Roland Yeomans's Blog, page 86

WHAT WAS THE FIRST IDEA?

“If you want something new,  you have to stop doing something old” - Peter F. Drucker
What Was The First Idea?
History happens first in the mind.
History is driven by ideas.  Deeds follow ideas.
When we compare ourselves to animals, we see how changeable we are.
Animals' lives change very little compared to the convulsions and revolutions
that shape our history.
New ideas are destabilizing, even dangerous.
But what is the source of ideas?
Our minds.
Yet, our science has yet to understand how ideas generate in them.
Ideas have shaped the world as we know it now.
 They will sculpt it into the shape of the future.

But What Were The First Ideas?
The earliest ideas in many ways were the best.
No, the earliest idea was not writing.
We can infer ideas by the actions and tools born of them.
Flaking flint to make shelves and arrow heads bespeak of an idea to hoard and kill from afar.
And Man has been hoarding and killing from afar ever since.
One arrow may easily break but not so a bundle of ten.
And from that thought sprang the idea to band together for safety and to forage afar for food.
But to band together Man needed to be able to communicate ...
So sprang the idea of Symbols that grew into crude Language.
And from symbols and language grew the urge to express ourselves in Art...
as in the caves of Lascaux:
{Image Courtesy of Prof. Saxx}
What Do You Think  The First Idea Was?

6 Ways to Get People to STOP VISITING Your Blog

“Step right up and don’t read my blog!”

Would you ever write that on your blog?  You just might be if ...

1.)  Make it hard for me to find the comments box:

If I am taking time out of my day to read what you have to say but have a hard time finding the comment/reply option,

don’t expect me to comment.

Knowing I am unable to interact with you, I might not return.

Make it easy for me to find your comment/reply option.



2.) Keep the load time at its absolute maximum:

If your blog post/title catches my eye, but once I click to get there,

your load take takes what seems like forever, I might not come back.

*) Want to avoid this?

The more images, videos and other multi-media you have on your blog the longer it will take to load.

 However, images and other multimedia are important to attracting users to your blog SO

Decrease the size of your images or use thumbnails that link to the full-size image.




3.) Post content sporadically or rarely:

Do you like getting your news current or just now and then with no order to it?

 Most of us like up-to-date information.

Once your readers know your blog exists, take time to nurture and craft a blog post with regularity.

Even if you decide to post once a week, don’t stray from that.

Consistency breeds loyalty.



4.) Ignore Your Readers:

Don’t engage with people and neglect reciprocating on their blogs to ensure minimum repeat visitors to your blog.

Seriously, the first word in social media is “social”—

it’s a two-way street.

Talk to your readers, visit the blogs that visit you, engage with your audience.

Content is king but interaction rules the online social media universe.




5.) Have lots of WHINE to the cheese of your posts:

You might be one of the greatest new writers around, but if you whine continuously then expect a drop in visitors.

Depressing life-events dumps itself on my doorstep daily

so I really don't have to go out of my way to your blog for the experience!


6.) If you hawk it, they will come:

Ever been to those blogs that has tons of advertisements that shout at you?

How did you feel?

Having some advertisements is alright but crowding your blog with banners and links would turn off your readers.

Moreover, blogs with lots of advertisements usually take a long time to load,

which I’m sure you know, is not good for SEO purposes.

What do you think are ways to get people to stop visiting your blog?

SJW Culture_When Did It Begin?

When did it begin?   Most experts believe about 2011



The phrase originated in the late 20th century as a neutral or positive term 

for people engaged in social justice activism.

In 2011, when the term first appeared on Twitter, 

it changed from a primarily positive term to an overwhelmingly negative one.




Perhaps "SJW" movement isn't the right term... 
I can't think of any other that would identify it as well.. modern social progressivism movement? 
You can tell its members by their lack of a sense of humor ... 
they would not be able to find the humor in the above image.
They count coup by calling out someone in the spotlight for offending them and their standards.
They gain prestige in the eyes of their peers and you pay in external cost for not living up to their ideas of what is right.   
They search for faults in others and not in themselves ...
failing to realize they can only change themselves not others.
The Puritans only embedded the sin in a person they put into stocks not erased it.
When you point a finger at someone, three more are pointing back at you.


Safe Spaces. Micro Aggressions.  Bias Response Teams. Hate Speak.  Trigger Warnings.
Teachers used to use as their guide for writingtheir lectures THE REASONABLE PERSON  STANDARD
Would this offend a reasonable person?

Now, they have to writetheir lectures using THE MOST SENSITIVE PERSON  STANDARD

In the past,  good teachers challenged  their students to think for themselves by presenting ideas  that forced them to think outside  the safety of their  preconceived notions  of what was reality.
Now, they are no longer free to presentthe Matterhorn to them.
Only mole hills of thought are acceptable.

There is no longer room for nuance in the classroom.
Only Stark Black and White .

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
There are several social trends that started in the 80's 
and later that shaped children in that time to be hyper-sensitive.


OUTDOOR PLAY SHELVED  FOR SAFETY
The 80's  and 90's saw an increase in the headlines of children outdoors being at risk for abduction.
But outdoor play, besides the needed sunshine and exercise, also provided
opportunities to negotiate with others, to toughen up their feelings, 
learning the world does not revolve around what they wish.
It's called Socialization:
Children need to learn how to work together. 
They need to learn to make friends, how to share and cooperate, how to treat other people. 
If they only interact in very structured settings,
 such as school or sports teams, they won’t — they can’t — learn everything they need to know.


RISING POLITICAL POLARIZATION
The political parties never really liked each other.
But in the late 90's and especially after 2000, 
the disparity and snark grew vicious until you have the toxic atmosphere you have today.


IVY LEAGUE UNIVERSITIES  GONE FAR LEFT
Those faculties had always leaned to the left.  
Forget Lean.  
They have now leapt to the far left and are passing off their surmises as certainties
 onto their impressionable students.
This at a time when political tensions are higher than ever.
So it has devolved from the Truth Seeking Path to the We Have to Beat the Other Team! Path.
We know what we believe!  
Don't give me Data!  You change!  
We're right; you're wrong!

LOST IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA ZONE
Children born after 1995 
were snatched to the safety of the home right at the time Social Media started taking off.
Instead of having to learn to handle conflict constructively, 
these youngsters could cocoon themselves in a safe cyber-womb, 
surrounded by like-minded souls who reinforced whatever attitudes they found appealing.


END RESULT
You put all these social trends together,
and you get young people who are much more anxious, fragile, and depressed, 
coming onto campuses with all the super-charged political and social propaganda 
being delivered as truth from every professor to whom they listen.
Those few students are the vanguard of the Social Justice Movement.


FREEDOM OF SPEECH
    FREEDOM OF DEBATE
        CRITICAL THINKING
have long been the cornerstones of our democracy.
Without them, how long before our nation devolves into a Civil War between Ideologies?

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE  SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVEMENT?

WIDE-EYED

In the science of body language   
1.) Raised eyebrows often indicate discomfort or insincerity.

2.) Lack of crinkles around the eyes suggest a fake smile.

3.) Real smiles cause the eyes to close.

 One of the key ingredient in a genuine smile is the movement of the orbicularis oculi muscle. 

 The vast majority of people that fake smiles will show no movements in the upper face area.

 4.) See their bottom teeth?

      Another way you can tell if a person is fake smiling is if you can see the bottom teeth in her mouth. 

It is called The Duchenne Smile , named after the French neurologist Duchenne de Boulogne 

who conducted pioneering research into the science of electrophysiology.

      In true smiles the bottom teeth are totally absent.

5.)  This is because when you smile and you mean it, the mouth muscle, the zygomatic major moves upwards.


WIDE-EYED ...
having or showing a lack of experience or knowledge. 

See the full definition for wide-eyed in your dictionary

"If we work our butts off to make sure that we take back all three chambers of Congress ...

 Uh, rather all three chambers of government: the presidency, the Senate, and the House."


How do say this in a PC way?

Miss Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 29-year-old democratic socialist, 

is a young, ambitious, and outspoken Hispanic woman, 

who suffers occasional bouts of hyperbole and verbal imprecision.

Sadly, we suffer along with her. 

She is the Non-Thinker's Representative who likens her election to the first Lunar landing.
Narcissistic much?



Yes, I know that President Trump
has his own issues with 
hyperbole and factual imprecision.

Yet, the line that attacks him
for it goes around the block.

 Miss Ocasio-Cortez
seems to be made of Teflon.

When asked whether she supported Rep. Nancy Pelosi for House speaker .
Her answer:
“We gotta take a look at what’s going on, and how the U.S. would pay for multi-trillion-dollar universal healthcare,

 why we don’t consider “the cost of all the funeral expenses of those who died” because we don’t have universal healthcare." 



Instead of asking if Miss Ocasio-Cortez was sober, the interviewer simply nodded along thoughtfully. 

She used the tired route of answering the question she wanted to be asked, not the one she heard.

Or more frightening:  Did she actually hear that question?
No one challenges her directly on her wild, fact-challenged, narcissistic statements. 


This is how terribly unsuited individuals achieve positions of power to which they are woefully ill-prepared.
Yes,she has two degrees and won in a race thatseemed impossible.
After her father passed away from cancer in 2008, 
Miss Ocasio-Cortez worked two jobs in the restaurant industry to help her family make ends meet.
It just seems odd her words do not reflecther accomplishments. 



WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Besides that I am about to lose a ton of followers.

HOW TO GET A MILLION HITS ON YOUR BLOG_ And yes, it includes SEX

HOW TO GET A MILLION HITS ON YOUR BLOG?
You get them just like you get a million readers for your book.

You get them one at a time -- like you write your book one word at a time.

And you get them by giving them what they want to read, what they can get at no other source.

{I will, indeed, tell you how to get a million hits on your blog further on down in my post.}

Talking about giving readers what they want to read ...

What do writers want to read on a blog on writing?

HOW TO SUCCEED AS A WRITER.

I. KNOW IT IS ATTITUDE OVER TALENT.

     A. What key factor will you find in every successful writer?

           It's a desire to succeed as a writer  mixed with the
           right attitude.

          You have to pick yourself up and keep going. Because
          you know in your heart
          you're on the right path and you won't allow those
          nasty people derail you.

     B.  YOU ARE WHAT YOU DO.

           Each day your butt should be in the chair and
           your fingers typing.

           If not, you're a dreamer not a writer.

II.  Failure Shows You How To Get Better

     A.  CASE STUDY:

Bob Dylan was booed off the stage in 1967 when he went electric.

He was booed off the stage in 1974 when he went Gospel.

He’s been booed off the stage since then and yet he still fills theaters.

The Monkeys, on the other hand, have never been booed off the stage and they’re just an oldies act. Being booed off the stage is a key part of being an artist.

     B.   Don't write to please everyone. If you do that
            you'll please no one, starting with yourself.

           Write authentically.  Write honestly.

III.     Now about how to get a million hits on your blog ...

      A. Some writers work smart.  Some writers work
           hard.  Others are lucky.

           I can't help you with the luck ... but with the smart
           and hard --

      B. Write stuff people might want to read, doing so
           with humor and kindness; and
          
Compulsively e-mail your posts to bloggers who
           might possibly consider linking  you.

      C. If somebody's throwing you traffic, you should either
          (a) give them a link-back update, or at a minimum
          (b) keep them in mind for future linkage.

      D. Aye, Matey, I'll be showing ye where the treasure
           be buried!

           The easiest place to find blog fodder is Memeorandum ,
           which has an algorithmic formula that
           automatically updates to tell you
           what the hot topics are in the 'sphere.
           Along with http://www.wesmirch.com/

     E.  SEX SELLS -

          Once upon a time Stacy McCain was blogging
          in promotion of the book, DONKEY CONS.

          Because the subtitle of the book was "Sex, Crime,
          and Corruption in the Democratic Party,"
          
          he got lots of traffic from people Googling
          donkey+sex.  

         Sex sells.

    F. A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME and other hints --

          One: have a cool name. Something
          memorable. Something different.

          Two: make lots of friends. Pretty self explanatory.
          Friends link you. Friends click over to read you. 
          Friends put you in their blogrolls.


          Three: post about celebrities. Preferably the
           good-looking female kind.  
           People google-searching for GAL GADOT may
          very well come here because of her photo.

          Four: Enjoy yourself.
             This is the most important thing. A blog can eat
             your life.
             Blogging can become addictive.
             If you’re going to do it, you’d better do it in some
             way that you enjoy.

           Elizabeth Craig spotlighted my post on A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS sometime back on Twitter.  Thanks very much, Elizabeth!!

BLOGS_Behind the Curtain

Recent studies have found people take about three hours and sixteen minutes to write a blog post. 

That's a 26 percent increase 
over the same surveys last year. 
However, the studies also found that “twice as many bloggers are now spending 6+ hours on their average post.”


THAT'S QUITE AN INVESTMENT.
ARE WE GETTING AN APPROPRIATE RETURN 
ON IT? 
WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Research shows the average blog is dead 
after a mere 100 days.
OUCH!
That number also means that the average blog 
that launches in the next couple of weeks will already have died by July 4th!
Yes, that’s a depressing thought.


But don't quit!


Make connections where you can.
Look for forums related to your topic. 
Look for active Twitter chats about blogging.

As I've found writing my novels ...
 a funny thing begins to happen as you continue doing something you enjoy, 

even when no one else is watching quite yet: 
 you get better at it. 
The quality of your content improves. 
Then, as people slowly do find you, 

you have a growing body of work that’s getting continually better, 

which encourages those first-time readers to become multiple-time readers.
 It’ll take work, and it’ll take longer than you expect to get noticed.
But it’s worth it when it happens.

What do you think
of the return of
your blog efforts?

THE FIRST FOUR

“ Give me six hours to chop down a tree,  and I will spend the first four  sharpening the ax.”   - Abraham Lincoln
 The people we surround ourselves with 
are the biggest influence 
on our behavior, 
attitudes and results. 

Who you are around ,

what they’ve got 
you thinking, 
saying, doing 
and becoming,
sets the course of your life.
 “You are the average 
of the five people 
you spend the 
most time with.”  - Jim Rohn

Social scientists say the people you spend the most time with 

tend to shape who you are. 
They determine what conversations dominate your attention. 

They affect to which attitudes and behaviors you are regularly exposed. 

Eventually you start to think like they think and behave like they behave.

 No matter what you believe about what the social scientists say ...

You can agree it is hard to stay positive when surrounded by negative people!

Even if you do what you feel is right, you will not get as far if, around you,

you do not have people who hold you to a higher standard ...

who by their very example show you it can be done.


I am far better now than I would have been

because of the friendship of Sandra Thrasher and the example shown by her entire family.

If you truly are the average of the five people in your life,

what kind of person are you?

Has there been one person who touched your life with wisdom and friendship?

WHY YOU SHOULD POST LESS OFTEN

When I first started blogging, I posted 5 to 7 times a week!
Hey, I was just starting out  and didn't know better.

And Blogging was a different kind of place then

Posting less often gives you a chance to put more thought, more effort into your posts.

It gives you time to like, ah,  actually write your book.
It gives time for your readers to visit.

I mean your readers have lives to live.  Give them some time to live itand get back to you.

If your post stays at the top of your blogfor several days,
the more likely a new visitor will see it.



SO HOW OFTEN DO YOU POST?
IS IT LESS THAN YOU USED TO?
WHY?

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED?

Why Christmas Lights ...





and Nativity Scenes 



stay up until January 6th?

It has to do with the datecelebrated for when the 3 Wise Men arrived to greet the infant Jesus

It is known as Three Kings Day,the Epiphany, the 12th Day of Christmas

It also marks the official start of the Mardi Gras Seasonoften called Carnivalwhich comes from the Latin words carne vale, meaning "farewell to the flesh."

Which is apt for my new novel

Mardi Gras, Magic, Murder in 1947 New Orleans


Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte,  Our Lady of Holy Death is stalking the streets killing apparently at random.

Her Acolyte is stalking the shadows of the French Quarter

A maskedBall of the Undeadis held to entraphapless mortals.
 And the bomb that has been ticking in the midst of the cast of characters from Silhouettes in the Key of Scream  to Perchance to Nightmare to  Beware the Jade Christmas

Explodes in RAZOR VALENTINE
COMING SOON
Interested?

WRITERS IN A CAGE?

“To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.” 
~ Robert Louis Stevenson


Are you a writer in a cage, a cage of your design?
Often we are our own worst enemy, 

denying that we are capable of achieving more than we give ourselves credit for.

We are tempted to give up on our dreams because the road to them is arduous and slow.

Our behavior, our attitude, our bad habits are all within our ability to change for the better 

but we prefer the comfort of the familiar. 

We choose the path of least resistance, of a way of life that neuters the potential of success within us.


WHINING OR WINNING?

Have you pulled over on the side of the road to success, declaring defeat before you have even given it your all?

A well-functioning adult who puts in sufficient time, focused brain-storming, and quality effort can succeed in most endeavors.

You may not become the next J K Rowling, 

but how will you know if you do not rally everything within you and at your disposal in the attempt?


LAW OF LIFE

With a positive mind-set, willingness to learn, courage to change, and an iron resolve to work hard daily, you can ONLY get better.


DISCIPLINE NOT DESIRE

Great writers like Stevenson wrote daily, not when the desire struck them.  

You must, too.  How can you expect the water to flow if you do not turn on the faucet?

Stevenson spent long years of dying slowly, painfully each day, but he wrote classics each of those days. 


IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU

You are an adult, capable of becoming a professional.  

A great archer does not think of himself before he fires his arrow.  He thinks of his target.

Your target is not you -- it is the reader.

How can you write a book whose every page will excite the reader?  

That is your goal each moment in the chair before the computer screen.


WISHFUL THINKING NEVER WROTE A SINGLE WORD

Daydreaming is a pleasant haven from the hard work of putting evocative words on paper.  

But wishful thinking of impressing your co-workers or becoming the next Neil Gaiman will only leave you with what you put into your dream:  

Nothing.


PLAYING IT SAFE NEVER SCORED A TOUCH DOWN

Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg all have a few things in common:

They dropped out of college to pursue their dreams.  

They dropped activities that drained their time and spirit to focus on working on their goals.

They continually re-invented themselves and their work, growing better with each painful transformation.


PIMP-SLAPPING YOURSELF IS NOT GOING TO GET YOU THERE

 Why talk to yourself in ways that you would never talk to a friend?  

You are your best friend.  And if you are not, that is one problem to tackle first off.

Jettison the "I can't."  

Speak truth to yourself.  

Making a mistake does not make YOU a mistake.  It makes you human.

If you tell yourself "I'm nobody.  No one will buy this," you hamper your imagination.

Stop listening to your fears.  You are not psychic.  The future is up for grabs. 

 Look at the headlines:  

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

Life may be less than pleasant right now.  That is now.  

Tomorrow is a land of endless opportunities.

Be a pioneer of that unknown territory.  

Take those reasoned steps that will bring you closer to your dreams each day.


YOU CAN  SUCCEEDBECAUSE OTHER UNKNOWNS HAVE DONE IT BEFORE YOU. 
What bars have you erectedin your own cage?