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The Daily Feature: The Mesmerizing Electropop Vibes With a Strong Message Featured in Lisa Danaë's "Focus On Me"
Today's Daily Feature is "Focus On Me" by the American Electropop artist Lisa Danaë. This is what the artist had to say about this song:
As we continue to navigate through the ever-changing algorithms while learning how to adapt to living through a pandemic, it can be difficult to remember to take a deep breath, so I wrote a song that invites you to tap into your power. I continue to share my relatable journey with my newest electro-pop smash, which pulls you in straight away with a reverberating core message about being the best you can be.
"Focus On Me" features a major message of being the best you can be and just be yourself. The lyrics are supported by sweet vocals that sing dream-like, danceable melodies. This dream-like vibe is extended to the instrumentation as there are dreamy synthesizers. However, there is a very addicting dance beat featured throughout "Focus On Me", especially during the chorus. It is supported by chill background falsettos that set the sound to be an easy-breezy type of bop.
Lisa Danaë's newest single is a must-listen for its important message about true to oneself. But also, for its laidback vibes, addictive beats, and sweet vocals. With these elements, "Focus On Me" is a perfect song for your day today!
Make sure to check out "Focus On Me" Down below and let me know what you think!
About the Artist: Lisa Danaë
Lisa Danaë is a Filipina-American, California native, and Recording Academy Member – uses music as a platform to narrate her story of growth and empowerment. Her music is a combination of powerful pop hooks and heartfelt lyrics that draws inspiration from her past and how she intends to conquer her future.
Lisa's mission is to empower others with the powerful message of vulnerability. She leaves no topic or genre behind, from Power Pop singles with infectious melodies and strong hooks to haunting ballads. There will be something for everyone in her music.
Make sure to follow Lisa Danaë at the following:
Official Site | Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud | Instagram | TikTok | Youtube | Spotify
Tags: 2021, 20s, Electropop, feature, Features, Lisa Danaë, music, New Music, New Release, New Single, Review
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Strategy as a Wicked Problem
John C. Camillus
From the May 2008 Issue
Reprint: R0805G
In today's complex world, companies often find themselves facing confounding strategy problems. These issues are not just tough or persistent; they're "wicked"—a label used by urban planners for problems that cannot be definitively resolved. Poverty and terrorism are classic examples. A wicked problem has innumerable causes, morphs constantly, and has no correct answer. It can be tamed, however, with the right approach.
In this article, Camillus, a professor at the Katz Graduate School of Business, explains how executives can tell if they're dealing with a wicked strategy problem. In a 15-year study involving 22 companies, he identified five key criteria. If a problem involves many stakeholders with conflicting priorities; if its roots are tangled; if it changes with every attempt to address it; if you've never faced it before; and if there's no way to evaluate whether a remedy will work, chances are good that it's wicked. According to the author, the need for faster growth is, in all likelihood, a wicked issue for Wal-Mart.
Traditional linear processes—identifying the issue, gathering data, studying all the options, choosing one strategy—don't work with wicked problems. They instead demand social processes that constantly engage stakeholders, explore related issues, reevaluate the problem's definition, and reconsider the assumptions of stakeholders. A strong corporate identity is essential: It serves as a rudder that helps the enterprise navigate a sea of choices. Because it's impossible to tell which options are appropriate, executives should stop analyzing them and start experimenting with actions. Eventually they will make progress by muddling through. Envisioning possible futures and identifying moves that will realize the one the company hopes for will uncover promising remedies. That's how PPG Industries, a 100-year-old manufacturer, has successfully coped with its wicked strategy issues.
Over the past 15 years, I've been studying how companies create strategy—the most important responsibility of senior executives. Many corporations, I find, have replaced the annual top-down planning ritual, based on macroeconomic forecasts, with more sophisticated processes. They crunch vast amounts of consumer data, hold planning sessions frequently, and use techniques such as competency modeling and real-options analysis to develop strategy. This type of approach is an improvement because it is customer- and capability-focused and enables companies to modify their strategies quickly, but it still misses the mark a lot of the time.
Companies tend to ignore one complication along the way: They can't develop models of the increasingly complex environment in which they operate. As a result, contemporary strategic-planning processes don't help enterprises cope with the big problems they face. Several CEOs admit that they are confronted with issues that cannot be resolved merely by gathering additional data, defining issues more clearly, or breaking them down into small problems. Their planning techniques don't generate fresh ideas, and implementing the solutions those processes come up with is fraught with political peril. That's because, I believe, many strategy issues aren't just tough or persistent—they're "wicked."
Wickedness isn't a degree of difficulty. Wicked issues are different because traditional processes can't resolve them, according to Horst W.J. Rittel and Melvin M. Webber, professors of design and urban planning at the University of California at Berkeley, who described them in a 1973 article in Policy Sciences magazine. A wicked problem has innumerable causes, is tough to describe, and doesn't have a right answer, as we will see in the next section. Environmental degradation, terrorism, and poverty—these are classic examples of wicked problems. They're the opposite of hard but ordinary problems, which people can solve in a finite time period by applying standard techniques. Not only do conventional processes fail to tackle wicked problems, but they may exacerbate situations by generating undesirable consequences.
In the areas of public policy, software development, and project design, experts such as Peter DeGrace, Leslie Hulet Stahl, and Jeff Conklin have developed ways of spotting wicked problems and coping with them. DeGrace and Stahl wrote Wicked Problems, Righteous Solutions: A Catalogue of Modern Software Engineering Paradigms (1990); Conklin authored Dialogue Mapping: Building Shared Understanding of Wicked Problems (2006). Policy makers, in particular, have put this powerful concept to good use, but it has been largely missing from strategy discussions. Although many of the problems companies face are intractable, they have been slow to acknowledge the wickedness of strategy issues.
Between 1995 and 2005, I completed three research projects that provided insights into wicked strategy problems. First, as part of benchmarking projects that the APQC (formerly known as the American Productivity & Quality Center) and the Hong Kong Productivity Council conducted, I analyzed 22 North American, European, and Asian enterprises that use innovative strategic-planning techniques. They include ABB, Alcoa, Honeywell, John Deere, PPG Industries, Royal Dutch Shell, Siemens, Sprint, Whirlpool, and Xerox (China and USA). Second, I studied strategy implementation in depth at seven of these enterprises. Third, a colleague, Gaurab Bhardwaj, and I tracked DuPont's pharmaceuticals business to learn how companies draw up strategies when returns will accrue only in the long run and are highly uncertain. Based on these studies, I'll explore in the following pages how companies can tame—since they can't solve—such problems. I'll conclude by describing a planning process that helps PPG Industries tackle wicked issues.
What Is a Wicked Problem?
There are several ways to define a wicked problem, but according to Rittel and Webber, it has some or all of 10 characteristics. (See the sidebar "The 10 Properties of Wicked Problems.") Caveat: The criteria are not a set of tests that mechanically determine wickedness; rather, they provide insights that help you judge whether a problem is wicked.
The 10 Properties of Wicked Problems
In 1973, Horst W.J. Rittel and Melvin M. Webber, two Berkeley professors, published an article in Policy Sciences introducing the notion of "wicked" social problems. The article, "Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning," named 10 properties that distinguished wicked problems from hard but ordinary problems.
1. There is no definitive formulation of a wicked problem. It's not possible to write a well-defined statement of the problem, as can be done with an ordinary problem.
2. Wicked problems have no stopping rule. You can tell when you've reached a solution with an ordinary problem. With a wicked problem, the search for solutions never stops.
3. Solutions to wicked problems are not true or false, but good or bad. Ordinary problems have solutions that can be objectively evaluated as right or wrong. Choosing a solution to a wicked problem is largely a matter of judgment.
4. There is no immediate and no ultimate test of a solution to a wicked problem. It's possible to determine right away if a solution to an ordinary problem is working. But solutions to wicked problems generate unexpected consequences over time, making it difficult to measure their effectiveness.
5. Every solution to a wicked problem is a "one-shot" operation; because there is no opportunity to learn by trial and error, every attempt counts significantly. Solutions to ordinary problems can be easily tried and abandoned. With wicked problems, every implemented solution has consequences that cannot be undone.
6. Wicked problems do not have an exhaustively describable set of potential solutions, nor is there a well-described set of permissible operations that may be incorporated into the plan. Ordinary problems come with a limited set of potential solutions, by contrast.
7. Every wicked problem is essentially unique. An ordinary problem belongs to a class of similar problems that are all solved in the same way. A wicked problem is substantially without precedent; experience does not help you address it.
8. Every wicked problem can be considered to be a symptom of another problem. While an ordinary problem is self-contained, a wicked problem is entwined with other problems. However, those problems don't have one root cause.
9. The existence of a discrepancy representing a wicked problem can be explained in numerous ways. A wicked problem involves many stakeholders, who all will have different ideas about what the problem really is and what its causes are.
10. The planner has no right to be wrong. Problem solvers dealing with a wicked issue are held liable for the consequences of any actions they take, because those actions will have such a large impact and are hard to justify.
Wicked problems often crop up when organizations have to face constant change or unprecedented challenges. They occur in a social context; the greater the disagreement among stakeholders, the more wicked the problem. In fact, it's the social complexity of wicked problems as much as their technical difficulties that make them tough to manage. Not all problems are wicked; confusion, discord, and lack of progress are telltale signs that an issue might be wicked.
In my consulting work, I've found that when five characteristics are present in a strategy-related issue, executives agree they have a wicked problem on their hands. I'll list the key criteria below and use them to show how the challenge of growth that Wal-Mart faces today may well be wicked.
The problem involves many stakeholders with different values and priorities.
As Wal-Mart tries to grow faster, numerous stakeholders are watching nervously: employees and trade unions; shareholders, investors, and creditors; suppliers and joint venture partners; the governments of the U.S. and other nations where the retailer operates; and customers. That's not all; many nongovernmental organizations, particularly in countries where the retailer buys products, are closely monitoring it. Wal-Mart's stakeholders have different interests, and not all of them share the company's goals. Each group possesses the capacity, in varying degrees, to influence the company's choices and results. That wasn't the case in 1962, when Sam Walton set up his first store in Rogers, Arkansas.
The issue's roots are complex and tangled.
Wal-Mart's slowing growth in the U.S. is a consequence of, among other things, a saturated market, its customers' limited disposable incomes, and intense competition from rivals such as Target and Costco. Wal-Mart also faces resistance to imports, criticism about the wages and benefits it offers employees, and charges that illegal aliens work in its stores. All this has generated unfavorable publicity and strengthened people's opposition to Wal-Mart's opening stores in urban areas. Compounding the challenge, some of the company's advantages have turned into disadvantages. For instance, Wal-Mart's large market share in some product categories makes it tough to grow same-store sales rapidly. Its low-cost sourcing practices have rendered it vulnerable to the health and safety concerns that surround products made in China. Its supply chain expertise doesn't help in the case of fashion and organic products, and its low-price image hurts its ability to sell upscale products. Moreover, Wal-Mart's deep roots in rural America are of little use in overseas markets.
The problem is difficult to come to grips with and changes with every attempt to address it.
Wal-Mart has several options. It can try to boost revenues and profits by increasing sales from existing stores or raising prices, by expanding into urban markets in the U.S., by entering emerging economies, by diversifying into upscale product lines and creating new store brands, by forecasting better, or by cutting suppliers' margins. These strategies demand different capabilities, are risky, and sometimes conflict with one another.
Consider two of the least complex options before Wal-Mart. It could boost profits by hiking prices, but until now, everyday low prices have helped the company fend off rivals. If consumers resist higher prices, the retailer's sales will fall and profits will drop. To prevent that, Wal-Mart must first modify its value proposition, stock some upscale products, and develop a brand persona that warrants higher prices—challenges that have little to do with boosting profits immediately. Alternatively, Wal-Mart could enter a fast-growing emerging market, as it has done in India. It has found the going tough there, however. In India, local laws don't allow foreign companies to operate multibrand retail outlets, so Wal-Mart has had to develop a special business model: cash-and-carry wholesale stores for local retailers. Besides being unfamiliar, the strategy contains the nucleus of another problem. When India's laws change and allow Wal-Mart to sell to consumers, it will have to compete with the retailers it supplies.
The challenge has no precedent.
The two strategies we just discussed pose completely new challenges for the company. For instance, Wal-Mart would have to alter its brand image—for the first time in its 46-year history—to justify higher prices. Its recent foray into higher-priced garments is an experiment and doesn't appear to have worked. Similarly, Wal-Mart's India strategy differs from the M&A strategy it has used to enter other developing countries. Wal-Mart is a novice at managing partnerships, but it has had to team up with an Indian conglomerate, Bharti Enterprises. The group, whose primary business is telecommunications, wants to tap Wal-Mart's expertise to set up a supply chain to get Indian produce onto Western tables! Wal-Mart will have to work with India's bureaucracy to build the infrastructure that will support its operations, but in the past, dealing with governments hasn't been the company's strong suit.
There's nothing to indicate the right answer to the problem.
In Wal-Mart's case, going upmarket could boost profits, but it isn't easy for a discount chain to develop a relationship with higher-income shoppers. Moreover, the retailer cannot ignore its existing consumers, who shop at Wal-Mart for inexpensive products. How much of a focus on higher-margin products and higher-income customers is appropriate? The company has no way of knowing that in the beginning. In like vein, Wal-Mart's India strategy may be an effective way to enter a number of rapidly developing economies. However, the company will lose some of its competitive advantage when it shares expertise with local partners. What's the optimal level of knowledge transfer? That's impossible to estimate; Wal-Mart will find out only after it has shared best practices—and possibly created new rivals.
Growth is a hard problem for many companies, but it may not always be wicked. In Wal-Mart's case, as we have just seen, the challenge bears all the signs of wickedness.
Managing the Wickedness of Strategy
It's impossible to find solutions to wicked strategy problems, but companies can learn to cope with them. In accordance with Occam's razor, the simplest techniques are often the best.
Involve stakeholders, document opinions, and communicate.
Companies can manage strategy's wickedness not by being more systematic but by using social-planning processes. They should organize brainstorming sessions to identify the various aspects of a wicked problem; hold retreats to encourage executives and stakeholders to share their perspectives; run focus groups to better understand stakeholders' viewpoints; involve stakeholders in developing future scenarios; and organize design charrettes to develop and gain acceptance for possible strategies. The aim should be to create a shared understanding of the problem and foster a joint commitment to possible ways of resolving it. Not everyone will agree on what the problem is, but stakeholders should be able to understand one another's positions well enough to discuss different interpretations of the problem and work together to tackle it.
Companies must go beyond obtaining facts and opinions from stakeholders; they should involve them in finding ways to manage the problem. Getting a variety of opinions helps companies develop novel perspectives. It also strengthens collective intelligence, which counteracts groupthink and cognitive bias and enables groups to tackle problems more effectively than individuals, as Tom Atlee, the founder and codirector of the Co-Intelligence Institute, and Howard Bloom, a visiting scholar at New York University, have pointed out. Involving more stakeholders makes the planning process more complex, but it also expands the potential for creativity. Buy-in is an important result; companies should look not only for countermeasures but also for stakeholders to get on board with some of them.
Companies believe that shareholders and customers are important stakeholders, but employees are even more crucial. Their tacit knowledge and commitment often help enterprises develop innovative strategies. Merrill Lynch Credit Corporation, for example, places a great deal of emphasis on semistructured social processes, frequently organizing social events and encouraging employees to interact with one another. Everyone lunches in the company cafeteria, which allows employees to mix with senior executives routinely. A company intranet supports virtual social interactions such as blog-based discussions.
It may seem trivial, but documenting stakeholders' assumptions, ideas, and concerns on an ongoing basis is important. It helps enterprises understand stakeholders' hidden assumptions and gauge the effectiveness of the actions they have taken. Documents also help executives communicate ideas, which is essential if plans are to become reality.
All planning processes are, at their core, vehicles for communication with employees at all levels and between business units. This is particularly true of processes that tackle wicked issues. Smart companies emphasize such communication. At John Deere, corporate planners say that the quality of senior executives' communications with divisions is the most important indicator of the effectiveness of strategy planning. Whirlpool believes that even the "janitor on the third shift" should be familiar with the company's strategic goals. So assembly lines at Whirlpool shut down on a regular basis to enable managers and workers to discuss the progress of plans. At Shell a global electronic network, organized into forums with moderators, allows hundreds of managers and planners to discuss planning issues. At Merrill Lynch Credit Corporation, the corporate planners' three most important rules for effective planning are simple: "One, communicate! Two, communicate! And three, communicate!"
The documentation process is a good way to generate new ideas. It needn't be confined to recording decisions already reached; some companies have been creative in using the process to communicate the nature of the problems they face. In 2002 SAE International, an organization that sets standards and provides training in the automobile, aerospace, and commercial vehicle industries, was looking for new strategies. It commissioned a case study on its situation and then invited 30 senior executives with reputations for creative thinking to discuss the case with its top managers. SAE recorded the ideas that emerged during the session and has implemented several of them. Without the case study that captured the organization's dilemma, the brainstorming might not have been productive.
Define the corporate identity.
While a company dealing with a wicked problem has to experiment with many strategies, it must stay true to a sense of purpose. Mission statements are the foundations of strategy, but in a fast-changing world, companies change their "concept of business," "scope of activities," or "statement of purpose" more often than they used to. A company's identity, which serves as a touchstone against which it can evaluate its choices, is often a more enduring statement of strategic intent.
An organization's identity, like that of an individual, comprises the following:
Values. What is fundamentally important to the company?
Competencies. What does the company do better than others do?
Aspirations. How does the company envision and measure success?
An identity provides executives with direction and focuses attention on opportunities and threats. For instance, in August 2007, Campbell Soup decided it would sell off the Godiva business. The company didn't base the decision on financial performance; Godiva is a superpremium chocolate brand and a profitable business. Trouble is, Campbell's values, competencies, and aspirations focus on nutrition and simplicity—and Godiva chocolates don't fit in with that self-image. "Although the premium chocolate category is experiencing strong growth and Godiva is well-positioned for the future, the premium chocolate business does not fit with Campbell's focus on simple meals," explained Douglas R. Conant, Campbell Soup's CEO, while announcing the decision. In December 2007, the company reached an agreement to sell Godiva to Yildiz Holding, which owns the Turkish company Ülker Group, for $850 million. By relying on its identity, rather than on financial projections, Campbell made the decision to sell Godiva quickly and painlessly.
Focus on action.
In a world of Newtonian order, where there is a clear relationship between cause and effect, companies can judge what strategies they want to pursue. In a wicked world of complex and shadowy possibilities, enterprises don't know if their strategies are appropriate or what those strategies' consequences might be. They should therefore abandon the convention of thinking through all their options before choosing a single one, and experiment with a number of strategies that are feasible even if they are unsure of the implications.
To pick a starting point, executives can borrow a leaf from policy makers. Bureaucrats focus on the few actions they will be able to take rather than the myriad options before them, Yale University's Charles Lindblom pointed out in 1959. Doing so enables policy makers to analyze options quickly and make decisions that meet the goals of several constituents. Calling it the science of muddling through, Lindblom argued that over time, governments will make progress by constantly making small policy changes. In a similar way, companies can formulate strategies that will deliver results in various scenarios—I call these robust actions—and use Pareto analysis to prioritize a small number of them that will produce the most impact. That's what PPG Industries does—as shown in the exhibit below, "PPG's Framework for Responding to Wicked Issues," and described later in this article.
PPG's Framework for Responding to Wicked Issues
PPG Industries develops strategies after seeking and documenting stakeholders' assumptions, preferences, and alternate views. It evaluates the appropriateness of the strategies it draws up against its statement of identity and continually scans the environment and tests assumptions to see if it needs to change course. The assessment of possible scenarios helps PPG formulate new options, and its managers apply Pareto analysis to identify a small number of actions that are likely to have a large impact.
However, even executives willing to embark on a number of robust actions often become indecisive when they realize that every response to a wicked issue will alter the problem the company faces and necessitate another change in strategy. They keep analyzing the issue rather than doing something about it. They would do better to try out some strategy as a starting point; the consequences will give them a better handle on the real problem they face. So, to tackle wicked problems, smart companies conduct experiments, launch innovative pilot programs, test prototypes—and make mistakes from which they can learn. Companies like GE and Fujitsu encourage risk taking and celebrate thoughtfully implemented initiatives even if they turn out to be business failures. These companies believe that unexpected and even unsatisfactory results contribute to organizational learning.
Adopt a "feed-forward" orientation.
Companies design planning systems to work based on feedback; they compare results with plans and take corrective actions. Though it's a powerful source of learning, feedback has limited relevance in a wicked context. Feedback allows enterprises to refine fundamentally sound strategies; wicked problems require executives to come up with novel ones. Feedback helps people learn from the past; wicked problems arise from unanticipated, uncertain, and unclear futures. Feedback helps people learn in contexts such as the movie Groundhog Day, where the protagonist (Phil Connors) encounters the same set of circumstances every day, which enables him to perfect his responses over time. Wicked problems arise in circumstances such as those in the TV series Quantum Leap, where the protagonist (Sam Beckett) finds himself in an unfamiliar time and place in each episode. Comprehending the challenge he faces is itself the initial problem.
To develop a feed-forward orientation as a complement to the feedback practices they currently use, corporations must learn to envision the future. In this variation of scenario planning, enterprises should describe the set of external and internal circumstances that they would like to see in the next 10, 20, or 50 years. This will open executives' minds to the range and unpredictability of possibilities that the future may bring. Enterprises must then pursue strategies that will increase the likelihood of those circumstances' becoming reality. For instance, in the early 1980s, Alcoa envisioned a future in which aluminum, rather than steel, would be automobile manufacturers' metal of choice. In 1982, it allied with Audi to make that happen. By the mid-1990s, the collaboration between the two companies had produced the breakthrough Audi Space Frame, an aluminum structure into which car body panels are integrated so that they can perform a load-bearing function, which later became the industry norm.
Wicked strategy issues don't occur according to a timetable. Companies must constantly scan the environment for weak signals rather than conduct periodic analyses of the business landscape. (See, for example, George S. Day and Paul J.H. Schoemaker, "Scanning the Periphery," HBR November 2005.) It's increasingly difficult to identify the boundaries of the arenas companies should watch. Changes in one industry or segment often affect companies in others. For instance, who could have imagined that changes brought about by the computer industry and the internet would affect the music industry so radically? Businesses should scan sources of regulatory and technological change in addition to monitoring suppliers, competitors, potential entrants, and customers all over the world.
To forge effective approaches to wicked issues, executives must explore and monitor the assumptions behind their strategies. One way of doing that is through discovery-driven planning, where executives list the assumptions underlying the revenues and income they expect and test the validity of each premise. (See Rita Gunther McGrath and Ian C. MacMillan, "Discovery-Driven Planning," HBR July–August 1995.) By sharing those assumptions, executives can better align decision making throughout the organization.
Case Study: How PPG Battles Wickedness
PPG Industries' strategic-planning practices constitute an effective response to wicked strategy issues. The company, founded over a century ago as a plate-glass manufacturer, makes chemicals and coatings too. With 125 manufacturing facilities and partners in 25 countries, PPG is a global player. Although it operates in mature industries, the company has paid dividends every year since 1899—and has maintained or increased dividends every year since 1972.
PPG first became aware of strategy's wickedness in the late 1980s. Two missteps taught the company that diversification, be it into other industries or countries, is fraught with peril. Realizing that growth was slowing down, PPG expanded its portfolio by acquiring medical electronics businesses from Honeywell and Litton Industries in 1986 and from Allegheny International in 1987. However, the biomedical industry's volatility and the units' focus on customization didn't fit the company's competence in low-cost, standardized production. Seven years later, PPG had to sell the division. The company's other wicked challenge was China, where PPG's initial focus was glass. Although it entered the market in 1987, PPG's operations there were unprofitable until the mid-1990s. The company then realized that it would have to focus on coatings if it wanted to make money in China.
These experiences changed the company's approach to planning strategy in three ways. First, in the mid-1980s, PPG revisited its mission and articulated its identity in a document called the Blueprint. The company stated that it valued steady growth that met stakeholders' expectations; that it believed it was capable of achieving high levels of operational efficiency and using technology to develop innovations; and that it aspired to remain a profitable global player in all its businesses. Since then, PPG's identity has been more or less unchanged. The 2006 iteration mentioned the same core values and expressed a similar aspiration, with some modification in PPG's goals. It also identified a richer set of competencies. Although PPG's business portfolio has changed, with coatings assuming primacy over glass in the 2000s, its identity has endured.
PPG's Alternate Futures
To tackle wicked strategy problems, PPG Industries tries to envisage different futures it might face. In 2004, it drew up four possible scenarios by combining the biggest opportunity—namely, entering emerging markets—and the biggest challenge, the cost of energy, it would face in the next 10 years.
Cost of energy#moderate and stable#Turn up the heat*Success will depend on capturing share with new products#Promised land*Success will require having the resources to pursue new opportunities#high and volatile#Winter of discontent*Success will demand a change in strategic direction#Cool the fire*Success will require more-efficient processes##weak and slow#strong and fast##Opportunity for differentiation and growth in emerging markets
This allowed PPG to identify three strategies that will deliver results in any of the four circumstances:
pursue operational excellence by emphasizing cost efficiency and quality;
enhance differentiation through technology and service innovation; and
generate cash.
Second, PPG's plans have become living documents. They change frequently as the result of technology reviews conducted by teams of senior and R&D executives; examinations of the business portfolio at the corporate level; brainstorming sessions that promote fresh thinking by executives and employees; and scanning of markets, technologies, and regulatory issues by its three business units. PPG's executives say that the planning process is continuous, with the company constantly identifying problems and developing responses. The company often draws up possible scenarios and works to create the future it desires. The exhibit "PPG's Alternate Futures" shows the future scenarios it drew up in 2004 after making assumptions about two key variables: the cost of the energy required for its manufacturing operations and the extent of the opportunity to compete globally through differentiation. When PPG's senior executives studied the scenarios, they identified three kinds of actions that would deliver results in all four cases:
Emphasize operational excellence through cost efficiency (using lean manufacturing techniques and improved logistics) and quality (through Six Sigma programs).
Enhance differentiation through technology-based innovations and new services that will meet customer needs.
Generate cash to support strategic initiatives, to manage the portfolio of businesses, and to pay dividends.
Using Pareto analysis, PPG then identified the 20% of strategy options that would have 80% of the impact that could be derived from pursuing all of them. Developing a technology that would reduce the minimum efficient scale of its manufacturing facilities, executives felt, would be a key action. Reducing the scale would allow PPG to respond to a range of issues:
It would enable the company to expand into countries and regions that lacked the demand to support the scale of its current technology.
It would reduce warehousing and inventory levels as well as improve delivery times by allowing factories to be located closer to customers.
It would use less energy in each location and disperse energy consumption.
It would require lower levels of investment by the company.
The efforts to reduce the scale would most likely give rise to newer, more efficient, and more reliable technologies.
Not surprisingly, PPG has invested heavily in developing such a technology.
PPG's approach to strategy is comprehensive, with the various techniques the company uses reinforcing one another and enabling it to beat back the wicked challenges it faces. Partly as a consequence, even though PPG operates in highly competitive markets, it reported revenues of $11.2 billion in 2007—a 13% increase over 2006—and net income of $834 million, compared with $711 million in 2006.• • •
When confronting frustrating problems, an enterprise would do well to recognize that they may be wicked. Moving from denial to acceptance is important; otherwise, companies will continue to use conventional processes and never effectively address their strategy issues. Moreover, when executives look afresh at the problems they face, they shouldn't be shocked to find so many wicked ones. "The easy problems have been solved. Designing systems is difficult because there is no consensus on what the problems are, let alone how to solve them," wrote Mary Poppendieck, the lean-software development guru, in 2002. That's true for many businesses today.
A version of this article appeared in the May 2008 issue of Harvard Business Review.
John C. Camillus (camillus@pitt.edu) is the Donald R. Beall Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Pittsburgh's Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business.
This article is about STRATEGIC PLANNING

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Largely unseen by the public at Oscar-time, 2006's Academy Award-nominated short subjects are given their due in this collection of these remarkable live action and animated films. Included are the Oscar winners WEST BANK STORY, a musical comedy set among the West Bank's highly competitive falafel stands, and the animated THE DANISH POET, which follows a dispirited poet's journey to Norway to meet legendary writer Sigrid Undset. It also features the nominees BINTA AND THE GREAT IDEA, ERAMOS POCOS (ONE TOO MANY), HELMER & SON, THE SAVIOUR, LIFTED, THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL, MAESTRO, and NO TIME FOR NUTS. Rounding out this release are five bonus animated shorts, including Bill Plympton's hilarious GUIDE DOG, the story of a canine's new job aiding the blind, and its disastrous results.


This is a rare and unique opportunity to purchase one of the last remaining development sites along the prestigious and highly regarded Warren Road in Donaghadee. A detached bungalow currently sits on the site. Full planning permission has been granted to build two new detached dwellings, one of which will have stunning views of the Irish Sea, Copeland Islands and Donaghadee Sound to the front, and the other will have fantastic country views to the rear but also sea glimpses. There is also the option to develop and renovate the existing property with a view to building an additional house to the rear.
Planning permission for the front property, where the bungalow currently sits, is for a two-storey detached family home of up to 3,000 square feet. The ground floor comprises living room, dining room, family room, open plan kitchen with casual snug area, utility room and WC. Upstairs there are four bedrooms,one with en suite shower room plus a study and a family bathroom.Additionally it may be possible to create a master bedroom suite in the roofspace. There is a single garage for the front property at the rear.
The property to the rear is a storey and a half, up to 3,000 square feet detached family home with planning consisting of living room, dining room, family room, kitchen open plan to casual snug area, utility room and downstairs WC. Upstairs there are four bedrooms, including master with en suite shower room, study or fifth bedroom and a bathroom. Additionally a master suite may be created in the roofspace. There is a single garage for this property too.
Both properties will enjoy south facing rear gardens with considerable privacy due to the profusion of mature shrubs and hedging.This site will not only appeal to developers ,but also families who wish to have relatives close, by yet affording them the independence they often desire.The total site extends to circa half an acre.This really is one of the last remaining opportunities to purchase such an outstanding site.Full plans are available in the office.
Heading into Donaghadee along Warren Road number 106 is on your right.
Check out the property I found on PropertyPal.com: 106 Warren Road, Donaghadee BT21 0PQ.


The Planet is Western Washington University's award-winning environmental magazine. A part of the environmental studies program at the Huxley College of the Environment, the student-run Planet is proud to be the only magazine in the Northwest dedicated to covering the environment. Since its start in 1979, our magazine has won 49 regional and national awards. The print magazine is published quarterly, while the website contains additional reporting. It can be seen at http://theplanetmagazine.net.


To keep world-class academic departments at the top of their fields and advance the college's reputation as a premier research institution, while also addressing our challenge to hire a new generation of teachers and researchers, Cornell Engineering offers many kinds of support to new and veteran faculty.
Cornell Engineering faculty can find information on innovative and effective teaching methods, grant writing and administration, support for female and underrepresented minority faculty, and many more helpful topics.
You can explore the many resources available to Cornell faculty interested in entrepreneurship by checking out the website Your Entrepreneurship Roadmap.
Find the information you need in these sections.
The Research Administration Service Center (RASC) provides faculty with efficient, friendly and professional pre-award research administration and proposal development services.
A group advocating for more women faculty, improving the situation for dual-career hires, reducing student bias against women and under-represented faculty teachers, and encouraging more women to continue to advanced degrees and to pursue faculty careers.


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Statement on the Groundbreaking
for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array
The U.S. National Science Foundation joins today with our North American partner, Canada, and with the European Southern Observatory, Spain, and Chile to prepare for a spectacular new instrument. The Atacama Large Millimeter Array will expand our vision of the universe with "eyes" that pierce the shrouded mantles of space through which light cannot penetrate.
I extend both my congratulations and my regret for not being able to join you. As you break ground for a new observatory, I will join the President at a ceremony to recognize scientists and engineers who have broken ground with far-reaching observations throughout their careers. They will be receiving the distinguished National Medal of Science.
The plateau where ALMA's antennae will rise is one of the most starkly beautiful places on Earth. It's not enough for the scientific community to identify an outstanding site for astronomy; we rely also on the generosity and cooperation of a willing host. Chile has a long history of opening regions of exceptional scientific merit to the world community.
Last year, I participated in the official opening of Gemini South near La Serena. Gemini is but one in a long line of facilities that have taken advantage of the observing conditions in Chile and paved the way for one more.
Today marks the official start of construction. But the ALMA partnership also breaks ground with a novel collaboration that ensures equal access by astronomers on at least three continents. International partnerships are quickly becoming the norm of the millennium, enabling organizations and nations to combine funds to achieve greater scientific capability. NSF is proud to participate in the creation of an instrument that will provide unprecedented power for science and immeasurable knowledge for all.
ALMA's 64 radio telescopes will serve as windows through which scientists and the curious public will "see" back in time and far away, to where the earliest and most distant galaxies were forming.
Our investments in ALMA's educational programs will be as important as our outlays for construction, operations, and scientific research. With our ALMA partners, we will engage a younger generation of scientists and engineers in bonds that leap national borders and integrate education with research.
We at NSF extend our best wishes for the speedy completion of ALMA and for a lifetime of spectacular achievements.


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Veteran gets housing help to get back on track: Terry's story
Terry Jackson
As he neared his apartment in Inkster last fall, Terry Jackson could see the flames. He was returning from days on the road as a truck driver, delivering goods, and making a living. Terry watched as the blaze, caused by faulty wiring, destroyed the place where he had been renting.
"I felt fortunate, knowing that I could have been there, asleep after a long trip, and trapped by the fire," said Terry, 60. "I also felt worried. I didn't want to be homeless."
Terry went to a motel that rents by the week. He then contacted the VA. Terry is an Army veteran.
The VA referred Terry to Southwest Solutions' Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program. SSVF provides rental assistance and support services to help low-income veterans experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. Terry began working with SSVF housing specialist Karah Adams.
"Because of the Covid crisis, moving the veterans who need our assistance into apartments has been very challenging," said Karah, who is working remotely during the pandemic.
Terry remained in the motel for three months. SSVF paid the rent. Karah also arranged for groceries to be delivered to his door, since Terry was suffering from a bad hip that required hip-replacement surgery to stop the severe pain and allow him to resume his job as a truck driver. Terry needed to wait to have the surgery until he was in stable housing.
Terry and Karah both searched for a place for Terry to go. Terry eventually found one in northwest Detroit. It's the first floor of a rental house. Karah spoke with the landlord to ensure that the living conditions are good.
"Terry is a self-sufficient person and he was very determined to locate housing so he could move his life forward," Karah said.
Terry moved in on New Year's Day. The rent is $600 a month, including utilities. SSVF is paying Terry's rent for several months. The program also provided a bed and household goods, and is continuing to provide grocery deliveries.
A week after getting his new place, Terry had his hip-replacement. The surgery was successful, and he is making plans for his future.
"My goal is to start my own trucking company," Terry said. "I also want to become a homeowner."
Terry's career as a transportation operator began when he decided to enlist in the Army and learn those skills. He was 19 years old, and his mother was very sick with a kidney ailment at the time.
"My mother asked me what I was going to do with my life to take care of myself," Terry said. "I told her that I was going to join the service. It was my commitment to her. After I started in the Army, my mother was in the hospital in a coma, and I came home. I held her hand, and told her I kept my promise. She opened her eyes briefly. Then she passed away."
"To this day, my mom inspires me to take charge of my life," Terry continued. "I've needed help recently so I can do for myself again, and I'm thankful for all I've received from SSVF and Southwest Solutions so I can recover and then attain my goals."
Posted in Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF), Veterans Services


Millennials are becoming retailers' largest demographic in both population size and market influence with significant buying power due to their constant access to technology. Over 85% of millennials own a smartphone compared to 71% of the total U.S. population, and their mobile-first experiences are set to reshape the economy and change the ways in which consumers trade. Already, a quarter of millennials recently surveyed report 100% of their online purchases were on smartphones — and marketers in retail are taking note, but in some cases, not fast enough.
1. Customer Journey It's important to think about the holistic customer experience throughout the entire journey. Brands should focus on weaving in the journey, which integrates consumer touch points before, during and after the transaction has been completed.
2. Seamless Interactions It's important to provide seamless online and in-store experiences. Millennials like to converse and interact with retailers across multiple platforms without disruption, and their expectations of in-store and online interactions are similar. Most millennials will research options online before heading into a store and they expect the various channels to complement each other with relevant and consistent communications, allowing them to easily execute their purchases.
3. Visual Effectiveness and GuidanceVisual effectiveness is crucial as this will drive the first contact and initial impact to consumers. Brands need to think carefully about how they present product details along with images, emojis, stickers, ads, etc. Personalization is key to generate loyalty and to help consumers discover the most relevant content, guiding them along the path to purchase.
4. Device Agnostic Creating a shopping experience which is optimized for any device is key as millennials are known to shop on a multitude of devices. A mobile-optimized site or a hybrid app which is responsive and can scale on any device is imperative. Providing a mobile-optimized checkout process is just as important as the responsive site. The traditional long checkout process will not resonate well with the tech-savvy millennials.
5. Social SharingMany millennials seek advice online, and enjoy declaring purchases and opinions through social media. Social media sharing is a key feature and even a necessity for millennials, providing a social sharing option as a core component of brand marketing will help drive adoption.
6. Geo-Targeting More than half of the millennial population allows location data on their mobile phones. The younger generation is more receptive to geo-targeting than any other demographic as it provides more relevant and contextual offers at a specific instance.
7. Loyalty Programs and Coupons Millennials are heavy users of coupons and are always on the lookout for deals. Apart from coupons, loyalty programs are a major consideration for retailers to implement to keep them bound to a brand.
In order to remain competitive in the retail landscape, retailers will need to cater to the spending habits and tendencies of millennials. Accenture estimates that millennials in the U.S. spend approximately $600 billion a year, a number that will rise to $1.4 trillion, or 30% of total retail sales volume, by 2020. Born in the unique world of technology disruptions, this mobile-first generation has distinct media and shopping habits and it is poised to create a tidal shift in the retail industry. Their access to mobile devices, impulse buying behavior, coupled with purchasing power, greatly influence what, how, and where they purchase.


Sometimes, the simplest plans are the smartest. And the most illegal.
That's certainly the case with a group of accused criminals, including six American stock traders and two Ukrainian hackers, along with 23 other defendants—who stand accused of running a very, very lucrative scheme for almost five years, according to the AP.
The scam was simple: Hack into the unpublished databases of services that issue press releases for companies. Gather information about forthcoming announcements from companies, usually sales or profit announcements that could easily precipitate a rise or fall in stock prices. Then use that intelligence to anticipate what stocks should be bought (or sold), before the data goes public. Finally, profit. It's an absurdly straightforward crime, and one that has remained unnoticed for a remarkably long time.
The SEC's announcement about the fraud charges has more details. For example, the two Ukrainian ringleaders of the scheme "recruited" stock traders, who hailed from the US, Russia, Ukraine, and other European countries, using a sort of highlight reel that showed their skills at procuring the information. The SEC also says that the duo posed as employees at the press release services, including major companies like Business Wire, which publishes press releases for many, many technology companies, and PR Newswire, which is one of the most recognizable names in the business, as well as Marketwired. If you've worked in either media or the corporate world, odds are good you've dealt with one of these services before—and for the past five years, they've been infiltrated by this ring.
So, what types of releases was the group using to make trades? The AP gives us a few examples. In one case, a press release from Panera—yes, the salad-and-sammy place—was scheduled to announce bad news. "The hacking ring bet correctly the stock would fall when the news came out, and turned a profit of about $1 million the very next day, according to the indictment," writes David Porter. In another instance, Align Technology—the company that makes Invisalign—was set to announce good news about its revenue. Using that intel, Porter says the ring made more than $1.4 million.
Then there's this remarkable anecdote from the SEC's announcement, which details an as-of-yet-unnamed company's press release from 2013. The news was that the company was going to "revise" its earnings to reflect a downturn. The SEC explains that there were only 36 minutes between when the press release was submitted to the news service and the announcement. Yet within ten minutes of sending the news to the service, traders were able to make more than $500,000 selling the flailing company's stock.
Whoa. It's certainly a clever scheme, and it's also a terrifying one—not just because of the speed with which the information was utilized, but rather because it the security gap between the companies and their PR partners was that gaping wide. Let it be a reminder, even for all of us non-corporate entities: If you're sharing personal information with any third party, you should probably assume it's not private.


With over 800 miles of coastline and thousands of lakes, there are many great opportunities for fishing and boating in California. And as with boating in any state, boat registration is required. Here is some general California boat registration information.
CA boat registration is required for sailboats over eight feet long and any powered watercraft, even on if only used on private lakes. However, if you solely row or paddle your watercraft, CA boat registration is not necessary. And if you are just visiting and/or renting a boat, California boat registration is not required.
In addition to boat registration, by January 2018, California boaters also will be required to obtain a California Boater Card. This new law will be phased in by age, required by anyone 20 years old or younger driving a boat. It is an exam on safe operation of boats with motors which can be completed with classroom instruction or online. Cost is about $10 and will be good for a lifetime. The Division of Boating and Waterways projects issuing these cards as early as Fall of 2017.
While investigating California boat registration info, I also found there was great attention to the prevention of invasive quagga and zebra mussels. In fact, there is a "Mussel Fee Paid" sticker which must be displayed on the hull next to the CA boat registration sticker. All boats leaving a waterway should be dry, clean, and inspected to prevent spread of this invasive species to other waterways in every state, not just California.
When learning where to boat, be sure to investigate California boating facilities such as ramps and marinas. You also can check on the "Latest News" and Safety information, which is grouped by water craft length. Carefully read all of the California boat registration information. If in doubt, go ahead and register with proof of ownership and filling out a form. Then, you don't have to worry about it and can fully enjoy your time on the water.


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Q: Conditional operations in RxJava code I'm new to RxJava and often find myself resorting to solutions like the ones below for conditional operations. Here I want to chain two calls in sequence, and then return an int depending on what the outcome of the call chain is. Are there any "rxified" way to improve this code? (using blockingSingle here since I'm passing the resulting int to a legacy application to which I cannot push values as of yet)
return restApiAdapter.closePosition(request)
            .flatMap(dealReference -> restApiAdapter.getDealConfirmationObservable(dealReference.getValue())
                .map(dealConfirmationResponse -> {
                    if (dealConfirmationResponse.getDealStatus() == DealStatus.ACCEPTED) {
                        return SUCCESS.getValue();
                    } else {
                        return FAIL.getValue();
                    }
                })
            )
            .onErrorReturn(e -> ZorroReturnValues.BROKER_SELL_FAIL.getValue())
            .blockingSingle();

A: After moving the logic to check for ACCEPTED/REJECTED orders as suggested by @andrei-macarie, the code now looks more like this
return restApiAdapter.closePosition(request)
            .flatMap(dealReference -> restApiAdapter.getDealConfirmationObservable(dealReference.getValue())
                .map(dealConfirmationResponse -> SUCCESS.getValue()
            )
            .onErrorReturn(e -> FAIL.getValue())
            .blockingSingle();

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Chateaugay: (518) 497-6781
Malone: (518) 483-1240
We have years of experience caring for families, from all walks of life. Each family comes to us because they know we are leaders in our profession, dedicated to excellence in service, and have the highest integrity.
Chateaugay Funeral Home - The Chateaugay Funeral Home, formerly known as the Chateaugay Undertaking Establishment, Inc., moved to its current location in 1936. The business was owned by several partners over the years. Bert purchased the business from the family of Terry Rabideau in 1995. Emily joined the family business in 2002.
St. Mary-Murphy-Wilcox Funeral Home - In 1947, Francis St. Mary opened St. Mary Funeral Home and then moved to the current location at 563 East Main Street, Malone in 1953. In 1973, Mr. St. Mary purchased Murphy Funeral Home from Mary Murphy and combined the two businesses forming St. Mary-Murphy Funeral Home. Francis's son, F. Thomas St. Mary joined the family business in 1974 and continued to operate the funeral home until he sold the business to Bert Wilcox and his daughter, Emily in 2013.
Our Valued Staff
Emily Wilcox Hanley Funeral Director
Emily, Bert's daughter, graduated from Chateaugay Central School in 1995, SUNY Potsdam in 1999 with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and SUNY Canton in 2001 with an Associate's Degree in Mortuary Science. She became a licensed funeral director in 2003 and began working at the Chateaugay Funeral Home. After the purchase of St. Mary-Murphy Funeral Home, Emily became the licensed manager at the Malone office and continues to serve the Chateaugay and Malone communities.
Emily and her husband, Kyle live in Brainardsville with their daughter, Claire.
Hubert "Bert" Wilcox Owner/Funeral director
Bert graduated from Chateaugay Central School in 1971 and Canton ATC in 1974 with an Associate's Degree in Mortuary Science. Following graduation, he served his residency with Fortune Funeral Home in Saranac Lake and then moved to Rome, NY to work with the Martin J. Nunn Funeral Home. After returning to the North Country in 1978, he and his wife, Brenda, ran a small store (Bert and B.J.'s). During this time, Bert worked for several area funeral homes offering professional services. In 1980, he became employed full time as a funeral director for St. Mary-Murphy Funeral Home in Malone. In 1995, he purchased the Chateaugay Funeral Home and in 2013, he purchased St. Mary-Murphy Funeral Home. He continues to serve both the Chateaugay and Malone communities.
Bert and his wife, Brenda live at Chateaugay Lake and have two daughters, Emily and Brandie.
Jaimee Rice Funeral Director
Jaimee became a NYS licensed cosmetologist in 2007 from Ulster County BOCES. In 2008, she graduated from SUNY Ulster with an A.A.S in Business Administration. In 2015, she graduated from Hudson Valley Community College with an Associate's in Mortuary Science. She is from Saugerties, NY and has relocated to Chateaugay to work at the Chateaugay Funeral Home and St. Mary-Murphy Funeral Home.
Chateaugay Funeral Home
Chateaugay, NY 12920
www.chateaugayfuneralhome.com
St Mary- Murphy-Wilcox Funeral Home
563 E. Main St
Malone, NY 12953
© 2022 Chateaugay Funeral Home. All Rights Reserved - Made with love by funeralOne.


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called the inside of a calf his library, you have a much better. You have learned the weapons of both sides in the enemy's camp. The Jesuit school educated and inspired Descartes—the Talmud school you. What wonderful ways hath history! But you will go further yet. I see you with a broom at the mast-head, like our Admiral Tromp, sailing the ocean, as a sign that you have cleared the elements of life of arbitrary prejudices."


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Watch 'Crime and Film Noir Drama Specials' with our fast and smooth mobile player, optimized for your phone and tablet
Crime and Film Noir Drama Specials
Episode 2: Live Shock
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Episode 2: Live Shock: Crime and Film Noir Drama Specials
If you're in the mood to watch crime, film noir or other experimental dramas, check out these great single-episode drama specials.
In "Stay Still" (2015), police detective Park Chan Soo (Lee Moon Shik) sees his world turn upside down when his daughter disappears and his good friend, Yang Joon Sik (Lee Joo Seung), is arrested for the crime.
In "Monster" (2014), Tae Suk (Yun Joon Suk) is student at an elite university who accidentally kills a young woman, but can his well-connected family get lawyer Hyun Soo (Kang Sung Min) to keep Tae Suk out of jail?
In "Ward 7" (2014), Su Jin (Shin Yi) and Ji Hoon (Kim Jung Min) are police detectives who are married to each other. What will they do when they have to have to a test tube baby to investigate a new case?
In "The Tale of the Bookworm" (2014), scholar Su Han (Han Joo Wan) is commissioned to hunt down a missing revolutionary book during the Joseon Dynasty.
In "Live Shock" (2015), Eun Beom (Baek Sung Hyun) is a young man who is raising his little sister, Eun Byeol (Kim Ji Young) while operating a successful website for part-time job seekers. When he agrees to appear on a talk show, it turns into a dangerous hostage situation.
Other great titles to explore in this genre include "The Unwelcome Guest" (2013), "Knife Barber" (2012), "The Great Dipper" (2012), "Pandemonium" (2012), "I'm a Butterfly" (2010), "True Steel" (2012) and "Their Perfect Day" (2013).
"Crime and Film Noir Drama Specials" is a collection of one-episode drama specials that originally aired as part of the "KBS Drama Special" series. Check out all the other great drama specials in this collection: "Romantic Comedy Drama Specials Part 1," "Romantic Comedy Drama Specials Part 2," "School-Themed Drama Specials" and "Unexpected-Life Drama Specials."
Park Sung Woong
Nam Gyu Ri
Han Joo Wan
Ahn Nae Sang
Cast - Crime and Film Noir Drama Specials
Ki Tae Young
Kwak Hee Sung
Baek Sung Hyun
Crime and Film Noir Drama Specials Volunteer Team
Italian, English, Spanish, French and 2 more languages


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2019-2022: Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the Department of Film Studies, King's College London
2018-2019: Postdoctoral Fellow – Department of Film Studies - King's College London
2013-2018: Ph.D. In Media and Communication, Goldsmiths College, London.
Titled Home Alone: Media Habituation as Warfare
Supervisors: Dr. Pasi Valiaho and Dr. Susan Schuppli
2011-2013: M.A In Film Studies (With Hons.) Tel Aviv University, Department of the Arts
2010 - 2011: M.F.A Columbia University, School of the Arts (incomplete)
2006- 2010: B.A Film and Television Studies, Tel Aviv University
Teaching and Research Experience
2018-2019: Associate Lecture, Film Formations, MA Module, Film Studies Department, King's College
2017-2018: Associate Lecturer (Autumn Term) Landscape and Power, BA Module, Visual Cultures Department, Goldsmiths College
2016-2017: Seminar Leader (Autumn Term) The Archaeology of the Moving Image, BA Module, Media and Communications Department, Goldsmiths College. Seminar Leader (Spring Term) Media Arts, BA Module, Media and Communications Department, Goldsmiths College (Lecturer: Joanna Zylisnka)
2015-2016: Practice Based Workshop in Filmmaking (Autumn Term) MA Module, Media and Communications Department, Goldsmiths College
Seminar Leader (Spring Term). Media Arts, BA Module, Media and Communications Department, Goldsmiths College
2014-2015: Seminar Leader (Spring Term)
Media Arts, BA Module, Media and Communications Department, Goldsmiths College
Rambo in Palestine: Cinema, War and Desert Terrirtories (Forthcmoing), Screen Journal, Oxford Press
Spectacle As Camouflage, Word Records Journal, Issue 2, November 2018
I am Spartacus: Individualising Visual media and Warfare, Media Culture & Society. Sage, May 2018.
The Kitchen Knife: A Stab in the Eye of Domestic Enclosure. Different Skies Journal, Issue 4. "Sixteen Summers", July 2016.
On images that Write Themselves, Takriv Journal, In Volume 9 "The Essay Film". Ed. By Ohad Landsman, 2015, (Available In Hebrew).
The Glow that Illuminates and the Glare that Obscures, in The Documentary Moment, ed. Joshua Malitsky and Patrik Sjoberg, Indiana University Press, 2019 (Forthcoming)
Other Essays
This is Not a Hole. Invited piece, Sonic Acts Academy edited volume. February 2018
File: Hito Steyerl, Ma'aravon, volume 10, Ed. Laliv Melamed and Josua Simon, 2017 (Available In Hebrew).
One Dimension Too Many: Revisiting Lumiere, Erev Rav, online journal, 2014 (Available In Hebrew).
The Hole in the Palestinian House, Erev Rav, Online Journal, 2013 (Available In Hebrew)
Presentations and Conferences
Sonic Acts Academy 2020, Invited talk titled:
Healing and Killing in the Underground - 28.02.2020
(with Eitan Efrat)
Goethe University (Frankfurt), Film and Media Studies Department, Invited seminar:
The Magic Mountain - 28.01.2020
Ben Gurion University, Art History Department, Invited Talk titled:
Rambo in the Negev: Cinema, War and Desert Lands
Cambridge University, Department of Middle Eastern Studies, Invited Talk titled:
The Light that Exposes and the Glow that Obscures
King's College, Department of Film Studies, Invited Talk titled
Sonic Acts, Amsterdam, 2018. Invited presentation titled: Sinkholes in significations
Doc's Kingdom, Seminar of Documentary Film.
Agency, Seminar, Van Leer Institute, Jerusalem. Paper titled: "Obfuscation: how the military learnt not to worry and love Visible Evidence".
Visible Evidence: Bloomington Indiana, Paper Titled: "Obfuscation: how the military learnt not to worry and love Visible Evidence".
DocoSophia, Film and Philosophy conference, Film Department, Tel Aviv University. Paper titled: "Face Off: Habitual Media as Warfare".
Annual Conference, The Center for Cultural Inquiry, UCL, Paper Titled: "Communicating to Remain Separate".
Visible Evidence Annual Conference, Pre-constituted Panel Titled: "The Right to Collect".
DocAviv Film Festival Workshop titled: "New Materiality in Film".
SCMS annual Conference, Chicago, Paper: "The Death of the Cameraman".
Public Roundtable and Workshop, Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths, full presentation.
LSE Annual Graduate Conference, Media and Communications Department
XV MAGIS – Gorizia International Film Studies Spring Schoo;, paper titled "The Kitchen Knife"
Public Roundtable and Workshop, Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths, full presentation
Docaviv Film Festival Public Lecture titled: "Orientation".
Annual Media and Communications Conference, Westminster.
Jerusalem Film Festival, Film Studies Conference, paper titled: "The Baby's Lunch".
Self-Organized Workshops and Events
"Sensible Cinema": two-day workshop organized at Goldsmiths (Co-organized with Dr. Susan Schuppli and Prof. Esther Leslie)
Link: http://www.chase.ac.uk/sensible-cinema/
Two-day workshop advancing a geo-aesthetic approach to filmmaking; tapping into an expanded acoustic frequency range and exploring the limit conditions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
"Secret Images" (Co-organized with Dr. Laliv Melamed)
Link: https://iselp.be/fr/conferences/secret-images
Two-day workshop inviting artists and scholars to think and speculate on the various and often contradicting modes of secrecy which emanate from the flood of images that appear daily on our screens.
"The November Film Festival" (Co-organized with members of Screen and Audio Research Unit)
Link: https://www.novemberfilmfestival.org/about
November Film Festival is an international festival for experimental film and artists' moving image.
Films and Moving Image Installations
"The Magic Mountain", 90 minutes (2018-2019) -In production
"Salarium", 44 minutes (2018): Cinema Du Reel, RIDM, DocKassel, ICA, Visible Evidence, Uniondocs, Doc's Kingdom, 2ANNAS, Alchemy
"Low Tide", 80 minutes (2017, Israel\France): Berlin Film Festival (Forum), Hong Kong Film Festival, New Horizons Film Festival, CineMed. (Award for Best Feature Film, Haifa Film Festival 2017, Israel. Nominated for Best First Feature, "Forum" Section, The Berlin Film Festival).
"The Birdman", 80 minutes (2015): Rotterdam Film Festival, Docaviv, Presented as installation at the Centre For Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv
"Household", mixed media installation (2014): Commissioned for The Centre for Digital Art, Holon, Israel
"Future Diaries", 50 minutes (2011): Centre for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Sheffield
"Complex", 10 minutes (2010): IDFA, Rotterdam, Courtisane, Ann Arbor
Scholarships and Residencies
2014-2018 The Kirsh Foundation Scholarship for Excellent Students (Israel, UK), Full PhD Scholarship
2017 CNC Film Fund towards the completion of Low Tide: The Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC) is a public administrative organization.
Israeli Film Fund Award towards the production of Low Tide
2015 New Fund for Film and media Award towards the production of The Birdman
2014 Selection of Cinemart, Rotterdam International film festival, Film Development
2011 The School of the Arts scholarship From Columbia University towards MFA
Binger Film Lab, Residency in Amsterdam, towards the development of film.
English, Hebrew (native speaker)
Films and Installations
Salarium
The Birdman
Future Diaries
Talks and Conference Presentations
Daniel Mann


IN TOUCH that will give you intensive encounters and a feeling of solidarity.
Together we will experience intensive body and energy work, rituals, breathing exercises, contact and massages.
Engage in new encounters with yourself and other men, feel, grow and achieve more mindfulness and inner clarity.
Strengthen your self-love and your love for others.


This chapter tackles some of the more advanced topics involved in building custom controls. In the first section, you learn how to add templates to a custom control. Implementing templates in a control enables users to customize its output.
Next, you examine the topic of data binding. You learn how to add properties to a control to enable users to bind the control to data sources, such as database tables and collections.
Finally, you learn how to create controls that integrate with Web Services by building a sample control that retrieves and displays information from a Web Service.


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Police seize 10 firearms linked to burglaries
Three accused burglars were arrested Friday after a collaborative effort between the Carlsbad Police Department and Eddy County Sheriff's Office.
Police seize 10 firearms linked to burglaries Three accused burglars were arrested Friday after a collaborative effort between the Carlsbad Police Department and Eddy County Sheriff's Office. Check out this story on CurrentArgus.com: https://www.currentargus.com/story/news/2019/01/29/police-seize-10-firearms-linked-burglaries/2711767002/
Michael Smith, Carlsbad Current-Argus Published 1:33 p.m. MT Jan. 29, 2019
James Rutledge (Photo: Carlsbad Police Department)
Three men suspected of robbing several Carlsbad businesses were arrested Friday.
James Rutledge, Ryan Galloway and Lane LeClair were taken into custody after an early morning traffic stop by Eddy County Sheriff's investigators near Hidalgo Road and Texas Street, according to a press release from the Carlsbad Police Department.
"We had seen an increase in vehicle burglaries in the city and county," said Lt. Matt Hutchinson, Eddy County Sheriff's Office spokesperson.
"So, we were going to do a proactive event and go out and combat this. Both agencies were able to come up and formulate a good operation plan and we were able to execute it," he said.
Rutledge was charged with aggravated burglary. Galloway and LeClair were charged with receiving stolen property, per the release.
Investigators discovered the three suspects had handguns at the time of the traffic stop.
The men were taken to the Carlsbad Police Department for further interviews, read the release.
The interviews led to additional information regarding burglaries in the Carlsbad area.
"Subsequently, investigators obtained a total of six search warrants and collected a total of 10 firearms as a result of this stop," said Carlsbad Police Det. Lt. Jaime Balencia in the release.
Hutchinson said the arrest led closure in a couple of burglary cases in the County.
"It's a very good feeling that we were able to get some closure on these cases and to be able to hold them accountable for what they've done," he said.
Ryan Galloway (Photo: Carlsbad Police Department)
Lane LeClair (Photo: Carlsbad Police Department)
Rutledge and Galloway made their first appearance before Eddy County Magistrate Judge D'Ann Read Monday, according to court records.
Rutledge's preliminary examination before Judge Read is set for Feb. 2 and Galloway's is set for Feb. 6, per court records.
No court date was set for LeClair, records indicate.
Read or Share this story: https://www.currentargus.com/story/news/2019/01/29/police-seize-10-firearms-linked-burglaries/2711767002/
Pipeline explosion reported in south Carlsbad
Artesia gunshot victim dies
Maggie turns 15
Carlsbad man sentenced to one year for stealing semi
Missing Artesia woman found safe
NM lawmakers renew push for renewable energy


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Шляхівська сільська об'єднана територіальна громада —колишня об'єднана територіальна громада в Україні, в Бершадському районі Вінницької області. Адміністративний центр — село Шляхова.

Утворена 19 липня 2017 року шляхом об'єднання Тирлівської та Шляхівської сільських рад Бершадського району.

6 травня 2020 року Кабінет Міністрів України затвердив перспективний план формування територій громад Вінницької області, в якому Шляхівська ОТГ відсутня, а Тирлівська та Шляхівська сільські ради включені до Джулинської сільської громади.

Населені пункти
До складу громади входять 1 селище (Кавкули) і 4 села: Завітне, Теофілівка, Тирлівка, Шляхова.

Примітки

Ліквідовані громади Вінницької області

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Dr. Ian McNiece Appointed Biocardia Chief Scientific Officer
SAN CARLOS, Calif. –BioCardia®, Inc. [OTC: BCDA], a leader in the development of comprehensive solutions for cardiovascular regenerative therapies, today announced the appointment of Ian McNiece, PhD, as chief scientific officer of the company. Dr. McNiece has spent 30 years in both academic and commercial settings working in the areas of stem cell biology and clinical manufacturing for bone marrow transplantation and cellular therapy clinical applications.
Dr. McNiece has been a collaborator with BioCardia since 2007, directing manufacturing of stem cell products and clinical, manufacturing and control (CMC) development for several important clinical trials co-sponsored by the company, including TAC-HFT and POSEIDON.
Earlier in his career, he led development of cellular therapies at Amgen Inc. as laboratory head in the Department of Developmental Hematology, where he was also involved in the development of Filgrastim, Neulasta and Stemgen. Subsequently, he returned to academia and served as professor of medicine at several leading institutions, including MD Anderson Cancer Center (2012 to 2016), the University of Miami (2007 to 2012), Johns Hopkins University (2003 to 2007), and the University of Colorado Health Science Center (1997 to 2002).
Dr. McNiece received his PhD in Physiology from the University of Melbourne and performed his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
"Ian has a tremendous pedigree and work ethic. He has been a valued collaborator for BioCardia as we undertook several important studies leading to our current Phase 3 CardiAMP study and our anticipated CardiALLO clinical study in heart failure," said BioCardia CEO Peter Altman, PhD. "In his capacity as chief scientific officer, he will bring his expertise and leadership to our cell development and manufacturing team."
BioCardia is the developer of the investigational CardiAMP therapy, which is designed to stimulate the body's natural healing response. The therapy utilizes a personalized and minimally-invasive approach to the use of autologous bone marrow stem cells in the treatment of ischemic heart failure. Patients are screened for bone marrow characteristics that may result in a higher likelihood of their benefiting from the therapy. Likely responders are scheduled for therapy where they receive a high target dose of 200 million mononuclear cells directly to damaged regions of the heart using a delivery system that has been shown to result in superior cell delivery.
The company is currently conducting the CardiAMP Heart Failure Trial at up to 40 clinical centers in the United States. Patients interested in learning about the study can visit www.cardiamp.com or www.clinicaltrials.gov, Identifier NCT02438306, for more information.
BioCardia, Inc., headquartered in San Carlos, CA, is developing regenerative biologic therapies to treat cardiovascular disease. CardiAMP® and CardiALLO® cell therapies are the company's biotherapeutic product candidates in clinical development. For more information, visit www.BioCardia.com
We may use terms such as "believes," "estimates," "anticipates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "may," "could," "might," "will," "should," "approximately" or other words that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained herein, we caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results, and the development of the industry in which we operate may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this presentation. As a result of these factors, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this presentation will prove to be accurate. Additional factors that could materially affect actual results can be found in BioCardia's Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 30, 2017 and amended on July 20, 2017, including under the caption titled "Risk Factors." BioCardia expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.


1. Everyone except individual needs to buy the Vitamio license, such as: government agency, education,institution, association, enterprise etc.
2. The Vitamio standard edition only limited to individual developers is free.
3.Android and IOS must be separate for authorization.
4.The followings do not belong to the "Standard version"service.


OLYMPIA – Addressing those workers whose only health care option is Medicaid due to lack of employer-sponsored health insurance option, Rep. Kristine Reeves (D-Federal Way), announced her Fair Share Health Care plan on Tuesday, January 22.
Targeted toward profitable businesses, under Fair Share employers with more than 1,000 employees must report the names of their employees to the Health Care Authority (HCA) quarterly. Following notification, HCA will determine which employees under 65-years-old currently enroll in Medicaid and the financial impact to the state for providing those health benefits.
Employers must then pay the assessment, or enter an agreement to pay HCA while enrolling workers in employer-sponsored health coverage.


Review: The wet leaves had a roasted aroma. Since the liquor was very dark, I expected woody taste but it was surprisingly sweet and smooth with a strong roasted aftertaste (3/5 rating).
Side note: I had a spare pecan left over, so I decided to eat it. The pecan had absorbed some of the blend's flavour and was slightly sweet. Once you bite into it, the pecan flavour came through.


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Message Ron and Jim
Ron and Jim Smith - Aviators
Aviation Anecdotes from the authors of ´Two Up´
Two Up
Two Up Down Under
Two Up Background
Two up Down Under Background
Ron Smith
Books, Jim Smith, Ron Smith, Two Up
'Two Up' is a collection of aviation anecdotes and photographs going back to the brothers' early fascination with aircraft in the sixties. It includes a wealth of inside information. From the sixties both Smith brothers have spent their life, leisure and working time in and around an industry that has seen phenomenal changes over the last fifty years.
Ron Smith has had a long and varied association with aviation. He is an aerospace engineer, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, ex-Chairman of the Royal Aeronautical Society Rotorcraft Committee, author of aviation books and articles, aircraft owner, private pilot and aviation photographer. After 15 years at Westland Helicopters and 22 years with British Aerospace / BAE Systems, Ron's books include the 5 volume British Built Aircraft series (The History Press); Cessna 172: A Pocket History & Piper Cherokee: A Family History (Amberley Publishing); Classic Light Aircraft, & Twin Cessna, (Schiffer Publishing).
Jim Smith recently retired from a senior management position after 14 years at the Australian Defence Science and Technology Group. Trained as an aeronautical engineer, he has BSc and Masters degrees from the University of Southampton, UK. Before moving to Australia, Jim worked for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) for 28 years. His experience includes involvement with a wealth of British and Australian research and major defence projects, many of which were with international partners.
ISBN: 9781908135391 Hardback £29.99
Below – a random selection of pages
see Two Up Down Under
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Aircraft types flown and flown in as passenger (update June 2019)
Winning the Dawn to Dusk Trophy
Flying the Piper Cub in Florida
September – Remembering the Few
Categories Select Category Art Background Bio Books Commercial Defence Flying Jim Smith Photography Pleasure Reviews Ron Smith Two Up Two up Down Under Welcome
Archives Select Month June 2019 February 2019 August 2018 May 2018 February 2018 January 2018 April 2017 January 2017 August 2016 July 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014


All videos of Liberec - Slovacko on your website!
Match ends. Liberec 3, Slovacko 2.
Libor Kozak scores for Liberec.
Vlastimil Danicek scores for Slovacko.
Libor Kozak scores from the penalty spot for Liberec making the score 2 - 1.
Jaroslav Divis is shown the yellow card.
Jiri Krejci scores for Slovacko.
Libor Kozak scores from the penalty spot for Liberec making the score 1 - 0.
Josef Divisek is shown the yellow card.
Slovacko's last 4 matches had under 2.5 goals.
Slovacko have failed to keep a clean sheet in their previous 3 away matches.
Liberec played Slovacko at the First League of Czech Republic on April 21. The match kicked off 15:00 UTC. Liberec won 3-2. Liberec are 6th in the table with 42 points after 29 matches, while Slovacko are 13th with 33 points in 29 matches.
Libor Kozak scored the first goal from the penalty spot on the 45th minute of the game followed by goals from Jiri Krejci and Vlastimil Danicek. Kozak later scored 2 more, making the final score 3-2.
Liberec kicked off the game with Filip Nguyen, Matej Hybs, Taras Kacharaba, Ondrej Karafiat, Radim Breite, Oscar Dorley, Martin Koscelnik, Tomas Malinsky who got substituted by Petar Musa on the 82nd minute, Jakub Pesek who got substituted by Kamso Mara on the 60th minute, Libor Kozak and Roman Potocny as starters, with MIlan Knobloch, Michal Fukala, Damjan Vuklisevic, Kamso Mara, Ales Nesicky, Petar Musa and Jan Pazler on the bench.
Slovacko's starting eleven were Matous Trmal, Josef Divisek, Stanislav Hofmann, Jiri Krejci, Vlastimil Danicek, Dominik Janosek who got substituted by Haris Harba on the 46th minute, Jan Juroska, Lukas Sadilek who got substituted by Marek Havlik on the 46th minute, Jaroslav Divis, Jan Navratil who got substituted by Jan Kalabiska on the 81st minute and Tomas Zajic, with Michal Danek, Domagoj Franic, Patrik Simko, Marek Havlik, Jan Kalabiska, Haris Harba and Filip Holosko on the bench.
Liberec have won Boleslav in their previous match, while Slovacko have won Pribram in their previous match.
Liberec and Slovacko have met 5 times in their recent history. Liberec won 4 times, 1 match ended in a draw.
Liberec have won 11 of their 29 matches in First League, drawing 9 and having 9 defeats this season. They have scored 32 goals - 1.10 per match, conceding 26 - 0.90 per match. Slovacko have won 10 of their 29 matches in First League, drawing 3 and having 16 defeats this season. They have scored 31 goals - 1.07 per match, conceding 44 - 1.52 per match.
Referee showed the yellow card 4 times throughout the game. Libor Kozak, Josef Divisek, Jaroslav Divis and Jan Kalabiska were the ones to receive it.
Goals and video highlights of the match between Liberec and Slovacko are being added in real time. You can watch the goals by Libor Kozak, Jiri Krejci and Vlastimil Danicek as we are adding the videos of the goals usually minutes after the actual event on the field. So when Liberec or Slovacko score you will be able to watch the goal a couple of minutes later on this page. Full highlights of the match between Liberec and Slovacko include all the goals and other remarkable moments from the match. We will try to have different highlights from Liberec vs Slovacko with commentary in English, Russian, Portugese etc. We do not host any video file as all of the videos are discovered by our crawler on other websites like youtube or streamable. If you think the video infriges your copyright please contact the website which hosts it.


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Tag: little black dress
15 Stylish Black Dresses You Need Right Now, Depending on the Occasion
Foolproof your closet with these LBDs!
A black dress will always be a timeless closet piece. But while it won't ever fade out of style, you still ought to consider the occasion where you're going to wear it to. Below, we curate 15 LBDs that will surely foolproof
This Janella Salvador OOTD Is Giving Us Audrey Hepburn Vibes
Don't you think so?
You already know that we live for a good Old Hollywood reference, and Janella Salvador is the latest beauty serving us that retro-chic little somethin'. Doesn't she just remind you of Audrey Hepburn tearfully kissing Buddy Ebsen goodbye at the train station in this
How to Wear a Black Dress, According to Your Favorite Celebrities
Let these celebs and influencers provide some great style inspiration for your next black dress moment!
Here's the thing about a black dress: It's versatile, it looks good on absolutely everyone, and it never goes out of style. Not to mention, it's a no-brainer go-to for when you feel like you have nothing else to wear. It's no
10 Celebs Who Prove That a Little Black Dress Is a Must When Traveling
Make sure you pack one into your suitcase.
Before you head on out the door to catch that flight, pause. Did you pack a little black dress? You might turn your nose up and scoff at this arguably overused basic, but you've got to know that it's so darn trusted
LOTD: How to Spice Up Your Little Black Dress with the Right Accessories
Let Camille Co show you how!
The little black dress is every girl's style staple—it's an effortless, no-brainer solution to any wardrobe dilemma! This is especially true when you need to dress up but feel like you've nothing to wear. When in doubt, an LBD never fails! But
LOTD: Anne Curtis Wore the Same LBD as This Star Wars Actress
The both looked stunning in Calvin Klein.
Anne Curtis has been nailing all her red carpet looks for the world premiere of her movies, Buy Bust and Sid & Aya (Not a Love Story). From her sweet and delicate look in head-to-toe Gucci, the actress went for a stark contrast
The Best Black Dresses on the 2018 Golden Globes Red Carpet
So much inspo!
Nothing will ever dull the subtle impact of a well-placed black dress. That power! Hollywood's A-list busted out their best, most impeccable black ensembles at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards, in solidarity with the Time's Up movement. An initiative that seeks to utilize
5 Unique Ways to Style Your Little Black Dress
Basic, but never boring.
Just when you thought there are only so many ways you can style that trusty ol' LBD, we volunteer to add five more! Below, check out how much fun wearing and rewearing the little black dress can actually be. You just have to
The Little Black Dress: A Brief History
Fashion #throwback!
As you may already know, fashion's enduring love affair with the little black dress started with Coco Chanel. An undying symbol in French chic, the LBD was once worn only by women in mourning—that is, until the Roaring Twenties.Throw things back until
15 Statement Little Black Dresses That Are Anything But Boring
Classics can be fun!
The little black dress is a long-established, dearly-loved closet staple, but you've gotta admit that it can get pretty boring. You tend to think of your LBD as a blank canvas, but why not start considering it as a statement? Here, 15
LOTD: We're In Love with Kim Jones' Classic LBD with a Twist
All it takes is some attention to detail.
The word "classic" may occasionally be associated with the word "boring," but a true-blue fashion girl reads a whole other dictionary altogether. Enter Kim Jones, whose dainty take on the timeless little black dress has got us in (literal) knots!Upgrade the wardrobe
5 Non-Boring Ways to Style Your Little Black Dress
Your trusty LBD is timeless for a reason.
The little black dress is timeless for a reason—it goes with everything, you can wear it anywhere, and it never goes out of style. Still, we certainly won't blame you if you start to feel that your go-to frock is becoming a
Cam Ongpauco's Entourage Makes It Cool to Wear Black to a Wedding
They're all stunning!
Wedding guests are often subjected to a long list of guidelines—from where to buy gifts to where to sit, when to take photos, and (the most grueling of them all) what to wear. Girls are all too familiar but have never really
10 Celebrity-Approved Ways to Wear an LBD
You can never go wrong with a little black dress.
According to the brilliant Karl Lagerfeld himself, "One is never overdressed or underdressed with a little black dress." It's a must-have for every girl and a classic closet staple that you'd never regret investing in. Herewith, 10 celebrity outfit pegs for your
9 Fashion Pieces That Never Go Out Of Style
Trends may come and go, but these will always be a girl's best friend.
We've already given you a list of fashion and beauty trends to ditch and to keep this year. And if some of you are still hesitant about heeding our advice, no worries because we totally understand where you're coming from. It's generally not easy
Traveling In Style With Anne Curtis
You only need the basics to look as stunning as this star.
If you swooned over Anne Curtis' beauty with our vampy makeup tutorial, this time around, we'll give you another reason to be green with envy. After gracing the local premiere of Blood Ransom at Resorts World Manila, the lovely star flew to New
There's no need to splurge if you can find a costume straight from your closet.
Halloween is fast approaching and don't say we didn't remind you enough because we did multiple times. But now that we're only two days shy from the upcoming trick-or-treat adventures, seems like playing the blame game won't help either. Don't worry, we
Back To Basics: The Lbd
Because we believe in the saying that one is never overdressed or underdressed with a little black dress.
Since day one, we've been consistently telling you the importance of investing in the basics. We've already schooled you on the vital role of the plain white tee in building a well-rounded wardrobe, so this time around, we'll introduce you to another closet
You Have To See Son Ye-jin's Ukay-ukay Outfits In "crash Landing On You"
This Is The "perfect" Morning Skincare Routine, According To A Doctor
10 Mini Tumblers That Will Actually Fit Inside Your Bag