For do-it-yourselfers, a craft store is a treasure trove of inspiration. From beads to yarn to candy-making and every other Pinterest-worthy creation, you'll find exactly what you need to make a unique hand-crafted work-of-art at any one of these excellent craft stores.
If jewelry-making is your passion, then this store will fulfill your wildest dreams. It's overflowing with beads of all shapes, sizes and colors including turquoise, Swarovski crystal, semi-precious, pearls and Hematite. There's a good selection of tools and other supplies needed for this activity. If you can't stop by, the online store reflects the myriad of items in the store.
Scapbookers are a, well, scrappy bunch. Determined in their efforts to take bits of paper and photos and stickers and labels and make all that into a gorgeous collage of color and texture with just a pair of scissors and imagination is a beginning. Everything else can be found right here from themed paper, colored pens, paint, glue and glitter. Weekly classes help beginners learn new things, and experts sharpen their skills.
With more than 7,000 square-feet of store, pack a lunch and plan on spending the day. There's a little bit of everything to stoke the fire of just about any creative idea. You name it: glitter, buttons, feathers, markers, pencils, paper, stamps, stickers and storage containers for organization is just the tip of the felt pen of items you'll find here. Monthly classes are posted online.
There's a mother/daughter duo at this small but packed bead store that bills itself as the oldest one in town. For more than 40 years, they've been supplying visitors and residents with high quality beads in a wide-range of materials—glass, wooden, semi-precious and crystal. The store is tiny, but the collection immense. You're sure to find something not found elsewhere.
The Southwest is known for its Native American jewelry, and this store is known for its incredible selection of coral, shell, silver, amber, glass, hematite, pearl and stone beads, as well as gemstones and, of course, turquoise, for use in making this iconic art. After two decades of operation, the store is now the largest supplier of beads and beading tools in the southern part of the state. Classes every Thursday.
Here's a store that not only sells decor for your home, but also is full of almost anything crafting to make for your home. Cross-stitch, quilting, yarns, fabric, ribbon and supplies that go along with these materials are in abundance. Creativity is encouraged. Part of the store also has an area that showcases local crafts, art and photography on consignment.
Rock hounds will feel right at home in this mixed bag of a store that features geodes, crystals, pyrite, peridot and a variety of rough rocks like serpentine black obsidian, orange alabaster, red jasper and soapstone. Other store items include fossils, minerals, beads, equipment and tools, books, DIY kits and, of course, rock tumblers. Classes in geology, metaphysics and beading take place throughout the year.
Art is in the eye of the beholder, but there wouldn't be much to look at if it weren't for all of the paraphernalia that goes into making it. With more than 50,000 different art supplies, this store's goal is to honor the artist in everyone who walks through the door. Just a few of the items include, of course, paint for all mediums, canvasses and the extras that go into making them, easels, brushes in all shapes and sizes and tools for drafting, printmaking and drawing. Classes and workshops year-round.
If you've ever wondered what "notions" are, then a stop here will answer that query. Notions are things that those who love to sew love to have—rotary cutters, thread, needles, gauges and other miscellany that makes sewing fun. And this is a place for those who like to sew, quilt, embroider, paint, knit and all things fiber (not the kind in cereal) related. Sewing machines also for sale. Monthly classes for beginners and groups.
Long arm quilting is not just for those with extra-long upper limbs, it's all about quilting really big quilts with a machine. Classes are taught here on this process, along with general classes on sewing. While you're learning, you can also pick up everything necessary to complete any sewing project. Whether you're looking for inspiration or knowledge, a stop here provides both.


Just a flood of money turned the tide for some people who probably were close to being beat.
There were many tie votes in the Texas House in 2005 on critical education bills, so a new Austin legislator could be the tiebreaker. We need a lawmaker who will consistently be on the side of public school parents and PTA leaders. Austin's new leader should have the courage to stand with parents and not succumb to pressure by power brokers promoting ideological education agendas.


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Written by Michele Brittany, Fanbase Press Editorials Manager
'That Which Grows Wild: 16 Tales of Dark Fiction' – Advance Book Review
Having read Horror Library Volume 6 recently, Eric J. Guignard proved himself a talented editor and publisher. Now, with this collection of short stories in That Which Grows Wild: 16 Tales of Dark Fiction, this reviewer can confirm that he is also an incredible writer and storyteller.
Short stories do not provide writers with much room to develop a narrative and a cast of characters that readers are going to be interested in reading; however, these 16 tales document Guignard's natural ability to engage the reader to care about each character and want to know what happens to them. He achieves this in three ways. First, he develops intriguing characters that are flawed, yet fascinating. They ring as being uniquely true; they could easily be individuals that we might meet as we go about our own lives. They face challenges and explore issues of morality on our behalf as we consider, from the comfort of our chairs, what our response might be if faced with the same situation.
Secondly, in each story Guignard explores the concept of "wild" through the locales. He has created locations that are desolate – the wild west, the lonely bayou, the desert, from an aerial point of view – but he has also taken the familiar urban environment and made it into his own sandbox filled with dark, scary things. Guignard deftly conveys just enough descriptive details to excite the reader's imagination to add in their own details and flesh out the canvas that he has started. Hence, the reader is invested in the story and riveted to learn what happens next.
Lastly, Guignard weaves magic through his writing style. Through his word choices and use of metaphors and similes, he creates a beautiful narrative tapestry of vivid images and fragile emotional experiences. He has an incredible talent for dropping in what seems like an incidental detail or story flavor that turns out to be a crucial third act element. And, he is able to change his voice in each story; each character has their own unique voice.
Here is a sneak peek – no spoilers – to each story:
"A Case Study in Natural Selection and How It Applies to Love"
The temperatures have warmed up considerably, drying out the water supply and slimming out the population. Darwin's theory of natural selection goes up against Kenny, who happens to like a girl named Liz.
"Last Days of the Gunslinger, John Amos"
A gunslinger becomes protector to several children from town as they hole up in the Arizona mountains against large insects; however, a storm is brewing and headed their way.
A dying mother is cared for by her youngest surviving son. She wants to make amends with a last wish, but will her son help her?
"Footprints Fading in the Desert"
Socialite Lisa, her husband, and the pilot crash in the desert. As the sun rises on the third day, Lisa notices footprints leading off. She decides to follow in hopes that she will find assistance or at least not be alone in the desolation of the aftermath of the crash.
"The House of the Rising Sun, Forever"
Lincoln Brown could be any one of us. How does Lincoln face his weaknesses? How do we?
"The Inveterate Establishment of Daddano & Co."
Chicago. The days of Al Capone and the Valentine's Day massacre. We know the story from the film, but a lone witness is singing a different tune.
What would happen if the Earth stopped revolving, leaving people in a perpetual darkness – the only light a full moon…oh and werewolves exist?
"Those Who Watch From On High"
A drone pilot becomes too attached during a surveillance mission.
"Vancouver Fog"
Sometimes, everything can change in an instant.
"A Curse and a Kiss"
A re-imagining of the well-known beauty and the beast story.
"Whispers of the Earth"
On the tenth anniversary of a tragedy that took the lives of several citizens, unnatural sinkholes appeared throughout the town. Survivors hear the whispers of dead loved ones coming from the depths of the holes.
"A Serving of Nomu Sashimi"
Terry cannot catch a break with his sales figures; however, the three other salesmen are doing exceedingly well. One night, he gets asked to join their group and learn their secret.
"Certain Sights of an Afflicted Woman"
It is 1918 and the year of the great epidemic. A young woman with an eye infection is able to see things she would rather not.
"A Journey of Great Waves"
Kei, a survivor of a tsunami that took her family, finds a doll that washed up on the beach where she lives with her extended family. She has a nagging feeling that the doll is somehow familiar.
"A Quaint Ol' Bigfoot Tale"
A grandpa relates the story of running into a Sasquatch back in 1899.
"Dreams of a Little Suicide"
A little person seeks a better life when offered to play a munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. He meets a seamstress and falls in love, but Hollywood is known to be cruel and fickle.
Eric Guignard crafts storytelling into a timeless masterpiece. That Which Grows Wild: 16 Tales of Dark Fiction is a brilliant collection of haunting stories that will captivate readers that relish dark fiction. Each tale is a unique story that is eerily dark, as it explores human nature and the outcome of decisions made. Guignard excels as a short story writer by bringing together characters that capture the reader's attention and locales with just enough details to spark the reader's own imagination to fill in the gaps. He has a skill with words and an ability to create unique narrative tones and voices. As a result, he does a magnificent job of delivering stories that will linger and haunt readers long after they have finished the book.
Creative Team: Eric J. Guignard (author)
Publisher: Release to be announced soon.
Last modified on Monday, 12 March 2018 16:55
Published in: Books
Michele Brittany, Fanbase Press Editorials Manager
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Stimulus Update: Democrats Bend on Buy American Amendment…
The Declawed Buy American Amendment passes, it leaves things status quo, will Labor notice? We shall see…we need the language of the bill analyzed to see WTH it does exactly since Dorgan seems so chipper, is he trying to sell Labor into believing something has changed?! Or is there an alligator under the water lurking in this bill….
ABC Reports:
Senators agreed by voice vote tonight to clarify that the "Buy American" provision in the Senate's version of the stimulus package should comply with existing treaties.
Then they rejected by a 31-65 vote a proposal by Sen. John McCain to strip the "Buy American" language from the bill. There is no such language in the House-passed stimulus.
McCain warned that the "Buy American" requirement for stimulus funds has "echoes of the disastrous Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act," which many believe exacerbated the Great Depression.
Byron Dorgan D-NE challenges fate to strike trade, what an idiot IMO:
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., the chief "Buy American" cheerleader said, "Both Mr. Smoot and Mr. Hawley are dead. … But this amendment is part of a debate that is alive on the floor of the Senate and across the country. Twenty thousand people a day are losing their jobs. Twenty thousand people a day.
Well that's a relief, and a trade war against the global economy averted…
MiM: World Economic Forum in Davos: Global Coordinated Action and the dangers of protectionism was the reptitive the Theme from leaders of government and finance..(Getty Images)
The vote expected tonight, via Forbes:
The U.S. Senate planned to vote late Wednesday on a softened "Buy American" plan as part of its nearly $900 billion economic stimulus bill, after President Barack Obama expressed concern the original language could trigger a trade war.
The proposed amendment adds language requiring that Buy American measures that have upset Canada, the European Union and other trading partners be "applied in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under international agreements."
The Senate was also expected to vote on an amendment offered by Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, that would prohibit any of the stimulus package funds from being subject to a Buy American requirement.
Via Bloomberg:
Congressional leaders, trying to quell a dispute over "Buy American" provisions in the stimulus package, are crafting a version that would apply only when they don't violate trade rules, according to industry officials and a congressional aide. The lawmakers are reacting to a demand by the White House that the provisions satisfy U.S. obligations under the World Trade Organization.
Well it is always nice when we comply with out WTO and Trade Agreements ain't it? Sheesh. MiM previous post on Smoot Hawley and Protectionism here….
The House Ways and Means Committee's Democratic staff and aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, are working out the language, said a lobbyist who was briefed on the measure. The people familiar with the talks declined to be identified because the talks are confidential.
You know who is gonna be pixxed?, that's right Labor. The very Labor that elected Teh One and demonstrated outside the Capitol today for EFCA/Card Check.
Obama told ABC News yesterday that he didn't want any Buy American provisions that would violate trade rules.
"We need to make sure that any provisions that are in there are not going to trigger a trade war," he said.
Now that Team Obama is in charge we at MiM bet Larry Summers and Judd Gregg will prevail over Hilda Solis and Pelosi, the same way Bob Rubin prevailed over Robert Reich in the Clinton Administration..IOW no EFCA, unless they plan to self destruct the economy…..
Steel companies, such as U.S. Steel Corp. and Nucor Corp., and labor unions are pushing language in the stimulus plan to mandate that projects use American-made iron, steel and other manufactured goods in building projects such as roads, bridges and tunnels.
-sni-
"We've always said this doesn't violate our trade laws," said Robert Baugh, executive director of the Industrial Union Council at the AFL-CIO. "If they need to restate it, fine."
February 4, 2009. Tags: Barack Obama, Buy American Amendment, Byron Dorgan, Cabinet, Congressional Leadership, Economic Stimulus, Economy, Free Trade, NAFTA, Obama Administration, Pelosi, Politics, protectionism, recession, Smoot Hawley, TARP, TIMOTHY GEITHNER, Wall St, World Economic Forum, WTO. Politics. 1 comment.
Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean Cruise: The Legend Lives On…
Ohh much fun for Family Vacation at Spring Break !! Register at Disney:
Event: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend Lives On
Event Date: March 8 – 12, 2009
Event Location: Disney Wonder
Consult your compass and set your sights on the seas to the east as the Pirates of the Caribbean commandeer Disney Cruise Line and Castaway Cay. Embark upon Disney Wonder March 8 – 12, 2009 as we venture to world's end & beyond on a journey to uncover hidden treasures of pirate legend and lore.
This adventurous voyage into pirate territory will be led by Lee Arenberg and Marty Klebba, pirates that not only sailed the seven seas, but lived the legend of the Caribbean.
Dare to set sail with the Pirates of the Caribbean and become a part of the legend…
To book this legendary sailing with Disney Cruise Line, please contact Disney Cruise Line Reservation Center at 1-800-951-3532 or your local travel agent.
February 4, 2009. Tags: Disney, Disney Cruise, Family Vacation, Family Vacation Spring Break, Pirates of the Caribbean. Entertainment, Fantasy, Film, Popular Culture. 2 comments.
2009-1-21 Nightline – Maxine Waters vs Refinancers
Rep Maxine Waters D CA tries to help her constituents..
From Rep Waters YouTube channel: Even a Congresswoman can't get satisfaction from mortgage refinancers.It is not about getting a live person. It is about getting a live person that can actually do something.
more about "2009-1-21 Nightline – Maxine Waters v…", posted with vodpod
February 4, 2009. Tags: Bank of America, Countrywide, FDIC, Foreclosure Mitigation, Foreclosures, HOLC, Housing, IndyMac, Maxine Waters, Mortgage Modification, Sheila Bair. Economy, FDIC, Foreclosures, Housing, Politics, TARP. Comments off.
Update 2: Acting Secretary of Labor Appointed as Solis Nomination In Limbo…EFCA Rally at the Capitol
Update 2: 7:09pm EST: An interim Secretary has been appointed. That can't be good news for Solis.
The WH made a statement in support of Solis today indicating her failure to notify the House as required of her lobbying role, was an oversight and not an ethical violation..good luck with that one as we head into the Battle Over EFCA/Card Check…
Ambinder has it:
Amid threats of a Republican hold on Labor Secretary nominee Hilda Solis, President Obama has asked a top department official to serve as Acting Labor Secretary until she's confirmed. Edward Hugler, currently the deputy assistant secretary for administration, has spent more than 30 years in a variety of functions in the department.
Solis's fate is unclear. Her status as treasurer of the pro-EFCA American Rights at Work (ARW) is what's causing concern…
Rep. George Miller (D- CA), is speaking at a rally supporting Card Check in the Capitol as we type….no word yet on a confirmation vote for Solis….
From the AFL-CIO:
February 4, 2009. Tags: American Rights at Work, Cabinet, Card Check, Congressional Leadership, Department of Labor, Economy, EFCA, Employee Free Choice Act, Hilda Solis, Immigration, labor, Obama Administration, Politics, Secretary of Labor, Unions. Cabinet, Economy, Labor Department, Obama Administration, Politics, Unemployment Statistics. Comments off.
2/3 Barney Frank on Bank Lending
(Yesterday), the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing, Promoting Bank Liquidity and Lending Through Deposit Insurance, Hope for Homeowners, and other Enhancements.
Homeowners take heart, Barney says that Geithner says a national plan of some sort is coming…
so 'Hold On, I'm Comin'!' Take it Sam and Dave!!!!!
Sam and Dave courtesy of adamweishaupt81:
The 1966 Stax-Volt European Tour contains performance footage of the first major multi city tour of America's R&B superstars.
Superb performances by Sam & Dave and Otis Redding hypnotized the European kids again opening up new audiences for them and propelling them to stardom.
Features Booker T. and the MG's and The Mar-Keys.
more about "2/3 Barney Frank on Bank Lending", posted with vodpod
February 4, 2009. Tags: Barney Frank, Foreclosure Mitigation, HOLC, Housing, Mortgage Modification, R & B, Sam and Dave, Stax Volt European Tour. Economy, Entertainment, FDIC, Foreclosures, Housing, Music, Obama Administration, Politics, Popular Culture, TARP. Comments off.
Nancy Pelosi is a Raving Egomaniac….
Narcissism thy name is Pelosi.
Many HRC supporters have LONG suspected Nancy must have some pathological jealousy going on or something because her behavior in the primaries was just bizarre…
Regardless of who the woman is, in any given situation, Nancy has NEVER thought they experienced sexism: from Hillary to Sarah Palin she didn't think so and when pressed said she hadn't been paying attention…odd that. LOL!
No doubt this is because only Nancy really understands what real sexism is really like in a really important job…
Obama actually pointed out how appropriate it was PELOSI was at the Lily Ledbetter Act signing and said nothing about Hillary, the first woman in US history to win a Presidential Primary (who was standing right next to him, which no doubt made Nancy smile like the damn Cheshire Cat–Obama TOTALLY has Nancy's number and plays her like a fiddle)…
In this interview from last week, Nancy tells George below how SHE really broke the highest (and hardest) ceiling in all the land and how SHE really is the most powerful person in the world and how HER job is really the hardest in the world…
She sounds EXACTLY like the Evil Queen in Snow White, betcha she has a Magic Mirror…
Glad Hill is safely away in her own kingdom in Foggy Bottom…
Mirror Mirror on the wall, Who's the most powerful female of them All? …then no doubt she does an "off with their head" gesture..
Listen to her fantasyland, from Snuggleupagus:
"I broke through the marble ceiling, forget the glass ceiling. In this Congress, it's a marble ceiling. It's over 200 years of pecking order that was very all-male and predicted long into the future. So I broke into that," Pelosi said.
….and my election to speaker has — so huge. I always said it's harder to be speaker than be president of the United States. Because the American people are more interested in having a female president than the male members of Congress are interested in having a female speaker. …
What the hell kind of twisted reasoning is that?! More Americans want a female POTUS (IOW Hillary) than male Congress Critters wanted a 'female leader' (her?!)… her resentment and envy clearly eats her alive…very sad…
Hillary famously put 18 million cracks in the highest glass ceiling, so Nancy says HER ceiling is MARBLE…
Betcha the fact that her book on 'Embracing Your Power' sold like Negative Three Copies while Hillary's two books sold like hotcakes ..well, OUCH THE BURN!!!!
Tsk tsk Nancy, more Americans want to read Hillary's books than Congressmen want to read yours!!!
I bet Nancy wanders around the Capitol like Jan Brady saying, "Hillary, Hillary, Hillary"
February 4, 2009. Tags: Congress, Congressional Leadership, Congressional politics, D.C. politics, equal representation, Evil Queen, feminism, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Jan Brady, Nancy Pelosi, Pelosi, Sarah Palin, Snow White, Speaker of the House, The Brady Bunch. Fantasy, Film, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Popular Culture. Comments off.


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Book The Four26
Corporate + Club Jams
The Four26 is the New York based Americana duo of Peter Carucci and Becki Fleischer who, with their backing band, take crowds along with them on a journey into deep pocket grooves where the dirt from life feels good on your hands. They're currently recording their first album together and maintain a very active calendar illuminating stages and drawing crowds into each performance with their magnetic style and honest approach.
an arsenal of creative cred
PETER CARUCCI (Vocals/Guitar/Mandolin/Banjo/Harmonica/Bass/Drums)
A life-long musician, Peter first made a name for himself during his college years, attracting sold-out crowds looking to hear his unique percussive-style acoustic guitar and captivating vocals. As a pioneering member of the 90's folk rock scene, he opened locally for acts like Jonathan Edwards (Sunshine Go Away Today) and Dave Matthews. A natural performer, Carucci went on to co-found several bands in New York City, most notably Chasing Sunday, a top NYC and internationally successful band, Steve Liesman & The Mooncussers, The Shaves, and The Four26. He has written, co-written, and produced over forty songs on five albums and has written countless more, many of which have been performed live or featured on artist recordings. As frontman of internationally successful Chasing Sunday, Peter achieved chart successes in New York City, on college radio, and across Europe. A multi-instrumentalist, Peter has performed around the globe and shared stages and studios with members of The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, and The Allman Brothers Band (Bob Weir, Jeff Chimenti, Bobby Keys, Chuck Leavell), as well as musical legends: Sammy Hagar, Paul Shaffer, Santana, Bernie Williams, the Heartbreakers, Lew Soloff, Jay Lane, Jason Crosby, Papa Mali, D.J. Logic, Jonathan Wilson, Jim Devito, Randy Jackson, George Murphy, Fantasia, David Gans, Gala, Anna Falchi, Yannick Noah, Patrick Bruel, and many others.
BECKI FLEISCHER (Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/Percussion)
Raised in Indiana, Becki found her love of music at a young age winning vocal competitions and playing guitar, piano, French horn, trumpet and any other instrument she could get her hands on. These days, she is known for her clear and compelling vocals and smooth rhythm guitar. Layering in ear-grabbing harmonies or taking the lead, she has contributed to cover bands and was a founding member of the indie rock band LAWLESS. Becki currently writes and performs original music and originally arranged covers with her band The Four26, which she also co-founded. She is a member of the Nashville-based songwriting community, Songtown, and in July 2020, Becki released her first EP of original music, Intune, which conveys her fierce belief in the power of personal transformation. Her song "Shift" received airplay in the northern suburbs of NYC and her song "Highest Ground" was recognized with an Honorable Mention in the Folk/Acoustic category of the Indie International Songwriting Network contest in 2021. "Highest Ground" is also the theme music for her podcast, Unleash Your Soul Song.
WILSON MONTUORI (Electric Guitar/Classical Guitar)
A versatile guitarist and teacher, Wilson has mastered styles ranging from pop/rock, world music, and jazz to classical. As a session musician, he has recorded for many labels, including Universal Records, Sony Music, and Def Jam Records Japan and performs throughout the world with various musical ensembles. Wilson holds a degree in classical guitar from the Accademia Musicale in Florence, Italy, a BFA in jazz performance from City College, where he was honored as a valedictorian candidate, and a Masters in Music Education from Boston University. He is a working composer and introduced his first album titled "Viaggio" in 2012. His compositions can also be heard in the 2014 feature film "Shelter."
DEAN MARCHI (Bass/Vocals/Guitar/Ukulele)
A Good Time Charly available for any party, Dean's been playing bass for various original and party bands around the New York City music scene for the past 30 years. His past creative collaborations include performing and recording with The Twenty % Tippers, Andy If, Jayah, John Plenge and the Tone Factory, Allen Gogarty, Chasing Sunday, and Justin Robert James. He also is currently the bassist for the live band karaoke group, Rock Star Karaoke NYC performing for various clubs, corporate parties and private events. More recently, Dean has been working on a recording of original material for his first full length album, Checkered Past due out later this year.
FRANK PICARAZZI (Drums/Vocals/Keys/Vibraphone)
An accomplished percussionist and composer, Frank is one of the most sought-after musicians in New York City and maintains an extremely active performance schedule with several ensembles in and around the area. Frank's compositions have been premiered and performed in several major U.S. cities, including New York, Boston, and Hartford, as well as Florence, Rome and Bari, Italy. In 2000 he was awarded the American Music Center Margaret Fairbank Jory prize for his composition "Struggle in Microcosm." In addition to that distinction, the same composition was selected to serve as the opening work of the International New Music Consortium's Summer 2000 tour to Italy. As a performing artist, Picarazzi has been featured with dozens of performing groups as a vibraphonist and percussion soloist and is featured on several different recordings. He is a founding member of the popular fusion 4th "Alpha Mosaic" and in April 2003 he made his Carnegie Hall debut as a member of the "Marimba Spiritual" ensemble.
JESS KESSLER (Keys)
Jess Kessler is a New York based keyboardist with nearly 20 years of experience in live performance and studio work. While mainly focusing on rock and popular styles, Jess is also well-versed in jazz, blues, funk, and other genres. He prides himself on being a multi instrumentalist, having the ability to play a plethora of keyboard based instruments that include acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes & Wurlitzer electric pianos, Hammond B3 organ, electric organ, clavinet, and synthesizers.
The Four26 also features:
Jamie's drumming career began at the seat of a Steinway piano. Classical piano gradually gave way to drumming, primarily as a form of adolescent rebellion and the mistaken view that drummers were popular. His first band, Prufrock, alongside soon-to-be legendary songwriter Adam Schlesinger, was selected to open for Huey Lewis and the News, and eventually morphed into Fountains of Wayne. Having then turned his attention to aviation, Jamie began a 25 year musical hiatus, lasting until the 2010s when he and Becki began playing alongside Dan James in the Catskills region of New York. This eventually led his way to the Four26, where to this day he remains the only band member to have publicly performed in North Korea.
John McFaul
Too busy rocking....bio coming soon!
Jon Cobert
Scott Schaevitz
Creative Cred so extensive you'll have to read all about it HERE!
Scott grew up loving all kinds of music and began to hone in on the bass at a young age. He studied jazz and classical music and has played bass in a wide variety of projects - from jazz quartets and big bands to Grateful Dead cover bands. Having performed in master classes with greats, such as Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, and Jimmy Maxwell, he is known for his ability to ground the rhythm section and keep the energy moving for every song in virtually every genre - from classic rock to classical, from punk to pop.
Becki and Peter truly add to our annual golf outing's ambiance and success - they are the perfect partners for a glorious setting. There is a je ne sais quoi about how they perform, what they play, and their stage presence that is such a plus for us!
-G. Greenwald
Director of Special Events
Northern Westchester Hospital Foundation
Get live music
Copyright © 2022 Four26 Studios - All Rights Reserved.


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Students give 83-year-old custodian send-off fit for king
By: Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Updated: May 20, 2019 - 11:14 AM
John Lockett has worked for a Georgia school district for the past decade, and now he's living the retired life.
Before he retired, though, his students gave him the goodbye he deserved.
Lockett, or Mr. John, worked as a custodian for Sand Hill Elementary School in Carroll County, Georgia, WTHV reported.
He started working for the Carroll County School System after he left a career in construction.
"He's at work every day, no matter how bad he feels with a smile on his face," Principal Carla Meigs told WTHV.
He's like a grandfather for most of the students at the school, Meigs told the television station.
"These kids mean the world to me," Lockett told WTHV. "I come here and try to clean their school and I try to do it right because I know germs and disease is out there."
On Friday, they surprised him with "Mr. John Day," complete with a crown and cape for him to wear and the students calling him "the king."
>> Need something to lift your spirits? Read more uplifting news
Lockett walked the halls of the school, collecting cards from students.
Despite health issues that should have had him retire earlier this year, he told the principal he wanted to make it to the end of the year, WTHV reported.
While he considers those at the school family, he will be able to now spend more time with his grandchildren.
Video appears to show guards beating inmate in Florida prison


Pride's Classic Collection Lift Chairs delivers superb value and excellent comfort with features like an innovative arm design and overstuffed fiber-filled backs. In addition, Classic Collection lift chairs feature quiet and smooth operation and stylish designs to add to any home decor. The LC-250 is a 3-position lift chair.


"Seemeth" is not in the original. Render it as: Is it too little for you, i. e. "is it less than your dignity demands?"
6, 7. Take your censers, Korah, and all his company, &c.—that is, since you aspire to the priesthood, then go, perform the highest function of the office—that of offering incense; and if you are accepted well. How magnanimous the conduct of Moses, who was now as willing that God's people should be priests, as formerly that they should be prophets (Nu 11:29). But he warned them that they were making a perilous experiment.
Near to himself; nearer than the other tribes, though not so near as the priests.
Unto them, i.e. in their stead and for their good. So they were the servants both of God and of the church, which was a high dignity, though not sufficient for their ambitious minds.
9. seemeth it but a small thing unto you] is it too small a thing for you. Korah's company already possessed the great privilege of being separated from the other tribes for divine service; and with that they ought to be satisfied.
רב־לכם, "enough for you!" (רב, as in Genesis 45:28), they said to Moses and Aaron, i.e., "let the past suffice you" (Knobel); ye have held the priesthood and the government quite long enough. It must now come to an end; "for the whole congregation, all of them (i.e., all the members of the nation), are holy, and Jehovah is in the midst of them. Wherefore lift ye yourselves above the congregation of Jehovah?" The distinction between עדה and קהל is the following: עדה signifies conventus, the congregation according to its natural organization; קהל signifies convocatio, the congregation according to its divine calling and theocratic purpose. The use of the two words in the same verse upsets the theory that יהוה עדת belongs to the style of the original work, and יהוה קהל to that of the Jehovist. The rebels appeal to the calling of all Israel to be the holy nation of Jehovah (Exodus 19:5-6), and infer from this the equal right of all to hold the priesthood, "leaving entirely out of sight, as blind selfishness is accustomed to do, the transition of the universal priesthood into the special mediatorial office and priesthood of Moses and Aaron, which had their foundation in fact" (Baumgarten); or altogether overlooking the fact that God Himself had chosen Moses and Aaron, and appointed them as mediators between Himself and the congregation, to educate the sinful nation into a holy nation, and train it to the fulfilment of its proper vocation. The rebels, on the contrary, thought that they were holy already, because God had called them to be a holy nation, and in their carnal self-righteousness forgot the condition attached to their calling, "If ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant" (Exodus 19:5).


text:
How to Perfectly Manage a PPC Campaign [Template]
In the world of search engine marketing (SEM), more and more marketers are buying into PPC campaigns. Google Ads specifically has increased its revenue from year to year. In 2018, it was reported that the service was generating 84% of Alphabet's revenue.
Marketers know that properly investing in PPC can result in nearly guaranteed ad placement in search engine result pages. They also know that this placement can help generate leads.
As you prepare to create a PPC campaign, it's important to get a rundown of what a successful campaign entails, and identify management misssteps that you'll want to avoid.
The key to building a successful PPC campaign is to follow these steps:
Determine your PPC campaign structure.
Identify, build, or refine your campaign's landing pages.
Build a keyword strategy based on your research.
Create ads based on what you've determined in the above steps.
Share your campaign plan with decision makers.
The problem is, many marketers suffer from poor PPC campaign management, which ends up costing them way more money than they need to spend and delivering underwhelming lead generation results.
Here are a few ways marketers could go wrong with PPC management:
Coming up with keywords on the fly without doing prior research.
Only building one basic campaign without utilizing Google Ads' AdGroups tool.
Attaching un-engaging landing pages -- or a homepage that generates no leads -- to the campaign.
Not adding "negative keywords" or monitoring campaigns to avoid wasted spend.
Creating campaigns, setting budget caps, and going live without telling key decision makers at your company or a client's company.
So, how do you do PPC properly so you actually get leads at a reasonable cost? It comes down to intelligent campaign structure.
How do you master intelligent campaign structure? You use a template!
PPC Plan Template
We've created a free PPC campaign management template that will help you and your clients set up a full-funnel campaign structure that follows PPC best practices. Once you do that, you'll be better positioned to maximize the return on your PPC investment.
We're going to show you how to use that PPC template in this blog post -- so download it now and follow along.
If you're running PPC campaigns for someone who doesn't understand the importance of good campaign structure, this template will also act as a deliverable that will enlighten your boss or clients.
Tips for Using This Template
Before we get started, let's go over a few tips that'll make using this template even easier:
You will want to clear out the example data I have in the template such as keywords, campaign and AdGroup names, ads, and destination URLs. Unless, of course, you're running a fruit stand named after me.
Be careful not to erase columns E, G, and I. They contain formulas that will help you in subsequent steps.
Click on the red markers in the top corners of the cells. They contain helpful tips and FAQs. If you ever forget what a cell is used for, those are good reminders.
Step 1: Understand PPC Campaign Structure
Before we actually do anything with this template, it's important we're all on the same page about PPC campaign structure. Far too many marketers will just set up an account, create an ad, direct the ad to their home page, pick some keywords and hit go. This is not the way to do things.
With Google Ads, you have the opportunity to create multiple campaigns. Each campaign may contain several AdGroups, and each AdGroup may contain a few ads and multiple, similar keywords.
It's wise to create multiple campaigns because you can set daily budget caps, day-parting, and select geo-targeted regions at the campaign level. If you're bidding on generic keywords and branded keywords, you'll want to put these in separate campaigns because the economics around these two types of keywords will likely be very different.
As you can see, your template reflects these best practices, providing space for several different campaigns, AdGroups, and ad variations within those AdGroups.
Step 2: Identify Your Landing Pages
The "Destination URL" is the place on your website where you want the PPC traffic to end up. Because there is a marginal cost associated with each PPC visitor you attract, I recommend you choose a landing page URL as your destination URL.
Do not drive them to your home page or a blog in hopes that they will stumble upon a lead generation form. That's the job of organic search. Drive them to a landing page with a form on it. Don't forget to put in a tracking token so you know where these leads are coming from.
Major, well-known companies don't always follow this rule, but they also have millions of dollars in budget that needs to be used by the end of the month. Make it easy on yourself and let your landing pages define your AdGroups.
You will notice that the Destination URL within the AdGroup is the same regardless of the keyword or ad. If you really want to drive a keyword to a different landing page, then create another AdGroup. If you want to get even more specific, create another campaign for that keyword.
You should also keep your sales funnel in mind when you identify these landing pages. Think about which part of the sales funnel each landing page and offer speaks to.
For example, an educational PDF about an industry concept would be appropriate for a top-of-the-funnel offer, while a coupon or a demo would be at the bottom of the funnel.
Manage and create separate campaigns for each part of the funnel. If you scroll down in your template, you'll see that there's dedicated space allotted for campaigns in all of these funnel stages.
Step 3: Build Your Keyword Strategy
Next, select the keywords that are relevant to the landing page and offer. Make sure to keep them as relevant as possible to increase the chance that each visitor you pay for completes the form on the landing page.
Yes, it would be nice to rank for certain keywords, but if the landing page doesn't answer the keyword queried, think twice. Or better yet, create another offer and landing page that speaks more directly to the keyword.
To understand search volumes and costs around each keyword you want to select, you can use free tools like the Google Ads Keyword Tool or -- if you're a HubSpot customer -- our Keywords tool.
If you're running short on inspiration, these tools can help you think of other keywords to include in your campaign. You should always consider the costs of those suggested keywords and keep your economic interests in mind.
If this is your first time managing a PPC campaign, it would be wise to read up on how to design a killer keyword strategy. In the case of Google Ads, you might also want to learn more about keyword quality score.
Step 4: Create Your Ads
This is the fun part! Both Google and Bing allow you to create more than one ad for each AdGroup (hence the "group" terminology). The service will rotate them until it notices that one appears to drive a higher clickthrough rate (CTR). This is how A/B (and C and D) testing works. While it's optional, you should take advantage of the ability to create more than one ad.
Writing an ad is a bit like writing a haiku. There are character limits for each part, and it can be a little aggravating figuring out how to best complete the ad.
You are allotted 25 characters for the title, 35 characters for the display URL -- the URL that's displayed in the ad, not to be confused with the destination URL -- and 35 characters for each line of copy. But if you're using this template, don't worry about keeping track.
The cell to the right of each ad component will count characters and turn red when you have gone over the limit. Handy, right?
In my observation, the title has the greatest influence on an ad's CTR. It's wise to include a keyword in the headline to draw a user's attention to your ad. An even better practice would be to use dynamic keyword insertion.
I find the copy to be less important, but you certainly can't just put gibberish in there. Search engines have editorial policies for what you can and cannot put in an ad. These policies also change frequently, so it's your job to stay up to date on them.
A good rule of thumb is to simply try to provide a congruous experience for searchers -- from seeing your ad in the search engine results to completing the form on your landing page.
Finally, there's the tricky matter of the display URL. You're only allowed 35 characters here, but it's unlikely that your destination URL, the actual URL for your landing page, will be that short. So the search engines allow you to create a display URL, which may not even be an actual URL on your website. It's critical that the domain in your display URL be the same as the domain in your destination URL.
Step 5: Share the Completed Template With a Decision Maker
Whether you're doing PPC for your business or a client, your completed template will ensure you're aligning the decision-maker's expectations with the realities of a productive PPC campaign. If you're the decision maker, this template will help you think about what you're doing with the money you're spending on PPC.
The end result is that you'll have created the sort of congruous user experience that search engines like to see. That can benefit you in terms of your positioning in the SERPs and, ultimately, your costs. It will also grant you the agility you need to swiftly reallocate and modify budget as you respond to changes in the marketplace, and the drive to maximize the return on your PPC spend.
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Topic: Marketing
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Mark Krikorian, a nationally recognized expert on immigration issues, has served as Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) since 1995. The Center, an independent, non-partisan research organization in Washington, D.C., examines and critiques the impact of immigration on the United States. Animated by a pro-immigrant, low-immigration vision which seeks fewer immigrants but a warmer welcome for those admitted, the Center was established in 1985 to respond to the need for reliable, fact-based research in the immigration area.
Mr. Krikorian's knowledge and expertise in the immigration field are sought by Congress, as well as the mainstream and new media. He frequently testifies before Congress and has published articles in numerous outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and elsewhere. He is a contributor at National Review Online, and has appeared on all major cable and broadcast news networks. He is on Twitter at @MarkSKrikorian.
Mr. Krikorian addresses a variety of audiences on a multitude of immigration topics. In addition, Mr. Krikorian is the author of the books The New Case against Immigration, Both Legal and Illegal and How Obama is Transforming America through Immigration.
His most recent publication is Open Immigration: Yea & Nay, co-authored with Alex Nowrasteh of the Cato Institute.
Mr. Krikorian holds a master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University. He spent two years at Yerevan State University in then-Soviet Armenia.


text:
Q: find the system of linear equations Find the system of linear equations, that has subspace of solutions similar to linear span of vectors system $a_1, a_2, a_3$, where:
$a_1 = (2, 1, -1, 1)$,
$a_2 = (1, 2, 1, -1)$,
$a_3 = (1, -4, -5, 5)$

A: $$
x - y + z = 0 \\
-x + y + w = 0
$$
How'd I do that? I said that I needed vectors which, when multiplied by the three vectors you wrote, gave zeros. So I wrote down the matrix $M$
2   1  -1   1
1   2   1  -1
1  -4  -5   5

and said that I wanted vectors $b$ with $Mb = 0$. These vectors, when transposed, would be the coefficients of the equations I needed. To find these, I did row operations on the vectors, swapping the first two:
1   2   1  -1
2   1  -1   1
1  -4  -5   5

and then subtracting twice the first from the second (this doesn't change the solution vectors $b$) to get
1   2   1  -1
0  -3  -3   3
1  -4  -5   5

and then subtracting the first from the third:
1   2   1  -1
0  -3  -3   3
0  -6  -6   6

Subtracting twice the second from the third gives a row of zeros, which I tossed out.
So I got a $2 \times 4$ matrix $Q$,
1   2   1  -1
0  -3  -3   3

and want to solve $Q\begin{bmatrix}a\\b\\c\\d\end{bmatrix} = 0$. To do so, I first set $c = 1$ and $ d = 0$, and solved for $a$ and $b$; then I set $c = 0, d = 1$, and solved for $a$ and $b$. The results were, respectively
$$
(a, b, c, d) = (1, -1, 1, 0) \\
(a, b, c, d) = (-1, 1, 0, 1)
$$
And that led to the two equations I wrote down.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
The Balcony, A Project by Wardell Milan
February 6 – March 14, 2020
Artworks Exhibition Views Press Release Artists
I am not crazy life is.
From the etching series The Balcony, 2019
Series of 8 etchings on paper
The Priest. The Shooter. The Flag.
The Balcony
David Nolan Gallery is delighted to announce Wardell Milan's The Balcony, a portfolio of eight etchings resulting from the artist's first collaboration with BORCH Editions, on view February 6 – March 14, 2020.
In The Balcony Milan explores the absurdity of politics, social and political structures, power dynamics and spectatorship and how these forces effect one's personal existence. Inspired by the eponymous play by Jean Genet, the portfolio's title is an allusion to the relationship between performer and spectator in a theatre setting. Milan imagines the viewers observing the action 'as if they are sitting above in a balcony watching the melodrama unfold before them.' In his work the human bodies themselves becomes stages on which questions of gender, race, sexuality and power are being negotiated.
Milan spent the first days in the studio working on preliminary drawings, using images from newspapers or magazines as references for the compositions he would later execute on copper plates. He then transferred these drawings into line etchings while simultaneously experimenting with other intaglio printing techniques which he then incorporated into his etchings. The result is a suite of prints executed in a range of grey tones, pattern and line work, employing time-honoured printmaking techniques to create decidedly contemporary, politically charged visual narratives.
Wardell Milan's artistic practice includes large-scale figurative drawing, painting, photography and collage. He uses material from a wide variety of sources such as magazines, illustrated books, historical artworks or family snapshots. His themes oscillate between reflections on current world events and meditations on his own personal experiences, inquiring topics like gender performance, identity and body modification as well as social and political structures.
Wardell Milan (b. 1977, Knoxville, Tennessee) received his MFA from Yale University. Recent solo and group exhibitions include Greater New York (2015 and 2005); MoMA PS1, New York; The Art Institute of Chicago; The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; Crystal Bridges Museum of Contemporary Art, Bentonville, AK; Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco; SCAD, Savannah, GA; Queens International (2018 and 2006), Queens Museum of Art, New York; The Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York; The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; Camden Arts Center, London; National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland; White Columns, New York; among others.
His work is represented in numerous museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Art Institute of Chicago; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; The Morgan Library & Museum, New York; The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; Brooklyn Museum, New York; Denver Art Museum, CO; Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago; Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York; Dartmouth Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, NH; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; Daniel & Florence Guerlain Contemporary Art Foundation, Paris; UBS Art Collection; Hall Art Foundation Collection, among others.
Milan has received grants and fellowships from Joan Mitchell Foundation, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, among others. Milan lives and works in New York.


Turkey's state-owned media outlet has published the locations of U.S. military bases inside Syria, showing a stunningly betrayal to the national security of a supposed ally.
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The report also revealed the locations of some French forces in the region.
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The U.S. government is understandably angry about the leaks.
A spokesperson for U.S. Central Command and a separate spokesperson for Operation Inherent Resolve asked The Daily Beast not to share the information.
Turkey has been heading in a more radical direction for some time. Since March they have prevented humanitarian aid from being transported into Kurdish areas across the Turkish border. They accuse humanitarian organizations of secretly supplying the YPG.
Turkey has also made alarming changes domestically. The new school curriculum for the 2017-2018 school year will no longer teach evolution, but teaching the concept of jihad has been added to the curriculum.
The study of evolution was taken out "because it is above the students' level and not directly relevant," according to Education Minister Ismet Yilmaz.


Made from all-natural Mahogany Jasper. Hand selected and crafted by our Gemologists. The weighty, polished gem ranges in color from vibrant reds to deep chocolate browns. This design gives an effortlessly, refined element to complement your style.
Glenn Miller: Big band leader, composer, and musician. With twenty-three number one hits to his name. We have a plethora of material to inspire us. "In the Mood" "Pennsylvania 6500" or "Moonlight Serenade" to name a few. These little brown gems seem to jive so perfectly with his most famous tune "Little Brown Jug" that there seemed no better tribute.


On this page you can access and post resources related to the National Low Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines.
To add a resource posting you must have an alPHa website user ID and password. If you don't have a user ID and password, click on "Register" at the top right corner of this page. Once you have a User ID and password, click on "+Add a File" to add a resource to share with your colleagues. Also, once logged on, you will be able to click on a name under "Posted by" to see contact information for that person. For more detailed instructions for posting to this page CLICK HERE.
Please post resources to share related to your LRADG program and communication activities, including evaluation plans and evaluation findings. Please include a relevant date and to identify who produced the resource (person or organization) in the "Name" or "Description" field. This will make the resource easier to find with the website search function.
This vinyl banner is available for workplaces, agencies etc. to borrow to increase awareness of LRADG. Approximately, 3' x 7'. Easy to display.
Municipal Alcohol Policy (MAP) Guide created by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the Ontario Recreation Facilities Association (ORFA) in 2003. Includes the Blue Ribbon MAP checklist which is a useful tool to guide policy development and review.
Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse (CCSA) website to support prevention. Designed to create a network of individuals and organizations working in youth substance abuse prevention and health promotion in Canada. Anybody is welcome to view the website; however, only members can post content. Launched February 2015.
This link will take you to the itunes store to download the free app. Ontario public health units can order Saying When promo cards to promote the app with their stakeholders from the CAMH Health Promotion Resource Centre. Requests can be made to: Tamar.meyer@camh.ca.
Short video on VIMEO that provides more information about CAMH's Saying When app. Ontario public health units can order Saying When promo cards to promote the app with their stakeholders from the CAMH Health Promotion Resource Centre. Requests can be made to: Tamar.meyer@camh.ca.
Ontario public health units can order Saying When promo cards to promote the app with their stakeholders from the CAMH Health Promotion Resource Centre. Requests can be made to: Tamar.meyer@camh.ca.
Promo Card for CAMH's "Saying When" App. Ontario public health units can order Saying When cards to share with their stakeholders from the CAMH Health Promotion Resource Centre. Requests can be made to: Tamar.meyer@camh.ca.
Research has linked alcohol and other drugs to a variety of problems in the workplace. This toolkit highlights research, e.g by by Rehm et. al. to show the costs to the workplace and to society. It provides information and tools to assist in improving employee health and wellness. It contains information to raise awareness about the risks associated with alcohol use, enhance the skills of supervisors and employees in dealing with concerns about alcohol use, tips on how to create a supportive environment, and how to develop a workplace policy on alcohol use.
9 cm x 12 cm magnet that depicts the LRADG is distributed at workplaces, health fairs, presentations etc.


text:
Advanced PPC #7: 4 Elements of a Winning PPC Strategy
Joel Bondorowsky
Navah Hopkins
Luke Milbourn
Amy Bishop
This webinar is over, but if you still have questions, please leave them here and we will address them!
4 elements of winning ppc strategy by Joel Bondorowsky from Anton Shulke
What is a PPC Strategy?
Strategic PPC Audience Targeting
Writing Effective Ad Copy
Effective PPC Campaign Optimization
Takeaways on a Winning PPC Strategy
How Important is Click-Through Rate in PPC?
Getting Enough Data to Optimize Campaigns
Micro Conversions in Online Funnels
Automated and Manual Bidding
Navah: Hey everybody, and welcome to SEMrush's live webinars series. You guys are all in for such a treat. We have Joel who's going to lead us through some amazing advanced techniques when it comes to PPC, that customer journey stage.
We have our fabulous guest panel, Amy and Luke. Joel actually started off in an agency called Quality Score. He since has transitioned to a brand new boutique agency called PPC Designs. Amy, the owner of Cultivate, is a fellow top PPC influencer. And then Luke is one of the rock stars out of Booster Box.
Also, hi, my name is Navah. I'm from WordStream. We'll kick it off with Joel's presentation.
Joel: Okay. Well, I'm very happy to be here. The topic of this webinar is encompassing like many topics from a very high level. It has to do with the thought process behind how you decide the best ad copy. Also, which PPC channels you use and of those channels the types of target to use while considering who the people are that you're targeting, what they're interested in and what they're wanting.
Today what I'll talk about are the four elements for a winning PPC strategy. Strategy to me is really the difference between successfully driving traffic and driving successful traffic. I think it is critical that you strategize effectively and it sounds like a big promise.
But first, I'm going to talk about something about PPC. Now pay per click advertising is really revolutionary. I mean, marketing's been going on for a very, very long time. What's really different about PPC is that it gives you an element of control that no one's ever had before.
It gives you control because you're able to measure your performance. You're able to measure your performance and also target people across many different channels. Each one of those channels gives you a tool. It gives you a tool in order to reach those individuals.
It's really groundbreaking in the aspect that anyone, no matter what size business they have, can compete with big players if they can do PPC better.
So strategy, what is strategy? Like I said before, strategy is the difference between successfully driving traffic and driving successful traffic. Pay per click platforms, for example, Facebook. I mean, I think everyone's seen it; you make a post and then they say boost this post, they make a suggestion for it. Let's say you click okay and you boost that post. Few clicks later, you enter your credit card number.
What's happening right after that, you're successfully driving PPC traffic. You know what? That traffic probably won't be successful because you're missing one key component and that is strategy.
I broke strategy down into these four different elements. The first is (1) knowing what the right tools are to (2) serve the best ad to (3) your audience or the audience that you feel that is best to target and then (4) have that ad lead them to the right destination on your website. These are the four elements and it is all encompassed by effective optimization.
I'll start with understanding who your audience is. There are two points to it. The first is obvious, where they are, what their age is, their gender, parental status. Actually Google these days lets you target people based on parental status. Other tools such as Facebook ads, which is still PPC; Facebook's really big on who people are and who they know and what-not.
I mean Facebook these days lets you even target people in the United States based on their political affiliation. Google is not there yet. But really what I want to talk to you about is the less obvious, which is understanding the state of mind of the user.
You see, I think everyone has bought things. You could, kind of break purchases down between something that is a long intelligent purchase, one you've been planning, one you've been thinking about, one you're actively procuring versus something that you weren't thinking about buying when you woke up that morning, but somehow something caught your attention and you ended up wanting to take action and purchase whatever it may be.
That leads me to the decision making funnel. The decision making funnel is broken into four different sections. In order to want to buy something, you have to first be (1) aware of it. To have (2) interest in something, you have to (3) desire it. Finally, before wanting to take (4) action and buy it, you have to go through all the steps before.
Now, for those of you who've understand the funnel analogy, you know that it's bigger on the top and tapers down to get smaller at the bottom. The reason for that is, is that there are many, many, many more people out there who don't know about what it is that you're selling, have never heard of it, who aren't desiring it.
There's a lot of people who you can make your product known to versus the few that are ready to take action and buy. That leads to what is the tool that you're going to use to reach them? Now the most common PPC platforms are Google search or Bing search. That's very good for reaching people who know what they're looking for and ready to take action.
People are expressing a very active intent when they're opening up their web browser and they're looking for something.
Display advertising, on the other hand, and also, let's say native advertising, Taboola or Outbrain or Facebook advertising, puts ads in the face with people who aren't actively looking for something. Those are tools that you might want to use more if you're trying to reach people who don't yet know what they want.
Let's say your product isn't known yet but it's super interesting. If that's the case then it's better to reach a very, very, very wide audience and get that message out there and then bring them into your sales funnel and bring them down to want to take action. Video advertising, by the way, works very, very well for that, such as on YouTube among others.
When someone desires you, they are ready to take action. There are searching for that emergency locksmith. They're searching for flights to London. They know what they want. Okay.
If they are actively researching products, display advertising might work, such as GDN or what-not. Because on the Google display network, it could go both ways. It can be for people who don't know what they want yet to people who are willing to take action because there are some websites you could advertise on that are very specific.
When you write search ads, by the way, you want to experiment with things that are reflecting what they may or may not be thinking. For example. if someone if you're advertising for flights to London or if you're writing ads for that emergency locksmith, experiment with the lowest price versus "we'll be there in 10 minutes".
By the way, you always want to have a clear call to action in that search ad and also, get actually straight into the point with little fluff. Oftentimes I find people who do PPC and they always want to experiment with very cute ads. They try to be funny.
People have no attention online. It's not that they're dumb, it's just that there's so much information out there. They want it served to them right away. Don't try to make them think about what's in the ad. Just have it be short and to the point with a simple language as possible.
Once they click on that ad, your landing page should have a headline that reflects what they're looking for. Also, show an image of what they're looking for. Short sales copy, a clear call to action, and also some element of sorts to show credibility to the vendor, such as five star Trustpilot ratings. These are things that help relax anxiety of the user because let's face it, they don't know who you are there's going to be some anxiety before they pull out their credit card and give it to you.
But, when your audience is not yet interested in what you have to offer, they're on the top of the decision making funnel. You then need to turn awareness into action. You need to educate these people about your product. They are targeted more by who they are if they fit a certain demographic.
Display, video, social PPC, and content marketing such as Taboola and Outbrain are great for reaching people who don't know what they want, although you can make them interested, so you need to educate them. The right message to reach these people is one that entices them to click, not sell necessarily.
You want to educate them about some sort of solution to a problem they have. If you're selling a product that solves, I don't know, insomnia after a long flight or jet lag, let's say the headline of the ad should be about a solution for that problem.
A winning ad isn't going to say "50% off on this product". They don't even want to know what the product is yet. You have to first say, "Hey, guess what? You got this problem. Here's an ad that is reflecting a solution to the problem."
By the way, you want to tone down the graphics. A lot of times with display ads and also Facebook as well, people overdo with imagery and graphics and that kind of takes away from the message.
Always have a clear call to action that might say, click here to learn more. Click here to watch the video and so on.
If you're advertising a product that people don't know what they want, you need to invest more in good sales copy. Quality copy. Video sales letters often help in order to make them interested and want it. The offer and price shouldn't be as apparent.
Oftentimes the regular rule we have is to kind of have a very apparent call to action from above the fold all the way down. I've actually found that when advertising to users that don't necessarily know what they want, they click on that ad because they're interested in hearing about their problem and if the first thing they see is the call to action with the price they might bounce.
They might automatically be turned off. Now, by the way, I'm not saying be scammy and kind of try to hide that you're selling something. I mean that's not necessarily ethical and it's also against policy. Like Google won't allow it, Facebook either. You'll get your ads banned very quickly.
But you might want to have it, the call to action and price below the fold. Let them read what it is that you're offering. Let them get interested in that video that you're selling and that video that's showing what your product is, and then once they're interested and they scroll down, then the price might look more appealing to them.
Now finally, I'll get to the last point and that encompasses everything which is effective optimization. See, I believe in running PPC campaigns and taking advantage of everything that this new medium gives you.
With the statistics you get, you're able to know what the value is or the traffic that you're receiving. No matter what your channel is, whether you're targeting who are on the top of your decision making funnel or the bottom, the goal there is to spend less for the traffic than you're making from the traffic.
If it's difficult to measure because they're the very top of the funnel and it takes a week or two or a month before they actually sell, doesn't matter. I mean it's going to be harder a little bit, but you at least need to find a way to get a very educated guess and it's not impossible.
That way when you run your campaigns, you can then go to your CFO, your boss, or if it's your own business, you then feel comfortable with opening up budgets. You're getting as much as that traffic as you can because you know that for every penny you put in you get more out of it. That is all determined by your ROI.
I'm going to break that ROI into these three factors that determine it. One is the value of the sale. The second is the conversion rate. By conversion rate I mean the percentage of people who click that actually buy. The third is the price of the click, cost per click.
I'll give you a simple formula. Your ROI is your sales value multiplied by your conversion rate divided by your cost per click. Those are the three main factors. When you're driving traffic, whether it be to users in the top of the decision making funnel or the bottom, as long as you have a value of that sale or that conversion, you can lower those costs per clicks through effective A/B testing.
The reason is, with pay per click advertising, you are actually paying per click. However, platforms such as Google isn't selling clicks. Their limited resource, their commodity is the ad impression. Think about it, you're paying per click, but what they're giving you, what you're buying is the impression. There's some sort of disconnect there.
Well, Google makes up for that disconnect. What they do is they greatly reward any advertiser that is able to get more clicks by showing better ads to the right user.
If you're able to do that, better than your advertising competition, you'll pay less for that same traffic. You'll pay less for that higher position. Effective A/B testing on ads, increasing the CTR, making your CTR higher than your advertising competitors will help.
In addition to that, you can also increase your value per visitor with effective sales funnel optimization, A/B testing. Once you start running your PPC campaigns right away, working on optimizing those ads; that'll bring down your cost per click.
Optimize your landing pages and sales funnel all these A/B testing and that will also increase your value per click. Of course, you can also increase value per visitor with more effective targeting.
Before I was talking about writing better ads to users, but in addition to that, you can increase your relative CTR, your CTR compared to your competitors, by showing better ads to users with better targeting. By not targeting things that are not as relevant. The reality is you launch your first PPC campaigns: it is very rare that they're profitable from the start.
Initially, the budget that you're putting into your campaigns to me is the budget that it takes in order to optimize. You want to start out by benchmarking your performance. You want to start driving some traffic, maybe let's say 10% of the total budget you're willing to lose to invest in these campaigns.
Once the campaigns get up and running, you're losing money and you're buying data. You're buying data till the point where you're able to increase the trend by lowering those costs per clicks, increase the conversion rates, and eventually, you're going to find that you're breaking even.
From here, by the way, you continue, your ROI is positive. You're making money, you're growing, you're then optimizing for profit. But once you get to this point, you get past where you just continue the trend you get past to where it's an expense and you reach the point where PPC becomes an asset. It could be consistent, it might not be depending on the industry. Depending on how volatile it is. There are some things that are seasonal, others not.
Once you reach a point where you're able to consistently put less than and then you get out, you've kind of made it. To conclude, I'd like to give you some takeaways.
The first thing you should understand is who your potential customers are and how well they know the product that you're trying to sell. Are they looking for it? Do they know about it? If so, searches might be a good way to start. If they don't, you need to maybe consider other forms of advertising that put your message in their face based on who they are, if they're your target audience or not.
Then work very hard on your sales copy in order to educate them and make them desire what you're offering. This is going to dictate the type of message that you use. It's going to dictate your landing page copy.
Once you have all these things down, you want to follow it up with effective optimization to increase ROI. You want to lower your cost per click with effective A/B testing and refine your targeting.
You want to improve visitor value by increasing conversion rates. Also, you want to improve visitor value and CTR with better targeted traffic. By the way, also some businesses out there could also improve their value per visitor by increasing the value of the sale. That's also something else that could be optimized with some companies. The more they sell, the lower their costs are.
Then you're going to end up working with a real solid PPC strategy. From here I will start the Q&A.
Navah: One of the questions that actually came up, that I found really interesting, is how much stock should we really put in click-through rate? Is click-through rate the end all be all metric for this, for success?
Joel: I love that question because it is the end-all metric for success. What I'm saying that look, in order for you to be successful in PPC, you have to first make the PPC platform successful.
If your click-through rate isn't sufficient, if you're not engaging users well, then it doesn't matter how good your sales copy is. It doesn't matter how good your product is, you will not win with PPC. Now we do have a problem with understanding what a good click rate is. If you're doing display advertising, you get reports on let's say relative CTR.
But I think a really good way to go is like with Google Ads, you're running search campaigns, they report to you on how good you good or bad your quality score is based on users engaged. If it's not enough, then before working on the product or whatnot, work on your ads or work your targeting.
Because if you're not able to win in that area, you won't win at all. I'm saying if your click-through rate is horrible, you absolutely will not fly with PPC.
Navah: All right, Amy, what do you think?
Amy: I love that question because I don't think that click-through rate is the end all be all. I do think it's important. I see it as a health metric more than a KPI, but there are instances where you could have a really high click-through rate and it's possible that you're not getting the right audience and therefore having a high click-through rate doesn't really mean anything.
An instance of this is like using dynamic insertion in your ads. Sometimes that works really well, boost your click-through rate, then you get more volume, you have more traffic volume. If your conversion rate holds, you have more conversion volume. That should always be the goal with the click-through rate.
But there are other times where dynamic insertion isn't used well and it does boost the click-through rate, but then the conversion rate doesn't hold because it's not the right traffic and they thought that you were selling something that you weren't.
I view click-through rate as a health metric in looking at it is something that you should always be working on continually improving, but focusing mostly on what does that ultimate conversion volume and return on ad spend look like.
Ultimately, I think Joel and I agree when it comes to the importance of trying to optimize click-through rate, getting all of that relevant traffic that you can in order to drive as much conversion volume, lead volume in sales as you can.
Joel: I'm just saying that if you don't pass that little milestone, if you don't win in that area, it's like you will never run. It doesn't make a difference. It doesn't matter how good your product is or whatnot. I mean maybe it's not everything, but if you don't succeed there, you won't succeed with the rest.
Amy: Yeah, and I think it's a lot of it is setting the right expectations in your ad copy too because it can be really tempting to try to drive up the click-through rate. But for some, like especially in B2B situation, sometimes qualifying that person that's going to click is important so that you're not paying for a click.
If it's going to be especially an expensive click, you don't necessarily want to pay for that click to drive them through for them to find out on the landing page that they're not qualified. It really depends on your situation, but ultimately is still is an important metric that you should continually work on. But just not at the expense of what I would consider to be your primary KPIs.
Navah: When I look at the click-through rate without looking at conversion rate, I feel like I'm only getting half of the story. If I have a really good click-through rate and a really terrible conversion rate, kind of going back to what Amy was saying, I probably I'm setting myself up to get a lot of leads that are never going to be a good fit.
But yeah, I also tend to look at impression share. So, my potential for profit. Because yeah, if I can't have at least 75% impression share, I am probably going to put myself in a position where all spend is waste. Because I can't afford enough clicks in my day to get anything, the value out of my campaign.
One of the questions in the channel and I think this is a really reasonable question for all of us to address as experts is if they do not have a budget to throw at data acquisition, how do you get access to that traffic? How do you build those data sets when you don't have thousands to lose?
Joel: Forget if it's thousands, but no matter what, what I'm trying to say is, is that to me, my goal when I launch a new client or I get a new campaign is to get it to the point where they are confident based on the stats we're getting, that they are making more than they are spending.
Now until they get to that point, their campaigns are going to be capped by budget. It doesn't matter if that budget is tens of thousands or that budget is hundreds. But until we get to that point, they're going to be capped by budget.
When they're capped by budget, their impression share is artificially low. What I'm saying is, is that to me, impression share, if you're losing impression share because you're capped by budget, all is showing is that you just haven't gotten to the point yet where you could just open it up.
Now if you are losing impression share because of rank, then yeah, that's showing me room for potential. Because that means that if you're able to write better ads so that way you could rank higher or if you're able to prove your conversion rate so you can bid higher, then you have more room to grow.
Amy: When I think about launching a new account and not having much budget to start gathering the acquisition, I think that it's really important to know your audience and really think about just things that you innately know about your business and making sure that you're conveying that and that you're having these conversations with whoever's managing your advertising, whether it's you or if it's somebody else.
Really understanding how people are searching for you, how people are finding you, and then really zeroing in on the highest intent terms and not trying to go for everything at once because that's going to give you a smaller data set that you can start collecting data on.
Also looking at things like even before you've had a conversion, looking at things like time on site, looking at bounce rate, looking at how many pages people are clicking through to get an understanding of are those people engaged when they're on-site? Because if it seems like a high intent term but you're losing people right off the bat, then there may be optimizations that you need to make to your website.
One of the things that I see as a risk or a common issue is people start their account and they think of every possible keyword they can think of under the sun. Which starts with some really high intent things all the way out to these really broad general keywords. Then they have to cap their budget. Each keyword may spend one to $2 and it hasn't converted yet, but overall the account has spent $1,000 and that's a lot of money.
I would really try to focus in on being really specific about focusing on those high intent terms first, get those working and then start to layer up from there to try to get more data in a way that is not going to lose the farm, so to speak on your way to collecting that data.
Luke: When we're focusing on really expensive traffic at the bottom of the funnel, probably super high intent, maybe lower volume keywords, we're quickly going to reach that cap where we can't afford to spend more budget on these keywords or there aren't even any more people searching. However, when we go to the top of the funnel, we're going to need to think about the click-through rate in a slightly different way perhaps.
In your model there, Joel, when you were talking about how the (top of the funnel) traffic is super cheap, we can get loads of clicks. But if we were to try and link the value of those customers down to our actual important goal and this is going to be super true for your B2B campaigns, it's going to be very, very difficult to see how that click-through rate relates to our bottom of the funnel, end of the day revenues.
I think it's going to be interesting to look at how we can make you have quite a quick impact on a bottom of funnel campaign by optimizing towards CTR. I think it might take us more time to see the same impact on our return when we're focusing purely on top of funnel CTR.
Joel: The top of funnel takes a lot more time because well, it's a lot more data. If you're doing display or if you're targeting all these long tails, you have a lot to optimize for. Like Amy was saying earlier, if you're targeting these more direct words, you're able to focus budget and what you know to work better.
Navah: That I think ties into this top of the funnel, lower-funnel conversation which is about micro-conversions. What is the value of sending micro-conversion goals to teach the Google, Bing, sort of advertising Facebook, about what we value so that we can leverage automated bidding and shouldn't we be leveraging automated bidding? That's kind of a separate question, but I'm really curious what you guys think about micro conversions in their place in an account.
Amy: I love micro conversions. The way that I use them is I typically would map out similar to how Joel has, what that funnel would look like, what content belongs in each section of that funnel. Then I would track which people are doing those events so that I could see kind of where they were in the funnel and what kind of content we should serve them next.
You can see the long-term value of the people that have joined that audience. You can see how they progress through the funnel and if they ultimately result in a sale and that's going to tell you what your highest value micro conversions are. Then you can know which ones make sense to start to import into Google Ads.
Because there is a risk, you don't want to just track every single micro conversion in Google Ads as a value if you don't have concrete evidence that it is resulting in value later.
Joel: You just have to have strong indications as far as what's more valuable or not to kind of lead you in the right direction.
Luke: I'd like to add to that just quickly that micro conversions are a great way of getting data more cheaply, especially if you're running small accounts, especially if you're doing B2B. Micro conversions probably aren't going to help us when we've had one click per keyword, but maybe they can give us an indication. The micro-conversion won't tell us the true value of the keywords.
But maybe as you were saying, Joel, it can give us a ballpark indication. It can give us an early warning sign that a keyword doesn't have any chance at all or that a Facebook audience is never going to work. We don't have to wait till we get our real conversion. We don't know exactly what the value is. Yeah, I'm now just agreeing with you even more.
Navah: Yup. We have time for probably one more really thoughtful discussion. I think automated bidding is a really good conversation. Smart bidding, automated bidding versus manual. What wins?
Amy: I use both. My favorite bidding strategies are manual bidding and target CPA. I typically find that max conversions...just has a much higher CPC which typically results in a higher CPA and I don't typically see that many more conversions from it.
If I find that manual CPC is working really well and I have a good volume of conversions, I will A/B test against target CPA, see if that works and sometimes I switch over. Sometimes if something happens or especially for seasonal businesses, if the seasons are changing and things seem to be either slowing down or speeding up and target CPA doesn't seem to be kind of keeping pace with where the season should be; sometimes I'll switch it back manual CPC and that can help give it a little bump.
I have tested other ones as well. I've used target impression share and have used max conversions as well. But I typically just don't find in an A/B test that they hold their own against the other two that I prefer.
Joel: What I find it's not about the industry, it's more about like how well targeted your campaigns are. Because look at the end of the day, whether it's manual bidding or using conversion optimizer, what matters is do you have data to effectively set that bid for that keyword or that target.
Luke: My two key criteria for doing automated bidding is firstly having enough data and secondly, having it all in Google Ads or Google Analytics, whichever conversion you're optimizing for.
Amy: Having the data is key, but also understanding the ultimate results of those data and what that is going to turn into offline is really important too. Depending on how well you understand the value of your micro conversions, it actually can make sense to incorporate them into your smart bidding strategy because the volume is typically so much higher. Having that much more data can help Google to try to drive more of that volume.
But it only works if you have a really solid understanding of what happens to those leads after they become leads. If you don't, then it's better just to bid on your ultimate goal, if you have a better sense of how that converts offline.
Luke: Well, I'd like to add say very quickly trusting conversions also requires trust in your attribution model.
You can trust in your conversions if you trust that where that conversion came from is actually where that conversion came from. When we're talking about conversions attributed to brands in a last-click model in a search campaign, is that the only ads that helped bring in that conversion?
We often see on B2B, maybe some of those clicks we got from our top of funnel campaign, maybe loads of people clicked, they never converted at the time, but then they come back later on. What is the value of that sort of funnel campaign? This is something I think we need to understand as marketers. There's no perfect solution right now.
Navah: Thank you guys so much for taking the time to invest in yourselves and your PPC campaigns.
Luke: I know anyone working in PPC has probably spent some time going down to the tiniest details of what was the conversion rate for this micro conversion yesterday for this keyword.
It's good to take it a step back and put it into perspective. I think that this is something that helps tie together the impact of CTR on an account and also which bidding model we should be using. I think it'll help us tie that together.
Navah: All right guys, thank you so much for taking the time. This has been another SEMrush Webinar, bringing together the experts in digital marketing to you. Cheers guys. Bye.
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Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia secured qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, marking the first time four Arab countries will be appearing at the event and offering a rare opportunity for celebration at a time of regional uncertainty.
Saudi Arabia on September 6 became the first Arab team to qualify for Russia 2018 after beating Japan 1-0 in Jeddah, securing the second spot in Group B behind Japan's Samurai Blue. Egypt joined the Saudis about a month later after an injury-time penalty from Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah against Congo secured qualification with one game to spare.
Morocco and Tunisia rounded out the Arabs' joy. The Atlas Lions secured a 2-0 victory November 11 over Côte d'Ivoire in Group C to delight the Moroccans. Huge celebrations broke out the same day across Tunisia after a tense 0-0 draw with Libya preserved Tunisia's unbeaten run and placed it in the top spot in its qualifying group.
"Arab-flavoured World Cup. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia — congratulations to us all," tweeted Salah after the end of the qualification round.
There were also celebrations in European capitals that boast large North African expat communities.
"I congratulate our national team for qualifying for the World Cup. This is a major sporting achievement… and we hope that it will lead to further successes," said Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi.
King Mohammed VI telephoned Morocco manager Hervé Renard and captain Mehdi Benatia immediately after their victory to offer congratulations on locking up the national team's fifth appearance — but first since 1998 — at the World Cup finals.
Russia 2018 will top the Arab world's previous best team participation when Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia qualified for France 1998. None of the three teams made it past the group stage then but many Arabs hope they will have a local team to cheer for in the knock-out stages in Russia.
"I think Egypt can make it to the second round but, if we don't, I will throw my support behind whatever Arab country can qualify," Taha added.
The draw for the finals is to take place December 1, with Morocco and Tunisia guaranteed not to meet at the group stages. The 2018 World Cup takes place June 14-July 15 in 11 cities in Russia.
Iran and Senegal also won spots for Russia 2018, meaning that six majority-Muslim countries will be participating at the World Cup.
Arab fans are particularly enthusiastic for Russia 2018 given that it may be their last opportunity to appear at a World Cup finals for eight years owing to tensions with Qatar, which will host the 2022 World Cup.
There have been calls in some Arab capitals to boycott the 2022 World Cup, not just because of the political tensions in the Arab world based on Qatar's alleged support for terrorist groups but also the controversial manner in which Doha allegedly exploited the FIFA vote.
A witness testified that Qatar paid millions of dollars in bribes to FIFA officials to secure the 2022 World Cup. Further revelations are expected as the New York trial of three former South American football officials continues.
Mahmud el-Shafey is an Arab Weekly correspondent in London.


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Congratulations to Our Own Angela Seaworth!
Director of the Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership Angela Seaworth, ACFRE, recently received the M. Anne Murphy Award for Professional Advancement.
Director of the Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership Angela Seaworth, ACFRE, recently received the M. Anne Murphy Award for Professional Advancement at the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Houston chapter 2015 Awards Dinner. The ceremony was held at the Hess Club on September 24 where she was recognized and applauded for her dedication to the nonprofit sector among her colleagues.
"I'm grateful for all I've learned from them and other colleagues in our chapter over the years, and I'd like to think this award is evidence that I've appropriately displayed my gratitude by passing on that knowledge and being willing to support others in our field," said Seaworth.
As the founding director of the Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership, it is no surprise to the Glasscock School that Seaworth is passionate about providing education and nurturing leadership among nonprofit professionals. We are thrilled to see her incredible work and dedication recognized in the community.
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