#Avon Recognition

[avonmom]

THE SUPER SELLERS TEAM RECOGNITION: CAMPAIGN 18 2024

Check who the top sellers & achievers from my team, #TheSuperSellers are in #Avon Campaign 18 2024 #Recognition #TopSellers #SellAvon #AvonRep

The Super Sellers Team Recognition Campaign 18 2024 Recognition is one of the benefits I love as an Avon representative. Together, we celebrate one another’s successes & triumphs, no matter how big or small they may be. Building a business takes hard work & dedication. My job as a team leader & mentor is to ensure that each of the representatives on my team do recognize & celebrate their…

[sweetdreamsjeff]

Northern Light

Thirty-six hours before Jeff Buckley died, I saw him standing on a quiet Memphis street corner. A sheriff's car had pulled over, and the beige-suited federale stood towering above him. Jeff was my neighbor and friend, so I turned my car around to see if I could extract him from his tangle.

The incident had ended by the time I got there. It began raining. I pulled up next to Jeff. He didn't like strangers stopping him, and he kept his face forward as I drove beside him. He didn't look up until I spoke, then he stormed into the car, furious that the deputy had stopped to ask who he was; Jeff thought the lawman recognized him from his videos. I tried telling him their paths happened to cross at a corner that was known for drug activity, but he wouldn't hear it.

At the corner, instead of turning toward our street to go home--he lived a few doors from us in a rental house--I turned away. An anger I didn't know flared up. He demanded to be let out and opened the door while we were moving. The rain was hard and heavy, a dark rain. He did not want to know that I was only going one block out of the way. To calm him I told him I would take him home directly. F---it, if he wanted to act like a rock star, I'd indulge his fame, don my chauffeur's hat, take his assholiness home, and then do my errand.

If he'd not died, the incident would have meant nothing.

I see my happening onto him right after the cop as proof--if he was seeking proof--that he could not take a walk and be alone. He had owned Manhattan and walked away for a place he could be alone.

He leapt out of my car and was immediatelly soaked. "I'll walk," he said. "It's nice out." It was not nice out. Is that what he had to say to be alone?

Jeff rang our doorbell at six sharp. "Look at this," he told my wife, leading Mr. Clean into the kitchen. He wore a frilly green three-piece thrift-store suit, two-tone black and white shoes, and a wide-brimmed hat tilted forward over his face. I assumed a matching green Cadillac with a fake fur steering wheel was parked out front. He said, "I like to dress for dinner."

He and I drank red wine outside in the pre-summer heat. My four-month-old daughter cooed at him, he cooed back, and they laughed. After dinner he wanted to retrieve a notebook he'd left at the downtown club where he had a weekly gig. "Sure they're open," he said, "live bands seven nights a week." We walked to his house, where he got the keys to his rental car. Before leaving the house, he put on a Dead Kennedys CD and left it at top volume. One the street I could hear every thudding syllable. An Avon lady lived next door to him. I didn't ask questions.

He drove like his verbal riffs: all over the place. The club was, of course, closed. But his outfit was glowing, we were half-lit, and we hit a Beale Street beer hall that had a pool table. He put down two quarters in line for a game and steadily pumped the jukebox.

In Memphis Jeff could play at anonymity: a dangerous, green-suited pool hustler running Beale. The bartender found his Grifters selection too noisy and pulled the plug. Jeff leapt onto the pool table and demanded not only that the machine be turned back on, but that he be given his money back so he could play the song again. A pretty girl recognized him and between pool shots she handed him a menu and asked him for an autograph. He was polite; I think the occasional recognition was enough to sate his ego, but not so much that it interfered with his daily affairs.

My wife and I fed him a couple of times, hung out a bit. Usually his blinds were drawn, and we mostly left him to his work. One evening I stopped by on my way to the neighborhood bar. He talked about his dad that night, also a singer with a clarion voice. Tim Buckley was twenty-eight when he found a packet of powder and, mistaking the heroine for cocaine, laid out a fat line, inhaled, and died. Jeff was eight at the time. He lived with his mother, her husband, and his half brothers, and back then his name was Scott J. Moorhead. Then he'd entered his old man's business, and though he didn't know him (he'd only spent a week with his dad), he was feeling the weight of his father's shadow. Dead at such an early age, Tim Buckley would be forever young. "The only way I can rebel against him," Jeff told me, "is to live."

You don't go swimming in your boots without some kind of intent somewhere. Jeff was thirty when he drowned in the Mississippi River. I don't imagine that his father's specter ever left him, but I do believe life must have refracted through the ghost differently during Jeff's last couple of years. My wife's father died accidentally when she was a child, and she speaks of the mixed feelings she had when she passed her father's age. Survivors' guilt tinged with survivors' triumph: "It didn't happen to me" becomes "it couldn't."

People like me who write about musicians have a relationship with celebrity that is either symbiotic or parasitic, depending on the perspective. Jeff and I had met accidentally, laughed a lot at that first meeting but were never introduced, and I left thinking he was just some new guy in town. It took an effort by me to supress the opportunism presented by his fame and maintain that purity in our friendship. We never discussed doing an interview, though I took notes for one. He had recorded an Alex Chilton song on his first EP; Chilton plays a significant role in my first book, It Came From Memphis, but we never discussed that either. He'd never played his fame card before, and offering to drive him a mile home that day it rained, when I was a block from doing that anyway, made me painfully aware of the shared natures of fan and servant.

Fame is a buoy that raises you up and a weight that brings you down. Jeff Buckley was beautiful to behold, a blast to be around, a singular talent. He seemed strong enough for fame. His core bubbled with energy, an excitement that sometimes overpowered him. Talking about his dad in the bar, he bent to his drink and gnawed on the glass with his teeth. Though he could wrangle his power, like when he made music, he seemed most at ease letting it pour fourth: A rush of comic routines. Impulsive actions. His wardrobe. Swimming in the river.

The day after the rain, I saw a furniture rental truck unloading beds at his house; Jeff's band was arriving. When a British magazine editor called the next morning asking me to confirm that Jeff had died of a drug overdose, I reamed the guy. "Let him work!" I said. "He wants to be alone." The editor assured me that this news was based in fact, that someone from Microsoft News had--but I cut him off and told him to leave the guy alone. Ten minutes later a friend at Jeff's label called to say that reports were that Jeff had drowned, and what did I know about it? Geez, I thought, can't anyone let this guy work?

My wife said if I'd been called about another of my neighbors having an accident, I'd have run to their door and knocked, made sure everything was okay. I did walk down to Jeff's house and stood in front of it dumbly--his house looked like his house--but I wasn't about to disturb him with rumors of himself. An hour later, back home, I glanced out front and an image of his bandmates--their stooped backs, the shade of the magnolia tree, red Converse high-tops on asphalt--seared into my brain. Death. I'd never seen them before, but their dyed hair and disheveled look announced them as Jeff's guests, and their dazed walk and stupefied manner instantly confirmed the worst. It rained for four days after that.

The first daylight hours passed as we waited for the phone to ring--for Jeff to tell us that the current had swept him away and deposited him, tired and delirious, in a foresaken corner of a cotton field, and he walked for hours between rows to dirt paths to gravel and was finally calling from a gas station near a stupid Tunica casino, could someone please come pick him up right away and bring dry clothes, he was miserable. But that call didn't come. His mother came, his girlfriend, an aunt, a lawyer, and some record company people.

When Jeff Buckley immersed himself in that inlet of the the Mississippi River, he swam out on his back, looking at the stars, singing a Led Zeppelin song. A tugboat passed and left a wake. He swallowed water. The shadow was heavy. The refraction was blinding. His boots were full.

It's said about the blues singer Robert Johnson that he lived a compartmentalized life. That to some he was Robert Dusty, to others Robert Spencer, and that his personae were as varied and as independent as the people to whom each was known. Jeff had a life in New York I knew little about, and his family was in California. But his absence broke down those partitions, and we survivors clung to each other in his house, surrounded by his belongings, waiting for him.

The undercurrents in Memphis swelled in Jeff's absence. This city reveres obscurity, is hostile toward success. Beneath the reverence for the celebrated--here or anywhere--is a mean-spirited envy, a rooting for the lions over the gladiator. The tide of gossip rose: He staged his death for publicity. Or for solitude. He was on drugs. Suicide. Black magic.

On the fourth day, before his body floated up, his mother called his friends to his house for a wake. His beautiful photograph was propped on the table, along with a candle and maybe a flower. She wanted to celebrate her son's life and she made a toast, reminding me how little we can each know of even the ones we call friends. She raised her glass, and we raised ours. Her words startled me: "To Scotty."

His singing was magisterial, like a pipe organ, natural like the northern lights. Jeff's voice made me want to build shrines--though now I see Jeff Buckley was the shrine to his voice. His sudden end has seeped into my memories of his passion and vitality, and I can't seperate the purity of his tone from the tragedy of his fate.

My child is drifting off to sleep in my arms. She has learned to crawl, is beginning to understand spacial relations. The puzzle that is everything she sees is beginning to have pieces, and the pieces are beginning to fit. Her dreams have become more lifelike, and as she is momentarily disturbed into consciousness, her eyes open. She can't tell the worlds apart, and since the dream feels so much nicer than the coldness of reality, she doesn't fight the return. She drifts off.

Source: Robert Gordon

[donovanlizzie]

Reunion - Eugene 'Doc' Roe

WARNINGS: Mentions of death, war , blood etc

MASTERLIST

BAND OF BROTHERS MASTERLIST

The dimly lit church in Bastogne echoed with the distant sounds of artillery as She moved urgently through the makeshift medical station.

As a medic for Dog Company, she had seen the unforgiving toll that war took on the soldiers she tended to. Little did she know that amidst the chaos, fate had a reunion in store for her.

She and a team of men maneuverered through the crowded space, their wounded comrade's groans of pain filled the air. The tight quarters of the church made the task more challenging. Suddenly, as they rounded a corner, she nearly collided with a man standing in her way.

"Move out of the way!" she barked, her voice cutting through the urgency of the situation. With adrenaline coursing through her veins.

"Help! We need help over here!" She called out to the doctors and nurses in the makeshift hospital. The wounded man's life hung in the balance, and time was of the essence.

Without a second thought, Eugene 'Doc' Roe responded to her call. He rushed to assist, his training kicking in as he joined the frantic efforts to stop the bleeding. The urgency of the situation drowned out any chance for a proper introduction.

She continued to work on the fallen soldier, determined to exhaust every possibility of life. Even as the others began to slow, she snapped at them, "Why are you stopping!?" The weight of loss and desperation fuelled her determination.

Roe, without thinking, followed her instructions as the small team frantically tried to stop the bleeding. She shouted out commands, her focus entirely on the task at hand. "Exercez une pression ! Nous avons besoin de plus de bandages ! Appelez le médecin ici !"

("Apply pressure! We need more bandages! Get the doctor over here!")

"Merde," she mumbled under her breath as the situation became increasingly dire. In a moment of desperation, she ripped her helmet from her head, revealing her disheveled, dirty, plaited hair.

Roe's gaze lingered on her, recognition slowly dawning on his features. Even with her red-raw, wind-burnt face covered in small scars and scrapes, and her red-tired eyes, there was something unmistakable about her. The realisation struck him like a sudden revelation in the midst of the war's brutality — the familiar face before him was someone from his past.

Thankfully, the bleeding had been stabilised, the wounded soldier was tagged and whisked away to a space on the floor.

"Y/n?" Roe whispered quietly, taking a step towards her.

Caught in the midst of her duties, she didn't immediately recognize Roe. " Yes? - Who are you?" she asked, glancing briefly in his direction.

He continued, "Uh, Eugene, Roe? - God, I haven't seen you since -"

"High school," She finished, her eyes widening in recognition. The weight of the years lifted as realisation dawned on her. Roe nodded, a bittersweet smile playing on his lips.

"What company?" She asked, attempting to wipe the drying blood off her hands.

"Easy. You?" Roe responded.

She smiled slightly. "Dog Company - damn, we're just down the road!"

The two chuckled quietly , Before they could delve into further conversation, she was summoned.

"Ma'am, we have to head back," one of the soldiers announced, urgency in his voice pulling them back to the harsh reality of their duties.

She exchanged a quick, apologetic glance with Roe. "I'll catch up with you later," she promised, her eyes reflecting a mix of emotions.

Roe nodded understandingly.

"Thank you! Stay safe, Doc. Hopefully, I'll see you soon!"

But they both knew the battlefield, with its relentless demands, wouldn't allow for long reunions.

As She hurriedly joined her team, they disappeared into the crowded church, leaving behind the echoes of a reunion that had been long overdue.

A/N: idk if I like this one but pt2 maybe?

[gingerlurk]

Lovers' Crest | Chapter 5: The Family

Din Djarin x f!Reader

Masterlist

Summary: You make some hard choices. Din makes a relatively easy one.

Word count: 4.2k

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, slow burn, non-canon (the Razor Crest never gets destroyed, it also gets upgraded with a cabin), canon-typical violence, eventual smut/filth, post season 3, canon-typical violence. Creepy cousin. Reader gets a backstory and childhood nicknames. Smut: Masturbation (m). Uhhhh please advise if there's more to add here thank you

A/N: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, A03. Thank you for reading!

--

You’re being escorted down an ornate hall, in a daze, drowning in emotion. You’d been near catatonic since the moment your Uncle had declared you a bride-to-be, to be sent to a neighbouring system to enshrine an alliance and propel his domain to new heights. To be sent into the belly of a beast.

No one cheered or made herald at the announcement, but they did clap politely and recite the Family maxim: Accipe quod debes.

Take what they owe.

They’d all known. Every one of them knew this was going to happen and they’d let you walk into it without warning. Even Avon. 

You haven’t felt this lost since you were newly orphaned, walking these halls for the first time without your mother beside you. When the air splits apart with warning bells, you barely react. But your retinue freaks out. Despite being apparently skilled household personnel, they turn into a squabbling mess of panicked shouts and confused orders.

Through their frantic cries while pushing you down the hall, you ascertain that it’s raiders. Organised criminal units from the quarries, with highly trained assassins known as reapers. Murmurings of their plot to attack the Estate have been reported for some time but ignored by your hubristic Uncle. No way would they attack here, they wouldn’t dare.

You round a final bend and your group meets a furious assault.

Your senses sing to life, and you start to move.

--

The Mandalorian thunders up a flight of stairs three at a time. He shoulders an elaborate garden gate out of the way so hard it careens off its hinges. Hallways flick by as he searches for you, thinking on a loop, never should have left her, never should have left her, never should ha--

He rounds a corner and it’s like being thunderstruck.

The glittering golden fabric of your evening gown spins up a storm in the hall. In the frenzy of at least three reapers being tossed left and right by the gold whiplash, he makes out your figure. He sees you take one of them in hand and use the leverage to leap into an almost tender embrace in the attacker’s arms before hurling your weight down and converting it into a savage throw.

The sprawled figure doesn’t gain any purpose before glimmering wisps of expensive fabric are secured around his neck as you heave upwards. You don’t let go until the body is too heavy to carry.

A second reaper charges at you but you stay hunched until he’s about to barrel into you, then you straighten suddenly and he careens high. As he sails over you, the last of your luxurious skirt goes across his airway and you jerk it across your shoulder with a snap. The body thuds to the floor, neck lolling. 

Din watches you drop the dead weight to the ground and sag against the wall, heaving. Without hesitating he makes his way toward you, so frantic as to miss your shoulders tense and your sigh of resolve as you ready for more fight. When you whirl with an almost staggering rage, he stutters, but your eyes clear in recognition instantly.

‘Thank fuck it’s you.’ You throw yourself into his hard, unyielding façade with a puzzling lack of care. Strong arms circle and squeeze his waist and he sucks in a breath. Din doesn’t know what to do with his hands, so after a moment he pats your upper arms a few times. His heart is battering itself against his beskar armour and he prays you cannot hear it.

You look around him. ‘Where’s Grogu?’ 

As if on cue, the kid bobs around the corner, making a beeline for you. He babbles a noisy string of sounds as you crouch to tug at his ears. You look up.

‘Follow me?’ It’s a question. Din smoulders, picking up the child.

‘Lead the way.’

You run.

--

‘Wait!’ You skid to a halt in front of a door. Mando stops, looking back. ‘Can you open this?’

‘Do we really have t—’ He cuts himself off and moves to the door, scrutinising the keypad. He holds the edge of his gauntlet against it. A loud bang with a puff of smoke obliterates the instrument. He locks his stance and reefs the door sideways one handed.

‘Subtle,’ you say, stepping inside your Aunt’s antechamber.

Your Aunt is a cold and distant shut-in who relates more to chemical suspension processes and program matrices than people. Among many predilections of hers is a fascination with formulating alchemical and nano compounds of varying purposes and effects.

It remained a mystery just how they were used, but few rivals and detractors stayed in the political landscape for long around here. 

She also took great delight in displaying her creations.

You take down a dainty, glittering bandolier. Once slipped over your head, the thing is double lined with tiny capsules from collarbone to navel. You turn to a nearby drawer, tugging it open to withdraw a tiny sidearm, an obvious custom job. You feel about yourself and find a spot of fabric such in which to tuck it.

Somewhat armed, you feel a little better. You duck passed Mando leaning against the doorframe and sense him straighten up to follow.

You’d grown up on these grounds, so you knew the ways to take to avoid the worst of the bedlam erupting across the Estate. A few scuffles and several minutes pass before you slow; the three of you edge to the hangar opening and peer in. 

From the shadows, your heart sinks. By the Crest stand a couple of household guards, some hangar grunts and, pacing furiously between them, your cousin, Avon. Cracking knuckles with a face of fury.

You study the scene and have a tiny battle with yourself, reaching a conclusion that elicits a pained tug in your chest. You turn to Mando.

‘I have an idea.’

--

Avon waits by the ship with his cobbled together retinue. If that creepy bounty hunter tries to take his cousin back off this rock, as is his suspicion, by damn is he going to make sure she stays put.

Plus, the chaos wreaking havoc would be a great cover to dispose of that weirdo.

As if summoning said chaos, he whirls at the sound of a deafening explosion to see the aft hanger start pouring smoke. From the haze he sees her sprinting towards him, barefoot, gown in shreds and face alight with terror. 

She barrels into him and starts shrieking. ‘He’s here. He’s here! He’s right behind me!’

Perfect, Avon thinks. He wraps a protective arm across her shoulders. ‘Don’t worry,’ he tells her. ‘You’ll never have to see him again.’ He juts his chin to the party. ‘Head him off, do not let him into this hangar!’

The men turn on a deferential dime and scurry toward the obscured opening. 

His cousin spins in his grip and grasps at his shoulders. ‘He’s dangerous,’ she stammers. ‘Are you sure those men can handle it?’

He hates seeing her upset. After all these years. Even though he knows he can’t protect her from his Father’s plots, he’ll still try. He pulls her into a hug and she burrows into his chest, hands clasped between them in a frightened little prayer. ‘Oh please, oh please…’

‘Relax,’ he puts a hand in her hair, head resting on top of hers. ‘You’re safe, Sunbeam. You’re not going anywhere tonight, hear me? They’ll take out that sicko and we’ll turn his hunk of junk into scr— urk!’ A painful spike radiates from the side of his neck and begins to burn a path across his whole body. 

What? Confusion and vertigo assault his senses. He feels himself falling, the fire being followed by numbness, by nothing. Puhh… He strains to look up through vision being splotched with black and red and sees the face of his cousin, his little Sunbeam, a look of grief painting her features. Then he sees nothing at all.

--

You keep a tight hold on his shirt front with one hand and the little vial with the other. When you know the toxin is doing its work, you let the glass cylinder fall and grab at a shoulder, crouching slowly to the ground with his folding body.

Laying him down as gently as possible, you kneel next to him to whisper a pathetic little ‘sorry’. 

You don’t get to keep vigil very long. The Mandalorian strolls from the dissipating smoke, your loop of toxic weaponry draped over a shoulder, to make his way to you. After a moment’s observation, he leans down. You feel his cloak drape across your shoulders. Oh, you’re shivering. Grogu appears beside you to put a gentle little claw on your hand where it’s dropped by your side.

Mando pulls Avon’s unconscious body across a hefty shoulder. Moving to the bench seating running along a wall, he lowers the body there, orienting him so his airway is unobstructed.

It’s so simple. And you’re so grateful you could cry. He turns back to you.

‘How long will he be out?’

‘A couple hours, I think.’

‘Ready to go?’

It’s not even a question between you.

‘Lead the way,’ you say.

--

Hours later, Din fidgets with an aggressive restless want, but tries to still himself enough to sleep. Shifting in the pilot seat, propping a knee on the console, he tries to clear his mind, let his thoughts wash over and away down the current. 

Yet he can’t stop thinking back to earlier. 

That particular section of hyperspace had been almost devoid of starlight, so the dim glow of the cockpit’s instruments mostly reflected its interior back at the three of them, huddled in separate trains of thought. Din couldn’t resist taking the chance to look back via the reflection, telling himself he’d just be checking on her.

She still had his cloak wrapped across her shoulders – the bandolier by then hanging in Din’s weapons locker. She had her knees drawn up and curled into herself, knuckles tensed against dark fabric. She seemed to be gazing into the black. It was hard to tell just going on the warped glass of the windows, but he’d been sure she was crying.

‘Hey, you okay?’ Kicked himself the instant it passed his mouth.

Kicked himself again as he saw her rub hard at her eyes and cheeks, pushing away as much emotion as humanly possible.

‘Oh, yeah,’ she sniffed. ‘Yeah, yep. Okay.’

A few blistered exhales out.

‘Just trying to figure how he could have simply sold me off like that. Down the river of greed and power and wealth. My own uncle, guardian for nearly all of my life.’ She’d scoffed, run a hand along the bank of inputs beside her and stood.

‘Guess family isn’t really worth much these days,’ she said, so sadly. ‘Accipe quod debes.’ 

She’d twirled the cloak off of her shoulders and draped it carefully over her vacated chair.

‘I’m gonna-- Is it okay if I go get some sleep?’

‘Cabin is all yours,’ he’d said. Then after a beat, added, ‘As long as you need.’

Now, he’s fighting a tight, hot compulsion to storm into that cabin and drop to his knees beside you. Offer himself to you; let you take anything you want.

He recalls the sight of you slipping that ribbon of multicoloured vials across yourself, adjusting it against the golden fabric hugging your torso and hips. 

You’d looked powerful. And so damn beautiful. 

Fussing and fidgeting for another few minutes, Din finally tells himself that he’ll never settle unless he releases the pressure. It’s just biological functioning, he lies to himself.

Huffing with embarrassed surrender, he nudges at his belt and pants until his cock is free. Rock hard and leaking already, he closes his eyes and lifts his chin while rubbing two fingers over the slick head. Maybe holding his gaze away from it won’t make what he’s doing feel quite so damn wrong.

He fists himself in his gloved hand and makes long aggro stokes – half pleasuring, half punishing. The snick, snick, snick of skin under friction fills the cockpit. He works at himself and barely manages to keep the vision of you at bay, a luscious glowing vision of breasts and ass and hair and lips. 

And clever eyes, and quick hands, and laughter like music.

Din switches his hold to use two fingers and thumb, focused in on the frenulum. Efficiency now. Just finish it.

The feeling of your arms wrapped around him fills his mind’s eye without invitation and he grunts, cupping his free hand to take in his spent load. Panting for a moment, he tucks himself away and grabs an engine rag to wipe his glove off. He stuffs it into the top of a boot, to discard later.

Leaning back, he doesn’t feel that much better, but his eyes do feel heavier and he is able to slip into a restless slumber.

Waking with a start sometime later, Din automatically moves to check on the kid – his higher functioning taking time to engage. He’s halfway to Grogu’s little space before it all floods back.

He lets his shoulders slump in shame. Then they rise in concern.

Grogu’s space is open and empty.

‘Kid?’ Din calls. Nothing. ‘Grogu?’ 

A soft little ‘ehhh,’ comes from your cabin. What the--?

Din moves to the door that’s half open and glances in. You’re on your side facing away from him, blankets pooled at your waist and your sorry excuse for a dress barely covering your back and shoulders. But Din scarcely notices that, because Grogu’s big ears tweak and his shy face peers over you at him. 

He’s been curled into your side.

‘Grogu,’ Din whispers. ‘Come here, leave her be.’

The child frowns but edges up into a crouch, grunting a little with effort. As he moves, your arm falls softly away to rest at your side. You’d been holding him in your sleep. The shame in Din’s chest turns to a sharp ache.

‘S’okay,’ you mumble, voice thick and weary. ‘He can stay if he wants to.’ You don’t turn from the wall and Din only just catches your next words. ‘S’nicer than being alone.’

This is all too much. Move into action, that’s what he knows how to do.

‘We are going to make a landing soon. Nowhere special but thought getting you some- some actual clothing was in order.’ You start to roll toward him, but he doesn’t think he can bear the sight. So he barrels on, ‘Just head up when you are ready. We will make it quick.’

He spins and stalks away.

--

Mando had left you wrapped in a blanket seated in the cockpit to head into the tiny settlement he’d found. You’ve no idea of the customs of this place or what their fashion is like, but Mando had also said he’d take you to Navarro where you could get a more substantial and useful wardrobe.

The choice of planet confused the hell out of you, and you’d said as much. But he’d haltingly explained that he had some land there. A modest home. An in with the local law. 

You were fucking floored. Just when you thought you had some small measure of the man. 

You stare out across the alien landscape and think.

‘Alright, here’s how this’ll work,’ you shift your crossed arms and instead plant them on your hips. The surprisingly well-fitted tunic and pants combo Mando had picked up for you casts you with an imposing silhouette and you’re thankful for it. 

You’re proposing something crazy and you desperately want him to say yes.

Mando hadn’t offered to take you onto his ship again, but he also hadn’t made any indication he was planning to leave you somewhere either. You’d tuned up his diagnostics panel without asking and he’d simply nodded in thanks.

Was this just a thing now? Did he think you were onboard as a matter of course? Or was he afraid? Afraid that you’d reject him again?

Reject his offer, you correct yourself.

So you’d decided to be the one to make the arrangement formal, and then some.

You approach him while he’s doing maintenance on his Amban sniper, the Crest’s hold open to cool evening air and a bright twilight. He’s giving you his ‘passively listening’ posture, so you just steel yourself and get on with it.

‘There’s only so much I need to be doing on the upkeep of this old girl,’ you put a hand to the side of the Crest. Mando’s head snaps up. ‘And Grogu will usually either be with you, someone you trust, or just fine here. I don’t need to be like his babysitter or anything.’ 

The baby totters on a nearby rock, waving his short arms at a group of fireflies hovering overhead. ‘Ah!’ he squeaks in wonder, and sits hard on his butt.

You smile. ‘Not that I wouldn’t mind spending all day with that for entertainment. But you already have your ways of looking after him. And I also get the sense he can look after himself…’

You sweep your hand across the ship’s hold and turn to him. ‘So where does that leave me? Lounging around while you’re on jobs? No thank you.’

The man in front of you is as still as stone. You take a breath and lunge into your proposition.

‘So I’ll partner with you, on jobs.’

Mando gives an incredulous huff. But he tilts his helmet in what you believe is an ‘intrigued’ kind of gesture, so you push on.

‘You know I can handle myself. I can be useful to you. I’ll learn, maybe increase the work…’ you trail off, your words sounding painfully silly all of a sudden.

A pause so long the twilight has turned to dusk. Grogu trudges in and settles into his pod with little huffs and grunts. Din watches him with what you see is a deep softness.

‘Okay,’ he finally says. Wow, that took a lot less persuading than you were prepared for. ‘On a condition.’

Oh.

He slides the rifle from his lap and stands to clip it back into its holdings. Then he steps toward you.

A chill hits you and you shiver in your two-piece ensemble.

‘I have seen that you can handle yourself. There is no question there,’ he rasps. You shiver again, less from the cold this time. ‘What I would like you to tell me is… How?’

‘Huh?’

‘Those cards, the ones you say you hold to your chest.’ You swear his head dips slightly, like he’s looking down to where he just mentioned. ‘If you tell me about some of them and your answers satisfy me... We may have an agreement.’  

‘May?’

‘That is the current offer.’

You sigh. You want this. Just do it.

‘Which ones would you like to know about?’

‘Where did you learn to fight the way you do?’

Oh good, an easy one.

‘Well for all my Uncle’s many, many shortcomings as a guardian and father-figure,’ you look down for a moment, feeling sad. ‘He did have a strangely strong desire to ensure I could defend myself. Sort of disconnected from how he really saw me in the end, and I doubt he ever paid any attention to the instructors I requested and the lessons I took. But he let me seek out and train with any master I could find.’

You smile. ‘I loved it. It was one of the few nice parts of my upbringing.’ You look up, shrug. ‘And in subsequent years, I’ve travelled a lot, not always in peaceful parts.’

You wait, Mando gives you a small nod.

‘Okay.’

‘Any other cards to flip for your pleasure?’ You’re pushing it. But you’re baring yourself so you’re feeling pushy.

‘Languages. I have seen you fluent in several.’

‘Oh, that’s just rich schooling.’

‘Right.’ Mando seems to gather himself. ‘That makes sense. One more card then.’ You try not to let your shoulders tense. You know what he’s going to ask. ‘The one thing that your… wealthy upbringing does not explain… is how you know your way around ships so well. Especially old class models, like the Crest.’

There it is. The hard one.

You contemplate lying. But you figure he’ll see right through you. So you straighten up, turn to look out into the darkness, away from his stare, and tell him what happened to you.

‘My Uncle may have conveyed a… jovial and floral air in his dealings. But politically, strategically, he was a fucking animal. Everything about his outward appearance was a calculated contrivance. Anything was fair game.’

You catch his nod from your periphery, as if he’d figured this out already. Fine, keep going.

‘One of his most secret and vicious weapons was my Aunt,’ you murmur, going back into that place and time you’d spent so long trying to push away.

‘You saw what she liked to do with compound alchemicals. It was a hobby of hers that she took into her “work” of contributing to the prosperity of the Estate and Uncle’s power lust. In the case of that particular undertaking, bumping off threats.

‘Another project she had dedicated years to was ways to make the workers of the Estate… well, not the best they could be really… But the most skilled, the most efficient, the most knowledgeable in their field. Elite and untouchable, to give her and Uncle’s empire its edge.’

You decide you may as well sit down, and lower yourself to the floor, knees pulled to chin. You sense Mando shift and retake his seat.

‘In one of her many… experiments, she worked with a mind flayer.’

‘How would—’ Mando cuts himself off. You don’t turn, just continue.

‘A modified one. Augmented to… I couldn’t begin to understand the fuckin’ tech but basically, to implant stuff. Programs she’d design to dump all the necessary know-how, skills, background, or whatever, whatever was needed for whatever job needed doing.

‘It was known to be painful, and dangerous. It rearranged neural pathways, forced the brain to change to accommodate the new stuff. Sometimes people went mad. Others died.

‘I was a kid, fascinated by the workers who would go into that room and come out dull and glazed. It was also highly secret so of course I wanted to see.

‘One afternoon, when I thought my Uncle and Aunt were off at some function, I snuck in. Didn’t touch anything at first, just, just poked around some. I um, I tripped and like, activated it. It freaked me out and I screamed. Turns out my Aunt wasn’t out and she burst into the room, furious. 

‘In this- this fit of fury she grabbed me, shoved me into- into the beam of the thing. Held me there. I was probably screaming, trying to fight, but to tell you the truth I don’t really remember it all that well.’

You stop to swallow a few times, willing the tears to leave you alone. The stoic presence beside you is a strange comfort.

‘I was in a coma for weeks. They thought I might not wake up at all. But I did, and I had uh-’ swallow, breathe. ‘I had lost a lot of my memory, of my early life… My uh- my mother… and her voice.’

But there it is, burning tears make you stop and you cup your face in your hands, still trying to breathe deep so you don’t go do something stupid like sob. You rub at your face and look back out into the night.

‘Anyway, what was up in the lil’ ticker was a hypercharged datadump of the last program that had been loaded – ultraclass gunship mechanic with pre-empire specialisation. The poor sap who’d been awaiting that particular implantation was intended as a gift to my Uncle, a surprise from my Aunt for his vain little vintage ship hobby. I think they both always resented me for ruining it.’

You huff an exhale and feel oddly buoyant.

After a while, ‘I am sorry,’ Mando whispers. ‘For making you share that.’

You decide to tell him the truth. ‘S’okay,’ you say. ‘Kind of feel a little lighter from the telling of it.’

You feel compelled to tell him something else, something you’ve never told anyone: ‘The strangest part though, even though I know I have this skill with ships because of the program dumped into my under-formed brain… It’s almost like there’s more going on. Sort of, like… preternatural. Like ships speak to me or something. It’s weird.’

Okay, that was probably an overshare.

‘Uh, never mind…’

But he speaks. ‘Your skills with tech go beyond ships – programming, electrical…’

You shrug, ‘One takes a kind of logical path into another, I guess...’

He nods.

You sense the approaching rush of a decision from Mando. He’d leaned way forward as you were talking, but now he straightens. 

‘We have an agreement.’

Your head snaps up to him.

‘We have an agreement?’

‘Yes.’

You smile. The growing darkness of the outside encloses your little patch of light as you and your companion look to each other.

--

Prev | Next

[wessexroyalfamily]

{Location: Taunton House, Winchester City residence of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess}

Peter Carnegie, Private Secretary: Alright, ma'am I have a list of your Fall engagements here.

Crown Princess Margaret of Wessex: Thank you Peter.

Peter: Of course, if you look at the next page you'll see You and His Royal Highness have been assigned the Devon Tour by the Palace.

Margaret: Wait, this can't be right, William talked to the Privy Council about canceling the Recognition Ceremony.

Peter: Ahh, yes. Well, His Royal Highness was unable to convince the council to cancel the ceremony ma'am.

Peter: ...Do you want me to talk with His Royal Highness The Earl of Gloucester's secretary?

Margaret: No, I just wish William would have told me himself.

Peter: I'm sure His Royal Highness was busy, and...

Margaret: (doubtful) Yes. I'm sure you're right.

Peter: Should I let Woodstock Palace know that...

Margaret: No, once William has gotten the royal no, I'm afraid there is no point of causing a fuss after that.

Peter: Very well ma'am.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

{Location: Cranbourne Lodge, Avon County, country home of Prince George, The Duke of Chelsea}

Prince George, The Duke of Chelsea: What are you doing in the office? Let's see what's on daddy's desk.

Pumpkin: meow

Prince George: Well shit.

Prince George: Albie! Where are you?

Alberta, The Duchess of Chelsea: I'm in here.

George: Have you seen the list of fall engagements that just came out?

Albie: What does it say?

Prince George: That's just it. Almost nothing. We've barely been assigned any duties and your name is scarcely mentioned.

Prince George: When I talked to her at the wedding about your music patronage, she just blew me off. Saying our focus should be on your pregnancy.

Albie: Do they think I'm going to be pregnant forever? What did William get?

Prince George: My dear brother is being given a royal tour of Devon and all sorts of responsibilities. It's as if she thinks I'm incapable of handling anything significant.

Albie: Your mother favors your brother more, we both know that. But you're just as capable as he is.

Prince George: I want to contribute, to serve our country, but it's like my mother doesn't see it.

Albie: You just need a chance to show her how you can contribute. Kill the boy so the man can live and all.

Prince George: I can't do that if she keeps thinking I'm useless.

Albie: (laughing) Well we're not the ones taking an almost year long maternity leave are we?

Albie: I think you have more to offer this country than your brother, and one day your mother will see it too.

Albie: Everyone will be here for the baby shower tomorrow. Find some time to talk to your father.

Prince George: He won't go against what my mother has already said, even to support me.

Albie: I'll support you.

Previous | Next | Beginning

[theavonbronxstore]

Empower and Celebrate Women's History Month with Avon - A Call to Action for Our Representatives

As we welcome the inspiring Women's History Month, it's a time to reflect on the remarkable achievements of women throughout history and the strides we continue to make every day. This month is not only a celebration of those who've paved the way but also a call to recognize and embrace our own worth.

This Women's History Month, we have a unique opportunity to connect with our customers on a deeper level, encouraging them to celebrate their strength, beauty, and resilience. It's the perfect time to reach out and remind them of the importance of self-care and pampering themselves with our exceptional range of skin care, body products, and perfumes.

But let's not stop there. Encourage your customers to share this empowering experience by gifting something special to the magnificent women in their lives - their mothers, sisters, and best friends. It's a beautiful way to spread love, appreciation, and recognition of women's contributions and achievements.

As Avon representatives, you are the bridge between our products and the celebration of womanhood. Your passion and dedication make it possible for women everywhere to feel valued and cherished, not just during Women's History Month but all year round.

Let's make this month memorable by helping our customers embrace their worth and celebrate the incredible journey of women. Together, we can make a difference, one pampering moment at a time.

Thank you for your continued commitment and enthusiasm. Let's make Women's History Month a time of empowerment, celebration, and self-care.

[strangecloudanchor]

What Do Costume Jewelry Buyers Look For? Understanding Their Criteria

Introduction

When it comes to selling costume jewelry, many individuals find themselves asking, "What do costume jewelry buyers look for?" Understanding the criteria that these buyers use can make a significant difference in your selling experience. As the vintage and antique jewelry markets continue to flourish, knowing what drives buyers can help you position your pieces effectively. Whether you're looking to sell to jewelry buyers near me or exploring online jewelry buyers, this comprehensive guide will equip you with the knowledge you need.

What Do Costume Jewelry Buyers Look For? Understanding Their Criteria

Costume jewelry, often seen as fun and whimsical, has Austin antique jewelry buyers its own niche market. Buyers of costume jewelry tend to focus on several key criteria when making their purchases. Let's break these down:

1. Quality of Materials

Buyers are particularly interested in the quality of materials used in the costume jewelry piece. While it may not be made from precious metals or stones, factors such as the type of plastics, glass, or base metals can significantly influence value.

Durability: Is the piece sturdy enough for regular wear? Finish: Does it have a good polish and is it free from scratches? 2. Brand Recognition

Certain brands carry more weight than others in the costume jewelry market. Recognizable names like Trifari, Avon, and Monet often fetch higher prices due to their established reputations.

Vintage vs Modern Brands: Vintage brands tend to attract collectors. Limited Editions: Exclusivity can drive up desirability. 3. Condition of the Jewelry

The condition is paramount when assessing any piece of jewelry including costume items. Here’s what buyers usually look for:

Signs of Wear: Are there scratches or discoloration? Missing Pieces: Is anything broken or missing? 4. Unique Design Elements

Unique designs often make a piece stand out among others on the market.

Artistic Value: Does it reflect an artistic movement? Attractive Features: Are there intricate details that draw attention? 5. Historical Context

Many buyers appreciate the historical significance behind certain pieces.

Era of Production: When was it made? Cultural Influence: How does it reflect cultural trends? Understanding Buyer Demographics

When you know who your potential buyers are, you can tailor your sales strategies accordingly.

6. Age Groups Interested in Costume Jewelry

Different age groups may have varying interests in costume jewelry:

Younger Buyers (18–30): Often drawn to trendy pieces. Middle-Aged Collectors (30–50): Typically seek unique or vintage styles. 7. Collector vs Casual Buyer

Understanding whether your buyer is a collector or just someone looking for a statement piece can guide your approach:

Collectors

[shailajasankalp]

Top 10 MLM Companies in the USA: A Deep Dive into the Industry

The Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) industry has been a powerhouse in the United States for decades, providing opportunities for entrepreneurs while also generating billions in revenue. In this article, we will explore the top 100 MLM companies in the USA, their business models, revenue statistics, and what makes them successful. Whether you’re an aspiring distributor or a curious investor, this guide will give you a comprehensive understanding of the MLM industry in 2025.

The Evolution of MLM in the USA

The concept of MLM in the United States dates back to the 1930s when Nutrilite introduced its direct selling model. Over the years, companies like Amway, Herbalife, and Mary Kay revolutionized the industry, proving that MLM can be a viable business model if executed ethically.

The industry has grown tremendously, with the USA serving as a pioneer in the global MLM movement. Currently, the direct selling market in the USA is valued at approximately $194.83 billion (2024), reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3%.

Key Factors That Define a Successful MLM Company

1. Strong Brand Recognition

Top MLM companies have a global presence and a strong brand identity that fosters trust and credibility among consumers and distributors alike.

2. High-Quality Products

Products in the health, beauty, and wellness sectors tend to perform well, as they align with consumer needs and lifestyle trends.

3. Lucrative Compensation Plans

A fair and transparent compensation model is crucial for long-term distributor retention. Companies that reward sales over recruitment tend to have a better reputation.

4. Digital Adaptation

The integration of e-commerce platforms, social media marketing, and AI-driven customer support has helped modern MLM companies remain competitive in an evolving market.

5. Ethical Business Practices

With increasing scrutiny from regulatory bodies like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), successful MLMs ensure compliance with legal standards and avoid pyramid scheme structures.

Top 10 MLM Companies in the USA (2025)

Here’s an overview of the biggest players in the MLM industry:

1. Amway

Founded: 1959

Annual Revenue: $8.9 billion

Industry: Health, Wellness, Beauty, and Home Care

Why It’s Successful: Amway’s global reach and strong brand loyalty make it the leader in MLM. Its diversified product portfolio ensures steady revenue.

2. Herbalife

Founded: 1980

Annual Revenue: $5.2 billion

Industry: Nutrition and Weight Management

Why It’s Successful: Herbalife’s emphasis on health and wellness has helped it maintain a loyal customer base.

3. Avon

Founded: 1886

Annual Revenue: $4.5 billion

Industry: Beauty and Skincare

Why It’s Successful: Avon has a legacy of empowering women through direct sales, backed by high-quality beauty products.

4. Mary Kay

Founded: 1963

Annual Revenue: $3.5 billion

Industry: Skincare and Cosmetics

Why It’s Successful: Mary Kay’s focus on women entrepreneurs and its reputable brand have fueled consistent growth.

5. Nu Skin Enterprises

Founded: 1984

Annual Revenue: $2.7 billion

Industry: Anti-Aging and Wellness

Why It’s Successful: Cutting-edge research and innovative skincare solutions keep Nu Skin competitive.

6. doTERRA

Founded: 2008

Annual Revenue: $2.1 billion

Industry: Essential Oils and Wellness

Why It’s Successful: The rising demand for natural remedies has boosted doTERRA’s revenue.

7. Primerica

Founded: 1977

Annual Revenue: $2.3 billion

Industry: Financial Services and Insurance

Why It’s Successful: Unlike most MLMs, Primerica focuses on financial literacy and insurance, offering essential services.

8. Forever Living

Founded: 1978

Annual Revenue: $2.5 billion

Industry: Aloe Vera-Based Health and Beauty

Why It’s Successful: A pioneer in aloe vera products, Forever Living has a loyal distributor network.

9. Melaleuca

Founded: 1985

Annual Revenue: $2 billion

Industry: Wellness and Personal Care

Why It’s Successful: Its focus on eco-friendly and natural products aligns with modern consumer preferences.

10. Young Living

Founded: 1993

Annual Revenue: $1.5 billion

Industry: Essential Oils

Why It’s Successful: A strong brand reputation and commitment to product purity keep Young Living relevant.

Emerging Trends in MLM (2025 and Beyond)

AI-Powered Marketing Companies are using AI-driven direct selling analytics to track distributor performance and optimize sales strategies.

Subscription-Based Models Many MLMs are adopting monthly subscription services to ensure recurring revenue and customer retention.

Sustainable and Ethical Products Consumers are becoming more conscious about sustainability, pushing MLMs to offer organic and ethically sourced products.

Social Media & Influencer Marketing Influencers and digital content creators are being leveraged to promote MLM products more effectively.

Decentralized MLM & Blockchain Integration Blockchain is being introduced in MLM systems for transparent transactions and secure payment processing.

How to Choose the Right MLM Company

If you're considering joining an MLM company, keep these factors in mind:

Reputation and Credibility: Research the company’s track record and reviews.

Product Demand: Ensure the product is valuable and in demand.

Compensation Plan: Look for fair earnings potential without heavy recruitment.

Support & Training: A good MLM provides strong mentorship and training programs.

Long-Term Sustainability: Avoid pyramid schemes and focus on companies with real, marketable products.

The MLM industry in the USA continues to be a lucrative and evolving business model. While it has faced criticism in the past, the top companies are working to improve their transparency and ethical practices. Whether you're looking to join an MLM, invest in one, or simply learn more about the industry, understanding these key players and trends will help you make an informed decision.

Are you ready to take your MLM journey to the next level? Discover how Ventaforce MLM Software can help you streamline operations and maximize profits!

Looking for the Best MLM Software?

Ventaforce provides powerful, scalable, and affordable MLM solutions for startups and enterprises. Book a FREE demo today and take your business to new heights!

[miaou-tseu]

in English and en français

Animism: A Reality We are all born with a "religion." Not the one imposed by traditions or institutions, but one that comes instinctively. This natural, universal religion is animism. It is based on a simple truth: everything around us has a soul.

Take a trivial example: a very young child runs, trips, and bumps into a table. What does he say? "The table hurt me." In his pure mind, still free from adult dogmas, he attributes the table with its own will, an intention. This may seem naive to many, but this primal instinct contains a profound truth. The table exists. It has a shape, a presence, an interaction with the world that can cause pain or comfort. In this sense, it participates in existence and interacts with our consciousness.

Animism, far from being a belief, is a certainty. Simply observing nature is enough to be convinced. Trees, for instance, are not mere inert columns of wood. They communicate with each other through their roots and chemical emissions. They develop strategies to survive, protect themselves, and even help their kin. Their consciousness may not resemble ours, but it undeniably exists. And this holds true for all forms of life, whether animal, plant, or even mineral.

As for the soul, it is naive to think that we all have our own little "personal soul," distinct and independent. In reality, the soul is one and indivisible. It permeates the entire universe. Every creature, every object, every human being is but a unique manifestation of this universal soul. From this perspective, animism offers us a vision of divine unity.

God, or divinity, is not locked away in some inaccessible beyond, separate from our earthly reality. He is in everything. In you, in me, in a rock, a drop of water, a star. This unique divinity is also multiple: it manifests everywhere, all the time. And it is deep within ourselves that we can find it.

When we understand this, when we stop seeking God outside ourselves, in doctrines or dogmas, we begin to see the world differently. Every moment becomes sacred. Every interaction with what surrounds us becomes a communion. That is where true paradise resides: here on Earth, in the recognition of the universal soul that unites us all. Incidentally, this is written in the Old Testament. Paradise is on Earth.

Animism is not an ancient or outdated philosophy. It is a key to understanding reality in all its richness and depth. It is not about believing but about feeling, fully living this connection that binds us to everything. It is there, in this universal consciousness, that peace, harmony, and the true meaning of our existence lie.

Jeanne Acœur de Pierre

L'animisme, une réalité

Nous avons tous une "religion" à la naissance. Pas celle qu’on nous impose par les traditions ou les institutions, mais celle qui vient instinctivement. Cette religion naturelle, universelle, est l’animisme. Elle repose sur une évidence simple : tout ce qui nous entoure a une âme.

Prenons un exemple trivial : un très jeune enfant court, trébuche et se cogne contre une table. Que dit-il ? "La table m’a fait mal." Dans son esprit pur et encore libre des dogmes adultes, il attribue à la table une volonté propre, une intention. Cela peut sembler naïf aux yeux de beaucoup, mais cet instinct premier contient une vérité profonde. La table existe. Elle a une forme, une présence, une interaction avec le monde qui peut causer douleur ou réconfort. En cela, elle participe à l’existence et interagit avec notre propre conscience.

L’animisme, loin d’être une croyance, est une certitude. Il suffit d’observer la nature pour s’en convaincre. Les arbres, par exemple, ne sont pas de simples colonnes de bois inertes. Ils communiquent entre eux par leurs racines et leurs émanations chimiques. Ils développent des stratégies pour survivre, se protéger, et même aider leurs congénères. Leur conscience n’est peut-être pas semblable à la nôtre, mais elle existe indéniablement. Et il en va ainsi de toutes les formes de vie, qu’elles soient animales, végétales, ou même minérales.

Quant à l’âme, il est naïf de croire que nous avons tous une petite "âme perso", distincte et indépendante. L’âme, en réalité, est une et indivisible. Elle imprègne l’univers tout entier. Chaque créature, chaque objet, chaque être humain n’est qu’une manifestation unique de cette âme universelle. De ce point de vue, l’animisme nous offre une vision d’unité divine.

Dieu, ou la divinité, n’est pas enfermé dans un au-delà inaccessible, séparé de notre réalité terrestre. Il est en toute chose. En vous, en moi, dans un rocher, une goutte d’eau, une étoile. Cette divinité unique est aussi multiple : elle se manifeste partout, tout le temps. Et c’est au plus profond de nous-mêmes que nous pouvons la retrouver.

Lorsque nous comprenons cela, lorsque nous cessons de chercher Dieu hors de nous, dans des doctrines ou des dogmes, nous commençons à voir le monde autrement. Chaque instant devient sacré. Chaque interaction avec ce qui nous entoure devient une communion. C’est là que réside le véritable paradis : ici, sur terre, dans la reconnaissance de l’âme universelle qui nous unit tous. D'ailleurs c'est écrit dans l'Ancien testament. Le paradis est sur terre.

L’animisme n’est pas une philosophie ancienne ou dépassée. C’est une clé pour comprendre la réalité dans toute sa richesse et sa profondeur. Il ne s’agit pas de croire, mais de ressentir, de vivre pleinement cette connexion qui nous lie à tout ce qui est. C’est là, dans cette conscience universelle, que réside la paix, l’harmonie, et le sens véritable de notre existence.

jeanne acœur de pierre

[avonmom]

THE SUPER SELLERS TEAM RECOGNITION: CAMPAIGN 17 2024

Check out my latest recognition blog of my team, #TheSuperSellers for #Avon' Campaign 17 2024. #AvonRep #SellAvon #TopSellers

The Super Sellers Team Recognition Campaign 17 2024 Recognition is one of the benefits I love as an Avon representative. Together, we celebrate one another’s successes & triumphs, no matter how big or small they may be. Building a business takes hard work & dedication. My job as a team leader & mentor is to ensure that each of the representatives on my team do recognize & celebrate their…

[entomoblog]

Viewpoint independent face recognition via extrapolation in paper wasps | Journal of Experimental Biology

See on Scoop.it - EntomoNews

"Viewpoint independent face recognition via extrapolation in paper wasps"

Elizabeth A. Tibbetts, Chloe Weise, Juanita Pardo Sanchez, Anna Vi J Exp Biol jeb.

    ------

NDÉ

Traduction

  La reconnaissance visuelle de signaux tridimensionnels, comme les visages, est difficile car les signaux apparaissent différemment selon le point de vue. La reconnaissance indépendante du point de vue est une solution flexible, mais difficile sur le plan cognitif, qui permet aux récepteurs d'identifier les signaux à partir d'angles de vue inédits.

  Nous utilisons ici l'apprentissage de concepts identiques/différents pour tester la reconnaissance de visages indépendante du point de vue chez Polistes fuscatus, une guêpe qui utilise des motifs faciaux pour identifier individuellement ses congénères.

  Nous avons constaté que les guêpes utilisent l'extrapolation pour identifier de nouvelles vues de visages de congénères. Par exemple, les guêpes identifient une paire de photos de la même guêpe comme étant « la même », même si les photos sont prises à partir d'angles de vues différents (par exemple, une face avec une rotation de 0°, une face avec une rotation de 60°).

  Ce résultat est remarquable parce qu'il fournit la première preuve d'une reconnaissance invariante par extrapolation chez un invertébré.

  Les résultats suggèrent que la reconnaissance indépendante du point de vue par extrapolation peut être une stratégie répandue pour faciliter la reconnaissance individuelle des visages.

  Traduit avec DeepL.com (version gratuite)

  Image via "Viewpoint independent face recognition via extrapolation in paper wasps" - Recherche Google

[mabriga]

Pro-ageing vs anti-ageing: Embracing your power one laugh-line at a time Anew by Avon Leads the Skincare Revolution in South Africa

 In every woman’s journey, there is a narrative etched in the lines of her laughter, the lessons of her experiences, and the resilience that carries her through life’s trials. These stories are the essence of who they are, deserving recognition and skincare that cares, uplifts, and empowers.Amidst a world saturated with trends and unrealistic standards of beauty, Anew by Avon champions pro-aging…

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 6.21

Holidays

Alzheimer’s Awareness Day

Atheist Solidarity Day

Baby Boomer Recognition Day

Banjo Lesson Day

Bank Employee Day (Guatemala)

Bill Murray Day

Child Tax Credit Awareness Day

Create a New National Day Day

Day of Private Reflection

Day of the Martyrs (Togo)

e621 Day

Father’s Day (Egypt, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Syria, UAE)

Ferris Wheel Day

Flag Day (Greenland)

Flag Burning Day

Global MND / ALS Awareness Day

Go Skateboarding Day

Het Meetjesland Day (Belgium)

International Aniridia Day

International Climate Change Day

International Flower Day

International Anirida Day

International Music Day (f.k.a. World Music Day)

International Stereoscopy Day

International T-Shirt Day

International Yoga Day (UN)

LP Day

Martyrs' Day (Togo)

Migraine Solidarity Day

Naked Hiking Day

National Aboriginal Day (a.k.a. First Nations Day or Indigenous Peoples Day; Canada)

National Arizona Day

National ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Day

National Create a New National Holiday Day

National Day of the Gong

National Dog Party Day

National eGiving Day

National Heroes’ Day (Bermuda)

National Indigenous Peoples Day (Northwest Territories, Yukon; Canada)

National Jimmy Day

National Professional Medical Coder Day

National River Tubing Day

National Seashell Day

National Selfie Day

National Wedding Day

National Yard Games Day

Obscenity Day

Onion Day (French Republic)

Optimism Day

Reaping Machine Day

Reserves Day (UK)

Seafarers’ Day (South Korea)

Shades for Migraine Day

Shetland Flag Day (Scotland)

Short Story Day (Africa)

Show Your Stripes Day

Stock Up On Antiperspirant Day

Suffolk Day (UK)

Suve Algus / Suvine Pööripäev (Estonia)

SYNGAP1 International Awareness Day

Take Your Dog to Work Day

33-1/3 Day

T-Shirt Day

Turner Syndrome Awareness Day (UK)

Ulloortuneq (Greenland)

World Day Against ELA (Spain)

World Giraffe Day

World Handshake Day

World Hydrography Day

World Kamasutra Day (India)

World Motorcycle Day

World Music Day (Paris, France)

Food & Drink Celebrations

French Gastronomy Day

Fried Shrimp Day (Japan)

Gin & Tonic Season begins

International Lambrusco Day

Johnnie Walker Day

National Cookie Dough Day

National Smoothie Day

National Wagyu Day

Peaches and Cream Day

Red Apple Day (Australia)

World Lambrusco Day

Independence & Related Days

Greenland (Assumed Self-Rule; 2009)

New Hampshire Statehood Day (#9; 1788)

Pagadian City Day (Philippines)

Principality of Aigues-Mortes (Declared; 2011) [unrecognized]

Zululand (Annexed by UK; 1887)

New Year’s Days

Andean New Year (Bolivia)

3rd Friday in June

Casual Day [Friday before Summer Solstice]

Dollars Against Diabetes Days begin [3rd Friday]

Duct Tape Festival begins (Avon, Ohio) [3rd Friday]

Flashback Friday [Every Friday]

Fry Day (Pastafarian; Fritism) [Every Friday]

National Day of Prayer for Law Enforcement Officers [3rd Friday]

National Flip Flop Day [3rd Friday]

National Take Back the Lunch Break Day [3rd Friday]

QuadWitch Day [3rd Friday]

Stop Cyberbullying Day [3rd Friday]

Take a Road Trip Day [3rd Friday]

Ugliest Dog Day [3rd Friday]

Vikingespil Frederikssund (Viking Festival; Denmark) [Begins 2nd-to-Last Friday]

Work at Home Father's Day [Friday before Father's Day]

Festivals Beginning June 21, 2024

Alpine Mountain Days (Alpine, Wyoming) [thru 6.23]

Art Film Fest (Košice, Slovakia) [thru 6.28]

Big BBQ Bash (Maryville, Tennessee) [thru 6.22]

Cheese Curd Festival (Ellsworth, Wisconsin) [thru 6.22]

Fire on the Lake Chili Cook-off (Lake Wales, Florida) [thru 6.23]

Frederikssund Viking Games (Frederikssund, Denmark) [thru 7.14]

Gorge Blues & Brews Festival (Stevenson, Washington) [thru 6.22]

The Great Lenexa Barbeque Battle (Lenexa, Kansas) [thru 6.22]

Hurricane Festival (Scheessel, Germany) [thru 6.23]

Irvine Greek Fest (Irvine, California) [thru 6.23]

Knysna Oyster Festival (Knysna, South Africa) [thru 6.30]

Long Grove Strawberry Festival (Long Grove, Illinois) [thru 6.23]

Lewis and Clark Festival (Great Falls, Montana) [thru 6.22]

Ottawa Jazz Festival (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) [thru 6.30]

Panhandle Watermelon Festival (Chipley, Florida) [thru 6.22]

Pinkpop Festival (Landgraaf, Netherlands) [thru 6.23]

Rochester International Jazz Festival (Rochester, New York) [thru 6.29]

Sibiu International Theatre Festival (Sibiu, Romania) [thru 6.30]

Stonewall Peach JAMboree and Rodeo (Stonewall, Texas) [thru 6.22]

Strawberry Days Festival (Glenwood Springs, Colorado) [thru 6.23]

Summer Fest (Stratford, Connecticut) [thru 6.22]

Taipei Film Festival (Taipei, Taiwan) [thru 7.6]

Taste of Joliet (Joliet, Illinois) [thru 6.23]

Watermelon Jubilee (Stockdale, Texas) [thru 6.23]

Feast Days

Aaron of Brittany (Christian; Saint)

Alban Heruin (a.k.a. Light of the Shore; Celtic Book of Days)

Alban of Mainz (Christian; Saint)

Al Hirschfeld (Artology)

Aloysius Gonzaga (Christian; Saint)

Berkeley Breathed (Artology)

Day of the Crab (Pagan)

Engelmund of Velsen (Christian; Saint)

Enrico Coleman (Artology)

Eusebius of Samosata (Christian; Saint)

Festival of the Oak King (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Giuseppe De Sanctis (Artology)

St. Henry (Positivist; Saint)

Henry Ossawa Tanner (Artology)

Ian McEwan (Writerism)

Jean-Paul Sartre (Writerism)

Julio Ruelas (Artology)

Leufredus (a.k.a. Leufroy or Keufroi; Christian; Saint)

Martin of Tongres (Christian; Saint)

Meen (a.k.a. Mevenus or Melanus; Christian; Saint)

Natalia Goncharova (Artology)

Onesimos Nesib (Lutheran)

Oscar Florianus Bluemner (Artology)

Pierre-Nicolas Beauvallet (Artology)

Ralph (Christian; Saint)

Rockwell Kent (Artology)

Sam Kinison Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Skateboarding Day (Pastafarian)

Sub-Human Cannonball (Muppetism)

Tiger-Get-By’s Third Birthday (Shamanism)

World Humanist Day (Pastafarian)

Lunar Calendar Holidays

Full Moon [6th of the Year] (a.k.a. ... 

Blooming Moon (Traditional)

Cold Moon (South Africa)

Dyad Moon (England, Wicca)

Festival of Goodwill, Festival of Christ & Humanity [Full Moon between 5.20-6.20] 

Green Corn Moon (Cherokee)

Hatching Moon (Traditional)

Honey Moon (Traditional)

Horse Moon (Celtic)

Hot Moon (Alternate)

Johan Jongkind (Artology)

Lotus Moon (China)

Mead Moon (Traditional)

Planting Moon (Neo-Pagan)

Poson Full Moon Poya Day (Sri Lanka)

Rose Moon (Alternate, Colonial, North America)

Ryan Moran Day [1st FM in June]

Southern Hemisphere: Cold, Long Night’s, Oak

Strawberry Moon (Amer. Indian, Traditional)

Windy Moon (Choctaw)

World Invocation Day (a.k.a. Gemini Full Moon Festival)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 29 of 60)

Premieres

Ain’t She Sweet (WB LT Cartoon; 1952)

Alpocalypse, by Weird Al Yankovic (Album; 2011)

Anna (Film; 2019)

The Bling Ring (Film; 2013)

The Blue Umbrella (Pixar Cartoon; 2013)

Bon Ives, by Bon Iver (Album; 2011)

Chinatown (Film; 1974)

Cocoon (Film; 1985)

Creepin on ah Come Up, by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (EP; 1994)

The Deep, by Peter Benchley (Novel; 1976

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, by Richard Wagner (Opera; 1868)

Donald and the Wheel (Disney Cartoon; 1961)

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, by Elton John and Kiki Dee (Song; 1976)

Evita, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice (UK Musical; 1978)

Exodus, by Leon Uris (Novel; 1958)

Frolicking Fish (Silly Symphony Cartoon; 1930)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Animated Disney Film; 1996)

Impact is Imminent, by Exodus (Album; 1990)

Lifeforce (Film; 1985)

Lilo & Stitch (Animated Disney Film; 2002)

The Litterbug (Disney Cartoon; 1961)

Mastersingers of Nuremberg, by Richard Wagner (Opera; 1868)

Minority Report (Film; 2002)

Mr. Tambourine Man, by The Byrds (Album; 1965)

Monsters University (Animated Pixar Film; 2013)

Moral Man and Immoral Society, by Reinhold Niebuhr (Book; 1932)

Moves Like Jagger, by Maroon 5 (Song; 2011)

Nell’s Yells (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1939)

The Parent Trap (Film; 1961)

The Promise of Joy, by Allen Drury (Novel; 1975)

Return to Oz (Film; 1985)

The Rocketeer (Film; 1991)

Smoking: The Choice is Yours (Disney Educational Cartoon; 1981)

Spree Lunch (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1957)

Sweet Child o’ Mine, by Guns n’ Roses (Song; 1988)

The Te of Piglet, by Benjamin Hoff (Spiritual Book; 1993)

Toy Story 4 (Animated Pixar Film; 2019)

Tree for Two (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1943)

A Walk on the Wild Side, by Nelson Algren (Novel; 1956)

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Film; 1966)

World War Z (Film; 2013)

Today’s Name Days

Adalbert, Florentina (Austria)

Margareta, Naum (Croatia)

Květa (Czech Republic)

Sylverius (Denmark)

Kaari, Karlotte, Karola, Karoliine, Karolin, Lota (Estonia)

Into (Finland)

Silvère (France)

Adalbert, Florentina, Margot (Germany)

Methodios (Greece)

Rafael (Hungary)

Ettore, Silverio (Italy)

Imula, Maira, Rasa, Rasma (Latvia)

Silverijus, Žadvainas, Žintautė (Lithuania)

Salve, Sølve, Sølvi (Norway)

Bogna, Bogumiła, Bożena, Florentyna, Franciszek, Michał, Rafaela, Rafał, Sylwery (Poland)

Metodie (România)

Maria, Valeria (Russia)

Valéria (Slovakia)

Florentina, Silverio (Spain)

Flora, Linda (Sweden)

Earl, Earline, Errol, Fatima, Ofelia, Omar, Omarion, Ophelia (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 173 of 2024; 193 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 5 of week 25 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 13 of 28]

Chinese: Month 5 (Geng-Wu), Day 16 (Bing-Chen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 15 Sivan 5784

Islamic: 14 Dhu al-Hijjah 1445

J Cal: 23 Blue; Twosday [23 of 30]

Julian: 8 June 2024

Moon: 100%: Full Moon

Positivist: 4 Charlemagne (7th Month) [St. Henry]

Runic Half Month: Dag (Day) [Day 13 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 2 of 94)

Week: 3rd Full Week of June)

Zodiac: Cancer (Day 1 of 31)

Calendar Changes

Cancer (The Crab) begins [Zodiac Sign 4; thru 7.21]

[brookston]

Holidays 6.21

Holidays

Alzheimer’s Awareness Day

Atheist Solidarity Day

Baby Boomer Recognition Day

Banjo Lesson Day

Bank Employee Day (Guatemala)

Bill Murray Day

Child Tax Credit Awareness Day

Create a New National Day Day

Day of Private Reflection

Day of the Martyrs (Togo)

e621 Day

Father’s Day (Egypt, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Syria, UAE)

Ferris Wheel Day

Flag Day (Greenland)

Flag Burning Day

Global MND / ALS Awareness Day

Go Skateboarding Day

Het Meetjesland Day (Belgium)

International Aniridia Day

International Climate Change Day

International Flower Day

International Anirida Day

International Music Day (f.k.a. World Music Day)

International Stereoscopy Day

International T-Shirt Day

International Yoga Day (UN)

LP Day

Martyrs' Day (Togo)

Migraine Solidarity Day

Naked Hiking Day

National Aboriginal Day (a.k.a. First Nations Day or Indigenous Peoples Day; Canada)

National Arizona Day

National ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Day

National Create a New National Holiday Day

National Day of the Gong

National Dog Party Day

National eGiving Day

National Heroes’ Day (Bermuda)

National Indigenous Peoples Day (Northwest Territories, Yukon; Canada)

National Jimmy Day

National Professional Medical Coder Day

National River Tubing Day

National Seashell Day

National Selfie Day

National Wedding Day

National Yard Games Day

Obscenity Day

Onion Day (French Republic)

Optimism Day

Reaping Machine Day

Reserves Day (UK)

Seafarers’ Day (South Korea)

Shades for Migraine Day

Shetland Flag Day (Scotland)

Short Story Day (Africa)

Show Your Stripes Day

Stock Up On Antiperspirant Day

Suffolk Day (UK)

Suve Algus / Suvine Pööripäev (Estonia)

SYNGAP1 International Awareness Day

Take Your Dog to Work Day

33-1/3 Day

T-Shirt Day

Turner Syndrome Awareness Day (UK)

Ulloortuneq (Greenland)

World Day Against ELA (Spain)

World Giraffe Day

World Handshake Day

World Hydrography Day

World Kamasutra Day (India)

World Motorcycle Day

World Music Day (Paris, France)

Food & Drink Celebrations

French Gastronomy Day

Fried Shrimp Day (Japan)

Gin & Tonic Season begins

International Lambrusco Day

Johnnie Walker Day

National Cookie Dough Day

National Smoothie Day

National Wagyu Day

Peaches and Cream Day

Red Apple Day (Australia)

World Lambrusco Day

Independence & Related Days

Greenland (Assumed Self-Rule; 2009)

New Hampshire Statehood Day (#9; 1788)

Pagadian City Day (Philippines)

Principality of Aigues-Mortes (Declared; 2011) [unrecognized]

Zululand (Annexed by UK; 1887)

New Year’s Days

Andean New Year (Bolivia)

3rd Friday in June

Casual Day [Friday before Summer Solstice]

Dollars Against Diabetes Days begin [3rd Friday]

Duct Tape Festival begins (Avon, Ohio) [3rd Friday]

Flashback Friday [Every Friday]

Fry Day (Pastafarian; Fritism) [Every Friday]

National Day of Prayer for Law Enforcement Officers [3rd Friday]

National Flip Flop Day [3rd Friday]

National Take Back the Lunch Break Day [3rd Friday]

QuadWitch Day [3rd Friday]

Stop Cyberbullying Day [3rd Friday]

Take a Road Trip Day [3rd Friday]

Ugliest Dog Day [3rd Friday]

Vikingespil Frederikssund (Viking Festival; Denmark) [Begins 2nd-to-Last Friday]

Work at Home Father's Day [Friday before Father's Day]

Festivals Beginning June 21, 2024

Alpine Mountain Days (Alpine, Wyoming) [thru 6.23]

Art Film Fest (Košice, Slovakia) [thru 6.28]

Big BBQ Bash (Maryville, Tennessee) [thru 6.22]

Cheese Curd Festival (Ellsworth, Wisconsin) [thru 6.22]

Fire on the Lake Chili Cook-off (Lake Wales, Florida) [thru 6.23]

Frederikssund Viking Games (Frederikssund, Denmark) [thru 7.14]

Gorge Blues & Brews Festival (Stevenson, Washington) [thru 6.22]

The Great Lenexa Barbeque Battle (Lenexa, Kansas) [thru 6.22]

Hurricane Festival (Scheessel, Germany) [thru 6.23]

Irvine Greek Fest (Irvine, California) [thru 6.23]

Knysna Oyster Festival (Knysna, South Africa) [thru 6.30]

Long Grove Strawberry Festival (Long Grove, Illinois) [thru 6.23]

Lewis and Clark Festival (Great Falls, Montana) [thru 6.22]

Ottawa Jazz Festival (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) [thru 6.30]

Panhandle Watermelon Festival (Chipley, Florida) [thru 6.22]

Pinkpop Festival (Landgraaf, Netherlands) [thru 6.23]

Rochester International Jazz Festival (Rochester, New York) [thru 6.29]

Sibiu International Theatre Festival (Sibiu, Romania) [thru 6.30]

Stonewall Peach JAMboree and Rodeo (Stonewall, Texas) [thru 6.22]

Strawberry Days Festival (Glenwood Springs, Colorado) [thru 6.23]

Summer Fest (Stratford, Connecticut) [thru 6.22]

Taipei Film Festival (Taipei, Taiwan) [thru 7.6]

Taste of Joliet (Joliet, Illinois) [thru 6.23]

Watermelon Jubilee (Stockdale, Texas) [thru 6.23]

Feast Days

Aaron of Brittany (Christian; Saint)

Alban Heruin (a.k.a. Light of the Shore; Celtic Book of Days)

Alban of Mainz (Christian; Saint)

Al Hirschfeld (Artology)

Aloysius Gonzaga (Christian; Saint)

Berkeley Breathed (Artology)

Day of the Crab (Pagan)

Engelmund of Velsen (Christian; Saint)

Enrico Coleman (Artology)

Eusebius of Samosata (Christian; Saint)

Festival of the Oak King (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Giuseppe De Sanctis (Artology)

St. Henry (Positivist; Saint)

Henry Ossawa Tanner (Artology)

Ian McEwan (Writerism)

Jean-Paul Sartre (Writerism)

Julio Ruelas (Artology)

Leufredus (a.k.a. Leufroy or Keufroi; Christian; Saint)

Martin of Tongres (Christian; Saint)

Meen (a.k.a. Mevenus or Melanus; Christian; Saint)

Natalia Goncharova (Artology)

Onesimos Nesib (Lutheran)

Oscar Florianus Bluemner (Artology)

Pierre-Nicolas Beauvallet (Artology)

Ralph (Christian; Saint)

Rockwell Kent (Artology)

Sam Kinison Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Skateboarding Day (Pastafarian)

Sub-Human Cannonball (Muppetism)

Tiger-Get-By’s Third Birthday (Shamanism)

World Humanist Day (Pastafarian)

Lunar Calendar Holidays

Full Moon [6th of the Year] (a.k.a. ... 

Blooming Moon (Traditional)

Cold Moon (South Africa)

Dyad Moon (England, Wicca)

Festival of Goodwill, Festival of Christ & Humanity [Full Moon between 5.20-6.20] 

Green Corn Moon (Cherokee)

Hatching Moon (Traditional)

Honey Moon (Traditional)

Horse Moon (Celtic)

Hot Moon (Alternate)

Johan Jongkind (Artology)

Lotus Moon (China)

Mead Moon (Traditional)

Planting Moon (Neo-Pagan)

Poson Full Moon Poya Day (Sri Lanka)

Rose Moon (Alternate, Colonial, North America)

Ryan Moran Day [1st FM in June]

Southern Hemisphere: Cold, Long Night’s, Oak

Strawberry Moon (Amer. Indian, Traditional)

Windy Moon (Choctaw)

World Invocation Day (a.k.a. Gemini Full Moon Festival)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 29 of 60)

Premieres

Ain’t She Sweet (WB LT Cartoon; 1952)

Alpocalypse, by Weird Al Yankovic (Album; 2011)

Anna (Film; 2019)

The Bling Ring (Film; 2013)

The Blue Umbrella (Pixar Cartoon; 2013)

Bon Ives, by Bon Iver (Album; 2011)

Chinatown (Film; 1974)

Cocoon (Film; 1985)

Creepin on ah Come Up, by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (EP; 1994)

The Deep, by Peter Benchley (Novel; 1976

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, by Richard Wagner (Opera; 1868)

Donald and the Wheel (Disney Cartoon; 1961)

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, by Elton John and Kiki Dee (Song; 1976)

Evita, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice (UK Musical; 1978)

Exodus, by Leon Uris (Novel; 1958)

Frolicking Fish (Silly Symphony Cartoon; 1930)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Animated Disney Film; 1996)

Impact is Imminent, by Exodus (Album; 1990)

Lifeforce (Film; 1985)

Lilo & Stitch (Animated Disney Film; 2002)

The Litterbug (Disney Cartoon; 1961)

Mastersingers of Nuremberg, by Richard Wagner (Opera; 1868)

Minority Report (Film; 2002)

Mr. Tambourine Man, by The Byrds (Album; 1965)

Monsters University (Animated Pixar Film; 2013)

Moral Man and Immoral Society, by Reinhold Niebuhr (Book; 1932)

Moves Like Jagger, by Maroon 5 (Song; 2011)

Nell’s Yells (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1939)

The Parent Trap (Film; 1961)

The Promise of Joy, by Allen Drury (Novel; 1975)

Return to Oz (Film; 1985)

The Rocketeer (Film; 1991)

Smoking: The Choice is Yours (Disney Educational Cartoon; 1981)

Spree Lunch (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1957)

Sweet Child o’ Mine, by Guns n’ Roses (Song; 1988)

The Te of Piglet, by Benjamin Hoff (Spiritual Book; 1993)

Toy Story 4 (Animated Pixar Film; 2019)

Tree for Two (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1943)

A Walk on the Wild Side, by Nelson Algren (Novel; 1956)

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Film; 1966)

World War Z (Film; 2013)

Today’s Name Days

Adalbert, Florentina (Austria)

Margareta, Naum (Croatia)

Květa (Czech Republic)

Sylverius (Denmark)

Kaari, Karlotte, Karola, Karoliine, Karolin, Lota (Estonia)

Into (Finland)

Silvère (France)

Adalbert, Florentina, Margot (Germany)

Methodios (Greece)

Rafael (Hungary)

Ettore, Silverio (Italy)

Imula, Maira, Rasa, Rasma (Latvia)

Silverijus, Žadvainas, Žintautė (Lithuania)

Salve, Sølve, Sølvi (Norway)

Bogna, Bogumiła, Bożena, Florentyna, Franciszek, Michał, Rafaela, Rafał, Sylwery (Poland)

Metodie (România)

Maria, Valeria (Russia)

Valéria (Slovakia)

Florentina, Silverio (Spain)

Flora, Linda (Sweden)

Earl, Earline, Errol, Fatima, Ofelia, Omar, Omarion, Ophelia (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 173 of 2024; 193 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 5 of week 25 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 13 of 28]

Chinese: Month 5 (Geng-Wu), Day 16 (Bing-Chen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 15 Sivan 5784

Islamic: 14 Dhu al-Hijjah 1445

J Cal: 23 Blue; Twosday [23 of 30]

Julian: 8 June 2024

Moon: 100%: Full Moon

Positivist: 4 Charlemagne (7th Month) [St. Henry]

Runic Half Month: Dag (Day) [Day 13 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 2 of 94)

Week: 3rd Full Week of June)

Zodiac: Cancer (Day 1 of 31)

Calendar Changes

Cancer (The Crab) begins [Zodiac Sign 4; thru 7.21]

[secondhandspirits-blog]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: AVON 1996 MRS. ALBEE AWARD PRESIDENT'S CLUB PORCELAIN VICTORIAN FIGURINE.

[coherentmarketinsights]

How Global Trends Influence Consumer Preferences in the Cosmetics Market: A Comprehensive Analysis

The Cosmetics Market is Driven by Increasing Focus on Personal Care and Appearance The cosmetics market comprises a wide range of beauty and personal care products that enhance the appearance of the user. Cosmetics products include skincare, haircare, makeup, fragrances, personal hygiene products and other items. The need for looking attractive and feeling confident has been a key driver for the widespread adoption of these beauty products. Cosmetics help users express themselves and positively impact their mental well-being. Cosmetics are widely affordable and accessible today owing to aggressive marketing of various brands. The Global Cosmetics Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 438.5 Bn in 2024 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 5.3% over the forecast period 2023 to 2030. Key Takeaways Key players operating in the Cosmetics market are L’Oreal S.A, Unilever plc., The Procter & Gamble Company, The Estee Lauder Companies Inc., Shiseido Company, Limited, LVMH Moët Hennessy, Kao Corporation., Oriflame Holding AG, Avon Products Inc., Revlon, Inc. Key players focus on developing innovative products with natural and herbal ingredients to cater to evolving consumer preferences. The growing working population, increased disposable income and expanding middle class around the world have led to high demand for cosmetics products in recent years. Especially in developing regions of Asia Pacific and Latin America. Changes in lifestyles and rising beauty consciousness have positively impacted the consumption of cosmetic items. The global cosmetics market has witnessed aggressive expansion strategies adopted by leading brands. Companies focus on expanding their geographical footprint by entering new emerging markets through strategic partnerships and acquisitions. E-commerce platforms have also provided another major growth avenue, allowing easy access to cosmetic goods. Market Key Trends Customization and convenience have emerged as key trends in the global cosmetics market. Customers want personalized products tailored to their unique skin and hair type. As a result, custom blending of ingredients is gaining popularity. Another important trend is multi-functional cosmetic items that provide more than one benefit such as skincare and makeup in a single product. This offers enhanced convenience. Sustainable and clean beauty trends have also been on the rise with growing demand for natural and organic formulas without harsh chemicals.Porter's Analysis Threat of new entrants: Low economies of scale and high brand recognition pose significant entry barriers for new players. Bargaining power of buyers: Customers have significant bargaining power due to availability of substitutes across price segments. Bargaining power of suppliers: Few raw material suppliers exist, giving them strong bargaining power over industry players. Threat of new substitutes: Growing natural and organic cosmetics substitute conventional offerings. Competitive rivalry: Strong competition among established brands to gain market share through product innovation and brand investment intensifies rivalry. Geographical Regions North America accounts for the largest share of the global cosmetics market in terms of value due to high consumer spending and presence of leading brands. Asia Pacific registers the fastest growth driven by rising disposable incomes, growing middle class population and increasing social media influence in countries such as China, Japan, India.