#every time I try to condense down the active characters list I can’t do it cos I care them all too much LOOOL

[candycryptids]

Well, now I have to pop in and ask YOU a question. Which is hard because looking over all your characters pages, I'm sobbing on the fucking floor... I love them all so much????

But! I'd really like to know what sparked Chuusday's interest in technology and how did she get so good with it?! ♡

N..nobodies ever asked that before 🫣💦 So I’ll hammer some of the details out for you RIGHT MEOW! A 2sday-Wednesday special :3

Actually we’re gonna cover a lot of ground I haven’t talked about openly before so settle in

Chuu’s fascination with Machines n the like started REAL early, early when she was small. She wanted to…. Disassemble things. Crates, shelves, alchemist tools of the trade, Mammets… carts… she wanted to lay it all out. See how it fit together. And then MAYBE put it all back together again. And she lived on an island, in a port town, with her mom (an actual Viera) who was continuously unwell and kept getting worse every time she got better and sick again, and the sunseeker chirurgeon who was trying to treat her condition, and his partner, another sunseeker who if I recall correctly, was an alchemist. So. The house she was staying in had no shortage of things a Viera with curious + grabbing destructive hands shouldn’t be grabbing.

It takes coaxing to get her to start putting stuff back together again all the time, and by that point at least she’d stopped trying to pry nails out of things (wooden objects were a pain, she found, to take apart, and piece back together, the wood sometimes was old and slightly rotted, the nails came out unkindly, the shapes were often simple.)… things with screws and bolts were… fun. Her dads (in her mind, they were her dads, but out loud, it was sir, and mister) kept trying to send her out on Missions (chores; your mom isn’t doing well, we don’t want you to have to keep hanging around the house while her every breath rattles and her every cough is harsh and wet. Chuu knew. She was 14. It wasn’t hard to figure out…) for, small stuff. Fetch quests; go pick up ingredients for dinner, or hunt down this one small herb on the cliff side above town for this tincture I’m trying to make to help alleviate the cough symptoms. I have enough for now but having more to replenish what I’m using isn’t bad.. low stakes, yknow.

And when her Mom finally passed from her illness the pair kept Chuu on (Chuu herself will not comment on the her mom and the dads’ relationship, but I CAN and I’ll tell you those fuckers were poly. They might never have slapped a label on it but the love was there. It didn’t start that way, but it certainly was that way by the end.)

This ended up wildly off track didnt it. (Let me get it back on track, and in so doing gracefully gloss over the chunk of history I’m unclear on 💖)

She gets REALLY good at what she’s doing when she signs on with the Garlean Empire. It wasn’t… a hard choice. There was nothing left tying her down where she had been by that point; they’d offered direction, room, board… and, well… her current skills were enough to get placed under Midas’ guidance.

And she found that. Magitek is incredibly interesting compared to whatever she’s had her hands on before and she loves it. Purpose. Drive. She learns how to build things that she’d never dreamed of before under Midas’ guidance. She helps refine designs for two legged heavy artillery a lone person can pilot. To deal with the enemy. She does not think about who the enemy is. The enemy is a problem, and the Machine, glorious, flawless, violent, is the answer.

And then they blow up Bozja. Midas with it. An entire city, wiped off the map. She finds that the numbers- subjects- on the sheet that they’d been running experiments on have faces. Haunted, tired faces, with dull eyes and drawn cheeks and small hands. Children. You can’t just quit, but Midas was gone. Cid was missing. Nero was a thorn in her side and she didn’t want to continue work under someone less competent, or pursue someone else’s dreams. So …. She went missing too. Crashed an airship into Thavnair and stripped the wreckage to the bones for coin. Went into temporary hiding in Kugane, then Ul’Dah, and finally fell in with the slightly sketchy free company she’s with now. She maintains their airships and submersibles and they don’t ask where she came from 💖

I think I got a lil lost in the reeds and I was supposed to go to sleep like 4 hours ago but I kept turning this question over in my mind like a rubrix cube despite my best efforts >v>; The Long And Short Is; she’s always wanted to know how stuff worked, and falling in with Garlemald for (cautiously estimating her time there at about 30+ years) helped her understanding grow in great leaps. Around the start of 2.0 she awakens the Echo (Thrice damned Migraine Creator) and doesn’t realize it’s use until her next encounter with Allagan tech (where she interfaces on a personal level and. It kicks her new obsession up. And… allagans did quite a bit of soul research… it is, somewhat, why there is a Tuesday.)

… 🫣 thank you for the question !!!!!!! I’m. Hopin this makes even a lick of sense, ahaha… some of the stuff I had partially cemented in my mind… I had to fix, after reading the actual lore and wiki -w•;; but not much.

[docholligay]

Did any of your opinions of characters change in the last four episodes?

(@yamadara87 asked the same question, I’m condensing it here) 

MY original take on the girls is under the cut, for reference, around episode 8. 

I would say Hikari moved up for me by the end, and probably would be in the same heat as Nana now. I love her gambit to make it so only she has to suffer, that no one else has to go through it. I thought it was courageous that even knowing there’s no escape, that there must always be a stage and players, she wished for something to save others. 

It didn’t work because the audience gets bored with anything if it’s too long, but I really thought the idea reflected well on her, and she definitely came up in my estimation. 

My top three are all still the same, but in fairness I didn’t realistically think they were going to move from the position they were in. My feelings about them were pretty locked, I would say the only thing that has changed for me relative to those three is that while I was not at all sold on the idea of Claudine and Maya originally, now I could easily see me writing them as a passionate teenage love affair in the way that they go, where they are very very hot for each other but ultimately you cannot CANNOT have two people like that in a relationship, and when it VOLCANICALLY EXPLODES they basically burn down Seisho and Rin just needs, oh so many Bagel Bites. (And then Futaba and Claudine date and are cute, they are still endgame for me) 

I would say I feel a little kinder toward Kaoroku’s potential to move forward and change, but I still don’t like her. She’s still the only girl i don’t like at all, which I actually think says great things about the cast. 

A RANKING OF THE GIRLS, FROM LEAST FAVORITE TO FAVORITE (YOur mileage may vary, offer void where prohibited)

Kaoroku: I REALLY do not like her. She’s all of Usagi’s selfish baby nonsense with none of the genuine kindness. She treats Futaba horrifically, and I think this is part of the reason I buck up against her so hard, is that I HAVE KNOWN THESE GIRLS. I have seen little butch girls like Futaba being treated so badly by their significant other, and it’s so hard to try and be like, “You know she’s not allowed to treat you that way, right?” And there’s a lot of stuff that goes into that which can be another conversation for another time.  So there’s extra-universe stuff that makes it really hard for me to tolerate her. Can’t do it. Would say she’s the only one of the girls I actively do not like.

These next three could leapfrog each other pretty consistently:

Karen: I like Karen plenty, but it’s a tight race between the girls and I’d say Karen is a little “anime protag” for my own personal tastes, so she gets quite a bit lower on the list. I do really like how she’s written as a classic anime protagonist in a much more real and relatable way though, and I think this is why I actually quite like her, even when she’s being an idiot.

Hikari: I actually didn’t realize how difficult this ranking thing was going to be until I’m sitting here staring at the faces of all the girls, who all have different things going on. Hikari hasn’t quite connected with me, I think between her “distant studied duelist” thing and the fact that everything centers around her and Karen I haven’t gotten to find an appreciation for her beyond broad strokes. EXCEPT THAT SMILING BEAR WITH KNIFE IS THE ONLY EMOJI WE NEED.  I never love the main characters, it’s fine ahaha.

Mahiru: I would have put her lower in the first four episode chunk I watched. I have a quite good memory for names and could only really call her “friend-chan” after the first bit. Her main purpose seemed to be getting trampled by Karen when Hikari showed up. But she’s a farm girl! And she’s precious! And she shares her potat! So she’s bumped up for me in the last watching.

The next three are ALSO in a hot heat with each other:

Junna: I really, really love Junna’s whole thing, THe idea that she works her ass off, so very hard, but she doesn’t have the natural talent to carry it, and she knows that, and it kills her. But it doesn’t stop her from trying, not with everything she has inside of her, and I think that’s really lovely and I want the best for her.

Nana: I actually would have ranked her lower before the big reveal, but now she has such an interesting tragedy that I find her fucking fascinating. She’s the reason that all of these girls have to keep fighting each other, in this way, she is trying to save her friends by setting them up for combat over and over again. The idea of her having to live with that and her struggle to carry on when she’s forced to move forward make her so much more interesting than I was assuming.

Maya: One half of the femme betta fish, and the one that plays slightly less to my personal loves, but I do love her snobbiness, her complete fucking assurance that she is better than anyone in the room, and the body language to carry it off. She’s great.

MY TOP TWO GIRLS:

Futaba: I want to gently hold Futaba to my chest like a resisting cat and find her a nice girlfriend who treats her with respect. Like yes honey, protect and serve is the butch motto, but the femme motto should also be protect and cherish. She’s such a cute and kind little thing, my heart melted when she gave Claudine all the snacks for helping her out, I love her.

Claudine: Claudine was written for me. High femme, half-French, talented and snobby, annoyed when she is not the princess of all things,  it’s all my favorite fucking anime girl tropes packaged into one. I love every moment that she is on screen, I think she is brilliant perfection. I am not super given to shipping in this show but if I were, it would be Claudine and Futaba.

Rin: This is cheating because I basically came up with Rin but lbr she’s great.

[osmw1]

Poison-Wielding Fugitive   Chapter 15

“I’m actually more worried about you and your store, seeing how you buy poisonous herbs at such a high price.”

I answered Arleaf’s dad while changing the topic.

“Well, obviously, it’s ‘cause this sorta medicine is a local specialty of our village. Oh, yeah, and don’t you go entering our fields either. I won’t forgive you if you do that.”

This village grows some questionable herbs… According to Arleaf, it’s some sort of ingredient for anesthesia, but let’s not get too deep into that subject.

‘Hmm? That field? The herbs I saw growing there were not poisonous ones but a kind that is very effective as an antidote.’

Doubts of Veno’s knowledge on medicinal herbs pass through my mind, but it’s likely to be some other field.

“… is that right?” “It’s just that I post requests for adventurers for the stuff that grows in places a li’l dangerous.”

I don’t really want to know too much about this topic. Well, with three days and the help of a map, I’ve got a pretty good grasp of the villages and the area around here. I wonder if I’m running around a little too carelessly. Actually, I wonder if why Arleaf’s dad is being so hospitable to me is because I’m a regular customer. Or maybe it’s because I seem like I’m also fond of dangerous meds.

“Aren’t you actually here to stock up? I know some guys who can help you out.”

Ugh. Totally suspicious. I don’t wanna delve into anything too shady. I hope Arleaf’s alright. It sucks how she has to go peddle such dangerous medicine when she’s got such a cute face.

‘They do say that every rose has its thorn.’

Veno, if you could, I’d like you to disagree.

‘Is it not quite the cliché for a hero to fall into such trickery? Humans are but foolish beings after all.’

It’s not that I don’t get you, but I’d like for you to think of Arleaf as just beautiful. Anyway, I’ll reject her dad’s proposition.

“I don’t really need to, no. I’m just here to complete whatever quest that’s convenient for me.” “You’re downright cold. You know, if you get wrapped up in our business a little more, you can learn what’s behind that beautiful face of hers.” “Aren’t you treating your daughter like some kind of public hazard? What’s really going on with her?” “Can’t tell secrets. Heh heh heh heh.”

With that, I take my pay as is routine by now, and leave the apothecary.

From this point… I head to the tavern to enjoy a late lunch. As I entered the place, the owner of the tavern was just placing a new bounty list on the wall. I’d like to go bounty hunting too. It’s pretty good money if you have proof of the work you did.

It really gets your blood pumping, like fighting a boss. But right now, my priority is to get stronger. It would be foolish for me to plunge myself into something that dangerous. But like Veno says, even sighting a wanted person is important information, so I should keep an eye out. With a tankard in one hand, I scan over the bounty list.

“Hmm? Ah, aren’t you… Cohgray of the Swamps?”

What, am I famous already? Did the proprietress of the inn talk about me? But rather, Cohgray of the Swamps…

“What is Cohgray of the Swamps?” “Ah, you’ve been going to the swamp ever since you’ve arrived here, haven’t you? Because you’re Cohray and you go to the swamp every day, you’re Cohgray of the Swamps.”

That’s an awful nickname. You couldn’t have picked anything cooler for me? I mean, in fantasy or superhero settings, the characters always have some sort of nickname. So maybe it’s normal for a nickname to come from something so simple.

“…” “Hey, don’t worry about it. Being famous is good. Work gets easier too. Since you’re so familiar with the ins and outs of the swamp, you might get invited by other people to guide them.”

Huh? You mean it might be possible for me to make friends with other adventurers and to be invited for things? That gets me kinda excited. I guess it’s fine, but I’m also interested in what the owner of the tavern posted just now.

“Is that a new bounty list?” “That’s right. They’ve sent this one as a special delivery even to a village like this. Probably means that their country is desperate.”

I had to restrain myself from yelling out after reading what it said.

Human metamorphosed from a dragon, 30,000,000 lag reward Engaged in battle with the joint forces of crusaders from Saint Yggdra and a dragonslayer on the △th day of the ○th month. Be wary of its ability to breathe flames like hellfire and to call down thunder. It is believed to be a Fire Dragon or Thunder Dragon. The dragonslayer weakened the dragon by placing a curse on the dragon to transform it into human. Right as the dragonslayer was about to finish it off, the dragon used cunning magics to flee. This dragon is hiding in the form of a human, aiming to recover strength, and extremely dangerous. We request neighboring nations to aid in the suppression of this dragon. The dragonslayer is in hot pursuit. We wish for any helpful information regarding this matter!

There’s no facial composite or description about appearance on the wanted poster. But judging by the traits and skills, that’s got to be Veno. Funnily enough, they called their own Forced Possession Summoning a curse.

‘It is natural for humans to falsify things so that it sounds better, is it not?’ “A dragon that dangerous is hiding in one of the countries next door, eh? Even then… that reward would really strain the coffers. An eager adventurer looking to get rich quick would go searching for this, eh? Too bad he’s not here.”

For some reason, the owner exasperatedly grumbled.

‘I cannot believe they released a wanted bulletin in a mere three days. You ought to be real careful of this, aye?’

With the reward being a whole 30 million lag, isn’t that actually a monumental amount? Arms and armor are expensive, but even then, it doesn’t cost that much. Killing a dragon weakened and in the form a human pays 30 million… any adventurer blinded by greed will definitely get wind of this and come looking.

… yikes. They still don’t know what kind of dragon Veno is exactly, but if they knew that he’s a Poison Dragon, they might suspect me, a Poison-Wielder. We’ve got to try our best to peacefully and quietly release this spell.

‘It is possible that they could have magic that can detect our whereabouts. You ought to tread forward carefully.’

Whose fault do you think it is that I’m in this predicament? is what I wanted to say, but I guess it’s not entirely Veno’s fault. We’re the victims here, having been forcefully brought together by those bastards. Because of all that, I was feeling pretty anxious. I played it cool, finished my meal, and headed back to the inn.

Back at the inn, I look around in my room. It’s my fourth day in this alternate world… for some reason, coming back to this room already calms me down. It’s beginning to feel like my home. Do people usually get this attached just by staying for a few nights? When I look over at my mixing machine in the corner, I really do mistake this room as my own. Even though I keep telling myself to be ready to escape at any given moment… well, no point in kicking myself over it. I check my status to see what I’ve accomplished with the past three days.

Kogure Yukihisa Poison-Wielder Level 17 Acquired skills: Spirit Link, Poison Absorption, Poison Release, Synthesize Poison, Detect Poison, Poison Enchantment, Hunting Sense, Hunting Mastery I, Aiming Shot, Trap Mastery I, Call Fungus

No other skills were added from what I remember. However, there are more poisons I can make by Synthesize Poison.

Like Moderate Paralysis and Moderate Anesthesia. That, and also Weak Acid, Weak Silencing Poison, and Weak Hallucinogen. By applying the poison to my bolts with Poison Enchantment, I know that Paralysis and Hallucinogen have an effect. Paralysis is as the name suggests, it numbs my target. It makes them sluggish, numb, and prevents them from moving. It takes some time for the poison to kick in and it doesn’t change with condensed poison either.

The other one is the hallucinogen. It kicks in almost immediately, making the target dizzy and hallucinate. The hallucination scares them and—depending on the monster—causes them to run away or go berserk. Veno thinks it’s stupid ‘cause you can’t tailor it to do anything specifically.

Besides balls of poison, I can also make poisonous mist with Poison Release now. If I release it upwind, it should spread pretty far, but I have yet to test it out. It’d be dangerous if I carelessly use it though; it might even spread to the village.

Right now, I’ve been meaning to try out my Weak Mollifying Poison. It softens up the hide or scales of a monster’s protective layer. Unfortunately, as it is, it doesn’t do anything even if you dump it right on them. Furthermore, it doesn’t cope well with heat. One of its weak points is that it disappears once it heats up. I don’t have enough levels to condense it either, so it seems like it’s out of my reach at the moment. While it doesn’t take all that much time to create, I made quite a bit of it, so I gathered it in a bucket. I took some of the inedibly tough meat that they sell here in this village and marinated it for a bit in this mollifying poison. I plan to borrow the inn’s kitchen tonight for this experiment in poisoned steak grilling.

Putting all this poison talk behind us, I’ve gained the skill Hunting Mastery. Thanks to Veno and his advice, I earned this skill by practicing with my crossbow. Well, I’m pretty familiar with how the crossbow works now as well. Maybe because of that, I also have Aiming Shot… I focus on aiming and the bolt strikes with a little more power. This definitely seems like an active skill.

This skill uses a bit of mana. I thought a good way to fight a monster would be to dig a hole in the swamp, trap it, and kill. When I tried that out, I gained Trap Mastery. Did I try that out today? Once the poison kicks in, they quickly die. The condensed poison made with Poison Release seems to work well enough.

Ah, obviously, I haven’t poisoned any human beings yet. Actually, I’ve been fighting monsters deep in the swamp upfront and it was kinda tough. I retreated many times thanks to Veno warning me. Some monsters don’t care about the pools of poison and they charge straight in for me. I don’t think I’d be able to fight ones that can shoot me with magic. I still don’t feel like I’ve fully mastered the crossbow.

That’s why I use traps to fight. Just in case I need them, I tend to store up my spoils with storage magic… but Veno almost always deliciously feasts on them. I’ve still got a lot to work on, but it’s going pretty well, eh? As well, I tried theorizing the difference between Masteries and poison creation. You can practice your Masteries but I can create poisons without practice. This is the difference between something gained from training and something that’s inborn. Veno had said before: no matter how hard a snake works, a venomous bite is not something that can be learned. Since it’s something I’m inherently capable of, it has nothing to do with hard work. It’s likely something to do with me being a Poison-Wielder that I can wield poison. Not only is it convenient, it’s nothing to scoff at either.

‘Surprisingly, you have grown accustomed to it.’

Well, yeah. I was originally a basic code monkey. I thought I’d hate a job as physically demanding as an adventurer. I didn’t think I’d be as good as I am. With that said though, there are still many monsters that are above me and levelling in the dungeon and fighting monsters there seems tough. Not only because of that, I also have people hunting me down, so I want to get stronger… I realize that it’s considerably difficult fighting alone.

Veno’s protection has helped me out a lot, but when I encounter a bunch of monsters together, I still have to withdraw. A real-life example would be the pack of Zombie Dogs. My poison ineffective against them, so I had no hope of beating them head-on. I’m not strong; there are limits to what I can do alone. Even with me power levelling, it’s rough to fight in the pools of poison.

Hmm… it might be dangerous, but should I be a little braver and join a party? They even call me Cohgray of the Swamps. It shouldn’t be weird for me to find some adventuring buddies, fight monsters in the area, and to take a tiny share of the experience. It’s just that I’m 26 years old and I somehow feel like I should be an experienced adventure already. I worry that others will refuse to join me because of that.

Arleaf’s dad is probably… I dare say, in his thirties. And he’s got a daughter that old already. I’m afraid marriageable age here is different than the one in Japan. I don’t think I look that old, but… well, whatever. I think I’ll head to the swamp after a quick rest. Since I’m going to the swamp again today, I suddenly I realized that I have to dry my robe in the shade.

“There’s mold on it… what’s worse, there’s even mushrooms growing…”

I didn’t realize that there were mushrooms with red caps growing on the lining of my robe! It’s only been three days since I got it from Veno! I didn’t think it’d grow mold that quickly. It’s a huge shock to me, but… that can only mean that I’m filthy.

‘It is because you do not often air it out, is it not?’

I know. It’s because I jump into swamp water so much and hanging it out to dry is a pain. I’m also often in a damp place. It doesn’t matter how much of a Poison-Wielder I am, my clothes won’t be resistant to poison too, eh?

previously: /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /ch004/ /ch005/ /ch006/ /ch007/ /ch008/ /ch009/ /ch010/ /ch011/ /ch012/ /ch013/ /ch014/ /next/ (full list of translated chapters) (discussion thread) (support Average Translations on Patreon or Paypal)

[kootenaygoon]

Nobody knows the Kootenays like Greg Nesteroff.

A celebrated historian and journalist, he first made a name for himself as a columnist and reporter for the Nelson Star, eventually moving up to the editor position. He then became news director of Juice FM, a gig he inherited from veteran broadcaster Glenn Hicks.

Last year Nesteroff decided to take some time off to work on two full-length book projects — one will be a collection of his popular Place Names columns, while the other will be a biography of Sandon founder John Morgan Harris. Meanwhile he started a blog: The Kütne Reader.

Kootenay Goon caught up with Greg to chat about the world of blogging, his obsession with the past and the future of journalism.

#1. For many of the posts on Kütne Reader, a historical document or photograph ends up being the jumping off point for a deep dive into the life of some historical character most have never heard of. (I loved your story about "The Midnight Nurse", by the way.) Your investigative skill-set is honestly staggering — I can't believe you successfully dredge up some of the information you do.

It seems to me like this would be a lengthy process, and I'm curious what your strategy is when building these stories. What are your go-to sources? Are you constantly haunting the archives, or looking this stuff up in books, or some combination of both?

Gee, thanks! My hat will no longer fit. 

I had a stockpile of unpublished stories I was able to drawn on initially. I've exhausted most of them, so now I'm putting up new posts at a slightly slower pace. Although I have no shortage of ideas, it takes longer to assemble each post. You're right about a single photograph, document, or artifact inspiring a post. It doesn't take much to get me interested and headed down a proverbial rabbit hole.

Go-to sources: ancestry.com plus the ever-expanding list of digitized newspapers, particularly the early Kootenay papers available through UBC's BC Historical Newspapers site and the ones on newspapers.com. The recent addition to the latter of The Vancouver Sun was particularly exciting. I visit archives and libraries less often than I used to because so much is available online now. But I spent 20 years taking notes from newspapers and local history books (the room where I write is groaning under the weight of those books), so there is lots I can search even on my own computer desktop.  

Even though an amazing number of books have been written about this region (with more added each year) there is no shortage of subjects left unexplored or under-explored. The digitization of newspapers and books is giving us the tools to explore topics and questions in previously impossible ways. It's fun to be part of the first wave of historians to take advantage of this technology. 

Some of my posts are wholly original; you won't find anything about those subjects in any history book. Others are a matter of presenting existing information in a new way. My post entitled "15 curious things about Peter (Lordly) Verigin's death" contained nothing that hadn't already been published, but it was presented in a novel way. Whereas "A phony dentist in the Slocan Valley" recounted the life of a career criminal which had never been presented in full. 

#2. You took 2018 off to focus on writing your books. Now that 2019's staring us in the face, how much progress have you made?

Alarmingly little. I blame the blog. 

I can throw something up in a hurry without worrying too much about being artful and get instant feedback. Whereas the books are long-term projects that require more care and thought and will not bear fruit for a long time. So the quicker, shorter stuff is much more attractive. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and makes me feel productive in spite of the lack of progress on the books.

I will say that I have reorganized my Johnny Harris biography in a way that should make it more compelling. But I haven't added very much. It still sits at about 43,000 words with a huge amount left to do.

The place name series is more a matter of compiling and condensing than writing, since the basis for it has been a series that has appeared in local newspapers for the last six years. But even then, all I've accomplished so far is a sample chapter for letters P and Q.

Fortunately, my literary agent and wife are both prodding me to get going on the books before my nest egg runs out.

#3. Your other big project has been this blog, and you've been churning out content on the regular. How does it feel to switch mediums, to switch from your home in the pages of the Nelson Star and unleash your work online? Obviously there's no word count limits, which is nice, but what else inspired you to make the jump?

It was probably just a procrastination tool. 

It seemed more fun than what I was actually supposed to be doing. I had no goal initially and didn't give a lot of thought to how it would look or what it would contain. I didn't even really envision anyone reading it. (Which is not unusual, since I've written lots of things for my own amusement and never bothered to share them. Some have since been posted on the blog.) 

Now I do pay more attention to what I'm doing and actively try to increase page views, although I view it purely as a game.

#4. In a number of your historical posts you write about about the First Nations residents of the West Kootenay, including the Sinixt and the Ktunaxa. (Cool postcard of those pictographs, by the way.) This is a subject I don't know much about, and surely I'm not the only one. In your research, what have you learned about their history and how do you feel it informs your understanding of First Nations issues today?

I don't pretend to be an expert on local First Nations. But I am very interested in overlooked stories and overlooked people. 

The First Nations of West Kootenay certainly fall in that category. For generations we experienced a sort of collective amnesia, with descendants of European settlers claiming there never were any First Nations people here, or that they were only transient. That attitude started to shift about 30 years ago, and today you will hear aboriginal acknowledgements at the start of city council meetings, but we still have a long way to go in recognizing local indigenous history. 

Other visible minorities have also been given short shrift in local history, including Chinese Canadians and Japanese Canadians. For many years their stories in this area were not well told, but that has changed in the past few decades, thanks to a few key writers and curators. There is still much untapped ground: for instance, no one has ever written in detail about South Asian pioneers of this region, but I would like to. There were many Indo Canadian sawmill workers in our area, and there is even a West Kootenay connection to the Komagata Maru.

#5. I know you have a special relationship with Sandon, the ghost town just outside New Denver. (For those of you who haven't been, it's worth it just to check out the fleet of historic Vancouver buses randomly parked there.) If memory serves, you've been researching the founder — who was apparently quite the character. What is it about Sandon that initially won your attention?

Sandon has held generations of history buffs in thrall, probably because of its setting and the heights it reached before its lengthy descent into a ghost town. I am no exception. I was taken by it during my first childhood trip. Even though it was hardly an attractive place at that time, it still made a deep impression on me. I recall thinking that I'd somehow like to contribute to the study of local history, but assumed everything there was to know had already been discovered. Well ...

I became particularly interested in John Morgan Harris, the subject of the biography I am writing, when looking into myths about Sandon. There was a story he killed someone before coming to the area. I didn't believe it, but it turned out to be true. I spent a few days in the Wallace, Idaho library reading newspapers about that incident and the rest of his exploits there. 

I've also been to his birthplace and grave in Virginia.

#6. You spend a lot of time living in the past, but you also produce stellar journalism about the present day. Is it hard to switch back and forth, and do you think the two pursuits influence and inform each other?

It's not hard to switch. 

But it is nice to bring a historical perspective to a current news story, to tell your reader how typical or atypical an event is, the last time it happened, or just supply some trivia that enlivens your copy. 

In writing history I use the genealogist's toolkit more than the reporter's. The same resources people use to compile family trees I use to pursue obscure historical figures. Most of the time my subjects are long dead, so I'm not able to interview them or anyone who knew them. But I use ancestry.com and the BC archives vital events index nearly every day in addition to the aforementioned digitized newspaper sites. 

Thank goodness for those pioneer papers. Despite their biases and blind spots (those visible minorities mentioned earlier were routinely condemned when they weren't ignored), without them we would have a much poorer understanding of what went on around here.

[entamewitchlulu]

10, 14, 19, 20, 23, 26, 27, 29, 31, 46, 51 (This is a lot of questions but I like this meme, oops)

lol you good XD

10.  Is there a fandom you read fic from but don’t write in?

honestly no; i read a lot less fic than i write and i tend to only read my friend’s fics or whatever fics i come across that sound interesting while scrolling

but generally i’m actually really lazy when it comes to reading fic and I only actively seek it out when i’m in a rare mood

14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

we would literally be here ALL DAY because if I don’t ship it romantically and if I don’t want the characters in question to stay apart with a ten foot pole then I broship it and I probably broship it hard

i can’t even narrow it down to just a few?? I’ll try to pick one per series??

Jonouchi/Yugi, Judai/Shou, Aki/Crow, Akari/Kaito, Yuya/Gongenzaka/Yuzu, Shiro/Pidge

19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

probably Selena/Reiji; it’s got so much great content but I just don’t feel the chemistry when i try to play with the ship myself

20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

probably Dennis/Yuuri cause like most of my ships are super sweet and gentle and nervous where the biggest thing they do is blush while they hold hands or cuddle, but then Dusk is like “let me slam you up against a wall and bite your neck”

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

I’m still really, really happy with “Dragons Cannot Break a Promise.”  It’s only a oneshot and most of my favorite works tend to be my multichapters but I’m just so pleased with how deeply emotional it came out and how all of the characters’ personalities felt like they just rolled off my fingers

26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

I stare at the screen for a bit and toss words around in my head until something sticks

if I’m really having trouble I start making a free association list of potential ideas, or ask my friends for assistance

but i’m usually pretty good with titles and I love making them

27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

I tend to enjoy doing both but like i said in another answer, titles have been a little harder lately.  I think it’s cause i write more oneshots now and i have to come up with unique titles for all of them

29. Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?

I do not have a beta reader and idk, I just never knew they were a thing for a long time and by the time I figured out what they were and what they were for, I just...didn’t want one.

I’m very possessive of my stuff and I kinda chafe at the idea of having to wait for someone else to read it over before I can post it; i’m impatient and want to post things almost as soon as I finish them so that I can get them out of my hair and off of my to do list.

31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

I cannot even condense it but I have this review printed out and hanging on my wall in front of the place where I write, it was a full page single spaced of someone just gushing in great detail all the things they loved in my story and I think I cried a little when I got it because I have never, ever, (and probably never will again) gotten such a beautiful and intense and loving review.  It still lifts me up when I’m feeling down and makes me feel like I’m doing something right.

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

I would probably recommend An Hourglass of Stars, seeing as that one has been far and above my most popular and the one that I’m most known for if people happen to know my penname haha.  I’ve put a lot of love and effort into weaving a mystery in that one and unlike a lot of my other multichapters I actually feel like Hourglass is staying very on track and doesn’t get as choked by my ideas as some of my other multichapters.  I’m very much an outliner, but this story’s outline has changed drastically about four times during the writing process, and yet despite all those changes i still feel like it’s a very well put together story that knows where it’s going and I’m super pleased with all of the foreshadowing and groundwork I’ve managed to lay into it.

I really need to get back to writing that one haha

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

I fucking love shipping okay

I know we all like to joke about how it’s trash and I know it often causes problems between people who take it too seriously but you know i can’t even express how important shipping is to me and it’s really silly if I think too hard about it

there’s something inherently satisfying about exploring the dynamics between two or more characters; there’s something so beautifully uplifting about crafting a relationship that makes your heart lift up, there’s something sooooooooo beautiful about seeing a pair that you love so much holding hands

I wish I could really put into words what it does to my heart but when i see ships that i love i just feel so happy, and it makes me happy to think that there are other people in the world seeing pictures and reading stories about the ships they love falling in love over and over again and feeling that same happiness every time

despite all the problems that can surround shipping i really think at it’s core it’s such a pure, wholesome concept?  we just really love seeing people fall in love, and I think that’s beautiful

thanks for the asks!!

[itsfinancethings]

New story in Business from Time: Progressive CEO Tricia Griffith on the Nation’s ‘Sophomoric’ Political Leaders and the Durability of Flo

(Miss this week’s The Leadership Brief? This interview above was delivered to the inbox of Leadership Brief subscribers on Sunday morning, Aug. 16; to receive weekly emails of conversations with the world’s top CEOs and business decisionmakers, click here.)

One of the best indicators of economic activity is how many miles Americans drive, and as CEO of Progressive Corp., one of the largest U.S. auto insurers, Tricia Griffith keeps a careful eye on the nation’s coming and goings. Since the pandemic began, people are both driving less—miles driven plummeted by 40% in April—and getting into fewer accidents.

Griffith has spent her career at Progressive, starting as a claims rep, and is a rare CEO who previously served as her company’s head of HR, a background that she credits with helping make Progressive the top-rated corporation for diversity and inclusion, according to a ranking by the Wall Street Journal.

Griffith, 55, joined TIME for a video conversation from her home outside of Cleveland. Griffith shared her views on humor in insurance advertising (comedian Stephanie Courtney has been appearing in Progressive ads as Flo since 2008), the “sophomoric” state of the nation’s leadership, and how to build a diverse and inclusive corporate culture.

Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

You’re in the risk business. How good a job are we as Americans doing at judging risks right now? How would you grade our decision making process?

F, F, F. I can’t believe people aren’t wearing masks. It’s ridiculous. And it’s selfish. Because you wear the mask for me, I’ll wear it for you. I’m looking at these beaches, and I am so disturbed. I just don’t understand why people don’t wear masks. My daughter’s wedding was 400 people and now it’s 12. And we’re all wearing masks.

And what grade would you give the nation’s leadership?

I think the sophomoric ways that both sides of the aisle are acting, it’s just like—I said to my team the other day, it was right around the time Democrats were saying $600 for unemployment. The Republicans were saying $200. And they couldn’t come to a compromise. I said, “If we worked this way as a team, all of us should be fired.” I would not allow that. And my board wouldn’t allow me to work like that. I’ve been disgusted at people not being able to compromise.

Shouldn’t the business community be speaking up with a louder voice? You have a lot of clout.

We actually have. As a member of the Business Roundtable, we have sent letters to Congress asking them to do specific things for small businesses, etc. I can forward you a note that we sent.

Yes, but there are degrees. I mean a polite letter from the Business Roundtable is nice, but a pointed comment from an individual CEO brings another level of pressure. Should more people be speaking up?

Right. I haven’t personally, but many members of the Business Roundtable have been on the different various talk shows and been more aggressive about it.

And another thing—the stock market is acting so irrationally.

I agree.

Why is the market continuing to hit these frothy levels?

It’s hard for me to say. I really try not to guess on the market. Very little of our investment portfolio is in equities, like 11%. We’re very conservative from that perspective. We are invested across the board in fixed income. We do commercial mortgage-backed securities. We do investment in corporate bonds. Municipal bonds.

So you’re not watching Squawk Box and calling your investment division and saying, “Sell! Move it all to cash!”

No, no, no.

You spend more than a $1 billion a year on advertising. Why is the consumer insurance industry such a heavy advertiser?

It’s funny you ask that because when you really think about it, everyone is required to have insurance yet we advertise it. But it works. We measure it and it works. We know customers react to it. It makes the proverbial phone ring.

You’re out there fighting every day for customers?

Absolutely. Geico and Progressive, we’re sort of Coke and Pepsi. It’s very competitive.

It’s funny, I’m an older consumer and what insurance company I use is a decision I want to make once. I’m surprised that people are constantly re-evaluating it.

Years ago, we put together personas. We have Sams, Dianes, Wrights and the Robinsons. You’re a Robinson. I’m a Robinson. I got my phone. I’ve got my cars. The ones that move a lot are Sams. They are what we would call inconsistently insured. And they do it solely for price. And so they’ll move for $50 or $100. Then Dianes are a little bit more stable, where they have a car, and maybe they have a rental policy. We want to get those Dianes so that they grow into Robinsons, which are auto/home bundles.

Insurance is a serious matter. But the prevailing tone of the ads is so comical. Why has the industry taken this approach?

There’s so much noise out there with so many different insurance companies advertising, you have to have something memorable. It is a serious category. When you’re calling in, we’re not going to be lighthearted about it. But we have to get your attention to be on the short list.

How important has Flo been to the growth of Progressive?

She’s been extremely important.

But at the same time, as early as 2015, there was a Reddit subthread advocating “Flo Must Go.” How do you balance her continuing popularity with the anti-Flo faction?

We look at the data. And so we sent out a survey that says literally, “Are you tired of Flo?” And we have not seen that change.

Are any of your new characters taking off? As a dad myself, I have to love the series on parent-like behaviors.

We call it parent-a-morphosis. You morph into your parents. We designed that in my office when I was chief operating officer about four and a half years ago. It’s funny because it’s true. Those lines are literally from all our dads: “Defense wins championships.” That was my dad.

What’s up with all the hip new insurance companies like Hippo and Lemonade, Root and Young Alfred? What’s driving that dynamic?

There’s been a lot of money to be able to fund startups. And I actually think many of those companies are answering unmet needs for people. Making it easy. You can get a really quick quote with Lemonade. Root is all usage-based insurance. Those companies are pushing us to not be complacent. I love competition. I just think it makes you better.

Let’s turn to your core business: car insurance. With the pandemic, are people driving less?

It went down 40% [in April] and then immediately upon the states’ opening, it’s crept back. So it’s not to normal levels, but it’s getting closer.

As a proxy for how the economy is doing, with reopening and then reclosing, are we down from a peak? Did it go up in June, and now it’s falling again?

No, it’s been relatively stable since things started to open because different states are going to open and close. So when we reclosed some of the states, other states picked up.

So the overall trend line continues to be up, is that correct?

Yes.

But miles driven is still down year-over-year?

It’s probably still down like 10%.

And what’s happening on the accident front?

We’re seeing fewer accidents. We believe because there’s less congestion that people are getting in less accidents.

Even before the pandemic, the frequency of accidents has been declining, right?

Frequency [of accidents] in the industry has been going down for the last 60 years. The offset of that has been severity. Our components are much more complex because of the technology. When I was in claims, the bumper might be $300. But now it would be $2,000 if it’s got cameras in it, etc. And medical costs.

People are getting injured more severely?

No, when you get injured, medical costs have gone up. So your visit to the chiropractor yesterday is a lot more than it was 10 years ago.

Regarding accidents, historically, are there certain times you want to avoid being on the road, the Fourth of July?

I think the highest rate of DUIs is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Everybody gets home. You’ve gone out with your college friends or your high school friends.

How existential a threat to the auto insurance business is full development of autonomous vehicles? Say that it was fully here tomorrow.

It’s a threat to the industry. If it was here tomorrow, it would be huge for our auto business because there would be a lot less accidents. And so premiums would go down. That’s one of the reasons why we’ve diversified and we bought a homeowners’ company, and we have commercial lines, and we have relationships with Lyft and Uber. But I think everyone’s rooting for safer vehicles because it’s good for society. I’m not putting my head in the sand. Cars will get safer and that will be great for society. But I think it’s going to be a little while.

The Wall Street Journal last year ranked Progressive the No. 1 company for diversity and inclusion. What advice would you give to a company that’s now starting to take this more seriously, going beyond making supportive statements and donations?

You have to be really intentional. You have to realize it takes a long time. And you have to really have programs in place that you can monitor. We started employee resource groups back when I ran HR in 2007. Now we have nine that are really embedded in our culture. We started a program three or four years ago called our Multicultural Leadership Development Program. We have a cohort of people that go through an 18-month program. Most of them are people of color. And their rate of promotion having gone through this 18-month program is about 60% higher than your standard peer. We’re going to supercharge that program to close that gap in the middle so that when I leave, my team is more diverse.

That same study found that companies that are more diverse performed better financially. What are your thoughts on why that’s so?

Because you get an opinion from a variety of people. If you have the same people that grew up the same way as you, that look the same as you, that love the same as you, you are going to come to probably the same conclusions. Diversity allows for debate and action. And it’s more fun. I don’t want to be around a bunch of 55-year-old white women all the time.

What else has been successful in building a diverse culture?

I’ve had the opportunity to hire several members from my board of directors in the last several years. And I think having a board that is diverse is as important because they’re guiding me. And I think we’re the only Fortune 500 company that has a female CEO and a female chairwoman. And I have 12 board members: half men, half women—and one of the women is a person of color.

Where are you from? What was your childhood like?

I was born in Decatur, Ill., which is a blue collar place. I’m the youngest of six kids. My mom stayed home until I was in grade school. She was a waitress, and then she worked as a mom. My dad sold life insurance door to door so we were really broke. I had a very small house with a lot of people.

What type of behavior will you not tolerate on your management team?

Disrespect. Be respectful to everyone.

Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here.

GRIFFITH’S FAVORITES

BUSINESS BOOK: Principles, Ray Dalio

AUTHOR: David Halberstam mostly because—I’ll tell you a quick story. So my sister bought me a book years ago, October 1964. And that was actually the month and year I was born, and it’s about the Cardinals and the Yankees going to the World Series. My dad played Triple-A farm ball for the Cardinals. He’s a Cardinal fan, so that was really big. And I was born on the day the Cardinals won the pennant, Oct. 4, 1964. My grandma called and said, “Congratulations!” And my dad said, “Yeah, can you believe the Cardinals won?”

APP: Instagram

EXERCISE/STRESS RELIEVER: My husband and I get up every day at 5 to work out. I love to go for long walks.

ALTERNATE FANTASY CAREER: I’d like to be a talk-show host.

Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here.

from Blogger https://ift.tt/2Y7FVga via IFTTT

[newstechreviews]

(Miss this week’s The Leadership Brief? This interview above was delivered to the inbox of Leadership Brief subscribers on Sunday morning, Aug. 16; to receive weekly emails of conversations with the world’s top CEOs and business decisionmakers, click here.)

One of the best indicators of economic activity is how many miles Americans drive, and as CEO of Progressive Corp., one of the largest U.S. auto insurers, Tricia Griffith keeps a careful eye on the nation’s coming and goings. Since the pandemic began, people are both driving less—miles driven plummeted by 40% in April—and getting into fewer accidents.

Griffith has spent her career at Progressive, starting as a claims rep, and is a rare CEO who previously served as her company’s head of HR, a background that she credits with helping make Progressive the top-rated corporation for diversity and inclusion, according to a ranking by the Wall Street Journal.

Griffith, 55, joined TIME for a video conversation from her home outside of Cleveland. Griffith shared her views on humor in insurance advertising (comedian Stephanie Courtney has been appearing in Progressive ads as Flo since 2008), the “sophomoric” state of the nation’s leadership, and how to build a diverse and inclusive corporate culture.

Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

You’re in the risk business. How good a job are we as Americans doing at judging risks right now? How would you grade our decision making process?

F, F, F. I can’t believe people aren’t wearing masks. It’s ridiculous. And it’s selfish. Because you wear the mask for me, I’ll wear it for you. I’m looking at these beaches, and I am so disturbed. I just don’t understand why people don’t wear masks. My daughter’s wedding was 400 people and now it’s 12. And we’re all wearing masks.

And what grade would you give the nation’s leadership?

I think the sophomoric ways that both sides of the aisle are acting, it’s just like—I said to my team the other day, it was right around the time Democrats were saying $600 for unemployment. The Republicans were saying $200. And they couldn’t come to a compromise. I said, “If we worked this way as a team, all of us should be fired.” I would not allow that. And my board wouldn’t allow me to work like that. I’ve been disgusted at people not being able to compromise.

Shouldn’t the business community be speaking up with a louder voice? You have a lot of clout.

We actually have. As a member of the Business Roundtable, we have sent letters to Congress asking them to do specific things for small businesses, etc. I can forward you a note that we sent.

Yes, but there are degrees. I mean a polite letter from the Business Roundtable is nice, but a pointed comment from an individual CEO brings another level of pressure. Should more people be speaking up?

Right. I haven’t personally, but many members of the Business Roundtable have been on the different various talk shows and been more aggressive about it.

And another thing—the stock market is acting so irrationally.

I agree.

Why is the market continuing to hit these frothy levels?

It’s hard for me to say. I really try not to guess on the market. Very little of our investment portfolio is in equities, like 11%. We’re very conservative from that perspective. We are invested across the board in fixed income. We do commercial mortgage-backed securities. We do investment in corporate bonds. Municipal bonds.

So you’re not watching Squawk Box and calling your investment division and saying, “Sell! Move it all to cash!”

No, no, no.

You spend more than a $1 billion a year on advertising. Why is the consumer insurance industry such a heavy advertiser?

It’s funny you ask that because when you really think about it, everyone is required to have insurance yet we advertise it. But it works. We measure it and it works. We know customers react to it. It makes the proverbial phone ring.

You’re out there fighting every day for customers?

Absolutely. Geico and Progressive, we’re sort of Coke and Pepsi. It’s very competitive.

It’s funny, I’m an older consumer and what insurance company I use is a decision I want to make once. I’m surprised that people are constantly re-evaluating it.

Years ago, we put together personas. We have Sams, Dianes, Wrights and the Robinsons. You’re a Robinson. I’m a Robinson. I got my phone. I’ve got my cars. The ones that move a lot are Sams. They are what we would call inconsistently insured. And they do it solely for price. And so they’ll move for $50 or $100. Then Dianes are a little bit more stable, where they have a car, and maybe they have a rental policy. We want to get those Dianes so that they grow into Robinsons, which are auto/home bundles.

Insurance is a serious matter. But the prevailing tone of the ads is so comical. Why has the industry taken this approach?

There’s so much noise out there with so many different insurance companies advertising, you have to have something memorable. It is a serious category. When you’re calling in, we’re not going to be lighthearted about it. But we have to get your attention to be on the short list.

How important has Flo been to the growth of Progressive?

She’s been extremely important.

But at the same time, as early as 2015, there was a Reddit subthread advocating “Flo Must Go.” How do you balance her continuing popularity with the anti-Flo faction?

We look at the data. And so we sent out a survey that says literally, “Are you tired of Flo?” And we have not seen that change.

Are any of your new characters taking off? As a dad myself, I have to love the series on parent-like behaviors.

We call it parent-a-morphosis. You morph into your parents. We designed that in my office when I was chief operating officer about four and a half years ago. It’s funny because it’s true. Those lines are literally from all our dads: “Defense wins championships.” That was my dad.

What’s up with all the hip new insurance companies like Hippo and Lemonade, Root and Young Alfred? What’s driving that dynamic?

There’s been a lot of money to be able to fund startups. And I actually think many of those companies are answering unmet needs for people. Making it easy. You can get a really quick quote with Lemonade. Root is all usage-based insurance. Those companies are pushing us to not be complacent. I love competition. I just think it makes you better.

Let’s turn to your core business: car insurance. With the pandemic, are people driving less?

It went down 40% [in April] and then immediately upon the states’ opening, it’s crept back. So it’s not to normal levels, but it’s getting closer.

As a proxy for how the economy is doing, with reopening and then reclosing, are we down from a peak? Did it go up in June, and now it’s falling again?

No, it’s been relatively stable since things started to open because different states are going to open and close. So when we reclosed some of the states, other states picked up.

So the overall trend line continues to be up, is that correct?

Yes.

But miles driven is still down year-over-year?

It’s probably still down like 10%.

And what’s happening on the accident front?

We’re seeing fewer accidents. We believe because there’s less congestion that people are getting in less accidents.

Even before the pandemic, the frequency of accidents has been declining, right?

Frequency [of accidents] in the industry has been going down for the last 60 years. The offset of that has been severity. Our components are much more complex because of the technology. When I was in claims, the bumper might be $300. But now it would be $2,000 if it’s got cameras in it, etc. And medical costs.

People are getting injured more severely?

No, when you get injured, medical costs have gone up. So your visit to the chiropractor yesterday is a lot more than it was 10 years ago.

Regarding accidents, historically, are there certain times you want to avoid being on the road, the Fourth of July?

I think the highest rate of DUIs is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Everybody gets home. You’ve gone out with your college friends or your high school friends.

How existential a threat to the auto insurance business is full development of autonomous vehicles? Say that it was fully here tomorrow.

It’s a threat to the industry. If it was here tomorrow, it would be huge for our auto business because there would be a lot less accidents. And so premiums would go down. That’s one of the reasons why we’ve diversified and we bought a homeowners’ company, and we have commercial lines, and we have relationships with Lyft and Uber. But I think everyone’s rooting for safer vehicles because it’s good for society. I’m not putting my head in the sand. Cars will get safer and that will be great for society. But I think it’s going to be a little while.

The Wall Street Journal last year ranked Progressive the No. 1 company for diversity and inclusion. What advice would you give to a company that’s now starting to take this more seriously, going beyond making supportive statements and donations?

You have to be really intentional. You have to realize it takes a long time. And you have to really have programs in place that you can monitor. We started employee resource groups back when I ran HR in 2007. Now we have nine that are really embedded in our culture. We started a program three or four years ago called our Multicultural Leadership Development Program. We have a cohort of people that go through an 18-month program. Most of them are people of color. And their rate of promotion having gone through this 18-month program is about 60% higher than your standard peer. We’re going to supercharge that program to close that gap in the middle so that when I leave, my team is more diverse.

That same study found that companies that are more diverse performed better financially. What are your thoughts on why that’s so?

Because you get an opinion from a variety of people. If you have the same people that grew up the same way as you, that look the same as you, that love the same as you, you are going to come to probably the same conclusions. Diversity allows for debate and action. And it’s more fun. I don’t want to be around a bunch of 55-year-old white women all the time.

What else has been successful in building a diverse culture?

I’ve had the opportunity to hire several members from my board of directors in the last several years. And I think having a board that is diverse is as important because they’re guiding me. And I think we’re the only Fortune 500 company that has a female CEO and a female chairwoman. And I have 12 board members: half men, half women—and one of the women is a person of color.

Where are you from? What was your childhood like?

I was born in Decatur, Ill., which is a blue collar place. I’m the youngest of six kids. My mom stayed home until I was in grade school. She was a waitress, and then she worked as a mom. My dad sold life insurance door to door so we were really broke. I had a very small house with a lot of people.

What type of behavior will you not tolerate on your management team?

Disrespect. Be respectful to everyone.

Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here.

GRIFFITH’S FAVORITES

BUSINESS BOOK: Principles, Ray Dalio

AUTHOR: David Halberstam mostly because—I’ll tell you a quick story. So my sister bought me a book years ago, October 1964. And that was actually the month and year I was born, and it’s about the Cardinals and the Yankees going to the World Series. My dad played Triple-A farm ball for the Cardinals. He’s a Cardinal fan, so that was really big. And I was born on the day the Cardinals won the pennant, Oct. 4, 1964. My grandma called and said, “Congratulations!” And my dad said, “Yeah, can you believe the Cardinals won?”

APP: Instagram

EXERCISE/STRESS RELIEVER: My husband and I get up every day at 5 to work out. I love to go for long walks.

ALTERNATE FANTASY CAREER: I’d like to be a talk-show host.

Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here.

[ginnyzero]

One Word: Write

For every aspiring author out there in the world, all the writing advice floating about in books and on the internet can be condensed into one word, "write."

There is no magical list or fairy dust powder that is going to make your words more powerful than actually sitting down and writing them. I see lists about "How to write action," "avoid filter words," "words to use other than very" and "Stephen King's top 20 pieces of writing advice."

Stephen King writes everyday. Thousands of words, every, single, day.

There are writing advice columns where writers ask "how can I make my protag do this?" "My protag is this, how can I have them do this?"

Write.

Sometimes when people find out I'm an author they ask me questions about who I've read and that I should read this writing advice book or that writing advice book or this author. And most of the time, I can honestly say, "I've never read that author's writing advice book." I have shelves and shelves of books about the fashion industry and fashion business. I have less than half a shelf of books about writing, most of them are about the perils of publishing, dictionaries of words and proper names. I have shelves and shelves of fiction and there are several shelves of non-fiction reference. But instead of spending hours and hours on reading books or advice columns about how to write, I sit at my computer or with a notebook and write.

When you write, you develop your own style, your own voice. You learn about yourself and what is important to you. I don't want to be Stephen King. I don't want to be Orson Scott Card. I don't want to be GRRM. I want to sound and write like myself with my own voice.

If you want to write for fun, you write for fun and style and grammar and the 'techniques' of writing may not be so important. When I was writing for fun, I still wanted to improve. I still wanted to get 'better' at writing. (Because when I first started back in 7th grade, I sucked.) So, I chose one portion of my writing and I focused on it.

I wanted to write better dialogue. I didn't want to write question and answer exchanges. I wanted dialogue that felt real instead of stilted. So, I wrote dialogue. I analyzed my dialogue. If I saw there was a question and answer exchange over and over. I went back and rewrote the questions into statements. I wrote so much dialogue that it became such second nature that I can't tell you how exactly I write dialogue anymore. These characters in my head have conversations in my brain and I'm a vessel to get them from my brain to the page.

I decided later I wanted to write action scenes. So I wrote action scenes until I felt that I had finally found a way to write action that worked for me. Action that suited my style. I decided I wanted to work in writing description and try to figure out how to do it without disrupting my narrative flow and dialogue. So, I write description.

The day I figured out how to write a plot with conflict. Well, err, the Lone Prospect was born. Sometimes, plot and conflict comes deliberately and sometimes before this it was completely accidental. Now, I can look at my work and go "I can't write anything until I have a plot and conflict." Or "This story has no tension, what happened to the conflict? Drat. Must go find it. Rewrite." Whereas before, if I had a situation, I'd just write it no matter what. This led to some very entertaining yet boring stories all at the same time.

As I have developed my writing I start to see things that I do that could be annoying and disruptive to readers. Then, I try to change them. I can see the bad habits in my writing. I can see where in sentences that my brain runs off on a tangent that would be better served as a sentence later. I notice where words are out of place. (And if it is a writing piece for fun, I don't care and won't change it. If it's for publishing, I'll fix it. The point is I see the flaws.)

If you're unhappy with your writing, write more until you are happy. Write realizing that you can always improve if you want to do so. Write knowing that everything you've written can be changed if it has to be. Because if you don't write, you're never going to be an author.

You can only get better with experience. Being a writer, being an author, experience means writing.

People sometimes want me to help them with their writing. Then they get shocked when I ask them to write more than one hundred words in a week. I patiently try to tell them if they don't write then me trying to help them is a waste of both of our valuable time. You can only improve by writing more words down on a page. (This honestly helps me sort the diehards from the dreamers.)

The basic rules of language and writing haven't changed since high school. High School English classes about grammar and creative writing will teach you the basics of everything you need to know. (And I was taught Bob Jones English, which is horrible and I still know the basics of active versus passive, basic story structure, basic themes, basic conflicts.) You can learn and learn and learn, and it will do you nothing until you apply it by writing.

I'll be fair. I have one writing catch all advice book. I can read it in ten minutes. The Writer's Little Book of Wisdom by John Long. It has saved me from filter words, daffy dialogue and the peril of expecting people to give feedback on my work or notice it exists. It has reminded me there are three rules for a good novel and no one knows what they are, not to mix my metaphors and shoot epitaphs. I got it in high school. It's turning yellow. There are passages highlighted of my favorite pieces of advice. I'm surprised I haven't lost it. (There have been a few panic inducing close calls.)

So here are the first two pieces of advice from it. "Art without practice is nothing. Sit down everyday and write."

[manifestoonmoralmanlove]

Gormless Wrap-Up

A well-meaning friend gave me a book series that is hilariously bad. The first book was Souless and my riffs were entitled brainless. This second book is entitled Changless and these riff are then gormless.

I mean to say I have entitled them gormless! Not that my riffs are dumb, and the effort I spend on them stupid since I’m the only one who enjoys them. HAHA!

The story is SUPPOSED TO be about how a badass lady wearing a rad-looking carriage dress hits baddies with her umbrella and bangs her hot werewolf husband.  In reality it’s mostly poor attempts at being witty, flirty, and superior.

For the last book check out the brainless tag.

If you want the TL;DR version but want to read these new riffs anyway?

This story is set in supernatural Victorian steampunk England.  Alexia is our NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS protag.  She is a soulless, which means she’s able to negate the abilities of vampires and werewolves by touching them. She’s recently married a big oaf, named Lord Connel Maccon.  He’s the manchild in charge of the supernatural police with a zillion dollars and he’s totes super hot too ok.  Their relationship is mostly arguments about how Maccon can’t tell her fucking anything.  Alexia has also recently become head of ~Soulless affairs~ in Queen Victoria’s government.  She has a dumb friend named Ivy, a gay vampire friend named Akeldama, a family who’s evil because they do the same shit as her but while being blonde, and most importantly Alexia is better than everyone cause…cause.

So here are my final thoughts on the book Changeless for those interested in such things:

Once again the big problem/perk of the story is the consistent frivolousness of it all.  The book is much more interested in its supposed comedy of manners than the last.  This comedy of manners mostly boils down to lol Ivy is stupid, and look at how uptight everyone is.  For the most part it’s just not that clever and more often than not I’m just rolling my eyes at it.  I will say this book is funnier than the last one.  There are a few jokes that are just so dumb, they do hit me in a good way.

However it’s kinda frustrating when nobody seems to care about the overarching plot at all.  Like there is an active shooter in the castle and they all just shrug and go to dinner and later bed.  For me personally, and I don’t know if people would disagree with me on this…when I pick up a supernatural action/comedy/romance.  I’m kinda there for the action, and hoping to enjoy it being peppered with a fun romance and silly comedy.  Not for the action to show up once every 3 chapters, and most of it is a couple of unlikable buttholes being belligerently horny at one another and a dumb character off in the corner going, “Duhhh what does this button do?” The action at the center should be propelling the rest of the story but rather it just feels as if it was an afterthought.

But I mean…at least I find the comedy funny a few times, I did not find the action at the center compelling at fucking all.  The ~who dun it spy~ antagonist was painfully easy to guess.  She does a piss poor job at structuring the suspense and wastes a lot of obvious opportunities for drama.  The few dramatic moments we do get I spend the time going, “that makes no sense” rather than, “WILL THEY MAKE IT OUT ALIVE?!”  Part of this issue comes down to the fact the book wants you to miss out on feeling the ~BAD~ emotions.   You’re not allowed to be sad, scared, or confused as to the right course of action. ONLY HORNY AND LAUGHING! ONLY HORNY AND LAUGHING!  Not only are we missing out on feelings that could make one more deeply invested in the characters and story…but there are moments that should be sad or scary and instead are just powered through with oblivious humor, which makes the lead characters seem monstrously callous or thick as pig shit.

Alexia was kinda a plucky idiot last book.  This book her utter lack of human empathy and kindness makes her harder and harder to root for.

Maccon’s asshole-osity becomes increasingly apparent.  He has a very bad case of hypocrisy in this book.  He refuses to share basic information with his wife but gets seething mad when she doesn’t tell him much less vital information. It’s really not hot or the sign of a good leader that his tactic for dealing with people is mostly intimidation, with a pinch of violence, and that he was seriously considering hurting his wife over listening to her. The only thing he puts effort into is trying to have sex with his wife, and he really should have a few things higher on his god damn list.  And honestly? He doesn’t really do much for this story at all. Alexia does all the plot lifting on her own.  The only thing he contributes to is the ending, and it casts him in an incredibly dark light.  And yanno it just sucks to know that he’s going to be forgiven for it and probably for as little as a “My bad.”  

I continue to find the Alexia/Maccon relationship beyond irritating but at least there were a couple of moments were they genuinely seem to connect in an intimate way, which were absent from the last book.  To be clear I am not conflating intimacy with sex when I use the word.  The two of them are most definitely not equals in the relationship. I wouldn’t classify the relationship as abusive, but best case scenario it’s not equal and worst case scenario it’s quite unhealthy with Maccon holding most of the cards.  But…I mean I can see why somebody would find their pissing contests entertaining.  But for me they’re child-adults who can’t speak to one another outside of annoyed sighs and dry humping.  Their banter is just not sexy or funny to me.

The Ivy and Tunstell subplot drama doesn’t work well at all.  The story outright tells you it doesn’t really care about it.  And the way it moves forward is clunky as all get out.  In particular when they just make-out out of nowhere.  I know they were trying to reconcile with how Tunstell saved her…than let that be the event that catapults them back together.  Let Ivy look up into Tunstell’s eyes after the rescue and breath, “….You saved me…and after all those awful things I said about you.”

Nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh who cares!?

Speaking of which we get a lot more out of Ivy this book than last and I’m just not impressed with it.  I predicted that Ivy was going to be the comic relief dumb friend.  That Alexia would keep her around for her own ego and just be condensing to her the entire time.  Last book we didn’t get that. THIS BOOK WE GET WHAT I PREDICTED IN SPAAAAAAAAADES! Ivy is not framed as lovable, and not even for a second does Alexia interact with Ivy outside of irritated condensation she hides with a snide quip.  Sure Alexia can be snarky toward her, and Ivy frustrated but there is no affection from either of them.

I’M HONESTLY NOT SURE IF ALEXIA IS CAPABLE OF SUCH A THING!

LeFoux was cool though, even though there was no reason why she had to lie about Maccon asking her to keep Alexia safe.  And like the thing about their two dads knowing each other is interesting but honestly there’s probably nothing more to it.  I’m not a big fan of Alexia sexually assaulting her for no reason, or how Alexia needed it explained to her that lesbians are real.  But like, I’m glad the story is getting gay.

I’m kinda confused why Channing was even here?  She OPENS THE BOOK with a conflict about this character and then nothing of import comes out of him or the situation at all.  The whole team up with Biffy and Lyall sub-sub-sub plot should either not have even been in the book at all or there should have been significant more effort made to make their antics increase the drama for the main plot.  I suspect Channing is going to be more plot important next book.  AKA the next Angelique.  

Just like last book the antagonist is super weak.  I mean you could argue that she wasn’t revealed as the big bad until the 2nd to last chapter, you couldn’t build on her much…however her spy antics were throughout the book and none of it is very compelling. There could have easily had a better confrontation.  That Alexia confronts Angelique about spy stuff, and Angelique breaks out crocodile tears explaining, “NO it was LEFOUX!  I’m so sorry my lady, I couldn’t stop her!”And for a second Alexia questions it and hesitates but in that moment of hesitation BLAMO! STAB IN THE BACK! We should have had that stark contrast between her meek diligent servant persona and what a manipulative conniving bitch she’s supposed to be.  Make that betrayal FELT you know?

TL;DR

What’s good?

This book is more humorous than the last.  Again it’s just that NO-BUMMERS train chugging past a lot of dumb jokes in a steam-powered train straight into werewolf-fuckville.  The story getting gayer is enjoyable, and I have genuinely not read a het romance that teases any lesbianism. (Though I don’t read many het romances anyway.)  Despite my distaste for a lot of the characters and how this is all written, LeFoux was genuinely a lot of fun!  Her flirtations were WAY sexier than anything Alexia/Maccon had…but I don’t know if that’s cause I’m gayer than I am straight WHOOPS!  I will say that I think the pacing of the action in this book was better than the 1st.  Also the ending, despite me not caring for the characters, was a pretty good gut-punch.

And let’s be honest, in a trilogy the middle book is the hardest to pull off.

What’s bad?

Everything falls apart on any kind of base analysis.  The story spends way too much time holding your hand on stupid details like the current state of LeFoux’s dimples or is that other hot werewolf, who’s not plot relevant at all, still hot?  The mystery aspect was easily guessed, the plot does not hold water, and if you take a step back from any of these characters…most of them are completely distasteful.  Also this one featured much more open racism and sexism.  So booooooooooo. Would not recommend.

[ciathyzareposts]

Batman Returns – World’s Greatest Thumb-Twiddler (Lost!)

Written by Joe Pranevich

Who’s the dark knight detective that’s a hit with all the chicks? Batman! Your darned right. Welcome back to Batman Returns! Last week, I completed the first day by discovering (and stealing) an innocuous awards ceremony tape from the mayor’s office. We spent the day exploring and dealing with thugs from a circus gang, but did not spy either Penguin or Catwoman. Thus far, the game feels a bit thin with empty areas and not a lot that to explore thanks to the verbless interface. That said, the graphics are quite good and I’m enjoying bits of Danny Elfman in the soundtrack– his Batman theme is one of the musical highpoints of my childhood and adds so much to this game.

And yet, you might sense that something is off. As Alex Romanov noted in the comments to my last post, I made a critical mistake that I did not discover until the end of this session. Things didn’t go well for the Caped Crusader. Rather than whitewash it, I will narrate what happened and you can see for yourself how I spent the next four hours of play time. I am not sure whether I was completely doomed after the first day’s mistake or if there was some way that I could have recovered, but either way this is a “Lost!” post. I will try again from the start next week.

I thought he looked like the guy from Twins.

Day 2

Batman began his second day like the first one: sitting at his bat-desk and listening to the nightly news. The top story of the night is that Oswald Cobblepot, a deformed man with a penguin-like appearance, saved the mayor’s son from a kidnap attempt by the circus gang. We know (because we’re not idiots) that the Penguin orchestrated the whole scenario, but the gullible population swallows it and sees him as a hero. Perhaps Batman’s vigilante activities have primed them to accept another bird-themed hero..

I wish we had been present for this scene instead of being told about it on the news. In the movie, the circus gang attacks the mayor and his family at a tree lighting ceremony and escape through a manhole, only to have the Penguin emerge from the same (in his rubber duckie boat!) and return the child to his father. Neither Bruce Wayne nor his alter-ego are present for this scene in the film either, but we lose a lot by having it summarized by a talking head. Still, I cannot fault the game for trying to tell this story strictly from Batman’s point of view, especially as they are highlighting the detective aspect of his character.

The bat-computer is updated immediately with Penguin as a “person to watch”.

Racing to the batmobile, I find no new locations have opened up. I check Gotham Plaza, downtown, and the mayor’s office over again, but other than a few sporadic battles with the circus gang, I observe nothing new. I even search everything twice just to be sure. As far as I can tell, other than the news report at the beginning of the night, the second day has no additional content.

In the film, Penguin’s arrival on the scene is followed by a brief quest to find out his real identity. Penguin is taken to the hall of records where he searches for evidence of his name and his lost family. We later learn that Penguin used his time with the records to assemble lists of the Gotham elite’s firstborn children to abduct. The game skips this part and reveals his name immediately. Unless it comes up later, this is a lost opportunity because Batman spying on Penguin could have been a neat adventure game sequence.

Having found absolutely nothing to do, I retire for the evening and prepare for day three. I hope I am not coming off as down on the game already, but slowly mousing over rooms get boring after a while.

Day 3

Unlike the previous two, the third night does not even have a news update. There are general news stories about the decline of education standards and the increase in crime, but nothing pertinent to our case. I head to the batmobile for another evening of searching around. As before, there are no new areas to explore on our map.

I discover a clue in the mayor’s office: a stack of “party pictures” left on his desk. I scan them using my bat-scanner and return to the batcave. I do not know if there is a penalty if I had taken them instead of scanning them, but I’d rather not risk it. We cannot look at the pictures directly. Instead, we insert them into the evidence computer for processing. It reveals that they are photos from that mayor’s son’s first birthday party. There is also an option to extrapolate further, but the computer does not have enough evidence for additional conclusions. This is twice that Batman has gone to the mayor’s office and stolen something completely innocuous. We have yet to discover an actual clue.

World’s Greatest Stalker

I return to the streets to see if anything changed. Unsurprisingly, nothing did despite searching every room again. No matter how nice the graphics are, there are only so many times you can watch the same animations before you go a little nuts. The manual claims that you can fast-forward by clicking the right mouse immediately after selecting an action with you left, but I never got this to work.

There are only nine days in the game and we’ve spent three of them doing nothing. When does the plot start?

Now, I suppose.

Day 4

The fourth day starts with a news alert! The citizens of the city are sick and tired of gangs of circus performers roaming the city. They want a mayoral recall election and they want it now. Not coincidentally, Oswald Cobblepot is now the leading opposition candidate thanks to the city seeing him as the hero that they need. We know from the movie that this is all being orchestrated by Max Shreck as part of his plot to get a sympathetic mayor in office so that he can siphon electricity from the city, but the game doesn’t make that connection yet. The movie also shows Penguin eating raw fish and assaulting his supporters, but Mr. Shreck’s excellent stage-management of Cobblepot’s reputation somehow causes these incidents to be forgotten. The news even has the gall to complain that “Batman has disappeared” during these attacks; how many times have I run around the city beating up clowns in the last four days?

I explore the city again and find the standard array of empty rooms and meaningless combats. This time, I spy a feather on the mayor’s desk and pocket it. When I take that back to the evidence computer, I have my first real clue of the game! The computer identifies the feather as being from an Emperor Penguin, possibly one of penguins from an exhibit at the Old Zoo. The computer further believes that the feather is intended as a threat or a calling card, to tell the mayor that the Penguin is after him. Could the pictures from the previous night be a similar threat? What if they were taken by Penguin’s gang to show the mayor how closely he and his family are being watched?

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo… how about you, you, you…

The best thing about this evidence is that I have a new location on the Batmobile’s map: the Old Zoo, in the southwest corner. I discover it deserted but ready for exploration. I’m not sure either from the game or the movie whether the zoo is still in operation or whether the remaining animals, including a large flock of penguins, were just left to starve on their own. I don’t think that Penguin could hide inside of an active zoo, but I also find it hard to believe that they would have left all of the animals behind in a closed one. Maybe I should blame Tum Burton for loving the idea of an abandoned zoo without considering the logistics of it.

A cave for polar bears?

The penguin exhibit!

The zoo is not a huge place and we can’t explore it very deeply. All we have is an overhead view where Batman is perched on a tree, plus views of the outside of “Arctic World” and a cave. We cannot go into “Arctic World”, although we can at least zoom in to the entrance of the cave. That’s where we discover our second piece of evidence of the night: an old circus poster. I scan that and return to the batcave.

The poster is for a circus that disbanded five years ago. The computer further deduces that the circus performers are the same ones that are terrorizing the city. That suggests that the thugs are connected to the zoo and, by extension, the Penguin! Holy moley! The movie makes this explicit much earlier, but I like the way the game is telling this story exclusively from Batman’s perspective.

Before concluding my most successful night yet, I take one more spin around all of the locations to see if I find anything new. I do not, but at least I feel better that the plot is starting up.

How did you get my Skype?

Day 5

I am more than halfway through the game! I considered ending the post here, but there isn’t quite enough content yet. The plot thickens immediately as the Penguin sends Batman a video message directly to the batcave. He wants Batman to know that he has a tape of evidence against the mayor that he will release soon. Once the people discover how corrupt their leader is, they will surely pick Penguin as his replacement. He claims that he is telling us this because he wants to “play fair”, but there is likely another reason. In the film, he’s trying to draw Batman out so that he can be discredited. I’m not sure if the game has the narrative ability to present that well.

Now that I consider it, the craziest part of the game is that you could possibly go from a petition to a recall election in less than a week. Just printing ballots and arranging polling stations would take more than that. Real world gears turn much more slowly, plus Penguin could be just as easily recalled if he won the election. In the film, the timeframe is less explicit but still condensed, starting from the tree-lighting and ending sometime before Christmas; four weeks at most.

Jinkies! Another clue!

I run through my well-practiced tour of every room in the city and find two new clues in the mayor’s office: a photo on a side-table and remodeling plans on his desk. I take them back to the batcave for further consideration.

Who is Byron Orton?

Thanks to our evidence computer, we learn that the photo is of the mayor and Byron Orton. “Who is Bryron Orton?” you might ask? The biographical computer reveals that he is the publisher of the Gotham Gazette and a tabloid called The Tell All. It appears that the mayor is courting him in an effort to improve his standing among the press and to get some positive coverage before the snap election. Mr. Orton appears to be an original creation for this game with no comic book or movie tie-ins, nor does he appear in any of the drafts of the script that I have located. I think– but I am not sure– that Byron’s image is actually Don Landon, a video editor on Batman Returns and a long-time engineer for Park Place Productions. This guess is based on a grainy photo in the manual for NHL Hockey (1992) for the Sega Genesis, so I apologize if I have made a mistake. This is as good a time as any to tell you that Batman’s citizen database has been gradually updated as the game progresses. Catwoman appears for the first time now, for example, plus Penguin’s entry has been updated to talk about the extortion threat. I don’t check them all every day to see what else might be different.

The plans are of a defense-oriented remodel of someplace, but neither we nor the mayor seems to be sure of where. The mayor’s notes suggest that he believes Max Shreck is up to something, but he doesn’t know what. The computer helpfully tells us that a ventilation duct is the weak point in the design, a detail that I am positive will come in handy later.

Dark Knights of the Round Table?

More importantly, discovering the plans opens up Shreck’s office on the map! It’s just across from Gotham Plaza; we can enter it through one of the rooftop screens that I had already found, but not until we knew that the location was important. That gives me a bit of hope that some of these empty rooms will be less empty before the end of the game.

Searching the room carefully, I discover a hidden compartment beneath the globe on the right hand side. I have to use the lockpick, but inside is a memo which I scan for further analysis. While in his office, I get attacked by more circus people, although I am not certain whether that is a programming flaw or further indication that Shreck and Penguin are in cahoots. Back in the batcave, we learn that Shreck’s was hunting to Penguin to use his men to inflame the crime wave. Doing so will undercut the mayor’s reputation, ensuring Penguin’s eventual win. Good thing this sort of thing never happens in real life!

Catwoman attacks!

Heading back out to the city, I am attacked by Catwoman outside of Shreck’s department store. She has no difficulty with any of the weapons that I have on hand, but she eventually leaves. Did she win? Did I win? I have no idea. My computer crashed immediately afterwards and I lost all “Day 5” progress, but she did not appear when I replayed the sequence. My guess is that she is a random encounter, but I’m not sure how to defeat her if I can’t find her.

Who is Dennis Barvel?

While digging around in the computer, I notice an alert that wasn’t there before: Dennis Barvel is listed as a “Person to Watch” and plans to strike at the jewelry store, one of the downtown locations, tonight. The database tells me that he is also known as “Dominic Best”, an armed robbery specialist that likes to target banks and jewelry stores. He just got out of a four-year prison sentence and is looking to strike again. He appears to be a game-exclusive and not in either comics or the film. I head to the location and wait all night (by pushing the “next hour” button), but he never shows up. We know that the original game was to feature some non-movie content, but that the studio nixed that idea much to Bill Kunkel’s consternation. Were Barvel and Orton plot threads that were excised but not removed completely? Is it coincidence that they both show up on day five, or would I have found more if I had searched the database every night? Alternatively, am I just doing something wrong and missed an important cutscene? I have no idea.

Thanks for reminding me!

Day 6

I start the next day without having solved the mystery of Penguin’s extortion tape. He’s even kind enough to video-call me again to remind me that I need to track him down. Thanks, Penguin! He reveals that his real motivation is to expose me, making himself the hero and Batman the freak. The nightly news reveals that there is renewed violence in Gotham Plaza, obviously part of the plot that Shreck and Penguin cooked up the previous day. While not connected to the main plot, I notice that Barvel is no longer listed in the computer. I missed whatever was supposed to happen with him, if anything.

At Gotham Plaza, I enter the fight of my gaming life. Batman has to face enemy after enemy. Eventually, even the Penguin shows up. He blocks everything I throw at him with an umbrella, although I do get him to talk to me after a well-timed bolo hits him. (Or maybe the timing is a coincidence; I am not sure.)

The Penguin is surprisingly effective with his trick umbrella for both attack and defense.

The “conversation” is a brief cutscene: Batman accuses Penguin of coming downtown to admire his villainous handiwork, but Penguin replies that as a mayoral candidate he’s only touring the scene of a major riot. Being down here tonight, fighting me, is apparently good for his image!

Smacking around some bats. You know.

Eventually, Penguin flees the scene– I am uncertain whether I won or lost the fight. He is immediately replaced by Catwoman. I don’t know if this is the fight that I was supposed to have with her on the previous day or related to the riot. If I land a couple of hits on her, we get a brief dialog scene from the movie where Catwoman acts indignant that Batman would hit a woman, before laying it on him with both barrels. She’s probably making some point here about early 90s feminism, but I’m too busy being beaten up by a woman wearing a latex catsuit to understand.

And it’s not okay to hit cats either.

This whole marathon feels like a final boss. Even after Catwoman leaves, I am hounded by circus performer after circus performer. Eventually, I have to run away because I am out of weapons and taking too much damage. When I return after a recharge, I fight only one or two more battles in the plaza. Nothing special happens after I do and I search the rest of the city to find absolutely nothing. I search everything multiple times because I know that I have to find the clues that will lead me to Penguin’s videotape. Still, I come up short.

Reluctantly, I flip over to day seven and the game ends immediately. Penguin’s tape is released, showing the mayor embezzling funds from the city. This scandal ends the mayor’s political career and rockets Penguin (and Max Shreck) into a position of power in the city. The election is done. Batman is disgraced. Game over.

Yeah, I know. He reminded me twice!

But recall elections here are pretty quick and easy to arrange.

You have failed this city. Green Arrow could have solved this case.

Do I have to play again?

There is a small part of me that wants to stop here with a “Lost!” post. I think we’ve seen much of what the game has to offer in terms of interactions and combat. I cannot bring myself to give up just yet, so my plan is to replay from scratch and see if I can find things that I missed. If I make it through a second time with nothing to show for it, expect a “Request for Assistance” but I have a fishy feeling that I know what I did wrong.

Even absent a “Request for Assistance”, advice is appreciated on the Penguin and Catwoman combats. I don’t have a strategy for those except putting the game on “Fierce” and setting my DOS emulator to fast-forward because the fights take ages and get nowhere. Is there an object or a combination of objects that I should be using to win those fights?

Time played: 4 hr 10 min Total time: 6 hr 00 min

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/batman-returns-worlds-greatest-thumb-twiddler-lost/

[squadaloo]

My year in games - 2017 (First half)

For the past few years, my interest in games had been dwindling.  Despite the long list of games I played in 2016, only a few lasted me very long and only a couple I found gripping enough to play more than an hour at a time.  2017 so far has had no less than 5 such games in which hours melted away while playing them.  Here are the games I’ve played so far this year:

Batman: A Telltale Game Series (PS4, Beat game once) - I received this for Christmas.  It’s my first Telltale game since I generally don’t enjoy interactive stories, and I found it pretty decent but not great.  First off, the game on the PS4 is marred by absolutely horrible glitches.  The game full on crashed no less than 5 times throughout my playthrough, and one option on the main menu (the one that lets you review your choices) causes the game to softlock without fail every time.  With that being said, the story the game tells is pretty decent and different for a Batman game with there being more Bruce Wayne than usual.  While I liked that aspect of the story, the Bruce Wayne presented here felt almost too...nice.  Like, I found it hard to believe he could be Batman even in his darker moments.  Also, I can’t confirm this without replaying the game, but I left feeling like my choices basically didn’t matter and the game was essentially funneling towards the same conclusions every time.

Planet Coaster (PC, Spent 70 hours on one park) - Planet Coaster is the closest anybody has come to making a truly great, powerful, but relatively simple to use theme park builder.  The management aspects of the game when I last played back in January left much to be desired and there were numerous annoyances I had with placing objects and with limited ride choices, but overall I was able to make what I felt was a beautiful park over the course of 70 hours.

Overwatch (PC, Spent 5 hours in Private Matches) - Yes, I finally got the game everybody and their mom has been talking about.  I’m generally not a FPS fan, but I did like Team Fortress 2 for its variety of classes, and Overwatch very much feels like an expansion of TF2′s idea.  With a wide variety of fun characters, you’re bound to pick a few you like.  Overall, the game is great fun with friends.  However, I haven’t played it as much as I’d like given I don’t want to play with randoms online because I suck.

Rocket League (PC, Spent 2 hours in Private Matches) - Bought this for a LAN party.  It’s fun for a few insane hours with friends and the variety of game modes keeps things interesting.  Ultimately though, I did get tired of it.  It seems like a game best taken in small doses.

Gravity Rush 2 (PS4, Spent 30 hours beating the game and side missions, spent another 30 hours goofing around) - Much like its predecessor, Gravity Rush 2 is a game I love so much more than the sum of its parts.  It improves the combat from the original game by weakening your main gravity kick forcing you to rely on multiple other moves, adds more enemies, and new styles for attacking.  Flying around and controlling gravity is a blast.  However, not everything is perfect:  there’s a few missions where you’re in tight quarters and the camera becomes a nightmare.  It also has terrible stealth missions, and they are numerous.  The game is fun overall, but certainly doesn’t use its gravity flipping mechanics to their full potential.  Other than that, though, the environments are very pretty, large, and well realized:  I’d dare say the cities of Jirga Para Lhao and Hekseville are two of my favorite locations in all of gaming and I enjoyed just wandering around taking in the sites.

The story is very fragmented and feels more like a bunch of different seasons of a show condensed and often has plot holes that don’t make a whole lot of sense, but it does a great job of building characters you care about.  By the end of the game and the series, Kat and Raven pretty much became my favorite characters in any game because they were well realized, had arcs, and were overall just fun to be around.  Raven especially gets a shoutout because the game’s great partner AI actually does some of the character building for her.  Too often in games, you get a simple partner that helps you attack enemies around you and not much else.  Raven actively helps you achieve your goals:  need to pick up 7 people and take them to a location but can only pick up 2 at a time?  No worries, Raven will split up and take a few herself.  Need to sneak into a base, but there’s two guards in the way?  You attack one and she’ll automatically attack the other.  Start a super attack on a boss?  She’ll notice and if she’s not tied up fighting another enemy, she’ll join you.  It seems so simple, but it’s amazing how often things like this don’t really happen in other games.  It actually made me miss her the few times she’d step aside in the story.

The side missions also do a great job of giving you great nuggets of story, sort of like breather filler episodes in a TV show.  However, ultimately my love of the game really boils down to the final two hours of the game being absolutely phenomenal.  What it lacks in fully satisfying answers to questions it more than makes up with great gameplay and unbelievably satisfying character development.  I’ve never been more satisfied with the ending of a game in my life, and it is to date the only game to ever make me cry.  Oh, and the soundtrack is among the best ever.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch, Spent 100 hours beating the game and every shrine along with other sidequests) - You know, ask anybody what they think about this game and they’ll pretty much all start listing the things they don’t like.  For me, it’s the rain.  It’s irritating and flat out denies you progressing at points.  The weapon durability, while not a bad idea, can also be irritating.  The dungeons, while a neat idea, could really stand to be longer and more fleshed out.  The final boss is too easy.

After they’ve finished listing their qualms, though, everybody pretty much says the same thing:  “but other than that, it’s perfect.”  Breath of the Wild is a game in which you almost never actively think about how great it is while playing it, but come to appreciate it more and more when you go to play other games.  I never once thought “Oh my God, this game is amazing” and yet I also rarely had a play session last shorter than 4 hours.  For somebody who rarely can pay attention to a single game for more than an hour at a time, I cannot stress how engaging a game has to be for me to sit down and play it for 4 hours at a time, and yet this happened constantly for about 2 weeks straight with Zelda.  Combat is simple, but always satisfying as you’re constantly reading attacks and waiting to get that perfect dodge to activate flurry rush.  One of my favorite things to do in open world games is explore, but one of my least favorite things to do is constantly backtrack.  The huge number of shrines (which are great in their own right) means I can explore to my heart’s content, but almost always just fast travel wherever I want whenever I want.  I cannot stress how much the fast travel system and climbing has ruined other games for me:  it feels so liberating to be able to go anywhere quickly.  The world is full of interesting characters and things to see despite how vast it is.  It’s an achievement.

In the past, I’ve found the story in Zelda games to be pretty weak.  They seem like the good basis for a plot, but outside of a few exceptions (Midna, Hilda, Spirit Tracks Zelda) failed to have truly good characters with solid arcs.  I’ve seen many people complain about the story in Breath of the Wild probably because its mostly told through short optional memories and hidden diaries, but honestly, I think it’s heads and shoulders better than any story the series has told so far.  It’s a story that’s truly about the Legend of Zelda:  it’s about how the characters respond to the burden of having to live up to the legend and I find that to be an absolutely brilliant idea.  I don’t want to get too deep into spoilers, but Nintendo said in one of their behind the scenes videos that their goal was to make Zelda “a character worth saving” and I feel they definitely succeeded.  BotW’s Zelda is easily the best character in the entire series with a full satisfying arc.

Simply put, the game is amazing.  Buy it.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch, Spent 95 hours playing an enhanced version of a game I played 250 hours of) - Mario Kart 8 is my favorite Mario Kart.  Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is for the most part, a better version of my favorite Mario Kart.  I was at first irritated about having to rebuy this game because I was afraid I wouldn’t want to play it very much.  However, the portability of the Switch quickly took that thought out of my mind as I’ve been able to play with people at work on my breaks and bring it over for LAN parties.  The game’s full of great tracks, great music, and great racing.  The changed item balance makes racing near the front of the pack much more fun and less frustrating since you can’t get screwed over by coins as much.  However, the middle of the pack is now Hell due to the double item system so it’s a bit of a trade off.  Overall though, I find myself having to think more while racing in MK8DX:  thinking about whether there’s double item boxes up ahead, whether I should save my item or risk it to try to get a new item, whether I want to hold this coin for a boo to take or not, and so on which I think makes it more engaging than vanilla 8.

Also, the new Battle Mode doesn’t suck.

Star Trek Bridge Crew (PSVR, Spent 3 hours total between online and single player) - I wanted to like this game more than I do because I like VR and I like Star Trek.  The core idea of the game is interesting:  you and 3 other people team up to take different positions on the bridge of a Starfleet vessel and go on a mission.  Indeed, in the one match I played online with random people, this idea was fun...except there’s the fundamental flaw that other people are awful and will ruin everything.  In my case, I got to listen to a guy hit on the female NPCs on the bridge for 30 minutes and divide them up on who on our crew would get who.  It completely ruined the game experience for me and I felt embarrassed to be playing.

There is a single player mode in which you’re just the captain, but it feels kind of boring.  It wasn’t long before the siren song of Mario Kart pulled me away from this.  I’ll probably return to it some day, though, since I still have plenty of missions left to try.

Nier Automata (PC, Spent 35 hours getting endings A-X and Z, as well as side quests) - This is a game I hadn’t heard of until Kotaku staff members mentioned in a post in late 2016 how it was a game they were really looking forward to for 2017.  The demo for it went up on the Playstation store at the same time as the Gravity Rush 2 demo so I figured “why not?”  Turns out the demo was fucking amazing, but I decided to wait until it was cheaper to buy since I had other games to play.

For those unaware, Nier Automata is an action RPG that is also a platformer, a topdown shooter, hack and slash, shooter, and whatever else it Goddamn pleases to be at any given moment.  Somehow, despite these shifts in gameplay, it manages to be mostly competent in all of them.  However, after an excellent prologue (as seen in the demo) in which it constantly shifts perspectives to keep things fresh, it becomes open world and spots shifting as much which I found to be disappointing as it was the thing that sold me on the game.  It’s also the first open world game I played after playing Breath of the Wild, and so going back to feeling restricted to having to walk to fast travel points, not having fast travel unlocked until partway through the story, and having to backtrack quite a bit was a shock.  It’s not bad at these things, but the lack of freedom was something I wouldn’t have noticed had it not been for Zelda.  Combat is fun, but can feel repetitive.  It’s fast and frantic which I enjoy, but the perfect dodge system feels a bit too easy to spam meaning I don’t have to think about each individual encounter the way I do in Zelda.

The story is difficult to talk about without going into spoilers, but I felt it was mostly great with a few moments of utter brilliance mixed in with some moments of frustration.  I do care about the characters and the voice acting is surprisingly well done, but the game I felt alternated between great twists and plot developments I could see coming from 20 miles away.  It’s hard to get into without spoilers, but to me, it also had a habit of undermining its most emotional moments with weird bits of execution.  Near the end (well, third and fourth ending.  It’s complicated), I felt the story started to rely on tropes I don’t particularly care for which started hurting my enjoyment of it, although its ultimate conclusion (the 5th ending. Again, complicated) was very satisfying.  It’s a very dark story, but somehow manages to balance it very well with a surprisingly great sense of humor.

Overall, solid game.

And that does it.  Thank God I split this year in half, or else I’d still have to talk about Splatoon 2, Sonic Mania, Metroid Samus Returns, Sonic Forces, and Super Mario Odyssey.  Plus there’s the games I may wait to get until things have died down like Horizon Zero Dawn and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.  Did I mention this year was a great year for video games?  Because it’s a great year for video games.

[char27martin]

Mastering the Dreaded Synopsis

During my time in the writing community, there’s one thing I’ve noticed on which most people agree: how awful it is to write a synopsis. Authors are hardwired to avoid spoilers. They want to hook the reader, tease and tantalize them with half-reveals, until they can no longer stand it and dive headfirst into glorious pages. So, naturally, the synopsis challenges every instinct. Fortunately, there are a few tricks that can help the process become a bit more tolerable.

After receiving a BA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College, Kaitlyn Johnson refused to leave the concept of nightly homework behind. Centering her life around everything literary, she started her own freelance editing company, K. Johnson Editorial, as soon as her diploma came in the mail.

Kaitlyn is proud to be an apprentice agent with Corvisiero Literary Agency, as well as the Muse and the Marketplace Conference Assistant for GrubStreet, Boston. Check out her Twitter, @kaitylynne13, for #mswl listings and writerly life thoughts.

The first thing I have to say is this: a synopsis is NOT your query and vice versa. This is a huge error I see in the inbox. A query is one page (at most!) and includes your book stats, hook paragraphs, and bio. That’s it. End of story.

A synopsis, on the other hand, is much more detailed. The length can vary, though I’ve noticed most agents/editors prefer no longer than two pages, and it sums up exactly what happens in your manuscript. It sums up everything that happens.

The key to a synopsis is to open your bag of spoilers and clue the reader in to every important event. This means moments that lend to character arc, pace, motivations, etc. And yes, that does mean revealing the ending. The easiest way to ensure you’ve added all you need is to first make a list of events you consider vital revelations to the story.

Beginning: Who is the character? What world do they live in? Why is she the lead of this novel?

Drama: What happens to stir things up? Is a love interested introduced? Does someone get kidnapped or learn of their magical powers?

Next steps: You must include consequences or results of the drama. Whether it be a quest, rebellion, road trip, or family intervention, the reader must know what the main character intends to do about their situation.

Stakes. What is at risk for the main character or those close to them? This is what drives most of the choices in your book, so you better believe the reader needs to know them.

Climax. Where does the height of tension or action occur? What leads up to it and what follows? Keep this section clear and point-blank. Over-excessive explanation can unnecessarily lengthen your synopsis and also confuse the reader as to how the book actually progresses.

Ending. I know, I know, every fiber of your being is fighting against this. My ending isn’t meant to be unveiled before a reader enjoys the whole journey! Guess what? If you jump the shark anywhere in your book, an agent or editor wants to know.

So, you have your list. Now to tie all these major events together. Every writer knows there are Main Points and Filler Points when crafting a manuscript. Filler Points are the scenes that, while maybe lacking that sense of active agency, give the reader a road to walk until they come to the next big moment. Personally, I think fillers are even harder to draft than action. The real stress comes from figuring out how to condense and explain these moments in your synopsis and not get carried away with the storyline.

June 1 Webniar on How to Write an Excellent Synopsis Writing Sign up now!

Filler Points are also the number one reason I usually end up discarding a synopsis. Writers love words. It’s fact. But, sometimes, they just aren’t needed. Don’t get obsessed with every little thought that pops into the main character’s head, what conversation they had with their best friend before embarking on their mission, or what animals they saw in the forest. If it furthers the plot between crucial moments, include it. Otherwise, save the excess for the book itself. Even avid readers like agents can get tired of words.

And you’re done, right? I mean, isn’t that what a synopsis is, big moments and connectors?

Not quite. Here’s the hurdle most writers struggle with: voice. While many agents or editors won’t immediately scrap a synopsis if it only sticks to the details—leaving out the mesmerizing, storybook tone—voice will always matter. Kelly Peterson, Junior Agent at Corvisiero Literary Agency, says, “If you can write voice into a synopsis, you can write voice into anything.” And that’s a big deal. Agents specifically keep their eyes open for writers who won’t need an extraordinary amount of coaching or editing. True, we know we’ll need to work with the writer to make the story shine, but we’re not looking for an overhaul. That’s something for a freelance editor. For the synopsis, try using the same tone or rhythm from the actual manuscript. Sometimes matching the tempo of words to your query can help. Think of your submission materials as a series in and of themselves: Query, Synopsis, Pages—all linked by voice, all sharing a few key details, and all formatted in their own unique way.

There’s one final option to make all of this bearable, and it isn’t a perfect fit for everyone. According to writer Aljon Celis, you don’t always have to wait until your book is finished to write the synopsis. Do you enjoy outlining before beginning your story? Then this could be just the thing for you! Treating your synopsis as a form of outlining kills two birds with one stone and gives you a whole new perspective on just how to structure the piece. Stretch that outline; create sentences instead of bullet points. Sure, outlines evolve as a story twists and turns to new places, but who says a synopsis can’t do the same thing? Once your novel is complete, simply go back and update your outline/synopsis, and it’ll be done before you know it!

I’ll admit, writing a synopsis is difficult. It shouldn’t be something you sit down and finish in twenty minutes. Just like your novel, it includes multiple drafts, editing, and perhaps a read over from someone who has already read the entire story already. Hopefully these notes will help remove some of the hassle, so you can complete your submission packet and be ready to tackle the querying trenches!

The biggest literary agent database anywhere is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the most recent updated edition online at a discount.

If you’re an agent looking to update your information or an author interested in contributing to the GLA blog or the next edition of the book, contact Writer’s Digest Books Managing Editor Cris Freese at cris.freese@fwmedia.com.

    The post Mastering the Dreaded Synopsis appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

from Writing Editor Blogs – WritersDigest.com http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/mastering-dreaded-synopsis

[itsfinancethings]

(Miss this week’s The Leadership Brief? This interview above was delivered to the inbox of Leadership Brief subscribers on Sunday morning, Aug. 16; to receive weekly emails of conversations with the world’s top CEOs and business decisionmakers, click here.)

One of the best indicators of economic activity is how many miles Americans drive, and as CEO of Progressive Corp., one of the largest U.S. auto insurers, Tricia Griffith keeps a careful eye on the nation’s coming and goings. Since the pandemic began, people are both driving less—miles driven plummeted by 40% in April—and getting into fewer accidents.

Griffith has spent her career at Progressive, starting as a claims rep, and is a rare CEO who previously served as her company’s head of HR, a background that she credits with helping make Progressive the top-rated corporation for diversity and inclusion, according to a ranking by the Wall Street Journal.

Griffith, 55, joined TIME for a video conversation from her home outside of Cleveland. Griffith shared her views on humor in insurance advertising (comedian Stephanie Courtney has been appearing in Progressive ads as Flo since 2008), the “sophomoric” state of the nation’s leadership, and how to build a diverse and inclusive corporate culture.

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This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

You’re in the risk business. How good a job are we as Americans doing at judging risks right now? How would you grade our decision making process?

F, F, F. I can’t believe people aren’t wearing masks. It’s ridiculous. And it’s selfish. Because you wear the mask for me, I’ll wear it for you. I’m looking at these beaches, and I am so disturbed. I just don’t understand why people don’t wear masks. My daughter’s wedding was 400 people and now it’s 12. And we’re all wearing masks.

And what grade would you give the nation’s leadership?

I think the sophomoric ways that both sides of the aisle are acting, it’s just like—I said to my team the other day, it was right around the time Democrats were saying $600 for unemployment. The Republicans were saying $200. And they couldn’t come to a compromise. I said, “If we worked this way as a team, all of us should be fired.” I would not allow that. And my board wouldn’t allow me to work like that. I’ve been disgusted at people not being able to compromise.

Shouldn’t the business community be speaking up with a louder voice? You have a lot of clout.

We actually have. As a member of the Business Roundtable, we have sent letters to Congress asking them to do specific things for small businesses, etc. I can forward you a note that we sent.

Yes, but there are degrees. I mean a polite letter from the Business Roundtable is nice, but a pointed comment from an individual CEO brings another level of pressure. Should more people be speaking up?

Right. I haven’t personally, but many members of the Business Roundtable have been on the different various talk shows and been more aggressive about it.

And another thing—the stock market is acting so irrationally.

I agree.

Why is the market continuing to hit these frothy levels?

It’s hard for me to say. I really try not to guess on the market. Very little of our investment portfolio is in equities, like 11%. We’re very conservative from that perspective. We are invested across the board in fixed income. We do commercial mortgage-backed securities. We do investment in corporate bonds. Municipal bonds.

So you’re not watching Squawk Box and calling your investment division and saying, “Sell! Move it all to cash!”

No, no, no.

You spend more than a $1 billion a year on advertising. Why is the consumer insurance industry such a heavy advertiser?

It’s funny you ask that because when you really think about it, everyone is required to have insurance yet we advertise it. But it works. We measure it and it works. We know customers react to it. It makes the proverbial phone ring.

You’re out there fighting every day for customers?

Absolutely. Geico and Progressive, we’re sort of Coke and Pepsi. It’s very competitive.

It’s funny, I’m an older consumer and what insurance company I use is a decision I want to make once. I’m surprised that people are constantly re-evaluating it.

Years ago, we put together personas. We have Sams, Dianes, Wrights and the Robinsons. You’re a Robinson. I’m a Robinson. I got my phone. I’ve got my cars. The ones that move a lot are Sams. They are what we would call inconsistently insured. And they do it solely for price. And so they’ll move for $50 or $100. Then Dianes are a little bit more stable, where they have a car, and maybe they have a rental policy. We want to get those Dianes so that they grow into Robinsons, which are auto/home bundles.

Insurance is a serious matter. But the prevailing tone of the ads is so comical. Why has the industry taken this approach?

There’s so much noise out there with so many different insurance companies advertising, you have to have something memorable. It is a serious category. When you’re calling in, we’re not going to be lighthearted about it. But we have to get your attention to be on the short list.

How important has Flo been to the growth of Progressive?

She’s been extremely important.

But at the same time, as early as 2015, there was a Reddit subthread advocating “Flo Must Go.” How do you balance her continuing popularity with the anti-Flo faction?

We look at the data. And so we sent out a survey that says literally, “Are you tired of Flo?” And we have not seen that change.

Are any of your new characters taking off? As a dad myself, I have to love the series on parent-like behaviors.

We call it parent-a-morphosis. You morph into your parents. We designed that in my office when I was chief operating officer about four and a half years ago. It’s funny because it’s true. Those lines are literally from all our dads: “Defense wins championships.” That was my dad.

What’s up with all the hip new insurance companies like Hippo and Lemonade, Root and Young Alfred? What’s driving that dynamic?

There’s been a lot of money to be able to fund startups. And I actually think many of those companies are answering unmet needs for people. Making it easy. You can get a really quick quote with Lemonade. Root is all usage-based insurance. Those companies are pushing us to not be complacent. I love competition. I just think it makes you better.

Let’s turn to your core business: car insurance. With the pandemic, are people driving less?

It went down 40% [in April] and then immediately upon the states’ opening, it’s crept back. So it’s not to normal levels, but it’s getting closer.

As a proxy for how the economy is doing, with reopening and then reclosing, are we down from a peak? Did it go up in June, and now it’s falling again?

No, it’s been relatively stable since things started to open because different states are going to open and close. So when we reclosed some of the states, other states picked up.

So the overall trend line continues to be up, is that correct?

Yes.

But miles driven is still down year-over-year?

It’s probably still down like 10%.

And what’s happening on the accident front?

We’re seeing fewer accidents. We believe because there’s less congestion that people are getting in less accidents.

Even before the pandemic, the frequency of accidents has been declining, right?

Frequency [of accidents] in the industry has been going down for the last 60 years. The offset of that has been severity. Our components are much more complex because of the technology. When I was in claims, the bumper might be $300. But now it would be $2,000 if it’s got cameras in it, etc. And medical costs.

People are getting injured more severely?

No, when you get injured, medical costs have gone up. So your visit to the chiropractor yesterday is a lot more than it was 10 years ago.

Regarding accidents, historically, are there certain times you want to avoid being on the road, the Fourth of July?

I think the highest rate of DUIs is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Everybody gets home. You’ve gone out with your college friends or your high school friends.

How existential a threat to the auto insurance business is full development of autonomous vehicles? Say that it was fully here tomorrow.

It’s a threat to the industry. If it was here tomorrow, it would be huge for our auto business because there would be a lot less accidents. And so premiums would go down. That’s one of the reasons why we’ve diversified and we bought a homeowners’ company, and we have commercial lines, and we have relationships with Lyft and Uber. But I think everyone’s rooting for safer vehicles because it’s good for society. I’m not putting my head in the sand. Cars will get safer and that will be great for society. But I think it’s going to be a little while.

The Wall Street Journal last year ranked Progressive the No. 1 company for diversity and inclusion. What advice would you give to a company that’s now starting to take this more seriously, going beyond making supportive statements and donations?

You have to be really intentional. You have to realize it takes a long time. And you have to really have programs in place that you can monitor. We started employee resource groups back when I ran HR in 2007. Now we have nine that are really embedded in our culture. We started a program three or four years ago called our Multicultural Leadership Development Program. We have a cohort of people that go through an 18-month program. Most of them are people of color. And their rate of promotion having gone through this 18-month program is about 60% higher than your standard peer. We’re going to supercharge that program to close that gap in the middle so that when I leave, my team is more diverse.

That same study found that companies that are more diverse performed better financially. What are your thoughts on why that’s so?

Because you get an opinion from a variety of people. If you have the same people that grew up the same way as you, that look the same as you, that love the same as you, you are going to come to probably the same conclusions. Diversity allows for debate and action. And it’s more fun. I don’t want to be around a bunch of 55-year-old white women all the time.

What else has been successful in building a diverse culture?

I’ve had the opportunity to hire several members from my board of directors in the last several years. And I think having a board that is diverse is as important because they’re guiding me. And I think we’re the only Fortune 500 company that has a female CEO and a female chairwoman. And I have 12 board members: half men, half women—and one of the women is a person of color.

Where are you from? What was your childhood like?

I was born in Decatur, Ill., which is a blue collar place. I’m the youngest of six kids. My mom stayed home until I was in grade school. She was a waitress, and then she worked as a mom. My dad sold life insurance door to door so we were really broke. I had a very small house with a lot of people.

What type of behavior will you not tolerate on your management team?

Disrespect. Be respectful to everyone.

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GRIFFITH’S FAVORITES

BUSINESS BOOK: Principles, Ray Dalio

AUTHOR: David Halberstam mostly because—I’ll tell you a quick story. So my sister bought me a book years ago, October 1964. And that was actually the month and year I was born, and it’s about the Cardinals and the Yankees going to the World Series. My dad played Triple-A farm ball for the Cardinals. He’s a Cardinal fan, so that was really big. And I was born on the day the Cardinals won the pennant, Oct. 4, 1964. My grandma called and said, “Congratulations!” And my dad said, “Yeah, can you believe the Cardinals won?”

APP: Instagram

EXERCISE/STRESS RELIEVER: My husband and I get up every day at 5 to work out. I love to go for long walks.

ALTERNATE FANTASY CAREER: I’d like to be a talk-show host.

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