Hello everyone! This is my first post on Reddit, so please don't judge me too harshly!
This autumn I am moving to Riga. I got accepted into the university (so happy omg) :)
The reason I'm writing here is that I've been searching on various platforms for chats/groups for students/applicants for 2023 in Riga, but I couldn't find anything. I also couldn't find someone who would kindly answer a couple of basic questions from a regular student XD.. So here it is:
• What should I know about Riga to avoid making mistakes right after arrival?
• What are Latvians like in terms of temperament?
• Which grocery stores are good for shopping?
• Which areas of the city should I avoid (unsafe districts)?
• How would you describe the weather in Riga? Can the weather conditions be compared to Scandinavian countries?
• Where can I find an apartment? (I'm currently searching, but haven't found anything suitable yet. Cuz every nice ap gots rented in a sec goddamn it)
• Could you suggest some places to visit upon arrival (museums, galleries, bookstores, parks, bars, restaurants, brunch cafes)?
• Also, if you have any good advice for a noob in Riga, I would appreciate it.
The city is incredibly beautiful, and I already know it will "capture" my heart.
I apologize for any mistakes in my text. English is not my native language. Thank you all in advance for your answers and for your time!!!!!

I haven’t even flirted for such a long time, and lately, during those boring lunches where people just talk about heiresses’ dogs’ illnesses (a Pomeranian dog shares all her illnesses with her owner) or gossip about some technocrat who has a limp and who may be cheating on his partner, and while rice with cod is served, I am asked “darling, are you dating yet?”. No, I am not, and here I am, mostly because dating apps are too dull – unfortunately the odds of being flashed by a Jewish 19 year-old from Manchester is smaller on these things, though sometimes you might have some luck and end up being insulted randomly by a Portuguese girl, who is visiting her uncle.
I do have names, and surnames, and I was born in a big city in Brazil. My sister used to describe our childhood address as “a building with cars and trees and buildings”, which is a rather good description of much of the city. For a while I wanted to join the seminary but after having to face the fact that this was an inadequate career choice considering I didn’t believe in God and had always found masses to be awfully boring (though fascinating at times – the priest at my childhood church used to go on long rants about things, of which there are many) often turning my back to see the watch, and so I chose the next best thing: I am studying sociology, which involves, in many ways, taking a vow of poverty. I also work at a small online newspaper so I am well informed on sub celebrities and local occurrences such as babies heroically rescued by policemen after choking on the thing babies eat. And yes, I write poetry sometimes.
I am fascinated fairly often by everything, or many things, at least so you won’t be bored. These last days I ended up reading a lot of things about Egypt after reading about Ottoman chief eunuchs being exiled to Cairo after their tenure. In general, I really enjoy the humanities. I follow politics keenly – in fact, there is some chance I might have some thoughts on your country’s politics – and I’d say I am on the centre-left – pro-choice, in favour of a robust welfare state, LGBTQ+ rights, affirmative action. If you know about Brazilian politics, I voted for Marina and Haddad in 2018 (the voting age here is 16), and Lula last year.
As you can imagine, I also really enjoy reading and writing. Besides poetry, I have often thought about writing a novel, but this seems like too much work – and it seems that it would be arrogant of me to write a novel having lived this little, though it wouldn't be uncommon. I really enjoy learning about other languages and cultures and I know a bit of French, German, Spanish, and Russian, besides English and Portuguese. I’d really like to learn Arabic and/or Mandarin. I am really into genealogy, and I know quite a bit about it. I often cry while watching dumb movies (I cried during Minions!) or listening to beautiful music; my music taste has been described as “fairly gay” and in movies as “slightly gay”.
I guess I am pretty introverted, polite, and timid (well, I am on here after all). I am affectionate and I can be really passionate as well. And I am fairly funny, or rather, I have made a few people laugh over the years. I asked a close friend to describe myself, and that is what he said:

I think you’re very communicative. Shrewd, funny, a good companion. Kind of withdrawn but not necessarily shy. You avoid conflict and unnecessary arguments, but love to participate in good conversations. I think you’re very kind too, besides being polite.

As for what I want to do with my life, I am unsure though I am inclined to go into academia. I have been considering applying to a PhD program in the U.S. after finishing my undergrad here in Brazil. My family does want me to go into their business, which is related to politics. I have also considered going into diplomacy.
Who am I looking for? I’d like someone curious about the world around her, and open-minded. The rest? Cultural differences can be interesting and I am open to converting (nominally?) to most world religions.
Some poems I really like:

• Litany for our lord Don Quixote by Ruben Dario
  
• Tobacco Shop by Fernando Pessoa
  
• Ash Wednesday by T. S. Eliot
  

Some songs I have been listening to:

• Ariana Grande - 7 Rings
  
• Rosalía - Delirio de Grandeza
  
• Pescado Rabioso - Cantata de Puentes Amarillos
  

"High levels of air pollution are possible due to smoke from forest fires. Smoke plumes from forest fires in Quebec and northeastern Ontario may result in deteriorated air quality through most of this week."
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/city/ca/ontario/markham/alerts
REMINDER: Please don't walk your pets outside. Keeps your kids and elderly family and friends inside too! Wear an N-95 mask if you need to go outside.
Forecast: https://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/current/

Hello there, I understand the dilemma. Both are such cool options, right!? But maybe we can brainstorm and figure out which one we like more. Perhaps we get frustrated and decide we need to do both to experiment to figure out what we like more. But of course, before that I hope you will turn out to be someone important enough to me to do these with you. Beyond that, I guess I am just looking to get to know someone amazing like you. So reveal yourself, please! On a separate note, I am a scientist working in some random artificial intelligence thingamajigs in medicine (for more technically interested ones - we do machine learning) after finishing uni. And no, we do not wear lab coats. I absolutely love what I do and where I am. To be fair, I love science in any form.
Some random tidbits about me - - One of my claim-to-fame moments till now has been being at loo next to a Nobel laureate. - I love to read. On some weekends, I sneak away to different cafés, libraries, parks, river banks, and other places in my city to read alone. A dream of mine is to have a personal library at some point!!! - I am into running, hiking, rambling, biking, and squash. In addition, I am always keen on checking out new sports, now onto Eton Fives! Also I really enjoy exploring outdoors, generally with friends. - I enjoy cooking, even though I am very slow at it and am certain that I am not very good at it either. Bonus happiness though if I am doing it with friends. - I am very close to my family. And I am the silliest (and definitely the cheekiest) one among them. - Regarding music, I listen to a bit of everything, depending on my mood. Having said that, more often I find myself listening to classical and indie. Some of my favourite classical composers include Brahms, Vivaldi, and Debussy. My city has an incredible music scene, so I sometime find it tough to stop myself from going to too many concerts!! - I have seen some posts including their MBTI or enneagram type. So if you are interested in that - from all the times I have given the MBTI test, I have been an ENTJ. Similarly for the enneagram tests I have been a number 3. Though I believe it is difficult to profile someone based on just one type alone. - Here are some more random clichéd things I like. I love going to a wide variety of museums (from art to natural history and more) and spending hours getting lost inside. My personal record till now is to go to four museums on the same day (yes, it was stupid, no, I do not regret it at all). With friends, I like exploring independent cafés and sampling hot chocolates.
If you have read the until this long, thank you for that!!! I did not want to shorten the length. Maybe you and I have some common interests! Or perhaps we do not share any common interests at all!?!?! No matter what, I am waiting for your message and getting excited for the fun experiments ahead with you.
Good day to you and cheerio!

We listed our home a month ago: Put in all new carpets and painted the whole house on realtors request (at $12,000 cost to us) and staged the home at $3000 cost to us. Moved our family out of our home and 25 min away from work & childcare tolive with relatives, we are now driving in traffic with a toddler every day now. All b/c realtor said it would sell fast if we did all of the above, and told her we had to sell by July 1 and to price & act accordingly.
dropped the price 5% and had another open house after it did not sell within two weeks, and now its sat another 2 weeks.
Our contract ends on June 30th but we really need to sell now or find a tenant since we have to move cross country and sign a lease ASAP.
Is this typical behavior? We're willing and able to drop the price further if need be but cannot even get in touch with realtor. Do I have to wait it out until June 30th to find someone new to work with?
For context in a West Coast city in a home in the 400-500k price range. We purchased in 2020 for $401k, was assessed at $420k at point of purchase. We put in a new kitchen, new floors, new carpets, redid the landscaping and listed originally for ~475, dropped to ~450k. All the 'zestimates' etc had us at 470-490k, but i know that those can be very wrong. She has clients in the 800-1million range so perhaps we're just low priority re: small commission. I know the market is weird right now but lots of houses are still selling, so i'm unclear if its a her problem or a market problem.

If you are in search of a thoughtful way to send gifts to your loved ones in the United States from Bangladesh, look no further. With the advent of technology, sending gifts to family and friends anywhere in the world has never been easier. Through secure online shopping portals, you can easily purchase a wide variety of gifts from the comfort of your home.
Fortunately, there are many reliable companies that offer delivery services from Bangladesh to the U.S. It’s worth noting that these services are highly convenient and provide the assurance that your gifts will arrive safely and on time. One such company is, Giftgrabr.
The first step is to decide which type of gift you wish to send. Most online stores carry a range of items that are perfect for any occasion. From clothing, jewelry, and electronics to home decor and artisanal products, there are numerous choices with plenty of options for customization at Giftgrabr.
Once you have selected a gift and purchased it online, Giftgrabr will pick it up and deliver it to your family or friends in the U.S. You can track the progress of your shipment online. They promise timely delivery for your item, which is essential for added convenience and peace of mind.
Gift-giving is a wonderful way to convey your feelings from afar and to bring happiness to your loved ones. With a few clicks of your mouse, you can send a symbol of your love to friends and family in the U.S. from Bangladesh.

Our family is looking to take a cruise March 2024. We’re limited by time but have found two that would work. Both are on RC. Which would you all prefer? We’ve never been to any of the ports.
7 night western Caribbean out of Tampa on enchantment of the seas Puerto costa maya Roatan Belize City Cozumel
9 night eastern out of Miami on Explorer of the seas. Puerto Plata Charlotte Amalie St Thomas St. John’s St. George Basseterre
Also feel free to make other suggestions. Our kids are elementary school age and we like beaches and adventures. Thanks!

Hi everyone, my family of 4 people is planning to go to Malaga and its surroundings during the last week of July.
Please do you think they need to rent a car to visit nearby cities like Ronda...? If yes, which car rental companies do you recommend?
Also, are there any must-seen cities (max 3h-4h away) besides Costa de Sol?
Thank you so much!

Note to self 92,
I was researching the foundation of Arhada city-states, just to get a general sense of what they looked like, and I found a very informative and fascinating read. The name is "A Tale of Two Cities: the development of early Arhada city states (0-500 AD)" and it's supposed to be the early work of some important professor at the Horean International University. Unfortunately, I'm still banned from borrowing at the Uni's library because I've held that book on Early Ibandr for a bit too long – I'll just copy the abstract and some passages for future reference.

This essay analyses the emergence of the first large-scale polities within the Arhadan cultural sphere, putting together the writings of notable scholars and the archaelogical record at our disposal. The title, "A Tale of Two Cities” was chosen in reference to the sites of Kamābarha and Amadahai, two settlements which would continue to act as major actors in the region throughout the following centuries. Because of their prominence, these two cities have been chosen as case studies through which we will examine the political, cultural and social characteristics of Arhada city states in the formative period. Those first few post-dawn centuries see the emergence of other important centres, but these two examples prove to be the earliest, the most consistently documented and the only ones who maintained their preeminence in post-formative eras.
The text is divided into three main sections: the first detailing the general characteristics of urban, social and political developments within the region, the second and third delving into the specific nuances that these developments acquire in Kamābarha and Amadahai, respectively.
I thank the department of Tritonean studies at the Horean International University for their help in procuring material for this research, and Dr. Amaha Geherun for her invaluable guidance and insight.

[...]

2.a Palaces, urban settlements and their spatial characters.
Scholars of late Tritonean prehistory usually divide the development of Arhadan settlements in three main phases; the Stilt House Period (SHP), which lasted roughly until 750 BD, the courtyard house period (CHP), which covers the millenium between 750 BD and 250 AD and the palatial house period (PHP), emerging from 250 onwards, with the development of the first palatial complexes and the first signs of wide-reaching palace economies, large scale political networks of reciprocal exchange, and true suzerain-client relationships. These three periods are named after their defining building types: the main characteristic of the SHP, unsurprisigly the one for which we have less documentation, were the small, square wooden constructions built on stilts along the lake shores and wetlands, next to the paddies. This period is the longest, stretching from the early development of zizania, cattail and sagittaria cultivation; with the construction of more specialised agricultural works and the consequent emergence of a higher level of inequality within Arhada settlements, we shift to the CHP, wherein successful family units migrated away from the lakeshores into dry land and extablished a new building typology, the multifamily courtyard house, acting as a higher status dwelling. The palace is nothing more than the natural evolution of the Courtyard-house type: it is merely larger and with cellular buildings constructed within the confines of the courtyard. The general layout consists of three outbuildings: a shrine, where the clans held religious functions both for the families and for the community at large, a granary, where the harvest would be stockpiled for distribution in lean years, and a treasury, where specialised group of artisans, usually the women of the clan, created and gathered family hierlooms, which obtained a near-sacred value and acted as further insurance against difficult harvests (See chapter 4a).
The palatial typology is fairly standardised: the frame, the courtyard building, is usually two or three stories high, with the ground floor being dedicated to common rooms, the middle floor containing the apartments of the clanmen and women and the last floor, built under a steep thatch roof, hosting lower-status inhabitants: servants, guards, favourites. What is more variable, however, was the disposition of buildings inside; shrines especially assumed different typologies: the constant is in their verticality and consistent central-plan type. From pictographic and sculptural sources, we can also note that canopies, usually defined by square-plans with four columns at the four corners, were important places of gathering, where tobacco ceremonies and clan meetings were held in the hot summers of southern Tritonea.

[...]

While it's interesting to consider the palace as a singular architectural and typological phenomenon, no discussion about the palatial type is complete without a mention about its relationship with the city at large. Built atop a hill (the term Nabaradjân, 'house of the hill', is, in fact, synonymous with palace), it acted as a centripetal force for the expansion of villages and cities, with important buildings being constructed radially from the central point of the palace and all other houses, small scale orchards and other structures being built in between. As architectural types specialised and key public buildings began to be built outside of the confines of the palace – granaries first, then shrines and storehouses – the radial composition of cities began to be even more clearly visible – in later periods those secondary "nodes" would create other radial sprawling points. "Radial cities, early settlement patterns in Arhadaland", by Dr. Amaha Geherun, provides an in-depth study of the spatiality of early, late and imperial Arhada cities.

Reminder to get that book as soon as I get paid this week – couldn't find it at the library.
This chapter had a very nice drawing (It looked better in the book) that showed an estimate of the plans of Kamābarha (A) and Amadahai (B). Amadahai was smaller, but it had quite an impressive quay leading straight into the city. The Mound of Kamābarha, on the other hand, was perhaps the most interesting thing about the city: it's one of the few ancient sites that the author had studied with an asymmetrical mound layout. Overall, I found the differences in Tritonean urban planning and that of Early Ibandr quite fascinating.

4.a Political Networks, the first states and the "Bead Bracelet" Structure.
With the growth of palaces, we can truly see the evolution of Arhada settlements change from villages, to cities, to city-states: each palace acted as a key driver for a city’s local economy; from within the various clans of the palace, the men of the clan oversaw and organised works in the paddies, allocating human resources and ensuring the harvest was safely stored in the granary. The women, on the other hand, handled the production of specialised crafts - pottery, textiles, painting and dye production being the most common ones - which would form the bulk of the treasury. This setup, which contributed to a general labour specialisation even outside the confines of the palace, greatly contributed to the growing influence of palaces in the surrounding sub-urban territory.
Archeological and archaeo-anthropological studies show that the early Zizania aquatica strains cultivated by Tritonean farmers were prone to failures, with some estimates indicating a one in six chance of failure. This insecurity was the main driver for the construction of granaries, and, later, the use of the palaces treasure as a sort of insurance against bad harvests. There is ample tangible evidence of extra-urban exchanges of luxury trade goods between palaces around the southern lakes - with them, came birchbark contracts (and, more rarely clay tablets), documenting the exchange agreements between villages. Sadly, we have very few documents of this kind, but just enough to get a clear picture of what these signified.
What looked like simple exchanges based on favours and giftgiving - which basically amounted to “I owe yous” with a precious gifts attached - quickly developed into more deliberate agreements. We find pictographic contracts detailing the exchange of zizania for corvée labour or zizania in exchange for a larger repayment over a period of several years. Often villages would repay their benefactor by providing labour until they were able to return the same quantity of zizania – other times, contracts operated over a fixed period of time. The maturation of these systems culminated in semi-permanent ties between villages and a construction of hierarchical client-patron relations. The short term contracts between polities, exchanging part of the harvest for corvées, valuable goods or interest on the repayment, became more and more drawn out, until finally long term relationships were established.
The term "Bead Bracelet network", introduced by Dr Lagor Daham in her seminal work "Early Political Relationships along the Southern Tritonean lakes: new models of political unity", is used to refer to these long strings of villages sharing some form political affiliation, each village being the client or suzerain of another one within the chain. The water-based agricultural tradition of Tritonea conditioned the developments of their urban centres as lines running paralel to the lakeshore, each with some influence over their adjoining woodland and wetlands: the creation of these ties would then follow these lines, creating complexes of neighbouring villages with varying degrees of freedoms and duties towards one other. these ties and contracts, which would be overseen by clan matriarchs, would connect all villages within a single network to the highest one.

I had to copy the map in the book, because I was having a hard time visualising it. There was also a more schematic version of it. Apparently, villages owed "fealty" (though I'm sure that's the wrong word) to bigger villages wich in turn owed "fealty" to bigger ones. It wasn't really a feudalistic setup, though. Land belonged to the single villages, who cultivated it directly – but they were essentially client cities, providing labour or artisanal goods to their suzerain, provided they would keep their granaries full in lean years. Another quote on this, and some interesting notes on the contracts between polities:

In truth, most of these ties would not be very long lasting, and could break immediately if either of the parties was unable to maintain the foundational promises of the agreement. This usually resulted in small scale warfare in which the suzerain's victory would result in an even more restrictive contract and the clients victory would signify temporary freedom from the expansion of its neighbour's political influence. Kamābarha and Amadahai were the first to estabish stable and well-maintained networks of this kind, mostly due to the fact that their prosperous positions – Kamābarha in fertile and rich land, Amadahai straddled between two lakes, controlling trade and expanding at a fast pace along two lakesides – allowed them to maintain control over nearby polities thanks to the consistency with which they were able to provide their side of the bargain and distribute parts of their abundant harvest to their clients.

[...]

The terms of the contracts themselves were extremely heterogeneous – and could be easily changed and misinterpreted. Being pictographic in nature, with imagery tied to Arhada proverb glyphs, they served more as visual aids to help the matriarchs remember the exact terms of a contract. It's a widely held belief that it's a need for specificity in birchbark contracts that led Arhada women to the development of true logographic writing in the following centuries.

This note I found particularly interesting! I'll have to read more on that.

7. Trade and external relations
One final point to be made, before we delve into the specific configurations and internal histories of our two cities, has to do with trade systems within the Arhada cultural sphere. Arhadanists and scholars of Tritonean history speak of the Formative "Northern pottery", "Middle pottery" and "Southern pottery" schools: the Arhada territory fell squarely between the Middle and Southern areas, with Kamābarha being connected to the Kemithātsan polities along the southern shore of the Sihodjivôdjo (Middle school), and thus having an closer relationship to northern and western cultures into Xanthean territories, and Amadahai being connected instead to southern cultures such as the Zonowōdjon, beyond the lake, with whom they entertained relationships in a network that extended south, beyond Tritonea proper, in the territories of the Aluwa. As such, our two case studies present very different cultural traits and influences – it must be noted, however, that the deep interrelation of Arhadan cities through the connective tissue of the lakes serves as an avenue for the exchange and merger of these two very different cultural impulses.
The Arhada themselves were great exporters of finished products. Indigo dyes, pottery, hemp-cattail blend textiles and pecan oil, used both in cuisine and cosmetics, were ubiquitous items throughout Arhada territories; preserved fruits were common southern commodities; brass products from the zinc-abundant copper ores along the Green River, were Kamābarha's most valuable export. It's interesting, however, to analyse what was imported into their territories during this period, so that we can better track the changes in material culture throughout the early formative. Contact with the nearby Kemithātsan is evident in the spread of glazes in Middle Pottery school sites. Even in Souther Pottery sites we can begin to observe more Middle style artefacts, and we have evidence of kilns being built – many scholars believe these kilns were actually built by Kemithātsan artisans who relocated in the south. From the Kemithātsan they also obtained picked goods and wines, whose production was more specialised. Maple – a prised product in the south – was also obtained through northern trade routes.
Southern trade relationships were more tenuous at that time – Arhada groups migrated into Zonowōdjon lands around 500 AD, and while intermingling did occur at an early stage, we have evidence of a rather fraught relationship, with several Arhadan led attacks into the southern regions, certainly with the aim of clearing coastal land for more intensive agricultural production. Sanaboborôn, another formative site which would develop in the later quarter of the 1st millenium AD, emerged in the wake of these attacks, following different dynamics when compared the other early Arhada cities. This development, which lies outside the themes of this research, is brilliantly explored in another seminal work by Dr Lagor Daham, published in the collection of essays "Dawn of War: Martial history in formative Horea". While tensions and distrust with neighbouring Tritonean peoples slowed trade between the eastern and western southern lakes, polities such as Amadahai and Sanaboborôn found fertile ground with trade further down the continent. Crossing the Gorgonean-Tritonean mountain range they would encounter the Aluwa people – corals were an especially prised trade item, but spices such as peppers and citrus peel were also brought north, where they would enter the diets of elite Arhadans.

One last bad drawing for today. I saw this map and I was truly impressed with how developed trade networks were at that time, especially for people who did not have horses or chariots. I'm afraid I'll have to read through second half of the book tomorrow, the library's closing now – end of note.

After skipping April, here are some inspiration snippets from Berlin, Germany and wider. Career and other cool insights. Here is March.

Week of 1st (May)

1. 🤔 Do you know any shortcuts/tips/tricks on how to get an appointment at Ausländerbehörde? If so, please share in the comments or drop me an email. Thank you so much!
2. 🚃 Lost something on public transport? Here is the website to deal with it. It will be sold at an auction if you do not pick it up in 6 weeks. These are done quarterly, and see you at Auktionshaus Beier in July because I need some AirPods.
3. 🚗 Germany is extremely dependent on the automotive industry and their exports. Don’t quote me on that, but the big ones make roughly 1/3 of their revenues in China. Now, look at these charts and think: What sets modern cars apart? What does it mean for Germany? Soon, the brand will be the only differentiator.
4. 🙌 Pragmatic Engineer (Gergely Orosz) gave me a nice shoutout tweet. A must-follow if you are interested in tech/engineering. One of my recent favourites is this interview with Steve Yegge, which is full of interesting insights.
5. 🤖 If you are like me, you maybe feel worried that your ChatGPT prompt game is weak (especially after reading all those "prompt influencers" milking the trend on the bird app). A while ago, I even linked to a “Prompt Engineer” as a future profession. But according to Ethan Mollick's Guide to Prompting, we do not have much to worry about. In a nutshell: just try things out and then repeat.
6. 📦 eBay-Kleinanzeigen, one of the best German websites (😅) with 40M monthly users, will finally rename to Kleinanzeigen on 16.5 after being sold to Norwegian classifieds specialist Adevinta in 2021. Most of it will stay the same; I am delighted my “Top Zufriedenheit” status will also be migrated.
7. 😔 Bad news: N26 is laying off 71 (4%), Knister Grill (Munich) insolvent; Flink shrank for 8k (down from 21k!) employees since April 2022.
8. berlin choice of the week: activists vandalized a few luxury shops on K’damm, and of course, the commentariat delivered again on all sides of the spectrum. Also, BVG has a new type of tram that looks like a car. 😅
9. ✈️ This week I learned that BER Terminals 1 and 2 are connected. You can use any security control to access gates at both terminals.
10. 💬 Briefly: SellerX (Berlin) is rumoured to be in a sale process; HelloFresh and Delivery Hero are, unsurprisingly, growing slower: check their Investor Relations pages for details and take it with a pinch of salt; Bosch plans to purchase TSI Semiconductors' assets for $1.5 billion to enhance its semiconductor business with silicon carbide chips; Finn (Munich) CEO Max-Josef Meier resigned after harassing several female colleagues on a company event.

Week of 8th (May)

1. 🚂 If you have decided to take on €49 ticket, Exberliner prepared a nice list of suggestions for excursions from Berlin. Worth a save!
2. 🤑 Here is a summary of research on money and happiness. I like Nick’s conclusion: Increased income is associated with greater happiness for lower-income individuals. For high-income, unhappy individuals, further income is unlikely to increase happiness. For high-income, happy individuals, while more income could enhance happiness, the effort required may not be worth it.
3. 😔 Bad news: CleverShuttle (Berlin) insolvent; Shopify 20% of employees (most of German org).
4. berlin choice of the week is an interesting Reddit AMA from an U-Bahn driver from a year ago.
5. 💬 Briefly:
6. Getir wants to own them all and is reportedly buying Flink—enjoy it while it lasts;
7. Tier reportedly selling itself;
8. Vice News, a former alter news source loved by millennials and eventually copied by everyone, is in serious trouble;
9. TeamViewer from Ba-Wü posted 13% YoY growth (151M);
10. SAP wants to enter LLMs with an investment into Aleph Alpha—it will surely be expensive;
11. Lilium (Munich) needs/wants to raise €250M;
12. founder of once-hyped Gorillas, Kagan Sümer, is building something new in HealthTech called Mirror (no website yet);
13. his other three colleagues founded meal-as-a-service for restaurants, Tasty Urban.

Week of 15th (May)

1. ✌️ Here is another reminder to check out my article with 40+ questions you can ask at the job interview. Disclosure: not written by ChatGPT!
2. 👻 Like all the startups beyond Series B, Bolt also plans to become profitable soon, specifically in the next 12 months, and then IPO in 2025. They might also do payments? More at Reuters. Meantime, Lyft, another Uber competitor, is firing 1100 employees.
3. ⚡️ Remember all those predictions on the Russian gas and the collapse of Germany? Here is an interesting article about the concept of substitutes in economics (the fallacy: “When the average person thinks about a 40% reduction in natural gas supplies, they implicitly assume that each natural gas-dependent industry must cut its usage by 40%.”), but it is also worth reading the comments for differing opinions (= free markets are BS.)
4. 👀 Besides your burgers and curries, Lieferando started to deliver 100 different MediaMarkt products inside the Berlin ring (useful if you urgently need a phone charger or a phone, lol? and bad for their competitor Arive). Food & high margin product delivery is probably here to stay, but groceries? I think not.
5. 📚Blinkist, a Berlin-based app that always felt like cheating to me, was bought by Go1 from Down Under; nobody asked me for my opinion, but a good time to exit with all the Generative AI knocking on the door! Now I should probably go back to my book.
6. 🌊 Have you ever heard of Seaflooding? Me neither, but it reads like a great idea. Flooding parts of the Sahara to reduce the ocean levels? Plus, make some energy on the way? Let’s do it!
7. 👟 Adidas is stuck with €1B worth of Yeezy sneakers since the man lost his mind, but, amongst other batshit crazy stuff, found a purpose in antisemitism. They plan to sell them gradually and partially donate the proceeds. (€, 🇩🇪) What a problem to have.
8. ⛴️ Exberliner delivers again! Berlin has plenty of ferries; I see myself using some in the summer. This article also made me think I need a “handpicked Berlin bucket list.”
9. 😔 Bad news: nobody is publishing news about layoffs anymore! There are three options: 1) all layoffs are done; 2) all layoffs are silent; 3) nobody is laying off. I vote for 2). Infarm leaving Berlin & Europe; okäse (Köln) insolvent.
10. berlin choice of the week is this DDR map of Berlin from 1988; comments deliver as usual.
11. 💬 Briefly:
12. swedish Northvolt plans to build a battery gigafactory in Schleswig-Holstein (and employ 3k people) with support from the state and Bund - careers;
13. Revolut’s CFO is leaving, which is never a good sign, especially after problems with acquiring a banking licence in the UK. On a more positive note: they will start to sell ETFs via Berlin’s Upvest;
14. Trivago, the troubled aggregator of the aggregators, changed almost their complete board;
15. VW will restructure Cariad, its software arm, replacing its CEO with Peter Bosch (ex-Bentley);
16. Google did not release Bard in the EU because of GDPregulation worries;
17. Unstoppable Finance (Berlin-based crypto play) wants to get a banking license in 2024;
18. Mobileye will do automated assistance and navigate-on-pilot functions for Porsche;
19. FS Italiane ordered 40 locomotives from Siemens worth €300M;
20. Rheinmetall is planning to start production in Ukraine.

Week of 22nd (May)

1. 🚴‍♀️ If you have ever wondered how many bikes pass a certain checkpoint in Berlin, you have your answers here. (via this post on berlin)
2. 👀 I found out about Himmel Unter Berlin, an exclusive invite-only exhibition. I did enter the waitlist, but if I could be your +1, please let me know. 🙏
3. 💸 After eight years of rental price caps, landlords (incl. mine) just seem to love ignoring the rules and ask for too much rent! (🇩🇪) Analysis of 6K cases in 2021 shows that 98% were overcharged. Hah.
4. Bitpanda, an Austrian crypto investing platform, jumped on the AI hype train and will invest $10M in an AI chatbot. Ok.
5. In Saxony, AfD’s Sebastian Wippel brought the topic of chemtrails to the state parliament. What’s next, Flat Earth?
6. Sifted reports that Bolt is close to buying Tier. There are still some micro-mobility companies left, but I am still unsure how such a seasonal business can be profitable long-term. Bolt is betting on many horses, and only time will tell if we will still see so many scooters lying around in 2 years. Related:
7. ☝️I previously recommended Matt Levine and his Money Stuff, and this week he wrote about blitzscaling of Uber being possibly illegal. The VC-subsidised “winner takes all” mentality caused partial destruction of competition and could be considered predatory pricing. Worth a read (second chapter)!
8. 😔 Bad news: nothing to report. So instead, data from last week’s poll: 26% (41) of voters know 10+ people laid off since April 1st, and 38% do not know anyone. The rest (36%) are in-between. Hard to draw conclusions, but clearly, silent layoffs are happening.
9. berlin choice of the week is a flat directory of smaller real estate companies. Good luck if you are on a search now.
10. 💬 Briefly: Tesla will start spending on marketing (inevitable with all the competition); ThyssenKrupp wants to IPO its hydrogen unit Nucera (careers) in June for 4B; Cara Care founder Jesaja Brinkmann ALSO behaved inappropriately towards female colleagues at a party in December and is OUT; Intel also wants to invest in LLM developers Aleph Alpha from Heidelberg; after Mercedes also VWis leaving Russia; DB ordered 73 new ICEs (🇩🇪) for €2B and wants to hire thousands—careers; ATU was hacked (🇩🇪)—I wonder if my car data is LOST or STOLEN.

Week of 29th (May)

1. 📉 Germany is, because of a second negative quarter in a row, officially in a mild recession (GDP fell by 0.3% for the last quarter). Well. On the other hand, some startups (esp. renewables) were hiring extensively last year, as the analysis of Sifted shows. To me, Helsing from the Sifted list sounds promising, but ask them if they have a product already. Careers.
2. 👎 Most of the Google/Amazon/other reviews are useless. First, a lot of them are fake and second; they can be bought, and third, they are skewed because the majority of people never review.Gergely Oroszdid an extensive analysis of Glassdoor reviews after layoffs and I think the whole thing proves the point that looking at them is useless and a waste of time.
3. 💩 OpenAI founder Sam Altman said they might pull ChatGPT out of the EU because of the regulation shortly after he also told US regulators that AI should be regulated. I guess only his regulation is the correct regulation?
4. 🛒 Instead of selling itself to Getir, Flink raised €150M from existing investors (they took a haircut to the highest valuation at €2.5B, now at around €1B). In addition, they are letting 100 employees in HQ go and are pulling out of France after their €100M Cajoo investment (🇩🇪, €). On top, Aldi Süd will experiment with delivery around Mülheim (🇩🇪) this July. Are you bullish or bearish?
5. ☝️Big organisations are often arrogant and inefficient. It recently happened again to Microsoft, as reported in this anecdote where Satya Nadella scolded his R&D team. Another good lesson that the size and throwing money at things often doesn’t work.
6. 😅 One of the weirdest political debates I have seen since in Berlin is around the closing of Friedrichstrasse for traffic. Now it will be open again from the 1st of July. But hey, what is the point of just closing a street without planting trees and making it much more pedestrian-friendly? They did it in many other cities, and it worked. Half-assed attempts make no sense.
7. ✈️ Here is a longer profile in German of Ryanair and its success (🇩🇪) after their annual report. They are profitable, are expanding their fleet and want to hire 10k.
8. 🧨 Before joining N26, you might want to read this great analysis from Miriam at Sifted. Bullish or bearish?
9. 🐟 Here you have an Insta post of some of the best lakes around Berlin, which you should pair with this temperature monitoring when the time comes. From my perspective, the time is not here yet.
10. I tried what3words a couple of times, and I remember thinking, “Wow, what a great idea”, before going back to using Google Maps. This week I learned they burned £119M to generate £2.5M in revenue in the last six years. What a time to be alive. This, kids, is what a vitamin looks like instead of a painkiller.
11. ☄️Great news. There is probably no imminent danger of getting erased by an asteroid: We still have at least 1000 years left on Earth unless we destroy it ourselves first!
12. 😔 Bad news: Circus (Hamburg, 35/25%); Meta 6000 (unknown for Germany); Moss(Berlin, 30), Flink (Berlin, 100).
13. 💡 Speaking of layoffs: I have previously linked to “how to act” guidance, but it was not as good as this LinkedIn post from Mayuri Reddy. Read it and share it.
14. 🇹🇭 I have never been to Thailand or Thai Park yet, and this is changing soon; Exberliner has tips on what to eat in Thai Park. I am going with Pad Thai. See you around!
15. berlin choice of the week is this discussion about Pfandpiraten and how much they can earn. Fascinating! “They estimated that about 928,000 people actively collect Pfand in Germany. Of them, 56% make less than 4€ a day. Of them, 28% collect enough that it is their primary income.”
16. 💬 Briefly: Solaris Bank is raising fresh money (€50M); Klarna moved its goal to reach profitability this summer to “this year” and is reportedly “on track”; Flix is expanding like there is no tomorrow: India will be its 42nd market; Neeva, a Google search ads-free alternative full of ex-Google execs, is no more; Meta was fined a record €1.2B for illegal data transfers from the EU to the US beating the previous record of €746M by Amazon.

-------- You can get these weekly. Thanks for reading and feedback.

https://apnews.com/article/religious-charter-school-oklahoma-be6e51ffcdaeb393c4be34a6f27feba4
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A state school board in Oklahoma voted Monday to approve what would be the first publicly funded religious school in the nation, despite a warning from the state’s attorney general that the decision was unconstitutional.
The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 to approve the application by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma to establish the St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School. The online public charter school would be open to students across the state in kindergarten through grade 12.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond had warned the board that such a decision clearly violated the Oklahoma Constitution.
“The approval of any publicly funded religious school is contrary to Oklahoma law and not in the best interest of taxpayers,” Drummond said in a statement shortly after the board’s vote. “It’s extremely disappointing that board members violated their oath in order to fund religious schools with our tax dollars. In doing so, these members have exposed themselves and the state to potential legal action that could be costly.”
The Archdiocese of Oklahoma said in the “vision and purpose of the organization” section of its application that: “The Catholic school participates in the evangelizing mission of the Church and is the privileged environment in which Christian education is carried out.”
Brett Farley, the executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, said: “We are elated that the board agreed with our argument and application for the nation’s first religious charter school.”
Americans United for Separation of Church and State denounced the board’s approval.
“It’s hard to think of a clearer violation of the religious freedom of Oklahoma taxpayers and public-school families than the state establishing the nation’s first religious public charter school,” the group’s president and CEO Rachel Laser said in a statement. “This is a sea change for American democracy. Americans United will work with our Oklahoma and national partners to take all possible legal action to fight this decision and defend the separation of church and state that’s promised in both the Oklahoma and U.S. Constitutions.”
Oklahoma’s Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, who earlier this year signed a bill that would give parents in the state a tax incentive to send their children to private schools, including religious schools, praised the board’s vote.
“This is a win for religious liberty and education freedom in our great state, and I am encouraged by these efforts to give parents more options when it comes to their child’s education,” Stitt said in a statement.

Part 1
Context: You think you had a life before, but you simply can't remember. You remember screaming in pain, pleading for a name that you can't remember before it all went dark. Now, you are back in the land of the living, your memories gone and the name you may have been praying to... is the Dark Prince himself. Half-demon, half-Fae, he is a legend not to be trifled with. And yet... you appear to have once been the person that mattered most to him. His beloved.
Setting: The Necromancer's Tower
Tags:[MM4A][Widows to Lovers?][Necromantic Wizard Speaker][Yandere Dark Prince Speaker][Resurrected Listener][Childhood Friends/Rivals][Protective][Reunited][Spicy][Reverse Comfort][Comedy][Flustered][Family Drama][Amnesia][Fantasy][Necromancy][Vulnerable for Listener][CW: Mentions of MurdeAngst]
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[W] = Edvin, the hapless wizard/necromancer
[E] = Elwyss, the Dark Prince
[Scene opens in the necromancer’s tower]
[SFX: Fire crackling]
[You are meant to be resting while the wizard potters around downstairs, but it’s difficult. Instead, you creep closer enough to listen in on his incantations]
[W] “Let’s see… Memory spells, memory spells… Damnit, it is not lost on me that I cannot recall where I put the book, now stop mocking me, UNDEAD!”
[SFX: A ghostly giggle]
[W] “Listen here, if I don’t find a way to help them, the Dark Prince is going to march into the afterlife and pull his blade on you lot. Do you want that? Cause it seems like it’d be pretty embarrassing to get killed in this life and then have the same man come to do it again!”
[Pause…]
[There is a suspicious lack of giggling this time]
[W] “Mmhm, that’s what I thought. Do you have any idea how terrifying it is to have the man storm into your safe space?!”
[SFX: The door slamming open]
[E] “Edvin!”
[W] “GODS NO-! U-Uh… I mean, my Prince!”
[The wizard bows quickly, flustered]
[Pause]
[E] “Edvin, what I am about to ask you must be kept in the utmost confidence!”
[W] “Oh, do you need more of that creme? I told you, trying to fight giant scorpion women is a bad idea. The moment they realize you’re male, you know those stingers are-!”
[E] “Edvin!”
[W] “S-Sorry, my Prince. How can I assist?”
[The Dark Prince paces for a moment before he heaves a sigh:]
[E] “I… need your advice on romancing my love once more…”
[W] “...Oh. Oh!”
[SFX: The door slamming shut]
[E] “Shh! You must never speak of this.”
[W] “Yes, sire! Of course, sire!”
[The wizard stands posted, looking as though he’d rather be anywhere else]
[E] “What to do, what to do… I’ve never had to… to ‘romance’ them…”
[W] “Really?”
[The Dark Prince shoots him a look and the wizard quiets]
[W] “A-Apologies, sire. That wasn’t meant to be sarcastic… How was it you found a relationship with them in the first place?”
[Elwyss throws his hands up in frustration]
[E] “We did what we’d done since we were children - fought! All the damned time! Violently! And then that normally turned into kisses which normally led to the bedroom and then we’d be mushy in private for a few fours and then go fight other things besides each other!”
[W] “Erm-”.
[E] “I’m half-Fae and half-demon, Edvin! I am in a constant state of needing to pick a fight and/or cause havoc! But… They fear me, now… If I swagger up to them without a shirt, roll my shoulders, and ask to fight, they simply flinch now…”
[Pause…]
[He paces across the stone, arms folded behind him]
[E] “...They were always gentle if you could get them alone… If you could earn their trust. I was always the most fearful of upsetting that part of them. Edvin, you’ve wooed a partner or two, please… If you have perspective, it’d be most appreciated.”
[The wizard sighs and strokes his beard]
[W] “...I suppose I was rather the catch, in my youth. Quite frankly, your highness, being earnest is your best bet. They only know you for your legacy and, ahm, deeds…”
[E, groaning] “Those are things I’d hope to introduce last… How does one woo a partner with my legacy? “Oh, don’t mind me, I just conquered a continent, brought seven kings to their knees, slayed a fleet of dragons, and stole a Dullahan’s steed, naming it Goliath just to spite the mouthy Dullahan I slayed! And that was just the last two years! Want to kiss me, now?!”.”
[W] “Buuut… maybe they’re into that?”
[E] “...What.”
[Pause…?]
[Wait, are you into that???]
[W] “Hear me out! You have legions of men, and women, all outside and in between, and monsters that would throw themselves into your arms-”.
[E, bemused] “I do???”
[W] “Without question! Has your elder brother never shown you the letter room?”
[E] “The what???”
[SFX: The wizard walking and opening a heavy dooa LOT of paper rustling]
[Pause…]
[E] “Dear Lord! Why are all of them coated in lipstick? That can’t be good for the parchment, certainly?”
[The wizard retrieves a letter at random and opens it]
[W] “Let’s see…”
[SFX: The letter being opened]
[W] “Ahem… “O’, Dark Prince. You are in my dreams every night, looming over my bed with a malevolent smirk, flexing those subtle muscles, and demanding I strip”.”
[E, flustered] “I most certainly am not!”
[W] ““I pray that you will allow me to carry your offspring-””.
[Pause]
[E] “STOP! STOP AT ONCE! Gods above, that woman is going to get herself killed thinking like that! What if a werewolf is looming over their bed?”
[The wizard squints at the paper for a moment]
[W] “Well, I imagine he’d be into that. His name is Steve, apparently.”
[E] “I’m sorry, but he mentioned ‘offspring’. How would…?”
[W] “Well, the spell is rather simple if you-”.
[Elwyss holds up a desperate hand and the wizard pauses]
[E] “...Stop! I… I don’t think I want to know. Now.”
[W] “I’ll bookmark it for your reading later, sire… But, if you found each other over the years through combat, how was it you found each other when they were in their calmer, more vulnerable state?”
[The Prince pauses with a sigh]
[E] “...I… spoke with them freely. I trusted them with my most vulnerable secrets, things I had never told anyone else. I expected them to mock me for my weakness, but… they simply smiled and told me they were glad we were friends…Glad that I would be their husband…”
[His voice catches and, for half a second, you think he’s about to weep. He seems to choke it back, however]
[E] “...I told them of my brother’s disdain for me…and mine for him. Riess, the half-angel and half-Fae prince. Angelic, beloved, and betrothed to my love’s older sister, Maeve. His mother was always treated better than my own… Rest her soul.”
[Pause…]
[W, surprised] “I… I’m so sorry, highness… I didn’t realize things were so sour between the two of you. I knew things were tense, especially given what happened to your fiance…”
[Pause…]
[E, bitter] “Neither of them have even come rushing to visit, despite them being with us once more… Riess knows he can’t take me in battle, and it infuriates him and Father both. I can only imagine that is where the muddled waters of my family tree’s hatred comes from. Like always, it is just us here to pick up the pieces… except, now, I am alone without their guidance…”
[W, concerned] “...My Prince, you… You look like you’re having trouble breathing…”
[E, voice small] “I am alone…”
[...]
[SFX: The Listener walking forward]
[Both men jump as you present yourself]
[W] “GAH! How are you so sneaky?!”
[E] “M-My love! I… We didn’t expect you to join us…”
[Pause…]
[W] “...You were listening the whole time, weren’t you?”
[E] “...No.”
[Pause.]
[E, with a facepalm] “Nooo….”
[W] “Beans.”
[Pause?]
[The Prince tenses as you approach him and offer your hand]
[E] “...You… offer your hand?”
[Pause?]
[He laughs sheepishly and takes your hand gently]
[E] “Perhaps I should be asking you what you want, hm? You know, when you phrase it like that, it seems so simple…”
[W] “Certainly more simple than hedging bets on them loving danger. I, uh… I’ll go ahead and close off the letter room. Some of the letters in there are so degenerate that I think it’d make even you blush, my Prince.”
[Pause?]
[E & W, in sync] “No you cannot read the letters.”
[Pause!]
[Elwyss chuckles a little]
[E] “They have us there, Edvin. They are royalty, too.”
[E, with a sigh] “...Fine. If you two want to make a night of it, I’ll have supper sent up with some wine. I am NOT responsible for any disturbing nightmares you get as a result, however.”
[SFX: Edvin hurrying off/the door opening and closing]
[...Pause]
[E] “...He did just set us up on a date and then scurry off like a scared mouse, yes.”
[...Pause]
[E, a bit happy] “I like him, too. He’s always been silly… but I have to scare him a little. If I don’t, he thinks it’s OK to secretly make my horns glitter when he thinks I don’t notice. Or he turns the tufts of my ears pink…”
[Pause?]
[E] “Yes, he did it before I went to face King Aramis. Not going to lie, running an immortal Lich through and having his dying words being “Pfft, nice ears” has pissed me off for five years straight now.”
[Pause]
[The Prince shoots you a look but it’s less frightening this time. More like having a very, very scary friend]
[Pause]
[E] “If I do end up in Hell, I’m going to find him, run him through again, and shout, “PFFT NICE EXPOSED RIBCAGE!”. Asshole.”
[Pause <3]
[He chuckles again, eyes warm]
[E] “...No, I can’t say I’m in a hurry to get there. To be honest, right now, I’d give anything just to stay in this moment… Just so I could cherish you again. But… a night you’ll give me freely is more than enough.”
[He glances toward the mountain of letters with an exasperated sigh]
[E] “...even if it is going to involve me being humiliated to Hell and back.”
[Pause]
[SFX: The fire crackling and paper rustling as the scene fades out]
[To be continued]

https://fortune.com/2023/06/05/alt-right-economy-is-failing-real-performance-of-anti-woke-entrepreneurs-business-politics-sonnenfeld/
In commenting on Bob Iger’s defense of Disney’s values and brand in the face of threats from Florida Governor DeSantis, Nike CEO John Donahoe said, “I think Bob’s doing a great job at this. If it’s core to who you are and your values, then you stand up for your values.”
That spirit has been rewarded by the free market. Across many fronts, we have shown in quantitative analysis of business performance that doing good for society is not at the expense of doing well for shareholders, with clear examples ranging from Russian business exits to public engagement on voting rights.
Yet still, grandstanding political ideologues are using opportunistic attacks on iconic U.S. enterprises to showcase their own nascent anti-ESG businesses, and reportedly build a “parallel economy” catering to conservative constituencies. But far from flourishing, an objective review of the facts suggests these anti-wokester jokesters are financially foundering.
One little-known index fund provider, the American Conservative Values ETF (ACVF), recently received a flurry of media attention for boycotting Target over what they described as its “pandering to the woke agenda,” confidently declaring that their boycott of Target will ensure “Target stock’s long-term performance will suffer.”
Target stock is down, but in reality, the fund’s total holdings of Target amount to just $100,000–equivalent to the revenue that Target nets every 20 seconds. In fact, ACVF’s total assets under management are a rather measly $40 million–and many of their other “boycotted” companies–including iconic All-American enterprises such as Apple, Microsoft, Delta Airlines, American Airlines, Disney, Walmart, Coca-Cola, Salesforce, and JPMorgan–have performed quite well since being targeted by ACVF. Delta is up 10% this year, American is up 15% this year, Microsoft and Apple are both up over 40% this year and Salesforce is up 60%. Thanks in part to missing out on these top-performing stocks, ACVF is underperforming the S&P 500 by over 2% this year through June 1. No wonder even politically conservative investors stay away from these anti-woke ETFs.
ACVF’s struggles rather pale in comparison to those of its much larger and better-known rival, presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s Strive Asset Management. We have contacted both firms about our findings by phone and email, but their representatives directed us to figures published on their respective websites, which we checked–and double-checked.
The business models of both Strive and ACVF are similar: They construct exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, for mom-and-pop retail investors to passively track a basket of stocks, matching rather than trying to beat the broader market. Unlike hedge funds, these ETF providers do not care if the stocks go up, down, or sideways–rather, they get their money from fees charged on anyone who has their money in a Strive ETF. Most ETFs are very low-fee products–but the anti-woke ETFs come at a premium. BlackRock ETFs, for example, usually charge around 0.03% fees. Strive’s fees are comparatively higher at up to 0.41%–but nothing compared to ACVF’s 0.75% fee.
To survive over the long run, these nascent ETF providers need to continually attract new money from mom-and-pop investors. And that is exactly what it appears they are struggling to do. All the evidence, out in the open, shows that Strive has had a hard time attracting additional investor inflows beyond its original anchor investors after the launch of its ETFs last year. Its assets under management appear to have stagnated despite Ramaswamy’s loud media presence.
For example, its largest flagship ETF, the Strive US Energy ETF (DRLL), has almost exactly the same amount of assets under management (AUM) as of June 1, $320 million, that it did when it was launched in August/September 2022, and its AUM is down nearly 25% from the start of this year.
Fully half of Strive’s eight current ETF products–including the Strive 1000 Growth ETF, the Strive 1000 Value ETF, the Strive 1000 Dividend Growth ETF, and the Strive Small-Cap ETF–have less than $12 million assets under management each, which is microscopic relative to the industry standard–and less than the average compensation of a single major CEO at most companies.
Thus it is hardly surprising that some of the most admired CEOs are flippantly swatting away Strive’s attempts at “activism.” Ramaswamy has become the court jester of corporate governance. The mere mention of his name brings anything from smirks to outright gales of laughter amongst some corporate audiences.
One hopes that Strive is not on a path to fail as badly as some of Ramaswamy’s previous ventures, such as Axovant, a Ramaswamy-founded company whose stock price plunged from $200 to 40 cents, or Campus Venture Networks, Ramaswamy’s much-hyped undergraduate startup which, despite his self-aggrandizement, he apparently sold for just a few thousand dollars, if his tax returns are correct. Even one of Strive’s biggest financial backers, Bill Ackman, is apparently embarrassed and rushing to disavow Ramaswamy. Meanwhile, Strive is reduced to seeking “consulting contract” handouts from friendly politicos. Perhaps this helps explain why Ramaswamy is running his longshot Presidential campaign: Nothing turns around sagging business fortunes quite like a new burst of free publicity!
It is not only in high finance that these “parallel economy” startups are flailing. Attempts to build a new alt-right media ecosystem are similarly landing with a thud.
Perhaps most infamously, Donald Trump’s much-hyped Truth Social alt-platform has imploded in value, with its SPAC packaging (ticker DWAC) shares falling from $95 to $13 even as the former president flails away on this otherwise quiet platform. Alt-right social media rivals such as Gab and GabPay are struggling to gain traction, begging for donations through crowdsourced funding, while provocateur Alex Jones and his Infowars declared bankruptcy after a record $1 billion verdict for the Sandy Hook families. More prominently, One America News has now been dropped by every major cable operator, partially driven by low audiences, while its behemoth rival Fox’s struggles are just beginning after the record $787.5 million Dominion settlement–with its board reportedly becoming weary of deviating too far from the mainstream.
Efforts to expand the alt-right parallel economy across digital services and even physical goods are running straight into the ground as well. Virtually all major retailers from Bed Bath & Beyond to Walmart to Kohl’s to Costco have cut ties with Mike Lindell’s MyPillow, which just months ago closed its last in-person retail mall store while losing $100 million, according to Lindell himself. Former Trump personnel director Johnny McEntee’s project–an alt-right dating site, “The Right Stuff”–has been lambasted even by its core constituency, with its mostly men frustrated by the lack of women users, and its seed funding from Peter Thiel is reportedly scheduled to run out in the next few months.
To a hammer, everything looks like a nail; and the exertions of some anti-woke activists in extrapolating politicized rhetoric into the economy can stretch into caricature. Strangely, the struggles of the nation’s regional banks, such as SVB, Signature, and First Republic, were superstitiously blamed on “wokeism” and the facts–that these less diversified banks were unprepared for the Fed’s interest rate hikes and that larger, equally “woke” banks were better insulated from these interest rate swings–were ignored. This month, even the conservative New York Post was bewildered by the sudden ire this month of anti-wokesters targeting the privately owned, very spiritual, Christian values-guided restaurant chain Chick-fil-A because, years ago, they promoted a longstanding internal HR executive to oversee diversity and equal opportunity.
Despite positioning themselves as reverent guardians of free markets against government and social overreach, many anti-wokester jokesters seem to have forgotten the most basic requirement of capitalism: to make a profit. Ironically, the free market delivers the most condemning verdict of all. The favorite “woke” targets of anti-ESG activists continue to soar to record economic heights, effortlessly shrugging off anti-woke attacks.
Clearly, despite all the hype and drama, there is little financial threat to mainstream business posed by the anti-woke economy. It’s not a genuine parallel economy–these are scattered cases of ideological grifters and struggling entrepreneurs. Their real talent seems to lie in fast-talking media platforms into giving them an undeserved platform to unfairly target iconic pillars of U.S. enterprise. But as these anti-wokester jokesters struggle to gain financial traction, the numbers will continue to disprove their claims.

Motion Pictures! Here are options for downloading or watching The Little Mermaid streaming the full movie online for free on 123movies & Reddit, including where to watch Disney's latest live-action adaptation movies at home. Is The Little Mermaid 2023 available to stream? Is watching The Little Mermaid on Peacock, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Netflix or Amazon Prime? Yes, we have found an authentic streaming option/service.
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It's time to dive under the sea once again. Over the last few years, Disney has recreated their top animated musical films into live-action movies. The Little Mermaid is no different, and viewers can't wait to swim into theaters to catch a glimpse of how the movie will stand up against the original version.
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The latest of Disney's hugely successful line of live-action remakes, Ariel (Halle Bailey) is set to return to theaters for the first time in almost thirty-five years with The Little Mermaid (2023). The Walt Disney Company once again invites audiences to travel under the sea to see Princess Ariel's story unfold like never before. Featuring direction from veteran musical filmmaker Rob Marshall and other roles inhabited by major Hollywood stars like Melissa McCarthy as Ursula the Sea Witch and Javier Bardem as King Triton, the film is bound to be a bona fide hit at the box office.
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Though the upcoming and highly anticipated film will have stiff competition against two stand-up comedians on the weekend it releases, The Little Mermaid is destined to show that life is better down where it's wetter under the sea this Summer movie season. The 2023 live-action movie will only be available in theaters starting May 26. That means if you want to watch it ASAP.
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However, it will be available to stream on the Disney+ platform soon. Disney+ typically follows a 90-day period before its theatrical releases come to the streaming platform. That means we may see the live-action version of "The Little Mermaid" come to Disney+ as early as August 2023.
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Before we ask if you're interested in seeing this, we know you are. But like us, you're probably wondering how to watch and stream The Little Mermaid online. Luckily, we have some clues and it's likely to land on a major streaming site very soon. So climb aboard, because here's where to watch and stream The Little Mermaid online.
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What Is the Release Date for The Little Mermaid?
Ariel's quest to go from a mermaid into a human begins anew when The Little Mermaid premieres this Memorial Day Weekend on Friday, May 26th, 2023. The film will be going up against not one, but two stand-up comedians and their films that weekend, with Sebastian Maniscalco's About My Father and Bert Kreischer's The Machine premiering on the same day. That said, The Little Mermaid will almost certainly be the choice for younger audiences and families.
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While some Disney films are heading straight to Disney+, The Little Mermaid will first be shown exclusively in theaters.
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Where To Watch The Little Mermaid Online:
As of now, the only way to watch The Little Mermaid is to head out to a movie theater when it premieres on May 26, 2023. You can find a local showing on Fandango.
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Watch Now: The Little Mermaid (2023) Movie Online Free
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Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait for it to become available to rent or purchase on digital platforms like Amazon, Vudu, YouTube or Apple, or become available to stream on Disney+.
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How to Watch The Little Mermaid
At the moment, you can watch The Little Mermaid at your local theater. But like most movies these days, it should hit a streaming website in the near future.
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Like its predecessor, The Little Mermaid is a flick produced by multimedia conglomerate Disney. What's more, the production studio owns a number of other famous franchises, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars. Titles made under these umbrellas have both hit Disney+ sometime after arriving at the box office. Fans may also know the original Little Mermaid is currently available to stream on the site as well. So, if the 2023 version follows the same pattern, folks will likely get to see The Little Mermaid on Disney+ later this year too.
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As for an exact release date for The Little Mermaid, that's more complicated. Most movies produced by Disney often go to its streamer site within three months after debuting in theaters, like the most recent Marvel film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. If this is the case for The Little Mermaid, it will probably drop in late August 2023 or sometime near Labor Day in early September.
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When the time comes for The Little Mermaid to splash onto Disney+ though, make sure you're all prepared to watch it. If you don't have access yet, you can opt into a 30-day free trial before choosing a plan that start at $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year. After your account is all set, click on the title page on Disney+'s official website or the Disney+ app.
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As you wait for The Little Mermaid to hit the streamer, why don't you watch the animated version and its sequel The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea? Or if you want to immerse yourself in another live-action version, click on the 2019 ABC TV special The Little Mermaid Live!. Enjoy!
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Is The Little Mermaid Streaming or in Theaters?
Unlike several of Disney's other live-action remakes such as Pinocchio and Peter Pan & Wendy, The Little Mermaid will be exclusively in movie theaters first with tickets available for pre-sale now.
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After The Little Mermaid has completed its exclusive theatrical run, the film will be released on the Disney+ streaming service. Based on Disney's past release models, the film won't be made available to stream before 45 to 90 days after its theatrical release.
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How can I watch The Little Mermaid at home?
Now that movie theaters seem to be back, The Little Mermaid live-action film will be an in-theater release first before being released to at-home video. That means that your only chance to watch it right now is by going to your local theater.
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However, don't lose all hope. Since it's a Disney movie, it will eventually make its way over to Disney+ after a few months on the big screen. It will also be available on other streamers like Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, Google Play, and more to rent and own at your leisure.
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If you're hoping to get your mermaid kick in now, then you can tune into the original The Little Mermaid which is available on Disney+ and other streaming services including Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, and the Google Play store.
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Will The Little Mermaid Be Streaming On Disney+?
The 2023 version of The Little Mermaid will only be in theaters initially. After The Little Mermaid has completed its exclusive theatrical run, it is likely to stream on Disney Plus. You can also watch the animated version of Hans Christian Andersen's 1837 fairy tale of Ariel on Disney Plus now.
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While you will only be able to catch the new "The Little Mermaid" in theaters starting next Friday, you can still sign up for Disney+ now to refresh yourself on the characters, song, plot and magical fun from the highly anticipated film. The 1989 version of the movie was a catalyst for Disney's animation renaissance throughout the '90s and it still holds up today.
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An ad-supported Disney+ subscription starts at $8 per month, but you can get an ad-free access to the service for $11 monthly or bundle the Disney streaming service with Hulu and ESPN+ starting at $13 per month. Disney+ boasts a huge collection of movies and television series, including Marvel and Star Wars content. If you add in Hulu and ESPN, you have nearly unlimited entertainment at your fingertips.
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When will The Little Mermaid be streaming on Disney+?
The Little Mermaid Disney+ premiere date is tentatively estimated to be Aug. 30, 2023.
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While no official Little Mermaid streaming date has been confirmed by Disney, most of its major movie releases drop on Disney+ following a minimum 90-day period, and typically premiere on the platform on Wednesdays, making Wednesday, Aug. 30 the most likely date for Disney’s The Little Mermaid live-action streaming release.
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Is The Little Mermaid streaming on Netflix?
No, The Little Mermaid will not be on Netflix — at least not any time soon. In the meantime, you’ll just have to head out to a movie theater or wait for it to become available to stream on Disney+.
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Will The Little Mermaid Be On HBO Max?
No, The Little Mermaid will not be on HBO Max since it’s not a Universal Pictures movie. Last year, the company released its films in theaters and on the streamer on the same day. However, they now allow a 45-day window between the theatrical release and the streaming release.
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Is The Little Mermaid Available On Hulu?
Viewers are saying that they want to view the new animation movie The Little Mermaid on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free episodes of this series streaming at this time. It will be exclusive to the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service.
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How to Watch The Little Mermaid Online For Free?
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There are a few ways to watch The Little Mermaid online in the U.S. You can use a streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. You can also rent or buy the movie on iTunes or Google Play. You can also watch it on-demand or on a streaming app available on your TV or streaming device if you have cable.
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The Little Mermaid Cast and Characters
The Little Mermaid was written by David Magee and directed by Rob Marshall. It stars the following actors:
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Halle Bailey as Ariel
Melissa McCarthy as Ursula
Javier Bardem as King Triton
Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina
Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric
Daveed Diggs as Sebastian
Awkwafina as Scuttle
Jacob Tremblay as Flounder
Art Malik as Sir Grimsby
What is The Little Mermaid About?
The official synopsis for The Little Mermaid by Walt Disney Studios read:
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“The Little Mermaid” is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. The youngest of King Triton’s daughters and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.
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There is not much mystery in The Little Mermaid's plot. As seen in Disney's many other live-action remakes, it is anticipated that the film's plot will largely stick to the original. With the well-known song "Part of Your World," in which Ariel sings about her wish to be a part of the world beyond the water, i.e., the human realm, the teaser already alluded to Ariel's fascination with the human world. Fans will get to see Ariel and Prince Eric's romance as they deal with the challenges posed by their differences.
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I'm looking for an early dinner spot on Saturday that will wow the out-of-towners visiting me for a bachelorette party.
Looking for sexy, fun, and great food. Our reservation will be quite early (5:30). Preferably downtown, in the plateau, old mtl, or the village because we will be on our way to the village for strippers lol.
I know many great restaurants but they are either too family-oriented or too west in the city. Really looking for a wow factor. I booked fishbone for the other night because I like their music and their food is decent. So, no sushi! Also no damas, bar george, les enfants terribles, or modavie.
Also, feel free to recommend anything else fun for bachelorettes! Especially dance clubs.
merci à l'avance!

A few months ago, my mom was traveling with my aunt and cousins to a therapy appointment (my older cousin had major depressive disorder) when a truck crashed into their vehicle at high speed. My cousins (11 and 21 years old) passed away, my aunt was left paralyzed, and my mom suffered multiple fractures that resulted in the loss of mobility in one of her legs, as well as lung punctures that make it difficult for her to breathe.
Here is a link to the news article (Is in Spanish, we are from Uruguay, South America).
The tragedy has shattered our family, which is small, and even more so now that we have lost two girls. My father had to request a medical leave to take care of mom since she can't take care of herself, and I had to do the same to assist, as well as my uncle, to help his wife. Adding to that, they lost their only two daughters, which further complicates things.
My dad works as an administrative employee, and they are deducting 30% of his salary due to the leave he took. I had to resign from my job to come and help with mom's care since at the time of the accident, I was living in another city, studying and working.
Our expenses multiplied as mom and my aunt need special care. Nurses come every day to clean and administer medication, physiotherapists come to help them regain mobility, psychiatrists and psychologists assist us in coping with grief and adjusting to our new routine. We had to buy special beds, rent wheelchairs, remodel the bathrooms, and we don't have enough to pay for all the necessary care, so we have to provide it ourselves.
It sounds unbelievable, but in addition, my mom had a surgery to remove a tumor in one of her breasts just a few months before the accident. She was in the process of recovering from her first chemotherapy session, which she will need to continue once she recovers from the accident. However, she needs to regain strength because the chemotherapy drugs are too intense for her weakened state.
I don't want to elaborate much further... I just want to appeal to your solidarity and ask for a donation, even if it's minimal. It can help us make a difference and navigate through this tragedy in a less painful way.
Here is a link to a PayPal account for those who would like to contribute. Thank you, and may God, the Universe, or whatever you believe in, bring you peace and well-being for you and your family.

PAYPAL

I’ve been dating my bf for 2 years. We moved in together a few months ago. For my birthday last year he got me perfume, my favourite chocolates and my favourite takeaway.
For his birthday a few months ago I got him a Nike hoodie and socks, his favourite chocolate, take away and a zippo lighter with his name engraved on it.
I just bought my first car. I called my car the road runner as a joke (if u don’t know it’s an old cartoon) and bought an air freshener for the car with the road runner on it and it’s old fashioned looking and I told him I got it and how funny it was to me and that I loved it.
My bf smokes and I told him if my car ends up smelling like cigarettes he won’t be allowed use it, I’ll take him off the insurance and he has to pay to get it cleaned. As a joke for my 21st he got me an air freshener (the ones that are shaped like trees) for the car and said it was because I said the thing about the car smelling like cigarettes. I thought it was kinda funny, it made me smile a bit but that’s all he got me.
I’m a bit disappointed cuz I don’t expect much like jewellery or a fancy restaurant. I’d be so happy with just flowers or a pair of fluffy socks, it’s not hard to make me happy (which I have told him before).
I feel bad for not liking the present and don’t want to say anything to him but I feel like I was let down a bit on a big birthday like if a friend bought me that I’d be happy as I don’t expect gifts from my friends at this age but from my bf. I kinda feel like he only bought so he could smoke in the car without me giving out to him.
It’s not the price that bothers me it’s the lack of thought. And I don’t know if I should say something or not cuz I can’t pick my present and I don’t want to be ungrateful.

My girlfriend (27f) and I (31m) are currently living in the panhandle of Florida and have had a rough couple of years, mostly because we hate it here. Luckily we have the opportunity to move in September, so we have decided to jump on the opportunity. We both will be working from home so we can move anywhere. Anyone who is willing to give us advice would be greatly appreciated!
We have only ever lived in Texas and Florida, but we aren’t opposed to trying somewhere with cold winters. We are nature lovers, in Texas we loved living in the Texas hill country with all of the hiking trails and swimming in the rivers. In Florida, we love the ocean, but unfortunately there are just too many negatives to living here. We have lived in both big cities as well as rural areas. At this point in our lives the big cities are too overwhelming for us, so we would prefer more of a small town/community type of living if possible.
Here are the main things we hate about Florida, to understand what we would like to avoid in the future. The tourism is too much, the people are extremely political, and trash is everywhere. Living here through covid was rough, as we were constantly harassed for simple things like wearing masks. Although covid is long behind us now, it left a very bad taste in our mouths, and we still just don’t get along with most people we meet here. Not to mention the nature other than the ocean is very swampy. We’ve gotten to the point that we don’t even go outside much anymore because it’s just not worth the hassle of battling the crowds of tourists or dealing with some of the local people. We used to be super adventurous and were always out and about before we moved here.
I’d also like to elaborate a little on the trash issue. I unfortunately suffer from pretty bad OCD and I’m a bit of a germ-a-phobe. It was never really an issue until we move here, but now it seriously weighing on me. We have found that the amount of litter on the ground in this area of Florida is insane, and seems to be getting worse every year. It covers our beaches, the sides of our roads, our parking lots, even trails in the woods. Some of it is really gross types of trash too, since we moved here there have been 2 incidents where my girlfriend or I accidentally stepped on a used condom, once at the beach and once in a shopping center parking lot. That’s when it really got to me, and now I feel like I can’t even enjoy the outdoors because I’m constantly staring at the ground.
We thought about moving back to Texas where we were happy before. We took a trip there, and found that a ton of people moved there the last few years. In some ways it seemed very different than when we left. We decided that trying something new sounds a lot more exciting.
We have currently been considering trying Colorado because of the beautiful nature and abundance of outdoor activities in the mountains. My girlfriend had family there growing up, and we’ve also been on a trip there so we have some familiarity with it. However, we aren’t sure exactly where in Colorado we should move. If anyone knows of somewhere in Colorado that is outside of the big cities, near or in the mountains, and clean please let us know. Also if anyone could weigh in on the litter situation in different areas of Colorado that would be great (both in the towns/cities and out on the trails).
We are also open to other states as well, most importantly just somewhere clean and surrounded by nature.
Any advice is appreciated! I think moving would be the biggest first step in getting our lives back on track.