I love to go to Oracle meetings, conferences, trainings, and all that. Why? I actually like my job and I want to get better at it. Also I'm very lazy and always look for shortcuts and easier ways to do things.
Going to an Oracle (APEX) event is always very valuable for me (you can substitute Oracle or APEX for whatever field you are working in, but mine is #orclapex and I'm grateful I ended up in this corner). On such events you hear interesting stories, hear about projects, meet people, and often just have fun.
All of that is extremely important for my well being. It helps me to create better applications, be faster, find more versatile solutions, and simply enjoy my work more. It brings new ideas and freshens up everything. Suddenly I have answers I couldn't think about a week before.
Great, you are saying. I'm coming, too. But why should I (or my company/employer) sponsor that event?
Well, think about the audience and the possibilities. Are you looking for talent? Are you looking to get your brand known in an expert group? Are you trying to expand into a new market? Do you simply want to say "Thank you" to your community?
There are thousands of possible reasons. Especially in a time where available talent is rare, a potential Employer should try to make the most of it and be at the source to attract them.
So get out there and give back to the community!
One way could be to be part of APEX Alpe Adria 2018. An APEX conference for the Adriatic region where we do try our best not to make any money of our attendees and rather join with Sponsors.
This entry was posted in News, Personal, Uncategorized and tagged Conference, Meetup, sponsor by Peter Raganitsch. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
Review of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V. E. Schwab
Audiobooks, Fantasy, Fiction Review, Starred Review 0
narrated by Julia Whelan
Macmillan Audio, 2020. 17 hours, 10 minutes.
Review written October 5, 2021, from a library eaudiobook
This is the amazing epic tale of a girl who sold her soul to the god of Darkness.
She was at her wits' end. She lived in a small village in France in 1714. At 23 years old, her family had decided she must marry an older man from the village. Her life stretched out before her bleak and hard. She wanted to live! And she wanted to be free.
But when she prayed desperately to the gods on the day of her wedding, she hadn't realized that the sun went down and it was the Dark who answered. He was happy to give her the wish – but when she got tired of living, her soul would be forfeit.
However, in granting her wish to be completely free, the Dark cursed her to never be remembered. She could interact with people, but as soon as they turned their back or a door closed between them and Addie, they would completely forget her. And there was more – she couldn't speak her name or tell her story. If she tried to write words or make any kind of mark, it was instantly erased. In fact, the only person who remembered her and knew her name was the god of Darkness himself.
First, her family and the friends in her village forgot her, as if she had never existed. But Addie quickly learned that it was difficult even to order food or rent a room. Eventually, she learned that she could steal, because that is anonymous. But if someone saw her stealing and was able to stop her, she would still suffer.
She could suffer – but she did not age or get illness or lasting wounds. She had immortality – and the Dark underestimated her stubbornness, as well as her excitement in discovering new things. She wasn't willing to forfeit her soul. She even learned, over the years, that ideas are more lasting than memory. While she never could have an accurate painting or photograph made of her, she could and did inspire art and music.
But one day in New York City, almost 300 years from the day she was cursed, she brings a book back to a bookstore that she stole from it the day before – and the bookstore clerk remembers her! And it continues! She finds she can even tell him her name.
And so, after almost three hundred years, Addie LaRue's life changes. But the reason why this boy can remember her brings with it a new set of problems.
This story tells about Addie's long life and adventures interspersed with scenes from the present (2014), weaving a rich tapestry of an amazing life, which may not have been entirely invisible.
And of course it raises many questions. Would it be worth living a long life if you couldn't leave any mark on the world? Is it possible to love people who forget you? What are the things that make life worth living? And of course the big one: What would you be willing to give up your soul to get?
The audiobook was wonderful, giving Addie a slight French accent and distinguishing the characters well, but it's very long. I enjoyed a trip through Skyline Drive in early Autumn to finish it off, and it made the drive all the more incredible.
macmillanaudio.com
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Fiction/invisible_life_of_addie_larue.html
Review of Every Little Kindness, by Marta Bartolj
Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review, Wordless Picture Book 0
Every Little Kindness
by Marta Bartolj
Chronicle Books, 2021. First published in Slovenia in 2018. 68 pages.
Review written October 2, 2021, from a book sent to me by the publisher
Here's a lovely wordless picture book brought to us from Slovenia – and the pictures transcend culture.
As the book opens, a girl wakes up, but drooping. She puts on her red glasses and looks sadly at a pile of posters with a picture of a dog in a red collar.
She goes out to put up the posters, but on her way she sees a man playing a guitar with a cup out for donations, and she gives him her red apple.
A man carrying a red bag sees her kind act. On the next page, he does something kind for someone else. He is watched by someone else with something red, and then that person does something kind.
And so it goes. This book is full of a sequence of kind acts. People see a kindness, then do a kindness. And these are all highlighted with something red in an otherwise subdued-color scene.
The final act of kindness isn't a surprise when someone finds the girl's dog and gives her a call.
So we come full circle and end up with a scene including lots of happy people.
Because this is a wordless book, there are lots of things to notice, and I'm sure I didn't catch everything. "Reading" this book with a child will give them lots to talk about. And besides that, this lovely book will leave you smiling.
chroniclekids.com
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/every_little_kindness.html
Review of The Oxygen Advantage, by Patrick McKeown
Health, Nonfiction Review 0
The Oxygen Advantage
The Simple, Scientifically Proven Breathing Techniques for a Healthier, Slimmer, Faster, and Fitter You
by Patrick McKeown
William Morrow, 2015. 352 pages.
Review written August 21, 2020, from a library book
This book took me a long time to read. The author rambles and digresses. But a lot of those digressions are stories of lives who were changed because of these ideas. More are about the science behind the ideas.
The basic theme here is that people get into trouble from overbreathing. That deep breath they tell you to take to relax? The sighs you use to let off steam? Not a good idea.
This book made me wish I were still communicating with my ex-husband, a tuba player. He did some research on hyperventilation syndrome (which can happen to tuba players), and this book bears that out – and gives exercises to counteract it.
This author claims he can cure asthma and increase sports performance. For me, just dabbling in the exercises has cleared up what used to be an always stuffy nose.
An interesting and counterintuitive chapter at the beginning explains that we need to increase our tolerance for carbon dioxide in our blood. I won't copy the long explanation, but here's a bit of it:
Think of it this way: CO2 is the doorway that lets oxygen reach our muscles. If the door is only partially open, only some of the oxygen at our disposal passes through, and we find ourselves gasping during exercise, often with our limbs cramping. If, on the other hand, the door is wide open, oxygen flows through the doorway and we can sustain physical activity longer and at a higher intensity. But to understand how our breathing works we must dig a bit deeper into the crucial role carbon dioxide plays in making it as efficient as possible.
The book also talks about the importance of breathing through your nose and not your mouth and the benefits that brings. I'm glad I sleep alone – because I've been trying his suggestion of taping my mouth closed at night. I haven't noticed a dramatic difference when I wake up, but it is true that combined with the breath-holding exercises from the book, I've got a lot less nasal stuffiness than before.
I'm not an athlete, so I'm not going to try the exercises that simulate high-altitude training. But I would like the health benefits. He's got a simple Body Oxygen Level Test (BOLT) score you can use to measure your progress on this. If all he says is true, a higher BOLT score will help your overall physical health.
If any of this sounds at all helpful, the book is worth taking a look! The exercises are not difficult, and if the author is right, they can make a big difference.
buteykoclinic.com
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/oxygen_advantage.html
Review of Parachutes, by Kelly Yang
Contemporary, Teen Fiction Review 0
by Kelly Yang
Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins), 2020. 476 pages.
Parachutes is a story about a Chinese teen who's been dropped by her wealthy parents into America to get an American education. Parachutes is the term used to describe these kids, many of whom end up on their own without any supervision, which comes with its own problems.
This book focuses on Claire, a junior in high school who's sent to America from Shanghai, and Dani, also a junior in high school, whose single mother decided to get some much-needed cash by renting a room to a Chinese student, Claire. They both attend the same private school, but the parachutes are given separate classes from the American kids. Dani's been working hard on the debate team, and with extra encouragement from her coach, she's hoping to get to go to an elite debate competition and win a scholarship to Yale. Her after-school job is cleaning houses, where she gets a window into the lives of the rich, including some fellow students.
Meanwhile, Claire spends time with her fellow parachutes, who prioritize shopping and parties. She catches the interest of a boy whose father owns one of the largest corporations in China. Claire's and Dani's lives intertwine in unexpected ways.
There's a content warning at the front of the book: "This book contains scenes depicting sexual harassment and rape." So it's not a spoiler for me to tell you that's in there. My main reservations about the book have to do with how the book ended, so I'm not going to go into detail. This was colored by my recently having read Know My Name, by Chanel Miller, who was the victim in the famous Stanford rape case, and having read that book made me less enthusiastic about how this one ended than I would have been otherwise. (How's that for vague?)
And I hate that it's realistic that American teens – and international teens in America – have to deal with these things. The parachutes portrayed were at even more risk, being far from parental supervision and facing peer pressure to spend extravagantly and take advantage of their independence.
The story here was well-crafted, alternating between the two girls' perspectives, so the reader was more aware than they were about how their lives were intertwining. The book kept me up late reading, and you will be rooting for both girls.
kellyyang.com
epicreads.com
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/parachutes.html
Review of Popcorn Country, by Cris Peterson, photographs by David R. Lundquist
Children's Nonfiction Review, Science 0
Popcorn Country
The Story of America's Favorite Snack
by Cris Peterson
photographs by David R. Lundquist
Boyds Mills Press (Highlights), 2019. 32 pages.
Fair warning: This book will make you hungry for popcorn. I'm a big fan of popcorn, so I couldn't resist learning about it in this picture book.
I didn't realize that popcorn is a special kind of corn grown specifically to pop.
There are four kinds of corn grown in the United States: dent corn, also called field corn, sweet corn, flint corn, and popcorn.
We see those other examples, then we learn how popcorn is grown, harvested, and processed, with photographs all along the way.
There are some interesting spreads when it tells how samples are tested for pop-ability. And then the popcorn is loaded on trucks and ships. I hadn't realized that the United States produces nearly all the world's popcorn.
There are more interesting facts at the back. The main body of the book itself is a lovely way to tell young elementary school kids where there favorite snack comes from.
crispeterson.com
boydsmillspress.com
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/popcorn_country.html
Review of Dare to Know, by James Kennedy
Fiction Review, Science Fiction 0
by James Kennedy
Quirk Books, September 14, 2021. 294 pages.
Review written September 28, 2021, from an advance reader copy sent to the library.
If you like exceedingly clever and also bizarre books – think Douglas Adams as an example – then you should try James Kennedy's novels.
His first book, written for young adults, The Order of Odd-fish, inspired my entire Sonderling Sunday blog series, because if ever there was a book with interesting language, that was it.
In this new book, written for adults, our story opens with a washed-up but once prosperous salesman desperate to make a sale, trying to close that sale in a Starbucks. His product is unusual: Dare to Know tells people the day and time of their death.
Our narrator, whose name we never learn, was in at the beginning of Dare to Know and had studied thanatons in college – a newly discovered particle intimately wrapped up in human death.
At that time, the company was called Sapere Aude – the Latin translation of "Dare to Know" and (as I just discovered via Google) a famous quotation from Kant. Our narrator was a physics and philosophy major – as was the author, according to his bio. There's lots of philosophy in this book, with a glaze of plausible physics theory of thanatons and a new field of "subjective mathematics" which is required to work with this theory.
The math and physics in this book doesn't actually make any sense, but we're told the information with such confidence and plausibility that even my strong implausibility detector didn't pull me out of the story. But as I said, you should enjoy bizarre stories to best appreciate this book.
At the end of his bad day that opens this book, our narrator calculates his own death time and learns that it happened twenty-three minutes in the past. And yet he seems to be alive. But if the calculations were incorrect, this is the very first time Dare to Know has been wrong. Their accuracy is 100%.
This begins our hero's journey to figure out if he's dead or not. He goes on a quest to visit Julia, his girlfriend back when they started together in the company, who calculated his death date long ago and kept it in a blue envelope. If she still has the envelope, will it match his calculations? Is he, in fact, dead?
Along the way, many surprising memories come forward which at first seem unimportant, but if his death date is wrong, then is something wrong with Dare to Know?
I'm afraid that while I did enjoy the book, it went a little too far toward the bizarre for my taste. It did remind me of the author's other book, The Order of Odd-fish, which also heads toward the outlandish and also doesn't shy away from a main character who seems to be in danger of causing the end of the universe.
Read this book if you dare!
jameskennedy.com
quirkbooks.com
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Fiction/dare_to_know.html
Oct 2, 2021 October 2, 2021
Review of Fred Gets Dressed, by Peter Brown
Delightfully Silly, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0
Little, Brown and Company, 2021. 44 pages.
Fred Gets Dressed is a book that's playful about an everyday activity: getting dressed.
As the book opens, Fred is running around his house naked while his parents read books and let him romp. We do see his bottom, but he's happily positioned not to reveal anything else. His expression and demeanor are sheer joy as he celebrates being "naked and wild and free."
But then he runs into Mom and Dad's bedroom and looks in the mirror on the inside of their open closet door. We see his big smile. Then he starts looking at the clothes in their closet.
Fred looks at Dad's side of the closet.
He thinks about the way Dad dresses.
It might be fun to dress like Dad.
So Fred carefully picks out a shirt and a tie and a pair of shoes.
But he has trouble putting them on.
Then Fred thinks about the way Mom dresses. He finds an outfit from Mom's side of the closet that he can put on. Then he decides to go to her dresser and try the jewelry and makeup.
Just as he's smeared some lipstick on his face, Mom and Dad walk in. There's a spread where they see him, and then a spread when everyone smiles at each other.
After that, the whole family joins in! Mom shows Fred how to put on some makeup, but Dad and even the dog get involved, too.
I love the way the parents aren't shocked by Fred's play – either when he's romping naked or when he's dressed up like Mom. And better yet, they join the fun.
I'm not going to say this is a book for gender nonconforming kids, though they will enjoy it. Don't all kids love to play dress-up? I love the way this book doesn't teach that this has to be limited by gender, and that even grown-ups can play, too.
And after reading the author's blog post about the book, I like it even better. When he was a child who loved to play with paint, he was interested in what his mother used to paint her face. One day his mother found him with lipstick on his face, and his mother responded as Fred's mom does, teaching him how to put it on. The author says he felt unconditional love when his mother responded by encouraging his curiosity rather than scolding.
Good silly fun with a playful message. And a wonderful example of affirming parenting.
peterbrownstudio.com
lbyr.com
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/fred_gets_dressed.html
Prev 1 2 3 4 … 285 Next

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
UK Unemployment At 15-Year High As Outlook Darkens
Nov. 16, 2011, 7:55 AM
mugley via Flickr
LONDON (AP) — The outlook for the British economy has worsened because of slowing global demand, sagging confidence and turmoil in the eurozone, the Bank of England said Wednesday as new data showed unemployment rising to the highest rate in 15 years.
Unemployment rose to 8.3 percent in the three months through September, the highest since January 1996, as companies prepare for grim times ahead. The Bank of England halved its forecast for economic growth in 2012 from 2 percent to 1 percent, and pared its projection for 2013 by half a point to 2.5 percent.
"Implementation of a credible and effective policy response in the euro area would help to reduce uncertainty and so support U.K. growth, but its absence poses the single biggest risk to the domestic recovery," the bank said in its quarterly Inflation Report.
The government likewise blamed the eurozone for rising unemployment.
"These figures show just how much our economy is being affected by the crisis in the eurozone," said Employment Minister Chris Grayling. "Our European partners must take urgent action to stabilize the position."
The eurozone is battling to contain market jitters over too much debt in some countries. Confidence is eroding in ever-larger countries, such as Italy and even France.
Britain is also tightening its government spending to reduce its debt load. That is expected to slow growth further and squeeze households' finances.
The Bank of England expects inflation to fall rapidly from its current annual rate of 5 percent, which is far above target, as growth remains weak.
The downbeat report raised expectations that it will soon commit more money to its economic stimulus program, after authorizing an additional 75 billion pounds ($119 billion) of asset purchases in October. The program hopes to boost lending activity — and therefore economic growth — by increasing the amount of cash available in the financial system.
How much such a program can help create jobs is uncertain, however. The latest jobs figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the number of unemployed people increased by 129,000 in the July-September quarter compared with the previous three months. That was the largest quarterly increase in two years.
Unemployment has risen as Britain's economy has grown slowly over the last year. The number of people out of work for more than two years rose to 422,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous three months.
"There's little to suggest that the economy will be strong enough to stop unemployment rising further," said Samuel Tombs, U.K. economist at Capital Economics.
Job vacancies have been on a flat to downward trend in recent months, while activity surveys point to further falls in private sector employment ahead, Tombs said.
The unemployment rate for people aged 16 to 24 now stands at a record 21.9 percent, prompting the head of the Confederation of British Industry to call for urgent action by the government.
"A generation risks being scarred by the devastating effects of long-term unemployment," said John Cridland, the CBI's director general. "We are calling for action for jobs now, with a clear plan to get the UK working, focusing on our young people."
More: United Kingdom Great Britain Unemployment Europe


text:
Agriculture Place Celebrates Grand Opening in Downtown Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan, May 30, 2016 - Today, Harvard Developments Inc. and its partner, Greystone Managed Investments Inc. on behalf of its pension fund and institutional clients, celebrated the official grand opening ofAgriculture Place, the newest office tower in the heart of downtown Regina. Joining representatives of Harvard Developments for the event held in the building's main lobby were Her Honour the Honourable Vaughn Schofield, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan and His Worship Mayor Michael Fougere.
Located at 1820 Hamilton Street in downtown Regina, Agriculture Place is an 11-storey, class "A" tower that boasts over 160,000 sq.ft. of modern office space and unique amenities, such as a 2,000 sq.ft. fitness centre, a tenant specific lecture theatre and roof-top patio, climate controlled pedestrian links to adjacent office buildings and three levels of underground parking running along Hamilton Street from Agriculture Place through to Mosaic Tower. The mixed-use development also features the "Shoppes on Hamilton", a main-floor shopping destination that offers nearly 10,000 sq.ft. of retail space which will be home to various fashion and lifestyle retailers like the newly opened Green Spot Café and Swank Shoe Lounge. In terms of sustainability, Agriculture Place has also been designed to obtain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the Canada Green Building Council.
"Harvard Developments has called the City of Regina home since 1903. Our dedication to ensuring the success and vibrancy of our downtown is ongoing," said Rosanne Hill Blaisdell, Managing Director of Harvard Buildings Inc. "We are very honoured to be able to fulfill the office needs of Farm Credit Canada, Stantec and CIBC in this new state-of-the-art, eco-friendly building. By choosing to maintain and grow their Head Offices and Branch Offices in Regina's downtown, these important businesses are demonstrating a long term commitment. It's a strong signal of the bright future that lies ahead for the City," she concluded.
Farm Credit Canada (FCC), Canada's leading agriculture lender, is the building's lead office tenant. With occupancy secured in Agriculture Place, this move allows FCC to join neighbouring FCC Tower and consolidate their headquarters into one dual-tower complex. "Farm Credit Canada is proud to be a part of the evolving landscape of downtown Regina and province of Saskatchewan," said Michael Hoffort, President and CEO, Farm Credit Canada."In many ways this is the home of agriculture and the roots of our company, and we are excited to grow our operations here and look forward to serving our clients from our new space." The building is also home to the Regina branch of Stantec, an international architecture and engineering consulting firm.
"Agriculture Place is a great example of how the City and our development partners are focusing on revitalizing downtown and making it a more sustainable area," said Michael Fougere, Mayor of Regina. "Important features like ground floor retail, underground parking, and pedestrian-friendly design elements make this an exceptional office building and welcoming part of the community."


Resume Examples for Students Expert Legal Resume Template Best Law Student Resume Template Best is a part of 36 Awesome Resume Examples for Students pictures gallery.
, picks the best series using best quality just for you, and now this images is usually one among photos collections in this best photos gallery concerning Beneficial Resume Examples for Students. I hope you will enjoy it.
posted by means of sier on 2019-02-09 06:33:23. To determine almost all photos within Beneficial Resume Examples for Students photographs gallery make sure you abide by that link.


Sexual advances from potential investors pose both professional and emotional doubt and frustration. How can entrepreneurs handle and overcome such behaviors coming from superiors?
When I first came to San Francisco, I was inexperienced and seeking mentorship. I had a project that I was working on at the time, seeking funding. A respected venture capitalist was introduced to me and asked me to meet at a hip SF spot for drinks after work. I hadn't been there before and was looking forward to meeting him. When I arrived, the VC quickly pivoted the meeting into more personal terms. I became hot in the face, and tried to gracefully avert his advances, but also felt conflicted — Was this normal? Was I not a good investment? Was this within his human right of self-expression as someone who I wasn't in a formal business relationship with me?
We had been introduced through a mutual friend, hadn't talked about the purpose of the meeting much, and, besides, several of my friends were successful businesswomen in consensual and healthy relationships with venture capitalists… perhaps I entered into the meeting with bias, seeing him for only his job, and not as a complete human being who had just been introduced to me without a clearly stated agenda. Was this why it was harder for women to fundraise or was it hard for me to fundraise for another reason and I wanted to find an excuse?
My company wasn't raising money successfully, and he was intelligent and experienced, which I respected. He had a lot of great qualities and was quite funny. I decided to continue the conversation with openness to different possible outcomes — we spoke about a range of topics and had an enjoyable night. I felt simultaneously disappointed in the lack of business progress and interested in getting to know this person more, despite having my guard way way up. At the end of the night, he planted a kiss on me. I was taken aback, thanked him for his advice and excused myself swiftly into my waiting car.
We texted back and forth and several weeks later, the VC invited me to join him for a night out. I graciously declined, but maintained casual conversation. After multiple invitations, I decided to be open to the direction of the world, decided not to pursue a professional relationship with him and agreed to meet him for date. We dated for about six months. Later, we ended things when I found out the relationship had not been monogamous, despite his adamant requests for a monogamous relationship with me. I asked him for a bit of time, and we scheduled a friendly dinner two months out to reconnect after the dust and the hurt had settled.
Over the course of several years, we stayed in touch and became close friends. He was intelligent and became somewhat of a sounding board for me during my early career. In part, because of our history, he became emotionally invested (if not professionally so) in my success. He introduced me to colleagues who became important pillars in my career. He helped springboard me into other relationships that became important to my success. This grey space was hard to classify—it never felt black and white, but he cared and was helpful and I enjoyed having him in my life. I cared about him, and counted him as a close friend.
During those years, I had started a business that was starting to look like it might become quite successful. He got more and more excited about the project and asked to be made a formal advisor, citing the impact he'd had on my career and his ability to further my network. He told me he could be a real asset, and could fight for the success of my business. I was honored to have him responding so enthusiastically about my work—this is what I had wanted all along!
I weighed the pros and cons — startups are about evaluating risk more than they are about completely avoiding it. In the end, I felt having him involved would be our best chance of getting this thing off the ground. Besides, we had been friends for years, he was about to propose to another woman, and had not had a romantic relationship of any sort for a long time. I explained this to him and made it extremely clear that this decision would mean that we would never be romantically involved again. He agreed, and I agreed. We shook hands and slapped each other on the back.
As the months passed, and the business starting looking more compelling, he began pressuring me physically and began telling me he felt conflicted, was sorry for cheating, and felt he had made a mistake. I told him I cared about him, told him he was important to me, and tried to let him down with compassion as I averted and brushed off increasing advances. Always central to these conversations was how much I cared for him, how important he was, and how much I respected him—that I wanted to build something valuable in the world together, and that we'd moved on to new chapters. I reminded him that we were better off as friends and colleagues, that he had a great relationship with another woman that he was jeopardizing through his behavior, and that we could stand to be very successful together. I reminded him that we had failed as romantic partners and agreed, in good faith, upon entering into a professional relationship, not to revisit those avenues.
When the business appeared to be poised to get its first round of financing from top-tier investors, he started calling me for late night "urgent" pitch meetings, telling me my pitch was not ready. I believed him when he told me loudly that he would be embarrassed if I gave the pitch the way it was. I do look back on those old pitches, which looked so very different from the ones I give today, but it was hard to separate the likely genuine feedback from my desire to stop the advances altogether. It became impossible to get advisory feedback without feeling like I putting myself in dangerous and increasingly pressured positions. He used those opportunities to try and physically coerce me into staying the night, trying to prevent me from leaving on multiple occasions, always with a faux-joking undertone. A hand on my leg, a kiss on my cheek that came a little too close to the corner of my mouth, an effort to push me down on his couch and stick his hands up my blouse.
I felt trapped, I questioned my own value, and I felt that cutting ties with him at the start of our raise had the ability to cast doubts on what was shaping up to be a potentially successful fundraise. I was afraid that if I cut the interactions I wouldn't get the practice and input I wanted and that he'd be right, and I would embarrass myself. Again and again, I rebuffed these advances, always seeking a way to let him down kindly, but increasingly felt that I did not know what to do. I knew that a respected VC exiting a company during the beginning of a raise could often be a negative enough signal to prevent the company from closing financing altogether. I thought if he backed out right now, we would not raise the money we very much needed to continue building something important.
As I was leaving after one of these meetings he gave me a key to his home and pressured me to accept it. Confused, I silently pocketed the key, and left. I called him the following day, asking for clarification—I was dating someone else and living with them at the time, but this person and I had been close, and sometimes ran errands for one another—was this a key for logistics? He clarified to me that this was a key so that I would not continue staying with the man I was dating and would instead stay at his home while he was away traveling. He told me he wanted to be with me and said to me, "I just want to know how happy I should be for your success." I asked him if he was implying that the key was an offer to move into his home, and he confirmed. I was mortified at having led him on by taking it, apologized profusely and had a courier return the key that day. He texted me telling me that he thought I'd cared about the company, and now believed I wasn't really committed.
The situation came to a head one night a few weeks later at an event thrown by mutual friends as he cornered me and emotionally poured out to me that he felt I was "pregnant with our baby." The next day, I found him, sat down, and told him I would never be able to marry him or have a family with him. He cried and I held him until he stopped.
Embarrassed and feeling responsible for my situation, I did not tell anyone what was going on, but continued trying to navigate on my own. I started only meeting him at busy cafes early in the day (often he would get busy and try and arrange to meet at the end of the day instead), and I stopped picking up calls after five. He began sending me texts, stating that I was unwilling to take feedback and was on a sure-fire path to failure. His texts became more and more angry and assertive.
I remember crying myself to sleep, wondering if the only reason anyone had an interest in my work was ulterior motives, and wishing over and over that I had been born a man, so that I could be a part of the intellectual conversations, advice, and growth without these advances. I cried until my eyes hurt. I cried until my face swelled up and I looked awful.
Next, he called my co-founder, accused me of fraud and incompetence, and asserted that both my partner and I would be un-fundable in our current state. He kindly volunteered to take over the company as interim CEO to ensure my co-founder didn't "get in trouble" while "protecting me" by reserving marginal stock for me on my behalf.
That same day, a female customer reported via text message to me that he had been inappropriate with her during a meeting by touching her under her skirt. I went to my then co-founder to break the news to him and we ended up phoning the advisor together. Under the pressure and conflicting assertions, my co-founder buckled and quit.
I came clean to my other team members, and asked them for advice and help. They reassured me, pumped me up, and stated firmly that they would only continue on at the company with me as the leader—they were clear that they were here because of me or not at all. I felt respected; I felt gratitude; and I felt like I had a way forward. I sucked it up, and we came up with a plan of action.
After failed attempts at direct resolution and negotiation, I notified the man's investment partner of the situation (at least in broad strokes). I received a written resignation from the advisor and then worked with my team to have this man removed from my company for a marginal fee (less than $30, plus legal fees for the agreement to go our separate ways). He nitpicked the negotiation and dragged it out, but it eventually concluded, much to the joy of our team.
What were your takeaways in hindsight?
I learned that I should have trusted in my team members much sooner, and should have let them know what was going on. I am so deeply grateful to the three people who helped me navigate this and only wish I'd had the courage to tell them—and to take action—sooner. I was far less confident than I am today, but I try to cut myself some slack and remember that I got here through the school of hard knocks—it's a part of who I am and a part of what made me stronger.
These lessons are often, unfortunately, only learned through experience, and so, I've also learned to give myself a break about what happened. For a while I felt bitter, but I've learned to let go of that too because it was harming me more than him. There is no use focusing on feeling wronged when there is so much right that can be done in the world! Where we focus our energy determines whether we move forward with our goals, and I'd rather go forwards than backwards.
My company has gone on to raise over ten million dollars from leading investors who are respectful, helpful, and offer support (without unwanted advances!)—and we have been able to carry forward with the best possible team. I have learned that the best way to counter his negativity, is simply to succeed and focus my energy on making my business successful. I've learned that the #1 most important factor for any close relationship in life, business or personal, is the amount of respect that you have for one another.
No person is important enough for you to put up with this type of behavior! Anyone who acts this way should be notified that their behavior is not ok and be replaced quickly because they are a liability—not just to you, but to the organization as a whole. Chances are, if you're successful, you'll be working together for a long time, so make sure you're only working with quality people.
Without realizing it, my lack of action had endangered other women whom the company was beginning to do business with. While that spurred me to action, I would recognize now that if someone is displaying this type of flagrant behavior towards me, they are likely doing it towards others. I was less aware of this and felt that I was to blame. Blaming myself prevented me from recognizing the bigger picture and acting as a mature CEO. I learned that self-blame is often limiting and prevents us from acting as our most powerful selves. By blaming myself less, I could see more clearly what needed to be done and the risk that existed for others.
I hope sharing this story can help anyone else navigating a situation such as this to know that they aren't alone, they are likely good enough on their own, and they can overcome the situation. While I don't like to take joy in the suffering of others, I do occasionally remind myself that, for his actions, FOMO was the best punishment of all.


The vibration-damping and electrically insulating plug-in BIPEX-S elastomer coupling is almost completely maintenance- and wear-free and has an exceedingly low moment of inertia.
The BIPEX-S coupling is made up of two aluminum or steel hubs and a polyurethane cam ring. Different cam ring hardness ratings allow the damping ratio and the torsional stiffness to be varied.


text:
Top quotes by Kevin Spacey
Clarence Darrow was a unique and courageous man. Several of my favourite actors have played Darrow... Henry Fonda, Orson Welles and Spencer Tracy. Votes: 30
Over the years, I've been trying to build a relationship with an audience. I've tried to maintain as much of a low profile as I could so that those characters would emerge and their relationship with audiences would be protected. Votes: 19
Edward Norton and I have known each other awhile. I just think he's the real deal, supremely talented and smart. He's got a great sense of humor. Votes: 17
I couldn't imagine something asking as much of me as 'House Of Cards.' It's a great warm-up for coming back to the screen. Votes: 14
I certainly identify with the role of mentor and, to some degree, maybe teacher. I do a lot of work with kids at the Old Vic. Votes: 13
It's a great thriller or mystery, but on another level it's a film about the fact that, if you only look at a person through one lens, or only believe what you're told, you can often miss the truth that is staring you in the face. Votes: 13
If you go out eight times and play tennis eight times this week, yeah, it's the same rules, but it's a different game every time you're out on that court. You're working on a different part of your game every time you're out on that court; your partner's working on a different part of their game, and the act of being watched changes it. Votes: 13
The Old Vic has always been first and foremost an actors' theatre, a home for great talent and memorable performances. Votes: 12
After graduation, I was floundering in L.A., doing stand-up comedy and working in a shoe store in the Valley. Votes: 12
Clearly the success of the Netflix model, releasing the entire season of 'House of Cards' at once, proved one thing: The audience wants the control. They want the freedom. If they want to binge as they've been doing on 'House of Cards' and lots of other shows, we should let them binge. Votes: 9
Storytelling helps us understand each other, translate the issues of our times, and the tools of theater and film can be powerful in helping young people to develop communication/collaboration skills, let alone improving their own confidence. Votes: 8
I was on a couple of scholarships. I had a job in the school administrative office. I had a job as a hat-check boy in a restaurant. I had another job as an assistant to a casting director. It took a lot to get myself enough money to put myself through Juilliard. Votes: 7
There's nothing like standing in a place and wanting nothing so much as to change but simply not being able to. Votes: 7
If someone can watch an entire season of a TV series in one day, doesn't that show an incredible attention span? Votes: 6
What I've certainly learned is that whenever I've said anything about real politics, I've come under attack. So it's best simply to play politics on television. Votes: 6
Whether that's positive or not, people are talking about the Old Vic Theater again with passion and commitment and controversy and debate. Votes: 5
My mother always, always, always thought that I was going to be famous. Thought that I was going to win Oscars. In fact, I believe I accepted the Oscar as a ketchup bottle many a time in front of my mother in the kitchen. 'I'd like to thank the Academy,' I said with a ketchup bottle. Votes: 5
I like being able to go to a local pub and have great food and particularly love pubs that welcome my dogs. Votes: 4
My mother was sarcastic and delightful and, trust me, quite remarkable. Votes: 4
I think that what is truly unfortunate is when an entire party makes a decision that they're going to block every single thing that a president wants to accomplish. It's very - it's very hard to get anything done in those circumstances. Votes: 4
Living in London has become incredible. I suppose it's easy to love where you live if you love what you're doing. But this is not just a visit: it's my home. Votes: 4
The fact is that HBO is doing the kind of films and the kind of stories that the movie industry used to do. You look at a lot of the specialty sections of studios that have gone under... and there's no doubt in my mind why filmmakers and screenwriters and actors are ending up at a place like HBO. They do it better than anybody. Votes: 3
But I feel that I have a responsibility to help the film and I have relations with the studio and with those who put up the money so that I can tell a story that I believe in. Votes: 3
It's always the big question in our lives if you have a lot of success. What do you do with it? Buy more houses, buy more cars, buy more stuff, be wealthy and distant and unengaged? Or do you take all that good fortune that has come towards you and spread the love, do something with it? Votes: 2
At the end of the day, people have to respect people's differences. I am different than some people would like me to be. Votes: 2
To look in the eyes of audiences and see the kind of naughty glee that they got with being on the inside, the audience becomes your co-conspirators. Votes: 1
I open myself up every time I walk on screen and give you everything that I am. There are parts of me that are in every movie that I've done. That to me is what my job is. Votes: 1
I've been on sets where things weren't relaxed because someone was creating tension for no reason. Votes: 1
Some politicians that I've seen have been brilliant with the public. They almost speak with the skill of an actor. Votes: 1
The more shows that are produced, the more writers are hired, producers are hired, actors are hired, directors are hired, it means the more people will get employed. It's better for the economy. It's a fantastic thing. Votes: 1
I've taken the experiences that I've had in the theatre and applied them to film and television and now games. Votes: 0
When you study, as I did, every theatrical beginning in this country, none of them have been greeted well. The Royal Shakespeare Company was a disaster, Peter Hall was a disaster, Richard Eyre was a disaster, Trevor Nunn was always a disaster. Votes: 0
The process of doing a play is an organic one, and the process of doing a film is totally inorganic. Votes: 0
Kids aren't growing up with a sense of television as the aspirational place for their ideas. Votes: 0
I accept the fact that some things don't go the way you hope. Votes: 0
I have wanted to have children. I do want to have children. Votes: 0
I don't live a lie. You have to understand that people who choose not to discuss their personal lives are not living a lie. That is a presumption that people jump to. Votes: 0
The stigma that used to exist many years ago, that actors from film don't do television, seems to have disappeared. That camera doesn't know it's a TV camera... or even a streaming camera. It's just a camera. Votes: 0
It's a really wonderful thing to focus your life on something other than your own personal career and ambition. Votes: 0
There are good people in the lobbying industry. Lobbyists can serve a very useful purpose. Votes: 0
Working in film tends to isolate actors - it's your close-up; it's all about you. Votes: 0
Being an actor sometimes requires that you ask yourself questions you'd rather not know the answers to. Votes: 0
People have really long attention spans, and they love complicated plots. TV series are giving the audience what they want. Votes: 0
For kids growing up now, there's no difference watching 'Avatar' on an iPad or watching YouTube on TV or watching 'Game of Thrones' on their computer. It's all content. It's just story. Votes: 0
If you're lucky enough to do well, it's your responsibility to send the elevator back down. Votes: 0
No one's personal life is in the public interest. It's gossip, bottom line. End of story. Votes: 0
What's my favourite book? It changes all the time. Votes: 0
I remember meeting the likes of Johnny Carson and Jimmy Stewart for the first time and being completely starstruck. Votes: 0
I have never played a game in my life. Votes: 0
Maybe there are people who are gamers who haven't seen movies I have made, or the movies I have made have made no impression on them at all. Votes: 0
People have different reasons for the way they live their lives. You cannot put everyone's reasons in the same box. Votes: 0
Francis Underwood was entirely based on Richard III. When Michael Dobbs wrote 'House of Cards' in the original British series, Richard III is what he based the character on. Votes: 0
I'm able to hang up the character with the costume at the end of the movie. Votes: 0
Secondarily, I think films that are driven by music also terrify studios. Votes: 0
You have to always be ready, always be alive, and always be willing to move in a new direction. Votes: 0
As long as we, in the United States, continue to insist that our politicians have to spend all of their time raising millions of dollars for television ads, it will be corrupt. If we leave it up to the politicians to clean up lobbying and finance reform, nothing is going to change. Votes: 0
I'm used to people thinking I'm nuts. And you know what? I kind of love it. Votes: 0
Life's all about perceptions. Votes: 0
I might have lived in England for the last several years, but I'm still an American citizen and I have not given up my right to privacy. Votes: 0
You learn every single day when you're running a company. You learn as you go. Votes: 0
The next day I was in my school's production of All My Sons. This was the performance where I realized something was happening between me and the audience that I hadn't recognized before. Votes: 0
If we don't reach out to make theatre affordable to the young generation, we will lose them all. Votes: 0
You just play what a writer writes, in terms of what a character chooses to do and how a character chooses to deal with their various relationships. Votes: 0
If you haven't turned rebel by twenty you've got no heart; if you haven't turned establishment by thirty you've got no brains! Votes: 0
For me, coming to work every day has turned out to be exactly what I hoped it would be. Votes: 0
I often make the analogy with tennis. Every match the rules are the same, but no game is ever the same. Theatre is like that. Every time is different. Votes: 0
Exposure to the arts and culture is enormously valuable. Votes: 0
Why not sit around a Beverly Hills pool collecting residual cheques? That is not the kind of life I want. Votes: 0
Secret Cinema has created a new way of experiencing film. The fusion of film and theatre allows for a much more powerful experience and adds an incredibly unique dimension for the audience. It certainly did for me. I was blown away Votes: 0
The work of John Lennon was marked by its exquisite beauty and by its brutal honesty. Votes: 0
The control is shifting because of the democratisation of the internet. My industry is very good at building walls to stop people getting in. Votes: 0
You can't win a marathon without putting some bandaids on your nipples! Votes: 0
I feel it's a responsibility for anyone who breaks through a certain ceiling... to send the elevator back down and give others a helpful lift. Votes: 0
If you ignore the murdering and the conniving, Francis Underwood is an effective politician. Votes: 0
Sometimes its the crazy people who turn out to be not so crazy. Votes: 0
Am I now supposed to go on Oprah and cry and tell you my deepest, darkest secrets because you want to know? Votes: 0
Mediocrity is the elephant in the room. Votes: 0
The 24 Hour Plays is a quite brilliant, exhilarating event for everyone concerned. Votes: 0
Whats my favourite book? It changes all the time. Votes: 0
Success is like death. The more successful you become, the higher the houses in the hills get and the higher the fences get. Votes: 0
I find it sad that by not talking about who I sleep with, that makes me mysterious. There was a time when I would have been called a gentleman. Votes: 0
If you look back through history in the United States, there have been very few landslide elections. Half the country always voted for someone else. Votes: 0
We've learned the lesson that the music industry didn't learn: give people what they want, when they want it, in the form they want it in, at a reasonable price, and they'll more likely pay for it rather than steal it. Votes: 0
I'm not out there trying to get press for myself nor am I trying to convince anybody that I'm living any kind of a life. I'm actually trying to convince people: I don't want you to know what I'm living, because it's none of your business. Votes: 0
[Washington, DC] feels like you're watching performance art. A lot of the time. I don't believe them, I don't believe what they say, I don't think they're being absolutely sincere. I think it's performance art. And most of them are bad actors. Votes: 0
I mean we all played as kids. You play games, you take on different characters, you imitate; the fun and the love of play has never left me. Votes: 0
I've never heard of a situation where, because somebody had a particular political belief, they didn't get a part. I think it's a bit of a myth. Votes: 0
I suppose the most important thing is to stay interested. It's very easy in life if you get to a place where you're successful to hit the same groove on the record player over and over again because it's safe. Votes: 0
Look, at the end of the day people have to respect people's differences. I am different than some people would like me to be. Votes: 0
Look, I might have lived in England for the last several years but I'm still an American citizen and I have not given up my right to privacy, Votes: 0
I don't play villainy. I wouldn't even know how to play it. Votes: 0
No matter how good you might be in a movie, you'll never be any better. But in a play, I can be better next Tuesday. That's the thrill of it. Votes: 0
The only real experiences I've had with therapists were the ones who were working with me and my family when my mother was ill. Votes: 0
I have always believed that the risk takers are eventually rewarded. Votes: 0
I was not a studious kid, and I struggled to find things that would command my attention and engage my ideas and energies. Votes: 0
Stay true to your brand and true to your voice and audiences will respond to that authenticity with enthusiasm and passion. Votes: 0
When you're just able to distill it down to the idea and the feeling that a character is experiencing in a scene, it can become very, very razor sharp and really clean and really efficient and simple. And sometimes it takes twenty-five years to learn how to be simple. Votes: 0
I've been around politics a long time. I've seen it at its best and its worst, been at so many events, listened to private conversations versus public speaking, understood the game of it, and in many ways the theatrics. Votes: 0
Clarence Darrow was a unique and courageous man. Several of my favourite actors have played Darrow Henry Fonda, Orson Welles and Spencer Tracy. Votes: 0
We're going to see a lot of companies that have been portals of entertainment become producers. Votes: 0
Give people what they want, when they want it, in the form they want it in, at a reasonable price, and they'll more likely pay for it rather than steal it. Well, some will still steal it, but I think we can take a bite out of piracy. Votes: 0
Directing a film was something I was yearning to do. I always wanted to see if I had the capacity to be a good storyteller. Votes: 0
I have long been a supporter of The Prince's Trust, and so when American Express asked me to launch 'Amex Be Inspired' and help young people build their confidence and fulfil their potential, I was delighted to get involved. Votes: 0
It takes stamina to get up like an athlete every single night, seven to eight performances a week, 20 weeks in a row. And there are many young performers who only learn their craft in the two minute bits it takes to film a scene. You never learn the arc of storytelling, the arc of a character that way. Votes: 0
For years, particularly with the advent of the Internet, people have been griping about lessening attention spans. Votes: 0
Where the gaming world is going - and certainly Activision proved it by hiring me - is being willing to push and bend and move in a new direction of actually capturing the character and storytelling. Votes: 0
Bobby Darin was one of the first to take black musicians on the road with his band, and there were places that didn't want him to play, and he stood up to it. Votes: 0
I liked it because it was such a dangerous script and showed just what human beings are capable of. Here was a movie in which Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, who always win in every movie they ever do, simply don't win. I felt that was outrageous for a commercial movie. Votes: 0
I am now a commander of the British Empire. Votes: 0
I'm not going to make general comments about the British press. Votes: 0
Cable TV has become where the best actors, writers and directors have gone to work because they are allowed to do character-driven stories. Votes: 0
I don't categorize characters into one syllable. These are fully-rounded characters that I don't judge; I just play them. Votes: 0
Audiences grew to like this duality of feeling, where you're both championing a character and you're revolted by them. Votes: 0
I became a bit of a jerk. A kind of a nasty jerk. Votes: 0
You can almost hear people saying, 'We're going to make a movie about an election' and 'We're going to make a movie about a lobbyist.' You can hear the yawning start across the nation. Votes: 0
I would love to do much more singing; it's just one of those things where I can't quite describe what it feels like when you're standing in front of a forty piece orchestra, and there's nothing between you and an audience but a microphone. It's like strapping yourself to a locomotive, and I love it. Votes: 0
Sometimes the person who is the most logical is the person whom we call insane. Votes: 0
I've been trying to take this journey over the last four years of getting away from playing manipulative and villainous characters and playing characters that are affected by what happens to them as opposed to unaffected. Votes: 0
My admiration for 'Mary Tyler Moore' is very, very big because they went out on top. Votes: 0
A British director directed 'American Beauty,' an important film about American life, and it didn't matter. What only mattered was everyone's sensibility. Votes: 0
Film is very condensed. Votes: 0
Both 'Consenting Adults' and 'Glengarry Glen Ross' revolve around the economic stresses of the '90s. They are about what people do when they're pushed against that wall, and how they're manipulated. They are both morality tales, though in very different genres. Votes: 0
Sometimes it's the crazy people who turn out to be not so crazy. Votes: 0
As the years have gone on, I find one of the dangers of watching dailies... is you fall in love with moments. Votes: 0
I'll tell you one thing. I've never heard a director saying that the dailies suck. Votes: 0
I've been intrigued by politics my whole life. And, yes, I am very close to the Clintons. I was a Hillary person until I was an Obama person. And she was a Hillary person, too, until she was an Obama one, evidently. Votes: 0
People think that direct address was invented by Ferris Bueller, but in fact, it wasn't. It was invented by Shakespeare. Votes: 0
As a producer or financier, you are going to go where you get the best bang for your buck. Votes: 0
I believe this: If an actor wants a role or wants to work with somebody, then you do everything within reason to try to get that role. If they want you to audition, you audition. If they want you to screen-test, you screen-test. If they want you to come and tap-dance in their hallway, you tap-dance in their hallway. Votes: 0
We're all victims of our own hubris at times. Votes: 0
It's the details and the human element that makes 'Recount' entertaining. Even though we know how the election ends, it plays like a thriller. It's also funny. Votes: 0
People say, 'If you open a movie online at the same time as in movie theatres, no one is going to go to the movies.' That's just not true. People love to go out and have a shared experience; they always will. Votes: 0
I'm always taken aback by things that are successful that I think are just crap, and then I'm completely surprised when things I do end up being successful because you walk into things and you never know... It's just really remarkable. Votes: 0
I don't care about my personal acting career anymore. I'm done with it. After 10 years of making movies and doing better than I ever could have imagined, I sort of had to ask myself: 'What am I supposed to do with all of this success that I have had?' Votes: 0
Partisan rancour and party politics and ideology have got in the way of compromise - and compromise is the only thing that has ever made politics successful. Votes: 0
I'm not a writer, and I don't want there to be any mistake about that. Votes: 0
London is a very energising place to be. Votes: 0
Anytime someone can beat the acting out of someone else, I think it's a wonderful thing. Votes: 0
I can imagine there is going to come a time when someone will do 13 hours of a story without breaks. Votes: 0
Meeting the person you are going to be playing is very unique. Votes: 0
In film, movies' schedules are based on three things: actors' availabilities, when are sets being built, when you can rent the place you're going to film in. Votes: 0
Why is 'Game of Thrones' the most pirated show in the history of TV? Because people can't get it fast enough, that's why. Votes: 0
As an actor, you're always nervous as to what a director will do with something. Votes: 0
I want to do better. I want to produce better stories. I want to do better plays. Votes: 0
While data can only tell you what has happened in the past, it can in some ways give you a sense of what might be of interest to an audience in the future. Votes: 0
What I like about Britain is that I can live a normal life here. Votes: 0
It's interesting to play a politician who gets stuff done. Votes: 0
A couple of clues came my way of what I might be getting myself into when I sat down with a number of actors who had played Richard III in the past. And I was hoping of course, that one of them or all of them were gonna give me the magic key, the secret way in to play Richard III but none of them did that.But every one of them did say the following, "Be careful." Votes: 0
A man can convince anyone hes someone else but never himself. Votes: 0
And I certainly won't lay out areas of my life that I think are just private. Votes: 0
Anyone with a internet connection and an idea can develop an audience Votes: 0
Anytime someone can beat the acting out of someone else, I think its a wonderful thing. Votes: 0
As an actor, youre always nervous as to what a director will do with something. Votes: 0
At the end of the day, storytelling is actually very simple in its origin as long as there are people who want to tell stories and there are people who want to hear them. Votes: 0
Audiences grew to like this duality of feeling, where youre both championing a character and youre revolted by them. Votes: 0
Because my mother was in love with Bobby Darin, I grew up with his records playing in our house all the time. Votes: 0
Being an actor sometimes requires that you ask yourself questions youd rather not know the answers to. Votes: 0
Clean, sustainable energy is crucial and cannot wait. Votes: 0
Fortunately for me, I don't come from the school where you only measure success by how much money something makes or whether it has a big box-office weekend. I measure it by how much people actually participate in the process. Votes: 0
Fundamentally, I like to accomplish things. Votes: 0
Games are advancing in terms of storytelling and trying to create a character, and its a brand new audience for me. Votes: 0
Gaming is going into storytelling. It was a new audience. Votes: 0
Have we become so celebrity-obsessed that there is no longer a difference between a character and an actor? I hope not. Votes: 0
I accept the fact that some things dont go the way you hope. Votes: 0
I actually have a number of lovely watches from the International Watch Company. Votes: 0
I always remember is that no matter how good I might be in a movie, I'll never be any better. It's frozen. But in theatre I can be better tomorrow night, I can be better the night after that and I can be better in a week. The journey you go through as an actor is incredible. Votes: 0
I am not an image. I am a human being. Votes: 0
I can't judge the characters I play, because it's for the audience to do. What I can try to do is to understand and embody what were they going through? How did they make the decisions they made? That to me is a more interesting way to approach something, rather than saying this person is a villain and that person is this and - because it's not very interesting to play that anyway. Votes: 0
I cotton to the idea that people are much closer to being flawed; they have problems and dont always make the right choices. Votes: 0
I couldnt imagine something asking as much of me as House Of Cards. Its a great warm-up for coming back to the screen. Votes: 0
I dont categorize characters into one syllable. These are fully-rounded characters that I dont judge; I just play them. Votes: 0
I dont even think in terms of ambition. Votes: 0
I don't know who Keyser Soze is, but whoever he is, he is going to get gloriously drunk tonight. Votes: 0
I dont play villainy. I wouldnt even know how to play it. Votes: 0
I don't want to show deleted scenes. I don't like an audience looking at what the movie might have been - if it's in the movie, it's in the movie. Votes: 0
I find drinking really helps. Votes: 0
I guess Ive been training in the theater for as long as I can remember. Votes: 0
I have done films where we all thought the director didn't know what he was doing and it is going to be a gobble gobble turkey. And you go and watch it and it is great. Votes: 0
I have long been a supporter of The Princes Trust, and so when American Express asked me to launch Amex Be Inspired and help young people build their confidence and fulfil their potential, I was delighted to get involved. Votes: 0
I have talked to more people who are in politics who have said to me, "[House of Cards] is closer than you can imagine. It's the most accurate description of how politics actually works that we've ever seen." I mean, West Wing - beautiful, wonderful idea of how democracy should work. But I've had more people in politics say they think House of Cards is closer. I - don't know whether to take that as a compliment or a sad state of affairs. Votes: 0
I just want to be better. I just want to be better. But this is very encouraging. Votes: 0
I love producing, I love bringing things together. Votes: 0
I never doubted at all. If you ever doubt then you are in trouble. I never thought: 'I should do this or that in case I don't make it.' I never had a back-up plan. Votes: 0
I terribly miss - we all miss, I think - somebody like the great producer Irving Thalberg. He had a foot in both camps: He understood us creative people. And he understood the money people. Votes: 0
I think people love it when anybody acts bad; its not particular to me. Votes: 0
I think that acting is a very humanizing profession. Votes: 0
I think that there is no doubt that every experience you have in your life, whether it's playing a character or something else, you bring that to the work. Votes: 0
I think that when you put yourself, as actors have to do, in other people's shoes, when you have to put on the costume that someone else has worn in their life, it gets much, much harder to be prejudiced against them and even to be - to not try to look at the world in a sense of "I'm not going to judge somebody. I'm going to try to understand who they are and what they're about." Votes: 0
I think what we have seen in terms of gay teenagers committing suicide because of bullying is anguishing. I think young people, if they are feeling like they are confused, need to know that there are people to talk to and that there are places they can go and not feel alone. But I feel that they have just as many rights as I do to not be bullied. Votes: 0
I think you need the failures to get the success. You learn more from that. Votes: 0
I want to bring theatre to a new generation, using the tools available to us, including taking it out to them on film and with new technology, but that is just so they can discover theatre. I want them to come in and sit in a theatre. This is the way to plant seeds. Votes: 0
I was terrible in my first play. After that experience, I had to face that I wasnt good enough to play with the big boys. I had to go away and learn, so I worked in regional theater for three years. I even understudied at the Kennedy Center. Votes: 0
I went through a period of great rebellion within my family, when I was about 9 or 10. I was mad, I had no focus, had no real interest in anything, and so I started to do things that were just rebellious and stupid. Votes: 0
I write a lot about my experiences and the people I meet. Ive got a lot of material. But a book about me? It seems sort of odd. Votes: 0
If I'm sick of me, I can only imagine how other people feel. Votes: 0
If it were not for people who stepped forward and gave me opportunities at a time when I had not proved myself at all, believe me, I would not have a career. Votes: 0
If someone can watch an entire season of a TV series in one day, doesnt that show an incredible attention span? Votes: 0
If there is one thing I object to, its actors talking about how tough their jobs are. Votes: 0
If you have done well in whatever business you are in, it is your duty to send the elevator back down and try to help bring up the next generation of undiscovered talent. Votes: 0
If you wanna compete, youve got to get into the original content game. Votes: 0
If you're lucky enough to have done well, then it's your responsibility to send the elevator back down. Votes: 0
If youre not concerned about maintaining an image, you can pursue roads that another actor might not take. Votes: 0
If you're watching a film on your television, is it no longer a film because you're not watching it in a theatre? If you watch a TV show on your iPad, is it no longer a TV show? The device and the length are irrelevant; the labels are useless, except perhaps to agents and managers and lawyers, who use these labels to conduct business deals. Votes: 0
Im able to hang up the character with the costume at the end of the movie. Votes: 0
Im always taken aback by things that are successful that I think are just crap, and then Im completely surprised when things I do end up being successful because you walk into things and you never know Its just really remarkable. Votes: 0
Im attracted to things that are challenging and fun and interesting, and it certainly seems that audiences enjoy them as well. Votes: 0
I'm aware that, from the outside, this looks like I've got quite an ego. Votes: 0
I'm lucky if I find one movie a year that's worth doing, and when I do find one, it usually only takes 20-30 days to shoot. Votes: 0
I'm not a writer. I marvel at writing. I am sometimes absolutely astounded when I read something and I think how in the world did that man or that woman sit down at a typewriter, a computer or a pen and an ink well, and seemingly have nothing come between their heart and that pen. Votes: 0
Im not revolted by Washington. Votes: 0
I'm not someone who's led my life trying to get publicity; I'd rather do my work and go home. Votes: 0
I'm supposed to convince you, for two hours, that I'm somebody else. Now if you know everything about my life, if you think you've got me figured out and you think you know all my dark secrets, how am I ever going to convince you that I'm somebody else? Votes: 0
In film, movies schedules are based on three things: actors availabilities, when are sets being built, when you can rent the place youre going to film in. Votes: 0
In recent years we've seen an explosion of creative programming, and I think it represents a third golden age of television because the creators have more control over the story. The audience doesn't care about the platform. They care about the content. Votes: 0
It is not about whether you are an executive, a studio or a network. If you have a story or an idea you can build a following for it. Votes: 0
Its a really wonderful thing to focus your life on something other than your own personal career and ambition. Votes: 0
Its extremely dangerous to compare anyone else to Shakespeare. Votes: 0
It's Hard to Stay Mad When There's So Much Beauty in the World Votes: 0
Its interesting to play a politician who gets stuff done. Votes: 0
It's much more interesting when you go to different places - make a left turn when nobody expects you to make a left turn, and make a right when nobody expects you to do that. Votes: 0
It's so easy for us to misperceive and see the things in others that we want to see. And, when we're wrong, and often we're dead wrong, we miss the truth. Votes: 0
Its the details and the human element that makes Recount entertaining. Even though we know how the election ends, it plays like a thriller. Its also funny. Votes: 0
It's the kind of democratization of the Internet that has led to the breaking down of barriers into the creative arts. Votes: 0
It's the way I feel about acting. That we are given clues by a writer about someone's essence or persona and it's our job to try to figure out which of those clues are true, which of clues we decide to follow and which of those clues we think are red herrings, or only in the way another character thinks of that character. Votes: 0
I've done big studio films and the big studio films I've done, I've tried to do the interesting ones and the ones where I could live with myself in the morning. Votes: 0
Kids arent growing up with a sense of television as the aspirational place for their ideas. Votes: 0
Let's let people live their lives and do it the way they want to do it, Votes: 0
My job as an actor is to serve the writing and help the author get his ideas across. Votes: 0
My job consists of basically masking my contempt for the assholes in charge, and, at least once a day, retiring to the men's room so I can jerk off while I fantasize about a life that doesn't so closely resemble Hell. Votes: 0
My job is to interpret. I'm an interpreter. I can add things and bring unique qualities to the role that the writer may not have thought of, but someone else created the fundamental idea. Votes: 0
Nature's message is clear: we can't keep doing what we're doing now. Votes: 0
No one should ever feel sorry for me. Ive been treated very well for the most part. Votes: 0
One can never take the cynicism one comes across in life too seriously. Votes: 0
Our job, you know, in the entertainment profession is to try to illuminate and show people all sides of humanity, and it doesn't just mean that you can only do movies that are only about the good parts of us. You have to be able to eliminate the bad parts. Votes: 0
Over a spell of about three years, I played a series of roles that were, for me, all very different, but most of them came out within a six-month period. They all dealt with a kind of dark territory that in some cases had been mined before in movies. Votes: 0
People have different reasons for the way they live their lives. You cannot put everyone's reasons in the same box Votes: 0
People sometimes say, "Isn't it boring, isn't it always the same? It's the same lines." I go, "Well, do you play tennis? Because that's the best analogy I can give." If you go out eight times and play tennis eight times this week, yeah it's the same rules but it's a different game every time you're out on that court.And that's the best analogy I can come up with the theater. Votes: 0
Politics and acting are very closely tied. The job is to convince. Votes: 0
Pushing the boundaries of what is expected of you is important to me. Votes: 0
Sometimes I'll be flipping through the channels and I'll see a movie I'm in. And I'll probably stop and think, 'Sure, I'll watch this.' Votes: 0
Sometimes you walk away from playing somebody and you think, "Wow that was far as from my own experience as I can possibly be." And sometimes you walk away thinking, "Wow. There are qualities in that character that I didn't realize I had." And those can be both interesting and uncomfortable. Votes: 0
Studios and networks who ignore either shift — whether the increasing sophistication of storytelling, or the constantly shifting sands of technological advancement — will be left behind, Votes: 0
Talent is one thing, it is how you nurture and develop it, and never walk away from it. You can be rich, successful, you win awards, but it can always be better. Votes: 0
Talent is only interesting if it's challenged. Votes: 0
The audience has spoken, they want stories. They're dying for them. They're rooting for us to give them the right thing and they will talk about it, binge on it, carry it with them on the bus, and to the hairdresser, force it on their friends, tweet, blog, Facebook, make fan pages, silly gifs and god knows what else about it. Votes: 0
The audience, the place youre in, has everything to do with how your performance goes. Votes: 0
The characters created cannot just be a mouthpiece for the writer. When you look at a piece of writing, and it's genuine and it doesn't feel like every character is just a mouthpiece for the writer, but that they've been created in such a way that they're expressing an idea that a writer wants to get across, that's when a story succeeds. Votes: 0
The greatest sound in the theater is silence. Votes: 0
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was making us believe that he's not real. Votes: 0
The journey that we go on as actors is an interesting one and sometimes a revealing one. Votes: 0
The legal profession, politics and acting are very closely tied: the whole point is to have an idea and get it across to a listener, whether it is one person or five thousand in a hall. Votes: 0
The less you know about me the easier it is to convince you that I'm the character on screen. Votes: 0
The most important definition of an actor, the job of the actor, is to serve the writer, not yourself. Way too many actors serve themselves. Votes: 0
The movies are not my first priority - the theater is. Votes: 0
The Old Vic has always been first and foremost an actors theatre, a home for great talent and memorable performances. Votes: 0
The only thing worse than a loser is someone who won't admit he played badly. Votes: 0
The story is everything, which means it's our job to tell better stories. Votes: 0
The thing that is always so surprising about plays written in another century is how remarkably elastic they are. When you listen to the way in which Shakespeare attacks relationships, for example, even though the words may start off sounding foreign, in actuality they are so accessible, the motivations so clear, the resonances so contemporary. When you put it in a modern context - we could well be in a place with someone like Gaddafi or Mubarak - it becomes apparent how Richard III resonates with that type of personality, with media and manipulation, alliances and petty jealousies. Votes: 0
Theatre is alive and it is now, and then it's gone. Votes: 0
Theatre is organic, film is not. Theatre you come every day and you work with a group of people and you're are all up for it and you all get to do the whole thing every night, be it two hours or three hours. In film you work in two or three minute bits and it's never in chronological order and then someone takes that away and makes it look like it all happened, or that you gave that performance. Votes: 0
There are times when you do a play when you are living in the character over a two-and-a-half-hour period or longer, and you come to the end of the night, and you can feel like you were hit by a truck. Votes: 0
There are two things that have been happening over the last few decades in my opinion. First, there have been unbelievable, remarkable, pioneering advances in technology and, second, an equal amount of evolution in creativity. These two shifts are meeting at an intersection. Votes: 0
There are ways in which you can make sure that even if people come to the theatre because they know an actor or actress, by the end, theyve forgotten that, and they leave going, Wow - what an amazing play. Votes: 0
Theres no doubt that some of the greatest films ever made have come from the theater. Its all a matter of finding a way to make the theater experience watchable on film. Votes: 0
Theres nothing like standing in a place and wanting nothing so much as to change but simply not being able to. Votes: 0
There's something really incredible about watching what someone else does with a role that we know. Votes: 0
There's something very interesting about the way each individual actor approaches stuff. Votes: 0
To me, getting up every single night and trying to reach out to an audience, and trying to dig deeper and further in the play to serve the writer and to understand yourself in that context is how you continue to grow and learn. Votes: 0
Wanting people to listen, you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you'll notice you've got their strict attention. Votes: 0
We have to start listening to nature now. Votes: 0
What I do is interpret, not create. I may add elements and do something different. That is what is so incredible about theatre. Why do we love it that there are nine Hamletsor six King Lears over two years? We love to watch a different actor attack the same material. Votes: 0
Whatever mistakes you make this time around, you will live through on your next pass. Every mistake you make, you will live through again and again, forever. So my advice to you is to get it right this time around. Because this time is all you have. Votes: 0
When I look around at Broadway and the West End, theatre is becoming an exclusive club. Votes: 0
When I was young, I learned very early on that I could make my mother laugh. And that was one of the greatest sounds I ever heard. Votes: 0
When you know you have 1,000 people sitting on the edge of their seats in silence because of a shift that just happened on stage, there is no better feeling. Votes: 0
Whether its Veep or Homeland or The West Wing - which is a more idealised version of democracy - people are fascinated by politics. Votes: 0
Whether thats positive or not, people are talking about the Old Vic Theater again with passion and commitment and controversy and debate. Votes: 0
While the sciences are hugely important, let us not leave behind a childs imagination. Votes: 0
You are not just, "This is the way I play it every night." You are constantly finding new ways in, new attacks, "I want to try it this way. Maybe this scene is affecting that scene. I want to attack this scene differently." Votes: 0
You can't turn a "no" to a "yes" without a "maybe" in between. Votes: 0
You learn every single day when youre running a company. You learn as you go. Votes: 0
You must find a way to express your ideas and compel your audience to react through the idea itself, and then figuring out what the best representative of that idea may be, and bringing it to life. Votes: 0
You risk working with this director, you risk making this movie, you risk working with another actor you don't know. It makes your heart beat faster. And it keeps you interested. Votes: 0
You've got to trust the ground you're standing on and the work you've done in telling your story. The goal should be to bring those thousands of people - viewers - together and make them one. When you feel that happening, it's usually in silence, not applause or laughter. Votes: 0
To know what you want, to understand why you're doing it, to dedicate every breath in your body to achieve... If you feel you have something to give, if you feel that your particular talent is worth developing, is worth caring for then there's nothing you can`t achieve. Votes: 0
I'm a relatively ugly character who's done pretty damn well in film. Votes: 0
I always thought that, in a way, you want your Superman to be a total unknown. Votes: 0
Netflix did it right and focused on all the things that have replaced the dumb, raw numbers of the Nielsen world - they embraced targeted marketing and 'brand' as a virtue higher than ratings. Votes: 0
When the story is good enough, people can watch something three times the length of an opera. Votes: 0
It's not even about being negative. It's just being unsettled, unsatisfied, unfinished. Votes: 0
Essentially, your voice is an instrument; its a muscle, and you have to treat it like a muscle, and so you have to work it. Votes: 0
I can't imagine that anyone in Hollywood is sitting around trying to decide what actor is good or right or qualified for a role and is being denied a role because of their political views. I don't think that's the way Hollywood works. We're not living in an era of blacklisting. Votes: 0
And At The End Of The Day
Awhile
Being There
Casting lots
Different People
End of people
Floundering
Great Love
Great Talent
I Love Food
I've Learned
I've Learned...
Not with people
Particularly
People Talking
Real Sense
Respect People
Simply Said
Supremely
Talking About People
The End Of The Day
Theatre Actors
Welles
Weren
Administrative assistants
Another boy
Asking for it
Asking to much
Being able to change
Being able to love
Being an audience
Being part of change
Build an audience
Co conspirators
Coming back to me
Communication skill
End of a day
Entire day
Favourite actor
Food and love
Getting another job
Giving up on job
Great actors
Great dogs
Great sense of humor
Hard to get
I am different
Imagine me
Looking through a lens
Love and fortune
Love not easy
Money responsibility
Mothers famous
Movie endings
No tension
Old homes
Old people's
Old teachers
Over relationship
Person you miss
Playing the same game
Playing your part
Powerful communication
Real politics
Relationship over
Releasing control
Respect differences
Respect me
Responsibility with money
Role of teacher
Role of teachers
Some degree
Teacher mentoring
Teacher roles
Television and politics
Tennis partners
Theatre performance
Thing will get better
Thrillers mystery
Time in a bottle
Trust sarcastic
Trying relationships
Trying with relationships
Understand each other
Wanting change
Wanting nothing
Watching series
Watching tv series
What i've learned
What is real
What's best


In a strongly-worded letter to him, Raymond T. Edmonson, Jr., retired Fort Lauderdale police officer and Executive Director of the Florida Public Pension Trustees Association, has blasted Fred Grimm's recent Miami Herald column (see C&C Newsletter for June 28, 2007, Item 6). Edmonson concedes that public employment is another world -- one in which Grimm has never worked and does not understand. Edmonson agrees that public safety employee unions have represented their members well. He laments that they could not represent general employees, teachers and Miami Herald employees (who, according to Grimm, have paltry retirement benefits.) He also points out something Grimm conveniently overlooked in his column: local defined benefit public pension systems have mandatory employee contributions and the vast majority of benefits (75%) come from self-generated investment earnings! In closing, Edmonson says "Another thing you touched on was 911. Well you touched a nerve. How many reporters were killed running into the buildings to help others? You failed to mention the nine firefighters killed in Charleston. How about the 150 – 160 Police officers who are murdered each and every year? I must admit you are right, it is another world." We always liked Ray, but now he has gone up another notch in our estimation.
What does "intermittent" leave mean and how long should it go on?
What are the rules surrounding unforeseeable leave?
How much information can an employer require before approving leave?
What are an employee's responsibilities under the Act?
What workplace rules may an employer actually enforce?
How has other legislation, including ADA and HIPAA, affected FMLA?
Use of FMLA leave by a subset of workers -- those seeking unscheduled intermittent leave for a chronic condition -- appears to present the most serious difficulties for many employers in terms of scheduling, attendance, productivity, morale and other concerns. As was clear from the record, these comments are not inconsistent with each other. Success of FMLA depends on smooth communication among all parties. To the extent that employees and employers become more adversarial in their dealings with each other over use of FMLA leave, it may become harder for workers to take leave when they need it most. The full Report is available at http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla2007report.htm.
The economic status of older Americans has improved tremendously during the last 50 years, according to a new Issue in Brief from Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Today the old-age poverty rate is about one-third of its mid-20th Century level, and poverty among the elderly is roughly the same as that among the non-elderly. Poverty rates for older non-married women, however, remain very high. The brief investigates why this group of the population is particularly vulnerable. One reason is that widowhood creates economic hardship, as Social Security benefits and pensions from employer-sponsored plans drop. In addition, those most likely to be widowed have lower incomes than intact couples even before they lose their husbands. Their lower incomes reflect less education on the part of both the husband and wife and poorer health on the part of the husband than couples that remain intact.
Internal Revenue Service has announced the redesigned Form 8857, Request for Innocent Spouse Relief, which will help reduce follow up questions and reduce the burden on taxpayers. The form will ask more questions initially, but collecting critical information early in the process will mean faster processing of the request. The new design will eliminate an estimated 30,000 follow-up letters annually. The result will be a reduced burden and quicker answer for taxpayers and less cost for the government. The form was revised based on suggestions from an IRS process improvement team led by the Office of Taxpayer Burden Reduction. When a taxpayer files a joint return, both spouses are jointly and individually responsible for the tax. Innocent Spouse relief provides an opportunity for a spouse to be relieved from the joint debt under certain circumstances. If one taxpayer believes that only his or her spouse or former spouse should be responsible for the tax, the taxpayer can request relief from tax liability. The redesigned form will also be easier to understand and to complete, and will help educate taxpayers about the process. Previously the questionnaire was separated from the form. IR-2007-125 (July 5, 2007).
According to the Sacramento Bee, an appeals court has denied California's request to float $525 Million in bonds to cover government pensions, because the state did not ask voters for their permission. The California 3rd District Court of Appeal affirmed a lower court's ruling that the pension obligation bonds are not exempt from the state's constitutional debt requirement, which prohibits the legislature from borrowing more than $300,000 without a two-thirds vote in each house plus approval of a majority of the state's voters. The state will not appeal the ruling, which means elected officials will not get to rely on bonds to help fill the budget gap. The bonds were authorized in 2004 by the legislature and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to pay a portion of the state's payments to California Public Employees' Retirement System. The state is facing an estimated $3.4 Billion operating deficit for the fiscal year that began July 1. Fortunately, the administration did not include the projected bond revenue in the governor's May budget proposal.
Now it comes down to this: the process of getting ready for work is being litigated, according to the National Law Journal. In lawsuits across the nation, employees from police officers to poultry workers are suing to be paid for the time it takes to put on and take off their uniforms and required safety gear. Many of the lawsuits are a fallout from a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court case, in which the high court ruled employees should be paid for the time it takes to "don and doff" mandatory uniforms or equipment (see C&C Newsletter for December 8, 2005, Item 2). That case involved poultry and meat packing workers. The ruling, meanwhile, has turned into legal ammunition for numerous employees, the largest group being police officers. It's not as easy as putting on a shirt and pants. Police are required to report for their shifts already geared up and ready to go. You can't be a police officer on patrol arresting bad guys without a minimum of a bulletproof vest, a handgun, pepper spray, handcuffs and all of the various other items of gear that are on the belt. All that suiting up takes between 15 and 30 minutes a day. People should be paid to put on gear they are required to wear in order to do their job. Numerous suits involving police officers claiming overtime for donning and doffing are pending in New York, Colorado, Arizona, Hawaii, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. Stay tuned for updates.
If there is a substitute for brains, it has to be silence.
Most of us how to say nothing, but few of us know when.
Wise men think about talking; fools reverse the process.
Half of wisdom is being silent if you have nothing to say.
If a thing will go without saying, let it.
We have two ears and one mouth; we ought to listen twice as much as we talk.


Mary was pretty shocked at this 'message' since she had never slept with a man! After a few questions to Gabriel, Mary accepted what God wanted for her and replied, "I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!" What an awesome responsibility! What a fantastic response! What a girl! Mary choose to say 'yes' to God and from that moment on trusted Him and His plans. This Christmas let us challenge ourselves to be like Mary. Whatever God asks of us may we have the courage and trust in God to say 'yes'!


Advertisements for Fry pumps in the 1920s used the catching phrase "Buy from a Fry—there's one close by." They were popular in part for their solid construction, as many of these well-built pumps were made from cast iron, but not all. This is a desirable cast-iron example finished with a show-quality automotive paint job and boasting an original 5-gallon cylinder.
Only a handful of any kind of pump came with this example's rare brass totalizer gauge attached that indicates how many gallons were pumped out of it over its lifetime.