Employers around the world are intending to increase their workforce in the fourth quarter of 2018, with 43 of 44 countries reporting positive hiring outlooks, according to ManpowerGroup's latest Employment Outlook Survey.
The survey of more than 59,000 employers across 44 countries and territories shows hiring intentions strengthened in 22 countries, remained steady in eight and slowed in 14. Continued positive employment opportunities are expected over the next three months with hiring confidence strongest in Japan, Taiwan, the US, Romania and Slovenia. Employers in Switzerland and Argentina report the weakest hiring prospects.
ManpowerGroup's Net Employment Outlook is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting from this the percentage of employers expecting a decrease in hiring activity.
"Across most countries, hiring intentions are net positive, as access to skilled talent continues to be of critical importance for employers globally," Prising said. "In the Digital Age we're seeing organisations across all sectors undergo significant transformation. From Manufacturing to Services, roles are emerging that require new skills, creating mismatches between what is needed and what is available in an increasingly tight labour market. It's important for employers to create a culture of learnability so that their people are ready and able to upskill and adapt."
In the EMEA region, staffing levels are expected to grow in 25 of 26 countries surveyed. Employers in Romania (+19%), Slovenia (+19%) and Hungary (+18%) report the strongest outlooks. The only negative outlook across all countries and territories in EMEA is reported in Switzerland (-2%).
In the UK, the report found that employers continue to report modest hiring intentions (+4%) with a marked improvement in the Finance & Business Services sector, up 6% quarter-over-quarter.
In Asia Pacific, employers in all eight countries and territories expect to hire more people in Q4 2018. Hiring Outlooks are strongest in Japan (+26%) and Taiwan (+21%). The report found that solid workforce gains are forecast to continue in Japan as growing export volumes boost hiring in the Manufacturing sector, which has seen sustained positive hiring intentions since 2010. Meanwhile, Taiwanese employers continue to report strong hiring intentions led by the Services sector.
Global trade uncertainty seems to be impacting Chinese hiring plans as the outlook falls by 4% quarter-on-quarter yet remains positive at +6%. The weakest sector is Mining and Construction (+6%).
In the Americas region, positive outlooks were reported in all ten countries surveyed with the US seeing the region's most upbeat forecast (+19%). Canadian employers continue to report positive hiring intentions (+14%) while Brazilian employers reported an outlook of +7%.


Location: University of Newcastle, Armstrong Building, Room 2.49; Newcastle-upon-Tyne (United Kingdom).
Sjoerd Kluiving explains the content of the meeting and the main aims of IALA (foster interdisciplinarity, create a platform to exchange, and enhance interdisciplinary training). The IALA Advisory Board are various members who are distinguished in their field, including the organisers of past LAC conferences. The Advisory Board is appointed by the Governing Board. Of the Advisory Board, Bert Groenewoudt is present, and he introduces himself. Among his research concerns is the publishing of grey literature in archaeology.
The minutes of the 1st General Assembly, that took place in Amsterdam on 10/04/2018, are read and approved.
The financial balance of 2017 has been approved by the independent subcommittee: Daniel Knitter and Moritz Nykamp. The accounts are OK, as explained by Daniel Knitter. The treasurer, who had been in charge of those accounts, is Wiebke Bebermeier (FU Berlin, DE). The balance can be checked online on Google Drive.
The Project Database is still under construction, it aims to map graduate or post-graduate education in landscape archaeology, either whole degrees or courses. It is an open-source geographical database.
Linda Olsvig-Whittaker suggests to encourage LAC participants from different countries, to contribute to this database, particularly in those areas of the world which are still blank.
The IALA Governing Board has resigned, submitting their positions to elections by IALA members.
The elections have just finished on 20/09/2018, and the results are in.
Sjoerd Kluiving (12 votes). Winner.
Daniel Knitter (12 votes). Uncontested winner. He replaces Wiebke Bebermeier.
Annelies Koopman (12 votes). Uncontested winner. Remains in the position.
Participation in the plenary session during the General Assembly.
Voting rights in elections to the IALA Board and for any statutory change.
Free online access to Landscapes (Routledge).
Free give-aways, like a lustrum key chain and a free copy of the 1st LAC Proceedings.
Prize for the best doctoral dissertation.
Include IALA membership with LAC2020 registration.
Organise IALA-sponsored sessions at other international conferences.
Co-organise landscape archaeology workshops under the umbrella of IALA. 2 were already organized, one in 2012 in a PhD student conference in Amersfoort, and in 2013 at a Topoi conference in Berlin.
Organize IALA webinars. Recently, there was an environmental conference in California entirely online.
LAC2020 will take place in Madrid. Guillermo Reher explains the details.
The 2nd General Assembly of IALA is closed.


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Q: Validation accuracy does not reflect the actual change in the testing accuracy When training a CNN classifier for the Fashion-MNIST, I have noticed that there are multiple instances that validation error is not improving even if the tesing accuracy is improving every epoch or vice versa.
Indeed, I have epochs that have 90% testing accuracy however the validation accuracy did not improve and the weights of the network was not saved. Another epochs from that one have an 86% testing accuracy but the validation accuracy improved!
This discourages me from using the validation accuracy as a callback in the implementation.
It seems like the only use of validation accuracy is an upper bound for the testing accuracy. Is there a better way for measuring the change in the testing accuracy? It would be even better if a lower bound exists.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Pakistan to put offensive against militants on hold
Pakistani security forces fighting pro-Taliban militants in the violent north-western regions were scheduled at Sunday midnight to discontinue the offensives for a month, officials said.
The decision was announced overnight by the prime minister's security adviser, Rehman Malik, who said the reprieve came in veneration of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan starting early next week.
But Malik, who is believed to be the de facto interior minister, clarified that the military would not refrain from repulsing any attack on their personnel or installations, the dpa reported.
"Any kind of militant action will be responded to with full force," he said in the eastern city of Lahore at a seminar on cyber crimes.
Clashes between the security forces and the militants have intensified in recent months with the military fighting heavily armed and well-trained insurgents on three fronts close to the Afghan frontier.
In Bajaur tribal district, a known sanctuary for Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters, the government troops are using helicopter gunships and jet aircraft to pound militant positions since August 6.
According to official figures, more than 560 militants have been killed in the action, which also triggered a mass exodus from Bajaur to safer areas in the adjoining North-West Frontier Province.
Pakistan is under growing pressure to crack down on militants entrenched in its tribal areas as the Western allies in the US-led war against terror believe they regularly attack the international troops fighting Taliban in Afghanistan.
Analyst says political instability in the country, especially after the resignation of former president Pervez Musharraf last week, has hampered the efforts against militancy.
Pakistan is set to elect a new president on September 6.
Airbus and Qatar settle A350 jetliner row
US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Diplomacy to travel to Azerbaijan
US appoints new Senior Advisor in Caucasus - Minsk Group becomes history

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
DE BG
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Petar Kulenski
Donka Zheleva
Martin Iliev
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Desislava Ivanova
Radostina Milenkova
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Reni Moneva
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Valentin Dobrev
Maria Milusheva Ph. D.
IT Investments
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Fees calculator
Branch of a foreign trader in Bulgaria
Mr. Konstantin Ruskov is the founder and managing partner of the law firm Ruskov & Coll., specialized in the law systems of Bulgaria, Germany and EU law.
By: Konstantin Ruskov
Legal nature of the branches of foreign traders in Bulgaria and their registration.
A foreign entity registered with a right to engage in commercial activity in accordance with its national laws may register a branch in the Bulgarian Registry Agency's Commercial Register (Art. 17a, para. 1 of the Commercial Code and Art. 25 of the Investment Promotion Act). The branch in Bulgaria is not a separate legal entity, but may enter into transactions, in which all rights and obligations the branch assumes do not arise for the branch itself, but for the foreign entity. The fact that the branch is not a separate legal entity is also confirmed by the option to bring actions against the foreign trader where the seat of the branch is located as well (Art. 20 of the Commercial Act ).
The branch in Bulgaria has its own registered seat and address, manager and business activity, which may differ from that of the foreign trader. These circumstances are registered in the Commercial Register.
The branch is a form of permanent establishment for tax law purposes (§ 1, item 5, letter 'a' of the Tax and Social Security Procedure Code ). Moreover, the branch of a foreign trader must keep commercial records as an independent trader and prepare a balance sheet.
Circumstances to be entered in the Commercial Register
The Bulgarian Commercial register must contain data on the foreign entity (the legal form and the firm or the trade name of the foreign person, as well as the trade name or the branch if it is different than this of the foreign person; the register and entry number, under which the foreign entity is registered, if the applicable law provides so, if different from the law of an EU Member State; the persons representing the foreign entity according to the register, in which these are entered , if such a register exists, the manner of representation, as well as the liquidators and insolvency trustees and their powers), as well as any changes there of. According to the Commercial Act , the following circumstances must also be entered in to the Commercial Register: closing of the branch, termination of the foreign entity, initiation of liquidation proceedings , continuing activity , termination and finalization of the liquidation of the foreign entity; all acts of the bankruptcy court, which are recorded in the register, where the foreign entity is registered.
A copy of the articles of association or statute of the foreign company must be submitted to the register, together with any amendments thereto, including after the registration of the foreign entity in the local commercial register and each annual financial report of the foreign person, after being registered or filed according to the national legislation of its registration.
Closing of the branch
The advantage of a branch is that its termination is carried out not through liquidation proceedings , but only by submitting an application to the Commercial Register, after which the branch is closed. In this regard, the branch is a good alternative to the subsidiary.
Registration in the Bulgarian BULSTAT register
The "smallest" form of economic activity in Bulgaria - registration in the Bulgarian BULSTAT register.
License for transporting goods and people in Bulgaria
Conditions for obtaining a Community license to operate passenger and freight transport in Bulgaria.
Registration of EU citizens as self-employed in Bulgaria
Requirements and steps for the registration of EU nationals as self-employed in Bulgaria.
Representative office of a non-resident entity in Bulgaria
Trade representation offices of foreign entities in Bulgaria – features and registration.
Foundations in Bulgaria
Foundations in Bulgaria - legal nature, management and termination. Registration procedure, tax treatment.
Social security contributions by self-insured persons in Bulgaria Protection of Trademark in Bulgaria


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New Baden, TX
New Baden Featured Events
Brazos Valley Museum Of Natural History
MissionThe Museum's current mission is to preserve and protect natural and cultural history, to stimulate its understanding, and to encourage respo...
G. Hysmith Skate Park
1520 Rock Prairie Road
About Us:Designed for all skill levels, this competition-quality skate park on Rock Prairie Road consists of a large pro-style flow bowl, a pool bo...
George Bush Presidential Library And Museum
1000 George Bush Drive West
Mission : The mission of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University is to preserve and make available the records...
New Baden Top Searches
1629 Mockingbird Lane
Amenities:Pavilion (A) (B)RestroomsPicnic TablesPlayground (A) (B)Soccer FieldsSand VolleyballBasketball Court (A) (B)Softball/Baseball FieldsSwimm...
Heritage Village Museum
Woodville, TX
Heritage Village is a living museum of pioneer history, with a main street that is right out of the mid 1800's to early 1900's. Walk through an old...
Williamson Park
411 Williamson Drive
This park is home to the area's first skateboard park. Skateboard ramps were installed on an old tennis court slab in 2003. The ramps are fenced an...


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Seifeldin Heneida Abdesalam (* 28. März 2005) ist ein katarischer Leichtathlet, der sich auf den Stabhochsprung spezialisiert hat.

Sportliche Laufbahn
Erste internationale Erfahrungen sammelte Seifeldin Heneida Abdesalam im Jahr 2022, als er bei den U18-Asienmeisterschaften in Kuwait mit übersprungenen 5,10 m die Goldmedaille im Stabhochsprung gewann. Im Jahr darauf gewann er bei den Hallenasienmeisterschaften in Astana mit neuem Landesrekord von 5,35 m die Silbermedaille hinter dem Saudi-Araber Hussain al-Hizam.

Persönliche Bestleistungen
 STabhochsprung: 5,10 m, 19. Juni 2022 in Göteborg (katarischer U20-Rekord)
 Stabhochsprung (Halle): 5,35 m, 12. Februar 2023 in Astana (katarischer Rekord)

Weblinks

Stabhochspringer (Katar)
Katarer
Geboren 2005
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


"Matthew Dowd won't challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
"I've decided the best use of my voice is not putting myself in that position and running for that office in that way," Dowd said in an interview with Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith. "I think the best use of my most authentic voice and where my life is and what I want to do is in a different manner rather than running for office."
Dowd was still critical of Cruz, saying he has been focused on higher office since being elected Texas' junior senator in 2012. "Republicans in Iowa feel more represented by Ted Cruz than people in Texas," Dowd said.
U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, remains Cruz's most serious competition in 2018, which nonetheless will be an uphill battle for Texas Democrats who have not won a U.S. Senate election since 1988. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, had considered a run for months but announced last week that he would take a pass.
Last year, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, was encouraged to challenge Cruz after the senator initially declined to endorse then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. McCaul has since avoided questions about whether he is still considering a Senate run.
In his bid to beat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke plans to throw out the Democratic playbook.
Matthew Dowd won't challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018 By Patrick Svitek May 10, 2017 Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout. Matthew Dowd, a political commentator and former strategist for George W. Bush, announced Wednesday that he will not challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in 2018. Dowd had been considering an independent run against Cruz, who is up for a second term. Dowd said this year that he had been encouraged by prominent members of both parties to take on Cruz. "I've decided the best use of my voice is not putting myself in that position and running for that office in that way," Dowd said in an interview with Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith. "I think the best use of my most authentic voice and where my life is and what I want to do is in a different manner rather than running for office." Dowd was still critical of Cruz, saying he has been focused on higher office since being elected Texas' junior senator in 2012. "Republicans in Iowa feel more represented by Ted Cruz than people in Texas," Dowd said. U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, remains Cruz's most serious competition in 2018, which nonetheless will be an uphill battle for Texas Democrats who have not won a U.S. Senate election since 1988. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, had considered a run for months but announced last week that he would take a pass. Last year, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, was encouraged to challenge Cruz after the senator initially declined to endorse then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. McCaul has since avoided questions about whether he is still considering a Senate run. Read related Tribune coverage: In January, Matthew Dowd said he was considering running against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. "I don't know what I will do," he told The Texas Tribune. "But I am giving it some thought, and I appreciate the interest of folks." In his bid to beat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke plans to throw out the Democratic playbook. "Matthew Dowd won't challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018" was first published at by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Link back to the original article, which is located at https://www.texastribune.org/2017/05/10/dowd-wont-challenge-cruz-2018/.


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Q: Current version of Http 1.1 reference documentation I am working on my graduate thesis about RESTful web services in Spark micro framework and I want to talk a little about HTTP 1.1 protocol specifically HTTP methods. Problem is I am a bit confused with the reference documentation cause till now in my graduate thesis I've used HTTP 1.1 RFC2616 as my reference documentation but I see that there is a lot of new updated versions like RFC7230 and I am confused which one is the current one that is used. I am currently using jetty-9.4.4.v20170414 as my server and I can see that the server uses HTTP 1.1 but I am not sure if I am describing the right version of HTTP used in my jetty server?

A: 2616 has been obsolete since June 2014, when they released 723x. Each of 7230-7235 have a section at the end that describes what changes there are since 2616. I can't speak to what's being used in Jetty, but there are not many substantiative changes between the documents, so if that version of Jetty is relatively recent, I'd expect it conforms to the new specs. Have you tried asking the Jetty authors?


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Premier of the heart touching short film, Aarohi in the midst of musical night at Baba Bhaskar Vridhashram (Old age Home), Virar!
dsprime January 9, 2023
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 09: Premier of the heart-touching short film, Aarohi was held in Baba Bhaskar Vridhashram (Old age home) in the presence of all the senior elderly aged inhabitants of the Ashram; the artists of the film and other dignitaries. The film is a VS Nation YouTube Channel presentation and is produced under the Taal music and films banner. Everyone watching the Premier show liked the film and appreciated the new concept, creative thinking & writing
of the story. Elderly aged persons living in the old age home could relate the story of Aarohi to their lives.
They became very emotional & appreciated the film with teary eyes. A devotional musical program was also conducted on this occasion. Artists from the Urja foundation, together with Bhajan singer Sonu Gill, Playback singer Soma Banerjee and others, have performed to showcase their singing talents.
The film Writer, Producer and Director, Mr. Devindra Khanna, has dedicated the film to all the senior elders living in Baba Bhaskar Vridhashram and pledged that whatever income he generates from this movie, he will donate to this Ashram for the welfare of the elderly people. The film Aarohi is a story of a mother and daughter relationship. The emotion running in the film is beautifully crafted & filmed by the Director, Mr. Devindra Khanna.
During the conversation, Mr. Devindra Khanna briefed about the film and told it's a story of a young girl who lost her mother. The girl Aarohi was born into a poor family. She developed an interest in music & singing; wants to be a successful singer, but it is not easy to achieve due to poverty and the environment she is living in. Like any other mother, Aarohi's mother also struggles and scarifies all her personal needs & aspirations, happiness & comforts undergoing hardship to fulfil the need of her daughter Aarohi in achieving what she wants to be. Finally, when Aarohi achieves success in her pursuit of being a singer and well-known face in the industry, her mother is not around to celebrate and share the joy of success.
Aarohi is missing her mother's presence, love & affection after getting success. She feels lonely. She wants to share her happiness with her mother but can't as she passes away. So she thinks of adopting a mother instead; and visits an old age home. Generally, people come to Old Age homes to keep their mother or father; OR a childless couple visits an orphanage to adopt a child, but she visits the Ashram to adopt a mother, so it is surprising to all the ashram staff; especially when they see a young lady wants to adopt an old lady as her mother. This is worth mentioning here that the writer, producer & director Mr. Devindra Khanna produced various music videos under the Taal music and films banner 20 years ago also, so it was like a reunion of the team.
Mr. Davinder Khanna told, "The story of Aarohi has been in my mind for a long, and I was waiting for the right moment & place to shoot the film". Finally, he produced and released the film successfully. So he is very happy. He thanked all the artists, actors, actresses and supporting staff for making this happen.
Now he requests everyone to watch the film on VS Nation YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0nBVghNoog ) to know what happens next when Aarohi decides to adopt a mother from Vridhashram (Old Age Home). He also requests audiences to like and write comments. He, as a writer, producer & director, would like to know how the audiences rate his work and what they think of this creativity. Will Aarohi be able to adopt a mother? Will the Indian Legal system allow her to adopt an adult? Please watch the film (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0nBVghNoog ) to know the end of the film. It's a new concept, and also very good for the young generation to realize the importance of mother & father in life.
Tagged Entertainment
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Experience the Hurricane that will bowl you over At the All New Neon by Hangout
Actress Prajakta Shinde marathi song "Tuzhi navari" is out now
Music, Films & Technology : The Versatile Genius of Sandeep Khurana
Poster of Ranjiv Singla's Upcoming Punjabi film 'Ji Wife Ji' to be released today
Hume Toh Loot Liya: An In & Out comedy story featuring debutant-Sidhant Singh


In February 1968, the Beatles traveled to Rishikesh, India to attend an advanced Transcendental Meditation training session at the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. This much-publicized event was instrumental in introducing meditation to the western world. The approximately 7 weeks spent in India was the most productive in the Beatles' tenure. John Lennon said, "We wrote about thirty new songs between us. Paul must have done about a dozen. George says he's got six, and I wrote fifteen".
It would be hard to argue that the environment had little to do with the Beatles' productivity. Getting away from the clamor of normal life can open avenues of creativity and productivity in each of us.
Gordon Hempton is an acoustic ecologist. He records the sounds of nature all over the world. In a recent interview with Krista Tippett on her radio program, "On Being", he warns that silence is becoming a rare commodity. It wasn't long ago that keeping earth's waters clean was not all that important, and being able to see the stars was not something that should concern us. Today, when those things are nearly gone, we see the importance of them. Now we are in danger of losing silence.
Silence is not the absence of sound, but rather the absence of noise. A forest can be silent even with the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves, but noise is something different. We are awash in noise everyday. From cars on the highway, to the beeping of a smart phone, noise is a part of our lives. When we are surrounded by noise our minds are being pulled in many directions. Noise makes it difficult to concentrate, to control our thoughts, or to simply rest our minds in meditation.
Meditation is an important part of our physical, emotional and spiritual health. The Lord has counseled us to not run faster than we have strength. When we are bombarded by noise, our minds are running faster than they have strength. When we turn off the noise and rest our minds in meditation, we are able to "let the solemnities of eternity rest upon [our] minds." (Doctrine and Covenants 43:34) Meditation clears our minds and welcomes insight and inspiration.
Take 60 seconds right now and listen to the birds in the Sacred Grove as you watch this video of sunrise on the Joseph Smith farm.


All I want to do is get in the car and fill my belly. The burger game at these two Chicago eateries is so strong.
Kuma's Corner, at 2900 W. Belmont Ave., has a pretty impressive burger menu. The combination of flavors on The Lair of the Minotaur (all burgers here are named after heavy metal bands) makes it stand way out. On this burger, you'll find brie, caramelized onion, pancetta and a slice of bourbon soaked pear. It's #23 on FarAndWide.com's list of the 30 Highest Rated Burgers in America.
Yes, at Au Cheval, a single is two patties. While FarAndWide.com put this burger at #25 on their list, Bon Appetit declared it "best in America." much has been written about this hamburger found in the West Loop. If you're needing more between the crispy, toasted bun on this burger, you can get a fried egg, peppered bacon or foie gras.


The terms and conditions shall apply to all contracts for the purchase of goods by you from us, the seller, to the exclusion of all other terms and conditions which you may purport to apply under any sales offer or purchase order. These terms and conditions supersede all previous agreements and understandings between the parties.
QUIMERAspecies is committed to providing you with terms and conditions of sale which are easy to understand and which are fair to you. Your statutory rights are not affected by anything contained in these terms and conditions.
Please note that recipients outside PORTUGAL will be responsible for any IMPORT DUTIES, CLEARANCE FEES or BROKERAGE fees including any other additional charges. We operate on a DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid) basis, this is managed on a "pay on delivery" basis. Sometimes goods may be subject to delays, due to customs or weather. The customer is also responsible for providing any information required by customs to ensure the goods are cleared. Please note that we are unable to refund any duty paid on any items returned to us either faulty or unsuitable.
Orders are usually shipped within 3 business days. Our offices are open Monday through Friday, and are closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. Weekends and holidays are not considered business days, and orders are not processed during these times.
Our pre-order sales are always dedicate to our new collection. The delivery time for the pre-orders depends on how many orders we get. We don't take responsability if your order is late. Our pieces are all handmade so they take time to produce, so please take this in consideration.
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We've been learning about people working in our community. We have also been learning about how and why we recycle. Repak have lovely characters and videos for children that explain why we should recycle. We were learning about the vet in role play.
We also designed and tested columns for our S.T.E.M challenge. We had to make columns and we could make them in different shapes; cyclinder, cuboid or triangular prism. The strongest column was tested at the school assembly.


We sincerely count on exchange and cooperation with you. Allow us to move ahead hand in hand and attain win-win situation. for Food Freeze Drying Equipment , Food Freeze-drying Equipment , Freeze Drying Equipment , so give us a connect with today and make a new good friend!
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Just follow me into my little fantasy where an African Grey (Psittacus erithacus) relates to a song about Rio.
I designed my feathers to be more in line with the true shape of an African Grey's tail feathers: they are flat, missing a tip: my quickest design that I liked had me ending at the base and there was no quickest design on how to connect and crochet the border at the same time.
The first two unknown greys were used for the shawl horizon border. All three unknowns were used for the shawl body; a deconstructed – if you will – white/grey handpainted or ombre. The tail feathers and border were comprised of two yarns of Sensations to one yarn of Universal.


Kommentare: Very easy to use software for pricing out recipes and tracking ingredient prices. Several options for importing invoices, but entering invoices can still take some manual work. Provides fair amount of stats and graphs.
Kommentare: I have used the free version of CostBrain for a while and then upgraded to Basic. The recipe costing is awesome, especially with all the automatic measurement conversion. This software helps me cost out my menu items and keep track of my ingredient costs with little effort.


Huge fan of KFC? Why not show your love by wearing some of their very own merchandise? Yeah, probably not the best idea, however, their all-new apparel collection isn't actually as bad as what you would first assume.
Highlights include a "Fried Chicken USA" sweatshirt, "Kentucky Fried Enamel Pins" and various vintage-style t-shirts.
Also, if you have a spare $20,000 lying around, you can buy a "Zinger Meteorite" - a chicken sandwich which has actually been carved out of a real piece of space rock.
Check out the full collection below. Head to the KFC Limited site for more information on the project.


I have recently released 'Mountains of the Sea' through Eloquent Books. It's a watershed voyage of epic proportions that takes you through the volatile moods of an historic Hawaiian ocean culture where the hero, Walter Beaumont, comes face to face with political intrigue, war, and the most enigmatic experience for an English aristocrat—that of riding the giant swells of Hawai'i.
I have invested more than thirty years of learning the art and culture of both ancient and modern surfing. My interest in Polynesian culture has taken me from my home on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia to the fabled islands of Hawai'i. I am a husband, father, friend, historian, psychologist and practicing psychotherapist in Mona Vale.
Iʻm absolutely thrilled to announce that my play Johnny doesnʻt live here anymore under the artful direction of Kingsley Rowston and with a great cast was the outright winner with first place in the "Peoples Choice" at Wildcards Two, part of the Short +Sweet Theatre programme. My thanks go to the director, cast and crew for a great piece of work.
Hi Gunter, I'd be delighted if you'd check out my website DragonCub at http://www.dragoncub.com/books. You can add your book(s) details here to introduce your work to the world :) It costs nothing!


This volume focuses on coalitions and collaborations formed by refugees from Nazi Germany in their host countries. Exile from Nazi Germany was a global phenomenon involving the expulsion and displacement of entire families, organizations, and communities. While forced emigration inevitable meant loss of familiar structures and surroundings, successful integration into often very foreign cultures was possible due to the exiles' ability to access and/or establish networks. By focusing on such networks rather than on individual experiences, the contributions in this volume provide a complex and nuanced analysis of the multifaceted, interacting factors of the exile experience. This approach connects the NS-exile to other forms of displacement and persecution and locates it within the ruptures of civilization dominating the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.


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Event Name: Book Launch: "Alice and Fay, A Fairy Adventure" with Mare Davis
Address: 208 W. 13th St., Room 210
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Event Date/Time:
Starts: Sat Feb 4 2023 at 2:00 PM
Ends: Sat Feb 4 2023 at 3:00 PM
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Event Description: Author Mare Davis will be reading from her new children's book "Alice and Fay, A Fairy Adventure." Along with the reading, there will be a fun activity for families to share. For kids ages 4 and up! Copies of "Alice and Fay..." will be available at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division book store for the event. About the Author: A former contributor to both "Just Out Portland" (Oregon's biweekly LGBTQ newspaper) and "Options" (Providence's LGBTQ monthly), writer Mare Davis has previously published three books of poems: "Twenty-eight Days," "My Father's House," and "Dangerous Kisses." She holds a Ph.D. in English Literature and currently teaches college composition at Johnson & Wales University. "Alice and Fay, A Fairy Adventure" is her first book for children – albeit of all ages – inspired in part by her many visits to the South of France where she owns a home with a group of friends. $10 suggested donation


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'A Star Is Born' Writer Eric Roth on 4 AM Writing Sessions With Bradley Cooper, Private Lady Gaga Concerts
Roth tells TheWrap how he came on board for the awards contender and how he managed to pull it together in under six weeks
Beatrice Verhoeven | December 20, 2018 @ 2:45 PM
Late night writing sessions, time constraints and a private Lady Gaga concert — so was Eric Roth's experience co-writing the screenplay for awards contender "A Star Is Born."
From the moment he started writing the screenplay for Bradley Cooper's directorial debut alongside Cooper and Will Fetters, Roth said he knew they had something. And when they started shooting a few scenes and when Cooper showed him the movie — in which the director also starred as country singer Jackson Maine — he realized it was a special film.
"I got involved around Christmas time last year," Roth told TheWrap. "I thought long and hard because I had never done a remake and the movies were obviously famous, and I didn't want to be the person who would wreck it. It was a great challenge, but I thought, if we could accomplish this, it could be something unique — and it was well worth the challenge."
Also Read: Bradley Cooper to Receive Director of the Year Award at Palm Springs Film Festival
Because there have been three previous iterations of "A Star Is Born," Roth said he had to make sure to stay true to the story but modernize it to fit into our current climate.
"Generally, I stayed as true as I could to the previous versions — the storytelling is basically the same," he said. "I tried to tell it more in a modern and contemporary way, how the film was affected by our world. Bradley had such a unique point of view which made it easier to follow the way we might do this, and he wanted to make this personal and truthful and it feels like that when you're watching it. It's a mixture of trying to keep the old of what 'A Star Is Born' is and what makes it vital to the world we live in today."
Roth, known for taking a long time on scripts that are sometimes way too lengthy (as he pointed out himself), only had six weeks to write the screenplay for Cooper's version.
"I'm easy to work with but I am a little prickly and kind of a curmudgeon," Roth said, laughing. "So [Bradley and I] had our moments where it was like we were kindergartners fighting for our terrain. But he is one of the people I really adore — we would write together in the middle of the night: three, four in the morning, we're sending each other scenes."
And working with Cooper, he said, was "collaborative in most ways," but his experience working on "A Star Is Born" was different than his previous films, which include "Forrest Gump" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," because of Cooper being a first-time director.
"He never tried to stop any creativity I had," he said. "I'm used to working with well-known directors and I was more used to some people who had more experience with making movies than Bradley did as a director. It was new to him and I got to go along on the ride."
The songs are a big part of the film. "Shallow," for example, has received a Golden Globe nomination, as well as a Grammy nomination. And although the soundtrack is comprised pretty much entirely of original medleys (except for two), it wasn't always supposed to be like that.
"At one point, we were doing probably some covers and then Bradley said, 'Let's do no covers at all, let's do all originals,' except for 'La Vie En Rose' and 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow,'" he said. "I didn't know what to make of that. But I knew when [Lady Gaga] opens her mouth, God steps in."
He explained that during the table read of the script, everyone would go through their lines until it was time for a song: "She'd sing a song, and we were all like, 'Are you kidding me?' I think I might be decent at what I do, but she's in another realm."
"She did a pretty wonderful thing with me, early on in the process, we had a meeting at her house in Malibu, and she asked me to stay when Bradley had to leave," Roth added. "She asked if she could play a song for me and she sang 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow.' It was magnificent. I don't know if she was doing it for a purpose or not — but it definitely served its purpose."
Also Read: 'A Star Is Born' Is a Legit Oscar Contender - And Here's What Else Is
With Cooper and Lady Gaga in the lead, Sam Elliott rounded out the cast. Cooper has previously talked about having written the part of Bobby, Jackson Maine's manager and older half-brother, with only Elliott in mind. But what would Roth have done if Elliott had not been available?
"I don't even know! That's a great question," Roth said. "I guess our arrogance ruled the day. We were so struck on him imitating the voice of Bradley because Sam's voice is so distinctive in so many movies. I think it would've been difficult — he was just what we wanted."
With "A Star Is Born" wrapped and heading into Oscar season, Roth is now shifting his focus to his other projects: Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" and Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," both of which took him longer to write than the screenplay for "A Star Is Born."
"Dune" will star Rebecca Ferguson and Timothee Chalamet, while "Killers" will star Leonardo DiCaprio.
"This version [of 'Dune'] will differ considerably from David Fincher's," Roth said. "It was difficult because I wasn't familiar with the book, and reading the book [takes] forever. It's daunting because it has 300 pages to a chapter, and it was a really hard adaptation. I had two or three experts on 'Dune' that would tell me what was intended. I would say it took me probably a year plus."
He has been working on Scorsese's film for "probably five years," however.
"Martin is the most inventive man I've ever worked with — certainly, he encourages you to be the most imaginative and I have a good imagination… It's set between 1920 and 1925, and I think it can be one of the last great Westerns. He wants to make one big Western — this will be the last of its kind, I promise you."
TheWrap's Top 100 Portraits of 2018, From Gal Gadot to Spike Lee (Photos)
Director Guillermo del Toro, "The Shape of Water"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for The Wrap
Actor Nick Jonas, "Ferdinand"
Photographed by Corina Marie for TheWrap
Actor Jamie Bell, "Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool"
Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap
Director Jordan Peele, "Get Out"
Musician Elvis Costello, "Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
Musician Questlove, "Detroit"
Songwriters Ryan Tedder and T-Bone Burnett, "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power"
Actress Saoirse Ronan, "Lady Bird"
Actors Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet, "Call me by your Name"
Actor Timothée Chalamet, "Call me by your Name"
Actor Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour" and actress Sally Hawkins, "The Shape of Water"
Actress Laurie Metcalf, "Lady Bird"
Actress Allison Janney, " I, Tonya"
Actress Willem Dafoe, "The Florida Project"
Actress Mary J. Blige, "Mudbound" and songwriter Common, "Marshall"
Actress Jessica Chastain and director Aaron Sorkin, "Molly's Game"
Actor Sam Rockwell, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
Writer Emily V. Gordon and actor Kumail Nanjiani, "The Big Sick"
Actress Holly Hunter, "The Big Sick"
Director Sean Baker, "The Florida Project"
Actress Salma Hayek, "Beatriz at Dinner"
Actress Gal Gadot, "Wonder Woman"
Actresses Rachel Brosnahan, Yara Shahidi, Allison Brie, Evan Rachel Wood, Gina Rodriquez, Claire Foy, and Zazie Beetz
Actress Zazie Beetz, "Atlanta"
Actress Claire Foy, "The Crown"
Actress Allison Brie, "Glow"
Actress Gina Rodriguez, "Jane the Virgin"
Actress Rachel Brosnahan, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
Actress Evan Rachel Wood, "Westworld"
Actress Krysten Ritter, "Jessica Jones"
Writer Stefani Robinson, "Atlanta"
Photographed by Samantha Annis for TheWrap
Actress-show creator Frankie Shaw, "SMILF"
Actress-show creator Rachel Bloom, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"
Actress Laura Linney, "Ozark"
Photographed by Megan Mack for TheWrap
Actress Christine Baranski, "The Good Fight"
Actress Megan Mullally, "Will and Grace"
Photographed by Sarah Dunn for TheWrap
Actress Thandie Newton, "Westworld"
Actress Samira Wiley, "The Handmaid's Tale"
Actress D'Arcy Carden, "The Good Place"
Actress Alex Borstein, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
Actress Yvonne Strahovski, "The Handmaid's Tale"
Photographed by Jill Greenberg for TheWrap
Actor David Harbour, "Stranger Things"
Photographed by Benjo Arwas for TheWrap
Actress-director Carrie Brownstein, "Portlandia"
Actor Finn Wittrock, "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: Crime Story"
Actress Betty Gilpin, "GLOW"
Actor Milo Ventimiglia, "This Is Us"
Actress Regina King, "Seven Seconds"
Actress Amy Sedaris, "At Home With Amy Sedaris"
Photographed by Stephanie Diani for TheWrap
Dancer-choreographerTravis Wall, "So You Think You Can Dance"
Photographed by Steven Gerlich for TheWrap
Actors Édgar Ramírez, Darren Criss and Judith Light, "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: Crime Story"
Actor Darren Criss, "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: Crime Story"
Actress Judith Light, "The Assassination of Gianni Versace"
Actor Édgar Ramírez, "The Assassination of Gianni Versace"
Actor Antonio Banderas, "Genius: Picasso"
Actor-musician John Legend, "Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert"
Photographed by Matt Sayles for TheWrap
Actress Cristin Milioti, "Black Mirror: USS Callister"
Actor Evan Peters, "American Horror Story: Cult"
Actress Hayley Atwell, "Howards End"
Actress Dakota Fanning, "The Alienist"
Actor Jeffrey Wright, "Westworld"
Photographed by Justin Bettman for TheWrap
Actors Ted Danson and Kristen Bell, "The Good Place"
Photographed by Corey Nickols for TheWrap
Actor Ted Danson, "The Good Place"
Actress Kristen Bell, "The Good Place"
Actresses-writers Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, "Broad City"
Photographed by Megan Mack and Corbin Chase for TheWrap
Actress Logan Browning, "Dear White People"
Actress Aubrey Plaza, "Legion"
Actress Niecy Nash, "Claws"
Actor Ron Livingston, "Loudermilk"
Actress Chrissy Metz, "This Is Us"
Actress Mandy Moore, "This Is Us"
Actor Zach Woods, "Silicon Valley"
Actor Noah Schnapp, "Stranger Things"
Actress Yalitza Aparicio, "Roma"
Actor Steven Yeun, "Burning"
Actor Rami Malek, "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Photographed by Shayan Asgharnia for TheWrap
Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, "The Kindergarten Teacher"
Actress Zoe Kazan, "Wildlife"
Actor Willem Dafoe, "At Eternity's Gate"
Actress Thomasin McKenzie, "Leave No Trace"
Director Spike Lee, "BlacKkKlansman"
Actor Tim Blake Nelson, "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"
Actress Kathryn Hahn, "Private Life"
Actress KiKi Layne and director Barry Jenkins, "If Beale Street Could Talk"
Actor Zachary Levi, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
Actress Melanie Liburd, "This Is Us"
Photographed by Diana King for TheWrap
Actress Chloë Grace Moretz, "The Miseducation of Cameron Post"
Actress Elizabeth Reaser, "The Haunting of Hill House"
Actor Richard Madden, "Bodyguard"
Actress Deborah Ann Woll, "Daredevil"
Actor Keir Gilchrist, "Atypical"
Actor Ross Lynch, "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina"
Actress Joanna Kulig, "Cold War"
Actress Andi Matichak, "Halloween"
Actress Adina Porter, "American Horror Story: Apocalypse"
Actress Leslie Grossman, "American Horror Story: Apocalypse"
Actor Tommy Chong, "Up in Smoke"
Photographed by Ryan Schude for TheWrap
Actor JD Pardo, "The Mayans MC"
Actor Cody Fern, "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story"
Actor Jeff Bridges, "Bad Times at the El Royale"
Photographed by Ian Spanier for TheWrap
Stars of movies and TV all sat down for TheWrap's photographers throughout the year
SAG Awards Nominations Are Great News for 'A Star Is Born,' But Not for 'The Favourite'
By Steve Pond | December 12, 2018 @ 8:13 AM
Why Do the Golden Globes Think 'A Star Is Born' and 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Are Dramas, Not Musicals?
By Steve Pond | December 6, 2018 @ 7:41 AM
AFI's Top 10 List Ranges From 'Black Panther' and 'A Star Is Born' to 'First Reformed' and 'Eighth Grade'
By Steve Pond | December 4, 2018 @ 11:00 AM


IT security has become a major issue for organizations as they need to protect their assets, including IT resources, intellectual property and business processes, against security attacks. Disruptions of IT-based business activities can easily lead to economic damage, such as loss of productivity, revenue and reputation. Organizations need to decide (1) which assets need which level of protection, (2) which technical,managerial and organizational security countermeasures lead to this protection and (3) how much should be spent on which countermeasure in the presence of budget constraints. Answering these questions requires both making IT security investment decisions and evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of these decisions. The literature has contributed to this field adopting approaches from micro-economics, finance and management, among others. However, the literature is rather fragmented and lacks a shared theoretical basis. As a consequence, it remains partly open what we can learn from past research and how we can direct and stimulate still missing research activities. In order to address these deficiencies, we draw on the resource-based view (RBV) and provide a theoretical model for IT security investments. We use this RBV model to review the IT security investment literature and to identify research gaps.


The Alto Atacama is a luxury lodge close to San Pedro de Atacama with a strong emphasis on sustainability and the environment.
The Alto Atacama is a lodge and spa which has been conceived and developed to blend in with its surrounding natural environment. The lodge is set in the lush Catarpe Valley around 3 kms from the centre of the nearby village of San Pedro de Atacama. The lodge has a strong empathise on suitability and connecting with the local culture and environment. The lodge runs 30 excursions from mountain biking to early morning vehicle trips to geysers all of which are run by expertly trained local guides.
The Alto Atacama Lodge and Spa has a total of 42 rooms and is located just outside the nearby village of San Pedro de Atacama. The lodge is all inclusive for both meals and excursions, and you decide which excursions you would like to take after you have arrived. The lodge encourages its guests to get off the beaten track and explore the surrounding area by foot or bike, while there are also vehicle based excursions. The night sky is incredibly clear in the Atacama desert and taking a stargazing excursion, is highly recommended. The hotel also has a restaurant and spa.


Information Things to see: rock formations, swimming spots, evergreen forest, blueberry field and a river with small rapids and caves.
Drive on highway 347 until a metal guard rail begins. Park at the start of the guard rail and look out for a dirt road leading into the woods with a chain blocking access to vehicles.


The laundry room or mud room is probably one of the most overlooked yet frequently used spaces in the home. It's not supposed to be fancy, just functional. But, why is that? Let's combine style with usefulness and turn this drab room into an appealing work area.
If your current laundry room is bare, think about how you can rearrange the space to add shelving and cabinets. For as much time as you spend washing clothes, bedding and towels, it would be nice to have a place to fold them, and a large tabletop could come in handy, too. If space is limited, get creative with overhead storage like hanging bins and high cabinets.
Having a sink in the laundry room is a bonus that makes tough stain removal that much more convenient. If you don't already have the plumbing, get a contractor to give you a price quote for piping it in. Laundry room sinks tend to be large basin-types with tall, flexible faucets for multi-purpose cleaning. One great space-saver is to have a sink cover that sits flush with the countertop to extend your flat surface and easily lift away when you need to use the sink.
Another fab feature in the laundry room is a clothes' hanging bar just like the one in your closet. Putting up a bar in the laundry room makes for easier wrinkle releasing and air drying of damp clothes.
If you can't go all in on a full room makeover, some small touches can make a big difference. Hang some wire shelving on the wall to hold detergents and other washing products. Use hooks on the back of the door to dry towels or store your drying rack. Decorative baskets can slide under a counter for functional storage with a dash of style.
Perk up this functional space with a little bit of paint, too. Bright white is clean and crisp, just like you want your laundry to be. Offset this with a bold navy blue on an accent wall or paint the cabinets and shelves. Cabinet hardware adds a nice classy touch, too.


Electing a mayor is a cultural as well as a political statement. This is especially true when a candidate enters our lives pledging to work toward an intangible abstraction called quality of life.
People may well remember 1997 as the year when Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani put the police barricades around several midtown pedestrian crossings. While not of the magnitude of the Triborough Bridge and other projects by Robert Moses, the barricades have certainly provoked an outcry of Mosaic proportions.
Other proposals set forth by City Hall have been larger in scale but not in imaginative scope: the removal of Yankee Stadium from the Bronx to the Upper West Side, the dressing up of Governors Island in Monte Carlo drag as a resort for casino gambling, the inclusion of a large theater in the redeveloped Coliseum site on Columbus Circle (a joint venture between city and state agencies), and expansion of development rights for the owners of Broadway theaters.
None of these amount to city planning. They are more on the order of notions, bright or dim as the case may be. Disconnected from one another and from any larger vision, they are scattershot ideas, balloons floating in the void that city planning has become. I think of these ideas as MacGuffins, Alfred Hitchcock's term for the plot devices that set his thrillers in motion: a roll of microfilm, money stolen from a bank. Unimportant in itself, a MacGuffin serves only to trigger the episodes that generate suspense.
The point of these urban MacGuffins is to spark the suspense of public opinion. Articles appear. Artists' renderings are published. Polls are taken. Columnists weigh in. The city is in an uproar. There's the illusion of happenings on the planning front, but it's actually an entertainment, an escapist fantasy like ''Psycho'' or ''The Birds.'' (The saga of the pedestrian barricades might be called ''The Cows.'') What counts is the commotion. And the hubbub deflects attention from the fact that planning has all but collapsed in New York, the city that introduced zoning. What we have now is psycho-planning: surprise attacks on the the mind of the body politic.
The Giuliani administration is not responsible for the collapse of planning. In 1960, Jane Jacobs's ''Death and Life of Great American Cities'' sparked a spirited attack on the modernist concepts of master planning that then prevailed. Intended to reform planning, her book succeeded in discrediting the very idea of planning. It has never quite recovered. There is no natural constituency for planning.
Neighborhoods don't want it; the decentralization of authority by community boards gives them power. Developers don't want it; they're delighted that planning is now conducted as if it were merely a form of economic development. Politicians don't want it; they depend heavily on developers for campaign contributions. Preservationists don't want it; many of them believe they've replaced it. Business-improvement districts don't want it; they've already privatized it.
The City Council doesn't want it; planning could limit its power. Albany doesn't want it; flush with its triumph in the redevelopment of Times Square, the Empire State Development Corporation already has more power than it knows how to use. And ordinary citizens don't want it; they associate planning with the crude postwar urban-renewal projects that Jane Jacobs so cogently attacked.
But that was 40 years ago. She probably did not foresee that planning would be substantially dismantled, or that its collapse would leave the public realm defenseless against market pressures. Nor could she have anticipated that the eyes on the street, the natural crime deterrent afforded by a vibrant street life, would need to be augmented by police surveillance cameras.
Actually, Mayor Giuliani has already recreated a great public work: The Street. The freedom to walk in relative safety is as valuable as any project I can think of. But this is basically damage repair. That's one reason why the city's current mood of triumphalism has a hollow ring. New York is back, but also backward. There's no overarching vision of the post-industrial metropolis the city could become.
Contrast this with Barcelona. A visit I made there several years ago happened to coincide with a mayoral election. Each of the four leading candidates had an architectural consultant; that was simply expected. For four days running, the city's leading paper ran front-page interviews with each architect.
Oriol Bohigas, consultant to Pasqual Maragal, then the incumbent Mayor, had already had two terms to define his boss's urban vision: Mr. Maragal would be the mayor of public space. The 1992 Summer Olympics were a catalyst to set in motion a program of public works, including new parks, renovated and remodeled older buildings, a redesigned waterfront and new buildings by architects of international standing.
It is tantalizing to speculate what kind of New York we would be living in today if Robert Wagner Jr. had not died a few days before Mr. Giuliani first took office. Mr. Wagner, a former Planning Commission chairman, had endorsed Mr. Giuliani, and his endorsement persuaded many in the design fields to cross party lines in the hope that Mr. Wagner would have a major role in the Giuliani administration.
Mr. Wagner was not an urban visionary, but he knew the difference between a plan and a MacGuffin, between architecture and real estate. One could have counted on him at the very least to seek out good ideas and give them a hearing. For the first time since the Lindsay administration, there might have been a channel between city government and those with creative approaches to planning and design.
As things stand, we are just anxious spectators, waiting for Mother to leap out from the shadows at the Bates Motel.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Guest post: Joss Whedon, Sex, and Monsters: A Fan's response.
Marina Fontaine is a friend of mine. We ran into each other on Facebook, and I think she might be one of my bigger fans. When the stupid hit the fan with Joss Whedon last week, Tor joined in on the stupid, because, well, Tor.
As Tor is one of my favorite punching bags, I considered bouncing up and down on them like a trampoline.
When Marina said "I'm so tempted to fisk this article," I said "Want me to host it on my blog?"
And so, a guest post, fisking yet another stupid Tor Article.
First, a word from the dark side...
Avengers: Age of Ultron is about a lot of things. The film is a conversation about monsters, gods, what is right, what is wrong. Ultron is a monster, by our standards, but he thinks of himself as a god. Is Tony a monster for creating him? Will Steve ever be able to leave the war behind? Will Hawkeye ever finish the dining room?
So far so good. We want our stories, especially those told in the form of blockbuster movies, to be about a lot of things. We want big ideas, something to think over and discuss long after the end credits roll and the bucket of popcorn is emptied. And if some of those big ideas are intercut with personal quirks of the characters, so much the better. Best characters, those that stay with us, are portrayed as complete human beings, whether or not they happen to have specialized skills or super powers.
The biggest question that my friends and I have been discussing, however, is what we've all already started calling "The Black Widow Monster Scene." There are several ways to interpret the exchange between Natasha and Bruce, all of which seem valid, in my opinion. But I specifically want to examine how this scene functions in the context of Joss Whedon's overall work, and the popular perception of Whedon as a feminist writer. Simply put: let's look at how often Whedon has relied on this trope of a woman's power or uniqueness or, yes, monstrosity, being inseparable from her gender and sexuality—why, in Whedon's stories of women's power, does their strength and talent always need to be bound to their bodies and biology?
Well, now. Thank you ever so much for allowing us to interpret a scene in several ways, but you in your infinite wisdom will now tell us what we SHOULD think anyway. Personally, I think anyone claiming to divine an artist's intent, especially in context of work from decades ago, is stretching literary analysis well beyond its limits, but hey, it's a free country (for now). Examine away.
To begin at the beginning, in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, Buffy's role as the Slayer is immediately sexualized, as Merrick explains that her terrible menstrual cramps are an early warning system that vampires are nearby. (And this is why Slayers have to be female.) Whedon's film script was heavily rewritten, so it's entirely possible that this was not one of his original plans for the character, but since it flows so well with the rest of the Buffyverse wrestling with sex and death, I've always felt it was probably one of his ideas. This concept was mostly dropped in the show, but the connection was reflected and echoed in other moments: it's Buffy's loss of virginity that triggers the return of Angelus; Willow explicitly compares her PMS to Oz's monthly lycanthropy in "Phases"; and Faith tends to celebrate a successful slaying session with random, somewhat violent hookups—which later causes some emotional fallout with Xander.
I have to admit that the original Buffy movie is not fresh in my mind. Menstrual cramps reference never made it into the show, and one would think that if Whedon really loved the idea, he would have worked it in somehow. After all, he had seven seasons to play with ideas, new and old. Be that as it may, my first reaction as a fantasy fan is, "Hey, this is pretty clever. Take something that is biologically already there and is normally somewhat of a handicap and use it as an additional power to give the Slayer." Also, I don't know about you, but when I think about menstrual cramps, sexualization is pretty much the last thing on my mind. But, whatever floats your boat.
Moving on to the other points, and now I will get a little nit-picky, which I think is fair, considering the source.
The return of Angelus is triggered by the fact that Angel has sex with Buffy and achieves total bliss. Said bliss is not caused by Buffy losing her virginity, but by Angel engaging in passionate, satisfying sex with the woman he loves. Later on, Faith tries to seduce the good-again Angel to bring back Angelus. (On the spinoff Angel show, he is eventually able to have sex that is less passionate and not quite as satisfying with a woman he just kind of likes, with no adverse effects.) Personally, I think Whedon is simply using a tried and true horror trope of "sex=trouble" rather than anything much deeper. But in any case the big payoff involves Angel losing his soul, and if one wanted to make social commentary there, it might as easily have been "for men, bliss equals sex; how very primitive of them." If anyone is defined and controlled by sex or lack thereof, it's Angel, not Buffy.
Willow's comment to Oz is part an awkward joke and part her trying to show empathy (hey, I know how you feel!). Willow is still in her suppressed, shy stage at that point, and this is the best she can do. In other words, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Faith, at least the version of Faith we first meet, is a gloriously amoral creature, and of course it shows in her sexual conduct. She takes anything she likes, be it shiny things or sexual pleasure, with no inhibitions, proudly and gleefully. It's mostly a shorthand indication that we're dealing with someone lacking inhibitions, with sex being only a consistent part of the overall character. We are back to my "complete" characters comment at the beginning. Whedon does that. It's a good thing.
Given that Buffy was more about high school, college, growing up, and coming of age, the sexual nature of this stuff was often necessary and very metaphorical. As Whedon moved to the more adult, male-centered Angel, we also got a severe downshift in sexuality: there is a constant undercurrent that Angel has to be a vampiric monk, because he believes that any form of physical intimacy would take his soul. The tone of the show matched with the main character's struggle, showcasing the entire team without overtly sexualizing any of their jobs, and as I watched my way through most of the Whedon oeuvre, I assumed that he'd left the conflation of power with sexuality back in high school with Buffy.
Putting aside the snide tone of the last comment, the paragraph above seems to have been written by someone who has either never seen Angel or stopped early on as that show has given us some of the strangest hookups, some with potentially world-ending consequences. It has been a while, but let me see if I can sum it up: Two vampires have sex, producing a human child. The child grows up quickly (long side story there) to adulthood and has sex with a somewhat super-powered human who used to change his diapers. Said human then gives birth to a goddess.
Nope, no strange sexual overtones in there at all. Why? Because it does not fit the narrative of the article, that's why.
But then I watched Firefly. While Inara's status as a Companion becomes increasingly complicated over the course of the series, her job doesn't have much to do with her own personal sexuality; meanwhile, Zoe seems to be a happily married woman who's attracted to her husband, and River seems to be too young and loopy to think about that sort of stuff yet. But what the hell is the deal with Kaylee? She's a supercompetent mechanic in a future society that seems way less sexually uptight than our current Earth-based one. She's good at her job, loves it, seems a bit naive at first. She jokes about vibrators, which, good. Sexually active girl. But then—we learn that she's turned on by engines. In the (amazing) episode "Out of Gas," we learn that she only got the job on Serenity because Mal caught her fucking his old mechanic in the engine room. Her skill with engines is inextricably tied to the fact that she's sexually aroused by them, and specifically requested that Bester take her to the engine room. (She's actually referred to as an "engineering groupie" on the Firefly wiki…).Wash isn't turned on by flying, Zoe isn't turned on by fighting, Simon isn't turned on by practicing medicine, Jayne isn't turned on by… whatever his particular skill is. (Actually, he and Simon both seemed to mostly be turned on by Kaylee?) Hell, Inara isn't turned on by being a Companion. It's her job, she sees it as a service, that's really it, and we never get the sense that she's particularly attracted to the people who visit her. Mal talks about loving Serenity… but that seems to be more of a spiritual thing than a sexual one. (If anything, he resembles the monkish Angel here.)
Once again, have we watched the same show? Kaylee "jokes about vibrators" are complaints that she has NOT been sexually active in pretty much forever. But aside from that, she rocks it out as a mechanic while otherwise being sweet, shy and somewhat lacking in self-esteem. She has a crush on Simon but will not approach him. She gets utterly devastated by a put down from a socialite regarding her frilly dress. Later at the same party, she recovers her balance by chatting up a group of men on the subject of engines. I see her skill as a source of pride and something that gives her both comfort and self-confidence. The author looks at all of that and sees a sexual fetish. Ooookay. I don't think Whedon is the problem here.
But then, because no sexual relationship can remain happy and healthy in the Whedonverse, Kaylee's engine room is taken away from her. During the episode "Objects in Space," bounty hunter Jubal Early shows up, looking for River. He finds Kaylee in the engine room, working, and threatens her, asking if she's ever been raped, and making it clear that he's prepared to hurt her to learn what he needs to know.
She's terrified. She thought she was alone with her engine, working in silence after the rest of the crew went to bed. This is her safe space, the part of the ship that she understands even better than Mal does, the part of the ship that is most hers. So even though he doesn't actually go through with his threat, her space has been violated. It's safe to assume that she won't be able to be in that room again without thinking about this incident….was this why she took Simon to the engine room, specifically, at the end of Serenity? To reclaim it for herself? Again, as storytelling, this is incredibly compelling, but as this particularly sexualized violence is only directed at one, young, female, incredibly vulnerable crew member, it overshadows everything else in the episode. Once again, a woman's particular talent and career has been tied to her biology in a way that was wholly unnecessary to the plot, and which makes her own competency stand apart from the rest of her team.
Over-think much? Rape is used in literature over and over again because it is a) a shorthand for cruelty and violence that has almost no equivalent and b) a primal fear of every woman, no matter how safe and sheltered. Yes, it is biologically determined, and even though men can and do get raped, this particular fear is unique to females. (Men have a primal fear of their own. I don't know if the joke about a groin cup being invented way before a sports helmet is true, but it sounds right. However, double standard being what it is, that particular turn of events mostly appears only for cheap giggles in comedies, and Whedon has not used it in his work.)
If I wanted to find a problem with this plot point, it would be the fact that Kaylee, having been established as someone both smart and capable, is caught unarmed and helpless in the engine room. Considering she is part of a renegade crew, I would have expected her to be armed at all times. Before the "victim blaming" lynch mob gathers on my house lawn, I would like to point out that Kaylee is a fictional character and Whedon put her in that position. It's not impossible that his own dislike of guns might have contributed to this slip-up in an otherwise exceptionally compelling story. This is a very long way for me to repeat the point I above: rape is violence, and needs to be treated as such in storytelling and in real life.
Why does Kaylee take Simon to the engine room? Because it is hers, more so than her room in the crew quarters, and because she wants to share it with the man she loves. Certainly, there is an added element of her getting over the trauma of near-rape and reclaiming her mental balance, but again, not everything is sexual.
In Dollhouse, some of the Dolls' assignments include a fair amount of sex work, and we see Echo imprinted with the personalities of everything from a dearly departed housewife to a dominatrix. However, Dolls can be any gender, and their functions in the field are not inherently sexual. And considering that their minds are "wiped" in-between each engagement, it's clear that they don't get off on what they do, and while the clients might, this is not central to the Dolls' view of themselves. The point is that the Dolls have no view of themselves until Echo begins to break down. Dollhouse explores the extremes of identity—the dolls form perspectives on themselves without tying those core identities explicitly to their sexual being—while their clients actively pay for the privilege of seeing their sexual and personal preferences embodied in someone else. Dollhouse's focus on identity includes, among other things, exploration of the notion of biological destiny. From there, Whedon leaves his own creations and begins working in the Marvel Universe.
Interestingly enough, the author does not find fault with Dollhouse, a show that, at least in my opinion, is Whedon's weakest work. There are certainly questions of what constitutes an identity and how much of it is genetically pre-programmed, but in all honesty the rushed plotlines did not allow for enough exploration.
So far, the author has waded unsteadily through the archives of Whedon's work, cherry-picking and misinterpreting a elements along the way, and is now ready to regale us with her views of The Avengers. Being a naturally patient person, I am willing to allow that maybe her memory of Whedon's older stuff is selective, faulty, or gotten from Wiki, but The Avengers is recent, so it has to get better from now on, right? Right?
Let me begin by saying that there is a difference between objectification and sexualization. Yes, the Chrises are all objectified in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—this time out, they even find an excuse to throw Hemsworth in a pool so he can whip his hair around like he's in a shampoo ad. However, none of the guys are sexualized. None of them are defined by their sexual relationships.
Wait, Buffy is sexualized by menstrual cramps, and Willow by PMS, but a guy purposefully depicted in such a way as to turn on every straight woman and gay man in the theater is not? Whatever you say, but you may want to keep some ice ready. That kind of mental gymnastics can hurt you.
Oh, and objectification is suddenly OK. I'll remember that when your ilk start screaming bloody murder when a pair of larger-than-usual breasts appears on a screen, or—horrors!—in a comic book.
And Widow, contrary to the actors' jokes about sluttiness, is not actually sexualized in the films until we get to Age of Ultron. (Actually, if you want to talk about the biggest slut in the Marvelverse? It's Matt Murdock, by a hurt/comfort landslide.) Playboy's article about this is completely on-point. She works in espionage, she is ridiculously good-looking, and, presumably, she's used her looks to infiltrate certain areas. She has probably used her body in slightly more direct sexual ways to get people to give up secrets. She's also used her body to beat the truth out of enemies.
Since at this point the author cannot find any problems, she falls back on reminding everyone how two of the male actors were jerks towards the character. Never mind that the Black Widow character would have probably beat the snot out of anyone, super-powered or not, who dared to call her a whore. Black Widow is now officially a victim. Somehow.
Black Widow has used her brain, her wit, her charm, her sense of humor, her apparently horrifying Soviet spy training, and her hopefully less-horrifying S.H.I.E.L.D. training, all to do a very specific job. However, at least in the context of the MCU, she's never played the femme fatale. She's never used sex to manipulate any of the men or women on screen with her. She gets a job as Pepper's assistant in Iron Man 2 because she's qualified for the gig. Tony's the one who makes lewd jokes, and looks at her modeling shots, and doesn't see the super-assassin standing right next to him.
Unless, of course, knowing Tony's rep, she made sure those enticing photos popped up first thing in the search. Surely, as a spy, if she wanted to make them disappear off the search engine and ONLY get hired based on her skills, she could have done that easily. But that would be stupid, which she is not.
Where Widow uses her body and sexuality as a tool, Tony thinks that she can be defined by her sexuality, presumably in the same way he's defined other young women during his pre-Pepper philandering. This causes him to completely overlook her actual skills and job qualifications until he learns that she's working with Fury, and to be continually amazed at how she works directly with Pepper to keep Stark Industries afloat after he goes rogue. Later, Widow works alongside the other Avengers to fight the Chitauri invasion; some time after that, she goes on the lam with Cap in The Winter Soldier and spends most of the time either fighting or hacking. She does kiss Steve once to hide their faces, but it's a pretty platonic kiss, and she's only doing it to protect them. In fact, the running gag of the film is her badgering him about his love life, because they're buddies, and that's the kind of stuff buddies talk about together.
This section is all decent analysis, although I take issue with the author's insistence that a female character might somehow become less worthy if she got romantically involved with a partner. While I'm not a fan of action movie conventions demanding that a male lead and a female lead must pair up whether of not the story can support it, neither do I give movies bonus points when it does not happen. Story must come first and characters must stay consistent (or we should get an explanation as to when they are not). For Black Widow, a Soviet-trained spy, staying away from personal involvement is a consistent trait, so, good.
So after several films of watching Natasha do her job without any attachments of any kind, we get the Banner/Romanoff romance. And it's exactly that: romance. Furtive glances with occasional gazing, flirtation over cocktails, banter that makes me want the two of them in their own '40s throwback spinoff movie RIGHT NOW. (Scarlett Johansson wasn't as into it, but I think it's sweet and awesome.)
Me too, but probably for a different reason. As someone not familiar with the comics, I was taken by surprise with the romance, but in retrospect, it was inevitable. These are two exceptionally damaged people. (Banner has "the other guy," and the self-loathing that comes with it. And Natasha very clearly has demons of her own even before she opens up in "The Scene." She looks distraught and shaken during her conversation with Loki in the first Avengers. Yes, she was acting to get information—all in a day's work for a super-spy. But the facts recounted by Loki were genuine, and so was her pain from bringing up the details of her past.) So it is good and right and satisfying to see Bruce and Natasha connect and share something special together, however temporarily.
But then… Banner thinks that he's a monster because the Other Guy occasionally gets out and literally kills people and destroys buildings. The film leaves us no doubt that he's incredibly dangerous and nearly unstoppable. So when he opens up to Natasha about leaving the team, hiding out where he can't hurt anyone, she reciprocates by telling him how she, too, is a monster. And this is where the film veers straight into a wall.
Ha. Strange that would be the choice of words because as far as I'm concerned, it's this article that just ran into the wall, then proceeded to climb it, jump off head-first and leave an article-shaped hole in the ground, a la Sunday morning cartoons. Here we go…
Earlier, we see flashes of Widow's time in her Russian spy school. She returns to the school during a Scarlet Witch-induced vision because it's her worst memory, the trauma that she can't let go of even after all that's happened to her and all she's done. The Red Room is where and when young Natalia was "unmade" and then reconstructed as a Black Widow. Her stern headmistress has a disjointed voiceover about her graduation ceremony, and we see a man in a chair with a bag over his head—is her graduation ceremony killing him? Interrogating him? Torturing him for secrets he doesn't even have?
That was wonderfully clever, if disturbing, piece of misdirection. We are led to assume that the graduation ceremony involves some kind of ritual torture and/or killing, but the flashback moves on, presumably to something worse. What can possibly be worse, we wonder? That's a VERY powerful scene.
Her graduation ceremony comes after all of the training, when she's wheeled into a makeshift hospital room and sterilized.
Yep, OK, that's worse. Great payoff there. She's no longer a budding assassin, "made of marble," but a woman about to be permanently changed in a fundamental, biological way and hesitant about taking the step. Again, a complete character. Flesh and blood and doubt; not marble after all.
This makes sense. It's part of Widow's backstory in the comics, and it seems like a very practical decision for a spy to make. But it becomes clear in the flashbacks that Natasha had changed her mind, and the headmistress even claims that she's sabotaging her own graduation to try to get out of it. More than learning how to lie and kill, this is the part of the experience she regrets the most.
"Still think you're the only monster on the team?" she asks Banner.
Oh, the wonderful ability of feminist and academic writers to ignore the context right when it's smacking them in the face with a giant green fist. Banner just finished telling Natasha how he can't stay with her and have a normal relationship, because, for one, "the other guy" comes out during sex.
(D*mn. Don't tell men about this one. A guy just MIGHT scroll up to the whole Angel/Angelus/sex part and write a long boring article about Banner in context of THAT. On second though, never mind. Men don't think that way. You know why? Because they JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN AT THE MOVIES. I know. Unenlightened creatures, men.)
Alright, crisis averted. Where was I? Right. Banner. No sex. No family. That has to suck duck eggs, but he's accepted it, or at least filed it away to feed his ever present anger. Insert a snide remark about men and emotional repression. YAY stereotypes.
Natasha, for all we know of her from the movies, now that we're clear Hawkeye was just a friend all along, has never been in love since becoming an assassin. May not be true in the comics, but stick with me. Now she feels an attraction. Even better, it's mutual. The only problem is, the man she loves looks in the mirror every day and sees a monster.
AND SHE UNDERSTANDS.
Right or wrong, that's how she feels about herself.
So she brings up what she thinks is her darkest secret, her one irredeemable—in her eyes—flaw in hopes of making him feel less alone. She hopes they will connect at that level and just might stay together. By calling herself a monster, she professes her love.
Sweet, romantic, powerful, tear-jerking, standout scene in a move that's a chock-full of iconic moments. Good job, Mr. Whedon, keep 'em coming.
Oops, I forgot to turn on my feminist brain.
TERRIBLE-INSILTING-MYSOGYNISTIC-WORST-SCENE-EVAH.
OK, that hurt. Back to my regular brain now. Moving on…
I think Whedon was trying to say that it was her choice to become a killer that is the monstrosity here, and that she's trying to empathize with Banner on that point, but the beats of his script work so that the conversation ends on the regret that she'll never be a (biological) mother.
"Choice" is an iffy word here, likely used because of the knee-jerk reaction of feminists to claim the concept at all times when discussing what is loosely known as "women's issues." Does anyone seriously think that, had Natasha refused the procedure, the Soviet schoolmarm would have just let her go in peace? They were able to convince her not to resist, but there was no choice involved in normal sense of the world. Regretting and acknowledging the loss is not the same as guilt.
(And in the interest of full disclosure: I don't intend to have children, and this line felt like a gutpunch to me. I can only imagine that it was worse for people who do want kids, but can't have them...)
Just to be clear, Ms. Artsy Analyst Blogger, YOU went there, not me. You chose to make it personal. I'll bite. You don't want kids. Good for you. To claim some kind of sisterly camaraderie with infertile women, however, is the ultimate in arrogance and—again, YOU started it—insensitivity. How DARE you presume what it's like to be infertile, what does and does not feel "like a gutpunch"? You want a real example of a gutpunch? Try Hilary Clinton, no doubt one of your heroes and role models, saying in an early interview (post-election, pre-bimbo eruptions) how essential motherhood had been for her as a woman, how she never even considered giving up this "important experience." I remember the words to this day because my own, years-long struggle with infertility had started just about then. Looking around and seeing nothing but strollers everywhere is bad enough. Hearing it from the First Lady on national TV is something else entirely. I don't remember Republican women, fertile or not, throwing a collective fit over that one. Welcome to Double Standard Land. Oh wait, that's where YOU live, not me.
For those curious, as proof that whoever runs the Universe has a sense of humor, I now have three children, the last of those unplanned. But I remember the pain well, and I for one APPRECIATE seeing an amazingly strong and independent woman acknowledging that the heartbreak is real, and it messes up with your sense of self in ways outsiders cannot imagine. And no, choosing not to have kids does not qualify you for full understanding. Sit down and shut up. You have nothing to say here.
While Banner's belief in himself as a monster stems from the Hulk's destructive powers, the movie claims that Natasha's sense of herself as Other is seated in her decision to give up the ability to bear children… a decision that seems to have been partially forced on her anyway. And really, why did the film even need to go there? We have more than enough angst between Natasha's status as a murderer and Banner's status as a green rage monster for them to grapple over whether they even deserve happiness together, let alone whether it's possible for them to pursue it... but instead Whedon had to delve into biology and sexuality in a way that completely muddled the conversation, and completely changed Natasha's character arc.
Already covered. Natasha opens up as an act of love. And possibly because, having just seen a happy family in action, she NEEDS to give words to her pain, and Bruce happens to be there. Either explanation works, and both are likely true. Whedon's characters have layers.
Obviously, this scene is off-putting enough, but when you compare it with the other female characters in the film, it becomes even more glaring.
You say off-putting, I say brilliant. Repeating your points doesn't make them true. But by all means, keep digging that hole.
At this point Widow is the only female Avenger, and her power, her espionage skills and all that training, have now been defined in sexual terms. Actually, not even just sexual terms—her skills are a repudiation of fertility itself. She is the negative to Clint's secret pregnant wife Laura, who stays at home taking care of the kids, managing a bucolic farm house, able to make a giant dinner for a completely unexpected team of superheroes on very short notice, discreetly not mentioning that Nick Fury's already out in the barn so that he can get his surprise entrance when Tony most needs a pep talk… basically, she's a caretaker for a bunch of people she doesn't even know.
Yeah, I know. THE NERVE! How dare Whedon portray an ordinary homemaker woman as supremely competent at her particular choice of lifestyle? Doesn't he know it's not an acceptable option for a modern woman? Take away his feminism-supporting card RIGHT NOW!
Once again, I see beautiful storytelling. The other side of the coin, the possibilities lost (Maybe? Would a woman like Natasha be capable of enjoying this life? She'll never know. My guess is, probably not, but she was never given a chance so that's all it is, a guess.) But the author is so dripping with contempt at this point, SHE is the one reducing both women to their most shallow characteristics.
Her very existence tells us something else about this universe: Clint Barton is able to be a full-time Avenger, with much of the same training as Natasha, just as much red in his ledger, and at the end of the mission he gets to go back to a loving home and family. Natasha doesn't get to have any of that. There is no "end of the mission" for her. What there might be is literally running away with the Hulk, which would come at the sacrifice of her entire life and her work with the Avengers. (Apparently female superheroes still can't have it all?)
Well, you know what? Them's the breaks. Clint Barton is in love with a regular woman, so when he's not being a super-assassin, he gets a few moments of regular life. Natasha fell for the guy who breaks buildings and catches missiles with his teeth when he gets agitated. Again, no way to know if she could have paired up with a farmer or a computer geek who would spend his days waiting for her by the window, but for right now, Banner is her man, with everything that it implies.
With Laura a homemaker who is defined by her role as Clint's wife, Scarlet Witch a young girl who is effectively infantilized by Clint during the pep talk on the floating island, and Friday, Dr. Cho, and Maria Hill each having very small roles, Natasha is the only woman who seem to be on an equal level with the guys. The film makes this explicit when she steps up to train the Avengers 2.0 with Steve—they're both career soldiers who have no life off the battlefield. But unlike Steve, and unlike all of the other Avengers, the capabilities that elevate her over normal people have now been identified as a side effect of her sexual choices.
Right. Scarlet Witch has a team of superheroes reduced to quivering jelly by WAVING HER HANDS, but because she dares to grieve for her twin brother and needs a little support at the lowest moment of her life, she is suddenly just a young, infantilized girl? Dr. Cho is a super-scientist genius who also counts for nothing because she is not a warrior? Now who's diminishing and dismissing female characters? Not Whedon, for sure.
And one more time, S-L-O-W-L-Y: getting sterilized against your will is not a sexual choice. Even falling in love with a man who is problematic as a partner is not a sexual choice. Words have meaning. Look them up.
Now I want to re-state: I love a lot of Joss Whedon's writing. And obviously, many humans, both real and fictional, find their lives shaped by their sexual choices. But it still seems noteworthy that so many women written by Whedon end up being completely defined by those choices (or the loss or absence of those choices, in some cases). And it's interesting to me that the go-to feminist writer of nerd culture seems to use this trope almost as often as he kills people for dramatic effect.
Translation: STILL NOT GOOD ENOUGH! UNACCEPTABLE! It's not enough to create breakthrough shows featuring female empowerment that are actually entertaining enough to get the message heard and taken to heart by millions of fans. Nope. Still too much humanity and complexity to the characters and not enough pure messaging for your feminist fans (for value of "fans," considering how much this particular author got factually wrong about Whedon's shows.)
Why, in the midst of stories about women's power, does he need to tie that power to uncontrollable bodily functions? Why are men like Mal and Angel able to be defined by their missions, while their female counterparts are still defined largely by their sexuality? Why is a character who is mostly non-sexual onscreen called a slut, while a certain genius billionaire playboy philanthropist enthusiastically lives up to the "playboy" part of his rep and never gets any flack for it? By the end of Ultron, Natasha seems to be compared most strongly with Steve: they made analogous decisions to sacrifice their personal lives for their countries, to undergo medical alteration to become soldiers, and I don't think it's an accident that Natasha holds the mighty shield almost as often as Cap does. So why is Natasha's decision to become a killer for her country any more repulsive than Steve's? I think Whedon was trying to examine some huge concepts in Age of Ultron, and I think many of the questions he raises are fascinating, and handled brilliantly. I just wish he'd also asked a few of these equally important questions of himself along the way.
Yep, Angel's soul is not—literally—tied to his sexual behavior. Mal only cares about his ship and not the beautiful woman he thinks he can never have. Tony's life is one big party and he pays no price whatsoever for his less that stellar choices. Captain America does not forever regret missing the dance with his long lost love. Nope. It's only women who have issues in Whedonverse. My mistake.
Now, in a truly hilarious twist, Joss Whedon's decision to leave Twitter to pursue personal time to write has become the latest part in the conversation about his feminism. Since people have been vocal about their issues with Black Widow's arc, and since Whedon didn't explicitly state that he was taking time off for personal reasons, his narrative was hijacked and turned into an excuse to accuse "angry feminists" of driving him off the platform. There are articles all over the internet, and the news trended on Twitter with the vast majority of tweets complaining about the women who hounded him. So then Whedon himself had to come back onto social media—you know, the place he was trying to leave—to explain that he just wanted to get away from the constant barrage of information.
Hilarious indeed. Because there is no record whatsoever of feminists hounding their opponents, or perceived opponents, or regular people who might have farted off key, into submission. Google #Shirtstorm. Then get back to me. I don't know why Whedon went off Twitter. Obviously, he can't say "because a bunch of angry women yelled at me." But if THIS article is any representation, I can't blame the man for wanting a break from the insanity.
The fact that people who purport to be Whedon fans would trumpet the idea that "radical feminists" were hurting their hero is terribly disheartening to me. The fact the last year has been filled with vitriol and threats against women who dare to critique geek culture is particularly upsetting. And most of all the fact that one of our most public male feminists can't just give us an interesting, complicated, compelling character without having to tie both her greatest strengths and her greatest flaws to her sexuality? That's just exhausting.
Well isn't this just precious. I think we got us the new Godwin Law, with GamerGate replacing Hitler. Listen to a feminist long enough, and sure enough, here it is. Only you know what? I'm not a guy, I'm not a gamer, and bringing up this crap in the middle of nowhere does not work to summarily shut me up.
Are you exhausted? Good. Step away from the keyboard, put away your "How to Claim Victim Status is 5 Easy Steps" handbook, pop in some Blue Ray disks and for crying out loud, re-watch those shows you so claim to love, this time with your feminist blinders off. Enjoy. Relax. You'll thank me later.
I'm doing my best not to lay another narrative on top of this, but instead to look at the work itself and ask why Black Widow can't just be an Avenger, judged on her skills and capabilities the same way Steve, Tony, and Clint are? Why does this one aspect of her life now have to define all the others?
Amen to that. I, or millions of fans, have never judged her otherwise. But then, I just want to have fun at the movies. Apparently, it's a thing now. Maybe you should try it.
MarinaFontaine is an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, a proud American and an unrepentant book addict.
Because of her background, Marina especially appreciates an opportunity to discover, share and support pro-freedom art in all its forms. She is a co-founder of Conservative-Libertarian Fiction Alliance group on Facebook, runs Small Government Book Fan Club on Goodreads and has a blog on LibertyIsland.
Marina lives in New Jersey with her very supportive husband, three children and four guinea pigs, working as an accountant by day and an aspiring writer by night.
Posted by Declan Finn at 12:17:00 PM
Labels: avengers, black widow, buffy, hawkeye, whedon, Writing
Talitha May 12, 2015 at 4:26 PM
Tell it, sister. Beautiful!
Spot on. When I saw this tripe article, the first thing that popped into my head was "this is begging to be fisked."
JD Cowan May 14, 2015 at 8:18 PM
Why Whedon continues to bow to these people who would cut his head off on a whim is beyond me.
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