text:
We create communications solutions for organisations that have a positive social impact on our everyday lives
INTELLIGENT, PERSUASIVE
AND BOLD COMMUNICATIONS
At IPB Communications we have a simple purpose:
Creating communications solutions for organisations that have a positive social impact on our everyday lives through their work on our infrastructure, in our society and for our environment.
This purpose keeps our minds challenged, enthusiasm fired and business driven.
We typically work in the following sectors:
Infrastructure and property development
IPB Communications is an award-winning full-service PR, consultation, digital and creative agency that has been delivering Intelligent, Persuasive and Bold communications since 2002.
We work with businesses and organisations large and small to help them communicate more effectively.
Everything we do is closely aligned to your objectives. Whether you want to win new business, deliver a project or persuade a key audience, our award-winning work has delivered time and again for our clients.
We strive to be Intelligent, Persuasive and Bold in EVERYTHING we do. It's backed up by experience and a common sense approach.
Some of the UK's biggest brands – including AO.com, National Grid, Barratt Homes, Tesco and Innogy – have put their trust in us to communicate their key messages.
Our approach is based on integrating with your team – working in partnership with you to ensure we deliver a truly effective communications strategy.
IPB PR
We're here to help you communicate with the audiences which matter to you. We'll work with you to craft a compelling story – and use all modern communications channels to make sure it reaches the people you want to talk to. But it's not just about making sure the message gets out there – it's also about understanding and persuasion.
In the past, public relations mainly involved using the media. Online and offline publications and broadcasters are still a crucial part of the mix – and we're experts at making sure the media take notice of your business and its products and services.
But the web and social media have made things much more interesting in recent years. You can now publish your own news online – via your website and using social media channels.
We use all these approaches to shout your achievements from the rooftops and present you as an industry 'thought leader' in your sector.
Our team includes former journalists who know the media inside out. We know how to get the attention of the writers and editors who set the news agenda – whether national newspapers and magazines, TV and radio stations, bloggers or online commentators.
We can also help with damage limitation if you find yourself on the wrong side of the media spotlight. We can be at your side to steer you through a public relations crisis. That means making sure your side of the story is heard and understood. We can also provide media training to make sure you know how to handle the tough questions journalists will ask.
Protecting your reputation also means anticipating crises before they happen and making sure you understand any potential risks. We'll work with you to identify any weaknesses or threats – and make sure they're addressed before they become a problem.
Crisis and issues management
Media awareness training
IPB Consult
Consultation is about listening as well as communicating. We can make sure your consultation exercise excels at both.
If you're undertaking a big project which impacts on a local community – whether a housing estate, a new supermarket or an infrastructure scheme – how you approach consultation is critical.
We can help you build relationships with all the stakeholders involved. Whether it's those making the decisions (the MPs, planners, government departments and councillors) or those who might be affected (pressure groups, residents, community groups and customers). We use a mix of tried and tested methods tailored to your circumstances, including public events, political briefings, social media and bespoke websites.
We can also help you to mobilise the silent majority – the people who may often support your plans but might be reluctant to speak out in public. Identifying this group, listening to them and giving them opportunities to contribute can mean the difference between success or failure for a major project. This approach can also support decision makers to feel comfortable that they have made the right choice.
Consultation exercises require an ability to operate effectively at many different levels – and our team has the know how and experience to do this. They are as comfortable out on the street or in a community centre as they are in the board room or a council chamber. Consultation has to happen in the places where the people who matter go – whether it's market day or a pie and peas supper.
We pride ourselves on doing the simple things well: whether it's an engaging local exhibition, a persuasive leaflet, eye-catching infographic, a compelling video or an imaginative social media campaign.
Consultation strategy
Consultation delivery
Political liaison
Collateral design and production
IPB Digital
Social media and the internet presents a massive opportunity – and one of the biggest challenges facing organisations today. There are millions of people out there online talking about you, your company, its employees and its products and services. They might be saying you're the best there is – and they've loved the experience working with you. But we all know they could also be critical of you – with seemingly little or no comeback.
We're here to help you make sense of it all, and thrive, in the digital world we find ourselves in. And because the internet never sleeps we can work to ensure your social media profile is protected and enhanced around the clock.
We were there right at the start of social media – delivering PR campaigns which incorporated this critical communications channel back in 2006.
Our creative social campaigns have delivered time and again for clients including Tesco, Innogy, housing associations and consultancies.
We know how to make sure your social media campaigns promote a better understanding of your products, services or projects. They can help you start a conversation with seldom heard or hard-to-reach groups. And we can show you how to use social media and the web to mobilise support, lobby decision makers and find and empower local brand ambassadors.
Social media planning
Social media day-to-day
Social media audits and review
IPB Creative
The image you present to the world is crucial to your organisation's success. Whether it's your brand logo, the look of your website, your social media video or the marketing materials you send to customers – it's essential that you look your best.
We have a team of skilled designers, creatives who can deliver high-quality design solutions quickly and effectively. They're experts at using the latest methods in design, print, branding, video, animation and photography to showcase your organisation, and its products or services, in the best light.
Here's what we do:
VR and augmented reality
CGIs
IPB Engagement
There are three key elements to IPB Engagement; Community Engagement, Public Affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility.
Keeping things simple and to the point is vital if you are to get the attention of a local community. If announcing a change that could create uncertainty or even resistance then the message has to be straightforward. People want information in easy-to-understand bite size chunks – free from jargon.
For many years we have been talking to local communities and the key influencers and decision makers that live within. Our work demonstrates that complex issues can be effectively communicated to audiences made up of a variety of backgrounds.
By using plain language and a simple and direct style we can present the right messages in the right language and an accessible manner.
Our strength lies in taking message out to the grass roots, spelling out the facts, answering questions and concerns, tackling misinformation and rumour, and providing opportunities for feedback.
Getting your message through to the right audiences can be a hard slog, especially for organisations who want to have their voice heard with key decision makers in government, both at a national and local level.
We have vast experience of working with the public bodies on a wide range of projects for clients keen to have their point of view put across.
We understand how public bodies work – and we work with clients to define and focus their messages and build effective relationships with politicians, the civil service, government bodies and agencies, and sector regulators.
Doing the right thing is no longer just the right thing to do. It's vital to the health – even survival – of your business.
Managing and communicating the message in the right way is crucial too – the consumer lobby, online influencers and employees can sniff out convenient half-truths, weasel words and hypocrisy in an instant.
Today reputation management has never been more important – witness the way that messages are spread globally, instantly and unchecked via the internet and social media. The public is demanding that the companies and organisations they deal with and the brands they buy come with impeccable ethical credentials.
Reputation management – auditing the situation, creating a better way forward and then closing the gap between reality and perception – is our remit. We make sure that a business gets due credit for its actions, deals with misconceptions or harmful and deliberate attacks, debates the consequences of a business plan or certain course of action
IPB Crisis Support
We help with damage limitation if you find yourself on the wrong side of the media spotlight. We can be at your side to steer you through a public relations crisis. That means making sure your side of the story is heard and understood.
In addition to providing crisis and issues support to our retained clients, we recognise smaller companies and organisations simply don't have the resources in-house to deal with the reputational risk that comes with a crisis. The cost of employing a full-time communications specialist is prohibitive and agency retainers are also often out of reach.
Our crisis reassurance scheme provides an affordable solution and peace of mind that support is at hand to protect your reputation if you need it.
Get in touch for more information crisis@ipbcommunications.co.uk
Our people have the wide-ranging skills and experience you'd expect. Former journalists, in-house communications managers, public affairs experts and social media geeks – they're all here to help you maximise the opportunities presented by the media and the web to make your voice heard. The team is led by the founders with more than 40 years' experience.
So let's talk … and let's get the world talking about you.
The Leadership Team
Stewart Pimbley
Stewart spent seven years working as a newspaper journalist, including time as a local government reporter, before making the switch to PR. Skilled in communications, media relations and consultation, Stewart worked on the team which promoted the development and launch of the Lowry theatre and Imperial War Museum in Salford.
Clients in local government, social housing, renewable energy, environmental and regeneration have all tapped into his expertise and skill at implementing and delivering a successful communications campaign.
He is able to draw on an impressive contacts list in the media, trade sectors, local and national government and across the public sector.
Career highlights include:
Leading IPB's support on the major consultation around a new Mayoral Combined Authority in the Sheffield City Region
Pendleton Together Regeneration Project: from the bid stage to implementation
In-house full communications support for various organisations
Account manager for leading UK housebuilder Keepmoat
Working for several international clients on the promotion of UK investment projects
Developed and implemented successful communications strategy for several major renewable planning applications
Working with local authorities on communications campaigns to support devolution agenda
Leading more than 10 award-winning campaigns and projects
Stewart says: "The real skill in communications is to make sure everything you do links directly to an organisation's business objectives. You also have to build strong relationships with each client – working in partnership with in-house teams and senior management to ensure you understand the business inside out and what it wants to achieve from communications activity."
Steve Fox
Steve's background is in the public sector communications. Before helping to set up IPB Communications, he worked as a senior manager for a housing association, ensuring effective consultation to support a multi-million pound regeneration project aimed at delivering improvements to homes and communities.
Through his work with IPB Communications, Steve has provided strategic communications consultancy to a wide variety of organisations, including local authorities, housing associations, regeneration bodies, Local Enterprise Partnerships, blue chip companies and energy providers across the country. The work has ranged from day-to-day media support to consultation on major infrastructure projects.
Steve is a skilled communicator, project manager and consultations expert.
Supporting RWE Innogy with the development and implementation of a national Community Engagement Charter in response to the localism agenda.
Account manager for National Grid providing community relations and engagement in support of infrastructure project delivery.
Community consultation campaigns for housebuilders Barratt Home and David Wilson Homes
Account manager for Sheffield City Region, developing and implementing communications campaigns around HS2.
Steve says: "Success in communications means having an intimate knowledge of the pressures and challenges which your clients face. You need to know what it's like at the sharp end of many of the projects they are delivering. Understanding project planning and timescales is critical to the work I do with IPB clients – as is the need to respond to demands for a quick response and the ability to meet tight deadlines. You find yourself becoming part of the client's team and that's how you really add value."
Barratt and David Wilson Homes
Lincoln City Council
Salix Homes
Pendleton Together
Sheffield City Region Devolution
AO.com, the online electrical retailer, invested in a state-of-the-art recycling plant to process fridges and appliances collected from customers on delivery of new items, as well as from third-party sources. They are the first retailer in the UK to make such a move.
We have had a multi-purpose brief:
Work with the in-house team to announce the launch of the new plant to key stakeholders, the recycling sector and potential third party customers.
Work with government and key industry stakeholders to raise standards in the recycling industry and increase the amount of waste electricals collected in the UK.
Demonstrate and reinforce that AO is a responsible and caring business with sustainability at its heart and a willing operator in the circular economy.
Launch of new plant
Produced communications strategy.
Delivered key elements of strategy
Media training and crisis and issues training.
Organised and managed the launch of the plant by Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey.
Produced public affairs strategy.
Set up and managed conference and speaking opportunities.
Managed social media content and implementation.
Produced key consultation document for submission to Government.
Trade media relation
Developed key stakeholder relations e.g. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Environment Agency, WRAP etc.
Produced a series of thought leadership articles and managed online distribution.
Provide community relations and engagement support to National Grid to support the delivery of infrastructure projects.
Communities in the North of England, local stakeholders including councillors, MPs and community groups.
National Grid is responsible for key infrastructure repairs and improvements to ensure the successful operation of the UK power network. This includes overhead powerline refurbishments, gas holder demolition, clean-up of land and transformer deliveries. Delivering this vital work requires communities are kept informed and given opportunities to provide feedback and ask questions.
What we did …
IPB provides ongoing communications support to ensure all those impacted by National Grid's work are kept informed. We draft and send information letters and leaflets, provide community liaison with politicians and residents, organise community meetings and operate a freephone helpline service.
Renewable energy specialist Innogy turned to IPB Communications to build community and stakeholder support for its planning applications to build wind farms. The client wanted to raise awareness of the benefits of renewable energy, and its own schemes, and provide community reassurance about its proposals.
Communities where Innogy is seeking planning permission to build renewable energy projects; local stakeholders including political leaders.
Renewable energy schemes such as wind farms can have a range of benefits for communities and the environment. Innogy seeks to foster support for applications by building relationships with the local communities where it operates. The company is keen to 'give something back' to the areas where it builds wind farms – through generous community investment programmes.
A variety of communications tools were successfully deployed to achieve the client's objectives including media and social media campaigns, consultation roadshows and newsletters. We arranged and convened meetings between the Innogy team and local councillors, MPs and council officers to build support. We also developed relationships with local community members and businesses to establish a network which was enthusiastic about the schemes.
Ensure effective and meaningful consultation to support the delivery of housing developments in Yorkshire.
Local communities in Yorkshire where Barratt and David Wilson Homes is building new housing developments.
Barratt and David Wilson Homes is committed to building the new homes the country needs, but takes care to consider the needs and opinions of local communities first. The company aims to listen to residents' views and ensure the supporting infrastructure is in place to make new housing developments a success.
Supported more than 30 pre-planning consultations across the county which have included public exhibitions and information materials sent to residents' homes. Campaigns are backed up by online and offline media and social media activity. IPB also supports Barratt Homes during the planning process through the production of Statements of Community Engagement.
Tesco employed IPB to carry out consultation campaigns to engage with local communities and stakeholders, and maximise support for new store developments across the UK. We provided support for more than 40 projects, from convenience to Extra stores.
Communities where Tesco was seeking planning permission to build new stories, including local stakeholders such as councillors, MPs and local businesses.
With clear and concise key messages – job creation, employment training, investment and shopping choice – we explained a complex planning and design process to the local community.
The audiences
IPB developed an integrated consultation campaign, involving media relations, community events, drop-in sessions, social media and political engagement. The aim was to get local people to drive the consultation, sparking local interest in the proposals and mobilising a large groundswell of support. Key to the success of the campaigns was providing residents with social events and links to employment opportunities. We involved local community groups, schools, libraries, health centres and large employers. In addition we gained political support by involving local politicians in the development of our community engagement programmes.
We were appointed by the council to undertake a consultation exercise with the 400 plus residents of its sheltered housing schemes. The consultation was to gain residents' views on a series of proposed changes to services and staffing.
Sheltered housing residents
The council set a target of consulting 60% of residents, a target they freely admitted was challenging given the vulnerable nature of many of the residents and the fact their previous consultation had reached 49%. We achieved a 79% response rate. This was achieved by using home visits as the primary methodology along with close liaison with council staff and relatives of residents. We had weekly progress calls with the council to monitor progress, identify any barriers and ensure that the consultation timetable was adhered to.
Provide full service pr and communications consultancy.
Salix Homes customers and stakeholders.
Salix Homes is a leading provider of social housing, community and regeneration services in Salford, Greater Manchester. Every day, this innovative social business works to improve the housing options and quality of life for thousands of people across the city.
At short notice we were able to provide all the services demanded of a busy communications team of a large social housing provider. This included proactive and reactive media relations, social media management, video production and photography. IPB consultants provided office and out of hours cover and drafted two press releases per week which were sold in to local and national media. We also ensured effective crisis and issues management, and identified and promoted feature opportunities to position Salix as a 'thought leader' in the sector.
IPB was recruited by the Pendleton Together regeneration project to publicise its work to improve housing and life chances for local people in a disadvantaged area of Salford. The £650 million project is the country's biggest PFI regeneration scheme.
Local residents in Pendleton and key local and national decision makers – MPs, housing sector leaders, councillors etc.
Pendleton Together is transforming the neighbourhood of Pendleton: building 1,600 new homes and giving 1,250 a makeover; job creation and training; and business creation. It's creating a fantastic place for people to live with new parks and open spaces, new streets and footpaths and even a city farm.
IPB Communications used the web, advertising, social media, events, video and the press, TV and radio to shout from the rooftops the achievements of Pendleton Together. Our work with Pendleton dates back to 2005 when we helped the team with its initial bid for funding from the government. We also supported Pendleton Together to deliver meaningful consultation to truly involve local communities in the regeneration of their neighbourhoods. Our efforts also focused on ensuring local politicians and decision makers were kept updated on the progress of the project. We even got football legend Sir Bobby Charlton to name a street after one of the Busby's babes.
Social housing consultancy DTP has commissioned IPB Communications to raise its profile in the sector in order to secure new business and grow its team.
Decision makers in the social housing sector – chief executives, finance officers, senior management.
DTP is a 'thought leader' which is able to offer insight into industry trends and critical analysis of the major challenges and opportunities facing social housing providers. Its team of consultants have extensive knowledge of the issues and problems facing registered providers including mergers, financial pressures, governance and regulation.
IPB Communications works across all channels to build and enhance DTP's reputation in the social housing sector. We produce a range of content for the web including blogs and comment articles which are shared via social media channels and key industry publications. We also support the business at industry conferences such as the CIH Conference to network with senior industry professionals and market the business and its services.
Get the message out to businesses and residents in Sheffield City Region about devolution – and gather local views on how to make it work.
Local residents and businesses in the Sheffield City Region.
The deal struck between SCR and the government will give the region control of a £1.3billion budget over the next 30 years. The new powers and funding will help SCR to deliver improvements to infrastructure, transport, skills and housing and boost the local economy. The views and ideas of local residents and businesses will be vital to making devolution a success.
IPB ran a series of nine consultation events across nine local authorities over one month. The events were supported by strategic media activity, a social media campaign, an infographic animation , a business liaison strategy and opinion polling.
We have worked for more than 90 local authorities and regeneration organisations, primarily providing consultation and communications support on major housing investment projects. This has involved a considerable amount of work around housing transfer consultations involving the transfer of homes from local authorities to newly-formed housing associations. These particular projects involved winning the hearts and minds of tenants to vote on the proposal. We know how to engage tenants, leaseholders and stakeholders – demonstrated by an average turnout of 70% in transfer ballots.
A mix of stakeholders had to be consulted on the housing transfer work, primarily tenants and leaseholders, followed by council employees and local politicians.
The messaging was primarily about the additional investment and service improvements possible in homes and communities with a successful ballot. It also focussed on measures to secure the long term future of social housing provision for local communities.
We helped the councils to take the campaigns directly to tenants, using a wide range of methods. Key strands of activity included:
Tabloid style newsletters and publications delivered to every home. Bright, eye-catching and written in a language that tenants could understand.
Video, presented by a local celebrity and featuring interviews with tenants and housing staff.
Support for council staff who had face-to-face contact with tenants.
Freephone advice line
Roadshows: toured local estates, with staff answering tenants' questions and distributing literature.
Video – keep it simple
Written by Stewart Pimbley|18th July 2019
We've talked before about how effective video can be in terms of getting your message across. Shoot on an iphone, this 5 second clip of AO Recycling's millionth fridge being processed has notched up more than 16k hits on LinkedIn – keep it simple when telling the story.
Identify the risks to your reputation
A question every organisation needs to ask is "what measures do we have in place to protect our reputation?" But before you answer this question, you need to identify and understand what the reputational risks are to your organisation. The risks can be split between internal and external and then between incident-led and issues-led. Internal
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Male (1,2,3) ; Female (3).
Good appearance, positive attitude, have excellent interpersonal and communication skill (1,2,3).
Service and target oriented person (1,2,3).
Experience in the same position at least 1 year (1).
Experience in the same position at least 2 year (2,3).
Have a good relationship with event organizer (3).
Creative, Innovative, and Multitalented (3).
Able to operate Ms. Office & Hotel system.


Criteria: This is the shoulder sleeve insignia (SSI) worn by the 38th Infantry Division. Their motto is Cyclone. The 38th Infantry Division is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It contains Army National Guard units from Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Delaware, Michigan and Tennessee. Patch measures 3" in height by 2-1/2" in width. Worn on the Army Service Green Uniform. Sold individually.


text:
Linguamonium
A tumult of linguistic musings
Cognitive Linguistics
Computer/Internet Language
Conlangs
Descriptivism
Lexicology & Lexicography
Neurolinguistics
NLP & Machine Learning
Phonetics & Phonology
Polemical Topics
Prescriptivism
Relativism vs. Universalism
Syntax & Morphology
Of Kanji and Kana
April 29, 2018 April 29, 2018 kingzoko	Languages, Writing Systems	Tags: character sets, hiragana, Japanese, kanji, katakana, writing	1 Comment
The Japanese writing system, like other aspects of Japanese culture, is complicated and fascinating. Its three main character sets are a notorious struggle for second-language learners and young native speakers alike. While many tongues have what is called synchronic digraphia (where two or more writing systems for the same language coexist), Japanese is famous for having three main character sets within one single writing system.[1] Of interest to linguistics-minded folks, these three character sets systematically express different areas of the language's grammar (word classes, for instance). Below is my attempt at a fun, informative introduction to the system.
The three main character sets of Japanese are kanji, hiragana, and katakana.
漢字 | KANJI
Kanji characters are logographic, meaning they cannot be spelled (sounded) out, but instead must be memorized whole. As many know, they were taken from the Chinese writing system. The term kanji literally means "Chinese characters". If you've ever complained about the obtuse nature of English orthography, or remember the pain of memorizing weird word spellings as a child, consider this: a Japanese person of average education knows (i.e. has memorized) about three thousand kanji. Dictionaries contain about ten thousand kanji.[2]
Kanji are used for content words – nouns, verb stems, adjective stems, adverbs, personal names and place names. They're composed of radicals, graphical pieces that often have either a semantic or phonetic quality (they indicate part of the meaning or the sound of the character, respectively). There is a particular stroke order for each character, which everyone is expected to follow when writing. And as if all that wasn't enough of a challenge, there are also two separate pronunciations – on'yomi and kun'yomi – that depend on context or conjugation.
Here are some examples of kanji:
東京 – Tokyo (place name) 長谷川 – Hasegawa (surname)
薔薇 – bara (a noun, means "rose")
違う – chigau (a verb or adjective, means "to be wrong" or "wrong". Only the first character, the verb stem, is kanji; the second character, or conjugation, is hiragana)
Kana characters include the two sets hiragana and katakana. They're both phonetic, meaning they can be sounded out. Kana also originally came from Chinese, but the characters are so altered and simplified that their sources are not apparent today. Japan adopted Chinese writing in the third century, and ran into trouble since the two spoken languages were completely unrelated. They began using characters not for their meanings, but for their sound values only. Both modern-day kana sets have an inventory of 46 characters (along with two types of diacritics), and these constitute a syllabary[3] of consonant-vowel pairings.
ひらがな | HIRAGANA
Hiragana has rounded symbols, smooth curves. The hiragana syllabary is used for native words, and grammatical elements like particles, auxiliary verbs, and inflections (e.g. verb conjugations, noun suffixes). Japanese children's books are mostly in hiragana since younger kids haven't yet learned many kanji. When books do include kanji, they have small furigana by the side – hiragana or katakana to help with pronunciation.
Here are some examples of hiragana:
ありがとう – arigatou ("thank you") ください – kudasai ("please")
です – desu (auxiliary verb, "is") の, は, を – no, wa, o (particles)
カタカナ | KATAKANA
With katakana, you'll notice similarities to hiragana, but the symbol shapes are clearly more angular. Katakana is used for foreign names and words, loanwords, onomatopoeia, and emphasis.
Here are some examples of katakana:
アメリカ – amerika (foreign name, "America")
サラリーマン – sararii man ("salary man", i.e. office worker)
テレビ – terebi (loanword, "television")
ニャンニャン – nyan nyan (onomatopoeia, sound of cat meowing)
The Japanese system has TWO directions for writing: vertical (tategaki), and horizontal (yokogaki). Vertical is the traditional form, running from top to bottom, right to left on the page. Books written with vertical text open the opposite way from Western language books. Horizontal is the direction Western language readers are used to – left to right on the page. This Western style is used in more modern applications, like websites. To maximize space, newspapers, magazines, and signs frequently use both directions![4] Then, because we still haven't juggled enough variables, Japanese text doesn't include spaces between words, so readers must infer based on context where divisions are to be made.
Cool Japanese literature tangent: The Tale of Genji (源氏物語 – Genji Monogatari), written by noblewoman Lady Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, is frequently considered the world's first novel or first modern novel.
I'll leave you with some marvelously idiosyncratic Japanese words and concepts, for which there are definitely no concise words/phrases in English. You can observe how the three character sets interact in various ways. (Most of the words come from this site).
Japanese Pronunciation (in rōmaji) Character set(s) Definition Literal meaning
教育ママ kyouiku mama kanji + katakana A mother who is obsessed with her children's education
バーコード人 baakoudo jin katakana + kanji Men with ridiculous comb-overs "barcode people"
横飯 yoko meshi kanji Western food "horizontal rice"
侘寂 wabi-sabi kanji An aesthetic that sees beauty in the ephemerality and imperfection of things both natural and manmade
ぽかぽか poka poka hiragana Feeling warm throughout one's body
口寂しい kuchi sabishii kanji + hiragana When you're not hungry but you eat anyway "mouth lonely"
猫糞 neko baba kanji To steal/pocket and pretend innocence "cat feces"
ありがた迷惑 arigata meiwaku hiragana + kanji "An act someone does for you that you didn't want to have them do and tried to avoid having them do, but they went ahead anyway, determined to do you a favor, and then things went wrong and caused you a lot of trouble, yet in the end social conventions required you to express gratitude"[5]
[1] I say three "main" character sets because there are actually more, if you count Arabic numerals, rōmaji (i.e. the Roman alphabet), punctuation, etc. Also, this person argues that the focus on three+ character sets in Japanese is silly and that English and other writing systems have multiple sets as well (capital and lowercase letters in English, for example), but in order to keep things succinct here, I didn't go into that level of detail. Additionally, I disagree with them that capital vs. lowercase Roman letters possess the same grammatical significance as kanji/hiragana/katakana and so it's not an apples to apples comparison.
[2] https://nihongoichiban.com/2011/05/24/the-japanese-writing-system/
[3] Where each symbol represents a syllable.
[4] See this nice article with lots of illustrative pictures.
[5] https://sobadsogood.com/2012/04/28/25-words-that-simply-dont-exist-in-english/
Voynich: The manuscript that keeps on giving
April 1, 2018 April 1, 2018 kingzoko	Historical Linguistics, Languages, Semantics, Writing Systems	Tags: articles, codex, content vs. function words, cryptography, scripts, unknown languages, Voynich	Leave a comment
The Voynich manuscript is one of those marvels that, even in these times of boundless knowledge and incredible technology, eludes continual efforts to understand it.
Not heard of the thing? Welcome to the show. There has been a vigorous little dance of press coverage over the past couple years. It goes something like this:
Step to your left. "An eternal mystery."
Step to your right. "I've cracked the code!" – some dude
Step back. "Nope, you're full of shit."
Step forward. "We've solved it this time for sure." – some other dudes
The manuscript is a hand-written, illustrated codex that's been shown through carbon dating to have originated in the early fifteenth century (1404–1438). The writing system used throughout its approximately 240 pages has yet to be identified.[1] Cryptographers, historians, computer scientists and others have proposed numerous hypotheses over the decades, including that it's a hoax. Based on the illustrations, scholars divide the manuscript into five thematic sections: Herbal, Astrological, Biological, Pharmacological, and Recipes.
Below I list links to the (more recent) rhythmic pulse of "discoveries" and rejections, in chronological order. Under each link I've pulled out quotes of the more intriguing tidbits.
November 30, 2016: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-unsolvable-mysteries-of-the-voynich-manuscript
"The first half of the book is filled with drawings of plants; scholars call this the "herbal" section. None of the plants appear to be real, although they are made from the usual stuff (green leaves, roots, and so on […]). The next section contains circular diagrams of the kind often found in medieval zodiacal texts; scholars call this part "astrological," which is generous. Next, the so-called "balneological" section shows "nude ladies," in Clemens's words, in pools of liquid, which are connected to one another via a strange system of tubular plumbing that often snakes around whole pages of text. […] Then we get what appear to be instructions in the practical use of those plants from the beginning of the book, followed by pages that look roughly like recipes."
"The Voynich MS was an early attempt to construct an artificial or universal language of the a priori type. –Friedman."
September 8, 2017: https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/09/the-mysterious-voynich-manuscript-has-finally-been-decoded/
"Now, history researcher and television writer Nicholas Gibbs appears to have cracked the code, discovering that the book is actually a guide to women's health that's mostly plagiarized from other guides of the era."
"Gibbs realized he was seeing a common form of medieval Latin abbreviations, often used in medical treatises about herbs. 'From the herbarium incorporated into the Voynich manuscript, a standard pattern of abbreviations and ligatures emerged from each plant entry,' he wrote. 'The abbreviations correspond to the standard pattern of words used in the Herbarium Apuleius Platonicus – aq = aqua (water), dq = decoque / decoctio (decoction), con = confundo (mix), ris = radacis / radix (root), s aiij = seminis ana iij (3 grains each), etc.' So this wasn't a code at all; it was just shorthand. The text would have been very familiar to anyone at the time who was interested in medicine."
"Gibbs concluded that it's likely the Voynich Manuscript was a customized book, possibly created for one person, devoted mostly to women's medicine."
September 10, 2017: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/09/has-the-voynich-manuscript-really-been-solved/539310/
"This week, the venerable Times Literary Supplement published as its cover story a 'solution' for the Voynich manuscript. The article by Nicholas Gibbs suggests the manuscript is a medieval women's-health manual copied from several older sources. And the cipher is no cipher at all, but simply abbreviations that, once decoded, turn out to be medicinal recipes."
"'Frankly I'm a little surprised the TLS published it,' says Lisa Fagin Davis, executive director of the Medieval Academy of America. When she was a doctoral student at Yale—whose Beinecke Library holds the Voynich manuscript—Davis read dozens of theories as part of her job. 'If they had simply sent to it to the Beinecke Library, they would have rebutted it in a heartbeat,' she says."
"In the second part—only two paragraphs long—Gibbs gets into the meat of his solution: Each character in the manuscript is an abbreviated word, not a letter. This could be a breakthrough, but the TLS presents only two lines decoded using Gibbs's method. Davis did not find those two lines convincing either. 'They're not grammatically correct. It doesn't result in Latin that makes sense,' she says."
February 1, 2018: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/voynich-manuscript-artificial-intelligence-solved
"There are two problems with this notoriously difficult puzzle—it's written in code, and no one knows what language that code enciphers."
"'That was surprising,' Kondrak said, in a statement. 'And just saying "this is Hebrew" is the first step. The next step is how do we decipher it.' The scientists think the code used in the manuscript might have been created using alphagrams. (In standard alphagrams, the letters in a word are placed in alphabetical order—the alphagram of 'alphagram,' for example, is 'aaaghlpmr.') Vowels also seemed to have been dropped. These assumptions made, they tried to come up with an algorithm to decipher this scrambled Hebrew text, to striking effect. 'It turned out that over 80 percent of the words were in a Hebrew dictionary,' said Kondrak."
"Hebrew-speaking data scientist Shlomo Argamon offered some excoriating feedback. 'They are saying it looks more like Hebrew than other languages,' he said. 'In my opinion, that's not necessarily saying all that much.' The use of Google Translate, too, struck him as somewhat unscientific. […] Other scholars have raised doubts about the scientists' use of modern, rather than medieval, Hebrew."
Certain researchers have made a compelling case against the "hoax" hypothesis, in any event. In 2013, an interesting paper analyzed the Voynich manuscript from an information theory perspective. They looked at organizational structure resulting from word distribution over the entire text, and concluded that there was "presence of a genuine linguistic structure".[2] You can read the full paper here.
A couple information theory takeaways:
Highly informative content words occur much more irregularly (and in clusters) throughout a text, while more uninformative function words tend to have a more homogenous or uniform distribution. So it's the content words that indicate specific text sections.
Words that are semantically related tend to co-occur in the same sections of a text.
Who will claim to have cracked the code next? My personal opinion, of course, is that they should throw some linguists on it.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manuscript
[2] Montemurro MA, Zanette DH. (2013). Keywords and Co-Occurrence Patterns in the Voynich Manuscript: An Information-Theoretic Analysis. PLoS ONE 8(6): e66344, 5. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0066344
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The Help (film)
Title: The Help (film)
Subject: 18th Screen Actors Guild Awards, Octavia Spencer, Sissy Spacek, 69th Golden Globe Awards, 84th Academy Awards
Collection: 1492 Pictures Films, 2010S Drama Films, 2011 Films, African-American Civil Rights Movement (1954–68) in Film, American Drama Films, American Films, Dreamworks Pictures Films, Female Buddy Films, Feminist Films, Film Scores by Thomas Newman, Films About Race and Ethnicity, Films About Women, Films About Writers, Films Based on American Novels, Films Based on Novels, Films Directed by Tate Taylor, Films Featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award Winning Performance, Films Featuring a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Winning Performance, Films Produced by Chris Columbus, Films Produced by Michael Barnathan, Films Set in 1963, Films Set in Mississippi, Films Set in the 1960S, Films Shot in Mississippi, Jackson, Mississippi, Participant Media Films, Reliance Entertainment Films, Touchstone Pictures Films
Michael Barnathan
Brunson Green
by Kathryn Stockett
Stephen Goldblatt
Hughes Winborne
Reliance Entertainment
Participant Media
Image Nation
August 9, 2011 (2011-08-09) (Beverly Hills premiere)
August 10, 2011 (2011-08-10)
$216.6 million[2]
The Help is a 2011 American drama film directed and written by Tate Taylor, and adapted from Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel of the same name. Featuring an ensemble cast, the film is about a young white woman, Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, and her relationship with two black maids, Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, during the Civil Rights era in 1963 Jackson, Mississippi. Skeeter is a journalist who decides to write a book from the point of view of the maids (referred to as "the help"), exposing the racism they are faced with as they work for white families.
The film stars Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, Ahna O'Reilly, Chris Lowell, Sissy Spacek, Mike Vogel, Cicely Tyson, LaChanze, Allison Janney, and Anna Camp. Produced by DreamWorks Pictures and released by Touchstone Pictures, the film opened to positive reviews and became a commercial success with a worldwide box office gross of $216.6 million[2] against its budget of $25 million.
The Help received four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Actress for Davis, Best Supporting Actress for Chastain, and a win for Best Supporting Actress for Spencer. On January 29, 2012, the film won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Plot 1
Cast 2
Music 3.1
Home media 4.1
Critical response 5.1
Box office 5.2
Accolades 5.3
In 1963 in Jackson, Mississippi, Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) is a 50-year-old black maid spending her life raising white children after the death of her only son from an industrial accident. She works for the Leefolt family, principally taking care of the children of Elizabeth Leefolt, a young woman gripped with postpartum depression who refuses to acknowledge her daughter except when disciplining her. Aibileen's best friend is Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), an outspoken black maid who has long worked for Hilly Holbrook's (Bryce Dallas Howard) mother, Mrs. Walters (Sissy Spacek), to the point that they are very comfortable with each other. Minny's stormy temper is tolerated due to respect for her great cooking skills. Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone) is an independent thinking young white woman returning to the family plantation after graduating from the University of Mississippi[3] to find that her beloved childhood maid, Constantine (Cicely Tyson), has quit while she was away. She is perplexed as she believes Constantine would not have left without writing her and it is revealed that Constantine was actually fired; Skeeter's mother Charlotte (Allison Janney) refuses to accept her daughter's sincere shock as little more than overreaction and further refuses to give the reason why Constantine was fired.
While Skeeter's social group attended college to find husbands, Skeeter herself earned a double-major degree and remains single, much to Charlotte's chagrin, and aspires to a successful writing career. She begins making inroads towards this goal when she lands a job with the local paper as a "homemaker hints" columnist, asking Elizabeth if Aibileen could help her in answering the letters; after gaining permission from Elizabeth (who in turn "gained permission" from Hilly) and approaching Aibileen herself, the maid agrees. Upon spending time with Aibileen one-on-one, Skeeter becomes increasingly uncomfortable with the attitude of her white socialite female friends towards their "help", especially after learning of Hilly's "Home Help Sanitation Initiative", a desire to have passed into legislation mandatory separate toilets for black domestic help because "black people carry different diseases than white people".
Inspired by her relationship with Constantine, Skeeter forms an idea to write about the relationships between whites and their black help, especially as the children raised by black maids eventually take on the prejudiced attitudes of their parents when they become adults. The maids are very reluctant to cooperate, afraid of retribution from their employers, but Aibileen eventually agrees. Eventually Minny cooperates, shortly after being fired by Hilly for using the guest bath as instructed by Mrs. Walters instead of going out into tornado weather to use the help's outdoor toilet. The other maids approached evince little interest in the project.
Hilly makes finding work difficult for Minny by saying she had stolen from her, which then causes Minny's daughter to leave school to work as a maid. Minny eventually finds work with a working-class outcast Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain), who is married to wealthy socialite Johnny Foote (Mike Vogel), the ex-boyfriend Hilly never truly got over. Celia informs Minny that she's pregnant. Because of her sweet disposition, ignorance to the unspoken social caste and exuberant personality, Celia is clueless about how to 'properly' treat Minny as an employee in her home; she often joins Minny in the kitchen for cooking lessons and they share the meals they make together while providing each other with advice on how to deal with the bullies each woman faces in her life.
The relationship between Celia and Minny deepens further after Celia miscarries and she informs Minny that she and Johnny had married because she got pregnant, but lost the baby a month later; she has also miscarried two other babies. During a charity event at which Hilly's circle further mock her, Celia consumes only cocktails and has an unfortunate confrontation with Hilly which further ostracizes her from the popular-girls' circle. At the same time, Skeeter has begun to withdraw from this same circle of her own volition despite meeting Stuart (Chris Lowell) through Hilly and beginning a relationship with him that delights Charlotte immensely.
Skeeter submits the draft book to a New York City editor with Harper & Row, Elaine Stein (Mary Steenburgen), who advises her that more maids' stories need to be included, and that it has to happen quickly as the holidays are approaching and the newly developing Civil Rights movement may be short-lived. A culmination of the Medgar Evers assassination, and Hilly having Minny's replacement arrested for stealing a diamond ring, brings forth more maids than Skeeter could have hoped would speak out, as the maids realize Skeeter's book could give them an opportunity to make known what they experience in life.
What Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny realize so late in their writing of the book is that some stories are very connected with particular maids and families, and begin to worry that they will be exposed. Their worries are heightened following the assassination of President Kennedy. Thus, Minny, as a form of "insurance", reveals her "Terrible Awful" story to ensure that the employers will not retaliate lest they confirm family secrets: Minny had retaliated for being fired and for slurs on her reputation by baking her renowned chocolate pie especially for Hilly by adding her own excrement to it, making it a point to keep Mrs. Walters away from it. Hilly ate two slices of the pie before Minny told her what she had put in it, causing Mrs. Walters to break out in a laughing fit, for which Hilly subsequently locked her away in a convalescent home. Minny predicts that putting the Terrible Awful into the book will keep the other maids safe from retribution, as Hilly would rather die than let it be known she was the subject of the Terrible Awful, and she will wield her social influence to convince anyone who will listen that the story did not take place in Jackson.
The last story needed before submitting the final draft is that of Skeeter and Constantine. Charlotte, suffering from stomach cancer and whose health is rapidly deteriorating, is confronted by her daughter and finally reveals the truth. Once during a reception Charlotte was holding with white women officers of a patriotic organization, Constantine's daughter Rachel (LaChanze) had arrived to visit Constantine, and had refused to use the kitchen entrance to the house. In order to save face, Charlotte felt she had no choice but to fire Constantine and bar her from the house, after which Constantine and Rachel immediately left Jackson to live in Chicago. To make amends, the family, had sent Skeeter's brother Carlton to Chicago to bring Constantine back, only to discover by the time Carlton arrived, Constantine had died. Skeeter is furious and brokenhearted; it is finally upon seeing her daughter's reaction to this news that Charlotte begins to realize the depth of her betrayal.
The book, published anonymously to protect Skeeter and her contributors' identities, is a success, and the royalties are shared with the maids. However, when Stuart becomes aware of the book's contents and feeling deceived, he splits up with her. Minny confesses about the Terrible Awful to Celia, who finally sees Hilly for the manipulative bully she is. Thinking that all is safe with the origins of the book, Hilly becomes enraged when a contribution from Celia to one of Hilly's charitable works is made out to "Two Slice Hilly." Drunk, humiliated and spoiling for a fight, she drives to Skeeter's home to confront Skeeter. When Hilly moves to storm into the house and tattle on Skeeter's 'hippie' ways to Charlotte, Charlotte appears on the porch, commenting on her haggard appearance and observing she must have been eating 'too much pie', implying she knows exactly who the Terrible Awful was written about without Skeeter saying a word, then kicks her off the property.
After Hilly's departure, Charlotte and Skeeter are able to reconcile, with Charlotte voicing her strong-spirited and independent daughter really is quite extraordinary and should be admired, especially when she takes a phone call intended for Skeeter from Elaine about being offered a publishing job and Charlotte offers to help Skeeter prepare for this life-changing move from Jackson to Manhattan.
Celia thinks that she has adequately deceived her husband about bringing in Minny to help her manage the housekeeping; however, when Johnny comes up the drive while Minny is walking to the house with groceries, Minny thinks he will be furious with her, and she runs terrified toward the house. He is able to catch up with her on foot and reveals that not only has he known Minny has been working there the whole time, but that he also learned of Celia's multiple miscarriages and that once Minny arrived, Celia's health began to improve, a grace for which he is profoundly grateful. Johnny helps Minny take her bags to the house, where she is surprised by a table full of food Celia has prepared entirely herself as a result of Minny's cooking lessons. Both Johnny and Celia inform Minny she has a job with them for as long as she wants. This kindness gives Minny the courage to leave her abusive husband, and she takes her children to live with the Footes.
The conclusion of the film has Hilly back to her old ways: knowing she cannot have Aibileen imprisoned for her writings without exposing herself, she vindictively intends instead to frame her for the theft of some loaned silver cutlery. Aibileen attempts to hold her ground timidly at first while Elizabeth attempts to let the issue pass. Hilly presses the issue to the point where she fires Elizabeth's help; for Aibileen this is the turning point, as she has had enough of Hilly's hideous selfishness and blindly arrogant attempts to control everyone around her, and denounces her as a godless vindictive woman never at peace. A departing Aibileen reassures Elizabeth's distraught daughter Mae Mobley with the creed that she has said to all her charges, then, compelled by Elizabeth, leaves for a new life, reflecting on how she could possibly follow in Skeeter's footsteps as a writer herself.
Emma Stone as Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, the main protagonist, a college graduate and aspiring writer.
Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark, a black maid and Skeeter's good friend. She also narrates the story.
Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson, a brilliant cook, but with a smart mouth that has gotten her fired numerous times; she is Aibileen's best friend.
Jessica Chastain as Celia Foote, Minny's naive but kind employer and Johnny's wife.
Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook, the main antagonist, the racist and spiteful queen bee of the town's women.
Allison Janney as Charlotte Phelan, Skeeter's mother.
Ahna O'Reilly as Elizabeth Leefolt, Aibileen's employer and the film's secondary antagonist. She neglects her daughter, Mae.
Chris Lowell as Stuart Whitworth, Skeeter's boyfriend and a senator's son.
Cicely Tyson as Constantine Bates, Skeeter's beloved childhood maid.
Mike Vogel as Johnny Foote, Hilly's ex-boyfriend and Celia's husband.
Sissy Spacek as Mrs. Walters, Hilly's mother.
Anna Camp as Jolene French, a friend of Hilly and Elizabeth.
Brian Kerwin as Robert Phelan, Skeeter's father
Aunjanue Ellis as Yule May Davis, a maid fired by Hilly for pawning a ring she stole from the Holbrook house to pay for her twin sons' college tuition, after Hilly refused to lend her $75 to do so.
Emma and Eleanor Henry as Mae Mobley Leefolt, Elizabeth's baby.
Ted Welch as William Holbrook, Hilly's husband.
LaChanze as Rachel Bates, daughter of Constantine.
Mary Steenburgen as Elaine Stein, an editor for Harper & Row.
Leslie Jordan as Mr. Blackly
Nelsan Ellis as Henry, the waiter
Wes Chatham as Carlton Phelan, Skeeter's brother.
Tiffany Brouwer as Rebecca, Carlton's fiance.
Kelsey Scot as Sugar Jackson, Minny's daughter.
David Oyelowo as Preacher Green
Dana Ivey as Grace Higginbotham
Ashley Johnson as Mary Beth Caldwell
In December 2009, Variety reported that Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, and Mark Radcliffe would produce a film adaptation of The Help, under their production company 1492 Pictures. Brunson Green of Harbinger Productions also co-produced. The film was written and directed by Stockett's childhood friend, Tate Taylor, who optioned film rights to the book before its publication.[4]
The first casting news for the production came in March 2010, was reported that Stone was attached to play the role of Skeeter Phelan.[5] Other actors were since cast, including Davis as Aibileen; Howard as Hilly Holbrook, Jackson's snooty town ringleader; Janney as Charlotte Phelan, Skeeter's mother; and Lowell as Stuart Whitworth, Skeeter's boyfriend and a senator's son.[6][7][8] Leslie Jordan appears as the editor of the fictional local newspaper, The Jackson Journal.[9] Mike Vogel plays the character Johnny Foote. Octavia Spencer portrays Minny. A longtime friend of Stockett and Taylor, Spencer inspired the character of Minny in Stockett's novel and voiced her in the audiobook version.[10][11]
Filming began in July 2010 and extended through October. The town of Greenwood, Mississippi, was chosen to portray 1960s-era Jackson, and producer Green said he had expected to shoot "95 percent" of the film there. Parts of the film were also shot in the real-life Jackson, as well as in nearby Clarksdale and Greenville. One of the few locations that existed in 1963 Jackson, the book and the film is Jackson landmark Brent's Drugs, which dates to 1946. Other locations that can still be found in Jackson include the New Capitol Building and the Mayflower Cafe downtown. Scenes set at the Jackson Journal office were shot in Clarksdale at the building which formerly housed the Clarksdale Press Register for 40 years until April 2010.[12]
The Help was the most significant film production in Mississippi since O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)[13][14][15] "Honestly, my heart would be broken if it were set anywhere but Mississippi", Stockett wrote in an e-mail to reporters. In order to convince producers to shoot in Greenwood, Tate Taylor and others had previously come to the town and scouted out locations; at his first meeting with DreamWorks executives, he presented them with a photo album of potential filming spots in the area. The state's tax incentive program for filmmakers was also a key enticement in the decision.[13][14][15]
The Help: Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Blues, soul, rhythm and blues, rock and roll
The original song is "The Living Proof" by Mary J. Blige.[16] The soundtrack was released on July 26, 2011, through Geffen Records.[17]
Performer(s)
1. "The Living Proof" Mary J. Blige 5:57
2. "Jackson" Johnny Cash and June Carter 5:28
3. "Sherry" Frankie Valli 5:35
4. "I Ain't Never" Webb Pierce 1:56
5. "Victory Is Mine" Dorothy Norwood 3:47
6. "Road Runner" Bo Diddley 2:48
7. "Hallelujah I Love Her So" Ray Charles 2:35
8. "The Wah-Watusi" The Orlons 2:32
9. "Personality" Lloyd Price 10:29
10. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" Bob Dylan 3:38
11. "Let's Twist Again" Chubby Checker 2:19
12. "Don't Knock" Mavis Staples 2:30
On October 13, 2010, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures gave the film a release date of August 12, 2011. On June 30, 2011, the film's release date was rescheduled two days earlier to August 10, 2011.[18]
The film was released by Touchstone Home Entertainment on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, and digital download on December 6, 2011. The release was produced in three different physical packages: a three-disc combo pack (Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Copy); a two-disc combo pack (Blu-ray and DVD); and a single-disc DVD. It was also released as a digital download option in both standard and high definition. The DVD version includes two deleted scenes and The Living Proof music video by Mary J. Blige. The digital download version includes the same features as the DVD version, plus one additional deleted scene. Both the two-disc and three-disc combo packs include the same features as the DVD version, as well as "The Making of 'The Help': From Friendship to Film", "In Their Own Words: A Tribute to the Maids of Mississippi", and three deleted scenes with introductions by director Taylor.[19][20][21]
Critical response
The Help received mostly positive reviews from critics. Review aggregators Rotten Tomatoes reported that 76% of 202 professional critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 7.0 out of 10. The site's consensus stated, "Though arguably guilty of glossing over its racial themes, The Help rises on the strength of its cast—particularly Viola Davis, whose performance is powerful enough to carry the film on its own."[22] Metacritic, a review aggregator which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 62 based on 41 reviews.[23] CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was an A+ on an A+ to F scale.[24]
Tom Long from The Detroit News remarked about the film: "Appealling, entertaining, touching and perhaps even a bit healing, The Help is an old-fashioned grand yarn of a film, the sort we rarely get these days."[25] Connie Ogle of The Miami Herald gave the film three out of four stars and said it "will make you laugh, yes, but it can also break your heart. In the dog days of August moviegoing, that's a powerful recommendation."[26]
More on the mixed side was Karina Longworth of The Village Voice: "We get a fairly typical Hollywood flattening of history, with powerful villains and disenfranchised heroes."[27] Rick Groen of The Globe and Mail, giving the film two out of four stars, said: "Typically, this sort of film is an earnest tear-jerker with moments of levity. Instead, what we have here is a raucous rib-tickler with occasional pauses for a little dramatic relief."[28] Referring to the film as a "big, ole slab of honey-glazed hokum", The New York Times noted that "save for Ms. Davis's, however, the performances are almost all overly broad, sometimes excruciatingly so, characterized by loud laughs, bugging eyes and pumping limbs."[29]
Some of the negative reviews criticized the film for its inability to match the quality of the book. Chris Hewitt of the St. Paul Pioneer Press said about the film: "Some adaptations find a fresh, cinematic way to convey a book's spirit but The Help doesn't."[30]
Many critics praised the performances of Davis and Spencer. Wilson Morales of Blackfilm.com gave the movie three out of four stars and commented, "With powerful performances given by Viola Davis and scene stealer Octavia Spencer, the film is an emotionally moving drama that remains highly entertaining."[31] David Edelstein from New York magazine commented that, "The Help belongs to Viola Davis."[32]
Ida E. Jones, the national director of the Association of Black Women Historians, released an open statement criticizing the film, stating "[d]espite efforts to market the book and the film as a progressive story of triumph over racial injustice, The Help distorts, ignores, and trivializes the experiences of black domestic workers." The ABWH accused both the book and the film of insensitive portrayals of African-American vernacular, a nearly uniform depiction of black men as cruel or absent, and a failure to acknowledge the sexual harassment that many black women endured in their white employers' homes. Jones concluded by saying that "The Association of Black Women Historians finds it unacceptable for either this book or this film to strip black women's lives of historical accuracy for the sake of entertainment."[33]
Roxane Gay of literary web magazine The Rumpus articulated reasons the film might be offensive to African Americans, mentioning the film's use of racial Hollywood stereotypes like the Magical Negro and Gone with the Wind.[34]
The Help earned $169,708,112 in North America and $46,931,000 in other territories for a worldwide total of $216,639,112.[2]
In North America, on its opening day (Wednesday, August 10, 2011), it topped the box office with $5.54 million. It then added $4.33 million on Thursday, declining only 21 percent, a two-day total to $9.87 million.[35] On its first weekend, the film grossed $26.0 million, coming in second place behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes.[36] However, during its second weekend, the film jumped to first place with $20.0 million, declining only 23 percent, the smallest drop among films playing nationwide.[37] The film crossed the $100 million mark on its 21st day of release, becoming one of only two titles in August 2011 that achieved this.[38] On its fourth weekend (Labor Day three-day weekend), it became the first film since Inception (2010), to top the box-office charts for three consecutive weekends.[39][40] Its four-day weekend haul of $19.9 million[41] was the fourth largest for a Labor-day weekend.[42] Notably, The Help topped the box office for 25 days in a row. This was the longest uninterrupted streak since The Sixth Sense (35 days), which was also a late summer release, in 1999.[43]
To promote the film, TakePart.com hosted a series of three writing contests.[44] Rebecca Lubin, of Mill Valley, California, who has been a nanny for nearly two decades won the recipe contest. Darcy Pattison's "11 Ways to Ruin a Photograph" won "The Help" Children's Story Contest with her story about a tenacious young girl who refuses to take a good photograph while her father is away "soldiering". After being chosen by guest judge and children's-book author Lou Berger, the story was professionally illustrated.[45] The final contest was about "someone who inspired you". Genoveva Islas-Hooker charmed guest judge Doc Hendley (founder of Wine to Water) with her story, A Heroine Named Confidential. A case manager for patients with HIV, Islas-Hooker was consistently inspired by one special individual who never gave up the fight to live.
White savior narrative in film
^ Kaufman, Amy (August 11, 2011). "'"Movie Projector: 'Apes' Likely To Swing Higher than 'The Help. Company Town – The Business Behind the Show (blog of the
^ a b c "The Help (2011) – Box Office Mojo".
^ ()
^ Fleming, Michael (December 15, 2009). "Chris Columbus Fast-Tracks 'Help' – His 1492 Prods. Readies Adaptation of Stockett Novel".
^ Sampson, Mike (March 23, 2010). "'"Emma Stone Looks to Dreamworks for 'Help.
^ Rich, Katey (April 15, 2010). "Viola Davis in Talks To Join Emma Stone in the Help". Cinema Blend. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
^ Fleming, Mike (April 27, 2010). "'"Bryce Dallas Howard Lands 'The Help.
^ Kit, Zorianna (May 20, 2010). "'"Chris Lowell Eyes 'The Help.
^ Pierce, Susan (July 24, 2010). The Help' Is Coming"'".
^ Sperling, Nicole (May 17, 2010). "'"Octavia Spencer Nabs Key Role in 'The Help.
^ Sperling, Nicole (July 13, 2010). The Help' Exclusive: Allison Janney Joins the Cast"'".
^ Moser, Christopher (July 9, 2010). "Lights, Camera, Clarksdale!".
^ a b Kuykendall, Taylor (May 13, 2010). "Movie Adaption of Bestseller To Be Filmed Here".
^ a b Ayres, Jeff (May 14, 2010). "Movie To Have $13M Impact on Delta".
^ a b Byrd, Shelia (May 13, 2010). The Help' To Start Filming in Miss. This Summer"'".
^ "Soundtrack Details For "The Help" (Track List Includes Ray Charles, Chubby Checker + Many Others)".
^ "The Help (Music from the Motion Picture)".
^ "'The Help' Moves Up Its Release Date to Aug. 10". Entertainment Weekly.
^ "The Help Is Coming Home on December 6".
^ "The Help Is Coming to Your House This December". Moviehole. October 5, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
^ Katz, Josh (October 5, 2011). "The Help Blu-Ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
^ "The Help".
^ "The Help Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic".
^ McClintock, Pamela (August 10, 2011). "Box Office Update: 'The Help' Earns a Rare A+ CinemaScore from Moviegoers".
^ "Movies | '60s Story of Racism Richly Told".
^ Ogle, Connie. The Help' (PG-13)"'".
^ Longworth, Karina (August 10, 2011). "Civil Rights Through a Soft Focus Lens in The Help".
^ Groen, Rick (August 10, 2011). "The Help: Civil Rights Lite, Played for Laughs".
^ "'The Help' Review: Movie Based on Beloved Book Will Be Loved Best If You've Read the Book". St. Paul Pioneer Press.
^ Morales, Wilson. "The Help". Blackfilm.com. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
^ Edlestein, David. "Movie Review: Viola Davis Gives the Too-Soft The Help a Spine". www.vulture.com. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
^ Jones, Ida E. (August 7, 2011). "An Open Statement to the Fans of The Help". Association of Black Women Historians. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
^ Gay, Roxane (August 17, 2011). "The Solace of Preparing Fried Foods and Other Quaint Remembrances from 1960s Mississippi: Thoughts on The Help". The Rumpus. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
^ "'The Help' Bags Solid $9.9M in Two Days". Box Office Mojo.
^ "Weekend Report: 'Apes' Cling to Top Spot, 'Help' Cleans Up". Box Office Mojo.
^ "Weekend Report: 'The Help' Reigns Over Gutless 'Conan,' 'Fright Night'". Box Office Mojo.
^ Gray, Brandon (September 2, 2011). "August Box Office Rises and Falls".
^ McClintock, Pamela (September 4, 2011). "Box Office Report: 'Apollo 18' and 'Shark Night' Still in a Dead Heat".
^ "Weekend Report: 'The Help' Works It Over Labor Day". Box Office Mojo.
^ "September 2–5, 2011".
^ "Top 4-Day Labor Day Weekends".
^ Subers, Ray (September 9, 2011). "'Help' Posts Longest Daily No. 1 Run Since 'Sixth Sense'".
^ "Take Part".
^ "11 Ways To Ruin a Photograph". 11 Ways to Ruin a Photograph.
The Help at AllMovie
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civilrightstravel, The Help's filming locations and associated civil-rights history award
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble
Gosford Park (2001)
Chicago (2002)
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
The Fighter (2010)
The Help (2011)
American Hustle (2013)
Satellite Award for Best Cast – Motion Picture
Virginia Madsen
Chris Bridges
Larenz Tate
Aunjanue Ellis
Dana Ivey
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Ahna O'Reilly
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Missy Doty
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Devin Ratray
Melinda Simonsen
Roger Stuckwisch
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Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (2011–2020)
The Help (2011): Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Chris Lowell, Ahna O'Reilly, Sissy Spacek, Octavia Spencer, Mary Steenburgen, Emma Stone, Cicely Tyson, Mike Vogel
Argo (2012): Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin, Kerry Bishé, Kyle Chandler, Rory Cochrane, Bryan Cranston, Christopher Denham, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Victor Garber, John Goodman, Scoot McNairy, Chris Messina
American Hustle (2013): Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Louis C.K., Bradley Cooper, Jack Huston, Jennifer Lawrence, Alessandro Nivola, Michael Peña, Jeremy Renner, Elisabeth Röhm, Shea Whigham
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture
Lady Sings the Blues (1972)
The Color Purple (1986)
Lethal Weapon (1989)
Coming to America (1990)
Lean on Me (1991)
Boyz n the Hood (1993)
Sister Act (1994)
Malcolm X (1995)
A Time to Kill (1997)
Soul Food (1998)
How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1999)
The Best Man (2000)
Remember the Titans (2001)
Ali (2002)
Antwone Fisher (2003)
The Fighting Temptations (2004)
Ray (2005)
The Great Debaters (2008)
For Colored Girls (2011)
Red Tails (2013)
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Get on Up (2014)
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A story of hope, strength, struggles and tenacity that started with a young girl's dream of coming to America from South Africa during the hated apartheid era. South Africa remains etched in Helen's heart, she recounts her stories. Encountering AK47's aimed at her back and stomach in Niarobi, Kenya, to struggling to get and keep a work visa in Texas, to meeting a President face to face. Her journey has been filled with lessons and miracles. A ticket for a year, a visa for three months, to enter the United States, sixteen hundred dollars in her pocket, a suitcase and a guitar, was the beginning of a new journey and opportunities. Adamant at every turn to make her dream of visiting America come true, enduring many hardships and lessons along the way, Helen's dream came to fruition. Her desire for America started before knowing or understanding its power and influence over the world.
This fascinating tale of living under German occupation during World War II is told from the unique perspective of a Dutch secret agent. Highlighted by high drama, it is an epic story of life and conflict in the presence of an oppressive enemy. The anti-German struggle in the Netherlands was centered on sabotage requiring stealth and cunning. The reality of war forced many to choose between helping with the resistance, going into hiding, or leaving the country. Those who stayed and served saved countless numbers of Jewish lives and aided the war effort by covertly gathering and disseminating valuable information. The author narrowly escaped the Germans as the British Navy came to his rescue. His story of unremitting toil to overtake an unrelenting enemy is stirring, inspiring, and unforgettable. Christiaan Gutteling lived in Swansea, Wales and died in London in 2012. His two daughters, and five grandchildren, live in Dallas, Texas, and his son and his wife live in London. During the war, he worked on a tugboat to gather information on German "degaussing" procedures, which made metal ships immune from sea mines. His daughter Helen Gutteling Munday helped bring "The War Has Ended but the Memory Lingers on" to fruition.
The Best of Eve: In memory of my mom, Eve, who always wanted a red and white kitchen, and who loved to cook, bake and experiment with herbs, spices, liqueurs and recipes from all around the world. Eve was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1924. Her father was a diamond cutter by trade and was contracted by De Beers to work with the South African diamond industry. She was nine years old upon her first arrival in Cape Town, South Africa.


text:
Region Six agri programme could help reduce poverty
GINA, GUYANA, Friday, March 31, 2017
Key government ministries and a number of support agencies have pledged their continued support towards ensuring that poverty is alleviated in Region Six among single mothers and other vulnerable groups.
On Thursday, two agricultural programmes were launched to help women and youth to get out of poverty through sustainable agricultural practices. The programmes will also help institutions save money by producing their own food.
Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally examines produces on display by some of the single parent farmers
The two programmes focus on agriculture green/shade house farming and inland fishing or aquaculture.
Speaking at the launch of the programmes, Country Representative, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Rueben Robertson said the development is a step towards poverty alleviation in Region Six. "It is the first step of moving the beneficiaries out of poverty," Robertson noted.
Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally endorsed the view that the project will help the beneficiaries get out of poverty. She recalled that the projects started in 2016 under the previous minister of Social Protection.
"Prior to 2015, many of our young people, many women, many organised entities were not given the opportunity to empower themselves. Many existed in a conundrum of poverty some endured stress to give their families a good life," the minister noted.
The Ministry of Social Protection has committed to the overall development and empowerment of the beneficiaries by contributing $5M to the programme.
Ten shade houses have been constructed for single mothers, inmates of the New Amsterdam Female Prison, The GuySuCo, Training Centre, the Felix Austin Police Training College and the Agriculture Science programme at the Lower Corentyne Secondary School to help in the Agriculture Science curriculum.
The single mothers and other families benefitting from shade houses were drawn from a number of villages including Limlair, Kildonan and Fyrish, Corentyne, East Berbice.
Minister Amna Ally, commissions one of the shade houses built from the practical agriculture curriculum at the Lower Corentyne Secondary School.
The programme is being spearheaded by the St. Francis Community Developers group in Rose Hall, Corentyne. The Non-Governmental Organisation has been working to create independent communities while promoting diversified, people friendly activities that would guarantee residents a better life.
Alex Foster, representing the NGO, noted that the programme was delayed for some time but, was finally being realized. He expressed confidence that the beneficiaries will capitalise on the commitment of government and other concerned agencies.
Technical support for the programmes will come from officers of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) and the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture.
A representative of the Felix Austin Police Training College said that produce grown under the shade house will be consumed by trainees of the police programme which will eventually save money on their food bill.
The aquaculture pond in the compound of the St. Francis Community Developers group, will serve as a hatchery for approximately 10,000 tilapia fingerlings every eight weeks.
Other Support agencies include the Food for the Poor Inc. and the Regional Democratic Council of Region Six.
By: Delicia Haynes
CATEGORIES GovernmentMinistry of AgricultureNews Bulletin
TAGS 2017BerbiceCorentyne.Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)GINAGuyanaGuySucoMarchMinister Amna AllyMinistry of AgricultureMinistry of Social ProtectionNAREINDIAprogrammesRegion SixRegional Democratic CouncilRose HallRueben RobertsonSt. Francis Community Developers


PMFA news publication is a bimonthly review of plastic and maxilla-facial surgery and aesthetic medicine. PMFA news were keen to do an interview with our expert uk surgeon Mr Miles Berry. Below is the transcript which was published in the October/November issue 2013.
Mr Miles Berry MS, FRCS (Plast) has been working as a specialist in plastic and aesthetic surgery for the last 15 years. As well as spending nearly four years in Manchester as a Specialist Registrar, Mr Berry was Locum Consultant at the eminent Royal Marsden hospital in London and, after winning a BAPRAS international fellowship, became Locum Consultant for oncoplastic breast surgery at the removed Institut Curie in Paris for two years. He contributed to the book Plastic Surgery edited by Peter Neligan and is a regular reviewer for JPRAS, the international journal for plastic and reconstructive surgery. In recent year Mr Berry has been working exclusively as an aesthetic surgeon in the independent sector and we are delighted to conduct a short interview with him regarding the perceived rise in media interest around so called 'botched surgeries'.
Can you tell us a little about your own background and current practice?
I am fully trained in plastic and reconstructive surgery and with additional specialised cosmetic surgery training. My current practice encompasses pretty much the full range of cosmetic surgery with some skin cancer, breast reconstruction and transgender work.
In your practice do you see a lot of patient needing correction of 'botched' surgeries? What percentage of your cases?
Do you think there has been an increase in this kind of case in recent years and, if yes, why?
Overall no, but we're certainly seeing an increase from those who fly abroad and Eastern Europe seems to produce the most frequent referrals.
Can you describe for us the type of surgeries you have to correct most regularly?
The most frequent would be for breast surgery, usually implants and in the main those that have been placed into the wrong pockets and are an incorrect size, invariably far too large. I have, however, noticed an increase in labiaplasty and it seems more common that people are using the very old-fashioned technique of amputation and taking off an excess amount. This is a complex situation and very difficult to treat.
Have you dealt with any very unusual cases?
I'm not sure what one would find unusual, but I do work with the transgender community and this may be a little different from the usual spectrum.
Do you think there is a psychological impact as well as physical when these kinds of treatments go wrong or are incorrectly carried out?
There is always a psychological impact to any form of cosmetic surgery, after all why would people undergo modification if they were not significantly unhappy with it? For this reason, a result that does not go entirely according to plan can often lead to disappointment that is disproportionate to the problem. Very often they feel guilty also as this is not surgery that requires to be done if they have gone abroad very often there are linguistic difficulties too.
What do you think should be done to prevent this kind of thing happening so much?
To a certain extent it is educating people and the expression 'buyer beware' is key. The government and authorities could certainly do more to tighten up the regulation of an industry, which is effectively unregulated in this country and we are all looking forward to the government's response to the Keogh Report that appeared in April.
There is a huge amount of media interest in this subject at the moment with TV programmes like Channel 5's 'Botched Up Bodies.' Why do you think this is?
There always appears to be a large media interest, particularly when things are going wrong, for example look at the PIP story from two years ago. For whatever reason, a story with an unhappy subtext featuring disaster always seems to garner more news attention.
And finally, what do you think the impact of this media attention is on the reputation of the speciality as a whole?
The media exerts an immensely powerful and important influence on all patients, but it would help if the attitude, on occasions, were more professional and patient safety orientated. It is, of course, easy to beat with a stick a small number of people, be they cosmetic surgeons or otherwise. By the same token, it is also up to us professionals to continue to put across our message that patient safety is first and foremost in all of our interaction with them. Finally, we are strong advocates of fully and properly trained surgeons. The time for GPs, dentists and general surgeons 'dabbling' in cosmetic surgery with little or no actual training and experience has surely passed.


This week we introduced the first annual report that is also a blog. I'll be honest when we had the idea a few months ago I was rather surprised nobody had done it before and felt sure that by the time we launched someone would have done it. Well, unless our Google searches are wrong, they didn't and we were the first. I don't think our blog is the greatest blog on the planet but I do think it will be the start of something. I'm pretty sure that in a year or so thousands of companies will be opening up their annual reports in this way. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it. Today lots of investors go to chat rooms and so on to get their insight. This approach allows them to have a direct access and it allows the company to take part in the debate. Now of course in many parts of the world there are still limits on what a CEO or CFO that is blogging can say but the success of may executive blogs such the one by Sun CEO, Jonathan Schwartz make it clear that people like the idea of an open door policy to communication.
As for my headline to this piece the question is what you call an annual report that is also a blog. The two listed, flog (financial blog) and slog (shareholder blog) are the most common suggestions to date.
You know what Tim? I like it, I really do. Truly original.
This summer, Sun made first a first step by releasing corporate news over their website shortly before sending it "over the wire".
siliconvalleypr.blogspot.com; You saved my day again.
Outsourced Agencies - Good or Bad?


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A Carolina Love . . .: 5K!!
That's right! I'm doing a 5K and I'm still in a little bit of a shock to know that those words are true, but I assure you that they are. The race date is May 22nd and I'm excited to have a goal to work towards. One big reason I've decided to do this is because I have been severely lacking in my motivation to workout. So now I have something that I have to workout for and I am pumped about it! I'm trying to learn more discipline in different areas of my life, and this is one of them. I've already started my training, but I know I have a long ways to go. I'll keep you posted on my progress! One thing I know for certain is that I need some new running shoes, and I have already decided on Asics. I know several friends that are active runners and swear by these. And I will need as much support as I can get!


Compton Quilting Services is based at my home in Weybridge Surrey. Our motto is "we turn your patchworks into quilts" and our aim is to help you complete your projects, from cushions to king-size quilts and throws.
We have an extensive range of edge-to-edge patterns available from simple to densely quilted designs, which can be viewed in the Gallery. We also offer a customised service where we will design the quilting to complement your patchwork, resulting in a unique quilt. We will happily baste your top for you so that you can hand or machine quilt it yourself and to complete your quilt we also offer a binding service.
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Compton Quilting Services is dedicated to providing an exceptional service in terms of materials, craftsmanship and delivery of quilts to your specified timescale.


text:
Israeli Culture Ministry Makes a Push to Legitimize Settlements
Logan Bayroff
Israel's Minister of Culture is making no secret of her government's desire to give support and legitimacy to settlements in the West Bank.
According to a new Haaretz report, Miri Regev's Culture and Sports ministry has distributed a new form to Israeli cultural institutions, requiring them to state whether they had held performances last year in the West Bank settlements, the Negev or the Galillee. While institutions that held no performances in these areas could suffer a 33 percent cut in their government funding, those who perform in the settlements will reportedly earn a 10 percent funding bonus.
This push to encourage and reward performances in the settlements is consistent with the aggressive approach Regev has taken against those who disagree with the occupation or with the government's hardline nationalist ideology. In January she sought to pass a "cultural loyalty law" that would allow her to cut public funding to institutions that attacked "Israeli symbols" or recognized the Palestinian nakba. In February, she had a heated exchange with a room full of artists at the Haaretz conference, proclaiming that "We will ensure loyalty to parts of the country and forbid boycotts…Categorically, freedom of expression is important for democracy but the right to security overrides freedom of expression."
Some Israeli artists and writers have made clear in the past their choice not to perform or lecture in prominent West Bank settlements. They include some of Israel's most celebrated writers – like Amos Oz, David Grossman, AB Yehoshua, and Sami Michael, who wrote in a public letter in 2010 that "Legitimizing the settlement enterprise and coming to terms with it severely harm Israel's chances of reaching a peace agreement with its Palestinian neighbors."
Regev is making clear that her government has no tolerance for that stance – and that artists who refuse to treat the settlements like any other part of Israel could suffer consequences. And in offering a special funding bonus to those who perform in the settlements, she is also furthering the practice of giving preferential treatment to the settlements at the expense of much needier communities elsewhere on Israel's periphery. As noted on the J Street Blog in April, a study has shown that "In 2015 settlement residents got a total of 570.1 million shekels, reflecting higher per capita funding than the average anywhere else in the country….Settlement residents also get 500 shekels more per capita than residents of the Negev, and 900 shekels more than residents of the north, even though those are defined as national priority areas."
Israeli opposition leaders like MK Stav Shaffir have denounced this special treatment. But as long as the current government remains in office, we're likely to continue to see rewards for the settlements and those who support them – and penalties for those believe that the settlement movement is undermining Israel's future. While in the past it may have been understood and accepted that Israelis could legitimately disagree about the legitimacy of the settlements, this government is increasingly forcing people to choose: If you're not with us, you're against us.
Logan Bayroff is a Senior Communications Associate at J Street. He's on Twitter at @Bayroff