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Tag Archives: Holly Cave

The Memory Chamber by Holly Cave

the memory chamber

The Memory Chamber is a novel that I first heard about late last year, and is one that I was instantly intrigued by, so I was delighted when my request to review this novel via Netgalley was approved.

True death is a thing of the past.  Now you can spend the rest of eternity re-living your happiest memories: that first kiss, falling in love, the birth of your children, enjoyed on loop for ever and ever.

Isobel is a Heaven Architect, and she helps dying people create afterlives from these memories.  So when she falls for Jarek, one of her terminal – and married – clients, she knows that while she cannot save him, she can create the most beautiful of heavens, just for him.

But when Jarek’s wife is found dead, Isobel uncovers a darker side of the world she works within, and she can trust no one with what she finds…

The Memory Chamber is set in a slightly futuristic world where many technological advancements and scientific breakthroughs have been made.  Many diseases, including malaria, have been eradicated, and everyone has a chip implanted which allows for the payment of goods and services, allows for communication with others etc..  The development of Heaven Architecture is another way in which technology is utilised – the idea being that at the point of death, a small number of cells, which take a little longer to die than the rest of you, are kept alive and “plugged in” to your personally designed heaven, allowing you to live out a selection of handpicked memories forever.  Now, if you’re not hugely into science fiction, don’t let this put you off.  The idea is presented simply, and the how behind all of this is touched upon, but there’s no heavy science to get your head around.

Isobel is the novel’s protagonist, and one the best Heaven Architects that there is.  The novel opens as she first meets her latest client, Jarek, and in this way Cave can deftly explain the concept of the bespoke heavens, explaining to both Jarek and the reader at the same time.  Isobel is an interesting character – slightly neurotic but likeable, and entirely believable.  From their very first meeting, Isobel is attracted to Jarek – a feeling that is clearly mutual.  It’s unusual for Isobel to have a client that is so young – heavens tend to be created when the end is nigh, and Jarek, terminally ill with a brain tumour, is in his prime.  I think that her feelings are enhanced by the sympathy she has for Jarek and his situation:

The unfairness of death is something I’ve thought more about, lately.

Whilst Isobel loves her job, she is aware that the system is flawed, and I enjoyed the moral debate surrounding Heaven Architecture, from the protesters camped outside of the building Isobel works in, to Isobel’s own views on what she does.  Building a heaven for someone isn’t cheap and is therefore exclusively available to those that can afford to pay for the service.  And whilst the use of a person’s memories may seem straightforward, there’s the question of whether other people involved in a memory should have to consent to appear in someone else’s heaven.  The inclusion of the moral dilemma makes this a thought-provoking read, and I think that book groups will get a lot out of The Memory Chamber.

I don’t want to discuss the plot in any detail – I think that the blurb above gives sufficient detail, and to say more would give away too much.  But whilst it’s not a fast-paced novel, I didn’t want to put The Memory Chamber down.  The writing is sumptuous, and if it was more of a slow-burner than some novels, there is an underlying tension from the expectation of something about to happen, and this is a thoroughly compelling read that I’d recommend to those looking for something a little different, as this is utterly unique.

The Memory Chamber will be published on 22 February by Quercus.  Many thanks to the publisher for approving my request to read and review this title via Netgalley.

Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐


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I’ve been doing really well lately with my workouts and diet and I can finally see some results. Although I do have cravings, I am pretty adament not to cave in to them. Have you noticed the only difference between crave and cave is the R. 😉

One thing I have changed in my eating though is the amount of fats I eat. I have upped it almost 100% and I can notice a big difference. Not only in my energy level but also on the way my weight is dropping. I’ve also upped my calories from around 1200 to about 15-1600. Protein level is still high but my carb count (and I eat A LOT of veggies) is around 30-35 gr per day. I train at least once a day and on my rest days (Friday and Sunday) I only take walks with the dog. So far I have dropped 3,3 kg in 2,5 weeks. Granted the first week it was mostly water weight, but damn it feels good anyway. The pounds have snuck their way in there again and I got comfortable with eating a little bit here and a little bit there. Nope. Not anymore! And no, it’s not EASY to get up at 5:15 in the morning to go for a run and then do some strength workouts at home, all before going to work. And no it’s not easy to say NO to those yummy afternoon snacks my colleagues or boss gets for all of us to munch on. And no it’s not easy weighing and calculating EVERYTHING that passes my lips. But yes, I’m loving the reward. And the photo I’ve posted with this blog entry is now attached to my fridge because it keeps me focused. A healthy life is what I want. A fitter body is what i want. Sometimes it’s a challenge, but if it wouldn’t be, then it wouldn’t change me. When you pray for strength, you get tested in order to show you’ve got the strength. Nothing comes for free. You’ve got to work for it. And the reward is so much sweeter in the end!

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Adrienne Cecile Rich

1929 – 2012

by Kathleen Thompson

Adrienne Rich, one of the best American poets of our time, is not someone who would take pride in the description, “not just a woman poet.” She has shown that, far from being a limiting or qualifying word, “woman” can be a badge of honor. It can speak of possibilities too long unexplored and passions once turned away. It can be a declaration of freedom and of power.

Adrienne Rich was born on May 16, 1929, in Baltimore, Maryland. Her mother, Helen Elizabeth Rich, a composer and pianist, taught her at home until the fourth grade. Her father, Arnold Rich, a physician with a great love of books, encouraged Adrienne in her ambitions to be a writer. She attended Radcliffe College, where she graduated cum laude in 1951.

It was also in 1951 that Rich published her first book of poetry, A Change of World, which received immediate acclaim. Indeed, poet W.H. Auden had chosen it to be published in the Yale Series of Younger Poets, a great honor in itself. Two years later, Rich married economist Alfred Haskell Conrad and, within six years, had given birth to three sons. In 1955, her book The Diamond Cutters and Other Poems garnered even more positive critical attention.

Speaking of her early work, critics use such words as “formal,” “elegant,” and “controlled.” She had that combination of consummate skill and great talent—even genius—that compels the predominantly white male literary establishment to make exceptions.

“When the Civil Rights movement came along in the late fifties, early sixties,” Rich said in a 1991 interview, “and I began to hear Black voices describing and analyzing what were the concrete issues for Black people, like segregation, like racism, it came to me as a great relief. It was like finding language for something that I’d needed a language for all along. That was the first place where I heard a language to name oppression. And it was an enormous relief, even as it threw up a lot of questions for me as to where I stood with all this.”

In 1963, Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law: Poems 1954–1962 was published. Speaking in a 1994 interview with Matthew Rothschild, Rich said, “When I was putting together the manuscript of my third book ... which contains what I think of as my first overtly feminist poem, called “Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law,” some friends of mine looked at the manuscript and said, ‘Now don’t give it this title. People will think it’s some sort of female diatribe or complaint.’ I wanted that title and I wanted that poem.” Rich’s friends were right in their predictions. Previously laudatory critics censured the book for being “too personal, too bitter.” But the poet had found an essential part of her voice. She was a not a good girl; she was a dangerous woman.

Dangerous or not, Rich was too fine a poet to be ignored. She continued to be an important figure in American poetry. She also continued to work out the issues of feminism and womanhood in her personal life. In 1966, she separated from her husband of thirteen years. When he committed suicide four years later, she was left with three adolescent boys to rear on her own. She was also deeply involved in the major political struggles of the time—the antiwar movement and the civil rights movement.

The response to Diving into the Wreck: Poems 1971–1972 reflected the tension of Rich’s position as a poet. It was unabashedly, even militantly, feminist—and it won the National Book Award. It was a hard pill for many literary men—and some women—to swallow. One of the best poets of the day was, at one and the same time, one of those loudmouthed “women’s liberationists.” And there was worse to come. Rich declined to accept the National Book Award in her own name, deploring the idea of competition among poets. Instead, she accepted it in the name of all women and donated the money to charity.

She then attacked motherhood. At any rate, she attacked the patriarchal underpinnings of our conception of motherhood. This time her medium was prose, a book entitled Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution.

By this time Rich was as controversial a figure as contemporary literature has produced. Helen Vendler, in Parnassus: Poetry in Review, singled out the poem “Rape” in Diving into the Wreck for particular damnation. “This poem,” she wrote, “like some others [in the book], is a deliberate refusal of the modulations of intelligence in favor of ... propaganda.” Harvard Magazine’s Ruth Whitman, on the other hand, called the title poem of the volume “one of the great poems of our time.”

In the late 1970s, another segment of the “unheard” found representation in Rich’s work as her lesbianism became a more important element in her poetic voice. The Dream of a Common Language: Poems 1974–1977 incorporated an earlier work, Twenty-One Love Poems. This collection was followed by A Wild Patience Has Taken Me This Far: Poems 1978–1981. During the same period, Rich wrote numerous essays, addressing issues in literature and in lesbian-feminist politics. These were collected in Lies, Secrets and Silence: Selected Prose 1966–1978 and Blood, Bread and Poetry: Selected Prose 1979–1986

Rich and poet/novelist Michelle Cliff, who became her life companion, and with whom she lives in Santa Cruz, California, coedited a lesbian-feminist journal entitled Sinister Wisdom from 1980 to 1984. Also in 1980, Rich published Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, another prose work. Beginning in the 1980s, Rich began increasingly to speak of her Jewish heritage, as in Your Native Land, Your Life, published in 1986. In An Atlas of the Difficult World: Poems 1988–1991, she continues this theme as it embraces the necessity of poet and citizen to remain grounded in reality, in the difficulties and struggles of the world. There is no honorable escape into “pure art.”

In 1994, Rich published What Is Found There: Notebooks on Poetry and Politics. The title is from a poem by William Carlos Williams, which states quite clearly a belief the two poets share. “It is difficult / to get the news from poems / yet men die miserably every day for lack / of what is found there.” To Rich, as to Williams, poetry is a necessary thing, a source of essential nourishment and a force for change. In the book, she laments that “poetry is banned in the United States” and “under house arrest.” It has been neutralized by the assumption that it is obscure, effete and written for other poets.

Rich’s poetry is none of those things. It is rich in the beauty of language, but at the same time enormously accessible. It is filled with passion and compassion. And it is always grounded in the realities of life in this time and this country, although its very concreteness helps it to transcend the boundaries of time and place.In What Is Found There, Rich addresses the issue of Jewishness and “whiteness.” Peter Erickson in the Kenyon Review says that Rich “does not find that her Jewishness cancels or mitigates her whiteness but instead explores both as valid aspects of her identity. Although Rich’s Jewish affiliation is strongly in evidence here, she is also eloquent about the effects of her own whiteness.” She acknowledges that being white has sometimes kept her from noticing the diversity around her, or of noticing when it disappeared and the faces around her became uniformly white.

In the volume Dark Fields of the Republic: Poems 1991–1995, Rich affirms the value of the personal, the individual, the intimate. But at the same time, she declares that “the great dark birds of history screamed and plunged / into our personal weather.”

Interspersed among the poems of the school among the ruins (2004), which depict the many and disparate realities of the early years of the twenty-first century, are references to Israel and Jewish terminology. In one poem, Rich “interviews” an Israeli soldier who regrets some of the orders he carried out; in another, she questions what we are carrying with us into the twenty-first century and answers: “Sacks of laundry/of books… Pet iguanas/oxygen tanks/The tablets of Moses.”

Throughout her life, Rich has taught at a number of colleges and universities, beginning as a lecturer at Swarthmore College in 1967 and continuing through the Graduate School of the Arts of Columbia University and on to City College of the City University of New York. In 1972, she left New York to teach at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Among the other institutions where Rich carried on her work as both poet and teachers are Bryn Mawr, Rutgers, Cornell, Scripps, Pacific Oaks, and Stanford. She has also been a member of the advisory board of the Boston Woman’s Fund and New Jewish Agenda. She was elected a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 1999, having received their Tanning Award for Mastery in the Art of Poetry (the Wallace Stevens Award) in 1996.

She has been the recipient of nearly every major literary award, including the first Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize (1986), the Common Wealth Award in Literature (1991), the National Poetry Association Award for Distinguished Service to the Art of Poetry (1989), the Frost Silver Medal for lifetime achievement (1992), a MacArthur Fellowship (1994), the Lannan Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award (1999) and the Bollingen Prize for Poetry (2003).

But in 1997 Rich publicly refused to accept the National Medal of Arts, the United States government’s foremost award in the arts. In a letter published by the New York Times, Rich wrote to Jane Alexander, then-head of the National Endowment for the Arts: “I cannot accept such an award from President Clinton or this White House because the very meaning of art, as I understand it, is incompatible with the cynical politics of this administration.” In a further letter to Alexander, she explained:

Art—in my own case the art of poetry—means nothing if it simply decorates the dinner table of power which holds it hostage. The radical disparities of wealth and power in America are widening at a devastating rate. A President cannot meaningfully honor certain token artists while the people at large are so dishonored… My concern for my country is inextricable from my concerns as an artist. I could not participate in a ritual which would feel so hypocritical to me.

Upon reading Rich’s Midnight Salvage (1999), former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass wrote that what “distinguishes her art is a restless need to confront difficulty, a refusal to be easily appeased.” Rich continues to be unappeased, and she continues to write.

The school among the ruins: Poems 2000–2004 (2004); Editor of Muriel Rukeyser Selected Poems (2004); What is Found There: Notebooks on Poetry and Politics (2003); Arts of the Possible: Essays and Conversations (2001); Fox: Poems 1998-2000 (2001); The Facts of a Doorframe: Poems 1951-2001 (2001); Midnight Salvage: Poems 1995-1998 (1999); A Change of World (1951); A Wild Patience Has Taken Me This Far: Poems 1978–1981 (1981); An Atlas of the Difficult World: Poems 1988–1991 (1991); Blood, Bread and Poetry: Selected Prose 1979–1986 (1986); Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence (1980); Dark Fields of the Republic: Poems 1991–1995 (1995); Diving into the Wreck: Poems 1971–1972 (1973); Lies, Secrets and Silence: Selected Prose 1966–1978 (1979); Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution (1976); Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law: Poems 1954–1962 (1963); The Diamond Cutters and Other Poems (1955); The Dream of a Common Language: Poems 1974–1977 (1978); What Is Found There: Notebooks on Poetry and Politics (1994); Your Native Land, Your Life (1986).

“Adrienne Cecile Rich.” In Her Heritage: A Biographical Encyclopedia of Famous American Women (1994); Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series. Vol. 20; Erickson, Peter. “Singing America: From Walt Whitman to Adrienne Rich.” Kenyon Review (January 1, 1995); Hass, Robert. “Poet’s Choice.” Washington Post Book World, May 16, 1999; Rich, Adrienne. “Why I Refused the National Medal of the Arts.” Los Angeles Times Book Section (August 3, 1997); Rothschild, Matthew. “Adrienne Rich.” Progressive (January 1, 1994).

Adrienne Rich died on March 28, 2012.

Adrienne Rich
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The impact of Adrienne Rich on poetry in America since the second half of the twentieth century has been enormous. Too richly talented to be ignored by the literary establishment, she was at the same time too politically oriented to be comfortably digested.

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How to cite this page

Thompson, Kathleen. "Adrienne Cecile Rich." Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. 20 March 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on February 23, 2018) <>.

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In memory: John Seeger 1914 - 2010

John Seeger was my Geography teacher at Dalton, the Director with his wife Ellie of Camp Killooleet in Hancock, VT, and later was Principal of Fieldston Lower School (not when I was there). On Saturday afternoon at his camp there was a wonderful memorial service attended by many people who were at camp as a camper and/or staff during his long tenure at camp as well as some local people from the community in which he was involved. He was a fantastic teacher and leader and had a tremendous influence on many people.

John and Ellie many years ago; John and Kate (his daughter and current Director) recently

The memorial had lots of singing and a bunch of people got up to talk about John - I was one. Folk music was a big part of this camp; it is where I was inspired to get and learn how to play a banjo (sadly long forgotten); a number of people launched musical careers from their experiences at this camp.

Tony Seeger, Dean Spencer, Pete Seeger, and Kate Seeger singing at the memorial

This is more or less what I said:

My first year as a camper at the end of 4th grade was the last year before the Seegers took over. I remember back in fifth grade hearing that they were taking over and being really excited because I already knew John who among other things was known for telling great stories - Seegie's stories we called them. John was a great Geography teacher. (I still have my Goode's School Atlas from 5th grade). It was from him that I learned about what it meant to do research and how to report on what one had found out in a useful way. He was a great advisor. I remember once when I talked to him about choosing my career (at the time I was a Physics grad student at Columbia and had just had a part-time job teaching 7th and 8th grade science at Dalton but was concluding that neither of these were the correct path. His advice was basically figure out what you like to do and then see how to make a career out of it. (This is what worked for me because the next term I took my first computer programming course, fell in love with it and that is was the basis for my career as a software designer, manager, researcher, and staff consultant.) And what a story teller he was. I remember his telling the story of Jimmy Angel who discovered Angel Falls in Venezuela many times. When I went to the reunion in 2008 while sitting around the campfire he told the story again and it was exactly as I remembered it.

If you made a mistake he had a way of expressing himself that was constructive and not the least bit humiliating; you sometimes had to interpret subtleties in language and tone of voice. He usually choose counselors by their character, not what they knew.

In the spring of 1959 I discovered the camp where I had a counselor job wasn't going to open and I called John. He said of course we want you here (I'd remained in touch with him); we'll figure out what you'll do soon. A couple of weeks later he said OK you'll be the oldest boys counselor and you'll do riflery. When I got to camp there were other riflery people so I worked with another counsellor on the lake for canoeing and boating and then became the principal person for the following two years. Various people told about their interviews where they'd say something like - Archery? - I don't know anything about it and it he'd say don't worry - you'll learn and he'd point you in the right direction and get you help from others when you arrived.

What a great person he was and how much influence he had on thousands of people who were campers or students.

  • 1
Great to have been someone who had a positive effect on so many people.

> John Seeger 1914 - 1910
He lived to the ripe young age of -4 and died 100 years ago?

<Leaves a pebble>.

picky, picky... I fixed it, thanks. This is what comes from posting at 1:40 AM.

Sounds like it was a very nice tribute. Oh, and I don't know why I didn't put two and two together sooner, but *that* Seeger family? Wow.

I didn't know about the connections here -- I know Kate Seeger, as do my parents. I just saw her in May (for the first time in many years). I've sent this along to them and I know they will appreciate it.

A pretty amazing event, I see. I'm glad you were able to go.

I never fail to be amazed at the friends and acquaintances of my friends and acquaintances.

And a lovely tribute by you, to boot.

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After spending the day at CEGSA Masterclass with George Couros and 4 of my colleagues, it’s time to dive into the water and write my first blog post.  You see, the posts below are just practices, little reminders for me of the way you add and change things in the blog.  And now they remind me of my new Breakfast Club 2.0.

The original Breakfast Club movie in 1985 involved locking students in detention on a Saturday so they could understand what teachers want from them.  In my Breakfast Club 2.0, a large group of teachers voluntarily locked themselves in on a Saturday so they could understand what students want from them.  Oh how times have changed!

So today I have subscribed to as many of their blogs as I can and followed them on Twitter.  Connected myself. Put myself out there.  And now I’m doing what George suggested – Publish then Filter.  Don’t get hung up on the content. Just get in the game.

What I want from my Breakfast Club 2.0 is to learn.  To connect with people who really care about what’s happening in our classrooms and schools.  I’ve always thought that I have learnt one new thing from every conference I’ve been to, even if it’s never to go to a conference like that again!  But the beauty of what CEGSA is trying to do is bring 2.0 to a really diverse cross section of teachers.  You don’t need to be a ICT teacher or leader to tap into what they have on offer.  I’m sure that the things I have learnt yesterday will enable me to connect better and wider in my teaching interest areas – psychology, positive education and educational leadership to name a few.

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So I will start with a disclaimer that April, May and November are generally big shopping months for me. Not necessarily due to the number of items purchased but definitely when looking at the overall dollar value spent. This is largely due to the company I keep during these months as I have bi-annual girls shopping holidays which always fall somewhere in these months and these particular girlfriends are the best kind, they are like a shopping cheer squad. As a result big purchases are made and ahhh-mazing items are acquired! I will also mention that usually I would do these as individual months but I was away over the April/May period so I blended them. Ok so with that out of the way, I guess I should just jump straight in…

Item 1: Gucci Soho Disco Bag in Black – $1365.00 from the Gucci store in Perth.

This was a fun one actually because as silly as this sounds it was a group purchase, i.e. all four of us got one and wore them together to Disneyland in Hong Kong. I have worn this a lot since getting it and would 100% recommend this bag.

May Shop Gucci

Item 2: Celine Mini Belt Bag in Tawny – SGD $3900.00 from the Celine boutique in Singapore.

I wasn’t sure about this one at first. I had been needing a tan bag for the longest of times – this is the first everyday sized bag in tan I have ever owned, so believe me when I tell you, this was a need! This is a very warm tan color pushing the boundary toward an orange tan but as soon as I touched it and tried it on and played with it it was LOVE. I did not really want to put it down, reluctantly I did, but when we went back to the boutique I saw it again and simply couldn’t let it go.

Item 3: Celine Shadow Sunglasses in Black/Tortoiseshell – $420.00 from Marais Melbourne boutique.

I  had been looking at these for a while now but hadn’t tried them on and then I saw them in Singapore and umm’d and ahh’d 1 day too long and they sold out, so when I got back home I searched for them and I found them on the internet at varying prices anywhere from $440 – $685 which I thought was a bit cheeky. I rang the Marais boutique as they are easy enough for me to get to, and not only did they have them, they had them for $20 less than every where else I had seen – SOLD! I bought them that weekend and have worn them  almost every day since I got them, yes it is Winter and not sunny but I love them.

May Shop Celine

Item 4: Dolce & Gabbana Daisy Embellished Sandal – SGD $2850.00 from Dolce & Gabbana boutique in Singapore.

These are everything and they are tied for favourite purchase this month. One of the shopping missions of our Singapore trip is to find our outfits for Melbourne Cup, I had already found my dress it is a beautiful Victoria, Victoria Beckham number (I have not included an image of it this month because I don’t want to give away my whole outfit this early – Sorry). We went into Dolce to grab a dress for one of the other girls when my beautiful friend Claire, who is a very skilled shopper found and showed me these, it was instant LOVE! They are the perfect bit of bling for my race day outfit and I am so excited as we will all be wearing a little bit of Dolce in our outfits this year. If you are looking for these, I know they can be found cheaper on Polyvore so do check there first.

May Shop DG

Item 5: Givenchy Antigona, Medium Goatskin in Burgundy – SGD $3550.00 from the Givenchy boutique in Singapore

Tied for favourite purchase this month, this was a surprise find. I had actually tried to get it in Jan this year but it sold out online everywhere and then I could only find black ones in the shiny leather, which I didn’t want as they looked and felt a lot boxier. So when I saw this one just casually sitting on display in a Givenchy boutique in Singapore I knew it was fate, and it was better in real life. I have barely stopped using it since I came home. It is so sturdy yet still comfortable to wear and such a great color. I wear a lot of black in Winter and this was the exact pop of color I was needing for my Winter wardrobe. I am in Love with this bag and while it is by no means a new style, it is new for my wardrobe and now I am wondering why I waited so long!

May Shop Givenchy

Item 6: Saint Laurent YSL Tribute 105 in Black Lizard Embossed Leather – $1155.00 from David Jones. This was a discounted price because I have the DJs Amex so there was 20% off.

These are my go to staple shoes and I already owned them in nude patent and in a champagne metallic leather, they are so comfy and very chic so obviously when I decided that there was a bit of a gap in my black shoe collection these were a no-brainer however I  didn’t want to pay full retail for them nor did I want to get stung for import tax if I bought them online. So I waited and waited and then I found them while wandering through DJ’s one day and when the girl told me they were 20% off and I was like ok, sold. Well sort of, I layby-ed them and picked them up right before I went away, they are very useful, these combined with the Gucci Soho make for terrific travel companions!

Item 7: Francoise Montague Vintage Gripoix Necklace – SGD $909.00 from Pois Boutique, Singapore.

I spotted this necklace within seconds of entering the Pois boutique (a beacon of luxury designer clothing and costume jewels, they are in the ION building on Orchard Road. Sorry guys they have no website but I promise you, if you are visiting Singapore they are worth a visit). It was on a mannequin on a black dress and I knew I needed it in my world, it is so chic, it reminded me of Rachel Zoe when I saw it and really can you get more chic than RZ? Anyway It was a little pricier than I had anticipated so I did sleep on this one for a night but I dreamt about the occasions at which I would wear it so I decided I needed it. Ive worn it 3 times already and Ive decided its part of this years birthday outfit so on a cost per wear I think it will earn its keep in no time.

May Shop YSL + Pois

Item 8: Zara Trafaluc Rachael Jeans – SGD $69.90 purchased from Zara in Singapore

Over the moon with these, my girlfriend Claire and I both fell in love and bought these, they are so cute. High waisted with the rose embroidery detail on the bum and at the bottom of the ankles it says Love and Always they are so sweet I couldn’t not buy them, these will definitely get a lot of wear this Spring.

May Shop Zara Jeans

Item 9: Zimmermann Crepe Lace Culotte in Black – $248.00 from David Jones. This was a discounted price because I have the DJs Amex so there was 20% off.

I bought these for work as I needed something chic that was comfortable to move about in as I am always on the go at work. I love these, they sit right on the waist and are very flattering, and they have pockets – I am such a sucker for anything with pockets! They have been a godsend and I am very much thinking I may want to buy a second pair, I just noticed they have brought out a pair without the lace so they would be a nice simple sister option to these. Thinking about June purchases already eek.

May Shop Zimmermann

Item 10: Camilla Snow Whispers One Piece Swimsuit – $329.00 from Camilla

I had been wanting a Camilla one-piece for about a year now but hadn’t found the right print in the right cut until like literally 4 days before I left for my holiday this came out and I knew it was the one for me. The soft white snow leopard colors with the gorgeous Swarovski embellishments was exactly the strikingly chic combination I had been looking for. The Angels at Camilla in Chadstone went above and beyond to get this to me in time for my holiday, actually hand delivering it to me at my workplace the day before I left because I couldn’t get there! Those girls are amazing with customer service. It was perfect, I wore it like 4 times on my 2 week trip and I felt like a poolside princess every time I put it on.

Item 11: Camilla Snow Whispers Silk Scarf – $249.00 from Camilla

This was a cheeky impulse purchase – well done Camilla angels. But Im so glad I got it, it was perfect for the pool, I used it as a headscarf and then another day as a sarong, and then another day I tied it up and wore it as a cape (not like a superman cape, more like an oversized silk cardigan – Super versatile, very happy with this purchase.

May Shop Camilla Swim

Item 12: Zara Denim T-shirt Dress – SGD $69.90 purchased from Zara in Singapore.

I found this denim dress during our quick  Zara shopping stop in Singapore. I wasn’t sure about it at first as it is quite boxy, but I was lured by its pockets (am a complete sucker for pockets!) and the mullet hem, being tall-ish and curvy I like things to be a little longer at the back and I thought for $69 it was worth a gamble. I am so glad I bought this dress it has very quickly become a favorite in my wardrobe and I’m very much looking forward to the sun coming back to Melbourne so I can get it back out.

I hope you all enjoyed my April May finds. I look forward to sharing them with you each month. Feel free to ask any questions or leave feedback in the comments section below.

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Out with the old and in with the new. Marine officials have ditched the .45-caliber Colt 1911. They are choosing to use a 9mm Glock, and here’s why:

“We put our money behind the 9mm round fired by an extremely well-trained marksman carrying a Glock 19,” said Maj. Nick Mannweiler, a spokesman for Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. He added the 9mm Glock is the only pistol Marine special operators are allowed to take into battle.

Just since last year, the MARSOC purchased a whopping 1,654 Glock 19s. This was due to the rise in Raiders need for a second weapon. One that “could be used for both a concealed carry profile and a low visibility profile.”

“Based on lessons learned in our operations, we also took into consideration how well a round could penetrate objects of varying densities and in different environmental conditions,” Mannweiler said. “We concluded that a 9mm round suited our needs.”

The FBI has also begun the transformation from the .45 to the 9mm, which started in June. The FBI actually awarded an $85 million contract to Glock, which will “outfit other law enforcement agencies under the Justice Department and all Offices of Inspector General.

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What’s Tony Blair up to these days anyway?

  • Original Home Page
  • All Contents of Site – Index
  • All Links to ‘The Trial of Tony Blair’ posts
  • Sign the Ban Blair-baiting petition here. Most recent sig comment: “The Best PM this Country had. Shame on the media.”
  • Comment at end

    14th January, 2010

    UPDATE: 13th Feb:  A month on our press have noticed. Hat tip to John Rentoul for the Lovely “Oh look, a fact on the ground” Apart from Rentoul … s-l-o-w, aren’t they?

    Tony Blair?

    Still there.

    Mr Blair has been a busy boy recently. Not that you’d know it if you only read the British press. Their Blair airbrushing artistry is only equalled by their Blair traducement talents.

    Tony Blair, the Quartet's special envoy, in Jenin, West Bank, November 2009

    [Picture above from New York Times article]

    In the aid of balance I thought I’d fill in a few of the blanks.

    Much of Mr Blair’s time recently has been taken up with his Quartet envoy duties.  The hands-on man still seems to draw in the crowds, even – perhaps especially – in the Middle East. Odd, for such a destructive character, don’t you think? I wonder what they see that our press don’t?

    Tony Blair on a visit to Israel's wall in Qalqiliya, West Bank, August 2009. (Khaleel Reash/MaanImages)

    Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair (2nd L), Israeli Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Cooperation Silvan Shalom (C) and Palestinian Governor of the city of Jenin Qadura Mussa (2nd R) cut the ribbon during the opening ceremony of the Jalama vehicle crossing, between the northern West Bank and Israel on November 10, 2009. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas could resign, leading to a potential collapse of the Palestinian Authority, if US efforts to relaunch Middle East peace talks stay deadlocked, aides warn. (Photo: JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

    And this week, with the ongoing Iraq Inquiry and the British press working up a head of steam ready to blow on his appearance in a couple of weeks’ time, his mind and hands have been on far more pressing matters.

    U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell (L), Norway's Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store (C) and British Middle East envoy Tony Blair (R) attend an informal meeting regarding the co-ordination of donor assistance to Palestinian Authority, in Brussels January 12, 2010.

    French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, British Middle East envoy Tony Blair and U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell (L-R) address a joint news conference at the end of an informal meeting regarding co-ordination of donor istance to the Palestinian Authorities, in Brussels January 12, 2010. REUTERS/Thierry Roge (BELGIUM - Tags: POLITICS)

    U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell (L), Norway's Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store (C) and British Middle East envoy Tony Blair (R) attend an informal meeting regarding the co-ordination of donor assistance to Palestinian Authority, in Brussels January 12, 2010. REUTERS/Thierry Roge (BELGIUM - Tags: SOCIETY POLITICS BUSINESS)

    But it is not just the field of peace-making and peace-keeping that interests Mr Blair. The latest article at his website tells of partnering with GEMS Education in Dubai, through the FACE to FAITH element of his Faith Foundation.

    See more  for  links (below article) on his interest and involvement on climate issues, Africa governance and development, sport, religion, politics in the Middle East and more.

    Tony Blair meets GEMS Education chairman Sunny and students

    Tony Blair partners with global education providers to break down barriers between religions

    Tony Blair today met with Sunny Varkey, Founder and Chairman of GEMS Education to discuss the role that the global education leaders can play in promoting respect and understanding of the world’s major religions.

    In 2008, Mr Blair founded the Tony Blair Faith Foundation to promote respect, friendship and understanding between the major religious faiths; and to make the case for faith itself as a relevant force for good in the world. Last year, the Foundation launched the Face to Faith Schools programme, which engages secondary school students of different faiths across the world in learning directly with, from and about each other.

    Sunny Varkey welcomed Tony Blair to the GEMS Winchester School and World Academy in Dubai, saying:

    “We are delighted to welcome Mr Blair to GEMS and to Dubai. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation schools programme, ‘Face to Faith’, is a wonderful educational initiative which Mr. Blair founded in order to help the world be a better place. As globalisation brings us all closer together we need to educate the children of the world about the importance of religious tolerance.

    “We look forward to working with the Foundation to see how we can incorporate the ‘Face to Faith’ programme in our schools because we see it as an extension of the core values we instil in all our pupils. I sincerely hope that Mr Blair’s visit will mark the start of a long-term relationship between the Faith Foundation and GEMS Education globally. With 100,000 students across 125 nationalities in GEMS schools, many of them in the Middle East, we believe we can play a significant role in promoting the importance of understanding and respect of different faiths”.

    During his visit to the Winchester School in Dubai, Tony Blair spoke with students from an Islamic education class, who were keen to get his perspective on inter-faith understanding and the place of religious values in modern society. He said:

    “In today’s world, religious tolerance amongst diverse faith and cultural groups is essential. Young people will be proud of their national identities whilst becoming global citizens. They need to learn skills that help them to learn how to respectfully discuss differences. This is why I established my Foundation, and specifically established the Face to Faith project where children of different faiths, cultures and geographies link up in open discussion with each other.

    “Today, I have seen children from 87 nationalities in one GEMS school, learning about the world alongside each other. Good learning creates understanding, overcomes prejudice and opens dialogue. I am very pleased to be talking to GEMS about how we extend this.”

    Wednesday 06 January 2010 Link to this article

    Tony Blair Office Archives follow:

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    3 Responses to “What’s Tony Blair up to these days anyway?”

    1. margaret walters Says:

      good and interesting article. the antis complain all he does is get rich these days which this article shows isn’t the case.

    2. White House Press Briefing on Blair & his new Middle East position « Tony Blair Says:

      […] that have been seen in the Israel/Palestinian region in recent years have been made at the instigation and through the efforts of Tony Blair. The rest is […]

    3. Middle East Quartet’s March 19 statement in Moscow « Tony Blair Says:

      […] 14th January, 2010 – What’s Tony Blair up to these days anyway? 14th Jan 2010 […]

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Archive for July, 2010

noize mc… ooh mercy!

July 26, 2010

my friends,

have you seen this? it’s pretty wild.

and now read this.

russian is def next on my list of languages to learn… right have arabic!

ciao for now,

something borrowed, something blue

July 22, 2010

Thinking Person’s Theatre presents

(as part of the 4th annual undergroundzero festival)

Blue Dress Reduction
Bridesmaids. Sleazy groomsmen. A chronicle into adulthood.

Blue Dress Reduction, a workshop performance, follows a wedding weekend full of foibles, folly, and faux pas—ultimately exploring the nature of modern-day friendship and what it means to say goodbye. Three childhood friends, (Bent, Hoo and Stevenson; directed by Meghan Finn) reunite to tell their story as bridesmaids at an English countryside affair. As the trio navigates the tensions between the bride’s ashram-going Jewish family and the groom’s upper crust Brit clan, they must tag along on a quest for “wedding weed,” endure “luxury loos,” and encounter a parade of wedding party characters including great dames and sleazy groomsmen. Can childhood bonds survive the tests of travel—and weddings—on foreign soil? Why do people have to grow up and change? Social calamities, travel mishaps, (dis)invitations, and misunderstood emails are exposed through storytelling, video, song, and dance. Though a satiric romp in tone, at the heart of Blue Dress Reduction is an exploration of the growing pains into adulthood.

All performances are at PS 122
150 1st Ave (b/w 9th and 10th streets)
downstairs theatre

Tuesday July 20 at 7.30pm
Wednesday July 21 at 7.30pm
Thursday July 22 at 9.30pm
Friday July 23 at 7.30pm
Saturday July 24 at 7.30pm

Tickets online at www.ps122.org or by phone TheaterMania 212.352.3101

kippy notes: such glitterati as jeff jones have already attended. tonight fashion news director from ELLE magazine anne slowey is purported to show and helen shaw from Time Out New York has claimed “I can be sure I won’t be missing Blue Dress Reduction“.

buy your tix in advance kids!

good thoughts

July 9, 2010

dear everyone,

please send good thoughts to a lovely lady today.

i cannot reveal her identity but i will say that she bears a strange resemblance to this lady:

only she is Much prettier. and even won the miss hampton beach beauty contest of 19##. i dont think miss camilla ever won such an award.

also…. getting psyched to see gormanzee tomorrow! looks to be hyster and very interesting. i LOVED the promo video i saw. and love that song

also on deck? father of lies at the ugz festival. the director is a fave of mine and he directed the all-time, all-star she of the voice last summer.

toodles for now and keep those good thoughts pumping for you-know-who!


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2018 Kawasaki Mule PRO-FXT RANCH EDITION

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Price, if shown, is Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) and does not include government fees, taxes, dealer vehicle freight/preparation, dealer document preparation charges or any finance charges (if applicable). MSRP and/or final actual sales price will vary depending on options or accessories selected.

Honda Products
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Recipes tagged with "crème fraiche".

Tarragon chicken

This is a slightly healthier-than-usual recipe for tarragon chicken with new potatoes as it uses cornflour instead of flour to thicken the sauce, and créme fraîche instead of double cream to provide the body.

Chicken sauce

A creamy chicken sauce that's a tasty accompaniment to dishes with chicken or green vegetables.

Luxury fish pie

Fish pie is a traditional British dish, and what it lacks in glamour, it more than makes up in simplicity, taste, and comfort.


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Recipes tagged with "mozzarella".

Fried mozzarella sandwich

Fried mozzarella sandwiches are a simple, Italian comfort food, they can be used to feed four as a starter, or two as a main meal.

Stuffed chicken breast with parma ham

This is a very easy to prepare meal, great for a sunny day and it involves the use of a meat mallet which is always fun!

Provencal tartlets

This recipe for provencal tartlets combines the strong, classic Mediterranean flavours, and make for an interesting, yet inexpensive starter.


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Honey 1 Update

M – Well its been very stressful but yet the bees remained calm ! G – Yes it was stressful indeed, but we removed the remaining bits of New Zealand Christmas tree from the hive and added some new frames. M got a sting on the hand, so we have decided to buy a full[…]Read More

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Diagnostic Services

Discover the source of your pain with X-rays, Musculoskeletal Ultrasounds, and MRI's from Klasinski Clinic.
Request An Appointment
Treat your pain and find out more about the sources of your discomfort with Diagnostic Services from Klasinski Clinic. Using X-rays, Musculoskeletal Ultrasounds, and MRI’s, the professionals at Klasinski Clinic will give you clarity on any lingering issues and offer treatment to get you back into your regular routine.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The use of an MRI can assist your provider in locating the source of your pain.
Request An Appointment

The Klasinski Clinic is proud to offer Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) that is certified by both The Joint Commission (TJC) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) three days per week: Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Because MRI produces images from any angle with great clarity, it provides a wealth of diagnostic information.

What is an MRI?

The use of an MRI can assist your provider in locating the source of your pain.  The MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to take images of structures and organs inside your body.  During an MRI test, the area being studied is placed inside the MRI machine which holds a strong magnet.  Radio waves are sent through your body causing the atoms in your body to send out their own signal.  The signal is picked up by the scanner and a computer turns this signal into images on a computer. The images from the MRI machine are digital, so they can be viewed and stored on a computer.  The images can also be viewed remotely, such as in the operating room or in an office exam room.

Why is it done?

Your provider may want to do an MRI for many reasons.  MRI scans are useful to orthopaedic providers but can be performed virtually on any body part to determine different pathologies.  The most common reason for performing an MRI in an orthopaedic clinic help further examine musculoskeletal issues.  An MRI may be completed for determining and diagnosing the following:

  • Rotator cuff injuries in the shoulder
  • Knee pain caused by a torn meniscus, ACL, PCL or other soft tissue pathology
  • Bone tumors/cancers
  • Causes of sports injuries
  • Infections

Can anyone have an MRI?

Due to the strong magnet that makes up an MRI scanner, people with implanted devices or metal in their body cannot have an MRI.  Prior to your MRI, a medical staff member will go over a safety questionnaire with you to assure you meet the standards of having an MRI performed.  Anyone who has the following will not be able to have an MRI:

  • Heart pacemaker
  • Cochlear implant (an internal hearing aid)
  • Metal hearing implants
  • Metal surgical implants (metal rods, clips, plates, or pins)
  • Surgical implants to stop bleeding in the brain
  • Metal shrapnel
  • Any metal that is susceptible to the MRI’s magnetic field
  • Women in their first 12 weeks of pregnancy

What to expect during your MRI

A technologist will position you on the scanning table.  Depending on the body part being scanned, you may be placed either head-first or feet-first into the scanner.  This is determined by whichever position allows the body part of interest to be centered in the magnet.  You will also be given earplugs to help muffle the knocking sound caused by the electricity being passed through the magnetic coil.  You will need to lie as still as possible, to prevent the images from becoming blurred. The technologist will be monitoring you from an adjoining room where they can view the images.  Occasionally, patients may be given an injection to enhance the clarity of some images.  On average, the exam will last about 30 minutes.  The time may vary depending on the body part being scanned.  After your scan, your study will be read by a radiologist and a follow-up exam with your provider will be scheduled to review the results.

How to prepare for an MRI

No special preparations are needed for MRI scans.  All metallic objects are removed from the body prior to the MRI scan such as glasses, earrings, belts, change, etc.  You should wear comfortable clothing that does not have any zippers or snaps.  You may continue taking any prescribed medications.  On some occasions, patients are given a mild sedative to lessen any claustrophobic-related anxiety.

Our Experts Are Ready To Help.

X-rays are waves of electromagnetic radiation which take internal pictures of your body.
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Here at Klasinski Clinic, we use digital radiography for our patients’ x-rays.  This decreases the patients’ time in the x-ray room and produces high-quality x-rays in an instant.  No more waiting around for conventional radiographs which include chemicals and long wait times to produce images or even the slightly slower computed radiography which uses a machine to read the images off of special imaging plates.  Within seconds of taking an x-ray, the signal is transmitted to a computer where the image appears.  This allows the technologist to see the images immediately and decreases the patients’ radiology exam.

What is Radiography?

X-rays were first discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Roentgen and have since become a crucial tool for physicians to diagnose and treat a vast number of medical conditions.  X-ray machines are not new but the technology that produces the resulting images has evolved immensely.  Conventional radiography involves using chemicals and film in a dark room in order to produce a viewable image.  Computed radiography (CR) eliminates the use of harsh chemicals and working in the dark.  Computed radiography uses special x-ray cassettes that hold an imaging plate (IP) which get inserted into an image reader (IR). The image reader then reads a barcode on the imaging plate and a laser light is used to pull the image off of the plate.  The result is an image that is viewable on a computer.  This technology was a huge leap in radiography.

When we did not think anything more convenient or efficient could be invented in terms of radiography, digital radiography was introduced.  Digital radiography (DR) is similar to computed radiography in that the resulting images are viewed on a computer but without having to insert imaging plates into an image reader and wait for the images to appear.  Digital radiography sends a signal from the imaging detector directly to the computer, eliminating the time it takes to scan the imaging plate and wait for the image processor to create an image.

What are x-rays?

X-rays are waves of electromagnetic radiation which are similar to visible light.  A machine produces the x-rays, emits them out of the machine and they penetrate the body. The remaining energy is transferred to either a traditional photo film or to a digital imaging detector.  As the electromagnetic waves hit the body, they penetrate the structures at different rates. For example, x-rays have a harder time completely penetrating through bone causing bones to show up white on an image, while soft tissues show up gray on an image because it penetrates more easily.  In simple terms, radiography is essentially using a special camera to take internal pictures of the body.

Our Experts Are Ready To Help.

Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

Using sound waves that travel through your body to create a digital picture in real-time.
Request An Appointment

Musculoskeletal pain affects millions of people throughout the world. Conditions of the musculoskeletal structures can cause more than just pain. Often, patients will experience a decrease in quality of life because the pain limits their everyday activities. The use of musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSK) gives providers a powerful tool to help determine the real issues and develop treatment plans that bring success. Klasinski Clinic is pleased to provide our patients with MSK ultrasounds, giving us the opportunity to better serve you.

What is a Musculoskeletal Ultrasound?

An ultrasound is a procedure in which highly specialized electronics use sound waves to create images of different structures within the body. A small handheld device is used with a gel and placed directly on the skin. The sound waves travel from the device to the internal structures and back to the machine. The machine measures the sound waves and creates a digital picture that shows a real-time view of the body. Other imaging techniques (like an MRI) are not in real-time and are only able to evaluate the body at rest. An ultrasound can also capture movement and even see the blood flow through the blood vessels. This technology can be extremely useful to diagnose and then treat many issues of the musculoskeletal system. This ability to capture the movement of musculoskeletal components differentiates it from other imaging modalities and can permit more accurate diagnoses.

There are a few limitations to ultrasounds. The sound waves from an ultrasound can only go so deep into the body. Bone does not reflect sound waves, so an ultrasound is only helpful for more superficial structures in the body. It is not particularly useful for evaluating the inside of the knee like the meniscus or the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).  It is, however, very useful for tendons of the wrist or elbow. It is also easily portable, which allows for point-of-care application and interpretation.

What Is It Used For?

An MSK ultrasound is a safe and effective method of evaluating a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions. It uses no radiation and requires no special preparation. The test is typically completed in about 20 minutes. Common conditions that are diagnosed through the use of an MSK ultrasound include:

  • Tendinitis and tendon tears
  • Muscle tears
  • Ligament tears
  • Inflammation or fluid within the bursae and joints
  • Carpal Tunnel
  • Benign and malignant soft tissue tumors
  • Ganglion cysts
  • Hernias
  • Many other conditions

MSK ultrasounds are also very useful when providing injections in the course of a treatment plan. An Ultrasound Guided Injection (UGI) is a procedure that allows image-guided needle localization to an exact tissue or structure. This improves the accuracy of treatment by using the real-time images. Continuous monitoring of the needle position is possible, which makes for more precise injections.

Our Experts Are Ready To Help.


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Allah’s Name — Ar-Rabb —

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Linguistic meaning:

The word “Rabb” in Arabic has numerous linguistic meanings.

Az-Zajjaj said:
📍 “Ar-Rabb is the Reformer. The infinitive form is Roboobiyyah.

📍 Whoever owns a thing, then he is its rabb. It is said: ‘Rabbud-Dar (i.e. the Rabb of the house, i.e. the owner of the house) and rabbuddai’ah (i.e. the landlord).’

📍 It is NOT PERMISSIBLE to say “ar-Rabb” with ‘alif’ and ‘laam’ as definitive noun EXCEPT for Allaah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala) because He is the Owner of everything.” [Ishtiqaq Asma’ Allah]

Al-Anbari said: “Ar-Rabb can be divided into three:

1. Ar-Rabb means the Owner.

2. Ar-Rabb can be the Obeyed Master, as Allaah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala) said in Surat Yusuf (12:41):

يَا صَاحِبَيِ السِّجْنِ أَمَّا أَحَدُكُمَا فَيَسْقِي رَبَّهُ خَمْراً وَأَمَّا الآخَرُ فَيُصْلَبُ فَتَأْكُلُ الطَّيْرُ مِن رَّأْسِهِ قُضِيَ الأَمْرُ الَّذِي فِيهِ تَسْتَفْتِيَانِ
“He will pour out wine for his rabb (i.e. the king or master) to drink.”

3. The third meaning is the Reformer. The lord of a thing means He reforms it.”

📚 [Al-Lisan and at-Tabari mentioned these three meanings in his tafseer and al-Qurtubi in al-Asna]

🔎 Ar-Raghib said: “Ar-Rabb basically is derived from Tarbiyah (i.e. nurturing) which implies bringing up a thing from one state to another until it reaches perfection.”
📚 [Al-mufradat]

📖 This Name has been repeatedly mentioned in the Qur’an in many verses. It is mentioned 151 times in singular forms, such as:

– Allaah’s statement in Surat al-Fatihah (1:2):
الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
“All the praise and thanks be to Allaah, the Lord of Mankind, Jinns and all that exists.

– Allaah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala) also said in Surat al-An’am (6:162):
قُلْ إِنَّ صَلاَتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
“Say (O Muhammad Salla-Allaahu alaihi Wa sallam ): “Verily, my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allaah, the Lord of Mankind, Jinns and all that exists.”

The meaning of the Name (Ar-Rabb) with regards to Allaah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala):

1) At-Tabari said:

🎀 “Our Rabb (Lord), Glorified be His Praise, is the Master Who there is none like unto Him nor equal to Him (or comparable to Him) in His Sovereignty and Dominion. He is the REFORMER Who reforms the affairs of His creation by bestowing upon them His blessings. He is the MASTER to Whom belongs the creation and commandment.”  [Jami’ul-Bayan]

The meaning of the Name (Ar-Rabb) with regards to Allaah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala):

2) Ibn al-Katheer said:

 “Linguistically, ‘ar-Rabb’ refers to the owner, the master, the disposer of affairs, the nurturer, the one who is standing in guard-ship, the bestower. No one can be called ar-Rabb except Allaah and if someone is called “rabb” then it should be added to that matter or thing such as to say the rabb of such-and-such thing (for example, the lord of the house).”

The meaning of the Name (Ar-Rabb) with regards to Allaah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala):

3) Ibn Kathir (Rahimahullaah) said:

🎀 “Ar-Rabb is the Owner Who has full authority over His dominion. Ar- Rabb, linguistically, means, the master or the one who has the authority to dispose (the affairs) for the sake of reformation. All of these meanings are correct for Allaah. When it is alone, the word Rabb is used only for Allaah. As for other than Allaah, it can be used to say for example rabb ad-dar, the master or owner of such-and-such object. Further, it was reported that ar-Rabb is Allaah’s Greatest Name.”  [Tafsir Ibn Kathir]

The Impact of belief in this Noble Name:

I-A) ✒ Indeed, Allaah is the real Lord. There is no Lord in reality except Him. He is the Lord of all lords and the Possessor of the kingdom and the King of the kings. ✒

Al-Qurtubi said: “Allaah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala) is the Lord of the lords, Whom all the worshipers worship. He (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala) owns the kingdom, the kings, and all the slaves. He created them and sustains them; every Lord other than Him is neither a creator nor a sustainer.

Every creation owns and possesses after not owning anything and that thing which he possesses will be taken away from him (one day). Therefore, he owns something and does not own other things.

 This is the difference between the Attributes of the Creator and attributes of the creation.

I-B) As for the statement of Pharoah – may Allaah’s curse be upon him – as mentioned in Surat an-Nazi’at (79:24):

فَقَالَ أَنَا رَبُّكُمُ الْأَعْلَى
Saying: “I am your lord, most high.”

He (Pharaoh) willed to assume the high Ruboobiyah (Lordship) over his people and to be the Lord of the lords and to compete with Allaah in His Lordship and high dominion.

فَأَخَذَهُ اللَّهُ نَكَالَ الْآخِرَةِ وَالْأُولَى
“So Allah seized him with punishment for his last (i.e. his saying: ‘I am your Lord, most high’) and first (i.e. saying ‘chiefs! I know not that you have a god other than I’).”
[An-Nazi’at 79:25]

It is said that ar-Rabb is derived from tarbiyah (nurturing). Allaah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala) is the Disposer of affairs of His creation, He is their Nurturer, Reformer, He mends them (their deficiencies) and discharges their affairs.

I-C) He is Al-Qayyum of this life and the Hereafter (i.e. the One Who sustains and protects all that exists).

📍Everyone other than Him is His slave and He is his Lord; he will not be reformed except with His (Allaah’s) disposal, he will not stand except with His Command, and no one nurtures him except Allaah.

📍Allah, ar-Rabb, is the One Who disposes the affairs of His creation, He is their Nurturer, Reformer and He mends them. Accordingly, this Noble Name implies a practical Attribute. The other meaning of Ar-Rabb is the Owner and the Master; accordingly, the Name implies an intrinsic Attribute.” [Al-Kitab al-Asna]

I-D)  Al-Haleemi explained that Allaah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala) is He everything He created to reach the state of perfection which He has decreed for him or for it:-
📍He has drawn out gently the sperm from the backbone and makes it a clot and changes the clot into a lump of flesh, then it becomes bones, then covers the bones with flesh, then He (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala) creates the soul in the body and brings it forth as another creation weak and small.
📍He (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala) will continue bringing him up and making him grow till he becomes a man.
📍He (the human) starts as a young person, then He (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala) will make him old; likewise everything Allaah has created, He is the One Who discharges its affairs and He is the One Who makes it reach the limit which He has described for it and decreed for him to be as his end.

[Al-Minhaj Fii Shu’ab al-Iman]

II-A) Whoever knows that Allaah is the One Who nurtures His creation by His blessings and by disposing all their affairs and Who brings them up in all their different state of development, then he will not seek a lord and a deity other than Allaah and he will be pleased with Him as his Lord.

💐 Whoever is described with this is the one who tastes the sweetness of faith, as the Messenger of Allaah (Salla-Allaahu alaihi wa sallam) said:

“Whoever accepted Allaah as his Lord, Islam as his religion and Muhammad as his Messenger, has tasted the faith.” 💐
[Ahmed, Muslim, and at-Tirmidhi]

 Al-Qadi ‘Eyad (Rahimahullaah) said: “The meaning of the Hadith (mentioned in the last post) is that the faith of the person will be correct and his soul will be at rest because his acceptance with the aforementioned indicates the affirmation of his knowledge and of his insight. And whoever accepts something and is pleased with it, it will be made easy for him. Like the believer, when the faith enters his heart – the performance of acts of obedience and rejoicing with them will be made easy for him, and Allaah knows best.”

📚 [Explanation of Imam Nawawi for Sahih Muslim]

III-A) Ibn al-Qayyim (Rahimahullaah) mentioned in his book “Madarij as-Salikeen” about the relation between the Name “ar-Rabb” with “Allah” and “ar-Rahman”, and he said: “Contemplate the relation between the creation (the humans, the jinn etc.) and the command with these three Names (Allah, ar-Rabb, and ar-Rahman); how do the creation, the Command, the reward and the punishment evolve from them?

📍 The Name Ar-Rabb is comprehensive; it joins all the creation (i.e. all creation enjoying His Ruboobiyah).
He is the Lord of everything and is its Creator, Who has power over it, and nothing escapes from His Lordship. Everyone in the heavens and the earth is a slave subdued to Him, he is in His Grasp, and under His subdual. (To be continued..)

III-B)  So all the creation joined together through the Attribute of Ruboobiyah (Lordship), but they differed according to the Attribute of Ilahiyyah (Worship). It is only the blessed ones who worshipped Him, submitted themselves willingly to Him and confessed that He is Allaah Who is La ilaha illa-Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped except Him), and that no one deserves to be relied on, feared, hoped in, loved, returned to in repentance, or submitted to with humility, except He Alone. In this matter, mankind differed and was distinguished into two groups: the group of polytheists and they are in the blazing Hell-fire and the group of believers, the monotheists whose abode is Jannah (Paradise).

🕯 Accordingly, Ilahiyyah (worship) separated them and Ruboobiyah (Lordship) joined them.

III-C) 📍The religion, the law, the commands and prohibitions evolved from the Attribute of Ilahiyah, whereas for the creation, the management of affairs and Actions are from the Attribute of Ruboobiyah.

📍The recompense of reward or punishment with Jannah (Paradise) and Hell is from the Attribute of the King, Who is the only Owner and the only Ruling Judge on the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection).

📍He ordered and commanded them with His Ilahiyyah (to worship Him Alone and no one else), and helped and guided and (deservedly) misguided them according to His Ruboobiyah (His Lordship). He rewarded and punished them by His Kingship and Justice.

✔Each of these three matters is related to one another, and do not separate from each other.
✔As for the Mercy, it is the attachment or the means between Allah and His slaves.

III-D) Ta’leeh is required from them, (i.e. to worship Him with love and exaltation), and for them from Him is His Ruboobiyah (all His Actions, of creation, providing with sustenance, disposing of their affairs, guiding them, etc…)

📍 The Mercy is the connection between Him and His slaves. By His Mercy, He sent to them Messengers (to guide them), and He sent Books through which He guided them. By His Mercy, He made them dwell in the abode of His Reward. By His Mercy, He sustains them, grants them the well-being, and bestows upon them (all the blessings).

💡The Ruboobiyah joined with His Mercy as the Rising over His Throne is joined with His Mercy.

His statement in Surat Ta-Ha (20:5):
الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى
“The Most Beneficent One, Who is established on the Throne.”

Complies with His statement in Surat al-Fatiha (1:2-3):
الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ{2} الرَّحْمـنِ الرَّحِيمِ (3)3
“All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the ‘Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists). The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.”

💐Everything is encompassed with His Vast Mercy and Lordship, although He being the Lord of the whole world (mankind, jinn and all that exists) indicates His Highness over His creation and over everything.”💐

[Madarij as-Salikeen]

IV) Al-Qurtubi (Rahimahullaah) said: “It is incumbent upon everyone responsible in the religion to know that he has no Lord except Allaah Alone, and he should bring up those whom he is responsible for in the best way, such that he takes charge of disposing their affairs, guarding them and protecting them as much as he can, as Allaah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala) maintained and protected him.

When Ibn ‘Abbas (Radia-Allaahu ‘anhu) was asked about the scholar who is Rabbani (the learned person of religion who practices what he knows and also preaches others), he said, ‘He is the one who teaches people the small knowledge before the big matters.’
The Rabbani is one who fulfills the knowledge of Ruboobiyah (Lordship) and rears people with knowledge to the extent that they can bear.”

📚 [Al-Kitab al-Asna]

V) The Prophets and Messengers called unto Allaah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala) by this Noble Name and implored Him with it.

🌻 Adam (‘Alayhis-salaam) and Eve called unto Allah by it as Allaah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala) mentioned in

Surat al-Ar’af (7:23):

قَالاَ رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
“They said: Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers.”

🌻 Nûh (Noah) (‘Alayhis-salaam) said in his invocation:

رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِمَن دَخَلَ بَيْتِيَ مُؤْمِناً وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَلَا تَزِدِ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا تَبَاراً
“My Lord! Forgive me, and my parents, and him who enters my home as a believer, and all the believing men and women. And do not increase the dhalimun (polytheists, wrong-doers, and disbelievers, etc.) except in destruction.” [Nuh 71:28]

V-B)  Ibrahim (‘Alayhis-salaam) and Isma’il (‘Alayhis-salaam) said:

وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا إِنَّكَ أَنتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
“And (remember) when Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Isma’il were raising the foundation of the House, (saying), ‘Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us. Verily! You are the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.’” [Al-Baqarah 2:127]

🌻 Musa (Moses)(‘Alayhis-salaam) said:

قَالَ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَلأَخِي وَأَدْخِلْنَا فِي رَحْمَتِكَ وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ
“O my Lord! Forgive me and my brother, and make us enter into Your Mercy, for You are the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.”
[Al-A’raf 7:151]

🌻 ‘Iesa (Jesus) (‘Alayhis-salaam) said:

قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا أَنزِلْ عَلَيْنَا مَآئِدَةً مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ تَكُونُ لَنَا عِيداً لِّأَوَّلِنَا وَآخِرِنَا وَآيَةً مِّنكَ وَارْزُقْنَا وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ
“O Allaah our Lord! Send us from Heaven a table spread (with food) that there may be for us – for the first and the last of us – a festival and a sign from You; and provide us sustenance, for You are the Best of sustainers.” [Al-Ma’idah 5:114]

V-C)  Allaah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala) Who said regarding the Messenger Muhammad (Salla-Allaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and his nation in

Surat al-Baqarah (2:285):

آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللّهِ وَمَلآئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ وَقَالُواْ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ

“The Messenger (Muhammad Salla-Allaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in
Allaah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. They say, ‘We make no distinction between one another of His Messenger’- and they say, ‘We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your Forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all).’”

VI- A)
The Prophet (Salla-Allaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) forbade the slave to call his (human) master, Rabbi (my lord). He (Salla-Allaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said:
“ You should NOT SAY,
 ‘Feed your Lord (Rabbaka),
 help your lord in performing ablution,
 or give water to your Lord,’

 but you should SAY,
 ‘My master (e.g. feed your master instead of Lord, etc.) (sayyidi),
 or ‘My guardian’ (maula),

 and one should NOT SAY,
 ‘My slave (Ábdi)’,
 or ‘My slave-girl (Amati)’,

but he should SAY,
 ‘My lad (Fatai)’,
 ‘My lass (Fatati)’
 and ‘My boy (Ghulami).’” [Al-Bukhari]

(Commentary of this Hadith in the upcoming posts, In Sha Allaah)

VI Last – B) Commentary over this Hadith – 1:

Al- Hafidh Ibn Hajar (Rahimahullaah) said: “It is forbidden for the slave to say to his master “rabbi” (my lord), and he forbade others to say to him ‘your lord’. This prohibition includes also the statement of the master about himself, e.g. to say to his slave, ‘give water to your Lord,’ to magnify himself.

The reason behind the prohibition is because the true Ruboobiyah (lordship) belongs to Allaah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala). Because the Rabb is the owner who is in charge of the thing (by creating it, sustaining it, disposing of its affairs, guarding, maintaining it, etc.) and all this cannot be except for Allaah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aala).

VI Last – C) Commentary over this Hadith – 2:

Al-Khattabi (Rahimahullaah) said: ‘The reason behind the prohibition is that man is asked to worship Allaah with sincerity and to single Allaah out with worship and abandon Shirk (association) with Him. Therefore, it is disliked to compare Him even in the Name in order to avoid Shirk. And there is no difference between the free or the slave (human). As for the rest of the creation, there is no harm in adding them to the human like saying “rabbuddar” [i.e. the Lord of the house] or rabbuth-thawb” [i.e.the Lord of the garment].’

Commentary over this Hadith – 3:

Ibn Battal said: “It is not permissible to name anyone other than Allaah with rabb as it is not permissible to call him “ilah”.


text:
We wanted to do this for a long time. Recently, we wrote an article on budget startup marketing. It got us thinking – we don’t have the time to write a post about every single marketing thought that crosses my mind so I might as well dedicate a complete article to them. You know, just post a bunch of random actionable startup marketing tips and tricks intended for all those who wish to market their startup, regardless of their budget, although most of the things I write about can be done for little to no money.

Should you want to discuss a certain point, please let us know down in the comments and we’ll make sure to elaborate it further.

  • Try not to fall in love with a certain technology and hang onto it if there is a better alternative. Fall in love with results instead.
  • Clickbait headlines are perfectly OK. A headline is supposed to make people click, not to be a piece of Russian Classic literature. What matters is the content quality. That is where you have to shine. This great article by Wired explains why clickbait works.
  • A product won’t sell itself. That’s your job. Time to get rid of that obnoxious marketing mantra.
  • If you already haven’t, take this fantastic free class from Stanford on startups.
  • Become an authority in your niche. Contribute to community, whether it’s GitHub, Quora, Reddit or something else.
  • Keep an eye on your direct competition, especially when they are bigger/better than you. You don’t want to risk losing all the time you spent building your startup just because they got all the attention.
  • Keep seasonality in mind. By seasonality I mean two things. (1) The silly season/cucumber time is a real thing. Usually during summer months, the quality of media reporting decreases, often significantly. That could be your time to shine as some of them could be willing to publish news about you more than they would be during hectic months. (2) Not every month is the same. During my work as social media account manager, I noticed that people tend to become depressed during January (post holiday depression) and that can be seen on their activity on social media.

Social media

  • You shouldn’t choose social networks solely based on the size of their userbase. It means nothing if you can’t reach the right audience.
  • Should you decide to post your article in every Facebook group out here, at least write an unique description for every. It doesn’t take a lot of your time. A lot of people are following multiple groups and you don’t want to be remembered as a spammer just because you were lazy to write two sentences of explanation.
  • Make sure to use a real account if you’re posting on Facebook groups. It adds credibility to what you’re saying.
  • Twitter is a powerful tool. Although it probably won’t help you sell stuff, it can help you reach certain influencers. Here’s the famous “billion dollar tweet”

  • Putting “Please ReTweet” in your tweets can generate x4 more retweets, according to Hubspot. Make sure not to overdo it, though.
  • Socialbro is a fantastic tool to manage your Twitter profile. With great reports, follower management and lot of relevant data, it can help you step up your Twitter game. It has a trial period of one month so make sure to try it out.
  • Plan your Twitter strategy in advance. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t retweet something if it seems interesting and valuable, but try not to be hectic. Use Tweetdeck to schedule tweets and monitor what’s happening.
  • For the love of god, learn how to advertise on Facebook or hire us to do it. Facebook offers a plethora of advertising options that can narrow down your target audience to extremes. While not for everyone, Facebook marketing is and will continue to be the premier social network marketing channel.

Getting traction

  • A good marketer mustn’t be shy. If you won’t promote yourself, no one will.
  • If the value of your startup increases with audience size and activity, you have every incentive possible to fake it till you make it until a critical mass gathers. It is important that in the early stages the first-time users get the impression that your platform is active and running. Quora founders and early-stage employees used to ask and answer questions to produce initial traction. Likewise, Reddit founders used to make a shitload of fake accounts until it blew up. It’s a grind.
  • Stimulate brand ambassadors and give an incentive to become one. Dropbox does a great job with this by giving extra storage space to users who refer their service to others.
  • If possible, start small but plan to scale. Reddit is a great example. It’s easier to draw early-users with generic and general content. Reddit does a great job by enabling users to create subreddits. That way, you enable users themselves to target specific niches. By targeting too many niches at the same time (with limited time/resources), you risk losing focus.
  • Create an aura of importance and influence. Although there is a limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships, people still like to amass a large number of friends/followers. By taking advantage of narcissism and creating an aura of “social importance”, you can stimulate activity. You can also gamify this process. Here’s an article I wrote on the psychology of gamification.

Reaching your audience

  • Hackernews front page is the El Dorado of basically every startup out there. Here is how you get there, but here’s an article telling you otherwise. I’ll let you be the judge, just remember that it can backfire if the content is shit.
  • Write a blog. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a blog. You are one good blogpost away from achieving great results. It establishes authority, gives visibility and can skyrocket your SEO.
  • Your niche is not “too boring” to blog about. I’m not into toilets, but this was an interesting read. If a toilet company could do something like this, so can you.
  • You can benefit greatly from answering questions on Quora. With a bit of tinkering, you’ll reach a pretty damn good conversion rates. If not, hey, at least you’ll get exposure.
  • Yes, Quora upvotes can be bought. You didn’t really think that those 50k upvotes were organic, now did you? It’s up to you to decide whether that’s worth your money.
  • Quorans love images. Use them to enhance your answer and preferably place them at the beginning of your answer. Bolding text seems to grab their attention, as well
  • Keep in mind when you publish your content. If it’s 3AM, people are probably sleeping, not reading your blog. This fabulous infographic by SurePayroll should be useful.

Producing content

  • People love stats. if you have any stats worth displaying, make sure to do so just like OKcupid did and watch the Facebook share count go berserk.
  • Along the way, you’ll learn a lot of lessons. Write about what you learned, just like I did here. It’s one thing to theorize, but displaying real world examples and experience does wonders.
  • Guestblog A LOT. It’s a great way to establish authority and reach new audiences. Nothing will improve your rankings like a bunch of good backlinks. If you’re on a budget, Buzzsumo has limited free options for you to find where to guestpost.
  • In my book, as much as it hurts to say this, Linkedin simply isn’t worth your precious time, unless you have a killer story to tell. In that case, you could try writing an article on Pulse.
  • If you’re going to use Youtube to promote your content, make sure to optimize your account and videos. Here’s a great article on Youtube video optimization.
  • Youtube influencers can make you a star overnight. Find a way to reach them and ask them to review your startup.
  • More likes don’t mean that your video will show up at the top. What counts is the amount of time people spend watching the video and the interaction so do whatever it takes to keep them on their toes. Cliffhangers are a great way to do that.

Shaking it up

  • A well-known architecture/interior design web community, Houzz, enabled you to put a badge to your website (the badge added a lot of credibility to your site), but in return you had to provide them with a backling. This way, their search engine rankings skyrocketed.
  • Present your startup whenever possible. There are many facebook groups where you can present your startup, usually on a specific day if the groups are moderated heavily. Then, there is this monthly reddit post etc.
  • If you’re monetizing an app, learn how to do so. A couple of months ago, I wrote a massive, 7000 word guide, on mobile app monetization.

Lead generation and conversion

  • Putting a lot of opt-in options on your site/blog is like walking a cute puppy around the town. You’re bound to score something.
  • Don’t be afraid of promoting others unless they are your direct competitors. Recently, Jon, a CEO of a New York-based app marketing agency saw my article on app monetization and decided to interview me. Don’t be afraid to share the spoils of war. When you do things like that, you’re getting free content and a possible future partnerships/deals.
  • If possible, make full use of Stumbleupon. If you’re using a wordpress site/blog, make sure to use a social sharing plugin that has the option for Stumbleupon. Bear in mind that Stumbleupon can dramatically increase the bounce rate, especially if above the fold isn’t engaging.
  • Hubspot has a great course on inbound marketing for you to get a grasp of inbound marketing basics. For most of startups nowadays, especially SaaS-oriented startups, inbound marketing is the way to go, at least in my book.
  • Don’t try to do too many things at once when designing your landing page. Keep it decluttered and put only the most important information above the fold. This redditor shares a couple of great advices on how he did just that, increasing the conversion rates from 9% to 52%.

Kontra Agency

We are a group of people gathered under one roof who become a family. Always looking for some new ideas, new tools and strategies, new ways of communication and above all, new ways of having fun while working.

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