text:
Louise Gustafon
Disgraced cosmetologist hungry for a comeback
"Glam culture is ultimately rooted in obsession, and those of us who are truly devoted and loyal to the lifestyle of glamour are masters of its history. Or, to put it more elegantly, we are librarians."
"I think that the most important thing a woman can have
next to talent, of course
is her hairdresser."
The first thing noticed about her is her hair. It's big, it's poofy, it's curly. It's piled on top of her head in a messy up-do with stray tendrils shooting out this way and that, some of them framing her face and some bouncing with every step that she takes. They're wild curls, untamed by heat or spray or wax; they're not the kind of curls that are ashamed of what they are, and she's not the kind of woman that seems ashamed of them. Brown eyes peer out from underneath thick brows with a high arch, expertly applied pomade filling them in further with tiny little hair-strokes that are impossible to distinguish from the real thing. Winged linger, gold shadow, three coats of mascara, taupe in the waterline: it all serves to make her eyes look that much bigger. She's got a wide mouth made for smiling and laughing, and her lips are lined the same color as the stain she wears across them, with a tiny little beauty mark over one side and a gold hoop in her nose. It's the only "non-professional" piece that she allows herself, and the rest of her is so dressed down that most people don't even seem to notice it. She's a looker for sure, with dewy skin, highlight and contour perfectly blended out, and a body that speaks of care and discipline. A gold necklace rests at her throat, a golden cuff on her left wrist, nails polished in a hue that's somewhere between orange and tan. Professional colors for a professional woman, like the black slacks and black blouse that she wears.
Louise was born in Nevada, just outside of Vegas. The city of sin isn't really built for kids, so while she was growing up she had to find ways to occupy herself. Both of her parents worked at the casinos on the strip, her father as a poker dealer and her mother as a show girl, and their odd hours meant that Louise and her siblings were left alone most of the time. The income was enough to afford clothes and food and the occasional family vacation, but Louise still wasn't satisfied. Not because of money; oh no, it was because of style. Louise looked all around her and saw the dry, boring, tan colors of the desert. She saw the birds that didn't have a pop of vibrancy to their name because they had to camouflage themselves. She saw the casino employees trudging into work each day and night in the same uniform as everyone else. And she saw the guests. The guests who came from all over the world to play at the casinos on the strip. The guests with their big coats and their big glasses and their big hair, their pinks and blues and yellows called a hundred different shades. She used to watch her mother get ready for work with big, bold makeup and hair rollers and enough hairspray that it might be dangerous to light a match in the next room, and she wanted that: the glitz, the glamour, the vibrancy. Not for herself, but the ability to turn other people into something that they're not. The ability to turn a middle-aged woman with four kids and sagging jowls into the lead dancer on the stage with none the wiser. She watched women walk into the salon and come out as different people. Heard men speak into their phones in one tone while wearing a business suit, then remove the tie and become a husband, a father, a lover.
Appearance is power, she realized, and she wanted to learn how to sculpt with the best of them. She started early. By age nine she was cutting her little sister's hair with a pair of safety scissors and giving the neighborhood boys buzz cuts for $5 a pop. By twelve she was a prodigy with a makeup brush and could do her mom's full face in twenty minutes. At seventeen she graduated high school early and immediately enrolled in the nearest cosmetology school, Saul Brickell Academy. She had finally found her people. She finished her 1600 hours, plus the additional 200 hours for the manager's course, then went back to take the braiding, extensions, and professional makeup courses for an additional 1000 hours. By the time she was done with school she could do it all and do it well. She was a magician with her scissors and brushes.
She landed a job at The Bellagio's in house salon and started doing haircuts for $90 a pop, twice as much as the nearest salon charged. The clients were steady, the tips were generous, and the job was everything she'd ever wanted.
From Sin City to Hollywood
Louise met a man in her early twenties while she was at the casino on her lunch break. The pair hit it off over burgers and milkshakes, and he seemed as taken with her as she was with him. She learned that he was a semi-pro poker player and was in town for the World Series of Poker, and he asked if she'd like to "grab a drink and shoot some dice" later. She met up with him at the craps table after her shift and he treated her like a lucky charm, letting her blow on the dice and place his bets. They won big and celebrated with a bottle of champagne back in his hotel room, where the pair sealed the deal. After that she couldn't get enough of him. They continued their romance until he was knocked from the tournament three days before the end and had one last wild night to commemorate. He took her number and said he'd call. Louise knew it was a long shot.
A few months later that same player sent her a message and asked if she was "up for some fun" the following week. He was back in town for another tournament. Surprised but pleased, Louise was happy to see him again. They kept things casual over the next year, neither one of them willing to take the plunge into something more serious that involved labels or moving dates.
Unfortunately, her new beau never told her about the wife and kids that he had at home, or the two other women that he was seeing on the side. Louise wasn't too bent out of shape about it—she hadn't really expected a part time fling to last forever—but the wife was none too pleased to find out that her husband had been cheating with a cosmetologist, a pit boss, and a bartender. She went after the bartender first, getting the girl fired from her job at Caesar's, but the girl was able to find something else just as quickly. When she pushed against the pit boss the pit boss pushed back, and nothing was done about the affair on that end. But there was still one girl that his wife could go after, and she set Louise in her sights with all the fury of a woman scorned.
She made phone calls. She wrote letters. She left reviews. She called the salon, the casino, and finally the state board. She made wild accusations about Louise sleeping with her clients, said that she was stealing tips, that she had damaged her hair, burned her scalp with bleach, anything and everything she could to cause hell. Eventually, the state board folded, and even without proof Louise was stripped of her license. She couldn't work in the industry that she'd been dreaming of since she was a little kid.
Frustrated but not defeated, Louise set out for Los Angeles. She knew that the cos board in California was a little more lax than the rest of the country, and if she couldn't work on show girls in Vegas then she'd work on movie sets in Hollywood. But without a license no one wanted to hire her, and she couldn't transfer a license she didn't have. Desperate, she even applied for a local cos program, thinking that she could do school all over again if it got her what she wanted, and was denied by admissions office after admissions office. Her name in the yellow book of disgraced salon workers meant that she would never again work in the industry. She briefly considered moving to New York to take up with a theater company but knew that she would find the same sort of treatment there.
Finally, Louise settled for a job at a Pangloss counter. It wasn't the glamour she wanted, and she often said that if she had to do another bratty teen's prom makeup she might shoot herself, but at least it was something.
The cosmetic counter flourished once Louise began employment. Sales skyrocketed. She became the lead seller at the Pangloss counter, then the entire department store, then the entire company. She earned the highest commission and was able to talk everyone and their mother into letting her do their face for an event or try a new product. When Pangloss announced that they were opening a new boutique in New Orleans they asked Louise if she'd like to oversee the operations. She had nothing tying her to LA and readily agreed.
At the Grand Opening in 2010, Louise met Celia Flores and her mother, Diana. Celia admitted to Louise that she had just opened a spa and was looking for new talent, and she liked the way that Louise worked a brush. The girls hit it off and Celia offered to bring Louise in for an interview, only to find out that the Vegas-native had been stripped of her license. She wasn't able to hire Louise as a cosmetologist, but the pair did keep up a working professional relationship while Celia worked at the legal knot.
In 2015 she reached out to Louise with a job offer: spa management. She couldn't work hands on with clients, but it would allow her to get back into the industry that she loved. Louise was happy to say goodbye to Pangloss and begin her career at Flawless.
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Last Update: December 11, 2022 06:57


Faith leader meeting at the The Ilford Islamic Centre. with the local Jewish Christian and Muslim colleagues. Dr Mohammed Fahim.
Although I have been married for almost half a century, my wife and I are still having many unresolved issues.
God says in 49:13 that He has created us all from a single pair of a male and female and made us into nations and tribes to get to know each other.
So the purpose of creative is to create fammiliarity, not to ignore, despise or exploit each other. If we all get to know each other we would have peace in our planet.
Do I really know my wife? Does she really know me?
I do not think so. If every husband and wife would make an effort to understand each other, many family issues would have been avoided.
Why do we argue with each other? Is it our ego which is running the show?
Why do we not say sorry when we do something wrong? Why do we not appreciate each other and say thank you?
Why do we look at faults in each other instead of looking for positive aspects and blow them up to cover our shortfalls?
I find Adam and Eve to be the best role model for a husband and wife. When they fell into temptation and ate from the forbidden tree, their honeymoon was over. They were kicked out of the Garden. But they both said sorry to God. They admitted their failure and God forgave them.
They lost everything. But they never lost the love they had for each other and their faith in God's forgiveness and mercy. They never blamed each other or insulted each other.
They stayed together. If they had left each other on that day, none of us would have been here today.


Hey Edward. Thanks for taking the time out to talk to me about your new film, 'Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait Of James Dean'.
Let me start by saying that 'Joshua Tree 1951' is "A Portrait of James Dean", but it is not a bio pic or a documentary, it is its own beautiful picture painted by its writer and director, Matthew Mishory. The film takes us on a wild ride with James Dean before he became famous in 1951, when he was in college. The film focuses on the effects that Dean had on the people in his life at that time and the lasting impressions he made on them before his rise to stardom.
In the film I play the role of Roger, Roger is a composite made up of a couple of people, but largely based on the real life Rogers Brackett who was a very close confidante of James Dean's from the beginning of his career. I feel my character Roger represents the Hollywood machine of the time, which oddly enough is not that different from present time.
Matthew and I met about five years ago when we launched our company Iconoclastic Features. We were working on a different project together, a feature of ours that he had written called 'Portland'. While we were struggling to raise money, during the "Great Recession", Matthew came upon this material that he thought would make a great short subject, I agreed. The funding for the short was in place, so we shot the film. When we got back from the desert, where we shot most of the footage, we were so completely blown away by how beautiful the footage our DP Michael Pessah shot. We knew we had something much bigger. It was then that we decided to table the first feature and move on with making 'Joshua Tree 1951', our companies first feature film. Matthew took to his computer and cut very short teaser trailer using the footage we shot in the desert and put it on our website. The teaser was picked up by some blogger and within weeks it went viral to the tune of about 50,000 to 60,000 hits. We couldn't stop the momentum, investors came out of the woodwork. We knew then that this movie wanted to be made. With my producing team, Randall Walk and Robert Zimmer Jr, we began the journey of pre-production and getting the feature in the can exactly one year to date from wrapping the short film project.
In independent film you wear many hats. I was an actor, a producer and the casting director on this project. It was not something I want to do all the time but I'm glad I did it. Not only did we save a lot of money that we could put on the screen, but I learned a lot about being on the other side of the table.
How would you say this film tries to stay true to the 'legend' of James Dean?
I'm not sure the film "tries" to stay true to the day by day life of the legend of James Dean, but I know it stays true to the spirit of James Dean and who he was as a formidable presence in people's lives. Because the film is so unique in style and the way in which we tell the story, we definitely took some liberties. It's a little fact, a little fiction and a little rumour. It is an artistic interpretation, a portrait if you will.
The film stars James Preston, Dan Glenn, Dalilah Rain, Erin Daniels, Rafael Morais, Edgar Morais and Clare Grant – with Matthew Mishory onboard as director – what was it like working with the cast and crew on-set? Any good anecdotes?
We had an amazing cast. I really liked working with James Preston, one of Hollywood bravest young actors, not to mention one of the most physically attractive. One particular memory about the shoot was when I read in the script the scene where my character Roger lays next to James Dean (Preston) poolside in a lounge chair with his shirt off. When I first read this I thought, "okay, I'll just go on some kind of crazy diet and try to look not like a complete blob next to this Ambercrombie model". After several weeks a starving myself, working out and trying to produce the movie, I finally came to my senses and realized, "wait a minute, I'm the producer!" I produced a very large terry cloth robe to wear in that scene!
Let's talk a bit about you Edward. What made you want to get into the industry in the first place?
I started acting at a very young age but I didn't start acting professionally until my mid thirties. I studied with a gentleman by the name of David LeGrant, he was out of the Actors Studio in New York. He was an actor in the Directors Track at the studio and would always run over to Strasburg's class to sit in so he could learn from the master. David is one of the best acting coaches on the planet in my opinion. He ended up teaching me way more than just acting. I grew as an individual and as artist in that class. I had quite a bit of success with commercials a couple of television spots and a few independent films, but then I realized that I was tired of waiting for the phone to ring. I started working with first time directors and students, people I knew in my social circles who wanted to make films. I became a student of film by making them. Everything I know about acting I learned from David LeGrant, but everything I know about the other side filmmaking, I learned from my young filmmaker friends. Add in all my connections from years of putting myself through acting classes bartending and a producer was born.
Given that you're both a producer and casting director, as well as an actor – what advice would you give to anyone wanting to pursue a career in the industry?
I would have to say that the most important things in staying and surviving in this industry is to study first, if you want to act. Most importantly, be yourself, be an individual no matter where you end up in this business. I would add, that if all you want to do is act and you don't want to produce or direct or write anything, at least take the time to learn how that side works. I'm so glad that I have, as an actor, the working knowledge of the making of a film. It makes auditioning so much easier!
I have lots of classic rock on my iPod like Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin Heart, but I also enjoy my electronic music from the 80's like Yaz and Erasure. I'm also down with DJ Tiesto and Dead Mouse. I'm kind of all over the place musically.
Dorothy Parker – Because of her incredible mind and wit.
Grace Slick – Because she has lived more life in one lifetime than anyone I know.
Lee Strasburg – Because I love to talk about acting and I teach actors too.
The only literary character that comes to mind is Hamlet. And the reason is kind of crazy, but a friend of mine claims that he contacted William Shakespeare from the great beyond and Shakespeare told him the true reason that Hamlet's ghost reappears later in the play. I really want to confirm with him. I told you it was crazy, but for some reason the answer "haunts" me ….sometimes.
I've just completed my first foreign language film titled 'Adam'. This film is a multinational effort between myself and an up and coming Israeli director, Segev Gershon-Green. I added to the mix the multi-talented Edward Gunawan from Indonesia, and I couldn't be happier with the result. 'Adam' addresses the very real and current realities of kids growing up different.
I'm also pleased to announce that "Team Dean" has reunited and joined forces with James "Duke" Mason, grandson of legendary actor James Mason, to develop a new political suspense thriller titled 'Disappear Here'. I'll be playing a Republican Senator whose son vanishes mysteriously just before his bid for the White House.
In addition, I'm developing a script with my father Edward Singletary Sr. It is based on a true story of a young African-American boy who was brought in by the LA fire department after falling on his bicycle in front of them. The boy became the longest-serving volunteer in the history of the nation having served LAFD for over 30 years. It's a heartwarming story spanning over three decades of strained race relations in Los Angeles.
Previous Matt J. Horn Addresses The 'A Landscape Of Lies' / Tax Scam Story. Next Emily Bicks – (Excision – 2012).


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Biography: general
Six Wives By David Starkey
Six Wives
by David Starkey
Take a look at the wives of Henry VIII: Catherine of Aragon, mother of Mary Tudor; Anne Boleyn, with whom Henry was madly in love; Jane Seymour, who gave Henry his longed-for son; Anne of Cleves, who was so plain; Catherine Howard, the "flirty child"; and Catherine Parr, a Protestant bluestocking.
Six Wives Summary
THE QUEENS OF HENRY V111:Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived: CATHERINE OF ARAGON the Catholic Spanish Princess, who suffered years of miscarriages and still births and yet failed to produce a son...She was the mother of Mary Tudor; ANNE BOLEYN, the pretty, clever, French-educated Protestant with whom Henry Vlll was madly in love.-. for a brief period. She was the mother of Elizabeth I; JANE SEYMOUR the demure and submissive contrast to Anne Boleyn's vampish style. She died soon after giving birth to the longed-for son (Edward VI); ANNE OF CLEVES, 'the Flanders mare': He was horrified because she was so plain and she was appalled because he was so fat...; CATHERINE HOWARD, the flirtatious teenager whose adulteries made a fool of the ageing king; CATHERINE PARR, the shrewd Protestant bluestocking who outlived him.
About David Starkey
David Starkey is a constitutional historian and broadcaster, and Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He is an expert on the Tudors. His biography and TV series on the young Elizabeth I was widely praised and a huge commercial success. He is known as a controversial panellist on "The Moral Maze".
David Starkey
Vintage Publishing

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


C2C System (CURRENCY:C2C) traded 3.6% lower against the US dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 13:00 PM Eastern on April 13th. C2C System has a total market cap of $384,719.00 and $0.00 worth of C2C System was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. Over the last seven days, C2C System has traded 10.2% higher against the US dollar. One C2C System token can now be purchased for approximately $0.0013 or 0.00000032 BTC on major cryptocurrency exchanges including IDAX and Stocks.Exchange.
Sentinel Protocol (UPP) traded 3.5% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0167 or 0.00000328 BTC.
Tokes (TKS) traded up 3.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.39 or 0.00007724 BTC.
Ondori (RSTR) traded up 15.7% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0000 or 0.00000000 BTC.
Dash Green (DASHG) traded up 0.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.15 or 0.00003040 BTC.
APR Coin (APR) traded 7.3% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0203 or 0.00000399 BTC.
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Mero (MERO) traded 25.2% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0064 or 0.00000125 BTC.
C2C System is a token. C2C System's total supply is 300,000,000 tokens and its circulating supply is 299,969,680 tokens. C2C System's official Twitter account is @c2catm and its Facebook page is accessible here. C2C System's official message board is c2catm.tumblr.com. The official website for C2C System is c2c.global.
C2C System can be bought or sold on the following cryptocurrency exchanges: Stocks.Exchange and IDAX. It is usually not possible to purchase alternative cryptocurrencies such as C2C System directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to acquire C2C System should first purchase Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as GDAX, Coinbase or Gemini. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to purchase C2C System using one of the exchanges listed above.


Wolfshade had the most liked content!
Oh didn't see that one lol sorry.
Maybe CS history or like professional CS history.
Like Rock said post it isn't the complaint department give your steam ID And give a detailed description of why you got banned by who what you were doing.
I, Also the 17th is Sunday not Tuesday do what day do you want?
17/20 Suprised your not in already!
Not a lot of ketchup ya know just like a little on the top.
Your application has been moved to pending status. You may now put on your sGr | tag to inform members that you are a Recruit. In order to become a member of Syndicate Gamers, your application will need to meet at least 20 referrals from sG members who are L2 and above. Three of those must be from our Staff team.


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text:
View All Schools in Seattle »
Albers School of Business and Economics – Seattle University
Foster School of Business – University of Washington
Seattle Pacific University School of Business, Government, and Economics
Seattle MBA Programs that Don't Require the GMAT or GRE
Seattle MBA Programs that Don't Require Work Experience
Full-Time Bridge MBA
Leadership Executive MBA
The Albers School of Business and Economics is part of Seattle University, a private, Jesuit Catholic University founded in 1891. The school earned accreditation from the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools and Business (AACSB) in 1965, and the MBA program became AACSB accredited in 1980. The school is one of the 28 Jesuit universities in the United States.
Business education at Seattle University and the Albers School itself evolved to its namesake over the course of several decades. Business degrees were first awarded by Seattle University (then Seattle College) in 1937. The School of Commerce and Finance was established in 1945 and began granting MBAs in 1967. Another name change came in 1968, as the School of Commerce and Finance became the School of Business. In 1976, the school was renamed to honor the support of Eva and George Albers, and in 1990 "Economics" was made part of the name.
Seattle University is in the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood, which is also noted for being home to hospitals, churches, museums, and other schools. It's within walking distance of downtown Seattle and landmarks like the Seattle Public Library's Central Library. Seattle itself is home to the headquarters for such companies as Amazon, Nordstrom, and Starbucks.
The Albers main campus is located less than 15 miles away from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Albers lists nearly 100 faculty members, with an average faculty-to-student ratio of 12:1. The school's recent publications include The Journal of Leadership Education and The International Journal of E-Business Research.
There are 631 students most recently enrolled in the various MBA programs at the Seattle University Albers School of Business and Economics.
MBA Degree Offerings
Albers offers three types of MBAs that serve students in different stages of their careers. The full-time Bridge MBA Program is for recent graduates who did not major in business and who have little to no work experience. The Professional MBA Program is full-time or part-time for students with at least two years of work experience. Finally, the Leadership Executive MBA is for students in mid to senior-level roles with at least seven years of experience. Classes for the LEMBA meet once a month.
Schools and Programs You May Also Like
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All Albers School of Business and Economics – Seattle University News »


This workbook contains worksheets on Environmental Studies for Grade-4 NTSE Olympiad Science students. There are total 2 worksheets with 40+ questions.
Plants recycle ______ and produce oxygen.
Bricks are baked in _____.
A. A solar eclipse when the Sun is completely dark.
B. A solar eclipse when the Moon is completely dark.
C. A solar eclipse when the Moon is completely blocking the Sun's light.
D. A solar eclipse when the Moon is partially blocking the Sun's light.
Which of the following are the basic needs of animals?
A. It is a group of certain type of living and nonliving thing.
B. It is a group of certain type of rodents.
C. It is a group of certain type of non-living thing.
D. It is a group of certain type of living thing.
An empty bottle with an airtight rubber stopper is taken and fitted with a funnel as shown. When water was poured suddenly into the funnel it did not flow into the bottle. This shows that ____.
The place where the ships load or unload goods is______.
Which of the following substance is insoluble in the water?
C. Lemon juice D. Oil.
Which of the following does not cause erosion in soil and rocks?


Bathroom Designs – Choosing the perfect bathroom design for your new home can be a challenge. There are a lot of options to look through, from choosing the flooring style with the paint scheme and the finishing touches, such as mirrors and storage cabinets. Fortunately, there are a number of popular and elegant programs that take the trouble to design their own bathroom from scratch.
A white bathroom or plain cream is the popular bathroom designs. As these are neutral colors, you can usually decorate your bathroom in this style, even if you rent your property. Dark wooden skirting and door frame make an effective contrast with cream or white paint. For shelves to store toiletries, install glass panels over the sink and shower. These create a modern look and do not conflict with the finish of wood and cream.
If money is not a problem, it is possible to opt for a French style bathroom designs. These usually have solid floor slabs, but simpler functions can be added to achieve the appearance. Buy an elegant standing bathtub and place it away from the wall near the center of the room. Hang an oval mirror with a white ornate frame on the wall and some old-fashioned velvet or silk curtains. Complete the room with a chair upholstered with a decorative or floral pattern.


text:
Reading: The Golden Stag Festival in Ceausescu's Romania (1968-1971)
The Golden Stag Festival in Ceausescu's Romania (1968-1971)
Alexandru Matei
Centre for Excellence in the Study of Images, University of Bucharest, Str. Mihail Moxa Nr. 5, Sector 1, Bucureşti, 010961, RO
After his appointment as leader of the Romanian Communist Party in 1965, Ceausescu was very interested in gathering popular support for his economic plans. It was in this context that Romanian television could contribute for a short while to a liberalization of Romanian mass culture by means of cultural and entertainment programmes. Between 1968 and 1972, Romanian television (TVR) organized the international pop music festival 'Cerbul de Aur' (the Golden Stag), which brought together some of the best European singers at the time.
Keywords: Romanian television, history of European television, communism, television events, music festivals
How to Cite: Matei, Alexandru. 2012. "The Golden Stag Festival in Ceausescu's Romania (1968-1971)". VIEW Journal of European Television History and Culture 1 (2): 18–24. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18146/2213-0969.2012.jethc015
1 Context
In the 1960s, in the context of a general de-sovietization of the country, Romanian television (TVR) assembled a team of dedicated broadcast professionals under its roof who took advantage of the political situation in the country. In May 1958, the leader of the Romanian Communist Party at the time, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej convinced Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader to withdraw his army from the Romanian territory. This marked the beginning of a nationalistic turn in Romania. When Ceausescu was appointed at the head of the Communist Party in 1965, he continued the efforts of de-sovietization of Romania and sought to gather popular support for his reign and ambitious economic plans that envisioned to transform one of the poorest European countries into a prosperous industrialized state
Against the backdrop of these events – characterized by attempts at de-sovietization and Ceausescu's efforts to gain popular support for his reign – Romanian television contributed shortly to the liberalization of Romanian mass culture and more specifically, it helped loosen the official political discourse by promoting highly cultural and entertaining programs. The cultural nationalism promoted by Ceausescu's regime at the time meant a break from the influence of Soviet culture on Romania1, an opening towards the West, including towards important figures in Romanian exile which had been dismissed during the Stalinist years of Romaia's communist regime.2
It is within this political and institutional context of Romanian television, that Cerbul de Aur or in translation, the Golden Stag festival emerged. The Golden Stag was an international music festival held in the city of Brasov, organized and broadcast by Romanian television annually from 1968 until 1971.
Te Cant Bucuresti
Title in English: I'm Singing for Budapest
Provider: TVR
Broadcast date: 23/08/1968
Source: EUscreen
Rita Pavone
Title in English: Rita Pavone
Provider: TVR Broadcast
2 The Golden Stag Festival
2.1 Sources
My discussion of the Golden Stag festival in this article is based on different sources: a personal interview with Valeriu Rîpeanu3, the vice-president of Romanian Radiotelevision (RTV) at the time; and the 1969 file4 on the Golden Stag festival at the Radio Archives. During 1968 and 1971, RTV published, for each edition of the festival, a booklet containing all the names of the contestants as well as interviews with them. These booklets are now available at the library of Romanian television (to a great extent limited for access of others than RTVs employees) and they speak implicitly of an era in which, Connie Francis, for example, could talk freely in the Romanian media. Additional information on the festival, which I've also used for the purposes of this article, is available as part of the collection of memoirs by former TVR employees, published in the anthology ViziuneTELE (Romanian Television, 1996).
2.2 The Festival's Coming about and its Organization
In 1968, Romanian Radiotelevision found itself under the tutelage of the Committee of Radio and Television, formed by one president and four vice-presidents, including an administrative and a technical vice-president. Under the hierarchy of the Committee of Radio and Television, operated the director general of television, who in turn supervised the editors in chief of the broadcast institution.
When Octavian Paler director general of television5 at the time, came up with the idea of the festival, the vice president responsible for culture and entertainment was appointed president of the international jury at the festival.6 In 1968 and 1969 this was Ioan Grigorescu, which was replaced afterwards by Valeriu Rîpeanu. The original president of the Committee at the start of the festival was Valeriu Pop, followed later by Bujor Sion7.
All these people, together with Octavian Paler laid the first foundation stones for the festival, obtained the necessary approvals from Ceausescu and had power over the decision making process.. Among them, it's also worth mentioning Tudor Vornicu, programme director, whose biography still remains unsettled8, but who has undeniably had been a luminous figure in Romanian television. Other professionals involved in the first editions of the Golden Stag festival were: Valeriu Lazarov9, who directed the first edition and Alexandru Bocanet who directed subsequent editions; people in the cultural departments at the Romanian Communist Party's Central Committee – such as Dumitru Popescu, chief of press and culture and Paul Niculescu Mizil, chief of propaganda – as well as Ion Gheorghe Maurer, prime minister at the time, who granted the financial means that made the organization of the festival possible. The names of these important political figures are mentioned because when it comes to the Golden Stag festival, they had a role in ratifying or delaying Ceausescu's approval.
TVR first organized the festival four years in a row from 1968 to 1971. The festival invited renowned European singers to perform on the stage in Brasov, such as: Amália Rodrigues, Rika Zarai, Rita Pavone (1968), Julio Iglesias, Cliff Richard, Juliette Greco (1969), Connie Francis (1970), Dalida, Enrico Macias, Charles Trenet (1971).
Originally based on ideas developed under the lead of Octavian Paler and endorsed by 'a decision of the Romanian Communist Party Central Committee concerning cultural activities in the domain of pop music'10, the Golden Stag festival represented a step forward for renewing Romania's cultural relations with the West, which had suffered since the proclamation of the Popular Republic at the end of 1947. It also represented an effort to integrate Romanian television within the European broadcasting scene, showcasing it as adhering to the same standards of quality.
2.3 The Event
This article will focus on the second edition of the festival, which took place between 5 and 10 March 1969. The discussion on the 1969 edition of the festival is based on an archival written file entitled 'Cerbul de Aur' located at the Romanian Radiobroadcast Society (SRR).11 The file contains extensive information on this particular edition: from data on the preparation of the event, its costs, its location, and information on negotiations with the invited stars. The file does not contain letters from audiences to the Romanian television, which I will address later on in the article.
The Golden Stag was a five-day event taking place every year in the summer. Its realization was based on Romanian television's cooperation with the State Committee for Culture and Arts12, the Radiobroadcasting Composer's Union and last, but not least, a group of ten professionals. In 1969 these were: Octavian Paler (president), Tudor Vornicu (festival director), Longin Albu (economic director), Radu Anagnoste (general secretary), Valentin Lazarov (stage director), Nicolae Iov (technical director), Anton Necsulea (sound director), Paul Urmuzescu (music secretary), Armand Crintea (production director) and Dinu Sararu (playright, responsible with the printing of promotional material). Journalist George Sbarcea also joined the organizing team. The festival counted 362 people on the payroll (including contestants, musicians, jury members, observers and organisers).13
The festival comprised of two parts: a contest section and a recital section (usually two recitals for each of the five days of the festivals). Singers performing in the recital section, were invited to do so for a fee of up to 3000 dollars per recital. In 1969, Juliette Gréco was paid 3000 dollars, while Cliff Richard 2500.14 Documents at the BBC archives report on several talks that Tudor Vornicu had at the BBC for obtaining Cliff Richard's participation at the festival for the fee of 18.000 dollars, which included costs for transport and personnel.15 For less costly contracts (1500-3000 roubles), the festival organizers could invite popular singers from socialist countries.
Margareta Paslaru - intr-un recital extraordinar (LIVE) - la Cerbul de Aur (Brasov, 1969)
All the music stars who took part in the festival were obliged to allow at least few minutes of their recitals be filmed and broadcast on television. This footage was then reused in TVR's variety shows, which ensured the presence of international music in these domestic productions. Such variety shows featuring international stars who had performed at the music festival in Brasov enhanced TVR's presence in international programme exchanges. Valeriu Rîpeanu also recalled16 that TVR was able to exchange the footage of one festival edition for a complete Beethoven edition filmed by East German television.
The Golden Stag festival awarded generous prizes: 20.000 lei for the Golden Stag Trophy17 (this meant ten times the average wage of a Romanian citizen, the equivalent of five television sets or 2000 dollars on the black market). Other prizes awarded at the festival were: the Silver Stag, the Bronze Stag, and personal thanks to other notable performers. In addition there was a series of other prizes: the prize of the jury, of the Composers' Union, the Popularity Prize and the Youth Prize (the last two offered by Brasov City Hall and Brasov University).
The approximate costs of 'the edition of the festival in 1969 [were] 2.000.000 lei, plus 20.000 dollars and 4000 roubles for the invited stars.18 This edition, which sold 663 tickets, managed to bring in a profit. In the subsequent editions, it became harder and harder to obtain the government's approval for the high costs of the festival at the time when Ceausescu planned to expand Romania' economy through ambitious measures of industrialization and investment strategies.
In the 1969 edition of the Golden Stag festival, about 20 national television companies announced their participation. Mentioned in the order of the countries who responded, these were: France, Italy, the URSS, Belgium, Switzerland, West Germany (Bavaria), Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, England, Scotland, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey.19 It is important to note here that the predominance of Western countries reflected Romania's favourable relations to the West, as well as the participation of other Eastern Bloc countries.
2.4 Reactions to the Festival in France and Romania
French journalist Claude Durieux wrote in Le Monde on 19 March 1969 half a page dedicated to the Romanian music festival, which was included in the 1969 'Cerbul de Aur' file at the Romanian Radiobroadcast Society. The French article started with a quote given by the president of the Radiobroadcast Committee, Valeriu Pop, which spoke about Romania's attitudes to the West and the country's position in Europe and within the Soviet Bloc, primarily after Ceausescu's opposing of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968:
We are a small country, but as consequence of our originality among the socialist demoncracies, we believe in playing a part in the relations between different countries. We love all countries, but we also need to be loved in return.20
Durieux also wrote in her report on the Romanian festival:
In this psychological climate it is clear that France and the French, general de Gaulle21, the sillouette of the Eiffel Tour and Barbara's songs, all mixed up together, represent a place of choice. The fact that my guide - a very refined and educated young man – was called Pompiliu clearly leaves room for jokes we can make with those who remain faithful […] to French culture. We are happy, in these circumstances that the Festival of Brasov is, since its second year, such an accomplishment, which leaves us with nothing to envy the Eurovision contest for. (…).22
His article focused particularly on the enthusiasm of the Romanian audience and noted the contribution of Valeriu Lazarov, 'this J.C. Averty of Romanian television, which we discovered at the 1967 Monte Carlo festival'.23 While the 1969 'Golden Stag' festival does not include any letters sent by viewers about the festival, it does report on letters that had been received. The 'Golden Stag' file reports that despite French culture being much honoured in Romania and celebrated properly at the Golden Stag, letters sent by audiences to the festival organizers expressed an anti-French attitude: 'we would like to hear some other music than French music' was mentioned in one letter.24
Despite the success of the festival among its public and critics, there was a vague dissatisfaction among Romanian television audiences about the winner Luminita Dobrescu as well as about other organizing inconsistencies. Audiences criticized that Dobrescu won the festival despite being an average singer, simply because she was Romanian.
Luminita Dobrescu - Of, inimioara (Cerbul de Aur 1969) versiune integrala
In another letter, an engineer from Bucharest wrote about the poor presentation in French at the festival: "The presentation in French was awful. Ioana Magura (n.a.: a renown presenter on Romanian television) made many mistakes in French. [She said] : "Ils ne se sont pas encore venus; Nous prions notre invités; arrangement mousical, etc. Le spectacle étant retransmis à l'étranger, je crois qu'on a été la risée de tout le monde." We made complete fools of ourselves", concluded the letter.25
These critical reactions mentioned here are significant and important to take into consideration: they emphasized the superiority of the Western cultures (e.g. what was considered intolerable was to speak bad French, rather than Russian or Czeck) to Romania, whose representative unfairly won the festival. Romania's opening to the West was seen by political authorities to emphasize a complex of cultural inferiority among Romanians, which contributed to ending the financing of the festival in 1971.
2.5 The Golden Stag Coming to an End
Although there was no link between the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and Ceausescu's opposition to it in August 1968 on one hand and the start of the Golden Stag festival in May 1968 on the other, the festival was made possible in the context of Romania's opening toward the West and the country's growing independence within the Soviet Bloc. It was a context of freedom, which was also very much mirrored in television programming: consumerism was promoted by TV advertisements, lessons of foreign languages were part of morning programming on television, while the National Lottery offered prizes in the form of trips to Paris and Rome.
The popularity of the festival among audiences emptied all the theatre halls for one week. The festival created "fashions" that made the local Romanian "trends" seem out of date. […] This effervescence for the festival's transience was at the origin of its cancellation in 1971" said Valeriu Rîpeanu.26
Carmen Dumitrescu, TVR's reporter at the festival also confessed that the Golden Stag constituted the only occasion for her interviews to be broadcast without censorship, because there was no time for viewing and editing the material.27
All these aspects and the financial issues mentioned previously created concern for Ceausescu, who realized the unwanted turn his cultural politics were taking. Under financial pretexts, the festival was supressed in 1971, although no explicit annulment was made about this.
The day after the 1971 edition of the festival ended, on 8 March 1971, Ceausescu created a new group who were put in charge of radio and television: the National Council for Radio and Television comprising of 78 members under the direct supervision of Dumitru Popescu (secretary of culture at the Party's Central Committee and, shortly after, Minister for Culture). This initiative on Ceausescu's part was meant to impregnate a stronger national character on Romanian television. The honouring of the French language at the festival disturbed the regime and prompted Ceausescu's regime to slowly eliminate words of foreign origins from the official Romanian vocabulary.
At the second plenary meeting of the National Council for Radio and Television, an investigation was launched to reveal the financial irregularities that occurred during the festival. Eventually, a decision was taken that the festival would take place every two years. TVR made efforts to obtain the funds for a fifth edition. However, despite the positive feedback received by the festival, especially in France, the festival was not resumed under Ceausescu's regime.
French journalist Claude Durieux' remark on the Golden Stag that it left nothing to envy the Eurovision Song Contest for, which I mentioned earlier on in the article clearly places this Romanian festival in the line of European music events. As illustrated in this article, the festival was endorsed by Ceausescu's regime as an attempt to place Romania and Romanian television on the European scene and stage the countries' affinities to the West.
While the Eurovision Song Contest had its debut in 1965, the Golden Stag, which was launched three years later was seen as a Romanian competitive alternative event to the European one.
In the Soviet Bloc space, other festivals of this type took place. The most important was the Sopot Festival in Poland, which declared itself to be an alternative to the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) and was later called Contest of Intervision (1977-1980), OIRT's direct equivalent of ESC.
Other festivals were being launched in the same period: The Golden Orchid at Varna in Bulgaria meant to attract more tourists to the socialist country; and the Golden Lyre, in Czechoslovakia, which took place before the Soviet invasion. These initiatives to launch music festivals in other socialist countries allowed Octavian Paler in 1967 to convince Ceausescu to launch the Golden Stag in 1968, and actually started before both The Golden Orchid and The Golden Lyre.28 The rise and the demise of the Golden Stag music festival needs to be understood as part of a broader context of Romanian politics, as well as Ceausescu's foreign relations and part of a context of competition with other broadcasters and international music festivals in Europe.
Alexandru Matei has obtained his PhD in French contemporary literature at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris and University of Bucharest in 2007. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Excellence in the Study of Images, doing research on the history of Romanian television. He published an article on Romanian television at the end of the 60s, entitled 'La Jeune télévision roumaine en fleur. 1969 ou l'année charnière' in Télévision, No 3, 2012, CNRS, Paris. Other publications include the volumes: Jean Echenoz et la distance intérieure, Harmattan, Paris, 2012 and Ultimele zile din viata literaturii, Cartea Romaneasca, Bucuresti, 2008. He teaches French literature and literary theory at the 'Spiru Haret' University and at the University of Bucharest.
1 Russian was no longer obligatory in schools after 1963, while the last Party Congress that promoted Marx and Lenin took place in 1969↑
2 Constantin Brancusi who had died in Paris in 1967 in Paris became a symbol of the Romanian socialist culture, while Mircea Eliade, who was living in Chicago and Eugene Ionesco living in Paris were invited to participate in televised interviews who were later broadcast on television. In 1967, for instance, reporter and programme maker Manase Radnev briefly interviewed Eugen Ionesco about his new play The New Indweller, which was going to be staged in Bucharest after having been published in Paris in 1958 (see further: tape 139614, TVR Multimedia Archives, Bucharest).↑
3 I also took into consideration an interview Rîpeanu gave for the television programme Retrovizor, produced by Irina Negraru, (TVR), in which he presents the same story.↑
4 The Radio Archives also contain documents refering to TVR, institution to which the Radio was bound until 1994. But these documents are not catalogued. The Golden Stag from 1969 is, thus, a personal discovery, as well as the Golden Stag file from 1973.↑
5 Paler was co-opted as part of TVR's management just a few months after having begun his diplomatic mission in Rome. See ViziuneTELE, op. cit., p. 156.↑
6 Each country represented in the festival had an appointed member in the jury, which meant the jury comprised of up to 25 members.↑
7 In 1970, new members were appointed in charge of Romanian Radiotelevison.↑
8 Vornicu is known as the best Romanian producer of television entertainment. He was allegedly linked to the Romanian communist secret services, the Securitate, which allowed him to work as a press correspondent in Paris in 1960-1965. Several authors (see Annie Musca, Tudor Vornicu, Focsani, Terra editions, 2008; Clara Mares, Zidul de sticlă. Ion D. Sârbu în arhivele Securităţii, Curtea Veche, 2011, p. 402-403; documents in the National Archives files e.g. ANIC, Decret 172/1961 State Council's Collection) have supported the hypothesis that Vornicu was a captain enrolled in the Ministery of Internal Affairs, involved in counter-espionage activities, who might have taken place in the communist repression at the end of the 1950s in Romania.↑
9 Lazarov was among the first best directors of Romanian television. He was born in 1935, joined the broadcast institution in 1959 and emigrated 9 years later to Spain, then to Italy. He started his career by imitating Averty's way of filming and became known for his fast editing and montage. In his later career, he became one of the most important people in Berlusconi's television networks. At the end of his career, he produced entertainment shows with his production company Prime Time Communications, delivering formats that were also presented after 1995 on Romanian public and private television channels. He died in 2009. His view Romania was that of being a regime of aesthetic censorship, which was more manifest than in other socialist countries and which eventually impregnated a particular mentality and work practice that didn't have much to do with the imposed ideology.↑
10 The Committee for Radio and Television, Information regarding the organisation of the second edition of the International Slow Music Festiva 1968, p. 156. l Brasov – Romania 1969, 25 IX 1968, p. 156.↑
11 No other cataloguing details are available for this file, except for its title.↑
12 Later it becomes the Council for Culture and Socialist Education, under the control of Nicolae Ceausescu's wife, Elena.↑
13 See: Order nr. 1239 for constituting the Organizing Committee for the International Festival of Pop Music in Brasov, Romania 1969, Radio Archives, Bucharest.↑
14 'Cerbul de Aur' file, Romanian Radiobroadcast Society, 1969↑
15 See: JMG Best report, European Officer Liaison, PABX 5210-1, 26 November 1968, BBC Written Archives, Caversham, UK. Thank you to Dana Mustata for informing me of this document, which testifies the visit of Tudor Vornicu to London between 16 and 22 November 1968 in order to discuss among others (e.g. the introduction of colour television in Romania), the sale of variety programmes and the recruiting of pop stars for the Golden Stag festival.↑
16 Personal interview with Valeriu Rîpeanu, Bucharest, March 2012.↑
17 At the Golden Orchid festival in Bulgaria (the Bulgarian equivalent of the Golden Stag), the prizes were paid in the national currency of the singer's country in the 70s. (See the file The Golden Stag, 1973, the note regarding the organisation of the Vth edition of the festival, page 5, which will be refused by Cornel Burtica who replaces Paul Niculescu Mizil at the PCR Central Committee for issues of the Radiotelevision, Archives of the Radiobroadcast)↑
18 For the last edition of 1971 there is another positive commercial balance: 3.000.000 lei income, 2.700.000 lei revenues. Nonetheless, the cut of expenses was something normal. The economical imperatives are already heavy and the previsions for 1971 are, after the preparations in 1970, at the same level as the previous edition because of "a series of cuts" (note in the file no 269, The Golden Stag 1971, TVR archives). It's Gheorghe Maurer, prime minister until 1974 who takes care of the organisation of the fourth edition. There will be a private dispute with Ceausescu in 1971 and it's probable that probably because of his ever diminishing influence after that date the festival ended before 1990.↑
20 Claude Durieux, Esprit frondeur et conscience politique', Le Monde, March 19th 1969, p. 23, in the file "The Golden Stag 1969", Radio Archives, Bucharest↑
21 He is the first Western president to make an official visit to Ceausescu's Romania, in May 1968.↑
22 Claude Durieux, Esprit frondeur et conscience politique', Le Monde, March 19th 1969, p. 23, in the file "The Golden Stag 1969", Radio Archives, Bucharest.↑
23 Ibid.↑
26 Personal interview with V. Rîpeanu, Bucharest, March 2012.↑
27 Personal interview with Carmen Dumitrescu, Bucharest, March 2012↑
28 'Octavian Paler a inventat Cerbul de Aur' at http://www.ziare.com/stiri/ancheta/octavian-paler-a-inventat-cerbul-de-aur-403526 (retrieved September 30, 2012)↑
Matei, A., 2012. The Golden Stag Festival in Ceausescu's Romania (1968-1971). VIEW Journal of European Television History and Culture, 1(2), pp.18–24. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18146/2213-0969.2012.jethc015
Matei A. The Golden Stag Festival in Ceausescu's Romania (1968-1971). VIEW Journal of European Television History and Culture. 2012;1(2):18–24. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18146/2213-0969.2012.jethc015
Matei, A. (2012). The Golden Stag Festival in Ceausescu's Romania (1968-1971). VIEW Journal of European Television History and Culture, 1(2), 18–24. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18146/2213-0969.2012.jethc015
1. Matei A. The Golden Stag Festival in Ceausescu's Romania (1968-1971). VIEW Journal of European Television History and Culture. 2012;1(2):18-24. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18146/2213-0969.2012.jethc015
Matei A, 'The Golden Stag Festival in Ceausescu's Romania (1968-1971)' (2012) 1 VIEW Journal of European Television History and Culture 18 DOI: http://doi.org/10.18146/2213-0969.2012.jethc015
Matei, Alexandru. 2012. "The Golden Stag Festival in Ceausescu's Romania (1968-1971)". VIEW Journal of European Television History and Culture 1 (2): 18–24. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18146/2213-0969.2012.jethc015
Matei, Alexandru. "The Golden Stag Festival in Ceausescu's Romania (1968-1971)". VIEW Journal of European Television History and Culture 1, no. 2 (2012): 18–24. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18146/2213-0969.2012.jethc015
Matei, A. "The Golden Stag Festival in Ceausescu's Romania (1968-1971)". VIEW Journal of European Television History and Culture, vol. 1, no. 2, 2012, pp. 18–24. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18146/2213-0969.2012.jethc015


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About 57,000 children attend a school in the San Francisco Unified School District; and about half of them will be using Muni to get back and forth. And one way we work to make student travel safer is by using the Muni Transit Assistance Program.
Since launching in 1996, MTAP works with and trains members of the community in conflict resolution who then ride on specific routes with the purpose of diffusing and deterring any conflicts, acts of vandalism, and who assist the bus operators as needed. These individuals are part of the Security, Investigations and Enforcement Division in our agency's Sustainable Streets Division.


After doing our last post on the IRS sending out letters to farmers on their 2018 tax returns, we received several more comments and emails indicating that this is happening across the country.
These notices will only apply if a farmer received a cooperative 199A DPAD. So far, we are not aware of any notices for farmers receiving the old 199 DPAD, even though that number does not foot on Schedule 1 either.
A couple of readers have asked us if they file an extension by April 15 for a farmer who normally files by March 1 will that extend the time for the underpayment penalty not to apply. The answer is no. If a farmer wants to have full relief from the normal filing date of March 1, they will need to file AND pay by April 15. If they get an extension, they will owe the penalty from January 15 to April 15 (or the date of payment).
However, if the farmer paid their required estimated tax payment on January 15 and pay the remainder of the tax with an extension by April 15, there is no penalty associated with that extension.
There also appears to be a rumor going around that the Market Facilitation Program payments are non-taxable. These payments are fully taxable and they cannot be deferred. The IRS had issued formal guidance indicating the payments are taxable. It would take an act of Congress to make them non-taxable.
The payments are not crop insurance and even if they were crop insurance, you can't defer payments related to price. You can only defer these related to crop damage.
We have less than two weeks remaining in our tax season. This has probably been the most "interesting" tax season since the 1986 Tax Act came out (my wife knows when I use the word interesting it means I really don't like something).
As predicted, we still don't have any guidance from the IRS on how to handle the transition cooperative payments and even we get the guidance now, the tax software would not be ready by April 15. If you have not filed your tax return yet and you have a material amount of cooperative receipts, I would discuss filing an extension with your tax person now.


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Welcome to my personal journey through Nintendo's epic Zelda title – Breath of the Wild. Here is where I'll be chronicling my voyage across Hyrule. It goes without saying that there will be massive spoilers for the game, so if you don't want to see any, don't read these posts!
Chapter 10 – The End?


After a long wait route 58 has reopened for the summer season. Route 58 is the main road that links Kutchan and Hanazono to Goshiki onsen and across the Annupuri mountain range.
This is great news for sightseeing and cycling the famous Goshiki loop. The excellent weather continues here in Niseko.


text:
Factory Worker Opens Street School to Teach Slum Kids
Kamal Parmar a factory owner for the past 15 years has been running an after-school program for slum kids in Ahmedabad, India, helping them with basic skills like reading and writing and even preparing for their school tests.
See photos:
Parmar's story begins one afternoon 15 years ago. He was standing outside his metal fabrication workshop, near the slums of the Bhudarpura neighborhood, when he met a few kids returning home from the local municipal school. They were ecstatic about the end of their exams, which they claimed to have aced, so he decided to stop them and ask them a few questions. That's when he made a shocking discovery – the students, even the older ones, did not know how to read.
"I took their exam paper and asked a few questions to some of them," he says in a 2014 documentary titled Footpath School. "But none of them knew any answers. I thought to ask a few others. I asked them to read, but they did not even know how to read. Surprised, I asked them what did they write in their exams. All they knew was identifying the alphabet. And that left me thinking that something should be done for these children. And that is how, 15 to 17 years back I started this school."
First, Parmar spoke to 400 students who lived in the area and discovered that only five were literate. So he invited the kids to visit his home every evening, where he set up a makeshift classroom with metal desks made at his own workshop. Despite being a school dropout himself, the factory worker planned to teach them everything he knew – right from the alphabet to preparing for school tests – while focusing patiently on the needs of each individual student.
The humble school started off with 10 students, but over the years, Parmar managed to attract more students with a simple strategy – delicious dinners prepared right outside his school. "I teach them for two hours every day, and then we all have dinner together," he said, speaking to Humans of Amdavad, a Facebook page that documents stories from the people from the Indian city. "Dinner doesn't include simple Roti-Sabji, I provide them with hygienic and fancy dishes like Pav-Bhaji, Chana Puri, Idli-Sambhar, and also sweets. Due to dinner a lot of students are attracted here. I also take them to picnic once in a year."
Today, the Footpath School has a total of 155 students and many of the kids that Parmar has taught in the past 15 years have gone on to attend college and build successful careers. "One of my girl student recently became Manager at a bank, then one of the students became a computer engineer, the other one became a mechanical engineer, and one of the girls is applying for medical, and the list continues. Imagine, those who couldn't read and write are now engineers and doctors and managers at a bank. For me, this is success."
Despite having studied only till the seventh grade, Parmar says he's been able to teach the kids by devising innovative techniques. "I too began to learn along with the girls who studied further," he explained in the documentary film. "Even at present, I teach around 50 girls in my own way. I ask them to read first. After reading I ask them to form questions on their own and read them out. This way they themselves form questions and also find the answers. In six months they learn all seven subjects like this – by forming questions, finding answers and learning them by-heart."
"I have always valued education. And when these children don't get it right, I feel we should think of something for them," the inspiring roadside teacher concludes.
Credit: odditycentral
Kumar Parmar's dedication towards education reminds of Rajesh Kumar Sharma, who set up a similar school under a bridge in New Delhi, where he teaches children from the city's slums too poor to attend regular schools.
Can you do this for the poor?


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Wholesome Super Food: What would you do when your child score full marks?
I was about to go to sleep and the urge to share my thoughts and views about this matter with parents make me open up my laptop to blog. In view of the change to the PSLE scoring system which is affecting my eldest child, how can we embrace the change?
I used to be a helicopter / tiger mum who would sit and make sure they finished not just their school and enrichment homework and the house homework as well. It irritated me big time when work was not accomplished at the end of the day. I would also blame them for misbehave and the result for not following what i instructed them. I was then a result oriented person.
After embarking on my Healthy Fast Food career, i am thankful to be in a team of great mentors who teach me plenty of life skills and they have change my mindset and how i think and dealt at things differently. My career has shaped and snapped me out of my helicopter parenting to free range parenting which i allow my kids to explore more, make mistakes and to learn to face failure as well as to take ownership of their work at a younger age.
So what would you do when your child score full marks? Give them a (big) treat? Praise them none stop for how smart they are?
Above are just 2 tests papers i gotten today from her today. I could see that she was really excited to tell me her result immediately when she got off my friend's car. I reached out my hand and give her a firm handshake and congratulated her. I like to do de brief or post mortem with my kids. I led her to see that this time she had put in efforts in revising and it increased her chance of getting higher mark (not full mark). Through this, she learns the cause and effect. It might not drill into her permanently now however when she does not do well in future, i will reinforce what i said. I am setting context on cause and effect.
Many years ago, i always say this joke to my hubby. You studied 4 years, your friends studied 3 years in Uni. Ultimately, what matter is who have a more quality lifestyle now?
Come to our children generation, probably everyone will have a degree certificate. In years to come, many jobs will be automated and eliminated. Owning a HDB could be 3x of my parent's time for them. How can they stand out in the society in future? How can they survive in the upcoming competitive environment?
An acorn will grow into a tree after many years. What you plant today into your beloved child will determine who he is in future. Today plant the seed that you want him to be so that he will grow up to be the tree in the future.
We live in a cause and effect world.
I am not perfect but doing my best to raise resilient kids with creativity, independence, responsibility, compassion, empathy and love.


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text:
Re-constructing archaeology: Theory and Practice' by Michael Shanks and Christopher Tilley
Home ⟩ Blog ⟩ Re-constructing archaeology: Theory and Practice' by Michael Shanks and Christopher Tilley
'Re-constructing archaeology: Theory and Practice' by Michael Shanks and Christopher Tilley, 1992, London: Routledge, Second Edition, xxiv + 287 pp. ISBN 0-415-08870-4 (pbk)
Review by Bruno David
Re-Constructing Archaeology is about the hegemony of archaeology (as a social practice). It is about the non- neutrality of archaeological practice in a human world that is inherently political. Archaeology is an expression of this political world, a form of political expression. But because social systems tend to be self-justifying, this political arena is often ignored in archaeological practice, as it is in many other aspects of human life. As a result of this, both archaeologists and non-archaeologists – those with the power to re-construct the past as well as those who consume it – treat archaeology as being about the past, rather than being about a power relation that involves dialectics and potential contra- dictions between the present and the past, the author and the audience, the individual and the community. It is in this failure to grasp the hermeneutic and hegemonic nature of archaeological practice that, to Shanks and Tilley, lies the major shortcomings of archaeological practice (the industry of the past).
Re-Constructing Archaeology is divided into four parts and nine chapters, each of which addresses a particular (but related) aspect of this issue. Chapters1 (The present past), 2 (Positivism and the 'New Archaeology'), 3 (Facts and values in archaeology) and 4 (Presenting the past: Towards a redemptive aesthetic for the museum) constitute Part 1 (Issues in Archaeological Theory and Practice: Critique and Development). Part 2 (Perspectives for a Social Archaeology) is made up of Chapters 5 (Hermeneutics, dialectics and archaeology) and 6 (Social archaeology: The object of study). Part 3 (Material Culture and Social Practices) consists of Chapters 7 (Style and ideology) and 8 (Social values, social constraints and material culture: The design of contemporary beer cans). Part 4 (Conclusions) consists of Chapter 9 (Archaeological theory and practice today). In addition, there are also a new preface and an appendix, where the authors attempt to address some of the criticisms that were made of the first edition of this book.
The underlying theme of Shanks and Tilley's arguments is that archaeology is not about the past, but a practice set in the present. As such, archaeological documents (texts) are presentations of the past constructed via present-day assumptions, set in contemporary social, political and economic frameworks. As such, the past becomes commodified. The reason for this is our tendency to reduce things into types and series of objects that are then related to units of time. Time is priced. Time can be identified, quantified, seriated and typologised. The past tends to be seen not as human experience and practice (that extend to the present), but as material units of abstract behaviour. Archaeology is a practice set in the spirit of capitalist relations, with all its emphasis on production and distribution set in a context of inequality. It is archaeologists that produce the past, and a public that receives it in commodities that produce the past, and a public that receives it in commodity exchange.
The presentation of the past, in texts, museums and so forth, 'is part of the process of history' (p.6). As such, and because archaeology is about perceiving a past that is no more, archaeology is by definition more than an objective thing. It is an objective practice. The concept of practice is itself imbued with subjectivity, with humans acting in a more than mechanical way. In this sense, it is distinct from abstract behaviour (which archaeologists like to talk about). In other words, we should go beyond an archaeology that claims to be objective; no positivist archaeology will do justice to the human experiences that make archaeology possible in the first place. It is thus not adequate to claim that archaeology is based on objectivity. As Sartre (1962) argues, objectivity is no more than an externalisation of subjectivity, and subjectivity an internalisation of objectivity. Archaeology as narrative is thus about re-creating a past via current social and political experiences. 'History has no end' (p.19). It has to be continually created, re-created and negotiated. The socio-political and ontological contexts of creation, re-creation and negotiation will change the histories we construct. As Shanks and Tilley (p.20) suggest, 'archaeology should be conceived as the process of the production of a textual heterogeneity which denies finality and closure'. It is not adequate, therefore, to assume that there is a 'hard bedrock of facts and data' (p.36) upon which our archaeological theories and interpretations can be tested. This assumption, they argue, is a shortcoming of the 'New Archaeology' as 'there can be no objective testing without circularity' (p.37) (as observation is dependent on theory, and theory on observation).
All in all, Shanks and Tilley's arguments are generally convincing (although I would not say that they are all that new). Their arguments are worded in the framework of contemporary approaches to knowledge, using the logic and language of hermeneutics and dialectics, hegemony and neo- Marxism. In this context, many of the arguments they make, however, could be stripped of its jargon. Shanks and Tilley have obviously heard this point before, for they defend their use of complex language with statements such as 'the demand to read "simple" rather than "complex" texts is merely a valorization of anti-intellectualism' (p.262). I'm afraid I must disagree. I also find it surprising that they argue this point, for they themselves argue that archaeology, as a means of presenting the past, should involve a closer link between the 'professional' practitioner and members of the general public. Unfortunately, making the means of communication more complex will hardly achieve this end. 'Complex' language does not necessarily increase intellectual debate: it often merely stifles communication. There are, I would argue, two exceptions to this. Firstly, when the author wishes to transcend current ways of thinking, it may be necessary to use new words that are not already embedded with a network of unwanted, pre-existing meanings. And secondly, some words may be used as a shorthand for complex issues (this may be particularly relevant when trying to shorten a manuscript for publication). Furthermore, while I agree with the general thrust of Shanks and Tilley's arguments, finding them both interesting ad powerful, I would not say that they need particularly 'complex' language to be expressed. On the contrary, there are many linking issues relevant to their major theme (that archaeology is a relation between the present and the past), each of which could easily be addressed using simple language. This shortcoming does not, however, detract from the arguments themselves.
Re-Constructing Archaeology concentrates on the way people view, package and present the past. These themes arc presented to us, firstly, via a series of theoretical discussions, and then by showing us that the theoretical issues discussed really are applicable to the material record. The latter is effected in a number of examples, two of which are m analysis of designs on British and Swedish beer cans; and an analysis of the distribution of pottery items near and in a prehistoric burial site in Sweden.
I found Shanks and Tilley's study of beer can designs fascinating. They were also, I would add, successful in demonstrating that the material record is structured by power relations, and that this record is therefore testimony to human 'political' relations. I did not find, however, their analysis of the prehistoric pottery very satisfying at all. They undertook a rather standard structural analysis of the distribution of pottery designs around a burial site, and then proceeded to interpret the observed patterns in terms of pre-determined structural beliefs (mainly based on dualities). The approach presented here is, in effect, very much akin to Levi-Strauss's structuralism. Some of the assumptions they make, I would argue, involve similar law-like generalisations to those looked for by Middle Range Theorists (heavily criticised in this book). For instance, they interpret the presence of 'open' designs (designs without formal boundaries) on pots as evidence for the existence of 'open' social relationships. This approach is in direct opposition to their claim that we should not look for absolutes of this kind in social behaviour (the project of Middle Range Research). And yet, this is exactly what they have done here: they assume a general 'law' that open designs qual open social systems. The problems in this analysis are compounded at almost every stage with unjustified assumptions. For instance, they argue that: 'cereal impressions occur in relatively large quantities in the sherds of the pots deposited at the tombs despite the fact that these pots were not used in an everyday domestic context [assumption]. This suggests an intimate connection between grain and the pottery, and the vessels very possibly contained grain and other products. So, there appears to be an association made in the ritual stage [assumption] of the tomb entrance between human bones disarticulated and deposited inside, death, pottery and the ancestors in relation to life [assumptions], grain and fertility [assumption]'(p.169)
(Why these assumptions?) What about the possibility that people were simply camping outside the grave and tossing broken pots behind them? Why infer 'ritual' at all? How do we know that these pots were not used in an everyday domestic context? Why cannot we simply infer the opposite to Shanks and Tilley's views: that the people who created the tomb and those who lived outside it did not have a strongly formalised differentiation of life and death, of life space and death space? That people were living adjacent to the tomb?
Why don't the presence of cereal impressions on the pots situated on the periphery of the tomb imply that people used this area as domestic space, or that domestic items were used as burial items? The final conclusions reached by Shanks and Tilley (quoted above) are unwarranted given the nature of the evidence presented. I would argue, rather that we should not feel compelled to present constructions of the past that reach beyond the evidence at hand. If we wish to do this, then we should never lose track of the limitations of the evidence, and of the models that we wish to present. There are some things that we just cannot, unfortunately, talk about when it comes to the past (simply because the past is gone and therefore there are things that we will never know).
All in all, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to all archaeologists. One reason is that it illustrates well some of the shortcomings of the 'New Archaeology' and 'Middle Range Research', with their focus an adaptation and hypotheticodeductivity (both of which involve unacknowledged circularities, and usually ignore the fact that archaeologists, as observers, participate in the re-construction of the past). Another reason is that the authors do not only criticise the way other people have done archaeology, but rather they give concrete examples of the way that they think it should be practiced (although in a way their arguing for their way is in contradiction to their argument for a pluralistic archaeology). I agree wholeheartedly with Shanks and Tilley's overt political and social stance, that archaeology is politics. I also agree with 'their' general structural approach. I do not agree, however, with the freedom of interpretation they take in the Swedish burial example given above, and this may be because of the circularity of some of Shanks and Tilley's arguments. In this case study, they began by assuming certain structural principles, interpreted the archaeological materials in terms of these structural principles, and therefore these principles became self-supporting in the process. Given their argument that archaeology is, by nature, a hegemonic practice, I guess that this case study befits the theme of this book. It does not, however, befit the strengths of the general arguments presented.
Authors: David, B.
Title: Re-constructing archaeology: Theory and Practice' by Michael Shanks and Christopher Tilley
Type: Book Reviews
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