#keeping these staff blog takeovers going...

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Seems we have Time on our Hands.

🐦‍⬛ Yup, I'm throwing another cat at you, Miss Raven. Deal with it. 📚

Above All, Self Control.

"Ms. Crowley, might I have a word with you? It will take but a moment of your time.”

Raven froze at her desk. the books she had been shuffling almost slipping from her grasp. She found her Magic History professor’s gaze, a piercing grey, on her. He stroked the fat cat cradled in his arms with one hand—and that, paired with the stern composition of his face, and the time that had carved folds into it, made him appear like a comedically evil villain from a spy film.

Raven gulped. “Yes.”

"Uh-oh," a mob student snickered in passing. "Looks like the teacher's pet is getting busted."

She shot them a glare as they ducked out of the classroom, followed by a stream of other students. Most of them were no friends to her—she didn’t know expect them to look back, to wait on her. The door unceremoniously slammed shut after the last boy had left, as if condemning her to solitude with the warden thar kept them jailed in lecture.

She stood and made her way over to Trein’s desk, but stopped several paces from it. Raven carefully eyed the feline comfortably sat in her instructor’s arms.

She had seen the cat videos online. From this distance… he shouldn’t be able to pounce on me.

Trein cleared his throat. "Would you care to come closer? I do not wish to raise my voice.”

“S-Sorry, Professor Trein,” she stuttered. “I don’t think I can.”

The older man sighed. “This is what I wanted to discuss. I have noticed this since the beginning of the school year.” He indicated the large gap of space between him and her. “Is there a reason for it? And if so, how may I correct it? The last thing I would want is for my students dread my presence.“

“Eh?!” Raven flushed with shame. Her eyes darted from Trein to Lucius. “I-It’s not you, sir. It’s… well, um… b-being a bird and all, there are certain instincts that are difficult to override… and cats being the natural predator to birds is..."

“I understand. Dear me, it sounds as though my Lucius is making you feel this way.”

“Mrrow? Meow meow meow..” ("Who, me? I wouldn't hurt a fly.") Lucius tilted his head up at his name, ears twitching. Raven jolted back, as if struck by a slap. His contractor kept a firm hand on Lucius’s back, pinning him in place.

“This is quite the conundrum,” Trein mused. “I worry this could impede your studies. More importantly, I would never wish to bring distress or discomfort to those under my instruction. Then there is a personal concern."

"What would that be, sir?"

"You won't be able to fully appreciate Lucius's appeal." This, Trein stated with a face so straight, a tone so serious, it threw Raven off guard. "This won't do. It must be corrected at once for the sake of your academic success."

"C-Corrected?! And just how do you intend to achieve such a thing, Professor...?" Her stomach tightened into a hard knot.

"Exposure therapy. Have you heard of it?" Trein held Lucius up, fingers tucked under his familiar's front legs, exposing his furry belly and swaying tail. Lucius blinked lazily at Raven. "We will start small and take gradual steps to have you become more accustomed to the presence of cats. I will consider it a milestone if we are able to reach the point at which Lucius can sit in your lap and you can pet him without feeling apprehensive."

"Huh?! L-Lucius-san... in my lap?! Me, petting him?!" Raven paled on the spot. "I-I do admit that it would be best if I learned to overcome this, but... Don't you think it's asking too much of me to... touch Lucius-san in such an intimate way? Wh-What if he bites or scratches me?!"

“Myyyeow!! Meow mrow…!” (“I take offense to that. I’m not a savage…!”)

"He won't, I guarantee it. My Lucius is a very good, very well-behaved boy--and, moreover, he's excellent with children." Trein smiled fondly. "Aren't you, Lucius? You'll help Ms. Crowley, won't you?"

"Mrrowwww." ("I'm not opposed to getting more head pats.")

"There, you see? Lucius is willing to do all that he can to assist you. If you still have your doubts, I will of course be present to supervise and assuage your worries. The sooner we nip this in the bud, the better--lest it snowball into bigger issues down the road."

"Nngh..."

I can't argue with him here... He's completely right! If I don't face this now, then when will I? I'll only keep putting it off, letting that fear fester. I should stop making excuses and take the plunge while this opportunity is still avaliable!

Raven took a deep breath. "... I see the value in these teachings. Very well, I'll be under your tutelage for the time being.”

"That's the spirit. I think I speak for Lucius too when I say we look forward to working with you, Ms. Crowley."

Lucius produced a low purr, sounding like the gentle rumble of an engine starting. Raven flinched, but managed to keep from backing further away.

“I look forward to working with you too…! Please be kind to me, Professor Trein and Lucius-san!"

“Meow mrow.” (“I’ll be as nice as I feel like being, kid.”)

[one-idea]

Hello… I just found your blog, and after reading some of your work, I decided to send you this idea, to know what you think…

It takes place on the Mobi Dick, before Blackbeard's takeover…

FemAce is sick, to the point that she has vomited on more than one occasion, they end up putting her on light duty and with restrictions on certain foods until further notice…

Well, it turns out that between gossip and misunderstandings, the rumor that FemAce is pregnant is spread… and then someone comments that they saw her arguing with a blond revolutionary with a top hat…

So a group of crazy Whitebeard pirates end up starting a war against the Rev because one of them got pregnant and left his little sister…

…… Or how due to lack of communication the pirates declare war on the revolutionaries, when their 2nd commander got sick to his stomach a couple of weeks after discovering that his older brother Sabo is alive and He is an amnesiac revolutionary.

Okay I am a sucker for a good gender bender. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I’ve always had a soft spot for it when done right.

I love this idea.

Because Ace went on a mission and ran into Sabo. Her brother who she’s though was dead for nine years (let’s they are 19 in this and it’s a year before the canon begins)

Obviously she is distraught. Even more so when she tries to talk to him and he doesn’t remember her. They get into a small fight because she’s desperate for him to remember and he’s there like “who is this crazy pirate??”

He slips away from her (he is a super secret spy) and Ace is heart broken. She’s lost her brother again. She has no idea where he is. She looked but she has to return to the Moby.

When she gets there she’s super upset. She won’t talk to anyone, and locks herself in her room. She’s barely eating and what she does eat she can’t keep down. She’s making herself sick over her thoughts on Sabo. Did he truly forget them? Was it just her? Was she not good enough to remember? Was he happier without her around? She’s making herself miserable with all her spiraling what ifs.

The crew is worried. Ace is normally a ball of energy, till she passes out. It’s not like their little sister to mope in her room. She hasn’t done that since she officially joined the crew. The Ex-Spade members are super worried as are Thatch, Marcos, and Haruta.

Ace isn’t letting any of them in. She’s not letting Marcos, Deuce, or any of the medic staff look her over. They know she’s sick so they put her on light duty.

But with a ship as big as that rumors are bound to start. You’ve got a young, beautiful woman, who has left home completely alone, and comes back heart broken. She’s also getting sick all the time. She can’t keep any food down and she’s avoiding the medical team like the plague. Could it be? Is she?

Rumors start.

And with rumors comes speculation. Marco wants to crush this so he sends some people he trusts to go talk to the people on the island where Ace’s last mission was. He’s expecting the report to come back with “there’s a virus sweeping through the island with the same symptoms.” Or something like that. Something that would allow them to take action to help Ace and also squash the rumors about her.

Imagine his surprise when the scouts come back with reports about how Ace was seen with a Blond haired Revolutionary. That she kept chasing after him and the two got into many verbal disagreements. That Ace, their darling little sister, was alone for mutiple days with this boy. And now she’s sick and heartbroken.

Best case scenario, she had a crush and he broke her heart. The Whitebeard pirates will break his bones if that’s the case.

Worst case scenario… Marco needs to talk to Ace.

The investigation does the opposite of quelling the rumors. They are more rampant than ever. And know they have a face to go with them. And an organization.

Marco is trying to figure out how to best approach Ace to ask these invasive questions.

The crew (mainly lead by Thatch, Haruta, Izou, and made of former spade pirates and division 2 members) are planning how they are going to find this revolutionary.

Deuce is the only sensible one here as he tries his best to get his friend to talk to him. He can tell she’s hurting and Ace has never been good with trusting people with her pain. But he’s known her the longest. He was her first mate. If anyone can get her to talk it’s him.

This is mostly him bringing her light meals and sitting outside her door waiting for her to open up in her own time. He’s heard the rumors and they upset him on many levels. One he hates them talking trash about Ace. Two he might still have the biggest crush on his ex-captain. He’s not expecting it to go anywhere or to ‘win her love by being the nice guy’ he’s got a crush but her friendship is more than enough. That doesn’t mean he’s not going to be furious and protective of his friend if someone knocked her up and then abandoned her (I will make everything AceDeuce if you let me. My boy just needs to tell her his feelings)

Meanwhile…

Sabo is having his own mental breakdown because the girl he met won’t leave his mind. He starts doing research and finally his memories snap back into place. And holy crap!!! He has a sister! He has siblings!!

This realization comes just in time for him to start looking for Ace and to run into some very upset Whitebeard pirates.

“I’m looking for Portgas D. Ace!” These are Ace’s crew mates! He’s about to see her again. He can apologize for not remembering her and they can have the reunion they should have. and then he can ask her about Luffy.

The Whitebeard pirates look at this blond haired boy. “You’re a revolutionary aren’t you?”

Sabo normally wouldn’t admit to that but maybe Ace told them about him. If it gets him to his sister faster than… “Yes I-”

That’s all he gets out before getting punched in the face. The fight is on. Sabo is so confused. The revolutionary army has no arguments with the Whitebeard’s. But they are yelling at him for “getting their little sister pregnant.” Which what???? He’s so confused right now. He’d remember that. Wouldn’t he?

So know you have Sabo running from the Whitebeard Pirates while also trying to sneak on to their ship. And Ace who’s just living in her own world completely unaware about the rumors and Sabo’s many near death experiences. Until he finally gets on the ship. He sees her walking and calls out. Ace turns and see him. She’s so happy to see him, and he recognizes her this time! “Sabo!” She starts to run towards him when he gets tackled by about 5 crew members. “What are you doing?” Because what is going on?

The crew are yelling about this being the guy who broke her heart. Which like yes but not the way you think. And then some fool yells something about Sabo being the father. And now both Ace and Sabo are dumbfounded because “that’s my sister/brother”

All in all a weird month or two for the Whitebeard pirates. Their hearts are in the right place but they need to fact check thing before they jump people

[the67impalaonbakerstreet]

Not so Strange or Unusual Part 7

I’m sorry for the delay. My mini-mester started and my class load doubled. Special thanks to @meangirlsx​ for being an awesome co-author. Check out her blog. She’s a great writer. 

We decided to make the Deetz/Maitland into a haunted house three days ago. Since then, Beetlejuice had taken over the place with clones in construction hats. I loved getting an eyeful cute guys in uniform, but not living with thirty at once. This morning to get coffee, I had to walk through tarps and sidestep an active work zone. It was getting out of hand. Between the noise and too many people, my nerves were fraying.  

“Babes!”, the Ghost with the Most waved from the top of the stairs. I pretended to ignore him. I told him I had to get over him tricking Lydia into marrying him, but he didn’t seem to get that I needed some space from him. Even if seeing his face meant delightful butterflies in my stomach.  

“Ah, come on Y/n. How long are you going to ignore me? I’m being a good demon! No false shrunken heads in the dining room.” He gestured to the one finished area of the house. It reminded of the scene from Harry Potter with the house elf heads on the staircase. It looked great. But I wasn’t going to tell him that yet.  

I finished my coffee as he went on and on about what he was planning and placed my mug on a passing two by four beam carried by some clones. I had to admit, Beetlejuice was working hard to make over the place. I don’t know how he did it, but there was a tunnel being constructed under the basement and leading out to the cemetery as our exit. Everywhere in every room, except for the bedrooms, was a project waiting to be signed off by me or Lydia.  

Speaking of, “Lyds!”, I shouted up the stairs. I heard a thump of my friend falling out of her bed and onto the floor. I heard Beej cackle beside me, and I fought to keep a smile from splitting across my face. I love the sound of his laugh. It’s dry and crackly and- what was I thinking about?

Deetz stumbled down the steps and looked ready to murder me. “You better have a good reason to wake me up, Y/n. I didn’t fall asleep until 3 this morning!” She shot an accusing glare that would’ve killed the Ghost with the Most if he wasn’t already dead. 

“I have the best reason. We need costumes. Do you think Barbara could help us whip something up with her ghost powers? I love Adam, but his fashion sense leave much to be desired,” I said. Beetlejuice scowled when I mentioned loving Adam. I thought I could feel waves of jealously coming from him, but that was probably wishful thinking. ‘Wait. Not wishful thinking, no. We do not like the dead guy.’ I had to chide myself.  

Lydia screwed up her face thinking. “I don’t know. Ghost power can do a lot, but I’ve never thought about illusion clothing. Maybe?”

The stripped demon snorted and looked up from his blueprints. “That’s a no go babes. Maybe I could do something like that if you asked me, but no regular haunter can. Takes too much energy.”

“Great. There goes my matching vampire idea. We could’ve turned into bats or something,” I pouted. A second too late, I realized I acknowledged Beetlejuice’s presence by answering him. He was utterly beaming when I peaked at him from under my lashes.  

Deetz saw my look of disappointment and said, “There’s a Spirit Halloween downtown. You could get us something there. Just nothing to Delia-ish. I’m going back to bed now.” With that she twisted around the maze of building materials, and climbed the stairs,

“So when we going Babes? I’ve never heard of this ‘Spirit’ place. Is it run by breathers?” He was getting excited and started bouncing on the balls of his feet. I didn’t repeat my mistake a second time and left him to get ready to venture in public. “Do you need to shower? I can get Ramon to takeover if you need help,” he called behind me. I smiled a his comment knowing he couldn’t see as I jogged up the stairs.  

Beetlejuice’s pov

Y/n took about half an hour to get ready. I don’t understand why they’d keep me waiting for our date. I thought they looked great in pjs and their hair in a tangled mess. While they were getting ready, I finished up a few minor things and tracked down Ramon. Ramon was head clone. He was who I sent to scare people when I didn’t want to, which isn’t all that often.  

“Boss Man! Whatcha need? Does the kitchen need more blood?” he called out to me. All my clones look different, but Ramon could be my understudy. I styled him just so when I made him 600 years ago. “No. Everything’s coming along great. I just need you to take over for an hour while Y/n and I go on our date.”

“Are they talking to you again?”  

I pushed my worry away. They hadn’t really but they acknowledged my presence this morning, so I was making progress. “You know me Ramon. No one can resist the Ghost with the Most.” He smiled and took the blueprints from me with a wink.  

I heard their footfalls on the steps and poofed into their car just in case they forgot to come and get me before heading out. When they got there, they didn’t smile at me or throw me a wink or anything. I did my best to keep my disappointment from my face. They were back to ignoring me.  

We drove in silence to this Spirit Halloween. It looked like any other strip mall store from the outside, so I had no real idea why Lydia would recommend this place. “Babes, want to go somewhere else? I don’t think you’ll find a good costume here,” I asked Y/n. They looked like they were repressing a grin as they got out of their BMW.  

We strolled into the automatic doors and my undead breathing stopped. There was a boat step-up lined with a large assortment of scary statues. Costumes of anything anyone could imagine lined the outer walls. There was a walk through tunnel I wanted to drag Y/n into with me. She'd have an excuse to jump into my arms like they really wanted to.  

My date made a beeline for the back of the amazing shop where I saw a picture of a gothic vampire. Of course, it wasn’t accurate at all. Vampires hate lace. They were more of a linen robe people. Sensitive skin and all. I floated along to catch up with them, and passed in front a bloody clown statue.

“I love hugs!” a demonic voice said as a a pair of arms grabbed at me. I let loose a scream of curses and jumped back as fast as my undead body would allow. I watched as the clown moved back into its unassuming position as I heard laughter ring out from the vampire costumes. After I recovered from my shock of being scared myself, I joined in on the laughter. I was grabbing my sides before I could stop.

“Babes! Babes! Did you know these things could do move?!?! That was awesome!” I called out to Y/n over my shoulder without taking my eyes of the amazing statues. Breathers impressed me. They use to cower from anything they feared, now they built things like these on purpose for the pure thrill of it. I spent the next half hour setting off every machine in the store. I could see normal humans looking baffled as they went off in a row without seeing anyone in front of them.  

Y/n was still looking at the vampire outfits when I went to them. I saw  they were standing beside a much more interesting selection of clothing. You piece together a look out of short skirts, tight corsets, fishnet stocking, and booty shorts. “You should turn your head. I think you’d look much better in something like this,” I said as I held up a pair of skintight booty shorts in their size.  

Their eyes flicked over to what I was holding, but other than turning an adorable shade of red, they still didn’t acknowledge me. I felt crushing disappointment and sorrow claw their way around my heart. I just wanted nothing more than for them to smile at me like they did before. Just one word directed at me on purpose. Something so I wouldn’t feel so invisible to them again.

I caught my reflection on a staff on the very top shelf. My hair was turning blue and they didn’t seem to care. I floated off to stand at the end of the aisle and just watched them browse for a minute.  

They had two similar black lace outfits when their eyes fell on the staff I caught my reflection on. They reached for it and found they couldn’t reach it. They stood on their tiptoes and still couldn’t reach it. They set down the costumes and jumped to get it to no avail. As amusing as watching them struggle was, I didn’t want the to get hurt. “Babes, all you gotta do is ask. I’ll float up and grab it for you.”

They continued to ignore me and tried the jumping thing again. I was no longer sad that they were ignoring me, I was getting mad. I understood I lost their trust, but now they were just being rude. I bumped into the display and knocked the staff to the floor. If they were determined to act like a child, I’d be the bigger person for once. 

Y/n gingerly picked up the staff and turned it over thoughtfully in their hands. “Thank you Beetlejuice.” They then left in a rush to pay for the costumes and left me standing there in shock.

‘They said my name. I didn’t imagine it. They talked to me!’ I thought to myself as a large grin spread across my face and my hair returned to its normal green.I floated over to them as they walked out of the store with bags in hand.

”You’re welcome babes,” I whispered in their ear as they unlocked the car. I saw a blush spread over their face and my grin grew more. Oh, yeah. They liked me. They were talking to me again. This was the happiest I’d been in days.

“Are you getting in or not Beetlejuice?” They asked as they held open the passenger door for me. “As long as I can DJ. Do you have any wailing ghoul sounds?” That earned me a playful eye roll. The next few days were going to be awesome.

[recentanimenews]

How Go Nagai Reinvented Three Different Anime Genres

Go Nagai is one of the most prolific creators alive in the world of anime and manga. He's invented and reformed entire genres, bringing us everything from transforming superheroines to super robots. And even if you don't know his name, you probably know some of the highlights of his career. Oh, and today just so happens to be his birthday! So, to celebrate, we're focusing on three of his most enduring titles. How enduring? Well, considering that each of these anime have been revitalized and renewed over the years, each time appealing to old fans and new generations, I'd say that the work of Go Nagai has endured pretty well.

  And we'll begin with one of his most famous offerings....

  Mazinger Z

  Like much of Nagai's work, Mazinger Z launched in manga and anime form nearly simultaneously. Both versions starred Koji Kabuto, the grandson of a genius scientist, as he fights to protect Japan from the wicked Dr. Hell and his menagerie of bizarre monsters. His main weapon is Mazinger Z, a robot built by Dr. Kabuto out of the mighty Super Alloy Z.

  Mazinger Z wasn't the first mecha anime (that honor goes to Tetsujin-28), but it did take the first big step of putting the pilot inside the robot. Prior to this series, robot "pilots" worked off to the side, in a lab, or held on for dear life. Koji's Hover Pilder (the bubble-top car in Z's headpiece) let him work on-site. Plus, Z was the first robot to have a rocket punch attack: a move that's become standard for giant robots and the occasional Lyrical Nanoha character.

  The original series ran for 92 episodes, as well as some specials and team-ups with related series, but even that wasn't the end of Mazinger! The series was revisited many times across the years...

  Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact!

  Technically a reboot of the manga, Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact! revisits the original story in a condensed 26-episode format. But even though it's almost 1/4 the length of the original, it's packed with extra content.

  Fan-favorite moments like Z's battle with Rhine X1 are revisited, but the show is largely new content. It digs into the mecha's Greek mythological ties, ramps up its attacks even more, and delivers more back story for Dr. Hell's underlings. Plus, it mixes in characters and elements from other Go Nagai titles, like Scandal School and Abashiri Family—kind of like Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still does for Mitsuteru Yokoyama!

  Mazinger Z/Infinity

    There have been many sequels to and continuations of the original Mazinger Z. Some, like Great Mazinger, expand directly on the story. Others are "what-if" futures involving interplanetary destruction. But last year, Nagai put a period at the end of the mecha's saga with the big-screen installment Mazinger Z/Infinity.

The movie skips ahead ten years, as Japan coasts toward a bright future with clean energy and Koji does a bad job at telling fellow pilot Sayaka he likes her. During construction of a new building, a massive robot codenamed Infinity is unearthed—and with it, a mysterious girl named Lisa. A literal fight for the universe breaks out as old enemies return and Koji learns the true power of Infinity.

    Cutie Honey

  Cutie Honey first debuted in 1973, again as both a manga and anime. This time, instead of a scientist leaving a robot to their heir, the robot is the heir. Honey Kisaragi's father reveals to her that she's an android implanted with an Elemental Manipulation Device, which basically allows her to alter matter. Obviously, an evil organization wants this: Panther Claw, led by Sister Jill and her weird-looking monster ladies.

  Honey uses her powers to take on a variety of disguises, but also to transform into her fighting form, Cutie Honey. There were already a handful of magical girls in anime and manga, but Honey was anime's first transforming heroine. She might be an android from a shonen series, but in a lot of ways, she's the godmother of anime's fighting magical girls.

  Cutey Honey Flash

  Of course, there's the time she was a magical girl.

  Once Sailor Moon finished its impressive run, TV was hurting for a show to take over its time slot. The answer was a retooled version of Cutie Honey where, instead of being an android, Honey Kisaragi was a normal girl whose father had gifted her with Significantly Advanced Technology. The story is largely still the same, save for the addition of a cute guy who gives her flowers and an evil doppelganger named Misty Honey.

  The show actually shared some of the same staff members as Sailor Moon—though, despite appearances, not the same character designer. It looks it, though, doesn't it?

Cutie Honey: The Live

  Eventually, the series went full tokusatsu, making Honey Kisaragi one of multiple girls with the power to use the Elemental Manipulation device. While several of the usual suspects were there, like Seiji and Natsuko (an ever-changing character whose only constant is that she's Honey's best friend), Sister Jill was missing. Four branches of Panther Claw still fought to obtain Honey's powers, but there was a darker side to why she had them in the first place.

  In spite of Sister Jill's absence, there are "Sisters" in the series. What side they're on is up for debate at any given time, but it's one of the first versions of Cutie Honey that kept even long-time fans guessing.

  This isn't the only time Cutie Honey has received a live-action adaptation. A film adaptation directed by Hideaki Anno went hand-in-hand with Gainax's series Re: Cutie Honey (also directed by Anno and featuring work by Trigger's Hiroyuki Imaishi). There was also Cutie Honey Tears in 2016, which put a slightly more dystopian spin on the franchise.

    Devilman

  It only feels right to close out with Devilman, the series Nagai himself considers to be his magnum opus. Of all his works, this is the one that seems to be the most varied across its iterations... even from the beginning. Its original anime and manga versions were very different, with the former being a superhero monster-of-the-week series and the latter featuring drug-fueled rituals and literal Satan.

  Regardless of which version you watch, you'll still see Akira Fudo at the center of it all. One way or another, he transforms into the antihero Devilman, intended to usher in a demonic takeover of Earth but choosing instead to fight back the demons. As a bonus, the manga sets the stage for another of Nagai's series, Violence Jack.

Devilman Lady

  Nagai's own retelling of his series was released in America under the slightly less confusing title The Devil Lady, but the original title gets the point across: this is a Devilman-esque story with a female protagonist. What that means differs, as with the original, between the manga and anime.

  In both versions, a woman named Jun Fudo discovers that she has Devilman-esque powers, and a mysterious woman named Lan Asuka takes an interest in them. In the anime, these abilities are treated as the next form of human evolution. The manga goes down a different road altogether, at various points involving a retelling of Dante's Inferno, time loops, a cult, and the Archangel Michael. 

  DEVILMAN crybaby

  Early last year, Masaaki Yuasa put his own spin on the original Devilman manga with this Netflix-exclusive series. While DEVILMAN crybaby follows the story of Nagai's original manga, it also mixes in elements from other iterations. You'll even see a nod or two to the aforementioned Devilman Lady.

As part of the celebrations for the anniversary of both Devilman and Go Nagai's career in general, DEVILMAN crybaby introduced a whole new generation of viewers to the long-running story. Not only that, it did so with its roots firmly in the manga's original story and Yuasa's unique art style.

    This barely scratches the surface of these three series's many forms, let alone the full body of Go Nagai's work. His manga and anime have been reimagined into dozens of films, series, manga, games, and more... often by himself or his company! Besides being trend-setters and game-changers for anime as a whole, they're also enduring titles with enough versions to keep readers and viewers busy for years.

  What's your favorite Go Nagai work? Share recommendations in the comments!

    -----

  Kara Dennison is a writer, editor, and interviewer with bylines at VRV, We Are Cult, Fanbyte, and many more. She is also the co-founder of Altrix Books and co-creator of the OEL light novel series Owl's Flower. Kara blogs at karadennison.com and tweets @RubyCosmos.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[dempseygram64-blog]

The Situation For Hygienics, In 18 Charts.

Along with Valentine's Day today, souls are actually anywhere, but exactly how frequently perform you really think of the function from your heart? Choose the occasion or even instance that is actually closest to your own and also up comes the Male's Health and wellness pointer, comprehensive with where to purchase it, and also the overall expense for the look. For the final few years Agon has actually been actually paid attention to the mentally stimulating games item - the marketing, the program, the aesthetic identity, the locations for the World Mentally stimulating games Championship Pattern. Actually, psychological specialists believe that, similar to an anti-depressant, physical exercise can accomplish incredible health perks. Meanwhile, guys don't experience a natural sudden decline in testosterone. There are a lot of actions as well as advocacies performed in order to help individuals slim down and come to be a lot more aware of their center wellness. Problems concerning urinary concerns can easily also lead some males with this health condition to lose hope regular tasks including sports or going to the films where this may be actually challenging to arrive at a bathroom or even find. However, that is going to have a nuanced understanding from current medical procedures and care voids to complete that objective. Annually that consistently unpleasant surprises me to find just how much our experts performed since frankly, although entirely satisfying, increasing 4 men is actually the hardest and also most opportunity eating job I are going to ever start. Here is actually a look back on a few of our jobs in 2015 of our undertaking to bring elegance to a residence packed with guys. If diabetic issues cultivates quickly, as happens with kind 1 diabetes, people might additionally experience simple weight reduction. The United States is disinvesting in the social, social, and also financial disorders that create health - the center issues of hygienics - with consequent consequences for our bad nationwide health red flags in the temporary. When Ben first was aware of Men In Kilts, back in Calgary, Abdominal Muscle, he felt that he only must be a part from he staff! Truman refused the General's requests, saying that straight pulling China into the war would certainly stimulate the Soviet Union to activity. London Manner Week Men's ( which was officially referred to as London Collections: Guy) is actually the guys's opportunity to takeover Greater london just before London Fashion Week takes over our streets and Instagram supplies later in the year.. This will be actually remarkable to participate in a blogging meetup, however sadly i gone on the various other partof the world. The fantastic headlines is actually that in order to experience a wealthier life as well as raise a wonderful child, you don't need to alter your character. Radio hobbyists delight in interacting directly with individuals from throughout the world while growing their understanding from broadcast theory. I find in the media in the UK a genuine dumbing down of males that is seriously unhealthful and at its own worst, prejudiced. Hey, CBS, if Two and also a Half Male launches once more, I'll cancel whatever various other programs I possess thus I can easily find that. Benefit: Charlie. Although we purchased the couch over 10 years ago, that's such a classic that several merchants like West Elm, Bed and board, and Mitchell Gold offer a version from it. The Guy In Kilts brand is enjoyable, family members pleasant, as well as merely a bit audacious (especially on a windy time!). Some females as well as guys will experience these signs occasionally, while others could experience them as much as 10 times a day. Accurate ... the childish undertaking of continuous sex-drive among males and females, are actually pursuits from nothingness ... type is actually emptiness ... type eating other forms is actually vacuum, plus all portion of the delusional shit-storm our company people" contact living". Certainly not being actually pretentious whatsoever however L'Oréal Males Pro is mass market, supermarket assortment. http://lifestyleblog-hu.com/hylaroll-szerum-az-emlomirigyek-ar-velemenyek-alkalmazas-osszetevok-hol-lehet-megvasarolni/ is mainly located in your mid-section and around your necessary organs; it's this kind of excess fat that has been actually associateded with all form of health issue like cardiovascular disease as well as diabetic issues. Very simply put: The more muscular tissue you have, the much more calories your physical body burns (even at rest), which aids to keep a healthy and balanced body weight. Too bad I only began a well-balanced eating zing ... perhaps this weekend break I may indulge. Having actually set her thoughts on franchising, Ardiena found Guy In Kilts and also was actually quickly attached to the company. Likewise, think about this; the religion is called the living body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12. A feature from any kind of creature is actually that it grows and changes (grows) with time. Then, the titans from the money globe engineer a 10-20% decrease in the market place, thus offering the wealthy one more purchasing opportunity. After that there's also the lazy male's approach, where you simply bypass breakfast and also begin eating all around at lunch. These products are part of a simple healthy skin care program for guys and complement one another. Guy along with the best prostate enlargement got one of the most take advantage of the mixture therapy. Basically, the present day Western diet is actually ass-backwards when it pertains to hormonal health and wellness as well as erection top quality. The Obama administration was actually the initial to manage women's preventative health care, including contraception, as a requirement rather than a deluxe. Male pattern hair loss, or even androgenic alopecia, impacts an estimated FIFTY thousand guys and also 30 million females in the USA, inning accordance with the National Institutes of Wellness (NIH).

[coopdigitalnewsletter]

2 Sep 2021: Shortages and brittle supply chains. How to make your website greener.

Hello, this is the Co-op Digital newsletter. Forward it to a pal who’d like to read about what the internet is doing to retail businesses, people, communities and society.

[Image: by Noel Broda on Unsplash]

Shortages and brittle supply chains

Food: McDonald's UK restaurants run out of milkshakes, and remember that McDs, Nandos and other large chains are experts at supply chaining! Iceland supermarket boss sounds alarm over Christmas supplies.

Haulage:  UK truck driver shortage signals a broken labour market. Food firm in 'drastic' action amid driver shortage. 

Shipping and containers: China-U.S. container shipping rates sail past $20,000 to record.

Labour: Prisoners to plug worker shortage in meat industry. ‘The anxiety is off the scale’: UK farm sector worried by labour shortages. Amazon offers £1,000 joining bonus for new UK staff.

Health care: NHS stops some blood tests due to vial shortages.

Not forgetting: semiconductors and computer chips.

If you want to buy holiday presents that contain computer chips and are imported from the other side of the world, your gift will slowly surf the wave of many of these shortages. (And maybe you should order now!) 

There isn’t one simple cause for these shortages. Brexit, low wages, and Covid are all factors, as are supply chains that were already stretched thin. “Our demand for everything, 24/7, at knock-down prices creates a fragile food chain, vulnerable to shocks.” 

Those fast, efficient, optimised supply chains may now be mis-matched to a changing world: supply chains need to be more resilient to changes and interruptions in politics and borders, climate and weather. More resilient supply chains probably means removing some of the just-in-time optimisations - deliberately making everything less efficient so it can keep going. Slower, more expensive, but less brittle and more adaptable. As the programmers used to say, fast, cheap or reliable: you can pick two. Or in this case, maybe just one.

“Our demand for everything, 24/7, at knock-down prices” is a neat way of describing a very large and complex retail infrastructure. It’s hard to imagine it working in a different way. So one good question is how you sell a world like that to consumers. Perhaps retail leans into the constraints of seasonality, locality, a smaller range…

Previously: the need for slower supply chains.

Retail workers

A report from a shelf edge technology provider: “why store teams are essential to shopper loyalty” (pdf). In store retail, the “system” (replenishment, logistics etc) are fairly invisible. The magic is in the visible bit - the stores and the staff. Online retail is more or less the opposite model: the system is more visible (website, deliveries) and the staff are invisible.

Elsewhere: Retail bosses demand more protection for UK workers. Just Eat announces 1,500 new jobs in North East. Mr Kipling maker Premier Foods offers staff hybrid working.

How to make your website greener

Each hour you watched of Netflix in 2019 emitted 36 grams of carbon dioxide, mostly from the electricity used to store and move the data. Transferring data across the internet has been getting cheaper in recent years, which is good. But the total amount of data being sent is obviously growing massively as internet use grows, which is a problem.

So you might wonder how to measure the carbon emissions of your website, and how to make your website greener. Some resources we’re reading:

“Just last week I reduced global emissions by an estimated 59.000 kg CO2 per month” by making a JavaScript library more efficient.

Does Irresponsible Web Development Contribute to Global Warming?

The average web page tested produces 1.76 grams CO2 per page view.

Website Carbon looks at data transfer, energy intensity of web data, energy source used by the data centre, carbon intensity of electricity, and website traffic (coop.co.uk scores ok, but could be better). 

Greening the Web: How We Can Create Zero Carbon Websites - ideas from a web hosting company.

And Gerry McGovern is building an interesting model (xls file) that includes device use.

17 ways to make your website more energy efficient.

Previously: “If you thought digital transformation was spiky and disruptive, wait til you see carbon transformation”, climate change right in front of you, and the climate/carbon plans of the larger supermarket businesses in the UK.

Retail and ecommerce news pick ‘n’ mix

UK loses 83% of department stores since BHS collapsed.

Amazon is 'planning to open department stores in US'.

Aldi takes the radical step of putting doors on the fridges.

Morrisons backs US firm's improved £7bn takeover offer.

Boots will offer drugs and make-up via Deliveroo.

Walmart will sell its delivery service to other businesses.

Samsung supports retailers affected by looting  with innovative television block function.

Manchester office food delivery & corporate catering | Feedr.

Tesla’s robot: uncanny valet

“The Tesla Bot, which only exists as a design plan and a person wearing spandex, will be a humanoid capable of lifting heavy boxes and picking out groceries, Musk said.” Tesla did a corporate presentation about AI which included a person pretending to be a dancing robot. Tesla’s robot will be friendly, “won’t fight back” and “we’re setting it so that it is at a mechanical and physical level you can run away from it and most likely overpower it”. These phrases must have sounded like thoughtful and reassuring human-first design to Tesla before Elon said them on stage.

Elsewhere in disconcerting robots, Boston Dynamics robots can do parkour, but not perfectly yet.

Co-op and Co-op Digital news

Co-op content designer Helen Lawson won in the #BeingCoop awards. Well deserved, and big salute from the newsletter. See also Helen’s blog post on content principles in funeral care.

Evolving the mobile experience with the Co-op.

Thank you for reading

Thank you friends, readers and contributors. Please continue to send ideas, questions, corrections, improvements, etc by replying or to @rod on Twitter. If you have enjoyed reading, please tell a friend! If you want to find out more about Co-op Digital, follow us @CoopDigital on Twitter and read the Co-op Digital Blog. Previous newsletters.

[roman-reigns-princess]

Sugar and Spice (Roman Reigns): Chapter 1

Chapter 2 Read it on Wattpad Writing Masterlist

Summary: Aasha and Leati lives are intertwined; it began with a simple contract six years ago that led to love and romance. Although they now live together, they lead busy lives that ten to keep them apart for weeks on end.They finally get a week to themselves in one of their favourite cities, Rome, Italy. Aasha has a couple surprises prepared for Leati, but little does she know, he has a couple of huge surprises for her as well.

Warnings (for the fic over all, not specifically this chapter): cis-female OC, 18+, definitely smutty, daddy kink, schoolgirl kink(?), anal play, choking, age difference,  unprotected sex (wrap it up yall), maybe a lil bit of a breeding kink (dont @ me), possibly semi-public sex, idk if this needs a warning but I use his first name in this fic just cause i really love it?

Aasha (OFC) Face Claim: Alia Bhatt (but like thiccer, and w longer hair)

Word Count: 2813

A/N: I wanna thank @reignwithflair​ and @macfizzle​ for helpin me out w this fic, and giving me some bomb ass ideas. Legit had this fic in my drafts since like June, but thanks to them i finally got it started properly. I originally wanted it to be more focused on their sugar relationship, but i added too much romance so like idk what to even call this fic anymore im sorry yall

Tag List: @macfizzle @reignwithflair @hoodgirl163 @vivalavonvon @imagines–assemble @spidermans-l-o-v-e-r@lavitabella87 @queenreignsempire @ziasaph @vanity1385@itsnethbellins @itsilovelukehemmings@randomfandompenguin @mrsamberlopezgoodanoai @harrystacowwe@hoshithehotspur @flawlessglamazon@inkedirishbbydoll-blog-blog @miss-limited-edition @kakakatey@moneypowergloryfameliquorlove@romanxreignz @firered82 @southernbelle91@reigningxo @littledeadrottinghood @cute-face-chubby-waist @arrowtothecrown@roman-reigns-truth @romansambrose @it-is-reigning-men @fictionalabyss @cool-snowball-22-blog

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Tucking her phone and room key into her purse, Aasha made her way to the elevator to go down to the bar in the hotel. Leati's flight wouldn't land for at least another half hour, meaning he'd probably get to the hotel in an hour.

She had arrived earlier in the day, and spent most of it preparing a surprise for him, going through the internet, and asking friends who had experience; she figured she'd treat herself a little before he got here.

She'd known for a while now that Leati had a thing for the whole school girl outfit, and Aasha had  been getting more and more curious about trying anal, though she hadn't said anything about it to Leati.

Over the past month or so she had been working her way up from the smallest anal plug, looking up how to do enemas properly, and talking to experienced friends. She'd also been putting together the perfect outfit for him, choosing each article of clothing separately to fit the idea she had in mind.

However, both their schedules had been too busy and they'd barely seen each other for the past 3 weeks. They were finally getting a whole week to themselves, and Leati suggested that they spend it in Rome at the renowned Westin Excelsior.

The Westin Excelsior was a stunning hotel that stood right in the middle of Rome; the architecture reminiscent of Ancient Roman palaces. The building itself was six stories tall, with a dome on top of one corner. Leati had, as usual, booked the biggest, most luxurious suite; the Villa La Cupola took up a good portion of the fifth and sixth floor of the hotel, including the dome.

Aasha's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she first walked into their villa. The living room was huge, decorated with a beautiful fresco; the velvety red curtains hanging from the floor to ceiling windows were drawn, allowing the sun to brighten up the room and warm up the marble floors.

It had its own kitchen, dining room, studio, and even a private gym, but her favourite feature was the Roman bath style Jacuzzi on the sixth floor that led to a terrace over looking the city, with St. Peter's Basilica in the distance.

The bedroom was another work of art; the floors covered with a beige and brown carpet that had red and peach designs curling across, matching the furniture, and heavy curtains.

There was a king sized bed pushed back against the wall, positioned so that the sun lit up the pristine white sheets; it was high enough that she needed to hop up onto it. The four posts around the bed were painted a bright gold that was offset by the gold patterned red drapes hanging off of them.

The rest of the hotel was just as beautiful, with its marble flooring, and artwork. She wandered around a little, admiring the beautiful paintings, and statues that decorated the different hallways before asking one of the staff to point her in the direction of the bar.

The bar was fairly empty, with only a small group of people occupying a corner of the room. Aasha hopped up onto one of the leather clad bar stools and ordered a cherry martini from the bartender. She thanked the bartender and gave him the room number to open a tab.

As she sat at the bar enjoying her drink, her mind began to wander back a few years to when she was in a similar place, waiting to meet Leati for the first time.

Aasha sat at the table of a fancy restaurant, her delicate fingers running up and down the stem of her glass as she waited for him. She had never been this nervous before, especially since she'd never done anything like this before either.

She was barely into her first year of college, and she was switching her major to photography, something her parents were not willing to financially support. Aasha didn't want to take student loans, but fortunately, her friend had told her about the arrangement she had with her sugar daddy, and Aasha had decided to give it a shot.

She had made it explicitly clear that she wasn't willing to do anything sexual for money; coming from a religious, Indian family, she had done barely anything more than kissing. She didn't really care about waiting till marriage to have sex, but she wasn't comfortable with the idea of having her first time be with some random guy who payed her for it.

It came as quite a surprise to her when Leati contacted her. She'd expected him to be less attractive, and much older than he was; granted he was about 10 years older than her, but he was only in his late 20s.

He had given her basic information about himself, and what he would want out of an arrangement, and they had agreed to meet face to face before finalizing anything. He was one of the founders of a major security company that often provided bodyguards to the highest ranking people, and he simply wanted someone to attend work functions with him without the hassle or drama of courting someone.

She was so lost in her thoughts that when a large hand gently gripped her shoulder she jumped, nearly knocking her virgin strawberry daiquiri over in the process; she looked up at the owner to find Leati Anoa'i looking down at her.

"Hi, you must be Aasha, I'm Leati," he said, flashing her a smile.

Her lips parted a little as her eyes drank him in, he was even more beautiful in real life, and certainly more intimidating if he wasn't smiling. He wore a grey suit with a red tie, his hair was slicked back into a bun, and he was clean shaven except for his mustache and goatee.

She blinked a couple times before realizing she was staring at him, she hurriedly stood up and held out her hand, a blush spread across her face as it finally occurred to her that she had no idea what she was supposed to do.

"I-um, yeah-it's good to meet you," she stuttered, biting the inside of her cheek for that. Her face turned redder as he chuckled and gently wrapped his hand around her fingers and pressed a light kiss on her knuckles.

"Pleasure's all mine, babygirl," he replied, letting go of her hand so they could both take a seat. "So, what would you like to eat?"

They spent the rest of the evening talking, and getting to know each other. He was one of three of the major owners of the company, he lived in Tampa about 45 minutes away from her, and he traveled a lot. By the end of the night, Aasha was relaxed, and comfortable enough around him to explain what she wanted, and what she was willing to do.

They didn't have any clashing needs, and he was more than happy to tell her that he'd draw up an agreement as soon as possible for the both of them to sign. He didn't seem to care that she wanted to keep their relationship platonic, but he did say once that if she wanted to go further he wouldn't be opposed to it.

Setting down her empty glass, she left a generous tip for the bartender, and slowly began to make her way back up to the room.

Over time her and Leati's relationship had evolved. They had become good friends, and she stuck with him through two attempted hostile takeovers by his partners even when he tried telling her he didn't want her caught up in that. He started bringing her to family gatherings, stating that he wanted his mother to stop bugging him about settling down. She got to know his family, his twin cousins who became his new partners, and even became close friends with his sister-in-laws, Trinity and Kecia.

As they spent more time together, she started to develop feelings for Leati, but her fear of rejection kept her silent, until one day she got a little too tipsy at an event and ended up confessing to him in the car.

Leati had a firm grip on Aasha's waist as they made their way down the steps of the hotel; he was glowering from the incident moments ago, one hand clenched into a fist at his side. Aasha couldn't help the shiver of fear that ran through her when she looked up at him, the only other time she'd seen him this angry was when Colby tried to wrest the company from Leati.

She'd known that this conference was a bad idea, she tried telling Leati that the McMahons would probably send Lopez as their representative to hopefully throw him off or simply to sew discord, but Leati's stubborn Italian pride wouldn't let him back down from this. To his credit, he managed to keep a lid on his emotions for most of the conference, that is until the farewell dinner.

Leati had left her alone momentarily to go to the restroom, which gave Colby the opportunity to slink up to her with that typical half smirk etched into his face. She gave him a polite smile and took a large sip of her champagne, not wanting to stir up any shit when they were so close to leaving.

"It's been too long, Aasha, you're looking good," she cringed as Colby's eyes took their time looking her over. "We never talk anymore, not even a Happy New Year text?"

"That's your own fault, Lopez," she glared at him, she wanted to get up and leave but there were people standing around the table, blocking her off; the only exit was past the man leering at her. "No one forced you to stab us-him in the back."

"Us? Did you guys finally hook up? Or is it still purely platonic?" he scoffed, not even bothering to acknowledge everything else she'd said.

"N-no, we're just good friends, something you obviously know nothing about," she bit back, taking another gulp of her drink.

"So you're not off the market? Cause I assure you, I can be a very good friend," Colby's smirk widened into a malicious smile as he leaned in, a hand coming to rest on her bare knee. She recoiled with disgust, ready to throw her drink in his face when she felt a  larger hand grab her arm, pulling her up and away from him.

She looked up to see Leati glaring at his former partner; Colby had the good sense to look somewhat scared as he stood up and subtly tried to back away. For each step he took back, the large Samoan took two forward.

"Hey, hey, listen, he's not worth it, let's just leave," Aasha pleaded, tugging at his arm. She tried not to shiver as he looked at her, his infamous volcanic rage simmering in his eyes. "Please."

"Fine," he said, giving Lopez one last scathing look before turning on his heel to march off with his arm around Aasha's waist. She texted the driver to meet them at the front as they made their way through the halls of the hotel.

They came to a stop at the entrance, waiting for the driver to pull up with their limo. Aasha turned to Leati, unbuttoning his jacket to slide her arms around him as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. A startled sound bubbled in his throat, but he hugged her back, kissing the top of her head. They stayed like that until the car drove up.

"I'm sorry," Leati said as he settled in next to her; she looked up at him in surprise. "I know you hate it when I get mad, I just couldn't stand the fact that he put his hands on you, I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, it's okay, you could never scare me, it was actually kinda hot," she mumbled the last part, her face heating up at the confession. She buried her face in his shoulder when his serious expression turned into a smirk. She arched into him as he slid a hand up her spine to grab her hair and pull her head back.

"You think it's hot?" he asked, a dangerous gleam in his eyes as he leaned in closer so that his face was inches from hers. "I-"

She cut him off with a kiss, her hands grabbing his shoulders to pull him closer. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her onto him so that she was straddling his lap. She teasingly bit his lip, eliciting a deep growl from him. She pulled away to look up at him, the both of them panting a little as they stared at each other wide eyed.

"I think I love you," she blurted.

Aasha chuckled at the memory as she walked into the VIlla; back then she had been mortified, but thinking back to it now it seemed rather funny.

Glancing at her phone she saw that she had 40 more minutes till Leati got there. It would be just enough time to shower, and finish the final steps for her surprise. She took a quick 15 minute shower, then hopped out to grab the lube and one of her plugs. She decided to go with one of the smaller ones with a pink diamond on the top because she didn't want to deal with any discomfort.

After working it in, she left the lube in the drawer of a nightstand by the bed, slipped on a shorter baby pink silk robe, and went back to the bathroom to dry off her hair. She finished just in time to hear the door to the Villa opening and closing.

"Aasha?" Her face lit up as she heard Leati's deep voice. She let out a shriek of happiness, rushing out of the bathroom to find him setting his bags down in the bedroom. She practically jumped into his arms, making him laugh as he picked her up with one arm; much to her delight he had grown his beard out, but it also tickled her skin as he buried his face in her neck. "I missed you too, babe."

"God you look so good, it feels like it's been forever, I hate being apart for that long, promise me we won't have to spend more than a week apart again, Lea," she mumbled, giving him a deep kiss to show him just how much she missed him; his chest rumbled against her as he chuckled at the nickname she'd used.

"I dunno if I can promise that, but I'm sure if you gave the Board a good talkin to, they'll see things your way," he joked, walking to the bed to set her down. She pulled back to give him a mock glare before grabbing the front of his shirt to bring him in for another kiss.

His large hands roamed over her thighs, pushing up her robe as he massaged her soft skin; her own hands were busy rediscovering his strong chest, enjoying the warmth that she had desperately missed over the past few weeks, when he pushed her back with a quick shove before dropping to his knees to push her legs apart. She was about to let him when she remembered that she'd prepared surprises for him.

"Wait! No, I, uh," she said, hurriedly sitting up and clamping her legs shut. Leati gave her the cutest pout as he stood up. "I'm sorry, its just I got you a couple surprises but I haven't finished putting them together. Why don't you go take a shower, I'll be done by then."

"I GUESS I can wait a little while longer," he sighed dramatically, giving her a kiss and a grin. "You better be done by the time I'm out, cause I'll fuck you right where you stand, got it?"

"Yes, Daddy," she said with a cheeky smirk as she pushed him towards the bathroom. He gave her one last kiss, and landed a smack on her ass before walking into the shower.

Aasha dug through her bag, pulling on the outfit she had put together; a white button up shirt tucked into a flow-y black skirt that barely covered her ass, white thigh high socks held up by black thigh garters, and a loosely tied black tie. She could hear her boyfriend getting out of the shower and turning on the hair dryer which gave her just enough time to brush her own hair out and pull it up into two ponytails.

She just finished tucking her brush away, and unbuttoning the top 3 buttons of her shirt when the bathroom door opened and out stepped Leati in nothing but a towel.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Happy Birthday, Miss Raven.

Did you know? Miss Raven was introduced on this blog a year ago, so today is her “birthday”, too. I’ve written some other things to go along with her Birthday Suit Up card, which I’ll release later to celebrate~

This part is a follow up to Leona’s birthday welcome.

Miss Raven’s birthday artwork is by @shimmeryspark!

{July 22nd to July 27th}

Please read the *Birthday Blog Takeover Submission Rules.*

***If you plan to send gifts for both Leona and Raven, please send them in two separate asks, NOT in the same ask.***

“Knock, knock!!” Crowley called, peeking into Raven’s attic space. “How are party preparations coming along?”

“Ah, Uncle. They are going just swimmingly... but why are you here? Aren’t you busy with your duties as headmaster?”

(From Raven’s mattress, Leona let out an irritated groan. He seized one of her pillows and shoved it over his lion ears. “Five more minutes...”)

“Hohoh! Funny you should mention that. I’ve taken the day off, you see!” he declared airily as he paraded into the room, beady eyes glinting gleefully. Crowley kept his hands tucked behind him the entire time, his cloak fluttering behind him like a dark canvas splattered with stars.

“What?” Raven blinked. “... Don’t tell me you’ve decided to skip work?! What would your staff say? Professor Trein and Professor Crewel will be especially upset with you.”

“No, no! This is something I’ve had planned for months now!”

(“Shut uppp,” Leona groaned, pressing the pillow harder against his ears in a vain attempt to drown out the headmaster’s crowing.)

“Something you’ve planned for months now...?” Raven’s eyebrows pinched together. “Oh. Right. Leona-san is technically royalty. He’s a VIP.”

“No, silly girl! I’m speaking of you!”

“... Eh? M-Me?”

In an instant, a flurry of white filled her vision. Pure, sparkling white, fastened in a feathered cape. It came with a black dress shirt and a flowing, knee-length skirt. A new tiny top hat, a pair of flats, and lace stockings—also all white—accompanied the new outfit as accessories.

In Crowley’s other hand was a ribbed ribbon, July 27 emblazoned upon it, a pin resembling a writing quill, and the coveted sash. Oh, the sash. It was dark as night and edged in gold, which glittered like her eyes. Birthday Girl, it said.

“Uncle... Is this... Is this for...” She choked on her words, unable to complete her question.

For her.

Crowley nodded. “Happy birthday, my dear, cute niece.”

At once, Raven tackled him, throwing her arms around his waist in a tight embrace. Crowley trilled with laughter, easily caving into her eager embrace.

“... Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! You’re the best, Uncle! The kindest!!”

“By the Great Seven, will it kill you people to keep it down?!”

Leona’s irate roar suddenly tore through the attic. He chucked his pillow against the wall and rose groggily, a hulking mass of muscle and grumpiness as he cast a smoldering glare at the noisy bird duo. “Some of us are trying to—”

He stopped short, his anger slackening at the sight of the happy family, of Raven hugging the bumbling headmaster. They made eye contact, and she shrank away, wrapping herself in Crowley’s cloak to hide from the lion. Raising the fabric to conceal the lower half of her face, she stared back at him with wide eyes.

But he could tell—from the way her cheeks had appled, she was definitely grinning under that veil.

“Er, good morning, Leona-san,” she said sheepishly. “Sorry for waking you up.”

He relaxed his pose, expression softening ever so slightly.

“... Well, would you look at that.” Leona leaned back into the bed, sighing. “You’re finally smiling again, Canary.”

... I’m glad.

[clarencenicholsonata]

Instagram Engagement Strategies to Beat the Algorithm

Noticed your Instagram engagement plummeting recently? Likes not coming as easily as they used to? Comments less frequent?

You’re not the only one. Across the board, influencers and social media managers have reported that their accounts have been seeing lackluster metrics, despite no changes in steady strategies.

This might be because of many things. With the discover feed feeling more like advertising space, Instagram experimenting with hiding likes and offering little guidance for companies, the platform has become a guessing game for marketing professionals.

Luckily, there’s something that is algorithm-proof: genuine connection with your audience. Here are a few Instagram engagement strategies to get your stats back up and climbing.

Strategy One: Use Instagram like an Instagrammer.

Despite its immense capabilities as an e-commerce platform, Instagram was built (and continues to be) a social network.

If you have your own personal Instagram account, you know that there’s still genuine enjoyment in scrolling, discovering, liking and interacting with other users. Try and rediscover that with your brand account. You’ll see the results reflected in your engagement!

1. Give to Get: Comment, Like & Share

via GIPHY

Instagram is rolling out a controversial plan to hide likes, but until then, they are still powerful currency when communicating with other users and followers on the platform.

Get into the habit of commenting on other prolific or responsive users. If likes do indeed go the way of Periscope (RIP), users will remember the brands and accounts that developed genuine relationships with them through interaction.

Its effort-intensive, and having a member of your team dedicating part of their day to social media management will help.

2. Find and follow other accounts you’re interested in.

It’s time to rediscover the ‘Discover’ feed and make fresh new connections. See who else is active in your circles and your spheres: who is giving the best advice, producing the most creative content, who has the freshest voice.

If they’re great at using IG, you can learn a thing or two from their feed, and if they’re actively engaging (which will be more important to drive success on the platform), then you can both benefit more a reciprocal arrangement.

3. Try an Insta-Takeover!

This is a fun and popular technique that lets a staff member, influencer, thought leader or celebrity take over your account for the day, whether that's for straightforward posts or through stories or live streams.

This does two things: it brings their followers to your account and brings your followers to their work (heightening both your profiles), and takes the work off of you scheduling content for a day!

It can also be incredibly effective. Check out this partnership between Stella Artois and Matt Damon, working for Water.org.

View this post on Instagram

Millions of people live without access to clean water. Thanks to Stella Artois' partnership with Water.org, every pour can help give access to clean water to someone who needs it. And that's how you #PourItForward. Enjoy Stella Artois. Give water. Change lives. See the link in our bio to learn more @water

A post shared by Stella Artois (@stellaartois) on Feb 12, 2019 at 2:03pm PST

Coming far second to the fact that this was a great thing for the brand to support, the campaign was a hit, by Stella's standards and others.

We know it can feel risky ceding control of your account, so if it helps, you can establish some quick and friendly guidelines over what guest takeovers are prohibited from posting (e.g. no using profanity, no promoting political agendas).

Strategy Two: Use Instagram Like an Extension of Your Service

In a hectic month, it’s easy to throw up some motivational quotes, some smiling staff photos and call it a content strategy.

However, Instagram is a content distribution channel, and although many users are scrolling past very quickly, some are actively paying attention to what’s appearing on their screens, some are actively being funneled to your website, some are actively converting: these are the users you need to be thinking about and catering to.

Treat Instagram with the same care you would your Facebook or your blog, and watch your ROI increase.

4. Do a Content Audit

Do a thorough check of what’s really hit home with your audience - not just what got the most likes, but what sparked discussion, what stories people stayed on rather than skipped, what polls people answered, what posts got you follows (or unfollowed!) and learn from that.

Our audiences don’t necessarily respond to the same content we do, and we can learn a lot from keeping our ears open and being mindful that our personal opinions aren’t always the best barometers for what the most interesting topics are.

5. Hold contests and giveaways.

Contests? On Instagram? Yes! An underestimated tool, contests and giveaways are a proven way to get your audience excited about your products and brand. As powerful as they are, social media contests need effort and some degree of expertise to run.

Within this one strategy, there are myriad possibilities: you can do giveaways, hashtag contests, photo contests, caption contests: there are so many ways to generate interests and interaction with your users, and this remains one of the top ways to leverage Instagram's set up and capabilities for your company and your followers.

10 Amazing Instagram Contest Examples (Critiqued)

How to Run a Successful Instagram Competition

5 Instagram Contest Strategies with Examples

6. Use it as an Engine for User Generated Content

Hashtags are one of the best ways to harvest user-generated content from dedicated followers. By repeatedly using your own hashtag and encouraging others to use it, you can build loyalty and connect your product with a movement.

Take #AerieReal, for example. The brand has built up a reputation and an image around making clothes for women of all sizes and shapes. Their models are known for representing real women from all walks of life - from size to ethnicity to neurodiversity.

Their hashtag #AerieReal encourages women to celebrate what makes them unique, and women have contributed while wearing Aerie’s products.

Strategy Three: Use Instagram As a Creative Outlet

Initially, the platform’s square photos and grid layout may seem restrictive, but Instagram’s restrictions give you ample room to be innovative and captivating with your brand image.

7. Get playful with your feed

We’re consistently amazed at the creativity we see on Instagram feeds! For some inspiration, check out SkedSocial’s guide to Instagram Aesthetics.

For two examples, check out how Boss Babe Inc, a motivational brand for women, alternates between pink and white squares for a checkerboard effect, which is a highly effective aesthetic, and a great tactic for brands which may not have a lot of photo content, but want to keep up a consistent posting schedule.

On the other end of the spectrum, there’s Mr. Doodle’s series: he’s great at doing clear, high quality, similar themed posts. While his doodles could seem repetitive if he kept posting the same thing, he’s great at mixing it up by changing the angle or focus of his posts but keeping the overall feel of his account pleasing, playful and cohesive by maintaining a theme for a limited period, then moving on.

8. Start experimenting with IGTV

Although the platform was launched in 2018, it has yet to find a distinctive audience or establish itself as a reliable source for certain niches or popular markets. The platform is new and still in its potential stage - one that is also undergoing massive shifts.

The great aspect of this is that it represents a rare opportunity: the chance to get access to a massive audience and the chance to take real creative risks with your brand. For creative brands, IGTV offers a much greater breadth of expression. Videos can be up to 10 minutes long. For verified accounts or accounts with large followings, videos can be up to an hour.

They can be portrait or landscape, and decently high resolution.

Check out The Economist’s use of IGTV:

Also, MTV’s 60-second drawing series, which had celebrities sketching their own album covers in less than a minute. It’s a simple concept, and takes almost no set-up to execute, but is captivating and showcases the celebrities and MTV’s brand. See, for example, Lizzo drawing the cover for her album ‘Juice’.

Summary

This might seem overwhelming at first, but the key is to start slow and work these strategies into your workflow, rather than starting them all at once.

As a recap, here are the steps you can take to boost your engagement strategy.

Give to get: Comment & Like

Find and follow other accounts you’re interested in.

Try an Insta-Takeover!

Do a Content Audit

Hold contests and giveaways.

Use it as an Engine for User Generated Content

Get playful with your feed

Start experimenting with IGTV

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230801 https://ift.tt/2oCNv3u via IFTTT

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The brunch costs AED350 for soft beverages and tea and AED499 for wine, beer, and single spirits, while the after party is free to enter.

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Dubai Premium Malls & Virtual Offices Presents 15 hour Ultimate Party published first on your-t1-blog-url

[courtneytincher]

Italian shares jump on new coalition talks - markets latest news

Second Chinese suitor emerges as frontrunner to buy 'Boris bus' maker Wrightbus FTSE 100 and Europe's main share indices gain ground after yesterday's losses Boris Johnson should remind Merkel of these four hard economic facts when they meet​ Jeremy Warner: Global leaders are too divided to counter looming economic darkness ​ 10:21AM Transatlantic mergers slump British defence company Cobham is currently the subject of a £4bn takeover bid from US private equity group Advent. Our mergers and acquisitions reporter, Vinjeru Mkandawire, has been taking a look at the latest figures: The number of transatlantic mergers and acquisitions (M&A;) between the US and UK fell by nearly a quarter in the first half of this year, according to research by Deloitte. This was on the back of an 18pc decline in global dealmaking, which was partly driven by increasing uncertainty around trade tariffs and the global economy, the firm said. Transactions between the US and the UK were down 20pc compared to 2018 but still exceeded the combined number of deals between the US and Germany, France and Spain.   Deloitte’s Paul Lupton said that despite the fall in transatlantic deal volumes across many of the major European markets, there was still “strong appetite” for technology assets, which accounted for 28pc of all US-UK deals in the first half of the year.  “This is attributable to the asset‑light business models which enable greater potential for geographical expansion and scalability,” he said. 10:12AM Goldman Sachs predicting a 'very volatile' three months for Italian economy Credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP Economists at Goldman Sachs are predicting a bumpy few months for Italy's economy.  "In our view, the next three months will be very volatile and challenging for the Italian economy and its assets." They are also predicting a delay to the preparation of next year's budget if a new coalition cannot be formed and fresh elections have to be called.  9:59AM What next for Italy? The political upheaval in Rome has come at an awkward time for the country, as Berenberg's European economist Florian Hense has observed:  "With the submission of the 2020 budget to the Italian parliament and European Commission looming by 30 September and 15 October, respectively, the timing is unfortunate: Italy needs to find more than €20bn (£18.3bn) in savings to avoid the already legislated rise in the VAT by 3 percentage points in 2020." Berenberg has set out the three most likely scenarios for Italy:   1. Italy avoids snap elections for at least nine months: Five Star join forces with the Democratic Party (PD) for a new centre-left government, probably with Giuseppe Conte returning as prime minister. Markets could rally if the short-term uncertainty of snap elections is averted. The centre-left coalition could then focus on agreeing a budget and compromises with the EU over its deficit.  2. No poll for now but elections in early 2020: President Sergio Mattarella appoints a technocratic government to draw up the 2020 budget, with snap elections to follow early next year. Five Star and the PD could support the move as it would shield them from having to announce painful adjustments to the 2020 budget themselves. This option could avoid a volatile reaction from markets.  3. Snap elections later this year: The final option is for Mattarella to call snap elections for late October or early November. Current opinion polls suggest far right Matteo Salvini would likely win and become prime minister. A Salvini government could set Italy on a collision course with the EU over its budget. Bond yields could surge, driving up Italy's cost of borrowing.  9:36AM Italy seeks a new coalition in a bid to avoid fresh elections Italian president Sergio Mattarella (left) will try to find a viable coalition government after Giuseppe Conte (right) resigned as prime minister yesterday Credit: FILIPPO ATTILI HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX Italian president Sergio Mattarella will begin intensive talks with the country's political leaders today as he seeks to determine whether a new ruling coalition can be found after prime minister Giuseppe Conte resigned yesterday.  If a coalition cannot be found, Matarella will be forced to call fresh elections.  Conte resigned just over a year after agreeing to lead a populist alliance of the League party, led by Matteo Salvini, and the Five Star Movement. Mattarella, whose role as president is normally a largely ceremonial one, has the sole power to appoint governments and call elections. He is ready to give Five Star and the opposition Democratic Party, or PD, time to strike a deal. But he will allow them days, not weeks, to reach an agreement, Italian media reported.  The talks are set to begin this afternoon.  Rome's FTSE MiB index fell 1pc yesterday but has risen a healthy 1.46pc so far today.  8:59AM Fiat-Renault merger hopes buoy markets Credit: Eric Gaillard/REUTERS A report in Italy about continuing merger talks between Fiat Chrysler and Renault has helped to push shares in the car industry higher. The pair abandoned talks on a mega merger in June after meeting resistance from the French government, which is a major shareholder in Renault.  Take a look at the long road that led to Fiat Chrysler to propose a tie-up with the French manufacturer:  Timeline - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles For more on why we're seeing a wave of deals in the car industry, take a look at Alan Tovey's long read from the weekend: Automotive industry alliances: who's joining forces with who and why? 8:50AM A strong start for European shares European stock markets have enjoyed a strong start to the day, with all of the major indices gaining ground. Here’s how the continent’s blue-chip bourses stood as of about 15 minutes ago: The FTSE 100 was 0.5pc up France’s CAC 40 was 0.75pc up Germany’s DAX was 0.5pc up Spain’s IBEX was 0.75pc up Italy’s FTSE MiB was 1.19pc up Remember you can use our handy Markets Hub tool at the top of the blog to keep tabs on the latest stock market and currency movements! 8:34AM Ryanair - what's happening today? There's a lot to keep track of in this Ryanair story so this might help:  When are the strikes? Pilots in the UK and Ireland are planning separate 48 hour stoppages starting from midnight tonight in disputes over pay and conditions.  What's happening in the London courts? An application by the airline for an injunction to block UK pilots striking is to be heard by a judge in London on Wednesday.  What's happening in the Irish courts? The Irish High Court will rule on whether to grant the airline an injunction to block the planned strike by 180 pilots based in Ireland.  Anything else? Quite a bit, actually. The airline is also facing a wave of strikes over the next month by staff across its Spanish and Portuguese bases. The first Portuguese strike action is set to begin today. Belgian unions have told members not to comply with the carrier's request for them to staff flights that have been hit by the Portuguese industrial action.  And the share price? It's dropped 17pc in the past month.  Markets Hub - Ryanair Holdings 8:21AM Ryanair could attempt to break strikes Ryanair has been drawing up plans to keep as many services as possible in operation if it fails in its legal action. Just in from our transport correspondent Oliver Gill: One senior insider has told me @Ryanair has contingency plans in place to run all, or nearly all, UK flights even if the legal action fails and strikes go ahead. This will be announced after the High Court decision this morning.— Oliver Gill (@ojngill) August 21, 2019 8:15AM Ryanair's last ditch bid to avoid strike chaos Parked Ryanair planes will be a common sight in the next couple of days if strike action proceeds.  Credit: ALBERTO PIZZOL/AFP Ryanair should learn this morning whether its request to block 180 of its Irish pilots from striking tomorrow and Friday has been successful. The Irish High Court is due to issue its decision on whether the 48 hour stoppage can proceed.  Ryanair claims that the strike action breaches an agreement it reached with the union last year. The budget airline also claims that  the union has failed to submit detailed proposals ahead of balloting its members or issuing its strike notice and that the industrial action is timed to cause maximum disruption by coinciding with a scheduled strike by UK pilots.  We'll keep you up to date on developments throughout the day.  7:59AM Facebook moves to address privacy concerns Credit: Dado Ruvic/REUTERS Facebook is launching a long-promised tool that lets users limit what information the social network can gather about them on external websites and apps. The move is an attempt by tech firm to head off criticism of its privacy practices which have been heavily scrutinised in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.  Facebook said it is adding a section where users can see the activity it tracks outside its service, including through its "like" buttons. Users will be able to turn off the tracking.  The feature has been launched in South Korea, Ireland and Spain and is due to be rolled out in other markets in the "coming months".  7:37AM Ryanair in bid to stop pilot strikes Ryanair is going to the High Court today in an attempt to block Thursday's strike action. An application by Ryanair for an injunction is to be heard by a judge in London on Wednesday. In Ireland, Ryanair has also sought an order at the High Court in Dublin to prevent around 180 pilots based in Ireland from going on a 48-hour strike from midnight on Thursday. The application was contested by Forsa, the parent union of the Irish Airline Pilots Association. A judge is expected to give a ruling on Wednesday morning. 7:22AM Boris heads to Boris, while crisis reigns in Italy Good morning. Equities across Europe were lower yesterday amid political uncertainty, not least in Italy where prime minister Giuseppe Conte said he would resign. The pound went in the opposite direction after comments from Angela Merkel that Europe would think about practical solutions to the current Brexit impasse were interpreted as a chink of light in the stand-off between Downing Street and Brussels. Today the German Chancellor will be meeting with Boris Johnson in Berlin.  5 things to start your day 1) Second Chinese suitor emerges as frontrunner to buy 'Boris bus' maker Wrightbus: One of China’s biggest engineering companies has emerged as the frontrunner in the race to save “Boris Bus” maker Wrightbus. Weichai, part of giant state-owned conglomerate Shandong Heavy Industry, is in detailed discussions to buy the struggling bus company, The Daily Telegraph has learnt. 2) Shareholder revolts at annual meetings have “little impact” on restraining runaway pay across FTSE 100 companies, despite a fall in the average salary paid to chief executives last year, according to the CIPD and the High Pay Centre. Between 2014 and 2018 shareholders approved all FTSE 100 company pay policies presented at an AGM, with most votes sailing through, a report by the association for human resource professionals and the think tank found. 2018 income figures for the CEOs of the FTSE 100   3) Yellowhammer port chaos is not even Project Fear: it is slapstick, writes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard. The Yellowhammer report excited my interest because it makes extraordinary warnings about ports in a no-deal Brexit, and I happen to have been talking to port officials over the past two weeks. These included the Boulogne-Calais chief and the head of the UK’s biggest port complex on the Humber. My conclusion is that the Yellowhammer section on ports cannot be true. 4) Britain is a touch richer than previously realised after new sums by the Office for National Statistics added an extra £26bn to annual GDP. The Government and charities replace buildings, machinery and other capital more frequently than expected, businesses develop more software in-house than was known, and services exports are larger than had been appreciated. 5) Lucy Burton finds out who the Hong Kong 'Superman' that's taking on British beer is: Hong Kong's richest man Li-Ka Shing. The 91-year-old was determined to change his circumstances from a young age, telling Forbes in 2010 that the "burden of poverty and this bitter taste of helplessness and isolation" that he felt as a child drove him on in adult life. He is the 28th richest person in the world with a net worth of around $32bn.   What happened overnight Asian shares flatlined on Wednesday as investors took a step back after recent gains, with focus now turning to a key speech by Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell at the end of the week. Rising hopes for China-US trade talks have provided a much-needed lift to markets over the previous two days but with few fresh catalysts, dealers are keeping their powder dry ahead of Friday's address. After positive signals from Donald Trump and some of his top advisers on Monday over progress in the talks with Beijing, and an olive branch with the delay of a ban on Huawei purchases, there have been few developments for traders to buy on. "Our trade-war headline-inspired relief rally appears to have run its course as I suspect there is still a lot of nervousness among US investors as the global economic realities are just too hard to ignore," said Stephen Innes at Valour Markets. With so much riding on the Fed, investors were understandably anxious. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dithered either side of flat after three straight days of gains. Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.3%, while Shanghai blue chips added a slim 0.06%. Hong Kong stocks went into the break slightly higher after swinging throughout the morning. The Hang Seng Index added 0.11 percent, or 28.98 points, to 26,260.52. Coming up today Interim results: Charter Court, Costain, Hansteen Holdings, Hostelworld, OneSavings Economics: Public sector net borrowing (UK), mortgage applications and house sales (US), Federal Reserve minutes

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

Second Chinese suitor emerges as frontrunner to buy 'Boris bus' maker Wrightbus FTSE 100 and Europe's main share indices gain ground after yesterday's losses Boris Johnson should remind Merkel of these four hard economic facts when they meet​ Jeremy Warner: Global leaders are too divided to counter looming economic darkness ​ 10:21AM Transatlantic mergers slump British defence company Cobham is currently the subject of a £4bn takeover bid from US private equity group Advent. Our mergers and acquisitions reporter, Vinjeru Mkandawire, has been taking a look at the latest figures: The number of transatlantic mergers and acquisitions (M&A;) between the US and UK fell by nearly a quarter in the first half of this year, according to research by Deloitte. This was on the back of an 18pc decline in global dealmaking, which was partly driven by increasing uncertainty around trade tariffs and the global economy, the firm said. Transactions between the US and the UK were down 20pc compared to 2018 but still exceeded the combined number of deals between the US and Germany, France and Spain.   Deloitte’s Paul Lupton said that despite the fall in transatlantic deal volumes across many of the major European markets, there was still “strong appetite” for technology assets, which accounted for 28pc of all US-UK deals in the first half of the year.  “This is attributable to the asset‑light business models which enable greater potential for geographical expansion and scalability,” he said. 10:12AM Goldman Sachs predicting a 'very volatile' three months for Italian economy Credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP Economists at Goldman Sachs are predicting a bumpy few months for Italy's economy.  "In our view, the next three months will be very volatile and challenging for the Italian economy and its assets." They are also predicting a delay to the preparation of next year's budget if a new coalition cannot be formed and fresh elections have to be called.  9:59AM What next for Italy? The political upheaval in Rome has come at an awkward time for the country, as Berenberg's European economist Florian Hense has observed:  "With the submission of the 2020 budget to the Italian parliament and European Commission looming by 30 September and 15 October, respectively, the timing is unfortunate: Italy needs to find more than €20bn (£18.3bn) in savings to avoid the already legislated rise in the VAT by 3 percentage points in 2020." Berenberg has set out the three most likely scenarios for Italy:   1. Italy avoids snap elections for at least nine months: Five Star join forces with the Democratic Party (PD) for a new centre-left government, probably with Giuseppe Conte returning as prime minister. Markets could rally if the short-term uncertainty of snap elections is averted. The centre-left coalition could then focus on agreeing a budget and compromises with the EU over its deficit.  2. No poll for now but elections in early 2020: President Sergio Mattarella appoints a technocratic government to draw up the 2020 budget, with snap elections to follow early next year. Five Star and the PD could support the move as it would shield them from having to announce painful adjustments to the 2020 budget themselves. This option could avoid a volatile reaction from markets.  3. Snap elections later this year: The final option is for Mattarella to call snap elections for late October or early November. Current opinion polls suggest far right Matteo Salvini would likely win and become prime minister. A Salvini government could set Italy on a collision course with the EU over its budget. Bond yields could surge, driving up Italy's cost of borrowing.  9:36AM Italy seeks a new coalition in a bid to avoid fresh elections Italian president Sergio Mattarella (left) will try to find a viable coalition government after Giuseppe Conte (right) resigned as prime minister yesterday Credit: FILIPPO ATTILI HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX Italian president Sergio Mattarella will begin intensive talks with the country's political leaders today as he seeks to determine whether a new ruling coalition can be found after prime minister Giuseppe Conte resigned yesterday.  If a coalition cannot be found, Matarella will be forced to call fresh elections.  Conte resigned just over a year after agreeing to lead a populist alliance of the League party, led by Matteo Salvini, and the Five Star Movement. Mattarella, whose role as president is normally a largely ceremonial one, has the sole power to appoint governments and call elections. He is ready to give Five Star and the opposition Democratic Party, or PD, time to strike a deal. But he will allow them days, not weeks, to reach an agreement, Italian media reported.  The talks are set to begin this afternoon.  Rome's FTSE MiB index fell 1pc yesterday but has risen a healthy 1.46pc so far today.  8:59AM Fiat-Renault merger hopes buoy markets Credit: Eric Gaillard/REUTERS A report in Italy about continuing merger talks between Fiat Chrysler and Renault has helped to push shares in the car industry higher. The pair abandoned talks on a mega merger in June after meeting resistance from the French government, which is a major shareholder in Renault.  Take a look at the long road that led to Fiat Chrysler to propose a tie-up with the French manufacturer:  Timeline - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles For more on why we're seeing a wave of deals in the car industry, take a look at Alan Tovey's long read from the weekend: Automotive industry alliances: who's joining forces with who and why? 8:50AM A strong start for European shares European stock markets have enjoyed a strong start to the day, with all of the major indices gaining ground. Here’s how the continent’s blue-chip bourses stood as of about 15 minutes ago: The FTSE 100 was 0.5pc up France’s CAC 40 was 0.75pc up Germany’s DAX was 0.5pc up Spain’s IBEX was 0.75pc up Italy’s FTSE MiB was 1.19pc up Remember you can use our handy Markets Hub tool at the top of the blog to keep tabs on the latest stock market and currency movements! 8:34AM Ryanair - what's happening today? There's a lot to keep track of in this Ryanair story so this might help:  When are the strikes? Pilots in the UK and Ireland are planning separate 48 hour stoppages starting from midnight tonight in disputes over pay and conditions.  What's happening in the London courts? An application by the airline for an injunction to block UK pilots striking is to be heard by a judge in London on Wednesday.  What's happening in the Irish courts? The Irish High Court will rule on whether to grant the airline an injunction to block the planned strike by 180 pilots based in Ireland.  Anything else? Quite a bit, actually. The airline is also facing a wave of strikes over the next month by staff across its Spanish and Portuguese bases. The first Portuguese strike action is set to begin today. Belgian unions have told members not to comply with the carrier's request for them to staff flights that have been hit by the Portuguese industrial action.  And the share price? It's dropped 17pc in the past month.  Markets Hub - Ryanair Holdings 8:21AM Ryanair could attempt to break strikes Ryanair has been drawing up plans to keep as many services as possible in operation if it fails in its legal action. Just in from our transport correspondent Oliver Gill: One senior insider has told me @Ryanair has contingency plans in place to run all, or nearly all, UK flights even if the legal action fails and strikes go ahead. This will be announced after the High Court decision this morning.— Oliver Gill (@ojngill) August 21, 2019 8:15AM Ryanair's last ditch bid to avoid strike chaos Parked Ryanair planes will be a common sight in the next couple of days if strike action proceeds.  Credit: ALBERTO PIZZOL/AFP Ryanair should learn this morning whether its request to block 180 of its Irish pilots from striking tomorrow and Friday has been successful. The Irish High Court is due to issue its decision on whether the 48 hour stoppage can proceed.  Ryanair claims that the strike action breaches an agreement it reached with the union last year. The budget airline also claims that  the union has failed to submit detailed proposals ahead of balloting its members or issuing its strike notice and that the industrial action is timed to cause maximum disruption by coinciding with a scheduled strike by UK pilots.  We'll keep you up to date on developments throughout the day.  7:59AM Facebook moves to address privacy concerns Credit: Dado Ruvic/REUTERS Facebook is launching a long-promised tool that lets users limit what information the social network can gather about them on external websites and apps. The move is an attempt by tech firm to head off criticism of its privacy practices which have been heavily scrutinised in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.  Facebook said it is adding a section where users can see the activity it tracks outside its service, including through its "like" buttons. Users will be able to turn off the tracking.  The feature has been launched in South Korea, Ireland and Spain and is due to be rolled out in other markets in the "coming months".  7:37AM Ryanair in bid to stop pilot strikes Ryanair is going to the High Court today in an attempt to block Thursday's strike action. An application by Ryanair for an injunction is to be heard by a judge in London on Wednesday. In Ireland, Ryanair has also sought an order at the High Court in Dublin to prevent around 180 pilots based in Ireland from going on a 48-hour strike from midnight on Thursday. The application was contested by Forsa, the parent union of the Irish Airline Pilots Association. A judge is expected to give a ruling on Wednesday morning. 7:22AM Boris heads to Boris, while crisis reigns in Italy Good morning. Equities across Europe were lower yesterday amid political uncertainty, not least in Italy where prime minister Giuseppe Conte said he would resign. The pound went in the opposite direction after comments from Angela Merkel that Europe would think about practical solutions to the current Brexit impasse were interpreted as a chink of light in the stand-off between Downing Street and Brussels. Today the German Chancellor will be meeting with Boris Johnson in Berlin.  5 things to start your day 1) Second Chinese suitor emerges as frontrunner to buy 'Boris bus' maker Wrightbus: One of China’s biggest engineering companies has emerged as the frontrunner in the race to save “Boris Bus” maker Wrightbus. Weichai, part of giant state-owned conglomerate Shandong Heavy Industry, is in detailed discussions to buy the struggling bus company, The Daily Telegraph has learnt. 2) Shareholder revolts at annual meetings have “little impact” on restraining runaway pay across FTSE 100 companies, despite a fall in the average salary paid to chief executives last year, according to the CIPD and the High Pay Centre. Between 2014 and 2018 shareholders approved all FTSE 100 company pay policies presented at an AGM, with most votes sailing through, a report by the association for human resource professionals and the think tank found. 2018 income figures for the CEOs of the FTSE 100   3) Yellowhammer port chaos is not even Project Fear: it is slapstick, writes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard. The Yellowhammer report excited my interest because it makes extraordinary warnings about ports in a no-deal Brexit, and I happen to have been talking to port officials over the past two weeks. These included the Boulogne-Calais chief and the head of the UK’s biggest port complex on the Humber. My conclusion is that the Yellowhammer section on ports cannot be true. 4) Britain is a touch richer than previously realised after new sums by the Office for National Statistics added an extra £26bn to annual GDP. The Government and charities replace buildings, machinery and other capital more frequently than expected, businesses develop more software in-house than was known, and services exports are larger than had been appreciated. 5) Lucy Burton finds out who the Hong Kong 'Superman' that's taking on British beer is: Hong Kong's richest man Li-Ka Shing. The 91-year-old was determined to change his circumstances from a young age, telling Forbes in 2010 that the "burden of poverty and this bitter taste of helplessness and isolation" that he felt as a child drove him on in adult life. He is the 28th richest person in the world with a net worth of around $32bn.   What happened overnight Asian shares flatlined on Wednesday as investors took a step back after recent gains, with focus now turning to a key speech by Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell at the end of the week. Rising hopes for China-US trade talks have provided a much-needed lift to markets over the previous two days but with few fresh catalysts, dealers are keeping their powder dry ahead of Friday's address. After positive signals from Donald Trump and some of his top advisers on Monday over progress in the talks with Beijing, and an olive branch with the delay of a ban on Huawei purchases, there have been few developments for traders to buy on. "Our trade-war headline-inspired relief rally appears to have run its course as I suspect there is still a lot of nervousness among US investors as the global economic realities are just too hard to ignore," said Stephen Innes at Valour Markets. With so much riding on the Fed, investors were understandably anxious. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dithered either side of flat after three straight days of gains. Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.3%, while Shanghai blue chips added a slim 0.06%. Hong Kong stocks went into the break slightly higher after swinging throughout the morning. The Hang Seng Index added 0.11 percent, or 28.98 points, to 26,260.52. Coming up today Interim results: Charter Court, Costain, Hansteen Holdings, Hostelworld, OneSavings Economics: Public sector net borrowing (UK), mortgage applications and house sales (US), Federal Reserve minutes

August 21, 2019 at 10:23AM via IFTTT

[thewebofslime]

ast week, on Friday, Royal Dutch Shell announced that it would likely face prosecution on corruption-related charges in Netherlands linked to a 2011 oil deal in Nigeria. Shell and Italian energy company Eni are already defendants in an ongoing corruption trial in Italy linked to the same deal. Both companies have denied any wrongdoing in the Italian trial. In 2011, the two companies paid the Nigerian government $1.3 billion to end a dispute over exploration rights for an offshore block. However, it is alleged that most of the money went to Malabu Oil and Gas—a company linked to former oil minister Dan Etete—instead of the government. In addition, watchdog group Global Witness alleges in a recent report that the Nigerian government stands to lose $6 billion from the flawed deal. In late 2018, the Nigerian government announced that it would sue Shell and Eni in London to recover the funds. Author Christina Golubski Assistant Director - Africa Growth Initiative cmgolubski In related news, Nigeria has demanded that foreign oil and gas companies pay nearly $20 billion in back taxes. The government sent notices to several companies including Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, Eni, Total, and Equinor demanding between $2.5 billion and $5 billion from each. Addressing the tax notice, Equinor said that the company “sees no merit to the case.” AIRPORT WORKERS STRIKE IN KENYA On Wednesday, March 6, in defiance of a court order, members of the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (which includes security, aircraft maintenance workers, baggage handlers, and check-in staff) at Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) went on strike to protest the impending takeover of the airport by the financially struggling national airline, Kenya Airways (KQ). Specifically, the striking workers objected to “unfair staff hiring, poor remuneration and that the proposed take-over would put their jobs at risk.” Riot police with tear gas had been deployed to disperse passengers and workers earlier that day. By Wednesday evening, the secretary-general of the Kenya Aviation Workers Union, Moses Ndiema, and four other union leaders had been arrested because the strike had already been declared illegal and suspended by the courts on Tuesday. Though the strike had ended by Wednesday evening local time, 300 million Kenyan shillings ($3 million) is estimated to have been lost due to the cancellation of flights and hotels. To counter the strike’s effects, Kenyan air force personnel had to be brought in to help screen passengers, but still thousands of passengers were affected. The strike created delays at airports in Eldoret, Kisumu, and Mombasa as well as ripple effects around the world. JKIA alone services an average of 13,000 passengers and 230 flights daily. JKIA is currently run by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), which also manages six other airports and runways around the country. The change in JKIA’s ownership has been a contentious one: Kenya Airways has been floundering financially, recently disclosing that it owns only half of its 40 planes and is servicing loans for 17 of the 20 it does own. While supporters of the move cite the success of other countries’ national airlines in such deals, critics are skeptical. According to MP Alfred Keter, “Ethiopian Airlines, Emirates and RwandAir are fully owned by governments, KQ is a private entity where the government is a minority shareholder. Both Ethiopian and Emirates were solvent when they were given privileges to ran their home airports.” Opponents of the move have also expressed concern over the lack of transparency around the deal. Labor Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani has announced a three-member conciliation committee to steer talks between the union and the Kenyan Airports Authority going forward. COALITION GOVERNMENT IN THE DRC FORMS WHILE EBOLA RESPONSE FACES SETBACKS This week in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), newly elected President Felix Tshisekedi agreed to a coalition government with the Common Front for Congo (FCC), the coalition led by his predecessor Joseph Kabila. The move comes after Tshisekedi had not been able to push through his choice of prime minister since he lacked the votes in parliament. The FCC has 342 of the 485 seats in parliament, and Tshisekedi’s party Cap pour le Changement (known as CACH) has 50 seats. The agreement will give Tshisekedi enough votes to appoint a prime minister and cabinet. In other news in the Central African country, the fight against Ebola has faced setbacks as health officials struggle to stamp out the disease in the eastern part of the country. Last week, unidentified assailants burned two Ebola treatment facilities that were run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, known in English as Doctors Without Borders). Health officials are linking the attacks to a growing trend of distrust and fear from locals arising from a lack of communication from aid groups. Much of the sentiment has been generated by heavy-handed measures by outside organizations, local police, and the military that have alienated local communities in their attempt to keep Ebola from spreading. Some locals in the city of Beni have alleged that the government used the disease as an excuse to keep them from voting. The attack is the latest in a pattern of escalating violence against Ebola responders in the country, with 30 attacks and incidents in the past month. The president of MSF, Dr. Joanne Liu, told reporters, “The existing atmosphere can only be described as toxic.” The medical aid group has suspended its services at the two facilities that were burned. In response to the attacks and growing negative sentiment toward aid workers, Lui said aid organizations need to implement measures to contain the virus that do not alienate those who contract it. This could mean teaching families how to care for patients at home, or how to safely conduct their own burials, a major way the virus is spread without proper precautions. She says if such measures are not taken, people will not seek treatment when sick or listen to health workers on how to prevent contraction, hindering efforts to eradicate the disease. For now, however, she says, “Ebola still has the upper hand.”

[jillmckenzie1]

Faces of Denver: Sharon Simon and Randy Kopf

London Alley Salon

One capitol hill spot allows you to escape your everyday grind and feel a little more shagadelic, for an hour at least. Sharon Simon and her partner, Randy Kopf, are the bubbly team behind the next neighborhood staple, London Alley Salon, near the corner of East 13th Ave. and Marion St. The hole-in-the-wall, British takeover-themed salon opened its doors in April 2017 to provide services for hair styling, waxing, spa treatments and more.

“Our small shop is very community- and family- based. We all love each other deeply and treat each other with respect. Clients all feel at home when they walk in. People come in just to say ‘hi’ and have a beer or just hang, outside of doing their hair.” Simon said.

Simon was born in Colorado and raised in Maryland. She moved back west once she was older and working as a nurse assistant. After her kids grew up she started to feel like she wasn’t doing what she truly wanted to do and decided to go to cosmetology school. Years later, she was walking down 13th Ave. on her way to the Denver Woman’s March of 2016 and noticed the “for rent” sign in the window of the small shop. She immediately felt a connection to the location.

Sharon Simon and Randy Kopf

“I really love the vibe of people supporting local businesses and getting out there. From starving college students to wealthy professionals, diversity is what makes it. It’s like everyone is one and the same but so different- either gay, wealthy, straight, middle, young, old and everyone in between.” Simon said.

Just as the shop was opening, Simon was in an accident, leaving her with extreme injuries—which led her partner Kopf to step in and get the salon up and running. For five months, Kopf worked his regular job in Colorado Springs and then would come to Denver to do all the renovations and organizing.

There are other struggles Simon and Kopf had to face being small business owners, such as negotiating a fair rent without having prices skyrocket on them; but they remain positive about the future. A key element in this positive outlook is that Simon loves her theme and her team. The shop has glitzy and bright 60’s British takeover décor. From the walls draped in British flags and posters of mod London icons to the go-go boot wall and classic red phone booth, no spot goes unnoticed. Simon and Kopf’s staff is a small group of three others, including the master barber, Aldo Perez, master stylist, David Garcia, and skin care expert, Erin Capps. Each employee is given the creative space to do what they like, build lasting relationships with clients and set their own schedules.

London Alley’s extensive list of services go beyond cuts, colors and styling. There are also options to get specific treatments under the umbrella categories of waxing, extensions, lashes, facials, men’s grooming, and massages. The prices for each treatment are reasonable because Simon says she doesn’t want to take any more than what she needs to reinvest in the shop and staff. All of the products used are either by the Davine brand, Joico, or Ruezel barbery line. The Davine Brand is a pro-environment safety, vegan, and farm-to-product line from Italy which works with nine farms to get separate extracts for each product and keep the farms afloat.

What sets Simon’s craft and the London Alley Salon apart from other shops is the devout love she has for the community and her open door policy. The shop stays open late to work with their range of clients schedules and to host in-shop events such as their karaoke parties. One of the recent parties even had the front man of the B52’s pop by for a few songs.

“Randy and I love our clients so much, you know, he just walks outside and meets and talks to everybody, getting their life story. We love karaoke too, so we thought “let’s just do it” one night; and then so many people came in and we were open until 4 am.” Simon said.

Outside of the store, Simon likes to focus on her relationships and giving back. Seven years ago, she organized a group of volunteers to cook and bag meals for those who had no food access, and she has continued the effort each year since on Christmas eve. She hopes to get a nonprofit status soon in order to reach out to other nearby business and make more and more brown bag and clothes donations in the upcoming years with their support.

During the next few months Simon has planned a Valentine’s-themed Karaoke night on February 8 and London Alley Salon’s two-year anniversary party on April 10. She is most excited to get the neighboring businesses involved and try to host an all-inclusive, LGBTQ, all-body shape and all-age fashion show.

To talk more with Sharon Simon or learn more about London Alley Salon bookings and events check out LondonAlleySalon.com.

from Blog https://ondenver.com/faces-of-denver-sharon-simon-and-randy-kopf/

[euroman1945-blog]

The Daily Thistle

The Daily Thistle – News From Scotland

Tuesday 10th July 2018

"Madainn Mhath” …Fellow Scot, I hope the day brings joy to you…. No trip to Malaga today as is the norm, Sandra has clients in Marbella, so she gets to lay in a little rather than rise extra early.. Me?.. I’m up at the usual time and out the door with Bella for her early morning walk, the weather is wonderful, the night being cool, quite different to the heat of the day, so together we wander the streets of Estepona, until the desire to eat takes over, that’s Bella not me, and we turn for home…

APPEAL AFTER GIANT MACKEREL STATUE STOLEN FROM AQUARIUM…. Staff at the St Andrews Aquarium were "gutted" after thieves made off with Big Mac, a giant statue of a mackerel. The 6ft (1.8m) model disappeared from outside the Fife attraction following graduation festivities in the university town on Friday, 29 June. Aquarium director John Mace said the statue was "quite heavy" and would have taken two or three people to lift. Police have been informed, but Mr Mace said there would be "no questions asked" if Big Mac was returned. The statue has stood outside the door of the aquarium for four years, but went missing overnight on 29 June. Mr Mace said Big Mac was "last seen heading in the direction of the town centre". He added: "He's quite heavy and it would probably have taken two or three people to lift him. Staff are gutted by his disappearance and we would love to have him back home. "Any information leading to his recovery would be gratefully received."

SCOTLAND'S HOTTEST DAY RECORD 'NOT ACCEPTED' BY MET OFFICE…. Scotland's highest ever temperature reading has been rejected by the Met Office over fears it could have been affected by a parked vehicle. On Thursday 28 June, a temperature of 33.2C degrees was measured at Strathclyde Park in Motherwell. The Met Office now says a stationary vehicle with its engine running was parked too close to the equipment. It said that although the measurement was "plausible" it could not rule out the potential for contamination. It means that last Thursday was not officially the hottest day ever in Scotland. A temperature of 32.9C recorded in August 2003, at Greycrook in the Borders, remains the highest ever. Provisional figures from the Met Office said average temperatures had made it the fourth hottest June ever experienced in Scotland. It was the fourth sunniest June for the UK overall. The temperatures were so hot on Thursday 28 June that the "weatherproof" membrane on Glasgow Science Centre's roof melted and dripped black "goo" down the building. A blog from the Met Office said temperatures in the low 30s were observed at a number of sites in the central belt of Scotland on that day, with 31.9 °C recorded at Bishopton in Renfrewshire.

HIGHLAND COUNCIL BUYS 'SENSATIONALLY UGLY' INVERNESS BUILDINGS…. Highland Council has completed the purchase of buildings, described as "sensationally ugly" in Inverness. The concrete office blocks were constructed during a period of development on the banks of the River Ness in the 1950s and 1960s. The local authority has bought the site in the centre of Inverness for £5.2m by borrowing and using £1.5m from the Scottish government. Highland Council is expected to consult the public on the site's future. A revamp of the site could take 10 years, they said. The buildings' design has been frequently criticised. US travel writer Bill Bryson described the blocks on Bridge Street as "sensationally ugly", and last month Highland Council's leader Margaret Davidson described them as "great grey lumps". The purchase is part of a wider plan that includes transforming Inverness Castle into a tourist attraction The buildings previously served as a headquarters for the Highlands and Islands Development Board and Crofting Commission. Highland Council's takeover of the site forms part of the redevelopment of Inverness Castle and the nearby museum. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service occupies most of the castle, but is to move out and relocate to a new complex by about 2020. Inverness Castle is to then be turned into a major tourist attraction.

SPRAY PAINT VANDALS TARGET HISTORIC ARBROATH ABBEY…. Police are appealing for information after Arbroath Abbey was vandalised with spray paint. The suspects struck some time between 17:00 on Tuesday and 07:00 on Thursday. Historic Scotland said it could take more than a week and cost a four-figure sum to remove the paint from the iconic landmark. The abbey is currently undergoing some exterior work and the culprits used the scaffolding already in place to gain access. A police spokesman said: "This is highly dangerous, and we would ask parents in the area to be fully aware of what your children are doing, where they are going, and who they are with. "We would be particularly interested to hear from any parents whose children have come home in the evenings with paint on their clothes or smelling of solvent." The Abbey was founded by William the Lion in 1178, in memory of martyr Thomas Becket, and was one of Scotland's grandest monasteries for almost 400 years. It made headlines worldwide in 1951 after The Stone of Destiny, which had been stolen from Westminster Abbey the previous Christmas, was left in front of the altar, near the tomb of King William the Lion.

PROMISING LIVERPOOL FC FOOTBALLER JAILED FOR ARMED ROBBERY IN ABERDEEN….A man jailed for armed robbery at an Aberdeen bookmakers was a footballer who turned to drugs after injury cost him his career, a court has heard. Warren Keating, 29, who signed for Liverpool FC, and fellow Liverpudlian Darren Summers, 30, were convicted of holding a knife to the throat of an employee and taking £2,800. It happened at Coral in the Cornhill area of Aberdeen in 2016. Keating was jailed for five years and Summers for four. At the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lady Scott said the pair had travelled to Aberdeen because they needed money. She added: "During the robbery you had your faces masked, you held a knife at a female employee's throat and took £2,800 from the safe and both boasted after about how easy it was." Defence QC David Moggach, representing Keating, told the court: "Mr Keating was a promising footballer and was signed up by Liverpool Football Club, but because of injury he could not follow that career and took to drugs. "When he is released from prison he wants to make something of his life." Defence counsel Gareth Jones, representing Summers, said his client had previous convictions for low level dishonesty. He added: "This marks an escalation in his offending behaviour. He has expressed remorse." "He is married with four young children."

On that note I will say that I hope you have enjoyed the news from Scotland today,

Our look at Scotland today is "I got this shot of a pine marten while on holiday in Gairloch last week," said Iain Wilkie. "These creatures are very illusive and it's unusual to see them before dark."

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Tuesday 10th July 2018 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there….

Robert McAngus #Tulips #Spain #Estepona #Love #Travel #News #Blog

[brandonsmithuk]

How To Discover Content Ideas For Restaurant Social Media Marketing

If you’re not planning well enough for your content ideas to improve your restaurant’s social media presence, then you’re planning to stay out of the competition. Now that the battle for restaurant marketing is staged on different social media channels, your social media posts must be creative yet relevant for your target audience. 

One way to ensure that you’re at the top of the game is to consistently give your customers high-quality content that will keep them interested and engaged with your restaurant brand. But since everyone’s already trying to pivot their marketing efforts towards social media platforms, finding content ideas that will stand out might be challenging for you. 

Read along to learn how you can provide unlimited high-quality content ideas that are both informative and entertaining for your potential customers. 

Tips in Finding Content Ideas to Improve Your Restaurant’s Social Media Marketing

Though most of your restaurant marketing decisions are based on the data that you’ve gathered about your customers and other social media users with the help of some tools like Google Analytics, creating new restaurant marketing strategies is still considered a gamble.

Customer’s behaviour and preferences are always changing, and there are times that you can’t track what’s working for you and what’s not. But worry not, as here are some tips that can help you create content ideas for your restaurant’s social media marketing. 

Determine what works best

With social media marketing, though it’s cheap, it’s still a waste if you continue to invest your time and efforts (and money) into social media campaigns that are not working for you. Keep in mind that 88% of consumers are influenced by what they see online.

Set the demographic of your target audience, find out what type of content they usually engage with, which social media platform they usually hang out with, and the ongoing trends that influence their buying decisions. 

Once you have all these data, analyze and observe the patterns and traces left by your target audience and start formulating content ideas for your restaurant’s social media marketing strategy. 

Keep updated with the competition

Another starting point for you is to check what’s working for your competitors. Observe the social media posts they’re using that are gathering customer engagement are. If you have an idea of what type of content ideas are working for them, you can utilize them to produce content  aligned with your brand.

Are they using long-form posts? Are their videos working for them? If yes, there’s a high possibility that it will work for your target audience as well. After all, you consider them a competitor because you target the same customers and offer almost the same service type. 

If you continue learning from your competitors, it can be a habit of yours. In the long run, you can independently produce content ideas for your restaurant’s social media marketing. 

Utilize necessary tools

Some tools are available online, which can help you peek into the insights of the customers. 77% of customers are now dependent on the internet and opt to search the internet first before going to a particular restaurant. And to provide them with content that’s relevant for them, you have to know what they are thinking, what they are looking for. 

Tools such as AnswerThePublic can provide you with what are the customers currently searching for on the internet. It collates the most common questions asked online about a certain topic. For instance, you want to know what the market wants to know about “pizza takeaway,” it’ll show you everything that’s been asked on the internet about the boxed meal. 

Since it gathers data according to what’s the type of questions mostly asked, you can have an idea of what they want to know. And now that you have that information, you can tailor your content ideas according to what they’re looking for. You’ll provide them with the answer to their question. 

You can generate countless content ideas just by utilizing keywords that are significant to your restaurant and checking out what the consumers want to know about that certain topic. 

Incorporate events and holidays

Events and holidays are a great source of content ideas for your restaurant’s social media marketing. What they’re trying to celebrate is certainly relevant for them, so any post or promotion about it will be engaging and interesting for them.

 But make sure that you’ll do proper research first to identify the events that will impact your target customers. This way, you can produce social media content that are fun and exciting for your customers, and at the same time, you’re bringing brand retention and recognition to the table. 

As you go along with your research, you’ll discover that there’s a themed event for each day. Take this as an advantage and formulate numerous content ideas for your restaurant’s social media strategy. 

Providing this type of content helps with your algorithm, enabling you to appear on your follower’s timeline and feed. Simple brand recognition can do you wonders, especially if your social media posts are considered outstanding. 

Make sure you don’t forget the special holidays such as Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Father’s Day, and Christmas. Content ideas about these holidays will surely generate engagement. Not only that, it’s easy to get user-generated content about your restaurant if you’ve served those customers well over those days.

Involve restaurant staff and employees

Your team can provide you with exceptional content ideas because they are the ones that have a connection with your customers. They are the ones who have an opportunity to observe and see your customers up close, and they are the ones who communicate with your customers. 

Through this, they most likely have an idea of what piques your current and potential customers’ interests.

You can also ask them to have “takeovers” on your social media accounts. Takeovers are types of content ideas known to boost customer interest and engagement because customers see real humans, and they feel a better connection with them. It’s a great way to humanize your brand and show your customers your restaurant brand’s authenticity. 

Start connecting!

You can now start connecting through your social media profiles with your customers better. Remember to establish your tone and character according to your restaurant’s concept.

Through your posts that contain beautiful photos and others, you’re talking to your customers.  So you have to make sure that you’re always providing them content that’ll be worth their time.

If you need assistance with your social media content ideas, feel free to reach out to us.

Via https://www.etakeawaymax.co.uk/how-to-discover-content-ideas-for-restaurant-social-media-marketing/

source https://etakeawaymax.weebly.com/blog/how-to-discover-content-ideas-for-restaurant-social-media-marketing

[tyleroakley-obsessed]

Ed. Note. Downtown’s Irish bar/soccer HQ has reopened under new management with a refreshed menu, new hours, but the same cozy pub atmosphere and crave-worthy goat cheese balls and fries. Contributor Stacey went to check it out and has reported back. All photos are courtesy of the Brass Door unless otherwise noted.  The Brass Door has always been a favorite watering hole, and I’m not even a Guinness girl. As one of my more poetic drinking buddies notes, “It’s got all the elements one looks for in a hang out bar—warm wood, a feeling of elegance without it being pretentious or expensive, and great stuff to look at.” A post shared by Robert Mabe (@robert_mabe) on Dec 14, 2017 at 1:10pm PST He’s specifically referring to the collection of black and white photographs of famous performers in the cozy bar next door (which is now non-smoking), though we both agree that it’s lovely to just sit and stare out of the beautiful windows. Local power couple Patrick and Deni Reilly took over the daily operations in November and now have it running like gangbusters. Most of us know Patrick and Deni from the Majestic Grill, their hugely successful restaurant on Main Street. photo by Holly And we got to know them a little better with their six month takeover of Beale Street Landing last year. They’ve brought the same expertise that made The Front Porch such a hit to the Brass Door. My pal Seamus Loftus, one of the owners, has never seemed happier. He’s delighted to have the Reillys on board. “Having exceptional team members has brought me a certain level of peace that I’m very happy with,” he says. His happiness is contagious. The three or four times I’ve been in since November, I’ve been greeted with nothing but smiles—from waitresses, bartenders, the GM Chris Backey to Patrick and Deni themselves. When the staff is happy, the customers are happy. The service is friendly, fast and spot on. Let’s talk about the food. Patrick completely revamped the menu, though he did leave former favorites such as the Brass Door Burger, the BELT (bacon, eggs, lettuce & tomato) and the goat cheese balls (which are so good “they’ll hurt your feelings”). That burger though—beer braised onions and Cashel bleu cheese—make it a real stand out. Add on some hand dipped fries, and hot dang! (Seamus does have one small beef with Patrick’s menu. His favorite item – the bangers and mash with onion gravy – is called The Beckham. I’ll let the Arsenal fans to explain this one.) As the temperatures tank, keep the Shepherd’s Pie, Fish & Chips, and Smoked Seafood Chowder in mind for meals that’ll stick to your ribs. The chowder is Patrick’s late mother’s recipe and includes smoked haddock, shrimp, salmon, potatoes, bacon, celery and leeks. It’s served with brown bread which is eaten at almost every meal in Ireland. Know what else is good when it’s cold outside? Yep, Irish coffee. And may I introduce you to what is perhaps the best bar snack ever? Irish Nachos. They’re hand cut fries smothered in the Door’s signature Smithwick’s Irish Ale cheese dip, chopped corned beef and beer braised onions. Yes, please! I feel like I should just mention here that all of the Brass Door’s beers are available by the half pint. As Deni says, “We’re just doing our part to bring back drinking at lunch.” Those of you with New Year’s resolutions, never fear. The menu also features six amazing salads. Personally, I am a fan of the Kale Caesar, which is a traditional Caesar with a super food added in. Deni recently turned me on to adding the chicken goujons (aka tenders) though, so I don’t know if I’m really being too convincing about eating clean at the ol’ Brass Door. Healthy eaters just bypass the goujons, fries, and cheese dip and go directly to the Baby Spinach or Smoked Salmon salad. The new menu has a little something for everyone. So grab some pals, grab a beer, grab some grub, maybe watch a little soccer, and enjoy all that the new, improved Brass Door has to offer. The Brass Door is open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. There’s a limited late night menu after 9 p.m. There’s also special early-morning Saturday and Sunday hours (8 a.m.) for breakfast and international soccer matches. Brunch starts in a couple of weeks. Go there: The Brass Door 152 Madison Avenue (901) 572-1813 Facebook Page Twitter Instagram About The Author Stacey Greenberg is a freelance writer who lives in Cooper Young with her two teenaged sons. She’s a contributor to Thrillist.com, Edible Memphis, I Love Memphis, and Memphis Travel. She’s also the author of the award winning blog, Dining with Monkeys (diningwithmonkeys.com). A lifelong Memphian, she loves the fact that she’s never met a stranger here. Are you a home owner in Memphis, with a broken garage door? Call ASAP garage door today at 901-461-0385 or checkout http://www.asapgaragedoorandgaterepair.com/

http://ilovememphisblog.com/2018/01/pop-in-to-downtowns-irish-pub-the-brass-door/