The key towards maintaining low plumbing repair bills is prevention. Drain clogging is a very common plumbing problem. Loose hair is often the culprit if your drain keeps getting clogged. To keep hair out of your plumbing, use a screen or cover for your drains that allows water through but keeps hair out. Taking the hair off of the screen and disposing of it is cheaper and easier than removing it from the pipes. Frozen pipes can cost you a significant amount to repair. Fortunately, it is usually relatively easy to prevent your pipes from freezing. The most important step is to keep any pipes close to the outside, well insulated. When it gets colder, disconnect and drain the hoses and turn the outside faucet off. You can save money on plumbing bills by doing this. Cleaning the aerator will fix low water pressure issues that are caused from sediment buildup. Quality Plumbing Service Belleville IL As winter approaches, be sure that your external faucets are not dripping and leaking.
Look over the lint trap to make sure there aren't any rips or holes. This can cause problems like clogs. Avoid using drain cleaners as much as possible. Drain cleaners use abrasive chemicals that are not only harmful to you but also to your pipes. Especially in cases where you have a drain that clogs repeatedly, getting a professional plumber in to examine the situation may be your best option. There's probably a block in the connector that goes between the sewage line and main line if there is sewage backing up in your toilet. When your personal efforts can't deal with such a clog, your only option is to have the line snaked out by a professional plumber. The valves that are rarely used can fuse together easily. You can prevent them from becoming fused by regularly maintaining them with a penetrating oil, and running water through them on a regular basis. Plumbing is not only related to water, there are many other skills required to be a good plumber. Fixing water lines is among the most common fixes a plumber does. Emergency Plumbing Company Cold water keeps the blades sharpened, giving you optimal performance whenever it is used.
Also, use as little toilet paper as possible to clean yourself properly. , Put banana peels and similar items in your trash can and scrape the rest of your trash into the garbage disposal. If you see puddling water near the water heater, you have to turn water off with the shut off valve as soon as possible. If you neglect to shut off the water, one small leak could become a much bigger leak, which will be much harder to stop. Make sure all of your loved ones know how they can shut off your home's water, and also all the various connections in your house, just in case it is needed. You definitely want everyone to be able to stop excess water from flooding your home and damaging flooring and baseboards. If your family knows how to turn off the water, the water flow can be stopped. Have you gained more knowledge about plumbing? Do you know which type of plumbing your home has? Have your skills improved? Can you now use things that work with your system? Do you know more about using the tools? The tips provided have given you an understanding of plumbing principles. Information To Use When Working With Plumbing Problems in plumbing can have bad effects on your house and belongings. Stop plumbing problems before they start by applying the following tips. Knowing about the tools and how you're supposed to use them may greatly help with your plumbing jobs. Be sure you read everything you can from the manuals, and use different things like the library and internet to learn all the projects that are do it yourself.
Cold water keeps blades sharp and encourage a smoother disposal. Electric Hot Water Heater Replacement Oak Park IL, Advice On How To Do Plumbing Right It is common for people to believe that plumbing repairs are hard. If you know what to do and have the right tools, you can fix anything. Read this article to learn how to fix basic things. If you possess pipes that are alive with the sound of squeaking or hammering, you have an issue that is easily corrected. You must anchor any type of exposed pipe. You may need the assistance of a professional in the case that the pipes are contained within a floor or ceiling. To prevent frozen pipes, always keep the living spaces in your house above freezing, even if you aren't home. Any exposed pipes need to be insulated against the outdoor temperatures. If the temperature surrounding these pipes is below the freezing point, your pipes could freeze. If pipes do freeze, the best possible scenario would include taking time for the pipes to thaw and any frozen water to drain. The worst case would be that they burst, creating water damage and a big repair bill.
Keep the drains in your bathtub working properly by pouring a cup's worth of baking soda and than a cup's worth of vinegar directly down your drain every month.


But /bʌt,bət/: a conjunction used to introduce a phrase or clause contrasting with what has already been mentioned.
"But." A very short yet powerful word. The ultimate game-changer. When coupled with God, it holds great promise and infinite possibility. Whatever was said before is not final until God says so. Through this word, He can negate whatever happened, or He can call into being that which does not exist (Romans 4:17).
Whatever circumstance you find yourself in today, remember that the final outcome can be radically different and not what you expect because of these two words: but God.
These two words give us hope. Add them to your prayers. God has the last word and our story is not over until He writes the ending.
Which verse speaks to you the most today? Do you have a "but God" story to share?


text:
France rejects new probe into killing of Rwanda's Habyarimana
By Staff Reporter on July 3, 2020
A French appeals court has rejected a request to reopen an investigation into the shooting down of a plane carrying Rwanda President Juvenal Habyarima 26 years ago.
The incident sparked the Rwandan genocide in which 800,000 people were killed.
The inquiry was dropped in 2018, but Habyarimana's widow, Agathe, and families of other victims had appealed against the decision.
But it may not be the end of the case, as civil parties have already said they will move to a higher court, the AFP news agency reports.
Relations between the France and Rwanda have been turbulent ever since a French judge in 2006 accused several close associates of current Rwandan President Paul Kagame of being behind the assassination of Habyarimana.
Cyprien Ntaryamira, Burundi's president at the time, was also on the plane.
At the time Mr Kagame was the leader of a Tutsi rebel force which was fighting the Hutu-dominated government.
He has always said that Hutu extremists shot the missiles that brought downed the president's plane.
Under current French President Emmanuel Macron, political relations have improved.
Democrat Joe Biden was sworn in.
Donald Trump prays for Biden's success as President and condemns Capitol riot in farewell address
Donald Trump will say he will.
US President-elect Biden plans to reverse Trump policies during first days in office
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden plans to.
Coronavirus variant from South Africa found in Japan December 28, 2020
Actress Lupita Nyong'o writes moving tribute to Chadwick Boseman September 9, 2020
South African coronavirus cases fall dramatically the lowest since June. August 12, 2020
Uganda's ruling party nominates Museveni for election July 28, 2020
Nigeria state doctors strike over poor coronavirus management July 7, 2020
WHO urges safety as African airlines begin operation July 3, 2020
Nigeria entrepreneur faces jail in US for $11m fraud June 19, 2020
Zambia's president Edgar Lungu urged to apologise to ex-US envoy May 27, 2020

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Carlos Gomez Newsbeat
Carlos Gomez Officially Announces Retirement
Former major league outfielder Carlos Gómez officially announced his retirement this afternoon in a ceremony at Milwaukee's American Family Field (video via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). The announcement finalizes the end of a 13-year major league career.
Of course, there hasn't been much doubt that Gómez's playing days had already concluded. The 35-year-old last played in the majors in 2019, and he hasn't played professionally since wrapping up a stint with the Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Winter League between 2019-20. Reports out of the Dominican Republic in January 2020 indicated Gómez's playing days were likely coming to an end, but he hadn't publicly finalized that decision until today.
Gómez ceremoniously hung up his spikes as a Brewer, with whom he had the best run of his career. Acquired from the Twins over the 2009-10 offseason, the electric center fielder spent the next four and a half seasons with the Brew Crew. At his peak, Gómez was one of the sport's top power-speed threats. Between 2013 and 2014, the right-handed hitter posted a .284/.347/.491 line with 47 home runs. He chipped in 74 stolen bases over those two seasons while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense.
RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: September 24, 2021 at 11:35 PM | 8 comment(s)
Beats: carlos gomez
Traderdave
Last: Ron J
Newsblog: Baseball Hall of Fame tracker 2022
(1185 - 11:34pm, Jan 28)
Last: The Duke
Hall of Merit: Heavy Johnson
Last: Dr. Chaleeko


text:
'The Gamble Paid Off': former special operations commander analyses the 'coup' against Soleimani
David Rojas | TheBL 01/20/20, 12:01
Former Navy Seal Jocko Willink explains on Jan. 14, 2020, the effects of the operation that 'neutralized' Soleimani. (Screenshot/Fox News)
Former Navy SEAL Jocko Willink said the "risky" air strike ordered by President Donald Trump against Iran's Gen. Qassem Soleimani achieved the dual objective of neutralizing a dangerous terrorist and shaking up the Islamic regime.
"When you look at it from that perspective you could say that this was a brilliant move to kill a person that was an enemy of America and an enemy of the Iranian people," he explained on Fox News's "The Brian Kilmeade Show."
"Was it a risk to do this operation? Absolutely," Willink, author of the book "Leadership Strategy and Tactics: A Field Manual," said last week, noting that it had "paid off."
"It's the same thing," he continued, " when Obama sent SEALS in to go kill [Osama] bin Laden. That was huge risk," Willink said, noting that Soleimani "killed hundreds and hundreds of Americans.
"He's going into Pakistan, he didn't tell Pakistan what we're doing. There was massive risk," he recalled comparing the success of both operations.
"You know the whole building could have been bombed. That's a massive risk to do that operation. Pulled it off. Bravo. Outstanding," he added.
'The gamble paid off'
"We don't know what could have happened. Trump took a gamble and did this, and you know what? From what it looks like right now the gamble paid off," Willink said.
"The response was weak and on top of that it's inspired the people of Iran that hate living under this tyrannical dictator to start to rise up, protest," he added. "They're being killed for protesting. That's what a tyranny is and that's what they need to rebel against," he determined.
The Iranian regime responded to the air attack that killed Soleimani by launching at least a dozen rockets on two military complexes in neighboring Iraq that housed U.S. troops.
President Trump said there were no American or Iraqi fatalities at the attacked bases and little material damage.
The situation in Iran
Anti-government protests in Iran intensified after the regime admitted that it had lied and that a Ukrainian plane had not crashed because of technical failures, but because the army had shot it down, killing the 176 people on board.
"The pace of protests is now more frequent, the tone more anti-establishment, and the government's reaction more violent," described The New Yorker's Robin Wright.
"In November, hundreds were killed and thousands were injured, the highest casualty count since the revolution, according to human-rights groups," Wright warned, noting that Iranians "blame government corruption and mismanagement" for the country's economic recession.
"The leadership's abject failure to allow any serious reforms has brought the system to a dead-end. It is unlikely to regain the trust and support of the middle class and is increasingly losing the support of its own more pious/poorer constituents," Ali Vaez, project director of the International Crisis Group in Iran, noted in the New Yorker article.
Tags:Gen. Qassem Soleimani Jocko Willink
US President for 3 minutes: Jocko Willink laids out plan to solve the Afghan crisis
Middle East 08/24/21, 15:30
GOP lawmaker who lost both legs in Afghanistan makes powerful statement to Democrats
Nikki Haley says the bombing of Soleimani was a major blow that the Iranian regime did not expect
Politics 01/09/20, 13:55
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said terrorist Soleimani should have been eliminated many years ago
The president talks to Rush Limbaugh: Obama should have taken Soleimani down, not paid Iran $150 billion
More people approve of President Trump's decision to kill Soleimani than disapprove


Boling Air Media becomes a registered Corporation in the State of California. Additionally an LLC and a UK LTD are also set-up to handle the registration and lease structure necessary for US operations. This necessary corporate ground work also leads the way to many great new advances in how our flagship product offering is viewed by regulatory agencies here in the United States.
Because of the nature of the aircraft we own and operate, international registration is required in order to fully comply with both FAA and EASA rules and regulations, making Boling Air Media one of the safest most thoroughly vetted operators in the world.


Harrison & Moberly attorney David J. Theising has been elected to a three-year term on the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry. With well over 5,000 members worldwide, the Forum is the largest organization of construction lawyers in the world, and is governed by the 15-member Governing Committee to which Theising was elected. Theising was nominated in January at the Forum's Midwinter Meeting in the Bahamas, and was unanimously elected at the Forum's Annual Meeting in New Orleans in April. He is a past chair of the Forum's Division on Insurance, Surety & Liens, a past chair of the Indiana State Bar Association Section on Construction & Surety Law, and has authored numerous book chapters and published articles on construction and government contracts law.


text:
The Risky Business of Investing
This content is from: Culture
Given the enormous importance of risk in the investment business, you'd think that risk management would be fully integrated into everything these investors do. You'd be wrong…
By Ashby Monk
What 2022 Taught Us About Equity Market Sectors
Note to readers: institutional investors are not in the business of making investments or managing investment returns. I know I've said this before, but that's really not what pension funds, sovereign funds, endowments or foundations ultimately do. Investors are, at their core, risk takers. They assess, mitigate, manage, bear and trade risks. If they perform these tasks well, they make money in the process. Risk, then, isn't just something to mitigate; it's something to be actively sought out. Risk is the oxygen that gives life to financial markets; it's the currency upon which all assets are traded. You get the picture.
Given the enormous importance of risk in the investment business, you'd think that risk management would be fully integrated into everything these investors do. But... you'd be wrong. As it turns out, over the past few decades, many institutional investors have moved away from a 'risk based' approach to investing and have preferred to think about investing in terms of products and expected returns. This was deemed to be a useful abstraction that rendered modern finance consumable by the masses. However, this wound up be being somewhat problematic, as focusing on returns to the exclusion of risk resulted in some unhealthy distortions in the way we think about investments.
And this reminds me of something that Gordon Clark and I wrote in a recent paper: "In effect, the premium on local knowledge was discounted. In its place, financial products were developed representing segments or slices of asset classes with distinctive industry and geographical characteristics. Instead of trading a handful of companies' securities based upon expert knowledge or some informational advantage, financial institutions were offered products that carried with them risk and return characteristics based upon historical trends. The design of these products was, and remains, dependent upon simulating their underlying properties, informed by theories of market movement and cross-correlations with other financial products. Instead of a premium on local knowledge, the premium has been on product design and performance wherein relationships with 'insiders' have been replaced with relationships between product providers and consumers."
In short, this new era of finance was all about de-localization and de-risking in favor of the mass-production of products and returns... And, in my opinion, it has been a very bad thing. And this became quite clear when the financial crisis hit five years ago.
Since the crisis, however, risk has taken on renewed significance for institutional investors. From asset allocations and investment decision-making to broader issues, such as governance, operations, and even administration, risk is being returned to its place of prominence in the investment business. But it hasn't been easy to unwind decades of operational experience. Indeed, this new approach to risk has generated organizational and institutional challenges, as innovation and evolution within large public pensions and sovereign funds can be difficult. Indeed, the inertia of these funds means that focusing investments around risk (which should be a simplification of the investment process) is, actually, very complicated.
Cue this new and interesting report by The Economist Intelligence Unit that was Commissioned by State Street: "Closing the communication gap: How institutional investors are building risk-aware cultures". It offers a useful read with some unique insights as to how far investment organizations have gotten in their transition away from "products" back to "risks." Here's a blurb: "This is the age of the risk-aware organisation. Private and public entities across the globe have scrambled to improve their approach to risk in the wake of the worst financial crisis in 80 years. Investment institutions—for which risk assessment is a fundamental role—are particularly enthusiastic proponents of the risk-aware enterprise. But what does risk-awareness mean to asset owners and asset managers? To what extent are risk processes actually embedded in organisations and communicated across them?"
Drawing on a survey of 297 employees of investment institutions, the report has some interesting answers. For example, it finds that most investment organizations are still not doing a very good job of connecting risk and business functions: "Whereas a majority (52%) of non-risk staff think the risk function exists primarily to fulfill regulatory obligations, only 30% of risk professionals think this. Risk professionals clearly believe their remit should go beyond compliance-type activities... " ... and so do I!
Anyway, all this is to say that risk is critical to the effective deployment of capital in all investment organizations. But, despite the massive refocusing on risk after the financial crisis, the jury is still out as to whether the changes made by these organizations have resulting in any real improvements.
Focusing on products instead of risks may be an "easy" way to think about meeting return obligations. No doubt the intermediaries on Wall Street and in The City are extremely talented at packaging up products that purport to do any number of things for their consumers. But the abstraction embedded in every financial product serves to remove the investor from its core function: risk bearing and management.
In my view, we all need to spend more time focused on risk and spend less time thinking about over-engineered financial products with innumerable hidden fees and costs...
Seizing the Opportunistic in Fixed Income
Sponsored by Invesco
What Investors Can Learn From Edgeworkers About Risk-Taking
Ashby Monk
Redefining the Asset Owner Data Experience
Sponsored by Northern Trust


No amount of waiting or wishful thinking is going to bring the Opuntiaback to life. I see them growing happily around town, and I put effort into planting properly. Some sort of critter or bug had been nibbling on it before the rain set in, so it probably let in the moisture to turn it to mush. I think I will try one in a pot next.
The jury is still out on Agave neomexicana. I think it's too soon to give up on it, but it is not looking very happy.
Nearby, this crispy critter is Astrolepis inuata, or wavy cloak fern. Looks hopeless to me, but I won't dig it up just yet.
Bucking the trend at the other end of the same berm, the sedums are engulfing a Yucca 'Bright Edge' and a hesperaloe. My plan is to extricate them from the sedum's clutches, move them somewhere else and hope for the best. My best plans for this berm seem to be destined for failure, so I just may let the sedums have it.
Meanwhile, out at the fence-line, the Romneya coulterii was not looking good.
But wait! What's this? Sometimes I am too timid about cutting back hard. Mom Nature has no such qualms. Time will tell if it was just what this plant wanted.
We were so disappointed when we saw how dejected Rhododendron sinogrande was when we carefully removed his winter wrappings. Those drooping upper leaves soon darkened, curled up and fell off.
Soon the lower stalks formed big buds that looked like they would become flowers, but no, here they are unfurling replacement leaves. Even that stalk in the upper left corner is showing signs of new buds forming. Hallelujah!
In the six years that my 'Casa Blanca' lilies have been growing here, they have never been bothered by slugs. I went out there the other day in the pouring rain and there were slugs draped across many of the upper leaves. Looks like they have feasted to the detriment of this year's blooms. We shall see. I tore them off with my gloved hands (they resisted as if they had been super-glued in place) and threw them back into the woods where they are actually beneficial. I will patrol the area more diligently in future.
And then there are the deer. A friend gave me this geum. The buds were swelling and just beginning to color up. I was looking forward to the splash of orange: just what this bed needed. Instead, the deer neatly nipped off each bud. Time to mix up a new batch of my evil witches' brew to spray on susceptible plants.
It worked! Here is the first cheery orange blossom to make it all the way to maturity. If you want to try my formula for deterring deer, you will find it here.
My hydrangeas took a big hit with the one-two punch of two harsh winters. Some did better than others, and if you want to know which ones will be hardiest you should check out Joy Creek's blog. Hydrangeas are one of their specialties and they devoted their most recent blog post to the subject.
Sometimes we have no one to blame but you-know-who. I have had great success with Ipomoea batatas spilling from my porch pocket. I found a couple of them, plus a coleus with exactly the perfect complementary color at our local one-stop market and popped them in the pot. I kept them watered, but they insisted upon this dying act. Well, I emptied the pot, scrubbed it out and soaked it in bleach solution overnight. The new coleus housed there is doing fine. So how about you? How has nature, in her many guises, conspired for and against you so far?
This entry was posted in before/after, gardening, oops. Bookmark the permalink.
But yay for the Rhody and the Romneya coulterii!
No kidding ! I think I'll keep my Opuntia in a pot. We PNW gardeners must spent much $$$ on replacing plants. At least we have enough survivors to keep us at it.
Loree~So…are you saying that you think the Agave is a goner? And yes, on balance there is plenty to root for.
Linda~I think we have it better than most parts of the county, but we have had to make some tough adjustments lately.
I've just been out and found seriously a lot of Mrs. wilmonts about. If you are in need of any …just say the word.
Linda~The word would be "yes"!
I may do a post on the garden disappointments too – just to balance out the photos of single gorgeous flowers we all love to take photos of!
Hi Ricki – fun catching up on your blog after an extended absence from the internet. I'm relieved to see that I'm not the only one with agaves that look like that. At least I'm in good company.
Ricki, I always marvel at the way the deer seem to slip in under the cover of dusk/dawn and eat the buds just as they are about to open. It's uncanny. Mother Nature certainly has thrown alot at you so far this season, I'm glad to see you're taking it all in stride.
James~We have the gopher set muching away as well. Interplanting with poisonous things like daffodils and castor bean and smelly things like alliums seems to help.
Wendy~Welcome to up and down club.
Megan~Welcome back! I hope this means that you will be back blogging. You have been missed.
Debbie~The deer don't bother with subterfuge around here. They just sashay around in the full light of day.


Alex Elykov put in all the hard work to bring Outré its first cover artwork. We've now finished it up with a logo and all. A terrific cover which we believe stands out and shows a (terrifyingly) ambiguous spin on the theme: responsibility.
Issue one launches universe-wide the 4th of May. We've still got a lot of work ahead of us to finalize Responsibility, but we have already begun shaping our second issue, Hopelessness. We haven't got a cover artist for #2 yet, so if you're a talented artist/designer maybe you would want that spot?
If so, send us an e-mail. We also continue to accept submissions for our 3rd issue, so to all of you and your talented friends, get creative and join Outré!
23rd & 24th of February, at the Excel Center.
This coming weekend, the 23rd and 24th, we are going to the London Super Comic Con. LSCC is in its second year and the attendance and success of last year promise another terrific convention.
Outré will not have a table, but we (Glenn and Magnus) will attend both days, as editors for Outré and as writers. Do feel free to grab us while we're waltzing around the floor, or go to the Markosia booth around 2pm Saturday, where Magnus will be signing his graphic novel The Vessel of Terror. We're looking forward to meeting all the talented people there!
The very spot – Oslo Comic Expo 2012 – where Outré was conceived.
This entry was posted in General and tagged Alex Elykov, comic expo, comics, cover artwork, excel center, free comics, London, london super comic convention, lscc, outré anthology, talent. Bookmark the permalink.
Reblogged this on MAGNUS ASPLI.


'Twas school picture day. The photographer: Mom, of course!
The backdrop: Nature's gorgeous fall desolation.
SOOOOO adorable!! I'll see you next week! Lotsa love to you and yours.
Too cute! And nice photo work T!
Ack! They're awesome! 'Specially love the last one. Good catch, Tea!


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text:
import {Computed} from 'cerebral'
import {state} from 'cerebral/tags'

export default Computed({
  repos: state`repos`
}, ({repos}) => {
  return Object.keys(repos).reduce((currentCount, repoKey) => {
    return currentCount + repos[repoKey].stargazers_count
  }, 0)
})

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Alpha Game 165 As seen on TV Fun and Games
Msg 35546 of 35946 to Tammy27 (DoubleMsMom)DoubleMsMom
From: LvlSlgr
Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson - (portrayed by Kyra Sedgwick) is a fictional character and the main protagonist featured in TNT's The Closer. She heads the Major Crimes Division (formerly the Priority Homicide Division) of the Los Angeles Police Department. She is portrayed as an intelligent, determined, exacting woman. The character has a tendency to offend coworkers and other people involved in her cases but is skilled at determining the facts of a crime, compelling confessions, and closing cases. Thus, she is "a closer." An expert at interrogations, Brenda has a long history in law enforcement. She worked for the police in Atlanta, where she is born and raised, and later for the U.S. State Department as well as the CIA. Brenda's trademark is her "honeyed Georgia cadence", and her catchphrase is, "Thank you; thank you so much" (usually said out of ingrained politeness to her coworkers but just as usually said in an exaggerated or somewhat sarcastic tone to suspects or other outsiders). If she cannot arrest and convict a criminal then she will visit other avenues to bring them to what she considers justice -- such as having them imprisoned in a foreign jail or leaking certain details to third parties to get the accused killed. Although she largely gets away with this unethical and dangerous conduct in earlier seasons (Pope and her squad either cannot or will not challenge her on it), it eventually lands her in trouble.
Comment: Another favorite show of mine when it as on (2005-2012). When this show ended with Brenda Leigh leaving the LAPD, another show Major Crimes picked right up with pretty much the same concept and cast. However, they had a new leader, Sharon Raydor played by Mary McDonnell. That show lasted for 6 seasons.
The Closer Funny Moments Part 1
just some parts from The Closer that i find funny! hope you all enjoy... i do not own any rights... no copyright infringement intended.... for fan enjoyment ...
Msg 35547 of 35946 to LvlSlgrLvlSlgr
From: Tammy27 (DoubleMsMom)
Kris and Jessica Kringle (fictional characters from Santa Claus is Comin' to Town the hour-length stop-motion Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass. The show tells the story of how Santa Claus, and several other well-known Christmas traditions, came to be)
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town | Kris and Jessica's wedding song HD 1080p
With English SubtitlesHave a Merry Christmas!
Calling it a night............................
Edited November 27, 2021 1:26 am by Tammy27 (DoubleMsMom)
Professor Robert Langdon - is a fictional character created by author Dan Brown for his Robert Langdon book series: Angels & Demons (2000), The Da Vinci Code (2003), The Lost Symbol (2009), Inferno (2013) and Origin (2017). He is a Harvard University professor of history of art and "symbology" (a fictional field related to the study of historic symbols, which is not methodologically connected to the actual discipline of semiotics). Tom Hanks portrays Langdon in the Robert Langdon film series, starting with the 2006 film adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, reprising the role in the 2009 film adaptation of Angels & Demons, and again in the 2016 film adaptation of Inferno, while Ashley Zukerman plays a younger version of the character in the TV series, The Lost Symbol.
Comment: Another book series that I'm a fan of. A couple of these books are over 600 pages, but they're still harad to put down. I've read all in this series.
"M" is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series; the character is the Head of Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6.
In the movies it has been played by several actors
Neytiri (fictional character from the movie Avatar. Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite is the deuteragonist and lead heroine in Avatar and the Na'vi princess of the Omaticaya clan. She is the second-born daughter of Eytukan and Mo'at and younger sister of Sylwanin. She meets Jake Sully in a Pandoran forest, helping him when he is attacked by a pack of viperwolves. Neytiri soon becomes Jake's teacher and helps him to complete several tasks. Eventually, they fall in love and mate under the Trees of Voices. Neytiri fights alongside Jake in the Assault on the Tree of Souls and saves him from being killed by Miles Quaritch. She will be the future Tsahìk of the clan, with her mate, Jake, as Olo'eyktan)
Oscar the Grouch - is a Muppet character created by Jim Henson and Jon Stone for the children's television program Sesame Street. He has a green body, no visible nose, and lives in a trash can. Oscar's favorite thing is trash, as evidenced by the song "I Love Trash", with a running theme being his collection of seemingly useless items. Although the term "Grouch" aptly describes Oscar's misanthropic interaction with the other characters, it also refers to his species. The character was originally performed by Caroll Spinney from the show's first episode until his official retirement in 2018. Eric Jacobson began understudying for the character in 2015, and officially took on the full role after Spinney's retirement in 2018.
Oscar with his original performer, Caroll Spinney in 2014.
Sesame Street: Oscar's Mom Comes for a Visit
Oscar's mom hopped on the Grouch Express and is coming for a visit. She is even messier and grouchier than Oscar, but Gordon, Oscar's friendly neighbor, stil...
Prince Charming (is a fairy tale stock character who comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress and must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, including "Snow White", "Sleeping Beauty", and "Cinderella", even if in the original story they were given another name, or no name at all. Often handsome and romantic, these characters are essentially interchangeable, serving as a foil to the heroine; in many variants, they can be viewed as a metaphor for a reward the heroine achieves for the decisions she makes.[1] The prominence of the character type makes him an obvious target for revisionist fairy tales. "Prince Charming" is also used as a term to refer to the idealized man some people dream of as a future spouse)
From Cinderella....................
From Snow White.................
From Once Upon a Time tv show........................
From Ever After.....................
From Enchanted......................
Calling it a night...........................
Captain Queeg, fictional character, the unstable skipper of the destroyer-minesweeper U.S.S. Caine. The novel is The Caine Mutiny, a 1951 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Herman Wouk.
Benedetta "Bennie" Rosato - is a fictional character in the book series by Lisa Scottoline "Rosato & Associates" and followed by the series "Rosato & DiNunzio." Rosato is a maverick lawyer who prosecutes police misconduct and excessive-force cases and the head of an all-woman law firm in Philadelphia. While Rosato is a part of each book, many of the books (including the first one) mainly follow another lawyer in the firm Mary DiNunzio.
Comment: Another series of books where I've read all but the most recent one. There are 11 books in the "Rosato & Associates" series and 6 in the "Rosato & DiNunzio" series.
First book of the "Rosato & Associates" series
Edited November 28, 2021 11:04 am by LvlSlgr
Snoopy is an anthropomorphic beagle in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. He can also be found in all of the Peanuts films and television specials.


text:
J London & The Band of Friends
J London
Official website of J London, vocalist
James "J London" Brittan
James "J London" Brittan was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. Truly gifted as an exceptional singer and musician, he has undoubtedly made his mark in the world of music and entertainment!
For over twenty years, James has committed himself to being the best he could be, by honing the musical talents that were ever present since he was very young. In the fall of 1973, James started college at Fairmont State in West Virginia. He quickly became a reputable solo act , gracing the West Virginia campus coffee house circuit. Being an aspiring actor also, James found time to work with the Fairmont State Community Theater Series. After graduating in 1977, a new era began, boosting James' professional career. He responded to a once-in-a lifetime opportunity and traveled with Philadelphia International recording artist, The O'Jays, as a roadie on their 20th anniversary tour. Seating himself in both producers and directors chairs for his solo project, "Thank you Lady", along with being a talented and actual performing artist, "Frisky" London became his early stage name. He has since become "J London" after signing with the San-Ton/Bluegill Record & Management Family.
As the novice phases of his musical career have transitioned into a fully-developed knowledge of "how it's done" – his sound grows more polished and seasoned! On top of his previous accomplishments, J London was nominated in the 1995 Grammy Awards for the Best R&B Male Vocal Performance, Best R&B Album, and Best R&B Song for his "Thank You Lady" CD. He was also a nominee in the Composing and Arrangement field. J London also performs as a featured vocalist with The Band of Friends, a Columbus-based soulful smooth jazz band. You can hear the effects of J London's many years of devotion and experience on his latest CD entitled "Feel The Need" on Uncle Fats Records.
James "J London" Brittan is a man on the move so go see this remarkable artist perform and get his CD!
Click here for full bio…
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RickSorianoWeb.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be6bryr8f8A


A few years ago, I took the advice I have given to my clients and had time out to recharge my own batteries and to reassess my life.
Although I decided to retire from professional one to one work, I am very happy to be contacted as a consultant in the area of my expertise and experience in the field of coaching psychology, specialising in neurodiversity.
I have a few writing projects I would like to do, when I have stopped enjoying myself travelling the world with my husband!


Between the color of this polish and the finish, this is TOTALLY the perfect color for back-to-school! It is the exact color of graphite! It even had a little bit of the shimmer that pencil lead does! Who needs a pencil when you have this polish?
I'll be honest, I wasn't sure if I'd like this one, but once I got it on me, I LOVED the color! It has microscopic pink, purple, and blue shimmer (as seen in the picture below) that blend together to make a really great glowy purple.
I LOVE this color. It's my favorite of the collection by leaps and bounds! I'm not sure really how to describe this color, other than AWESOME. I will say though, this was the sheerest of the collection, and will take 2-3 coats to be opaque.
You'd never guess it once two coats of this polish are one, but the base color of this is purple. Like purple purple. Once you get those two coats layered on though, what you get is a darkened berry with a ton of red shimmer that is SO pretty!
The coppery red flakes in this polish are reminiscent of the remaining embers from an autumn bonfire. It really IS pretty, but I'll be honest, while I DO like this color, it is my least favorite of the collection, mostly because it never really dried to a satin finish.
Disclosure: Products in this post were provided for review by the manufacturer. See the legal page disclosure for more information.
Brunello reminds me a lot of Mentality Polish Tempest. This is such a pretty collection and I love the finish!
Ooo I like these and I loved the way you swatches them. Very clever!
Pretty colors. I'm loving Black Satin. Gorgeous!
These are soo pretty! Cauldron & Sea Glass are my favorites.


text:
"Opinion: A Vatican spokesman's alleged plagiarism is more than cheating — it's a breach of confidence" & related articles re Father Thomas Rosica csb
Rosica has now apologized. And it is inevitable that he will face professional consequences
Special to National Post
By Mathew Block
It is inevitable that Father Rosica will face professional consequences for his decade-long serial plagiarism.Postmedia Network
Allegations that Fr. Thomas Rosica has engaged in serial plagiarism for more than a decade come as a shock.
The Canadian priest is the CEO of Salt and Light, a Catholic media outlet based in Toronto, a widely published writer and a former university president who currently sits on the boards of several institutions of higher learning. He is also known worldwide as the man who interprets the Vatican for the English-speaking media. In a 2015 profile, The Globe and Mail described him as one of Rome's "most effective communications gurus."
The first allegation appeared on Feb. 15, when Dorothy Cummings McLean published a news story for LifeSiteNews, a conservative Catholic media site, suggesting Rosica had plagiarized several sources in a speech at Cambridge University earlier this month.
That story led others — myself included — to examine some of Rosica's other writing more carefully. Matthew Schmitz, senior editor of prominent religion journal First Things, took to Twitter to identify several blog posts and a speech that showed evidence of extensive plagiarism. In one case, 12 paragraphs had been lifted from the National Catholic Register.
"Really, the plagiarism by (Rosica) appears to be endless," Schmitz tweeted. "I can't recall seeing a more extreme case."
While I don't know Rosica personally, I've always appreciated the work he has done helping the public at large to better understand Catholic teachings and news
I turned my attention to the Canadian press, examining a sample of commentary pieces Rosica had written for newspapers — including the National Post — between 2003 and 2016. I was distressed to find clear indications of extensive plagiarism, the most recent a piece in The Globe and Mail from March 18, 2016. It includes, without credit, a summary of Pope Francis's teachings on mercy by Michiko Kakutani from The New York Times.
Kakutani had written: "Mercy is essential because all men are sinners, in need of God's forgiveness and grace, and it's especially necessary today, at a time when 'humanity is wounded,' suffering from 'the many slaveries of the third millennium' — not just war and poverty and social exclusion, but also fatalism, hardheartedness and self-righteousness."
Rosica changes the word "men" to "people" and repeats the rest verbatim. In the same article, he also repeats, without credit, sections of text from a 2014 Washington Post article by E.J. Dionne Jr.
In a 2013 piece for The Windsor Star, Rosica not only borrows extensively from other reporters but removes quotation marks from a sentence attributed to Pope Francis — giving the impression that the words are his own.
Rosica has now apologized. And it is inevitable that he will face professional consequences.
I can't recall seeing a more extreme case
He is a member of Toronto's University of St. Michael College's governing Collegium. He is also a board member at Texas' University of St. Thomas in Houston, as well as a member of the the Board of Trustees of St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y. He formerly served as president and vice-chancellor at Assumption University in Windsor, Ont.
On Feb. 19, when the extent of the plagiarism was still coming to light, the USMC expressed its concern. "We are troubled to hear of the allegations against Fr. Thomas Rosica," they said in a statement to LifeSiteNews. "The University of St. Michael's College holds its students and its academic community to the highest standards of accountability and academic integrity."
It is difficult to imagine how he will be able to continue serving with any educational institution now that he has acknowledged the accuracy of these reports of plagiarism.
Honestly, I wish none of the allegations were true. The Christian media community in Canada is rather small, and while I don't know Rosica personally, I've always appreciated the work he has done helping the public at large to better understand Catholic teachings and news. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak several years ago at a Canadian Church Press conference, and I enjoyed what he had to say. He seems to be a very intelligent, very winsome communicator.
But that's also why the revelation of his extensive and repeated plagiarism is so disheartening. Whether we know him or not, many of us in Canada's Christian media have long considered him an example of how to do Christian communications well. That confidence is now broken.
As a Christian, Rosica would know that plagiarism — passing off another person's words and work as our own — is a sin. I am grateful that he has made public acknowledgement of that sin. And I pray that through repentance he will find comfort in the mercy and love of Jesus Christ, even as he must now deal with the earthly consequences of his actions. May God give him strength for this difficult task.
Mathew Block (@mathewablock) is editor of The Canadian Lutheran magazine and communications manager for the International Lutheran Council.
'It's wrong': Vatican media advisor admits to 'cut and paste' plagiarism for over a decade
Rosica said he lost track of attributions, and relied on material prepared by interns. He failed to check his sources, or to acknowledge them
Joseph Brean
Father Thomas Rosica, Chief Executive Officer of Salt and Light Television at his Toronto offices Thursday October 1.Peter J. Thompson/National Post
It was after midnight at the Vatican when Father Thomas Rosica called back. He had a lot going on.
As the Vatican's long serving senior English-language spokesperson, he was at the landmark papal summit on youth protection, working 18-hour days conveying the church's message to the world, through the media. This feverish pace is typical of the high-powered circles in which Rosica operates as a major figure in Catholic education and public life in Canada, as former head of Toronto's 2002 World Youth Day, board member at the University of Toronto's Catholic college, and chief executive of the television channel Salt and Light. Most recently, he guided communications for St. Michael's College School in its locker room hazing abuse scandal.
But now Father Rosica had a problem of his own.
For years, he has been plagiarizing in his columns and essays, using words previously published by other authors without credit. Now it was coming out, and although he had quietly told his superior at the Basilian order he had an explanation, it had not quieted the storm.
"What I've done is wrong, and I am sorry about that. I don't know how else to say it," he said in a phone interview from Rome.
The plagiarized material comes from sources as diverse as Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times' former book critic; Wikipedia; veteran Vatican correspondent John L. Allen, Jr.; Associated Press news stories; and religious blogs. Rosica even once had a column in the Windsor Star that included a sentence from Pope Francis presented as Rosica's own words, in a passage copied from the National Catholic Reporter, but lacking the original quotation marks.
What I've done is wrong, and I am sorry about that. I don't know how else to say it
Rosica said he lost track of attributions, and relied on material prepared by interns. He failed to check his sources, or to acknowledge them. People send him quotes and articles all the time, he said, and under the pressure of urgent media deadlines for op-eds on religious affairs, they get mixed up in his notes.
"I realize I relied too much on compiled notes," he said.
He added that he often has many articles open on his computer at one time, and makes notes by copying work between files, but he said he has not maliciously stolen others' work as his own.
"It could have been cut and paste," he said. "I realize the seriousness of this and I regret this very much … I will be very vigilant in future."
Other people's words have appeared as Father Rosica's own on the Salt and Light website, in The Globe and Mail, the National Post, the Toronto Sun and the Windsor Star, among others. This was first revealed in investigations by Dorothy Cummings McLean of LifeSiteNews, and Mathew Block, editor of The Canadian Lutheran magazine. The National Post found additional examples, simply by searching distinctive phrases.
So now, at a moment of crisis in Catholic reconciliation over child sexual abuse, the Vatican's message guy was spiraling into a public moral crisis of his own.
A request for comment from the office of Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Communications, was not answered by press time.
An interactive showing examples of Rosica's plagiarized work and where it originally came from. Postmedia Network
Examples of unattributed copy appear in both Catholic and lay media, and in many cases would have been professionally edited. Many are descriptions of basic facts or background context, sometimes several sentences long. In a 2011 article on the National Post website about Pope John Paul II, a basic description of canon law on beatification, the process leading to sainthood, is the same as in an article that appeared a couple of weeks earlier in the Catholic News Service.
John Thavis, former Rome bureau chief for the Catholic News Service, contacted the National Post to say that his articles are among those that had been partly copied, and that Rosica and Salt and Light were subscribers and therefore "free to use the material we provided."
In The Globe and Mail in 2016, a paragraph that summarizes Pope Francis's thoughts on mercy is identical to a passage from two months earlier in a review of a book by the pope by Kakutani, one of America's best-known literary critics.
A 2008 column in the Toronto Sun about martyrdom takes two full paragraphs on Islamic history from an Associated Press report by Brian Murphy, a longtime foreign correspondent, now with The Washington Post, who did not immediate reply to a request for comment. The column also reworks a comment about martyrdom by Andrea Riccardi, an Italian church leader and now cabinet minister, into Rosica's own observation.
It's ironic that someone who stands accused of this is part of the pope's media team
Rosica said he instructed staff to remove his essay The Ignatian Qualities of the Petrine Ministry of Pope Francis, from the Salt and Light website when he learned of the complaints this week. That essay includes an entire paragraph from Wikipedia about Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order of which Pope Francis is a member. It also takes a sentence from David Gibson, then of the National Catholic Reporter, now director of Fordham University's Center on Religion and Culture, who did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Several other examples of identical text remain freely available online.
"Plagiarism is a very serious concern to us, and Postmedia will be reviewing all of the pieces that Fr. Rosica has contributed to various papers in our chain," says Lucinda Chodan, Vice-President Editorial, Postmedia.
Editor-in-chief David Walmsley said The Globe and Mail will also review everything Rosica has ever written for them.
"It is wrong what happened," Rosica said. I take full responsibility for this happening. I regret it. I'm glad someone brought it to my attention. I will be much more vigilant in anything that goes out under my name, or that goes out from me. It's wrong."
He acknowledged that for a journalist, academic or professional to do this is dishonest.
We don't have a precedent for this.As an academic order, we would obviously take that very seriously
"I'm going to apologize, first of all to the collegium (the governing body of the University of St. Michael's College). I will apologize that this came to light, and it's wrong, and it's not going to happen again."
Rev. Donald McLeod, chair of the collegium, issued a statement: "Over the course of his career, Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, has served the Collegium and the general community of the University of St. Michael's College with distinction. We acknowledge the gravity of the developing situation, and intend to address the matter internally going forward."
CSB refers to the Basilian order of priests, which is a major force in Catholic education in Toronto, at both the high school and university level.
Father Kevin Storey, CSB Superior General, said he did not immediately know what the official response ought to be. He suggested the price Rosica could end up paying is in credibility and invitations to participate as much as he has in public life.
"We don't have a precedent for this," Storey said. "As an academic order, we would obviously take that very seriously."
Neil MacCarthy, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Toronto, said plagiarism in general is a serious allegation and he expected to hear more from Rosica.
"The variety and the volume is serious," said David Mulroney, the former ambassador and former president of the University of St. Michael's College. He volunteered that he had bureaucratic conflicts with Rosica while he was there, but acknowledged Rosica is "brilliant" and a "giant" in Canadian Catholicism. He also said longstanding confusion about board governance and the role of Basilians in particular has been an issue for the school that he raised when he was president.
"It's ironic that someone who stands accused of this is part of the pope's media team," Mulroney said. "He owes it to his various constituencies — journalist, educator, pastor — to come forward and explain what has happened."
The whole episode is "mystifying," Mulroney said. "He could write these things on his own."
• Email: jbrean@nationalpost.com |
University 'troubled to hear' of plagiarism allegations against board member Fr. Rosica
LifeSite News
Tue Feb 19, 2019 – 3:28 pm EST
TORONTO, February 19, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — The University of St. Michael's College has responded to charges that Fr. Thomas Rosica, a Basilian Father, has committed multiple acts of plagiarism.
Rosica is on the Collegium, one of the governing bodies, of the Toronto Catholic college. The University of St. Michael's College (USMC) is affiliated with the University of Toronto and run by the Congregation of St. Basil.
Martyn Jones, a spokesman for the USMC, told LifeSiteNews, "We are troubled to hear of the allegations against Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB. The University of St. Michael's College holds its students and its academic community to the highest standards of accountability and academic integrity, and as a federated university in the University of Toronto, we follow the U of T's Office of Student Academic Integrity and its Code of Behavior on Academic Matters."
Yesterday a former President of USMC, David Mulroney, responded to a tweet by First Things editor Matthew Schmitz about the Rosica scandal.
Reflecting on Rosica's honorary doctorates and his participation in the governance of USMC, Assumption University in Windsor, and St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY, Schmitz tweeted, "If someone who holds so many honors from, and so many positions of responsibility at, Catholic institutions suffers no consequences for extensive plagiarism, observers could reasonably question the quality and integrity of Catholic academia."
In response, Mulroney tweeted that this was a valid criticism.
"This is an important point," he wrote. "Failure to investigate suggests that major Catholic universities in Canada value ideological compatibility over academic rigor."
LifeSite revealed last week that Father Thomas Rosica, a prominent media consultant for the Vatican and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and long-time CEO of Canada's Salt + Light Television organization, had plagiarised portions of a speech he gave at the Von Hügel Institute at Cambridge University. The Von Hügel Institute's video of the lecture has now been removed from YouTube.
Since then, journalists and other members of the public have found and published on Twitter several new incidences of plagiarism found in Rosica's published writing.
Mathew Adam Block, editor of the Canadian Lutheran magazine, discovered that Father Rosica had passed off as his own the words of veteran reporters John Allen Jr. of the National Catholic Reporter, Nicole Winfield of the Associated Press, and Cindy Wooden of the Catholic News Service in an article he wrote for Canadian daily The Globe and Mail in 2006.
The Canadian Lutheran editor also found out that Rosica had reproduced parts of a 2006 Catholic News Agency (CNA) article by Jim Thavis in a 2013 article the Salt + Light chief wrote for the Globe and Mail.
Block also discovered an article Rosica wrote for the Globe and Mailin 2016 years later, in which certain sentences are taken from Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times and E.J. Dionne Jr of the Washington Post.
He also disclosed that Rosica had, on the occasion of the beatification of Pope John Paul II in 2011, plagiarized from a week-old article by Cindy Wooden and a 2005 Der Spiegel interview with Rüdiger Safranski.
Block has, by press time today, also found reproductions of the work of Archbishop Bustros, Bishop Robert McElroy, and Father Thomas Reese of America magazine in Rosica's newspaper journalism. He also found a review of Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ in which Rosica had copied sentences by from then-Father, now Archbishop Augustine Di Noia and historian Elizabeth Lev.
"And yet, despite all this, there hasn't been a public word about the crisis from Fr. Thomas Rosica," Block tweeted.
"I pray that he will publicly acknowledge his sin and repent that he may receive Christ's mercy. May God give him strength for this difficult task."
Today Caroline Farrow, a well-known English Catholic apologist, told LifeSiteNews, via social media, that Rosica had reproduced a section of Cardinal Baldisseri's speech to British Parliamentarians in 2014 in a 2015 article he wrote for the UK's Catholic Herald. Farrow later tweeted this information and her discovery that Rosica reproduced part of a 2013 America article by Drew Christiansen, S.J. in an article he wrote for his Salt + Light blog in 2018.
Farrow was astonished at the amount of evidence weighing up that Fr. Rosica has been plagiarizing undetected for years. It reminded her of a disgraced Swiss writer whose journalistic malfeasance made headlines in 2011.
"He's the Vatican's Johan Hari," Farrow told LifeSiteNews.
LifeSiteNews has reached out to the Superior General of the Congregation of Saint Basil, Assumption University in Windsor, Ontario, St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York, the Von Hugel Institute and St. Edmund's College, Cambridge University, but has not yet received responses from these Catholic institutions.
See side-by-side comparisons, courtesy of Mathew Adam Block:
In heavily-plagiarized speech, Vatican spokesman accuses Archbishop Viganò of 'lies'
Fri Feb 15, 2019 – 5:09 pm EST
Dorothy Cummings McLean Follow Dorothy
Feb. 19, 2019 update: Fr. Rosica's Feb. 8 lecture at Cambridge University has been removed from Youtube. A message when attempting to watch the video now states: "This video is unavailable." LifeSiteNews downloaded the original video before it was deleted. A shortened version of this video is now included in this story.
CAMBRIDGE, England, February 15, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – A Vatican consultant and frequent English-language spokesman for the Vatican accused Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò of "lies" in a lecture in which he passed off other writers' words as his own.
At a February 8 lecture at Cambridge University, Fr. Thomas Rosica, executive director of Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation, suggested Archbishop Viganò was a liar. Rosica described the Vatican whistle-blowers' witness as a "diabolical masterpiece."
Authors whom Fr. Rosica plagiarized in that speech – often word-for-word and at significant length – include Cardinal Edwin O'Brien, Gregory K. Hillis, Fr. Thomas Reese, Cardinal Walter Kasper, and Fr. James Martin.
(View a comparison of Fr. Rosica's original speech with the plagiarized passages. Click here. Or see table at bottom.)
Fr. Rosica's biography on the Salt and Light website says he holds "advanced degrees in Theology and Sacred Scripture from Regis College in the Toronto School of Theology [1985], the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome [1991] and the École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem [1994]." From 2011-2015, he served as President of Assumption University in Windsor, Ontario.
He holds honorary doctorates from Gannon University, Niagara University, St. Mark's College at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and Toronto's Regis College.
In his 2018 testimony, Archbishop Viganò revealed that disgraced Archbishop Theodore McCarrick had been protected by high-ranking Church authorities, including Pope Francis himself.
Describing the current events in the Church as a "perfect storm", Rosica said:
Some of you in the room may be too young to remember a book and related movie entitled The Perfect Storm –an expression … which describes when several weather patterns meet at the same time, clash and produce violent and horrible damage. The Catholic Church that we love and strive to serve is in the midst … of a perfect, diabolical storm. Not just the Church in Great Britain, the USA, but also around the globe: Chile, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and God alone knows how many more countries to come!
The appalling, shameful life of a Cardinal of the Church, the shocking 900-page plus report of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury that related unspeakable depravities of priests against young and vulnerable persons; a former Vatican Nuncio's vicious accusations against the Church's highest authorities that is nothing but a full-frontal attack of half-truths and lies against the Vicar of Christ and Successor of Peter.
"A series that has been rightfully called a 'diabolical masterpiece' of Archbishop Viganò," he added to the prepared speech in his recorded presentation.
Bishop Robert Barron had originally used the phrase "diabolical masterpiece" last summer to describe the clerical sexual abuse scandal, not Archbishop Viganò's testimony. The phrase was subsequently picked up by Cardinal Edwin O'Brien. In his speech, Rosica reproduced – with some adjustments – a section of the Cardinal's September 8, 2018 letter to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher about "the perfect storm" without attribution.
Cardinal O'Brien's original passage read:
Many of you recall the book and movie The Perfect Storm – when several weather patterns meet at once – they clash and create terrible damage.
Our Catholic Church is in the midst of a perfect storm – a perfect demonic storm: Chile, Ireland, the Netherlands, Australia, the United States – and how many more to come?! The revolting, profoundly shameful double life of a Cardinal of the Church. The almost pornographic 900-page report of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury –unspeakable depravities of priests against the young and vulnerable. A former Vatican Nuncio's accusations against the Church's highest authorities.
It has been called 'A DIABOLICAL MASTERPIECE'!
Cardinal O'Brien was mentioned in Archbishop Viganó's testimony as a member of a "homosexual current" in the Roman Catholic Church. The harsh language in Rosica's speech about he "former Vatican Nuncio," however, seems to be Rosica's own addition.
Near the beginning of his lecture, Father Rosica reproduced a passage – word for word – from an essay by Gregory K. Hillis, a professor of Theology at Bellarmine University, without attribution. The passage, originally published by Hillis on 16 March 2016, read:
While the Church can offer a broad theological vision that focuses on the interconnectedness of all things, it cannot pretend to have all the answers to specific concrete questions. In these circumstances, 'honest debate' must be encouraged that respects divergent views. This means that the church itself should be included in the dialogue, but it also means that voices currently not in the debate need to be included.
Rosica also borrowed extensively, without attribution and usually word-for-word, from an essay by Fr Thomas Reese published in the National Catholic Register in 2017. He also mined Cardinal Walter Kasper's work, again without attribution, and slightly adapted paragraphs from an article by Fr. James Martin, S.J. titled "The Witch Hunt for Gay Priests." Once again, Rosica failed to give credit to the author.
(View a comparison of Fr. Rosica's original speech with the plagiarized passages. Click here.)
LifeSiteNews reached out to Fr. Rosica via Salt+Light TV for comment but did not receive a response.
Professor John Rist, who was present at the talk, told LifeSiteNews via email that Rosica's lecture was "a very rhetorical affair" and that he challenged the priest's ecclesiology in the subsequent question session.
"You have spoken much of unity and dialogue within the Church while also directing slanderous comments at Archbishop Viganò," Rist recalled saying to Rosica.
Rist then quoted Father Rosica's notorious remark regarding his belief that, with Pope Francis as its earthly head, the Catholic Church is now "openly ruled by an individual rather than by the authority of Scripture alone or even its own dictates of tradition plus Scripture."
Rosica defended himself by saying that the passage was taken out of context, the scholar recalled.
The professor then asked Rosica if Pope Francis himself were not responsible for the "now near total rift" among Catholics.
"If your description of the state of the Church is accurate, must one not conclude that the present pope, so far from carrying out his primary duty of unifying believers, has more than any other single individual contributed to the now near total rift between liberal and traditional Catholics which is putting the faith of thousands of Catholics at risk?" Rist said he asked.
In response, Rosica said only that the distinction between "liberal" and "traditional" did not go back to the time of Jesus, Rist told LifeSiteNews.
Rosica was the guest of the Von Hügel Institute at St Edmund's College in Cambridge University. His gave his lecture, "Catholicity: Crises and Opportunities," to an audience of about 30 people.
Father Rosica is known for speaking harshly of orthodox Catholics, whom he accused years ago of forming a "Catholic Taliban." He roughly admonished Catholic pro-lifers in print when they objected to the ostentatious funeral given for pro-abortion Senator Ted Kennedy by Boston's Catholic hierarchy.
Rosica is also known for his pro-homosexual sympathies. He has defended LGBT activist Fr. James Martin, rejected the Catechism's description of the homosexual inclination as "objectively disordered," and said the phrase "intrinsically disordered" is "harsh." Rosica was a longtime admirer of the late Gregory Baum, a homosexual dissident former priest whom he interviewed on Salt and Light in 2012.
The advertisement for the Von Hügel lecture described Rosica as a "renown[ed] author, speaker, commentator and lecturer in Sacred Scripture at Canadian Universities" as well as "the Vatican's English language media attaché at the last five Synods of Bishops as well as assistant to the Director of the Holy See Press Office during the Papal Transition of 2013."
If you have any more information on this story, please contact Dorothy Cummings McLean at dmclean@lifesitenews.com.
A side-by-side comparison of Fr. Rosica's original speech with the plagiarized passages. View this table as a PDF here
Fr. Thomas Rosica
While the Church can offer a broad theological vision that focuses on the interconnectedness of all things, it cannot pretend to have all the answers to specific concrete questions. In these circumstances, "honest debate" must be encouraged that respects divergent views. This means that the church itself should be included in the dialogue, but it also means that voices currently not in the debate need to be included.
Gregory K. Hillis
[E]cumenism is not just about theological dialogue over matters of doctrine. There is also the ecumenism of friendship, prayer and social action.
Ecumenical friendship at work and in neighborhoods and among families has taken us way beyond the uncomfortable tolerance of the past.
the ecumenism of social action as members of different churches work together to change the world. Fr. Thomas Reese
Ecumenism is not just about theological dialogue over matters of doctrine. There is also the ecumenism of friendship, prayer and social action.
The ecumenism of social action has also progressed significantly as members of different churches work together to change the world.
The crisis of the ecumenical movement is paradoxically the result of its success. Ecumenism for many became obvious. But the closer we come to one another, the more painful is the perception that we are not yet in full communion. We are very impatient. We are hurt by what still separates us and hinders us from joining around the table of the Lord; we are increasingly dissatisfied with the ecumenical status quo; in this atmosphere, ecumenical frustration and sometimes even opposition develops. Paradoxically it is ecumenical progress that is also the cause for the ecumenical malaise!
The results of ecumenical progress have not yet penetrated into the hearts and into the flesh of our Catholic community and of other churches as well. Ecumenical theology is not present as an inner dimension in many theological programs and ministerial formation. Cardinal Walter Kasper
… the crisis of the ecumenical movement is paradoxically the result of its success. Ecumenism for many became obvious. But the closer we come to one another, the more painful is the perception that we are not yet in full communion. We are hurt by what still separates us and hinders us from joining around the table of the Lord; we are increasingly dissatisfied with the ecumenical status quo; in this atmosphere, ecumenical frustration and sometimes even opposition develops. Paradoxically it is the same ecumenical progress that is also the cause for the ecumenical malaise.
The results of ecumenical progress have not yet penetrated into the hearts and into the flesh of our church and of the other churches as well. Ecumenical theology is not present as an inner dimension in theological programmes.
after the first rather euphoric phase of the ecumenical movement that followed the Second Vatican Council, the last decades have seen us experiencing signs of tiredness, disillusionment and stagnation. Some speak even of a crisis, and many Christians no longer understand the differences on which the churches are arguing with each other.
Others hold that ecumenism is outmoded and that interreligious dialogue is now the only agenda du jour. Let us be very clear about such discussions: there is a difference but not a competition between the two dialogues, for ultimately to be effective, interreligious dialogue presupposes that Christians can speak one and the same language. The necessity of interreligious dialogue makes ecumenical dialogue even more urgent.
crisis? How do we,overcome the current problems? What are these problems?
outside the Catholic Church, which, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling towards Catholic unity. The concept "elementa" or "vestigia" comes from Calvin. Obviously, the Council – unlike Calvin – understands the elementa not as sad remains but as dynamic reality, and it says expressly that the Spirit of God uses these elementa as means of salvation for non-Catholic Christians. Both the Council and the ecumenical decree acknowledge explicitly that the Holy Spirit is at work in the other churches in which they even discover examples of holiness leading to martyrdom.
and the Decree on Ecumenism state expressly that the Church is a pilgrim Church, an ecclesia "semper purificanda", which must constantly take the way of penance and renewal.
Ecumenism is not possible without conversion and renewal. Ecumenism therefore is no one-way street, but a reciprocal learning process, or – as stated in Cardinal Walter Kasper
after the first rather euphoric phase of the ecumenical movement which followed the Second Vatican Council, the last decade has seen us experiencing signs of tiredness, disillusionment and stagnation. Some speak even of a crisis, and many Christians no longer understand the differences on which the Churches are arguing with each other.
Others hold that ecumenism is outmoded and that interreligious dialogue now represents the new agenda. In my opinion, there is a difference but not a competition between the two dialogues, for ultimately to be effective interreligious dialogue presupposes that Christians can speak one and the same language. Indeed, the necessity of interreligious dialogue makes ecumenical dialogue even more urgent.
Why this crisis? How do we overcome the current problems? What are these problems?
outside the Catholic Church, which, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling towards Catholic unity.[7] The concept "elementa" or "vestigia" comes from Calvin.[8] Obviously, the Council – unlike Calvin – understands the elementa not as sad remains but as dynamic reality, and it says expressly that the Spirit of God uses these elementa as means of salvation for non-Catholic Christians.[9] Consequently, there is no idea of an arrogant claim to a monopoly on salvation. On the contrary, both the Council and the ecumenical Encyclical acknowledge explicitly that the Holy Spirit is at work in the other Churches in which they even discover examples of holiness up to martyrdom.[10]
and the Decree on Ecumenism state expressly that the Church is a pilgrim Church, an ecclesia "semper purificanda", which must constantly take the way of penance and renewal.[14]
Ecumenism is not possible without conversion and renewal.[16] … ecumenism is no one-way street, but a reciprocal learning process, or – as stated in
Some of you in the room may be too young to remember a book and related movie entitled The Perfect Storm –an expression … which describes when several weather patterns meet at the same time, clash and produce violent and horrible damage.
The Catholic Church that we love and strive to serve is in the midst … of a perfect, diabolical storm. Not just the Church in Great Britain, the USA, but also around the globe: Chile, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and God alone knows how many more countries to come!
The appalling, shameful life of a Cardinal of the Church, the shocking 900-page plus report of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury that related unspeakable depravities of priests against young and vulnerable persons; a former Vatican Nuncio's vicious accusations against the Church's highest authorities that is nothing but a full-frontal attack of half-truths and lies against the Vicar of Christ and Successor of Peter. Cardinal Edwin O'Brien
Our Catholic Church is in the midst of a perfect storm – a perfect demonic storm: Chile, Ireland, the Netherlands, Australia, the United States – and how many more to come?!
The revolting, profoundly shameful double life of a Cardinal of the Church. The almost pornographic 900-page report of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury – unspeakable depravities of priests against the young and vulnerable. A former Vatican Nuncio's accusations against the Church's highest authorities.
many priest abusers had a homosexual orientation.
The majority (but not all) of the clerical abuse crimes were cases of priests preying on male adolescents and boys. Also, the majority (but
not all) of the sexual harassment cases were men harassing other men or young men.
However, that many abusers were priests with a homosexual orientation does not mean that all or even most gay priests are abusers. It is a dangerous and unjust stereotype.
… lead to places of deep darkness, characterized by an increased hatred for innocent individuals, the condemnation of an entire group of people who are part of the Church, and a distraction from the real issues underlying this crisis of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults Fr. James Martin
Many priest abusers had a homosexual orientation. That is undeniable.
…the majority (but not all) of the clerical abuse crimes were cases of priests preying on male adolescents and boys. Also, the majority (but not all) of the sexual harassment cases were men harassing other men or young men.
It is a dangerous and unjust stereotype. Simply because a certain percentage of a group acts in a certain way does not mean the entire group or even most of the group acts in the same way.
That many abusers were gay priests does not mean that all or even most gay priests are abusers.
… lead us to a place of great darkness, characterized by an increased hatred for innocent individuals, the condemnation of an entire group of people and a distraction from the real issues
8 Responses to "Opinion: A Vatican spokesman's alleged plagiarism is more than cheating — it's a breach of confidence" & related articles re Father Thomas Rosica csb
Ah, yes, he apologizes, but not without attempting to vindicate himself while pointing the finger of blame firmly at his interns.
How pathetic.
For years on end this high profile Basilian priest has been stealing from the works of others, and in deceptively presenting their words as his own, committing fraud.
And look at this:
That's it?! Not even so much as a "Tut. Tut. Bad boy"?
Dear Lord above, help us!!!!
Tim Dooling says:
Sylvia, I said this before. After World Youth days in Toronto, Alan Ames of Australia, and I had a visit with Bishop Meagher in Kingston, Ont, arranged by Fr. Brian McNally, and during our time with the Bishop, he told us that Rosica was a fraud. Rosica claimed he was in charge of the World, but, in fact he, Youth Days . Rosica also got the money to start Salt & Light from suspicious crooks in Montreal. Tim Dooling
Perhaps Rosica thinks he is ABOVE the Lord above, as do many appointed and self-appointed leaders of doctrine who hide in the security of their positions. There is obvious arrogance, blame and false humility, and I'm sure if onion layers be removed, it will unveil much more. Doctrine and preaching holds no water until this institution takes responsibility for their sins against the Jewish people and other aboriginal groups which they have so injured, persecuted and oppressed for centuries, not to mention wide scale, worldwide clergy sexual abuse. Plagiarism pales.
bc says:
Indeed, there`s more regarding Father Rosica.
Father Rosica has been misrepresenting his actual academic credentials; see here:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/no-formal-diploma-jerusalem-college-denies-rosicas-claim-he-has-advanced-degree-from-them
Also, Fr. Rosica bragged in 2003 that HE had organized the visit of Pope John Paul 2 to Toronto.
Shortly after that event Alan Ames (of Australia) and I visited with the Kingston Bishop Meagher. during a discussion we had withe him he mentioned the he, the Bishop was the one set up as the organizer, not Rosica
It is also said widely in Ontario that the funding for Salt and light operation of Rosica was set up with money contributed by the Montreal Mafia !
More on Father Rosica…
He has resigned from 3 university boards of which he was a member and he has apparently ceased his involvement with Vatican news. https://www.catholicregister.org/opinion/columnists/item/29178-fr-raymond-j-de-souza-basilians-must-search-for-a-priestly-response
Father Rosica plagiarized from an anti-Catholic blog in July 2018. That content was controversial and Father Rosica admonished his many catholic critics telling them to read his article then go to confession(!). But now it appears to scholars that he may have never had any original ideas of his own.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/rosicas-pope-francis-text-plagiarized-from-anti-catholic-blog-report-says-62310
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/tracking-father-rosicas-very-long-history-of-plagiarism
I urge readers of Sylvia`s blog to go read how she did not back away from the Basilian`s bravado
https://www.theinquiry.ca/wordpress/2010/08/19/enough-said/
Good job Sylvia!
Father Rosica at Southdown Institute
CM: https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/rosicainrecovery
see also: http://voxcantor.blogspot.com/
Father Rosica has apologized for his serial plagiarism but in Ontario as per it's apology legislation he, the Basilians, and S&L's board who are vicariously liable for him never actually admitted any liability for the damages to the reputations of the publishers and organisations tainted with his irresponsible behavior.
(Apology Act, 2009, S.O. 2009, c.3 https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/09a03)
The Church fakes it's remorse for it's crimes and their cover-up in jurisdictions where there is apology legislation and/or where transjurisdictional torts are too costly to litigate for ordinary plaintiffs and exposure to litigation is very close to zero.
Nobody should reasonably rely on Father Rosica in the future.
He is a leopard and he won't change his spots.


Jock was born in New Zealand but is now based in the UK and at the age of 19 was a fully qualified bricklayer. Jock's father then introduced him to trail and rodeo riding and Jock never looked back. Jock went on to work for Kevin Mcnab and two years later competed in his first CIC*** where he was placed fourth. Jock represented Team NZ at the London Olympics where they won Bronze and won Badminton in 2013.


Featuring a roundup of 89 genre-bending science flicks from 29 countries, this week-long annual festival of screenings will be hosted at various venues around New York City. The lineup includes innovative short films, six premieres and programs that are geared toward children of all ages. This year, the films in the festival are all centered around the theme of survival.


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On Behalf of Keith B. Schulefand, Esq. | Jan 30, 2023 | Divorce
With financial issues being a top reason for divorce, people often make the assumption that wealth would make a divorce far less likely. They assume that couples who can't pay their bills and who struggle to keep food on the table are the ones getting divorced because...
On Behalf of Keith B. Schulefand, Esq. | Jan 13, 2023 | High Asset Divorce
Divorce is complex, but the level of intricacy may be higher when more assets are involved. If you and your spouse had assets with high values, such as businesses, stocks, trust funds or real estate that you both owned or ran, property division may be challenging....
On Behalf of Keith B. Schulefand, Esq. | Jan 13, 2023 | Child Custody
For all practical purposes, your marriage is over – but you and your spouse still have young children whose needs have to be considered. As their parents, one of your biggest concerns is probably providing a sense of stability for the kids as you work through this...
On Behalf of Keith B. Schulefand, Esq. | Jan 3, 2023 | Divorce
When you file for divorce, it may seem natural for one person to move out of your marital home before the process is finalized. This is especially true if your divorce is contested or you and your spouse cannot get along. Before packing your bags, it is important to...


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How to Succeed as a Content Team of One
July 20, 2020 by Ryan Law in
Many of the content marketers we talk to operate as a content team of one.
They share a common backstory: as companies scale, engineering is the first team to grow, followed by sales. Marketing lags behind, quite significantly, so there are lots of big, rapidly growing companies still staffed by skeleton marketing teams. Even in well-resourced marketing teams, content is often a lonely department of one.
Content teams of one can still produce incredible work—they just need to be smart about it.
I chatted to a handful of the best solo marketers and content marketers I know—Maria Barrera (head of marketing at ChartHop), Emily Byford (content marketing manager at SaaStock), and Ash Read (editorial director at Buffer)—to get their advice for succeeding as a content team of one.
1. Prioritize Ruthlessly
Emily captured the core challenge shared by everyone I spoke with: "My resource and my time is the blocker on quite a few projects. There's only so much I can write in one week!"
As a content team of one, you serve the needs of an entire company: marketing, sales, customer success, product—you name it. Left unchecked, requests for content will fill your entire bandwidth. You must prioritize ruthlessly.
"My resource and my time is the blocker on quite a few projects. There's only so much I can write in one week!"
Emily Byford, SaaStock
Evaluate Every Request by Your KPIs
Ash sets clear performance metrics for every content channel and evaluates every request through that lens.
Having a fair, unbiased rubric for evaluating ideas makes it easier to make decisions without relying on personal preference: if a request for content is unlikely to move a KPI, it doesn't make the cut.
Ash shares:
"At Buffer, we don't just have content, we have various content properties, and the way we use each of them is very different. . . . The best example of this is our content library, which is our house for SEO content. And the goal we have for that is just increasing opportunities for Buffer to be discovered. And that focus means we won't do anything that doesn't impact that goal."
Pursue High-Impact Content
Not all content is created equal. Ash, Emily and Maria all recommend focusing on the content types with the biggest, most tangible impact, whether on traffic, lead volume, or closed deals.
As Maria explains, this can mean cutting content that you're personally excited about in favor of content that serves the business:
"As a marketing team of one, what I had to do for myself is be extremely ruthless around my time . . . even though there's things that I really want to do, they're not necessarily things I should do."
Write Less, Research More
Writing isn't always the best use of your time. Maria shared that content creation can create a dopamine hit—a sense of tangible accomplishment—that often dissuades marketers from pursuing harder, less tangible and more important activities, like content strategy.
Having the greatest impact with your content often requires getting off the content creation treadmill, and prioritizing work in other areas.
Emily realized that her time would be better spent promoting content instead of creating it. Ash is particularly cognizant of the importance of research for creating credible content:
"Content is so much better when it's firsthand data or firsthand stories. And as a team of one, that can be hard to prioritize. For the study I'm working on, I need 10 experts to come in and comment on their opinions. . . . I want someone to be able to speak specifically, and not rely on me interpreting their problem."
"Content is so much better when it's firsthand data or firsthand stories. And as a team of one, that can be hard to prioritize."
Ash Read, Buffer
Done Is Better Than Perfect
While Ash and Emily both operate within a larger marketing team, Maria is ChartHop's sole marketer, responsible for the entire gamut of the company's marketing operations.
With so many demands on her time, she recommends adopting the Pareto principle:
"There are certain types of content that need to be really well done, at a hundred percent quality. And there might be others that don't need to be, that might be more of an 80% . . . being okay with that differentiator is key, especially when you're a team of one and you just need to pump stuff out."
In practice, Maria's publishing schedule is one place she's willing to be flexible, choosing to pursue topical, timely content instead of sticking to a rigid weekly cadence:
"We're informal about the blog calendar. . . . It doesn't matter right now. We have to prioritize the biggest ROI activity for that week."
2. Lean on Your Team
As a content team of one, there's an understandable drive to shoulder the entire burden of content. But Ash, Maria, and Emily have all found ways to lean on their teams for support, peer review, and mentorship.
As Ash points out, running content solo can be detrimental to the end product:
"Last year I was working on a podcast series called Breaking Brand . . . and it got to the point where I realized, I've done the interviews, I've come up with the messaging, the branding, I've written the landing page copy, and no one else has touched it. And I was just like, this isn't okay!"
Source Ideas from the Rest of the Company
Everyone I spoke with had a process for sourcing content ideas from the rest of their team.
Ash has an open-ended "Ideas" section in Trello that he describes as a "free for all"—anyone can, and should, share their ideas. Emily has a weekly marketing and sales meeting that her team uses to keep aligned and to brainstorm new ideas. Maria uses Slack to take the pulse of the sales team and shares recordings from support calls to brainstorm new content ideas:
"We have a Slack channel for content marketing ideas. So when they talk to clients or when, you know, they come across something in their own lives, they're like, 'Hey, this would be a really good blog post.' . . . I'll listen to a lot of Gong recordings from our customer success team and use that for inspiration."
Get Feedback on Your Content
As a solo marketer, it's usually necessary to write, edit, and copyedit your own work.
In an effort to inject some outside perspective and peer review into their work, Maria, Emily, and Ash all solicit regular feedback from their team—albeit in slightly different ways.
Ash shares drafts with a couple of teammates and, eventually, wants to build a process akin to that of Buffer's design team: "Our designers have peer reviews and design reviews where they just get together and share their latest designs and kind of critique each other . . . I think that really helps."
Emily often solicits help from subject-matter experts: "I'll show it to people who have more knowledge in a specific area to be like, have I missed anything? Have I made any factual errors?"
For ChartHop's latest article series on diversity, equity, and inclusion, Maria took an especially rigorous approach to peer review:
"I had at least two people review it internally who have a pretty good eye for typos or grammar . . . And then I actually sourced from a couple of friends who are more involved in the DEI space, too, to get a deeper sense of, okay, does this work? Does any wording rub people the wrong way?"
As Maria explains, this outside perspective is often more useful than internal feedback from your team:
"Leveraging friends and peers that may not have all the context on your company . . . can actually be a better proxy for how the audience would react."
Maria Barrera, ChartHop
Find Leverage Through Agencies and Contractors
As a content team of one, time is your biggest constraint.
Maria solves for this by partnering with specialized agencies and contractors, outsourcing crucial-but-time-consuming parts of her workflow—content design, and the creation of search-optimized content—to specialized agency teams:
"I love playing around on Sketch and designing things, but that's something that takes up a lot of time and I can easily give that to our agency . . . Because that's my biggest constraint, figuring out how I can gain leverage through different agencies or contractors is key."
3. Do What Big Content Teams Can't
Being a content team of one isn't all stress and brutal prioritization.
Sometimes, what feels like a weakness in one moment can become a strength in another. Solo marketers can experiment more, gain exposure to a broad cross-section of skills, and, ultimately, breathe life into their own unique vision for content marketing.
Experiment More, Iterate Faster
Being part of a big content team provides more resources, but it also introduces more bureaucracy and more barriers to experimentation (in some cases, even hamstringing traffic growth).
Maria places huge value on her freedom to quickly iterate and pivot, especially for creating topical content in response to changing social media trends:
"The feedback loops are much shorter. . . . I can very be very nimble, right? If a conversation on Twitter turns to something completely different, I can adjust very quickly. Whereas, with a bigger team, it will take more time to execute."
Get Wide Exposure and Level-Up Your Career
The broad responsibilities of a content team of one can translate into accelerated career development and new skills.
As Ash explains, "You have a lot of the time to work on strategy and produce content. It's hard to balance both, but there's a real chance for career growth. I think when you're in a team of, say, 20 writers, making the jump up to editor might take longer. But when you're forced to edit your own stuff or change the strategy, there are career opportunities to level up."
Emily has felt this acutely since stepping into her new role at SaaStock. Because her boss—the company's head of marketing—is busy with meetings and strategic decision-making, Emily has found herself stepping into the breach and offering support to the wider team:
"I realized that I'm the next port of call. . . . That's cool."
Bring Your Vision to Life
Ash and Emily feel like custodians of their companies' narrative and tone of voice.
As Emily explains, "As a content marketing team of one, it's so much easier to have a consistent tone of voice across all of your content."
This extends to the broader vision and narrative for content—instead of subjecting every style decision to a death-by-a-thousand-cuts style process of dilutive review, you can ensure that every article supports a single, clear narrative.
"Narrative is something that is always in the back of my mind as we kind of go from idea to production. Does this align with the story we want to tell in the world? Because if not, we probably shouldn't cover it. . . . We don't want to be everything to everyone."
4. Be Realistic About What You Can Achieve
As Ash explains, it's not always possible to create everything you'd like to—and that's okay:
"We know data studies are really good for us at Buffer. . . . They generate thousands of backlinks and lots of long-term traffic. I've had one in my drafts since February that is like 80%. . . . Just because something doesn't get done doesn't mean it's a bad idea. Sometimes you have to kill good ideas."
It's tempting to look to the likes of Intercom and First Round Review for inspiration, but the output of big content teams is rarely a helpful benchmark for solo marketers.
Emily has felt the implicit pressure of looking to other companies for inspiration. She wrapped up our conversation with sage advice:
"I think one thing I've really felt right now is the feeling that you should be doing something better . . . but it's worth remembering that they're a 400-, 500-person company. They have more people in their content team than we do in our entire company."
Ryan Law
Follow @thinking_slow
Ryan is the VP of Content at Animalz, an agency that provides high-end content marketing solutions to SaaS and tech companies.
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