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HALLOWEEN COSTUMES TRENDING in 2020

10/30/2020

In 2020, if someone dresses up in a Halloween costume at all this year, there are tons of premade costumes to choose from representing every character from movies, TV, and comic books, whatever. Kids today shun the homemade costumes like we had when I was a kid, which was at least a hundred and fifty years ago.

ORIGINS OF HALLOWEEN COSTUMES
Most historians suggest the custom of dressing up for Halloween originated with the Celtic festivals Samhain and Calan Gaeaf and, in the 9th century when Christianity spread, from the practice of “souling” during the observance of Allhallowtide.

By now, it’s common knowledge. What I didn’t realize was is that Samhain is now believed to predate the arrival of the first Celts in Ireland about 2,500 years ago. Two hills in the Boyne Valley associated with the Samhain Great Fire Festival and the Mound of Hostages have entrance passages to the mounds which has been dated at 4,500 to 5,000 years old.
Hills of Tara ▼
Image Source: mythicalireland.com/hill-of-tara ▼ Image Source: tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink

That doesn’t mean that dressing in costume goes back that far. Just an interesting factoid.

The Celts believed that during the festival of Samhain, the world of the gods became visible to humans, resulting in supernatural mischief. Some people offered treats and food to the gods, while other wore disguises -- such as animal skins and heads -- so that wandering spirits might mistake them for one of their own.

Humming while wearing costumes is also associated with other festivals, particularly Christmas. The wearing of costumes while “humming”,”mumming”, or “guising” was intended to blend in with the spirits of Aos SI, Spirits of the Otherworld, which were on earth at that time. It was thought that by dressing up, one would fool the spirits into thinking you were one of them and would therefore be protected. [Like they couldn’t tell? It’s like Superman putting on a suit and glasses and becoming Clark Kent, and no one can recognize him. Yeah, right.]

In addition to humming and mumming, people would put out bowls of food in front of their houses to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

At that time the costumes would have been based on the frightening supernatural and folklore beings they wanted to be protected from. Witches, goblins, and the like, I presume.

The first written references to costumes on All Hallows Eve comes from Scotland in 1585 and, apparently, the tradition continues through the 18th
and 19th centuries in the Celtic countries of Scotland, Ireland, Mann and Wales.

HALLOWEEN COSTUMES IN AMERICA
Large numbers of Scottish and Irish immigrated to America in the 18th century, bringing with them the Halloween customs, traditions, and costumes. The costume and Trick-or-Treat practice spread, each culture putting their own slant on the rituals based on their own festivals and beliefs.

By the 1930s, most costumes were worn by children and teens, and the disguises became based on characters from radio and movies. Costumes were being mass produced particularly those modeled after beloved cartoons, thanks to new licensing deals with Walt Disney. People still made their own costumes out of whatever they had available.

At Chicago Art Institute's Halloween Ball, 1949
Image Credit: Robert Natkin/Getty Images
Image Source: history.com/topics/halloween

Superhero costumes were first popularized in the 1960s and remain one of the most-worn choices.

By the 1990s women reverted back to making costumes at home to replicate as because longed to dress like their favorite singers, actresses and musical groups. Couples costumes based on movie or TV characters became popular with everyone.

▲Image Source: amazon.com/Batman-Classic-Heritage-Costume

TRENDING
As Americans often do, we have turned our enthusiasm for Halloween costumes into a profitable business. No more of this homemade stuff.

In 2017, Americans spent $9.1 billion on Halloween and $3.4 billion on costumes. That’s a chunk of change. In 2020, that may drop some, but we’re quite innovative when it comes to spending money. In 2019, Americans spend almost half a billion [$490 million] on costumes for their pets, a particular favorite for millennials. Dressing like your pet has been a big trend since 2018.

Here are some extreme examples of men’s 2020 costumes. There were many more traditional costumes available but I chose some of the bizarre ones. Do men really wear these?

Would You Allow Your Husband or Significant Other in Public Wearing This? ▼

Would You Subject Your Pet To This Humiliation? ▼
Image source: Image source: Image source: Image Source:
dogtime.com/dog-health/ moochmoochpets.wordpress.com/ time.com/sexy-halloween-dogs/ popsugar.com/smart-living/

Owners And Pets
This category of partner costumes is actually cute and innovative.

ImageCredit: Valdya Baraputri/BU News Service - Image Source:
bunewsservice.com/photos-halloween

▲Image Source: facebook.com/ellentv/ ▼ Image Source: wideopenpets.com/human-dog ▲Source of Images: facebook.com/ellentv/ ▲

HOWEVER YOU DRESS and HOWEVER YOU CELEBRATE, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
□
Resources:
https://www.boredpanda.com/halloween-dog-costumes/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
https://www.wideopenpets.com/best-human-and-dog-halloween-costumes/
https://www.amazon.com/Batman-Classic-Heritage-Costume-Halloween/dp/B00QYX55UC
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3274882/Halloween-ages-spooky-masks-1900s-Kim-Kardashian-breaks-internet-outfits-2015-costume-trends-evolved-past-115-years.html
https://www.newgrange.com/samhain.htm
https://www.bestproducts.com/lifestyle/news/g1771/top-trending-halloween-costumes/
https://www.ibtimes.com/halloween-history-roman-christian-influences-857025
https://celticruins.blogspot.com/2014/05/samhain-celtic-origins-of-halloween.html
https://oghamart.com/blogs/news/samhain-halloween-celtic-roots
https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween#:~:text=The%20tradition%20originated%20with%20the,costumes%20to%20ward%20off%20ghosts.&text=Over%20time%2C%20Halloween%20evolved%20into,donning%20costumes%20and%20eating%20treats.
https://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/DIY-Costumes-Men-35669263
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_costume
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/history-of-halloween-costumes/index.html
https://mythicalireland.com/ancient-sites/the-hill-of-tara-teamhair/
Photographs Only
https://culturacolectiva.com/lifestyle/cool-cute-dog-human-matching-halloween-costumes
https://moochmoochpets.wordpress.com/2015/10/16/halloween-pet-costumes/
https://www.facebook.com/ellentv/photos/they-say-dogs-and-owners-tend-to-look-alike/10151247545722240/
https://www.goldenacresdogs.com/matching-dogs-and-owners.htmlhttps:/www.goldenacresdogs.com/matching-dogs-and-owners.html
https://bunewsservice.com/photos-halloween-pet-parade-and-costume-contest/
https://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/DIY-Costumes-Men-35669263
https://dogtime.com/dog-health/general/18627-30-awesome-dog-and-cat-halloween-costumes
https://moochmoochpets.wordpress.com/2015/10/16/halloween-pet-costumes/

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NOTE: This post was scheduled for a later date, but it showed up here and i can’t change it. For today’s post, go to end of this.

10/23/2020

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This series on wedding gown styles began a few years ago when I needed to research them for one of my favorite characters, Harriet Ruby. It was fun, and I’ve written an updated blog every year since, focusing on either spring or fall styles. I have no idea if anyone is interested, except the winner of the worst gown, or at least the gown in poorest taste to wear to a real wedding, always get a lot of hits.

Never a fan of haute couture, I have long believed fashion designers are men who hate women and have found a way to make them suffer perpetually for whatever ill they caused. As a result, I find some of the fashion designers have taken this idea to heart in some of their designs, although now there are many women designers who have jumped on the bandwagon. Who knows what their problem is.

TRENDS for the 2021 SEASON
COVID 19 may have sent the wedding industry into to tizzy, along with the rest of the world, but it has done little to change the styles of wedding gowns. The usual standard are still there with seasonal trends that bring interesting new twists or unusual uses of the styles and accessories that have been around for years.
According to Brides.com, Harpers Bazaar, Vogue and others, the fall trends include the following. Rather than comment on the styles, I’m merely showing photos of the represented trends. You can decide which one you think are good design ideas, those that make a woman look hideous, or maybe neither.

NAKED BACKS

◄Dress by Berta
Image Credit: Heather Waraksa
Image Source: brides.com/fall-2020-wedding-dress
Where is the rest of the dress?

Dress by Wanda Borges ►
Image Source: boards.weddingbee.com/

SUPER HIGH SLITS

▲Dress by Berta ▲ Dress by Eisen-Stein ▲ Dress by Danielle Frankel
Image Credits: Mike Colón Courtesy Of Eisen-Stein   Image Source: harpersbazaar.com/wedding
  Source of Images: brides.com/fall-2020-wedding-dress

LINGERIE INSPIRED CORSETS

▲Dress by Louis Vuitton Cruise 2020 ▲ Jumpsuit by Hayley Paige ▲Dress By Lihi Hod
Image Source: harpersbazaar.com/wedding Source of Images: brides.com/fall-2020-trends

OFF-THE-SHOULDER WITH PUFF SLEEVES AND WITHOUT

▲Dress by Monique Lhuillier ▲Dress by Halfpenny London ▲Dress by Danielle Frankel
Image Credit: Heather Waraksa Image credit /Source: halfpennylondon.com/ Image Credit: Net-A-Porter
Image Source: brides.com/2020-trends ImageSource: brides.com/unique-wedding-dresses

PANTS SUITS AND JUMPSUITS

◄Pants Suit by Roland Mouret
Image Source: harpersbazaar.com/wedding

Jumpsuit by Francesca Miranda ► Image Courtesy Of Francesca Miranda
Image Source: brides.com/unique-wedding

BLACK AND WHITE

▲Dress by Ralph & Russo ▲Dress by Carolina Herrera ▲Dress by Louis Vuitton
Source of Images: harpersbazaar.com/wedding

BUFF IS THE NEW BLUSH

◄ Dress by Monique Lhuillier

The model attracted my attention, not so much the dress.

Dress by Lein ►

Sources of Images: harpersbazaar.com/wedding/bridal

WHEN SOMETHING BLUE IS THE DRESS

▲Dress by Zuhair Murad ▲Dress By Alexander McQueen ▲Dress by Monique Lhuillier
Image Source: brides.com/unique-wedding-dresses Sources of Images: harpersbazaar.com/wedding

TIERS AND LAYERS

▲Dress by Viktor & Rolf Mariage ▲Dress by Honor ▲Dress by Oscar de la Renta ▲Dress by Naeem Khan Jaffa
Source of Images: Image Source: brides.com/unique-wedding-dresses

NEW WAYS TO WEAR LACE

▲Dress by Naeem Khan ▲Dress by Giambattista Valli ▲Dress by Alexander McQueen
Sources of Images: harpersbazaar.com/wedding

THE NAKED LOOK… BUT NOT REALLY

▲Dress by Maison Francesco Scognamiglio ▲Dress by Zuhair Murad ▲Dress by Costarellos Bridal
Source of Images: harpersbazaar.com/wedding

FROTHY

▲Dress By Oscar de la Renta ▲Dress by Valentino ▲Dress By Giambattista Valli
Source of Images: harpersbazaar.com/wedding Image source: refinery29.com/giambattista-valli

FEATHERS

◄Dress By Naeem Khan

Dress by Zuhair Murad ►

Source of Images: harpersbazaar.com/wedding

YOU BE THE JUDGE
Good design ideas? Bad design ideas? Good ideas gone wonky in the execution. Whatever. It’s all a matter of preference.

Just Sayin’
□

Resources:
https://www.brides.com/wedding-masks-4845094
https://www.brides.com/unique-wedding-dresses-5076967
https://www.brides.com/fall-2020-wedding-dress-trends-4772427
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/wedding/bridal-fashion/g28763422/wedding-dress-trends-2020/
https://www.theweddingbrigade.com/blog/bride-customized-mask-wedding-covid/
https://www.arabiaweddings.com/tips/egyptian-fashion-designer-releases-bridal-face-mask
https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3076482/coronavirus-wedding-mask-matching-white-no-guests-beyondhttps:/www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3076482/coronavirus-wedding-mask-matching-white-no-guests-beyond
https://flipboard.com/topic/fabric/say-i-do-to-these-15-face-masks-cute-enough-to-wear-on-your-wedding-day/a-JF35ScxXSL2I17JRNmFwfw%3Aa%3A34092997-ae6242d2b3%2Felitedaily.com
https://wtop.com/life-style/2020/08/no-masks-no-distance-pandemic-wedding-horrors-for-vendors/
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/07/9901618/giambattista-valli-fall-2020-couture-collection
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/08/fashion/weddings/fashion-forward-bridal-masks-for-your-walk-down-the-aisle.html
https://www.loveyouwedding.com/cute-face-masks-for-weddings/
https://www.swlondoner.co.uk/news/10082020-twickenham-designer-switches-from-wedding-dresses-to-face-masks-in-lockdown/
https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/bridesmaid-for-hire-shares-how-coronavirus-pandemic-may-change-wedding-industry-forever
https://www.brides.com/bridal-fashion-week-4692014
https://www.vogue.com/article/spring-2020-bridal-fashion-week-trends
https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/bridal-fall-2020
https://www.vogue.com/article/fall-2020-bridal-report-trends

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Are You Left-Brained, Right-Brained, or Lame-Brained?

10/23/2020

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GRANDMA MYTHBUSTER RIDES AGAIN
While researching another topic, I ran into articles about the left and right hemispheres of the brain … and I was shocked!

Facts that I had learned in school have proven not to be true. Can you believe it?

I rushed to the nearest phone booth, jumped inside, and slipped into my Grandma Mythbuster slenderizing suit and cape and was on my way, convinced that the so-called-scientist who wrote the article must be wrong. It’s just some dingbat theory.

Alas, I must inform you that it was I who erred and pass on myth-buster revelation to others so I can spoil their day just in case they have been as much out of touch with cognitive psychology as I have been.

FACTS ABOUT THE BRAIN
●Fact
The mass of human brain [approximately 3 pounds] is divided into two hemispheres – left and right – by the medial longitudinal fissure and connected by the corpus callosum, composed of bundles of nerve fibers, creating an information highway for neural messages. The hemispheres appear to be similar in size, but the difference in their composition of neuronal networks allows for specialized function that is different in each hemisphere.[skyword.com/left-brain-right-brain-myth]
The brain contains about 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections. Your brain is command central of all you think, feel, and do.

Certain cognitive functions are dominated by one side or the other. Scientists continue to explore why and how these neural functions are lateralized.

By Chickensaresocute - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26371690
Image Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateralization_of_brain

HUMANS HAVE A DOMINANT SIDE OF THE BRAIN
● Myth
The popular theory that each person’s brain had a dominant side, was taught in school, apparently, when I was young – which has to be at least a hundred and fifty years ago. I learned that a person was either right-brained or left-brained. Given the popularity of the idea of "right-brained" and "left-brained" thinkers, it might surprise you learn that this idea is just one of many myths about the brain. [No mention of the lame-brained which I know to be a fact, although an unscientific one].

This concept of left-brained and right-brained has been around for a while. Some writers claim is it more than 200 years old; others that it originated with the work of Roger W. Sperry, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in1981. [I doubt he was 200 years old at the time].

No doubt the individual preference of humans to use the right hand or, among some to use the left, was noticed early in human development. This may have contributed to the idea it was bad to be left handed and became associated with other values.

The left-brain/right-brain myth grew into the common belief that your dominant personality traits are related to which side of your brain has more control. Supposedly, left-brained people are more logical, while right-brained people are more creative.

●Fact
The right and left hemispheres of the brain control different functions, but this fact doesn’t relate to personality.
“Both creative and analytical thought activate both hemispheres equally. Some specific discrete tasks are lateralized, but during complex cognitive processes both hemispheres are involved and communicate. Lefties and righties alike use both hemispheres of their brains equally.” [biomedicalodyssey.blogs.hopkinsmedicine.org/]

Analytical and creative functions, emotional and reasonable; these co-exist in all of us, which is the reason humans exhibit a wide range of human behavior. You receive input from both sides of the brain no matter what you are doing.

CEREBRAL ASYMMETRY
The right cerebral hemisphere receives sensory input from and directs movement on the left side of the body, while the left side takes input and controls corresponding functions for the right side. This is most observable in handedness. Most of us [about ninety percent] are right-handed and have better control over movements with the right hand. Then rest [ten percent] have more control over the left hand or are ambidextrous. [dana.org/article/right-brain-left]

This kind of handedness is not exclusive to humans. Sixty-five percent of chimpanzees use the right hand for demanding tasks, for example, and ninety percent of parrots pick up objects with the left foot. [That’s something else you really needed to know, right?]

Differences in the left and right brain hemisphere function exist in:
Emotion
Emotions are expressed and recognized by the right-brain function in humans and also non-human primates.

Spoken Language
Spoken language is more left-brain active than the right. In most people, the two main language areas, known as Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area, are found in the left hemisphere.

Sign language
Visually based languages are also the domain of the left brain. People who are deaf show speech-like brain activity when watching sign language.

Handedness
Left-handed people use their right-brain for manual tasks. Right-handed people use the left hand for manual tasks. Handedness is inbuilt, and it can even be detected while the baby is in the womb.

Attention
The two brain hemispheres also differ in what they pay attention to. The left side of the brain is more involved with attention to the internal world. The right side is more interested in attending to the external world.

Gender
Studies have shown no differences between males and females in terms of brain lateralization.

TAKE AWAY
● The theory that a person is either left-brained or right-brained is a myth not supported by scientific research.
● Some people may find the theory does align with their aptitudes. However, they should not rely on it as a scientifically accurate way to understand the brain or the personality.
● Brain activity is not symmetrical, and it does vary from person to person.
● There are really cool graphics to depict right- and left-brains. [Does that make me right-brained?]

JUST SAYIN’
□
Resources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateralization_of_brain_function
https://biomedicalodyssey.blogs.hopkinsmedicine.org/2019/05/left-vs-right-brained-why-the-brain-laterality-myth-persists/
https://brainmadesimple.com/left-and-right-hemispheres/#:~:text=The%20left%20side%20of%20the%20brain%20is%20responsible%20for%20controlling,with%20creativity%20and%20the%20arts.
https://www.healthline.com/health/left-brain-vs-right-brain
https://www.verywellmind.com/left-brain-vs-right-brain-2795005
https://www.dana.org/article/right-brain-left-brain-really/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321037
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/left-brain-right-brain
https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2013/12/02/248089436/the-truth-about-the-left-brain-right-brain-relationship
https://now.northropgrumman.com/the-left-brain-right-brain-myth-is-it-true/#:~:text=The%20left%2Dbrain%20right%2Dbrain%20myth%20stems%20from%20the%20common,brained%20people%20are%20more%20creative.
https://www.skyword.com/contentstandard/how-the-left-brain-right-brain-myth-harms-marketers//
Graphics
https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-illustration-left-right-brain-concept-head-silhouette-design-human-hemispheres-information-flat-line-art-style-eps-vector-image70793222
https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/putting-your-best-brain-forward-linking-brain-areas-to-creativity/
http://actionbasedlearning.3dcartstores.com/Left-Brain-Right-Brain-Poster_p_347.html
https://depositphotos.com/178554186/stock-illustration-vector-left-right-hemisphere-human.html
https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/myth-debunked-left-brain-vs-right-brain.686120
Graphics

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THE GLASS IS ALWAYS FULL: Optimism vs. Pessimism

10/16/2020

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THE CONTROVERSY RAGES ON

●The optimist sees the glass as half full. Good, the kids are drinking more water in this heat.
●The pessimist sees the glass as half empty. Why can’t that kid of mine understand that bottled water is expensive?
●The realist wants to know what is in the glass and the circumstances before making a judgment.

If the half full/empty glass is water, you probably won’t care and will water a plant with the remainder. If it’s orange juice, you might wonder which of the kids didn’t finish breakfast and make a mental note to be sure they all get up on time.

If the glass contains expensive champagne, you’ll most likely wonder who would put expensive champagne in a water glass, drink half, and waste the rest. You also might check the glass for lipstick.

If the clear liquid in the glass is a water with a lethal dose of poison in it, that changes everything. Who put it there? How, when, and why? If it’s half full/empty, does that mean someone has already ingested half and is now dying on the bathroom floor? How can you keep anyone from drinking the remainder? How do you preserve the scene for a police investigation?

The Optimist
An optimist has a natural predisposition to approach life in a positive way. Optimists believe in and are hopeful about the future and the high possibility for success; they are hopeful and expect that everything will turn out all right. And if it there are setbacks or disasters, they tend to say, “Well, it could have been a lot worse.” The expectation of success often motivates confidence and hard work, enthusiasm, fearlessness. Things are always getting better.

The Pessimist
A pessimist has a natural predisposition to fear the worst and to have low expectations when it comes to life and particularly new experiences. Believing in the low probability of success, pessimists worry and look for the problems; they are often filled with doubts.

Pessimism can lead to a lack of confidence, including self-confidence, and a gloomy attitude about everything, but it can also fuel attention to detail, carefulness, accuracy, and preparedness. The problems never go away and things are always getting worse.

The Realist
The realist accepts the circumstances as they are and prepares to deal with them accordingly. Realists approach life with the attitude it-is-what-it-is. That doesn’t mean realists don’t strive for goals or work to make things better. Basically, a realist has the natural tendency to keep the emotion out of the way and deal with what life throws at them as effectively as possible.

The Conflict
To the optimists, the pessimist is an unpleasant person to be around because he is always seeing problems, finding fault, and being a general buzz kill.

To the pessimists, the optimists are not being realistic; they are out of touch. Pessimists believe the optimists can’t see the actual world we live in, the injustices, the cruelty, and lack of change no matter how hard anyone tries. They are in denial and are not prepared for real life in general.

No doubt neither optimists nor pessimists approve of the realist’s approach to life.

However, literature on the subject favors optimism and tends to focus on how to develop a positive attitude and overcome being a pessimist. They make the pessimist out to look like a wimpy, indecisive, and generally unpleasant person to be around because he doesn’t believe in himself. A loser. Pessimism is treated as a personality flaw.

In my opinion, that’s a little harsh. There are plenty of pessimists around who have achieved great success. As Pulitzer-prize winning political commentator George Will once put it, “The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.”

In fact, people use both halves of their brain equally, and creative and analytical thinking require both the left and right brain. Therefore, a person’s negative and positive outlooks are both part of the cognitive processes.

◄Illustration credit: Owl Turd Comix
Illustration source: huffpost.com/difference-optimists-pessimists-comic

When you think about it, optimists keep everyone motivated, pessimists keep everyone improving, and realists keep everyone balanced. Although optimists tend to be valued more than pessimists, they are all equally necessary.

PESSIMISM vs. CYNICISM
Experts contend that being a pessimist and being cynical are different, although they may express themselves in similar words and actions. While a pessimist sees the bad things in life as more prevalent than good things, someone who is cynical does not believe people can be trusted.

A fine line, to be sure, but cynicism is directed more toward human nature rather than toward mother nature and life in general. This is how differencebetween.net describes the distinction:

“● Pessimism is the belief that there are more bad things in life than there is good while cynicism is the belief that people should not be trusted. ▲ Image Source: funnyjunk.com/optimist/

● Pessimism views the world as getting worse as the years pass while cynicism views people with distrust and scorn for their motives.

● Although they are similar terms, pessimism has more negative effects on a person’s mental and emotional well-being than cynicism which has a lower degree of negativity than pessimism.

● The word “pessimism” was first used in the 1700s while “cynicism” was first used in the 1500s.

● The word “pessimism” came from the Latin word “pessimus” which means “worst” while the word “cynicism” came from the Latin word “cynicus” and the Greek word “kynikos.”

BALANCE
Scientists who have studied this topic tend to believe that human survival and wellness requires a balance between optimism and pessimism.

According to David Hecht [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/], “Undue pessimism makes life miserable; however, excessive optimism can lead to dangerously risky behaviors.” Further, he suggests that optimism and pessimism are differentially associated with the two cerebral hemispheres.

Without getting into a side discussion about right and left brains, l’ll just say that studies suggest that both optimism and pessimism have important roles to play in our existence, and they are simply two different but effective tactics to cope with what life throws at us. The realist part of us helps keep them in balance.

WHY DOES SOCIETY VALUE OPTIMISIM?
In 2018, the “Life Is Good” Optimism and Positivity Survey found that eighty- five percent of Americans consider themselves optimistic. That is close to the findings of other such studies, all of which were conducted before the 2020 COVID 19 pandemic.

● More of the general population are optimistic by nature and probably expect others to think the same way.
● Positive people are more pleasant to be around for extended periods of time.
● Studies suggest that optimists have better general health, improved immunological functioning, and less heart disease.
● A natural tendency to see problems instead of solutions can be exhausting, not only for the pessimist but everyone around.

But is an optimistic outlook better than a pessimistic one? Optimism seems to make people feel better about life because they believe the future will improve everything. The major advantage of a pessimism outlook is that it helps people cope with the real world more easily and to be more prepared things if they don’t get better. I think the quote from George Will summed it up nicely.

Realism is a state of general attitude perceived as being in the middle between of the two extremes with a moderate does of optimism.

COPING MECHANISMS / MANAGING STRESS
Both optimism and pessimism are methods for coping with life.
Being optimistic allows people to pursue their goals in a positive way: to dream a bigger and better dream, which they can work their way towards. Optimists also seem to respond better to positive feedback, and part of being optimistic may be generating this feedback for themselves, i.e. thinking positive thoughts.
On the other hand being pessimistic may help people reduce their natural anxiety and to perform better. Also, pessimists seem to respond better to negative feedback. They like to hear what the problems were, so they can correct them. Again, part of why pessimists generate these sorts of negative thoughts is that it helps them perform better.

Coping can be conceptualized as a mediator of the effects of optimism and pessimism on distress levels in stressful situations.

TAKE AWAY
My take away from all this is that people use both optimism and pessimism in relation to the specific situation in a manner that helps them cope most easily. There may be situations where optimism is the best response, others where pessimism is most useful.

When Margaret Hamilton was writing programs for the Apollo’s command module, someone “crashed” the simulator by accidently activating a prelaunch program while the simulator was in flight. As a result, Hamilton wanted to add error-checking code to prevent a crash under these circumstances in space, but was overruled by her NASA superiors.

This was not something that could happen in space because, Hamilton was told, “Astronauts do not make mistakes.”

Wearing her pessimist hat, Hamilton was not buying that and found a way to avert the problem. Her job was to find everything possible that could go wrong so it could be prevented in the programming, provide a warning to the astronauts, or ways to correct the problem. I’m not sure if her superiors were just optimists or arrogant male optimists, but the event does not make Hamilton a pessimist by nature.

I believe the best combination is a realist with enough pessimism to anticipate problems and be prepared, and a slight overdoes of optimism to see a brighter future.

I also agree with the scientist who points out that the “glass is always full” – half with water and half with air.
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Resources
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/difference-optimists-pessimists-comic_n_57e550f0e4b0e80b1ba19ef4#:~:text=Optimists%20generally%20approach%20life%20with,to%20prepare%20for%20negative%20outcomes.
https://psychcentral.com/blog/pessimism-vs-optimism/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/collections/201108/optimism-vs-pessimism
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-neurochemical-self/201107/pessimists-stay-away-me?collection=69594
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201011/the-trouble-optimism?collection=69594
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-neurochemical-self/201107/pessimists-stay-away-me?collection=69594
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/life-saving-philosophy/201107/choosing-the-glass-half-full?collection=69594
https://vancruzer.com/pessimists-vs-optimists/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/learning/are-you-an-optimist-or-a-pessimist.html
https://ourworldindata.org/optimism-pessimism
https://liberationist.org/the-bright-and-dark-sides-of-optimism-and-pessimism/
https://stephencswan.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/optimist-or-pessimist-realist-or-something-else/
https://4enlightenment.com/2019/01/28/optimistic-vs-pessimistic/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3807005/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2600560/
http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/politics/ideology-politics/difference-between-pessimism-and-cynicism/
https://exploringyourmind.com/the-value-of-being-optimistic/
https://scienceinpoland.pap.pl/en/news/news%2C31632%2Cpsychologiptist-propensity-omism-more-frequent-pessimistic-tendencies.html#:~:text=Propensity%20for%20optimism%20is%20generally,that%20optimism%20can%20be%20trained.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comprehensive-study-shows-americans-remain-optimistic-in-troubled-times-300711817.html
https://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20110916/optimism-partly-in-your-genes#1
https://smallville.com.au/see-glass-half-full-empty/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201908/optimism-study-gives-optimists-more-reason-be-optimistic

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TOO STUPID TO LIVE: Qualities of a Good Romance Novel Heroine

10/9/2020

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I have been totally “out of the writing zone” for months, and I’m trying to find a way to motivate myself. Not that I haven’t been writing – you’re getting a blog every week, and those take a great deal of time, energy, research and writing. Great excuse for not working on my books, but not fiction.

Long story short, I’m writing about the qualities needed in a good fictional heroine – in the hopes that I will be working on another one someday.

THINGS THAT GO WITHOUT SAYING, THAT NEED TO BE SAID
These are the no-brainers, the basics that writers already know but sometimes forget. In terms of her role in the novel, the protagonist/heroine should be:

● A protagonist the reader can connect with.
● Likeable or intriguing enough to captures the reader’s attention and hook her.
● Her own person, with her own identity and trajectory, her own ambitions and goals, outside of her relationships with other people.
● Able to discover her strengths and weaknesses and to change over the course of the story.
● The character that others characters in the novel exist to support. She takes the actions and advances the plot. It is her story.
● Capable of standing up to the antagonist and is made stronger because of that interaction.
● Not defined by status or looks.

In my opinion, all good and strong heroines fulfill this role within the novel. I don’t believe this is the same as the personal qualities of the female protagonist which can vary quite a bit to fulfill the needs of the plot.

FICTIONAL CHARACTERS
First of all, if you are writing romance, you have to like your protagonist. Otherwise, why are you telling her story? I can see how there could be occasions when, writing outside the romance genre, liking the heroine may not apply, such as biographies or other non-fiction, but even in those cases, I believe the author has to be intrigued by the person or situation, or have some compelling reason to tell her story.

WHO IS YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE?
Second, if you are writing fiction to sell, you need to be aware of your target audience… the people most likely to read what you are writing. Your antagonists need to appeal to and connect with those readers. There is no getting around that. You want readers to buy your books.
I’m not advocating anyone write specifically to please an audience, but be aware of their general demographics, interests, and beliefs as you write.

Even if you are just writing for fun or as a hobby, it never hurts to keep in mind who might read your work. Ultimately, the work, the story line, and the characters are yours. You can do what you want, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

WHAT ARE YOUR READERS LIKE?
Most, although not all, romance readers are women. That’s a starting point, but all women aren’t clumped into one category nor do they like the same things, but they all live in the 21st century.

Romance Editor Leslie Wainger writes that “the heroine is the reader’s alter ego — the reader’s avenue into the story — your heroine directly controls everything the reader feels, and whether or not she keeps reading. To get your reader involved in the novel, convince her that your heroine’s not only someone she would like to know, but is also someone she would like to be.”

Regardless of the time and place of the novel, or the character of the heroine, an author needs to think about the challenges women are facing in real life today in order to engage women of this century. What kind of heroine would they like to be?

Like everything else about writing and other creative endeavors, there is no formula and there is no right or wrong [although there are plenty of people who will tell you there is].

If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.

Unfortunately, defining “IT” is impossible. Whatever writing skill you are trying to improve or perfect, if you write and read for a long enough period of time and listen to experts, eventually the skill comes to you instinctively. You won’t have to think about doing this or remembering that when you are writing. Beginners usually do need to think about it as they write and edit for it.

I agree with author Stacy Tucker who writes, “Today’s female reader is pressed for time, demanding as hell, and both scared and excited about the future. If you want to craft a dynamic literary heroine, you must speak to that.” writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/defining-todays-literary-heroine

The world has changed and it continues to change more and more rapidly. Older people tend to hang on to their ways – I can say that because I am an older people -- but youngsters growing up today are using computers at fifteen months. And writers older than 30 today can’t write about what they know because a lot is already passé and younger people aren’t interested.

Although in 2020 sex discrimination is alive and well, women can still do just about any job they want. Women can be found everywhere in both traditional and non-traditional roles… non-traditional for least last year, anyway. Next year, maybe the job isn’t non-traditional any more.

We need heroines equipped to navigate effectively in today’s changing world, where women can be what they want, but still have to fight for it. That’s a real challenge as well as a literary one. Whether you are writing contemporary, historical, Sci Fi, or Fantasy, your characters have to appeal to readers living in the 21st century. To do that, writers must arm your heroines with the tools to appeal to today’s readers.

QUALITIES OF A GOOD ROMANCE HEROINE
There is a plethora of good advice from well known authors, and as I said, there is no one way and no right or wrong answer. However, many of the same qualities come up in every list, sometimes using slightly different words. The qualities of a good romance heroine include:

◄ She has a clear story goal with high stakes that defines the narrative arc.
Her story goal is understandable, the stakes are high, and the goal defines the narrative arc. She has to get possession of something or relief from something, and there have to be important consequences if she doesn’t succeed.

◄ She has her own opinions.
A strong female lead will listen to her own instincts and make her own decisions based on her own value system. She’ll make mistakes, but she’ll always try to learn from them.

◄ She has flaws
Strong female characters have struggles and flaws just like everyone else, but what makes them strong is how they deal with their shortcomings. Her flaws are the source of the bad decisions she makes, although she may not think of them as bad decisions… at the time. Remember, bad decisions make for good reading. Perfect isn’t believable.

◄ She’s a tough cookie in her own right
Tough could mean a character’s ability to physically bring down foes, but it can also be her ability to think fast under pressure or negotiate with powerful figures. To be tough in whatever way, she is resilient, determined, and relentless.

◄ Strong
She has to be strong emotionally and mentally, but that doesn’t make her think or act like a man. We’re talking about strength of character, strong opinions, resilience, purpose, confidence, wit, and mental fortitude. She will stand up for herself, and her actions match her core beliefs.

◄ Complex Emotions and depth
Our heroine needs to have a believable and complex range of emotions. Vulnerability is important in all characters, because people always have them. Why people react the way they do is complicated and often surprising and unpredictable, at least under certain circumstances.
Circumstances create these reactions.

◄ Cares about the consequences of her actions
The heroine can just be a caring person by nature or through experience, but she could also be a heroine who believes she doesn’t care and learns that she does as the story unfolds. Not caring could be her weakness. Ultimately, she has to embrace the concept, at least in a romance novel.
Sometimes in the heat of the moment people may feel the consequences are far less important than the need to act on something. Swift action without thinking can do a world of damage and usually end in regret.

Some of the heroine qualities also listed by multiple authors include the following:
● Confidence
● Will power
● Courage
● Independent
● Determination
● Persistence
● Passionate about love and life
● Faith

I agreed with the list the first time I read it. Then I had second thoughts. First, what about other good qualities such as honesty, faithfulness, reliability, and so on. There are many other such qualities that are not cited by authors. Second, I doubt that one person possess all of the qualities just on the list.

My take-away is this: Give your heroine the qualities she needs for the story line and let her fulfill her responsibilities to the novel as the protagonist. She’ll be great.

HOW YOU KNOW WHEN A HEROINE IS TSTL?
Author Author Janice Hardy claims that the term Too Stupid To Live “is an actual literary term (no, really). It's a common trope that describes characters who act in ways no sane or reasonable person would act in the face of danger.” blog.janicehardy.com/2014/characters-too-stupid-to-live

I don’t know that for a fact, but I’ll take her word for it. The figure of speech is certainly commonplace, and there are plenty of fictional characters that fit the rather harsh description which is given in The Urban Dictionary as “…a mental and social disorder where by an individual is deemed to be an unproductive member of society because s/he lacks the mental aptitude, social skills and general zest necessary to do so.” urbandictionary.com/define.php?term

Hardy lists in her article, noted above, some questions to ask about a character in a novel to determine whether or not the fictional person is TSTL.

“How do you know if your character is too stupid to live?

Do they ever think, "Gee, that would be a really dumb thing to do" (in some fashion) and then do it anyway without very good reason?
Do they ever tell someone who can--and likely will--hurt them that they plan to betray or expose them?
Do they ever ignore the obvious signs of danger or take zero precautions against those dangers?
Do they ever act in ways that no sane person would ever act?
Do they make the foolishly wrong choice every single time?
Are they oblivious to life-threatening situations?
Do they make the same dumb mistakes multiple times?
Do they ignore people who tell them not to trust them or who have done bad things to them in the past?
Do they frequently act in ways contrary to their own best interests?
Do they often attack (or confront) in no-win situations?
Do they have zero survival instincts?

If any of these fit your character (especially if more than a few do) then that character might be too stupid to live.” blog.janicehardy.com/2014/characters-too-stupid-to-live, “Are Your Characters Too Stupid To Live?” by Janice Hardy

EXAMPLES WOULD BE HELPFUL BUT…
Sorry. Professional writers don’t publish craft articles naming authors or books with characters they believe are too stupid to live. They may have examples but it’s not professional or kind to do that sort of thing. Every writer knows how much hard work, time, effort, and self goes into writing a book, even a bad one. According to mastersclass.com, some examples of strong heroines include:
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-strong-female-characters#quiz-0

● “Buffy Summers
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a powerful heroine with awesome fighting skills who can be both tough—even when chasing a love interest—and empathetic—even towards those who have wronged her. She is a three-dimensional character, and she always tries to do the right thing.”
●Ellen Ripley
“Sigourney Weaver as alien-fighting heroine Ellen Ripley in the film Alien. Ellen Ripley is straightforward, physically strong, and a smart main character—but she also has strong maternal instincts that sometimes drive her decisions.”
● Katniss Everdeen
“In Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, Katniss is a young woman living in a dystopian world, who volunteers her own life in order to protect her younger sister. While sometimes impulsive and susceptible to the manipulations of others, Katniss grows throughout her story arc, becoming a skilled warrior who makes sacrifices to keep the ones she loves from harm.”
● Hermione Granger
“In J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Hermione Granger is a strong female character not just because of her talented wizarding abilities but because of her fearless opinions and her ability to use intelligence to solve problems.”

CAN THIS CHARACTER BE SAVED?
If you have to answer yes to any of Hardy’s questions regarding your heroine, you need to do some work on her character. Most of the time, salvaging the character and the novel can be relatively easy, but also tedious.

● Find all the places where these weaknesses appear.
● Revise the scene with the heroine doing something smart or taking a more reasonable action. See how it reads. Or have the heroine think about doing something stupid and catch herself before she makes the mistake.
● If you don’t want to change the action, give the character a strong reason for doing it and make it a no-option situation. Sometimes a person can get away with doing a dumb thing for the right reasons. It all depends on circumstances, but those must work within the plot.

If the whole novel is full of “yes’s” to Hardy’s questions, you may need to rethink the manuscript.

JUST SAYIN’
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Sources:
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-strong-female-characters#quiz-0
http://blog.janicehardy.com/2014/04/are-your-characters-too-stupid-to-live.html
https://authorkristenlamb.com/2019/05/flawed-characters-great-fiction/
https://ezinearticles.com/?Writing-Romance-101---Avoiding-The-Too-Stupid-To-Live-(TSTL)-Heroine&id=1132304
https://www.blueridgeconference.com/characteristics-determine-heroine/
https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/defining-todays-literary-heroine
https://www.writerswrite.co.za/the-six-defining-characteristics-of-strong-female-protagonists/
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Too%20Stupid%20To%20Live
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288403336_Why_do_we_care_about_literary_characters
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/surviving-your-childs-adolescence/201205/adolescent-apathy-and-what-loss-caring-can-mean

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IS THERE INTERNET-LIFE AFTER DEATH: What Happens To Email & Social Media Posts After You Die

10/2/2020

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UNTIL DEATH DO US PART
Although none of us will get out of this alive, internet-life after death is a topic most people haven’t given a thought to. Not death, but what happens to e-mail and social media accounts when death do us part.

I had not, even though I’m old enough to start thinking about putting my affairs in order. I merely assumed that when I die, my email and internet accounts would disappear as if by magic, and I didn’t need to to do anything about it or leave instructions.

To do? Holy cow. Can’t a person just die unexpectedly anymore? These days it takes nearly five years of preparation to be ready to make the final “move.” But it doesn’t hurt to be aware.

The fact is, since the advent of computers and the internet, people are creating large amounts of digital content, including sensitive and/or personal information, such a social media profiles and financial information, which could remain online after death. There are many platforms for sharing this information with the numerous social networks. There are also circumstances where the content online may belong to the service provider and not to the deceased.

TO WORRY OR NOT TO WORRY? THAT IS THE QUESTION
Worry? Probably not. Be informed and make a conscious decision? Definitely!

First, in today’s world, if you do not have a presence on the internet, you don’t exist and never have existed. Second, remember that you have already agreed to what will happen to your content on email and social media.

Oh, you don’t remember that? If you have an account, you signed off on the provider’s Terms of Service when you created it. Ah! You didn’t read that, did you? At least, not all the way through. Most people don’t. The type is small and the legalize is tedious. You think, Umpteen million other people have agreed so it can’t be bad, and you click the box. So be it.

In the Terms of Service, most major providers, such as Facebook and Twitter, state the policies and procedures regarding what happens when someone with an account dies. Smaller organizations may not address this.
But don’t fret. Most Terms of Service make it clear the provider will never share your account information with anyone other than you.

“If you die, your accounts will most likely stay active unless the site automatically deletes the account due to inactivity, or your family has requested the account to be closed. Most sites allow access to your personal data by your next of kin, but to gain this right, they will need to mail proof to the website.” makeuseof.com/what-happens-to-email

IT IS YOUR DECISION
It is up to you what happens to your material, if you own it. If your internet content includes photographs and music, who owns the material is something you should investigate. Four basic scenarios come to mind:

● You don’t care if the content stays or goes, which is probably most of us, and you don’t care about a continued presence on the internet. Violà. You do not have to do anything, but think about it before you make your final decision.

● You have some materials which you would like to leave up on the internet for anyone to see because you believe they have long term relevance, you are proud of your work, you don’t want to be forgotten, etc. Whatever the reason, you want to be memorialized. If you also care what happens to the rest (see above) or don’t care (see below).

● You don’t want anything you ever wrote or photographed to be accessed by anyone (except someone you trust to delete it, perhaps.) Never, never, never. You want all content removed from the internet.

● You don’t care what happens to your digital content and/or you failed make provisions, but your family, heirs, or someone else wants access to some or all of the material or to memorialize you.

The best approach is to go to each of your accounts and find out what the provisions are at this point in time. Policies do change, partly due to the decisions in law suits, so seek out the most current information and be alert to changes in the future.

Be particularly careful with accounts where you pay for the service.

POLICIES OF SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR SERVICES
The best way to give you a heads up is to summarize the current policies of the some of the most popular email and social media sites. Some services offer memorialization, some suggest appointing an account manager or “legacy contact.”

Any real problems will be accounts which involve fees, issues of ownership of content (music and photograph as the most likely), and access by others than the owner of the account. It is also possible that family members want photos removed from Google Search. Don’t panic! Only the services you use should be of interest.

23SNAPS ▼
23snaps is described as a mini-Facebook that lets users create profiles for each of their children and post status updates along with both photos and videos.
Terms Of Service
Their Terms of Service do not address what happens when an account holder is deceased, but the general provisions promise they will never share account holder’s personal information, photos, etc. without consent. Although there is a process for deleting an account, there is not specific information regarding what happens to the content.
Contact for all Queries: Address to: mailto:info@23snaps.com.p.

Apple▼(iCloud, Face Time, Apple Music, iMessage)
An Apple ID is the account used to access Apple services like the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, iMessage and more. You can sign in to all Apple services with a single Apple ID
and password.
Ownership
When you create an account with Apple and sign their terms of agreement, you have agreed that “your Account is non-transferable and that any rights to your Apple ID or Content within your account terminate upon your death. Upon receipt of a copy of a death certificate your Account may be terminated and all Content within your Account deleted."

“Content” means any information that may be generated or encountered through use of the Service, such as data files, device characteristics, written text, software, music, graphics, photographs, images, sounds, videos, messages and any other like materials.

There is no automated process for closing an Apple ID, therefore you must contact Apple support. They will require a copy of the death certificate of the current account holder, then review your request.
Contact to Deactivate Account: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208503
Contact to Delete Account: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208504

Terms of Service: http://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/us/terms.html

Note: Once the account is closed, use of purchased apps and media can no longer be played, even on other devices that have been authorized.

AOL ▼(America On Line)
An early Internet pioneer providing many Internet services in the 1990's including dial-up Internet access, email and instant messaging. AOL was purchased in 2015 by Verizon. It is now a mass media corporation.
Terms Of Service
The TOS, last updated in 2017, had no references to how the account of a deceased subscriber is handled, although the term legacy is used in the URL. https://legal.aol.com/legacy/terms-of-service/full-terms/index.html

According to Evernet, the self proclaimed web's leading resource for planning and organizing your life, the following is the way to handle the account. https://www.everplans.com/articles/how-to-close-an-aol-account-when-someone-dies

How To Cancel An Account
“There are two levels of membership offered by AOL—free accounts and paid accounts. If you have a paid account, you must first convert to a free account, then cancel that.

In the unfortunate event of a death of the billing contact for an AOL account, ownership can easily be transferred to another AOL Username already listed under the account.

The billing contact's name appears on the credit card used for the AOL account. You can change the payment information online through My Account if you have the deceased master Username, Password and Account Security Question. If you don't know this information, please click the Contact AOL Customer Service link to the right of this page for more information on contacting AOL Customer Support Team.

Note: If you don't own a Username on the AOL account and would like to make changes to the account, please contact one of our AOL Customer Support Team Representatives at 1-800-827-6364.”

Dropbox ▼
Drop Box is a service for storing and sharing photos, documents, and other files from any device. Every 12 months Dropbox identifies inactive accounts by examining sign-ins, file shares, and file activity. If determined inactive, the files on the account are deleted.
Ownership
You retain ownership of anything downloaded to Dropbox. The service provide features like commenting, sharing, searching, image thumbnails, document previews, optical character recognition (OCR), easy sorting and organization, and personalization to help reduce busywork. To provide these and other features, Dropbox accesses, stores, and scans your materials. The account owner has given permission to do those things, and this permission extends to our affiliates and trusted third parties we work with.

Access
To access account of someone deceased, contact: https://help.dropbox.com/accounts-billing/settings-sign-in/access-account-of-someone-who-passed-away

Deletion of Account
This site gives instructions on how to delete the account, but required access to user name and pass word. https://www.everplans.com/articles/how-to-close-a-dropbox-account-when-someone-dies

Terms of Service: https://www.dropbox.com/terms

FaceBook ▼
The Facebook products include Facebook (mobile app and in-app browser), Messenger, Instagram (including apps like Direct and Boomerang), Portal-branded devices, Bonfire, Facebook Mentions, Face-
book Shops, Spark AR Studio, Audience Network, NPE Team apps and other features.

[FYI: If Facebook continues to exist throughout the 21st century, the Oxford Internet Institute predicts that the number of deceased people on this social site could reach 4.9 billion. That’s a big graveyard.]

Options
Facebook will not give anyone access to Facebook login information or materials, but does provide three options.
   ● A family member or friend of the deceased can request Facebook to memoralize the user’s page to a tribute page with minimal personal details, allowing friends and family to express their condolences, sorrow, and share memories.
   ● The account holder, when alive, can appoint a "legacy contact" with the rights to manage their page after death.
   ● Facebook also gives users the option to delete when they pass away.

Contact: https://www.facebook.com/help/103897939701143/?ref=u2u
Contact To Report Deceased Account Holder/ Request Memorialization:
https://www.facebook.com/help/150486848354038

Flickr ▼
Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, which is popular with hosting high resolution photos by amateur and professional photographers.

In Memorian
Flickr offers “in memoriam” accounts to existing Flickr members who have passed away. In memoriam accounts preserve all public content in a deceased member’s account, even if their Pro subscription lapses. The account’s username will be updated to reflect the “in memoriam” status and login for the account will be locked to prevent anyone from signing in.

Contact To Request In Memorian: https://smugform.wufoo.com/forms/flickr-in-memoriam-account-request/
Contact To Access Account: https://help.flickr.com/contact

Google ▼
Google offers a variety of services and tools besides its basic web search, including Web email, Calendar software, Cloud storage, word processing, photo-editing, and a wide variety of other services
Ownership
The content remains the property of the account holder, which means retention of any intellectual property rights to the content, and the license is non-exclusive, which means you share the same content with others.

Options
Your Google account may have active credit or financial information, photos, phone numbers, and other information you may want to keep private or to share. Google has a simple service that lets you decide what happens to everything about you the company has once your account becomes inactive: an Inactive Account Manager. Contact to set up an Inactive Account Manager: https://myaccount.google.com/inactive.

Contact To Submit a Request Re: Deceased Person’s Account:
https://support.google.com/accounts/troubleshooter/6357590?hl=en

Contact To Close or Obtain Data From A Deceased User’s Account:
https://support.google.com/accounts/troubleshooter/6357590?hl=en

Terms of Service: https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en-US
Note: G-mail accounts of the deceased to be accessed provided certain requirements are met.

HotMail ▼
Hotmail is one of the most popular free online email services, provided by Microsoft. It is a Webmail service and users access it from any web browser anywhere in the world with an internet connection.
Access To Deceased’s Account
Hot Mail allows accounts of the deceased to be accessed provided certain requirements are met.

If you want someone to access to your hotmail account after you die, leave instructions about 1) how to log in to the account and 2) what to do with it. Using Microsoft’s “Next of Kin” process, survivors can receive a DVD that contains all of the data held in the hotmail account including all emails and their attachments, address book, and Messenger contact list. The “Next of Kin” policies apply also to executors, personal representatives, and custodians, with proof of legal status as account holder’s representative.
f you don’t want to give your family access, you’d better leave instructions for Microsoft before you shuffle off this mortal coil.

Contact For Account Access Or Closure: Send Email to: Microsoft Custodian of Records, msrecord@microsoft.com.”

Instagram ▼
Instagram is a free, online photo-sharing application and social network platform that was acquired by Facebook. Instagram allows users to edit and upload photos and short videos through a mobile app.

Options
Instagram offers a memorialization option as does its parent company Facebook. A request to memorialize a deceased person’s account can be requested by anyone; i.e. not just a family member. The proof of death can be as simple as an obituary from the newspaper.

A memorialized account appears the same as an account of a living user; nothing is deleted and privacy setting cannot be changed.

An immediate family member of the deceased can request the Instagram account be removed through Instagram’s “Help Center.” You will need to provide verification that you are an immediate family member when submitting this request with a birth certificate of the deceased, the death certificate of the deceased, or proof that you are the lawful representative of the deceased person or their estate.
Contact: https://help.instagram.com/264154560391256/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank

Terms Of Use: https://help.instagram.com/478745558852511/?helpref=hc_fnav

LinkedIn ▼
LinkedIn is a social network that focuses on professional networking and career development. You can use LinkedIn to display your resume, search for jobs, and enhance your professional reputation by posting updates and interacting with other people.
Options
A LinkedIn account will remain active until the owner chooses to delete it or someone reports that owner is deceased. Because LinkedIn does not have a policy to delete inactive accounts, an account may remain active long after death. Viewers will still see the profile.

To remove an account, there is a form to fill out which requires the following information: 1) member's name; 2) URL to their LinkedIn profile; 3) relationship to deceased; Member's email address; 4) Date of their passing; 5) Link to obituary; 6) Most recent company of employment.

Contact to Remove Account: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/2842/deceased-linkedin-member?lang=en
Terms of Service: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/user=agreement

Microsoft ▼(Outlook.com, OneDrive and other Microsoft services)
Microsoft products include operating systems for personal computers ("PCs"), servers, phones, and other intelligent devices; server applications for distributed computing environments; productivity applications; business solution applications; desktop and server management tools; software development tools; etc.
Ownership
Many of Microsoft Services allow account holder to store or share Content or receive material from others. Account holder retains ownership of the Content. To the extent necessary , the account holder grants to Microsoft a worldwide and royalty-free intellectual property license to use Your Content, for example, to make copies of, retain, transmit, reformat, display, and distribute via communication tools.

Options
When an account holder dies or becomes incapacitated, it is not necessary to contact Microsoft. If the next of kin or friend knows the account credentials (type of account, Email address, and password) that person can close the account. If the account isn't closed, however, it will be cloased automatically after two (2) years of inactivity.

Subscriptions
According to support.microsoft.com “Ensure that any subscriptions to Microsoft are cancelled. You may stop any subscriptions to Microsoft by closing the customer’s bank account or credit card, revoke authorizations or informing the bank. Outlook.com and OneDrive accounts will be frozen after 1 year and any email messages and files stored on OneDrive will be deleted shortly after. Microsoft accounts expire after two (2) years of inactivity. For more information, read section 4 of the Microsoft Services Agreement.”

Contact to Close Account: https://support.microsoft.com/help/12412/
A closed account can be reopened within 60 days simply by signing again but it requires having access to the account. After 60 days, Microsoft will permanently delete the account and all it contains.

Terms of Service: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement

MySpace ▼
Once the biggest social networking site on the Internet, myspace has pivoted into a music discovery and playback service.

Ownership
MySpace can use or edit your content, and use it within their services, but has no ownership rights to content posted (text, files, images, photos, video, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, applications, or any other materials).
By displaying or posting any Content on or through the MySpace Services, you hereby grant to MySpace a limited license to use, modify, delete from, add to, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce, and distribute such Content solely on or through the MySpace Services.

Content marked "private" will not be distributed outside the MySpace Website. After you remove your Content from the MySpace Website we will cease distribution as soon as practicable, and at such time when distribution ceases,

Options
MySpace does not offer an option to temporarily disable an account nor do their TOS address what happens to the account when the owner is deceased.

Deletion appears to be the only action and is permanent and final. To delete, you need the account Email address and password, then log in via a desktop computer at the Myspace homepage.

Contact To Close Account: https://help.myspace.com/hc/en-us/articles/202241380-Delete-your-Profile
Contact to Remove Photos from Google Search: https://help.myspace.com/hc/en-us/articles/202086574-How-Do-I-Remove-Images-Appearing-In-Google-Search-ro

Terms of Service (Dashboard/ Social networking): https://wiki.uiowa.edu/display/SocNet/MySpace+Terms+of+Use

Pinterest ▼
Pinterest is an image-based social platform for saving, organizing and sharing ideas found online.
Ownership
If you post content on Pinterest, it still belongs to you, but Pinterest can show it to other people and
others can save it.
Options
To delete the account of a deceased person, Email care@pinterest.com with the following information:

▪Your full name
▪ The full name and email address on this person’s account
▪A link to their Pinterest account (ex: pinterest.com/USERNAME). If you don’t know this, try searching for it on https://pinterest.com/all/
▪ Documentation of their passing (ex: death certificate, obituary, news article)
▪ Your relationship to the person with documentation to verify it, such as a birth or marriage certificate, Public mention of relation, Family tree, Family/household records, Notarized proof of relation. If your name is included in the obituary, that's sufficient

Once deleted, the account will no longer be accessible. However, the Terms of Service you signed states that if you choose to post content, you give us permission to use it to provide and improve Pinterest. Copies of content shared with others may remain even after you delete the content from your account.

Note: If the Pinterest account is connected to a Google, Facebook, or Twitter account then you should deactivate the Pinterest account before deleting the Google/Facebook/Twitter account.

Contact: https://help.pinterest.com/en/article/deactivate-or-close-your-account
Terms of Service: https://policy.pinterest.com/en/terms-of-service

Snapchat ▼ (Bitmoji and Spectacles)
Snap Inc. is a camera company. Our products and services—including Snapchat, Bitmoji, Spectacles, advertising, and others that link to the company.

Ownership
Many of Snapchat services let you create, upload, post, send, receive, and store content. When you do that, you retain whatever ownership rights in that content you had to begin with. But you grant us a license to use that content. How broad that license is depends on which Services used.

Options
Snapchat has no discernable process for dealing with a deceased person’s account. Leaving your access information (username and password) to your survivors is the only way to be sure they have access to your account.
If you want to keep your account private, you can:
▪ Delete the account before you die
▪ Leave access information to someone you trust with instructions to delete the account. Be aware that when deleted, there is an unknown period of lag time before content is taken off Snapchat’s servers.

Terms of Service: https://www.snap.com/en-US/terms

Tumblr ▼
Tumblr is not just a blog platform, but rather a social network that includes a blogging platform. Tumblr makes it easy for a company to share their content with millions of users, so you can reach a large audience without spending a lot of time or money.

Ownership
You retain ownership you have of any intellectual property you post to Tumblr, but you have given permission to Tumbler to make your content available in all the ways you would expect us to (for example, via your blog, RSS, the Tumblr Dashboard, etc.).

Options
You can request that a Tumblr account be terminated on behalf of someone who’s died. If you've got log-in info already, you can use the process for any account, but most people need Tumblr admin to get help. Go to: https://www.tumblr.com/support and complete the form to contact them with the Tumblr URL or username used by deceased. Include your request that they take the Tumblr page down and delete it, along with evidence that your loved one has passed away, like an obituary.

Your best choice from the dropdown menu of topics is probably “Something else.” They have an attachment option if you want to upload the death certificate or a scan of the obituary. Including this information may be overkill, but in some cases, it can expedite the process.

Deleting a Tumblr account from an iPhone or Android app isn’t possible. You must delete the account in a browser, then uninstall the app from your phone once your blog is gone.

Terms of Service: https://www.tumblr.com/policy/en/terms-of-service

Twitter ▼
Twitter, Inc. offers products and services for users, advertisers, developers and data partners. The Company's services include Twitter, Periscope, Promoted Tweets, Promoted Accounts and Promoted Trends. Its Twitter is a platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time.

Options
The account of an expired person remains active until a relative or friend gets in touch with the company. Then the only option is account deactivation. Previously published content is not removed. To deactivate an account Twitter requires an immediate family member to present a copy of their ID and a death certificate of the deceased.

Access
Twitter does not provide account access to anyone, but does allow people having account login information to continue posting.

Terms of Service: http://twitter.com/en/tos

Weebly ▼
Weebly is a web-based service used to create websites for businesses and otherwise.

Options
Weebly does not automatically delete inactive free sites. They'll stay on your shelf for as long as you want.
If the domain name is paid for through another service, perhaps failure to renew could result in deletion by Weebly but there is no information about this.

Access
With the information to access the account, the website can be deleted, so login information (Username and Password) needs to be available to family or friend.
▪ Log into the account.
▪Click the account holder’s name in the upper right corner and click “Account” in the dropdown menu
▪Click the red “Permanently delete your Weebly account” button
▪You'll be asked to confirm; you can leave a reason for leaving but it’s not required.

Wikipedia ▼
Wikipedia is the English-language edition of the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia.

Ownership
No one "owns" content (including articles or any page at Wikipedia). If you create or edit an article, others can make changes, and you cannot prevent them from doing so. Believing that an article has an owner of this sort is a common mistake people make on Wikipedia. Once you have posted it to Wikipedia, you cannot stop anyone from editing text you have written. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Ownership_of_content

While this statement doesn’t address ownership after death, it is clear that ownership belongs to Wikipedia.

YAHOO / Yahoo mail ▼
Yahoo! Inc., global Internet services provider is owned by Verizon Communications since 2017. The main service provided by include its web portal and search engine.

Ownership
When the account holder agrees to the Terms of Service, Yahoo states that neither the Yahoo account nor any of the content therein are transferable, even when the account owner is deceased. Yahoo cannot provide passwords or allow access to the deceased's accounts.

Contact For Closing Account of Deceased Person: https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN2021.html

Terms Of Service: https://www.verizonmedia.com/policies/us/en/verizonmedia/terms/otos/index.html
"Ownership and Reuse. Using the Services does not give you ownership of any intellectual or other property rights or interests in the Services or the content you access.
You must not use any branding or logos used in the Services unless we have given you separate explicit written permission. You may not remove, obscure, or alter any legal notices displayed in or along with the Services. Unless you have explicit written permission, you must not reproduce, modify, rent, lease, sell, trade, distribute, transmit, broadcast, publicly perform, create derivative works based on, or exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion or use of, or access to, the Services (including content, advertisements, APIs, and software)."
Terms Of Service: https://policies.yahoo.com/us/en/yahoo/terms/index.htm

YouTube ▼
YouTube is an online video-sharing platform, now a Subsidiary of Google. YouTube allows users to upload, view, rate, share, add to playlists, report, comment on videos, and subscribe to other users. It offers a wide variety of user-generated and corporate media videos.

Ownership
When you upload Content to YouTube, you still own the content, but have given up certain things to YouTube in exchange for the use of their platform. When you upload your content to YouTube, you are granting them a “worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform the Content in connection with the Service” and even the right to create “derivative works” from your content, which means that they can slice and dice it and make new content from it.

You’re also granting other users of YouTube the right to “to use, reproduce, distribute, display and perform such Content as permitted through the functionality of the Service.” The license is perpetual and irrevocable, and they can keep copies of everything you upload forever on their servers, even if you delete it. It’s there forever.
Oh, and no selling ads on the YouTube videos that you upload. Only YouTube gets to do that.

Terms of service: https://www.youtube.com/static?template=terms

THE END OF THE LINE, SO TO SPEAK
I know it looks like onerous busy-work, or at least something you can do later, but I believe everyone should take a look at the provisions for the services they use and seriously consider what they want done with their content.

Just Sayin’

Sources
▼This is for online accounts/ importantt information.
https://www.everplans.com/articles/how-to-close-online-accounts-and-services-when-someone-dies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_the_Internet#:~:text=Some%20of%20these%20periodically%20send,distribute%20the%20passwords%20as%20arranged
https://www.everplans.com/articles/what-happens-to-my-email-accounts-when-i-die
https://thewalrus.ca/death-what-happens-to-your-social-media-accounts-after-you-die/
http://www.thedigitalbeyond.com/2018/02/what-happens-to-your-social-media-accounts-when-you-die-our-2018-update/
https://www.aplaceformom.com/blog/protect-your-digital-assets-after-death/
https://www.foxnews.com/tech/what-happens-to-your-social-media-accounts-when-you-die
https://www.livemint.com/technology/apps/what-happens-to-social-media-accounts-of-people-who-die-1559843316092.html
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/what-happens-to-your-email-and-social-networking-sites-when-you-die/
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/2441047/what-happens-social-media-accounts-when-you-die/
https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2019/01/what-happens-facebook-twitter-instagram-email-accounts-when-you-die.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_service
https://tosdr.org/
https://www.copytrack.com/does-facebook-own-my-pictures/#:~:text=1%20of%20Facebook's%20Terms%20of,products%20you%20use%2C%20and%20nothing
https://www.androidcentral.com/how-prepare-your-google-account-when-you-pass-away#:~:text=Hand%20your%20data%20to%20a%20trustee%20through%20Google&text=Your%20next%20of%20kin%20will,will%20only%20get%20specific%20items.&text=A%20better%20way%20is%20to%20us
https://aftervault.com/what-happens-to-your-dropbox-account-when-you-die/
https://techland.time.com/2013/07/16/how-to-access-a-deceased-loved-ones-online-accounts/
nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-will-happen-my-hotmail-account-when-i-die.html#:~:text=Also%20surprising%20is%20that%20Microsoft,next-of-kin%20process.
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum/all/microsofts-next-of-kin-process-accessing-emails/c848d768-58e8-428f-b10a-4fcd1f95c8d8
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/accessing-outlook-com-onedrive-and-other-microsoft-services-when-someone-has-died-ebbd2860-917e-4b39-9913-212362da6b2f
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/how-to-manage-your-social-media-accounts-when-you-die-052316.html#:~:text=They%20require%20your%20full%20name,pinterest.com%2FUSERNAME).&text=You%20will%20need%20to%20provide%20documentation%20of%20the%20death%20with,%2
https://help.pinterest.com/en/article/deactivate-or-close-your-account
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Ownership_of_content
https://trademarkdoctor.net/copyrights/who-owns-your-video-when-you-upload-it-to-youtube/#:~:text=This%20opens%20in%20a%20new,works%2C%20and%20distribute%20the%20work.
https://www.23snaps.com/home/privacy
https://www.joincake.com/blog/delete-aol-account/#:~:text=You%20can%20call%20AOL%20customer,it%20to%20your%20personal%20account.
https://legal.aol.com/legacy/tos/index.html
https://www.everplans.com/articles/how-to-close-an-aol-account-when-someone-dies
https://www.aol.com/article/2014/07/16/what-happens-to-your-online-accounts-when-you-die/20932318/
https://legal.aol.com/legacy/tos/index.html
https://help.flickr.com/contact
https://www.everplans.com/articles/how-to-close-a-weebly-account-when-someone-dies
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-will-happen-my-snapchat-account-when-i-die.html#:~:text=Snapchat%20is%20unlikely%20to%20give,account%20could%20vary%20by%20state.
https://techboomers.com/delete-weebly-account

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