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Home / Buy Now, Pay Later / Afterpay for… healthcare? Buy now, pay later service testing medical payment options
Afterpay for… healthcare? Buy now, pay later service testing medical payment options
By Emma Duffy on June 11, 2019
Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels
Buy now, pay later company Afterpay is expanding its services to include healthcare, but the move has raised fears it will leave financially vulnerable patients exposed to creeping out-of-pocket costs.
If you've ever delayed a visit to the doctor's office because you couldn't cover the out-of-pocket cost, you may be pleased to hear Afterpay is trialling financing radiology, pharmacy and General Practice services.
The move follows the company's successful roll-out to over 1,100 dentists and optometrists nationally over the past 10 months.
Afterpay's Head of Healthcare, Matthew Cagney said the move will allow Australians to better manage their household budgets, as the bills will be split into four smaller payments.
"With more than 11 million Australians not having access to 'extras' cover, we are meeting a genuine need – and for those that do have cover, there is nearly always going to be a gap payment that needs to be made," Mr Cagney said in a statement.
But consumer advocates are a little more sceptical, warning it will lead to mounting out-of-pocket costs for financially vulnerable patients.
For the uninitiated, Afterpay allows users to spread out the full cost of a product, or in this case, a scan, consultation or pharmacy purchase, over four equal interest-free fortnightly payments. If you miss a payment, it will incur a $10 late fee, a further $7 fee if still unpaid seven days later, and capped at $68 or 25% of the original purchase price.
Professor Rosalie Viney at the University of Technology Sydney's Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation warns the move risks dulling the cost of medical bills and could lead to patients paying for services they can't really afford.
"If you only have to pay a portion at a time, you might go ahead with it, even though you may not be able to afford it," Professor Viney said.
"A $400 bill doesn't look like much when you're only paying $100 at a time. But it's easy for those costs to creep up."
A 2018 ASIC review of buy now, pay later providers like Afterpay found that one in six users reported experiencing a negative impact, such as being overdrawn, having to delay paying bills or borrowing money from friends in order to meet scheduled repayments.
According to the report, over half of buy now, pay later users said they ended up spending more than they did before they used a buy now, pay later arrangement.
Emma Duffy Emma Duffy joined Savings.com.au as a Finance Journalist in 2019 after spending a year as the editor of The Real Estate Conversation. She's passionate about empowering people to make smart financial decisions and improve the financial literacy of Australians by translating complex finance topics into understandable, relatable content.
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Aussies may be unable to defer mortgage repayments anymore
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Half of low-income renters now in rental stress: Productivity Commission
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Property sellers in Hobart and regional Victoria profit most
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Parents Reminded to Keep Watch Around the Water
News/Health
This summer, parents and caregivers are being urged to keep a watchful eye over their kids as a new study reveals more than 500 children aged up to four years have drowned in the past two decades.
Royal Life Saving Australia says the risk of drowning triples as soon as a child starts to crawl, peaking shortly after a child's first birthday.
Of the 532 children who died, 40 per cent were just one-year old, with 77 per cent of drownings happening after a fall into water, and swimming pools the leading location for drowning among children over the past 19 years.
In almost all instances, the child was not being supervised by an adult when they entered the water.
Katrien Pickles is a Senior Project Officer with Royal Life Saving Australia and says this year has been especially challenging for parents due to the ongoing pandemic.
"Families are juggling so much and this may lead to distractions and lapses in adult supervision," she said.
"Everyday distractions such as answering the front door, checking an email or putting the washing on can prove disastrous for young children. When supervising children around the water, always make sure your full attention is dedicated to the task."
Katrien Pickles, Royal Life Saving Australia.
Royal Life Saving Australia's Keep Watch public awareness and education campaign has been running for more than 25 years. It recommends the following safety tips to keep children safe around water:
Supervise. Actively supervise children around water
Restrict. Restrict children's access to water
Teach. Teach children water safety skills
Respond. Learn how to respond in the case of an emergency
Mob in Queensland Urged to Get Vaccinated
Umeewarra Media Supports Vaccine Rollout
Landmark case over pension age
Winnunga Nimmityjah Reopens

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Strong storms can leave trees in dangerous positions on your property. The well-trained tree doctors at Stietz Tree Service will safely and properly remove trees after wind storms so you can live safely in your home. They utilize modern climbing gear, saddles and cabling during every job. When they arrive at your property, they will conduct a detailed inspection and assessment before performing tree removals or trimming to avoid potential hazards, such as utility lines and fallen debris.
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Stietz Tree Service takes pride in their commitment to assisting clients with cost-effective tree services. They continue to explore new ways to lower the cost of services for you and your family. Additionally, they will leave job sites clear of leftover branches and will do their best to minimize the impact to your lawn.
Get the professional residential and commercial tree services your home and business deserve from the experts at Stietz Tree Service. Call them today at (608) 776-3678 or visit them online.
What Does It Mean When a Tree Oozes Sap?


I discovered Greta Alfaro's work a few weeks ago while dining at Monkey Town 5 in Barcelona. Monkey Town is an immersive dining experience combining gastronomy and video art. In other words, guests watch a programme of video art while being treated to a delicious five-course meal and plenty of wine. The evening was opened by In Ictu Oculi where we see a flock of vultures ravage a feast carefully set on a picnic table in a barren landscape. With this dramatic start, Greta Alfaro set the tone for what was to be an extraordinary and highly thrilling night.


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Americana artifacts are related to the history, geography, folklore, and cultural heritage of the United States of America. Americana is any collection of materials and things concerning or characteristic of the United States or of the American people, and is representative or even stereotypical of American culture as a whole.

What is and is not considered Americana is heavily influenced by national identity, historical context, patriotism and nostalgia. The ethos or guiding beliefs or ideals which have come to characterize America, such as The American Dream, are central to the idea. Americana encompasses not only material objects but also people, places, concepts and historical eras which are popularly identified with American culture.

The name Americana also refers to Americana music, a genre of contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American music styles, including country, roots rock, folk, bluegrass, and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound.

As nostalgia
From the mid to late 20th century, Americana was largely conceptualized as a nostalgia for an idealized life in small towns and cities in the United States around the turn of the century, roughly in the period between 1880 and the First World War, popularly considered "The Good Old Days". It was believed that much of the structure of 20th-century American life and culture had been cemented in that time and place. American author Henry Seidel Canby wrote:

Many kinds of cultural artifacts fall within the definition of Americana: the things involved need not be old, but are usually associated with some quintessential element of the American experience. Each period of United States history is reflected by the advertising and marketing of the time, and the various types of antiques, collectibles, memorabilia and vintage items from these time periods are typical of what is popularly considered Americana. The Atlantic described the term as "slang for the comforting, middle-class ephemera at your average antique store—things like needle-pointed pillows, Civil War daguerreotypes, and engraved silverware sets".

The nostalgia for this period was based on a remembrance of confidence in American life that had emerged during the period due to such factors as a sense that the frontier had finally been "conquered", with the U.S. Census Bureau's declaration that it was "closed" in 1890, as well as the recent victory in the Spanish–American War. By 1912, the contiguous United States was at last fully politically incorporated, and the idea of the nation as a single, solid unity could begin to take hold.

As Canby put it,

On growing up Italian-American, novelist Don DeLillo stated:

The zeitgeist of this idealized period is captured in the Disneyland theme park's Main Street, U.S.A. section (which was inspired by both Walt Disney's hometown of Marceline, Missouri and Harper Goff's childhood home of Fort Collins, Colorado), as well as the musical and movie The Music Man and Thornton Wilder's stage play Our Town. Especially revered in nostalgic Americana are small-town institutions like the barber shop, drug store, soda fountain and ice cream parlor; some of these were eventually resurrected by mid-twentieth century nostalgia for the time period in businesses like the Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour chain, with its 1890s theme.

Examples

Cultural symbols

 American football
 Baseball
 Blue jeans
 Camp meeting
 Cowboy
 Flag of the United States
 Fourth of July
 Mount Rushmore
Route 66
 Small town
 Statue of Liberty
 Tent revival
 Thanksgiving
 White picket fence
Wild West

Food
Apple pie
Barbecue
Bubble gum
Buffalo wing
Hamburger
Hot dog
Fried chicken
Milkshake
Pizza

Music
Blues
Country
Jazz
Rock and roll
 "The Star-Spangled Banner"

Brand names

 Budweiser
 Chevrolet
 Coca-Cola
 Ford
 Harley-Davidson
 Jack Daniel's
 Jim Beam
 Levi's blue jeans, especially Levi's 501s
 Marlboro
 Nike

See also
 History of immigration to the United States
 Culture of the United States
 Folklore of the United States
 History of the United States
 American studies
 Transcendentalism
 Romanticism
 Black Americana

Similar concepts

 Australiana, for cultural artifacts from Australia
 Canadiana, for cultural artifacts from Canada
 Communist nostalgia, a similar concept in former or currently communist countries
 Floridiana, artifacts relating to the state of Florida.
 Hawaiiana, Native Hawaiian cultural artifacts from the U.S. state of Hawaii.
 Kiwiana, for cultural artifacts from New Zealand
 Ostalgie, a similar concept in East Germany
 PRL nostalgia, a similar concept in Poland
 Rhodesiana, a similar concept in Zimbabwe relating to items made in its colonial (Rhodesia) era
 Soviet nostalgia, a similar concept in the former Soviet Union
 Yugo-nostalgia, a similar concept in the former Yugoslav states

References

External links

Merriam-Webster definition of "Americana"

Nostalgia in the United States

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Christian Frazier
Foulkes promoted to head coach for track and field
By Christian Frazier
Picture captured during 2019-2020 season at Saginaw Valley State University meet, before COVID-19. Pictured left to right: Sean Foulkes, Alexander Wilson and Ben Denonme
The Rochester University Athletics Department promoted assistant coach Sean Foulkes to head coach for the Men's and Women's Track and Field team in January after Alexander Wilson resigned from his duties.
Before accepting the head coaching position, Foulkes served as an assistant coach for multiple programs, including Rochester University, Portage Northern and Athens high schools, Lawton Community Schools, Grand Rapids Fire and a club team called "Throw Farther."
During Foulkes' time as a collegiate competitor at Ferris State University, he set multiple personal bests as a thrower. He competed in discus, shot put and hammer throw, earning marks of 140,42 and 120 feet, respectively. Additionally, Foulkes is certified as a level two USA Track and Field coach in throwing.
Foulkes said he is excited about the future of the Track and Field teams. "I want to continue building our numbers in the short term; and in the future, I want to compete for a conference title and send our kids to nationals," he said.
Allyson Slone, distance runner and elementary education/learning disabilities major, said, "Coach Foulkes has done a wonderful job with our team so far! He has brought an unmatched amount of energy and lots of grit, which have kept spirits high, despite the unexpected coaching change."
The track and field teams will compete at the WHAC Jamboree hosted by Aquinas College, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Feb. 13.


Artist's Chalk Pastels offer a velvety smooth dry texture, with brilliant, pigmentation. This set of professional-quality square chalk pastels in lift-lid box are ideal for everyone, from beginners to experienced artists. AP-certified non-toxic formula safe for children. Each pack includes 12 pastels in charcoal color. Sold as 6 packs for a total of 72 pastels.
The (6 Pk) Sargent Art Sq Chalk 12charcoal Colors Pastels can be found in our Chalk product category within the Arts & Crafts.


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Archive for the 'relapse: the refill' Category
Coming Soon: Relapse: The Refill
Written By: Victoria H. (Urban Editor)
Eminem will release "Relapse: The Refill" on December 21st. The album will include the entire "Relapse" album, plus seven songs that did not make the album. Eminem said his hopes for "Relapse: The Refill" is to "deliver more material for the fans this year like I originally planned. Hopefully these tracks on "The Refill" will tide the fans over until we put out "Relapse 2" next year. I got back in with Dre and then a few more producers, including Just Blaze, and went in a completely different direction which made me start from scratch. The new tracks started to sound very different than the tracks I originally intended to be on "Relapse 2", but I still want the other stuff to be heard."
Eminem is currently in the studio working on "Relapse 2" which is scheduled to be released next year. Eminem said "I definitely feel like I'm in a different space right now. With the last record, I think a lot of it had to do with me getting sober, my eyes being open again. With Relapse, I wanted to prove myself that I could still do it. The zany, loony, ridiculous shit, so a lot of that album is rapid-fire punch lines. Now I'm at a point where I'm blessed enough to be in a position where I don't need to put out records, but I want to."
Posted in chicks with guns, Eminem, relapse 2, relapse: the refill, white chicks on rap | Leave a Comment »


While most non-vintage Hebrart wines are nonetheless dominated by a single vintage, his NV Brut Cuvee Reserve represents the exception, in this instance comprising close to half-each 2009 and 2007. Apple and lime laced with cilantro and garlanded in bittersweetly perfumed iris make for a fascinating aromatic display that presages the juicy, metaphorically cool, herb- and flower-tinged, mouth-coating palate impression. Soothing, sustained, and subtly interactive, the finish offers a fine sense of transparency to nuances including the chalky sort. I imagine this will merit following for at least a couple more years.
(82% pinot noir and 18% chardonnay; disgorged in March, 2013 after 25 months on its lees): Pale yellow. Aromas and flavors of citrus pith, dried fig, quince and chalky minerals. Dry and precise, with subtle florality, zesty mineral lift and a late kick of bitter cherry pit. Finishes dry and long, with persistent orange zest and chalk notes.
Here the nose is yeasty to the point of being toasty with pretty aromas of white peach, pear and apple.
on the beautifully persistent finish. I like the style and this is drinking perfectly now though it should hold well if desired.
Chalk, white pear, apples and jasmine jump out of the glass in the Cuvée de Reserve. Energetic, tense and wiry, the Cuvée de Reserve is all about focus. The aromas and flavors are beautifully nuanced in this crystalline, expressive Champagne. Hints of slate and graphite add an attractive mineral dimension on the finish. The Cuvée de Réserve is 82% Pinot Noir and 18% Chardonnay, all done in steel, 55% 2009 and 45% 2007 vintages. This bottle was disgorged in March 2013.


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Social Resources and Challenges Related to the Schooling and Education of Immigrant Children at High Schools in Japan
Hiromi Kobayashi ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6344-37201 &
Mioko Tsuboya2
Journal of International Migration and Integration (2020)Cite this article
Japan has recently seen an increase in the number of immigrant children, many of whom face difficulties at school. The country's educational policies have failed to address the needs of these children. As a result, the schools and local municipalities in which these children are educated bear the burden of this problem. This study examines how the social resources and home lives of these immigrant families affect children's schooling and education at high schools. First, the authors describe the problems of the education system in relation to the children of foreign workers and low-wage immigrants in the context of Japan's stringent immigration policy. Then, in a case study, they highlight the ways in which family-related factors, local resources, and an innovative quota system combined with special programs at a local high school affect the schooling and educational success of immigrant students. The results indicated that most foreign children newly arrived in Japan due to the transnational movement of their parents had limited family resources and limited Japanese language skills and that external networks helped such children continue on to high school. The paper concludes by suggesting that integrated measures, including institutional admission arrangements and social supports, are needed to provide immigrant children of low socioeconomic status with adequate educational opportunities.
In response to the demand from industries that face a severe shortage of low-skilled workers, the Japanese government revised the immigration law that increased the number of unskilled workers, starting in April of 2019. However, the law does not officially allow foreign workers to live in Japan with their families for a period of time.
According to the Japanese Constitution and the country's education laws, the first nine years of schooling are obligatory; however, this obligation does not apply to immigrant children because they do not have Japanese nationality. According to a recent survey by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), approximately 20,000 of 124,000 (16%) foreign children of mandatory schooling age were not enrolled in school (MEXT 2019).
According to a survey on the nationwide status of high school entrance exams and admission criteria for foreign children, 13 of the 39 prefectures that responded to the survey implemented a quota system in public high schools, though the details are unknown. The number of prefectures in Japan is 47. The survey was conducted between November 2011 and March 2012 by a researcher (Kojima 2016: 98–109).
This figure indicates the proportion of those who entered universities and junior colleges out of the total number of students who graduated from high school. (MEXT 2018).
This number includes not only public schools but also private ones.
Ota (2000) estimated that the high school entry rate among Brazilian children was 33%, while Kaji (2000) estimated that figure to be 50–60% among students from the second and third generations of returnees from China. Inui (2008) reported that the figure was 11% among Laotian refugees.
Article 26 of the Japanese Constitution specifies that all people have the right to an education and all guardians are obligated to send their children to school. Following this provision, Article 16 of the School Education Act (gakko kyoiku ho) stipulates that all guardians must ensure their children complete nine years of universal education. Article 17 states that all guardians must ensure that children between the ages of 6 and 12 attend elementary school and that those who finish elementary school must be enrolled in junior high schools.
A predecessor high school of X high school started its own admission criteria for students whose first language was not Japanese in the mid-1990s (Tsuboya and Kobayashi 2013: 54–72).
X high school's past competition rate was 1.60 in 2012, 1.27 in 2013, 2.20 in 2014, 1.25 in 2015, and 1.75 in 2016.
The composition of foreigners in 2018 was as follows: Chinese, 37%; Korean, 13%; Filipino, 11%; Brazilian, 9%; Peruvian, 3%; and other, 26%. The proportion of nikkeijin (Japanese emigrants to Latin America and their descendants) was once larger than in other areas. Recently, however, the population of Chinese and southeast Asian immigrants, from, for example, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Nepal, has been increasing in line with national trends (Tsurumi Ward 2018).
The quota system in Kanagawa Prefecture has imposed a minimum number of subject exams (English, Japanese, and mathematics) and interviews, so it is more advantageous for those who are familiar with the Japanese language, such as Chinese students (Tsuboya and Kobayashi 2013: 54–72).
Although the total number of study participants was 95, the number of persons who answered each question was often smaller because some of the questions were not asked due to irrelevance or were not responded to by students for various reasons.
All informants' names have been replaced with pseudonyms to protect their privacy.
Castro-Vázquez, G. (2009). Immigrant children from Latin America at Japanese schools: Homogeneity, ethnicity, gender and language in education. Journal of Research in International Education, 8(1), 57–80.
Cummins, J. (1981). The role of primary language development in promoting educational success for language minority students. In California State Department of education (Ed.), Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework (pp. 3–49). Los Angeles, CA: Evaluation, dissemination and assessment center, California State University.
Gordon, J. A. (2015). Educational reform for immigrant youth in Japan. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 16(3), 517–538.
Green, D. (2014). Educational of foreign children in Japan: Local versus national initiatives. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 15(3), 387–410.
Inui, M. (2008). Koukoushingaku to nyushi [advancement to high school and testing]. In K. Shimizu (Ed.), Koukou wo ikiru nyukama: Osakahuritsu koukou ni miru kyoiku shien [newcomers in high schools: Educational support in Osaka prefectural high schools] (pp. 29–43). Tokyo: Akashi Shoten.
Kaji, I. (2000). Chugoku kikoku seito to koukou shingaku [returnee students from China who are entering senior high school]. In S. Araragi (Ed.), Chugoku kikokusha no seikatsu sekai [the life-world of "returners from China"] (pp. 233–287). Kyoto: Kouro-Sha.
Kanagawa Prefecture (2018). Kanagawa-ken gakko kihon chousa [School basic survey of Kanagawa]. www.pref.kanagawa.jp/docs/x6z/tc30/gakuzi/30houkoku.html. Accessed 10 February 2019.
Kobayashi, H. (2013). Kokkyo wo koete keiseisareru kazokukankei [building family relationships across borders]. In M. Tsuboya & H. Kobayashi (Eds.), Jinken to tabunkakyousei no koko [human rights and coexistence in a multicultural high school] (pp. 158–171). Tokyo: Akashi Shoten.
Kojima, Y. (2016). Gaikokujin no kodomo no shugaku to fushugaku [enrollment and non-enrollment of foreign children]. Osaka: Osaka University Press.
Lin, N. (2001). Social capital: A theory of social structure and action (pp. 243–249). Cambridge: Cambrideg University Press.
Ministry of Education Culture Sports Science and Technology (MEXT) (2016). Nihongo shido ga hitsuyo na gaikokujin no ukeirejyokyoto ni kansuru chosa no kekka nitsuite [Survey of foreign students who need Japanese language instruction]. http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/houdou/29/06/1386753.htm. Accessed 14 Feb 2019.
Ministry of Education Culture Sports Science and Technology (MEXT) (2018). Gakko kihon chosa [School basic survey]. https://www.e-stat.go.jp/stat-search/files?page=1&toukei=00400001&tstat=000001011528. Accessed 10 Feb 2019.
Ministry of Education Culture Sports Science and Technology (MEXT) (2019). Gaikokujin no kodomono syugaku jyokyou-tou chosa kekka (sokuho) [Surveys on enrollment status of education for foreign children (preliminary report)] http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/houdou/31/09/1421568.htm. Accessed 24 Nov 2019.
Miura, A. (2012). The educational role of a Filipino ethnic church: Focusing on the needs of differences between generations. The Journal of Educational Sociology, 90, 191–212.
Miyajima, T. (2003). Tomoni ikirareru Nihon he [living together: Policies for foreign residents]. Tokyo: Yuhikaku.
Miyajima, T. (2014). Gaikokujin no kodomo no kyoiku [educating foreign children in Japan]. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.
Nomoto, H. (2009). Multicultural and multiethnic education in Japan. Educational Studies in Japan: International Yearbook, 4, 53–65.
Ota, H. (2000). Nyukama no kodomo to Nihon no gakko [newcomer children and Japanese schools]. Tokyo: Kokusai Shoin.
Ota, H. (2005). Nihonteki monokarutyurarizumu to gakusyukonnan [Japanese monoculturalism and difficulties studying]. In T. Miyajima & H. Ota (Eds.), Gaikokujin no kodomo to Nihon no kyoiku [foreign children and Japan's education system] (pp. 57–76). Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.
Ota, H., & Tsuboya, M. (2005). Gakko ni kayowanai kodomotachi [Children not attending school]. In T. Miyajima & H. Ota (Eds.), Gaikokujin no kodomo to Nihon no kyoiku [Foreign children and Japan's education system] (pp. 17–36). Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.
Portes, A., & Rumbaut, R. (2001). Legacies: The story of the immigrant second generation. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Rumbaut, R. G. (1994). The crucible within: Ethnic identity, self-esteem, and segmented assimilation among children of immigrants. The International Migration Review, 28(4), 748–794.
Sakuma, K. (2015). Takokusekika suru Nihon no gakko [Japanese schools that are becoming multinational]. Tokyo: Keisou Shobou.
Shimizu, K. (2008). Koukou wo ikiru nyukama: Osaka furitsu koukou ni miru kyoiku shien [newcomers in high schools: Educational support in Osaka prefectural high schools]. Tokyo: Akashi Shoten.
Suzuki, E. (2017). Gaikoku-jin senbetsu seisaku no tenkai [history of the policy for screening foreign workers]. In A. Koido (Ed.), Imin ukeire no kokusai shakaigaku [global sociology of absorbing immigrants] (pp. 310–336). Nagoya: Nagoya University Press.
Takenoshita, H., Chitose, Y., Ikegami, S., & Ishikawa, E. A. (2013). Segmented assimilation, transnationalism, and educational attainment of Brazilian migrant children in Japan. International Migration, 52(2), 84–99.
Tsubota, K. (2010). Kodoku na imin no koko shingaku katei – N. Lin no shakai kankei shihon riron ni chakumoku shite [an analysis of the preocess of entering high school in immigrant children: Focusing on Nan Lin's social capital theory]. Tohoku Daigaku Daigakuin Kyoikugaku Kenkyuka Kenkyu Neopo, 59(1), 113–127.
Tsuboya, M., & Kobayashi, H. (2013). Jinken to tabunkakyosei no koko [human rights and a multicultural high school]. Tokyo: Akashi Shoten.
Tsuneyoshi, R. (2004). The 'new' foreigners and the social reconstruction of difference: The cultural diversification of Japanese education. Comparative Education, 40(1), 55–81.
Tsurumi Ward, (2018). Hakken Tsurumi [Discovery Tsurumi]. http://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/tsurumi/. Accessed 24 November 2019.
Yamanaka, K. (2000). I will go home, but when? Labor migration and circular diaspora formation by Japanese Brazilians in Japan. In M. Douglass & G. Roberts (Eds.), Japan and global migration: Foreign workers and advent of a multicultural society (pp. 123–152). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Yasui, D. (2017). Okinawa-rashisa no shakaigaku [Okinawan sociology]. Kyoto: Koyo Shobo.
The authors would like to thank the study participants and teachers at X high school in Yokohama. The authors would also like to thank Drs. Jacqueline Adams, John Hayakawa Torok, and members of ISSI at the University of California, Berkeley, for their valuable comments and editors in American Journal Experts for their editorial services. This study was supported in part by a grant of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (No. 26380693).
This study was funded in part by a grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (No. 26380693).
Department of Human Studies, Bunkyo Gakuin University, 1196 Kamekubo, Fujimino, Saitama, 356-8533, Japan
Department of International College of Arts and Sciences, Yokohama City University, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, 236-0027, Japan
Mioko Tsuboya
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Correspondence to Hiromi Kobayashi.
Kobayashi, H., Tsuboya, M. Social Resources and Challenges Related to the Schooling and Education of Immigrant Children at High Schools in Japan. Int. Migration & Integration (2020) doi:10.1007/s12134-019-00752-2
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-019-00752-2
Immigrant children
Quota system
Immigrant families


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Pikachu Is A Mario, Mario Is A Pikachu
There are few things in this world that I love more than when Pikachu dresses up as someone or something else in officially licensed merchandise. Now it has been taken to the next level. At the end of this month, Nintendo and the Pokémon Company are releasing a line of merchandise based around …
Chris Sims
Takekuma & Nozawa's 'Super Mario Adventures' Returns To Print
The Super Mario Adventures comics from Kentaro Takekuma and Charlie Nozawa that ran in the pages of Nintendo Power from 1992 to 1993 are coming back into print. Next month, Viz is releasing a collection of Super Mario Adventures --- and celebrating by giving you the chance to meet Mario and Luigi in…
Here's The Thing Episode 16: Why Do We Love Super Mario?
If our weekly Ask Chris column isn't enough of definitive comic book (and pro wrestling) opinions for you, good news: ComicsAlliance is proud to present Here's The Thing, a series of videos where you can join our own extremely opinionated senior writer, Chris Sims, as he dives into comics …
'Mario Kart 8' Will Feature A Mercedes Benz For Some Reason
If you were a kid in the '90s and you wanted to find out more about Mario once you were done with the video games, you pretty much had two choices: Sitting through a half hour of dance instructions from "Captain" Lou Albano, or flipping through the pages of Valiant's Nintendo Com…
Link Ink: Tuesday, May 27 2014
Tuesday's links await, after the jump.
Caleb Goellner
Jorge Vargas's Mashup Art Is Everything My Childhood Wanted
I have devoted a pretty significant portion of my life to rescuing Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom, and, as I have noted so many times before, I grew up a Street Fighter partisan, with Sakura being one of my all-time favorite characters. As a result, I am immediately and automatically down fo…
Link Ink: Monday, February 17 2014
Start your week off right with today's links.
S.H. Figuarts Super Mario Action Figure Coming In May 2014
When Bluefin Tamashii Nations USA opened a survey to action figure collectors asking which licenses fans were most interested in last year, quite a few fans raised an eyebrow at the inclusion of Super Mario Bros. on the form. Once Bandai's North American distributor of the hyper articulated S.H. Fig…
Holiday Gift Guide: 'Mario: Cause Of Death' Poster
When it comes to the holiday gift-giving season, comic book readers are notoriously difficult to shop for. I mean, most of us are down at the shop buying our favorite stuff every single week, so when the time comes for people who like us to get us something we want, well, a lot of times we already h…
Ask Chris #141: How 'Super Mario Bros.' Works
Over a lifetime of reading comics, Senior Writer Chris Sims has developed an inexhaustible arsenal of facts and opinions. That's why, each and every week, we turn to you to put his comics culture knowledge to the test as he responds to your reader questions...


The Middle East Center maintains a collection of videos and DVDs pertaining to the Middle East for individual and educational use only by Penn faculty, students, and K-12 educators in the greater Philadelphia area. Films are available for pick up in person from our office at 3340 Walnut St. Philadelphia. They can be borrowed for a maximum period of two weeks. The borrower will need to give a fundable deposit that will be returned upon receipt of the movie.
The Center does not retain screening rights for all the titles. Therefore borrowed movies should not be used for public and/or paid screenings.
To request a film, contact mec-info@sas.upenn.edu.
To do a keyword search you may use the search box located in the top right hand corner.


It's beginning to look very Christmassy in our loft.
Tom put curtains of fairy lights up in each of our windows and now we've got the brightest house on the street.
We picked up some Pawsecco for Bobbin to enjoy over Christmas and she looked very intrigued as I popped it into her stocking.
The Shard has started doing a light show in the run up to Christmas, similar to the one at the Eiffel Tower.
It has a little sparkle every 15 minutes, with a bigger light show on the hour and then a grand finale at midnight. It's lovely because it gives us something to watch when we're having dinner upstairs.


text:
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These are the 10 breeds of adorable dog ideal for the more elderly owner - including the loving French Bulldog
'Serious' security flaws expose popular Ford and VW cars to hackers
Monday, 13th April 2020, 1:44 pm
Updated Monday, 13th April 2020, 2:00 pm
Popular models from Ford and Volkswagen have 'serious' security flaws which could put owners' personal data and even safety at risk, according to a new investigation.
Consumer group Which? says that it has uncovered vulnerabilities in versions of the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Polo which feature "connected" technology such as internet-connected media systems.
It warns that the flaws leave cars exposed to attacks from malicious hackers who could steal data or send misleading information to a vehicle's management system. And it has accused car makers of being "careless" with security, with no meaningful regulation for on-board technology.
Working with a team of cyber security experts from Context Information Security, Which? examined the computer systems behind the connected technology systems of the cars. They found that they could hack into the Polo's infotainment unit via a command that disables the traction control system. From there they could access personal data including phone contacts and location history.
They also found that by simply lifting the VW badge on the front of the car, they could access the radar module, which would potentially allow a hacker to tamper with the car's collision detection safety system.
On the Ford, Which?'s friendly hackers found that using a laptop and a £25 gadget from Amazon they could intercept the tyre pressure monitoring system, potentially allowing them to trick the car's display to show that tyres were flat when they weren't or vice versa, a move that could put a driver's safety at risk.
By hacking into the Focus's controller area network - the car's central "brain" - they were also able to find wifi details and a password that appeared to be for the computer system at Ford's Detroit factory, despite the Focus being built in Europe. They could also access detailed information about the user's driving habits and location history.
Lisa Barber, Editor of Which? Magazine, said: "Most cars now contain powerful computer systems, yet a glaring lack of regulation of these systems means they could be left wide open to attack by hackers – putting drivers' safety and personal data at risk.
"The government should be working to ensure that appropriate security is built into the design of cars and put an end to a deeply flawed system of manufacturers marking their own homework on tech security."
Ford said that the tyre monitoring technology was not unique to Ford and the hack only worked using "easily visible auxiliary antennas". It added that the personal data was stored with owners' consent and refused to comment further.
Volkswagen told Which? that the hacked infotainment system was in a "separate domain of the vehicle and it is not possible to influence other critical control units unnoticed".
It added that none of the findings posed "any direct risk for the driver or passengers". And said that many of Which?'s scenarios required access to the vehicle and "very high effort".
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Весёлый — хутор в Аксайском районе Ростовской области.

География
Расположен в 30 км (по дорогам) северо-восточнее районного центра — города Аксай.

Хутор находится на правом берегу реки Грушевки.

Улицы
 ул. Алроса
 ул. Восточная
 ул. Мира
 ул. Речная
 ул. Учебная

Население
По состоянию на 1 января 2011 года численность населения на территории хутора Весёлый составила 294 человека.

Инфраструктура
В XXI веке территория хутора Весёлый была газифицирована.

На территории Аксайского района проходит комплекс мер по реконструкции водно-канализационного хозяйства. Большинство сетей находятся в изношенном состоянии. На территории хутора Веселый ведутся предпроектные работы по созданию подводящих и разводящих сетей. Аналогичные работы проводятся и на территории хутора Алитуб.

Достопримечательности
На территории хутора Вёселый и в его окрестностях есть археологические памятники природы. Им присвоена местная категория охраны. Объекты признаны памятниками археологии согласно Решению Малого Совета облсовета №301 от 18 ноября 1992 года.
Курганный могильник «Веселый - 1» - памятник археологии. Место расположения памятника находится на расстоянии 1,8 километров западнее территории хутора, вблизи трассы Ростов-Шахты.
Курганный могильник «Веселый - 2» - археологический памятник, расположение которого - 1,2 километров западнее-северо-западнее хутора Веселый.
Курганный могильник «Веселый-3» - памятник археологии. Расположен на западной окраине хутора Веселый.

Примечания

Населённые пункты Аксайского района


text:
What Is Container Orchestration?
By Isaac Eldridge • Jul. 17th, 2018 • Software Engineering
container orchestration, containers, Docker, Kubernetes
In just a few short years, containers have dramatically changed the way software organizations build, ship, and maintain applications.
Container platforms, led by the seemingly ubiquitous Docker, are now being used to package applications so that they can access a specific set of resources on a physical or virtual host's operating system. In microservice architectures, applications are further broken up into in various discrete services that are each packaged in a separate container. The benefit, especially for organizations that adhere to continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) practices, is that containers are scalable and ephemeral—instances of applications or services, hosted in containers, come and go as demanded by need.
But scalability is an operational challenge.
If you have ten containers and four applications, it's not that difficult to manage the deployment and maintenance of your containers. If, on the other hand, you have 1,000 containers and 400 services, management gets much more complicated. When you're operating at scale, container orchestration—automating the deployment, management, scaling, networking, and availability of your containers—becomes essential.
So, what is container orchestration?
Container orchestration is all about managing the lifecycles of containers, especially in large, dynamic environments. Software teams use container orchestration to control and automate many tasks:
Provisioning and deployment of containers
Redundancy and availability of containers
Scaling up or removing containers to spread application load evenly across host infrastructure
Movement of containers from one host to another if there is a shortage of resources in a host, or if a host dies
Allocation of resources between containers
External exposure of services running in a container with the outside world
Load balancing of service discovery between containers
Health monitoring of containers and hosts
Configuration of an application in relation to the containers running it
How does container orchestration work?
When you use a container orchestration tool, like Kubernetes or Docker Swarm (more on these shortly), you typically describe the configuration of your application in a YAML or JSON file, depending on the orchestration tool. These configurations files (for example, docker-compose.yml) are where you tell the orchestration tool where to gather container images (for example, from Docker Hub), how to establish networking between containers, how to mount storage volumes, and where to store logs for that container. Typically, teams will branch and version control these configuration files so they can deploy the same applications across different development and testing environments before deploying them to production clusters.
Containers are deployed onto hosts, usually in replicated groups. When it's time to deploy a new container into a cluster, the container orchestration tool schedules the deployment and looks for the most appropriate host to place the container based on predefined constraints (for example, CPU or memory availability). You can even place containers according to labels or metadata, or according to their proximity in relation to other hosts—all kinds of constraints can be used.
Once the container is running on the host, the orchestration tool manages its lifecycle according to the specifications you laid out in the container's definition file (for example, its Dockerfile).
The beauty of container orchestration tools is that you can use them in any environment in which you can run containers. And containers are supported in just about any kind of environment these days, from traditional on-premise servers to public cloud instances running in Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), or Microsoft Azure. Additionally, most container orchestration tools are built with Docker containers in mind.
Kubernetes: the gold standard
Originally developed by Google as an offshoot of its Borg project, Kubernetes has established itself as the de facto standard for container orchestration. It's the flagship project of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, which is backed by such key players as Google, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Cisco, and RedHat.
Kubernetes continues to gain popularity with DevOps practitioners because it allows them to deliver a self-service Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) that creates a hardware layer abstraction for development teams. Kubernetes is also extremely portable. It runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, the Google Cloud Platform (GCP), or in on-premise installations. You can move workloads without having to redesign your applications or completely rethink your infrastructure—which helps you to standardize on a platform and avoid vendor lock-in.
The main architecture components of Kubernetes include:
Cluster. A cluster is a set of nodes with at least one master node and several worker nodes (sometimes referred to minions) that can be virtual or physical machines.
Kubernetes master. The master manages the scheduling and deployment of application instances across nodes, and the full set of services the master node runs is known as the control plane. The master communicates with nodes through the Kubernetes API server. The scheduler assigns nodes to pods (one or more containers) depending on the resource and policy constraints you've defined.
Kubelet. Each Kubernetes node runs an agent process called a kubelet that's responsible for managing the state of the node: starting, stopping, and maintaining application containers based on instructions from the control plane. A kubelet receives all of its information from the Kubernetes API server.
Pods. The basic scheduling unit, which consists of one or more containers guaranteed to be co-located on the host machine and able to share resources. Each pod is assigned a unique IP address within the cluster, allowing the application to use ports without conflict. You describe the desired state of the containers in a pod through a YAML or JSON object called a PodSpec. These objects are passed to the kubelet through the API server
Deployments, replicas, and ReplicaSets. A deployment is a YAML object that defines the pods and the number of container instances, called replicas, for each pod. You define the number of replicas you want to have running in the cluster via a ReplicaSet, which is part of the deployment object. So, for example, if a node running a pod dies, the replica set will ensure that another pod is scheduled on another available node.
Docker Swarm: a hardy bit player
Even though Docker has fully embraced Kubernetes as the container orchestration engine of choice, the company still offers Swarm, its own fully integrated container orchestration tool. Slightly less extensible and complex than Kubernetes, it's a good choice for Docker enthusiasts who want an easier and faster path to container deployments. In fact, Docker bundles both Swarm and Kubernetes in its enterprise edition in hopes of making them complementary tools.
The main architecture components of Swarm include:
Swarm. Like a cluster in Kubernetes, a swarm is a set of nodes with at least one master node and several worker nodes that can be virtual or physical machines.
Service. A service is the tasks a manager or agent nodes must perform on the swarm, as defined by a swarm administrator. A service defines which container images the swarm should use and which commands the swarm will run in each container. A service in this context is analogous to a microservice; for example, it's where you'd define configuration parameters for an nginx web server running in your swarm. You also define parameters for replicas in the service definition.
Manager node. When you deploy an application into a swarm, the manager node provides several functions: it delivers work (in the form of tasks) to worker nodes, and it also manages the state of the swarm to which it belongs. The manager node can run the same services worker nodes do, but you can also configure them to only run manager node-related services.
Worker nodes. These nodes run tasks distributed by the manager node in the swarm. Each worker node runs an agent that reports back to the master node about the state of the tasks assigned to it, so the manager node can keep track of services and tasks running in the swarm.
Task. Tasks are Docker containers that execute the commands you defined in the service. Manager nodes assign tasks to worker nodes, and after this assignment, the task cannot be moved to another worker. If the task fails in a replica set, the manager will assign a new version of that task to another available node in the swarm.
Apache Mesos (and Marathon): complex but flexible
Apache Mesos, slightly older than Kubernetes, is an open source software project originally developed at the University of California at Berkeley, but now widely adopted in organizations like Twitter, Uber, and Paypal. Mesos' lightweight interface lets it scale easily up to 10,000 nodes (or more) and allows frameworks that run on top of it to evolve independently. Its APIs support popular languages like Java, C++, and Python, and it also supports out-of-the-box high availability. Unlike Swarm or Kubernetes, however, Mesos only provides management of the cluster, so a number of frameworks have been built on top of Mesos, including Marathon, a "production-grade" container orchestration platform.
The main architecture components of Mesos include:
Master daemon. Part of the master node that manages agent daemons. With Apache Zookeeper, you can create a Mesos Master Quorum, consisting of at least three master nodes, for high availability purposes.
Agent daemon. Another part of the master node that executes tasks sent by the framework (in this case, Marathon).
Framework. Mesos doesn't run application orchestration workloads; instead, Marathon receives resources from the Mesos master (in the form of offers), and Marathon sends tasks, based on the resource offers, to executors that launch the tasks on agents.
Offer. The Mesos master gathers information about agent nodes' CPU and memory availability and sends that information to Marathon so Marathon knows what resources are available.
Task. These are basic units of work that Marathon schedules based on resource offers from the Mesos master. Tasks are executed by executors on agent nodes.
Marathon then provides necessary service discovery, load balancing (with HAproxy), cluster resource management, application (i.e., container) deployments, and APIs for managing workloads.
Container orchestration platforms: let someone else manage Kubernetes for you
As noted earlier, Kubernetes is currently the clear standard for container orchestration tools. It should come as no surprise then that major cloud providers are offering plenty of Kubernetes-as-a-Service offerings:
Amazon Elastic Container Service for Kubernetes (Amazon EKS)
Amazon EKS fully abstracts the management, scaling, and security of your Kubernetes cluster, across multiple zones even, so you can focus strictly on your applications and microservices. EKS integrates with popular open source Kubernetes tooling and plenty of AWS tools, including Route 53, AWS Application Load Balancer, and Auto Scaling. The team that manages Amazon EKS are regular contributors to the Kubernetes project.
Google Cloud Kubernetes Engine
Like Amazon EKS, Kubernetes Engine manages your Kubernetes infrastructure so you don't have to. Google, as the original developer of Kubernetes, has plenty of experiencing running Kubernetes-based containers in production. Kubernetes Engine runs on Google's network and uses routine health checks in high availability configurations and auto scales to meet whatever demand is placed on your applications.
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
AKS is Azure's Kubernetes management solution. With AKS, you can secure your clusters with Azure's Active Directory and deploy apps across Azure's massive data center offerings. Azure also provides their own container registry and a provisioning portal. And, as Kubernetes enthusiasts likely already know, Brendan Burns, who co-created Kubernetes, is leading the charge behind Azure's container work.
So how do I choose?
As with most emerging technologies, container orchestration tools have their pros and cons. The platforms that manage Kubernetes for you, from Google, Azure, and AWS, provide a tremendous amount of functionality with very little overhead. Kubernetes, Swarm, and Mesos/Marathon, on the other hand, should be appraised depending on factors such as architecture, HA needs, flexibility, and learning curve.
For instance, Swarm has a fairly simple architecture built directly into the Docker ecosystem while Kubernetes, and Mesos especially, can be much more extensible; in fact, in a Mesos cluster you can deploy containerized applications right next to apps running in traditional VMs. That said, Swarm may be suitable for smaller deployments with little need to scale. Mesos, on the other hand, can scale to tens of thousands of nodes, and Kubernetes is right behind it. On the other hand, the learning curve for Swarm is pretty low; both Mesos and Marathon could likely require some level of specialization in your organization.
Finally, in addition to the container orchestration tools discussed here, there is also a wide range of third-party tooling and software associated with Kubernetes and Mesos. (For example, Helm for Kubernetes and Mesosphere DC/OS for Mesos).
Isaac Eldridge is a technical content editor at New Relic. View posts by Isaac Eldridge.
15 Kubernetes Experts to Follow Online
By Jake Widman • Jun. 14th, 2018 • Technology Industry
container orchestration, containers, Kubernetes, software development
Monitoring Application Performance in Kubernetes: How New Relic Sets You Up for Success
By Anil Murty • Apr. 17th, 2019 • Software Engineering
container orchestration, Kubernetes, New Relic APM, New Relic Insights
Five Thoughts About Adopting Microservice and Container Architectures
By Jonathan Owens • Jun. 25th, 2018 • Technology Industry
containers, microservices


That's a good start, not too in your face so far.
Last edited by chipp on Sun 20.09.2015, 17:02, edited 1 time in total.
I remember that car!! Ultra bling!
I think the car eventually went to Denmark or Sweden ??? Delta ???


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text:
Sandy Hook Oct 28, 2021
Parents of Sandy Hook Victim Keep Son's Legacy Alive By Helping Other Children
To honor what would have been Chase Kowalski's 16th birthday this Sunday, his parents made a $20,000 donation to a program at the Waterbury YMCA to help kids there get the early education they need.
Indiana May 7, 2021
Jury Awards Indiana Girl $96K For YMCA Bounce House Injuries
A jury has awarded nearly $96,000 in damages to a northwest Indiana girl who was injured in 2018 while playing in a bounce house at a local YMCA.
summer camp Apr 3, 2021
Summer Camps Preparing To Open With COVID-19 Precautions
Boring: that's how 9-year-old Kian Lord of Southington described last summer. "It was in the house, a bunch of us screaming and yelling and hotness," he said, recalling the sweltering summer he spent at home instead of at summer camp. Lost to the pandemic was Kian and his sister Maia's summer camp time. Their mother, Wynne Lord, said her...
coronavirus in connecticut Mar 16, 2021
Seniors Speak Out About Their Struggles In The Pandemic And How To Move Through It
Seniors in the state of Connecticut are speaking out about the physical and mental toll placed on their lives by the pandemic. NBC Connecticut spoke with seniors over the over the age of 70 who say they and many of their friends have dealt with the struggle to maintain their physical health with ailments they were dealing with prior to...
Coronavirus Outbreak Mar 14, 2021
YMCA Camp Sloper Gears Up For Reopening
Staff at YMCA Camp Sloper are waiting to hear from the state about what the guidance will look like for summer camps this year.
YMCA Mar 4, 2021
What to Expect From Summer Camps This Year
This is the time of year when parents start preparing for the summer. Harold Sparrow, the president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Hartford, gives us an idea of what to expect.
back to school Sep 17, 2020
Programs Offer Students a Place to Learn on Distance Learning Days
With school districts across Connecticut operating on a hybrid model of learning, some parents are left with child care concerns. "Two days in school- the big question mark was what do we do with the kids for the other three days?" explained Bob Kilpatrick, a program coordinator for the Norwich Recreation Department. To answer that question, various organizations across the…
coronavirus in connecticut Sep 16, 2020
New Programs Emerge to Offer Students a Safe Place to Go on Distance Learning Days
As more children start learning online, new programs are emerging across the state offering students a safe place to go on their distance learning days.
Naugatuck Sep 11, 2020
Preschooler at Naugatuck YMCA Child Care Center Tests Positive for COVID-19
A preschooler at the Naugatuck YMCA Child Care Center has tested positive for COVID-19 and all children in the same group, as well as the preschoolers' siblings and group teachers have been directed to stay home for at least 14 days before returning to the child care center or visiting the YMCA. A statement from the Naugatuck YMCA says a…
coronavirus in connecticut Aug 27, 2020
Back To School in Hybrid Model? Mystic Aquarium, YMCA Offering Full-Day Programs for Students
Thousands of students across Connecticut are getting ready to go back to school on a hybrid model during the pandemic. School districts across the state are offering in-person learning two days a week and online learning three days a week, creating a childcare gap for many. "The first thing that comes to mind is, what do I do to keep…
back to school Aug 7, 2020
Back to School: Tips From an Epidemiologist
EAST HARTFORD Jul 18, 2020
YMCA Unveils Remodeled East Hartford Community Center
State Leaders, elected officials, and members of the Larson family hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Lois Nola Larson YMCA Community Center in East Harford's Mayberry Village. The project has been five years in the making and has a goal to offer learning programs for children inside the community. Science, technology, math, and literacy are featured programs that will...
coronavirus Jul 17, 2020
YMCA Camper Tests Positive for COVID-19
A camper at Camp Chase YMCA in Burlington has tested positive for the coronavirus.
YMCA Jul 17, 2020
Child at YMCA Camp in Burlington Tests Positive For COVID-19
A camper attending a YMCA camp in Burlington has tested positive for COVID-19. The YMCA of Greater Hartford announced Friday they were informed a camper at Camp Chase had tested positive. That camper, as well as the other children within the same Camp Chase group, those campers' siblings, and the group's counselors, will remain home for at least 14 days…
summer camps Jun 22, 2020
Summer Camps Begin to Reopen
Summer camps are beginning to reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The YMCA is opening 21 facilities and the JCC of Greater New Haven is also reopening.
reopening connecticut Jun 22, 2020
YMCA Reopens Facilities and Day Camps Across the State
The CT Alliance of YMCAs announced the reopening of its facilities and day camps around the state on Monday. The organization represents 21 YMCAs, including 36 branches statewide. All CDC and Connecticut guidelines on cleaning and social distancing will be adhered to at YMCA facilities, according to president and CEO of the Alliance, Harold Sparrow. YMCAs also welcomed children back…
YMCA Jun 21, 2020
YMCA Facilities Reopens Statewide
Twenty-one YMCA facilities and day camps will open across the state.
summer camp Jun 18, 2020
School's Out! Is It Safe to Send Your Child to Summer Camp?
YMCA's Chief Operating Officer Paul McEntire offers summer camp advice for parents worried about coronavirus, including being in active communication with the camp and doing the research.
Kate Rayner Aug 9, 2019
Kids With Diabetes Enjoy Special Summer Camp in Meriden
At Mountain Mist in Meriden, these kids are hard at play. They have one thing in common—diabetes.
Chairman Mar 21, 2019
'Low-Key, Modest' Watertown Man Leaves $4 Million for Local Organizations
John "Jack" Staver, of Watertown, appeared to those who knew him to be a low-key modest man. When he went to work out at the Greater Waterbury YMCA, he carried what employees described as a battered gym bag and the headphones he used were from the 1980s.


It is and it is known as ClickFunnels.
The issue is, if you are like me you are probably prepared to throw up with the amount of over-the-top, hyped-up advertising tactics used to market items like this and ClickFunnels is no exception.
In reality their advertising makes it difficult to learn whether it is worth the investment or whether it's simply all smoke and mirrors.
The simple fact of the matter is, everything you will find is that it is really a rather fantastic tool may be useful for every internet business owner, regardless of what the market.
You just need to understand the way to use it.
Through this ClickFunnels review, I'll be breaking down everything for you in a simple to understand way so it is possible to observe how ClickFunnels functions and start applying it immediately to get results in your company.
Additionally, I understand that you are reading this ClickFunnels review since you know your company takes a solution much like this and you are just not sure this is the perfect fit.
Whether you opt to go for this particular instrument or another one, my goal for this review would be to provide the criteria to follow when selecting the best one for you.
First, Just What Are Funnels? How Do They Function?
Before continuing with this ClickFunnels Review, let's clarify what a marketing funnel is. In advertising, it is a procedure that takes people who don't know you personally and turns them to customers, aka a advertising funnel. In e-commerce, a sales funnel is a set of measures developed to direct a web site visitor to the checkout page.
There's a less boring way of considering it. Measure 1: Imagine a funnel. Measure 2: Imagine this funnel is actually a metaphor, and instead of real ingredients to pour down the funnel, you've got metaphorical ingredients that you phone traffic or traffic. Your website visitors are searching around, checking out things. Your website is beautifully built, and your content is topnotch!
Unfortunately, that still does not turn a lot of your visitors into customers. At a physical store, that's like people walking into your shop but not understanding where the cash register is, so that they leave the store without buying anything. At a physical store, you can speak your customers into buying something. Within an electronic store, you could be a bit more remote from the customers. That is where your funnel comes in–it is designed to attract your clients' through fundamentals of psychology. The funnel works incremental, draw traffic in closer and nearer until individuals end up in a webpage.
Should you feel that seems cool, you're correct –it has turned into a huge bargain for internet marketing. Russell Brunson did not become wealthy by promoting ClickFunnels technologies, but by using it also.
The creator of ClickFunnels, Russell Brunson, is as famous as his creation, and for good reason. He has made a fortune, but not only from ClickFunnels, but other advertising experiences. He played email advertising for a while, and started to master sales funnels.
Russell Brunson is the bestselling author of DotCom Secrets and Expert Secrets, two books that his lovers rave about and that direct people through his advertisements and marketing strategies. You are able to pick up Dotcom Secrets free on his site here. Get Expert Secrets out of here free on his own site.
ClickFunnels started out as a means to assist Brunson and his staff create funnels more rapidly for different ventures, as generating funnels would normally take months. However they soon realized their production could be helpful to others and had great potential for a commodity.
With its own tabbed funnels, layout templates, and drag-and-drop performance, ClickFunnels is targeted towards entrepreneurs with little if any online advertising (and design/programming) experience.
Concerning layout — the overall look and feel of your posts — ClickFunnels treats you to some great choice of templates that are beautiful. Not only can these spare tons of work and time, but you also have the assurance that these templates are tested and are demonstrated to convert. Again, Brunson began the tool to empower his own salespeople and entrepreneurs sell more goods.
ClickFunnels requires no programming or design experience with its own drag-and-drop interface. You may add components such as buttons, countdowns, search-engine along with a great deal more.
You now have the capacity to place up funnel pages and create funnel workflows quickly.
The support is very scalable and flexible — enabling hassle-free editing and modifications.
There's an extensive assortment of professionally-designed templates.
You're in a position to perform A/B testing for each and every page contained in your funnels.
You're in a position to leverage multiple domain names with the support.
Email advertising services like ActiveCampaign and MailChimp can be readily incorporated. Additionally, it has autoresponder functions that you may use for collecting leads via email.
Clickfunnels may also be incorporated with different payment options such as Stripe and PayPal — that means you are able to accept payments for your products, services, or membership sites.
Analytics to analyze campaigns, funnel performance, conversions, revenue, and A/B testing outcomes will also be provided.
It is possible to make membership sites. After your prospects enroll, they can receive access to exclusive subscription locations.
ClickFunnels includes a two-week free trial and 2 bundle offering.
Great support — weekly webinars and free instruction are being supplied to customers.
New features are constantly being added to the ceremony.
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What types of funnels are discovered in ClickFunnels?
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As it is possible to utilize ClickFunnels to perform a great deal of things such as marketing automation and membership sites, their effectiveness is the core revenue funnel builder I think is the best in the business.
Ultimately it boils down to if ClickFunnels is excellent for you or not and it depends upon your individual requirements. If you are looking to build only a couple of landing pages to build your email list, you most likely don't want ClickFunnels.


text:
Xi would be a 'sinner' of all Chinese if he attacks Taiwan — official
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China Oct. 16, 2022. — REUTERS
TAIPEI — Chinese President Xi Jinping would become a "sinner" of all Chinese people if he attacked Taiwan and would not win a war as he would face international sanctions and diplomatic isolation, Taiwan's top security official said on Thursday.
China has ramped up military and political pressure against democratically governed Taiwan over the past two years as it seeks to assert its sovereignty claims, which the government in Taipei strongly rejects.
Opening a twice-a-decade congress of China's ruling Communist Party on Sunday, Mr. Xi said it was up to the Chinese people to resolve the Taiwan issue and that China would never renounce the right to use force but still strive for a peaceful resolution.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of parliament, Chen Ming-tong, head of Taiwan's National Security Bureau said Mr. Xi would face disaster if he followed through on his threats of ever attacking Taiwan.
"There is no possibility of winning in using force to attack Taiwan," Mr. Chen said.
China would face international sanctions and diplomatic isolation for doing so, he added.
"Xi would forfeit the so-called great rejuvenation of the Chinese people, and become a sinner of the Chinese people," Mr. Chen said, using a term that refers to those who are ethnically Chinese rather than of Chinese nationality.
Taiwan's government says only the island's 23 million people can decide their future, and that as Taiwan has never been ruled by the People's Republic of China its sovereignty claims are void.
"It's very clear that the two sides should respect each other and develop separately, which is the way that will bring happiness to the people," Mr. Chen said.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has repeatedly offered to resume talks with China based on the principles of equality and mutual respect, but Beijing has rebuffed those advances insisting she must first acknowledge that Taiwan is part of China.
Ms. Tsai is overseeing a military modernization program to respond to China's growing threat, which in August included war games carried out near the island as Beijing angrily responded to a visit to Taipei by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. — Reuters
Indonesia finds some medicines with ingredients linked to fatal child kidney injury
Lakers' sorry state


text:
I'm A Little Late To This Mad Men Thing
September 24, 2014 / the mindless philosopher
You're born alone, and you'll die alone, and the world just drops a bunch of rules on top of you to make you forget those facts, but I never forget. I'm living like there's no tomorrow because there isn't one. – Don Draper, Mad Men.
I used to feel embarrassed to tell people that I watch television.
I'm not anymore.
I watch TV. A lot.
You see, when you hang around with philosophy types, the phrase you'll most often hear is something like, "I don't even own a TV" or "I only watch PBS". Stuff like TV is a distraction or there's better things to do with one's brain.
Like reading Kant or Bertrand Russell.
Apparently philosophers aren't too keen on the TV.
I guess that's not a bad thing.
But I ain't like that.
Let me say this clearly so that I'm not misunderstood: I not only WATCH television, I ENJOY watching television.
I own a TV. Actually, more than one. I have cable. I watch Ridiculousness. I get bummed out when my favorite tattoo artist is eliminated on Ink Master. I take the judges' critiques of my favorite drag queen personally when I watch RuPaul's Drag Race.
I make sure to never miss an episode of Master Chef, Project Runway, The Walking Dead, Bar Rescue and Chopped.
I watch Cinemax After Dark.
I DVR Taxicab Confessions.
And yes, I know Taxicab Confessions airs on HBO not Cinemax.
Or, as it's also known – Skinemax.
Let me tell you something: even though I am an unrepentant TV watcher, I still feel a bit dirty after spending an afternoon binge watching Firefly.
For the twentieth weekend in a row.
I think it has something to do with the fact that my excessive TV watching has afforded me enough time to occasionally chit chat with philosophers.
The deficit of philosophical chat time means my philosophical skills aren't quite up to par.
Actually, my skills kind of suck.
This has not done well for my self-esteem.
You see, even if you don't feel bad enough about yourself you'll invariably end up feeling like a total flunkie once you talk to a philosopher.
THIS IS HOW I FEEL TALKING TO PHILOSOPHERS
Every time I talk to a philosopher, I inevitably leave the conversation feeling bad. Even when I'm engaged in small talk with a philosopher, his "trivial" conversation almost always involves mind-numbing discussions of mind-body dualism or Hegel.
Philosophers really dig talking about Hegel.
This is how any conversation I have with a philosopher goes: I stand, eyes glazing over, while the (real) philosopher talks about something written by Frege or Leibniz- something that I have not a clue about. I stand there; looking at my feet, hoping that the philosopher will forget I'm there or move on to someone smarter else after I attempt to evade the subject by telling a joke. But it never works. My philosophical ignorance is revealed.
This is what most of my trivial conversations are about:
I'd much rather talk about June Thompson's "forklift foot" or about the lady with the dead chickens on Hoarders.
You know what episode I'm talking about.
THIS SERIOUSLY HAPPENED ON AN EPISODE OF HOARDERS
I can never admit to a philosopher that I spend more time in front of a TV set than I spend with my nose deep in the pages of a major philosophical treatise.
I could tell you everything there is to know about RuPaul's guest spot on Walker Texas Ranger or name the number of times Sheldon Cooper has said the word "Bazinga" on Big Bang Theory, but I know virtually nothing about John Locke or his philosophy.
When it comes to philosophy my mind is a tabula rasa – a blank slate.
Which is kind of appropriate considering Locke's philosophy.
It's all because I spend most of my waking hours watching television instead of reading philosophy.
I can't tell you who this is
But I can certainly tell you who this is
IF YOU ALSO KNOW WHO THIS IS YOU'RE WATCHING WAY TOO MUCH LATE-NITE CABLE TELEVISION
Or what TV show made this guy famous
Well, somewhat famous.
By the way, that first picture is of the philosopher, Phillipa Foot.
I know that's Phillipa Foot because Google told me that's her.
My unfortunate reality is that no matter how much philosophy I read every conversation I've ever had with a philosopher is always accompanied by an overwhelming sense of dumb.
A special kind of dumb.
THIS KIND OF DUMB
I always feel like at the end of every philosophical conversation that there's going to be a test.
A test I'm going to fail.
There's something that these philosophers don't know, though. They don't watch TV so they have no idea. This is what they don't know: TV can teach you things. Lots of things.
Philosophical things.
I've written this before and I'll say it 'til the day I die – television is one of the best places to learn philosophy. You don't have to watch the high-brow stuff, either. You don't have to spend your evenings watching PBS or some British something-rather starring Dame Maggie Smith.
You can watch anything. Anything.
The ideas – the philosophy – it's in there.
I really mean that. You can watch Hobbes' state of nature play out in an episode of Survivor. You can find Schopenhauer in an episode of Modern Family. Descartes in an episode of Star Trek.
There's Socrates in The Walking Dead.
I'm kidding about that finding Schopenhauer in Modern Family thing. I wouldn't know if that's true or not. I've never seen the show.
NO, I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY WATCHED MODERN FAMILY.
And, as I discovered, if you watch enough episodes, you'll find that there's plenty philosophy to be found in Mad Men.
Fans of the show already know that Mad Men, created by Matthew Weiner, debuted in July 2007 on the basic cable network AMC (American Music Classics). The series, now going into its sixth and final season, averages 2.5 million viewers per episode.
That's pretty good numbers for a basic cable TV show.
Until you consider AMC's zombie drama The Walking Dead.
That show averages 13 million viewers an episode.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE APPEAL OF AN ENGLISH ACTOR WITH A BARELY PASSABLE FAUX AMERICAN SOUTHERN ACCENT
Ok. I admit it, I'm a little late to this Mad Men thing. I started watching the show mid-way during season four.
By then, Peggy had already had her baby.
Roger was on marriage number two.
The Lucky Strike guy had gotten Sal fired.
Don was already divorced from Betty and had his eye on Megan.
Who the hell is Anna Draper???
SERIOUSLY, WHO THE HELL IS ANNA DRAPER AND WHERE DID SHE COME FROM????
But it's not because I hadn't heard of the show.
I didn't watch it on principle.
You see, Mad Men was on every TV critic's top ten list.
It was the one show whose poop didn't stink.
So naturally, now that I'm a fan, I was obligated to do this:
THE MINDLESS PHILOSOPHER AT STERLING COOPER
Naturally, the hater pop culture dismissing-philosopher inside me immediately disliked (without watching) the show and would not spend a moment of my time watching a show loved by the non-philosophically-inclined masses.
As it turns out I was wrong.
But then …..
Sometimes enjoying TV makes you change your mind about things.
From Sterling Cooper boss Bert Cooper's love of Ayn Rand's Objectivism to Betty Draper's philosophy of femininity, the entire show is soaking in philosophy.
OF COURSE MAD MEN IS ABOUT THIS,TOO (OR SHOULD I SAY THESE TWO?) .
Fortunately for us, we're not required to watch all seven seasons of Mad Men or contemplate the philosophical doings of the entire cast of characters to get a grasp of the philosophy in Mad Men. You really need only to look at the first season of the show and specifically at only one character: the power-drinking, cigarette smoking, philandering, identity-stealing, Army-deserting, bad dad, anti-hero, Don Draper.
WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT ANYONE COULD MAKE ALCOHOLISM AND ADULTERY LOOK SO COOL?
I guess you could spend a little bit of time watching Peggy Olsen.
That whole hidden pregnancy thing was mildly interesting.
SPOILER ALERT: IT WAS PETE CAMPBELL.
In the season 1 (one) episode titled "Hobo Code", Don Draper awakens his young son Bobby from a sound sleep and tells the boy to ask him anything. The boy asks his father why lightning bugs light up. Don tells his son that he doesn't know.
Don doesn't know the answer and does not pretend to know.
Don vows that he will never lie to his son.
We all know that's a lie.
This is not Don Draper's first lie. It won't be Don Draper's last.
At this point the audience realizes that Don Draper may be the worst man TV dad in television history.
You see, Don Draper's entire existence is a lie.
A LIE IS ALWAYS MORALLY PERMISSIBLE IF TOLD BY SOMEONE CONSUMING COPIOUS QUANTITIES OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES… I THINK KANT WROTE THAT.
Don Draper isn't really Don Draper at all. Don Draper is really Dick Whitman, the self-described "whore child" who stole the identity of fellow soldier, Don Draper, by switching dog tags with Draper after (the real) Don Draper is mortally wounded in an explosion in Korea.
An explosion totally caused by Dick Whitman, by the way.
LOOK CLOSELY: ONE OF THESE GUYS IS ABOUT TO STOP BEING DON DRAPER
This is all morally reprehensible enough, but, as we all know, there's a moral theory that will justify just about anything we do. Luckily for the man formerly known as Richard Whitman, the man currently known as Don Draper finds employment with an adherent of one such theory.
The man is Bert Cooper. The theory is OBJECTIVISM.
The creator of objectivism, like Don Draper, also changed her name.
Her parents knew her as Alisa Z. Rosenbaum.
The world knows her as Ayn Rand.
THIS IS AYN RAND
Ayn Rand is mentioned no fewer than three times in season one.
Draper's boss, Ayn Rand-loving Bert Cooper, has a bookshelf in his office that looks like this:
THIS IS BERT COOPER TALKING ABOUT AYN RAND
When Cooper is informed of Draper's deception, Bert Cooper's reaction is not moral outrage that Draper is a deserter and identity thief, but "who cares?"
(Ok, this may need explaining: Dick Whitman's long-lost (or is it abandoned?) kid brother, Adam, discovers that Dick has been living in New York as Don Draper. Adam sends a package of old photographs to Dick/Don that is intercepted by Peter ("Humps") Campbell, a particularly devious and overly ambitious fellow who works with Don and who very much wants Don's job. Campbell decides that the best way to Draper's job is through blackmail and so Campbell threatens to reveal Draper's secret if Draper does not appoint him to head of accounts. When Peter tells Bert Cooper that Don Draper is not who he says that he is but is actually Dick Whitman, Cooper responds to Campbell's revelation with "who cares?")
What Pete Campbell doesn't realize is that Bert Cooper's failure to gin up a sense of moral disgust at Don Draper's behavior has everything to do with his fondness for the philosophy of Ayn Rand.
What Pete Campbell fails to realize is that he would have saved himself from embarrassment if he had just made himself aware of Rand's philosophy, based on the virtue of selfishness.
This doesn't turn out too well for Pete.
You see, long before Dick Whitman had become Don Draper or had met Bert Cooper or heard of Ayn Rand, Dick Whitman/Don Draper was already a well-seasoned adherent of Rand's virtue of selfishness. Dick Whitman didn't consider what effect his actions in Korea would have on his brother Adam, or about the family of Don Draper or about Draper himself, with whom Dick swaps ID tags when Draper is mortally wounded.
Don Draper's interest in maintaining his new identity (and his secret) means Don has to not care. Don can't be concerned with the affairs of others (particularly those who potentially can reveal Don's true identity) because to do so would interfere with his mission to live life as far away from the life of Dick Whitman as possible.
Don Draper, formerly known as Dick Whitman, acts according to his own self-interests.
Don Draper's motivation is pure selfishness.
This is why Don offers his brother Adam five thousand dollars in exchange for Adam's silence and a promise to never return to New York City.
DON DRAPER IS ABOUT TO RUIN HIS BROTHER'S LIFE IN 5…4…3…2…1…
Don Draper isn't morally invested in the effect of his adulterous affairs on his wife Betty or for Betty's feelings (in general) when he talks to her therapist without her knowledge or consent.
Because he's selfish.
…or it could be because Don is an alcoholic.
When Dick/Don propositions his mistress to run away with him ( actually mistresses, Don carries on with with as many as two women in season one), he does not consider the effect that abandoning his family will have on his children.
In fact, Don doesn't think about that until he is reminded that leaving would be devastating to the children.
By one of his mistresses, no less.
Hint: it's because Don is selfish.
Without ever having read it, Don Draper personal morality runs pretty much according to the philosophy of this book:
Whoops. I meant this book:
And this is what happens after you've divorced someone who lives life according to the philosophy of Ayn Rand.
Don Draper's utter lack of regard for the consequences of his actions on others (aka his selfishness) leads Bert Cooper to observe:
Bert Cooper (To Don):By that I mean you are a productive and reasonable man, and in the end completely self-interested. It's strength. We are different – unsentimental about all the people who depend on our hard work.
Cooper even recommends that Draper pick up a copy of Rand's Atlas Shrugged and tells Don that he must introduce him to his "friend" Miss Ayn Rand.
One can only imagine what Ayn Rand would with/to Don Draper.
I CAN ONLY IMAGNE AN ENCOUNTER BETWEEN DON DRAPER AND AYN RAND WOULD LOOK A LITTLE SOMETHING LIKE THIS
For those of you who have never heard of Ayn Rand or read any of Rand's novels, Rand's ethical philosophy, called Objectivism, is based on the principle of self interest; what Rand calls the "virtue of selfishness".
If you've never heard of Rand or her work, all I can say is
Don Draper is an example of the kind of man that Rand describes as one who lives fir his own sake "neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself". This type of is a man completely devoted to the pursuit of his own happiness. Rand says of the Objectivist man:
He is not even militant or defiant about his utter selfishness… He
has a quiet, irrevocable calm of an iron conviction. No
dramatics, no hysteria, no sensitiveness about it —
because there are no doubts… A quick, sharp mind,
courageousness and not afraid to be hurt… He will be himself
at any cost — the only thing he really wants of life. And,
deep inside if him, he knows that he has the ability to
win the fight to be himself.*
In other words….
Don Draper is the kind of self-made Randian type (like Rand's Howard Roark and John Galt) that owes nothing to anyone and does things on his own terms. He isn't (terribly) concerned with what he has to do to get ahead.
Like the true Randian Objectivist, Don Draper' pursuit of personal happiness is the reason why we alternately admire and hate him. It is the reason why Don's fellow ad men envy his life and want to follow in his footsteps.
It's the reason why women find him irresistible.
It's also the reason why:
Don Draper is a man cut from the Randian mold, but there's something that makes Don not quite the Objectivist that Bert Cooper thinks that he is.
Don Draper (seemingly) pulls the very existentialist move of self invention.
Existentialism assumes that there is a real you despite the role society imposes on us. We alone choose who we are and what role we want to fulfill. Dick Whitman sheds the confining identity that he was doomed to lead – he runs away from who he was possibly doomed to become – a poor farm boy, raised in a whorehouse – and transforms himself into Don Draper.
Following existentialist philosophy allows poor farm boy Dick Whitman transforms himself from this:
DICK WHITMAN: WHORE CHILD
Into this:
DON DRAPER: WHOREMONGER
Unlike the true existentialist, Dick Whitman doesn't become who he is, rather, he assumes the identity of someone else. The move doesn't make the former Dick Whitman any more authentic than he was. If anything, Don Draper is another mask, just another layer Dick Whitman puts on to hide himself. Don repeatedly evades questions about his past because he does not want who he truly is to be revealed.
According to existentialists, failure to be who we truly are means we live our lives inauthenticly.
An inauthentic life, says the existentialist, is a life without meaning.
PETER CAMPBELL'S LIFE IS COMPLETELY DEVOID OF MEANING
Fortunately for Don Draper, Rand's highest moral goal isn't authenticity; it is fulfilling one's own self interest.
And as Bert Cooper observed, Don Draper does this in spades.
Sure, Don Draper occasionally says something vaguely existentialist like this:
And he hung out with some beatniks who probably read Camus and Sartre.
But after awhile one eventually figures out that it's highly unlikely that Don Draper is an existentialist.
At least not in the strict sense of the word.
Which is to say that he really isn't an existentialist at all.
POOR TED.
But to suggest that one can easily figure out Don Draper because he is the kind of man Ayn Rand talks about in Atlas Shrugged or that he's a French-style existentialist is to ignore a basic truth about human nature.
The truth is this: Like many people in the real world, the characters of Mad Men are a mix of ideologies. They, like people in the real world, are not philosophically just one thing.
More often than not, Don Draper is just like everyone else – that is to say, Don Draper, ideologically speaking, is a mix of everything and of nothing in particular.
One might say the Don Draper is a "pastiche" of identities and ideologies.
That's a very postmodern thing to be.*
It's not surprising that Don Draper is a bit on the postmodern side. Don works in advertising, an occupation where selling the image is the most important commodity.
In advertising, it doesn't matter what the product actually is, what's important is how the ad makes you feel. Advertising sells an idea – or rather, the feeling associated with an idea. Don Draper says:
Advertising is based on one thing: happiness. And you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It's freedom from fear. It's a billboard on the side of the road that screams with reassurance that whatever you're doing, it's ok. You are ok.
The postmodernist idea is that we shop for identities.
And not necessarily authentic ones.
Becoming who we are is not unlike trying on different hats. During a life time we may try on many hats. Different kinds of hats may look good on us. The hat we wear at any given time may reflect who we are
Or say nothing about us at all.
WHAT DOES THIS HAT SAY ABOUT DON DRAPER? ANYTHING? NOTHING? THAT NOT EVERYONE CAN PULL OFF A FEDORA?
For the postmodernist, changing one's hat is like reinventing ourselves. We do it not to get at who we really are, but to play a role or to manifest a particular style.
Or to wear something that matches our outfit.
The image is what matters.
According to postmodernism, there is no real. Nothing or no one is (or can be) authentic. We're not concerned with finding who anyone truly is. We're not concerned because there is no real you that we must find to live existentially real lives. Who we are is nothing more than a veneer; the image we portray to others. As crafted as the image we see in advertising.
THIS IS THE IMAGE DON DRAPER CHOOSES TO PRESENT TO THE WORLD
Dick Whitman is a genuine fake Don Draper.
Don Draper's identity is the embodiment of postmodern advertising. The primary concern in advertising is not authenticity. Life is a fashion statement. And Don Draper doesn't seem terribly concerned with being authentic, either.
What Dick Whitman does best is sell the idea of Don Draper.
The idea of the attractive image of an American success story.
NOW DOESN'T THIS LOOK SUCCESSFUL TO YOU?
When it comes down to it, I know assume think the reason why television audiences like TV shows like Mad Men and are attracted to characters like Don Draper has to do with the fact that we are intrigued by the mix of ideologies. As we watch the chaotic philosophical lives of unreal people, we can not only vicariously experience their philosophical struggles but (hopefully) gain insight and understand our own real world philosophical conundrums.
We tune in to Mad Men to watch the characters as they struggle with ethical dilemmas and exhibit the moral contradictions that, if we did the same thing in the real world, would alienate us from our friends, co-workers, and family.
We see, while watching the unreal lives of those who inhabit the world of Sterling Cooper Draper Price (Cutler, Chaough….whoever) that these characters, though fictional, are like us in the real world – we are all a mix of different, often conflicting, ideologies.
The philosophical principles by which we live our lives and our moral choices are often inconsistent; sometimes even incoherent.
The fact that these characters are able to do thins that we can not do and get away with doing it is why we praise Don Draper's Randian self-centered rugged individualism
and condemn him for his inability to keep his zipper closed around any woman within his immediate vicinity (except for Peggy Olsen).
What's up with the Don-not-doing-Peggy thing?
HOWEVER, PEGGY OLSON DID (VOLUNTARILY) HAVE SEX WITH PETE CAMPBELL.
We see Don's existentialist tendencies yet we also see that Don is a product of society where authenticity is as real as the happy, smiling family in a Coca-Cola ad.
I'm sure the second half of the final season will give me more to think about.
We'll have to wait until Spring 2015 to see how Don Draper's philosophical struggle ultimately plays out.
Unfortunately, with Mad Men drawing to a close I'll have to move on to other philosophical thought-inspiring television. Luckily, I've just been turned on to another TV show that I hear is not only philosophical, but is also pretty popular.
I think it's called Breaking Bad.
It's all about a high school chemistry teacher who gets into selling meth.
I haven't seen it yet, but from what I've heard, I'm sure it's gonna be philosophically compelling
Hey, maybe you should watch it, too!
* Ayn Rand is most often associated with Libertarianism. Don is mum about his political preferences, besides remarking that he preferred Nixon over Kennedy (Nixon was a man who built himself from the ground up, as opposed to JFK who was born with a silver spoon). Draper's politics tend to be apolitical. We can assume, given Don's actions, that it is highly unlikely that he is a liberal Democrat.
* It is worth noting that the term "postmodernism" applies to a broad range of subjects, including art, architecture, literature, and philosophy. (For more info on postmodernism in philosophy check out the SEP entry on Postmodernism:http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/postmodernism/)
1. Leonard Peikoff. "Afterword". 1992. In The Fountainhead. Ayn Rand. [orig. published 1943]. NY: Signet. p. 698.
Ayn Rand, ethics, existentialism, Objectivism
Adam Whitman, Albert Camus, Alisa Z. Rosenbaum, AMC (American Movie Classics), Atlas Shrugged, Bar Rescue, Bert Cooper, Betty Draper, Breaking Bad, Chopped, Cinemax After Dark, Dame Maggie Smith, Dick Whitman, Don Draper, HBO, Jean-Paul Sartre, John Locke, Mad Men, Matthew Weiner, PBS, Peggy Olson, Pete Campbell, Project Runway, Ridiculousness, Roger Sterling, RuPaul's Drag Race, Sheldon Cooper, state of nature, Survivor, Taxicab Confessions, The Walking Dead, Thomas Hobbes
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