#also great job applying american race relations to places that have nothing to do with it

[matriarchybarbie]

so-called radical feminists will cogently point out that women and gays, and others who have historically been on the forefront of the leftist movement, are not suddenly becoming homophobic en masse. we are speaking up about the transgender movement in leftist spaces that is harming us.

and then those same women will just willingly refuse to apply that same train of logic to jews, who have historically been on the forefront of the leftist movement, that have been speaking up about the antisemitism in leftist spaces that’s shot up fucking wholesale since October 7th that is harming us.

[writingquestionsanswered]

When you’re an extremely isolated person, how do you find people who can answer cultural questions? When I asked Writing with Colour it wasn’t answered and a few others just said “speak to people you know of that religion/heritage and if you don’t, find out why you don’t have any PoC friends”. I don’t have any friends or acquaintances of any religious or cultural background (health issues have lead to a decade of isolation), so I have nobody to ask. I want to write a PoC lead but I’m white.

Guide: Writing About a Diverse Character from Outside the Community

Things to Consider and Where to Find Information

Although this particular question refers to writing People of Color when you’re white, a large part of my answer applies to writing any character from a diverse group, when you’re not part of that group, whether it’s people who can see writing about people who are blind, or a white American writing about a Mexican American person with Mexican immigrant parents. So, while my first answer is specific to writing People of Color, the others apply to writing people from pretty much any diverse situation or community.1. There’s a difference between "race” and “culture.”

I think one of the most fundamental points of confusion white writers have about writing People of Color is not understanding the difference between race and culture. Outside of experiencing racism (which isn’t really for white writers to write about in the first place), race doesn’t tell us who a person is and what their lives are like. If you’re writing about a Black Canadian, Brit, or American, for example, you shouldn’t have “cultural questions” about them. Just write about a Canadian, Brit, or American. You should only have cultural questions about a person if they belong to a particular culture. Just because someone is ancestrally Indian, for example, doesn’t mean they practice an Indian religion or culture. If you’re a British white lady and you want to write about a British Black lady, that’s super easy–just write about a British lady and you’re all set. But if you’re a British white lady who wants to write about a Black British lady who was born in Western Nigeria to Yoruba parents, moved to London with them as a teenager, but Yoruba culture still plays a role in her life, then you need to research Yoruba culture. And, more specifically if you can, Yoruba communities in London or elsewhere in the U.K. But, again, don’t worry about the “culture” of a Person of Color unless a particular culture plays a big role in their life. Just write people.

2. There’s nothing about race, culture, ethnicity, or nationality (or anything else, really) that you can’t find out through a simple Google search.

If you have questions about your character’s culture, I promise you can find those answers via Google. As the writer, it’s your job to go out and find that information, which doesn’t mean asking someone else to give it to you. That data is out there. It’s up to you to find it. And the fact that people in diverse communities, particularly writers in those communities, frequently put together guides and other resources to help writers portray people in their community–that’s a huge boon that all writers need to take advantage of. Instead, there’s a huge issue with writers asking “how do I portray….?” instead of finding the information and figuring it out themselves. Will there sometimes be questions that genuinely can’t be answered by information that’s out there? Sure, but it will be very rare. Most of the time, that information is there. You just have to take the time and put in the effort to find it.

3. If you do have one of those rare “this can’t be answered by a Google search questions,” if you have done your other research, there are places you can go to find people who can answer your question. But they’re not going to bother if they can see you haven’t done your due diligence. 

A writer friend of mine was writing about a particular culture in the far-future and needed to know what elements of that culture might be affected by an element in the story. That’s not the kind of thing you can find out on Google, because this is a thing that has never happened before and couldn’t realistically happen in a non-fantasy world. But because he had done loads of research on the culture, both in terms of the past and present, had specifically looked at how things like colonization and advancing technology had affected those elements, and used that information to guess how the elements of his far-future fantasy world might affect this culture, he was able to go to an online forum of other writers (I’m not sure which one, but the NaNoWriMo, Reddit, and Absolute Write Water Cooler writing forums are examples) and seek out people from that particular culture, present his situation and his thoughts, and then ask them how they thought elements of their culture might change in this situation. He had loads and loads of responses because people could see that he had done his legwork and was as well-versed as he possibly could be on the culture. So people from that culture didn’t mind filling in the gaps that couldn’t be filled in by research. But if you go to a Q&A site like Writing with Color or a writing forum like on NaNoWriMo, and you just ask, “How do I portray a person from such and such culture?” not too many people are going to want to help you, because why should they tell you information that can easily be found through a Google search? So, keep that in mind. Do your research and save your questions for things that genuinely can’t be found via research.

4. Where to find information about diverse groups when you are isolated or otherwise unable to experience those groups firsthand.

Online Community Groups - Any community, whether it’s people with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, Peruvians living in the U.K., Black American feminists, trans writers, disease survivors, etc., almost certainly has at least some sort of online community if not an entire organization dedicated to that community. It may take some digging around, but you can find them, and as long as they’re not private support groups meant only for people from that community, most of the time they welcome people who are interested in learning about their community. So, look for these groups and if they welcome people from outside the community, join the group and start absorbing everything you can.

In-Person Community Groups - Many communities also have actual groups that get together and put on different events and activities rooted in the community, and once again, they often welcome people from outside the group who want to learn about the community. Even if you can’t attend these activities and events in person, you can still typically follow them online and can learn a lot from pictures and video from the event. So, try looking for events within that community and see if you can find video or an online picture gallery from that event. And if you can and they welcome people from outside the community, try to attend one!

Look for Community Leaders, Activists, and Other Notable People from That Community - Many communities have vocal people within the community who stand as unofficial (or sometimes official) ambassadors of that community. They speak out on issues affecting the community, they share news and events related to the community, and offer lots of firsthand commentary from the perspective of that community. You can find them on social media, particularly twitter, they often have blogs or YouTube channels, and sometimes they have web sites. Find the notable people in the community you want to write about and follow them. Read their posts. Read the things they share. Absorb the information they give you.

Watch a Video or Documentary - There’s a really good chance that there are videos or documentaries about the group you wish to write about. Go to Google and type in “documentary about people who are deaf” or “documentary about Latinx Americans.” There’s a good chance something will come up. Try doing the search on YouTube.

Look for Articles, Blogs, and Other Resources - Once again, no matter what community your character belongs to, there’s a pretty good chance that someone from that community has written about their experience, whether it’s dealing with specific issues related to their situation or just what it’s like to be someone in that situation/from that community. Interviews, both in print and video, are another great resource.

Read Books - It’s almost a certainty that there are books written about the diverse group you want to portray. Whether it’s a book about growing up as a Chinese American or the racism in the U.K., whether it’s a non-fiction book or a fiction book. “Own voice” stories are becoming more and more popular and offer a firsthand view of experience in a particular situation or community. You can purchase physical books and e-books on Amazon or other sites, you can also often find books that are free via special promotion on legitimate sites like Amazon (just please don’t download free e-books on sites that have stolen those books.) You can also try your local library which can often order books for you from other libraries. Some libraries will even send you books via the mail. 

Watch TV Shows and Movies - TV and movies may not always be the best source of information about a particular situation or community, but over the last several years more and more are being made thoughtfully, respectfully, and by people with firsthand experience in that situation/community. So it’s always worth looking to see what’s out there. Watching The Joy Luck Club won’t tell you everything about being the Chinese-American daughter of a Chinese immigrant daughter, but it’s a good start.

[mss4msu]

Call Me Doctor. (Steve’s Chapters 7 & 8)

Summary: Fresh out of graduate school, you had somehow landed a spot in the faculty of a prestigious university. The small anthropology department has too many faculty and too few offices; sharing an office does not go as you expected.

Pairing: Professor!Steve x Professor!Reader

Words: 4710

Warnings: Language and ANGST

A/N: I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to write more of this. I graduated with my Masters a week ago and have been busy applying to jobs all week. But this chapter is v long to try to make up for it!!

IMPORTANT: THIS IS WRITTEN FROM STEVE’S PERSPECTIVE!!!!!!! THIS DEPICTS STEVE’S VIEW FROM CHAPTER 7 TO CHAPTER 8 OF CALL ME DOCTOR!!

Catch Up On the Story Here

By the third week of the semester, Steve became more smitten with (Y/N) than he had believed possible. While in the past he had actively avoided the departmental lunches in favor of staying in his office and working, knowing that (Y/N) would be there enticed him to attend, despite the comments and looks he received from James about it. Steve found that he could join her for lunch the other two days a week as well, and was thankful that it was just the two of them together in the office. He learned more and more about (Y/N) during each lunch, such as how she loved ketchup but hated tomatoes and couldn’t listen to classical music while working because she got too involved listening to the specific instruments to focus on her tasks. No matter how hungry Steve was, he could talk to (Y/N) for hours and often forgot to eat his lunch, leaving him hastily shoving it into his mouth as he ran off to one of his classes.

Steve was thankful that the third week also brought less students into the office, as they had already done their necessary introductions with (Y/N) during the first two weeks. While in the past he would have taken the quiet to work, he found himself wanting to talk to (Y/N) instead. While they chatted about different things about their lives outside of work, they also talked about various challenges of their jobs. Steve got advice on how to incorporate popular culture into his lectures to make them more appealing to students.

On one afternoon, Steve worked up the nerve to ask (Y/N) how to use Tumblr. Steve told (Y/N) about the year he had spent studying love letters sent during WWII and was curious if he could find fanfictions on Tumblr to relate to them, just as (Y/N) had done with the Egyptian love poems. She helped him set up a username (he chose SteveRogers_UniversityProfessor so he wouldn’t forget it) and then began to search for stories. Steve watched as she pulled up fanfictions about a star-spangled superhero who was incredibly popular with the ladies. Seeing (Y/N) blush at the explicit content appearing on his screen made Steve wonder what sorts of NSFW activities she was in to. He deemed it necessary to continue reading it, even at her requests to exit the page to “get the full experience.” Seeing her embarrassment and how easily she navigated the site, Steve also began to wonder if (Y/N) may have written some of the content herself.

Steve picked up the phone and, to (Y/N)’s chagrin, called James and told him to come into his office. When James came into the room, the three of them huddled behind the computer screen. Steve gently moved the keyboard from under (Y/N)’s fingers and typed in the username that (Y/N) had referenced in her presentation. He quickly found stories of an American turned Russian super-soldier, which James found immensely interesting.

“Steve, click that one, Guys My Age,” James requested.

Steve obliged and opened the story, “Which Part?”

“Part one!” James excitedly replied.

Steve clicked Part One, “Warnings are lap dance and angst.”

“I thought you said these were juicy!” Bucky scoffed, “This just sounds like a typical Saturday night.”

Steve rolled his eyes and clicked on the link to the next part.

“Smut and NSFW gifs? Now we’re talking,” Bucky said, leaning closer to the screen.

“‘Fuck me. Now. You can apologize later.’ This is kinda kinky, (Y/N),” Bucky said, giving her a look.

“‘His hands were roaming everywhere and you couldn’t get enough of the contrast between temperatures,’” Steve read.

“‘Please...please touch me I n-ned to feel you inside me!’” James read, pawing at Steve’s shoulder.

(Y/N) awkwardly cleared her throat from behind the two men, who both began to giggle.

“If you’ll both excuse me, I think I need to go make my own Tumblr account for...research purposes,” James said, as he began to leave the office.

“Don’t forget you share an office with someone, James,” Y/N replied.

“That didn’t stop you two,” James winked as he left the room.

By Friday Steve had been looking forward to going home and searching through Tumblr to see if he could find an account for (Y/N). She was packing up her things to go home when Tony stopped by the office.

“Ah, perfect! (Y/N) and Steve, you’re both still here! Unfortunately, I have an important engagement tonight, Pepper is getting awarded an Excellence in Leadership award, and I of course will be there, so we need faculty to be here for the lecture tonight. Everyone else seems to have gone home already, so it looks like you two are the ones for the job!”

Steve cleared his throat in annoyance, getting ready to snap back, which Tony quickly realized.

“No issues with that I hope?” Tony rhetorically asked, giving (Y/N) a poignet look, “Great, thanks a bunch! (Y/N), the welcome is in your email inbox ready to go!” Tony finger-gunned them both as he left the office smiling.

Steve heard (Y/N) grumbling as she unpacked her bag and sat back down at her desk.

“So typical of Tony,” Steve growled.

“What do you mean, typical?” She asked.

“He is notorious for last minute assignments when he knows people have better things to do. He did it to you your first week by assigning you that lecture and he did it to me with the introduction.” While Steve loved the freedom he had to research by being just a professor, he often regretted not taking the director position because it would have meant that he could be the one bossing Tony around.

Steve heard (Y/N) mutter something to herself, “What was that?” he asked looking (Y/N) straight in the eyes.

“Nothing, just annoyed I have to stay.”

“Why? Big plans this weekend?” Steve’s heart began to race.

“Huge plans. I had a big date,” she replied, to which Steve’s heart sank and he couldn’t help a tense frown appearing on his face, “with my couch, my tv, a pint of ice cream, and a bottle of wine,” she finished.

Steve took a deep sigh of relief and his face relaxed, “That sounds very similar to my weekend, minus the tv and the ice cream.”

“You have a couch?” she teased him, “I imagined you felt most comfortable on a bed of nails.”

Steve was aware of the office jokes about his home, but it stung a bit coming from (Y/N), “Gotta sleep sharp to keep sharp,” he joked back, trying to cover it up.

After sitting in silence a few minutes, Steve felt the need to defend himself further.

“You know my apartment really isn’t full of dangerous furniture, right?” he asked hesitantly, a blush creeping into his cheeks.

“I can’t make any official judgements until I have experience.”

“Well, perhaps I will return the invitation to a dinner in my home,” Steve’s heart was racing.

“I would like that,” she said, quickly adding, “I mean, it would be nice to have a get together of everyone.”

Steve couldn’t tell why she had added the bit about everyone coming over, and simply answered, “Quite.”

They returned to working in silence until (Y/N)’s phone alarm went off to go downstairs to the lecture. They both packed up their things and went down together. Steve placed his things on a seat in the back of the room.

“I should probably sit in the front, since I have to do Tony’s welcome,” (Y/N) said.

Perhaps too eagerly, Steve replied, “I’ll join you,” before picking up his things and walking with her to the front of the lecture hall.

Steve settled into a seat near the podium, next to the one (Y/N) had placed her bag on. After she had finished the welcome, she moved her bag to the floor and sat next to him. Steve couldn’t focus on the lecture, as he thought about the woman sitting next to him instead. 10 minutes into the lecture, Steve noticed (Y/N)’s leg restlessly bouncing up and down. He waited a few seconds, working up his nerve, and then nudged her.

“Worried you’ll be late for your date?” he whispered in her ear.

“Ha. Ha.” she whispered back.

He took a deep breath, and decided to ask, “Wanna get drinks after this?”

“Honestly, we should’ve gotten drinks before,” she replied.

Steve couldn’t help but snort a laugh in agreement.

With drinks to look forward to at the end of the lecture, the event seemed to take even longer than usual. Once or twice, when (Y/N) shifted in her seat, she would accidentally elbow Steve. Although he knew it was an accident due to how close the seats were to each other, he couldn’t help the flutter of his heart each time it happened. Steve began to daydream about the night ahead; getting drinks with (Y/N), maybe going to his or her apartment after for more conversation, leaving before things got too heated...if they even got a little heated at all. Steve snapped back to reality when he felt the seat next to him move as (Y/N) got up to thank everyone for attending.

“Ready?” Steve asked as she came back to her seat and hurriedly picked up her bag.

“Never been more so,” she replied.

“Let’s go then, there’s a good bar a few blocks north. I’ll lead the way.”

Steve resisted the urge to take her hand, and walked out of the auditorium. The walk to the bar was spent discussing how boring the lecture had been. As they entered the bar, they found it noisy and dimly lit. Steve led the way to the only open table in the back of the bar, where there was at least a little reprieve from the sounds of the full bar. (Y/N) sat down, and Steve leaned down to speak into her ear, which gave him a slight flutter in his stomach.

“It’s loud in here, is this ok?” he asked.

“It’s fine!”

“Alright,” he felt relieved, “I’ll get us some drinks. Any requests?”

“Something full of alcohol.”

Steve nodded a reply, and as he turned to the bar he couldn’t help but smile at her response. Despite the bar being full, Steve was able to slide in and have the bartender come right to him.

“Hiya Steve,” the bartender said, pulling out a glass from under the bar, “The usual?”

“Hey Stan,” Steve replied, “two of the usuals this time.”

“Two?” Stan asked. Steve moved slightly so the bartender could look around him and see (Y/N) at the table. “Good for you!” he exclaimed, getting out another glass and filling them both with ice and bourbon.

“Thanks Stan,” Steve said as he slid cash across the bar.

“Have fun tonight,” Stan winked at him.

Steve walked back to the table and handed (Y/N) one of the glasses, taking a drink as he sat down in the chair next to her, “Bourbon on the rocks.”

She took her drink and coughed, and Steve couldn’t help but laugh as he patted her on the back.

“I haven’t had much time to drink lately, so it’s a bit strong!”

“Yeah, sure,” Steve continued to chuckle, he couldn’t help but feel even more attracted to her.

They spent two hours talking about anything and everything, from restaurants in the neighborhood to places they wanted to visit in the city, career goals, and hopes for the future. To Steve, the loudness of the bar disappeared as he focused on (Y/N)’s voice, although after 3 drinks his focus wasn’t as great as he wished.

“So, Steve, are you seeing anyone?” (Y/N) asked.

Steve felt a lump form in his throat, “No, not recently.”

“Oh...that’s interesting.”

Steve noticed a blush spread in her cheeks and he couldn’t help but smile, “I suppose so. Another round?”

“Why not!”

Steve returned to the bar for another round.

“Looks like it’s going well over there,” Stan grinned at Steve.

“I actually think it is,” Steve grinned back. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so happy. “I really like her, Stan.”

“I think the feeling may be mutual,” Stan said, nodding in (Y/N)’s direction.

Steve turned to see her anxiously combing her fingers through her hair and smoothing it down.

“This round is on me,” Stan said, sliding two more drinks across the bar, “Go get her!”

Steve thanked Stan and went back to (Y/N).

“Here you are, Doctor,” he said as he handed her her drink. His eyes wandered to her chest, and he could have sworn her breasts had somehow gotten larger, he quickly looked back up to her face as he sat down.

Steve nervously cleared his throat, dreading the possible answer to the question he was about to ask, but knowing he needed an answer, “Are you seeing anyone?” He took a long drink from his glass as he waited for her answer.

“I am not,” she replied, to which Steve let out a sigh of relief, “I was told in school that I needed to choose between my own academic success or a personal life, and I wouldn’t be here now if I had chosen a personal life.”

Steve didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the encouragement from Stan that made him ask, “Would you be terribly offended if I kissed you?”

“Not in the least,” (Y/N) replied, moving herself closer to him.

Steve set his drink down and moved his hand behind her head, pulling her into him. The moment their lips met, Steve felt a shiver run down his spine and his heart began to pump faster. She moved her hands up to his face and kept her mouth against his. Steve didn’t want to admit how strong his feelings for (Y/N) were before, but after such a passionate kiss, he had to. (Y/N) eventually pulled away, breathing heavily.

“Wow,” she breathed.

“Yeah,” was all Steve managed to gasp out. He took a moment, cleared his throat, and said, “I’m glad you chose academics over a personal life so you’d end up here.”

“Me too.”

“So, who do I owe thanks to for the sage advice?” he asked, still caught up in the moment.

Steve noticed (Y/N) become very hesitant before she answered, “It was actually my advisor, Sharon.”

Steve couldn’t help himself, the alcohol had lowered his ability to keep his emotions in check, although he wasn’t that great at it sober, “That bitch?” he instantly cursed under his breath.

“Steve, what happened between you and Sharon?” Steve could see how tentative (Y/N) was, but he was too blinded by a drunken rage to hold back.

“What didn’t happen? She stole my mentor, she stole my scholarship, broke my heart, stole a grant from me...I finally beat her when I got the position here.” Steve spat out the abridged version of his relationship with Sharon.

“Wait, backtrack a second, she broke your heart?”(Y/N)’s face fell, but Steve didn’t notice.

“We were in our first year of undergrad and I saw her and I developed a crush on her. She always acted like she wanted me back, but she just used me for my notes and my brain and then she took every opportunity I applied for, which she only knew about because my dumb ass would tell her that I was applying for things. I’m sure she fucking plagiarized my applications because she always wanted drafts to look at for examples. I followed her along, having never experienced such an attraction and she quickly lost interest in me as she grew more and more successful, although I’m sure the interest was fake on her side to begin with. Fuck her. I’m surprised you were able to turn out so well with her lying ass advising you. Or maybe you’re just a fake too,” Steve couldn’t keep himself from lashing out, his anger blinding him from any tact. While he had no reason not to trust or believe in (Y/N), his hatred of Sharon was clouding his judgement of her and he was not sober enough to realize it.

“Steve, I think you should go home.”

“Oh, should I? Is that your professional opinion, Doctor?” Steve spat, his rage blinding him from seeing that (Y/N) was on the verge of tears.

“What the actual fuck?”

“Maybe you are a fucking fake. Great, now you can fucking break my heart too,” Steve snarled, getting up and stumbling his way to the door. He pulled out his phone to try to call a ride home, but his eyes struggled to focus due to the alcohol and rage.

“Steve, let me help you,” he heard (Y/N) say from behind him.

“Fuck off, (Y/N),” he yelled, as the car he ordered arrived, “Clear off the bookshelf for Monday, I have a new shipment of books coming in and I need the space.”

Steve got into the car and left (Y/N) on the corner without another word. His eyes began to burn as tears streamed out of them. The further he got from the bar, the louder the little voice in the back of his head telling him he had just made a terrible mistake became. He stumbled out of the car and fumbled with his keys, finally getting into his apartment and collapsing on his bed, shaking with tears of anger towards Sharon and disappointment towards himself. He grabbed his phone and called James, but got no answer.

Suddenly feeling the urge to vomit, Steve crawled his way to the bathroom and arranged himself near the toilet. He lost track of how many times he had thrown up before he passed out.

Steve awoke in the morning to James gently shaking his shoulder and asking him to wake up.

“Buck?” Steve asked groggily, a vile taste in his mouth. As he opened his eyes, he found himself facedown on the floor of his bathroom. “What the fuck happened?” he asked as he hoisted himself into a sitting position with the help of his friend.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” James answered. “I woke up this morning to a call from you, and when I tried to call back I got no answer. I waited at the brunch place for 20 minutes and then came straight here, figuring something was wrong.”

Steve tried to remember what had happened the night before, but everything seemed foggy, “I’m sorry, man. I just can’t think straight right now.”

“Well, let’s get you showered and changed and maybe you’ll remember more later,” James said gently, helping a wobbly Steve stand up. “Can you do this by yourself though, because I really don’t want to sponge bath you.”

“Yeah, I got it,” Steve chuckled weakly.

James left Steve in the bathroom to shower, checking in every minute to make sure he was still upright and ok. Steve finished the shower and found clothes waiting that James had set out for him. He got dressed and went to the living room, where he flopped down on the couch.

“Remember anything else, buddy?” James asked gently.

Steve furrowed his brow as he tried to remember, “I went to the damn lecture because Tony said I had to. (Y/N) was there,” he paused for a moment, “And we went out for drinks afterwards I think?”

“Ok, this is a good start,” James encouraged him.

“Fuck, my head is pounding. Can I take a quick nap and maybe I’ll know more when I wake up?”

“Sure, Steve, get some rest,” James grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and covered Steve with it.

Steve was asleep in seconds, and James quickly grabbed his phone and texted (Y/N). When she didn’t answer he began to text more frantically. When she still didn’t respond, he started to call.

Steve’s began to wake up when he heard James on the phone with someone.

“And I found him slumped over the toilet, passed out and covered in his own vomit. I finally got him in the shower and cleaned up, and now he’s sleeping on the couch. So, what the fuck did you do to him?” he heard James asking.

Steve’s face began to burn when James said, “And I don’t suppose you know why he was cursing out Sharon under his breath.”

There was a pause before James replied, “I gathered as much with Sharon, but if he hates you, why was he also going on about some kiss?”

Steve shuddered as he began to piece the night together. He had been out with (Y/N) after the lecture and everything was going so well and that had been one hell of a kiss. The whole night was perfect until Sharon ruined it. She wasn’t even physically there and she still had the power to ruin his life.

“(Y/N), it’s ok, I’m sure he’ll get over it,” he heard James saying.

Just hearing her name made Steve feel sick. He felt terrible for what he had said last night, although he couldn’t remember exactly what it was.

“Look, (Y/N), I’ll talk to him when he gets up. He’s my best friend and I know a lot about him. I know he thinks too highly of you to keep a grudge,” James said before a pause as he listened to (Y/N)’s response, “Heck yeah, Just, maybe don’t bring up that She-Devil again?” James laughed.

Steve squirmed on the couch as he began mentally beating himself up for how he had reacted, which James saw. Steve tried to hide his head under the blanket, but to no avail.

“Alright, (Y/N), I see movement on the couch. I’m gonna let you go, but don’t worry about what he said to you last night. Steve’s an asshole when he’s drunk. See you Monday,” James said before hanging up his phone and putting it in his pocket.

“Steve. You done fucked up,” James said, coming to the couch and ripping the blanket off Steve.

“Shit,” was all he could manage to say.

“You know, I was in favor of you two getting together, dating, and even with you fucking her. I was not down with you fucking her over. What the hell, man?”

“I don’t know what happened. Everything was going so well and then Sharon got brought up and I just snapped. (Y/N) is the first woman I’ve actually liked like this since Sharon,” he spat out her name, “The first woman I’ve let my guard down for. I think that’s why it happened. We were having the perfect night and the perfect kiss and then Sharon came up and I felt betrayed. Like I had let my walls down for the wrong person.”

James opened his mouth to speak, but Steve shook his head and continued.

“I know, I fucked up. It’s my fault and (Y/N) will probably never want to go out with me again. I feel terrible and I don’t know what to do.”

“You could apologize?”

“I don’t think that is even enough to fix this mess. Maybe I’ll just give her some space?”

“Space could work. I still think an apology is the best route though.”

The two men sat on the couch, each lost in thought. The silence was broken by the rumbling of James’s stomach.

“Ok, I need to eat. Are you still down to brunch or are you too hungover?”

Steve tried to sit up, but felt churning in his stomach, “I think I need to sit this one out,” he said, laying back down.

“Alright, we’ll I’m outta here then. I’ll give you some time to think and see you Monday. Please don’t fuck this up even more,” James said, getting up and leaving.

Steve spent the rest of the weekend trying to think of ways to apologize to (Y/N). He wrote and typed multiple apology letters, but none seemed to truly capture how sorry he was. He arrived to campus on Monday and decided that avoidance was the best option. He took a page from (Y/N)’s book and decided to set up a temporary office in the library.

Steve realized he needed a specific book from his office, and checked his watch. He had a few minutes before she would be back from her class to go get it. He hurried to the office, unlocked the door, grabbed the book, and quickly got out and relocked. He realized too late he had forgotten to turn off the light, as he heard someone coming.

Too embarrassed to face (Y/N), Steve spent the rest of the week working from the library. He went to the small coffee shop across the street to eat his lunches, as he didn’t want to risk an interaction in the staff lounge. He rode his motorcycle to work every day, even through the rain on Thursday, as he couldn’t bring himself to chance meeting (Y/N) on the bus again.

After a successful week of avoidance and intel from James that she had been eating in the office, Steve risked a lunch in the staff lounge on Friday. He walked in and joined James on the couch, nervously taking his sandwich from the container.

“You’re sure she won’t be here?” Steve asked quietly.

“Dude, you seriously need to calm down,” James replied with a deep sigh, “If you had just done what I suggested and apologized, there would be no need for this.”

“I tried. I just can’t find the words to fully encompass how sorry I am.”

“How about, I’m sorry?” James asked.

The two ate their lunches, with James making casual conversation and Steve on edge that (Y/N) would show up. Steve had almost finished his meal when he heard someone walk into the room and looked up. Upon seeing it was (Y/N), his heart raced and his face turned bright red. Despite the fact that their conversation had been about the best flavor of pudding to pair with whipped cream, the men immediately stopped talking.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” James said, patting the seat next to him for her to come join.

Steve could see the hesitation she displayed upon actually taking the seat next to James. She opened her lunch box without looking at him, which made his heart sink.

“So, how’s your week been?” James asked her.

Steve immediately stared into his cup of coffee as he saw (Y/N)’s head lift to look at James.

“It’s been quiet…” she replied.

Steve looked up at her, trying to tell if she meant a good quiet or a bad quiet, but she was intently looking down at her lunch.

“Steve was telling me he’s had a lot of meetings this week,” James said, nudging Steve with his elbow, “This is really the first I’m seeing of you too, buddy.”

“And it’s all you get,” Steve grumbled, grabbing his bag and quickly walking out. He appreciated James’s help, but couldn’t stand how nonchalant he was acting about everything, he just needed to get out of that room before he broke down.

Steve went back to the library and just as he was sitting down, he was joined by James.

“Steve, that was the perfect opportunity for you to make things go back to normal. Why’d you walk away?”

“Because, James, I like her too much. Look at her, she couldn’t even make eye contact with me. I fucked that relationship up too badly. She’d never try again with me, so why even bother to talk to her?”

“That’s not the answer, Steve. Plus, how do you know she wouldn’t try again with you?”

“Because of this,” Steve spat out, showing his phone to James.

The phone was open to a text from Loki which read:

I’m taking out (Y/N) this weekend. Better luck next time sucker

CHAPTER NINE

STEVE’S CHAPTER NINE

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[mardukwhite-blog]

I was not raised in a racist home or environment. Living in the South, almost every White person has a small amount of racial awareness, simply beause of the numbers of negroes in this part of the country. But it is a superficial awareness. Growing up, in school, the White and black kids would make racial jokes toward each other, but all they were were jokes. Me and White friends would sometimes would watch things that would make us think that “blacks were the real racists” and other elementary thoughts like this, but there was no real understanding behind it. The event that truly awakened me was the Trayvon Martin case. I kept hearing and seeing his name, and eventually I decided to look him up. I read the Wikipedia article and right away I was unable to understand what the big deal was. It was obvious that Zimmerman was in the right. But more importantly this prompted me to type in the words “black on White crime” into Google, and I have never been the same since that day. The first website I came to was the Council of Conservative Citizens. There were pages upon pages of these brutal black on White murders. I was in disbelief. At this moment I realized that something was very wrong. How could the news be blowing up the Trayvon Martin case while hundreds of these black on White murders got ignored? From this point I researched deeper and found out what was happening in Europe. I saw that the same things were happening in England and France, and in all the other Western European countries. Again I found myself in disbelief. As an American we are taught to accept living in the melting pot, and black and other minorities have just as much right to be here as we do, since we are all immigrants. But Europe is the homeland of White people, and in many ways the situation is even worse there. From here I found out about the Jewish problem and other issues facing our race, and I can say today that I am completely racially aware. Blacks I think it is is fitting to start off with the group I have the most real life experience with, and the group that is the biggest problem for Americans. Niggers are stupid and violent. At the same time they have the capacity to be very slick. Black people view everything through a racial lense. Thats what racial awareness is, its viewing everything that happens through a racial lense. They are always thinking about the fact that they are black. This is part of the reason they get offended so easily, and think that some thing are intended to be racist towards them, even when a White person wouldnt be thinking about race. The other reason is the Jewish agitation of the black race. Black people are racially aware almost from birth, but White people on average dont think about race in their daily lives. And this is our problem. We need to and have to. Say you were to witness a dog being beat by a man. You are almost surely going to feel very sorry for that dog. But then say you were to witness a dog biting a man. You will most likely not feel the same pity you felt for the dog for the man. Why? Because dogs are lower than men. This same analogy applies to black and White relations. Even today, blacks are subconsciously viewed by White people are lower beings. They are held to a lower standard in general. This is why they are able to get away with things like obnoxious behavior in public. Because it is expected of them. Modern history classes instill a subconscious White superiority complex in Whites and an inferiority complex in blacks. This White superiority complex that comes from learning of how we dominated other peoples is also part of the problem I have just mentioned. But of course I dont deny that we are in fact superior. I wish with a passion that niggers were treated terribly throughout history by Whites, that every White person had an ancestor who owned slaves, that segregation was an evil an oppressive institution, and so on. Because if it was all it true, it would make it so much easier for me to accept our current situation. But it isnt true. None of it is. We are told to accept what is happening to us because of ancestors wrong doing, but it is all based on historical lies, exaggerations and myths. I have tried endlessly to think of reasons we deserve this, and I have only came back more irritated because there are no reasons. Only a fourth to a third of people in the South owned even one slave. Yet every White person is treated as if they had a slave owning ancestor. This applies to in the states where slavery never existed, as well as people whose families immigrated after slavery was abolished. I have read hundreds of slaves narratives from my state. And almost all of them were positive. One sticks out in my mind where an old ex-slave recounted how the day his mistress died was one of the saddest days of his life. And in many of these narratives the slaves told of how their masters didnt even allowing whipping on his plantation. Segregation was not a bad thing. It was a defensive measure. Segregation did not exist to hold back negroes. It existed to protect us from them. And I mean that in multiple ways. Not only did it protect us from having to interact with them, and from being physically harmed by them, but it protected us from being brought down to their level. Integration has done nothing but bring Whites down to level of brute animals. The best example of this is obviously our school system. Now White parents are forced to move to the suburbs to send their children to “good schools”. But what constitutes a “good school”? The fact is that how good a school is considered directly corresponds to how White it is. I hate with a passion the whole idea of the suburbs. To me it represents nothing but scared White people running. Running because they are too weak, scared, and brainwashed to fight. Why should we have to flee the cities we created for the security of the suburbs? Why are the suburbs secure in the first place? Because they are White. The pathetic part is that these White people dont even admit to themselves why they are moving. They tell themselves it is for better schools or simply to live in a nicer neighborhood. But it is honestly just a way to escape niggers and other minorities. But what about the White people that are left behind? What about the White children who, because of school zoning laws, are forced to go to a school that is 90 percent black? Do we really think that that White kid will be able to go one day without being picked on for being White, or called a “white boy”? And who is fighting for him? Who is fighting for these White people forced by economic circumstances to live among negroes? No one, but someone has to. Here I would also like to touch on the idea of a Norhtwest Front. I think this idea is beyond stupid. Why should I for example, give up the beauty and history of my state to go to the Norhthwest? To me the whole idea just parralells the concept of White people running to the suburbs. The whole idea is pathetic and just another way to run from the problem without facing it. Some people feel as though the South is beyond saving, that we have too many blacks here. To this I say look at history. The South had a higher ratio of blacks when we were holding them as slaves. Look at South Africa, and how such a small minority held the black in apartheid for years and years. Speaking of South Africa, if anyone thinks that think will eventually just change for the better, consider how in South Africa they have affirmative action for the black population that makes up 80 percent of the population. It is far from being too late for America or Europe. I believe that even if we made up only 30 percent of the population we could take it back completely. But by no means should we wait any longer to take drastic action. Anyone who thinks that White and black people look as different as we do on the outside, but are somehow magically the same on the inside, is delusional. How could our faces, skin, hair, and body structure all be different, but our brains be exactly the same? This is the nonsense we are led to believe. Negroes have lower Iqs, lower impulse control, and higher testosterone levels in generals. These three things alone are a recipe for violent behavior. If a scientist publishes a paper on the differences between the races in Western Europe or Americans, he can expect to lose his job. There are personality traits within human families, and within different breeds of cats or dogs, so why not within the races? A horse and a donkey can breed and make a mule, but they are still two completely different animals. Just because we can breed with the other races doesnt make us the same. In a modern history class it is always emphasized that, when talking about “bad” things Whites have done in history, they were White. But when we lern about the numerous, almost countless wonderful things Whites have done, it is never pointed out that these people were White. Yet when we learn about anything important done by a black person in history, it is always pointed out repeatedly that they were black. For example when we learn about how George Washington carver was the first nigger smart enough to open a peanut. On another subject I want to say this. Many White people feel as though they dont have a unique culture. The reason for this is that White culture is world culture. I dont mean that our culture is made up of other cultures, I mean that our culture has been adopted by everyone in the world. This makes us feel as though our culture isnt special or unique. Say for example that every business man in the world wore a kimono, that every skyscraper was in the shape of a pagoda, that every door was a sliding one, and that everyone ate every meal with chopsticks. This would probably make a Japanese man feel as though he had no unique traditional culture. I have noticed a great disdain for race mixing White women within the White nationalists community, bordering on insanity it. These women are victims, and they can be saved. Stop. Jews Unlike many White naitonalists, I am of the opinion that the majority of American and European jews are White. In my opinion the issues with jews is not their blood, but their identity. I think that if we could somehow destroy the jewish identity, then they wouldnt cause much of a problem. The problem is that Jews look White, and in many cases are White, yet they see themselves as minorities. Just like niggers, most jews are always thinking about the fact that they are jewish. The other issue is that they network. If we could somehow turn every jew blue for 24 hours, I think there would be a mass awakening, because people would be able to see plainly what is going on. I dont pretend to understand why jews do what they do. They are enigma. Hispanics Hispanics are obviously a huge problem for Americans. But there are good hispanics and bad hispanics. I remember while watching hispanic television stations, the shows and even the commercials were more White than our own. They have respect for White beauty, and a good portion of hispanics are White. It is a well known fact that White hispanics make up the elite of most hispanics countries. There is good White blood worht saving in Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and even Brasil. But they are still our enemies. East Asians I have great respent for the East Asian races. Even if we were to go extinct they could carry something on. They are by nature very racist and could be great allies of the White race. I am not opposed at all to allies with the Northeast Asian races. Patriotism I hate the sight of the American flag. Modern American patriotism is an absolute joke. People pretending like they have something to be proud while White people are being murdered daily in the streets. Many veterans believe we owe them something for “protecting our way of life” or “protecting our freedom”. But im not sure what way of life they are talking about. How about we protect the White race and stop fighting for the jews. I will say this though, I myself would have rather lived in 1940's American than Nazi Germany, and no this is not ignorance speaking, it is just my opinion. So I dont blame the veterans of any wars up until after Vietnam, because at least they had an American to be proud of and fight for. An Explanation To take a saying from a film, “I see all this stuff going on, and I dont see anyone doing anything about it. And it pisses me off.”. To take a saying from my favorite film, “Even if my life is worth less than a speck of dirt, I want to use it for the good of society.”. I have no choice. I am not in the position to, alone, go into the ghetto and fight. I chose Charleston because it is most historic city in my state, and at one time had the highest ratio of blacks to Whites in the country. We have no skinheads, no real KKK, no one doing anything but talking on the internet. Well someone has to have the bravery to take it to the real world, and I guess that has to be me. Unfortunately at the time of writing I am in a great hurry and some of my best thoughts, actually many of them have been to be left out and lost forever. But I believe enough great White minds are out there already. Please forgive any typos, I didnt have time to check it.

[monkeyandelf]

Are there Extraterrestrial Industrial Bases on Moon?

It has long been no secret that the governments of different countries are involved in hiding the existence of aliens on Earth. And all the more there is nothing surprising in the fact that aliens on the moon built their bases.

Aliens present on the dark side of the moon Like all claims about the existence of aliens, these allegations by ufologists are refuted by officials. But a number of evidence shows that aliens on the moon are present, being on the dark side of our satellite. Astronaut Jim Irwin from the Apollo 15 mission shot a video showing an object resembling a flying saucer. A UFO hovering over the surface of the moon. This object from the astronaut’s camera indicates that aliens are present on the dark side of the moon.

Photograph taken by astronauts of Apollo 11 with visible alien structures A photograph of the dark side of the moon taken by astronauts of Apollo 11 clearly shows a huge structure on the lunar lands. There is no doubt how much education resembles the construction of intelligent hands. In the same photograph, which was taken by astronauts of Apollo 11, other structures are visible. In this case, a huge tower is visible on the surface of the moon. This indicates that aliens are present there.

Huge tower on the surface of the moon In the immediate vicinity of the Zeeman Crater, on the opposite side of the moon, a large rectangular structure is visible. The structure is accompanied by straight convex tiers and terraces. The presence of such structures, of course, is not caused by the natural creation of lunar nature. Rather, it indicates the presence of aliens on the dark side of the moon.

Zeeman crater on the opposite side of the moon, rectangular structure In one of the photographs of Apollo 11, a white tower with a black sphere on top is visible. This suggests that intelligent races have already visited and built structures on the surface of the moon. They were there long before a man came to the satellite of his planet. Frederick William Herschel, the man who discovered the planet Uranus, claimed that in 1787 he noticed bright lights crossing the dark side of the moon. A curious phenomenon was by no means natural.

Communications tower on the moon Many astronomers from around the world report the existence of luminous balls on the dark side of the moon. This in turn may indicate that aliens today visit the dark side of the moon.

Alien base on the moon, presumably NASA, however, noted that such images often lead to the formation of capricious theories and erroneous interpretations. In recent years, the number of images showing alleged bases on the moon has quadrupled. Despite the fact that all “suspicious” photographs are in the public domain, theories still claim that governments know about aliens, but they hide this important fact from the public. While most of the images are nothing more than a desire to see the imaginary instead of the real in the “muddy” images, some images arouse really serious interest. In addition to the large number of “abnormal” objects on the lunar surface, there are remarkable statements from former astronauts and government officials working on lunar projects. It was a number of scientists and astronauts that provoked great interest in conspiracy theory regarding the moon and its origin. Secrets friend, secrets. For example, Dr. Brandenburg, a participant in Clementine’s research mission in orbit of the Moon, is often quoted as saying: The mission’s purpose was to check if there were any buildings on the Moon whose origin we do not know.

Amazing moon landscape Among the abundance of images of the lunar surface, the most striking professor finds, were images with structures very similar to artificial origin. According to the scientist, there should not be artificially created structures on the Moon, for the simple reason that we did not build anything there in any of the missions. Can the words of Professor Brandenburg and truly stunning photographs provide us with a definite answer? Are there alien bases on the moon? Alas, there is no full answer in official sources. There is only assurances glowing with curiosity that the images are of course interesting, but require more careful study. Additional research is required. And here a counter question arises: were the previous missions not enough? Moreover, they knew where to “carefully study”. Meanwhile, Dr. Brandenburg additionally stated: after the Clementine mission was completed, all images of the lunar surface were analyzed by a “special team with the highest level of reliability”! “... They basically kept aloof, just did their job. They told us that we should not interfere with their work ... " Complementing the theme of an alien presence in our home system are the numerous statements by the astronaut Edgar Mitchell , who observed such a thing as UFOs during space flights. Both the Soviet and American astronauts, who have now retired, speak of signs of an alien presence. In light of this, you no longer reject the theory of aliens in the solar system so much, do you? On the moon lies a broken UFO and there are abandoned stations of aliens, - ufologists have said this more than once. And in general, something has been happening on the moon related to the activities of an alien civilization for more than a dozen years.

Station Buildings on the Moon In support of this curious idea, photo-documentary evidence is often found. It is difficult to judge how much this can serve as evidence of extraterrestrial life, but this cannot be ignored. There is such a hobby of our time - home researchers. These are virtual explorers of outer space and the planets of our system. Usually they then own the next find of traces of extraterrestrial intelligence since the flight of Apollo 15. UFO photographs. For example, a user of the global network “Whatsupinthesky37 ′ ′ and a fan of studying NASA archived photographs, unexpected even for himself, recently discovered a mysterious artifact on one of the photographs of the lunar surface . The image, delivered by the Apollo 15 mission, shows a portion of the surface of the moon. On which quite clearly, according to the author, the contours of collapsed buildings are visible. Probably, the author of the find believes, the buildings were photographed by one of the crew members when they passed over this place in the descent module. According to the author of the find, these are the ruins of bases built by aliens. Remains from the stations that once stood on the moon. Now the bases of ancient aliens have certainly lost their former appearance, but they still retain the correct outlines so as not to doubt their artificial origin and that they were built by rational creatures. - As we know from our history of evolution, this is clearly a building not of human civilization . Another find from the same time is the UFO flight detected, seen in photographs by a user of Streetcap1.

UFO flying over the moon The phenomenon is amazing in that it is difficult to confuse an object with a “cover” from the antenna or a wrapper of solar panels. More precisely, we can safely say that it is impossible to compare UFOs with anything other than an alien spacecraft.

UFO over the moon As you can see when zooming, the UFO has the contours of three clearly defined engine exhaust nozzles. Viable assumptions that it could be, have not yet appeared. UFO in orbit of the moon. At first, the object was mistaken for the remaining Endeavour in orbit. However, they quickly came to the conclusion that these are different in appearance devices. The UFO itself looks like a modular device, as if docked from several objects, so Endeavor clearly does not apply to this. What would it be for a mysterious object in the orbit of the moon remains a mystery. Meanwhile, the first who encountered the far from simple anomalous phenomena on the moon were Soviet scientists. During the lunar landing of the first automatic device on the moon, in the vicinity of it up to hundreds of kilometers in diameter, some craters were suddenly clouded by an incomprehensible foggy haze. When the gas formation after several hours dissipated, then the craters disappeared along with it! What is it, and how it could happen, scientists are still worried. The only effective answer to all the abnormal "tricks" can be expected from a thorough study of the moon - sometime this should happen.

Alien base on the moon Many thought about the question: why did the moon landing cease, why did people not try to build a lunar base? If you rely on the words of NASA astronauts who visited the moon, then there is a valid alien base. Worse, aliens explicitly told man to “leave” the moon! For half a century, people have been denied access to the Earth’s satellite, according to ufologists based on some secret documents. In fact, why hasn't anyone come to the moon for decades? Why didn’t people establish an outpost on the planet closest to Earth? This is because the Moon is not a viable celestial body to use it, or maybe because all of the above has already happened, but we do not know about it? The answer to intriguing questions may be simpler than we think. For example, Dr. Michael Salla talks about the presence of an extraterrestrial military-industrial complex on the surface of the Earth’s natural satellite. There is also the possibility that the alien complex is working in tandem with humans. Maritime reconnaissance Milton Cooper reports more than just an abandoned alien station on the moon. In his view, the aliens are mining minerals on a satellite. It is there that aliens hold their huge transport ships, as well as small "flying saucers" for flying to Earth. In support of curious claims and many other secrets of the moon, the Chinese have released an intriguing photo of what looks like an artificial complex on the surface of the satellite. The image is another confirmation of secret operations conducted on the moon. This may also indicate that the Chinese government is in contact with non-citizens of the solar system. In turn, this may explain China's significant investment in moon exploration. Several photographs taken with the Chang'e-2 orbital research probe clearly show mysterious structures on the lunar surface. Some researchers claim that NASA deliberately bombarded a portion of the Moon in an attempt to destroy alien artifacts and structures (probe collapse) in order to hide the true state of affairs from other countries. China is said to be moving towards the full disclosure of the truth of an alien presence within the Earth. If the mysterious images and the future of the similar ones turn out to be genuine, then NASA may be convicted of fraud. China plans to release all the data and photographs of the moon’s orbiting scouts in the coming weeks and months, intending to illuminate all the lunar secrets.

Industrial moon installation? Countless rumors indicate the presence of an alien base located on the dark side of the moon - we never see what is happening there. But we know that in 1969 and 2009, NASA bombed part of the moon for unclear reasons. Other images coming from NASA headquarters show no less amazing structures visible on the moon, which may be of artificial nature. The giant towers visible on the far side of the moon certainly amaze our imagination. But they hit astronomers not with their gigantic size, but also because these towers seem to be moving! They move on the moon. This can be understood from the trail that the towers leave behind. Such moving objects require the creation of superintelligent minds, the researchers believe. Structures resembling buildings with interconnected paths were discovered on the opposite side of the moon. These findings suggest that the aliens not only visited the moon, but were also able to build their own city there. Many former officers who had access to the most secret documents for more than 50 years have been talking about the presence of unidentified and mysterious structures on the surface of the moon. All of this evidence is strong enough to confirm the presence of aliens on the moon. If you believe the statements from ufologists, then NASA had a warning that they would stay away from the surface of the moon. Therefore, NASA has not made any further attempts to conduct lunar missions over the past 50 years. And also, the Soviet Union, which happened simultaneously with the Americans, also refused to exploit the Moon.

Artificial moon structure What this means is that according to multiple sources, the Moon is full of industrial installations built by extraterrestrials in collaboration with humans. For more solid evidence, China has made public some images in which we can have a glimpse at those complexes. This also raised many polemics in relation to China being in touch with other races from different planets.

As you can see, there are numerous images that show the same thing, that is, fragments of a presumably extraterrestrial complex and extraterrestrial activity. But why keep this alliance between humans and aliens into a secret?

Have a look at the following video for more information and please don’t forget to share your opinions with us. Source Read the full article

[seogine-blog]

The City of Virginia Beach SEO: 9 SEO Trends For 2019

Whether you're operating your own SEO platform or you're working with a digital marketing team, these tips should help you prepare and capitalize in 2019. Unfortunately, some of these trends might suggest that you do a little work to adapt. That's the laborious part, but it'll feel really good when you've prepared for changes and your competition hasn't. Let's get started. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8MU_cIhL0g

1. A Shift in Indexing

It might be helpful to have a little overview of indexing before we dig into how it is changing.  Sites like Google catalog all of the online information they can by doing something called "crawling." Crawling is how Google can catalog trillions of sites on the web without having to manually enter each site.  Crawlers move through the web by following links. When one site has a link to another site, crawlers can enter into that next site and catalog all of the information they want to. Typically, that information only has to do with the search engine algorithm.  The search engine algorithm is (you probably already know) the mechanism that sifts through trillions of sites and compares them to the search terms. If you search "cute kitten video," Google will run those terms against the sites in its database and bring up those sites that it feels are most relevant to your search.  It does so by using some 200 search criteria and running those metrics through the algorithm which ranks the sites that come up. All of the information that the algorithm uses is accumulated through crawling. When a site has been crawled, it has been indexed.  What's Going to Change? Historically, Google has used desktop-first indexing which catalogs the desktop version of a website before it does the mobile version. That suits the needs of most users, as a lot of users are totally fine with the desktop version of a site. 

Even when you're searching for a site on your phone, the desktop version is good enough to read through and get the information you need. If you really need to use a site, you can download its app if it has one and operate from there.  Desktop sites are simply not as good on mobile phones as mobile sites are, however. As users are beginning to move toward a mobile-based relationship to search engines, Google is implementing a mobile-first indexing strategy. Google does not have two indexes for mobile and desktop. They use one index to catalog all of their information, so this could actually change things significantly.  You're Not Going to Lose All the Work You've Done It isn't as if all of the optimizing you've done on your current site will be lost, and your ranking will be subjected to new sites who operate entirely on mobile. Your optimization is still your optimization, and Google will see you in the same light.  The shift primarily relates to how Google indexes your site's pages. So, if you have only a desktop page, nothing will change. However, if you have a desktop page and a mobile page, Google will prioritize the mobile one.  With this in mind, it might be a good idea to start optimizing your mobile pages more heavily, as they will be the ones that stand out. Your mobile and desktop pages are both in the same race against all competitors.  If the slower horse (your desktop) is going to lose by default, give the faster horse more of your attention. Additionally, it stands to reason that the mobile trend is here to stay. If Google is making the effort to shift toward a mobile-first indexing method, who knows where they'll stop? The point is, it might be smart to start incorporating mobile into your site before mobile optimization overshadows all other forms. 

2. Speed as a Ranking Factor

Your page speed has always been a ranking factor. This falls in line with Googles desire to provide an excellent experience for its users, which entails delivering sites that load quickly and get you on your way. Interestingly enough, though, your mobile page speed wasn't a factor until this July. This also falls into the trend of Google valuing mobile experience more highly than it once did.  So, now that page speed is a ranking factor for mobile and mobile is indexed first, what does this mean? It means you have to fix any bugs your site has that prevent fast loading times and optimize for the Chrome User Experience report. Two Ranking Factors for Mobile The way your mobile page speed ranks is dependent on two factors: page speed and optimization. The speed of your mobile page is indexed based on the Chrome User Experience report, which takes down information on each user that visits your site.  Luckily, speed in terms of the Chrome report isn't a huge element in the scheme of your ranking. The real key to optimizing for the speed factor is just sticking to traditional back-end optimization.  There are a number of things that Google checks for, and they list them all out here. It's estimated that these sorts of optimization account for a great deal, and the Chrome report affects your ranking very minimally at this time.  At the same time, as we mentioned in the last section, there is a definite shift toward mobile happening, so it's important to keep up and make changes before it's too late.

3. Your Reputation Matters 

Of course, your reputation has always mattered online. Now, though, Google has upped its game in response to hordes of black-hat SEO efforts to accumulate backlinks.  Before we go further, we'll give a little rundown of backlinks: Backlinks and Brand Recognition Backlinks are links to your site from other sites. The site that links to you is important, as some sites hold more weight than others. 

You can think of Google's search results as a flawed democratic election. People cast their vote by giving a link. Each link has an effect on the total outcome of the search results.  Now, a large corporation casts its vote in the way of a link, and that link has a lot more weight than the link of the average person. In the same way, getting a backlink from Ford's website will do you a lot more good than getting one from Dale's Auto down the street.  Google typically used, and still uses to a degree, backlinks as a way to measure the social worth of your site and brand. It stands to reason that the more people there are linking to you, the more likely it is that you're a site that has valuable content.  You will then rank higher than sites who don't get voted for in the way of backlinks.  How It's Changed Google's Artificial Intelligence has advanced to a point where links aren't necessary for Google to see the social value of your brand. Googlebot can take references to your brand in the context they're found to make assumptions about what people think of you.  Backlinks are still important, but you'll also get an SEO boost if you have people talking about your brand in a positive way. The only way to do this is to provide great service and make your customers happy. You could also suggest that people mention you in online forums or social media or their own websites.

4. Data Retention

Laws passed in the European Union state that requires sites to provide cookie data that has been collected on specific users.  This doesn't apply too much to American sites, but Google is an international company and has an interest in data protection. What you should do is set your data retention to expire after a small period of time like one year or less.  Do this, and you won't have to do a whole lot of work when those laws move over into the United States (if they do).

5. Branching Out from Google

As user trends shift, we're finding that people are going directly to some specific sites rather than Googling general products.  You can see this in sites like Youtube, Pinterest, Facebook, and, most importantly, Amazon. It's essential that you set aside independent work to optimize for social media, but Amazon is one that many people don't think of.  If you sell a product online, you should be optimizing for Amazon searches. Don't, and you'll lose a significant chunk of sales. 

6. User Preferences

Users are being given such a wide range of content that they have the luxury of breezing past information that isn't pleasantly presented. Sure, one thing is pleasant to one person and abhorrent to another.  Do your users prefer video, text, imagery, interactive interfaces, or something else? It's going to be essential that you optimize for your users as well as your search engines. 

7. Site Structure

As Google shifts its indexing policies, it will begin to heavily favor those sites that are structured to be indexed. 

Site architecture has always been something that was important. Not only does a clear site design and structure make your users happy, but it also makes it easy for crawlers to gather information from your site.  It's like walking down the grocery aisle and grabbing what you need compared to crawling through a maze to find a scrap of bread. Google needs to index billions upon billions of sites, so it's naturally going to want sites that have good, simple architecture. 

8. Google Is Smarter

Think about it, Google can take random references of your name and use them to make judgment calls. That's some futuristic stuff, and it's all done by artificial intelligence.  This makes one thing clear: poorly written or created content is going to be snuffed out a lot quicker now. If  Google goes through your content and notices that it's been written by a computer, or someone who has fluffed up the articles to fill space, you will rank poorly.  We don't know exactly how artificial intelligence does it, but it's doing a good job. The point is, create great content that poses a benefit to your users. 

9. Credibility in Content

Because of the contextual clues that Google's crawlers are now privy to, the authority with which you create content will really matter.  While creating great content that's well-optimized and relevant will get you places, it's going to mean a lot more if it's written by a professional with credentials. By hiring and communicating with the best in your field, you'll get better rankings.  Users will clearly prefer this content, but we aren't even looking at that end. Google knows users will prefer that content, and its artificial intelligence is now trained to look for it.  That means when you have content from an expert, make sure you give them written credit on your page, otherwise, it won't do as much damage in the search results. 

Want to Learn More?

It's crucial that you keep up on SEO trends as well as solidify your knowledge to benefit your site. There's a lot to learn, though, and we get that.  Visit our site to learn more about small business SEO services and what search engine optimization can do for your site. Read the full article

[queerascat]

i found an old post about a poc ace and went on their blog and they know say they don't identify as ace because aces are bad, basically. and like, i'm literally crying. idk what to do, that just really struck me. someone who wrote about being queer, ace and a poc like me shitting on me and telling me my identity is inherently problematic when it's the reason i can't access mental health atm, which is something i need cause the 'discourse' & the violent abuse i faced on this website for (cont)

(suicide ideation, death threat and conversion tw) including death threats, caused me to fall back into suicidal ideation. and the only therapist available to me suggested conversion therapy (i live in a small central american country, there’s not much knowledge about these things- she thinks if i can be converted to straight, i will no longer suffer from my orientation). this is horrible tbh. i’m sorry to unload but as another poc ace i feel safe around you. i guess what i’m trying to say is that this ‘discourse’, which is just a bunch of people thinking they can gaslight and abuse aces or call the ‘bad’ or ‘cringy’ and don’t want to have any sort of intra community discussion but literally deny us our experiences and be abusive, is harming my mental health. friends i trusted turned out to be acephobic, send me literal death threats. in what kind of WORLD is that fucking ok? idk where im going with this, im sorry. do you know of any ways i can deal with this wave of ace and aro hatred that’s spread this website? i don’t know how to go about it. and now in the spanish speaking online lgbtq+ community, enbyphobes have copied it to exclude enbys for ‘being actually cis’ and are calling us ‘cisnb’ after regs in english calling aces and aros ‘cishet’ so that’s just fucking great :( that’s because the community is only now starting to realize enbys exist. and it’s also learning that about aspecs, so im starting to hear it in spanish too. i just can’t escape it.

i genuinely feel like i’m in no place to be giving any sort of advice on things of this nature– especially right now when i’m just managing to keep my own head above water for various reasons, but…

i’d first like to say that venting has been (and continues to be) a significant part of self-care / coping for me personally and i am beyond flattered that you feel safe enough to vent your feelings to me. no need to apologize, anon. i don’t know if i can be of any help to you, but i hope that the very act of venting in and of itself has been a step in the right direction for coping for you like it often is for me.

i also want to say that i’m very sorry to hear about all of the shit that you’ve been (and continue to be) put through. while i haven’t had your exact experiences, i can very much relate to feeling like you can’t escape “discourse” or otherwise harmful ideology as both it itself and the effects of it pervades other aspects and intersections of your life both on and outside of Tumblr. not to mention how it feels to finally find that rare, illusive something or someone that you share important but seemingly less common intersections with only to discover that that thing or person contributes to the very thing that’s, for lack of a better expression, fucking you up.

…ah, yes. like those old posts by a formerly self-identified ace and queer person of color who now not only advocates against asexuality but who does so in a way that blatantly shits on aces of color by pitching them against other QPOC, among other things. that’s some fucked up shit, ain’t it?

cough. anyway… my personal coping and self-care strategies.

my go-to strategies for coping and self-care certainly don’t work for everyone or in all situations, but with Tumblr and social media-related thing in general i often try to:

remove myself from the source of the distress.

even if only temporarily for a few hours, days, a week– whatever, i do what i can to mentally and / or physically check myself out of whatever it is that’s negatively affecting me and do my best to turn my attention to other things. i go to Starbucks, read a book, clean my apartment, focus on a personal project, catch up on shows, turn off my computer and my phone and finally make myself food– whatever. i focus on things that are actually tangible and perhaps offer some form of self-gratification even if it’s just in the form of tasting good because goddamnit, the time and cost required to get a caramel macchiato is (and quite frankly should be) far more worth it to me than the time and (mental) cost spent giving a damn about someone else’s bullshit. or so i tell myself.

if the source of the distress is outside of the internet, as might be the case with a therapist, i cut that person (or thing) out of my life even if it’s just by silently breaking off communication with them by not returning their calls or not going to their therapy sessions temporarily or indefinitely. as i said above, that person / those people / that thing is not worth the time or (mental) cost required of me by dealing with them.

limit or manage my exposure to the source of the distress when removing myself from it completely isn’t possible.

i feel like this often ends up being more taxing than simply removing myself all together, but blocking / unfollowing immediately upon coming across something or someone that can potentially or does set you off is important. blocking applies to more than just people, blogs or posts but also blacklisting tags, keywords etc using something like Xkit for Tumblr, the native block & mute features on Twitter, etc. if the distress comes in the form of asks, instant messages, etc then i disable those things at least temporarily, especially when blocking an IP fails to get the job done. i also avoid browsing through tags, which can be tough when you actively want to find something to help yourself feel better about yourself / your experiences / etc…

when the source of the distress isn’t online-based, i try to manage / limit my exposure by avoiding the person or thing in question when possible. again, actively avoiding someone or something requires effort on my part and can in and of itself be taxing, so it’s not ideal… but i do what i can.

venting.

while venting is by no means The Solution to anything and comes with its own set of risks / problems when done publicly, venting can be done in so many different ways. it’s a relatively easy form of instantly relief for me regardless of how small that relief may ultimately be. whether it be tweeting, journaling (online or pen & paper), venting on sites specifically made for that purpose, scribbling feelings onto a piece of paper and then immediately ripping that paper to shreds, typing heatedly into a text document and then closing it without saving– whatever, it helps for me to take even a moment out of my day to acknowledge how i feel and speak those feelings into existence beyond just the mess that is my own head at times. even if those feelings only exist in the world for seconds before i delete or physically destroy them because Anxiety And Shit, it still helps.

but perhaps most importantly is to:

focus on the fact that no matter what anyone else says or does, i am The Authority on who i am, how i feel, etc.

i know who i am, but i also know that who i am is not the problem even when others make me feel otherwise. regardless of how i may feel about the things that i face in regards to my sexuality, my gender, my race, etc, i try to keep in mind that those things that i face are a product of the society that i live in and the people who insist on interjecting their own personal bullshit into my life. imho, this is as true of Tumblr “discourse” as it is of life in general.

while it may not be possible to escape society or shitty people all together, there is a lot more to society and life in general than the bullshit that we find ourselves faced with at times. i try my best to look beyond or through “discourse” on Tumblr and see the communities of people both on an off Tumblr who, like me, are against such bullshit. while shitty therapists and shitty people in general may rebrand and rehash the same old tired, hurtful shit that’s been said to others for forever, i try to look past that and focus instead on the fact that a lot of people aren’t like that and have actually learned from the past and and are better for it. i try to focus on a future where i will have access to competent mental health resources and care even though i do not have that now…

…….i’m not sure why i ended up writing this short novel of a post that ultimately amounts to nothing, but yeah. anon, no matter how hard things get, please know that you’re never going at it alone. there are others out there struggling, coping, surviving in spite of the same or similar things, it’s just that if hardly anyone talks about it we end up feeling alone in it, unaware of others’ company…

….which is one reason why despite the potential risks, venting publicly even in the form of anonymous asks can be worth it sometimes and i very much welcome such asks on this blog.

all the best, anon.

[thetruthseekerway]

The Amazing Creation of the Fire Ants

New Post has been published on http://www.truth-seeker.info/refuting-darwinism/the-amazing-creation-of-the-fire-ants/

The Amazing Creation of the Fire Ants

By Harun Yahya

These ants, equipped as they are with an extraordinary defense system, are certainly not aware of it.

Fire ants are red insects of diminutive size. Yet they can achieve great things in spite of their smallness. The queens of these ants, which have 20 varieties in America alone, may produce as many as 5,000 eggs a day. While many ant species colonies have a few hundred workers, the colonies of this species have about half a million workers. A single mated fire ant queen can produce a colony of 240,000 workers.

Fire ant workers very aggressively attack their prey with poisonous needles. It has been recorded that young fire ants have injured or even killed reptiles or baby deer. Also, these aggressive ants may cause power failures by tearing up electricity cables. For a while, they invaded South America and caused frightening damage. The journals and magazines of that year tell us that these ants have chewed through electrical cables and caused power cuts; they have caused damage to crops worth billions of dollars; they have caused motorways to collapse and have stung people, causing allergic shocks that have rendered them helpless. They have done all this with their powerful mandibles, even digging tunnels under roads causing motorways, roads to collapse and also causing other kinds of havoc in the environment.

Protection from Germs

American experts have tried various methods to prevent the above-mentioned damage done by fire ants. They considered spreading a contagious disease inside the colony by injecting germs into the flies the ants eat. Yet, astonishingly, it was seen that such flies with germs in no way hurt the ants. In the analysis, it was found out that the ants have one of the most interesting defense systems in the world of living beings: a structure in their throats which protects them from germs… Because of this structure, the bacteria in anything that the ants eat were held at the throat without entering into the body.

But we have not come to the end of the protection systems of the fire ants that are the product of a superior intellect. They also spurt an anti-microbial fluid produced in their venom sacs around the nest and on the larvae. Thus, they achieve total disinfection of the nest and the larvae.

These ants, equipped as they are with an extraordinary defense system, are certainly not aware of it. Can any person with a conscience claim that such a system has evolved by chance? Neither may it be claimed that the ants have founded such a system on their own. Then who is it that placed this filter in the throats of the ants, and who inspired them to produce an anti-microbial fluid? Without doubt, the Creator of such characteristics as man, ants, and random luck cannot produce is Allah, Who is All-Knowing.

Hard Working Ants

The defense specialist fire ants are also highly skilled and hard working. They may build hills 30 cm high and 60 cm wide, or they can dig labyrinthine tunnels that can go 1.5 m deep underground. In certain areas, fire ants have built small hills numbering up to 350. The capacity of such small beings to set up such huge nests, of course, depends on their industriousness. Then what is the power that makes the ants one of the most industrious living beings in the world? It is truly astonishing that they work all day long without stopping or resting, and build nests dispersed over vast areas. Not a single one says, “I worked too hard today, let me rest a bit,” or “I don’t want to work today. Let me sit in a corner.” This is a subject that must be carefully considered. It must not be forgotten that there are times when human beings give in to exhaustion, even when they know they have to conclude a task, and there are times when they do not apply their will because they are tired or they feel lazy. Yet ants display great effort and the will to bring any job they start to fruition. He Who gives the ants this will and resolve, that is even stronger than that of man’s, is, of course, the sole master of all beings – Allah.

Master of Tactic Who Can Penetrate Defense Systems

The most frightening enemy of fire ants is Solenopsis Davgeri, which is a parasitic ant species. This living being which can penetrate their multi-leveled defense system, which even man has difficulty in understanding, is yet another ant species. It is not known how this parasite ant can “seep into” the nest of the fire ant. Yet once it is in, the parasite ant immediately attacks the queen and clamps on to her antenna, legs or thorax. While the worker ants normally have to destroy any aggressor, why they do nothing against this particular creature seems hard to explain. Yet there is a simple answer. In itself attaching to her throat, the parasite mimics the queen’s pheromones. Subsequently, the workers devote their efforts to feeding the parasites, half a dozen of which might yoke the queen, because they think that this parasite imitating her pheromones is their queen. Their queen, on the other hand, starves to death in full view of the workers who serve her.

Note by the Editor:

Allah the Almighty says in His Ever-Glorious Qur’an what means,

“He [Allah] hath created the heavens without supports that ye can see, and hath cast into the earth firm hills so that it quake not with you, and He hath dispersed therein all kinds of beasts. And We send down water from the sky and We cause (plants) of every goodly kind to grow therein. This is the Creation of Allah. Now show me that which those (ye worship) beside Him have created. Nay, but the wrongdoers are in error manifest!” (Luqman 31: 10-11)

And,

“We shall show them Our portents on the horizons and within themselves until it will be manifest unto them that it is the Truth. Doth not thy Lord suffice since He is Witness over all things? How! Are they still in doubt about the meeting with their Lord? Lo! Is not He surrounding all things?” (Fussilat 41: 53-54)

——–

Harun Yahya was born in Ankara in 1956. He studied arts at Istanbul’s Mimar Sinan University and philosophy at Istanbul University. Since the 1980s, the author has published many books on political, faith-related and scientific issues. Harun Yahya is well known as an author who has written very important works disclosing the imposture of evolutionists, the invalidity of their claims and the dark liaisons between Darwinism and bloody ideologies. Some of the books of the author have been translated into English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Albanian, Arabic, Polish, Russian, Bosnian, Indonesian, Turkish, Tatar, Urdu and Malay and published in the countries concerned. Harun Yahya’s books appeal to all people, Muslims, and non-Muslims alike, regardless of their age, race, and nationality, as they center around one goal: to open the readers’ mind by presenting the signs of Gods eternal existence to them.

[benrleeusa]

[Ilya Somin] Bryan Caplan's Case Against Education

In his important inew book The Case Against Education, economist Bryan Caplan argues that a high proportion of our massive spending on education is a waste of time and money. Since government spending on education amounts to some $1 trillion per year, this suggests we are gravely misallocating resources that could be bettered used elsewhere.

I. Caplan's Theory of Wasteful Educational Signaling.

Caplan doesn't deny the extensive evidence indicating that education increases income. High school graduates earn far more than dropouts, and college graduates far more than high school graduates, for example. Caplan contends that most of this income gain (perhaps as much as 80 percent) is not the result of improved skills (investments in human capital, in economic terminology), but rather "signaling." The big reason why employers prefer college graduates is not any skill those people acquired in college, but rather that getting a diploma is a signal of intelligence, conscientiousness, and conformity - characteristics that are valuable in most jobs.

Caplan provides a great deal of data and other evidence supporting his position. One of the more compelling is the "sheepskin effect": income gains from getting a diploma are far larger than those from earlier years of education that do not result in a diploma. If increases in human capital from learning course material were the main reason why education leads to higher higher income, the piece of paper you get at the end would not matter so much. Another notable line of evidence is the extensive data indicating that most students forget a high percentage of what they learn soon after the end of the class in question. Students generally cannot make use of knowledge acquired through education if they don't even remember it. From a signaling point of view, however, passing a course is still a useful indicator of intelligence and conscientiousness, even if the student promptly forgets what she learned, soon after the final exam. Caplan concedes that education in basic "reading, writing, and 'rithmetic" has a big payoff, and that the same is true for some types of vocational and professional education. But he concludes that signaling accounts for the lion's share of income gains from most other education.

If "signaling," not human capital, is the main explanation for the correlation between education and income, then much education spending turns out be a wasteful arms race. A high school diploma was an effective signal of worker quality in an era when many people did not have one. When almost everyone has a diploma, it is no longer enough to stand out from the crowd. Effective signalling now requires a college degree. As more and more people become college graduates, you now often have to have a graduate degree to stand out. And so on. Caplan argues that we might all be better off if we cut education expenditures, thereby curtailing the resources devoted to the arms race.

Caplan's analysis of the data is far from indisputable. For a good discussion of the issues, see this debate between Caplan and leading education economist Eric Hanushek. But even if you don't put as much stock in signaling theory as Caplan, he does compile a lot of evidence indicating that much education spending is wasteful, and particularly that it has very poor returns for weak students and many of the poor (two groups with a large overlap). Hanushek's own previous work suggests that increased education expenditures usually do little or nothing to improve educational outcomes. This bolsters the case for Caplan's argument that we can radically cut education spending, without losing much of value.

II. Does Education Make Us Better Citizens?

While much of the commentary on Caplan's book focuses on his analysis of the narrowly "economic" utility of education, he also has a section analyzing claims that education increases political knowledge. Historically, one of the most important defenses of public education spending is that it is necessary to make us better-informed voters. Even such libertarians as Milton Friedman argued that this justifies government subsidization of education (though Friedman argued it should take the form of vouchers rather than traditional public schools). Unfortunately, as Caplan documents, there is little evidence that the education system actually performs this role at all well. Over the last 75 years, educational attainment has greatly increased, with the average American adult today now having several years more formal education than that of 1960. Yet political knowledge levels have stagnated at roughly the same low level. As the 2016 election dramatically confirmed, widespread political ignorance remains a very serious problem, and massive increases in education spending over the last several decades have done little or nothing to alleviate it.

It's easy to say that the problem is simply that schools are teaching the wrong things. If we could only revamp the curriculum properly, maybe they could do a far better job of preparing students to be good voters. But incentivizing real-world politicians, school administrators, and teachers to improve civic education is a much tougher proposition than it may seem. The failure of several decades of efforts along those lines is one of several indications of that. Among other things, it is unlikely that incumbent politicians - who owe their election to largely ignorant voters - will want to alleviate the very ignorance that helped them get into power in the first place. There are also several other major obstacles to increasing political knowledge through education, which I discuss in more detail in my book Democracy and Political Ignorance.

What is true for increasing political knowledge is also largely true for the pursuit of educational enlightenment for its own sake. Many people argue that learning about and appreciating high culture is intrinsically valuable, regardless of its effect on your future job prospects. Caplan agrees. But, as he documents, the current education system provides such enlightenment to only a very small fraction of students.

As in the case of political knowledge, many people's immediate reaction to evidence that the education system provides little intrinsically valuable enlightenment is to say we should reform the system rather than cut spending. But improvement is extremely difficult, given the many perverse incentives in the system. And, as Caplan emphasizes, cutting wasteful spending is desirable even if you do not have an immediately viable way to achieve the same goal. Imagine you have been taking medicine to cure a skin rash. New scientific evidence proves that the remedy you have been using is actually snake oil that does nothing to cure the rash. In that event, the rational thing to do is stop buying snake oil - even if you don't have an alternative treatment that actually works. The resources wasted on snake oil can still be better used on other things, even if they are purposes unrelated to curing the rash. The same point applies to wasteful education expenditures that result in little or no useful learning. There is much to be gained from cutting them, and using the resources for more valuable purposes. Some of those other purposes may themselves be education-related, but others will not.

Caplan does, however, find two interesting political and social effects of education that may cut against his thesis. Controlling for many other variables, increased education makes people more economically conservative and more socially liberal - in other words, more libertarian. This should lead populists, especially those who are also social conservatives, to take a more negative view of education. But it should have the opposite effecton libertarians and other free market advocates, including Caplan himself. In addition (again, controlling for other variables) education increases marriage rates. Marriage is not the best option for everyone. But many studies suggest it increases happiness and correlates with a variety of beneficial social outcomes. Increased libertarianism and higher marriage rates do not prove that all of our gargantuan education spending is justified. But Caplan should give these effects greater weight than he does.

III. Why Caplan Overstates the Role of Educational Signaling.

My biggest reservation about Caplan's theory, however, has to do with the core of his analysis of signaling: ironically, for a libertarian economist, the theory relies on the notion that the employment market suffers from a gigantic market failure. Sending the "right" signals to employers turns out to be very costly if the only way to do it is to spend many additional years in the educational system during which you learn very little of actual value. Both employers and workers could get a huge payoff if they could figure out a cheaper signaling mechanism. Employers would have access to a valuable new pool of labor. Workers would be able to start their careers earlier, make more money, and carry less college debt.

As Caplan recognizes, most of the putative problem here cannot be explained by inefficient government subsidies to education. Although those subsidies reduce the cost to students and employers, the remaining costs borne by the students are still huge. Even those students who get completely subsidized tuition are rarely compensated for the foregone wages, time, and effort they lose during the additional years of education they take on largely for signaling reasons.

There is no inherent contradiction between being a libertarian (or even a libertarian economist) and recognizing the existence of market failure. Few serious scholars of any ideology believe that markets always function perfectly. But the theory at the heart of Caplan's argument posits a truly enormous market failure. And the logic behind it is not as compelling as it may seem.

Consider the three main traits Caplan believes education enables workers to signal to employers: intelligence, conscientiousness, and conformity. As Caplan recognizes, it isn't actually that hard to signal intelligence. For example, employees could submit standardized test scores to employers (which have a high correlation with employment). They could even take just one or two intellectually demanding courses and present evidence that they scored high on the final exam. It certainly does not require four years of college to prove your intelligence. Even if laws or regulations prevent employers from requiring applicants to submit test scores, nothing prevents the latter from submitting them of their own initiative.

Conscientiousness also is not that costly to signal. If you work at a demanding blue collar or service job for a few months, and get good reviews from your supervisor for customer service, showing up on time, and the like, that is pretty strong evidence of conscientiousness. Indeed, it might well be better evidence than getting a college diploma. Conscientiousness is better signaled by good work at boring and unpleasant tasks than at relatively interesting ones. If you do the latter well, it could just be because you enjoyed them, not because you are conscientious. At most four year colleges, students have considerable choice as to which courses to take, and can usually avoid those they especially dislike. By contrast, unpleasant drudgery is a major part of many service jobs. A year of good performance at McDonald's is probably a better signal of conscientiousness than a year of passing courses at most colleges. And, unlike college, McDonald's does not charge tuition and pays you a salary (even if a small one).

Even if, for some reason, people are averse to proving their conscientiousness by working at low-wage jobs, they could do so by taking one or two demanding courses and doing well on the final exam. Indeed, one can even imagine entrepreneurs developing and selling "conscientiousness certification" courses (a real entrepreneur would come up with a catchier name!) that fill this market niche. Such classes could be much cheaper and less time-consuming than college.

Caplan's response to arguments like this is to double down on the importance of conformity. Indeed, it turns out that conformity ends up doing the lion's share of the work in his signaling theory. People who find unconventional ways to signal intelligence or conscientiousness prove themselves to be nonconformists, almost by definition. And most employers don't want workers like that.

A certain degree of conformity is indeed important in most jobs. But it does not follow that employers want workers who are conformist across the board. Rather, as a general rule, they want people who are conformist in the sense of following instructions and "fitting in" with the other people at the firm. Across-the-board conformism that goes beyond this is as likely to be a detriment as an asset, particularly in jobs that require a degree of initiative or original thinking. If people say you are a conformist, it usually isn't a compliment!

As with intelligence and conscientiousness, there are likely to be cheaper ways to signal the types of conformity that are actually desired by employers than spending years on unnecessary formal education. Working at a relatively unpleasant job for a few months and getting good reviews from superiors can be a powerful signal of that kind of conformity.

When I was in middle school and high school, I did a lot of babysitting and lawn work. My generally effective performance of these jobs was a much better signal of conscientiousness and conformity than anything I did in college. Indeed, what could be a better signal of conscientiousness than the fact that people were willing to entrust their children to me?

The existence of relatively cheap ways to signal the traits that Caplan emphasizes weakens the claim that income gains from education are overwhelmingly due to signaling. It is difficult to believe that people devote such vast resources to a signaling method when there are far less costly and time-consuming ways to achieve the same result.

None of this proves that educational signaling is not an important phenomenon. Far from it. But it does suggest it may not be as omnipresent as Caplan argues. It may well be that human capital gains account for a significantly higher percentage of the income benefits of education than his analysis concludes. One possible mechanism by which it does so could be improvements in general cognitive skills, of the sort emphasized by Eric Hanushek in his debate with Caplan. At the same time, however, Caplan's book still provides powerful evidence that the education system wastes enormous amounts of money and that the payoff from it - especially for the poor and relatively weak students - is often unconscionably low. That should trouble even those readers who are not willing to endorse the more radical aspects of Caplan's thesis.

[euro3plast-fr]

How and why you need to integrate PR into all marketing channels

Positive and negative PR campaigns can affect brand equity and identity - learn how to apply positive PR across touchpoints in the RACE customer lifecycle

It's a general marketing myth that without PR (positive or negative) consumers won't know who you are and how you can help - wrong. Although effective PR can be the make or break for smaller companies who want to get their name, vision and message out to the public, larger brands have build a brand identity that keeps them noticed regardless of ill-thought out publicity stunts and, sometimes, even the products they offer.

Brand equity refers to the customer's perception of a brand name or company rather than the multitude of products or services they provide. Brands that successfully create a strong online and offline brand equity includes: Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix etc. You can instantly identify them, even if you don't know everything they offer.

However, solely relying on PR is a rookie business mistake and poor brand storytelling practice - PR needs to be integrated with other offline and online marketing tactics.

Download Paid Busines Resource - Brand Storytelling Guide

A practical guide to the fundamentals of developing powerful brand stories.

Access the Social media marketing strategy guide

Other marketing channels, offline or online, can help brand visibility and reach. But, how does PR efficiently integrate into a wider product launch campaign?

Using SEM to make sure your brand message achieves desired reach to target customers

Offline advertising (TV, print, events, and sponsorship) that follows the same branding and design as online identity

Partnerships with affliates and influencers who share the vision / common interest in your product to become a brand ambassador

Creating a community for customers/members that put the customers first and portrays an inclusive brand community

Sharing positive values with customers; not only giving them what they need and want but showing them you care about them and what they care about too.

PR should be used in conjunction with other channels to optimize customer touchpoints across the RACE customer lifecycle model, created by Smart Insights. PR is essentially brand image and brand image is seen across all online marketing channels and offline tactics.

We'll take an in-depth look at some of the best, and worst, PR stunts from brands, how bad PR can affect your companies reputation and how negative brand identity with poor brand storytelling can drive customers away - regardless of how brands try and 'fix' the problem they've caused. We'll also take a look at how you can integrate a positive PR image into other marketing channels to create a brand identity that converts target audiences.

Traditional marketing (print) and guerrilla marketing

We'll start with the traditional marketing tactics as these are still relevant for certain PR communications.

Having the right message with the right attitude is great, but without strategy and planning, businesses will find it hard to reach their audience. Traditional press releases and publicity stunts like some guerrilla marketing tactics can only get businesses so far. Guerrilla marketing is great for smaller businesses that have little to no budget for marketing, but don't always provide the highest volume of exposure.

Which is why digital marketing is preferred by many brands wanting global exposure as the potential reach is far higher. They can include:

Street marketing (display advertising campaigns such as shopping trolly displays, flyers, public events etc.)

Wild posting

However, some guerilla marketing tactics can be great for SMEs and local businesses, but, without correct design branding, and the right message, it will be hard to create a strong brand identity which is memorable. Potential customers need to see your message and instantly know who it is, how you can help and where they can buy your product. This can be a brick and mortar shop, or an ecommerce store. The key is having a distinct look which can be distinguished between you and your competitor but is aligned and consistent with other marketing channel designs.

Take for instance this recent publicity stunt in Leeds, UK.

Excitement sparked when a mysterious Mercedes was spotted in several locations around the city with 'stick ur job up ur arse' and 'worse boss ever' graffiti scrawled all over it. Initially, it looks like a disgruntled employee, but it was later found out it was a publicity stunt from a betting shop.

Having looked at the car and the graffiti on it, would you know who was behind it? The obvious choice would be the car manufacturer, Mercedes, but they later released a statement saying:

"[they] had seen the photos, but ‘it’s nothing to do with us’.

This is a very bad example of a PR stunt. There is no branding, colours, design or message to associate it with a brand. Passers-by are left scratching their head in wonder, taking a photograph, and carrying on with their day forgetting about the car within days if not hours.

This is poor integration of brand identity and a publicity stunt that doesn't reach audiences, nor sends a message of product, service or brand awareness. Thus no positive brand equity is formed.

Search engine strategy to reach target audience (SEO and PPC)

Now we'll look at digital for audience reach. Good PR which sends the right message needs to be aligned with good search engine marketing. If your target audience has seen your offline advertising, or PR / partnerships on other sites, it is important that when they search for you they not only find you, but they recognize you and your message. Afterall, you don't want a potential customer coming to your ecommerce site and wondering if its the right place. This confusion and self-doubt could mean the difference between a purchase or a very high bounce rate.

Optimize your search engine SEO titles and meta descriptions to show your audience who you are and that you are, in fact, the people they were looking for.

Apple dominate Google image search for the word 'Apple'. Their logo and online identity has surpassed the image search for a physical fruit apple. This brand identity online keeps users knowing who they are and what they look like.

In line with their branding and logo design, their website leaves no question as to who they are. Their logo is sleek and simplistic and so is their website design, which is mirrored in all the campaigns and PR events.

Pop-up stores and events

This type of PR differs from B2B and B2C. Whereas a B2C ecommerce store/brick and motar may pop up at a local event, sports event, etc. B2B companies will be targeting their event pop-ups at corporate events and conferences etc. to gain leads.

But for the first instance, let's take a look at when Smart Insights went to TFM with their pop-up stall for B2B audiences.

As with any pop-up stores/events, it's important that the image you portray and the message you send is aligned with other marketing channels.

Yes, you want to capture passers-by's eyes and further engage with them, but if you need to create new visuals and design etc. to do that then you probably need to also think about redesigning your site. If it doesn't capture people's eyes as they walk past, it won't capture people's attention for the first 8 seconds of their attention span when looking at your site online.

We made sure our pop-up designs matched that of our entire site and brand identity. The images used can also be found on our site. Together, it forms a cohesive brand identity that cannot be missed or misinterpreted for another brand.

The message we send reflects that of all our other marketing campaigns too, with positive public relations (face-to-face and online) as well as a brand identity that sets us apart, we can never give the wrong message.

Social Media PR

Wendy's springs to mind when you think of brands on social media that stretch the boundaries of customer services and relations. However, Wendy's is a perfect example of how social media, in line with brand image and personality, lead to a viral tweets and global exposure.

Other brands are starting to adopt a 'no-nonsense' approach to their Facebook updates and their daily tweets. This is interesting as a recent study by Sprout Social found that brand personality on social media affects buyer decisions. Consumers preferred a more authentic and honest brand personality (86%) over snarky comments or political content (33%)

One of my favourite adverts, which went viral a fews years ago, is by the Dollar Shave Club. Now, this is an American brand (soon to be coming to the UK) and I live in the UK, they target the male audience, and I am a woman. Yet, I saw their advert and subsequently follow them on social media. Am I a 1st purchase or even a target customer? No. But that's not my point. The point is that I know about them and they weren't even targeting me, so think about the many males in the US they did target and are now recognizable with their online brand image...

They created a unique customer experience, and by being part of their monthly subscription you were in on the 'joke' everyday annoyances they poke fun at in their advert. They created an exclusive 'community' for customers.

Let's take a look:

Their PR is whimsical, raw and honest. Their approach on social media also reflects this - they stay true to brand image and by doing so they create an online brand identity which is easily recognizable. Their tweets don't always promote their products and, at times, don't seem to be related to their brand at all, but it's fun and engaging which keeps their followers in the high numbers. It's about seeing the people and the faces behind the brand and being part of the community.

Seeing where you're shaving comes in handy – especially when holding a sharp object to your face – or other parts of your body. pic.twitter.com/U3rtEQsiTP

— Dollar Shave Club (@DollarShaveClub) November 30, 2017

  Finding the right influencer

Many social media agencies and consultants have said that 2018 will see a huge rise in the companies that invest in influencer marketing to promote or become advocates of their brand. Many years ago mega-celebrity influencers promoting beauty products on commercials, but now influencer marketing has created a storm on social media.

However, influencer marketing is not for every business and should be decided if it fits with brand image and equity.

Common influencer marketing mistakes that lead to disaster include:

Choosing an influencer just because they have a large following

Choosing influencers that don't use the product or service and don't believe in the brand message

Are big celebrities but aren't likable to the public and alienate your customers

An influencer that is prone to bad press and conflict with media

In a previous article on our blog, we discuss 4 influencer marketing campaigns that went wrong. And we see this with many brands who try and tap into the influencer market.

Take a look at these influencer posts that do not align with brand equity, or show they are positive brand advocates.

 UK reality TV star, Jessica Shears, soon came off air and started promoted different products in instagram posts and was quick to label herself an 'influencer' on her Instagram bio.

Those who label themselves as influencers are less likely to gain product engagement because users are aware they are selling products for companies and are not true advocates or believers of the brand/product.

Having an influencer who promotes multiple company products is not going to show the true value of your brand identity and eventually, your post will get lost in a stream of other posts promoting other products and competitors.

Simple steps to creating a successful influencer strategy:

Think about your brand message and what this says to your audience.

Are there any social media users who already, organically, post/review your products or services and can become a brand advocate?

Choose someone who shares your companies values, vision and message to the public. (Those in NFP or charitable sector may want to choose someone who is known for charity based work)

Size of followers isn't always key - someone will a lower following than people with a 100k-1 million follower base can have more loyal followers who are likely to listen to them

Having brand advocates gives an authentic feel - let them write their own posts, in their own words instead of scripted captions - users will know if their opinion is authentic or not.

Have you thought about user-generated content?

UGC is the best influencer campaign you can get. What's better than people to prove the quality of your brand, service, and products than past and current customers?

One brand who do this well is Anastasia Beverley Hills, who like and retweet customer who share the products they've bought and how they've applied their costmetics. Not only does this create great content that shares make-up tips, but it also shows ordinary people buying, wearing and loving their products.

Aurora that packaging though @ABHcosmetics @norvina1 pic.twitter.com/zkZhMsoqFn

— Sarah (@sarahiemel) December 11, 2017

  By liking and retweeting tweets sent by customers, it shows up on their feed and user's home feed. I see all the time 'real people' (i.e. not celebrities) sharing how wonderful ABH cosmetics are, and the more people see this on their feed the more likely they are to purchase their own.

Overall, this builds a friendly, customer-centric online brand image where customers can share their makeup looks and tips and feel part of a larger community of customers.

Whether you choose a full influencer marketing strategy or UGC to help promote your brand message on social media, make sure it builds a positive brand equity that you want to be known for and promotes the values and vision of your company.

When a brand goes viral, for all the wrong reasons!

Let's take for instance United Airlines. Not too long ago their brand was on every news outlet in Western Countries for a video that went viral when a member of their airplane security staff forcibly removed a passenger off an overbooked airplane.

(I have not shown the video out of respect as it has scenes that many readers may find disturbing). If you wish to see the video in question, you can view it here on Youtube.

This is a time when United Airlines needed to get a Crisis Communications strategy together, quickly, which:

Apologised for those involved and those who witnessed the incident

Promoted United Airlines the way they wanted to be viewed and represented

Offered a brand image / identity that could be taken forward in the future

What happened on the United Airlines airplane led to an uproar and fully exploded across social media. However, where this was an ample situation for United Airlines CEO, David Deo, to empathize with his passenger's unnecessary violent removal, to show staff, customers and the wider global population that his brand had consumer important values at the forefront of their message, his statement afterward was unapologetic and praised staff for 'following protocol'.

As Forbes headlined, United Airlines 'became the most hated airline in one day'.

Bad PR that goes viral is absolutely detrimental to a brands image and identity. Sometimes, one bad video, complaint, viral video on social media or badly thought out campaign cannot be forgotten, neither can it be forgiven.

Brand equity vs brand awareness

Global businesses like Apple, Google, Amazon and other online SaaS companies such as Netflix have distinct branding and advertising, which, arguably, make them stand out from the crowd, but do they?

In a recent study, it was found that only 85% of respondents could correctly identify Amazon without any logo or give away reference, and only 78% could identify Google. However, those who identified wrong simply didn't know who it was instead of misinterpreting it from another brand or competitor.

So, online identity is important for customers to know that they've landed on the right site, but brand equity is not solely related to brand awareness.

Conclusion

When building brand equity, think about the consumer and the audience you're trying to target. Brand awareness is great, it means getting yourself known and in the middle of important conversations, but customer attitude is arguably more important.

Make your brand known, but also someone they want to buy from/be a member of. If your values don't align with your target audience, you're going to find it hard to convert them into a 1st purchase customer and even maybe impossible to keep them as a repeat/loyal customer.

from Blog – Smart Insights https://www.smartinsights.com/online-pr/online-pr-strategy/how-and-why-you-need-to-integrate-pr-into-all-marketing-channels/

[sea2msy-blog]

Sleepless in Seattle.

It began with an election.

On the evening of November 8, 2016, I stepped over three brown crying women on steps outside of the Seattle Westin Hotel. Eight years earlier, I had stood on those very steps, listening to a cacophony of car horns, celebrating, hopeful about the election of America’s first black identifying president.

But on the evening of November 8, 2016, as the states across America turned red, I watched the tears of those women on the hotel steps form into a wave—retracting along the shore—and that wave wiped away eight years. I was left nothing but blank sand and fear.

Like most well-adjusted adults, I show my fear in mild insomnia. I could not sleep for weeks after the election. In bed, I would stare up at the high ceilings of my warehouse condo and assess risk. Americans had gone out to vote, and an uncomfortable number of them voted for a man who demonstrates nothing but hate for my America.  

After five weeks of intermittent sleeplessness, and countless encounters with crying Seattleites, I rolled over and grabbed my laptop. I don’t cry often, so I couldn’t join my leaking friends. I wished that was something I could do. I needed to have some sense of control. 

I began looking for jobs: not just any job, but epic jobs. I would apply for the most epic job I could find. I would not get this job, because epic jobs are destined for applicants more epic than me. But when I did not get this job, I would take it as a sign from the universe—I was not responsible for “fixing” anything related to this presidency. I could continue on in my law firm partnership, on the 34th floor of a skyscraper in Downtown Seattle. I would be OK.

I don’t know if it is fair to say that getting to that 34th floor took me a lot more work than it took others, but I will say it anyway. As a black identifying woman, from a low-income neighborhood in Seattle, who had given birth in high school, finished school, worked 40 hours a week through undergrad, continued through law school, and then spent nearly a decade working up to partnership in the foreign world of a 170-person corporate law firm, while raising a son, I struggled with the view from the 34th floor. It gave me great leverage to do interesting legal work, to provide law firm resources to causes important in the community (and to me), and credibility adorned by the seal of mainstream approval that helped build a name in the community.

It also helped me buy a glorious condo in Seattle’s Historic Pioneer Square neighborhood. It was urban, up-and-coming (once again), and the thought of owning anything like it always seemed far beyond my reach.  I was 34. My son was 16.  I was not in any hurry to leave this life. But applying for an epic, public interest job, would be action. If I got it, I would not have to say that I spent the Trump administration in the same place I had spent the Obama administration.  When the universe told me it was OK to stay on the 34th floor, I would sleep better and do just that. I would stay.

I researched over the next few nights, charted, and diagrammed. I decided that I wanted to work against mass incarceration—what I thought was America’s number one moral failing. During the debates, I had been infuriated by the debate questions about race in America that had become a diatribe about “law and order.” Frankly, I had been infuriated by both candidates’ answers. 

America is the prison capitol of the world. I decided to apply for a job in the prison capitol of the country—Louisiana. The grand state of Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the world: 5x more than Iran, 13x more than China, 20x more than Germany. I applied for a senior supervising attorney position working on ending mass incarceration for a prestigious organization with a New Orleans office three nights later, and drifted into sleep.  

[consciousowl]

How To Be Super Cool Without Even Trying

Once upon a time, a TV commercial featured a pilot flying into a hurricane until he reaches the eye, the ultracalm center of the storm. The pilot then reaches for his pack and lights up to take a break.

You have seen the matador bowing to the adulation of the spectators in the bullring, facing a restless bull, armed only with a red cape and a carefully hidden sword. The matador teases the baited bull into rushing towards him, only to turn away at the perfect moment. He knows it will be either him or the bull, but he dances throughout the spectacle, celebrating the magnificence of life.​

The great American novelist called this “machismo.” We may simply call it grace under pressure.​

Being Cool is Grace Under Pressure

When we are passing from childhood to adulthood, we pass through that wonderfully awkward stage of being a teenager. We find that we are neither children nor adults. We are beginning to discover that our parents are fallible, that they don’t know everything. For the time being, we can’t totally relate to any adult, or any child. We can only relate to our peers.

In high school, we usually find one or two teens, both male and female, who are supercool. They seem as poised as any adult and can think for themselves, as spokespeople for the next generation. Even though they are talented brains, football stars or beauty queens, they are generally nice people. All the kids like them, and see them as their exemplars.​

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Like John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in the movie, Grease, they show grace under pressure. They are too busy building their own lives to waste much time complaining about anything. They have unshakable faith that everything will work out, and they don’t shrink from occupying the spotlight. How we wish we had their secret!

The secret to being cool is… knowing how to BE and deal with / or under pressure… at any give time… in the most graceful way possible.

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Knowing Who You Are and What You Want

It all starts with knowing who you are, and what you want. You may be a Jennifer Lawrence, discovered at any early age, who made Hunger Games so memorable. At 26, Jennifer won Best Actress and earned $50 million in a single year. While no doubt she had many breaks, and had an exceptional combination of beauty and talent, most likely Jennifer knew early on that all she ever wanted to be was an actress.

For most of us, this takes a bit longer. Getting a college degree for 20-somethings today can take nearly a decade. Instead of driving a taxi, you may work at Starbuck’s and survive on tips. You have some interests, some favorite classes and some vision of a professional role, but it takes considerable effort for it all to come together.

There are causes that you care deeply about, not the least of which is Saving the Planet. You may not like the way adults are calling the shots, but you feel relatively powerless to do anything about it. You overlook the fact that people can go now globally viral in just a few days via Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or any other social network.​

Cool Comes with Discovering Your Destiny and Getting On with It

Whenever you step back in your life and take in the larger picture, you capture a deep feeling for why you might be here and how you can serve others. It might be biking in the hills over the weekend, with a gorgeous forest surrounding you and an enchanted sky. Something needs doing in the world, and you were put here to move this vision along. Richard Bolles’ What Color Is Your Parachute? can get you started.

In the book, Richard suggests that you study your values, interests, preferences and achievements to get a clearer and clearer take on your mission. When you discover your passion in life, you then interview people who share that passion for information. Your focus is on looking and listening and asking questions.​

One interview leads to the next, and then a pattern emerges. You even discover job opportunities along the way. You begin to feel a role shaping up that you can uniquely occupy. You become increasingly intent on serving, and eventually you get invited in to make a difference.

The more that happens, the more people will be drawn to you, finding you irresistible.​

Psychology of Attraction

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Living Totally in the Present

When you live in the present, you are rarely in your head. Your senses are sharpened. You notice the details of people and things all around you. Your attention is not on yourself, but on them.

You are not caught up in comparing yourself with others, with all the men smarter or richer than you, or all the women more beautiful and accomplished than you. You find your satisfaction in just BEING.

As so few people in our contemporary society spend their time in the Eternal Now Moment, you will stand out as a potential star. You will cultivate your social skills, because you will be more present to interact with others. When you goof up, you slightly blush, laugh it off and join in with others.

Living in the present also means that you are passionate about your mission and values, but you are also not excessively attached to your agenda. You are focused on a higher purpose, and that is most definitely NOT about looking good. Sure, you groom and pay attention to what you wear, but you look much better when you are not caught up pretending to be somebody else.​

Being present and thinking different... are the two major contributors to being cool.​

Cherishing Everyone You Meet

Supercool people genuinely love others. They have nothing to prove, as their life is not about them, but about their vision. They are determined to do whatever they can to bring heaven and earth together. They are simultaneously strong and vulnerable. They are totally willing to both give and receive. Part of loving is to let yourself BE loved.

True, cherishing people truly requires a transformation. However, any teenager is a prime candidate for falling totally in love. This early romance is a prerequisite to loving the Supreme Bing (God), and to loving everyone else. We are all interlinked. We all share the same energy source.

Supercool people follow the example of the Dalai Lama. They can deeply relate to anyone, young or old, regardless of their race, religion, bank account or dress. Their sense of Self keeps expanding outward to include larger and larger circles, until it engulfs the entire world.​

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Cool Begins with Seeing the Highest Potential in Everyone

Transformational masters insist on being surrounded only by magnificent people. This is not because they are hung up on who are the right people. It is rather that they make whoever interacts with them right.

This is totally in line with the Buddha, who repeatedly saw the highest potential of each of his disciples in this incarnation. Christ took Peter, a simple fisherman in a corner of the Roman Empire, and taught him how to fish people, thereby changing the world, and creating the world’s largest religion.

You can begin to become a master by treasuring everyone in your life, seeing their hidden talents, and appreciating all their positive traits, whether it is in creating a digital canvas, or planting trees in a vacant lot to counter global warming.​

The truth is that each of us IS magnificent. It is just that we spend most of our life pretending that we are NOT.

If you find a young man or woman, and give them life direction and a global vision, you will be regarded by them as supercool. They will never forget this. Your task then will be helping them give yet others a life direction and a global vision.

If you think you are not up this, ask again. You wouldn’t be reading these lines unless you were called to make a difference. You ARE super cool, despite all your protestations to the contrary.​

Keeping Cool is Keeping the Faith – No Matter What

Once you connect with your commitment to make a difference in this world, once you invoke the Divine Presence in your life, you will keep the faith. As a part of this, you might then wish to build your social skills.

You might find the course, Psychology of Attraction and Likability, delightful and deeply insightful in understanding people on a slightly deeper level. The instructor, Dr. Andrew Luttrell, has taught 17,000 students, and informs the video discussions with the latest insights from experimental psychology.​

Andrew takes a factual, no-frills approach. He helps you better understand the dynamics of interaction, but leaves it up to you how best to apply these insights.

Building a career in professional sales and marketing, I found my earlier study of social psychology immensely helpful in arriving at the place of intuitively interacting with people of every descript as their friend. Most certainly, this course could support one of your prime objectives. Check it out.​

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