#Dine Brands Global

[sammydigitaleu]

[im-a-goat-in-disguise]

Hey there! Do you want the entire wall-e script? Here you go.

EXT. SPACE

FADE IN:

Stars.

The upbeat show tune, Put On Your Sunday Clothes, plays.

“Out there, there’s a world outside of Yonkers...”

More stars.

Distant galaxies, constellations, nebulas...

A single planet.

Drab and brown.

Moving towards it.

Pushing through its polluted atmosphere.

“...Close your eyes and see it glisten...”

EXT. PLANET’S SURFACE - CONTINUOUS

A range of mountains takes form in the haze.

Moving closer.

The mountains are piles of TRASH.

The entire surface is nothing but waste.

“...We’re gonna find adventure in the evening air...”

A silhouetted city in the distance.

What looks like skyscrapers turns into trash.

Thousands of neatly stacked CUBES OF TRASH, stories high.

Rows and rows of stacked cubes, like city avenues.

They go on for miles.

EXT. AVENUE OF TRASH

“...Beneath your parasol the world is all a smile...”

Something moving on the ground far below.

A figure at the foot of a trash heap.

A SMALL SERVICE ROBOT diligently cubing trash.

Rusted, ancient.

Cute.

Every inch of him engineered for trash compacting.

Mini-shovel hands collect junk.

Scoop it into his open chassis.

His front plate closes slowly, compressing waste.

A faded label on his corroded chest plate:

“Waste Allocation Loader - Earth Class” (WALLY)

Wally spits out a cube of trash.

Stacks it with the others.

Something catches his eye.

Tugs on a piece of metal stuck in the stack.

A hubcap.

The sun reflects off it.

Wally checks the sky.

ON TRASH HEAP HORIZON

The sun sets through the smoggy haze.

“...And we won’t come back until we’ve kissed a girl --”

He places the hubcap in his compactor.

Presses a button on his chest.

The song stops playing.

The end of a work day.

Wally attaches a lunch cooler to his back.

Whistles for his pet COCKROACH.

The insect hops on his shoulder.

They motor down from the top of a GIANT TRASH TOWER.

EXT. AVENUES OF TRASH - DUSK

Wally travels alone.

Traverses miles of desolate waste.

Oblivious to roving storms of toxic weather.

Passes haunting structures buried within the trash.

Buildings, highways, entire cities...

Everything branded with the SAME COMPANY LOGO.

“Buy N Large”

“BNL” stores, restaurants, banks...transportation!

The corporation ran every aspect of life.

There’s even a BNL LOGO on Wally’s chest plate.

CLOSE ON NEWSPAPER Wally drives over.

Headline: “TOO MUCH TRASH!! Earth Covered!!”

The deck: “BNL CEO Declares Global Emergency!”

A photo of the BNL CEO giving a weak smile.

Wally’s old treads are threadbare.

Practically falling apart.

Cause a bumpy ride for his cockroach.

He passes the remains of other RUSTED WALL-E UNITS.

Fancies one with NEWER TREADS than his own...

EXT. DESERTED STREET - MOMENTS LATER

Wally now sports the newer treads.

Rolls past a SERIES OF HOLOGRAPHIC BILLBOARDS.

The solar-powered ads still activate when he passes them.

2.

BILLBOARD ANNOUNCER (V.O.)

(Ad #1: BNL logo over trash)

Too much garbage in your face?

(Ad #2: starliner in space)

There’s plenty of space out in space!

(Ad #3: starliners take off

from Earth)

BNL starliners leaving each day.

(Ad #4: WALL-E units wave

goodbye)

We’ll clean up the mess while you’re

away.

EXT. EDGE OF THE CITY

Wally drives down a deserted overpass.

Activates an even LARGER HOLOGRAPHIC BILLBOARD.

CLOSE ON BILLBOARD AD

Shows off a CITY-SIZED LUXURY STARLINER.

Depicts passengers enjoying all its amenities.

BILLBOARD ANNOUNCER (V.O.)

The jewel of the BNL fleet: “The Axiom”.

Spend your five year cruise in style.

Waited on 24 hours a day by our fully

automated crew, while your Captain and

Autopilot chart a course for non-stop

entertainment, fine dining. And with our

all-access hover chairs, even Grandma can

join the fun! There’s no need to walk!

“The Axiom”. Putting the “star” in

Executive Starliner.

The BNL CEO appears at the end.

Waves goodbye as the Axiom takes off.

BUY N LARGE CEO

Because, at BNL, space is the final “fun”-

tier.

The holographic billboard powers off.

Reveals the AXIOM’S DESERTED LAUNCHPAD in the distance.

The mammoth structure sits across the bay.

Now empty and dry. A polluted, dead valley.

ON COLLAPSED BRIDGE RAMP

Near its edge rests a WALL-E UNIT TRANSPORT TRUCK.

A giant child’s Tonka Truck left to weather the elements.

A “Buy N Large” logo on its side.

Wally approaches the rear of the truck.

3.

Pulls on a lever.

The back lowers.

Wally motors up the ramp.

INT. TRUCK - CONTINUOUS

Open racks for storing WALL-Es line both walls.

KNICKKNACKS OF FOUND JUNK littered everywhere.

The tired robot removes his newfound treads.

Ahh... Home.

Wally motors down the center aisle.

Flicks on an ancient BETAMAX PLAYER.

Jury-rigged to an iPod.

Pushes in a cassette labeled, “Hello Dolly!”

The image is very poor quality.

Actors sing and dance to Put On Your Sunday Clothes (POYSC).

The same song Wally worked to.

WALLY

[Hums POYSC]

Wally opens his cooler.

Newfound knickknacks.

Pulls out the hubcap from his chest.

Looks back at the TV.

Mimics the dancers on the screen.

Pretends the hubcap is a hat.

Continues to unpack:

A spork.

A Rubik’s Cube (unsolved).

A Zippo Lighter.

He presses a BUTTON by the rack of shelves.

They rotate until an empty space appears.

His new items are lovingly added to the shelf.

The Zippo joins a pre-existing LIGHTER COLLECTION.

A new song, It Only Takes A Moment, plays on the video.

Wally is drawn to it.

Presses his “Record” button.

ON TV SCREEN

Two lovers sing gently to one another.

They kiss...hold hands...

Wally tilts his head as he watches.

Curious.

Holds his own hands.

4.

EXT. TRUCK - NIGHT

Wally motors outside.

Turns over his Igloo cooler to clean it out.

Pauses to take in the night sky.

STARS struggle to be seen through the polluted haze.

Wally presses the “Play” button on his chest.

The newly sampled It Only Takes A Moment (IOTAM) plays.

The wind picks up.

A WARNING LIGHT sounds on Wally’s chest.

He looks out into the night.

A RAGING SANDSTORM approaches off the bay...

Unfazed, Wally heads back in the truck.

IOTAM still gently playing.

...The massive wave of sand roars closer...

Wally raises the door.

Pauses.

WHISTLES for his cockroach to come inside.

The door shuts just as the storm hits.

Obliterates everything in view.

INT. TRUCK - SAME

Wally alone in the center of his shelter.

Unwraps a BNL SPONGECAKE (think Twinkie).

Lays it out for the cockroach to sleep in.

It happily dives in.

Wally collapses himself into a storable cube.

Backs into an empty shelf space.

Rocks it like a cradle...

...and shuts down for the night.

Outside the wind howls like the Hounds of Hell.

INT. WALLY’S TRUCK - NEXT MORNING

Wally’s CHARGE METER flashes “WARNING”.

He wakes. Unboxes.

Groggy and lifeless.

Stumbles outside.

EXT. ROOF OF WALLY’S TRUCK

The morning sun.

Wally fully exposed in its light.

His front panel splayed out like a tanning shield.

A solar collector.

5.

His CHARGE METER chimes full.

Solar panels fold away into hiding.

Wally, now awake, collects his lunch cooler.

Heads off to work.

...and accidentally runs over the cockroach.

Horrified, Wally reverses.

Reveals the FLATTENED INSECT under his tread.

The cockroach simply pops back to life.

No biggie. Ready to go.

Relieved, Wally resumes their commute.

EXT. WALLY’S WORK SITE - THAT MORNING

A SERIES OF “WALLY AT WORK” MOMENTS:

- CU of Wally’s hands digging into garbage.

CU of trash being scooped into his chest compactor.

A cube lands by the cockroach.

- Wally discovers a BRA in the garbage.

Unsure what it’s for.

Tries placing it over his eyes, like glasses.

Tosses it in his cooler.

- Wally finds a set of CAR KEYS.

Presses the remote lock.

Somewhere in the distance a CAR ALARM CHIRPS.

- Plays with a paddle ball.

The ball keeps smacking him in the face.

He doesn’t like it.

- Wally discovers a DIAMOND RING in a JEWEL CASE.

Throws out the ring. Keeps the case.

The jewel case drops into the cooler, then...

...A RUBBER DUCKY...

...A BOBBLE HEAD DOLL...

...An OLD BOOT...

...A TROPHY...

- Wally finds a FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

Activates it.

FOAM blasts in his face.

It’s tossed far, far away from his cooler.

- Wally’s shovel hand strikes something solid.

Faces a REFRIGERATOR much larger than himself.

Now what?

- CU on fridge door.

A WELDING BEAM moves down its center.

It emits from between Wally’s SPLIT BINOCULAR EYES.

6.

The door falls apart in two pieces. Reveals...

...a SMALL PLANT

in its early stage of growth.

Wally is entranced.

Carefully, he extracts the section of earth around it.

CLOSE ON IGLOO COOLER

Wally gently places the plant inside the old boot.

Dusts dirt off the leaves.

EXT. TRUCK - DUSK

Robot and faithful cockroach return home.

Wally stops short of the threshold.

Stares at the ground.

Continues staring.

A RED DOT

quivers on the dirt.

A single laser point of light.

Wally moves to touch it...

...The dot races along the ground.

Wally drops his Igloo.

Chases after the dot.

EXT. EMPTY BAY

The dot leads Wally deep into the polluted expanse.

He is so fixated on it he doesn’t notice

MANY LASER POINTS

coming from every direction.

All racing into the valley over the contour of the terrain.

Triangulating towards a center.

Wally’s dot suddenly stops.

Slowly he reaches for it.

Can’t grab it. Just light.

ALL THE DOTS converge in front of him.

The ground shakes.

Wally becomes confused.

Doesn’t see above him.

The SUN growing brighter behind the cloud cover.

A noise. Building.

7.

Rocket engines.

Wally senses he should look to the sky.

Now THREE SUNS are descending on him.

Wally runs for it.

An enormous COLUMN OF FIRE blocks his path.

A second column of fire.

A third.

Trapped.

Wally cubes the ground beneath him.

Working fast.

Noise deafening.

Heat rising.

Digs in just as a tide of flame carpets the ground...

...Then suddenly quiet.

Smoke clears.

CLOSE ON THE SCORCHED EARTH

Wally’s head rises out of the dirt.

Glows red hot from the heat.

Trembles with fright.

Everything in shadow.

Something very big looms over him.

Wally climbs out of his hole.

Bangs his head on metal.

WIDE on a massive SPACESHIP.

Rests ominously in the empty bay.

A PORTAL on its underside opens.

Frightened, Wally tries to hide.

Nowhere to go.

He places a SMALL ROCK on his head. Boxes up.

A DEVICE lowers to the ground on a long stem.

Scans the surface.

Wally creeps closer for a better look.

The device unfolds.

Wally boxes up again.

A CAPSULE descends from a chute in the stem.

ROBOT ARMS emerge from the device.

Place the capsule on the ground. Press buttons.

The capsule falls away in sections, to reveal...

...a PROBE ROBOT.

It hovers gracefully above the ground.

White. Egg-shaped.

8.

Blue-lit eyes.

Female.

Eve.

Wally is transfixed.

Inches closer.

Watches Eve from behind the device.

Tilts his head.

Time stops.

She’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

Eve hovers over the ground.

A BLUE RAY emits from her front panel.

Fans out 180 degrees.

Scans random objects and areas.

The device rises back into the ship.

Exposes Wally.

He rushes for cover behind the nearest rock.

Never takes his eyes off Eve.

Watches her float away from the ship.

...from the ship?

The ship!

Engines roar back to life.

Wally digging furiously.

The rocket takes off.

Smoke clears.

Again, a red hot Wally peeks out from the ground.

Looks for Eve.

She is watching the ship rise into the clouds.

Waits until it is completely out of sight...

...then Eve rises high up into the air.

She flies around the bay.

Soars like a graceful bird.

Does loops in the sky.

Zooms right past Wally’s rock.

He is hypnotized.

Eve descends gently to the ground...

Wally sneaks up closer.

Hides behind another boulder.

Slips.

Makes a NOISE.

Instantly, Eve whips around.

Her arm converts into a LASER CANNON.

Blasts Wally’s boulder to smithereens.

...Smoke clears...All quiet.

Eve, now cold and dangerous.

9.

Scans the area.

No sign of life.

All business again.

Hovers away to probe more of the planet.

ON OTHER SIDE OF BOULDER CRATER

Wally boxed up behind what little remains of the rock.

Trembles uncontrollably.

EXT. AVENUE OF TRASH - DAY

Eve wanders through the pillars of cubed trash.

Scans random areas.

Wally spies from the shadows.

Too frightened to approach.

She moves on. He follows.

EXT. TIRE DUMP - DAY

Eve probes a mound of tires.

Wally hiding nearby.

He flinches at the sight of

HIS COCKROACH

innocently approaching Eve from behind.

She spins around.

Blasts the insect.

Wally is gut-punched.

The cockroach climbs out of the smoking crater.

Unscathed. Still curious.

Eve finds the insect intriguing.

Lowers her arm.

The end separates into individual hovering sections...

...A HAND.

She lets the insect crawl up her arm.

Wiggles into her workings.

It tickles.

EVE

[Giggles]

Wally relaxes.

CHUCKLES privately.

Eve sonically picks up Wally’s location.

Locks onto him.

10.

Arm converts to laser cannon.

Fires rapidly.

Quick glimpses of Wally dodging the blasts.

Trash piles are systematically obliterated around him.

Wally now exposed.

Nowhere to hide.

Boxes himself up. Shakes uncontrollably.

Eve holds her fire.

EVE

(electronic hums)

[Identify yourself.]

She slowly approaches Wally’s box.

Keeps her gun trained on him.

EVE

(electronic hums)

[Repeat. Identify yourself.]

Wally peeks out from his box.

Doesn’t understand a thing she says.

Doesn’t care.

Can’t believe she’s real.

The cockroach climbs down her gun arm.

Jumps onto his master.

Eve scans Wally.

A RED LIGHT appears on her chest.

Buzzes “negative”.

He’s not what she’s looking for.

She retracts her gun arm.

Hovers off.

Wally watches her go. Lovestruck.

WALLY

[Sigh.]

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. ABANDONED BNL SUPERSTORE - NEXT DAY

LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S “LA VIE EN ROSE” PLAYS

Eve scans through the market.

Wally follows from a safe distance.

A stray puppy-dog.

Eve glances over at him.

Wally panics.

Bumps into a RACK OF SHOPPING CARTS.

Creates an avalanche.

11.

They chase him down a flight of stairs.

Wally reaches the exit doors.

Won’t open!

Carts pig pile on top of him.

EXT. BNL REFINERY - NIGHT

Wally perched on the roof.

Patiently watches Eve fly.

She scans the ground below her, like a searchlight.

Eve comes in for a landing below.

Shuts down for the night.

Wally waits.

Quietly sneaks down the refinery fire escape.

Accidentally trips. Tumbles to the ground.

Eve doesn’t wake.

Wally creeps up to her.

Opens his arms wide...

...and measures her.

Turns to a pile of trash.

Splits open his eyes. Begins welding something...

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. BNL REFINERY - NEXT MORNING

Eve powers up again.

Does a double take.

A TRASH SCULPTURE OF EVE stands in front of her.

She hovers away, unimpressed.

Doesn’t notice Wally hiding behind a PILE OF PIPES.

Wally kicks the pipes in frustration.

They roll on top of him.

SONG ENDS

MONTAGE OF EVE SEARCHING

- Scans a car engine.

Negative.

Slams the hood shut.

- Scans a Port-A-Potty.

Negative.

Slams the door shut.

- Scans an Apollo capsule.

Negative.

Slams the hatch shut.

- Scans a FREIGHTER HOLD.

12.

Negative.

Slams the lid shut.

EXT. DERELICT SHIPYARD - DUSK

Eve hovers over the freighter.

Frustrated.

Not finding what she’s looking for.

Wally eavesdrops from afar.

Eve flies past the ship’s CRANE MAGNET.

Gets stuck.

Wrestles to free herself.

Furious, she BLOWS UP THE ENTIRE SHIP.

The reaction startles Wally.

Eve slumps down against a dredged anchor.

She gives up.

Concerned, Wally cautiously approaches.

Sits at the other end of the anchor.

Both robots stare silently at the fiery wreck.

Then...

...slowly, very slowly, Wally inches towards her.

Musters the courage to speak, when --

She suddenly turns to him:

EVE

(hums)

[So what’s your story?]

Wally falls backwards with surprise.

Me?

Eve scrolls through a variety of languages:

EVE

(German)

[Directive?]

(Japanese)

[Directive?]

WALLY

[Huh?]

EVE

(Swahili)

[Directive?]

(English)

Directive?

WALLY

(beeps)

[Oh, I understand that!]

13.

EVE

Directive?

Wally eagerly turns to some nearby trash.

Scoops it into his compactor.

Proudly spits out a cube.

Points to Eve.

WALLY

(struggles to speak)

Di...rec...t--

EVE

Directive?

Wally nods.

EVE

Classified.

WALLY

(beeps)

[Oh. Sorry.]

She scans his CHEST LOGO.

EVE

Name?

WALLY

(struggles again)

W-wally? ...Wally.

EVE

(smooth; almost perfect)

Wwww-aaaa-leee...

Wally nearly melts.

She says his name so beautifully.

Moves closer.

EVE

Wally. (giggles)

Eve.

Wally tries to repeat it:

WALLY

Eeee...?

EVE

(slower)

Eve.

14.

WALLY

Eeeaaah?

EVE

Eeeve. Eeeve.

WALLY

Eee--vah!

She giggles again.

Wally likes making her giggle.

WALLY

Eee-vah! Ee --

EVE

Eve.

The wind kicks up.

The WARNING LIGHT sounds on Wally’s chest.

He moves to grab her.

WALLY

(Gasp!) Eee-vah!

EVE

(hums)

[Hey watch it! Don’t come any closer!]

She draws her gun on him.

Doesn’t understand the danger.

The sandstorm rushes up behind her.

Too late.

Wally collapses into a box.

The storm hits full force.

Eve is instantly lost, disoriented.

EVE

Wally? Wally?

WALLY’S HAND appears out of the dust.

Calmly takes Eve’s hand.

INT. TRUCK - MOMENTS LATER

The back door lowers.

A rush of wind and sand.

Wally pulls Eve inside. Closes the door.

She coughs up dust.

Wally hits a switch...

Strings of CHRISTMAS LIGHTS fill the space.

His racks of oddities painted in colored light.

15.

An air of enchantment.

Eve is taken aback.

WALLY

(beeps)

[Come on in.]

She drifts through the sea of knickknacks.

Becomes spooked by a SINGING BILLY BASS FISH.

Threatens to shoot it, but Wally calms her down.

He is compelled to show her everything.

Hands her an eggbeater...

...bubble wrap (so infectious to pop)...

...a lightbulb (lights when she holds it)...

...the Rubik’s Cube (she solves it immediately)...

...his Hello Dolly tape.

Curious, she begins unspooling the tape.

WALLY

(loud beeps)

[My tape!!]

He grabs it back. Protective.

Inserts it carefully into the VCR. Please still work.

The movie eventually appears on the TV.

Plays a clip of POYSC.

Wally is relieved.

WALLY

(beeps)

[What do you think?]

Mimics the dancing for Eve.

Encourages her to try.

She clumsily hops up and down.

Makes dents in the floor. Rattles everything.

Wally politely stops her.

WALLY

(beeps)

[How ‘bout we try a different move?]

Spins in a circle. Arms out.

Eve copies.

Spins faster, and faster...

Too fast.

Accidentally strikes Wally. He flies into the shelves.

Eve helps him up from the mess.

Wally’s LEFT BINOCULAR EYE falls off.

Dangles from two wires.

Eve GASPS with concern.

Wally placates her.

16.

WALLY

(beeps)

[It’s fine.]

Feels his way to the rack of shelves.

Rotates them until...

...SPARE WALL-E PARTS appear.

Replaces his broken eye with a new one.

Eve is relieved.

She eyes his LIGHTER COLLECTION.

Flicks open a Zippo. Ignites a FLAME.

Wally freezes.

He had no idea it could do that.

Moves closer to inspect it...

ON WALLY

It’s the closest he’s ever been to Eve.

She remains focused on the lighter.

Wally stares up at her.

...The tiny flame flickering between them...

...The Hello Dolly video plays IOTAM in the background...

Suddenly, he is moved to express his love.

Musters the courage to open his fingers...

...Timidly reaches his hand out to hers...

-- Eve turns and looks at him.

Wally instantly chokes.

Pulls his hand back.

Eve becomes intrigued with the TV.

Scans the image of the lovers singing IOTAM...

Wally watches her.

His infatuation still palpable.

Then he remembers...

WALLY

Ee-vah!

He rushes to his shelves.

Eve watches him rummage through junk.

A drum falls down on his head.

She giggles, charmed by it all.

Something about Wally...

She is drawn back to the lovers on TV...

...then the lit Zippo lighter in her hand.

A tap on her shoulder.

She turns to find Wally holding something.

The plant.

Eve immediately locks onto it.

17.

Drops the lighter.

In a flash...

...her chest opens...

...a TRACTOR BEAM snatches the plant away...

...stores it inside her...

Then she shuts down completely.

Only a SINGLE GREEN LIGHT pulsing on her chest.

Wally is stunned.

What’d I do?

Waves his hand in front of her face.

WALLY

Ee-vah?

Knocks on her chest plate.

No response.

Wally panics.

Gently shakes her.

WALLY

Ee-vah?

Still no response.

WALLY

Ee-vah? ...Ee-vah?!

CAMERA MOVES IN on the blinking green light...

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. ROOF OF WALLY’S TRUCK - DAY

The morning sun.

Wally places Eve in his charging spot.

Aims her hovering form to f

Actually looks like I can only post the first "part", roughly... Already this is lagging my phone. Will experiment more tomorrow. For now, enjoy!

[visit-new-york]

Crosby and Broome Street

Crosby St & Broome St New York, NY 10012

Unveiling the Splendor of Crosby Street & Broome Street.

In the heart of Manhattan's SoHo district lies an enchanting convergence of history, artistry, culinary excellence, and urban allure – the iconic intersection of Crosby Street and Broome Street. These two thoroughfares, each with its unique character, weave a narrative that transcends time, revealing the captivating evolution of a neighborhood that has blossomed into a haven for creativity, luxury, and vibrant community life. Embark on a captivating journey as we delve into the intricate details that define Crosby Street and Broome Street in SoHo, transforming them into a destination unlike any other.

A Stroll Through Time and Architecture

Crosby Street, a narrow cobblestone path, invites visitors to step back in time. Its cast-iron facades, remnants of the neighborhood's industrial origins, have been artfully repurposed into galleries, boutiques, and residences. The very buildings that once housed factories now stand as testaments to SoHo's ability to seamlessly fuse history with modernity, each cast-iron detail whispering stories of the past while embracing the future.

Intersecting Crosby Street, Broome Street adds another layer to the architectural panorama. Amid the luxury boutiques and contemporary structures, the Old St. Patrick's Cathedral stands tall, its Gothic Revival architecture an eloquent reminder of the immigrant history that helped shape the neighborhood. The streets serve as a living embodiment of how a community can pay homage to its roots while embracing change.

Artistic Expression and Creativity

Crosby Street's artistic soul continues to thrive through a fresh blend of pop-up exhibitions, murals, and interactive installations. The street itself has become an ever-changing canvas, a vibrant symphony of colors and shapes that captivate passersby and engage the imagination. It stands as a testament to the power of art to transcend conventional boundaries and inhabit the very essence of a neighborhood.

Broome Street's creative vitality is equally vibrant, boasting galleries, studios, and performance spaces. These intimate theaters provide a stage for emerging artists, musicians, and actors to share their talents, breathing life into the neighborhood's commitment to nurturing artistic expression in all its forms.

Culinary Odyssey and Pleasures

The culinary offerings on Crosby and Broome Streets present a feast for the senses, a tantalizing fusion of cultures and cuisines that reflect New York City's global character. From cozy cafes to upscale dining establishments, these streets offer a culinary symphony that celebrates diversity and innovation. Each dish and cup of coffee is a testament to the culinary artists who infuse their creations with a passion that mirrors the vibrant spirit of the neighborhood.

Retail Therapy and Luxury Lanes

For the discerning shopper, Crosby and Broome Streets emerge as a haven of luxury and style. The boutiques and flagship stores of luxury brands create an ambiance of refined elegance, where the latest trends and timeless fashion converge. The windows serve as a visual masterpiece, drawing in fashion enthusiasts and blending artistic expression with the world of commerce.

Community and Cultural Fusion

Beyond the aesthetics and commercial offerings, Crosby Street and Broome Street thrive as hubs of community engagement and cultural fusion. Throughout the year, these streets come alive with a myriad of events that unite residents and visitors, fostering a sense of belonging and shared identity. Art walks, street fairs, and seasonal celebrations fill the air with excitement, allowing individuals to immerse themselves in the neighborhood's vibrant tapestry.

Local artisans and craftsmen also find their home along these streets, offering a glimpse into the ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that define the SoHo community. From handmade crafts to vintage treasures, these local establishments contribute to a sense of authenticity that resonates with those who seek to uncover the heart of the neighborhood.

Residential Enclaves and Urban Sanctuaries

Crosby Street and Broome Street are not just destinations for exploration; they also embrace a vibrant residential community that calls SoHo home. Living on these storied streets offers a unique blend of urban sophistication and neighborhood charm. Residents find themselves at the nexus of luxury and convenience, with high-end boutiques and dining establishments just steps away from their front doors.

These streets, with their cobblestone pathways and historic facades, serve as urban sanctuaries where residents can escape the bustling city and find respite within a community that values both creativity and connectivity. The sense of camaraderie that emerges among those who reside on Crosby and Broome Streets is a testament to the enduring allure of this remarkable neighborhood.

Conclusion: A Continuum of Splendor

In the heart of SoHo, Crosby Street and Broome Street stand as sentinels of a neighborhood that has gracefully evolved while preserving its character and heritage. These streets are not isolated entities; they are part of a continuum that weaves the past, present, and future into a seamless tapestry of experiences. From the cast-iron architecture that whispers tales of industrial prowess to the vibrant artistry that defines its modern incarnation, this intersection beckons travelers and locals alike to embrace the charm, creativity, and community that define SoHo's essence.

As you traverse the enchanting landscape of Crosby Street and Broome Street, you're embarking on an exploration of the soul of New York City itself. Through its art, architecture, culinary delights, and dynamic community, this iconic intersection embodies the spirit of a city that is both a canvas and a masterpiece – a city that thrives on innovation while honoring its storied past. SoHo's odyssey continues, and at the crossroads of Crosby and Broome, its timeless allure is more captivating than ever before.

[cheesy09]

[CN] Kiro's Partner Date

🌸 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a date that hasn't been released on the EN server yet! 🌸

[Note: This date was translated with the help of Google Translate :>]

[PART 1]

The clear late autumn sunshine shone on me through the glass window.

The sound of sizzling fried eggs was not far away, and accompanied by the soft sound of exploding droplets of oil, there was a soft cry.

Kiro: Ah!

MC: Kiro?

Kiro: No worries, I was just shocked!

Kiro: Sit down quickly. I agreed to make breakfast myself to reward my temporary manager~

Kiro asked me to sit back in my seat and made a confident gesture.

I looked away from his blonde hair and flipped through the script on the dining table.

The logo on the printed paper belonged to Stellar, an affordable luxury jewelry brand that was popular in the global fashion circle.

Some time ago, Savin secured the endorsement of this brand for Kiro. The brand was going to shoot a set of advertisements for the new Valentine's Day products that would be launched later, but Savin was currently hospitalized with gastroenteritis.

Therefore, I agreed to Kiro's invitation and would be his temporary manager again tomorrow.

[T/n: An allusion to Kiro's Stardust Date where MC had agreed to be his manager for the first time :>]

My eyes scanned the script. Perhaps in order to cater to the theme, this advertisement was in the form of a two persons shoot.

MC: "Shot 1, Kiro opens his eyes as his partner touches his cheek gently, gazing at him tenderly..."

Looking at the lines of text, the tender and affectionate scene from this morning came to mind:

His soft blond hair fluttering on the tip of my nose, and his fair face obscured by the morning light that sneaked in through the curtains.

The person who was still dreaming still had a smile on his lips. He muttered something and hugged me tighter.

Indeed... quite romantic.

But when I thought about this scene being seen by more people, I suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

Kiro: Ta-da!!——Kiro’s special breakfast is out~

Along with the words, a piece of fragrant toast was handed to me. The slightly crispy cut surface was covered with a crooked heart-shaped omelette.

Kiro sat next to me, glanced at the half-open script, and then dropped his gaze on my slightly pursed lips.

Kiro: Miss Chips' expression seems a little strange.

There was clearly a smile hidden in his words, so I deliberately dragged out my voice.

MC: I do care a little bit...

I said, as I quickly leaned towards his cheek and kissed him gently.

MC: But that’s all~

The breath of the person in front of me paused slightly. Kiro lowered his eyes and suddenly approached me.

Kiro: But I think it could be a little more.

Along with the words, a kiss followed and fell on my lips.

After lingering for a while, I pushed Kiro away with a smile, and then he cut off a piece of fried egg and leaned over.

Kiro: Come and try it, it’s rare that I make it so perfectly!

I took a bite in cooperation and opened my eyes wide in surprise.

MC: Wow! It’s really delicious!

Kiro: Mm, maybe the frying pan also knew that this was for you, so he gave me extra credit~

He seemed to have thought of something and winked at me slyly.

Kiro: However, given that the work of a temporary agent is very hard - if MC wants other "rewards" in the future, I can indulge you.

[PART 2]

The sky in the early morning had not yet soaked up the suns rays. We got out of the car and walked side by side to a retro villa.

After entering the filming location according to the address, I quickly saw the director coming to greet us.

Director: Kiro, thank you for coming so early.

Kiro: It's okay. It's work, after all. That's right--

He turned sideways and introduced me to the director.

Kiro: This is the producer of "Miracle Finder". She'll be responsible for all my filming work today.

MC: Hello, I've heard so much about you.

I took a step forward, smiled and shook hands with the director.

Director: Hello, I’ve seen you at a film festival before, but I didn’t expect to meet you here.

Director: We'll try to finish all the filming today. Kiro can go change clothes first.

Accompanied by the voice, the makeup artist hurried over. Kiro and I exchanged tacit glances and then he left. I looked around while I waited.

The spotless patterned glass windows reflected colorful halos, which is reflected on the flourishing gladiolus leaves. Classic European literary poetry collections and vinyl records were displayed on vintage mahogany bookshelves. Even the candlesticks displayed on the table had a delicate texture.

MC: So exquisite. As expected a big brand...

Just as I was obsessing over the scenery here, a figure suddenly appeared from behind the shadows of the leaves.

His satin shirt loomed under the wide open suit, and his necklace left a little sparkle between the lines of his collarbone.

Fragments of sunlight fell on his eyelashes, like dancing gold. When he saw me, a smile appeared on his lips.

Kiro: A lost princess was discovered.

I couldn't help but smile, and pretended to bend down and lift up the hem of my skirt, following his words.

MC: What a coincidence, I was waiting for a prince to take me away.

Kiro: Well... the stars on my chest tell me that the person you are waiting for must be me.

Kiro approached me as he spoke, his voice so low that it was drowned out by my pounding heartbeat.

MC: Really? How can you prove it?

Kiro: I heard that when you meet the person you are destined for, your heartbeats will resonate with each other. Listen--

He took my hand and put it to his heart. The firm heartbeat beneath his chest gradually merged with the pounding and accelerating heartbeat in my chest.

Kiro: Can you please come with me to the set, my princess?

I smiled, nodded, and walked down to the attic holding hands with him.

When we returned to the set, I saw many people gathered in the lobby. Kiro and I exchanged glances and stepped forward with some confusion.

Kiro: What happened?

Director: ...Kiro, at the moment, the filming will be slightly delayed.

Director: The model you're working with just accidentally scratched her finger. Some close-ups are difficult to take. We're looking for a suitable person to take over.

Every minute of space and labor was a cost. If such an accident occurs, it was no wonder that such emergency measures had to be taken.

MC: But still, there's a difference between amateurs and models. Wouldn’t it be problematic?

Director: Don't worry. All that needs to be shot is a couple of shorts of less than ten seconds, and the focus of the camera will be on Kiro's face. As for the post-production process, it will be processed more carefully.

Director: As long as the shooting atmosphere is in place, there won't be any big problems.

I felt relieved and looked through the director towards the noisy set. The assistant director was discussing something with the female staff on site one by one, shaking his head anxiously from time to time.

My heart moved slightly. I don’t know why, but there was a voice in my heart that seemed to urge me to comply with this sudden impulsive idea.

In my peripheral vision, I saw Kiro lowering his eyes slightly, and his gaze happened to fall on my hand.

Could it be that he was also thinking... Inadvertently, our eyes met. He winked at me and spoke softly.

Kiro: MC, I think you can give it a shot.

My original expectations were due to his encouragement, and I became more and more eager to try it. I hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

Perhaps rather than the clamoring thoughts, him being here was what made me more determined.

Kiro raised his voice and called to the director who was turning around to leave.

Kiro: Director, MC's conditions are actually pretty good.

Kiro: She's had previous shooting experience and can adapt to the position of the camera. She should make a good candidate.

I cooperatively took two steps forward and stood in front of the director. The director looked at my hand for a moment and nodded.

Director: It's indeed possible... Let's try it first.

My heart rejoiced upon hearing those words and I looked up at Kiro. His eyes were also gleaming.

Director: The camera crew is ready and the lights are in place. Kiro, you have both the scripts. Check the stage directions.

The crew started moving, step by step. Kiro also took my hand and walked to the dressing room.

Kiro: Let's go, Miss Partner.

Kiro: Don't worry. With me here, you'll definitely be able to perform exceptionally well.

[PART 3]

With the shutting of the door, the surrounding area became quiet. Kiro pressed me onto the armchair, hummed a brisk melody and pushed me towards the dressing table.

Contrary to my confidence, I picked up the script beside me and began figuring it out word for word.

MC: "Caress his face for 5-7 seconds and then slowly slide it down his neck."

I raised my hand into the air and roughly acted it out.

MC: Hmm... the action of staying on the neck should last four or five seconds.

MC: The gestures aren't marked. Will the director explain them on the spot?

I thought about it and asked the person next to me, but I didn't get a reply. The next second, the script in front of me was suddenly taken away without explanation.

Kiro's handsome face loomed in front of me, a teasing smile in his eyes.

KIro: Is my partner nervous?

I looked at him for a moment and nodded honestly.

MC: A little bit...

MC: Although I understand the process, it's another thing to personally be participating in shooting of the advertisement.

A familiar warmth coated my wrist. Kiro held up my hand and carefully applied crimson glitter onto my fingertips.

His warm breath seemed to ambiguously brush across my fingertips and I couldn't help but tremble when I heard him speak.

Kiro: Then let's seize the moment and review the acting lesson that Teacher Kiro gave before.

Kiro: Relax your shoulders first - then imagine the camera as a mute friend with big eyes.

Familiar words lingered in my ears. I couldn't help but think of the time when he snuck onto the set to cheer me up while I was filming a variety show in a foreign country.

[T/n: This a reference to Set Visit Date :>]

A warmth welled up in my heart. I took a breath and relaxed my body as per Kiro's instructions.

Unknowingly, a lot of my former tension truly dissipated.

Kiro: Remember the next step?

MC: Of course. It was the most important step - close my eyes and imagine you smiling at me.

I was about to close my eyes and picture the smile of the person in front of me in my mind, when I suddenly fell into a warm embrace.

His reassuring breath lingered on the tip of my nose, and I heard him speak softly.

Kiro: Although you've remembered it correctly...

Kiro: If the other party is in front of you, charging this way will be more effective.

His fingertips circled the hair on the side of my face and stroked it lingeringly. I simply rubbed my chin against his shoulder and spoke with a hint of teasing.

MC: Why do I feel that Teacher Kiro is being a bit selfish?

Kiro: Well, "practical classes" are very difficult, and this teacher needs to cheer himself up.

I smiled and hugged him back, hearing his voice ring out.

Kiro: Don't worry, just follow my lead.

Kiro: Believe me, you'll be the most suitable "partner" ever.

-

The European-style prop bookshelves and green plants were surrounded by large and small reflectors and swing arms.

The director stood behind the camera talking to the staff. His eyes wandered over us for a moment and he nodded with satisfaction.

Director: There will only be two shorts, is that okay?

Kiro: Don't worry, director, we're ready.

With that said, Kiro led me towards the corner where the scenery was set up. Following the director's instructions, he sat down next to the bookshelf and straightened his collar.

His left arm was slightly bent and rested casually behind his ear. His golden hair hung down a little messily, leaving a light shadow on his face.

His blue eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a sharp arc. Even though I was still in the studio, I felt like the air was filled with a little more danger.

Director: Three, two, one, hand model go.

Director: Change the angle and focus on the side of his face.

The director spoke from behind the camera. I raised my hand in response and quickly thought about the flow of the script.

In 3-5 seconds... move down slowly...

I steadied my breathing and gently touched Kiro's face with my fingertips, but my movements were slightly imperceptibly stiff.

Amidst the slow music, the distance of the camera narrowed again. The next second, my hand was held involuntarily.

The familiar warmth came from the palms of each of our hands. I blinked and looked at Kiro in surprise.

His fingertips rubbed my wrist gently, and he raised his head casually and lazily, staring at me intently with his deep eyes.

Strange, this interaction is clearly not in the script...

I blinked my eyes, some kind of vague suspicion emerging in my mind, and I tentatively moved my palm closer. Sure enough, I saw Kiro curling his lips slightly.

The next second, the force coming from his hand tightened.

I got closer unexpectedly, and my chin almost touched his golden hair. I subconsciously wanted to distance myself, but my wrists were clasped tighter.

His warm breath slipped from the inside of my wrist, with a certain lingering meaning.

I lowered my eyes involuntarily and looked into those eyes that made people indulge in them. Seeing Kiro tilt his head slightly, he spoke softly.

Kiro: MC, look at me.

Kiro: Pay no attention to them.

Kiro: All you have to do is look at me.

My heart beat uncontrollably. I unconsciously raised my hand and brushed the corner of his lips.

The light red smudged out silently, and my fingertips also gained a few hints of ambiguous color.

All kinds of equipment faded from my field of vision, and it seemed like we were not in a studio, but in a corner of our home.

And this moment was just a part of our everyday intimacy.

Director: Turn down the music, slow down the tempo...

Amidst the clicking sounds, the director said something to the assistant director behind the monitor.

I tried to hear clearly, but my attention was instinctively distracted by the actions of the person in front of me.

It seemed that he was dissatisfied with my lack of concentration just now, or wanted to show a more tense effect. He clasped my fingers and slid them slowly and steadily towards his neck.

He stared at me with burning eyes, like some kind of silent temptation.

MC: .....

We looked at each other off-camera for a moment, the corners of our lips slightly curved, and I hooked his fingertips in a nonchalant manner.

Stopping at the outline of his collarbone for a moment, I slowly touched down along the open line of his collar.

Kiro: .....

As if he didn't expect my reaction, Kiro's eyes flashed, but his smile deepened.

He followed my movements and turned sideways, pressing closer to me. The thin chain on his chest swayed, making a crisp and clear sound.

Director: Go ahead, keep the momentum going.

The music suddenly rose a little higher, playing a lingering and intimate melody.

The palm of his hand tightened slightly. Kiro tilted his head and left an instant kiss on the inside of my wrist.

Director: Cut!

The director stood up behind the monitor, nodded to us with satisfaction, and whispered something to the staff. The makeup artist on the side walked towards us immediately.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Amidst the loud noise, I felt Kiro hugging me from behind.

His smiling voice immediately brushed over my ears with warmth.

Kiro: Thank you for your hard work, Miss Partner~

Kiro: This shoot was ten thousand times better than I imagined.

[PART 4]

The gurgling boiling sound was drowned out by the noise of the hot pot restaurant, and the spicy aroma of chili lingered with the heat.

Kiro picked up the hairy belly and put it in my bowl, then coughed heavily.

Kiro: The first piece of hairy belly at this celebration banquet is awarded to the rescue hero MC~

MC: Thank you to the organizing committee. I will continue to work hard in the future!

I seriously picked up the hairy belly and bit down on it. The familiar taste spread in my mouth, and a satisfied smile appeared.

Looking at Kiro, I found that he was also looking at me with bright eyes. I picked up the small piece of crispy meat on the side and handed it to him.

MC: The reason I was able to enter that state so quickly was thanks to senior Kiro's guidance of the atmosphere. And so he deserves a special reward.

Kiro raised his eyebrows and spoke seriously.

Kiro: I wasn't deliberately guiding anything for that scene today.

MC: Hmm? But our interaction was obviously different from the one in the script...

Kiro: Actually, from a professional perspective, whether filming or advertising, it does not necessarily have to be performed according to the framework of the script.

Kiro: Sometimes acting appropriately on the spot can stimulate different chemical reactions.

I nodded thoughtfully and saw the clear and serious eyes of the person in front of me.

Kiro: But from my personal point of view, this was all possible because of you.

MC: ....me?

Kiro: Because you were my partner, I had those subconscious instinctive expressions.

Kiro: There's no need to deliberately think about interaction patterns and romantic atmosphere...

Kiro: I'd just hold your hand and everything would unfold naturally.

He picked up the tribute vegetables on the side and pushed them into the pot with ease. The final sound came through the curls of steam.

I thought about the interaction with him in front of the camera and laughed softly.

MC: Having said that, I'm actually the same.

MC: At first, all I could think about was the directions of the script. When you suddenly pulled me, I almost didn't react.

MC: But before I knew it, I had returned to our usual way of getting along, forgetting all about that...

The corners of Kiro's eyes curled up, and there was a hint of cunning in his voice.

Kiro: Actually, when shooting that set of shots, I almost failed several times.

I tried to remember for a moment and looked at him doubtfully.

MC: Whether that’s true or false, you acted so naturally!

Kiro: I'm not going to lie to you, do you still remember what the director commented in the script for that paragraph? "Keep an appropriate sense of distance and give a sense of gradual progression."

Kiro: But when I held your wrist, I really wanted to shorten the distance a little bit, and a little bit more.

Kiro: It's best not to worry about anything. I'll just follow my heart and hold you.

The lights reflected bright colors in his eyes. My heart moved and I couldn't help but lean closer to his position.

MC: Then let me reveal a secret to Teacher Kiro.

MC: I thought the same thing when I looked at you in front of the camera.

--I wanted to get closer to the person in front of me and bring us closer together.

Amidst the noise all around, we looked into each other's eyes and smiled, the cups in our hands clinking with a brisk sound.

There was no need to tell it to the whole world. The cries in our hearts had already been heard clearly by each other.

--I have the best you in the world.

Translation Masterlist: here

[midnight-scrivener]

Didn't want to derail this post too much bc funny posts should be allowed to stay that way, but I really think OP is onto something here tbh!!! Malls (in usamerica) are full of high end brands and luxury items. No one goes to a mall because they NEED what's there. Malls are dying precisely because there's no place in a big mall for basic quality-of-life shit. The thing about blacksmiths and alehouses and apothecaries and peddlers is that they all existed to meet real, practical needs. They brought people into town for a reason, and then if those people bought a little treat while they were there, or stopped and chatted with someone, or had another little human experience, that was all an added bonus.

In Central Florida, the two major malls are sprawling expanses of Armani and Gucci boutiques, high end clothing and dining experiences. The Florida Mall has a straight up brick-and-mortar Tesla store in the middle of it (that I've never seen anyone go inside). There's no room for little human experiences. If you have to go, you're not exploring. You get the rare item you need and get out. Malls are labyrinths of globalized corporate excess, and in the world those same corporations have built, no one can afford to be excessive anymore. Malls are starving because there's no longer a comfortable middle class upon which they may glut themselves.

A positive alternative to this is a revived mall by my house: its department stores are shuttered (the corpse of a JC Penny WILL be possessed by Spirit Halloween this month), the cinema hangs on by airing international films and special events, and the storefronts that were once chain shops and the same textureless, featureless shopping mall fare have been replaced by local small businesses. There's a vintage consignment shop and a board game store that holds weekly community gaming events. A gutted sears has become a brewery and arcade (an alehouse?). BUT there's also a small grocery corner store (a peddler?). There's a daycare. There are maintenance and construction firms (blacksmiths?). There's a music school. There's a drug store (an apothecary?). The mall itself hosts walking events and parties and scavenger hunts that encourage people to come in and wander and engage with their community.

So yeah I think OP is hitting up on something real here. People who come for quality of life shit will stay and start finding each other. The way to make malls live again is to allow them to grow what feels real and right, instead of forcing them to seed this hollow, homogenized isolation.

[whatmathgodwrought]

Salad Bar Theory of Popular Culture

This is going to be a long post. It will discuss "The Salad Bar Theory of Popular Culture," and why Tumblr dot com is the ideal, overgrown petri dish on the web for this phenomenon.

It's a bit of lark, but I do hope you'll laugh at least once if you read to the end.

Imagine you're dining at an all-you-can-eat restaurant. The restaurant is massive. The self-serve food bar has every kind of dish imaginable, and what's more, there is a construction crew adding more space, and new chefs are constantly adding new entrees, remaking old favorites, and sometimes they even invent new cuisines altogether. All of your friends and acquaintances are there. Sometimes you eat together, sometimes you talk about what you ate, sometimes someone excitedly comes to your table raving and telling you to try something new or an old favorite. There is more than you could ever possibly eat in several lifetimes, and it only keeps growing.

This metaphor is the current state of entertainment in the 21st century for all forms of media: music, movies, books, TV shows, ebooks, audiobooks, podcasts, talk radio, art, comics, graphic novels, manga, webcomics, cartoons, anime, newspapers, infotainment, online journalism, live-streaming, plays/dramas, console gaming, PC gaming, smartphone gaming and more. Thanks to the internet, streaming, global-shipping, viral-meme-culture, commodification-of-the-invidivual-via-the-social-media-grind, (and let's be honest, piracy and archival culture), people have access to and are exposed to more entertainment than they could ever hope to consume in several lifetimes.

So, where does leave the typical diner at this restaurant? Well, as the next paragraphs will show, there is no such thing as a "typical diner." There are no gourmets, no gourmands. There is just the Cornucopia and groups of people wandering the endless salad bar. You can be first in line and pay a premium to experience the brand new dish. You can go back to the same section and reload your plate with the same thing as many times as you want, and people will ask if you don't ever get tired of the same thing. You can be a vegetarian. You can eat only meat. You can eat a bit of everything. You can brave the sneers and jeers of the gatekeepers as you sample something--with tastebuds aglow--for the first time and rave about it to all your friends.

So what kind of dining experiences are there in this cultural canteen, this pop-culture pizzeria, this taverna theatre? What do you see there?

Popularity is the Objective Word Here

When something is popular, it spreads like wildfire. This has always been true of popular culture even before the internet. Humans are social, they tell stories and they share. This may seem obvious, but it's also bedrock for the other observations.

Originality is Dead: Long Live Reboots and Remixes.

Show of hands to three questions:

How many people recognize the reference of a gorilla carrying a woman, climbing the Empire State Building while bi-planes shoot at it?

King Kong right? A cultural icon for many years.

How many people have actually seen the original King Kong (1933) starring Fay Wray and directed by Cooper and Schoedsack?

Not as many right? Maybe you only saw one of the many remakes in 2021, 2017, 2005, 1986, 1976, 1967 or 1962.

How many people are alive today that saw King Kong (1933) in the cinema?

Not many I'll bet.

I'd wager the number of hands goes down with each question. And yet the staying power of the original story remains burned into film history and memory. The point is this. Humans retell stories. This is not a bug. It's a feature. "Tell me the story again of…" There is joy (and profit) in the retelling.

Derivative Reference is Often the Primary Way of Experiencing Pop Culture

OK, so people are sharing things left and right. They're retelling, remixing, rebooting, writing fan-fics, etc. All of this creative effort means that your first-time encountering something new may be a reference, rather than experiencing the original. People rarely experience the true original firsthand anymore. They're going to experience things second-hand.

This is especially true with older media. A first experience with something will often be a derivative reference. An example: Back in the day, in school, we watched Planet of the Apes in class. (I don't know, probably the teacher was hung over.) Want to know how I figured out before the big reveal that the Planet of the Apes was really Earth?

Troy McClure spoiled it for me. In Season 7 Episode 9 of the Simpsons, "A Fish Called Selma," McClure takes an acting gig in a musical adaptation of Planet of the Apes, and he sings the following lines:

Oh my God, I was wrong It was earth all along Yes you finally made a monkey out of me.

So there I am, watching Planet of the Apes for the first time, and Troy McClure's big number starts playing in my head. I sit there in disbelief, remembering the Simpsons, and then practically crying into my desk with laughter.

Probably the teacher thought that "kids these days" don't appreciate cinema, but it was just so absurd to have the movie spoiled by a bit in the Simpsons.

Want to know something else? In doing research for this essay, I discovered that Planet of the Apes film isn't even the original. The original story was a French language novel "La Planète des Singes" by Pierre Boulle. So again, people love retelling, often in different forms of media.

Point is, the longer something has been out, the more it tends to be referenced in other forms. TV talk shows will make jokes referencing the new popular thing. Popular phrases quickly become part of the everyday lexicon. People talk at the water cooler. A tech mogul names their new software after one iconic word in Heinlein's 1961 sci-fi novel.

Any piece of popular culture could be "spoiled" for you at any moment, which brings us to....

Spoilers are Everywhere but Do They Just Act as Adverts?

King Kong dies in the end. Dumbledore Dies. Both of these are spoiler memes (and I'm not sorry), but consider the amount of time passed between the original release of both. How long is the statute of limitations on spoilers? How long before a popular piece of media saturates public awareness so much that it becomes unavoidable? Is this ultimately unavoidable because of the viral nature of advertising, marketing and sharing?

In the modern day, it's increasingly hard to avoid spoilers. I've heard of people going off social media for weeks before a major film release so it doesn't get spoiled for them.

People seem divided on the topic of spoilers, but it's a very good question: Would you still enjoy a story if it was spoiled for you? Shakespeare spoils Romeo & Juliet in the first 14 lines:

Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children's end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

Do you still want to see the rest of the play? What if it had Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo, Claire Danes as Juliet and Harold Perrineau as Mercutio? There is something to be said for knowing where the story goes, yet still enjoying the teling of the tale.

I'll go on record and say I don't really care about spoilers. They've become adverts to me, hooks of interest into things I might not have discovered otherwise. I have to encounter new media somehow, and I try to take a positive outlook on it, saying, "I was meant to discover this." If I like something, I'm going to like it unabashedly and still find a way to enjoy it.

Delayed Gratification

If you are PC gamer, let me ask a question: How many unplayed games do you have in your Steam library? Games you haven't even downloaded and opened for the first time. What about unfinished games? Played-once-and-dropped-it games? Now ask yourself: Did you buy this game when it first came out? Did you pay for early access? Would you have still enjoyed it, even if you had to wait a while? Consider the Reddit community r/PatientGamers. They don't care to line up and pay a premium for a brand new release. They know it will still be the same game (often less buggy), and they will even be able to get it on sale. They know the salad bar is vast. There's lots of content, and there's no hurry. They let it come to them when the time is right.

I Don't Want to Hear It

Similar to r/PatientGamers, there is also the phenomona when it seems like everyone is raving about something, to the point where you begin to actively block it out. It doesn't seem to matter what it is; even if it's something good that you would ultimately enjoy. Something about the repetition or the messaging rubs you wrong, and you innoculate yourself against it. You avoid that part of the salad bar at all costs, even if you might like it.

Interpreting the Rules: Remixing as Fan Behavior.

How dooes your social circle play the game Uno? Fandom has a tendency to take what's been created and modify it, remix it according to their own rules, according to fanon's own internal logic. Sometimes it's seen as an act of repair, sometimes a love letter to canon. Sometimes it's shipping characters. Sometimes it is a what-if. What if all these different characters from different properties got together in a story?

Dismay at Media Conglomerate Strip Mining

Has one of the five mega media conglomerates "ruined your childhood" by making a live-adaptation of your favorite childhood cartoon? Well, buckle up, because they aren't going to stop. The big five are hungry for content, and they are actively strip-mining your childhood favorites. It doesn't matter if it's a live action remake of Avatar the Last Airbender or CATS the musical, eventually some studio exec is going to see dollar signs, and your favorite thing is going to get a bad remake. It's best to just accept this.

Further Dismay at AI Strip Mining

If you don't like what the big five are doing, you will hate what AI is doing, and if you're an artist you probably already know you are getting robbed by AI companies. Large language models (also known as Plausible Sentence Generators) and text-to-artwork tools like Stable Diffusion and Midjourney are getting more sophisticated.

They're still scraping the web, and more sites seem to be selling user-generated content to these places, prompting artists to use Glaze and Nightshade to protect their work and poison AI data-models.

People are selling their likeness for permanent use in perpetuity for use in crowds. Lord of the Rings used AI-enabled CGI units in some of the battles, and that was over 20 years ago. How long before they don't hire extras for movies anymore?

The year is 2100. You put on a vid. It is the usual cast, starring: Tu-Pac Shakur's avatar, Hatsune Miku, the latest Disney princess avatar, and the disembodied voice of James Earl Jones. All of the original flesh and blood actors are long dead, but their AI avatars and copyright ramain. Some were never were alive in the first place. It's all necrotainment. You turn off the TV.

Back to the present year, James Earl Jones's voice is now in an AI model, so Disney can give us the same Darth Vader forever. The year 2100 seems not so far away.

On the plus side, there seems to be a growing backlack against AI-generated content. People consider it cheap, shoddily-made and flimsy, and the quickest way to associate a brand as cheap garbage. At the Glasgow Willy Wonka's Chocolate experience event, the organizer used AI generated visuals for the marketing, and people arrived disappointed at the "dirty old warehouse." According to Paul Connell, the actor who played Wonka, the script was "15 pages of AI-generated gibberish."

"I never knew I would have liked this"

OK this is getting a bit grim, so here's something fun: People are getting exposed to other cultures' entertainment, and they like it! Netflix reports that 60% of their users have watched a Korean drama, and they plan to invest USD $2.5 billion in future Korean drama for the platform. Like anime booming outside of Japan in the 80s and 90s, or the British Invasion in the 1960s, people try out other parts of the salad bar, and discover they quite like it.

Archival Behavior

Abraham Lincoln once said, "You can't believe everything you read on the Internet." This is why screencapping and archiving things has become more important. Tweets get deleted, accounts get banned, and users deactivate. Capturing and archiving things here at least preserves some of the conversation.

In the Art of War, Sun Tzu wrote, "If you know yourself and you know your enemy -- and let's be clear the enemy are techbros, who are fundamentally lazy and want to cut corners for the sake of a quick buck and flashy, fake-innovation. Even their own mothers don't love them. They stole this content from Tumblr username whatmathgodwrought, original posting date 2024/03/03, and this should be used as evidence in the lawsuit against the responsible parties -- you need not fear the result of a hundred battles."

If the internet is just 4 websites containing screenshots of the other ones, many are doing the good work of archiving for posterity.

Wasn't this Post also about Tumblr?

Yeah, yeah, we're taking the scenic route. (If you actually read this far, thank you. Send whatmathgodwrought a message and I'll read your blog, maybe reblog some of your stuff, maybe even follow you.)

Let's recap: pop culture spreads like wildfire. It gets retold/remixed/rebooted. Reference and spoilers are everywhere. You can delay and still enjoy a thing anytime, or you can resolutely choose to avoid a thing completely. You can remix, recreate, and fan-theorize canon ideas to their natural conclusion. The big five entertainment corps and AIs are strip-mining the heck out of it. People loves to try out things they never would have had access to before. So, after having some of these kind of experiences, you can post your fandom thoughts on Tumblr, add tags and watch it blow up (or not) or don't add tags (and watch it somehow blow up anyway?). Posts with "10k note energy" have slept for years before someone fired a reblog chain heard round the world. So what makes this environment the Galapagos Island or Cambrian period of websites for this Salad Bar idea?

Repeat and Resurgence

So the thing about a recurring joke is that it keep recurring. People will often write: "I will always reblog this." There are also seasonal examples. King Taejong falls from his horse, Feb 8, 1404. Julius Casear's assassaination on the Ides of March. Voyager's "Threshold" season-2, episode 15, Jan 29th. The clay tablet to Ea-nāṣir complaining about inferior quality copper. People like retelling, and reblogging with scheduling or queue contributes to the seasonal nature of repeat themes.

Tag You're It

Tags kind of help with the spreads-like-wildfire aspect. I've always liked tags as a general concept, because they're a flat, non-hierarchical, multi-category way of organizing information. In the Dewey Decimal system, your number is the category, and that's it; no nuance, no second-guessing, no argument. With tags, you add as many as you want, and then off it goes--haphazardly careening about the Tumblr ecosystem. Tagging is also broken, but whatever.

Goncharov

my favourite thing about the goncharov nonsense is that it relies on the tumblr culture of watching ur mutual posting about something but not really paying attention to it. the reason it slips so easily under the radar is we’re all used to seeing people’s random sudden fixations on our dashes and then just letting them do their thing - you don’t unfollow, you often don’t even filter it out, you just think ‘hey, glad they’re having fun’ and scroll past. i went like two days before realising it was a mass joke because i assumed one of my mutuals was just Really Into some old mafia film from the 70s all of a sudden. because why wouldn’t they be

User @watchmakermori hits the nail on the head. Tumblr's ecosystem exposes the user to random fandoms, which they might like, might look at later, or might actively avoid. It is within that space of ambiguity that the Goncharov phenomena thrived.

Trending By Organic Pollination

On this hellsite, it's possible to completely overwhelm the tags and get something trending, but at least this is mostly driven by human interest. In this case, Tumblr's lack of an algorithm is actually a feature. When a mutual reblogs something, at least I know that a human did it, unlike algorithm-based, auto-served content. We've seen what algorithms have done to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and even Google search. Algorithms drive "engagement", endless scrolling, and are likely contributing to Dead Internet Theory. At least Tumblr users are continuously blocking bots, trying to inoculate against AI-generated content, and are reblogging human content.

Parallel Play

Tumblr users' tendency to engage in parallel play also contributes to the remix factor as users reblog, retag and recontextulize. A shitpost becomes educational. Two isolated fandoms collide accidentally because of a poll. Someone makes a spelling error and it goes viral. Users play with JPEGs like dolls. Everyone is just out there doing their own thing in the big sandbox, and emergent behaviors result.

In Conclusion?

This post ended up more Tumblr-positive than I intended, even though that wasn't the original idea. The idea was to be more dispassionate, more objective, a casual observer. But like any participant-observer, I've gotten a bit caught up in the phenomenon.

So let's call this a Love Letter (academically aggravated) to Tumblr. Suffice it to say, I hope y'all keep blocking bots, reblogging humans, spiting the great AI content harvest, and keep enjoying the Salad Bar.

[shookysmissingtooth]

Friends! and Lovers? - Chapter 1

pairing: model jjk, producer myg x Makeup artist reader

genre: friends to lovers

wordcount: 1.9k

summary: being an adult in a competitive world isn't easy. especially when you only have two friends. two you would never date. right?

warnings: this story contains smut and is for mature audiences only.

Masterlist Next Part->

🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍

You are the deepest sleeper you have ever seen. Which is why, when it was time to wake up for the first day of your new job, you probably wouldn't wake up on time. That is if you were living alone. But lucky for you, you have two friends who wake you up in time. Well, one friend since the other one isn't exactly a morning person. 

"Jungkook woke u up too?", Yoongi asks, seeing you walking in the dining room with your pajamas, which usually consisted of a t-shirt and shorts. The thing about living with 2 men is that you always have to wear a bra around the house, so your nipples don't get seen through your shirt. He's now sitting on the chair to your left, shirtless as he probably just woke up.  At first, you got flustered whenever you saw him shirtless, but you're used to it now. Kinda.

"Yeah", You reply. He's on his phone texting his girlfriend. Yup. Yuri. The girl that slapped you back in high school.  Shin Yuri, the girl that you still hate. It's been YEARS since that altercation happened, but what can you say? You hold grudges.  And every time you remember or think about that day, you get even angrier at her. 

 "Morning people!", Jungkook says as he walks into the dining room from the kitchen with two plates of food in his hands. He puts one plate in front of Yoongi and the other in front of you. "Eat up.", he says to the both of you walking back to the kitchen to get his food.

When he comes back, he sits across from you and pounces on his meal. LITERALLY. Like a wild animal, feasting on its prey. He looks up at you watching how you're staring at him in disgust. This man has no sense of table manners. "What?", he asks as he continues eating. He then looks to your left and notices Yoongi's phone in his hands. "Hyung! No phones at the table", now reaching to snatch Yoongi's phone out of his hands. Once he's successful he begins to run away trying to keep the phone out of Yoongi's grasp as they fight for it. He tries to read his messages out loud.

"I miss you baby", Jungkook says trying to imitate Yoongi's voice. "I miss you too", he says trying to imitate Yuri's. You physically cringe at the thought of Yuri calling Yoongi "baby".

"Ok, Ok give me my phone, I'll put it away", Yoongi says slightly annoyed. Jungkook then hands him his phone and says," No phones at the table", giving him a teasing smile. 

"So, first day of your new job ay", Jungkook says getting back into his seat, eyes now on you. Today is the first day of your new job. You recently applied for a job to work as a makeup artist at Calvin Klein.  And you got it.  Now today is your first day. Ever since you graduated college, you have been jumping around from one job to another. You've been a janitor, a plumber, a cashier, a food delivery driver, you name it, but you finally got what you've always wanted..to be a makeup artist, for a big company at that. 

Yoongi and Jungkook have always known what they wanted to be in life. Yoongi has always wanted to be a music producer and songwriter, which he has achieved, Jungkook has always wanted to be a model, which he now is. In fact, he's the global ambassador for Calvin Klein. 

Oh, and they are both famous. Worldwide famous. Yoongi had to work hard for years to build a name for himself in this crazy music industry.  And Jungkook started out just modeling for Calvin Klein. He would wear the seasonal outfits and model for their website. That was until people started to notice his looks and he built a big fan base, eventually giving him a huge social media following. And that's when he became global ambassador qualified.

Dozens of brands reached out to him but Calvin Klein snatched him up before any other brand could. 

You're like their not-so-famous best friend that's severely unknown. And you like it that way. 

Jungkook, for years, has tried to convince you to become a model because he says you're good-looking. He likes to call what you had a "glow-up". 

"You were really ugly back in high school" , he told you that one time the 3 of you were looking at your old photos.

The problem with having 2 famous best friends is that you can't go out with them without worrying if people would film you guys hanging out and come up with absurd rumors about you guys dating.

This has happened once.

The 3 of you went to a restaurant to celebrate your birthday. Yoongi had rented out the place for privacy,   and he was pretty early so the 2 of you waited inside the restaurant to wait for Jungkook.

When Jungkook arrived, he texted you he was outside, so you went outside to see him. The Both of you shared a hug, oblivious to the camera recording the both of you. 

2 hours later you received many texts from you're parents, and one of them sent you a link to an article titled, "Jungkook's New Girlfriend".

The only thing that saved you that day was the face mask you were wearing, otherwise, your face would have been all over the internet. And the last thing you need is people judging your looks, or people comparing your looks to Jungkook's. You're insecure enough as it is.

"Yup, can't wait.", you say, taking a bite of the pancakes made by Jungkook." I'm actually kinda nervous too. What if I make a mistake and get fired?"

"You'll be fine, stop worrying", he says. " Though, we should go over some things first.", You nod your head to his statement before he continues. "Nobody should know that we know each other". He sees the confusion that reaches your face and you ask him why. "Because, I've been working hard trying to avoid dating rumors, and if people see us talking they'll think we're together. Plus it's not normal for makeup artists to befriend their model clients. It's kinda looked down upon if you ask me".

"So let's say I run into you, you want me to ignore you and look the other way?", you ask, and all you get is a nod in return, mainly because there's food stuffed in his mouth. "So I take it we can't go to your shoot together.", and he shakes his head no. Yesterday you received an email letting you know about the shoot you'll be working at today, and it happens to be Jungkook's joint shoot with another model. You then turn to Yoongi with a pleading smile on your face before you ask for his car.

"Fuck no.", he responds. "Not after you scratched it last time"

"i'll give you $50 bucks"

"100. 100 or nothing", he says.

"Fine".

"You know I'm so happy I can finally have the house to myself. I don't have to see your faces all day and I can invite Yuri over.", Yoongi says probably mentally planning this day out in his head. He notices the way you roll your eyes at the mention of Yuri's name. "You're being a baby."

"What are you talking about?", you ask.

"You know you're eventually gonna have to get over the fight you guys had in HIGH SCHOOL. HIGH SCHOOL! You're both now fully grown adults with a whole different mindset and level of maturity. Well, at least one of you does". He says. You can understand why he's tired of your bullshit. It's been years since you and Yuri fought, but the girl hasn't even mustered an apology to you.  She's gonna have to apologize before you can even consider accepting their relationship.

"Yoongi, I'm not obligated to like the girls you date". , you say dryly.

"I'm not asking you to like her! I'm simply asking for your respect. Why should I have to feel guilt, whenever I talk about my girlfriend around you?" The annoyance in his voice is not something that can be ignored. Whenever Yoongi gets upset, he expresses it with his whole body.

"I don't appreciate how you're making me seem like the problem. Yuri doesn't like me either, but you're so blinded by "love", that you can't even see that!", you say, voice laced with anger. "Jungkook, back me up!", You say turning to him.

"This isn't my business", he says shrugging his shoulders and finishing the remnants of his food.

"I'm not trying to make you seem like the problem.", he says sighing. "I would just like to have  the support of my best friend."  He says calmly ending the conversation. He knows that if he says anything else, there will be a fight between the two of you and that's something that he wants to avoid. The awkwardness in the room lingers for a few seconds before Jungkook interrupts it.

"I'm gonna go head to the shower. Don't wanna be late.", he says standing up. You can't even fathom how he finished his food that quickly."You should hurry up too. Don't wanna be late for your first day"., He tells you giving you a calming smile before trailing off, leaving you and Yoongi alone eating in silence.

🌹

"I feel bad". You tell Jungkook. You're brushing your teeth whilst he's in the shower. You like his sink more than yours because of how spacious it is. You even have some of your hair and skin care products sitting on it. He doesn't seem to mind you using his bathroom. Well, that's what you think at least. "Do you think I was being an asshole to him?"

"I don't know.", he says shouting over his loud shower.

"What do you mean? It's a yes or no question."

"I just don't see why my opinion matters. It's not like my opinion is gonna solve things between the two of you." He has a point and you know it. But it'd be nice to hear that someone is on your side. What kind of friend dates the enemy of their friend? "If you feel bad, just apologize"

"Why should I apologize?" Why should you? It's not like you did anything wrong.  

"if you didn't do anything wrong, then why do you feel bad?", Jungkook says, as if he read your mind.

"I hate you", you respond.

 He turns off the water. "I love you too. Now get out, I'm done."

 You leave his bathroom and walk to yours to take your shower.

🌹

Showering Is something that calms you, and is really the only place where you're able to think, and as you rewind breakfast in your head, you can't help but think, "Maybe I am in the wrong.", "Maybe I am the asshole". And now you feel even more bad. 

You got out of the shower and made a promise to yourself that you would apologize to Yoongi before you left the house. 

Today is the first day of your job so you have to wear something that would make a statement. Something that screams, "professional". You scanned through every article of clothing in your closet and decided to wear leggings and a shirt with a blazer on top. You set the clothes on your bed and remove the towel that covers your body. 

"Hey, I just wanted to say that im-", you hear and you rush to reach for your towel and wrap it around yourself again before you turn around and once you turn you see Yoongi with his hand over his eyes. "I'm sorry, I should have knocked". He says before walking slowly to the door, trying not to bump into anything. "my car keys are on the table in the hall", he says and then he shuts the door once he's out. 

Today is going to be a longgg day.

[drogba-prospect]

Croupier Comptable: Game Theory for The Venetian Macao, China (Trapping Aesthetic for Volleyball) 14K

BIO

My Name is Adrian Blake-Trotman. I am Indo-Mediterranean Caribbean Born in Toronto but From Barbados and Haiti. I am a Beta-arbitrage Mergers & Acquisitions Banker that Specializes in Commodities. I have Understanding Financial Markets by Université de Genève and Monetary Policy in the Asian-Pacific by Hong Kong University of Science and Technology with No Gr. 12 Math or Intro to Linear Algebra; I built a mathematical learning style by using Japanese Candlesticks Bullish Engulfing Discounted Cash Flow Charts for Poker. I Operate TAX AVOIDANCE through Freelance Mergers & Acquisitions through an Enterprise Foundation and Investment Trust. My background is Agriculture Working Class, I've worked in Kitchens and Grocery Stores. My goal is to connect the Democratic Republic of the Congo to two tax havens; Haiti & Seychelles to stabilize the Diamond Trade and more Important the Commodities Market. Through Mercantilism Agriculture Hedge Fund as a Central Bank, Options Volatility Exchange, Lab Grown Re-sale Market, Decentralized Currency and Fiat Money, Hospitality & Gaming. Also To form a Socioeconomic Status Agriculture Working Class; Blue, Pink, and White Collar Jobs. I am Modelling my Cartel off of Wall Street for De Beers but is owned and operated by the Société des Bains de Mer (SBM); The Casino de Monte-Carlo is owned and operated by the Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), a public company in which the government of Monaco and the ruling princely family have a majority interest. The company also owns the principal hotels, sports clubs, food service establishments, and nightclubs throughout the Principality. The Société des Bains de Mer operates in the accommodation, dining, entertainment, and gambling services. SBM manages and owns casinos, hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, spas, beach clubs, and golf clubs. Fifty-two of their fifty-eight properties are located in Monaco. The concept of state-corporate crime refers to crimes that result from the relationship between the policies of the state and the policies and practices of commercially motivated corporations. The term was coined by Kramer and Michalowski in 1990.

THE ARNAULT MODEL: BALANCING FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE AND CREATIVITY

Over the next three decades, as he brought the best luxury brands in fashion, cosmetics, and beverages under the LVMH umbrella, Arnault proceeded to make “a series of brilliant business decisions” that “can only be called masterful.” Even his critics were impressed by “his ability to manage creativity for the sake of profit and growth.” Industry observers frequently credit his outstanding success in a highly competitive industry to the fact that—unlike other global CEOs—Arnault understands both the creative and the financial aspects of running a luxury business

Financed through Real Estate and Convertible Bonds

The Creation of Star Brands

In a 2001 Harvard Business Review interview, Arnault explained his famous business process, which—unlike the traditional fashion industry—requires financial discipline as well as creativity. The entire focus of Arnault's teams is the creation of “star brands” that must meet a high bar for four artistic and financial criteria: LVMH brands must be “timeless, modern, fast-growing, and highly profitable.” In practice, “profitable creativity” means that “star brands are born only when a company manages to make products that ‘speak to the ages’ but feel ‘intensely modern’ and ‘sell fast and furiously, all while raking in profits

Although the LVMH process begins with "radical innovation—an unpredictable, messy, highly emotional activity” on the creative end, as soon as “it comes to getting creativity onto shelves—chaos is banished,” and the company imposes "strict discipline on manufacturing processes, meticulously planning all 1,000 tasks in the construction of one purse.”

The genius of Arnault’s process is that, although the "front end of a star brand—the innovation…the creative process, the advertising—is very, very expensive,” the “back end of the process in the atelier (the factory)” is a place of "amazing discipline and rigor” that drives “high profitability behind the scenes.” Brands with “unbelievably high quality” require “unbelievably high productivity,” so “every single motion, every step of every process is carefully planned with the most modern and complete engineering technology.”

For example, when Arnault automated production at Vuitton, he drove that venerable old brand to the top spot on Fashionista’s list of the world's best-selling luxury brands in 2011, with a value of $24.3 billion—more than twice the amount of its nearest competitor.

As he spent “lavishly” on advertising, Arnault "rigorously" controlled costs by leveraging every possible synergy across the group: Kenzo manufactured a Christian Lacroix line; Givenchy manufactured a Kenzo perfume, and Guerlain created the first Vuitton perfume.

Creative Talent Management

As Arnault built LVMH into the world's largest luxury conglomerate, he hired new design talent for star brands that “speak to the ages” but “feel intensely modern”: from Céline, Kenzo, Guerlain, and Givenchy to Loewe, Thomas Pink, Fendi, and DKNY.

Because his model requires that “the counterbalance to creativity must be commerce,” Arnault “never hesitated to reign in, or outright terminate, creative executives who did not produce.” Since the early days at Dior, he has often replaced creative executives with non-traditional talent and then shuffled them across his brands to help him identify opportunities to drive profit—no matter how unpopular.

For example, at Givenchy in 1995, Arnault brought in a “fashion industry darling” and “notorious wild child,” British designer John Galliano, to replace Hubert de Givenchy, the industry icon “credited with defining simple elegance for an entire generation of women, (including) Audrey Hepburn, Jacqueline Kennedy, and the Duchess of Windsor.”

Within a year, Arnault moved Galliano, the first British designer in French haute couture, from Givenchy to Christian Dior to replace Gianfranco Ferré, the Italian couturier who had led Dior design since the late 1980s. Other non-traditional Arnault hires included installing 27-year-old Alexander McQueen (another British designer) at Givenchy and Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton, where he gave the American designer a mandate to challenge LVMH’s competitors, Prada and Gucci.

Although those iconoclastic designers later left LVMH, they had served Arnault’s purpose: interest in his traditional fashion houses had been jumpstarted by the early 21st century.

HOW TO STABILIZE THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO, SEYCHELLOIS, AND HAITIAN CURRENCY (INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE BUT FOR MMA & COMMODITIES NOT CRICKET & TECHNOLOGY MODEL)

Bioeconomy Agriculture Central Hedge Fund with Agriculture Bulge Brackets Oligopolistic System Hyper Inflation Vehicle Fiat Currency: Strict Negative Interest Rates for Investments; Debt/Equity Business Loan Period and Construction Loan/Tax Benefits Programs, Investment Trusts & Enterprise Foundations are Common Corporate Tax Avoidance Practices, and Raise Denominator of Currency & Print Currency for Insurance Companies for Building Process

Combat Sport as National Sport: Free Internet with Corporate Sponsor Purse Bid System Mixed Martial Arts Camps, Orphanages, Polytheist Churches, Gaming-Hospitality; and +EV Gambling

Mercantilism Fiat Currency Pegging: Foreign Exchange Rate to Diamond Peg Currency

Market Extension Vertical Integration Mergers Lottery

Industries: Mergers & Acquisitions Agriculture Industry, Decentralized Finance, Real Estate Finance and Economics, Capital Gains Tax Haven, Corporate Tax Haven, Inheritance Tax Haven, Art Ports, and Gaming-Hospitality

Blockchain Diamond-Metal Exchange Modelled Off of CBOE Volatility Index (VIX). Founded in 1973, the CBOE Options Exchange is the world's largest options exchange with contracts focusing on individual equities, indexes, and interest rates. Credit Spread Options and Blockchain the Commodities Market.

Business Capital is a Collaborative Environment through Generalized Education (STEM AND M & A)

Socioeconomic Status Agriculture Working Class Immigrants

XYY or Triple X Syndrome, ACTN3 Gene, MSTN Gene, and Mercury-Venus Births

A ROUND OF PAR GAME THEORY NETWORK

Beta Arbitrage with Convertible Bonds Compounding

Key Ingredients 

Player's: Futures Exchange and Investor

Actions: Issue payments under any circumstances 

Payoffs: Exchange - Larger Market Volume, Investor - Larger Assets Under Management  or Profits

Representation

Extensive Form includes timing of moves. Player's move sequentially, represented as a tree (timing). Chess: the white player moves, then the black player can see White's move and react

Theory

There's a common expression of higher the risk, higher the reward; but in finance it should be higher reward, higher risk because people's savings are involved. This is why I created The Round of Par Games Theory Network where the intended score should always be 0. Nobody wins and nobody loses between investor and stock exchange, just a nice friendly draw. The Investors assets under management grows and the Exchange's Market Volume Grows.

Let's break down the Components:

Beta Arbitrage

Investor: Beta Arbitrage involves longing in one market and shorting in a DIFFERENT market. The example is longing Company A in the stock market but then going to Company A in the options market and placing a put/short option. Either way the Investor earns a profit.

Exchange: The Futures Exchange benefits because now not only is equity on the stock market is being bought but the options market has a larger volume.

Convertible Bond Compounding

Investor: By compounding through Convertible Bonds not only are you going to be paid back your money because creditors are first on the company's bankruptcy list unlike investors, but it's an easier way to buy more shares for growth investing while not diving head first.

Exchange: The Futures Exchange benefits because now not only is equity on the stock market is being bought, but the bond market has a larger volume.

LANGUAGES

Mandarin

Latin

INDUSTRY WORTH FOR COMMODITIES (AGRICULTURE WORKING CLASS)

In 2012, Forbes reported that $21 trillion was Off-Shored

In 2017 the equivalent of at least 10% of the world’s GDP is in offshore banks, and that number is probably higher due to the opaqueness of the world’s global tax havens, according to a research report release this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The estimated amount of money laundered globally in one year is 2 - 5% of global GDP, or $800 billion - $2 trillion in current US dollars.

Taxes in the US – The federal government collected revenues of $3.5 trillion in 2019—equal to about 16.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) (figure 2). Over the past 50 years, federal revenue has averaged 17.4 percent of GDP, ranging from 20.0 percent (in 2000) to 14.6 percent (most recently in 2009 and 2010).

The foreign exchange or forex market is the largest financial market in the world – larger even than the stock market, with a daily volume of $6.6 trillion, according to the 2019 Triennial Central Bank Survey of FX and OTC derivatives markets.

In 2019, for example, the sales value of rough diamonds amounted to some 13.9 billion U.S. dollars worldwide. After polishing, the value increased by nearly double to 26.7 billion U.S. dollars. In 2019, the global diamond jewelry market value was approximately 79 billion U.S. dollars.

Global Cut Flowers Market to Reach $41. 1 Billion by 2027.

The global coffee market was valued at USD 102.02 billion in 2020,

Global Vanilla Market Is Expected to be worth Around USD 735 Million By 2026 

According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the global cocoa market generated $12.8 billion in 2019, and is projected to reach $15.5 billion by 2027, witnessing a CAGR of 4.3% from 2021 to 2027

The global water and wastewater market was valued at 263.07 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. The market is projected to reach a value almost 500 billion U.S. dollars by 2028 at a CAGR of 7.3 percent in the 2021 to 2028 period.

The global tobacco market size was estimated at USD 932.11 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 949.82 billion in 2021.

For the year 2020, Worldwide Cotton Market was US$ 38.54 Billion. Global Cotton Market is expected to reach US$ 46.56 Billion by 2027, with a CAGR of 2.74% from 2020 to 2027.

The global waste management market size was valued at $1,612.0 billion in 2020, and is expected to reach $2,483.0 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 3.4% from 2021 to 2030

According to Brandessence Market Research, the Energy Drink market size reached USD 61.23 billion in 2020 and expected to reach USD 99.62 Billion by 2027.

LEGAL DEFENSE

Smurfing: Reverse Onus, Challenge Mens Rea and Actus Rea, Press Malicious Prosecution Charges, Financial Settlement

RICO Legal Disputes Trademark (30 for 30 Court): Undisclosed Settlement; 1 large sum ($30 million) broken into a 3-part settlement, Not going to trial settlement (guaranteed payment for being brought into court), Case being unsealed settlement (if the case gets reopened), and Testimony settlement (in court testimony in reopened case). The non-disclosure agreement (NDA); Agreement to 10 years jail time for every broken NDA, NDA on Case, NDA on Testifying, and NDA on Settlement. Sealed Federal Cases: Have legal matters sealed by the court to prevent leaked information to media and Precedence for RICO

CRIME COLLAR

White-Blue collar crime is a subgroup of white-collar crime White Collar Crime, a term reportedly first coined in 1939, is synonymous with the full range of frauds committed by business and government professionals. Blue-collar crime is a term used to describe crimes that are committed primarily by people who are from a lower social class. This is in contrast to white-collar crime, which refers to crime that is usually committed by people from a higher social class.

SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT

Agriculture Working Class Immigrants Socioeconomic Status Focused Key Players in Commodities Market*

Polytheism (Zeus, Poseidon, and Ogou-Athena)*

Births: Mercury-Venus, MSTN Gene, ACTN3 Gene, XYY Syndrome, or Triple X Syndrome

Māori All Blacks Sports Culture and Volleyball is National Sport*

Jumping for Cardio*

Poker Brain*

REITs/Real Estate ETF Investors with Index Credit or Debit Spreads Options Trading*

Mergers and Acquisitions Exploratory School System*

Sand-Based Calisthenics  kallos sthenos (beautiful strength) Interval Training: Isometric-Plyometric, Circuit Training: Isometric-Isotonic, and Isometric-Mobility

Tofu is Protein of Choice

Fish/Seafood is Meat of Choice

Blueberry is consumed at every breakfast

Mineral Water instead of Spring Water

Coconut Syrup as Sugar Replacement

Business News is a part of The Cigar Culture

Sports Gambling for Extra Revenue Stream instead of Lottery Tickets when in Working Class

Hydrolyzed Collagen-Leucine is the Main Sports Medicine

Brokerage Accounts with First 10 Investments as Bond Funds and REITs

VAMMMBRGC LIFESTYLE BRAND RACKET

Volleyball (Trampoline)

Acting (Short Film Series: Aesthetic Taxi Game, Character: Expansive Mood Villain)

Modeling (Brand Activation Models)

Music (Psychedelic Festival Trap)

Martial Arts

Ballet (Females Only)

Rings Gymnastics (Males Only)

Graffiti (Art)

Cooking (Endorsements)

LVMH-Lacoste Collaboration Company For Tax Mergers Law; Market-extension merger: Two companies that sell the same products in different markets. 4.2.2 Corporate Taxation At the corporate level, the tax treatment of a merger or acquisition depends on whether the acquiring firm elects to treat the acquired firm as being absorbed into the parent with its tax attributes intact, or first being liquidated and then received in the form of its component assets.

What Is Vertical Integration? Vertical integration is a strategy that allows a company to streamline its operations by taking direct ownership of various stages of its production process rather than relying on external contractors or suppliers. A company may achieve vertical integration by acquiring or establishing its own suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, or retail locations rather than outsourcing them. However, vertical integration may be considered risky potential disadvantages due to the significant initial capital investment required.

Analysis Discounted Cash Flow (DCF): A key valuation tool in M&A, a discounted cash flow (DFC) analysis determines a company's current value, according to its estimated future cash flows. Forecasted free cash flows (net income + depreciation/amortization (capital expenditures) change in working capital) are discounted to a present value using the company's weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Admittedly, DCF is tricky to get right, but few tools can rival this valuation method.

VŒUX DE CHAMPAGNE SOGNI CAVIALI

Description: Beta-arbitrage Mergers & Acquisitions Cartel that commits Mediterranean-Caribbean and Afro-Mediterranean Socioeconomic Status Development Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction (CPR) Unit Charities, Protection Racket, Paramilitary Financing, Lobbyist-Investment Trust, Commodities Management, Gambling & Diamond Trafficking, Rolex Re-sale Market, Real Estate Brokerage, Graffiti Art Port, Smurfing, Nike Sports & Fashion Corporate Espionage and Larceny Business Model Reengineering, and VAMMMBRGC Contract Racketeering Through Enterprise Foundations

Activities: Executive Council for Mayor, Culinary Arts, Grey Market Fashion, Trap Shooting Gambling Tournaments, Volleyball Tournaments, Corporate Sponsor EdTech, Grocery Insurance & Electronic Financial Data Interchange, Diamond Encrusted Accessories Collaboration with LVMH, OTC Beta-arbitrage Branch Bracket, OTC Exchange (Commodities, Sports Betting Investment Trust, Real Estate Investment Trust, Cuisine Real Estate Investment Trust, Forex Pairs Contract for Difference, Retail/Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust, Credit Swap Options Endorsement Index), VAMMMBRGC Youtube Distribution Channel (Gambling News Network, Noir Short Film Series [Shakespearean Crime], Cooking Channel, Sports Resort Real Estate, Sports/Modelling/Acting Business Case Study Video Essay, Brand Activation Modelling, Combat Sports, Calisthenics Workout Class, Sports Science Lessons, Graffiti Tourism, Music Videos, Natural Resources Documentaries, Hype Beast Re-Sale Market, Rolex Business Case Study Video Essays, Business Conferences).

DIAMOND TRAFFICKING

The WFDB Trade And Business Committee

The Trade and Business Committee makes recommendations to the Executive Committee concerning industry relations with financial institutions worldwide, lab-grown diamonds, Know Your Customer and the System of Warranties.

Idea 1: Luxury Goods Encrusted Items Investment Service and Auction. Example: Hermès Bag, Investment System: Masterworks, Auction System: Information Catwalks with models then bidding in a separate room with Video Replay for YouTube.

Idea 2: A sightholder is a company on the De Beers Global Sightholder Sales's (DBGSS) list of authorized bulk purchasers of rough diamonds. De Beers Group made this list, the second largest miner of diamonds. DBGSS was previously known as DTC (Diamond Trading Company). In May 2006, DTC released a list of the 93 sightholders on its website. High Fashion Accessories Aggregator Business Model with Auction and Re-sale.

Business Model 

The London Metal Exchange (LME) which is based in Hong Kong is a commodities exchange that deals in metals futures and options. It is the largest exchange for options and futures contracts for base metals, which include aluminum, zinc, lead, copper, and nickel. The exchange also facilitates trading of precious metals like gold and silver.

Originally known as the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), the exchange changed its name in 2017 as part of a rebranding effort by its holding company, CBOE Global Markets. Traders refer to the exchange as the CBOE ("see-bo"). CBOE is also the originator of the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), the most widely used and recognized proxy for market volatility.

ABC Exchange (Alumina, Beryllium, Carbon): There are four types of precious stones: diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds. Each type has its own specific chemical and physical properties. Diamonds are made from carbon, rubies and sapphires from alumina and emeralds from beryllium.

Diamond Monopoly 

What Is Vertical Integration? Vertical integration is a strategy that allows a company to streamline its operations by taking direct ownership of various stages of its production process rather than relying on external contractors or suppliers. A company may achieve vertical integration by acquiring or establishing its own suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, or retail locations rather than outsourcing them. However, vertical integration may be considered risky potential disadvantages due to the significant initial capital investment required.

My Vertical Integration Mergers: Company’s Diamond Mines, Merger Manufacturers, Company’s Distribution, and Merger Hospitality and Gaming Diamond Exchange

The Diamond Standard 

Influence: Agricultural Bank of China is active in commercial banking, investment banking, and insurance services.

Mercantilism was a form of economic nationalism that sought to increase the prosperity and power of a nation through restrictive trade practices. Its goal was to increase the supply of a state's gold and silver with exports rather than to deplete it through imports. It also sought to support domestic employment.

The bio-economy is defined as the economic activity associated with the invention, development, production; and use of primarily bio-based products, bio-based production processes, and/or biotechnology-based intellectual property.

Industries Association; Hospitality and Gaming: Daily and Monthly Revenue Streams, Capital Gains Taxing: Create Offshore revenue through trading and Blockchain is a volatile market for good liquidity. FOREX Vehicle Currency: Low Interest Rates means currency will be traded against other currencies, Shorting own currency to get foreign currency and exchanging returns to domestic currency stabilize exchange rate and Currency Basket 

Interest Rate Pegging: Environmental alternative to gold, Surplus item during Quantitative Easing, and Low Interest Rates lead to spending and loans for investment which means buying and trading diamonds will balloon 

Mine Options: Credit spreads and debit spreads are different spread strategies that can be used when investing in options. Both are vertical spreads or positions that are made up entirely of calls or entirely of puts with long and short options at different strikes. They both require buying and selling options (with the same security) with the same expiration date but different strike prices.

Diamond Mine Investment Group: Mines can create private Investment Groups. Items within Group: diamond retail, diamond trading, industrial diamond manufacturing sectors

Lab-created diamonds are grown in controlled laboratory environments using advanced technology that replicates the conditions under which diamonds naturally develop beneath the Earth's crust. These lab-grown diamonds consist almost entirely of carbon atoms and are arranged in a diamond crystal structure.

DIAMOND ROLEX INVESTMENT TRUST (EXAMPLE)

Description

Watch Listing Through Discounted Cash Flow for Rolex Drop Culture or Re-Sale Market

Underwriting Products

$50,000 in value

Collector's Edition

Less than 20 models made

Masterwork Investing Platform (reference)

Masterworks is making the world of art a little less exclusive by offering everyday investors the chance to own a fraction of these high-priced investments with a much smaller amount of money.

Through the fine art investing platform, users can purchase (and trade) shares in what the company has defined as "blue-chip" art: masterpieces from artists like Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Andy Warhol, Banksy, Kaws, Jean-Michel Basquiat and more.

How Masterworks functions (reference)

Masterworks provides an affordable way to invest in art. What was once an option reserved exclusively for wealthy investors is now accessible to investors of all types. Here's how the platform works:

Masterworks will purchase a painting and file it with the SEC as a public offering, or IPO, similar to how a company goes public. Shares of the painting are then made available for purchase on the Masterworks website for as little as $20 per share. The company says it launches about one new painting every four to five days.

The platform stands out, especially for using propriety data to determine which artist markets have the most momentum, focusing on the very high-end segment of the art market that has predictable returns, the company says. Meanwhile, its research team works in the background to calculate appreciation rates, correlation, and loss rates.

Masterworks even recently added a secondary market, too, where investors can trade shares in paintings. Plus, Masterworks lets you invest your IRA earnings into their fine art through its partnership with Alto IRA, an alternative asset investing platform.

Industrial Embassy 

Business Model: Insurance companies base their business models around assuming and diversifying risk. The essential insurance model involves pooling risk from individual payers and redistributing it across a larger portfolio. Most insurance companies generate revenue in two ways: Charging premiums in exchange for insurance coverage, then reinvesting those premiums into other interest-generating assets. Like all private businesses, insurance companies try to market effectively and minimize administrative costs. Types of Insurance: Mining, Manufacturing, Retail, Logistics 

Financing is the process of providing funds for business activities, making purchases, or investing. Financial institutions, such as banks, are in the business of providing capital to businesses, consumers, and investors to help them achieve their goals. The use of financing is vital in any economic system, as it allows companies to purchase products out of their immediate reach. Equity financing is the process of raising capital through the sale of shares. Companies raise money because they might have a short-term need to pay bills or have a long-term goal and require funds to invest in their growth. By selling shares, a company is effectively selling ownership in their company in return for cash. Advantages of Equity Financing; Funding your business through investors has several advantages, including the following: The biggest advantage is that you do not have to pay back the money. If your business enters bankruptcy, your investor or investors are not creditors. They are part-owners in your company, and because of that, their money is lost along with your company. You do not have to make monthly payments, so there is often more cash on hand for operating expenses. Investors understand that it takes time to build a business. You will get the money you need without the pressure of having to see your product or business thriving within a short amount of time. 

Planning Permission and Building Regulations Courses: Planning permission assesses whether the development fits in with local and national policies and whether it would cause unacceptable harm, for example, to neighbours' quality of life. Whereas building control covers the structural aspects of development and progress throughout the construction

AFRO-MEDITERRANEAN PARAMILITARY FINANCING

Military Payments

Sercurity Operations (SercOps) Payment: $150,000 yearly salary: Receives $100,000 salary; other $50,000 is used for branch-managed investment portfolio and investment trust

Discharge Payment: $75,000 yearly salary for Armoured Car Guard and Driver, Receives $50,000 salary; other $25,000 is used for branch-managed investment portfolio and investment trust

Military Funding: Central Hedge Fund Equity Given

Payment is in Fixed Currency

AFRO-MEDITERRANEAN SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS DEVELOPMENT CONFLICT PREVENTION AND RECONSTRUCTION (CPR) UNIT CENTERS

Corporate Sponsor: M & A Schools (Mergers and Acquisitions) & Retirement-preparatory School

Cross-Curriculum

STEM education is the cross-curricular study of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and the application of those subjects in real-world contexts.

Studying Style

I use Interleaving Studying for Generalist Kinaesthetic Learners.

Transition to Interleaving Studying: Online PowerPoint Presentation, Video Essays, Case Studies & Meta-analyses over Books to present Information as a country, Less Paper Use, Courses on Different PowerPoint Studying Styles, Make country a Business & Finance Culture and Technological Advanced, Overview at Beginning; Program Learning Concept Check During Quizzes at the End for Courses, Spaced Learning on concept checks before exiting the course.

A great example of when to use interleaving is sports, for instance, tennis. Instead of just practicing backhands in one session, you can interleave backhands, forehands, and volleys to get increased results. Another great example can be found in science classes, where interleaving math, physics, and chemistry, for example, can provide you with an advanced understanding of all 3 fields. 

Spaced learning is a learning method in which highly condensed learning content is repeated three times, with two 10-minute breaks during which distractor activities such as physical activities are performed by the students. It is based on the temporal pattern of stimuli for creating long-term memories reported by R. Douglas Fields in Scientific American in 2005.

Spacing boosts learning by spreading lessons and retrieval opportunities out over time so learning is not crammed all at once. By returning to content every so often, students' knowledge has had time to rest and be refreshed.

The two concepts are similar but essentially spacing is revision throughout the course, whereas interleaving is switching between ideas while you study. Although interleaving and spacing are different interventions, the two are linked because interleaving inherently introduces spacing. These two concepts will create student-athletes

The best part about interleaving is that it is almost a universal aid in learning

Evidence suggests that spaced practice is more effective for long-term retrieval.

Interleaving Studying forces the brain to continually retrieve because each practice attempt is different from the last, so rote responses pulled from short-term memory won’t work. 

Multiple choice test is an example of measuring retrieval by A. reconstruction. B. recognition.

Chess

Increasing Intelligence: Fluid and crystallized intelligence are constructs originally conceptualized by Raymond Cattell. The concepts of fluid and crystallized intelligence were further developed by Cattell and his former student John L. Horn. Crystallized intelligence. This refers to your vocabulary, knowledge, and skills. Crystallized intelligence typically increases as you get older. Fluid intelligence, also known as fluid reasoning, fluid intelligence is your ability to reason and think abstractly. Fluid intelligence refers to basic processes of reasoning and other mental activities that depend only minimally on prior learning (such as formal and informal education) and acculturation. Horn notes that it is formless, and can "flow into" a wide variety of cognitive activities Tasks measuring fluid reasoning require the ability to solve abstract reasoning problems. Examples of tasks that measure fluid intelligence include figure classifications, figural analyses, number and letter series, matrices, and paired associates. Crystallized intelligence refers to learned procedures and knowledge. It reflects the effects of experience and acculturation. Horn notes that crystallized ability is a "precipitate out of experience," resulting from the prior application of fluid ability that has been combined with the intelligence of culture. Examples of tasks that measure crystallized intelligence are vocabulary, general information, abstract word analogies, and the mechanics of language.

Bullet Chess: The rules for bullet chess aren't different from those of a regular chess game. Bullet chess refers to games played with time controls that are faster than 3 minutes per player. The most popular forms of bullet chess are 1|0 (one minute with no increment per player) or 2|1 (two minutes with a one-second increment per player). Increment (also known as bonus and Fischer since former World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer patented this timing method)—a specified amount of time is added to the players main time each move, unless the player's main time ran out before they completed their move.

Chess Benefits: It has been suggested by different scientists that chess involves, and possibly boosts, cognitive abilities such as working memory, fluid intelligence, and concentration capacity. Besides, chess may be beneficial for mathematical ability and, more widely, academic achievement by enhancing concentration and problem-solving skills.

Life-History Strategy

Life history theory posits that behavioral adaptation to various environmental (ecological and/or social) conditions encountered during childhood is regulated by a wide variety of different traits resulting in various behavioral strategies. Unpredictable and harsh conditions tend to produce fast life history strategies, characterized by early maturation, a higher number of sexual partners to whom one is less attached, and less parenting of offspring. Unpredictability and harshness not only affects dispositional social and emotional functioning, but may also promote the development of personality traits linked to higher rates of instability in social relationships or more self-interested behavior. Similarly, detrimental childhood experiences, such as poor parental care or high parent-child conflict, affect personality development and may create a more distrustful, malicious interpersonal style. The aim of this brief review is to survey and summarize findings on the impact of negative early-life experiences on the development of personality and fast life history strategies. By demonstrating that there are parallels in adaptations to adversity in these two domains, we hope to lend weight to current and future attempts to provide a comprehensive insight of personality traits and functions at the ultimate and proximate levels.

The Savant Skills Curriculum

Savant gifts, or splinter skills, may be exhibited in the following skill areas or domains: memory, hyperlexia (ie, the exceptional ability to read, spell and write), art, music, mechanical or spatial skill, calendar calculation, mathematical calculation, sensory sensitivity, athletic performance, and computer ability. These skills may be remarkable in contrast to the disability of autism, or may be in fact prodigious when viewed in relation to the non-disabled person.

Learning Centers

Enrichment centers require you to be aware of your students' learning styles (Kinesthetic) as well as their knowledge about a topic. The enrichment center can provide individual students with varied activities or combination of activities that differ from those pursued by other students. As such, the center becomes an individualized approach to the promotion of the topic.

Skill Centers Skill centers are typically used at the elementary level, more so than at the secondary level. Students may work on math facts, phonics elements, or other tasks requiring memorization and/or repetition.

Interest and Exploratory Centers: Interest and exploratory centers differ from enrichment and skill development centers in that they are designed to capitalize on the interests of students. They may not necessarily match the content of the textbook or the curriculum; instead they provide students with hands-on experiences they can pursue at their own pace and level of curiosity. These types of centers can be set up throughout the classroom, with students engaging in their own selection of activities during free time, upon arrival in the morning, as a “free-choice” activity during the day, or just prior to dismissal. These centers allow students to engage in meaningful discoveries that match their individual interests.

Programmed Learning

The way a teaching machine works is: It asks you a question. If you give the right answer, it goes on to the next question. If you give the wrong answer, it tells you why the answer is wrong and tells you to go back and try again. This is called "programmed learning". 

Programmed learning, educational technique characterized by self-paced, self-administered instruction presented in logical sequence and with much repetition of concepts. Programmed learning received its major impetus from the work done in the mid-1950s by the American behavioral psychologist B.F.

Exploratory Learning (Singapore Field Trips)

The Choice Theory Culture:

Is an expected way of being or living

Encourages positive choices which lead to healthy relationships

Is relationship based and collaborative

Is not about controlling behavior, rather promoting personal responsibility

Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset Theory

Growth Mindset: “In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. With a growth mindset, students continually work to improve their skills, leading to greater growth and ultimately, success. The key is to get students to tune into that growth mindset.

Dweck writes, “In the fixed mindset, everything is about the outcome. If you fail—or if you’re not the best—it’s all been wasted. The growth mindset allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome. They’re tackling problems, charting new courses, working on important issues. Maybe they haven’t found the cure for cancer, but the search was deeply meaningful,” (Dweck, 2015).

Poker as Intro to Portfolio Building

Famous Fund Managers who played Poker 

Steven A. Cohen (born June 11, 1956) is an American hedge fund manager and owner of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball since September 14, 2020, owning roughly 97.2% of the team. He is the founder of hedge fund Point72 Asset Management and now-closed S.A.C. Capital Advisors, both based in Stamford, Connecticut. Cohen grew up in Great Neck, New York, where his father was a dress manufacturer in Manhattan's garment district, and his mother was a piano teacher. He is the third of seven brothers and sisters. He took a liking to poker as a high school student, often betting his own money in tournaments, and credits the game with teaching him "how to take risks." Cohen graduated from John L. Miller Great Neck North High School in 1974, where he played on the school's soccer team. Cohen received an economics degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1978. While in school, Cohen was initiated as a brother of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity's Theta chapter where he served as treasurer. While in school, a friend helped him open a brokerage account with $1,000 of his tuition money.

Carl Icahn is one of the most recognisable and successful investors in the world, having far outperformed the market on an annualised basis since 1968; at a rate which, by some measures, has him ahead of Warren Buffett. Carl Icahn was born on the 16th February 1936 in Queens, New York. It was a beach neighbourhood and a poor area. His mother was a pianist, but dropped her dreams of pursuing it as a career and instead chose a more stable job as a school teacher. His father also became a substitute teacher. As you may expect with both parents involved in education, Carl was extremely studious. At high school, he didn’t involve himself in many activities such as sports and clubs, instead he had set himself the big goal of making it to an Ivy League university; something most people in his area had no chance of doing. His teacher didn’t even think it was worth him applying, but this made him even more determined to be different. He had a mind-set that he wanted to be the best at everything. Icahn’s parents said they would only pay for university if he got into one of the top Ivy League universities. Although no one thought he stood a chance, he managed to enrol at Princeton University and studied philosophy as his major. His parents fulfilled their promise and paid for his Princeton fees but couldn’t stretch to anything else such as his accommodation or food. Instead, Carl got himself a summer job at a Cabana club in his neighbourhood to fund his living costs. It was at the Cabana club that he learnt how to play poker and joined in the games regularly. He says at the start he didn’t know how to play, but then he read 3 poker books in 2 weeks and became the best player there, taking home huge winning each summer. He says: “To me, it was a big game, big stakes. Every summer I won about $2,000, which was like $50,000 back in the ‘50s”

Brain Training: How Regular Poker Play Could Help Soccer Stars Succeed: An athlete’s brain is their most vital organ. It controls how the body functions, and it needs to be cultivated and disciplined just like the muscles do. Those in the industry are constantly searching for new ways to help soccer players get their heads in the game, and it turns out that poker can help immensely. By sharpening cognitive function, increasing social awareness, and improving mental endurance, poker enables athletes to rise to the occasion for peak performance on the field.

Conflict Prevention & Reconstruction Unit Psychology

Reintegration of child soldiers should emphasize three components: family reunification, psychosocial support and education, and economic opportunity. Family reunification—or, where that is not possible, foster placement or support for independent living—is crucial to successful reintegration.

Children are reintegrated into community life through the provision of psychosocial support, life skills classes and basic vocational training. At the end of the program, participants are provided with small grants to start businesses.

Post-traumatic growth (PTG) is a theory that explains this kind of transformation following trauma. It was developed by psychologists Richard Tedeschi, PhD, and Lawrence Calhoun, PhD, in the mid-1990s, and holds that people who endure psychological struggle following adversity can often see positive growth afterward. Post-traumatic growth often happens naturally, Tedeschi says, but it can be facilitated in five ways: through education (rethinking ourselves, our world, and our future), emotional regulation (managing our negative emotions and reflecting on successes and possibilities), disclosure (articulating what is happening and its effects), narrative development (shaping the story of a trauma and deriving hope from famous stories of crucible leadership), and service (finding work that benefits others).

People who have experienced posttraumatic growth report changes in the following 5 factors: Appreciation of life; Relating to others; Personal strength; New possibilities; and Spiritual, existential or philosophical changes

Although posttraumatic growth often happens naturally, without psychotherapy or other formal intervention, it can be facilitated in five ways: through education, emotional regulation, disclosure, narrative development, and service.

Forgeard found that the form of cognitive processing was critical in explaining growth after trauma. Intrusive forms of rumination caused a decline in multiple areas of growth, whereas deliberate rumination led to an increase in five domains of posttraumatic growth. Deliberate rumination involves perceiving multilateral sides of the stressful experience including value, meaning, and significance (Calhoun et al., 2000; Cann et al., 2011), and may also decrease the discrepancy between global and situational meanings, as it promote finding meaning. Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) & Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) is a recommended psychotherapy

The two psychological traits which indicate a higher likelihood of experiencing post-traumatic growth are openness to experience and extraversion. Novelty seeking is positively associated with the Big Five personality trait of "extraversion," and to a lesser extent “openness to experience,” but is inversely associated with "conscientiousness." Online poker players are high sensation seekers who gamble to experience strong feelings and arousal, whereas impulsivity plays an important role in developing and maintaining pathological gambling.

CORPORATE SPONSOR: BETA-ARBITRAGE M & A EXAM

Poker Contest: Bankroll Budget*

Math Contest: Linear Algebra Contest, Probability and Ratios

Investment Management Contest: Decentralized Portfolio Building Simulation

Latin and Mandarin Technical Analysis Settings Fair: Year-Long Competition 

Blues Ocean Strategy Game Theory Network Mergers & Acquisitions Contest: Macau Game Theory - The course includes modules in areas such as: Essentials of M&A, Due diligence training, Business valuation training, post-merger integration planning

Machine Learning Contest: Quantitative Aptitude 

Winners Get a Full Ride to Internships (Licenes Courses I'm Gonna Make with Established Schools and Banks) Freshman Class is made of the contest winners: Mergers & Acquisitions Generalization with Corporate Sponsor; Understanding Capital Markets, Game Theory, Investment Model & Analysis, Quantitative Aptitude, Hedging Techniques, Foreign Language, Business Engineering, Business Models & Reengineering, Offshore Law, Blue Ocean Strategy, Investment Management with Python (Machine Learning)

Ages: 10, 12, 14, 17, 18, 20

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS DEVELOPMENT CENTRES

Socioeconomic status is the social standing or class of an individual or group. It is often measured as a combination of education, income, and occupation.

EdTech

 Business Model: Grants, corporate sponsorships, and recruiting business FutureLearn is another MOOC heavyweight with 210+ partners that include universities, humanitarian foundations, and large businesses. Some startups even rely on corporate sponsorship as their main business model

Generalist Education

VAMMMBRGC: Volleyball, Acting, Modelling, Music, Martial Arts, Ballet (Female), Rings Gymnastics (Male), Graffiti (Art), Cooking (Gastronomy)

STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics

M&A: Merger, Acquasitions

Welfare Investment Program 

Fund through Rental Properties: Bond Funds, REITs

Credit Building Program: Line of Credit Deposit Program

Job Placement for Agriculture Working Class

Agricultural Industry means an industrial activity involving the processing, cleaning, packing or storage of the results from agricultural production. The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also "Designation of workers by collar colour") include blue-collar jobs, and most pink-collar jobs. Members of the working class rely exclusively upon earnings from wage labour; thus, according to more inclusive definitions, the category can include almost all of the working population of industrialized economies, as well as those employed in the urban areas (cities, towns, villages) of non-industrialized economies or in the rural workforce.

As with many terms describing social class, working class is defined and used in many different ways. The most general definition, used by many socialists, is that the working class includes all those who have nothing to sell but their labour. These people used to be referred to as the proletariat. In that sense, the working class today includes both white and blue-collar workers, manual and menial workers of all types, excluding only individuals who derive their livelihood from business ownership and the labour of others. The term, which is primarily used to evoke images of laborers suffering "class disadvantage in spite of their individual effort," can also have racial connotations. These racial connotations imply diverse themes of poverty that imply whether one is deserving of aid.

COMMODITIES REAL ESTATE

Insurance Premium, Financial Electronic Data Interchange, Royalties, Lease, & Gross Sale Payments for Restaurant Clientele Grocery Stores and Delivery Food Courts:

A lease payment is the equivalent of the monthly rent, which is formally dictated under a contract between two parties, granting one participant the legal right to use the other individual's real estate holdings, manufacturing equipment, computers, software, or other fixed assets, for a specified amount of time.

Gross sales refer to the grand total of all sales transactions over a given time period. This doesn't include the cost-of-sales or deductions (like returns or allowance). To calculate a company's gross sales, add up the total sales revenue for a specified period of time—monthly, quarterly, or annually. 

A franchise (or franchising) is a method of distributing products or services involving a franchisor, who establishes the brand's trademark or trade name and a business system, and a franchisee, who pays a royalty and often an initial fee for the right to do business under the franchisor's name and system. Royalties is the amount someone pays you to use your property, after you subtract the expenses you have for the property.

CONFLUENCE FOREX & COMMODITIES BETA-ARBITRAGE FORMULA

Trading Psychology: Play Defense, Focus on preserving capital instead of gaining capital

Position Trading: Currency being used, Shorting Low-Interest Currency against High-Value Currency Or Currency Being used, Shorting Low Interest/High-Value Currency against High-Interest Currency. Examples: Carry-Roll Down Bonds, CFD Forex Gold

Swing Trading: Use mt4/mt5 With Heiken Ashi Charts, Setting at 14 or 21 Momentum Indicator above 0 as Divergence Oscillator and VSA as Reversal Oscillator and Trade when bullish candlesticks above 200 exponential moving average and/or 20 exponential moving average (EMA) on H1 (Hourly) Time Frame; use H4 (4 Hours) and D1 (1 Day) as reference. Works for Oil & Gold Commodities

Master Supply and Demand (S&D) Zones (banks use this)

Candlestick Patterns for Momentum: Bearish Engulfing, Hanging Man, Shooting Star Three Crows, Evening Star, (Short). Bullish Engulfing, The Bearish Inverted Hammer or Regular Hammer (Regardless of Colour), Morning Star, and Piercing Line (Long) are extremely Important

Candlestick Patterns for VSA When Volume Spikes Down and Price is Up Bearish: Shooting Star, Doji, Hanging Man, Doji-Star

Candlestick Patterns for VSA When Volume Spikes Up and Price is Down Bullish: Hammer, Inverted Hammer, Doji, Doji-Star

S&D Reversal Patterns: The Drop-Base-Rally is a bullish reversal pattern, The Rally-Base-Drop is a bearish reversal pattern

S&D Continuation patterns: The Rally-Base-Rally is a bullish continuation pattern, The Drop-Base-Rally is a bearish continuation pattern

Swing Trading Time Frame H1 (Hourly) Reference D1 and H4 to locate supply and demand zones Pivot Points and VSA

Heiken Ashi Candlesticks Much easier to read candlestick charts and analyze market trends

Using Pivot Points for Prediction A pivot point is a technical analysis indicator, or calculations, used to determine the overall trend of the market over different time frames Works for commodities

Exponential Moving Average (EMA) 200 Day 20 Day

Momentum Indicator Settings 14 or 21

Volume Spread Analysis (VSA Trading) Entry 4 Steps: Identify the trend, Identify the sign of weakness in an existing uptrend, Wait to test the weakness for confirmation for the continuation of the uptrend, Look for any bullish reversal candlestick pattern for entry.

Relative Strength Index (RSI) Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a momentum indicator. It is a single line ranging from 0 to 100 which indicates when the stock is overbought or oversold in the market. If the reading is above 70, it indicates an overbought market and if the reading is below 30, it is an oversold market. RSI is also used to estimate the trend of the market, if RSI is above 50, the market is an uptrend and if the RSI is below 50, the market is a downtrend.

Commodity Channel Index Commodity Channel Index identifies new trends in the market. It has values of 0, +100, and -100. If the value is positive, it indicates uptrend, if the CCI is negative, it indicates that the market is in the downtrend. CCI is coupled with RSI to obtain information about overbought and oversold stocks.

What is Cash-and-Carry-Arbitrage? Cash-and-carry-arbitrage is a market-neutral strategy combining the purchase of a long position in an asset such as a stock or commodity, and the sale (short) of a position in a futures contract on that same underlying asset. A cash-secured put is an income options strategy that involves writing a put option on a stock or ETF and simultaneously putting aside the capital to buy the stock if you are assigned.

What are Gold CFD? A contract for difference (CFD) is a popular type of derivative that allows you to trade on margin, providing you with greater exposure to the gold market. Instead of purchasing gold itself, you buy or sell units for a given financial instrument depending on whether you think the underlying price will rise or fall.

What is Quanto Option? The Quanto option is a cash-settled, cross-currency derivative in which the underlying asset has a payoff in one country, but the payoff is converted to another currency in which the option is settled.

Hedging Strategies: Forex and Commodities CFD, Crude Oil Cash-secured Put Options (Binary Options)

TURF ACCOUNTANT

Beta-Arbitrage (PROFITS FOR BOOKMAKER)

+EV (Investment)

Live Betting (Balance Sheets)

BRANCH BRACKET DISCOUNTED CASH FLOW PORTFOLIO BET SLIP

+EV Round Robin instead of WACC Portfolio

$5 Units

GAME THEORY OPTIMAL POKER WITH LOOSE AGGRESSIVE & GROWTH INVESTING

Growth Investing Strategy & Game Theory

Japanese Candlestick Charts: Bullish Engulfing

Discounted Cash Flow Model: EV (Expected Value replaces WACC)

Mixed Strategy 

Fold Equity 

Community Cards

Companies Charts and Historical Financials

Royal Flush

Straight Flush

4 of a Kind

Full House

Flush

Hands

FCF of Companies

Strategy

Every chart starts with a green candlestick

Depending on your hand the second candlestick is either green or red

Green for the top 5 hands: Listed above

Red for the bottom 5 hands

If it's green invest by betting

If it's red fold

The third candlestick depends on the Flop

The fourth candlestick depends on The Turn 

As more money gets betted the Green candlestick gets larger

After The Flop risk-assessment and probability needs to be accounted for

After The Flop, The Turn, and The River it is possible for a red candlestick to appear because of a fold or a better hand because you lost money. Judge how much money you lost by the size of the candlesticks growth

Tony Dunst Tips

Learn to think in Big Blinds, Opponents are Effective Big Blinds 

Identify Player Types then Adjust

Study Big Blind Defense Frequency (Hand Ranges)

Work on Bubble and Final Table Play (Independent Chip Model)

Build 3 Betting Ranges

AFRO-MEDITERRANEAN SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS VOLLEYBALL SPORTS PERFORMANCE FOR KINAESTHETIC LEARNERS

Volleyball Physiological Age System for Both Genders: Plyometric High-Intensity Interval Training Through Cross Training, Wingspan Through Cross Training, Unstable Surface Muscle Recruitment Contrast Training, Isometric-Plyometric-Sprint-or-Vertical Jump Contrast Conditioning, Intermittent Hypoxic Training (IHT) Weighted Jump Rope Respiratory Conditioning, Functional Threshold Power (FTP) Cycling, Fascia and Central Pattern Generator Skill Development, Stretch-Reflex Elastic Strength Training, Running-Based Anaerobic Sprint Test (RAST), Stimulus-Fatigue-Recovery-Adaptation for Supercompensation, Autophagy Recovery, High Fat and High Carb with Lipolysis Supplement Nutrition: 3 Fuels of Energy in Oxygen, Fat, and Glucose, Convert Hybrid Muscle Fibers

Stretch Goal of Having a Physiological Age of 25

Volleyball is an aerobic sport with additional anaerobic demands. This will require volleyball players to work both energy systems, making cardiorespiratory conditioning very important. The aerobic, or lower intensity training, will help build a strong cardio base that is needed for a long match. A study done on college athletes showed that gymnasts and volleyball players had significantly higher bone mineral density than swimmers, which is considered a low-impact sport.

Collagen Athletes: Researchers found that a year of daily collagen peptides supplementation measurably increased bone mineral density in the lumbar spine and in the upper femur. The women also had higher levels of a blood biomarker that indicates bone formation. Collagen provides resistance to tension and stretch, which commonly occur in fascial tissues, such as ligaments, tendons, sheaths, muscular fascia and deeper fascial sub-layers. Julio Jones and Cam Newton do Fascia Beach Workouts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unm5dvlcqL4

Offensive Systems 5-1 System Rotation 1: Setter Starts in Right Back, Rotation Offense to Middle Front, Run One Man or Two Man Routes, Call out Formations

Defensive Systems Middle Back Systems: The Set is important to determine if there’s enough time for one man, two man, or three man block. Shots to Plan for: Dink, Off-speed, and Angle. Setting Blocks: Mix Sequencing of Jump Two Man and Three Man Back

Anta Sports Fashion Collab Circuits (Graffiti Beachwear Fashion Week and Trade Show): Key City Tournaments

Planned Pregnancy: Mercury-Venus Cusp, MSTN Gene, ACTN3 Gene, and XYY Syndrome or Triple X Syndrome

CARTEL THEORY

HSBC Bank Holding Company Equity Financing

What Is a Bank Holding Company? A bank holding company is a corporation that owns a controlling interest in one or more banks but does not itself offer banking services. Holding companies do not run the day-to-day operations of the banks they own. However, they exercise control over management and company policies. They can hire and fire managers, set and evaluate strategies, and monitor the performance of subsidiaries’ businesses.

What Is Equity Financing? Equity financing is the process of raising capital through the sale of shares. Companies raise money because they might have a short-term need to pay bills or have a long-term goal and require funds to invest in their growth. By selling shares, a company is effectively selling ownership in their company in return for cash. Equity financing comes from many sources: for example, an entrepreneur's friends and family, investors, or an initial public offering (IPO). An IPO is a process that private companies undergo to offer shares of their business to the public in a new stock issuance. Public share issuance allows a company to raise capital from public investors. 

Palmiers Noirs Rivals

United Kingdom

Jews

Luxembourg (EU Blacklist Creator)

Latin Kings

Sinaloa Cartel

Sonora Cartel

Colombian Cartels

Neymar

Banker Title

Croupier Comptable: An investment banker who has experienced decadence through Casino Capitalism 

Palmiers Noirs Structure

Clandestine Cell System

A clandestine cell system is a method for organizing a group of people (such as resistance fighters, sleeper agents, mobsters, or terrorists) such that such people can more effectively resist penetration by an opposing organization (such as law enforcement or military units).

In a cell structure, each of the small group of people in the cell know the identities of the people only in their own cell. Thus any cell member who is apprehended and interrogated (or who is a mole) will not likely know the identities of the higher-ranking individuals in the organization.

The structure of a clandestine cell system can range from a strict hierarchy to an extremely distributed organization, depending on the group's ideology, its operational area, the communications technologies available, and the nature of the mission.

Criminal organizations, undercover operations, and unconventional warfare units led by special forces may also use this sort of organizational structure.

Infrastructure cells

Any clandestine or covert service, especially a non-national one, needs a variety of technical and administrative functions, such as: Recruitment/training, Forged documents/counterfeit currency, Finance/Fundraising, Communications, Transportation/Logistics, Safehouses, Reconnaissance/Counter-surveillance, Operational planning, Arms and ammunition, and Psychological operations

A national intelligence service has a support organization to deal with services like finance, logistics, facilities (e.g., safehouses), information technology, communications, training, weapons and explosives, medical services, etc. Transportation alone is a huge function, including the need to buy tickets without drawing suspicion, and, where appropriate, using private vehicles. Finance includes the need to transfer money without coming to the attention of financial security organizations.

Cartel Definition

Cartel is an ambiguous concept, which usually refers to a combination or agreement between rivals, but – derived from this – also designates organized crime. The main use of ‘cartel’ is that of an anticompetitive association in the economy. 

Price cartels engage in price fixing, normally to raise prices for a commodity above the competitive price level.

Cartel Theory

Cartel theory is usually understood as the doctrine of economic cartels. However, since the concept of 'cartel' does not have to be limited to the field of the economy, doctrines on non-economic cartels are conceivable in principle. Such exist already in the form of the state cartel theory and the cartel party theory. For the pre-modern cartels, which existed as rules for tournaments, duels and court games or in the form of inter-state fairness agreements, there was no scientific theory. Such has developed since the 1880s for the scope of the economy, driven by the need to understand and classify the mass emergence of entrepreneurial cartels. Within the economic cartel theory, one can distinguish a classical and a modern phase. The break between the two was set through the enforcement of a general cartel ban after the Second World War by the US government.

Constituent characteristics and exclusion criteria for cartels

Constituent criteria for cartels would be the following: The members are, at the same time, partners as well as competitors (so do e.g. enterprises, states, parties, duelists, tournament knights).  These members can be individual persons or organizations. The members of a cartel are independent of each other, negotiating their interests with each other and against each other. So there have to be at least two participants and they determine their interests autonomously. The members of a cartel know each other; they have a direct relationship, in particular they communicate with each other.

Exclusion criteria for cartels would be the following: There is a "hierarchical" or other strong "dependency relationship among the participants": a drug mafia that is organized hierarchically and managed by a single boss can't be a drug cartel in the sense of a real "cartel". KLikewise, a business corporation can't be a "cartel" due to its central management, which controls its subsidiaries. Furthermore, an OPEC, in which all adherents would be dependent on the largest member (since long: Saudi Arabia) would no longer be a "cartel". Similarly, colonial empires from a motherland and colonies do not constitute a "state cartel". The union of competitors, in their entirety or via important members of its association, is dependent on an outside power. A strict, state-mandated compulsory cartel without freedom of choice between the partners would not be a (real) cartel. A suitable example is the "Deutsche Wagenbau-Vereinigung" (German Railway Cars Association), which was organized in the 1920s by the "Deutsche Reichsbahn" (German Imperial Railways) – its "market opponent". The combination takes place between actors of different levels. Thus, the concerted actions of employers’ associations and trade unions in some industrialized countries was not a cartel, because the allies there were no homogenous competitors. The alleged members of a suspected cartel do not know each other, but only randomly show a parallel behavior: “Cartels of the godless”, “cartels of maintenance deniers” or “silent cartels” are therefore usually no real cartels, but pure verbal abuse formulas.

MACAU ECONOMICS

Science

Science of Aesthetics

Nutritional Biochemistry

Vertical-Rotational Force Kinetic Chain

Biomechanics

Sports Medicine

Technology

Biotechnology

FinTeach

RealTeach

Merger & Acquisition EdTech

Engineering

Business Engineering (Tribes Organism and Keynesian Macroeconomics)

Construction Management

Business Model Reengineering

Mathematics (Decentralized Central Banking)

Investment Management

Monetary Policy & Central Banking

Wolf Packs are Generalist

David Epstein examined the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists. He discovered that in most fields—especially those that are complex and unpredictable—generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They’re also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see.

Wolves are habitat “generalists,” meaning they can adapt to living in many kinds of habitat. They basically need two things to thrive: abundant prey and human tolerance.

Trophic Cascade, an ecological phenomenon triggered by the addition or removal of top predators and involving reciprocal changes in the relative populations of predator and prey through a food chain, which often results in dramatic changes in ecosystem structure and nutrient cycling. (Trillwave in Macau)

A keystone species is an organism that helps define an entire ecosystem. Without its keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether. Keystone species have low functional redundancy. (Trillwave in Macau)

Unpredictable and harsh conditions tend to produce fast life history strategies, characterized by early maturation, a higher number of sexual partners to whom one is less attached, and less parenting of offspring.

BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY BY RENÉE MAUBORGNE AND W. CHAN KIM (COURTESY OF BLINKIST)

What’s in it for me? Conquer uncontested market space.

Every business asks themselves the same question: how can we beat out the competition? And almost every business comes up with the same answer: we need to become bigger, better, and faster to outperform our rivals.

But what if your business didn’t have to beat the competition because there wasn’t any? What if you could enjoy unlimited growth without worrying about limited demand? This isn’t some idle fantasy but a strategic approach that a handful of successful businesses have already made reality. How did they do it? And how can your business do the same? This short Blink will give you a taste.

Escape your competition by setting sail to a blue ocean.

When you establish a new business, competition can be brutal. Whether you’re selling wine, audio books, or life insurance, the market for a product can only get so big. So you’re left to fight with hundreds of other companies for your share of a limited demand. No surprise that America’s most popular business TV show is called Shark Tank! Markets today are like oceans, swarming with hungry companies ready to kill each other. There’s so much blood in the water, we can call these markets red oceans. 

But every once in a while, a company emerges that seems to sail past all the competition. These are businesses that rise fast, grow uncontested, and seem to play by their own rules. What are they doing differently?

Well, instead of fighting over scraps in red oceans, these businesses navigate uncharted territory: blue oceans. You can think of blue oceans as all the markets we haven’t yet discovered, for products and services that don’t yet exist. Demand isn’t limited because demand isn’t there – it has to be created. But this isn’t a handicap, it’s an opportunity. Because if the size of your market isn’t limited, neither are your growth and profits.

In blue oceans, the water isn’t bloodied by cut-throat competition. It’s deep, clear, and full of undiscovered potential. The blue ocean strategy gives you the methodology and tools to conquer such uncontested markets. The basic tenet is this: It’s true that the space in a certain industry might be limited. But who’s to say that a business can’t create an entirely new industry?

Let’s look at an example of this in action: famous Canadian circus company Cirque du Soleil. With its extraordinary variety shows, Cirque du Soleil has entertained millions of people worldwide. On top of that, it’s made record profits. Not something you would expect from a circus company! How did the company do it?

Well, Cirque du Soleil did two interesting things. First, it got rid of the old circus staple of animal acts. Then, it supplemented its human acts with live music and compelling storylines. The first move reduced costs while the second introduced exciting new elements into the world of circus. In effect, Cirque du Soleil created a blue ocean: it carved out an entirely new market for artistic theater experiences. And people love it.

Lower your costs and differentiate yourself.

Perhaps you find the example of a circus company a bit too eclectic? No problem. There are thousands of other businesses that have successfully implemented a blue ocean strategy. Companies like Ford, Nintendo, Netflix, Nespresso, Yellow Tail, Southwest Airlines, and even The Body Shop. In this section, we’ll take a closer look at how they succeeded.

But first, a few more words about red oceans. In red oceans – industries that are already established – everyone plays by agreed rules. Not so long ago, these rules might have looked something like this: “Movies can be bought or rented.” “Wine needs to have an air of sophistication.” “Air travel is expensive.” But in blue oceans, none of these rules apply. Blue oceans are actively shaped by the actions of the industry players who create them.

Let’s be clear – you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to establish a blue ocean. Often, a few little tweaks are enough to set a product apart from its competitors and create a new market. It’s really quite simple: Take a close look at your industry as it is right now. Then think about which factors you can Raise, Eliminate, Reduce, and Create. Let’s go through these points step-by-step with examples.

Raise. Think about how you can elevate the product quality, price point, or service standards of your industry. Southwest Airlines did this when it became the first US airline to make domestic flights quick, easy, and affordable for everyone.

Eliminate. Consider which aspects of your product or service can be cut completely. Remember how Cirque du Soleil got rid of costly and unethical animal acts? Every industry has some outdated practice they’d be better off abandoning.

Reduce. Look at which production processes, product features or service offers you can reduce. Australian wine brand Yellow Tail, for instance, decided to reduce its focus on prestigious vineyards and the aging process in favor of affordable wines with broad appeal.

Create. Brainstorm what new features you can offer your customers. Netflix is a premium example of this that barely needs an explanation: it was the first company to offer on-demand streaming for movies and TV shows.

Ideally, considering these questions will help you do two things: lower your costs and differentiate your business from the competition. And that’s really all you need to create a blue ocean. Even more so, if your company keeps addressing these four factors – that’s raise, eliminate, reduce, and create –, it will stay one step ahead of the competition at all times.

Final summary

In this short Blink, you’ve learned about the difference between red and blue oceans. Rather than competing for limited market space, successful businesses often capture new markets with unlimited potential. They’re discovered by raising, eliminating, reducing, and creating industry factors in a way that lowers costs and sets your business apart from the competition.

RANGE BY DAVID EPSTEIN (COURTESY OF BLINKIST)

What’s in it for me? Learn why taking a wide-ranging approach to life will pay off.

In our complex and cutthroat world, there’s a lot of pressure to get a head start and specialize early. Many successful people, such as Tiger Woods, start to focus on one path early in life. But delve a little deeper, and it becomes clear that it’s generalists, not specialists, who are primed to excel.

Generalists may take a little longer to find their path in life, but they are more creative, can make connections between diverse fields that specialists cannot. This makes them more innovative and, ultimately, more impactful.

Drawing on examples from medicine to academia to sport, these blinks explore how breadth and range are far more powerful than specialized expertise. They also show that experts often judge their own fields more narrowly than open-minded, intellectually curious amateurs do.

In these blinks, you’ll learn; what comic books have to tell us about the ingredients of success, how the complexity of modern life has changed the way we think, and why you should be a Roger; not a Tiger.

Starting early and specializing is fashionable, but has dubious merit.

At the age of ten months old, Tiger Woods picked up his first miniature golf club. At two, he showed off his golf drive on national television. Later that same year, he entered and won his first tournament in the under ten category. Tiger Woods embodies a now popular idea that the key to success in life is to specialize, get a head start and practice intensively.

This trend toward specialization doesn’t only show up in the sports world. In fact, it’s also true of academia, our complex financial system and medicine. Oncologists, for example, now rarely focus on cancer alone. Rather, they specialize in cancer of a particular organ. The writer and surgeon Atul Gawande notes that when doctors joke about right-ear surgeons, we shouldn’t be so quick to assume they don’t actually exist.

But is specializing really the way to go? Simply put, no. In many walks of life, building up experience in just one field doesn’t help performance. In a 2009 paper, psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Gary Klein explored the connection between experience and performance.

Klein shows that experience counts in certain fields. For firefighters, for example, years of focused experience trains them to recognize patterns in the behavior of flames, which enables them to make 80 percent of their on-the-job decisions instinctively in seconds.

But Kahneman found that in other areas, experience counted for nothing. Studying the assessment of officer candidates in the Israeli Defence Forces, he found that recruiters’ predictions of a recruit’s future performance, based on physical and mental abilities, were no more reliable than guesswork. Crucially, as the recruiters received more and more feedback after multiple recruitment rounds, they didn’t get any better at making predictions. Kahneman concluded that there was a complete disconnect between experience and performance.

Some fields of life resemble golf or firefighting. While not necessarily easy, they offer recurring patterns or simple rules that govern decision-making. But there are many more fields of life, like army recruitment, that are much more nebulous and require the creativity and flexibility that generalization offers.

Experimentation is as reliable a route to expertise as early specialization.

In 2006, a now 31-year-old Tiger Woods watched Roger Federer win the US Open final for the third year in a row. Both were at the peak of their powers. As they sipped champagne together in the locker room afterward, Federer felt he had never connected with someone who understood his feeling of invincibility so well. They became firm friends. But, as Roger later told a biographer, his story was very different from Tiger’s.

Roger’s mom was a tennis coach, but if she ever felt tempted to coach him, she resisted it. As a young boy, he dabbled in squash, skiing, wrestling, skateboarding, basketball, tennis and badminton. Later, he gave credit to this range of sports experience for helping his hand-eye coordination and athleticism.

Over time, he found that he liked sports with balls. He moved toward tennis as a teenager, but not intensively. In fact, when his instructors recognized his talent and tried to move him to a group of older players, he asked to stay in the group with his friends. Roger Federer’s winding path to tennis success points to the fact that sampling, rather than specialization, can often be the best route to eventual success.  

And plenty of evidence across multiple disciplines supports this. This is true even in an area like music, where plenty of outstanding musicians do specialize young. World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, for instance, started playing music at a very young age. But what many people don’t know is that Ma first tried violin and piano, and only moved to the cello because he didn’t like the first two.

Yo-Yo Ma isn’t alone in this. In a study of students at a British boarding school, music psychologist John Sloboda found that every one of the students who attended structured music lessons early in their development was categorized by the school as “average,” while not one was “exceptional.” In contrast, those children identified as exceptional were those who had tried out three instruments.

So, if you haven’t yet found your calling, experiment. You could take Vincent van Gogh as inspiration. He tried everything from working in bookstores to teaching and art dealing to preaching before finding his calling as an artist who changed painting forever.

Let’s find out how this works.

Living in a complex world has increased the average person’s IQ and ability to think abstractly.

In 1981, James Flynn, a professor of political studies from the beautiful hilly town of Dunedin in New Zealand, changed the way we think about thinking.

Flynn stumbled upon reports of IQ test scores of American troops that showed dramatic improvement between the two World Wars. The same score that placed a World War I soldier in the 50th percentile would only land him in the 22nd percentile of World War II troops. Intrigued, Flynn asked researchers in other countries for data. He received IQ test results from the Netherlands that showed similarly huge leaps from generation to generation. He then compiled data from 14 other nations.

In what’s now known as the Flynn effect, this research reveals an average three-point increase in IQ every decade in over 30 countries. But what causes this rapid rise? The work of a Russian psychologist, Alexander Luria, gives us an idea.

In 1931, the Soviet Union was changing rapidly. Remote, essentially premodern villages operating in ways unchanged for centuries were converted to collective farms with industrialized development, planned production and division of labor.

Luria capitalized on this rate of change to conduct unique studies. In one experiment, he asked villagers to sort wools into groups. In more modern villages, people would happily group similar pieces of wool, like those in different shades of blue. But in the remote, still premodern villages, participants simply refused to do so. According to them, each piece of wool was different – it was an impossible task!

Other questions involving conceptual thinking got a similar response. One villager, named Rakmat, was shown a picture of three adults and one child and asked which person did not belong. But Rakmat didn’t think about the question abstractly, as we would, and identify the child as different. Instead, he insisted that the boy must stay with the adults and help them with their work.

Luria’s findings were clear. The more exposure to modernization, the greater the ability to make conceptual connections between objects or abstract notions. Today, our minds are constantly dealing with abstract concepts. We glance at a download progress bar on our computer, for example, and instantly understand its meaning. Our minds are better at understanding a breadth of topics and making connections between ideas than ever before.

And yet, we continue to narrow our conceptual focus.

If you want it to stick, learning should be slow and hard, not quick and easy.

The teachers you liked the most in your educational career might be the ones who taught you the least. A study of teaching at the US Air Force Academy tracked the progress of thousands of students working with hundreds of different professors, starting with Calculus I classes. It found that the professors whose students’ got better grades on the exam were also highly rated in student evaluations. The professors whose students did not receive good grades received harsher student feedback.

But when the economists conducting the study looked at long-term results, there was a twist. The professors who received positive feedback had a net negative effect on their students in the long run. In contrast, those professors who received worse feedback actually inspired better student performance later on.

Rather than teaching to the test, these professors appeared to be facilitating a deeper understanding of underlying math concepts. It made their classes frustrating and difficult, hence the poor grades and student evaluations. But it paid off in the long run. Those professors were using desirable difficulties – harder, but ultimately more rewarding, ways to learn.

There are certain techniques we can all use that embrace desirable difficulties. One such technique is spacing, which means leaving time between learning something and practicing it. Consider a 1987 study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. This study separated Spanish students into two groups, testing one group on vocabulary that they had learned the same day, and the other group weeks later. Eight years later, and with no further study in the interim, the two groups were tested again. The results showed that the latter group could remember over 200 percent more words.

Even short-term spacing is effective. In a 1972 study, researchers at Iowa State University read people a series of words. The first group of participants was asked to recite the words straight away. Another group was asked to recite them after being distracted for fifteen seconds by some simple math problems.

The first group did considerably better than the group that was distracted. But later the same day, the participants were asked to write down each word they could recall. This time, the group that previously performed worse did the best. The process of working hard to recall the information in the first instance had helped them move it from short-term to long-term memory.

So, don’t get too excited by quick progress when you learn. Embrace hard, slow learning. It will pay off in the long run.

A narrow focus is unhelpful, and a remedy for this is to think outside the box.

In some environments, dealing with specialists is desirable. If you need an operation, you probably want a doctor who specializes in the procedure and has done it many times before. However, as we benefit from more reflection and thinking, this narrow focus can be unhelpful.

For example, cardiologists use stents – metal tubes that hold blood vessels open – to treat chest pain so often that they often do so reflexively, even in situations that may be dangerous or inappropriate. This explains a 2015 study by Dr. Anupam Jena of Harvard Medical School. The study found that patients with cardiac arrest or heart failure were actually less likely to die if they were admitted to hospital while top cardiologists were away.

Other fields also point to the benefits of looking at problems with an outside view, rather than the inside view dictated by your own particular specialty.

In a study by University of Sydney professor Dan Lovallo, private equity investors were asked to provide a detailed assessment of businesses they were considering investing in, including their estimated return on investment. The investors were then asked to write notes about some other projects with broad similarities, like another tech start-up or an infrastructure project.

It turned out that the investors’ estimates of returns for the businesses they were actually planning to invest in were around 50 percent higher than for those alternative projects they had identified but not looked at in detail. The investors were shocked to discover the differences, and quickly slashed their estimated profit for their original potential investments.

As further psychological research has repeatedly shown, the more details we consider about something, the more extreme our judgments become. In one example, students rated a university higher when told that only certain science departments, rather than all science departments, were ranked in the national top ten.

Clearly, failing to see things from a broad perspective can lead to some bad calls.

A breadth of experience and interest drives innovation.

Comic books can tell us a surprising amount about range and success. When Dartmouth business professor Alva Taylor and Henrik Greve from the Norwegian School of Management decided to examine the impact of individual breadth on creative impact, they chose to study comics.

Tracking the careers of comic creators and the commercial success of thousands of comic books from 1971 onward, they made some predictions about what would boost the average value of a comic. They predicted that the more comics a creator made, the better the comics would be. Further, they thought that the more resources a publisher had, the higher quality and more successful its product would be.

All these assumptions were wrong. Neither experience nor financial resources bred success. What did drive success was the breadth of a comic creator’s experience across comic genres. Of 22 genres, the more a creator had worked in, from comedy to crime, fantasy to non-fiction, the more successful they were. But this link between breadth and success isn’t just the case in creative or artistic worlds.

Andy Ouderkirk, an inventor at the multinational company 3M, was named Innovator of the Year in 2013 and has been named on 170 patents, a proxy for creative success. He became fascinated with what generates successful and inventive teams, so he started to do some research. He found that the inventors who were most likely to succeed within 3M and win the company’s Carlton Award, which recognized innovation, were not specialists. They were polymaths, people with one area of depth, but a great deal of expertise in other areas as well.

These polymaths tended to have many patents in their area of focus, but also repeatedly took expertise gathered in one area and applied it to another. A study of prestigious scientists led by Robert Root Bernstein, a Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University, confirm Ouderkirk’s findings. Comparing Nobel prize-winning scientists to other scientists, the figures show that Nobel laureates are a full 22 times more likely to be an amateur actor, magician, dancer or performer.

So, for any hiring managers out there looking for fresh talent, here’s a plea. Don’t just look for people who fit into your clearly-defined slots. Make some space for those who don’t fit so clearly into any one category. Their breadth of experience might be invaluable.

The experts and pundits that our society listens to are usually hopeless at making predictions.

During 20 years of the Cold War, world-renowned forecasting expert Philip Tetlock collected and assessed the predictions of 284 experts. He concluded that experts are absolutely terrible at making predictions about anything.

Tetlock found that an expert’s years of experience, academic degree and even ability to access classified information made no difference. When experts said that some potential event was impossible, it happened in 15 percent of cases. Events declared to be an absolute sure thing failed to occur 25 percent of the time.

And worryingly for anyone who listens to cable news, Tetlock found that there was a perverse and inverse relationship between fame and accuracy. The more an expert appeared in the news, the more likely they were to be wrong, or as Tetlock famously put it, “roughly as accurate as a dart-throwing chimpanzee.”

One of the problems was that many of the experts’ focus was too narrow. Having spent entire careers studying a single issue – say, US-Soviet relations – they tended to have explicit theories about how it worked. So, what makes a better forecaster of future events? Well, researchers like psychologist Jonathan Baron point to active open-mindedness – a willingness to question your own beliefs. Most of us fail at this, and can’t override our strong instinct to cherry-pick evidence that confirms our existing beliefs.

Consider a study run by Yale professor Dan Kahan. Pro and anti-Brexit voters were first tasked with interpreting a set of statistics about the effectiveness of a skin cream. Most participants completed the task successfully. But when presented with the same numbers framed as the link between crime and immigration, many of the participants misinterpreted the statistics according to their political beliefs. The same study has yielded similar results in the US on the topic of gun control.

So, how exactly can we combat our tendency to stick to our existing beliefs, despite the evidence? Kahan argues that one personality feature is important if we want to stay open-minded and think clearly about the world around us. Instead of scientific knowledge – how much you know – emphasize scientific curiosity – a desire to learn more, willingness to look at new evidence and ability to think with a genuinely open mind.

Now, let’s consider how we can embrace this kind of curiosity.

To be more of a generalist, you need to change your attitude toward learning and success.

See if you can answer this question correctly. Disease X has a prevalence of one in 1,000 people. The test for the disease has a false positive rate of five percent. What is the chance that someone receiving a positive test result has the disease?

If your answer was two percent, or 1.96 to be precise, you got it right. And in doing so, you did better than the 75 percent of physicians and students at Harvard and Boston University who got it wrong. Their most frequent answer was 95 percent.

The problem is straightforward if you know how to think about it. In a sample of 10,000 people, ten will have the disease and get a true positive. Five percent, or 500 people, will get a false positive. So out of the 510 people with a positive result, only 10, or 1.96% are ill. Sadly, many students aren’t taught to think openly about such problems. And this, according to Arturo Casadevall –  a star in the world of microbiology and immunology – has to change.

In a new role at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Casadevall is developing programs focused on an interdisciplinary understanding of topics such as philosophy, ethics, statistics and logic. One course, called “How do we Know What is True,” examines different types of evidence in various academic disciplines. “Anatomy of Scientific Error” encourages students to hunt for signs of misconduct or poor methodology in scientific research.

Casadevall hopes that, with a more rigorous grounding in reasoning and multidisciplinary thinking, students will be better prepared to make a real impact on our economy and society.

Of course, not all of us hold senior academic positions like Casadevall. What can we do to expand our range? Well, one thing is to embrace failure. Dean Keith Simonton, a creativity researcher, has shown that the more work creators produce, the more failures they produce, but they are also more likely to produce a superstar success. Thomas Edison, for instance, held over 1,000 patents, many of which were ultimately failures. But his successes, like the light bulb, were revolutionary.

Treading a wide-roaming, disorderly path of experimentation may not always bring instant results. But it may just be the best route to greatness in the end.

Final summary

The key message in these blinks: Embracing range, experimentation and breadth of experience is often a better road to success than specialization. Range demands patience, open-mindedness and scientific curiosity. If we can foster and exemplify these, the chances that we will generate major innovations and contribute significantly to our economy and society increase.

THINKING IN BETS BY ANNIE DUKES (COURTESY OF BLINKIST) CROUPIER COMPTABLE PSYCHOLOGY

Human minds tend to confuse decisions with their outcomes, which makes it hard to see mistakes clearly.

Super Bowl XLIX ended in controversy. With 26 seconds left in the game, everyone expected Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll to tell his quarterback, Russell Wilson, to hand the ball off. Instead, he told Wilson to pass. The ball was intercepted, the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl, and, by the next day, public opinion about Carroll had turned nasty. The headline in the Seattle Times read: “Seahawks Lost Because of the Worst Call in Super Bowl History”!

But it wasn’t really Carroll’s decision that was being judged. Given the circumstances, it was actually a fairly reasonable call. It was the fact that it didn’t work.

Poker players call this tendency to confuse the quality of a decision with the quality of its outcome resulting, and it’s a dangerous tendency.

A bad decision can lead to a good outcome, after all, and good decisions can lead to bad outcomes

In fact, decisions are rarely 100 percent right or wrong. Our decision-making is like poker players’ bets. We bet on future outcomes based on what we believe is most likely to occur.

So why not look at it this way? If our decisions are bets, we can start to let go of the idea that we’re 100 percent “right” or “wrong," and start to say, “I’m not sure.” This opens us up to thinking in terms of probability, which is far more useful.Volunteering at a charity poker tournament, the author once explained to the crowd that player A’s cards would win 76 percent of the time, giving the other player a 24 percent chance to win. When player B won, a spectator yelled out that she’d been wrong. But, she explained, she’d said that player B’s hand would win 24 percent of the time. She wasn’t wrong. It was just that the actual outcome fell within that 24 percent margin.

If we want to seek out truth, we have to work around our hardwired tendency to believe what we hear.

We all want to make good decisions. But saying, “I believe X to be the best option” first requires good-quality beliefs. Good-quality beliefs are ideas about X that are informed and well thought-out. But we can’t expect to form good-quality beliefs with lazy thinking. Instead, we have to be willing to do some work in the form of truth-seeking. That means we have to strive for truth and objectivity, even when something doesn’t align with the beliefs we hold.

Focusing on accuracy and acknowledging uncertainty is a lot more like truth-seeking, which gets us beyond our resistance to new information and gives us something better on which to bet.

We can learn a lot from outcomes, but it’s difficult to know which have something to teach us.

The best way to learn is often by reviewing our mistakes. Likewise, if we want to improve our future outcomes, we’ll have to do some outcome fielding. Outcome fielding is looking at outcomes to see what we can learn from them.

To become more objective about outcomes, we need to change our habits.

Habits work in neurological loops that have three parts: cue, routine and reward. As Pulitzer-prize-winning reporter Charles Duhigg points out in his book The Power of Habit, the key to changing a habit is to work with this structure, leaving the cue and reward alone but changing the routine.

We can improve our decision-making by being part of a group, but it needs to be the right kind of group.

We’ve all got blind spots, which makes truth-seeking hard. But it’s a little easier when we enlist the help of a group. After all, others can often pick out our errors more easily than we can.

But to be effective, a group dedicated to examining decisions isn’t like any other. It has to have a clear focus, a commitment to objectivity and open-mindedness, and a clear charter that all members understand.

In a decision-examining group committed to objective accuracy, this kind of change is self-reinforcing. Increasing objectivity leads to approval within the group, which then motivates us to strive for ever-greater accuracy by harnessing the deep-seated need for group approval that we all share.

To work together productively, a group needs CUDOS.

Shared commitment and clear guidelines help define a good-quality decision-examining group. But once you’ve got that group, how do you work within it?

You can start by giving each other CUDOS.

CUDOS are the brainchild of influential sociologist Merton R. Schkolnick, guidelines that he thought should shape the scientific community. And they happen also to be an ideal template for groups dedicated to truth-seeking. The C in CUDOS stands for communism. If a group is going to examine decisions together, then it’s important that each member shares all relevant information and strives to be as transparent as possible to get the best analysis. It’s only natural that we are tempted to leave out details that make us look bad, but incomplete information is a tool of our bias. U stands for universalism – using the same standards for evaluating all information, no matter where it came from. When she was starting out in poker, the author tended to discount unfamiliar strategies used by players that she’d labeled as “bad.” But she soon suspected that she was missing something and started forcing herself to identify something that every “bad” player did well. This helped her learn valuable new strategies that she might have missed and understand her opponents much more deeply. D is for disinterestedness and it’s about avoiding bias. As American physicist Richard Feynman noted, we view a situation differently if we already know the outcome. Even a hint of what happens in the end tends to bias our analysis. The author’s poker group taught her to be vigilant about this. But, teaching poker seminars for beginners, she would ask students to examine decision-making by describing specific hands that she’d played, omitting the outcome as a matter of habit. It left students on the edge of their seats, reminding them that outcomes were beside the point! “OS” is for organized skepticism, a trait that exemplifies thinking in bets. In a good group, this means collegial, non-confrontational examination of what we really do and don’t know, which keeps everyone focused on improving their reasoning. Centuries ago, the Catholic church put this into practice by hiring individuals to argue against sainthood during the canonization process – that’s where we get the phrase “devil’s advocate.”

If you know that your group is committed to CUDOS, you’ll be more accountable to these standards in the future. And the future, as we’ll see, can make us a lot smarter about our decisions.

To make better decisions, we need to spend some time in the future.

Temporal Discounting – making decisions that favor our immediate desires at the expense of our future self – is something we all do.

We can also recruit our future feelings using journalist Suzy Welch’s “10-10-10.” A 10-10-10 brings the future into the present by making us ask ourselves, at a moment of decision, how we’ll feel about it in ten minutes, ten months and ten years. We imagine being accountable for our decision in the future and motivate ourselves to avoid any potential regret we might feel.

Backcasting, imagining a future in which everything has worked out, and our goals have been achieved, and then asking, “How did we get there?" This leads to imagining the decisions that have led us to success and also recognizing when our desired outcome requires some unlikely things to happen. If that’s the case, we can either adjust our goals or figure out how to make those things more likely.

Premortems are when we imagine that we’ve failed and ask, “What went wrong?" This helps us identify the possibilities that backcasting might have missed. Over more than 20 years of research, NYU psychology professor Gabrielle Oettingen has consistently found that people who imagine the obstacles to their goals, rather than achieving those goals, are more likely to succeed.

Final summary

The key message in these blinks: You might not be a gambler, but that’s no reason not to think in bets. Whether or not there’s money involved, bets make us take a harder look at how much certainty there is in the things we believe, consider alternatives and stay open to changing our minds for the sake of accuracy. So let go of “right” and “wrong” when it’s decision time, accept that things are always somewhat uncertain and make the best bet you can.

Side Note: I think there is a link between Poker and Financial Psychopathy & Cerebral Narcissism because of the Rewiring of the Brian Benefits of Poker through Dopamine Release.

PITCH ANYTHING BY OREN KLASS (COURTESY OF BLINKIST)

PITCH ANYTHING is a fast-paced narrative packed with crystal clear examples illustrating the unique S.T.R.O.N.G. Method, which takes advantage of how the brain really works by Setting the Frame; Telling the Story; Revealing the Intrigue; Offering the Prize; Nailing the Hookpoint; and Getting a Decision.

You must tailor your pitch to the audience’s croc brains.

Everyone should learn to pitch ideas well. In every profession, from dentistry to investment banking, there comes a time when you must convince someone of something. Unfortunately, there is a gap between what we are trying to tell our audience and how they perceive it. To understand this gap and overcome it, we must look at the evolution of the human brain.

Basically, the human brain has evolved in three separate stages, resulting in three distinct parts: the primitive reptilian part, the croc brain, developed first. It’s a simple device primarily focused on survival and it can generate strong emotions, like the desire to flee a predator. Next, the midbrain developed. It allows us to understand more complex situations, such as social interactions. Finally, the sophisticated neocortex evolved, facilitating reasoning and analysis to understand complex things.

When you pitch, you use your neocortex to put into words the ideas you are trying to convey. Unfortunately, your audience doesn’t at first process these ideas with their neocortices. Instead, it is the audience’s primitive croc brains that receive the ideas and they ignore everything that is not new and exciting. Worse still, if your message seems abstract and unfathomable to the croc brain, it might perceive the message as a threat. This will make your audience want to flee to escape the situation.

This is why you must tailor your pitch to the croc brain. Since croc brains are simple, your message should be clear, concrete and focused on the big picture. You also need to ensure the croc brain sees your message as something positive and novel, which deserves to be passed on to the higher brain structures.

To secure your target’s attention, you must create desire and tension.

The one critical thing you need throughout your pitch is the attention of your target. To successfully attain this, research has shown that you must evoke two sensations in your pitch: desire and tension. Desire arises when you offer your target a reward, and tension arises when you show them they might lose something, like an opportunity, as a result of this social encounter. On a neurological level, this effectively floods your target’s brain with two neurotransmitters: dopamine and norepinephrine.

Dopamine is a chemical associated with anticipating rewards — desire. One such reward would be the pleasure of understanding something new, such as solving a puzzle. Thus, to increase the level of dopamine in your target’s brain, you must introduce novelty through a pleasant surprise, like an unexpected yet entertaining product demo.

Norepinephrine, on the other hand, is the chemical responsible for alertness and it creates tension in the target. If your pitch convinces them that there is a lot at stake here, their brains will be flooded with norepinephrine.

To create tension, you must create a bit of low level conflict with a push-pull strategy. This means first saying something to push the target away, like, “Maybe we aren’t a good match for each other.” You then counter this by pulling the target back toward you with something like, “But if we are, that would be terrific.”

This push-pull dynamic creates alertness in the target, as they sense that they might lose this opportunity. Depending on the situation, you may use very powerful push-pull statements, especially if you sense your target’s attention beginning to wane.

To control a meeting, you must first establish frame control.

Different people will see any given situation from a different perspective or point of view based on their intelligence, ethics and values. These perspectives are called frames, and they dictate how we perceive social situations such as meetings and sales pitches. Frames also determine who controls those situations.

When two people meet, their individual frames crash into each other. Only one frame can survive such an encounter — the stronger one. For example, let’s assume a cop pulls you over for speeding. He has a strong moral-authority frame and you only have a weak “I’m so sorry officer”-frame. It is clear that when your frames clash, his frame will prevail. This means he will control every aspect of the encounter: from its duration to its content and tone.

You will often face a similar clash of frames in a business environment; for example, a customer may be focused on the price of your product while you are focused on its quality. You will both try to get the other to focus on what you think is important.

If it is your frame that survives this clash, you will have frame control in the situation meaning your ideas and statements will be accepted as facts by the customer. This is a crucial advantage in any pitch. Without frame control, you are unlikely to convince anyone of anything.

You will often encounter the power frame, time frame and analyst frame, hence you must know how to counter them.

In a pitch or sales meeting you will often encounter certain archetypes of frames, and it is important you choose strong with which to counter them.

Typically, your target will use the power frame which exudes arrogance. You must not do anything that validates the other person’s power. Instead, use small acts of defiance and denial to bust the frame; for example, by yanking your presentation material away from the target if they do not seem to be taking it seriously.

Another oft-used frame is the time frame, where your customer asserts control over time: “I only have ten more minutes.” This is meant to push you off balance, but you can always counter with: “That’s fine, I only have five.”

A particularly lethal frame is the analyst frame, denoted by a fixation on details and numbers. If your opponent is in this frame, they will likely insist on drilling down into minor technical and financial details, effectively bogging down your pitch.

In such situations, give a direct but high-level answer to the question asked and get right back to your pitch. Analysis comes later. Before more questions come up, counter the analyst frame with your own intrigue frame. This basically means you tell a compelling personal story and leave it unfinished as a cliffhanger: “… so there we were, in a pitch black, falling airplane with no idea what was going to happen. Anyway, back to the pitch …" This redirects the focus of the room onto you and makes the discussion personal once again.

Use prizing to make the target seek your acceptance.

The most important frame you should be able to use is the prize frame, as it works in a variety of situations against many opposing frames.

Typically when you’re selling something or pitching an idea, your target will tend to see their money as the “prize” of the meeting, something you have to fight for. You must reframe the situation so that you are the prize and they would be lucky to do business with you.

Because people tend to want things they can’t have, prizing yourself will make your target work for your acceptance instead of the other way around. BMW does this with a special-edition M3. The company demands prospective buyers sign a contract assuring they will take proper care of the car, otherwise they cannot buy one.

In a pitching situation, never engage in behavior that makes it seem as if you are chasing the target, for example by agreeing to last minute schedule changes or trying to prematurely close the deal by saying things like, “So, what do you think so far?” Such behavior only reinforces the impression that the target is the prize. Instead, get your target to explicitly qualify themselves to you; for example, you could say, “I am very particular about with whom I work. Why should I do business with you?” This usually catches them off guard and they start trying to impress you.

Stack frames to trigger hot cognitions.

Contrary to popular belief, we are more prone to making choices instinctively than through rational analysis. In fact, we often make a decision about something before we even fully understand it and only later come up with reasons for that decision. These gut calls are called hot cognitions, whereas the decisions arrived at through rational reasoning are known as cold cognitions.

After you’ve introduced your big pitch idea, you want to trigger hot cognitions within your target. These will make him or her want what you have to offer in mere seconds, instead of analyzing your pitch for days to reach a rational, cold decision. You trigger the hot cognitions by stacking frames, meaning you introduce multiple frames in quick succession.

The first frame is the intrigue frame: you tell your target a compelling story, a personal narrative where a dilemma is solved. At the crucial juncture, you stop telling the story, leaving your target on the edge of their seat, ensuring their full attention.

Next, you pile on the prize frame, where you flip the tables on the target: instead of trying to impress them, make them qualify themselves to you. You could say something like, “This deal has so many investors after it, I have to choose who to take on board.”

After this, you stack on the time frame by adding time pressure to the pitch: “Unfortunately, this is a limited-time offer, and the train, so to speak, is leaving the station on Monday.” This will make the target feel like they are losing an opportunity, at which point they will want it even more.

By triggering all these hot cognitions in the target, you will leave them drooling for what you have to offer.

Don’t be needy – make the target chase you.

Neediness, otherwise known as validation-seeking behavior, is a sign of weakness and it can be absolutely fatal to your pitch. If you act needy, the audience will sense you are weak and their primitive croc brains will classify your proposal as a threat – to their money. This can easily push you into a vicious cycle where the audience becomes more and more distant due to your neediness, which in turn makes you anxious and even needier!

To negate neediness, you can use a simple three-step formula based on the movie The Tao of Steve, where the protagonist, Dex, follows a pseudo-Taoist philosophy to pick up women.

First, try to eliminate your desires, at least in the eyes of the target. If they have something you desperately want, this will translate as neediness in you. To negate this, make it clear to the target that you do not need them.

Second, focus on the things you do well, your strengths. Demonstrate something that showcases your excellence. Dex, for instance, was great with children and made sure the target of his affections saw this. Similarly, you must demonstrate excellence in front of your target.

Third, withdraw. At the crucial moment when your target expects you to chase them for their money, withdraw instead by saying something like, “I’m not totally convinced we’re a good match for each other.” This will make them chase you, much like the women in the Tao of Steve chased Dex.

To pitch effectively, you must attain situational alpha status.

Status plays a vital part in any social encounter. In any meeting, a dominant member known as an alpha emerges, while others take subordinate beta-positions. It is very difficult to be persuasive from a beta-position; hence, you must grab alpha status.

Though some elements of status, like your reputation or wealth, are quite stable, situational status can vary immensely; for example, while a successful surgeon has considerably higher social status than a golf teacher, the teacher is still the alpha during a golf lesson.

Often your pitch targets will lay so-called beta traps to force you into the situational beta position; for example, being made to wait in the lobby is a classic beta trap.

You must try to ignore these traps and avoid doing anything that enforces your opponent’s alpha status. Instead, use small acts of defiance and denial to grab the situational alpha status for yourself as soon as you can.

Say a customer has made you wait in the lobby. Once in the meeting room, you could begin examining some papers on the table in front of you. When the customer peeks at them, you could yank them away and say something like, “Nope, not until I’m ready.” If done in a good-natured, half-joking manner, this enforces your alpha position.

Once you have alpha status, you must then steer the discussion into a direction where you are the expert, much like the golf professional talks about golf, not heart surgery, when teaching the surgeon. To solidify your status, force your opponent to say something that reinforces your alpha position with a good-natured jest, like, “Remind me, why on earth should I work with you guys on this?”

Keep your pitch short and simple.

Before you begin any pitch, let your target know you will keep the presentation short. This will put them at ease. When Watson and Crick presented their Nobel Prize-winning idea of the DNA helix, they only needed five minutes. If you know what you are doing, you can pitch anything in twenty.

Start your pitch by introducing yourself. This does not mean rattling off your entire résumé but just outlining your greatest successes, like projects where you really did something impressive.

Most people will be tempted to jump right to the “big idea” for which they’re trying to get financing. But before you get to it, you should address one crucial concern in your target’s mind. Namely, you must explain why now is the right time to invest.

Rather than a long and complex analysis, simply outline the economic, social and technological forces which make your deal unmissable right now. Economic forces that benefit your pitch, for example, could be your target customers becoming wealthier and interest rates going down, the social forces could be the rising consumer concern for the environment, and the technological force could be the development of the electric car. You must present these forces in a way that shows a window of opportunity has recently opened but will not remain open forever.

The three forces set the stage and paint a backstory for your big idea, which should also be kept brief and simple. Use an established “recipe” for this: “For [target customers] who are dissatisfied with [current offerings on the market]. My product is a [new idea] that provides [solution to key problem] unlike [competing product]. My product has [key product features].”

That’s it. The time for details comes later.

Final summary

The key message in this book is: In any social encounter where you aim to be persuasive, it is vital that you seize control of the situation and ensure the target sees your pitch through the frame of mind you have chosen. At the same time, you must cater your pitch so that on a neurological level, the target’s brain works for you, not against you.

TRIBES BY SETH GODIN (COURTESY OF BLINKIST)

All Tribes Share 3 Components

A Group of People

A Common Cause

At least one Leader who Represents and Organizes the Tribe

The most important feature for a tribe is the shared cause.

A tribe’s shared cause leads its members to internalize the tribe’s values and ideas as their own. These internalized incentives make tribe members into driven believers instead of mere followers

Don’t engineer your ideas for the masses: make it exclusive and meaningful for a distinct group of people.

Apple set out to produce a new kind of phone that almost no one would initially like, but that a few people would really love.

With today’s technology, everyone can form and lead a tribe.

The first thing to know is that people need to be able to communicate intensely about their shared cause. This means that communication can’t just be vertical – between you (the leader) and the individual tribe members – more importantly, it must be horizontal, between tribe members.

With today’s technology, you have everything you need to facilitate both vertical and horizontal communication. Websites, blogs and social networks allow you not only to spread your cause, but also provide the room and the tools for your tribe to communicate, share ideas and organize. For example, you can use Basecamp to organize projects, and Twitter to share brief updates about developments. At the same time, these websites allow you to set ground rules for participation, and align everyone with your common vision by setting specific goals.

If you have a meaningful cause and the will to lead, people will follow.

Have you ever wondered how many people make up a movement? The answer is around 1,000: that’s the amount of true believers you need for a group to keep moving.

Creating a movement is about organizing an existing yearning into a way that tribe members can connect with each other, and form a movement under your leadership.

As former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley defines it, a movement contains three elements: A narrative that tells the story of the future you’re trying to build; a connection between the leader and the tribe and among the tribe members; and something to do – the fewer limits, the better.

When forming a tribe, don’t worry about making it grow – concentrate on tightening connections.

At least in the beginning, a tribe’s biggest advantage is not its size, but the multiple connections between the members, the leader and the outside world.

In fact, a tribe has four different directions of communication: Leader to tribe, tribe to leader, tribe members to one another and tribe member to outsider. Normal marketing pales in comparison, with communication generally only in one direction: company to market.

The most important of these directions is the communication between members. And this is where tightening a tribe comes in.

Tightening a tribe means bringing members closer together by facilitating communication and tightening their common bonds. You can do this by transforming a shared interest into one passionate goal, and by providing a platform for members to easily connect with each other.

Or you can harness the power of insiders and outsiders. To create a feeling of cohesion, you have to develop a culture of insiders – which inevitably excludes others. This allows the tribe to differentiate itself from other tribes, and create a stronger sense of internal identification.

Leadership is about stepping into a vacuum and creating motion.

For a tribe to form there has to be a particular change that people want to see made. This need for change has to come from a certain discomfort with the status quo, from a sense that there is something missing in the world. A leader steps right into this discomfort zone – the vacuum – and starts to organize so people will follow him.

Leaders do this despite the risks because of two things: they have faith in the cause and they know that innovation is always more effective the earlier it happens – so the sooner the better.

To make the world a better place, we need more heretics and less sheepwalkers.

What we need in the world are more heretics: people who question the status quo and the existing dogmas, and take action without asking for permission. Organizations need more heretics to advocate change from the inside: because if you hire amazing people and give them freedom, they will do amazing things. And tribes need heretics as leaders to break into new territory and help change the world.

ARMED ROBBERY INFLUENCE PASSING ATHLETE

Generalist Kinaesthetic Learners VAMMMBRGC

Volleyball

Acting

Modeling

Music

Martial Arts

Ballet (Female Only)

Rings Gymnastics (Male Only)

Graffiti (Art)

Cooking (Endorsements)

Characteristics

Suddenness

Speed

Intense

Aggressive Intervention for the Victim

Maximum Masking his own Contribution

Choosing the  appropriate  moment to attack and target the more vulnerable and defenseless victims.

Roles: The Bosses

**The Mastermind: The leader, who found the target, calls the shots, and thought up the plan. Usually the most experienced in the business as well, and very respected by their crew otherwise they wouldn't be able to keep all these amoral people in line. Compare The Chessmaster (Bullet Chess), The Captain, the Big Bad. May or may not have been the one to put the team together

**The Partner In Crime: The leader's second-in-command, who assists The Mastermind in plan-making and usually almost equally as experienced. Depending on the nature of the crew, he might be the only one besides The Mastermind who actually knows what's going on. May overlap with other roles. Compare The Lancer, The Dragon, the Number Two.

**The Backer: The Client who is paying for everything. Sometimes he has a deadline or is fussy in some other way that influences the crew's actions. Usually only The Mastermind and his Partner interact much with him. There isn't always a backer though, sometimes the crew front the money themselves and fence it hoping to make back enough for a profit.

Business Equity Heist

Scatter Site Shares Appreciation Rights Social Club

Bullet Chess Influenced Robbery

Preparation: The first step in creating such a good repertoire is to understand that memorization comes in a distant second to an appreciation of the ideas behind your opening moves

Prophylaxis*: In the game of chess, prophylaxis or a prophylactic move is a move that stops the opponent from taking action in a certain area for fear of some type of reprisal. Prophylactic moves are aimed at not just improving one's position, but preventing the opponent from improving their own. 

Pre-Move: This is when you make your move *before* the opponent has taken their turn. Helps with Time and Creates psychological pressure.

Tactical Vision: Tactics are maneuvers that take advantage of short-term opportunities. They can support your strategy and/or destroy your opponent's plan and ideas. Tactical and combinational themes must be mastered.

Opening Game: A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. In addition to referring to specific move sequences, the opening is the first phase of a chess game, 

Middle Game: The middlegame in chess is the portion of the game in between the opening and the endgame, though there is no clear line between the opening and middlegame or between the middlegame and endgame. Theory on the middlegame is less developed than the opening or endgames.

Development: It is important to develop your whole Army. Note the word whole. Some players get a few pieces out and launch an attack. The necessity for quick development depends on the type of Center that exists. For example, if the center is closed, development is not necessarily a priority because the enemy pieces won't be able to break into your position. However, if the center is open, development takes on a great significance

Initiative**: The side that forces it's ideas on a reacting opponent and Are making believable threats or responding to threats.

Dynamic Advantage: A dynamic Advantage centers around temporary items like development, the initiative, and more active pieces. Make sure you make use of this Dynamic plus before the opponent catches up in development, initiative runs dry, or you're active pieces are exchanged

Compensation: If you give up something (space, structural weakness, squares, material) and get nothing in return you are in trouble. However if you give up the same imbalances (space, structural weakness, squares, material) in exchange for different types of imbalance you are said to have compensation for whatever it is you gave up

Material Advantage: A material advantage goes to the player who has more and/or stronger pieces.

End Game: In chess and chess-like games, the endgame is the stage of the game when few pieces are left on the board. The line between middlegame and endgame is often not clear, and may occur gradually or with the quick exchange of a few pairs of pieces.

KEY MOTIFS

Mr. & Mrs Smith, Physical Fitness, Force-Velocity Curve Stimulus-Fatigue-Recovery-Adaptation Performance Training, Circuits, Networking, Chaárms or Athena Venus-Mercury Cusp Births, Triple Decker Projects with Sand Volleyball Courts, Brand Activation Modelling, Sports Larceny & Contract Racketeering, Sports for Orphans Charities, Short Film Series Acting, Polyglot, Industrial-Organizational Psychologist and Mergers & Acquisitions Bankers Advisory Team

KEY VALUES

Brass Knuckles as Weapons, Decadence, Socratic Methods Game Theory, Poker Country Clubs with Sports Betting Investment Trust, Red Bull Music Festivals, Athletic excellence, Sports Performance Centers, Med Spas, Patchwork Tattoos, Pastel Goth, Pastel Wavy Hair, Video Games, Real Estate Investment Groups, Scatter-site Share Appreciation Rights Social Club, Art House and Management Companies, Business Incubators and Startups Accelerators Collaboration Holding Company, Syncretism of Athena through Occult Magic to Warrior Spirits, Law Education EdTech Sponsor and Provider, Armed Robbery Sports Playbooks, Force-Velocity Curve Physique, Smurfing, Sports Betting, Poker Tournaments, Enterprise Foundations, Rental Properties, and Overview of the Nevada Economy: The top three sectors by total employment are Real Estate and Rental and Leasing, Accommodation and Food Services, Retail Trade, while the unemployment rate across the state in 2022 was 4.8%.

AESTHETIC THEORIES

Subjective

Based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions

Precarious Balance

Precariously: If something is happening or positioned precariously, it's in danger. A glass could be precariously balanced on the edge of a table. If something is on the verge of danger, then the word precariously fits.

Semblance

Semblance is generally used to suggest a contrast between outward appearance and inner reality.

Phantasmagorical

Having a fantastic or deceptive appearance

adjective. having a fantastic or deceptive appearance, as something in a dream or created by the imagination. having the appearance of an optical illusion, especially one produced by a magic lantern.

Law of Polarity in Relationships

In any successful relationship that has an intimate connection and sexual attraction, there is polarity. What does this mean exactly? Polarity in relationships is the spark that occurs between two opposing energies: masculine and feminine. Gender does not affect whether you have masculine or feminine energy.

Second Reflection

Burden Aesthetics with Intentions

The Second Reflection lays hold of the Technical Procedures

CRIMINOLOGY THEORIES

Choice Theory: The belief that individuals choose to commit a crime, looking at the opportunities before them, weighing the benefit versus the punishment, and deciding whether to proceed or not.

Classical Theory: Similar to the choice theory, this theory ascertains that people think before they proceed with criminal actions; that when one commits a crime, it is because the individual decided that it was advantageous to commit the crime.

Critical Theory: Critical theory upholds the belief that a small few, the elite of the society, decide laws and the definition of crime; those who commit crimes disagree with the laws that were created to keep control of them.

Labeling Theory: Those who follow the labeling theory of criminology ascribe to the fact that an individual will become what he is labeled or what others expect him to become; the danger comes from calling a crime a crime and a criminal a criminal.

Life Course Theory: The theory that a person’s “course” in life is determined by short (transitory) and long (trajectory) events in his life, and crime can result when a transitory event causes stress in a person’s life causing him to commit a crime against society.

Positivist Theory: The positivist rejects the idea that each individual makes a conscious, rational choice to commit a crime; rather, some individuals are abnormal in intelligence, social acceptance, or some other way, and that causes them to commit crime.

Rational Choice Theory: Reasons that an individual thinks through each action, deciding on whether it would be worth the risk of committing a crime to reap the benefits of that crime, whether the goal be financial, pleasure, or some other beneficial result.

Routine Activity Theory: Followers of the routine activity theory believe that crime is inevitable, and that if the target is attractive enough, crime will happen; effective measures must be in place to deter crime from happening.

Social Learning Theory: Social learning indicates that individuals learn from those around them; they base their morals and activities on what they see others in their social environment doing.

Strain Theory: The theory holds that individuals will turn to a life of crime when they are strained, or when they are unable to achieve the goals of the society, whether power, finance, or some other desirable goal.

Trait Theory: Those who follow the trait theory believe that individuals have certain traits that will contribute to whether or not they are capable of committing a crime when pushed in a certain direction, or when they are in duress.

Consensual or Victimless Crime: Consensual crime refers to crimes that do not directly harm other individuals or property. Rather, individuals choose to participate in risky behaviors that may be considered against the law. This includes indulging in drug use, prostitution, or obscenity.

CROUPIER ACCOUNTING

[rimouskis]

re: restaurants becoming more meat/fish oriented could, paradoxically, be bc the us/globally we are trending towards a recession because it's expensive to r&d new foods and meals that they can't garuntee will be popular, and it's expensive to offer alternatives. also a lot of good inherently vegetarian food is asian* and trending toward recession also generally means increasing xenophobia/right wing ideologies -> restaurants will be less willing to offer something they think wont sell (not that managers go immediately towards prejudices but if the money isnt there if they had a traditional tofu dish that isnt selling well and a lentil dish that isnt selling then they'll be less likely to try to develop and sell more when they could make another chicken dish that will probably sell better) sorry for the roundabout explanation but that's just my theory lmao

*in the way that america has beyond meat burgers and a lot of vegetarian food in restaurants ends up being trying to mimic meat, where india has saag paneer where they're not trying to pretend paneer is anything else, americans take tofu and try to make it taste like meat where in sea its just tofu

YESS yes yes this is exactly what I was getting at in my tags, but I really appreciate you elaborating on it because I hadn't considered the economic incentive angle nor the xenophobic angle, both of which make perfect sense. also I think asian food's profile is improving in pittsburgh but the smaller mom-n-pop asian-owned restaurants are still pretty "niche" and hidden/small, whereas the restaurants that get hyped by local influencers or local media lists are from white restauranteurs/restaurant groups and also brand themselves as "fine dining," which is sooooo racialized. a notable exception is pusadee's, which is asian-owned fine dining thai food, but like... that list is soooo short. also pusadee's looks incredible but there's only one vegetarian entree, a few salad options, and like... an appetizer I could eat 😭

I will say I will crush a good beyond burger/impossible burger happily, but I appreciate cuisines that naturally include vegetarian-friendly proteins or "mains" without trying to make them mimic meat, yeah. indian food is incredible for this very reason (if you're local: people's indian is sooooooo good oh my god).

[kicksaddictny]

Nike Puts Athletes at the Forefront with Its Athlete House in Paris

This summer in Paris, athletes are primed to turn their dreams into reality, and Nike is dedicated to supporting every triumph. At the heart of this commitment is the Nike Athlete House—a specialized space designed for preparation, celebration, rest, and recovery for the hundreds of Nike athletes competing.

Rooted in science and athlete insights, the Nike Athlete House provides a comprehensive range of services. This includes a pop-up Nike Sport Research Lab offering physical therapy and recovery treatments, a self-expression area with barber, makeup, nail, and tooth gem services for athletes to perfect their looks, and tranquil spaces where they can relax, dine, and unwind with family. Athletes can also personalize and enhance their style using Nike's newest AI tool. By entering prompts like "Swoosh," "flowers," or "modern art" into digital tablets, athletes receive unique, one-of-a-kind images that can be printed on Nike apparel right at the House, ready within minutes. This AI tool was previously utilized in Nike's A.I.R. design project with elite athletes earlier this year.

To further support athletes during crucial moments, Nike offers dedicated apparel services in Paris, ensuring uniforms are tailored and modified as needed.

“At Nike, we exist to serve athletes, both in the everyday and in their most important sport moments,” says Tanya Hvizdak, VP of Global Women’s Sports Marketing. “The Athlete House in Paris is a direct reflection of what athletes are telling us they need in this moment: a dedicated space where they can rest, recover, and prepare using industry-leading services.”

The Nike Athlete House exemplifies how Nike listens to athletes, providing support both on and off the field. This includes bespoke programs like Nike’s Athlete Think Tank, where elite women athletes share insights that shape product development and enhance how Nike champions sport for women and girls. It also reflects in how the brand fosters self-expression and incorporates athlete feedback into campaigns.

Every initiative underscores Nike’s broader commitment: to redefine the athlete partnership model by deeply listening, holistically serving athletes, and collaborating to create positive change through sport.

Check out the images below for an exclusive look inside the Nike Athlete House in Paris.

[battleangel]

Its currently 88 degrees in my apartment and has been 90 degrees all day.

I dont use my air conditioning.

I dont have central air.

I have a wall unit in a 1 bedroom apartment.

I am in New Jersey and there have been heat weeks the past few weeks with temperatures in the 90s and 100s with extremely high humidity.

I have a single ceiling fan in my dining room that I utilize.

As you can see, I dress light & minimal.

I also stay hydrated & drink plenty of water.

When its really hot, I will sometimes just remove my clothes & be naked.

Is it warm? Yes.

Hot even? Yes.

Uncomfortable? Yes.

Stuffy & humid? Yes.

Unbearable? No.

And thats the lie.

Thats the lie of modern life.

That a fan simply isnt enough.

The EPA advises that the average American keeps their air conditioning thermostat between 68 & 72 degrees all summer.

That is fucking disgusting.

The EPA suggests keeping thermostats at 80.

I suggest turning your AC off and just using a fan.

Wear light, minimal clothing or take your clothes off.

Stay hydrated & drink water.

If youre still hot, place a bowl of ice cubes in front of your fan.

You can also place ice cubes in wash cloths and apply them to your underarms, back of your neck & groin area.

You can also place a wash cloth under cold water and place the damp cloth on the back of your neck.

You do not have to have your AC blasting at all times while indoors over the summer months.

You have been brainwashed & conditioned to expect this & to do this.

Americans use 90% of the worlds air conditioning & we are nowhere near 90% of the worlds population.

Need more of a reason to turn your air conditioning off even during heat waves?

•The cooling industry accounts for 10% of global CO2 emissions.

•Americans consume more energy for air conditioning than the rest of the world combined.

•The number of global cooling devices is estimated to increase from 3.6 billion to 9.5 billion by 2050.

•HFC emissions are projected to contribute warming equivalent to 20% of CO2 output by 2050.

•Air conditioning in the US releases approximately 100 millions tons of carbon dioxide into the air.

Air conditioning was only invented in 1902 — literally about 100 years ago.

It is essentially a brand new invention when compared to the rest of human existence — so why do you think that you cant live without it?

Yes, buildings are architecturally designed differently since air conditioning became ubiquitious around the 1960s in the United States.

Buildings used to be designed for the hot air to rise to the ceiling and now they are not designed that way as the built-in assumption is air conditioning will be utilized as 82% of American residences have either central air conditioning or wall units.

While that is true, I am living proof that even during heat waves with triple digit temperatures and extreme humidity, you can absolutely get by with just a ceiling and/or box fan.

You dont need artificially cooled air to survive.

You have just been brainwashed to think that way as an American as nearly every single indoor building — whether it is an indoor arena, movie theater, shopping mall, restaurant, office, hair salon, nail salon, massage parlor, retail store, department store — all has air conditioning absolutely at full blast between 68 & 72 degrees the entire summer.

That is absolutely not the norm anywhere except America which is why we utilize more air conditioning than the rest of the world combined.

Only in America can you literally go days, weeks and even months without ever encountering air that hasnt been artificially cooled.

We shouldnt shield ourselves from the impact of the climate change that we humans have caused.

We should be uncomfortable!

We should feel what the real temperature is outside and what we have caused it to be with all of our as a species collective damaging ecocidal actions to our environment.

We are killing the planet and the earth.

If we dont change, earth will be uninhabitable within 100 years at the absolute most which is why Elon is already planning to colonize Mars.

We humped, pumped & dumped one planet — earth — so why not another?

Our ecocidal actions as a species has caused extreme climate change impacts creating the heat waves that have been observed across the country all summer long, record shattering temperatures & natural disasters.

I have lived in New Jersey for 42 years and for the first time in my life this April there was a 5.2 earthquake.

Americans are addicted to air conditioning period.

Stop the addiction.

Turn off your AC.

[iamchristiansanchez]

Concrete Version of Paradise🏙

EP 3🎬

If New York is the city that never sleeps in the United States, Metro Manila is a city that never sleeps in Asia. Bonifacio Global City is one of the best examples of this in Metro Manila. BGC is my go to place when i want to enjoy after the term ends in our school and hanging out in the city is a terrific way to take a break. There are numerous things to see and do in the area, from visiting museums and art galleries to checking out new cafes or strolling through a nearby park. The lively atmosphere of the city is exciting, and it may help you recharge after school. A city hangout is an excellent method to get away and recharge your mind and body. whether you're spending time with friends or alone.

what i love about this place is it is a great place to walk around, a great place to hang-out, clean, modern and safe to walk. You can safely walk all the way up and down the couple blocks and enjoy the vibe. you can also choose different kind of restaurant that you want to try. High street is full of brand stores and restaurants and cafés of any kind perfect people who want to shop. BGC is also pet friendly they have tents lined up on the high street selling pet accessories and food. along the high street you can rent some e-scooters and bikes to explore BGC.

For someone like me who wants to live in the city, living in a city is amazing because you have access to modern amenities like reliable transportation, and big hospitals, tall skyscrapers, busy streets, and stunning architectural features dominate the cityscape. There's always something to do, such as work, entertainment, shopping, and dining. Bonifacio Global City is lively whether it is morning or night, which is why I want to live there. Life in BGC is never boring and this is why i call it a concrete version of paradise. There is enough to do whether you are a morning or a night person. So much so that you will never tired of any of them. Furthermore, living in a city provides several opportunities for career and personal development. The city environment is a cultural melting pot that provides varied experiences that enrich your life. To put it simply, living in a city is both exciting and wonderful.

[im-a-goat-in-disguise]

here's WALL-E [2008] script. you've been warned.

EXT. SPACE FADE IN: Stars. The upbeat show tune, Put On Your Sunday Clothes, plays. “Out there, there’s a world outside of Yonkers…” More stars. Distant galaxies, constellations, nebulas… A single planet. Drab and brown. Moving towards it. Pushing through its polluted atmosphere. “…Close your eyes and see it glisten…” EXT. PLANET’S SURFACE - CONTINUOUS A range of mountains takes form in the haze. Moving closer. The mountains are piles of TRASH. The entire surface is nothing but waste. “…We’re gonna find adventure in the evening air…” A silhouetted city in the distance. What looks like skyscrapers turns into trash. Thousands of neatly stacked CUBES OF TRASH, stories high. Rows and rows of stacked cubes, like city avenues. They go on for miles. EXT. AVENUE OF TRASH “…Beneath your parasol the world is all a smile…” Something moving on the ground far below. A figure at the foot of a trash heap. A SMALL SERVICE ROBOT diligently cubing trash. Rusted, ancient. Cute. Every inch of him engineered for trash compacting. Mini-shovel hands collect junk. Scoop it into his open chassis. His front plate closes slowly, compressing waste. A faded label on his corroded chest plate: “Waste Allocation Loader - Earth Class” (WALLY) Wally spits out a cube of trash. Stacks it with the others.

Something catches his eye. Tugs on a piece of metal stuck in the stack. A hubcap. The sun reflects off it. Wally checks the sky. ON TRASH HEAP HORIZON The sun sets through the smoggy haze. “…And we won’t come back until we’ve kissed a girl --” He places the hubcap in his compactor. Presses a button on his chest. The song stops playing. The end of a work day. Wally attaches a lunch cooler to his back. Whistles for his pet COCKROACH. The insect hops on his shoulder. They motor down from the top of a GIANT TRASH TOWER. EXT. AVENUES OF TRASH - DUSK Wally travels alone. Traverses miles of desolate waste. Oblivious to roving storms of toxic weather. Passes haunting structures buried within the trash. Buildings, highways, entire cities… Everything branded with the SAME COMPANY LOGO. “Buy N Large” “BNL” stores, restaurants, banks…transportation! The corporation ran every aspect of life. There’s even a BNL LOGO on Wally’s chest plate. CLOSE ON NEWSPAPER Wally drives over. Headline: “TOO MUCH TRASH!! Earth Covered!!” The deck: “BNL CEO Declares Global Emergency!” A photo of the BNL CEO giving a weak smile. Wally’s old treads are threadbare. Practically falling apart. Cause a bumpy ride for his cockroach. He passes the remains of other RUSTED WALL-E UNITS. Fancies one with NEWER TREADS than his own… EXT. DESERTED STREET - MOMENTS LATER Wally now sports the newer treads. Rolls past a SERIES OF HOLOGRAPHIC BILLBOARDS. The solar-powered ads still activate when he passes them.

BILLBOARD ANNOUNCER (V.O.) (Ad #1: BNL logo over trash) Too much garbage in your face? (Ad #2: starliner in space) There’s plenty of space out in space! (Ad #3: starliners take off from Earth) BNL starliners leaving each day. (Ad #4: WALL-E units wave goodbye) We’ll clean up the mess while you’re away. EXT. EDGE OF THE CITY Wally drives down a deserted overpass. Activates an even LARGER HOLOGRAPHIC BILLBOARD. CLOSE ON BILLBOARD AD Shows off a CITY-SIZED LUXURY STARLINER. Depicts passengers enjoying all its amenities. BILLBOARD ANNOUNCER (V.O.) The jewel of the BNL fleet: “The Axiom”. Spend your five year cruise in style. Waited on 24 hours a day by our fully automated crew, while your Captain and Autopilot chart a course for non-stop entertainment, fine dining. And with our all-access hover chairs, even Grandma can join the fun! There’s no need to walk! “The Axiom”. Putting the “star” in Executive Starliner. The BNL CEO appears at the end. Waves goodbye as the Axiom takes off. BUY N LARGE CEO Because, at BNL, space is the final “fun”- tier. The holographic billboard powers off. Reveals the AXIOM’S DESERTED LAUNCHPAD in the distance. The mammoth structure sits across the bay. Now empty and dry. A polluted, dead valley. ON COLLAPSED BRIDGE RAMP Near its edge rests a WALL-E UNIT TRANSPORT TRUCK. A giant child’s Tonka Truck left to weather the elements. A “Buy N Large” logo on its side. Wally approaches the rear of the truck.

Pulls on a lever. The back lowers. Wally motors up the ramp. INT. TRUCK - CONTINUOUS Open racks for storing WALL-Es line both walls. KNICKKNACKS OF FOUND JUNK littered everywhere. The tired robot removes his newfound treads. Ahh… Home. Wally motors down the center aisle. Flicks on an ancient BETAMAX PLAYER. Jury-rigged to an iPod. Pushes in a cassette labeled, “Hello Dolly!” The image is very poor quality. Actors sing and dance to Put On Your Sunday Clothes (POYSC). The same song Wally worked to. WALLY [Hums POYSC] Wally opens his cooler. Newfound knickknacks. Pulls out the hubcap from his chest. Looks back at the TV. Mimics the dancers on the screen. Pretends the hubcap is a hat. Continues to unpack: A spork. A Rubik’s Cube (unsolved). A Zippo Lighter. He presses a BUTTON by the rack of shelves. They rotate until an empty space appears. His new items are lovingly added to the shelf. The Zippo joins a pre-existing LIGHTER COLLECTION. A new song, It Only Takes A Moment, plays on the video. Wally is drawn to it. Presses his “Record” button. ON TV SCREEN Two lovers sing gently to one another. They kiss…hold hands… Wally tilts his head as he watches. Curious. Holds his own hands.

EXT. TRUCK - NIGHT Wally motors outside. Turns over his Igloo cooler to clean it out. Pauses to take in the night sky. STARS struggle to be seen through the polluted haze. Wally presses the “Play” button on his chest. The newly sampled It Only Takes A Moment (IOTAM) plays. The wind picks up. A WARNING LIGHT sounds on Wally’s chest. He looks out into the night. A RAGING SANDSTORM approaches off the bay… Unfazed, Wally heads back in the truck. IOTAM still gently playing. …The massive wave of sand roars closer… Wally raises the door. Pauses. WHISTLES for his cockroach to come inside. The door shuts just as the storm hits. Obliterates everything in view. INT. TRUCK - SAME Wally alone in the center of his shelter. Unwraps a BNL SPONGECAKE (think Twinkie). Lays it out for the cockroach to sleep in. It happily dives in. Wally collapses himself into a storable cube. Backs into an empty shelf space. Rocks it like a cradle… …and shuts down for the night. Outside the wind howls like the Hounds of Hell. INT. WALLY’S TRUCK - NEXT MORNING Wally’s CHARGE METER flashes “WARNING”. He wakes. Unboxes. Groggy and lifeless. Stumbles outside. EXT. ROOF OF WALLY’S TRUCK The morning sun. Wally fully exposed in its light. His front panel splayed out like a tanning shield. A solar collector.

His CHARGE METER chimes full. Solar panels fold away into hiding. Wally, now awake, collects his lunch cooler. Heads off to work. …and accidentally runs over the cockroach. Horrified, Wally reverses. Reveals the FLATTENED INSECT under his tread. The cockroach simply pops back to life. No biggie. Ready to go. Relieved, Wally resumes their commute. EXT. WALLY’S WORK SITE - THAT MORNING A SERIES OF “WALLY AT WORK” MOMENTS:

CU of Wally’s hands digging into garbage. CU of trash being scooped into his chest compactor. A cube lands by the cockroach.

Wally discovers a BRA in the garbage. Unsure what it’s for. Tries placing it over his eyes, like glasses. Tosses it in his cooler.

Wally finds a set of CAR KEYS. Presses the remote lock. Somewhere in the distance a CAR ALARM CHIRPS.

Plays with a paddle ball. The ball keeps smacking him in the face. He doesn’t like it.

Wally discovers a DIAMOND RING in a JEWEL CASE. Throws out the ring. Keeps the case. The jewel case drops into the cooler, then… …A RUBBER DUCKY… …A BOBBLE HEAD DOLL… …An OLD BOOT… …A TROPHY…

Wally finds a FIRE EXTINGUISHER. Activates it. FOAM blasts in his face. It’s tossed far, far away from his cooler.

Wally’s shovel hand strikes something solid. Faces a REFRIGERATOR much larger than himself. Now what?

CU on fridge door. A WELDING BEAM moves down its center. It emits from between Wally’s SPLIT BINOCULAR EYES.

The door falls apart in two pieces. Reveals… …a SMALL PLANT in its early stage of growth. Wally is entranced. Carefully, he extracts the section of earth around it. CLOSE ON IGLOO COOLER Wally gently places the plant inside the old boot. Dusts dirt off the leaves. EXT. TRUCK - DUSK Robot and faithful cockroach return home. Wally stops short of the threshold. Stares at the ground. Continues staring. A RED DOT quivers on the dirt. A single laser point of light. Wally moves to touch it… …The dot races along the ground. Wally drops his Igloo. Chases after the dot. EXT. EMPTY BAY The dot leads Wally deep into the polluted expanse. He is so fixated on it he doesn’t notice MANY LASER POINTS coming from every direction. All racing into the valley over the contour of the terrain. Triangulating towards a center. Wally’s dot suddenly stops. Slowly he reaches for it. Can’t grab it. Just light. ALL THE DOTS converge in front of him. The ground shakes. Wally becomes confused. Doesn’t see above him. The SUN growing brighter behind the cloud cover. A noise. Building.

Rocket engines. Wally senses he should look to the sky. Now THREE SUNS are descending on him. Wally runs for it. An enormous COLUMN OF FIRE blocks his path. A second column of fire. A third. Trapped. Wally cubes the ground beneath him. Working fast. Noise deafening. Heat rising. Digs in just as a tide of flame carpets the ground… …Then suddenly quiet. Smoke clears. CLOSE ON THE SCORCHED EARTH Wally’s head rises out of the dirt. Glows red hot from the heat. Trembles with fright. Everything in shadow. Something very big looms over him. Wally climbs out of his hole. Bangs his head on metal. WIDE on a massive SPACESHIP. Rests ominously in the empty bay. A PORTAL on its underside opens. Frightened, Wally tries to hide. Nowhere to go. He places a SMALL ROCK on his head. Boxes up. A DEVICE lowers to the ground on a long stem. Scans the surface. Wally creeps closer for a better look. The device unfolds. Wally boxes up again. A CAPSULE descends from a chute in the stem. ROBOT ARMS emerge from the device. Place the capsule on the ground. Press buttons. The capsule falls away in sections, to reveal… …a PROBE ROBOT. It hovers gracefully above the ground. White. Egg-shaped.

Blue-lit eyes. Female. Eve. Wally is transfixed. Inches closer. Watches Eve from behind the device. Tilts his head. Time stops. She’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. Eve hovers over the ground. A BLUE RAY emits from her front panel. Fans out 180 degrees. Scans random objects and areas. The device rises back into the ship. Exposes Wally. He rushes for cover behind the nearest rock. Never takes his eyes off Eve. Watches her float away from the ship. …from the ship? The ship! Engines roar back to life. Wally digging furiously. The rocket takes off. Smoke clears. Again, a red hot Wally peeks out from the ground. Looks for Eve. She is watching the ship rise into the clouds. Waits until it is completely out of sight… …then Eve rises high up into the air. She flies around the bay. Soars like a graceful bird. Does loops in the sky. Zooms right past Wally’s rock. He is hypnotized. Eve descends gently to the ground… Wally sneaks up closer. Hides behind another boulder. Slips. Makes a NOISE. Instantly, Eve whips around. Her arm converts into a LASER CANNON. Blasts Wally’s boulder to smithereens. …Smoke clears…All quiet. Eve, now cold and dangerous.

Scans the area. No sign of life. All business again. Hovers away to probe more of the planet. ON OTHER SIDE OF BOULDER CRATER Wally boxed up behind what little remains of the rock. Trembles uncontrollably. EXT. AVENUE OF TRASH - DAY Eve wanders through the pillars of cubed trash. Scans random areas. Wally spies from the shadows. Too frightened to approach. She moves on. He follows. EXT. TIRE DUMP - DAY Eve probes a mound of tires. Wally hiding nearby. He flinches at the sight of HIS COCKROACH innocently approaching Eve from behind. She spins around. Blasts the insect. Wally is gut-punched. The cockroach climbs out of the smoking crater. Unscathed. Still curious. Eve finds the insect intriguing. Lowers her arm. The end separates into individual hovering sections… …A HAND. She lets the insect crawl up her arm. Wiggles into her workings. It tickles. EVE [Giggles] Wally relaxes. CHUCKLES privately. Eve sonically picks up Wally’s location. Locks onto him.

Arm converts to laser cannon. Fires rapidly. Quick glimpses of Wally dodging the blasts. Trash piles are systematically obliterated around him. Wally now exposed. Nowhere to hide. Boxes himself up. Shakes uncontrollably. Eve holds her fire. EVE (electronic hums) [Identify yourself.] She slowly approaches Wally’s box. Keeps her gun trained on him. EVE (electronic hums) [Repeat. Identify yourself.] Wally peeks out from his box. Doesn’t understand a thing she says. Doesn’t care. Can’t believe she’s real. The cockroach climbs down her gun arm. Jumps onto his master. Eve scans Wally. A RED LIGHT appears on her chest. Buzzes “negative”. He’s not what she’s looking for. She retracts her gun arm. Hovers off. Wally watches her go. Lovestruck. WALLY [Sigh.] DISSOLVE TO: INT. ABANDONED BNL SUPERSTORE - NEXT DAY LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S “LA VIE EN ROSE” PLAYS Eve scans through the market. Wally follows from a safe distance. A stray puppy-dog. Eve glances over at him. Wally panics. Bumps into a RACK OF SHOPPING CARTS. Creates an avalanche.

They chase him down a flight of stairs. Wally reaches the exit doors. Won’t open! Carts pig pile on top of him. EXT. BNL REFINERY - NIGHT Wally perched on the roof. Patiently watches Eve fly. She scans the ground below her, like a searchlight. Eve comes in for a landing below. Shuts down for the night. Wally waits. Quietly sneaks down the refinery fire escape. Accidentally trips. Tumbles to the ground. Eve doesn’t wake. Wally creeps up to her. Opens his arms wide… …and measures her. Turns to a pile of trash. Splits open his eyes. Begins welding something… DISSOLVE TO: EXT. BNL REFINERY - NEXT MORNING Eve powers up again. Does a double take. A TRASH SCULPTURE OF EVE stands in front of her. She hovers away, unimpressed. Doesn’t notice Wally hiding behind a PILE OF PIPES. Wally kicks the pipes in frustration. They roll on top of him. SONG ENDS MONTAGE OF EVE SEARCHING

Scans a car engine. Negative. Slams the hood shut.

Scans a Port-A-Potty. Negative. Slams the door shut.

Scans an Apollo capsule. Negative. Slams the hatch shut.

Scans a FREIGHTER HOLD. Negative. Slams the lid shut.

EXT. DERELICT SHIPYARD - DUSK Eve hovers over the freighter. Frustrated. Not finding what she’s looking for. Wally eavesdrops from afar. Eve flies past the ship’s CRANE MAGNET. Gets stuck. Wrestles to free herself. Furious, she BLOWS UP THE ENTIRE SHIP. The reaction startles Wally. Eve slumps down against a dredged anchor. She gives up. Concerned, Wally cautiously approaches. Sits at the other end of the anchor. Both robots stare silently at the fiery wreck. Then… …slowly, very slowly, Wally inches towards her. Musters the courage to speak, when -- She suddenly turns to him: EVE (hums) [So what’s your story?] Wally falls backwards with surprise. Me? Eve scrolls through a variety of languages: EVE (German) [Directive?] (Japanese) [Directive?] WALLY [Huh?] EVE (Swahili) [Directive?] (English) Directive? WALLY (beeps) [Oh, I understand that!]

EVE Directive? Wally eagerly turns to some nearby trash. Scoops it into his compactor. Proudly spits out a cube. Points to Eve. WALLY (struggles to speak) Di…rec…t-- EVE Directive? Wally nods. EVE Classified. WALLY (beeps) [Oh. Sorry.] She scans his CHEST LOGO. EVE Name? WALLY (struggles again) W-wally? …Wally. EVE (smooth; almost perfect) Wwww-aaaa-leee… Wally nearly melts. She says his name so beautifully. Moves closer. EVE Wally. (giggles) Eve. Wally tries to repeat it: WALLY Eeee…? EVE (slower) Eve.

WALLY Eeeaaah? EVE Eeeve. Eeeve. WALLY Eee--vah! She giggles again. Wally likes making her giggle. WALLY Eee-vah! Ee -- EVE Eve. The wind kicks up. The WARNING LIGHT sounds on Wally’s chest. He moves to grab her. WALLY (Gasp!) Eee-vah! EVE (hums) [Hey watch it! Don’t come any closer!] She draws her gun on him. Doesn’t understand the danger. The sandstorm rushes up behind her. Too late. Wally collapses into a box. The storm hits full force. Eve is instantly lost, disoriented. EVE Wally? Wally? WALLY’S HAND appears out of the dust. Calmly takes Eve’s hand. INT. TRUCK - MOMENTS LATER The back door lowers. A rush of wind and sand. Wally pulls Eve inside. Closes the door. She coughs up dust. Wally hits a switch… Strings of CHRISTMAS LIGHTS fill the space. His racks of oddities painted in colored light.

An air of enchantment. Eve is taken aback. WALLY (beeps) [Come on in.] She drifts through the sea of knickknacks. Becomes spooked by a SINGING BILLY BASS FISH. Threatens to shoot it, but Wally calms her down. He is compelled to show her everything. Hands her an eggbeater… …bubble wrap (so infectious to pop)… …a lightbulb (lights when she holds it)… …the Rubik’s Cube (she solves it immediately)… …his Hello Dolly tape. Curious, she begins unspooling the tape. WALLY (loud beeps) [My tape!!] He grabs it back. Protective. Inserts it carefully into the VCR. Please still work. The movie eventually appears on the TV. Plays a clip of POYSC. Wally is relieved. WALLY (beeps) [What do you think?] Mimics the dancing for Eve. Encourages her to try. She clumsily hops up and down. Makes dents in the floor. Rattles everything. Wally politely stops her. WALLY (beeps) [How ‘bout we try a different move?] Spins in a circle. Arms out. Eve copies. Spins faster, and faster… Too fast. Accidentally strikes Wally. He flies into the shelves. Eve helps him up from the mess. Wally’s LEFT BINOCULAR EYE falls off. Dangles from two wires. Eve GASPS with concern. Wally placates her.

WALLY (beeps) [It’s fine.] Feels his way to the rack of shelves. Rotates them until… …SPARE WALL-E PARTS appear. Replaces his broken eye with a new one. Eve is relieved. She eyes his LIGHTER COLLECTION. Flicks open a Zippo. Ignites a FLAME. Wally freezes. He had no idea it could do that. Moves closer to inspect it… ON WALLY It’s the closest he’s ever been to Eve. She remains focused on the lighter. Wally stares up at her. …The tiny flame flickering between them… …The Hello Dolly video plays IOTAM in the background… Suddenly, he is moved to express his love. Musters the courage to open his fingers… …Timidly reaches his hand out to hers… -- Eve turns and looks at him. Wally instantly chokes. Pulls his hand back. Eve becomes intrigued with the TV. Scans the image of the lovers singing IOTAM… Wally watches her. His infatuation still palpable. Then he remembers… WALLY Ee-vah! He rushes to his shelves. Eve watches him rummage through junk. A drum falls down on his head. She giggles, charmed by it all. Something about Wally… She is drawn back to the lovers on TV… …then the lit Zippo lighter in her hand. A tap on her shoulder. She turns to find Wally holding something. The plant. Eve immediately locks onto it.

Drops the lighter. In a flash… …her chest opens… …a TRACTOR BEAM snatches the plant away… …stores it inside her… Then she shuts down completely. Only a SINGLE GREEN LIGHT pulsing on her chest. Wally is stunned. What’d I do? Waves his hand in front of her face. WALLY Ee-vah? Knocks on her chest plate. No response. Wally panics. Gently shakes her. WALLY Ee-vah? Still no response. WALLY Ee-vah? …Ee-vah?! CAMERA MOVES IN on the blinking green light… DISSOLVE TO: EXT. ROOF OF WALLY’S TRUCK - DAY The morning sun. Wally places Eve in his charging spot. Aims her hovering form to face the sun. Waits. MONTAGE OF WALLY TRYING TO REVIVE EVE:

Several hot days pass with Wally holding vigil in the heat.

A THUNDERSTORM approaches on the horizon. Wally holds an UMBRELLA over Eve. Gets struck by lightning. Holds up another umbrella. Gets struck again.

A SANDSTORM blows through. Wally pops out of a dune on the truck’s roof. Lifts up an UPSIDE-DOWN BARREL that protected Eve.

Wally pries open a panel on Eve’s chest. Reveals her pulsing BLUE HEART-BATTERY. Attaches JUMPER CABLES to his own HEART-BATTERY. Tries to connect the other end to hers. An automatic defense system blows him off truck.

Wally & cockroach take Eve for a walk. Pull her along on a LEASH OF CHRISTMAS LIGHTS.

Wally gives Eve a boat ride on a LAKE OF SLUDGE. Uses an industrial tire as a boat. Rows like a gondolier with a road sign.

Wally sits by the empty bay with Eve. Watches the SUNSET. Burns “WALL-E + EVE” on a public trash can. Tries to pull out her hand to hold it. It snaps back into place, trapping his hand.

END OF MONTAGE EXT. ROOF OF WALLY’S TRUCK - NIGHT Wally has set up the TV on the roof. The blank Eve floating next to him. Tries unsuccessfully to play PONG with her. Still no response. Finally, he gives up. WALLY [defeated sigh] EXT. TRUCK - NEXT MORNING Wally loads up his cooler. Checks on Eve one more time. Still nothing… Heads off to work, defeated. EXT. WORK SITE - LATER Wally simply going through the motions. No spirit in him at all. Stops. Pulls out the Zippo lighter. Flicks it a few times. A RUSH OF WIND blows out the flame. Distant rumbling. Wally looks in the direction of his home. A BRIGHT GLOW is lowering down through the clouds.

WALLY (beeps) [Oh no.] EXT. TRASH ALLEY - DAY Wally racing as fast as he can. The cockroach clings onto him for dear life. EXT. TRUCK - DAY The RECON SPACESHIP towers over his truck. A ROBOT ARM cherry-picks Eve from the roof. Lifts her up and into the ship’s cargo hold. Wally racing in the distance. WALLY EE-VAH!! EE-VAH!! Reaches the end of the collapsed bridge ramp. Forced to watch Eve disappear into the ship. The cargo doors slam shut. The first of the THREE ROCKET ENGINES powers up. Wally heads down a hill of rubble to the ship. Notices his cockroach tagging along behind him. Leads it back to the top of the hill. WALLY (beeps) [Stay.] The insect mopes. Droops its little antennae. Wally motors back down to the rocket… BASE OF RECON SHIP The engines blast a WALL OF SMOKE. Preparation for launch… INT. RECON SHIP Eve is secured into a slot. Joins a ROW OF OTHER EVE PROBES. All dormant. Only Eve flashes a GREEN LIGHT. The CAMERA DRIFTS BACK out a window… OUTSIDE THE SHIP

…where Wally steadily climbs up the side. The ship’s engines ignite. Wally clamps his hands tight to a metal support. The rocket takes off into space. EXT. TOP OF HILL The cockroach watches his master go. EXT. RECON SHIP The spaceship roars through the sky. Wally tightens his grip, battling the G’s. He looks ahead. SCREAMS. HUNDREDS OF BNL SATELLITES litter the outer atmosphere. The ship bursts through the layer. EXT. SPACE - CONTINUOUS The recon ship breaks free of the planet. Its boosters shut down. Wally takes in the sudden QUIETNESS OF SPACE. Looks back at his planet. WALLY Oooh… Weightlessness takes effect. Wally almost floats away. Grabs hold of the ship. Knocks on a WINDOW near Eve. WALLY E-vah! No response. She remains shut down. Wally points out at the stars. It is the most spectacular light show possible. And Wally has a front row seat.

MONTAGE OF CELESTIAL SPECTACLES

The ship flies past the MOON. A BILLBOARD stands next to the abandoned APOLLO MOON ROVER. “BNL Outlet Coming Soon.”

The ship passes by the SUN. Wally pops open his solar panels. 21. Instantly recharges.

The ship cruises alongside SATURN’S OUTER RINGS. Wally runs his hand through the tiny particles of ice.

DISSOLVE TO: EXT. RECON SHIP - DAYS LATER

A DUMBBELL NEBULA slowly twists in space. Wally is mesmerized by it. Leads his eye to a LIGHT, growing in the distance ahead. A planet? No. A starliner. Gigantic in size. The “AXIOM”. The now tiny recon ship heads straight for it. INT. DOCKING BAY TWO TUG-ROCKETS guide the ship in. It locks into GIANT BRACES fixed on the deck. The impact knocks Wally off. He lands in the scaffolding of the front brace. Suddenly the entire dock comes to life. Robotic arms and service robots of all types appear. …Rise from the floor… ..Lower from the ceiling… It’s a cacophony of automation. They all attend to the ship. EVE and four other probes slide out of the ship’s side. Suspended in a horizontal rack. Wally is surprised to find her facing him. She remains shut down. Just a few feet away with a giant abyss between them. WALLY Ee-vah… ? A SQUAD OF CLEANER ROBOTS emerge onto the dock. A small roller BRUSH-BOT (M-O) leads. M-O (beeps) [Hold up.]

Waits for the FLOOR LINES to appear. Depict their exact path of action. M-O (beeps) [Okay. Go.] They file out on the line. A crane-bot lowers Eve from the rack. M-O and his cleaning crew stand ready. M-O scans Eve. ON M-O’S DISPLAY POV Scan reads: “%16 Foreign Contaminant.” M-O is disgusted. Revs his brush roller. Moves in for the clean. A VACU-BOT follows after him. Then a SPRAY-BOT and BUFFER-BOT finish off. The cleaning crew waits for probe #2. Wally studies the routine. Figures out a way to climb down to Eve. When the crane returns, Wally poses as probe #3. The crane grabs him instead. M-O turns around to clean the next probe. Wally is lowered in front of him. Boxes up. Confused, M-O scans him. ON M-O’S DISPLAY POV Scan reads: “%100 Foreign Contaminant.” M-O is horrified by such filth. A RED SIREN LIGHT rises from his head. M-O [Oh, no, no, no. This is all wrong.] He scrubs Wally full force. Wally’s front panel pushes him away. Confused, M-O moves to clean him again. Wally backs away. Leaves a DIRT TRAIL. M-O curses: M-O [You made the floor all dirty! Stop it!]

M-O furiously scrubs the floor. Wally peeks out, amused by this neurotic little guy. ON FAR WALL Two STEWARD ROBOTS come out of the wall. Act like hovering caution signs. A small robot (GOPHER) shoots out a PNEUMATIC TUBE. He bears epaulet like shoulders and a siren for a face. Gopher beeps an ELECTRONIC ORDER for the Stewards to follow. BACK ON M-O AND WALLY M-O just finishes cleaning the floor. Wally is fascinated. Impishly makes another mark. M-O compulsively cleans it. Can’t resist. M-O [Look, it stays clean. You got that?] Wally wipes the bottom of his tread on M-O’s face. M-O loses it. Scrubs his own face. Gopher and his steward escort arrive. The cleaning crew stand at attention. Wally boxes back up with the probes. Gopher begins scanning each probe. Moves down the line. Scans Wally…moves on to the next probe… Stops -- Wait a minute. Turns back. Wally is gone. Gopher shrugs it off. Proceeds… Reaches Eve. Doesn’t notice Wally hidden behind her. Gopher scans her BLINKING PLANT LIGHT -- The entire dock goes to “Code Green”! Alarms sound. Green lights flash. All automation stops. In rapid succession… …A HOVER-TRANSPORT glides up to Gopher… …A crane-bot loads Eve… …Curved energy bands lock her down… …Gopher assumes the driver’s seat… It’s all moving too fast for Wally. Suddenly Eve’s transport heads for the ELEVATOR.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Research has revealed the most hated Christmas traditions as adults slam Elf on The Shelf and fresh sets of pyjamas.

The study of 2,000 Christmas fans, commissioned by bakery brand St Pierre, also listed the festive traditions from around the world many would like to adopt.

The poll found 27 per cent loathe Santa’s mischievous little helper, while a fifth turn their nose up at getting new pyjamas for the whole family to wear.

Emailing the big man a wish list, receiving a Christmas Eve box, and keeping tabs on Santa’s sleigh via an online tracker also made the list of most disliked modern rituals.

However, receiving a stocking, pantomimes, and eating turkey on Christmas day were among the most loved British festive traditions.

Visiting a Christmas market, carol singing, and leaving milk and cookies out for Santa also made the ‘nice’ list of Christmas activities.

Some also revealed the worldwide traditions they would like to adopt — including tucking into Japan’s fried chicken dinner and marking ‘little Christmas’ on December 23rd like they do in Norway.

Iceland’s tradition of giving a book on Christmas, having a barbecue instead of a turkey dinner with all the trimmings as they do in New Zealand, and enjoying a Christmas Eve sauna in the style of Finland also made the list.

A spokesperson for St Pierre said:

“For a lot of families, keeping up with Christmas traditions is an important part of the season and it is what makes this time of year so special.

However, there are some modern customs, which have made their way into people’s homes over recent years.

It’s been interesting to see the nation’s take on these and even more interesting to hear, which global dining traditions Brits would most like to adopt.”

When comparing countries, 32 per cent think our festive customs are mostly inspired by other cultures, rather than being original.

And 20 per cent even believe certain places are better at celebrating Christmas than we are, with the US, Germany and Norway taking the top spots for this.

As a result, 30 per cent are keen to spend this magical time of year in another country, with 22 per cent already having done so.

The study, carried out via OnePoll, found a third enjoy any rituals that involves food or family recipes and 36 per cent claim most of what they do at home revolves around it.

But 21 per cent have their own rituals outside of what is considered ‘typical,’ with 16 per cent seeing Christmas as the perfect time to start a new tradition.

Although 24 per cent claim they take part in certain things each year because they feel like they have to.

Nearly half (48 per cent) also admitted they still carry out some of their family heritages they experienced as a child.

A spokesperson for St Pierre added:

“It’s great to see food coming in as the number one thing people most enjoy about Christmas – and it’s no wonder as not only is it the perfect time to indulge but it’s also a special time for making memories.

Food is more than a meal on your plate; it’s the nostalgia of growing up, the family recipes that come out once a year, and a wonderful way to bring people together – no matter where we are in the world.”

[bikanervala]

Bikanervala: A Symphony of Traditional Flavors

From the crowded lanes of Chandni Chowk to the bustling streets of global cities, Bikanervala has journeyed far and wide, but its essence remains unchanged – that of authentic Indian flavours and timeless recipes.

The Legacy Established in 1950, Bikanervala is more than just a brand; it’s a legacy. Rooted in the traditional Indian values of hospitality and the art of culinary excellence, this brand has taken Indian taste to international platforms.

Sweets to Savour Step into a Bikanervala outlet, and you are greeted with the tantalising aroma of fresh sweets. From the melt-in-the-mouth ‘Besan Laddoo’ to the soft and spongy ‘Rasgulla’, every sweet here is a testament to India’s rich culinary heritage.

Savouries that Speak Volumes But Bikanervala isn’t just about sweets. Their array of savouries like ‘Samosa’, ‘Kachori’, and ‘Dhokla’ evoke the diverse flavours of India. Each bite takes you on a journey from the spicy streets of Rajasthan to the tangy lanes.

Global Fusion with a Desi Twist What’s fascinating is Bikanervala’s ability to innovate while staying true to its roots. Their fusion dishes like the ‘Pizza Samosa’ and ‘Burger Dhokla’ are a delightful blend of the West and the East, appealing to both the traditionalists and the millennials.

Beyond Food – An Experience A visit to Bikanervala is not just about food; it’s an experience. The warm ambiance, the vibrant colours, and the courteous staff all contribute to a dining experience that feels like a hearty meal at an Indian home.

Bikanervala Today From its humble beginnings in Old Delhi, Bikanervala has now spread its wings globally. With outlets in various countries, the brand has successfully introduced the world to the delectable world of Indian snacks and sweets.

Bikanervala is not just a name; it’s an emotion for many. Whether you’re craving a piece of your childhood nostalgia or seeking to explore the vast palate of Indian cuisine, Bikanervala welcomes you with open arms and a plate full of flavours.

[bunkershotgolf]

Apes Hill Barbados Garners Two Luxury Lifestyle Awards

Caribbean Property Cited as Best Real Estate Developer and Best Sustainable Residential Development

Apes Hill Barbados, the spectacular, new golf resort and real-estate community, today announces that it has received two honors from Luxury Lifestyle Awards – Best Luxury Real Estate Developer in Barbados and Best Luxury Sustainable Residential Development.

The awards are “in recognition of the outstanding work done by Apes Hill Barbados to develop a golf resort and community of immense beauty and commitment to sustainable living in the island.”

Luxury Lifestyle Awards is a global award recognizing the best luxury places, goods, and services globally. Luxury Lifestyle Awards has evaluated more than 10,000 entities in 400 categories from 60 countries and analyzed the results to glean the world’s finest luxury places and things.

“These awards are immensely important and deeply appreciated because environmental and sustainability best practices are essential to Apes Hill Barbados,” said Sunil Chatrani, Executive Chairman, Apes Hill Barbados. “We’ve taken great care to design a living experience that is of premium quality for individuals, couples and families looking for a setting that helps them prioritize the important things in life: family, friendships, health, and connection to nature. That is what life at Apes Hill Barbados is all about.”

Apes Hill Barbados is a 475-acre property of incredible elegance located in the Parish of Saint James on the west coast of the culturally vibrant and historically rich Barbados. The island is famed for its history, beauty, designer shops and world class restaurants. It also boasts some of the best golf courses in the Caribbean, with Apes Hill rating No. 5 in the Caribbean, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Atlantic Islands (Source: Golfweek’s “Best You Can Play”).

Sustainability is at the forefront of the resort’s long-term DNA – designed to make it the most environmentally responsible golf course and development in the Caribbean. Underscoring this mandate is Apes Hill Barbados’ work with Audubon International, the non-profit organization that helps places employ environmental best practices and protect the areas where people live, work, and play.

Golf fairways and tees have been re-laid using the more drought tolerant Zoysia Zorro grass and the greens with TifEagle. The resistance of these grasses to insects also further reduces the reliance on fertilization and use of pesticides, with a view to Apes Hill Barbados eventually becoming chemical-free.

Apes Hill Barbados is owned by Apes Hill (Barbados) Inc., a Barbadian company whose primary shareholder is Glenn J. Chamandy, a Canadian investor, founder, and CEO of leading clothing brand Gildan Activewear. Chamandy purchased the property in 2019 and embarked on an ambitious project to redefine golfing and estate living on the Caribbean Island.

Apes Hill Barbados has a uniquely laid back and tranquil atmosphere that provides the perfect setting for inspired living at a pace of ease. There are several residential options available, including The Hilltop Residences, which are contemporary single-story golf course homes overlooking the par-3 course and 19th hole all while offering westerly vistas. Other options include three-bedroom Courtyard Villas and detached homes in Seaview Ridge that enjoy uninterrupted views and overlook the first fairway.

Amenities at Apes Hill Barbados will include a wellness centre, several kilometers of enchanting nature trails, flood-lit Padel courts, TigerTurf tennis courts, spa, dining, and bespoke outdoor and well-being activities as well as a dedicated concierge service, among other top-class amenities. Apes Hill Barbados’ golfing credentials are just as impressive – the 18-hole championship golf course was designed by the legendary Ron Kirby and opened for play in November 2022, and the state-of-the-art Golf Performance Centre debuted last month.

Apes Hill Barbados is also home to a developing range of accommodation options, with a portfolio of stunning real estate on site alongside golf vacation properties set to allow guests to stay and play from later this year.

For more information: www.apeshill.com

About Apes Hill Barbados

At 1,000 feet above sea level, Apes Hill Barbados is the most elevated golf resort and community in Barbados, spanning 475 acres made up of lush tropical vegetation, indigenous gullies and rare panoramic ocean views of both the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Set within the undulating topography of the Central Highlands, and hugging the geologically unique Scotland District, it is home to an 18-hole, par-72 Championship golf course which is complemented by state-of-the-art golf amenities featuring the latest technology. With its laid back, luxury lifestyle, sustainability lives at its core and permeates through the entire resort and community. The stunning collection of residences, which blend seamlessly with the environment, highlight that nature, innovation, and technology reign supreme across the lush landscape. At Apes Hill Barbados, sleek and modern residences can be found ranging from three-bedroom courtyard villas to four-bedroom hilltop residences and golf course homes featuring a bespoke design service. It is a place of prestige without pretence, set in one of the most unique high points to be found. Apes Hill Barbados delivers an unmatched adventure for the entire family and is a natural setting for an ultra-luxurious golf resort and community.

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