You'd have to be a fool to not accept that some part of building up a fan base, especially early on, all comes from maintaining relationships and playing the game of keeping up with contacts that support you. For many of us creative types, especially the introverted ones though, that thought can be exhausting. In this video, I'm gonna talk about how to be effective in making sure everyone you meet knows what you're up to and that they should give you opportunities because you're working hard. Hi, I'm Jesse Cannon, this is Muse Formation. So this week's episode is gonna be quick because I'm working on a really, really long and in-depth one for next week. But I also think this is one of the most important practices I never hear discussed, yet I've seen so many popular musicians build a fan base doing this.  I know tons of fools who disobey Cannon's Law and say all you need to do is write good songs. Here's a refresher if you don't remember Cannon's Law. I derived Cannon's Law from Godwin's Law, which is an internet adage asserting that as an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one. Now for Cannon's Law, the difference is, is that if there's a discussion of any artist, someone's gonna chime in with a tired old saying, all you have to do is write good music and then everything will work out. That is the main ingredient and there is no better marketing tool than great music, but it takes tons of strategy to break through all the people who are making great music today. Now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about the piece of building a fan base that douchebags like to call networking. But I like to think of this as maintaining friendships and reminding yourself and the people that you meet and build bonds with that you're doing cool things. Throughout your time in music, you're gonna get emails from people asking about your music or saying that they like it. You're gonna bond with other musicians and make connections, collaborate with people and get to know each other. And so much of this is about remembering that you had that moment and not getting lost in what you have to do each day. But as you do this with more and more people, it becomes harder and harder to keep track of everybody you've met and who you should keep up with. In order to combat that, there's a way to keep track of all these contacts and make sure you do this effectively. Here we see a fake spreadsheet I've made of my joke band Incell Hypebeast. What I have here is a list I enter into from the spreadsheets app inside my phone. I regularly keep updated as people ask me about my music. Every time somebody reaches out and it emails me, I have this list sitting handily on a pin tab in my desktop and I enter it in so I remember to keep in touch with them regularly. What you can see here is in this spreadsheet we have a bunch of names. This is each person who's gotten in touch with us. Then we have their contact and how they got in touch with us whether that's their email text or their Insta or whatever. And then we have notes about how we met. So sometimes you need a refresher if you haven't talked to this person for a while. As well, especially if you're a touring artist, you wanna have the city there and so you remember to invite them to the shows when you're in town. So what I have then here is a bunch of my song names and I'm gonna remember now to enter in on this access all the events. So if there was a tour coming up or something like that or a music video I wanted them to see, I may enter that too. And then I'm gonna put an X every time I've contacted them. Now some people you may not wanna contact with everything if this track isn't your best track, you may wanna hit them only with the bangers that you're releasing, but you wanna enter in each time you make contact with them and check through your phone or your email and see if you've been making contact with them regularly and use this as a way to catalog all that stuff. So why do we do this? If your music is even halfway decent and somebody sees that you hustle this hard and they have opportunities, they're gonna wanna give it to you because they know you're on top of your business. We have to remember most people in the music business are hacks. So they're looking for people who are gonna do their work for them. And when they see that you're this good at maintaining relationships and keeping people updated, they're gonna wanna help you out. People are attracted to other people who work hard and value their interactions and this practice shows that that's you. Great to be discouraging at first, you could be doing a lot of work for very little reward, but this is one of those practices that pays off after time. I think I wanna remind everyone that I say regularly is I never said yes to a single one of the bands I managed when they first asked me. I instead gave in from their persistence because I saw that they were really working hard. They kept me up to date with what they were doing and I saw they were making progress without me and I knew that if we united that we could be an unstoppable force and that's what happened with all the bands I managed. And I ended up saying yes around the third to fifth time that they asked. These people you're gonna contact regularly are gonna remember to keep you in mind for shows, other opportunities, tours, placements, et cetera and doing regular reminders by keeping in contact with them and showing you value their connection and making sure you ask about what they're up to and you have a nice conversation, you try to make a bond and be friends. This will help get you places and keep you organized and making sure everything works out for both of you and that you trade off and keep building the relationship together. That's it, am I missing anything? Is there any way you would have done this? I need to know your questions and what no one else is telling you since I wanna answer them so leave them in the comments. I hope you liked this video and if you did please like and subscribe and get notified for my future videos since I'm gonna be breaking down the concepts in this video along with tons of others on promoting your music and how to make music you're more happy with. As well, I have a Facebook group that's linked below that has only helpful information. No one tried to sell you anything, playlist or con artists, only helpful information for musicians looking to be better themselves. If you wanna learn more about me, make a record with me or check out any of my books, podcasts or anything else I do, head to jessecanon.com or at Jesse Cannon on any of the socials. Thanks for watching. One last thing, if you liked this video, there's two playlists here with tons more videos that you'll probably enjoy. One's about how you promote your music and the other's about how you make songs you're happy with. Otherwise, you can hit the subscribe button here to see the rest of my videos. Thanks so much for watching.


I've watched the criminal secas created by the Haga Inde criminal gang and they've tried their best to scandalize my name that I am the one who is pursuing the Falunasia temples because I'm trying to force them to go to the court of appeal.   I want the world to know that never on earth, now in the future and in the past would Faluna hide away from me because between me and Haga Inde Ichilema Faluna knows me, she knows my heart, she has shared her deep fears with me and she did say and it is on earth that she has never met Haga Inde she never saw the property to Haga Inde and even if the police found ten women and asked Haga Inde on an identification parade to identify who Faluna is Haga Inde would not know who Faluna is and this has also come out in the so-called video which Nikora Speedy organized in the bush where Faluna clearly said that she never saw the farm she doesn't know Haga Inde when I assisted this poor lady to take the matter to the high court it was in the belief that she would receive justice because she was being harassed by her relatives that she saw the farm without their consultation to Haga Inde Ichilema and for the past twenty years she's been swearing that she never saw the farm that is still her statement today in the past and in future and that's why Haga Inde is scared and petrified about having to face the law in the dock who stands to benefit by going to the court of appeal who stands to lose by going to the court of appeal and what is the matter before the court of appeal the matter before the court of appeal was what the judge pronounced herself on the judge said that the issue before her was taken to her twelve years later after it had happened that is twelve years after Haga Inde had fraud rentri acquired farm number nineteen twenty-four belonging to a deceased person the late Siamsone Siatembo the father to Faluna and according to the judge she had no jurisdiction over the matter the judge never said that Haga Inde has won the matter and therefore the matter was going to go to court of appeal to make just one determination as to whether when a person steals your car they disappear into the jungles of equatorial forest and reappear after twelve years whether that faith safety can just be ignored because they disappeared for twelve years that was a matter before the court of appeal and to determine that matter Haga Inde would have been required personally would have been required to appear before the court of appeal in his personal name Haga Inde Sami Hichilema he would have been in the dock so who stands to lose? it's himself he knew that when he goes into the dock he will be asked how did you acquire this farm did you know that the owner of the farm was demised Mr. Siamsone Siatembo the late may so rest in peace the answer to that is yes and Mr. Haga Inde are you aware of cup eighty-nine which requires that any administrator of the estate of a deceased person is required to go to the high court to get an order to dispose that asset what would be Haga Inde's answer he knew that the Siatembo were his neighbors so he knew that the late Samsung Siatembo was demised and he knew according to his own record that they filed a supposed order of administration for a feluna whom they themselves know not the one who says he doesn't know Haga Inde Hichilema he also knew as Haga Inde Hichilema and he knows and he's aware it's in his scruples in his mind that according to the record which we see and it's a public record that lands late Samsung Siatembo is alleged is purported to have procured a loan from Lima Bank he knew that would arise and the question was how was it discharged the same day that Haga Inde got the property this is one Haga Inde Hichilema who has been squaring over his father's grave that he doesn't know anything about Lima Bank assets and here is a classic case where firm number 1924 belonging to Samsung Siatembo the late was mortgaged to Lima Bank so in his fear of what would happen as a politician he has involved himself with his Kahutu of Chifu Mukuni this so-called muetwas they have all scumpered in all directions and want to wash their debt like maggot flies on me I can tell you Mr. Haga Inde don't be like a maggot fly and try to wash your debt on me because what you're doing is criminal don't try to play victim because the victims of your crime they are four fathers in the graves where you yourself are grazing your animals where you are trampling on them I know that you know that even firm number 801 was a Lima Bank property so when you start to spin it around and say that the plaintiffs are running away from Idithna wakui what do have to benefit or lose if a witness becomes hostile what value is that witness to me the plaintiff is only of value to you because as long as you pretend and you are pretending that my sister Feluna is hiding from me how can she hide from me I'm very far from where you are you have even gone as far as organizing criminals you go and assault Feluna's mutans wife you ask your friends those people whom you are working with your kabao of criminals around you you know that what you are doing is not acceptable for anyone calling themselves a leader and you Mr. Mukuni you call him chief look if this man wants to be a politician let him kindly surrender his instruments of chiftancy to the state so that the people can choose another chief this chief says that one so-called Tomu Silwindi is his subject now Feluna lives in Mapanza Feluna has an extremely ill child who needs her support as even he told you Mr. Ichilema on your own systems on your own videos that you may wonder who she is now she is saying it is not a child who is sick I mean look I'm not Feluna's enemy I'm a fellow mother and I know the few moments many moments we shared together she always cared so deeply about her child how can she be running away from me you, Haga Indehichilema your criminality is going to send you to the grave your insatiable appetite to acquire properties of the missed person is what has put you in this deep mess you need to know kutimizi muiragaga chiratondua you go kuna maumbue to the graveyard and build your property on somebody's bones these are the spirits which have always been saying that the spirits of the dead are not lying in peace as long as their children continue crying and now you are even impacting the life of a child and this girl is not a child she is 33 years old as Feluna has clearly put it but she needs the personal attention of a mother we cannot have our own politicians turning themselves into ISIS we cannot have Boko Harams in the Republic of Zambia Haga Indeh on up Haga Indeh if you ever ever touch a Bible if you call yourself a pathfinder a pathfinder has sympathy a pathfinder has love a pathfinder shares you cannot and you will not continue to behave like you are a king in this country if you think Zambia is going to be King Leopold II's property and you are the Keith and King of King Leopold II this is not your time Watondwa Musa Chilatondwa and keep your dead mouth of my name because I am so sorry to tell you that I am not as a criminal as you are now everybody knows your criminality it has come out in the open just to try and defeat the ends of justice you can do this to your fellow human beings and I want to tell you and I want to warn you the more you try to spin your criminality the debtier you look so this is a time for you Kwi ileke relebi yo Kwi ileke relebi yo let God bless you with something positive but if you continue to behave in the way you are behaving the next thing we will see that you are six feet under by your own will because listen listen to me very carefully what you are doing to an innocent family doesn't get done in a republic called Zambia in a place like Zambia where we have spirits Zambians respect bariosites and you have no respect for the dead look your father too was a Zambian if your father didn't even leave you with a spear why should you want to acquire other people's properties you say you legally acquired it other people 30 parties got it where did you ever hear and see a property of a demised person being transacted in 30 party form you are educated you went to the invest of Zambia you are not any retreat this country privileged you with an education why don't you use your education positively to support poor people why do you want to take advantage of poor people Mr. Againde Samihichilema think read your bible what is wrong with you


Good evening dear colleagues, let us resume our plenary and we are going to have now our debate on enlargement package and European neighborhood policy. We have with us an integrated honour, Commissioner Oliver Vareli, Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, dear Commissioner Vareli, I would like to welcome you to the European Committee of the Regents, mayors and regional leaders all across Europe share best practices in implementing European policies and it helps regional and local authorities to improve their obligations as service providers and enable transparency and good governance to prosper. This is true within the EU and beyond its external borders. By joining forces with the EU's local authorities, our partners from neighboring countries can speed up reform, improve governance and promote decentralization and transparency. Our committee also promotes digitalization and the green transition and we work to enhance the resilience of communities such as cross-border solidarity during the health crisis. Greater and territorial cooperation tools are used to promote peer-learning and foster confidence-building strategies. Citizen regions work together to localize the sustainable development goals and broaden the governance of mayors to fight climate change with a view to anchoring our neighboring countries to the Union. Regents is multilateral but also multilevel. Regents and cities can help the EU to make a success of capacity-building initiatives from the bottom up. The first European grouping of territorial cooperation was created across between Ukraine and Hungary and we have also supported the newly established HOMADAS in Ukraine working with EU-LEAD and creating peer-learning arrangements focusing on decentralization. With the same commitment, we stand ready today to foster integrity in Ukraine and look forward to the enlargement of the Integrity City program. We believe in the added value of multilateralism and we have delivered on this in both the Eastern Partnership and the Union for the Mediterranean, Core Lib, recently proposed setting up an academy for public administration open to sub-national level and I really encourage the Commission to support this proposal at the next summit. Same time, we continue to promote the Mayors for Economic Change project and stand ready to work with the civil society and municipalities of Belarus to help its people through positive reform. We welcome the BRIC program for territorial development in Belarus and continue to offer the Commission our support to get the peer-learning process started whenever possible. We also support the Barcelona process and we bring a territorial dimension to it through Arlem. We have set up a network of European and Libyan mayors able to catalyze change from continuous learning to fisheries, from water to waste management. In the last four years, we have helped establish internal dialogue in Libya, elaborated funds for sustainable development, creating solid partnership with European peers. This has enabled the mayors of Tripoli and Benghazi, together with the elected officials of Friuli, Venezia, Julia and Galicia to learn how to develop the fishing industry for trading with Europe. Enhancing local democracy and territorial development is essential prior to any enlargement and we want to stress that out. Together with the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, we fought for the holding of municipal elections in Mosta, restoring local democracy after a decade. We continue to work with local authorities from all the area to help them reform public administration, fight corruption and move closer to the union standards and legislation. Finally, we argue the case for international law prevailing over acts of provocation in the Mediterranean. When it comes to Turkey and the Mediterranean, I would hope that many of the country's mayors can still work to foster good relations with the EU and fight for fundamental freedoms and for change within the country. I would like to bring to your attention concerns expressed by the mayor in exile of Fama Augusta who calls for the union to defend European interests in Cyprus and it's not only Cyprus, it's the whole of the Mediterranean. And let us not forget, Commissioner, that the borders of these countries are the borders of the European Union and we need to protect them. So dear Commissioner, again thank you very much for joining us today, it's a great honour and privilege, the floor is now yours. Thank you very much President, thank you very much for providing me this opportunity to talk to you and to engage directly with you, this is very much appreciated and it's been long overdue I think, however this completely exceptional year unfortunately prevented us from having a direct exchange so far but I try to make the most out of it this time. So first of all I do welcome the very strong interest that this committee is showing in our policy fields, enlargement enabled. Communicating on the strategic importance of these issues in your dialogue with the local and regional authorities is key, it is these authorities which are the closest maybe to citizens and they provide many services that benefit the local community directly. For instance the municipal infrastructure, wastewater treatment, education or support to the SMEs, I think these are the key issues that touches the lives of people the most. Therefore we are engaging with them as well given their very significant role with regard to implementing EU support programmes and to include citizens in the EU related issues. As you know the Western Balkans is a priority from the first day in office for this Commission but not only it is a priority for this Commission but it is a priority for all of us including the leaders grouped in the European Council the last time in May this year. From day one we have been working therefore in support of the region along three very important tracks. First we had to reinforce the renewed and renew the enlargement process through a revised methodology to make the policy more credible, more effective and more predictable not only for the region but also for our member states. Second on this basis we have been able to achieve the decision to open negotiations, accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia in March and lastly we are strongly focusing now on the spinning up of the economic convergence of the region with the EU and supporting its recovery efforts in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have adopted a major economic and investment plan for the whole region as you know and this plan aims at providing up to 9 billion euros in funding in the form of grants complemented by the new Western Balkans guarantee facility which could raise and should raise at least 20 billion euros of funding. These investment package is structured around flagship projects in key areas such as transport, energy, the private sector and human capital development and we believe that these projects have the potential to transform the region in the next four to five years and should bring the Western Balkans much closer to the EU than today. Just to illustrate the size of this operation what I can already share with you is that we are mobilizing around one third of the whole of the GDP of the entire region and we hope that this package is capable of raising the economic output of the region by at least 3.6 percent and this package should address the major economic deficiencies that prevent the region from catching up but also should bring about change that will create a credible European path for not only these countries but also the people in these regions because we hope that through this plan we can bring connections, railway connections, highway connections between all the capitals of the region. We do hope that we will be able to build high-speed broadband internet core networks between these countries and with Europe. We believe that we can change the landscape when it comes to the energy sector of these countries by helping them to phase out core. These could bring major changes not only to the economies but the people of these countries. I also believe that our European regions can play a very important role in helping the Western Balkans to implement the plan. For example by sharing experience, one experience like the experience of coal and carbon-intensive regions in transition in Europe because as I said phasing out coal is one of the key elements of this plan and so is connectivity with us. The Western Balkans and Ukraine will also benefit from regional specific support to boost innovation capacity, remove investment barriers and equip workers with the right skills to prepare for economic transformation. This is why we're currently supporting a pilot action for regions in industrial transition. Knowledge transfer between the EU and the Western Balkans is already taking place in the context of the Covenant of Mayors. A number of Western Balkan cities are already associated to this initiative and more should be encouraged to join. In 2018 upon your call we launched a pilot in three Western Balkan countries, Albania, Bosnia, Zagogina and Serbia through the so-called TAEX strategic support to local authorities. We supported and developed capacities in such key areas as administrative and management capacity, strategic planning, state aid, public procurement and wastewater management. Based on the successes of the pilot we are currently reflecting on how to provide support to selected local authorities in all Western Balkan countries. We hope to be able to test this approach in other regions as well starting possibly with selected countries in the eastern neighborhood. I welcome your continued interest in this matter and your support to peer learning activities with local authorities. Our neighborhood is of strategic importance to the EU as I said. Therefore, we need to maintain a privileged relationship with all neighbors and continue to support their stability and foster prosperity. Never before was this more important than now when we are all facing the same crisis which is a double crisis, a health one and an economic one. This for that reason that we have reached out from the very beginning of the crisis to synchronize our efforts in overcoming the health crisis and now the economic one. Let me thank you and the conference of the regional and local authorities for the Eastern Partnership, for the excellent cooperation in strengthening the local dimension of the Eastern Partnership and in particular for a valuable contribution to the future post 2020 framework. Building capacity at local level is particularly important for providing better services to citizens and businesses as well as increasing understanding and visibility of the benefits of the Eastern Partnership policy. Through regional initiatives, we already activate outside the capitals our Eastern partners. Let me provide a couple of examples. Through mayors of economic growth, the EU supports mayors and municipalities to design and implement local economic development plans to stimulate economic activity and support local businesses. The Covenant of Mayors which is the EU's most trademark initiative for local and energy climate action has grown into a network of 400 municipalities covering around 40 percent of the population of the six partner countries. We're working in all these municipalities supporting sustainable energy plans and implementing key projects such as on-street lightning and energy efficiency. I welcome the idea of setting up an Eastern Partnership Academy for public administration as well. We're happy to see interest from some of our Eastern partners and EU member states in direct exchange of experience. Based on the experience of the regional school for public administration in the Western Balkans and member states initiatives, we are now developing a proposal on the Eastern Partnership Academy which we hope that we can present as early as next year. As we move forward with the preparing of the post 2020 Eastern Partnership agenda, we hope to continue our fruitful cooperation in the future and rely on your broad pool of expertise. Myself and my team will be happy to hear you about your ideas on engagement at local and regional level. Turning to the southern neighborhood, recently we have took the opportunity at the 25th anniversary of the Barcelona process to officially kick off our reflections and consultation process for a more strategic and ambitious partnership with that region. The consultation process will conclude in the first half of 2021 with the adoption by the College of a joint proposal for a renewed partnership. The focus will be on economic development, trade and investment. The consultation process is now ongoing with member states, partner countries and the like. The Commission recognizes the important role of the Union for the Mediterranean and the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly for stronger and strategic engagement with partner governments and local authorities to create a more inclusive and sustainable Euro-Mediterranean partnership. I encourage you and the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly to further develop your cooperation with the Union for the Mediterranean to stimulate local businesses, support youth, young entrepreneurs and encourage collaboration between local authorities and the private sector. I also welcome your partnership with the Union for the Mediterranean in the Arlem Award 2021 which helps showcase young innovative entrepreneurs working in cooperation with the local authorities for the local communities. The Commission is supporting local authorities through various climate-related projects, most notably Klimament, which engages directly with the municipalities and helps them in designing and funding energy and climate investment plans. Our project also serves as a local office for the Covenant of Mayors. Last but not least, let me use this opportunity to thank you for your long-standing cooperation with my services on the Nicosia initiative in Libya. Following recent positive developments in the political process, Libya is now at a turning point. It is important to continue working with the local authorities to help improve their public service delivery capacities and foster stabilization in the country. The Commission is committed to further support the initiative. With this, I do thank you for your attention and I'm of course not happy to answer any comments or questions you may have. Thank you. Thank you very much. Let me give the floor now to Nikola Dubroslavic from the EPP for four minutes. Thank you President, dear Commissioner Varholi, dear colleagues. The communication on the EU enlargement package 2020 and economic and investment plan for the Western Balkans are confirmation of the continued engagement of the EU institutions in the Western Balkan countries and reaffirms Commission's position that enlargement is in the political, economic, and security interests of the EU. The communication is an accurate analysis of the situation in the Western Balkans. We noticed though that local and regional level is not represented enough in the document. Economic and investment plan for the Western Balkans with the EU help for investments of 9 billion euro is most welcome and can also foster the accession process. The Committee of the Regents is designing an opinion on the Commission's documents. The adoption of the opinion is scheduled for the plenary in March next year. The opinion will express the stance of the Committee of the Regents on those documents. It will focus on the position of local and regional authorities in the enlargement countries on their role in the accession process and on the overall functioning of local democracy in those countries. The opinion will reinforce previous stance of the Committee of the Regents, especially the position that all the Western Balkan countries should become EU members. Their accession would be good for those countries, but also for the EU. But these countries must fulfill all the criteria for membership in the EU. Turkey must first of all convince the EU that it is willing to accept all EU standards and to share European values. The opinion will advocate strengthening of the position and of the role of local and regional authorities in the enlargement countries. It will address deficiencies in the functioning of local democracy, especially the phenomenon of the state capture, shortcomings in the rule of law, in media freedom, respect of minority rights, fight against corruption and so on. The Committee of the Regents has with local and regional authorities from enlargement countries cooperation and dialogue through its joint consultative committees and its working groups. That is a good reason to have this Committee of the Regents involved in the negotiation processes. EU's commitment to the enlargement process towards Western Balkan countries is an opportunity for these countries. The economic and investment plan as well. But political will and determination by the partner countries remain key to success. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr Dubrovslavich. The floor now on behalf of the PEH group to Yaroslav Klimka. She's also the rapporteur for four minutes, please. Okay, let's move to our next speaker. On behalf of the Renew Europe Group, Yasna Gavrits for three minutes. Thank you very much, Mr Chair. Dear Commissioner, Mr Varhele, I would like to warmly welcome you on behalf of the Renew Europe Group. We liberals are strong believers in EU enlargement to the Western Balkans. I'm the co-chair of the joint consultative committee. CORE has set up with local authorities in North Macedonia. I'm now sadly looking to the Western Balkans and seeing how yet another member state is delaying the start of negotiations with North Macedonia. The country took a bold step with the hard decision of changing the name of the country. Now the country is facing another hurdle. I'm concerned about the position of Bulgaria blocking the opening of negotiations with North Macedonia, something that already had been agreed in the council conclusions in March. This is even more surprising from a country that was emphasizing a European perspective of the Western Balkans during its presidency in 2018. Indeed, Mrs Pavlova, minister responsible for Bulgaria's EU presidency, stated in 2018 and I'm quoting, the peace, the calm, the stability and the future of Europe passed through the Western Balkans. The European project will not be complete without them. The end of quote. By not opening the accession negotiations as foreseen by the end of this year, Europe is taking a big risk. This might lead to national sentiment again to reach the surface in North Macedonia as well as in Bulgaria. We also risk making North Macedonia lose patience with the EU. We know too well that other foreign powers are interested in the region and if the EU is not there for them, others will be. EU must therefore reasset its leadership in the region and must urgently show to the people of the Western Balkans that the EU is there for them. As chair of the joint consultative committee core North Macedonia, I will now look into what we can do more to be part of this process. I would personally like us to launch peer-to-peer exercises. This has proven very useful in our cooperation with Ukrainian local authorities. In that case, the European Commission has supported the endeavor financially. I would therefore like to ask you if you believe the European Commission could play a role also here in assisting us in building up peer-to-peer exercises with our counterparts in North Macedonia. My own municipality, Terbolia in Slovenia, has had a very good experience with our sister city Valandova in North Macedonia. We started an Erasmus for young people which has proven very successful. We are looking for good practices on both sides to share with each other. I believe it would be beneficial to put in place more projects and peer-to-peer exercises between cities in the EU and cities in the Western Balkans with support of the EU. I would be happy to lead this process when it comes to exchanges between municipalities in the EU and North Macedonia through the Joint Consultative Committee for North Macedonia. Thank you, commissioners, and thank you all. I would like to highlight at least four activities. First, we should create a program for exchange of experience between local and regional authorities, when it comes to the use of European assistance, when it comes to issues related to the functioning of democratic devices. Secondly, we should create an initiative for old-fashioned programs for workers of the device, which is a tool for students, for young people, so that they can prepare frames for the exchange of democratic devices and also for the construction of the European society. I think that the commission could create a special fund for older people who would be able to use the European Union as a tool for the development of these devices. Thirdly, I would like to appeal the support of the European Commission for the development of the Eastern European Union with the University of the School of Public Administration in one of the countries of the Eastern partnership. Of course, it would also be possible to prepare frames for democracy. For democracy, it would be possible. Fourthly, I would like to develop and strengthen the trans-border programs. My warriors participate in the Transmissions Program of the Polish Belarus of Ukraine. Since the 16th anniversary of the success of this program, we are impressed. And I write 400 projects and then over 400 million euros.  Of course, the social, personal, and I think they are also one of the lower elements of these programs. So thank you for your attention. Please, Mr. Komsomol, thank you for these mentioned four things. I think that everyone would like to have a Belarus-Ukrainian presence. Thank you very much. On behalf of the EA group, Mr. Yosef Kobor for two minutes. They are commissioners, they are colleagues. We are 25 years after the Dayton-based agreement which ended the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And 21 years after the end of the last Yugoslavia war and 17 years after the Thessaloniki summit, which stated that the future of the region is in the EU. We speak about six western Balkan countries. Two countries have not been recognized as EU candidates and there is very little hope they will be recently. Two countries are halted in the council because of bilateral problems and other political reasons. And only two have started the long negotiation processes. Out of those, Serbia did not open a single chapter in the 2020, while Montenegro opened only one. In that context, we local and regional authorities have a very important role to play in building and maintaining bridges with our peers and neighbors. And that also means actively involving them in the conference on the future of Europe and the implementation of the EU's green agenda. We can do that through committee of the region's working groups and joint consultative committees, but also through initiatives for which we need your support, Mr. Commissioner. Such as peer and to peer cooperation programs and a new programming period is starting now. And I would like to point out a very useful study commissioned by our CIVES commission, which we are present in a structured and concise way various EU funding opportunities for local and regional authorities in western Balkan. We can share our experiences in implementing EU policies, applying and implementing EU funding, project, etc. Mr. Commissioner, we are both Hungarians. Some of our regions, like my city of Peach and your city of Seger, have deep historical and cultural connections for regions that are currently outside of the EU. Thank you very much from the Greens, Urus, Brezan, for two minutes. Thank you, President, their commissioner, their colleagues. It is in our great interest that Union's neighborhood is safe, peaceful and prosperous. And to achieve that, we should engage all our disposable means. That is why we welcome the commission's proposal for an economic and investment plan for the western Balkans, containing 9 billion euros in grants and an addition of 20 billion of guaranteed loans. We urge the commission that these funds remain closely connected to the implementation of the Green agenda for western Balkans, with which EU would synchronize and stretch its Green Deal policy to our closest neighborhood, ensuring a path towards climate neutrality by 2050 is not only an urgent challenge, but also an inviting opportunity to build a better future for all. We strongly hope such a cooperation will also strengthen pro-EU forces in candidate countries and those in the countries on the way to the status, to take the necessary steps forward in forcing their local democracies, rule of law and good governance, and on the other hand, avoiding the danger of state capture. The Greens would like to underline that, especially for the western Balkans, the awareness of tragic legacy of previous armed conflicts, unresolved disputes over sovereignty and territory is crucial, as well as is the willingness to tackle those problems. We are convinced that the approaches of alternative dispute resolution with the help of EU are the only possible way to a fruitful future cooperation within the region and also EU integration. Thank you from Socha Valley, Julian Alps, Slovenia. Thank you very much. Is Jaroslav Hlinka now on behalf of the PES Group available? Thank you very much. Let me start with a clear message. Our enlargement partners need a real and trustworthy perspective for EU membership. We cannot expect from them to make progress on different reforms. And once they have done so, EU member states still block the beginning of negotiations. North Macedonia is a good example for this. They have delivered what we have asked for and EU membership talks should have already started. However, the beginning of these talks is blocked and the Intergovernmental Conference cannot start as planned before the end of the year. To avoid any misunderstandings, I know, of course, that North Macedonia, like the other enlargement countries, has a long way to go until EU membership. Nevertheless, the way some of the EU member states are using the enlargement process to reach their own individual goals reminds me of the story of the donkey and the carrot on the stick. The donkey, in this case, the enlargement countries, have a carrot on a stick. In this case, the goal of EU membership, hanging in front of their nose. They keep running towards the carrot, but it never comes closer. Although I am not a member of the working group with Turkey, I know that the COA in the effort to maintain an open dialogue with our Turkish local and regional country parts held its annual meeting in Edirne one year ago. Edirne is located in that Greek-Turkish land border where Erdogan decided to maintain pressure on Western countries over the Syrian conflict by encouraging refugees on its soil to go to Europe. Turkey remains a key partner for the EU, but has to clarify if they still want to join the EU. The enlargement package 2020 presents an honest analysis of the progress made, but it really misses more information on the state of play, on the local level. We as European politicians from the local and regional level know best that the situation on the national level does not represent the situation on the local and regional level. So for our work, it would be very useful to receive this additional input from the EU enlargement package in the future. To conclude, the Western Balkan countries and Turkey want to join the EU or are negotiating already to do so. Please use your power as EU commissioner for enlargement to plea to EU member states to send positive political signals to these countries. If we want to stabilize the European Union and its neighborhood and present those countries an honest option of a European future, EU member states need to stick to their commitments, agree to the negotiation framework for Albania and North Macedonia. Thank you very much for your attention to the commissioner for his first reaction, Oliver Vareli, commissioner. Thank you very much. I think most of what we heard were comments, but let's start with the very important remark that the EU chairman made when it comes to our relations with Turkey. Yes, we see a major decline in our relations, although I'm convinced that we have to always keep in mind the long-term relations that we want to have with Turkey, because we are neighbors with Turkey, we are NATO allies with Turkey and Turkey is a very important partner. Unfortunately, Turkey has not been respecting our member states, Turkey has been violating the sovereignty of some of our member states and we will always be united and we will always be helping our member states and we will stand by them. And I think that this is what Turkey will need to understand, if not today then maybe after tomorrow when the leaders in the European Council will discuss this issue and we will see very clear messages emerging from there and of course the commission will be ready and willing to implement the outcome of tomorrow's discussions at leaders level. Now, coming to the first question I got from Mrs. Gabrić, the peer-to-peer exercise in North Macedonia, I think we're more than open to consider this idea and I will instruct my colleagues to take quick contact with your office so that we can see what you have in mind exactly and that we can start to put this into operation. Now, to Mr. Ortil on Belarussia, yes, I fully agree with you. We are in a very difficult period now, but we are convinced that the people of Belarussia deserve our support and we will continue to support them. This is why we have been redeploying as much funding as possible directly to the people of Belarussia. This is something that we are working on and you might expect clear decisions coming from the Commission these days in redeploying 25 million euros directly to the civil society. We are also working on a plan, as some of you was quoting this old Greek tale about the donkey and the carrot. We are also preparing a carrot because we are hopeful that Belarussia will go through a democratic change and in the end we will be able to support even more and deepen our relations with the Belarussia that is changed, that is transformed into a democracy. And this is for that reason that we are also preparing a positive package for the new Belarussia that is yet to come. To Mr. Kubor, he gave a gloomy picture of the Balkans, something that I also share, but it is because of this gloomy picture that we need to double our efforts and this is what we have been doing this year. And I share the frustration of all of you about the fact that we have not been able to follow up the major political breakthrough we have achieved this March in opening accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania and that we have not been able to translate this into action on the ground but we work very hard to make it happen as quickly as possible. I understand that there is a bilateral issue that prevented us from doing that but we are reaching out to both parties to be able to overcome this with sensible pragmatic solutions. I am confident that we can achieve this but this also requires both sides to show more flexibility and show more pragmatism. And therefore we need to continue to engage. I am very sure that we have a solution that should be acceptable for both. And we should not lose time by engaging in debates that are leading us nowhere. We should show on the EU side our commitment to our previous decisions and this is why I count on the area coming around in the end. And then to Mr Brezan, our economic and investment plan contains all the green elements and a very clear link with the green deal that the commission has put on the table for the EU member states. If you look at the plan you will see the very strong focus of green investments throughout the Balkans. And I must also share with you that these priorities have not been set by us and this is very important. We are not setting priorities the Western Balkans have never asked for. On the contrary these priorities have been worked out together with them. It also shows true commitment, ownership and commitment on their side. When you look at the latest decision they have adopted in Sofia last month and their Berlin process summit where they have committed to a green deal for the Western Balkans leading to our climate goals as well. Now to Mr Linka finally, yes I fully agree with you. We need to be credible in delivering that when there is delivery on the conditions we should also be delivering on our side. And this is part of the new methodology that you have seen emerging and now it is high time to implement that new methodology. Thank you Commissioner. Let's move on with our dear members who want to take the floor and I give the floor now to Franz Sausberger for one minute. Yes, Mr Commissioner, thank you very much for your information on the expansion, especially in the Western Balkans. And I would like to make a few short remarks. First of all, I would very much like to see that despite your personal commitment and commitment to the entire commission, the expansion that has been in the background in the last time, in my opinion, is now more in the center of your entire policy. Second of all, in the overall planned discussion about the future of Europe, the expansion countries of the Western Balkans must at least be able to participate as active observers. Because I am convinced that the EU must also recognize the opinion of those who are on the way to the EU. The third, and I have already talked about this today, I would like to ask you, especially those of the EU, or those of the EU, who with completely un-European arguments block the recordings of negotiations with North Macedonia, to convince them that this country is damaging the whole of Europe. It is not about the progress, it is about the recording of negotiations of a country that already has the candidate status since 2005. And I fear that the whole thing is a certain danger for peace in the whole region. And the last point, I would like to ask you to move on. For one minute. Mr. Roberto Ciambetti, please, for one minute. In the month of November, we managed to have our first meeting in virtual form. As Leven Sabra, Montenegro, recently lived, in the elections at all levels of governance, last week a new government finally sat down. Also for this reason, for us, which is even more important at the moment, to raise the numbers in our paper. As a consultative committee, we gave the mission to explore as much energy as possible between the two slopes of the Adriatic Sea, on how to find common solutions for economic repartition. My land, Veneto and Montenegro, have a lot in common from a historical and economic point of view. And for this, it is natural to be able to cooperate even in these difficult times. Commissioner, would you allow me to present the pressing need that our partners bring to each other? Thank you. I would like to give the best to the local people. Thank you again. Thank you. The word now to Mr. Christoph, okay. Then Anna Maguiar, please. One minute. Thank you. I would like to say that I am sure that the European Union has a lot to say about this. It is important that we should be stronger together, as one of the former representatives of the European Union. I know very well that there are still opportunities, but we have to speed up the process, for example, with Serbia. Ambassador of Parliament, Ambassador Istvan Pastor, said a security letter that will be useful for the next 20 years and it is important that more than a year has passed. I am sure that everything will be fine with the next six months. We would love to agree on it, but it will also be better for other organisations. I am very sorry that the Budapest Economic Coordination Conference, which was held as a priority as a priority, has remained in place, but I am sure that we will be able to get together in the right time. It is important that Bistrosur supports the initiative of the Economic Coordination Association. I think that it will be important to make sure that the environment is protected, because of the innovation issues. In addition, the Cultural Coordination Association has also made a list of the existing partnerships with the International Coordination Association and the International Coordination Association for Cultural and Economic Coordination. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. The floor now to Mirja Verkapera for one minute. Thank you for the phone call. I am Marvosa Komissari. In Finland, there is an external beach with a sea of thousand and three hundred and forty kilometers. Our southern neighboring countries have a day off. The Coordination Association meets with the shopping mall, the travel, cultural cooperation and education. In recent years, the European Naval Coordination Association has been established in other areas of the world as well as in the field of monitoring and communication. During the coronavirus period, Finland and the United States are moving people, goods and less problems. We Finns, we are in a strong European relationship with the United States, and we hope that the European Union will be able to improve the current relations between Europe and the United States. Thank you very much. The floor now to Ainsran Pal. Please, for one minute. Yes, Mr. President, Mr. Commissioner, Mr. President, I would really like to salute the ambition of the European Commission to strengthen the partnership with the South Coast of the Mediterranean as part of the new strategy of southern neighboring countries expected for the first 21st semester. We are 22 countries co-appropriated of a part of this Mediterranean river that is our common sea. It is therefore important that this new strategy is prioritized in the most recent challenges of the Mediterranean basin, including climate change, food security and sustainable recovery following the pandemic. These new challenges claim a political framework that associates territorial collectivities and that allows to address and resolve joint maintenance problems and better exploit the common potential of the region. In particular, a macro-regional strategy for the Mediterranean that would gather representatives of the European Union, the United States and regions, as well as other territorial partners and civil society would allow to strengthen the cooperation in the Mediterranean and would give greater cooperation to the different interventions on the priorities identified by the Union for the Mediterranean and the policy of neighboring neighboring countries. Thank you very much, Madame. Thank you very much. Let me now give the floor again to Mr. Kaminski if he is connected for one minute. He is not connected, so Commissioner, you can go ahead with your final remarks. Thank you. Let's go one by one to Mr. Schausberger. I think that the entire commission is committed to the Western Balkans. At least this is what I sense and what I see from the support I get from other colleagues, especially from our president. As you have seen, maybe the best example is the COVID crisis. We have been very quick in mobilizing all the help for the Western Balkans first, actually, among our neighborhood and we have been able to mobilize as much as 3.3 billion euros. For this, I needed the support of the entire commission. For me, this is a very clear commitment from all of us towards the region. Your second question whether they should participate in the future of Europe Conference? Of course. It's very important that they also share their views with us within that context. It is always very important to listen to countries before they are joining. But there is one trap that we should avoid, making enlargement to be the topic of the future of Europe. Because enlargement is not an issue that would have to be debated within the context of the future of Europe. We have clear articles already in the treaty about the fact that enlargement is a permanent policy of the European project, because we want to bring peace and prosperity throughout our continent. Third comment was about circumventing the blockages. This is how I noted it down basically to circumvent the veto of the member state concerned when it comes to North Macedonia. In this case. Well, it is a very difficult and very heavy question. So I wouldn't like to give you a hasty answer to that. I don't think that it is the right approach, because after all enlargement is about all of us. Enlargement is about all member states feeling comfortable about the whole process. There are so many points in which we need all member states to agree that it is no point pushing somebody aside, and only to find out later on that their opposition to the project have only grown. So this is why my message has been that we need to find pragmatic solutions and after all becoming an EU member state is all about being able to make pragmatic choices, pragmatic decisions and to come to common understanding even on most difficult issues. I do hope that through this process we will get there and as I said we are doubling our efforts to get there. To Mr. Ciembatti Yes, we need more synergies with the Southern neighborhood and with this I would like to also answer to Mrs. Rampal that we need the Southern neighborhood to be more prosperous more secure and more stable and it is for that reason that we are now reaching out to them because we see also a huge potential in redesigning our partnership. A huge potential emerges from this crisis because we see that very many companies are now looking for new investments new geographic areas to invest in. And the single biggest challenge that we face also in the Southern neighborhood is due to the fact that we have a significant divergence between the economic development of the Southern neighborhood and Europe. And if we are able to help them with this priority to build more resilient stronger economies, diversify their economies, we will have a much more stable, much more secure neighborhood and also we can create a buy-in on their side on issues that are highly important to us, like building a strong economy for them for us, of course there are many issues like addressing illegal migration. To Mrs. Magyaranna yes, I fully agree with you that we have a unique opportunity in front of us now in Serbia. We have a government with a large majority in the parliament with a program that is focused on reforms reforms without which no European path can be brought forward. The first delivery we have seen already these days and I think that if Serbia is ready to engage the EU is also ready to engage and this is for that reason our efforts in work with Serbia of course we are not here to do it alone we need Serbia to come along and to deliver and finally on the relations with Russia I'm happy to say that Russia does not make part of my portfolio because that is a very difficult topic as long as Russia is threatening its neighbors and occupying their territory I failed to see how we could move forward with that. Thank you very much. Commissioner Vareli the discussion or debate on EU enlargement has reached its end so I would like to thank you very much for your time your commitments and your hard work and I would also like to thank all of our members our colleagues who have been following all day this second day of our plenary the second day of our plenary is now over


chaos. We know that society is a social turmoil that has not stopped one single day of other forces, the left in particular, because we are in the Egyptian army is the closest ally and by far that Washington has in Egypt.  Washington in a sense understands them, understands why they are acting like that, because it's obvious that the Muslim Brotherhood failed the test of restoring law and order and managing to bring Egypt back on the path of some stability. They miserably failed in that regard. What we are facing in the Arab world is something on the scale of what you would call the English Revolution, the French Revolution, that is a revolutionary process that spreads over many years, if not many decades actually. And that's exactly what's going on, what's happening in the Arab world and we are only at an initial stage of all that. A lot is yet to come. As long as, as we have seen under Morsi and before him, the military, they are only continuing the same kind of economic policies that were enforced already in the time of Mubarak, with the IMF putting pressure for more of the same, more of the same that led to the disaster. So as long as you have this, you won't have any stability. I also can't imagine the army wanting to go to the confrontation, because that would be dangerous for the whole country actually. If the economy of Egypt is now on the verge of bankruptcy, you can imagine that if the situation degenerates even further than that, it will, I mean, it will be a total disaster. They reached their peak. This was the swan song, what we have seen, was the swan song of the Muslim Brotherhood. And I think they are engaged in a decline, which doesn't mean that they will be wiped off the map in the next year or so. They have tremendous forces, so they will still be playing, they will still be a major actor on the scene, but they, I mean, the wind is not blowing in favorable direction for them. Their strength is the weakness of the alternatives. Whatever alternative you're contemplating, left-wing or liberal, they are so weak in the region. They have shown so little ability to raise to the level of situation and bring any kind of homogeneous responses to the crisis.


Now we're digging into the personal things boys. We don't know what's happening If this video doesn't get a million views, I'm firing Wren. Oh, it is coffee. It is coffee. I think my mom drinks that too Is that kind of what you're telling me about? Yeah, it's a Chicory Cuban espresso. Is that the chicory or no? No, I'm way off So I feel like a coffee with like chicory like the New Orleans Comes in a case like that Yeah, a little bit the cafe de monk coffee. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it can a similar ish case Can't even smell it one more. No more One more I can actually here to work. I crack it so you can smell it is amazing Like gives me a headache it gives me a weird body feel Maybe I'm just sensitive. Yeah, there's something I have the same issue with chocolate If I eat too much chocolate not even too much like like chocolate cookie with chocolate chips or just chocolate by itself I get like a weird feeling I can't explain Maybe I can do it if it's in like vanilla and I can do it if it's if I have a glass of milk to like tone that stuff down But those are I don't know I don't even know how to explain it and normally I just tell people I don't like it And I don't try to explain because you sound like an insane human. Oh, perfect. Shall we stuff? Yes? This is the test to see if this works. Yeah, I don't work. We're going uptown.  Yeah, curtain is closed.  What do we got Bob's? And then I think I've explained it but we got 24-hour access here for like a premium membership so you can come in We're secure. We got cameras and stuff to make you feel safe. I mean you just come through the front door and you can come in 24-7 we do have gym hours, so a membership is a little bit more affordable We have pretty decent hours like six in the morning ten at night If you want to be around the crowds and whatever but if you work night shift or you're a morning morning person Then you know, that's how it goes eventually we'll be like custom fobs and stuff We're ramping up give us a sec right now. We just got Bob's for the cruise right Or oh beautiful Let's show the kids what they look like Scared me for a sec. Just Just a little fobby you literally just chuck it on the door It's so easy.  I'm into powerlifting. I'm in it strength and conditioning. I'm an aesthetics, but We want this gym to be available for everybody and One of my biggest pet peeves. I think power lifters in specific or we're talking about how sore and tight and this and that Shout out to Alan for his tight video That they literally just don't warm up It's literally that simple walk a little bit more bike a little bit more. So a big piece is to not only create a space Where everybody can train here? Not that's not a power lifter, you know, if you're into just general fitness, but To get some of these chubby bunnies moving a little bit more. So we got a rower mr. Concept I'm gonna try to put it together Let's see if I put this together. I'm not that talented, but let's see what happens Ladies and gentlemen It feels like forever since we've spoken in this way for some reason when you're vlogging And i'm either around people or there's a stream of thought that I have talking to the camera It feels way different than podcasting Where I'm obviously talking to my guest or jim mcd. You know my co-host Versus Doing this a voiceover It all just has such a different Vibe to it. I obviously it's the same thing. I'm talking to a microphone To all you beautiful people that have supported me and loved me for so long That talented courageous kind people that you are That have talent that have that have supported me for so long But the the thought process behind my head or how it feels I can't really explain it one day Maybe I'll come to it, but I can't really explain how it feels, but it feels so so different I think we got a collaboration here congregation here a metaphorical soup vegetable soup a metaphorical frying pan mixed batch of workouts Your boys back on the grind Basically my basic split Is trying to go every other day So one session is bench squat focused rest day bench squat overhead press and then a bunch of fluff rest day Deadlift squat bench a tiny bit of fluff more isolation fluff And I know those pretty technical jargon. Hopefully you guys can keep up with What i'm putting down here But because life is a little hectic right now and I know it's pretty crazy for a lot of us But my schedule is just being thrown about in life I have this good framework that i'm basing everything on and I have a general outline of My progressions through the main lifts and then the supplementary lifts are so easy I just try to do an extra set an extra rep two and a half more pounds Something every session And I try to feel good and right now to be honest I'm still a little achy and I don't feel as explosive I kind of use the metaphor of like really slamming on the on the gas pedal When i'm doing my compound lifts i'm starting to get there I can't really floor it or press the nos or whatever dom torretto is doing to really haul ass I'm not quite there. I'm not double clutch shifting or something But i'm moving pretty good and I can I can push into the ground or push into the bar pretty good You know maybe maybe 70 80 percent You know if you ever played any sports basketball football baseball it doesn't really matter sucker You kind of warm up and you can't like full sprint yet until you're fully warm How good of shape i'm in or how strong I feel kind of determines that on how hard I can kind of press into the bar And it's just because i've been doing it so long and maybe you feel it too or maybe you guys don't You know consciously feel that but maybe you're like oh some days I feel strong and some days I feel explosive and some days I don't To me it's like literally how hard I can flex into a bar um squat bench dead overhead and right now even on the fully warm fresh feeling days Although these sets look pretty explosive. You're looking at right now a little sumo day these days The the bar is moving pretty good. I'm still not like fully flexed or pushing into it I forgot what I finished with but I think it's 545 for a single um a couple back downs you saw my typical warm up Here at Thirsty Barbell. We have a couple cardio machines because you know I'm kind of anti foam roll. I'm kind of anti I want to say I'm anti mobility, but I'm anti Mobility to the level I think the internet took it and a lot of you guys probably take it There's no reason to be rolling around on the floor like a dead Fish like a magic carp if I will for all my nerds out there for freaking hours even even 10 minutes, you know Um, I think a lot of the chance Chances you'll have change in your positioning and lifting will come from one a good general warm-up Which everyone's skipping on so whether you want to jog elliptical walk jump rope do lunges. I don't care I choose an assault bike or step mill To I think some kind of resistance or moving through the plane of motion With a bar belt will probably help you feel a little bit better and get into those better positions So if you're having trouble hitting depth on squat, take the barbell Take a plate and pause down there or really take your time Here's session number two. So you guys saw a little bit of pulls after that I just again hit squats bench and then Light accessories, but here's big. Uh, I think I think I got a belt on I don't know, but I'm here with my boy big dano um You guys might know him a storm cloud or fat dan Uh been my boy for a very long time. It was this very same building that I actually met him I think he was 21 years old Which is insane because the dude's 28. He's a business owner He works multiple jobs. He's crushing life. Uh, and we never stayed out of touch by any means He was just never around when I filmed So everyone's like, oh, it's crazy like to see you with dan and filipino thunder marcus But truth is those guys have been around. We've we've always grabbed lunch or we've um Went out to dinner or texted or played video games together Forever, maybe the twitch fan might know a little bit more. We played with those guys It's just that our schedules didn't line up and it's that we didn't work out together And so when I was filming for youtube, they weren't around as much But uh, it's obviously great to have them in my life to have my have them have my back for so long Uh, if dan's 21 now, he's 28. I guess seven years. He's been my boy for seven years. Um And now we're getting him back in the gym So he's insanely busy again working kind of like 240 hour jobs or so So I guess one a little bit more because he owns his own company and for anyone that owns Their own company or is a higher up in their company. You know, it's not really a 40 hour work week So the dude's busy really busy, but uh, I'm gonna try to help him find time to work out And that's a topic for another day another notion But everyone's always saying I don't have time if you don't have time. I don't have time Um, and we prioritize what we do.  I'm thinking off the top of my head But I see all this stuff on twitter and it really started to Toxify my brain dilute my IQ Uh, but basically, you know, they're saying like if it means something to you, you'll do it And I feel it's the same way when you want to make time for friends or make time for the gym Or make time for a new hobby or make time for work. I don't know what the heck this footage is I'm trying to probably film myself squat and dan's still here. He's 28 years old on snapchat Swiping left and right and hot or not cold or not Tinder whatever else app he's on and I'm here trying to grab and grow the biggest quads The west coast has ever seen and it's kind of putting a wrench in my gears, but well, I digress Um, so basically again, uh, I think he just needs, you know, a training partner And that's that goes to the environment and that goes to you know, our our our motto of good company. Uh, I think that I am disciplined enough as a coach and an athlete to train no matter what if I want to if I have a goal Etc. Etc. I would much rather Meet up with my boys that dude probably got like 20 swipes in right there. That was that was a swipe fest by the way Uh, I would much rather meet up with my boys Get a fun session and joke about push each other help each other load the bar Give each other feedback and grab food afterwards. It makes the whole experience a lot more enjoyable Um, and at the end of the day all we have on this planet is time And I want to spend as much time as I can helping others and enjoying my own time Um, and so if I can help my boys have fun, enjoy the space And also enjoy my training time better than I would on my own Obviously, I'd like a little session here and there even today as I'm recording this I did a bench session all by myself and it was it was kind of enjoyable I got to be in my head a little bit. I cranked up the music and I just kind of vibed out Heavy a squat of the freaking come back. We'll get to the comeback talk in a second But I think that's 475 for a pretty easy dub So obviously I'll probably try to push into 495 500 very very soon And start creeping my way back up to a 600 pound squat, which is kind of the ultimate goal of 2021 Everyone always asks me like the the solid concrete goals. And normally I don't numbers wise. Um I have too many other things going on but now Not that I don't I probably have the most going on in my life that I've ever had I just have a little bit of an itch Maybe it's because I'm getting older or maybe it's because I feel good Like I said, I can't fully explode into the bar But I'm feeling pretty good that I want to kind of find these numbers and so Pull above seven again bench above four and squat above six Around 200 pound body weight would probably be the ultimate goal I'm sitting around 220 in the mornings right now And again, I'm only four weeks back into training after a full year off So figuring that out Basically my training right now kind of looks like again I told you the split in the beginning But it's a higher intensity with the barbell on the main list Trying to work up to maybe a pretty good rpe8 of You know double single triple Trying to progress that over time So if I can add weight and do a single if I can't I'll go slightly less weight and do a double triple And then only really one back down set. I'm not really handling that much volume When it comes to my training I have more details in another video coming up. I appreciate you guys so much new videos twice a week Be sure to subscribe and check it out. I'm glad to be back. Thank you guys so much for the support


I'd like to welcome to the stage Bethany McBride. Bethany is from the A New College of Science, and the title of her three-minute thesis tonight is Ceramics for Solar. Our world has high energy demands, but our go-to fossil fuels are destroying our climate. We need to look for new ways to harvest power, and we need to get creative about it. In a garden, we might find green plants in a terracotta pot illuminated by the sun. The plants can use sunlight for their energy needs, but what about that pot? Pottery contains the fundamental building blocks required for the cheap and simple solar power we so desperately need. The humble pot is comprised of tiny crystals made of metals and oxygen. You might know these kinds of materials by another name, ceramics. Ceramics are far more versatile than you might think. They're also far easier to produce than the high-purity silicon used in standard solar devices. We just need to get them to generate power for us. To generate solar power, when we shine sunlight on our materials, electrical charges need to be set free from the atoms inside. These charges must then be made to flow in a certain direction and exit the material, producing electricity. Think of this process like navigating a maze. Imagine you're an electrical charge standing at the entrance door. Sunlight is your go signal. If the door is closed, you can't go anywhere. But if the door is open, you can enter the maze. But if you don't know the layout, you might get lost. The best solar materials will have both an open door and a clear guide to the exit so the charges can get quickly through when the sun is up. For me to make solar ceramics, I need to start with a great foundation for my maze. There's a naturally occurring ceramic mineral called perovskite, which is already really close to achieving solar power. Its door is open to sunlight some of the time, but not all of the time. Also, the atomic arrangement inside perovskite is just a small tweak away from being able to guide charges in selected directions. A great foundation for cheap solar power. My strategy to make solar ceramics is to change the elements inside that perovskite layout so it can use more sunlight and guard charge. I'm doing this with common and easy-to-handle elements like iron and nickel. This means I can make my ceramics cheaply, kind of like pottery, by mixing them together, molding them into a shape and baking them at high temperature. With this work, I hope, ceramics can pave the way to a multitude of applications like you've never imagined. Personally, I dream to one day own a solar garden gnome. Cheap, simple and innovative solar power from garden variety materials is just a few elements away.


Right now, I have my own consulting firm that I use to help nonprofits, specifically in the NASCAR non-profit industry, and I work very closely. My main client is the Martin Truex Junior Foundation, and our mission is to help families who are going through pediatric cancer issues and families that go through ovarian cancer issues and try to put some funding into initiatives that are severely underfunded, but also to help the families with needs that come up that you don't necessarily expect. Martin Truex Junior Foundation has booths at some of the local NASCAR tracks, so we are able to collect donations through selling merchandise branded with the Martin Truex Foundation logo. Hopefully we save lives through the programs that we're able to assist with our charitable donations. It has to be hundreds of thousands of women and children, I'm glad to say, and I think we've reached the million dollar mark this year over the past 10 years that we've been able to raise. She has had challenges in her life. She has had both personal as well as professional, and in every instance when she's had a challenge, she's been able to rise up and meet that challenge and do her best to be able to overcome it or to be able to figure out how to get through it. I do have something called pulmonary sarcoidosis, which is something that there is no cure for. Pretty much my immune system thinks something's going on inside there, and it's not.  That combined with my asthma, I have about a little over 50% lung function. I am a diabetic also, I have diabetes. So that's a challenge to, again, especially when you're in this busy, busy life and you're traveling and doing that kind of thing. Just to know what you can eat, you usually have to bring it yourself. You just have to be dedicated and rigid and try to keep your doctor's appointments.  So it's, you know, some days I wish I could wake up and do what I wanted to. That would be nice, but you know what, I'm so grateful, and I think that's where what I do keeps me grounded because, you know, I might not want to get out of bed in the morning, but I really do know people who can't get out of bed in the morning, so it's all a gift. I think I've always had that underlying sense that someday I might need that help myself, so I want to be sure to be that good neighbor to be there for other people to do it. And the rewards are so great, it's hard to put into words because we really get to know the families, the patients that we're working with, and it makes it very personal, and it definitely is not a job or a career path, it's the way I live my life.