Podcasts about Liu

Bethany and Liene will discuss Godkiller by Hannah Kaner. Did it live up to the beautiful cover? No, unfortunately we were not fans. Join us for the book discussion.   Looking for a book mentioned in the episode? Check here! *Note that all links are affiliate links from which we earn a commission to support the podcast   Book Godkiller by Hannah Kaner: https://amzn.to/3Pybiu6 Books from On My Radar The Spirit Bares its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White: https://amzn.to/3ruHB56 The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu: https://amzn.to/46eyjsS Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo: https://amzn.to/3Zsk2X8 The Fragile Threads of Power by VE Schwab: https://amzn.to/3RsCTj2     Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok @Chapter3Podcast or watch episodes on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy6yRiktWbWRAFpByrVk-kg Interested in early access to episodes, private Discord channels and other perks? Consider joining the Chapter 3 Patreon!  Co-Hosts  Bethany: https://www.youtube.com/c/beautifullybookishbethany Liene: https://www.youtube.com/c/LienesLibrary Izzy: https://www.youtube.com/c/HappyforNow

5Cs of History, Complexity: #4 of 4. During the Tang dynasty in the mid 8th century, a military leader named Li Baozhen was frustrated with his aging body. He had achieved much military glory and material wealth in his life, but he was aging and facing the fact that death was approaching. But he had also had dreams that he was riding triumphantly through the sky on a crane. Surely this was an omen! At the same time, Li Baozhen met Sun Jichang, who was a fangshi - a word that can be translated as alchemist, wizard, magician, and also doctor or physician. Sun Jichang offered Li Baozhen a concoction that he promised would allow him to “transcend” death. Inspired by his dreams of slipping away from earth on the back of a crane, Li Baozhen took the elixir - only to become incredibly sick. Li Baozhen's experience captures something of the complexity of Chinese medicine: competing ideas of how to heal, the use of various powerful medicines in careful (and not so careful) doses, the intermingling of spiritual and medicial philosophies, and the quest for health and power, even immortality. For this installment in our series on the five C's of historical thinking, we're contemplating the historical concept of complexity through an exploration of Chinese medicine. Bibliography Andrews, Bridie. The Making of Modern Chinese Medicine, 1850-1960. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2014.  Goldschmidt, Asaf. The Evolution of Chinese Medicine: The Song Dynasty, 960-1200. Abingdon: Routledge, 2009.  Goldschmidt, Asaf. “Epidemics and Medicine during the Northern Song Dynasty: The Revival of Cold Damage Disorders,” T'oung Pao 93 (2007): 53-109.  Liu, Yan. Healing with Poisons: Potent Medicines in Medieval China. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2021.  Lo, Vivienne and Michael Stanley-Baker, “Chinese Medicine,” in A Global History of Medicine, ed., Mark Jackson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.  The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine, trans. Maoshing Ni. Boston: Shambhala Press, 1995. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Peter is joined by ODB Founder Mark Moore and Bear Den Pod host Joe Goodman to break down Bayor's first win of the season over LIU, talk rivalry memories, and preview Saturday's tilt against Texas. 00:00 - Intro 02:55 - Baylor 30, Long Island 7  04:24 - 50K Foot View  07:54 - Vibe Issues  13:46 - Offense  24:30 - Aranda Needs a Worm Moment  32:19 - Memories of Texas Rivalries  43:12 - Texas Preview  1:03:01 - Keys to Victory  1:16:39 - Picks of the Week  1:28:39 - Outro

In this episode of our Women in Sustainability series, we are speaking again with Dr Liu Xiao about marine waste and the broader topic of waste and recycling in general. We talk with Dr Liu about a typical day at work on her projects at GIZ. Dr Liu is Project Manager at GIZ of the Rethinking Plastic-Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter (China), Integrated Waste Management NAMA (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions) Project, and Textile Compass Project. She is also a member of Recycling and Waste Minimisation Committee of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA). She has more than 15 years' experience on municipal solid waste (MSW) management and sustainable development especially on policy research and technology consulting. Her research is mainly about integrated waste management and low carbon transition, plastic waste management and pollution control, with a special focus on sustainable business model establishment in the waste sector. 我们一生中有将近三分之一的时间都在工作中度过，所以我们要的不仅仅只是一份工作，而是一个与我们的目标、优势和价值观相一致的职业。2022年我们发起了“可持续宝藏青年都在做什么”圆桌并邀请了来自环境、能源和可持续发展领域的小伙伴们分享他们的工作机构和内容、职业发展规划及在工作上遇到的挑战。在经历了2022年每月一期的活动后，我们觉得还是非常有必要把这些宝贵的经验以文字或者播客的形式记录下来，所以“环境能源可持续圈打工人”系列播客诞生了！ 在环境中国最新一期的播客中，我们邀请到了刘晓博士——刘晓是德国国际合作机构（GIZ）的项目执行主任，她主要负责城市生活垃圾综合管理、循环经济与海洋垃圾、和纺织行业绿色转型这三个项目。她在城市生活垃圾管理领域有15年的政策及技术咨询经验，并关注废弃物管理及可持续商业模式的建立。我们在播客中将探讨刘晓早期的学业和工作背景、加入德国国际合作机构的契机、在德国国际合作机构工作的一天等。 Episode producer: Joyce Yuan Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/EnvironmentChina 

In this episode we lift the veil on China's often secretive system for managing its multi-trillion dollar holdings of foreign assets. Guiding us through the discussion is Dr. Zhongyuan Zoe Liu, the Maurice R. Greenberg fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Liu spent years researching financial reports and conducting in-person interviews with those involved in running China's multiple “Sovereign Leveraged Funds”. We discuss how they evolved, what purposes they serve for the Communist party and why other countries may soon follow China's lead. The interview is based on Dr. Liu's new book: How The Communist Party of China Finances Its Global Ambitions.-----EXCEPTIONAL RESOURCE: Find Out How to Build a Safer & Better Performing Portfolio using this FREE NEW Portfolio Builder Tool-----Follow Niels on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or via the TTU website.IT's TRUE ? – most CIO's read 50+ books each year – get your FREE copy of the Ultimate Guide to the Best Investment Books ever written here.And you can get a free copy of my latest book “The Many Flavors of Trend Following” here.Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.comAnd please share this episode with a like-minded friend and leave an honest Rating & Review on iTunes or Spotify so more people can discover the podcast.Follow Kevin on SubStack & read his Book.Follow Zongyuan on Twitter and Read her Book.Episode TimeStamps: 00:00 - Intro03:52 - Sebastien's journey into the investment management industry07:45 - How Sebastien's book came about19:43 - Investing in a rising interest rate environment24:06 - Responding to unexpected regime shifts in the markets33:24 - Defining and achieving utility...

This is the second in a 3-part series, examining DII head coaches who have moved on to DI coaching jobs.  Next up, the In the Crease boys  sit down with Jordan Levine.  Coach Levine started the DII Mercy program and brought them to the national championship in 2022. A month later, he was hired as the LIU head coach.Listen in to hear how the move transpired, how things are going at LIU and the legacy he left at Mercy.  If you like what we are doing, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and help us spread the word of the great things happening in D2 Men's Lacrosse!Follow us at: Instagram: @in_the_crease_d2_lax Facebook: In the Crease with Danny and Kevin Twitter: @D2_Lax_podcast

Fank & Peter recap the heartbreaking loss to Utah last weekend, talk about some of the silver linings and the frustrations, then look ahead to LIU plus some picks of the week. 00:00 - Intro 02:07 - Utah 20, Baylor 13: 50K Foot View  14:36 - Pre-Sawyer Injury Positives  20:06 - the HEAT  24:06 - Defense Progress  26:57 - Offense  35:44 - Post-Sawyer Injury  46:58 - The Final "Drive" & The PI Call  51:08 - LIU Preview  56:42 - Picks of the Week  1:05:34 - Outro

Join myself, Taylor and Hans as we talk to author Ken Liu about his Epic Silkpunk series: The Dandelion Dynasty! We discuss events from all four books: The Grace of Kings, The Wall of Storms, The Veiled Throne, & Speaking Bones and go into full spoiler territory so please be aware before you watch the live! From large themes of governmental structures, to the micro-scale of detailed character work, Liu gives us an in-depth look at the ideas that were behind this incredible project. Watch on YouTubeFind Taylor (Maed Between the Pages)PageChewing.comPAGECHEWING: Comics & Manga PodcastFilm Chewing PodcastLinktreeJoin Riverside.fm

This presentation was recorded at GOTO Chicago 2021.gotochgo.comJohn Le Drew - Coach, consultant, trainer, experienced engineer and international keynote speaker; founder of Wise NoodlesABSTRACTStories are the foundation of the human experience. They are what define us, individually and collectively. They engage us, entertain us, bring us together and drive us apart. What stories do you tell about you? Who knows your stories? Everyone? Perhaps just a select few? Maybe, just you.In this session, we explore how our individual journeys to self-acceptance and alignment are also the heart of how we can work with and support teams. We will learn about how to truly help teams move towards agility, by helping them find and own their process and tell their own story. So they stay aligned and can continually realign when their context changes.• Why authenticity and self-acceptance matters for both individuals and teams• How to create lasting change in teams, without imposing process or creating learned helplessness.• How to help teams own their process and tell their own story.Over the last 20 years, John has helped countless teams. But in the last 3 years, when his world was turned upside down, he realised that changing a team [...]Read the full abstract hereRECOMMENDED BOOKSAino Vonge Corry • Retrospectives AntipatternsMatthew Skelton & Manuel Pais • Team TopologiesLee, Wickens, Liu & Boyle • Designing for PeopleStone, Chaparro, Keebler, Chaparro & McConnell • Introduction to Human FactorsTwitterLinkedInFacebookLooking for a unique learning experience?Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket: gotopia.techSUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL - new videos posted almost daily

Em X. Liu's The Death I Gave Him (Solaris, 2023) brings a science fiction twist to Shakespeare's beloved Hamlet. Working at Elsinore Labs, Hayden Lichfield and his father are in relentless pursuit of the cure for mortality. The night of Hayden's breakthrough should be cause for celebration until he finds his father murdered. As he flees with the research, his uncle puts Elsinore Labs on lockdown. Trapped inside with only 4 other people, old secrets, alliances, and lies are revealed. When the murderer starts to look like Hayden, he leans on his only ally, the laboratory's AI, Horatio. “The inception of the novel really came from retelling or receiving Hamlet in this specific way.” says Liu, “It's kind of a murder mystery, kind of an emotional thriller. Ultimately, I would really describe it as a character study. “ Liu is keenly aware that playing with a Hamlet story means surprising both readers who are familiar with Hamlet or those who are not. This locked-room thriller is one that keeps the reader guessing. Em X. Liu is a writer and recent biochemistry graduate, which means they love stories about artificial intelligence and Shakespeare in equal measure. Since immigrating to Canada, they never go long without hopping on a plane to wander new places. But out of all the cities they've been to, they still love their home in Toronto the most. Brenda Noiseux hosts New Books in Science Fiction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Em X. Liu's The Death I Gave Him (Solaris, 2023) brings a science fiction twist to Shakespeare's beloved Hamlet. Working at Elsinore Labs, Hayden Lichfield and his father are in relentless pursuit of the cure for mortality. The night of Hayden's breakthrough should be cause for celebration until he finds his father murdered. As he flees with the research, his uncle puts Elsinore Labs on lockdown. Trapped inside with only 4 other people, old secrets, alliances, and lies are revealed. When the murderer starts to look like Hayden, he leans on his only ally, the laboratory's AI, Horatio. “The inception of the novel really came from retelling or receiving Hamlet in this specific way.” says Liu, “It's kind of a murder mystery, kind of an emotional thriller. Ultimately, I would really describe it as a character study. “ Liu is keenly aware that playing with a Hamlet story means surprising both readers who are familiar with Hamlet or those who are not. This locked-room thriller is one that keeps the reader guessing. Em X. Liu is a writer and recent biochemistry graduate, which means they love stories about artificial intelligence and Shakespeare in equal measure. Since immigrating to Canada, they never go long without hopping on a plane to wander new places. But out of all the cities they've been to, they still love their home in Toronto the most. Brenda Noiseux hosts New Books in Science Fiction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

Em X. Liu's The Death I Gave Him (Solaris, 2023) brings a science fiction twist to Shakespeare's beloved Hamlet. Working at Elsinore Labs, Hayden Lichfield and his father are in relentless pursuit of the cure for mortality. The night of Hayden's breakthrough should be cause for celebration until he finds his father murdered. As he flees with the research, his uncle puts Elsinore Labs on lockdown. Trapped inside with only 4 other people, old secrets, alliances, and lies are revealed. When the murderer starts to look like Hayden, he leans on his only ally, the laboratory's AI, Horatio. “The inception of the novel really came from retelling or receiving Hamlet in this specific way.” says Liu, “It's kind of a murder mystery, kind of an emotional thriller. Ultimately, I would really describe it as a character study. “ Liu is keenly aware that playing with a Hamlet story means surprising both readers who are familiar with Hamlet or those who are not. This locked-room thriller is one that keeps the reader guessing. Em X. Liu is a writer and recent biochemistry graduate, which means they love stories about artificial intelligence and Shakespeare in equal measure. Since immigrating to Canada, they never go long without hopping on a plane to wander new places. But out of all the cities they've been to, they still love their home in Toronto the most. Brenda Noiseux hosts New Books in Science Fiction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-fiction

We are back with a moderate-sized Decoding that focuses on Andrw Hubernman a baritone podcaster and neuroscientist at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Huberman is a broad-shouldered, big-bearded... science communicator. Extremely popular with the tech-bro optimiser set, he offers science-based 'protocols' on everything from supplement routines to whether you should avoid sunscreen(!).He's been lauded for his ability to communicate scientific topics clearly and in great depth. But has also faced criticism (including from us!) for his tendency to overhype findings from low-quality studies, promote supplements with dubious claims, avoid any positive mention of vaccines, and cheer on the efforts of his podcasting bros/heroes: Lex Fridman and Joe Rogan.In this episode, we take a look at a rather specific piece of content, just a 20-minute segment from a recent AMA on the scientific evidence for the benefits of 'grounding' and getting out into nature. We will learn all about the negative ions emanating from streams and waterfalls, the joy that can be sparked by seeing a squirrel wrestle with a nut, whether Huberman actually advocates staring into the sun, and try to solve the age-old question of what is best in life- a sushi restaurant or prancing in a forest. Also featuring: some good content recommendations (for a change!) and a review of the recent demented goings on in the gurusphere with one Jordan B. Peterson and his quest to destroy the College of Psychologists of Ontario.LinksSurfing the Discourse PodcastNullius in Verba PodcastCourt Decision on Peterson's case against the College of Psychologists of OntarioConspirituality 163: The Huberman Paradox (w/Jonathan Jarry)Oh No! With Ross & Carrie's first episode on GroundingMårtensson, B., Pettersson, A., Berglund, L., & Ekselius, L. (2015). Bright white light therapy in depression: a critical review of the evidence. Journal of Affective Disorders, 182, 1-7. Perez, V., Alexander, D. D., & Bailey, W. H. (2013). Air ions and mood outcomes: a review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry, 13(1), 1-20. Wen, Y., Yan, Q., Pan, Y., Gu, X., & Liu, Y. (2019). Medical empirical research on forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku): A systematic review. Environmental health and preventive medicine, 24(1), 1-21. Critical article by Jonathan Jarry on Huberman's promotion of supplementsTime Profile of Huberman: How Podcaster Andrew Huberman Got America to Care About Science

What explains the varying treatment of ethnic minorities in Southeast Asia? Why have some states in the region been far more successful than others in handling relations with minorities? And why have countries like Thailand had far more challenging experiences with certain ethnic minorities than with others? In this podcast about Ethnicity and Politics in Southeast Asia (Cambridge UP, 2022), co-author Jacob Ricks is in conversation with Duncan McCargo about the key issues and arguments raised in this short but provocative book. Amy H. Liu is a professor of government at University of Texas, Austin, while Jacob I. Ricks is associate professor of political science at Singapore Management University.  Duncan McCargo is a professor in the public policy and global affairs programme at Nanyang Technological University.  This book conceptually disaggregates ethnicity into multiple constituent markers – specifically language, religion, and phenotype. By focusing on the interaction between these three ethnic markers, Liu and Ricks explore how overlap between these markers can affect whether a minority integrates within a broader ethnic identity; successfully extracts accommodation as unique group; or engages in a contentious and potentially violent relationship with the hegemon. The argument is tested through six case studies: (1) ethnic Lao in Thailand: integration; (2) ethnic Chinese in Thailand: integration; (3) ethnic Chinese in Malaysia: accommodation; (4) ethnic Malays in Singapore: accommodation; (5) ethnic Malays in Thailand: contention; and (6) ethnic Chinese in Indonesia: contention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

What explains the varying treatment of ethnic minorities in Southeast Asia? Why have some states in the region been far more successful than others in handling relations with minorities? And why have countries like Thailand had far more challenging experiences with certain ethnic minorities than with others? In this podcast about Ethnicity and Politics in Southeast Asia (Cambridge UP, 2022), co-author Jacob Ricks is in conversation with Duncan McCargo about the key issues and arguments raised in this short but provocative book. Amy H. Liu is a professor of government at University of Texas, Austin, while Jacob I. Ricks is associate professor of political science at Singapore Management University.  Duncan McCargo is a professor in the public policy and global affairs programme at Nanyang Technological University.  This book conceptually disaggregates ethnicity into multiple constituent markers – specifically language, religion, and phenotype. By focusing on the interaction between these three ethnic markers, Liu and Ricks explore how overlap between these markers can affect whether a minority integrates within a broader ethnic identity; successfully extracts accommodation as unique group; or engages in a contentious and potentially violent relationship with the hegemon. The argument is tested through six case studies: (1) ethnic Lao in Thailand: integration; (2) ethnic Chinese in Thailand: integration; (3) ethnic Chinese in Malaysia: accommodation; (4) ethnic Malays in Singapore: accommodation; (5) ethnic Malays in Thailand: contention; and (6) ethnic Chinese in Indonesia: contention. Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/southeast-asian-studies

What explains the varying treatment of ethnic minorities in Southeast Asia? Why have some states in the region been far more successful than others in handling relations with minorities? And why have countries like Thailand had far more challenging experiences with certain ethnic minorities than with others? In this podcast about Ethnicity and Politics in Southeast Asia (Cambridge UP, 2022), co-author Jacob Ricks is in conversation with Duncan McCargo about the key issues and arguments raised in this short but provocative book. Amy H. Liu is a professor of government at University of Texas, Austin, while Jacob I. Ricks is associate professor of political science at Singapore Management University.  Duncan McCargo is a professor in the public policy and global affairs programme at Nanyang Technological University.  This book conceptually disaggregates ethnicity into multiple constituent markers – specifically language, religion, and phenotype. By focusing on the interaction between these three ethnic markers, Liu and Ricks explore how overlap between these markers can affect whether a minority integrates within a broader ethnic identity; successfully extracts accommodation as unique group; or engages in a contentious and potentially violent relationship with the hegemon. The argument is tested through six case studies: (1) ethnic Lao in Thailand: integration; (2) ethnic Chinese in Thailand: integration; (3) ethnic Chinese in Malaysia: accommodation; (4) ethnic Malays in Singapore: accommodation; (5) ethnic Malays in Thailand: contention; and (6) ethnic Chinese in Indonesia: contention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

There's a new Sheriff of Optimism in town as Coffey, Fank, and Peter deliver their predictions for the 2023 Baylor Football Season! 00:00 - Cold Open & Intro 06:26 - Depth Chart Released  18:43 - Season Predictions: Floors & Ceilings  25:32 - Texas State  32:37 - Utah  37:19 - LIU  37:43 - Texas  42:29 - UCF  44:24 - Texas Tech  47:43 - Cincinnati  49:40 - Iowa State  51:52 - Houston  53:24 - Kansas State  56:23 - TCU  1:00:26 - West Virginia  1:03:06 - Big 12 Championship Predictions  1:06:03 - CFP & National Champion 1:09:02 - Picks of the Week!  1:18:30 - Outro

As voted on by patrons, our Summer 2023 Listener Choice episode is all about working with our clients to support effective IEP services related to transition planning. Given the continuing need to support clients, parents, and educational teams in creating meaningful and rewarding adult outcomes after school ends, we take a look at ways this planning can be done best and with a focus on the self-determination and participation of our clients. If you've ever been in an IEP meeting where adults talked about rather than to a student, this episode is for you! This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU. Wish that CE was free? Subscribe on our Patreon page to see the full recording and get a discount for 100% off your purchase. Articles discussed this episode: Lipscomb, S., Lacoe, J., Liu, A.Y., & Haimson, J. (2018). Preparing for life after high school: The characteristics and experiences of youth in special education. National Center for Education Evaluation. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/evaluation/disabilities_nlts2012.asp Martin, J.E., Woods, L.L., Sylvester, L., & Gardner, J.E. (2005). A challenge to self-determination: Disagreement between the vocational choices made by individuals with severe disabilities and their caregivers. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 30, 147-153. doi: 10.2511/rpsd.30.3.147 Mueller, T.G., Bassett, D.S., & Brewer, R.D. (2012). Planning for the future: A model for using the principles of transition to guide the development of behavior intervention plans. Intervention in School and Clinic, 48, 38-46. doi: 10.1177/1053451212443130 Howard, M., Reed, A.S., & Francis, G.L. (2020). “It's my meeting!”: Involving high school students with significant disabilities in the Individualized Education Program process. Teaching Exceptional Children, 53, 290-298. doi: 10.1177/0040059920958739 Further Resources: List of Choice-Making/Self-Determination Published Curricula If you're interested in ordering CEs for listening to this episode, click here to go to the store page. You'll need to enter your name, BCBA #, and the two episode secret code words to complete the purchase. Email us at abainsidetrack@gmail.com for further assistance.

There was a time when Josh Hartnett was the hottest young actor in the game. His star was so big, that he got top billing in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down (2001), over many big named and up-and-coming actors. We look back at the who's who of that film and also, revisit the unheralded gem that is Lucky Number Slevin (2006). A film that probably doesn't get made today, nor with the cast that it had. Josh Hartnett, we salute you.Subscribe, rate and review:Apple Podcasts: Our Film FathersSpotify: Our Film FathersGoogle Podcasts: Our Film FathersStitcher: Our Film FathersAmazon Music: Our Film Fathers-----------------------Follow us:Instagram: @ourfilmfathersTwitter: @ourfilmfathersEmail: ourfilmfathers@gmail.com

Liu Liangmo's story is as remarkable as it is unknown. An anti-imperialist, pro-Communist Christian, with a significant relationship to the Black Liberation Movement and the Indian Freedom Struggle, Liu lived in the U.S. as a diplomat after participating in the ongoing Chinese revolution. He wrote a column for the prominent Black newspaper. The Pittsburgh Courier, before returning to his home country and attaining a fairly high-ranking position there. His story offers notable insight into the history of pre- and post-revolutionary China and its approach to the Black freedom movement in the U.S. It also reveals much about the turbulent “Second Popular Front” era in China, during which time Communist forces obtained broader legitimacy. This has largely been erased from U.S. political and historical consciousness, which helps explain Liu's relative marginality. Most radical movements since the late 1960s have rightly critiqued the legacy of the Popular Front for blurring the lines between reform and revolution and, by extension, capitalism and communism. They see the Popular Front as an opportunist approach to building unity where radical ideas and the independent working-class program were subordinated to maintain legitimacy among left-liberal reform currents. What is lost in such sweeping generalizations are the unusual concrete circumstances and strategic conundrums that Communist forces faced worldwide in this moment, especially among the struggles of oppressed peoples against colonialism and fascism. Liu Liangmo's story provides an opportunity to critically examine this period anew. His Courier columns covered a wide breadth of “popular front” political activities and the relationships expressed in those writings speak to both the strengths and the weakness of Communist political activity during World War II. On the one hand, there was unprecedented vitality and significance to Communist-led interventions while, on the other hand, there was a lack of strategic clarity that forestalled a larger political breakthrough. Using Liu's columns as a foundation, we can address this moment and draw important international parallels. Read the full story here: https://www.liberationschool.org/liu-liangmo-pt-2/

J.W. Verret, an Associate Professor of Law at the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School and a long-time friend of the inSecurities podcast, sits down with Chris and Kurt to discuss his new paper “Disgorgement Accounting After Liu v. SEC in Securities Enforcement Cases.” Professor Verret's article is the first to link Liu's directives on disgorgement to fundamental accounting principles. The result is an article at the intersection of securities law and accounting. Chris, Kurt, and J.W. talk about how practitioners should think about disgorgement accounting after Liu, and where they may be able to get a leg up in negotiations with the SEC Enforcement staff.   You can read Professor Verret's new article on SSRN here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4542940

Liu Liangmo (1909-1988) was a prominent Chinese anti-imperialist, religious leader and, from 1942-1945, columnist for the Pittsburgh Courier—at that time the nation's widest circulating Black newspaper. Liu's columns (and actions as an organizer) were a significant part of efforts by progressive Chinese people, on the mainland and in the diaspora, to build alliances with the Black Liberation movement as part of a broader effort to shape the post-war world. His words linked the causes of ending colonialism, imperialism, and race discrimination—from the Yangtze to the Ganges to the Mississippi—mirroring the words and actions of millions of others involved in similarly-minded struggles around the world, including Liu's favorite U.S. singer: Paul Robeson. Liu's columns represent the efforts of Communist and aligned currents to turn the allied effort in the favor of the exploited and the oppressed. This was counteracted in the so-called “Cold War,” as imperialist forces worked to make the world “safe for capitalism” in the wake of the World War II. His columns and activities offer interesting insight into the struggle within the “Second United Front” in China between the Nationalist Kuomintang and the Communists during the Second World War and their differing approaches to the post-war world: whether China should be an anti-colonial vanguard or seek inclusion in the imperialist “great power” club. The “Nationalist” Chinese government's chose the latter, heavily impacting their approach to racism in the US. Read the full article here: https://www.liberationschool.org/liu-liangmo-pt-1/

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USC & LIU name new Athletic Directors, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey believes the College Football Playoff needs re-considering, a group of Northwestern student-athletes pen letter criticizing the university's process in firing Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald and more. Be sure to check your inbox to see more of today's news and notes from around the nation. We would love to know what you think of the show and you can let us know on social media @D1ticker. If you are not subscribed to D1.ticker, you can and should subscribe at www.d1ticker.com/.

A recent study investigating the effect of three different concentrations of green tea in the diet showed better gut health and more weight loss in the group consuming the highest concentration. Listen in this week as Dee discusses the results of the study and what it means for your overall health.Reference:Mei, H., Li, J., Liu, S., Jeyaraj, A., Zhuang, J., Wang, Y., Chen, X., Yuan, Q., & Li, X. (2023). The role of green tea on the regulation of gut microbes and prevention of high-fat diet-induced metabolic syndrome in mice. Foods, 12(15), 2953. https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/12/15/2953

The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend is a narrative VR game with lots of exquisite environmental storytelling with embodied puzzles and escape room mechanics. You play as a 19th-century Chinese woman named Cheng Shih as she becomes one of the most powerful pirates in history. Singer Studios premiered the first 30 minutes of the experience, and it won the Tribeca Immersive Storyscapes award. The jury statement says, “For its outstanding technical execution, immersive user experience, and unique and untold story of a nearly forgotten woman in history.” I had a chance to catch up with the founder and CEO of Singer Studios, Eloise Singer, who directed The Pirate Queen as well as producer Siobhan McDonnell, who looks after the immersive wing at Singer Studios. Singer Studios specializes in telling transmedia stories across film, TV, games, and podcasts. They're also working on a podcast series and TV series of The Pirate Queen starring Lucy Liu. Liu also executive produced and narrated the VR game. They're also adapting their Venice 2022 narrative game Mrs. Benz into a film version. We talk about the affordances of these different media, and how they're changing how they tell these stories across these different mediums. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

Episode 99 of Ask Dr Jessica with Dr Taryn Liu, discussing autism.  Dr Liu is a dedicated pediatric neurologist who specializes neuro developmental disabilities in children, and she primarily treats children with autism.   In this podcast, you will hear Dr Liu share her compassion and insights into autism spectrum disorder.  She demystifies common misconceptions, and also explains the social and emotional challenges.  Additionally, she highlights early signs in children, like joint attention and non-verbal communication.  Her insights provide valuable information for both parents and professionals who would like a deeper understanding of autism spectrum disorder.  If you would like to see Dr Liu as a physician, she currently works at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.Get matched with a therapist by using Better Help! Give it a try---invest in your mental health: https://betterhelp.com/askdrjessica for 10% off your first month of therapy. Thank you to Better Help for supporting the Ask Dr Jessica podcast.Dr Jessica Hochman is a board certified pediatrician, mom to three children, and she is very passionate about the health and well being of children. Most of her educational videos are targeted towards general pediatric topics and presented in an easy to understand manner. Do you have a future topic you'd like Dr Jessica Hochman to discuss? Email Dr Jessica Hochman askdrjessicamd@gmail.com. Dr Jessica Hochman is also on social media:Follow her on Instagram: @AskDrJessicaSubscribe to her YouTube channel! Ask Dr JessicaSubscribe to this podcast: Ask Dr JessicaSubscribe to her mailing list: www.askdrjessicamd.comThe information presented in Ask Dr Jessica is for general educational purposes only. She does not diagnose medical conditions or formulate treatment plans for specific individuals. If you have a concern about your child's health, be sure to call your child's health care provider.

CONTÁCTAME POR WHATSAPP https://wa.me/message/VLBJNM7KBBQDC1 DÉJAME CONOCER TU CASO HACIENDO CLIC AQUÍ - https://nelsonarturopsicologo.com/superar-ansiedad Mi página web https://nelsonarturopsicologo.com/ Se estima que alrededor del 15% de la población mundial sufre de Tinnitus o acufenos, en consecuencia, se ha convertido en un caso de investigación importante para la ciencia médica. Si te has preguntado si un medicamento o una terapia cura el tinnitus, desde libre de ansiedad que hemos tratado este tema en el pasado (Te puede interesar: Como Quitar el Tinnitus Causado por la Ansiedad (https://nelsonarturopsicologo.com/como-quitar-tinnitus-ansiedad/)),te presentamos algunos desarrollos científicos para el avance en el tratamiento del Tinnitus. ¿Qué puede tratar o curar el Tinnitus? Este trastorno se presenta cuando una persona siente un sonido o zumbido molesto en sus odios que no proviene de una fuente externa, en relación a esto, desde libre de ansiedad hemos visto formas naturales de curar el Tinnitus (También puede leer: Zumbido, Tinnitus o acúfenos en el oído – ejercicios para quitarlo (https://nelsonarturopsicologo.com/zumbido-tinnitus-o-acufenos-en-el-oido-ejercicios-para-quitarlo/)), especialmente haciendo uso de la terapia cognitivo conductual. Los tratamientos han ido evolucionando mostrando un gran avance en el tratamiento del Tinnitus, tal como se muestra en el video adjunto, varias investigaciones han mostrado resultados impresionantes como la de Dang y Lui ( https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165587618304798#preview-section-abstract) que mediante la inyección de Botox en la articulación sinovial tipo bicondílea que existe entre el hueso temporal y la mandíbula, se relaja esa zona y con ello se reduce o se elimina el Tinnitus. Otra investigación interesante establece que los relajantes musculares como el magnesio y el zinc (http://ddigital.umss.edu.bo:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/38137) cura el Tinnitus de manera temporal, del mismo modo, existen propuestas innovadoras como un tratamiento que emplea estimulación eléctrica y el enmascaramiento de los zumbidos (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37266943/) para descansar en núcleo coclear reduciendo la sensibilidad o una inflamación. La psicología como avance en el tratamiento del Tinnitus Se ha evidenciado que gracias a la Terapia cognitivo conductual (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6123-4_7) empleando el proceso de la HABITUACIÓN, es decir, acostumbrarse a una situación disminuyendo de forma paulatina y significativa el impacto que tiene en uno mismo, se logra disminuir los efectos de los zumbidos molestos en los oídos, de igual modo ,complementando con ejercicios relajantes se obtiene una forma natural de curar el Tinnitus. Independientemente del método que se opte como cura del Tinnitus, es evidente que las investigaciones de este trastorno avanzan a pasos agigantados y que es probable que pronto se encuentre una cura definitiva. Referencias Bibliográficas (H2) Dang, J., & Liu, Y. C. C. (2019). Treatment of objective tinnitus with transpalatal Botox® injection in a pediatric patient with middle ear myoclonus: A case report. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 116, 22-24. Recuperado de https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165587618304798#preview-section-abstract Hernández Cordero, M., & Hernández Montero, G. (2020). Tinnitus: diagnóstico, mecanismos fisiopatológicos y tratamiento. Revista Cubana de Otorrinolaringología y Cirugía de Cabeza y Cuello, 4(2). Recuperado de https://revotorrino.sld.cu/index.php/otl/article/view/154 Jones GR, Martel DT, Riffle TL, et al. Reversing Synchronized Brain Circuits Using Targeted Auditory-Somatosensory Stimulation to Treat Phantom Percepts: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(6):e2315914. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.15914 MEJIA JORDAN, S. M. (2023). EFECTIVIDAD DEL EMPLEO DE MAGNESIO QUELADO VERSUS SULFATO DE ZINC EN EL TRATAMIENTO DE PACIENTES CON DIAGNOSTICO DE TINNITUS DE CAUSA NEUROSENSORIAL (Doctoral dissertation, RM OT-01/23;). recuperado de: http://ddigital.umss.edu.bo:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/38137 Tang, D., Li, H., Chen, L. (2019). Advances in Understanding, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Tinnitus. In: Li, H., Chai, R. (eds) Hearing Loss: Mechanisms, Prevention and Cure. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1130. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6123-4_7 TE PUEDE INTERESAR Como Quitar el Tinnitus Causado por la Ansiedad (https://nelsonarturopsicologo.com/como-quitar-tinnitus-ansiedad/) Zumbido, Tinnitus o acúfenos en el oído – ejercicios para quitarlo (https://nelsonarturopsicologo.com/zumbido-tinnitus-o-acufenos-en-el-oido-ejercicios-para-quitarlo)

Podcast Description: In this Dentistry's Growing with Grace event, Grace Rizza sits down with Dr. Noel Liu, co-founder of Secure Dental and DentVia, to discuss the revolutionary concept of DentVia, a game-changing solution that is transforming the way dental practices operate. In this episode, Grace and Dr. Liu explore how these virtual assistants are not only filling the void in dental staffing but also revolutionizing the overall efficiency and productivity of dental practices. Don't miss out on this opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and strategies that can take your dental practice to unprecedented heights! Meet Grace Rizza: Grace Rizza is the CEO and founder of Identity Dental Marketing, which serves practices nationwide with ethical, effective marketing solutions. Today the company has helped to propel over 1,500 businesses to new levels of success. In her tenure as a business owner, Grace has authored countless industry-specific articles, podcasts, and blogs. She has spoken at dozens of dental meetings, including the Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting, The Hinman Dental Meeting and the Greater New York Dental Meeting. Meet Dr. Noel Liu: Dr. Noel Liu, DDS, is a highly skilled and compassionate general dentist, co-founder, and CEO of Secure Dental, with multiple locations across state lines. With years of experience in the field, Dr. Liu has established a reputation as a trusted and knowledgeable dental professional. In addition to his successful dental practices, he is also an accomplished real estate investor, demonstrating his business acumen and mentoring others in this field. Driven by his entrepreneurial spirit, he remains dedicated to providing exceptional dental care services while helping like-minded dentists achieve financial well-being. Learn more about DentVia by visiting: https://dentvia.com/ Learn more about Dr. Liu by visiting: https://www.noelliudds.com/

Rob's running the show solo this month as we head into the dog days of summer. Enjoy our two regular episodes including a history of behavior analysis with Dr. Mirari Elcoro and our listener-selected episode on client self-determination in transition planning. Then, while we're enjoying a little time off, we'll be unlocking last year's book club discussing “Street Data” and releasing our talk on Quality of Life from last year's Thompson Center conference. All that and Rob gets some performance feedback. Articles for August 2023 The History of Psychology and Behavior Anaysis w/ Dr. Mirari Elcoro Elcoro, M. & Backer, A. (2021). Murray Sidman and Patient H.M.: The role of behavior analysis in the emergence of collaborative modern neuroscience. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 115, 242-254. doi: 10.1002/jeab.656 Elcoro, M. & McCarley, N. (2015). This old thing? Using old laboratory equipment to enhance student learning. Teaching of Psychology, 42, 69-72. doi: 10.1177/0098628314562681 Self-Determination in IEP Transition Planning (LIVE) Lipscomb, S., Lacoe, J., Liu, A.Y., & Haimson, J. (2018). Preparing for life after high school: The characteristics and experiences of youth in special education. National Center for Education Evaluation. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/evaluation/disabilities_nlts2012.asp Martin, J.E., Woods, L.L., Sylvester, L., & Gardner, J.E. (2005). A challenge to self-determination: Disagreement between the vocational choices made by individuals with severe disabilities and their caregivers. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 30, 147-153. doi: 10.2511/rpsd.30.3.147 Mueller, T.G., Bassett, D.S., & Brewer, R.D. (2012). Planning for the future: A model for using the principles of transition to guide the development of behavior intervention plans. Intervention in School and Clinic, 48, 38-46. doi: 10.1177/1053451212443130 Howard, M., Reed, A.S., & Francis, G.L. (2020). “It's my meeting!”: Involving high school students with significant disabilities in the Individualized Education Program process. Teaching Exceptional Children, 53, 290-298. doi: 10.1177/0040059920958739 (UNLOCKED) Street Data Book Club Safir, S. & Dugan, J. (2021). Street data: A next-generation model for equity, pedagogy, and school transformation. Corwin. Bonus Episode 31 - Quality of Life (LIVE @ Thompson Center for Autism Conference 2022) Presentation Slides

Today I want to tell you about our sponsor for this episode,  Olsen  Dental  Chairs!‍‍Imagine you're a dentist and you spend your whole day around the chair...   Well, Olsen has over  40 years of experience in making those long hours as comfortable as possible for both the dentist  and the patient! ‍If you're a dental professional looking for high quality, cost effective, dental equipment, check out Olson dental chairs!Click this link and mention this episode for a limited time FREE installation with your purchase!‍‍‍Guest: Noel LiuPractice Name: Secure Dental GroupCheck out Noel's Media:‍Websites:Secure Dental - www.secure-dental.comSecure Dental Group - www.securedentalgroup.comNoel Liu DDS - www.noelliudds.com/DentVia - https://dentvia.com/‍Social Media:Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/noelliuddsInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/drnoelliu/?hl=enYoutube - https://www.youtube.com/c/drnoelliuLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/drnoelliu.Twitter - https://twitter.com/DrNoelLiu‍Phone: 815-670-2923‍Other Mentions and Links:Wells FargoEBITDA - Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and AmortizationLevin Group - Dr. Roger LevinScheduling InstituteDEO - Dental Entrepreneur OrganizationDr. Marc CooperCardone VenturesBrandon Dawson‍For more helpful tips, strategies, ideas, and marketing advice:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedentalmarketer/‍The Newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031814726927041‍‍‍My Key Takeaways:If you're thinking about practice 2 and beyond, be sure to maximize your primary practice first!Plan out your revenue breakpoints and what you will do when you reach them. Without a plan, you will lose progress while growing!Know the numbers! KPIs, P and Ls, and Productions and Collections are essential to keep close tabs on for improvement of your practice.Expanding to a new practice is 80% mindset and 20% strategy. Don't get too bogged down in strategizing!Emotional and logical decision making BOTH have a place in business. If your decisions are too logical, it will be hard to take action. If your decisions are too emotional, you may lack to planning and strategy needed for success.Try getting to know your team and their individual goals, values, and aspirations. This will help when aligning with the practice's values and ensure a sustainable culture!‍Please don't forget to share with us on Instagram when you are listening to the podcast AND if you are really wanting to show us love, then please leave a 5 star review on iTunes! [Click here to leave a review on iTunes]‍‍Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)Michael: Alright, it's time to talk with our featured guest, Dr. Noel Liu. Noel, how's it going? I'm doing very well, Michael. Thanks for having me. No, thank you for coming on and being a part of the podcast. We truly appreciate it. If you don't mind me asking, tell us a little bit about your past, your present, how'd you get to where you Noel: are today?No, it's a great question. You know, it's like, um, when they say, when you climb the ladder, it's, it's this way. So this is how I, my, my whole journey with the whole career has been, so we started, I, I graduated back in 2007 from N Y U College of Dentistry and, uh, I was working for a corporate and I think I lasted about four and a half years.Stuck to one job, just stuck it out. Didn't quit, just, just kept going. And then we opened our first practice in 2012 in Peor, Illinois, and that's where we are based. So from there, we just, uh, my wife and I, so we are both dentists. She graduated in about, you know, 2011 ish. So, you know, I was in 2007, she was 2011.And then we just started, you know, our own little operation. And, uh, since then, I think it's been a, it's been a journey. Lots of ups and downs, lots of mistakes. And uh, right now we, we are, we are a few locations here in the Midwest. Nice. How many locations? So we're currently, we are operating out 11 locations.Wow. Michael: 11 locations then. Okay, man. So, real quick, rewind a little bit. You were working for corporate and you said you stuck it out for four years. What were you having to. Noel: Deal with. Yeah. Great. Great question. Because right now, when I look at some of the forums and I see some of the new guys coming out, they're like, in know, job hopping.They just, if they don't like something, they just quit. Mm-hmm. Right. For me, it was more about sticking it out my own principles, my own, uh, moral and ethical value and like, you know, whatever it is, we just take the most, extract the most out of it and, uh, just take it and, and just take it as a learning experience.I always saw positivity in whatever situation I was put in, so I. That was, you know, like one of those things. And the reason I emphasize on that part is because that is what I've been, the feedback I've been getting, they're like, oh wow, you stayed for five years. You know, you didn't, you didn't wanna quit, you didn't wanna go somewhere else.Because all my, most of my colleagues, I wanna say all, but most of my colleagues, they actually, they kind of like, you know, went from job to job. Michael: Got you. So what were the things you had to deal with? Noel: I mean, it was like, you know, when you come out of school, you are looking for mentorship. Mm-hmm.You're looking for somebody who you can hook onto and, and take your first year or two, maybe like, just write it out in a sense that under an umbrella, under somebody's wing, like you're not making any kind of mistakes, especially with the state boards, with the chart writing, with, you know, all the codes that we have for our dental, Time after time, I've seen like a lot of people make those same mistakes again and again with procedures and how efficient you need to be, what your KPI's supposed to be.So it's like none of those metrics were like, you know, like laid out. So we just went in and just gunned it down and just, just learned and just, you know, learn how to swim yourself. So that was a good experience. I think I, I took it as a positive thing for myself because it gave me lots of insights.Mm-hmm. You know, about like what kind of person you are and, and how do you withstand stress and, and multitasking. Michael: Hmm, that's true. From, from that corporate position, what were some systems that you decided like, oh, I like this, I'm gonna take it into my practice. And then what were some systems where you're like, I never wanna do this, to my team, to my own Noel: practice?Well, the system that I really loved about that place was, um, scaling and growing, all about the numbers production, And all the good aspects that would help you propel to the next level. That's what I liked about that place. And on the same token, if you look at what I did not like about the place was at what cost do you get that production at?What cost do you get that elevation? how are your staff treated? is like almost like a weighing kind of like a scale, if I were to say that way, because in order for you to do this, You gotta sacrifice this. So my whole mindset was, how do I do this without doing this?Right? So how do I get the good out of it without doing, without having to carry the baggage of the bad stuff? So that was the whole idea, and that's how when we found a secure nl, we wanted to make sure that our staff and our team are well recognized and they are well deserved, that they are there like, you know, for a reason.Michael: Mm-hmm. When was it where you were like, okay, I wanna start my own practice? Was that in dental school? Was that before or was that during Noel: corporate? Great, great question was way before, way before dental school. So I come from a family of dentists. my dad is a dentist from back home and I wanted to make sure that, you know, I carry on his legacy because he, we are four siblings, right?Mm-hmm. So he wanted one of us to be a dentist. And unfortunately, uh, three of my siblings, they, they hate dentistry. So they didn't, they don't want anything to do with dentist training to know where the mouth, right. So mm-hmm. I was like, all right, cool. I'll take the torch and I'll run with it. so I went to dental school and that's how I decided that I will, I will need my own practice because that is the, the mindset that was instilled when we were kids that you gotta have your own business and you know, with a lot of Asian people, they always want to make sure that you always have your own business, right?So, mm-hmm. So I always wanted to make sure, like, Hey, this is what I want to do during school. It just got even stronger. And then once when I got outta school, then that, that was like my mission there to get get, get my own. Michael: Get your own. How fast did you wanna, were you trying to get it like as soon as possible?Or did you know, like, no, I need to have some years Noel: under me? At first, yeah. I needed to, I needed to have some years under me. But you know, like when I graduated, I, it was like right before the financial crisis. So, long story short, I wasn't getting a loan. So I wasn't getting a loan.Everybody kept rejecting the banks kept stating that, no, you, you're not good enough. You, you, we can't, we can't lend you. So then we had to scale down our little idea of business plan, and then we had to go like, Hey, how, what do I need to start off with just two, two ops or maybe even three ops. So that's when we, uh, I came across Wells Fargo and that's where we got a first loan for de Novo from scratch.And uh, we just took it and run. that place, the first office that we did was, it was equipped for six ops, so we equipped the first three. So my wife and I, she joined us and, uh, you know, we became pretty busy. So then little did we know that we needed more space, so I borrowed money from my dad, and then I got the other three ops, to get going.So it was, it was a nice rollercoaster ride, but, you know, it was, it was good. It was good. Michael: Yeah. So your first practice, it was three ops. Noel: Plum four, six, but we started with three because that was the only allowance we got for in terms of budgeting from the bank. Michael: Okay. Okay. And so when it came to growing that, how was your marketing and advertising, how did that look?Noel: radio, tv, you know, like all the basic stuff, direct mail. handing off flyers myself, going out to parking lots. I even got thrown out, I think from one of the parking lots. They were like, Hey, no soliciting kind of deal. Okay. mean, you name it, Michael, I mean, we, we did almost anything and everything.Community, churches handing out, like sending a lot of boots and a table. All the organic stuff. Okay. You still do all that today or no? Oh, no, no, no. Things have changed quite a bit in marketing, you know? Yeah. just like dentistry. Right. Michael: Yeah. Today, normally, what are you kind of honed in on or focusing on when it comes to marketing?Noel: So, as far as marketing, we have our own in-house marketing manager right now. She does all the organic leads and, uh, we do like, you know, like those, uh, Facebook funnels that, that comes in, we are targeting, uh, basically on demographics, on age and uh, buying habits. And we are also doing like psycho demographics as well as the regular demographics.And, uh, just seeing like, you know, like personas from our own database. Who are, and then we are just mimicking out there in the market. a lot of ai, a lot of, you know, things have changed, evolved. I mean, what I used to do was, was at dinosaur time, you know? Michael: yeah. No, no, I get you. So a lot of it is more you delegating that to somebody specific in your team, right?Noel: Right, right, right. Absolutely. So my wife is really hands-on involved with her in terms of marketing. But, if you were to ask me, like, how do you do this? Uh, you know, I'm the wrong person, let's put it that way. Okay. Michael: Gotcha. Gotcha, man. But so Noel, you've, scaled a lot from the three ops to where you're at now, right?You have 11 locations. Are they all the same secure dental? Noel: Correct. They're all, they're all in the same name. Okay. Michael: So I feel like sometimes there's a couple things. First of all, it's hard to do your own startup, right? Especially like, like you mentioned, right from the ground up. And then sometimes we think, okay, I'm gonna do a startup.It's successful. I'm just gonna copy and paste and do the, the same thing on the second one. And we figure out, oh my gosh, that's not the way it's handled. Right? Yeah. So then how did you do this? How did you do, let's go with the first one. How did, what were some of the struggles, mistakes and everything from making your startup to trying to grow to Noel: number two?Oh, that's a great question. Because, you know, here's the thing. When, when I was, when we started off, I was looking at my ex-employer, I. And he still has about like 90 plus locations, right? So he is scaling like, like still pretty fast. Now. I wasn't in the mindset that, you know, once you open your first one, then jump to the second, and you could do the same and then jump to the third.You could do the same. Little did we know that it doesn't work like that because once when you open the second office, you have to split your time. So we were like, all right, cool. So we will split time. So she will work in one practice and I'll work in the other practice. Then we hired a, uh, an associate, uh, for the first time as a part-timer.And little did we know that how to handle associates, how to have the structure in place, the onboarding, we, we, we had none of that stuff there. doctor came in, we just gave them patience and, you know, here you go and, and start working. So that, that was a hit or miss, but I can tell you that much we learned a lot, you know, after the first and the second.So my mindset was all about. How do I open more locations? Just more locations And, and that's all it was in, in my head. And then sooner or later, like, you know, we found out we were on a third of the fourth location I think. you know, we all of a sudden, like, you know, the nuts bolts, everything of the organization started coming off because all of a sudden become cashflow negative because all of them were de Novos, all of them were startups.So, you know, if doctor a leaves from one practice, you need to make sure you staff doctor a mm-hmm. Is a replacement. Then you have all these startups coming up. So we need to staff all those offices. So Michael, you know, long story short, it was a lot, lot of ups and downs, a lot of sleepless nights, let's put it that way.we did not have any kind of like metrics to measure, like when do we open, where do we open? So it was just, you know, like going up and down there. today things are a lot more different. Talking about that is we, we needed to have some, what do you call it? Those guys? consultants. Consultants, we had actually a couple of consultants, but you know, some of them were good, some of them were not. the end of the day, those consultants will tell you what to do, but we gotta be the person that have to execute a plan, otherwise it's not gonna work.So when we, when we started scaling and we started to add more employees, we started to expand more, operation wise. As those offices started maturing, it started to get better and better because then the cash flow was like from negative to break even, and then slowly going into profit side. But the downside would've been if a, if a doctor left, then everything goes back to ground zero.How often did that happen when a doctor would leave? if they were like one at a time, that's not a problem. the problem was when we, in, when we had four doctors leave in 2019, so we were at location number six we actually did two denovos and we just acquired one more, which is not a Denovo, but more like an acquisition shell, let's put it that way.It was a dental office from before. It was all plumb. No patients though. But we just went in and we just took over. So when we had that, we had four doctors leave and then we had to supply these three offices. Cashflow dipped down. I mean, we were like literally down to our knees at that time. So no systems, again, no processes, no backup, none of that stuff.So I think that was a huge learning curve for myself and uh, you know, at that time I just told my wife that this is not gonna happen again. we need to make sure that, you know, we have, we understand where the market is, where is it expanding, and what kind of resources do we have, where our doctors are standing, where our team standing, and where are we standing in this way that we can all move as one.Mm-hmm. So are there gonna be challenges in the future? Absolutely. Absolutely. And I can see that I, I see the rough waters coming up again. Really? Yeah. Oh yeah. So then Michael: what systems specifically did you create to kind of get back up? Noel: it's a whole round, I call it a 360.So it, comprises of, let's say, your process and systems, so all the SOPs, everything else. let's put it this way. In business, there are different break points, right? So when you hit a certain revenue target, you hit a break point. You gotta know exactly what you have to do at that break point, even before it, you hit it.So system, you know, once you hit the first break point, the second break point, let's say revenue size from, you know, a hundred thousand to 1 million, that's break point number one. We gotta make sure, like the system in place would be all the standard operating procedures. Everybody follows the same script, everyone's there.And then once when we are ready for break point number two, which is like the $5 million mark, then you gotta know, like, you know, who are you working with. So the team dynamic becomes very important. So that's when the hr, People, culture, core values, all those kind of kicks in. Mm-hmm. And then we have the finances, then the financials.I mean, I can't stress enough like how ignorant I was with financials. I never used to look at p and Ls. But now everything is based on what happens at the end of the month and where are we standing week after week in terms of KPIs and production numbers. that metrics need to be factored in as well in in the whole circle.Of course then we need to have our, uh, the last one is marketing. Marketing is, is one of those biggest tool that can drive, you know, like any organization up or down. And depending on, you know, marketing. So like with marketing, we used to play marketing by how we feel. Right?Alright. You know this, I think this audience, this target is gonna be good. Let's, let's do this zip code, let's do that zip code. But, uh, at the end of the day, you know, there's gotta be a strategy in place. You gotta know what is your acquisition cost. You gotta know what is the lead cost. You have to know all this stuff before you even spend a single dollar on, on marketing.as business owners, as dentists, we are always looking at our, patients. Right? But we are not paying attention to any of the other stuff. And that's what I think drives a lot of people. out of control, like worries and sleepless nights. Yeah. Michael: I like what you mentioned.Once you hit a goal, you need to know what to do after. I feel like a lot of the times what I do is like, okay, I hit this goal hoo. And then Oh, oh wait, go back down. You know what I mean? And we're like, okay, we're here now what do we do? Kind of thing. So it's interesting, once you hit that benchmark, Noel: systems in place.'cause what happens is once you hit that break point and you're not prepared for it, you will roll back to the first, the previous break point. And God forbid, I mean, if you roll back two break points or three break points, you're out of business. So those are some of the parameters that, you know, one should always keep out for when they're running a business.what revenue break point are you on? Yeah. Michael: I feel like sometimes when a startup, right, you're like, okay, I wanna make a million in, let's just say a million in collections, right? you hit that. What should be the next system for that? Should, okay, let's go to 2 million or Or open another practice or, or what do you think?Noel: No, I would, I, I believe that one need to maximize their, their location, their office and the systems before jumping into location number two, because if you're not maximizing it, the only reason I can think out outside of that would be if there is a market opportunity where you really want to be in, and there is a great way you can add it to the bottom line, the EBITDA or the revenue of that current practice.Absolutely, by all means, but. If you're just gonna go out there and just say, Hey, I'm gonna shop for a new, new location, then I think the first location needs to be maximized. Yeah. Okay. Michael: Yeah. 'cause I feel like sometimes it looks like, okay, we've maximized it with ops, we're, we're scheduling patients out way until like three months, five months.Right. New patients. But would it be considered maximizing it if you're like, okay, well I, I still, I'm accepting all insurances, should I. Go down on that, that means I'm gonna lose patients, but I'm also gonna, you know, have more room now and have better, Noel: I guess better fees. Yeah, that's a very individualized kind of question because it all depends on the operator's goal.So let's say if I'm a dentist and I want to just have one location, and I do not want to take, my goal is not to take any more PPOs, my goal is to go fee for service, right? Mm-hmm. Then my maximizing, my definition of maximizing it would be if I have six ops, eight ops, depending on how many ops. If I can fill all those ops and those ops are producing, let's say, you know, like 30 to 35 grand a month in terms of production, and you times that by six and you're really killing it, and now you've got like 40 mil, uh, 40,000 to $45,000 a, a chair a month.I think that is where, where you're maximizing it. But in case of, you know, if you're trying to scale and grow to locations and revenue, once you hit a certain mark, we need to get an associate in there. and that time maybe you can talk to the associate about some equity in the, in the, in the deal where they can kind of hang around there so that they have some skin in the game as well.I think everyone has their own, metrics for what it means by maximizing. Gotcha. Okay. Michael: And Noel, you've mentored a lot of people, right? Uh, to do startups and, and Yeah. Also, and, and dentistry. Especially Noel: my, my associate doctors. Yeah. Okay. Michael: You, you mentor them mainly to, to own their own practice or just to, okay.Have you ever had to walk or, or run into a situation when you're, tell them Noel: you're not ready? most of the times. Yeah. Michael: So how does that look like, how does that look like when you, or if somebody's not ready? What, what does that Noel: mean? No, I mean, I'm not gonna stop them from leaving and, and opening their own.Absolutely not. But you know, if they came to me for advice to go like, Hey, Dr. Liu, you know, I got this here. How do I do it? You know, I got this location, where do I start first? And you know, I'll guide them. Absolutely I'll guide them. But you know, at the end of the day we'll just have a open conversation.Like, Hey, where is your mindset at? Because I always like, since from day one, from onboarding, I mean, the only thing that I discussed with these guys is 80% is mindset, right? It's all psychological. 20% is strategy. People tend to focus more on strategy than their, the psychological aspect.And that's where I feel a lot of people that struggle when they open up the practice because you know, they have to be true to themselves. Like, where do you stand in terms of work-life balance? Where is your wife gonna be? Where is the kids gonna be? Right? Or if you're single, how much effort and how much work hours are you gonna be able to put in?So those are all the questions. Are you gonna do a startup or an acquisition? We need to see like where they at with us. So in terms of the production, the metrics, like where, how much do they produce per hour, per month, and how many employees per production? So for us, a good metric would be like 200 K per, employee per year.So if they are anywhere north of 200 k, it's a profitable business. But if they are anywhere like a hundred with their production and the amount of, you know, the staff that's in the, in the building. I'll be upfront with 'em that you are probably not gonna make it with that numbers. and then of course then they're a clinical skill.And then if they're gonna be doing an acquisition, then the old doctor stays or they leave. So there, there's a lot of, you know, parameters. A lot of factors. Yeah. Michael: When, when you're talking with them. So it's really getting to know them as a, as a person. Right. Individual. I like what you said, like your mindset, because.I do feel like sometimes we're like, oh yeah, I want to have my own hours, do my own thing, be able to take off whenever I want. But at the beginning it's not like that Uhhuh. Yeah. So the mindset Noel: that they have. Yeah. Especially if there are doctors who wants to enjoy, you know, on weekends, weeknights, they wanna go on vacations, they want to spend time with their families, uh, I'll just be upfront with them.If you do that on your own practice, you might run in the red. Yeah. Initially at least you could do that later on, but not initially, Michael: Yeah. So then the mindset that they have to have is kinda like grit, right? Noel: Oh, yeah. But in the warrior. Exactly, exactly. Get that warrior mindset.I mean, he, they, they, they gotta treat like it, like they're in a battle. I mean, just go and get it done. Mm-hmm. Or for a better, uh, Michael: outcome Right Now, Noelle, I wanted to ask you, when it comes to your, 11 locations. What are some systems that are unique that you feel like you and your wife or you created mm-hmm.That each practice has, and whether it's maybe the patient, the back office, front office handoff, or the patient experience, like what are some of the unique systems? Noel: You know, we just stick by one thing, which is our core values. And our core values are, it's it's short form. We call it adapter. And adapter is, it's just basically nothing more than just a few words.Right. But they can say the core values, but they gotta believe in it. I mean, we make our team understand what the core value is. I mean, they need to understand that they're gonna be hired based on that. They'll be reviewed based on that. They'll get a raise based on that, and they'll get fired based on that.So they'll need to understand that, you know, what, where do we stand? So it's very simple. Alignment is one of them. disciplined. Disciplined in all aspects of dentistry. Not only like, you know, like for the doctors, but also like what these guys are doing. Then they need to be accountable.I mean, anything they do, they gotta be accountable, and then P is production. So we need to make sure we are always scaling this way and not flat, because anything flat, you know, gravity pulls you down later on, you know, as we've seen over the years, like what happens in the, in the past.then we have the T, which is transparent. Every single one's gotta be transparent, including ourselves. I mean, there's no such thing as, you know, we're operating without transparency. So we, we gotta let 'em know, you know, it's like, for example, if we are letting anybody go, just go in a room, just let 'em know, Hey, what's happening?You know? The sooner they let 'em know, the faster it is and easier it is. It's like none of the stuff that we do have been invented by us, by the way. Mm-hmm. It's all from learning, it's all from mistakes and it's all from consultants that we had in the past. And sometimes with these consultants, it's not only the dental specific, you sometimes we know we may have to go outside the industry to grasp ideas.What, what are other companies doing out there besides dentistry? Because dentistry is such a small niche, you may not get the whole thing. But once we explore outside, then you see a whole different world. And I think that's my message to a lot of dentists out there. And just don't look at dental consult, uh, consultants definitely look at outside the industry as well.And then, uh, yeah, I mean those are some of the things. And lastly, it's results oriented. It's gotta be results oriented. It's not like because you are, you are a manager or you are a front desk for X amount of years. You got, you got raised, you know, automatically we see results. You smash results, you got my attention.Hmm. Michael: I like that a lot. What are some of the consultants you've had in the past where you're like, they're, they've been amazing. Noel: let's start with the first one we had was, Levin group.Dr. Roger Levin. I mean, he is, he is a great guy. We learned a lot of stuff with them, especially when we started off. of course, you know, there's a, there's a substantial investment, but at the end of the day, like I was saying, beginning in, in the beginning of this podcast was.You gotta implement it. If you don't implement it, your team's not on board. It's not gonna happen. with a lot of these consultants, we have to ensure that, number one, our teams are involved, that our team has some skin in the game, and the way we have to work with a team is not by just top down order.We have to work with these guys to align them with our goals. Right. And how do you do that? Is basically you have to find out what your team's. Personal goal is what their professional goal is and what's their financial goal. We gotta find out what ticks for them. Right? Once we find out what ticks for them, then we have a conversation on how do we help you so that you can help me?And that's where I feel like that's where the mindset and everybody is on board on the same page at that time. Because when we were running our show before, I mean, we were like, Hey, this is how we, this is what we did with the consultants, now this is how it's gonna be like, you know, starting Monday morning.Doesn't work. Doesn't work. Gotcha. Okay. Michael: So the, the 11 Noel: group was one, right? Levin Group was one. Si institute, um, I'm sure you guys heard of that one, right? SI Institute or Scheduling Institute, I don't know what, whatever it's called, right? Mm-hmm. So that was the second one. That was a brief one. I mean, we literally lasted for like a couple of months and we are out.these are all in Michael: the dental industry. These are all Noel: in the dental industry. Okay. Okay. Okay. Yeah. These all in the dental industry, I think. Uh, then once we started having a few locations, then I was with, uh, d e o Dental.Oh, okay. Entrepreneur. Michael: Organization. Noel: Organization, yeah. Uhhuh. Uhhuh, yeah. Yeah. It, it's run by Jake. When I joined, it was, uh, Dr. Mark Cooper. So he retired and then he, then, then Jake, uh, Jake, uh, took over. So I joined that. They were pretty good. the only thing I didn't like about them was because I was always being put with practices.That was one or two and they were, all they were discussing was like assistant problems, up front desk problems. Hmm. So I wanted to see like, how can I scale and grow rather than just having those kind of like discussions going on. So yeah. But that lasted about a year. Okay. And, uh, the latest one that we just came out of is Cardone Ventures.it's a pretty substantial investment. Mm-hmm. But, uh, I think it kind of got our groundwork set up pretty good. Card Michael: owned ventures. That's what is that all about? Noel: So they have, so some of the stuff that I was telling you, the 360, it's all been from, Brandon Dawson. So this guy.he was operating a A D S O or maybe a, a dental group called Stratus or something in his past life before he came on to card ventures. So they scale businesses and basically, you know, with Grand Cardone it's like all about 10 x, right? So he takes a business, works on a system, get everything in place, and get, gets the revenue up.So he works with that aspect. So that is what the whole, 360 and then we went through a whole platform and then we went through the whole, strategic business unit, you know, like the whole consulting thing. Great guys. Great guys, you know, I mean, you know, but for us, we were looking at something else, so we kind of like, you know, faded away last year and now we are with Polaris.Michael: Okay, gotcha. Hilarious. And there, how Noel: long have you been with them for? Oh, we just started, so Polaris, so this guy, what do you call it, the founders, Perrin and the Walker, they were guys from, uh, what's that company called? Ts Partners. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So, yeah, so TSS partners, but they, they used to work with Kevin and then they, they separated and now they have their own stuff going on.Pretty much the same model, but, you know, it's just, I kind of like these guys because they're more down to earth in the sense that they understand numbers really, really well. And, uh, you know, my whole model is gonna be like around de novo. So that's what, that's what attracted me to them. So it's like, you know, you, before you even break ground, you know what your projections are gonna be, you know, what your numbers are gonna be, how much you need to spend on marketing.So, that's why we, we went with these guys. so yeah. So it's only been like about what, a month and a half I think, or two months. Mm-hmm. So we'll see how this plays out. Michael: Okay. Noelle, man, it sounds like you really. See this as like an, an investment, right? Where you're like, okay, I really need to find guidance all the time, right?Kind of thing. You don't know what you don't know kind Noel: of thing, right? Oh, you don't know what you don't know, right? Yeah. And, and it's like anytime when you have somebody who's on your side and they can see it from outside the box, because a lot of times when we are in the picture, we can see ourselves, right?Mm-hmm. So I treat my coaches, my consultants as they're outside of Boston, they can see a lot more. Michael: Mm Gotcha. Okay. And I like that. I like, so when is it then? 'cause I feel like you're scaling, you know what I mean? You have 11 locations. So to you, when is it like, alright, I don't think I need another one to scale anymore?A coach, consultant, or what are you thinking? Noel: For me, it's not about the location anymore, like how I used to be in the past. You know, more locations means more headache, more problems, more issues, right. For me now, it's all about the growth in a sense that how do we take care of the revenue or location?How do we maximize it? And that is, that is my new mantra on moving forward. And when I, I feel like, you know, we've grown wide, but now we need to grow vertical, grow deep, and once when we start growing deep, we can get quality people, we can get quality executives, we can get quality managers, regionals. I mean, that's where it all is.Because once when they're running a little bit, you know, wide and thin, That's how we were when we started. I mean, there's not a lot of room down there. So I mean, you're not getting quality people, but once when you start going deep and you grow wide, I mean that's where everything starts. Scaling. Yeah. Michael: To grow.Right. Growing like in your roots. I like that a lot because you're right, you can add more locations, but it's more headaches too sometimes, you know? Noel: Yeah. And, and for all the people out there who's thinking like more locations, like, you know, out of three to four or five, you know, they want to grow out.While it's good, but just have a reason and a purpose and a goal that why you wanna do it. If the why is bigger than, than, the, uh, actual reasoning, I mean, I think that it will always outlast any problems that, you know, one may have or any kind of like issues one may have once they start growing.The growing pains, I call it. Michael: Mm-hmm. Yeah, you're right. Growing pains, what have been, let me ask you that Throughout the time, from your first de novo to all the way to right now, today, right? Yeah. What have been some of your. Biggest struggles or, or, or fails or pitfalls that Noel: you've encountered? Not seeing the numbers.You know, not seeing the numbers, just going everything with an emotional mindset and going with a gut feeling. Well, as an entrepreneur, you need to have that gut feeling. You didn't have that instinct for sure. A hundred percent. I agree. But there are certain things and certain times where you need to look at the facts and numbers, because numbers don't lie.Right. So, If your numbers under red and you wanna open up a second location or a fourth location, whatever it is, it's probably not a good idea, even though the gut is telling you to do it. Mm-hmm. Right. So if I were to go back and do a lot of things, I would probably, number one, is to go invest in myself, get this right first, you know, once when this is right, then everything else follow. Okay. Michael: So, Be logical, right, when it comes to the numbers. Continue to always Noel: look at them logical. Okay. You know, we got two sides, right? We wanna be logical on one side, and then we want to be, I would call it like illogical or maybe like, you know, you go with your gut feeling kind of deal. So it has to have a compromise because if you're too logical then you never take any action, Then you become paralyzed with all analysis. But if you're too, like, you know, on the other side, then. It's like, you know, like myself, right? You're just a visionary without, without any kind of actual steps or actual concrete, uh, way how to get there. Mm-hmm. So I think both should go hand in hand. If, for me, if I'm not the way, if I'm not that like logical person, I need somebody on my team to kind of like, you know, put a check on me, let's put it that way.Yeah. Michael: No, it's good. It's good. It's good to do that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So then that's one of the biggest, uh, struggles that you've had. Numbers, right? What else? Mm-hmm. What else? Can you recall where you're like, man, that's been, that was a headache. Noel: not having this thriving culture.Because for me, it's all about people. Having the right people on the team, I think that is the utmost important because people make business. I always thought the other way around, and I think that was like, I had it backwards. You know, I was thinking like, Hey, let's, I'm the business and then we worry about the people.But it's actually, you take care of the people, the business goes up. that is one of the biggest mistakes that I did or we did in the past. So we learned quite a bit from there. Mm-hmm. Now, for us, it's all about how do we have this winning culture in, in, in, within our organization, and How do we model it? Mm-hmm. So me and my wife, we'll model it. How do we mimic it in terms in our, in our team members? All right. And then how do we master it? Because it's easy to know everything. Like you know it all, but how do you train another person to do it?that's the key to success for scaling because you can't just have it all up here. You have to pass it on. Yeah, Michael: that's true. So then your culture mm-hmm. You can tell us what does that look like Noel: in your team? So it's all about like, how do we pay them more by increasing the production.How do we all win together? so we have like a lot of like different bonus systems and then we have a lot of payoffs for these guys. We have a lot of team, uh, Cohesion. Kind of like, you know, games that goes on, events that goes on. And every Wednesday we have something called Wednesday, so it's called Win.Mm-hmm. So everybody wins. Everybody tells them about the wins. so we get all, get on a Zoom call and we are all sharing our wins for that that week. What do we do? And even something personal, like a personal stuff. So I'm on it, my wife's on it, and we are like, you know, participating in it. So we'll tell, share some personal stories.They'll share something personal so they know like, Hey, that guy, there is not just a figure who just comes in the office and wants every six months, right? Mm-hmm. So they can actually see us and, you know, they have interaction with us. So we, so we have a pretty good time. So it's all about, it's all about like, how do we have a cohesion kind of relationship with everybody and knowing everyone.Michael: And you do that normally, like the win Wednesdays, right? Is that like a morning huddle or team meeting Noel: or, yeah, you can call it a morning huddle. You can call it a morning huddle. You know, with, especially right now with like, you know, about 95 employees, I mean, it's hard to keep a, keep a tab with every single one.Mm-hmm. So we wanna make sure that we are in touch, that they see us the whole time. Gotcha. Michael: Okay. That's interesting. And you mentioned something about your bonus systems. How does your bonus system work? Because that's a thing we're all trying to like, you know what I mean? Structure. So how do you Noel: structure it?So our bonus system for our manager is pretty simple. It's quarterly goals that they have to meet. So there, there's a certain production number that they have to meet and of course they have to keep their employee count to a check. So we kind of strive for 200 to 250,000 per employee kind of deal.Mm-hmm. And these are all like metrics from card ventures by the way. It's not like I created those. Mm-hmm. So once we have those checks, then and you know, they have to meet those two metrics. And then of course the K P I, whatever they produced, it has to make sure, like what's in account, the actual account.Those are the three metrics that we look at. And then of course, then the last thing we look at is the p and l. are the numbers as high and are the expenses catching up? Or do we have another net profit? So those are for our, our managers. for the team members, it's very, very simple. we have something called bonus leave.It's pretty cool. It's like they have a little app and anytime, let's say they talk to a patient about a fluoride treatment where the patient pays out of pocket or if they have a. clear aligner case where the patient accepted treatment, they get a lot of kickback in that Bonusly app.So the app will show that, hey, they got so much, you know, like money in there and it's all tax free by the way. Because we, we, we carry the taxes for 'em, right. So they'll get like, let's say a $200 bonus or a $300 bonus right there just for, you know, like for a case acceptance, for a clear aligner or maybe for an implant.You know, they had like a big implant case, you know, there's gonna be like a five to $700, right? So they look at that and they love it. So, you know, that's like, you know, kind of a motivational thing for them to keep applying the same principles like how they did with this patient. A yeah, like, it's Michael: a good incentive.How do you determine the, the value of it or the money? So for example, like, oh hey, your implant case, here's 500 bucks. Or Noel: do they know? Oh, it's all on a dollar value? It's all on a dollar. Oh, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. It's on a dollar value. It's a certain percentage and, uh, yeah, these guys, we started, actually, we started this thing pretty cool.We started in January. So before that, it was like all haphazard. It was all going up like in payroll and, and it was like, by the time they see it, they're like, oh, I don't care. You know, whatever it is. But since we started this, everybody's on a, on a, on a roll. Yeah. 'cause it's Michael: like right there, right? Like on their, it's right there and it's on their phone.So they immediately, they're just like, oh, okay, fluoride, I, I sold it. Boom. Right? And then they can, yeah. The office manager's job is to make sure that's, Kind of true at the same time, right. They're like, are they Noel: doing it? So there are two checks going on, so mm-hmm. Our office manager will check that patient and then, you know, our, our bookkeeper, they'll go back and say, okay, fine.This has been entered, this patient made that payment approved, and approval is usually within 24 hours. So we don't make sure we, we don't make them wait for too long. Michael: Yeah. And then they get that they can cash in that bonus whenever Noel: or whenever. So, you know, the, the app is pretty cool. I mean, you can actually get cash, you can use it at Starbucks, you can use it at Target.I mean, you can use it anywhere. Michael: Interesting. Interesting. Okay. Yeah, that's good. That's good motivation right there, man. That's awesome. Yeah. Noel: Awesome. I mean, think about it this way, right? If in a day they, they collected, let's say a hundred to 300 bucks. Now if you do the math, whatever hourly they get, you just break it down by eight hours.That $300 or $200, I mean, that's like additional boost in the per hour without paying Uncle Sam. yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. That's like strictly cash bonus. and what we do on the backend is we make sure like whatever bonuses went out, we'll cover the taxes for them. Michael: Okay. So that's good, man. That's really, really good.Oh yeah. Nice. So then one of the last questions I wanna ask you is, throughout this time, how is this affecting your Noel: personal life? So we have three kids, eight, seven, and two. my wife spends most of the time with them. I'm home like probably Sundays, you know, like depends Sundays or Saturdays. But we understand like, you know, she has this one thing you need to be out there.She tells me you need to be out there creating stuff, making stuff happen. Because at the end of the day, we may be sacrificing now, like I may be sacrificing now, like with a lot of times with my kids, but I know for a fact that as long as I'm present for the events for the little birthday parties, right.for their, like, you know, like, like theoretical, uh, uh, kind of shows or anything that is happening in school. And I'm away during the daytime, even evening times, even for days, sometimes when I have to travel. they get it. at the end of the day, for me, it's more about where as our future, how long do we wanna work and where our kids are gonna be down the road and how is it all gonna be turning out because.If I have to, let's say go for a long time, I'll tag the kids along with me. Mm-hmm. So if we are gonna go out scouting for an acquisition or for a place, the kids are coming with us. Right. They'll be like, Hey daddy, where are we going? Well, we gonna go check out an office. Let's go. that's where my work-life balance is, Michael.Michael: Gotcha. Okay. Nice. No, I appreciate it. Thank you so much for being with us. It's been a pleasure. But before we say goodbye, can you tell our listeners where they can find you? Noel: Yeah, absolutely. So I give all my personal numbers. Okay, so my number is pretty cool. 8 1 5 6 7 0 2 9 2 3. as long as it's not a scam, or a spam or you know, one of those three marketers, I'm cool.so again, it's 8 1 5 6 7 0 2 9 2 3, and we are@www.secure dental group.com. Or you can follow me on Instagram, Dr. Noel. Michael: Awesome. So guys, that's all gonna be in the show notes below as always. And Noel, thank you so much for being with us. It's been a pleasure and we'll hear from you soon. Noel: Thank you for having me.‍‍

Barbie is a 2023 Fantasy Comedy directed by Greta Gerwig who has a fantastic acting career and has also directed Little Women and Lady Bird.  Barbie is the story of Barbie, played by Margot Robbie. She's living in Barbie land (Margot is ‘Stereotypical Barbie') with all the other Barbies and of course the Ken's. Mainly played by Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu. Oh, and Allan played by Michael Cera. But something goes wrong with Barbie, somethings not quite right, and after gaining some sage wisdom from another Barbie played by Kate Mackinnon, Barbie realizes she must travel into the real world to find the person playing with her. We also have America Ferrera and Will Ferrell in this film. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A big police hunt continues this morning to find the body of Christchurch woman Yanfei Bao who vanished last Wednesday. The investigation head Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves says the real estate agent was killed sometime between half past 12 in the afternoon and a quarter to eleven that night. She's appealing for sightings of Bao's silver Nissan Dualis during that time. RNZ's Asia Unit reporter Chen Liu is at the Hornby house where a police forensic team as been at for the last few days. Liu spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

The FCS College Football Experience (@TCEonSGPN) on the Sports Gambling Podcast Network continues its FCS Conference Preview series for 2023 with the NEC Conference Championship preview. Pick Dundee aka (@TheColbyD) & Mike Rose (@GCG_Wins) break down their NEC Conference race projections and key in the upcoming 2023 season. Is this the year that Dan Curran and the Merrimack Warriors make the FCS Playoffs in their first eligible season? Will the St. Francis Red Flash and Chris Villarrial make it back to back NEC Championships?  Are we underestimating Jerry Schmidt and the Duquesne Dukes heading into 2023? Will Mark Nofri and Sacred Heart be a team to watch out for in 2023? Will we see Tom Massella and Wagner finally take the big jump? Will Ron Cooper and the Long Island Sharks stay red hot and contend for a NEC Championship this season? How will Adam Lechtenberg do in his first season at Central Connecticut State? Will Eli Gardner's Stonehill Skyhawk squad be a tough out week in and week out?  How will Cole Doyle and St. Francis do without their top players from a season ago? Is Gavin McCusker and Merrimack due for a big jump this season? Will Duquesne's Joe Mischler cut down on the interceptions in 2023? Will Stonehill's Ashur Carraha possibly be the best player in the NEC in 2023? Did the Wagner Seahawks win the transfer portal when they landed former UConn Huskies starting QB in Steven Krajewski? Could Romello Williams be a surprise player for the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut State? Will Rob McCoy lead Sacred Heart to a NEC Championship?  Will Luca Stanzani and the Long Island Sharks be a sleeper to win the NEC? Is Malik Grant the overall best player in the Conference after rushing for almost 1,100 yards a season ago? Is Owen Glasgoe for Long Island the best tight in the NEC? Is QuaSean Holmes going to have a breakout season at St. Francis? Can Eric O'Neill have another double digit sack season with LIU? Does Merrimack have the best defensive line in the NEC with the return of Garry Rosemand, Brandon Roberts, Nicholas Lennon and Jordan Riggs? We talk it all and more on this 2023 NEC Conference Preview on the FCS College Football Experience.    ===================================================== Discuss with fellow degens on Discord - https://sg.pn/discord SGPN Merch Store - https://sg.pn/store Download The Free SGPN App - https://sgpn.app Check out SGPN.TV Support us by supporting our partners Circa Sports - Enter their contests for a chance to win your share of $14 Million - https://www.circasports.com/ Underdog Fantasy code SGPN - 100% Deposit Match up to $100 - https://sg.pn/underdog Follow The College Experience & SGPN On Social Media Twitter - https://twitter.com/TCEonSGPN Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/gamblingpodcast Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/sportsgamblingpodcast TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@gamblingpodcast Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/sportsgamblingpodcast Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@TheCollegeExperience Follow The Hosts On Social Media Colby Dant - http://www.twitter.com/thecolbyd Patty C - https://twitter.com/PattyC831 NC Nick - https://twitter.com/NC__NicK Watch the Sports Gambling Podcast YouTube - https://www.sg.pn/YouTube Twitch - https://www.sg.pn/Twitch Read & Discuss - Join the conversation Website - https://www.sportsgamblingpodcast.com Slack - https://sg.pn/slack Reddit - https://www.sg.pn/reddit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Commercial dating agencies that facilitate marriages across national borders comprise a $2.5 billion global industry. Ideas about the industry are rife with stereotypes-younger, more physically attractive brides from non-Western countries being paired with older Western men.  These ideas are more myth than fact, Monica Liu finds in Seeking Western Men: Email-Order Brides Under China's Global Rise (Stanford UP, 2022). Her study of China's email-order bride industry offers stories of Chinese women who are primarily middle-aged, divorced, and proactively seeking spouses to fulfill their material and sexual needs. What they seek in their Western partners is tied to what they believe they've lost in the shifting global economy around them. Ranging from multimillionaire entrepreneurs or ex-wives and mistresses of wealthy Chinese businessmen, to contingent sector workers and struggling single mothers, these women, along with their translators and potential husbands from the US, Canada, and Australia, make up the actors in this multifaceted story. Set against the backdrop of China's global economic ascendance and a relative decline of the West, this book asks: How does this reshape Chinese women's perception of Western masculinity? Through the unique window of global internet dating, this book reveals the shifting relationships of race, class, gender, sex, and intimacy across borders. Dr. Monica Liu is a sociologist whose teaching and research interests include gender, globalization, family, immigration, race/ethnicity, Asia and Asian America, digital technology/media, and qualitative methods. She has explored the phenomenon of global internet dating and cross-border marriage between women from China and men from English-speaking Western countries. She is currently working on a new project that examines institutional racism against Asian women leaders in higher education. Born and raised in China, Dr. Liu immigrated to the U.S. at the age of eight. Before joining the University of St. Thomas, she taught at Colgate University and Carleton College. Victoria Oana Lupașcu is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and Asian Studies at University of Montréal. Her areas of interest include medical humanities, visual art, 20th and 21st Chinese, Brazilian and Romanian literature and Global South studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

Commercial dating agencies that facilitate marriages across national borders comprise a $2.5 billion global industry. Ideas about the industry are rife with stereotypes-younger, more physically attractive brides from non-Western countries being paired with older Western men.  These ideas are more myth than fact, Monica Liu finds in Seeking Western Men: Email-Order Brides Under China's Global Rise (Stanford UP, 2022). Her study of China's email-order bride industry offers stories of Chinese women who are primarily middle-aged, divorced, and proactively seeking spouses to fulfill their material and sexual needs. What they seek in their Western partners is tied to what they believe they've lost in the shifting global economy around them. Ranging from multimillionaire entrepreneurs or ex-wives and mistresses of wealthy Chinese businessmen, to contingent sector workers and struggling single mothers, these women, along with their translators and potential husbands from the US, Canada, and Australia, make up the actors in this multifaceted story. Set against the backdrop of China's global economic ascendance and a relative decline of the West, this book asks: How does this reshape Chinese women's perception of Western masculinity? Through the unique window of global internet dating, this book reveals the shifting relationships of race, class, gender, sex, and intimacy across borders. Dr. Monica Liu is a sociologist whose teaching and research interests include gender, globalization, family, immigration, race/ethnicity, Asia and Asian America, digital technology/media, and qualitative methods. She has explored the phenomenon of global internet dating and cross-border marriage between women from China and men from English-speaking Western countries. She is currently working on a new project that examines institutional racism against Asian women leaders in higher education. Born and raised in China, Dr. Liu immigrated to the U.S. at the age of eight. Before joining the University of St. Thomas, she taught at Colgate University and Carleton College. Victoria Oana Lupașcu is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and Asian Studies at University of Montréal. Her areas of interest include medical humanities, visual art, 20th and 21st Chinese, Brazilian and Romanian literature and Global South studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

Commercial dating agencies that facilitate marriages across national borders comprise a $2.5 billion global industry. Ideas about the industry are rife with stereotypes-younger, more physically attractive brides from non-Western countries being paired with older Western men.  These ideas are more myth than fact, Monica Liu finds in Seeking Western Men: Email-Order Brides Under China's Global Rise (Stanford UP, 2022). Her study of China's email-order bride industry offers stories of Chinese women who are primarily middle-aged, divorced, and proactively seeking spouses to fulfill their material and sexual needs. What they seek in their Western partners is tied to what they believe they've lost in the shifting global economy around them. Ranging from multimillionaire entrepreneurs or ex-wives and mistresses of wealthy Chinese businessmen, to contingent sector workers and struggling single mothers, these women, along with their translators and potential husbands from the US, Canada, and Australia, make up the actors in this multifaceted story. Set against the backdrop of China's global economic ascendance and a relative decline of the West, this book asks: How does this reshape Chinese women's perception of Western masculinity? Through the unique window of global internet dating, this book reveals the shifting relationships of race, class, gender, sex, and intimacy across borders. Dr. Monica Liu is a sociologist whose teaching and research interests include gender, globalization, family, immigration, race/ethnicity, Asia and Asian America, digital technology/media, and qualitative methods. She has explored the phenomenon of global internet dating and cross-border marriage between women from China and men from English-speaking Western countries. She is currently working on a new project that examines institutional racism against Asian women leaders in higher education. Born and raised in China, Dr. Liu immigrated to the U.S. at the age of eight. Before joining the University of St. Thomas, she taught at Colgate University and Carleton College. Victoria Oana Lupașcu is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and Asian Studies at University of Montréal. Her areas of interest include medical humanities, visual art, 20th and 21st Chinese, Brazilian and Romanian literature and Global South studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Commercial dating agencies that facilitate marriages across national borders comprise a $2.5 billion global industry. Ideas about the industry are rife with stereotypes-younger, more physically attractive brides from non-Western countries being paired with older Western men.  These ideas are more myth than fact, Monica Liu finds in Seeking Western Men: Email-Order Brides Under China's Global Rise (Stanford UP, 2022). Her study of China's email-order bride industry offers stories of Chinese women who are primarily middle-aged, divorced, and proactively seeking spouses to fulfill their material and sexual needs. What they seek in their Western partners is tied to what they believe they've lost in the shifting global economy around them. Ranging from multimillionaire entrepreneurs or ex-wives and mistresses of wealthy Chinese businessmen, to contingent sector workers and struggling single mothers, these women, along with their translators and potential husbands from the US, Canada, and Australia, make up the actors in this multifaceted story. Set against the backdrop of China's global economic ascendance and a relative decline of the West, this book asks: How does this reshape Chinese women's perception of Western masculinity? Through the unique window of global internet dating, this book reveals the shifting relationships of race, class, gender, sex, and intimacy across borders. Dr. Monica Liu is a sociologist whose teaching and research interests include gender, globalization, family, immigration, race/ethnicity, Asia and Asian America, digital technology/media, and qualitative methods. She has explored the phenomenon of global internet dating and cross-border marriage between women from China and men from English-speaking Western countries. She is currently working on a new project that examines institutional racism against Asian women leaders in higher education. Born and raised in China, Dr. Liu immigrated to the U.S. at the age of eight. Before joining the University of St. Thomas, she taught at Colgate University and Carleton College. Victoria Oana Lupașcu is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and Asian Studies at University of Montréal. Her areas of interest include medical humanities, visual art, 20th and 21st Chinese, Brazilian and Romanian literature and Global South studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Commercial dating agencies that facilitate marriages across national borders comprise a $2.5 billion global industry. Ideas about the industry are rife with stereotypes-younger, more physically attractive brides from non-Western countries being paired with older Western men.  These ideas are more myth than fact, Monica Liu finds in Seeking Western Men: Email-Order Brides Under China's Global Rise (Stanford UP, 2022). Her study of China's email-order bride industry offers stories of Chinese women who are primarily middle-aged, divorced, and proactively seeking spouses to fulfill their material and sexual needs. What they seek in their Western partners is tied to what they believe they've lost in the shifting global economy around them. Ranging from multimillionaire entrepreneurs or ex-wives and mistresses of wealthy Chinese businessmen, to contingent sector workers and struggling single mothers, these women, along with their translators and potential husbands from the US, Canada, and Australia, make up the actors in this multifaceted story. Set against the backdrop of China's global economic ascendance and a relative decline of the West, this book asks: How does this reshape Chinese women's perception of Western masculinity? Through the unique window of global internet dating, this book reveals the shifting relationships of race, class, gender, sex, and intimacy across borders. Dr. Monica Liu is a sociologist whose teaching and research interests include gender, globalization, family, immigration, race/ethnicity, Asia and Asian America, digital technology/media, and qualitative methods. She has explored the phenomenon of global internet dating and cross-border marriage between women from China and men from English-speaking Western countries. She is currently working on a new project that examines institutional racism against Asian women leaders in higher education. Born and raised in China, Dr. Liu immigrated to the U.S. at the age of eight. Before joining the University of St. Thomas, she taught at Colgate University and Carleton College. Victoria Oana Lupașcu is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and Asian Studies at University of Montréal. Her areas of interest include medical humanities, visual art, 20th and 21st Chinese, Brazilian and Romanian literature and Global South studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

Commercial dating agencies that facilitate marriages across national borders comprise a $2.5 billion global industry. Ideas about the industry are rife with stereotypes-younger, more physically attractive brides from non-Western countries being paired with older Western men.  These ideas are more myth than fact, Monica Liu finds in Seeking Western Men: Email-Order Brides Under China's Global Rise (Stanford UP, 2022). Her study of China's email-order bride industry offers stories of Chinese women who are primarily middle-aged, divorced, and proactively seeking spouses to fulfill their material and sexual needs. What they seek in their Western partners is tied to what they believe they've lost in the shifting global economy around them. Ranging from multimillionaire entrepreneurs or ex-wives and mistresses of wealthy Chinese businessmen, to contingent sector workers and struggling single mothers, these women, along with their translators and potential husbands from the US, Canada, and Australia, make up the actors in this multifaceted story. Set against the backdrop of China's global economic ascendance and a relative decline of the West, this book asks: How does this reshape Chinese women's perception of Western masculinity? Through the unique window of global internet dating, this book reveals the shifting relationships of race, class, gender, sex, and intimacy across borders. Dr. Monica Liu is a sociologist whose teaching and research interests include gender, globalization, family, immigration, race/ethnicity, Asia and Asian America, digital technology/media, and qualitative methods. She has explored the phenomenon of global internet dating and cross-border marriage between women from China and men from English-speaking Western countries. She is currently working on a new project that examines institutional racism against Asian women leaders in higher education. Born and raised in China, Dr. Liu immigrated to the U.S. at the age of eight. Before joining the University of St. Thomas, she taught at Colgate University and Carleton College. Victoria Oana Lupașcu is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and Asian Studies at University of Montréal. Her areas of interest include medical humanities, visual art, 20th and 21st Chinese, Brazilian and Romanian literature and Global South studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

Commercial dating agencies that facilitate marriages across national borders comprise a $2.5 billion global industry. Ideas about the industry are rife with stereotypes-younger, more physically attractive brides from non-Western countries being paired with older Western men.  These ideas are more myth than fact, Monica Liu finds in Seeking Western Men: Email-Order Brides Under China's Global Rise (Stanford UP, 2022). Her study of China's email-order bride industry offers stories of Chinese women who are primarily middle-aged, divorced, and proactively seeking spouses to fulfill their material and sexual needs. What they seek in their Western partners is tied to what they believe they've lost in the shifting global economy around them. Ranging from multimillionaire entrepreneurs or ex-wives and mistresses of wealthy Chinese businessmen, to contingent sector workers and struggling single mothers, these women, along with their translators and potential husbands from the US, Canada, and Australia, make up the actors in this multifaceted story. Set against the backdrop of China's global economic ascendance and a relative decline of the West, this book asks: How does this reshape Chinese women's perception of Western masculinity? Through the unique window of global internet dating, this book reveals the shifting relationships of race, class, gender, sex, and intimacy across borders. Dr. Monica Liu is a sociologist whose teaching and research interests include gender, globalization, family, immigration, race/ethnicity, Asia and Asian America, digital technology/media, and qualitative methods. She has explored the phenomenon of global internet dating and cross-border marriage between women from China and men from English-speaking Western countries. She is currently working on a new project that examines institutional racism against Asian women leaders in higher education. Born and raised in China, Dr. Liu immigrated to the U.S. at the age of eight. Before joining the University of St. Thomas, she taught at Colgate University and Carleton College. Victoria Oana Lupașcu is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and Asian Studies at University of Montréal. Her areas of interest include medical humanities, visual art, 20th and 21st Chinese, Brazilian and Romanian literature and Global South studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

Last time we spoke about Shandong province. Yes this one province of China just always seems to be the breeding grounds for trouble, its actual a common saying haha. Historically Shandong was  unique in many ways; geographically its densely populated, almost exclusively with farmers, the majority of whom are quiet impoverished in its western portion. Just about all invading armies have to go through it if coming from the north, leading the province to be very unstable. Bandits roamed its region throughout time, leading local communities to seek protection via what we in the west called Boxers. These martial artists became a big part of western shandong, the strongmen to fight off enemies.  Shandong also birthed numerous sects and when they mingled with the Boxer types, rebels spread continuously. The Qing had a hell of a time with Shandong beginning in the late 18th century, and things would only escalate further by the late 19th.   #57 This episode is the Big Sword Society & the Armor of the Golden Bell   Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War.   “My investigations reveal that the Big Sword Society is the heterodox sect, Armor of the Golden Bell (Jin-zhong zhao). Its origins lie in the distant past. Although local officials have proscribed it, its roots have never been cut. Last year the coastal borders were unsettled [because of the SinoJapanese War], and when people heard that this sect could ward off bullets, it spread all the more, so that there was hardly a place without it. The stupid thought that they could protect themselves and their families. The crafty used it to carry out their violent schemes. Then roving bandits (you-fei) came from outside to stir things up and crowds gathered to cause trouble.” This passage was written by the governor of Shandong, Li Bingheng who was trying to explain the origin of what was called the Da-dao hui “Big Sword Society”. This society was mentioned in 1735 in northern Anhui province, though there really is not much known about them, until they re-emerged in the late 19th century. The armor of the golden bell had existed since the late 18th century as a martial arts technique for achieving invulnerability. As I mentioned in the previous episode; the armor of the golden bell was a kungfu technique that employed “Qigong”. Qigong is a system of coordinating body-posturing, like movement, breathing and meditation. Those performing it would perform breathing exercises which they claimed helped protect their bodies against blades and even bullets as if a large bell was covering their body. Several practitioners of this technique were associated with various sectarian societies like the eight trigrams back in 1813. These people usually made charms using red paper, burned and swallowed them, sometimes they cast spells or better said incantations to appeal to various gods for help. The armor of the golden bell sounds like an organization, but I am just trying to hammer the fact it's actually a technique, it just so happens many organizations used it. To give a firmer example, there was a man named Zhang Luojiao who grew up in Guan county of Shandong. He, his father and younger brother were Daoist priests and learned boxing and healing methods from another family member in 1782. The next year a teacher from Henan province taught Zhang the armor of the golden bell technique and gave him two charms. It is said after learning the technique, he took up more boxing and taught disciples for profit. He eventually became associated with the eight trigrams. He later learnt the spell “zhen-kong zhou-yu / true emptiness spell” from a Li Trigram member. Zhang claimed he left the sect because his teacher kept demanding donations and thus did not take part in the rebellion that occurred later. However students of his did take part in that said rebellion. So the armor of the golden bell at least seems to be part of something larger, it was a well established boxing technique in the north china plain region. It was an invulnerability spell against sword or knife attacks and its practitioners were often found to be linked to sects.  Historians argue about the relationship between the Big Sword Society and other sects. Some argue the Big Sword Society was an off branch of the White Lotus, others believe it was nothing more than a martial arts group.  Now the Big Sword Society that re-emerged in the late 19th century had its birthplace in southwest Shandong and the northern part of Xuzhou in Jiangsu province. Now southwest Shandong was an area where bandits flourished. Salt smugglers, opium dealers, all the black market types had activity in this part of Shandong. This all led to a rise in martial artists, the boxers, the region was seen sort of like the wild west of America. German missionaries described the area and its inhabitants as “firm of character, braver, and less cunning than the rest, but on the other hand, also more coarse and rough”. Japanese observers noted “they are feared because of their aggressive disposition and inclination to fight. Quarrels, brawls, and combats are daily occurrences in Shandong, most of all in Chaozhou. In Yanzhou, wherever you go, there is hardly a place where you do not see fights”. Needless to say, this area was particularly difficult to control during the 19th century which was ridden with rebellions. Salt smuggling had been an integral part of the border economy, but by the 1880s and 1890s opium production was on the rise. It began with foreign traded opium, but by the 1880s, native production increased markedly, especially in Xuzhou. In the early 1890s Dangshan opium exploded in Dangshan county and with it so did incidents involving the Big Sword Society. With opium production expanding in this area, men began to bear arms and challenged Qing officials. The Qing dynasty was in a very weak state because of the rebellion, war with Japan, corruption and such, thus banditry exploded. When the Japanese began marching into China proper, it sent refugees and bandits into the Shandong-Jiangsu-Henan border area. Many villages simply became bandit lairs leading to inter village feuds. The missionaries in the area became involved in said feuds as bandits used the church for protection. There were countless french jesuits who were literally lured to said bandit lairs, in Jiangsu to help offer protection. It was in this type of environment that allowed the Big Sword Society to flourish. When the first sino-Japanese war brought an unprecedented wave of banditry and violence, it became time to develop effective means of self-defense, and here the armor of the golden bell shun brightly. A man only known by the name Zhao came to Shan county of southwest Shandong from either Zhili or Hejian. He was described as a wandering Daoist priest and he took up shop in Shan country working as a hired hand in the village of Shaobing Liuzhuang around 1894. It seems to make some money he began teaching martial arts and perhaps even some sectarian rituals, no one knows for sure, but one thing is known, that he taught the armor of the golden bell technique. Here is an in depth passage on how the technique worked “When they study their techniques, the poor need not make an offering, but those who can, offer 6,000 Beijing cash as a gift. In the middle of the night, they kneel and receive instruction. They light lamps and burn incense, draw fresh water from a well and make offerings ofit. They write charms (fu-lu) on white cloth. The words of the charms are vulgar and improper. There are such phrases as "Patriarch, Duke of Zhou; Immortals of the peach blossom; Golden Bell, iron armor protect my body." Those who spread the art can neither read nor write. They have others write for them. They also teach spells (zhou). While chanting spells they burn charms, mixing [the ashes] in water and instructing [the initiate] to kneel and drink. Then [the teacher] breathes in from above the lantern, and blows out over [the initiate's] entire body. Then he beats him with a brick and staff. After chanting the spell for three nights, one can withstand swords. It is said that after chanting for a long time, even firearms cannot harm one. It is much like breathing exercises (yun-qi). Where the "breath" (qi) moves, even a fierce chop cannot penetrate. But if one loses concentration, then the blade will enter. The simple people do not understand, and think it a magical technique.” It fits with other descriptions of the technique, sometimes seeing people recite incantations, swallow charms and hit themselves with swords or bricks, fun times. The Big Sword Society used a variety of invulnerability techniques like the armor of the golden bell, the “tie bu shan / iron cloth shirt” or “wu ying bian / shadowless whip”. All of these stressed the beating of ones body to resist further injury. There were a lot of martial arts groups in the region, but the Big Sword Society distinguished themselves for heavily using incantations and charms. Now Zhao taught many, but his leading pupil was named Liu Shiduan, who was reportedly 43 years old in 1896. Liu Shiduan had a decent education, he attempted the lowest examination, the sheng-yuan degree, but never passed, so he purchased the jian-shen degree which brought him to the lowest fringe of the gentry class. Again going way back to the opium wars, the corruption of the Qing dynasty was simply getting worse and worse. Shi was the head of a fairly important family in his village who held quite a lot of fertile land. Shi learnt the armor of the golden bell from Zhao and began teaching his own disciples in his village and the neighboring villages. His greatest students would become the leaders of the Big Sword Society in their villages. The most well known of these was Cao Deli, a wealthy peasant in this 30s from Shan county in the village of Caolou, whose male population almost all join the Big Sword Society. Cao was the leading household of the village. Next was Peng Guilin from the market town of Daliji, whom Liu saw as a man of great substance, he was indeed a wealthy man from a wealthy family. Another was Zhou Yun-jie in Zhouzhuang in Cao country, known as the stockade lord. The reason for their society was first to defend their people against the bandit scourge. This inherently meant protecting ones land, and thus landlords were quick to join up, but the extremely poor, who did not have land and thus no real home to protect did not. If it is to be believed part of joining meant each member had to burn ten cash worth of incense per day, thus the poor really could not afford to join. There are accounts, many joined because of personal dependency on landlords who drew them into the organization.  According to the son of Liu Shiduan “Both poor and rich joined the Big Sword Society. The poor joined to help their landlords watch their homes and they could get something to eat and drink and some entertainment from their landlords”. Thus Liu Shiduan became the leader of the Big Sword Society with his best disciples as the various leaders within it. In the spring of 1895, the banditry going on in Shandong and Jiangsu became so bad, the Qing government took notice. Many in the court feared the bandits would help the Japanese by stealing ammunition shipments for troops at the frontlines. They began to hear rumors of groups of people utilizing the armor of the golden bell technique to combat these bandits. The invulnerability techniques always led to bad things and the Qing court had made great efforts to censor and dissuade such things. However in the face of the banditry problem, the Qing court sent word to the governor of Shandong Li Bingheng to annihilate the bandits, but to only find ways to disperse the guys using the armor of the golden bell technique, so quite lenient. The key official in the area was Yuxian who was promoted to daotai, given control over south Shandong. Yuxian responded enthusiastically to the order against the bandits. By June that year, Li Bingheng reported back to the court, that Yuxian had arrested hundreds and killed dozens of bandits. There were countless accounts of bandits stuck in wooden cages outside Yuxians yamen who died of exhaustion and starvation. However as Yuxian was trying to seize all the credit, a lot of credit was due to the Big Sword Society who proved themselves a ally to the anti-bandit campaign. As told to us by the daotai of Xuazhou “At this time Caozhou was suffering from banditry, and the officials and people both relied heavily on [the Big Sword Society]. Once a person learned its techniques, the robbers would not dare oppress him. If a theft occurred, the society's members rushed in to search the robbers' nest, and were sure to seize the robber without regard to their own safety. At first they sent their captives to the officials for prosecution. Then because the officials had to treat each according to the facts of the case, and could not kill them all, the people were unhappy. Thus later they seized robbers and just killed them, and no longer sent them to the officials” The Big Swords Society moved from a close collaboration with the Qing authorities to hold an official function. The daotai praised their brave allies, but insisted to the Qing court they never paid them nor gave them any food. One Daotai reported back to the Qing court “in recent years in Heze, Chengwu, Shan, Dingtao and Cao counties, there has not been a single robber. This has all been due to the power of the Big Sword Society”. Thus the Big Sword Society was not only tolerated they were being encouraged. Both Yuxian and Li Bingheng would go on the record to state the Big Sword Society were from “good and wealthy households who also practice techniques to protect their families”. The local officials were benefitting from the Big Sword society and it was growing exponentially.  From 1895 to 1896 the Big Sword Society's activities became more and more open. In the spring of 1896 there was a large celebration for their leaders birthday at the temple near the Shan county seat. For 4 days, extravagant shows were on display, people gathered from all around the region and this offered a opportunity to forge connections amongst the Big Sword society groups. According to a legend, Yuxian personally came,disguised as a fortune teller trying to investigate who popular the society had become. Sometimes this legend has it that he was caught and released. What is true, is that Yuxian did pretty much nothing to stop their society from growing, but as time went on he and others became alarmed. The daotai of Xuzhou reported “As they spread underground and grow in secret, their party becomes steadily more troublesome; but within their own territory, they never steal, rape, or kidnap. People all praise their chivalrous spirit (xia-yi) and hasten to join them. Great households (da-hu) in the villages hire them as guards; and even the army, counties, bureaus, and customs posts recruit them for defense. Thus they spread and proselytize more and more. They are most numerous in Shandong, next Henan, then Anhui. Xuzhou borders on Shandong and recently people [here] have joined the society. In all there are about 20,000 to 30,000.” Some estimate by 1896 the Big Swords Society were 100,000 strong, but that seems an exaggeration. They did not really have a solid chain of command, rather large village groups had a leader who held ties to Shi. But if the bandits came in numbers, these villages would mobilize and though a loose organization, it was still quite powerful. There was another powerful group in Shandong and Jiangsu, the church. Foreign missionaries, notably from Germany were making a lot of noise, complaining to the Qing court about conflicts against them. In late june of 1895 a riot occurred when Bishop Anzer tried to gain a permanent residence in the city of Yanzhou. He and his fellow colleagues were threatened and he complained to the Zongli Yamen "If your esteemed government is unable strenuously to suppress [these disturbances] and give more protection [to Christians], then my government will have no alternative but to devise methods to protect them itself." The Qing court continuously caved in to the foreign missionaries fearing further reprisals. As the Big Sword society grew, so did the Christian converts. That should be no surprise as all, because as the Bandits faced more and more Big Swords they began to run to the church for more protection. Take this example, a report from a official who saw firsthand the problem “In the twentieth year of Guang-xu [1894, but the date should be 1895] the Big Sword Society attacked "Rice-grain Yue the Second." He had 3,000 people with nothing to eat or wear, who stole things from the wealthy. So the Big Sword Society attacked them. After the Big Sword Society had quelled "Rice Grain Yue," Yue's followers, fearing that the rich people would arrest them, all joined the Catholic Church” Now the Big Sword Society could protect the people from violence, but they could not settle lawsuits, this was the Qing governments role, who were basically fleeing from the church during cases. In the face of this situation it is no surprise the Big Sword Society began to shift their attention towards anti-christian activities.  To make matters worse, the Catholics began to openly question the Big Sword Societies invulnerability spells. "When the Catholics did not believe [the Big Swords] could resist spears and swords, and accused them of false claims, the society members became the enemies of the Catholics." Both the Big Swords and Catholics were sort of fighting for the peoples hearts in many ways and the success of the Big Sword Society naturally caused common people to disbelieve in the Catholic message that “they were just pagan gods who were powerless”. Questioning things like the armor of the golden bell brought these two forces into conflict.  Liu Shiduan and Cao Deli would find themselves in a conflict which took place in february of 1896 on the border of Cao, Shan and Chengwu counties. A pharmacist named Hao Hesheng, a Shanxi native was collecting debt from a Christian convert named Lu Dengshi. Lu tried to put him off using his Christian status, causing Hao to accuse him of evading debt obligations. Then a relative of Lu named Lu Cai accused Hao of being a White Lotus member. Hao retorted by accusing Lu Cai of joining the newly established Catholic congregation to cover his past as a bandit. The 3 men screamed and departed, but Lu Cai was greatly aggravated and made his way to the local church where he said Hao had insulted the Christian religion. Zhang Lianzhu who was a leading figure of said church gathered a band of converts who armed themselves who sought to beat up Hao, but could not find him. The next day in Lihaiji of Shan county, Hao was selling medicine when the band found him. Hao fled and hid. The Big Sword society heard about the conflict and their leader Cao Deli came to the market seeking to help Hao. Upon finding Hao, Cao got some Big Swords together to meet the Christian band in front of a medicine shop. The owner of the shop freaked out and dragged the two leaders inside to try and convince them to drop everything, but by this point a large crowd had gathered, its like a high school yard fight haha. Zhang then contacted another Christian group over in the town of Tiangongiao in Chengwu to come help. The Catholics challenged Cao Deli, and he contacted Liu Shiduan who gathered more men. On the way the Big Swords were intercepted by a local garrison who talked them down. Yet at the same time a German missionary happened to be meeting with that commander, was also meeting with the Christian mob to admonish them for their aggression. Both sides were forced to apologize to another, and the entire thing was settled. But the event certainly brought both sides into a major conflict, and nearly a large fight. Now in 1896 French Jesuits were quite active along the border counties of Dangshan and Feng. They had been around for 6 years, and counted 48 parishes in all. In february of 1896 while friction was developing between Christians and the Big swords in Shandong, the Jiangsu Christian were also running into conflict with disgruntled gentry. Red placards began appearing warning “foreigners have come to establish secretly a temple of the white lotus, all the gentry have secretly resolved to put an end to this evil”. The Christians were met with a few mobs threatening to arrest their Chinese convert leaders, but things settled down rather quickly when the local magistrate took actions to prohibit any attacks on Christians. Then in spring things heated up again. A local argument between two families over land rights in Dongtuan brewed up. On one side was Pang, the other Liu. The dispute law in the villages of Pangjialin and Liutitou who traditional had the yellow river running between them. These lands traditional owed no taxes to the Qing government, but instead paid annual tributes of geese and ducks. Since the Nian rebellion, the official landlords claimed tributes were not made. This was likely due to the yellow river shifting its course in the 1850s which resulted in less water fowl. However now their lands had become extraordinarily rich in soil, now they were able to grow a lot of food. Until the 1890s the Pangs were the most powerful in the area, but then in 1892 their family leader died and the new one, Pang Sanjie had issues consolidating his power. He was in his 20s at the time, not well educated and devoted his time to military training. He was powerful, but not overwhelmingly for his task at hand. The Liu clan then found a way to bolster their claim to