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kevkesblog · 5 years

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Translation: Kai Havertz portait in ZEIT newspaper (January 2019)

NOTE: Hey guys! This time I tried something new. I translated an exclusive portrait the german weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT did with Kai in January. They interviewed him as well as Kai’s family. Its very candid and has alot of details. I hope you guys like it, since DIE ZEITs writing is usually very difficult - even for germans. And I apologize for spelling errors as usual.

The original text in German

Kai Havertz: the peace itself

(January 23, 2019)

People praise Leverkusens national player Kai Havertz, 19, for his serenity with the ball which put him on the radar of many European top clubs. His parents start to realize that he is likely becoming world famous.

By Jörg Kramer

The most promising german football talent these days picked a table very far behind in an restaurant somewhere in Cologne to order himself some spagetti gnocchi – inconspicuous.

There is no star posturing with Kai Havertz. The 19 year old could even go through as a normal university student; with his bright hoodie and somewhat cheap and not even special occurence.

And with his voice, which has this typical regional dialect, without the typical empty phrases that young football player use to often in order to cover up their meaningless sentences. But people know his face by now. So thats why he doesnt sit right next to the entrance.

He belongs to the celebrities of the football scene. European top clubs are scouting the young men in stadiums, team mates from Bayer Leverkusen praising him and forecasting him to have the potential to become a world star.

He already scored nine goals this season, decided some games by his own and played his first games for the national team. Havertz became the centre of his clubs game by playing at the centre midfield. His role only changed slightly and the importance of his role not at all, since Peter Bosz took over as head coach. He views this very relaxed and talks in an restaurant somewhere in the Belgian Quarter of Cologne about Leverkusen being the „perfect place“ in order to develop as a young player. And thats where he wants to give his all for the last half year ahead. Ooops!

His last half year? That was a slip of the tongue of course, he meant to say the next half year. Because his contract with Bayer is still running until 2022 without an exit clause. But things now are developing in a rapid way which runs parallel to his explosive performance currently. Its just a matter of the perfect timing that someone like him will end up going to Barcelona, Manchester or at least Munich – a choice between summer 2019 or summer 2020 maybe.

Havertz walks over his misspelled sentence like nothing happend. Once in Nuremberg in the middle of a turmoil of an rainy game, it seemed as if he stopped – as if he was reconsidering the situation with him having the ball. Like if somebody pressed a ‚Stop‘-button. And he chiped to ball in an cool and unemoitional and scored.

Coaches and team mates are citizing his body language, he says. So he works on looking more aggresive. He even participates on useless discussions between his teammates and referees after controversial decisions on the pitch, in order to get a penalty for the other team or some revenge. But it doesnt really look good him when he does it, he admits – even after a though tackle or when going after the ball. „I’m a player that shines with his tranquility.“ A nice sentence that gives away his elegante style of play.

Havertz remained an artist on the pitch. Every foul is a sign of weakness. Everytime he gets the ball, which is his job as an offensive player, he never runs into his opponents – he anticipates. „I try to imagine, which options my opponent has, what he would do if I were him.“ He then runs with a planned pass way and he gets the ball.

Havertz learned in the past almost two and a half years all systems and tatics of modern football. Starting with a radical system, almost a raid-strategy under coach Roger Schmidt, by which the goal keeper kicked the ball high and it flew wide over the pitch – almost always directly aimed at Havertz‘ head – because he is 1,88 meters tall.

Then the mixed system under Heiko Herrlich. He always had to look for his team mates before he passed. Now with Bosz, a planfull offensive style with flat passing. He runs through all the chapters. The first began on October 15, 2016.

It was a Saturday. A day where the Havertz family from Mariadorf near Aachen still couldnt realize that their youngest son, will probably end up living off football and perhaps even become famous. They cant really believe it up until today, says Anne Havertz, his mother.

On that day – October 15 – Kai was a youth player, in a big house next to the woods in Mariadorf having breakfast – when suddently coach Schmidt called. Lars Bender, professional Bayer-player who was supposed to play against Werder Bremen that evening, got injured and had to quit. Kai had to come to Bremen, immidiately! His mother drove him to Leverkusen. A special shuttle took him to Bremen. His whole family was sitting in front of the TV that night.

Kai was sitting on the bench as expected. Then, during the 83th minute, the commentator saw already more than the viewes and said: now we are experiencing a debut. Kai Havertz was ready to get subbed. In the real Bundesliga. Anne Havertz said: „Oh my god!“.

(Credit: Instagram: kaihavertz29)

Kai’s mother, who worked as a lawyer until she got pregnant with her eldest son, came to the restaurant in Cologne one day after Kai to talk about life as a family of an future world star. She brought her husband – Kai’s father, and her daughter Lea, Kai’s sister. The sister is studying marketing and digital media in the city.

People can reach his father in an emergency by dailing 1-1-0. He is a police officer working at the police station 3 in Cologne-West. He says he is really impressed, about how cool and routinely his football playing son manages post-game interviews and how we stays cool when people recognize him in public and everybody is watching,

The Havertz family is still perplexed about a football world where colleagues of their son, order their own cooks to cook for them at home. And whenever he puts his legs into an special bag in order to regenerate. Almost the whole family – except his oldest brother and the dog – are having apple pie and salate and looking back at the stages of his career, which started at Alemannia Mariadorf. Kai skiped two age-groups. He then played with older players than actually intended. Then he transfered to Bayer Leverkusen. All because the scout was tough but not intrusive like the other scouts. By the age of ten, Bayer drove Kai to training sessions three times a week.

4 year old Kai Havertz (Credit: kicker tv)

He was still among the smallest players in the team by the age of 14. Then suddently - a growth spurt which resultet in issues with his knees and his back. They were responsible for Kai loosing his fixed spot on the team. This was also the hard time because he left home and moved to Leverkusen. The club doesnt have an academy so he stayed at a guest family – the family of the stadium announcer from Bayer, together with two other players. A year later he moved into an apartement with his older brother, until Jan had to move to Nuremberg – he has a marketing job at adidas now.

A lasting memory: endless discussions within the Havertz family about the overarching question: does the boy need a german high school diploma (Abitur)? Will he pass the tests when he is travelling around with his professional teammates?

Kai Havertz attended the Landrat-Lucas-Gymnasium. An elite school of sports where he could skip classes in the morning for training. But he always had to catch up school stuff from the day. Once he played with Leverkusen at the DFB-Cup at Sportfreunde Lotte. He was subbed late, it went into penalities and after the team was eliminated from the cup he arrived home late – at 3am. At 8am he had an English exam.

The family became a team. His mother and sister helped him with biology exams. One day the young football player said to his family, he has no power left anymore. „But he never said: I want to quit!“ his mother insists. This was a breaking point by which his parents thought about quitting and stop pursuing the Abitur. But suddently coach Roger Schmidt intervened and said Kai should pull through. The whole Bayer team will support him.

The Abitur became a factor of will power, a test of life. The school supervisor of Bayer, a former athlete herself, said something memorable: it will shape his whole life if Kai quits school now. Whenever something becomes difficult, if something goes beyond your pain barrier, he will always have this option to quit in his head, that you can just give up.

Kai Havertz choose the pain, the Abitur. Now he will always choose the hard way if the theory of his supervisor holds.

On this January afternoon in Cologne, he is being asked what other job he would have picked if it wasnt for football. He likes the job as a barber, for men’s hairstyle. He smiles. Some curls are hanging on his forehead from left to right. A Barber. He wouldnt have needed an Abitur for that.

He is a genius at football. He won the German junior championship with Bayer and scored 19 goals in 29 games. He got awarded as a Under-19-player as the best of his age with the Fritz-Walter-medal from the DFB. Kai made it onto second place on his position after Marco Reus from Dortmund in a list of the football magazine „kicker“ which they publish every half year – but seven spaces in front of Munich’s Thomas Müller.

Coach Heiko Herrlich says Havertz reminds him of Toni Kroos. Football critic Reiner Calmund compared him to Franz Beckenbauer. His head goals remind him of Michael Ballack. Mesut Özil was always Kai Havertz idol, because of his tranquility with the ball and his ability to read a game. Sometimes Kai misses the final conciseness in front of the goal, which was visible after the recent 0-1 loss against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Having the ability to remain calm, even when you get tackled is the result of a deep confidence in your own strenghts: screen your surrondings – in short time if necessary – and then make the right decision. Joachim Löw praises Havertz „good orientation“, something he said about Özil years ago. What he means is a certain sense of space on the pitch – an inner compass. Something that has to do with attention and memory. Havertz, who is a master of navigation, doesn’t even need practice. Some creatures have special senses and are able to find orientation on earth through a magnetic field – like migratory birds for example.

Kai Havertz likes watching Champions League games. And while watching them, there is always a wish inside him to participate as well whenever the big games of the quarter- and semifinals are on. „I think you can only reach that level by going to a top club at some point“ he says.

Mother, father and sister Havertz say, they don’t expect things from him. Something they never did in his career. But if someone asks them, who will follow Kai in a foreign country to get used to everything – they start to think about it. They would alternate. One week his mother would visit, next week his sister and then his grandmother maybe.

Kai Havertz still has a room back home in Mariadorf. Back in the day he used to have posters from FC Barcelona. So it could happen maybe one day, that youngsters in Barcelona will have posters with Kai Havertz on them.

++END++

#kaihavertz #kai havertz #bayerleverkusen #bayer leverkusen #German NT #diemannschaft #DFB Team #dfb #bravertz #julianbrandt

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emordnilap-fr · 5 years

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The Maw

lore pinglist: @voltaic-ambassador @bavatica-fr (bava idk if you want just ‘locke posts or all lore so just lmk?) (ask if you’d like to be added to the list!)

word count: 2423

It starts with Zenturio.

He’s at his post in the entrance to the Maw, the gaping cavern that few dragons have access to. It’s in the deepest recesses of the lair, kept under watch by Sentinels like himself, shift after shift. The little light there is, cast from the torches behind him, glints off the stalactites and stalagmites like the teeth of a beast.

Far to his right, on the other side of the cave, sits Fizz, perched atop a stalagmite with her tail coiling its way down to the base. She’s quiet, but that’s normal; she rarely speaks, even to him.

It doesn’t hit him at once. But, slowly, an odd feeling begins to rise in his chest; an urge; a pull. And it’s so familiar yet so wrong that he freezes up, instinctively willing himself to resist. He casts a look towards his companion, mouth open to ask ‘Do you feel this?’ or ‘What are you doing?’, but he stops. Stares.

She’s quiet.

Cold.

She’s always been quiet; she’s shy, paranoid, distrusting. She’s always been cold; she’s an Ice dragon, glittering with frost and breathing snow. But now, she doesn’t even move, breathe. Now, her heat signature is dull, and he can barely distinguish her from the stone she sits on; it’s like she’s become one herself.

The pull strengthens.

He should be afraid, still. He remembers the Shade, how it had pulled at him all his life, he remembers gaining his freedom from it. But the Shade had felt angry, malevolent, violent, yanking at him and forcing unto him its will. This pull is… different. It’s calm, inviting, warm. It lulls him into a deep comfort, until his eyes are drooping and his mind muddles.

He stands, slips from his post, claws scraping on stone. He doesn’t know why he’s moving, but it feels right.

It calls to him, from deeper into the Maw. Pulls him in.

He listens, follows.

Nobody notices their absence for hours.

Schatten and Koniglich are in the library playing chess, a favorite pastime while they’re both off-duty. It’s still early in the day, and all is quiet save for the quiet clicking of their pieces on the board. Every now and then there’s a shuffling as elsewhere, Traube busies himself with organising the books.

Schatten uses a rook to knock over Koniglich’s king. His cheek fins flick; a smirk. “Checkmate.”

Koniglich lowers his crests; a frown. “Bitch.”

“You shouldn’t have moved your knight.”

“You shouldn’t have won.”

“Sore loser?”

“Absolutely.”

Schatten chuckles, takes his brothers withering glare as he resets the pieces. Then, something strange happens. He feels something, an odd feeling sinking into his bones that makes his crest quiver. Across from him, Koniglich mirrors his movement.

“Do you feel that?” they both ask, and both nod.

Koniglich starts, “Feels like-”

“-a pull,” Schatten finishes.

“Should we check?”

“It’s my job.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“Don’t wander far.”

“I won’t.”

“Let’s go.”

They stand in unison, next chess match forgotten. Side by side they leave the library, steps in sync and paces matching.

Through the halls they follow the call, letting it guide them home.

Soon they’re faced with open jaws, glinting teeth and hollow throat. The pull beckons them in, reassures their minds, soothes them.

They let themselves go at ease, and the Maw swallows them whole.

Traube watches them leave, wonders ‘Hm, where are they off to?’, until a dragon rings the bell for help and the thought leaves his mind. The guards must be changing shifts; he’ll clear their chessboard once he’s done here.

Flechte pushes aside a rack of sheet metal, sighs, then closes the storage room door. Feuer is nowhere to be found in the Foundry; where could the fae be?

He climbs up the stairwell in the side of the Workshop, emerges in Spiegel’s Studio. Across the room, the mirror sketches blueprints at his workbench, muttering under his breath.

“Hey, have you seen Feuer?”

Spiegel snorts. “Haven’t seen the kid. Lose your apprentice again?”

“He’s ready for his own apprentice, you know, he’s not a kid.”

“He’s a kid to me. Sounds like you lost ‘im. Again. He’ll turn up.”

Flechte… can’t share Spiegel’s brand of ‘optimism’. Something feels very wrong, very out of place, but he can’t place what or why. His instinct has never been wrong, and he wishes that, just this once, it might be.

He doesn’t get to voice this, not yet, as Lehrer and Soleil throw the door to the Studio open and rush inside. Lehrer barely skids to a stop before he pants out, “We can’t find Dunst or Chance; have you seen them?”

They both look hopeful, but Flechte’s heart drops. No, he hasn’t seen them, and he tells them as such. The way their faces fall breaks his heart, and a shiver runs up his spine. This isn’t right.

“You two, keep looking for them, and Feuer.” He ignores the way the two stiffen at another name, another dragon missing. “Spiegel, close up all shops, we’re not having business today. I’m going to Cumulus.”

The two apprentices nod, say, “Got it, sir,” and, “We’ll find them,” before they leave as quickly as they arrived. Spiegel sighs, sets down his pencil, but pauses. He gives Flechte a sidelong look.

“You really think something’s up?”

Flechte nods. “I know there is.”

Another sigh. “Well, I hope to the Eleven you’re wrong, we don’t need more of this catastrophe crap. They’re probably just scheming up some half-baked device.”

“I hope so, too.”

Flechte turns to leave, and Spiegel follows. He bids the mirror goodbye with a nod, then stretches his wings and ascends the side of the Rift. The moment he touches down in the clan’s main entrance, he’s off, sprinting towards Cumulus’ study.

Something’s wrong, and he’s going to find out what.

They’ve gone home.

It’s nearly noon. Neugierig travels down the stone halls at a brisk pace, heading deep into the cave system. It gets colder as he goes, but he doesn’t mind; he’s an Ice dragon, after all.

But when he finally reaches the Maw, where Zenturio should be waiting for him to change shifts, it isn’t the cold that sends a chill up his spine; rather, it’s the fact that Zenturio is gone. Frost covers much of the cave’s surface, glittering in the faint torchlight, and that’s when he notices Fizz.

She’s… he doesn’t know. She’s frozen, stone, ice, he can’t tell, but she isn’t moving and it’s so cold.

‘What the seven hells happened?’

He makes to leave, to alert Cumulus of this phenomenon, when something warm washes over him. He turns, faces the darkness of the Maw once more.

He doesn’t know why it comforts him, when just a moment ago he was confused, worried, edging towards panic. But it does; the warmth envelops him, urges him to seek out more, more, come closer.

He does.

Maelstrom knows something is wrong when Schatten never arrives for their shift change, and she’s even more concerned when Zenturio never arrives from Neugierig’s.

Where are they?

Cumulus has had it up to here with all the shit the clan gets put through. It’s been less than two years since Kiev attacked and created an Emperor. There was a Harpy attack a few months ago, and that’s not including the minor altercations with the tribe since then. The market is recovering from some gods-damned, tax-evading merchants who seemed hellbent on ruining some of the clan’s region-specific markets.

And now, she’s faced with Eiszapfen and Mammon and several missing dragons. Schatten, Koniglich, Rill, and Citrus, all missing within the last five hours.

She rubs her temples. “Are you sure they’re missing?”

Mammon looks offended at the notion that he may be wrong. “Yes! Nobody’s seen them in the lair, Prim never saw them leave, and they’re not in their dens.”

Eiszapfen chimes in with, “We also checked anywhere they usually stay. Library, Caravan, kitchen, nothing.”

That… is rather worrying. But there has to be a rational explanation, right? There’s no sign of a murderer; if anyone with such ill intent tried to move around the lair, they would’ve been found out by at least one of the clan’s skydancers. There are no signs of any struggles, no smell of blood or death, the dragons are simply gone, disappeared into thin air.

“If they don’t show up in, let’s say, four hours, we’ll start a larger search for them. But until then, we-”

She’s interrupted by Flechte pushing his way into the room. Inwardly, she groans. “Please don’t tell me somebody’s missing?”

He freezes, just for a moment, but it’s enough to tell her that yes, that’s exactly what’s happened. “...Dunst, Feuer, and Chance are all missing.”

She hisses under her breath, “Shit,” then looks between the three dragons before her. “You two,” she nods to Eiszapfen and Mammon, “ignore what I said. The clan is on lockdown, nobody leaves, nobody comes in. We’re getting to the bottom of this, and now.”

“Wait, who else is missing?” Flechte suddenly seems tense, like a coiled spring, and she doesn’t blame him; she lets Mammon lean over to fill the other coatl in.

When they finished, Cumulus fixes them all with a look. “Alright. I need all three of you to start a search, find every dragon you can and tell them to leave the lair, under my orders. We’ll gather in the Arena and do a headcount once we’ve found everyone. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Good. Send Prim and Streunende to me when you find them, they’ll have other jobs.”

The three nod, then leave in a rush.

Just what the hell is going on?

It’s alright, the pull sings. Come home.

They listen.

“You really think the conductors will listen to you?”

“Little bird, you’re a fool to think anyone would be enough of an idiot to ignore my words.”

“Well, there’s always me.”

“You’re a smartass, not an idiot, unfortunately.”

“Oh I think you do mean fortunately.”

“Shut the hell up, bird.”

Streundende chuckles, but stops teasing Prim; they’re on a job, after all. They touch down by the market, parting ways.

“Good luck with the trains, eh?”

“Tch, you’ll need more luck getting a single merchant to leave their stand for even a second.”

He ponders this for a moment, then admits defeat. “Yeah, yeah you’re right, I’ll need my luck.”

“Damn right.”

Primrose leaves, and he walks into the market with purpose. Stand by stand, he relays Cumulus’ orders, and as expected, most are reluctant to leave their stands unattended. But with some good ol’ convincing - also known as: threatening to ban them for life - they concede and retreat to the Arena on the other side of the Rift.

As he goes through the market, he notices that several stands are stocked but unattended. That… isn’t promising. He recognises a few of them, belonging to Eiszapfen (naturally), Koniglich (missing), Bestimmung, and Rastus, among others. He writes the names of any stands without owners, and once the market is cleared, he stands watch at the entrance to ward off anyone who may come by.

Out in the distance, he sees Primrose by the station. Luckily, no trains have come through so far, but he knows she’s going to have her claws full very, very soon.

He leans back against the wall of the stone overhang protecting the market and sighs. This is all one big mess, isn’t it?

When the sun finally begins to set and all the dragons in the market and lair have been gathered in the Arena, the headcount begins.

The numbers aren’t promising.

Streundende saw that Bestimmung and Rastus have disappeared..

Maelstrom reports that Zenturio, Fizz, and Neugierig haven’t returned from any of their shifts.

Mammon finds that Spatz has gone missing.

Akakia - upset and accompanied by Brayth, Atava, and Glainn - says that her mate Umbra is gone.

Five members of Envell’s crew have vanished: Absinthe, Eirris, Albatross, Kuhli, and Mio.

Dezmon reports that Lanyon, Saffo, and Carillon are missing - the last members of the Guild of Gold.

Tuvya noticed the absence of Liebe and Quartz; Oceana found Grendine’s Ward empty, and Glucose and Therrick are nowhere to be found.

This all is in addition to those already known missing. Twenty-six dragons. On top of any merchants passing through who are now gone.

It’s driving Cumulus mad.

Maelstrom approaches, and before she can reign in her temper, she snaps, “What?”

Luckily, the guardian isn’t fazed. At least, not by Cumulus; something is bothering her, though, from the way her brow’s furrowed and the glances she sends around the area.

“I can’t find Nachtlich.”

Oh, shit.

“Oh, shit.” This is very bad, especially for Oceana when she finds out. Cumulus starts pacing frantically. “Where was he assigned to search?”

“The Maw.”

That makes her freeze.

“You said a few others disappeared when they were meant to be stationed there, yes?”

“Correct. ...You don’t think it had something to do with this?”

“Gods… it had to have.” Cumulus sits down and pinches the bridge of her muzzle between her fingers. “I thought about sealing that place, quite often, but there’s too much stone to move. We should’ve tried to, at least.”

Maelstrom sits down in front of her. “Sunset never detected anything down there during her expeditions.”

“Don’t imply she’s lying.”

“I’m not, I’m just saying that there’s no way we could’ve known there was anything there.”

“Alright. Alright, good, just… this is such a mess.” Cumulus heaves a sigh, then stands up again, head held high. “We’ll find them. I don’t know if there’s something down there, or if, for some reason, all these dragons decided to crawl in there, but we’ll find them. I’ll lead a search party in the morning.”

Maelstrom tilts her head at her. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“No. I’m not. But it’s all I’ve got. I don’t want to force the clan to move, but we just might have to if something happens down there.” Cumulus nods once, mostly to herself, and says, “We’ll stay the night out here, help me get the word around, okay?”

“Will do.”

True to her word, Cumulus leads a search party into the Maw that morning. It consists of herself, Sunset, Maelstrom, Brayth, and Atoll.

They don’t find anything.

They search through the day, delving ever deeper into the system, but find no signs of strange magic.

No signs of their missing clanmates.

But, something else finds them.

“Hello?”

#my lore #fr lore #flight rising lore #too many characters to tag #canonical death count: 27 #4 others not affiliated with the keepers #the title is a halo reference

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pamphletstoinspire · 5 years

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The Secrets Of Nazareth (Luke 2:41-52)

“By giving us his Son whom, in order to spare us he did not spare, he gave us everything: graced, love, heaven; for all these indeed are less than his Son.” – St. Alphonsus Liguori

Luke 2:41-52: Every year his parents used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere. Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have, you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’ ‘Why were you looking for me?’ he replied ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ But they did not understand what he meant. He then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority. His mother stored up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and men.

Christ the Lord At the age of twelve Jewish boys took their place in their community as young men. Up till then, they were not strictly under the law, but upon coming of age, they were expected to carry their own weight religiously and begin to do so socially and economically. Thus this trip to Jerusalem for the Passover was probably Jesus’ first; previously he would have stayed at home with the other young children. Certainly the throngs of pilgrims, the glory of the big city, and the pageantry of the religious ritual fascinated him (especially because of his unique mission and identity), inducing him to stay behind when the caravan from Nazareth headed home – the women traveling ahead of the men, which is why Joseph probably thought Jesus was with Mary, and vice versa.

During the Passover festival, the Jewish leaders (members of the Sanhedrin) gave open lectures and led public discussions in the Temple precincts. Jesus participated in these, his unusual interest and uncanny intuition making a dramatic impression upon the other youngsters as well as the rabbis.

What was on Jesus’ mind as he spent these three days alone in the City of David? St. Luke gives us a clue. When Joseph and Mary finally catch up to him, Mary says, “Your father and I have been looking for you…” and Jesus answers, “I must be in my Father’s house.” At some point in his young life, Jesus the human boy, the son of Joseph the carpenter, must have begun to understand who he was as Jesus the Son of God. And even if he had known it long before, now that he had officially come of age, it was high time that he begin to act in accordance with it.

Once again, we see that Christ’s Lordship is not an exterior tag, a romantic title tacked on to a great philosopher by sycophant disciples. He is Lord of men because he is God become man, come to live with us and establish his eternal Kingdom.

Christ the Teacher For thirty of his thirty-three years of earthly life, Jesus “was obedient to” his parents in Nazareth. In other words, he lived the most normal, unglamorous life that can be imagined: he worked in a carpenter’s shop in a small town on the edge of the Roman Empire. He did chores, he studied his lessons, he went to the Synagogue on Saturdays, he played with his cousins, he helped his mother fetch the water… for thirty years. He did nothing miraculous or spectacular… for thirty years. Is he trying to teach us something? Isn’t he showing us that to be a Christian, to be a saint, begins with the faithful fulfillment of the normal responsibilities of life? God created us to be human, and he expects us to reach our potential by living fully human lives. A Christian should be a model son, daughter, father, mother, student, carpenter, athlete, bricklayer, statesman, marketing director – whatever our situation in life, we should live it deeply, conscious that by taking upon himself our human nature, Christ sanctified the human condition. He made the ordinary activities and duties of life into channels of divine grace.

Christ the Friend Often we are afraid to be honest in our prayer. We feel that our everyday struggles, needs, questions, and frustrations are too petty for God. But Christ proves that attitude wrong. He grew up in a family – a poor family, in fact – and he did not magically protect them from all the mundane concerns that buffet the daily struggle of such families. Mary and Joseph didn’t understand what he was saying; they were worried sick when they couldn’t find him – they reacted the way any healthy parents would react to a crisis situation. It is precisely in the midst of these seemingly petty experiences that God can work in our souls, on one condition: that we, like Mary, “store up all these things” and ponder them in our hearts. God is always drawing close to us, drawing us closer to himself – we need only make an effort to detect his action, and his action will be able to take its effect.

Joseph: I really never knew what was going to happen next. Most days followed the same pattern of work and rest. Mary made our home the brightest and neatest in the town, and Jesus was the most energetic, healthiest, and most helpful boy you could imagine. Our little place was always buzzing with activity. Everyone who needed help or comfort came by, knowing that Mary would find a solution – and that kept me busy too. They were both docile, always finding ways to make me happy. Yet, this normal, strenuous, beautiful life was lit up every once in a while by flashes of the extraordinary, like when we lost Jesus in the Temple. I knew I was part of a bigger story, and God kept reminding me of it. I always felt that it was something far beyond what I could understand. I listened to the Lord; I did every task as best I could, and I simply had to trust that he would work everything out in the end.

Christ in My Life Thank you for coming to be my Savior, Lord. Thank you for becoming Mary’s child, so that I could become a child of God. When I take time to think of all that you have done and all that you are doing, my worries and concerns shrink down to their proper size. You are busy about your Father’s work – teach me to be busy doing your will in my life…

I think I have lost some of my ability to enjoy the simple pleasures and challenges of life. I think I have fallen into the trap of consumerism – always needing new toys to feel stimulated and happy. Purify me, Lord. You were happy amid the work and suffering of Nazareth. Blessed be Nazareth, blessed by your holy name…

Mary, how were you able to keep believing the words of the angel when for thirty years you saw no advances of your son to claim his Kingship…. Teach me to live with faith. I always want so badly to understand everything. Did you want that too? You bore Wisdom himself in your womb, and you raised him and taught him and loved him. He clung to you and depended on you. Mary, teach me to live with Jesus, to learn from him…

Written by: FR. JOHN BARTUNEK, LC

#the secrets of nazareth

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taiwanpuppetryproudthunderbolt · 4 years

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interview 15

Richard Chamberlain - How he keeps the Faith in his Private Life

"Fame isn't the answer. The answer is allowing yourself to be who you are."

"I'm not interested in being a multimillionaire; I want to do the kind of work that interests me. When I was beginning, I wanted to do everything: films, TV, modern things, period things, classics, musical theatre, I wanted to make records and I also wanted to paint. I'm a medium with occasional goods. I took dance lessons, and I have discovered that you can't do everything, but I've done a lot of it."

In a company town, Hollywood, where a favorite indoor sport is to trash everyone, its almost impossible to find anyone with a sour word to mutter about Richard Chamberlain.

The erstwhile Dr. Kildare, perhaps unintentionally, has made a secondary career of winning friends. He is Mr. Nice Guy wherever you turn.

He is therefore going against casting in his current role of Father Ralph in the ABC-TV mini-series, The Thorn Birds. For those unfamiliar with the best-selling Colleen McCullough's supernovel, Fr. Ralph does just about everything a priest isn't supposed to from having money of his own - courtesy of the character played by Barbara Stanwyck - to not being obedient or chaste.

In fact, there are those who might consider him a bit of a rotter. Not so Richard. We're sitting in his offices at The Burbank Studios just a few months after he has finished production on this massive film. He is about to don another hat: that of executive producer on a TV movie for CBS, hence the office setting complete with a round black glass conference table and comfortable chairs. Only successful executive producers rate such perks. But enough business talk. We are here to discuss The Thorn Birds, how he feels about yet another blockbuster following his so-successful Shogun and his real life.

First of all, Richard doesn't believe that Father Ralph behaved in such a reprehensive manner. "He followed his destiny," he states. "That process brought him to a kind of humility he never would have found otherwise. He needed to do that. He needed to fall from grace. I'm not saying all priests do; Ralph was too in love with the image of a perfect priest, with the glamour," he explains.

Those sentences give one a clear indication of what makes Richard Chamberlain tick. He's a perfectionist, although certainly not a bore - far from it - but he does get inside the character he plays. That's what makes him such an outstanding actor.

For this part, he researched Catholicism with Father Terry Sweeney, a Jesuit priest. He visited a Jesuit novitiate and stayed over with the young novices. "I had never before been involved with organized religion, and I got the feeling of what it's like to be part of a group of people who put the love of God and humanity before personal happiness. It is unusual and rare. The novitiates I met are in the process of doing that," he learned.

The painstaking research aside, working in TheThorn Birds was a grueling six-month assignment. A large portion of the nine hours was filmed in the Simi Valley, north of Los Angeles, where an exact copy of the Australian Drogheda landscape has been built. And it was hot. Richard's priestly garb, donned in layers, must have been well nigh unbearable.

With a boyish grin, he acknowledges that it wasn't an actor's dream come true, commenting that the plastic collar cut into his neck a lot. Just another of the ordeals that an actor goes through for the sake of a great role.

And a great plum it is. "I wanted it when I first read the book four years ago. I salivated over the part; it was such a wonderful love story. I chased after the part for years. I told my agents I wanted to do it; at that time, it was to be a feature movie and it went through the hands of numerous producers. They had Robert Redford at the top of all their lists. So I waited it out, like I did with Shogun. When they realized it couldn't be a film and Warner Bros. decided on a mini-series, then I knew I was in a good position. The producers - David Wolper and Stan Margulies - wanted me - and it became a dream come true," he says comfortably.

The dream realized, Richard was in the same position as all other actors when a role is complete: he was out of a job. "I have the actor's habit of thinking once a job is over I'll never be hired again. I can get very anxious about not working. It doesn't go into anxiety attacks, but there is a sense of fickleness about the business. If I allow myself, I can worry a lot."

He didn't allow himself to this time. Instead he took off for two and a half weeks to his little house in Hawaii. He has what he describes as, "a place on the beach in the toolies where there is nothing to do except eat." Or so he says. It doesn't show on his trim waistline two weeks after he has returned.

"I had forgotten what it was like to spend a day doing nothing. I kept saying I must be doing something wrong, this can't be right. I had a vague guilty feeling. So I just lay there on the beach and I didn't do anything," he laughs. "I find it an incredibly healing experience to go there. It's a wonderful change from the madness around here," he motions to indicate Hollywood. "I'd like to go there more often. As it is, I get there twice a year if I'm lucky."

The house has a live-in caretaker who looks after the property while its famous owner is gone. It is also rented out, through an agent, so the tenants never know that they're sleeping in Richard Chamberlain's bed. Pity.

It would appear that Richard is indeed the golden boy we all envy, whose life has been comparatively uncluttered with the "stuff" that make most of us miserable. And looking at him, handsome, trim, relaxed, just a few flecks of gray in the beard and mustache he has grown for his next part, he reflects total peace and tranquility. He's sipping a cup of herb tea from a delicate Japanese cup, NOT imported from Japan as were many of his household furnishings. Shogun did leave an impression on him.

He admits of being happier with his life as it is today than in previous years.

"As I look back, one of my big motivations for working so hard in this business in the early times was to find for myself a kind of self-worth which I imagined I would see reflected from the world when I became famous. It didn't work." He laughs shortly. "Being well-known has worked in other ways, but it didn't make me particularly happy. When I first realized that wasn't gonna work, I found other ways to work on myself, through Gestalt therapy, and working with Dr. Brugh Joy (a world-renowned metaphysician who gave up his medical practice to work with groups at his establishment in California's Lucerne Valley. Richard brought the film rights to Dr. Joy's book, Joy's Way, three years ago, and has a contract to produce and star in the story for CBS. He hopes to get it under way later this year.)

"Fame isn't the answer. The answer is allowing yourself to be who you are. I grew up at a time when certain values were deeply impressed upon children: in school and at home. There was a certain image to be maintained and a certain goal to be achieved."

One must bear in mind that Richard was born and raised in the rarefied atmosphere of Beverly Hills, where most of his friends at school were super-rich. His own father was a first salesman for a market fixture company, and then took over the firm. But he still wasn't raised in an atmosphere of wealth.

He became interested in acting while he was in college, but recalls, "My family wasn't enthused about my going into show business. They'd seen me in some college productions," he laughs. "I did want to go to college, but in my senior year I made a decision to take the gamble and get into acting. They didn't say 'don't do it'; they were supportive and they helped me, even though they didn't say 'Oh boy, this is terrific'."

His career proceeded normally: he studied with noted acting coach Jeff Corey, he got minor roles in a dozen TV shows, and in 1961 he got really lucky with Dr. Kildare. By the time that show had finished its run - there were 132 one-hour shows between 1961 and '65 and 57 half-hour episodes the following year - Richard Chamberlain was a big star. So big, he wondered if he'd live down his reputation of being the noble young doctor who did everything including make house calls.

He did what was then considered a rash step: he moved to England and worked in repertory. "I went to England because I felt it the best place to go and study. I had this real powerful hunch that I should go there and study. I was attracted to British theatre and I had amazing luck."

Indeed. He got raves for his role in a six-part adaptation of Henry James' Portrait of a Lady on the BBC. He appeared in Hamlet, The Madwoman of Chaillot, Julius Ceasar, and played composer Peter Tchaikovsky in the Music Lovers opposite Glenda Jackson. There was more Shakespeare, other classics, and when he played Aramis in two versions of The Three Musketeers followed by Cyrano de Bergerac, no one made anymore jokes about the boyish Dr. Kildare. Richard Chamberlain had arrived, as a serious actor of the theater and films. Deservedly so.

He is, of course, delighted that he listened to that powerful hunch, as he terms it. "I always try to listen to my inner voice. That seems to be one of life's most ironic essences: that very soft little voice of intuition is so easy to ignore, yet it's so often accurate. I always choose my roles intuitively. They appeal to me for reasons I couldn't say. I always have an answer as to why I choose a role, but the answer really is that it has a magnetic quality. Now, as a producer, I know that I read scripts looking for ways to make scenes work, and ideas that come up seemingly from nowhere. They just spring into my mind. It's not an intellectual process. Oh, it is to some extent, but it is largely emotional and intuitive."

As noted, here is a man who is comfortable with himself and he doesn't have to prove anything anymore. He's done that. So, when asked how he can top the role of Father Ralph, he says easily, "I don't think in terms of topping things. Everything is different and real to me. My next movie, titled By Reason of Insanity is for my own production company. I play a man named John Balt, who murdered his wife, spent years in an institution in therapy and is now back in society as a contributing member. In fact, he wrote his own life story, which this is. This story goes into areas I've never touched upon, so it's a vast challenge.”

"After Shogun and Thorn Birds, I find my interests are turning back to more ordinary parts - not that the John Balt story is ordinary, it isn't. He's an ordinary man who gets caught in an incredible vortex. Yes, I have leaned towards larger-than-life roles and that might have something to do with the fact that I have a very romantic nature. I didn't find life terribly interesting when I was a little kid. I hated school and I didn't like sports. I didn't like anything that anyone else liked. I felt out of it. It isn't that I didn't have friends. I did. And I had a pretty good time, but I was always fascinated by adventure movies. Especially Errol Flynn. But the other night when I couldn't sleep I turned on an old Errol Flynn movie and it was boring. It didn't hold up. The Three Musketeers and that kind of swashbuckling does, but not the one that I saw," he mock mourns.

Every actor has a dream role, and Richard has played such variegated parts - has he played it already or is his dream part still in the future?

"I think John Balt is as fascinating a part as I'll ever get. What are dream roles? Roles that call for words like depth and complexity, people who want things passionately and have to overcome tremendous obstacles to get them. My theory about John is that he wanted wholeness in his life that he unconsciously felt wasn't there. I think murdering his wife was unnecessary, but who am I to say that? He was living a life complying to images. He had an image of manhood, an image of the writer, of the husband and father, and he never said 'Who am I, what kind of man am I, what kind of father, do I love my children?'"

"Who am I?" Richard repeats the question. "I'm beginning to get answers at long last. What I am is an ever-changing alive being, who is not an image, who is not consistent, and I'm beginning to allow myself to BE instead of trying to be consistent and trying to comply to images. Images such an American hang-up. And so here I am in a business where images are more powerful than almost anyplace else except sports. I have found that I have warmth and lovingness and creativity. I might have doubted that before. I'm much more comfortable with people, much more willing to speak my mind. I don't have to try to manipulate people into liking me. I don't. I thought that I did." He is very thoughtful now and seems to enjoy looking within.

What are his long-range goals these days after 20-plus years of a good and rewarding career?

"I've done some satisfying work in the theatre, and I'd like to do more but I find it difficult to find the time. I want to continue along the lines I've been pursuing. I really like what I've been doing. I like my mobility in TV, I want more emphasis in films. I think I'm ready for that."

"And I like my life. I've finally created a home that I really love. I've had several houses, but I just remodeled this one - in a quiet canyon street, and it's just perfect for me. It's slightly Oriental, slightly Japanese. I brought back a lot of stuff from Shogun."

And who lives in this perfect house?

Just Richard Chamberlain and his pals. "I have two dogs," he says with all the love in the world in his voice. "Two Dalmatians: Jessie the Bandit Queen and Billy Boy."

And what does Jessie steal to merit that colorful name?

"My heart," he says in a tone that any animal-lover can recognize.

And so, then, one knows that Richard Chamberlain, a really happy man, does indeed have it all.

http://www.richard-chamberlain.co.uk/online.htm

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interview 32

Dick Diagnoses Dick His candid answers to 55 probing questions

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thewebofslime · 5 years

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A former Roman Catholic priest who was defrocked and convicted of molesting two boys in New Jersey has found a new vocation in a new location — teaching children English at a private school in this resort town. The former priest, Hadmels DeFrias, 47, told the NBC News reporter who tracked him down that he is no longer a threat to minors and also claimed to be a bishop in the "progressive Celtic church." "I don't see the children with those eyes anymore," DeFrias said in an extensive interview outside the Colegio del Caribe school in Punta Cana, where he watched over dozens of young boys and girls while shielding himself from the sun with an umbrella. “For me they are children and they need to be treated like children because that is what they are,” he said. “I don’t feel the attraction. I am not telling you that maybe someday it won’t be there, because I can’t predict the future.” As a priest, DeFrias, who is originally from the Dominican Republic, was assigned to the St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey, when he was accused of fondling two brothers, both under 14, in 2001 and 2002 while the brothers were working in the church rectory, according to court records and published reports. Charged with criminal sexual contact, DeFrias pleaded guilty in August 2004 and was sentenced to three years of probation, court records show. As part of his sentencing agreement, he was barred indefinitely from any future contact with children under 18 in the state of New Jersey. After being contacted by NBC News, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office in New Jersey issued a statement disapproving of DeFrias' position working with children. “It is deeply concerning to hear that a defendant prosecuted, convicted and sentenced here for criminal sexual contact with children has resurfaced overseas, apparently with supervisory capacity over children,” the office said. “We would urge anyone in any jurisdiction to be vigilant and immediately report allegations of such conduct to local authorities.” NBC News has reached out to both the Dominican Republic educational officials and the school where DeFrias is employed to find out if they were aware of his criminal past. So far, neither has responded. In the interview, DeFrias expressed regret for assaulting the brothers but insisted that his urges are under control and that he has been in therapy for a decade. He said he told school officials about his criminal past before they hired him, even though he claims he didn’t need to “inform them.” The Colegio del Caribe private school where Hadmels DeFrias teaches English to children in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.Evelyn Gruber / NBC News “What they have to know is if I committed a crime in the country, which I haven’t,” DeFrias said, referring to the Dominican Republic. “So when I presented my criminal background here, it’s clean. So they don’t even have to be aware of what happened in the States.” The ex-priest said that he has a teaching assistant in the classroom with him so he’s never alone with his young charges, and that the classroom has no doors. Asked if he regrets what he did, DeFrias said, “I never meant for it to happen.” “It is something that is always present and will always be present in my life,” he said. “If I let it go then it’s like forgetting the Holocaust. Then we are letting ourselves open for the possibility that it may happen again.” Should parents be concerned that he is teaching their kids? “Perhaps they might be,” DeFrias said. “That is normal behavior.” DeFrias’ name resurfaced last month when Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, released a list of more than 60 priests dating to 1940 who had been “credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors.” DeFrias was one of just a handful of Roman Catholic priests who had been criminally prosecuted for sexually abusing children. “That is definitely the same person,” said John Esmerado, an assistant prosecutor in the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, who led the case against DeFrias in 2003. Esmerado was shown a photo of DeFrias dressed in a habit that appears on the website of his new church, the Iglesia Anglicana de Rito Celta Dominicana del Caribe. “The same eyes, the same face,” Esmerado said. “It’s him, 16 years later.” Maria Margiotta, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Newark, said the diocese lost track of DeFrias years ago. “Fr. Hadmels DeFrias was permanently removed from ministry and all ties with the Archdiocese of Newark were permanently severed when he was laicized by the Vatican at our request,” Margiotta said in an email. “We’ve had no contact or involvement with any of his actions after he was laicized.” And by laicized, Margiotta means DeFrias “is barred from all priestly ministry.” DeFrias told NBC News he was not aware that the archdiocese had posted his name. “I think it’s a good thing because the church needs to be honest,” he said. “We cannot pretend it never happened. It happened. “ DeFrias said he has been diagnosed with ephebophilia, which according to a 2004 report commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and known as the John Jay Report, means a sexual attraction to adolescents. DeFrias said he succumbed to temptation due to a “combination of depression and not having proper sexual education.” “Because that’s not what happens in the church,” he said. “I mean, you are put in a role that you are in charge of so many things and you have to abstain from sexual stuff, but they don’t teach you how to manage it. Now they are beginning to work with it.” DeFrias was born in the Dominican Republic. He received a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from Seton Hall University in 1995, according to Laurie Pine, spokeswoman for the school in South Orange, New Jersey. Four years later, in 1999, DeFrias was ordained a Roman Catholic priest, according to church officials. After his ouster from the priesthood, DeFrias was the owner of B&D Autobody, in West New York, New Jersey, for seven years, according to his LinkedIn page. Then from March 2011 to March 2012, DeFrias worked as a telemarketer — something he also told an NBC News reporter. But DeFrias apparently never left the religion business. In an online profile on the business-networking site Zintro that went up in February 2013, DeFrias referred to himself as a “Reverend” as well as a “Wedding Officiant, Management, Spiritual Counseling, Customer Service.” “An ordained minister holding theological degrees from Seton Hall University that includes Scripture and Pastoral Counseling,” the profile says. “Have work (sic) in mental health and as online marketing executive. Now I am affiliated with a non-denominational church in a wedding ministry.” A Zintro spokesman said that DeFrias has not visited the page since it went up and would be removed due to his criminal history. From June 2012 to March 2013, DeFrias lived in Largo, Florida, according to available records. On his LinkedIn page, DeFrias described himself as a minister with “American Marrige (sic) Ministries” beginning in January 2013. “Service the community by performing marriages, funerals and other religious services. All inclusive ministering to all including the LGBT community,” it reads. Sometime after that, DeFrias was back home in the Dominican Republic. And in 2017, he started a local chapter of an interfaith group called The Order of Eremitic Servants, according to Archabbot Bjorn, who manages the OES chapter in Idaho. The OES, according to its website, is “an interfaith monastic community of men and women whose primary purpose is to alleviate the suffering caused by religious intolerance and to promote peace and understanding in the local and global community through interfaith dialogue and charitable acts.” It has chapters in North Carolina and Canada as well. On the group's Facebook page, DeFrias goes by Father Rafael and is listed as the "Prior for the Dominican Republic." Bjorn, who goes by Father Archabbot, was surprised to hear of DeFrias' past. “I was not aware he was a convicted child molester,” he said, when informed of DeFrias’ past by NBC News. Asked whether this could affect DeFrias’ standing in the order, Bjorn declined to comment. Starting in February 2018, according to his LinkedIn page, DeFrias began teaching English in Punta Cana, a sun-splashed tourist mecca of about 50,000 that is famous for its beaches. DeFrias also described himself as “a priest with the Progressive Celtic Church, an independent catholic jurisdiction within the Anglican tradition of churches.” “I am currently working on setting up a Celtic Mission in the Dominican Republic. As Celtics we view things from a different perspective than mainline churches,” he wrote on his LinkedIn page. “We follow Pelagian and not Augustinian thought where there is not original sin, but original blessing. God wants all to be saved, thus every religion can lead to salvation.“ DeFrias, in his interview with NBC News, said his new church is an offshoot of the Anglican Church. The Anglicans disagree. “They are not part of the Anglican Church in North America, nor are they affiliated with the Global Anglican Future Conference,” said the Rev. Canon Andrew Gross, a spokesman for the Anglican Church in North America. On its website, DeFrias’ church says it is associated with another Celtic Anglican church in Syracuse, New York. But NBC News could not locate any such church in Syracuse. "I've never heard of the Celtic Anglican church," said Meredith Kadet Sanderson, a spokeswoman for the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York. NBC News also reached out by email to the Progressive Celtic Church website, which lists a Most Reverend Metropolitan Archbishop Alban Mason Kirk as its Syracuse representative. There was no response. Using the address on DeFrias’ church website, an NBC News reporter also tried and failed to locate a Sunday service in the Dominican Republic. A local guide said there are a number of religious groups in the area that don’t have a sanctuary and that hold services in public parks and other facilities. On the church’s website, there are photos of children and their families participating in services as well as a photo of DeFrias dressed in a brown habit. DeFrias said he misses being a Roman Catholic priest. “I miss it because I don’t even celebrate the Eucharist anymore,” he said. “I mean, I am a bishop in the (Celtic) church. I’m elected bishop but it’s just a role to direct other priests.” “I don’t like speaking in terms of what I lost because I think the children lost more,” he added. “But I lost most of my life. When you are trained as a priest you were trained as a priest and nothing else.” DeFrias said he wound up teaching kids because he needed a job and “probably by next year I will not be here.” Asked about his plans, DeFrias said, “it’s going to be in real estate.” “We are opening a company related to real estate so it’s not going to be kids,” he said. “I do want to work in education somehow. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be with children. I want to work with training teachers.” Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian, whose efforts to expose pedophile priests were dramatized in the Oscar-winning movie “Spotlight,” said the Catholic Church has a history of washing its hands of problem clergymen and he’s not surprised the Newark Archdiocese was not keeping tabs on DeFrias. “Just because a priest is publicly named as a pedophile doesn’t mean they keep a close eye on them afterward,” Garabedian said. “If the Catholic Church defrocks a priest, they don’t keep track of that priest, and that is a calculated move. They don’t want to know him."

#TheWebOfSlime

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nique-clare · 6 years

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Melbourne, Australia

18 August 2018 - 25 August 2018

Azrie and I booked a flight to Melbourne early May this year. Agreeing to go overseas together was impromptu (what could go wrong going on a trip with your best friend?) but we did plan when it came to our flights, accommodation, and places we were to visit. We intended to visit our friends who are studying there as well as to have an overseas trip together before his internship started. I’ve always wanted to study in Australia – and migrate there, if I ever have the opportunity to – but that didn’t happen of course, so travelling there was enough to make me excited. Besides, the last time I went Down Under was in 2004 and I barely have any recollection of it. I went to Gold Coast and Brisbane, I think. I only remember feeding parrots, going to the beach, and an amusement park. But I digress. Here’s what we did in Australia last week.

18 August, Saturday

We met at Changi Airport somewhere between 9 - 9.30am, and did some window shopping after we checked in and entered the transit area. We were due for take off at 11am, but our flight was delayed till about an hour later. Nonetheless, I was more than happy to be leaving Singapore. As we flew with Scoot, we had to rely on ourselves for entertainment throughout the flight. Even though I slept around 3.30am and woke up at 7am, I could barely nap on the plane. We ended up watching a couple of episodes of Elementary that I downloaded on Netflix while eating our lunch on board and sneaked in naps here and there. As I’m a sucker for nature, I couldn’t help but be mesmerised by the sunset towards the end of our flight. Here’s one of the many pictures that I took.

Once we reached Melbourne, we had a few issues with our Visas but that was quickly resolved, and we went to the pick up point to meet Chavin. It was about 7ºC outside, I think, and it was raining and windy. After what seemed like an eternity of trying to locate his car in the cold, we set off to get a late dinner and picked Gloria up. We then dropped by the Coles supermarket across his apartment to get my SIM card before walking back to enjoy our steaming hot and spicy Mala goodness. Even though we booked our own Airbnb apartment, we stayed over his place that night.

19 August, Sunday

Our initial plan was for me to attend mass in a nearby church while Azrie checked into our Airbnb before we went to Phillip Island. Unfortunately, I overslept (Sorry God) so I ended up going to our apartment with Azrie as Chavin and Gloria waited for us downstairs. We had to retrieve our key from a convenience store across the road but we went to the wrong one instead (the one beside our building’s entrance). We had to drag our luggage in the rain but on the bright side, we met a little sweetheart whom I guess belongs to one of the staff.

I didn’t take any pictures but here’s the link for our Airbnb (below’s the view from our apartment, though). It was so cozy and the view was beautiful. I wouldn’t mind staying there again when I visit Melbourne in the future. I’ll be back for sure hahaha. After unpacking our luggage, we met with Chavin and Gloria again before picking Syahmi up. We finally set off for Phillip Island around noon. We stopped by a gas station on the way, and the foodie side of me got a little excited when I saw that they had a mini bakery in the attached convenience store, as well as pre-made hot drinks (basically the powder was provided, all you had to do was pour hot water in). We were soon back on the road and reached the island approximately an hour later.

We had our lunch straightaway as we missed the pelican feeding session, and had a mini feast of fish and chips at Fisherman’s Wharf. We fed our leftovers to the seagulls and headed to the Koala Conservation Centre after dropping by the beach. Despite not being able to fulfil my dream of carrying a koala, we did get to see several of them and even managed to stand less than a mere metre away from one. Part of the centre was also closed, but we managed to see wallabies and exotic looking birds (to me at least) along the main path, so I still enjoyed myself regardless.

As we didn’t intend to spend the night on the island, we had to hurry to our next destination – the Penguin Parade. The weather became colder and slightly unbearable as the sky turned dark, but waiting for the penguins to emerge from the icy waters was worth it as we were treated to several groups of them waddling for almost a good half an hour. Some of their slightly erratic behaviours gave us a good laugh now and then, contributing to their already adorable appearances.

We left before it became too late, and set off for our dinner location, YOMG Mornington, possibly because I asked Chavin if there were any good burger shacks around (foodie in me, once again). The eatery was in a town that seemed deserted and quiet (then again, it was already 9pm), not unlike the areas we passed through to get there. As if the darkness was not eerie enough, we listened to conspiracy theories and unsolved crimes/mysteries on the way. About YOMG Mornington, to put it simply, the food was amazing. We pretty much ate the same type of burgers (the Yo My with Cheese and the Kingsway) and shared the Chilli Cheese and Nacho Curly Fries as well. We had yogurt afterwards, which comprised a couple of unique flavours and toppings which weren’t really to my liking, but still worth trying. The ambience was also rather lovely and quaint and I wished that we could have stayed there a little while longer. The drive back to Melbourne took about an hour so we left shortly after our late dinner.

20 August, Monday – 21 August, Tuesday

The next two days were hellish, to say the least. To spare the details, Azrie and I were down with norovirus, or in other words, the winter vomiting bug. Azrie started displaying symptoms in the morning on Monday and me, on Tuesday. I either got it from him and or we got it from our lunch on Sunday (we ordered grilled fish while the rest had theirs battered – none of them fell sick). We spent both days in the apartment with nausea, stomach pains, and fever, and had to make trips to the clinic. We spent quite a bit on Uber these two days, but we were too sick to walk anywhere, except for that one trip to the ubiquitous Chemist Warehouse in a nearby town (Errol Street, I think) to get our medicine. Unlike Singapore, the clinics in Australia don’t have pharmacies attached to them. On a positive note, we managed to visit the Melbourne Observatory at night on Monday and attended a tour that lasted from 8 - 9.30pm. We were learned about the history of the site and were also fortunate to be able to view Jupiter from a large – floor to ceiling high! – telescope.

22 August, Wednesday

We were well enough to travel around on Wednesday despite our lack of appetites. We walked for half an hour to our recommended-by-Chavin lunch location, Universal Restaurant on Lygon Street. Azrie had the Chicken Parmigiana and Fried Chicken (basically meatballs) while I had the Marinara pasta. The weather was relatively warmer then so we enjoyed our lunch al fresco.

After barely finishing half of what we ordered – kudos to the norovirus – we went to the Old Melbourne Gaol, which ceased its operations in 1994. We had a slight taste of what it was like to be arrested in a tour of the City Watch House, before proceeding to the jail connected to it. I’ve always been interested in history and culture and I truly enjoyed the two hours we spent there. Though it was already closed, we walked to the Federation Square afterwards to appreciate its architecture (but stopped by the State Library of Victoria before that). We then strolled along the Yarra River beside the Federation Square.

The Winter Night Market at the Queen Victoria Market opens on Wednesday nights from 5pm - 10pm only, so we decided to have our dinner there. We rested for a while at our Airbnb after visiting the Old Melbourne Gaol before walking over to the market at 8pm. The atmosphere was surprisingly lively as there was a live band and other activities such as the silent disco and what seemed like a machine operated puppet show. There were many seemingly tantalising menus available and I wish that I had my appetite then. Azrie bought a cajun chicken and rice set and we shared a chicken skewer. After walking around a little more (and after I purchased a gorgeous pair of $35 light teal coloured crystal and tassel earrings – yes, it was worth it), we had a Nutella and peanut butter sundae. We met up with Chavin and Gloria, and Chavin came over to our apartment afterwards. We watched the endlessly nonsensical but otherwise entertaining The Interview before heading to bed.

23 August, Thursday

As usual, we skipped breakfast and went straight for brunch instead. We ate at an Indonesian restaurant along Lygon Street (I can’t seem to find it on Google. I think it’s new). Azrie ordered rice with chicken and I had noodles with chicken, and we shared a dish of sambal kang kong. The avocado shake I ordered was sweet and refreshing.

We walked to the National Gallery of Victoria after that. We saw a myriad of artworks in various exhibitions, and I wouldn’t mind going there again. We didn’t get to go to the Museum of Modern Art exhibition as we didn’t have much time left before meeting Chavin to get food for our barbecue dinner, but it’s definitely on my bucket list – should I ever visit New York City.

We walked to the Coles across Chavin’s after that, and dropped by the Spencer Outlet Centre en route. We didn’t buy anything as we didn’t have time, but we returned there on Saturday anyway. About the barbecue – there was smoke in his area for some reason. We waited for it to die down – and for Syahmi, Gloria, Caroline, and Natalie to arrive – and finally commenced our barbecue. We had a great night of scrumptious food, talking, and rounds of Exploding Kittens. Chavin drove us back to our Airbnb after all the fun.

24 August, Friday

Azrie, Chavin and I embarked on a day road trip to the Grampians, which took approximately three hours to reach by driving. I can’t emphasise enough how amazing Australia is, and one reason is because of our simple yet tasty lunch: two boxes of 24-piece nuggets for $10/box (!!!). I digress once again. I can’t help it, I’m a foodie. We were treated to beautiful sceneries on the way, and here’s one of the views that I captured.

As if I wasn’t already in awe of the nature that surrounded us, the Grampians took my breath away again. As I mentioned in my previous post, I don’t particularly favour cities and prefer nature instead. The Grampians was just that. We stopped by an information centre to ask for potential sites to head to, and bought ice cream before going back to Chavin’s car. Within seconds of boarding, we caught sight of a field filled with kangaroos, and of course we stopped the car. We stayed for about 15 minutes and carried on with our journey.

We decided to visit the Mackenzie Falls, Lake Wartook, and the Reeds Lookout (during sunset). No words can describe the beauty of these places, and I’m still in awe. My favourite place was Lake Wartook. We also saw an emu on the way.

We left before it got too dark and drove to our dinner location, The Red Door Pizzeria. The three of us shared two pizzas: the Authentic Peking Duck and Shredded Beef and Mushroom. Dinner, like the rest of the meals we had in the country, was absolutely delectable. We headed back after our meal after our bellies were filled. On a side note, we didn’t exactly get to go stargazing on this trip as we planned to, but we managed to get clear views of the starry night sky to and fro The Red Door Pizzeria. We picked Gloria up on the way back to our Airbnb and played a few rounds of Exploding Kittens before calling it a night.

25 August, Saturday

Our last day was spent shopping at the Direct Factory Outlets South Wharf. We checked out of our Airbnb and left our luggage at Chavin’s first thing in the morning. We took about 15 minutes to walk to the outlets after that. Before shopping, we had brunch at Citizen Cafe Bar, an eatery just outside the building. Azrie had pancakes with ice cream while I had Free Range Eggs Anyway, which was scrambled eggs on sourdough toast. I also had a bliss ball to go, which was a little snack ball coated in coconut and comprised cacao, nuts, and jam, I think. After a few hours of shopping, I got a few pieces of clothing – a Fila tank top and crop top and a Lorna Jane sports bra and mesh tights – while Azrie got a pair of Fila socks, alongside other gifts for our friends back in Singapore. On the way back to Chavin’s – yes, we walked again – we took photos at a 1970s classic photo booth. We were unprepared the first time, so we ended up taking another set of photos. We spotted a comic book store, All Star Comics, after that and popped in for a while before resuming our journey.

That’s it for our Melbourne trip! It was really dreadful having to return to Singapore knowing that we could have visited more places if we didn’t fall sick, plus my new semester was to begin the day after touching down. Nevertheless, I had a great time in such a beautiful country with perfect company. I’m definitely going to visit Australia again, and possibly explore the other states too.

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romancatholicreflections · 6 years

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11th February >> Sunday Reflections for Roman Catholics on the VI Sunday in ordinary time Fr. Antony Kadavil reflects and comments on the readings at Mass for the sixth Sunday in ordinary time. He says that it is purity or holiness of soul coming from God that cleanses our lives. Lv 13:1-2, 44-46; I Cor 10:31--11:1; Mk 1:40-45. Homily starter anecdote: St. Francis of Assisi and the leper: Today’s Scripture lessons teach us that the sick and the maimed are not to be objects of scorn, but potential reservoirs of God's mercy for us. St. Francis of Assisi, for instance, understood this. At one time in his life, he had a terrible fear of lepers. Then one day when he was out for a walk, he heard the warning bell that lepers were required to ring in the Middle Ages. When a leper emerged from a clump of trees, St. Francis saw that he was horribly disfigured. Half of his nose had been eaten away; his hands were stubs without fingers and his lips were oozing white pus. Instead of giving in to his fears, Francis ran forward, embraced the leper and kissed him. Francis’ life was never the same after that episode. He had found a new relationship with God, a new sensitivity to others and a new energy for his ministry. There is a beautiful song by Marilla Ness called "He Touched Me." It has a haunting melody, and the words are powerful and moving. "He touched me and oh, the joy that fills my soul; something happened: now I know: he touched me, and made me whole." Today’s Gospel describes how the healing touch of Jesus made a leper whole. (http://stjohngrandbay.org/) Introduction: All three readings today contain the Christian teaching on the need for social acceptance even when people are different from us. They also tell us that it is purity or holiness of soul coming from God that cleanses our lives. Scripture lessons summarized: In the Hebrew Scriptures, the Book of Leviticus is known by its first word, Vayikra (ויקרא), meaning "and he called". The word Vayikra means that God called Moses and His chosen people to holiness and purity. That is why the first reading teaches the theme of freedom from bodily and ritual impurity as a sign of internal holiness. This freedom is symbolized by the precautions against contracting leprosy given in the first reading and the healing of the leper described in the Gospel. The first reading shows the ancient Jewish attitude toward leprosy and the rules for segregating lepers. This provides a background for Jesus' healing of a leper. In today's Responsorial Psalm (Ps 32), the psalmist exhorts us to rejoice in the Lord because He purifies us from our sins: “I confessed my faults to the LORD, and You took away my guilt." The psalm serves as a mini-treatise on reconciliation, covering the meaning of the spiritual leprosy of sin and showing how we are forgiven by a sacramental encounter with God. “I turn to You, Lord, in times of trouble, and You fill me with the joy of salvation." In today’s second reading, St. Paul exhorts us to testify to our healing from the leprosy of sin by living changed lives, expressed in our doing “everything for the glory of God” and for the salvation of others. Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus heals a leper, liberating him both from the disease of leprosy and from the unjust and inhuman social isolation and ostracism to which the lepers were subjected. First reading, Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46, explained: The first reading gives us the background of the sad state of lepers in first-century Palestinian society. The Book of Leviticus contains laws that teach the Israelites that they should always keep themselves in a state of legal purity, or external sanctity, as a sign of their intimate union with the Lord. The first reading deals with very ancient rules and customs. It was the duty of the priests to decide whether a man was infected with leprosy and whether he was healed. Once the priest had examined a patient and declared him a leper, the afflicted person had to live in isolation, away from the dwelling-places of healthy people, in order to prevent the spread of the dreaded disease. In other words, victims of leprosy were segregated from the community on two counts: (1) fear of contagion and (2) fear of the ritualistic uncleanness which resulted from contact with the diseased. Since it was believed that an illness like leprosy resulted from corrupted morals and not from bacteria or viruses, a healing that was spiritually rather than physically oriented was sought. However, some medical historians argue that true leprosy entered Palestine after the first century, and other conditions, like psoriasis, eczema, ringworm, boils, impetigo, acne, ulcers, rashes or dandruff rashes may have been considered as leprosy in Christ’s days. That may have been why many “lepers” were healed by native medicine. Hence, it is likely that the Hebrew word sara'at and Greek lepra, which are translated as "leprosy," do not always describe true leprosy or Hansen's disease. Second reading: 1 Corinthians 10:31-11, explained: Saint Paul worked hard to teach the young Christian community of Corinth to find the truths that would separate and protect them from the diverse religious beliefs and pagan rituals practiced by their still-pagan neighbors. There were, for instance, pagan temples in Corinth in which animals were sacrificed to the gods, after which a large portion of the meat which had been offered was sold in the market. Corinthian Christians were sometimes invited out to dinner by their pagan friends who might offer them the choice meat that had previously been used in pagan sacrifices. Both Jewish and Gentile Christians had scruples about the eating of such meat because that would be a participation in the sacrifice honoring pagan gods, a declaration in deed that those gods were real and that worshipping them had value for the Christians. Paul's general answer was that since "the earth and all that is in it is the property of the Lord" a Christian could lawfully eat any meat placed before him, and he need not be concerned as to its origin. But if the use of this lawful freedom should scandalize a weaker brother who would think that his fellow Christian was intending to honor the pagan gods, then the Christian should deny himself this freedom. Paul calls each of us to follow our own conscience carefully, without condemning others or trying to change their behavior. “I try to please all in any way I can by seeking not my own advantage.” We, too, must follow Paul's and Jesus' example, responding with sensitivity toward others who are different from us, rather than by passing judgment on them. The glory of God is served when God’s people serve one another and live in loving unity. Gospel Exegesis: Why did Jesus become “angry” and issue a “stern warning?” Most translations say that Jesus was "moved with pity" when he saw the leper who approached him. But some modern Bible scholars tell us that there are ancient manuscripts that indicate that Jesus was "angry” or even “indignant” when he was confronted by this leper, and that after healing him Jesus spoke sternly to him about showing himself to a priest. A background study reveals that Jesus was not angered by the leper but by the social and religious conditions of the day. There may have been two reasons for this: 1) Jesus could have been angered by the unjust and inhuman social isolation and ostracism to which the lepers were subjected. In Jesus’ day, a leper had no right either to medical care or to other kinds of help from the community. In addition, the Book of Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46 demanded that lepers wear the tattered clothes and uncombed, uncut hair of mourners (Note, Harper Collins Study Bible, p. 172). When meeting any "sound" person a leper had to cover his mouth with one hand and shout out a warning of his/her own "unclean" condition. Lepers were taken away from their families and forced to live in leper colonies or in caves outside the city. Anyone suspected of having contracted leprosy was to be taken before a priest for examination. According to historians, in some cities Jews were massacred at the mere mention of the plague being in the area, even before it had actually arrived.” (René Girard, The Scapegoat). The rabbinic sayings compare the cure of leprosy to raising the dead. Thus, it would be no wonder if Jesus were angry about conventions that forced the leper to live like an animal, without rights or privileges. 2) Jesus could have been angered by the blasphemous religious explanation of the day that all leprosy was God’s punishment for grave sins. Jesus was also angry at the way lepers were treated as cursed creatures by the Jewish religion which sanctioned such inhuman treatment for lepers. Lepers were not only considered physically loathsome but were looked upon as persistent sinners. Even if the lepers were cured, they had to submit to a ritual cleansing and purging of sin before they would be re-admitted to society. Jesus might well have been revolted by the whole notion that lepers were sinners beyond God’s embrace. That might be precisely why He healed the leper by “stretching out his hand, touching” the legally untouchable. By instructing the healed leper to go and show himself to the priest, Jesus may have been challenging the religious authorities to see that God’s healing grace is available to anyone who asks. Jesus’ identification with the leper: According to some Fathers of the Church, one reason Jesus promptly responded to the leper's cry in today's Gospel story, ignoring the Mosaic Law prohibiting touching a leper and thus becoming ritually unclean, is that Jesus identified himself with the man's condition. Jesus dramatically identified himself with the sufferer in the total rejection and isolation waiting for him. The irony here is that Jesus risked becoming “unclean” Himself in order to make the leper clean. Just as he stretched out his hand to the leper and touched him and made him whole, Jesus stretched out his hands on the cross to make us whole. He touched the leper thus bridging the gap between what is clean and what is unclean, identifying himself with all lepers, with all who are ritually or socially unclean and isolated and with all of us sinners who are spiritually unclean and have no way to change our condition except through His sacrifice and mercy. Thus, He became “unclean” in the eyes of the law that we might be made clean. He allowed himself to be rejected by his family and people so that those who are separated from God might return to him and be healed. A story about how we judge others as acceptable or not in the community: This is a story about how we treat others on the basis of appearance – both real and supposed. In our society, looks aren't everything. They are the only thing! No wonder if we get feelings of inferiority, looking at all those young, attractive and trim models and superstars in magazines and on TV commercials. As a result, we make rash judgments with far-reaching consequences, making people outcasts in the society. For example, who can live down an accusation of child abuse? Who can really live a normal life in the community if he or she is known to be HIV positive? Who can really walk about as one of us in this age of the war against terrorism if he/she comes from the wrong ethnic group, wears the wrong clothes, or has the wrong skin-color? In today’s Gospel incident, Jesus challenges us to accept others unconditionally as our own brothers and sisters. (Our media gave little attention to those Catholic high-school girls who wore head-scarves in support of their innocent Muslim friends after Sept. 11, 2001). Jesus reaches out to touch us in this very Eucharistic celebration, making us whole and restoring our relationship with him and with one another. Then he grants us a share in his Divine life through the Holy Communion. Healed and graced by Jesus, we, like the leper are each compelled to tell our story, making public the good news that God saves sinners and welcomes them home. Life messages: 1) We need to trust in the mercy of a forgiving God who assures us that our sins are forgiven and that we are clean. We are forgiven and made spiritually clean from the spiritual leprosy of sins when we repent of our sins. This is because God is a God of love who waits patiently for us. No matter how many sins we have committed or how badly we have behaved, we know God forgives us. The only condition required of us is that we ask for forgiveness with a repentant heart. We need only kneel before him and ask him, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean" We are sure to hear his words of absolution, "Very well-- your sins are forgiven, and you are clean" echoed in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 2) We need to tear down the walls that separate us from others and build bridges of loving relationship. Jesus calls every one of us to demolish the walls that separate us from each other and to welcome the outcasts and the untouchables of society. These include homosexuals, AIDS victims, alcoholics, drug-addicts and marginalized groups such as the divorced, the unmarried, single mothers, migrant workers and the mentally ill. God's loving hand must reach out to them through us. Jesus wants us to touch their lives. Let us pass beyond the narrow circles of our friends and peers and try to relate to those who may be outside the bounds of propriety. Let us re-examine the barriers we have created and approach God with a heart that is ready to welcome the outcasts in our society. Remember the old African-American children’s song reminding us that there is room for everyone in God's Kingdom: "All God's creatures got a place in the choir, some sing low and some sing higher. Some sing out loud on a telephone wire and some just clap their hands or paws or anything they've got." (Fr. Antony Kadavil) @Vaticannews

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duleepsingh-blog · 7 years

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Clash Royale Gems.

Supercell's super-popular brand-new game Clash Royale does greater than just present the Royales to Clash of Clans players. Mix your deck with both high and also reduced Elixir soldiers, in addition to both ground and also air. Using you a broad choice of selections at any moment. And shed if everything expenses also much you'll have minutes where there are no cards conveniently offered to play. A few low-priced cards like the Fire Spirits are an excellent low-cost counter. I utilize the Ice Spirit in every solitary deck. Always keep in mind to contend the very least one sprinkle damages card in the sleeve. We are talking below regarding Valkyrie or Archers. Utilize it if you obtain a Legendary. And finally, we currently have Doodle Bounce online. This console mainly mainly based sports task, gave birth to by Lima Heavens, has establish as being an around the world event. With well over 5 mil downloading it is most definitely a genuine massive individual within the mobile video game playing market place. Your purpose, in scenario you pick into bring it, is leading a 4-legged critter far better as well as increased working with networks without needing falling. Jetpacks, trampolines and also hats are generally generated utilizing to acquire your aim. This can be most certainly time properly wasted my pals.

All in all, Clash Royale is everything a game that you can use the go should be: it's easy sufficient that you do not have to invest days learning to play it, however it's likewise complex that you will invest months refining your abilities - or if you intend to, you can just play it casually whenever you feel like and you'll still get the same quantity of fun. An unique combination of whatever that we love a bit of video games, sprinkled on top with some SuperCell goodness, Clash Royale is a have to play this year - and also for the years to find! At the price of 3 Elixirs as well as the speed is quickly. You should only use it when the adversary forces are ground devices with no capability to respond to the Air Units, and then they serve. When the opponent's forces are an Anti-Air system team, after that Minions are useless. Minions could tackle both Ground as well as Air devices. The attack power is 64/second, yet the health is just 144, which is entirely useless on crime. If you already know exactly what cards your opponent has brought to counter your own, constantly keep in mind to not with confidence go down anything in a solitary lane. Count your potion and also make a counter relocation preferably especially if your opponent is as experienced as you. Enjoy the video clip above for more visuals. A P.E.K.K.A could be utilized in 2 major methods a deck; as the major win problem or as the additional win problem or rather MVP of a deck. And the best part about the Crown Championship is that you don't need to be an established pro gamer to join: any top-level Clash Royale player can potentially register as well as vie for prizes when the event gets underway later on today. Here's every little thing you have to recognize. Baby Dragon can be switched for the Witch if you have not unlocked this card yet. Avec la triche Clash Royale, vous pourrez profiter du jeu sans rien payer compltement. Vous aurez la libert de crer le pont que vous voulez au lieu de la plate-forme standard. Arrowheads This is a fantastic counter card to a lot of points ... One of the most typical means for individuals to respond to X-Bow is with swarm cards like Skeletal system Military, Demon Barrel, Minions/Minion Throng, and so on. Your 3 Elixir negating their 4+ Elixir whenever you cast it is a great tempo swing that accumulates over 3-4 casts per video game. Amongst the most famous conjectures regarding the upcoming Clash Royale update are numerous nerfs and also lovers that players have been requesting for, one of the most significant of which involves the Mini Pekka, which several individuals of the game feeling is currently subdued. All hallmarks, solution marks, brand name, profession gown, item names as well as logo designs showing up on the website are the property of their particular owners. Am I not able to locate a particular factor about why I lost? Finest following action here is to view my replays. Generally in these cases, it boils down to a misplay somewhere, either at a macro level (choice making) or micro degree (misplacing/mistiming a card). So you have to determine exactly what that was, comprehend why you made the mistake, and fix your reasoning for future video games. A protocol has emerged for signaling to your fellow Clashers that your King is into the harsh things". Load up a deck with all offending spells, and also as quickly as the video game starts send out straight damage the King Tower. Some opponents may be doubtful, specifically if you only make use of Zap or Arrowheads, so I recommend going all in" with a Rocket or Lightning, and generally just empty your hand of as much as you could throw up until you run out Potion. , if you are doing things right you should be able to lose a round in about 30-45 secs.. If you add in a little overhead for beginning as well as ending rounds and also round up to 1 min, that means at 30 trophies/loss you could drop regarding 1000 prizes in 30-45 mins. As you get involved in lower Arenas, your prizes per loss will certainly go down, making it more challenging and more difficult to go down. Are you a passionate player of Clash Royale? Then you definitely know how distressing it is when you run out of Treasures and also Gold while video gaming. Gold is a preferable resource for any kind of player. Having no Gold, it's simply difficult to buy Cards that are necessary for handling challenges and regulating soldiers. An additional eye-catching objective is producing a Clan that, however, requires around 1 000 Gold. Abwechselnd, Gold kann gewinnt sei wenn du breasts offnest oder wenn du Card zu pass away andere Klan-Mitgliede stiftst. Das ist nutzt fur Cards damit Sie verbessern sind zu eine hochere Placement. Ausserdem, das Spiel hat ein Laden will certainly Cards befolgt konnen sein (aber nur drei- ein aus jeder) mit Gold. Das beste Part ist dass sonntags es ein speziales Angebot gibt and du kannst sechs Cards statt drei. Aber wenn Sie unbegrenzte Edelsteine mit dem Clash Royale Juwelens Hack haben, mssen Sie nicht jedes Mal fr den Sonntag warten, um zu kommen, um Ihre Karten zu bekommen. If you currently recognize just what cards your challenger has actually brought to counter your own, constantly remember to not with confidence go down anything in a solitary lane. If feasible specifically if your challenger is as proficient as you, count your elixir and make a counter relocation. Watch the video over for more visuals. A P.E.K.K.A can be utilized Hack Clash Royale in two major ways in a deck; as the main win problem or as the secondary win condition or rather MVP of a deck. Are you fucking joking ... Please don't show study for the shake of god. Also, watch on the different settings. For instance, the Archer Tower could either shoot fast or long-range. With a small Builder Town at the start you won't need the cross country. Although free-to-play/pay-to-win games are typically aggravating, many video games are creative sufficient to not make it an unfair benefit in regards to actual fighting and play.

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a-memoir-of-me-blog · 7 years

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control the population. population control. keep them at animal like behaviors. keep them asleep? yeah...no. if it affects the economy of the country you live in...it affects you! <3 but ofc....use the system to your advantage, always. lol. am i katniss

Yeeeooooo. They were on this since 1960s. Under "Subsistence Agriculture" heading. It says "the us and other industrialized countries sought to move farmers "beyond" subsistence into industrialized production as a part of development programs in 1960s"

They fucked knewwwww. They're developing hydroponics and vertical farms and NASA is working on making places on mars for this. And the population control had to come to a halt because too many people being born and not enough food. Bruhhhh

"A return in subsistence agriculture has taken hold in parts of the world where farmers feel production for the global market has not benefitted them either financially or culturally (and it's bad for their health with all the Monsanto shit). For example, indigenous people in the southern Mexican states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Guerrero have largely returned to subsistence agriculture. The nation reported in 2010 that Zapatista farmers have "in effect chosen to withdraw from the national economy, some weaning themselves off expensive chemical fertilizers and subsisting on corn they can grow, Harvest and barter""

AND ITS STILL GOOD. because ITS FOR THEIR OWN INTEREST. BUT ITS DIRECT TRADE. NO MEDIUM. BRUHH

Omg. Hunger games is fucking real. "Shifting cultivation....primarily found in tropical and subtropical zones where traditional farmers have to abandon plots of land after the soil become infertile".

BRUHHH. The SHIFT. Who's changing this? Who's making the weather bad?! Who's creating these wars to make all the land of FOOD die?! BRUHHHH. POPULATION FUCKING CONTROL

Texts to my first love:

-I fucking volunteer. The hunger games was a fucking warning

-him: idk babe but go for it. Like i have no idea about how and what a farmer in oaxaca, mexico do and shit and honestly really dont care what they do either.

-you should because this literally affects you in everyway (economics...duhhhh)

-him: how

-your health, your money, your freedom to do X Y Z because you are being fed this shit (like their freedom to be healthy...get food actually worth their dollar...etcetc, whole domino effect). There is war over this stuff bc we need land to live and make food and its all about primary means of survival. Literally everythinggggg

-him: who says the supermarket im going to is sourcing from this guy specifically. (omg...lol). Hun this has nothing to do with me fr. hahaha. Maybe to you cause you find it interesting but i know i dont

-no. It has everything to do with you (bc its economics duhhhh). Like literally the ground you are standing on

-him: no it doesnt. Farming outside of the country has nothing to do with my living location or situation

-not them specifically. But in these commercialized places and big agribusiness, they 1) underpay workers 2) keep them out and cant go to family and support them (with already not even enough money for adequate things) 3) their health is bad (pesticides, etc…) 4) their family will have family issues and the kids will also have issues and educational issues as well and are very vulnerable 5) leads to kids acting out and becoming a burden to not just parents but also the economy that they are within 6) the cycle will continue.

Omg. yes it does. This is what makes people sick and what makes land die and what makes food not available and waste water and we all have a war on this…

-him: where in the us do you see this (omgg….third world america. Ppl dying. Ppl getting kicked out of their homes. Its everywhere. It may not directly impact you, but damn, does it indirectly impact you…)

-if you havent noticed, the places war torn and having terrible health and are poor and having issues with their land and bad weather is all perpetuated by monsanto. These countries were the og agriculture that had an abundance of arable land and crops and now they are dying because of food greed. And its so funny bc we are killing the land we are fighting for and we are gonna end up with nothingggg. Bruh. we get our food out there (and that affects food prices and availability). Thats why VERTICAL FARMING and HYDROPONICS and INHABITING mars for that. Because we are literally running out of food for people and water and its all our fault and they cant even go to school because they have to pay for all of this and its just to survive. Like….what happened to having the pursuit of happiness, when all they are doing is just trying to survive, not die on the streets, etc….and its all bc the system and the greed. The greedy white man.

-him: this is on a country to country basis case. Their shitty living situation, education and all this is due to their gov neglect (yeah...neglecting them from being protected from americas corporate greed and their scam…) not US being the sole cause of this. But honestly i dont really for it to be frank. Im worried about actual shit in my life that im dealing with and not a mexican farmer in god knows where and his issues

-you NEED to care for this.omg. This literally causes ALL conflicts because of power issues and if you stand neutral, you chose the side of the oppressor. Power is fighting over needs of resources to survive, right? And people will rob them and hide them because greed and the need to hold power because they are threatened lololol. The powerful one will always want more and more and more (but if you become more than human and dont fall into your condition...then you will give it away. Go make more and more and improve it….) but then they realize they have too much and then will make someone exchange it for a fake ass inflated price with no intrinsic value that wont keep them alive (aka….money and material things) and bruh. Food and water is fucking PRICELESS. We will literally kill for that because it KEEPS US ALIVE. And if they keep killing and also contaminating it, then 1) we will all be bloody af 2) we will have water..but its all contaminated and 3) we will have too much of nothing….and even if things werent contaminated, the balance would be off. We would 1) have too much to consume and it will go to waste, we will be too hype and start having kids at an alarming rate and the baby boom will happen all over again...this literally involve you 100% and the only way i can see this cycle to stop is get out of it. Be more self reliant and community based.

-him: no it doesnt babe...like what 100% involves me is my living situation, work situation that im getting together (he’s moving out to ny for me :’D), school. Like shit that actually is right now affecting my life and i can actually manage and make a change in and not this.

-and really care for your neighbor

-that because the system set it up for you (thats why you need to know how to use it to your best ability and get out) and just continue it on and on and on and keep you working more, keep you held back, keep taxing you more, etcetc….thats like having the farmer work for all the food but doesnt get shittttt for his labor and only people they work under will reap the profits and the food (that they prob dont even want to eat themselves) that goes out to the market and they just keep them doing the sammmeeee thing day in and day out. Farmers dont even get to reap the benefits of their hard labor.

And yes. Take care of yourself now, definitely. But remember to always know the system and take it to your advantage and use it to better yourself. Thats what the system does, it is a literal test. And then you can do more global and huge scale things. Thats what everyone will do. Go thru the struggle of being in the system, find the benefits that are hidden and the keys to get out and milk it so hard and then you can work on what you want to work on for yourself and for others. Because you will only get what you give...do what you wanna do for yourself and others to continue this life and legacy that you have. Thats the give. U gotta give it all and give in to this wholly. And use it to your advantage and all the tools and your own mind and imagination and creation and then before you know it, youre creating your world around you and you dont even realize it...but yes. U give your effort and work for someone and/or something and use their benefit from it and their references (but never get stuck in that!!) and the experience that also happens along the way. Build on your foundation as you go thru it all. Get the good, defend from the bad. Attract the good. Make them want to go to you, and it only works with genuine and care. Thats literally what school and work is for and life. But always remember there is a bigger takeway from this than just the time you are going to sacrifice. Just a lot of people dont know what to take out of it and just study and get good grades and they dont know why they are doing it….or worse, they just start to work and get money and thats it….we are more than money and numbers...we are more than a made up value and we are more than just being in this infinite “time” of “things”. We’re timeless….

-him: thats all i wanna do. Use life experience, corporate experience, life experience all to my full advantage and be able to flourish to my beneift and with that give back fruit of my labor to you, my family, and our family one day. That is an attainable goal i can handle and accomplish

-me: yessss babe. Alwayssss remember to give back to the people around you and your neighbors and your community because theyre the ones who will remember you and care for you and come together for you because they know youre a good person who only helped them. Theyre youre team. Were all on each others team. Lol lorde is woke. I love her pure heroine album

And also be hellllaaaa aware and careful in the corporate world because they can definitely corrupt your mind and the government and the public. Dont become a spawn. Dont let them let you get lost in their sauce and keep you blind from YOUR real goal. They will try to enslave you with their money and their false power giving. So direct a lot of your energy into direct beneficial things. Like thats why im like “why dont corporations/unis/communities, give like not just education stipends, but like stipends that keep their health up” ex google. I think theyre a pretty sustainable and socially and environmentally friendly and conscious company and keep their employees healthy and top notch and best ability to work and not just give them insurance and healthcare (because why take care of it and spend mad money on it when it can be prevented….and with prevention, it is less and you get more out of it…). Like they let them get rest when they need to so they can be more productive and to their best ability and also keep them autonomous so they dont get burnout and they get a share of their stock so they directly see the benefits going straight to them thanks to their hard work and commitment. And if it doesnt give that, invest money into like...things that keep not just your health up but also the planets. So you can stay away from bad health and then given “meds” to “fix” a “problem” they want you to think you have. And thats why i urge you to stop drinking and smoking all the time.

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lawrenceseitz22 · 7 years

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Weekly Digital Marketing Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 127

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Click on the video above to watch Episode 127 of the Semantic Mastery Hump Day Hangouts.

Full timestamps with topics and times can be found at the link above.

The latest upcoming free SEO Q&A Hump Day Hangout can be found at http://ift.tt/1NZu6N2.

Announcement

Adam: All right. We are live. Welcome everybody, this is Hump Day Hangouts, episode 127. We have got everybody here, so let’s do a quick hello. I’m going to start, as I see everybody, and start with you Bradley. How’s it going?

Bradley: Good, man. How are you?

Adam: Not bad on this 12th of April, since I forgot to mention the date, it is going quite well.

Bradley: I’m glad to be here. I see we got some decent questions, already. We got just a few announcements, after introductions, ad we’ll get right on it.

Adam: Cool. All right. Chris, how’s it going, man?

Chris: Doing excellent.

Adam: Good deal. Hernan?

Hernan: Hey, everyone. I’m not feeling that good, but I’m happy to be, so I’m feeling slightly better since I’m on the Hump Day Hangout.

Adam: I feel bad I’m laughing, and I was just, oh, God, I’m on video. Anyway, sorry, Hernan, really. [crosstalk 00:00:51].

Bradley: [inaudible 00:00:53].

Adam: Yeah. Anyways, Marco, how’s it going?

Marco: Good, man. We’re in the middle of the rainy season in Costa Rica and it hasn’t rained in a week.

Adam: Outstanding. We’ll get into this with a few announcements, everybody. Then, we’ll dive into it. Like, Bradley said, we got a bunch of questions. If you’re new to Semantic Mastery, if you’re just seeing us, or this is one of your first Hump Day Hangouts, please check out Syndication Academy, I’ll pop the link on the page, you’ll see it in a minute. Then, also SERP Space, you can create your free account over there for done for you services, so please go check that out after the webinar. Let’s see. Real quick, we’ve got a replay going up, right, Bradley? Did you want to tell everyone about that?

Bradley: Yeah. We did the Rocket Video Ranker webinar with Bill Cousins and [inaudible 00:01:42] just the other day, I guess, it was Monday. This weeks a blur to me. It was a really good webinar. He’s got a really awesome app that they created like an instant authority injector, it’s like instant channel authority, that’s what it’s called. It’s really cool. I’ve been playing with it for about a little over a week, now, and I’ve set up multiple campaigns. I was kind of extending the case studies from the Live Rank Sniper case studies that I did as a bonus for this, as well as I added on some new case studies, as well, because it’s working really well.

What’s cool about it is you can actually upload a bunch of videos, and then set them to a brand new YouTube channel and without syndication network, or anything else, and then it’s just unique on how it activates, or makes all the videos public, and apparently that injects authority into the channel, and it makes the videos rank like crazy. I don’t understand how it works, or why, I mean, I understand how it works, but I don’t understand why it works so well, but it works really well. I’ve been using it a lot for the bonus, that webinar replay, we’ve got a link for that, the bonuses that we’ve thrown in were the case studies that I did, which are multiple case studies.

That training is being added to the bonus membership site, but all the other unannounced bonuses that are part of that membership site as well. Guys, check it out it was a rather short webinar, like an hour and 15 minutes, or something like that, but just go check it out and see even if you don’t end up purchasing the product, the technique is really, really cool and it works really well. It’s worth sitting through the webinar just to pick up that, if nothing else. Okay?

Adam: Awesome. Cool. We got that link, I think I just put it on, so go check it out after this, it’s really cool. Marco, word on the street is that there might be a webinar, or something with you involved, I’m not sure. What’s going on, there?

Marco: Not only, me, but I’m getting, Hernan, has just been volunteered to come on and help me out, because really the last two seem kind of disjointed, I mean, people, I don’t know why, but somehow they didn’t get the message. Right? Some people said it’s fabulous, a lot of people said, yeah, I got it and I went, and I started looking, so they did actually what this is for. It’s fr you to think, go research, and then do. Right? It’s not for me to do it for you. If you want me to do it for you, you’re welcome to pay me my $750.00 an hour for consultation, if not, then you go do it, which is what I’ve had to do for the last what, 14, 15 years. Right?

Nobody showed me, or told me, or took me under their wing and said this is how you do it, guy. I had to go and read and put it all together. Anyway, the webinar is training, think, apply, make money, lather, rinse, repeat, the Semantic Mastery way. Right? Just a quick going over what we’ll be doing? I will be revisiting entity creation, validation, and verification, iframes, java script, training the bot, and JSON-LD, JSON, plus LD, plus content, which is our two pronged approach to how we just slam everything, and then, I will be going over whose way is the best way. It’s not what you think.

Bradley: Okay. Far enough. Next.

Marco: Your muted Adam.

Adam: Yeah. I’m doing a horrible job of pressing a button, today. Since, Hernan got voluntold into this, Hernan, I think is going to have something special, too, maybe at that webinar. Right?

Hernan: Yeah. Definitely. We are getting close to launch the Battle Plan and that’s part of the Semantic Mastery way, because actually in that Battle Plan it’s the step by step on how to pretty much [inaudible 00:05:50] a niche, even if it’s for aged sites, for new sites, for local sites, for YouTube videos, we have everything in there, so it was, you know we were having a lot of questions about, I love you guys, and I love your content. You have a shit ton of content, but I need a step by step, blueprint, if you will, so that’s exactly why we decided to put together on that Battle Plan, and that’s going to be presented alongside Marco’s genius rambling on Monday, on the webinar. Yeah.

Adam: Awesome. If you’re there you’re definitely going to get something special, so I’ll just leave it at that, and [crosstalk 00:06:31].

Bradley: It only took us three years to create the Battle Plan. We’ve been talking about it for three years.

Adam: Now, we got it.

Bradley: [crosstalk 00:06:39]. I’m anxious to have that out, too, because it’s just something that we just never did, and we finally actually, Hernan, really put it together, so hats off to you, Hernan. Thanks for doing that.

Adam: Yeah. Definitely. I’ve got my Nike shoe phones on. Thank you, Wayne. I’m going to real quick drop a link in, I suggest you guys check it out, it’s free. First three chapters of a book from the CEO of ClickFunnels, and you can check that out, obviously you got to give me your email, but you can go check that out. It’s about building movements, building business, a real business. Things like that. Just check it out, I’m not going to go into details if that sounds interesting to you by all means, go check it out and I believe the full book is either out this week or next week, so do yourself a favor, if you don’t like it, you invested an email address, if you do like it, you’re going to get some good info out of it.

Bradley: Wayne’s still picking on you.

Adam: He is. If I had more time I would turn this into talking about my headphones, but-

Bradley: It’s awesome, though.

Adam: Let’s get into it.

Bradley: Nobody is safe from the wrath of Wayne. All right. I think I’m going to grab the screen, now, guys. Are we ready?

Adam: Yes.

Bradley: All right. Otherwise, I’m just going to sit here and read the chat box. You guys can hear me?

Adam: Got you.

Marco: There we go.

Bradley: Okay. All right. Cool. By the way, just to comment on Adam’s mention of the expert secrets book, yeah, guys, if you’re not already familiar with Russell Brunson, and the whole ClickFunnels movement, and everything, you should become familiar, and this is an excellent opportunity to do so, with that book, because it’s really been a transformative application that we use for our business, ClickFunnels has been, and it’s a great company, they’ve got a lot of vision, and stuff, and so we fully support them as well, because it’s been such a blessing to have in our own business, so it’s a good opportunity to check out what they’ve got going on, and learn some, from a really great marketer of our time. Definitely check it out. All right.

[inaudible 00:08:51] is up,

Should The Blog Post With Embedded Youtube Videos Have Different Content In Order To Not Be A Duplicate?

he says, “Hey guys. I’m syndicating content from both the brand website and YouTube channels. The brand is a website, and YouTube. How much would be the minimum to change the blog post from just plain embedding the YouTube videos? Would it be enough to add X amount of words extra, next to the video, like transcribing or just posting the same content in a blog format, or should the blog post have different content in order to not be a duplicate? Thanks.” You know, you can do a transcription, that fine, that’s what I do with a lot of my client sites.

For example, some of my clients, actually, you know, most of my clients are in the contracting industry, so they do home services, so like HVAC services, and plumbing, and things like that. Some of my clients, not all of them, because some of them just refuse to do it, but some of them have their technicians go, and I trained them to do this, but it’s very simple, for example, a plumbing company they send one of their plumbers out to a job, and once they get to the job and they access what it is, or they complete the job, do the repair work, or whatever it is they pull out their cell phone and they record a short video, saying, hey, this is John from Joe’s Plumbing, I’m out on location, in Fairfax County, Virginia. I got a call for a leaky facet, this was the problem that I found, this is what I did to fix it, if you have any problems similar to requiring facet repair, call Joe’s Plumbing at, and they give the call to action.

They send me those videos, and I upload, optimize them and upload them to YouTube and then create the blog posts out of those with the transcription. Essentially, I just send the link over to a transcription service, have them transcribe the video, which is generally about a minute to a minute and a half long. It costs me like a $1.50 or three bucks to get the thing transcribed, and when I get it back, I add that as the content, or my VA will do it, or one of my VA’s will do it, but they’ll create a blog post with the video embedded, and then the transcription underneath. That’s great, because that works really well. Now, there’s really not a way that you can automate that. I automate it through a virtual assistant. That’s my way automating it. I don’t know a way to do that using IFTTT, so if you want to add the additional content, that’s fine, transcription works, great. However, it would be a manual process. Right?

One of the reasons why our YouTube syndication applets, from IFTTT, those auto syndication applets don’t include the description, for example of the videos, and why we will always just put this video was, it can also be seen on YouTube here, and you put the YouTube link and maybe the channel link, or a playlist link, but that’s it. The reason why is because through the many, many networks that I have had and tested over the years, I was finding that when you import the description, and you can change the applet, by the way. But, we have the applet setup with ingredients that work the best, that produce, that don’t cause any problems for your blog sites. What I was having problems with, was at one point in time I had a really large, what I called a video broadcasting network, consider it like a PBN, but it was used specifically for just video syndication sites. Okay?

We would, I would, syndicate, and because the way I would set up those video broadcasting network sites, again, similar to PBN’s but they were self hosted WordPress sites on domains that I had picked up, like expired domains and stuff like that, and build out these syndication networks using the self hosting WordPress site as the trigger point. Right? I would have YouTube, actually, every time I would upload a video to a particular channel it would syndicate out automatically to all these WordPress sites. Then, the WordPress site would trigger the IFTTT network around it. Right? They were random, some of the would import video description, some would not. What happened was through one of Google’s de-indexing spree’s that it goes on from time to time, I got hit, my video broadcasting networks got hit, and all the sites that had been importing the descriptions got the indexed, all of the sites that did not import the descriptions, that only hd a YouTube video, so essentially the embed code, and a link to the video itself, and then a link back to the channel, and/or playlist. All of those survived. It was the same network, which was interesting.

It led me to obviously understand that Google does not like republishing or posting of the video descriptions, and I can understand why, because they can be a bit spammy. Right? We drop links and all kinds of stuff into the description, and so it comes out looking spammy, and so that’s why I stopped doing it and why all of the applets that we provide don’t pull in the description. The reason why I tell you that is because if you’re creating videos on the front end, and let’s say that you already have, let’s say it’s a recorded video, where you’ve already written a script for example, and now you get the video created or recorded, and then you go to add the video to YouTube, well, you already had the transcription at that point. Right? Or, you can record a video, or have a video produced, and get it transcribed, and when you upload it to YouTube you can add your transcription as the video description.

That’s the only way I would know how to automate it, is if you had the transcription before you upload it to YouTube. Does that make sense? Otherwise, if you upload the video first then have it transcribed, well when it uploads it’s going to automatically syndicate through your networks, so then you’d have to go in and manual edit your blog post on your money site or whatever. That wouldn’t include the transcription across all those other properties, either. Does that make sense? The only way for you to syndicate the video plus the description with a transcription, I should say, is if you were to have that prepared a head of time, before you upload the video, which would trigger the syndication to begin with. Okay? It’s fine guys if you want to include that and do that kind of stuff on the front end. I don’t recommend syndicating a video with, use the applets the way we have them, I mean, you can test, and you can play around with them, but just know the reason we set those applets up the way we did was there was a reason for it, and the reason that I just gave you. Okay?

As far as this, again, I would recommend that you would either just upload the video using the applets the way that they are, and then go back on the money site blog, and edit the post manually, and it’s something a VA could do where they could add the transcription. That way across all the syndication points its just the video embed and the links back. Right? That’s it, but then on the blog itself, which is a money site, yeah, that’s fine to put the transcription there. That’s how I would prefer to do it, as opposed to even transcribing a head of time, before syndicating, because then you end up having that, again, the additional text underneath the video, even though the transcription probably isn’t as spammy as a normal YouTube description. I still would, because I know of those types of syndication points getting shut down when the text is imported, as well. I just prefer to avoid that and make sure that it’s just the YouTube embed and a link back to the video and/or the playlist and/or channel. Okay? All right. Hopefully, that one was cleared up.

Should You Add 100-200 Properties Linked To Our Youtube Account To Get A Real Boost On Videos Syndicated Through IFTTT?

Alexander says, “I read somewhere that we should have a 100 to 200 properties linked to our YouTube account to get a real boost on video syndicated through IFTTT, I’m beginning on video SEO, now, and loving the speed, and just got a little bit confused about it.” Well, it depends, Alexander. My most powerful networks have over 200 properties, because generally for anything that I’m going to be like any industry or niche that I’m going to be serious about, I start off with a minimum of three two tier networks. That’s just because we have the infrastructure and the building team, and everything, it’s simple for me to just say, look, I need three full two tier networks, and a week later I’ve got them. You know?

If I’m going to be real serious about something, and remember guys a full two tier network is anywhere between 80 to 90 properties. Right? Even at 80, at the low end of it, we’re looking at 240 properties if you’ve got three full two tier networks. That is true in that my most powerful networks are generally in that range or so, but I know I have some syndication networks that are just tier one that have been powered up and have had consistent posting over time, and they’ve just gotten powerful because of that, because they are all themed really well, and they’ve got history.

It really just depends. I mean, if you’re starting off with newer networks that aren’t themed or don’t have a lot of life and history to them, if that makes sense, then what you want, you can add more networks, which will be more syndication points, or you can power them up with links and other various things that you can do to power up the networks. You can do one, or the other. If you’re starting off probably right off the bat you’re going to get faster results with more syndication points, but over the long run, it’s actually better in my opinion to power up existing networks because that helps the video ranks, whatever results the networks provide by syndicating to them, it helps to keep those results to stick better. Does that make sense? In other words, the more syndication points you add to a network, the faster the results typically are, but if it’s new then the results can slip rather quickly, as well. Meaning, you get initial really good results, but then they’ll start to drop.

Obviously, it’s going to depend on many, many other variables, guys, but I’m saying just on the way that my data has trended it shows that. That’s why if you have a powered up network, typically the results that the syndication provides will stick for longer. All right? Way back when we had the first version of Syndication Academy out I mentioned that, because I mentioned that for example you could stack multiple tier one networks, first tier networks to a YouTube channel and you’d get faster ranking results that way than using two tier networks, so what I’m saying is let’s say you had 10 single ring tier one networks that you wanted attached to one YouTube channel, right, that would be essentially what 200 properties, roughly 200 properties. That’s going to get you really fast results, but a lot of the times those results will start to slip somewhat quickly.

It would be better, instead of having 10 tier one networks, it would be better to say, let’s say you had three full two tier networks, which would be 12 networks, but the two tier networks tend to help the video rankings to stick longer. That’s been something that I’ve noticed for years. Again, with my own data if I can theme a network and power it up with links and then continue to publish to that it seems to get a lot stronger whether you have more and more syndication properties or not. At some point it’s like a level of diminishing returns. Right? Once you cross that point it’s really unnecessary to add additional syndication points. I think it’s better to power up what you already have. If that makes sense. Okay? Anyways, you can play around with that. Yeah. Obviously if you’re just starting off with new networks, more is better. More points are better. All right.

IFTTT Properties & NAP Citations For Local Sites

Next is, “Is those IFTTT properties a good place to add any IFTTT citations for local sites? Same thing with PR, NAP, and embeds.” I guess PR, must be press release. Yeah. Guys, anytime you can drop an NAP citation into a post or anything like that, as long as it’s not been like spammed into it, like if you have a good call to action at the end of a post and you want to drop the NAP that’s a good place to do it. Those all count as citations, guys. You can have a citation on a blogger site, and a Tumbler site. Yeah. If you want to drop an NAP into blog post that’s perfectly fine.

Same thing with press releases, guys. Most press release companies are going to have a section where you put your contact company details anyways, the NAP details, especially and even more and more PR sites now are actually allowing structured data for that so you can mark that up the NAP details with the local business markup, or it’s done on the backend, in other words, there just text fields, you enter in the company data and the PR company adds the structured data for where it’s published on their site. Now, the syndication points, the press cables that pick them up, most of those will strip that out, but it doesn’t matter you still end up with the NAP details, citation details, it’s just an unstructured citation at that point. It’s absolutely valuable to do that. Make sure you’re using a lot of brand anchors for that, though, you don’t want to use keywords and stuff. All right.

Next one. “Is it better to have,” and we’re going to skip probably, I don’t know, how many questions do we have? Because we got some people that posted a lot of questions in a row, guys, and we cannot do that. We need to split the questions up, so that it’s fair for everybody. I’m going to answer this one, if we have time, we’ll come back and answer is next one. “Is it better to have more accounts as tier one to the YouTube channel, or have one and a few tier one rings, and then add the bulk?” Yeah. I already answered that one, Alexander. Again, you’re going to get faster results with more tier one properties, but your results will stick longer if you use tier two.

I don’t go out to tier three, because there’s just too many, it’s too many steps chained together that if something goes wrong anywhere it breaks down the whole system, so I don’t do that. I don’t do tier three. I mean, I’ve done it, but I don’t do it, because it’s too many moving pieces, in other words. I like to go out to tier two and that’s the extent. If I want more and more, I just add more networks, more tier one’s and tier two’s. I don’t bring it out to tier three. I haven’t seen any benefit in doing that, and it’s just more work and more hassle. Okay. Like I said, if we have time, Alexander, we’ll come back.

Do You Focus On The Main City Or Do You Focus The Root Domain On Anything At All (Maybe States)?

Don’s up. Don Johnson. That’s awesome. He says, “I understand the concept of using city subdomains for local businesses, but then for the root domain, do you focus on the main city or do you just focus it on anything at all, maybe state?” Don, I always just use that as like the brand site. If there’s a corporate headquarters then that’s what I’ll target the site, the root domain for, will be like the corporate site, so it will, if there’s a corporate headquarters like a physical location, then I will reserve the root domain for that. If you are using, we can talk about structured data again, but if you’re using organizational markup and then you have separate locations, then, you would use the root domain for that. Then, all your separate locations would be listed on subdomains, if that makes sense. That’s typically how I do it.

If you don’t have a corporate headquarters, then you can use, in other words if you’ve got all of your locations already built out on subdomains then just use the root domain, at least this is the way I do it, I just use the root domain as literally like a brand website, and it’s more or less just a billboard, like an online flyer that says this is who we are this is what we do, and the pages on the site are the locations page, the about us page, and the contact us page. That’s it. That’s all that’s necessary. Unless, you’re going to be blogging from the root domain to the tier one branded network for all of the subdomain locations in which case you want to have a blog and you want to have categories to match each one of the locations, so that whenever you create a post and if you’re blogging from the root domain to do all your link building and content syndication from one website, and from one WordPress site as opposed to multiple subdomains. That’s how I do it, for the most part, guys.

We talk about this all the time, but when you have multiple locations, I always try to just build the single tier branded syndication network and then do all of my blogging from the root domain to cover all the subdomain locations, and then after a period of time, and syndicating multiple posts, and checking rankings, and that kind of stuff you’ll notice that some of the locations will respond well to that, but then some of the subdomain locations won’t, and the ones that need the additional push, you can always go out and create locations specific syndication networks for those subdomains that need the extra push, and then blog directly from those subdomains. Remember, try to get the best results with the minimum amount of work. One branded network is all that’s needed for multi location, your blog from the root domain, cover all of your subdomains from that same blog just make sure you match categories with locations. If that makes sense.

Marco: If I could just add something, one of the basic principles of our Syndication Academy and RYS Academy is to brand. We create a brand and we associate the brand, the keywords to the band, we don’t just chase keywords, we don’t just chase location plus keywords we actually teach you, or tell you, build your brand and then-

Bradley: Right.

Marco: Associate the keywords to it, that’s why what we do works so well. That’s what sets us apart from everybody else, because there’s hardly anyone online, right now, teaching you to do it like the big boys do it. Create your brand, associate the keywords to the brand, and then everything else just flows in. Whatever you do, after that, whether you’re blogging or doing a podcast, whatever it is that you’re doing, in your social media, whatever, it’s always pushing the brand and the keywords. The brand and the services. The brand and your product. It’s brand, brand, brand, and then the bot, once you hit it over the head enough, it’s smart enough, oh, okay, so I need to associate this brand with this set of keywords and that’s when the magic starts happening, when the bot, I call it training the bot, but when the bots been trained that way then all sorts of good stuff starts, it just starts to happen.

Bradley: Yeah. Totally agree. That’s part of what we talked about with the Crowd Search webinar is that association that is made by the algorithm, I mean RankBrain, guys, it learns. Right? It’s machine learning, but it’s learning nonetheless. Over time with those associations are made and stored, so it ends up adding weight to the site. How I was introduced into the concept was called site weight. All things being equal if you add two, let’s just say plumbing sites that had the same, you know, virtually, or comparably the same SEO and the same off page SEO. I know this is obviously hypothetical, because it’s damn near impossible for that to be the case.

If those two were the same, everything else was virtually the same, then the site that had more brand mentions and more navigational searches, which people like searching for the company name, the company name contact information, company name, location, that kind of stuff, that site will out rank the other one, every time, because it’s getting more weight by Google, in other words, it’s a more authoritative brand. The algorithm determines that through search history and a lot of the other things, the semantic relationships and all that stuff, and that’s in part why it works so well, so thank you Marco for bringing that up.

Don, yeah, this last thing is on the main domain, that’s what I’m talking about, anything you’re talking about smaller city pages that aren’t worth an entire subdomain. I get that. That’s fine. That’s absolutely fine to do that on the root domain. I would just have a locations page that also links out and use the organizational structure data markup. Then, you can, I cannot show you an example, I wish I could, but I do that for some of my sites that have multiple locations. You set a locations page, you mark everything up, you list all of your locations, everything is marked up correctly. It’s very, very powerful. Then, like I said, the root domain you just focus on, if you have a physical location for a corporate headquarters, you make the root specifically about that, but you can have all the other locations listed, like I said.

If you have smaller city pages and stuff that aren’t worthy of a subdomain, like you mentioned, that’s fine. You can put all those on the root domain, as well. What I would recommend with that though, that’s why I said, you don’t for a lot of times, and I don’t want to over complicate this, because I don’t know how experienced you are, Don, but a lot of times people will put local business structure data with JSON LD markup in the site header, which is fine, but in a case like this where you are going to have a locations page and potentially smaller city pages hosted on the root domain, you don’t want to do that. What you want to do is on the locations page use the structured data markup, and that’s fine. Guys, as per Google’s best practices when it comes to structured data, they say it doesn’t have to be on every page of the site. It only needs to be on a locations, about, or contact page. That’s it.

Google will read, as long as you don’t have bot blockers on there, Google will read it and will recognize and associate that business with that markup. If that makes sense. For something like that, you don’t want to put it in site wide, is what I’m saying. You want to add that code specifically to the locations page and then for each one of your smaller city pages I would inject structured data into each one of those individual pages for that specific location. If you don’t have, you say smaller city pages, they might not have physical locations, anyways. If that makes sense. All right.

We could go into a whole, maybe some day we’ll do a separate webinar just on structured data stuff, because I know we get questions about that all the time, too.

Do You Add A Link To Your Money Site Using A Keyword From The Text In The Curated Post?

James says, “If you curate content on a web two from another source, can you add a link to your money site using a keyword from the text in the curated post, as well as linking back to the source, of course?” James, I don’t do that. I don’t edit or modify the text that I’m curating at all. I don’t know what the legalities are of that, because I don’t know, I don’t do it. Does anybody else have a clear answer for that?

Marco: I would say that you’re changing, if you’re adding a direct quote right from that website and you change it, then it’s no longer.

Bradley: That’s right.

Marco: A direct quote. I mean, I know it’s not best practices when you’re writing something up, so I don’t see why you would want to do that anyway. I don’t know what it is that he’s looking to accomplish by doing that. I’m not sure. You don’t need to. You just do the proper citation and you move on. You don’t want to-

Bradley: Yeah.

Marco: Give yourself extra work, because it works perfectly well.

Bradley: James, the only reason why I would see if you were curating content from another source on your own blog, for you to change the text and add a link is just so that you can link back to whatever, and drive visitors through that link to wherever you are trying to send them, or for SEO purposes, but the point is you’ve got your commentary section, that’s the content that you write, or that your team writes, or whatever, your writer, your curator, that’s what they write in between curating sections of the post. Right? That’s what’s called commentary. In those commentary sections you can create links to whatever you want.

You can use the anchor text links, whatever types of links, whatever types of anchor text you can send people wherever you want. I’d recommend not altering the curated content at all. Curate it exactly as it was written, where it was originally published and then cite the source where it was published and then add your link into the commentary section. There’s really no reason that I know of without knowing more about your specific situation, James. There’s no reason for you to edit the curated content. I recommend that you don’t do that, because again, I don’t know what the legalities are, but I wouldn’t want to alter it in any way. Okay?

How To Syndicate Content To A Jimdo Website?

Ivan says, “Hey, guys. I asked a couple weeks ago on number 126, is it worth the effort to treat tier one blog components as money sites? I took the time to build a website on Jimdo.com, and I saw some back links inside my search console. How can we post to it automatically if it’s not inside IFTTT?” Ivan, that’s a good question. You’d have to look for potentially maybe another application that would connect with Jimdo, IFTTT does not. I don’t know if Zapier does. There’s also another similar service called Delvr.it, D-E-L-V-R dot I-T, I think it is.

Those are all services similar to IFTTT. You might want to check and see if Jimdo connects with any of those. I don’t know if it does or not, but if it doesn’t then you cannot. I mean, there might be a plugin that will post to Jimdo, as well from a WordPress site, but I don’t know that. I don’t know of any off the top of my head, but that doesn’t matter, I mean, you can still use Jimdo, you just won’t be able to use it as part of your syndication network, but you can still use it as a tier one link. It just won’t be an automated thing, unless you can find an app that does it. Okay.

Marco: I think there’s a plugin that does that. I cannot remember what the name of it is, off the top of my head.

Bradley: Does Snap do it?

Hernan: Yeah. Maybe, Snap does it.

Bradley: [crosstalk 00:35:09] plugin.

Hernan: Yeah.

Marco: There’s a bunch of them out there. I mean, they’ve come up with a bunch of others that could possibly do it. There’s one called Hyper Social Buffer, I think it is. I’m not sure whether it does it.

Bradley: Yeah. I don’t know, which networks this post to, guys, but next scripts, Social Networks Auto-Poster, I know that’s one that a lot of people use for stuff. I mean, that’s all you got to do, Ivan, is just go digging around see what you can find. There might be a plugin on another app that will do it. If IFTTT doesn’t do it, you got to look for another solution. If you cannot find one that will work, then, again, you can still use Jimdo as a tier one property, it just won’t be an auto syndication point. Okay.

Do You Have Any Kind Of Index Or Searchable Database Of The Time Stamps With Topic For All Of The Past Hump Day Hangouts?

All right. Columbia’s got several in a row. We’ll try to run through a couple of them. “Do you have any kind of index or searchable database so that time stamps with topic for all the past Hump Day Hangouts, there is so much great info here it would be great to have.” The only thing that you can do, Columbia, and we add time stamps, which helps quite a bit, but the only thing you can do is just use the search function in the YouTube channel. If we go over here, we’ll go to [crosstalk 00:36:23]-

Adam: We do have them in a playlist, though, so you can at least go into the playlist.

Bradley: Yeah. If you go to view channel, so just go to YouTube.com look for Semantic Mastery, it will come right up, and then right here when you click on the channel you’ll see this little spyglass icon, you click on that, it says search channel, and that’s where you can type in your query and because we add timestamps the YouTube search function within our channel works fairly well. I know the YouTube search is kind of shitty overall in YouTube for the most part, but it works fairly well on our channel, because we actually add the timestamps to all of our videos. Okay. That’s the best thing we-

Marco: I think you can also do a playlist search. If you go to a playlist, to Hump Day Hangout playlists, I think you can search the playlist.

Bradley: It says search channel. I don’t know how to search playlists. Yeah. I don’t see a specific search for playlists. There might be a function, I just never seen it. Anyways. Yeah. Personally, I would just search the channel, but if there is this playlist search function, then try that, too, I suppose. Okay. All right.

What Is The Maximum Number Of Separate Tags That Are Safe To Use?

Next. “With regard to tag stuffing, how many separate tags would be the maximum? Be safe.” I don’t know, Columbia, honestly, I’ve never stuffed enough tags into a YouTube video. I’ve just never been real heavy on doing a whole bunch of tags, because I always try to keep my tags very focused around the singular keyword that I’m trying to rank for. Right? I don’t know. Does anybody else here know how many tags? Personally, like I said, I usually will keep it to about five to eight tags and they’re usually very focused around my primary keyword that I’m trying to rank for. Anybody else got an answer for that?

Marco: No.

Bradley: Okay.

Adam: I haven’t heard of any hard and fast rule. I would probably go by user experience and finding your niche, and keep it pretty simple.

Bradley: Yeah. I mean, all I do Columbia is, well there’s a few things that you can do. One is if you use the plugin TubeBuddy, TubeBuddy's a great plugin, which will show you the tags of similar videos, what their tags are and it will show you the popularity of that tag. In other words, how often those tags occur in similar videos, that kind of stuff, so that you can figure out which are the most weighted tags, or the most common tags so that you can match those. TubeBuddy is a great tool for that. It’s a Chrome plugin, or it’s a YouTube plugin, I guess. Anyways, it’s called TubeBuddy, check that out. It’s pretty cool. There’s some other tools that do similar stuff where they’ll like scrap tags.

Lisa Allen has one, it’s called, TubeViperX I’ve seen the icon over here, it’s called TubeViperX, so she’s got one. There’s another one called, Tuberank Jeet, or something like that. I don’t know. There’s a bunch of tools out there that you can find that are like tag scrappers, and some of the tools will show you the tags in order of priority, and that kind of stuff. You can use stuff like that, but typically, for me, personally whatever my primary keyword is I usually end up adding that tag as well as any local modifiers as individual tags like the city names, and then a couple slight variations of my primary keyword. The most closely related variations, and that’s it. My tag list for any given video is usually no more than eight tags. It’s anywhere between five to eight tags, tops, and that’s because I am always trying to hyper focus around one singular keyword for each video. Okay. That’s just the way that I’ve done it for years.

Marco: I have an idea for Columbia. All of our videos on YouTube, or on the playlist, they’re titled Hump Day Hangouts, Hump Day and then Hangouts, one word, [inaudible 00:40:37] and look for the keyword and that’ll search the Hump Day videos.

What Is The Effect Of Changing/Approving Tags After A Live Stream Video in YouTube?

Bradley: Cool. Awesome. Thanks. All right. “Is there any problem with changing and approving tags after you’ve live streamed a video channel?” No, Columbia, not at all. You can go in and edit those at any time. That’s not going to hurt anything. I’ve played around with like if a video doesn’t rank, is it ranking as well as I want, you can go in and kind of mess around with the tags a little bit, but give it a few days and see what happens, because a lot of times you won’t see changes. I’m not saying changing the tags is going to have any effect on your video, all I know is I’ve done that, and I’ve added tags or removed tags, or replaced tags, and I’ve seen movement. Just to let you know, it’s not going to effect anything. I mean, it could affect a video negatively, but you just have to play with it and see. If that was the case, you just switch it back to what it was before. All right. Look at that, that’s Napoleon Dynamite’s profile [inaudible 00:41:31], that’s awesome.

Ranking Using 301 Redirects

Joe T, says, “What’s the best way to rank using 301 redirects?” Well, there’s so many different answers for that. 301 redirects can be used for a million things. We use them for Switchbox SEO, mainly. Terry Kyle, coined that term, Switchbox SEO, so you can go to Terry Kyle’s blog and read about it. We were using 301 redirects anyways, but that kind of really opened up a whole lot of doors for us, as far as, things that we do with 301’s. We used to use 301’s for a lot of real nasty stuff, we still do, for a lot of real nasty stuff, but not in the same way that we used to. I like to use 301’s obviously for cloning the sites and building links to my domain as opposed to my clients domains. That way I keep some level of control, in case they don’t need me anymore.

We can use 301 redirects, what’s great about 301 redirects is if you do all your link building to a domain that you have full capability of removing redirects or redirecting somewhere else, then that’s why it’s called Switchbox SEO, because it’s like you can turn it on and off at any moment. If you’re doing something particularly nasty and it ends up causing some problems, you can just open that redirect. It’s just like opening a switch. Right? It cuts that negative link juice off from whatever the destination was, where the redirect was. There’s a lot of stuff that you can do with 301 redirects. Again, we could cover that for an hour, and that’s a little bit too broad of a question for here. You guys want to comment on that, at all?

Hernan: Yeah. If it’s cheap, since we are doing it with X, Y, Z, or dot links, or whatever you want to do, if it’s cheap, and if it can protect you, go ahead. Why not? Some people will, I usually like to do it with domains that I can own, and that I can control.

Bradley: Right.

Hernan: That’s why I’m saying dot, X, Y, Z dot link, you can do it with URL shorteners, but most of the time you cannot change the destinations and you do not control them. You know?

Bradley: Right.

Hernan: Some people will actually go ahead and make the mistake of doing [inaudible 00:43:51], which we do not recommend, if you’re doing nasty stuff, unless you are a part of RYS Academy of course where Marco will teach how to go through that flawlessly, but in any case, I would suggest that you go with X, Y, Z domain, dot link domain, cheap one dollar a year domain that you can reuse, that you can spam, and it doesn’t hurt you.

Bradley: Yeah. Okay. “I get emails promoting XRumer backlinks, can you rank today with XRumer links, and if so, how, without getting penalized?” No. I wouldn’t do it, Joe. It depends on if you’re spamming a web two property, for example, that’s one thing. If you’re spamming a citation, or a press release, again, that’s one thing, but I wouldn’t be trying, I would have XRumer backlinks pointed within three tiers of my, within two tiers for sure of my money site. It’s just spam. I mean, look, guys, and when I say XRumer links, I’m assuming, correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t XRumer links mainly blog comments, and forum profiles, and stuff? Isn’t it like real spam stuff? I don’t use XRumer, that’s why I’m asking.

Marco: I haven’t used it in so long, that’s how it was. It was mainly comment spam.

Bradley: Yeah.

Hernan: Yeah. Comment spam. All the way. I mean, they still work, but as far as possible from your money site.

Bradley: Right.

Hernan: You know? We still use Spam Tools, but as far as possible from the money site. More over now that we feel now, Marco came with the news of saying, hey, guys, you know, Google is going two or three tiers deep, so if you can go for tier four, or tier five for XRumer that would be a good idea, actually.

Bradley: Yeah. You can use them for example, like YouTube videos, man, I know I’ve ranked YouTube videos using nothing but comments, before. It’s been a while, I haven’t attempted it in quite a some time, but I mean, YouTube videos like press releases, citations, things like that, that can withstand that kind of spam. Yeah. But, remember we always talk about treating your tier one properties as extensions of your brand, so in other words if you want to spam a citation, make sure that it’s a no follow link to your money site, for example.

Because you don’t want to spam something with a do follow link, a tier one property with a whole bunch of comment spam it can end up hurting your money site, the final destination. You don’t want to do that. If you got a press release, or something like that, that you’re just wanting to push up and spam it, most of those types of cites will withstand it, that kind of abuse, but again we recommend not spamming your tier one properties, for the most part, because you want to treat those as extensions of your brand. Tier two, fine, if you want to spam your tier two properties, do it.

Marco: If I can clarify. We’re not saying that spam doesn’t work, because we still use GSA. In fact, we use fiver GSA gigs and the links come back showing adult business, which means porn. Right? [inaudible 00:47:15]. They use porn links to drop our links in, and this still works like gangbusters, it still ranks, but you have to know what you’re doing. We throw a double spam filter in, so that the links come through squeaky clean. If you don’t know or don’t understand what I just said, don’t do it, because you’ll get in trouble.

Bradley: All right. Toby’s up, “Do you use aggregate rating? Have you ever seen the results in Google that have the star ratings on them, like the image below, image of a four out of five star rating on a website. Pretty badass. Right? Did you know that those are actually super easy to get, and Project Supremacy Plugin can do that for you in about 60 seconds.” Okay. I haven’t played with Project Supremacy Plugin in quite some time. We have it. I just haven’t messed with it. “Yes, the site above got its reviews and star rating generated with the plugin.” Okay. Let’s see. “How do you get those star ratings to show up? It’s actually through a very specific JSON-LD scheme attack, aggregate rating.” Yeah. That’s right. That’s been part of that plugin since it was launched. Right?

Yeah. I’m familiar with that. I’ve got a client site that we tried a million things with that we just cannot get the star ratings to show though, including Project Supremacy plugin, it hasn’t worked for that. I’ve banged my head against the wall for months with that site, and we still cannot get it to work. The particular schema tag is read by your site on Google star rating with amazing ease.” It sure sounds like a pitch, but anyways, I don’t see a link, so we’re going to move on. It’s a decent plugin guys, there’s no doubt. This really isn’t the place to-

Marco: Yeah.

Bradley: Promote the shit out of somebody else’s stuff.

Marco: Yeah. This is not the place for that, for somebody else’s and not only that since most of the people on Hump Day are beginners. They’re going to go and spam away with five star ratings, and get a schema spam penalty for fake five star ratings, fake reviews-

Bradley: Structured data spam.

Marco: Structured data spam.

Bradley: Yeah.

Marco: Absolutely. It’s a great way to get yourself in trouble if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Bradley: That’s right. I know, because I’ve gotten those manual spam action notifications in search consoles that says, structured data spam. You can get them cleaned up and reversed, but why would you want to raise a red flag? I’m not saying, don’t use the stuff guys, just use it correctly. Use it right. For example, I’ve got a client that has an ungodly amount of real reviews from real customers, and we’re having a hard time getting it to show on his site, so that’s not structured data spam, but I have gotten that manual spam action through search console before and so have many others.

Marco: Just to finish this up. How many real people give everything five stars? I mean, real people give everything five stars and a review, just these fabulous reviews that just don’t look natural. You got to think of it that way, what looks natural?

Bradley: Yeah. We’re almost out of time. There’s the five minute warning. I’m going to roll through just a couple very quickly. Columbia’s got several here, again. Columbia, just for next time, I don’t remember seeing your name before, so I’m sure you didn’t know. Toby, thank you by the way for mentioning that, just split your questions up, so it allows other people to get their questions in as well. It’s only fair. All right?

Can You Have Multiple Verified Websites For Cards And End Screens?

Columbia says, “I wanted to have an end screen link from the YouTube video directly to my author, clients, books page on Amazon, however, Amazon, is not on the approved vendor list for YouTube. Is there a way to link directly out to the end screens, or do I have to go through another site, and then from that site send it to Amazon?”

What I recommend, Columbia, is set up a bridge page, which in other words, a page on one of your domains, that you can add as an associated website, and I saw your questions above these, so this will make sense in a minute, but if you add your own domain as an associated website, then you can use the end screens and cards to link directly to any page on that domain. Then, you can have the call to action on that page with the link that clicks over to the Amazon page. Does that make sense? You send people to a page that has maybe some more information about the product, the book, whatever, in your case it sounds like a book, and then from there you have a button or a link that links over to the actual Amazon product page. Does that make sense? It’s a two steep, because you cannot link directly to Amazon, because you don’t own that domain. Does that make sense? All right.

Next, Columbia says, “Can I have multiple verified websites for cards and end screens?” Yes, Columbia. Inside YouTube, excuse me, let me jump over here, real quick. That’s why I want to answer these questions, because I know these are questions that a lot of people ask about. Go to your dashboard, and then go to channel, and you want to go to advanced, and you’re going to scroll down, and right here where you see associated website, you add your domain in there and click add, or whatever the button says at that moment.

Then, what you have to do is make sure the domain is connected within the same Google account to Google search console. You have to verify and connect, well, connect and verify your website to Google search console within the same account as your YouTube channel. Okay. I mean, you can do it if you’re adding another account as a manager, you can do all that kind of stuff, but just because yours is new, I recommend using the same Google account for the search console verifying your website, there.

Once you verify it, you come back over here and you refresh the page, or it will say, or it will have a verified button, you click verify and it will turn green and say, success. Now, if you want to add another website, you can add as many websites as you want, at least as far as I know, I’ve never run out of, I’ve never been told that I cannot add another verified website. You just click remove, and you add the next site again. That does not remove it as an associated website. It’s still connected and can still be used, even though you clicked the remove button, it can still be used and now you just add another domain in here and click add and it will say verify, and it will prompt you to add the next domain to the search console. That’s it. You can have multiple domains, that are called associated websites. All right? That’s perfectly fine to do.

What Is The Difference Between Verified Associated Site And Linking To Sites In The Description?

All right. I’m almost done. I know we’ve got two minutes. “What is the difference on how it works for verified associated site verses linking in the site, and the description?” Well, because in the description of a YouTube video you can link to any link you want, you don’t have to own the website, you don’t have to verify, you don’t have to do any of that. You can link wherever you want within the description. As an associated website, that gives you the ability to link via end screens, and cards. It used be able to link through external annotations, but they’ve done away with external annotations. Right? Now, it’s end screens and cards. That’s how you do it. You link within the video to an associated website, which has to be verified in order to be an associated website. The video description, you can link to whatever you want. All right?

What Are Your 3 Favorite Video Rank Trackers And Why?

“Three favorite video rank trackers?” I’ve only got one. It’s proranktracker.com. That’s the one that I use for video rank tracking. That’s it. I don’t use three. I don’t have three favorites, because I only use one. I have for about a year and a half or two years, now. It’s proranktracker.com. It’s awesome for videos. All right? All right, guys, I’m sorry, but we’ve got to go. I’m going to answer this real quick, because I saw it, it says, “Hi, everyone and thank you for letting me be a part of this. I’m brand new to SEO, please bear with me, if my question sounds stupid.” No. There are no stupid questions, Ala. “I’m based in Denmark, in Europe, and my question is, can I use a home address to register my business for local SEO?” Yes. Absolutely, you can.

If it’s your business and you’re running it from your home, yeah, absolutely, that’s totally legit. Okay? I would not register other people’s businesses for lead gen to your home address. I would certainly not do that. I don’t know about how it is Denmark, but in the United States I set up virtual mailbox places, and not do that, but for your own business, yeah, use your own home address. It makes no difference. There’s no reason you shouldn’t. All right, guys. That’s it for Hump Day Hangouts. Sorry. Man, we got to most of them. Sorry, guys, just a couple of you didn’t get answered. If you want you can post your questions in one of our groups in Google Plus, or Facebook and we’ll try to get to them there, otherwise, we can answer them next week.

Adam: Sounds good. Remember if you’re new to Semantic Mastery, please check out the syndication Academy, syndication.academy and don’t forget to sign up for Marco’s webinar, we’ll put the links up there, again, so get signed up.

Bradley: Awesome. Yeah. Guys, don’t forget to check out that, Lori, says, “I really wish you would do a webby on markup.” We can, Lori, we probably will. I’ll talk to Marco about it, and Hernan, and we’ll get something scheduled for that. I think we should. All right, guys. Anyways, don’t forget to go check out the Rocket Video Ranker Pro webinar, it’s a really, really cool application. It works really well. I endorse it, so check it out, and we’ll see everybody next week. Thanks, guys.

Hernan: Sounds good.

Adam: Bye.

Marco: Bye, everyone.

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Weekly Digital Marketing Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 127

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Click on the video above to watch Episode 127 of the Semantic Mastery Hump Day Hangouts.

Full timestamps with topics and times can be found at the link above.

The latest upcoming free SEO Q&A Hump Day Hangout can be found at http://ift.tt/1NZu6N2.

Announcement

Bradley: Good, man. How are you?

Adam: Not bad on this 12th of April, since I forgot to mention the date, it is going quite well.

Bradley: I’m glad to be here. I see we got some decent questions, already. We got just a few announcements, after introductions, ad we’ll get right on it.

Adam: Cool. All right. Chris, how’s it going, man?

Chris: Doing excellent.

Adam: Good deal. Hernan?

Hernan: Hey, everyone. I’m not feeling that good, but I’m happy to be, so I’m feeling slightly better since I’m on the Hump Day Hangout.

Adam: I feel bad I’m laughing, and I was just, oh, God, I’m on video. Anyway, sorry, Hernan, really. [crosstalk 00:00:51].

Bradley: [inaudible 00:00:53].

Adam: Yeah. Anyways, Marco, how’s it going?

Marco: Good, man. We’re in the middle of the rainy season in Costa Rica and it hasn’t rained in a week.

Bradley: Okay. Far enough. Next.

Marco: Your muted Adam.

Adam: Yeah. I’m doing a horrible job of pressing a button, today. Since, Hernan got voluntold into this, Hernan, I think is going to have something special, too, maybe at that webinar. Right?

Adam: Awesome. If you’re there you’re definitely going to get something special, so I’ll just leave it at that, and [crosstalk 00:06:31].

Bradley: It only took us three years to create the Battle Plan. We’ve been talking about it for three years.

Adam: Now, we got it.

Bradley: Wayne’s still picking on you.

Adam: He is. If I had more time I would turn this into talking about my headphones, but-

Bradley: It’s awesome, though.

Adam: Let’s get into it.

Bradley: Nobody is safe from the wrath of Wayne. All right. I think I’m going to grab the screen, now, guys. Are we ready?

Adam: Yes.

Bradley: All right. Otherwise, I’m just going to sit here and read the chat box. You guys can hear me?

Adam: Got you.

Marco: There we go.

[inaudible 00:08:51] is up,

Should The Blog Post With Embedded Youtube Videos Have Different Content In Order To Not Be A Duplicate?

Should You Add 100-200 Properties Linked To Our Youtube Account To Get A Real Boost On Videos Syndicated Through IFTTT?

IFTTT Properties & NAP Citations For Local Sites

Do You Focus On The Main City Or Do You Focus The Root Domain On Anything At All (Maybe States)?

Bradley: Right.

We could go into a whole, maybe some day we’ll do a separate webinar just on structured data stuff, because I know we get questions about that all the time, too.

Do You Add A Link To Your Money Site Using A Keyword From The Text In The Curated Post?

Marco: I would say that you’re changing, if you’re adding a direct quote right from that website and you change it, then it’s no longer.

Bradley: That’s right.

Bradley: Yeah.

Marco: Give yourself extra work, because it works perfectly well.

How To Syndicate Content To A Jimdo Website?

Marco: I think there’s a plugin that does that. I cannot remember what the name of it is, off the top of my head.

Bradley: Does Snap do it?

Hernan: Yeah. Maybe, Snap does it.

Bradley: [crosstalk 00:35:09] plugin.

Hernan: Yeah.

Do You Have Any Kind Of Index Or Searchable Database Of The Time Stamps With Topic For All Of The Past Hump Day Hangouts?

Adam: We do have them in a playlist, though, so you can at least go into the playlist.

Marco: I think you can also do a playlist search. If you go to a playlist, to Hump Day Hangout playlists, I think you can search the playlist.

What Is The Maximum Number Of Separate Tags That Are Safe To Use?

Marco: No.

Bradley: Okay.

Adam: I haven’t heard of any hard and fast rule. I would probably go by user experience and finding your niche, and keep it pretty simple.

What Is The Effect Of Changing/Approving Tags After A Live Stream Video in YouTube?

Ranking Using 301 Redirects

Bradley: Right.

Hernan: That’s why I’m saying dot, X, Y, Z dot link, you can do it with URL shorteners, but most of the time you cannot change the destinations and you do not control them. You know?

Bradley: Right.

Marco: I haven’t used it in so long, that’s how it was. It was mainly comment spam.

Bradley: Yeah.

Hernan: Yeah. Comment spam. All the way. I mean, they still work, but as far as possible from your money site.

Bradley: Right.

Marco: Yeah.

Bradley: Promote the shit out of somebody else’s stuff.

Bradley: Structured data spam.

Marco: Structured data spam.

Bradley: Yeah.

Marco: Absolutely. It’s a great way to get yourself in trouble if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Can You Have Multiple Verified Websites For Cards And End Screens?

What Is The Difference Between Verified Associated Site And Linking To Sites In The Description?

What Are Your 3 Favorite Video Rank Trackers And Why?

Hernan: Sounds good.

Adam: Bye.

Marco: Bye, everyone.

Weekly Digital Marketing Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 127 posted first on http://ift.tt/2lnZU8p

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