Every time you express freight something, on average, it’s 25% more costly.

There are two ways to accept that. First, people can put their transactions end to end on the blockchain. This can be a little tricky with people swapping payment terms over. They’d get our automated tools.

The second part is they can just have the reporting and real-time dashboard functions. This gives them a monthly report on everything that was late (or early) and why it was late (or early). If I had that in my past life, that would have been an exceptionally powerful tool.

My vision for this, though, is that as you connect those supply chains, you break down the barriers between vendors and customers.

We want to provide an online, e-auction platform that has real-time requirements and performance data on it. You’ll be able to see the rating of the people that you’re inquiring. You’re not going to have large tendering costs and large contract management expediting costs because you’ve got real-time performance tools, and you can see their transaction performance history which is much more powerful than doing some kind of tender.

If you need an urgent delivery, you can essentially auction it. You can bid it off to anyone in that area that’s capable of completing that for you. Currently, there may be 15 suppliers that can do that in your region, but you don’t know their numbers.

Connecting these parties through the auction lowers the total cost per kilo for all of the people that have something on that truck. It also makes the truck cheaper for the transport company to run as well as well as lowers the effect on the environment.

I love the tie-in with GPS systems. Do you have any plans to tie in with other types of IoT (Internet of Things) devices to help ensure quality as well?

That’s an excellent point. Yes, IoT is going to be incredibly beneficial for us down the track as it continues to develop. It’s not just going to be a quality angle for us, though. If we have more accurate real-time telemetric data from a greater range of data points, it’ll allow a more accurate representation of what the requirements or the capacity is at any time in that marketplace.

We’re essentially trying to take every square foot on every truck and every career van and every ship potentially in the world and create a new market. We want to democratize that and allow a free market to utilize that space more effectively.

Currently, you can see where a truck’s going, how fast it’s going, etc. But, if you’re able to have a greater understanding of where the boxes are related to each other on a truck, you can then start stacking them in a more efficient order as well. You’ll then be able to send orders through to any freight forwarding companies or any customers that would have used intermediaries in the past.

Those IoT connected devices should now be able to replace that intermediary by triggering redactions themselves. It can tell you that the truck with the package is coming down the road and when it will arrive. That then triggers a cascade of events – not just with the vendor that you’ve got that one particular package with but with the multiple vendors and the multiple customers that are plugged into that same supply branch.

What pieces of skepticism, if any, have you heard of when reaching out to potential clients?

Actually, that’s been one of the most exciting parts of this project and why I have split it into a powerful, essentially free-to-utilize tool. We charge a small transaction fee for the transactions that come through, but the tool is free to download.

I’ve spoken with two of the three largest mining companies in the world. I’ve also spoken with the largest transport insurance company in the Asia Pacific region. They’ve all requested trials, and we are currently doing a real-world trial with our smart contract at Hastings D&E, one of the world’s largest Caterpillar dealers and one of the largest companies in Australia.

Our smart contract is operational, and we’ve worked with them to refine the user interface, workflow process, and also the management reporting process.

We’ve been conducting trials with them since January and they’re going very well. It shows that we’re showing some kind of real-world impact.

That’s our philosophy. It’s got to work for the guy that’s in a warehouse at 3 am, and he’s totally buggered.

The tool’s got to be simple, effective, and he has to go, “This is going to make my job easier. It’s going to make my life easier.”

When the customer of a transport companies sees the product and says, “Wow, I can actually have real-time performance tools to incentivize the right behaviors. I want this package delivered in full, on time, and not broken, and I can see how that has occurred.” That’s incredibly valuable.

What factored into your decision to build on top of Ethereum over other platforms or even building your own blockchain?

Excellent point. While I was in LA, I was reading whitepapers and also going through source code. Ethereum, to me, looked like it had the most useful, practical, and tested smart contract tools available to use.

I’d gone and met the NEO guys and talked about where they’re at. That project’s really exciting. I think their functionality is going to be really cool, but they were in a different place then what I needed. I needed a proven solution that works now.

As we’re going through this process, it looks like the majority of smart contracts that are currently out there and operational are fairly simple in a transactional way. It’s transacting value from one party to the next with some kind of subcontract functions that could check some balances, or maybe check someone’s transaction history, but that’s really it as far as operational products that I am aware of.

What have been some of your challenges in building out MOVA?

The tricky part is getting the front-end to work in a simple and elegant way. The one that we have written is capable of taking a complex conditional dataset on where a transaction is triggered and who the accounts are that triggered the transactions.

It pulls in all the information about the variable rate structures, and it can cull data in regard to where it pulls variable-rate structures from. There’s a range of conditions on ensuring that you get the right truck for the right job. If you get a wrong truck, it’s more cost and more time.

From there, we trigger all the performance elements via the GPS system. Then, it essentially gives you some flags along the way. For example, it will tell you if a package is behind, the reasoning, and asks you what you’d like to do about it.

I don’t want to back people into a corner with a system that isn’t smart and automatically docks pay for everyone that’s a second late. Nobody wants that. That’s not driving the right behaviors and people that are smarter than me will find ways around it.

What’s next for MOVA?

We’ve tested the product, and it’s operational. We have a trial front-end that a client is running through and utilizing dummy transactions to test the functionality.

We’re going to push this to more operational customers within the next three months. But, when this goes live, we want this to be a tool everyone picks up and goes, “God, why wasn’t this invented before? It’s so simple and easy to use.” What’s great is the feedback that I’ve gotten so far is that’s how people are already approaching it.

Is there anything else that you’d like our readers to know?

A couple of things. One is that our philosophy is that we’re a real-world engineering solution. We’ve got real-world operational trials at the moment to get this technology right.

The team that I’ve put together, essentially ex-McKinsey, ex-Boston Consulting, Amazon and IBM guys, all think like I do in that we want to lead, not follow.

It’s important for us to ensure that we’re transparent and the product’s real because, personally, I think a lot of the technology that’s out there is incredibly exciting, but there’s a culture behind the marketing hype at the moment that makes a lot of people not jump in for the right reasons. I want to make sure that the tech is at least working on a trial basis, we put together a team that’s truly invested in making this work, and that we have experience instead of trying to put people on the team with as many fancy colleges as possible. Probably being a bit cheeky now.

Thank You

Cheeky indeed, Lachlan, but that’s alright – cheeky is good. Thank you again for getting up at the crack of dawn to speak with us. We look forward to your launch and wish MOVA the best of luck!

Is there a project founder that you’d like us to interview? Send us a tweet @realcoincentral with your suggestions.

The post MOVA’s Lachlan McDonald Wants to Bring Accountability to Supply Chains appeared first on CoinCentral.

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