#barras EXPLAIN YOURSELF

[saint-jussy]

Are we gonna talk about the time Barras either admitted to following Robespierre home (if this account is true) or fantasized about saving Robespierre from the ~ evil, STRONGER collot ~ and then following him home (if this was made up YEARS AFTER the fact)

[anotherhumaninthisworld]

People planning to stab Robespierre compilation

What was your plan in going to Robespierre’s house.

To talk to him in person.

What did you want to talk to Robespierre about?

I don’t want to give any response or explanation regarding this question.

Do you realize that your answers lead one to believe you had the intention of committing a crime, and that you must explain your intentions?

She does not want to explain further, and adds that she intended to ask him for instructions on the situation and the strengthening of the Republic.

Do you realize that your declarations and obstinacy to not want to explain yourself cannot be reconciled with such a plan, which is why I’m again asking you to explain yourself?

She persists in not wanting to answer.

Did anyone propose to you the plan of going home to Robespierre and did you tell anyone about it?

No.

Did you go to Robespierre’s house several times during the day?

No.

When you went to Robespierre, did you bring with you knives, and if yes, of which sort?

I had in my pocket two folding knives, one in tortoiseshell and the other in ivory, both trimmed in silver: the one made of ivory was given to me by my brother in 89, having found it at Prés-Saint-Gervais. The other was given to me by my grandmother three or four years ago. It was loaded with rust; I cleaned it and tried to remove the rust by scraping the blade with another knife, eight or nine days ago. I rarely use it.

Do you regularly carry two knives?

I carry the tortoiseshell one regularly, the ivory one showed up in my pocket, I didn’t know it was there.

When you went home to Robespierre, did you have the intention of using these knives to kill him?

No, moreover, we can judge as we please. Interrogation of Cécile Renault, held on May 24 1794

At that time, the indictment that I (Lecointre) was preparing against the traitor (Robespierre) and his accomplices was completed; Fréron who helped me with his insights, Barras, Rovère, Thirion, Courtois, Garnier de l'Aube, Guffroy and Tallien etc advised me to attack him in person, so that success would be more certain. The roles were divided to support my opinion, and to combat with force the sophisms of Robespierre, but they were of the opinion that the memoir should be printed and distributed an hour before being read at the National Convention: Guffroy was in charge and had promised, from the 6th, to have it printed; and it was solemnly sworn by us that if the truth succumbed, we would immolate the tyrant in the middle of the Convention. Conjuration formée dès le 5 préréal [sic] par neuf représentans du peuple contre Maximilien Robespierre, pour le poignarder en plein sénat: rapport et acte d’accusation dont la lecture devoit précéder dans la Convention cet acte de dévouement (1794), page 4

Bourdon de l'Oise, rightly frightened by the ease with which, until then, several batches of his colleagues had been delivered to the proscriptions of this tribunal, had wanted to exclude from the number of defendants, whom the two committees alone could bring there, any representative of the people: he had insisted that the decision could only emanate from the Convention itself, and by a special decree. On this subject, a great rumor arose within the assembly: the members of the two committees, whom Bourdon's motion implicitly accused of wanting to get hold of their antagonists, with Couthon and Robespierre at the forefront, had strongly qualified him as a caluminator. Robespierre, in his fury at being thus unveiled, had forgotten himself to the point of throwing the epithet of ”scoundrel” against Bourdon; and, far from retracting Bourdon's claim, he had insinuated that the latter was on his way to get arrested; that the committees could provoke it. 

Bourdon, after this stormy session, had felt only too well that it was a fight to the death which had just begun between him and Robespierre: he had resolved to guarantee his own head, by the precipitous fall of that of Robespierre. It was with his own hand that he wanted to destroy this tyrant of the fatherland, this proud usurper who did not hesitate to degrade the national representation, in order to sacrifice it in detail to his disproportionate ambition. Once this decision to get rid of Robespierre by the dagger had settled in his head, Bourdon thought of taking, before the assassination attempt, some measures relative to his fortune. He took the keenest interest in a woman and several young children whose fate was linked to his own, and had made arrangements in their favor. 

Now, it was me that Bourdon had chosen, to be both the preserver of his final wishes and the protector, after him, of these beings he loved. The day after 23 Prairial, Bourdon brought me to his house, making me believe that it was just a simple dinner. He then occupied a small bachelor's accommodation on rue des Saints-Pères in a house on the left, which only had a narrow door, without a doorman. His apartment was pointed out to me by a woman who was coming out, in despair at not having been able to get him to intercede for her husband. I had barely entered when Bourdon, without further circumlocution, said to me: “Listen, we’ve known each other for a long time; I know that you are a moderate patriot, that you are not very passionate about the republic; but you are an honest man, a good friend; and it is for these two reasons that I was able to open up to you about my projects and the measures they involve. Robespierre is my personal enemy; he attacked and threatened me in the middle of the Convention: he wants to kill me, in order to be able to more easily dominate the Convention and seize absolute power. I want to thwart his ambitious designs by immolating him with my own hand.” 

At the same time, and as if he felt the need to convince me even more of the strength of his mind, he took out from under his bed an oblong casket, in which was tucked the coat he had worn on the day of the storming of the Bastille, the hat which, in the Vendée, had adorned his forehead as a representative of the people, and a large cutlass with which he was always armed on his expeditions. He took great care to point out to me that his coat was still covered with stains from the blood he had spilled at the Bastille, that his hat was riddled with the bullets of the Vendéens. As for the cutlass, he had more than once plunged it into the hearts of his enemies; it was the weapon with which he intended, at the first opportunity which presented itself, to strike Robespierre. I trembled lest the wall, which received these terrible confidences together with me, should share a syllable with anyone. Bourdon, to reassure me, said that for the development of his plan, he needed someone discreet enough to remain silent before and after the action; faithful enough to keep his will; zealous enough and enlightened enough to have it executed in due time. “It is you,” he said to me, “who will be my devoted confidant, I count on it and no longer worry about anything.” He immediately gave me his will with his instructions and some important titles. 

God knows with what agitations this gift filled my soul, what bad nights I passed with the possession of this perilous deposit! At the slightest suspicion, at the slightest word of revelation, I would have been a dead man. What would happen if Bourdon had gotten arrested before or after the consummation of his revenge and the slightest indication of correspondence with him was administered against me? The sixteen days I spent in this state of uncertainty felt like centuries. Finally arrived, against all foresight, and without the isolated provocation on the part of Bourdon de l'Oise, this day, forever precious for humanity, of the 9th of Thermidor.  Souvenirs de M. Berryer, doyen des avocats de Paris (1839)

Tallien: I demanded earlier that one tears apart the veil. With pleasure, I just saw that it is torn apart entirely, that the conspirators have been unmasked, that they will soon be annihilated, and that liberty will triumph. (Loud applause.) Everything announces that the enemy of the national representation will fall under its blows. We give a proof of our republican loyalty to our nascent republic. I forced myself to remain silent until now, because I knew of a man who approached the tyrant of France, that he had formed a proscription list. I did not want to remonstrate, but I have seen the session of the Jacobins yesterday: I have trembled for the patrie ; I have seen the army of a new Cromwell forming itself, and I am armed with a dagger in order to pierce its breast, if the National Convention did not have the courage to issue a décret d'accusation against him. (Loud applause.) Tallien at the Convention, July 27 1794

[nesiacha]

Napoleon

Warning this post from Napoleon is very childish and far from any historical analysis and not very serious. If you want a serious post about Napoléon without fall in black legend this not the good post. When Napoleon complained about the betrayals done to him what I think: -Karma! You got the loyalty that you deserves. -You raise and surround yourself with people as unusual, griouettes and bloody as Talleyrand, Fouché (especially him in terms of bloodiness) you have the expected result. At the same time you got the political entourage than you deserves. -You come to taste your own medicine regarding betrayals and don't complain just to keep your power. This fair return of things makes me think of: -Hypocritical. When he lectured Hortense de Beauharnais on her transactions with the Bourbons by saying that when we share the glory, we also share the misfortunes. Napoleon didn't you share your glory with the Jacobins after your rise favored by Augustin Robespierre (I think that deep down it is good that Augustin died before seeing Napoleon become a military dictator, he would surely not have forgiven himself for 'having favored the military dictator that the mountain people feared), but then you persecuted them. In addition, you made transactions with Barras, Fréron Tallien who are responsible for the death of Augustin Robespierre or have you forgotten this fact and who also persecuted the Jacobins and the Sans Culottes. Unpopular opinion I approved of Hudson Lowe for putting Napoleon in his place. I would have been to decide on a punishment for Napoleon, I would have made him break stones like a convict for life (or I would have sent him to Haiti so that he could explain it alone and face to face to these former slaves why he persecuted them and reestablished slavery, after what happens to him I don't care a bit). There you go, it's a very childish little post, you all have the right to boo me I admit it is well deserved in my primary anti-Napoleonicism but it is not a historical analysis that I did on this post so I decided to allowed for deviations.

[josefavomjaaga]

Hello! What was Eugene and Hortense’s relationship with Napoleon like? Sometimes Naps seems to give off a bit of “evil stepparent” vibes yet sometimes he seems to be decent so I can only imagine that it’s complicated (I would know, I have stepparents).

And full of dysfunctional family drama, naturally!

(Someone should make a Napoleonic soap opera.)

Anyway, thanks in advance!

P. S.

Thank you so very much, both for the question and the love - and right back at you 💖. I know I've really taken my time with this one but I wanted to find the correct quote which took longer than I thought. (I had no clue Roederer wrote so much.)

First of all: No, Napoleon is not the prodigal evil stepfather, far from it. On first glance, he even seems like the ideal stepfather, immediately taking to the two children, for the sole reason that they were related to Josephine, and despite the children’s initial animosity against this new addition to the family. Hortense in particular makes it very clear in her memoirs that she feared her mother would love them less once she had a new husband, whereas Eugène saw his mother’s second marriage as »a desecration of my father’s memory«. Both are probably very normal and common reactions; I particularly understand the kids’ fear of having to share their mother’s butterfly attention with yet another person. (Josephine often barely remembered them anyway.)

It is also unclear to me how well they actually knew this general Bonaparte before he and Josephine married. The story of Eugène and the sword/sabre of general Beauharnais is well-known, and Hortense in her memoirs tells the story of how she, at a dinner in Barras’ house, was sitting between Josephine and Napoleon, who totally ignored her, talking only with her mother. Other than that, Napoleon must have visited often, but most of the time the kids would have been at school at those occasions. And they apparently only learned about their mothers’ second marriage after the fact, through Madame Campan, who informed them of it. At the time of their mother’s marriage, this general may have been mostly a stranger to them, and in a way, he may have always remained just that.

But Napoleon made every effort to overcome the children’s reserve, and he mostly succeeded. Both children were docile and well-behaved as a rule und would, if not enthusiastically, then at least politely adapt to these new circumstances. Which for Napoleon may have been a nice change compared to dealing with his unruly family, who was giving him hell for having dared to marry without anyone’s consent. During the first Italian campaign, in his letters to Josephine, Napoleon mentions several times that her children had written to him or that he was going to send them presents. (He could not know that at least Hortense, according to her memoirs, had been coerced by Madame Campan into writing. I believe we even have Napoleon’s answer, which is held in a very amused, teasing tone.)

Things would continue in the same vein. We have Napoleon’s letters to Eugène in Egypt (»Stay in the tent, march with the artillery … don’t you dare get yourself killed, kid!«), we have Napoleon discussing Josephine’s supposed infidelities with her teenage son (Eugène probably: »Uhm, general … you do remember that I’m only seventeen? And your wife’s son? You do? Good. Just making sure.«), we have the famous scene of Josephine and her kids, begging on their knees in front of Napoleon’s bedroom door after the return from Egypt and, in one version, Napoleon explaining that he took Josephine back because he had grown so attached to Eugène that he could not bear to see the boy leave. (Though it is doubtful how much of this scene was even meant in earnest, or how Napoleon could have expected Eugène to stay with him rather than with his mother.) We have delightfully normal and funny family correspondence during the Consulate and the early Empire (»Your fat son has arrived yesterday«, »I don’t hear more of Hortense as if she were in Congo, I have to write and scold her«, »your brother is courting all the ladies of Boulogne and still not getting lucky«), and after Eugène’s marriage Napoleon resolutely demands updates on eventual first marital squabbles and even tries to set up Eugène’s daily schedule in a way for him to get enough repose and quality time with the vice-queen.

As to the material and financial side, Napoleon could not have treated his stepchildren any better. Both received wealth, honours and positions they never could have dreamt of (and probably never would have dreamt of) without Napoleon’s influence. But that already takes us to the other side of the coin. At this point I always have to think of the sentence that Lannes once wrote in a letter, in essence: »The emperor loves on a whim, which means: when he has need of you.« - Napoleon’s stepchildren had a function in his political plans, and he loved them as long as they fulfilled their tasks. And once these plans changed and they became bothersome, he did not hesitate to demand back what he had given to them (Italy from Eugène, Holland from Hortense’s son).

But there is a caveat even to the emotional part. As I’ve often mentioned already, while Napoleon called his stepchildren »tu« in private conversation, he treated them as »vous« in court and in all his correspondence. As to the other side, even in their letters to each other or to their mother, Hortense and Eugène always call him »Bonaparte« or »the emperor«. I have not come across any of them calling him, or referring to him as, their father (which is why I hate such references in novels or movies). Eugène in his memoirs keeps mentioning the enormous respect he always had, and as late as the Russian campaign a witness like Dedem van de Geldern had the impression that Eugène »was afraid of the emperor like a child«. There seems to always have been a notable emotional distance between Napoleon and everybody else.

But I feel like the most obvious indication of how unhealthy this family relationship was can be found in Napoleon’s conversation with Roederer in 1804 (?, at least I think it happened during that time, while his family was trying to convince him to divorce Josephine before the coronation and to not make her empress – for which, admittedly, there were excellent reasons). Napoleon says, speaking of his brothers:

They are jealous of my wife, of Eugène, of Hortense, of everyone about me. Well, my wife has diamonds and debts, that is it. Eugène does not have 20,000 livres of income. I love these children, because they are always eager to please me. If there's a cannon shot, Eugene will be the one to find out what it is. If I have a ditch to cross, it's he who gives me his hand. […] [And again about his siblings] They say that my wife is dishonest, and that the eagerness of her children is calculated. Well, I do want this; they treat me like an old uncle; this always makes my life sweet; I am getting old: I am thirty-six, I want some rest.

[Taken from: Pierre-Louis Roederer, »Mémoires sur la Révolution, le Consulat et l’Empire, 5th edition, page 207f. Emphasis by me]

In other words, Napoleon agrees that the sentiments his wife and stepchildren show him are fake and most likely rooted solely in self-interest. He just doesn’t care. He does not claim »You are wrong, my stepchildren do love me.« His answer rather comes down to: »At least they make the effort to pretend they care for me. You guys can’t even be bothered to do that much!«

Which does not strike me as a particularly healthy basis for a family.

But as I’ve already said, I’m still very much learning, and I’m pretty sure there’s still much to find out about the details in this patchwork family.

I hope this does answer your question at least somewhat. Thank you once more for the Ask, and sorry the answer took so long! 💖

[jpd1944]

video credit to caballero_ducky on insta!!!! i was sitting right next to them lol

i have to share this since this will forever be a favorite memory of mine till the day i die.

picture this, you wake up at 6am on a somewhat muggy january 26th. final day has arrived for walt disney’s country bear jamboree, an opening day attraction for the magic kingdom. you took the day off of work to go see your favorite bears dressed up as teddi barra, definitely not reusing your costume from mickey’s not so scary halloween party.

after going in and out of the attraction more than 30 times and not even stepping foot into any other area of the park, the sun begins to set and it is now reaching 8pm. the rumor was that the theater would remain open until park close, 11pm. you are now walking into your next showing in grizzly hall and take your seat on the right side of the stage. as max, buff, and melvin begin to chatter, henry exclaims “give me a little intro there, gomer!” the tall bear on piano plays his little diddy. it is now time for the show to start, so henry’s curtain opens. but wait. you watched the show many a times. even before henry speaks, you always notice his paw hit the curtain. but this time was different. there was no pawing at the curtain. it opens and to your surprise, poor henry is t-posing and not moving a muscle.

“NOOOOOOO HENRY!!!” you yell out as everyone is losing their minds. (yes, in the video, that is me screaming)

the show continues, a stuck romeo is also in kahoots with henry #1. as you are leaving the theater and signaling your group to hop in line again. you get an uneasy feeling in your tummy and start to worry about what will happen next. surely this was just something minor and it’ll be fixed soon, right?

it doesn’t.

the line doesn’t move for the next 3 hours. you are now waiting at the back of line, assuming if the show did start up again, you would be watching the last show of the night for guests. then people start whipping out their phones and seeing what people from the front of the line are talking about. henry and romeo have malfunctioned to the point of no return and there will be no shows for the rest of the night.

“wait… so that was it? did we really just see the last ever show at 8pm and we didn’t even know it” you ask yourself as you’re slowly walking down the path. mind you the line was so long it extended in adventureland. as you get to the theater, cast members are explaining to the guests that we are allowed to take pictures of the empty theater but it would be a closed casket viewing (artistic rendition) and at the end of it, all guests in line would be able to receive the D23 exclusive country bear musical jamboree poster and a fast pass for the next day.

at this point you are absolutely sobbing your eyes out, you barely got into the bears in august when you first moved to florida and now they’re gone. well, practicing a new show but regardless. how can your day get any worse?

next day you get told you are on temporary probation from work, your blue disney ID and main entrance pass have been taken away since you are being accused of stealing trash.

then a week later you get officially fired from the walt disney company and are stranded for another week in florida with no money ok the end bai baiiiii

[daniela--anna]

A social scourge that worries a lot in our times is bullying and cyberbullying.

This destructive phenomenon concerns the school environment in particular but can be experienced in other areas and in different forms.

It is devastating because it creates such discomfort that the victim is unable to react and difficult to help.

Furthermore, the consequences of bullying and cyberbullying can involve all members of the family and have long-term consequences.

What can be done?

As well explained in the video relating to the exhibition held on this topic, as well as contacting the police, it can be useful to read up on reliable sources.

In this regard, Jehovah's Witnesses have published a series of articles and videos available free online.

Just type in the search bar

"Bullying and Cyberbullying jw.org"

and all relevant results will appear.

These include the following topics:

📚 What can I do if my child is bullied?

|

Help for the family

📚 What if I'm bullied at school?

📚 How to defend yourself against cyberbullying |

From the column "Young people ask"

Una piaga sociale che nei nostri tempi preoccupa molto è il bullismo e il cyberbullismo.

Questo fenomeno distruttivo riguarda in particolare l'ambiente scolastico ma può essere vissuto in altri ambiti e in diverse forme.

Esso è devastante perché crea un disagio tale da rendere la vittima incapace di reagire e difficile da aiutare. Inoltre le conseguenze del bullismo e del cyberbullismo possono coinvolgere tutti i componenti della famiglia e avere strascichi fino a lungo termine.

Cosa si può fare?

Come ben spiegato nel video inerente alla Mostra indetta su questo argomento, oltre che rivolgersi alle Forze dell'ordine può essere utile documentarsi da fonti sicure.

A tale proposito i Testimoni di Geova hanno pubblicato una serie di articoli e video disponibili gratuitamente online.

Basta digitare sulla barra di ricerca

"Bullismo e Cyberbullismo jw.org"

e compariranno tutti i risultati pertinenti.

Tra questi si possono visionare i seguenti temi:

📚Cosa posso fare se mio figlio è vittima di bullismo? | Aiuto per la famiglia

📌

https://www.jw.org/it/cosa-dice-la-Bibbia/famiglia/mio-figlio-vittima-bullismo/

📚E se a scuola sono vittima di bullismo?

📌

https://www.jw.org/it/biblioteca-digitale/libri/domande-ragazzi/bullismo-a-scuola/

📚Come difendersi dal cyberbullismo | I giovani chiedono

📌

https://www.jw.org/it/cosa-dice-la-Bibbia/ragazzi/chiedono/come-difendersi-dal-cyberbullismo/

[smurphyse]

The Bet

Masterlist

Part 1 of The Arrangement

Pairing: Loki Odinson x Adora of Alfheim (Arranged Marriage AU)

Words: 2721

Series Summary: After Loki's lost bet with Thor, D.B. Cooper causes chaos on Midgard, and a war with Vanaheim rises in the East, so Odin proposes a wager of his own to his youngest son:

An arranged marriage, one for the public. If the terms of the deal are honored for twenty years, Loki will be let out of the union and free from Odin's intervention or wrath ever again. Loki thinks this bet will be an easy win, but our boy is very wrong. His new wife, Adora of Alfheim, has an agenda of her own, and Loki is determined to figure out what it is.

Loki quickly finds himself out of his depth, unprepared for husbandry or fatherhood, and learns that marriages -arranged or not- are hard work.

Summary: Loki and Thor make a bet... Loki loses. Odin decides to make a wager of his own.

“If you truly think yourself incapable of beating me, dear brother, then let us put this... bet to rest now and not after I embarrass you,” Loki smiled at Thor, waving his goblet around as he spoke, the liquid sloshing out of the cup and onto the floor. Loki gave it a sideways glance and shrugged.

“It is not that I think I will lose, Loki, it is that I think if I ‘barras, embarrass you, you’ll be smarting for weeks. Then I’ll have to deal with you sulking about the palace for a fortnight,” Thor drunkenly smiled back, the cat’s satisfied smirk set on his easy features.

They were in Loki’s chambers, sitting in armchairs before the fire. They had been drinking heavily for hours, jesting and taunting one another as they came up with the most ridiculous bets to best one another.

I know, we both try to ride a Draguar. Whoever falls first, loses the bet and must go to Midgard.

The Draguar are giant undead who drink blood, whoever falls first will die, and I will have to explain to Mother why her favorite snake-child was swallowed whole by a monster. Then we’ll both be dead, what’s the point?

True, true brother. Mother would kill you to avenge me. I adore her.

The light from the fire shone across the curtains and tapestries surrounding the walls, soft oranges and reds swimming in emerald green velvet as they prattled on. It was well past midnight, the sun long set, and the servants had long since been sent to their quarters.

This was how many of their nights were spent. After drinking and eating with the rest of the palace, then another bout of drinking with the Warriors, Loki and Thor would retire to one of each other's chambers and talk the night away about one subject or another.

They were now at the point that their bets hedged on the juvenile, rather than the impossible. Loki, in his inebriated state, had suggested a rather childish option: an arm wrestle.

Sure, Loki cut a lithe figure, and most underestimated his strength because of his comparison to Thor. However, Loki was a warrior, and always had been, trained side by side with his brother to conquer and fight for Asgard with every ounce of life in his body.

“Come now, brother! What’s sssooo bad about me sulking if you’ll have bragging rights for said fortnight?” Loki leaned over his armrest, grinning mischievously at his brother in the dimming firelight.

“Oh, I don’t want bragging rights,” Thor said, clutching his goblet against his chest and staring into the flames. He pursed his lips in his drunken state, eyes pointed downward as he tried to see them to check if they were still there. Asgardian wine had the tendency to make your face numb, sometimes you had to make sure pieces were still attached.

“Oh?” Loki asked, sitting up straight in his chair. “You’ve a better prize in mind, Elder Prince?”

Thor shot him a withering look. Loki knew he cared not about succession, but they both did enjoy proving themselves the better prince, the smarter, more handsome, more cunning prince. Hence, the various bets and bits of chaos they often found themselves in.

“Whoever loses... must go to Midgard.”

“Midgard?” Loki snorted, shrugging once more and sending more of his wine out of his cup. “And do what? Be their god? We already did that one h-ha- half a millenia ago.”

“Midgard has charnged, changed . They no longer care about gods. No, whoever loses must go and… cause some mischief.”

“Easy. Worth losing over.”

“ When you lose, you will... go to Midgard and steal a large sssum of money… aaaand jump from an aircraft! Heimdall will catch you with the Bifrost,” Thor decided, his voice slurring every other word. Norns, they were drunk.

“When you lose, I will enjoy watching that unfold greatly,” slurred Loki, a grin plastered on his inebriated face.

“Deal?” Thor asked, sticking his hand over his armrest, matching Loki’s smile ounce for ounce.

“Deal. May the strongest prince win.”

----------------------------------------------

“Brother, Heimdall…” he began as he made his way to the back of the plane. He was about to jump out of a Midgardian aircraft.... With nothing but a parachute that was definitely not meant to bear his weight of five hundred pounds.

This was the last time he made bets with Thor while absolutely plastered.

“...you better be ready,” he finished. It was now or never.

Loki breathed in deeply, taking a moment to appreciate his last full breath, lest he plummet to his death on Odin-forsaken Midgard , then launched himself out of the airplane.

The air whipped around him painfully as he descended. The damned tie he was wearing flipped over his shoulder and tugged against his throat as the air pressure changed with every foot closer to the ground.

A wide grin spread across his face. Lost bet or not, he was enjoying this! Should he be? That was something to analyze later, when he wasn’t falling to his own death.

Loki felt the moment the Bifrost opened, enveloping him in a warm cocoon of sparking synapses and aura as it brought him back home.

Thor’s laughter rang out over the rush of the magic. Loki tossed the bag of money toward the sound as he landed in the large domed opening of the Bifrost. He did his best to stick the landing, to not crash headfirst into the hard flooring after having already lost the arm wrestle so badly.

Thor slid back a few feet, caught off guard as the duffel bag slammed into his chest. When he saw Loki before him, wiping off his now-destroyed designer suit, he dropped the bag and brought his hands to his knees as he laughed.

“Brother, you are so in for it next time,” Loki chuckled, turning to Heimdall, “It’s a good thing you’re good at your job, or I would be a lost prince.”

“I’ve been doing this far longer than the two of you have been playing your games,” the Gatekeeper boomed, smiling a bit in spite of himself. It did not matter to Loki that he would never admit it, but he knew Heimdall enjoyed their schemes as much as the brothers.

“Oh, Brother, you have no idea how much joy that brought me! Surely that is the last time you will challenge me to a show of strength. I almost think you like these punishments.”

“I will admit, they usually end up quite enjoyable for me.”

“They should call you the Gods of Skirting Consequences,” a voice came from behind them, smooth as silk.

They all turned to see Hela at the opening to the Rainbow Bridge, leaning against the frame of the Bifrost dramatically as she glowered at them. She was draped in a satin dress of black and dark green fabric, gold jewels adorning her arms and ears. Were she not so stern Loki would think she looked regal, but instead she looked like a decorated angry corpse.

She jerked one jeweled thumb over her shoulder, nodding toward the palace, “Come. Father wants to speak with you both.”

Loki and Thor exchanged glances, flashing one another nervous smiles. They hadn’t meant to cause too much trouble on Midgard, though the humans did tend to over exert themselves when they got excited.

They slinked a step behind their sister, feeling much like prisoners on their way to the Executioner’s Block, which was fitting as that was exactly the role Hela played. She sauntered ahead of them, clearly finding much enjoyment in their torment.

As they made their way into the palace, Loki felt the weight on his shoulders grow heavier. With each step he felt his back slump forward another inch, the anxiety of Odin’s reaction dragging him down to Hel. Perhaps that was a bit dramatic, but Loki figured Hel might be better than listening to Odin prattle and growl for the next decade about the boys’ latest stunt.

Hela flicked her wrists toward the guards in front of the Throne Room as they approached. They nodded in subjugation, bowing slightly before opening the doors for the three siblings.

Loki and Thor dropped to their knees in front of the throne’s steps, while Hela simply rolled her eyes and made her way to her seat behind Odin, the place for the heir to the throne. Frigga sat slightly behind and to the side of the Allfather, her hands clasped in her lap as she gave a warm smile to her sons.

“Father, please let me preface this by saying Thor dared me t-,” Loki began, snapping his jaw shut when his father’s gruff voice reverberated through the hall.

“You two have no idea the chaos you’ve caused,” Odin grunted through clenched teeth. His hand curled around Gungnir tightly as he glared down at them with his one good eye.

Loki and Thor shared an amused glance. What else would the God of Mischief be doing but causing chaos?

“The mortals are losing their minds over D.B. Cooper and his miraculous escape from justice,” Frigga said, her voice and body stern, but an amused smile tugging at her lips.

“This is not a joke!” Odin bellowed, his face shocked at Frigga’s amusement. “If anyone had seen the Bifrost’s magic Midgard would plunge into chaos! This isn’t the Ice Age anymore, we cannot pronounce ourselves their gods and they will believe us with little evidence.”

“Father, with all due respect,” Thor said, “Heimdall is far too talented for that to have happened.”

“Yes, Father, he has been doing this for far longer than we have,” Loki finished.

Hela laughed behind Odin, causing him to turn and glare at her. Her face dropped, replaced by her usual stoic expression. He turned to Frigga, who struggled to keep her own laughter in behind her hands.

“Leave,” Odin declared, shaking his head at his family, “All of you, leave. You’ll do nothing but agitate me further.”

“Oh, come on, husband. You must admit this particular stunt of the boys’ ended in some enjoyment. The mortals will be talking about Cooper for decades. It’ll be a national mystery. They tend to like those,” Frigga set a calming hand on Odin’s shoulder as she stood. His stern expression only softened when she pressed a kiss to his temple.

“That is not the point. They should not be meddling in the affairs of mortals in the first place.”

“What were we doing just before they were born?” Hela asked, throwing her hands up into an annoyed shrug.

“Ushering them into a new Age,” Odin grumbled, “We were helping them.”

“Teaching them to slaughter each other in droves, yes, I forgot how helpful that was,” Hela chuckled, “At least it was fun.”

“You concern me, daughter.”

“I get most of my traits from my father.”

They all filed out of the throne room, waiting with bated breath for the doors to shut. As soon as they did, they burst into laughter.

“You two had better reight it in a bit,” Frigga chuckled, “I fear your father is growing rather tired of your games.”

“He’ll get over it,” Loki laughed, wiping a tear from his eye, “We don’t cause any real harm.”

“Yes, mother, we only cause a bit of trouble. The God of Thunder and the God of Mischief, at least we’re not causing mass deaths and plagues,” Thor said, pointedly looking at Hela.

“I only do that upon request.”

“Uh, Your Majesties,” a guard said, stepping through the large, ornate doors behind them, “The Allfather requests all of your presences in the throne room.”

“Well, that was quick,” Hela laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder and walking back in. “Brothers, it was nice knowing you.”

They all filed back in, Loki and Thor’s shoulders slumped. Surely Odin had something horrible planned as their punishment.

He sat on his pedestal, the smirk splayed across his face was one of the few features that Loki saw of himself in his father. Gungnir rested loosely in his fingers as he stared down his youngest child.

“I’ve a wager for you, my son.”

“For me?”

“You like them so much, I thought I should indulge you,” Odin beamed, cocking his head to the side. Loki tried to read him, but this mischievous side of his father was… new to him, to say the least.

“Is this a trick? Why would you want to partake in our games?”

“This is a wager with you, Loki, not with Thor. I find more often than not, you are the instigator in these little schemes. Your title as God of Mischief is well deserved.”

“Very well,” Loki sighed, crossing his hands behind his back. He stood up straight, ready to take on the brunt of whatever his father was going to choose. “Let’s have it.”

“Marriage. You marry someone of my choosing for twenty years. After the time has passed, you will be released to do as you please.”

Loki blinked in surprise. This was not what he’d expected. He figured Odin might test him with a battle of strength, not a battle of wills. “And what do I get when I win?”

“ If you win, I will no longer step in when you create chaos such as this. You’ll be free to do whatever it is you like, so long as it causes nobody pain or suffering. When you lose, you will have secured the alliance I wanted anyways.”

“And you’ll no doubt choose someone grotesque and horrid?”

“Oh, I’ve already chosen. Adora, the Princess of Alfheim. With Vanaheim rising in the east, we are putting an end to our squabbles. Having a public affair and marriage shall secure the alliance with the populace.”

He knew Adora of Alfheim. He had seen her at parties and balls, but not for some five hundred years. She liked to wear spring colors, bright pinks and blues and seafoam greens. Her hair was wild, much curlier than his in its natural state, bouncing about wildly as she danced with the many suitors that came calling. She was a beautiful woman, a worthy creature to lose this bet for.

“Didn’t the Princess of Alfheim give birth to a bastard a few years ago?” Hela asked, stepping in between Loki and Odin. It was a move Loki might have thought of as protective, had he not known his sister as well as he did.

“She did. A marriage will only help solidify the girl’s legitimacy as an heir of Alfheim. Adora has already confirmed she expects nothing of a husband with regards to parenting the child,” Odin confirmed, “Loki would not be able to handle step-fatherhood anyways.

“There are a few stipulations, of course,” Odin smiled, no doubt seeing the gears turning in Loki’s head. “The two of you must live in the same chambers, be faithful to one another and one another alone , attend public events together, and if in twenty years no children have been produced, you will be let out of the marriage.”

“Why would she agree to such a marriage? Is she aware of the terms of the arrangement?”

“Her father and I would like to secure an alliance, as I said. She is willing to serve Alfheim and Asgard in these endeavors and knows about our arrangement. She is a good heir,” Odin grumbled, shooting a withering look at each of his children, “Being married will also provide her child with protection and support should something happen to Adora.”

“Loki, do not do this,” Thor warned, placing a firm hand on Loki’s shoulder.

“Really, Loki, there are better ways of beating the old man,” Hela agreed.

But Loki had already made up his mind. Twenty years? That was nothing to him, and if it meant Odin stayed out of his business after, he would play the long game.

He had danced with Adora a few times, but never took her to his bed as he often did with noblewomen and chambermaids alike. He had wondered what it would be like to bury his hands in those curls, feel that soft, pliant body of hers underneath him, see those pillow lips wrapped around his cock. She would be worthy arm candy until he won.

“Deal.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Want to be on this taglist? Shoot me an ask!

Notes: I'm working on continuing this series. I have four chapters planned out and half written, so it has not been abandoned!!

[obxlife]

ok so I want to explain a bit of why I have been inactive during these past weeks and I want to tell you guys a bit about what is happening in my life.

WARNINGS: Rape and suicide.

Recently, in the country where I live, a man was accused of raping a girl who killed herself about a month after suffering from this sexual assault. She never pressed charges, but after her death, her family did. Along with these charges came a social uprising through social media demanding justice for what had happened to this girl.

This girl, called Antonia Barra, sent text messages right after being raped where she explained to a friend what she had just gone through. She also told some of her other friends, one of which contacted Antonia’s ex-boyfriend. Both this girl and her ex-boyfriend did not believe Antonia and contacted her rapist, Martin Pradenas, and told him what Antonia had said. In turn, Pradenas called the girl he raped and told her to stop spreading lies. His mother broke his phone that same day.

I believe it was about a week ago when Martin Pradenas broke his silence in regards to what had happened. After months of posts circulating around social media and months of Martin’s family managing a way to keep Antonia’s family quiet about the case, he finally broke his silence. And he had the audacity of painting himself as innocent even after a whole lot of evidence had been made public in regards to the rape he commited. He tried to throw the blame onto Antonia.

I think it was two days ago when he was formalized about Antonia’s case along with four other cases (two rapes and two sexual assaults, two against minors). His lawyer had the audacity of presenting the same case Martin had presented in his video, claiming that the clothes Antonia was wearing, the drinks she had had the night she was raped, and her “party-animal” behavior were equal to consent. As if she was asking for it.

In the end, the judge declared he should be under house arrest in the time being (I believe the investigation is still going although I am not completely sure) instead of sending him to preventive prison. His reasoning? Martin isn’t a bug enough threat to society and isn’t interferring in the investigation (which he has done before already).

I’ve been taking these days to reflect on all that had been going on in my country, especially in regards to Antonia and the injustice she is living. I am disgusted at the lawyer that built this misogynistic and sexist argument. I am disgusted at Martin Pradenas trying to paint himself as the perfect boy that did nothing wrong. I am disgusted with people that are trying to cover up for him. I am disgusted with the judge that wasn’t able to serve justice in the time being. And I am afraid for myself and all of the women that live here with me that are afraid of being the next Antonia. That are afraid of the next Martin that will come who will get away with only a slap on his hands.

So, this is the reason why I haven’t been writing recently. I’ve been giving myself time to think things over and question what I know and the ways I think. I’ve been trying to process the fact that the country in which I live in isn’t as progressive as I thought and is in fact flooded with sexism. I haven’t felt up to writing anything at all, and I’ve been focusing my free time to educate myself on Antonia’s case and the judicial system in my country.

Anyway, this is why I’ve been busy recently. I really hope you guys read about this case and learn about it. In the end, sexism affects all of us, regardless of our age, gender, sexual orientation, race, etc. And I really think this is a subject to always be learning about and informing yourself about. Thank you for reading this (if you did) and thank you for understanding.

[thecomicsnexus]

BLUE BEETLE #5-7 OCTOBER - DECEMBER 1986 BY LEN WEIN, PARIS CULLINS, BRUCE D. PATTERSON, DELL BARRAS AND GENE D’ANGELO

Blue Beetle and The Question team-up to deal with a youth-gang that is trying to take over a criminal empire.

SCORE: 6

I am not sure if the “twist” was supposed to be a twist. More about it on the spoiler section.

These three issues didn’t feel as entertaining as the first four, mostly because the supporting cast almost disappeared. It is odd that Wein managed to use the same exposition in almost every issue to explain things, but forgot to leave some room for other characters.

In any case, I am not sure how much of these stories is going to be canon after Legends (The Question will get his own book shortly after), but it is nice to see this “dynamic duo”.

Spoilers after the break...

So the big twist (or not) is that Muse was the son of Don Perignon. I think this was meant to be obvious for the reader. There are just too many clues on the nose. If it wasn’t, at least it was there all along, unlike other “mystery” stories where you cannot get to the answers by yourself.

It is a good ending though.

[mazurah]

Altmeris Vocabulary from Summerset

Regarding Altmeris: The Altmer would probably say that their language is named Aldmeris, considering their obsession with all things Aldmeri, but we need some way of differentiating it from the language spoken by actual ancient Aldmer, so I’m using Altmeris for now. 

Profanity and Pejoratives:

(I.E. swears and insults. I know why you’re here.)

Slek - Profanity. Both an interjection and a pejorative, likely high intensity. Probably equivalent to "shit" or possibly "fuck." Examples: "Slek, my head hasn't hurt this bad since..." "May that slek thank her ancestors that she won't have to face me in battle."

Glan'nt - Profanity. Pejorative, likely moderate to high intensity. Probably equivalent to “bastard” or “asshole” or “motherfucker.” Examples: "I promise to duel that filthy glan'nt at the determined place and time." "These glan'nts think they can double cross me?"

De'nt - Profanity. Pejorative, likely mild to moderate intensity. Probably equivalent to “jerk” or “asshole.” Examples: "I know some of us here in Summerset have been true de'nts about this open border situation." "Are you going to look or are you going to buy? I have no time for de'nts in my shop." "Those Maormer de'nts have certainly done their part."

Ephem - Someone who isn’t Altmer. Probably pejorative, likely mild intensity. Possibly short for “ephemeral”, as a reference to someone with a short lifespan. Examples: “Get away, ephem. Away from me. Away from our island!” "These ephems have taken all the rooms." "If our crafts are left to the work of ephems, our reputation will grow tarnished." "If the ephems didn't want entrance processing to take so long, they could fill out the forms in advance."

Nebarra - Pejorative, likely moderate intensity. Literal translation: “unwelcome.” Impolite word for outlander. (The Altmer equivalent of the Dunmer "n'wah".) Examples: “You know what that word means? The one the High Elves call us? 'Nebarra.' It means 'unwelcome.'” “And now a damn nebarra is standing close enough for me to smell it! Well, nebarra? Speak up!” “Nebarra? Well, I suppose that's our word for the newcomers. I guess you could say it's impolite, but old habits can be hard to break.” “With all the nebarra in Alinor, it's no wonder the hunting has gotten worse.”

Forms of Address:

Barra - A greeting. Literal translation: "welcome."

Cerum - Gender neutral honorific probably equivalent to “sir” or “ma'am.”

Ceruval - Gender neutral honorific probably equivalent to “sir” or “ma'am.” I suspect it is more respectful than cerum, but that’s just inference based on usage.

Altmeri Cultural and Philosophical Concepts:

Alaxon - State of perfection. Example: "An Altmer concept practiced widely here in Summerset. Alaxon is the state of perfection that every High Elf strives for. The Path to Alaxon represents the approach we take to achieve that state."

Oegnithir - "The bad change." Example: "Membership in the Psijic Order will bring you both prestige and power. But such honors often lead to oegnithir—the bad change. What you do in the Order's name, you do for others. Never yourself."

Aprax (Singular, "an aprax elf"; plural, "apraxics") - Someone who has been outcast from society and banished for crimes. Members of society are forbidden from talking to apraxics. Similar, but not the same as ousters. Examples: “I'm what the clods in the kinhouses call an apraxic—an Elf criminal. There are other High Elf misfits called ousters, but the fortunes of an apraxic are a little more severe.” “He's not an aprax or an ouster, but he tries to act the part.” “If those surfacers know you're talking to an aprax, they might toss you out too.” “Apraxic Mer are people who, for whatever reason, were expelled from the greater Elven community. Most aprax labor for years to reenter society. Others choose to remain in exile.” “Rumor has it that a famous aprax called the Mother of Rats lives in the city, but I've never met her. Even if I did, we're forbidden from speaking with her.”

Apraxis - The state of being outcast from society and banished for crimes; exile. See The Price of Praxis for more info. Example: “Finally, she whispered the damning phrase, ‘Apraxis’ and let the sphere slip through her fingers.”

Calian, or praxic talisman - A symbol of a person's membership in Altmeri society. Possibly used as proof of ancestry. Physical descriptions of a praxic talisman from The Price of Praxis:

“At that time, the sphere was pristine—fashioned from milky aethequartz and sun-blown glass.”

“All the pride of my noble race found voice in its creamy luster.”

It is shattered if its owner becomes an aprax, and must be restored to allow return to Altmeri society.

“For thirty years, I labored over the shattered remains of my blessed calian. I spent the last of my gold gathering stone-cutting tools, pearl-powder fixatives, and sacred oils. I ate little and slept not at all. My beard grew long and my muscles withered. With each success came three new failures. And all the while, my fellow Altmer spurned and cursed me. Finally, one bright morning in Second Seed, I set the last delicate shard of glass in its place—returning the calian to its pristine origins.” — The Price of Praxis.

Calan - Possibly means the living members of a person’s clan, but that’s just conjecture based on context. Example: “My entire calan—mother, father, grandseers, and rumes—shuffled in their pews.” (Don’t ask me what “rumes” means, that’s the only time we ever see it used.)

Aednavorith - Genealogy. Example: "The monks of the Serene Harmony Monastery stand as the most renowned "Aednavorith" scholars in all of Summerset. The study of genealogy and ancestry remains a subject of endless interest to all High Elves."

Hulkynd - Literal translation: "Broken child." Altmer who were cast out of society as children because of some perceived imperfection or deformity. Examples:

Tableau: “High Elves strive for perfection in all things, and their bloodline most of all. Hulkynds are children abandoned by their families for some perceived imperfection, generally a physical deformity. They’re more than just orphans. They’re outcasts.” Player: “Outcasts? In what way?” Tableau: “In Summerset, family stands above all. They guide your life, almost immeasurably. To be without family is to be unseen, unrecognized as a member of our society. There’s not much of a life a hulkynd can make for themselves because of that.”

Manacar: “I have no family to shame, no name which to soil. I may as well be a shadow, for all the worth I am given. Society would rather ignore me than admit I exist. Of course, this anonymity allows me unprecedented freedom. A blessing within my curse.” Player: “Your curse? The fact that you’re a hulkynd?” Manacar: “Yes. I was rejected when I was but a babe. One look upon my face should tell you why.”

Valtarion: “Hulkynds have no sense of honor. It comes with being raised without a family, you know. That’s why no one trusts them.” Player: “What does having a family have to do with who you can trust?” Valtarion: “A family sets expectations. Here in Summerset, all we do is for our family’s honor. There’s no hope for someone who doesn’t have even that to guide them.”

Lilawen: “A mer without family cannot truly be considered a mer, after all. Why, he’s more than an outsider within Summerset. He’s truly nothing. A broken child can never hope to become anything more.”

Other Vocabulary:

Kynd - Child. Example: "Anyone is capable of anything. A snot-nosed kynd would murder his most beloved dog with a shovel if you gave him a good enough reason." 

Canvaroth - Scout. Example: "I often serve as the Ritemaster's canvaroth... a scout, as it were."

Halsoriel - sewer. Example: “It seems he escaped into the vaulted halsoriel.”

Graxifalas - Extremely disgraceful. Example: “It is graxifalas—disgraceful on a scale you outsiders can't even imagine.”

Kamlehal - "Shrieking terror." Example:

Erudil: “I borrowed it from the Librarium Kamlehal to impress Glardir.” Player: “Librarium Kamlehal? What’s that?” Erudil: “The… uhm… Library of Shrieking Terror.”

Eluvein - Another name for the hilas owl, used to describe people who are cold-hearted or aloof. Example: “Eluveins lay their eggs, then abandon them.”

Adma'na - Poor listener. Example: "I'm what they call an adma'na—poor listener."

Criminological Technical Jargon:

Admanen - Literal translation: "the listening eye." One of three members of an examiner's quorum whose role it is to inspect and advise, collect evidence, interview suspects, balance competing theories, and in general provide a fresh perspective to an investigation. Example: “You would take on the duties of the admanen, the listening eye.”

Revelator-naganwe - Literal translation: "death seer." One of three members of an examiner's quorum whose role it is to use magic to solve crimes. Example: “I am a revelator-naganwe—a death seer. I use magic to solve murders.”

Thalmilan - One of three members of an examiner's quorum whose role it is to parse clues and render a verdict. Example: “Jurisreeves always travel in groups of three. A quorum comprises three distinct roles—a revelator-naganwe for magical inquiry, an admanen to inspect and advise, and a thalmilan to parse the clues and render a verdict.”

Riasen - A critical witness to a crime. Example: "The Sapiarchs classified him as a riasen—a critical witness.

Etymological Roots of Place Names:

Russafeld - "Russafeld means 'scarlet shrine' in some dialects of Aldmeris, which may explain where the Red Temple gets its curious name. But the most commonly held opinion states that it's a shortening or corruption of 'Dread Temple.'" — Loading screen for Russafeld

Tor-Hame-Khard - "In Aldmeric, the name means Warlord's Mountain Lair, as these vast halls were originally built in the early First Era for the legendary Prime Battlereeve Fiirfarya. One morning the estate's entire populace was found slaughtered, and thereafter the site was abandoned." — Loading screen for Tor-Hame-Khard

Ald Mora - Literal translation: “Old Forest.”

I came across more Altmeris words that were not defined, but these are all the words that I could find for which translation was provided, or there was enough context to infer a translation. All examples given above are taken directly from the game.

[cooltomwhelanposts-blog]

So most of us spend our summers in our holiday homes or somewhere on the beach. I always make a mistake of travelling during the summer, when actually I should be travelling after summer when season is low and winter starts. Nobody likes freezing so I decided to make a small list of best places to go (that I went to) after summer that you can start planing right now, and I also included some killer offers from booking.com

  I visited Bali in December 2014. We went from really cold weather to literally hot hot summer.Bali is beautiful and the nature will leave you absolutely speechless. Try avoiding visiting when there are holidays in Europe like christmas and New Year’s Eve. Those days are expensive everywhere. Plan right now and catch those early bird flights and hotel prices. Read my blog post here

Here are 4 really good hotel offers I found on booking.com

U Paasha hotel in Seminyak only £691 for 2 people 8 nights

Look at that POOL!!!!!! This is a 4 star hotel, but trust me when you get to Bali, everything is 5 star!

Check it out here

  Annora Bali Villas in Seminyak for only £469 , 2 people 8 nights

  You get a suite for that price and get to relax in amazing surroundings, or you can rent you own villa for just a little bit more and enjoy in your private pool. Worth a shot.

    Puri Salon hotel Seminyak Bali for only £483 , 2 people 8 nights

This looks amazing, and I would like someone to teleport me there this second.

check it out here

  Horison Seminyak Bali , only £259 !!!!!! 8 nights!

  This is an amazing offer. I mean only £259 and the hotel has amazing reviews from guests. You cant stay for that money anywhere in Europe! Of course flights might be costly but you will not regret it

click here to look

  Next stop is,

      HONG KONG

  I know it is not a very relaxing vacation but it is splendid. You get to see some amazing architecture, history and if you find a good hotel, just chill in the pool. I went there in November and it was really hot. Read how it was for me here.

  Here are my favourite 4 hotel options for hong kong in November

Panda hotel , only £463 for 2 people and 8 nights (

Some of the rooms even have panda’s inside. Not real ones, but close enough

    Bay bridge, Hong kong, only £483 for 2 people , 8 nights 

  That room has a really lovely view. We also stayed in a similar one and the view was epic!

L’hotel Nina et Convention Centre , only £684 , 2 people 8 nights 

  Now that’s what I call, luxury! Look at that space! It is magnificent! Oh and don’t mind me jumping in to that infinity pool.

  Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, £777 ,2 people 8 nights 

For the upper scale, Hyatt is a great choice, and the price is really good for 8 days. When it comes to prices, Hong kong is very similar to London.

    DUBAI

  When people say Dubai, they think ”expensive”, but actually it is not expensive at all. As a matter of fact, hotels are cheaper if you book them when you land. Your best time to go is anytime between November and January. You will still have nice warm weather but want suffocate in 75% humidity and 55 celsius. I visited Dubai in June, and would not recommend it. You can read about my trip here.

  But here are some awesome offers.

  Ghaya Grand Hotel , £500 , 2 people 8 nights 

  Have not been there but has amazing reviews and it looks great. Night swimming in this beauty is a must.

    Auris Plaza Hotel, £521 , 2 people 8 nights 

Very typical room inDubai, but who needs a room when you have a lot of outside things to do Great offer for 8 days , this one.

    Mövenpick Hotel Deira , £574 2 people, 8 nights

I didn’t post photos of rooms for this one, because i want you to see it for yourself.

      Rio De Janeiro

  Not the most safe destination, definitely not the place you see on the postcards, no good looking women. But still it’s hot, it’s nice, and there are beaches galore. It is one of those places you love or hate, but you have to be the one to make that opinion.

I went there in March when summer was finishing, so if you go around November ,December or even January, it will be in full bloom.

Here are my top 4 offers from booking.com

Hotel ok, £336 , 2 people 8 nights 

  Blue Tree Premium Design , £598  2 people 8 nights

Do I need to explain anything? Didn’t think so.

    Hilton Barra, Rio, £621, 2 people 8 nights

All I am thinking is

Sheraton Barra, £733, 2 people 8 nights

  I could write about more destinations, like Istanbul and Barcelona , but they are not really hot during winters, rather warm I would say, but definitely worth looking at if you are seeking something closer yet relaxing.

[savetopnow]

2018-03-09 21 TECH now

TECH

Ars Techica

After industry meeting, Trump highlights alleged game violence effects

In an audit of supply chain partners, Apple found increased labor violations in 2017

Nintendo announces a bunch of 2018 games, but none as big as Switch Smash Bros.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy returns—with the original cast

California’s first proposed per-ride city tax to raise Uber, Lyft prices

Buzzfeed Tech

Lawyers Are Duking It Out In Court Over Whether It’s Unconstitutional For Trump To Block People On Twitter

Jared Kushner Tried To Sell His Newspaper To Trump’s Political Enemies

Trump Just Read Elon Musk’s Tweets About Trade With China On Live TV

A Samsung Galaxy S9 Review That’s Mostly Pictures Of Dogs

Facebook Played A Pivotal Role In The West Virginia Teacher Strike

CNet

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is back, with the original cast - CNET

Uber rival brings bike-sharing operators under one app - CNET

Google doodle marks opening of Paralympics 2018 - CNET

Here's Trump's bloody showreel on video game violence - CNET

Amazon said to fire delivery man for allegedly dropping box on puppy - CNET

Clean Technica

Fukushima Ice Wall Failing, Water Seepage Into Nuclear Reactors Still A Problem

Porsche Could Make A Wild Passenger Drone & Leave You Baffled

Yo! Millennials Want Clean Energy But Need Climate Change Activists To Outline Incentives

Mary Barra Speaks Truth To Rich White Men In Houston

SMC Motors Hosts Webinar Showing Dramatic Efficiency Gains in Electric Motor Technology

Hacker News

Ham Radio operators are saving Puerto Rico

Ten Hours of Static Gets Five Copyright Notices

How exercise in old age prevents the immune system from declining

Super ‘superlattices’ could enable ‘superfast’ transistors

Crypto Zealots

Mashable

Alec Baldwin brings Donald Trump back to 'SNL' for the gun control debate

Learn Python and you could put yourself on track to make a six-figure salary

Cable-free charging in the car? Yes, it's possible.

The only 'Mulan' remake you need to see is right here

Uh-oh, Disney has some explaining to do about these 'Solo' posters...

Motherboard

Federal Judge Tells Trump to Just Mute People on Twitter

One of Trump's Video Game Experts Thinks Cops Are at War and Murder Makes You Horny

The Women Pioneers of the Internet Say There Have Always Been Trolls

Revenge Porn Moves to Slack

Researchers Can ‘See’ Your Memories While You Sleep

New York Times Technology

Broadcom’s Other Regulatory Hurdle: How It Treats Customers

Ex-Leader of Baltimore County Schools, a Tech Booster, Pleads Guilty to Perjury

Tech Fix: A Review of the Samsung Galaxy S9, in Emoji

In Sri Lanka, Facebook Contends With Shutdown After Mob Violence

It’s True: False News Spreads Faster and Wider. And Humans Are to Blame.

Recode

How to watch Kara Swisher interview chef José Andrés live at SXSW

Twitter wants everyone to get a blue verification badge

Uber has hired a top Amazon voice exec as head of product as Daniel Graf departs

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson is coming to Code Conference

SXSW 2018

Reddit Technology

One of Trump's Video Game Experts Thinks Cops Are at War and Murder Makes You Horny - Trump's meeting about violent video games today includes some questionable experts.

Vision-improving nanoparticle eyedrops could end the need for glasses

Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act: Tech Firms Push To Modify Senate Bill

U.S. appeals court in San Francisco will hear net neutrality appeal

Stop SESTA/FOSTA: Don’t Let Congress Censor the Internet

Reuters Technology

PBOC governor says Bitcoin not a legitimate method of payment

Wall Street has never been so far behind on Netflix

Platinum's fuel-cell car bonanza proves elusive

Toshiba expects to complete chip unit sale by June at latest: executive

Toyota affiliate Denso buying stake worth $800 million in chipmaker Renesas

Slashdot

The Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy Returns With the Original Cast

Fake News Spreads Faster Than True News On Twitter -- Thanks To People, Not Bots

132-Year-Old Science Experiment Washes Ashore In Australia

Florida Lawmakers Approve Year-Round Daylight Saving Time

Intel Launches Mainstream Optane SSD 800P Series Based On 3D Xpoint Memory

TechCrunch

Mad Paws, Australia’s Wag, raises $5M led by airline giant Qantas

Grab launches a bike-sharing service in Southeast Asia

Barack Obama’s next move could be a series on Netflix

Trump’s take on gaming and violence was wrong in the ’90s and it’s twice as wrong now

Boxed reportedly rejected $400 million buyout offer from Kroger

The Next Web

Xiaomi’s $215 Redmi Note 5 Pro offers tremendous value in a bezel-less package

“What is stress, really?” according to Boris

EasyEmail uses AI to autosuggest sentences as you write replies in Gmail

14 common user experience mistakes to avoid on your company’s website

Google Chrome makes it easy to switch to a password manager of your choice

The Verge

Barack Obama is reportedly planning Netflix shows

Fortnite Battle Royale is coming to iOS and Android

Lawsuit against VC says he ‘groped and fondled multiple women’ for over a decade

Here’s all the games in Donald Trump’s ‘violence in video games’ supercut

Logan star Dafne Keen will play Lyra in the BBC’s adaptation of The Golden Compass

WSJ Tech

At-Home Cancer-Risk Test Opens New---and Fraught---Field

China Fast-Tracks IPO Approval for Foxconn Unit

Do Cellphones Really Cause Brain Cancer? We Have Answers.

Uber Agrees in Principle to Exit Southeast Asia for Stake in Rival

Elon Musk Tells Trump That China's Trade Rules 'Make Things Very Difficult'

Wired

‘Dr. Strangelove’ Is Basically a Documentary

Total Clips

Aliens Would Probably Like It If You Gave them Flowers

All About HomePod

Netflix’s ‘Altered Carbon’ Is Over-the-Top in Every Way

[kendalltoyota]

FIVE STARS! I bought a new car with Michael as my salesperson and Joanne as my financial manager/advisor. No other dealership compares to this one and the customer service they provide. I had such a great time with both of them. Michael knows a lot about the specifications of each trim of the model I purchased. He was super patient with me (unlike other dealerships where they push you & revert to slimy sales tactics). Please do yourself a favor and go with Michael, Joanne, and Kendall Toyota. Everything Joanne advised and did was in my best interest for my situation. She is sharp and pays attention to detail. She will explain everything you ask with a great attitude. She's happy to help her customers. - Evelyn Barra Kendall Toyota in Miami

Google Reviews

[rwahowa]

Improve or Acquire Copywriting Skills With These Courses

Check this out https://bizanosa.com/article/improve-your-copywriting-skills-with-these-courses/

Improve or Acquire Copywriting Skills With These Courses

  Copywriting is one of the most highly paid skills in the field of marketing. Copywriting entails  the art and science of writing content for the purpose of achieving certain results. The result in question could be purchasing a product or service. It could also be downloading an item and so on.

The copy could be , sales letters, landing pages and other conversion media that requires textual content for communicating an idea, product or service. In this post I have compiled a list of the Top Copywriting Courses online. if you want to become an expert copywriter, then invest in your skills.

Here they are:

  #1 Secret Sauce of Great Writing 

This introductory course from Shani Raja will provide you with a solid new framework for viewing your writing, thus allowing you to massively enhance your writing skills in as little time as possible.

The course reveals information (as a set of concise videos introducing the system) that will have an immediate impact on your prose quality. You’ll discover the secret sauce of great writing in a matter of few moments, as unlike other courses this one focuses on the following powerful principles instead of technicals thus quickly empowering your writing:

Clarity

Simplicity

Elegance

You’ll find a seismic shift in the power of your words as soon as you incorporate these principles into your writing.

    #2 Copywriting secrets – How to write copy that sells

This course from Len Smith & Sean Kaye, focuses on a whole range of business copywriting. It also covers things like press releases. Such as How to write a press release and what to DO with it once you have written it. Like getting it published.

  You’ll learn how to write White Papers, case studies, web copy that’s optimized, and how to become a Voice in Your Industry (where editors will actively seek out your expertise). You’ll also get introduced to the most powerful sales-lead generation secret of all time. Complete with real-life examples. So you can see for yourself how the finished article looks and feels.

    #3 Writing With Impact: Writing That Persuades

In this course from Clare Lynch, you’ll get a detailed look at powerful  principles that can be applied to most of the non-fiction writing types- including emails, reports, presentations, sales pages, blogs, advertising, and more.

  #4 Copywriting – Become a Freelance Copywriter, your own boss

A unique, detailed step-by-step guide, this course from Len Smith will allow you to successfully become a freelance copywriter working from home, from scratch.

  #4 Copywriting Master Course – Work From Home 3 Hours A Week!

This course from Max Barra is a copywriting master guide; it will help you to learn the best marketing tactics to skyrocket your sales along with teaching you how to use your copywriting skills.

  #5 Copywriting Blunders: Do You Make these 10 Common Mistakes?

In this course from Alan Sharpe you’ll get a detailed look at how to spot the ten most common mistakes that wreck otherwise a good copy, to make sure that you avoid them so that your copy is concise, clear, and compelling.

  #6 Content is King: How to Write Killer Content for the Web

In this course from Steve McDonald you’re going to learn:

How to Develop Those Ideas so you can create even more related content

Where to Find Killer Content Ideas

Three Ways to Make Your Content Absolutely Killer

How to Understand Your Audience so you’re writing to them specifically

How to Edit Your Content to make it even better

You’ll also learn how to use keywords, headings, titles, & descriptions to help your content attract and keep readers, and to be found in search results.

    #7 Copywriting White Papers – An All Levels Strategy

In this course from Len Smith & Sean Kaye you will be fully trained up to write your OWN White Papers. With confidence.

The creators will share their own, personal STRUCTURE for a White Paper and will let you watch as they write a White Paper from scratch. You’ll also get a ‘fill-the-blanks’ template.

    #8 Marketing: How I Skyrocket Sales By 633% in 12 Hours Of Work

If you want to boost your business & beat your competition, then this course from Robin Hanna, a premium 6 hour video step-by-step guide (almost 56 invaluable marketing lessons) is the best option for you.

  #9 Digital Marketing: 11 Steps to Be a Lead & Sales Machine

Created by Oxford Learning Lab this course will help you become a Digital Marketing expert, and includes the following 14 TOPICS in the form of 223 AWESOME VIDEO LECTURES.

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

Social Media Strategy for Business Growth

Web Copywriting

Web Analytics

Social Media Channels

Email Marketing

SEO – Search Engine Optimization

PPC

Web Usability (UX)

Content Marketing

Campaign Planning

Digital Marketing Research

Affiliate Marketing

Neuromarketing

    #10 Advanced Copywriting Strategies for Online Sales

A step-by-step framework, this course created by Brian Yang will teach you how to turn online leads into buyers with advanced copywriting techniques. It is perfect for information product creators, coaches, and internet entrepreneurs that are looking for a follow-along system to increase sales of service or product.

    #11 Copywriting – Become a Freelance Copywriter In 7 Days

A 10 STEP COPYWRITER SYSTEM, this course created by the Startup Central Inc. is a simple training program in which you’ll learn how to become a professional copywriter from scratch.

  #12 Copywriting: How To Be A Crazy Good Copywriter

Created by Derek Franklin, in this course you’ll learn the following things:

Keep things simple and concise

Dig into 54 unique elements of copywriting

Stimulate your brain during the learning process using color and graphics

Show you how to use and act on ideas, not just learn them

Give you a professionally designed 100-page guide for you to reference

You’ll get a professionally designed course review tool called The Spark

    #13 Copywriting – The Psychology Of Your Irresistible Offer

In this course from Vladimir Raykov you will learn how to create and present irresistible offers that people buy!

Every concept is explained by providing great, world-class examples of the most successful copywriters in the world. So, you will be learning about proven strategies. Not vague theories.

    #14 Website Copywriting

This course from Mirasee Team, Jim Hopkinson & Danny Iny is all about website copywriting. It will show you how to write your web copy quickly, confidently and effectively, for each of the 7 essential pages of your business website:

  Homepage

About Me page

Services page

Products page

Resources page

Privacy policy page

Contact page

    #15 Copywriting Headline Masterclass

If you have to write headline for:

Sales Page

Squeeze Page

eBook Headline

Blog Posts

Email Subject Line

Social Media Posts

Facebook Ads

Twitter Ads

Google Ads

…then this course from Vladimir Raykov is definitely for you.

You’ll learn how to write amazing headlines easily and quickly every time. Which will increase the return on your investment, because more prospects will read the body copy than ever before, which will also result in increased social media engagement with your content.

    #16 Copywriting: The Questions Your Prospects Have And Won’t Ask

In this course from Vladimir Raykov, you’ll get a detailed look at what secret objections or questions your prospects might have along with learning how to eliminate these objections by using proven marketing tactics, strategies, and tips.

  #17 – 30 Copywriting Secrets from the Best Ad Campaign of All Time

  This course designed by Alan Sharpe is for anyone who wants a shortcut to learning how to write great copy. By the end of this course, you’ll be able to write copy that gets noticed, gets read and gets results. This course contains no theory—just dozens of examples of copy that works, and a detailed explanation of why it works. It examines the most successful advertising campaign in history, the newspaper ads for Volkswagen that ran during the 1960s and 1970s. Each one of its ad is a case study in how to write clever, powerful, funny, amazing copy.

    #18 How To Start Your Own Freelance Copywriting Business

If you want to become a paid copywriter than this course from Eric John Campbell & Dan Johnston is for you, as it covers everything that a beginner needs to know, including the business side as well as all of the copywriting knowledge you need.

    #19 Landing Page Fundamentals, Buyer Psychology, and Conversion

In this course from Dan Johnston, you’ll learn the most common mistakes copywriters, internet marketers and designers make when planning their landing pages and website. You’ll also learn the tactics and strategies behind the most effective landing pages and websites, and will get a checklist of the basic elements for a successful landing page.

    #20 Scrivere Online: Scrittura per Internet e Web Copywriting

In this course from Giulio Gaudiano & Digital Guide, you’ll learn tools, principles and techniques for writing on the web effectively and professionally. It is a guide that follows you step by step, with the lessons having a practical cut, with little theory and many tips to get concrete results.

    #21 Writing Tools & Hacks: Copywriting/Blogging/Content Writing

Created by Tyler Speegle, this course contains the kind of practical insights you can take action on immediately. Instead of drowning under the pressure of your next assignment or project, you’ll have an arsenal of free tools in your toolbelt that will help you to:

Brainstorm better ideas

Write more persuasive marketing copy

Create killer headlines

Write more efficiently — avoiding common mistakes and errors

Organize your ideas and workflow

You’ll learn how to access them, and on top of that, you’ll get the inside scoop on some helpful hacks for making the most of them!

    #22 – 10 Copywriting Hacks That Work in 2017

  Created by Sandor Kiss & Patrick Dermak, in this course you’ll learn different strategies on how to acquire more customers and get better results almost overnight!

First, it covers the art & science of headlines that convert in lesson No. 1. You’ll get a headline swipe file, which includes top performing headlines, allowing you to boost your conversion rate immediately.

Next, it covers how to use something called a ‘grabber’ to get the attention of your audience as well as the correct way of using testimonials in your sales message.

Then, you’ll how to appeal to the Life-Force 8, how to inject scarcity, and how to use a 100% free tool to double your sales copy conversion rate (hint: what you are about to discover is something copywriting legends charge thousands of dollars for).

Last but not least, you’ll discover why you have to offer a 90-days refund guarantee and how to incorporate FAQ’s in your sales copy to answer common objections potential buyers have.

  #23 Write Epic Marketing and Sales Copy

In this course created by Joeel & Natalie Rivera you’ll get a detailed look at proven copywriting techniques that will help you clearly target your market, communicate your message, and lead to sales. Through instructor videos and detailed PDF worksheets you’ll be walked through how to write effective marketing copy, both for print marketing material and your website.

You will learn how to:

Express your core message

Attract to your ideal target market

Establish credibility

Communicate the value you offer

Appeal to your clients’ problems and needs

Select powerful keywords

Write effective marketing copy

Write website copy that leads to sales

Master your elevator speech

  #24 Copywriting Public Relations – master PR publicity skills

  Created by Len Smith & Sean Kaye, in this course you’ll get a detailed look at how to become a ‘Voice in your Industry’, Be trusted and known by influential freelance journalists, editors and bloggers. You’ll learn everything from getting quality coverage to developing a professional media plan, on-line and off.

  #25 Copywriting Masterclass – Writing that Sells

Created by Doru Catana, this course covers the following topics:

Essential copywriting elements

Creating head turning headlines

Writing the perfect sales copy

Tweaking your message to perfection

To help you get more sales & make your message more effective along with allowing you to tell your story the way it deserves to be told.

    #26 Professional Copywriting Training

  This Professional Copywriting course is designed by Earners Classroom for aspiring copywriters or webmasters who want to learn the art of persuasive. Follow the easy copywriting methods and techniques outlined in this brand new, straight to the point, Copywriting course and your visitors will go from suspicious readers to trusting, eager to buy customers at the blink of an eye.

    #27 Copywriting: How To Convert Features Into Benefits That Sell

  Imagine yourself having the skill of writing amazing marketing copy that sells. This very skill may skyrocket your sales by 2 or 5 or 10 times.

Created by Vladimir Raykov, in this course you’ll “Discover the Best Well-Kept Secrets on Converting Cold Features Into irresistible Benefits That Sell YOUR Products”.

  #28 Key to a Great Copywriting Career

  Created by Eduonix Learning Solutions, Eduonix-Tech in this course you’ll get a detailed look at how to become a successful copywriter from scratch. The step by step tutorial will get you started from the basics of copywriting to how you can become a master in the industry of copywriting.

    #29 Write to Ignite Copywriting – Master the Art of Sales Copy

This course created by Steve McDonald focuses on how to make your writing more persuasive.

You’ll be provided with a simple 3-Part Sales Copy Formula that you can use for all the sales copy that you write. It takes you step by step from your headline to your call to action. It will give you more confidence every time you write and will quickly eliminate common issues like writers block.

Here are 5 other things you’ll learn in the course:

How knowing a few key things about your product can drastically improve your copywriting.

How to quickly get to know your customer on an intimate level.

How to format your sales copy so it is a joy to read.

How to set your writing on fire, and motivate readers to take immediate action.

How to give readers the confidence to buy by including social proof in your copy.

  #30 The Complete Copywriting Workshop For Increased Online Sales

Created by Dave Espino, in this course you’ll get a detailed look at how to get a high-quality sales copy written.

The 10 critical elements of a salesletter will be covered, in order. And, as each element is covered you will get:

Real-world examples of this element (from the instructor’s actual websites / clients

What the copywriting element is and how to create the best one for your business

When you complete this course, you will have a powerful salesletter. brochure, investor pitch or sales video!

An implementation exercise so that you put your newfound knowledge into action!

    #31 Copy Alchemy: Sales Copywriting Blueprint

  No longer available to purchase on the Udemy platform

    #32 Ninja Writing: Writing Skills, Copywriting & Content Writing

Created by Jean-Gabriel Paquette in this course you’ll get a detailed look at the exact strategies and techniques you need to create amazing content that your audience loves, write stories that sells and know the secrets of writing.

In This Writing Training, You’ll Learn:

Copywriting

Defining Target Audience For The Right SEO Strategy

Developing a writing Structure

Content Writing

Different Paragraph Styles

How to tighten and sharpen sentences

Knowing your audience

Words sounding good together

How to use consumer psychology to sell

Write stories that sell & build trust

Editing tips

Writing Persuasive Sales Copy

Fast writing tips

    #33 Freelance Copywriting: How To Succeed As An Elite Copywriter

Created by Clare Lynch in this course you’ll get all the tips, techniques and templates you need to build a sustainable career as a freelance writer. Not for beginners!

You’ll learn you how to:

Calculate your writing day rate with a simple formula

Price any writing job accurately

Discover what other writers are charging for their work

Identify the writing niche that suits you best

Find the highest-paying writing jobs (and avoid the lowest ones)

Land more – and better – writing jobs

Break free of badly paying ‘content mill’ writing

Market yourself as a writer

Pitch your work to editors

Protect yourself from nightmare writing jobs

Along with a wealth of tips and advice, you’ll get the following free templates to download and adapt for your own use:

Copywriting briefing form – the must-have tool for producing a brilliant first draft for any job

Enquiry email for when you’re looking for work

Contract with terms and conditions specific to writers

Copy deck – for presenting your work to clients in a stand-out professional format

Invoice – to increase your chances of swift payment

    #34 Social Media Marketing Excel At Content Marketing (5 in 1)

Created by John Colley Online Course Creation, this course will help you understand how Social Media works and what it can do to help you grow your business. It will explain many of the concepts and features of Social Media as well as teaching you how to execute your Social Media Marketing and Content Marketing Strategy on different platforms!

  What this Course will give you!

Show you how to identify your Audience and where to find them

We will help you understand how Social Media works and how to get the most out of it

My Social Media Manifesto will show you how to be effective in Social Media

Discover the Social Media Landscape

Understand that Social Media comprises Multi-Media and learn how to Harness it

Really understand how to make your Content Strategy work with your Social Media Strategy

Discover the magic of Content Repurposing to get more exposure from the same original content

Understand how to Sell in Social Media with my Sales Cycle

An understanding of Keywords

Discover how to build your email list with a Marketing Funnel

How to Growth Hack Youtube

Linkedin Marketing the 80:20 Way

Linkedin Marketing Tips and Tricks

    #35 Copywriting for Pros

Created by Mike Collins, in this step by step course you will learn:

Direct Response for print and web.

Building your portfolio.

Effective email marketing.

Scripting for radio, tv and web video.

Mastering the elusive call to action that kills.

Managing your copywriting business.

Take your pick of the highest paying jobs.

    #36 – 155 Years of Copywriting Insights Taught In 1.5 Hour Course!

Created by Eric John Campbell, in this course you’ll learn the important principles of copywriting and how to apply them to remarkably increase your sales.

    #37 Chatbot Copywriting: Use Psychology to tell Stories & Sell

  Created by Stefan Kojouharov, in this course you will learn how to:

Write Viral Copywrite that is Psychologically Irresistible

Transform your Ideas into a Sticky Stories which is the first step in Viral Marketing

Create Stories that Lead to ‘Aha Moments’

Create Content that is Memorable & Shared

Give your audience ‘Wow Experiences’

  #38 Copywriting; Copy Writing for Greater Sales

  If you have found Copywriting to be a difficult subject to grasp, then this course created by John Colley Online Course Creation will help you to succeed and to achieve your goals efficiently and effectively.

Now in Five Clear Sections:

BASICS – covering the basics of copywriting so that you have a foundation to work with

PSYCHOLOGY – so important in getting your customers to decide to buy from you

UDEMY – how to apply your newly found copywriting skills to your Udemy course (if you are an instructor) – it’s a great case study if you are not

SEO – helping you understand how Copywriting and SEO work hand in hand in the world of online marketing

COPYWRITING FOR…: These sections cover a range of different formats from Blog Posts, Landing Pages, Sales Letters, Video Sales Letters, Promotional Videos, Email – with more to come

In this Course you will discover:

How to use Copywriting Formulas to improve your Writing Skills

14 Essential Steps to Great Copywriting

How to optimize your Content Writing with great Headlines

Understand the Psychology of Copywriting

The essentials of Proofreading and Editing

How to write a high converting Sales Page/Course Description

The Essence of Copywriting and SEO for Udemy Courses

How to apply your Copywriting skills to Blogging

How to write effective Online Course Titles, Goals and Descriptions, optimised for SEO

How to create amazing Video Sales letters as a Copywriter

How to write effective Landing Pages

How to combine your Promotional Video skills with your Copywriting

The key formulae for Writing Editing Sales Letters, including a Case Study

Copywriting: What you need to know to write great Headlines

How to apply Content Writing Skills to Email

    #39 Web CopyWriting: Consistently Outperform Your Competitors

In this engaging, practical Copywriting Training course created by Oxford Learning Lab, you will learn how to craft successful digital copy from scratch right through the drafting and editing stages. It will demonstrate how to build persuasive web pages that demand attention and engage with the user.

  #40 Copywriting A-Z write a copy that attract, convince & sells

  Created by Alireza Etemadi & Pouya Eatemadi Rad, With this course you’ll learn and master how to write a powerful copy that increases sale, attention, followers with using practical tips and techniques.

You will learn how to:

What is copywriting

Who is your customer

6 powerful formulas to write a good headline

Cognitive biases in headline

AIDA

How to write a copy (body) that increase call to action

    #41 Copywriting For Complete Beginners

This course created by Johnson Kee contains over 25 lectures and close to 4 hours of video content. No matter if you’re new to copywriting or someone with experience, there is something to learn. For example in along with learning about different kinds of copywriters, you’ll also get the secret to time management for writers. Hint: it all starts with something you use in the kitchen and you can’t eat it.

On top of that, you’ll get 5 “Veteran” tips that will shortcut your learning curve by months, & will put you back on the path to success and stay there. You’ll learn things like:

The “mental hack” that can send you forward in time to when you’re wildly successful so that you can steal the confidence back to charge clients higher rates,

The under-the-radar method of asking questions to clients that prevents them from saying no to you and blasts your credibility sky-high

How I found clients online with no business name, no website and not even an email address!

The 5 Power Niches that can service you with an above average income for the rest of your life.

    #42 Copywriting Crash Course – Work From Home 1 HR a day!

  Created by Melissa Elizabeth Ong, in this course you’ll learn the best copywriting skills to make it big online. Work from home & become your own boss. No experience required.

    #43 How to Write Sizzling Sales Copy

This course created by Penny Dablin has been designed to take business owners through all the steps needed to create:-

Sales copy that grabs your prospects and compels them to buy…

Sales copy that converts casual visitors into raving fans…

Sales copy that will have your phone ringing off the hook!

    #44 Email Copywriting Strategy

Created by Mike DeVincent, this course will help you to “Interact with Your Subscribers in a Way That Builds Massive Rapport While Establishing Massive Goodwill and Prestige!”

  #45 Win Top Paying Copywriting Jobs With My Copywriting Secrets!

This course created by James Bos will teach you how to:

Find the top copywriting jobs in the market.

Apply successfully for top copywriting jobs.

Keep those top paying clients.

Everything is included in this course that you’ll need to succeed in becoming a top paid copywriter.

    #46 – 21 Copywriting Hacks That Deliver Quick And Easy Wins

21 Copywriting Hacks are included in this course created by Nick Usborne, which represents a checklist the creator uses to improve the three core elements of any sales page (the Headline, the Body Text and the Call To Action).

  #47 Online Sales Using Email Sales Funnels With ClickFunnels

Created by Zach Miller & Alex Genadinik, this course will help you understand how to structure your company’s products and services (even if you’re an affiliate) in a way that’ll allow you to make two to three times more money from the same exact traffic that you are getting right now.

  #48 Copywriting – Copywriting Basics – Secrets That Bring Sales

Created by Dave Espino in this course, you will discover:

How to craft a powerful message that sells your product / service

The best definition of marketing

Introduction to “retargeting” your prospects / customers

The power of automated follow-up sequences

The power of social proof, power words and risk reversal

    #49 Digital Marketing Copywriting Bootcamp – Web Writing 101

Created by Scott Selsor, this course is perfect for students, novice copywriters wanting to learn more about digital marketing and for digital marketers who need to know how copy is different on the web.  It’s also great for working copywriters who may have missed out when the digital revolution changed the game for marketers.

    #50 Write Epic Marketing and Sales Copy

In this course created by Joeel & Natalie Rivera you’ll get a detailed look at proven copywriting techniques that will help you clearly target your market, communicate your message, and lead to sales. Through instructor videos and detailed PDF worksheets you’ll be walked through how to write effective marketing copy, both for print marketing material and your website.

You will learn how to:

Express your core message

Attract to your ideal target market

Establish credibility

Communicate the value you offer

Appeal to your clients’ problems and needs

Select powerful keywords

Write effective marketing copy

Write website copy that leads to sales

Master your elevator speech

      #51 SEO Copywriting: Rank and Get the Click

Created by Kathy Alice Brown, in this course you will learn:

How to create compelling snippets (the listing in the search engine results that represents your page) that not only rank but also get “the click”

Where to place your keywords on the page

How to find your perfect keywords (and what tools to use) by understanding concepts such as long tail keywords and searcher intent

The search engine landscape has evolved significantly. What you need to know today about Google when it comes to keywords

Why content quality matters and how to deliver a good experience so visitors don’t bounce off your site

English captions available.

  #52 Copywriting for Beginners Part 1 of 3: Seven Vital Questions

This course created by Alan Sharpe is filled with practical, step-by-step advice, tips, tricks & tools  that the creator (as a professional copywriter) have learned over the years. Dozens of examples from the real world of copywriting are used to help you understand what copywriting is, and how to get started on any copywriting assignment.

  #53 Copywriting for Beginners Part 2 of 3: Headlines & Openers

This course created by Alan Sharpe teaches you how to do the toughest thing in copywriting—grab and keep attention. You’ll learn the tips and tricks that the creator have learned in over 30 years of writing headlines and opening lines. After taking this course, you will know how to write headlines that grab attention. And how to write opening lines that keep attention.

  #54 Copywriting for Beginners Part 3 of 3: How to Persuade

  Created by Alan Sharpe, this course consists of three sections.

Section one: it’s all about persuasion.

The creator will show you how to write using features and benefits.

You’ll learn how to give your sales pitch a proven structure.

You’ll cover guarantees, testimonials, deadlines and other tactics that persuade people to buy.

You’ll learn how to write copy that overcomes objections.

Section two: it’s all about offers.

You’ll discover why your copy needs an offer.

You’ll get a look at the two main categories of offers.

And the creator will share with you the many ways you can use offers to boost the power of your copy to persuade.

Section three: it’s all about keeping your readers hooked.

You’ll learn how to write subheads and photo captions that keep your potential buyers engaged in your copy.

The creator will show you how to make your copy more effective by making it conversational and personal.

    #55 Content Marketing: Beginner’s Copywriting Blueprint

  Created by Barry North, with this course you’ll learn how to create great copy for your Sales Materials. The training consists of three sections. Section 1 covers copywriting basics, Section 2 goes over copywriting concepts and Section 3 explains copywriting styles.

  Copywriting Basics:

Good Copy

When you are first starting out with online marketing, it may be difficult to understand why good copy is important.

You Attitude

You need to use the “You” attitude when writing your copy. You need to speak using “you” or “your” so you are speaking directly to each person who sees the copy.

Your Tone

You should use a conversational tone that is casual and funny.

  Copywriting Concepts:

Humor

You have to strike a balance between serious and funny.

AIDA Formula

You should use the AIDA formula for all of your copy, including your sales pages and marketing emails.

Attention

This is really about your headline. You need to write a compelling headline. The headline should draw readers in and get them interested right from the beginning.

Interest

You will grab people’s interest by telling your story. You can talk about a time when you were just like the reader.

Desire

You will create desire by talking about the benefits of the product. It’s important to understand that benefits aren’t the same as features.

Action

This is where you tell the prospect what you want them to do. Tell them what the next step is.

Customer Avatar

You need to know as much about your customer as possible.

  Copywriting Styles:

Writing Style

If you are writing long form copy, it should be similar to a newspaper editorial.

Subject Lines

As you know by now, you will use subject lines or headlines to grab readers’ attention.

Short Vs. Long Copy

Don’t get too hung up on choosing between short or long copy.

  Now you are ready to get started. Keep in mind that you can outsource the copy if you don’t want to write it yourself.

That being said, we recommend that you write your own copy and test it against your outsourced copy.

That way, you can see which one converts better.

Regardless of the option you choose, start getting your copy ready today.

    #56 Easy Copywriting: Write HOT sales letters in 2 hours or less

  In this course created by Rachel Rofe you’ll learn how to effectively communicate what you’re selling without losing people. By the time you’re done, you’ll learn how to write a sales letter in 2 hours or less.

You’ll learn:

Why you don’t ever want to focus on selling a product, or even the benefits of it. Focus on this one thing instead and your conversions will almost certainly go through the roof…

Precisely how you can make people fall in love with your offers… without spending hours on copywriting training…

Check out real-life examples of sales copy that works and exactly why…

The reason why a one-sentence sales letter obliterated a 20-page letter written by a $15,000-per-letter copywriter… and exactly how YOU can use the secret behind this shocker to your advantage…

The 5 most important elements on any sales letter (Get these right and you can pretty much forget bothering with anything else) …and a bit more.

    #57 Magnetic Copywriting Formula, Boost Sales with Integrity

  Created by Bob Baker, this course will help you in “How to Craft Descriptions and Sales Offers That Attract Fans and Compel Them to Buy Now”

Here’s what you’ll learn:

How to write effective sales page headlines that grab attention and inspire your fans to learn more

The #1 most important word you need to include in any sales message

How to craft magnetic sales offers (and the key aspects that most people mistakenly leave out)

The three types of fans and prospects to be aware of

Your two main goals when selling (most marketers miss the boat on this one)

The most powerful motivator to use when persuading people to buy

The four traits of the most compelling sales offers

The two types of offers that always get people to buy now … instead of later

The secrets of fan attraction

How to get your emails opened and read

How to turn lukewarm prospects into hungry buyers

  #58 Killer Copywriting – 17 Crucial Copywriting Steps

  Created by Scrembo Scrembo this course will help you to learn everything in order, easily and effectively to position and create your own high quality copywriting. You will be able to start using this amazing strategies and structures to create your own copywriting while avoiding making errors.

Watching and learning this course will allow you to develop your skills with no limits, everything is explained step by step with clear videos.

The Killer Copywriting – 17 Crucial Copywriting Steps will show you:

What is Copywriting ?

Copywriting Types you can use.

Researching Our Competition.

How To Understand The Headline

How To Understand The Sub-Headline

Understanding The Importance Of Identifying The Problem

Understanding The Importance Of Proving The Solution

Showing The Benefits

Being Able To Make The Transition

How To Show Your Credentials With High Impact

Understanding The Importance Of Social Proofs

Injecting Scarcity

Call To Action

Powerful Closing

    #59 Sales Copywriting For Complete Beginners

  Created by Nrupen Masram, this course is “A Step-by-Step Practical and Proven Approach to write a sales copy that actually sells”

What You Can Expect To Learn From This Course:

The Buying Process. It’ll help you understand how to justify buying decision to customer.

The Market Research. Teaches you correct way to research data for Copywriting process so that you should only write those things which your customer thinks are interesting.

Writing Hypnotic Value Propositions. Make customer believe your product is just what he is looking for.

Communicate Value Of Your Product.Your customer want to buy a high value product, communicate to him your product is high value.

15 Tips To Write Amazing Headlines. That will grab and hold attention of your customer.

2 Methods to Instantly Connect with your Customer. Customer trust only those with whom they can connect. Connect with them, win their TRUST and drive more SALES.

5 Ways To Attack Customer’s Mindset. Will make customer feel emotionally attached to your product.

Kill 5 Most Powerful Objections of Customer. Make your product appear superior to competition and cheap as compared to value you’ll deliver.

How To Use Power Words ? Learn about exact 3 locations where adding power words will provide maximum boost to your sales process.

Some Advanced Strategies. Win their trust, establish credibility and quality of your product.

      #60 Copywriting Blueprint For Beginners + Freebies

You will get a bunch of information in this course and once you complete the course you will be an expert in copywriting and the creator’s (Rufeena Jones S) freebies will also help you to a great extent in promoting your copywriting ad’s.

[bjjjournal-blog]

WHITE BELT WORRIES: A Guide to Evening the Odds in Your First Few Months in BJJ

The Start of Your Journey

First of all, let me start by introducing myself… my name is Arron Howell, a 30-year-old BJJ white belt (yes – a current white belt is writing this!)  who began the sport only 4months ago using social media as an online diary of my progress from day one. Why am I writing this article? To give a first-hand account to those beginning their BJJ journey of the decisions, emotions and experiences that you will encounter within the infancy of your chosen sporting life.

Deciding to start BJJ can often begin with what seems like a minefield of choices; starting with which club you should join? All the way up to when you should start competing? Since beginning my journey into this black hole of a sport, I have found that within the first few months you must master the following key decisions in order give yourself a fighting chance of surviving for the long-haul:

Where Should I Train?

The first major decision you will encounter is picking which team/academy to train at. As the sport becomes ever popular, there is now a fantastic array of clubs now across the U.K. and choosing the right one for you will likely make or break your affinity with BJJ. Most clubs will allow you to have a couple of free sessions so I would advise using these to find out which club you feel most comfortable at and to take your time making this decision particularly as you may end up spending more time there than at home!

Why did I choose the Gracie Barra (GB) academy? For me, the initial decision was based on location. A brand new GB academy (GB Keynsham) had opened up five minutes from my house and (with a baby on the way) I was keen to spend as little time as possible traveling to training. However, I cannot stress enough that I have been lucky to fall into a team that suits my needs perfectly. I quite often travel for work and the ability to have access to a large number of GB academies in the U.K. (all following the same curriculum) has enabled me to fit in my training as and when possible.

Looking back on this decision, I was extremely fortunate to pick a club that also suits my character. It wasn’t until I attended a session at our parent club in Bristol that it really dawned on me the impact of the decision that I had made. On meeting Professor Nicolai Holt at the start of the class and explaining that I was from their GB Keynsham club, he then proceeded to introduce me to the rest of the class and told them that “Arron is a guest at this club and that everyone is to treat him like they would a brother”. With that one sentence from Professor Holt I knew that Gracie Barra was the club that I wanted to compete for and eventually take my new-born son to when he is old enough to train.

It is my belief that choosing your club is the most important decision you will make as you will spend hundreds of hours there training and (as a consequence) you should feel completely relaxed within that surrounding. If you want to focus solely on no-gi, or want to join a club where you do not have to compete in order to progress, then you should focus on looking for one from the outset. Matching your own character and ideas with the culture of the team will greatly enhance your chances of succeeding within the sport.

How Often Should I Train?

Once I had committed to the academy, I then spent time trying to figure out how often my team-mates at the club would train so that I could gauge how long it would take for me to progress. So far, I have varied my training, with some weeks going to 4/5 sessions and other weeks attending only twice. I quickly realised that putting pressure on myself to train as often as possible was impacting on other areas of my life and that setting a minimum attendance for myself each week was a better way of enjoying my training. I have now set myself a target of two sessions per week minimum. Therefore, now any extra sessions that I do attend are seen as a bonus for me. This has had a much more positive impact on me mentally, rather than focusing of the number of sessions that I have missed.

Accept that you will not be able to attend every training session and simply commit to a minimum number of sessions per week that suits your lifestyle. As a result, every training session you complete above this number during the week will feel like a real achievement.

Should I Set Training Goals?

Next up is whether or not you should set yourself BJJ goals? I am a massive advocate to setting achievable goals. I began my first month of BJJ training in December 2017 and the start of the New Year seemed like a good time to set myself some goals. I split my initials goals into short, medium and long term. Most people’s first goal in BJJ is to get promoted to blue belt. Although knowing how long this promotion often takes meant that I wanted something more readily achievable to focus on.

My goals set at the of the year were as follows:

Short Term - Compete three times within 2018.

Medium Term - Become a BJJ blue belt.

Long Term - Visit as many BJJ gyms as possible, gaining experience to eventually obtain a purple belt and be able to teach my new-born son at his first kids class.

I have listened to various instructors say that everyone’s goal should be to become a BJJ black belt. Whilst I would love to achieve this, I know that this can take 8-10 years minimum and that all of my goals needed to be quicker to achieve in order to feel like I was progressing. Once I have completed all of my original goals, I will undoubtedly re-assess and aim for the pinnacle achievement within the sport… to be known as a “Professor”.

It has been important for me to set goals that are not too distant and are viable for me. I recommend that you do the same in order to feel that you are making constant progress within BJJ. When these goals are met, make sure that you reward yourself to reinforce this successful behaviour. I suggest buying that  new gi you have been looking at as you will soon realise that you can never have too many!

Do I Need to Compete?

Not all academies will expect you to compete and it is completely up to the individual as to whether this is something that they wish to attempt. For me, this was a major part of my BJJ experience to date. As my first goal was to compete at least three times in the year, I needed to start thinking about when I should enter my first competition. Anyone who knows me will quickly understand that I am an all or nothing kind of guy and took part in my first competition after only three months in training. Needless to say I didn’t win, and was submitted in the first round via triangle choke after only one-and-a-half minutes. But strangely, this didn’t deter me and as is commonly said amoungst many BJJ practitioners “you never lose, you either win or you learn”.

I learned several things from my first competition, the main one is that I was at the lighter end of my weight division (medium heavy) and that probably committing to drop an extra couple of kilograms to be able to enter into middleweight would give me that extra edge. The other thing that I learned was that the whole BJJ community was extremely friendly no matter what club they were from. My father had come to watch me compete and he couldn’t understand how the competitors could go from trying to choke each other to almost long lost families members in the split seconds following a fight.

Taking on board these lessons, I entered my second local competition as a middleweight (only 4 weeks later) losing my only fight on points to the eventual gold medallist. This meant that I finished in the joint bronze position (due to a small category).  Whilst I didn’t win my match, and getting a bronze medal after losing still doesn’t sit well with me, I was definitely more competitive at this weight and was happy that I could contribute to my team’s standings that day. This odd feeling of gaining a medal after the loss has still not gone away and I don’t think that it ever will. However, I recently had a conversation with my coach (Damien Barrett, a GB Purple Belt) who has reminded me that it is not the result on the day that is the only factor on whether I deserved a medal but it was also the commitment to training, dropping a weight category (which was proved extremely difficult for me) and showing up on the day to compete which was a big milestone that I should not take lightly.  I have my next competition booked in 3 weeks time and will be focusing on getting my first win in the sport (like I said earlier… it is important to focus on the small goals!). 

Whilst it is not always necessary to compete in order to advance, even attending an event with your team to support them will make you realise what a great sport you have entered in to and that you now have an ever growing extended family!

When Should I Start?

Hopefully none of the above has deterred you from delving into this fantastic sport which I already can’t imagine my life without. It will get you excited, frustrated and addicted all in a heartbeat. You will also quickly realise that you now have a long term commitment to a team and a way of life that no other  sport will come close to fulfilling. I hope this article has helped overcome any nerves or apprehensions that you may have and has convinced you that the time to start is now!

Please get in touch with me (see link provided below) to tell me your own personal stories from your first few months within the sport!

Just one last thing from me… good luck!

The above article was written by Arron Howell (BJJ_Journal). Please hit the like button if you enjoyed it and feel free to share.

https://www.instagram.com/bjj_journal/

[maybeishouldretire-blog]

How mixed feelings became my main emotion after turning 25

Turning 25, a lot of things started happening to me, or, well, from me. First I started thinking about the future in a consistent racional way - the 30s are not that far anymore babe - and I saw myself staring at families in restaurants and actually think now babies are kinda cute. Besides, I was for the first time in a looong time single and away from my family and friends. It all happened because I graduated in University, didn't have a steady job and had broken up a relationship from 4 years - so I was a mess and didn't know what to do with myself.

I went to Madrid to start a Masters. As I have a Portuguese citizenship, its pretty easy for me to stay in Europe, I just need a job. Having that in mind, when i jumped on the plane to Spain I was absolutely sure I wasn't going to come back any time soon. That was probably the last time I was 100% sure about something. And I was wrong.

After that, I started considering making plans and tracing objectives in a way to try to reach my 30s the way I desired. Well, turns out  I don't even know what ¨the way I desire¨ means anymore.

Since you are a kid, everybody asks you what do you want to be when you grow up, and we are always so sure, even when we have no idea. Then you go to college and see yourself only wanting to get drunk with your friends and have unprotected sex but having to make literally life decisions. How can I choose what to do for the rest of my life if I can't even decide between the red or the black cropped top? But when you are 18 you simply don't care that you don't know, cause you still have a lot of time to find out in the way. ¨Not with 25, though¨. Thats the scariest voice in my mind.

So back to my story, I was living for 7 months in Madrid when I went to Rio spend the Carnival. It was the first time I felt the ¨mixed feelings¨ experience really loud inside me. I explain: I was really excited to be with all my loved ones, missing them - but at the same time identity less. I wasn't feeling like a Brazilian anymore, but nonetheless Spanish. I was eager to go, but at the same time already wanted to go back to my privacy, room, stuff. I was in an existencial limbo between what I had left behind and what I was trying to build for me without knowing if it would ever be consistent or just temporary (cause I hadn't decided if I was going back or not. I still didn't).

Back in Rio, I felt sure I was not the same. Going to my parents house felt like a nightmare way bigger that I had imagined. All of the sudden their lifestyle wasn't compatible with mine - the condos, the cars, the fences, the neighborhood - everything felt like a ridiculous attempt to ensure social status - while I was going on the other way - reading about queer theories and paying 5 cents for a plastic bag every time I would go to the market.

So yeah, I was having mixed feelings about my parents. I sure loved them, but until what level? Can affection really overcome different points of view? When your ideals are everything you have left to stuck to, what can you put up with when you see everything that you have become in opposition with what you had and were?

And then the mixed feelings about my friends. Just to contextualize, I grew in a Miami wannabe like neighborhood, except for the fact that Rio de Janeiro is a really unequal city. So I was used to going in and out closed condos, not walking in the streets (what streets? We only have big boulevards in Barra) and meeting my friends in shopping malls. Studied in a priest school. Remembering and writing this seems like a script for a bad adolescent drama movie, which I think could suit very well my teenage years.

So, meeting my friends was really frustrating. I heard from a colleague that lived many years abroad that coming back feels like a hangover. You live so many things, meet so many people, change so much, and then you go back and everybody and everything is still the same. I never felt more disconnected to the place and people I used to know, but still loved them so much. I didnt wanna talk about Kim Kardashian or how would I look like with a nose done, but at the same time didnt wanna seem like a ¨straight outta Soviet Union¨ type of girl, mumbling about our politicians and marxist theories.

Mixed feelings.

After that trip, the ¨mixed feelings¨ experience took over my life for good - I wasn't able anymore to feel completely happy or sad about anything - except when Im in Panorama Bar dancing  after taking some illicit substances - and it even got to the point where I cry and laugh at the same time - I start crying for some reason and laugh at myself for being so miserable or ridiculous. Now I always seem to have this distant, non personal and a little cynic reaction about everyone and everything. Digging into myself to find out why, I get to the (possible) conclusion that I am disenchanted about life and its paths. It does not matter if you try rationally to build your way - life swaps you and turns you around anytime, anywhere. You can TRY to seem like you have control of it - but its just an illusion. You see the tip of the existentialism abyss here?

About the future, I know, we all have anxiety, specially us Millennials, who are proven now to be the first generation that will not outgrow our parents wealth and maybe never be able to buy an apartment. I do get mixed feelings about my anxiety, too, one day loving the fact that I still have free time to write things like this article, and another hating myself for not having started working when I was 21 and still depend on my parents to have a roof over my head. And oh, I have anxiety about having mixed feelings.

So maybe this is just a Millennial way to react to our sour social reality of ¨surelessness¨. How can we feel something for real if we don't even know what is real anymore? Ill stop this text here cause its already causing me too much mixed feelings, I don’t know where  my point is. Fuck.