It is Written … (Celebrate Reading, Writing, Books and Anything Related!)

Quote From Classic Movies That Make You Think

If you have ever watched the movie “Lawrence of Arabia”, you will likely remember the scene where Lawrence (played by Peter O' Toole) uttered the words: “Nothing! … is written.”  Evidently, it was a memorable scene.  If you do an organic search, you will find several movie clips. 

The words of Lawrence instantly called to my mind a contrast between words often uttered by Jesus Christ:
“It is written.”

Jesus spoke these words so confidently, and as a matter of fact, as if being literate was a given.

Of course, among the Jews, there were Scribes, and their job was to write down the scriptures for future posterity. It was clear that many of the Jews could read and write. Although it is possible that some of the Apostles were not literate. In the book of Acts, they were referred to as men who had not “learned letters”.

But beyond the Jewish people, what about the Gentile world?

Many non-Jewish civilizations had a written language, but not all of the inhabitants could read and write.

But Lord!  The gospel message? Isn't it for ALL?

~ Did Jesus already know that in this world there would be many people who could read and write? At least enough people to spread the good news to the world.

~ Did He already know that men would die in order for the Bible – both Old and New Testaments - to be printed in multiple languages and circulated so that people all around the world could read it?

~ Did He know that Google would partner with the Israel Museum to convert the Dead Sea Scrolls into a digital format?

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Being illiterate is not a social matter these days. Right? At least, not in the USA. That may be a problem for underdeveloped countries. Right?

One would think that in a country like America, literacy would not be an issue. Think again.

Both first ladies – Barbara Bush and Laura Bush – chose as their platform to focus on literacy and education.

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Efforts to address the problem of illiteracy?

• World Over - 2016-07-28 – America's Literacy Crisis, Kyle Zimmer with Raymond Arroyo

• Integrating Technology in Early Literacy: A Snapshot of Community Innovation in Family Engagement

• NEA - Read Across America Partners and Supporters (“Reading Buddies”)

NEA's "Reading Buddies" refers to a strategy for its Read Across America program where older or peer students are paired with younger students to read together. Partners and supporters of the program include corporations like Simon & Schuster and National Geographic Kids, as well as numerous non-profit organizations such as the International Literacy Association, Little Free Library, and First Book, with the goal of promoting reading and literacy in children.

• National Coalition for Literacy (“... advancing adult education, family literacy”)

Those 3 words: "It is written."

It's really not a casual statement to be taken lightly, is it?

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This post was inspired by a friend who published a post in a blogging community, Literacy Base, where I used to be an active member.

National Book Lovers Day isn’t the only book holiday. Each year on April 23, the day Cervantes, Shakespeare, and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died in 1616, the United Nations holds World Book and Copyright Day. In 2017, Conakry, Guinea, was the World Book Capital.

There is also World Book Day, which is sponsored by the U.K.’s National Book Tokens.

SOURCE: Celebrate National Book Lovers Day

National Book Lovers Day is always celebrated on August 9th.

I SAY: Celebrate Reading, Writing, Books,

and Anything Related!

* Entertainment trivia:

The film “Lawrence of Arabia” won 7 Academy Awards. Peter O'Toole did NOT get the award for Best Actor. (REF: Academy Awards, USA 1963 ) Hey! When he accepted the lead role, maybe he should have got it writing that the Oscar for Best Actor was going to be a given. :) Gregory Peck won that year for his portrayal of the lawyer, Atticus Finch, in “To Kill a Mockingbird”. (REF: The 35th Academy Awards | 1963 ) I say the decision of the Academy was fair. What say you?

Lawrence of Arabia

Do you have a personal video #library?
NO? Start one. Let this be the 1st #movie on your shelf. OR … donate the video to a public library.
(Yeah. We still have public libraries & people still go there.)#giftshopping #holidayshopping #stockingstuffers https://t.co/GSzzSXTnru

— My Shopping Channel (@goshoppingbees) November 28, 2025

© Photographer: Nadalinna | Agency: Dreamstime.com

Did Alexander the Great Think He Was Great?

Alexander the Great, a historical figure that many people like to write or talk about.  Name written in history or not, every human being is just an A-O-P (“another ordinary person.”) Most ordinary people and extraordinary people usually want the same thing. To be happy.  

Do you wonder sometimes if Alexander thought he great?

Here is what you see when you look up close at this son of a king.

• He was a teenager when he started out on the path wherein he was determined to become a memorable military and political leader, whom generals even to this day study to improve their leadership skills and abilities.

Eh! Not really. His dad didn’t like him and wanted to get him out of his face, so he sent him away to fight! No matter who you are, if one or both of your parents don’t like you, that messes with your head!

• He was dead by the time he reached his early 30s.

There are different stories about his death, but if you ask me, I say his mind and body just burned out!

When you look at him up close, you may be moved to think, ‘How awful!!’

There are different stories about how he died, but how he lived wasn’t really all that great either!

By contrast to my own life.

• At age 16, I was just figuring out who I was and what I wanted to be. 1972 marked the year I graduated from high school and my first year at the University of Miami. Also, my beloved father passed away. He was taken away from me, but he never sent me away from him.

• By the time I was in my 30s, I had been happily married to the man of my dreams, with kids, for about a decade. Seems to me like Alexander the Great had a sad life and didn’t do much living at all! After 15 years of nothing but fighting and killing, maybe he was thinking: ‘This is my life? What’s so great about it?’
  

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Related or Similar Articles:
The Seven Kings of Rome
Alexander the Great: God-King or Mere Mortal?

Ten Facts About Alexander the Great (and One Observation)
Ancient Greek and Roman Statues Shown in Their True Colors

Content first published at Literacy Base on April 4, 2017.

Alexander the Great - Boogie Man or Immortal? : Joie de Vivre Magazine ~ https://t.co/GFAlxl8JQH #militaryleaders #ancientGreece #History #lifestyleblogger #alexanderthegreat #ancienthistory #myths and #legends pic.twitter.com/xRbQyboECL

— My Fox Nooze (aka Joie de Vivre Magazine) (@FoxMarks_ATX) August 31, 2019

Another of #AlexanderTheGreat's many #Alexandria's found in #Iraq with #drone #tech.#Secrets Of #Drone #Archaeologyhttps://t.co/YRUTTZPUDU

— CelebrateGreece.com (@CelebrateGreece) August 26, 2019

The Death of #AlexandertheGreat: One of History's Great #UnsolvedMysteries https://t.co/8Fym6nwyM9 via @lithub #history #Greece #persia #Babylon

— CorneliaAmiri (@CorneliaAmiri) August 28, 2019

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Residual Income : Social Sites That Pay (A 2nd Look) - Update #2

UPDATE June 8, 2021 : It is as they say:  "Only the strong survive!"  As of today, I am somewhat active on MyLot; very active on Forum Coin; and I have found 2 new partner sites to try out: Read.Cash and Noise.Cash. (If you click through to Read.cash, there is a banner at the top of the page that directs you to Noise.Cash.)  These two platforms let you earn Bitcoin Cash (BCH). After that you have to figure out on your own where and how to spend the cryptocurrency OR how to exchange for cash you can use to purchase goods and services or pay your bills. The misadventures continue! ☺

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UPDATE May 29, 2016 : This post was first published 02 November 2016. A lot can happen in a short period of time. Two of sites mentioned below ~ BlogBourne and Literacy Base ~ are either closing for business or "in limbo". Those two sites were blogging communities. The 3rd site is actually a discussion forum and seems to be keeping its members happy. Meanwhile, signed up for another discussion forum - ForumCoin.com. It has a points system. 500 points = $5 USD. A nice community and I see lots of familiar faces. You're welcome to join. 

ForumCoin Sign Up is free. 

 
* *INFO below shared 11/2/2016: 

The link shared below leads to a post that was published at my other blog. It was my first evaluation of social communities that have a revenue-share plan and you can get paid for all of your activity, not just for publishing blog posts.


This post supplies a contrast and comparison for three (3) different sites:  two of them are (in my mind) blogging communities and the other one is more like a discussion forum or a micro-blogging platform/social network.  

All of them have income potential.  

My member name at all of the sites is "cmoneyspinner".  

These are my profile links:

• BlogBourne (member since August 2016; signed up because a friend asked me to);

• LiteracyBase (member since July 2016); and

• myLot (member since August 2015).

Earn Residual Income :
Join Social Sites That Pay

When I say that I'm taking a second look, I mean that a reevaluation or a second evaluation is in order.


BlogBourne is a site where many of my fellow friends and bloggers are actively publishing and commenting.  It must be a worthwhile effort.  Otherwise, why would they continue to stay there?  However, for me, navigating the site to find topics of interest to me feels a tad bit awkward.  Also, to get a post approved,  400+ words are required. For these reasons, my activity at this site is not very frequent.


By contrast, my efforts at Literacy Base and myLot are much more rewarding, and as such, I login to my account almost every day.  There is always something to be done, in addition to blogging, at either of these sites that can generate some extra income.  


In fact, myLot doesn't even require blogging.  But if you wanted, you could describe your activity as micro-blogging.  Starting a discussion there is very similar to composing a short Tweet.  (A short Tweet?  That's a redundant expression, isn't it?  I apologize.  :) )


To get a post approved at Literacy Base, 300+ words are required. For some reason, it seems easier to write 300 words than 400.  (It's psychological.  I'm a fruitcake!  )  But you can easily earn from contributing to forums and groups, updating you wall (or timeline) with a quote or some random comment, leaving comments at blog posts published by others, etc.

• NOTE:  To be fair, you also don't need to blog at BlogBourne.  You can be active in the same way as on Literacy Base.

With Literacy Base (cash out at $10) and myLot (cash out at $5) - look up at the right hand corner of your screen and you can immediately see your earnings.  With BlogBourne (cash out at $10) you have to calculate what you've earned by multiplying your accumulated coins by the exchange rate.  (Not sure what the exchange rate is.  It's probably best if you ask the BB site owner directly or click here to read a post by a blogger who is a member at both sites.)

Two final remarks:  

(1)  The communities have really nice members.

(2)  If you are a newbie blogger, these sites are a great place to get started.  If I could go backwards, I would have started my blogging attempts at sites like these.  Eh!  Live and learn!  My pain is your gain.

(Image credit: WEP Pink Poop Emoji Pillow Queen Princess Lady Nerd Smiley Unicorn Emoticon Pig Cushion Dog Stuffed Bunny Rabbit Soft Plush Toy (CUTE GIRL)

Where Newbie Bloggers Should Go For Advice and Answers

My early attempts at affiliate marketing, D.I.Y. (do-it-yourself) website building, blogging, and other home business projects were so … ??? … amateur. Was going to say “futile” but since there were many benefits derived from these efforts even though several websites and blogs were trashed or deleted along the way, the time and energy expended was not a total waste. The learning exercises were fruitful, not futile.

Before even starting a blog, using generic search terms like “make money with your website”, found this wonderful resource.  What you can do with a website, you can do with your blog.  The link below was included in the results.

28 Ways to Make Money with Your Website | Daily Blog Tips

You know when you’ve visited a site way too many times because the site owner begins to talk to you like he knows you!   Daniel Scocco is based in Brazil, a country that is on my bucket list of “Places I’d Like to Visit But Probably Never Will”. He has been very kind and helpful. Because of his assistance, I was encouraged to continue my online endeavors. It is awesome to see that his blog is still going strong after all these years.

DBT (Daily Blog Tips) also has a sister site, DWT (Daily Writing Tips) that can improve your writing and speaking skills, and it’s fun! Here is an example of a fun but educational post.

6 Foreign Expressions You Should Know | Daily Writing Tips

Both of these blogs are invaluable.   GO Danny!!!

Additional links of interest:

• Podcast: How Daniel Scocco Launched A $10,000 A Month Membership Site

♦ ♦ ♦

• The information is out there but you have to go and get it. You must be patient, persistent and willing to teach yourself. But sometimes you might need to ask a question and you want to talk to a human being. Quora.com is where you go for answers. Join this Q&A community free and follow the topics for Blogging and Bloggers.

Ask the Experts: 3 Good Habits That Will Change Your Life | Brian Tracy https://t.co/IsD6qh7Vir via @flipboard #newbiebloggers #advice #tipsandtricks #workathome #workfromhome #DanielScocco pic.twitter.com/50lqCJ5WIo

— My Fox Nooze (aka Joie de Vivre Magazine) (@FoxMarks_ATX) August 31, 2019

The 10 Best Blogs for Content Writers | Constant Content https://t.co/4LYQeaBiI6 via @flipboard #newbiebloggers #advice #tipsandtricks #workathome #workfromhome

— My Fox Nooze (aka Joie de Vivre Magazine) (@FoxMarks_ATX) August 31, 2019

26 Crazy Stories about “OMG!” Opportunities that Blogging Made Happen https://t.co/4sl23kI3gA via @flipboard #newbiebloggers #advice #tipsandtricks #workathome #workfromhome

— My Fox Nooze (aka Joie de Vivre Magazine) (@FoxMarks_ATX) August 31, 2019

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Content previously published at Literacy Base, May 2017.

Literacy Base Blog Posting Goal Accomplished! (UPDATE Aug 2017)

To quote the wise philosopher, singer/songwriter Nellie Furtado:  

• "Why do all good things come an end?"

The site Literacy Base has bid farewell.  As of Aug 2017, all links that were supplied below in this post are outdated.  Hopefully, I can find a new home to republish.

Eh!  It happens more often than we would like.  Fun communities and sites bite da dust!

The content below was published Oct 27, 2016.


Accomplished my goal of getting twenty (20) blog posts approved and published at Literacy Base.  This is a blogging community where you can earn residual income not just for blogging but for almost all of your activity.  I'm not kidding!  Even if you just log in to your account, you can earn.


Your activity can consist of participating in groups or forums, updating your profile page, commenting on blog posts, etc.  If you share links via social media and a visitor comes to the site because they clicked on your link-share, you can earn for that!  That means even if you don't want to publish blog posts, and just want to interact and make friends, you can still generate some passive income.


The cash out is $10.  It's a good site if you need some extra cash and also because the folks in the community (including Admin and Support) are very nice.  As of today, there are about 1200 members.  Want to sign up? Click here.  It's free to join!

Below is the list of my posts.  Gives you an idea of some of the things you can blog about.  Of course, if you have a specific expertise or passion, that's even better!

Organization and Time Management for My Work at LiteracyBase

Four Major Cities in the State of Texas

My Madness Was Not Food-Related

What’s in Your Social Media Marketing Tool Kit?

My Work at Home Goals ~ October 2016 and Beyond!

I Dream of Useless Money

Quotes by Famous People: Henry David Thoreau ~ Agree or Disagree

Make Money Online: MyLot is a Legitimate Income Opportunity

Are You From Royal Blood?

Binge Watching Television Series

What’s Your Favorite Jelly, Jam, Preserves or Fruit Spread?

It’s Not the Search Engine’s Fault!

Watching Korean Drama Online With English Subtitles

Restaurant Experiences: Sure Signs You’re Addicted to Chinese Food

Spotlight on My Hometown: Miami, Florida

My Blogging History (Learn From Me)

Exotic Fruits (Superfood or Wonder Fruit)

Cmoneyspinner’s Book Preference Meme

Would You Save Money, If You Could?

Dreams Where There’s Food But Nobody Eats

Blogspot Has Added New Themes (Templates) for 2017

“Express your unique style with a brand new set of Blogger themes.
From simple and sleek to fun and funky, there’s a fully customizable theme designed to fit your. Plus, they’re all built to look great on phones, computers and tablets and to load quickly. Check them out: https://goo.gl/vEPpd3 “

Quote source and featured image credit:
Found on Google Plus at the official Blogger social media page.

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Websites, blogging (and vlogging) are an integral part of the Internet landscape. People who were “old school” who did not even want to build websites for their businesses realized that websites are just like an advertisement in the Yellow Pages. So they took the time to create a web page because it was just good business sense.

Remember the Yellow Pages? It was a huge phone directory where you could find names, addresses and phone numbers of businesses. It was a big thick book that everybody used. These days, even the Yellow Pages has a website! You can’t fight progress! ?

• Business history trivia: Did you know that the “Walking Fingers” was never trademarked.

REF: “The Yellow Pages “Walking Fingers”: The Most Famous Symbol Never Trademarked.” YP United Blogs. Ed. Yellow Pages United Staff. Yellow Pages United, 9 May 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.

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Back on point. No sooner than the business person accepts that they need a website, they usually also understand that the next step to complement and supplement their site and to enhance their online reputation and presence on the web, getting the word out to others, is to add on a blog. Why? Well because the “experts” say that the blog shows potential clients or customers that you’re good at what you do since you know how to write about it and can provide tips and advice.

For many businesses and personal bloggers, Blogger or Blogspot, the official Google platform is the preferred publishing platform. If you are a newbie blogger and you are the DIY type (Do It Yourself), Blogspot is a good platform because it provides free templates or themes, gadgets or widgets, allows affiliate advertising, allows Google Ad Sense or Ad Sense alternatives, and the Blogger Team regularly supplies “how to” tips and tricks via its blog or social media accounts.

I have been using the Blogger or Blogspot platform for my home business projects for over 5 years. No doubt the free template I use has been around much longer than that.

On March 20, 2017, the Blogger Team announced that Blogspot has brand new themes.

Whew! What a relief!

It’s a relief that Google is not abandoning its free blogging platform. For a while there was a story being circulated – unofficially – that owning and maintaining this platform did not make good business sense, it was not profitable, and Google might discontinue it.

What? Glad these rumors have not become reality. I’m not an expert but how I see it: ‘If Google can’t offer a free publishing platform for businesses and wanna be bloggers, what kind of example is that for a tech giant to set for others in the technology world. Really!”

So I spent several hours testing and trying out this new set of blog themes. These new templates are wonderful but …

But in the end, my decision was to stick with the Ethereal theme. It suits my purposes.  Would I recommend them to other aspiring bloggers?  Yes.

• Do you have a blog?
• Which blogging platform do you use?
• Which theme or template did you choose?

* * Content first published as LiteracyBase.com on March 22, 2017

Related articles

• Content Marketing Made Easier With These 5 Tricks(40billion.com)

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• Tips for Budding Bloggers(business2community.com)

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Work at Home ~ Home Biz Projects : Another Weekend! - UPDATE #1

This time last year, it was another weekend and in this post - WAH! On Top of WAH! Another Weekend! - I provided a status report on my various work at home projects. At that point, I had created several potential residual income streams ( or at least I thought I had). 😉  Quote from the previous post:

"Tsū , myLot , my blogs at - Tumblr, BlogJob and Blogger (or Blogspot ), and online writing communities like  DailyTwoCents , HUBPages , Wizzley, etc."

♦ ♦ ♦  UPDATES:

• Tsū went belly up!  I'm a tad bit upset because I had written reviews of some movies and TV shows.  Plan to republish the content elsewhere.  Already republished one of the posts at.  Check it out!  Review:  Mary Kom (2014) ~ Fans of Priyanka Chopra.

• myLot is working out and has actually paid me several times.  This is my most recent discussion.  You don't earn based on starting discussions.  You get paid for interacting with members.  But sometimes to do that you have to start a conversation.

But Suppose We're Not GREAT Again? / myLot

But Suppose We're Not GREAT Again? / myLot

So what happens if Mr. T doesn't make good on his promise to make America great again? (Scoff!) First of all, how dare you even entertain such a thought? But! ... Since you're thinking on it ... (Sigh.) We make plans. We break promises. In this life, one should always have Plan A and Plan B.

• My blogs at - Tumblr?  Long story short.  My account got deleted.  The old blogs were sent to the Tumblr graveyard.  The company is being acquired by a new owner.  The management and staff is experimenting with placing ads in the blogs, intending to keep the platform free for the users.  Meanwhile, I created two new Tumblr blogs at the end of 2016.  FoxNet2017 and FoodWays2017.  Why?  Because they let me do it!  Plus!  Tumblr is a neat blogging/micro-blogging platform and you are allowed to place affiliate ads to monetize your blog.  Just check their "Help" in the dashboard for more details.  Why wouldn't I want to try again?

• BlogJob stopped their Points Program but I was undaunted.  Not only did I keep my blog - My Pain, Your Gain - up and running; but I started a new blog for affiliate marketing purposes:  My Shopping Channel.  The site owners are OK with members using affiliate referral links.  Currently the site owners are experimenting with Google Ads, in the hopes of generating more revenue.  Hope these experiments are successful.  The platform is good to use but whereas, it used to be a social community where you could sign in and not only go about your blogging business but interact and chat with fellow bloggers, the "socializing" aspect went Bye Bye when the Points Program ended.

• Blogger (or Blogspot)?  In addition to this blog, at the end of 2016, I set up a foodie blog called Food Ways Presented by Everyday Exotic Spices.  A friend of mine and fellow food blogger visited and gave me lots of advice, tips and feedback on how to make the blog look more visually appealing.  It looks pretty to me!  Also, I am able to use Amazon Native Ads on Blogspot blogs.  No surprise.  If you can remember way back, the Blogspot platform used to have a feature that allowed the blogger to incorporate relevant links to Amazon products.

As for the online writing communities?  My aim was to publish evergreen content (content that is relevant and not restricted to a specific period of time) so that I could set it, forget it, and appreciate whatever residual income is generated by the pages.  I revisit from time to time to check for broken links and update any info that may have changed.  Here are links to my writer profile at the various sites:  Daily Two Cents; Writedge; HUBPages; Wizzley; and Webnuggetz.  Most of my revenue is earned via the Google Ad Sense revenue-share plan.  Commissions are also being earned from sales of affiliate products.  ("Slow but steady wins the race."  😀) 

During the year (2016), signed up at two new sites.  One is a blogging community:  Literacy Base.  This site is good because you earn for blogging, for commenting at blogs, for participating in groups and forums, for updating your profile timeline.  You even earn for just logging in to your account.  Have received payment.  This is my most recent post:

• Ancient History: Kingdoms : Lydia and Persia

The other site, Niume, is a collaborative blogging platform created to help you promote your blog.  In other words, republished content from your blog is accepted.  It's also a good place to share your original content.  Examples:

• The Evolution of Tea; republished content that first appeared at Daily Two Cents.

• Stumbled Upon 'The Nostalgia Machine'; original content published only at Niume.

You can not use affiliate links and your earn revenue for referrals and for views.  Learn more:  How Does Niume Revenue Work.

• My referral link if you sign up through me:  Join Niume! Where it says "Create a Post", click on it and the sign up form will pop up.  You must use a valid eMail address.

Closing off this update with another reminder from another previous post.  Remember that Pinterest can also be used as a blogging/micro-blogging platform and affiliate links are allowed.



If you want to earn extra income, hope you find this information useful.




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