My 2 Cents of Advice for Entrepreneurs or: Why RA Should Make Debts

ATTENTION!
Be forewarned, the following article has more realism/pessimism than some of you might like in the fictional world of RA-fandom. So be forewarned and don’t read any further, if you want to keep politics and business separate from fandom!
The article came up as a result to the discussion, currently active in the fan community, what fans can know and might contribute to RA and his career. I am not telling, I am such a sound advisor, but the discussion brought up my reflections upon my own way. So it is not to say, RA should ever act upon my advice. Heavens NO!!! He is his own man and has advisors and good meaning suggestions enough. He certainly does not need me. The article is about ME and my musings and fears about my pet-project King Richard, and as the article contains hard earned life experience, I am also not overly open for discussion. This is not a mild reminder, but a really meant WARNING!

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My No. 1 Business Tip!
Rob the bank crazy with an enormous credit loan and have a good time!

You will surely shake your head in wonderment and will ask: is CDoart now completely crazy?
[By the way, my answer to this would be: Yes, was that ever in question? ;o) ]
What does she want now with a bank loan or why should an entrepreneur and especially RA necessarily get one to do his filming project?

I built a business – unnecessary to mention, I did not get a bank loan, as I had not made the experiences back then, I made in the meantime.
Every (!) convention, price jury and politician asked me the same question:
Do you have a bank loan and at which bank?
I of course answered truthfully with ‘No’ and at first was utterly astonished about the irrelevance of such a question.

The result every time was, I neither got support, nor was I considered to be exhibited or mentioned or even allowed to take part in (to the outside world promoted as objective) contests.

So my suggestion, take a loan, as large as you can manage to get and have a good time with the money. Because then politicians, institutions, and especially banks have a very great interest, that your business somehow succeeds, without you needing to do the hard work for your success.
Let the others do the work, when they so blindly insist on such a stupid system.

I even approached a parliamentarian with a suggestion for his ministry’s special resort. You may ask what I could possibly get as response to prove my point here, as a suggestion for a ministry is nothing that would concern my money or banks, but now in hindsight I can even smile about the inability of a minister to read (or perhaps they learned to read, but not to understand?). I got back a long list of banks and institutions, who could possibly give me a bank loan, as if that would solve everything. And if this did not work, the minister himself would get in contact with a bank to get me a bank loan for my business. (I had not been aware before that politicians were advertising outposts of banks.)
Really kind of him and I even thanked him for his consideration, but had to decline his offer. [I am polite, am I not? ;o) ]
No word about the suggestion I made for his ministry – and that after nearly half a year of waiting for a response!

At least here I got an answer. I had approached the minister responsible for a part of my business area with a suggestion as well. He did not respond at all, though my letter - obvious for even a superficial reader - was neither spam nor self-advertisement. Very effective politicians here, it seems.

But why do I mention that here and now on this blog and as an advice for RA how to do his filming project?
Because, I fear, having good roles and earning money is not the background getting RA any closer to filming “King Richard III”.
He would need a large amount of debts, so that politicians as well as banks will have a high interest in pushing him forward to do projects to earn back the money to pay the debts and especially  will allow him to avoid all the advertisement restrictions, otherwise so handily put against non-members of their 'club'.

Sorry for such a pessimistic world view earned the hard way ;o)
I hope, RA has a better concept how to realise my dream project “King Richard III” !


P.S.: To win broad support is the more relevant, as King Richard is a very uncomfortable topic for politicians. It reminds them that they could be replaced ;o)


So that were my 2 cents why I think hard work does not earn a just reward ;o)

RA and His Showing Good Sense

The basis and image source I refer to in the following article, is documented and collected here on RichardArmitageNet.com.

(I for the first time try to link to a day's link on RichardArmitageNet.com, so I hope this link works correctly for the 23rd of June, 2012. But I did not want to snoop pictures from personal Tumblr accounts, which you most likely will have seen by now anyway.)

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The whole discussion about RA being shy or hesitant to put himself forward, deriving from a short appearance on a theatre stage, has irritated me greatly, I must admit, especially considering the short sequence we have to judge him upon.

For one, I don't think we as fans can tell anything from that short sequence of him either being shy or not.
For another, my first reaction to his going to the back of the stage and all the actors falling down at once was - what foresight and excellent planning ;o)
So the first comments really made me shake my head in astonishment, when I discovered that this was read as a sign of him being shy.

Would you like to fall on somebody else? I certainly wouldn't.
I'd rather have someone falling on me than falling to an unsure ground with hard and soft parts of other people scattered around. (And be assured, people have really hard parts which are quite uncomfortable to get in sudden contact with ;o)
So the safe, even and reliably hard surface of the theatre stage floor would be much more preferable to me, as I could perfectly calculate the fall.

I certainly would not have liked to lie somewhere in the bulk of bodies in the middle of the stage, however impressive their falling at once was.
So my reaction to RA and seeing the short video was, what utter good sense RA possesses.

Shy? - No.
Clever? - Yes !!!

No Small Job for RA

In a tight and difficult working situation, I once again fell silent here on this blog, but still I could not refrain from reading and cherishing news about RA.
In a time where I worked night and day and thought, I could not think straight any longer, RA became the one gratification, the one light to shine through all that difficult work.
Some call me crazy for doing what I do – and I most certainly will not contradict them. I could have a much easier position somewhere, doing what I am told from 9 – 6 and going home to watch TV and to turn my head off with the only thought, which adventure sport I have not tried yet and to what prestigious place to go for the next holidays.

No, my work is almost finished and it is perfect ;o)
Please forgive – I am absolutely and utterly biased, but now it is as it should be.

All, people will recognize, will be:

The finished project looks as it should – what was all the fuss about?

The fuss of me working myself crazy, using RA abominably to keep my thoughts somewhat consistent and confined to my head.
Poor (mis-)used man (I don't really envy him for all the burden I place upon him), but he for me was the reason to believe in me, to go on to work, till I was content with the result, not till what others told me only could be reached.
He was the reason to grab out for perfection, to believe that perfection even was possible in our faulty world.
For this I need RA and his ‘being perfect’ for me in my life. He makes me believe in the existence and reachability of perfection and especially the perfection of the world as it is, while the world with all its many faults and hardships often lets us overlook its overall and breathtaking beauty.

This 'perfection' does not mean RA has to do or be what I want him to be, as you might think would be necessary for him to be 'perfect' in my eyes. No, does the world ever do what I want or be as small as I could get my brain to imagine it? ;o)


Phiuhhh, .... -  A lot of work is done, a lot of problems solved, a lot of more problems and work wait to be done ....   ;o)
But with the help of this motivation in my life, it all is much easier:

Source: http://armitage-online.ucoz.ru/
RA seems to take all the burden I place upon him
with a smile ;o)

A Fan-Dream Come True ...

A fan dream come true - or rather a fan-dream for a brave fan. (I had nightmares only thinking about being in fedoralady's position myself. Fortunately, I after a while was able to calm my stomach down again ;o)
Potentially meeting Mr. Armitage or rather taking a job just to meet Mr. Armitage is a very brave encounter and one I want to support.
As I am financially not that well off right now to support fedoralady in a substantial way, I at least want to promote her endeavour to encourage further support for her.

If you can and want to support her, here is her blog with more details what she intends and plans and with news and updates about her adventure:

TheArmitageEffect

(The donation button for this brave adventure - "An Unexpected Journey" to the Comic-Con in San Diego - is at the top right in the sidebar.)

Maybe she could ask Mr. Armitage about King Richard? - Oh, my nightmare about being in fedoralady's position, must somehow have been transformed into a happy dream, to come to this conclusion ;o)


Lots of luck and a wonderful time at the Comic-Con in San Diego, fedoralady !

Please let us know about your experiences and please also write a bit about San Diego. The town really looks interesting itself and well worth a visit.

San Diego (by tornicio77 - shared on Flickr.com and Wikipedia.org)

North & South Spans Continents

It is much easier to do an article in response or disagreement to something than doing a round and sound analysis on its own.
So I greatly thank SERVETUS for inspiring and provoking my own analysis and it is her wonderful source which made this following article possible. Her detailed analysis points me to facts I otherwise would overlook and so her articles regarding North & South were eye opening for me in so many points that I can't enlist them all here.

Today is the last chance to join the group watch of "North & South". If you have not given it a try, it is a lovely feeling to watch the film and knowing that around the world others are sharing your experience and to be simultaneously able to connect and discuss things with them!


A main thing I learned through Servetus' analysis is, that I project my experiences on the main male character. I previously thought I would quite naturally and automatically identify myself with the female protagonist and did not even question this expectation. But for some reason, this is not the case for me with "North & South".

As I react to the analysis of Servetus, my points are in no way complete or consistent with an idea, but rather a collection of ideas, accumulated and collected, not to forget them for a later re-watch.
So please forgive, if they just don't make sense to you or are jumping from one aspect to the next.
Like Servetus' analysis, mine is a very personal analysis which depends mainly on my own personal experiences and projects them into the film characters and their actions.
So it is in no way a generally applicable analysis trying to be general or objective.

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The yellow rose at the end for me is a symbol of happiness, not in such a general way as Servetus sees it as a justification for re-evoking the past or the happiness of childhood.
In my view, it is only a small part of the past, which can be rescued from the past and transferred into the present. Fond memories, which can be transferred into the present.
I saw the realisation he came to while holding the rose in Helstone more in a way of Margaret's realisation that the past cannot be revived. (Mr. Thornton and Margaret in the end getting into a parallel development and making a union between them possible.)
The conclusion I see Mr. Thornton getting, when plucking the rose is, that he comes to terms with his own past and childhood, which in my opinion was till now mainly overshadowed in his memory by the later dire circumstances following the suicide of his father.
As I am of the opinion that Mr. Thornton might have a not too fond memory of his childhood, as his later hardship overshadows the perhaps existing good moments  he remembers with his father. He comes to term with his fate, as Margaret completes him and makes sense for his way he had to go to find her. It makes his previous life o.k. because it lead to her and his love for her.

The problem I have with the end is, that both are finally at a moment, where they appreciate the other at the same time, while differing on that during the whole previous time. They come together in a very emotionally calculated balance, not an euphoric feeling of love.
But I think, especially Margaret, after the experience of her parents' love match, does not trust an emotional and euphoric love.


Where I also have a different interpretation of Mr. Thornton compared to Servetus is in seeing his ability to take advice. Perhaps (or rather most certainly) my own experiences are heavily overshadowing this analysis.
In his position as a 'master', Mr. Thornton is no longer able to access advice from others. If he tries, it will be rated as 'weakness' and undermines his position as a master.
Quite like a king, he must not show weakness or will be replaced and torn down by others faster than he can look.
The masters meetings in my opinion show that aspect quite nicely, as they show the masters as the pond of sharks they are. They want to hear Mr. Thornton's opinion and plans to outsmart and outrun him in their competition for the best orders. So every word he says there must be well calculated.
Taking the advice of the worker he fired for smoking, would make him dependent on information, which legitimacy he can't prove or judge, but could ruin his company by making wrong decisions based on wrong, biased or intentionally misguided information.
Also the fact that he had the need / necessity to depend on this information would be sold on to others as well and would again undermine his position as an able master.
So better to keep distance to such an untrustworthy creature, even if it puts him in a bad light in front of Mr. Hale and Margaret. But Mr. Thornton this way can keep his moral conviction and principles intact.

Where I fully agree is, that "North & South" is not about changing either the North or the South. (While I sometimes wonder if either Margaret Hale and John Thornton are such typical examples for either side to begin with.)

It is about keeping their principles intact while still being able to come together and appreciate each other's values.
That is the main thing, why I see "North & South" as a really exceptional piece of literature, as most literary works try to reach development and a storyline by sending their characters on a journey of learning.
"North & South" only does this in a way of learning to respect the other's principles, while leaving the individuals at the place and in their mindset they already had at the beginning.


As soon as someone starts to 'justify' his behaviour, his environment and the sharks circling around him, will see that as a weakness and him having done something wrong. For a 'master' those under normal circumstances understandable methods in my opinion are not applicable. They neither work in social media today (though some advisers propagate this approach, which only works when backed with a lot of money and influence and a clear sign of an unsurpassed market power.) nor did they work among businesses. To show weakness means to go under.
Mr. Thornton can't show his intact forces, as his financial position is already weakened, and 'justify' his actions. He must appear in full strength to keep the appearances intact as long as possible, to survive in one of the most competitive trades of the 19th century.

That Mr. Thornton is rather utilitarian than philanthropic, I can't agree more.
I see Mr. Thornton's utilitarian approach in his intention, to better try and fail than never to have tried at all. Mr Thornton tries and risks losing. No success is guaranteed in business, no precaution can prevent this. Mr. Thornton knows that and plays and acts in full speed of the market.
This daring to risk is bravery, which makes inventions and the creation of things of all kind possible.
He can't just be and let things go on around him, he must be an active part of this creation process. He is someone who actively creates, initiates and as consequence risks to loose.
Creation and change is only possible through risk.
This is also the reason why I so vehemently defend Mr. Thornton from being stagnant, unmoving or bound in old, overcome and once already failed principles.
Because the only principle I see Mr. Thornton applying is to try everything in moral and legal boundaries to make his business a success.
If Margaret is a hindrance to that, I don't know if Mr. Thornton would take her side or just set her aside and chose work over her.
Fortunately, Margaret in the end understands his principles and will be clever enough not to risk getting Mr. Thornton into such a dilemma which would not end in her favour.
So for me, the ending of "North & South", so utilitarian as it is, still is a romantic one and the combination of two people, who took the time to fully learn to understand each other before coming together.

A rare and fulfilling and in my opinion lasting romantic connection.

My Horoscope Recommends ... N&S for Today

Can you believe that even my horoscope knows that I should watch "North & South" today?

You don't believe me?

Read it for yourself:

"This is a great day to stay home and read, especially since your mind is particularly receptive to unusual ideas. The Internet, as well as videos and TV documentaries could be most informative."

And this is not invented or taken from another day, but perfectly today's horoscope for me ;o)

If this is not a clear instruction to join the "North & South" group watch this evening (starting UK time 7 p.m.) today.

To all readers from the U.K., have a great Coronation Jubilee weekend!
(I hope you don't think I am subversive with my crowning another king here on my blog ;o)