Podcasts about alexander dumas

Click to Subscribe: https://bit.ly/Youtube-Subscribe-SoapDirt Young and the Restless spoilers see Traci Abbott (Beth Maitland), starts becoming suspicious of her fiancé, Alan Laurent (Christopher Cousins), who has been acting out of character. Traci's brother, Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), also sees red flags but isn't alarmed just yet. In a surprising twist, it's revealed that Traci's fiancé is actually his sociopath twin, Martin on the CBS soap opera. Y&R spoilers see Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) is on the brink of a complete meltdown. Phyllis' erratic behavior is causing concern among her loved ones, including her daughter, Summer Newman (Allison Lanier), and her ex-husband, Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow). The soap opera also hints at a possible romantic tension between Phyllis and Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson), which could lead to complications in their relationships. Spoilers for Young and Restless see Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), known as "The Mustache", confesses to Michael Baldwin (Christian Jules Leblanc) about a secret past involving Alexander Dumas and Damian Kane (Jermaine Rivers), leaving Michael in shock.  Young and the Restless gives a somber note, as the show will also pay tribute to actor Wings Hauser, who passed away recently. Hauser had portrayed Jill Abbott's (Jess Walton) adoptive brother, Greg Foster, from 1977 to 1981, with a brief return in 2010. Visit our Young and the Restless section of Soap Dirt: https://soapdirt.com/category/young-and-the-restless/ Listen to our Podcasts: https://soapdirt.podbean.com/ Check out our always up-to-date Young and the Restless Spoilers page at: https://soapdirt.com/young-and-the-restless-spoilers/ Check Out our Social Media... Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoapDirtTV Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoapDirt Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/soapdirt/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@soapdirt Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soapdirt/

Click to Subscribe: https://bit.ly/Youtube-Subscribe-SoapDirt Young and the Restless spoilers reveal Victor Newman's (Eric Braeden) bombshell revelation, Phyllis Summers' (Michelle Stafford) emotional breakdown, and Nick Newman's (Joshua Morrow) stern refusal to an invitation.  Y&R spoilers show that Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) proposes a trip to Europe alongside her and Faith Newman (Reylynn Caster), hoping to visit Noah Newman (Rory Gibson). Despite her persistence, Nick Newman declines, asserting Sharon and the kids need personal healing time. Sharon and Nick's conversation also touches upon hopes of a reunion, which Nick dismisses due to past issues, leaving Sharon disappointed.  And more spoilers for The Young and the Restless indicate that Chelsea Lawson Newman (Melissa Claire Egan) prepares a romantic dinner for Adam Newman (Mark Grossman), leading to an intimate night and possible reconciliation.  Traci Abbott's (Beth Maitland) announcement about her plans to marry in Paris raises concern in Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), who fears she might elope. However, Traci assures him of a formal wedding with Jack walking her down the aisle.  Phyllis Summers' erratic behavior, following her kidnapping ordeal, is noted by her daughter, Summer Newman (Allison Lanier). She encourages Nick to check on Phyllis, and the situation hints at a possible disruption to Billy Abbott's (Jason Thompson) budding romance with Sally Spectra (Courtney Hope).  Plus, other spoilers for Y&R confirm that Victor Newman uncovers a secret connection to Alexander Dumas, uncovering more about Damian Kane (Jermaine Rivers) and Alan Laurent (Christopher Cousins). Traci, on the other hand, starts recognizing some red flags about Alan, raising questions about his intentions.  We should seen more on Sharon's next move after Nick's rejections, and the future of Summer, Claire Grace Newman (Hayley Erin), and Kyle Abbott's (Michael Mealor) complicated relationship. Visit our Young and the Restless section of Soap Dirt: https://soapdirt.com/category/young-and-the-restless/ Listen to our Podcasts: https://soapdirt.podbean.com/ And Check out our always up-to-date Young and the Restless Spoilers page at: https://soapdirt.com/young-and-the-restless-spoilers/ Check Out our Social Media... Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoapDirtTV Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoapDirt Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/soapdirt/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@soapdirt Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soapdirt/

There are few more passionate bibliophiles than those who have dedicated their lives to the publishing business. Take, for example, Stephen Riggio, the former CEO of Barnes & Noble who, as he confessed to me, has been hooked on books his whole life. Riggio's latest book project is as the translator of Silician Avengers, the greatest Italian novel that you've probably never heard of. Written in the 19th century by Luigi Natoli, who is often compared with Alexander Dumas and Charles Dickens because he published his prodigious fiction in popular newspaper installments, Sicilian Avengers is the saga of a legendary secret sect purported to be forerunners of the Mafia. Considered now by many literary critics to be one of the most notable works of fiction in the Italian language, Riggio's translated version of the first two books of Sicilian Avengers comes with an afterword from Umberto Eco. Stephen Riggio is the former chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble. For over forty years he was a key leader transforming the single flagship New York location into a national retailer that expanded into e-commerce, book publishing and video games. Riggio has served on the boards of the National Book Foundation, the National Down Syndrome Society, and is a founding member of the AHRC New York City Foundation Board. He and his wife live in New York City.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Bringing his unrivaled expertise as the former CEO of Barnes & Noble, author Stephen Riggio has translated this Italian historical crime epic into English for the very 1st time In retirement, the former CEO of Barnes & Noble - STEPHEN RIGGIO - kept up his interest in the book world, but in a very different way! He took on the extraordinary task of translating a major Sicilian novel from Italian into English! The books are called: LUIGI NATOLI'S SICILIAN AVENGERS: A Novel (Books 1 and 2). They recount the tale of a secret sect that was purported to be the forerunners to the mafia!! It was written in Italian and now available in English – thanks to the translation by Riggio. For over 40 years, Riggio was a key leader in transforming the single flagship New York Barnes & Noble location into a national retailer that expanded into e-commerce and book publishing. When he retired, one of the many activities that kept him busy was to take Italian classes with his wife. Riggio is Italian. Their teacher mentioned the Sicilian historical novels and from then on – Riggio made it his mission to translate the historical novel. Told across 2 gripping installments, SICILIAN AVENGERS is a tale of history and adventure, love and hatred, friendship and betrayal, suffering and retribution, as thrilling as ALEXANDER DUMAS's THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO and as riveting with the intrigue and treachery depicted in HILARY MANTEL's WOLF HALL. With meticulous attention to historic events and topographic details, SICILIAN AVENGERS transports readers to a turbulent period of the island's history, when the pomp, magnificence, and unfettered power of the aristocracy reached new heights, amid the power struggles between France, Spain, and Savoy, and when residents were persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church's dreaded Inquisition and subjected to horrific tortures. And it plunges readers into an enthralling depiction of a secret sect purported to be a proto-manifestation of the Mafia.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.

Who is Alex?Alex Dumas is a passionate advocate for representation and diversity in the boardroom. Facing the fear of failure and the pressure of succeeding for future generations, Alex understands the importance of focusing on the generational impact while not sabotaging oneself. With a belief in regrouping and recovering from mistakes, Alex aims to break the stigma attached to people of color in the corporate world. Through their work, Alex is committed to creating a more inclusive and accepting environment for all professionals.Key Takeaways00:00 Challenges facing people of color in leadership.04:37 Coaching changed perspectives, empowering questions lead forward.07:00 Nonprofit leaders face burnout from overcommitment.12:47 Free audio gift to improve leadership skills.16:59 Early coaching was about impressing, now understanding matters.20:26 Alex, thank you for the insightful chat.22:02 Grateful for the opportunity to make a difference.Valuable Free Resource or ActionDownload a FREE audio lesson https://www.alexdumascoaching.com/f/everybody-wins_________________________________________________________________________________________________Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletterFind out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguestSubscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcastHelp us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review at apple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:If you are a business owner currently turning over £/$10K - £/$50K per month and want to grow to £/$100K - £/$500k per month download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page :It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way————————————————————————————————————————————-TranscriptNote, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)SUMMARY KEYWORDSworld champion boxer, warm up, business leaders, mindset, fear, competition, inspirational, motivational speaker, teamwork, individual, team, potential, self-improvement, frequency of vibration, mindset, brain health, Samaritan, mental boxing, mental health, future, identity crisis, depression, bankruptcy, Landmark Forum, team support, positivity, newsletter, insights, life lessons, business ownersSPEAKERSAlex Dumas, Stuart WebbStuart Webb [00:00:15]:Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science five questions over Coffee. My, well, my coffee is here in front of me. I'm here with Alex, my guest today. Alex, really pleased to have you on. Alex is a a keynote speaker and executive coach. He's a a a global movement leader, and he's the VP of the BIPOC Coach Collective and a partner of black leaders worldwide. Again, a man with a really impressive CV. So I'm really looking forward to the to the discussion we're gonna have today.Stuart Webb [00:00:42]:Alex, welcome to It's Not Rocket Science. Five questions over coffee.Alex Dumas [00:00:48]:Hey. Great morning, Stuart. Thank you for this invitation. Looking forward to this conversation.Stuart Webb [00:00:53]:Terrific. Well, look. Let's start with the the the the the reason that we're here, Alex. So who who are the people you're trying to help? You know, you've got an impressive CVU. You're working with some impressive people. Who who are those people that you're trying to help? What What's the the main problem they face in their business and personal lives?Alex Dumas [00:01:11]:Yeah. Great question. A lot of my work has been centered around black executive men, BIPOC leaders of color. So sometimes they're in the corporate spaces. Sometimes they're entrepreneurs, so they're coaches, consultants, things of that nature. And there's some specific challenges that they're having. Some of them look like this Webb leaders, in this case, can feel isolated. They can feel lonely because they may be the only one in the room that looks like them.Alex Dumas [00:01:37]:They may be going to boardrooms or having these conversations in c suite, and they're they're trying to crack over get in that room or if they're they're already in there, they're like, well, I'm the only one here. Maybe I'm not gonna be respected. Maybe I'm not gonna be, accepted, which is a big challenge. They have this fear of failure. Right? They're carrying this pressure of, I have to succeed so that generations down the line have opportunities too, and I'm a big proponent of that. I I really believe in making sure we focus on the generational impact, but not to the degree where it sabotages ourselves, where we harm ourselves to to be perfect, to get everything right because, Stuart, if you're like me, you make mistakes. You you flub, you you you mess up things, and then you regroup and recover. And, unfortunately, out here in America, there is that challenge of if you do mess up, if you're a person of color, then there's that stigma attached.Alex Dumas [00:02:39]:Like, oh, maybe he wasn't good enough. Maybe she wasn't smart enough, maybe we rushed her into this promotion, maybe he's not really built for this yet. And so there is that pressure to to perform, but at the same time, I look at helping them expand their dreams. Right? The dreams of this generational impact of breaking these generational curses of achieving these the financial freedom that is vital for our lives. So if someone says, hey. Money's not important. Like, let's just get back into reality for a second. Money is pretty important to support a lifestyle and and support different ventures that they five.Alex Dumas [00:03:22]:And and really the the the big dream is embracing their authenticity. Right? JustStuart Webb [00:03:30]:Mhmm.Alex Dumas [00:03:30]:Being themselves, showing up, and feeling the weight release, feeling the feeling the pressure gone, and they know that they can do their best work without this this weight on them. So those are the type of things that I work on with clients and one on one are in groups, and these are the secret dreams, the secret fears that sometimes they don't wanna admit, but it's there. That's it's what gets in the way most times of really breaking through ascending to a neck to their next level of success.Stuart Webb [00:04:01]:Alex, tell me, you you've talked talked passionately there about, you know, getting away from some of those sort of barriers that that that inhibit. I know I know you must look at some of these leaders and think, well, you know, these are the things you're doing wrong, and I'll I'll get to that in a minute. But how did you overcome some of those, some of those problems yourself? How did you manage to break through from where you were into where you are now?Alex Dumas [00:04:37]:Yeah. Good question. There's a combination of things. 1, I would say coaching was one of the big maybe maybe the biggest influence of helping me just see life differently because I came from a background of middle middle class, you know, youngest of 4 children. So I'd like to say that my parents saved the best for last, But I grew up not feeling important, feeling invisible, being in different spaces where I didn't feel heard, I didn't feel seen. And what I saw is the differences, the quality of questions I would ask myself when I was younger, going into young adulthood, all these different things. I would ask myself questions five, why is life this way? Why can't I have this? Why isn't this meant for me or why can't I be here? Those aren't bad questions, but what I found was a space to ask myself empowering questions. Questions like, well, what do I wanna create from this? What do I wanna choose to do here? Who's available or what is available that can help me and that can serve me? How can I contribute? Right? That helps that's helped me move forward.Alex Dumas [00:05:43]:So coaching and and mentorship has been a big part and, obviously, the other big revelation or the the big influence in my life has been my wife. My wife, Sarah, we've been together now for 18 years, married for 14, and she is one of the first people outside of my family, you know, and and friends, but someone who really helped me anchor and ground myself and see possibility. And I like to say it like this, if I could see a possibility that I could be in the possibility. If I don't see an option, if I don't believe that there's an opportunity for me, then the obstacles are just gonna be all I see. That's gonna be in front of my face, and I won't be able to advance.Stuart Webb [00:06:29]:That's great news. That's great. Jules, just giving you a a big big big up big up there, Alex, with with Go Alex. So I'm pleased. Jules, thank you for watching in. So we we were talking a little bit about some of the the leaders you're trying to help. Tell me, you know, what is it they've done before they sort of turn to the sort of advice, coaching that you can bring to them and help them? How have they tried to effectively, how have they tried to solve their own problem?Alex Dumas [00:07:00]:Yeah. They they've gone down a road that I've gone down when I was in nonprofit leadership for for 10 years where, 1, I would say they would try too hard. Right? Just try to force, like I mentioned before, the the pressure, they might look like working long hours, less sleep, kinda getting on the grind, you know, 5 AM wake up, 2 2 AM, go to sleep. Right? And just having this unhealthy attachment and and really addiction to trying to be successful in sacrificing time with family, sacrificing their own health journey, sacrificing if they're a person of faith or spiritual practice. Right? Because they have to get it done. They have to achieve it. They have to make the thing happen. Another challenge that I see for them and and I laugh because this is this is my life for many years of not asking for help of I should know this already.Alex Dumas [00:07:56]:I'm in this position. If I ask, then someone's gonna know that I don't know the answer, and then I look Stuart, and then they don't trust me and right? All these things that we make up in our heads, and that's that breeds resentment. That breeds gossiping. And some workplace things are are real. You know, you might hear the term microaggressions. You might hear the term, you know, I can't think of the other words right now, but just stay Webb you on this. Right? The resentment, the gossiping, and that energy attaches itself to you. Right? If I'm thinking about this manager, I don't like her Webb don't like him.Alex Dumas [00:08:37]:He's always doing this to me. Right? We come back into this victim place. This is where Mhmm. The the men I've and and clients I've worked with, that's where they struggle the most when they're putting their attention on what this person's doing and what they're up to and how they affected them. And, really, let's not victim blame. Right? It's not shame, but they take responsibility. What am I doing? Who am I being? Where am I coming from when I'm in this process or in this scenario?Stuart Webb [00:09:07]:Yeah. Yeah. I it's true, isn't it? We we so often, and I I see this with with with business leaders. They're they're focusing on, you know, what is it they're doing and and and they they choose to respond in a negative way to something. And you sort of say, well, the the the choice was entirely yours. You can choose 1 of 2 paths, and you always seem to choose the one that's somehow destructive to yourself. It is about taking that choice and making that that decision to say no. You know, like you said, your wife helped you to see if there's a if there's a path that will take take you better.Stuart Webb [00:09:46]:Take the path that will take you better. Even if somebody else is doing something, don't worry about it. You have to choose that path.Alex Dumas [00:09:53]:Yeah. It doesn't diminish it. It doesn't I I say it like this from the stage. Just because you can do anything doesn't mean you have to do everything.Stuart Webb [00:10:01]:Yes. Agreed. Absolutely.Alex Dumas [00:10:03]:Watching, someone listening, I want you to really, like, put a finger in your ear so it doesn't go out and doesn't go in and go out the other. Right? You can do anything. Yeah. You're you're more than capable. You're highly qualified. You have track record of success, but recognize there's over people in those space who can serve you, that can help you, that can actually get you there faster than you can do on your own and with more ease and with grace. And at the end of the day, who doesn't wanna have more fun in the success process? Right? This in our on our destination. It doesn't have to be this, oh, goodness.Alex Dumas [00:10:39]:I gotta do it all myself, and I'm self made. Nobody that I've ever met has been self made. And if they are, then they won't admit it because they're probably in the self destructive mode, and they can't see it.Stuart Webb [00:10:52]:Yeah. I love that, Alex. I really do love that. And I I suppose, my own journey, I I was a scientist long before I started out in business and I worked out very early on that I, you know, I was standing on the shoulders of giants because they'd come before me and worked out principles that I was just gonna extend. And, you know, so I've never ever understood this belief that somehow to be successful, you have to be self made because as far as I can see, we're all standing we're all standing on somebody else's, successes and somebody else's movement. And even if you only add a a small amount to that, as long as you add in the right way, that takes you forward. It takes everybody forward. You can lift you can lift everybody out.Stuart Webb [00:11:34]:I I do find it disappointing that people don't see that they can actually sort of, take that take the take take the positives and and move things forward. Let let's just turn to to to one of the sorry. Go ahead.Alex Dumas [00:11:50]:No. I was gonna stow this analogy out where someone told this to me long time ago about this principle of of being self made and doing it all yourself. And they asked me, it was, how how many people does it take to make a peanut butter jelly sandwich? And my initial response is like, oh, it's me. I just take the bread and I'm so, like, well, did you eat the bread? Did you package it? Did you do all these things? Did how'd you did you, were you the blacksmith that that forged the knife, the butter knife? Right? So there's a lot more out there. There's a lot more people who are contributing to your success than you believe.Stuart Webb [00:12:24]:Absolutely brilliant. Love the analogy. Love the analogy. Have you got a a valuable piece of advice? And I'm sort of gonna put, that your your website here. Have you got a valuable piece of advice or something that you'd leave with people that you can you can direct them to that that would help them in their journey to to take on some of the stuff you talking about?Alex Dumas [00:12:47]:Yeah. One of the things I would share with them is, free audio that I've recorded. It's called everybody wins 3 mistakes that leaders make, and it kinda touches on some of the things we spoke about earlier where the the pressure to perform, the the loneliness, the the hiding, the not asking for help, these are the things that get in the way of making innovative change of what Five looked to call generational impact and and uplifting communities. And this is a free audio gift. It's something I give away when I talk, so another way that I can be of use is come book me to speak for your team, for your organization. WiTalk is the win win communicator. It's a new way for leaders to listen, and it's it's coming from a place of not necessarily the tools of, like, you gotta actively listen and make sure you I really look at it from the space of, like, your state of being. Who are you when you're listening to people? What are the biases that you're holding? What are the what's the chatter inside of you that is blocking you from connecting with somebody? And and one of my signature phrases that I love to say is build a bigger bubble, and this kinda goes into the the premise of doing you could do anything, but not you don't have to do everything.Alex Dumas [00:13:59]:So building a bigger bubble meaning expanding, having a dream, having a vision so big that your team, your your your family, anybody around you can see themselves inside of it, and they actually start to champion you. They start to advocate. They start to be your evangelist of, man, this is where we're going. This is what we're doing. Who doesn't love following somebody or being on a journey with somebody who's got who's up to something big. Right? Who's up to a a huge a huge bigger larger than life vision, and it might seem impossible, but it's only impossible till we do it.Stuart Webb [00:14:34]:Brilliant. I've put the the link, to to that, which is on your website. I'll just read it out for those people who are unable at the moment to to to write anything down, but this will be in the show notes, people. It's a h t t p s colon forward slash for effect, www. Alexander Dumas coaching. That's that's obviously Alexander Dumas. He he can probably work at.Alex Dumas [00:14:55]:But but I do Alex on. Like, I'm I'm after yeah. After the Alexander Dumas.Stuart Webb [00:15:00]:Yeah. Alexand dumascoaching.comforward/f/ everybody hyphen wins. So that's alexdumascoaching.com/f/everybodywins. That'll be in the the the the show notes. Go and download that that, that that that audio. It's a free piece of content Alex gives away. So, Alex, thank you for that. Alex, it was there a particular book or a program that, that that that that that that you would leave as a a valuable, valuable thought, that sort of started you thinking about this? You've mentioned your wife.Stuart Webb [00:15:35]:There are other things that must have sort of begun to sort of make you the man you are today.Alex Dumas [00:15:42]:Yes. Yeah. Thank you. One speech in particular comes to my mind is from Les Brown. It's his famous, you gotta be hungry. Right? Yeah. Because I think he was he was in the Georgia Dome. It was some sometime probably in, like, in the late eighties, maybe early nineties, and it's a speech that Five first watched probably 2014, maybe 2015, and it to me, in my opinion, is the best speech I've ever seen, ever written, like, I've, to this day.Alex Dumas [00:16:13]:Right? I still come to it, and I still find inspiration from it. I still find nuggets from it. So that as part of an audio and seeing myself, right, seeing that model then and having this vision, this dream for myself of maybe I could do that. What would it be five if I were in front of a stadium full of people? You know, MetLife Stadium. I'm from New York originally, so I think about Giant Stadium. Like, wow. What would it be like if I could be there or Madison Square Garden? So that's one piece of content. The other book that I would say has greatly influenced my work as coaches called The Prosperous Coach that's was written by Steve Chandler and Rich Lipman, and it helped me it it connected with me in a space that it helped me slow down and look at authentic connections with people.Alex Dumas [00:16:59]:Because a lot of my early work as a coach was kind of spray and pray, kinda hunt and try to kill and get attention, look at me, and and be impressive. And what I recognize is the distinction of me being impressed Stuart doesn't allow this other person to be expressive. And when the when I work with clients, when I work with people, the thing they really want the most to know is just, do you understand me? Do you get me? Do you see me? Do you understand where I'm coming from? And if I can do that and create a safety for themselves to, you know, just kind of share a little bit more and shed the skin and get the pretenses on them, really get down to who they are and what they're they're looking to do. Miracles occur. That's the best I can call. So Prosper's Coach and that Les Brown talk, you gotta be hungry have been 2 massively influential pieces of content that have shaped who I am.Stuart Webb [00:17:51]:Alex, thank you so much. Alex, thank you for spending a few minutes with us. And I guess at the moment, you must be thinking there's a question that he hasn't asked and you really should five asked it by now. So what's the question that I should have asked you? And, obviously, if you were gonna ask a really intelligent question like that, you better give us a really good answer to it. So what is the question that you would don't think that I have asked properly?Alex Dumas [00:18:15]:Now this point isn't your fault specifically, but I think a good question that right. I'm gonna put the blame game on. But, all jokes aside, I think the I think the valuable question here would be, how do we help black leaders, black and brown leaders, ascend? Right? I think that's a great question that could be asked, and lucky for you, I have an answer for that. And that specifically is a 1 on 1 container that I I I've created called Ascension. So play on words. You can be like, oh my goodness, Alex. You're cheeky. Yeah.Alex Dumas [00:18:51]:Alright. I'm clever. I love to do fun things like that. But Ascension is this it's a 12 week intimate conversation with somebody and looking at helping them advance in their career and helping them to develop themselves as leaders, helping them to build the best practices of building relationships and and networking and building their confidence and looking at their life's work. I don't necessarily subscribe to this thought of work five balance because here I am right now, I'm speaking with you, Stuart. That means I'm ignoring my family. I'm ignoring my kids, Not because I'm bad or I'm a, you know, mean dad, but because my attention is focused on you and my work and also for you, whoever's watching, whoever's listening. My impact right now, I'm focused on you.Alex Dumas [00:19:38]:And then when I'm done, I'll be complete, and I'll move on to my family. But the things we've spoken up beef about before about how do we make impact, how do we embrace ourselves authentically, how do we create financial freedom, these are pieces of what Ascension looks like, and it's gonna be this elite edge for black men in business. This opportunity for them to just have that that thing, that one thing that separates them. I don't wanna say the competition, but separates them from holding themselves back and and it's a a beautiful offering that I five to invite anyone listening to to experience for themselves and create major major awareness and breakthroughs for their life and their business. So that's how we can help people ascend.Stuart Webb [00:20:26]:Alex, I love I love I love the fact that you've been cheeky about that, and thank you for having a clever answer to a to a question that I didn't didn't ask properly. So, Alex, I really wanna thank you for spending a few minutes with us. I know now you can go and take your focus off talking to silly people like me, and you can go and concentrate on something important like your family and your kids. And, I know you've got 2 2 kids, I think, haven't you? So you can get out there and you can you can go and enjoy your time with them rather than be, rather than be focusing on us. But thank you for spending a few minutes with us and telling us a bit about how you have, overcome those thought processes and how you're helping others to do exactly the same thing to to plow that fat path. Listen, people. I'm gonna wrap up with Alex now because he's got other things to do. If you would like to hear from, from me every week with a with an update on who's coming on to the show next week.Stuart Webb [00:21:21]:I send out one every week. And if you wanna do that, if you can go to the HTTP thing, link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk. That's link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk forward slash newsletter. You can come on and, spend a few minutes, just listening to really inspiring talking points from people as inspiring as Alex. And, Alex, I wanna just thank you, for coming on and spending a few minutes. Really appreciate the effort you've taken, and, I wish you I wish you get out and spend some time with your kids because, they're as important as anything else you you're doing at the moment.Alex Dumas [00:22:02]:No. Much appreciated. And I'll say this, there's nothing been silly about this conversation. I love the questions. I love your energy, and thank you for inviting me onto this program and for my work. If this is influential, this is supporting, you know, at least over person. Alright? That that sounds like a cliche, but, really, if it helps moves one person, then I've done my job. I've I've served in a way that I know how to do best, and I'm gonna spend some time with the family then get back to doing what I do best, making a difference, and contributing.Stuart Webb [00:22:33]:I'm with you on that, Alex. If we can help one person, that's Webb person that we've, we've pushed a little bit further. And who knows? They will take the they they will take us on further. So thank you very much for spending 8 minutes with us.Alex Dumas [00:22:45]:You're welcome. Thank you. Get full access to It's Not Rocket Science! at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

Maximillian and the Count realize their dreams in the last chapter of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. Count of Monte Cristo Link and License Agreement. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1184/1184-h/1184-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. #dreams #love #hope #lianelittle #owlaboutstories #alexandredumas #thecountofmontecristo #classics  #books #novels

Wed (pt 2 of 2): On today's Late Riser's Podcast, John Boy credits his ancestors with winning the Revolutionary War.. - While we're in the history books, we'll discuss Alexander Dumas.. - Oliver responds to a letter from a guy who lost a Karaoke contest.. - We discover that John Boy's truck is smarter than him.. - We report on a lesser known fugitive from justice, Florida Woman.. - we'll finish up with a request for “The Final Pirate Joke..” - and a discussion about the times we've lost it in a fast food restaurant.. ℗®© 2024 John Boy & Billy, Inc.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wed (pt 1 of 2): On today's Late Riser's Podcast, John Boy credits his ancestors with winning the Revolutionary War.. - While we're in the history books, we'll discuss Alexander Dumas.. - Oliver responds to a letter from a guy who lost a Karaoke contest.. - We discover that John Boy's truck is smarter than him.. - We report on a lesser known fugitive from justice, Florida Woman.. - we'll finish up with a request for “The Final Pirate Joke..” - and a discussion about the times we've lost it in a fast food restaurant.. ℗®© 2024 John Boy & Billy, Inc.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Count takes grieving Morrel on a trip in Chapter 114 of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. Count of Monte Cristo Link and License Agreement. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1184/1184-h/1184-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. #grief #travel #trip #memories #lianelittle #owlaboutstories #alexandredumas #thecountofmontecristo #classics  #books #novels

In this palette cleanser we are going to talk about the philosophy of romcoms for a change. I reckon this should remove any accusations of important work being done on The Living Philosophy. We'll be looking at two romcoms — the classic Norah Ephron When Harry Met Sally and the lesser known Just Like Heaven starring Reese Wetherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. One is reflective of a type of art that strives for psychological accuracy (Dostoevsky, When Harry Met Sally) category — while the second category (Just Like Heaven, Alexander Dumas's The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo) dispense with reality and works at the hyperreal level of the archetypal underworld. *** Damien's YouTube channel: "Science Fiction with Damien Walter": https://www.youtube.com/@DamienWalterPatreon interview with Damien Walter: ***

Mikey & Jeremy watch S4E17 "Onyx". They discuss Alexander Dumas, lasers, and the science of meteor rocks. 

News now of a couple of opera productions from Scottish Opera that are coming up this spring and into early summer with audio described performances of Marx in London! and La traviata for blind and partially sighted people. RNIB Connect Radio's Toby Davey was joined by Scottish Opera's Audio Describer Catriona Gillies with an overview and insight into these two Scottish Opera productions. About Marx in London!: In London 1871, the spectre of communism might be haunting Europe, but Karl Marx's demons are far more mundane. Watched by a spy, chased by debt collectors, harried by his family (legitimate and not), and rescued repeatedly from financial ruin by Friedrich Engels, a single madcap day is the backdrop for a run of misadventures and mistakes. Marx might have envisioned an economic system that would restore order and equality to the workers of the world, but his own affairs are in chaos. Amidst this storm in a teacup, can he find an hour to write? Audio Described performances:  Theatre Royal Glasgow, Saturday 17 February Festival Theatre Edinburgh, Saturday 24 February, both performances at 7.15pm with touch tours at 6pm. About Verdi's La traviata: Violetta Valéry lives on borrowed time. In Paris' hedonistic high society, she wrings each day for its joys before her illness catches up with her. When the idealistic young Alfredo offers true love, happiness seems possible – but her past has exacted a price. Giuseppe Verdi's devastating tragedy – based on Alexander Dumas fils' novel, in turn inspired by a real woman – has inspired countless retellings, including cult favourite films Pretty Woman and Moulin Rouge!. With his characteristic eye for detail, Sir David McVicar (Il trittico, Falstaff, Pelléas et Mélisande) gets to the love and loss at the core of this doomed love affair in his passionate, gripping, and startlingly intimate production. Tanya McCallin's sumptuous designs centre Violetta's journey and enduring legacy despite her fleeting life. Verdi's magnificent score sweeps the characters through every shifting mood – from the wildly dramatic to the most vulnerable moments. This beloved production, which began life at Scottish Opera in 2008, has been seen at the houses of co-producers Teatro Real Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Welsh National Opera.  Audio described performances: Theatre Royal Glasgow, Saturday 18 May Eden Court, Inverness, Saturday 25 May His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen, Saturday 1 June Festival Theatre Edinburgh Saturday 15 June, with all performances at 7.15pm and touch tours at 6pm. For more about Scottish Opera and audio described performances of their productions do visit their website - https://www.scottishopera.org.uk/access/audio-description-touch-tours (Image shows RNIB logo. 'RNIB' written in black capital letters over a white background and underlined with a bold pink line, with the words 'See differently' underneath)

How did a small hole in a parchment create Crusader history? What do Chopin, Karl Marx, Alexander Dumas & Goethe have in common? Why would the Barons of Franconia insist that Jews go to Synagogue on Monday & Thursday? What was life like for Jews in Sicily? Listen to fascinating insights from four very different eras in Jewish History.  

The premiere of Tchaikovsky's seminal ballet ‘The Nutcracker', on 18th December, 1892, at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg. It was NOT a hit. The composer, who thought the Alexander Dumas source material was slight and childish, only agreed to write the piece if it was shown in a double-bill with his opera, ‘Iolanta'. He certainly didn't want to repeat the critical failure of his earlier work: a certain ‘Swan Lake'. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a trip to Paris inspired one of ballet's most famous moments; check out some of the reviews of the day, when body-shaming ballerinas was evidently not discouraged; and explain how Czar Alexander was (literally) catered for in the stage directions…  Further Reading: • "The Nutcracker's" disturbing origin story: Why this was once the world's creepiest ballet' (Salon, 2014): https://www.salon.com/2014/12/24/the_nutcrackers_disturbing_origin_story_why_this_was_once_the_worlds_creepiest_ballet/ • ‘Sweet holiday staple 'The Nutcracker' may be darker than you think' (The Washington Post, 2022): https://www.washingtonpost.com/theater-dance/2022/11/25/nutcracker-history-russian-imperialism/ • ‘Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky / Nina Kaptsova - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy' (2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz_f9B4pPtg This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of

Nghe trọn nội dung sách nói Bá Tước Monte Cristo trên ứng dụng Voiz FM: https://voiz.vn/play/1806 Sắp được giao trọng trách làm một thuyền trưởng, chuẩn bị cưới nàng Mercédès xinh đẹp dịu dàng, có một người cha hết mực thương yêu, được anh em bè bạn mến phục, tương lai của chàng thanh niên Edmond Dantès thật rạng ngời hạnh phúc. Nhưng số mệnh nghiệt ngã, vẽ nên viễn cảnh tươi sáng để rồi bôi đen tất cả. Đúng trong ngày hạnh phúc nhất đời, anh bị bắt giam vào hầm ngục lâu đài khi chưa đầy hai mươi tuổi bởi âm mưu của những kẻ ghen ghét, đố kị và cơ hội. Sau 14 năm trời bị đầy đọa, bị cướp đi tuổi trẻ và tình yêu, Edmond Dantès, khi vượt ngục đã hoàn toàn lột xác thành Bá Tước Monte Cristo nhờ sự giáo dục và kho báu bí mật của người bạn tù là nhà bác học - linh mục Faria, bắt đầu hành trình trả ân báo oán. Tại ứng dụng sách nói Voiz FM, sách nói Bá Tước Monte Cristo được đầu tư chất lượng âm thanh và thu âm chuyên nghiệp, tốt nhất để mang lại trải nghiệm nghe tuyệt vời cho bạn. --- Về Voiz FM: Voiz FM là ứng dụng sách nói podcast ra mắt thị trường công nghệ từ năm 2019. Với gần 2000 tựa sách độc quyền, Voiz FM hiện đang là nền tảng sách nói podcast bản quyền hàng đầu Việt Nam. Bạn có thể trải nghiệm miễn phí đa dạng nội dung tại Voiz FM từ sách nói, podcast đến truyện nói, sách tóm tắt và nội dung dành cho thiếu nhi. --- Voiz FM website: https://voiz.vn/ Theo dõi Facebook Voiz FM: https://www.facebook.com/VoizFM Tham khảo thêm các bài viết review, tổng hợp, gợi ý sách để lựa chọn sách nói dễ dàng hơn tại trang Blog Voiz FM: http://blog.voiz.vn/ --- Cảm ơn bạn đã ủng hộ Voiz FM. Nếu bạn yêu thích sách nói Bá Tước Monte Cristo và các nội dung sách nói podcast khác, hãy đăng ký kênh để nhận thông báo về những nội dung mới nhất của Voiz FM channel nhé. Ngoài ra, bạn có thể nghe BẢN FULL ĐỘC QUYỀN hàng chục ngàn nội dung Chất lượng cao khác tại ứng dụng Voiz FM. Tải ứng dụng Voiz FM: voiz.vn/download #voizfm #sáchnói #podcast #sáchnóiBáTướcMonteCristo #AlexanderDumas

Bork Nerdrum and Jan-Ove Tuv take a deep-dive into Larry Shiner's book The Invention of Art (2001), commenting on the contents from the perspective of classical painting and culture.

We are Traci and Ellie, two bookish friends who read in any spare minute that we have.  This week we are chatting about the details of how to tackle those really big books!  To shop the books listed in this episode, visit our shop at bookshop.org.   Literally Reading: Queen Bee by Amalie Howard (Traci) All That's Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien (Ellie)  Crack the Book Open: East of Eden by John Steinbeck The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas 11/22/63 by Stephen King The Secret History by Donna Tartt Les Miserables by Victor Hugo The Stand by Stephen King Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry Dracula by Bram Stoker  Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally

In July, I hosted a webinar called "How To Get Past Hollywood Gatekeepers" where I shared my thoughts on creative things you can do now with the strikes happening, as well as what you shouldn't be doing. This episode addresses questions you asked in our Q&A session that we didn't have time to answer. There's lots of great info here, make sure you watch.Show NotesFree Writing Webinar - https://michaeljamin.com/op/webinar-registration/Michael's Online Screenwriting Course - https://michaeljamin.com/courseFree Screenwriting Lesson - https://michaeljamin.com/freeJoin My Watchlist - https://michaeljamin.com/watchlistAutogenerated TranscriptMichael Jamin:You shouldn't. You should not try to work. I mean, you don't go on any guild SAG projects or guild projects, but you could do, if it's a non SAG project, like a student film or something, you can do that. You're not violating anything. You're not getting paid, but you can build your network. Exactly. Or make your own stuff. If you write your own mini scene or movie or whatever and you shoot it on your phone, you're not breaking any strikes. You're not selling it, you're just shooting it. You're listening to screenwriters. Need to hear this with Michael. Hey everybody, welcome back. It's Michael Jamin. I'm here with Phil Hudson and we are going to answer some questions. So as you may or may not know, we host a webinar, a free webinar every three weeks usually, and I try to answer a different topic. And the last topic we did was called How to Get Past Industry Gatekeepers. And we did an exclusive v i P room afterwards where people could ask questions. This is where the questions are coming from, Phil, right?Phil Hudson:No, these are actually the ones from the webinar. We didn'tMichael Jamin:Oh, these are from the webinar. Okay.Phil Hudson:Yeah, because we shifted things up and for people who, dunno, you were spending a lot of time, we were staying on for an hour doing q and a with everybody, and so we just decided to give everyone an opportunity to hop in and get FaceTime with you. It's limited seats of V I P Q and A, and this is for the people who ask questions during the webinar who didn't get their questions answered rightMichael Jamin:Now I'm confused. Okay. Yeah, so to be clear, the webinar is free, but we also did a little bonus thing afterwards that people can buy in so I can answer more questions. So these are questions. I didn't get it. We didn't have time to answer and Phil's going to cue me. What is it? Yeah,Phil Hudson:No, I was going to say we're going to dive in and I think it's just two things. If you want to have a question answered by Michael, there's two ways to get that done and you're very, very open with your time. One is to join the webinar. We typically have one, sometimes two a month depending on the month, and it's a different topic typically every time. But we have a couple that people really like, so we might be focusing on those. But if you can't get your question answered there, the v i P is an opportunity for them to hop in with you and really just spend that time, time you turn your camera on. You ask myMichael Jamin:Question. Well, it's not one-on-one. A small group of people.Phil Hudson:So it's not one-on-one in the sense that you sit there and you get to talk to Michael. You don't have to. It's not, yeah. Thank you for clarifying. Yeah. So yeah, let's dive in. And we've done previous episodes. I've broken these into subjects. So there are a couple key categories. This is heavily weighted towards breaking into Hollywood because that was the topic,Michael Jamin:ButPhil Hudson:I think the craft questions are always good. So starting there, Norville, scs, if a character changes for the better over the course of a story, is there initial likability, something to focus on?Michael Jamin:Well, likability is a complicated thing. Sometimes people, you'll get a note from the studio saying these need to be likable. And that's not the same thing as the audience needs to the characters, which is a different, okay, so Tony Soprano is not a likable person. You don't want to spend 10 minutes with the guy, he might kill you, okay? But the audience likes to watch him because he's interesting. But often you'll get a note from the studio saying, these characters, they're too unlikable. I don't have an answer to that. It depends if you're doing a drama or a comedy, but generally the note you're going to get is these need to be likable characters, especially if you're doing a comedy. We're spending time with them, we're spending a lot of time with them. So even in Cheers, I'm sure one of the notes was Carla's too unlikable, so they probably softened her up so she wasn't, because you're spending time with him, this is your family, I guess. I dunno if that answers the question. It's the best I can do. Well,Phil Hudson:I think the question comes from Save the Cat, which you've admittedly never read and you've never read, but it definitely talks about how your character should do something to make us like them in the first three to five pages because we'll want to root for them and it's a redeeming factor and there's plenty of evidence as to why that's not necessarilyMichael Jamin:Accurate. I don't subscribe to that. I don't subscribe to that. So yeah,Phil Hudson:As good as it gets. You recommended, I read that for a script. I was writing one point. Is that it? Where is that? Not Jack Nicholson.Michael Jamin:Yeah, I mean I love that, but I don't rememberPhil Hudson:Telling you, but he throws the dog down the garbage shoot.Michael Jamin:Oh yeah, it was the first time we seen him. He throws the dog down the garbage shoot.Phil Hudson:It's the opposite of saving the cat.Michael Jamin:And it'sPhil Hudson:A classic, it's incredible film.Michael Jamin:And that's a film, right? So that's not a sitcom. So again, I don't subscribe to this thing. The character has to do something likable. What is that? I mean, I think they have to do something interesting. Engaging and throwing a dog on a shoot is kind of interesting for sure. SoPhil Hudson:Yeah, what kind of person would do that? Use his questions. Jackie Smite. What if you have a script for a very specific franchise? Is it simply foolish if you are an inexperienced or is it a bad idea in general?Michael Jamin:Bad idea in general. And it's foolish. You got 'em both write. You can't write for a franchise. You don't own the ip, it's not yours, let it go. You don't write a Marvel movie, don't write a Disney movie with the princesses. It's not yours, so let it go. Don't write anything with a franchise.Phil Hudson:This is a very common one. I mean, most people have an idea for a story and it's based off of existing ip. I remember talking to a friend in 2008, a couple months after I really started studying screenwriting. She's like, oh, I have this enemy franchise. I want to adapt for tv. And I was like, okay, I don't think you could do that. And yeah,Michael Jamin:Reach out to, if you get the rights from them, then do it, but you don't have the rights, so don't do it.Phil Hudson:And that is a process and we'll probably circle back on that because there's a question about attorneys, which we'll get to in a minute.Michael Jamin:Oh, okay.Phil Hudson:Cliff Johnson ii. I write drama features to half hour comedy and also differing genres. Is it limiting to spread myself thin or should I keep building a diverse portfolio?Michael Jamin:You don't need a diverse portfolio. I'd say specialize in whatever it is you enjoy the most. Focus on that, get really good at it, and then market yourself as the best damn thriller writer there is. Or the best broad comedy writer there is. You don't need a broad portfolio. You need to have a specific portfolio that really showcases your excellence in this one area.Phil Hudson:Yeah. You've given advice as well in the past that let's say you're a sitcom writer, well get really good at writing half hour single camera sitcoms that do multi, then do animated. So you stay in that genre, but you can build a portfolio within that genre to show your base. But it's different than writing violent westerns and Taylor Sheridan style.Michael Jamin:Yes. Right. I'm glad you pointed at that. So if you want to be a comedy writer, you might want a Yes. A broad you should have, should have a grounded single camera comedy, but it's all comedy. Yeah.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Awesome. Andrew James jokes, do you see everything from a certain comedic viewpoint when thinking of content or writing a script,Michael Jamin:A certain comedic viewpoint? I don't remember. Not sure what that means. There's things that strike me as funny. I'm not sure if I have. I thinkPhil Hudson:For me, I think I understand this question, but I don't want to interrupt you if you have something.Michael Jamin:No, what do you think?Phil Hudson:I think what's being asked is when I was told once that I have a particular view of the world and it often is a comical view of the world. I look at the ridiculousness of bureaucracy or rules and rather than get upset, I just make fun of them or I find ways to poke holes at them. To me it's really that question. Do you have that point of view to say, this is my Mike. Judge has, I would say, has a really clear point of view and the way he does his things. Do you look at things through a certain lens?Michael Jamin:I don't know if I do. I mean, I'm sure I have a voice. I'm always interested, I guess how do I like finding things, thinking of things that are funny, but I'm not sure if I have a specific I tact that I take, sorry, I can't help them more. I got to think about that more. Do I have a point of view? I tend to think silly and stupid, but I think I'm smart. I mean, I went to college and everything, but I don't think I'm dumb, but I think my voice is sometimes of a dumb person.Phil Hudson:When I think of your voice, I think of a lot of the things you share about the way you kid with your daughters,Michael Jamin:The way I kid with my daughters.Phil Hudson:Yeah, just like you've done a couple of social media posts where you're like, it's like dad jokes, but at a different level. It's an elevated dad joke almost.Michael Jamin:Well, I'm their dad.Phil Hudson:I know, but it's like dad jokes very punny. And then yours is one step further and you've done several of these quick bites on social media that are related to your conversations with your daughters. To me, that's Michael Jamin and Comedy.Michael Jamin:Oh yeah. I love having fun with my kids. They're so funny. Yeah.Phil Hudson:Cool. And then Phyllis Hill, Phyllis was pretty active, so we got a bunch of questions from her, but they were very good. I sorted through a bunch of 'em. And this is a little bit tied to something I know we've talked about before and I just thought it was good to put on the podcast. Have streaming platforms changed story structure, the same story structure that might've been used back during the day of network TV shows?Michael Jamin:Great question. Not in a hugely significant way. The biggest thing is probably, well, there's no commercial breaks, but so what? We still break the story still the same. We just don't go to commercial. But when we break it on the whiteboard, same thing. It doesn't matter. The only difference is streamers sometimes want you to have serialized stories. So the end, they want to end on a pregnant moment where, so it's continued. So the next story picks up where the last one ended. That's sometimes what they want so that you binge, but that's kind of easy. Often you can, if you go back and watch Weeds, the show Weeds, they did that really well see, they tell a full story and then at the end the story's over. They just do a weird little thing at the end of that story. And then that story would be the beginning. That beat would be the beginning of the next story. So it's super easy in terms of breaking it. It actually makes it kind of easy. It doesn't make, it's the same kind of storytelling. You're just adding one more beat at the end.Phil Hudson:Yeah, that's awesome. I think that's a very concise answer, Michael.Michael Jamin:I get paid by Word.Phil Hudson:I love that. I was going to say Charles Duma is Alexander Duma. I don't know who Charlie Duma is, but he's probably Alexander Dumas's cousin twice divorced. Some questions about your course which come up because during the webinar you're often, one of the things, people have a chance to win your course, you get lifetime access to the course. One person wins every time, but also you give a discount to the course.Michael Jamin:Yeah, if you're listening to this, come to these free webinars that I div, we give a good discount to anyone who attendsPhil Hudson:And that opens registration for that block of enrollment. Leonard h wanted to know, will the course do anything for someone working on documentaries?Michael Jamin:Yeah, I don't know. I mean personally I think yes, but I'm not a documentary filmmaker, but I have watched documentary films where I thought this would've been better if they went through my course. They would've dove into the emotional moments that I feel. But having never made a documentary, what the hell do I know? But I have watched documentaries where I thought this was good, but it wasn't great. It didn't really move me emotionally or I should. I think that's when documentaries really work is when or anything works when you finish watching it and you're still thinking about it, you're still feeling it the next day. So I don't want to promise, but I would think it would help. ButPhil Hudson:I have taken a documentary film class as part of my film school stuff. It's honestly one of the better classes I took. It was taught by a guy named Hank who was a Sundance fellow in the documentary labs and he done multiple documentaries. That's literally, he teaches and then he and his wife shoot documentaries and manage those tons of stuff in South by Southwest, the film fest, Sundance Film Festival, all that stuff. And absolutely story structure is a very vital part of that. And you get into the cinema verte and how you're doing your documentary and the influence of structure and story, but the story structure had to be there, or no one wants to watch what you're doing,Michael Jamin:Nobody cares. So the hard part is you can't invent that. You have to hopefully capture that and then know, oh, I captured this moment. This would be a good first act break.Phil Hudson:But they're scripted there. They're scripted. You need to understand what things you need to get, what beats you want to get as you tell the story. And then it evolves out of that. You often are surprised by what you get, but then there's the paper edit you do when you go into editing where you have transcripts of all the footage and you're looking for things. And it was a little bit uncomfortable for me then and still is now. He even encouraged that it's your job to tell the best version of that story as you can. And there is no such thing as cinema verite, truth of the camera, right? Truth of the lens. You can't because the moment you're there observing it, it changes. And that's a law of physics. You observe an Adam behaves different. And so he says at the end of the day, let's say that you filmed something out of order and there's a clip that you shot two months from now, but it helps tell the story that you need to tell. He had no problem rearranging things or cutting people out of order to get the story that he needed at the end of it.Michael Jamin:So your point is the story, our course would help. That'sPhil Hudson:Your point. Absolutely. Yeah, I absolutely would help.Michael Jamin:Alright,Phil Hudson:There you go. There you go. A couple of questions from Phyllis. Please compare your class to screenwriting classes like the ones offered on Masterclass.Michael Jamin:Well, again, I haven't gone through all the ones in Masterclass. I've watched a few videos of some of the speakers. I don't know, I mean I didn't watch all of it. I don't know. I really can't say having not watched all of it. I think mine is, I would expect mine is a little more hands-on in the sense that I'm teaching you literally how we break a story in the room. I don't fill you with a lot of terms that we don't use, but Phil, have you gone through Masterclass? Yeah. Maybe you'll know better than I do.Phil Hudson:Active subscriber to Masterclass for a long time and most of them I can't get through on Masterclass including, and look, I think Aaron Sorkin's one of the most prolific author writers of our time and I love everything he puts out. ButMichael Jamin:Yeah, he's Shakespeare. He's the Shakespeare of our time.Phil Hudson:Couldn't get through it, couldn't get through his course,Michael Jamin:Couldn't get throughPhil Hudson:It. No, a lot of, and actually I can tell you this because in my agency we have a client who is getting their own masterclass right now. So I've got a little view through the window of what that platform is. And I'm not saying all platforms are like this and I don't want to be saying anything disparaging against Masterclass. I really enjoy masterclass, but the amount of content they shoot versus what you get, it's like 20% of what that person did and they're not editing it. So Masterclass does this stuff, they're in Sorkin and then what you get on the back end of that or Shonda Rogers or whoever, you get to the end of that and it's like 20% of what they talked about. It's good, but it's not the meat. It's not the meat of what you want.Michael Jamin:I've watched some, not theirs, but I felt, and I love masterclass too, I felt you got a taste of everything. You can really learn a lot about cars and cooking and it's a really great, but I felt like from what I watched, it didn't go deep enough. That's not what it is. It's a sampling. And I thought it was interesting but not helpful for some of the ones I saw. Interesting but not helpful.Phil Hudson:The most practical one was Aaron Franklin's barbecue cooking class. And I put that one to good use with my smoker because it is very much, here's how you do it, here's how you tip things, here's how you wrap meat. It's just actionable. SoMichael Jamin:If I ate meat, I'd come over and make me a nice smoked dinner, but I don't,Phil Hudson:You'd be very happy.Michael Jamin:I'd probably start sweating.Phil Hudson:I'll meat sweats. Yeah, I'll make you some nice broccolini. How about that?Michael Jamin:Yeah, that'd be nice.Phil Hudson:Alright, and then just another question from Phyllis, and I think this is more broad about you and what you're doing for people online in the webinars with the course, everything. What is your motivation to offer this assistance other than money?Michael Jamin:Oh, well, when I broke into the business, this is back in the nineties, this was before the internet and I was living in New York. I knew nothing about the industry. I knew nothing. I knew no one, how would I know anything? So I just got in my car and I drove to LA thinking well get close. But now because the internet, social media, you can talk to people like me and get so much information for free and what a gift. And so I know people say it's impossible to break into Hollywood. Yeah, yes, it's hard, but it's even harder if you don't even know where to begin if you don't have these resources. But now I started building my social media profile back a little over two years ago as a way of building my platform so that I have a book that's coming out so that I could platform my agents has platform drives acquisition. I need a following to sell my book to perform and do all these things that I wanted to do. And so the way to build this platform was by just talking about what I know and giving 90% of it away for free. The other 10% is in this course that we have and that'sPhil Hudson:It. I a call from Michael and I was doing runs for Tacoma FD like season two or something. And you called me and you're like, Hey man, can you come over? I want run some stuff by you. I know many people know this, but some people don't. I know you through working at a digital marketing agency where I assisted your wife's e-commerce website and just worked for her for a couple of years doing whatever I could to take care of her. She'd been ripped off by the sales guy who sold her some stuff that we couldn't do and I had no idea who you were or what you guys did. And then one day you were going to join and it kind of put it together and you guys were just very kind and have always been kind to share your knowledge with me, but well,Michael Jamin:You started it. You started it by being kind first. Let's be clear.Phil Hudson:It was the right thing to do, right? It's a principle thing, which is very important. And at the end of the day, you called me over because I have that experience, that skillset, and we just had a sit down in your garage and you broke your Adirondack chair and then you told me that it wasMichael Jamin:Already broken. Broken, it was already broken,Phil Hudson:Was a big guy. I was sweating that once. I had to buy you a director's chair to replaceMichael Jamin:It.Phil Hudson:But anyway, we talked about this, what do you need to do? And I was like, finally, because I've been begging you for years to do this course and to put your stuff out there just because the private email lessons and the conversations we had were so incredibly valuable to me. And I was in flu school at the time and getting more value out of an email you'd send me over a weekend than I was getting in a week of lectures at that school.This is how you do what you need to do to sell your book and here's how you give. And the mantra of any good digital marketing platform is give, give, give, right, give, give, give. And there's an ask. There's always a right for an ask in there as well, because you are giving, and we talked about the course and you were very clear, I don't want to, you feel sleazy selling things. You don't want to do that you're, you're a writer, you're not a guy who does this. You're not pretending to be the answer to all things. And I said, but people will value what you have and they have to pay for it to value it. So I'm the one who pushed it. I'm the one who pushed the price and you've reduced the price over and over again because you just want to make sure that it's getting as many people as it can.You do, A lot of people don't know this. You offer basically free financing through yourself. People can sign up for the course on a three month plan, a six month plan, or pay in full and you don't bill 'em any interest. And there are plenty of ways for us to get interest off of people or get people to pay interest and that's just from my perspective, it's 100% honestly. How can I serve as many people as possible so that I can get this passion project of my book speaking as you to as many people as I can.Michael Jamin:Yeah, there you go. You answered it. Well, Phil, I think you said it better than I did.Phil Hudson:I'm growing long-winded in my as I wax old.Michael Jamin:Wax old.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Alright, cool. Now to the meat of the episode for the webinar was about breaking in and so there's some really good stuff here and so I know we'll be quick on some of this, but if you want, this full webinar broadcast is available for purchase as well on your website. It's like 29 bucks and it's lifetime access and they can watch the whole episode of this webinar.Michael Jamin:Yeah, go get it.Phil Hudson:Yeah, but Valerie Taylor, so once the script is done, what does it mean to build the mountain? What does the work have to do? And that's reference to a podcast episode we did recently that a lot of people really liked, which is Build Your Mountain.Michael Jamin:There are people doing this. I didn't come up with this idea. There are people on social media, content creators who are just putting their out there and because it's really good they're building a following. I dunno if that was their intention in the beginning, but that's what they've done. One I always mention is Sarah Cooper, I wish she would do my podcast. So have you reachedPhil Hudson:Interesting?Michael Jamin:I tagged her on something, but she's busy. She's busy, but I'm a huge fan of hers. So she's this vicious woman, young actress who as far as I can tell she couldn't get arrested in New York City. She just started during the pandemic posting kind of funny lip syncs of Donald Trump, but she wasn't just lip-syncing, was plusing it. She was adding her own comedy to it and her own reactions and it was really, she was great and she's just doing this and she wants to be an actor and a writer, but she's doing this and she was so great at it. She built a giant following and because this following people discovered her and because of that she gets, I think she got a Netflix special. She got a pilot out of it and where the pilot, she can write her own stuff now. I think some of the projects never went to air, but she sold it. She made a name for herself and she will continue making a name for herself because she built it first. She wasn't begging people for opportunities. It's the other way around. She started doing it and then because she was so good at it, people came after her. People started begging her.And you don't have to, and I think maybe Phil, we might even do a whole, I may save some of this information from our next webinar. I want talk. Yeah, I'm going to save, but I have more thoughts to this I I'll put in our next free webinar. Write. Write. Yeah.Phil Hudson:Can't wait. Oh, by the way, Michael puts a month worth of effort into writing every webinar. I see the revisions and I'm always like, Michael, I need this so I can make the workbook. Michael, I need this. And he's still editing. So Hayden, Sears, earlier you said to bring more to the table of an agency than a script. What else should I bring to the table?Michael Jamin:You could do what I just said with Sarah Cooper. She brought a huge following. She brought, you could bring talent, you could bring a movie that you launched, finance that you did yourself at Sundance that got accolades and now you're this hot new director or writer or whatever. That's bringing more to the table than saying, Hey, pick me. You're doing it already. You are already doing it. You're proving that you know how to do it. And people don't do it because it's work or they think it's too expensive. But I have to say, it's not the money that's holding you back. The money. You can raise $10,000 or $15,000. I know it's not nothing but it. We're not talking about a million dollars, we're talking about 10,000. You can raise it on a Kickstarter, you can raise it on a bake sale and you can shoot the damn thing on your phone and you can edit it on your phone.You just need good sound. That's what I recommend. But you don't need great locations. You can shoot the thing one, I always mention this, Phil is the whale, the movie The Whale, which is based on a play that was shot in an apartment. So don't tell me you need to have great locations to make something amazing. It was shot in a dumpy apartment and one of the most, it was a beautiful story. Beautiful. It was all because the writing, the writing was excellent and because the writing was X, it was able to attract great actors and the acting rose to the writing. If the writing was no good, who cares what the acting is?Phil Hudson:Yep. Cynthia always said that in our classes with Jill, your interacting classes, the writers put it on the page. Everything in actor needs to know is on the page. That's where the performance comes from.Michael Jamin:If it's a good script, yeah.Phil Hudson:Awesome. The cinema magician with the strike going on from both the writers and the actors now it feels like it wouldn't be fair trying to come get work this moment. How can I try to try for work and support the union?Michael Jamin:You shouldn't. You should not try to work. I mean, you don't go on any guild sag projects or guild projects, but you could do, if it's a non sag project, like a student film or something, you can do that. You're not violating anything. You're not getting paid. SoPhil Hudson:Build your network.Michael Jamin:Build your network. Exactly. Or make your own stuff. If you write your own mini scene or movie or whatever and you shoot it on your phone, you're not breaking any strikes. You're not selling it. You're just shooting it.Phil Hudson:Yep. Awesome. Love Leanne. Who is a member of your course, how should we speak to writers and other filmmakers on the picket lines? I've seen others not doing it very well and I'm kind of afraid to speak.Michael Jamin:Oh, well that's hard. I mean, all you got to do is don't act like you want something from them. Just act like you want to learn from them. Hey, tell me about your story. Tell me how did you start? How did you break in? What kind of shows do you like to write? What inspires you? Pretend like they're a guest on your radio show or your podcast. Interview them. We don't want anything from them. You're just curious to get their story. People will talk.Phil Hudson:Yeah, they definitely will. And when I've gone out and done picketing, it's really interesting. I don't talk to people, I'm just, who are you? Tell me about you. What are you doing here? Why are you here? What are you doing out on the picket line? Cool. Are you in industry? Breaking in the industry? Oh great. Oh, cool. You worked on that show. I love that show. Awesome. And then they ask you questions too, because walking in circles for hoursMichael Jamin:And you're a human being and they're going to make conversation. The conversation will eventually turn around to you and then you can talk about yourself.Phil Hudson:Have you noticed the people who put up their YouTube channel and stuff on flyers on the poles and stuff in the corners?Michael Jamin:No. I have not seen that. I have promoting their own channel.Phil Hudson:It feels a little skeezy to me. Personal. I'mMichael Jamin:Not. The problem is no one's looking at him anyway, so Yeah.Phil Hudson:Yeah, you haven't noticed. And when I see 'em, I'm just like, ah, man's. I don't know. That's the way to do that. You're basically saying, look at me. Look at me. Instead of being there, walking on the picket lines, talking to people and putting in effort to fight for the same things they're fightingMichael Jamin:For. Yeah. You don't have to promote yourself.Phil Hudson:Alright, Norville, scss. Does the strike lead to an increasing demand for scripts?Michael Jamin:Well, when the strike is over, there will be, everyone will flood the market with their scripts and that's just the way it is. SoPhil Hudson:Yeah. Demand, but also supply because all of these writers have time to write.Michael Jamin:Yeah, right.Phil Hudson:Antonia, Roman. Hey, Michael, met you yesterday on the picket. I appreciate your insight. How many script feedback reads should someone actually pay for? Sometimes the feedbacks contradict each other.Michael Jamin:Thanks. Oh, Phil, IPhil Hudson:Know.Michael Jamin:Here we go.Phil Hudson:My purpose. Yeah,Michael Jamin:Many. If you're paying in one of these services and maybe it's like 150 bucks for one of these services, you're going to get who you get who's reading the script other than it's someone who works at the service, they don't know more than you do. They just work there and they're making whatever, 20 bucks an hour or maybe less to read script after script. What's their qualifications beats the hell out of me. Other than the fact that they're working there and they're not industry deciders. They're not like they don't have jobs in SC screenwriting. If they did, they would be doing that. So a service, I'd pay nothing, because that's why you're going to get contradictory feedback. What do they know? They don't know more than you. If you can find a writer with experience, and there are writers who will do this as a freelance thing, check out their credits, go on their I M D B, what have they written? Ask to see their work. What have they read their work? Do you like their work? And if you do, then yes, then your feedback could be valuable. But I would never go through a service.Phil Hudson:Yep. We did talk about this where I sent Michael, I paid for feedback from some of these services on your behalf, listener to the podcast. And then I shared the emails back and forth from them, the reviews as well as when I questioned the validity of the feedback I received from them. I sent Michael those. And I think the feedback from the service was way more infuriatingMichael Jamin:Than the Yeah, it just made you mad. It made you feel like you got ripped off. Hey, it's Michael Jamin. If you like my videos and you want me to email them to you for free, join my watch list. Every Friday I send out my top three videos. These are for writers, actors, creativeTypes. You can unsubscribe whenever you want. I'm not going to spam you and it's absolutely free. Just go to michaeljamin.com/watchlist.Phil Hudson:Awesome. Ruth W should emerging rider approach breaking in differently than before, given the strike, are there any new approaches that should be considered? Thanks?Michael Jamin:I don't think, wait for the strike to end before you think about breaking in, but the landscape has changed so much with social media that you don't need anyone's permission. I just talked about this. You don't need anyone's permission to write and build up your brand. I'm not doing it. I'm not waiting for anyone's permission. I don't know why anybody else would. I have a good podcast guest this week? Well, I dunno when you're going to hear this Mike Sacks, go listen to him. See, he's an author and he talks about that himself. He has sold books to publishers and he's also indie published it himself and he makes a really strong case for just doing it yourself. And he's done both. And he's an editor at Vanity Fair. So the guy knows how to write.Phil Hudson:Yeah, yeah. Also, definitely don't try breaking him right now. They're very clear rules that the writer's guilds come out and said, if you even have meetings with producers, that is an act of crossing a picket line.Michael Jamin:No, I'm not talking to my agent, I'm not talking to producers. I'm not doing any of this. YouPhil Hudson:Mean they will literally forbid you from joining the guild. So any short term win now is basically a nail in the coffin of your career later and as it should be, Susan Mark, when you get the low paying non-union screenwriting gigs over and over, how do you move from that into network shows with four question marks?Michael Jamin:The fact that you're getting these jobs to begin with are great, even if they're non-union. So good for you. I mean, this is where if these movies are doing or shows are doing well and if they're well received and if they're written well, and this is what you show to an agent and you say, here's my body of work and here's a movie I did that it cost 10,000 to make, and the return on it was a hundred thousand. That's impressive. So that's how you can parlay that into bigger opportunities. But the problem is, if you're doing this work and the work isn't coming out good, it still has to be good. It has to be good. And people have, it has to have be one or the other critically well-received or makes a lot of money. It has to be a financial success. One or both. One or the other or both.Phil Hudson:Awesome. Roxanna Black Sea. How do you get over feeling guilty asking a friend or a mentor for a referral and how do you know you're ready and not wasting their time? This is a good one. I might as well wrote this, Michael.Michael Jamin:Well, if you have a friend who's in the industry, I dunno if they're in the industry or not, but you only have one chance to impress them. And if you give them something that's not great, it's a big ask. Hey, sit down and read this. It's going to take them an hour and a half or whatever. And if it's not great, they're not going to want to do it again. They'll do a favor once, but they won't do it again. So there's that. The get over the guilt. Well, if you've giving them a giant gift, you shouldn't feel guilty If it's giving 'em a piece of shit, well, you're going to feel guilty, but you just need to know what it is you're giving them.Phil Hudson:That takes a lot of introspection and a lot of self-analysis. I would also say it takes a lot of practice and study of existing high quality works to compare yourself.Michael Jamin:Yeah, high quality. That's the thing, Phil, if you're watching some crappy TV show and you go, well, I can write a crappy TV show that's not the barPhil Hudson:Crap. Plus one that's been around for since the a o l days crap plus one is I can do one better than that. It's not good enough. Yeah,Michael Jamin:Not good enough.Phil Hudson:Alright, Ruth w again, if you know an established riders working on a new project that you have happen to have particular rare knowledge on, is it appropriate to contact that rider even to work for free? And then there's a follow-up to this.Michael Jamin:Well, if they're on a show and you have particular knowledge, they're not going to let you work for free. You can't work for free. But you can share your knowledge and I don't know, it always, you can share your knowledge, but no one's, you're not allowed to work for free. So I don't know what if they're going to offer you a job or not,Phil Hudson:But is it okay to reach out to them?Michael Jamin:Why not? What's the harm? Yeah.Phil Hudson:I think the benefit of that is you are going in to say, Hey, I saw you're doing this. I happen to be a subject matter expert on that. Anything you want to ask me, I'm happy to go over with you and bring out any insights you want. You are now serving that person. You're not coming in and say, give me a job, give me a job. And you might hop on a zoom with them and have an intro. Now you've got a foot in the door to have an extended conversation as someone, and you've provided value to that person.Michael Jamin:Right. Then you're right. You're not asking for anything in return, but people tend to give things back when people give first.Phil Hudson:Yep. And the follow up question, is it okay to contact an agent to get the contact information for that rider that you would like to help for free?Michael Jamin:So you don't know this person. Yeah, you, the agent's not going to do anything with it. I would doubt they're going to do anything with it. You could reach out to them on LinkedIn, maybe you could tweet that.Phil Hudson:This might be a good time to slide into the dms. Right. And because you're not asking, you're providing valueMichael Jamin:AndPhil Hudson:Expect them not to reply.Michael Jamin:Right. Expect 'em not to reply. And it's because you, maybe they get too many solicitations or maybe it's just they find it weird. It's worth a shot.Phil Hudson:It also might just be that they don't have time to look at their social media, which is very real. Don't read into it. Just shoot your shot. Move on.Michael Jamin:Yeah, right. Don't wait. Don't hold your breath. Shoot your shot and keep shooting your shot. Keep working on yourself. Yep.Phil Hudson:Genova, is there anything we need to be wary of when approaching smaller agencies with our scripts so we don't get screwed?Michael Jamin:Well, the agencies, first of all, don't approach any agency that's going to charge you for to represent you. That's no legit agents work on commission. Now the big ones are not going to represent you. You have to reach out to smaller ones who are soliciting clients. I wouldn't expect an agent to, I wouldn't expect them to rip you off. That's not what they do. They're going to represent you and try to sell you. The agents are not producers, they're not screenwriters. So to me it's safe. But again, I don't give legal advice if you have to do what's comfortable for you personally, I don't worry about that. That's not something I worry about.Phil Hudson:And you started at a smaller agency that some could say screwed you, but I don't know that you see it that way, right? Because you got hip pocketed basically as a baby writer.Michael Jamin:They didn't screw me, they just didn't do anything.Phil Hudson:That's saying they didn't screw you. But some people might say they screwed you because they didn't do anything.Michael Jamin:Oh yeah. But they didn't steal anything from me. They just didn't help my career any.Phil Hudson:Yeah, and we talked about that in some of the early podcasts. If you want to go back and listen to those. I think it was the agents and manager episode is like episode five or something.Michael Jamin:SoPhil Hudson:95 something episodes ago. It'sMichael Jamin:Great. Yeah. You remember this stuff.Phil Hudson:Shem L. Do you think New York and LA are still the places to make it?Michael Jamin:No. I think LA is the place to make it. Take New York off the list. Where is Hollywood? This is a trivia question. Find it on the map. Hint, it's in Los Angeles. I understand that some television production or film production is done in New York. Some Where's the writing done? The writing's done in la. Same thing with Georgia or New Mexico. Sometimes they shoot things there for tax breaks, but the writing is almost always done in LA and even if some writing is done in these smaller cities, okay, fine, maybe you'll get incredibly lucky, but you're not going to be able to sustain a career there. The career's here, that's how I feel.Phil Hudson:All right. And Jill Hargrave. I'm a senior writer, 76 years old, transition from decades as a documentary producer to screenwriter. I have an agent and I'm in the news division with the W G A East. Any advice on how to get read by execs?Michael Jamin:I'm looking for, so she's a news writer.Phil Hudson:Sounds like she's a writer in the news division for the W G A East. She has decades of experience being a producer in documentary film. She has an agent advice on how to get executives to read your stuff.Michael Jamin:Sorry. Yeah, so you're in the same boat as everyone else. I don't think you got a leg up. You sound like you're very competent news producer, but you might as well be an orthodontist. It's a different kind of writing, but shePhil Hudson:Has an agent.Michael Jamin:Ask your agent. I suspect your agent's not going to give a crap. Your agent is able to get you news jobs. That's what you are and that's what you bring value to them. But they're not interested in you starting your career over from zero. My friend Rob Cohen talked about this in one of our podcasts. He was a very successful sitcom writer, wrote on a bunch of shows including The Simpsons, including Just Shoot Me where I was on maybe 20 or so years into his career as a TV writer, very successful TV writer. I ran into him and he's like, I want to be a director now. I want to direct TV and film. I thought, well, how are you going to do that? He goes, I don't know, but I'm going to make it happen. I said, well, is your agent helping you at all?No, the agent's not going to help me one bit, even though he's a successful TV writer because it's a different thing. It's directing. They don't want to sell 'em as that. They can sell 'em as a TV writer, but not as a director. So unfortunately, you're going to have to start over. You milk whatever context you have. Maybe your agent can set you up with a referral with another agent at their agency that they should be able to do. But at the end of the day, you unfortunately have to make your career. They're not going to make your career for youPhil Hudson:If they have an agent because they have some screenplay sample that they've submitted. My guess would be that that's when your agent would show those. When we're not on a strike, they'd take your samples and try to sell those things to people that get you staffed and they're going to do that job for you. But it sounds like through the question that you're right, Michael, that's not a writing agent in this space. It's documented or a new set,Michael Jamin:But talk to them, maybe get some tips. I mean, again, I've tried to do the same thing myself. My agents, I have big agents and manager. They don't give a crap unless I can make money for them today in my field. They don't really care.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Awesome. Ruth w this is miscellaneous. I've got three more questions here. Excuse me for, is there any value in getting an entertainment lawyer? Does this confer any legitimacy when trying to get people to read your script? Or is it just a waste of money and Yeah, there's some follow-up to this. We'll get to that.Michael Jamin:So no, an entertainment attorney is the best money I spend. My attorney takes 5% of all the deals that I make and they help negotiate these deals. Money well spent, but it's only when I'm negotiating a deal, that's when they get paid. They get a commission. I would never pay an entertainment attorney upfront. It doesn't help you make a deal. It doesn't help you look more important. You're just going to pay them a lot of money out of pocket for no reason. Attorneys are there to help you negotiate the deal and read the fine print so you don't get screwed. That's what they help you do, but you don't pay one upfront for any. As far as I know, I would never pay one upfront.Phil Hudson:I've had two in my career and the first one didn't do a lot. This one, and we worked with him on some stuff today, actually. You and I were going over some tree mark stuff with him. But anyway, he is great and he comes at it from the perspective of that, which is, my job is to protect you and I can be the bad guy. I can go fight the fight for you to get you what you want. And you can say, Hey man, that's just what my lawyer does. You're going to have to take that up with my attorney. And we talked in the podcast about this recent experience I had where he wrote this contract and the guy signed it and he ended up protecting my butt because he put a clause in that said nothing was executable until it was paid. Money was delivered.And so because this guy never exchanged money, he only talked about exchanging money. I'm not obligated to do anything for this guy. And had I walked into that, I probably would've just signed something and not had the foresight to have that. He also had it paid in steps. So above and beyond the WJ minimums, he structured it. So I'd get paid more money upfront like you want money in your pocket? And he deals with Sony and major country musicians. He's a real proper entertainment attorney. Incredibly valuable. And it looks like he answered honestly the question, what's the difference between an agent who's going to get 10%? What's a lawyer do? What's the difference? And the answer is the agent basically books the deal. The attorney gets you the most money they can out of that deal,Michael Jamin:And the agent's not going to read the contract. They don't read contract. They're not lawyers. They don't deal with that. So you need an attorney.Phil Hudson:Love it. Goddard Fin, any insight on getting a preliminary budget done by someone or a company like Mike Binder's, budget company? I'm assuming is this for an indie project?Michael Jamin:I never heard of that and I wouldn't know.Phil Hudson:Or it's a preliminary budget on a script.Michael Jamin:I thought he was an actor. Michael Binder. I thought he was an actor. I don't even know. I've never even heard of this, so I can't even answer.Phil Hudson:My feeling is, from what I understand from this question is there's zero value added to your script when you go to pitch your story by telling them, this is the budget I got for thisMichael Jamin:For somebody. No, they'll tell you the budget if that's what that is. It's interesting. Yeah. I thought maybe this is for indies. No, when you saw the MoVI, they'll tell you what the budget is. It is their money. You don't tell them what the budget is. They tell you.Phil Hudson:And the answer is in the indie film, if it is, that is you're going to scrounge with every dollar you can get, and then you're going to make what you can with the budget you got. And that's what a line producer does for you. And they basically manage the contracts and make sure your people get paid. And you don't go over budget and you can finish your project and they'll tell you, Hey, you can't do that. You don't have the money to do that.Michael Jamin:Right.Phil Hudson:Cool. Ruth w with another, one of the reasons I am reticent to fill my own stuff is because I don't have any money to pay actors. Is it okay to ask them to work for free?Michael Jamin:You can often, actors will do this just to have tape so that they can submit themselves. But the work has to be good. You're not going to, the better the script is, the easier it is to attract actors and better actors. And if it's a great script, they'll fall over themselves for to do this. So you ask them to do it for free. Definitely. You don't want to abuse them. You want to make sure, buy them pizza, buy them lunch, make sure there's water on set. Take care of them. That's the least you can do.Phil Hudson:Yeah. And people will absolutely do that. There's also, if you're a student, you can also look into sag, SAG after student agreements, which probably you might even still be able to do that during the strike. It's not really a paid project, but they have agreements that you can work with SAG qualified actors and you have to abide by those terms if they are a SAG actor. But you can get them in your projects I did in film school.Michael Jamin:Right. Okay.Phil Hudson:Last question. As a showrunner, do you direct episodes two or just focus on running the showMichael Jamin:As a showrunner? I have, but I'm not in animation. I direct the actors for sure to get the performances out of them. But in live action, I've only directed one. That's not my job. But my job is to be on set and to make sure I'm getting the shots that I want and to get the performances that I want. Ultimately in film, I'm sorry, tv, the director works for the showrunner. So on tv, the showrunner's in charge, in film the other way around, it's the director's in charge. The writer is nothing. So does that answer your question? I think it does. Yeah.Phil Hudson:I think it just for you specifically, what do you do? But I do know showrunners who do direct on Taco fd. Yeah, Kevin. Kevin and Steve. They split 'em up and they direct certain episodes. They also,Michael Jamin:Those guys are tireless.Phil Hudson:Tireless. Yeah. I dunno how they do. I toured with them for a press tour and I was exhausted and they were just still going and happy to go. And I get emails from 'em at two, three in the morning and they're just going, ohMichael Jamin:God.Phil Hudson:Oh God. But that's how they made their career. I mean, this just ties it all together for Michael. Make it happen. Put in the effort. Those guys made their own things happen. They have shows their names and you know 'em because they put in the work. Had they not done that, they wouldn't be anywhere.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Phil Hudson:Cool. Michael, anything else you want to add?Michael Jamin:That's it. We did it, Phil. Yeah, we did it.Phil Hudson:So things people need to know. Michael, you got tons of free stuff. You talked about free samples of work, of writing.Michael Jamin:Yeah, I do free work too. I do free work here. We got a lot of free stuff we give away anyway on my website. If you go to michaeljamin.com, you can get sample scripts that I've written. You can get a free lesson that I've planned about story. You can sign up for my free webinars, which are every three weeks, which Phil helps me out with. You can come see me tour on one of my book drops, a paper orchestra. You can sign up for all of that and much, much more. And also, of course we have a course but that you got to pay for. But you know what it's worth. Every penny.Phil Hudson:Yeah, that's right. And again, get a discount when you come to the webinar.Michael Jamin:Nice. Nice discount. Don't tell anyone.Phil Hudson:And you could win a free access.Michael Jamin:Oh, you can win it. Yeah, you can win it.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Michael, thank you so much. Oh,Michael Jamin:And my newsletter. Phil, you can get on my free newsletter. I got that. Always forgetPhil Hudson:That. We also forget that that list is 30,000 deep or something like that right now. That's a good lists of people. That and industry, double industry open rates. People really like that list, that content.Michael Jamin:Yeah. The people like that. So sign up for my list.Phil Hudson:Be like the masses, be sheep. People join us.Michael Jamin:Okay, everyone, thank you so much. Until next week. Keep writing, right, Phil, fill that up.Phil Hudson:That is Wright, w r i t e. Right.Michael Jamin:Okay. Alright. Thanks guys.Phil Hudson:This has been an episode of Screenwriters Need to Hear this with Michael Jamin and Phil Hudson. If you're interested in learning more about writing, make sure you register for Michael's monthly webinar@michaeljamin.com/webinar. If you found this podcast helpful, consider sharing it with a friend and leaving us a five star review on iTunes. For free screenwriting tips, follow Michael Jamin on social media @Michael Jaminwriter. You can follow Phil Hudson on social media @PhilaHudson. This podcast was produced by Phil Hudson. It was edited by Dallas Crane Music, by Ken Joseph. Until next time, keep writing.

Haydee tells her devastating history to Albert in Chapter 77 of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. Count of Monte Cristo Link and License Agreement. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1184/1184-h/1184-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. #lianelittle #owlaboutstories #alexandredumas #thecountofmontecristo #classics  #books #novels #audiobook

The Count visits Danglars and observes Andrea Cavalcanti and Albert de Morcef with Eugenie in Chapter 76 of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. Count of Monte Cristo Link and License Agreement. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1184/1184-h/1184-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. #lianelittle #owlaboutstories #alexandredumas #thecountofmontecristo #classics  #books #novels #audiobook

Alexander Dumas is famous for his swashbuckling novel The Count of Monte Cristo, but more thrilling than fiction is the real-life story of his father, Thomas-Alexandre Dumas. Born the son of an enslaved woman, Dumas would become one of the most celebrated soldiers in the French army, and would end up on a collision course with another young general: Napoleon Bonaparte. For more information, please read Tom Reiss's excellent book, The Black Count. Sign up for Dana's history writing course! Support Noble Blood: — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Merch! — Order Dana's book,  'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National cousins day. Entertainment from 1994. Englands window tax repealed, Machu Picchu found, Mormans arrive in Salt Lake City. Todays birthdays - Alexander Dumas, Amelia Earhart, Robert Hayes, Michael Richards, Lynda Carter, Pam Tillis, Jennifer Lopez, Kristin Chenoweth, Elizabeth Moss, Anna Paquin. Martin Van Buren died.Intro - Pour some sugar on me - Def Leppard http://defleppard.com/Cousins - Vampire WeekendI swear - All 4 oneSummertime blues - Alan Jacksonbirthdays - In da club - 50 Cent http://50cent.com/Seinfeld TV theme songWonder Woman TV theme songMaybe it was Memphis - Pam TillisI anint your mama - Jennifer LopezExit - It's not love - Dokken http://dokken.net/

PAUL WS PART DEUX: THE THREE EVILS/FAREWELL TO JACKIn part one of our Paul WS Anderson two parter, we discussed two early classics that offered two very different paths young WS could take: The silly and bombastic effects-laden video game adaptation  Mortal Kombat or the grim space-horror classic Event Horizon. Kombat was successful and Horizon was not and so, four years after Anderson's grim and lifeless Soldier flopped spectacularly, he returned to video games adaptations with Resident Evil in 2002 and has generally stayed in that lane since, mostly working with wife Milla Jovovich. One exception is his 2011 adaptation/version/fever dream of Alexander Dumas' 1844 novel The Three Musketeers but with, as Wikipedia informs us, "clock-punk" elements. Beloved by co-host Jack and his sister Annabel (who chose Anderson and these four films despite being in Italy and unable to record with us), it is quite nuts with the surprisingly great cast of Matthew Macfayden (Tom in Succession!), Ray Stevenson, Milla, Mads Mikkelsen and Christolph Waltz. Dang. Besides this great cast, it also has James Corden! Please listen for how truly odd, but strangely engaging, this bizarro film is before we move onto...Resident Evil 5: Retribution (2012), the second of Anderson's trilogy to end the franchise (its 4th, 5th and 6th films). Besides Jovovich early on in a wig being a dead ringer for Taylor Swift, there is very little of interest here if you aren't a hardcore series fans. There are a few sequences when Anderson recaptures a bit of his technical bravado from his Mortal Kombat days but it is mostly bad CGI and overhead shots of ladies doing flips over bad guys they then shoot with a bunch of actors cast from flipping through an issue of Vogue while waiting at the dentist. BONUS: We have a very special Paul WS Anderson quiz to end the episode that almost killed Ken and Jack while recording. Speaking of Jack, we bid him adieu as co-host for the time being before his extended trip to France to join the Musketeers. THEME SONG BY: WEIRD A.I.Email: thegoodthepodandtheugly@gmail.comFacebook: https://m.facebook.com/TGTPTUInstagram: https://instagram.com/thegoodthepodandtheugly?igshid=um92md09kjg0Twitter: https://twitter.com/thegoodthepoda1YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6mI2plrgJu-TB95bbJCW-gBuzzsprout: https://thegoodthepodandtheugly.buzzsprout.com/Letterboxd (follow us!):Ken: Ken KoralJack: jackk1096

Paragon Marathon is baguette it again. Join Tom, Dan and Sarah as they put the Marathon (and the Paragons?) back in the titular Para-Mara with a très grand exploration of Alexander Dumas' "The Three Musketeers." The adventure begins with a look into Dumas' background before Tom puts Dan and Sarah on trial with his French History quiz. Upon their escape from the Bastille of Ignorance, the group follows in the footsteps of D'Artagnan to unpack this modern take on Chivalric Romance and place it in the contextual frame of other texts they've examined (as well as the cultural frame of Late Revolutionary France, when it was first published). Contained within: cursed misophonia bits, supernatural Gascons, mortal and superficial stabbings, and a Fancy French Cat parade. Image link for pic discussed at 46:27

On this week's episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: a deliciously beautiful book subscription and some middle-marriage mayhem Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: we are trying a new Boss My TBR Segment! The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you'd like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don't scroll down!  We are now including transcripts of the episode (this link only works on the main site). The goal here is to increase accessibility for our fans! *Please note that all book titles linked below are Bookshop affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. If you'd prefer to shop on Amazon, you can still do so here through our main storefront. Anything you buy there (even your laundry detergent, if you recently got obsessed with switching up your laundry game) kicks a small amount back to us. Thanks for your support!*   . . . . 2:19 - Currently Reading Patreon 3:44   - Bookish Moment of the Week 4:01 - Fairy Loot Book Only Box Adult and YA 4:21 - Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim  5:04 - Scythe Series Three Book Set by Neal Shusterman 5:25 - Cinder by Marissa Meyer 9:43 - The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 10:31 - East of Eden by John Steinbeck 11:16 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas 11:18 - Current Reads 11:29 - Laura Tremaine 11:38 - Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson (Kaytee) 14:00 - Jason's Birthday Carrot Cake Recipe 14:05 - Sour Cream Apology Cake Recipe 14:45 - Black Cake Recipe 15:41 - Aurora by David Koepp (Meredith) 20:45 - Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood (Kaytee) 20:54 - The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood 20:56 - S4E21 Our Top Ten Books 24:47 - Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes (Meredith) 24:51 - A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes 27:00 - Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders 32:39 - For Every One by Jason Reynolds (Kaytee) 35:43 - All That is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay  (Meredith)  37:44 - Defending Jacob by William Landay 39:19 - The Local by Joey Hartstone 39:32 - Elizabeth Robinson Barnhill Meredith's co-host for All Things Murderful (patron content) 40:10 - Deep Dive: Boss My TBR #1   40:18 - S3E6 Are You Book Bossy? We Are! 41:35 - Kiara's Books: 41:46 - The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden 41:54 - Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo 41:57 - Light from Uncommon Stars by Rya Aoki 42:01 - Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 42:04 - The Change by Kirsten Miller 44:17 - The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb 47:32 - Shawnna's Books: 47:40 - 11/22/63 by Steven King 47:42 - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry 47:44 - Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler 47:46 - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow 47:49 - The House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer 50:31 - Meet Us At The Fountain 50:39 - I wish everyone would follow goodreads_reviews on IG (Kaytee) 51:04 - Anne of Green Gables by LMM Montgomery 51:10 - All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox 51:29 - Lobinzona by Romina Garber 51:56 -  I wish The Treehouse Series starting with The 13 Story Treehouse by Andy Griffith for MG would be more widely read (Meredith) Connect With Us: Meredith is @meredith.reads on Instagram Kaytee is @notesonbookmarks on Instagram Mindy is @gratefulforgrace on Instagram Mary is @maryreadsandsips on Instagram Roxanna is @roxannatheplanner on Instagram currentlyreadingpodcast.com @currentlyreadingpodcast on Instagram currentlyreadingpodcast@gmail.com Support us at patreon.com/currentlyreadingpodcast and www.zazzle.com/store/currentlyreading

Dawn usually records around her kitchen table, but as guest, Kristal Adams, recently had her cars stolen, she instead packed up the recording equipment and headed to Kristal's place near downtown Los Angeles. As it turns out, the quietest and most comfortable place to record was smack in the middle of Kristals bed. Tres bien. 00:03:55 - Dawn goes through Kristal's most exciting credits including as a writer on Legomasters, and The Circle on Netflix, and she promotes her hilarious comedy album Aint I A Wombat. 00:05:12 - Kristal explains to Dawn that her lack of car has been part of the decision to move to New York City - where you don't need one! Dawn likes the idea but gives her some food for thought as she heads into living in her first 'winter climate' state. 00:09:42 - We learn a little bit more about Kristal's French husband, Fabrice, and how he has spurred both her interest in French Literature and her desire to ask ANYONE BUT HIM to tell her about it. Voila! Moi!  Dawn explains that since 'French Literature' is such a huge subject, she focused her attention on The Three Musketeers and it's author Alexander Dumas... but of course it all begins with The French Revolution. 00:12:46 - The French Revolution has to precede any in-depth conversation about French Literature because for so much of our most-loved figures it was a central event. From Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, through the Reign of Terror and past the execution of Robespierre - we give Kristal a lot to chew on around the ol' Fromage Tray. 00:22:52 - Lots of sources generally say the French Revolution ended with the execution of Robespierre in 1794 but in fact there were several more revolutions and, of course, the Emperor Napoleon. 00:30:00 - With some general French History and some specific French Revolution History in our back pocket, we move on to the author of The Three Musketeers, Alexander Dumas... well, we begin with his grandparents actually: A rich white nobleman living in Haiti and an enslaved woman, named Marie-Cesette. Alexander Duma's half-black father has a incredible story of his own - one that led him to glory fighting for France aboard during the Revolution, and earned the ire of none other than Napoleon.00:37:04 - Always feeling in the shadow of his father's greatness, and enduring the rampant racism in Paris himself, Alexander Dumas strived always to be remembered and be loved. Perhaps this is why he had no less than 4 illegitimate children and an estimated 40 mistresses. He attained some fame and wealth -experimented with drugs in a very interesting club with Victor Hugo among others - but ultimately died rather poor in the care of his son. --BREAK--Listen to HIGHTAILING THROUGH HISTORY hosted by Laurel and KT00:41:56 - After the break, we welcome into bed with us The Three Musketeers, D'Artagnan and you, of course - with a quick summary of the swashbuckling tale that has stood the test of time and had some good (and bad) movie versions over the years. 00:55:24 - As the original subject that Kristal assigned Dawn was 'French Literature' they wrap up the conversation with a couple of quick booty calls - one on Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables. It turns out that the musical had a rather outsized impact on both Kristal and Dawn's youth. 00:59:25 - Dawn wraps up with a tip of the hat to The Marquis de Sade, the man from whom we get the phrase 'sadist' and oh so much more. 01:03:22 - Before extracting herself from Kristal's marital sheets, Dawn leaves her with one last story from the French Revolution - that of the assassination of the bathtub-bound invalid, Jean-Paul Marat at the hands of Charlotte Corday. Not only is it a bloody and interesting story, but it is the inspiration for a play written in the 1970's called: The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade. I know, right?---Our themesong was composed and performed by (legendary) Kat Perkins @katperkinsmusic. If you want to reach out to HILF, please do! We are on social media @HILFPODCAST, or @DAWN_BRODEY  or you can email us hilfpodcast@gmail.com.

⚔️The leaderboard has been shooketh - WE have been shooketh! We're at the end of BCU Phase 1 - Barbie takes on Alexander Dumas - and we do not know what to do with ourselves. FEMINISM AT ITS FINEST --- https://letterboxd.com/magical_willow/list/in-a-barbie-world-leader-board/ JOIN WHY THIS FILM & IN A BARBIE WORLD ON DISCORD: https://discord.gg/MQn7u8QP ---

On Today's Trivia Podcast Episode Time for 20 new questions on this trivia podcast! Which American is famous for her debut cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and her tv program "The French Chef"? "Well, here's to us." is the only line spoken by which character in the James Bond film franchise? Which mammals have the longest gestation period, taking around 90 weeks to carry their young to full term? Name 2 of the 3 musketeers in Alexander Dumas' book the 3 musketeers What is the only active National Hockey League team that has won all of its Stanley Cup Finals appearances? The Tawny Frogmouth is what type of animal? Which playwright who is known for writing Barefoot in the Park and The Odd Couple, has received more combined Oscar and Tony Award nominations than any other writer? Which legendary Spartan king was the husband of Helen and the brother of Agamemnon? When you take the currency and language of Paraguay and change one letter, you get the last name this famous tv singer. Who is the singer? If you liked this episode, check out our last trivia episode! Music Hot Swing, Fast Talkin, Bass Walker, Dances and Dames by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Don't forget to follow us on social media for more trivia: Patreon - patreon.com/quizbang - Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Check out our fun extras for patrons and help us keep this podcast going. We appreciate any level of support! Website - quizbangpod.com Check out our website, it will have all the links for social media that you need and while you're there, why not go to the contact us page and submit a question! Facebook - @quizbangpodcast - we post episode links and silly lego pictures to go with our trivia questions. Enjoy the silly picture and give your best guess, we will respond to your answer the next day to give everyone a chance to guess. Instagram - Quiz Quiz Bang Bang (quizquizbangbang), we post silly lego pictures to go with our trivia questions. Enjoy the silly picture and give your best guess, we will respond to your answer the next day to give everyone a chance to guess. Twitter - @quizbangpod We want to start a fun community for our fellow trivia lovers. If you hear/think of a fun or challenging trivia question, post it to our twitter feed and we will repost it so everyone can take a stab it. Come for the trivia - stay for the trivia. Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/quizbangpod - Keep that sweet caffeine running through our body with a Ko-Fi, power us through a late night of fact checking and editing!

Mirchi Bangla presents Alexander Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo Part 1 on Sunday Suspense Translation and Radio Adaptation - Rajarshee Gupta Edmond Dantès - Gaurav Chakrabarty Fernand Mondego - Anirban Bhattacharya Danglars - Somak Gérard de Villefort - Debojyoti Ghosh Mercédès - Godhuli Morrel - Sankari Prasad Mitra Abbé Faria - Mir Bertuccio - Deep Basu Jacopo - Sayak Aman Saint-Méran - Pranab Jailer - Basudev Karmakar Emmanuel - Atri Soldiers - Shakya, Pushpal, Dipanjan Bhattacharya. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The term microgrid might make them sound small, but these systems could hold a big key to Canada's low-carbon future. Microgrids are made up of energy users, distributed energy resources, and advanced controllers, all working together to form an energy grid for both renewable and non-renewable generators. They also have the potential to adopt cleaner technologies, which in turn could improve the way the utility industry is managed and operated. Charles Berndt, Manager of Grid Technology at Hydro Ottawa, joins Dan and Rebecca for a conversation on what microgrids are and how they can help Canada reach its net zero goals.   Related links LinkedIn --- To subscribe using Apple Podcasts To subscribe using Spotify To subscribe on Libsyn --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video: https://www.youtube.com/user/hydroottawalimited Check out our cool pics on Instagram More to Learn on Facebook Keep up with our Tweets  Transcript: Dan Seguin  00:06 This is thinkenergy, the podcast that helps you better understand the fast changing world of energy through conversations with game changers, industry leaders, and influencers. So join me, Dan Seguin, and my co host, Rebecca Schwartz, as we explore both traditional and unconventional facets of the energy industry. Hey, everyone. Welcome back. The electricity grid was built to deliver electricity to homes and businesses a little more than a century ago. It's hard to imagine with our obsession and dependency on technology today, how it really wasn't that long ago, we lived without electricity.   Rebecca Schwartz  00:51 The electricity grid is basically a large machine. Think of it almost as the world's largest machine, but built for the outdated 20th century power systems, which are very simple and flowing only in one direction. As we know, though, machines are complex, and they need things like maintenance, replacements, investments, and of course, innovation and upgrades.   Dan Seguin  01:14 Well, this large machine is already getting the biggest upgrade in history. So it can communicate with our homes, businesses, smartphones, our cars and watches. More than any time in history, people want to connect and interact with the grid. That would have been unimaginable 100 years ago.   Rebecca Schwartz  01:39 It's definitely an exciting time to be in our industry. There's lots of new incentives being introduced by our government to support things like energy management, cleaner tech, electric vehicles, and smart grid projects.   Dan Seguin  01:50 Yes, it was just in March 2022, the Government of Canada released its climate target of cutting emissions by 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. The plan includes $9.1 billion in new investments to cut pollution and accelerate the path to net zero by 2050. It also outlines funding to make it easier for Canadians to switch to electric vehicles, make Canada's electricity grid even cleaner, help industries adopt cleaner tech, empower communities to take climate action, embrace the power of nature to fight climate change, and reduce oil and gas emissions, amongst others.   Rebecca Schwartz  02:39 So Dan, let's talk about a relatively unknown technology that I'm told can play a large part in helping along some of these initiatives. They're called micro grids. Micro grids, as defined by the Conference Board of Canada are systems of interconnected energy users, distributed energy resources, and advanced controllers that form local electricity grids. These energy resources include renewable and non renewable generators, and increasingly battery energy storage systems. Which due to their potential for adapting cleaner technologies, micro grids are playing a pretty important role in contributing to our transition for that low carbon future.   Dan Seguin  03:21 So, here's today's big question. Are micro grids the answer to a faster path to net zero and Canada's clean energy future? Our guest today is Charles Berndt, the manager of grid technology here at Hydro Ottawa. Charles, welcome to the show and to part one of our discussion on all things micro grids. Charles, can you start by telling us a bit about yourself and your role at Hydro Ottawa as a manager of grid technology?   Charles Berndt  03:56 Yeah, loving husband, father of two young, wonderful boys, engineer, foodie, and complete energy geek. Yeah, my day job, Manager of Grid Technology; I look after technology that's used to help us control our grid. So, our system operations staff, any platform they use to to monitor and understand what's going on out in the grids, whether it's, you know, managing devices or looking at outages. That's what what my team does. And we also look at new and emerging technologies. I spend a lot of my time looking at new ventures and looking at, you know, how can we apply our systems and technology to different problems and how we can improve upon those platforms?   Rebecca Schwartz  04:41 In what instances or applications can micro grids be applied? Is there a minimum or maximum micro grid size?   Charles Berndt  04:49 I wouldn't say there's a minimum or maximum per se, I would say it has to be economically feasible, obviously, and it has to solve the problem you're out to solve. So, for the most part, I think you'll see larger institutions, larger campuses that start to look at this technology. At least that's what we're seeing now. But I wouldn't say that there's there's hard and fast rules as to how big it is, or how small it can be. But definitely, you know, the economics are gonna play into that.   Rebecca Schwartz  05:19 Okay, follow up for you, Charles, what is the return on investment for a microgrid? And what are some of the financial, operational, and environmental benefits?   Charles Berndt  05:28 I think it's, you know, the ROI question is obviously, the biggest one, and it's dependent on how you take a view upon the whole problem, and it really needs to depend on the larger view of things. So you're not looking purely at the cost of electricity. You need to look at those other aspects. Like reliability, you know, what does that reliability mean to your particular business or to your community, and if you have critical needs, or you have carbon objectives, or you want to get off of certain carbon sources, and then you can really make it work. But yeah, there, it's not on a pure electricity cost basis, so you're not going to compete with the grid. But the broader you look, the more holistic view you take it, the more it's gonna make sense.   Rebecca Schwartz  06:14 Okay, last follow up along this line of questioning, how long do microgrids last? And does it depend on how they're fueled?   Charles Berndt  06:22 You know, it depends on how much you're willing to spend, I guess, you know, your storage, your generation, your consumption, they all have to match up. And if they match up perfectly, if you're able to make storage, you know, have enough storage or have enough generation to make it work, then you could stay islanded indefinitely. But definitely, it's the economics of the situation and what your, what your objectives are, then you can make it as long lasting or as brief as you need it to be.   Dan Seguin  06:50 Now, Charles, what are the components of a successful micro grid project? What needs to come together?   Charles Berndt  06:58 It's those, it's those three things, it's the generation, the storage and the consumption need to be kind of imbalanced, in total, so you need to work together. And to do that you need technology. Technology is the basic, biggest aspect. Some people say the, the smart grid problem is a software problem. And they're, they're actually right. You just need to, to have the sources and think of that energy balance out and need to manage dynamically where you're, where you're taking the energy from, where you're putting it, and how you're managing those customers' expectations. So we you know, we kind of take it for granted today that we're connected to this unending source of electricity, this grid, right, but, you know, the closer you get to that, you need to have that more dynamic and technology that manages that.   Dan Seguin  07:50 Okay, now, in your opinion, who are the ideal customers to adopt this technology? Water treatment plants, hospitals, universities, large manufacturers?   Charles Berndt  08:02 I think, I think definitely the campus, the campus style approach is, is the ones who are looking at it now. We're starting to see, traditionally cogeneration projects are starting to expand. So those campuses that need to use, or hospitals or other major institutions that needs that already have significant needs for backup or other energy generation requirements. They're the ones that are starting to look at this. And I think those are the ideal, the ideal candidates to look at this technology.   Rebecca Schwartz  08:33 Can you give us some good examples of a micro grid project here in Ottawa, or elsewhere that really showcases the potential?   Charles Berndt  08:40 We're starting to see the educational campuses, they're really looking into that. I kind of mentioned earlier that those who have cogeneration, we're seeing both actually all three, or three of the three of the big ones, Carleton, U Ottawa, and Algonquin have some form of cogeneration and U Ottawa I know is looking at a micro grid for part of their campus. We're seeing a lot of district thermal starting to happen, a lot of a lot of investment in that front. So when you start looking at energy holistically, those are the ones who can really start to think about wow, if I take a broader look, use all the energy sources, all of the energy uses then those are the ones who could benefit from it. We also ran a project here at Hydro Ottawa, a technology project to look at how could we develop technology to make our customers more grid interactive, and it's those types of technologies that would help in the creation and management of a micro grid.   Dan Seguin  09:47 Charles, micro grids use renewable and non renewable energy sources. Correct? Can you expand on what that means?   Charles Berndt  09:57 Yeah, you can use traditional fossil fuel generation. Fossil fuel sources like natural gas, and again, coming back to that cogeneration that was the first step in the direction of micro grids that many, many institutions have taken. But also, you know, with storage, and solar and wind, these, these things are getting cheaper and more commoditized, especially on storage that the dollar per per kilowatt hour store is, is dropping significantly, and solar is dropping significantly. And so it's, you know, we're starting to see the economics start to make sense where you look at not just the traditional natural gas fired generation, but you're looking at both solar and natural gas.   Dan Seguin  10:45 Now, wondering if you can expand on what is a hybrid micro grid system?   Charles Berndt  10:53 It's all of the above scenario, right? I mean, you're looking at, you're looking at not only just generation in the traditional sense of burning natural gas, but you can you can get wind, you can get solar, and then you can be you can be grid connected, and you can think of the grid as a potential generation source or some some other source of energy that you can balance with. And, I know, that's almost contradictory, having a micro grid, grid tied, but you know, it could be seen as the best of both worlds where you're just out to solve the problem that you have in the most economical and technological way. That's feasible, you know, it's not a, it's never a purist game. It's about it's about solving what you need to solve for. And don't, you know, don't paint yourself into a corner. It doesn't make sense.   Rebecca Schwartz  11:42 Much like small modular nuclear reactors, are there applications whereby micro grids could be used in remote communities in Canada? And what are some of the environmental benefits for implementing micro grids in these areas?   Charles Berndt  11:56 You know, I  think traditionally, the remote communities, small communities have been, you know, heavily, heavily reliant on that, on carbon based fuels like, so diesel generation, bunker oil generation, like really the old, old school type of heavy carbon intense generation sources. And they're the ideal, the ideal candidates for this type of technology, not only, you know, in the, in the ideal sense of getting them completely off carbon and getting them on to solar and wind, or even new technology, like small modular reactor technology, but even optimizing how you're burning the carbon, you know, with storage of carbon plus storage, I know it's, you know, some might see it as an unnecessary middle step, but, you know, operating any generation source in its, in its ideal efficiency window, could could see savings and can see efficiency gains. And that, you know, that, in turn, will reduce carbon emissions significantly.   Dan Seguin  13:01 That's great, Charles. Now, wondering if you could help us better understand why utility partnerships are so important to micro grid projects?   Charles Berndt  13:12 I mean, I'm gonna speak selfishly a little bit. You know, the utilities are your ideal partner. We've got, we've got a broad selection of very strong, technical individuals, but also people who, who have been focused on this problem for many years. And, and I, you know, I think the first, the first blush that a customer might look at it and say, "well, how does it make sense, I'm trying to get disconnected from the utility and the micro grid sense", but in actuality, you know, the technology that could be used here, benefits the utility and the customer could benefit by being connected to the utility. So, a partnership can make it economical, can make it feasible, and, you know, we have, we have the ability to to help you access government funding for, you know, climate change, but also for technology development. So, I think the utility is an ideal candidate to partner with. We have that we have that strength and those abilities and we're always willing to help.   Rebecca Schwartz  14:15 Can microgrids improve local management of power supply and demand and by ricochet defer costly investments by utilities and new power generation?   Charles Berndt  14:24 Absolutely. I mean, without a doubt, it could drastically improve our ability to manage load and to target our investment in a more efficient way. So today, we're designing you know, it's our design is driven by the worst case scenario. What could the customer consume? What could, in a worst case, does all of our customers need? And so you see things that, you know, we saw it in the broader Ontario context with the natural gas peaking plants, you know, they spend most of their time just just sitting around but waiting for that, you know, that four or five or six days a year where they need, they're desperately needed and they get spooled up and they use carbon and they cost a lot of money to maintain and operate. But with the technology that underpins these micro grids, you can, you can use it to not only create the micro grid and manage the micro grid, but you can also use it to change the relationship that your customer has with the utility or the micro grid has with its, you know, its host utility or partner utility. And being able to dynamically manage the load and sources and help to curtail those worst case scenarios where, where it allows the utility to say, "okay, I don't have to worry about this one day in 365, I can worry about all the other 364 days, and I can optimize for economics or carbon across the year and not just always worry about that that worst case scenario".   Dan Seguin  15:52 Charles, what role could microgrids have in accelerating the path to Canada's net zero targets? Where do you see their biggest potential?   Charles Berndt  16:04 I see it, you know, as a technology person, obviously, I look first to the technology and the development of that technology. And it comes back to that worst case scenario where, if we start deploying the technology to manage consumption, or to help the customer have that two way relationship with the utility, and not just for generation, you know, the customer wants to generate solar electricity, but having that dynamic conversation where we're sending each other signals of what we need, then that could help. You can just target- what do you want to change? Do you want to change the economics? Well, then you can set your set your signaling, on economics, if you want to manage carbon, well then just say, hey, carbon intensive time, why don't you, if you're interested in reducing carbon, then we can reduce your consumption or move to your stored electricity and you can you can target any problem that you want to solve. And one of the big ones could be carbon.   Dan Seguin  17:02 Okay. Now, the Government of Canada recently announced $9.1 billion in new investments to cut pollution. Do you see opportunities in those initiatives for microgrids? If so, which?   Charles Berndt  17:16 I mean, absolutely, you know, those technologies that would be leveraged to run a micro grid, again, could be used to manage that carbon. And so you could, you could work with technology development, you could work with deployment of that technology, and they'll all be eligible for for this government funding to help, you know, you can just say, look, how you manage the carbon with this technology will definitely be a significant driver for an attractor, for any government agency wanting to invest in carbon reduction, and it has the benefits of increasing reliability and making everything much more efficient.   Rebecca Schwartz  17:56 Okay, Charles, thank you for joining us today. But, you'll be back here for part two of our discussion on micro grids where you'll also talk about distributed energy resources, among other related topics.   Charles Berndt  18:07 I can't wait.   Dan Seguin  18:08 Now, it's that time again, Charles, let's end on a few rapid fire questions. Are you ready to go sir?   Charles Berndt  18:18 Shoot!   Dan Seguin  18:18 Okay. What are you reading right now?   Charles Berndt  18:21 This is embarrassing, but I'm reading The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas. I just finished the Count of Monte Cristo in the fall. And I was like, blown away. It was so good. So I had to go to the next one. So it's, it's the Three Musketeers. Yeah.   Dan Seguin  18:39 Now, what would you name your boat? If you had one?   Charles Berndt  18:44 I don't have one. But obviously, you're talking to an engineering and a geek. So, obviously, enterprise is the only answer to this question.   Dan Seguin  18:53 Charles, who is someone that you admire?   Charles Berndt  18:57 I'm gonna say my wife on this one. Yeah, she's, she's brilliant. She's stronger than me. She's, wonderful and patient and intelligent. And, ya, no, I, I admire her so much.   Dan Seguin  19:09 And lastly, mon amis, what is exciting you about our industry right now.   Charles Berndt  19:16 Change. Change. It's getting faster. People are more interested in it's the carbon emission conversation, the environmental efficiency, everything. Electrification of transportation; it's all converging on the utility industry. And the utility industry is poised for not only regulatory change, but technology change, and we're starting to see that with the people who are coming to work for us who we're attracting. We're seeing that in the in the level of dialogue that's happening out in the world, people are talking about us more, and that brings pressure, but I think it's exciting. And I'm really, really excited about the future.   Rebecca Schwartz  19:59 Well, Charles, we'll talk to you again on our next episode. If our listeners want to learn more about you, how can I connect?   Charles Berndt  20:05 The emails always there. I'm on LinkedIn. Yeah, yeah. Look me up.   Dan Seguin  20:10 Again, Charles, thank you so much for joining us today. I hope you had a lot of fun and that you'll come back.   Charles Berndt  20:15 Yeah, thank you very much for having me.   Dan Seguin  20:17 Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the thinkenergy podcast. And don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review wherever you're listening. And to find out more about today's guests, or previous episodes, visit thinkenergypodcast.com. I hope you'll join us again next time as we spark even more conversations about the energy of tomorrow.

ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL! Welcome, lil onions, to the final week of our theme on Knights and Kings! This week, the siblings cover The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), a fictionalization of 17th century France under the reign of King Louis the Sun King based on Alexander Dumas' novels surrounding the deeds of The Three Musketeers. Ross cannot abide John Malkovich's lack of accent, Carie cannot get over Leo Decaprio's hair extensions, and the siblings discuss the thematic application of a knight's service to his king.  Copyright Sorry Mom Productions

The Undercast crew is joined once again by JPG to talk about the 2002 adaptation of Alexander Dumas' classic novel. Notable changes were made from the original book but did Hollywood actually improve the story with the tweaks? Follow us! Instagram: @undercastcompany, Twitter: @undercastco, Facebook: Undercast Company. Email us at undercastcompany@gmail.com, join our Discord, or support us on Patreon! And don't forget to check out all JPG's links!

In a bit of a departure, the buddies dive into the strange and fascinating world of Slovak games from the late 80s, plumbing the strange depths of behind-the-Iron-Curtain digital experimentation. They plot murders, get murdered, and learn more about obscure Alexander Dumas books than they bargained for. Also: Beer Hunt, bonding with your dad through Final Fantasy XIV, and the labor of gaming.  This Week's Games: Fuksoft (1987, Sybilasoft) La Dame de Monsoreau (1987, IKO a RGSoft) Perfect Murder (1987, Ultrasoft) Pepsi Cola (1987, Miami-Soft) Super Discus (1987, Sibylasoft) The Stig 4 (1987, Antok Software) Agent 99 (1988, Alkoholsoft) Perfect Murder 2: Bukapao (1988, Ultrasoft) Satochin (1988, Sybilasoft) Kewin 2 (1989, Kamasoft) Playable English Localizations of Slovak Digital Games From the Late 80s Period (ROMs and Emulator) More Information on Slovak Game History Slovak Design Museum This week's cause is The Los Angeles Food Policy Council (LAFPC). The LAFPC works to ensure food is healthy, affordable, fair and sustainable for all. Check out their website and Twitter for more information.  

We are Traci and Ellie, two bookish friends who talk in any spare minute that we have.  This week we are chatting about reading long books.  To shop the books listed in this episode, visit our shop at bookshop.org.  Literally Reading: Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean (Ellie) The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (Traci) The Alice Network by Kate Quinn  The Huntress by Kate Quinn Literally Listening:  Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Ellie) The Martian by Andy Weir The Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian (Traci) Long Books:  The Stand by Stephen King  11/22/63 by Stephen King The Dublin Murder Squad by Tana French Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng The Island of Sea Women by Lisa Sea  House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas  The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck  I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith  Becoming by Michelle Obama The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy  Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwann  East of Eden by John Steinbeck The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver 11/22/63 by Stephen King The Witch Elm by Tana French  House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas Outlander by Diana Galbaldon The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah What's Next: 11/22/63 by Stephen King The Count of Monte Criso by Alexander Dumas

Ibrahim Mustafa joins Creator Talks to discuss his latest graphic novel Count being published through Humanoids.    This sci-fi revenge story is based on the Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas.     The original is not the swashbuckling tale those who have not read it may think it is.   Why did Ibrahim decide to make this story the foundation for his graphic novel?    Why does the coloring and lettering fit so well with Ibrahim’s art style?   And why is this graphic novel more satisfying for Ibrahim than a comic series or fill-in issue he has drawn?   Growing up Ibrahim’s favorite superhero was Superman, and he talks about how seeing Alex Ross’ Man of Steel influenced his own art style.   Ibrahim reveals his favorite to comic art tutorial books, and why he has decided not to launch a how-to YouTube Channel.   We also talk about his work on James Bond: Origin and Solstice for Dynamite comics, and why he thinks Timothy Dalton is the best James Bond.   Why does Ibrahim think Dalton’s James Bond was initially unjustly maligned by audiences but grew to be more appreciated as Agent 007.   We touch upon his 2017 Eisner Nominated digital comic Jaeger, the story of a World War II allied spy bent on revenge against his Nazi captors. The book is only available in print from Ibrahim’s website.    Ibrahim is also the Art Director for Colorcubic, consulting on job ranging from art designs to video games.  What has been his greatest challenge working as Art Director?   I conclude our interview with my Final 9 Questions, in which we learn about his hobby of making amazing custom action figures, his favorite once-in-a-lifetime birthday experience, and one of his pet peeves that involves smartphones.     Creator Talks Theme Song: "Jazz Relax" from LoopsLab  Creator Talks logo by The Design Punk Transition Music - "Spanish Flea"  by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Audio Clip - "Mustapha" by Queen from the album "Jazz"  Please rate and review Creator Talks on Apple Podcasts   Purchase the graphic novel Count   More about Ibrahim Mustafa  

Episode 71! Marc catches up on literary headlines - Trevor read Moby Dick and Marc gets back into Alexander Dumas with The Black Tulip

Love him or hayt him, the Duncan Ghola is here in chapter 5. Paul knows the game has started, but was this the right move? Even with two mentats we can’t get an answer to that question.  Need More to Read? “The Three Musketeers” by Alexander Dumas Support this podcast

Today's episode is about authors with a ton of film and TV adaptations. Let's chat about Alexander Dumas, Stephen King, Michael Crichton, & Phillip K. Dick. All dudes, but check out our previous adaptations episodes for some excellent female authors.  Find us on twitter at @indoorswomen Find us on the web at indoorswomen.com Email us at indoorswomen@gmail.com Can’t get enough of us? No problem! Hear us on Pod Appetit and NostalgiaFiles We are a proud member of #LadyPodSquad Our lovely intro/outro music is We are Highscore by Krackatoa

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

Genre: Audiobooks, Classics, Classic Fiction, Free Audiobooks Best Free Audiobooks of All Time: The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas (complete audiobook) Summary: The Three Musketeers (French: Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight for justice. Other Languages: استمع إلى أفضل الكتب الصوتية المجانية في كل العصور সর্বকালের সেরা ফ্রি অডিওবুকগুলি শুনুন 聆听有史以来最好的免费有声读物 Écoutez les meilleurs livres audio gratuits de tous les temps Hören Sie sich die besten kostenlosen Hörbücher aller Zeiten an ऑल टाइम के बेस्ट फ्री ऑडियोबुक को सुनें Dengarkan Buku Audio Gratis Terbaik Sepanjang Masa Ascolta i migliori audiolibri gratuiti di tutti i tempi 史上最高の無料オーディオブックを聴く 역대 최고의 무료 오디오 북 듣기 Dengarkan Buku Audio Percuma Terbaik Sepanjang Masa به بهترین کتابهای صوتی رایگان همه زمان ها گوش دهید Posłuchaj najlepszych darmowych audiobooków wszechczasów Ouça os melhores audiolivros gratuitos de todos os tempos ਸਰਵਉਤਮ ਸਮੇਂ ਦੀ ਸਰਬੋਤਮ ਮੁਫਤ ਆਡੀਓ ਕਿਤਾਬਾਂ ਸੁਣੋ Ascultați cele mai bune cărți audio gratuite din toate timpurile Слушайте лучшие бесплатные аудиокниги всех времен Escuche los mejores audiolibros gratuitos de todos los tiempos Sikiliza Vitabu vya Usikivu Bora vya Wakati wote Lyssna på de bästa gratis ljudböckerna genom tiderna எல்லா நேரத்திலும் சிறந்த இலவச ஆடியோபுக்குகளைக் கேளுங்கள் ฟังหนังสือเสียงฟรีที่ดีที่สุดตลอดกาล Tüm Zamanların En İyi Ücretsiz Sesli Kitaplarını Dinleyin Слухайте найкращі безкоштовні аудіокниги всіх часів ہر وقت کی بہترین مفت آڈیو کتابیں سنیں Nghe sách nói miễn phí hay nhất mọi thời đại Poslechněte si nejlepší bezplatné audioknihy všech dob Lytt til de beste gratis lydbøkene gjennom tidene ସର୍ବକାଳୀନ ସର୍ବୋତ୍ତମ ମାଗଣା ଅଡିଓ ବୁକ୍ ଶୁଣନ୍ତୁ | എക്കാലത്തെയും മികച്ച സ Audio ജന്യ ഓഡിയോബുക്കുകൾ ശ്രദ്ധിക്കുക Vypočujte si najlepšie bezplatné audioknihy všetkých čias Poslušajte najboljše brezplačne avdio knjige vseh časov Ouça os melhores audiolivros gratuitos de todos os tempos Ascultați cele mai bune cărți audio gratuite din toate timpurile --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/henry-gindt/support

The Radio Boys (C.Truth, Kev Lawrence) get introduced to creative director/producer Magaly Colimon-Christopher (@magaly_colimon1). Magaly spoke about her work on Netflix series Grand Army, creating the Conch Shell International Film Fest (@conchshelliff), working as a playwright, co-founding a women's film fest at St Francis College, her work over the years as an actor (Blue Bloods, the Closer, ER, Law & Order, LAX), getting to speak Haitian Creole on screen, the goal of creating different people of the Caribbean, learning on camera techniques while being on the soap opera Guiding Light, Haitian history, the natives of Haiti, Black count creator Alexander Dumas, the upcoming events/panels at Conch Shell International Film Fest, keeping your identity/culture through film, what filmocracy does, attending Yale school of Drama, and more. For additional content go to: www.thermalsoundwaves.com Tweet: @thermalsoundwav IG: @thermalsoundwaves Facebook: @thermalsoundwaves --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thermalsoundwaves/support

It’s Black History month, and we all watched Bridgerton (and a certain Duke) over Christmas, right? We invite Madeleine Robins back and start pondering how to make our writing accurately reflect the cultural mélange that existed in London and beyond. From racism to classism, our writers look at our inherent biases, how “common knowledge” of history isn’t, and how it takes something evocative with a new spin to challenge our ideas of history. … Continue...Episode 90 – Race, Romance, and Regency

After enduring a couple of bouts of writer's block, author and journalist Blake Snow has learned not to sit down with the intention of writing a whole book.  Instead, he breaks a book into chunks, accomplishing one chapter at a time. Talking to Published Author Podcast host Josh Steimle, Blake says: “For any of your listeners out there wanting to write a first book, it is a big challenge.   “But one thing that did help me, despite my writer's block, was this whole concept of don't try to write a book, write one chapter, and then the next chapter,” he explains. “Try to break it up into bite-sized things you can accomplish. That was way easier for me to do with the second book than the first. But that advice, I think stands regardless, and for anyone that's interested in publishing a book, you have to break it up.”  Top Takeaway: Your Book Must Engage And Interest The Reader   Blake says that if your book isn't engaging and interesting to a reader, it simply won't sell. He says the hallmark of an amature writer is to think that a business book needs to be stuffy and formal.   No, he says, explaining that entrepreneur-authors should write the way they talk, in a way that's interesting for people to engage, listen to, and interact with.  Blake has written as a journalist for half of the top 20 U.S. media outlets, including CNN, Wired, and USA Today. He also advises Fortune 500 companies on their content strategy. He's a blogger and author of two books: Log Off: How to Stay Connected After Disconnecting, and Measuring History: How One Unsung Company Quietly Changed The World, which is the story of National Instruments, a company you probably haven't heard of, but which has had a global impact on lives big and small, and is explained in the episode.  Despite being a professional writer, Blake has experienced a couple of debilitating episodes of writer's block, the first one when he was working on Log Off. The struggle lasted for about eight months until it finally dawned on Blake that the successful approach to writing was breaking a book into bite-sized pieces.   “Instead of writing a book, it was: ‘Let's write 1000 words today'. So anyone can do that, and you can break things up,” says Blake. “What I found with writing two books—as with most all things in life—it really is about momentum.   “If you can keep that momentum, you won't stall out as long as I did, or as hard as I did in my first book. So it's all about that momentum, creating bite sized chunks, just sticking to it and not being afraid to fail.”  As an experienced writer, Blake says: “First and foremost, I write for myself. If I know that I don't like it, I'm pretty sure no one else is going to like it. And so that I use that as a litmus test of like, How good is my current writing, the page right in front of me?”  This isn't guidance for a new writer, who should instead work with an editor to determine the quality of their writing. However, aftertime, everyone who writes a lot can learn to quickly determine what's good and what their audience wants to read.   Finally, Blake encourages all entrepreneur-writers (or ghostwriters) to read a good range of classics, from Mark Twain and Herman Melville through to Alexander Dumas and Victor Hugo, as well as Charles Dickens or Thomas Hardy. Novels such as theirs, says Blake, will simply make you a much better writer.  Links  BlakeSnow.com  SUBSCRIBE TO PUBLISHED AUTHOR PODCAST  If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe. And if you want to spread the word, please give us a five-star rating review and tell your friends to subscribe, too. We're available on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and everywhere else you listen to podcasts.   And if you're an entrepreneur interested in writing and publishing a nonfiction book to grow your business or make an impact, visit PublishedAuthor.com for show notes for this podcast and other free resources.  Twitter  Youtube  Facebook.com  Linkedin.com  Instagram.com  Josh Steimle  Josh Steimle - LinkedIn  Josh Steimle's book: Chief Marketing Officers At Work

Episode 1 was originally published 30 Sep 2020 as a bonus episode on the Balderdash Academy Podcast. When school is out our faculty plays. In this episode, we hear pitches for new alternatives to curling stones, hear a moment of history about Alexander Dumas, prepare for the afternoon assembly, and interview candidates for our recently vacated equipment manager position, all on our new bonus show, Balderdash Academy: Teacher's Lounge. -------------------- Balderdash Academy: Teacher's Lounge was produced and edited by Bob LeBlanc. Theme Music by ThinkFishTank. Written and performed by Steve Corning, CarlaRose Dubois, Nate Greene, Randy Hunt, Bob LeBlanc, Molly McGill, and Marie Stewart Harmon. Copyright 2021 Robert J LeBlanc and Steve Corning. All rights reserved. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bateacherslounge/support

On this week’s episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are joined by Gretchen Rubin, and we are discussing: Bookish Moments: rereading an old favorite, a bookstore visit, and using the strategy of pairing Current Reads: we each share two books that we’ve read recently and what we thought about them Deep Dive: Read 21 in ‘21 and building a reading habit Book Presses: a book to dip in and out of, and some wonderful children’s literature As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you’d like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don’t scroll down!  New: we are now including transcripts of the episode. These are generated by AI, so they may not be perfectly accurate, but we want to increase accessibility for our fans! *Please note that all book titles linked below are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*   . . . . 1:22 - The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin 1:24 - Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin 1:25 - The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin 1:30 - Happier with Gretchen Rubin - the Podcast! Bookish Moments: 2:48 - The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon 5:13 - Changing Hands Bookstore in Arizona 5:47 - Fabled Bookshop in Waco, TX 6:46 - The strategy of pairing - You can read about all 21 strategies HERE! Current Reads: 8:31 - Fledgling by Octavia Butler (Gretchen) 8:31 - Wild Seed by Octavia Butler 8:50 - The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune (Kaytee) 10:14 - Flash Fire (Extraordinaries Book 2) by TJ Klune - due out this fall 10:20 - The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune 10:54 - The Man from the Train by Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James (Meredith) 14:42 - Piranesi by Susanna Clark (Gretchen) 15:27 - Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke 17:11 - Little, Big by John Crowley 17:57 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. 18:35 - The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas 19:27 - A Knock at Midnight by Brittany K Barnett (Kaytee) 19:40 - Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson 21:34 - The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander 22:07 - Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston (Meredith) 24:33 - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 24:56 - Geekerella by Ashley Poston Deep Dive - Reading for All Four Tendencies: 25:47 - The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin 25:53 - Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin 26:44 - Read 21 in ‘21 on Episode 305 of Happier with Gretchen Rubin 29:34 - The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin 29:49 - Free Quiz to find your tendency 35:31 - Don’t Break the Chain Printable Books We Want to Press Into Your Hands: 43:57 - A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander (Gretchen) 47:02 - The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser (Kaytee) 47:36 - The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry 50:05 - The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 50:07 - A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett 50:14 - The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye (Meredith) Connect With Us: Meredith is @meredith.reads on Instagram Kaytee is @notesonbookmarks on Instagram Gretchen is @gretchenrubin on Instagram and @gretchenrubin on Twitter. Her website is gretchenrubin.com, and her podcast is Happier with Gretchen Rubin Mindy is @gratefulforgrace on Instagram Mary is @maryreadsandsips on Instagram currentlyreadingpodcast.com @currentlyreadingpodcast on Instagram currentlyreadingpodcast@gmail.com Support us at patreon.com/currentlyreadingpodcast

Amanda and Victoria discuss Alexander Dumas' The Three Musketeers, and reference a lot of D'Jango Unchained. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/unfortunately-required/support

DRS Episode 581 What makes a good revenge story? What makes a bad one? And why does Terry have so many damned cats? Also? I mixed up RL Stephenson with Alexander Dumas. My apologies. Enjoy the show? Consider becoming a Patreon supporter and for as little as $1 a month, you can help keep the podcast free and receive exclusive content. More information at "http://patreon.com/drspodcast".

DRS Episode 581 What makes a good revenge story? What makes a bad one? And why does Terry have so many damned cats? Also? I mixed up RL Stephenson with Alexander Dumas. My apologies. Enjoy the show? Consider becoming a Patreon supporter and for as little as $1 a month, you can help keep the podcast free and receive exclusive content. More information at "http://patreon.com/drspodcast".

In this episode, our story begins in Nubia and the Nile Valley, the Kingdom of Kongo, the Mali Empire, and the Great Zimbabwe. Dr. Runoko Rashidi reveals how the origins of Black people lie in great, ancient African civilizations and how our hidden history spans the globe. BHY is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company - hit us up at BlackHistoryYear.com and share this with your people!PushBlack exists because we saw we had to take this into our own hands. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at Black History Year dot com. Most people do 5 or 10 bucks a month, but everything makes a difference. Thanks for supporting the work. The Black History Year production team includes Tareq Alani, Patrick Sanders, William Anderson, Jareyah Bradley, Brooke Brown, Shonda Buchanan, Eskedar Getahun, Leslie Taylor-Grover, Abeni Jones, Akua Tay, Darren Wallace and our producer, Cydney Smith.For Limina House, our producers are Jessica Rugh Frantz and Sasha Kai Parker, who also edits the podcast. Black History Year’s Executive Producers are Julian Walker for PushBlack and Mikel Ellcessor for Limina House. Useful links:"The Black Image in Antiquity: Beautiful, Royal and Divine" by Runoko Rashidi"The Destruction of Black Civilization" by Chancellor Williams“The Cultural Unity of Black Africa” by Cheikh Anta Diop"They Came Before Columbus" by Ivan Van Sertima

When school is out our faculty plays. In this episode, we hear pitches for new alternatives to curling stones, hear a moment of history about Alexander Dumas, prepare for the afternoon assembly, and interview candidates for our recently vacated equipment manager position, all on our new bonus show, Balderdash Academy: Teacher's Lounge. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/balderdashacademy/support

Episode Notes Kimberley Guilfoyle is the kind of character who shows up a lot these days, and shows up a lot in American history: demagogue. Her personal history is checkered, as she has been the first lady of California, married to Democratic Mayor of San Francisco Gavin Newsom, and is currently dating Donald Trump Junior. She doesn't have a consistent allegiance, or an agenda, other than to remain in the spotlight for as long as she can. We rebuke ger in Get Thee Behind Me, Felicia. Then, in Pilars of Strength, we discuss Queen Esther. The Book of Esther is a good read, It is short, and full of palace intrigue, and the kind of twists that made Alexander Dumas a popular author; assasination attempts against the King, secret plots, and, like the story of Daniel, a clever attack on the Hebrew People. Like the Book of Daniel, our brave and resourceful Queen is able to use her favor with the King to advantage; changing the nature of one of those unchangeable Persian edicts. It is a good, ten chapter read. God is not referenced directly, not even once. If anything, God is present and the force that directs the destiny of the orphan girl, her cousin Moredecai, and even the mighty Persian empire. Find us on Twitter: @WithoutWorksPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withoutworks Email @ withoutworkspod@gmail.com Transcripts available at our internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com Find out more at https://without-works.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

ROWAN WOOLSEY |  Mindset Mentor and Writer Finding your purpose as a multi-passionate introvertIn This Episode:Listening to your intuitionPermission to be yourselfDiscovering and identifying your special talents and giftsCreating a hype fileFollowing your dream when family and friends don’t support youEasy ways to invest in your dreamTips to navigating through the sticky middle of your pivot5 step roadmap to finding your purposeEpisode NotesToday’s guest is Rowan Woolsey, a mindset mentor and writer. Rowan has been building and growing-million dollar businesses and high-performing teams for nine years. Her stores and teams have won trips, awards, and she has built strong relationships and support within her community. But before all of that, she was a shy, loner,  super-into-80s-films, fantasy, and writing her own Alexander Dumas fan fiction (traits that didn't earn her very many friends.) In fact, the bullying gave her a severe stutter and she could not speak in front of others. In order to leave the situation, she put her head down into books, got to work, and enrolled in her first college course at 15 years old.  Now her mission is to empower multi-passionate, messy-bun creatives through coaching and education so they can break up with toxic relationships (starting with their inner-mean girl), discover their self-worth and purpose, and have fulfilling and joyful lives.ResourcesContact Rowan here: Website  |  Instagram FreebiesRowan’s Find Your Purpose 5 Day ChallengeHeather’s Free Gift: 7 Day Energy Protection Ritual for IntrovertsSubscribe to the Find Your Focus podcast and listen to new episodes every Tuesday.iTunes | Google Podcast | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher

ROWAN WOOLSEY |  Mindset Mentor and Writer Finding your purpose as a multi-passionate introvertIn This Episode:Listening to your intuitionPermission to be yourselfDiscovering and identifying your special talents and giftsCreating a hype fileFollowing your dream when family and friends don’t support youEasy ways to invest in your dreamTips to navigating through the sticky middle of your pivot5 step roadmap to finding your purposeEpisode NotesToday’s guest is Rowan Woolsey, a mindset mentor and writer. Rowan has been building and growing-million dollar businesses and high-performing teams for nine years. Her stores and teams have won trips, awards, and she has built strong relationships and support within her community. But before all of that, she was a shy, loner,  super-into-80s-films, fantasy, and writing her own Alexander Dumas fan fiction (traits that didn't earn her very many friends.) In fact, the bullying gave her a severe stutter and she could not speak in front of others. In order to leave the situation, she put her head down into books, got to work, and enrolled in her first college course at 15 years old.  Now her mission is to empower multi-passionate, messy-bun creatives through coaching and education so they can break up with toxic relationships (starting with their inner-mean girl), discover their self-worth and purpose, and have fulfilling and joyful lives.ResourcesContact Rowan here: Website  |  Instagram FreebiesRowan’s Find Your Purpose 5 Day ChallengeHeather’s Free Gift: 7 Day Energy Protection Ritual for IntrovertsSubscribe to the Find Your Focus podcast and listen to new episodes every Tuesday.iTunes | Google Podcast | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher

The boys talk about a show called Revenge which Jack believes is a mellow drama. John Paul is discriminated against by the Danish government and Zach and Jack defend Karens. They decide that this show is Black Excellence because it is based on Alexander Dumas's The Count of Montecristo.  They share their own stories of revenge and dig into QAnon theories and why JFK Jr might come back to save us all.

Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Probably one of the best know trio in the history of literature, and probably of all mankind. Published 176 years ago, this is a novel that has stood the test of time. There's something for everybody. There's a love story, there's a betrayal, there are kings and queens, representatives of the Church. I mean what isn't there to love about “The Three Musketeers” written by Alexander Dumas.   Website: http://www.thefightingmoose.com/   iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fighting-moose/id1324413606?mt=2/   Story (PDF): http://ww.thefightingmoose.com/episode139.pdf   Reading List: http://www.thefightingmoose.com/readinglist.pdf   YouTube: https://youtu.be/rmflzDsvXi0/   Books: “World's Greatest Books, Volume 3, Fiction” http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10748   Music/Audio: Artist – Analog by Nature http://dig.ccmixter.org/people/cdk   National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): http://www.nasa.gov   Songs Used: cdk - Sunday by Analog By Nature (c) copyright 2016 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/cdk/53755  

Here is a small taste of Balsamo The Magician by Alexander Dumas. Stay tuned for full episodes dropping on Tuesday July 21st at Noon Eastern!

Writer Justin Aucoin (@JMAucoin_writer) joins host Emily Edwards to discuss Porthos, Athos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan, also known as the most hard-drinking, wife-stealing, sword-playing French swashbucklers, THE THREE MUSKETEERS. We discuss the appeal of male ride-or-die friendships, Alexander Dumas's multi-racial approach to writing for racist readers, and wine. Lots of wine.  Buy books discussed on the show at our Bookshop.org page: https://bookshop.org/lists/fbol-subjects Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @FuckboisOfLit Love FBOL? Become a Patron! patreon.com/fuckboisoflit For a transcript of our show, visit https://www.fuckboisoflit.com/episodes/2020/7/22/episode-62-the-three-musketeers Summary of THE THREE MUSKETEERS: Coming of age in the souther, rural province of Gascony, D'Artagnan aways to Paris upon his 18th year to follow in his father's footsteps to become one of the king's guards, called The Musketeers. Upon his first day in Paris, he gets into duels with the original Three: Porthos, Athos, and Aramis. He proves himself worthy to the men, and they take him on as a fourth confidant, in their schemes to protect the King and Queen against the conniving Cardinal Richelieu. In addition to a new nemesis in the Cardinal, D'Artagnan eventually finds himself at odds with the Cardinal's lead assassin, Milady, and at the center of a kidnapping plot when the woman he loves– Constance, the wife of D'Artagnan's landlord– is taken from him in an effort to convince him to stop meddling in Richelieu's machinations.  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Complete Manuscript from the show:---------Jeff: All right, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of home row. And on today's show, I finally have Patrick Shriner joining us. Patrick, how are you man?Patrick: Good. Thanks for having me. It's been awhile.Jeff: been awhile. We were supposed to record. Oh, good grief. I dunno. Maybe it's gotta be close to two years ago.Patrick: I think it's like 15 years ago when we were both toddlers.Jeff: We were, we were both in middle school. How old are you? Oh, me too. 35 when's your birthday?Patrick: August 26Jeff: Ooh, you're older. October 23rdPatrick: your blood type?Jeff: I have no clue.Patrick: Either door.Jeff: must be our generation thing. People are like, I bet my parents and your parents, they know their blood type.Patrick: That's right. That's right.Jeff: Like what do I need to know that for? They just tested at the place, whatever that place is.And they'll tell me what it is, what I need.Patrick: So we would have been 2015 years ago. There we go.Jeff: It's when we were 20 we were gonna do it. And where were you when you were 20. Were you at Louisville? Were you in Southern? Where were you?Patrick: I was in Louisville at that point. I'm trying to exactly what I was doing at that point, but I guess maybe Western Kentucky university.Jeff: Okay. All right. Nice. Where would I have been? I would have been here in Houston, still at the college of biblical studies, inner city Bible college. And it was a blast. very dispensational, which I learned while I was there. And yeah, so a lot of things have changed in my life.A lot of things have changed in yours, but the reason we were going to record, I think it was about two years ago, we were scheduled to record  and it all fell apart cause I stopped at Starbucks. 30 minutes before we were going to record, to go pick up, you know, just to, it was probably a salted caramel mocha or who knows when those are in season.  I got to get them. And so I go and I see a guy there and he's wearing a black shirt and, and big bright neon green. It just says, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, three times. And I've seen this guy walking around my town. All the time carrying a huge backpack. I'm like, Oh, that's the Jesus shirt guy. And he's got his Bible open and I say, "Hey man,  what are you reading?"And he's telling me what he's reading and everything. And then he starts asking me, "He says, do you have a job? "And I said, yeah, I do. He goes, "Do you make money?" I said, yeah, man, I totally, I, of course, I make money.  He goes, "You're sinning." As go, excuse me. He  says it is jobbing, like, what are you, it's jobbing.He's like, yep, you're jobbing. And that's a sin. And he started confronting me about how I am not obeying Jesus because I have not sold everything I have and given it to the poor.Patrick: Wow. You like to do a podcast where I don't make any money, so you know, I could do that.Jeff: Yeah, that's true. I'm, I'm, I'm there and I couldn't believe it. And so I think this ended up being like an hour or two hour. Then his, a friend of his came in that, so these guys have decided to be homeless together. Then they're not together, but they eat, they've each decided to be homeless. They've sold other stuff, left their parents behind.One of them has a, girlfriend that he got pregnant and have a kid. He left them all because Jesus said, if you love me, you've got to hate father, mother, brother, sister, and sell all that you have and give to the poor. And so these guys have chosen to be homeless and think they're following the true Jesus way.So that was why we couldn't record.Patrick: I just remember sitting on the other end. We had like, I must've gotten the wrong time.Jeff: Well, no, that that was today. That was me today where I messaged you, said, Hey man, I'm on Skype. Oh wait, I'm an idiot. Pacific is two hours behind.Patrick: Being in the Pacific Northwest, I've always doing math with people though, and many times I do it the opposite way. I, I've canceled many meetings that I don't have to cause I'm like, yeah, I gotta do this other call. And then I'm like, Oh, it's two hours. The other way I always forget though.Jeff: I told my wife, I was like, Oh, I gotta do this podcast right now. Sorry, I can't. I'm like, Oh wait, nevermind. It's an hour. What do you need? I, I've, I get East and West coast confused. It's just crazy. but, and I don't even know what day it is. This is, this is the life in quarantine.Patrick: It could be Sunday,Jeff: Hey, it could be, yeah, it could be.I'd be in my pajamas still watching the quote live.Patrick: watching yourJeff: Yeah. Watching my livePatrick: You do, you watch your sermon.Jeff: define, watch.Patrick: Do you sit down with your family and the service? Yeah.Jeff: do. Yeah. Yeah. I, I don't look at myself. I listened to myself. it's very inception to be watching. Be watching myself and I feel I got to participate. You know, my kids are watching.Patrick: Oh, for sure.Jeff: you know, I got them. But yeah, it's brutal. I hate watching myself preach the first week of doing that. I realize, okay, there are a lot of hand motions I don't want to do anymore.Patrick: That's all right. That's why I don't read my writing, you know? We were going to get to that. IJeff: Yeah. Well, yeah. Why are we?Why? we here? Why are we on Skype? What are we here for? Yeah, man. So here we're here to talk about writing and you have written all kinds of stuff, and you, you sent out a tweet. I mean, you've got books, you, of course, you've got journal articles and blogs and all kinds of stuff that you do.And, but you put out a tweet the other day about how you have stayed, so productive or trying to stay productive during the pandemic, but before, but before we get into that, let's talk about how you became a writer. How did that happen?Patrick: Yeah, I mean, my parents, I grew up and they read to me all the  time. So we were a family that loved books. I remember my dad reading Lord of the rings, the Hobbit, Greek mythology, Chronicles of Narnia. I mean, you know, all the classics for any homeschool Christian kid. we did some public school homeschool and Christian school, but so we just really liked literature.And. So growing up reading, if you, you keep reading. And I, in college I kept doing literature, American lit, British lit, and I just really liked the side of writing that that could be, cause I'm terrible at math and you know, you just kinda gravitate that way. but I really felt like it was in college when I started taking some writing classes, I was getting encouragement that I just realize, I just really love to write, and I ended up majoring actually in journalism at Western Kentucky university. It's a, it's a great program for journalism, and so I ended up doing that just because I thought it was a little more practical. Halfway through. College, I realized I wanted to go towards ministry, but I do remember, just some like creative writing and things that I do that I really enjoyed.So I think it started very early on just being interested in reading, and reading good books and being interested in literature. I mean, I go through classics as much as I can. That's kind of fallen off just at this point in my life, but I still try to do audible books as much as I can. And so, yeah, I think the love of reading and then that just translates many times into writing.I find, at least in the current stage of my life, I mean in terms of even a calling, I know people use that term in different ways, but I sometimes feel like I'm wasting my time if I'm not writing. So it's like one of those things where nobody has to tell me, you sit down and write. It's, it's what I do when I get everything else done and actually work towards getting everything else done to write, if that makes sense. So it's, it's like that compulsion.Jeff: Did you know that you were going to lean towards academic writing?Patrick: No, not really. And you know, sometimes I want to move towards a little more popular level writing. so even, even the book on the kingdom that I did, you know, it's more for people in the pews in the church. And so I like to do a little bit of both. I, the thing that I want to say about academic writing is, you know, most people think that you, if you do academic writing, it has to be stodgy and boring and hard to read.And I just really rail against that. I think the writers that can communicate deep things in simple ways, that's, that's really the goal. so you think of a person, obviously, like C S Lewis, I mean, Ernest Hemingway. Even as you look at some scholars out there who are writing, I mean, think about the Bible.Johannine literature is the perfect example, right? So he can write in a very simple way, but it's very profound and deep. And so. I even got critiqued on my dissertation, on a few reviews, or at least one review. I remember reading one where he's like, well, this style just didn't really fit a dissertation.And I, I took it as a compliment because I used analogies and maybe that comes from preaching and, and being in the church. But, I think even when I was working with in my dissertation, just to pause on that for a minute, I remember I sent it to, Greg Alison was one of my readers. I think it was in Rob Plummer. And he was like, I didn't get the theory you were using until you use the example of Rosa parks. And he was like, that's what stuck out to me. And that's the only thing I'll remember. and you know, that just kind of spoke. I mean, he's a world class scholar, great thinker, and I was just dealing with something that was pretty complex.And. Honestly, it wouldn't click for people until I use some sort of example. So I don't even remember what your original question was, but in terms of writing, I do think I'm trying to do a little bit of both in terms of academic and for people in the church and, but I do believe at the academic level as well, you, you need to write so the people can get it and they can understand it.And I mean, really, why right a book where a good majority of the population, even who are interested in this can barely understand it. Like, that's not going to reach many people. And it kind of seems like a fool's errand, in some sense. so, so anyways, I, I think we need a push. Helen Sword has a great book on this, stylish academic writing, which I require for my students in the THM program where she just shows like you, you don't have to write in a way that.Is boring and dull. You can be creative. I mean, there's a difference between being creative and cute, and I always have to kind of tell my students and tell myself to find that balance. Like if you're being too colloquial, if you're being too funny in an academic type paper, yeah, you're going to get dinged on that.But there's a way to write, I think with analogies and with illustrations and with varying your sentence length and so forth and so on, that actually makes it enjoyable to read and people get a lot more out of it. So.Jeff: man. Absolutely. I, As I think I may have shared this on Twitter, that I, I got accepted into the PhD program at Southern for  biblical spirituality. And that was one of the things in the interview that we talked about, is that obviously I've done a lot of popular level writing and that it, you know.  How do I view the challenge of now having to come into academic writing? what do I think about that? And I said, yeah, I think it will be a challenge. when I had to do some master's leveling work, that was one of the comments I got was, this paper's great, but it's too  lay level, too popular level, too a funny, like you gotta.Got to make it more like academic writing. And I thought, okay, this is going to be, this is going to be a, a struggle, to, you know, to grow in. But, so one guy, he just told me, Hey, you gotta do what you do for the papers and stuff, dissertations. But then when it comes to. The actual writing, after seminary, then, you know, have fun. Get after. Right. You know, like Kevin Vanhoozer, Michael Bird, he's got a, his commentary. Yeah. Like bird's got his commentary on Romans. He's talking about being a bacon, a bacon chomping Gentile. Like, you know, that's just great.Patrick: I mean, it mentions like the Kardashians and his like systematic theology or something like, right. I mean, there is a, there is certainly a difference and you can't spend pages and pages telling a story, and doing things like that. So you ha, you have to know there's a genre, you're writing in certainly.But I do think genres can be pushed and genres can be molded to do what we want. Like.  sometimes we think about genres like, well, it's academic, so you have to stay in this lane, like who says we have to stay? Like, where's the genre king telling us we need to stay here. so, so I think we can make the genre what we want it to be.And, and I, I just going back to like more people will find it interesting and readable if you do make it more readable and, and where you tell some analogies. And so with that more academic stuff, I try to keep those shorter. And I try to keep, I try to keep the argument tight and so forth and so on, where if I'm writing a little bit more for, for church people or, or just a wider audience, I'll, I'll spend maybe a little more time on the stories and so forth and so on.So it is a different style, but I do think you can take many of those principles. I mean, honestly, what is writing? It's communication. And so if you're having a conversation with people that are not there, through your writing, and hopefully helping them in some ways. And if you're sitting there and you're boring them out of your mind, that's not a very good conversation.So.Jeff: Yeah. Amen. And listeners, if you don't know, Patrick mentioned Helen Sword. You can go listen to my interview with her. that's a few episodes back, maybe 20 or 30 episodes back, and we talk about her book, the writers diet, and zombie nouns and all that great stuff.And I was such a great episode. It's probably my favorite. Episode. She was just such a wise coach and just teach her on writing. It was, it was outstanding.Patrick: Yeah. She's great. All her books are so good. I just, again, require them for all my ThM  students because they're just so helpful.Jeff: yeah. Now, what are some of your, writers that have just been, maybe mentors for you, people that would, beyond kind of your riders, Mount Rushmore, your own personal, writers Rushmore.Patrick: Yeah. Well, in terms of, in terms of academic orJeff: Anything. AnythingPatrick: anything. Okay. Well, you know, in my PhD, a big influence was Jonathan Pennington. And he really pushed,  you're in the PhD program there at Southern. He's going to really push you on writing, and so he was really helpful in terms of just walking through writing and making sure it flowed very well.So he, I remember this line that he gave me, he maybe still uses it. It's a funny analogy, but. He, he used to say to me like, you should let your reader like kind of slide down this like butter slide without any rocks hitting them on the way. So you shouldn't ever be jostling your readers like, Oh, what was that like?What are you saying here? I don't quite understand. Like it should be a smooth ride always for your reader. So he was, he was always pushing me in my writing. He said, some of your ideas are good, but you're not getting them. Across well and half of the half the battle is getting them across well. And so I, I found that to be true.Like the things that were most captured by are spoken or written well. So I look at his writing, I think his writing is very good. So, I look at Jamie Smith's writing. Jamie Smith's writing is very good, just in terms of how he uses analogies from movies, from TV, from music, so forth and so on. And he just not, not only does he have great ideas, not only does he.Oh or write in a way that just captures your mind, but it captures your imagination. And so I think the combination of those two for someone like a Jamie Smith, even an N T right? Honestly and T right is popular. Partly because he knows how to write, partly because he takes concepts that are so difficult.I mean, his chapter on second temple Judaism and his and Mike bird's most recent introduction is, is the best summary of second temple Judaism I've ever read because it's readable. Like it's fun to read. And so NT Wright is popular partially because of what he says, but partially because how he says it.So, Kevin Vanhoozer, Jamie Smith and NT Wright, Jonathan Pennington. Ernest Hemingway, is, I would look up to him in terms of his style because he's so simple. And so one of the things, John Calvin, my father, brevity and clarity are just really what I strive for. And so I, I, I really work at trying to make my sentences short and kind of pop.Yeah. But I don't do that always, because if you do that always it gets a little, you know, you're kind of like just duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh. So you really want to vent, vary your sentence length. But I think what most people struggle with is, getting a sentence in there that's three or four words.And so I, I'm even writing a commentary right now and I'm just working on looking at my sentences and saying, can I shorten this at all? Can I make it pop anymore? And if I have a long sentence right before it. I really want to put a short sentence or a few short sentences right afterwards just to kind of make it pop.So, so those are some of the people I look at. I mean, obviously I love C S Lewis, JR Tolkien, severe, very, they're great writers. Alexander Dumas. he's great in terms of just storytelling. He, his books on three Musketeers, man in the iron mask. Those are some of the books, like in the past a lot. So, in terms of classics, those would be some of the people I look up to.Jeff: Yeah. I think the, the varying of of sentence length, man, that is just a writing hack that if, if people could start implementing right away, it'll, it'll, I think it does revolutionize your writing. It just gives the reader variation and speed, and let things sink in. Like I, I think there are three people who have, who do amazing job at it, and they're all related. Ray, Cortland, Gavin, Orland, and Dane, Orland, all three of them. I'm reading Dana, Portland's gentle and lowly right now, and he just does a masterful job at having these longer profound sentences. And then a very short, abrupt, the sentence right after that that kind of lets it all sit.It's kind of a nice shave and a haircut and then give any six bits right at the end. I mean, it's just, it's so good.Patrick: There must be something in their blood. You know, one person said, you can do, and maybe you've done this is you know, when you're writing just the, how long your sentences are, you can look and see. But if you double space between each one for like for a page, you can just see in terms of visually how long your sentences are going.Does that make sense? So like keep your, do one double space, go to the next sentence. And so just after you've written it, go through and say, Oh look, all of my sentences are like. 10 words, that means you're not very like, it's going to be the same length on your, on your page. That makes sense. So,Who Jeff: did that? Somebody shared that on Twitter and that they make their students do it.Patrick: I don't remember. I feel like somebody else had told me that, so I do that sometimes as well. I just, I more look at it now and just say, okay, how long is the sentence? But it's, it's something I'm always looking for.Jeff: Yeah, that's a great, that's a great trick. yeah. So man, you've written, Matthew, the about the discipled scribe. you've got, your book on kingdom through in covenants and stuff are no nuts on it. Kingdom and glory in the cross. What's the title of the book from Crossway?Patrick: for God and the glory of the cross. Yeah. And there's a big debate going around about gospel. So you know, you can just pick up that book and get all your answers.Jeff: Go pick that up. Patrick: it.And then. Is that it right now? I mean, I have my dissertation out and then I have a book on the Ascension coming out this summer.Jeff: I'm s, I'm pumped foor that.Patrick: And then a few, quite a few other projectsJeff: Yeah. Yeah. So let's, let's go through the, the, the, your tweets. So at 9:57 AM my time, I guess. April 16th, 2020Patrick: Yeah.Jeff: at PJ_Shriner says, a few people have asked me what I'm working on during hashtag quarantine life in regard to books, projects there. The sit below, here comes thePatrick: And I think that there's the, there's the edit you need in there somewhere. Tweets are terrible.Jeff: One, I'm putting the finishing touches on my Ascension book with Lexham press @Lexhampress coming out in July, which may, I can't wait for it. And you say the second tweet, in it argued Jesus' work would be incomplete without his ascent to God's right hand, not only a key moment in the gospel story. Jesus' Ascension was necessary for his present ministry in and through the church. And that's in the snapshots of theology. A little series that Lexham puts out. Actually have Larry Hurtado sitting over here, Todd, Patrick: it's great. It's a great book. That's a great book. I, I mean, part of the reason I'm excited about that series, it's just because that book was so formative and helpful like we were just talking about. I mean, he's done so much work. That's a snapshot of, I mean, years and years of his work, so that's a great book.Jeff: Yeah. Destroys or the gods is outstanding.Patrick: I love that book too.Jeff: two, you said in June, the book Baptist and the church tradition releases where I contributed a chapter on hermeneutics. Three, I'm about to turn in a manuscript for a commentary on acts with B&H pub that looks at the book from a more theological, narratival and ecclesial way.My guess is should be late 2021 for I midway through a book with at moody publishers called the visual word. And illustrate a guy to the New Testament books. I'm a very excited to see how this project show people this project based off my visual outlines I've posted on Twitter. That's gonna be very cool.Five I am working on a proposal for a book on the gospel that is tentatively called the political gospel, and that's all I will say about it at this point. And I forgot to add, I just signed another contract with  Crossway to do a New Testament biblical theology of Acts. I sketched out two chapters and we'll try to use the second half of the summer to work on it.Dude, fill up your schedule, man. You got, you know, you need to find some stuff to doPatrick: That's what my wife keeps saying. She's like, why are you doing this? You don't make any money off this.Jeff: a man. She is preachingPatrick: she knows though that like I, I just love to do it. Like this is not, this is not a chore for me. And you know, some of these are related. So my Acts commentary is birthing both the Ascension book and the ax biblical theology. So, you know, some of these things are spinoffs. So if things that I've thought through and I'm like, I can't put all this in this commentary I got, I got to do something else on this.So. So many of these things are related, but, and they're different. You know, I'm, I'm trying to, one of the things I like to do is just write in different, at different levels. So the commentary is a little more academic. It's not, it's actually not a technical commentary, but it's still more academic. the essential book is more like the kingdom of God book and glory of the cross.And then the acts book will again be more at that level. and then the visual word one is totally different. If you've seen Ryan Lister stuff, I think you've had him on here actually, right. So I'm using the same artists from humble beast and designing all of my kind of outlines in the new Testament.And then I'm going to summarize the whole new Testament book in two paragraphs and then link to the icons that he's making for each section of the book. I'll have a paragraph summary. So what we're hoping that's going to be is someone sits down, they're like, I'm going to preach through Romans. Like you can look at it, outline the front of a commentary, but honestly, my eyes just go cross eyed when I see things like, you're like, what in the world is happening here, so we're going to fit the outline of every book on one page that's a more minimalist. You can kind of look, I mean, you can't look at it probably in 30 seconds and get it, but you can look at it for maybe two minutes and kind of get the flow and read a very short summary just to kind of have a sense of where this is going and how, how it's put together, and I'll use like a, for Romans, I put righteousness of God for Matthew, fulfillment for Mark, the servant King. So kind of get the theme up there and just, this is what I think the theme is for this. This is, if you, even if you're going to do a preaching series.I'm trying to think for preachers, like what, what would be a good, almost like title for your sermon series? people can do different ones obviously, but I'm thinking, especially for pastors for that one. So that's been really fun and really difficult because it's a new skill because I have to think of what image I've got to instruct to Anthony who is working with me.Like what image do we tell them about to do second Corinthians? What image do you do for comfort? Like, that's so hard to do. It's a totally different skill. So we get on, we get on once a week and I say, this is what it's about. And then we bounce around ideas for what kind of icon or image would fit for it. And, usually he helps me more than I help him because I'm like, man, I have no idea. Let's just put a cross for all of these and go.Jeff: That's, that's, that's pretty funny. Okay, so you, you got all these, all these projects, that have, you know, some are done, some you're working on, some are, are almost completed. How do you keep these things straight? How do you organize, what does the writing week look like for you?Patrick: Yeah, well, it's, it's not even the main thing I do because I'm a teacher and I run the THM program here at Western seminary, so that, that's the first thing I do. And so I, I make sure I have my classes and my grading. My interactions with students, and I'm in pastoral ministry. I'm an elder at my church. So those things certainly come first.But, in terms of all the writing projects that I, I try to do, you know, each one's at a different stage and I find it helpful to, hopefully, I can continue this. I'm, you know, I'm new to this. I'm still figuring it out, but, So, so my Acts commentary right now, like I'm editing it right before it goes to the publisher.My Ascension book is the fine editing, like the final stage where like just about done with it. So I just saw it typeset. We're still finding very minor errors, so forth and so on. So I enjoy every stage of the writing process. And. The other books. so the visual book, I'm more in the middle of it. I'm still writing, I'm still composing. The Crossway book I just composed like two chapters. So for me, if I sit down, like let's say I have a whole day to write because I, I've gotten everything else done. If I sit down and I try to compose all day long, like just write on a blank screen, usually I'm pretty much done in about like three to five.Like I'm sapped, right? I could sit there and produce pretty quickly. And get something on paper. But after that, I pretty much need to add just because my brain is fried and it's a different, it's a different mental exercise to me. So actually with all these projects, I like having them at different stages because I just mentally can't be always editing.Like I'm so tired of editing my Acts commentary right now. I'm like, it's killing me. But I know I have to keep editing it. And, and one of the things about my writing that I've learned, and this might be helpful for people, is. You know, people talk about different types of writers. Either you're kind of slow and clean, or you're like quick and muddy in your writing.In other words, you either get stuff out really quickly and it's a mess, or you have a problem with getting things out, but when you get it out, it's gold. I'm definitely in, in the first case, I, it it out so quickly. I mean, I can. Like, I literally just signed a contract with Crossway and I got 20,000 words out.Like, no problem. But it's a mess. It's a mess. Like it's, it's not even close to being done. Cause people are like, Oh my goodness, you got out 20,000 words that quickly. And I'm like, well yeah, but it's, I've got to edit this thing like 75 times after this.Jeff: and that is not, yeah, we're totally inverse.Patrick: You're, you're the different way. And that's, that's fine. Like, that's different personalities and that's how they work. So I, I can get stuff on paper, but man, I have to work at editing and I'm not, I don't think I'm a great editor. Honestly. I need help. that's where publishers helped me a lot. But I, I literally read through my manuscripts so many times.Probably. there's no, there's not too many times that you can read through it, right. But, I read, I feel like I've read through my Acts commentary 30 times now, just editing, editing, editing, editing. And then what I try to do is I send it to people who are nice enough where they will read my stuff and you get different eyes on it and they see different things.So. right now it's, it's gone out to a few scholars and a few friends just to say, Hey, help me out with writing and help me out with content. Help me out with whatever you want to help me out with. If you, if you have any time, give me feedback. SoJeff: Man, I'm with you, I remember, you know, writing Humble Calvinism and then having to edit the chapters over and over and over, and then eventually you just think, I don't want to look at this again.Patrick: yeah, you get tired of it.Jeff: I don't even like it anymore. I don't want to see it. Just editor-you take it if you're good with it, I'm good with it.Like I don't even want to look at it anymore.Patrick: It's usually when it comes out and you're like, I'm so tired of thisJeff: Oh yeah. But then when I got the first box of like author copies, it's like, Oh, cool. Open it up. I'm like, man, that's a great cover. They did a great job. I flipped open. I start looking at it. I'm like, that was dumb. Why did I put that in there? This book stinks.No one's going to read this dumb thing.Patrick: that's right.Jeff: this is a nightmare. Okay, soPatrick: I haven't read that yet, but I've heard great things. I don't think you're right about that.Jeff: a lot of people are liars. you know, that's what we, that's what we know about social media. The book stinks this is, this is me trying to be a humble, humble Calvinist.  So when you're going to sit down to, to write. Let's, let's now talk about, I this, I did this with Lore Ferguson Wilbert and I, I, I don't remember to do it. Whenever I sit down to do these interviews, I just sit down. I don't have any notes. I have nothing. And it's just a, just a conversation about writing. So I want to try to remember to do this with, with, with people on the show. this is like the MTV writers crib edition, remember that show cribs?Patrick: Yeah.Jeff: And so.Patrick: The scholars who do cribs would be, it would be quite disappointing to take, take them through the houseJeff: So we're just going to do your writing area and your desk and your like habits. All right, so, so what's the place where you typically write? tell me, tell me two things on your desk that are there.Patrick: Yeah. You know where I write the best is at coffee shops. So I go to Heart coffee on woods in Portland. It's great coffee, and I don't really drink coffee, so I get some tea. but yeah, that's another story. But they have, the walls are basically all windows, and I put in headphones. And I sit down just with my computer or with research and I began writing. So, I like, number one, I like to change the scenery because it gives me a new energy. And so every once in a while it change  coffee shops just because I feel like I'm in a rut and honestly, like a new seat and looking at new things will give, give me something, I don't know what it is.Okay. Jeff: So if you're not at heart, where do you go? Do you go to Cova?Patrick: Yeah. Well, there's a few coffee shops like in Sellwood, which is near us that I'm like, ah, I don't even, Oh, a fair lane coffee. So there's some like local coffee shops. Cova is further away from me, so I don't always go to that one. But there's some local coffee shops that I go, I kind of go around.Sometimes I go to our. A local public library to write. sometimes I'll go to a restaurant and eat lunch there and just hang out there and write. Sometimes I'll do it in my office, but my office doesn't have great windows. But if I need resources and I need my books, then I'll do it in my office.Recently, I've had to do it at home. That's worked terribly, with COVID stuff. So we just have young kids and everything's going on, and I never know what, what's my role here? Do I keep writing or do I let my son fall off the trampoline? You know, So, yeah, I think the place that I write the best is at a coffee shop with, this is the other weird thing about me.I have like Epic  movie scores that I listened to while I writeJeff: Not weird.  Not Patrick: no, that's not weird. Okay. So I have a Spotify playlist, like best studying scores, and I've actually posted on, Twitter a few times, but I have, let me pull it up right now. How many songs? I have 200, 206 songs.Jeff: That's it.Patrick: That's it. Sorry,Jeff: How many hours? What's the hours of your writing playlist?Patrick: 13 hours and 50 minutes.Jeff: man, I have 466 songs.Patrick: you killed me.Jeff: 27 hours and 36 minutes.Patrick: you got to share that with meJeff: Yeah, I'll share it with you. It's got explosion in the sky. It's not just soundtracks though, but there are a lot of soundtracks, so it's got the lone survivor sound track. social network.Patrick: yeah, yeah.Jeff: a lot of the, all of stranger things is in here. Anything Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have done is in here.Patrick: So I don't do the whole albums. Here's the difference. I just picked three songs that I love the best from certain ones. So you do, do you do a whole albumJeff: I see the whole album andPatrick: You cheated to win. That's appraised.Jeff: Well, and, and like, yeah, you do, you, yours is more refined, but like, I have all the beautiful eulogy instrumentals in here.Patrick: Oh, cool. Yup, yup.Jeff: it's gotta be instrument, all the kinks, kaleidoscope, I mean, all that stuff. And then I just pop it on shuffle and just let it go.Patrick: You know, and sometimes I can do just like indie music with lyrics, local natives. I mean, just whoever I'm listening to you, Bon Iver, honestly, I can write with, with even words coming through the speakers and it's fine. Especially if I know the music, if I don't know the music as well. Then it's a little harder for me, but, if I forget my headphones, I find it very difficult. I don't know. It's just something about my pattern.Jeff: And like if I'm, if I'm at my, my home study, which is where I typically do most of my writing as I've got my, my vinyls over here, and sometimes I'll pop those on. That way I can get up, you know, you got to flip it. So I have, I'll have to get up that way. You're moving around and not sit in the chair for hours on end.And, but I found out that one, the one artists I cannot write to is Stevie Ray Vaughan. He is too good. And I sit back at my chair, I'm making all the faces, like I'm playing with them and I start air guitar and I'm like, I can't listen to this and work.Patrick: I thought you were going to say DrakeJeff: No, I got enemies. you know, I, I can't, I don't, I probably didn't know how the rights to even say that.Patrick: God'sJeff: on here, God's plan,Patrick: you should look at in some of my works, I try to sneak in footnotes like little, Easter eggs, you know, for people.Jeff: I wanted to do that with a Seinfeld references.Patrick: Did they cut them? Don't let people cut them.Jeff: they cut it. They, I said something like a puffy white shirt. but it was a part of this argument I was trying to make maybe for definite atonement or something. I don't remember. And we just had too many words and so it had to be cut. So this whole like line of logic, I was trying to make like editors like this, this part has to go, I was like, Oh no puffy white shirt.Like,Patrick: Yup. Don't do it.Jeff: but it's gone. So that dream, that guy, the dream, and I didn't do it for my first book. I was like, well,Patrick: In the Acts commentary argue that God's plan is one of the main theological themes. So I had to footnote Drake.Jeff: ah, so is that gonna make it?Patrick: I have no idea. They haven't seen it yet, but I mean, I've got, I've got Kanye, I've got Drake in there. I've got, I've got a bunch of people thatJeff: Kanye is good. Yeah. Kanye's a brother.Patrick: I just slip them in there, so we'll see what the editors say, but I'll, I'll, I'm going to fight for him. I'm going to fight for him.Jeff: It was, it was so difficult in my sermon that I preached last Thursday, that aired on Sunday, and I just started at First John. And when I said, he is the light. It was so difficult for me to not to say cut out all the lights. He the light.Patrick: That's right.Jeff: Got pulled over, see the brights. Okay. now. So what we already talked about music, we talked about you don't have a writing desk.so in either your study or your office at home or flip flop, whatever that may be, what are some objects in there that they just mean a lot to you? Either just, you know, cause they communicate a lot, you know, of truth and reminds you of things or this, you know, they're part of your personality.Patrick: Yeah. I wish I had better answers to this. I, I've looked at like paintings that I want to get a, I don't have any of that stuff right now, so when I'm at the coffee shop, what means a lot to me is I'm in the city, let's just put it this way, and I'm watching people walk by. And I like being in the city because it just reminds me of where I'm placed and what's going on, and that very few care about what I'm doing.So, but that, like, I'm writing to people who are ministering to these people, right. And I'm getting to them. So in terms of what's important to me, I usually have my chai with me. I have my MacBook pro, I have my music. And if you're at a coffee shop, you don't have any of your other stuff. So I actually don't have a lot of stuff like that in my office. I have my books around me. I have my standing up and down desks that I can stand up with sometimes. But, I've wanted to get some paintings. I just haven't decided what to, and they are. Yeah. I mean, I'm a, I'm a poor.Jeff: I'll have to get a print framed. I'm like, good grief. And so,Patrick: to steal them, you know? So,Jeff: Yeah. National. It'd be like a, not national treasure. I don't know what it would be. Global treasure. Patrick: I you little, you might have like magical devices, like, you know, Paul and Peter, like you could touch their garments and you could be a better writer. I don't have any of that stuff. I just honestly have my computer and what I'm drinking and the headphones, the headphones are the key piece for me.Jeff: Yeah. So we need  some, relics.Patrick: A rally.Jeff: need some writing relics. Amid Midwestern has them. They've got Spurgeon's hair follicles. they'rePatrick: it. I,Jeff: in a tank. Patrick: cigar that he smoked before he died.Jeff: his cherry wine  bottle opener too. Patrick: I did, like when I touched those things, I became a better preacher. So,Jeff: I, I developed a, a British accent for the day when I, when I did it. So like, and my study, I've got the a, do you remember? You've, I know you've seen it. It's a drawing of Eve and Mary.Patrick: Oh yeah, the controversial one now because of joe carter.Jeff: Yeah. Where, you know, and,Patrick: no, I'm, I'm for, I'm for you though. It's okay. it's a great image. I've, you know, at the beginning, I, you know, I'm totally interrupting you, but I've thought about getting that one, and then I thought, dang, it got controversial now. I don't know if I want to do it.Jeff: I don't remember the controversy about it. Patrick: Whether it's to Roman Catholic,Jeff: Too Roman Catholic. Okay. Patrick: I mean, what's the controversy like is marry ourselves nation? And I'm like, no, it's . It's like,Jeff: baby in the womb. Jesus in her womb,Patrick: Yeah, exactly.Jeff: clear. But Mary is the one stopping the on  the snake. So I have that here, but I like a bigger version of it. So now, cause it was just like a little cardPatrick: It's tiny. Yeah.Jeff: And so I found that, monastery, I think it's the, the word, the right word where they make them and they make them in a little bit bigger frame. So I have like an eight and a half by 11. Matted but not framed. It's leaning on a lamp cause I can't afford a frame.Patrick: Yeah. I'm glad you're worshiping Mary. You know, that's, you can cut all of this, but.Jeff: Well then it's right next to a Luther bobblehead. Yeah.Patrick: There you go. There you go. You're just, that seems like it'd be very confusing to you. Like who am I right now?Jeff: And then there's a James harden bobblehead adjacent to that.Patrick: do you want to talk about the, what is it, 2014 Damian Lillard shot at all?Jeff: man, I know there are some things I hope don't come up on podcasts, and that's definitely one of them.Patrick: yeah, well, don't worry. We were, what are we? We're ninth in the Western.Jeff: horriblePatrick: Very horrible thisJeff: Y'all are probably happy this season's probably going to get canceled.Patrick: Oh, I mean, it gives time for everybody to get Nurkuic to get back up and we're, we're good. Yeah.Jeff: I, I, I really do fear Steph Curry and all those guys too. But man, there's something about Damian Lillard that against the rockets, man, he's just stone cold. And I remember that night so vividly, a friend was, I think maybe two friends were over. We were dancing in the living room, all that jumping around.And then when Lillard hit that shot, I mean, I literally fell to my knees.Patrick: Yeah, I shouldn't have problem because you know the saints, when they beat the Vikings in 2008 or something like that, when we had Brett Farve, do you remember that game? And then the saints went on to win the Superbowl. That was like. They like stuck a dagger in my heart. That was the worst ever. They tried to injure Farve in that game.They twist his ankle. Then he threw an interception at the end. But Damian Lillard, I mean, I'm watching the, you know, the last dance, I'm sure everybody, it's 6 million people are watching. Everyone's watching it. but Damian Lillard, he's not Jordan, obviously, but he's got that killer instinctJeff: right, right.Patrick: there's something about it, which, you know, we won't talk.I just don't think LeBron has that killer.Jeff: I don't. I don't think so either. And I, yeah, I don't think harden has it clearly. I feel like Westbrook has it more than harden does. cause he just so intense. And so I, I was very anti us getting Westbrook at the beginning, but now I'm, I'm thrilled that we have them and glad that we do. He's so much fun.And I still think Harden's great too. At the Westbrook bobblehead has been upgraded. It's on my desk. I'm next to a Calvin bobblehead. I have a lot of bobbleheadsPatrick: We've got two of the probably best bat backcourts, right? I mean, McCollum, Lillard, Westbrook and Harden. That's, is there any backcourt that's better? I can't think of.Jeff: Active. No.Patrick: Yeah, yeah,Jeff: Unless you know Steph and Klay, but I  would pick Harden Patrick: yeah, Jeff: KlayPatrick: that's true.Jeff: clay and depending on what needs to happen, I, you know, if I need the last shot at the game, I'm picking stuff. If I need somebody to care my franchise by themselves, I'm picking Harden.Patrick: Yeah. Yeah. I would, Oh, we're talking too much basketball now, but I went a playoff game where stuff was coming back 2016 I think it was. He was coming back from an injury. And, yeah, we were beating them. I mean, it was a great game. The fans were going crazy. Playoff game, first round playing the warriors.We were beating them the whole game. And Steph was, you know, he was kind of getting back from his injury. You could tell he was a little rusty. And then he turned it on the fourth quarter and over time it demolished, demolished us. And he was just draining threes. And I respected him, but I hated him at the same time.Jeff:  man, I was at the game where Chris Paul pulled his hamstring.Patrick: Oh, yeah.My Jeff: wife and I were in the stadium. I saw him hop up and grab the back of his leg and I just knew it's over.Patrick: Yikes. Yeah.Jeff: that would've been it. We would've, we would've won and the championship, we would have steamrolled those Cavs. Ah, man. And I got a lot, a lot of rockets, Miller memorabilia around here too. And so I think, is there anything left to say about writing?Patrick: I'm sure there's a lot, butJeff: You gave so much great advice. Patrick: I may, main thing I'd say is edit, edit. You got to edit your work a ton. A ton. And that's especially for me because I write so quickly, but. you know, I have a document and another interesting thing about writing, I'll just add this. I have, a document in Evernote. I use Evernote to save some stuff and I just have a document called writing cuts.And I literally, at the end of my writing, I go through and I search my, there is, there are, it is, it was my adverbs, my, that's my is I N G statements that was, that are very, anything that does doesn't need to be there. And I searched him. I don't take everything out, but I just look at all those and say, does that need to be there?Like are usually a, there is, there are sentences are not strong sentences or it is, it was, it can be helpful in terms of if you're trying to make a point and being poetic or repetitive at times. But for the most part, I, I think it's a good thing to have those like things that you usually don't want in your writing and just control F.And search those things, get rid of them. So that's one of the final steps I do. I just look for those things and try to strengthen my sentences.Jeff: man, that's a great, great tip. I'll, I'll steal that and be frustrated at myself in the, in the process. Self-editing and self-loathing are very close friends.Patrick: That's right.Jeff: Well, Patrick, thanks so much for coming on the show, man. listeners, be sure to go to Amazon and search for all of Patrick's books. You can find Matthew, his, his book of Matthew, the disciple and scribe, there and also find his book on the kingdom and the cross from Crossway and all of his new books coming out.And especially his Ascension book, which you will definitely want to grab. And then you'll also want to go. after you leave a five star review for this podcast, you're gonna to go to your podcast app and go over and find food trucks in Babylon with him and Todd miles is a great show, a lot of fun, a great theology, great guests, and fun conversations about food. Of course, it's in Portland and all that. Do you have a handlebar mustache yet? Or just just the beard.Patrick: You know, I had one for a little while and then I just got rid of it on the quarantine time. My wife said, it's time to go so. I always grown it out. It was getting pretty big. I mean, to the point where, man, I was curling that thing. It was, it was going pretty high. I had an automatic like joker smile on my face all the time.It was great.Jeff: I have an automatic envy for everyone with facial hair, with a beard. Just my wife is a anti beard.Patrick: Dr. Mohler at ETS was like, Hey, I see your hair's going every which way now, and then he walked away from me. That was him making fun of me for my handle stash. So. I just trying to think of something clever but to say back to him, but I couldn't think it up.Jeff: So be sure to be sure to go listen to their their podcast about theology and a little bit about food, food trucks in Babylon. He goes, subscribe to that and go follow him on Twitter and Patrick, what's your blog? So you can tell people to go over there.Patrick: I don't do anything on my blog.Jeff: All right. Don't go there.Patrick: Yeah, don'tJeff: Go to mine, go to mine. I blogged there three times a year, jamedders.comPatrick: There you go. Jeff: And of course you can find all of my books on Amazon as well, and follow me on Twitter at Mr Medders and I love to hear from you. Be sure to leave a rating for the show in iTunes and all that. Tell your grandmother and as always, just to keep writing. 

Join us as we discuss Philadelphian Samuel Morton who set out to prove racial inferiority based on skull sizes. Guest Co-Host Nathaniel Miller joins Michiko as we look at Morton's skull measuring methods, a little bit about the potential origins of black-face mummers, and a smattering of Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Dumas, and repatriation of the remains of enslaved people.References: Take Action: Change.org petition https://www.change.org/p/president-of-university-of-penn-and-board-of-trustees-university-of-penn-to-return-enslaved-crania Samuel Morton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_George_MortonCrania Americana https://archive.org/details/Craniaamericana00Mort/page/261/mode/2upCatalogue of human crania in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of PhiladelphiaPenn Museum Morton Cranial Collection https://www.penn.museum/sites/morton/index.phpRacism in Jacksonian America + reference to the Fancy Balls Lapsansky, Emma Jones. “‘Since They Got Those Separate Churches’: Afro-Americans and Racism in Jacksonian Philadelphia.” American Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 1, 1980, pp. 54–78. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2712496. Accessed 2 Mar. 2020.Edward Clay’s Racist Political Cartoons about Rich Black Philadelphians http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/abolitn/gallclayf.htmlDNA can’t tell your race https://www.popsci.com/story/science/dna-tests-myth-ancestry-race/Dr. Sarah Tishkoff https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/10/05/sarah-tishkoff-penn-race-genetics/Thomas Jefferson and his Slave Profit Calculations https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-dark-side-of-thomas-jefferson-35976004/The Mismeasure of Man https://www.amazon.com/Mismeasure-Man-Revised-Expanded/dp/0393314251/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+mismeasure+of+man&qid=1583186691&s=books&sr=1-1 Superior: the Return of Race Science https://www.amazon.com/Superior-Return-Science-Angela-Saini/dp/0807076910Support the show (https://www.facebook.com/deadphillypeeps/)

By Davy Crockett  Before returning to more serious ultrarunning history, three more “around the world on foot” tales must be told. These stories are so bizarre that they are hard to believe, but they did happen. These individuals gave up years of their lives to gather attention by walking thousands of miles enduring much hardship. Eventually as world conflict exploded into World War I, much of what the public thought was nonsense, disappeared for a time. These three stories involved a “masked walker,” an English man who tried to walk around the world in an iron mask. Also, an Austrian man who tried to push his family in a baby carriage around the world. And finally, the “king of the casks”, two Italians who tried to roll a giant barrel around the world. While wager conditions surrounding all three were hoaxes, the extreme walking efforts that took place were genuine. Attention was given worldwide to their efforts. Commenting on one of them, it was written, “He is one of the oddest of the cranks that have started to go around the earth.” The Masked Walker - 1908 The “man in the iron mask” was a prisoner held in a French prison during the 1600s. Books, theatrical plays, and movies have been produced involving his story. In 1847 Alexander Dumas, author of The Three Musketeers, wrote a fictional tale about the man in the iron mask which captured the imagination of readers in the 19th century. In 1908, word came from England about a bizarre “around the world walk” that had begun, involving a man in an iron mask. A news report included, “When the average English newspaper is looking hard for a genuine unmitigated ass, it’s a plugged Canadian dime to a double eagle that it will settle on an American millionaire.” Indeed, it was believed that an American multi-millionaire put up $100,000 for a person to walk around the world in very unusual circumstances. The conditions included that the man must wear a mask keeping his identity a secret for the entire journey! In addition he must start with less than five dollars, earn money along the way, get a signature from a town official from every town he entered along with a cancelled postage stamp, must push a perambulator (baby carriage), and must find a wife along the way. Many scoffed that this must be a joke. “The English reading public will believe anything that can be invented by the most prolific and imaginative of minds and expressed in the confines of a newspaper column. The English dailies print a whole lot of stories that would be laughed out of an American newspaper office.” The "iron mask" on a postcard with his assistant Nevertheless, a man in England took up the challenge, and encased his head in a black iron mask “of the fashion of the middle ages” and started from London’s Trafalgar Square on January 1, 1908. He pushed a perambulator into a biting wind to begin his ten-year walk around the world, accompanied by an assistant. The masked walker said, “I at once made up my mind to accept the wager. Upon telling the millionaire the decision I had come to, he at once made arrangement with another well-known American gentleman to accompany me. He is only doing it for the sport.” The masked walker preferred that he be called “the iron mask” and the press wondered how he would find someone willing to marry him without looking at his face. But they guessed if he had a chance of winning $100,000 that there would be plenty of takers. He stated that his future wife must be between 25-30 years old, well-educated, of even temper, and have some knowledge of music. As he left Trafalgar Square, he waved to the crowd and yelled, “Farewell, see you in ten years.” He then went over London Bridge and down the Old Kent Road with a large crowd following. He said, “I shall sell photographs and pamphlets while on the journey.” The perambulator was filled with them. That first day he was selling them as fast as he could grab the money.

The most recent adaptation of Alexander Dumas's classic novel is one of our favorite films. So be ready to listen to us fanboy over it.

Kaytee and Meredith are back into their routine after some guests and a big shake-up, and we’re excited to be here! You’ll hear a “bookish moment of the week” from each of us: moving and the big changes it brings, a #bookstagram challenge. Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. This week is going to feel a little different for a number of reasons. Take a listen to hear about 2 books Kaytee read recently and then we’ll talk about what’s happening with Meredith’s reading life. We’ll move on to a short Slow But Steady update from each of us, with a funny update from a couple listeners. For our deep dive this week, we are checking out the eleventh category of the #readerstatus side of the Currently Reading Challenge, books by authors from other countries. We have a lot of great authors here and we know you’ll have a bunch to add to our list! Finally, this week, we are Bellying Up to the Book Bar with listener Jami Dabbs. She loves “stories well-told with characters you can sink your teeth into” and we think we’ve got some great recs for her. As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you’d like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don’t scroll down! *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*   . . . . . 2:35 - Currently Reading Challenge 3:55 - Book People in Austin, TX 4:36 - Fabled Book Shop in Waco, TX 5:08 - Texas Book Festival 5:33 - #book10gram challenge with @howjessreads 5:38 - Jessica Howard on Episode 3 of Season 2 9:36 - After the Flood by Kassandra Montag 13:32 - The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger 13:40- Episode 31 of Ten Things to Tell You 15:41 - Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty 18:09 - A Better Man by Louise Penny 29:23 - Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny 29:33 - Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan 31:38 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry 31:59 - Anne of Avonlea by LM Montgomery 32:02 - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 33:05 - The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway 33:13 - A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway 33:14 - The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway 34:11 - Harry Potter and the Sacred Text podcast 34:25 - Harry Potter series by JK Rowling 35:37 - Currently Reading Challenge 36:18 - Murmur of Bees by Sophia Segovia 36:44 - Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel 37:20 - Chocolat by Joanne Harris 38:10 - A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle 38:36 - Frederick Backman (Beartown, A Man Called Ove, etc) 38:54 - Stieg Larsson Millennium Series (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) 39:14 - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Americanah, We Should All Be Feminists, etc) 39:29 - Abraham Verghese - Cutting for Stone 39:33 - Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner, And The Mountains Echoed 39:57 - Alexander McCall Smith - The Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency 40:26 - John Boyne - The Heart’s Invisible Furies 40:54 - Junot Diaz - The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao 41:06 - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude 41:11 - Jose Saramago - Blindness 41:30 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas 41:31 - War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 41:32 - Les Miserables by Victor Hugo 41:35 - Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice, etc) 41:36 - Charles Dickens (Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, etc) 42:44 - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 42:47 - Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys 42:51 - We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter 42:53 - The Dry by Jane Harper 42:54 - Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand 42:56 - Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet 43:01 - Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 43:03 - Harry Potter by JK Rowling 43:56 - The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah 44:04 - The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 44:20 - Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend 44:38 - Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 45:46 - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr 44:49 - The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes 44:55 - The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak 45:36 - The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield 45:52 - A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams 46:27 - Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke 46:39 - The Current by Tim Johnston 47:07 - The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough 47:33 - North and South by John Jakes 47:56 - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry 48:08 - East of Eden by John Steinbeck 48:43 - Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson 48:50 - Winterhouse by Ben Guterson 49:10 - All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage 49:26 - The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

Tonight, we'll be reading the opening chapter to "The Count of Monte Cristo", completed in 1844 by french author Alexander Dumas. Considered a literary classic today, the story takes place in France, Italy, and islands in the Mediterranean during the historical events of 1815–1839: the era of the Bourbon Restoration through the reign of Louis-Philippe of France. An adventure story primarily concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy, and forgiveness; it centres on a man who is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes from jail, acquires a fortune, and sets about exacting revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment. His plans have devastating consequences for both the innocent and the guilty. -- 'V'Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/snoozecast)

Meredith and Kaytee are back with SO many books my fingers are cramped (this is becoming a theme…). You’ll hear a “bookish moment of the week” from each of us: family presentation at homeschool group and going into a new book completely blind. Next, we discuss our current reads for the week. We’ve got five current reads this week, and they are sci-fi/fantasy heavy, which is WEIRD for us! Lots of strong opinions here! We’ve got an update for you on our Slow But Steady reads and what’s been happening in the past week. Also a short grammar lesson on “Swifties”. For our deep dive this week, we had a number of listeners (and real life friends) request our favorite parenting books. This will span everything from pregnancy/birth to infanthood to growing children to adding siblings. Plus one funny pick for when you just want to laugh it off. Finally, this week, we are Pressing Books into Your Hands. We’ve got books “with caveats” this week. So, stay tuned and listen closely to see if they are actually right for you! As per usual, time-stamped show notes are below with references to every book and resource we mentioned in this episode. If you’d like to listen first and not spoil the surprise, don’t scroll down!  . . . . . 3:26 - A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman 3:28 - What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty 3:29 - Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin 6:52 - City of Bones by Cassandra Clare 8:15 - Twilight by Stephanie Meyer 11:17 - Murder in Bloomsbury by D.M. Quincy 12:38 - The Julian Kestrel books by Kate Ross 14:35 - A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert 14:45 - Leigh Kramer on Instagram 17:41 - The Passengers by John Marrs 19:30 - Minisode with John Marrs 20:20 - The One by John Marrs 20:34 - The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison 22:45 - Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein 25:24 - Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry 26:10 - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell 26:40 - On Writing by Stephen King 28:49 - The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914 by David McCullough 29:34 - The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt 29:39 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 29:47 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas 30:04 - Persuasion by Jane Austen 30:05 - Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery 30:07 - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 30:17 - A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara 33:31 - Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg 35:25 - On Becoming Baby Wise by Robert Bucknam and Gary Ezzo 36:05 - The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems by Tracey Hogg 36:29 - Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp 37:22 - Expecting Better by Emily Oster 38:43 - Cribsheet by Emily Oster 39:59 - Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman 40:54 - Baby-Led Weaning by Gill Rapley 42:02 - How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids by Jancee Dunn 42:42 - Episode 10 of Currently Reading 42:44 - Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys by David Thomas and Steven James 43:03 - Are My Kids on Track? by Sissy Goff, David Thomas, and Melissa Trevithan 43:15 - Triggers by Amber Lia and Wendy Speake 44:31 - Wonder Weeks by Xaviera Plas-Plooij, Frans X. Plooij, and Hetty van de Rijt 44:45 - Wonder Weeks app 46:25 - Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlisch 46:30 - Episode 8 of Currently Reading 46:35 - Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids by Laura Markham 46:37 - Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings by Laura Markham 47:09 - Parenting, Illustrated with Crappy Pictures by Amber Dusick 48:17 - Kindred by Octavia Butler 48:30 - One Great Book podcast with Anne Bogel (and the link to the Kindred episode) 51:23 - All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood *Please note that all book titles linked above are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!*  

Alexander Dumas was basically a comic book write, where's the lie TRADER JOES. One day we'll shut up about them Cold avocados + hot eggs = disappointing breakfast  Yay SPORTsBALL Colin Firth can't rhyme It's so blue i'm gonna die There's a lot to digest here.  . . . #podcasts #podcast #love #food #apple #itunes #show #episodes #funny #comedy

This is the first episode of the new podcast show called 'Is It Cos Im from Croydon' and it features one of the greatest writers ever, who happened to be a person of colour.  Alexander Dumas wrote many, many, many novels, which contained some of the greatest adventure stories ever told. But his own life and career, as well as that of his father, a Napoleonic Soldier was even more eventful than his books.  Sit, rest, have a cup of tea and listen to Mrs Check Out Your History aka as Mrs Classic Film Fan, tell the extraordinary true tale, of the life and career of one of the greatest novelists of the 19th Century, France ever produced. Alexander Dumas, the son of a Napoleonic soldier and the grandson of a black slave.

Nicole Alexander is an acclaimed voice in Australian rural fiction, with her new book Stone Country, her ninth historical novel, hitting the Top Ten best seller lists within days of release. Hi there I'm your host Jenny Wheeler and today Nicole talks about giving up a career in fashion to become a fourth generation grazier, the vivid and visceral landscapes that give her work such a strong sense of place, and the passionate emotion that drives her characters. Six things you'll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode: What it's like being a fourth generation grazierThe power of settingLearning to live well in a man's worldWhy city slickers love country storiesThe writers she admires mostWhat she'd do differently second time around Where to find Nicole Alexander: Website: https://www.nicolealexander.com.au/ Facebook: @AuthorNicoleAlexander  Twitter: @authorNicole Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-alexander-45415524 What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions. Jenny: But now, here's Nicole. .  Hello there Nicole and welcome to the show, it's great to have you with us. Jenny: Beginning at the beginning – was there a “Once Upon a Time” moment when you decided you wanted to write fiction??  And if so what was the catalyst for it? Nicole Alexander: telling Australia's "Bush" stories Nicole: [00:00:28] There was a catalyst I guess. I grew up on a rural property surrounded with a lot of readers and storytellers. And my father used to sit around the dining room table with us and regale us with all these wonderful stories from the past. Tales that  had come down through the generations.  [00:00:49] And one of those stories was about the actual settlement of our property.My great grandfather selected our land in 1893 and he chose a site for the homestead near the banks of a creek in that area.  [00:01:04] And in those early days he had some men with him. They spent their time cutting timber and building fences and shepherding the sheep which they'd over-landed from another property to the east. Now we're talking 1893 so as you can imagine the days and nights would have been equally long. And I always imagined that the monotony would have been quite extraordinary. That monotony was apparently only broken by the monthly arrival of the post. The magic of reading A supply rider would arrive on horseback delivering mail and other essential goods to those remoter settlers. And one thing that was delivered to my great grandfather in that first year of settlement was a book, a copy of Alexander Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. [00:01:54] It arrived wrapped up in brown paper and twine inside a saddle bag on the back of the pack horse. And you know when I think about that year. 1893, and the arrival of that novel, I can just imagine his excitement. I see him radiant, by the light of a flickering candle. Or sitting beneath fat lazy moons and the Bush stretching out around him in this really engulfing silence. That was the story I heard at a very early age.  [00:02:30] And that's one of the reasons why when I got a little bit older I started considering the possibility of eventually writing about our past or history. Jenny: It sparks the question in my mind. What made your great grandfather go there?  What did he do before he decided to go way out there? Nicole: [00:02:53] Well. my father's side of the family came from Ireland, and they went across to New Zealand first. Jenny: [00:03:00] But they obviously didn't stay there. The Australian adventure begins Nicole: [00:03:04] Well, I'm not quite sure why, but they'd heard that there'd been problems with the Maori Wars and the unrest. And I think that there was a little bit of a concern there. A lot of Irish, obviously as you would know,came across to New Zealand.

In this new subgenre, The Social Imperative, I discuss the designed and accidental social impact of the writings of three classic authors, Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo and Alexander Dumas.

Hoy dejamos el tema social un poco de lado, solo un poco porque hablamos de las diferentes crianzas que tuvimos, lo que ha cambiado nuestra querida Costa Rica.5 hermanos de diferentes madres, más de 20 años de amistad y dos horas completas para hablar de redes sociales, al antes y el ahora, la fidelidad, la familia y muchas cosas más.Titulo inspirado en Alexander Dumas

Nicole and Garret discuss White Boy Rick, the movie's failure to tell a good story, and outgrowth of the war on drugs from the 1980s crack epidemic. Read the Atavist article for an overview of the true story of Rick Wershe Jr. Garret recommends Actual Innocence: When Justice Goes Wrong and How to Make it Right and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. Nicole recommends seeing Hamilton. Check out our website where you can sign up for our newsletter and visit our store, talk to us on Twitter, visit our Facebook Page, and please leave a review for us on iTunes.

In honor of his birthday, New York Pacific brings Alexander Dumas back to life in this snippet from Episode 7: Look Upon Your Own Damn Works, oh wait, you can't, YOU'RE DEAD. In it, the revered author gets to learn about the impact his literary works made on the world of candy, and he gets a taste of existential horror! If you like this sketch, check out the full episode here.

sermon transcript Introduction What a joy I have today to preach on aspects of our heavenly inheritance. In Ephesians 1, the Apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians, “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints…” [Ephesians 1:18] Putting it simply, he prayed that they would know how rich they will be in Heaven. There could be no better passage of Scripture than Revelation 22:1-5 to give us a catalog of some of the aspects of our heavenly inheritance. Recently a friend encouraged me to listen to an audio recording of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. One of my favorite parts is the description of the treasure. It is marvelous. Edmond Dantès had escaped from the prison on Chateau D’If and had followed a treasure map to a hidden grotto where this vast treasure had been hidden in the 1490s. It is divided into three categories. “Three compartments divided the coffer. In the first, blazed piles of golden coin; in the second, were ranged bars of unpolished gold, which possessed nothing attractive save their value; in the third, Edmond grasped handfuls of diamonds, pearls, and rubies, which, as they fell on one another, sounded like hail against glass. After having touched, felt, examined these treasures, Edmond rushed through the caverns like a man seized with frenzy; he leaped on a rock, from whence he could behold the sea. He was alone -- alone with these countless, these unheard-of treasures! was he awake, or was it but a dream? He raced around screaming like a madman at his lavish fortune… Then he fell on his knees, and, clasping his hands convulsively, uttered a prayer intelligible to God alone. He soon became calmer and more happy, for only now did he begin to realize his felicity. He then set himself to work to count his fortune. There were a thousand ingots of gold, each weighing from two to three pounds; then he piled up twenty-five thousand crowns, each worth about eighty francs...; and he saw that the complement was not half empty. And he measured ten double handfuls of pearls, diamonds, and other gems, many of which, mounted by the most famous workmen, were valuable beyond calculation.” Edmond Dantes had to take in his treasure a little at a time. It was way too much for him to understand how wealthy he had become. He had to lift things up one at a time to take them in. That is the sense I have in our passage today. Quick, brief statements, one after another, list treasures of indescribable value. For example, “they will see his face…” A quick phrase but infinite in worth and value. We will lift up each of these treasures one at a time and ponder them. I pray that the eyes of our hearts will be enlightened to realize just how rich we will be in Heaven in our inheritance with the saints. If you are not yet a Christian, my desire is that you would be jealous to be that rich and you would cross over from death to life this very morning as I proclaim the simple truth of the Gospel. All you must do is believe the Gospel and you, too, will be that wealthy. This section in Revelation continues the Apostle John’s description of the New Jerusalem, which he began in Revelation 21:9-11: “One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.” John then describes the glorious architecture of the brilliant city, the New Jerusalem: its great high wall with twelve gates, each named for one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and each with an angel standing at the gates, not to guard it from threats but to welcome all who come; its twelve-fold foundations, each bearing the name of one of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb; the gates, each made of a spectacular single pearl; the streets, made of something unknown to us, like transparent gold; the foundations of the city wall decorated with twelve different colored gems, giving off every color of the spectrum with marvelous, radiant beauty. The New Jerusalem is incalculably massive in size, effectively the distance from Orlando to Abilene Texas, and up to the border of Canada, and as tall as it is long and broad, an incomprehensible size for a city. It is continually radiant with the glory of God, possessing a glowing translucent quality. The city gates stand open continually, and the wealth of the nations come stream in to beautify the city and make it even more glorious. John mentions the kings of the nations will come into it and bring their glory into it... so this city will be the focus of the New Heavens and New Earth. In some mysterious sense the New Jerusalem represents us, the people of God, the Bride of Christ. But it cannot be only a symbolic representation of the multifaceted diverse beauty of the Church of Jesus Christ, because we will need a place to live forever. We will have actual physical resurrection bodies like Christ’s resurrection body. Christ, “by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” [Philippians 3:21] After his resurrection, when he appeared in the upper room, Jesus was trying to prove to his Apostles that they were not seeing a ghost. He said “‘Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.” [Luke 24:39-40] In the same way, we will have bodies. We must have a place to walk, a place to gather, a place to dwell, a place to eat and drink, and that place will be the New Jerusalem. We saw that it is a perfectly pure place, free from all threats, enemies, wickedness. Revelation 21:27 says, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” That gives us the context for Revelation 22. The first five verses complete the line by line description of the New Jerusalem, and I can do nothing better, like Edmond Dantès, than to take up one treasure after another to consider the value of each one. We will look at them briefly this morning, but in Christ we will live them eternally. My desire is that our hearts will be filled with joy, peace, happiness and hope based on the Word of God and the ministry of the Spirit. The River of the Water of Life The Angel Showed Me Revelation 22:1-2 says, “Then the angel showed me the River of the Water of Life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.” John is seeing all this in a supernatural vision of the Spirit led by an angelic guide, introduced in Revelation 21:9. The Holy Spirit is giving him a vision that he would have no other way of seeing. The New Jerusalem did not exist when John wrote this and still does not; it is not finished from our perspective, so it is only by vision and by Scripture that we can have an idea of what it is like. John could not have concocted this complex image in his mind. He was not a literary genius coming up with images from his own fervent imagination. The angel had a mission from God to show him a vision of the future; he saw it and wrote it down. The River John sees the river of the Water of Life. It is a powerful image, a sparkling, bubbling, rushing river of water, endlessly flowing, ready to refresh the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem forever. It is flowing clear as crystal, brilliant, radiant, shining with the glory of God like everything else in the city. We once took a trip from Miami, Florida, where my dad was raised, down to the Florida Keys. The road to the Keys is amazing, a flat highway just above the surface of the water. We pulled off for a picnic in a cove along the way. I had never seen water so clear in all my life. I do not know how deep it was, but it was like glass — we could see straight through it — perfectly clear, beautiful water. The river of life is like this — no impurities, no mud, no silt. The river flows down the middle of the great street of the city. That street is depicted as made of transparent gold (Rev. 21:21) The whole plan of the city centers around this street and this river, so they seem to go together. The image is similar to the one seen by Ezekiel the prophet in his vision of a mysterious glorified temple. He describes a river flowing from the mystical spiritual temple. Ezekiel 47:1-5 “The man [an angel] brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east)... As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in — a river that no one could cross.” It gets deeper and wider as it flows further and further away, suggesting an infinite supply of water. In Ezekiel’s image, the river produces vast and diverse life and fruitfulness: Ezekiel 47:6-9 “Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. He said to me, ‘This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live.’” Hallelujah! Ezekiel 47:12 says, “Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” There is little doubt that the same Holy Spirit who inspired the prophet Ezekiel to write those words was inspiring the Apostle John to write these words in Revelation. He is giving us a description of the same future heavenly blessedness. We will have a New Jerusalem. The idea of the river of the Water of Life connects with many images in Psalms, of thirsty souls coming to God: Psalm 42:1 says,“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.” Psalm 46:4 “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.” There is a river where God will dwell, and it makes everyone glad. It also is reminiscent of the original Garden of Eden. From the midst of that garden, Genesis 2:10 says, “A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.” That gives me the sense that Adam and Eve were not meant to stay in that garden but they were meant to move out and fill the earth and subdue it and multiply and explore it. Genesis 2 also talks about aromatic resin and onyx and gold out in the earth — a world waiting to be explored. So also, the river of the Water of Life leads out into the city, the New Jerusalem, and out into the New Earth, inviting its inhabitants to follow it out to explore and discover all that God has done. It also reminds me of the statement Jesus made to the Samaritan woman in John 4. She was trying to understand him and his message. He said “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” [She did not know who he was and was not all that impressed with what she saw.] “Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” [“Are you greater than Jacob?” Yes, infinitely greater than Jacob! And I will tell you how:] “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” This is the consummation of all these images, a source of endless spiritual refreshment through our relationship with God and Christ. It also teaches that the source of our eternal life will forever be God and Christ — there is no independent eternal life in heaven. We will depend on the river of the Water of Life flowing from the throne forever. We will not cut the tie with God and His throne. Our eternal life is dependent on Him, and He is eternally willing for us to continue living. It is a continual choice on His part that we should continue to live in Him. We are made in His image; thus, we are forever dependent on Him. The Source The source of the water is the throne of God. He is a mighty king, seated on His throne, and life flows from His kingly rule. The water is created right from the sovereign power of the King of the Universe. In the same way that He created the universe — ex nihilo, Latin for “out of nothing,” by the word of His power — He continually and infinitely creates this water. It represents God as the source of all life, happiness, joy, and refreshment forever. It also shows the nature of His kingship. Human rulers use their authority to dominate and oppress others, to fleece them and strip them and shred them of life and possessions and dignity. Not God. He uses his dominion to give life and blessing to all his subjects. Those around the throne are not running from it, as rebels, but running to the throne to receive refreshment and to delight in God and His good gifts. This reminds me of a different river that also flowed from the throne of God. In Daniel 7, Daniel the prophet had a vision of four beasts coming up out of the turbulent waters, representing mighty, godless, wicked, satanic empires, one after another. In the middle of that chapter, we see the throne of the Ancient of Days, Almighty God, ruling to judge and bring wrath on these demonic, wicked empires. Daniel 7:9-10 “Almighty God took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him.” From the same throne comes both a river of fire and the river of the Water of Life. That is Hell and Heaven, both coming from the sovereign power of Almighty God. Both eternal life and eternal death flow from the throne of God, and no one can overturn his will. The Tree of Life Revelation 22:2-3 “On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” Garden of Eden, but Better To some degree, in our hearts and minds, it must seem as though this is a return to the Garden of Eden, except this is perfected, infinitely better now. We are not on probation; we are not being tested. Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and we see the tragic river of wickedness that flowed from that sinful decision on Adam’s part, a flood of miseries of sin, sickness, sorrow, tears and death. After they sinned, Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden. God the Judge placed a sentinel cherubim with a flaming sword flashing back and forth, “…lest they reach out their hands and take and eat from the Tree of Life and live forever.” But Jesus Christ came and paid the death penalty and removed that sword, that angel. Now we have the right to enter through the gates of the city and eat from the Tree of Life forever. Jesus won us that right; he paid for it with his blood. Position of the Tree: On Each Side of the River of Life The position of the tree is challenging to understand. One tree on both sides of a mighty river? That is a big tree! It is an amazing picture. Ezekiel 47 describes a grove of trees on each side, but John’s image is “the” Tree of Life. The Tree of Life and the river of the Water of Life show different aspects of the same thing. They are two different ways of representing that God intends for us to drink and eat and live forever. It is like the godly man in Psalm 1:3 “… like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers…” There is continued fruitfulness. The tree bears fruit every month. I have seen a commentary which uses Ezekiel’s image, a grove of trees; another says they all stem from the same root system which shows its gnarly roots in places above ground. Perhaps it is a massively huge single tree that spans the stream, narrow as it flows from the throne, wider as it flows further on. Others make no effort to make sense of it physically, because they do not try to do that with Revelation; for them it is simply a symbolic spiritual image. I think it is a physical tree and though I cannot imagine it, I cannot wait to see it. I do know that the Tree of Life derives its life and fruit from the water flowing from the throne of God. The Leaves of the Tree are for the Healing of the Nations Here is another mystery: “…the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” We have already learned in Revelation 21:4 that “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain…” Death is finished. Why would there be need for healing for the nations? It is like saying the hospitals in the New Jerusalem will be top notch, or the funeral homes will be the best ever seen. That is not the gist of what is being described. Rather, as our lives depend on God, so our vitality, our healthfulness, our power in our resurrection bodies are also dependent on Him. We will derive endless strength and potency from eating from this tree. This is also perhaps why pain is not needed. I do not imagine that we will have any kind of injuries in the New Jerusalem, but if it were possible for one to be clumsy — not likely —, there will be instantaneous healing of the resurrection body from eating of the tree. There is no need for pain, no need for the resurrection brain to know about the injury at all. Just as when Peter cut off Malchus’ ear with his sword and Jesus restored his ear instantly, there will be a continual healthfulness from eating the tree. No More Curse Another benefit of the New Jerusalem is that there will “No longer … be any curse.” [Revelation 22:3] The curse came on Adam and his progeny because he ate the forbidden fruit. Death, the main curse, will be gone forever! God also cursed the ground because of him, saying it would produce thorns and thistles; and his labor was cursed — he would work for his food by the sweat of his brow. In the New Jerusalem, the earth will not be cursed, and we will not be cursed with death. We will work but it will not be in cursed labor — we will have satisfying projects using our amazing resurrection brains and bodies to do amazing things. The Jews were promised blessings as they entered the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 28:3 says, “You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.” What a sweet meditation that is in light of the New Jerusalem and the New Earth. Everything we do in the city and in the country will be blessed. “You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out… The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to.” [Deuteronomy 28:6, 8] How marvelous is that! The Throne of God and of the Lamb The Throne of God is the place of the greatest power in the universe Revelation 22:3 speaks of the throne of God and of the Lamb: “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city.” We saw this in verse 1 as well. The throne of God is the place where he rules, where He reigns over the universe, which at that time will be the New Heaven and New Earth. In the Present Universe, God’s Throne is in Heaven... the Highest Heaven In the present universe, the throne of God is situated in the words of Scripture as infinitely high and lifted up above us. Isaiah tells us that the Almighty says, “I live in a high and holy place.”[Isaiah 57:15] He says in Isaiah 66:1, “This is what the LORD says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?” Psalm 115:3 says, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” We have a sense of God’s throne being high and lifted up, and to some degree inaccessible to us. God’s Throne in the Middle of the City But in the New Jerusalem, when she descends out of heaven from God prepared as a bride, the throne of God will be right there in the midst of the people, in the midst of the city, no gap, no separation. God is still infinitely holy — He is Creator, we are creature — but the throne will be accessible. This is what God has always wanted, to be in the midst of and dwell with His people. He would be their God and they would be His people. That will be fulfilled. Our access to the throne will be perfect. We will be able to walk right up to the throne of grace and mercy, because Christ has opened for us eternally a new and living way into the presence of the king. Notice Also the Deity of Christ This also speaks to the deity of Christ. There is one throne, which is called the throne of God and of the Lamb. This is the complex imagery of the deity of Christ, sharing the throne with God the Father. Jesus said in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” and we have one throne as God. In Revelation 5:5-6, where John was weeping because no one was found who could take the scroll. “Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Rood of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne.” It is the same image — Jesus, the lamb slain for the sins of the world is standing in the center of the Father’s throne. There is no doubt what that means: Jesus is Almighty God. The Rich Blessings of the Servants of God The Blessings of Perfected Slavery Next, we have the catalog of a series of rich blessings that will come to us as servants of God. Verse 3 says, “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.” The throne of God is immediately accessible, but our primary role, according to this Verse, there are other roles, is to serve. The Holman Christian Standard Bible translates it as “slaves”, which is more accurate. His slaves will be ready to do His bidding. The word “serve” indicates a priestly religious verb. His slaves will serve Him in priestly roles. In other places, we are called sons and daughters, and we will share inheritance with Christ. But the image here is one of slavery. God is a mighty king, worthy of our full obedience. In Adam, we joined Satan in rebellion fighting against the King of the Universe. We have been redeemed from all that, and we will be delighted to take the king’s yoke upon us. We will not be fighting the yoke anymore; we will be glad to have a mighty king to rule over us, commanding us. The Greek word used here is the common word for slaves, sometimes translated bondslaves. In Ephesians and Colossians, Paul gives commands related to the master-slave hierarchy. Christian masters are commanded to treat their slaves with respect, because they are under a master too. Some day they will be required to give an account to their own master for how they treated their slaves, who were fellow human beings. Any thoughtful Christian in the 21st century reading those commands will have a question pressing on their minds: Why did Paul not command Christian masters to emancipate their slaves, to set them free? I have covered that topic previously when I preached on those passages in Ephesians and Colossians, if you would like to look up those sermons. In the past couple of centuries, Christian forces were unleashed that fought to make chattel slavery illegal all over the world. In those sermons in Ephesians and Colossians, I referred to Revelation 22:3. One possible answer is that slavery is eternal. In some respects, we will be considered the slaves of God. Peter and Paul and James, in their Epistles, did not mind that at all. They called themselves bondslaves of Christ; they were honored to have that title. But I continued to meditate on the question — why would we do this? Keep in mind that Jesus took that same thing on himself. In Philippians 2, Jesus “who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be [grasped]; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of [what?] a servant [SLAVE]. And being found in appearance as a man [or “made in human likeness”; meditate on that phrase — the very nature of a slave implies being human, so in this passage, human equals slave] he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!” Jesus is forever seen to be a doulos, a servant. He is also forever seen as the Son of God, and we have the same dual aspect. We are sons and daughters of the living God by adoption, and we are also slaves of the eternal God. Jesus is every bit as much slave as he is God, as seen in Philippians 2. He was not faking it, only acting like a servant while on earth. This is who he really is. He served us by washing our dirty, nasty feet. He served us by taking our dirty nasty sins on his holy self and dying in our place on the cross under the wrath of God. He served us, and he will continue to serve us in Heaven. Luke 12:37 says, “I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.” Picture feasting in the New Jerusalem. Your cup is running low, and somebody taps you on the shoulder and wants to refill your cup. It is Jesus, the King of Glory, wanting to fill your cup. There is nothing demeaning about this kind of service — this is a service in Heaven! What is the difference between being a slave and being an employee? I see two key differences: salary and freedom. Slaves do not get paid for their labor, and they are not free to walk away. What about Heaven? I tell you, you will not want to be paid for your service. You are infinitely rich as a member of the Royal Family — you will not need a salary. But in the days of chattel slavery, they were not singing songs in the fields for wages, but for freedom. Freedom to what? To walk away, to escape from a wicked master and to live with autonomy. Meditate on that. You should see that this not anything you will desire in Heaven. Anyone who want to walk away from the Master are free now to do so, living their entire lives away from the Master, the King. They rebel against his kingly rule and receive their condemnation. We who follow Christ embrace the yoke and the kingly rule, and we delight in it forever. We do not desire to go anywhere else, and we will spend eternity serving him. As I said, the word implies religious service, like the work of the priests in the temple. Back then, it was manual labor within an animal sacrificial system. The priests had to keep the fires burning, wrestle bulls onto the altar, kill them, pour out the blood, and more. It was very physical, a hard day’s work. All of that has now been fulfilled. I do not know what worship work we will do in Heaven, but we will enjoy it. We will work at worship forever, with access to the throne. The Blessings of Seeing God’s Face Perhaps the greatest blessing of all comes in Verse 4: “They will see His face.” How can I capture the significance of those words? If you are redeemed, a child of God, some day you will see God’s face. This is the very thing that was forbidden of Moses on the mountain. Moses was having an intense time of a love relationship with his Creator, God the Father. “Moses said, ‘Now show me your glory.’ And the LORD said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ [Paul quoted this in Romans 9. We do not deserve to have God show us his glory. It is given by grace.] ‘But,’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’ Then the LORD said, ‘There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back, [The Hebrew is akin to “hind quarters”; I think of it as His trailing glory, like the last part of a comet going by] but my face must not be seen.’” [Exodus 33:18-23] John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God’s face at any time.” 1 Timothy 6:16 says that God “alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.” In Adam, we were all condemned criminals. Frequently, a judgment by the king on a condemned criminal is not being able to see the king’s face. When Absalom was banished and then allowed to return to Israel, he was not permitted to see the face of the king, his own father, which caused him great anguish. Wicked Haman, who was condemned by King Xerxes, had his face covered as the king gave his decree — he was forbidden to see the face of the king anymore. We are condemned sinners, and as a result of indwelling sin, we are corrupt. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” [Matthew 5:8] We are not pure in heart. There is wickedness and corruption in us, so we are not fit to see God’s face. 1 Corinthians 15:50 says, “I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God…” We are not able to see God’s glorious face in our flesh and blood, but some day we will see Him face to face. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; [now, we have exegesis, sermon, preaching, imagination, which cast a poor reflection, like in a kind of a dirty mirror] then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” That vision will be absolutely transformative. “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” [1 John 3:2] The mystics of the Middle Ages called it “the Beatific Vision,” the vision of blessedness. This is absolute, perfect happiness. You could imagine yourself like a dust speck in a stream of light, floating in an ocean of happiness to see the face of God. I look on God as the source of all beauty and all love and all goodness in the universe. We will finally be able to go to the source to see Him in the face. CS Lewis, in Till We Have Faces, said this: “It was when I was happiest that I longed most...The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing — to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from — my country, the place where I ought to have been born. Do you think it all meant nothing, all the longing? The longing for home? For indeed it now feels not like going, but like going back.” The Blessings of His Name on our Foreheads Verse 4 says, “…his name will be on their foreheads.” His name sums up His being, and having His name on our foreheads means we will glow with His glory. Moses’ face, after beholding the trailing hindquarters of God, was shining radiantly. God’s glory reflected on Moses’ face faded, as in the Old Covenant, but we will look into the face of God and our whole bodies will glow forever. God will stamp his name on your forehead, saying, “You are mine. I bought you with a price; you are my adopted sons and daughters.” He will claim His absolute ownership. The forehead also gives a sense of the complete transformation of the mind to love and honor the name of God, the Ineffable Name, the unpronounceable, the mysterious name of God. You remember in Judges 13:18 “He replied, ‘Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.’” Somehow we will come closer to comprehending the name of God in Heaven. He will own us and we will be immersed in him. He will be our Father, and we will be his children. The Blessings of Perpetual Daylight Verse 5 says, “There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.” We saw this in the last chapter; it is repeated here. Night can be a dangerous time — wild animals, predators, criminals, wicked people approaching by stealth to do harm, all depend on the cover of darkness. With some light, night can also be beautiful. It is beautiful in autumn when the harvest moon rises over a field, big and red and orange in October. It is beautiful in spring when the stars are vivid in a cool night in the mountains with the Milky Way and all the starry host visible. It is beautiful in summer with moon shadows dancing everywhere and crickets chirping with the rest of the peaceful energetic chorus, or sailing in a cove on placid waters with the moonlight shimmering on the water. It is beautiful in winter with the trees denuded of their leaves, revealing their stark fingers under a cold, distant silvery moon. As much beauty as nighttime can possess, it will be superseded by God’s display of light coming from His own glory. He will do light beautifully and perfectly there, and we will not miss the night. There will be no light lamplight there — human technology such as the incandescent light bulb from Thomas Edison or the AC grid from Nicola Tesla or the energy footprint will not be needed anymore. God will be pulsating the place with the light of His glory. The Blessings of Our Eternal Reign Finally, in verse 5, “And they will reign for ever and ever.” God will be our King — Jesus will be our King of kings and Lord of lords. We will each reign over a sub-kingdom, but I believe the redeemed will not all have equal positions of authority. Some will have more authority than others. Some of you may disagree, thinking it will be more egalitarian, with no hierarchy. But I think there will be places at Jesus’ right and left in his kingdom. Those who suffered and served the best will receive those places of honor. But however those rulerships go, all the redeemed will rule under Christ forever and ever. Applications Now is the Day of Salvation If you are a non-Christian, you are on the outside of all this looking in. God has given you something called “today.” You do not know that you will have tomorrow. Yesterday is gone; you cannot do anything about what is past. You have today, right now. I have already given you the basic center piece of the Gospel: God sent Jesus to die on the cross under His wrath for sinners like you and me. All you need to do to have a place in this marvelous New Jerusalem is believe in Jesus, trust in him. Repent of your sins, turn away from sin, and believe in Christ. Say to him, Oh Lord Jesus, I want you to be my Savior. Your blood is sufficient for all of my sins. I trust in you. Come to Christ so you can join with all of the redeemed in celebrating this kind of life. Ask for a powerful sense of the glories of Heaven Second, ask the Holy Spirit to work in you a sense of the glories of Heaven. Take this text home and lift out the treasures yourself and look at them one at a time. Purify your heart to get ready to see God face to face Ask God to give you a foretaste of what it will be like to see His face. Worship Him more. Sing to Him Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Speak Psalms to Him. Thank Him for all that He has done for you. Worship him longer. Make yourself happy in His presence every morning, based on these truths, and seek to purify your life from all those things that you will be ashamed of on Judgement Day. Put sin to death by the Spirit. Get yourself ready through holiness, to enjoy as much of Heaven as you possibly can, even while you are still here on earth. All the beauty in this world comes from God Realize that all of the beauty, all of the things that you see that you think are beautiful here in this world, come from the throne of God. Give Him thanks for that beauty. Share the gospel! Finally, share the Gospel. This week, screw up your courage by the power of the Holy Spirit and say something to a lost person about Jesus. Say something to a co-worker, a neighbor, a total stranger. Talk to them about the glories of the place to which we are going, and the even greater glories of the redeeming work of God that will get sinners like us there. Closing Prayer Close with me in prayer. Father, thank you for the joy that we have in meditating on Heaven. Thank you for the beauty of the place where we are going. I pray, O Lord, that you would strengthen each one of us to delight in that beauty and in that glory now by faith. Some day we will see it with our own eyes. Help us, O Lord, to live in open, obvious hope. Help us, O Lord, to live out Gospel joy. Help us to be bold in sharing the words of the Gospel with those who are presently lost. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Alexander Dumas was among the most beloved writers of the 19th century, responsible for classics like The Three Musketeers & The Count of Monte Cristo. But did you know Dumas longest work was devoted entirely to his other passion? Food! Written at the end of his life, Dumas' Le Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine, published posthumously in 1873, is part cookbook, part memoire, and 100% unique. From celery-based hangover recipes to 200 lb. sturgeon centrepieces, Dumas' book is a portrait of French culinary life under the Bonapartes. Join us as we explore Dumas' unusual dictionary, all the way from absinthe to lemon zest!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lola Montez, born Elizabeth Rosanna Gilbert, was one of the most scandalous women of the 19th century. She took Europe by storm with 'dances' that left little to the imagination - she was known to wear nothing beneath her tutu.Married three times she also had a string of famous lovers including a king, the composer Franz Liszt and the author Alexander Dumas. Were she alive today her friends would include the most powerful people alive, she would be plagued by the paparazzi, have millions of twitter followers and if she had a website it would be most definitely x rated.Need is say I more?You can support the show at www.patreon.com/irishpodcast  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Have you ever dealt with frustrating wrist pain or carpal tunnel or tennis elbow or golfer's elbow or climber's elbow - pain that is aggravated by typing and computer work? Have you ever wished you could walk one, five or ten miles while still being able to work on a book, a project, or a paper? Have you ever wished you could simply talk your thoughts into existence, and have them appear in your emails, documents, books and more? Then today's podcast episode is for you. -------------------- Before jumping into today's episode, let's take a look at folks who have abandoned traditional methods of simply sitting down to produce, create and be productive. The list of historical figures who have used standing desks is veritable “who’s who”. Here is just a brief snapshot of famous folks, writers, and inventors who leveraged the standing desk’s benefits throughout history. For example, Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa while he stood at his standing desk. Da Vinci also stood at his desk while sketching new inventions, including parachutes, flying machines, and armored vehicles. The standing desk also made its appearance in one of the world’s oldest colleges, the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209. Standing desks were first recorded as being used in the library in 1626, and the idea of writing while standing was placed at the epicenter of intellectual thought. Napoléon Bonaparte also used a standing desk and found it conducive to quick thinking and strategizing for battle. Thomas Jefferson also used the standing desk while composing documents, including the Declaration of Independence (he actually developed a six-legged adjustable standing desk, and was one of the first known people to use an adjustable standing desk). Charles Dickens' workspace where he penned such timeless classics as Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities. is described as having “books all round, up to the ceiling and down to the ground; a standing-desk at which he writes; and all manner of comfortable easy chairs.” Winston Churchill was often seen writing at his standing desk. Ernest Hemingway’s fashioned a standing desk out of a bookcase near his bed. Honest Abe Lincoln was never too far from his trusty standing desk. He used it to deliver the Emancipation Proclamation and is famously quoted as saying 'Verily, 'tis my standing desk that gave me the inspiration to end this wicked and iniquitous trade.' In addition to standing while writing, both dictating while writing is also something famous authors have done. For example, in her book , author Cindy Grigg reports: “Leo Tolstoy received one of the earliest dictaphone prototypes. To this he replied that the “Ediphone” was impressive but “too dreadfully exciting” for his methods. Instead, he seemed to favor dictating to his daughter Alexandra or even house guests. Fyodor Dostoyevsky reportedly struck a bargain with his publisher to pay off his and/or his brother’s debts. The deal required that the author submit his manuscript for The Gambler in short order. To do so, he employed stenographer Anna Grigorievna, who gave him collaborative feedback as well. He finished the manuscript in four weeks then married Anna. “Thomas Hardy dictated his wife Florence Hardy’s ‘biography’ about himself to her, seemingly to retain control of the account. Like many authors, Hardy also dictated once he became ill. Stricken with pleurisy, he spoke his last poem to his wife Florence. John Milton was blind when he created Paradise Lost, dictating the epic poetical work to his several daughters. This inspired paintings of him and his daughters by artists George Romney, Delacroix, and others. Alexander Dumas was rumored to never touch up his drafts, having served as a historian, which had given him practice in thinking about what he wanted to say before he dictated it. Michel de Montaigne , an acclaimed 16th-century essayist, dictated his journal and possibly other writings. Henry James referred to his hired transcriptionists as amanuenses, needing to contract such help at least partially due to rheumatism in his wrist. One of them, Theodora Bosanquet, recorded in her diary, “Indeed, at the time when I began to work for him, he had reached a stage at which the click of the Remington machine acted as a positive spur. He found it more difficult to compose to the music of any other make. During a fortnight when the Remington was out of order he dictated to an Oliver typewriter with evident discomfort, and he found it almost disconcerting to speak to something that made no responsive sound at all.” William Wordsworth was a kindred spirit to mobile writers such as myself. He ‘wrote’ Tintern Abbey mentally on a “ramble of four or five days…Not a line of it was altered, and not any part of it written down till I reached Bristol.'' Thanks to transcriptionist Isabella Fenwick, he also dictated The Fenwick Notes commentary about his poetry. Of his long poem The Excursion, Wordsworth mentions, “Something must now be said of this poem, but chiefly, as has been done through the whole of these notes, with reference to my personal friends, and especially to her who has perseveringly taken them down from my dictation.” Charles Dickens was rumored to act his characters out in front of a mirror, giving vocal dramatizations of dialogue and text. In 1882, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle published an interview with someone who claimed to be Dickens’ amanuensis, describing him this way: “‘Yes, I did shorthand work for Mr. Dickens for eighteen months. I did not take dictation for any of his novels, only his fugitive pieces…Most people seem to think Dickens was a ready writer. This is by no means the case. He used to come into his office in St. Catherine Street about eight o’clock in the morning and begin dictating. He would walk up and down the floor several times after dictating a sentence or a paragraph and ask me to read it. I would do so, and he would, in nine cases out of ten, order me to strike out certain words and insert others. He was generally tired out by eleven o’clock, and went down to his club on the Strand. A singular thing was that he never dictated the closing paragraphs of his story. He always finished it himself. I used to look in the paper for it, and find that he had changed it very greatly from what he had dictated to me. Dickens had a very odd habit of combing his hair. He would comb it a hundred times in a day. He seemed never to tire of it. The first thing he did on coming into the office was to comb his hair. I have seen him dictate a sentence or two, and then begin combing. When he got through he dictated another sentence.” Bram Stoker was himself a secretary and director of London's Lyceum Theatre, as well as a manager for Henry Irving. His own experiences may have influenced how several chapters of Dracula are dedicated to asylum director Dr. Seward recording dictations on a phonograph, to the chagrin of Mina Harker, who typed them up as soon as possible, believing the veracity and emotion of the audio to be too much for other readers to bear. “I have copied the words on my typewriter, and none other need now hear your heart beat, as I did.” Dictation is also mentioned in Stoker’s The Jewel of Seven Stars. Stendhal (the pen name for Marie-Henri Beyle) dictated The Charterhouse of Parma in seven weeks, 52 consecutive days--another kindred spirit to Marcel Proust dictated the Death of Bergotte to Celeste Albaret on his death bed, even though it was already finished, saying it needed to be written a second time. He supposedly explained, “I didn’t yet know what it’s like to die when I wrote it. I know it more now.” James Joyce found inspiration in a random happening while dictating Finnegan's Wake. While recording the story, Joyce was interrupted when someone came to the door and was welcomed with a phrase like, “Come in,” which Joyce thought worked well in the manuscript so he left it in his draft. Thomas Aquinas was apparently so skilled at dictation that he gave observers the impression he could speak on several topics at once to multiple scribes and even to dictate in his sleep.” In today's podcast, we're going to delve into how you too can be more productive, build endurance, maintain muscle, and burn more calories, all while writing from a standing desk and / or while dictating. ----------------------- My guest, is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers on the edge, as well as bestselling non-fiction for authors published under Joanna Penn. Joanna’s site for writers, has been voted one of the Top 10 sites for writers three years running. She is a professional speaker on creative entrepreneurship, digital publishing and internet marketing, and was voted one of The Guardian UK Top 100 creative professionals 2013. During our discussion, you'll discover: -How Joanna developed chronic repetitive motion injuries in her wrist, and why ergonomic keyboards and an ergonomic computer mouse weren't working for her... -Why Joanna decided to go way above and beyond simply using a standing workstation or treadmill desk... -How Joanna is simultaneously working on multiple books while also training for an ultramarathon... -Whether you can really, truly be creative while standing or walking, and why it's a myth that you need to sit to write effectively... -The exact tools, microphones and software that Joanna has found to work very well for dictation... -A book that will teach you exactly how to dictate quickly and effectively... -How to  "train" your computer to recognize your voice and accent... -How to enhance productivity with ambient noise and focus apps... -And much more! Resources from this episode: - - - - - -Dragon Anywhere cloud software - - - (an author who dictates while walking 4+ hours per day) - - - - (this is a place where you can also get  or we talk about) - - - - - - Do you have questions, comments or feedback for Joanna or I? Leave your thoughts at  and one of us will reply!

On this episode we'll hear The Campbell Playhouse with their adaptation of the Alexander Dumas story, The Count Of Monte Cristo.   This one first aired October 1, 1939. Download owota164

In this episode I am joined by another Tales of Poe actor - Bette Cassatt! She is a beautiful girl who likes to wield a sword or two (depending on her foe), games, Star Trek, and acting in quality productions on the stage and screen. Listen to the end of the episode where she drops a bomb I wasn't ready for, leaving me a bit star struck and babbling like a geeky kid... Bette Online  Trivia from her IMDB Became legally handicapped following a severe knee injury. After reconstructive surgery and lengthy physical therapy, Bette is back in fighting form. Has studied stage combat under Brad Waller at The Shakespeare Theatre as well as trained with various fight masters including the legendary Paddy Crean. She has worked as a fight choreographer for various theatres, and has taught stage combat for The Catholic University of America's master program. Trains award-winning Shetland Sheepdogs, who have appeared on film, television, stage, parades, and other live events. One dog, D'Artagnan, will appear in the upcoming PBS documentary "History Through Deaf Eyes.". Is a cancer survivor. Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of the Parotid (Salivary Gland Cancer). Wrote (adapted and translated from the novel) a four-actor version of The Three Musketeers, by Alexander Dumas. The production with In-School Players and The National Theatre garnered great praise from audiences. Bette played D'Artagnan and Queen Anne, was one of the three costumers, and was fight captain.

This week we have the second installment of the classic The Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas, dramatized for you by Lifehouse Theatre on the Air. With origins in California-based community theatre, LifeHouse Theater On-The-Air is a new effort to create dynamic audio drama to entertain and educate audiences of all ages and walks […] The post Episode 257: The Monte Christoan Count Gets His Revenge appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

OK, so we're not quite edging into what would be traditionally called “Holiday Programming” here, but we do have a wonderful treat – the swashbuckling classic The Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas, dramatized for you by Lifehouse Theatre on the Air. With origins in California-based community theatre, LifeHouse Theater On-The-Air is a new […] The post Episode 256: A Swashbuckling Embarcation of the Holiday Season appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Slumdog Millionaire is the world's first globalized masterpiece. This fervent romantic fable is set in contemporary Mombai, the former Bombay, but it draws freely and sometimes rapturously from Charles Dickens, Alexander Dumas, Hollywood, Bollywood, the giddiness of Americanized TV, the cross-cultural craziness of out-sorced call centers and the zoominess of Google Earth…

sermon transcript Introduction Genesis 21 is a celebration text as God has fulfilled His promise to Abraham and Sarah by giving them Isaac. We live in a world that is used to broken promises. We live among people who break their promises, but God does not do that. God makes promises and He keeps them. In 1897, Charles Parsons wanted to meet George Müller, the man that God had used to bless and to provide for thousands of orphans. Müller received him cordially into his study, and they sat down and began to talk. Parsons asked what was the secret of his success. Müller’s answer was straight forward. The secret was entrusting the faithfulness of God to his promises. God makes promises and God keeps them. Müller took those promises at face value. Parsons asked “You have always found the Lord faithful to His promise?” Müller answered: “Always. He has never failed me! For nearly seventy years every need in connection with this work has been supplied. The orphans from the first until now have numbered nine thousand five hundred, but they have never [lacked] a meal. Never! Hundreds of times we have commenced the day without a penny in hand, but our Heavenly Father has sent supplies by the moment they were actually required. There never was a time when there was no wholesome meal. During all these years I have been enabled to trust in the living God, and in Him alone. One million four hundred thousand pounds have been sent to me in answer to prayer.” Müller’s life verse, Psalm 81:10, says, “I am the Lord, your God who brought you out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.” He took that promise to God daily. One Puritan said, “Show God His promises... God is fond of His handwriting!” So we take the promises of God and say, “This is the thing you promised to do.” He likes to look at what He has written, and He is always faithful to keep it. We do not keep our promises — the Scripture says in Psalm 116:11, “…All men are liars.” We break our promises, but God never does. The Old Testament Account: Promises Kept The Birth of Isaac (vs. 1-8) In Genesis 21:1-8, at last, God has kept his promise. The fact that God did as he had promised is strongly emphasized in the text. Verses 1-2 say, “Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised [the repetition gives emphasis — As he had said, what he had promised]. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.” That is the third time in two verses. Clearly God is emphasizing this fact, “I keep my promises. The thing I said I would do, I have now done.” God had made many promises concerning Isaac and concerning Abraham’s offspring. Genesis 12:1-3: “The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’” Genesis 12:7: “The LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’” Genesis 13:14-16: “The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.’” Abraham asked, “Lord, what can you give me, because I have no child, and Eliezer of Damascus is my heir.” Genesis 15:4-5: “Then the word of the LORD came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.’ He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the heavens and count the stars — if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’” Genesis 17:16 is more specific after Abraham had taken matters into his own hands and had Ishmael by Hagar. God clarified and focused: “My promise is for Sarah.” “I will bless [Sarah] and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Genesis 17:19: “Then God said, ‘Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.’” Genesis 17:21: “But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” Genesis 18:10, “Then the LORD said, ‘I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.’” Sarah overheard that and began laughing. Genesis 18:14: “Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.” God spoke concerning Sodom and Gomorrah, revealing his will to Abraham. Genesis 18:18-19: “Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” In those ten different passages, God made the same promise again and again. Now at last, God could say triumphantly, “The Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. The Lord brought about a son for Abraham in his old age, just as he had promised.” He told us three times in two verses, “I did what I promised.” In this way, their faith was vindicated. God’s promise overcomes all obstacles. Paul wrote about Abraham, who believed the Lord and trusted in this promise. Romans 4:19 says, “Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead — since he was about a hundred years old — and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” Abraham’s faith was vindicated, and so was Sarah’s. Hebrews 11:11 (ESV) says, “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.” Both Abraham and Sarah were trusting in God for this promise, and their faith was vindicated. The issue was not biology but theology. God had closed up Sarah’s womb, purposely keeping it barren for 90 years, in order to bring about a supernatural child of the promise. He wanted to do a miracle. It was not in vitro fertilization. It was not wonder drugs that produce quintuplets or any of the kind of things that we see today. It was not a matter of biology, not at all. This was a supernatural act of God himself. This was a miracle baby. This was Isaac. The timeless lesson is playing: God can do anything. Our God can do anything. There is nothing he cannot do. He is a powerful God; He is a sovereign king. What he has promised, he will most certainly bring to pass. Why does this matter for us? Someday we will die. Whether peacefully or not, when I breathe my last breath, I will do so trusting God’s promise to raise me from the dead, that in Christ all my sins are forgiven, and that my life is not now over, that my body is not all there is, that evolution is a lie, that I will live even after I die. I believe that promise. Genesis 21 is written for us, that we might trust in the promise of God that he will raise us from the dead. Romans 4:17 says, “As it is written: 'I have made you a father of many nations.’ He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed — the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.” God speaks into nothing, and he creates. In this case, he created a baby, miracle Isaac. As a result, in a dim reflection of God’s faithfulness, Abraham was faithful. He obeyed God’s command to circumcise his son. Genesis 21:4: “When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him.” Abraham was faithful to his promise as well to obey God’s commands, one of which was circumcision on the eighth day. We desire as children of God to respond in the same way. To be God-like, we keep our word. In verses 6-8, we see the joy and wonder and celebration at God’s victory. Genesis 21:6 says, “Sarah said, ‘God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.’” Isaac’s name means laughter. It was a celebration, a time of joy. This laughter is not the laughter of unbelief that Sarah gave when she heard God’s promise, nor was it the mocking laughter from Ishmael when he mocked Isaac. No, this was a laugh of joy. This is the way we will laugh when we see Christ face-to-face. It is a laugh of celebration. Sarah also reacted in wonder at the details of the fulfillment. Verse 7: “And she added, ‘Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.’” She is in amazement that she is nursing a little boy at age 90. Next in the text — I find this in real life too, that the children grow quickly — soon, it was time for him to be weaned. That is a mixed thing, part of the joy and the pain of parenting, preparing children to be independent, getting them ready to not need you anymore. You do not want your kids when they are 70 and you are 90 asking, “What’s for dinner, mom?” By then, they should be on their own. That is good parenting. You are preparing them to be independent, but it hurts when they make those steps more and more away from you. It is a mixture. This is the very thing that happened. Abraham gave a feast. They celebrated the little boy as he was weaned with a big feast. In verse 8, “The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast.” But that feast was the occasion of a danger being uncovered — the danger of Ishmael. At that feast, Ishmael, probably 15 years old, mocked the little boy. He laughed at him, made fun of him. It was a mocking laughter, not a laughter of joy or of faith or of celebration at God’s faithfulness. It was a mocking laugh. The Expulsion of Ishmael (vs. 9-21) In verses 9-21, we have the account of the expulsion of Ishmael. It says, “But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking and she said to Abraham, ‘Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.’” Ishmael’s expulsion is rather shocking. Ishmael was the son of Abraham and Sarah’s maid servant Hagar. In Genesis 16, when Sarah saw that she could not have children, her womb was barren, she gave her maid servant to her husband to sleep with her, which was the custom at the time. Hagar gave birth to a son, Ishmael. This was not the will of the Lord; it did not follow God's pattern for marriage, and it caused nothing but trouble. After Hagar had run away when Sarah treated her harshly, she did not want to go back. “Then the angel of the LORD told her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her.’ The angel added, 'I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.’ The angel of the LORD also said to her: 'You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.’” (Genesis 16:9-12) God also spoke two prophecies concerning Ishmael to Abraham. God made it clear that it would be through Sarah that the child of promise would be born and they would name him Isaac. Abraham’s first thought is, “What about Ishmael?” Genesis 17:18-21 says, “And Abraham said to God, ‘If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!’ [He is concerned for his son.] Then God said, ‘Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.’” God made clear prophecies concerning Ishmael to both Abraham and Hagar. Why, then, was Ishmael cast out? I see five reasons in the text. First and simply, he mocked; he laughed. Verse 9 says, “But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking.” Even though his name means laughter, the mocking is not connected to Isaac’s name. It is not a play on words, but ridicule. Paul calls it persecution. In Galatians 4:29, he said, “At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit.” This was a serious matter. By this time, Ishmael would have been 15 years old. He was laughing at Isaac’s weaning feast, making fun of it, mocking. Second, Ishmael was cast out because Sarah wanted him out, as well as Hagar. Sarah perceived a threat to Isaac and to her own position in the family. And Sarah, like many mothers at that time, derived her significance from the role of her son as heir. She saw what things would be like down the road, so she was furious when she heard about this mockery. She went to Abraham, Verse 10, “…and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” Sarah did not use Hagar’s name but denigrated her position entirely. “That slave woman and her son,” she said. She also believed the clear statement that God had made to Abraham in Genesis 17:10: “…for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” The third reason was the threat that he posed to Isaac’s role as heir. Some things you have to nip in the bud. I was reading recently in MIT’s review magazine of ongoing technology about cancer detection at a very early stage. They are able to detect it through certain technologies far earlier than they ever could before, at the molecular level, and tag these cancer cells before they accumulate into a tumor. This would be powerful for treatment, especially if the detection could be done inexpensively. The issue is that tumors are best caught early. The earlier you can get the cancer, the better. Ishmael was a cancer in the household waiting to happen, and the issue would have been a rivalry over the succession to the throne, so to speak. Who would be the heir? Ishmael being so much older than Isaac perhaps would have had some kind of an advantage. The history of Europe, for example, is a history of wars of succession. One son claiming and then the other son claiming and both got their armies together to fight a war over it. It is not good for the country. Alexander Dumas’ classic, The Man in the Iron Mask, is about this. Louis XIV in the story had twin sons, who looked identical. When they grew to a certain age, the rightful heir was taken away and put in a hideous iron mask so that nobody could look at his face and see who he was. All of this to prevent a civil war in France that would have destroyed the country. In the same way, Ishmael was a threat to Isaac. He blurred the distinction of who it was through whom the covenant would be made and the promise would come. Fourth, Abraham needed it done. Such a thing would have happened because of the affection that Abraham had for Ishmael. In Genesis 17, after the promise came concerning Sarah and Isaac, wonderful good news, Abraham’s instinctive reaction was, “What about Ishmael?” That was a significant problem, and God wanted clarity on this matter. In the incredible passage in the next chapter, Genesis 22, when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son, He said “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and offer him a sacrifice.” That was God’s word to Abraham. Did God forget Ishmael? No, never. He did not forget. Clearly, it was going to be through Isaac and Abraham was not crystal clear on that. Some clarity needed to happen. Finally, Ishmael was cast out because God commanded it. Verse 12 says, “But God said to him, ‘Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’” Whatever Sarah’s motives were, whatever was going on in Abraham’s heart, all of that was secondary to the clear fact God wanted it done, so he cast Ishmael out. Abraham obeyed immediately. Verse 14, “Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.” In effect, God was saying, “From this point forward, let me take care of Ishmael. He is no longer your responsibility. I will be a father to the fatherless, I will care for him.” How did God provide for Ishmael and Hagar? The harshness of the desert is certain death if there is not provision. If you do not know what you are doing or where to go, especially with a little one, like in this case, it can be deadly. Sweltering heat, hidden canyons, very cold nights because the sand absorbs so little heat, wild beasts, poisonous snakes all make it a dangerous place. Hagar took her teenage son as far as they could go, lay him under a tree, and she went off a distance of about a bow shot, probably so that she would not have to listen to him crying. It is remarkable that the mother was so far away, she could not hear the son God heard his cries. Verse 17-19 says, “God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.’” [That is twice in the same verse — God hears.] Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’ [That is a promise.] Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.” The word of God was life to Hagar and Ishmael in the desert. Before the word came, they were both dying. God spoke to Hagar, and when she believed the word, life came again. With that word came the promise concerning Ishmael to make him into a great nation. He had a future; he would not die that day. God’s faithfulness is clear, even when Hagar had left him and gone off and his father had sent him out at the command of God. Here is this boy without father or mother, but God heard, God saw, God knew. Psalm 27:10 says, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.” Isaiah 49:15 says, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” That is the faithfulness of God. He was faithful to the promise He made to Ishmael. He restated his multiple past promises to Abraham and Hagar. In Genesis 16:10, God spoke to Hagar: “The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” He would be a wild donkey of a man, living in the desert, and he would be the father of twelve nations of desert dwelling tribes. God said to Abraham in Genesis 17:20 “And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.” It is reiterated to both father and mother. In verse 13, God told Abraham, “I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.” He was saying, “I care about Ishmael. I will do it. You cannot anymore, Abraham; you must send him away. I will be faithful to my promise to Ishmael.” Concerning Hagar, verse 18 “Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” These are promises kept. I want to highlight how different these are from Isaac’s promises. Abraham was told that he would have descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth and the stars of the sky. I consider this a paradigm for the two types of descendants of Abraham. He has both dusty descendants and celestial or starry descendants. The dusty descendants have dusty blessings and dusty futures. The starry descendants have starry promises, starry blessings and starry futures. Ishmael was a child of the dust, and Isaac, a child of the starry promise. Ishmael’s future was that he would roam free like a wild donkey and live in the desert and that his mother would find a wife for him from Egypt. That was her home land. He became good with a bow and arrow, a skillful archer. He had 12 sons. He enjoyed eating goat meat around a fire, sitting with his sons, laughing and telling jokes, shooting his arrows, living a dusty kind of life. He was a wild donkey of a man. Every one of those good things was a blessing from God, for God causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Even though he is a dusty person and has dusty blessings, every one of those dusty blessings comes from God himself. Isaac, on the other hand, had celestial blessings waiting for him. He would sit at the table with God eternally, in the very presence of God — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the feast in the kingdom. Concerning the starry descendants of Abraham, Daniel 12:3 says, “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.” Philippians 2:15 says, “…so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.” Jesus said, after one of his parables, in Matthew 13:43, “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” The New Testament Significance: An Allegory of the Spirit-Filled Life (Galatians 4) The Galatian Controversy The New Testament gives us the significance of this. Galatians 4 tells how the Apostle Paul applies this story. By way of context, the Apostle Paul planted a church in Galatia. These were Gentiles, rejected by the physical descendants of Abraham, but not every physical descendant from Abraham is one of the starry children. It is amazing and wonderful that Gentiles can become starry children of Abraham by faith. By faith in Christ, we can be among those starry children of Abraham while those who are actually physically descended from Abraham, even if they are Jews, who do not believe the promise, are dusty. Paul planted a church in Galatia. He preached the Gospel of God’s grace in Christ, but then along came the Judaizer party to Galatia, saying, “Unless you meticulously obey the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Acts 15:1 says, “Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: ‘Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.’” The Apostle Paul says the gospel that they preached was no gospel at all. Galatians 1:8: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” It was a very serious matter. We Are Sons, Not Slaves He gets to the crux of the matter in Galatians 4:4-7: “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” He is saying, Galatian Christians, you are children of God by faith. You are heirs of the kingdom. Why would you want to live like a slave? That is his point in Galatians 4, but he makes it with an allegory. Galatians 4:21-31 says, “Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?” [Note that he calls Genesis 21 the law.] For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written: ‘Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labor pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.’ Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. [He is saying “You are Isaac, all who have trusted in Christ are the children of promise.”] At that time, the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. [The Judaizers are speaking against the Gospel of free grace, focusing instead on legalism and slavery. They are not speaking adoption and inheritance but a lie. The dusty child born in the ordinary way persecuted the child born by power of the Spirit. So it is today.] But what does the Scripture say? ‘Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son.’ Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.” Paul’s Central Lesson: Live As Sons, Not Slaves Let me make it very straightforward and simple: There are two ways to live in this world. You can live a dusty life or a life of celestial blessings — like the dust or like the stars. You can live the Ishmael life, born in the ordinary way, or you can live the Isaac life, born only by the power of the Spirit. Those are the only two ways to live. Later, the analogy will be Jacob and Esau. Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew. What do the dusty people live for? They live for earthly blessings — for comforts, lusts, power, money. They live for today. “Let us eat and drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” and we can add biblically, “And go to hell.” It is a life that ends in destruction. That is the life of Ishmael, the dusty life. Or you can live as a child of the promise. You can live as an adopted son or daughter of God. You can trust in the promises of God and know that what is happening in you cannot be explained normally — it is supernatural. It is the power of the Spirit, as Jesus said: “Flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” [John 3:6] “You must be born again, Nicodemus.” Being a physical descendant of Abraham, even if you are a Jew, descended physically from Jacob, does not matter. What matters is being born again. You must be like Isaac, a child born only by the supernatural power of God. In Galatians 5, Paul explains what that life is like. The life in the flesh is characterized by “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.” [Galatians 5:19-21] That is the Ishmael life. Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” This is the Spirit-filled, Isaac life, and God will make those who live like that perfect in the end. Application Trust in Christ Alone Which kind of life are you living? Are you like Ishmael or are you like Isaac? Are you bound for the dust? Dust represents death. God said to Adam, “For dust you are and to dust you will return.” Is your future dust in the grave, or is it to be made like the stars of the sky? Is it to be conformed to the glory of God? The whole issue is whether you believe the promise of God or not. Abraham believed the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness. You must simply believe a promise. Jesus spoke a treasured promise in his words to Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies, and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” That question determines your destiny. If you say, “Yes, Lord, I believe the promises of God. I trust in you. You have resurrecting power. You can call dead things to life. You can create in me something that was not there before, I believe you. I can be transformed by the power of the Spirit,” then you will spend eternity with God in Heaven, not by your own strength or power, not by obeying legalistically a bunch of laws and rules and regulations, but by the power of the Spirit. He who began a good work in you, by the Spirit, will most certainly complete it also by the Spirit, and you will be like Isaac, a child of promise. That is the central application. Trust in Christ, believe in him. Celebrate what He has accomplished in Christ. Have Total Confidence in a Promise-Keeping God Like George Müller, step out in faith on some promises of God. What promises of God are you trusting in concerning the Kingdom of God today? Are you trusting in God for anything today so that God must be faithful to a promise (or in Müller’s case, some orphans do not eat). Are you stepping out in faith to trust God for some promises? Are you believing in Him? I stand before you today as a messenger of promises, but also as a believer of them. I love the promises of God. That is my only hope and it is your only hope too. Trust in his promises. He is a faithful promise keeping God.

The Plague of Discontentment We were looking, this morning, at some magnificent versus in Philippians 4:10-13 and I have already decided there is no earthly way to get through this sermon and have you out at a reasonable hour and keep you content. So I'm thinking that I'm going to preach on this again, God willing, next week. I don't want to hurry through this, and I'll tell you why. I've come to the conclusion, just like it says in Isaiah 6, paraphrasing, in which the prophet says, "Woe to me, I am ruined." And then changing it slightly I would say, "For I am a man of a discontent heart, and I live among a people who are characterized by discontent hearts." And I want us all to see the Lord, the Almighty and be cured of this great ill. It's incredible how discontent we can be. Discontent while driving behind a truck that's going too slowly and there's another mirror truck in the next lane. Have you ever experienced that? And you just can't get by? Discontent when the person at McDonald's is a trainee and takes an extra minute to find the button that corresponds to the meal you've chosen, so that you get out of there in six minutes, instead of five? Discontent when it comes time to pay the bills and you feel like you don't make enough money. Discontent when your boss doesn't recognize the stellar contributions you've made to the success of the company? Discontent within families, husbands discontent with their wives, wives discontent with their husbands, parents with their children and children with their parents. Discontent with the weather, maybe it's a little too hot, maybe it's a little too wet, a little too cold, a little too snowy, rainy, icy. Discontent. And I'm thinking to myself that this is a great problem and therefore I run to this text and I embrace it because I want to know the secret that Paul learned. I want to know how to be content in any and every situation, well fed or hungry, living in plenty or in want, "I can do everything," he says, "through him who gives me strength." I want to know that. I want to know that secret, don't you? Wouldn't you rather have contentment than wealth? And if you wouldn't, I want to talk you out of it. I want you to set your heart on this rare jewel of Christian contentment; it's of great value. Alexander Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo One of my favorite stories from literature is The Count of Monte Cristo. Perhaps you've read that story by Alexandre Dumas. Two prisoners held for crimes against the French government are held at the Chateau d'If, of Rocky Island, and they get to become friends. What's ironic is that they... One of them was a rebel against Bonaparte and the other was suspected of being a Bonapartist and they're both in prison, because the times had changed and they were forgotten. And so Edmond Dantes, the younger man and Abbe Faria become good friends. And Abby Faria, an educated man taught Edmond Dantes everything that he knew about logic and history and languages and chemistry and other things. And the whole time he had a wooden cross around his neck with a leather thong around, and it held a secret. A secret, that the Abbe Faria was not really willing to tell him about until it became clear that he was not going to be able to escape, for he was old and sick and weak and it was impossible for him to make the perilous escape off the Chateau D'If. And so as he was laying there, he took the cross from around his neck and slid the secret compartment and pulled out a treasure map, the secret to the treasure of the island of Monte Cristo. And as he showed him and explained the secret symbols on the map he said, "You're going to be a very wealthy man, Edmond Dantes, use the money well." So after the death of Abbe Faria, Edmond Dantas escaped from the Chateau D'If and made his way to the small island of Monte Cristo, off the coast of Italy, between Corsica and Elba; if you want to go there and try to find some treasure that's where it is. According to the story, he got it all, rare jewels, diamonds, coins, a thousand gold ingots each weighing two to three pounds, worth well over 13 million francs, and he was as the Abbe Faria had predicted instantly a wealthy man. Now it all came from a secret coming from the cross. And I'll tell you what, as I look at it I think I would rather learn a different secret coming from the cross of Jesus Christ. My eyes really this morning aren't so much on the Apostle Paul, who resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I want to know how it is that Jesus went to the cross gladly and joyfully. I want to know that contentment of which Paul is a dim reflection, and we, almost no reflection at all. I would like to know the secret of Christ's contentment. But I'm satisfied this morning to learn the secret of the Apostle Paul's contentment. Look at it again in verse 12, Philippians 4:12. "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, living in plenty or in want." That's the secret he's talking about. Now, people all over the world can relate to a lust for treasure. That's why The Count of Monte Cristo kind of inflames our imagination; we think, "Wow, that would be something. Wouldn't it?" Riches beyond your wildest dream coming from a secret compartment in a wooden cross. III. Paul’s Credentials: A Life of Extreme Suffering But Paul, I believe as a Christian, I believe points to a far greater treasure in this text, the treasure of lasting, abiding contentment. Paul says that it's a secret to be learned; what I would call a part of advanced Christianity, not basic Christianity. Now in order to learn this, I think it would be well for us to ask what are Paul’s credentials. If you were going to send your son or daughter to a sports camp, let's say, a basketball camp, wouldn't it help to know that the coach that was going to be personally tutoring your child had won five National Championships and been to the Final 4 fourteen times? There's no coach like that, so don't wonder who I'm talking about. Wouldn't it help to know if you are going to learn... Send your child to learn piano or violin that the mentor and tutor had won numerous prizes and had made many CDs and their work was known all over the world? Or if you were taking a course on creative writing you'd want to know the credentials and wouldn't it excite you to know that the writer had won three Pulitzer Prizes? And so we want to come to Paul and say, "What are your credentials in this matter of a lasting, abiding contentment? What are your credentials for teaching us on learning the secrets of being content in any and every situation?" Well, the Apostle Paul was rejected and even hated by his own countrymen. Once he came to faith in Christ, he began a life of great suffering, just as the Lord had said to Ananias who was going to lay hands on him and baptize him, he said, "I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." And some of that suffering came right away at the hands of his own countrymen, culminating in this great moment in Acts 22 when the Jewish crowd listened to Paul until he mentioned his call to the Gentiles, and then they raised their voices and shouted, "Rid the earth of him, he's not fit to live." I mean, have you ever had a mob shout that about you? That's an extreme form of suffering. And then he lists his credentials in suffering, and that's exactly what he thinks of them as in 2 Corinthians 11, "My credentials in suffering." And he's showing that he has been more of an apostle of Christ than any of those pseudo-apostles that were coming with the successful life to teach the Corinthians. He said, "Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one." And then he begins to list his sufferings. Now, I matched up Paul's list of sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11 with his claim here in Philippians 4, and this is what I came up with, "I have worked much harder but been content the whole time. I've been in prison more frequently but always content. Been flogged more severely, but it never moved me from being content. I've been exposed to death again and again, but I had a lasting, abiding contentment the whole time. "Five times, I received from the Jews the 40 lashes minus one… But none of those lashes moved me away from Christian contentment. Three times I was beaten with rods but content. And once, I was stoned. Three times shipwrecked but still content. Spent a night and a day in the open sea but content. I've been constantly on the move but content. Been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea, and in danger from false brothers, and yet I've learned the secret of being content in all of those kinds of situations. I have labored and toiled, and yet I've been content. I've often gone without food, and I've been content. I've known hunger and thirst… I've been cold and naked, and yet, I know the secret of being content in any and every situation." "Advanced Christianity" Now, I believe this is a great overstatement. Frankly, I think that it was somewhere along the way, during all of this time that he learned the secret of being content. You see, I consider it to be part of advanced Christianity, and it's not learned primarily from reading the Scripture. I think it's helpful to prime the pump in reading Philippians 4, and it's not going to come from listening to this sermon today; although I hope that that will help too. It's going to come from living. It's going to come from being in these kinds of circumstances and learning, somehow, to thank God in the middle of it all; learning, somehow, to be content. And so these are Paul's credentials. And yet, for all of that trouble, he speaks lavishly of joy in this letter. Five times he says he rejoices, but three times he says he's laboring for their joy, and I think that's what's on his mind here in Philippians 4; he wants them to know it too. He wants them to be content as well. And so five times he commands them to rejoice. Five times he says he rejoices; three times he says he's laboring for their joy, five times he commands them to rejoice. And so in the midst of his difficulties, which at that present time were in chains for Christ, going through more struggle and suffering again, he teaches them of lasting contentment. And finally, he has given them, before their very eyes, an unforgettable display of contentment in the midst of extreme circumstances. And we've talked about it before, but there he was in Philippi, rejected, screamed against, arrested, magistrates ordered that they would be stripped and beaten, how humiliating is that? And they were stripped and beaten, severely flogged; they were thrown in prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. And so the jailer put them in the inner cell, fastened their feet in the stocks, never imagining that that would be his last day as a non-Christian. I've often thought about that. He didn't anticipate he was going to become a Christian when he locked these men up, shut the door. But about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Let me ask you a question, is that you? Is that you? Are you like Paul and Silas? And if not, I think it would be good to sit at Paul's feet and learn his secret, don't you? I'm convinced he's got the credentials. Well, let's learn what he has to say. IV. Immediate Context: Thanks for Their Gift Well, the immediate context here in Philippians 4:10-4:13 is of a thank you letter that he's writing for the money. And now he's finally gotten to that. We've had three chapters of his attitudes toward all different kinds of things, but now, at last, he's getting to his immediate point of writing; he has received a financial gift to help him in his imprisonment. From that, he's going to be able to survive; he's going to be able to eat and have his needs met. And so like, I think, is reasonable to do, he sits down to write a thank-you note; he wants to thank the Philippians. But his eyes are on more than just that he would kind of reach out to them and say, "Thank you," however good manners that is. He's a pastor, and he wants to minister to them and to strengthen them. And so he says, in verse 10, "I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you've renewed your concern for me. Indeed you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. But I'm not saying this because I'm in need. I'm not writing this right now so that you'll send me even more money, that's not what I'm at. My motives are different than that. I want you to know what I have discovered, the secret of being content. I want you to have that too." More than that, he's going to talk later in this little section about how he wants them to give more money, whether to him, to others, so that they can store up treasure in heaven, that he wants what may be credited to their account. And so there's two messages here, a message of Christian contentment, abiding Christian contentment, and of lavish financial generosity so that we can store up treasure for the glory of God and for our own joy in heaven. These are things that are on Paul's mind as he sits down to write. It's an uncommon thank-you letter, wouldn't you think? And so he wants to share with them the secret. V. Paul’s Spiritual Mindset: The Key to His Unshakeable Joy He wants them to know this abiding contentment, and the key for him is his spiritual mindset. He's thinking spiritually; he's thinking like a subject of the Kingdom of Heaven. He's not thinking just like a regular person; his mind is always on Christ. And so, he says, "I rejoice greatly that your concern is renewed, not so that you'll send me more money, because it gives me evidence that Christ is still at work in your lives and that your conversion is genuine." It's never clear when a church planter leaves an area, whether the work that was done there was a genuine work or just a deception. We don't know for sure; we can't read people's hearts. We know that we were faithful in preaching the word, we have discharged our duty, we were faithful, we prayed, we labored, we cried, we planted, and we left. But Paul's not sure what was left behind, was it genuine? And so, he is greatly encouraged when the money keeps coming, the prayers and all that, not because he needs the money, and he's very clear about that here. That's not it; it's because he's concerned about their spiritual welfare. That they are Christians now, genuine Christians, and even more, that they are storing up treasure in Heaven in an ongoing way that glorifies God. So that's what he's writing about, that's what he's concerned about here. It's a spiritual mindset. Paul is always operating at a higher level than we are. Do you notice that? "I'm writing you a thank you note for a different reason than anybody else would." And that's the level that he's working on. So he rehearses their history; he goes over it, in verse 15 and 16, "You Philippians know in the early days of your acquaintance with the Gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you only. For even when I was in Thessalonica he says, you sent me aid again and again, when I was in need." And so he says, "This has been the way you've been, and now you're continuing and I'm so encouraged about that." And he says, "I have received the money. I want you to know that"; verse 18 and 19. "I got it. It wasn't stolen. I got it and I'm going to put it to good use, so mission accomplished, but think again about your souls." That's his whole approach. Now, in the midst of this come these statements about Christian contentment. I've just set the context for you. And in the middle of that he says, "I want you to know, I'm not worried about me. I'm not. I'm not concerned about whether I'm gonna get enough, because I've learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, well-fed or hungry, living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." VI. The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment Some time ago I came across one of the books... Do you know... There are occasional books that just change your life. And this book by a Puritan, 17th century Puritan, Jeremiah Burroughs changed my life. It was called The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. It's a timeless classic really, and I would urge you to get it. Jeremiah Burroughs, Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. He was a Puritan minister in the first half of the 17th century, and he'd seen his share of suffering and the persecution of Puritans under Archbishop Laud. And in the late 1640s, he wrote this classic meditation, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. And what do you think his focus verses were? Well, it was Philippians 4:12 and 13, the very ones we're looking at here, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I've learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." And the central doctrine of Burroughs' book is the following, "To be well-skilled in the mystery of Christian contentment is the duty, glory, and excellence of a Christian." Let me read that again, "To be well-skilled in the mystery of Christian contentment is the duty, glory, and excellence of a Christian." Now, I want to make an initial observation about this whole topic. Based on Paul's statement, "I've learned the secret of being content in any and every situation," I'm going to say two things: Number one, Christian contentment is possible. Number two, Christian contentment is not guaranteed. Christian contentment is possible but not guaranteed. Now, Paul says it's a secret to be learned and therefore a Christian contentment is not guaranteed. I know many Christians who go through their whole life it seems, never having learned the secret. And I think you can go to Heaven that way. I just think you can go to Heaven more fruitfully and joyfully and in a way that glorifies God better if you learn this secret. I wonder, if we had been the ones jailed there in Philippi and had reacted the way we usually react during hard times, if the Philippian jailer and his family would have been saved that night. I wonder about that. Just put yourself in the stocks based on your past performance. There you are in the chains, you're chained up, and you react the way you usually react when difficulties come in your life. Would the Philippian jailer have been saved that night? And you can say, "I really don't know." Well, hypothesize with me, think. It says all the other prisoners were listening to them, I would contend they'd be listening no matter what you did. And if you decided to complain and murmur and groan and whine and all that kind of thing, they'll hear that too. And then eventually, they're going to tell you to be quiet because they want to get some sleep. But if on the other hand like Paul and Silas you are praying, out loud so everyone can hear you, and then singing praise songs to God, I don't read in the text that anybody asked them to be quiet. There was such a compelling witness, and the Philippian jailer was drawn in by it. And so therefore, Christian contentment is possible, but it's not guaranteed. It is a rare jewel. Now, what is the Christian contentment we're talking about? How do we define it? Well, Jeremiah Burroughs helps us very well. He gives us a good definition here, "Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit which freely submits to, and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition." Okay, give it back to me now, I've just given you the definition. Did you hear it? Alright, I'll repeat it again, I'll say it a little slower, "Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit which freely submits to, and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition. Christian Contentment is Inward It is inward, it's an internal thing, inside you. Burroughs says this, "If the attainment of true contentment were as easy as keeping quiet outwardly, it would not need much learning. Now, would it?" God is not calling on us to be actors and actresses. That's not it. We're talking about a heart work here, a gracious work of the Spirit in our hearts, an internal work. Christian Contentment is Quiet Secondly, Burroughs says it's quiet. What does that mean? Well, it's opposed to murmuring and repining at the hand of God; it's opposed to vexing and fretting and the tumultuousness of spirit that characterizes us. It's opposed to the unsettled, unstable spirit which distracts from spiritual duties. It's opposed to heart-consuming cares, sinking discouragement, sinful shirkings and shiftings to get relief. And it's opposed to rising against God in rebellion. It's a quiet spirit. It's a yielded spirit. It's not a fighting spirit. Christian Contentment is a Frame of Spirit And it is a frame of spirit. Contentment is a soul business. It's an inward quiet frame of spirit; therefore it's not merely an act or a flash or a mood. That's not what it is, it's a quiet frame of spirit. Christian Contentment is Gracious And, he says, it is gracious. What do we mean by that? It's got nothing to do with natural temperament. Have you ever seen the kind of even-keeled person, male or female, you look at 'em and say, "Boy, that's admirable," and all that? That's not what we're talking about here. We're not talking about a natural tendency. We're talking about something that is supernatural. It is an act of God's grace. Only God can enable somebody to do this. Christian Contentment Freely Submits to God’s Disposal And he says it freely submits to God's disposal. It is a matter of submission; submission to the king. It's a matter of us realizing, again, what Jesus said when he said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. Accept what I give you. Yield to my wisdom. Let me decide what's best in your life." Burroughs writes this, "A contented heart looks to God, to God and to his disposal, and submit to God's disposal." That is he sees the wisdom of God in everything. In his submission, he sees God's sovereignty, but what makes him take pleasure is God's wisdom. The Lord knows how to order things better than I; the Lord sees further than I do. Therefore there's not a reluctance here; there's not a grudging, foot-dragging submission, but a glad submission. And not by constraint, it's not like we're forced to be content. Is anybody ever gonna put a gun to your head and say, "Be content"? It doesn't work that way. It's not by constraint, it's a glad thing of submission to God. "And it's not from stupidity or ignorance," says Burroughs, I like that. Paul says, "I know I'm in chains and I know that I don't have a lot, but God will meet my needs." It's not like Paul doesn't know where he is and that he doesn't know that he needs to keep on eating. Christian Contentment Glady Submits to God’s Disposal And it gladly submits to God's disposal. It's rejoicing. It's not irritable, angry, or frustrating. And it does so, it says, in any and every situation. VII. Does This Describe You? Now, my question to you as we close for today, does this characterize you? Is this who you are? I wrote down some diagnostic questions. Have you learned the secret of true contentment? Are you characterized by consistent joy in Christ, regardless of the circumstances? What does your reaction to trials and adversity reveal about what you consider to be your true treasure? Is it necessary for God to feed you constantly with good circumstances, or you will growl at him? Think about that. There is a verse in the Old Testament, in Jeremiah, in which God speaks of his people, "She growls at me, and therefore I hate her." It's in the Book of Jeremiah. Do you growl at God when hard things come? If you are more characterized by discontent, by complaining and murmuring, are you willing to repent and begin a new life of contentment, submitting to Christ? Do you desire a mature Christian character in which this rare jewel of Christian contentment is a visible, radiant display of God's glory? Is this something you want? And are you willing to pay the price to learn the secret of true Christian contentment? Because I believe the secret is only taught through a coupling of a concept, "I can do everything through him who strengthens me," with a series of circumstances that God wisely measures out in your life, everybody gets their own, in which you learn the secret. Are you willing to pay that price and you're willing to ask God to do that work in you?