#Job providers in India

[alienpost]

Building brands with purpose and passion

Alienspost India: Digital marketing agency

“Your brand is what other people say about you when you're not in the room”. Everyone has a different style when it comes to their own brand. A good brand doesn’t need to cost you millions of dollars, but it does require a lot of creativity and research. Studies show that 89 percent of shoppers stay loyal to brands they share similar values with.

Here are some factors that you need to consider to build a strong brand:

Brand design (colors, font, packaging, themes, etc.) Social media presence Environment and company culture Product quality and pricing Website and marketing Taglines and slogans Customer service

[credencehrservices-01]

AI in Recruitment: The future is now with Credence HR services

The Future of Recruitment: Leveraging AI in Talent Acquisition

Let’s be honest—recruitment can be a bit of a rollercoaster. One moment you’re sifting through piles of resumes, the next you’re in back-to-back interviews, and still, you’re left wondering if you’ve found the right fit. Enter Artificial Intelligence (AI). Now, I know what you’re thinking—“AI in recruitment? That sounds a little too ‘sci-fi’ for me.” But trust me, it’s not. In fact, AI is becoming the not-so-secret weapon that recruitment firms like Credence HR Services are using to make the hiring process smoother, faster, and dare I say, more human.

Yes, AI might handle the tedious parts, like scanning resumes and ranking candidates, but it doesn’t replace the recruiter’s personal touch. Credence HR Services, one of the top HR consulting firms, has struck the perfect balance between cutting-edge technology and the irreplaceable value of human insight. After all, finding the right candidate isn’t just about what’s on paper—it’s about understanding who they are as a person and how they’ll fit into your company’s culture.

In this blog, we’ll dive into the ways AI is transforming recruitment, explore how HR service providers like Credence HR Services are leveraging AI to take talent acquisition to the next level, and share why, despite the rise of tech, the heart of hiring is still very much human. Let’s get started!

The Role of AI in Talent Acquisition

The recruitment process, as many HR service providers can attest, can be exhaustive. Between sifting through countless resumes and conducting rounds of interviews, hiring the right candidate often feels like finding a needle in a haystack. This is where AI comes into play. Through advanced algorithms, AI can automate initial screening by analyzing resumes and identifying suitable candidates faster than any human recruiter.

Platforms like job boards in India are already utilizing AI to help candidates find roles that match their skills and experience. But it's not just about speed—AI also enhances accuracy. By comparing qualifications, job histories, and even soft skills, AI helps recruiters make better decisions. A well-integrated AI solution, such as the one Credence HR Services employs, ensures that no potential star slips through the cracks.

AI Doesn’t Replace Humans, It Enhances Them

Contrary to popular belief, AI is not here to replace human recruiters. It’s here to assist them, especially in tasks that involve repetitive sorting and filtering. Think of AI as your personal assistant, leaving you more time to focus on what really matters: building relationships with potential hires. At Credence HR Services, we believe the future of recruitment is a synergy between AI and human intuition.

Let’s hear it from industry thought-leader Leena Nair, CEO of Chanel, who said, AI will augment human capability. It can offer solutions at scale but is not a substitute for human judgment. It’s this very approach that HR consulting firms need to adopt—utilizing AI to do the heavy lifting, but still relying on the insights only a seasoned recruiter can provide.

Credence HR Services: A Pioneer in AI-Driven Recruitment

At Credence HR Services, we've integrated AI into our talent acquisition process to help our clients find the best candidates faster. As a leading recruitment firm, we're leveraging AI to improve both speed and accuracy, and it’s all backed by our team of skilled recruiters. Our use of AI helps ensure a seamless hiring process while maintaining the human element in candidate selection. Our clients can trust us to deliver not only the perfect hire but also a great candidate experience.

For example, when we work with clients in Pune looking for HR services, we leverage AI to match candidates to job roles with unprecedented accuracy. Whether you're looking for HR consulting services or need HR support services in a specific region, Credence HR's AI-driven approach ensures you get the best talent pool from job boards in India and beyond.

How AI is Transforming Recruitment Stages

1. Sourcing Talent

AI-powered tools like chatbots and automated outreach systems are making it easier to source talent globally. Rather than relying solely on local networks, AI expands your reach, helping firms find hidden gems on job boards or even via LinkedIn.

At Credence HR Services, we utilize AI in sourcing strategies to identify passive candidates—those who might not be actively seeking a new role but are a perfect fit for our clients' needs. This gives us access to a broader pool of talent while others may still be stuck filtering through the usual platforms.

2. Screening and Shortlisting

Screening hundreds of resumes for a single position is time-consuming. AI automates the screening process, matching candidates with the desired qualifications and eliminating unqualified applicants early on. This technology ensures that by the time a human recruiter gets involved, they’re only looking at the cream of the crop.

At Credence HR, our AI-driven screening tools comb through resumes, analyzing not only the experience and education but also soft skills and cultural fit. This results in more accurate shortlists, which means better hiring outcomes for our clients.

3. Assessing Skills

AI-driven assessments are now helping HR teams gauge a candidate’s skills in real-time. From coding tests to soft-skill evaluations, AI can provide unbiased, data-driven insights about a candidate’s suitability for a role.

HR consulting firms like Credence HR Services are leading the charge in using AI for these assessments. We offer clients AI-powered tools that simulate real-life job scenarios, providing deeper insights into how a candidate will perform on the job.

4. Enhancing Candidate Experience

Believe it or not, AI can also help improve candidate experience. Automated emails, timely updates on application status, and AI-driven interview scheduling ensure that candidates are always in the loop. At Credence HR, we take pride in the fact that our HR management services offer a seamless candidate experience by combining AI efficiency with human interaction.

Credence HR Services Fits Into the AI Future

As AI continues to reshape the recruitment landscape, partnering with forward-thinking HR consulting firms like Credence HR Services becomes vital. Whether you’re a small business looking for local HR services near me or a large corporation in need of HR consulting solutions, we’ve got you covered. Our AI-enhanced recruiting services take the guesswork out of hiring, ensuring you find the right candidate every time.

So, as you look toward the future of hiring, remember that AI is no longer a far-off concept—it’s here. And with Credence HR Services at the helm, your recruitment process is in expert hands. Want to experience AI-driven recruitment firsthand? Tag us in your journey, or better yet, let’s connect over coffee and talk about how we can bring AI-powered solutions to your company.

Conclusion:

AI in recruitment isn’t just a trend; it’s the future. And at Credence HR Services, we’re proud to be among the HR service providers leading this change. From enhancing candidate experience to streamlining sourcing, screening, and assessing, AI offers immense possibilities. But while technology evolves, the human element remains irreplaceable. At Credence, we use AI to enhance—not replace—our human expertise, giving you the best of both worlds.

If you’re ready to revolutionize your hiring process with AI, get in touch with Credence HR Services today!

[randstad2023]

Looking for online job ?

[it-related-online-course]

JobsNEAR is a fastest growing career site which provides quality employment support services and career development solutions for job seekers India. We offer many cost-effective solutions and recruitment resources for employers seeking to hire qualified indian talents. Our database of candidate resumes are used over thousands of times a day by recruiters from top companies and job seekers from cities like Cochin, Trivandrum, Kozhikode, Thrissur, Kottayam, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi, Mumbai etc across India.

Best Job Site in India

We provide relevant profiles to employers and relevant jobs to jobseekers according to the designation, job title, salary, experience levels and locations. More than thousands of people have registered in our job portal. To help employers attract top talent and retain employees, we offers a wide range of HR technology solutions and expertise including recruiting campaigns, flexible job posting packages, online resume database, listing of resumes, talent management capabilities and interview scheduling. The job seekers, recruiters, entrepreneur and HR professional can find the right way to success with JobsNEAR. We encourage our clients to identify the career goals, provide programs designed to achieve employment, and offer educational upgrading tools to develop employment options. We provide smarter search options and powerful data about the job market, giving you the information you need to take control of your career.

[reasonsforhope]

Masterpost: Reasons I firmly believe we will beat climate change

Posts are in reverse chronological order (by post date, not article date), mostly taken from my "climate change tag," which I went through all the way back to the literal beginning of my blog. Will update periodically.

Especially big deal articles/posts are in bold.

Big picture:

Mature trees offer hope in world of rising emissions (x)

Spying from space: How satellites can help identify and rein in a potent climate pollutant (x)

Good news: Tiny urban green spaces can cool cities and save lives (x)

Conservation and economic development go hand in hand, more often than expected (x)

The exponential growth of solar power will change the world (x)

Sun Machines: Solar, an energy that gets cheaper and cheaper, is going to be huge (x)

Wealthy nations finally deliver promised climate aid, as calls for more equitable funding for poor countries grow (x)

For Earth Day 2024, experts are spreading optimism – not doom. Here's why. (x)

Opinion: I’m a Climate Scientist. I’m Not Screaming Into the Void Anymore. (x)

The World’s Forests Are Doing Much Better Than We Think (x)

‘Staggering’ green growth gives hope for 1.5C, says global energy chief (x)

Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View (x)

Young Forests Capture Carbon Quicker than Previously Thought (x)

Yes, climate change can be beaten by 2050. Here's how. (x)

Soil improvements could keep planet within 1.5C heating target, research shows (x)

The global treaty to save the ozone layer has also slowed Arctic ice melt (x)

The doomers are wrong about humanity’s future — and its past (x)

Scientists Find Methane is Actually Offsetting 30% of its Own Heating Effect on Planet (x)

Are debt-for-climate swaps finally taking off? (x)

High seas treaty: historic deal to protect international waters finally reached at UN (x)

How Could Positive ‘Tipping Points’ Accelerate Climate Action? (x)

Specific examples:

Environmental Campaigners Celebrate As Labour Ends Tory Ban On New Onshore Wind Projects (x)

Private firms are driving a revolution in solar power in Africa (x)

How the small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu drastically cut plastic pollution (x)

Rewilding sites have seen 400% increase in jobs since 2008, research finds [Scotland] (x)

The American Climate Corps take flight, with most jobs based in the West (x)

Waste Heat Generated from Electronics to Warm Finnish City in Winter Thanks to Groundbreaking Thermal Energy Project (x)

Climate protection is now a human right — and lawsuits will follow [European Union] (x)

A new EU ecocide law ‘marks the end of impunity for environmental criminals’ (x)

Solar hits a renewable energy milestone not seen since WWII [United States] (x)

These are the climate grannies. They’ll do whatever it takes to protect their grandchildren. [United States and Native American Nations] (x)

Century of Tree Planting Stalls the Warming Effects in the Eastern United States, Says Study (x)

Chart: Wind and solar are closing in on fossil fuels in the EU (x)

UK use of gas and coal for electricity at lowest since 1957, figures show (x)

Countries That Generate 100% Renewable Energy Electricity (x)

Indigenous advocacy leads to largest dam removal project in US history [United States and Native American Nations] (x)

India’s clean energy transition is rapidly underway, benefiting the entire world (x)

China is set to shatter its wind and solar target five years early, new report finds (x)

‘Game changing’: spate of US lawsuits calls big oil to account for climate crisis (x)

Largest-ever data set collection shows how coral reefs can survive climate change (x)

The Biggest Climate Bill of Your Life - But What Does It DO? [United States] (x)

Good Climate News: Headline Roundup April 1st through April 15th, 2023 (x)

How agroforestry can restore degraded lands and provide income in the Amazon (x) [Brazil]

Loss of Climate-Crucial Mangrove Forests Has Slowed to Near-Negligable Amount Worldwide, Report Hails (x)

Agroecology schools help communities restore degraded land in Guatemala (x)

Climate adaptation:

Solar-powered generators pull clean drinking water 'from thin air,' aiding communities in need: 'It transforms lives' (x)

‘Sponge’ Cities Combat Urban Flooding by Letting Nature Do the Work [China] (x)

Indian Engineers Tackle Water Shortages with Star Wars Tech in Kerala (x)

A green roof or rooftop solar? You can combine them in a biosolar roof — boosting both biodiversity and power output (x)

Global death tolls from natural disasters have actually plummeted over the last century (x)

Los Angeles Just Proved How Spongy a City Can Be (x)

This city turns sewage into drinking water in 24 hours. The concept is catching on [Namibia] (x)

Plants teach their offspring how to adapt to climate change, scientists find (x)

Resurrecting Climate-Resilient Rice in India (x)

[wawcl]

[iplace-consultancy01]

Posted Job - Job Listing - iPlace consultancy

Posted Job - Job Listing - iplace consultancy 

Job Vacancies in Surat , Gujarat - Marketing Executive - Social Media marketing - Digital Marketing - Full Time Job - iplace consultancy 

Free Recruitment, Recruiters, Job Seeker, HR, Opportunity, Resourcing, Job Board, Human Resources, Organization hiring, Job ads, Job Advertisement, Job Portal, India Job Portal, Out Of Job Seekers, resume, job search, recruitment, career, part time jobs, job bank, jobs hiring, job vacancies, hire, jobsite, Recruiting, sourcing

[eatmangoesnekkid]

I don’t have children. I haven’t worked an outside job since 2010. And I have had a weekly cleaner come into my home since I lived in Dunwoody Georgia in 2011. Black, Brown, and Poor women of any ethnicity are conditioned to believe that we have earn our rest and relaxation, earn any kind of support, or earn the right to travel. We were groomed from youth to be cogs in a wheel of this system, to believe that we have to do it all, and if we don’t, we are lazy. You have to kill that belief system from your psyche and bury it into the earth for composting. When you hold these kinds of “I must struggle” frequencies in your body, it is going to be difficult for the universe to provide provisions and support for you in the most magical ways. I know some women who can afford in-house help but won’t pay for it because of their own limiting beliefs and sense of achievement around laboring. I am not rolling in cash flow dough, but I have had a sense of freedom since I was in my 20s. Notice what beliefs are blocking your freedom and expansion, begin to bury them into the earth one by one, and free your energy accordingly. . —India Ame’ye, Author

[libraford]

When we got married, a friend of ours was just getting into being a professional photographer so he did our wedding for mates rates. Because he was so new he hadn’t yet developed his ‘photographer backbone’ so felt really uncomfortable asking people to do things like get out of the way or telling them where they should stand. My sister, maid of honour and no shrinking violet, did some yelling on his behalf but it shows in some of the posed photos.

He’s very successful now and much better at telling people what he needs from them to get the shots they want but still looks back on his early days when he went out on his own with a shudder. It was very difficult for him to balance the conflict you describe, trying to make sure no one is unhappy with you so you get repeat customers, vs making sure people do what he needs so he can work safely and get the right shots. Once he started getting regulars, he felt more confident in expressing what was needed - he still hates wedding photography though lol

The very first wedding I ever did... was a couple from India. And they did kind of a blended wedding of modern and traditional, kept the celebrations short to only 12 hours. There were three photographers- me, my mentor (who was the official book), and her friend. There was also a video crew and every person had their phones out for the whole ceremony, so there was no shortage of footage.

My mentor had to bow out early due to a medical emergency in her family. So now its just two of us.

Even with everyone having their phones out, the guests knew that if someone had an actual camera, that they should do their best to steer clear of it because we were hired to provide a service. They kept to the sides. One of the guests who brought his own camera was encouraged to shoo people out of the frame because he knew the language better, so we treated him as part of the crew so he can also get all the good shots he wants. (I have taken to calling this the 'Uncle Camera' character and its become a useful technique to identify Uncle Camera and give him a Job.)

But with the confirmation ceremony I was at yesterday, it wasn't a case of 50 people taking pictures of one couple from their seats, it was a case of 50 people taking pictures of 60 individuals from the center aisle.

And I did not have an Uncle Camera to explain to them in Spanish that they needed to leave space for the official photographer or there would be no official group shot.

So someone's head got in the shot.

Oh well.

I got paid for the hour I was there.

[madridfangirl]

Star crossed lovers (Jude Bellingham fanfic)

Chapter 1

(Series Link)

Jude * female reader. No warnings.

Synopsis: A chance encounter in a tiny Madrid cafe with the newest superstar of her fav club. The two couldn't be more different, yet both feel the pull toward the other. Would this girl be the one he finally falls for? Would she make him change his ways? Even though she resists him every step of the way, would he fight all odds (& her) to have her in his life? Or would life come in the way of these star-crossed lovers?

……………………………………

Madrid was such a beautiful city. Ananya had been here for nearly four months now, yet couldn’t stop marvelling almost daily over some or the other detail she kept discovering. She loved the hustle bustle but also the quaint historical aesthetic that the city provided. That way, it was quite similar to Delhi, the city she was from.

She was practically in a different continent now, far far away from India. To move to another country, with a completely different language and culture, while she was just 20, had been a tough choice. But she was offered a great job in her undergraduate college placements and no career-minded adult would say no to such an opportunity. So, she had managed to convince her overprotective parents to let her move to Madrid, on her own. Her parents thought she would want to return in a few months itself, but she surprised even her own self with how well she was adjusting to the city. Madrid was beautiful, after all.

As she sat in a sweet little cafe on the side of a small road, close to her office in downtown Madrid, on a Friday evening, she smiled to herself on how the last few months had transpired. So much had changed in her life, and she was loving the ride she was on. An independent girl, with a decently fancy job in one of the best European cities. Life was good right now.

This tiny cafe was one of her favourite spots in the city. It was run by an older couple who always greeted her with a smile and the best churros in the galaxy. It was never too crowded, most people just took takeouts. So it was an ideal place to relax, and it was walking distance from her office.

She pulled out her laptop while munching on her plate of churros. It was already Friday evening but she still had a few hours of work left. Investment banking was fun but the hours came with it. Mr. Iglesias (the owner) quietly placed a cup of cappuccino, her usual, next to her plate. She smiled gleefully at his hospitality, then engrossed herself in her work.

30 minutes later, a distinct baritone and accent broke her out of her reverie.

‘A Spanish omelette please?’

Ananya turned around, drawn to the voice. A tall man, wearing stylish all black attire, was standing at the counter. She could only see his back.

Mr. Iglesias drew a blank expression. The tall man tried again.

‘Umm, an omelette, Spanish omelette, por favor?’

‘Un tortilla de patatas, senor.’

Mr. Iglesias nodded happily at the man and signalled 10 mins with his hands.

The man whipped his head in her direction, and smiled gratefully at her.

She had to look away. Immediately. Not just because he had the most infectious smile in the world. But because she recognised who it was and she absolutely would die if she acted crazy at this instant. No, she willed to not make a fool of herself.

But he was walking over to her now.

‘Hey, thanks a ton for that.’

She had taken a few deep breaths by now and was back to her typical poise.

‘No problem at all. I could see you were struggling there.’

He hung his head and laughed sheepishly.

‘I did learn what it was called in Spanish, I swear. But had a long day and completely blanked out. Umm, Spanish is not my first language you see. But I am learning.’

Despite the situation, she somehow managed to smile back genuinely at how he was trying to explain himself to a complete stranger.

‘Well, I am new to the city and the language as well. But my favourite dishes are something I never forget. Can’t go without those, right?’

He smiled at her again. A smile that lit up his whole face. A smile that could light up a black hole. She was amazed at how real, how normal he came across. He was wearing his cap backwards and had glasses on to serve as some disguise she supposed, but she doubted whether those would generally be of any help to him. Not anymore at least.

He played with the back of the chair opposite hers, and looked around.

‘Umm, are you alone? May I join you?’

She channelled all her inner poise before answering.

‘Yeah sure.’

And he flashed her another joyful smile while settling on the small table, opposite her. Man could charge 1000 euros for each smile and people would line up to pay.

He removed the godforsaken glasses, unveiling his big, coffee brown eyes. The hat he just turned backwards, which somehow suited his chiseled face even more.

‘You said you are not from here. May I ask where you are from?’

‘Sure, I am from India.’

‘Wow. I have heard so much about that place. Some of my neighbors back home are also from India. Would love to visit sometime.’

‘You should. There are many flavours to India which you could only experience when you visit.’

He nodded along, agreeing with her wholeheartedly. Mr. Iglesias waved to him from the counter, signalling 5 mins more. He smiled at him as well. Was that his default setting? Not that she was complaining. Oh hell, no.

He suddenly looked back at her.

‘Hey, I didn’t catch your name. So silly of me to not ask earlier.’

She found herself smiling again.

‘Ananya.’

‘A-nan-ya?’

He tried to break down the foreign sounding name in syllables. It was her turn to giggle now, and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

‘Not A as in Ancelloti but A as in Alvaro Morata.’

He leaned back in his chair, still rubbing the back of his head, and looked straight into her eyes.

‘So, you do know who I am?’

She tuned her laptop towards him. The screensaver was her in the trophy room at the Bernabeu, along with the 14 Champions League trophies.

He looked at the photo and her beaming smile. Her love for the club was evident.

‘Been a Madridista since 2009. 15 years. That’s 75% of my life. So yes, I do know who you are Jude.’

Somehow, just somehow she had managed to find her footing amidst all this madness and was having what would appear to be a fairly normal conversation with a global superstar. She felt it was because of him, though. Because how easygoing and grounded he seemed.

‘Wow. That’s awesome. You know, I didn’t even like football at that age? It’s strange, I know. My dad always wondered what was wrong with me. But one day, suddenly, I decided I wanted to play.’

‘I get it. Sometimes god acts in mysterious ways. You won’t even know how or when, it just happens.’

‘I know right.’

They fell into a comfortable silence. Just looking at each other. And smiling. Both couldn’t stop smiling for some reason.

Mr. Iglesias appeared then with the omelette and Jude nearly hugged him in delight.

He stuffed his face with a gigantic bite, moaning at the taste. Then, he ended up coughing vigorously because the bite was almost one third of his plate.

‘Easy. Here, take this.’

Ananya offered her glass of water to him, which he gulped down in three sips. Then rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand as he looked back into her eyes.

‘My mom had once gotten me an omelette from this place. Felt like little drops of heaven. Since then I have been meaning to have this. Sorry for the clumsiness, I got a little carried away.’

He was apologising to her again, which was so endearing. And that accent made everything sound twice as cute.

They went back to their food, and the comfortable silence was back. But she was learning that he couldn’t stay silent for long.

‘Since you already have a head start in knowing about me, would you tell me something about you? What brings you to Madrid?’

‘I work at an investment bank here. Kind of my dream job and my dream firm.’

He leaned forward, tapping his fingers on the table.

‘Ooooh fancy.’

‘Yeah right. Look who is talking.’

‘No, it is fancy. Seems like a smart person thing. I had a feeling you were like that.’

He spent the next 15 mins learning about her job, and by the end he accused her of showing off by using big terms he won’t understand. She neither confirmed nor denied that accusation.

He took another mouthful again, completely ignoring what happened the last time. She couldn’t help but be amused at his antics.

‘So, have you seen any match live?’

Her whole demeanour changed and she was practically bouncing off the chair now. He found that extremely amusing.

‘Oh yes. I was here for internship last year and I managed to watch one game. Vini scored two kickass goals and we won. It was amazing - easily one of the best days of my life.’

‘Um-hmm.’

Something in his tone was off but she was too happy to care.

‘Is he…your favourite player, then?’

‘Oh he’s amazing. Us fans have seen him since he was 17 I guess? And look at the journey. Love the player he has become. But my favourite will only ever be one. I am a Ronaldo fan girl.’

Well, that seemed to cheer him up. He kind of figured that given she had mentioned 2009.

He watched her face fondly for a few seconds as she turned nostalgic and relived the memories in her head.

‘Nothing this season, then?’

‘No luck. The tickets are always sold out. Last year also it was our firm which arranged them for us.’

‘Hmm.’

She hadn’t seen him play, then.

He went back to his last bite and turned it around with his fork a few times, pondering over his next words.

‘Well, there is a home game tomorrow.’

‘A HOME GAME? It’s the first Classico of the season. Ofcourse I know that. God I am so nervous. Hated them winning the league last year. Hate their guts. Jude, you guys better win tomorrow, please. ’

He watched her keenly though her rant, thoroughly amused.

‘Thanks for the order. But, what I meant was, do you want to watch the game tomorrow?

‘But, Classicos get sold out in the beginning of the season right?

She looked confused. Still not getting the point. He realised he would have to spell it out for her.

So smart in her work but not as much in this, which was cute in its own way.

‘Ananya, do you want to watch the match tomorrow from my box? Because you are welcome to do that.’

Oh. Oh.

She stayed still, and he scanned her face for a response.

A volcano erupted inside her. She had been so lost in talking about Madrid and that match that she had completely missed the way he had been looking at her. And what he had asked her just now.

He could tell from her face that something deep was holding her back.

‘Listen, bring your friends / colleagues if you want to. Many of my friends have attended. Plus the boxes are all next to each other so the media / fans can’t really tell who is in whose box, if that’s what’s concerning you. You can just attend as a friend, that’s it.’

She wasn’t buying the last line.

‘That’s it?’

She called his bluff while meeting his gaze. Which he admired. The smart girl was back.

‘Well, after the match, we could grab a bite maybe? Doesn’t have to be a public place, don’t need that drama. So maybe, your place? Or….mine?’

She shook her head sadly.

‘Jude…it’s not that you are not…but…we live in very different worlds and…’

He had an inkling of what was coming and he cut her off before she could finish the sentence. Taking no for an answer was not an acceptable option right now, not when the last 30 mins had been so pleasant and refreshing.

‘What if I score tomorrow? Against the team you detest? How about then?’

She looked at him with her mouth half open. Which made him look down to her lips. But he had the good sense to quickly revert to her eyes.

‘Won’t you want to give me some extra motivation to score against Barca? Or would you rather I be sad and distracted tomorrow?’

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He was really doubling down on this.

‘Let me get this straight. You are seriously using my love for Real Madrid to get me to go out with you?’

He leaned back in his chair, smirked that gorgeous smirk, and shrugged casually, with an iota of arrogance, knowing he was going to win this. Even the arrogance suited him, for crying out loud.

But then, he leaned forward and covered her hand with his, expression all sincere. Her breath hitched at his touch.

‘Look. I just want to spend some time with you, and I really would love for you to see me play. I get that my lifestyle comes with a zillion challenges but that’s step 10. Can we please just spend a few hours together, just you and me, where we talk and get to know each other? I promise, that’s all I am asking. And you don’t have to say yes to that now. You can decide tomorrow after the match. How does that sound?’

The earnestness in his silky smooth voice was drawing her in. She believed him, and was on the verge of saying yes.

But he got restless and played his final card, which he always had up his sleeve.

‘Also, Zidane is going to be there. Their box is just two rows down from where you would be.’

She burst out laughing and threw the table napkin in his face, which he caught easily. Then flashed her a million dollar smile.

‘You really are something aren’t you?’

‘Well, I try.’

She had forgotten that his hand was still on top of hers and was reminded of it when he squeezed it briefly, then withdrew it.

He pulled out his phone and slid it in front of her.

‘Gonna need your number to send the passes.’

Her mind was still registering what she had agreed to but her body reacted involuntarily and typed in her number.

He saved it quickly and sent over the passes in seconds.

‘So, I will see you tomorrow then?’

‘Yes. You leave me no choice. And you better win now, after what you just pulled.’

His phone chimed with a reminder then, for an evening home fitness session prior to the match. He had to leave, she could tell.

He stood up, and she got reminded of how tall he was. His lean physique made him look even taller.

He reached out for her hand again, shaking it this time. And lingered for a few seconds.

‘I will have to go thank my mom now for recommending this place.’

He chuckled, while finally getting go of her hand. She couldn’t stop admiring how his eyes crinkled when he smiled.

‘Can I drop you home?’

‘I have some work to finish - you carry on.’

‘Ok. Looks like it’s gonna rain tonight so pls leave soon.’

Gosh, could this guy get any more charming?

‘Yeah, I will.’

Grudgingly, he went towards the door of the small cafe but looked back one final time.

‘Ananya - such a beautiful name.’

He said it perfectly this time and she gave him a hearty smile, exactly what he needed before he made his way out.

She fell back in her chair, buried her face in her hands and tried to make sense of what had just happened. Tomorrow was going to be nuts. She was going to see Zidane, who she loved to bits. She was gonna watch El Classico. And then, if Jude had his way, she was going to go out on a date with him.

………………………………………………………..

Author’s note: This is set in October and pls assume the classicos were reversed :)

Lots more to come, hope you liked the setup.

[ssavaart]

___ Scott, I have been long meaning to ask,

Did you ever deal with dissatisfaction of your end product art versus the quality of your supplies?

I say this as most art supplies that are readily available in the US, have its prices inflated easily up to three times the original (in USD) where I am from.

Though I desire greatly to support my local brands, they will rarely provide the gamut of quality found in the art supplies available in other countries. (Mainly Europe and North America).

Any time I come to ponder this, it brings me an anxiety that once my art evolves, I will be unable to follow up and upgrade the materials used for them; the cost of professional and international art supplies would make it unpractical in the long run.

This mainly affects me during the creation process, as I am constantly reminded that even those advertised and sold as artist grade where I live fall significantly behind those internationally known, and well respected art brands. (Arrtx, Blick, and even Winston & Newton are hardly heard of)

Consequently, I then think; if I am to purchase art supplies any more expensive, it might just not be worth and wasteful, as my art would not justify the cost.

I am aware this might not apply to everyone (maybe not to you, either!), but I am relatively new to this ─ and you are my greatest reference as an artist.

So, how would you do it? ~for-the-writing-artist

Hi. This is a great question that I'm asked a lot (especially from my fans in India) and I think the best answer that I have is that you will KNOW when you need to upgrade your art materials. In other words... if you're still young (under 25) and still learning... use what you have. You don't need good art materials to learn design, composition, proportions, values, negative space, color theory, and generally just building your style and confidence.

Use the cheap materials to get good at storytelling.

Find your voice.

Then... when you start to get to the point where you're getting job offers, commissions, or generally feeling like "yeah... I'm a professional now", then... THEN you can look into the "good stuff".

Until that day... you're still learning (though, to be honest... I'M still learning too. We're always learning) and there's no need to waste money on better materials.

Will better art supplies help your art? Absolutely.

Will it make you a better artist? Nope.

Work on getting better.

Work on learning.

The good art supplies can come later when your art (and you) are ready.

Sending Big Hugs from the Hobbit Hole. ♥♥♥

Scott

[randstad2023]

Looking for part time work from home ?

[contemplatingoutlander]

Trump’s fascist talk is what’s ‘poisoning the blood of our country’

No, Trump isn’t Hitler. But his copycat words lead nowhere good.

Dana Milbank does a great job of explaining why the use of fascist language and symbols in Trump's communications (often followed by denials) is really a way of "dog whistling" to his fascist followers, as well as giving clues to the rest of us about what he plans to do if he has a chance in a second administration. This is a gift🎁link, so you can read the entire article, even if you don't subscribe to The Washington Post. Below are some excerpts from the column:

As you’ve probably heard, Donald Trump has once again raised a führer. The former president’s Truth Social account posted a video posing the question “What happens after Donald Trump wins?” and providing a possible answer: In the background was the phrase “unified Reich.” This follows Trump’s echoing Adolf Hitler in campaign speeches, saying that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country” and calling his opponents “vermin.” And that, in turn, followed Trump’s dining at Mar-a-Lago with high-profile antisemite Ye (Kanye West) and white supremacist leader Nick Fuentes, who likened incinerating Jews to baking cookies. Under the three-Reichs-and-you’re-out rule, Trump should be on the bench. Yet he keeps swinging — and this week provided a sobering measure of how numb we have become to his undeniably fascist rhetoric.

Milbank goes on to talk about how Trump will famously post something outrageous and then claim it was an accident.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump tweeted an image that had been used by white supremacists of a Star of David atop a pile of cash. The campaign removed the offending post and Trump said it had been posted by a staffer. He later told a crowd that his aides “shouldn’t have taken it down.” During that same campaign, Trump also tweeted an image of an American flag containing an image of what appeared to be Nazi Waffen-SS soldiers. The campaign removed this post, too, and blamed an intern. The disavowal is part of the game, says Jason Stanley, a Yale philosophy professor who specializes in the rhetoric of fascism. “You do it and then you deny it and it’s just systematic, over and over and over again,” he told me in a phone call. “The people who want to hear it hear it, and it signals the direction you want to go in.” And for those uncomfortable with the extremism, the denial provides “a way of lying to themselves and telling themselves this is not what’s really going on.” But it is. From Nazi Germany to Viktor Orban’s Hungary, Stanley says, people invariably thought the rhetoric of the rising authoritarian was exaggerated and just for dramatic effect. “Historically, people always, always don’t take it seriously,” he said. Perhaps they don’t realize that Trump is deploying the exact same tropes — against migrants, judges, gender nonconforming people, universities, the media, “Marxists” — now being used by autocrats in Russia, India and Hungary. “If you look at what Trump is saying … everywhere in the world the authoritarians are saying that.” And yet we drift, placidly, into autocracy. Okay, Trump is unifying the Reich. But Biden is so old!

I recommend you use the above gift link to read the entire column, which goes on to talk about how Trump and those who are planning his administration have a slew of policies that fit right in with the fascist/ authoritarian playbook.

[talenlee]

The Unutterable Smugness Of Being

A complaint I heard a lot, about ten years ago, was that Online Atheists were ‘smug.’ This was seen as a major complaint about us, which didn’t really do anything to bring our attention to the very real problems we had with misogyny and racism and transphobia and islamophobia, but it also worked as a really good kind of social brush to tar a group with because even now, you’ll hear the word used like it’s an automatically necessary descriptor: ‘smug internet atheists.’

Good news, I have no desire at all to ask you to change your mind on internet atheists, because there sure are a bunch of them who seem to be complete tools. Again, the ones I think of as tools, I would probably recommend that it’s much more important to confront them on, again, the racism and the misogyny and the transphobia and the islamophobia and then on the misogyny again because that… that sure is the actual problem, but I’m not seeking to claim unsmugness.

Just, like, what does ‘smug’ mean?

I got started on this thread when I realised if I had to see another well intentioned atheist youtuber bring up a clip of Mike Winger to provide an illustration of a Christian apologist delivering a particular family of bad point, I was going to stop watching them altogether. Not because what they did was fundamentally a bad thing, that they were somehow platforming a bastard, but because Mike Winger as a person to me, is painfully, unpleasantly smug and condescending and almost always, completely and utterly wrong.

I find Mike Winger really smug.

Smug in this context isn’t really a fact or a testable trait. I don’t think people mean smug as smug as like, the dictionary word. Smug means, in the dictionary, that someone is ‘highly self-satisfied.’ This is a complaint I hear a lot about a type of person, usually a type of person I am, usually around me, without actually realising I am a member of that community, which often results in me asking some questions making a mental note about someone to never bother talking to again and peace the heck out. Pretty consistently, I hear it used as a way to describe someone who is right but do they have to be an asshole about it? Or, someone who isn’t right enough, like Jon Stewart when he derided George W Bush for being bad at being a president, was just ‘smug’ about it.

You do know one of the people that atheists present themselves as against is the pope, right? Like, it is a not insignificant thing that there is a man whose job title is ‘the voice of god on earth,’ who is the head of a corporation and a country and who oversees what his church claims is 1.3 billion people. That organisation claims that membership and boasts of its charity work running 5,000 hospitals worldwide, which is a heck of a number, but also seems pretty titchy when you line it up alongside the claimed populace of 1.3 billion. For comparison, India, population 1.4 billion, is estimated to have around 70,000 hospitals. And I know it’s a cheap shot to bring up the way that the Catholic church compares badly to a country, but it is a little weird, right, for a thing that’s ostensibly empowered by god itself and headed up by, again, the voice of god on earth, to boast about 5,000 hospitals when a mere country, a country with comparatively few Catholic people, is able to lap that number ten times and change? Is it smug to think that India builds more hospitals than the Catholic church does? Is it smug to think that owning a golden throne is still bad even if you don’t sit on it?

At that point it’s kinda a positional thing, an aesthetic, right? It’s not what’s said, it’s the overall demeanour of the person saying it. And the thing that messes me up on this front is that like, atheists are people primarily responding to the most powerful social organisations in their societies, who in addition to their positions of actual literal privilege and prestige, are making claims about knowing the creator of the universe personally and being able to make value judgments about who you should or shouldn’t marry or why, based on that insight. Right?

You know they’re still mad about gay marriage, don’t you?

Okay okay, but like, ‘what is smug,’ it’s being highly self-satisfied. And I find Mike Winger smug. Well, yeah, and you might wonder ‘who is Mike Winger?’ He’s a Christian apologist. He has an audience for his youtube channel in which he delivers a really badly made point across ten minutes or so about his faith, usually in an attempt to ‘address’ some problem with his opposition, which, like

You gotta remember that a lot of the time it’s gay marriage.

Now this is entirely a point. This is, strategically speaking, a thing that Mike Winger is actively trying to do. Mike Winger has an affect and a disposition that comes from the overt position that he is an expert in the most important thing in the world, and that he is humble about it, and that everyone who doesn’t agree with him just chooses not to agree with him. And this is where a lot of these professional wheezes wind up falling into a problem of just being bad at their jobs, because rhetorically, they’re not making good points or making them well, because you can always see the seam when they have to ignore the actual argument and make it about something else. Winger believes that Atheists don’t really mean it, even if they think they mean it, because they don’t really mean it, because he says they don’t really mean it.

And remember: atheists are the ones he even complains about being smug.

What I would ask, is if you’re someone on the sidelines, who doesn’t know what the discourse atheism is engaged with, and if you’re not familiar with the parties involved, is to interrogate what the smugness is that you dislike. Delivery? Aesthetics? And if that’s the case, sure, don’t engage with it, seems like a great reason to not bother. But it’s really important to remember that one side of this argument has golden thrones and laws made for their benefit and billionaire lobbyists and asserts it knows the future and is willing to support genocides to make that future happen and that they’re good people for it and that maybe that’s kinda highly self-satisfied too.

Oh and stop responding to Mike Winger, the man is at best an insincere liar and deserves to be spat on in the street.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[sodaabaa]

noor

benedict bridgerton x OC noorjan begum, a newly minted tawaif, flees the royal court of india to avoid becoming the mistress of a wealthy patron of the arts. she makes it to london where she is alerted to an occupation at the royal academy of art. there, she meets the man who will turn her world on its axis. 

tropes: knight in shining armor (if you squint), golden retriever boy x black cat girl, tortured artists

tw: none

playlist here!

a/n: i grew up watching romanticized films about tawaifs (im looking at you devdas, pakeezah, and umrao jaan) and though i’m not indian myself, i've always been fascinated by their stories. i apologize in advance for historical inaccuracies! additionally, i'll be using persian and hindi/urdu poetry throughout the story as well as a few words here and there. i'll also provide links to the poems when possible and include a glossary here on the masterlist.

part 1: noor flees india and finds herself in london, homesick for the life she once lived. she comes across a posting for a job at the royal academy of art, could this be a remedy to her aching heart?

part 2: noor tries to keep her distance, wishing to remain professional with her new student — much to the dismay of benedict, who remains intrigued by the mysterious woman.

part 3: benedict and noor battle societal rules while navigating their relationship.

glossary