From A Jane Austen Devotional

“Make the test of your heart-decisions be whether God approves, regardless of what others might say.”

Galatians 1:10 NIV

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

From Henry Blackaby’s Experiencing God

“God is not our servant to make adjustments to our plans. We are His servants, and we adjust our lives to what He is about to do. If we will not submit, God will let us follow our own devices. In following them, however, we will never experience what God is waiting and wanting to do on our behalf or through us for others.”

From Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence

“Do not wear yourself out with analyzing and planning. Instead, let thankfulness and trust be your guides through this day; they will keep you close to Me.”

“You can have as much of Me and My Peace as you want, through thousands of correct choices every day. The most persistent choice you face is whether to trust Me or to worry. You will never run out of things to worry about, but you can choose to trust Me no matter what.”

Numbers 6:24-26

“The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”

I have no idea what’s going on.
Nor do I care.

I only care is that Sasuke is back in the story. Not because I like him, but because the author left off this bunch hinting that something very important was going to happen and then just letting them disappear off the radar for many chapters.

We also don’t have any information about the Kages. That probably pisses me off more than Sasuke’s part in this story.

But here, I would like to talk about this scene:

Looks like the author was trying to pull an allusion from when Naruto returns to the village for the first time in 2.5 years and looks over everything.

Same stump, same view.
Different person, opposite angle, opposite time of day, opposite phrase used.

The author is trying to show how opposite these characters are. From the beginning he’s been doing this, making one red and one blue, the colors of rivals in Japan. One takes the path of evil path, good path. Who will take the the middle path? Buddha taught us to take the middle path of least extremity! We need a character who is like that. Sorry I went on a littl tangent. Naruto has a lot of references to Japanese Shinto Buddhism and I try to make connections. I’ll probably go more into this another time.

Kishimoto doesn’t always make extremely meaningful and rememberable scenes, but this one hits home. Or does he… I don’t know. I guess the fact that I’ve been on this series for 9 years now and I can’t remember shit.

Another thing to look into. Sasuke’s gang retrieves a mask from an Uzumaki Clans shrine. Ooh, another symbol. The “man who knows everything” can be summoned with the unity of the Uzumaki and Uchiha clan? More evidence that Naruto and Sasuke’s encounter was destiny?

There’s also the irony that the clan that had conflicts with the Leaf Village, Uchiha, had a shrine inside the village while the clan that had deep ties with the Village, Uzumaki, had a shrine far away from the village.

Okay. Last thing. Orochimaru was able to Edo Tensei all 4 Hokages even when Kabuto failed to do so. Trying to get my head around this when Kabuto said he was the one to surpass Orochimaru when Orochimaru was the one who always surpassed Kabuto.

If after every conversation you had, you call your friends to carefully analyze every word that was said…

You: So then he said his mother makes a terrific tiramisu… I’m so confused! Should I make tiramisu?

Friend: hold on. How exactly did he say it?

You: like I should learn how to cook.

Friend: Hmmm…I think you may have it wrong. Say the exact same words he used.

You: “my mother makes a terrific tiramisu…”

Friend: huh. With that intonation?

You: Yes… he may have emphasized on ‘my’ a little more…

Friend: Hold on… Is he an only child?

You: He has a sister.

Friend: Yeah, no. He clearly has issues.

You: Oh my God… you think?

Friend: remember Psycho?

You: euh… But Norman didn’t have any siblings…

Friend: EXACTLY!

You: So… I don’t have to make Tiramisu?

Friend: You need to get the fuck out of that shit right now, girlfriend, because I don’t feel good about this. At all.

You: God I hate this. Is it too much to ask to just be fucking straight forward? Men are so hard to read!!

Friend: ugh. Tell me about it.

… you need to just let go. For all you know his mom just makes terrific tiramisu. And you can’t even BEGIN to try to compete with that, really.

Men – as life – can seriously not be thàt complicated.

(hopefully)

PS: oh yeah… a word of advice… in order NOT to complicate (or endanger… that might be an appropriate word as well) your life:  do NOT get in the car with a stranger, ever. Even though it’s freezing and there’re no cabs , and you are with a friend and you both think it’s hilarious and also freakin’ easy because you’re unable to walk to the nearest subway station: crawl if you must. It’ll save you from conversations like this:

Olga: just text him back short one word messages. I’m not comfortable with this dude having a gun… you probably shouldn’t piss him off…

Me: I got a call tonight from a blocked number… I answered the call and nobody said anything… might have been him.

Olga: Please be careful.

Me: I will. Luckily he doesn’t know exactly where I live…

Olga: yeah… I suppose that is the good news.

Yeah. No. Bad idea.

This time, I’m talking about Beauty and the Beast. You know the one. Disney, featuring bookworm Belle and the rather temperamental Beast. (Beast doesn’t have another name, by the way. Heaven knows what Belle calls him after the movie ends.)

Watching Disney movies years after you last watched them is educational. You learn things. You learn that Beast the beast is only about eleven years old when he’s cursed. You learn that an easy way to tell whether Beast is in “beast” mode or “lover” mode is how much time he spends on his hind legs. You learn that Gaston apparently can’t tell whether or not a book has pictures.*

Gaston, demonstrating his literacy skills.

And you also learn that Gaston is totally Lady Macbeth.Really.

The first real sign of this comes when Belle uses the magic mirror to prove the Beast’s existence and Gaston convinces the villagers to kill the Beast. In typical Disney fashion, he breaks out in song to make his point, singing, “Screw your courage to the sticking place!”

Wait. Why does that seem familiar? Oh, right.

“We fail? But screw your courage to the sticking place and we’ll not fail!”

Lady Macbeth said it when she was trying to convince her husband to kill the king. Now here’s where you can start to trace the similarities.

Lady Macbeth is ambitious. If there’s a chance her husband can become king, she’ll take it, regardless of the costs! Convincing her husband to kill the king and usurp his rule is her way of climbing the societal ladder. For Gaston, it’s not immediately clear about the ambition/usurping. But no authority figure appears in the town for the whole movie, with the possible exception of Gaston. Gaston is adored – everybody loves him. He’s as much a town leader as a town citizen. The only remaining step up before the very top is to marry Belle.  He is set on it. But Belle does not return his feelings: from the moment she mentions the Beast it’s clear that she cares for him. The Beast has taken on the role Gaston desires: the role of Belle’s lover. Immediately, Gaston decides to kill the Beast – with, perhaps, the idea of usurping the Beast’s role as Belle’s lover.

He leads them to the castle, in spite of Belle’s protests. The household objects put up a valiant fight against the intruding villagers, but eventually it comes to the Beast and Gaston in a climactic rooftop battle. When Gaston seems to be defeated, the Beast reaches up to Belle – only to become the victim of a last-minute attack by the villainous Gaston. However, Gaston falls to his death. (Another thing you learn watching Disney movies years after you last watched them: it’s not that the characters don’t die horrible deaths, it’s that the camera pans away at the last second.)

How does this relate to Lady Macbeth? Lady Macbeth is driven insane with guilt and eventually kills herself. It’s never explicitly stated how she kills herself, but a reasonable guess would be that she jumped from one of the higher parts of the castle. Is it possible that Gaston did the same?* Sure, a sudden surge of overwhelming guilt seems a bit out of character, but it did for Lady Macbeth as well. Both of them committed the initial atrocities without blinking an eye, but eventually succumbed to a sudden, violent attack of conscience.

Abandoning the chronological approach for a moment, they both firmly believe in the value of a promise, no matter how insane. When Belle refuses Gaston, he broods, saying that he promised himself he would have her. When it looks like her husband will back out of killing Duncan, Lady Macbeth says that he said he would and that she would have ripped her baby from her breast and dashed its brains out if she’d promised to. Which to be honest, doesn’t seem like the most convincing of arguments. “Oh, you would do something depraved and murderous if it came up in conversation, too? Well, that’s all right, then.  If it’s what the cool kids are doing…” Regardless, they both put a lot of weight on someone’s word.

Yep. Gaston is definitely Lady Macbeth.

*When Belle’s showing her book to the sheep, the camera zooms in on a picture on one of the pages. Later, when Gaston’s looking at the same book, he asks her how she can read it if it doesn’t have pictures.

**Answer: probably not, but I’m having fun extrapolating.

“Tests like this, the couple asserts, do students “a double disservice: first, by inflicting on them such mediocre literature, and second, by training them to read not for pleasure but to discover a predetermined answer to a (let’s not mince words) stupid question.””

I have been asking myself this question for years. Why must books have a lesson? Why can’t kids, and even students our age, just be allowed to enjoy the books in whatever way we choose? Not everything needs a complicated moral. Making students pick apart stories is, in my opinion, an act of vandalism. Tearing a book apart just to extract some barely plausible hidden message is ridiculous. I think I can safely say most authors write stories to be enjoyed, not analyzed. John Lennon is said to have commented to a friend on his song “I am the Walrus”, when he learned the Beatles’ songs were being analyzed in schools, saying “let the ******* figure this one out.” While a small jump from two different literary fields, I think the point stands. Authors don’t want their books dissected. We’re supposed to take it in as a whole, enjoying the journey and simply reading it as a book, not a giant metaphor.

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a novel which can be analyzed through numerous symbolic perspectives. It is a novel which is not only about a man who turns into a giant vermin, but it also tends to greatly emphasize almost every emotion in human knowledge. Being so, it is a piece of work which many may claim to be illogical.However, the essence of the book is to showcase many different signs and symbols, which essentially can be viewed through a literary lens. The most significant literary theory used in the novel is the archetypal theory of criticism. This lens explores in depth the different symbols, themes and imagery used in the novel. In The Metamorphosis, the gradual formation of the main character’s personal identity, as it is affected by the lack of freedom, economic surroundings, and the relationships and role within his family, is one of the main themes of the novel. The lack of freedom which Gregor experiences at the beginning as well as at the end of the novel only draws to a more vivid understanding of the fact that Gregor’s self identity is altered. Throughout Gregor’s entire life, his main goal is to provide his family with goods and pay off their debts. Gregor is trapped in his very own job, which he is also completely alienated from. This position does not bring Gregor true pleasure or self awareness. In fact, Gregor’s transformation can be seen as a symbolic outlook: when Gregor transformed into this repulsive insect, it could be seen as a metaphor for Gregor simply taking a look past his shell and his mechanical way of living which in essence, gave him freedom. The Metamorphosis is a representation of Gregor’s escape from his work and duties, where his very own struggle to satisfy his family was his primary precedent: “[H]e felt very proud that he had been able to provide such a life in so nice an apartment for his parents and his sister. But what now if all the peace, the comfort, the contentment were to come to a horrible end?” (2.3). As Gregor contemplates this issue, the quote is an indicator that even after Gregor’s metamorphosis,he has not changed his concerns towards his family. That leads to the failure of the metamorphosis bringing him freedom of his own mind. The unfortunate role of Gregor’s lack of liberty is his loss of his understanding of himself and therefore his identity. Gregor is trapped in his job by his duty to his family, but he dreams of the day when he can finally pay off their debts and quit his job. His need for freedom from the restrictive demands of work is expressed in his metamorphosis, by means of which he escapes. This escape, however, fails to bring Gregor freedom, for he is now imprisoned by his family in his room. “You, Gregor!” cried his sister with raised fist and piercing eyes. There were the first words she had addressed directly to him since his metamorphosis.” (2.26) Grete, Gregor’s sister throws his name at him as if it were an insult instead of a mark of his identity as her brother. Thus, when Gregor works, he is enslaved by his job, and when he doesn’t work, he is enslaved by his family. There is no way of balancing out freedom and duty, and in the end one is always a slave. This is what Gregor comes to realize by the end of the novel where the only means of escape turns out to be death, while realizing that he has absolutely no identity.Society and its standards are extremely hard to disregard, and yet another issue which generated the identity crisis of Gregor. Being constantly preoccupied by materialistic values and the idea of providing for his family in order to better their lives resulted in Gregor not setting goals for himself and disregarding entirely his own desires. Rather, his only thoughts were his job, which he did not enjoy much. The idea of an individual being useful only as long as they are working and providing for the family and otherwise leading to emotional isolation and alienation from them can be reflected onto any family in our society today. There are countless amounts of people who are absorbed in their jobs so that they do not have time for their family nor see anything around them, other then their job and the idea of bringing income into their home. This factor does not bring people true happiness nor does it reveal the true identity, which is exactly Gregor’s dilemma. Economic surroundings are a huge trigger to the loss of the identity of any living human in our capitalist, material-oriented world today. In this case, Gregor falls into this category of people that are absorbed in occupation in order to achieve society’s standards where a certain role which is inhibited upon them, causing Gregor to not be self aware: “Oh God” he thought, “what a grueling job I’ve picked! I’ve got the torture of traveling, worrying about changing trains, eating miserable food at all hours, constantly seeing new faces, no relationships that last or get more intimate’” (1.4) Fortunately, Gregor does come to the realization of the fact that the life he has lived was nothing but a programmed robotic way to be in existence. To live does not mean that one is alive, since life should bring contentment and absolute awareness to the being. Ultimately, Gregor’s relationship with his family further propels him towards his identity crisis. –The man was enslaved by his own family and labeled as the “money donor” as opposed to a part of the family. It is tough to call his relationship with his family a genuine or unconditional bond: “[H]e would have to lie low and, by being patient and showing his family every possible consideration, help them bear the inconvenience which he simply had to cause them in his present condition.” (2.6) This is a significant indication of how Gregor’s existence is not valued in any way, especiall not unconditionally. Psychologically speaking, without the unconditional love of family one cannot possibly develop their own self-worth simply as a human being, regardless of their worth – being of intrinsic value. In retrospect, Gregor’s bond with his family was created based on material values and the worth he brought to the family in the form of income, rather than emotional ties and unconditional love. Alone in his room, Gregor tries to rebuild the self-identity that he had lost by living entirely for others and ignoring his own needs. He cannot, however, escape from what he sees as his family duty, and continues to act only to serve his family by doing his best not to inconvenience them. Gregor’s comments about his family’s behavior are often tainted with resentment at the way they treat him, but he will not allow himself to recognize his bitterness because of the great amount of love he feels for his family despite their neglect toward him. As a result, Gregor dies feeling unwanted, neglected and alone:“He remained in this state of empty and peaceful reflection until the tower clock struck three in the morning. He still saw that outside the window everything was beginning to grow light. Then, without his consent, his head sank down to the floor, and from his nostrils streamed his last weak breath.” (3.29)Looking through an archetypal lens, The Metamorphosis is a novel which indeed,holds multiple symbolisms. Gregor was lost within himself and tried to find his own identity even while he was a giant vermin. Gregor’s search for his identity seems hopeless, however, because he never had an identity to start with he finds his humanity only at the end, when his sister’s playing reminds him of his love for his family. This love, united with his freedom, is the final ingredient he needs to establish his identity. He failed to realize that he never had an identity besides the worth he held for his family as a breadwinner. Gregor’s unhappiness and priority of constantly trying to provide for his family lead him to the temptation and desire to escape to freedom. This was granted to him by a very primitive occurrence: the metamorphosis. This novel is about Gregor’s final realization the fact that he has no particular identity but being a nasty, primitive bug, and so dies facing the reality in which he lives in due to factors such as the lack of freedom, economic surroundings, and the relationship and role within his family.

(edited to remove massive spoilers from title and opening lines…something I should have known to do in the first place.)

As I wait patiently for the final episodes of I Miss You to arrive (thank you k-dramas for building my character!) I’ve been thinking about Detective Kim…

[Major, major spoilers up through episode five below cut]

…and his death and why the story needed it to happen. I’ve run across the position that his death was merely a cheap trick to toy with viewers’ emotions. That it not only made no narrative sense, it hurt the story. I think that view misunderstands the overall narrative of I Miss You and also whose story is being told.

I’ve written about how the rape at the beginning of the drama has been developed into an important underlying theme. Attached, very firmly, to that theme is the question: what is a “good man.” The character that introduces that question is Detective Kim.  When he first meets Han Jung-woo (a character desperately searching for a father-figure) he compliments him for being a good man (because Jung-woo actively stood by Soo-yeon despite her low “daughter of a murderer” status) and then adds that being a good man is his life-goal.

As Detective Kim becomes more and more of a father-figure to Jung-woo, his words of advice are peppered with, “A good man is…” or “A good man does…” And we watch as Detective Kim struggles to live what he teaches.  To take action when everyone around him pressures him to let it go, look away. To take the path of least resistance and do nothing when bad things occur. (Interestingly, it’s his pushing back that brings Soo-yeon and her mother and Jung-woo firmly into his circle.)

And then the kidnapping and rape happens.

Everything that occurs afterwards is in reaction to that crisis. And, of course, Detective Kim becomes the Good Man. With everyone else acting badly, the story needs a shining light of good. So Detective Kim acts. Blowing past all the threats and bluster of those trying to convince him to look away, to do nothing, he hunts down the rapist and actually finds the missing Soo-yeon.

But most importantly, he rescues Jung-woo. Getting Jung-woo out of his father’s house (the man behind all the threats and bluster), out of the place where Jung-woo is being told to forget, to let go, to do nothing, Detective Kim encourages Jung-woo to act with him. And the effect he has on Jung-woo is massive. Letting go of his crippling guilt Jung-woo comes back to life. He begins to think and reason and hope. And he too, decides to push back against his father and be a good man.

But I think this is exactly why Detective Kim had to die. He became the good man he set out to be. And he showed us the incredible power a good man has when he acts (he does find Soo-yeon). But this was never Detective Kim’s story. It’s Jung-woo’s.  And Detective Kim cannot live Jung-woo’s story for him. The recovery and healing of Soo-yeon is Jung-woo’s story.  The rejection of his father’s way of doing things, the struggle to become a good man, is Jung-woo’s story.

Detective Kim serves as Jung-woo’s ideal, his goal.  Which allowed Detective Kim to be as awesome as he was. But it also made it a narrative necessity that he die. Because only death would stop a good man from finding Soo-yeon. And Detective Kim is the ultimate good man.

This truly is one of the main mistakes we do go through A LOT and we barely do know how much it can strike back at us without even thinking it’s that repelling and problematic.

“Why compare yourself with others? No one in the entire world can do a better job of being you than you.” 

We all do it or have done it at some point in our lives: we compare ourselves to others and gauge where we are based on what we observe them to be doing.

If this was simply an observation, that would be one thing, but in comparing ourselves to others, we often end up judging ourselves.  There’s no one worse to judge!

If you have ever noticed, it doesn’t matter how many people are on your side, cheering you on. If you can’t get on your own side, you never get past “go”.

The thing about comparison is that there is never a win. How often do we compare ourselves with someone less fortunate than us and consider ourselves blessed? More often, we compare ourselves with someone who we perceive as being, having or doing more.

And this just leaves us coming up short.

But our minds do want to quantify. Our minds want to rank and file and organize information. Our mind wants to know where we fit into the scheme of things. So we need to give it something to do.

So, instead of training it to stop comparing altogether, why not simply redirect the comparison to a past and a present self—and keep the comparison within?

We are always becoming more. Who you are today is a result of the decisions you made yesterday. We are always in a state of creation. We decide and then we decide again, and the direction is always toward expansion. It is our human nature to expand.

So, when you catch yourself comparing yourself to another, stop for a moment and re-direct the thought. Instead of submitting to the temptation to compare yourself to someone else, ask yourself a few questions, instead.

What are you doing today that you couldn’t have done 5, 3 or even 1 year ago? How have you stepped out in the last year that you might have found inconceivable before?

What new decisions have you made or what new actions have you taken that have resulted in you moving in a new direction in your life?

What are your wins this year, compared to last year at this time? How has your life improved? How have you improved? What have you done recently that you never thought you could do?

What negative behavior have you stopped engaging in, that you never thought you could quit? What positive behavior have you been engaging in that up until now, you have resisted?

How are you doing more of what you said you were going to do and shown up more consistently for your own success?

In other words, how have you continued to become a new and improved version of yourself?

That’s the stuff that counts. Comparing ourselves with someone else is an inaccurate and irrelevant measuring stick.

Think about the faulty logic. Take, for example, an introvert (keeps emotion inside) who feels energized after periods of solitude. What does she get by comparing herself to an outspoken, outgoing personality who gets bored by an hour alone with herself?

What kind of illogical conclusions can she come to by this comparison?

Take any one of our continuous comparisons and question the logic. Most are completely irrational in their reasoning.

We all came in different. We all came in with certain intentions that through life experience, we have continued to hone. In fact, the only masterful creation we have to work with is ourselves.

So, why defame it?

Michelangelo said “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”

How well we do this is our measurement.

It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing with their block of stone. The statue that they are liberating is one of their own intentions.  But how well we are doing with our own block of stone is our business.

And we must tend to it with honor, care, compassion, and praise.

Because when we have allowed for more expression this year than we have in the last, and more importantly we recognize it, than we can stand taller as a result of the comparison, instead of diminished by it.

That makes more sense. Doesn’t it?

And if it doesn’t then do take a look at this,

If you stop comparing yourself to others you’ll:

1. Begin to discover what’s truly important to you.
2. Have more time and energy to devote to your own creative journey.
3. Feel FAR better about yourself.
4. Suffer far less from those energy draining feelings of jealousy and inadequacy
5. Be able to be inspired by others’ work rather than dragged down by it.

Try it!! It worked for me and Definitely can work as well for you

~A spoken word is a moment. A written word is eternal~

Moe Ash

Word Count:
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Summary:
Here are a few little hints that might let you know, in advance, that the “special report” or “secret information” you are being offered to “build” your website and “flood it with traffic” might not be so special or secret after all…

Keywords:
website traffic, scams, traffic-building, newbies, hits

Article Body:
Just to recap – Part 1 of this article outlined some of the so-called “secrets” of website traffic being offered on-line and what you might expect for your money. If you missed Part 1 you will still be able to view it by clicking on the links appearing in the resource box at the end of this, Part 2.

Here are a few little hints that might let you know, in advance, that the “special report” or “secret information” you are being offered to “build” your website and “flood it with traffic” might not be so special or secret after all:

1. - Ask yourself this: If the information is so special or secret why is it being sold to anyone and everyone who has $19.95 or $29.95 or $39.95 or whatever price is being asked? With the speed that information moves on the www, pretty soon it will be no secret at all – even if it truly was in the first place!

2. - A fancy name: The fancier the name the greater the probability that what you are being offered is just a cobbling together of widely known, FREE or old information. The thing to watch out for is the tying together of a well-known name or technique with an obscure one. (I could name examples, but that would really make certain people most unhappy.)
3. - Repetition of negative terms such as “no BS”: I assume everybody understands what “BS” is. If, in fact, it were not BS, why would anybody go to such great lengths to say it is not? My advice is to stay away from anything using this type of description. If it walks like a duck and it looks like a duck and it quacks, well… chances are it really is a duck! Trust your instinct. Other things to be wary of are poor spelling and grammar. That should basically suggest to you that the quality of information will be just as poor.
4. - Have a time limit attached: Usually the time limit is, wait for it… midnight on exactly the same day that you are viewing the information. Funny that! Now why do you think that might be? You guessed it – to push you into purchasing now rather than later. This is impulse buying. Strike while the iron is hot (note: in this case, you are the iron!). Try this: If you are so impressed by the offer come back the next day and see if the offer is exactly the same. Midnight again, huh? Hmm…
5. - Have a bevy of “bonus” incentives attached: Now why would this be? It’s to make the offer look BIGGER than it really is. Often the bonuses are nothing more than flimsy bits of information. Sometimes they are just sales pitches from other marketers. If the offer you are looking at does not stand by itself without bonus number one through to five, six or seven (I have seen up to 12), why purchase it? This is almost an admission by the copyright owner (or the cobble-together owner) that their product cannot stand alone for the price that they are asking.
   It’s a trick!

6. - Any outrageous claims: These are designed to appeal to basic human greed. Greed can often blind you from reality. Anything that makes promises like “guaranteed to make you $10,000 in the first three months!” or “your hit counter will almost explode with the extra traffic!” are appealing to your greed and not your common-sense.

In reality there is no magic formula to building a website and directing traffic through it. Like any business venture it takes time and effort. After you have expended that time and effort then yes, the time you spent and the effort you put in may well decrease or even become exponential. But don’t hold your breath in the meantime.

Even testimonials and recommendations from other “independent” people and internet marketers should be viewed with a certain amount of caution. Many testimony and recommendation givers are “affiliates” (remember the “friend” from Part 1?) which means they earn commissions from the sale of the product. Why wouldn’t they endorse something they stood to make money from?

The best testimonial or recommendation check you can do is to seek out the person giving it and ask them if they have any association with the person who is using the testimony or recommendation. Ask if they are an affiliate or if they have a vested interest in the product. You can do this quite innocently and nicely. If they are genuinely impressed by the product and what it did for them, they will probably be pleased to answer your enquiry.

Just a little word of caution here – if you are asking somebody for help don’t put them through a trial. A simple email will suffice. Keep it short and to the point. Don’t be too concerned if there is no reply. People get dozens, even hundreds of emails every day now. I know I do.

It would seem that there are just as many self proclaimed “experts” out there on the internet telling others “how to do it” as there are those actually “trying to do it.” Sure, there are some credible people offering good advice (most often at quite a price too) but there are so many others offering absolute rubbish. How can you differentiate? The simple answer is that often you can’t – until you actually get what is being offered. Then you realize. Oh-oh! Too late! It’s junk!

If you don’t get what you believed you were paying for you have every right to ask for a refund. However, this is not a method of receiving good information for FREE. Falsely asking for a refund on something that really did help you will bring your own integrity into question. Being fair is what it is all about – fair information for a fair price – an even two way exchange.

In summing up, website “newbies” are soft targets for the latest brand of snake-oil cyber salespeople. They are certainly out there. Think of it this way: you are searching for the Kings and Queens and Aces in the deck. Along the way you will find fives and threes and twos and sevens. You will even come across the Jokers. It’s up to you to try and sort them out.

My advice is this: examine the information being offered then wait a day or two and come back to it. If it still looks as good to you the second time round and doesn’t reek of some of the descriptions above, consider buying it. (I would even give the same advice for people visiting my own site.) Like me, you will soon “wise up.” Along the way you will probably have to give your credit card a nice little “top up” to pay for your mistakes.

Purchasing e-books, special reports, secret documents and the like to learn how to increase traffic to your website is very subjective. The only way to measure the value of what you receive is to assess it against the “blurb” (see Part 1 ) used to promote it and the price you paid for it. As I mentioned above, both parties must be fair.

Just be wary.

If you know a website owner struggling to develop their site, this information could help them save a lot of money, not to mention that awful, sinking feeling that you have been duped. The money saved can then go towards some positive steps to develop their site. Heaven knows there is enough junk out there that will do the reverse. Some of it is sitting in my in-tray.

Part 1 and Part 2 of this article are covered by copyright. However, both parts may be freely used providing there are no changes whatsoever to the content and the following resource box remains intact.

PS: If you think this information might help a friend from falling prey to these dubious practices you can send them a copy of this article (or any related parts) or direct them to the website URL given. Let’s get the word out and put a stop to this.

Word Count:
1329

Summary:
There will be a lot of people unhappy about what I am going to reveal in this article. However, I think it is time somebody spoke out about what is happening on this wonderful medium we have come to know as the internet. What I am talking about are the “sharp” practices engaged in by people offering all sorts of dubious marketing plans.

Keywords:
web traffic, scams, website, internet,, marketing plans, traffic building

Article Body:
There will be a lot of people unhappy about what I am going to reveal in this article. However, I think it is time somebody spoke out about what is happening on this wonderful medium we have come to know as the internet. What I am talking about are the “sharp” practices engaged in by people offering all sorts of dubious marketing plans.

Confusion, deception, hype and downright dishonesty abound on the world wide web (www). I should know. Like tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of people before me – I’ve been caught. And it is highly probable that so many more will continue to be caught in the future unless something is done to stop it.

The www is the new frontier for those who seek to make money from inexperienced people. It’s quick, it’s easy and it is so impersonal. Specifically, I am talking about the selling of high priced junk information (often referred to as “reports”) to unsuspecting customers.

It’s almost the perfect robbery.

Newbie website owners beware! There are hundreds of con-artists and specious operators lurking out there in cyber space. They are just waiting to pull you into their clutches.

How do they do it?

OK. What is the one thing that every new website owner has to have? Answer – traffic. Pure and simple. If you don’t have traffic, you might as well not even have a website – unless, of course, you just enjoy looking at it yourself.

Your quest for traffic demands that you seek knowledge from those who profess to have it. And that is the root of the problem. It seems that every second website seems to be selling information on how to improve your website. With so many experts, who do you trust?

Oh you can read the sales “blurb” (yeah, I know, my site has “blurb” too. All websites use it) and be wooed by all the so-called “facts” but who is offering the information and does it really work? How do you separate credible information from useless junk? There certainly is plenty of junk out there.

There appears to be an increasing number of self-styled gurus professing to know exactly how to drive that precious traffic right through your site. In fact, if you believe everything they promise, you will need to install a set of traffic lights on your site just to control the massive flow. (Or so they would have you believe!)

Your quest for knowledge can very quickly send your credit card into debt hyper-drive, or, I should say, hyper-dive! Just enter your details and zap – here it comes. It’s the answer to all your www dreams. (You wish!)

Let’s examine some of the things you need to be vigilant about:

The information you pay for might be:

1. - widely known among experienced net users – but not by you. If you want to pay for this information it might just be worth it to “fast-track” your education. In other words, you will be paying for fairly basic information but you will learn something from it. In that respect, the information can be good because you can learn from the experience of others. Many “special reports” and “secrets revealed” fall into this category. However, some clearly do not. (PS: What type of credit card do you have?)

2. - available FREE all over the www. All you have to do is look. “Seek and ye shall find”. If you are lazy and you need to be spoon fed then there are any number of hunters out there who will line you up in their sights. The information is probably current and will work but why pay for it when it is so abundantly available at zero cost? (PS: What is your credit card number?)
3. - “old hat” information. The internet moves at such speed that what worked several years ago or even several months ago now doesn’t work at all. This type of information is totally useless and should be avoided. Often this ancient information will even contain broken hyperlinks. Now that’s a real turn off. It says so much about the quality of the information being provided. In reality, this type of information is just a collection of worthless old junk, like a shoe with a hole in its sole. (PS: When does your credit card expire?)
4. - a precursor to spending even more money. This little technique will whet your appetite just enough to entice you to spend lots more money. Some “wealth creation” seminar presenters use this technique. It’s just bait for the “real” information which, of course, is far more expensive. “Caveat emptor” – let the buyer beware! (PS: What are the three ID numbers on the back of that credit card of yours?)
5. - Steering you to other sites offering “fixits.” This is something like point 4 above, except the information provider suggests you go to a third party (a “friend” – more on this in Part 2) to purchase more programs or more specific information. Often these recommended sites can offer expensive or time consuming programs. (PS: Now, just press submit.)
6. - credible and/or valuable. This is information of the best kind. Usually it will contain “cutting edge” ideas that are currently working on the www. However, your ability to source this information from the many traps above will range from difficult to almost impossible.

The biggest trick used by con-artist “gurus” is their ability to “dress up” the information they are offering to make it look like something new or different. It’s a bit like the old pyramid selling schemes that do the rounds with monotonous regularity (or the letter offering you millions of dollars from Nigeria just for giving them your bank details! Can you imagine anybody doing that? Well, plenty do!) Plenty buy the “dress-ups” too. Same old information, different name.

Another thing you need to be aware of is the amount of “fluff” or packing that surrounds the real subject matter. Often there can be several pages on the main idea and several dozen pages of near useless information to make it appear bigger.

I recently purchased a report of just 19 pages. It contained just one dubious idea that could have been presented adequately on about half an A4 sized page. The rest of it was pure packing and completely useless twaddle. The cost? I hate to admit it – $39.95 US. Ouch!

I have even heard of some training manuals on offer claiming that they contain five hundred pages (plus) of “cutting edge” information. You would think that represents a lot of information. It was certainly advertised as a “definitive” web-building and traffic steering “master” tutorial. I later learned (from another source) that the pages are only printed on about one-third of the available space and that the font size would be very beneficial for extremely sight impaired readers. That makes it a very expensive tutorial. I’m pleased to say that I didn’t buy that one.

You need to be wary of these things.

Part 2 of this article contains further hints which will enable you to detect whether an offer of increased website traffic will be worthy of purchase or not.

If you enjoyed Part 1, don’t miss Part 2.

Part 1 and Part 2 of this article are covered by copyright. However, both parts may be freely used providing there are no changes whatsoever to the content and the following resource box remains intact.

PS: If you think this information might help a friend from falling prey to these dubious practices you can send them a copy of this article (or any related parts) or direct them to the website URL above. Let’s get the word out and put a stop to this.

I have never been called a skeptic by anyone. In my life. Ever. (Well, I guess until recently.)

That has never been me. I’m Miss Optimistic. The sunny side of life. Even if it ain’t sunny, hey, I ain’t complainin’. I’m in the rain doing a buck-forty, hydroplanin’. (If you get that…I love you. +10)

You catch my drift though.

I’ve always had the type of mindset that thought the best of anyone I met, because I figured there was no way they could get to know me and intend to do me harm…right? The more I thought about it, the more I realized … He’s right. I am. A skeptic. At least I am now. I can add it to the list of Learned Behaviors (along with something else I won’t mention here).

I’ve found that the closer someone gets to me, the more my expectations lower. I brace. Wait for the blow. The other shoe will fall any minute now. It reminds me of Miranda when she first met Steve (Season 2, “The Man, The Myth, the Viagra). He wanted to stay around. She pushed him away. He worked harder to be in her life, and each time she fought harder to maintain distance. When he asked why, what was her response? “I guess I’ve just kissed too many bartenders.”

Miranda never considered he could be different. At least not for real. She knew he was saying something that someone “different” might say. Maybe even doing something that someone “different” might do. But to her, he looked the same. The same as every other one who had let her down. Who had said something different before. Who had done something different before. Eventually…it worked out for her. This moment started it…remember?

“…maybe I can believe it…”

I don’t like it. I’m not okay with being afraid of the next hurt, but I’m also not okay with being so trusting that I become the fool each time. So what’s the middle ground? Skeptical Optimist? Optimistic Skeptic? I remember when Charlotte had that feeling after she and Trey divorced. I understood that place of feeling lost. More than I want to share.

What about you? Have you been in that place? Did you pull yourself out? Did you go for broke and trust? Are you there and okay with it? Let me know, but not right now…because Scandal is about to start. …like, right now.

Love,

–V

There’s a controversial drama out there in k-drama land. So of course I have thoughts. These are them.

I started watching I Miss You for intellectual reasons. The melodrama, Nice Guy, ended with an unfortunate whimper, passing on what I thought had been an interesting plot-line. So I was in no mood for another heavy melo. And everything I’d heard marked I Miss You as a very heavy melo. But then it got controversial and that got me curious (a deadly combination that’s gotten me into so many things).

The controversy basically boiled down to too many bad things happening to the two protagonists, up to and including rape, just for the sensationalism of it. My sense was it was the rape specifically that created the bridge too far. (That it was sprung on viewers probably didn’t help — advanced warning would have been a good idea, in my opinion.) And that’s what got me curious. I’d seen k-dramas handle rape before but in those dramas the rape story-lines were side plots, dealt with in a few episodes at most. It looked like I Miss You was putting it front and center. I wanted to see how they handled it.

First, I’ve been impressed with what it hasn’t been. It hasn’t been used as either a plot-crutch, an easy emotional tug, or a titillating breaking of social mores. Not mere sensationalism, in other words. The attack itself was brutal and horrifying without any hint of eroticism. Both Soo-yeon and Jung-woo are shattered by it and it shapes who they become and therefore, since they’re the lead characters, where the story goes. In fact, it’s the aftermath that the story-tellers seem most interested in. Which leads me to my second reaction…

I’ve been really, really impressed with what it has been. So far an important underlying thrust of the drama has been about dealing with the aftermath of rape. Showing that there is an aftermath — a person’s life doesn’t end after an attack, but you also can’t just brush it aside and pretend it didn’t happen. And you certainly can’t ignore it as a society, letting rapists off with a hand-slap and ignoring the victims.

The first mystery — who killed the rapist — is all about the failure of the criminal justice system. That it was a vigilante-mother killing released rapists to avenge her daughter’s death, that the daughter’s suicide note talks about her rapist getting only five years jail-time and people getting tired of asking if she’s okay, that it’s the two mothers — the killer and Soo-yeon’s mom — who have the meatiest scene together talking about law and vengeance and their love for their daughters. Those points all combined to give me the impression that this type of violence, which so often singles out women and girls, is being overlooked by society at large. And that it’s a problem the story-tellers feel should be addressed.

And then there’s Soo-yeon’s story. I’ve been pleased with how strong Soo-yeon has been from the start. But I’m especially pleased that her strength grows when she confronts her past. It’s not an easy journey for her, but in leaving her Zoey-persona behind (a persona that erases her rape, but also erases her family and I’d say even her culture) she becomes more sure of herself. And each step has been made at her choice. She chose to come to Korea, to come to Seoul, to seek out her mother, to engage (at first with hostility, but still, engaging is engaging) with Jung-woo. And because each choice, each step, has caused Soo-yeon to become stronger I think the story-tellers are trying to show that life continues past an attack.

Those are two huge ideas to take on: how a society deals with the crime of rape, and how a victim heals after being raped. My impression, thus far, is that the I Miss You story-tellers are aware of both the weight of what they’re saying and what they want to say about it. This can all be changed by the ending of course (if Soo-yeon dies, for example, that would kill the show for me) and there’s enough episodes left for the writers to hang themselves, but as of right now I’m impressed.

[I found this article: MBC Drama Attempts to Redefine Rape in South Korea after I wrote the above post. And as it tends to agree with me, I found it cool.]

What happens to a dream deferred?
It dry up
Like a raisin in the sun
and becoming grape is no longer an option.
It fester like a sore
and then run,
as walking hurts more.
It stink like rotten meat
Or crust and sugar over-
Like a syrupy sweet,
and when you think it can’t get worse.

It just sags
like a heavy load,
through out your pitiful life.
Making you to wish it would explode.

Analyzes:
As you noticed my version is no longer questions. As original sound like author is giving you options, indeed he is being polite. It is the same as if some one asked you, “can you please take out the garbage?” technically it is a question, but in a reality it is the same as saying “take out the garbage.”

The poem is negative, but it can be interpreted as positive if you will try hard. For example: maybe author is realizing what happen to his dreams, and “explosion” is a wake up call for him.

The gap between line 8 and 9 from original poem could mean: author letting you to make your own example of “deferred dream”. It could be the moment the author stopped before he wants to give you different idea, like different paragraph which stated unique statement. Also it could be one of those pause, man kind makes before he or she makes the final statement.

I want your attention on line 9 and 10 as in original poem it is no longer in form of question.

Note: Everything, the length of the line, the sound of the words, structure of the poem, and vocabulary are very important in this poem. As we can’t read the mind of the author, we can have millions of ideas what he means. Don’t forget, there is no right or wrong idea, as long as you have valid evidence within the poem to justify your idea.

The Original Poem

Hughes, Langston (1902-1967)
Harlem (A Dream Deferred)

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raising in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meal?
Or crust and sugar over-
Like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
Like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

 “Reading is like food to a writer; without it, the writer part of you will die—or become spindly and stunted.”

                                       -Kim Addonizio (Ordinary Genius) 

I know I promised that driving post ages ago, but rather than forcing it and grinding out another insipid, Frankensteined mess trying to pass itself off as legitimate writing, I thought I would go with the flow of inspiration and offer up what greases the wheels of my mind today.

Contrary to popular belief, I am chronically under read. As I mentioned in Endless Academia, I hated reading for the better part of my childhood and was a miserable failure at it after that point. Now I adore it, but unfortunately, passion is still not enough to push speed and comprehension to the levels too many studies say someone like me should be at given my education. However, despite my deficiency, this year, I’m going to correct the failings of my literature-lacking past and catch up to the expectations that have always surrounded me. I intend to read one to two books a month (I wish I could manage more, but I doubt I will so rather than disappoint myself, I’ll stick to something feasible), at least three blogs a day, a minimum of a chapter a day of one of the far too many books I’m reading presently (the current count is seven), one short story, and four poems. As the introductory quotation states, reading is necessary for writing, though honestly, the relationship is more symbiotic than Addonizio suggests; without writing there is no reading and without reading, why write? Yet her point remains: reading makes us want to write. I am never so energized, so positively charged with the Olympian lightning of Muse-molded creation as I am when I’m reading. Naturally, not every book or blog will bring me to life-like that, but those that do move me internally and externally in turn, until emotions make a mask of my face so ecstatic that the psych-ward is suddenly on the table, until a hand puts its pen to parting pages with ink, unapologetic as it lewdly spreads them in a lusty smear of ideas. Yes, each action of inspiration happens in turn until my mind is emptily exhausted for the effort, but bathing in the afterglow of words well spent.

Today I read five blogs and one article. Several of the posts came from Eating the Pages,which I found Freshly Pressed. His words worked their way into me and birthed more of my own, both in comments and on one of the sites he references: Good Reads. On this website, a user can mark books they wish to read, read the reviews of those books written by other users, mark the books they’ve read, rate the books they’ve read, write reviews for them, note the books they own and even the editions. I spent a good deal of time going through it, though I am by no means finished. This is my accountL. Alexandra’s Good Reads’Profile. I intend to start writing reviews for the books I’ve read and those that I will soon be finishing, which will help me as both a reader and writer (“To learn, read. To know, write. To master, teach,” I’ll take two out of three and then pretend this blog constitutes the third). Not to mention that, frankly, I adore analyzing things and am indeed, the student that gleefully beams with appled-cheeks and eager eyes when a teacher announces an essay.

Literature-based analyses and essays are my favorite and when I take Lit. classes, I try to read all the books once through before the semester starts just to experience them as they are, then I read them again with a more analytical appetite as pages and assignments are doled out like daily rations. The rereading allows me to look at the complete work, rather than at its story and catching lines alone, it allows me to examine it without the impatience of “But what happens next?” There is something fulfilling about looking at a book again and breaking the whole into malleable pieces that become the playthings for inference and personal perspective. If you have never tried to analyze a literary work, I highly suggest it, especially if you do so through a lens (Feminism, Marxism, Deconstructionism, Symbolism etc.). You will gain more than previously possible just by prying open the words and peering at the implications that anchor them. Are there reoccurring themes? How many times did Nabokov refer to Humbert Humbert as an ape or beast? Where does Angela Carter’s root system in “The Smile of Winter” lead? What does the protagonist’s love of the sky say about his life? The best way to find answers is to ask questions. So please, go read, go write, go analyze and offer insight. When you’re done, why not come back and share what you’ve learned?

Reflexion-Enkuizen Holland 2010

Reflexions
————-

By missing parental love, in ones childhood,
A person creates a sub-conscious codependency
By failing his autonomy vis-à-vis life,
Which is a natural procedure in the adults
Life.
Whereby, he remains with a unfulfilled hope to
Receive this missed and lost love that was due to him
Originally.

Reflexions
————–

En manquant l’amour parental dans son enfance,
La personne crée une codépendance subconsciente
En échouant son autonomie vis-à-vis de la vie,
Qui est une procédure naturelle dans le
Monde adulte.
Qui fait que l’adulte reste avec un espoir inassouvi de
Recevoir cet amour raté et perdu qui lui était dû à son
origine.

Anywho, I’m going bananas here! I can’t get my life right. I wake up thinking, surely…there has GOT to be more to this. There has GOT to be more to me? Every thought of mine is analytical, ripping everything into shreds and examining every square inch of things. Like myself. Physically, mentally, emotionally. I refuse to go back to that depressed child I was a few years back. But I feel it, ya know? That numb feeling settling in, inch by inch. And there’s this person who God wants me to be, screaming inside, trying to claw her way out.

She just can’t make it to the surface. She just can’t make it.

I’ve always known that there is something that needs to be done. Some changes to be made…In me. So I ask people to pray for me, because these days I don’t have the spiritual energy to pray for myself, or anything, anymore. It’s awful how low I’ve come. It’s the same old feeling, but yet it’s new. Former feeling as Emily Dickinson once said in a poem, and right then as I read those words in her poem, I knew that once upon a time, someone understood. But it’s not the 1800’s and I’m stuck in a new year, experiencing what seems to be another tragic year to come. Dear God, please don’t let that happen. The hell me and mommy went through last year. The pain dad is going through now. That purgatory I experienced day and night for most of my life….

I’m scared.

It’s a new year, and now all I can do, once again…is wait.

I can’t tag this post, I’m too tired. Maybe later. **which means probably never**

Night in winter

This small piece is in the same style and written around the same time,
as the one I posted yesterday.
I hope you’ll like it

Sleep is…
———–

Sleep. A total submission to nature.

We cross the threshold of the unconscious
In complete freedom of choice. By need. By lack.

This lack, this ” weakness ” transforms you, puts you
in danger, sometimes, makes you see life other than it is.

Sleep is a submission to the unconscious where we cross the
threshold of nature.

________________

Le sommeil
———–

Le sommeil. Une soumission totale à la nature.

On franchit le seuil de l’inconscient en toute
liberté du choix. Par besoin. Par manque.

Ce manque, cette ” faiblesse ” vous transforme, vous
met en danger, parfois, vous fait voir la vie tout autre
Qu’elle ne l’est.

Le sommeil est une soumission à l’inconscient où l’on franchit
le seuil de la nature.

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