text:
This week, instead of a children's book, I'm sharing a parenting book that I recently discovered and which I think is extremely helpful to any parent.
As the title suggests, The Read-Aloud Book by Jim Trelease is about reading aloud to children. It reinforces what I believe in - the importance of reading aloud to my kids, and much more. So since I already read aloud to EV and AA, why do I still need to read a parenting book about reading aloud?
While this book is written as a guide to help parents begin the reading aloud process and how to make the home a conducive place for reading aloud, it contains delightful information for parents who are already enjoying the bond that reading aloud with their kids bring. What I like about this book is that it comes along with a lot of supporting research information conducted on children's reading.
The book is categorized into easy to read chapters, so that it is easy to jump to a specific chapter depending on one's familiarity with the reading aloud concept. These include 'Why Read Aloud' and 'When To Begin (and End) Read Aloud'. Though I generally know that reading aloud is beneficial, I do not know of the specific reasons why it is so. And I like this following quotation from the first chapter 'Why Read Aloud' that summarizes exactly why all parents should read aloud to their kids:
As you read to a child, you're pouring into the child's ears (and brains) all the sounds, syllables, endings, and blendings that will make up the words he or she will someday be asked to read and to understand. And through stories you are filling in the background knowledge necessary to understand things that aren't in his neighbourhood - like war or whales or locomotives.
What's useful about this book is that it gives insights into the reading aloud process. For example, it lists out the three important things that happen when one reads aloud to a child, including the bond between the child and the book, the learning journey that both the parent and child embarks on while reading, and the way the child absorbs everything that the parent reads. And thirty minutes is all that's needed for these things to happen.
Besides sharing about the various stages of reading aloud that a child goes through, and discusses whether there is a natural transition from picture book to novel. The Read-Aloud Handbook also gives it's view on fairy tales and their purpose, and it has this to say:
What distinguishes the fairy tale is that it speaks to the very heart and soul of the child. It admits to the child what so many parents and teachers spend hours trying to cover up. The fairy tale confirms what the child has been thinking all along - that it is a cold, cruel world out there and it's waiting to eat him alive. ... It addresses itself to the child's sense of courage and adventure. The tale advises the child: Take your courage in hand and go out to meet the world head on. ... If you have courage and if you persist, you can overcome any obstacle, conquer any foe.
More than just about reading aloud, this book also talks about Sustained Silent Reading, which refers to independent reading by a child for themselves and for pleasure. It emphasizes the importance of parents as models to develop this in children, and suggests some tips to do it.
I'm glad to see that this sixths edition has also been updated with a chapter that investigates whether TV and technology is hurting or helping literacy. The key, it seems, is all about balance, as TV and technology can help in certain cases, but care needs to be exercised to ensure that that doesn't become over-dependence.
The bonus of this book has to be the 115-page treasury of over 1000 suggested books for reading aloud, from picture books to novels. It also gives the recommended reading level and a brief synopsis of the books. Truly a treasury that all parents will find useful and helpful. No wonder The Read Aloud Handbook has been a trustworthy guide since it was first published in 1979.
Disclaimer: My Imagination Kingdom sponsored a copy of The Read-Aloud Handbook for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions and images are my own.
Thank you for reading. If you like this post, please do connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, so I can share our fun adventures, thoughts and exploits with you.


text:
i'm fighting reading/writing.
apathy in action.
these lines are blind
but perceive my pride…
i don't always like what i write.
mundane yet vain.
delete to hide the shame.
speak of God while we smoke and eat meat,
(false) pathetic eclectic prophet or priest who ignores his preach.
i wish i had the courage of my conviction to live my life without contradiction.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Sagittarius 2018 Celestial HighLights
Sagittarius ~ Somewhere Over the Rainbow!
Sagittarius is always looking to the future, from within to all of the Universe!
Instead of the arrow's arc I always think of the rainbow arc, the rays of Light that always give us delight and hope for the future, that pot of gold! In human terms I think of the Soul's connections, the strands of Light that pulse through our bodies, the myriads of connections from human to human. Some we see, others are part of our DNA, some are subtle mystical Light grids that bind our fibers within, that in turn extend and are the collective DNA of all humanity.
These structures weave our evolution simultaneously at all levels with all Beings throughout time. In the earliest days, when we were wanderers following game and gathering foods, travel was essential to life. Carrying the fiery coals, Light, from camp to camp was vital. Today we think of travel as a luxury, a trip for relaxation, fun, to see the sights, meet new kinds of people. The Light is in our hearts as we share and discover. Our smiles light the way. Light and knowledge travel to far reaches.
Some of that Light stays, is gathered, in various knowledge centers, villages, great cities, universities, to small private groups who need to stay safe. It becomes its own magnet bringing people from all over to partake. They will take it home to their own people, adapt it to local use. Evolution is in play in leaps and bounds. The first person in a family to go to school, to get a degree, is so precious. More will follow.
Sagittarius is a tribe of Light Leaders. Even if they don't know it. Some are just trying to survive, some think they are just going surfing, others want to change the world! It's a big place and a lot is happening as new concepts spring whole from collective knowledge. Each level begets the next, makes it possible. We stabilize at one level, then some fool wants more, LOL! It's 100% creative, the life force full of vitality! The new and unknown or unexpected is happening right before your eyes!
Sagittarians are rampant story tellers! They can be the scientist telling us of developments, the novelist in a state of unbridled imagination, the campfire ghost story, the person at the pulpit, the entertaining teacher waking up his students! One way or the other it's a cosmic gotcha! People can't help but follow. They want to see what's next! Sometimes it all involves proposals, projects, missions! The scientist and novelists both want a betterment of some sort. It's either data that suggests the best track, or the novelist cloaking the grand idea in fancy wrap. Gets you thinking. You start living the story in your own mind. You might find yourself coaching the crew, showing people how. You might be the roadside evangelist like the Buddha, on a mission to the 'uninformed,' or rebuilding the lands in a starving country. The spiritual stories help you mend your morality, your life or the lives of others.
Sagittarians can be carefree, careless or caring. There are lifetimes when we need to take time out. Sag is the active version of that, versus Pisces taking silence and meditation. Sometimes play is the balance between freedom and boredom. If you are learning to play, make no apology. It's as important a skill as any other. Being pinned to a map is a form of suffocation. Too much responsibility leaves us tired and our beautiful open mind collapses. Walk away before that happens. There are perfect stops along the road of life, and perfect times to go on. Crazy as it may seem, you will undoubtedly take us where we need to go just the same, no matter how you are thinking at the time. Your natural instinct is working just fine. Trust.
I have a deep regard for the Soul of Hawaiian Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole. We don't have his birthtime, so we don't know the whole of his astrology chart. He was a Cancer with Moon likely in Scorpio conjunct Neptune. Venus trined that Neptune and Moon. He certainly was a well loved Soul Traveler with a beautiful Spirit. Please breathe deeply and listen… Somewhere Over the Rainbow
This is the luckiest year for Sagittarius since his own planet Jupiter is in his own sign Sagittarius! It started Nov 8, goes through Dec 2, 2019. Happens every 11 to 12 years! If you have had troubles, this is a good year to pick up the pieces, make a new plan. If troubles come, know that good things will come through it, though it may seem pretty dark at times. This year, don't let things keep you down. Seek the meaning and move on. As possible, live it full and well with gusto!
Sagittarius 2018 Celestial Highlights!
Skychart by Andrew Fazekas, the Night Sky Guy
December 12: Comet Encounter!
The 46P/Wirtanen Comet may brighten enough in December to be spotted easily with the unaided eye. If it does attain naked-eye visibility, it will be the brightest comet seen from the Northern Hemisphere in more than five years. The icy interloper will reach perihelion—its closest approach to the sun—on December 12 and will be traveling through the bright winter constellation Taurus, the bull. Remember, it will be a dot rather than a line when you see it, so look carefully!
Sagittarius 2018 Timeline!
8 Jupiter into his own sign Sagittarius! The last aspect of 2018.
15 to Dec 31, New Year's Eve, Mars is with Neptune and Chiron in Pisces! The New Year starts with Mars in his own sign at 0 Aries, the first degree of the Zodiac on the first day of the New Year!
22 Happy ThanksGiving and Sagittarius!
Full Frost Moon. Nov 23rd in Eastern zone.
6 Mercury Direct, forward!
Sagittarius New Moon
12 46P/Wirtanen Comet encounter!
13-15 Four planet stellium in Pisces when Moon joins Neptune, Mars and Chiron.
13 Geminids Meteors!
21 Happy Winter Solstice – Yule, Capricorn!
21 to Jan 23! Solstice starts the longest stellium of 2019. Dec 21 to Jan 4 there are three planets, the Solstice Sun, Saturn and Pluto in CAPRICORN! Jan 4-6 Moon and Mercury join to make FIVE in Cap. Jan 7 to 20, FOUR planets in Capricorn. Jan 20 to 23 back to three planets in Cap. It includes the Dec 22 Full Cold Moon, the Jan 5 Solar Eclipse New Moon in Capricorn, the Jan 20 Lunar Eclipse Full Wolf SuperMoon Leo/Aquarius!
22 Full Cold Moon
Sagittarius Overview of Year to Come!
As said above, this is the luckiest year for Sagittarius since his own planet Jupiter is in his own sign Sagittarius! It started Nov 8, goes through Dec 2, 2019. Happens every 11 to 12 years! If you have had troubles, this is a good year to pick up the pieces, make a new plan. If troubles come, know that good things will come through it, though it may seem pretty dark at times. This year, don't let things keep you down. Seek the meaning and move on. As possible, live it full and well with gusto!
Jupiter, Sagittarius's planet, entering Sagittarius was the last of a 10 day series of events started when Pluto crossed the Golden Ecliptic Oct 30! Those events set the die for Sagittarius this year 2018/19. These events occurred during Venus Retrograde that was followed back to back with Mercury Retrograde Nov 16! See Venus/Mercury Rx! Sag is the sign of purpose and planning. It will be up to you Sagittarians to be our PathFinders and Guides, to keep us on track in the important times to come. It's important for us to get a good start, to set the course well.
Further, the Ecliptic event links with the Nov 11, 2019 Transit of Mercury! Mercury crosses the face of the Sun for hours! On the average, there are only 13 transits of Mercury each century. The next will be 2032. Only a few days later, Nov 19, Jupiter conjuncts the GALACTIC CENTER! Though it is only on a 12 year cycle, they are potent as sister aspects, essentially happening concurrently!
Mercury acted as witness to the Ecliptic event and observer, documentarian of what he saw at that time and the results in the year following. Conjunct the Sun he will be empowered by solar light, will express himself in the most radiant manner possible! People will listen. Mercury is the information gatherer, messenger. Jupiter puts it in perspective, knows the meaning, intention, long term purpose! Mercury is the neighbor, Jupiter is the, in this case, galactic traveler!
Sagittarius starts with Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune in their own signs, Jupiter in his own sign, Sagittarius! That's a lot of pure energy, strong on their spot. Jupiter and Neptune are malleable signs, in astrological terms, mutable. They are flexible, adaptable. Saturn stomps his foot and calls for responsibility and to abide by the rules, honor your ancestors – translate that to elders, the boss! You have to show him how and why that change makes sense. He's a good balance to those wayward wanderers enamored in a moment, sometimes for no good reason. They are enjoying the show and he wants to know what's real, is it doable.
During Sag's year, Uranus and Chiron are making their final sign changes. Feb 18 Chiron returns to Aries. While he is still in Pisces, we will review our choices and remember why some things are so important to our Spirits, how healing of subtle factors can be as crucial as getting your bricks in row. Mar 6 Uranus to Taurus. Uranus in Aries brought plenty of drought and fires in the western US, with floods in the East. Hopefully, in Taurus fertility will be naturalized and balance restored. Chiron takes 51 years per sign and Uranus 84 years. It will be that long before they will be in Pisces and Aries again!
Late in 2019, Dec 2, Jupiter moves into Capricorn! Jupiter will speed Capricorn up! They are both high mountain lovers, so looks like it's going to be fun! Jupiter will make the travel plans; Cap will build the lodge! Jupiter quickly sees potential and offers encouragement. Capricorn is ace at putting the right pieces together with terrific timing. Successful champions! The job comes in early, and the results are impressive!
Sagittarius's year starts while Mercury is retrograde in Sagittarius, so there are changes of directions from the get go! Sag is always curious to see what's what, and these are, after all, Sag kinds of changes! Shifts of direction are second nature to him, so it's a sporting chance to see how it goes! Bets are made. If possible, maybe wait until Mercury goes direct Dec 6 before moving, going into escrow, making job changes, signing up for an important travel tour, signing important papers. Keep tabs on receipts and contracts.
By November 8, 2019, all SIX of Jupiter's and Saturn's 2019's outer planet aspects shall have been formed with Neptune in Pisces! Jupiter square Neptune, challenges, stirs up our dreams, makes us face misfortunes. At times we are discouraged, overwhelmed, or Pandora's box opens and we are over the top with wishes, crazy for believing in such miracles! Yet there it is, we want to try! Be inspired, break free from old fears! Saturn sextile Neptune is a peerless appraiser, even 'sees' what is not visible! If he's behind you, he is determined to get the job done. Inimitable! Forget sleeping in, get up and get going, one step at a time if necessary, but do it! Those are the aspects just before the Nov 11, 2019 eleven, eleven Transit of Mercury and Nov 19 Jupiter at the Galactic Center. Our Neptune imagination is being primed, tested, found strong and receptive!
Continuing abiding Aspect: Chiron & Uranus continue in their 13 years long journey closely together in the background… In Sagittarius's coming year they are exact twice – Jan 19 Pisces/Aries and June 30 Aries/Taurus of 2019! More
See the 2018 Special Annual Edition Newsletter for Aspects, Patterns, Sign Changes, Retrogrades, Stelliums, Lunar Dates as we finish the year!
See the 2019 Special Annual Edition Newsletter for making next year's plans! Make your changes count.
Outer Planet Transits with Sagittarius 2018 – December 2019!
Brown Sugar Surfcamp in Bali – Medewi Indonesia. One happy person said: Thanks for two unforgettable weeks with Beach-BBQ, sightseeing, good food and nice people. And by the way – we learned how to surf! Take care and keep…
Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Chiron, Saturn and Jupiter
Outer planets are the long term movers. Pluto and Neptune move only 3 degrees a year. Chiron orbits every 51 years; Saturn takes 28/29 years to make its orbit, Jupiter only 12 years, a sign a year! Depending on astrological patterns, some 'events' in our lives take many years, where others may happen toot sweet right…on or very near the date the event is exact! Some 'events' are not physical, but in our minds or Spirits. No one 'sees' them but you. Complex planetary patterns may overlap each other or be singular and direct. Some repeat; others are once in a lifetime. Your astrologer can help you with your personal timing, understanding and strategies.
PLUTO is still in Capricorn. But this year it made the rare 248 year aspect, Pluto conjunct the Ecliptic! This is a long term aspect that precedes our Sun's sign change into Sagittarius by only 23 days! The Ecliptic is the Sun's path around earth! Pluto's debris will be burned away, be having a fiery bath of Light, cleared to be charged with energy beyond imagination! His healing powers will increase exponentially! He will give that very energy to Sun and the Light itself will be more clear and radiant! So fresh, this is a powerful time for Sagittarius! Those of you with chart factors at or very close to 18 degrees, especially in Scorpio, will be cleared and infused! Some will go to the Light, others might need some time out to be able to stand up again. Neither Scorpio nor Pluto are light weights. It takes a lot to impress them, and they can withstand high intensity, but this tested them.
Pluto reached the beginning of the last third of Capricorn Feb 2018, now moving from 18 to 23 degrees. Pluto, Scorpio's planet, in Capricorn is in a harmonious sextile aspect, an earth and water mix. A darn good business person estimating time and money to the inch! Those of you with chart factors from 0 to 21 degrees, especially in Capricorn, already know Pluto quite personally. Pluto moves about 3 degrees/year, so some of this has been years ago, for others quite fresh. For some it has been a sequence if you have several factors in these degrees in a row. Pluto plunders, saves, cures, goes to extremes. Pluto ends relationships abruptly forever or loves and endures great trials and stands by you until the end. Money is made and lost, made again. Powerful charismatic careers have been possible. There have been threats, some deaths, mighty healing and miraculous survival. Pluto raises the Kundalini, our life force! Powerful!
Capricorn is a sign ahead of Sagittarius. Pluto rules Scorpio, the sign behind. Sagittarius always has big ideas that are generally far seeing and quite lucky! Good stock to invest in as an initial public offering! Capricorn knocks things down to size and priorities while Pluto gets the building materials at the right price. If Cap doesn't come along, Sag will go find greener pastures, a better fit. Cap may be lucky that Sag does because the idea was more optimistic than realistic! But both are changed. Sagittarius will be a little more alert to select better partners, not lead people on a merry path that wastes time. Cap may tweak the idea to something that does work. Or the idea just hasn't reached the right time to happen yet. Cap may put it on his future list, check back on that list periodically. Sleeping dog.
NEPTUNE is in his own sign Pisces. He is a water planet in the last water sign seeking a deeper side of life. Neptune is oceanic – is still like glass becalmed, has forever tidal sand polishing cycles, titanic storms, tsunamis! Those of you with chart factors between 13 and 18 degrees will be activated with this pure energy! Pisces and Sagittarius both have a boundless quality. Sag will travel forever; Pisces can step into an altered state with no boundaries at all other than being alive. Sag travels the Earth while Pisces can sit still and be somewhere else entirely. Sag has got to be in motion and can seem like a laughing loud whirlwind. Sag thinks Pisces is slow to the bone and needs a pick-me-up desperately! Ah, Pisces may have to stand up and go to the window for this one. Once up, he's intrigued, and may find himself dancing like a Dervish in another dimension! Sag has done this traveling so long, place to place, he may not realize that he is actually weary and sits down for a while. Might be a few days or a few years. Listening is a whole different mode of being. Sag is a straight shooter, goes for the big Truth right now, and says what it is out loud. Pisces is more subtle, sees gradations, variables. He morphs, encompasses, at times confuses. Adjustments are made that fit the big picture better. Talk it over, part if you must, but give it some time, hear each other out.
URANUS covers 28 Aries to 6 Taurus! Uranus entered Taurus May 15, 2018! Those of you with factors in the last two degrees of Aries will be accomplishing the maturity of Uranus in Aries, strengthening the final touches to secure the foundation of the future ideas that Taurus will anchor and build on. Change worthy ideas need to be instilled, spread far and wide to create a support network, cleverly woven into our daily fabric so they become a part of us, so they can effortlessly be carried on. See more about the sign change.
Uranus is the planet of Aquarius, so unique that utter freedom is automatic. In fiery Aries, it's the First of everything, truly awakening! Aries is pretty unflappable, but this really shakes your space! Aries loves a challenge and new things. Rarely are they outdone in that dept, but Uranus has a bigger platform. It rules humanity, and although Aries is only one person, they step up because they know the value of key positions that make the difference! Uranus replaces some Aries circuits and the game is bigger yet! Can't get enough! Young people have been fired up. The Awakener has opened their eyes! What powerful times we are in!
Aries and Sagittarius are both leaders! Aries is at the front line, saving people right and left! He saves their bodies, gives them an inspiration jump start, then brings them to Sagittarius to learn what's next and how to do it! Sag opens their minds to possibilities beyond what they started with. Sag encourages them, is plenty confident with high hopes for them! Action sports are helpful to keep the molecules humming. Neither are marriage minded, but it's fun together while it lasts! Aries get bored; Sag has itchy traveling feet. Only if you strongly have the same goals is a team likely.
March 6, 2019 Uranus enters Taurus the final time. Taurus invents simple. It either feels too close for comfort, or it's the most fun you've had in a long time! What was ordinary life suddenly isn't! There are exotic options free for the taking! Walking barefoot tickles your feet, you become so aware of the charge of earth and life, that Earth herself is so very alive! You may never have been bored before and now you are?! What is this feeling?! It could be pretty darn heady at first. Maybe the leap is best now, otherwise you never will! Or maybe you need to stay steady and not get carried away at all. But somehow it seems a time of wild chance that needs to be taken advantage of. Put some fallback funds in a safe place, get yourself a headband and go for it! Yoga was never so good! Divine body electric!
Taurus is an Earth sign; Sagittarius is a Fire sign that seems halfway across the continent to a Taurus. They are so different that Sag may seem like more of a phenomena than an actual person. If you are firing ceramics in the kiln it's not so foreign. Fire and clay. Fire is actually the stabilizer! Taurus is looking for peace, the ability to sit and center. Uranus rarely has that thought, but may be surprised how useful that relaxation is. Sag sits for a bit, but must soon wander off. Uranus loves all those ideas. Taurus touches them in his own way and owns them for himself. Sagittarius is intrigued by what Uranus in Taurus has and will achieve, unpretentious genius really, and happily spreads the good word along his way.
CHIRON, like Neptune has also been in Pisces, and after taking a foray into Aries, is now back in Pisces. It will cover 27 Pisces to 5 Aries. See more It's also close to the same degrees as Uranus, but in different signs! These are the last and first of the zodiacal signs! Pisces believes; Aries takes action! Chiron entered Aries April 17 2018! Chiron will activate any factors you have in those degrees.
If you have Chiron in those degrees of Pisces/Aries, you will be having your 51+/- year Chiron Return! Wounds and vulnerabilities will be assessed. Updated healing systems will be applied with unbelievable results! Medical teaching will be inspiring, especially about vision and feet while in Pisces, and the head, brain and eyes when in Aries. The Magi Society thinks Chiron is the #1 marriage factor and good in business too!
Chiron the Healer is fluid in Pisces, takes only a moment to assess a situation. Pisces is the Dreamer visionary spiritualist musician, while Chiron is seeking healing, teaching, right relationships and good business. Chiron may approach it from Neptune's point of view, however because they are both in Pisces, Neptune's sign! Sagittarius happily boots Chiron right along, always wanting people to be well, have abundance, success! Chiron in Pisces can get a little lost at times, confused. Sag is known for saying everything out loud and up front, so no escaping the truth, like it or not. Though uncomfortable, it may be the very right time to face up to victim attitudes, fears, addictions. Sag has big boots, and can help make the seven league leap look effortless! All of a sudden you are in a different land and have a different outlook entirely!
Chiron goes into Aries for 9 years, through 2027. Time to get more used to Aries. Chiron is well intended, wants you to have a better life now! He commiserates all too well since he himself carries a wound that won't heal. Considering conditions in some aspects of the world today, we will likely be grateful for some push from Aries. Aries inspires, leads us into the action! Sagittarius waves as he goes by, cheers them on, is inspired to tell their story! Sagittarius wants the information spread far and wide, encourages Aries to plant those seeds in the most fertile soil. Chiron may have spiky red hair this time, laughing like Kokopelli! Chiron may heal people so fast, quickly picking up the pieces, even Sagittarius, stunningly healthy and able, is impressed. Chiron is covering the ground, Sag likely to follow! It is so good to see how truly remarkable health can be! He is cheered and feels he can carry on against the longest odds. Aries is fast to pick up the tricks Sag has acquired along the way, and Sag has no secrets, shares as much as Aries will take! Sag has creds, his own health and luck! These two disperse the doubt like a whirlwind, the way is cleared, production unfettered!
SATURN builds from 6 to 20 Capricorn.
Saturn entered his own sign Capricorn Dec 19, 2017! Saturn will be in Capricorn along with Pluto, conjuncts Pluto once, Jan 12, 2020. In his own sign, many will have more work than anybody should, or you are let go. In the long term that may be a blessing because new work you get suits you far better, or you start your own business!
Saturn Returns happen every 28 to 29 years. They can bring you to your knees, or make you bring yourself up to your full height, proud of your achievements! Now, in its own sign, it is truly full height! Those of you with Saturn 6 to 20 Capricorn will be having your Capricorn Saturn Returns now through December 2019! There will be more traditional endeavors. On your first Return – ages 28, 29, you may find yourself having a lot of responsibility at work, getting married, owning your first home, having a baby! Take good care of yourself. If you are older, on your second Return -58, 59, keep your networks alive. Right housing, parenting, care of precious grandchildren and elders may be challenging new responsibilities. Age and health may become factors, your retirement. Sometimes Saturn brings losses, sadness, delays. Advice from seasoned experts may be just what you need. Training and studies are helpful and the knowledge you carry backs up your reputation. Alliances may be strong and mutually supportive. Give yourself credit for what you have done, the talents you have acquired! It's a time to honor, be honored!
Saturn in Earth sign Capricorn can put the brakes on Fire sign Sagittarius. Sag has a lot to offer, but can appear to be like a big floppy puppy with kisses all around! Saturn believes in discipline and may miss a little of that love and affection, but as he trains the pooch in us, results make good sense, as long as our Spirit isn't broken and creativity lost. A wise Saturn gleans the good from Sagittarian adventures, thanks him, offers to pay for the next trip, and makes that Sag feel so valued! Sag's trips become more focused, places visited have much more meaning, knowledge is shared both ways, continuing long distance connections make a difference! If anything, Sagittarius is more excited than ever! Saturn may help Sag establish a home base. That might take some doing, but it could work. Just don't keep the reins too tight nor expect a marriage. There would need to be some strong compatibility for that. If you see the Light dimming in your Sagittarian's eyes, let them loose. Boredom or continually trying too hard to please you has too high a price. No matter what you think, they have the luck of the Irish and they're going to be ok! However, if you get out of hand, LOL, Saturn does have handcuffs…
JUPITER moves from 2 Sagittarius to 4 Capricorn
Jupiter is a big fire planet in his own fire sign Sagittarius as of Nov 8 2018! Jupiter went into Sag at 4:38 AM Pacific. The huge Camp Fire in California started that morning, first calls at 6:33 AM. Jupiter changing signs was preceded by an eventful NINE days started by the important 248 year aspect Pluto conjunct the Ecliptic! I had written 'Pay special attention to Nov 6, 7, 8!' As of Nov 21, the Camp Fire has taken the lives of 81 people, about 870 are missing. Nov 15 nearby Chico CA had an AQI, Air Quality Index, of 350 at one point.
Jupiter/Sagittarius never fails to impress. It can be a hero, and there are plenty of those at this time. It can be a knowledge or wisdom of an exalted teacher and that might be your local high school teacher. It can be a journey of great beauty or a maximum athletic achievement. A boundless love, a loving kindness, a gift, sharing. All these touch our hearts and make a story to remember. Fortunes gained and lost, wagers won and lost, starting from nothing to making it to the top of the mountain! And, as spoken above, if it's bad, it can be really bad. No thieving or robbing. While traveling and your money is low, no taking something because you need it more than they do. Big stories yes, cons no. No 'accidental' slander, bearing false witness, prejudice. Stay with respectful truth and honesty. Keep the long term in mind. Keep your higher ethics in place; visit the sacred place when you need to. Keep learning in every direction.
If your Jupiter is in these degrees in these signs, you will be having your Jupiter Return! They happen every 11/12 years. Jupiter will bring you big truths or reveal lies. Sometimes it exaggerates your condition, could make it worse, could make it wildly abundantly better! Plans for the future may be magnified, your course changed significantly. Profound circumstances are likely to impinge on special relationships. Long lasting mergers and, against the odds, good marriages are possible.
Happy New Year, Sagittarians!
Jupiter, your Planet, is in your sign, its own sign! Put on your 7 league boots and have a swell time!x
Any of these outer planet factors may be activating other factors in your chart as well as your Sun. They may be difficult, may be rosy, maybe both! Check with your favorite astrologers for the whole picture! May it go well with you….
See the entire Sagittarius 2018 Newsletter!
See the 2018 Special Annual Edition Newsletter! for Aspects, Patterns, Sign Changes, Retrogrades, Stelliums, Lunar Dates as we finish the year!
See the 2019 Special Edition Annual Newsletter for making next year's plans! Make your changes count.
Happy Birthdays, Sagittarians!
This trail in the Kii mountains south of Osaka, Japan, leads to three sacred shrines, the Kumano Nachi Taisha is one of them. Walks can take days or weeks, with spectacular views along the way. CNN
May it be a glorious journey wherever you go!
2 Hour Annual Reading, $196, a life changing value!
Comparison Reading $250 for 2 hours. Appointments as possible at your convenience, email firstname.lastname@example.com
For Birthdays, or anytime needed!


text:
Why Work Experience is the answer.
I'm often asked by schools and students if I can offer work experience, everything from a few days to summer long placements. At Naked Element we've always found the experience enjoyable and often learned as much about ourselves as the students did about our business. Bright, ambitious and free of those bad habits we all learn along the way in the world of work, work experience students can inject energy and enthusiasm into a business.
Many employers and businesses feel that they don't have the time or resources to commit to a work experience placement, as much as they'd like to help a young person as they're starting out, but there are in fact lots of benefits to your business that make work experience a win-win situation for both student and business. Here's just a few:
Early access to emerging talent
Lots of employers find that work experience programmes are a great way to recruit top talent straight from schools and colleges. Extensive research by City & Guilds shows that staff taken on following work experience placement are more effective, require less training, have more respect for their supervisors and have a greater ability to work in teams. Plus, many small businesses struggle to find young people who have even the most basic work skills and taking on a work experience candidate is a great way to test their skills before you commit to them.
Fresh Ideas
In most cases your work experience candidate will be eager to learn or they wouldn't be with you in the first place. In an effort to impress they'll be keen to get stuck in and maybe even bring something new to the table. Perhaps your company is lacking a social media presence that your work experience candidate can address?
Today's youth are tomorrow's consumers
Research has shown that "the consumer power of under 16 year olds has grown faster than that of any other age group. This has led marketers to identify three roles which young people can fill for businesses as 'current consumers; influencers and future purchasers' (Miller, 1998, p 316)." Work experience helps businesses and brands get up close and personal with their target markets or future consumers.
And of course…
Giving Something Back
One of the biggest benefits of offering someone work experience is the chance to give someone a helping hand in the often overwhelming world of work. Businesses are placing more and more emphasis on their corporate social responsibility (CSR) and work experience is a great way to do your bit in up-skilling the next generation of workers. Enjoy the feel-good factor of giving someone an opportunity they might not have otherwise had and encourage their interests in business. You never know - they could be the next Gates, Branson or Jobs…
If you're interested in finding out more about how your business can benefit from offering work experience, get in touch with Paul on email@example.com who'll help you get in touch with top talent.


text:
Grade 3
Grade three students will investigate the growth and development of plants, including the conditions necessary for germination. They will also analyze the interdependence among plants, individuals, society and the environment.
Grade 4
This class will investigate the interdependence of plants and animals, including humans, within habitats and communities. They will also analyze the structures and behaviours of plants and animals that enable them to exist in various habitats and assess the effects of natural and human activities on habitats and communities, and propose actions to maintain or restore habitats.
Grade 5
With a new state-of-the-art climate reference station at the Conservation Learning Centre, the students will learn how local weather, including temperature, wind speed and direction, amount of sunlight, precipitation, relative humidity and cloud cover, are measured. They will also investigate local, national and global weather conditions, including the role of air movement and solar energy transfer. Analyzing the impact of weather on society and the environment, including technologies that help humans address weather conditions, will also be investigated.
Grade 6
Students will learn to recognize, describe and appreciate the diversity of living things in local and other ecosystems and explore related careers.
Grade 7
Grade 7 students will:
Grade 8
Students will analyze the impact of natural and human-induced changes to the characteristics and distribution of water in local, regional and national ecosystems. They will also examine how wind, water and ice have shaped and continue to shape the Canadian landscape. Students will also analyze natural factors and human practices that affect productivity and species distribution in marine and fresh water environments.
Grade 9
Students will learn to describe the processes and implications of sexual and asexual reproduction in plants and animals.
Grade 10
Students will study ecosystems.
Grade 11
Students will learn about sustainable agriculture, habitat destruction and pesticide use.


text:
On Instagram, Beasley Nester's username is @BeasleyOriginal—an appropriate handle, considering her unique beauty. Get to know the 19-year-old model from Mount Airy, North Carolina, who is a finalist in the Wmag Model Search, here:
Which supermodel do you most admire?
Gisele Bundchen, because she is such a powerful woman. She has a small star tattoo on her wrist in honor of her grandmother, and I have a small heart to honor mine.
What's the best beauty advice you've received?
Be happy and smile. That's when you're the most beautiful.
What is your favorite social media platform?
I love Facebook, because it's a great way to keep in touch with my family and close friends and see what's going on in their life.
What's the secret to posting a perfect selfie?
Great lighting. Also, do not be afraid to give a flirty smile!


text:
James Bowman in the American has an article describing Hollywood's heroism deficit. [Hat tip: Dirty Harry.]
Bowman believes that Hollywood's slow abandonment of heroism and heroes on screen was a result of the post-WWII consensus that heroes were no longer needed, and then dark nihilism envisioning a war of "all against all" in the post 1968 era:
The point of all three of the kinds of hero in which Hollywood has specialized over the last 35 years has been to make sure that heroism can continue to exist only on a plane far removed from the daily lives of the audience. It is hard not to speculate that this is because of a quasi-political aversion on the part of filmmakers to suggesting to the audience that real-life heroism was something to which it, too, could aspire. The subtext of films featuring the whistle-blower hero, the cartoon hero, and the victim hero is that heroism—heroism of the, say, Gary Cooper type—belongs to the public and communal sphere, now universally supposed to be cruel and corrupt, and therefore is really no longer possible or even, perhaps, desirable.
Here Bowman is more right than he knows. The rest of the piece argues that broad social changes in the post WWII era influenced Hollywood. Moving it away from depicting heroism in terms of ordinary people living ordinary lives, and acting heroically within the community, to one of socially isolated anti-heroes (merely cool and cooler villains), whistle-blower heroes, victim-heroes, and super-heroes. Bowman is wrong, on that, of course.
Bowman misses the biggest force driving Hollywood's depiction of heroism, or more accurately, it's refusal to depict it in anything other than cartoon/superhero form, for the last forty years or so. It is not the broad social changes in America. Rather, the changes in Hollywood. Which along with other economic elites has become far wealthier, with a greater percentage of wealth, and the inevitable social isolation that comes with it. But the wealth effect alone cannot explain why Hollywood is so socially isolated. Two important developments that hit Hollywood earliest and hardest also played major roles.
Hollywood cannot create movies in which ordinary people are heroes within the social context of ordinary heroism. The way that Bowman compares the 1957 version of "3:10 to Yuma" with Van Heflin and Glenn Ford displayed an ordinary man acting heroically, for and with his ordinary community. Part of the reason it cannot is because Hollywood is comprised of people who are far wealthier than ordinary people. Who lives removed socially and physically from ordinary people. Who don't understand at best and despise at worst the ordinary people who make up their potential audiences.
It is not America as a whole that has rejected heroism, rather it is Hollywood. Which is a very strange and inward focused place.
Recently, UC Berkeley Professor of Economics Emmanuel Saez has released a study of income inequality and wealth. You may find his papers and date here. Graphs included below derive from his data, in Excel format, which the good Professor has helpfully provided! I highly urge everyone to read his summary for the Lay Public, which is fairly intriguing. Below is a graph showing the percentage of income of the top income earners for the period 1913-2006.
What Prof. Saez points out is that two key changes shaped how the very wealthiest people in America gained wealth and how much of America's wealth they had. First, the very wealthy in the pre-Depression years had most of their wealth from investment income. The classic "rentier" deriving wealth from previously generated capital. This changed radically in the 1980's, when wages and business income generated most of the wealth. In lay terms, moving from say a person like Paris Hilton, who's wealth derives from investments made generations ago by the Hilton hotel dynasty, to say Demi Moore, who's wealth derives from her work as an actress and producer.
Next, in the Depression, World War II, and immediate post-War years, the top income earners did not have larger shares of wealth, compared to the pre-Depression, and post 1985 eras. As Prof. Saez notes, this distribution looks like a U. With profound implications showing for how the wealthy elite relate to the rest of us.
Hollywood is a good example of this dynamic. In the heyday of the Westerns, both in movies and TV, while Hollywood stars might live lives of luxury and social isolation, this was not the case for most of Hollywood, including work-a-day writers, directors, and producers who while well-paid, would live in largely middle class neighborhoods, associate with middle class people, hold middle class values, and earn middle class livings. It was this great mass of Hollywood's writers, producers, directors, and lesser actors that shaped Hollywood's culture. Which was solidly middle class. Of course they could conceive of themselves as heroes, and heroes fighting to preserve, protect, or extend the existing middle class social order which they found essentially good, if in need of periodic reform.
So what happened, in the middle to late 1960's, to destroy the social fabric that created a solid defense of middle class values and "middle class heroism?" Since clearly, Saez shows the income disparity did not really hit full stride until the mid 1980's. The era of the computer revolution, and as Saez notes, rising income among the top 10% from wages/business income instead of inherited capital gains.
It's simple. Hollywood got stoned. Then divorced.
Drugs, historically, have always been a problem in Hollywood. Screenwriter Robert J. Avrech has noted that the silent era had massive substance abuse problems, including drugs. The studio system ruthlessly stamped it out, with great effort, in the 1930's, in order to maintain their popularity among a suddenly impoverished nation. With greater wealth, and more permissive attitudes alongside that wealth, and a weakening studio system, drugs came back into Hollywood, slowly. This is not surprising, poor people who don't wish to be poorer and want to climb out of poverty embrace discipline and morality. They need a strong social structure. Wealthy people can afford to be dissolute.
By the late 1960's, drugs were common, and Hollywood experienced a "snowstorm" of cocaine in the 1970's that wrecked careers and reached to every levels of Hollywood's hierarchy. Including the middle class writers, directors, producers, assistant producers, and character actors.
Along with this permissive attitude came the Sexual Revolution. The pill and the condom, being cheap, available, and above all reliable, led to a lot of affairs all over Hollywood. Again critically extending throughout Hollywood's middle class base. Predictably, this led to divorce. Hollywood has always been a more socially permissive place than say, Ross Perot's EDS, or IBM in it's 1960's heyday (when everyone wore dark suits and white shirts). It's one of the factors that allowed it's creativity full reign. However, this social permissiveness led it to become far more vulnerable to drugs and divorce.
Which in turn led to middle class people, often struggling with drugs and divorce, turning away from middle class values. Their families in ruins, or that of those around them, it was hard for the middle class creative people, who do the bulk of the work in Hollywood, to endorse middle class society, much less a heroic, middle class defense of that society. It's interesting that the last gasp of the "ordinary" middle class hero, DIE HARD's "John McClane" (Bruce Willis) is a NYC cop, separated from his wife and heading for divorce, as a fish-out-of-water in a ritzy LA Highrise. His fight to save his wife is his way of competing in her glamorous, rich, wealth, and very pointedly socially isolated world. That very deliberately didn't have much use for "cowboy" McClane who liked Roy Rogers.
If McClane fought for his family, to preserve it, most of Hollywood by the late 1960's was struggling with the end of their family. This pattern has continued, with Hollywood's legendary long work hours, permissive attitudes towards sex and affairs, and constant bed-hopping acting as a destroyer of families. It's hard to write or create a hero defending a society that has in effect denied or destroyed one's own family. Even if the destruction of said family was entirely the predictable result of affairs.
The situation got even worse in the 1980's, when a hit movie could transform an ordinary screenwriter into a "superstar" millionaire. Joe Eszterhas (BASIC INSTINCT, FLASHDANCE) being a good example. Now, even a journeyman screenwriter like Stephen Gaghan (Traffic, Syriana) can live in a Malibu mansion, with several Porsches in the driveway. The money is that good. Naturally, with that kind of money, social attitudes are very different than that of ordinary Americans. During the recent writer's strike, writers who formerly would have been obscure and unnoticed by anyone but Hollywood insiders, such as Jane Espenson (staff writer for cult TV shows like BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER), had fans approach them on the picket line and gush their admiration. Probably the only time such writers would ever experience talking to a middle class person. Even then it was the kind of hero-worship an acting superstar gets.
Screenwriters making that kind of money spend very little time and effort trying to understand what ordinary people want and then giving them what they want. Instead, they act the way writer Joss Whedon (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER) recommends, giving the audience "what it needs" instead of what it "wants." What it needs of course as filtered through the wealth, power, social isolation, and inevitable condescension for middle class people and values that characterize Hollywood's power brokers. Who have the power to hand out million dollar plus paydays to writers, directors, producers, assistant producers, and even character actors, or not. All of Hollywood is oriented towards finding out what powerful, capricious, and often decadent men want and giving it to them, instead of of course, the audience. Men like former CAA head Michael Ovitz, or former head of New Line Cinema Bob Shaye don't want middle class heroes.
Which is Hollywood's dirty little secret. Wracked by decades of divorce and drugs, wealthy beyond belief, destroying even casual middle class values and associations for the great bulk of Hollywood, the creative class there cannot even conceive of middle class life being desirable. Much less a middle class hero acting in concert with society to protect and defend both it's values and members.
The "whistle-blower" hero of course is the direct result of Hollywood writers being totally immersed in Hollywood society, actually caring about their relatively low position on the social totem pole (despite which they belong to the top 1% of income earners in America), instead of focusing on the challenges of preserving middle class society.
If you're Stephen Gaghan, or Joss Whedon, or Alan Ball (AMERICAN BEAUTY) and you actually care that a studio exec was rude to you, or cheated you out of an extra million that was due you (leaving you only $8 million on the deal), and that forms your whole social environment, then yes, of course your view of heroes would be either nihilistic, middle-class society rejecting anti-heroes, or whistle-blowers who show "how corrupt the system is." Of course Hollywood is corrupt. But Hollywood is not America.
The social isolation of course leads writers/producers to make that error. Which results in the victim-hero ("poor me") by people with far too much money concerned about Hollywood status instead of creating good stories that people will pay to see. Which leaves the cartoon/superhero as the only venue for heroism, and that far removed from both ordinary society, but embodying the "Big Man" jerk-style personal behaviors that Hollywood writers and producers have adopted as the norm. HANCOCK's grade-A jerk embodies how Hollywood's creative people see themselves. BETTER than you and me, and the rest of America.
However, no situation is stable forever. Hollywood is about to get a rude awakening. Essentially answering the question, what if during the Depression Hollywood acted like it was still 1925?
More on that later.
But for now, it's pretty clear that Bowman is wrong. America certainly did change, but still likes and wants it's middle class, ordinary heroes. DIE HARD's classic status is proof of that. No, the reason Hollywood has s heroism deficit can be reduced to these reasons: too rich, too stoned, and too divorced.


text:
The first day of HireVue Horizon just came to a close. If you missed anything, catch up here with our daily recap.
Table of Contents:
- Humanizing the Talent Process with Technology: Kevin Parker, CEO & Chairman of the Board, HireVue
- Design for the Disappointed: Jennifer Carpenter, VP – Global Talent Acquisition, Delta Airlines
- Reinventing Leadership for the Age of Machine Intelligence: Mike Walsh, CEO of Tomorrow
- Contemporizing Recruiting: How Bank of America Implemented a High Tech / High Touch Candidate Experience: Elizabeth Schoentube, Head of Campus Recruiting and Program Management, Bank of America; Christie Gragnani-Woods, Consumer and Preferred Small Business Talent Acquisition Executive
- Veteran Hiring Strategies: Turning Vetted Heroes into Viable Corporate Candidates: Chris Montoya, Veteran Hiring Initiative, Interstate Batteries; Jennifer Tracy, VP, Recruiting Solutions, Spectrum; Todd Frey, Talent Acquisition Recruitment Lead, Operations/Military Recruiting Program Manager
- Shaping a Vibrant Economy: Drawing Candidates into a Purpose-Driven Corporate Culture: Richard Waite, Resourcing Lead, Grant Thornton UK
- Transforming a Business Model: How JP Morgan Chase is using AI-Driven Assessments to Shift their Talent Pool: Connie Geiger, Managing Director, Head of Consumer and Community Bank Recruiting, JP Morgan Chase
- Where Does AI Fit in Hiring? From High Volume to High Impact with Hilton: Carolyn Shuster, Director, Corporate Recruitment, Hilton; Amber Weaver, Director of High Volume Corporate Recruitment, Hilton
- High Volume Global Hiring: How IKEA Transformed Recruiting in 30 Markets Using Video Interviewing: Göran Berg, Recruitment Manager, IKEA; Sushma Schwerdt, Recruitment Operations Manager, IKEA
- The Secret to Reinventing Recruiting: Amber Grewal, Corporate Vice President, Head of Global TA, IBM
Humanizing the Talent Process with Technology
Kevin Parker, CEO & Chairman of the Board, HireVue
Kevin Parker kicked off HireVue Horizon with a surprising statistic. At our last conference, HireVue had just completed 4 million interviews. Last week, HireVue passed the 8 million mark.
He continued with another statistic: up to 70% of the hiring funnel is filled with candidates who are entirely unqualified for the job. The result? We need to take shortcuts. In the name of efficiency we're filtering out candidates based on subpar information. Where a candidate went to school, their GPA, or their college major are all very imperfect proxies for how they'll perform on the job. But they're better than nothing: they are imperfect shortcuts.
Enter Artificial Intelligence. The promise of AI is to create a new division of labor, just like the first ERPs 25 years ago eliminated the need for paper-based record-keeping. AI can make connections that we can't and make objective predictions. Using on-demand video interviews as a medium, AI can predict how well a candidate will perform on the job based on objective, consistent criteria.
We're already seeing this new division of labor play out in the medical field, where radiologists and AI combined can identify cancer with more accuracy than alone.
Just like in medicine, the capabilities of humans and AI are complementary. Humans are better at making social connections, building relationships, and making the final judgment based on the unique context of their organization. Artificial intelligence is quicker, more objective, and can evaluate large numbers of candidates. The combination of human intelligence and artificial intelligence to make better, quicker, more objective hiring decisions is Hiring Intelligence.
Since decisions can be made quickly and consistently, the process improves for everyone. Candidates quickly learn where they stand in the hiring process, no more "application black holes." TA professionals can spend their time finding the perfect fit, rather than sorting through candidates with imperfect shortcuts.
Kevin concluded his keynote with the introduction of HireVue Game-Based Assessments. Game-based assessments are challenges in the form of games that measure cognitive traits – they are the perfect compliment to the behavioral aspect of interviews. Even better, they can be combined with on-demand video interviews to provide a single, engaging assessment experience.
Design for the Disappointed
Jennifer Carpenter, VP – Global Talent Acquisition, Delta Airlines
In this fireside chat, Jennifer Carpenter was joined by HireVue CEO Kevin Parker. As the Global Head of Talent Acquisition, Carpenter describes her role as bringing, "delightful disruption" to a company about to celebrate its 90th birthday.
"We as recruiters are sometimes the angles of disappointment," Carpenter says, "99% of all Delta candidates are ultimately rejected." Carpenter's remarks, titled, "Design for The Disappointed" address exactly what talent acquisition professionals ought to do about letting down the vast majority of their candidate pool. Carpenter shared five of Delta's key principles that allow them to recenter their hiring process around the candidate experience and ultimately keep the good graces of those they turn away.
1. Behind Every Resume Is a Person with a Story to Tell
In 2017, 300,000 candidates applied to Delta. Carpenter remarked, with such a high volume of applicants, it's easy to fall into complacency and see your candidates only as a resume. Carpenter says, "HireVue affords us the opportunity to hear their stories." She also added, "We ask them, 'Why do you want to be a flight attendant?' or 'Tell us a story about when you helped someone.' Carpenter emphasized that bringing technology to your hiring process does not have to make it less human.
2. We Believe in Conversation Starters, Not Deal Breakers
Speaking about how organizations often under-provide information about their hiring process, Carpenter asserted, "We put up roadblocks that dissuade the curious." Carpenter shared how omitting information like how long it takes to interview or how long the hiring process takes does more for you when it's disclosed rather than hidden from the candidate.
3. An Informed Candidate is the Best Candidate
"We need to stop withdrawing from the candidate karma bank," said Carpenter. Being transparent with your candidates about things that, traditionally, we may think will dissuade them are actually helpful to a candidate, and they appreciate knowing what they're getting into. Carpenter shared that informing your candidates about what they're going to do in the hiring process and how long it's going to take more often enables them, not discourages them.
4. Transparency Creates Trust
The key difference about this tenant from it's previous two, is Delta's emphasis on being transparent quickly. Carpenter says Delta believes in letting the candidate know what's happening as fast as possible. Pointing out that candidates are typically weighing other options, the best experience for them is knowing their status in your hiring process at the same time you know it.
5. To Move Forward You Have to Give Back
Carpenter says Delta follows this virtue to the point of pain, literally—according to Carpenter Delta donates more blood to the American Cross foundation than any other organization. Carpenter shares how Delta is working on rolling out processes that will bring better feedback to candidates during and after the hiring process. She shared how during an assessment, we learn a lot about a candidate and there is no reason we shouldn't be sharing that information with a candidate that could benefit from it.
Reinventing Leadership for the Age of Machine Intelligence
Mike Walsh, CEO of Tomorrow
The world of 2030 will be drastically different. In this "algorithmic" age, where the majority of the workforce grew up with algorithmically tailored experiences, how will leadership change?
The children of today will, effectively, be the first children raised by AI. What will the 21st century organization look like? It won't be remote, according to Mike Walsh. The most creative organizations are those where teams all work closely in-house. Remote work improves productivity, but it does not improve innovation. Key Skills for Leaders in the Age of Machine Intelligence:
- Decisions in Ambiguity. AI works great within a constrained system. Humans thrive when things are ambiguous.
- Digital Ethics. Regulation will never keep up with technology. It's up to today's organizations to set ethical standards as new innovations come along.
- Work Design. When AI can perform many of the tasks we do today, it means we can work to design work, rather than be chained to it.
At the end of the day, it will be people that drive innovation and create a situation where organizations succeed. Automation can do some things, but throughout history we've seen that it creates more jobs than it destroys. Even more than that, it almost always frees up people to live up to their potential as people, focusing on the uniquely human tasks that we enjoy most.
Contemporizing Recruiting: How Bank of America Implemented a High Tech / High Touch Candidate Experience
Elizabeth Schoentube, Head of Campus Recruiting and Program Management, Bank of America; Christie Gragnani-Woods, Consumer and Preferred Small Business Talent Acquisition Executive
Lead by Elizabeth Schoentube, Head of Campus Recruiting and Program Management and Christie Gragnani-Woods the Consumer and Preferred Small Business Talent Acquisition Executive, Bank of America presented how, despite economic and regulatory pressures, they manage to prioritize their candidate experience.
Bank of America works in a highly-regulated industry with extreme obligations to risk management. Despite the tendency to stay conservative with new technology, Bank of America has developed a mantra that has enabled them to embrace technology like HireVue that elevates the hiring process while staying safe legally.
Bank of America's Talent Acquisition Mantra: From a process centered on our internal needs… to one where the candidate experience is put first.
Bank of America's efforts to improve the candidate experience starts with a simple thank you. Prior to interviewing, candidates are thanked for choosing to interview with Bank of America. Paraphrasing, Christie Gragnani-Woods says, "We wanted our candidates to know that we know they have options."
Elizabeth Schoentube added that Bank of America mandates that Hiring Managers, not recruiters select which candidates will move forward in the hiring process after their initial video interview. Schoentube mentions that this process provides a touch point between hiree and Hiring Manager that enables a better working relationship while improving quality of hire.
Schoentube and Gragnani-Woods continued, sharing that their emphasis on candidate experience combined with HireVue's OnDemand Video Interviewing Platform has dramatically increased their campus hiring efforts:
In 2018, Bank of America has:
- Reduced their hiring related travel expenses by 200K.
- Seen a 100% increase in daily recruiter productivity (Tasks that took 6 hours/day are completed in 3 hours/day)
- Has Increased the number of qualified first round interviewees by 19%.
- Maintained an 80% offer and 85% acceptance rate
Veteran Hiring Strategies: Turning Vetted Heroes into Viable Corporate Candidates
Chris Montoya, Veteran Hiring Initiative, Interstate Batteries; Jennifer Tracy, VP, Recruiting Solutions, Spectrum; Todd Frey, Talent Acquisition Recruitment Lead, Operations/Military Recruiting Program Manager
In this panel, three TA leaders shared their experiences attracting veterans and helping them transition to the corporate job search.
Where are you finding veteran talent?
Jennifer from Spectrum explored how to find veterans pre-separation and post-separation. In Spectrum's organization of 100,000 employees, over 11,000 have military experience. Pre-separation involves visiting active duty members where they are (in Spectrum's case, Fort Bragg); post-separation, they leverage RecruitMilitary career fair events to identify great talent.
How do you sell hiring managers on recruiting veterans?
Interstate Batteries holds roundtables with hiring managers to set expectations and help them understand the gap-bridging that needs to happen to hire veterans. They partnered with their marketing, branding, and communication team to create content and share success stories to drive organic engagement.
How do you create an intake for veterans?
Equinix leverages HireVue to give all veterans the opportunity to "introduce themselves" with a video interview. In the interview, veterans explain their skills, passions, and identify career fields that they are interested in. This tunes the hiring manager in to what a veteran has done in their career. If need be, they can turn qualified veterans over to a different, more relevant recruiting team if their skills are a better fit for a different area of the organization. With this system, Equinix has seen the percentage of veteran hires in their operations team jump from 5% to 30%. Jennifer from Spectrum agreed with this approach. When veterans receive the traditional "checklist" of jobs they would be interested in, they almost always check them all – they want a job. In an introductory video interview, they can explain their passions and skills, and recruiters can direct them to the best-fit opportunities.
What about military skills translator programs?
The general consensus was that civilian-created "military skills translator" software does not adequately help veterans translate their military skills to civilian skills. Jennifer from Spectrum indicated that most veterans tend to get screened out of highly relevant jobs with them, and veterans tend to get lost. Chris from Interstate Batteries explained that most "translator" software was geared toward security, and what a veteran did vs. what they want to do. Todd from Equinix explained that no one on the civilian side really understands what the military does; even a tool created by Google was subpar. Each branch of the military has their own "skills" translator, use that instead.
Shaping a Vibrant Economy: Drawing Candidates into a Purpose-Driven Corporate Culture
Richard Waite, Resourcing Lead, Grant Thornton UK
Most organizations have some sort of "key values" that make them unique. At Grant Thornton UK, they've infused their new "purpose-led" approach – an overarching business strategy that guides the type of work they do and who they work with – into their recruiting.
What does it mean to "shape a vibrant economy"?
For Grant Thornton, business has a critical role to play in creating the type of world we want to be a part of. Economic inequality in the UK is the worst it's been in generations. Compounded with Brexit – which 80% of citizens aged 18-24 voted against – there's a feeling of frustration. Top quality graduates aren't just looking for a paycheck anymore, they're looking to make a difference. In other words, Grant Thornton's motto to do well by doing good is a perfect fit today's top graduates. So how can that translate over into the recruiting side of things?
The Candidate Journey Review
To align its recruiting with its purpose, Grant Thornton conducted a full audit of its hiring process, from pre-application to onboarding. Nothing was wrong, per se – there were no glaring issues to fix, but it was far from distinctive, and failed to show what made working there unique.
They addressed every step of their hiring process:
- Pre-application. Grant Thornton worked with their marketing team to identify their employee value proposition – Shape More Than Just Your Career – and create case studies, blogs, and stories around the people at Grant Thornton doing just that.
- Application. They cut their application from 1+ hours to minutes. Questions focus on how candidates have worked to create a "vibrant economy" in the past.
- Online tests. Grant Thornton worked with assessment provider CAPP to design an immersive situational judgment assessment.
- HireVue OnDemand. Grant Thornton ran focus groups with last year's candidates to explore how they could make the OnDemand interview experience stand out. The result? Moving the case study – a question type previously used only in live situations – from their final "assessment day" to the video interview.
- Experience day. They reoriented their "assessment day" to focus on the experience of Grant Thornton's "appreciative inquiry" approach to client interactions. Even candidates who do not receive offers leave that day leaving more inspired and galvanized about what they can to do shape a vibrant economy.
- Pre-joiner engagement. Most of Grant Thornton's offers are delivered 10-12 months before the candidate graduates: the perfect opportunity for their larger competitors to poach them. To combat this and keep new hires engaged, they created an online candidate community where new hires could meet and connect. The community also features current trainees and hiring managers blogging & sharing what they were up to on a daily basis.
Thus far, Grant Thornton UK has seen some incredible results from their reimagined hiring process. Their purpose-driven application approach means fewer job seekers apply – instead, top candidates "opt in."
Their new experience day has seen a 50% increase in conversion rate (from ~40% to 73%), due largely to the robustness of the screening steps prior. All in all the increased efficiencies have saved 950 chargeable hours of hiring manager time (~£1,000,000) and decreased yearly operational expenses by £249,000. The time savings also means that Grant Thornton recruiters can spend more time elevating their brand internally, and focus on coaching hiring managers and providing candidates a more personalized experience.
Transforming a Business Model: How JP Morgan Chase is using AI-Driven Assessments to Shift their Talent Pool
Connie Geiger, Managing Director, Head of Consumer and Community Bank Recruiting, JP Morgan Chase
JPMC receives over 2.3m total applications per year, only 85k of which become job offers. They're reimagining recruiting on multiple levels to align their recruiting with their vision for the bank of the future.
Building the Bank of the Future
Half of American households have a Chase product. As consumer needs change, JPMC's goal is to be the easiest bank to do business with. Fundamentally, this means providing the digital and physical channels so customers can engage when and where they want to. For example: when someone applies for a loan today, they receive the same experience no matter what they apply for, and are pre-approved for other loans that would previously require an entirely different process.
The Branch Bank Employee of the Future
Generally speaking, people want easy and intuitive self-service until they don't. When they run into something they can't do themselves, they expect simplicity, ease, and expertise. In these situations, they visit the branch bank. This doesn't mean branch banks are going away, but it does mean the skills needed in those banks are changing. The branch bank employees of tomorrow need to be empowered to make judgments and help customers creatively. They can't just follow a process and check a box. To that end, JPMC is looking beyond previous experience and skills to behaviors and competencies. To find the people that are the best fit, they're turning to HireVue Assessments to identify candidates with the traits they need. So far, they've seen that Tellers who score well on the AI-driven assessment are 15% less likely to leave due to attrition at the 90 day mark, and receive slightly better performance reviews at the one-year mark. For Call Center agents, they've seen attrition among high and medium scoring candidates drop by 36% – delivering a huge ROI.
What it Means for Recruiting Teams
Ultimately, shifting to an AI-based approach will mean less time reviewing resumes and more time feeding the hiring funnel with qualified applicants and consulting with hiring managers. It means less time transacting a process, and more time closing the deal. JPMC's session was full of great ideas about what the future of recruiting looks like that we didn't have space for here – register for the livestream to get their session on demand when it becomes available.
Where Does AI Fit in Hiring? From High Volume to High Impact with Hilton
Carolyn Shuster, Director, Corporate Recruitment, Hilton; Amber Weaver, Director of High Volume Corporate Recruitment, Hilton
From chatbots to video-based assessments, Shuster and Weaver shared how AI dynamically and compartmentally augments today's most cutting-edge hiring processes.
With a mission, "to be the most hospitable company in the world," Hilton employs AI, as funny as it may sound, to make their hiring process more human.
Hilton employs AI through every process in the Hiring funnel. Hilton augments their sourcing efforts by using AI to quickly identify the strongest candidates from across the web. This process allows them to make sure their top results are the best fit for the position. By employing AI to assist with sourcing, Hilton empowers their recruiters to find people they know are worth investing time with, ultimately making it so their candidates are treated less like just another resume and more like a human being.
Moving further down the hiring funnel, Hilton enhances their screening and assessing processes with AI by utilizing HireVue and chatbot technology. By using predictive analytics combined with video interviewing, technical coding challenges through CodeVue and candidate engagement through SMS chatbot, Hilton dramatically improves their recruiter's efficiency. By reducing laborious tasks and creating an improved division of labor between AI and recruiter, Hilton gets the most from both its people and its technology.
High Volume Global Hiring: How IKEA Transformed Recruiting in 30 Markets Using Video Interviewing
Göran Berg, Recruitment Manager, IKEA; Sushma Schwerdt, Recruitment Operations Manager, IKEA
In today's final breakout session IKEA's Göran Berg (Recruitment Manager) and Sushma Schwerdt (Recruitment Operations Manager) displayed that no matter your organization size, there is still room to be nimble in the HR space.
Looking to achieve buy-in among a large number of stakeholders and over 26 languages to integrate with, HireVue's advocates within IKEA certainly faced a daunting task in garnering support. While IKEA inevitably received buy-in from stakeholders that represented 30 of the 31 countries, the transition from ideation to implementation proved to be rougher than expected.
As IKEA stores around the globe began adopting HireVue, some remained hesitant.
In an attempt to unfold why some stores were having massive success with HireVue while other stayed on the fence, IKEA discovered that six main objections were present among those struggling to integrate the new technology—
1. "This is not personal." IKEA overcame this objection by finding and becoming best friends with their internal innovators and early adopters. This creates a grassroots movement where the rest of the organization gets on board because they see the results their peers are getting.
2. "This conflicts with our culture." This objection came largely from Japan. There is a difference between culture conflict and technology conflict. In Japan there are existing HireVue customers finding great success – all that IKEA needed to do was tap into that same success.
3. "We cannot take for granted that this requires phones and computers." For this objection, IKEA offered tips and technology for their candidates. This not only made the process more personal, it made it more authentic. It also helps to look at the stats. When IKEA came up against the objection that the elderly would not like the process, they looked at the numbers. As it happens, the elderly were just as comfortable with the process as their younger peers.
4. "IKEA is a people focused company." Here, IKEA talked to their candidates to understand how they could make the process more candidate-friendly. They tweaked their communication templates so candidates still received the "IKEA touch."
5. "We're comfortable with the old way, phone screens are fine." IKEA worked continuously through their adoption to share best practices, leveraging their internal champions to show that video interviews were a more efficient, candidate-friendly way to engage talent.
6. "Global solutions are optional." Because IKEA ultimately wants their stores to run with little bureaucracy, they don't mandate working with solutions that individual stores don't see as a good fit. HireVue's best-in-class support reduced the friction for store adoption – if a recruiter sent a text at 7 pm, they got an immediate response. After seeing HireVue's potential, the "optional" solution quickly became the best solution.
The Secret to Reinventing Recruiting
Amber Grewal, Corporate Vice President, Head of Global TA, IBM
Technology is advancing rapidly, every industry is under disruption, and talent acquisition is no exception.
Secret #1: Upgrade your Operating Model
Recruiting's operating model has always changed with emerging technologies. When the ATS came on the scene, TA built an operating model around process, efficiency, and compliance. When social media entered the mainstream, TA developed sourcing models and began leveraging technologies like the CRM. Today, recruiting's operating model should be infused with Agile methodologies. For example, IBM recruits for legacy and emerging products. There needed to be a differentiation between the two. Speed, urgency, collaboration, and transparency to the business are of the utmost importance.
What is Agile TA?
gile TA is an iterative, time-boxed approach to recruiting. It comes from the reality that not all roles are created equally. With traditional recruiting, each recruiter might need to fill 50-100 requisitions, and each gets prioritized by which manager yells the loudest. Agile TA prioritizes the roles that provide the highest value to the business first. Amber provided three tips for building an Agile TA function.
- Set recruiting in differentiated teams. People in an Agile recruiting team have various roles, they aren't all "traditional" recruiters.
- Prioritize up front. Each business unit has a "headcount owner" that decides what roles are the most important and need to be prioritized.
- Time-boxed and run on sprints. Requisitions should be individually sized – a group of data scientists will have much different requirements than a group of network engineers.
The results IBM has seen from this process so far? They've cut recruiting time by 50%, reduced requisition cancellations by 75%, increased talent quality by 43%, and seen their NPS double for candidates, hiring managers, and recruiters.
Secret #2: Architect Your Workflow with Technology
Everything you do can be augmented with technology. As you collect more data, you'll feed the exponential learning process and drive better predictions. With enough data, artificial intelligence will be able to: auto-create job descriptions, prioritize candidates, assist candidates, proactively source, administer & create interview panels, assess candidates in real-time, engage disengaged candidates, create custom offers for candidates, and onboard.
Secret #3: Supercharge Your Talent
Reinventing recruiting starts with people. To that end, recruiters should be up-skilled with 21st century skills. At IBM, they identified 14 critical 21st century recruiting skills in the domains of knowledge, ability, and behavior.
After identifying the critical skills, they assessed their recruiting function to create new roles: the Talent Influencer (a solution seller, brand ambassador, and power networker in a key domain); and the Talent Scientist (combining IO Psychology and sourcing skills, these recruiters make AI-assisted talent decisions and use data to tell stories).
They also set up digital TA academy where their recruiters could upskill and and earn badges. Thus far, they've seen 70k hours of learning in their TA organization, with 41 hours of learning per person. 68% of the entire organization has been upskilled.


text:
It would be naïve in the extreme to think that clicking on everything in sight or allowing all manner of applications access to your personal Facebook account would not open up your details to marketers. However, it seems like if some people had any idea of the scope of information that was being collected on them, they would lock themselves in a sealed chamber. The concept of privacy seems to be fast morphing itself out of existence. The young people I work with seem entirely comfortable with this fact and it seems the level of alarm people feel is in direct proportion to their age. The trouble is that we all just shrug at the futility of our situation, and who could blame us? Our absolute inability to do anything about it only makes the younger look much smarter than their older, wiser counterparts.
I believe one should always think twice about clicking on ads or liking things on Facebook. Not that you're going make a huge dent in the data compiled in your name, but the thought that every single thing I do online is being fed into some behemoth spreadsheet somewhere is just depressing. I rarely search for bomb-making materials online so I'm not too worried about law enforcement getting wind of my habits. On the flip side of that, I never give info to places that say they just want some responses for "marketing purposes". If they want that, they can pay me for it. Likewise, if I ever take an online survey I make sure to lie as much as possible. Anyone who speaks of "double loyalties" is completely misguided. The loyalties of those who mine data for a living never lie anywhere except for where the money is flowing from, and that is rarely from those being mined. I have no illusions whatsoever that I am winning the war on the extraction of my own data but it's always better to let yourself think you have a say in the matter.


text:
Updated European Union Standards for Tuberculosis Care now available
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS) have developed 21 patient-centred standards to guide clinicians and public health workers in their work to ensure optimal diagnosis, treatment and prevention of tuberculosis (TB) in Europe.
Reaching the SDG targets on Health by 2030: ECDC Session at European Health Forum Gastein 2018
Will we reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for health by 2030 and the targets set for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and tuberculosis?
The sleeping giant: the danger of neglecting latent tuberculosis infection
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has published comprehensive guidance on the management of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) targeted for European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries.
Will tuberculosis be the next disease to be eliminated in Europe?
It should be. Despite being a curable disease, tuberculosis (TB) is still a challenging public health issue in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA), with over 55 000 TB infections reported annually and thousands of fatalities.


text:
Millions of worker's went on strike this past Labor Day weekend.
I work in the medical field, and know first hand of so many American companies who outsource their work to India and other places like the Philippines. This is a worldly issue which affects us here in the United States with lesser jobs and the people abroad who live in poverty because of these low wage jobs.
The filthy greediness of the world's leading corporations leaves a stain on the economy and its people.


text:
Karita Mattila
Karita Marjatta Mattila (pronounced ['karita 'mattila]) (born 5 September 1960) is a Finnish operatic soprano.[1]
Mattila appears regularly in the major opera houses worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra Bastille, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Vienna State Opera, Toronto Roy Thomson Hall, and Großes Festspielhaus in Salzburg.
Born in Somero, Finland, Mattila graduated 1983 from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, where she studied singing with Liisa Linko-Malmio. She then continued her studies with Vera Rozsa in London.
Also in 1983, Mattila won the first Cardiff Singer of the World competition. In 1985, she made her Covent Garden debut with the Royal Opera as Fiordiligi in Mozart's Così fan tutte.
She was seen as Emma in the first ever televised production of Schubert's Fierrabras at the Vienna State Opera in 1988. In 1990 she made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni.
In 1994, she made her Spanish debut as Tatyana in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin in Madrid, and 1996 debuts in Paris in Wagner's Lohengrin, Verdi's Don Carlos.
Mattila has won Grammy Awards for "Best Opera Recording" for Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 1998 and for Jenůfa in 2004. She was awarded the Evening Standard Ballet, Opera and Classical Music Award for "Outstanding Performance of the Year" in 1998 for her performance of Elisabeth in Don Carlos at the Royal Opera House.
In 2001 The New York Times chose Karita Mattila as the best singer of the year for her performance in Fidelio at the Metropolitan Opera, and in the same year she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award "Outstanding Achievement in Opera".
Mattila's 2004 New York performances in Salome and subsequent Káťa Kabanová inspired the New York press to write: "When the history of the Metropolitan Opera around the time of the millennium is written, Karita Mattila will deserve her own chapter."
In 2005, she was named Musician of the Year 2005 by Musical America, which describes her "the most electrifying singing actress of our day, the kind of performer who renews an aging art form and drives the public into frenzies." BBC Music Magazine named Mattila as one of the top 20 sopranos of the recorded era in 2007.[2]
Worldwide audiences saw Mattila in Manon Lescaut live in movie theatres in 2008. Metropolitan's Salome and Tosca were seen live in High Definition worldwide in 2008 and 2009, respectively.
In 2010 at Opéra National de Lyon, Mattila created the role of Émilie du Châtelet in Kaija Saariaho's monodrama Émilie, which was dedicated to her.
Personal life[edit]
Mattila lives in Naples, Florida.[3] In 1992 she married Tapio Kuneinen, who served as her manager;[4] they divorced in 2018.[5][3]
She has been active on Twitter since October 2018, and has stated that it was a "lifesaver" after her divorce.[5][3][6][7]
Upon the abrupt cancellation of her Jenůfa at the Royal Opera House in late February 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, she moved to an apartment in Helsinki, Finland, until she is able to travel and work safely again and return home.[5]
- Arias & Scenes (Erato) cond. Yutaka Sado; Queen of Spades, Jenufa, Elektra.
- German Romantic Arias (Erato), Staatskapelle Dresden, cond. Sir Colin Davis; Beethoven, Weber.
- Strauss: Orchestral Songs; Four Last Songs (DG)
- Strauss: Orchestral Songs (Sony Music Entertainment)
- Strauss: Hölderlin Lieder (Sony Music Entertainment)
- Sibelius Songs (Ondine)
- Grieg and Sibelius Songs (Erato)
- Lollipops; Canteloube, Villa-Lobos (Philips)
- Sydän Suomessa – From the Heart of Finland (Ondine), 1996, recital with Ilmo Ranta (piano); songs by Toivo Kuula, Oskar Merikanto, Erkki Melartin, Yrjö Kilpinen and folk songs.[8]
- Wild Rose (Ondine) with Ilmo Ranta. Lieder by Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Mahler.
- Modern Portrait (Warner/Finlandia), 1995. Paul Hindemith Das Marienleben, song cycle for soprano & piano, Op. 27; Aulis Sallinen Dream Songs; Mikko Heinio song cycle Vuelo de Alambre
- Karita Live! (Ondine) cond. Jukka Pekka Saraste; Wagner, Verdi, Strauss, Gershwin
- Helsinki Recital (Ondine), Martin Katz (piano); Duparc, Kaija Saariaho Quatre instants, Rachmaninov, Dvořák Gypsy songs.
- Excellence – The Artistry of Karita Mattila (Ondine)
Complete operas[edit]
- Salome (Sony Music Entertainment)
- Káťa Kabanová (Fra Musica)
- Tosca (Virgin)
- Manon Lescaut (EMI Classics)
- Don Carlos (EMI Classics)
- Fidelio (DG)
- Die Meistersinger (Decca, DG)
- Simon Boccanegra (TDK)
- Jenůfa (Erato)
- Le nozze di Figaro (Sony Music Entertainment)
- Così fan tutte (Philips)
- Don Giovanni (Philips)
- Fierrabras (DG)
- Der Freischütz (Decca)
- Scenes from Goethe's Faust (Sony Music Entertainment)
Symphonic works[edit]
- Mozart: Requiem (DG)
- Beethoven: Symphony no. 9 (DG)
- Shostakovich: Symphony no. 14 (EMI Classics)
- Schoenberg: Gurrelieder (EMI Classics)
- Bernstein: Symphony no. 3 (Erato)
- Sibelius: Kullervo (BIS)
- Mendelssohn: Symphony no. 2 (DG)
- Schubert: Mass in E flat major; Mozart: Aria of the Angel, Laudate dominum (DG)
Popular music[edit]
- Fever (Ondine)
- Best of Evergreens (Ondine)
- Karita's Christmas (Ondine)
- Songs To The Sea; Popular Melodies by Lasse Mårtenson (2001)
- James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala (1996), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, B0004602-09
- ^ "Karita Mattila facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Karita Mattila". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
- ^ "Are these the 20 best sopranos of the recorded era?". The Guardian. 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ a b c https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/12/arts/music/karita-mattila-twitter.html
- ^ https://www.jellypages.com/entertainment/IS-opera-star-Karita-Mattila-differs-from-the-27-year-marriage-over-h51389.html
- ^ a b c https://newsnowfinland.fi/arts-culture/karita-mattila-opera-diva-interrupted
- ^ https://www.opera-online.com/en/articles/a-conversation-with-karita-mattila
- ^ https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-daily-telegraph/20200313/282484300828541
- ^ Ondine 0 ODE892-2 (58 minutes: DDD). Texts and translations included. Recorded in association with Helsingin Energia. Gramophone review
External links[edit]
- Intermusica
- Ondine Records: Biography and discography
- Karita Mattila Forum
- Met Opera Review | "'Salome' Unveils Emotions (and a Soprano)," Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, March 17, 2004
- "Mysteries of Love: Karita Mattila's Salome," Alex Ross, The New Yorker, April 5, 2004
- Interview with Classical Voice
- Karita Mattila's career, roles, CDs and DVDs on Mostly Opera
- Interview with Karita Mattila by Bruce Duffie, January 23, 1991


text:
Since the democratic election, two days ago, of Donald Trump as President-Elect of the United States, commentators both professional and amateur (like me), have been comparing it with the democratic election, over eighty years ago, of Adolph Hitler as Chancellor of the German Republic. But it is only this Blog which can use its own title to describe in four words what these two elections have in common.
All of us, even young people for whom World War Two is almost ancient history, have seen photographs and videos of those scenes in Germany of enormous crowds saluting their new Chancellor. All of us have seen on television Trump on the stump, surrounded by enormous crowds cheering their candidate, and now Trump, after his election, being cheered by his jubilant supporters. But we have also seen, in the big cities of the U.S., equally enormous and vociferous crowds of his opponents expressing their disappointment, their anger, their shattered hopes and even their fear. There were no such crowds of Germans opposed to Hitler. Perhaps the good news is that there are as many people who voted against Trump as for him, more in fact in absolute figures, though a unique, antiquated and anachronistic Electoral College system (created to compensate for the fact that slaves could not vote !), gave the unexpected and undeserved victory to Trump.
Readers of this Blog will not be surprised to see me attributing Trump's election to the same blindness that made Hitler's possible. With luck, the comparison may stop there. Hitler brought death, destruction and despair not only to Germany but to the whole world. Hopefully we will find ways to prevent a lesser but similar outcome of the election of the new American President. Apart from a small number of fanatics, the German people had no choice but to recognize, in a few short years, their blind faith and blind folly. It is too late to correct the vision of Trump's supporters. We can only hope that the President himself realizes, before devastating damage is done, that he has been a blind leader of the blind. Unfortunately we cannot count on Jesus to open his eyes . . .