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lochtayboatsong · 3 years

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The Jesus Christ Superstar essay absolutely no one asked for.

Last weekend, I watched the pro-shot of the 2012 arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar starring Ben Forster, Tim Minchin, and Melanie C, because it was Easter and it was up on YT for the weekend. I never managed to do my annual listen-through of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass this year, as is my usual Easter tradition, so I figured “Why not watch/listen to this instead?” It was my first time seeing and hearing JCS in full, and Y’ALL, it has been living rent-free in my brain ever since. I have a mighty need to get my thoughts out, so here they are, in chronological order by song.

1) Prologue: I love the way JCS 2012 makes use of the arena video screen. The production design and concept clearly took a lot of inspiration from the “Occupy ______” movement, which makes it feel a bit dated now. But every single production of JCS is a product of its time period, so this is a feature and not a bug.

2) Heaven On Their Minds: This is a straight-up rock song. It wouldn’t be out of place on any rock and roll album released between 1970 and 2021, and it boggles my mind that Webber and Rice were both in their early twenties when they wrote it. Also, the lyric “You’ve begun to matter more than the things you say” hits hard no matter the year.

3) What’s the Buzz: A+ use of the arena screens again, this time bringing in social media to set the tone. Also, this song establishes right from the outset that Jesus is burnt out and T I R E D by this point in the story. Seriously, can we just let this man have a nap?

4) Strange Thing Mystifying: Judas publicly calls out Mary and Jesus claps back. Folx, get you a partner who will defend your honor the way Jesus defends MM in this scene. Also Jesus loses his shoes and is mostly barefoot for the remainder of the show.

5) Everything’s Alright: Okay, this is one of the songs I have A LOT to say about. First, it’s important to know that I was a church musician throughout all of my adolescence and into my early adulthood. The pianist at the services I usually played at was a top-notch jazz pianist, and also my piano teacher for about six years while I as in high school and undergrad. (Incidentally, I had a HUGE crush on his son, who was/is a jazz saxophonist and clarinetist and also played in the church band, but that’s a story for another day.) One of the hymns we played a few times a year was called “Sing of the Lord’s Goodness,” which is notable for being in 5/4 time. Whenever this hymn was on the schedule, it was usually the recessional, or the last song played as the clergy processed out and the congregation got ready to leave, so we were able to have some fun with it. After a couple verses the piano player and his son would usually morph it into “Take Five,” a famous jazz standard by Dave Brubeck which is also in 5/4 time. Anyway, the first time I listened to this song in full, it got to Judas’s line “People who are hungry, people who are starving,” and I sat bolt upright and went “HOLY SHIT THIS IS ‘SING OF THE LORD’S GOODNESS/TAKE FIVE.’” And I was ricocheted back in time to being fourteen and trying to keep up with this father/son duo in a cavernous Catholic church while simultaneously making heart-eyes at the son. Final note: This is the only song in the musical to feature all three leads (Jesus, Judas, and Mary Magdalene) and is mostly Jesus and MM being soft with each other in between bouts of Jesus and Judas snarling at one another.

6) This Jesus Must Die: I LOVE that all the villains in this production are in tailored suits. LOVE IT. Also, Caiaphas and Annas are a comedy duo akin to “the thin guy and the fat guy,” except in this case it’s “the low basso profundo and the high tenor.” Excellent use of the arena video screen again, this time as CCTV.

7) Hosanna: My background as a church musician strikes back again. It honestly took me two or three listens to catch it, but then I had another moment of sitting bolt upright and going “HOLY SHIT THIS IS A PSALM.” Psalms sung in church usually take the form of call-and-response, with a cantor singing the verses and the congregation joining in for the chorus. If I close my eyes during this song, I have no trouble imagining Jesus as a church cantor singing the verses and then bringing the congregation in for the “Ho-sanna, Hey-sanna” chorus.

8) Simon Zealotes: This is part “Gloria In Excelsis” and part over-the-top Gospel song. Honestly it’s not my favorite, but it marks an important mood change in the show. The end of “Hosanna” is probably Jesus at his happiest in the entire show, and then Simon comes in and sours the mood by trying to tip the triumphant moment into a violent one. Jesus is not truly happy again from this moment on.

9) Poor Jerusalem: Also not my fave. It kinda reads like Webber and Rice realized that Jesus didn’t have a solo aria in Act I, so they came up with this. But it has the distinction of containing the lyric, “To conquer death you only have to die,” which is the biggest overarching theme of the story.

10) Pilate’s Dream: Pontius Pilate might be the most underrated role in this entire show, and I love that this production has him singing this song while being dressed in judge’s robes.

11) The Temple: The first half of this is one of the campiest numbers in Act I, at least in this production, and it’s awesome. The second half is one of the saddest, as Jesus tries to heal the sick but finds there are too many of them. Also the whole scene is almost entirely in 7/8 time, which I think is just cool.

12) I Don’t Know How To Love Him: Mary Magdalene’s big aria, and one of the songs I knew prior to seeing the full-length show. This production has MM taking off her heavy lipstick and eye makeup onstage, mid-song, which is kind of cool. Melanie C says in a BTS interview that MM’s makeup is her armor, so this is a Big Symbolic Moment.

13) Damned For All Time: The scene transition into this song is played entirely in pantomime, and I love it. The solo guitarist gets to be onstage for a bit, A+ use of the video screen again to show Judas on CCTV, etc. Love it. And then this song is Judas frantically rationalizing what he’s doing, and what he’s about to do, with Caiphas and Annas just reacting with raised eyebrows and knowing looks.

14) Blood Money: This is where the tone of the show really takes a turn for the dark. I think this might be one of Tim Minchin’s finest moments as Judas, because his facial expressions and microexpressions throughout this scene speak absolute volumes. And the offstage chorus quietly singing “Well done Judas” as he picks up the money is a positively chilling way to end Act I.

15) The Last Supper: Act II begins with major “Drink With Me” vibes. (Except JCS came WAY before Les Miz, so it’s probably more accurate to say that “Drink With Me” has major “The Last Supper” vibes.) Jesus and Judas have their knock-down, drag-out fight, and it’s honestly heartbreaking, thanks again to Tim Minchin’s facial expressions. A well-done production of JCS will really convey that Jesus and Judas were once closer than brothers, even though their relationship is at breaking point when Act I begins.

16) Gethsemane: This is Jesus’s major showpiece and one of my faves. Jesus knows he has less than 24 hours to live, he knows he’s going to suffer, and worst of all, he doesn’t know whether it’s going to be worth it. It’s an emotional rollercoaster to watch and to perform, and it goes on for ages: something like 6 or 7 minutes. Fun fact: the famous G5 is not written in the score. Ian Gillan, who played Jesus on the original concept album, just sang it that way, so most subsequent Jesuses have also done it that way. Lindsay Ellis has a great supercut of this on YT. John Legend notably sang the line as written during the 2018 concert.

17) The Arrest: Judas’s Betrayer’s Kiss is played differently across different productions. The 2012 version is pretty tame - I’ve seen clips and gifs of other productions, including the 2000 direct-to-video version, where they kiss fully on the mouth and have to be dragged apart by the guards and it is THE MOST TENDER THING. Then the 7/8 riff from “The Temple” comes back and the 2012 version lets the video screen do its thing again as Jesus is swarmed by reporters.

18) Peter’s Denial: Not much to say about this one, as it’s basically a scene transition. But it’s a significant moment in the Passion story, so I’m glad they included it.

19) Pilate and Christ: The 2012 production continues with the theme of Caiaphas, Annas, and Pilate all being bougie af, since Pilate intentionally looks like he just came from tennis practice during this scene. Also he does pilates...hehehe.

20) King Herod’s Song: Tim Minchin says in a BTS interview that JCS works best when Jesus and Judas are played seriously and the rest of the production is allowed to be completely camp and wild and bizarre all around them, and he is bloody well CORRECT about that. Case in point: King Herod. There is not a single production of JCS that I know of where Herod is played “straight.” He’s been played by everyone from Alice Cooper to Jack Black, and everyone puts a different zany spin on him. In JCS 2012 he’s a chat show host in a red crushed velvet suit, who is clearly having the time of his LIFE.

21) Could We Start Again Please: This is another of my faves. Just a quiet moment where MM, Peter, and the disciples try to grapple with the fact that Jesus is arrested and things are going very, very badly. This is also my favorite Melanie C moment of the 2012 show. Her grief is very real, and the little moment she has with Peter at the end is very real.

22) Death of Judas: This is basically Tim Minchin screaming for about five minutes, and incredibly harrowing to watch on first viewing.

23) Trial Before Pilate: Possibly my single favorite scene in the entire 2012 production. This is another harrowing watch, but there’s so much to take in. The “set” that the entire show takes place on is essentially just a massive staircase, and the people with power are almost always positioned above the people without power. In this scene, the crowd shouting “Crucify Him!” is positioned above Pilate, which is a very telling clue to Pilate’s psychology during this scene. Jesus is at the very bottom of the stairs, of course. Excellent use of the video screen once again during the 39 Lashes, to show the lash marks building and building until the entire screen is a wash of red. Pilate’s counting also gets more and more frantic, especially starting around “20.” And all the while the guitar riff from “Heaven On Their Minds” is playing. Jesus’s line “Everything is fixed and you can’t change it” is played quite differently in different productions - here it’s defiant, but elsewhere (in JCS 2000 for example) it’s almost tender, like Jesus is absolving Pilate for his part in the trial. But it always ends the same - with Pilate almost screaming as he passes the sentence and “washes his hands” of the whole sorry business.

24) Superstar: The most over-the-top number in the show. Judas, who died two scenes ago, comes back to sing this. There are soul singers. There are girls in skimpy angel costumes. The parkour guys from the prologue are back. Judas pulls a tambourine out of hammerspace midway through the song. And Jesus is silently screaming and crying as he gets hoisted onto a lighting beam while all this is going on.

25) The Crucifixion: More of a spoken-word piece than a song, it’s Jesus’s final words on the cross over eerie piano music, and another harrowing watch.

26) John 19:41: An instrumental piece in which Jesus is taken from the cross and carried, at last, to the top of the stairs, before being lowered out of sight as the video screen turns into a memorial wall and everything fades to black.

So. I know I’m anywhere from three to fifty-one years late to this particular party, but I am on the JCS bandwagon now and I’m thoroughly enjoying myself. :)

#jesus christ superstar #jcs 2012 #jcs is all i have been thinking about all week sorry not sorry #ben forster #tim minchin #melanie c #andrew lloyd webber #tim rice

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bemorekleinman · 3 years

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a stupidly long list of oddly specific and irrelevant jared kleinman headcanons that Just Make Sense to me

SUCH a cat person. always gives cats shitty excellent names (such as Dog)

he unironically listens to bill wurtz’s music (the guy from the history of the entire world, i guess)

absolutely rages while playing any mildly competitive video game, to the point where evan has learned to just let him win if/when he gets to a place in between tears and insanity

is an active redditor, much like will roland! also has gotten into several fights with people on reddit over very random topics (which wrol hopefully has not done but it wouldn’t surprise me tbh)

hates cucumbers for some reason

remember that post on here about the couple that went on a date and watched the lobsters fight in the tank? yeah he does that with himself sometimes

thinks stonk memes are the PEAK of humor but also misses early 2000s memes (actually, the stonks one is just me projecting)

does finger guns way too much (me too)

played soccer when he was in first-second grade and literally has not willingly engaged in sports ever since

probably a slytherin?? idk I’m not sure actually I’ll get back to you later on that one

is lactose intolerant but still eats ice cream in small portions sometimes just to say “fuck you” to dairy

he puts noses in his emoticons :^D (shoutout to my favorite deh fanfic that I stole this hc from)

held a mock funeral when vine died

has stretch marks on his stomach and thighs and is super duper self conscious about it

cries at almost all pixar movies and only pixar movies

once shoplifted $40 worth of random shit he didn’t even need just to prove that the security was bad

really enjoys salt and vinegar potato chips and once ate a family sized bag of them in less than half an hour

has a blob shaped scar on his right leg that he claims was caused by shrapnel from some weird freak accident involving a grenade but actually he accidentally set fire to his front lawn when he was eight and burnt himself

makes youtube videos of him going through old tech shit in his garage or something (this is based off a video on the deh yt channel whoops)

is either ridiculously good at baking or completely dreadful at it; I’m conflicted on which one suits him best

perhaps the most controversial: novel!jared is probably straight (might have questioned his sexuality in high school though), previews!jared is gay as FUCK and has a crush on evan (listen to the fucking DC script and tell me he wasn’t crushing I dare you), and bway!jared is,,,, actually who knows what’s going on with him

this post got kinda long my bad

#I didn't know where I should put these so here they are #when you're a jared kin he takes up a lot of your brain what can I say #I'm sure I have more but these are all I can think of rn #help me #jared kleinman #dear evan hansen #dear evan hansen memes #deh memes #will roland #sky lakota lynch #jared goldsmith #evan hansen #I typed this on my computer and I’m just realizing it looks weird on my phone whoops my bad

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incorrecttwoset · 4 years

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IM-

youtube

ASDFGHJKL- WHAT THE FUCK YES

Im not sure if this warrants a lesson time but fUCK IT IMMA DO IT ANYWAYS

Lesson time with Dani?????

The lesson we all learned here today is... that Davie was nice enough to put in markers. For the vid. So I can judge it better. You win just this once bass... just this once...

Anyways, LETS LEARN SOME LESSONS BOIS

0:00, the beginning (of the end) of the war. This part of the vid was a small teaser of what'll happen later on in the vid and a somewhat biased recount of the war. I'm saying somewhat because i just woke up and this is the second video ive watched today, first one being metling metal with magnets. Nice Dani is very much alive in the mornings... only if given ample time to ready themselves for socializing. oKAY BACK TO THE TOPIC. So after this recount of events, Davie transitions it to section 2:04 of the video with the line "bass is better than violin". And speaking of top 10 things to say if you wanted to be smited down by Ling Ling, lets go to that part.

2:04, they gave up? (Lol nopes) This section starts off with Brett's wonderful voice sightreading rapping to Eddy's lofi beats. (But no srsly, if you watch the vid it becomes sO APPARENT that Brett didnt memorize his LINES AHAHAHA HE KEEPS LOOKING OF TO THE SIDE AND READING IM DYING WHAT A MOOD) Which then goes into the famous transition from movement teo to three with that famous "sIKE" that probably tricked like, at least half the people that viewed. I know i was lol. Also, Eddy calm down with that tongue. You'll decimate half the fandom. But... he probably already did. And speaking of decimation, lets move to the next part shall we?

2:50, phone call. Violin-chan's life flashes before their eyes, wondering how the fuck Davie will end her life with a pizza cutter wHEN SUDDENLY. Ring ring. The phone rings. He answers it. (If you get that reference i love you) Its the bOIS! Just in time for violin-chan too. (Also dear god tHOSE WIGGLY EYEBROWS. EDDY IM A BRETT STAN STOP IT) They then show off a taste of the fruits of 40 hours practice by showing how they got his number and fINALLY legitimately declare battle directly to him. They then goad him into actually proving his worth as an instrumentalist, all for Violin-chan's sake. And we FINALLY ENTER INTO THE INSTRUMENT BATTLE. This is all for you violin-chan, we love you babe.

3:40, battle. Dude. Lemme just say. If they release a vid or a track with just the music from the battle, i will get it and blast it into my earphones all the time. I swear. Also, yt commenter TheVorshevsky was nice enough to get the piece names and place them all in their respective order. So, we'll follow that along with my own, albeit little, knowledge of classical music. Thanks for the help dude!

Pre-movement 1, WA Mozart Rondo Alla Turca AKA Turkish March. This part is short and sweet as it serves as the opening to the rest of the four movement battle. It slightly shows us how the battle will work, with alterations between bass and violin when its musically pleasing. (Dat butt wiggle dow. So cute! Thank you for stealing back my heart Brett) Of course, thats not how the whole battle will go as we blast off into the actual 1st movement.

Movement 1, JS Bach Cello Suite No. 1 G Major. As this part goes on, we see them take th main theme which they played at the start, and slowly add in their own twists and variations to it. And by slowly, I mean immediately after playing the theme. It was basically unrecognizable at the end. And i love it. And Brett showing off his perfect pizz? Oh baby, IVE MISSED THAT SO MUCH. Also, i love how they just ever so casually bUSTED OUT THE ADVANCED TECHNIQUES. LIKE OKAY. FLEX.

Movement 2, Vivaldi Summer. Personally, this feels like more of an endurance test to me. Like, see who breaks first. It would judge it musically but after finally being (slightly) educated on calssical music, I've looked back at all the times I've heard Vivaldi Summer. And oH GOD, IT WAS RUINED FOR ME. Well, not completely but like- its like asking a world class pianist to play Fur Elise. I mean, it's a great piece but its so overused. My music senses did not tingle with glee at this part. Twas only a light hum. Like how it sounded like. No offense. But I did like the intensity it added to the battle. Very epico in that regard.

Movement 3, Beethoven Moonlight Sonata 1st Mvt. I'm still sHOOKT at how they transitioned it from the intense, heart racing, fiery tones of Vivaldi Summer to the calmer, more melancholic melody of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Like hUH okay. Show off your arrangement skills. Also, is it just me or does the part after they introduce the main theme of the piece sound like the Twoset Concerto Battle??? Because, ive listened to that concerto battle for AGES and honey, i detect some concertos sneakin in this here battle. Also when Davie tried to take over with that simple yet sweet bassline which was complemented by Twoset's violin playing? Ohhhhh we sTAN. Do we stan Davie? Twoset? Both? I dont know, and i dont care because this is probably the best world war ever. And oH JEEZ WHEN EDDY TOOK THAT BASSLINE AND MADE IT HIS OWN WHILE BRETT BOUNCES HAPPILY IN THE CORNER? Ded. I would gush more about this part but we need room for movement 4 babey!!!

Movement 4, Paganini Caprice 24. When you thought that fighting two violin bois was easy but then you were wrong. AKA AnimeBassMe's rETURN. Fuckin hilarious i love it. Lowkey think that AnimeBassMe, Edwina, and Brettany would probably enjoy each other's company. Or ykno. Do the same instrument battle.

And finally, the thing we've all been dreading.

7:00, holy slapp. Not much to say really. Let's all gove a moment of silence for violin-chan. Wherever she is. At least she got to hear the EPIC music from this battle. And that Davie, on some level, respeccs the Twoset bois.

7:36, what happened to Violin-chan? Well, we can only hope that our bois in soft Twoset merch can save Violin-chan. (Also look at Brett's little run off screen im-)

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cigaratbp · 4 years

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things I learned from Miles Carter

As I’ve watched his recent live video in yt, I only watched half an hour of it. I liked his music though, saved that “sleepyfish” artist. so here’s some lessons I got from him, his words really got me listening to him and made me want to note it:

focus on what you have, and not always on what you want

relationship shouldn’t be about persuading them to like you, it’s about autonomously choosing one another

achieve your goals, as long as they're for your higher good

life will present you scenarios where you will be prepared to the goals you are committed so you'd better appreciate and properly get used to it, because life is going to shape you and you won't always get the goals that you want in an instant.

surround yourself with good people energy

no longer be afraid of chaos, depression, or anxiety. because it will mold you; for we learn in the midst of pain, because it will be the point where you'll listen to the lesson that is meant in your core. so we learn best through pain.

don't let fear dictate your life, it is just a human mind thinking what might go wrong, anxiety can cripple you and keep you in one place and limit your decision. life isn't here to make you feel terrible, because life is here to make you choose between love and fear, so always choose love.

no matter the good intentions you wanted to do, if you or the group of people you are with won't focus on the foundation they're building, hurricanes and chaos on that foundation will let everything be in mess, it'll crash your confidence and you as a person, so let God make you realize that it's better to go through that chaos, destroy all of that, and rebuilt the right foundation. face it. Everything will not always be good, but you can always manage.

In long distance relationships, he read a book “Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman. In every relationship, not only in LDR, you should understand each other's love language. We feel satisfied differently. And different people love differently. It's not just about feeling, but having an understanding with yourself, and the other, asking if this is something healthy for the both to continue to grow as people and be like a team.

learn to let go of people, because that's where you start to grow. people you are around are going to consistently shape what kind of a person you are, so if you are surrounded by people who make you the version of yourself you don't want to become, where they don't remind you who you are or don’t make you feel better about yourself, they may not be the people you want to be around, and it doesn't mean you're gonna push them away, it doesn't mean they're terrible people, but you're just gonna be aware of who you are, where you wanna go, what you wanna do and what you're worth, because they may not be the people who can facilitate you to develop into being the version of yourself that you wanna become, and that's completely okay.

All you have is all you need: being grateful to your purpose, to everything that happens to you, but won't be grateful to always think what you wanna do, wanna go, wanna be, which is not really there, you'll find yourself in a loop hole where you'll feel unsatisfied, instead, be grateful to what you have because it's a lot more easy to be comfortable where you are right now, and you'll find opportunities from nowhere because you're not demanding from the life.

don't be afraid of being rejected, because there's nothing wrong with rejection, everybody isn't your cup of tea, and you're not everybody's cup of tea, that's completely fine.

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butdidmarlenacomebackhome · 4 years

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things to do in quarantine:

it's the second week of quarantine in my country and I came up with a list of things I enjoy doing to pass time. I know how hard having no contact whatsoever with the outside world can be, above all for those who struggle with mental health, like me, so I really hope this list can be helpful! feel free to repost and add any other activity you think up ✨

catch up with TV shows, movies & books - these may be the most basic activities that come to mind but one should never underestimate the value of an entertaining TV show or a good book. if you had any titles you wanted to catch up to, now it's a good time as any to! time passes more quickly when you focus on fictional storylines

study or read about topics which interest you - if you have a penchant for astrology, witchcraft, science, psychology, history or any other topic you find interesting, doing some online research may help you expand your knowledge. you can learn to interpret the planetary positions of your signs or how to read the body language, it's up to you! learning a new language or how to draw are other valid options which can take quite a lot of time to master, perfect when you have little to do. YouTube videos do the trick too if you easily bore of reading

find documentaries or docu-series on Netflix or YouTube - there are a lot of interesting documentaries on both platforms, I can definitely recommend watching Buzzfeed Unsolved, Ghost Adventures, Into the Inferno, A plastic ocean, Father Amorth and The Devil, Our planet or any BBC documentary. if you enjoy mystery you can also watch the YT channel Real Story and Timeline - World History Documentaries

spend time on self-care - try out new DIY recipes for your skin and your hair with everyday products you can find at home [ always search for reviews as to not endanger your skin with harsh treatments and verify the reliability of the recipes before trying them out ]. have a long relaxing bath with soaps, bath bombs or parfumed essential oils: rose, chamomile and lavender work wonders for the skin. put on nail polish and if you like make-up you can practice your skills and create new looks! take naps!!! resting is very important and, as long as you use an alarm clock as not to sleep too much (which may bring headaches or a general negative disposition), you can definitely enjoy a nice afternoon nap

cook and bake - you can make pancakes or biscuits, try out new online recipes and enjoy the results after. a nice cup of tea will do nicely with a fresh bake of biscuits or muffins. I'm not big on cooking/baking but a lot of friends of mine find it relaxing and productive, so I decided it was worth mentioning

organize your work-out schedule - fitness apps help a lot when you want to fix yourself a work-out schedule and exercising in general definitely works both to keep you busy and to boost your health. the sedentary life of quarantine can make us lazier but spending even only half an hour exercising can be pretty refreshing. if you don't like the usual gym exercises, yoga is a valid alternative. dancing is a nice alternative and music in general can motivate you to move and excersize your body. [ don't strain yourself too much, work slowly to reach your goals and follow tutorials as not to risk wrongly performing exercises and positions ]

keep a journal or write anything that comes to mind down - writing is really helpful as it stimulates our mind and keeps our thought process active. watching a movie can become a passive past-time but writing down what you liked and what you didn't about it makes for a wonderful way to reflect and redescover yourself. journals of any kind may be easily updated any time of the day, you can also make it aesthetically pleasing to the eye (that way you spend more time and can keep occupied for longer). dream journals or poetry are some options too, just like lists. Sei Shonagon, a Japanese writer, made lists of things she loved, things she despised, things that would be perfect for a painting, and so forth: it can be quite fun to compile lists about various themes

watch the world around you from your window and admire the scenery - sometimes we forget how much beauty this world holds, from urban sceneries to natural landscapes, it's always a wonderful idea to spend time observing our environment. take notes, jottle down what you appreciate about your view, which emotions it evokes or simply silently admire the landscape and take time to breathe in and out. keeping busy is nice but taking time to have a break is just as important as life can be pretty overwhelming

Skype your friends, keep in touch - this may be the most mainstream thing to do but spending quality time with friends always manages to cheer me up, even if it's through a screen. you can stream games or simply have a chat, whatever you prefer. seeing them may be more uplifting than simply texting, so be sure to set up a time when you're all free to video call them! check up on your online friends too!

do some gardening, your plants will thank you - if you have any plants, gardening is a valid pastime too. water your plants, give them names if you haven't already, talk to them if you like (pls talk to them NICELY do not make an example out of Crowley)

[ don't forget to regularly drink water and wash your hands. go out only if it's strictly necessary, avoid touching your nose, mouth and eyes if you do. social distancing is important, for you and for the people you hold dear, respect the 1m distance! coronavirus is NOT a simple flu - please, please stay home, stay safe ]

#coronavirus #covid 19 #covid2019 #pastime #prompt list #pandemic #italy #thingstodo #feel free to add your own #stay safe #quarantine #health #social distancing #important #wash your hands

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chaosd1 · 6 years

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You know, when I reblogged that, it was mostly to showcase an issue that’s been present for YEARS, but keeps cropping up every now and then because most of Channel Awesome’s fans still think it’s 2010. If I had a Patreon dollar for every person who asked me something about “____ DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY!” despite that not being a thing I’ve done for over half a decade, I would probably not have to worry about paying off that damaged tire, or any future repairs to my car and/or PC. Long story short, they aren’t very good at letting things go.

I know people who want me to share my story are hoping for the same level of juicy gossip or levels of hypocrisy or betrayal that have accompanied so many of these other stories but I’m sorry to say it’s not quite that interesting, or even remotely “gotcha” in any sense of the word. If anything it’s more a reveal of how the company feels about its low-tier producers, and symptomatic of the larger issue that they clearly DON’T want anyone but the Chicago crew, or anyone that’s possibly bringing in their own audience. Remember when JonTron and PBG posted on Blistered Thumbs? I’m pretty sure they’re still kicking themselves over that one. As a bit of background, I always wanted to be on the CA site in some form, and by the time I had a show to offer up, I was already pretty close friends with a lot of the producers. In fact, it was Julien (Sad Panda) who decided to post up one of my videos in his schedule slot as a way to offer me a test spot. It was well recieved enough, but video games were almost always relegated to BT at the point, so off I went.

Despite being the more “respected” site by some audiences, all snafu’s aside, I felt that Channel Awesome treated Blistered Thumbs producers as second class citizens. Posting on there was like the Wild West. You put up whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted, and as often as you wanted, and hoped someone with a show that consisted of a three-hour long livestream split up into 15 minute increments wouldn’t end up pushing your video off the main page slider within the next few hours. It was very much for that reason I pursued some means to get myself listed on the main site by cleaning up the YEARS worth of spam and reported comments. After bringing it to the right people, I was permitted to post videos on the main site as well. It went well enough... for a while.

Once BT was shut down, a few of my friends (specifically MegaGWolf) were unceremoniously let go without an ounce of communication. (Most everyone on BT who wasn’t brought on to the CA “merger” had to find out via friends, as Michaud didn’t directly inform them.) Despite the promise of rebranding and stronger promotion, the BT audience didn’t really follow over to CA as the site didn’t really fit their desires, and the core CA audience was basically “NC, Linkara,and that’s it.” Views tanked and it was around the time I decided to move over to Youtube as the Blip waters were already pretty troubled.

At some point I started doing relatively well on Youtube, to the point CA felt like an annoying afterthought. I had to make special titlecards for CA as they had a ridiculous format I’d purposefully ignore later on just to see if they were paying attention. For example, the images were all supposed to be JPGS, though I always made them PNG, and since they were hotlinking them from my site anyway, WHY DID IT FUCKING MATTER?! It most felt like this ridiculous push for control and a power play that no one bothered to enforce anyway. Each time we scheduled we had to provide a link, a title, and a link to a special made titlecard. Did you have a special instruction or link you wanted to include when posting on CA? Good fucking luck they would ever include it, or spell half that shit correctly. Hell after a while, I figured it was pretty non-coincidental that after changing the title format from “MMO Grinder: Name of Game” to “Name of Game - ChaosD1,” views coming from CA were barely a percentile of the overall views I’d get from every other source. It wasn’t worth making them a stupid special title card and hopping onto a painfully broken scheduling site (a site that, by the way was designed for Sporting Events, and was so filled with non-updated dead links I occasionally would troll them by posting my category as “Blistered Thumbs” and “The Inebriati” both still available in the category dropdown menu. I’ll bet you they are still there to this day.

My issue didn’t come about until a sudden rule change. A rule I didn’t really have an issue with until the market started dying down, and my constant crushing depression over winter and my wife’s illness kicked in. Basically, “Post one video a month, or you’re stricken from the site.” later on that was changed to TWO videos per month and my show was almost always a ONCE per month deal. Seemed a bit suspect and draconian. There were people who didn’t post videos for several MONTHS that were still listed on the site, but they suspiciously had pretty strong followings elsewhere. Still I figured some form of warning or amnesty would take place to some extent. So in April of 2017 it was a pretty shitty month. Most of it was spent working on Eternal Crusade which was such a miserable slog none of us felt like doing much of anything else, there were no games to Sidequest for the suddenly required 2nd video per month, and I was pretty sure I was going to get some flak for it.Keep this in mind, I was WELL AWARE of the risk I was taking by not posting a second video, despite me rather often saying my show was monthly at the most. I figured they might know this, I’d get a warning, and that’d be the end of it. However, I was able to get out Eternal Crusade at the very end of April, but didn’t get around to posting it on the schedule until May 1st. May 1st rolls around, I check the site for any feedback and comments, and notice the video isn’t posted at all.... and I can’t access the scheduler anymore. One day late of posting consistently for 5 fucking years, and I’m locked out of the site like I stole a laptop from the studio. So I hopped on Twitter. Partially to express dismay, and partially because... I noticed I didn’t really have an audience on Channel Awesome anymore. I asked this very specific question and joked with some of the replies, most of whom confirmed my suspicion. They really only watched me on my site or my YT channel.

Still in talking with the CA chat in Skype, (I’d be on that Producer’s chat more often if I didn’t basically swear off Skype after Discord included screenshare. The producers and former producers really should make a Discord channel already.) they informed me that they’d probably reverse their decision if I just contacted Greg. While I didn’t think it was likely worth the effort, I figured I would anyway. Maybe pipe dreams of being included in an anniversary special some day. I just couldn’t wait to be the guy sitting slightly out of camera range in every shot with the one exception of getting to say “What should we do now, Critic?” for my first and only line in the movie. So I contacted Greg. It went a little something like this (for the Skype uninitiated, my words in Blue, Greg’s in grey):

So yeah, always fun to have to wait several days for a sentencing to the crime of being a day late on a post.

Of course, I cropped out the rest of the image, because the response without any contact in-between immediately afterward was this:

Yes I was being a sarcast there. I’m a sarcast... but when I’m last told “we’ll go through everything” and that is immediately followed up by “Sorry I took so long to get back, but... get lost scrub” I’m probably going to be a bit miffed about it. Of course this is CA and you can’t talk bad about them... or post something on Twitter they presume is talking bad about them, as this was the response to my sarcastic reply:

So yeah, Greg not quite understanding the concept of linear time (again I posted the tweet BEFORE I sent him the Skype message, not after) apparently you can’t even ask your audience where they still watch your videos most. They take it as a personal insult, like I didn’t enough appreciate those generous table scraps us low-tier producers had to fight over.

All things considered though, I knew the risk of not posting a second video in that month, and I valued my sanity over tossing out content for the sake of a suddenly imposed deadline. Could I have contacted Greg? Yeah, I suppose so, but why should I even have to? To be only a day late and have everything stricken without warning, like a robot looked over the feed and said “Well a month has passed, and there was only one so fired lel” without considering why, or even checking in on the employee in question, is the kind of corporate "numbers-only” bullshit that I swore off retail for. It’s fitting so many people in charge of Channel Awesome used to work at Circuit City is all I’m saying.

So that’s it. Nothing major, something I basically brought on myself, but still a fairly telling story of how you’d be treated as a content producer on that site.

And to all the current and remaining producers that aren’t showing up to the studio every day, or have a sizable enough audience to make a dent if you were to leave... they don’t WANT you there. They do not care about you. You are a liability. The very second they have a logical-to-them reason to cut your ass from the site, they will. Why put yourself through all that stress for a job that makes demands of you, without even paying you, promoting you, or benefiting you in any way? You know they don’t care about that site now that they are where they are with their YouTube channel. (Currently there are two producers that haven’t posted since December, that are still listed on the site. I must have been a special exception, or maybe it doesn’t matter if you don’t have a video as long as you keep telling them you don’t.) You’re white noise to them. Stay or go. As much as you think it might, it probably won’t make a difference to you...

...but it definitely won’t make a difference to them.

#channelawesome

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hardyorange · 2 years

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✨Productive morning journal✨

We're starting out strong today! This morning I:

✨ didn't even realize that my first alarm at 6:00 am was an alarm and instead interpreted it as a noise that I just had to make stop; this was after a night of interrupted sleep (more on that later), and it took nearly until my next alarm for me to realize what I had done; this is why I set multiple alarms!

✨ fortunately, I was ready when my 6:15 am alarm went off and hopped out of bed then!

✨ I finished using the restroom, checking social media, and making bed (:O !) by 6:30 am; I don't always fully remake my bed every day, but my blankets were pretty tangled this morning and merely flipping them closed and smoothing them out wasn't going to cut it

✨ I had my hair brushed and braided and was dressed by 7:00 am

✨ our countertop dishwasher was empty and the kitchen sink was fairly full, so I took advantage of being up early and started a load of dishes by 7:15 am; this is a chore that we fall behind on a lot AND a dishes in the sink is the #1 thing I hate the most, so I'm very proud of doing this

✨ I had breakfast ready to eat by 7:30 am; we went to the DeKalb World Market yesterday, so I had a pre-made bacon, mushroom, and cheese quiche ready for me to cut a slice out of, to which I added a banana and half a grapefruit, and treated myself by making my tea with the new, fresh loose leaf Earl Grey I just bought (I've still got to finish some older black tea with rose petals, but it's gotten quite weak from not being stored in an airtight container; I might try making it into cold tea so it can steep for longer in the fridge?)

✨ I ate breakfast while watching a yt video about prepping your garden beds for winter and finished by 8:00 am; I'm quite familiar with most of the base knowledge of gardening, but I wanted both another person's perspective and something positive to watch while I ate

technically, I could have been up, dressed, and fed by this time under my old habits, but I wouldn't have felt this prepared and relaxed; similarly, I could probably "optimize" my routine to speed through everything, but part of why I'm trying to do this is because I don't want to feel stressed and like I'm already falling behind before I've even started the actual to do list for the day

as I mentioned, we went to the DeKalb World Market yesterday; we take our recycling there because we don't have local pickup, and we were very much due for a drop off! I also took a small bag of donations to the G**dw*ll nearby (they massively underpay disabled employees, so I don't recommend going out of your way to support them, although they are often the most convenient place to get fairly cheap clothes and household goods and definitely the most convenient to pass on items that could be appreciated by someone else but aren't worth the money or time to sell or re-home on your own); I love getting rid of things and having empty spaces, which regularly conflicts with my desire to have an entire room packed full of shelf stable foods and household goods, lol

even spending several hours doing that, we still got home early enough for my to be in bed by just after 9:00 pm, where I had a little discussion with myself and determined that the thing I wanted most was at least eight hours of sleep, so I was able to put my phone down by 9:15 pm; this turned out to be quite good, because my roommates woke me up at 1:30 am having a conversation at full volume right outside my door about cleaning hair out of the bathtub drain; I very much wanted to murder them, and I now recognize that our fourth roommate who works from midnight to mid-morning and goes to sleep in the afternoon is a saint for somehow either sleeping though all of our noise or not sleeping through it and not killing us all after a month of living here

I had trouble going back to sleep after this because my body was feeling overly warm from the, idk, adrenaline rush of being woken up? I often have this problem if I either wake up in the middle of the night or stay up way too late; this lead to a somewhat hazy doze that I think persisted for quite a while (an hour? several hours???) until I finally dropped off fully without realizing it, leading to the confusion when my first alarm went off

I've spent a fair bit of time typing this (it's now past 8:45 am), so I'm going to go get started on one of my two assignments that are due next Monday!

#nonbinary guide to life #november 8th #2021 #idt

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spiritcc · 7 years

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Sherlock Holmes in Russia

For a country that the rest of the world completely overlooks when it comes to cinematography, Russia has contributed surprisingly quite a few adaptations to the Sherlock Holmes franchise, much to ACD’s dismay. Since you guise like lists with links and I’m very conveniently blogging about all kinds of Russian SH exclusively, I thought hey, why not make a comprehensive guide to Sherlock Holmes in Russia.

Russians grasped the concept of the hot British detective back when the stories were still fresh and funky, so the hysteria had a pretty early start already. The every-man, the smartest boy in town, the Sasuke to 2010′s tumblr: Sherlock Golmes

As per the fantabulous tradition, Holmes in the early translations fell under the H=G train just like Garry Potter and sir Genry, but well, they recovered soon, although the early history still remembers this weird phenomenon of Sherlock Golmes (or Golmts) in pre-revolution Russia.

Contains: pre-revolution grammar, Golmts, Vhatson

Theater soon caught up with the obsession, which resulted in Boris Glagolin securing his place as the first Russian Holmes on stage

Which in return, gave birth to the first still existing content:

Sherlock Holmes stage adaptations

Badly translated by yours truly.

You’d think they would just adapt the canon like normal people do, but jesus christ, in every story Holmes, that very same dude with no social life and couch as his best friend, keeps going all the way to freaking Russia to search for rich people’s missing jewelry. I am not joking in the slightest right now, the read will be wild. Interestingly enough, there is a strong sense of revolution already lingering in those plays, granted it’s 1906 onwards, if you follow me on this adaptational adventure you’ll see that Russians are really influenced by the mood of the country when creating new Holmes content. But it’s here already: some British detective suddenly involved in Russian drama of diamonds and freedom.

Contains: Holmes’ wife, MARIANI, explosions, first femlock, jewelry kinks, MOTHER RUSSIA

After this there was quite a long silence with lots of theater adaptations passing by without much notice. One of those highlights must be Vasily Lanovoy, THIS freaking man:

saying that yes he probably did play Holmes at some point, but he forgot when and how. Fuckin fantastic, Lanovoy, thnx for the input.

This continued up to 1971 even, when a few plays turned out to be so good they were honoured to get filmed for national television. This is how the earliest tv-adaptation has reached us, avocado millennials:

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1971): 1 | 2

No subtitles and never will be while I remain a proud man with standards.

This play is interesting because it’s the forbidden content tumblr craves for: all three plays were put on a shelf after one actor who played Watson in the Hound escaped abroad, and were never shown since. Decades later the Hound was miraculously discovered intact, restored and made available once again. That’s the sole interesting thing about this adaptation.

It is what you expect it to be: a two and a half hours tedious exactest motherfucking adaptation ever, you don’t even need subtitles for this, you only need to whip out your book, because every single freaking line is 100% according to text, but in Russian. It is what it is, what can I say, although it still has its own weird things like Frankland missing completely.

Contains: Henry and Watson sharing a bed, Mortimer touching Holmes’ skull, 2h30min of peaceful sleep while it plays

Everything went quiet until 1979 when things just decided to explode all at once, but I’ll start with what I at least think came first. In the span of the same year, Hound ‘71 got shelved, a Christmas Holmes musical came out, and as the final kick into the grave - that very Soviet Holmes series.

So, The Blue Carbuncle (1979) YT | Drive

I think this is the best adaptation on this pitiful planet because no other Holmes movie can inhale weed into your eyes right through the screen just as hard as this vid can. It’s fantastic how little it cares about canon and everything holy about Sherlock Holmes in general. Moreover, it’s a freaking Christmas musical shot for a country that doesn’t celebrate Christmas. It’s truly a gift for the mankind and has the lowest rating among all Russian SH adaptations because after finishing it, your eyes are so cloudy with weed you’re very likely to miss that deserved 10/10 with your trembling hands. Also, sneaky Igor Dmitriev somehow managed to star both in this shite, and the unholy Soviet series simultaneously as a villain and Inspector Gregson respectively. I have two sides indeed.

Contains: the least Holmes-looking Holmes you’ll ever see, off-key singing, the canon story with a twist, Shakespeare banter.

And here comes the blissful times of what is considered the best adaptation produced in Russia:

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (1979 - 1986)

Subtitled poorly and uploaded in ever poorer quality by our beloved Lenfilm. Lenfilm: we hate the content we produce.

The last video in the playlist is both Hound episodes in bluray tho

This series is distinct by how very warm, healthy and snuggly it is, as they wanted to tell a story about friendship and better people. It is pretty close to canon, but granted it’s five movies in two parts mostly (as the majority of Soviet television adaptations went), they do combine, twist and turn things a bit. If you’re looking for faithful canon with no toxic sociopathic bs, lots of fun, heart-clutching and incredible music - that’s the series you will go to. This series is the sole GIANT Holmes thing in Russia and its influence is as big as ever, which sure has its ups and downs.

If you want to continue your course along the *Russians influenced by their times* theme, do pay attention to how English people and their interactions are represented, and especially note the sudden shift in mood of the last two episodes that were made right when Perestroika hit. People having no idea what life beyond the curtain looked like making up a dignified fantasy vs confronting worrying change. It’s subtle, but it’s there, pretty interesting as well.

Contains: lots of hugs, dead dogs, killer jams, Mycroft under a table, sir Henry and Watson getting smashed

*it might be worth noting that the same director decided to re-release the series weirdly in 2000 as a show about ACD hating life, Holmes and everything around him. The show mixed heartwarming series with the new hate, was aired like twice in its lifetime and is more remembered for all the lawsuits more than anything. But I respect Alexey Petrenko way too much to keep quiet about it.

After that we suddenly dipped into animation, resulting in

Sherlock Holmes and I (1986) short with Livanov as Holmes, subs provided.

A quick nonsensical story about Holmes and his best friend dog Tom. Yes. Has pretty killer electronic music and surprisingly famous actors on voicing for something this tiny.

Contains: a universe where Watson was never born, crocodile eating a banana, a dog having a mansion and Holmes still searching for pennies under his couch to afford a shitflat on 221Bitch Broke street.

After this new times hit big time, resulting in one of the first femlocks in the world:

My Dearly Beloved Detective (1986): YT | Drive

Youtube blocked the youtube vid hard recently, so it’s resting on google docs, subs provided.

I personally very love this movie as again it’s very healthy and non-toxic, very warm, all around the place, and yes, Holmes and Watson are women. Consider this movie the Soviet series’ little sister as it’s fully acknowledging Livanov, imitates its camera tricks and uses the same score granted the same composer is involved once again. Actually, that composer worked on all three adaptations, aka this movie, the series and the carbuncle. Wild stuff.

The movie is obviously not that fantastic and is safely forgotten in Russia, but I love it dearly nonetheless, and love it even more for how healthy it shows relationships getting sorted.

Contains: best Lestrade ever, crossdressing, bubble games, reused locations.

That was the last Soviet contribution as the next adaptation wouldn’t come out until 2005. Rest in pieces USSR, you were the golden age of Russian movies.

The next two dip us back into animation once again and are technically Ukrainian, but anyways. It’s the

Murder of Lord Waterbrook (2005) time, subs provided.

The short bases its characters on the Soviet series and slays them ruthlessly in the most hilarious fashion. Everyone is a fun idiot, everyone is a murder suspect, occasionally gay stomps in. Also, the short, save for the female roles, was voiced by one single guy. Tumblr will love the fact that this guy is the voice of Shrek in the Russian dub, so the cartoon was always in safe hands.

Contains: the origin of the gloryhole gif, tasty steak, 360p

Flash forward to 2013 and the same guys made this cartoon into a mini-series that we have also translated:

Sherlock Holmes and the Little Black Men (2013).

Six episodes add up to about 40min of overall watch time and follow a story with lots of canon and Soviet series references, more cool artstyle, music and jokes. Such a pity it’s so grossly overlooked as the cartoon is great fun and was made with love. Also, Shrek is back.

Contains: stupid Watson, cliffhangers, Totoro cameo

And here comes the last contribution to date, the very awesome

Sherlock Holmes (2013) series, subtitled with love.

This series, in my opinion, is a peak adaptation on topic *what if everything written in canon stories is bs*: it rewrites all the characters and the narrative from scratch, toys brilliantly with canon, references and easter eggs most of the previous Russian adaptations and a few Western ones, it’s incredibly well thought out and rewatching it at least once is a must because the plot is so ace and required double checking to understand it fully. It contains incredible acting, very consistent character traits, the bestest Watson to date and very entertaining stories.

Also, concluding so far the *big Russian Mood(tm)* arc, this series is blatantly, as confirmed by the director, about modern Russian social and political issues: bribery, racism, law meaning nothing, you name it. It’s a very good series and it deserves all the attention in the world.

Contains: british trump, bimbom bramsel, loser holmes, basil rathbone

And the last but not least:

this hilarious parody on classic, RDJ and BBC Holmes made by the parody show that knew it all too much. Don’t consider yourself a true Holmes fan if you’ve never seen it.

Contains: Lady Gaga, special subtitled gaze, “deduction”.

So here it is, the more or less comprehensive guide on all Russian Sherlock Holmes stuff I know, or at least consider important enough to mention. If you want to do some good old piracy, I always have the page ready with all the subs and best torrents.

It is indeed quite a few adaptations for a country so far away and wild, isn’t it.

#russian sherlock holmes #well many of them

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jwstudent · 7 years

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Australian Royal Commission - Case Study 29

29 August 2017

Australian Royal Commission! There! I said it! A bit more on that later in this entry, but first, the “Don’t Give Up!” convention of 2017. I went to it, and came away from the convention quite perplexed if I may be honest. Perplexed negatively. There were 3 things that hit me quite hard.

1. From the Remember Lot’s Wife videos: Featuring a JW family

a. The JW wife is sitting with her non-JW mother. The mother is watching TV, a comedy series, it seems, starring two homosexual men. The mother says something along the lines of that the two men are funny, as in humorous. The JW wife looked on in horror at her mother and said, “But they’re gay!”

b. The JW daughter brings home a few colleagues from work. One of them, a young woman, mentions her parents, notably the fact that they are a lesbian couple who had raised her. The look of horror on the JW husband’s face as he hears this.

Now, these two instances are so homophobic. I was especially shocked by the second example above when the JW husband starts telling the young woman that the fact that she was raised by a same-sex couple was wrong. Now I must be honest, and please I sincerely do not mean to offend, but I do not agree with same sex couples raising a child. Sorry. But I would never say to somebody’s face that their parents are morally wrong. I’d keep that opinion to myself. The offence and hurt this could cause!

c. The JW husband comes home to find a lot of people in his house. His wife greets him and tells him that she has invited various family members over for a meal. The husband looks shocked and says, “but they’re not in the truth!”

Am I to take from that third example, that as a JW I cannot invite family members who are not JWs to my house for a meal! I didn’t like this three-part video at all.

2. The “1975 – Some Brothers” video:

a. A JW guy is thinking back to 1975, and explains that “some brothers” were teaching/saying that the world was expected to end, or at least this “system of things” was due to end in that year. He explained that he found it hard to accept at the time. Two things immediately struck me:

(i) This guy seemed to speak as if these “some brothers” were some minority splinter group of brothers, perhaps in a congregation somewhere, who were teaching that the end of this system of things would happen in 1975, and he seemed to suggest it was a wrong teaching. But hold on! It wasn’t “some brothers”, a minority group, that were teaching these things. It was the Watchtower Society and the Governing Body! They were putting out literature talking about 1975 and how the system of things was expected to end in that year. It was the Society that was teaching people to have Bible studies of no longer than 6 months, for brothers and sisters to sell houses and give up their jobs to urgently preach the message in this last year of this system of things. The literature is still available showing this. So why is this guy talking as if it was a wrong teaching that was being put about by “some brothers”. It seems as if the organisation is trying to blame a few renegade members of the congregations for the teaching that the organisation itself put out.

(ii) This guy said that at the time he didn’t feel that the 1975 teaching was right. Now back then if he voiced that opinion, he would have been seen as going against the teachings of the Society and Governing Body, which can land you in all sorts of trouble. Yet here he is acting as if he were some “super JW” by not listening to these “some brothers”.

All the above really knocked me back somewhat. However, the biggest shock was to come …

Yes, the Australian Royal Commission (ARC). As a JW I had heard about this on numerous occasions purely because I surf the Net. I did not hear about it at a Kingdom Hall or at a Convention. In fact, I don’t think I heard it mentioned or even alluded to once within the organisation, which is odd considering the outcome of the Commission, and I’ll explain why I say it’s odd later. Yes, I had heard about this commission case study into instances of child abuse within the JW “church”, but like all JWs I chose to ignore it. That is until curiosity got the better of me. I noticed that the entire proceedings of the live broadcast had been uploaded onto YouTube by various YT users for all to see. Now, I have read in various forums and in comments made to various YT videos that commenters/posters have boasted about how they have confronted JWs at their door, or how they are going to confront them, not necessarily about the ARC, and I know most of that is rubbish. Most of the people that say that don’t actually do it, but probably boast that they have. However, I wanted to be prepared to give good answers in defence of the JW organisation, and so I decided to sit down and watch the entire proceedings. It took a few days as there is 8 days’ worth to watch, and some of those days are split into up to 4 videos each, some of which are over 2 hours in length. By the end of it I was gob-smacked, and, I am afraid to say, “stumbled”. Why? Well:

Point 1: I listened to the evidence given by the two victims. Both victims were from different Kingdom Halls in Australia, and both were historic allegations of child abuse by JW elders, meaning that the victims/survivors (depending on which label you prefer to use, I’ll use “victim” as I think it better describes the situation) had brought the allegations sometime after the offences were alleged to have taken place. At least one of them went to court, some 20+ years later, resulting in a conviction and imprisonment of the perpetrator. The evidence of both victims, both of whom were JWs at the time of the offences, though one has now left the organisation, but I think the other victim is still a JW, was harrowing to listen to. Not just because of what happened to them as children, but because of the way they were treated by the JW organisation. Such as:

· Being made to sit in front of a panel of three MEN and give explicit details of what had occurred.

· Being made to make their allegations with the perpetrator present, and even have the perpetrator cross-exam his victim. This disgusted me!

· Being told that if they went to the Police about this they would be dragging Jehovah’s name through the mud. Yes, that is what was actually said by, I believe, a Circuit Overseer to an elder who informed him that the victim was considering going to the Police.

· Being told that in the new system all hurt would be healed and life would be better, as if that was comfort enough for these poor women.

· One of the victims wrote to the Australian Bethel after she found out that her abuser, who had confessed, eventually, to the elders that the allegations were true, and had been disfellowshipped, was, some two and one-half years later, being reinstated as a JW. She told the branch that she was not happy with this. The reply she received said that they could not hold the wrongs against him forever, and that Jesus (?) had said to “bottle one’s tears in a skin cup!” Yes, that is actually what they said to this poor woman. I also noted that the elder/abuser had not been disfellowshipped for the abuse, to which he had admitted, but he had been disfellowshipped for lying about the offence. Not for committing the offences of child abuse, but for lying about it.

The counsellor and Justice assisting the Commissioner both appeared to be utterly dumbfounded at this treatment experienced by the victims.

Point 2: Various elders and branch committee/Service Desk elders were called to give evidence. Now, if the statements made by the two victims were not bad enough, these elders giving evidence were shameful. Now, considering some of these elders were giving evidence about something that happened 20+ years ago, I do accept and understand that they would not be able to remember every word of every conversation they had back then. However, it was clear to me that they had “selective memories”, and it appeared that they skirted around certain questions and tried to give anything but direct answers to many of the questions. There was a lot of “I can’t recall what was said” and even some passing of the buck. By the answers and the wording of the answers given, it seemed to me that these elders had been prepped on what to say and what not to say. The whole proceedings were broadcast live, and those elders present who had yet to give their evidence were able to watch the proceedings before they took the stand. Yet when the Counsellor Assisting (CA) the Commissioner, and the Justice himself, asked the elders if they had been following the evidence given, including had they heard the evidence given by the two victims. Every one of the congregation elders said they had not. The CA and Justice seemed to be astounded by this, so much so that when an ex-JW Elder was called to give evidence, they asked him if he knew why these elders had not viewed the proceedings prior to appearing themselves. Now this ex-JW elder had left the organisation (due, he said, to choosing to live a lifestyle that was not compatible to the JW religion. He did not elaborate, and neither was he asked to, but it was obvious that he was either disassociated or disfellowshipped.) He was not one of the elders directly involved in the investigation of either of the allegations back then, but he was the elder of another congregation that one of the disfellowshipped abusers had applied to for reinstatement. This ex-elder said he did not know why the other elders had not been watching the proceedings (he himself had been), but that he could speculate as to why. The CA and Justice did not want him to speculate and so they moved on. I think the ex-JW elder probably suspected the same thing as me, that they were instructed, or at least advised, by the JW lawyers not to watch the proceedings.

Point 3: Also asked to give evidence was the Service Desk Overseer (SDO) and Branch Committee Overseer (BCO) of the Australia branch HQ - they might not be accurate titles, I’d have to go back and watch the videos again -, but basically the latter was the head guy at the Australian WTBTS HQ. Now, both these guys said they had watched all, or some of the proceedings prior to their appearing, but they too, when asked simple questions, seemed to do everything to avoid giving clear simple answers. When they, and indeed the elders, were asked about the Governing Body (GB), they all seemed to clam up, as if they didn’t want to talk about the GB. The CA learned that Geoffrey Jackson, a member of the GB, was in Australia, and so he enquired of the CDO and SDO if it would be possible for Mr Jackson to attend and give evidence. Both said that they felt that he would not be able to contribute much to the proceedings as he was only on the translation committee, and so the CA left it at that. This was backed up by the Watchtower lawyer sitting behind the CA. Until, that is, the CDO let it slip that not only was Mr Jackson on the translation committee, but he also oversees the publishing and policy committees. I thought the CA was going to start kicking off. He told the CDO that he had mislead the Commission. D’oh! Anyway, Mr Jackson did appear in the end, albeit by video link.

Now, I thought that as Jehovah’s people we were Godly people, not like those “worldy ones” out there, you know, the ones who lie and deceive and treat others with a lack of respect. I am not so naïve as to believe that there could never be any pedophiles in any of the JW congregations. There are pedophiles in all walks of life, even in those organisations that are set up with the sole purpose of protecting children, such as child welfare centres. We read of pedophiles found among school teachers, and not just male pedophiles, but females too. I recently read a news article in which a 30-something year old female teacher was regularly meeting one of the 13-year-old boys in her class and having sex with him. We even sometimes hear of police officers being convicted of child abuse related crimes. So, for me, and anybody else, to assume that no JW could ever be a pedophile would be stupidity. But what I would expect is that somebody in authority within the congregation would report the matter to the police. The elders were asked several times by the CA and Justice, “Would YOU (i.e., the elder themselves) go to the police and report any allegations of child sex abuse within their organisation?” Again, they seemed to skirt around the issue and say that it would be up to the victim, or if the victim was still a child, then it would be up to the parents. The CA and Justice asked what they would do if the parents were the ones committing the abuse, but again more skirting around the issue and attempts to shift the burden of responsibility of reporting to sexual abuse matters to the police was on the victim/victim’s parents. One elder was point blank asked by the Justice whether they would go to the police if they found out that a member of their congregation had murdered somebody. He told them he would not! The whole situation seemed, to me, to centre around not sullying the name of the organisation rather than going to the authorities with reports of such abuse. In the end, the Commission told the JW organisation that their methods of dealing with child sex abuse were woefully inadequate.

Now this Commission took place in 2015, and I knew there had been, earlier this year, 2017, a review by the Commission in which they called back the SDO and BCO to ascertain what they had done to improve the way in which they deal with child sex abuse matters within the organisation. I had high hopes that after the 2015 Commission the WTBTS would have responded to this wakeup call and taken serious steps to deal with such offences. I was disheartened to discover they had not. Yes, some steps, albeit half-hearted steps, had been put in place, but they were still inadequate. These steps included a letter from the Branch Office to all elders on how to deal with such allegations. The Justice asked these two if anything had been announced or provided to every rank-and-file member of the congregation on how to deal being a victim of child sex abuse by other members of the congregation. Their answer was that all members of the organisation knew they could simply go to the WT Library, type in the search words “child sex abuse” and find many articles about how to deal with it. The Justice asked him again, has anything been formally announced to each member of the congregation, and something produced for each of them to read on this subject. It seems that nothing has. Certainly, I have heard nothing announced or been hinted at in the 4 years I’ve been attending meetings.

I was told a few weeks ago that my hairstyle might cause others to “stumble”. Well, let me tell you this; the lying and deception of those elders who appeared before the Commission, and the organisation’s apparent priorities being to protect the abuser (yes, the abuser, not the abused) and protect the organisation’s name rather than protect the child, sickened me, and stumbled me. I am sorry to say that I am actually ashamed to say that I am a Jehovah’s Witness due to the actions and attitude of the organisation towards and in dealing with, these awful problems.

Oh, and when Geoffrey Jackson was asked if the GB were God’s only representatives on earth, he replied that it would be presumptuous of him to say this. Huh? But that's what we are taught! We are told that the GB are God’s only spokespersons on earth. I have seen so many double standards watching these videos.

I could go on, but perhaps it’s best you see this all for yourselves. Below are links to the YouTube videos showing the procedures, and to the ARC website itself.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPQ6KZ-AGhVQbadlzMQN26dvMPzddxlui

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmTEz8GhJE8

https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-study/636f01a5-50db-4b59-a35e-a24ae07fb0ad/case-study-29,-july-2015,-sydney

#Jesus Christ #Jehovah #Jehovah's Witnesses #awake #watchtower #Bible #Bible student #bible study #God's Kingdom #Kingdom Hall

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sandranelsonuk · 7 years

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16 Bloggers Who Make Enough Money to Travel the World in Style

Hands up if you’ve ever seen headlines like these:

“Why I Quit My Job to Travel the World”

“Man Who Quit 9-to-5 Job Makes $1 Million While Traveling the World”

“3 Ways to Quit Your Job and Travel the World Without Going Broke”

My guess is that you have, because I see these headlines around everywhere. I’ve even written a few of them (hint: the last one).

And let me guess …

When you see a headline like that, you’re a bit skeptical. You check Google Analytics and with your meager traffic, you can’t imagine ever being able to quit your day job to go on an epic adventure, let alone make money while doing it.

But I have news for you.

It’s possible.

Not only that, but more bloggers than ever are doing it.

They’re doing it without having to pinch pennies, without having to stay in cheap, bed-bug-ridden hostels, and without going broke.

In this article, we’ll meet 16 bloggers who are doing this exact thing. We’ll take a look at how their blogs make money, where they’re choosing to spend their time, and even the downsides of building a location-independent lifestyle.

Let’s jump in.

Blogger #1: Paula Pant from Afford Anything

If your bank account balance makes you shudder every time you look at it, you might not agree, but …

You can afford anything. Just not everything.

At least, that’s what Paula Pant thinks.

Paula went from an office job in Colorado, earning $25,000 per year, to a personal finance blogger earning a 6-figure income.

Her blog is focused on financial independence, and has helped her take 14 trips last year alone — 5 international and 7 within the US.

Real wealth is not having to go to the office on a sunny day. ☀ (Who cares what you drive, or what brands you wear, or about any of the rest of that noise?)

A post shared by Paula Pant (@paulapant) on Feb 10, 2017 at 1:00pm PST

On a typical travel day, Paula spends about half of it working (maintaining hardcore focus), and the other half exploring with her partner, Will. At the end of the day, she typically clocks almost 8 hours of productive work (and just to be clear, while the average office worker is at work for 8.8 hours per day, they’re only productive for 3), proving that bloggers don’t get a free pass to do nothing even when they’re traveling.

Let’s look at a few awesome-to-sucky ratios from the day:

Time Gawking at Gorgeous Mountains: 80 minutes

Time Cursing the Crappiness of Powerpoint: Constant

Here’s another one:

Time Spent in Hot Springs/Hiking: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Time Spent in Transit: 8 hours, 45 minutes (includes work overlap)”

So make no mistake, blogging while traveling the world involves work. But those moments in the mountains and hot springs sure are worth it.

How she makes money: Paula allows her readers to book consulting sessions with her for $5/minute, takes on clients, and earns money through affiliate income and podcast sponsorships. Her special blogging power: Paula’s special power is simple: producing less crap, and more massively useful content, publishing only when she has something amazing to put out.

Blogger #2: Nat Eliason from NatEliason.com

You may have heard rumors that the “riches are in the niches”, and that may be true … for some bloggers.

But not for Nat Eliason.

Nat runs the popular blog NatEliason.com, and his claim to fame is a lack of an overarching theme. He’s proving that you don’t have to be Tim Ferriss to blog about what you’re interested in, as long as you put in the work.

Nat moved to Argentina after a stint of digital nomading across the world: Paris, Austin, New York, Colombia, Florence, and even the Antarctic.

Antarctica Day 6/11: The geography and ice in Antarctica is itself gorgeous. This gives some sense of scale of how quickly these icy mountains rise out of the ocean, that's our ship (roughly 10 stories tall) in the bottom right. (This is the "real" day 6 now)

A post shared by Nat Eliason (@nateliason) on Jan 15, 2017 at 4:03pm PST

But it’s not all pretty.

There’s what he calls “the void.”

After he took his blog full-time and built his own four-hour work week, he found that he just wasn’t happy.

“As soon as you get that freedom, you realize that a fundamental part of being human is doing things, and once you have no things you need to do you can get listless and depressed.”

So while freedom is a worthwhile goal, keep in mind that you’ll need to fill that void somehow.

How he makes money: Nat monetized his blog through creating products: books, courses, even an app. He’s taken on consulting clients and works somewhere around 20 hours per week.

His special blogging power: Nat’s special power is his understanding of marketing. Without it, his blog wouldn’t have been successful and neither would his products.

Blogger #3: Michelle Schroeder from Making Sense of Cents

We’ve seen one example of a personal finance blogger already, but this personal finance blogger does things just a little differently.

Michelle Schroeder from Making Sense of Cents started her blog in 2011 and since then has grown it to become a massive success. She blogs with her husband and two dogs from the road, putting a whole new meaning to the term “location independent.”

Michelle and her husband travel from place to place in their RV, taking their dogs on adventures and exploring national parks.

That means that they explore in the daylight and work in the evening as much as possible.

Our final day in Yosemite!

A post shared by Michelle Schroeder-Gardner (@michelleschro) on Apr 14, 2017 at 2:14pm PDT

Michelle is in it for the long-term game. She knows blogging isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. It took her years to earn the income she does from her blog.

She inspires her readers to persevere and stick with their own goals so they can reach the success she has.

How she makes money: Michelle earns money from her blog through sources like affiliate income, courses, and advertising.

Her special blogging power: Consistency and transparency. She’s been writing on her blog for six years and has maintained massive consistency. Since she’s publishing regularly, she’s developed a massive audience.

Blogger #4: Amber Fillerup from Barefoot Blonde

Think that most bloggers who are able to travel the world have the privilege of little responsibility?

This next blogger might change your mind.

Amber Fillerup Clark is the blogger behind the massively popular lifestyle blog, Barefoot Blonde.

She lives in Hawaii when she’s not traveling to places like Paris, Australia, and Japan, and she runs her blog and social media accounts from wherever she happens to be at the time.

And also takes care of her one- and two-year-old children, Rosie and Atticus.

She started her blog with a very different focus: to document a service trip to Fiji. When she returned to the US, she continued updating her blog from school, having to borrow her dad’s digital camera to take pictures.

☺

🤗

A post shared by AMBER FILLERUP CLARK (@amberfillerup) on Apr 2, 2017 at 1:04pm PDT

After getting a couple of brand sponsorships, she decided to take her blog more seriously and focus on it full-time.

Now, her husband works with her on their blog business, managing photography logistics, and they spend much of their days taking photos for Barefoot Blonde’s Instagram and Pinterest accounts.

How she makes money: She turned her blog into a business with her own hair extensions line and also engages in brand sponsorships on social media.

Her special blogging power: Amber’s special power is visual content and social media. She and her husband pour their energy into creating a visually appealing brand to inspire readers through photography.

Blogger #5: James Clear from JamesClear.com

Let me guess.

Building the freedom to travel into your career wasn’t the only reason you wanted to start blogging.

You probably also wanted to start blogging to make an impact. Right?

If you’re nodding along, I have good news: this next blogger proves that both of these outcomes are possible.

James Clear is the blogger behind JamesClear.com, a self improvement blog that helps his readers lead better lives through habit change. He’s a weightlifter, photographer, and international traveller.

Stonehenge. 4,000 years ago some crazy people decided to spend years dragging these giant stones across the countryside and placing them carefully in a circle. A for effort, ya'll.

A post shared by James Clear (@james_clear) on Oct 5, 2016 at 6:24am PDT

At the beginning of his blogging career, he published articles every Monday and Thursday, and his consistency paid off. He amassed an email list cult following of over 400,000 people.

He did this while traveling to places like the Bahamas, Iceland, Peru, Scotland, and Vietnam … all in one year.

How he makes money: James sells his products (online courses and books) through his email newsletter. He doesn’t sell anything directly from his blog.

His special blogging power: His special power is simplicity and massive productivity. James doesn’t get distracted by the million things he could be doing. He focuses on what’s working and does more of it.

Blogger #6: Brandon & Dan from Zen Dude Fitness

Let’s say you wanted to start a blog about fitness.

But you weren’t sure how to monetize it in a way that would still give you that sense of freedom and flexibility you crave. After all, personal training isn’t exactly location-independent.

Enter Zen Dude Fitness.

Zen Dude Fitness is run by Brandon and Dan, two friends who lost 130 lbs. combined after years of struggling to do so.

Should you be lifting weights? Depends on where you are right now and where you want to go. Watch our most recent YT video to find out if you should be lifting weights with your jump rope regimen or if you're someone who should stick to bodyweight workouts. Click link in bio to watch now @zendudefitness . . .

A post shared by Zen Dude Fitness (@zendudefitness) on Nov 5, 2016 at 10:34am PDT

They’re the type of location-independent bloggers who aren’t always on the move. They packed up their life in the US to move to Colombia, where they create YouTube videos to inspire their audience to get fit.

If you don’t value always being on the go and want to explore one place more deeply while also living a location-independent lifestyle, look to Brandon and Dan for inspiration.

How they make money: They monetize their blog through courses and even physical products (like jump ropes) and enjoy freedom and flexibility to do what they love while enjoying the world.

Their special blogging power: Their special power is executing. Even if they have to push past their limiting beliefs to do so.

Blogger #7: Benny Lewis from Fluent in 3 Months

Benny Lewis, blogger at the popular language learning blog Fluent in 3 Months, is a “full time globetrotter”, traveling to exotic places like Brazil, Belgium, Taiwan and China.

He travels cheaply, blogging from the road and holding events in whatever locale he ends up in.

But it wasn’t always this way.

Benny started his blog after six years of full-time travel. His main motivation for starting his blog? A challenge he made for himself: learn Czech in 3 months. He began to blog for accountability, with the intention of growing his readership.

Just got into São Paulo, or as locals call it, "Sampa". It's great to be back in my favourite country, and speaking Portuguese again. Here for a friend's wedding and to enjoy life!

🤵

This is a view of the iconic Octavio Frias de Oliveira bridge over the Pinheiros river.

A post shared by Benny Lewis (@irishpolyglot) on Nov 16, 2016 at 6:46am PST

Benny admits to not getting much sleep, waking up early to work and staying out late to enjoy the city he’s in. But, there’s no “normal” for a traveling blogger:

“In Rio I worked most of the day from a penthouse apartment with a breathtaking panoramic view of the city and in India I had a hut with no hot water or kitchen where the power would go out several times a day. There is no typical for a traveling blogger!”

From struggling to find Wifi to traveling to cities with power outages and unreliable transportation, it’s not always a walk in the park, but the pros outweigh the cons.

How he makes money: He initially monetized by writing a “Language Hacking Guide” and offering Skype consultations. He then launched his best-selling book and language learning courses.

His special blogging power: Benny’s special blogging power is mastery. He’s done exactly what he teaches his readers to do on his blog, and his deep knowledge of language learning helps him create compelling and useful content for his readers.

Blogger #8: Steve Kamb from Nerd Fitness

Some people build a business from their blogs and find themselves in the fortunate position of being able to live a location-independent lifestyle.

Others, like Steve Kamb from Nerd Fitness start their blogs with the intention of building a location-independent career in hopes of fulfilling their travel dreams.

After reading Tim Ferriss’s 4-Hour Workweek, Steve started building his now-popular fitness blog so he could achieve more freedom and flexibility in his career.

By 2011, Steve had built his blog up enough that he was able to take off on a round-the-world trip, visiting 4 continents, 9 countries and 15 cities over the span of 35,000 miles.

I see you Copenhagen.

A post shared by Steve Kamb (@stevekamb) on Dec 28, 2016 at 6:29am PST

The downside?

Steve was traveling alone during that initial trip, and while he enjoyed it, he found it to be lonely. Not only that, but the limited amount of work he did on the road (while following the 4-Hour Workweek model) taught him that he actually enjoys working on his blog … and wanted to do more of it.

How he makes money: Steve afforded his travels through his blog, monetizing with merchandise, his online fitness course, and ebooks.

His special blogging power: Steve’s special power is uniqueness. Steve saw a need in the blogosphere for something that didn’t exist when he was looking for it: information on getting fit that could be communicated in a way that it could be understood by anybody.

Blogger #9: Anthony Metivier of Magnetic Memory Method

If you’ve ever wondered whether you niched down a bit too much, Anthony Metivier’s blog might put those fears to rest.

Unlike many of the other bloggers I’ve mentioned who run blogs in popular niches, Anthony Metivier took a different path.

Anthony is the blogger behind Magnetic Memory Method, which teaches people how to improve their memories.

Not exactly your run-of-the-mill blog topic, but Anthony has turned his blog into a massive success.

Originally from Canada, his blog has helped him move to Germany and then travel to places like Israel, Egypt, Australia, and more.

How he makes money: Anthony uses his blog to sell his books and programs about memory improvement and language learning.

His special blogging power: Anthony’s special power is masterful productivity. He never stops producing; from blog content to books and courses, he doesn’t rest on his laurels.

Blogger #10: Cait Flanders from CaitFlanders.com

In 2011, Cait Flanders was deep in credit card debt, and had one goal: to get herself out.

She started her blog to keep herself accountable to paying it off, and since then it’s evolved from a debt blog to a minimalism and slow living blog.

Cait took off on a road trip across Canada and the US in 2016, covering over 17 States and 6,900 miles, and and has been exploring North America since she quit her job in 2015.

The first thing I noticed when I crossed the state line was how green Minnesota is. Everywhere I look, there's more green green green. My first night here was perfect: @anthonyongaro @amy.ongaro and I went to @birchwoodcafe (where I had the best turkey burger of my life) then walked around the falls for a bit, where we ran into friends who gave me a list of things I must do when I'm in Colorado. Little did they know, I never want to leave here.

#simpleyear #day236 #greatamericanroadtrip #roadtrip #minnesota #minneapolis #mpls #onlyinmn #citybynature #solotravel #campercait

A post shared by Cait Flanders (@caitflanders) on Aug 23, 2016 at 6:33am PDT

As far as what life looks like for Cait while she’s traveling, it’s not all glamorous.

Conflicted between working and exploring the cities she found herself in, she quickly found that nobody talks about the difficulties of the location-independent lifestyle.

“I couldn’t have gone on this road trip at all, if I still had a full-time job. But working for yourself is still a job — and trying to work on the road is even harder than working at home.”

Still, if you’re willing to make some sacrifices and put in the work, you can do it, too.

How she makes money: Her product offerings include physical products like her Mindful Budgeting planner, as well as a digital budgeting program. She also does freelance writing to round out her business, using her blog as a portfolio.

Her special blogging power: Cait’s special power is authenticity and genuine connection. She listened to her audience to build products that they really wanted.

Blogger #11: Colin Wright from Exile Lifestyle

In 2009, Colin Wright sold everything he owned that wouldn’t fit in his suitcase, scaled down his business, and started his blog, Exile Lifestyle.

This was a drastic change from the corporate career and consumerism excess he left behind.

Since then, Colin has traveled full-time, spending a few months in each country before moving onto the next destination.

Railay Beach in Thailand. #railay #beach #krabi #thailand #asia #travel #island #ocean #sky

A post shared by Colin Wright (@colinismyname) on Feb 6, 2017 at 5:57pm PST

He’s visited over 60 countries, and lived in 8, all while running his businesses from the road.

Exile Lifestyle is where he publishes articles about his life and businesses.

How he makes money: Colin earns money from his blog through books, speaking engagements and newsletter sponsors. He also runs the podcast Let’s Know Things, which he monetizes through sponsorships.

His special blogging power: Colin incorporates his personal strengths into his blog for his special blogging power — simplicity. Colin doesn’t complicate blogging; even his blog design is simple, attracting a strong readership.

Blogger #12: Jodi Ettenberg from Legal Nomads

Ever want to visit Siberia?

Yeah, me neither, but Jodi Ettenberg from the popular travel and food blog Legal Nomads did — so much so that she quit her six-figure job as a lawyer to do so, turning her blog into her new career so she could travel as much as she wants.

She used to live on the road, living out of a backpack and traveling to locations like Italy, Japan, Vietnam, and Spain while working on her blog. Now she lives in Mexico and travels for just 4-6 months of the year.

That time I drove 12 hours from Marrakech to M'Hamid, including the beautiful High Atlas pass. This was one of those trips where you just get out of the car and stare around in awe at what the world is capable of showing you. Full write up of the insanity of driving in Morocco here: http://www.legalnomads.com/driving-in-morocco/

A post shared by Jodi Ettenberg (@legalnomads) on Jan 18, 2017 at 10:08am PST

Jodi lives and works where she wants, enjoying the flexibility she built into her blog business. That’s not to say there are no challenges with living the lifestyle she does; she just deals with them as they come.

How she makes money: Jodi is all about full disclosure, citing the many ways she earns money through her blog, from hand-drawn food maps to freelance writing, speaking, books, consulting, courses, and even food walks in the cities she visits.

Her special blogging power: Jodi’s special power is storytelling. Jodi’s commitment to storytelling in blogging allows her readers to feel as if they can build a deeper connection with her.

Blogger #13: Matthew Kepnes from Nomadic Matt

In 2006, Matt Kepnes quit his cubicle job and took off on a round-the-world trip.

A round-the-world trip that he’s still on to this day.

Matt is the blogger behind the ultra-popular travel blog, Nomadic Matt, where he blogs about his travels across 80 countries and territories, helping his readers travel more for less money.

His corporate escape plan included starting his blog, finishing his MBA, and booking a one-way ticket to an adventure around the world.

So pretty! #uae #abudhabi #grandmosque

A post shared by Nomadic Matt (@nomadicmatt) on Sep 13, 2016 at 4:45pm PDT

When he’s on the road, he works in the morning and early evening to leave time for him to sightsee during the afternoon and after dinner.

How he makes money: Matt doesn’t monetize his blog like other travel blogs. Instead of doing sponsored trips and posts, he monetizes by adding value through ebooks, courses, and affiliate marketing. This allows him to maintain the laptop lifestyle without having to return to that cubicle job he so successfully left.

His special blogging power: Matt’s special powers, as you can easily tell from the testimonials on his site, is his ability to inspire. Just like he was inspired by five backpackers he met in Chiang Mai to fulfill his dreams of full-time travel, he pays it forward by inspiring his readers and helping them realize their own travel dreams.

Blogger #14: Josh and Ryan from The Minimalists

Most of the bloggers in this guide travel because their blog businesses allow them to have built a location-independent career.

Josh and Ryan from The Minimalists travel because their blog business requires them to.

What do I mean?

Well, the two friends who started the popular minimalism blog together in 2011 have monetized their blog by writing a book — one that required them to go on 100-city book tours across the country.

They also tour America to host events (live versions of their podcast, The Minimalist), and plan to take their tours overseas.

Boston! We just confirmed our first tour stop of 2017: "The Minimalists Live" in Boston on April 15th at the historic Wilbur Theatre, where we'll present an in-depth talk about minimalism and host a live version of our podcast. Presale tickets will be available in two days, starting this Wednesday, January 18th, at noon EST, which means our audience gets first access to the best seats in the house. Simply visit our tour page at Minimalists.com/Tour and use the code “boston” during the presale window to get your tickets before they go on sale to the general public. (Note: 100% of the profits from this pre-sale go toward building an orphanage. It's also worth noting that last year's Boston event sold out fairly quickly, so get your tickets ASAP.) #LessIsNow #LessIsNowTour

A post shared by The Minimalists (@theminimalists) on Jan 16, 2017 at 8:45am PST

Packing everything they need in a carry-on bag, with the 20/20 rule in mind where they “don’t bring anything [they] think [they] might need that can be replaced for $20 in less than 20 minutes,” they hop in their car and take off.

But in 2010, their lives looked different. Instead of having a thriving blog that allowed them to spread a message they were passionate about and travel while doing it, they both worked in traditional careers where they scaled the corporate ladder, accumulating “stuff” as status symbols.

But when Ryan was laid off and Joshua quit, each from a six-figure career, they banded together to build a better life for themselves.

How they make money: They turned their blog into a business through selling books, podcast sponsorships, one-on-one mentoring, and even writing classes.

Their special blogging power: Clearly, their special power is the face-to-face connection that live events provide.

Blogger #15: Chris Guillebeau from The Art of Nonconformity

You may have already heard of Chris Guillebeau.

He’s the best-selling author behind The $100 Startup, Born for This and The Happiness of Pursuit.

He’s also the mastermind behind some of the digital world’s best conferences, like the World Domination Summit and The Art of Nonconformity.

He’s travelled to every single country in the world, launched several online businesses, and has been featured in The New York Times, Wired, The Globe and Mail, and on NPR (to name a few).

Early morning skies over Sydney Central Business District. No filter… because this city needs no filter. Coming up next: 15 hours to Abu Dhabi and beyond!

A post shared by Chris Guillebeau (@193countries) on Feb 21, 2016 at 10:19pm PST

But before the books, the conferences, and the Internet fame, there was his blog.

Chris started The Art of Nonconformity in 2009 as an experiment: could he become a full-time writer online in under a year?

It turns out he could — it took him 279 days to become an “overnight success.”

How he makes money: Chris spun his blog into many best-selling books, conferences, courses, ebooks, and digital products, not to mention a daily podcast.

His special blogging power: Chris’ special power is his approachability. From responding to reader emails no matter how full his inbox may be, to featuring reader stories on his blog, he makes sure he’s accessible for his readers.

Blogger #16: Sean Ogle from Location Rebel

Eight years ago after going on a trip, Sean Ogle decided he wanted to travel more.

So after a lot of research, he worked up the nerve to ask his boss at his financial analyst job to work remotely. But despite asking nicely, Sean’s boss shot down his request.

So he did what any sane person would do:

Quit his job, sold his car, and booked a one-way ticket to Thailand from which he spent the next seven months traveling Southeast Asia, building his blog, and earning money through freelance SEO as he travelled.

Sean’s story proves that you don’t have to have an already-successful suite of product offerings on your blog to make this lifestyle work.

Hey, YOU! Checked out Location Rebel yet? Better get on it or you're gonna miss out on epic skydiving adventures (or really good blog posts) …

A post shared by Sean Ogle (@locationrebel) on Nov 22, 2016 at 7:56pm PST

He started with the lowest-hanging fruit: finding freelance clients and working one-on-one with them while he built his blog business on the side.

Now he teaches his readers how to do the same (from wherever he is in the world) on Location Rebel.

How he makes money: This is made possible by Sean’s online courses, programs, and products, so he can travel the world in style without having to sacrifice on comfort. Sean’s also built up niche sites such as his golf blog, Breaking Eighty, which brings in extra income to fund his lifestyle.

His special blogging power: Sean’s special blogging power is cohesiveness. Sean’s brand is focused, clear, and cohesive, attracting a strong readership that’s never left confused.

Blogger #17: You

Traveling the world while you blog isn’t a privilege specific to these 17 bloggers.

They weren’t born with the successful-blogger gene, and most of them started exactly where you are now: with an idea, a few articles under their belt, and a passion for their topic.

It doesn’t matter if you started your blog last week, last year, or in 2010.

It’s not always glitz and glamor, but if you focus on building an audience, choose the right model to make money from your blog, and maintain massive discipline, you can earn enough money with your blog to become a digital nomad and travel the world in style, too.

Just make sure your passport is up to date!

About the Author: Sarah Peterson writes insanely useful guides on marketing and entrepreneurship at Unsettle.org. Get her report, 10 Free Tools That Reveal the Product Your Audience Is Begging For to finally start making money from your blog … the right way.

from Julia Garza Social Media Tips https://smartblogger.com/how-to-make-money-and-travel/

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richardrobertsimsuccessblog · 7 years

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16 Bloggers Who Make Enough Money to Travel the World in Style

Hands up if you’ve ever seen headlines like these:

“Why I Quit My Job to Travel the World”

“Man Who Quit 9-to-5 Job Makes $1 Million While Traveling the World”

“3 Ways to Quit Your Job and Travel the World Without Going Broke”

My guess is that you have, because I see these headlines around everywhere. I’ve even written a few of them (hint: the last one).

And let me guess …

But I have news for you.

It’s possible.

Not only that, but more bloggers than ever are doing it.

They’re doing it without having to pinch pennies, without having to stay in cheap, bed-bug-ridden hostels, and without going broke.

Let’s jump in.

Blogger #1: Paula Pant from Afford Anything

If your bank account balance makes you shudder every time you look at it, you might not agree, but …

You can afford anything. Just not everything.

At least, that’s what Paula Pant thinks.

Paula went from an office job in Colorado, earning $25,000 per year, to a personal finance blogger earning a 6-figure income.

Her blog is focused on financial independence, and has helped her take 14 trips last year alone — 5 international and 7 within the US.

Real wealth is not having to go to the office on a sunny day. ☀ (Who cares what you drive, or what brands you wear, or about any of the rest of that noise?)

A post shared by Paula Pant (@paulapant) on Feb 10, 2017 at 1:00pm PST

Let’s look at a few awesome-to-sucky ratios from the day:

Time Gawking at Gorgeous Mountains: 80 minutes

Time Cursing the Crappiness of Powerpoint: Constant

Here’s another one:

Time Spent in Hot Springs/Hiking: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Time Spent in Transit: 8 hours, 45 minutes (includes work overlap)”

So make no mistake, blogging while traveling the world involves work. But those moments in the mountains and hot springs sure are worth it.

How she makes money: Paula allows her readers to book consulting sessions with her for $5/minute, takes on clients, and earns money through affiliate income and podcast sponsorships.

Her special blogging power: Paula’s special power is simple: producing less crap, and more massively useful content, publishing only when she has something amazing to put out.

Blogger #2: Nat Eliason from NatEliason.com

You may have heard rumors that the “riches are in the niches”, and that may be true … for some bloggers.

But not for Nat Eliason.

Nat moved to Argentina after a stint of digital nomading across the world: Paris, Austin, New York, Colombia, Florence, and even the Antarctic.

A post shared by Nat Eliason (@nateliason) on Jan 15, 2017 at 4:03pm PST

But it’s not all pretty.

There’s what he calls “the void.”

After he took his blog full-time and built his own four-hour work week, he found that he just wasn’t happy.

“As soon as you get that freedom, you realize that a fundamental part of being human is doing things, and once you have no things you need to do you can get listless and depressed.”

So while freedom is a worthwhile goal, keep in mind that you’ll need to fill that void somehow.

How he makes money: Nat monetized his blog through creating products: books, courses, even an app. He’s taken on consulting clients and works somewhere around 20 hours per week.

His special blogging power: Nat’s special power is his understanding of marketing. Without it, his blog wouldn’t have been successful and neither would his products.

Blogger #3: Michelle Schroeder from Making Sense of Cents

We’ve seen one example of a personal finance blogger already, but this personal finance blogger does things just a little differently.

Michelle and her husband travel from place to place in their RV, taking their dogs on adventures and exploring national parks.

That means that they explore in the daylight and work in the evening as much as possible.

Our final day in Yosemite!

A post shared by Michelle Schroeder-Gardner (@michelleschro) on Apr 14, 2017 at 2:14pm PDT

Michelle is in it for the long-term game. She knows blogging isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. It took her years to earn the income she does from her blog.

She inspires her readers to persevere and stick with their own goals so they can reach the success she has.

How she makes money: Michelle earns money from her blog through sources like affiliate income, courses, and advertising.

Blogger #4: Amber Fillerup from Barefoot Blonde

Think that most bloggers who are able to travel the world have the privilege of little responsibility?

This next blogger might change your mind.

Amber Fillerup Clark is the blogger behind the massively popular lifestyle blog, Barefoot Blonde.

She lives in Hawaii when she’s not traveling to places like Paris, Australia, and Japan, and she runs her blog and social media accounts from wherever she happens to be at the time.

And also takes care of her one- and two-year-old children, Rosie and Atticus.

☺🤗