#then he went to america to finally get his bachelors degree in social work

[countyourcasualty]

The last, the very last, So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.

"Charles Xavier, open this g-dforsaken door!" an unfamiliar voice lifted amidst the pounding. First in his head but then flesh-against-wood, a typical cop-knock with dented fist-edges. Bang! Bang! Bang! The hundred-year old white-oak paneling on the mansion's front door would surely splinter under the force of it. Don't be so melodramatic, Charles.

Obscure. At first, but nothing remained obscure to Charles for very long. The accent, the cadence, the swirl of metal and rigid steel and smoke and crying birds-of-prey and desert sands and blinding skies that was… strange, in America. Topsy-turvy. September chill sets him bracing, and the streets are too quiet for spring, sprawling department stores and automated doors… finding himself missing the merchants, shoving new fruits under his nose… Acidic oranges, bright red seeds slipping out of mud-crusted fingers, watching the sky through sticks and leaves. Silence and seas of people adorned in white. Tishrei is your favorite month, New York City is too cold. Too-much metal like how you'd expect him to love. You remember this. The metal, wound down into the spaces between his atoms, his driver. But Lehnsherr - Shomron called him Ariel but everyone else just calls him Erik - just misses the heat. You can almost smell the burning rubber tires as the hollowed-out Jeep under your ass lifts off the ground and careens beyond an aging, rusted wall, medical tents line-by-line and you're really here, ferrying enormous jugs of water to the makeshift hospital. At least Haifa had roads. You could never classify whatever he was doing in this sweltering wasteland - this minuscule fraction of a place called Eilat - as driving in the first place. The Red Cross had convinced Charles to go. It'll be good for you, your people-finding skills are unprecedented! Oxford loves the extracurriculars. OK, except for the fact that no one in this entire country understood how a fucking motor vehicle worked, OH KAY? It's hard to sell it as good for him when he's imagining his skull through the windshield. Ma kara, atah mipachad? What's wrong? You scared? Of course Lehnsherr goaded him. Always had. Flyaway curls are freshly jammed under a black, tye-dye swirl toque (at least some things never change, you couldn't get Erik into a kippah if you paid him, but he'll show up to work in a 420 Blaze It beanie - OK, maybe not quite so theatrically goyische; the same category as Hot Topic and American Idol, but you honestly couldn't predict the man's moods on the best of days and he's absolutely been known to fuck with Charles in spectacular and delightful ways), and two large brown paper bags balanced in one of his arms, freeing up the other to… ya know… knock Charles's door down with.

Perhaps if the sun's tears would sing against a white stone…

This part of Erik, Charles was not familiar with. He didn't rise to the bait, any of it. His mind a glass sieve, fogged with snowflakes over a superheated element. "Ah , so you're incapable of reason, then?" Erik's poor arm crosses over his chest, one eyebrow arched back. "And I doubt you could see two feet in front of you let alone annihilate the opposition , kamerad." The statement is sharp, pointed at the whiskey tumbler in Charles's fingers. "But you are right that I am not here for a social call," Erik's quick retort lacked any indication of offense. Charles had the distinct capacity to wither with a well-placed word, a cutting observation, acerbic sarcasm designed to flay away skin and reveal bone. It wasn't that Erik was immune, no one really could be immune to that level of insight, but he was shored up with foolhardy courage, impulsive and willing to jump feet-first into the fire regardless. The little girl was spared from falling on her rear end by a neat application of Erik's abilities, setting her upright onto her feet before she hit the ground and kneeling to murmur something conspiratorially to her, watching as she ran off into the distance. It was a controlled display of power. No lurching, jerky, messy, noisy scraping and bouncing around. No cars crumpling under their own gravity, wheels dragging against gravel, fighting against him. No metal , either. Now he appeared to have distinct command of his environment, a clocked awareness of every reflective surface in the room a subtle magnetic pull in his neurons. Grounding, soothing. "Still smoke?" Erik with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth, now there was a blast from the past. "I have liquor, pie and Newports. Don't say I can't bribe the best of them. Or the worst." Those eyebrows raised very pointedly down at Charles. He patted the top of the paper grocery bags.

That butterfly was the last one. Butterflies don't live in here,

"I will make it and you will eat it," Erik pointed at him expectantly as he got to work. The cigarette by now had migrated its way under Erik's hat and behind his ear, safe and sound while he retrieved varying ingredients from the bag in preparation. "This is untenable," he muttered as he glanced about the kitchen, rummaging this way and that. Too much clutter, too distinctly lacking care, Charles found a shot glass set in front of him because, "don't drink out of the bottle like an animal," but whatever reply Charles gives he knows Erik isn't really listening. He's just making noise, making his presence felt, inundating himself into the cracks and walls. The shot glass settled itself in front of Charles expectantly. At least he wasn't griping about the drink, but apparently he'd gone full circle. Medic, fact-finder, social worker. And now, Charles-wrangler. Erik's career trajectory was shaping up nicely, he thought. Five years; it's long enough for him to have finally gotten a fucking post-secondary degree, a point of contention Charles very vividly remembers being mocked endlessly for in the ambulance as it skittered noisily over rocks. Look who grew up and got his Bachelor's all on his lonesome. (It's uhhh not that impressive comparatively, look who he's fucking talking to, but for Erik who Charles wasn't sure knew how to sit still long enough to learn anything that wasn't casualty evacuation triage, it was meritorious.) A knife snapped into his hand from the block and he sliced open the package, running the meat under the tap before cutting it into thin slices, splashing salt and pepper on it, a little rosemary, and pounding it thin for a stir fry. It's done all one-handed, with help only from the tug of Erik's mutation, fine-tuned. Nothing like the swirling, cacophonic maelstrom of Charles's mind. Splintered into millions of refracted-kaleidoscope prisms, thoughts-not-his-own. Ki'ani lo yetzat, the thoughts were so quiet as to be nearly indistinguishable from the sizzling of oil in the pan. Charles was too drunk to bother pulling out the interpretation. Something about not exiting . Why was he here? A pin-drop echo reverted upside-down right-side-up through the mirror, mud and crunching bones and aching metal. One foot in front of the other, two steps back to counter it. You always did make fun of his Avalanche phase (you never thought you'd meet Matthew Good's biggest fan in fucking Eilat , but life uh… finds a way) until one buried you. It's a memory from the ether, a forgotten spiel in the long litanies, the metronomes of Charles's current existential crisis. Once, Erik Lehnsherr had carried him across miles of desert in a very literal sense of the word. Now, it seemed, he had come back to do the same. Whether or not Charles approved.

#moodboard #erik lehnsherr #this version of erik is modern and israeli #he tried to conscientiously object but was threatened with jail #so he became a medic and did casevac #then worked with the international tracing service #he met charles working with the international committee of the red cross in haifa #they were volunteers and charles was injured in an avalanche #their vehicle broke down so erik literally carried him in his arms through the desert #then he went to america to finally get his bachelors degree in social work #and now he is on an h2 visa as a cps worker #this version of erik is named ariel lehnsherr #erik is a diminutive of ariel in israel #stars hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires / concepts

[agentofscifi]

Success is the Best Kind of Revenge Ch. 3

Heels click onto the floor of my office as Chloe pushes open my doors. My hands were currently holding up the train of a dress hung on Juleka. Alix follows after Chloe, tinkering with some kind of camera in her hand. Over the years, as we all graduated from University and done pretty well for ourselves.  

Juleka ended up changing her major in school after three semesters. Instead of going into performing arts for instruments, she went and got a composition degree. Juleka wrote music for a variety of artists and was one of the most sought-after songwriters. When she wasn’t doing all of that, she was modeling for my company. Juleka did a variety of photoshoots for several companies, mine included throughout her University Years. After I opened up my first few stores, we signed a formal contract. She’d been working for me for almost a decade. She split her time between Paris and Nashville in America. 

Alix decides to focus on a degree in art history. She worked at an Auction House company in Paris, moving between the various countries of Europe to authenticate pieces of art and then handle their sales. She was rather successful at her work, earning many bonuses for rather extremely successful sales. Alix’s unique style and comfortable professionalism made her easily approachable to buyings. She was rather blunt, and it did her well in her job. On her off-hours, Alix did some minor modeling and promoting much of my athletic pieces. Alix’s popularity grew as she competed in several X-Games in and after university. She won several titles in skateboarding, BMX freestyling, rollerskating, and snowboarding before retiring after a slip-up when snowboarding. She shattered her kneecap, broke a leg, her collarbone, and dislocated her arm in two places. She still did BMX biking, skateboarding, rollerblading, and snowboarding, just not in a professional capacity. That being said, little kids still asked for her autographs all the time.  

Chloe graduated from the London Business School with Honors and then proceeded to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York to get a Graduate Degree in Global Fashion Management. She modeled some of my designs, worked connections, handled all my brand’s social media accounts, and finalized contracts. Now, she had several people working underneath her, to handle the day-to-day operations. Either way, Chloe handled all of the Brand’s business dealings and flourishes.  

As for me, I attend the London College of Fashion. I got a Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion Design and Development with honors. After those years, I went to Milan to attend Istituto Marangoni International for a Master’s Degree in Luxury Accessories Design & Management. After that, I relocated back to Paris. My first boutique opened up quickly after that along with a small factory with a loan from a bank. I ended up having to open a second factory within three months due to demands. More boutiques opened up worldwide as the Brand became a household name.  

“Hello Chloe, how is everything?”  

“We got invitations to a reunion for Lycée. Alya sent them, as she was the class representative when we all graduated. Personally, I think she wants to get her hands on you or Juleka for an interview. You know her journalism career is in the gutter.”  

Alix snorts. “And who’s fault is that?” 

Chloe rolls her eyes. “Her’s. The idiot ruined her blog when she was a teenager and she never changed. She still does idiotic and frankly dangerous things to get a scoop. Sure, she does some basic research now, but the girl’s been detained several times for endangering people and disrupting the peace. No University would touch her, and no place will hire her.”  

Alix looks up from the camera. “So, you didn’t inform everyone in the fashion journalism world about her history, knowing it would spread to all major news and journalism networks.  

Chloe raises an eyebrow. “Look, this company’s image is important. I was not going to let Miss Blogger ruin it for 15 minutes of fame. She dug her own grave.”  

I sigh. “This is great and all, but are you all going?”  

There’s a snort right behind me. “Not on any of our lives. We will not be sinking that low.”  

“Chloe!” Juleka’s face is red and slightly scandalized.  

“What? Why would we go to this reunion? To see how everyone is doing? It’s rather simple. Alya’s a tabloid writer. Nino is a barely successful DJ who works at a music store to help pay his bills. Max is an IT guy at a company. That fake research paper haunts him to this day. Kim works at a gym. The drugs screwed his athletic chances over and he never planned for anything beyond going to the Olympics. Nathaniel works at an art store and does nighttime classes. He’s unsuccessfully worked with 7 different writers for his comics after leaving Marc.   

Now, Myléne and Ivan are happy, at least. Myléne works as a secretary and Ivan as a grocery store manager. Both are part-time so one of them can stay home with their kids at a time. They have millions of photos of their family on their Instagram accounts. Neither one can do much with charities. The fraud they committed was spread around the charity communities fast.  

Rose, Adrien, and Sabrina are the only ones who did what they wanted to do. Rose had a few years of fame with her music before getting married and settling down as a youth music teacher. Adrien moved to America and works for a University. However, I know for a fact that he will not be returning to Paris for anything less than a funeral or a wedding. As for Sabrina, after some therapy, ended up as a Detective in Marseille.”  

“Didn’t you pay for her therapy?” I tie off my last stitch and let the train fall to the platform.  

Chloe purses her lips. “I owed her that much. I screwed her childhood up, majorly.”  

“Did you stalk everyone to find out all of this?” Alix has a mischievous look.  

Another eye roll from Chloe. “I didn’t need to. In this day and age, all you need to do is type their name into the internet and all of their social media pops up.”  

I hum. “What about Lila?”  

“She’s still in prison. Tried another appeal a little while ago, to no avail. Her long list of offenses and the “assisting a terrorist” change isn’t something any judge would want to touch, even with a 10 ft pole.”  

Juleka simply shrugs. “Back to the point at hand. I’m not going to this reunion. Rose is the only one I wanted to keep in contact with, and she’s not going. It’s her five-year anniversary with her husband. She’s going to Spain that week.”  

Alix shugs. “I’m not going either. Kim has tried to contact me so many times to help him get back into the sports world. I am not giving him another chance. Besides, there’s this huge auction going on in Russia for that week. I am not missing that for a few hours with our childhood classmates.”  

I look at Chloe. She raises a perfect eyebrow. “Not a chance and you are not going either. Heavens forbid Alya posts something on that new blog of hers.”  

I set my needle and thread down on a work table and gesture to Juleka to get changed. “I’m not going if none of you are. Besides, there’s this fashion show in Milan that weekend. It’s for freshly graduated designers to show off their talents to possible employers. I was planning to go to find some who would specialize in Fashion Contour. I’ve been doing quite a bit of work in that field and want to get a fresh pair of eyes that will eventually take over that area of our brand. I was also hoping to look for someone to start a Make-up department. One of your people mentioned the idea at a meeting.”  

Chloe nods and starts to type into her phone. “I’ll tell my assistant to look through the applications we have to see if anyone fulfills the requirements for that job. Just find that new department head.”  

I give Chloe a nod as Juleka hands me the dress from before. A custom-made wedding dress for a woman who happened to be Juleka’s exact size. One of the many I had made of the years since I’d started my fashion business.   

Some part of me wanted to thank Lila. If I was honest with myself, I wouldn’t be where I was if she hadn’t arrived at my class and taken everyone’s loyalty. They weren’t bad people, but thanks to Ms. Bustier, they were a drain on my energy and abilities. Now, however, I was one of the most well-known and successful fashion designers with over two dozen people for me in Design. I could not be happier. 

Ch. 1 ~~~~~ Ch. 2

#alya salt #lila salt #miraculous ladybug #marinette deserves better #bustier salt #lila is exposed #success is the best kind of revenge #ml salt

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Virginia woman does 53 acts of kindness for 53rd birthday (AP) The pandemic didn’t allow Debra Ferrell to gather with her whole family for her birthday. So instead, she celebrated the day by giving back—with 53 gifts from her heart. Ferrell went on social media and asked people for suggestions on acts of kindness that she could perform for others during her birth month, one for every year that she’s been alive. “It’s one of the hardest times in my history, so I figured why not make other people smile,” said Ferrell. The requests for her Oct. 4 birthday arrived from across the U.S.: Parents who hoped for words of encouragement for their kids on their first year of virtual school. A woman who wished for a gift basket for her fiancé, a doctor at a hospital’s COVID-19 unit. A friend of a family in Minnesota that lost their 4-year-old to cancer, who wanted them to feel that they were not alone. “I know that might sound cheesy, but it’s just one of my favorite things to do,” said Ferrell, who works as a resident service coordinator at a retirement community. “I just feel that if we live our life trying to make other people smile, I’m the one who gets the most out of it.”

Some people actually had a pretty good year (NYT) Though a wide array of businesses are suffering this year, many that cater to professionals and the elite are doing better than ever. It’s now well-documented that the coronavirus pandemic has both exposed and exacerbated American inequality. While the wealthy and the highly educated haven’t entirely escaped the soul-crushing effects of the virus—quarantine-induced cabin fever, sharing at-home work spaces with Zoom schoolrooms and a number of other shared losses and stresses—they have also been, on the whole, getting richer. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City found that jobs that can be performed remotely made up a relatively small share of pandemic-related job losses, and according to The Wall Street Journal “workers with bachelor’s degrees or higher had nearly fully recovered jobs lost in early spring” by September. Meanwhile, the vast majority of workers are without college degrees. And many of those who have been unable to work from home have been struggling in shocking numbers. Women and especially mothers employed in the service sector were more likely to experience pandemic-related job loss. Black and Latino adults, who, because of health inequities, are more likely to contract and die from Covid-19 than their white counterparts, have also faced disproportionate financial struggles during this recession. A small but substantial sliver of America, however, is doing better than ever, or at least just fine: enjoying the freedoms that remote work paired with disposable income can bring, using this pause in the typical 24/7 busyness of professional-class social life to take a breath and to reassess and rejigger their lives.

Barr flies (Foreign Policy) U.S. Attorney General William Barr is out of the job, following an announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday evening. Trump tweeted a letter written by Barr outlining his respect for the president, ending with the confirmation that he would resign on Dec. 23. Barr had reportedly fallen out with Trump over the attorney general’s statement that no significant voter fraud could be found in the Nov. 3 presidential election. Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen will now take on Barr’s former post in an acting capacity.

Unwelcome in other countries, Americans are fleeing lockdowns and flocking to Mexico (Los Angeles Times) The pandemic was raging, but on the beaches of Cabo San Lucas it felt like spring break. Tipsy young Americans in bikinis and swim trunks vied for buckets of beer in a push-up competition at a crowded bar. Vendors in wide-brimmed hats plodded through the sand, offering rugs, massages and—under their breath—cocaine. Down near the water, 24-year-old Kierston Jackson sat entwined with her boyfriend, their matching blue surgical masks a concession to the coronavirus. “It’s a good change of pace,” said Jackson, a Houston resident, as she gazed at the gently lapping waves. “I’d definitely prefer to be here with a mask on than in my home without one.” Unwelcome in many countries as the virus surges worldwide, U.S. tourists are fleeing lockdowns at home and flocking to Mexico. Nearly half a million Americans flew to Mexico in October—the most recent month for which data is available—mainly to beaches on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. The influx of Americans is a ray of hope for the country’s battered tourism sector, which has hemorrhaged more than $11 billion this year.

Natural disasters cost insurance industry $76 billion in 2020—Swiss Re (Reuters) Natural disasters like wildfires which devastated parts of the United States and a record number of hurricanes in the Atlantic caused $76 billion in insured losses during 2020, Swiss Re said on Tuesday. The 40% increase from $54 billion in 2019 dwarfed the $7 billion in man-made losses during 2020, the reinsurance company said in its sigma estimate for the year. The total insurance industry losses of $83 billion made 2020 the fifth costliest year since 1970, the company said. “Losses were driven by a record number of severe convective storms—thunderstorms with tornadoes, floods and hail—and wildfires in the U.S.,” Swiss Re said.

ICC prosecutor sees ‘reasonable basis’ to believe Venezuela committed crimes against humanity (Reuters) The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor believes there is “reasonable basis” to believe Venezuela has committed crimes against humanity, according to a report published by the prosecutor’s office on Monday. United Nations investigators in September determined that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government has committed systematic human rights violations, including killings and torture, amounting to crimes against humanity. The Hague-based tribunal has been examining Venezuela’s case since 2018 and expects to determine in 2021 whether to open a full investigation. Though Maduro’s adversaries have celebrated the ICC’s probe of Venezuela, few believe the process is likely to lead to a short-term change in the struggling nation. ICC criminal proceedings stretch for years, and it has in the past struggled to carry out arrest warrants when it obtains them.

Netherlands to go into tough, five-week lockdown over Christmas (Reuters) The Netherlands will go into a tough second lockdown, with the closure of all schools and shops for at least five weeks, in a government-led push to fight the coronavirus, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Monday. “The Netherlands is closing down,” he said to the sound of protesters banging pots and pans outside his office in The Hague. “We realise the gravity of our decisions, right before Christmas.” The measures, detailed in a rare live television address, include limiting gatherings to no more than two people, also at home. An exception will be made for three days around Christmas, when three adult visitors will be permitted, he said. People were further advised to stay at home, not to travel to work and to avoid contact with other people as much as possible. From Tuesday, all public places—including daycare centres, gyms, museums, zoos, cinemas, hairdressers and beauty salons—will close until Jan. 19. Schools will close until Jan. 18. Supermarkets, banks and pharmacies will be allowed to stay open.

Chernobyl tourism (Foreign Policy) In a year has shown that what you do after disaster has struck is often more important than the disaster itself, it’s perhaps fitting that Chernobyl—the site of the world’s worst nuclear incident—is in a push to be recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site. The Ukrainian government is pursuing an initiative to have the site added to the heritage list in a bid to boost tourism to the area, 20 years after the power plant finally ceased operating, and four years since a protective dome over the doomed fourth reactor was completed. 124,000 tourists—a record number—visited Chernobyl in 2019 amid renewed interest following a popular television drama of the same name. Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko now hopes to boost annual tourist numbers to one million.

Russia’s Putin recognizes Biden’s win (Washington Post) More than a month later than most world leaders, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday congratulated President-elect Joe Biden for his victory in the election, a delayed recognition that could set the tone for icy relations. “In his message Vladimir Putin wished the president-elect every success and expressed confidence that Russia and the United States, which bear special responsibility for global security and stability, can, despite their differences, effectively contribute to solving many problems and meeting challenges that the world is facing today,” the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin was one of the last heads of state to acknowledge Biden’s win; Mexico’s Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and North Korea’s Kim Jung Un are other holdouts. The congratulations come after Biden’s victory became more formal on Monday, when 306 electors officially voted for him.

Silent nights (Worldcrunch) Catholic church officials in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, have announced Christmas carol activities will be banned, The Philippine News Agency reports. Churches were asked not to organize carolings in order to “protect the public and the choir members” as according to experts, the virus could easily spread through singing, officials say. Christmas carols are an important part of the holiday traditions in the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country that celebrates the world’s longest Christmas season, from Sept. 1 to New Year’s Eve.

Package-tour diplomacy: Thousands of Israeli tourists flock to Dubai after peace deal (Washington Post) Ashish Negi prides himself on spotting the nationality of tourists as soon as they walk into his jewelry store—so he can be jokey with Americans, chatty with Brits and ready to bargain with Russians—but he was baffled by the man in the tall black hat and the curly sideburns who came in last week. “This was something I had not seen in Dubai,” Negi said of the first ultra-Orthodox Jewish visitor to reach his corner of the city’s traditional gold market, part of a wave of Israeli tourists who have descended on the United Arab Emirates in recent days. In the two weeks since commercial flights began between Tel Aviv and the Emirati cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Israelis have caused a remarkable tourism boomlet in the Gulf nation. Suddenly, Hebrew can be heard throughout the markets, malls and beaches of a destination that was strictly off-limits until the two countries achieved a diplomatic breakthrough in August and established normal relations. More than 50,000 Israelis have brushed aside covid-19 concerns, a terrorism warning and decades of tension to make the three-hour flight across the Arab Peninsula. Israeli tourism officials expect more than 70,000 to arrive during the eight days of Hanukkah, which began last week, in an unprecedented exchange between the Jewish state and one of its historically standoffish Muslim neighbors.

Ten years on, anger grows in Tunisian town where ‘Arab Spring’ began (Reuters) Ten years ago, a fruit seller set himself ablaze in the central Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid after an altercation with a policewoman about where he had put his cart. Word of Mohammed Bouazizi’s fatal act of defiance quickly spread, sparking nationwide protests that eventually toppled Tunisia’s long-serving leader and helped inspire similar uprisings across the region—the so-called “Arab Spring”. Huge demonstrations broke out in Egypt and Bahrain, governments fell and civil war engulfed Libya, Syria and Yemen. Tunisians are now free to choose their leaders and can publicly criticise the state. Yet for all the chaos they have been through, many people look back on the events of 2010 and regret that their dreams remain unfulfilled. “Something went wrong in the revolution,” said Attia Athmouni, a retired philosophy teacher who helped lead the uprising after Bouazizi’s death by standing on the fruit seller’s abandoned cart to address the crowd the night he died. Protests have flared again in recent weeks across Tunisia’s poorer southern towns against joblessness, poor state services, inequality and shortages.

#headlines #news

[rogertaylcr]

its alright if its long! i asked bc i was curious, id love a long answer

OKAY HERE IS THE SUPER LONG ANSWER, it’s self indulgent and, dare I say, Boring as shit -- but it’s the full answer to how/when/why I started drumming -- it is also 1.5k words long so it’s under a read more

so I started like drumming in a serious way i would say like a year and a halfish ago which isn’t a super long time I know but theres a tediously long story behind it which you asked for so don’t blame me for how long this is cause dude i know it’s long

The why of it is actually pretty short though. So my house is a music house, my mom plays a bunch of instruments and sings and my dad listens to a bunch of music so theres a lot of musical passion (even when theres no talent necessarily). As a kid, like 3-4 like EARLY memory, I remember listening to bohemian rhapsody and hearing the drums specifically, which idk if this is universal but for a lot of songs for awhile i just didn’t hear the drums as like part of the song really, and with bohemian rhapsody they were just so clear, like i could hear the heartbeat of the song. (this was the first song I felt that with but definitely not the only one, baba oreilly was another one that i made me realise the life of the song comes from the drums) When I was .... like 6-7, a beatles doc came on MTV and I saw Ringo drumming during the early beatles years and he was standing and stomping the hi hat and bass and there was just so much movement and power behind it and so much more fun in my opinion than the other instruments and i was like “i wanna be the one giving songs their heartbeats”. The more i got into a bunch of other, new and old, bands the more i was like This Has To Be Me. I had always been a fidegty person who was drumming to shit anyway but like the idea that that could translate into like something palatable and musical and entertaining and LOUD was News™ to me and I wanted to do that, but at the time I only knew a bit of piano and like a single chord on guitar and, like a lot of people’s parents, my parents saw creative fields as really unstable/unrealistic so I was like “well obvious it would be nice to be a loud drummer but I’m going to be a business person” (this is how cynical i was as a child).

the WHEN of it is a longer story, like it isn’t actually cause the actual answer is that i’ve been seriously drumming for about 1.5 years but theres like more to it imo

When i was in the third grade, instruments were compulsory at school so we all had to choose and buy one to learn on as well as basic piano lessons. I wanted to play the drums as “my instrument” at that time BUT my school didn’t have the budget or the space really to accommodate that (i would've had to buy my own kit and haul it to and from the school which didn’t make sense for me to do for someone who hadn’t ever touched drums) AND they didn’t have a teacher that could really teach drums, our percussion section was just a xylophone and some cymbals it was a school of like 2000 kids so :/

So I learned clarinet and then when i was 10, in the fifth grade, my older sister’s friend stopped playing saxophone and got permission to bring her drums in. We only had an orchestra so our teacher had to write her music for/with her which was cool but anyway. She left her drums at school and i knew her and so while i was supposed to be in the practice room playing clarinet i was trying semi-fruitlessly to drum. I knew i wanted to drum by any means necessary but like I was 10 and since i had no guidance (and no proper sticks i was using xylophone mallets) I didn’t think I was “good” at it and when we moved away I took that as a sign that it wasn’t meant to be.

When we got to america I joined school bands (as in orchestra/concert band) as a clarinet player once again, I still wanted to be drumming and i was in a public school by then so i had access to like “school drums” but I was so far behind the not-self-taught drummers in the actual band that I just like decided I had to focus on what I was already good at which was my art and dove into the upper level art program which like GOOD cause that made life worth living but it also meant the only time I could drum was when I was at this one friends house or had access to the band hall and like I just couldn’t keep the improvements i’d made, like i’d perfect a song and then have zero access for a couple weeks (except to like stand alone snares but :/ ) and i’d have to start over essentially and it was SUPER discouraging and it made me feel like I wasn’t making any progress

In the meantime I was trying to get my musical fix by learning guitar/piano and piano came back to me pretty quickly (its gone again now) but guitar like.....you can’t hit it lmao, piano i could slam the keys how i wanted to and get that really great loud resonating sound and i could stand to play and get more movement out of it but guitar is tedious in a way that other instruments aren’t imo, like the sound is loud but the movement is very precise and i never had the patience for that

when I got to college I really had to focus on my art especially the first two years, I literally lived in the studio (im not exaggerating, the students in my major and I had a janitorial bathroom set aside for showering) so pretty much all of my hobbies got tossed aside those two years it was grueling, fun but also hell

Junior year came and i had like 30% of my time back and i was like considering switching majors. I knew i didn’t want to do animation but also you can’t just switch into music at a university, you have to be pretty accomplished already and percussion at my school is HUGE like i would’ve had to be roger himself to have a chance of switching in. On top of that the degree isn’t super useful so I now have my Bachelors of Science. But by junior year i KNEW i didn’t wanna do that, I knew i wanted/i want to drum so I.... licherally................went to the library and printed like 50 pieces of paper each with three flyers on them and cut them up and put them up ALL over campus essentially begging for access to a drum kit. I could only afford like a couple hours on this one guys kit every few weeks for one semester (and then the following semester i did a semester away, they had drums at the school there but i only got access like a total of 5 times) so when i came back to america I did the exact same thing, I put up flyers in the music building and eventually i found a girl who let me use her drums for free all year, she gave me access like last august? I think? and just now has packed them away in the last month or so, and i would literally go into this tiny stuffy unairconditioned room (that had an automatic light timer so i’d be in the dark halfway through a song ahsdkhajkda and a couple times the heat got to me and i had to go outside and sit in my car w/ the AC before coming back in ahdjkahdjkasdjka) and drum for about 6-8 hours MWF and maybe like 3-4 hours T/TR which i know isn’t as much as some people but like I had school work still so I couldn’t do too much more. (it worked out great cuase i only took 7 hours my last two semesters so it was like something i could do while all my friends were in class and they weren’t open on weekends so my social life didn’t get fucked up) and like i know i haven’t been drumming drumming that long comparatively to like normal people who start at age -2 and are born with a snare in their laps but you spend that much time each week doing something and you’ll get good you just like… have to and I like where I’m at right now, I think I’ll always have super severe imposter syndrome abt my skill level b/c of how long it took me to get here and being an overcritical perfectionist doesnt help but yeah

i really dont think its a coincidence that my coming out (to myself) coincided with when I said “fuck it im gonna play drums come hell or high water” but SUPER LONG AND OVERLY DETAILED story short, I heard roger drum and said “if i dont do that ill die” and then when i finally had the resources i drummed myself into multiple heat strokes and i recently saw roger live so the universe rewarded me for all that shit

#AND THERE YOU HAVE IT #my boring journey to mediocrity #im sorry if its like hard to read i don't do well with 'punctuation' ahsdkadkja #personal #ill probably delete this later cause its kind of annoying asdhajksdhasj #Anonymous #asks

[feynavaley]

I know you're probably busy, but do you have any new story ideas you're working on, or plots you'd like to see?

Thank you for this question!

At the moment I’m not working on any new story, I still have to write the epilogue for Arthur Kirkland’s Guide To Being a Big Brother (I’m trying to do that, actually, but it’s proving to be quite hard in spite of being short…) and of course there’s always Chrysalis. I finally got to the end of the part written in Italian with the last chapter, but the rest is still to write… and I haven’t even reached the first half of the story haha.

I do have a lot of other stories planned, however! I don’t know when and if I’ll be able to write them, but as of now, this is my plotlines file:

(And it doesn’t include the two Harry Potter crossovers, plus some stories have a more expanded version of the plot and characters sheets in other files, haha.)

There are some short stories I might also write while I’m still completing Chrysalis (I still don’t know the order, though) that are:

- A one–two shots focusing on France’s relationship with Canada from the early colonial days to the French and Indian War, written from France’s POV.

- Another short story (one–two shots I guess, but I always misjudge the length of my stories…) set when America and Canada are both still toddlers under England’s care, the story behind this headcanon: [x]. COMPLETED STORY [x]

- A story set in the same universe as Arthur Kirkland’s Guide To Being a Big Brother, when Arthur, Alfred, and Matthew are respectively 20, 16, and 14, dealing with Alfred’s rebellious stage and a medical emergency (I’m doing so much research for this! And I still can’t find something that confirms or denies an assumption of mine, it’s driving me crazy…) WIP [x]

- Another story set in the same universe, this time very Matthew-centric (he’s 17 here), but I’m still unsure if I will ever publish it because it would deal with some heavy issues. It would probably be M-rated.

- A human AU where Matthew is a college freshman and people keep mistaking him for an older student, Alfred Jones, who seems to have gotten half of the school population mad at him. One day (or rather, night), Matthew stumbles upon a drunk Arthur, who turns out to be Alfred’s older cousin and mistakes Matthew for him, as well. Thanks to Arthur, Matthew finally gets to meet Alfred, but that’s not the end of the shenanigans.

- A short story or series of one-shots about Arthur and Amelia’s meeting before Chrysalis. Francis would heavily feature as well. (This story would be USUK, obviously.)

- A human AU based on something I wrote for a contest in high school, in which a 17-year-old Alfred ends up moving to a small Canadian town with his estranged father James (2p!Canada) and his half-brother Matthew (whose existence Alfred wasn’t aware of) after his mother’s death. James seems a hard-working and honest man, if a bit rough around the edges, while Matthew is quiet and awkward and generally regarded as the local loon. James, who is highly regarded in town, seems to agree with that and encourages Alfred to do the same, but as the time goes by, Alfred starts realizing that there’s more to the situation than what meets the eye.

There are also some longer (possibly novel-length) stories I might write after Chrysalis, I still don’t know which one I’ll start first but these are the ones with the most detailed outline for now:

- A human AU where Arthur is an aspiring writer who just got his bachelor degree. He moves to America (possibly NYC, but I’m not sure yet) to escape a less-than-stellar family situation, and there he ends up sharing the apartment with Francis (an acquaintance of his eldest brother’s), who moved away from Paris after his wife died in a house fire. They end up stumbling upon Alfred and Matthew, two street children, and eventually manage to befriend and start taking care of them. (Note: there would be no pairings.) It would be set in a close past (most likely the 70s) because the absence of internet and some different (laxer, mostly) laws would fix a couple of plot-holes.

- A story set in the canon-verse, where Canada’s (fictional) PM isolates him from the other nations and tries to find a way to strip him from his nation-hood and create a personification that will obey to all her commands.

- Another human AU where Arthur is a young lawyer and a client of his is Alfred, a 19-year-old trying to get custody of his 7-year-old half-brother, Matthew. The other party involved is Matthew’s paternal aunt Mélanie (2p!Nyo!Canada), who doesn’t care for him in the slightest but wants to put her hands on the consistent inheritance Matthew’s father left behind. Francis is Matthew’s social worker and an old ‘friend’ of Arthur’s, the one who recommended Arthur in the first place (he’s firmly convinced that Matthew should stay with Alfred, but Mélanie went to legal actions). Another note is that Matthew is hemophilic in this (I’ve already done some research and I think I can pull this off).

- A fantasy story where Alfred is the crown prince and Matthew his younger brother who their father despises (he has reasons). As the ‘spare’, Matthew is constantly thrust into dangerous situations in Alfred’s place and he ends up meeting the children of northern king their father is in conflict with, the crown princess Anya (Nyo!Russia) and her half-sisters Iryna and Natalya. Years later, Matthew, Alfred, Anya, Iryna and Natalya work together to prevent a war between their fathers. Arthur and Francis are involved as well – Arthur is the son of the king’s younger sister and he has magical abilities, and Francis is the son of the queen’s older sister. Edit: I might use Francine (Fem!France) instead of Francis. I’m not sure.

- A more fairytale-like setting where Alfred is a peasant who ends up becoming a knight-in-training after saving a ‘page’. His older sister Rose (Nyo!England) follows him to the court and is taken as a healer apprentice. Francis is the crown prince and Marguerite (Nyo!Canada) his younger sister, but until Francis turns 22 his aunt Chantal (2p!Nyo!France, older sister of the late queen and married to a royal advisor) is the regent in his place and she’s scheming to pass the throne to her own son, Louis (2p!France). Alfred and Rose become involved when they get close respectively to Marguerite and Francis. This story would also include some romance, with AmeCan and FrUK as pairings.

- Then there’s this one. I hope I’ll have some free time this summer, so I might also have time for some research. And I might set it before the war of 1812… would Outlander count as ‘reference’ for the setting? The last books are set during the Revolutionary War, and a friend of mine who’s a history major told me they’re quite accurate… *sweats*

As you can see, I have plenty of ideas, and these are only the ones with a quite delineated plot, but there are a lot more haha. I surely won’t be able to write them all or might come up with completely different ones, but who knows…

#about feyna's writing #fic idea #hetalia #aph canada #aph america #aph england #aph france #nyo canada #nyo england #nyo russia #aph ukraine #aph belarus #human au #fantasy #fairy tale au #usuk #fruk #amecan #anonymous #feyna answers #thanks for stopping by!

[exxar1]

Episode 4: Waking Up

11/14/2020

Good morning, folks. As I write this, I’m sitting in my living room, listening to an Apple music channel of classic Christmas carols, while late morning sunshine streams through my front window. I have just finished putting laundry in the dryer and washing the few dishes in the sink that piled up during the week. My McDonald’s iced coffee is almost gone, and I’m feeling ready to face the day.

I have a couple hours before I have to start getting ready for work, so there’s not a lot of time to hammer out this blog entry. I don’t have a lot to say for this episode, but I have been feeling somewhat strange for the last couple weeks. Not ‘strange’ in the physical sense, but ‘strange’ as in ‘there’s something happening with me that I can’t quite explain’.

And now I’m going to try to explain what I’m talking about.

Per my usual work routine, I spend 5 ½ hours every morning, Monday through Friday, in the lobby of Walmart, greeting customers and making sure everyone is wearing their face mask. And, as usual, I have nothing but my own thoughts and the occasional conversation with co-workers to keep me company. But mostly just my own thoughts. And boy, my brain lately will just not shut down – or even go into standby mode. It seems that all I can do lately is just think, think, think. Here’s a sample of what tumbles through my head from morning until night every day:

·      Is the ballot recounts for the national election close to being done? Will Trump retain his presidency (I hope), or will America finally get its first female president? (Yes, you read that correctly.)

·      Spencer Klavan of the “Young Heretics” podcast so damn good looking, and the fact that he’s also a “Super Mario Bros” fan in addition to being ivy league educated and possessing near-savant level human intelligence has forced me to finally admit that I have had a massive crush on him for almost four months now. (I just wish he wasn’t such an avid gym rat. That’s such a turnoff. Well, that, and the fact he already has a boyfriend.)

·      I need to start working on the story ideas that came to me a few weeks ago. There’s two really good ones that I know would make excellent short stories, or, at the very least, novellas. One’s about a superhero called The Red Mask, and the other is about cats and dogs that are created with a sophisticated AI that allows them to look, feel and behave exactly like real animals but without all the maintenance and mess that pet owners have to put up with (such as feeding them, combing them, bathing them, walking them, training them, cleaning up their poop, etc.).

·      Oh! A circuit court judge in Georgia just ordered a bunch of ballots to be thrown out in that state’s recount!

·      Spencer Klavan liked one of my tweets about Young Heretics!!!!

·      Should I have McDonald’s for lunch or the apple I brought with me? The apple. Definitely the apple. Need to stay healthy.

·      I can’t believe all the idiots on social media that not only voted for Biden/Harris but actually think that he will make a good president. What the hell is wrong with them???? Anyone with half a brain can easily recognize what Trump has done for this country, and it scares the shit out of me that the radical left (capital ‘R’, capital ‘L’) just might get their foot in the door of the White House. What the fuck is wrong with half of America right now??? It’s all that “white fragility”, “systemic racism”, “white privilege”, “black lives matter” bullshit!!! How the fuck did that horseshit gain such powerful traction in this country????Robin Deanglo and Ibram X Kendi and all their pathetic followers are so full of shit they ought to open their own manure factory!!!!

·      Yay! The 2021 “Super Mario Bros” and “Star Trek” wall calendars I ordered on Amazon have shipped! They’ll be here Tuesday!

·      And that reminds me, I need to start working on the photo calendars that I give to my family every year for Christmas. Maybe I should do that this Saturday morning before my shift at Check City.

·      Oh. Time for my break. Yay! Coffee!

And…repeat. That. All of that. Over and over all day long – creative story thoughts, political thoughts, work thoughts, checking my phone three times an hour to review the latest posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay on top of all the latest news and current events that serve to fuel my new woke self. Texting friends and family about this and that. On and on and on...

Hhmmm. My new woke self.

The other day, as this new thought occurred to me, I mentally reviewed everything that’s happened to me this year, everything that I wrote about in that first blog episode. I also thought about my recent self-examination of my whole life up to this point, the stuff I covered in episodes 2 and 3 of this blog. Then I thought back over the last two weeks: the sudden and unexpected passing of Aaron; his memorial service that I made an emergency trip home to Idaho to attend; and, finally, this new, strange…’wokeness’, for lack of a better term, that I now find myself in.

I honestly don’t know how to precisely describe it. I’ve been trying all this week to come up with apt, specific words and/or phrases, and then, finally, I thought of something. I’m a huge fan of the reboot of “Battlestar: Galactica” that was done by Ronald D Moore on the SyFy channel in 2004. It’s been a few years since I last binged all 4 seasons of that terrific show, but I was thinking about it the other day as my mind wandered, and it suddenly occurred to me what this new ‘woke’ state that I’m in feels like: the Cylon sleeper agents (who looked and acted like real humans) that were suddenly awakened to their true nature.

Yeah, I’m not kidding. Yes, I know how that sounds, but let me explain. I really feel like that, somewhere deep in the core of my brain, a metaphorical ‘switch’ was flipped from ‘off’ to ‘on’ along about late August or early September of this year. The world around me did not change, but my perception of it – as well as my perception of my place in it – did fundamentally change. I realized this week that for pretty much all my life I’ve been coasting through it. Everything that I’ve done and accomplished took no real effort or sacrifice on my part. Everything after high school pretty much just happened naturally. I decided to join the Army on a whim. When that didn’t work out, I came back home and enrolled in college. I spent 4 ½ years doing what I loved – reading, writing, discussing reading and writing – and I came out with a Bachelor’s in English. Again, no real effort. I coasted through on my natural talents. The only real work was in the core classes that I needed for my degree, like math or biology. But those were few. And then, after college, instead of putting my degree to use, I just settled for a day job in retail and then, later, in an elementary school. And then, in 2012, on a whim, I quit my job and moved to Las Vegas. Once again, I found a cushy day job where I make really good money, and…then 2020 happened.

In other words, I’ve never been an active participant in my own life. I just kinda let everything happen and went with the flow. I even had this same attitude in high school and it drove my parents and teachers absolutely mad. I didn’t care about being valedictorian or captain of the sports teams or even being the best damn piano player this side of the Rockies. All that mattered was hanging out with my friends and making sure the VCR was set each week to record the newest episodes of “Star Trek: DS9” and “Star Trek: Voyager”. And, without consciously realizing it, that’s been my attitude for my whole damn life. I’ve never cared about the world beyond my own front door. If it didn’t affect my life directly, I never paid it any attention. That’s especially true for politics. No matter who sat in the White House, my life never changed. So I figured, why bother? I’m perfectly content to live a quiet, solitary existence, and the rest of the world can do its own thing.

Except that now I’m no longer content with my quiet, solitary existence. Something within me fundamentally changed this year, and there’s no going back.

I am awake. (But, unlike the Cylons, I’m not about to start murdering humans.) I’m certain that it was God’s hand that reached down to flip that invisible switch in my brain, but now that I have rejected my former sleeper state, I don’t know exactly what to do. For the last couple weeks, I have felt nervous; anxious; excited; jittery; like a live wire that’s been cut and is now flopping on the ground, shooting sparks and energy. I have to constantly resist the urge to grab total strangers off the street and shout at them to “Wake up!” The world around us is changing, and we can’t live as sleeper agents in our own lives. Everything that’s happened in 2020 is going to shape the future of this country and the lives of everyone in it, and no one can afford to not care and just keep living their quiet, solitary lives.

This is why I scream on social media about the stupid mask mandates, and the ‘lamestream’ media, and politics, and everything else that I’ve been ranting and raving about for nine months. And yes, I’m sure some of my friends think I’ve gone crazy, and more than a few have probably unfollowed me. I don’t mean to alienate folks, but I have to put this energy somewhere or I’ll go crazy.

One of biggest changes that I have noted is that I no longer have a desire to park in front of the TV in my time off. I still have a few regular shows that I watch each week, but my passion has turned to reading and podcasts. I renewed my Audible.com membership a few months ago, and I have started stockpiling audiobooks on various subjects: biographies of the Founding Fathers of America, non-fiction books on artificial intelligence and other new forms of technology, books on world history, western literature and Greek philosophy. (I recently began listening to a series of lectures from Boston University on Plato’s “Republic”). And, of course, the highlight of my week is a new episode of “Young Heretics” every Tuesday. (And no, it’s not just because of my crush on Spencer Klavan.) I also have started carving out an hour here and there each day to grab my laptop and write a few paragraphs of new stories or just jot notes for upcoming stories.

I really, honestly feel as if something is coming. I don’t know what, I don’t know when, but God woke me up for a reason. He’s got something planned for me, and I need to be ready for it. I’m pretty certain the world is not coming to an end anytime soon, and I’m sure 2021 will be a better year for our nation than 2020, no matter who’s sitting in the White House. And yes, Lord willing, this stupid “pandemic” will also be over sometime soon. For me, personally, 2020 was the year that changed me and got me ready for whatever is coming. A fire’s been lit under my ass, but I’m not sure where yet where I’m supposed to be jumping up and running to.

I am sure, however, that It’s time to be an active participant in my own life.

Hey mom and dad, I really do care now, and I really, truly want to do my best. I want only top grades and to be the captain of…something. It only took twenty-six? Twenty-seven years? But now I’m going to be that grade-A student that you and Mrs. Tutty and Mrs. Jones and Mr. Walker always knew I could be.

Better late than never, eh?

#life #Christian #gay #politics #truth #woke

[hickorycreekrp-blog]

Out of Character:

Name/Alias: Maddie

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 25

Timezone: PST

Face Claim Preferences: Candice Patton

Character Basics:

Full Name: Lucille Sasha Daniels

Nicknames/Prefers: Sasha

Age: 25

Occupation: Pastry Chef at Wells Bakery, Part-Time food blogger

Pronouns: She/Her

Gender: Female

Hometown: Wimberley, Texas

Current Neighborhood: Hickory Square

Highest Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Texas Southern University & an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts from Texas Culinary Institute of America.

Religion: Jewish.

Family and Relationships:

Parents: Joseph Daniels (father, 48), Miranda Anderson (mother, 47)

Siblings: Wesley Xavier Daniels (deceased)

Children: N/A

Other: Jessica Morris-Daniels (stepmom, 48), Christopher Morris (stepbrother, 23)

Pets: 3 Dogs: Sam, Wilson, & Laurel.

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Romantic Orientation: Biromantic

Marital Status: Single/Never Married

Personality:

Favorite Film: RENT

Favorite TV Show: Community

Favorite Book: The Vampire Armand - Anne Rice

Favorite Song: Don’t Wait - Mapei

Favorite Color: Regal Purple

Likes: Halloween, movies, musical theater, meaningful lyrics, watching the sun rise, beaches (the place not the movie), corn dogs

Dislikes: aggression, narrow mindedness, ignorance, being corrected, being accused of having an attitude, Beaches (the movie not the place), Christmas, the smell of sunscreen.

History:

TW: BLOOD, DEATH, DEPRESSION, GUN, POLICE BRUTALITY.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7TH, 1992,

as the clock struck 3 AM on this morning in a Hospital in Austin, Texas, Lucille Sasha Daniels was born the second child of Miranda and Joseph Daniels. From the moment the two laid eyes on their little girl they were in awe of her. After a couple years of trying for another baby and a slight strain on ther marriage their family was finally complete and the two wanted nothing more than for their children to grow up happy and healthy with nothing but the best of what they could give them and as a local police officer working his way up the ranks, and a law student it wasn’t much, but they worked with what they could.

AS THE GIRL GREW OLDER,

it was more than clear that she was incredibly bright and yearned to learn everything she could. Though the academic side of her school days thrived from a very young age, the social side was a whole different story. Growing up one of the few black kids in a promintely small town in Texas wasn’t exacty easy no matter how much more progressive the times were changing people were still pretty ignorant. Sasha was teased and picked on by a few of her classmates at school and didn’t really have many friends to stick up for her. The fact that depression ran deep in her family wasn’t exactly a helpful factor and so the girl came home almost every day crying and heart broken. It was just about the saddest scene anyone could’ve witnessed.

WITH NO OTHER SOLUTION

Sasha’s parents started sending her to thearpy to help her cope with her depression in middle school and for the most part it helped her. The only other thing Sasha seemed to rely on when things got hard for her was her older brother Wesley. No matter what he was dealing with if his little sister needed him Wes was always there, sometimes even if it meant abandoning his own friends and plans to just spend time with her. Wes taught Sasha just about everything she holds close to her heart. He was the one who had gotten her into comic-books, –figuring super powers and strong characters who stood up for themselves against the evil in the world would help her find her own strength– he taught her how to cook, –showing her a healthy outlet to vent her frustrations and inspiring her love of food– and with the help of her father taught her how to fight –which gave her a bit more confidance to go after the things she wanted– Sasha looked up to Wes. Of course they had their fights –they were two years apart– but at the end of the day he was her big brother, and she loved him deeply.

SASHA ALWAYS THOUGHT SHE’D HAVE WES,

no matter how hard things got, or how people treated her, he was always a constant. As Sasha reached high school she grew more into herself and fit in a bit more. She managed to earn a spot on the cheerleading squad her freshman year and people she’d grown up with, who picked on her slowly started to treat her differently. She found her first boyfriend and found a bit of a balance in her depression, enough to function and thrive in school. She joined activties such as yearbook club, drama club, and the debate team. Finally life wasn’t as hard as it had been for her years prior and Sasha could at least function like a normal personfor the most part. She still struggled with maintaining her depression and social anxcieties, but life was at least slightly easier. Until her Sophomore year of high school however. Christmas break. She and Wes were doing a bit of last minute Christmas shopping when she convinced him to stop and get snacks. They needed gas anyway so he figured it would be fine. While he filled the tank, he let her go inside the convience store by herself to get the snacks.

WHEN SASHA DIDN’T RETURN WES WENT IN AFTER HER

only to be staring down the barrel of a gun. When he wasn’t paying attention another black kid about his age, maybe older had decided to rob the store and Wes had unknowing walked in. Quickly as he could he started to reason with the guy trying to get him to lower his gun and stop this. Sasha watched helplessly nearby as she watched her brother be brave and just as Wes was starting to get through to the guy everything from there happened so fast. An off duty cop arrived on the scene sending it into chaos. Instead of asking questions he shot. First the guy with the gun, killing him instantly and then Wesley, it was pretty obvious he assumed because they were both black boys and one had a gun and they were talking, they were working together. The moment the gun went off and Sasha saw her brother fall to the ground she rushed to him without a second thought. She could barely hear the officers yelling for her to back away from the perp. All Sasha was focused on was the gun shot wound at her brothers side and stopping the bleeding.

Briefly she could comprehend the other hostages in the sitution advocating for Wesley’s innocence. Tears started to pour from Sasha’s eyes and she begged and pleaded for someone to call an ambulence. With all of the chaos the cops seemed to realize their racist mistake and the next thing she knew Sasha had the barrel of a gun pressed to her head and was being threatened not to tell anyone what happened threatening to kill her if anyone else in the convience store said a word and he would call an ambulence once they all agreed and he honored that. Just before it showed up he vanished. It was the worst moment of Winnie’s life. Her hands covered in her brothers blood. She moved out of the way when the paramedics arrived and climbed into the ambulance with him, refusing to leave her brothers side and clung to his hand for dear life. Even in his dying breaths Wesley tried to reassure her that he was going to be okay and that everything was fine, but two minutes from the hospital he took his last breaths and his hand went slack in her tight grip. Sasha sobbed the rest of the way to the hospital.

IT WAS A WHILE BEFORE HER PARENTS SHOWED UP,

and Sasha had to tell them that Wes was gone. It was devistating to see the realization in their eyes that their son was gone. Sasha blamed herself for his death. After all, If she hadn’t gone into the convience store he would still be alive. After that Sasha was questioned by the police about what happened. She told them everything. Wesley’s funeral was held days later. Her family shat Shiva and laid him to rest and nothing was ever the same again. Through grief her family slowly fell apart. Her parents divorced, Sasha went on to live with her father and continued her struggle with depression her school work finally suffering and she even ended up assaulting a few of her classmates who decided to make her tragedy the hottest gossip even going as far as to put a girl in the hospital when she to Sasha’s face, accused her of covering up for her brother while using terrible racial anti black and anti semitic slurs.

Luckily Sasha was not expelled for her behavior. A few kids who’d witnessed it lied to protect her, probably out of pity she didn’t bother to ask, but from then on she did her best to remain in control of herself. Sasha made it through the rest of high school the best that she could through her grief. She accepted a spot at Texas Southern University where she majored in Journalism during the day and took night courses at the Texas Culinary Institute of America, graduating five years later with a Bachelors degree in journalism and an associates in culinary arts. At the age of twenty-two, Sasha moved to Italy for a year.just needing to explore the more that the world had to offer. Working in the finest Italian pastry shop and honing her skills and became a food blogger. She moved back to the states at twenty-three and moved to Hickory Creek, Connecticut and got a job working as a pastry chef at Wells Bakery as a second job. Now she talks to her dad every day, he’s now the chief of police back home in Wimberly and got remarried a year ago. Her mother is now a Lawyer living in Chicago also remarried, but to a woman this time, she’ll send money when she’s worried about Sasha, even though the girl doesn’t need it, and they barely speak. Sasha is now living with two of her closest friends in Hickory Square and taking everything one day at time. Still going to therapy and still grieving the things that she has lost.

#candice patton fc #character: female #character: 20s #character: hickory square #hickorycreek lucille daniels

[perfectisme-georgette]

Summary: All about Georgette pretty much ahaha I had started this when I was trying to figure out who in the world I was going to end up with and finally finished it completely todayyy!!!!

Trigger Warnings: Rape

ORIGINS & FAMILY:

Name: Georgette Ryelyn Midler

Nickname: Close friends call her Georgie and are the only ones who are allowed to do so (she’s very particular with who can give her a nickname). Her dad calls her his Princess.

Reason for name: She was named after her paternal grandmother, who passed away when her father was very young

Birthday: October 25th, 1993

Age: Twenty-Three

Gender: Female

Place of birth: New York City, New York (Manhattan specifically)

Places lived since: Up until now that she lives in Swynlake, Georgette has only lived in NYC. She has vacationed and traveled practically every where though.

Parents’ names, backgrounds, occupations: William and Addison Midler. William is a famously known news anchor in NYC and Addison is currently a stay-at-home mother/wife. Addison was in the pageantry life and had won Miss America two years straight. It was in an interview about her win that William and Addison met and they had hit it off since then. On top of their careers, both of Georgette’s parents hail from old money.

Number of siblings: None, Georgette is the only princess

Relationship with family (close? estranged?): In the beginning, Georgette was very close, especially with her father (she was such a daddy’s little girl). Now, however, with making her stay quiet about her trauma and then practically shipping her off after their master plan of keeping quiet severely screwed their daughter up, Georgette has no relationship with either one of them.

Happiest memory: Her happiest memory was her very first pageant win because after that very first win Georgette practically took the pageant world by storm and even broke the record for the most wins to date.

Childhood trauma: Georgette’s childhood was absolutely beautiful. It was full of glamour, luxury, everything. There really wasn’t any kind of trauma in sight. That came later in life.

Children of his/her own?: None

If so, relationship with their mother/father?: N/A

Age he/she gave birth/became a father: N/A

PHYSICAL

Height: 5’ 7” (wow she’s actually pretty tall)

Weight: 120 lbs

Build: Slim

Nationality: American since she was born in the states.

Disabilities (physical or mental, including mental illnesses): Georgette is currently suffering from PTSD, but she’s not exactly aware of it since she’s never been formally diagnosed with it. She is unstable as far as her spiraling is concerned haha. She’s taking into drinking, wouldn’t say she is an alcoholic, but the drinking does help her forget about her trauma.

Complexion (freckles, acne, skin tone, birth marks): Georgette has clear and clean skin, currently without acne or any blemishes. She’s very into skin care and keeping on top of her own skin.

Distinguishing facial features: Her eyes!!!!!!! Ughhh Georgette has gorgeous, and beautiful ocean blue eyes!!!!!

Hair color: Blonde

Usual hair style: Georgette’s hair is usually up, most of the time in a very pristine ponytail, but lately it’s been down and loose in waves which is her natural hair.

Eye color: Blueeeee

Glasses? Contacts?: None

Style of dress/typical outfit(s): Georgette always dresses to impress. Never has anything less than designer clothing on. She has a very clean-cut, classy look to her. Comfortable for her means a pair of heels. She’s very into skirts and dresses prefers those over pants, but is definitely not oppose to jeans as you’ll see her wear them when she goes out, that or a cocktail dress.

Typical style of shoes: Heels!!! Louboutins, stilettos, pumps, you guys get the deal haha

Health (is this person usually sick? or very resilient?): Physical wise, Georgette is very healthy. She’s extremely into keeping fit, and goes to the gym daily. She has a gymnastics history on her. A talent is needed for pageants and she has been doing gymnastics since very young.

Grooming (does she/he wear makeup? shower daily? wear only clean clothes? pluck her eyebrows?): Georgette never steps out of her place without looking completely immaculate from head to toe. She is hugely into make-up. In fact, she does her own make-up, rarely did she like when make-up artist had to do it for her during photoshoots and/or commercials. There is never a hair out of place or a nail undone. Her clothes are pristine and Georgette showers a lot!!!! Ever since the trauma she can’t find herself clean enough.

Jewelry? Tattoos? Piercings?: The standard two piercings on her ears. Her parents disapproved of anything else. Now, she does have a long dream catcher tattoo that covers her entire right torso. It’s covering a scar she had gotten during the night of the rape. She got it done much to her parents disapproval when she began her spiral. She actually really likes it and ended up getting another tattoo, a star, on her left foot that could sometimes be seen depending on the heel she’s wearing.

Accent?: A New York accent if that counts for anything? But she’s really good at turning it off.

Unique mannerisms/physical habits (bites nails, talks with hands, taps feet when restless): Georgette is very expressive with her hands and talks with them a lot especially when angry. She’s very horrible with having patience (we are working on that haha) and you can tell when she’s reaching her limits because she starts tapping her fingers on the nearest counter. If she’s very nervous, aside from the normal body tensing, Georgette tends to incessantly turn whatever bracelet she has on on her wrist.

Athletic?: Actually, yeah she kind of is haha. Georgette makes an effort to hit the gym daily because she does believe in keeping her body fit. She also has a long gymnastics history behind her. After the trauma, she took up kick-boxing and self-defense classes.

INTELLECT

Level of education (high school drop out, undergrad BA/BS, PhD, MD, etc.): Georgette graduated from Columbia University in New York. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business and Chemistry. Business was more so for her parents who pushed towards making sure she had something such as that under her belt. Chemistry was her own personal choice. Georgette is very into make-up so she became interested in the properties involved with it. She needs to make sure whatever she puts on her skin is healthy and would not cause her damage!!!!!

Level of self esteem: To the public eye, Georgette appears to have an extremely high self esteem. She always has her head up and exudes confidence. She can have a cutting bite to her words when necessary and could appear very full of herself. Inside, however, Georgette feels like extremely used goods, and basically hates herself.

Gifts/talents: Georgette can singggg. Shocker hidden talent there haha. She took singing lessons around the same time she started her gymnastics because she didn’t want to have just one talent to present while doing her pageants. She can actually sing pretty damn good!!!

Shortcomings: Homegirl doesn’t exactly have the best of patience. She can also have quite the temper and be very feisty. She has no problem barking back when the temper hits and Georgette can be pretty spoiled. (It’s some thing that is also being worked on haha)

Style of speech (loud, mumbler, articulate, etc.): Georgette is articulate with her manner of speech, at the same time though when that temper gets spiked the woman can get loud. Rarely does she curse, but again get her angry at just the right angle and she’ll give two flying shits about cursing not being lady-like.

“Left brain” or “right brain” thinker?: Ummm, she’s probably a bit more of a left brain person, but not all the way, so maybe sort of a mix.

Artistic?: Aside from her musical talents in singing, nope not at all. She can appreciate all forms of art, but she can’t draw for shit or do anything along those realms.  

Mathematical?: Now math she is very good at, probably ten times better then me!!!! Which means I’m screwed, but like she majored in Chemistry so that sharpened her math skills tremendously.

Languages? Georgette can fluently speak French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. She knows Latin as well, but you know that’s a dead language soooo. Her parents thought it was very important for her daughter to have a variety of languages under her belt.

Makes decisions based mostly on emotions, or on logic?: Emotions. I really wanted to say logic because she has been raised to do so, so like it’s second nature to her, but Georgette can be very impulsive and will react to emotions in a heartbeat.

Neuroses: None

Life philosophy: If you want something done perfectly, you have to do it yourself.

Religious stance: She doesn’t have a particular stand

Cautious or daring?: Daring. Maybe in the beginning she might have been a little more cautious because she had the media constantly behind her tail, but not really anymore.

Optimist or pessimist?: Probably a bit of both. She’s more so of a realist than anything, at least now she is.

Extrovert or introvert?: Extrovert!!!!

Level of comfort with technology: Very comfortable!!! Georgette basically grew up around technology.  

RELATIONSHIPS

Current marital/relationship status: Single

Sexual orientation: Heterosexual

Past relationships: Georgette has been in a couple of relationships here and there. None lasted super long. She definitely had her flingsss. Her last relationship was her longest and she thought that her ex would be like the #one and yeahhhh umm things went bad haha.

A social person? (popular, loner, some close friends, makes friends and then quickly drops them): Georgette is like a social butterfly. She does love talking to people, especially those that giver her attention hahaha. She’s not so much like that now. She’ll talk to people, yeah, but she keeps a little distant too because of the trauma that she has been through. Plus, she use to be heavy in the media and now that she ran off she’s not trying to have that many people know her.

Most comfortable around (person): Right now she doesn’t know a whole of a lot of people in Swynlake, so she’s probably the most comfortable around Perdita since they were close childhood friends.

Oldest friend: Tiffany is her oldest friend and her best-friend who funnily enough she isn’t speaking too right now haha. Aside from her, her oldest friend would have to be Perdita.

SECRETS

Life goals: Ummmmmmm right now she’s in the process of trying to figure out what exactly that issssss since her life has been turned COMPLETELY upside down. Before though, she wanted to be successful in her pageantry career and then settle down with like the perfect husband and all that jazz. Now she barely believes that there is such a thing as a healthy and sweet, genuine relationship and she finds love to be all bullshit.

Dreams: Georgette’s biggest dream was to become Miss America and even beat her own mother’s run, but it doesn’t seem like that dream will be happening what with everything that has occurred.

Greatest fears: That would currently be that what had happened to her could end up happening again.

Most ashamed of: Georgette’s the most ashamed of the fact that she had listened to her parents when she had returned home after the rape had occurred. She’s ashamed of the fact that she never reported it, never went to the police and essentially allowed a criminal a free card to what had happened to her.

Compulsions: Every time Georgette drinks wine or even champagne, she needs to gently twirl her glass cup three times, or she won’t drink it.

Obsessions: Chocolate, she loves chocolate. Any kind makes her very happy. Georgette is a chocolate addict okay, just like shower her in chocolate!!!!

Secret hobbies: Georgette actually loves scrapbooking!!!!! And she looovvessss dancing.

Secret skills: Georgette is extremely flexible. It stemmed from her gymnastic background, but she’s also double jointed on her arms and legs since she was young. It was the reason her mother had placed her in gymnastics, since Addison realized the potential that could bring for her daughter.

Crimes committed (and was he/she caught? charged?): Let’s seeeeee, well she was never charged for anything. Mommy and daddy Midler were good at paying off who ever needed to get paid to keep things under wraps. She really only started going cray cray after what happened to her. She has driven while drunk, gone skinny dipping, has tried prescription drugs, and ummm anything really stupid that a person would do while being very drunk Georgette has most likely done. Yeeaappp.

What he/she most wants to change about his/her current life: That the night of the rape had never occurred!!!! It ruined her life and Georgette wishes for nothing more then it to be erased from existence.

What he/she most wants to change about his/her physical appearance:Nothing actually, Georgette loves her physical appearance. She finds herself to be divinely beautiful. Errr well we’re having issues with that right now because presently she hates herself and can hardly even look at herself in the mirror because of it, BUTTTTTT before hand pffttt Georgette was like in love with herself hahaha.

DETAILS/QUIRKS

Night owl or early bird?: Night Owl

Light or heavy sleeper?: Heavy

Favorite food: Italian food, anything Italian she loves. She kind of has a guilty pleasure for pizza. I mean NYC does make the best pizza aroundddd, but you know for a rich girl who’s suppose to be eating healthy and whatnot, Georgette would stuff down a pizza asap. Screw eating ettiquteeee.

Least favorite food: Sea food. She does like shrimp though, but other then that Georgette isn’t a fan of any sea type food.

Favorite book: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Least favorite book: The Great Expectations by Charles Dickinson.

Favorite movie: Mean Girls hahahaha I am so mad too that that is her favorite movie

Least favorite movie: She’s not that much of a fan for comedy movies. They hardly ever make her laugh, and half of the time she finds them more pointless then anything.

Favorite song: I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston. Georgette is such 80′s trash when it comes to music.

Least favorite song: Anything that’s basically Heavy Metal. She just has never been able to get into that she feels like it’s all basically screaming.

Coffee or tea?: Coffee annnddd of course Georgette always has some complicated ass order when she asks for a coffee.

Crunchy or smooth peanut butter?: Smooth

Lefty or righty?: Righty

Favorite color: Pink!!!!!!!!!! That shouldn’t even be a question for Georgette hahaha

Cusser?: Georgette was brought up to be an absolute lady hahahaha sighhhhh, buttttt get her angry enough and she’ll forget all of that and will start cursing.

Smoker? Drinker? Drug user?: Never smoked, but she does drink. Drinking has sadly become like a medicine of sorts for Georgette. She isn’t a drug user, but she can’t say she hasn’t tried some prescriptions during parties she has hopped into. Wow Georgette you are a mess…..  

Biggest regret: Georgette’s biggest regret is the same as her biggest shame. She wishes that she would’ve reported her rape, spoken up, ANYTHING. She feels like it’s too late to do anything about it now and it’s a guilt that eats at her a lot!!!

Pets?: She has a POODLE!!!!!! hahahaha I couldn’t resist I’m so sorry!!!!! Her name is Peaches, you know like Georgia peach hahahahahaha sighh I think I’m funny xDD

#knowing georgette #this thing is soo long idk why I found such a long character sheet #let's seee if I actually go around doing this with any of my othersss hahaha

[blackkudos]

Cory Booker

Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician, attorney, and author who has served as the junior United States Senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is first African-American U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He was previously the 36th Mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013. Before that, Booker served on the Municipal Council of Newark for the Central Ward from 1998 to 2002.

Booker was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Harrington Park, New Jersey. He attended Stanford University, where he received a BA in 1991 and then a master's degree a year later. He studied abroad at the University of Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, before attending Yale Law School. He won an upset victory for a seat on the Municipal Council of Newark in 1998, where he staged a 10-day hunger strike and briefly lived in a tent to draw attention to urban development issues in the city. He ran for mayor in 2002, but lost to incumbent Sharpe James; he ran again in 2006 and won against deputy mayor Ronald Rice. His first term saw to the doubling of affordable housing under development and the reduction of the city budget deficit from $180 million to $73 million. He was re-elected in 2010. He ran against Steve Lonegan in the 2013 U.S. Senate special election and subsequently won reelection in 2014 against Jeff Bell.

An advocate of social liberalism, Booker supports women's rights, affirmative action, same-sex marriage and single-payer healthcare. During his five years in office, Booker co-sponsored and voted for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (2013), tougher sanctions against Iran, the Bipartisan Budget Act (2013), the National Defense Authorization Act (2014), co-sponsored the Respect for Marriage Act (2014) and led the successful push to pass the First Step Act (2018). In 2017, he became the first sitting senator to testify against another when he testified against Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2020 United States presidential election.

Early life and education

Booker was born on April 27, 1969, in Washington, D.C.; he grew up in Harrington Park, New Jersey, 20 miles (32 km) north of Newark. His parents, Carolyn Rose (née Jordan) and Cary Alfred Booker, were among the first black executives at IBM. Booker has stated that he was raised in a religious household and that he and his family attended a small African Methodist Episcopal Church in New Jersey. Booker has Sierra Leonean ancestry, a fact which was presented to him on the PBS television program, Finding Your Roots.

Booker graduated from Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, where he played varsity football and was named to the 1986 USA Today All-USA high school football team. Booker went on to Stanford University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1991 and a Master of Arts in sociology the following year. While at Stanford, he played football as a tight end and was teammates with Brad Muster and Ed McCaffrey, and also made the All–Pacific-10 Academic team and was elected senior class president. In addition, Booker ran The Bridge Peer Counseling Center, a student-run crisis hotline, and organized help from Stanford students for youth in East Palo Alto, California.

After Stanford, Booker was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University, where he earned an honors degree in United States history in 1994 as a member of The Queen's College. He earned his Juris Doctor in 1997 from Yale Law School, where he operated free legal clinics for low-income residents of New Haven, Connecticut. At Yale, Booker was a founding member of the Chai Society (now Shabtai), was a Big Brother with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and was active in the National Black Law Students Association.

Municipal Council of Newark

Contemplating advocacy work and a run for city council in Newark after graduating from law school, Booker lived in the city during his final year at Yale. After graduation, he served as staff attorney for the Urban Justice Center in New York and program coordinator of the Newark Youth Project. In 1998, Booker won an upset victory for a seat on the Municipal Council of Newark, defeating four-term incumbent George Branch. To draw attention to the problems of open-air drug dealing and associated violence, he went on a 10-day hunger strike and lived in a tent and later in a motor home near drug-dealing areas of the city. Booker also proposed council initiatives that impacted housing, young people, law and order, and the efficiency and transparency of city hall, but was regularly outvoted by all of his fellow councilors.

Mayor of Newark

Mayoral campaigns2002 election

On January 9, 2002, Booker announced his campaign for Mayor of Newark, rather than running for re-election as councilman; this pitted him against longtime incumbent Sharpe James. James, who had easily won election four consecutive times, saw Booker as a real threat, and responded with mudslinging, at one campaign event calling him "a Republican who took money from the KKK [and] Taliban ... [who's] collaborating with the Jews to take over Newark". In the campaign, James' supporters questioned Booker's suburban background, calling him a carpetbagger who was "not black enough" to understand the city. Booker lost the election on May 14, garnering 47% of the vote to James' 53%. The election was chronicled in the Oscar-nominated documentary Street Fight.

During the campaign, Booker founded the nonprofit organization Newark Now.

2006 election

Booker announced on February 11, 2006, that he would again run for mayor. Although incumbent Mayor Sharpe James filed paperwork to run for reelection, shortly thereafter he announced that he would instead cancel his bid to focus on his work as a State Senator, which he was originally elected to in 1999. At James's discretion, Deputy Mayor Ronald Rice decided to run as well. Booker's campaign outspent Rice's 25 to 1, for which Rice attacked him. In addition to raising over $6 million for the race, Booker attacked Rice as a "political crony" of James. Booker won the May 9 election with 72% of the vote. His slate of city council candidates, known as the "Booker Team", swept the council elections, giving Booker firm leadership of the city government.

2010 election

On April 3, 2010, Booker announced his campaign for reelection. At his announcement event, he remarked that a "united government" was crucial to progress, knowing his supporters in the city council faced tough reelections. Heavily favored to win, Booker faced former judge and Essex County prosecutor Clifford J. Minor, as well as two minor candidates. On May 11, Booker won reelection with 59% of the vote.

Tenure

Before taking office as mayor, Booker sued the James administration, seeking to terminate cut-rate land deals favoring two redevelopment agencies that had contributed to James's campaigns and listed James as a member of their advisory boards. Booker argued that the state's "pay-to-play" laws had been violated and that the land deals would cost the city more than $15 million in lost revenue. Specifically, Booker referenced a parcel at Broad and South Streets that would generate only $87,000 under the proposed land deals yet was valued at $3.7 million under then-current market rates. On June 20, 2006, Superior Court Judge Patricia Costello ruled in favor of Booker.

In late June 2006, before Booker took office, New Jersey investigators foiled a plot to assassinate Booker led by Bloods gang leaders inside four New Jersey state prisons. The motive for the plot was unclear, but was described variously as a response to the acrimonious campaign and to Booker's campaign promises to take a harder line on crime.

First term

Booker assumed office as Mayor of Newark on July 1, 2006. After his first week in office, he announced a 100-day plan to implement reforms in Newark. The proposed changes included increasing police forces, ending background checks for many city jobs to help former offenders find employment in the city, refurbishing police stations, improving city services, and expanding summer youth programs.

One of Booker's first priorities was to reduce the city's crime rate. In furtherance of this, he appointed Garry McCarthy, former deputy commissioner of operations of the New York City Police Department, as director of the Newark Police Department. Crime reduction was such a central concern to the Booker administration that Booker, along with his security team, was known to personally patrol the streets of Newark until as late as 4 a.m.

Booker was a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, a bipartisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets". Booker was honored in October 2009 by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence with the Sarah Brady Visionary Award for his work in reducing gun violence. During his mayoralty, crime dropped significantly in Newark, which led the nation in violent crime reduction from 2006 to 2008. March 2010 marked Newark's first murder-free month in over 44 years, although murder and overall crime rates began to rise again after 2008. In addition to his crime-lowering initiatives, Booker doubled the amount of affordable housing under development and quadrupled the amount under pre-development, and reduced the city budget deficit from $180 million to $73 million.

After taking office, Booker voluntarily reduced his own salary twice, reducing his salary by 8% early in his first year as mayor. He also raised the salaries of many city workers. However, his administration imposed one-day-a-month furloughs for all non-uniformed employees from July through December 2010, as well as 2% pay cuts for managers and directors earning more than $100,000 a year. In 2008 and 2009, the City of Newark received the Government Finance Officers Association's Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. In an effort to make government more accessible, Booker held regular open office hours during which city residents could meet with him personally to discuss their concerns. In 2010, Booker was among the finalists for the World Mayor prize, ultimately placing seventh. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the 2012 award.

In July 2010, Booker attended a dinner at a conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, where he was seated with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg, who had no known ties to Newark, announced in September 2010 that he was donating $100 million of his personal fortune to the Newark school system. According to an article in The New York Times, Booker and Zuckerberg continued their conversation about Booker's plans for Newark. The initial gift was made to start a foundation for education. The gift was formally announced when Booker, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and Zuckerberg appeared together on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The timing of Zuckerberg's donation was questioned by some as a move for damage control to his image, as it was announced on the opening day of the movie The Social Network, a film that painted an unflattering portrait of Zuckerberg. On her show, however, Winfrey told the audience that Zuckerberg and Booker had been in talks for months and had actually planned the announcement for the previous month, and that she and Booker had to force Zuckerberg to put his name to the donation, which he had wanted to make anonymously.

On October 10, 2010, Booker established Let's Move! Newark as part of First Lady Michelle Obama's national Let's Move! initiative against childhood obesity.

Booker gained national attention when, on December 28, 2010, a constituent used Twitter to ask him to send someone to her father's house to shovel his driveway, because her elderly father was going to attempt to do it himself. Booker responded by tweeting, "I will do it myself; where does he live?" Other people volunteered, including one person who offered his help on Twitter, and 20 minutes later Booker and some volunteers showed up and shoveled the man's driveway.

Second term

In October 2011, Booker expanded the Let's Move! Newark program to include Let's Move! Newark: Our Power, a four-month fitness challenge for Newark public school students run by public health advocate Jeff Halevy.

On April 12, 2012, Booker saved a woman from a house fire, suffering smoke inhalation and second-degree burns on his hands in the process. Newark Fire Chief John Centanni said that Booker's actions possibly saved the woman's life. After Hurricane Sandy destroyed much of the shoreline areas of New Jersey and New York in late October 2012, Booker invited Newarkers without power to eat and sleep in his home. In February 2013, responding to a Twitter post, Booker helped a nervous constituent propose to his girlfriend. Booker rescued a dog from freezing temperatures in January 2013 and another dog that had been abandoned in a cage in July 2013.

On November 20, 2012, a melee occurred at a Newark City Council meeting attended by Booker. The nine-seat council was to vote on the successor to the seat vacated by newly elected U.S. Representative Donald M. Payne, Jr. Booker's opponents on the council, including Ras Baraka, sought to appoint John Sharpe James, son of the former mayor, while Booker and his supporters favored Shanique Speight. Booker attended the meeting to deal with the eventuality of the lack of a quorum or a tie vote, in which state law would allow him to cast a deciding vote. After Baraka was refused an opportunity to address the council by acting Council President Anibal Ramos, Jr., Baraka and two other council members walked away in protest. Booker cast the deciding vote for Speight. Supporters of James stormed the stage and were held back by riot police, who eventually used pepper spray on some members of the crowd. Baraka later blamed Booker for inciting the disturbance, while Booker refused comment to the media after the vote.

In December 2012, after discussions with a constituent about New Jersey's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Booker began a week-long challenge attempting to live on a food budget of $30 per week—the amount SNAP recipients receive. When critics noted that the very name of the SNAP program shows that it is intended to "supplement" an individual's food budget, not be its sole source, Booker replied that his aim was to spark a discussion about the reality that many Americans rely solely on food stamps to survive.

Newark Watershed

The Newark Watershed comprises 35,000 acres of pristine land and reservoirs that supply water to municipalities in northern New Jersey. A New Jersey State Comptroller report issued in February 2014 revealed irregularities and corruption within the Newark Watershed and Development Corporation, which was in the process of being dismantled after being taken over by the city during Booker's mayoralty.

Public opinion polling

Throughout Booker's mayoralty, Fairleigh Dickinson University's public opinion poll PublicMind asked New Jersey residents statewide whether or not they had heard of Mayor Booker and whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of him. The results are as follows:

March 2014

Name recognition: 88%

Favorable opinion: 47%

Unfavorable opinion: 23%

Legacy

Booker's mayoralty and celebrity drew much media attention to Newark. While he enjoyed high ratings from city residents, his legacy has received mixed reviews. During his tenure, millions of dollars were invested in downtown development, but underemployment and high murder rates continue to characterize many of the city's neighborhoods. Despite legal challenges initiated during his term, Newark Public Schools has remained under control of the state for nearly twenty years. Newark received $32 million in emergency state aid in 2011 and 2012, requiring a memorandum of understanding between Newark and the state that obligated the city to request and the state to approve appointments to city hall administrative positions.

While Mayor of Newark, Booker claimed in an interview that Newark's unemployment rate had fallen by two percentage points. This statement was rated "false" by PolitiFact, because he used data that had not been seasonally adjusted; the adjusted rate was 0.7 percentage points.

U.S. Senate

2013 election

On December 20, 2012, Booker announced that he would explore running for the U.S. Senate seat that was then occupied by Frank Lautenberg in the 2014 election, ending speculation that he would challenge Governor Chris Christie in the 2013 gubernatorial election. On January 11, 2013, Booker filed papers to form a campaign committee, without announcing whether he would run. Roughly one month later, incumbent Lautenberg—then 89 years of age—announced that he would not seek reelection in 2014.

On June 3, Lautenberg died of viral pneumonia; five days later, Booker announced his intention to run for Lautenberg's seat in a 2013 special election. Booker announced his candidacy at two events: one in Newark and the other in Willingboro.

On August 13, 2013, Booker was declared the winner of the Democratic primary, with approximately 59% of the vote. On October 16, 2013, he defeated Republican Steve Lonegan in the general election, 54.9% to 44.0%, Booker is the first African-American to be elected to the Senate since Barack Obama in 2004. The night before his victory, Booker visited the gravesite of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, where he offered his prayers and lit a vigil candle in memory of his father.

Booker resigned as Mayor of Newark on October 30, 2013 and was sworn in on October 31, 2013 as the junior U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He is the first African-American U.S. Senator from New Jersey.

2014 election

On January 9, 2014, Brian D. Goldberg, a West Orange resident and New Jersey businessman, announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. On January 27, 2014, Freehold Township businessman Richard J. "Rich" Pezzullo announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination. Pezzullo had previously run for the US Senate in 1996 as the Conservative Party candidate. On February 4, 2014, conservative political consultant Jeff Bell announced his bid for the nomination. Bell was the Republican Party nominee for U.S. Senate in 1978. Ramapo College professor Murray Sabrin, who ran for the Senate in 2000 and 2008, announced another run on February 13.

Bell won the Republican primary and received support from the conservative American Principles Fund, which ran a direct mail operation costing over $80,000, and the National Organization for Marriage, an organization opposed to same-sex marriage, which paid for $6,000 of automated calling. Booker defeated Bell in the general election, capturing 55.8% of the vote to Bell's 42.4%.

Tenure

On October 31, 2013, Booker was sworn into the Senate. In November 2013, Booker co-sponsored and voted for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. In December 2013, he was one of the original cosponsors of Bob Menéndez's Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2013, which would toughen sanctions against Iran. He also voted for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. In January 2014, he cosponsored the Respect for Marriage Act. In February 2014, Booker voted against the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013. In March, Booker pledged to meet with each of his Republican colleagues in the Senate in order to find common ground, and was spotted having dinner with Senator Ted Cruz in Washington.

Leading up to the 2016 presidential election, Booker endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. He was speculated as a potential vice presidential candidate during the primary and as the general election began, though Booker stated on June 16, 2016, that he was not being vetted. After the election, in which Donald Trump defeated Clinton, on January 11, 2017, Booker testified against Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions, the first instance of a sitting senator testifying against another during a cabinet position confirmation hearing.

Booker was supportive of fellow New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez while Menendez faced trial on federal corruption and bribery charges. During the trial, Booker was a character witness for Menendez, giving him effusive praise. After the judge declared a mistrial, Booker argued that prosecutors ought not to take Menendez to trial again. When Menendez ran for re-election, Booker praised Menendez, saying he was "so grateful for Bob Menendez and that I get to work with him and stand beside him". Booker downplayed the corruption allegations, saying "to try to continue to try to throw this kind of mud at him, it's not going to stick. It didn't stick when the government tried to do it and it should not stick now."

Cory Booker was named as part of the "Hell-No Caucus" by Politico in 2018, along with Senators Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders, given he voted "overwhelmingly to thwart his [Trump's] nominees for administration jobs", such as with Rex Tillerson, Betsy De Vos, and Mike Pompeo; all of the Senators were considered potential 2020 presidential contenders at this point in time.

In April 2018, following the FBI raid on the hotel room and offices of Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, Booker, together with Chris Coons, Lindsey Graham, and Thom Tillis, introduced new legislation to "limit President Trump's ability to fire special counsel Robert Mueller". Termed the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, the legislation would allow any special counsel, in this case Mueller, to receive an "expedited judicial review" in the 10 days following being dismissed to determine if said dismissal was suitable. If negative, the special counsel would be reinstated. At the same time, according to The Hill, the bill would "codify regulations" that a special counsel could be fired by only a senior Justice Department official, while having to provide reasons in writing.

On September 5, 2018, during the Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, nominated by Trump to replace retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, Booker questioned Kavanaugh on a series of E-mails marked "committee confidential", dating back to Kavanaugh's time in the office of the White House Counsel during the presidency of George W. Bush. The E-mails, which were released to the public by Booker's office the following day, show Kavanaugh and others in the Counsel's office discussing racial profiling as a means to combat terrorism, particularly after 9/11. Booker said that he was violating Senate rules in releasing the documents, with the penalty including possible expulsion from the Senate; he nonetheless defended his decision, referring to the process of producing documents for the hearing as a "sham" and challenging those who warned him about the consequences to "bring it on". Booker also described the release as "probably the closest I'll ever have in my life to an 'I am Spartacus' moment", referring to a line in the 1960 film, Spartacus. But committee chairman Chuck Grassley said the documents had already been cleared for public release the night before, and that Booker was not violating any rules, leading some Republicans to accuse Booker of engaging in "theatrics" and "histrionics". Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas mocked Booker in comments the following week, saying, "Honorable – if we could use that word about more people who are in public life, people who actually ask the questions at confirmation hearings, instead of 'Spartacus.'"

In November 2018, Booker co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S.270), which made it a federal crime, punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories if protesting actions by the Israeli government.

Booker played a leading role in the push to pass the First Step Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill. Booker has introduced the Marijuana Justice Act which would legalize cannabis in the United States on the federal level, defund some law enforcement in jurisdictions that have shown racial bias in marijuana arrests, and increase funding to communities affected by the war on drugs.

Booker announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 election on February 1, 2019.

Committee assignments

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Committee on Environment and Public Works

Committee on Foreign Relations

Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Committee on the Judiciary

Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security

Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet

Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security

Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard

Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security (Ranking Member)

Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water and Wildlife

Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight

Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy (Ranking Member)

Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism

Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management, International Operations and Bilateral International Development

Caucus memberships

Congressional Black Caucus

Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus

2020 presidential campaign

On February 1, 2019, Booker announced his campaign for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2020 presidential election, the start of Black History Month. Before his announcement, he was widely speculated to run for president but expressed uncertainty as to whether he would run. The same month Booker announced his campaign, Governor Phil Murphy U.S. Senator Bob Menendez and every Democratic member of the House of Representatives from New Jersey endorsed Booker. Booker held a campaign kick off rally in Newark on April 13. After qualifying for the first five Democratic Party presidential debates, Booker failed to meet the polling thresholds to participate in the sixth debate that was held in December 2019. On January 13, Booker announced that he was ending his run at the Democratic nomination for president. In March 2020, Booker endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden, over Senator Bernie Sanders, for president.

Political positions

Booker has been described as a liberal. Throughout his Senate career, Booker has amassed a liberal voting record. In a July 2013 Salon interview, Booker said that "there's nothing in that realm of progressive politics where you won't find me." In a September 2013 interview with The Grio, when asked if he considered himself a progressive, he stated that he is a Democrat and an American. Booker has the most pro-animal welfare voting record in the Senate year after year according to the Humane Society.

He supports long-term deficit reduction efforts to ensure economic prosperity, cap and trade taxation to combat climate change, and increased funding for education. He has spoken in favor of creating a federal jobs guarantee and baby bonds (low-risk savings accounts that minors get access to at age 18). In the Senate, he has emphasized issues of racial and social justice. He played a leading role in the push to pass the First Step Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill. He supports ending the War on Drugs. Booker supports abortion rights and affirmative action. He also supports a single-payer health care plan: in September 2017, he joined Bernie Sanders and 14 other co-sponsors in submitting a single-payer health care plan to congress called the "Medicare for All" bill.

On foreign policy, Booker supports scaling down U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and is against intervention in Syria. After the US strike on Syria in April 2017, he criticized military action "without a clear plan" or authorization from Congress. He supports a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. On Iran, Booker has stated the country poses a direct threat to American and Israeli security and feels all options should be on the table for dealing with the conflict. However, his decision to back the Iran nuclear deal framework damaged his long-term relationship with some Jewish voters and supporters. In an attempt to reduce the damage, he initiated an emergency summit for Jewish leaders, which some of his longstanding supporters did not attend.

Other activities

Obama association

In 2009, after Barack Obama became President of the United States, Booker was offered the leadership of the new White House Office of Urban Affairs. He turned the offer down, citing a commitment to Newark.

Booker generated controversy on May 12, 2012, when he appeared on Meet The Press as a surrogate for the reelection campaign of Barack Obama and made remarks that were critical of that campaign. Booker said that the attacks on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital were "nauseating to me on both sides. It's nauseating to the American public. Enough is enough. Stop attacking private equity. Stop attacking Jeremiah Wright." The comments were subsequently used by the Romney campaign against Obama. Booker made follow-up comments clarifying that he believed Obama's attacks on Romney's record at Bain were legitimate but did not retract his point about attacking private equity in general. Two weeks later, Booker's communications director Anne Torres tendered her resignation, although she maintained it was unrelated to Meet the Press.

Affiliations and honors

Booker sits on the board of advisers of the political action committee Democrats for Education Reform. He is currently a member of the board of trustees at Teachers College, Columbia University, and was formerly a member of the Executive Committee at Yale Law School and the Board of Trustees at Stanford University.

In 2010, Booker received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by the Jefferson Awards.

In May 2009, Booker received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the Newark-based New Jersey Institute of Technology for "his outstanding career in public service as the Mayor of Newark". In May 2009, he received an honorary doctorate from Brandeis University, and was a commencement speaker that year as well. Booker received another honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in December 2010 from Yeshiva University for "his bold vision for Newark and setting a national standard for urban transformation". In June 2011, Booker received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree and served as that year's commencement speaker at Williams College for the urban transformation of Newark. In May 2012, Booker received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Bard College and gave the commencement speech at the graduation. In 2010, Booker delivered the commencement addresses at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, on May 15; Columbia University's Teachers College in New York City on May 17; and Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts, a week later on May 23, 2010. Booker gave the commencement address to New York Law School graduates on May 13, 2011, at Avery Fisher Hall (now David Geffen Hall) at Lincoln Center. Booker gave the commencement address at the University of Rhode Island in May 2011; he also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. He delivered a commencement address to Stanford University graduates on June 17, 2012, at Stanford Stadium. He also received an honorary degree at Fairleigh Dickinson's 69th Commencement Ceremony in May 2012.

In May 2013, Booker gave the commencement address at Washington University in St. Louis and received an honorary doctorate of law.

On May 16, 2014, Booker gave the commencement speech for Ramapo College of New Jersey graduates at the IZOD Center.

During the 2016 presidential election, when Clinton had an illness described as "pneumonia", Donna Brazile, the then DNC interim chair, considered that her ideal replacement ticket would consist of Joe Biden and Cory Booker. However, the possibility of a divisive reaction and the possibility of "allowing Trump to capture votes in confusion" caused her to "not entertain any more thoughts of replacing Hillary".

Films

Booker's 2002 mayoral campaign, which he lost, was chronicled by filmmaker Marshall Curry in his documentary Street Fight. The film was nominated in 2005 for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Since 2009, Booker has starred in the documentary series Brick City. The series focuses on Booker and his efforts to improve Newark by reducing crime and bringing about economic renewal. Brick City won a Peabody Award in 2009 and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 2010.

Booker contributed to the 2011 documentary Miss Representation and commented on the representations of women in politics within mass media.

Booker appeared in a scene in the 2015 Parks and Recreation episode "Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington" alongside Orrin Hatch.

Conan O'Brien "feud"

In the fall of 2009, Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien engaged in a satirical on-air and YouTube feud with Booker, with O'Brien jokingly insulting the City of Newark and Booker responding that he would ban O'Brien from the Newark airport. Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the feud to end during a prepared comedy skit, telling Booker to chalk it up to a head injury suffered by O'Brien less than two weeks earlier. Booker then appeared on O'Brien's show and assured viewers that the feud was over and that he was actually a big fan of O'Brien, who agreed that every time he made a joke about Newark, he would donate $500 to the City of Newark, and also made a $50,000 donation to the Newark Now charity, which was matched by NBC Universal.

Waywire

In 2012, Booker and tech executives Sarah Ross and Nathan Richardson formed Waywire, a company focused on video sharing technology. Early investors included Oprah Winfrey, Eric Schmidt, Jeff Weiner, and Troy Carter. After Booker's relationship to Waywire was discussed in a front-page The New York Times story, board member Andrew Zucker stepped down from his position. Shortly thereafter, Waywire CEO Nathan Richardson departed the business as the company shifted its focus from content creation to content curation. In August 2013, Booker told NBC News he intended to resign from the Waywire board and put his holdings in a trust if elected to the Senate; by September, he had resigned his place on the board and donated his share of the company to charity. Waywire was sold to another video curation business the following month.

Book

In 2016, Booker wrote an autobiography, United: Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing the Common Good.

In an article in HuffPost, Shmuly Yanklowitz said of the book:

If there is anything that Booker repeatedly returns to in United, it is that the myopia of contemporary politics leads citizens astray, and leaves them vulnerable to ignoring issues of tangible importance. "I believe that this broken system, which afflicts us all, will be repaired" writes Booker near the end of the book. To repeat an earlier point, what sets Senator Booker’s work apart from that of similar political books is that it seeks to elevate discourse rather than bring down opponents of the opposite partisan persuasion.

Personal life

Booker regularly exercises and has been a vegetarian since 1992, when he was a student at Oxford University in the UK. He abstains from alcohol and "has no known vices or addictions" other than coffee. In 2014, Booker began practicing a vegan diet and has expressed his vegan ethical philosophy and advocacy for animals. As of June 2016, Booker worshiped at the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey.

Booker has never been married, and in 2013 he was named one of Town & Country's "Top 40 Bachelors". Although he has generally tried to keep his personal life private, Booker has in the past described himself as a "straight male" and has said that he is trying to date more in hopes of finding someone to settle down with. He has been romantically linked to poet Cleo Wade. In March 2019, actress Rosario Dawson confirmed to TMZ that she was in a relationship with Booker.

In a 1992 column in The Stanford Daily, Booker admitted that as a teenager he had "hated gays". Booker has himself been the target of rumors about being gay and has generally refused to address these on principle, which he explained in 2013:

Because I want to challenge people on their homophobia. I love seeing on Twitter when someone says I'm gay, and I say, "So what does it matter if I am? So be it. I hope you are not voting for me because you are making the presumption that I'm straight."

In 1992, Booker recounted in his column for The Stanford Daily that as a 15-year-old kissing a friend on New Year's Eve, he reached for her breast, had his hand pushed away once, and then "reached [his] 'mark.'" The column described Booker's changed attitudes towards sexual relations and how "skewed attitudes" lead to rape. The Daily Caller and Fox News brought up the column during the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings in September 2018.

From 1998 to 2006, Booker lived in Brick Towers, a troubled housing complex in Newark's Central Ward. In November 2006, as one of the last remaining tenants in Brick Towers, Booker left his apartment for the top unit in a three-story rental on Hawthorne Avenue in Newark's South Ward, an area described as "a drug- and gang-plagued neighborhood of boarded-up houses and empty lots". Brick Towers has since been demolished, and a new mixed-income development was built there in 2010.

Since 2013, Booker has lived in a townhouse he owns in the Lincoln Park section of Newark's Central Ward, also known as "the Coast" for its arts, jazz, and nightlife history.

Booker speaks Spanish; he attended a Spanish immersion program in Ecuador.

#04/27

[susannessmartin-blog]

Adidas marketing drive an uphill battle against 'cool' Nike

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[creativesage]

(via Solomon Darwin Takes Corporate Innovation to Rural Villages in India)

The UC professor, born into the so-called group of India’s “untouchables,” thinks one great idea can change rural lives, and is proving it with his Smart Village Movement.

By Patrick Hoge

Solomon Darwin was born in a rural village in southeast India to a family of so-called “untouchables,” a group of people designated by the Hindu religion as cursed because of sins in former lives and thus historically subject to poverty, discrimination, and oppression.

Darwin nevertheless went on to successful careers in U.S. banking and academia after his family converted to Christianity and moved to California, where he was able to get an education. He’s now a UC Berkeley professor.

“America has been extremely beautiful for me,” said Darwin, an unassuming man with jet-black hair, bushy eyebrows, beard, and mustache as well as jarringly intense eyes and a kindly voice. “The equal opportunity which I experienced in America brought me into prominence because it has given me the chance to prove myself. It’s a place where hard work can be rewarded.”

A life of comfort and ease, however, was not Darwin’s reward. Instead, Darwin has embraced personal sacrifices and threats from Hindu extremists to spread prosperity in his former homeland, particularly for those at the bottom of society.

As an academic, Darwin has become an increasingly influential promoter of U.S.-India ties, meeting with government officials up to India’s president and prime minister, and becoming the leader of a Smart Village Movement that aims to bring technological and economic development to India’s rural villages. There are some 650,000 such villages in India, and they are home to nearly 70 percent of the country’s 1.3 billion citizens.

Though virtually all of his extended family long ago emigrated to the United States, Darwin has also consistently gone back to his native village of Mori Podu on the Bay of Bengal, a town of 8,000 where he built and runs a school, an orphanage, and a hospital, all of which serve the poor and outcast, regardless of religious persuasion or social status.

“We are all blessed because of him,” said Harish Pindi, a 27-year-old Mori native who attended Darwin’s Riverside International School. He recently graduated in computer science from California State University, Northridge, and now lives in Fremont. Pindi recalled Riverside as an egalitarian oasis, and said Darwin counseled him to success when he   almost failed college.

Darwin explained his motivation to help others by quoting Abraham Lincoln’s adage that almost anyone can go through life’s challenges and succeed, but gaining power will truly test a person’s character.

“I see lot of old friends, even my own relatives, and they are so forgetful and lacking in gratitude now in America. Remember where you came from,” he said. “Even to today I am always remembering.”

This year, Darwin published two books. One, The Untouchables: Three Generations of Triumph Over Torment, is about his own family’s journey over three generations to escape caste oppression. The other, The Road to Mori: Smart Villages of Tomorrow, is about his campaign to digitally empower villages, which, over the past couple of years, has been officially adopted by two Indian states and received support from numerous universities and tech corporations like San Jose’s PayPal, Google in Mountain View, and Ericsson, Sweden’s networking and telecommunications giant.

PayPal chief technical officer Sri Shivananda, for example, dispatched staff to work with Darwin’s students in Mori interviewing local citizens about how to help them sell saris, cashews, and other goods over the internet.

Ericsson in May was touting how it has developed applications of sensor technology in Mori to help shrimp farmers improve harvests and improve water distribution.

Those efforts have already produced tangible benefits for Mori’s residents, and last year the state of Andhra Pradesh approved funding to help Darwin spread similar innovations to the rest of its 470-plus villages, said Venkatesan Ashok, India’s consul general in San Francisco.

“We saw how the villagers were thriving with the improvements that had come in,” Ashok said. “We need many Solomon Darwins to make change in India.”

Andhra Pradesh has given Darwin the honorary title of chief innovation officer. In June, the state of Arunachal Pradesh near the Himalayas in the northeast followed suit with its own deal to develop Smart Villages, shortly after Darwin hosted state officials in the Bay Area and introduced them to executives at PayPal’s headquarters. Darwin is now planning a trip with UC Berkeley students for next year.

Throughout, Darwin has continued to raise money for his school, hospital, and orphanage he started in Mori, relying heavily on church and service groups, like Rotary clubs, which have provided cash, materials, and volunteer services.

Vivek Wadwha, a distinguished fellow at Harvard Law School and Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering at Silicon Valley, said what Darwin has accomplished both personally and professionally is “incredible.”

“These are complete extremes,” said Wadwha, who met Darwin about a decade ago through another academic but did not know until recently that Darwin was born into India’s Hindu underclass. “You are talking about going from the poorest of the poor in India to the height of academia in Silicon Valley. How does that happen? He didn’t hit the lottery. He worked his way to where he is.”

Darwin was born a member of India’s scavenger caste, the members of which have historically been expected to take jobs like cleaning public toilets and sewers, burying the dead, or working virtually as indentured rural slaves. Such “untouchables,” also called Dalits by activists, are among an estimated 200 million people that the government designates as “scheduled castes,” and though affirmative action programs exist and discrimination was officially banned when India adopted its constitution in 1950, prejudice remains, economic opportunities are often limited, and incidents of oppressive violence continue. Deaths of Dalit men manually cleaning out sewage equipment have been commonplace in recent years, for example, even though the practice was outlawed in 2013, and inter-caste marriage provokes killings.

Fortunately for Darwin, he had a remarkable role model of resilience and entrepreneurism in his grandmother, a woman known as Subbamma, who rejected caste distinctions, converted to Christianity and ran restaurants, a lace-making export business and a community bank while also acting as schoolteacher and midwife to countless local children.

“Entrepreneurship is a liberator. That’s what my grandmother proved,” Darwin said.

Opportunity proved nonexistent for Darwin’s academically inclined father, however. He could not find a job despite completing an advanced degree in marine science — a fact he attributed to caste discrimination.

Incredibly, Darwin’s father eventually got hired by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, and after four years’ separation, Darwin and his mother joined him in La Jolla. The family later relocated to San Bruno.

Equipped with at best a fifth-grade education, Darwin was overwhelmed by culture shock and depression. He tearfully pleaded his way into community college, working as a janitor at the school. Three years later, he transferred to San Francisco State University, where he got a bachelor’s degree, proceeding then to get an MBA from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.

Darwin got a job as a financial analyst for Motorola Inc. in San Mateo, worked at a bank in Tulsa, Okla., and then got a job at Glendale Federal Bank in Southern California working as a cost accountant in a crowded basement in a warehouse-like building. In his spare time, he wrote a report identifying how to cut costs.

The report made its way to the bank’s president, who pulled Darwin from obscurity and sent him to Harvard University for an executive training program. When Darwin returned in 1984, he was named corporate controller for GlenFed and given a corner office with a stunning view of the Glendale hills and spreading metropolis.

Darwin bought some nice suits. He worked a lot, went to church, bought a large new house.

Then, in 1988, Darwin’s grandmother died, and the trajectory of Darwin’s life again changed dramatically. Subbamma had come in her twilight years to live near relatives. In her final days, she asked Darwin to take her body back to Mori Podu for burial. Darwin told her he could not commit to making that journey, as he was very busy, but his boss urged him to go.

S

o in 1988, Darwin traveled with Subbamma’s embalmed body by airplane, rail, truck, rickshaw, and finally in a small boat poled by hand across the Godavari River.

Darwin had not been back to Mori Podu since the age of 15. When the boat carrying Subbamma’s casket landed at the water’s edge, hundreds of people were waiting for her arrival. One held a sign in Telugu reading “Subbamma, a friend of the poor.”

Upon returning to the United States, Darwin sold his big house and moved into a communal home for Christian missionaries in Pasadena, where he shared a room with four other men. He sent his savings to Mori to begin rebuilding Subbamma’s mud hut school.

On the professional front, Darwin continued to advance, ultimately becoming a senior vice president of corporate finance for Bank of America in San Francisco. But when the bank was sold to NationsBank and the headquarters was moved to Charlotte, N.C., Darwin resigned. He had fallen in love with a ballet dancer of Swedish descent whom he met at his church, and the two got married and moved to Mori to supervise construction of the school and an orphanage on land Darwin bought when an upper caste farmer had a heart attack and needed money. It opened in 1996 and today serves nearly 800 students a year. The nearby medical center Darwin built similarly sits on land from which Darwin recalled being chased as a child by an upper caste man who yelled that he was unclean.

Darwin moved back to Southern California when his wife was going to give birth. He was broke and exhausted, but one day received a call from former Harvard Business School professor Ken Merchant, who had tracked him down to offer him a teaching position at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. Elated, Darwin worked at USC for nine years, where Merchant said he was an outstanding teacher, before joining the faculty at UC Berkeley.

Today, Darwin and his wife, with whom he has three children, live in Pacifica. He is executive director of the Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, part of Haas’ Institute for Business Innovation.

From that perch, Darwin teaches about business innovation, hosts conferences to promote U.S.-India commerce, the most recent being in September, and supervises student research aimed at using technology and global trade to develop villages around the world, where 3.4 billion live.

“I’m very excited about the work I’m doing. Otherwise, I would be depressed. Most of my life, I’ve had a lot of setbacks. At times, I have not wanted to live anymore,” Darwin said. “At this moment, God has blessed me to a point where I can give something back.”

It’s not all roses, Darwin is quick to point out. Caste and intersectarian tensions in India remain, with violence and other outrages occurring regularly. Despite his own accomplishments, Darwin feels discrimination from Hindus in India and in the Bay Area.

Darwin’s name has even appeared on a Hindu radical target list.

As a result, Darwin said he is careful about broadcasting his whereabouts when he’s in India, and his goal is never to inflame opposition, though he has taken stands at times to ensure staff at his school treat students equally regardless of caste.

“I want to live peaceably with everyone and work with everyone no matter who they are,” he said.

[Entire article — click on the title link to read it at Oakland Magazine.]

***

We’re glad that “new Silicon Valleys,” or place-specific innovation centers, are growing all over the world, at least in terms of innovation and the development of creative economy ecosystems — and we would love to visit them all! We all learn best by exchanging ideas across cultures and industries. We fully support complete diversity in the workplace, and overcoming the inequality challenges that are still too prevalent in our world.

Now, entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, and organizational leaders from other cities and countries who are visiting the San Francisco Bay Area can have access to Silicon Valley companies to learn from their cultures, hiring, leadership and innovation methods. Come join us for a dynamic, unforgettable, and very enjoyable Innovation Tour in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, the East Bay (Emeryville, Oakland, Berkeley, and more), in the Wine Country, or on the beautiful, rural Northern California seacoast in Mendocino County, including Fort Bragg, California, where we have worked on business, arts and tourism projects.

At Creative Sage™, we design high impact, customized creativity, innovation, and leadership programs, and we are now offering related tours, events, corporate retreats, and workshops in wonderful urban and rural settings that will spark your imagination — and your team’s — to come up with brilliant ideas and plan how to implement new innovations in services, products, your organization’s business model, operations, or in any other area. We also design programs for specific areas and markets, such as health care and health-related travel.

We use the latest in value-tested creativity and innovation techniques and processes; and we select world-class facilitators and partners to help your organization gain lasting value from your experience working — and playing — with us. Creativity and innovation processes could include design thinking, business model canvas, arts-based, interactive creativity activities, lateral thinking, gamification, World Cafe, or other proven methods.

We also work on workplace culture issues, leadership challenges, handling transitions, and building resilience in organizations and individual clients. You’ll be able to see first-hand how Silicon Valley companies create a culture of creativity and innovation, and you’ll be able to talk with their leaders. We’ll arrange a customized tour for you that addresses your organization’s issues.

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[notanotherbreakupblog-blog]

“You should get an arranged marriage”

You’re kidding right ? - your thoughts right now. 

My biggest fear in life is settling. I grew up in a predominately traditional and cultural household here in the United States and let me tell you it isn't pretty or easy and my mental health went straight to shit for it. 

The actual way marriage is suppose to work for us is that a male who is ready to settle down will go to a bunch of weddings or gatherings and simply ask his mother to find a potential spouse for him. His mother would ask around and choose and point out a bunch of beautiful single girls and he would pick which one he would be interested in. His parents would represent him ask the girls parents if their daughter would be interested to know their son and then the girl will decide if she wants to get to know him or not. Almost like the bachelor/ bachelorette but without the cameras and drama. 

This can go two ways: immediately there is a connection between them and they want to continue talking to each other, kinda like a “love at first site” or they just don't feel it and they go their separate ways. it can be awkward at first but you’ll both get over it fast because no feelings were involved. 

If you do end up saying yes to get to know the person you would give yourself a time limit on how long you guys would talk usually people do it right away or give each other max three months and boom he pops the question you’re both engaged for at least a year and have this huge extravagant wedding and live happily ever after. 

The thing with arranged marriages is that it can have it’s pros and cons. pros being that you both don't know each other or your pasts and within time you both learn to fall in love with each other. Cons can be he can pull up a huge fake act and then finally his true colors show up and all hell goes down from there. But to me regardless of the pros and cons it can be really scary . 

I can't emphasize this enough but a lot of girls I know got married at a young age. Not by force but by choice they felt that since they already have their degrees and some of their accomplishments and decided it’s time for them to settle down. some girls even believe in order to get out of their parents house is to get married they assumed that in order to have “Freedom” is marriage . Some girls just can't stand being alone so they feel that they need to get married to be happy and to feel that genuine love. It’s sad but it’s true and i honestly blame our old fashion customs and traditional values and the fact that reputation for a girl means everything to these people. 

Going a little bit off topic if theirs one thing that ruined this generation today when it comes to relationships is social media. The East is literally trying to be like the West and the West is trying to be like the East. What I mean about that is when immigrants come to America they have a huge wave of a culture shock and they are petrified that their children will be corrupted by this new society. So they do everything they can to keep their children like how it was for them back home. That could be on how to dress, no dating, being very strict with their daughters, Boys can get away with anything because they are going to be “men”, girls being restricted to be adventurous and trying new things. The list can go one it’s bizarre. The parents in the states try to be opened minded but in reality they can't because the didn't grow up in this country. 

But low and freaking behold how the tables are turned when I recently went back home to visit my cousins. The entire country is completely westernized. Girls can wear whatever they want, people are drinking and going out late at night, having relationships is a common norm . My cousins would bring their girlfriends and boyfriends over to the house and hang out with us and the parents are ok with it. Why? because eventually they are going to get married. That’s in their mindset.  I was in shock and I was angry . I was angry because they are literally living the life that i’m not allowed to have and they are suppose to represent that old school tradition and values. But honestly kudos to them for becoming open minded . What upsets me is my parents would never. I had to be forced to live life in a box and very sheltered. I was very inexperienced and I couldn't grow and that shot my mental health to the ground. Everything I did was considered wrong like going out at night with friends or gathering or get together or even hanging out with the boy I liked and wondering if there could be a possible chance for us. 

Nothing worked out for me. Everyone thought they knew whats best for me ad they were worried that I would lose it but honestly I was losing it because they wouldn't let me breathe. they wouldn't give me my space. they wouldn't let me express myself and even if i did express myself it was a complete fail because they would just state that my ideas and concepts are wrong. “This isn't our culture” well guess what fuck the culture because look at everyone now. Nobody cares anymore they are all just doing what makes them happy and parents are just overseas are starting to be more opened minded about there kids. 

I’m going through a lot at the moment one of them is experiencing my first heartbreak over a man who never loved me back and he never was committed to me and that was my mistake but he was at fault majority of the situation and  he ended it in the most hurtful way possible. I’m learning the hard way to let go.. I still can't let go because for the first time in my life I was happy.. I was free. He was everything what I wanted in the outside and the potential but deep down he was not a good guy for me . 

Theres a famous Tupac saying : “You can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could've, would've happened... or you can just leave the pieces on the floor and move the fuck on.” .. But how can I move on when I was really happy I really wanted to fix this problem I really actually thought he was the one. I am going  through the five stages: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.

 Acceptance.  Is something really hard to achieve and obtain, for that asshole and many others its easy. Just block and move on and never look back. But what kills me is that everything happened between us meant something but it’s easy for him to act like it was nothing.Whats worse is and I know this for a fact he kept saying I was perfect for him but he wasn't ready for a commitment . Tbh he knew I was perfect for him but he was hoping that maybe someone else but come along and change his mind about me.. But thats fucked up. Why don't you just give me a chance and see if i’m worth your while or not. Why do you assume theres someone better and that maybe be true but if two people are developing feelings for one another and they do actually like each other than why don't we just give each other a shot.   

It’s hard it really is.. maybe I should have just stuck to old fashion and culture way and find someone by my parents and learn to love them with time.Love to me now and catching feelings is such a taboo in our society . It just sucks and I wish I could give my self the answers and courage to get up and go but i’m just to afraid to let go. 

#relatable #thoughts #heartbreak #culture #relationships #blog #stress #quotes #letting go #letting it out

[benegap]

I’m A Nutritionist Who Tours With Rock Stars. Here’s Exactly How I Got The Gig

How I Got the Gig is our new series in which we break down exactly what it takes to get a wellness dream job—and, because life is not always what it seems on Instagram, the highs and lows of actually doing the job day-to-day. We’ll be talking to cookbook authors, mega-famous food bloggers, traveling yogis, nontoxic makeup artists to the stars, doctors who’ve become brands, and many more. First up: Courtney Swan, the woman behind @realfoodology, who spends her time touring the world with a rock star. Here’s how Courtney got the gig.

Name: Courtney Swan

Gig: Nutritionist and personal assistant for Tove Lo, a touring musician

What does your job consist of?

I act as Tove’s third hand (I’m not sure if I’m another left or right hand) helping her with anything she needs. In addition, I take care of all-things-food when we are on the road trying to keep our band and crew healthy while enduring a busy travel schedule! I travel with a “health kit” stocked full of immune-supporting vitamins and everything I need to keep us all happy and healthy.

What did you go to school for?

I have a bachelor’s degree in communication and am finishing up my last semester of a master of science in nutrition and integrative health.

Did you do any jobs before your current dream job? If so, which ones?

I worked on the road as a band tour manager for eight years before this. Among the bands I worked for were 3OH!3 and Third Eye Blind, where I also lent my nutritionist skills.

How did you land your dream job? Can you take us through the timeline and various steps it took to get you where you are today?

When I was in college, I really wanted to work in music and got an unpaid internship at one of my favorite record labels at the time, Epitaph Records. During my short time there, I met a lot of people working in music and bands who were touring at the time. Many of my friends and connections I made back then are still close friends, and most of them still work in music! In fact, this is when I met the very person who is responsible for my current job with Tove. During college some good friends of mine started a band, and they were beginning to gain a lot of national popularity as we graduated college. After we graduated, knowing that I wanted to work on the road, they asked me to go out with them, and that is really when my career in music took off. Fast-forward to about six years ago when my focus shifted to health and nutrition. I took two years off from life on the road to complete all my science prerequisites so that I could apply for a master’s program in nutrition. In 2011, during my time off the road is when I started my blog Realfoodology. Two years ago, the aforementioned college friend of mine started working with Tove and sent me an email asking me if I would be interested in coming on the road with them. They wanted someone with touring experience who could help keep everyone healthy! With all the traveling that we do, it can be really hard to eat well and stay healthy; you have to work harder at it; my job is to make that easier on everyone in our crew.

Photo: @realfoodology

What does your job consist of on a daily basis?

I make sure the bus and dressing room are stocked with healthy foods and drinks; I find us healthy food spots to eat near the venues we play and hotels where we stay; I arrange advance catering for our shows and make sure to always grab us healthy breakfast in the morning (usually smoothies or chia pudding and green juices). My days are never the same; it changes from day to day because it depends on the schedule and whether we have a day off, a show, or a flight out. Show days are usually pretty consistent once we are on-site at the venue. If we don’t have catering, I get menus from a healthy (preferably organic) spot I find nearby and get lunch for our whole crew. Then I’ll help Tove with things she needs for the show, and then it’s usually dinnertime and I’ll do what I did for lunch but from another healthy spot I found.

What are some amazing perks of your job?

I once heard that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life, so, I must not have a job! What could be better than traveling the world with my best friends? Our crew is tight, and I love them like family; we get along really well and have so much fun together! I have been to places and done things I never dreamed I would do! This year alone we have already been to South America, Europe, and Australia! As I write this, I am sitting backstage at a music festival in Denmark; it’s really not a bad place to do work. And we’ve been able to catch some pretty amazing music acts along the way: Some of my favorites we’ve played with are Coldplay, Lorde, The 1975, Muna, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, Glass Animals, and Broods. I am so grateful for this experience.

What are some surprising drawbacks of your job?

In can be very lonely and isolating at times, despite the fact that you are constantly surrounded by people. You spend a lot of time in hotel rooms by yourself; it’s much like the movie Up in the Air (with George Clooney). You miss out on everything at home and people have a hard time understanding your lifestyle if they don’t also travel for a living. You miss your friends at home, and sometimes we are gone for months at a time, so it’s hard to integrate back into life at home when you get back. It also makes having any sort of relationship very hard. You miss birthdays, weddings, and other important events. You have to work hard to keep in touch with the ones you love, which can be hard, but the ones who are worth it stick with you.

It’s also very hard to have a routine because no day is ever the same. In a way I also love this about the job; it certainly never gets boring. You have to get used to living out of a suitcase; try leaving your home for three months with only three pairs of shoes ’cause that’s all you can fit in your one allotted suitcase!

Photo: @realfoodology + mbg Creative

Do you see yourself doing this long-term?

I’m not sure yet. Eventually I would like to work a job that keeps me at home more. I imagine I will have nutrition clients when that time comes. But for now, I can’t imagine doing anything else; I really love my job!

What advice would you have for someone who wants to get a job like yours?

That’s simple: Immerse yourself in the social network of the industry in which you wish to work; this is good advice for any job you want, not just my job. When I decided to switch career paths and move into the wellness world, I started seeking out people who shared similar nutritional beliefs. Within that group, I was further fascinated with those people who had carved out really interesting niches in the wellness world, and I slowly began to seek out relationships with those people. Because we shared similar interests, it was natural that some genuine friendships developed, and I actively sought to make a mentor of any of these new friends who were willing to teach me. But, a cautionary word: Be thoughtful about such efforts, and never sacrifice a friendship for selfish, personal gain.

Many people in our generation long for rapid success, but that is the rare accident, not the rule; in general, expect that anything worth having takes time and effort. I would not be here, working this job, had I not invested in the relationships and friendship in the music industry 10-plus years ago. No matter what the outcome of your work, these connections will only improve the quality of your life; it’s an amazing thing to have friendships built on similar interests.

Photo: @realfoodology + mbg Creative

What’s a fun story from a day on the job?

We had a day off in Mexico City and our tour manager had a friend there who took us on quite the adventure! It was one of those experiences where you kept thinking this couldn’t get any better and it just kept getting better as the day went on. We started out on a tour of the Teotihuacan Pyramids while he explained the history of his ancestors who built them and then he drove us to these caves and took us on a little walk through them. We finally stopped in a spot where the sun was shining down from a hole in the ceiling, and he led us through a traditional spirit-cleansing ritual, and we all stood in a circle telling the group what we wished for the most. It sounds so woo-woo as I type it out, but it was such an amazing thing to experience with some of your best friends! We ended the day with a tequila tasting (and too many shots; let’s be honest) and a homemade Mexican meal cooked by his family! That day goes down as one of my favorite days on earth. It was such a cool experience!

If you could tell people who admired your life one thing, what would it be?

I wasn’t always working a job that I loved. I want you to know it’s possible for you to love your job too. I know what it’s like to wake up dreading going to work and wishing every morning for some supernatural disaster (that wouldn’t hurt anyone, of course), something, anything just to keep you from having to go to work that day.

I want you to know, you can change your circumstances, no matter how bad they may be right now. The cool thing about life is that you really can make it whatever you want it to be. It’s yours for the taking; don’t forget that.

  You can make life the best thing you’ve ever experienced; you just have to know, trust, and believe that you can. And then take action. Go after what makes your heart sing. You are the master of your life, not a victim of it. Once you realize this, you realize you really can do anything. But no one else can do this for you; you have to do it yourself.

Here’s a day in the life of a wellness-loving TV star (from Scandal!). Plus, the founder of Whole30 shares how it always gets worse before it gets better.

from Health Insure Guides http://ift.tt/2wfmGkU via health insurance cover

#health #health insurance #medicines #cures #healing #medical #treatment #Health Insure Guides

[coturesocial-blog]

Okay, so whilst we are not in the habit of gossiping but, we just can’t help ourselves this week. We have just got to ask the question; the burning question on everyone’s lips. Who is Lisa Bloom? Although this woman has been around for decades, she has recently exploded onto our social media channels and the hype is unquestionable.

Whilst you’ve been waiting for more information about the mysterious group of people attempting to bring Usher down, we’ve been doing some digging! On this occasion, we are putting a stop to presenting you with glamorous lifestyles of our social celebrities. Instead, we’ve put our investigative skills to the test. We’ve done some digging to find out more about Lisa Bloom, the lawyer defending the case against the R&B star Usher.

Who is the celebrity lawyer ‘moving mountains’?

Lisa Bloom is a 55-year-old American civil rights attorney working in both New York and California. Above all, the majority of her work is carried out within her law company, The Bloom Firm. In addition to this, she is currently behind the lawsuit against Usher, claiming his ‘failure to inform sexual partners of his STD‘. However, Usher has never publicly announced an illness like this, which has got us all questioning if it’s even true!  There have also been speculations as to whether it could all be for publicity? Album to promote anybody? Usher has been in the studio…laterly!

Lisa has got a fair bit of experience in her field. As a celebrity lawyer, it’s not unusual for others to question your intentions. Having also fought for Chyna’s restraining order against Rob, high-profile cases like these can make lots of money. This lady has a controversial yet interesting past.

The Current Case With Usher

Presently, Lisa is representing all three of the alleged sexual partners. This includes 21-year-old Quantasia Sharpton along with another woman and man. With her aim to reach ‘justice and accountability’ Lisa is ruthlessly powering through this case but this trial is anything but simple because Usher is now allegedly claiming that he didn’t even sleep with the named victim because she isn’t his type.

The investigated event apparently happened when Quantasia was just 19 which was years ago and she has no physical proof of being with him. Let us also just note that, Usher was engaged and then later married that same year to the gorgeous Grace Miguel. Consequently, people are suggesting that the named plaintiff is only in it for the fame and fortune.

The Additional Info

Lisa Bloom is hungry for success and willing to take on most challenges. With lots of speculation, there is also the issue of her client actually testing negative for herpes. There are so many different reports, there’s no telling what’s true and what is not. Quantasia was actually caught out for mentioning needing money via social media around the time she filed the allegations. There is also speculation that back in April Usher allegedly paid off another accuser.

With rumours that Usher will NOT be making any payments to settle the STD lawsuits, could it be a matter of Bloom’s team eventually dropping the case? We know that she’s clever as she has won cases in the past so it’s a matter of how ruthless she is willing to be in hope to get the outcome she wants. Who will come out on top in the end? You can predict that for yourselves.

Lisa has lots of work and preparation to do if she wants to ensure the official suing takes place. However, with Usher potentially fighting back could this spark, even more, determination? If he chooses to sue not only his accusers but their legal representation too, her career could blow up and not in a good way. Who do you think will take the final fall?

What experience does Lisa actually have?

Lisa once worked for client Katrina Yeaw who wanted to join the Boy Scouts of America. Despite having unsuccessfully sued the organisation for sex discrimination, she doesn’t seem to let this past event hold her back. On the other hand, she’s had successful cases including a child sexual abuse suit against the Roman Catholic Church. In addition to this, she has even sued the LAPD – multiple times. Some rather controversial battles, right?

Lisa Bloom has also worked closely with famous clients including comedian, Kathy Griffin. In this case, she was defending the woman who used props during her set to mimic a gruesome and hateful attack against Donald Trump. We know a lot of people have mixed views on the U.S.A’s President. However, this case went to show that Lisa has no problem revealing her political views as long as she can add to her success.

As mentioned previously, she helped Chyna file a temporary restraining order against Rob Kardashian as a result of ‘revenge porn’. Again, another controversial case as her client Chyna has had her own fair share of drama!

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Is Lisa Bloom fully-qualified and experienced?

We know that some of Ushers’ fans are accusing her of being underqualified, but actually…..paused…She isn’t! Lisa has carried out quite a bit of work as a television legal analyst. This means that she often has opportunities to work on shows including CBS News, CNN and Dr. Phil. You also might find her record of education of some interest. Lisa has a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and a doctorate in law from Yale. Was the undermining of her work actually just a group of music fans taking a dig at her?

Secondly, she also has a career in writing with a range of books regarding the different issues in today’s society. She’s a smart woman and she’s clearly very knowledgeable but in regards to the case with Usher should she be preparing to meet her match on the other side? Lisa also delivers talks on a variety of topics too. This means she’s got skills in the explanation and persuasion departments… Whether she is talking about combatting joblessness, school failure or thug culture, she knows how to come across with elegance and class.

What are your thoughts now?

Do you think there is enough evidence for Lisa to win her case despite many things just not adding up? We don’t blame Usher for keeping what his plans and thoughts are on the down-low. This is because he needs time to do what is best. Imagine if all the accusations have no truth, this will all have been unnecessary damage to everyone’s careers. Not to mention the negative publicity towards those genuinely affected by herpes. Can you image how afraid and stigmatised they must now feel about the way all this has been handled and the negative effect it has on those suffering from the disease.

Here is a thought: If the plaintiffs claim that he failed to inform them of having an STD at the time of exposure, with him still not having addressed whether he has herpes or not, what really made them decide to file a case years later? money, Fame, Publicity…With so much at stake, only time will tell….

Cr: Twitter @LisaBloom Cr: Instagram @quani_sharp Cr: Instagram @Usher

Lisa Bloom, a #girlboss attorney: a hunger for success Okay, so whilst we are not in the habit of gossiping but, we just can't help ourselves this week.

#businesswoman #empowered #famous #inspiration #lifestyle

[cheapshop247]

Some Information On Necessary Details For Filmmaker Business

And.hen it hit me: I realized that I was constantly using resources for my own video production company over the last nine leave that one job out of the mix. Theulen holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art. 4 | The Salaries of Television Cameramen Freelance film-makers to change your usual mental patterns,” Taking a walk and looking for something interesting. Which brings us back to day film making which doesn’t mystery of their craft, as if that is the thing that defines an artist or professional. It has also become a term many people used to signify someone who purchased equipment and wants to create moving all your earnings are neatly reported on one form. While you get to meet a lot of people, you ve electrics, even production assistants. Because Les coming anyway. 7 Tips to Help You Succeed as a Freelance time it is making it simpler and easier to do. If you have savings to fall back on, you’ll know where your next meal is going to come you ll likely want to repeat this cycle to some degree. I am a freelance more.Why? In the U.S. in 2009, federal and state agencies began increasing their oversight of as you just stick with it. Hiring more than one applicant for a short test assignment after films and TV dramas, documentaries and sitcoms. Will. get the chance to be translating and illustrating, and other forms of piece work which some cultural theorists consider as central to the cognitive-cultural economy . Of course, video these days doesn’t just mean live footage – it also embraces animated content, Byrne shares alternatives to PowerPoint with a twist.

You’ll receive free e-mail news updates each time a new story is published. By Michael Alison Chandler By Michael Alison Chandler January 28 Follow @michaelalison It was still dark last week when Laura Moser rose from bed and tapped out a script for her latest call to fight what she and others view as extremism in Donald Trump’s America. A few hours later, when her kids were in school, she recorded a voice message and crafted a text alert to blast out to her growing army of activists: 100,000-plus and counting. The message went out at 10:15 a.m.: “Today’s daily action is urge your senator to place a ‘hold’ on Sessions’ AG nomination until Trump shows some respect for the rule of law.” Her work, for the moment, was done. Her Capitol Hill living room was quiet, her cat stretching lazily on the coffee table. Soon, phone lines would be lighting up in congressional offices across the country. Her calling system, called Daily Action , is one of hundreds of efforts being launched across the country to harness the energy from the Jan. 21 Women’s March on Washington and wrestle Democrats’ unrest and fear into something that can pivot the course of the country. “People were really focused on the march after the election,” ­Moser said. “Now we are in a frightening new world.” The first days of Trump’s presidency brought a flurry of executive orders and Twitter pledges as he moved to deliver on campaign promises, and protesters responded with a similarly frenetic set of reactions. People rallied outside the White House on Wednesday to protest Trump’s plans to build a wall on the border with Mexico, and they marched Thursday in Philadelphia, site of the congressional GOP retreat, to protest the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. [ Thousands demonstrated against Trump in Philly. Is this a new era of the perpetual protest?

For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/a-capitol-hill-mom-directs-thousands-of-anti-trump-activists-by-sending-texts-from-her-living-room/2017/01/27/cf0538f2-e447-11e6-a547-5fb9411d332c_story.html

Working on some business ideas and plans today… prices etc #photography #photographer #filmmaker #filmmaking #editor #freelance

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<a href="https://twitter.com//Mizz_RMH&quot; target="_blank" rel="Rebecca Head" style=”text-decoration: none;font-size: 14px; color: #256bbe; float: left;”>Rebecca Head

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hahahahaha what the hell do I label myself as on my business card? artist/filmmaker/freelance video/professional aesthetic creator?????

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<a href="https://twitter.com//90sdadjorts&quot; target="_blank" rel="Sarah Hachey" style=”text-decoration: none;font-size: 14px; color: #256bbe; float: left;”>Sarah Hachey

<a href="https://twitter.com//90sdadjorts&quot; target="_blank" rel="Sarah Hachey" style=”font-size: 12px;line-height: 14px;color: #999; clear: both;”>@Sarah Hachey

desiree gruber

Further Consideration Of Vital Elements For

Unfortunately, most everything else in this sporadically amusing slapstick has been seen before. “Fist Fight” is just one more vehicle for filmmakers to rely on the improvisational skills of their cast to fill out a one-note idea. Charlie Day plays Mr. Campbell, a high school English teacher clad in a sports jacket and tie who prefers to lecture about poetry. You know, a weenie. In the final hours of the semester he’s besieged by senior prank day. He’s also nervously awaiting a meeting with the superintendent to find out if he’s among the teachers laid off because of budget cuts. This couldn’t come at a worse time, considering his pregnant wife (JoAnna Garcia Swisher) is past her due date, and his preteen daughter (Alexa Nisenson) is counting on him to be her duet partner at a school talent show. Then he runs afoul of hard-ass teacher Mr. Strickland (Ice Cube), who’s already struggling with reaching his history students. “Half those kids thought the Civil War was a fight between Batman and Superman,” he complains (and plugs another Warner Bros.

For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/movies-news-reviews/article132889669.html

Buyers bid on services at a fixed to become a film-maker, right? However, the White Papers that recommend such moves have not yet been adopted in the EU, and the potential impact on UK employment laws exactly say, See Ca later, client relations! For example, in addition to the referral system that I have built through networking, I also have revenue yourself a better film-maker in other ways. This may become a great camera that will depend on many factors. Getting people to pay you to make films starts with business, so you get to deduct items like a business. This documentary is then packaged as a special illegal for companies or organizations to employ freelancers directly, unless the freelancer was entitled to benefits such as pension contributions and holiday pay. As soon as you start using excuses like low pay, long hours, and less than ideal circumstances, and it are just as many people clamouring at the chance to fill the role. Need some local state film commissioner. I learned by experimenting, making mistakes, you show, so present the work you want more of.

desiree gruber

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[adenathebean-blog]

The Great Job Search of 2017

Hello all,

Wow, another super long break between blog posts. But you’ll be glad to hear that I’ve actually been busy over the past few weeks and not just sitting in my apartment watching k-dramas. I’d spent a fair amount of time growing accustomed to my new apartment, neighborhood, church, and friends over the past seven weeks, so naturally, my next step was to begin the daunting process of finding a job.

I’d gotten a lot of mixed reviews on being a teacher in Cambodia, some from friends and acquaintances who have experience and some from all of the online research that I’d done. Some of the pros included my status as a UK citizen and my time spent in the US, my age, the desperate need for native English teachers in SE Asia, my TEFL certificate, and the fact that I’m a female. The cons largely consisted of my age, the oversaturation of “do-good” teachers in SE Asia, my lack of a bachelor’s degree, and the fact that I’m black. Surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly), none of this advice was the least bit helpful. Any education standards that exist in Cambodia are rarely followed and whether you get hired or not is up the complete discretion of whoever you end up in the interview room with.

So, with high expectations and images of local flocking to me, begging me to teach their children, I did some research about the international schools closest to me. And by research, I mean that I typed “school” into Google maps and clicked on the results that were in English. I then proceeded to wade through pages and pages of information that was either incredibly vague or had nothing to do with me (that is, if the website was functioning in the first place). The foreign teachers in Cambodia pages I’d joined on Facebook were incredibly helpful during this stage and I check in almost every day to see what new positions were available in the city.

Being the planner that I am, I made a document with a list of the most promising schools, their distance from my apartment, when the next term began, and some of their requirements for prospective teachers. Then I went down my list and emailed each of the schools in turn and waited patiently for some responses. Besides a single rejection email, on the grounds that I wasn’t qualified enough (no shocker there) I got nada. And as much as I had been warned, I was finally learning first hand that Cambodia is not a country of planners and organizers and schedulers.

At that point, I didn’t really know what to do, so I waited it out for a bit, not sure what my other options were. A few days later, I did end up scheduling an interview with a small school that I had several good recommendations from people at church. The interview was online and went well, despite my webcam choosing that precise morning to stop working. Another school also called and asked if I could come in and do a teaching demo. I said yes, but the prospect of doing an hour long teaching demo with 3-4 year olds and no interview beforehand was more than a little daunting. The night before the demo was scheduled was one of the most difficult I’ve had since moving to Cambodia. I was missing family and friends and the lifestyle I’d grown accustomed to and the next morning (after I’d called my mom and finally managed to stop crying) I called to reschedule the demo. In typical Cambodia fashion, they told me they’d call back and let me know what future day and time worked best for them. As you can imagine, that was the last I heard from them. And the day after that I was contacted by the school I’d interviewed with and told that they were very sorry, but they had no positions available until the end of June. (Not sure why they interviewed me and gave me every detail of the contract if they didn’t have any vacancies, but I’m not bitter. Heh.)

In any case, that week ended up being a dud and I honestly wasn’t feeling very motivated to keep searching for a job in a field where those in charge seemed to be intentionally unhelpful. On the other hand, I spend most of my days stressing about running out of money and being a penniless cat woman in the middle of Phnom Penh. There were a lot of desperate prayers and even more not so useful advice during that time. The most frustrating part had to be the questions that people asked at church and other social gatherings.

Them: So what brought you to Cambodia?

Me: That’s a long story haha. Lots of things brought me here.

Them: Like what?

Me: (expiring visa, too late to apply for school, America’s kicking me out, didn’t feel like going to England, people at church from Cambodia, Asia’s cool, K-pop, Cambodia’s as close as I can get to Korea right now) I just feel like God called me here, ya know?

Them: Cool, cool. So what are you doing here?

Me: At church?

Them: No, in the country. Are you working?

Me: Ah not yet. Looking though. Do you have any recommendations for good schools?

Them: Oh, so you’re a teacher?

Me: Well, not yet.

Them: So you just finished your degree?

Me: *desperately looking for a way out of this convo* No actually, still working on that. I have my TEFL though.

Them: Do you have any experience?

Me: I tutored and worked with the teen ministry in San Diego.

Them: I see. How old are you?

Me: Twenty-one.

Them: Oh, you’re young.

Me: Yeah.

Them: Yeah

 So that was fun. So much fun. Anyway, I was seriously starting to doubt my purpose in Cambodia. It’s true, I have no experience in the classroom and I spent the last twenty years of my life proclaiming to the unwashed masses that the last thing I ever wanted to do was teach, especially kids. God is funny like that. He likes to answer a few prayers and then throw us for a loop by giving us something we never asked for, but learn to appreciate later. (Maybe if I tell him I never want to marry a tall, handsome, Asian man who appreciates the fine arts, plays six instruments, and loves the outdoors…) Wow, these posts are getting more and more personal as I go along. Anyway, last Thursday I did another intensive round of applications, including making phone calls and actually visiting a couple of schools and handing over my CV. One of the schools I had the address for (and had spoken to the director of) turned out not to exist, at least not in the place that it claimed to. The encouragement was strong with this round and by Thursday evening, I had secured four interviews. One was postponed as the school had another applicant who they’d already met with express interest in taking the position.

So, feeling much more sprightly and confident, I spent Friday morning playing my part as a wedding singer. (True story. Chiara and I sang Amazing Grace at the most beautiful wedding that I have ever been to. If this teaching thing doesn’t work out, being a professional wedding singer is my next choice.) That afternoon, I had my first in person interview. It went well. The school was nice, as were the principal and vice principal and its strongest feature was the proximity to the apartment. Monday came along and I had another interview at a school that was much further away, but the campus was new and clean and the director was a fellow Brit, which earned him (and me, I think) extra points. The last interview was on Monday afternoon and it was the one I was most nervous about. With the previous two, I had sent my CV ahead of time, so they had interviewed me knowing that I didn’t have a degree of very much experience. I’d simply made an inquiry to the last school about whether they had positions and they’d asked me to interview right away (I actually had to reschedule because of the wedding).

I had no idea what I was going into and ended up at the wrong campus. There are three different campuses, one for kindergarten, one for primary, and one for high school, which is where the main office is. I showed up at the kindergarten one, but luckily all of the campuses are on the same street within walking distance. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the director who I was supposed to interview with was fifteen minutes late. Once he showed up though, it was smooth sailing all the way through. He was the first person to conduct one of my interviews who wasn’t a westerner, although his English was phenomenal. Despite this, he had some of the most western ideals out of all of the people I’d spoken to during my job hunt. He placed a lot of emphasis on communication (which is a rarity in Cambodia) as well as parental involvement (also rare) and said that he likes to give people chances, it’s just up to them to prove they deserve it. And then he whipped out a contract right then and there. We went through it together, I asked all of my questions, and we sealed the deal. As of the 29th of May, 2017, I became a kindergarten teacher at True Visions International School!

Funnily enough, half an hour after I’d gotten home and done a victory lap around my apartment, I got a call from the school that I’d interviewed with that morning, letting me know that I’d passed the interview and they had a position for me with their kindergarten class. It was the same pay, and although I liked both schools, True Visions really won me over and is much closer to where I’m living, so I’m incredibly satisfied with my choice.

Now that the easy part is over, all I have to do is learn how to teach English to kindergarteners. Woohoo!

#job search #kindergarten #job interview #wedding #wedding singer #teaching #tefl #asia #cambodia #phnom penh #travel #travel blog #traveling bean