LIFESTYLES OF THE ADMISSIONS PROFESSIONAL
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Rhodora O's Infographic Survey P.30
Virtual Reality of Values
Rubina Feroz's Insight P. 102
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-Viktor Troth
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Disclaimer: PUBLISHER Thomas Schenck, President Dartmouth Associates EDITOR Rhodora O COVER & CREATIVE DIRECTION Hagan Schenck ART DIRECTION Rhodora O TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Inam ul Haq APPROACH US: Website: www.dartmouthassociates.com LinkedIn: DartmouthAssociates CONTRIBUTE/ COLLABORATE: rhodora.jabs@yahoo.com ADVERTISE: dartmouthassociates@gmail.com SUBSCRIBE: rormagazine.com THE ROR PHILOSOPHY: Interventional Playbook ROR Podcast
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S uccess
Meet the Team Meet the Team Founder/CEO/President/Publisher Founder/CEO/President/Publisher Founder/CEO/President/Publisher Dartmouth Associates and ROR Magazine, Dartmouth Associates and ROR Dartmouth Associates andMagazine, ROR Magazine, A Division of Schenck Enterprises Corporation of Schenck Enterprises Corporation A DivisionAofDivision Schenck Enterprises Corporation
Tom founded Schenck Enterprises Corporation 2020 and creTom founded Schenck Enterprises Corporation in 2020in and created Tom founded Schenck Enterprises Corporation in 2020 and created ated Dartmouth Associates as a global consulting, training Dartmouth Associates as a global consulting, training andand Dartmouth Associates as independent a global consulting, training and promotional company empowers schools promotional company thatthat empowers independent schools andand promotional company empowers independent colleges. Other than issuing the RORthat Magazine, the first of its kind schools and colleges. Other than issuing the ROR Magazine, the first of its kind colleges. Other than issuing the ROR Magazine, the first of its kind lifestyle publication for Admissions Professionals, there are plenty lifestyle publication for Admissions Professionals, there are plenty lifestyle offerings publication for company. Admissions Professionals, there are plenty of well-established by the Our flagship product of well-established offerings by the company. Our flagship well-established offerings by the company. is ROR, TheofResults Oriented Recruiting System™, the world’s firstOur flagship product is ROR, The Results Oriented Recruiting System™, the sales Training Curriculum curated exclusively for Admission Proproduct is ROR, The Results Oriented Recruiting System™, the world’s first sales Training Curriculum curated exclusively for fessionals. world’s We also develop national technology summits and profirst sales Training Curriculum curated exclusively for Admission Professionals. We also develop national technology motional podcasts, giving key admissions leadersdevelop precious national airtime. technology Admission Professionals. summits and promotional podcasts, givingWe key also admissions leaders Additionally, Tom has pioneered the concept of “Dynamic summits and promotional podcasts, giving key Brand admissions leaders precious airtime. Additionally, Tom has pioneered the concept of Enthusiasm” that introduces best-in class vendors to schools and airtime. Tom has pioneered “Dynamic Brandprecious Enthusiasm” thatAdditionally, introduces best-in class vendors the concept of colleges. “Dynamic Brand Enthusiasm” that introduces best-in class vendors to schools and colleges. For 25 years, previously, to schools and Thomas colleges.held leadership positions such as years, Head of School, and Director ofleadership Admissions, Development, For 25 previously, Thomas held positions such asand For 25 years, previously, Thomas held leadership such as Placement. He was a also founding trustee for Sisu Academy, a Head of School, and Director of Admissions, Development, andpositions tuition-free school that promoted entrepreneurship to underprivSchool, and trustee Director Admissions, Development, and Placement. He Head was aofalso founding forofSisu Academy, a ileged students. He that established Villain Marketing helping Placement. He was a alsoCrusher founding trustee for tuition-free school promoted entrepreneurship toSisu Academy, a early-stage entrepreneurs find venture capital. While providing his school that entrepreneurship to underprivilegedtuition-free students. He established Villainpromoted Crusher Marketing various services, Thomas attained Presidents Club status and the underprivileged students. He established Villain Crusher Marketing helping early-stage entrepreneurs find venture capital. While top 1%his national sales position for entrepreneurs Yellow BookPresidents Media. He Club holds capital. a helping early-stage find venture While providing various services, Thomas attained bachelor’s degree in Political Science from San Diego State Universtatus and theproviding top 1% national sales positionThomas for Yellow Book Presidents Club his various services, attained sity and a master’s degree in Utopian Philosophy from Dartmouth Media. He holds a bachelor’s in Political from Sanfor Yellow Book status and thedegree top 1% nationalScience sales position College. the first actor to portray Spider-Man for Marvel Comics Diego State AsUniversity and a master’s degree in Utopian Media. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from San in Newfrom York Dartmouth City, he has highly developed skills fortovanquishing Philosophy As the firsta actor portray Diego State College. University and master’s degree in Utopian evil! Spider-Man forPhilosophy Marvel Comics New YorkCollege. City, heAs has from in Dartmouth thehighly first actor to portray developed skillsSpider-Man for vanquishing evil! for Marvel Comics in New York City, he has highly developed skills for vanquishing evil!
Thomas Schenck
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Anton Siler
CEO & Founder
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Sadat Jabeen aka Rhodora O CHIEF EDITOR & DIRECTOR After her M.Sc. in Psychology from the University of Karachi, Sadat was in the middle of postgraduate studies in Educational Psychology, when she had to settle for a freelance career for the sake of her family. She helps fiction and nonfiction authors through most of the stages of self-publishing, mentors manuscripts, and lays out final drafts in attractive book formats. She has helped many entrepreneurs, non-profit projects, self-help gurus, and self-publishing authors and poets translate their visions on page. Rhodora is a writer herself and dabbles in short stories, poetry, screenplays and essays exploring the interface of technology and society. As a POC, at-home mom, Sadat envisions the ROR Magazine as a springboard for highlighting challenges, obstacles and achievements of independent schools admission professionals, while creating a flagship reading mix of lifestyle and culture.
Ceci Guzman ASSISTANT TO THE CEO
Meet the T
Like the rest of the team, Ceci brings an entrepreneurial approach and eclectic and dynamic mix of talents and passions to the job. Being incredibly organized (she even loves color coding for fun), her chief role is to essentially help organize Mr. Schenck’s professional life to make sure that his time is best spent on 10,000 ft tasks and out of the weeds, as he manage the company’s explosive growth. Additionally, she will work on special projects as they are needed.
Besides her role at Dartmouth Associates, Ceci stays focused in the gym with her powerlifting routines. She loves anything outdoors and Founder/CEO/President/Publisher never turns down a new place Dartmouth to hike. SheAssociates continuesand to challenge herROR Magazine, self by learning coding in her spare time. One fun fact about her is that A Division of Schenck Enterprises Corporation when she was little she wanted to race for Nascar and that passion remains as she tries to keep her muscle car under 100 mph.
Tom founded Schenck Enterprises Corporation in 2020 and created Dartmouth Associates as a global consulting, training and promotional company that empowers independent schools and colleges. Other than issuing the ROR Magazine, the first of its kind lifestyle publication for Admissions Professionals, there are plenty
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Hagan Schenck VICE PRESIDENT AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR FOR WORLD BRANDING He supervises all critical brand visual and content aesthetics for both ROR Publications as well as the universe of Schenck Enterprises including Dartmouth Associates Family of Services, such as ROR Training, ROR Consulting and ROR Promotions. He also reviews and stabilizes the aesthetic consistency of websites, social media, and all collateral promotional campaigns. A New York trained artist and entrepreneur, he has contributed his talents to a broad range of creative and business endeavors including The Aware Wolf Collective, a branding and promotional agency, as well as developing a motivational and fitness system that promotes the All I Know Is Go training system.
Chiranjeev Dutt
CHIEF PRODUCT AND TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
A digital marketing expert, Chiranjeev oversees all areas of Schenck Enterprises global technology, strategy, marketing campaigns, product development, including product management, UX design and engineering. He brings extensive experience in building direct to consumer platforms and associated products and services for the digital economy. Previously, his company, Dutt Media, designed dynamic marketing campaigns, consistently increasing client online revenue. He holds a BBA and MBA in Marketing and Finance.
Trey Pray
DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL MEDIA AND OUTREACH Trey manages the production of the ROR Magazine aligned podcast, the Admissions Entrepreneur, A Day in the Life, across all audio and visual platforms. He has created a ground-breaking podcasting system allowing our admission professionals to be featured in sound and print around the world. Previously he founded Hype Music Network in 2013 with the start of his first podcast “The G-List Show.” Trey set out to give musicians and up & coming creatives and entrepreneurs an opportunity to share their talent globally, all the while creating high-quality content.
D
ear Readers,
Publisher’s Message
I write this as we enter the morn of 2023, and as with any start of the new year, most of us see this as a time of both reflection of the previous year and the promise of new beginnings. That said, I would like, this time, for all of us who are privileged to be in the field of education, as a year of action. I ask that we all seek to courageously influence those within our spheres of influence and begin a systemic change in education. We must aggressively push schools to offer children a place where their potential is boundless in any direction they choose to pursue. For over 100 years whether private or public, our educational systems continue to be hamstrung by the legacies created by industrialists, John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. They saw education as a way to inculcate the masses with limited personal expectation of achievement so they could best serve the wealthy in stultifying employee roles. In 1902 John Rockefeller created the General Education Board which poured millions of dollars into creating these types of curriculums. In fact, in 1946 they even donated a $7.5 billion to continue to advance this cause. This agenda was chillingly articulated by Rockefeller…
“I don’t want a nation of thinkers; I want a nation of workers.” – John D Rockefeller His Director of Charities went even further to flesh out what they felt was the true purpose of education… “In our dream we have limitless resources, and the people yield themselves with perfect docility to our molding hand. The present educational conventions fade from our minds; and, unhampered by tradition, we work our own good will upon a grateful and responsive rural folk. We shall not try to make these people or any of their children into philosophers or men of learning or of science. We are not to raise up among them authors, orators, poets, or men of letters. We shall not search for embryo great artists, painters, musicians. Nor will we cherish even the humbler ambition to raise up from among them lawyers, doctors, preachers, statesmen, of whom we now have ample supply.” – Frederick T Gates, Director of Charities, Rockefeller Foundation
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While independent education in schools and colleges now offers far more bandwidth to their curriculums than public education, the inherent structure still offers little latitude for students to control what they truly are interested in to enhance their own proclivities and traits. While it is difficult for individual schools or teachers to completely upend years of structure overnight, individual teachers must look to customize their approach to the specific interests of each student. You must be willing to get out of the comfort zone of a standard methodology and be willing to give your student a unique road map. Remember, you will be allowing them to fulfill the destiny of their God-given abilities. We want to give them the belief that their personal futures are theirs to control. I was recently shopping at our local supermarket, and I saw a middle-aged man and a woman stocking a pallet of canned goods on their hands and knees wearing their store-issued kneepads. The skills to perform this task could have been accomplished by a 6th grader. These folks, as graduates of standardized educational programs, found themselves without the skills to pursue their personal passions. They are left toiling away their life with no real future other than to pay living expenses. We are a country with the technology to send rockets into the atmosphere and safely return our astronauts back to earth. Yet, for some reason, we are unwilling to automate the distribution of groceries from the distribution centers to the trucks, to the loading docks onto the shelves… Is this because there is enough of a needy, unskilled workforce that we have no reason to automatize? As educators, we must start to promote small changes, which will hopefully create stimulating learning environments sparking creativity and imagination and the will and courage to follow one’s dreams and ideas. Hopefully, such generations will have the skills to create a higher quality of life accessible to all. We have so much to be grateful for, so let’s take stock in our blessings and take action for the world!
As always, our team and I thank you, our loyal readers, contributors and advertisers, for allowing us to be a part of your lives. I hope that you have all had a warm and serene holiday season with your family and friends, and that we will all make 2023 a year of personal and professional growth. Not just for us, but for our future generations. Warmest personal regards,
Thomas Schenck
12th January, 2023
As we enter the new year with fresh resolutions
of progress and betterment as our roadmap to next December, let us keep in sight the burdens we have dragged with us. It behooves us to relieve these burdens as much as possible, not just from our shoulders, but from those we affect. The new year has already seen a slew of mass terrorism incidents blankchecked by America’s gun lobby. It’s astounding that for one of the world’s most developed countries, destructive products and their profits hold such great sway over the lives of so many innocent people. The issue of police defunding rears its head again with another beating to death of a young, black life, Tyre Nichols.’ Meanwhile the pandemic still wages its war, while workers seem to earn hard-won salaries merely to pay off their student debt, and Russia threatens us with a third world war.
tor
Edi
At the ROR Magazine, we focus our attention on the scourge that is corporate greed. It seems to be the “mouth of the river” no matter which burden of today’s we retrace our steps from. Inflation became a major issue for Americans and most other nations last year, so we take that angle in our infographics exposé. Economists tend to dismiss even unhealthy degrees of inflation citing regular market forces. However, we present enough data on price hiking, wage raises vs inflation comparisons, profit gains figures, and concerned experts’ explanations that there should be no doubt left what corporate motives and strategies have led to this scenario. Dr. Taras Romashchenko joins us from Ukraine with a perceptive analysis of what economic tugs of war find his country, unfairly so, in such a predicament with Russia. Lucia Mejia throws light on the labor rights abuse behind the glitter of the FIFA World Cup this past December. Mohammad Al-Talla from Palestine complements her piece by exposing how his
ial
Original cartoon by Luis González for the ROR Magazine.
people weren’t even allowed simple cheering for teams supporting their cause, and how celebrations would be disrupted by arrival of Israeli soldiers. Violence on unarmed people in Palestine has continued throughout January, largely unmourned by our mainstream media. On the bright side, Lonnie Hughes is back with another eye-opening rouser finding art in every breath and every wind of thought we turn into action. Rubina Feroz from Pakistan brings us her clinical psychologist insights on how the landscape of values is in flux, owing to the virtual reality and related tech’s encroachment on our lives. It serves as a sobering complement to Andy Colquhoun’s fascinating piece on how companies are now conquering the virtual frontier by opening their outlets and conference halls in the metaverse. Steve Morley of Esguard, on the other hand, enlightens us with how to make schools excel with a dash of entrepreneurial magic. Our resident cartoonist from Venezuela, Luis González, captures the painful dichotomies of our time in two brilliant satire pieces, one below, and another, a commentary on the virtual virtuosos on pages 104-105. Other than that, the
the lifestyle side of this issue is well rounded off by Denmark’s Viktor Toth on the best spots around the Arctic Circle to catch the nature’s aurora borealis show. Amber Branch finds inspiration and relevance in Stephen King’s classic, Carrie. Dmitry Dragunov shares his remarkable adventures in film translation and how those keep his own filmmaking dreams alive. The balance of things to celebrate and things to protest seems heavily tilted away from the billions who work day in and day out on this planet, filling coffers for their lords, while waiting for the dreams of their children to come true... The new year asks us if what we are doing in our classrooms and admissions offices is enough to empower our next generation? Will they reach their skies, their horizons, without toeing the line of easy profits at the expense of the climate health of our planet, the economic health of our people...? Or will they give up somewhere along the way becoming either a pawn or a profiteer on an eternal assembly line? Let’s loose some sleep over these questions.
Rhodora O
31st January, 2023
Our Contributers
Kirk Stevens
Kirk Stevens is a writer, performer, and film enthusiast based in Philadelphia. He is a contributor to MovieJawn and he has numerous albums of original music available on Bandcamp and other streaming platforms. You can contact him at kirksketch@gmail.com
Steve Morley
Co-founder | Esguard has been a serial entrepreneur for the past 40 years with dozens of companies that he either founded, mentored, or advised. He was the first non-founder employee of Qualcomm in 1985 where he launched and grew several successful new businesses for the company. His educational background is in electrical engineering as he holds an MSEE degree from Stanford University with a business minor. He is the inventor of 28 issued patents and has published papers in a variety of well-known technical journals.
Dr. Taras Romashchenko
Professor | University of Cherkasy is a PhD in Economics who is Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and International Economic Relations, Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy, where he also heads as a Deputy the Institute of Economics and Law. He has spent the whole last year surviving an unjust war with millions of his country fellows. He is available, war permitting, on LinkedIn or at t_romaschenko@ukr.net
Lonnie Hughes
hails from Virgin Islands, USA. He became a professional actor and dancer after studying psychology. He also discovered his love of writing and painting along the way, both of which he practices today. He has been working on his art series, The Story of a Line, using vintage brown paper bag, with motifs of infinity, circles, meditation, and repetition dominating the works.
Rubina Feroz Professor | Karachi University
is a professor of psychology at the University of Karachi for the last 36 years. She is a highly experienced and active clinical psychologist and has numerous speaker and panel appearances in conferences and seminars under her belt.
Lucia Mejia
Ozioma
is currently a doctoral student of Curriculum Studies and Educational Technology, with an M.Ed., and a B.A to her credit. She loves researching and creative writing on a variety of subjects, including, but not limited to, lifestyle, culture, parenting, and psychology. You can avail her writing services via Fiverr.
is a Florida born first-generation writer born to Mexican immigrants. Following her passions, Lucia earned her degree in Philosophy, Religion, and Critical Theory, and went on to become a writer.
Mohammed Dmitry Dragunov Al-Talla a professional translator specializing in audiovisual content. He mostly deals with movies but if you need a linguist with oil rig experience (as both translator and warehouse manager!), he’s your guy as well. He lives and breathes cinema of all countries, genres, shapes and sizes.
is a Palestinian writer who lives in Gaza, the world’s largest prison. He is a native Arabic speaker with a passion for translation and writing and has a BA in the English language.
Andrew Colquhoun Head of Design | GMETAone
is part of a global team who bring cryptocurrency and metaverse projects to life. Lately, he has been heading up Gmeta One: a vast metaverse project encompassing real estate, gaming, and NFTs through forming a bridge to other metaverse projects. Andrew provides high quality marketing and instructional videos, in addition to content and presenting for the project.
Amber Branch
has an Associate in Creative Writing at Normandale Community College and Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing at Metropolitan State University. She has an intellectual learning disability, but she does not let it hinder her. You can approach her on her Instagram account @ megsmissy
Viktor Toth
holds a masters degree in engineering, and a masters degree food science and technology from the Aalborg University in Denmark. His academic background extends to physics, chemistry, biophysics, biology, biochemistry, and psychology, history, and philosophy. When he is not in his creative writing process, he plays the trumpet and also runs a small art business. He avails his wide-ranging freelance writing services via Fiverr.
Stephen Leonardi
is a freelance real estate photographer by profession, based in Sacramento, California. His breathtaking landscape photography has often been featured in various publications. He generously avails his work via Unsplash. You can also view his work on ViewBug and Instagram @leo_visions & @van_visions. You can hire him via stephenleo1982@gmail.com
Bradley Eastman
is a multidisciplinary artist from Sydney, Australia who creates paintings, digital illustration, commercial projects and public murals. Bradley has exhibited his artworks extensively around the world, has curated and organized numerous international art exhibitions and projects
Daniel Boberg
believes that photography is more than just pressing the shutter button. Daniel loves Lost Places, drones, LEGO and actually everything that has a plug. He has written three books showcasing his love and photography featuring lost and abandoned places in Germany. His work has been featured in plenty of local press. He runs a blog logging his projects at pixelgranaten.de and shares his adventures in a podcast at danielboberg.de
Hosni Salah
is a Palestinian journalist and photographer, and a true fighter who pursues his passion in the midst of all this suffering in his country. The heartbreak of the Palestinian, however, is that he is trying to digitally show this oppression on social media to the world through his performance. Risky for him, but also an opportunity to make the world realize the urgency of their situation. Hosni can be found on Facebook under @hosnysalal. He avails his work on Pixabay as well.
Sumy Sarfaraz
is a Sharjah-born self-taught graphic designer who received her B.Sc. Degree from the University of Karachi. She designs artful posters and social media posts and self-publishes children’s books via Amazon KDP.
a Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management in the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University (ASU), Chief Scientist of The Sustainability Consortium. He pursues landscape, event and street photography and loves to explore digital art with AI tech. He avails his works on Flickr. You can approach him via his ASU profile or on Flickr.
Ibrahim Boran
is a professional photographer with over 150 million views on photography and social platforms. His photography works include product, stock, event, commercial, higher education, lifestyle, editorial, sports, nightlife, and wedding photography. His photos and concepts have been used on thousands of popular websites, applications, and articles. He also shot photos for electronic dance music’s biggest names including Tiësto, Black Coffee, James Hype, Bassjackers, DVBBS, and at Circoloco, NY.
Luis González
is a 34 year old cartoonist from Venezuela. Through his drawings he has been able to cope with the deep problems of living there. He has loved drawing cartoons since he can remember and he really likes what he does. Luis is a Pro wrestling fan and also specializes in wrestling cartoons. Professionally, he is an expert in editorial, political, fan art, vector design, and comics.
Featured Artists
Dr. Kevin Dooley
Mickey Estes
is an award winning photographer who avails some of his photography for free on Pixabay. He has published books and courses on photography including Backyard Bird Photography. He runs his business via SOAR.net. With his wife, Suellen Wheless Estes, he founded a charity nonprofit called Global Reach Project and has helped deliver donations to several developing or war-torn countries around the world.
Dr. David S. Soriano
is a chemistry professor at University of Pittsburgh for the past 25 years. amateur (self-trained) artist. He works with pastels and aqua-gouache paint formulations, the latter, being developed currently. He also combines his chemistry and art interests by formulating novel paint formulations for testing. Currently, he is developing so-called “oil bars” (oil sticks), oil pastels and “cold wax” formulations.
THE CURSE OF CORPORATE GREED
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ROR INTRODUCTION Life Quest Girls Academy
by Rhodora O
THE KEY TO 62 SUCCESS IS TO by DEFINE IT
Steve Morley ENTREPRENEURS
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ECONOMICS WAR By Dr. Taras OF WAR Romashchenko the 102 VIRTUAL
REALITY of v a l u es
INSIGHT by Rubina Feroz
THE UNSTOPPABLE METAVERSE 166 !!! TECH by Andrew Colquhoun
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ROR INTRODUCTION LewerMark Insurance for Students
108
ROR PROFILES Select bios of Professionals in Admissions and Related Fields
146
ROR INSPIRES
CHRISTOPHER MOORE’S
Routines of Success
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ROR INTRODUCTION Cascade Academy
DREAMS
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ROR MOVIE REVIEWS By Kirk Stevens
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ROR ART Food for Thought
112
ROR SEASONS Seasonal Artline
156
ROR CRITICISM
Carrie
MAKING
LIVE ON
72 WORLD
ROR BUZZ
Aurora Borealis
and the best places to spot them
By Viktor Toth
174 188
ROR BOOKS BOOK Best Non-Fiction to Keep with You in 2023
116
Exploited Migrant Workers by Lucia Mejia
ART
F U T BOL H O O PL A
126 A WORLD CUP FOR
Palestine
by Mohammed Al-Talla
RELATABLE
By Amber Branch
by Dmitry Dragunov
N a N za w
138
the curious bird ROR STORY By Ozioma
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ART COLUMN By Lonnie Hughes
What is Art
Without the Artist?
Kevin Dooley A selection from “Midjourney: 25 variations of an industrial warehouse.” Flickr; CC-BY 2.0
THE CURSE OF CORPORATE GREED DISENTANGLING ITS ROLE IN INFLATION
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An infographics Analysis by Rhodora O
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THE KEY TO SUCCESS IS TO DEFINE IT
STEVE MORLEY
ROR ART
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Food For Thought Mural by Bradley Eastman, Sydenham, Victoria, Australia. Photo by Bernard Spragg; Public Domain via Flickr.
Pages: 67, 68-70, 78-79, 82-83, and 100-105,
A E
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LIVE ON
DIMITRY DRAGUNOV connects his work to his dreams of movie-making.
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73 believe there are two kinds of dream jobs. The first kind is the unattainable one, the ultimate dream. Perhaps ‘unattainable’ is too strong of a word since, in theory, every goal can be achieved. But we all know that with some jobs the chance of you actually getting to your desired place is one in a million. To me that would be film directing. The second kind is the dream job that is within your reach. You may have to look hard for it. You may have to wait months or perhaps even years for the right opportunity to present itself. You may have to combat feelings of frustration and desperation before you find it… but it’s there. There for you to grab onto it and not let go. To me that is film translation. I’ve been obsessed with moving images since early childhood. I suspect (or at least hope) that every person has something in their lives that just clicks with them the way nothing else does. For me it’s always been cinema. This magical mixture of all art forms has been captivating me for decades and its miracle shows no signs of diminishing. In fact, time only makes its grip stronger. And since it’s only natural to try and turn your passions into something that you can actually do for a living, I kept wishing for nothing but a job that would somehow be connected to the world of movies. While I never got to direct a film or even finish writing one (despite the muse gifting me an occasional idea) my prayers were answered when I stumbled upon a job opening having to do with translation of entertainment content. It was mainly for non-fiction TV programs with a possibility of movie assignments in the future. Turning on channels like National Geographic or Discovery and seeing – or, more accurately, hearing – the fruits of my labor was a point of immense satisfaction and pride. To quote my parents: “He finally found himself.” I suppose my employers were happy with me as well... After about a year of me doing all sorts of TV shows they finally decided to assign me my first movie. Just before I opened the assignment e-mail my imagination went into overdrive trying to predict what piece of cinematic artistry would be my entry into the realm of professional film translation. The movie turned out to be “Allan the Dog” – a bawdy VOD comedy about a guy and his (of course) talking pet falling in love with the same girl. Picture, if you will, a much cheaper and less
amusing version of “Ted” with bad puppets instead of expensive CGI. What fun! I was ecstatic. In my job we can receive three types of translation assignments: for dubbing, for subtitles and for voice-over. The former is undoubtedly the most difficult one because you have to recreate almost the entire soundscape of the movie in written form. I say almost because this refers only to sounds made by people – there’s no need for me to put in every slam of a car door or every dog’s bark. It is, however, required to make a special note of each cough, gasp and other human sounds heard throughout the movie. The notes are then taken care of by the actors during the actual dubbing. Essentially I have to work not only as a translator but also as a sound detector which can be a mess and a half, especially when you’re dealing with crowd scenes. Thankfully my first assignment wasn’t quite as tough. “Allan the Dog” wasn’t going to be shown in theaters so I had to prepare translation for voice-over. This means not having to worry about the sounds (since the original track remains intact) and being a little less precise and more concise while working with the lines. The process was fascinating and strange – imagine making an instant switch from nature documentaries to sex jokes and swearing! The bizarreness of the experience was only increased by the fact that I was recovering from the side effects of the Covid-19 vaccine which my body did not take kindly to. The delirium of interpreting a dog puppet’s profanity-laced rants with a 102°F fever is something that’s simply impossible to forget.
Illustration featuring a view of Kiev, Ukraine’s capital city by Matias Galarza. Pixabay License.
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“In the 21st century, the aftereffects of war would be felt far beyond the region where it takes place. In fact... far beyond the boundaries of any countries that participate in it.”
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DR. TARAS ROMASHCHENKO, PhD in Economics from Ukraine, writes from inside the war-torn country.
The case of Ukraine which faced the unprovoked full-scale Russian invasion on February 24 in 2022 proves this most accurately. The consequences of this war (probably the most horrifying since World War II) have already touched the future not only Ukraine and the Russian Federation but the rest of the planet. For sure, these aftereffects would be quite different, for instance, in the European Union (the EU) and the Middle East. But hardly any area of the world will stay unaffected.
“The inner voices - 3rd movement,” by Didier Mazuru Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 4.0
Insight By Rubina Feroz
the
VIRTUAL
REALITY 102
of values
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hat we believed to be universal values like truth, honesty, and work ethic, etc. are disappearing. I see it in my teaching and clinical practice as well as dealing socially everyday. I’m not sure if they can be called new values, but the standards of living in a society are changing. There is more concern for individual sentiments. Body shaming, caste-shaming, race shaming are refreshing concepts. People get offended if someone comments on another’s appearance. It is definitely something which society should have learned and followed early on but the deterioration in other values is more alarming. It seems as if we are focusing on the superficial rather than the depth of human existence. A very palpable feeling is that we are living in a virtual world rather than the real. Especially in the Generation Z, a label we have created for this cohort. The element of individual choice has taken over the idea of universal goodness. No wonder why this era has allowed gender and it’s choice to become prominent issues. However, living in a virtual world has created some fuzzy boundaries. Now when I say virtual world I mean the use of gadgets, developing auras, virtual personalities, and the other perks of this overtly digital age.. Are these leading us to a meaningful life or one which is playing with imagination?
FUT BOL HOO P LA
Who won and lost at the Qatar World Cup? A look beyond the finalists.
Folklores are as old as people and their traditions. Folklore reflects people’s traditions, beliefs, values, and preferred lifestyles. The Igbos in south-eastern Nigeria are no exceptions to this. They have lots of folklore in their archives. These folklores are used for family relaxations in the evenings as a form of entertainment, especially in older times. Folklore are also used to mold children's character. Nwa-Nza the curious bird is one of the folk tales that Ndi Igbo (The Igbo People) pass down their industrious culture to their children.
“Male blue waxbill Uraeginthus angolensis at Mlondozi picnic site, Kruger National Park.” The small, colorful waxbill is the original Nza from Eastern Africa introduced to the rest of the world only a few centuries ago. Photo by Aland Manson Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 4.0
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N wa N za
By Ozioma
the curious bird
The Nsbidi script, examplified facing page, topleft corner (stock photo), is the ancient graphic communication system of southeastern Africa including the Igbo. Right. A blanket concept inspired by Nsbidi symbols was commissioned by the ROR Magazine from VectorPerfector in Nigeria.
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THE META VERSE IS 166
by GMETA ONE HEAD OF DESIGN ANDREW COLQUHOUN
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the metaverse is
UNSTOPPABLE !!!
Nature’s FIREWORKS Aurora Borealis and the best places to spot them
Viktor Toth reports from Denmark.
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The aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, are probably the most magnificent, unique natural phenomenon on earth. When particles from the sun reach the Earth’s magnetic field, they become charged and emit this colorful light show. The Northern Lights have inspired people for a long time, and have significantly impacted folklore and mythology. Today, they keep enticing adventure-seeking people to travel to the Arctic. Although the lights have been sighted from a lot more places in the world, the best vantage points to view this nature’s show remain inside the arctic circle. So, Aurora chasers, be ready! We let you in on the best places on earth that guarantee to bring you as close to these lights as possible.