Category Archives: Golden Rule

As most of the major cryptocurrencies broker lower in Wednesday's session, TRON managed to stay above its major low point of 0.011744.

The potential now is that the aforementioned low holds and the price continues to consolidate until the crypto space finds some relief.

If the past is anything to go by when one out of many cryptocurrencies holds up whena retracement phase kicks in it could shoot higher.

This is just an observation and not a golden rule but it did happen to Bitcoin Cash and Ethererum Classis on previous occasions.

The two of them managed to stay above lows when Bitcoin crashed and then when the retracement phase moved in they jumped. Both on separate occasions.

Now on the daily chart, the consolidation zones lie between 0.011744 and 0.018603. The latter also confluences with a 23.6 Fibonacci zone.

The RSI indicator is also tilted to the downside now but this is to be expected after such a heavy day of selling but it is far from oversold.

See the original post here:

TRX/USD technical analysis: As most of the major cryptos break lower TRON could be holing up - FXStreet

Black Friday 2019 is nearly here, that time of year where we eagerly await some of the craziest bargains since... well, the previous year. As one of the nation's largest music gear retailers, Musician's Friend is bound to have some juicy discounts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday for you.

So, if you're in the market for anything music-related, be it a new guitar pedal, amp, electric guitar, drum set, synth, MIDI keyboard or audio interface, Musician's Friend should have a deal worth you brandishing your credit card for, and it's our job to trawl the best ones. Be sure to bookmark this very page to ensure you don't miss out on the biggest Musician's Friend Black Friday and Cyber Monday bargains.

Bookmark the MusicRadar Black Friday music deals hub The Musician's Friend stupid deal of the day Check out all the Musician's Friend Hot Deals MF Rocktober deals: 20% off all qualifying products

Although Black Friday isn't until 29 November, the best Musician's Friend deals are likely to kick-off ahead of the big day and there should be plenty of bargains to be had right through to Cyber Monday on 2 December and beyond.

Musician's Friend is the perfect place to go if you're looking for anything from a brand new guitar, to acoustic treatment for your studio. In fact, you could give your entire studio a revamp with the sheer volume of electronic drum sets, keyboards, synths, audio interfaces and recording equipment on offer.

Black Friday is also the perfect time to stock up on those music-making essentials and accessories too: guitar strings, tuners, picks and guitar straps are just the start. If you can make music with it, it's more than likely that Musician's Friend will have it.

You should be spoilt for choice from Musician's Friend's massive stock when Black Friday rolls around.

Last year saw a whopping $859 shaved off a Martin 00-28 acoustic guitar, for instance, while lucky punters bagged an incredible saving of $650 on the Supro 1622RT Tremo-Verb. Elsewhere, you could get $100 off eight select special edition Fender electric guitars, acoustic and basses.

We think you can expect some entirely bonkers music gear discounts coming your way this Black Friday. Of course, we'll keep you updated with the very best ones right here on this page.

The golden rule when hunting for Black Friday music deals is to know what you're looking for. Whether you're a guitarist, bassist, drummer, producer or DJ, think about what you need to improve your music-making life and then start researching it. This will save you a lot of time when the Musician's Freind Black Friday deals start rolling in, as you'll quickly be able to decide what's relevant to you and what isn't.

Also make sure you're aware of current prices that way you'll know how good a deal something really is when you see it reduced on Black Friday. Some supposed 'savings' aren't everything that they seem.

The good news is that you can easily find out what the best music-making products are by checking out MusicRadar's huge portfolio of buying guides.

Get a phenomenal $859 off a Martin 00-28Looking for a great deal on a legit American-built acoustic guitar? Last year Musician's Friend applied a huge discount to the Martin 00-28 Grand Concert acoustic.

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Musician's Friend Black Friday deals 2019: how to get the best prices on guitars, drums, keyboards and more - MusicRadar

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Larry Hite is a long-time successful hedge-fund manager who doesnt believe he or really anyone can predict what the stock market (and other markets) will do next, or which seemingly successful companies will suddenly crash. (Just remember Enron, he says.)

Nor does he care much for Wall Streets standard buy-and-hold advice for small investors.

Rather, the 78-year-old has become fabulously wealthy using computer programs to detect and follow price trends and by following one simple rule: cutting his losses early. He founded Mint Investment Management Co., and the composite of funds achieved a compounded annual rate of return above 30% before fees during his 13-year run there. He now runs Hite Capital, a family wealth management firm.

I love making money, he says.

Hite expounded on his approach to investing in his new book, The Rule: How I Beat the Odds in the Markets and in Lifeand How You Can Too. He discussed his investment style, a current trade and some of his best and worst trades in an email interview with MarketWatch.

Question: Which of your current trades are you most excited about?

Answer: Im interested in stocks that went from selling software to subscription models. Companies with a recurring subscription model like Apple AAPL, -0.05%, Netflix NFLX, +0.58% or Amazon AMZN, +0.98% have not only a recurring revenue, but also a captive revenue.

Q.: Why did you make it? And when?

A.: Within the last few years because we are all electronically hooked up and companies like Apple are the amplifiers. Subscription models are a revolution in retail because the monthly or annual revenue generates a steady stream of cash.

Q.: What would make you get out of it?

A.: If the share price hits my stop-loss threshold of 2%. Im always measuring the risk and move quickly. If it drops, I get out and preserve my capital and look forward to the next opportunity.

Q.: How many trades do you have on at a time, on average? And, on average, how many others are you monitoring for an entry point?

A.: We are technical traders and the number of trades we have could have at any given time is driven by numbers: price, volume, averages, etc. As for monitoring for trades, that is driven by the methodology we trade on and the universe of stock and commodities that we have defined. Currently in our systems we are monitoring 600 stocks, and we could have a maximum of 30 in active trades.

Q.: On average, how long are you in a trade?

A.: I go trade by trade and really focus on the price and the trend. I watch the markets and ride the momentum. To quote David Ricardo who had three golden rules Never refuse an option when you can get it; cut short your losses and let your profits run on.

Q.: Whats been your best trade ever, and why did you make it? And you got out because..?

A.: In the mid 70s, the coffee markets prices were extremely low; there was a glut of supply and farmers were getting hurt. I researched 50 years of weather patterns and supply/demand data and saw that coffee consumption had been rising for a long time but prices hadnt yet responded. I bought calls on coffee options futures betting their value would rise and I rode the trend from 60 cents to $3.10. My initial $500,000 investment went up to $15 million. When the trend reversed and went down, I got out with $12 million.

Q.: Can you talk about a big trading mistake and what you learned from it?

A.: I was trading orange juice years ago and my computer showed me a price, but when I went to sell I wasnt able to get the same price. I got very angry and stubborn which was really stupid. After I lost enough money, I stopped being stubborn and learned a valuable lesson.

Q.: Youve made lots of money as a trend trader, and you write in your book that you make money because you do what the market tells you do. If only it were that easy! Why, in your opinion, is this not a more crowded strategy?

A.: A lot of people adhere to Wall Streets conventional advice, which tells investors to buy and hold with a passive approach to their portfolio. In this school of thought, you should do nothing when prices drop and not to pay attention to fluctuations in the market, but rather wait it out, because over time they believe the stock market always rises and you will always do well. Trend following is my bible and I feel its the safest thing you can do and the best way to make money.

Q.: What advice would you offer a small investor looking to emulate you? Whats your No. 1 rule?

A: I always have a stop-loss order in place which will automate a sell-off once an asset declines by an amount that you predetermined based on what you have decided you can lose.

Q.: Jim Cramer said earlier this month that you have to be out of your mind to have any conviction about this stock market right now. Do you agree? Is todays market that different than those of the past?

A.: No, its not. I respect the intelligence and devotion of economists and historians who have tried to understand global markets and develop a theory of human behavior and market dynamics. But when you start believing you have remarkable market-predicting powers, you get into trouble every time.

Q.: How has your own approach to trend following evolved over the years? Have you shifted over the year in what you trade, say commodities vs individual stocks vs the broader market? Are trades generally longer now? Or shorter?

A.: My approach hasnt changed significantly. Risk management and a diversified portfolio remain important factors in my overall strategy.

Q.: Do you take into account a companys fundamentals like earnings forecasts and how fast it is growing vs. its sector, valuation measures like P/E ratios, and other factors, or is that all irrelevant as a trend follower?

A.: I look at the price and the other factors are irrelevant. I continue doing whatever is making me the most money. I have done research and run thousands of simulations over the years and what I see convinces me that peoples emotions dont change. Its not intellect that moves the markets, its emotions.

Q.: Why do you prefer trend-following over other strategies, including buy and hold? Is it just better suited to your personality, or is there a deeper reason?

A.: I believe in adaptive systems. Trend following empowers you to see clearly that you can make the right choice for right now. It gives any motivated person a chance to invest in the markets with managed risk.

Q.: Now for some questions away from trading. Whats the best thing youve bought recently?

A.: I was very happy to give my daughter a really beautiful wedding recently and I am looking forward to more grandchildren. Family is everything.

Q.: And what do you hate spending money on?

A.: Jewelry. I would much rather invest the money.

Q.: If you werent trading the markets, what would you be doing?

A.: Studying history.

Q.: And whats your retirement plan?

A.: I will keep doing this 20 years after Im dead. I enjoy what I do and I love making money.

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Heres the stock-market trade this hedge-fund star is most excited about right now - MarketWatch

The Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando Florida is one of the most magical and most beloved vacation spots in the world, and for good reason too. Disney World caters to thousands of guests a day, sharing the magic with legions upon legions of fans. With so much going on, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by it all.

RELATED:The 10 Best Places To Get Cookies At Disney World

Fear not, dear readers. We at TheTravel can offer you some trip saving tips for your next visit to the place where dreams come true. It's not easy tackling on all that magic and wonder, butwe've got ten ways to take some trouble out of your trip.

Click the button below to start this article in quick view

If you're planning on taking on this magical world, be like Cinderella and bring a good pair of shoes. One thing we should make transparently clear is this, you will be walking quite a lot. The property itself isroughly the same sizeas San Fransisco, so you better leave the flats and loafers at home.

Any trip to Disney will be a cardio workout, pure and simple. So be sure to bring some solid shoes to take on those long treks, and don't forget to sit down and rest if you can. We recommend taking at least 15-30 minutes to rest between your attractions. Your feet will thank you.

If you're as big of Disney fans as we are, you live by the golden rule: Early birds meet the mouse. It's never a bad idea to catch the first bus from your hotel or resort to the parks. The earlier you arrive, the less you'll have to wait for your favorite attractions.

RELATED: 10 Simple Pleasures To Enjoy At Disney Parks

Not only are the wait times for some of the more popular attractions low, but you also have the opportunity to catch the welcoming ceremonies to certain parks like the Magic Kingdom. The sooner you start, the sooner you get in on that sweet, sweet, Disney action.

If you see a long wait for your favorite ride or attraction, don't panic. The wait times are an estimate at best and are subject to change. The sign might read 40-minutes, but you might only have to wait for 25. It's never 100% accurate 100% of the time.

That being said, it's always a smart idea to keep an eye on times with the My Disney Experience app. They can change in a snap and then be back up to ludicrous waits before you know it. If you really want to save wait time, consider boarding the single-rider aisle as well.

If you've got a favorite ride at your favorite park, the best thing to do is to take that one on first. Expedition Everest, Big Thunder Mountain, Soarin', whatever blows your Mickey Ears back, put that at the top of your list. Why? Chances are they will fill up fast.

RELATED: 10 Tips For Coping With Rain At Disney Parks

A good rule of thumb is to always do three main things you want to do first. After that, each additional ride you get in feels like a bonus. It's a good strategy to make sure you get your favorite rides done, no matter the length of your stay.

Here's the thing about Florida, it might be called the "Sunshine State" but that doesn't mean showers won't try to rain on your 3:00 parade. Want to know the best selling piece of Disney World merch? It's the ponchos. So if you're unsure about the weather when you visit, you might want to pack your umbrella.

Showers at the Disney Parks can be anything from a teaspoon to a monstrous monsoon that flushes out guests like you wouldn't believe. At least the aftermath results in significant changes in wait times. Bring a towel just in case.

If your time is limited at Disney World, choose your parks carefully. While it's true that some parks can be knocked out in a day, like Epcot or the Animal Kingdom, some deserve more attention. For example, the Magic Kingdom is the largest park, so it needs the most attention, definitely plan for two days there.

RELATED: 10 Disney Parks Rides We Never Got To See

This is where a Park Hopper pass comes in handy. You won't be able to do absolutely everything in one day, so consider making additional trips. You definitely want to enjoy as much as you can.

If you ever find yourself lost, confused, or otherwise in a bind about anything during your visit to the Disney Parks, the cast members are there to help you out. It's their job to answer any questions, give directions, and make your trip all the more magical.

These wonderful Disney staff-members go above and beyond the call of duty to keep the magic alive, so treat them kindly. They do all within their power to keep crowds happy, and greatly appreciate recognition and encouragement. Be sure to get tips and information from them, and don't forget to say thanks.

If you're trekking through these massive and magical theme parks, you definitely need to keep yourself hydrated. Nothing ruins a day at Disney quicker than dehydration. If you didn't bring your own water bottle or buy one on park property, don't worry about it. Disney's got you covered.

RELATED: 10 Of The Best Seasonal Foods At The Disney Parks

There are plenty of counter-service establishments in the parks that offer free cups of ice water to guests needing to hydrate and stay in the game. They even have spots to refill your water bottles in various spaces in the park. A hydrated guest is a happy guest.

Remember what we said about a trip to Disney requiring some cardio? Schlepping through Disney World burns calories like you wouldn't believe. So if you plan on tackling some major park time, don't forget to make time to grab something to eat.

Whether you have a meal plan or not, you're not going to enjoy your trip if you're constantly hangry. Even if its something as simple as a pretzel or a churro, you've got to put something in the tank to continue to press on. Be sure to set aside some cash to get yourself something to tide you over.

One of the biggest things Disney-Park-goers tend to forget to do is to stop, take a breather, and simply enjoy the moment. There's plenty to see and do in the parks and that's fine, but if you don't take time to slow down and smell the roses, you might miss out on something brilliant.

Make time to sit down and enjoy some ice cream, go see the wildlife in the Animal Kingdom, or get your picture taken with Mickey. The Disney artists and Imagineers put so much into these worlds, it'd be a total crime not to admire them.

NEXT:Disney Parks: 10 Time Disney Fixed Their Own Mistakes

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Magic Hacks: 10 Things To Know When Visiting Walt Disney World - TheTravel

October 23, 2019 (American Thinker) The leftward propulsion of American socio-political-economic life during the New Deal and in the 1960s has, this writer would propose, converged with collapsing family values during the past sixty years. Contempt for the familyis part of the communist program going back to 1848. The voices of hateful anti-America protest continue to promote communism as the answer to our society's issues. America is now in disintegration mode despite President Donald Trump's desire to reinstate some respect for our institutions after decades of neglect.

How did we arrive at this point of social and political disintegration?

The voices of socialist potentiality began to move with greater confidence during the New Deal, but they had not wrested total control over the Democratic Party.

After the election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, expansion of the federal government's economic and political authority accelerated. The constitutional "balancing" which was really an imbalance in favor of the states began to erode as the cash flow to the federal government through government borrowing (deficit spending) increased. Decisions that were outright against the liberty established at the founding of our country were justified as needed to take us out of the Great Depression. FDR set up what came to be called the alphabet agencies. Among the laws passed were the National Industrial Recovery Act and the Agricultural Adjustment Act. These laws vastly expanded federal control over industry and agriculture, the two biggest sectors of our economy. Both laws would be declared unconstitutional, but the mindset that gave rise to those legislative acts accelerated.

All these new agencies and new prerogatives for the federal government, representing a major shift toward socialism, were put into effect by FDR on the grounds that they were needed to take us out of the Great Depression. Yet, just as the Federal Reserve did not prevent us from getting into the Depression, the New Deal draconian measures of expanded federal power reduced unemployment only from23.6% in 1932 to 19% by 1938, and 17.2% in 1939, which was still unacceptably high. Thus, the quasi-socialist programs did not deliver on recovery.

In 1948, the Democrats, although they had already moved strongly to the left in the New Deal, rejected the more pro-communist goals of Henry Wallace, who broke with the Democrats and started the Progressive Party, while the Democrats nominated Harry S. Truman, who won the election.

But only a few years later, the communists became galvanized under the banner of the antiVietnam War movement. They took the side of the communist Vietnamese and the USSR. The American Left sought to portray the war as a manipulation by corporate interests and by power-mad authorities in both our political parties to stand against a unified Vietnam. The war protesters told us that our irrational fear of communism was because we did not want to see a unified Vietnamese people happy in their togetherness and unity under their national hero, Ho Chi Minh.

The antiwar movement galvanized the Left. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the even more violent Weathermen were organizations determined to challenge the war and the government waging that warin the streets. They in turn joined hands with the violent, left-wing Black Power wing of the civil rights movement in the late 1960s, not with the M.L. King branch under the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) banner. Instead of kneeling, black athletes were holding their fists in the air in emulation of Huey Newton, who headed the Black Panthers; Eldridge Cleaver (also a Black Panther); and Stokely Carmichael, who headed up the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Black rights were presented in a context of hatred for whites and insistence that constitutional guarantees of freedom were not flexible enough for the black community to grow in freedom and equality.

At the same time as communism and a leftist worldview were becoming rooted in U.S. society, a serious breakdown in the family life of the country was taking place. In 1960, 5% of the nation's children were born out of wedlock, but in the last few years, the percentage is hovering around 40%. Sexual immorality is further intensified by promotion of sexual activity in our public schools. Free condoms are regularly distributed in our educational institutions. Some states have clinics where, after a ten-minute interview, young girls are given referrals to get an abortion (no parental or caregiver consent, for example, is needed inNew York Stateas well as other states). In many states,at least one parent must be informed, but consent is not required.

Little children are sitting on the laps of drag queens in library "readings," and some of those drag queenshave records of pedophilia. Homosexual "marriage" is now the law of the land. Trashy exhibitionists are singing on youtube.com and throughout the media. A million babies are aborted a year, not for "women's health" in 90+% of the cases, but because of women's priorities.

These changes in our sexual mores have led to the disintegration of the family. The strength of the family depends upon a belief in the unity of sex, love, and marriage. However, for growing millions of persons, these three are now independent variables. Even twenty years ago, I was thumbing through a sex education textbook, and the high school readers were told that there are still "some people" who believe they should not have sex until they are married. The textbook told the reader to tolerate people like this, suggesting that they are misguided but should not for that reason be rejected. How tolerant of the authors!

This collapse in family values and sexual mores leads to a decline in stability. A man or woman looking for stability and love is easily tempted into believing that Big Daddy and/or Big Mommy government will provide that stability. But a sense of worth and of a future that can be grasped comes from family, and no social program can reproduce that family experience. Yet the liars of communism are there to state otherwise.

Trump the embodiment of capitalism has become the personification of all the Left hates. The politics of impeachment is powered by inhuman forces of rage, deception, and immorality. Thosespitting in the faces of those with MAGA red hatshave contempt for the Golden Rule as well as for the simple laws that stand against assault of one citizen by another. The bullies and street punks of the sixties are still with us as bullies and lawless anti-Americans, and they are attracting desperate sex-obsessed partisans who are the products of declining family values.

Where are the Democratic leaders who appeal for calm from those who oppose Trump or Republican policies? Rather, the Democrat leaders have shifted into full statist mode with a large dose of anarchism as well. They oppose ICE and support lawless behavior such as the disgusting disrespect of the Senate during the Kavanaugh hearings. They advocate health care for all even though 180 million Americans would lose their present health care. This is nothing short of totalitarian communism.

As the momentum increases, and the leftist screams and riots start to reach a new level of intensity, we who are on the side of right, law, and family who are stable citizens of an unstable society must remain resolute.

This article was originally published at the American Thinker on October 15, 2019, and is reprinted with permission.

Originally posted here:

Communist influences are destroying the US, faster and faster - Lifesite

Won't you be my neighbor? Not in this crummy neighborhood.

The "neighborhood" is actually in your phone's text messaging service. There are reports of people being lured into group chats with strangers who're pretending to be their neighbors.

Most of the scam group chats lead to sexually explicit websites that may be compromised. Click here to see how hackers are infesting Androids with malware using text messages.

If you have a family or are part of a tight group of friends, you're used to being included in group chats. But when you get messages that start like this, watch out:

This latest group text scam, "Live on Your Street," involves scammers trying to lure members of the group to click on links that take them to sexually explicit websites. If someone fails to heed the cyber golden rule and clicks on the group text link, the site they get sent to could flood their phone with malware and/or steal vital information.

Not all group chats start like a letter to Penthouse. Some seem quite legitimate. For instance:

Others may offer cash prizes.

Sex? Check. Curiosity? Check. Greed? Check. Group text scammers hit just the right notes to get people to click their links.

These messages also get the attention of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).The FTC says scams such as "Live on Your Street" are really spam. In fact, all the examples shown above exemplify text spamming and the FTC says it's illegal.

The FTC calls text spamming a "triple threat" because it can be used to steal information and drop malware, lead to unwanted charges on your cell phone bill and slow down your phone's performance.

Besides spamming, these group texts are also phishing. But bad actors don't need a group to go phishing it's just more convenient.

Click here to learn why cybersecurity firm Sophos is warning consumers to also be on the lookout for single person texts that seem legitimate.You could receive a text with a link that looks to be from your carrier telling you something went wrong with your billing.Tap or click here to see how easy it is for hackers to forge bill notifications.Our natural response is to click the link, but don't do it!

Pay close attention to the URL. If something looks off, don't click it in fact, don't click any links at all. But if you must, you could end up on a spoof site that looks very much like your carrier's site. So if you put in your user ID and your password, you could be handing over the keys to your account to a scammer.

Click here to get more details on tips Komando.com offers to help you handle text spamming.Here are some safety rules to live by:

While most texts from strangers are scams, there is a game where people text strangers who have almost the exact same phone number.Texting your "number neighbor" is not a new idea. It's been happening since at least 2016, but recently became popular again. Click here to learn more about the "number neighbor" game.

Here's how it works: Say your number is 555-555-5552. All you do is text 555-555-5553 and say hello to your number neighbor, then sit back to see what happens.

While some people are spooked by the text, many others have decided to engage in conversations, especially now that the game has gone viral. In most cases, number neighbors hold amusing conversations, share memes and jokes, and pull harmless pranks on one another.

However, the number neighbor game can have a dark side. A woman in Los Angeles wanted to get in on the game, but instead of having a light-hearted conversation with a stranger, she ended up terrorized and cyberstalked.The stranger began threatening the woman's life and sending her videos of someone loading a gun. They also called her 70 times.

Blocking numbers and changing your own are two good preventative first steps.Here are a few more ways to protect yourself, not just from bad number neighbors, but also from phone stalkers in general:

Phone calls:Use an encrypted social media app like Facebook'sWhatsAppto make calls.Text messages:Use encrypted social media apps like WhatsApp or Apple iMessage to chat.GPS location:Turn off your smartphone if you think someone's stalking you, and use Wi-Fi connections whenever you can.

Komando.com wants to make sure you are up to date on all the possible dangers out there in cyberspace.So tap or click here to sign up for Kim's Fraud & Security Alerts newsletter and be the first to learn about product recalls, data breaches and breaking tech news.

As a communication tool, text messaging is up there at the top. Considering over 16 million text messages are transmitted every minute, it is easy to assume you have sent your fair share. Whether its reaching out to family and friends, or work-related, texts are an easy and immediate method of connecting with others.

Click or tap here to learn this text-to-email trick.

Please share this information with everyone. Just click on any of the social media buttons on the side.

Please share this information with everyone. Just click on any of the social media buttons below.

Excerpt from:

Group text scam 'Live on Your Street' is trying to get your information - Komando

A 1995 photo shows a group at the Christmas Ball in Philadelphia at the YMCA on Broad Street and Master Street. Photo: Courtesy Reach LA Photography by Iggy

The first time Jacen Bowman attended a house meeting, he had no idea what LGBTQ ballroom culture was.

Going into his final year in high school, Bowman was approached to join a "modeling company" by a man at the former Gallery mall in Center City, Philadelphia. After some persistence on behalf of the stranger, Bowman decided to attend an informational session.

When he arrived, a group of fellow LGBTQ folks welcomed him to what he learned was a "house meeting" at the House of Prestige, founded in 1990 by the stranger who had approached Bowman in the shopping center: Alvernian Davis, known in the scene as Alvernian Prestige.

The house was one of the first in the City of Brotherly Love's ballroom scene "a space where your femininity and you being unique and different was celebrated," said Bowman, now 36 and a celebrity makeup artist.

Ballroom is an underground LGBTQ subculture in which participants, who are largely black or Latinx trans people and gay men, compete for prizes, trophies, titles think "legend" and "icon" or cash at events known as balls. Judges evaluate those who "walk" in a ball in various categories, including voguing, pretty boy realness, butch queen, face, body, Wall Street, best dressed, pop fashion and sex siren. Winners can take home earnings totaling hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

People in the ballroom scene are also part of house culture, meaning each participant is a member of a specific "house," or ballroom unit, that has its own leadership and rules. Each house is governed by a house mother and/or father, as well as board members, a treasurer, and various other hierarchical couples that can include prince and princess or duke and duchess.

"Just seeing ... the joy and excitement of people when they hit the back of that runway, their talents come to life. It's overjoying for me," said Davis, the original house mother of Philadelphia's House of Prestige who currently serves as house father.

How the ballroom scene spread across the nationThe ballroom scene in its form today, la the 1990 documentary "Paris is Burning" and the FX drama series "Pose," originated in New York City in the early 1970s, when legendary drag queen of color Crystal LaBeija founded the first-ever house: House of LaBeija.

The culture rippled across the East Coast into New Jersey and Philadelphia and caught on nationally in localities including Chicago, Atlanta, San Antonio, and Los Angeles. Today, a ball exists in almost every state, Davis said, and many international chapters operate in destinations like Paris, Berlin, London, and Amsterdam.

Some members of the ballroom scene, like 61-year-old New York City ball pioneer Kevin Omni Burrus, who founded the House of Omni in his living room in 1979, trace the culture's earliest roots back to the French Masquerade balls of the 18th century. The traditional event was followed by the Harlem Renaissance Balls beginning in the 1920s and spanning through the 1940s, he said, when the gatherings gave way to the popular drag balls of the 1950s and 1960s before ultimately reaching their pinnacle in today's house-structured ball scene.

The House of Omni became the House of Ultra Omni in 1990.

The ballroom scene caught fire in Los Angeles in the 1990s, said Sean Milan, 48, who started voguing in the City of Angels in 1992. Milan was the original founding mother along with house father Jeffrey Bryant and grand mother Ja Ja Mizrahi of the House of Rodeo, which opened in 1997 as one of the city's first official houses, along with the House of Ferragamo. Before that, the Hoopla Divas operated, though not as an official house. As time passed, more people started houses or established chapters of East Coast houses that originated in cities like Washington, D.C. and New York City.

As many Los Angeles ballroom participants started with the House of Rodeo or House of Ferragamo, Milan told Philadelphia Gay News, the city's scene has a smaller, community-focused feel compared to East Coast locales.

"There's ... this certain sense of family and togetherness that everyone has because we don't have as many functions as other states may have, especially like New York," said Milan, now known as Legendary Sean Milan Garcon, member of the House of Garcon, which was established in Los Angeles about a decade ago when the unit made its way west from Washington, D.C.

At the turn of the 21st century, younger ball participants "developed their own scene," known as "Kiki balls," Omni Burrus said. These next-generation, mini-balls give youth a safe space to practice and gain exposure.

Ballroom star Tommy "Dee" Murphy is credited with engineering a color-coded, timeline-based system for chronicling the decades of house-structured balls, Omni Burrus said. It kicks off with the inaugural White Era that spanned the 1970s and first half of the 1980s. Next came the Red Era, running 1985-90, and the Black Era of the early 1990s.

"You never knew what you were going to get," Omni Burrus, who entered the ballroom scene at 16, said of early ball performers. "They gave you magical acts."

Creating safe spacesWhen Bowman entered ballroom, he said he found a lot of people who looked and talked like him.

"It was just a safe space of where my femininity or my different way of thinking or way of talking, my body gestures, my movements, were celebrated," Bowman said. "It definitely created that safe space because it's true that you can be who you want to be. You can be whatever it is that you want to be."

As a world "built on the backs of African American trans women," Davis said the ballroom world has historically created a haven for trans people and folks of color, especially those experiencing hardships like homelessness or being cast out by biological families because of their LGBTQ identities.

"It is imperative that we form a unified fellowship of brothers and sisters, especially our trans sisters, battling the true enemies of our oppressed communities, which also include racism, HIV, homophobia, discrimination and other social misfortunes," Davis added. "It's always been a safe space."

Bowman introduced Richard LaBoy, an Afro-Latino gay man, to the ballroom scene when LaBoy was in 10th grade at Philadelphia's Central High School. At the time, LaBoy was in and out of youth shelters.

"Ballroom is definitely a community, it's definitely a family. ... Ballroom started in the early 1970s because a lot of people of color, specifically from communities and cities, were kicked out of their homes, like me, for being gay," said LaBoy, now 35. "I came out and didn't have a lot of places to go. Ballroom actually is one of the places that accepted me, and it accepted a lot of people since its founding."

The AIDS epidemic and beyondOmni Burrus estimates he's lost more than 600 friends in the ballroom scene to AIDS.

"There was a period of my life where I just continuously had to go to funerals," Omni Burrus said.

In 2012, he launched the Kevin Omni Burrus Funeral/Burial Fund to offset funeral costs of those in the community. From 1989-91, he helped organize the Love Ball, a fundraiser event for the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, a nonprofit that provides preventive education and advocacy for people impacted by HIV or AIDS.

Many of Davis' ballroom friends who he came out with during the 1980s also died from AIDS, "a scary thing" that was "just taking people out of here," he said.

"I remember a friend telling me he was positive and two months later, he was dead," Davis added. "It was a scary feeling, especially when a lot of people became close within ballroom and ... these people became family. To see all your family disappearing and dying, or people [who] couldn't handle the HIV epidemic and were committing suicide."

Davis also serves on a community advisory board at the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Center for AIDS Research, acting as a liaison between the college and ballroom community about research, trials, and workshops.

LaBoy, an executive member of the House of Miyake-Mugler, is a clinical research assistant in the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Adolescent Medicine Department, where he works on the POSSE Project. The health intervention service aims to reduce risky behaviors among LGBTQ youth in Philadelphia's house and ballroom communities.

"Ballroom has not only been extracurricular for me, but where I get my passion and my drive from doing HIV prevention work," LaBoy said, "because at the end of the day, this community is, unfortunately, still being affected."

Data indicates that young members of the ballroom community are poised to be some of the most impacted by new cases of HIV. In 2017, youth ages 13-24 accounted for 21% of new HIV diagnoses in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The same year, black people and African Americans made up 13% of the nation's population, but 43% of new diagnoses. Within this, 73% of new cases in the black community occurred in men.

Many ballroom houses collaborate with LGBTQ organizations to provide HIV testing at the competitions, which Davis said is especially important for young participants who may disproportionately experience homelessness.

On top of the ongoing fight to thwart HIV and AIDS, Davis said two other issues impact the ball community: the murders of trans women across the country and an increase in crystal meth use.

"We need more people getting involved in mental health," Davis said. "If people are depressed and stressed ... they're not going to take their HIV medicine; they're not thinking about that. When people are on crystal meth, they'll be high for three or four days, so that's three or four days that they're off their medications."

Promoting health and wellness for the next generationRooted in a decades-long tradition of promoting health and wellness in the queer community, the Kiki ball offshoot largely grew out of social gatherings hosted by LGBTQ organizations that connected young ball community members to health services.

Milan works as the social engagement and arts program manager at REACH LA, a youth organization founded in 1992 in response to a lack of HIV/AIDS prevention education for young people of color. In 2006, to better address the health disparities in underserved communities of color, Milan worked with the group to found the Ovahness Ball, now the longest-running and largest ball on the West Coast, he said.

LGBTQ young adults have a 120% higher chance of experiencing homelessness than their straight, cis peers, according to a 2017 University of Chicago report. Twenty percent of trans people have experienced homelessness at some point, the National Center for Transgender Equality indicates.

To address such issues, house parents split their time between preparing their "children" for balls and helping them grow personally and professionally.

"We have a golden rule that you've got to work, go to school, do some type of volunteering, because that's what our house is about," Davis said of House of Prestige. "We don't only just walk balls, we try to be a community activist house also."

As house mother to about 125 people at Philadelphia's House of Prodigy, which was founded in 2002, Bowman said he aims to show them that ballroom extends beyond the runway. His goal is to "nurture and help develop" the kids to "make them be the best that they can be." Having once been incarcerated for 10 months, he draws on his experiences to exemplify how to get through difficult times.

"As young people that ... go through different things, they may experience homelessness or they may experience losing their job or losing a friend or losing a family member, they don't see the light at the end of the tunnel," Bowman said. "My primary job is just to make sure they see that light and help them get to that light."

Ballroom is "a great teaching tool" that prepares participants for other life experiences, Milan told PGN.

"You prepare for the ball, you walk your category in front of judges and whatnot and it's the same thing as you would do if you go to a job interview," he added. "You have to prepare for the job interview, you may have four or five different interviews, you don't know any of the people really who are judging you at the interview. So there are a lot of life skills that young people are actually able to learn in the ballroom scene, and they're able to learn them as who they are, as opposed to what society says they should be."

Entering the mainstreamA new wave of visibility has washed over ballroom culture in the era of social media.

Whereas "Paris is Burning" and Madonna's song "Vogue" may have introduced ballroom to larger audiences, the culture has garnered mainstream attention in recent years with TV shows like "Pose" and "RuPaul's Drag Race."

"[Before], you had to go to another ball to find out when the next one was, that's how underground it was," Davis said. "If you didn't know somebody in ballroom, you might've seen people at the clubs voguing back in the day and didn't know they were part of a house."

In LaBoy's eyes, "it's about time" for the spotlight to shine on the ballroom scene, and not just within it.

"A lot of folks in ballroom are the ones doing your makeup, styling you, behind the camera. We've always been a part of mainstream pop culture, to say the least," he said. "It's been great to see it being presented in pop culture, but also honored as art."

For Bowman, the recognition comes with drawbacks in the form of "culture vultures" preying on what has always been a "hidden jewel of talent."

"During my 20 years of experience in ballroom, I've watched people come into our culture and steal from us and then take it and do it mainstream," he said. "Then they get all the credit for it when they really got it from us."

Milan echoed that some mainstream depictions "don't really get the real essence" of ballroom, and present a "more appropriated version" that misrepresents terminology and how the scene operates. Having people from the ball community collaborate on the shows is important, he said.

"Pose" made history by casting the largest number of trans actors Indya Moore, Mj Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Hailie Sahar, and Angelica Ross to ever appear as series regulars on a scripted show. Billy Porter also became the first out gay black man to win an Emmy in the outstanding lead actor in a drama series category for his role in the show.

Davis said he's primarily happy to see mainstream representations like "Pose" provide LGBTQ people with outlets for their acting, dancing or showcasing their lighting and choreography skills.

"It has opened up a lot of doors and opportunities for people," he added, "especially trans women of color."

Laura Smythe (mailto:laura@epgn.com) is a reporter at the Philadelphia Gay News.

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LGBTQ History Month: The rise of the ballroom scene through the ages - Bay Area Reporter, America's highest circulation LGBT newspaper

The semi-finals ofGBBOhave come and gone like a visitor in the night.

Together, we laughed at their misfortunes and we cried at the bakers' decision to wear ties in honour of Henry who is still very much alive despite such an 'in memoriam' move.

David, Alice, Steph and Rosie gave it their all during patisserie week, but there could be only one winner - baking produce manufacturers and also Paul and Prue's bellies.

It was a good episode in terms of content. Lots of things happened, some more important than others.

Here's six things you might have missed during the show.

1. David's bottle made a fart noise and he didn't even flinch because it transpires that he is a robot

The golden rule of being alive is that you must stop everything you're doing when something makes a fart sound. Whether that's a chair, a bottle of ketchup or a human person, you need to stand still, take stock of things and appreciate one of life's greatest comedic feats - a fart noise. David was squeezing some white substance into a mixing bowl when it made what I can only describe as a very wet and earthy fart noise. Steph was the only one to clock it, delivering a succinct "Pardon you", which David declined to react to. The man is not human. Where is his banter? Regardless of what was at stake in the competition, you cannot ignore the undeniable hilarity of a fart noise. Not even a surgeon mid-surgery would stifle a lol at a squeaking shoe noise.

2. There was a peeping Tom outside theGBBOtent and HANG ON IS THAT A DOG

As with any high profile television show, it's inevitable that people are going to try to get their two minutes of fame at any cost. If you can't actually bake, your chances of getting onGBBOare quite slim. Not impossible, but close enough. Unnamed Brown Dog knows that. He can't make a croquembouche to save his life, but you better believe that he makes up for it in endearing face-lickings. So he went an alternative route, breaking into the tent's tenderly-pruned gardens, staring dead into the camera from a variety of different angles to guarantee his moment in the limelight. Truly, we have no choice but to respect the hustle. Fame - even dogs want it.

3. The technical challenge instructions actually aren't as scant as the bakers make out

Yeah fair enough, the 'Make crme patisserie' and 'Make pat a choux' points are pretty savage, but everything else is a lot more informative than we may have been led to believe. We got a cheeky glimpse at David's technical challenge instructions during last night'sGBBOand he accidentally revealed that the bakers aren't as hard done by as they sometimes protest. The instructions tell them to reduce the oven temperature, what size piping nozzles to use, even how many times they're allowed to go for a wee during the challenge. It's not great, but it's better than we thought. Someone should tell these bakers that they're making reality TV, not a drama. Actually wait, I've just had a good idea for a spinoff show.

4. Alice's earrings also doubled up as a silly slide for ants

What initially seemed like a bespoke piece of jewellery actually transformed around the 40 minute mark of the show, right when your mind started to drift off and you wondered how much longer would be left. An animated ant used Alice's earring as a silly slide, having a whale of the time as the bakers eagerly awaited the results of the technical challenge. It was invisible to the naked eye, or also any other eye, but if you simply just use your imagination,GBBOcan be whatever you want. For example, this week I decided that the show was presented by a butternut squash and some hummus dip rather than Noel and Sandi. They did well. Excellent chemistry. A tasty duo, frankly.

5. Right so it transpires that the dog was actually fake, sorry. Very embarrassed

Okay so the dog that was initially spotted behind David actually transpired to be some kind of statue because he (or she) stayed in the exact same position for the entirety of the show, popping up in the background any time the left side of the tent was being filmed. This is a disgusting prank that someone has played on us all. They are laughing at us, the dog statue owners, having a right old chuckle at our stupidity. Frankly, they're right to. This is a shameful day and one that will stick with me for a long time. But also, why put a dog hidden between the trees during week nine? It doth make no sense,GBBOset dresser. Fool me once, etc.

6. Not to sound like a Mam, but NOEL FIELDING PUT HIS MUCKY BOOTS ON THE COUNTERTOP!

Health and safety is of the utmost importance, even in reality TV shows where they use a giant basket of eggs for decorative purposes. Noel Fielding besmirched the health rating of theGBBOtent during this week's show by putting his mucky but admittedly very fashionable boots right onto the countertop. It's a grave offence and one that Ofcom assure me they are investigating thoroughly. At this point, all we can do is await the ruling of the high court. It's expected that their decision regarding the death penalty could take up to 48 hours, so we just need to busy ourselves in the meantime. Sadly,GBBO's health rating has passed away. RIP u will live on forever. Cant believe it. I wanna run to u. Really cant believe this. @

Images via Channel 4

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Six things you might have missed during this week's GBBO - JOE.co.uk

Relationships before all the romance and excitement of free meals, sex and weekends away are at their most uncomfortable and awkward when theyre first beginning.

Modern dating, especially on the internet, is nothing short of a minefield. And before the honeymoon phase or even the first date comes the inevitable: the cheesy, often creepy, pick-up line.

Youve got to start somewhere, right?

Gone are the days when all it took was a Joey Tribbiani-esque, How you doin? or the simple send of an eggplant emoji.

RELATED: How to get the most matches on Tinder

In the 90s it was Craigslist and AOL chat rooms, then Match.com and Kiss.com, Nancy Jo Sales wrote for Vanity Fair in 2015.

But the lengthy, heartfelt emails exchanged by the main characters in Youve Got Mail (1998) seem positively Victorian in comparison to the messages sent on the average dating app today.

In 2019, pick-up lines usually administered via sliding into the object of your affections social media direct messages (DMs) can be a shortcut to intimacy with someone and an ideal way to escalate banter for the purposes of flirting, dating, or if youre really dedicated true love.

THE PICK-UP LINES TO AVOID

The problem with pick-up lines is that when theyre bad whether theyre sleazy, inappropriate or just dont make sense theyre really bad.

And on an app like Tinder, which reported in 2016 that it had more than 50 million users, its no secret that things can get pretty weird.

Here are some cringe-worthy lines to avoid sending at all costs:

If I had to rate you from 1-10, I would rate you as a 9 because I am the one that you are missing.

Are you religious? Because youre the answer to all my prayers.

Excuse me, but I think I dropped something. MY JAW!

Like feet?

You must be from Tennessee! Because you are the only TEN I see!

Hey Im looking for treasure. Can I look around your chest?

Are you my appendix? I dont know what you do or how you work but I feel like I should take you out.

Well, here I am. What are your other two wishes?

Netflix and chill?

Would you like to try an Australian kiss? It is just like a French kiss but down under.

Lets play Titanic: You be the iceberg and Ill go down.

Do you believe in love at first sight or would you like me to walk in again?

Are you Area 51? Because Id die to get inside you.

Did the sun come out or did you just smile at me?

On a scale of one to North America, how free you are tonight?

RELATED: Shocking truth about millennial dating

TIPS FOR MAKING PICK-UP LINES WORK

If youre starting your chats on Tinder using classic pick-up lines Did it hurt when you fell from heaven? chances are youre already in trouble.

According to a 2017 study of students from the University of Electronic Science and Technology, published in Scientific Reports, women prefer men who use metaphorical language when paying compliments in a romantic context.

Womens preference of more creative language indicated a degree of evolutionary significance to the researchers basically, that a more creative pick-up line might mean youre more intelligent, and thus more attractive as a potential partner.

Mens dating success has been found to be correlated with their creativity, the researchers said.

Metaphors involve higher cognitive processes and greater activation in key brain language and cognitive processing areas.

Put simply when you flex your wit in talking to women, youre exercising more of your brainpower and showing off a bit more of your potential. Thus making a memorable first impression before the fireworks and roses and hopefully managing to break the ice.

The other golden rule? Whether youre on Tinder, Bumble or the sacred space of Instagram private messages, always do as you would in real life.

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Tinder pick-up lines: The best and worst pick-ups lines on dating apps - NEWS.com.au

Actress Charlize Theron has her own way of raising her kids! When she attended ELLEs Women in Hollywood Celebration on Monday, October 14, she revealed all the best lessons that she tries to teach her kids as they get older.

You know, I think a big thing for me is kindness and knowing we live by our religion, which is do unto others the way you want to be done to you, she told Closer Weekly and other reporters at the star-studded event at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. So were big on respect and thinking of others before we think of ourselves.

Charlize, 44, is a proud parent to her two adorable kids Jackson, 7, and August, 4. In an April 2019 interview with The Daily Mail, theMonster star opened up about her oldest child being transgender and how she dealt with that.

[My kids] were born who they are and exactly where in the world both of them get to find themselves as they grow up, and who they want to be, is not for me to decide, Charlize said. My job as a parent is to celebrate them and to love them and to make sure that they have everything they need in order to be what they want to be. And I will do everything in my power for my kids to have that right and to be protected within that.

Charlize learned everything that she knows from her own mother, Gerda Jacoba Aletta Maritz, and she hopes to carry on Gerdas lessons with her two kids. The last thing the Oscar winner wants is for Jackson and August to not have the ability to open up and express themselves.

I grew up in a country where people lived with half-truths and lies and whispers and nobody said anything outright, and I was raised very specifically not to be like that, Charlize explained. I was taught by my mom that you have to speak up; you have to be able to know that, when this life is over, youll have lived the truth youre comfortable with, and that nothing negative can come from that.

Charlizes kids are so lucky to have this lovely woman as their mom!

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Charlize Theron Kids Are Being Taught the Golden Rule By Mom - Closer Weekly