#our producers also can't afford to lose any of this

[houseofwolvess]

power went out on the whole fucking block. yay

[winxwiki]

New Iginio Straffi interview (5/6/2024)

I've been busy for a while but I've been sent this by @evdizav and I had to translate it. Straffi doesn't hold back here as he usually does, which is refreshing to read!

Is this investment confidence of yours presumption or clairvoyance? I don't know, recklessness [laughs]. Let's add a word that we can't say to banks or investors. We definitely have a mixed system, colorful, and even Rainbow, to a small extent. Sometimes we do products where we already have a client for, so there's less risks.

We can assume from this that Mermaid Magic only exists because Netflix threw money at it.

Licensing is also a good source of income; in the company tour we noticed that you brand everything exactly except toilet paper. Did you veto that? I thought it was a nice thing to do.

The Winx girls don't go to the bathroom? Let's say that normally the characters that we produce are for printed products, so to have a toilet paper with Winx printed on it or with one of the 44 Cats, or any other character... didn't seem the best because, I mean, one goes to clean that part of the body with these images… so we said no. From a merchandising point of view, is there any other taboo? No, but we were also asked sometimes for products that were not in our opinion healthy or ethical on developing children. Some licenses we preferred not to do because by now I mean, we make 120 million euro per year and we are still growing. Certainly it is not the 50,000 euros of a license that is not in line with the DNA of a character or the ethics of the company that turn around our bank account. Thank God we have reached a point where we can really decide sometimes what to do and what not to do.

Iginio Straffi has answered my incredibly specific question: where are the toilet paper rolls with Winx characters? Where's the pads? The tampons? Unfortunately, they're not gonna come out because he doesn't want to taint the brand's image... literally!

Don't worry though, you can have Winx tissues and use them just the same.

It's also appalling how he reveals that companies will ask for unethical merchandise that is actively harmful. I wonder what things Straffi has seen...

What's the no that you could afford to say with satisfaction when you became rich and powerful? Ah, that's a good question (laughs). Well, there have been several…. Tell us the one that gave you an orgasm? There have been situations, I will not name the company, because they are some companies that I have reconnected with, that 20, 15 years ago demanded very vexatious conditions from us that we had to accept in order not to lose the contract. At that time they were big and we were still a small company. As soon as I could, I took my revenge. This also shows the style of some American companies, which have a cowboy mentality.

No, the "orgasm" part is not a mistranslation. The only american companies he could be talking about must be 4Kids, Mattel, Jakks Pacific and Nickelodeon. Make your own conclusions.

[uboat53]

Well, we're almost 30 days into the new Trump administration, so now seems a good time to make some predictions. Making predictions is a great way to check myself, seeing if I've screwed up something major or if I'm on the right track. That said, I'm really hoping these predictions don't come to pass. As much as I'd love to Trump taken down a few pegs, living through this doesn't sound fun. So… here we go…

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

I'm calling it now, there will be one. The current budget resolution expires on March 14th which means that Congress needs to pass and the President needs to sign a new budget resolution before midnight on that date otherwise every non-essential piece of the government shuts down.

Normally this would be pretty simple, Republicans, as the majority party in both houses of Congress and in control of the Presidency, would just pass a budget resolution and call it good, but the margins in the House in particular and the lack of coherency in the party means that they can't do this. There are hard-right Republicans who will not vote for any budget that the mainstream conservatives would agree to and, when they can only afford to lose 2-3 Republican votes, there's no budget they can put together that wouldn't lose far more than that on either side of the party. That means they need Democratic votes to pass anything.

Normally that wouldn't be too bad either, Democrats did this several times during the first Trump administration and also in the last two years when Republicans held the House during the Biden administration. The problem is that, with Elon Musk's flurry of questionably legal actions over the last several weeks, Democrats have very little (if any) faith that whatever budget they pass will actually be enacted, so I think it's extremely likely they refuse to pass any bill that doesn't include some pretty strong language against what the president is currently doing.

I have a hard time seeing him signing such a bill, so that's likely to leave an impasse, to put it lightly. The question is how long it lasts and how it ends. As for that, I'll have to predict that later.

GENERAL CHAOS

The thing about most of the things the government does is that you can get by without them for a little while, but eventually you come up to the point where they're actually pretty critical. If meat inspections don't happen for a week or two, the odds of a disaster happening are pretty small, but if meat inspections never resume, a disastrous outbreak is pretty much inevitable.

We're already seeing chaos in air travel after significant cuts to the FAA which was already struggling to keep things together. The odds are pretty good that, over the next several months, we're probably going to see major issues with VA care, food safety, universities, farming subsidies, and any number of the thousands of other things the government does on a daily basis that keep our economy functioning.

HIGHER PRICES

There's the tariffs, of course, but there's also the massive immigration crackdown. You did know that illegal immigrants harvest a huge amount of our produce, right? And process a ton of the meat we eat? And build a lot of our houses? Yeah, those are all things that they do but now they're either being shipped out of the country or too scared to show up to work in case they get arrested and shipped out of the country.

So yeah, just about any manufactured good you might buy relies on some number of imported parts, and the tariffs mean we'll pay more for all of those, but the immigration raids are likely to also have an effect on increasing the price of food and housing as well. Ultimately, nearly everything that we buy in some way depends on some sort of foreign connection, even if it's hidden well enough that you somehow think it's American made.

This has already started, by the way, the inflation rate for January ticked up past 3% again after being below that number since last summer. It's likely that will continue unless something changes.

RACIAL AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE

Let's face it, a lot of crazy people on the far right think that Trump is on their side and Trump himself tends to get more violent in his rhetoric when he feels like he's on the back foot, so it's a good bet that some of those people are going to start to think that now is a good time to do violent things. This one is fairly easy to predict because it's exactly what happened in Trump's first term, culminating in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Don't let the mobs and mass demonstrations fool, you, though, most of the violence is going to happen at the level of person to person. Racist white guys with guns are going to be all over this country shooting at women and minorities because they believe that they can trigger a mass movement to bring about their racist fantasies or even just get a sense of petty revenge. Like I said, I feel pretty confident about this one, it's already happened once and I don't see anything that might have changed to make it go better this time.

THE DEBT CEILING

Yeah, Trump intervened last year, making a lot of noise about repealing the debt ceiling entirely, but all that actually passed was an extension of the debt ceiling. It's not clear exactly when the U.S. Treasury will reach that ceiling, but it seems likely that it'll happen sometime between mid-March and this summer, at which point either Congress will have raised/waived the ceiling or the United States will default on its debts for the first time in history.

I literally don't have words to say how bad this would be. Lots of ink has been spilled listing all of the likely and possible consequences of such an act and it's likely to be even worse than that since there's probably a whole ton of things we haven't been able to predict about something that's never happened before.

THE TIMING

Let's talk about timing because this is where it gets interesting. The government shutdown is going to happen in March, but it's likely that it'll drag out into late spring or even summer because neither side sees a good reason to give in. The general chaos is already starting, but it's likely that it'll reach the level of being impossible to ignore by late spring or summer. Prices are rising, but that usually takes a few months to really kick in meaning that it'll probably reach a fever pitch in the public consciousness by late spring or summer. The debt ceiling will be reached by this summer at the latest. Political violence, again, is the kind of thing that picks up speed over time meaning that we'll probably see it really breaking out in, you guess it, late spring and summer.

Yeah, this summer's going to be interesting, and it has a lot to do with how Trump and his team do politics.

You see, a normal politician tries to understand what the effects of their policies would be, how they would play out, and try to time them so that they reach their maximum advantage around the time they need to run for re-election (or when their successors will be running). Trump, on the other hand, doesn't really have a sense of timing. He lives very much in the "now" and largely seems to do whatever seems best to him in the moment without much thought to future consequences.

We saw this with Covid when, in April of 2020, he insisted that everything be opened up immediately because he didn't want to be unpopular. But wouldn't it have been a better move to be a little unpopular in April, get Covid under control, and then be more popular in the fall, when the actual election was, as the guy who took care of the problem? He seemed to be unable to grasp that his popularity in April meant very little and, instead of setting things up to work out for him in the fall, he just did what felt good in the moment which obviously cost him when it actually mattered.

In much the same way, starting out his second term with a whirlwind barrage of questionably legal actions designed to tear apart much of the government has destroyed any goodwill he may have had. It probably would have been much smarter to start congenially, get a budget and an increase to the debt ceiling out of the way, THEN do whatever else they had planned. But that's not how they think or how they approach issues, so instead we're looking at a whirlwind of problems that are all going to come to head at roughly the same time.

And, look, there is at least a little bit of strategy here, though not much. The strategy is simple, do whatever they want until things start to collapse, then rely on the other side to bail you out because the consequences of not doing so are so bad.

So yeah, we're in for a rough summer and, if Trump and his people have miscalculated Democrat's willingness to bend and bail him out of his own mess, it could get a lot worse for a lot longer.

[hearthandheathenry]

14 Ways To Live A Healthier Life That Anyone Can Do

Use cast iron, stainless steel, glass, and ceramic cookware/dishes. Use wooden and steel for the utensils. Ditch the plastic and chemicals! They are even finding microplastic in the blood of newborn babies! If you can't afford to switch, switch slowly and buy second-hand! These materials will last through generations!

Buy and cook more fresh, high-quality food. Stop buying premade and processed garbage! The hidden massive amounts of fake sugar and additives in everything is far more damaging than a little bit of extra grass-fed butter or grass-fed meat on your plate. You can find local and even organic produce and meat for cheap at your local freshmarket, mexican grocery store, or asian grocery store. Aldi and Trader Joe's are also healthy yet cheap stores! You will also be surprised how little time it takes to cook versus having something pre-made, and with home-made food you'll have control over exactly how much sugar, fat, etc you have in a given meal. Neither of these are bad in moderation, but the key is moderation!

Prioritize your health and try to create less stress. Brush and floss your teeth, take care of your skin, eat as well as you can, move more, and sleep enough. These are things you should be doing AT MINIMUM to stay healthy. Stress also has a huge impact on health, so it is important to do your best to lower everyday stress and balance your hormones.

Do things that make you feel good. This ties into the less stress philosophy and the rule of everything in moderation, and this looks different for everyone, but generally focus on hobbies and habits that are good for you overall and dont cause addiction or mental health issues. The more things you incorporate into your life that you enjoy, the more you will enjoy your life.

Be aware of your feelings and honor them. No ignoring how you feel deep down! Notice what makes you smile and what makes you sad. Feel it all and try to see what your brain and body are trying to communicate to you about things. Your emotions and thoughts have a purpose, try to see what they're saying.

Try to wear or use more organic materials. Try to use cotton, linen, wool, etc for your clothes, sheets, and more. For jewelry try to use gold, silver, steel, copper, etc. Drop the acrylics and plastics. Invest in your clothing and wear quality materials - your health and wallet will thank you.

Try to kick any drug or alcohol habits. We only have one body in this lifetime and these things WILL catch up to you healthwise. The short-term dopamine is not worth the long-term consequences. Ask anyone who's suffered from their decisions from when they were younger.

Spend more time in nature. Being outside has many health benefits and it does incredible things for mental health. Find a place you can visit outside that brings you peace. Try taking a daily walk.

Learn to set boundaries for yourself. Including towards yourself! If you are pushed past your limits of exhaustion, honor your body and rest. It is okay to have soft, flexible boundaries, or hard boundaries, but they are rules we put in place in regards to ourselves to keep ourselves safe and happy! IE - "If I need sleep I will not keep pushing myself and I will go to sleep" or "I will not put up with being yelled at and I will remove myself from that situation".

Walk as much as you can, while you can. Try to opt out of convenience when possible and walk a little further to the front door of the store or try incorporating a daily walk into your routine. Moderate exercise is great for our health!

Do something daily that will exercise your brain. Whether it is a fun crossword puzzle or just something in your daily life you need to problem solve, do something that is going to flex that brain power and keep those pathways firing. If we don't use our connections, we literally lose them over time!

Talk to at least one person a day for at least 5 minutes. We are social creatures that thrive off community, so it is extremely important for our mental health to find connection with others and feel seen and heard and like we matter. Not only that, routinely reaching out to others will help you make and maintain relationships of all natures!

Educate yourself. Learning shouldn't just stop after you finish schooling. You should continually be trying to further your knowledge about yourself and the world around you. You live in the age where information is readily available all the time, so make an effort to use it to better your life, and learn how to sift through the misinformation as well. Not knowing how to do something is no longer an excuse as an adult when you can easily look it up or ask for guidance.

Consume more positive media and less media overall. What we watch and listen to really affects our thoughts, moods, and subconscious. There is a reason upbeat music motivates us! Try to keep your media exposure to uplifting and feel-good things rather than ones that cause anxiety or sadness.

[aflamethatneverdies]

i can't access any tumblr messages at all. but anon, when i say i want to abolish universities, i'm not proposing anti-intellectualism.

I was talking about how most universities keep their reading lists, access to good libraries and in the case of science, high-end equipment only for use of the students enrolled in that particular university or in rare cases for exchange programs.

When the type of structures I want to envision are ones that would allow access to those to anyone who wanted to really learn, irrespective of whether they joined that university or whether they could afford that. When I say I want to abolish university, I mean university as an institution as it exists right now. I don't want to abolish knowledge, how would that even work? and it seems facetious to imply that that was what I meant.

Why does it have to be a slippery slope when we point out that universities are a high end club which really mainly serve for entry into the professional classes, and serve to gatekeep knowledge otherwise, to assuming I'm proposing I don't want any knowledge centres or learning to exist or anti-intellectualism? Intellectualism shouldn't be limited to universities anyway.

I do want centers of learning and knowledge, but university as it exists right now is not serving the purpose of disseminating knowledge. Academics regularly complain how students use chatgpt for assignments and are only interested in passing courses and getting a university degree and not learning for learning's sake but that's because the structures are set up to incentivise that.

A lot of people here see universities as a requirement to get a white collar job. Universities still mainly serve as a way to make connections with other people in the industry more than for any other thing. What I'm suggesting is de-linking that.

Also there are other criticisms about university, such as how they prioritise certain ways of examining texts and critiquing them over others and certain ways of writing essays, which are rooted in western colonial knowledge production models. Universities also take concepts like decolonisation and de-fang them till they lose all meaning and edge. It irks me when universities do land acknowledgements while continuing to take large grants and monies from wealthy billionaires and the military industrial complex. So many western universities have deals with weapons manufacturers and many engineering students go on to work for them. Universities are bearing down on their own students for pro-Palestine protests right now. Universities as they exist uphold the status quo, they do not abolish it.

Modern universities as they exist are also deeply extractivist and colonial in nature. They use the knowledge of local communities and then publish papers on it. I do have lots of examples from my own political work infact. We get lots of requests from universities for doing research on the grassroots communities, for giving access to those communities, but in the end, the researchers carry out their research, publish it in big name journals, get fame, and do nothing material for the community. We turn them down almost immediately now.

And yet we also need the legitimacy of universities to ensure that the work we're doing gets better reach. If we don't quote western philosophers in our research, we also don't get legitimacy anywhere. I do find that deeply deeply unfair. Our work with grassroots communities is producing knowledge and even if i may be so bold, new knowledge theories applicable to our society. It is just not something that can be made palatable for universities as they exist. And people from grassroots communities have a lot of knowledge and could probably write many papers, but since they cannot be part of universities they cannot publish that work and get recognised for it as having created that knowledge, as having contributed to research.

Also this is a small point, but, even when it comes to universities, there's a hierarchy. universities in the west carry more prestige and legitimacy compared to universities in third world. It doesn't matter whether the learning is the same, research from third world universities is never taken as seriously by anyone. This is why many students from here want to enroll in foreign universities all the time. But the barriers to entry for foreign students, especially from third world countries are immensely high. Western universities select for the elite class from here to educate in their own universities, these people are already indoctrinated in western ideals and ideas. It is an exception when a working class student from here gets accepted to a western university on scholarships, not the rule.

Not to mention how university requires years of schooling, which itself relies on you being able to conform to the capitalist system as it exists since schooling also serves to produce complacent workers. If you're disabled, if you otherwise cannot conform, then barriers to entry make it almost impossible to enter university even though you might be interested in learning, even though you might have a lot to contribute. Not to mention exorbitant fees involved especially if you're an international student, but for local students too, people go into debt to be able to afford universities in US. But there are many issues with universities even beyond fees.

So no, I am not advocating for mass anti-intellectualism, I never did. I still stand by abolishing universities as they exist now.

[namorslutfanfiction]

hi, idk why but i have the notion of you living in california and i was wondering, would you recommend it?? i know it's expensive but average how much would you spend on a month?? i'd love to know what you think about it. (and if you don't live there i'm sorry lol). hope you're doing well!

Hello, thank you for the ask. I'm finally back on here today to reply to my inbox so you asked at a good time.

I do live in California. Northern. About an hour north east of San Francisco. My town is actually in the top ten most expensive in the country when you compare income verses cost of living. For some perspective, I was looking at a single room apartment or even a studio and unless its government housing for low income, rent starts at 1600 and can go up as high as 2200, if you don't want to live in a bad neighborhood.

As of now I am still unemployed after losing my job earlier this month. I was making decent money there at $22 an hour. As I look for jobs I'm lucky to find anything close to that, that isn't completely out of my wheelhouse of skills. I was also living almost paycheck to paycheck at $22 an hour because I have quite a bit of debt and a car payment/insurance.

Most people out here have roommates or if they can afford their own place usually work as tradesmen or in the medical field. I was working in the casino industry but had an hour commute. Traffic in Norcal is much better than Socal. But the interstate freeways definitely get kind of shitty during rush hour.

Pros of California

Decent weather most of the year. We pretty much always have some sun, barring this past crazy winter.

Very populous so lot's of fun places to go within an hour or two drive no matter where you live. I'm literally an hour from San Francisco, 45 mins to the state capital, 20 minutes to Napa/Sonoma, and there are several universities in the area which increases need for cool activities and outings.

Very diverse and liberal in metropolitan areas. Most people are actually really nice and chill.

Lot's of tech opportunities and start ups

Honestly a lot of industries have a big presence here so if you can put in the work you can find a decent job especially if you live in a big city.

Lot's of cool nature and hiking paths. It's a big state and we love to maintain some of the natural beauty. Beaches, mountain, forest, lakes and deserts. Bunch of national and state parks

No snow unless you're literally on a mountain

Lots of great authentic and diverse food.

Good place for furthering education. We have high level schools that are internationally renown.

We have a ton of farms and during peak seasons its super easy to get fresh produce for cheap from farmers markets, stalls, and fairs.

We have 9 international airports and have access to a lot of imported goods.

Most artists will have multiple CA stops on their tours.

Cons of California

Super high cost of living. Yes our average wages are higher than most states but it doesn't really cover how high cost of living is especially in metropolitan areas.

Rent and housing prices are super high throughout the state unless you live in a super rural area. Also very competitive.

Public transportation is not great even in the cities.

Traffic, especially in LA can add hours to a drive.

You have to have a car if you're not living in the middle of a big city. Most places in CA are pretty spread out and hard to navigate on foot.

WILD FIRE SEASON

39 Million people live in California the last I checked. Socal is more populous than Norcal.

You have to reserve camping spots like a year in advance at the best parks.

Housing shortage has led to a homelessness epidemic. See Skid Row in LA. And those apartments are also super expensive even surrounded by vagrants.

Sometimes the fog is so bad you can't see a few yards in front of you. Mostly during the morning. I used to drive home at 3 am after work and i was going 40 on the highway because it was so foggy.

That's all I can think of at the moment. But if you have any other questions feel free to message me or send another ask.

[autoversemobility]

Questions to Ask Before Buying Automotive Spare Parts

Buying a replacement part might be a real pain if you don't know your car and its parts inside and out. How often have you been disappointed by a product you purchased due to its minor defects? Thus, we frequently consult with professionals to sidestep this issue. But we don't remember that it can grow pricey if we let the dealer acquire the car part. But if you ask yourself these questions, you can confidently purchase car spares online India on your own:

Can You Tell Me If This Auto Part Is New or Used?

You should check with your dealer to be sure the parts you've selected are new rather than used since new spare parts aren't always available. It may be necessary to purchase a pre-owned replacement component in certain instances. This may be the case if you're strapped for cash, can't buy car spares online India, or if your car is old and no longer produces the necessary components. See if they have been reassembled and if they are vintage replacement components. You can get rebuilt spare parts for the same price as new ones, and they're just as good. They are a fantastic bargain, although they aren't as inexpensive as used parts. Never forget to check the manufacture date of your spare component.

Is there a warranty on the replacement parts?

You should never risk losing money on a replacement item by purchasing one without a strong warranty. You shouldn't expect durability from spare components that don't come with a warranty. Shortly, they may fail. After that, you'll need to buy car spares online India once more. Seek for a warranty to steer clear of these issues. Your car parts will be safe under any warranty, even a short one.

Is the Replacement Part Compatible with My Car?

Too frequently, compatibility is disregarded. Our focus on savings and bargains causes us to neglect the importance of part compatibility when we shop for replacement components. Even the highest quality replacement part is useless if it doesn't fit your car. You can find replacement parts for your vehicle's make and model on most websites when you shop for them online. By doing so, you can ensure that the two are compatible.

How are other customers feeling?

Thanks to the advent of the internet, it is now straightforward to obtain consumer reviews of the replacement product you want to purchase online. Read customer reviews. Ask nearby repair shops or dealerships if you need a spare. Before you buy car spares online India, make sure you get someone else's viewpoint.

Am I allowed to return this item?

Even if we take great care when selecting a product, there may be occasions when we wish to return it because of issues. Dealers do not always offer a return policy. Therefore, you should be aware of the return policy well before the purchase date.

Conclusion

Garage owners and vendors alike may rely on our prompt and reliable service as a top digital distributor of car spares online India. In addition to a large selection of high-quality car parts, we also provide dependable customer service and affordable prices through our easy-to-navigate web platform. As we work to become the go-to source for all things related to car components, our dedication to new ideas and honest business procedures distinguishes us from the competition.

[indefatigablepaths]

My computer needs better ideas. So. Ok. This idea makes no sense. You believe you can form a group of people that do nothing, for everything. Hm. This isn't the stock market, but it is. See a stock market determines what products are stocked on your shelves. Still, we believe this is not an easy long term investment. Also we believe this has nothing to do with food. See the world is flat, except the worst part. You can't even try to cause a car accident on a hill. Still whenever you talk about stocks you say let's do this as if we want to jump a car off a hill under the train tracks and hit a car. That's your strategy. Then quick but a new car, and these fines you recommend are good as well. At this point you're just insulting me. The stock market losses are good as well. Ok. Nevermind talking with you. Hypothetically it's until you lose everything forever or never invest once. You need to take your losses forever. That's my best advice. Anyways. Not anyways. In a commune we have limited opportunity for work, and we do not support reasonable work. It is implied wink wink we are a commune. Like if you ask to support yourself be reasonable as an independent. I don't like the girls or boys in my family. No. No work. No government aid. See commune. You can't move on or forward because commune. For example. No one has money for rent. You're looking at vindictive souls mad you can have a room. Well the commune didn't want to do positive and clean itself. See capitalism is what happens when we produce a product for the stock market. Obviously no one here produces their own product. So how does one not be in a commune when your society as a whole can not participate in labor. Let me just make this clear. No one took the baby dollars, and also was able to afford to work a job the stock market supplies for regular people. See your strength is your weakest link and you have no weakest link. You actually created a commune which does not support work. We support begging. So I think. Let's stop begging. Let's do a little work. No. No. This is not an opportunity. How are you even alive. Do a little work stop begging. No opportunity. No I know at best a social network took over a low income branch of distribution. Then you said police go away no free donut hand outs here. You are fat with donut. Why can you not see. He is fat with donut. Do you believe he sent his other members to work for herself? See this isn't adding up. You can not even match the drivers to a database. See no one is safe. Your commune has no computer ID for safety or money anywhere. You are supporting actual murder for work theory. See now I can't work. To much risk. So see behavior of commune is break computer break communication. Tell if try try bad call police because commune good for one persons. Still not dead. See not making sense. So you are so confused by labels you do not know where your country is. Could I try. No. That is a country. Could I try, no. You have this much room to try. Then no. There is no space here to try. So no time. See police. The police are called when no one has any time left. Look crisis forever. The last of the orcs really. They never die. Even when they always die. My skin is green because I can L out of nothingness. Hypothetically can you be alive and go to work. No because the police are dead. Now you fight police for money. What I'm saying is your supposedly capitalism society has no choice but to make work possible. You can't ask people to cry to work. Oh I worked but we all cried and died because work makes no sense. Technically at these rates let's be clear. I can not pay the government. See the government must distribute money to low income workers to make money, as a whole. Your strategy is lazy. There is no incentive to even pretend we should continue. See strength is not an opportunity we as a body ever changing can afford, we lost our strength. We did, we all did. So you too must lose your strength.

[909hold]

Good Content Means Good SEO

Content Marketing Is a Critical Component to Your SEO Success:

It Can Be Very Effective in Increasing Traffic, Generating Leads, Enabling Sales, And Contributing To SEO. Which Brings Us to The Main Question - How Can I Use This to Improve My Search Rankings?

When Done Well, Content Marketing Can Contribute to Boosting a Site's Position in Search Rankings. While This May Not Seem Like the Most Obvious Benefit of A Successful Content Marketing Strategy, It Is An Impact That No Business Can Afford To Ignore. Let Us See How to Make Full Use of Your Website Content to Rank Higher in SERPs.

1. Creating New Content

Having A Website Is Not Enough; It Needs to Be Updated Continuously for It to Rank Well. And That's Where the New Material Comes in Handy. A Site Can Never Have Enough Content. There Is Always an Opportunity to Create New Content, And the Novelty of Content Is Also One Of Google's Ranking Signals.

Fresh Content as A Ranking Factor Is Judged Not Only by The Page's Publication Date, But Also by New Pages, An Increased Number of Links on A Page, and Ultimately an Increased Level Of Traffic Arriving At The Page. The best Digital Marketing Agency Will Help You Grow Your Business by Giving Best Content Marketing Service.

These Criteria Suggest That Older Posts May Still Be Valuable, Especially If They Offer In-Depth Analysis of a Topic or Have Been Updated Regularly to Keep Them Relevant, Which Leads Us to The Next Tip.

2. Reusing Old Content

There's No Reason to Ignore Older Content You've Published in The Past, Especially If It Still Receives a Significant Amount of Traffic.

Content Repurposing Can Help You Analyze a Topic in More Detail, Allowing You to Create Multiple Types of Content Without Repeating or Losing Their Value. This Saves You Time Coming Up with New Content Ideas and Gives You a Regular Supply of Fresh, Valuable Content to Boost Your Rankings.

Going Beyond Blog Posts, You Can Create Videos, Infographics, Podcasts, Lists, And More from Your Old Content. Your Target Audience May Be More Receptive to Infographics Rather Than Blog Posts, For Example, Or You May Find That You Get Higher Conversion Rates Through A List Rather Than A Podcast.

3. Using Visual Content

Visual Content Has Become Very Popular on The Internet Because Of Our Ability To Process Images Faster Than Any Written Text. It Wins the First Impression and Can Be Very Powerful In The Context Of A Single Page.

Previously Mostly Used Alongside Written Content, Visual Content Has Reached the Stage Where It Is Now Considered a Form of Content in Its Own Right, Standing On Its Own To Increase Awareness, Engagement, And Leads.

On Top of That, It Can Be Optimized for Search, Which Provides a New Opportunity for A Business To Stand Out From Its Competitors Through Images And Videos. Optimizing Your Visual Content Can Produce Surprisingly Positive Results, Provided You Follow a Series of Small Steps That Ensure They Are SEO-Friendly.

4. Choosing The Right Keywords

Keyword Research Can Be a Useful Ally, Especially If You Keep In Mind That You Don't Always Need To Target The Most Obvious Keywords.

Targeting Highly Sought Keywords Can Make It Harder for You To Rank High In Search, But That Doesn't Mean You Can't Become An Authority On A Topic By Using Different Phrases For The Same Concept.

How About Choosing Words and Phrases That Are Less Competitive but Still Rank High? Find The Keywords That Best Suit Your Content Marketing SEO, And Think Outside the Box When Deciding On The Focus Keywords You Want To Target.

5. Create Linkable Content

Link Building Helps Your Content Reach a Wider Audience, Thereby Increasing Both Your Site's Visibility and Its Authority. This Can Help Increase Your Search Traffic, As the Number of Unique Domains Linking to Your Site Helps Search Engines Understand Whether Your Content Is Informative Enough To Rank High In Serps.

Not All Links Are Created Equal, As High-Authority Sites Contribute More in This Regard. This Means You Should Aim for More Reputable Mentions, But Without Snagging Any Lesser Sites That May Link to You, Because It All Adds Up. It's Easier for A Source to Link To Your Content If It's Authentic, Interesting, And Well-Researched, So Always Aim For Quality Over Quantity.

[morlock-holmes]

So, something I've been thinking about a lot is how, over the 20th century, the cost of producing certain things dropped, but the cost of reproducing them cratered.

Say I want to make, I dunno, a math textbook. Back in the day, say, the 50s, I'd write it, and then a publisher would use an expensive printing press to make a bunch of physical copies of my text. This process was expensive enough, between the cost of a complex press and the paper to run it, that an ordinary household couldn't duplicate the process. If you bought my textbook, you had one copy. Taking your one copy and making a second would require specialized machinery or hours/days of hand copying, and you'd probably end up with a copy that had notable defects compared to the original. If you leant your copy to a friend, you would lose access while your friend had it.

Today, if I write a book, it will at some point become a computer file, and the thing about a computer file is that they are very very easy and cheap to make exact duplicates of. If I have a text file on a computer, I can't make literally infinite copies, but the cost of making a copy available to everyone I know is negligable, any middle class household can afford to do it using cloud sharing and computers and the internet.

The problem is, the way we have our economy set up is that things are monetized by supply and demand. If supply massively outstrips demand, the price drops and you can't sell the thing for much at all.

This functioned, kind of, when supplying something and producing it were activities that were closely tied together. A textbook cost a certain amount to make, but supplies were limited compared to demand, and it was relatively difficult to start up a competing supply of my textbooks.

Nowadays, art and information still cost about the same to produce, but as soon as you do produce it it's very easy for the supply to immediately and totally outstrip any possible demand, which would then, theoretically drive the price down, making it impossible to recoup your costs.

The response to this has been to introduce artificial scarcities; when it comes to information and art, we have the technology to create a post-scarcity society but we actively prevent that from happening because our society can only function with scarcities.

This seems pretty bad actually.

I'm wondering if this is as unprecedented as I think? I can't think of an invention that has so thoroughly severed the ability to produce an object from the ability to copy one as the computer has. Writing and the printing press to some degree but not nearly as much.

Also, who else has been writing about this in these terms?

[majestictoe]

Got tagged by @beepbeepsan !

Where are you from? - A big city in the American northeast. I've probably mentioned which one before, it's no big secret lol.

Fandoms? - I tend to be in one fandom more actively and one fandom more passively at a time. I socialize and draw the most in the danganronpa & love live fandoms right now, but I lurk a lot in the dream smp fandom. In terms of other fandoms that I have been into in the past... dear lord. There's too many to list, honestly.

Tea, coffee, or hot chocolate? - Tea, 100%. I only really love hot chocolate when it's thicker, and that's kind of hard to obtain here. I used to despise the taste of coffee, but I've learned to tolerate it. I'm not doing any more than that, though, since I don't want a caffeine addiction. My favorite teas are mint green tea and various fruity red teas. c: I prefer iced tea to hot tea, but hot tea is lovely.

What's your occupation? - I'm a college student.

Fav food? - Czech beef goulash. I can't have it much though, so generally speaking, I really love anything that has both beef and mushrooms, and some sort of dairy product. Double cheeseburgers with mayo and mushrooms and carmellized onions my beloved.

Ambitions/hobbies? - I draw and read a fuckton of fanfiction. I've picked up cookie run recently and I've been liking it. I write fics in Google Keep and then never publish them. Trying new foods is also something I really like doing. I'm not the most ambitious person- mostly I just want to be able to afford a home with a cat or two when I get older. I do love it when people say my art inspired them so I'd like to produce more of it for those who like it :)

Fav musical artists - Michael Franti, The Bleachers, Fun., Lorde, Penelope Scott, Passenger, Elle King, Queen, Owl City

What do you think is the closest thing to real magic? - Making people laugh. 100%. Getting my friend to gigglesnort during class, making a deadpan joke only my sister gets in front of our parents, sending memes to my roommate and watching her lose her mind across the room, talking to my online friends and watching them keysmash... yeah. That's the shit. And laughing because someone got me to feels awesome.

If you had to choose a fictional world to live in for the rest of your life, where would it be? - Star Trek.

Tagging people isn't my thing, but feel free to do it if you want!

[lonelycloudscholar]

If you are not worthy of your place, you will have more than a house of good, and you will have more to celebrate.

The saying goes: If you don't deserve a place, you will have a lot of things.

One must have noble character to afford money, power, and reputation for these newspapers. Otherwise, they will surely be subjected to disaster.

[Zhou Yi] There is a cloud: ′′ Deity is thin, wisdom is small and big, strength is small and heavy, little is less than a thread."

In ′′ Chogen's ′′ it also says: ′′ The rich and reputation, from moral, such as the flowers in the mountains, is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one , like a bottle of flower, its root is not planted, it can stand and wait."

If morality is not worthy, it is difficult to be rich and rich for long, after all, man's virtue determines the fate of man.

To enjoy the newspaper, you must first fix your own morality. Xuude is the best way to change his life.

zhǎng jiǔ zhǎng jiǔ zhǎng jiǔ zhǎng jiǔ zhǎng jiǔ zhǎng jiǔ zhǎng jiǔ zhǎng jiǔ zhǎng jiǔ zhǎng jiǔ

Fan Zhong-yang once said: The congenital worry and worry, the day after tomorrow will be happy!

The supreme realm of morality is to restore the body, the family, rule the country, and benefit the world. Only those who are mindful of the world will have a rich and honorable lasting.

Fan Zhong-yan during the Northern Dynasty period, was a famous literary, but he spent his whole life walking for the people

When he was an official in Taizhou, he saw the local sea turtles in disparage for years, often the sea water inversion accidents occurred, leaving the people displaced and

Fan Zhong-yan Xinsheng was intolerant, so the emperor built a wing to protect the people's peace. After playing, Fan Zhong-dang himself took the battle, leading the local people, and repaired the whale day and night.

However, halfway through the construction, the tsunami was encountered, and hundreds of people were killed and injured. Then, let the Imperial Court opponents, seized the handle, and one after another said that this was a warning from the sea gods, that they could no longer repair the moss.

Regarding the issue of ′′ fixing and not repairing there is a heated discussion within the Imperial Court, but the common people can't afford to wait. Fan Zhong-Yan, who is anxious, stood on the work site and waited, watching the sea water slowly fails to A slight step back.

In order to give back to the people a peaceful home, he insisted on forgetting his life and finally waited for the decision to fix it. After the tsunami was completed, there was no flooding again. Later, the local people were grateful for Fan Zhong-yan, and even more, they named the sea turtle ′′ Fan Gong-y

For this reason, Fan Zhong-Zhong-Fan received a gift, and bought a house in Suzhou, and asked Mr. Feng Shui to take a look at it. It turned out to be a feng shui treasure land. Fan Zhong-Zhong listened to it, and didn't Good luck to the people of the Lebanese people.

This moment, Fan Zhong-shuan, who was the heart of the people, was the family of the family, and was the official's bureau, all donated to the Fan family. When he died, he did not even have a decent coffin.

Since then, it has left the style of ′′ faithfulness to the world ′′ and became the Fan family training, so that the children and grandchildren, Sun Jianji, and the family can carry the year of the year!

It was Fan Zhong-yang who was in the world's spirit, passed on to the world, and let me wait for the future generations to study, work, and be human.

In ′′ Zhou Yi :"it says, ′′ The house of the good will have more celebration".

Those who upgrade their own morals, will receive the honor and wealth of riches, like wild flowers in the mountains, and the mountains are flourishing and flourishing. Not only do they have their own newspapers, they will also have descendants and descendants of Yu Qing

shī qù shī qù shī qù shī qù shī qù shī qù shī qù shī qù shī qù shī qù

The idiom, ′′ Cheng-Ya, what can we lose is a good interpretation of Han Xin's life.

As we all know, Han Xin, is a famous founding meritor in the West Han, with unique leadership skills, never defeated in his life. It can be said that without Han Xin, there would be no Dahan Dynasty.

He was originally a man under Xiang Yu, and spent two years around Xiang Yu, and was only a guard. Because he could not be used again, he turned to Liu Bang. He was seen by the people who were looking at him and highly recommended to Liu Bang, and since then he was in war. The sandfield, by the good of the king, ascends to heaven.

Even Liu Bang sighs, ′′ Even a million army will win, and the attack will be taken, and it is not as good as Han Xin!"

After Han Xin assumed the office of the great general, the first gun was ′′ Ming Xiu's martial path, the darkest of the way ". Han Xin, who won the win. After that, it was even more unpackable. Within a few short years, Liu Bang took down half a mountain.

Everything came too smoothly, Han Xin became the capable general of Liu Bang's men, no one disobedient, he began to be proud and self-righteous.

Just when the Qi country was destroyed, Han Xin was greedy for merit, and he still took over the Qi Guo, which had already fallen, by surprise, to coerce Liu Bang and seal himself as king Qi. There was no way Liu Bang could only do the same.

At this time, Han Xin is like the sky. Even more, while Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were in the middle of the war, when he needed the support of Han Xin, he only kept his mouth up, and clearly asked Liu Bang for a seal.

Han Xin, who looks like the future, has done such injustice, again and again, and again, and again, challenge authority. Liu Bang has already hated him in his heart, but he also taboos his ability, and finally, he still doesn't know what to do. Kill Han Xin.

The Han Xin of the Lord of Gao-Zheng, can be said to have all the wealth of reputation status. But as a subject, they do not know how to converge themselves, avoid interests, and eventually fall into a different and three communities.

[Left Chuan] There is a saying, ′′ Many injustice will be taken from themselves, and a child will be treated ".

No matter how big you are, if you don't have a fear of morality, you will eventually go to destruction, it is only a matter of time.

In ancient times, no one wants to take a good reputation, build a business, and enjoy a wealthy reputation, but this kind of reputation is not unchanged and never broken in those who have no virtue.

Those who have been killed by a few, or those who are trying to find a position of power, will eventually become nothing.

And those who are truly virtuous do not care about their personal success or failure, honor and disgrace, but are in a hurry for the people to think about what the people think and do the truth for the people, and in the end they will gain a rich reputation.

miè wáng miè wáng miè wáng miè wáng miè wáng miè wáng miè wáng miè wáng miè wáng miè wáng

Mencius :"Dodosuke, help".

If you don't get the support of the people, even if you stand tall and have more, you will eventually lose it.

In the end of the East Han year, Minister Dong Zhuo, Kwon-yan, held the power of the world, it can be said that the scenery was infinite, and he was eventually killed

He had no ancestors to protect, noble people to help each other. He was completely dependent on his personal efforts, and he was decisive and decisive all the way, and he established the Xilang army and became

However, at that time, the Imperial Court, the Horse Palace, the foreign relatives, the dictatorship, and the party of the palace, led the military to Beijing in order to save the Holy Driving, and after resolving the rebel party, Dong Zhuo became a vassal of power under one person and above

Once man has supreme power, he no longer wants to be subjected to man.

Therefore, Dong Zhuo forced the little Emperor Liu to argue the lower position, re-enacted Liu Association to offer emperor to Han, and truly implemented the heavens to make the priests, plus the army in his hands, and Dong Zhuo was even more fearless and did whatever he wanted, and he was willing to kill indiscriminately. Hands to cover the heavens.

Dong Zhuo, who is unshakable, not only does he allow his own men to rob people and women, but if any opponents appear, they are all considered to be disorganized and tortured, causing the people to complain and be hard to say.

In the end, the people were forced to endure it, and the-way priests fought against Dong Zhuo, and died at the hands of his son, Pub. When the news of Dong Zhuo's death came out, the people of the whole country celebrated with joy, it was seen that the people were just angry with Dong Zhuo.

It's just called, ′′ The people who get the heart of the world."

Dong Zhuo, who has lost the heart of the people, was pointed out by Wanfu His life was an infinite scenery, but this kind of reputation, which was derived from violence, was always a deed of morality.

Many times, how far a man can go is not in how much he has achieved, nor in how strong his ability is, but in how thick he is.

In life, your virtue, also determines your destiny, you can be without talent, but not deed. No man will seek disaster, and what you gain by power will be lost in the end by virtue.

To be born, to be expensive is to have virtue, only to be upright and good to people, can do virtue in the world.

Write at the end

It is said in the Book of Grain: ′′ The shallow waters do not swim, the great fish do not swim, and the shallow of the trees do not flash, and the thin of the earth does not produce great

Meaning, if the water is not deep, how can it attract big fish? If the trees are not lush, how can there be great darts to inhabit here? If our earth is not rich, how can there be great yields?

On the contrary, how can we carry things if our moral deeds are not heavy? You must know that giving will be rewarded, contentment will be happy, understanding gratitude life will become more and more smooth.

On the contrary, if virtue is not worthy, for what others have, we often go to envy, to compare, to discuss, to evaluate, and there will be disaster.

Remember, man is doing, heaven is watching, and no one can escape. For whatever cause you sow, you will get fruit, and the house of good will have more to celebrate, and the house of bad will have more.

◎ Disclaimer: Part of the content, images are from the internet, if there is infringement please contact us in time to delete

[sebbysheepie]

Hi! So, i have an actual genuine question, but i really don't know how to word it. The jist of it though, is this: what's your opinion on the 'horror farms'? Like, the ones shown in 'documentaries', where the animals ARE treated terribly. Cows raised on corn and chickens that can't walk, that kinda stuff. Like, should i stay away from that meat, or does it actually matter at all? If I'm misinformed, please let me know, I'm just trying to educate myself!

It’s fine, ask away. I’m very blunt myself so just saying stuff works best I always find.

Horror farms. Yea I wanted some of those shows and honestly how would they stay in business? We have animal welfare checks and health inspectors that are by law allowed to come in and check any time they want too in anywhere they wish to see. Something they don’t like. They shut you down. Normally they give you a written warning with what they want fixed and a date to have it done by in which time they return to check and heaven help you if you didn’t do it.

We are under such tight scrutiny with health and animal care that what I’ve seen on some of those shows cannot be happening with the systems we have in place, that leads me to believe that what they show are places that do not have the same guidelines or systems.

That being said thou there are some factors that are true but are grossly exaggerated, let’s take the cattle eating corn. Yes. They do. Dairy need high energy foods to make milk otherwise they lose condition and that’s when you see cattle that look like all bones. Putting aside illness. Cattle are like athletes, they need proper nutrition to work and produce at peek levels. Corn is a high energy food. It’s also a useful crop, some of us grow it. Sell the seed grain which is the only part edible by humans. Then use the rest as cattle feed. We mulch it and mix it with other food stuffs for the cattle. That also works as a finishing feed for beef. We can also grow a fast growing type of corn I just call cattle corn. It’s smaller. Bitter and tough. We tend to mulch everything for the animals. In our case we silo it and ferment it for them. Every day. Two times in our case we have an automatic feeder that which the girls are in the barn it goes around and drops a pre set amount of feed in front of the cow to eat while we milk. This system has been in place since the 90s. Old but serves well. Our cattle have enjoyed it since they came in the line. Corn doesn’t kill. Same as fast food. If you eat too much you can get issues but when it’s coupled with exercise and roughage the cattle do well. As for beef. The pure corn diet is rarely the case because like candy. You can’t go long term on that. You get so many issues. That’s a short term diet for fattening up before market. Think of it like bulking up because we get paid by weight. But that animal is not fed that diet all it’s life. It would not survive on pure corn. The vast majority are grass fed till the last few weeks when they are moved to lots and fed up.

https://arrowquip.com/blog/animal-science/cattle-feed-plan

This one follows a lot like what we do here

Now as for chickens. I’m not a big scale chicken farmer. What we do is chickens and turkeys for ourselves. But since my family is huge we have plenty. My sister does this area these days. But we all pitch in. Now. What you see in places like wal mart is the massive chicken breasts. Those are often from the chickens that only love about six to eight weeks. Called a Cornish cross. We’ve tried them before and honestly. You have to butcher them soon because if you let them go longer that’s when you see the issues of being unable to walk and sickness. They are bred to be fast growing and huge. Truthfully this is what the markets want. Lots of meat for little cost. As terrible as it sounds. Think of it this way. You get a bunch of chickens this month you can be eating next month or shortly after. Feed cost is low and they grow big. I’m really torn on it myself because for people that have little food these animals could be a massive difference in food security. Yet their hearts and lungs give out due to the rate at which they grow. To feed people they are amazing. But for the animals themselves to have any quality of life, it’s gotta be short. We tend to have longer living animals that usually grow to fall and more laying hens. I can’t say there is right or wrong on this topic because again. It’s easy to say “ that’s terrible they live so short and I’m gonna eat something that lives longer” when you can afford to wait and put extra into the feed costs. But for some people that don’t have any money to spare and hardly any food.. what right do we have to demand they eat something someone else feels more ethical. I’m not going to judge it. It’s just not something I would raise personally.

Basically. If you live in a place that has long cold winters. The fresh strawberries in the store are not local.. hence they have been shipped in from somewhere, maybe go with something like potato’s. If you don’t live near an ocean and you want fresh seafood. Maybe not the right choice, you gotta see what farms are around you. Goats? Sheep? Cattle? Or your in a place that has loads of seafood and wildlife but few farms. Hence. Seafood and wild game might be better. You know your area better then me. Or you should learn it. Then decide from that what is best for local foods. I know it’s not easy to meet local farmers but you can go to a butcher shop and talk with them. You can get a good feel from a well run work environment that way and they usually won’t buy from poorly run places or stop buying if something about the animals isn’t right. I find a new tactic these days is buying into something as a group. We’ve been having these. A few people ask to buy a steer and each buy a share. Which they divy up after the butcher is done. I’ve seen groups of seven people all buy into one animal and I think that’s great. Nothing goes to waste and they all communicate amoung themselves to what they want and sometimes pop up to see how things are going. That’s an option too. Same as talking with smaller farms and ordering the finished meat too. You figure what your comfortable trying and if that’s just going to Walmart. Then you go there. Look past the labels because really. Grain fed organic beef in one freezer isn’t gonna be much different from the no name in another area <<. Grain fed means corn usually btw!. Then maybe work your way into farmers markets and buying there to someday maybe buying right from the farmer yourself. Good luck!

[peakysabrina]

Heaven

How Jeremiah met his wife, how they got married, and the story of how Isaiah was born.

TW for miscarriages, sorry!!

Jeremiah Jesus had tried to become a priest before, but because of the reasons stated above, had been pushed out of the noble calling of God. Time and time again, he had gone to the seminar, and had done what all the white boys had done, better than them, and was still rejected with a snare and everything short but a kick to the backside. Somehow, his devotion to God wasn't good enough, his oratory wasn't good enough, and him as a man wasn't enough. Every time, he knew very well why it had been: because he was black, his parents were from the Caribbean, and he didn't fit the Church of England's image of a good shepard for their sheep. The sheep, better known as citizens, weren't big on other ethnicities, and a coloured pastor could drive them away from church, and away from the brain-wash that went on inside such venerable buildings.

So Jeremiah Jesus gave up, tired of wasting his time studying the Bible and the great Classic masters of oratory, given that it was of no use. Instead, he decided it would be much better to make it on his own, to go off into the world, make his money, find a job, one that he could excel at, despite the colour of his skin, or the place of origin of his parents. The first step to make that happen was to go around to the shops, to try and find someone who would employ him, even if it was in the backrooms, or warehouses. No one agreed, so Jeremiah moved on to the farms and factories around Birmingham. There, in the small property of Jacob Steadman, he found what he was looking for: a steady position as farm hand, doing whatever was needed.

The Steadman family was composed of seven people: the father, Jacob, who was married to Lucinda; the eldest daughter, Lucy; and four younger siblings, named Jacob Jr., Alphonse (who went by Alphie), Henrietta and Julius. They had a couple more men on the property, who mostly dealt with the produce the family sold at nearby markets. The Steadmans weren't rich, but they lived comfortably, which allowed them a bit more independence, and an education for their children. The eldest one, a beautiful red-haired girl in her early twenties, was especially gifted, and wrote stories for her younger brothers and sisters, which she also illustrated with all the care in the world. She was, unfortunately, prone to bouts of coughing fits, with no apparent reason, and the fairy-tale sessions were often interrupted by these moments, much to her sadness.

"Hey. You need any help?" the same Lucy came asking, carrying a tin full of water and a plate of food. "You've been at it for hours, eh?"

"It's my job" Jeremiah replied, looking up from the car tyre he was trying to patch up, and seeing that blessed apparition, made even more welcome by the food she was holding. "I will accept some lunch, though"

"Yeah, thought so" she replied, chuckling and handing him the plate and the water. "How's it going with dad's car? That tyre's busted"

"Busted is... an understatement. You feeling better today? I heard you coughing yesterday"

"I uh... I'm better, I think, yeah" Lucy sighed, obviously not one bit better, but refusing to look weak, even in front of the help. "To be honest with you, I don't think I'll ever get any better. But that's just my opinion"

"Have you been to a doctor?" Jeremiah looked up from his plate, still chewing a bit of meat. "Nothing they can do about it?"

"I've been to a couple doctors, and none of them know what the hell is going on. Shit, sorry, shouldn't curse, you're religious" Lucy let out, apparently unaware that it hadn't been offensive, but rather funny, to hear someone so proper speaking like that.

"No problem, I'm not that religious" he assured, observing closely the process of his boss's daughter crouching, and then sitting on the ground. If he was asked, a lady sitting on the ground, talking to the coloured help would be much more scandalous than all the cursing in the world. But he liked how pratical she was, how she didn't let her obvious beauty and good manners get in the way of doing what she wanted to do. "I have a chair somewhere over there, if you want"

"Nah, I'm alright, thanks" was the quick answer, accompanied by a shrug. "I'm sorry if I kept you awake with my coughing"

"You didn't. I couldn't sleep anyway"

"Anything worrying you?" Lucy kindly asked, taking a nearby wrench and playing with it, throwing it in the air a couple of times, and catching it with precision. "Well, anything I can help you with? Even if it's just talking"

"On second thought, maybe it was your coughing" Jeremiah joked, finishing his lunch and taking a big swig of water. "No, it's nothing. I was reading, and I lost track of time"

"I know that feeling. You know what I was reading? That one author you showed me, Jane Austen. Really like her stuff" Lucy informed, dreamily looking into the distance. Truth be told, Jeremiah was terrified of her when she looked like that, terrified of the way it made him want to lunge forward and kiss her. It was unspokenly agreed between the two that whatever the thing between them was, it was friendship, and just that: friendship.

"Glad you like it, I came across some stuff of hers through a friend of mine in town" he replied, clearing his throat, and coming back to reality. "His dad knew her dad, or so he says"

"That's interesting. What about you, what were you reading?"

"Do you even need to ask?" he laughed, drinking what was left from the water. "I go back to it a couple times a year, to make sure I haven't forgotten anything. Helps me keep my mind in the right place"

"Fair enough, Jimmy. No shame in that" she responded, using that name that only she was allowed to use. She didn't like the name Jeremiah for some reason, didn't like the way it sounded; but Jimmy sounded good, it suited him. Reading the Bible and losing track of time because of it also suit him, and Lucy was very aware that it was just one of the manners in which he was perfect, in which he made her fall for him.

"You've read the Bible, haven't you?"

"Might have... when I went to Sunday School. Ah, and on Sundays, they always read a bit, don't they? Can't say I remember reading it from start to finish in one go, though" she admitted, tapping her fingers on her lips as she gave the subject some thought. "I prefer novels, You know the ones, where the girls have pretty dresses, and always end up marrying the man of their dreams and living in a mansion"

"That what you want to do?"

"Pfff" Lucy let out, a strange and humorous sound that made Jeremiah laugh along. "I don't really care about dresses, and mansions are too much maintenance. As for the man of my dreams, he knows where I live, he can come get me if he wants" she added, looking down, and then up at him. Another good thing about Lucy was this: she knew what she wanted, and she knew how to get it. The ball was in his court, so to speak, and there was no religion that could provide an answer.

That conversation was the latest of many they had shared, and hints had been coming all along. But it was all in good fun, a bit of light flirting between friends. There had never been anything like that very particular jab, and it wasn't mistakeable for banter. So, it was time to make a decision: to stick to friendship, maintain everything as it was, and resort to reading the Holy Book to drown the noise of his very obvious attraction; or to go ahead and go get the girl he wanted. It was true: he knew where she lived, and knew which room was hers. It had to be the one which still had light coming from underneath the door. She had to be awake, and alone, for them to be able to talk through what they needed to talk through. As softly as he could, he knocked, and the door opened instantly, like she had been waiting. Knowing Lucy, she probably had been, although she would not admit to it.

"Thank God, I was starting to think you hadn't gotten my hint" Lucy scoffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Took you long enough"

"It wasn't an open invitation, was it? What happens if your parents come around to check on you? And what if they hear us?" Jeremiah asked in return, fully regretting what he had done. It would mean being dismissed on the spot, and he couldn't really afford to go back to his parents' house. "I can't lose my job"

"You won't, don't think about it" she guaranteed, going around Jeremiah and locking the door. "See? They can't come in"

"What does it mean, then? What do you want to do?" he asked, bearing in mind that a decision had to be made, and the sooner the better, before someone caught them.

"Do I need to know? Do you really need an answer to that?" Lucy asked, biting her lip repeatedly, obviously nervous for being put on the spot.

"If I didn't need to know where we stand, I wouldn't have come here, now would I?" Jeremiah asked, losing a bit of his cool. It was in his nature to need everything decided, and defined. The idea of puting them both at risk for nothing was annoying, to say the least. "I came here for nothing, wasn't it, Lucy?"

Her reaction was completely unexpected: instead of pouting, or retaliating, Lucy simply walked up to him, placed her hands on his neck, and pulled him down, kissing him on the lips. For good measure, she took Jeremiah's own palms and placed them on her waist, where he could feel the warmth of her skin through the cotton of the nightgown.

"Would this be considered nothing?" Lucy asked, breaking the kiss but making sure Jeremiah's hands stayed where they were. "Because if so..." she continued, taking his writs, and making his hands move to her thighs, and then up, and up, until the nightgown was over her head and on the floor. "...would this be better?"

For once, Jeremiah was speachless, and torn between looking at her face, or looking down at her body, which was wrong, but pretty damn irresistible. He didn't know whether she was aware of what she had done, but it didn't seem to be a problem when he bent over to kiss her, taking her into his arms without thinking too much about it.

After that night, things only escalated: from sex, to talks of marriage, and to a proposal, done beneath the apple trees on a warm Spring day, complete with the best ring the sparse money Jeremiah could buy. At the same time, he'd started making efforts to find a new job, whereas Lucy had gotten employment at the Birmingham library, in hopes that some day, they could tell her parents about their engagement. Once that was out of the way, they could get married, and move into their own house, living their lives, building a family, having a good existence. Luckily, there had been an opening for Bible Studies teacher, under mysterious circumstances, but that were probably connected with the imprisonment of the deacon. Hence, it was time: Lucy's parents had to know.

"Mom and dad, me and Ji... I mean, me and Jeremiah have something we need to tell you" Lucy started, getting her mother's attention, while her father kept on reading the newspaper. "We're engaged to be married"

"You're what? To... to each other?" mrs. Steadman asked, absolutely caught off guard.

"Yeah" her daughter responded, showing her mother the engagement ring.

"No"

"What?"

"I said no" mr. Steadman chimed in, lowering the paper, and looking at his daughter with the utmost disgust. "You are not marrying a coloured man, let alone a poor one"

"Excuse me, sir, but I don't think the colour of my skin has anything to do with this subject. I love your daughter, I am prepared to offer her the best life I possibly can" Jeremiah protested, forcing Lucy to take his arm, to pacify him a little.

"Look son, I have no problem with the colour of your skin, but I am not letting my daughter marry you" Jacob replied, as if he was simply commenting on the weather outside. "You have no idea how people will treat her if she marries you"

"I'm not unaware of that, dad, I know how stupid people are; I don't care about any of that, I'm prepared to deal with whatever is thrown at me. Jeremiah asked me to marry him, I said yes, and that's that. You can be by my side on my wedding day, or not. That's your call" Lucy stated, beggining to feel the burn of anger on her throat. "He's the man I want, he's the man I love, and that's that on that"

"Out" Jacob simply stated, his eyes as clear as day, pointing to the door. He didn't even raise his voice, but the message as loud: he wanted the both of them out of his house, and he wanted them to go without missing a second. As for his wife, she just lowered her head and went back to sewing, pursing her lips but saying nothing. It seemed like the only one affected by that demand was Lucy, whose eyes filled with tears, and fists clenched. "I said out, didn't you hear me? Out of my sight, both of you. And don't you dare come back"

Matter of fact, they didn't. Lucy packed her clothes and some books she'd bought with her own money, wrote a letter to her siblings explaining why she had to leave, and was out of her childhood home before dinner time. As for her fiancé, a completely distraught Jeremiah, there was not much to be said: the guilt he felt in his heart was so overwhelming he wanted to simultaneously punch Jacob Steadman and hug Lucy, to cry on her shoulder. It was her spirit that never waivered, it was her that got him out of the property her parents owned, and it was her who found them a room to rent while they saved up for an apartment or house of their own. Their landlord, Arthur Shelby, was a strange man, but his wife, named Elizabeth, was an angel, who looked after the young couple with as much care as she did her own child, a lanky, sickly-looking boy named after his father.

As for their wedding, there was not much to be said: there was the priest, the bride, the groom, and two witnesses, namely Elizabeth Shelby and her husband, who signed the paper with a disgruntled look on his face. It wasn't much of a party, but then again it didn't need to be, as Lucy and Jeremiah didn't have the means to provide one. The bride had a bouquet of wildflowers, and a simple everyday dress, but her groom was so in love it didn't matter. To Jeremiah, she was an angel, something from high heavens.

"... I now pronounce you husband and wife. Mr. Jesus, you may kiss your bride" the pastor announced, causing both Jeremiah and Lucy to smile at each other, before chastly kissing to the sound of Elizabeth Shelby's subdued clapping, echoing off the walls of the empty church.

"Congratulations, I wish you nothing but happiness, truly" Elizabeth wished, hugging Lucy tightly and patting Jeremiah's shoulder. As for her husband, he was already outside, smoking a cigarette and probably trying to make a pass at any woman who passed by. "Now would be the time to leave your bouquet at the altar and make a wish. I'll wait outside"

"Oh, I forgot" Lucy let out, turning to the altar and trying to think of a wish. "You have anything you want to wish for?" she asked Jeremiah, who in all honesty, was just happy to be alive and married to the girl he loved.

"Not really, I'll leave the wish to you" he replied, accompanying her back to the altar, where a figure of Jesus Christ on the cross looked over them.

"Well, I wish for..." she started, a sweet smile on her features. "I wish for a happy and healthy baby. And since my husband doesn't want to make his own wish, I'll take his and ask for some te ability to carry my child safely"

"That's a good wish" Jeremiah replied, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Both of them are, really. Can't wait to have a little one with you"

"Me either. You reckon it will take long to... should we be talking about this in church, though?" Lucy laughed, putting down the simply bouquet of flowers and taking Jeremiah's hand as they exited the temple. "I feel bad now, for talking about baby-making at church"

"God doesn't care, don't worry" Jeremiah assured, as they walked over to the Shelbies, who were waiting for them. "Can't wait, though"

In the end, it did take a fair bit for a baby to make its appearance in their life. Elizabeth Shelby had four children by the time Lucy Jesus managed to carry a pregnancy to term. Her disappointments had taken its toll on the girl, who became more and more fragile as time went by. Her coughing became constant, and her body slowly started giving in. However, Lucy had gathered every bit of strength she had, and, in 1905, Isaiah was born. He was healthy, beautiful, and strong, much stronger than his mother. In due time, the little boy had to say goodbye to his father, who departed for war, and then, to his mother, who couldn't survive another miscarriage. Elizabeth Shelby and Polly Gray, her sister-in-law, raised the Jesus boy, who grew up playing with the Shelby boys, and who would, in time, become one of them.

The second part of this (focused on Isaiah) is on AO3

[do-not-fold-spindle-or-mutilate]

There is some nuance to it. It's not as wide as most of us claim, though. The difference is mostly about scale. Large chains are effectively interchangeable, your McDonald's and burger king and what not. They're mass produced burgers designed to preserve and travel well, which induces Late Capitalism Almost Food Syndrome™.

The less ubiquitous but still large chains typically have a gimmick and are more willing to do something interesting. That's where you get the godawful American food abominations, like whatever the maniacs at kfc are up to at any given moment or the deep fried baseballs jack in the box calls tacos.

More regional chains tend to hit a sweet spot where their supply chains are short-ish so they can pull out a decent burger, usually with one really good component and some mediocrity. Culver's does good buns and typically at least the rest is okay, for example.

The ones you hear the super devoted defenses of are usually confined to one or two states. They aren't overreaching, so they can get a consistent level of quality without that level being "horrendous."

They're also usually pricier. Most of us can only really afford McDonald's or jack in the box level food consistently, so when we're confronted with a burger that undeniably used to be ingredients, many of which do not suck, we sorta lose all perspective.

There is such a thing as a gourmet burger. It's not that great, but you can't get it at a fast food place. Because most of the available burgers are basically identical crap designed with the consumer experience as a second priority at best, a burger where you can't taste the shareholder's demands is a noticeable improvement.

Essentially, we are badly overestimating the quality of our local chains, and almost every burger we export does a massive disservice to the entire concept of calories.

i hate usamericans and their one billion different regional fast food chains that they insist are all vastly different. im sorry i just dont believe you that Chunks and Yakko's and Slutty Dan's all provide different experiences and im not in one million years going to rural northeast ohio to check if the Quirko's Cumdump Meal really has better fries than the Burger Cossack Grease Box. all fucking ham burger the same

[bondirecordsaus]

Bondi Records Buy vinyl records for sale online

Listening to music is not something that you do in the background while focusing on other chores. With today's contemporary technologies, many people consider music to be a side hustle. They listen to music based on trends or to work, or to go to sleep. But, those who genuinely appreciate the art understand the actual value of listening to music with traditional methods.

Vinyl records simulate the experience of living with music masterpieces. You might have a digital collection of thousands of music and albums that you can access and carry everywhere you go. These are sometimes free, allowing you to share and save your music collection rapidly.

However, with a digital music collection, you lose your music's nostalgic and rich feel. According to experts, digital music is highly compressed, losing a significant portion of music quality. Consider listening to vinyl records if you are a true music enthusiast who wants to experience the sense of compassion of your favorite music.

Bondi Records: A Diverse Collection of Vinyl Records

Based in the heart of Australia's most iconic beach suburbs, Bondi Records is an online vinyl records store that provides the most iconic music vinyl records for sale online. We have new, exclusive, classic, and hard-to-find vinyl music records from various genres and eras. We have everything you want and are expanding our stock to provide our clients with the most iconic vinyl record. The primary genre of our in-stock vinyl records is- Pop. Rock, Classic Rock, Indie, Electronic, and Hip-Hop & R&B. 

Now Let's Understand Why Should You Listen To Vinyl records:

Vinyl records let you enjoy superior sound. Vinyl produces an analog sound that resonates and creates a warm sound that is not found in any other medium. With a lossless version that isn't unduly compressed, the music and voices are closer to how musicians sound live. Furthermore, most tracks are mastered with better dynamics than CD or digital, allowing you to hear more of the dynamic range. Also, these items are collectible. It means you can buy the vinyl records of your favorite artists and showcase them or reserve them for your old age. These records last longer and give you the feeling of living the music. 

The reselling cost of these records is also reasonable. The older the record, the more its value. For example, if a Vinyl record album was 4-5$ in 1980, the exact disc costs 30$+ at present and will value 100$+ after 10-20 years, so it is also a good investment. If you are considering buying or expanding your vinyl records collection Bondi Records are here to help. We provide a vast array of iconic vinyl records at an affordable price. If you are looking for something unique and can't find that particular record, inform us, and we will bring it for you. So if you are a real music enthusiast and want to own your music, buy vinyl records for sale online from Bondi Records.