#Like trying to make an entertaining concluding paragraph but it's the year of your life that your extended family might not care about lol

[chasehollow-doodletour]

This one is for the Key Buddy theorists.

[roc-thoughtblog]

Sense and Sensibility Readthrough Part 9

Chapter 12, Pages 49-54

Previously, Sir Middleton has started the Party Timez and Marianne is flirting it up with mysterious Mr. Charming. Meanwhile, Elinor has a sweet moment with Colonel Brandon where he alludes to a past love-related something, because they are both two lonely people watching a party.

I enjoyed this chapter, because Margaret finally opened her mouth and only gold came out. :D You little scamp, you have vindicated my small obsession with seeing you relevant in any form!

Readthrough below.

Chapter 12

AS ELINOR and Marianne were were walking together the next morning the latter communicated a piece of news to her sister which in spite of all that she knew before of Marianne's imprudence and want of thought, surprised her

Oh? OH? Marianne going to have many thoughts, head full of prudence?

by its extravagant testimony to both.

NOPE! Also, Austenism on first sentence of chapter, nice opening. I most creatively coined that for personal use and now I finally get to use it! Setup into unceremonious, and yet very extra, subversion that turns potential positives upside down. Anyway, Willoughby has given Marianne a horse, which she has accepted with zero thought into the Dashwoods' ability to keep it.

Elinor, has, of course, thought of all the things the family is lacking with regards to horse-keeping, including most prominently, a complete lack of a stable in which to house it. Was boutta ask, good Elinor answered my enquiry most quickly.

I have a friend who is a self-professed horse-girl, and many mutual friends who attest to not desiring to ride with her on account of it being quite dangerous. This isn't directly related to anything, Marianne just invited Elinor to ride her horse and I was suddenly struck by a memory of warring opinions on the risks of horseriding. Horse-girl's testimony to its relative safety was not aided by her own anecdote of having fallen off a horse onto her back once, and not being able to feel her neck for a while, or something similar to that effect (don't worry, she is fine). I imagine Elinor would be horrified.

Marianne brushes off all of Elinor's concerns in... most short-sighted fashion. No Marianne, do not keep a horse in any old shed. This reminds me of when my aunt kept her kittens in the bathroom. Bad. Awful. Don't consider keeping animals if you can't be bothered to house them properly. :(

Of course, Marianne draws the line when Elinor claims she doesn't know Willoughby well enough to receive a horse from the man;

"You are mistaken, Elinor," said she warmly, "in supposing I know very little of Willoughby. I have not known him long indeed, but I am much better acquainted with him, than I am with any other creature in the world, except yourself and mamma. [...] I should hold myself guilty of greater impropriety in accepting a horse from my brother, than from Willoughby. Of John I know very little, though we have lived together for years; but of Willoughby my judgement has long been formed."

Marianne has a great talent for speaking warmly. :'D

Ouch girl you have been hit hard. The infatuation, it speaks through you with a megaphone.

It's really fascinating how big an effect love and infatuation seems to have on apparent closeness. Like at some point it really does cross over the line to being genuinely close, but I feel like I observe a lot of the time, before that point, that people tend to... trick themselves into thinking they are close? Infatuation has a remarkable ability to warp the sense of emotional proximity between people, maybe even just through the firing of emotions on all cylinders.

One memorable conversation I will always return to was when a friend of mine referred to their boyfriend of a few months as their "best friend" in the most casual, natural way. A few months didn't seem like a long enough time, and when I asked them, they did suddenly realise they weren't quite there yet... I find it very interesting how love can so easily dominate social lives.

Anyway, Marianne has jumped to Big Conclusion about how well she knows Willoughby. It's a good thing he's probably a nice guy really, but this is also likely one of the ways predatory relationships can take root so uh, look after your friends I guess. Sometimes when this kinda emotion takes hold they need a second opinion to keep them grounded.

Elinor thought it wisest to touch that point no more. She knew her sister's temper. Opposition on so tender a subject would only attach her the more to her own opinion.

Yeah, Elinor has the right idea. Backfire effect is real, and it's not something you want to mess with when you really need to convince somebody of something. You definitely need to go around with a different approach... which Elinor does, nice! By appealing to Marianne's concern of potentially greatly burdening her mother, who would of course consent enthusiastically to a horse, but also be the most inconvenienced by its maintenance.

Marianne relents most sadly. :(

She tells Willoughby next she sees him that she can't take the horse, because of reasons. Willoughby is disappointed, but tells her that the horse is still hers, once the time arrives that she can keep- he named the horse Queen Mab? Horses. Always with funky names. Is that a historical figure? FAIRY FROM ROMEO AND JULIET! Please Mr. Willoughby! You are every bit the drama queen as Marianne. You are not so star crossed!

O-oh. Elinor overhears everything, and also realises now that they are in fact a couple? By the way Willoughby pronounces Marianne's first name, and the fact that he uses it at all. Oh, that she is now absolutely certain of it, and in no way surprised. Yeah that makes sense.

GASP! MARGARET SPEAKS!

Alright this whole sequence is gold, I dunno how to relate it here but it's a quick and fun read. Reading being generally fun, but quick doesn't usually come naturally to me. Also means I don't take notes.

Margaret thinks the two lovebirds will be married soon and Elinor is hilariously shutting her down for crying wolf about pictures that turned out to be of great-uncles. But this time Margaret has witnessed Willoughby beg for, and acquire, a lock of Marianne's hair, for romantically sentimental reasons I personally do not understand but have witnessed enough to accept without question. Because, y'know, children don't count as witnesses to secret emotional dalliances you don't the adults to see. And the account is specific and detailed enough that it doesn't seem like something a kid would just make up.

And then we go on a hilarious tangent about how Margaret accidentally spilled all the beans on Elinor's love life to Mrs. Jennings for not knowing any better how to respond to questions. :'D The poor girl asks Elinor for permission to say, so now Mrs. Jennings knows somebody exists. And then Marianne drags herself into it to defend Elinor's feelings, but Margaret innocently reminds her that all the speculation was her’s to begin with.

"Margaret," said Marianne with great warmth,

GREAT WARMTH! This is greatest warmth of Marianne yet, I have never seen her so upset, I'm rolling. Poor Margaret is a little out of her depth with all the adults bugging her for gossip, and the more the sisters try to contain her the more slips out. You can't expect so much from a kid. :'D

Thankfully Lady Middleton saves all the Dashwood sisters by abruptly and deliberately changing the topic to the weather, followed by sensitive Colonel Brandon. Nice save, guys! Willoughby, good man, invites Marianne to start playing piano too. Elinor is saved, but still thoroughly shook haha. Poor girl is not of a heart that can deal with this assault.

Chapter concludes with a quick two paragraphs which I guess will set up the next chapter; they organise a party to go party at an estate belonging to Colonel Brandon's brother-in-law, because, Sir Middleton has partied in that place all too much and yet never enough. Party. Sir Middleton: Party man, does whatever a party can. What exactly do landed lords actually do again?

All this arranged with open carriages and sailing, and I assume cold provisions to imply a picnic; "rather a bold undertaking, considering the time of year, and that it had rained every day for the last fortnight -" HA. Well, despite his extensive partying experience, we are given to understand that Sir M. is still a slow learner. Oh well.

... I just realised I found Margaret to be so entertaining I didn't realise the story had like... used her as a connecting factor to completely transition the theme, setting and topic of the chapter halfway through. I feel like this is important to note, as for the most part chapters in this story seem to stick to exploring one specific topic or person. This particular chapter was somewhat all-over-the-place topic-wise (Marillouby confirmed, Elinor's beau’s existence revealed) and the only unifying factor was Margaret shenanigans, which I love, but she isn't relevant to the central plot in the same way the two other pieces are. On top of that, the chapter ends on an otherwise random note that they're going to another party at a place related to Brandon; this isn't something that necessarily needed to cap off this chapter as far as I can tell.

I guess what I'm wondering is, this slightly frankenstinian chapter; is it the result of combining two smaller segments too short to be chapters in their own right, or is it more like... a deliberately transitional chapter? That the chapter lacks a unifyingly plot relevant topic to explore, because it's only concern is for setting up pieces for coming chapters at the new estate party? I guess I'll find out soon.

[glass-crayon]

Finally, a sequel: Me, an Orthodox Jew with 12+ years of Day School Education and a healthy sense of humor, explains the Haggadah

Kadesh: depending on whether it’s the first night or the second night, you’re either super hyped or thinking “Please god let this one not last till 1 am”. You drink your first cup of wine (or grape juice if you’re a lil wimp- actually who am I to talk I get drunk on Bartenurah) and get a healthy level of tipsy. 

Urchatz: The first sign that tonight is not, indeed, like all other nights. You feel like a king/queen when you get your mom to wash your hands for you, because yasss, peasants. Clean my hands. I should not have to pick up this shmucky cup by myself, that is below me.

Karpas: Now, at this time of night I am, let me tell you, STARVING. I think this step was invented sorely to torment us, because I can survive without eating anything for hours with no problem, but as soon as you open those floodgates by letting in a tiny piece of slightly salty potato, lemme tell you, it is torture. But it is a mitzvah I guess so whatever. ooh also the background behind this one is fun- why do we do it? So the children will ask! What a Jewish answer. I love it.

Maggid: This step’s length solely depends on whether you live alone and can speed read Hebrew on your own, or you live in a house with lots of children who all a) have a dvar torah on every phrase and b) need to be constantly entertained. If you’re lucky like me, you get both!!! This step features-

extremely loud, hyper children who suddenly get stage fright and hold up the seder for 10 minutes while you try to coerce them into mumbling the mah nishtana

One of my favorite passages, about Rabbi Eliezer ben azaryah from the talmud who woke up one morning to find out that BAM he looked like a 70 year old man (with beard to match!) because he was extremely well educated. There is something utterly hilarous about a Rabbi going ful Fred and George in the goblet of fire with no warning whatsoever.

The whole sons thing, which is where I personally think JK Rowling got the Harry Potter houses. Don’t believe me? Watch: 

Chacham: Ravenclaw

Rasha: Slytherin

Tam: Has to be Gryffindor. Theyre so goddarn stupid

SheEino Yodea Lishol: Hufflepuff- i have an immense hatred for Hufflepuff so here it is. You’re all babies who don’t even merit to understand why you went out of Egypt. bam roasted.

Vayehi SheAmda: I cannot get through this without invariably thinking of that one Mark Twain passage. GO JEWS!!

Then, we enter a section of maggid I like to call: We just said this passuk but now let’s be rashi and go into detail on every word. Need I say more?

Now, let’s talk about how funny the concept of spilling out a little bit of wine is for every plague. First of all, where the heck does it come from. Why? It makes no sense. Who looked around the table and thought the way to pay tribute to the miraculous plagues was to dip your grimy finger that’s been flipping through pages of a 20 year old hagaddah and drop it onto a plate? I just wanna talk.

And what about that whole section afterwards that’s basically just RABBI SHOWDOWN. Oh you think you know how many plagues there were? did you count the ones at the sea? What about accounting for the finger instead of the hand? Idiots.

K now onto Dayenu. This whole thing is also ridiculous because some of the stanzas don’t even make sense. It would have been enough to leave you by the sea but not split it? Um no then you would be attacked by the Egyptians. And splitting it but not leading you through it on dry land? helloooooo this is ancient times in the desert. They don’t know how to swim. Extra props to Nachshon now that I’m thinking about it because as far as he knew, he just drowned himself.

andddd finally maggid concludes with the second cup! Just so you can get a lil bit full before giving yourself major matzah constipation.

Rachtzah: Normal hand washing with a bracha but with that nice princely element of not having to pick up the cup yourself again.

Motzi/Matzah: Time to take that empty stomach and stuff it with burnt, crumbly and messy cardboard! This one sucks because it’s like, oh, only an egg’s worth? No problem! (This step is exacerbated by the fact that you gotta stuff it in your mouth in 2 minutes like it’s the end of the world- that’s why super religious guys full on chipmunk their pieces.) AND THEN YOU FIND OUT THAT’S IN WEIGHT AND YOU HAVE TO EAT A FULL SHEET OF PAPERS WORTH. and all of the sudden it’s a freaking olympics race to consume that against the ticking clocks.

Maror: Oh, you’re full? Too bad! Have some bitter lettuce (or, if you have a truly psycho family, horseradish. I pray for yall). You don’t even taste the charoses. It’s disgraceful

Korech: What’s that? You really can’t eat anymore? Time for the worst sandwich you’ll have all year! Consisting of this is definitely not bread and more bitter lettuce! (Seriously tho, this would have slapped in the times of the temple when there was lamb in the middle.)

The backstory behind this step is also hilarious. Everyone agreed you had to eat Pesach, matzah, and maror seperate except for renowned sage hillel, who thought you had to eat it in a sandwich. He was clearly wrong, but everyone just went “whatever, we’ll do both I guess, for your honor”. Freaking awesome- just imagine being so famous that people do stuff even though youre wrong.

Shulchan Orech: THE MEAL AT LONG LAST.

Tzafun: Oh now you really can’t take another bite? Have another half-sheet of papers worth of matzah that youve gotta compete against the clock for again. But no! Not so fast! First you have to find it. :) We love the rabbis! This step is another excuse for spoiled children who are somehow still awake at 12 am to demand presents.

Barech: Ya bentch. Not much to it. 

BUT, at the end you do the absolutely wonderful paragraph of shfoch chamatcha with your third cup of wine. What is that, you ask? Well, it translates to an extremely hostile call to god to annihilate the other nations, which you have to say with your front door open. Now, my family takes this a step further, because we’re psychopaths. We full out yell it on our porch for all of our non Jewish neighbors to hear, and be undoubtedly terrified. This year cuz of quarantine absolutely nobody was outside, so when my brother yelled it, you could hear it echoing from hundreds of feet away across the street. It was SPLENDID and we fully thought wed be arrested.

Third cup- all alcohol is disgusting and I hate life.

Hallel: Pretty standard, until you get up to what is usually the last bracha and find out nope they put in an extra 600 word paragraph as a treat! Did I mention I love the rabbis? What sadistic monsters thought this up?

And don’t forget the fourth cup so you can become sufficiently tired of grape juice that’s been sitting out for 4 hours!

Nirtzah: I can see the finish line. Now, my family has more fun traditions including saying the first long stanza (may it be “It came to pass at midnight” or “this is the feast of passover”) in spooky voices to spice stuff up because we all TIRED. 

Then, we enter a stage called I speed read everything for my family until we get up to who knows one, another favorite pesach tradition. Here, you have to say your stanza in one breath. It’s always good, especially when my brother gets 13 2 nights in a row and we all get to watch him insist he can get it for 5 minutes straight of failed takes. 

How bizzare is chad gadya also? We decide to end the seder with a horrific parable of everyone dying except for god who reigns supreme? Who made that one up?

And thus concludes the seder, where youre dead tired before you remember that you still have to clean up the table and surrounding areas, which by now are coated in a thiccccc layer of matzah crumbs because that stuff is THE DEVIL.

[bealect]

Sweet Summer : A Literary Analysis

Society engage a lot of problems especially in this generation because people tend to judge one’s appearance despite of one’s capability and inner goodness. The definition of Beauty as time goes by is vague and doesn’t have any definite picture to follow. Nowadays, physical appearance is the new way of having friends – in school, work, and even in sudden events. Having a “beauty” means people will respect you and even treat you like a princess. It is quite a dissent because people invariably look upon the figure of a person which is a deficient reason to settle a preference. However, as a society expands, another matter arises – problem after a problem such as the bullying, sexual harassment, and ‘sexism vs. feminism’ issues wherein these broad problems came from the people itself.

In the story entitled, “Sweet Summer" written by Cyan Jugo, it depicts the story of The Candy Club – consists of 12 year old teens who loves to eat sweets every afternoon. A simple story that talks about society today, figuratively.

In the story, it gives emphasis mainly to the characters, the forces, and the Point of View of the speaker. First, the character of each persona in the story, they represents a bunch of roles in society today. Camilla and Faye are kind of people who started to mock everything around them or anything that doesn't beautiful in their eyes and they represents those people who doesn't care in the welfare of others, they have the audacity to see people like a laughingstock thing. Sarah, a figure who has the traits of good and nice seems to have a low self-esteem to herself. However, despite of being aloof to people, she managed to have a conversation to Frederick. She managed to interact with someone she hardly knew and that makes her character notable. The boys including Frederick and his older brother Felix, are portraying the role of majority especially of men – bold and brave.

In terms of conflict of the story, the forces is mainly all about the Man vs. the Society. Literally speaking, reading the story itself is much different when the reader analyzes every details of it. The word ‘society' never found in the story but because of its context, it was concluded to be connected to the recent events of society. The phrase, “Don't walk alone at night," Frederick warned. "People can jump at you like Dolby did." figuratively means, it is dangerous to stay late when it’s already night time. Frederick said those words to Sarah is implying the harm and danger of one's life especially a woman (girl). Basically, it pertains to how a society - supposedly a happy and secure place, could be a reason of one's death. In addition, another reason is apparent in the story – the lack of knowledge or understanding about the sexual aspect of a person. In the first paragraph, the words that were used indicates how the boys acted towards those beautiful girls. Moreover, society tend to set standards of what's good and bad, what's beautiful, and what's beneficiary to majority of people. In the story, it's a clear picture of what's the norms – having a beautiful face and curves and boys having fun staring and ogling like bees to the girls.

Author uses the 3rd Person as Point of View in the story makes sense because the readers hardly analyze the hints and what the authors trying to imply to its readers. Also, having a speaker that is not part of the character in the story is an advantage because readers can't read the entire thoughts of the characters. In the last sentence of the story, “Off they went the way Frederick and Sara had come, but forgetting Sara. Only the dog looked back, licking his nose.”, readers can't or couldn’t conclude what's on the mind of Frederick, but one thing is obvious, his pet dog looked back, and the author give emphasis to the words ‘licking his nose' which as a reader could indicate something – desire. Dogs have this behavior of licking something they like, they like the taste and everything about a particular thing. Author made and emphasize a point that the dog looked back means there might more to happen if there's no interruption or intruder.

In terms of symbolisms or recurrent images - in the sentence, “The older boys had begun to hover about like bees, ogling them like treats – but only the two creamy long-legged eclairs, not the nut-brown fudge in a housedress melting in the sun. ”, the meaning behind it was apparent. The phrase, “to hover about like bees, ogling them like treats - ” means boys are giving too much attention to the girls in a way that their actions dominate by a sexual desire. In the phrase, “only the two creamy long-legged eclairs, not the nut-brown fudge in a housedress melting in the sun” evidently means there’s a preference of what’s beautiful. As the author emphasize to the options, it simply means what’s appetizing in one’s eyes is good. The words, “eclairs” and “fudge” symbolizes a sweet girl or a woman and they just differ with their skin complexion. The ‘eclairs’ are women who usually have a white skin meanwhile the ‘fudge’ are women who have a brown or tanned skin based on the denotative meaning of the two words. In short, both are girls but only the premier is appreciated and noticed by the boys.

Second symbolism or recurrent image in the story is the words spoken by Camilla – one of the members of The Candy Club, “Frederick, walk your two dogs!”. The author used the figures of speech yet it gives a clear explanation that there’s a mocking in the voice of a girl, it could also be an insult and a case of bullying. From the context, it could infer that because of brown skin color of the girl named Sara, probably, there’s an ill-treat of her rights.

Third recurrent image that I read in the story is the statement coming from the brother of Frederick named Felix, “You’re a natural! I’m proud of you! Now let me introduce you to some real yummies over there…”, basically means there’s a privilege in the part of a boy doing an intimate scene with the opposite sex and it made a point that it’s natural and good behavior as a male instead of correcting and explaining what’s the proper way of helping a female without having a dirty thoughts. This kind of mentality must begin at home especially from the family members so that it could reflect to the community and as much as possible, to the society.

Lastly, in the last part of the story wherein it narrates the following, “Sara watched both of them – one, then the other – and wished it had been the boy who had jumped at her and not the dog.”, symbolizes the misleading idea of youths between the lust and love. Moreover, this is a clear picture of how a 12-year-old girl or the teens of today, influences by the notion of the societies norms. This is not just to mere narrates the story but also it carries a message of how a teen reacts to an abrupt emotions in a situation and mistook it to something deep and serious which is not suitable for that age.

In the story, it is a clear representation of the ‘sexism vs. feminism’ issue. The boys including Frederick and his older brother symbolize the strength of men especially on being a dominant in terms of sexual desire. Society of today seems unaware of what’s happening in the issue of the two contradictory beliefs. In the story, Sexism pays attention to the character of the boys at the village’s water tank; it depicts their power over girls especially in the phrase, ‘He picked the honey-lemon. Good, since she wanted the Cloud 9.’, a clear representation of women afraid of voicing out her thoughts. Politicians matches this kind of representation. They are elected because they will serves as the voice of their subject in the Senate however, those motives aren’t somehow present in regards for the recent matters. One thing that is present today that is not included in the story is the rights of everyone – there are now laws regarding to human rights and women rights, and it is a good thing because it indicates how a society works and blends well to people. Discrimination especially the bullying is entirely visible in the story – the bullies and the bullied, and the root of it is one's physical appearance, a norms when it comes to beauty. In the phrase, 'Aachoo!" Faye winked at the bright sky.”, is indirect way of disliking someone, in addition, ‘winked at the bright sky’, figuratively means, diverting attention to something because you can't keep watching someone who is not good in the eyes (don't like).

Another issue of society apparent in the story is the lack of understanding on entertaining sexual thoughts and what can it implies to someone in regards with an actions. The phrase, “- and wished it had been the boy who had jumped at her and not the dog.”, is unusual thought to a 12-year old teen. Giving a point that the author wrote these words implies deep and serious problem of a society such as the increasing numbers of teenage pregnancy, teen mothers, and over population of a country because of improper information dissemination in literacy. Teachers, and parents has a big part in educating these teens through direct, personal, and conversational talks – it could be helpful for a teen who will undergo like in the story's circumstances, they'll easily recognize those temporary emotions and what is the normal thing to do.

This story is may not be sweet and complete ending as readers ought to expect, it is a sweet reminder to everyone that listen intently to people and observe the environment can be a huge help in defining and molding the society’s future. Summer is not just a season after the spring, it could be as hot as this what other people called ‘minor issues’ if people keep on avoiding this supposed to be ‘awareness’.

[xbananaleensyo]

“I love you” call

Ship: Ohmtoonz

Warnings: mentions of alcohol/drinking

Words: 3,755

Summary: Ohm loved Cartoonz but he doesn’t know. One day, however, Ohm gets drunk and tries to call a certain someone. Aka Ohm is a fluffy, loving drunk and doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut.

A/N: Hey guys! This is my first fic I’ve ever made and I’m pretty proud of it : ) So, thank you for reading it and I really appreciate any likes/reblogs/comments! Have a nice day, yo.

              Ohm wasn’t much of a drinker. It just wasn’t something he did much. Sure, he had the occasional glass of wine at dinner parties and the mandatory swig of beer during the Super Bowl but that was all for show. He never really indulged too far into it. He felt, at most, slightly warm from the minimal consumption and can’t remember the last time he truly was drunk. But it seemed tonight was different.

              Ohm tipped the bartender and sipped at the bottle of beer he just ordered. He scanned the ballroom, spotting the couple of the night instantly. It wasn’t hard to find them, their presence radiated happiness, true love flush on their cheeks and gentle stares. Ohm couldn’t help the throbbing sensation in his chest. It was accompanied by a slow southern drawl and cheeky grin that tended to occupy his mind, especially in moments like these. He looked at the newly-wedded couple and wanted it, wanted what they had so badly instead of this longing ache. Ohm sighed, loosening the tie on his neck, before taking a gulp of his drink and joining his peers in another round of shots.

              “Bye! Thank you for bringing me home, dude! I appreciate you and your service.” Ohm yelled back at the uber before shutting the door and walking the steps to his front porch. He searched his pocket for his keys, reminding himself out loud that he needed to give his driver 5 stars and a good review. She was a nice woman, entertaining Ohm’s drunk rambles during the late night drive. He was suddenly glad he decided to carpool to the wedding venue that morning because, based on the slight stumbles up his yard, he can assess that he was in no way, shape, or form able to drive himself home, Heck, he couldn’t even find the right keys to his door.

              “There you are!” Ohm cooed, giggling as he slotted in the key to let him in. Right when he walked through the door, he was greeted with excited paws batting at his ankles and welcoming yips. Ohm was beaming at the sight.

              “Tiny! You’re such a good boy! I love you so much.” He said while carefully kneeling and cuddling the pup.

              “I’m very drunk, Tiny. So we can’t—we can’t play a lot. But just wanted to let you know that I love you and you’re the best.” Ohm sent Tiny back to his doggy bed after one last pat on his back. He decided that it probably wasn’t a good idea to let Tiny sleep in the bed with him tonight. Ohm closed his bedroom door and plopped on his mattress, somehow taking off his shoes and dress pants on the way. He should sleep he thinks but the alcohol was still running hyper in his veins causing him to feel energized and elated and fuzzy. He felt so goddamn warm, honestly. Like he was so happy and wanted to share the happiness with everyone else. And he should. There was so many good people in his life that deserved it and when was the last time he told them how much he loved them? Not enough! He concluded, already taking out his phone out of his vest pocket. He silently thanked technology for having fingerprint recognition.

    Ohm went to twitter first, sending out a quick appreciation post to his fans and followers. Then, to his discord, giving out short but meaningful messages to as many streamer and YouTube friends he can think of. Next, it was his contact list on his phone where he kept the closer people in his life. These were the ones he was gonna spoil with love. Ohm sighed with satisfaction when he hit send on Delirious’ text, stacked with paragraphs on how much he helped him over the years. He went back to his list, finally stumbling on the contact that made his heart burst:

Toonzy <3

              Ohm’s thumbs froze over the screen, not quite sure how to start the text. There was just so many things he loved about Cartoonz—which ones should he say first? Can written text even convey all the things he wanted to say? Can he even type all the love he had for him? Perhaps, he should call him instead.

              “Hi Toonzy!” Ohm greeted excitedly right after the ringer broke. There was silence on the other line though before another voice spoke up.

              “Uhh Ohm? This is Delirious?” Ohm mentally slapped himself, wondering how in the world he messed that one up. But looking at the blurry name on his screen, he can confirm he was, in fact, talking to Delirious. Oh well.

              “Oh…oh! Delirio~ Sorry, I tried calling Toonzy. I wanted to tell him some things.” Ohm thought for a second. Even if it was an accident, he shouldn’t let this call go to waste, right?

              “But-but, wait, don’t hang up yet Delirious! I wanna let you know some nice things too. Because, because lemme tell ya. You, you, are a wonderful man and I’m glad you’re in my life. I love you and…and you deserve all the love!” Ohm heard Delirious’ happy laughter on the other end, pleased that the other enjoyed his declaration.

              “Awww, thanks Ohm. I know, I saw the text messages. Love you too man, really, and I appreciate ya but are you uhhh are you drunk?”

              “Nooo I’m not drunk. I’m really drunk.” He answered, extending the ‘really’ for extra effect. He laughed at his own joke. “There was a wedding Delirio~ my…my sister’s. And it was beautiful! There was decorations and cake and good food and dancing and an open bar…” Ohm chuckled again, remembering the open bar quite well. An amazing add-on to an already amazing wedding.

              “My sister has incredible taste, Del. It, it was nature-themed! There was lots of flowers and leaves. Trees. And…and it made me realize I want a wedding like that…” And at that moment, Ohm made a mistake. He couldn’t stop his rambling, his mouth wanting to say everything on his mind. His feelings were going a completely different direction now and he felt tears starting to collect in his eyes. “But I don’t think I can! I definitely can’t.”

              Delirious seemed surprised by the mood change. He scrambled to find his words before speaking. “Ohm ca—calm down! I’m sure, I’m sure you’ll have a beau-ti-ful wedding with nice flowers and gifts and food! Don’t cry please!” Ohm shook his head even though he knew Delirious couldn’t see him.

              “Nooo you don’t understand Jon! I’m gay!” Ohm cried out, trying to make a point through his fuzzy mind. But it seemed Delirious wasn’t having it.

              “Uhhh Ohm, we know that already? You told us that like…like last year? And we fully support you and that doesn’t fucking mean, at all, that you can’t have a—”

              “No, no listen. You don’t understand. Jon, I’m gay gay. Like…like I’m gay for someone. But I don’t think he’s gay gay for me? Delirious, Cartoonz doesn’t feel the same way, huh?” he felt the ache in his heart again, letting a few tears slide down his cheeks.

              “Car-cartoonz?” Delirious sputtered. Ohm gave a long sigh.

              “Yeah…Toonzy. He’s funny and genuine and attractive and just gets me, ya know? I just wanna kiss him all the time and cuddle him and…and go on dates with him and touch him and fu—”

              “Jesus Christ.” Delirious breath. “You can’t just…just…hold on. Can you hold on? Hold on a sec, Ohm.” Then Delirious was gone. There was a lot of shuffling and mumbling in the background that he couldn’t understand. But before he could figure out what was going on, Delirious was back.

              “Okay, can you say that again, Ohm?”

              “I wanna fuck Cartoonz!” He declared, hearing more shuffling along with a sharp gasp and ‘not like that!’ protests coming from Del. Maybe, that wasn’t the exact phrase he was looking for. “No, no wait…make love with Cartoonz. Yeah, that. I love Luke. But not like…I love you Delirious but I’m uhhh in love with Luke. For a long time now. He’s, he’s amazing~ And I love spending time with him. But he doesn’t love me…why would he love me…? His insecurities were starting to leak out. Because it’s true. Why would Luke ever like him in a way that was more than a friend?

              “For fucksakes why…look, Ohm, I have a good feeling that Luke loves you back. You’re a great guy, don’t be so down on yourself. He’ll be lucky to have you.”

              Ohm shifted his weight to the side, his voice quieter than before. “How do you know that?”

              “I just have a very, very strong feeling.”

              “But why would he—”

              “Ryan, just please trust me here, okay?” Delirious pleads. He jumps at the sudden name-drop. Jonathon never calls him by his real name. He also never sounded so conclusive before.

              “Okay Jon, I’ll try.” He yawns, finally starting to feel the night catch up with him. But he can’t sleep yet.

              “You should probably go to sleep, man.”

              “But Toonzy…I gotta call…” he yawns again.

              “Tomorrow dude. Better if you’re sober and n-not about to pass out.”

              “But…Yeah…true…I’m sleepy.” Ryan starts to close his eyes as he says those words. He tries to relax through the spinning in his head. It feels like a whole minute has passed of him breathing into the mic and he assumes Delirious already left the call.

              “Good night, Ohm…”

              He barely hears the quiet murmur at the end. Ohm’s interest piqued as it sounds kinda off. It was huskier. Deeper. Ohm almost forgot who he was talking to. But it wasn’t enough to break the tiredness that was closing in on him. Ohm’s body starts to slack, he vaguely feels the thump of his phone as it falls on the bed. His thoughts float in his head, drunk, but specifically drunk on Cartoonz. Memories of hefty laughs, long beards, and southern accents filled his mind before finally settling into sleep.

               The morning after sucked. Ohm groans, finally remembering this being a big reason why he didn’t drink much. This part is utter crap.

              “I hate myself. I fucking hate myself.” Ohm mumbles, covering his arm over his eyes. He forgot to pull his blinds so the sunlight he usually loved to greet was glaring at his mistakes. His head throbbed, noting that he was still in his dress shirt, suit jacket half-on but was pantless somehow. His mouth was dry and tasted like alcohol and regrets. Suddenly, he heard Tiny bark in the livingroom signifying that there was someone in the house. But before Ohm can process if he was getting robbed or not, his gut fails him and he rushes himself to the bathroom.

              “Ohm? You okay in there, bud?” Ohm hears through the knocking on his door and his loud heaving sounds. He recognizes the voice to be Cartoonz and is glad that he decided to give him that extra key.

              “Yeah, I’m just, shit—” another round rises up his throat. Ohm is gripping the toilet bowl for dear life as whatever contents start spilling through. He doesn’t notice Cartoonz next to him until he feels hands on his shoulder, massaging his back sympathetically.

              “Goddamn Ohm, you got absolutely fucked up. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

              “Well, nothing is in me now…” Ohm says weakly. Grabbing a towel to wipe off the excess residue off his mouth. He leans on his bathtub, relieved that he can finally breathe. Cartoonz hands him a water bottle which he gladly used to gargle his mouth with before taking two big gulps.

              “So, what brings you here, Toonzy?” Ohm asks. Though he’s not complaining that he did show up, Ohm knows Luke isn’t the type of guy to come in unannounced.

              “Jonathon texted me this morning. Said your dumb hungover ass needed some assistance, probably. Just think of me as your Alcohol Poisoning Rescue Squad.” He patted the bag he was carrying to capitalize his status. That was probably how he got the water so fast.

              “Now come here, child, and lets get you all cleaned up!” Cartoonz hollered, helping him get up and escorting him to the sink.

              Ohm just rolled his eyes. “We’re practically the same age, Cartoonz.” But Cartoonz ignored him, opting to the kitchen to probably make food. Ohm looked at himself in the mirror, hissing at his reflection. He felt like shit and looked like shit. That was great. He got to work, brushing his teeth and taking a quick shower to scrub off the grime of last night. Once he was washed and changed into fresh clothes, he felt a lot better than before.

              “Pedialyte?” Ohm questioned as he entered the diningroom to find a plate of scrambled eggs waiting for him as well as some pills, a glass of water, and a bottle of Pedialyte.

              “Yeah. Del’s recommendation. I don’t drink much so I can’t say but Del swore by that stuff when he did. Oh, here’s your coffee too, by the way.” Cartoonz places a hot mug beside him, the familiar smell wafting through the air. “Made it how you like it too: disgustingly sweet and undrinkable.” He wrinkles his nose at the thought.

              “No, you’re just a barbarian and drink it straight black. What sane person drinks it straight black?” Ohm retorts, blowing at his drink to cool it down. He will fight for his sweet-tasting coffee to the death.

              “Agree to disagree.” Cartoonz huffs, settling in the chair next to him with his own plate and cup. They ate their food in comfortable silence. Cartoonz hummed and scrolled through his phone while Ohm picked at his eggs. He tried to recall what he did last night, memories of bouquets and shots filled his mind. Then he got home (somehow) and wobbled to his bed. He texted people, he thinks, and he hopes to god that it was nothing too embarrassing. And then he remembers he was talking to someone…didn’t he call Delirious?

              Ohm dropped his fork in realization. He did. He admitted his crush to Delirious. And Delirious sent Cartoonz over here. What in the heck…

              “You okay there, Ohm?” Cartoonz asked. Ohm didn’t realize he was staring at him. He picked up his fork and cleared his throat.

              “Yeah, I’m fine Toonzy. Just thinking through this headache, no worries.” Despite the reassurance, Cartoonz arches his eyebrow.

              “Are you sure…? I mean, there’s just something that’s been bugging me and I really should ask.” Cartoonz sighs, setting his phone down on the table. “Ryan, you don’t usually drink, especially get wasted, is there something wrong? And don’t tell me that ‘it was a wedding’ shit. ‘Cause we’ve been to plenty of parties before and you never had more than a bottle or two. You even told me it just wasn’t your scene. You can tell me if there’s something wrong.”

              Ohm couldn’t help his stomach fluttering a bit at Cartoonz’s concern. Any delicate attention Luke gave him made it flutter and this time, despite being hungover, made no difference. Of course, Luke was the one to spot the slight intention of his actions. That his night of binge drinking wasn’t just from the atmosphere of celebration. Luke knew him well, Luke could read him. Another reason why he was so in love with the damn guy.

              Ohm groaned, wondering how he was gonna tell the truth but not at the same time. He wasn’t gonna lie but he was also not gonna confess. Sober him was still unsure about Delirious’ observation last night. He wanted to trust him but he needed time to think about it, digest it, and besides, he didn’t feel well enough to try anyways.

              “No? Yes? I-I don’t know Cartoonz. I guess, I just got carried away and lost it.” Ohm sighs, pushing his hair back and leaning back on his chair. “The first drink was out of courtesy. The second drink was with peers. The third drink was because of the YouTube algorithm and the rest after that was…” Ohm closed his eyes, thinking about the pain in his chest at the wedding, a pain that was too familiar in his life. “…was my stupidness, honestly. I was being stupid. I love my sister, Toonz, don’t get me wrong. I’m happy for her and her husband. I cried at the ceremony. But…but she’s my younger sister, Toonz. By a good chunk too and, I don’t know. I couldn’t help but feel so jealous and, and lonely and—” wanting you. Ohm shook his head, feeling a wave of nausea when doing so, pushing it down along with his heartbroken feelings. It was hard being so in love when he knew he wasn’t suppose to be. He wanted what his sister had at that moment, to love who his heart desired freely. But he was too much of a coward and so drank way more than he should’ve to forget the fact.

              “I have a good feeling that Luke loves you back.” Delirious’ voice echoes in his mind. But that’s impossible.

              Suddenly, Ohm’s hands are being grabbed and placed on Luke’s lap. His eyes are sad looking at Ohm’s but they weren’t filled with pity like Ohm expected. They were filled with something soft that he couldn’t pin point.

              “I’m so sorry, Ohm. I wish you didn’t feel that way. But I get it. I fucking get that feeling. You have no idea. And it sucks. I even thought I was just going to live with the feeling, get use to it. Just for the sake of it.” Cartoonz’s thumb started rubbing the side of his hand, obviously nervous about the next thing he was about to say. He brought their hands closer so they laid on the base of Cartoonz’s chest. Ohm was a little surprised by the gesture. He could feel the man’s rapid pulse beating under his palms. “But that changed, I think. I hope it changed. I feel like I have a chance now when a little drunk bunny called last night…” Cartoonz smirked at Ohm’s confused look while he ransacked his memories. He didn’t call him and just didn’t remember, did he?

              “What do you mean by…”

              “…while I was in a certain idiot’s livingroom…”

              “No. He didn’t. He—”

              “…and was put on speaker phone…”

              “I’m gonna fucking kill him.” Ohm proposed, feeling the vibration of Cartoonz’s chuckle. His face was hot from embarrassment and shame. But soon was hot from something else.

              “I love you too, Ryan. So fucking much it’s ridiculous. I thought I was saving our friendship by not telling you. I didn’t think we could be more than that and, god, I’m really hoping that what you said last night wasn’t just some drunken dare. Because I don’t think I can handle it if it was just some joke.”

              Ohm shakes his head and pulls his hands back along with Luke’s. He presses Luke’s knuckles against his lips, letting it linger before speaking.

              “I meant every word of it. There’s no joke. I’ll even say it again sober: I’m in love with you Luke for who knows how long and…I want the chance to show you that.”

              Ohm couldn’t believe this was happening. It was surreal how fast it happened, how random it was. He couldn’t breathe but at the same time his lungs never felt so free. He wrapped himself around Luke’s neck, leaning in closer to kiss the lips he’s only dreamt about, but when said man pushes him away with a grin on his face, Ohm couldn’t help but question what was going on.

              “Look, Ohm, I love you and all and god do I want you, but I just watched you throw up buckets of puke a second ago. I am NOT kissing you right now.”

              “But, but I brushed and rinsed Toonzy! Twice!” Ohm pouted, crossing his arms at the rejection.

              “Nope, still disgusting. Not happening.” He patted Ohm’s head.

              “That’s rude, Toonzy. That was like the perfect fanfic moment, I’ll have you know.” Cartoonz just shrugged.

              “What about take me on a date and then we’ll see about the kissing.”

              “Oh. There’ll definitely be kissing.” Ohm said, lowering his voice so it was smooth as velvet. Ohm hummed in success when he caught Cartoonz biting his lip.

              “Okay, Ohm, can you stop being a creep and eat your goddamn eggs.” Ohm reached out, however, not wanting the moment to end just yet.

              “Wait, what time are you free? To take you out, I mean.”

              “Does tomorrow sound fine? I have to do some recording with Del in the morning but I can catch dinner.” Ohm scanned his schedule in his head, happy he was due to record in the afternoon.

              “That’s perfect.”

              “You’re perfect.” Cartoonz said, giving a quick peck on his forehead. Ohm sighed into the kiss, leaning his head on his shoulder to try to engulf himself in Cartooonz’s embrace. He wanted as much of him as he can get. He needed to catch up somehow.

              “You know, I can’t be mad at Delirious if this is the result. I know his intentions were good and he knew we just needed a catalyst but I still want to kinda punch him in the face, ya know? Maybe just the shoulder. But only just a tiny little bit.”

              “Oh, I’m way ahead of you. No one breaks your trust on my watch.” Cartoonz takes out his phone to show him a picture of a sleeping Delirious. In it, Delirious seems to be cuddling an owl-shaped Teddy Bear that Ohm recognizes as the birthday gift Vanoss gave to him a couple years back. Ohm notices that the picture was from a message thread between Cartoonz and Vanoss himself with a caption that said: He sleeps like this every night. Take this as you will.

              Ohm cracks up, shaking his head in disbelief. “That’s amazing but savage. They’re both going to have a heart attack. You’re unbelievable.”

              “But you love me.” Cartoonz says, lacing their fingers together.

              “Yes, I do. And you love me?”

              “Yes, I absolutely do.”

[onlinelearningguide-blog1]

Tips to Read Faster & Still be Able to Remember Everything

The academic field has evolved dramatically from what it used to be earlier. With a wider range of topics to be covered in each subject, learning can take a toll on students. Many people struggle to even complete their syllabus since they have to read so much in a short duration. Naturally, it also negatively affects their performances. But is there a way out? Is there a way to trick your mind to read faster while still remembering everything? Can we be smart enough to overcome the challenge? We find the answers to all these questions in this space.

How to Read Faster – A Comprehensive Guide to Boost Your Brain

We are always on the run and on the search of finding ways to save our time. Reading and learning can be a taxing process not only for students, but also for people who have to deal with a lot of paperwork in their professional life.  Therefore, it is crucial to make sure that you save your time. So, here’s presenting before you some simple tips that will help you read faster.

Previewing

Having a preview before diving straight into the text itself will help you get a clear picture of what you are getting into. For this purpose, you need to scan the text from start to finish. Pay close attention to the heading and sub-headings. Take note of every text that is printed in bold or in any special font.  

Besides, read the first and last paragraphs alongside the transitory sentences. If there are images or graphs in the text, examine them properly.

Doing all these will help you understand the context that the author is trying to portray.

Concentrate on Your Focal Point

Reading without any strategy will always make you lag behind others. You need to be smart in your reading approach so that you can reap the maximum benefits in a short period.

You need to ask yourself the following two questions:

·         What is the author describing in the text?

·         What information are you seeking from the text?

For instance, you are reading a text on the Indian freedom movement. But your syllabus requires you to study only the role of women in the Indian freedom movement. Therefore, you need to be specific about where you put your focus on.

This scientific approach will help you while dealing with a dense or lengthy text.

Don’t Read Every Word

It will be next to impossible to complete your syllabus if you try to read every word of all the texts available to you. As students, you have a fixed schedule - You have to go to your school or college, take your online tuition, and then finish your homework. So, naturally, you need to crunch your time.

While reading, most people can scan 1.5” (3.8 cm) of space at any given point. So, this means you will be able to read 3-5 words at the same time without making any additional effort. Instead of reading each word, try to move your eyes the way a scanning machine moves.

This will enable your peripheral vision to do the reading for you. For some people, using a finger or a pencil to point on every chunk of 3-5 words also helps. To put it simply, read phrase by phrase, not word by word.

Use a Timer

At a single glance, this may seem generic, but you can’t underestimate the benefits that you can draw from this tip. Usually, humans read 300 words in a minute. But with practice, this can go up to more than 500 words. So, use a timer and see the gradual rise in your reading speed.  There is nothing like challenging oneself.

To keep track of your progress, you can also maintain a spreadsheet and analyze how much you have improved over 30 days or six months, or even a year.

For beginners, we also recommend writing a short, crisp summary of the text immediately after writing it. It will show you whether you have just read without remembering anything or you were able to retain it in your memory. So, take a few moments to synthesize your information and write what you remember.

If you happen to be one of those who is a verbal or visual learner, you can have a voice recording of your summary or you can draw a map of what you remember. Whatever mode helps you, just suit yourself. Remember, there is no hard and fast rule for reading. So, don’t stop yourself from personalizing your reading method.

To Conclude

 There is no end to learning and we all wish we had more time to finish everything that we want to read. Whether it’s reading the study material of your CBSE online tuition or your favorite thriller novels or even entertainment magazines, these aforementioned rules are universal and will help you be a better, faster reader.

[ltcol-laurens]

Laurens-Hamilton letters

All this can be found here and this is just a list of quotes from letters between 1778 and 1782 between John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton at what could be hinting at a relationship between the two. I hope this is helpful.

First: ‘We have the Honour to be  Sir  Your most Obedt Servts     A Hamilton    John Laurens’  - They wrote a letter together that’s just cute.

From JL, 5th Dec 1778 ‘My Dear Hamilton...Adieu, my dear boy. I shall set out for camp tomorrow.’ 

The best letter of all time, From AH April 1779: ‘Cold in my professions, warm in {my} friendships, I wish my Dear Laurens, it m{ight} be in my power, by action rather than words, {to} convince you that I love you. I shall only tell you that ‘till you bade us Adieu, I hardly knew the value you had taught my heart to set upon you. Indeed, my friend, it was not well done. You know the opinion I entertain of mankind, and how much it is my desire to preserve myself free from particular attachments, and to keep my happiness independent on the caprice of others. You sh⟨ould⟩ not have taken advantage of my sensibility to ste⟨al⟩ into my affections without my consent. But as you have done it and as we are generally indulgent to those we love, I shall not scruple to pardon the fraud you have committed, on condition that for my sake, if not for your own, you will always continue to merit the partiality, which you have so artfully instilled into ⟨me⟩.’ 

From the same letter: ‘my Dear J’ - that’s cute.

From the same April 1779 letter: ‘ I anticipate by sympathy the pleasure you must feel from the sweet converse of your dearer self in the inclosed letters. I hope they may be recent. They were brought out of New York by General Thompson11 delivered to him there by a Mrs. Moore not long from England, soi-disante parente de Madame votre épouse. She speaks of a daughter of yours, well when she left England,12 perhaps ⟨– – –⟩. ‘ There’s an explanation for this: Hamilton was asked to deliver a letter from Martha Manning to Laurens so he found out that Laurens was not only married but also had a daughter. They’d already known each other for around a year and a half at that point.

Hamilton proceeds to seemingly ask John to find him a wife whilst he’s in South Carolina:  ‘And Now my Dear as we are upon the subject of wife, I empower and command you to get me one in Carolina. Such a wife as I want will, I know, be difficult to be found, but if you succeed, it will be the stronger proof of your zeal and dexterity. Take her description—She must be young, handsome (I lay most stress upon a good shape) sensible (a little learning will do), well bred (but she must have an aversion to the word ton) chaste and tender (I am an enthusiast in my notions of fidelity and fondness) of some good nature, a great deal of generosity (she must neither love money nor scolding, for I dislike equally a termagent and an œconomist).’ 

However it was just an excuse to put in as many innuendos and that famous ‘nose’ line: ‘ If you should not readily meet with a lady that you think answers my description you can only advertise in the public papers and doub[t]less you will hear of many competitors for most of the qualifications required, who will be glad to become candidates for such a prize as I am. To excite their emulation, it will be necessary for you to give an account of the lover—his size, make, quality of mind and body, achievements, expectations, fortune, &c. In drawing my picture, you will no doubt be civil to your friend; mind you do justice to the length of my nose and don’t forget, that I ⟨– – – – –⟩. ‘ - The word ‘friend’ seems to be teasing about how far from friends they are which is further consolidated with the ‘nose’ and infamous scratched out words which I believe that mystery has been solved  and it possibly says: ‘never spared you of pictures‘ so it now reads: ‘...mind you do justice to the length of my nose and don’t forget, that I never spared you of pictures.’ I think the pure fact that JCH felt the need to cross that out shows that he interpreted it as sexual because if he thought that they were just friends and it was, as Massey puts it, ‘bawdy humour’ then why would JCH feel the need to cross it out? Really John Church is just confirming what we already knew - that Hamilton and Laurens were M O R E T H A N F R I E N D S. And that’s from a 18/19th Century homophobe (most likely). Also JCH met his Alexander (I know he died soon into John’s life but still they met) so will understand his father more than any historian and is therefore one of the most reliable sources.  

‘ NB You will be pleased to recollect in your negotiations that I have no invincible antipathy to the maidenly beauties & that I am willing to take the trouble of them upon myself.‘ - Hamilton underline ‘NB’ (nota bene/note well and the underlining of ‘maidenly beauties’ and ‘trouble’ seems to suggest some sort of sexual innuendo ... with Laurens. He could be possibly reminding Laurens of a similar experience they shared. ‘Maidenly beauties’ seems to be referring to inexperienced women or virginity. The phrase ‘maidenly’ seems to be feminine adjective however it’s more likely to be describing purity (e.g in the case of virginity). Let’s remember how Hamilton was once played down his attraction to Eliza in a letter to Laurens so why would he be talking about female virginity. Furthermore,with Hamilton already talking about his relationship with Laurens previously in this letter this quote holds a lot more implication that he was talking about his relationship with Laurens. Another interpretation of this could be that Hamilton just wants to remind Laurens that he’s not exclusively attracted to men (as Laurens most likely was) so it’s a way to possibly make Laurens jealous as Laurens (accidentally) made Hamilton. Additionally, the word ‘trouble’ could be interpreted as pregnancy and he’s saying that despite the ‘trouble’ of the feminine body (i.e pregnancy) he’s not immune to be sexually attracted to them. Also just think how Laurens’ personal experience with women and probably the first, or one of the first times, he had sex with a woman it resulted in pregnancy and his own mother died because of pregnancy.  

Hamilton concludes with: ‘ Do I want a wife? No—I have plagues enough without desiring to add to the number that greatest of all; and if I were silly enough to do it, I should take care how I employ a proxy. ‘ So he calls marriage a plague and he explicitly states that he doesn’t want a wife.

‘Did I mean to show my wit?’ - ‘Wit’ = 18c for penis

From Laurens, 14th July 1779: ‘ Ternant will relate to you how many violent struggles I have had between duty and inclination—how much my heart was with you...’ And he ends with ‘yours ever John Laurens’ so pretty effusive for Laurens.

From Hamilton 11th September 1779. There’s a bit of a gap here which Hamilton actually talks about: ‘ I acknowlege but one letter from you, since you left us, of the 14th of July which just arrived in time to appease a violent conflict between my friendship and my pride. I have written you five or six letters since you left Philadelphia and I should have written you more had you made proper return. But like a jealous lover, when I thought you slighted my caresses, my affection was alarmed and my vanity piqued. I had almost resolved to lavish no more of them upon you and to reject you as an inconstant and an ungrateful ——.2 But you have now disarmed my resentment and by a single mark of attention made up the quarrel. You must at least allow me a large stock of good nature.‘ Most notable in this paragraph is Hamilton’s uses the phrase ‘jealous lover’. He ends on a more formal note: ‘Adieu  Yrs most sincerely A Hamilton’

From Laurens 12th December 1779: ‘Present my Respects and Love to our excellent General and the family; may you enjoy all the pleasure moral and physical which you promise yourself in winter quarters; and be as happy as you deserve.Yours ever John Laurens’

From Laurens 18th December 1779, Laurens uses the phrase: ‘ χαλου χαι αγαθου’ which is Greek ‘kalos kai agathos’ and cannot be translated directly into English and it has various meanings discussed by @john-laurens here who does a great job of explaining what it means. He ends on ‘My Love as usual. Adieu John Laurens.’

From Hamilton 8th January 1780: 

Laurens used ‘dear boy’ several times e.g. here compared to a letter to his wife: ‘...and say dear Girl...’ so he used to same term to describe his affection towards his wife to describe his affection towards Hamilton. 

From Hamilton to Laurens 30th March 1780: ‘Adieu my Dear; I am sure you will exert yourself to save your country; but do not unnecessarily risk one of its most valuable sons. Take as much care of yourself as you ought for the public sake and for the sake of Yr. Affectionate A. Hamilton.’ 

 From Hamilton to Laurens 30th June 1780: ‘ Have you not heard that I am on the point of becoming a benedict? I confess my sins. I am guilty. Next fall completes my doom.‘      I might be looking too much into this but it sounds like he’s trying to assure Laurens (who was a POW at this point) that he hasn’t completely forgotten about him and it’s a strange way to put it if he’s truly happy about the wedding: ‘Next fall completes my doom’. Hamilton goes on to say (about Eliza): ‘ She is a good hearted girl who I am sure will never play the termagant; though not a genius she has good sense enough to be agreeable, and though not a beauty, she has fine black eyes—is rather handsome and has every other requisite of the exterior to make a lover happy.‘  This doesn’t sound like he holds the highest opinion of Eliza which contrasts to how he wrote in letters to Eliza, for example: ‘ My good, my tender, my fond, my excellent Betsy, Adieu.‘, ‘my angel’, ‘ I kiss you a thousand times‘ and ‘ I shall be miserable if I do not hear once a week from you and my precious infant. You both grow dearer to me every day. I would give the world for a kiss from either of you.’ (Bear in mind the last few quotes are after Laurens died) so either he’s making Eliza seem worse than she is to Laurens as they have a thing between them and Laurens wasn’t having the easiest time being a POW as the Americans had just suffered a defeat in South Carolina, he’s exaggerating his feelings to Eliza or a bit of both. 

H to L, 12th Sept 1780: ‘my Laurens’ (bit possessive gee!) and ‘I hate Congress—I hate the army—I hate the world—I hate myself. The whole is a mass of fools and knaves; I could almost except you and Meade. Adieu A Hamilton’ He’s in that I-hate-everything-in-the-world-except-Laurens-mood - I think we’ve all been there to be honest. I think this is the letter where Hamilton had just been denied a position in the south with Laurens although I could be wrong. He finishes with ‘My ravings are for your own bosom.’ So basically he misses his boy. 

H to L, 16th September 1780: H asks L to do something for his sake: ‘ for my sake’, ‘ In spite of Schuylers black eyes, I have still a part for the public and another for you; so your impatience to have me married is misplaced; a strange cure by the way, as if after matrimony I was to be less devoted than I am now.‘ God there’s so much to say about this. Firstly, Laurens believes that marriage is a ‘cure’ and that raises the question of a ‘cure’ for what exactly? It also shows how Laurens views Hamilton’s feelings towards him because bisexuality and human sexuality in general wasn’t understood as well as it is now so Laurens believes that Hamilton can’t love Eliza and him simultaneously and Hamilton seems to have a better understanding of sexuality, or at least of his own feelings towards Laurens, so he says ‘as if matrimony I was to be less devoted than I am now’ I could be wrong but that sounds like ‘Even when I’m married I’ll still have these feelings for you.’ Then we get to the end of this letter where Hamilton seemingly invites Laurens to a threesome on his wedding night, but Laurens was stuck in Pennsylvania:  ‘I wish you were at liberty to transgress the bounds of Pensylvania. I would invite you after the fall to Albany to be witness to the final consummation. My Mistress is a good girl, and already loves you because I have told her you are a clever fellow and my friend; but mind, she loves you a l’americaine not a la françoise.‘ It makes me think about how Hamilton goes around talking about how great Laurens is - someone he could’ve been romantically involved with - to his future wife Eliza. Also the Founders Archive website puts the words and phrases I put in italics in italics on the website so I guess Hamilton underlined them so he really wanted Laurens to see the ‘final consummation’ and the other parts that are all quite suggestive. ‘She loves you a l’americaine not a la françoise’ means how French people are more open with their sexuality and Americans are more prudish and sexually reserved so Eliza wouldn’t be down for a threesome on her wedding night with two guys which seems reasonable to me. 

Interestingly there are a few more letters from Hamilton that are less romantic and more military as his first child Philip had just been born and there could’ve been a possible rekindling between Laurens and Kinloch although it seems unlikely. I just think something must’ve happened from the threesome thing to being strictly professional.

Then in July 1782 Laurens wrote a letter that apart from a few things such as this and talking about his black regiment etc doesn’t seem to be of much significance until you realise that on the bottom of the founders archive page here it says that there is at least a paragraph missing from that letter because it has no ending to the letter. However there is a printed extract of a letter that Laurens wrote to Hamilton but there is no date JCH just put ‘Hamilton replied on the 15th August’ and it finishes: ‘ Adieu, my dear friend; while circumstances place so great a distance between us, I entreat you not to withdraw the consolation of your letters. You know the unalterable sentiments of your affectionate Laurens.’ which as we can see from above is quite romantic coming from Laurens and he ended a similar way to his ending to Martha his wife. 

Then we get to the final letter from Hamilton to Laurens 15th August 1782: ‘ Quit your sword my friend, put on the toga, come to Congress. We know each others sentiments, our views are the same: we have fought side by side to make America free, let us hand in hand struggle to make her happy.’ and it ends ‘Yrs for ever A Hamilton’ which he used a variation of in his last letter to Eliza before he died. I don’t know about anyone else but to me that letter has a definite air of finality as if Hamilton just knows that his friend is going to go ahead and get himself killed which is terribly heartbreaking. 

[silvino32mills]

How I Write a Blog Post: My Step-by-Step Process

The post How I Write a Blog Post: My Step-by-Step Process appeared first on ProBlogger.

This post is based on Episode 186 of the ProBlogger podcast.

I’m often asked how I write a blog post. What does the process look like from start to finish?

ProBlogger readers and podcast listeners have asked about where in the process I do specific things, such as writing the headline and the introduction.

In this post I’ll take you through exactly what I do so you can use my process (or your own unique twist on it) to make creating content much easier.

And this doesn’t apply to just blog posts. You could use the same process for creating YouTube videos or podcast episodes.

Step #1: Pick a Topic

The first step is pretty logical: pick a topic.

With my blogs – ProBlogger and Digital Photography School – that normally means identifying one of these:

A question one of my readers has

A problem one of my readers is trying to overcome

A task someone is trying to complete

A goal someone is trying to achieve

You may have already thought about some of these if you read my alternative take on New Year’s Resolutions for your blog.

My blogs teach people how to do things. Ninety-five percent of my posts are “how to” content, so I always start with one of these. They generally define the topic of my post.

If you have a different style of blog (e.g. it’s about entertaining people rather than teaching them), you may have a different process for coming up with topics.

Step #2: Think of the Reader

While my topics tend to come out of readers’ problems or questions anyway, at this step I take a moment to imagine my reader’s situation.

As a blogger, you’re so much more effective if you write with your reader in mind.

I’ve covered how to create a reader avatar before, so if it’s something you haven’t done you may want to take a look at these:

How to Create a Reader Avatar for Your Blog (a blog post with lots of examples and downloadable template)

Two Questions to Ask to Help You Find Readers For Your Blog (a podcast episode that covers creating reader avatars)

During this step, I write down a sentence or two about who my reader is and how they view the topic I’ll be talking about.

For instance, if I’m writing about a problem I might think about:

Why does my typical reader have that problem?

How do they feel about it?

What have they already tried to overcome it?

What’s stopped them from solving it in the past?

When you put yourself in your reader’s shoes, you can write your article with real empathy and make your post truly relevant to them.

At this point, I’m also thinking about what I want my reader to do after reading my blog post.

It’s really important to think about your call to action before you start writing. It will shape your headline, your introduction, how you write the main part of your post, and how you conclude it.

Step #3: Create a Working Headline

Some bloggers like to write the post first and then come up with the headline (the title) for it. And I totally understand that perspective because it’s what I used to do.

But what I like to do now is come up with a working headline once I have the topic and the reader perspective.

Creating a working headline sometimes helps me come up with a unique angle for the post.

For instance, I might have an idea for Digital Photography School on how to light a portrait. I’ve done the work understanding my reader: they’re a beginner and they don’t have much lighting gear.

So when I brainstorm headlines I might come up with “How to light a portrait using lights you find around your home”, or “How to light a portrait when you only have one flash”. You can see that just by selecting one of these headlines, I already have a much clearer idea of what the post will be about.

But it’s important to understand this is just a working headline (or a working title if you prefer). Once I’ve written the post I’ll normally go back and tweak it a bit. And sometimes while I’m writing I’ll realise that I need to change that headline a bit.

Step #4: Brainstorm and Outline the Post

At this point I list the main points I want to teach someone in my article. (You might come at this from a different perspective if your blog doesn’t focus on “how to” content.)

I don’t write a lot here. Normally it’s just a list of bullet points in a document on my computer, in a notebook, or as a mindmap.

As I do this, I brainstorm answers to the questions or solutions to the problem I identified, outlining the steps the reader needs to follow to learn a new skill or master a process.

It’s like coming up with the bones of the post. I’m not looking to add any muscle at this point.

The bullet points I create often become subheadings in my finished post. By coming up with the main sections and then sub-points for each section, the post begins to come together.

At this point, I often have more points than I’ll use in the finished post. So I cull the weaker or less relevant points and focus just on the most valuable things I want to say.

Once I’ve got those points, I take some time to arrange them in the best order. I don’t think many bloggers do this. But taking a moment to think “Is this a logical order? Are my points building upon one another?” can make a real difference to your finished post.

Step #5: Take a Critical Look at the Outline

With the outline finished, I ask myself some hard questions such as:

Will this post really be useful to my readers?

Will someone have a ‘fist pump’ moment when they read it, or just say it’s okay?

Is it meaningful? Will it change someone’s life in some way?

Will people still have questions after reading the article? Do I need to do some more research to address them?)

It’s important to ask these questions now, rather than after you’ve finished writing the entire post. That way if you realise you do need to do more research (or that it was actually a weak idea for a post), you’ll be prepared for it.

You might want to invest some time in research. Or you might get help from an expert by either interviewing them or having them write a section of your post.

Step #6: Write the Introduction

Some bloggers prefer to write the rest of the post first and then craft the introduction. But writing the introduction upfront works best for me. It helps me get into the flow of my post.

As with the headline, the introduction often shapes the direction of the post itself. My introduction is usually one to three paragraphs long. But again like the headline, I go back to rework the introduction after finishing the post.

As you write the introduction, think about the reader and their situation, question or problem. Show them you really understand how they feel.

If you can show some empathy in the first few lines of your post, you’ll make a deeper connection with your reader. And they’ll want to read the rest of your article.

This is also a good point to paint a picture of how the reader will benefit from reading your post. What will they be able to achieve (or what will be different) after reading it?

Step #7: Expand on the Main Points

With your outline in place, expanding on each point to create the main part of your content is quite straightforward. You just need to put meat on the bones you’ve already come up with.

As before, keep your reader in mind while you write. What worries do they have? What might they be confused by or wondering about at different points in your post?

If you need help with specifics on writing the main part of your post, you might want to check out some of these posts and podcast episodes:

How to Use Lists Effectively in Your Blog Posts

10 Writing Tips to Help You Sound More Human (a podcast episode)

3 Simple Ways to Make Your Blog Posts More Conversational

It’s probably clear by now that I write my articles in the order they’ll be read: the headline, the introduction, then the main part of the article. For me, this is really important.

Step #8: Write the Conclusion and Call to Action

Good blog posts have some kind of conclusion. I create this after writing the main part of my post, and generally try to sum up what I’ve taught the reader.

I’ll return to the problem or question I set out in the introduction, and remind people what I’ve tried to teach them. I’ll also summarise the main points.

After that, it’s really important to give readers something specific to take action on. Go back to whatever you identified in Step 2, and clearly state what you want them to do next.

It might be encouraging them to try out the technique they’ve just learned, or to leave a comment or interact in some way.

Don’t give them several different things to do here. And make sure your call to action flows from the goals of your blog and this particular post.

Step #9: Add More Depth and Appeal to the Post

At this stage of the process, I look for things I could add to make a post even better.

For instance, I might look for:

A story or anecdote I could include

An image that would complement the post

A relevant YouTube video to embed

A chart or graphic that illustrates a key point in the post

A quote from someone else

Ways to make the post look more attractive to read

You could even consider interviewing someone else to add their perspective into your post, even (or especially) if they provide an alternative viewpoint.

This step is about making the post better and deeper, and making sure it looks good with plenty of visual interest.

Step #10: Edit and Proofread the Post

In this final step, it’s important to go over your post one final time to make sure you haven’t made any mistakes or typos.

For me, putting a bit of space between when I write and when I edit is really important. I think we use different parts of our brains for critical thinking about editing.

I talked about editing in detail in Episode 168 of the ProBlogger podcast. So you may want to check it out for a detailed look at the seven steps for editing your work.

The last thing you want is to undo all your good work with a post that’s riddled with glaring mistakes. Quality control really matters, so make sure you build in enough time to edit and proofread.

You could also get someone else in to help you at this stage of the process. It could be a fellow blogger who you swap posts with, or a professional editor or proofreader.

A Quick Summary of My Process

Here’s a quick recap of my blog post writing process from start to finish:

Pick a topic

Think of the reader

Create a working headline

Brainstorm and outline the post

Take a critical look at the outline

Write the introduction

Expand on the main points

Write the conclusion and call to action

Add more depth and appeal to the post

Edit and proofread the post

That’s my workflow. But I’d love to hear about yours. Maybe you have an extra step, or do things in a different order. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Regardless of your workflow, it’s important to pause along the way and be reflective. Keep coming back to who’s reading that content: the reader with the questions, problems and feelings. If you can show you understand them, you’ll create a real sense of connection.

So don’t just think about creating content. Think about crafting it, and taking care and time to make it the best it can be.

The post How I Write a Blog Post: My Step-by-Step Process appeared first on ProBlogger.

       from ProBlogger http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProbloggerHelpingBloggersEarnMoney/~3/X29zrj4yc5A/

[the-real-tc]

Fic Update! Wide River to Cross: Chapter 17

Author’s Note: A big thanks to @katybeth23 and @mlcsped for being my “sounding board” and offering encouragement and timely suggestions.  We return to Lisa’s POV this time, and of course she’s still not in a happy place (duh, because she’s not with Jack, that's why). Hope you enjoy, despite the not-happy Lisa moments.

Chapter 17: 

The Great Divorce Horse

The day’s forecast for Toulon called for sun with some cloudy patches towards afternoon. Lisa was glad for it. Bleak, rainy weather from earlier in the year seemed to have moved on, giving way to more favourable conditions for the grapes the Laportes were expecting to harvest in and around September from Lisa’s property. Dry weather also meant better riding conditions. As Lisa was wont to do in the mornings, she saddled up Indigo for a quick ride. The blue roan was eager for something more than a sedate walk through the open field nearby, so Lisa indulged him in a healthy gallop, urging him on with a hard nudge to his side. She delighted in the rush of the wind against her exposed face as they raced along, her ears filled with the sound of Indigo’s pounding hooves as they beat the turf. Her own pulse quickened with the thrill of the run.

Lisa was at once grateful for those first humans who developed the art of domesticating the wild horse. All that skill and knowledge had trickled down through the ages to this one point in time when she could enjoy this activity. Horse and rider together made an amazing and complementary team whether for work, sport, or recreation. The fact Lisa had dedicated her entire adult life to the pursuit of maintaining strong bloodlines and rearing the best thoroughbreds meant she was part of that continuum, etching her own place in horse-breeding history.

After about a half-hour, Lisa turned back for home.

Home. Is that what this is now? Lisa thought as she came over a slight rise and spotted her property in the distance. I guess it is, if I’m going to be selling Fairfield.

Selling Fairfield was an inevitability. Rachel had put up no resistance to Lisa’s giving it up, and once the sale was complete, her investment in the Avignon venture could proceed. Even though another investor had backed out—which was the reason for the most recent delay—Dan was confident they would be able to find someone else. In their latest conversation, Dan had mentioned he was actively looking for that third potential investor. “…And once we pool our resources, we’ll be looking at having one of the most state-of-the-art horse-breeding facilities in Europe,” he’d boasted.

The memory of that conversation now struck Lisa like a bolt of lightning. Dan’s talk of “pooling resources” had been one of the reasons Jack started suspecting Dan and Lisa were on the road to reconciling whatever differences had parted them.

It still stung on some level that Jack could have even entertained that notion. Was he still so insecure about Dan that he would think she was getting back together with him? Even now, long after that unfortunate event, Lisa wished Jack had asked her, straight up, what was going on. It was true she rarely talked about her work with him because Jack had almost zero interest in high-end, racehorse-breeding. It was a rich man’s world, and Jack preferred to steer clear. That, and any mention of Dan was sure to be a mood-spoiler, regardless of whether it was only in the context of business.

Once Lisa was back inside after caring for Indigo’s post-ride needs, she settled in for a day of catching up on correspondence. Half-a-dozen other horses following Porthos had been tested for specific genetic markers, and Lisa was eager to see if the results had come in from the lab. Already, they had nearly thirty clients with mares interested in the middle-distance champion; Lisa expected that number to double before the breeding season was over.

There were several messages in Lisa’s Inbox vying for attention, but the newest one caught her eye in an instant:

Mackenzie Hutton-Parsons Re: Diva Girl

Lisa clicked on the message link as memories came to mind from the day she gifted Mackenzie and Ian Parsons with the supposedly cursed Andalusian horse.

“Dear Lisa,

               I hope you’re doing well. Remember when you so generously gave Diva Girl to me when I married my darling Ian? You made me promise that if we ever bred her, you wanted her first-born. Well, I have some great news. Diva Girl foaled last night on Ian’s parents’ farm in Montana! It’s a boy! We haven’t thought of a name yet; we thought we’d leave that privilege to you.”

A smile spread across Lisa’s face at the news. Mackenzie’s message went on for several more paragraphs, updating Lisa on how things were going at her small Art Gallery and Ian’s growing graphic design company. It started to read almost like a confessional when Mackenzie mentioned her parents, Ray and June:

“Mom and Dad are also keeping well. They’re thinking of selling their place in the Hamptons and offered it to us first, but I don’t think we’re going to take them up on it. As much as it would be nice to keep it “in the family”, I just don’t see me and Ian hanging around with that crowd. It’s so weird to say it, but that world just seems alien to me now. Once the gossip about my eloping with Ian died down and my parents accepted that I wasn’t marrying some other trust-fund brat, I realized just how much pressure I had been putting on myself to live up to their crazy expectations. Now, I can’t imagine working in that cutthroat, brutal world I left behind when I quit my job with Strickland & Cook.”

Lisa recalled meeting Ray and June Hutton on a few occasions in the company of her own good friends, Elspeth and Riley Penfield. The Penfields were practically an institution in horseracing circles and had owned a few champion racehorses in their day. The last time Lisa saw them was at the Breeders’ Cup two years previous at Santa Anita Park. Mackenzie’s email concluded:

“Anyway, hope to hear from you soon! Ian and I would love to come out and see you all again sometime in the near future, and of course you’ll have to let me know what name you’d like to give Diva Girl’s foal.

Sincerely,

Mackenzie Hutton-Parsons”

Lisa wrote back a quick reply, saying she was of course only kidding when she’d staked a claim on Diva Girl’s first-born, but she was happy to supply Mackenzie with some name suggestions if she was lacking. She hit ‘Send’, planning to continue with reading her emails. Scanning the “subject line” area in the list to prioritize the messages in order of importance, Lisa still hoped to see something from the genetics lab. However, the ‘all caps’ text of one email from her ex-husband was impossible to ignore:

Dan Hartfield

Re: IMPORTANT!! MUST READ AND RESPOND ASAP!!

“Lisa,      Where are we with the sale of Fairfield? You need to get on that, or we’re going to miss our window of opportunity to get things off the ground per the timetable we set. Any more delays, and it’s going to start affecting our bottom line. How am I supposed to find another investor if you can’t even commit? Things are tenuous right now, and I need your support. I needn’t remind you of all the times I supported you, so get this done. Get back to me as soon as you receive this.

-Dan”

 As much as Lisa felt the Avignon venture was a positive step towards maintaining their place in the competitive world of breeding the best racehorses, she was greatly annoyed at Dan’s pushiness. He’d previously claimed he was positive he could find another investor; now he was changing his tune, pinning his inability to bring in someone else on her apparent lack of commitment to the cause. Pulling out of Hudson as one of the main hubs for their breeding operation would elevate their status even higher on the international scene, so this plan—though risky—made a lot of sense. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, thought Lisa. Nevertheless, the hostility she currently felt towards her ex-husband was reaching a critical level. How dare he blame her for his failings?

“Dan,

     As you’re aware, the real estate market is in the toilet right now. If we try to sell Fairfield at present, we’re not going to get its full worth. That’s going to mean another hit to your precious “bottom line”. I think it’s prudent to wait a few more months. The market is bound to swing back in our favour. I don’t want to give the farm away for nothing, so let’s be patient about this. Our timetable will still be on track, so use that time to woo those other investors you were so confident of finding. 

-Lisa”

With a smug smile, she hit the “Send” button. She didn’t know if suggesting her reluctance to sell Fairfield due to unfavourable market prices would make him back off, but appealing to his “bottom line” was sure to make him think twice. Dan could be ruthless when it came to the money side of things, and the thought of not coming out on top in a business transaction tended to upset him.

When they had first met, Lisa had known right away Dan was success-driven. They were similar in that sense, and their love of horses had initially made for a very comfortable and compatible partnership. Dan could be very charming when he was in the process of orchestrating a deal; he had certainly been very charming when they had been getting to know each other romantically. The charm wore off soon enough, as though Dan grew bored of keeping it going once he’d landed her as his wife. Things they should have discussed before tying the knot became problematic. He’d wanted to move to the ‘States; she’d balked at leaving Fairfield, which she considered a perfectly logical base of operations if they were going to make a serious go of breeding thoroughbreds. Dan had thought Hudson to be too “small potatoes” a town for what he envisioned. She’d acquiesced, however reluctantly, concluding such a compromise would be good in the long run for both their fledgling business and their marriage.

I was right about one of those, at least, Lisa now reflected. The business had thrived, and they’d made invaluable contacts and friends by dint of their more cosmopolitan setting in the ‘States, something that wouldn’t have been as easily accomplished in Hudson.

But where they found success in breeding fine racehorses, they couldn’t make a success of their marriage. The business became Dan’s sole focus, and he expected Lisa to keep up. She’d assumed children would come right along with the marriage; when it didn’t happen, Dan wasn’t nearly as supportive as she had hoped he would be. The heartbreak of several miscarriages didn’t evoke in him the kind of compassion she’d expected and wanted, leaving her to feel as if she were alone in her grief.

And then Dad became ill and Mom left, Lisa thought with a sad shake of her head. Taking care of Matthew Stillman had come with its own set of difficulties, but it afforded Lisa a much-needed “time out” from her marriage to Dan. She concluded during those eighteen months of tending to her father that she didn’t miss her husband. His cruel words to her about the possibility of passing Huntington’s on to their children had rung in her ears for a long, painful while.

Dan must have used the lengthy time they were inadvertently separated to re-think his attitude, for when Lisa returned to the USA shortly after Matthew’s passing, he had a special request.

Lisa recalled he’d been particularly solicitous of her. “I have a horse I want you to come see,” Dan had said the morning after she came back. “A yearling. I think you’re going to love her, Lisa.”

From the moment Lisa laid eyes on Diva Girl, she was indeed taken by the gorgeous Andalusian. The ink was barely dry on the ownership papers when the young horse began to present unpredictable behaviors. Despite that, Diva Girl managed to bring home some prizes when she was shown, but nevertheless continued to misbehave for no apparent reason. None of their trainers seemed able to deal with Diva Girl’s temperamental streak. One trainer even threatened to sue Dan and Lisa for damages after being bitten very badly—a complication that worsened an already frustrating situation. Buying the horse was supposed to have been Dan’s way of patching things up; instead, it was having the exact opposite effect on their floundering marriage.

Eventually, Diva Girl was sold to new owners who believed her problems were exaggerated; the proceeds of that sale divided between Dan and Lisa as part of their divorce settlement. Months later, Lisa was picking up the pieces of her life, trying to get Fairfield back into shape, when she received a call from one of the owners.

“We can’t cope with an ill-tempered horse and a divorce at the same time,” the wife had complained to Lisa. “We can’t even agree on a sale price for her, so we’ve decided to just return her and get our money back. That, at least, my soon-to-be ex-husband and I can agree on!”

The last thing Lisa wanted to do at that time was take back the horse; too many bitter memories attached to Diva Girl and the mess of a marriage she wanted to leave behind. Buying her hadn’t made any practical sense from the very beginning, and now that impulse purchase was coming back to haunt them.

Arranging the return meant involving Dan. Lisa was loath to involve her ex-husband, but circumstances dictated otherwise. Dan could probably find another buyer more quickly than she could, and she was sorely in need of the capital to keep Fairfield running.

“Just talk to Dan, darling,” Evelyn had counseled Lisa at the time. “It can’t do any harm, can it? Heaven knows I’m the last one who should be talking about letting pride get in the way… But now is the time to swallow yours. Take back that horse, sell her to someone else, make back the money, and everything will be all right.”

Swallowing her pride meant also shoving back the worst memories of words spoken in anger and malice in the heat of so many terrible moments.

“You think you can do better somewhere else, Lisa? Is that it? Is there someone else in Hudson?!” Dan had accused in what was perhaps their darkest period.

“Of course not!” Lisa had shot back, shocked to the core he could think she would be unfaithful, even if things were strained between them.

“Oh, I don’t know, Lisa. You did spend more than a year there,” Dan had sneered. “I know how men look at you; don’t pretend you don’t notice, either. You think some other man is going to be okay with the fact you’ve got a 50/50 chance of inheriting the same thing that killed your father? That if you have kids, they could inherit it, too? Give it up, Lisa. It’s time you realise you ought to be satisfied you’re with me. You need to quit being obsessed with this motherhood deal, count your lucky stars it didn’t work out, and move on to more important things: like our marriage, and our business!”

Aunt Evelyn had always liked Dan, so she had been disappointed when Lisa announced the divorce. Nevertheless, Evelyn offered a compassionate ear through it all, though she was never able to fully comprehend the reasons, believing her niece was making a terrible mistake.

Lisa hadn’t felt ready to share those particularly awful conversations and deeply cruel words and accusations from Dan’s mouth. Part of that was because Lisa hadn’t been able to talk about her pregnancy losses with anyone else besides Rachel, and partly because she knew Dan liked Evelyn, too. Their marriage might be over, but that didn’t have to poison the rest of the family relationships.

There was no way to avoid the Diva Girl issue, really, so Lisa eventually heeded her aunt’s advice. She had put aside her pride, mustered all her courage, and picked up the phone to call Dan.

“I spoke with Clarissa McNeil. She and Chip are getting a divorce and, uh… want to return Diva Girl. They say they can’t deal with her moods, and neither of them wants to keep her once they’ve gone their separate ways. I don’t have the funds right now to cover the full repayment. I—I need your help, Dan. After all, we bought her together, before the divorce. She belongs to you, too…”

Lisa wasn’t sure how he would react, fearing the worst; thinking he might maliciously choose that moment to blame her for Diva Girl’s issues and declare the horse to be solely her problem. To her surprise, though, Dan seemed to have a reversion to his old charming self.

“I’d be happy to help you, Lisa. We may have our differences, but I know this is important. Don’t worry; we’ll take Diva back. We’ll find another buyer soon, okay? That way, we won’t be out-of-pocket for too long.”

“Thanks. Thank-you, Dan,” Lisa had responded, flushed with genuine gratitude. She was further surprised by Dan’s next words:

“You’re welcome… And Lisa, I know you’ve been getting a little financial help from Evelyn, and that’s great, but don’t be so stubborn that you let Fairfield sink into oblivion. I don’t want you to lose your family business because you didn’t want to ask me for help. We may be divorced now, but there’s no rule that says we can’t be business partners. We were always good at that side of things, weren’t we?”

Truly, they did very well as business partners, and Lisa found herself agreeing to allow Dan to come on as an investor in Fairfield’s operations. Lisa hadn’t initially interpreted his offer as anything other than a gesture of kindness coupled with a calculated risk that had a good chance of paying off. He never entered a business deal without a “What’s-in-it-for-me” clause; Lisa never once considered he might have suggested a partnership with an aim to win her back.

Dan eventually moved his own breeding operations back to Hudson under the name of Brookland Stables, ostensibly to benefit both his “bottom line” and that of Fairfield’s. Years of hard work began to pay off, and Fairfield Stables’ thoroughbreds began to place in national and international races. In all those years, Lisa’s single-minded pursuit of building up Fairfield had precluded any notion of pursuing a serious relationship with someone else; she was determined not to get involved after such a dismal failure with Dan.

All that had changed when she met Jack Bartlett at the Heartland Open House. By all appearances, they were totally incompatible. She was young enough to be his daughter, enjoying a jet-set lifestyle as she courted wealthy horse owners with more money than Jack could ever hope to see. Nevertheless, the spark that flashed between them burst into a flame that burned slowly but surely, warming them both with the realisation this was more than a passing fancy.

To Lisa’s consternation, Dan became weirdly territorial once he realised Lisa was starting something with the rodeo legend. It had all been going along so well; the thriving business kept them both happy; kept things uncomplicated. If Dan thought he was wooing her again, the appearance of Jack threw all those plans into the manure pile.

But that’s all gone now, Lisa now thought with deep regret. Between Dan’s irrational jealousy and Val Stanton’s desperate plays for Jack, Lisa found herself wondering how they’d managed to last for as long as they did.

Maybe it’s the old Diva Girl the ‘Divorce Horse’ curse at work again; it’s following me around, but it ruined me and Jack even before we could say “I do”, Lisa pondered, then scoffed at the notion. While she’d floated the possibility of being cursed in her relationships before, Lisa was too rational and pragmatic an individual to truly buy into it. After all, Mackenzie and Ian Parsons were still happily married; Diva Girl’s behaviors solved by Amy’s astute diagnosis that she just wanted to “be a horse”.

At least it wasn’t a problem horse that got between us, Jack, Lisa mused. We have only ourselves to blame for our breakup. Maybe Dan is right; maybe I am dragging my feet with putting Fairfield on the market… What am I holding on to anymore?

Oh, I sure would love to see your handsome face at my door, Jack. If you still love me, I wish you would take the first step, because I don’t know how to feel anymore about how you rejected me that night at Heartland when I rented that ridiculous hospital bed… I don’t know anymore if you even want to see me, or talk to me, or tell me you’re sorry and you want me to come back… because if you did, Jack, I’d be back in a heartbeat, and I’d keep Fairfield for good.

Chapter 18: Always Something There to Remind Me

[gomangodigitalblog]

Improve Engagement to Enhance SEO Rankings

Improve Engagement to Enhance SEO Rankings

Engagement is the key to hold a user’s sight. In SEO terms, it is a measure of the sum of time spent on a page. It is imperative to improve engagement to enhance SEO rankings.

Although Google hasn’t officially announced it, there is proof to suggest that this search engine titan does reward sites with strong user engagement with higher page ranking.

Google’s reasoning is that if a user spends more time on a page, it’s probably because he/she found the page useful. And since Google only wants to deliver the best possible results to its users, it will push sites with strong engagement up in the search engine results pages

So how one improve his/her site’s engagement?

Here are five methods one can use to give their existing content a boost in search engines.

Format Posts

for Easier Study

Good formatting can instantly improve your page’s readability. This, in turn, can improve your engagement rate. According to eye-tracking studies, the following three formatting tactics can help increase your content readability

Shorter paragraphs: Limit each paragraph to 2-3 sentences at most. It’s even okay to use one-sentence paragraphs if necessary, but use them sparingly or your post will look like a bullet-pointed blog without the bullets.

Shorter sentences: Longer sentences are hard to follow on screen. When possible, break long sentences into multiple shorter sentences.

Sub-headers: People don’t read on the web, they scan. To make scanning easier, use plenty of clear and informative sub-headers to guide readers down a page.

Bullet points: When you have a lot of data, stats, facts, ideas, examples packed into one paragraph, it makes it easier to scan when you list them with bullet points.

Here’s an example of poor formatting:

Most people live their entire life and never realize that their thoughts are creating their reality. When one discovers this universal truth the entire world begins to open.

After much hard work and practice, you will begin to see life-changing and long lasting results from utilizing the techniques and strategies taught here.

There are many ways to use the law including through daily affirmations, visualizations, goal setting, changing think patterns and of course tapping into the universal storehouse of information.

Here’s an example of the same paragraph, but with good formatting:

Most people live their entire life and never realize that their thoughts are creating their reality. After much hard work and practice, you will begin to see life-changing and long -lasting results from utilizing the techniques and strategies taught here.

Here are some ways you can use the law of Attraction to your benefit:

Daily affirmations

Visualizations

Goal settings

Changing link patterns

Using Bucket Brigades

A “bucket brigade” is a copywriting technique designed to keep capture of a reader’s interest and keep them on your page.

It essentially involves breaking an idea into multiple sentences, using a trigger word or phrase and then ending the sentence with a colon.

Use Images Throughout The Content

Including professional, high-quality images throughout your content is an easy yet powerful way to increase engagement. For one, images help you show an idea, not just tell it.

Secondly, images help you break content into different sections. And finally, people just like pretty pictures.

Compose in the Inverted Pyramid Style

This method means giving away the most valuable information at the top of the article and following it up with less important information. If readers tend to scan and rarely make it to the bottom of an article, it makes sense to give them what they want as soon as they land on the page.

Improve Your Bounce Rate

Writing well, delivering value, and proper formatting only goes so far. Another key part of engagement is lowering your bounce rate, which is the percentage of visitors who land on your website and leave without interacting further.

Bounce rates can be raised by a number of factors, from incorrect implementation to poorly designed landing pages.

More often than not, however, high bounce rates result from poor usability and awkward user experience. While these problems vary from site to site, they are very easily remedied with several popular online tools, such as:-

Crazy-egg: Clever and intuitive, Crazy-egg helps subscribers rate and understand user experience with their rich visual aids like heat-maps, scroll-maps, confetti, and overlays. Each of these is graphic representations of one aspect of user experience.

For instance, heat maps are colourful representations of where users have clicked on your site, while scroll-maps show you just how far down the page your users scroll before leaving.

With this data, it’s possible to figure out what your best design features or flaws are, and correct them accordingly.

Optimizely: Founded by Dan Stocker, the man behind the digital component of Barack Obama’s highly successful digital campaign of 2008, Optimizely specializes in A/B testing—a scientific, data-driven way to test websites for maximum usability and engagement.

In A/B testing, multiple versions of a web page are randomly shown to users, compared against a control page, and then analyzed for effect.

The biggest advantage of a proper A/B testing process is that marketers can understand how even the tiniest changes can positively affect their website, such as moving the buy button to the left or changing its colour from red to blue.

In this test, hygiene company L’Axelle is trying out different headlines, pitting a comfort-oriented headline against an action-oriented one. The change is subtle, but it’s there.

It’s clear that A/B testing is an integral part of both the copywriting and the UX design process.

The genius of Optimizely is that it massively simplifies something that would otherwise require a team of dedicated, experienced UX designers and researchers to carry out.                                                          

Google Optimize

Along the same lines, Optimize by Google Analytics also assists marketers in improving and maximizing customer engagement and conversion. As a free version of its Optimize 360 program, Google’s Optimize is a streamlined, user-friendly software that simplifies A/B testing and includes advanced modelling to improve engagement and targeted experiences.

But perhaps the biggest draw of Optimize is that it seamlessly integrates with Google Analytics, allowing marketers to further leverage their existing resources.

With Optimize, which allows them to rely on a familiar interface as they move on to deeper and more complicated experiments.

com

While Google Optimize and Optimizely are essentially DIY UX tools for marketers and small business owners, is far more specialized. In its most basic form, User Testing is more of a pure research tool, gathering commentary from target audiences and offering marketers detailed videos of user interaction and behaviour.

Pro Plan subscribers, however, have the option of receiving the help of UX professionals who will conduct research, analyze user behaviour, and measure and benchmark. In this form, User Testing.com offers customers the benefits of an in-house UX team at a fraction of the cost.

Don’t Make Me Think

These four tools are some of the best UX testing programs available today. Yet one of the best UX resources isn’t digital, but rather a book: Don’t Make Me Think, a groundbreaking work by UX designer ‘Steve Krug’ that has sold 100,000 copies over 5 years. Witty, entertaining and down-to-earth, Don’t Make Me Think offers actionable advice and useful mindsets for novices and veterans alike.

With its conversational tone and engaging manner, Krug’s work gets readers into the habit of critically examining and rethinking everything about their websites, including even the tiniest details, like misplaced buttons or unwieldy site maps.

Google Search Console

How often viewers click on your ads after seeing. Make Your Existing Pages longer. A recent study by Backlinko concluded that the longer the content, the higher the likelihood of it ranking at the top of the SERPs.

However, writing 2,000+ words for every blog post is not for everyone; it’s an intensive, time-consuming process. Instead, it’s much easier to take a page from 1,200 words to 2,000 words than to go from 0 words to 2,000 words.

Existing content already has the authority and an established readership. So rather than writing something entirely from scratch, it’s much simpler to find a post of yours that is already doing well on Google, refresh it with updated information and extra content, and rely on existing signals to make it rank for terms.

Here’s how you do it. First, under “Search Traffic” in Google Search Console, click on “Search Analytics.

Focus on YouTube SEO

Focusing on YouTube SEO will push your website onto the first page on Google and get you traffic from YouTube as well.

Here is how you can improve your YouTube SEO :

Make Your Video SEO Friendly

The filename, the title, the description of all these elements affect your rankings.

Video Title

Crafting a compelling video title is a balancing act—you have to make the title SEO friendly and make it clickable. Ideally, you should follow the same convention in your video titles as you would in your blog posts: to get clicks and shares, include keywords as well as power words.

At the very least, your title should have 5+ words and include a broad target keyword. This will not only help you rank in SERPs but also get you more clicks on YouTube.

Video Description

Because Google’s spiders can’t “read” videos, they will rely on your written description to determine what your video is actually about. So instead of just throwing in some target keywords, try creating short blog posts that describe your video content in detail.

This tells Google—as well as your readers—exactly what your video is about. Since most of your competitors aren’t doing it, it will also help you rank way faster.

Conclusion

Web pages that contain the words that your target audience is typing into search queries generally have greater search engine visibility than pages that contain little or no keywords. The way your web pages are linked to each other also affects your site’s search engine visibility. If search engine spiders can find your pages quickly and easily, your site has a much better chance of appearing at the top of search results.

If two web sites have the same text component and link component “weights”, the site that end users click the most will usually rank higher. Sometimes, a popular web site will consistently rank higher than sites that use plenty of keywords. Therefore, building a site that appeals to both directory editors and your target audience is very important for maximum search engine visibility.

https://mangodigital.solutions/blog/improve-engagement-to-enhance-seo-rankings/

[craftsguide]

How I Write a Blog Post: My Step-by-Step Process

New Post has been published on https://craftsguideto.com/awesome/how-i-write-a-blog-post-my-step-by-step-process/

How I Write a Blog Post: My Step-by-Step Process

The post How I Write a Blog Post: My Step-by-Step Process seemed first on ProBlogger.

This post is based on Episode 186 of the ProBlogger podcast.

I’m often asked how I write a blog post. What does the process look like from start to finish?

ProBlogger readers and podcast listeners have asked about where in the process I do specific things, such as writing the headline and the introduction.

In this post I’ll take you through exactly what I do so you can use my process( or your own unique twist on it) to induce creating content much easier.

And this doesn’t apply to merely blog posts. You could use the same process for creating YouTube videos or podcast episodes.

Step# 1: Pick a Topic

The first step is pretty logical: picking a topic.

With my blogs- ProBlogger and Digital Photography School- that normally entails identifying one of these :P TAGEND

A question one of my readers has A problem one of my readers is trying to overcome A chore someone is trying to complete A goal someone is trying to achieve

You may have already thought about some of these if you read my alternative take on New Year’s Resolutions for your blog.

My blogs teach people how to do things. Ninety-five percent of my posts are “how to” content, so I always start with one of these. They generally define the topic of my post.

If you have a different style of blog( e.g. it’s about entertaining people rather than teaching them ), you may have a different process for coming up with topics.

Step# 2: Think of the Reader

While my topics tend to come out of readers’ problems or questions anyway, at this step I take a moment to imagine my reader’s situation.

As a blogger, you’re so much more effective if you write with your reader in mind.

I’ve covered how to create a reader avatar before, so if it’s something you haven’t done you may want to take a look at these :P TAGEND

How to Create a Reader Avatar for Your Blog( a blog post with lots of instances and downloadable template) Two Questions to Ask to Help You Find Readers For Your Blog( a podcast episode that encompasses generating reader avatars)

During this step, I write off a sentence or two about who my reader is and how they view the topic I’ll be talking about.

For instance, if I’m writing about a problem I might think about :P TAGEND

Why does my typical reader have that problem? How do they feel about it? What have they already tried to overcome it? What’s stopped them from solving it in the past?

When you put yourself in your reader’s shoes, you can write your article with real empathy and make your post truly relevant to them.

At this phase, I’m also thinking about what I want my reader to do after reading my blog post.

It’s really important to think about your call to action before you start writing. It will shape your headline, your introduction, how you write the main part of your post, and how you conclude it.

Step# 3: Create a Working Headline

Some bloggers like to write the post first and then come up with the headline( the title) for it. And I totally understand that perspective because it’s what I used to do.

But what I like to do now is come up with a running headline once I have the topic and the reader perspective.

Creating a working headline sometimes helps me come up with a unique angle for the post.

For instance, I might have an idea for Digital Photography School on how to light a portrait. I’ve done the work understanding my reader: they’re a beginner and they don’t have much illuminating gear.

So when I brainstorm headlines I might come up with “How to light a portrait employing suns you find around your home”, or “How to light a portrait when you merely have one flash”. You be noted that simply by selecting one of these headlines, I already have a much clearer idea of what the post will be about.

But it’s important to understand this is just a working headline( or a working title if you prefer ). Once I’ve written the post I’ll commonly go back and tweak it a bit. And sometimes while I’m writing I’ll realise that I need to change that headline a bit.

Step# 4: Brainstorm and Outline the Post

At this point I list the main points I want to teach person in my article.( You might come at this from a different perspective if your blog doesn’t focus on “how to” content .)

I don’t write a lot here. Usually it’s merely a list of bullet points in official documents on my computer, in a notebook, or as a mindmap.

As I do this, I brainstorm answers to the questions or solutions to the problem I identified, outlining the steps the reader needs to follow to learn a new ability or master a process.

It’s like coming up with the bones of the post. I’m not looking to add any muscle at this point.

The bullet points I generate often become subheadings in my finished post. By coming up with the main sections and then sub-points for each section, the post begins to come together.

At this phase, I often have more points than I’ll use in the finished post. So I cull the weaker or less relevant points and focus only on the most valuable things I want to say.

Once I’ve got those phases, I take some time to arrange them in the best order. I don’t believe many bloggers do this. But taking a moment to think “Is this a logical order? Are my phases building upon one another? ” can make a real difference to your finished post.

Step# 5: Take a Critical Look at the Outline

With the outline finished, I ask myself some hard questions such as :P TAGEND

Will this post really be useful to my readers? Will person have a’ fist pump’ moment when they read it, or just say it’s okay? Is it meaningful? Will it change someone’s life in some way? Will people still have questions after read the article? Do I required to do some more research to address them ?)

It’s important to ask these questions now, rather than after you’ve finished writing the entire post. That route if you realise you do need to do more research( or that it was actually a weak notion for a post ), you’ll be prepared for it.

You might want to invest some time in research. Or you might get help from an expert by either interviewing them or having them write a section of your post.

Step# 6: Write the Introduction

Some bloggers prefer to write the rest of the post first and then craft the introduction. But writing the introduction upfront works best for me. It helps me get into the flow of my post.

As with the headline, the introduction often shapes the direction of the post itself. My introduction is usually one to three paragraphs long. But again like the headline, I go back to rework the introduction after finishing the post.

As you write the introduction, think about the reader and their situation, question or problem. Show them you really understand how they feel.

If you can show some empathy in the first few lines of your post, you’ll make a deeper connection with your reader. And they’ll want to read the rest of your article.

This is also a good point to paint a picture of how the reader will benefit from reading your post. What will they be able to achieve( or what will be different) after read it?

Step# 7: Expand on the Main Points

With your outline in place, expanding on each point to create the main part of your content is quite straightforward. You just required to put meat on the bones you’ve already come up with.

As before, keep your reader in intellect while you write. What frets do they have? What might they be confused by or wondering about at different points in your post?

If you need help with specifics on writing the main part of your post, you might want to check out some of these posts and podcast episodes :P TAGEND

How to Use Listing Effectively in Your Blog Posts 10 Writing Tips to Help You Sound More Human( a podcast episode) 3 Simple Ways to Attain Your Blog Posts More Conversational

It’s probably clear by now that I write my articles in the order they’ll be read: the headline, the introduction, then the main part of the article. For me, this is really important.

Step# 8: Write the Conclusion and Call to Action

Good blog posts have some kind of conclusion. I create this after writing the main part of my post, and generally try to sum up what I’ve taught the reader.

I’ll return to the problem or question I set out in the introduction, and remind people what I’ve tried to teach them. I’ll also summarise the main points.

After that, it’s really important to give readers something specific to take action on. Go back to whatever you identified in Step 2, and clearly state what you want them to do next.

It might be encouraging them to try out the technique they’ve simply learned, or to leave a comment or interact in some way.

Don’t give them several different things to do here. And make sure your call to action flows from the goals of your blog and this particular post.

Step# 9: Add More Depth and Appeal to the Post

At this stage of the process, I look for things I could add to make a post even better.

For instance, I might look for :P TAGEND

A narrative or anecdote I could include An image that would complement the post A relevant YouTube video to embed A chart or graphic that exemplifies a key point in the post A quote from someone else Ways to induce the post looking most attractive to read

You could even consider interviewing someone else to add their perspective into your post, even( or especially) if they provide an alternative viewpoint.

This step is about construct the post better and deeper, and making sure it looks good with plenty of visual interest.

Step #10: Edit and Proofread the Post

In this final step, it’s important to go over your post one final time to make sure you haven’t made any mistakes or typos.

For me, putting a bit of space between when I write and when I edit is really important. I think we use different parts of our brains for critical thinking about editing.

I talked about editing in detail in Episode 168 of the ProBlogger podcast. So you may want to check it out for a detailed look at the seven steps for editing your work.

The last thing you want is to undo all your good work with a post that’s riddled with glaring mistakes. Quality control actually matters, so make sure you build in enough time to edit and proofread.

You could also get someone else in to help you at this stage of the process. It could be a fellow blogger who you swap posts with, or a professional editor or proofreader.

A Quick Summary of My Process

Here’s a quick recap of my blog post writing process from start to finish :P TAGEND

Pick a topic Gues of the reader Create a running headline Brainstorm and outline the post Take a critical look at the outline Write the introduction Expand on the main points Write the conclusion and call to action Add more depth and appeal to the post Edit and proofread the post

That’s my workflow. But I’d love to hear about yours. Maybe you have an extra step, or do things in a different order. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Regardless of your workflow, it’s important to pause along the way and be reflective. Keep coming back to who’s reading that content: the reader with the questions, problems and feelings. If you can show you understand them, you’ll create a real sense of connection.

So don’t just think about creating content. Think about crafting it, and taking care and time to make it the best it can be.

The post How I Write a Blog Post: My Step-by-Step Process appeared first on ProBlogger.

Read more: problogger.com

[marketerintel]

How I Write a Blog Post: My Step-by-Step Process

The post How I Write a Blog Post: My Step-by-Step Process appeared first on ProBlogger.

This post is based on Episode 186 of the ProBlogger podcast.

I’m often asked how I write a blog post. What does the process look like from start to finish?

ProBlogger readers and podcast listeners have asked about where in the process I do specific things, such as writing the headline and the introduction.

In this post I’ll take you through exactly what I do so you can use my process (or your own unique twist on it) to make creating content much easier.

And this doesn’t apply to just blog posts. You could use the same process for creating YouTube videos or podcast episodes.

Step #1: Pick a Topic

The first step is pretty logical: pick a topic.

With my blogs – ProBlogger and Digital Photography School – that normally means identifying one of these:

A question one of my readers has

A problem one of my readers is trying to overcome

A task someone is trying to complete

A goal someone is trying to achieve

You may have already thought about some of these if you read my alternative take on New Year’s Resolutions for your blog.

My blogs teach people how to do things. Ninety-five percent of my posts are “how to” content, so I always start with one of these. They generally define the topic of my post.

If you have a different style of blog (e.g. it’s about entertaining people rather than teaching them), you may have a different process for coming up with topics.

Step #2: Think of the Reader

While my topics tend to come out of readers’ problems or questions anyway, at this step I take a moment to imagine my reader’s situation.

As a blogger, you’re so much more effective if you write with your reader in mind.

I’ve covered how to create a reader avatar before, so if it’s something you haven’t done you may want to take a look at these:

How to Create a Reader Avatar for Your Blog (a blog post with lots of examples and downloadable template)

Two Questions to Ask to Help You Find Readers For Your Blog (a podcast episode that covers creating reader avatars)

During this step, I write down a sentence or two about who my reader is and how they view the topic I’ll be talking about.

For instance, if I’m writing about a problem I might think about:

Why does my typical reader have that problem?

How do they feel about it?

What have they already tried to overcome it?

What’s stopped them from solving it in the past?

When you put yourself in your reader’s shoes, you can write your article with real empathy and make your post truly relevant to them.

At this point, I’m also thinking about what I want my reader to do after reading my blog post.

It’s really important to think about your call to action before you start writing. It will shape your headline, your introduction, how you write the main part of your post, and how you conclude it.

Step #3: Create a Working Headline

Some bloggers like to write the post first and then come up with the headline (the title) for it. And I totally understand that perspective because it’s what I used to do.

But what I like to do now is come up with a working headline once I have the topic and the reader perspective.

Creating a working headline sometimes helps me come up with a unique angle for the post.

For instance, I might have an idea for Digital Photography School on how to light a portrait. I’ve done the work understanding my reader: they’re a beginner and they don’t have much lighting gear.

So when I brainstorm headlines I might come up with “How to light a portrait using lights you find around your home”, or “How to light a portrait when you only have one flash”. You can see that just by selecting one of these headlines, I already have a much clearer idea of what the post will be about.

But it’s important to understand this is just a working headline (or a working title if you prefer). Once I’ve written the post I’ll normally go back and tweak it a bit. And sometimes while I’m writing I’ll realise that I need to change that headline a bit.

Step #4: Brainstorm and Outline the Post

At this point I list the main points I want to teach someone in my article. (You might come at this from a different perspective if your blog doesn’t focus on “how to” content.)

I don’t write a lot here. Normally it’s just a list of bullet points in a document on my computer, in a notebook, or as a mindmap.

As I do this, I brainstorm answers to the questions or solutions to the problem I identified, outlining the steps the reader needs to follow to learn a new skill or master a process.

It’s like coming up with the bones of the post. I’m not looking to add any muscle at this point.

The bullet points I create often become subheadings in my finished post. By coming up with the main sections and then sub-points for each section, the post begins to come together.

At this point, I often have more points than I’ll use in the finished post. So I cull the weaker or less relevant points and focus just on the most valuable things I want to say.

Once I’ve got those points, I take some time to arrange them in the best order. I don’t think many bloggers do this. But taking a moment to think “Is this a logical order? Are my points building upon one another?” can make a real difference to your finished post.

Step #5: Take a Critical Look at the Outline

With the outline finished, I ask myself some hard questions such as:

Will this post really be useful to my readers?

Will someone have a ‘fist pump’ moment when they read it, or just say it’s okay?

Is it meaningful? Will it change someone’s life in some way?

Will people still have questions after reading the article? Do I need to do some more research to address them?)

It’s important to ask these questions now, rather than after you’ve finished writing the entire post. That way if you realise you do need to do more research (or that it was actually a weak idea for a post), you’ll be prepared for it.

You might want to invest some time in research. Or you might get help from an expert by either interviewing them or having them write a section of your post.

Step #6: Write the Introduction

Some bloggers prefer to write the rest of the post first and then craft the introduction. But writing the introduction upfront works best for me. It helps me get into the flow of my post.

As with the headline, the introduction often shapes the direction of the post itself. My introduction is usually one to three paragraphs long. But again like the headline, I go back to rework the introduction after finishing the post.

As you write the introduction, think about the reader and their situation, question or problem. Show them you really understand how they feel.

If you can show some empathy in the first few lines of your post, you’ll make a deeper connection with your reader. And they’ll want to read the rest of your article.

This is also a good point to paint a picture of how the reader will benefit from reading your post. What will they be able to achieve (or what will be different) after reading it?

Step #7: Expand on the Main Points

With your outline in place, expanding on each point to create the main part of your content is quite straightforward. You just need to put meat on the bones you’ve already come up with.

As before, keep your reader in mind while you write. What worries do they have? What might they be confused by or wondering about at different points in your post?

If you need help with specifics on writing the main part of your post, you might want to check out some of these posts and podcast episodes:

How to Use Lists Effectively in Your Blog Posts

10 Writing Tips to Help You Sound More Human (a podcast episode)

3 Simple Ways to Make Your Blog Posts More Conversational

It’s probably clear by now that I write my articles in the order they’ll be read: the headline, the introduction, then the main part of the article. For me, this is really important.

Step #8: Write the Conclusion and Call to Action

Good blog posts have some kind of conclusion. I create this after writing the main part of my post, and generally try to sum up what I’ve taught the reader.

I’ll return to the problem or question I set out in the introduction, and remind people what I’ve tried to teach them. I’ll also summarise the main points.

After that, it’s really important to give readers something specific to take action on. Go back to whatever you identified in Step 2, and clearly state what you want them to do next.

It might be encouraging them to try out the technique they’ve just learned, or to leave a comment or interact in some way.

Don’t give them several different things to do here. And make sure your call to action flows from the goals of your blog and this particular post.

Step #9: Add More Depth and Appeal to the Post

At this stage of the process, I look for things I could add to make a post even better.

For instance, I might look for:

A story or anecdote I could include

An image that would complement the post

A relevant YouTube video to embed

A chart or graphic that illustrates a key point in the post

A quote from someone else

Ways to make the post look more attractive to read

You could even consider interviewing someone else to add their perspective into your post, even (or especially) if they provide an alternative viewpoint.

This step is about making the post better and deeper, and making sure it looks good with plenty of visual interest.

Step #10: Edit and Proofread the Post

In this final step, it’s important to go over your post one final time to make sure you haven’t made any mistakes or typos.

For me, putting a bit of space between when I write and when I edit is really important. I think we use different parts of our brains for critical thinking about editing.

I talked about editing in detail in Episode 168 of the ProBlogger podcast. So you may want to check it out for a detailed look at the seven steps for editing your work.

The last thing you want is to undo all your good work with a post that’s riddled with glaring mistakes. Quality control really matters, so make sure you build in enough time to edit and proofread.

You could also get someone else in to help you at this stage of the process. It could be a fellow blogger who you swap posts with, or a professional editor or proofreader.

A Quick Summary of My Process

Here’s a quick recap of my blog post writing process from start to finish:

Pick a topic

Think of the reader

Create a working headline

Brainstorm and outline the post

Take a critical look at the outline

Write the introduction

Expand on the main points

Write the conclusion and call to action

Add more depth and appeal to the post

Edit and proofread the post

That’s my workflow. But I’d love to hear about yours. Maybe you have an extra step, or do things in a different order. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Regardless of your workflow, it’s important to pause along the way and be reflective. Keep coming back to who’s reading that content: the reader with the questions, problems and feelings. If you can show you understand them, you’ll create a real sense of connection.

So don’t just think about creating content. Think about crafting it, and taking care and time to make it the best it can be.

The post How I Write a Blog Post: My Step-by-Step Process appeared first on ProBlogger.

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[terabitweb]

Original post from Tao Security / Richard Bejtlich

This is not strictly an information security post, but the topic likely affects a decent proportion of my readership.

Within the last few years I experienced a profound professional “burnout.” I’ve privately mentioned this to colleagues in the industry, and heard similar stories or requests for advice on how to handle burnout.

I want to share my story in the hopes that it helps others in the security scene, either by coping with existing burnout or preparing for a possible burnout.

How did burnout manifest for me? It began with FireEye’s acquisition of Mandiant, almost exactly five years ago. 2013 was a big year for Mandiant, starting with the APT1 report in early 2013 and concluding with the acquisition in December.

The prospect of becoming part of a Silicon Valley software company initially seemed exciting, because we would presumably have greater resources to battle intruders. Soon, however, I found myself at odds with FireEye’s culture and managerial habits, and I wondered what I was doing inside such a different company.

(It’s important to note that the appointment of Kevin Mandia as CEO in June 2016 began a cultural and managerial shift. I give Kevin and his lieutenants credit for helping transform the company since then. Kevin’s appointment was too late for me, but I applaud the work he has done over the last few years.)

Starting in late 2014 and progressing in 2015, I became less interested in security. I was aggravated every time I saw the same old topics arise in social or public media. I did not see the point of continuing to debate issues which were never solved. I was demoralized and frustrated.

At this time I was also working on my PhD with King’s College London. I had added this stress myself, but I felt like I could manage it. I had earned two major and two minor degrees in four years as an Air Force Academy cadet. Surely I could write a thesis!

Late in 2015 I realized that I needed to balance the very cerebral art of information security with a more physical activity. I took a Krav Maga class the first week of January 2016. It was invigorating and I began a new blog, Rejoining the Tao, that month. I began to consider options outside of informations security.

In early 2016 my wife began considering ways to rejoin the W-2 workforce, after having stayed home with our kids for 12 years. We discussed the possibility of me leaving my W-2 job and taking a primary role with the kids. By mid-2016 she had a new job and I was open to departing FireEye.

By late 2016 I also realized that I was not cut out to be a PhD candidate. Although I had written several books, I did not have the right mindset or attitude to continue writing my thesis. After two years I quit my PhD program. This was the first time I had quit anything significant in my life, and it was the right decision for me. (The Churchill “never, never, never give up” speech is fine advice when defending your nation’s existence, but it’s stupid advice if you’re not happy with the path you’re following.)

In March 2017 I posted Bejtlich Moves On, where I said I was leaving FireEye. I would offer security consulting in the short term, and would open a Krav Maga school in the long-term. This was my break with the security community and I was happy to make it. I blogged on security only five more times in 2017.

(Incidentally, one very public metric for my burnout experience can be seen in my blog output. In 2015 I posted 55 articles, but in 2016 I posted only 8, and slightly more, 12, in 2017. This is my 21st post of 2018.)

I basically took a year off from information security. I did some limited consulting, but Mrs B paid the bills, with some support from my book royalties and consulting. This break had a very positive effect on my mental health. I stayed aware of security developments through Twitter, but I refused to speak to reporters and did not entertain job offers.

During this period I decided that I did not want to open a Krav Maga school and quit my school’s instructor development program. For the second time, I had quit something I had once considered very important.

I started a new project, though — writing a book that had nothing to do with information security. I will post about it shortly, as I am finalizing the cover with the layout team this weekend!

By the spring of 2018 I was able to consider returning to security. In May I blogged that I was joining Splunk, but that lasted only two months. I realized I had walked into another cultural and managerial mismatch. Near the end of that period, Seth Hall from Corelight contacted me, and by July 20th I was working there. We kept it quiet until September. I have been very happy at Corelight, finally finding an environment that matches my temperament, values, and interests.

My advice to those of you who have made it this far:

If you’re feeling burnout now, you’re not alone. It happens. We work in a stressful industry that will take everything that you can give, and then try to take more. It’s healthy and beneficial to push back. If you can, take a break, even if it means only a partial break.

Even if you can’t take a break, consider integrating non-security activities into your lifestyle — the more physical, the better. Security is a very cerebral activity, often performed in a sedentary manner. You have a body and taking care of it will make your mind happier too.

If you’re not feeling burnout now, I recommend preparing for a possible burnout in the future. In addition to the advice in the previous paragraphs, take steps now to be able to completely step away from security for a defined period. Save a proportion of your income to pay your bills when you’re not working in security. I recommend at least a month, but up to six months if you can manage it.

This is good financial advice anyway, in the event you were to lose your job. This is not an emergency fund, though — this is a planned reprieve from burnout. We are blessed in security to make above-average salaries, so I suggest saving for retirement, saving for layoffs, and saving for burnout.

Finally, it’s ok to talk to other people about this. This will likely be a private conversation. I don’t see too many people saying “I’m burned out!” on Twitter or in a blog post. I only felt comfortable writing this post months after I returned to regular security work.

I’m very interested in hearing what others have to say on this topic. Replying to my Twitter announcement for the blog post is probably the easiest step. I moderate the comments here and might not get to them in a timely manner.

Copyright 2003-2018 Richard Bejtlich and TaoSecurity (taosecurity.blogspot.com and http://www.taosecurity.com)

Go to Source Author: Managing Burnout Original post from Tao Security / Richard Bejtlich This is not strictly an information security post, but the topic likely affects a decent proportion of my readership.

[canaryatlaw]

Okay. So I’m right now writing this while on our flight back from Rhode Island, currently on plane 1 from providence RI to DC where we’ll transfer to our second flight home to Chicago (and work 9 am tomorrow- yay 😑) but I’ve been sidetracked and tired so I’m overdue for some day posts for you guys, so consider this my weekend post for Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Probably doing paragraphs so it’ll post on tumblr mobile without fighting me too much.

Hopefully I remember enough details about Friday lol but I guess we’ll find out now. So I woke up at 7 like every morning and got ready for work. I was a little anxious about court based on what’s been going on but things were for the most part ok (I just had to remind one of the lawyers the reason I hadn’t looked over the folders were because they were in her possession, lol). Came back from work and got to work on my projects, it was the last day for the lawyer that lives right by me and is going to another firm so they ordered us lunch from that one Mexican place that’s like the fucking best and we all just talked about how much we loved their food the whole time lol so that was good. I did my normal crappy work until 3 at which point I was peacing out early to make sure we got to the airport in time for our flight. So I ubered home from there, changed and grabbed my bags, then ubered to pick up Jess and then head to the airport. We ended up getting to the gate with plenty of time to spare (because we had planned ahead accordingly) so we got food from this sit down Italian place which was perfect because I got to use it to spam my small group group chat with pictures of italian food because I’m rallying for us to go to an actual italian place sometime soon lol. The food sadly wasn’t quite as good as expected but was still fine.

Finished up there and headed back to the gate, not long after boarded the plane and took off. I always do the sudoku puzzle in the back of the inflight magazine while on a flight and after looking over my shoulder trying to point out places where 4’s would go Jess just got out her own magazine and tried to do it and subsequently got very frustrated that it wasn’t as easy as it looked, lol. So I did the two puzzles they had, then went back to reading the fanfic I had on my phone. The flight at that point ended up getting fairly turbulent which was somewhat anxiety inducing for some of us but of course we landed safe and sound. We got off the plane and figured out how the airport did it’s ride service before taking a Lyft (the pick up places for lyft and Uber were apparently different and we were in the lyft pick up place) back to our Airbnb, which upon getting to the street the driver was like “well I can’t see any of the numbers on the houses” and proceeded to just drop us off in the middle of the street. Well then. Remember it’s like 12:30 am lol. But we figured out which house was the right one then I had to pull out the guide for checking in which was getting the keys from the lock box and then getting into the place, which we eventually figured out lol and got to our room, at which point we basically just dropped our stuff and went to bed because we were mad tired lol.

The con opened at 10 and I wanted to shower (since I hadn’t the night before) in the morning so Jess set an alarm for 8:45. Got up when it went off and I just like, had a chill for some reason that was annoyingly with me like the whole day but was very apparent while I was trying to shower and get ready. But we managed, finished all that good stuff (I was doing Catwoman because it was easy and comfortable) and ubered to the con place which was thankfully very close by (we do this thing where Jess is like “did you get the Airbnb close to the airport or close to the convention?” and I’m like “?? Isn’t guess we’ll see maybe neither!!” Lol because it’s usually somewhat of a compromise between the two but this one ended up being nice and close to the place) where we joined a giant outdoor line to get in which of course was just not moving and then when it started went rather slowly. It wasn’t laid out all that well so we had to find out way around a bit at first.

Couldn’t find any coffee, which was kinda ridiculous because the place was called the Dunkin’ Donuts center (we did eventually find one Dunkin’ Donuts in the building, so Jess and I had to just buy cokes and drink them for caffeine lol. So we grabbed those and some sort of breakfasty food item before hitting up the show floor. Basically the show floor was its own thing attached to the photo op area, then there was a room with the like. B-List” celebrities (which was still some like, fairly major people, they just had a LOT of guests) then over like a connected portion of it where they actually play the sports ball (I think they did basketball and hockey, we concluded) was the major celebrities. So we went through the show floor and checked things out, then went to the smaller celeb room, where Katrina Law was, and we were planning on meeting her on Sunday for photos and such but she didn’t have a line at the moment (the set up of that particular room was REALLY bad) so we went and said hi to her for a bit, then eventually checked out the big celebrities which took a while for us to figure out how to actually get to where they were. So the people I actually cared about in this room were Kiefer Sutherland and Tom Felton, both of which has gigantic lines when we got there. I had a photo op with Kiefer later and was planning on hitting up his line after for an autograph. But nobody in that room was doing selfies (officially at least) and of course Tom’s autograph was a lot of money so I moved to kinda being meh on whether I actually ended up meeting him or not.

At this point I think we returned to the show floor where we hung out for a bit before getting up to try to wait for our photo op but there was a bit of a crowd in the area of people waiting to go back that they eventually just made disperse entirely so we kinda hung out around that area until we were called. I was going for Kiefer and Jess was getting a photo with Hayden Christensen, of Star Wars fame of course, which both happened to be around the same time. So once we got back there my line moved pretty quickly, Jess ended up being stuck there a little longer though. But yeah, it was the same photo people from last week’s con so we’re used to their deal, came in and fangirled to myself a little that he was RIGHT THERE and then of course inched closer as people got through, when it came to it he shook my hand and I said my name, took the photo just kinda generic nice pose, then as I was leaving I was like “I’ll be back for an autograph later!” to which he just kinda laughed and said okay.

We were planning on going to a panel that started not long afterwards featuring Katrina Law, Emma Dumont, and Elizabeth Henstridge (from Shield, who was new to me) and needed to get lunch at some point so I grabbed some food and we ate it as we made our way to the line to get in the panel. Ended up getting pretty good seats. The panel was great, they were all hilarious and totally upfront about everything. Jess asked the whole “what emojis would you use to describe your character and yourselves” and I was typing furiously the whole time in order to be able to tweet all the right emojis correctly for them lol. It was great because Emma asked Jess if she was cosplaying Jessica Jones which was what had been happening all day because she was wearing a black leather jacket, jeans, and black boots, but was not actually trying to cosplay her and was planning on another outfit she ended up forgetting an aspect of, but she said yes anyway, then later on in the panel Emma was like “I’m always just wearing my clothes and people are like ‘are you cosplaying Jessica Jones?’ and I just say yes even though I’m not” at which point we all laughed very hard because that’s literally what just happened. The rest of the panel was fun, Katrina Law had some very funny moments about reading in the Arrow script where out of nowhere Ra’s is like “no, they’re actually going to get married” and she just died laughing because she was like “the Olicity’s are gonna be so mad” and really that’s the best motivation to do anything in life.

So that was fun, and after that we went back over to the big celeb room to see how things were looking, with the hope that Kiefer’s line wouldn’t be too bad and I could get my photo op signed. There were only a handful of people in his line when we got there but he was also very obviously not at the table lol, so we investigated and asked if we knew when he was gonna be back and they were like “5 minutes” at which point we were like well that’s probably not true but it’s worth getting in line anyway so we did and maybe like 40 minutes later he showed up? Still much much better than like 2 1/2 hours in line lol so I was satisfied.

Now I guess I should talk about how much I love him to fully explain this story. Since it was a con and they were marketing towards what people would know him from there was a lot of like photos and stuff he was in when he was younger, none of which I’d ever seen or really had any idea existed, and some of those photos were rather entertaining. Back to the point though, I loved 24 back in the day like super hardcore, we were diehard fans for multiple seasons and like, I adored that show lol. If any of you remember my post from last weekend when I met Annie Wersching and how much I loved her, this is like that except so much more because this is the MAN who was the center of it all and damn I love him so much. Of course it’s been years since that has aired and he has in fact moved on, and I most definitely started watching Designated Survivor for him because I loved him so much. If you’re not familiar with the concept of the show it’s like when there’s a state of the union speech or something where all the members of the congress and cabinet and president are all in one place there’s like one person removed at a different location in case something should happen to all of the people at that location, which of course begs the question what on earth would happen if that were the case?? And that’s where the show picks up, with him being a minor member of the cabinet, secretary of housing or something along those lines but not like a politician really and he gets selected to be the person not at the state of the union and then of course there’s a horrific massive terrorist attack where they blow up the capitol building and suddenly the president, his entire cabinet, and the entirety of congress (apparently, anyway, but that’s another story) are all gone and this guy is now being sworn in as president. So I mean it’s pretty wild. But like, ugh he’s so great at it, and it frequently makes me frustrated that we’re in our current presidential reality because Tom Kirkman dammit is a fucking fantastic president and why can’t we just have him??? It’s not fair. So I was pretty amped to meet him.

So we get up there and he makes some comment about me being back with my cat ears lol and we talked and I said how much I loved the two shows and how happy I was that designated survivor got picked up by Netflix for a third season after it’s apparent cancellation because I really loved him in that show and wasn’t ready to say goodbye to it today and then he told me I made his day and was really happy and then when we were leaving he was like “see ya Rach” and I just died entirely I was deceased lol like this was so wild I couldn’t handle it. So I was sufficiently amped up after that lol. We were pretty much done after that so we were gonna get dinner and we were looking for a place on google maps and such and we wanted to see if we could make it to a store or some sort that had baby clothing to get a present for Katrina which hadn’t occurred to us until we arrived at the con and somebody else had done so for some reason lol. So I found a Cheesecake Factory next to some stores and y’all now how we feel about the Cheesecake Factory lol so we ubered over there and had to wait a bit but that was fine because after a crazy day just sitting was relaxing enough lol. So we were typical and ordered the same things we always get lol and then for dessert we both got the pumpkin cheesecake because it’s PUMPKIN time of course lol so that was lovely.

Once we finished there we walked down the road a bit to see what our options were and ended up going into an Old Navy to find their baby clothes section and like, this is why we don’t go to stores with baby clothes in them regularly because we both just like, died, looking at the clothing that was too fucking cute. We ended up finding these really cute little kitty shoes and got two kitty themed shirts to go with it and another shirt that had unicorns on it because we know how Katrina feels about unicorns haha and then got an adorable bunny gift bag by the register to give it to her in. So we were very happy with our purchases. We got an Uber back to the Airbnb that smelled very strongly of axe and I was like ?? lol and when we got back Jess showered and when she got out I brushed my teeth and it was like 8:30 but I was like I’m fucking tired I’m going to bed now lol and I was cold all fucking day like I said so I literally slept in my leather jacket because I didn’t want to take it off 😂😂😂 oh I didn’t explain the whole bedding situation from the night before, oh that was a trip unto itself, let me recount that so you can all appreciate what was happening here.

So if you read this blog at all you probably know that I’m allergic to polyester and can often recognize it on sight because at this point I know what it looks like. So we get to the room and there’s like a folded blanket at the foot of the bed that’s polyester and I’m just like whatever that doesn’t bug me but then once we pulled back the comforter there was a matching blanket and seat set that, I fucking kid you not, were all made out of polyester. And like, I’d never even seen polyester sheets up to this point so this was a totally new situation, and it was the blanket the sheets and the pillowcases so I was like welp I’m fucked and my original idea was to use my designated bath towel as a buffer where my skin would otherwise come into contact with the polyester but that didn’t work very well, at which point we turned the lights back on and took the non-polyester comforter from the top of the bed and just basically wrapped myself in it (like a burrito) and Jess got the rest of the blankets and that worked out fairly well lol so that was that adventure.

Anyway, Saturday night I fell asleep fairly quickly and woke up Sunday morning to my alarm at 9 and started getting ready for day two of the con. I was doing white canary Sara for the day since Katrina was there and we’d be seeing her. So I got into all my gear for that trying to be as careful as I could with my prized possession White Canary jacket signed by Caity Lotz (which was her idea, not mine, just saying). Lol. Since we were more familiar with the venue and their general lack of suitable food (that’s con food for ya) we ubered to a Starbucks that was down the block from the con center to get food and caffeine before going to the con. They somehow ended up being out of butter croissants but offered these honey pistachio ones they’re having now which was actually like super good??? I was kinda doubtful because even though I do like pistachios I’m still not a huge nut person but there ended up being fairly little of actual pistachio on it haha and was just in generally really good! So that was cool. Our goals for the day were pretty much the female actors from the panel the day prior, who were all in the smaller room so we headed up there and hit up Emma Dumont’s table first. If you weren’t around in April to read about our HVFF Chicago interaction with her basically neither of us were particularly attached to her but were going to get an autograph as a surprise for a friend’s birthday and she ended up being like the loveliest person ever so much so that we both got more into The Gifted and into her because it was basically the most personable celebrity interaction I’ve ever had like, it’s hard to explain how awesome she is haha she just is. She didn’t have a line at the time so that helped let us kinda hang out with her a bit longer than we typically would if there was a line (not that that seemed to bother her last time). So of course the first thing that came up was that Jess was cosplaying Lorna (her character from The Gifted) and then the whole Jessica Jones thing from the panel which she thought was fucking hilarious and then proceeded to tell us a story about being mistaken for Krysten Ritter as a Marvel person lol. And she was just continually awesome and hilarious. We ended up getting into a bit of a discussion re HVFF San Jose and how they had apparently been declining Marvel guests and she was like “I was trying so hard, like I came early and stayed late...” and like it made me so angry that anyone would be so rude to her like that after she had been so lovely to everyone so now I’m low key gonna run a Twitter campaign to make HVFF invite Marvel guests to their cons because that’s super shitty of them and they shouldn’t be treating people like that (I’m thinking like #twobrandsonefandom or something corny like that) so yeah that’s what’s happening there lol.

Once we left her table we ran into friends so we talked to them for a bit before going over to Elizabeth Henstridge’s table. Now I’ve seen precisely one episode of Shield so I don’t really know who she is other than from the panel the day before (well, that and certain stories Jess has told me.....) but the interaction was nice enough, she was lovely and British so that was all good. Katrina hadn’t been there initially but walked in after we had finished at Elizabeth Henstridge’s table just a few down from her so we got in the small line that has accumulated for her (again, the layout of this room was super shitty and not at all favorable for actually building lines) and got to her rather quickly, we gave her the baby clothes and she freaked out and loved them so we took a picture with her with them (even though we hadn’t technically paid for a picture 🤷🏻‍♀️) but Katrina was great as always and she was so excited like this is going to be the most well-dressed baby haha it’s gonna be great. It occurred to me that if we had had hindsight we should’ve gotten her a shirt similar to the one Annie Wersching had been wearing last week when she was Very Pregnant and her shirt said “future marvel superhero” with an arrow down pointing at her stomach so if we got Katrina one that said DC and then a baby outfit that said “future DC superhero” for when she’s born we probably would’ve won the internet, but alas, we missed this opportunity sadly. But after that we exited that room and got drinks quickly because my throat was being super dry and my credit card got declined which was like ??? but I figured it was probably a travel issue that’s happened a few times before so I didn’t think anything of it and just paid in cash and used my debit card for the rest of the day. We then hit up the show floor for a bit and weaves through all of it but were pretty much done there. We decided to go elsewhere for lunch then come back (though at this point I was like in all honestly we’re probably not gonna end up coming back). Jess was having a very bad allergy day probably due to something at the Airbnb, either pet related or some toiletry product (damn travel sized shampoos) and it was getting bad so we needed to obtain allergy medication so we got directions to the nearest CVS which required going through the hotel the con center was attached to over to a mall that had a CVS, so that was kinda confusing but we made it over and bought some Claritin D that would hopefully be helpful. Since we were at a mall at this point we went up to the food court to get some food there and ended up at a Johnny Rockets because shakes.

K so just for context I’m now in an Uber on the way home so a lot has happened since I started typing this lol. But yeah, Johnny Rockets was good of course and then we decided as I expected to not bother going back to the con and instead walked around the mall for a bit hitting up our typical shops (which are like, hot topic, h&m, forever 21 and some comic store lol) before ubering back to the Airbnb where we had left our bags to change and grab them before heading to the airport. Got to the airport, security was fine even though their stupid scanner hates me, but we got to our gate with time to spare. We were at the end of the hall in a fairly deserted spot and there was a guy like laying down on the floor with his shoes off and like we didn’t think anything of it because hey people in airports are tired and sometimes need naps. But then a security guy came over and was like radioing “we found him” and tried to gently wake him up and was like “we were looking for you, your wife’s here and she’s very worried about you and was about to cry” and I was like well shit now I feel bad that I didn’t like go tell somebody he was there haha but like I didn’t really think anything of it. So they got a wheelchair for him and wheeled him out of there. At some point I got some food from down in the terminal and we waited until our flight was boarding, once we were on it I listened to the legends podcast episode that dropped today and when I finished that I started writing this.

Short summary on what has happened since, we had initially had a very short layover that Jess was (rightfully) anxious about but our second flight ended up getting delayed so that wasn’t an issue. But they didn’t have like an open gate for some reason so we had to deplane and get in a bus that drove us to the terminal, then to get to our next gate we had to get on another bus to a different terminal before finally reaching our gate, so that was a bit of an adventure, and I mean if our flight hadn’t gotten delayed we almost definitely would’ve missed our connection under those circumstances and that would’ve been bad for everyone so I’m glad that didn’t happen. I grabbed a water and a small fruit cup from the store before sitting for a bit then boarding the plane, at which point I started typing this again and did so through the end of the plane ride, where we got off and went to the ride share pick up spy and for some reason two Ubers canceled on us so I was like fuck it I’m using lyft which ended up being like $8 cheaper but for some reason took like three tries to go through and then it looked like the driver wasn’t moving but eventually he did and we went outside to meet him, got in and started driving home, at which point I started typing this again and I’m still on my way home now. I took my pills on the plane this time so hopefully I won’t have to much of an issue falling asleep because I have to be up at 7 for work like have to have to can’t slack off and call in sick HAVE TO so I need to get as much sleep as possible. But yeah, that’s been this weekend up to this moment, pretty wild. We’re not quite home yet but I think I’m ready to sign off here, so I’ll talk to you guys soon. Goodnight peeps. Have as best of a Monday as Mondays can be.

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News Nuggets from Around Disney World

Hey! Look! The site still works! This latest batch of (breakfast?) News Nuggets is a long time coming. I had grand desigins of posting it when I was down in Florida IN DECEMBER, but that slipped. Then, life got in the way, and an iOS beta broke my custom Workflows, and…well..its (still) February.

To try make this post (of over 8 weeks worth of Disney news) a little more timely, I’ve culled some of the original stories I was going to publish, as well modified some of commentary to reflect my experiences and other news I’ve heard about these items.

Of course, the biggest news item that hasn’t already been written about on the site is:

BB-8 To Greet Guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios This Spring – The line for this when it opens is going to be insane. Hopefully, the lack of needing to change costumed people in and out will keep the lines from backing up.

With all that out of the way, on to the News Nuggets!!

Sneak A Peek Inside The New Disney PhotoPass Studio At Disney Springs – Cute. I wonder what virtual backgrounds they’ll have available.

Rumors of the Dr. Strange experience being cut from Hollywood Studios – Kenny the Pirate with a rumor of one of Disney’s first attempts of having a Marvel character in the park during regular hours come to an end.

runDisney Princess Half Marathon Weekend Inspired by Disney ‘Beauty and the Beast’ – Elyssa and I aren’t running the Princess this year (we’re doing Star Wars instead), so we’re not going to get one of those cool Beauty and the Beast medals.

Photo Editing Now Available in My Disney Experience App – The only thing surprising about this is that it took so long for these features to show up.

Sanaa Kuamsha Breakfast Now Available at Sanaa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – This doesn’t look any different than what various sites reported a few weeks ago. I guess they’re ready to make the official public announcement now, though.

New Choza Tequila Coming to Epcot in 2017 at Walt Disney World Resort – Does “hand-crafted margaritas” mean they’ll be made when you order them or does “hand-crated” mean they’ll be made by hand and then put into huge jugs for days on end? (Of course, Elyssa will still want one when she walks by.)

2 month Rehab for Walt Disney World Railroad in early 2017. – The train is scheduled to be down from January 9 through March 2nd. That is a bummer during the day, but it makes that area kind of a ghost town for certain parades and evening shows.

Enchanted Tales with Belle removed from Morning Extra Magic Hours. – I don’t think it’s a particularly big loss. This would be a waste of that bonus time.

Disney After Hours Returns to Magic Kingdom Park for 7 Nights in Early 2017 – $119 for everyone is a pretty good, at $89 for AP holders, it’s a no brainer (assuming–of course–that they sell as a few tickets as they did for last year’s event.)

New Star Wars Guided Tour Starts at Disney’s Hollywood Studios January 2 – 7 hours? For $129? Based on that description? I guess I’m going to have wait until someone takes the actual tour, since this just doesn’t make a lot of sense. (Which I still haven’t seen)

runDisney Star Wars Half Marathon – The Dark Side Medals – Hopefully, Elyssa and I will be able to finish these races and get our Kylo Ren medal.

Bus Stop Pizza Kiosks Now Have Breakfast – I don’t use the term “game changer” lightly…(I kid, I kid. “Game changer” means nothing with respect to theme park news these days.)

Tree of Life Garden Returns to Animal Kingdom After Multi-Year Closure – Getting everything in Animal Kingdom in shape for when Avatarland opens (what is now) a couple of months.

Crossroads plaza faces demolition for Disney-area road project – Interesting story, but it’s a long, long way from happening. The state will have to get right of way access to the area first, and I can’t imagine Crossroads and its tenants will go quietly.

Gasparilla Island Grill reopens at the Floridian. – Good timing. You can’t have the major quick service at a resort down for the holidays. (Also, the food here was pretty good. I enjoyed it.)

Upcoming changes to Epcot entertainment acts – Kenny the Pirate runs down some of the upcoming (and now made) changes to Epcot entertainment. Disney seems to have decided to change these various acts a little more frequently over the past few years.

Churros return to the Animal Kingdom. – If you need some evidence that 2017 will be better than 2016.

Okay. That was a lot of nuggets. I need a break.Let’s watch one of the “behind the scenes” looks at Pandora:

Okay, back to the News Nuggets:

[A New Way to Start Your Day at Magic Kingdom Park Begins January 9]( http://ift.tt/2ihXQND) – They’rved moved the Welcome Show to the Hub during the refurbishment of the Railroad. It’s an interesting “test” of how this might work. I plan on writing more about it later (I swear!), but I wanted to share the “news” now.

#DisneyKids: A Vacation Package Perfect for Your Kindermoon at Walt Disney World Resort – It’s an interesting way for Disney to say now (right as they’re about to start school) is the right time to bring your kids to Disney World. WDW News Today pointed out that these packages also include additional Fastpass+ selection for certain “kid friendly” attractions.

Entry bridge to Pandora – The World of Avatar now visible to guests – It’s probably just me, but it feels like they’re going to be able to open this place in time for the summer. (I’m also pretty sure I’m going to regret this post when it’s not open in September.) — I swear I wrote this in December, BEFORE the date was announced!

Photos of Culinary Treats at Epcot International Festival of the Arts at Walt Disney World Resort – These look a little fancier than some of the Food & Wine Items. Of course, it’s just the product photography, so who knows what the final product will end up being.

Joffrey’s Coffee Kiosk to be Added to the Magic Kingdom, Annual Pass Discounts Now Offered – I admit: I just assumed there already was a Joffrey’s at Magic Kingdom. (The discount is nice, though.)

Disney Testing New One-Day Quick Service Dining Plans at Theme Parks, “Disney-Dine-on-the-Go” to Speed Up Sales – I’m going to need more information on this, since–as it stands–I don’t get it. (Since then, I’ve gotten more information. If you are definitely going to eat multiple quick service meals at the Magic Kingdom, it might be possible to get a decent value out of this.)

Magic Kingdom In-Park Cabanas Being Offered at a Discounted Price – For everyone who said “I’d pay $500 for that, but $650 is just too much…” (Sadly, (?) these have now been been removed.)

WDW News Today Rumor that the Paint the Night Electrical Parade Still A Possibility for The Magic Kingdom – Have you seen the people sitting on the sidewalk on Main Street waiting for the nighttime parade? It’s a thing that people just expect to have. Whether it’s Paint the Night or some other parade, Disney really should do something.

Flame Tree Barbecue Retiring Signature Barbecue Sauce – I was never really fan, but I’m sure some people will be very upset about this.

Members to Experience Disney Vacation Club Moonlight Magic – If you own DVC, maybe pay attention to thse dates. Me? I love the multiple paragraphs of disclaimers at the end of the post.

Star Wars: Galatic Nights Special Event starts April 14 at The Studios – Nicely timing to coincide with Star Wars Celebration (which is taking place that weekend). Personally, it sounds like the Magic Kingdom After Hours event would have more value than this $129 event will, but I’ll hold off final judgment until we get some more details.

Express Fresh Pilot to Being Feb. 7 at Contemporary and Yacht Club. – Interesting. A new “quick and casual” option for in-room dining. My fear, of course, is it’s going to be like those sandwiches that you see in the case at an airport (more “express”, than really “fresh”.)

Drinks coming to Paddlefish – I wonder what the craft beer from North Carolina is. Of course, it’s kind of silly for me to go to Disney World and have beer that I can get just as easily at home.

Okay, time for another break. This time, let’s look at this tribute to the late, great Carrie Fisher from The Studios:

Ms. Fisher will be missed, and (shockingly?) I was unable to come up with a way to segway back into the nuggets:

Braves Spring Training to Conclude at Walt Disney World – This is a bummer for me. I liked being able to see some spring training baseball when I was visiting Disney World. I guess I understand the Braves’ point that they are too far away from other spring training teams, but that doesn’t make it less of a bummer for me.

Housekeeping at Disney World to be Reorganized Due to Degrading Service Quality – On the surface, I think this is a good move. Improved quality of room cleaning, etc… doesn’t really have many negatives (though, honestly, I haven’t really ever faced any issues under the current system.)

Paddlefish Set to Open Feb. 4 at Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort – Obviously, this is now open. Reviews from 3 bloggers who attended together all seemed fairly positive, including: WDW News Today, Mouse Steps , and easyWDW .

Discover a Timeless Tale with a Sneak Peek from Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Starting Feb. 10 at Disney Parks – After a couple of years, can probably figure out how this is going to: The next big Disney / Marvel movie that’s coming out gets a preview in One Man’s Dream.

Re-Imagined Planet Hollywood Observatory Opens at Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort – And we already have less-than-glowing reviews from WDW News Today and (even) the Disney Flood Blog.

One more break before we finish? What do you say? This time, let’s check out the latest Pandora ad:

That place might be pretty cool in a few months. Now, though, let’s finish out our News Nuggets!

New look parking trams to feature monorail colors and quieter ride – Huh. I never really noticed the existing trams being particularly loud, but–if I think about it–I guess they are.

Starring Rolls Cafe at Hollywood Studios Closing Tomorrow – If “tomorrow” to you is February 4th, that is. Sadly, this is another example of something at the Studios closing, but there being nothing announced to replace it.

Book Your Spot on the New Ultimate Disney Classics VIP Tour at Magic Kingdom Park – $200 for a VIP tour that doesn’t include any of the “mountains” or the Mine Train doesn’t work for me. Maybe if your priorities RE attractions are a little different?

Leaked Image Reveals Ride Vehicle for AVATAR “Flying Banshee” Attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Interesting. I hadn’t even thought that each person (couple? small group?) would get their own Banshee to ride. If that’s really the case, it could be a really different experience from Soarin’.

Making way for The NBA Experience: DisneyQuest at Disney Springs to Close July 3 – So the NBA Experience is still going to be a thing, huh? At a minimum, maybe they’ll really shut down Disney Quest, finally.

Cosmic Ray’s to get a Second Expansion – UNRELATED(ish): I don’t know if Elyssa and I have ever been to Cosmic Ray’s together

Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort engages guests with Chrome signage – Not really a news item, but I figured y’all be able to really impress your family with this key factoid.

Disney CEO Bob Iger confirms possibility of extending tenure past 2018 – Maybe our favorite tipster “Bob from Burbank” can call into to MMoM to give a couple of insights on this.

Doc McStuffins to Greet Fans at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Beginning This Month – Huh. This seems like a weird home for Doc.

Enchanted Rose Cake Inspired by ‘Beauty and the Beast’ – We had an Amorette’s Patisserie cake over Christmas and it was fantastic. (That reminds me, I should probably write about that.)

Theme Park Models Move Out of Walt Disney – One Man’s Dream for Beauty & The Beast and Other Movie Props – I guess I knew this was coming, but it’s still kind of a bummer.

Geyser Point Bar & Grill Opens at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge at Walt Disney World Resort – As a photographer, I know it’s possible to make things look better in picture than they actually are. That said, this place looks fantastic. (Initial Review from DFB is positive)

Disney makes it official: Charges $5 for each mailing or package received at a Disney Resort. – This just makes me sad. I hate little charges like this.

Rumored Gondola Transportation System Between Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios to be Constructed – This rumor has been setting the Internet on fire for the past day or two. Personally, I’d love to seem Disney try something like that.

New Bird Shows Have Debuted at Disney’s Animal Kingdom – I’m still amazed that these birds can be trained to be out in the open like this.

More Guest Experiences and Dining Options Coming to Disney’s Coronado Springs and Caribbean Beach Resorts – It sounds like they are really going to make some upgrades to these moderate resorts (including converting Corando Springs into a more “business-y” resort.) The press release has a few more details..

New Menu Items at Jiko – Since Elyssa and I have never been here, we really don’t have any favorites that might get pulled of the menu. That said, I figure Elyssa will still try to get a filet on top of a bed of mac-and-cheese if we do go.

Whew! We’re finally done. Let’s celebrate!

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