by Michael Douglas Carlin
THE CEREMONY
Throughout history, the ceremony of elevating mortals to receive the mantle of Knighthood has occurred in many places and under a myriad of circumstances. The place isn’t the important element that makes a Knight. Many of the Knights in our order were Knighted in churches or in the field. What is important is that the ceremony be sacred in order to maximize the meaning, with all participants noting that something important has happened and that life will never be the same. I personally like having this giving done (and a Knighting is a gift) in person hand to hand, eye to eye, and heart to heart, as all giving in our order is done. It is important to note that no fee should ever be charged for investiture into our order. That would be breaking with our philosophy of giving without expecting anything in return.
There is no dress code for Knightings. Dress appropriately for the venue. If the Knighting occurs in a church, synagogue, or mosque, then dress as you would for a regularly scheduled service.
Kneeling demonstrates the willingness of a prospective Knight to become vulnerable and accept the mantle of responsibility and authority in humility. In this prone position, the prospective Knight makes an oath to those who have come before and to those who will come after to execute the duties of Knighthood to the best of his or her abilities. Once the prospective Knight has taken the oath, the sword or other implement is used to tap the right shoulder, left shoulder and head, as the investiture ceremony is completed, at which point the newly Knighted is commanded to "Rise a Knight." There is a practical matter associated with Knighthood. Some people may not be able to physically kneel; they should kneel and rise metaphorically.
SACRED OATH OF OUR ORDER
The postulant should read the following:
"I promise to protect the world and all of the vulnerable inhabitants. I promise to recognize nobility in others by their deeds and liveslife of service and to empower them by Knighting them into the rogue order of Knights of Malta, or Hospitallers, the order of Humanity. I also promise not to discriminate against anyone based upon race, religion, creed, gender, handicap, or sexual preference.
"I recognize that our order has power and influence only because of all of our collective good deeds, and I promise to work tirelessly to leave this world better than I found it. I also recognize that this gift of Knighthood is bestowed upon me without asking me for any recompense other than living a life of service.
"I promise that, when I give any gift, including bestowal of Knighthood, that it shall be done without expecting anything in return. On any humanitarian missions, I promise not to discuss politics or religion with any recipient and to never share my sacred oath with anyone who might trivialize it.
"I kneeled as a mortal, and I will rise accepting the mantle of Knighthood steeped in tradition and legacy that has lasted for over a thousand years."
The Knight performing the ceremony replies:
"With this sword, I Knight you honoring the gift you received with your first breath of life (taps candidate on the right shoulder with blade of the sword), the belief we all share, that a better world awaits (taps candidate on the left shoulder with the blade of the sword), and the acts of valor that you will perform wielding the mantle of Knighthood (taps candidate on the head with the blade of the sword). I now command you to rise a Knight.
"Pause for a moment and take in the transformation. As a Knight your life will never be the same."
Showing posts with label Michael Douglas Carlin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Douglas Carlin. Show all posts
Monday, September 22, 2014
SENSE OF URGENCY
by Michael Douglas Carlin
The war in Vietnam created chaos. A young combat medic arrived to find troops infected with venereal disease, a short supply of antibiotics, and mixed race children often referred to as "Amerasian" being dropped off at his camp on a regular basis. The problems seemed almost overwhelming to Sergeant Edward, but he looked for solutions that would solve every one of them at once. He placed a moratorium on the troops' extracurricular activities with the local women, while the troops were treated and cured. He then had the local women come in for examinations prior to being allowed to socialize with the troops, for which he charged them a tax that they would easily make back in their time with the troops. Everyone was cured and cleared to socialize in a clean and disease-free way.
He took the funding that came in from the examinations and treatment of the women and found families that were taking the often outcast mixed-race children into their homes and financed mini-orphanages to care for the children. This was the beginning of what turned into funding and care for hundreds of children during his tour in Vietnam.
Today, we are on the brink of chaos. America is confronted with daunting problems: unemployment, dependence on foreign oil, environmental catastrophes, soaring food prices, deflation of real estate, record amounts of manure stacking up, credit frozen and climate change. These problems all seem so disconnected. America has been the worst offender in greenhouse gas emissions, and now we are the only reliable nation that is bringing about a solution. America must now take on the entire problem for the rest of the world if climate change is going to be solved, and time is of the essence. A National Security Briefing about climate change is posted on the Century City News website that paints a grim picture of what we can expect from further emissions. Time is of the essence.
I have visited the Salton Sea with my good friend Sir Colin Finlay. He has traveled the world and sees this environmental disaster as one of the worst in the world, and it sits right in our backyard in Southern California. The New River flows in from Mexico with hazardous biological materials from the slaughter houses there. The contaminants are flowing in with no outflow, and the Salton Sea becomes worse each year. We dug down 18 inches on the shore and found nothing but fish bones and scales from all the fish that had washed ashore dead from toxins and lack of oxygen (hypoxia) in the water due to the overgrowth of algae from biotoxins. The Salton Sea is at the juncture of three different counties. The jurisdiction of permitting becomes difficult when three county seats are involved. As the Salton Sea continues to dry up, the toxins are becoming airborne and blowing into populated areas. We must solve this problem. Time is of the essence.
Iran is making progress on developing nuclear material. The Strait of Hormuz is a strategic waterway for the transport of oil. Israel has been threatened by Iran, and it wouldn’t be a stretch for Iran to attack Saudi Arabia with nuclear weapons. The supply of our oil will undoubtedly be interrupted at some point in the future. The development of alternative supplies of fuel has come to a point where time is of the essence.
Chickens, pigs and cows are being grown in increasing numbers. They are critical for the food supply of the world. Raising all of these animals is causing an enormous amount of methane gas and manure. The amount of manure far exceeds the manure produced by humans. This manure leeches into the water supply in many places and causes contamination. As the manure piles up, a solution must be found. Agribusiness needs reformation. Here again, time is of the essence.
In many countries and within the United States, food is being diverted into the production of fuel. The prices of grain and corn are skyrocketing. Food supplies are becoming scarce, and the demand to convert food into fuel will intensify if there is any shock to the oil supply.
Much of the electricity produced in the United States is produced from diesel-driven power plants. Electrification of the country has to be a major part of freedom from foreign fossil fuel dependence. Adding to the problem is that most of the power is produced by coal-fired plants, and the pollution from these plants is among the most serious in the nation, and possibly the world.
Because time is of the essence, a concentrated effort must be deployed to solve all of these problems simultaneously. There are no shortage of people who want jobs right now, and this may be an opportunity for employment.
Len Chapman of Environmental BioMass Energy has worked in the development of a process to convert manure into methane and convert manure into syngas, producing steam and electricity. Manure is also nutrient-rich and can be used as an input for growing algae. Algae comes in 3,000 strains, many of which grow in the saltiest of water. The Salton Sea might prove an incredible source of nutrient-rich water to grow algae. Algae only needs blue and red light to grow. That leaves the rest of the light spectrum to produce solar energy. Electric generation creates CO², which can be used to grow algae and be converted into oxygen. An acre of algae produces 50,000 gallons of vegetable oil.
John Jones of John D. Jones Engineering, Inc. has developed a process to convert animal fat or vegetable oil to biodiesel (no sulphur). Picture a process where manure, carbon dioxide, toxic water and sunlight are converted to methane gas, biodiesel, electricity and oxygen. This single process could create jobs, mitigate greenhouse gasses, create biodiesel fuel for the entire trucking industry/power generation, create a purpose for manure, create sequestered methane gas, and clean up one of America’s worst environmental disasters, the Salton Sea. If the process were done on a large enough scale, we could offset all of the greenhouse gasses emitted by the rest of the world and curb climate change. Let’s get started.
The story of Sir Edward is the story of how a young, wide-eyed man came to understand the human spirit through each encounter with situations that seemed unsolvable. This young man found at every juncture of his life that, by studying the problem, he was able to see the solution couched as a riddle within the very nature of what was wrong, and, with minimal effort, he was able to set it right. Sixtyfive years later, it has developed into so much more than a few threads to become the fabric and philosophy of world peace. Our solutions are always couched in our problems.
Love Buzz - Why Do We Hurt The One We Love
(This originally appeared in the July 26th, 2011 edition of the Century City News)
By Anita De Francesco, MA
Relationship Specialist
I generally don’t hurt anyone I love or anyone I don’t love. I don’t hurt human beings but rather I honor them, love them, show compassion and empathy as often as I can. This tells me my heart is working and is being exercised in the most stimulating way I know. I am writing this because I have been hurt so much with love and I often wonder why they love me and then they don’t. I feel that we are put into relationships to learn how to love ourselves even more and so the hate weighs out the love of the person we channeled it to and possibly this is why we go on to hate a former lover just so to get the love back to ourselves. It does make sense to me because to love someone deeply we must first love ourselves and take the love from the heart source and share it with another. We begin to be mean and hateful when it comes to breaking up in an effort to get the love of the self back. Why does it have to be this way? We lend out our love to mates and sometimes we don’t get back what we put out. We need to be more objective with romance because relationships these days are all about sharing the love with everybody and women have yet to learn to come to this maturity in accepting a man in this way.
Romantic relationships continually harness the sense of our self, propelling us to grow. Within every relationship there is growth that we must see. The big question today is why is it so difficult to stay together for a period of time and give each other the fulfillment that we deserve in the relationship. I think we have lost value of what a relationship means. These short half on end relationships are not even worthy anymore. Why get into them for six months to just get out of them which can take longer. It can get so tiring. It’s a wonder our world is so dysfunctional. Then there are those who get married and have that containment and have side affairs which end as well and promises, promises are made and people get hurt. Humans are hurting each other every day in many ways not only in relationships. But relationships are where it all begins and are suppose to teach us.
So just how can we heal the hurt pain? Relationships teach growth and each and every one is a stepping stone to improving yourself. But some stay victim and build defenses and just can’t seem to find the love of life after a bad romance. A study revealed that the mental health of men is more affected by the strains of romance than women. It also revealed that men benefit from support more than women. I believe this is true because men need the attention; they have baby needs that always need fulfillment and women go overboard in being the mommy the nurturer and so on. For women just simply having the relationship matters most whether it provides stress or support. Professor Robin W. Simon quoted in the New York Times; “even though there’s been so much social change in this area, women’s self-worth is still so much tied up with having a boyfriend. My feeling on that is in this day and age yes we should be because men have so many women on strings that just having a boyfriend is the American dream anymore and holding onto him. Look at the stars, Aniston, Madonna and Cher all have a challenge holding onto the relationship.
It seems as though women know how to do relationships and men still need to learn and this could explain the strains of hurt. Although it always looks and feels as though women hurt more and they probably do. I think that women show more emotion and manifest expressive behaviors a lot more than a man simply because they just wanted the relationship. We know it comes with strain and pain. Men learned to stay composed and in control but they have feelings to and they do hurt. They teach themselves to close off the heart because their sexual side comes first whereas women’s hearts are first. We need a little more harmony in these areas. Women tend to find creative outlets for emotional channeling than men and is probably why they look more emotionally stimulated. We want to see the feminine vulnerable spiritual side of a man. Men rely solely on a girlfriend for all the emotional needs. It’s a wonder us women are strong yet some becoming needy that really aren’t. Men actually put the pressure on a woman with their undiffused emotional self. Of course men are more in the moment when it comes to romance where women always look long term and probably so because of the reproductive clock thing. I will leave you with one thought here as Oscar Wilde said: “ each man kills the thing he loves”; however hurting one’s beloved is frequent. Since the beloved is a major source of happiness, this person is also a major threat to our happiness; more than anyone else, the beloved can ruin it. To me this says that on some level we are not deserving of the fulfillment that love brings.
Do you feel stuck and in a rut, depressed or anxious or overall sluggish? I practice Reichian, Gestalt, somatic movement, and counseling/bodywork integrative therapies which involves focused breathing to help stimulate the emotions thus re-patterning the nervous system. I help you to focus on the negative voices and thoughts that create the stress and to resolve those unwanted interruptions that get in the way of your life process. Those stiff armored muscles that block sensation and energy flow will eventually soften.
The rage sitting in the muscles will unfold allowing more feelings of pleasure, more creativeness, freeing blocked energies and sexual dysfunction. Modern society has forced the human character to live in unnatural ways holding back basic needs and instincts. This process of breathing deeply sends messages to the brain which is an effective way to release anger, to let go of baggage, and to feel more alive and trusting thus living in a higher self esteem.
Anita De Francesco, M.A.
www.tantrawisdom.com
info@tantrawisdom.com
310-210-1464
Michael Douglas Carlin is the director of the movies Luvicide and American Federale. Recently he completed a ten-year stint as the Publisher and Editor of the Century City News. Here his articles turned into three books: Rise a Knight, A Prescription for Peace, and Peaceful Protests.
By Anita De Francesco, MA
Relationship Specialist
I generally don’t hurt anyone I love or anyone I don’t love. I don’t hurt human beings but rather I honor them, love them, show compassion and empathy as often as I can. This tells me my heart is working and is being exercised in the most stimulating way I know. I am writing this because I have been hurt so much with love and I often wonder why they love me and then they don’t. I feel that we are put into relationships to learn how to love ourselves even more and so the hate weighs out the love of the person we channeled it to and possibly this is why we go on to hate a former lover just so to get the love back to ourselves. It does make sense to me because to love someone deeply we must first love ourselves and take the love from the heart source and share it with another. We begin to be mean and hateful when it comes to breaking up in an effort to get the love of the self back. Why does it have to be this way? We lend out our love to mates and sometimes we don’t get back what we put out. We need to be more objective with romance because relationships these days are all about sharing the love with everybody and women have yet to learn to come to this maturity in accepting a man in this way.
Romantic relationships continually harness the sense of our self, propelling us to grow. Within every relationship there is growth that we must see. The big question today is why is it so difficult to stay together for a period of time and give each other the fulfillment that we deserve in the relationship. I think we have lost value of what a relationship means. These short half on end relationships are not even worthy anymore. Why get into them for six months to just get out of them which can take longer. It can get so tiring. It’s a wonder our world is so dysfunctional. Then there are those who get married and have that containment and have side affairs which end as well and promises, promises are made and people get hurt. Humans are hurting each other every day in many ways not only in relationships. But relationships are where it all begins and are suppose to teach us.
So just how can we heal the hurt pain? Relationships teach growth and each and every one is a stepping stone to improving yourself. But some stay victim and build defenses and just can’t seem to find the love of life after a bad romance. A study revealed that the mental health of men is more affected by the strains of romance than women. It also revealed that men benefit from support more than women. I believe this is true because men need the attention; they have baby needs that always need fulfillment and women go overboard in being the mommy the nurturer and so on. For women just simply having the relationship matters most whether it provides stress or support. Professor Robin W. Simon quoted in the New York Times; “even though there’s been so much social change in this area, women’s self-worth is still so much tied up with having a boyfriend. My feeling on that is in this day and age yes we should be because men have so many women on strings that just having a boyfriend is the American dream anymore and holding onto him. Look at the stars, Aniston, Madonna and Cher all have a challenge holding onto the relationship.
It seems as though women know how to do relationships and men still need to learn and this could explain the strains of hurt. Although it always looks and feels as though women hurt more and they probably do. I think that women show more emotion and manifest expressive behaviors a lot more than a man simply because they just wanted the relationship. We know it comes with strain and pain. Men learned to stay composed and in control but they have feelings to and they do hurt. They teach themselves to close off the heart because their sexual side comes first whereas women’s hearts are first. We need a little more harmony in these areas. Women tend to find creative outlets for emotional channeling than men and is probably why they look more emotionally stimulated. We want to see the feminine vulnerable spiritual side of a man. Men rely solely on a girlfriend for all the emotional needs. It’s a wonder us women are strong yet some becoming needy that really aren’t. Men actually put the pressure on a woman with their undiffused emotional self. Of course men are more in the moment when it comes to romance where women always look long term and probably so because of the reproductive clock thing. I will leave you with one thought here as Oscar Wilde said: “ each man kills the thing he loves”; however hurting one’s beloved is frequent. Since the beloved is a major source of happiness, this person is also a major threat to our happiness; more than anyone else, the beloved can ruin it. To me this says that on some level we are not deserving of the fulfillment that love brings.
Do you feel stuck and in a rut, depressed or anxious or overall sluggish? I practice Reichian, Gestalt, somatic movement, and counseling/bodywork integrative therapies which involves focused breathing to help stimulate the emotions thus re-patterning the nervous system. I help you to focus on the negative voices and thoughts that create the stress and to resolve those unwanted interruptions that get in the way of your life process. Those stiff armored muscles that block sensation and energy flow will eventually soften.
The rage sitting in the muscles will unfold allowing more feelings of pleasure, more creativeness, freeing blocked energies and sexual dysfunction. Modern society has forced the human character to live in unnatural ways holding back basic needs and instincts. This process of breathing deeply sends messages to the brain which is an effective way to release anger, to let go of baggage, and to feel more alive and trusting thus living in a higher self esteem.
Anita De Francesco, M.A.
www.tantrawisdom.com
info@tantrawisdom.com
310-210-1464
Michael Douglas Carlin is the director of the movies Luvicide and American Federale. Recently he completed a ten-year stint as the Publisher and Editor of the Century City News. Here his articles turned into three books: Rise a Knight, A Prescription for Peace, and Peaceful Protests.
Google Local Tips
Local search is essential to small businesses – especially professional services like Attorneys. When someone searches for a lawyer on Google, trends show that they are looking more for a lawyer in their city or metro area rather than search State-Wide. When Google changed their map algorithm to Google Places, it focused specifically on Local Search & enabled businesses to communicate with customers as well as supplement their Google profile information to include hours of operation, photos, videos, coupons and product offerings. We assume Google is serving maps more than 1 billion times a month.
How do you take advantage of Google Local? First of all - List your business in Google Places. Despite being free, I am always surprised & shocked at 1) SEO Companies who are NOT optimizing for Google Places & 2) SEO Companies that charge to optimize for Google Places. Optimizing for local should be a staple of good SEO. If you’re not on Page 1 locally, your SEO company is not doing an efficient job of SEO.
If you’re doing it yourself, Google provides a number of training videos to explore the features, including tools like tracking of actions (meaning how many times users showed interest in your business listing). It also shows information on maps, driving directions or direct clicks, as well as impressions (how many times users saw your business listing as a local search result). Ratings and references are important too, but we’ll get to that later in the article.
While Google Places is important, don’t forget to register at:
* http://local.yahoo.com/
* http://www.bing.com/local/
Next step - Verify Your Business: If you’re not sure if you’re in the maps or not - simply search for your firm name. Just to be sure, include the city or county you are supposed to be listed in.
If you are not listed, have your SEO Company or you fix it. For example, if you’re a tax attorney in Beverly Hills, search for “tax attorney Beverly Hills.” Here, the top local results show (just below Google’s paid search results) as well as a local map on the right, hovering over more paid listings.
If you see your local result, make sure it has been verified or not. If an arrow points to “Business owner,” it means it needs verification. If you don’t see your local listing, create your own.
Google pulls the data on this result (address, phone number) from some of the larger business aggregators like infoUSA or AVVO for lawyers, and attempts to match it up correctly. However, that data could be wrong. If that’s the case, it is important for you to take corrective measures. When you verify your business information in local search results, it helps insure that the information others see is correct. Again, you’d be surprised how many lawyers or other business owners don’t even do this.
Select your categories: When registering, make sure to assign your business to the listed categories that best describe it. You can add up to five categories, and if you’re a lawyer, I would take advantage of the most accurate categories. Again, I am amazed at how many Divorce Lawyers show up in the maps of Injury Lawyers. The more accurate you are, the better for your overall SEO, not just Local SEO.
Add as much information as possible, including hours, payment types, e-mail address, phone number, URL/web address, photos, videos and coupons. Fill out each field, if appropriate.
When you’re done, make videos, upload them to YouTube and link them back into your local profile on Google Places. Screen cam your PowerPoint presentations. You can include up to 10 pictures and five videos.
Get listed in Other Local Directories: Google Places is important, but so are other local business directories like Yelp and Merchant Circle. Here is a list that any good SEO Company should put you in. Again, make sure that all your information is correct, and keep the same formatting across all locations.
* Better Business Bureau
* Brownbook.net
* Citysearch.com
* judysbook.com
* Kudzu.com
* Best of the Web
* local.com
* MerchantCircle.com
* yelp.com
Get Reviews: Don’t be afraid to ask clients for reviews. Offer some kind of incentive for engagement and visits to your website or to do a review for you. Add a friendly reminder with your office invoice mailings or email newsletters asking your customers to review you and their experience. Ask for your clients to do reviews on all of the above local directories, not just Google Places.
One Important Tip: Don’t go crazy & ask all your friends to review you at once. It will put up a red flag in Google’s eyes & it will actually hurt your rankings. (See below).
Top NEGATIVE Factors to HURT your local listing at Google: There’s someone that tries to work the system & push things (I’m sure you get calls from those folks every day saying “I can get you on Page 1 of Google”). However, this latest Algorithm change proved that all the people that were manipulating & ‘spamming’ the maps before are now gone! Still, I feel it’s important to tell you what NOT to do when setting up your Google Map Listing, and what things will affect your rankings in a negative way.
Top Negative Factors
1. Negative Ratings
2. Location Keywords in Categories
3. (800) Phone Number on Website w/o Local Area Code
4. (800) As Primary Place Page Number
5. Multiple Locations on Places Landing Page
6. Multiple Place Pages w/Same Business Title
7. PO Box on Website w/o Physical Address
8. Multiple Place Pages w/Same Address
9. Hiding Address on Your Place Page
10. Multiple Place Pages w/Same Phone Number (Most Harmful)
Dave Hendricks of the Attorney Marketing Network helps firms get new clients by improving their internet presence and drive measurable leads to their business. He presents a regular Attorney Marketing / Attorney Networking Seminar locally at The Law Offices of Magana Cathcart & McCarthy. Google Adwords Certified, Dave is an Internet Marketing Consultant and has over 16 years of sales and Internet experience in the technology space (9 years within the legal market). Each month, there are literally thousands of people searching for a local attorney in all the major practice areas. Dave helps firms take advantage of that search and be found on Google, Yahoo, and Bing, using successful website design, Search Engine Optimization, Google Local, and Pay-Per-Click techniques.
Dave’s next luncheon seminar is Tuesday, February 22th at 12:00 at the Law Offices of Magana Cathcart McCarthy -- 1801 Avenue of the Stars #600, Century City.
Lunch is included, and you will receive a complimentary evaluation of your website by attending. Space is limited, so save your spot by contacting Dave directly at 818-618-2227, via email at dave@AttorneyMarketingNetwork.com , or by visiting www.attorneymarketingwebsites.com to sign up online.
Michael Douglas Carlin is the director of the movies Luvicide and American Federale. Recently he completed a ten-year stint as the Publisher and Editor of the Century City News. Here his articles turned into three books: Rise a Knight, A Prescription for Peace, and Peaceful Protests.
How do you take advantage of Google Local? First of all - List your business in Google Places. Despite being free, I am always surprised & shocked at 1) SEO Companies who are NOT optimizing for Google Places & 2) SEO Companies that charge to optimize for Google Places. Optimizing for local should be a staple of good SEO. If you’re not on Page 1 locally, your SEO company is not doing an efficient job of SEO.
If you’re doing it yourself, Google provides a number of training videos to explore the features, including tools like tracking of actions (meaning how many times users showed interest in your business listing). It also shows information on maps, driving directions or direct clicks, as well as impressions (how many times users saw your business listing as a local search result). Ratings and references are important too, but we’ll get to that later in the article.
While Google Places is important, don’t forget to register at:
* http://local.yahoo.com/
* http://www.bing.com/local/
Next step - Verify Your Business: If you’re not sure if you’re in the maps or not - simply search for your firm name. Just to be sure, include the city or county you are supposed to be listed in.
If you are not listed, have your SEO Company or you fix it. For example, if you’re a tax attorney in Beverly Hills, search for “tax attorney Beverly Hills.” Here, the top local results show (just below Google’s paid search results) as well as a local map on the right, hovering over more paid listings.
If you see your local result, make sure it has been verified or not. If an arrow points to “Business owner,” it means it needs verification. If you don’t see your local listing, create your own.
Google pulls the data on this result (address, phone number) from some of the larger business aggregators like infoUSA or AVVO for lawyers, and attempts to match it up correctly. However, that data could be wrong. If that’s the case, it is important for you to take corrective measures. When you verify your business information in local search results, it helps insure that the information others see is correct. Again, you’d be surprised how many lawyers or other business owners don’t even do this.
Select your categories: When registering, make sure to assign your business to the listed categories that best describe it. You can add up to five categories, and if you’re a lawyer, I would take advantage of the most accurate categories. Again, I am amazed at how many Divorce Lawyers show up in the maps of Injury Lawyers. The more accurate you are, the better for your overall SEO, not just Local SEO.
Add as much information as possible, including hours, payment types, e-mail address, phone number, URL/web address, photos, videos and coupons. Fill out each field, if appropriate.
When you’re done, make videos, upload them to YouTube and link them back into your local profile on Google Places. Screen cam your PowerPoint presentations. You can include up to 10 pictures and five videos.
Get listed in Other Local Directories: Google Places is important, but so are other local business directories like Yelp and Merchant Circle. Here is a list that any good SEO Company should put you in. Again, make sure that all your information is correct, and keep the same formatting across all locations.
* Better Business Bureau
* Brownbook.net
* Citysearch.com
* judysbook.com
* Kudzu.com
* Best of the Web
* local.com
* MerchantCircle.com
* yelp.com
Get Reviews: Don’t be afraid to ask clients for reviews. Offer some kind of incentive for engagement and visits to your website or to do a review for you. Add a friendly reminder with your office invoice mailings or email newsletters asking your customers to review you and their experience. Ask for your clients to do reviews on all of the above local directories, not just Google Places.
One Important Tip: Don’t go crazy & ask all your friends to review you at once. It will put up a red flag in Google’s eyes & it will actually hurt your rankings. (See below).
Top NEGATIVE Factors to HURT your local listing at Google: There’s someone that tries to work the system & push things (I’m sure you get calls from those folks every day saying “I can get you on Page 1 of Google”). However, this latest Algorithm change proved that all the people that were manipulating & ‘spamming’ the maps before are now gone! Still, I feel it’s important to tell you what NOT to do when setting up your Google Map Listing, and what things will affect your rankings in a negative way.
Top Negative Factors
1. Negative Ratings
2. Location Keywords in Categories
3. (800) Phone Number on Website w/o Local Area Code
4. (800) As Primary Place Page Number
5. Multiple Locations on Places Landing Page
6. Multiple Place Pages w/Same Business Title
7. PO Box on Website w/o Physical Address
8. Multiple Place Pages w/Same Address
9. Hiding Address on Your Place Page
10. Multiple Place Pages w/Same Phone Number (Most Harmful)
Dave Hendricks of the Attorney Marketing Network helps firms get new clients by improving their internet presence and drive measurable leads to their business. He presents a regular Attorney Marketing / Attorney Networking Seminar locally at The Law Offices of Magana Cathcart & McCarthy. Google Adwords Certified, Dave is an Internet Marketing Consultant and has over 16 years of sales and Internet experience in the technology space (9 years within the legal market). Each month, there are literally thousands of people searching for a local attorney in all the major practice areas. Dave helps firms take advantage of that search and be found on Google, Yahoo, and Bing, using successful website design, Search Engine Optimization, Google Local, and Pay-Per-Click techniques.
Dave’s next luncheon seminar is Tuesday, February 22th at 12:00 at the Law Offices of Magana Cathcart McCarthy -- 1801 Avenue of the Stars #600, Century City.
Lunch is included, and you will receive a complimentary evaluation of your website by attending. Space is limited, so save your spot by contacting Dave directly at 818-618-2227, via email at dave@AttorneyMarketingNetwork.com , or by visiting www.attorneymarketingwebsites.com to sign up online.
Michael Douglas Carlin is the director of the movies Luvicide and American Federale. Recently he completed a ten-year stint as the Publisher and Editor of the Century City News. Here his articles turned into three books: Rise a Knight, A Prescription for Peace, and Peaceful Protests.
Samantha Martinez Takes The Gavel At The Century City Chamber
(This article originally appeared in the Feb 8th, 2011 print edition of the Century City News)
Samantha Martinez takes over the heavy gavel at the Century City Chamber of Commerce. Heavy because of the legacy of those that preceded her but in her hands the gavel appears to move effortlessly.
There is something happening over at the Century City Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is rising to new heights. I credit the staff, Starlyn and Amber that are dedicated to their jobs. I also credit Chamber President and CEO, Susan Bursk. The Executive Committee and the Board, too, have been proactive through a tough economy. The many council chairs and committee members have also done their part to put on interesting events and attract new membership. Samantha picks up the gavel at a time when the Chamber is firing on all cylinders. But the spirit of complacency has no place here and Samantha isn’t about to rest on Chamber Laurels.
I recently attended a retreat for the board of directors put on by the Chamber. The day began early and breakfast was provided along with really strong coffee (a must for early mornings). The discussion centered on building value for members and our role as directors of the board. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky opened the meeting calling on all of us to stay involved in Government at this critical time in the history of Los Angeles. Zev knows that Century City by definition means involvement.
I was reminded about a recent board meeting where there was a spirited discussion about endorsing a measure that was on the California ballot. Some were for the measure and some against… but more than the discussion was the process that was at play here. The myth of a rubberstamp board was dispelled, as was the myth that the chamber is the puppet of a few of the building managers. Samantha led the discussion. Samantha allowed all of the stakeholders with a dog in this fight adequate time.
Opinions from all sides of the issue were heard and the vote was taken. The result was a function of the votes: No back room deals… no coercion! This is a functional Chamber in a functional part of the city amidst so many dysfunctional companies, clubs and organizations that are in Los Angeles. The members that get so much from their Chamber Membership are those that work their membership by participating. Those that choose not to participate my not get as much out of their memberships but the opportunity to capitalize on membership’s value is available for everybody that sits at the table and the Chamber invites more to join and avail themselves of the value that is offered.
Mike Holwick is the immediate past Chairman of the Board and comes with a pedigree of three generations of involvement in Century City. Samantha is the previous Chair of the Government Affairs Council and sits at the intersection of Chamber Activities and access to Government Officials. Samantha is well versed on all of the issues that government struggles to solve and as Chairperson of the Chamber sits ready to give her opinion to officials when she is asked. They would do well to listen to the answers as they might find their struggle to overcome challenges less entangled when listening to Samantha’s voice of reason. Samantha waits patiently to allow all points of view to be heard before summing up all of those opinions into an intelligent platform that everyone somehow agrees with.
Just when you thought the Chamber had peaked and risen to the heights that limit it… you find that there is a plan in play to reach new heights never before thought to be attainable. Those who looked at Chamber Membership in the past and failed to hear the call need to revisit the value of Chamber Membership and get involved in shaping a new, more vibrant, and more important, Century City. Samantha is sure to be an important part of ushering in this new era.
Michael Douglas Carlin is the director of the movies Luvicide and American Federale. Recently he completed a ten-year stint as the Publisher and Editor of the Century City News. Here his articles turned into three books: Rise a Knight, A Prescription for Peace, and Peaceful Protests.
Samantha Martinez takes over the heavy gavel at the Century City Chamber of Commerce. Heavy because of the legacy of those that preceded her but in her hands the gavel appears to move effortlessly.
There is something happening over at the Century City Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is rising to new heights. I credit the staff, Starlyn and Amber that are dedicated to their jobs. I also credit Chamber President and CEO, Susan Bursk. The Executive Committee and the Board, too, have been proactive through a tough economy. The many council chairs and committee members have also done their part to put on interesting events and attract new membership. Samantha picks up the gavel at a time when the Chamber is firing on all cylinders. But the spirit of complacency has no place here and Samantha isn’t about to rest on Chamber Laurels.
I recently attended a retreat for the board of directors put on by the Chamber. The day began early and breakfast was provided along with really strong coffee (a must for early mornings). The discussion centered on building value for members and our role as directors of the board. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky opened the meeting calling on all of us to stay involved in Government at this critical time in the history of Los Angeles. Zev knows that Century City by definition means involvement.
I was reminded about a recent board meeting where there was a spirited discussion about endorsing a measure that was on the California ballot. Some were for the measure and some against… but more than the discussion was the process that was at play here. The myth of a rubberstamp board was dispelled, as was the myth that the chamber is the puppet of a few of the building managers. Samantha led the discussion. Samantha allowed all of the stakeholders with a dog in this fight adequate time.
Opinions from all sides of the issue were heard and the vote was taken. The result was a function of the votes: No back room deals… no coercion! This is a functional Chamber in a functional part of the city amidst so many dysfunctional companies, clubs and organizations that are in Los Angeles. The members that get so much from their Chamber Membership are those that work their membership by participating. Those that choose not to participate my not get as much out of their memberships but the opportunity to capitalize on membership’s value is available for everybody that sits at the table and the Chamber invites more to join and avail themselves of the value that is offered.
Mike Holwick is the immediate past Chairman of the Board and comes with a pedigree of three generations of involvement in Century City. Samantha is the previous Chair of the Government Affairs Council and sits at the intersection of Chamber Activities and access to Government Officials. Samantha is well versed on all of the issues that government struggles to solve and as Chairperson of the Chamber sits ready to give her opinion to officials when she is asked. They would do well to listen to the answers as they might find their struggle to overcome challenges less entangled when listening to Samantha’s voice of reason. Samantha waits patiently to allow all points of view to be heard before summing up all of those opinions into an intelligent platform that everyone somehow agrees with.
Just when you thought the Chamber had peaked and risen to the heights that limit it… you find that there is a plan in play to reach new heights never before thought to be attainable. Those who looked at Chamber Membership in the past and failed to hear the call need to revisit the value of Chamber Membership and get involved in shaping a new, more vibrant, and more important, Century City. Samantha is sure to be an important part of ushering in this new era.
Michael Douglas Carlin is the director of the movies Luvicide and American Federale. Recently he completed a ten-year stint as the Publisher and Editor of the Century City News. Here his articles turned into three books: Rise a Knight, A Prescription for Peace, and Peaceful Protests.
Love Buzz - When Love Fails
(This article originally appeared in the Feb 8th, 2011 edition of the Century City News)
By Anita De Francesco, MA
Relationship Specialist
So you’re looking for the love of your life and you want it to last forever! Now that you’re in this mess for the last year and you discover this relationship is going nowhere and nowhere soon for that matter. It is as if you exist for each other’s time here on earth. Wasting time as some may call it and others may call it growing in time. Well you know that is exactly what we are all doing but sometimes we like to carve out the differences and make each part of our life have meaning, a concern and purpose. Imagine we are all just zombies roaming the earth like a pack of animals and finding and identifying ourselves through the relationships we make.
So now you may have to end this relationship because it doesn’t meet your expectations. You are about to face pain, sorrow, regret, sadness and more. So what do you do now? End it and find someone else or take the time to understand your choices and patterns that you are webbed into. I have been in so many relationships and have grown and learned from every one of them. Some were just for fun and others had more meaning and others I wanted to keep forever. The number one thing to know before going into a relationship is that they do end. Love is a wandering willow, as easy as we get it that is how easy it can get lost. The idea with love is to keep it focused. To keep it focused you must be clear of your insecurities and go beyond all that to find the true meaning of yourself and then love will become more focused. Connecting with someone is to teach you about yourself so that when the right one comes along you are ready. I meet people who dated one or two people and got married and have no real social relationship or sex skills at all and need to be taught. With dating one should put a time on where, when and who you spend it with, because you don’t want to find yourself going past what your clock may be. In other words taking the time to choose the right person. Having the determination that you want to be with this partner then it could never fail. This takes commitment. Pain, sacrifices and disappointments are always going to be a part of love but we need to learn bravery of the heart.
Going a little deeper here with love and relationships; who says that they have to go anywhere. Enjoying each other for who you are and the time that you are given together is also a choice. It is now a time to let go of the expectations and enjoy the moments for what they are. Relationships teach us growth of the soul and spirit.
Love fails for many reasons but a big one is communication. Love dies because we haven’t yet learned how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness, illness and wounds. It fails because of weariness, struggle, and withering. Saying what you wanted to say but couldn’t and saying it from your full being rather than halfway. When you get into the relationship open your eyes and see if it is two or one sided. This is one of the first things to look for. Think about why and what attracted you to this person in the first place. If it was physical in nature then that is what you get and that is not a bad thing but rather an honest thing. But if you looked beyond the physical then there may be something there. You need to establish this territory and you need to be patient. Being patient can mean not rushing into the bedroom, taking the moments and breathing and spacing each other’s interactions. Relationships should involve looking after the interactions of each other about caring and sharing and about affection. There is a certain amount of satisfaction and gratification that go with all this. If you want to sustain and hold onto the relationship here are some tips:
• Take a relationship inventory every 4 weeks. This means assess what you have done and where you think it is going. Make a list of all the good and bad things you like so far.
• Imagine for a moment where you would be if you and this partner lasted and would you like that place. Now be honest with yourself here.
• Every 3 weeks take out the time with your partner for a night of communication about each other. Discuss things and find out where each other is.
• Notice any red flags. Even if you don’t want to see them then write them down on a piece of paper and put them in a drawer for later. Just writing them will help your emotions to acknowledge this later.
• Before going in know what it is that you want, and know how much time you have for this investment.
• Take dating steps and structure and strategize every relationship. There are the sex ones, the casual ones and then the ones to bring home to mom. But mostly honor and love each and every one of them for what they bring you today even if it is the booty call. The honoring and respecting everyone will bring you integrity and pureness and true love. Honor your sluts.
• Understand the misleading moments and arguing. Have the confidence to hail the moment.
• Carve out the time to learn your partner. Pick the date nights that are for fun and sex and then pick those other nights that are for learning more about each other’s mind and then when you get home make some written notes about what you learned
• Another cool thing to do is to share a journal together. For example when you go places you each write a page about how the evening went and you close the book and don’t read it until later. One of you will have to take the responsibility of holding and bringing the journal out on the meeting times. This writing together can teach you so much about yourself.
Isn’t that what it’s all about; the learning of the self. So then how could love fail, it could only get better.
Do you feel stuck and in a rut, depressed or anxious or overall sluggish? I practice Reichian, Gestalt, somatic movement, and counseling/bodywork integrative therapies which involves focused breathing to help stimulate the emotions thus re-patterning the nervous system. I help you to focus on the negative voices and thoughts that create the stress and to resolve those unwanted interruptions that get in the way of your life process. Those stiff armored muscles that block sensation and energy flow will eventually soften.
The rage sitting in the muscles will unfold allowing more feelings of pleasure, more creativeness, freeing blocked energies and sexual dysfunction. Modern society has forced the human character to live in unnatural ways holding back basic needs and instincts. This process of breathing deeply sends messages to the brain which is an effective way to release anger, to let go of baggage, and to feel more alive and trusting thus living in a higher self esteem.
Anita De Francesco, M.A.
www.tantrawisdom.com
info@tantrawisdom.com
310-210-1464
By Anita De Francesco, MA
Relationship Specialist
So you’re looking for the love of your life and you want it to last forever! Now that you’re in this mess for the last year and you discover this relationship is going nowhere and nowhere soon for that matter. It is as if you exist for each other’s time here on earth. Wasting time as some may call it and others may call it growing in time. Well you know that is exactly what we are all doing but sometimes we like to carve out the differences and make each part of our life have meaning, a concern and purpose. Imagine we are all just zombies roaming the earth like a pack of animals and finding and identifying ourselves through the relationships we make.
So now you may have to end this relationship because it doesn’t meet your expectations. You are about to face pain, sorrow, regret, sadness and more. So what do you do now? End it and find someone else or take the time to understand your choices and patterns that you are webbed into. I have been in so many relationships and have grown and learned from every one of them. Some were just for fun and others had more meaning and others I wanted to keep forever. The number one thing to know before going into a relationship is that they do end. Love is a wandering willow, as easy as we get it that is how easy it can get lost. The idea with love is to keep it focused. To keep it focused you must be clear of your insecurities and go beyond all that to find the true meaning of yourself and then love will become more focused. Connecting with someone is to teach you about yourself so that when the right one comes along you are ready. I meet people who dated one or two people and got married and have no real social relationship or sex skills at all and need to be taught. With dating one should put a time on where, when and who you spend it with, because you don’t want to find yourself going past what your clock may be. In other words taking the time to choose the right person. Having the determination that you want to be with this partner then it could never fail. This takes commitment. Pain, sacrifices and disappointments are always going to be a part of love but we need to learn bravery of the heart.
Going a little deeper here with love and relationships; who says that they have to go anywhere. Enjoying each other for who you are and the time that you are given together is also a choice. It is now a time to let go of the expectations and enjoy the moments for what they are. Relationships teach us growth of the soul and spirit.
Love fails for many reasons but a big one is communication. Love dies because we haven’t yet learned how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness, illness and wounds. It fails because of weariness, struggle, and withering. Saying what you wanted to say but couldn’t and saying it from your full being rather than halfway. When you get into the relationship open your eyes and see if it is two or one sided. This is one of the first things to look for. Think about why and what attracted you to this person in the first place. If it was physical in nature then that is what you get and that is not a bad thing but rather an honest thing. But if you looked beyond the physical then there may be something there. You need to establish this territory and you need to be patient. Being patient can mean not rushing into the bedroom, taking the moments and breathing and spacing each other’s interactions. Relationships should involve looking after the interactions of each other about caring and sharing and about affection. There is a certain amount of satisfaction and gratification that go with all this. If you want to sustain and hold onto the relationship here are some tips:
• Take a relationship inventory every 4 weeks. This means assess what you have done and where you think it is going. Make a list of all the good and bad things you like so far.
• Imagine for a moment where you would be if you and this partner lasted and would you like that place. Now be honest with yourself here.
• Every 3 weeks take out the time with your partner for a night of communication about each other. Discuss things and find out where each other is.
• Notice any red flags. Even if you don’t want to see them then write them down on a piece of paper and put them in a drawer for later. Just writing them will help your emotions to acknowledge this later.
• Before going in know what it is that you want, and know how much time you have for this investment.
• Take dating steps and structure and strategize every relationship. There are the sex ones, the casual ones and then the ones to bring home to mom. But mostly honor and love each and every one of them for what they bring you today even if it is the booty call. The honoring and respecting everyone will bring you integrity and pureness and true love. Honor your sluts.
• Understand the misleading moments and arguing. Have the confidence to hail the moment.
• Carve out the time to learn your partner. Pick the date nights that are for fun and sex and then pick those other nights that are for learning more about each other’s mind and then when you get home make some written notes about what you learned
• Another cool thing to do is to share a journal together. For example when you go places you each write a page about how the evening went and you close the book and don’t read it until later. One of you will have to take the responsibility of holding and bringing the journal out on the meeting times. This writing together can teach you so much about yourself.
Isn’t that what it’s all about; the learning of the self. So then how could love fail, it could only get better.
Do you feel stuck and in a rut, depressed or anxious or overall sluggish? I practice Reichian, Gestalt, somatic movement, and counseling/bodywork integrative therapies which involves focused breathing to help stimulate the emotions thus re-patterning the nervous system. I help you to focus on the negative voices and thoughts that create the stress and to resolve those unwanted interruptions that get in the way of your life process. Those stiff armored muscles that block sensation and energy flow will eventually soften.
The rage sitting in the muscles will unfold allowing more feelings of pleasure, more creativeness, freeing blocked energies and sexual dysfunction. Modern society has forced the human character to live in unnatural ways holding back basic needs and instincts. This process of breathing deeply sends messages to the brain which is an effective way to release anger, to let go of baggage, and to feel more alive and trusting thus living in a higher self esteem.
Anita De Francesco, M.A.
www.tantrawisdom.com
info@tantrawisdom.com
310-210-1464
Juarez
by Michael Douglas Carlin
Many years back, I met a former Federale who worked for ten years in Mexico.
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He is the only known American ever to have served as a Federale. Over the years, he has told me stories about his time across the border. I have often thought that his story would make a great feature film. Earlier this year, I started calling him for an hour at a time and writing an assemblage of short stories. I also traveled to meet him and video him telling this amazing slice of life history in the trenches in the American/Mexican War on Drugs.
He spent most of his time in Juarez, which is the most dangerous city in the world. Interview footage can be boring, so I thought that I would add production value by shooting some video in the old places that he used to frequent in and around Juarez.
When I told him my plan, he quickly agreed. "You know me, I am down for whatever." Many times during our conversations he told me that he said these words before engaging in a firefight (he was in over twenty-two of them) or apprehending some dangerous suspect. The meaning of those words was lost on me until now.
The specific plan was to enter Juarez on a Sunday morning to capture that footage. Lobo was going to take me on a tour. I intended to document the trip on video. The night before, I received a telephone call that Lobo was in the emergency room and was expected to undergo emergency surgery. I was left with a big decision: cancel or go it alone.
I prepared the camera and loaded four duffle bags of medical supplies to donate to the local clinic as a side trip. I woke up Sunday and decided that I would attempt to make the trip alone. I drove to a parking lot next to the Santa Fe Bridge located at the dead end of Stanton. Years ago, a line of taxicabs would be waiting for me. However, on this particular morning, none were present. I asked the parking lot attendant why there were no cabs, and she told me that there haven’t been any for a while. I asked her how could I find someone to take me to Juarez?
She cautioned me about going. "This isn’t like you might remember it."
When I pressed her, she pointed to a gentleman that might help. As soon as I asked him about getting a cab, he drove off to bring me someone to take me across. He returned with a cabdriver in tow.
I asked the cabdriver to take me over the bridge to Juarez. He told me that he had no intention of getting killed and refused to take me. Hedid offer to find someone who would embark on this adventure. I told him that I had medical relief to take over, and he asked to see it. I opened my car and unzipped one of the duffle bags. He told me that no one would agree to take this relief in. But the conversation changed from that point. He didn’t mind the video camera, but the medical relief was something he couldn’t comprehend. Why would an American bring relief to Juarez?
He didn’t want to be involved in it, but he couldn’t stop attempting to understand it. Clearly, he wasn’t American, and he wasn’t Mexican. I asked him if he was Muslim. He told me that he was from Jordan and that he had strayed from his religion. I asked him if he thought about going back to it. This led to a most interesting conversation. He told me that he had not done anything for humanity recently. After thinking back to his youth and his roots, he decided to take me to Juarez. Then reality set in. He started second guessing himself. I met his doubt with dollars. We agreed on a price, and the adventure was on.
Immediately upon crossing the border, I knew that this was very different from the many times I had been there before. There were barricades and bunkers with machine gun turrets. There were Federal Police, State Police, Municipal Police, and soldiers. The streets that used to be populated with hundreds of thousands of people were virtually empty. Storefronts were boarded up, and "For Rent" signs were everywhere. We drove through the various parts of the city. Everyone looked as I held the video camera—wondering what I was doing there shooting video. We attracted a lot of attention.
When we got out by the airport, we discussed coming back through the heart of the city. They were probably waiting for us. That wasn’t very comforting.
I suggested that we cut through the Barrio to the border highway. He cautioned that this was perhaps the most dangerous Barrio in the world. I agreed, but I said that, for that very reason, nobody would expect us to go through this area. He agreed, and we cut through. I was able to capture tremendous footage overlooking the El Paso side from the Juarez side. We got onto the border highway and, after about five hours in what could have been harm’s way, we made a turn onto the Santa Fe Bridge and back to safety in the United States of America.
The very next day, nineteen people were murdered in Juarez, many of whom were killed in the parking lot of the clinic where we would have delivered our medical relief. I had time to digest the trip and contemplate how this would have happened if I had gone in with Lobo. I called him and discussed it with him.
I said, "You were there for ten years."
He said, "Yeah."
I said, "What are the odds someone would have recognized you if we went to all of the places you used to hang out?"
He replied, "One hundred percent."
I asked, "What would have happened to us if they had recognized you?"
He said, "Oh, we would have been killed." I thought that was a pretty important detail to have had in the planning process. He told me, "Mike, I told you then and I’ll tell you now, I am down for whatever."
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