How long have you been trying to build a team and generate a residual income with Usana Vitamins? Well whether it is 3 days. 3 months or 3 years it really does not matter. You will benefit from the information I am going to share with you today.

In an attempt to break down of some the basics, I will reveal how to retweet in Twitter. I am going to reveal two simple ways to do this.

Whether you are trying to build your team or retail the Xango juice, I have some distributor tips that will cover both. What you need to understand is there is a technique to successful article marketing.

I am going to explain how to advertise your blog for free and drive massive traffic. There are so many ways to do this, however the average person will get overwhelmed and achieve nothing. I am going to make it nice and easy for you!

Should you be social bookmarking for SEO? Is it worth the effort that is required? I am going to give you 3 points to consider and answer this question for you in this article.

This week’s deal is on a deck of cards that will make you a better designer! 

> The Design Deck: the fun way to learn design!

Flashcards are a proven way to learn new concepts fast, and poker is a proven way to have fun and MAYBE win some money. That’s win/win/win(?)! This high-quality deck of playing cards features 56 cards, each with a succinct summary of a different design concept, philosophy, or idea so that you can up your game while playing a game. 

For a limited time, you can save 20% on this beautiful collectable that will make the perfect gift for the designer/s in your life — .or for yourself! Order now in time for the holidays! 

> Check out the deal here.

I had made a packing design that was approved, but not yet fully paid for.

Client: We are really in a hurry, so please send fonts and colors you’ve used ASAP. And what software do you use to design things?  This is urgent!

Me: What do you mean? Do you need print files? Sure, but I need to be paid before I send you the finished files.

Client: Why do we have to pay you? This was our idea of design! I even sent you mock-up in Photoshop!

I was designing a website for a client. Over time, the client requested lots of little changes to the content. One weird result of this, though, is that any photos that included women were slowly removed.

Client: Could you remove that person in this photo?

Me: Okay, but that means there are now no more women on the website?

Client: That’s fine, we’re not marketing just for women. We’re not sexist!

My department manager was looking for an intern:

Boss: It doesn’t have to be a graphic designer, just someone that can use Adobe Illustrator efficiently and has an eye for detail and composition.

Me: So… a designer?

Just ran into this gem at a Facebook group for entrepreneurs and employment opportunities.

Client: Hello! My business partner and I are seeking a couple of talented writers for a new online magazine we are creating. This would be an unpaid intern position, but you can work remotely and this would also be a great opportunity to gain some exposure and writing experience. Message me if you’re interested for details.

The comment section was breathtaking. I made some popcorn and refreshed it all night.

When pitching your work, most creative freelancers sell their skills or their services. However, the key to landing big clients is to show that you’re an indispensable part of their team by selling strategy. 

Anabelle King realized this over years of working at agencies, and now she lands big clients with her boutique branding business I Like Storytelling. She shares her strats for creating a collaborative relationship with her clients in today’s episode! 

Today’s links: 

• https://www.ilikestorytelling.com/
• https://twitter.com/annabelletweet
• https://easel.ly/infographicdesign
• Theme song by topmen.bandcamp.com!

Want to support the show?

Order a custom infographic from Easel.ly! Use this link (https://www.easel.ly/infographicdesign/) for a great price! 

Think you’d be a great fit for the show? Let me know at twitter.com/KCarCFH

Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or recommend us to a friend. It helps immensely.

Download here!

Signs point to some having prior knowledge October 17th was 'take down' day

MONCTON, NB–Coady Stevens, the first of six Mi'kmaq Warrior to appear on charges related to the anti-shale gas encampment along Highway 134, has been denied bail.

As bail hearings today continue for the five remaining incarcerated members of the Mi'kmaq Warriors Society, enough information is beginning to surface to suggest that the vicious pre-dawn RCMP takedown of the anti-shale gas encampment on the morning of October 17th was a well known fact among some before it happened.

This is not to suggest that these people necessarily knew of the severity or magnitude of the RCMP raid, or even what it would look like. On the other hand, the possibility that others knew of the raid on October 17th is becoming too real to ignore.

Not only this, but there is a clear possibility that the greater narrative behind the raid is the measured destruction of the Mi'kmaq Warriors Society, to be replaced in their stead by a joint Assembly of First Nations/RCMP force.

Did Elsipogtog First Nation Chief Sock know that Thursday was the day?

Much has been made of the fact that Chief Sock and members of his council were arrested on the morning of October 17th. Sock and council were arrested in the second confrontation with RCMP, after the police had swept through the encampment, making numerous arrests, with guns drawn in the pre-dawn hours.

What brings Sock's pre-awareness of the events of the 17th into question is a series of notes obtained by APTN journalist Jorge Barerra.

The notes, which Sock has since admitted to Barerra that he penned, were taken during a meeting between Chief Sock, Robert Levi and 'Jumbo' Sock, who are both councillors from Elsipogtog First Nation, Tobique First Nation member John Deveau and Listuguj First Nation member Wendell Metallic, and two provincially-appointed advisors and other members of the New Brunswick provincial government, which included premier and Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Alward, as well as Energy minister Craig Leonard.

The Sock notes suggest that the talks focused, at least for a period, on a timeline of when to take down the ongoing blockade.

Point '8' on page one reads: “Blockade down, protest continues.”

Point '3' on page two of Sock's hand-written notes says: “Week – time limit Monday to next Wednesday.”

Point '4' on the same page reads: “Equipment out Thursday?”

These notes were written on Monday, October 7th, so it is reasonably safe to conclude that the “next Wednesday” in question refers to Wednesday, October 16th. The Thursday in question is October 17th, the date of the vicious raid.

Granted, Sock does continue to publicly denounce SWN Resources Canada's seismic testing in the area. In an attempt to patch up relations between his community and the RCMP, he even helped clean up the wreckage of six torched police cars. But based on his own notes, one must consider the possibility that he was aware that there was a plan in motion to dismantle the encampment and end the peaceful anti-shale gas encampment on Thursday, October 17th.

A blockade of millions of dollars of seismic testing equipment, without which SWN could not work, is one thing. A peaceful protest alongside the highway, where people can vent their indignation without actually stopping the Texas-based company from testing for shale gas deposits, is quite another.

One is effective, albeit potentially illegal in the eyes of the Crown. The other is a co-option of energy towards ineffective means, that is, if you actually want to stop the company from working.

The fly in Sock's ear: John Deveau, heir to the director's chair of the joint AFN/RCMP crisis response team in New Brunswick

Deveau, one of Sock's provincially-appointed advisers, is an intriguing character and no stranger to the anti-shale gas protests in Elsipogtog. We have written in more detail about him here.

But to fully understand his role in the current anti-shale gas movement – and it is a big one – we need to back up for a moment to late June of 2013, when Elsipogtog's anti-shale gas movement was being led by Elsipogtog 'War Chief' John Levi.

After 12 anti-shale gas arrests occurred on June 21st, 2013, along Highway 126 in Kent County, the community of Elsipogtog was understandably up in arms. A eight and a half month pregnant woman had been arrested, and an elder had been roughed up enough by RCMP that she was bleeding from the mouth by the time they zip-strapped her and tossed her in their wagon.

In response, on June 23rd, two new players were introduced to the community during a town hall-style meeting in Elsipogtog.

The first was the Mi'kmaq Warriors Society. The second was Tobique First Nation member Wendell Nicholas.

When first brought before the community of Elsipogtog, Nicholas was introduced as a 'UN Independant [sic] Observer'. His rather vaguely defined mission at the time was related to making observations and preparing an upcoming report for a branch of the United Nations.

Claire Stewart Kannigan, working for rabble.ca, identified a mis-print on Nicholas' shirt and started snooping. When Kannigan couldn't find an established connection between Nicholas and the United Nations, and proceeded to out him on rabble, Nicholas promptly re-branded himself - with the assistance of a Chief Sock-led press conference - as the leader of a new 'peacekeeping' team known as the 'Elsipogtog Peacekeepers'.

In the midst of a heated summer of protests, with residents tired of watching their community members being roughed up by the RCMP, the press conference introducing Nicholas was awash with hand shakes, ceremony and praise for Nicholas' new team – even if his role wasn't entirely understood beyond being something of a liaison between Elsipogtog band council and the RCMP.

As it turn out, Nicholas is something of an old hand in the game of liaising between First Nations communities and the Royal Colonial Mounted Police. In fact, he is the brainchild behind the Public Safety Cooperation Protocol (PSCP).

At the very least co-authored by Nicholas in 2004, the PSCP is amongst the modern day memorandums that facilitates sharing information between Indian Act chiefs and the RCMP on Indigenous unrest across Turtle Island. It is, in essence, an agreement between then AFN Chief Phil Fontaine and RCMP Commissioner Zaccardelli – on behalf of the Queen – to spy on and squash Indigenous grassroots unrest before it starts. The terms used in the PSCP are more flowery and bureaucratic than that, but the song remains the same.

Fontaine found himself outed and discredited when he collaborated with the RCMP to quash Indigenous unrest in 2007. His intelligence sharing with the police smacks of the Nicholas-penned PSCP agreement.

As for Nicholas, he hired members of the Elsipogtog community on as peacekeepers, and also hired people from outside of the community.

Suddenly summertime anti-shale gas protests alongside of the highways in Kent County were highly monitored affairs, with people wearing bright orange 'Elsipogtog Peacekeepers' t-shirts wandering around everywhere, some speaking to the police, some taking notes on clipboards.

One of those bright-shirted protest monitors was former US National Guardsman and police officer –and Nicholas' cousin- John Deveau.

At some point, possibly due to failing health or prior commitments, Nicholas stopped being the public face of the Elsipogtog Peacekeepers. Handing over the daily duties to Deveau, Nicholas retired to a behind-the-scenes roll as Elsipogtog's Public Safety Advisor, where he appears to remain.

Deveau, for his part, took over the directorship of the 'peacekeeping' team, and is actively drawing a salary of $60,000 a year as the director of the 'Wabanaki Peacekeepers', essentially version 2.0 of the Elsipogtog outfit, but with better equipment and full-time salaries.

Make no mistake. This is the pleasant name given to the Deveau-run joint AFN/RCMP crisis response team, the team that all summer long was liaising with SWN, the RCMP and Elsipogtog Band Council – all the while presenting itself as a neutral negotiating body to grassroots activists actually on the ground.

October 16th, 2013: John Deveau gets outed by the grassroots.

On Wednesday, October 16th, a crew of grassroots activists from Elsipogtog, as well as members of the Mi'kmaq Warrior Society, broke in on a John Deveau-chaired meeting. Present were numerous members of the RCMP, Elsipogtog 'War Chief' John Levi and several members of the Elsipogtog community.

Elsipogtog elder – and Levi's aunt – Norma Augustine requested that Deveau, as well as bad-faith RCMP negotiator “Dickie” Bernard, be escorted out of Elsipogtog First Nation.

And by now the entire nation knows what took place on Thursday October 17th.

A tale of two Johns. Dividing camps, co-opting a movement

Elsipogtog 'War Chief' John Levi's influence upon the autumn anti-shale gas blockade along Highway 134 was virtually non-existent before October 17th. Levi, a clean and sober sun-dancer, has made much of what he perceived as the Mi'kmaq Warriors less-than-puritan lifestyle, and has privately used this as his reasoning not to attend the blockade.

It is possible that some of these disparaging remarks were fuelled by the general misunderstanding over Levi's role as Elsipogtog's 'War Chief', and where exactly that placed him within the Mi'kmaq Warrior Society.

In effect, it placed him nowhere.

The Mi'kmaq Warrior Society operates as an independent body, with it's own Chief and ranking system.

For his part, Levi was appointed 'War Chief' of Elsipogtog by Noel Augustine, Keptin of District 6 of the Migmaw Grand Council. The Grand Council is a modern day facsimile of a traditional Mi'kmaq government style that does not appear to wield much more than figurehead-style power. Noel Augustine, for example, has issued a variety of eviction notices to SWN Resources Canada, all of which have fallen upon the deaf ears of the Texas-based gas giant.

The more nefarious possibility is that Levi, under the influence of Deveau, could not infiltrate the encampment to any degree of information-gathering success, and thus reverted to a public smear campaign against the Warriors.

In any case, with the violent takedown of the Warrior Society out of the way, Levi is once again a common sight at the quickly rebuilding camp along Highway 134. It has been reported that Levi's main aim at Highway 134, however, is in actively trying to encourage activists to move towards last summer's encampment along Highway 116.

To boot, it has been reported that Levi is in negotiations with RCMP, offering the police that he can move the camp to the out-of-the-way Highway 116 location, in exchange for the police grounding their ever-present spy plane that continues to monitor the encampment along Highway 134.

Despite the destruction of the encampment during the raid of the 17th, the Highway 134 encampment by far remains the more tactical of camps.

SWN's seismic testing lines are slated to be near Highway 11, one of the main arteries of transport in New Brunswick. Snap highway blockades, as occurred on October 19th as a show of defiance in the face of the RCMP's raid, are also a quick and potential technique when the encampment remains on the 134. The 116 camp, arguably safer due to it's proximity to Elsipogtog First Nation, is tucked far out of the way of any action save the falling of leaves.

Sadly, especially considering the very real legal costs now being incurred by the five Warriors who remain without a bail hearing, Levi's camp division has also reached a financial level.

Splitting up donations from well-intention sources, including accepting money from the popular group The Indigo Girls, and then funnelling this money towards other side-projects, rather than towards the immediate legal costs of the Mi'kmaq Warriors, is only the tip of the iceberg.

At the Wilsons' gas station in Elsipogtog, there are now two donation jars side by side. One for donations to the Highway 134 encampment, and one for the Highway 116 encampment. Social media has also begun offering a variety of sources for donations. Most appear to agree that the Warriors' legal defence fund, which has already paid out a retainer to lawyers Lemieux and Menard, is the grassroots choice for donations.

APTN reported Monday that Chief Sock may well give the Elsipogtog band seal of approval, as it relates to anti-shale gas protests, to Levi. What exactly this means is entirely unclear.

With a summer's worth of experience in leading blockade-free anti-shale gas protests on the side of the highway, and with close friend John Deveau there to guide him, Levi may well be the front-runner for the band's endorsement.

The case of the missing van – and the missing Christian Peacemaker Team

At the rebuilding encampment along Highway 134, rumours continue to circulate of pre-October 17th tip-offs to the effect that Thursday would be a bad morning to be there. None of these rumours have been validated, yet, except for one.

On the evening of October 16th, Lorraine Clair, whose van originally had been blocking the entrance to the compound where SWN Resources Canada's seismic testing equipment was being held, left the encampment. She left with her van.

It is unclear whether she had some kind of verbal altercation with members of the Mi'kmaq Warriors Society before she drove off.

In any case, before leaving the encampment, Clair contacted Chris Sabas Shirazi, the senior member of the Christian Peacemaker Team that had been monitoring the Indigenous anti-shale gas activists from Elsipogtog since the summer. Clair asked Shirazi to leave the encampment with her.

Shirazi then asked Elsipogtog elder Kenneth Francis, who was on the scene to give Clair's dead van a battery boost if she should leave. Francis concurred that the CPT team should leave the encampment.

In her attempt to justify fleeing a scene that in hindsight was in desperate need of some kind of independent monitoring to counter the RCMP narrative that is seeing multiple charges being levied at all six incarcerated members of the Warrior Society, Shirazi noted that Clair – after John Levi became a non-factor at the Highway 134 encampment – was her “community partner from Elsipogtog.” Rather than seeking a new “community partner” at a live situation with the very real potential for confrontation to erupt, it appears that the CPT's partnership chain ended with Clair.

So on the night of the 16th, at the request of Clair and Francis, the CPT left the as-yet peaceful encampment on Highway 134.

In her defence, Shirazi did attempt to return to the site in the morning. She also took some great video – amongst many other great videos – of the secondary confrontation with RCMP on the morning of the 17th.

Of the initial conflict, precious little footage exists that is not in RCMP hands.

Clair, for her part, appears to have located a computer on the evening of the 16th. She wrote a short message, all in caps, and posted it on the most visited of social media sites. The message mentioned that the “peaceful” part of the protest was over, and encouraged all supporters to meet her and others at the Highway 116 encampment for a noontime ceremony on the 17th. It cannot be determined what Clair was basing her assessment on; as a first-hand observer I saw no violence break out at the encampment on the night of the 16th to suggest that the peaceful part of the encampment had ended.

Confrontataion at Elsipogtog

BY WADNER PIERRE

Since the CEP published its tainted and most controversial results for the presidential, second round legislative and local elections early last November, thousands have been demonstrated in the streets of Haiti’s largest cities to reclaim a recount of their votes. Religious leaders and international human rights and advocacy groups have also urged the CEP to investigate irregularities and massive electoral frauds that are no longer mere allegations.

As protests widening, diplomatic talks failed and G8 candidates remaining steadfast in their position, to remedy the situation, Haiti’s PM Evans Paul in an one-page letter sent to the President Michel J. Martelly, proposed a formation of an electoral commission to ensure the credibility of the already festered electoral process.

The commission according to the Prime Minister’s letter will have three days to produce recommendations to the government and the Conseil Electoral Provisoire (Electoral Provisional Council), known as the CEP. The head of the government stated,“ …it is necessary to organize credible, transparent, participative and inclusive elections,” as well as “to do whatever it takes” to create a climate of trust for the actors involving in the process.

The CEP shows no sign that it will abide by the recommendations of the government-formed commission. One of its members Marie Carmelle Paul Austin told a radio in the Haiti’s capital that the electoral council members are ready to depart in bloc should the commission interfere in their work. “If this commission’s purpose is to redo or verify the work that the CEP has already done, the council members will resign,” implied council Austin.

read more

BY WADNER PIERRE

Nearly two months since Haiti’s Conseil Electoral Provisoire (Electoral Provisional Council), know as the CEP, announced the final results for the first round residential, second round legislative and local elections that plagued with massive frauds. The controversial results for the presidential elections placed Haiti’s ruling Party candidate, Jovel Moise at the first place with over 34 percent of the popular and the former 2010 presidential candidate Jude Celestin in second place. Since then protest against those tainted results have been widened through the country.

After candidates and their backers, religious leaders (Catholics and Protestants) and national and international human rights and advocacy groups urged the CEP to form an independent commission to investigate the electoral frauds that were no longer mere allegations, the CEP rejected such proposition and proceeded to schedule the presidential runoff on Dec. 27 with the two candidates obtained the majority of the vote. Celestin, a member of group of eight presidential candidates, known as G8, who have been protesting the CEP’s results, declared he would not participate at the runoff unless the CEP satisfied the demand of G8.

The United States, a staunch supporter of the current administration, and spent over $30 millions for the organization of these log-overdue elections, sent Kenneth Merten, the U.S former ambassador to Haiti and State Department’s Special Envoy to Haiti to convince candidates, most importantly Celestin, to accept the CEP’s results. Merten, a close friend of Martelly, and one the controversial figures that engineered Martelly’s election in the 2010 controversial elections, failed to his mission.

read more

Last week I received a very long email with instructions for Zeder. This year millions of Jews around the world will log into Zoom, and try to continue a 2000-year tradition of not changing the tradition. We will recall plagues of past like infestation of locusts and raining frogs and we’ll silently scoff that Egypt […]

The post It’s time for Seder, which is Zeder, in our modern-day-plague ravaged Passover appeared first on Penelope Trunk Careers.

Robert Ross (a.k.a. Bobby Tables) will be the speaker at the next nycdevops meetup on Wed, une 19, 2019.

Full details and RSVP info: https://www.meetup.com/nycdevops/events/261842702/

NOTE: Different day and location!

• Title: Staying Informed with Kubernetes Informers
• Speaker: Robert Ross (Bobby Tables) from FireHydrant
• Date: Wed, June 19, 2019
• Location: Compass, 90 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10011

Kubernetes state is changing all the time. Pods are being created. Deployments are adding more replicas. Load balancers are being created from services. All of these things can happen without anyone noticing. But sometimes we need to notice, however, for when we need to react to such events. What if we need to push the change to an audit log? When if we want to inform a Slack room about a new deployment? In Kubernetes, this is possible with the informers that are baked into the API and Go client. In this talk we'll learn how informers work, and how to receive updates when resources change using a simple Go application.

SPEAKER BIO:

Bobby is the founder of FireHydrant.io, and also previously worked as a staff software engineer at Namely, and also built things at DigitalOcean. He likes bleeding edge tech and making software that helps teams build better better systems. From deploying Spinnaker, Istio, and Kubernetes, he has cursed at a lack of docs and code spelunked through the code and loves telling the war stories about them.

Full details and RSVP info: https://www.meetup.com/nycdevops/events/261842702/

DevOpsdays NYC is happening March 3-4, 2020. The Call For Participation (CFP) is now open!

If you have any ideas that you want to share with the local community please submit your talks using the link below:

https://www.papercall.io/dodnyc2020

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will consider yet another case regarding whether employers can decline to cover contraceptives in their health care plans. Reproductive rights groups warn that depending on the outcome of the case, tens of thousands of American women could lose vital contraceptive coverage. The case, Little Sisters of the Poor and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania, involves a 2017 Trump administration rule change that significantly broadened who can claim an exemption to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) contraceptive coverage mandate. The 2017 rule change, issued without a notice of proposed rulemaking or public comment opportunity, expanded the scope of religious exemptions and added an additional moral exemption claim. States had successfully challenged the rule, calling it a violation of the constitution, federal anti-discrimination law, and the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). A federal appeals court issued an injunction, preventing the Trump administration from enforcing the rule until the case was decided. Both the district court and the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed that states were likely to succeed on their APA claim. The court will now consider whether the Little Sisters of the Poor have standing and whether the Trump administration lawfully exempted religious objectors from the […]

Happy launch day to Marcie Colleen, whose THE BEAR'S GARDEN with Alison Oliver launches from Imprint/Macmillan today!

Marcie Colleen is the award-winning picture book author of Penguinaut! (illustrated by Emma Yarlett) and Love, Triangle (illustrated by Bob Shea), as well as the Super Happy Party Bears chapter book series. She teaches Writing Children’s Picture Books for the University of California at San Diego both online and on campus, and runs her own Study Hall conducting a month-long online critique group dedicated to the crafting picture books. Find out more about how you can study with Marcie at thisismarciecolleen.com and on Twitter at @MarcieColleen1.

*UPDATE: Marcie has also launched her SUPER HAPPY Book Club on her YouTube channel, especially for families at home during school closures!

Launching March 24, 2020, THE BEAR'S GARDEN is written by Marcie Colleen and illustrated by Alison Oliver. You can read reviews of the book on Kirkus (starred review!) and Bookroo.

Author: Marcie Colleen
Illustrator: Alison Oliver
Publisher: Imprint/Macmillan Children’s

SYNOPSIS: Inspired by the true story of a community garden in Brooklyn, New York, picture book The Bear’s Garden is a testament to how imagination and dedication can transform communities and create beauty for everyone in unexpected places.

A little girl sees an empty lot in a city and imagines what it can be:

a place to grow,
a place to play,
and a place to love.

With the help of her stuffed bear, the girl brings her community together to create a beautiful garden.

Q. What inspired you to write this book?

The Bear’s Garden was inspired by the real-life Pacific Street Brooklyn Bear’s Community Garden in my former neighborhood in New York City. The name always puzzled me—I mean, we didn’t have bears wandering around Brooklyn last I checked!

Come to find out, the garden was named for a teddy bear that was found in the weeds when the workers began to create a garden in the abandoned lot. Of course, immediately I started thinking of that little bear. How did he get there? Did he belong to anyone? Was he placed there on purpose?

The Bear’s Garden is my imaginative story about how the teddy bear came to be in those weeds. It’s also a love letter to my former neighborhood and the power of community that I felt while living there. I am the girl who finds love and beauty in every inch of that urban paradise

Q. As an experienced author, how do you manage your time in terms of balancing your creative work time with the business side (promotion, admin, school visits etc), yet still have a life outside work?

While everything I do, such as teaching and creating Teacher’s Guides, falls under the umbrella of being a full-time children’s author, I have struggled in the past to find time for my own creative writing. It seems my days get quickly overrun.

However, about a year ago I paired up with a fellow author friend, Kirsten Larson, to prioritize our writing projects. We get up at 5:20 every morning to write for an hour. The alarm goes off, we text each other a quick “Good Morning” and share our project goals for that session, grab our coffee, and set to write until 6:30 without distraction. At 6:30 we check in again with our progress. It’s been a game-changer. I think I have written more in the last year because of it. And it’s a fantastic way to feel accomplished no matter what the rest of the day brings.

Q. What advice do you have for young writers?

I have always loved reading and writing stories.

A few years back I found a book I had written in elementary school. It’s called Rainbow Hunt. And in the back of the book I found an Author’s Note I had written. It said,

“Marcie Goldstein lives in Liverpool, NY and loves to write books. Someday she hopes to be a successful author.”

So, my advice to young writers everywhere would be, know that your dreams can come true. Even if people say it’s a long-shot. I’m living proof. So keep reading, keep writing, and never stop dreaming.

Q. Anything else you'd like to mention? What are you excited about these days?

Despite the recent global health crisis that has left us all indoors, I am excited to see how we will learn to build more community within our lives—even virtually. The creativity and innovation that has developed in the last few weeks has been extraordinarily inspiring. Like flowers between the pavement cracks, we will find ways. And a lot of beauty is going to grow from this.

 --

For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive. Also see Advice For Young Writers and Illustrators, a compilation of tips generously offered by children's book creators I've interviewed over the years.

GIVEAWAY (U.S. only): Karla is giving away a copy of Marie Curie And The Power Of Persistence, written by Karla Valenti and illustrated by Annalisa Beghelli! *** ENTER HERE ***

Karla Arenas Valenti was born and raised in Mexico. Since then she has put down roots in a number of countries she now calls home: Japan, France, Germany, and the U.S. where she lives in the Chicagoland area with her husband and three kids. She writes picture books and middle grade novels. You can find out more about Karla at www.karlavalenti.com or connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @KV_writes.

I asked Karla to describe her book, and here's what she replied:

My Super Science Heroes is a picture book series for children ages 4-8. The series focuses on key scientists, but rather than defining those scientists by what they did (their achievements), we are choosing to highlight who they were (the traits that made those achievements possible).

This distinction is important as it allows readers (young and old) to re-frame what it means to “succeed” - in other words, you do not need to be a genius or Nobel-prize winner in order to be a hero in your own life. Arguably, what makes someone a hero is how they make use of their own “super powers” in pursuit of their dreams.

And what are these super powers?

The first one we chose to highlight is persistence.

Throughout her personal and professional life, Marie Curie encountered many societal and institutional limitations that threatened to block her progress. Rather than telling our young readers about these challenges, however, we chose to show them. Enter Mr. Opposition, a character designed to embody these counterforces and give Marie a chance to prove her persistence to all her fans and readers.

In this way, Marie’s ultimate success and notable achievements are not presented as the inevitable result of a gifted mind. Rather, we are honoring the tremendous effort she exhibited in never giving up on her dreams, a super power indeed.

Our next book focuses on the power of curiosity, exemplified by Alan Turing and his minion, Miss Enigma (due out Jan 2021).

My Super Science Heroes is unlike any other children’s book series focusing on historical figures, and we hope it will inspire countless of young scientists (and non-scientists) as they develop their own super powers.

Q: How did MARIE CURIE AND THE POWER OF PERSISTENCE get published?

This is a story about the unexpected surprises that come our way when we are open to any (and sometimes unconventional) opportunities.

I was living in Europe at the time, and a friend forwarded an open call for story submissions run by a non-profit science association. The Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) was looking for a creative way to raise funds to support their science initiatives, so they launched a contest for picture book submissions. The topic was a story about Marie Curie, but told in a way that would excite young readers about science

As a fiction writer, I was hesitant at first to submit a story on a non-fiction topic. However, I also viewed this as an opportunity to flex my creative wings, so I took the challenge and wrote a story about Marie Curie... the super hero.

As I researched her life, it became clear that, while she certainly accomplished a great deal as a scientist, her most notable achievement was her unwavering persistence in facing a number of challenges throughout her life. Persistence! A skill highly valued in the scientific community (and one present in all of us).

What if the book was about Marie Curie using her power of persistence to achieve great things in the scientific world?

What if she had an evil nemesis who lived in a craggy cave deep underground, and whose sole purpose was preventing the spread of knowledge?

What if he sent his minion, Mr. Opposition, to stop Marie in her heroic journey?

Thus was born the My Super Science Heroes series.

It was an unconventional premise, but I decided to submit the story. To my tremendous surprise, I won!

Working with Micaela Crespo Quesada (a super scientist herself) and the MCAA association, we identified the perfect illustrator for the project, Annalisa Beghelli. Her artwork brilliantly captured the super hero themes we wanted to explore. In a true collaboration, the three of us worked to bring this project to life.

Initially, the project was going to be funded exclusively through a global crowdsourcing campaign. Not only did we exceed our goal by 20%, but a couple weeks into the campaign, we received an offer by Kelly Barrales-Saylor at Sourcebooks for world rights.

Fast forward to today as we celebrate the world publication on April 7th of Marie Curie and the Power of Persistence.

Q. What advice do you have for young writers?

In a perhaps not-so-ironic twist, the most valuable piece of advice I can offer is to believe in the power of persistence. And I hesitate to say this is only relevant to young writers (since I myself only learned this as a writer after many years).

The journey I have taken to get to this point has not been a short (or always-joyful) one. Indeed, it has been more agonizing than not, more heart-breaking than uplifting, and certainly taken a lot longer than I expected.

There have been plenty of opportunities for me to give up and walk away (and if I'm honest, there have been moments in my life where I've had to do that). However, I am fiercely proud of this story because it feels like a real badge of honor; a testament to the courage it takes to pick up your "pen" and keep putting words to paper, despite everything standing in your way.

The truth is, we all have our own version of Mr. Opposition, and we all must do battle with the nemesis that intends to bring us down. But word by word, line by line, we can persist. That is no small thing.

--

For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive. Also see Advice For Young Writers and Illustrators, a compilation of tips generously offered by children's book creators I've interviewed over the years.

I am so glad someone is doing this zine! I have been trying to find time to try and put together this exact thing!
Please submit!!!
It's Down to This

For info and submissions contact: responsezine@gmail.com

“It’s Down to This” is a new zine compilation that aims to give space to step back, take a deep breath and reflect on where we’re at.

Reflecting on our experiences with community accountability processes, survivor support, or general efforts to cultivate community response to sexual violence- this is a space to talk about our experiences with this work, what we have learned, where we want to go from here, what we feel, what we want others to be able to hear, see, think about, engage with.

It is an attempt to further give voice to our efforts and experiences in doing this work, to give space and voice to silence. To know and hear how we have survived in this work, how we have sustained this work, or why we burned out. To further document our attempts at figuring out what community accountability looks like, or what it even is. To be able to reflect and grow from our mistakes and epiphanies.

SEEKING: stories, essays, interviews, comics, artwork and thoughts reflecting on working around accountability and community response to sexual violence:

What has it looked like? What has it entailed? What could it look like? Who does it involve? In what ways? How is a community responsible? How is a community involved? What can an accountability process look like? What has it looked like? What works? What doesn’t? What were the fuck-ups, the successes?

*These questions are asked with the assumption that confidentiality will be respected and that stories will not be shared if they are not yours to share.

*The word ‘community’ is used with the awareness that it is often used problematically.

Looking for submissions that:

- explore the importance of accountability and support work as an act of community building and collective liberation, that express the importance of this work within social justice movements.

-reflect on the support, empowerment, recovery and growth that have come out of this work

-reflect on the pain, trauma and frustration of this work or which is inherent in this work.

-develop ideas and methods of sustainability around this work

-look at the social and political contexts in which community accountability and response to sexual violence and partner abuse grows and exists.

-share our stories

Anonymity and confidentiality will be respected.

DEADLINE: October 22nd, 2010

For info and submissions contact: responsezine@gmail.com

Feel free to send in ideas/proposals and ask for feedback!

I have a bunch of new zines and some new books for the distro! at riot grrrr distro
Including SCAM! The First 4 Issues!

Also, I just looked at Mimi Distro, and it is so great! Check it out at mimizinedistro.wordpress.com

Two call for submissions: one about being a survivor - and how did you survive
and one about Gender
see links and descriptions below.


dear sister anthology


Many survivors already know this: that after you are raped, you are never the same person again. More specifically, someone has died and new person is born. And like a newborn, the new person must learn first how to survive and then eventually, live.

The five stages of grief is a psychological theory. It outlines and supposes five stages of emotional battle the can occurs in the aftermath of loss.

The first stage is denial.

Survivors may tell themselves it never happened. It wasn’t rape. The person who did this is my friend, my boyfriend, girlfriend, relative, lover, spouse, neighbor. It wasn’t rape.

The second stage is anger.

Survivors can live in a room full of anger, resentment, bitterness, self-blame and self-loathing for weeks, months, sometimes years. They have recognized what has happened and the emotions are often overwhelming.

Bargaining is the third stage.

Bargaining is giving ourselves false hope because we cannot deal with our reality. We look to recover what was lost or taken. We lost our sense of wholeness and cannot deal with our brokenness, so we jump into a relationship, alcohol, drugs, work, sex…believing that if we do something, we will get what we once had. Bargaining looks different for everyone, but regardless of what the behavior is, the hope is trying to get back what cannot be recovered.

Fourth stage is depression

Nearly every survivor will combat depression in some form. Disinterest in previously enjoyed activities, frequent crying spells, trouble sleeping, sleeping too much, changes in appetite. There are numerous symptoms of depression and most survivors will describe it in two words: dark numbness.

The fifth stage is acceptance.

Acceptance doesn’t mean that we’re happy or that we don’t revisit the other stages from time to time. Acceptance means acknowledging that something has lost and we are not the same person as before. A new way of living must be learned and while the road is long, a first step was taken.

As a survivor, do you remember a certain stage you may have experienced? Do you remember moving through that part of your life? What got you through? When did you turn the corner? Who helped you?

In your letter, remember that the survivor is in a raw place, perhaps not even certain of what just happened. Focus not on the darkness, but what brought you to the next place, on what acceptance looked like for you. What brought you into the light?


call for submissions for Alex zine.
alex zine

why gender, and what is alex looking for? gender is something everybody has and few understand, despite the volumes written on the subject already. alex is looking for personal essays, poems, or other forms of expression that get at what gender means to YOU and how do you LIVE gender. topics could be about anything, and might gesture at: what is gender? how does it affect you? do you feel like you have a gender? how do you want others to see you and how do you see yourself? do your thoughts on your own gender shift? what is getting dressed like? what is it like to walk around as you? how do your political ideas about gender enter your daily life (or do they)? what else springs to mind when you think about the topic? tell some stories. this is a good chance to write something a “normal” editor wouldn’t take on, something you’re still sorting out. this is a great chance to write about something that scares you.

Investing in rental properties can be both profitable and worthwhile when done right. In today’s market, a rental property can provide a consistent cash flow now and serve as a valuable long-term investment down the road.  However, deciding to take the leap and buy a rental property is just the beginning. Novice real estate investors...

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Investing is a smart way of making your money work for you. When starting out, people are clueless as to when and where to invest, and especially how to invest. One false notion that people believe in is that you need a lot of money to start investing properly, at least a substantial amount. But...

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Robert before closing their show at Rock en Seine on Friday night with 'Boys Don't Cry': "We have time for one last song. This is for Ricky. It's called Boys Don't Cry".

Eden Gallup has shared the sad news that Paul "Ricky" Welton, Jason's drum tech, has died. Loved Ricky so much. Sending love and strength to his family, friends, and the Cure Crew. https://t.co/EDVML4LFh0 pic.twitter.com/q4fadoibqO

— Chain of Flowers (@CraigatCoF) August 23, 2019

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#Repost @edvendetta with @repostsaveapp ・・・ Tonight’s for you, Bro ????

A post shared by Al (@feralpunk) on Aug 23, 2019 at 12:17pm PDT

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This one's for Ricky. #curecrew #thecure #roadbrothers

A post shared by Al (@feralpunk) on Aug 23, 2019 at 11:38am PDT

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Rest easy Ricky. All our love. You will always be missed. @thecure #thecure #roadcrew #roadbrothers #tourfamily #justthebestguy

A post shared by Al (@feralpunk) on Aug 23, 2019 at 6:12am PDT

RIP Paul ”Ricky” Welton. I got to know Ricky on the Reflections tour . I saw him recently at the Hall of Fame induction this March . A lovely man. My condolences to his family and friends.

— Lol Tolhurst (@LolTolhurst) August 23, 2019

View this post on Instagram

Mixed feelings from today, as we gained a great chart position but lost a dear friend of ours, ‘Ricky’ (aka Paul Welton) drum roadie for the 2015 @rideox4official tour Celebrating and mourning, here’s to you Ricky it was always great to be in your company x

A post shared by Laurence Colbert ???????? (@lozcolbert) on Aug 23, 2019 at 3:10pm PDT

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@rideox4official @todaysfestival #todaysfestival TORINO 23/AUG/2019 #ride #ridetheband #rideox4 @andybebop dedicated “vapour trail” to Ricky... @mark_gardener_ride @lozcolbert @stevequeralt @edvendetta @feralpunk

A post shared by mars marsworld (@mars_marsworld) on Aug 23, 2019 at 4:45pm PDT

Andy from Ride also dedicated 'Vapour Trail' to Ricky at their show on Friday night. Again, no video of the dedication, but here's the song, and if I find video of the dedication, I'll post it.

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For Ricky x . . . . . . ????JuStine @liamgallagher @dougalsays @hicathhowsyou @zeb0rah @queenofcringe #champagnesupernova #tribute #LiamGallagher #asyouwere #WhyMeWhyNot

A post shared by Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher.daily) on Aug 25, 2019 at 4:10am PDT

Liam Gallagher dedicated Champagne Supernova to Ricky at his show on Saturday night.


Thanks to Eden Gallup for posting this on his Facebook today. A young Paul "Ricky" Welton on drums.


Paul "Ricky" Welton was a longtime member of The Cure Crew, Jason's drum tech, and a wonderful person beloved by all who knew him. He passed away on Friday, and his band and crew paid tribute to him. This is my small attempt to also honor him.

Farewell, Ricky. Thank you for all you did for the band, for your crew, for the fans, and for keeping the shows running every night. You were so loved, and I hope you knew it. As everyone has said, you will be missed greatly!

All love and strength to his family, friends, the band, and the crew.

Rock on in eternity, Ricky! We love you so much!

https://t.co/BoAi0VA5gR

Robert Smith of The Cure's 'Schecter Signature UltraCure' Guitar, Played at Pasadena Daydream Festival on August 31st

Your bid supports: Free Arts For Abused Children, Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, Little Kids Rock, Inner-City Arts, The Painted Turtle pic.twitter.com/skBiHZslmy

— The Cure (@thecure) August 29, 2019

Robert Smith is donating the guitar he will be playing this weekend at Pasadena Daydream Festival to be auctioned off to benefit @FreeArtsLA, @InnerCityArts, @littlekidsrock, @HollandsOpusFdn and @PaintedTurtleCA! ????

bid here????https://t.co/eZ9QdO3lgt

— goldenvoice (@goldenvoice) August 27, 2019

The post Review: Struman Optics Cinematic Lenses for Smartphones appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lee Herbet.

The argument of whether smartphones can take good photos or not has been settled – they can! In this article, we are going to have a look at a set of lenses for smartphones from an Australian company, Struman Optics. While there are many lenses for smartphones on the market, I found a manufacturer that […]

The post Review: Struman Optics Cinematic Lenses for Smartphones appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Lee Herbet.

The post 15 Tips for Documenting Home Life appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mat Coker.

Documenting home life and capturing family moments is what inspired many of us to pick up a camera. But upon picking up a camera, we discovered just how challenging it is to capture those moments. These 15 tips are ones that I’ve used over the years to capture my family moments. They will help you […]

The post 15 Tips for Documenting Home Life appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mat Coker.

The post How to Setup For Doing Live Streaming and YouTube Videos at Home appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Since many of us are spending most of our time at home at the moment, I thought I’d share this great video from the dPS founder, Darren Rowse, on how to do live streaming and YouTube videos from your own home as a way to reach your audience and promote your photography. He shares his […]

The post How to Setup For Doing Live Streaming and YouTube Videos at Home appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

My face masks never quite worked with my ears. Prior attempts were not snug or comfortable on my face. And I had limited elastic narrow enough. So the clips came in handy for a fitting face mask. The elastic and face mask clips can be removed when washing the mask. CDC recommendations on cloth face […]

The post Clips to secure face mask comfortably and quickly appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

Give your “home office” a virtual makeover with these free zoom backgrounds from IKEA. Just a few months ago, few of us imagined having a home office, let alone working from home full-time. But here we are. We’ve all probably sat in way too many zoom meetings … always tidying up before the call. Quickly, […]

The post IKEA free backgrounds for more stylish zoom calls appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

♐ Sagittarius - Archer (Thighs)

Evening - FAIR

Seeds planted now will do poorly and yield little.

Dry Fruits and Vegetables, Cut Hair to Slow Growth, Mow...