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troybeecham · 1 year ago

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Fr. Troy Beecham

Sermon, Proper 14 A, 2023

Matthew 14:22-33

Jesus Walks on the Water

"Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."

Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

I recently read the summary of a sermon on this Gospel reading. The preacher saw this narrative as being an evocative tale trying to teach us principles on how to "handle the storms of life". This Gospel is literally teaching us the opposite. Here’s why.

This Gospel reading is part of a larger narrative on Jesus instructing his disciples about the mission that he has given them. This core section of the Gospel according to St. Matthew is full to overflowing with the stories of the miracles of Jesus. For anyone reading any of my sermons, or hearing me preach them, you will be well familiar with my total confidence that the Holy Scriptures mean what they say and say what they mean, and that the miraculous does not need any explaining away. It is unnecessary to try to flatten out the miraculous in the Scriptures. Quite the opposite! In fact, to do so, to present the Gospels as simply stories of a wise, good man named Jesus who taught nice ideas that we can emulate and be good people, is to miss the core revelation of the Scriptures, in fact the whole endeavor of the writing of the Gospels, and the mission of the Church.

And what is the endeavor of the Gospel and the mission of the Church? St. John the Evangelist said it this way, "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name." Without the miraculous, without the divine in action in the lives of men and women just like you and me, I see no point in Christianity or in the Gospel. If life really just boils down to us trying to be nice people, well I can get that from any decent philosophy, with the added bonus that it does not require me to participate every week with a community of equally exhausted, hurt, aggravating, dysfunctional people or pay a tithe of my earnings to support the worship life of that community.

Yes, I’ve heard it said a thousand times, "God is everywhere. He can be found on a mountaintop as equally as in a Church". But that version of God as a flattened, humanistic, materialistic, vague universal consciousness does nothing for the human condition. Yes, we can learn many good things from many sources, and even learn to dampen some of the worst impulses of our fallen nature. However, we are unable to save ourselves from our sinful nature, from the cruelty of death, and from the universal bending of human society towards brutality, oppression, and wickedness.

But God has provided for the salvation of all humankind in sending his Son, Jesus, to be the Savior and Redeemer of all who believe in Him and are baptized into his life, death, and resurrection. And Jesus has given his Church, the community of all his baptized disciples (not our institutions and hierarchies), to preach this Gospel of salvation to all the world, and given us His Holy Sacraments to provide the real, objective, and miraculous means of grace. You can’t get that on a mountaintop on your own, or in yoga class, or by any other means in all the world according to the plan of God.

Without the God revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures, and without the Risen Savior sent to redeem us, and without His Church and the Holy Sacraments entrusted to us for the sake of all peoples, we are doomed to everlasting bondage to sin and death. We are destined for everlasting sorrow and oppression if all we have to hope for is some general ideals about how to "handle the storms of life", relying upon ourselves to save ourselves or the world by learning to just be nice.

The truth about us humans is that we are in need of a Savior. Only God can bring about His kingdom. We are absolutely vulnerable to sin, the evil one, and our own cruelty towards each other, and that vulnerability makes us anxious, aggressive, despondent, and dangerous. But erasing God from the universe leaves us in charge of human destiny, both personal and collective. We unerringly seek to have power, to be "in charge of ourselves and of others.

The last century gave rise to some of the most wicked philosophies in human history, namely Leftist ideology, whether in the form of Soviet Socialism/Communism, National Socialism, Situational Ethics, Eugenics and the ongoing genocides it produced in the acceptance of murdering unborn babies, people with disabilities, et al…all of which led to two world wars and decades of international war and conflict. In fact, the wars of the 20th century killed 15% of the human population on this earth, and internationally, if you add abortion deaths to that number, in the 20th century we murdered 22% of the human population. And the wars inspired by Leftist philosophy continue into the 21st century, as does the great evil of abortion. Leftist philosophy denies human sin, aggrandizes our worst impulses, and gives us permission to do the most unspeakable things to each other. Sadly and unsurprisingly, there are people still trying to make these philosophies work, as they protest that "real Socialism/Communism" have never been tried, so we have to keep endeavoring to save ourselves until we get it right…no matter how many people have to be sacrificed.

I’ve said it many times and it bears constant repetition: every genocide, every mass loss of human life, started with someone trying to do "good" for themselves and people like them. When we inevitably run up against the reality of sin and death, and our inability to re-engineer paradise, we begin to start identifying those most unlike us as being responsible for holding us back from utopia, and suddenly violence, havoc, theft, enslavement, murder, and every human form of human wickedness becomes not wicked at all: they become necessary, even good. This is the false gospel that Satan has been whispering in our ears since the Garden of Eden, where we lost our innocence and became vulnerable exiles in an uncaring world.

The truly good news, the Gospel Truth, the true Faith, is that God knows our weaknesses and our inability to save ourselves or to create human paradise, and He still loves us beyond our imagining. God has been pursuing us since the exit from Eden, and has sent to us a Savior, Jesus, His own Son, to whom God has given all authority in heaven and earth to save us. God has also given to us His Holy Spirit, to empower us the be disciples of his Son, Jesus, and to experience, though for now only in part, the life of the kingdom of God which is even now coming to the earth according to the timing and will of God.

By the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, we can endure the wickedness of human society, our vulnerability to the cruelties of life, and even death, with hope, love, and faith. This is the meaning of this Gospel narrative, and of every Gospel narrative. We are loved by God, who loves us and gave His only Son to save us, and who is saving us even now, who will one day bring His kingdom to earth. And so we wait with faith, hope, and love for the Lord who has the authority to calm the storms of life and the storms of the seas. We hold fast to the Faith of the Church, to the Sacraments, and we give ourselves freely and entirely to God, in self-sacrificing love, so that we might proclaim the Gospel to all peoples in Spirit and in Truth. And as we wait in faith and endeavor to spread the Gospel to all peoples so that they may be saved and find hope, we pray "maranatha!", which means "come now, O Lord!"

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

#father troy beecham #christianity #jesus #saints #god #salvation #peace #faith

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turtle-steverogers · 3 years ago

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I'M SO--!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats Mikey 🎉 I'm so proud of you ^_^ also tho yes for the prompt please! stars, bridge, bruises! 💜

!!!!!!! HI PAL!!! ily sm fr you're my ultimate writing pal

i wrote a little post-ws blurb! i hope you like it!!!

He catches up with him in Brooklyn.

He’s sitting underneath the bridge, against the wall and near some nondescript construction. His knees are propped up, arms wrapped loosely around them, and Steve needs to blink a few times, suddenly caught between a memory and the present. The tilt of Bucky’s jaw is the same as he looks up at the scaffolding.

Bucky must sense him, because he looks over, lips quirking up in a soft smile that Steve can see from afar. His cheeks are sunken in, eyes drawn and tight. There’s a certain malnourishment to him-- he looks fed, but only just, and the clothes he’s wearing are baggy on him. Steve smiles back.

He’s grateful for the blanket of night as he approaches Bucky, hands tucked in his pockets and pace steady, even though his legs itch to break into a run. To get to Bucky, get close enough to take him into his arms and bleed some of the warmth he’s finally started to feel into his bones. But they aren’t there right now. Not yet. And even if they never are again, that will be okay. Bucky is alive, and he’s safe. That’s all Steve needs to know.

“Hi,” Bucky says, and that voice. God, that voice-- soft and blessedly alive. Pitched into a tone that isn’t born from a suffocating hand that grips Bucky from the inside out. It’s friendly. Familiar. Something in Steve’s chest clicks into place for the first time in a century.

They watch each other as Steve sinks down in front of him, and he mirrors Bucky’s position, pulling his knees to his chest. For a moment, they could be the boys they once were, hidden underneath the same stars that shine above them now, awake in the dead of night. Sharing secrets and gossip, toes barely brushing underneath Bucky’s bed covers.

But they aren’t. They’ll never be those boys again. Time has mangled them beyond what they were, but wouldn’t that have happened anyway?

They were always meant to learn the ever changing versions of each other, and they are meant to now.

“Hey,” Steve says back. “How are you?”

Bucky cocks his head, considers. “I’ve been better,” he decides, then snorts. “I’ve also been worse.”

Steve laughs and ducks his head. “I’ll take it.”

Bucky raises an eyebrow. “And you?”

“What?”

Bucky rolls his eyes, extending a leg to lightly kick Steve’s shin.

“How are you, punk? That’s how conversation works, isn’t it?”

And Steve could fucking cry. He’s overcome for a moment, leg tingling from where Bucky kicked him; teased him. The normalcy suffocates him.

He swallows a few times.

“I’ve been better,” he echoes. “But I’ve also been worse.”

“Unbelievable,” Bucky mutters, shaking his head. “Still a little shit, huh?”

“And you’re still an asshole.”

They fall into silence, and that’s fine, Steve finds. There’s too much between them-- too much to be said and done. Sorted through and weathered. Banter might be easy enough to emulate, but that bone deep ease won’t come so naturally. That’s okay.

“I don’t really want to do this now.” Steve looks at Bucky when he speaks. He’s still looking up at the belly of the bridge. Steve notices the bruises on his knuckles now, and flexes his own hands. There are matching bruises on his own from a hard night and a brick wall, and he wonders briefly if they got them in a similar manner. “But I’m sorry.”

Steve shakes his head, about to tell Bucky that he has no reason to be sorry. But the words die on his tongue. That feels dismissive, and he wants him to feel heard. Needs him to feel heard.

“What for?”

Bucky’s jaw clenches. Steve waits.

“Everything. Leaving you.”

Steve frowns. “After DC?”

“Yeah.”

Steve nods, digesting that for a moment. Formulating what he means to say.

“I was proud,” he decides. “I still am, Buck.” The nickname rolls off his tongue like smoke from an old Chesterfield cigarette. “You needed that time and you needed space, and you goddamn took it. I couldn’t be more happy that you left, and I’m glad you felt safe enough to reach out to me when you were ready. I would have hated for you to come in before then. I’m just real glad you’re safe.”

He meets Bucky’s gaze then, and finds him watching him with wide, wet eyes. Bucky huffs out a watery laugh, kicking Steve in the shin again. For a while, he doesn’t say anything, obviously composing himself.

“I don’t know if I’m ready yet,” he admits after a while. “I think I still might need a little more time.”

Steve tentatively rests his hand on Bucky’s ankle. When Bucky doesn’t pull away, Steve squeezes. “That’s alright. You don’t ever have to be ready, if you’re not.”

Bucky nods. “Thank you,” he whispers, then peeks up at Steve. “But I think I might be ready to-- to try? Or… start trying. I, um, I have a place over in Bushwick. Maybe we could just… start small. Start from scratch?”

Steve smiles, and feels the last tendrils of ice in his soul melt away.

“Yeah, Buck. I’d love that.”

thanks for reading, y'all!

#mikey celebrates 1k #steve rogers #bucky barnes #stucky #stucky fic #post ca:tws

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sunshinepixels · 4 years ago

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all of them for adri because i love her (*^ω^*)

I consider it bullying that you asked me for all of them... but I’ll let it slide this time sksksks thank you for asking me fr fr tho (ღ˘⌣˘ღ) this is late as heck but im the worst with answering asks even if i begged for them fdkhkd

1. Do they laugh at their own jokes?

Yes and the thing is she’s not that funny but thinks she’s hilarious

2. What does their laugh sound like?

I think her laugh is loud and comes from her core

3. What does their voice sound like?

She has a sweet voice that's relatively high.

4. What side of the bed do they sleep on?

All of it. If someone else is on the bed... no they’re not. It’s her bed.

5. Are they a light sleeper?

She wasn’t originally but ever since Avery she is, any sound on the baby monitor makes her jump up

6. Do they have any frequent / recurring dreams?

No but a lot of her nightmares take place in her middle school

7. Do they sleep with their socks on?

She’s not a freak so no kdksdjsdjk

8. Are they a morning or a night person?

Morning

9. What do they do to relax?

When she needs to relax she likes spend time with her friends, just talk and indulge in their presence while doing anything. It’s relaxing for her to be around the people she loves. She used to curl up on her grandparents laps to relax and they’d tell her stories from their childhood but uh... not anymore

10. Are they very highly strung?

Not too much, their are certain things she’s sensitive about but most things she’s chill about

11. Are they easy going?

Yup, she is pretty easy going and easy to get along with

12. What are they like when they’re angry?

Impulsive af and very childish not gonna lie. She’ll mostly ignore you because that’s what she learned from emulating her grandmother.

13. How often do they shower?

Every day lol

14. How organized are they?

Not at all, she’s a wreck

15. Do they keep track of their calendar?

She tries... it doesn’t always work

16. Do they have a diary or a journal?

No but she could really benefit from

17. Are they on any medication?

She’s on vyvanse but that’s it

18. Do they suffer from any illnesses?

Nope

19. Do they get sick easily?

Nope

20. Would it take much to knock them out?

Nope lol

21. Do they have a high pain tolerance?

No, she’s broken enough bones now that she’s grown tough skin

22. What’s the quickest way to upset them?

Implying that she’s not a good christian girl probably

23. What is the thing that makes them most uncomfortable?

Talking about things like sex out loud bc she thinks it’s very taboo

24. How do they act when they’re upset?

It depends. If she’s sad, she’ll cry and seek out the people she loves. If she’s mad she is a little more impulsive with her actions and often does thing she regrets later.

25. How does your character cry?

If she’s crying you know she’s crying a lot. Never just one tear its always waterworks, runny nose, sobs, the whole meal lol

26. Is your oc happy with their life?

Everything is going wrong right now so she’s having a hard time being happy. She tries though.

27. Will they have a happy ending?

umm.... NO, why would i let her be happy?

28. What would they change about their life?

She would change the way her grandparents see her

29. Do they have a comfort food?

Flan or cake.

30. Do they drink alcohol?

She did like twice, but she doesn’t plan on continuing.

31. What are they like when they’re drunk?

She’s even more affectionate and impulsive than when she’s sober

32. What are their eating habits like?

I think she eats either super healthy or eats only trash there’s no in between. She has a complicated relationship with food and body image so usually she tries to eat as healthy as she can as well as keeping “bad” food to a minimum. But when she’s having a rough time she tends to fall back into her old eating habits where all she wants is junk food.

33. If left to their own devices would they forget to eat / shower etc. ?

No she’s pretty good at taking care of herself uwu she might forget to take her medicine though

34. How would they spend their day if left alone with no responsibilities?

I think if she was alone with no responsibilities she’d take a long nap first and foremost. Then she would do play video games or shop or catch up on her fave TV shows

35. How do they generally have their hair?

She usually wears her hair straightened because she’s very used to it since her grandmother couldn’t deal with her curly hair growing up.

36. How do they usually dress?

Very girly, soft, and modest. She likes dresses and skirts and blouses. She’s not that big on jeans anymore.

37. Do they have a signature look?

Her signature is a dress. She loves dresses. Not only that but she typically wears small heels too.

38. Do they have any odd personality traits?

I don't think so lol

39. What’s the weirdest habit they have?

I don't think she has any

40. Have they ever been involved in a scandal?

Nope :>

41. Have they ever committed a crime?

underage drinking she regrets it but that's about it

42. Would they hurt the few to save the many?

I think that she would just die herself lol she would not want to make tht kind of decision

43. What could be generally associated with them?

Princesses, butterflies, pink, anything that seems cutesy

44. Have they got any close friends?

She has a few, she’s very friendly so it’s not hard for her to make friends. Her closest friends are Kit and Damien.

45. Do they like public displays of affection?

Yesss !!! She will hug her s/o in public and kiss them (but only chastely and with plenty of room for Jesus skskssk !!!!)

46. Would they ever like to get married?

If you asked her a year ago she would be hesitant, but today she would say yes at a drop of a hot... only if it was to Atlas though.

47. What is their ‘type’?

Assholes When it comes to looks she falls for the tall, dark, and handsome type. She is pretty open to looks as long as she thinks they’re attractive and if they have a nice smile. Personality wise she likes men who are kind (ironic considering the man she was in love with the longest), confident, and funny.

48. Have they ever been in a serious relationship?

Only one !! With Atlas. He was her first boyfriend ever and the father of her children. Currently, they’re engaged.

49. How easily do they get attached to things?

Very easily !!! Everything she has is sentimental basically

50. What is the thing that would hurt the most if they lost it?

She already lost the love and respect of her grandmother and it was the one thing she knew would hurt the most. It hurts even worse than she expected it to. But now, she’s very scared of completely losing her babies or her relationship with her fiancee.

#rp #oc #character development #asks answered #i dont even remember how i usually tag this kind of stuff #oh well #oc: adrianna

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eeveevie · 5 years ago

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loose lips

Rosie just wants to have a quiet night of studying, but that changes when she learns Butch is causing a ruckus at Moriarty's Saloon. After collecting him and taking him home, he says a lot more than he intended while under the influence.

Unprompted, but I’ve been sitting on this idea for a long while. I make reference to this in a few of my other one-shots since I go back and forth between pre-relationship and developing-relationship fics for these two.

Butch DeLoria x Rosie Sheridan (Lone Wanderer)

3200 words | [read on Ao3]

Sitting upstairs in Craterside Supply, Rosie was immersed in her research, reading over the extensive notes she had taken after investigating the colony of mirelurks in the Anchorage Memorial. The work on the Wasteland Survival Guide was a welcome distraction, allowing her to keep her mind busy until the Brotherhood provided her with a solid lead on where to find a G.E.C.K. Moira had set up the private sanctuary in her shop a few months ago, more than happy to give the vault-dweller a quiet place to study. Even though Rosie had her own residence within Megaton, it was difficult to get any work done when she had Butch DeLoria as a housemate.

Ever since finding him in Rivet City, he’d been her constant companion—annoying and distracting at first, but gradually became someone she could rely on. He made an effort to be less of a jerk, owning up to the mistakes of his youth, and performing thoughtful gestures of kindness for her unprompted. Rosie wouldn’t admit it aloud, but it was nice having him around. The more she got to know him as her friend, the more she realized they had a lot in common. Unexpected from the boy who used to stick gum in her hair. Now, he watched her six with a loaded pistol and cooked her breakfast (sometimes—when he remembered to set an alarm, that is). She liked him—a lot more than she wanted to.

Rosie could hear Moira teasing her about the redness in her cheeks—little red potatoes—all dreamy-voiced as she expressed desires for the two to ‘circle up’ and have babies. Assuming by the order of things, it had to be Wasteland slang for marriage, which was horrifying for so many reasons. Maybe it was a bad idea to confide in her shopkeeper friend about her potential feelings for Butch. Now she’d never hear the end of it when all she wanted was peace and quiet.

Just as Rosie refocused on the lines in her journal, the metal door to the shop creaked open, disrupting her train of thought—descended from local crabs, I’d call them…

Moira’s chipper voice echoed downstairs. “You’re back so soon?”

Rosie glanced to her Pip-Boy to confirm it was past store hours. She grumbled to herself, wondering if Butch had gotten bored and decided to come collect her for a more fun activity—it wouldn’t be the first time. Distracting, she reminded herself, for completely different reasons than before. She didn’t want to parade around town with his arm slung around her shoulder—or did she?

“Ugh,” she groaned, hand sliding across her face and smudging her glasses. Rosie stood and leaned over the railing, prepared to reprimand her companion when she realized Butch wasn’t even the one standing in the doorway.

Mitch, Craterside Supply’s mercenary was disgruntled as ever, leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed. Moira paused from cleaning the countertop to look at him, giving him the full attention she gave anyone she talked to.

“It’s your night off, Mitch! Shouldn’t you be enjoying it instead of standing there like you always do?” she ended her sentence with an easy sounding laugh, something Rosie wished she could emulate.

The merc muttered something incoherently, lips set in a fine line when he regarded his employer. How the two got along was anybody’s guess. Rosie imagined it had something to do with the frequent exchange of caps—though, Moira’s glowing personality seemed to melt even the coldest of hearts.

“There’s a problem at Moriarty’s,” Mitch explained, briefly.

“Oh no!” the redhead exclaimed, more intensely than the mercenary expected. “Is everybody alright?”

Mitch let out a deep sigh and let his eyes roam to where Rosie was perched, silently eavesdropping on their conversation in clear view. She sheepishly backed away before stepping back, realizing it was a little late to pretend she hadn’t been listening. He gestured to her with a jutted-out thumb.

“It’s that other vault-kid you like so much,” he said, with just enough distain in his voice it verged on resentment. Rosie wanted to smile, thinking the mercenary was jealous of Moira’s affections towards the younger visitors. Her mind was preoccupied, however, when she realized he was talking about Butch. “That boy can’t hold his liquor. He’s no Jericho, but he’s still a rowdy drunk.”

Rosie felt a rush of disappointment at the information. She had hoped that Butch would stop spending so much of his free time at the Megaton saloon, wasting his caps on alcohol. This behavior seemed like a step back in the wrong direction, backsliding into his old, rebellious ways. Maybe she was wrong to think that people could change—that Butch could change. Regardless of how tumultuous she felt at the moment, Rosie knew she couldn’t sit idly by. So much for staying in and studying.

“I’ll go,” she said as she descended the stairs. “Before something worse happens.”

Mitch smirked. “Moriarty already had him drink the moonshine, and we all know what’s in that.”

“Oh, my poor sweet potato,” Moira cooed, tilting her head to the side in a sympathetic gesture. Rosie pressed a hand to her mouth, trying not to retch at the thought—she’d heard the rumors—and sent a silent prayer, hoping they weren’t true on Butch’s behalf. Her shopkeeper friend looked at her. “Do you need any help?”

Rosie shook her head, doubting that either of them would be of any real assistance. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Moira. Thank you again.”

“You’re very welcome,” she replied with a bright grin. “Take care of widdle Butch, now, okay?”

Rosie could only nod and fled from the building before her friend could embarrass her with any suggestive comments or innuendo. The last thing she needed was for the mercenary to know about her unrequited crush.

Moriarty stood outside his establishment as Rosie approached, smoke in hand as he overlooked the night sky. He noticed her just as she made to slip by to the entrance, in no mood to want to speak to the surly man.

“Aye, if it isn’t Miss Sheridan,” he crooned, feigning pleasantries. “Here to collect yer loverboy?”

She huffed, clenching her fingers into fists before relaxing. Better to kill him with kindness, she reminded herself. “I hope he hasn’t been too disruptive,” she said, forcing a smile.

“The boys’ entertaining, I’ll give ‘em that,” Moriarty replied. “See for yerself. May haf to hire ‘em for the bar—”

Rosie turned on her heel, tuning out his accented words as she pushed through the sturdy metal door to the bar. She rarely visited the saloon, and the stench of booze and nicotine overwhelmed her as soon as she crossed the threshold. Immediately she found who she was looking for, sitting at the bar with his back to her so all she could see was the Tunnel Snakes embroidery. Butch. He was hunched over the counter, empty beer bottles and glasses surrounding his frame. It had only been a few hours since she’d last seen him, but apparently he’d been busy.

“One—one mrr,” he slurred at Gob, who stared at him with a mix of pity and annoyance. “Jus one!”

The ghoul bartender sighed, shaking his head. “Kid, you ever hear of alcohol poisoning?”

“Wha-uh?”

Gob noticed Rosie standing in the entranceway and relaxed, though his expression became much more sympathetic. “Better sober up, unless you want to disappoint your best gal.”

Butch perked up, swiveling around in the barstool so fast that he nearly toppled out of the seat altogether. She rushed to steady him, wincing at how much heavier he seemed—maybe it was all the beer and whiskey. With one arm wrapped around his torso, she held him upright against the bar.

“Stitches!” he greeted, awkwardly slinging an arm around her shoulder and dragging her close for a sideways hug. “Here!”

She nodded, choosing to ignore him for the moment and glanced to Gob who was studying their exchange. “Did he drink all these?” she asked, pointing to the display bottles.

“Sure did,” Gob answered. “Would not stop talking about growing up in the vault, and then leaving the vault. Talked a lot about you, actually.”

Rosie blinked, her heartrate steadily increasing. “What?”

The bartender gave a dismissive shrug. “But then he started singing, which soured the mood.”

Despite herself, Rosie smiled, amused by the thought. Plus, he’d been talking about her—she didn’t know what about, and he’d been drinking—but that certainly made her emotions aflutter.

“You’re cute when you smile, Stitches,” Butch mumbled, head titled to the side as he stared up at her with a sideways, dreamy smile.

Rosie instantly felt her face flood with heat. Gob smirked at the two and all she desperately wanted was to get out of sight from him and Butch. Speechless, she fumbled through her skirt pockets for a handful of caps, placing them on the counter, implying it was for the mess and for any unpaid drinks. She tightened her hold around Butch’s waist, holding onto the arm wrapped around her shoulder as counter-balance as she hoisted him from the barstool.

Gob watched the two. “Got him?”

“Ssshe’s got me!” Butch answered for the both of them with a beaming grin.

Rosie clenched her teeth, sucking in a breath as she adjusted him again, nudging at his feet so he’d support the weight of his own legs. It was a futile effort, but she’d helped carry heavier people with her father down in the vault. She could help an inebriated Butch walk back to her house across town…maybe. Gob still moved from behind the bar to push open the front door to make her exit easier. Caught up in the moment, she offered him a passing remark.

“If you hear a loud crash, we’ve fallen from the rafters. Please send our bodies to Moira,” she instructed sardonically. “For science.”

x ------- x

Butch was of no help in the journey across town. Rosie would’ve guessed he had fallen asleep if it weren’t for the occasional drag of his feet and giggle, followed by an incoherent stream of words. All the while, she couldn’t help but wonder what had led to his sorry state—why’d he chosen to drink so much in the first place. Rosie knew he had the penchant for it—a bad habit learned from his mother—she was naïve to think the pattern would drop now that he was on the surface. Thinking back to her medical training and knowledge on addictive personalities, it wasn’t always so easy. The best thing she could do was to be there for him—he had done the same for her when she went through the paces of the emotional trauma of her father’s death—maybe the Wasteland was finally getting to him. Regardless, she could be a supportive friend. Friends—that’s what they wanted to be, right?

What if she wanted more?

“Ugh.”

“Huh?”

Rosie ignored Butch’s confusion and pushed open the front door, nearly tripping over her own feet in the process.

“Good evening, Miss Sheridan,” Wadsworth greeted as soon as they entered her Megaton home. “Oh, and Mr. DeLoria, he appears to be incapacitated. Do you require assistance?”

Rosie nodded as she continued dragging his body along side hers towards the stairs. The robot-butler instantly floated over, gently sliding a metal appendage under his other arm to assist in carrying him up to the second floor.

“Do you need the bathroom?” Rosie asked him, repeating the question when Butch shook his head too quickly. “Are you sure?”

“I ain’t gonna hurl,” he assured, a whine in his voice.

She was more worried about him pissing his pants but wasn’t about to embarrass him (or herself) by stating the fact out loud. Wadsworth continued to help carry him to the smaller bedroom, depositing him on the edge of the mattress where he promptly flopped backwards, arms flung to the side.

“I shall fetch you some water!” the Mister Handy exclaimed, whizzing away to perform his task.

Rosie exhaled like she had been holding her breath since leaving Moriarty’s, wondering if her pulse would ever settle. She glanced over her shoulder to find Butch sprawled out on his bed, legs dangling off the edge and boots twitching against the metal flooring. It would’ve been an amusing sight, if he weren’t so intoxicated. With another sigh she approached, quietly sitting down next to him.

“I’m taking your boots off,” she explained, looking up at his face to see his eyes were closed.

He hummed in response. “Oh-kay.”

One, two clunky black combat boots fell to the floor with a clang, and Wadsworth returned with a bottle of purified water. After another whirl of his robotic arms, he left the room, leaving the two alone. Rosie tapped Butch on the knee with the bottle.

“Sit up,” she instructed, shaking him harder when he didn’t move. “You need to drink some water.”

Slowly, he lifted himself onto his elbows, head rolling like it contained bricks instead of a squishy brain—she wondered sometimes if that were actually the case. He pushed himself up and swayed close, lips quirked up in a smirk.

“He-llo.”

Rosie bit her tongue at the foul stench emanating from his mouth, wishing Wadsworth had brought bubblegum as well. Oh well—Butch could worry about his hygiene in the morning—no doubt his hair would be a mess too. She pushed the purified water into his hand and guided it to his mouth, sliding away only when he started to drink on his own. When it was empty and sitting on the nightstand, he began wriggling out of his leather jacket, only to get the sleeve stuck on his Pip-Boy, as expected. Rosie shifted around to help him, half-standing, half-kneeling on the bed as he almost resisted her help, until he noticed their compromising position. As soon as his Tunnel Snakes jacket and Pip-Boy laid discarded on the foot of the bed, he wrapped an arm around her waist, nearly knocking their heads together.

“If ya’ wanna get closer to me, that’s all you gotta say, girl,” he muttered, sending sparks across her skin.

Impulsively, she pushed away, standing upright, almost falling backwards from how dizzy she felt. Butch looked up at her, steely eyes glazed over in mild confusion. She needed to set the situation straight immediately, before boundaries were crossed and feelings were hurt. Her feelings.

“That’s not what’s happening right now,” she spoke quickly, waving her hands.

He followed the movement of her fingers, and she wasn’t sure if he understood. The silence stretched on for too long, Butch staring at her with doe-eyes, the softest hint of a smile. Why wasn’t he saying anything? And why couldn’t she say anything back? Rosie thought about forfeiting and leaving him as he was when there was the most subtle change to his expression, brows furrowing as his eyes flickered across her face.

“I—I don’t feel so good,” he mumbled before falling backwards.

Rosie jumped into action, shifting his body so he was laying properly along the bed, repeatedly checking his vital signs to ensure he was only passing out from exhaustion and not acute liver poisoning. Eventually, she moved his jacket and Pip-Boy aside, pulling the blanket over his body so she could better tuck him in—if he got chills during the night, he’d appreciate the warmth. Just as she was pushing herself off the bed, Butch’s finger’s tightened around her wrist.

“Hey, don’t,” he murmured into the pillow, one eye peeked open. “Stay?”

Rosie was about to protest when he smiled, and her chest tightened with a kind of yearning she was only recently familiar with. She didn’t want to leave him, not now, not ever. Through the good, the bad and the drunkenly. Even if he didn’t feel the same way about her, romantically—she’d find a way to get over it—just as she’d done before in the vault. Without offering him an answer, she scooted towards the headboard, leaning her back against it and stretching her legs along the sheets next to his body. Butch eyed her, but he surprisingly didn’t make a snarky remark about her choosing not to snuggle up close. Instead, he lifted his head and plopped it right into her lap, hooking his arm loose around her legs.

More silence fell over them, more quiet that Rosie didn’t know what to do with. She didn’t know where to put her hands, wringing them awkwardly by her chest as she studied Butch’s profile. His eyes were closed, usually coifed hair now a wavy mess hanging down his forehead. Hesitantly, she rested her fingers there, pushing back the black strands, studying the faint constellation of freckles she’d never noticed before dotted across his skin. When she noticed his smile increase she repeated her movements, steadily combing her fingers through his hair and across his scalp in a calming motion that reminded her of being cradled as a toddler in her father’s arms. This was far more intimate, however.

“Love you Rosie,” he mumbled into the fabric of her skirt.

She froze immediately, staring at his face wide-eyed and frantic. What? What? Her heart seized to beat for a second before fluttering to life so rapidly, it felt like she was going to have a stroke. He had to be drunk still, or she had to be dreaming. Or both. Maybe she was inebriated. As the thoughts swirled in her head, sending her into a panic, Butch continued, unaware of her stunned reaction.

“You’re my best friend.”

Oh.

Rosie swallowed the lump in her throat, but only found herself conflicted. So it wasn’t romantic love, but…platonic? That was still one hell of a confession, coming from Butch, but she would be lying if she said she wasn’t letdown. Even with all the sudden fear that settled over her, it didn’t compare to the disappointment she felt now. Though, it wasn’t the first time she’d had unrequited feelings, and she was sure it wouldn’t be the last. That didn’t mean she was about to throw away a friendship forged from a rocky past.

Butch hugged her knees a little tighter. “You’re all I got left, ya’ know? The only one who’d take care of a sad sack like me.”

Rosie smiled, brushing her thumb across his forehead in an affectionate sweep. Completely unsure of what to say, or how to respond, she hoped it was enough. She was sure that he would’ve never said these things to her sober, anyways. If she said anything now, he wouldn’t remember, so it was better to enjoy the moment while it lasted. As soon as he was asleep, she would sneak away and decompress in her own room, try to sort through the emotional weight of it all. She decided that if he didn’t recall tonight in the morning, she’d not bother with bringing it up to him again—no need to embarrass him—even if she’d remember it forever. Rosie thought about what he said, realizing it was true. Butch was all she had.

Maybe one day, she’d tell him too.

#fallout 3 #butch deloria x f!lone wanderer #butch deloria #rosie sheridan #otp: it's just a flesh wound #fluff and salt bae angst #the emotions are thicc here #poor rosie baby #do I imply Butch was pouring his guts out to Gob? Maybe #(yes)

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vongerstenberg · 6 years ago

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Pokémon Yellow: Pikachu ONLY Challenge!

Growing up, Pokémon was just getting hot while I was in 5th grade. I watched the Saturday morning cartoon, played the CCG with my bro, and faced off on Game Boy against friends. Often mocked as being a "kiddie" franchise, I could have cared less and could still care less. Fun game, solid entry level RPG all things considered. Being able to run a Game Boy Advanced emulator on my phone has afforded me the time to squeeze in a revisit of Pokémon: Yellow Edition in my free time (Which currently comes at a premium with a 5 month old around! :D) What's not to love? You get Pikachu right off the bat, he follows you around the game, you can check in on his mood, and get to play through the story more like the way the cartoon played out.

To make this more challenging on myself since at this point the straight up gameplay is all I care to do (the side quest of collecting 150 digital animals has minimal appeal to me at this stage of my gaming "career"), I am going through the game only using my initial Pokémon to do any/all fighting. If he is knocked out in a fight, I reset, reload, and try again. I decided that Pikachu, being my champion, needed an appropriate nickname. I settled on "Mouse Lord". I will of course be picking up a handful of other Pokémon along the way so I have a means to use the HMs Cut, Fly, Surf, and Strength. These are essential for progressing through the game and can't be learned by Mouse Lord.

Pallet Town & Viridian City

The start of the game is pretty ho-hum. I named my nemesis "Fart". He heckles you throughout the game, so he deserves the name of a lowly troll. Fart seemed appropriate. The first two fights against Fart weren't too rough. A potion was needed on the first one for some HP insurance, but by the time I faced him again I could hold my own just fine.

Pewter City

The fight in the Pewter City Gym against Brock is one of the two actually challenging gym battles in this entire self challenge. Having all Rock/Ground types, I had to tail whip 2 to 3 times before Quick Attack could do any significant damage. Coupled with a healthy stock pile of potions, I was able to clean house and win. Only took one attempt.

Once I found the TM for the move "Body Slam", I swapped that with "Quick Attack". Body Slam has a high accuracy and relatively high damage rating. The PP of 15 was not preferred but not a deal breaker. This gave me the ability to do some damage to enemies that Electric type attacks don't work on. The most time laborious part of only using one Pokémon that only has one normal type attack is running back to Poké Centers all the time to recharge PP. More time consuming than actually "challenging".

Mt. Moon

Strolled into the first cave of the game at level 22, which was more than sufficient against the early game Pokémon. Every RPG has caves, and every cave in every RPG generally sucks. Caves usually take you to where you need to go or give you a nice reward for grinding through. This cave provides passage to Cerulean City and the next Gym. Encounters with Geodude and Onix were pretty common, but I could run away from wild fights. Trainer fights I wasn't willing to gloss over. Lots of Ground and Rock Type battles meant lots of returning topside on foot to the Poké Center to recharge PP. Body Slam came in handy hear in combo again with Tail Whip to lower opponent's defenses, but only having 15 PP in Body Slam didn't get me through nearly enough battles. I found an Ether hidden under a rock which allowed me to restore some PP to Body Slam, but I ultimately JUST cleared the cave finishing the final mandatory battle with Team Rocket depleting the last of the PP in both Thundershock and Body Slam. Kind of a big deal because exhausting those skills mid battle would have meant starting over from my last save. I attribute all of the one hit KOs in my final battle to the Helix Fossil. It led me to victory.

Cerulean City

Misty had nothing to offer up against Mouse Lord's lightning fury! The trainer battle just before Misty, Mouse Lord learned Thunderbolt which assured one hit KOs on both of Misty's Pokémon. Next!

Vermilion City

A quick run down to the S.S. Anne to rub the Sea Captain's back and be given HM 01, "Cut"... Which I could not graciously accept because my inventory was full. Thanks to newer versions of Pokémon, I had completely forgotten how limited my inventory was in this early edition of the game. I went on a TM tossing tear in the Captain's cabin. Once given HM 01, I taught it to an aptly named Bulbasaur named "Cutman" I was gifted by an NPC. The Vermilion City gym although obnoxious with the trip switch puzzle, wasn't challenging at all. Another case of Tail Whips combined with Body Slams on trainers and a one hit on LT. Surge. Upon leaving the gym I was gifted a Squirtle by a sad sack of an NPC which gave me an effort free Pokémon to teach Surf to later on.

Rock Tunnel

I didn't waste time getting the HM "Flash", let alone teaching it to Mouse Lord. The side quest needed to earn Flash required catching some quantity of Pokémon. Wasn't worth it. I just went in and felt around in the dark for awhile till I found my way out. I had a healthy supply of escape ropes just in case. I accidentally rubbed up against a few trainers and ran from all wild encounters.

Celadon Gym

Pulped the mass of plant Pokémon with Body Slam in this Gym. Chump Gym. Mouse Lord leveled in the high 40s at this point. I have been making sure I hit the vast majority of the trainer battles along the way to maximize XP gained. So far, the XP gained has been overkill for using just the one Pokémon. Pikachu is a glass cannon to begin with, but my opponents seldom get a chance to land a blow. At this point, I'm starting to feel like the "Gotta catch 'em all!" mind set has no place in this game.

Team Rocket Hideout & Pokemon Tower

The little arrows that make you slowly spin across the floor in Team Rocket's Hideout, easily the most obnoxious "challenge" so far in this run.. Boss battles were no problem here, still clipping along with minimal resistance. Giovanni, easy peasy. At this point Mouse Lord was leveling in the low 50s.

The Pokémon Tower was not too bad, but getting nailed with confusion every few trainer battles wore my patience down quickly. Not being able to swap to a "sane" fighter made the tower take far longer than it should have. I didn't want to run from the chance to pick up some more XP though, so I put my head down and powered through. Did this a bit out of order.. had to return after completing the fight in the Silph Co. tower with the Silph Scope to actually "complete" the tower. Whoops.

Silph Co. & Saffron City Gym

Teleported to every room on every floor of the Silph Co. Tower to make sure I cleared all trainer battles. I had to make a few trips to the Poké Center to recharge PP and HP. Team Rocket and Giovanni were once again a cake walk. Nothing of any interest to report really. At this point, the Pikachu only challenge is turning into kind of a grind. Starting to feel a little bit like I'm playing Diablo minus the hope for fun and exciting drops.

Fighting Dojo in Saffron also a non event. Completed all fights in the Dojo for XP and for a Pokemon I could eventually teach strength to. Picked the Hitmonlee and named him "Toejam" for funsies.

Saffron Gym wasn't too rough, but wasn't completely forgiving. Confusion got in my way again here, wasn't able to always one hit in all of the bouts. Needed to make one trip out to heal, which took over 5 minutes to remember the teleporter pattern (Also, running the emulator at accelerated speed caused me to fumble more than anything else. Being stubborn I refused to slow the emulator down and just kept going onto the wrong teleporter pad.). This, honestly, kicked my butt more than the floor arrows that make you slowly spin across the floor..

Fuchsia City

Finally cashed in my bike voucher out of necessity. The bike path was the one place I didn't fight many of the trainers. I've been playing with accelerated emulation so I could get through the game faster than normal. A replay of an RPG really requires accelerated emulation for the grinds. I flew down the path so fast, redirecting wasn't really an option. I went with the flow rather than fighting the current.

Koga wasn't a problem at all. At this point I was around level 60. Everything is still turning up Mouse Lord. Safari Zone I ran from everything and went straight for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Seafoam Islands

I tried to catch the Articuno that was hiding in the cave here so I could have a luxury pokemon to fly on. At level 65, I couldn't delicately damage it enough to capture it. I knocked it out, took the 1500 some points in XP, and went on my way. The only thing legendary about this Pokémon was the whooping it received from Mouse Lord.

I wound up using a master ball on a spearow eventually just so I had something to teach fly to. Didn't really need fly at this point because without doing side challenges and just playing the game straight up, it can be rather linear. I did however want a means to fly back to the prime shops Celadon to stock up on choice combat items.

Cinnabar Island

At this point, Mouse Lord was leveling in at just almost 70. Waltzed through the Pokemon Mansion for the Secret Key, then on to the Gym. Blaine wasn't too bad, he did manage to get some hits in but I didn't need to reach for a potion at all. Going in I did skip the trainer fights and answer the quiz questions for funsies. I got them all right of course. I am for reals, a Pokémon Master.

Viridian City & Power Plant

I went straight to the gym thinking it would continue to be a cake walk, I couldn't have been more wrong! Finally, a true challenge! Giovanni actually brought his "A" game to a brawl for the first time this entire game. Giovanni's Nidoqueen, Nidoking, and Rhydon DESTROYED me. Being ground types, I had to rely on Body Slam. Every attack from these three was Earthquake, which forced me to heal. I had to leave, level up a bit, and try again. Still, the best I could do was make it to the Rhydon.

Rhydon would use earth quake and take me down to 20 HP, I would use a Hyper Potion, and repeat. I figured, he will run out of PP, I'll wait out the storm and go on the offensive. Fun Fact: Somehow he doesn't run out of PP for Earthquake EVER.

I flew over to the power plant to clear it out and level some more. I thought I could capture the Zappdos to have as a super cool ride, but no dice. I took the XP and carried on again.. I flew on my Spearrow (weak @$$ ride) to celadon city to stock up on some defense X. When I went back to Viridian, I used my stat pumping items while fighting the Dugtrio in round one then healed up and carried on. This plus the extra levels (now level 78) allowed me to hold my own and win like a boss.

Victory Road & The Final Four!

Another bland encounter with my rival Fart begins the final chapter of this Pikachu only challenge. This guy is a total turd. I'm always happy to slap him around. The path down victory road was not particularly challenging. I ran from the wild encounters to preserve PP, and wound up using an escape rope once to recover PP at a Poké Center. I didn't want to waste the Max Ethers I had on hand just in case I needed them on the Final Four.

In the caves of victory road I encountered a Moltres, the last of the three legendary birds. At this point, I was mostly over trying to catch one for the sake of having a Cadillac of all flying Pokémon to ride on the back of. Instead, I ripped him to pieces with Mouse Lords unwavering rage.

The trickiest part of the Final Four was the necessity of having two Max Ethers on hand. I needed to rebuff both Body Slam and Thunderbolt after the first three battles. Since you fight 5 battles back to back with a total of 26 Pokémon of mixed types back to back, running out of PP using only a single Pokémon is the hardest part. There is nothing amazing to comment on from the fights because they were relatively lackluster. I beat the final portion of the game over a five minutes span while standing in my kitchen talking to my wife. As I was watching the credits scroll, she wandered over and looks at my phone, then looks at me "You were playing Pokémon while we were talking?". I proudly say "Yes." The last battles were so uneventful, that I was able to hold a discussion while owning. The sign of a true pro.

The final battle with Fart was an absolute non event. The real take away from all of this is that the game is completely doable with only a single Pokémon used to fight all battles. The trainer battles alone give you the XP you need to level up that one Pokémon into a power house, a force to be reckoned with. The core game doesn't necessitate the capturing of all possible Pokémon, it's largely just franchise immersion.

That being said, I still had a blast playing through the game! Brought me back to the days when the franchise was first breaking out and was all the rage. Epilogue: Mewtwo

Having crushed all opposition, I went up against the only truly worthy opponent in the game: Mewtwo. Quite a bit of back and forth in this fight! Every time Mewtwo was able to get off a powerful psychic attack, I was left reaching for Hyper Potions. We had around 7 rounds of combat and I ultimately prevailed, but definitely had a few close calls. With no opponents left to challenge me, this run is as complete as it can be.

#pokemon #pikachu #gameboy #nintendo #retrogaming

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greattastemakerfest · 4 years ago

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maxmollon · 6 years ago

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(via Who the Fuck is Jacques Ranciere? | Critical-Theory.com)

WHO THE FUCK IS JACQUES RANCIERE?

A French critical theorist and philosophical troll in a world of ivory tower intellectualism, bourgeois academics, and Jean Baudrillard, Ranciere stands out as a kind of anti-philosopher. A University of Paris professor and former student of Louis Althusser, Ranciere has committed his intellectual project to destroying its foundations.

While that may sound a lot like Baudrillard, who wants to remind everyone that everything is simulation and nothing matters, or Nietzsche who attacks the foundations of Western metaphysics, Ranciere takes a different approach. Namely, by accusing every other philosopher of being a shitty Platonist and hating democracy.

While other philosophers deconstruct the metaphysical tradition and replace it with their own project, Ranciere’s philosophy can be summed up by “meh, people will figure it out.” And thus we present: the thought of Jacques Ranciere.

#1 “Fuck the Police” is Pretty Much his Definition of Politics

This counts.

In his “Ten Theses on Politics”, Ranciere makes a simple claim. There are two kinds of politics in the status quo, fake poser bullshit masquerading as politics and the real thing. Ranciere calls the poser politics the “politics of the police”. Ranciere calls “real” politics “dissensus.”

What the Fuck is Dissensus?

Dissensus is the process by which actors disrupt the politics of the police.

You see, the police are all about telling you what to do and where to do it. Remember that time that cop got all up in your grill for skateboarding in front of 7-11? Or, if you’re a person of color, remember that time a cop arrested you and planted drugs on you for skateboarding in front of 7-11? That’s the police order; the partitions that the police put in place for what can be seen, said and done, and where they can be done. When that cop drove away and you kept skateboarding, you totally disrupted the police partitioning of that space (sort of).

The police says that there is nothing to see on a road, that there is nothing to do but move along. It asserts that the space of circulating is nothing other than the space of circulation. Politics, in contrast, consists in transforming this space of ‘moving-along’ into a space for the appearance of a subject: i.e., the people, the workers, the citizens: It consists in refiguring the space, of what there is to do there, what is to be seen or named therein. It is the established litigation of the perceptible. – Ten Theses on Politics

We can see how these police partitions work in the events of Occupy Wall Street.

You see, some bankers made this park on stolen native land for them to eat lunch in while they rested from robbing the world of millions of dollars with complicated derivatives and other bullshit nobody understands. When some hipsters decided they wanted to camp out on Wall Street, the police were like “GTFO bro”. And when those hipsters started camping out in Zuccoti Park and ruining those bankers lunches, the police calmly reminded the protesters that the park belonged to white people in suits. The police reminded the protesters that if they want to take part in this “politics” business they need to vote like everyone else, or at least have some sort of “concrete demands”. But they didn’t, so then they started pepper spraying kids.

That’s what the police order does, it tells you to take part in the fake politics – casting a ballot, going to a town hall – and tries to divest energy from what Ranciere calls real politics. After all, the Egyptian revolution didn’t start because people started sending nicely worded petitions to the government. It started when people manifested themselves in the public spaces that were once apolitical.

#2 He Doesn’t Get Along with his Colleagues

Ranciere got his first exposure by contributing to Reading Capital with his teacher Louis Althusser.

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https://www.wikiwand.com/fr/Lire_le_Capital Dialectical materialism is a philosophy of science and nature developed in Europe and based on the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. In contrast to the Hegelian dialectic, which emphasized the idealist observation that human experience is dependent on the mind's perceptions, Marxist dialectics emphasizes the importance of real world conditions, in terms of class, labor, and socioeconomic interactions. - Historical materialism, also known as the materialist conception of history, is a methodology used by some communist and Marxist historiographers that focuses on human societies and their development through history, arguing that history is the result of material conditions rather than ideas. This was first articulated by Karl Marx (1818–1883) as the "materialist conception of history." I

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It may be surprising that a few years later Ranciere put out Althusser’s Lesson which might have well been a raging “fuck off” to his teacher and mentor. The quarrel started over the events of May ’68. While Althusser and other Marxists were asserting the importance of Marxist academia in the French student revolts, Ranciere began to break away from this traditional mode of thought. Marxist intellectuals accused the revolts of being bourgeois and undisciplined. To which Ranciere accused Marxists of being a bunch of little shits:

The underlying idea, to focus solely on the theoretical level, is not only that Marxism is learned exclusively through books, but also that it is learned only from the classics. It is that every development is a betrayal, that every application of Marxism is a deviation into pragmatism, ideology, and political manipulation. We can see quite clearly from the phrase, ‘to focus solely on the theoretical level’, that what was at stake on the practical level was the rejection of the ‘developments’ that Khrushchev, with his successors and emulators, had introduced to ‘classical’ Marxism. This was the time, for example, when it was common to teach that peaceful coexistence was the supreme form of class struggle . . . The purism of theory could not but have political effects. And that was really all that mattered: we could say everything, provided nothing that we said had practical effects. – Althusser’s Lesson

But that was just the start. Ranciere’s project became more and more defined as time went on. From a criticism of Althusser and orthodox Marxism, Ranciere’s message soon became “Philosophy – it’s a big bag of dicks.” Writing Hatred of Democracy, Ranciere attacks the Platonic tradition and ties it to practically every Marxist philosopher. He argues that everyone in the Western tradition, from Plato to Marx, wants to become a philosopher king to shovel Truth into the mouths of the blind ignorant masses. Ranciere carries this line of thought to his other books such as “Disagreement” where he accuses every theorists of democracy of being a Platonic saboteur.

One of his most famous feuds is with fellow Althusser alumn Alain Badiou for his self-professed Platonism.

Badiou, whose goal is to revive an “egalitarian Platonism,” penned an essay about Ranciere titled “The Lessons of Jacques Ranciere: Knowledge and Power After the Storm,” whereby Badiou acknowledges that the shittiest thing he could ever to do Ranciere is agree with him:

“To speak only well of Jacques Ranciere is not an easy task, given the positions that the two of us occupy. Perhaps my constant praise might, in fact, be the worst fate that I could have in store for him. Would doing so be precisely the most underhanded way to attack him? If, for example, I were to announce that we are in agreement on a number of important points, how would he take that? Would he rather just as soon change his mind on all those points and leave me behind?” – Jacques Ranciere: History, Politics, Aesthetics

And then there’s Jean Baudrillard. Baudrillard, who started his career by telling everybody to “Forget Foucault” is an academic troll par excellence. The theorists of simulation has taken Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle and turned it into a nihilistic portrait of doom and despair. But Ranciere ain’t got time for that. Writing in “The Misadventures of Critical Thought” he says “theorists of simulation” (a not-so-subtle reference to Baudrillard) are at the heart of simulation itself.

The Marxism of the denunciation of the mythologies of the commodity, the fallacies of consumer’s society and the empire of the spectacle. Forty years ago, it was supposed to unmask the machineries of domination, in order to provide the anti-capitalist fighters with new weapons. It has turned to exactly the contrary: a form of nihilist knowledge of the reign of the commodity and the spectacle, of the equivalence of anything with anything and of anything with its image

…The current disconnection between the critical procedures and any perspective of emancipation only reveals the disjunction at the heart of the critical paradigm. It may make fun of its illusions but it remains enclosed in its logic. This is why I think it is necessary to re-examine the genealogy of the concepts and procedures of that logic and the way in which it got intertwined with the logic of social emancipation.

– The Misadventures of Critical Thought

#3 He Thinks Your Professor is Worthless

It might seem ironic for a teacher to conclude “fuck smart people.” But in The Ignorant Schoolmaster, Ranciere makes that very claim. You see, Ranciere has been hating on philosophers from the very beginning. From his very start in Althusser’s Lesson, to Hatred of Democracy, to The Philosopher and his Poor, Ranciere is constantly accusing philosophers of proposing a capital T truth to reign down in a golden shower of truth onto ignorant masses. That makes a really compelling case for why I shouldn’t be reading Ranciere at all, and maybe just fucking up the police on my own terms.

But in The Ignorant Schoolmaster, Ranciere takes teachers to task. You see, teachers are trying to make you stupid. Really stupid. Like you would be better off thinking about shit really hard instead of taking a class on something. Why does he say that?

There was this dude named Jacotot, and he was awesome. He was a French guy who went to teach in Belgium after the French Revolution. He was teaching French, but his students only spoke Flemish. He, by the way, did not speak Flemish. So doing what any responsible teacher would do, Jacotot gave them a recent version of this book Telamaque that had the French on one side of the page and the Flemish on the other side and said “figure it out.”

And they did.

Ranciere advocates this form of “universal education” and says the traditional teacher/student model is only meant to perpetuate societal inequality and keep students in a state of stultification. Stultification – that’s a fancy word for stupid. The implications of this philosophy are A) You don’t need a teacher like Ranciere to teach you anything and B) An illiterate parent could teach their children to read by plopping a book down and saying “figure it out.”

The crazy part? This shit works, and not just around random corners of Europe where the tradition was born.

You know how your dumb ass can barely figure out how to change the settings on your Kindle? Remember that fancy college degree you spent more than $100k on? Well fuck you, because kids in Ethiopa who don’t even know what a tablet is can not only fix your settings but remove any pesky security measures while they’re at it.

You see, someone at One Laptop Per Child had the bright idea of just dumping a bunch of Motorola Zoom tablets in an Ethiopan village full of kids. The children did not speak English, which was the language loaded on the tablet, and they had never seen a computer before. Within weeks these kids were fucking wizards with the things so much so that they actually figured out how to jailbreak them.

“We left the boxes in the village. Closed. Taped shut. No instruction, no human being. I thought, the kids will play with the boxes! Within four minutes, one kid not only opened the box, but found the on/off switch. He’d never seen an on/off switch. He powered it up. Within five days, they were using 47 apps per child per day. Within two weeks, they were singing ABC songs [in English] in the village. And within five months, they had hacked Android. Some idiot in our organization or in the Media Lab had disabled the camera! And they figured out it had a camera, and they hacked Android.”

There’s more. These other researchers decided to give this whole universal education thing a shot and gave a bunch of molecular biology textbooks to a bunch of Tamil-speaking kids in South India. The text books were in English.

Left on their own for two months, without external help or instruction, the researchers felt that surely this task would demonstrate that ‘yes, we need teachers for certain things’ (Mitra 2010). Indeed, after two months, when Mitra asked them what they understood of molecular biology, the children confirmed that they understood nothing. What gets the biggest laugh at Mitra’s numerous talks, however, is the response of one girl from the group, who explained: ‘Apart from the fact that improper replication of the DNA molecule causes genetic disease, we understood nothing else.’ – Of Slumdogs and Schoolmasters – Jacotot, Ranciere and Mitra on Self-Organized Learning

When given an exam on the material, however, the kids all failed. And by failed, they averaged 30%, which is exactly 4 points lower than I scored on my high school physics final that was administered in a language I speak.

Want to Learn More About Ranciere?

If you’d like to explore the thought of Jacques Ranciere, you can read his Ten Theses on Politics for free on Scribd. You should also check out this Ranciere blog, run by Paul Bowman and Michael O’Rourke.Paul Bowman, by the way, is really into writing about the intersections of Bruce Lee and Ranciere.

#theory #Resources #philosophy #society #politics

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vietthaimeco · 6 years ago

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2020 Toyota Supra First Drive: Automotive Husbandry

There was a time when Mama and Papa Toyota gave birth to strong, athletic sports cars, starting with the suave 2000GT, sent to boarding school in Coventry and raced by Carroll Shelby. Through the years the family grew to include lithe Celicas, stalwart Supras, even a scrappy rear-drive Corolla GT-S or two. Then something happened, and Mama Toyota found herself unable to conceive sports cars. An impatient Papa Toyota summoned his Fuji concubine, Subaru-san, who gave birth to identical twins—one of which he graciously allowed her to keep. Mama Toyota was furious and forbade Papa Toyota from ever showering his son, 86, with any affection or horsepower. To woo back his betrothed, who desperately wished to birth another great sports car, Papa Toyota hatched a plan to artificially inseminate an auspicious European egg for Mama Toyota to gestate. She’s just given birth, and now the world must determine how this half-breed stacks up against its all-Toyota siblings.

We created this origin-story myth for the joint development of the A90-generation Supra out of frustration when it proved impossible to pin down exactly what roles Toyota and BMW played in the initial design of this new car. The inline-six turbo is obviously all BMW’s—it served as the inspiration for this hook-up in the first place. (“Thy Supras Shall Have I-6 Engines” was chiseled as the forgotten 11th commandment.) Most invisible parts are shared and apparently developed by BMW, if the roundel stickers, engravings, and casting marks are to be believed. The bodywork and the tuning of every tunable element on the Supra was handled by Toyota. We’re told the joint-venture team aimed squarely at Porsche’s 718 range, with BMW targeting the Boxster; Toyota the Cayman.

As for the B58B30M1 engine, although its output roughly equates to that of the European-market BMW Z4 sibling, it does not in fact employ a particle filter in U.S. applications. This begs the question, why not uncork the extra horsepower BMW gets from its filterless U.S. application (tagged B58B30M0)? Chief engineer Tetsuya Tada answers by claiming that balancing the car’s engine and chassis at the Nürburgring led to the 335 hp/365 lb-ft rating. But we find it hard to believe that in this fanboy, numbers-obsessed market segment his team chose to remove 47 horsepower instead of fortifying the chassis to cope with 382 hp. Let’s hope that instead the strategy is to start out conservative and bring a steady stream of higher-output special editions in the years to come.

But let’s return to the essential question at hand: Is this bicontinental cross-breed a “real” Supra?

The striking design may not appeal to everyone, but at least it doesn’t look at all like any BMW and several design cues evince Toyota sports-car DNA: the hatch bustle shape and elements of the headlamp design hark to the previous (A80) Supra, and the side-window shape is pure 2000GT. The proportions are certainly fresh. It’s shorter in length and wider than any of its predecessors, with the cabin set well back behind the requisite long hood. It’s also impressive that the team managed to generate the aero forces required to guarantee stability at the car’s 155-mph-limited top speed with underbody features and the duckbill shape of the hatch surface, leaving the bodywork refreshingly devoid of external wings, spoilers, skirts, and splitters.

Inside, the 2020 Supra’s overall dash, door panel, and seat designs are unlike the Z4’s, but there’s no mistaking all the BMW switchgear—especially the entire iDrive system, complete with all BMW fonts (changing them would have reduced Tada’s budget for making the car lighter and quicker). Whatever you think of the appearance, the functionality of this interior is hard to fault. All controls are intuitive and within easy reach (Consumer Reports just rated iDrive second to Tesla among automotive user interfaces). The 14-way power seats are quite comfortable and supportive, with side wings that can adjust to hug you tight on a track, then relax for the drive home. And the whole driver’s side of the center console area is padded for taller drivers to brace their right knee against. Nice.

I drew the assignment to test out the new Supra in part because I’m old enough (just) to have been around for the 1993 A80 Supra’s launch. and I drove the 2000GT for MotorTrend Classic in 2005. Let me state right here that the 2020 Supra comes off as less exotic than either of those two. That’s OK. Evolving the A80 Supra Turbo, accounting for inflation, would have produced a low-volume 500-ish-hp car priced in the $75,000–$85,000 range, and the 2000GT’s successor was arguably the Lexus LFA.

That’s not to say that the new Supra doesn’t feel special. All new two-seat coupes are rare and wonderful these days, and this one certainly outperforms all its predecessors. Our database confirms that if the factory-estimated 0–60 time of 4.1 seconds holds up, this new Supra will outperform all previous production Toyotas (a supercharged 2008 Tundra TRD and a 1997 Supra Turbo rank as the quickest we’ve tested at 4.4 and 5.1 seconds to 60 mph, respectively).

There’s a launch-control feature to aid in achieving that number, and the standard ZF 8HP eight-speed automatic fires off lightning-quick shifts along the way. Engage Sport mode, and the faultless shift programming preselects the right gear for every corner. This mode also opens an exhaust flap, alters the audio-system engine-note enhancer, and orders up a delightful snap-crackle-pop on overrun courtesy of gloriously wasteful fuel injection during the exhaust stroke (fun fact: This is said to be the only Toyota designed with no fuel-economy target).

Supras are not drag-strip cars. They also need to be able to handle the corners, and toward that end the joint team built a strong foundation—the Supra’s torsional rigidity reportedly exceeds that of the Lexus LFA (not to mention the open Z4). The front strut suspension emulates the ‘super strut’ design Toyota launched on its AE92 Corolla in the late-1980s, featuring two separate ball-jointed lower links for reduced camber change and improved steering feel. To assist with chassis tuning, Mr. Tada once again engaged the services of Dutch Nürburgring veteran racer Herwig Daenens, who assisted with the Toyota 86 (née Scion FR-S).

Their goal was to tune for neutral handling with no surprises. “With a snappy car, the customer will experience it once and never drive it hard again,” Daenens explains as he laps Summit Point Motorsports Park outside Washington, D.C. His first hot lap strings together all the tight corners with laser precision and minimal steering heroics. He then gives me a Formula Drift lap or two, with no giant hand-brakes or diff-locks, rolling on the stock Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires inflated to placard specs (38 psi all around, cold). Speaking of differential locks, the Supra’s is infinitely variable and tuned to reduce corner-entry understeer and to maximize corner-exit traction.

When it’s my turn to duck my helmet under the low window opening and buckle in, I am struck by the intimacy of the car and cockpit. It feels as though I’m positioned near the centers of gravity and rotation, making it feel like this little world indeed revolves around me. One nit to pick—the large driver’s side-view mirror obscures the view of an upcoming apex worse than some, and the tallest drivers may be chagrinned to find the seatback tilting forward toward the rear of the seat track’s travel.

We’re instructed not to switch stability control completely off, to trail-brake into the turns, and to roll judiciously onto the throttle. Indeed, all those driving-school techniques provoke textbook responses in the Supra sans drama or surprises. The steering is extremely precise and nicely weighted, though it lacks the intimate communication of the Cayman Toyota is gunning for. Stability intervention is pleasantly surreptitious. And the super-strong Brembo brakes survive lap after lap after lap without fade, even as we all learn to press deeper into each of the closely spaced corners. Then during a later afternoon session, when we’ve probably used up 280 of the tires’ 300 tread-life rating, I even manage to string together a couple of very nice, controllable corner-to-corner drifts. I emerge, sweaty but smiling.

Once the red mist subsides and we take to the country lanes surrounding Summit Point, the car’s Sunday-drive demeanor proves equally delightful. The 12-speaker 500-watt JBL system cranks out the jams, the ride quality in Sport mode is sufficiently compliant to encourage leaving the car in this ‘fun-exhaust’ mode, and when zipping through a series of S-bends with your phone on the Qi wireless charger, a cover and sufficient fencing keep it from flying into the passenger footwell.

So is this miracle of automotive husbandry worthy of the Supra name? Heck, yeah. It reinvents the concept in a guise that make sense for today’s world, and it’s offered at a price ($50,920 to start, $57,375 fully loaded) that’s a relative bargain when measured against both its predecessor and its Porsche competitor ($58,150, $70,640 similarly equipped to the Launch Edition model). If it’s not precisely what you had in mind, the aftermarket is gearing up to help you fix that.

Want more Supra? Check these out:

8 Things We Learned About the 2020 Toyota Supra While It Was on a Lift

2020 Toyota Supra: The Aftermarket’s Take

2020 Toyota Supra: Here’s Something You Probably Didn’t Know About its Logo

Supra Returns! The Inside Story on the 2020 Toyota Supra’s Comeback

2020 Toyota Supra Design: From FT-1 Concept to Production

Toyota Supra History: Looking Back at Toyota’s Sports Car

Why Toyota’s Supra-Z4 Partnership With BMW Makes Sense

2020 Toyota Supra BASE PRICE $50,920 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 2-door hatchback ENGINE 3.0L/335-hp/365-lb-ft turbocharged DOHC 24-valve I-6 TRANSMISSION 8-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT 3,400 lb (mfr) WHEELBASE 97.2 in LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT 172.5 x 73.0 x 50.9 in 0-60 MPH 4.1 sec (mfr est) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 24/31/26 mpg ENERGY CONSUMPTION, CITY/HWY 140/109 kW-hrs/100 miles CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 0.79 lb/mile ON SALE IN U.S. July 2019

The post 2020 Toyota Supra First Drive: Automotive Husbandry appeared first on Motortrend.

source https://www.motortrend.com/cars/toyota/supra/2020/2020-toyota-supra-first-drive-review/

#vtmeco.com

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filipeteimuraz · 7 years ago

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How to Monitor Your Competitors With These 10 Helpful Tools

Your business doesn’t operate in a vacuum.

There are countless outside factors that influence whether or not you’ll turn a profit. Your competition plays a huge role in the success of your business.

That’s why it’s so important for you to take the proper steps to gain a competitive edge on other brands in your industry. But, as I’m sure you’ve quickly realized, this is much easier said than done.

The ease of access to the Internet has amplified your competition at an exponential rate.

You’re no longer just competing with a few other local or regional businesses. You’ve got to worry about national and global brands as well.

What makes your company unique? What differentiating factors help you stand out? Why would a customer buy from you over your competitors?

These questions are difficult to answer, especially if you aren’t constantly researching the competition. But with so many other brands to keep an eye on, this can seem like a daunting task.

Not to worry. There are plenty of online tools to help you keep tabs on your competitors. I’ve narrowed down this list to the top 10 I found to be the most helpful.

If you try these out, it will be much easier for you to brand and market your business, taking into account what your competitors are doing.

1. Google Alerts

No list of online monitoring tools would be complete without Google Alerts.

This tool is about as easy to use as it gets. Simply sign into your Google account to get started. If you don’t have one, it will take only a couple of minutes to sign up.

Next, input the names of your competitors. Google takes care of the rest.

You’ll get an email report every time a competitor on your alert list gets mentioned online. You can set it up for links and keywords as well.

It all depends on what you want to track.

Google Alerts is great because it’s free to use. You’ll get notified when your competitors are mentioned so you can stay up to date on the latest information.

2. Social Mention

We know 71% of small businesses use social media to engage with their customers. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to you.

That’s why Social Mention is one of my favorite monitoring tools.

It’s super easy to use. Simply search for terms, keywords, or the names of specific brands, and the platform will show you what people are talking about across social networks and blogs.

The tool will tell you how often the brand gets mentioned as well.

This is a great opportunity for you to see what actual people are saying about your competitors in real time. There are plenty of ways for you to use this to your advantage.

If the comments are negative, you can try to avoid these errors yourself. You may even be able to exploit those mistakes in a marketing campaign, aiming to steal their customers.

But what if you see nothing but positive comments from people talking about your competitors? Don’t panic just yet. You can still benefit from this knowledge.

Figure out what your competitors are doing well and try to emulate it. What do they do best? Find a way to do it better.

3. Instapaper

What happens when you see something online about your competitors?

Do you instantly drop everything to read it?

I doubt it. You’ve got a business to run. While competitive analysis is important, it can’t take priority over everything else you’re doing throughout the day.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow up on this information later. You can use tools like Instapaper to stay organized.

Instapaper behaves like a much more advanced version of a typical bookmark for web browsers. One of the best parts of this tool is you can access saved articles without an Internet connection.

So now, if you stumble upon some new information, a blog, or an article written by or about your competitors, you can save it and read it later.

The tool automatically optimizes the text so you won’t have to worry about messy scrolling or zooming the way you would have to on mobile sites. You can even adjust the font, size, spacing, and margins to your liking.

This tool is available for desktop and mobile devices. It doesn’t matter whether you use Apple or Android, they’ve got a version for you.

You can sync saved articles across all your devices as well. It’s perfect for those of you who want one place to conveniently read all articles about your competitors.

4. Monitor Backlinks

In addition to tracking your competitors’ names and social mentions, you should also be tracking their backlinks.

Backlinks play a huge role in website traffic and search engine optimization. That’s why in the past, I’ve given you tips for consistently building backlinks on a weekly basis.

If your competitors are smart, they will be trying to build as many backlinks as possible too. That’s why the Monitor Backlinks tool is crucial to your competitive analysis initiative.

This tool can help you figure out which competitor domains have the highest and lowest rankings.

It’s great information to help you learn which pages on their sites are getting the most traffic. You can also compare their results directly to your own website.

Here’s another reason why the Monitor Backlinks tool is something you need to take advantage of. It can help you build relationships with other websites.

Sometimes, backlinks happen by accident. A website or blogger may need to find an example or use online research to help add credibility to an article. So they search the web and find your competition.

Other times, your competitors may have relationships with certain websites. There could be some sort of arrangement that gives sites an incentive for linking one of your competitor’s pages.

Regardless of the case, reach out to those sites directly. Ask if you can be used as an example or resource in place of your competitors. Who knows, they may just go for it.

There are so many different opportunities for you to use this tool to your advantage. They offer a 30-day free trial, so it’s worth giving it a try.

5. SpyFu

With a name like SpyFu, it’s no surprise that this tool is a top choice for spying on your competitors.

Here’s how it works. After you search for the domain of your competitors, you’ll see where they’ve been on Google for the past 11 years.

This tool gives you access to keywords they bought on Adwords, all of their organic rankings, and each variation of their ads as well.

You’ll also have access to the success of their campaigns. Now you’ll know how much they are paying for each keyword and how many clicks they are getting.

As a result, you’ll be able to make better decisions when it comes to your own PPC campaigns. Don’t waste money on keywords that aren’t working for your competitors.

SpyFu also gives you access to keywords, backlinks, and content from your competitors that have a higher SEO ranking than you. This can help you see how you stack up against your biggest competitors.

Now you can make the necessary adjustments to improve your SEO rank and generate more leads. This will help give you the competitive edge you’ve been looking for.

6. WhatRunsWhere

The WhatRunsWhere tool specializes in advertisements.

You’ll be able to figure out how successful your competitor’s ads are. Based on this information, you can decide whether or not you want to replicate their winning strategies or avoid unprofitable campaigns.

Ads are constantly changing. It all depends on the goals of a company and what the consumers are demanding.

With WhatRunsWhere, you will know if your competitors find a new marketing strategy that works.

You’ll be able to see analytics and reports of the most current digital advertising landscape based on networks, devices, location, and time.

Unlike some of the other tools on our list, the WhatRunsWhere package isn’t free. Their most basic package starts at $299 per month.

7. SEMRush

When it comes to keyword analysis tools, SEMRush is a top choice for you to consider.

That’s because they specialize in competitive data analysis. Here’s what you need to do.

Simply type in the home page of your competitor’s website. SEMRush will get your instant information about their rank, traffic, ad keywords, and organic keywords.

All of this information is neatly organized into a graphic report that’s easy to read and understand. It’s a great way to digest and analyze data when it’s displayed this way.

You’ll also be able to see a side-by-side comparison of different domains so you can compare yourself to your competitors or compare two competitors to each other.

SEMRush can also help you generate keyword ideas for your own site as well, which can give you a competitive edge.

8. Alexa

As you may know, Alexa has features that rank websites and show information related to their traffic. But not everyone realizes that Alexa also has competitor analysis tools.

Most of the tools on our list so far require you to manually input information about your competitors. This can include their names, keywords, or domains.

But what happens if you don’t know who your competitors are? Alexa can help you identify which websites are your biggest competitors.

You can also compare your site to the benchmarks in your industry to see how you stack up against everyone else. Find out what you need to do to improve your rankings.

Alexa can also track different sites for you. You’ll get real-time information about how these websites are performing.

Another bonus feature of this tool is the partnership opportunities. You can discover websites that would be a good fit for guest blogging. This can also be used for influencer marketing and other advertisements.

Get connected with these opportunities before your competition has the chance to.

9. Woorank

Woorank offers website reviews and SEO audits for any website. All you need to do is type in a competitor’s website to generate a report.

While the basic version of this tool may be free, you’ll want to upgrade your membership to get all of the benefits it has to offer. The monthly plans range from $50 to $250, depending on the features you’re looking for.

You can compare your website to all your competitors’ sites from one dashboard. The tool helps you monitor things such as:

keywords

users

bounce rates

page views

session durations

new visits

You’ll also have access to social media reports. The reports are displayed on a week-to-week basis, so you can see how your site compares to the competition over time.

If your ranking continues to rise, you’re obviously doing things right and need to continue with your current plan. But if you are starting to decline, it’s time to reevaluate your strategy.

10. iSpionage

If you’re looking for another tool to help you monitor keywords, iSpionage is a top choice to consider.

Their reports will show you how your competition is grouping advertisements, keywords, and landing pages. You’ll be able to see which of these ads are getting the most traffic as well.

Unlike some of the other monitoring tools, iSpionage uses data from Bing and Yahoo in addition to Google, which can give you a more accurate representation of the results.

You’ll be able to identify the most profitable keywords and adjust your strategy based on what your competitors are doing.

iSpionage even shows an estimated monthly budget for your competition’s PPC campaigns.

Conclusion

Competitive analysis is a crucial component in the success of every business across all industries.

This statement holds true for companies both old and new. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to identify the target market of your startup or coming up with an advertising campaign for a brand that’s 20 years old. You need to monitor your competition.

But with so many competitors out there, it can be difficult to keep your eye on all of them.

That’s why you need to use technology. The list of tools I’ve outlined above can be extremely helpful.

I’m not saying you need to use all of them. Many of these tools have similar features.

Some tools focus on specific platforms, like social media, while others put more emphasis on backlinks, keywords, or advertisements.

It all depends on what you’re looking for. Decide how much you want to spend on tools to monitor your competitors and what type of information you want to get in return.

What types of tools does your company use to monitor your competitors?

https://www.quicksprout.com/2018/05/02/how-to-monitor-your-competitors-with-these-10-helpful-tools/ Read more here - http://review-and-bonuss.blogspot.com/2018/05/how-to-monitor-your-competitors-with.html

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troybeecham · 4 years ago

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Fr. Troy Beecham Sermon, Proper 14 A, 2020  Matthew 14:22-33

 Jesus Walks on the Water

 “Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”   Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”   I recently read the summary of a sermon on this Gospel reading. The preacher saw this narrative as being an evocative tale trying to teach us principles on how to “handle the storms of life”. This Gospel is literally teaching us the opposite. Here’s why.  This Gospel reading is part of a larger narrative about Jesus instructing his disciples about the mission that he has given them. This core section of the Gospel according to St. Matthew is full to overflowing with the stories of the miracles of Jesus. For anyone reading any of my sermons, or hearing me preach them, you will be well familiar with my total confidence that the Holy Scriptures mean what they say, and that the miraculous does not need any explaining away. It is unnecessary to try to flatten out the miraculous in the Scriptures. Quite the opposite! In fact, to do so, to present the Gospels as simply stories of a wise, good man named Jesus who taught nice ideas that we can emulate and be good people, is to miss the whole endeavor of the writing of the Gospels and the mission of the Church.  And what is the endeavor of the Gospel and the mission of the Church? St. John the Evangelist said it this way, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”  Without the miraculous, without the divine in action in the lives of men and women just like us, I see no point in Christianity or in the Gospel. If life really just boils down to us trying to be nice people, well I can get that from any decent philosophy, with the added bonus that it does not require me to participate every week with a communityof equally exhausted, hurt, aggravating, dysfunctional people or pay a tithe of my earnings to support the worship life of that community.  Without the God revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures, and without the Risen Savior sent to redeem us, and without his Church, we are doomed to everlasting bondage to sin and death. We are destined for everlasting sorrow and oppression if all we have to hope for is some general ideals about how to “handle the storms of life”, relying upon ourselves to save ourselves or the world by learning to just be nice or to cooperate better. One inescapable truth about us as humans is that we are in need of a Savior. Only God can save us and bring about his kingdom. We are absolutely vulnerable to nature and to our own cruelty towards each other, and that vulnerability makes us anxious, aggressive, despondent, and dangerous. But the subconscious upside of erasing God from the universe is that it leaves us in charge of human destiny, personal and collective, and we love to be in charge, of ourselves and especially of others. 

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