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Product Description
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FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Windows® PC and PlayStation®3 that invites you to explore the realm of Eorzea with friends from around the world. Form a party and adventure with a multitude of players from across the globe. Forge friendships, mount chocobos, and board airships as you and your companions create your own unique stories in Eorzea. Set out alone or enlist the aid of friends as you undertake epic quests, battle familiar FINAL FANTASY monsters, and acquire unique abilities and equipment. All the classic elements from the series that you have come to know and love are waiting! Embark on the adventure of a lifetime to help reforge the fate of Eorzea on PS3 or PC on 08.27.13
Story Overview: Eorzea. A Land embraced by Gods and forged by Heroes. Seeking control of this realm and its abundant crystal resources, the Garlean Empire sends forth a massive host on a campaign to conquer its southern neighbor. Driven by madness, the commander of the invading forces silently plots to tear the moon from the heavens and hurl it down upon the land. The people of the realm soon learn of this foul scheme, and join their hands in prayer in an eleventh-hour attempt to entreat the aid of the gods, only to see their endeavors fail. From within the moon emerges Bahamut, an ancient terror seething with rage fueled by countless generations of imprisonment. Sensing the tug of Fate, a powerful magus channels the last of his strength to send Eorzea's heroes into a temporal rift. There they wait, untouched by the flames of destruction, until they are needed again. Those heroes are you, and the hour of awakening is now. Come and witness a realm reborn.
Key Features:
- All the hallmarks of the FINAL FANTASY franchise, including an engaging storyline, genre-leading graphics, and HD real time cut scenes
- Robust gameplay features such as player-run Free Companies, story-driven player-vs.-player content, and a unique summoning system, all designed to accommodate a dynamic player community
- Incredible new graphics engine that delivers a high level of detail and quality on both the PlayStation 3 and Windows PC platforms
- A flexible class system that allows players to change to any of the eighteen different classes on the fly, simply by swapping their equipped weapon or tool
- Breathtaking musical score by renowned FINAL FANTASY series composers
- Cross-platform play on PlayStation 3 and Windows PC
System Requirements:
Minimum Requirements:
- Supported OS: Windows Vista 32/64 bit Windows 7 32/64 bit Windows 8 32/64 bit
- Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo 3GHz
- RAM: 2GB (4GB recommended for 64bit OS)
- Hard Disk: 20 GB
- Video Card: NVIDIA® Geforce® 8800 or higher, ATI Radeon™ HD 4770 or higher
- Additional Requirements: Screen Resolution: 1280×720 Internet: Persistent broadband internet connection required Sound Card: DirectSound® compatible sound card (DirectX® 9.0c or higher) DirectX®: DirectX® 9.0c or higher
Recommended Requirements:
- Supported OS: Windows 7 32/64 bit Windows 8 32/64 bit
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i5 2.66GHz
- Hard Disk: 20 GB
- Video Card: NVIDIA® Geforce® GTX 660 or higher, AMD Radeon™ HD 7950 or higher
- Additional Requirements: Screen Resolution: 1920×1080 Internet: Persistent broadband internet connection required Sound Card: DirectSound® compatible sound card (DirectX® 9.0c or higher) DirectX®: DirectX® 9.0c or higher
* NVIDIA® SLI™ and AMD CrossFire™ support will be available at release.


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- Samuel Bernier 3d Printed Lampshade DentelleInspired by his broken IKEA lampshade, and unable to find a suitable replacement, Samuel Bernier decided to take matters into his own hands. Daunted by expensive and "ugly" lampshades, the designer turned to 3D printing. Rather than spending $50 to $100 for a store-bought replacement, Bernier designed and printed himself a set of gorgeous new shades for just $5 each.1
- Samuel Bernier 3d Printed Lampshade DentelleBernier's collection of lampshades, dubbed Dentelle, come in twelve different delicate designs and several colors.2
- Samuel Bernier 3d Printed Lampshade DentelleAfter sketching up designs with swirling edges, cutouts, folds and other patterns, Bernier turned to the trusty le FabShop by MakerBot Replicator 2.3
- Samuel Bernier 3d Printed Lampshade DentelleEach lampshade prints in around four to twelve hours, depending on the intricacy of the design.4
- Samuel Bernier 3d Printed Lampshade DentelleUsing only MakerBot 3Dprinting plastics, the shades stand sturdily without requiring the support of wires or frames. The shades are durable but remain lightweight, weighing in at only 50 to 100 grams each.5
- Samuel Bernier 3d Printed Lampshade DentelleBernier's collection features simple variations of texture and color, coming in white, black, red and even glow-in-the-dark. The lamp shades all share the same shape, and they look great in combination like a make shift chandelier, or on their own as stand alone lights.6
- Samuel Bernier 3d Printed Lampshade DentelleBernier's Dentelle collection proves the viability of buying your own 3D printing machine (or having access to someone else's). With the MakerBot, the designer was able to inexpensively produce his own artisan product without needing to prototype or outsource.7

subset: commoncrawl


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Charles W. and Catherine Gross to Ronald P. and Jane L. Sykes, 2602 Huntington Road, Northfields, $285,000.
Mary Jane Baber Johnson to John L. Baber, 5964 Jarman's Gap Road, Crozet, $180,000.
Brad R. and Gretchen A. Huot to Linda Gehle, 3159 Crossfield Lane, Steeplechase, Forest Lakes, $212,000.
Theodore N. Gardner to Mickie Miles, 13.45 acres on State Route 714, $75,000.
Mary Ann and Ross L. Goodwin Jr. to James D. and Angela K. Mills, 1.78 acres at 664 Taylor's Gap Road, $126,000.
Fluvanna Land and Development LLC to John and Jennifer L. Scott, parcel in Clover Lawn Village, $177,240.
John D. and Marilyn G. Wagner to Max W. Davis, 1616 Inglewood Drive, Georgetown Green, $200,000.
Kenneth D. and Deborah W. Farmer to Douglas J. McGowan and Duane H. Zobrist, 33.74 acres at 5700 Buffalo River Road, Webb Mountain, $515,000.
Robert W. and Diane M. Kudro to Ad Hoc Associates LLC, 119 Dorset Court, Camelot, $86,001.
Lee J. and Helena M. Brady to Thomas Herthel, 1035 Bristlecone Lane, Willow Bend, Forest Lakes South, $232,000.
Redlands LLC to Sue Ellen Carter and Brian Keith Ray, 3020 Morewood Lane, Highlands at Mechum's River, $281,250.
Pierson Properties LLC to Michael F. White, unit in Webland Park condominiums, 1730 Webland Park, $158,900.
Gwynneth S. Stewart to David S. and Diane H. Walker, unit in Worthington Place condominiums, 625 Worthington Drive, $510,000.
Worrell Land and Development Co. to MJH Foundation, 0.116 acre, $100.
Erna M. Carrell, trustee, to Meliha Cosic, unit in Turtle Creek condominiums, 116 Turtle Creek Drive, $125,000.
Esther Putnam and Louise Putnam-Stoner, trustees, to Meadowcreek Development LLC, 6.3 acres at 1155 Pen Park Lane, $290,000.
John R. and Barbara D. Culbreth to Robert C. and Karen E. Klintworth, 62 Stone Mill Court, Mill Creek, $203,500.
Peter Grayson Hill to Loren P. and Erin M. Budge, 2445 Whitney Court, Briarwood, $148,000.
Gabriel L. and Ana Maria Bonilla to Susan R. Weaver, 1026 Somerchase Court, Hollymead Townhouses, $217,000.
Weston Development Co. LLC to Thomas G. Silvey, 1.715 acres at 2515 Leafton Crossing, Walnut Hills, Earlysville, $136,500.
Gregory J. and Cheryl K. Briehl to William C. and Michelle G. Brydges, Chimney Rocks, $240,000.
The Rocks LLC to Southland Homes Inc., parcel in The Rocks, $265,000.
Charles E. Moran, trustee, to Easter Hunter Properties LLC, 11.42 acres at 3354 Free Union Road, $415,000.
Asbury Automotive North Carolina to Astar ASB VA2 LLC, 1.763 acres at 1295 Richmond Road, Pantops, $3,215,373.
Albert G. Lowry to Scott M. and Karen P. Ransom, 1505 Shadow Oaks Place, Raintree, $237,000.
John F. and Montana K. Gaffney to Edwin Nordenschild, lot in Forest Lakes South, $227,000.
MacMillan Pace LLC to Theodore N. and Amy H. Barger, 2.166 acres at 3505 Rocks Mill Lane, the Rocks, $890,000.
Lyn Ryan to Christopher H. and Carin L. Parsons, 161 Larkspur Lane, Lake Reynovia, $228,000.
Wendell G. Jewell and Sheila E. McDonald to Christopher T. and Laura L. Johnson, 1090 Ramblewood Place, Raintree, $268,000.
R. D. Wade Builder Inc. to Shu-Man and Felicia G. Fu, 1206 Redfields Road, Redfields, $279,950.
Chris C. Brown and Susan Dangelo to Paulino M. and Jaena B. Apusen, 1627 Center Avenue, Megan's Meadows, $98,000.
Bo Ping and Wen Sy Wang to Christine Bendas, 289 Albert Court, Camellia Gardens, $95,000.
Craig Enterprises Inc. to Kai L. Thrane, 5551 Stonegate Lane, Stonegate at Western Ridge, $242,962.
Ronald L. Kerber, trustee, to John A. and Paula K. Kerber, 8.4873 acres on Turkey Sag Road, $91,170.
Craig Enterprises Inc. to Ishmael, Maryrose M., Geraldine, and Christopher Velasquez, 478 Heritage Court, Redfields, $253,045.
Jean C. West to Cathleen Rhoades, 2360 Ravenswood Court, Ravenswood Forest, $219,000.
Northpoint LLC to Steven A. and Donna M. Rains, 2462 Pendower Lane, Glenmore, Keswick, $711,330.
Ronald and Janet Baellow to Daniel and Hairuo Yi Zisk, 2121 Piney Knoll Lane, Springridge of Forest Lakes, $249,000.
John C. Haskell, trustee of the Ann Robins Marchant Trust, to TJF Realty LLC, 329.68 acres at Mountain Top Farm, gift.
John L. Hammaker, trustee, to Elaine C. Standish, 943 Huntwood Lane, Huntwood Townhouse, $190,000.
Barry Meade Homes LLC to Bryan L. and Jeanelle B. Hagen, 2366 Hartland Court, Bentivar, $600,000.
Arthur G. and Roberta V. Williams to Stephen J. and Rhonda R. Scheller, 3170 Sandy Branch Lane, Sandy Branch Resort Farm, $240,000.
The Rocks LLC to Skyline Home Builders LLC, lot in The Rocks, $265,000.
Clinton E. and Michele L. Aichs to Jean C. West, 2198 Timber Meadows, Timberwood, Forest Lakes, $271,000.
Harry W. Leathers Jr. to Lillian C. Graves, 11.410 acres at 2995 Old Lynchburg Road, gift.
RJR LC to Redlands LLC, lot in Highlands, $72,500.
Pierson Properties LLC to Sergio A. and Sarah E. Sanchez, unit in Webland Park condominiums, 1760 Webland Drive, $159,9900.
Robert Hauser Homes Inc. to Elizabeth A. Reinhard and Richard T. VanHook, 5512 Hilltop Street, Parkside Village, Crozet, $254,490.
Jean, A.C., and Gery G. Cousin to Gery G. and Anne T. Cousin, 419.67 acres at 1744 Rougemont Farm Road, $1,120,000.
Susan J. Compton to Clinton E. and Michele L. Aichs, 2691 Teakwood Drive, Teakwood, Forest Lakes South, $365,000.
Thornbrick Development LLC to Church Hill Development Co., five lots in Bargamin Park subdivision, $350,000.
Russell F. and Ann B. Welch to Keith A. and Robin Smarte, 4.753 acres at 30 Mountain Laurel Road, Dogwood Rise, Crozet, $355,000.
Douglas A. and Gail P. Coleman to Barry N. and Joyce M. Yancey, 12.578 acres in White Hall district, $180,000.
Barbara B. Yalden-Thomson, trustee, to Stephen C. and Jean B. Botts, 12.18 acres on Link Evans Road near Earlysville, gift.
Joseph T. and Lindsay T. Milby to Kennard J. Moore and Lauren E. Watts, 1066 Somerchase Court, Hollymead Townhomes, $220,000.
Janis Antonovics to Deborah Ann Roach, 2711 Gray Fox Spur, Ivy Oaks, gift.
Marjorie B. and Eugene C. Worden Jr. to William S. and Nancy W. Bear, 1187 Partridge Lane, Branchlands Retirement Village, $256,900.
Alyce R. and Robert A. Gere to Anne Harper, 430 Wynridge Drive, Minor Townhouses, $189,900.
Shenandoah Properties LLC to Neil Gordon and Carol A. Nicoll, 95 Apple Lane, the Quarries subdivision, $38,900.
Robert D. Cox to Frank Ortiz, 3.25 acres at 5013 Advance Mills Road, Earlysville, $142,000.
David C. Segebarth to William J. Wilshire, 1632 Appian Way, Fontana, $395,000.
RJR LC to Skyline Home Builders LLC, lot in Highlands, $72,500.
Thomas E. Sliney to Helena S. Sliney, 2.0 acres at 5490 Louisa Road, Cismont, $20,000.
Gary A. Britton to Buck Island LLC, parcel, $6,507.
Prana Land LLC to Buck Island LLC, various parcels, $3,050,000.
Buck Island LLC to Prana Land LLC, 676.20 acres in Scottsville District, $100,000.
William J. Vinson Jr. to Ann Marie Vinson, 3403 Marlboro Court, Carrsbrook, gift.
Tiffany B. Dettor to Roger T. and Helen H. Breeden, 2.0 acres at 3546 Martin Kings Road, $208,768.
Jeffrey and Georgiana Shabanowitz to Patrick B. and Patricia W. Dougherty, 2.10 acres at 914 Tilman Road, $539,000.
Lynn G. Swofford to Benjamin Sloan and Elizabeth Launer, 202 Buttercup Lane, Lake Reynovia, $205,000.
Margaret A. Cooper-Anderson to Brian and Michelle M. Smith, 2020 Echo Ridge Road, Forest Lakes, $334,950.
Jefferson Area Builders Inc. to Michael R. Lambeth and Deborah T. Watson, 1564 Riding Club Road, Keene, $201,907.
Graham and Carolyn Paige to Carolyn G. Paige, 0.976 acres at 989 Crozet Avenue, gift.
Robert B. and Doris S. Gibson to Heidi L. Flanagan, 5720 Oak Drive, Park View subdivision, $250,000.
Pierson Properties LLC to Jill S. Locke, unit in Webland Park condominiums, 1727 Webland Park, $154,900.
Sarah M. Burruss to Laurel Wynne Glassman, Darci G. and William J. Lieb, and William L. Neff, 1463 Gray Stone Court, Mill Creek, $242,000.
Gerard C. and Amy M. Reice to Stephen Nachmanovitch and Leslie Blackhall, 3112 Ragged Ridge Lane, Blue Springs Farm subdivision, $910,000.
Derrick E. and Jennifer A. Moreira to Teresa Hammond, 1268 Clifden Greene, RiverRun, $185,000.
The Rocks LLC to Skyline Home Builders LLC, lot in The Rocks subdivision, $260,000.
Teresa M. Hammond to Ashley D. Black, 1044 Amber Ridge Road, Highlands, $184,500.
Cynthia W. and H. Robert Brashear III to Christopher J. and Nancy M. Magnus, 5.023 acres at 6645 Highlander Way, Emerald Ridge, Crozet, $395,000.
George W. Collier to Pamela Harker, 3.0 acres at 325 Estes Ridge, Dyke, $80,000.
Anikar Chhabra to MPT LLC, lot in Mill Creek, $205,000.
Mary Scott and John H. Birdsall III to John A. and Amy M. Griffin, 78.35 acres in White Hall Magisterial District, $1,792,700.
Carl A. Strayer and Kristen L. Curran to Angela Y. Brown, 4626 Woods Edge Road, Troy, $147,000.
William C. and Linda R. Reynolds to William K. and Marie D. Brix, 218 Pineridge Lane, Terrybrook, $239,900.
Kostich Construction Inc. to Martin C. Williamson, lot in Deerwood, $267,350.
Matthew R. Callander to Margaret Cooper-Anderson, 1189 Rustic Willow Lane, Willow Bend, Forest Lakes, $239,900.
Samuel T. and M. Jane Arny Darling to Guy W. and Kelly C. Tillinghast, 3.98 acres at 1562 Burch's Creek Road, $565,000.
Marta R. Ramsey to Robert E. and Anne M. Kilkuskie, 1050 Somerchase Court, Hollymead Townhouses, $187,500.
Paula and Thomas A. Andruskevich Jr. to Michele R. Heine, 2.685 acres on State Route 614, 4084 Garth Road, $277,000.
The Rocks LLC to MacMillan Pace LLC, lot in the Rocks, $270,000.
Melissa K. Jurick to Marsha and John W. Frick Jr., trustees, 105 Woodstock Drive, Hessian Hills, $315,000.
R. D. Wade Builder Inc. to Rockwell A. and Janet W. Moulton, 1424 Cedarwood Court, Redfields, $324,950.
Eve B. Rose, trustee, to Craig L. and Laura H. Coombe, 119 Bollingbrook Drive, Key West, $279,000.
Chad S. and Angela R. Dotson to Karen H. Tarbell, 1195 Fox Ridge Drive, Earlysville Forest, Earlysville, $245,000.
Big Deal
Asbury Automotive North Carolina to Astar ASB VA2 LLC, 1.763 acres at 1295 Richmond Road, Pantops, $3,215,373.


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Are you still a nice guy if you play evil?
As always a fascinating article.
I have to admit, I can never seem to bring myself to been the "Bad" guy, so to speak - like in ME2, I will always run PAragon, and in Fallout 3, I would be good.
I tried the others, but, it just didnt sit well with me at all, and my moral compass was going haywire from the thought of it.
So... what about people who always take the "good" choices?
What does that say about them?
I think a big part of it is why you play games. Gamers who are more system oriented and looking to maximze their in-game potential typically don't mind using evil to exploit in-game characters. Gamers who are more focused on roleplaying tend to feel guilty about being evil. Then you have story folks who like to play through twice so they can see the full range of good and evil options.
Personally, I always feel too guilty to be evil.
Me too. That is, until the AI breaks and I get completely sucked out of the game, then it can be pretty fun to kill, steal, and burn shit.
But the "role players" label includes people like the... asker (or w/e you'd say), in the article, and I think you over-generalize by suggesting most of them feel guilty about being evil (in game; he obviously does afterward, but it's like meta-guilt). I'd be willing to bet there are lots of remorseless evil doers out there.
You mean psychopaths?
I'd love to hear this as well, I find it impossible to dehumanise game characters. If they have no character though everything's fair game, I'll happily raise cities in strategy games or slaughter thousands in undeveloped sandboxes.
Well i just played a round of civ V where i invented nukes for the first time and had a blast testing them out on the other players, in this case NPCs. And once i get going in civ i can be quite ruthless and cunning but the thing is i have a hard time being the one that starts the fight, unless i can find some way to "justify" it like "i was about to claim that territory!" and yeah, the AI just making such a bad decision that it pulls me out of the game is also enough to trigger one of my killing sprees.
A friend of mine has a novel theory: That most children are inherently psychos, what with the burning ants and tearing wings off flies, and the adults who are severely bent are kids who never gained empathy or respect for society's rules.
I see another pattern to this too, one that puts significant weight on immersion and characterization. Those that ask themselves what they'd do in that situation and those that choose to just have fun seem to have far different experiences. I like to play like I'm living in the game world and often find myself choosing the good path, even in Fallout 3 I found myself racked with guilt at the death of the Megaton NPCs. But in the same breath I can also say that in a game of GTA IV or Just Cause 2 I can kill piles of NPCs without feeling anything. Mostly I'll just laugh and kill some more. So is living out the experience in a game different than just running around blowing stuff up?
I may not have worded this properly, but I think I've gotten my point across. Is there a difference in being evil while being immersed in the game world as compared to shrugging it off and playing it like a game instead of an interactive story?
You just go ahead and keep on doubting my megalomaniacal intentions Doc. One day soon tho, my army of winged machine elves will be ready, and I will conquer the world!
In case you haven't guessed, I always play the evil protagonist. I love doing to NPCs the kind things I can't do to my employees. Darn labour laws!
This is not a novel theory; it dates back to Jonathan Edwards:
...Weirdly, Edwards had a bunch of kids.
I should have said remorseless "evil" doers.
in games with moral meters I tend to end up on evil but I don't try to be evil I just think well I have no money or ammunition and I am wondering through a wasteland of course I am going to sneak kill the next guy I see and steal all of his stuff it's not evil it is survival. Also why is it evil not to give the guy that walked up to me asking for half my money because he is poor (only according to him) money I only have his word that he is poor that's why I think a reputation meter is better then a moral meter.
Evil characters are, to me, often the more interesting ones because unless they're completely dehumanized monsters whos dialog could basically be replaced with BLAAAAARFG! *cuts off heads* they must have a reason for doing what they do. Something that society as a whole doesn't appreciate or understand. Are they tormented or out for revenge? Do they think they're making the hard choice others failed to do? Are they perhaps labeled as evil because they're fighting for a different ideal than the generally accepted one?
The all-powerful good character is about as interesting as a book of matches, because they basically come off as flawless stoics who have no real sense of self. Unfortunately, most RPG-stories are geared towards the good path and leaves very little room for the player character to have ambitions of her own.
Normally I pick evil actions as a response when the AI is a bastard with me.
Nobody feels guilty about fatalities, ultra combos, and kicking the corpse of the Karate girl that was beating you up. Having an excuse makes it easier.
Yeah, same. I've found in older games it was easier, but now, when so many people react. Especially in Dragon Age. I hate having my party angry with me, so there were moments I did something I didn't want for them. On one hand I really shouldn't care what they thing. On the other I really needed Wynne since she was the only spirit healer I had...
Personally I think alot of the time people know that they can act out what it would be like to be 'evil' in the confinds of a game because it is accessable and can be more fun but without any 'real' reprocussions.
Its basically all the thrill of being the bad guy without hurting anyone for real.
Much of the world is very focused on 'right and wrong', films, TV shows, books, games etc all seem to have a centrally 'good' character, even if they do go around killing people they generally are 'good' at the core.
Most RPGs follow this pattern as well because you have the ability to be nasty to someone or rough them up a little bit but when you finish the game you save the world, so doesn't the end justify the means? If you did nothing then the guy would have died, so surely its better that he had a broken nose than being dead?
When being surrounded by all this 'goody goody two shoes' around us all day it is a little refreshing to break from the norm and do something a little more risky, if anything to just break the boredom of always being the nice guy that saves the world but still has time to help little timmy ride his bike.
Off on a little tangent but I find that EVE online is a game where you can be very evil and its interesting to see how professional some of these 'evil' guy can be. Again alot of the time people know its a game and they CHOOSE to be 'bad' because its more fun / profitable etc and usually not because they are a bad person.
On another tangent its also interesting to see that on MMO / multiplayer games people find it easier to be nasty because the game itself dehumanises the players to a point where you can dismiss other players to be at the same level of NPCs (ie, without feelings) (ie, the greater internet f-wad theory :P)
Surely when playing a sandbox game where you kill large amounts of government officials like police officers, SWAT, FBI and even the army, that's kinda in the evil section.
Any game you play, that involves killing people, you are a heroic sociopath.
In any RPG I've played I've almost never been able to be the "pure evil" character. I always feel guilty doing bad stuff, even though the ones who suffer are all just a bunch of A.I.
I've often found that in games that the morality system does not match up to my own. I often find it arbitrary and sometimes even reversed. The most prominent example for me was in Fallout 3 where you could quite literally buy karma from the two churches. Neither church provided any service to the people of the wasteland, and the church of atom seemed to actively harm them. I found this so repulsive that in almost every play-through I ended up wiping out the entire of both churches.
Then to add cream to this pie of moral corruption, there is a side-quest where you get karma for removing someone from the church (In Rivet City). This along with Tennpenny Tower made me abandon the system except to farm it for endings, and do what I felt was right.
In Oblivion I pretty much became 'evil' because the quests for the two evil groups were so much better and gave a sense of accomplishment. I found the thieves guild to be the true heroes by aiding the poor, protecting the beggars, and generally being helpful in word filled with self-important fighters, aristocratic mages, corrupt officials, and shopkeepers fixing prices. The Dark Brotherhood in turn were secretive, violent and cruel, but were self-aware and followed their moral code consistently; leading me to respect them as opposed to the other factions. I guess that says more about me than the game itself.
Ask any of my friends. ;) And I'm the most corrupt, backstabbing, underhanded SOB in games. Hence the avatar name.
I can also play a Whiter than White character...but being evil is SO more fun.
Hey, I just realised what that strange feeling of Deja Vú was: Dr Mark totally looks like the Medic from Team Fortress 2! Well, not really, but just enough to remind me of that guy.
Err... anyway. Is it a bad thing if I always (I mean it) play as the good guy in RPGs? I always go for the nicest (and if possible, the funniest) options... well, except that one time I killed the crazy mage in the forest in Dragon Age. But he was actually hiding a bunch of demons and was generally an asshole, so he had it coming.
Why did you have to say that now I have the pyro in my head calling out for a medic, Thank you very much!
Being evil is just more fun, it doesn't mean you are a bad person. It just means that the evil team members are more fun. Plus evil people have an easier time in the start of games, while the good characters are taking the high road and not having the money to but gear, I (aka the evil characters) have just bought all the gear with the money they pillage along the villages on the low road.
I mean we get the great deed done that saves all life, we just took a different path, one that includes money, power, and women.
Meh-bic! Meh-dic!
hey guys, i was evil in a video game does that make me evil in rl? you bet, dysfunctional karma meters in failout 3 odviously compare to rl, like blowinmg up a town then giving over 100+ bottles of water to one thirsty tramp to resolve maself of evil.
rlly? someone had to answer this? well, that is a dumb question because, like, on the escapist, games are p.serious and everybody takes everything very seriously. VERY SRSLY.
Personally I've found morality meters to be inherently flawed, because they make it a black and white thing, when morality is usually far more grey. Take Fallout 3 for example there is a quest where you can either aid a group of cannibals ("vampires") in extorting a town, or wipe them out; guess which action gives what karma?
What about Fable 2? Eating meat is a "bad" at but eating vegan is "good"?
Sure there are games out there that give you to the chance to be an out and out psychopath, but most games with a morality system fail to understand the subjective nature of morality; very few "evil" people in real life view themselves as evil, to them they are doing what is right, even if we think they are the love child of Satan and Hitler.
Carl Sagan expressed an interesting perspective that books were a form of telepathy, wherein the reading of a book was effectively providing a glimmer into the author's thoughts, in effect reinforcing synaptic patterns within your own mind that correlated with concepts that the author was attempting to convey. In similar fashion, games like Grand Theft Auto and Postal 2 were criticized because the activity of "performing the crimes" within these games were reinforcing habits of mind that could potentially lead to destructive behaviour.
Mind you, at the same time a game is simply a pastime that serves as a source of recreation, and as a point of common interest with other gamers. It is interesting that Kline touches on "humanity" because in essence we all have an inherent capacity for accomplishing difficult and complex endeavours, moderated by our personal preferences and our willingness to works towards a given goal.
By coincidence, today there was a Cracked satirical article that better expressed the reasoning behind this:
Don't get me started on the stupid Fable meat-eating thing. Rescue slaves, eat tofu - it's all the same morally. Sheesh.
I liked Mass Effect 2 for subtlety - the paragon/renegade continuum seemed to have more substance than the too-usual "save kitten or serve kitten in pie!" I always play squeaky good characters, but I felt pretty fulfilled taking renegade actions like blowing up a fuel tank near a pontificating bad guy or nodding to Miranda to start shooting before a mercenary finished offering us the choice to surrender or die. It didn't seem psychotic, just kind of...smart.
This book did a great job advocating for games as a form of catharsis, also noting that our "violent" entertainment isn't nearly so bad as some forms throughout history. One notable anecdote, the author remembered growing up in the 1950s, all they did was play with toy guns all day long, while in the 2000s, some 5-year-old got suspended from school for pointing his finger and someone and yelling "BANG!" [sigh]
And Dragon Age decided instead to just have different actions gain approval/disapproval with different party members (and some NPCs), which comes close to the "factions" system the Extra Credits guys advocate for in their moral choice video. (Which we used to see more often.)
What about the voices in my head Dr Mark? They tell me that all the angels are dead and I must go out in the streets to reclaime them form the evil people with my great grandfathers wood choping axe. As an aside I would also like to point out that I am available for childrens partys.
The Morale of this story is don't get drunk and post on internet forums kids. It's not big and it's not clever.:)
I find it to be deeply disturbing to play the bad guys. Even when I set out to do so, the cognitive dissonance really makes me change to playing a paladin.
Not sure why, I just can't be bad for anything other than a kick.
I try to take the "evil" side, thinking it will be really cool but I cant quite go on with it in most RPGs. In FO3 at Tenpenny Tower, I had the bomb set up and ready to go but I couldnt pull the trigger.
In the Mass Effect games I go full Renegade, but whenever a real moral choice comes up, I just Cant pick Renegade for it.
Feels bad man.
The closest I get into playing an "evil" role is as Wario.
I agree completely, the paragon/renegade system is more better then a plain good/evil system, Shepard is still a "good" guy you just get to choose how he handles things, which helps with the RP part of RPG at least for me; I'm nice to my friends, polite to strangers, and respectful to people who show me respect, but if I'm about to get into a fight at the pub I'm not going to play "nice" I'm going to go for the quick (and safer) path to victory, if that means fighting dirty, so be it.
The Dragon Age system was good as well, you're still the hero no matter what you do, you always end up at the same place, but who is still with you at the end depends on your actions, in fact it was much more realistic, I'd rethink a choice that might cost me a valued party member, the same way I'd act in real life "mmm I want do this, but is really worth pissing off my friends to such a degree?"; it gives you a feeling of consequences that is sadly lacking in a straight morality meter.
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About Specs file
The "gcc" program invoked by users is a convenient front-end driver executable which will invoke other programs in the background such as cc1, as or ld to do its work according to the command line parameter given. A specs file is plain text used to control the default behavior for the "gcc" front-end. The specs file is usually built-in but for flexibility purposes, it can be overridden with an external version. Example use: link against a different version of msvcrt.dll.
Basic Specs file modifications
GCC will produce a specs file via the following command.
gcc -dumpspecs > specs
You may use a text editor of your choice to inspect it. It may be confusing at first, but there are many places of interest. To use the specs file, invoke gcc with -specs=<path_to_specs_file> or place it at "/mingw/lib/gcc/mingw32/<version>/specs" to make GCC use it by default, where <version> refers to the GCC version installed.
Adding include directories to the search path
The *cpp: section should be modified. It contains the following by default:
*cpp: %{posix:-D_POSIX_SOURCE} %{mthreads:-D_MT}
If "z:\libx\include" needs to be added to the GCC includes search path, it should be changed to the following
*cpp: %{posix:-D_POSIX_SOURCE} %{mthreads:-D_MT} -I z:/libx/include
Adding lib directories to the search path
The *link_libgcc: section should be modified. It contains the following by default:
*link_libgcc: %D
If "z:\libx\lib" needs to be added to the GCC library search path, it should be changed to the following
*link_libgcc: %D -L z:/libx/lib


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Waterall In Forest
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This is a fine art print from a limited edition of 99. The image is printed on premium quality paper with ink-jet printing technology. This art print is ready to be framed and perfect for any house, office, or kitchen setting. This photograph is unsigned and unnumbered.


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Midnight Sons
Pete's Basement Season 9, Episode 21 - 6.28.16
Hannah from 8-Bit Bakeshop returns to the roundtable this week to debut her newest creation, The Pete Box Level 3! What tasty treats await inside for the boys to enjoy? You'll just have to watch the episode to find out! Also in this episode: The Death Penalty! Daredevil vs. The Punisher: The Seventh Circle concluded it's infinite comic this week, and the boys loved it! A must-read! A "versus" book done right! ...As opposed to that other versus book this week. Also, Pete loses his shit over Spider-Man: The Clone Conspiracy! DC Rebirth sees ...another speedster in The Flash?
- Action Man
- Aquaman
- Black Manta
- Civil War II
- Damage Control
- Dan Slott
- Daredevil
- deadpool
- Episode
- Flash
- Flashpoint
- Gambit
- Ghost Rider
- Green Lantern
- James Earl Jones
- Judge Dredd
- Justice League
- Karl Urban
- Lucas Stand
- Melissa Benoist
- Midnight Sons
- Miles Morales
- Punisher
- Spider-Man: Dead No More is titled The Clone Conspiracy
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
- Star Wars: Rogue One
- Supergirl
- Wonder Woman
- young justice
Submitted by Pete on Tue, 06/28/2016 - 13:23


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Narrator: As a doctoral student, one of the most significant challenges you'll face will be preparing for and completing your dissertation. Though you will receive instruction on the topic during your Residencies, you may also benefit from Walden's Capstone Intensive Retreat. Here you'll have the opportunity to focus on your dissertation proposal, working directly with a team of Walden faculty members, networking with peers, researching and writing.
William Barkley (faculty): Most of the students that come to the Dissertation Intensive have encountered some kind of road-block. I think what they want to know is "what do I need to do to take the next step forward?"
Joanie Rainey (PhD student): The motivation was to come to discover if I was on the right track. I knew that this would be an opportunity to be one-on-one for an extended period of time and have access to someone who could really go through your material.
Jerry Sprout (DBA student): I felt like I needed some kind of a push and a way to get away from my day-to-day life and be able to focus on nothing but writing on my paper.
Diane Perez Roman (DBA student): I wanted to learn, not only capturing the information and the hook and the anchor that we need for the first section of the dissertation, but I also needed to know how to capture other information from basic articles and newspapers and how to extract them.
Narrator: Dissertation Intensives are held several times throughout the year in various cities around the country and are generally comprised of about 16 to 20 students who have completed at least one Residency.
Joanie Rainey (PhD student): The first full day is spent with the faculty going over various things that the students will have to encounter during the process and that's really covering the Walden rubric, the dissertation rubric and understanding and fleshing that out.
William Barkley (faculty): We have an hour and a half presentation each morning. The first day that's split between the Writing Center person and the methods person. I spent 45 minutes talking about some of the issues that belong in a certain chapter and then she would talk about writing tips and ways to address writing problems that we see over and over again. Then on days two and three, the methods person does the full hour and a half on research methods and the content that belongs in each of the other two chapters, and with the writing person kind of jumping in, adding words of wisdom as we go through this. All of that kind of comes together then over the course of four days to help students see how every piece of every chapter fits together.
Narrator: One of the strongest aspects of the dissertation intensive is working one-on-one with Walden faculty members. Well versed in the dissertation process, they have extensive experience with qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods research design, as well as expertise in writing. They will help ensure that you're making progress, address challenges, and help you set your goals for each day.
Rose Bayley (DBA student): We have had one-on-ones with all three of the professors that are here. An enormous amount of time they've had themselves available to guide and direct us. And they will look at it, read every paragraph for you and say "yes, you're on the right track" or "no, you need to go this way." "Have you thought about this?" And they have a wealth of knowledge that I don't have at this point in my educational career. And that knowledge will help you and guide you to reach your goal.
Narrator: At least one member of the dissertation intensive faculty team is an experienced member of the Walden University Writing Center who can critique your work, help strengthen your scholarly writing skills and provide you with the insight you need to be successful.
Diane Perez Roman (DBA student): We all think we know how to write, but we also know we also need to improve. So, having that one-to-one assistance, you can refine not only the problem statement, but you can refine your questions, your research questions. It has helped me tremendously.
Laurel Walsh (Faculty): It's not just writing, it's conceiving of that final project. It's organizing, it's utilizing an outline, it's understanding how to substantiate claims, it's how to summarize/paraphrase effectively with less pain. There's all these different resources that the Writing Center has done as a response to student need.
Narrator: Students come to the Dissertation Intensive with certain expectations and goals. And while the experience ends up being different for everyone, the outcomes and rewards all point to the fact that there is a lot to be gained from attending a Dissertation Intensive.
Laurel Walsh (Faculty): We had a student who had her proposal rejected seven times and she attended a Dissertation Intensive and six weeks later had an accepted proposal through URR. And just hearing those stories, you get goose bumps.
William Barkley (faculty): I think the top three things students get out of coming to the Dissertation Intensive include clarifying, crystallizing their problem statements and research questions and that's absolutely essential because everything else flows from there.
Laurel Walsh (Faculty): The most rewarding part of the dissertation experience, I think, has been the bonds that people form. Real, tangible connections with other scholars where they feel responsible to each other and they continually loop back and communicate with each other.
Rose Bayley (DBA student): I needed to move forward and this Doctoral Intensive has helped to do that. And I feel very confident that I will be graduating in January 2012.


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[American Pie Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFssEv5LqsU&feature=related — SB]
Understanding AMERICAN PIE
[ http://understandingamericanpie.com ]
by Jim Fann, November 2002
In the autumn of 1971 Don McLean's elegiac American Pie entered the collective consciousness, and over thirty years later remains one of the most discussed, dissected and debated songs that popular music has ever produced. A cultural event at the peak of its popularity in 1972, it reached the top of the Billboard 100 charts in a matter of weeks, selling more than 3 million copies; and at eight and a half minutes long, this was no mean feat. But this was no ordinary song, either: boldly original and thematically ambitious, what set American Pie apart had a lot to do with the way we weren't entirely sure what the song was about, provoking endless debates over its epic cast of characters. And these controversies remain with us to this day. But however open to interpretation the lyrics may have been, the song's emotional resonance was unmistakable: McLean was clearly relating a defining moment in the American experience—something had been lost, and we knew it. Opening with the death of singer Buddy Holly and ending near the tragic concert at Altamont Motor Speedway, we are able to frame the span of years the song is covering—1959 to 1970—as the "10 years we've been on our own" of the third verse. It is across this decade that the American cultural landscape changed radically, passing from the relative optimism and conformity of the 1950s and early 1960s to the rejection of these values by the various political and social movements of the mid and late 1960s.
Coming as it did near the end of this turbulent era, American Pie seemed to be speaking to the precarious position we found ourselves in, as the grand social experiments of the 1960s began collapsing under the weight of their own unrealized utopian dreams, while the quieter, hopeful world we grew up in receded into memory. And as 1970 came to a close and the world this generation had envisioned no longer seemed viable, a sense of disillusion and loss fell over us; we weren't the people we once were. But we couldn't go home again either, having challenged the assumptions of that older order. The black and white days were over.
Bye bye, Miss American Pie.
The 1950s are fondly remembered as a kind of golden age in American history, a charmed moment in time when the country seemed more confident and hopeful than it has ever been. A period of unprecedented economic prosperity, it was the era when the majority of Americans, freed from the constraints of the Great Depression and World War II, took some time off from the uncertainties of life to simply enjoy themselves; and in a long, giddy parade of marriages, babies, automobiles, suburban homes and kitchen appliances, celebrated their achievement of the American Dream. Never before had the wealth of a nation been so widely distributed. But American enthusiasms during these years were rooted in more than just the good things that money could buy. Allied victories in World War II had been great moral victories for the country as well, and as the United States rose to economic and political world dominance in the postwar years, national pride went soaring right along with it. Americans at mid-century were mighty impressed with America—and happy for awhile:
"In that era of general good will and expanding affluence, few Americans doubted the essential goodness of their society. After all, it was reflected back at them not only by contemporary books and magazines, but even more powerfully and with even greater influence in the new family sitcoms on television. These—in conjunction with their sponsors' commercial goals—sought to shape their audience's aspirations. However, most Americans needed little coaching in how they wanted to live. They were optimistic about the future." —From The 1950s by David Halberstam"
The same cannot be said of the 1960s. Just as the fifties was an era of great optimism and consensus, the sixties became its antithesis, as the black and white values of the status quo embraced by the previous generation—the sense of the "essential goodness" of American society—no longer rang true. Emerging from the civil rights issues that had been simmering since World War II, and spurred on further by an unpopular war in Southeast Asia, this generation's dissatisfaction with American culture grew markedly more pronounced, as many of the assumptions about the society we were born into were called into question:
"…the civil rights and antiwar and countercultural and woman's and the rest of that decade's movements forced upon us central issues for Western civilization—fundamental questions of value, fundamental divides of culture, fundamental debates about the nature of the good life." —From The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage by Todd Gitlin
The rules were changing. And so was the music. As American values were shifting through this period, a corresponding shift can be observed in rock 'n' roll, as it moved away from the exuberant simplicity of the 1950s to the more literate and politically charged subject matter of the 1960s. And as the music reflected these changes it also became symbolic of them, producing a defining musical figure at each major turning point: Bob Dylan at the more cerebral beginnings of the radical sixties, the Beatles during its more idealistic middle period, and the Rolling Stones closer to its anarchic end.
So even though American Pie appears to chronicle the course of rock 'n' roll, it is not, as is sometimes suggested, a mere catalogue of musical events. In using the cast of rock 'n' roll players from the 1960s and setting them against the backdrop of Buddy Holly's death, they become polarized—metaphors for the clash of values occurring in America at this time: Holly as the symbol of the happier innocence of the fifties, the rest as symbolic of the sixties' growing unrest and fragmentation. And as each verse sums up chronological periods in time—the late 1950s, 1963-66, 1966-68, 1969, 1970—another blow against the happier innocence of another era is registered: another day the music dies.
The song can be divided into roughly 5 sections: the prologue (verse 1), which looks back from the early seventies and introduces the catalyst for the story about to unfold; Act 1 (verse 2), which, along with the chorus and verse 1, establishes the 1950s as the reference point for the rest of the song; Act II (verses 3 & 4), in which the story builds on the growing conflicts of the 1960s; Act III (verse 5), the apocalyptic climax of the story; and the epilogue (verse 6), the song's coda.
Verse 1:
A long long time ago / I can still remember / How that music used to make me smile / And I knew if I had my chance / That I could make those people dance / And maybe they'd be happy for a while / But February made me shiver / With every paper I'd deliver / Bad news on the doorstep / I couldn't take one more step / I can't remember if I cried / When I read about his widowed bride / But something touched me deep inside / The day the music died
As the 1960s come to a close, we find the narrator nostalgic for the music of his youth and the simple, joyous spirit it once brought him. He then turns his attention to a seminal event—the death of some key figure in music history—that shattered his joy. It is well known by now that Buddy Holly is this individual, having died in a plane crash [on February 3,] 1959. [Please see my previous blog from 12.20.2012 for fascinating details on the plane crash, the survivor and the tour that continued on with Bob Dylan on keyboards: "Dion: Life and Near-Death On The Long and Winding Road –SB]
Though this is by far the simplest verse in American Pie, it is nonetheless a crucial one (along with verse 2), as it sets up the drama that is about to unfold. The narrator here is nostalgic for a simpler and more optimistic kind of music—a music that can make people smile, and that could help them forget their troubles—and a music that very much represents the happier optimism of the 1950s in America. He also identifies Buddy Holly by the month of his death (February) and the "widowed bride" he left behind. As the embodiment of this music, Holly's passing had a profound effect on him: as it will become clearer in the next verse, this music and the simple innocence and optimism of it has its corollary in the psychology of America in the fifties, so that the day the music died becomes the day the innocence and optimism died—blow number one. Holly's death was a watershed for him, and is the pivot around which the song will turn.
Bye, bye, Miss American Pie / Drove my Chevy to the levee / But the levee was dry / Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye / Singing "this'll be the day that I die, / This'll be the day that I die."
The Long Goodbye:
A primary key to understanding American Pie can be found here in the chorus, as the theme of America's lost innocence is most clearly stated.
Bye, bye, Miss American Pie
"Miss American Pie" is "as American as apple pie," so the saying goes; she could also be a synthesis of this symbol and the beauty queen Miss America. Either way, her name evokes a simpler time in American life when these icons held more meaning. She is the America of a passing era, and he is bidding her farewell.
Drove my Chevy to the levee / But the levee was dry
"Drove my Chevy to the levee" alludes to a drive "along a levee" mentioned in a series of popular 1950s Chevrolet television commercials sung by Dinah Shore:
Drive your Chevrolet through the USA, / America's the greatest land of all / On a highway or a road along a levee / performance is sweeter / nothing can beat her / life is completer in a Chevy
[Dinah Shore Chevy commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ5tKh0aBDc&feature=related –SB]
and which serves as a signpost to that era—just as the Chevrolet itself is a familiar icon of 1950s America. Also, given that a drive to a levee carries the suggestion of romance in a car, we can almost see him on a date here. But the date is over, the levee is dry—someone he once loved has betrayed him; something that once gave him sustenance has evaporated.
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye / Singin' "this'll be the day that I die, / This'll be the day that I die."
The bottles are raised to the good old days, as "them good old boys"* of Lubbock, Texas mourn the death of their favorite son, Buddy Holly; these figures could also symbolize a more naïve view of the world. But most significantly, "This'll be the day that I die" is a rewording of the line "'Cause that'll be the day when I die" from the chorus of Holly's hit That'll be the Day, in which the singer fears the worst should his love leave him: for the narrator, his love has left him, and this is McLean's way of both mourning the death of that music and way of life, and pointing to Holly as his symbol of it.
* [The original inspiration for the chorus of American Pie may well have come from a little known incident that is purported to have occurred in McLean's youth: A bar called The Levee in his hometown of New Rochelle, N.Y. had closed during McLean's early adult years, forcing him and his drinking buddies across the river to Rye, N.Y. for refreshments. "Drove my Chevy to the Levee but the Levee was dry" would then take on a more prosaic meaning, as "them good old boys" would be drinking whiskey in Rye. I have chosen to go with a more symbolic interpretation of the chorus, but this idea seems to fit too, albeit on a much more personal level. This story has been examined and supported well by Mark Jordan.]
So "Miss American Pie" represents a simpler, more innocent time in American life, but that time has passed—she is no longer with him. To quote Buddy Holly:
You say you're gonna leave / You know it's a lie / 'Cause that'll be the day when I die."
Verse 2:
Did you write the Book of Love / And do you have faith in God above / If the Bible tells you so / Do you believe in rock 'n roll / Can music save your mortal soul / And can you teach me how to dance real slow / Well, I know that you're in love with him / 'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym / You both kicked off your shoes / Man, I dig those rhythm and blues / I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck / With a pink carnation and a pickup truck / But I knew I was out of luck / The day the music died
The Good Book:
The narrator now reaches a little further back in time to the days of his youth, the late 1950s—a time of sock hops, pickup trucks and pink carnations—as he courts a woman who ultimately spurns him. This is a fickle lady here, and the narrator questions her loyalties. An important verse in that it also introduces a religious metaphor that will echo throughout the rest of the song.
Did you write the Book of Love
This is a woman of some importance to the narrator—and if she may have written the Book of Love, she is most likely a symbolic figure, as these lines from the 1957 hit by The Monotones, The Book of Love, suggest:
Tell me, tell me, tell me / Oh, who wrote the Book of Love? / I've got to know the answer / Was it someone from above
He then asks her where her loyalties lie—does she have an unquestioning faith in the established order ("if the bible tells you so"), or will this change?
And do you have faith in God above / If the Bible tells you so
This kind of unquestioning faith also has its corollary in the simpler faith Americans once held in the American way of life, a belief that had many convinced during the 1950s that they were living in God's country. But who is this woman? Because we will see her rejecting the narrator by the end of this verse, it is safe to say that she represents American herself, as we were about to leave behind the placid conformities of the 1950s for the radical changes awaiting us in the next decade. Though not explicitly stated, she is most likely Miss American Pie.
Do you believe in rock 'n roll / Can music save your mortal soul
The music now becomes an object of faith, carrying forward the religious imagery of the preceding lines. Faith in the music now replaces faith in God: essentially what is being said here is that the music of this particular period will be standing in for a simpler religious faith, which as previously mentioned represents the simpler, unquestioning innocence of the time. This metaphor of the sacredness of the music will be encountered again and again as the song unfolds—from "the sacred store" (where he'd heard the music years before) to the broken church bells, the "Father, Son and the Holy Ghost," and even their antithesis—"Satan laughing with delight." From this point forward, whatever is couched in religious terms (with one exception in verse 3) can be seen as referring back to this music, which in turn is a metaphor for the happier innocence and faith of the 1950s.
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
This is a romantic dance. He is courting her. The slow dance itself is yet another reference to the fifties and the kind of dancing that went out of fashion in the following decade; it also alludes to the slower pace of life in America at this time.
Well, I know that you're in love with him / 'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym / You both kicked off your shoes / Man, I dig those rhythm and blues / I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck / With a pink carnation and a pickup truck / But I knew I was out of luck / The day the music died
A picture of a sock hop from the fifties—when high school gyms were used as venues for school dances, where the students danced in their socks to preserve the polished wood floors. We see the narrator being rejected here, as the object of his affection finds comfort dancing with another. She has stood him up, leaving him behind with his flower and his truck: she has moved on beyond this era (the pink carnation and the pickup truck), leaving the narrator alone and stranded. Bye bye Miss American Pie.
This verse helps us to further identity Miss American Pie, whose brief introduction in the chorus needed this additional exposition; and which, along with verse 1 and the chorus, also serves to establish the 1950s as the reference point for the rest of the song. In so doing, McLean characterizes the period primarily through its musical symbol (Holly), using him and the music ("those rhythm and blues") as a metaphor for the innocence of the times, and a sacred thing. The "day the music died" now takes on the significance of a lost faith in the values of a passing era and the sorrow the narrator feels at their passing: blow number two. Having personified America as a woman, "Bye bye Miss American Pie" now more clearly becomes a farewell to the America he once knew.
So now the song is set up, and we can begin to make some sense of what is about to unfold. From the next verse onward, the narrator steps back and sets this music (i.e. this other era) against the musical figures of the sixties and the changes they represent in American culture during these years.
Verse 3:
Now for ten years we've been on our own / And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone / But that's not how it used to be / When the jester sang for the King and Queen / In a coat he borrowed from James Dean / And a voice that came from you and me / Oh, and while the King was looking down / The jester stole his thorny crown / The courtroom was adjourned / No verdict was returned / And while Lennon read a book of Marx / The quartet practiced in the park / And we sang dirges in the dark / The day the music died
The Royal Court:
Having previously established the world the narrator grew up in, he now becomes an increasingly disillusioned observer. Bob Dylan, representing the forces of revolutionary change that are brewing in American society at this time, is this verse's primary musical figure, and is used as a symbolic challenge to the older social order represented by Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley. But by the end of this verse, the Beatles—practicing in the park—are readying a revolution of their own that will sideline Dylan later in the song.
Now for ten years we've been on our own / And moss grows fat on a rolling stone / But that's not how it used to be
Though this verse takes place between the years 1963 and 1966, these first lines look back from the year 1970—ten years or so after Holly's death. "A rolling stone gathers no moss" is an old cliché used to describe someone who never puts down roots, but here the cliché is turned on its head, reflecting how the wholesale rejection of conventional values had become commonplace by 1970—and that's not how it used to be. This line could also foreshadow the anarchy that the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger symbolizes at the song's climax in verse 5. By 1970 we had lost our way, it seemed. To quote Bob Dylan:
How does it feel / To be on your own / With no direction home / Like a rolling stone?
When the jester sang for the King and Queen / In a coat he borrowed from James Dean / And a voice that came from you and me
Following on the previous reference, the Jester here is commonly associated with Bob Dylan, and who is further identified by the James Dean coat he wears on the cover of his late 1963 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan—the setting of which also intentionally plays off of the Dean persona, as seen in the photograph below. This also dates the opening of this verse close to the year 1964—a significant year, following as it did the assassination of John Kennedy, and considered by some the year the radical sixties began. Dean is best remembered as A Rebel Without A Cause in the film of the same name—an image of alienated youth and rebellion that fits with Dylan's role in the music of this period. The "voice that came from you and me" further identifies him—not only did his music work on a more literate and introspective level than anything attempted before in rock 'n' roll music, but it was also sung with (and I'm being charitable here) a distinctly unpolished voice. But most importantly, his was the voice of his generation—our voice—as much of his more popular work of this period were songs of protest, putting him at the political forefront of this increasingly rebellious generation. And finally, the Jester is a trickster figure in mythology, serving to advise royal authority through undermining it—certainly a role that Dylan seemed to fill. So Dylan heralded a new order emerging in popular music, and by analogy, the promise of a new order in the culture at large.
The King is a title commonly given to Elvis Presley—the "King of Rock 'n' Roll"—who dominated and epitomized rock and roll up to this point in time. The Queen, though a few names have been suggested for her (Connie Francis, Aretha Franklin), is more likely a figurehead here, as there was no corresponding "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" at this particular time. What seems most likely here is that the image of a royal court is being suggested—the Jester having gone before the court of rock 'n' roll to challenge its dominion by Presley. And as the "music" in American Pie is synonymous with the culture of America, a similar challenge is confronting the country, as the younger generation challenges the assumptions of the older order it grew up with. This notion is amplified further in the next lines.
And while the King was looking down / The jester stole his thorny crown / The courtroom was adjourned / No verdict was returned
Presley, as the former voice of a more benign kind of alienation and rebellion to the youth of the 1950s, had by this time become somewhat old news, as this generation anointed Dylan their new spokesman. But even as the poet was in the vanguard of the developing shift away from rock 'n' roll's earlier, simpler thematic roots, the jury was still out on the outcome of America's emerging cultural revolution—no verdict was returned. As Dylan emerges as rock 'n roll's new spiritual leader, the thorny crown is an apt symbol; this is perhaps too a picture of the price of fame.
Another interpretation is also suggested at this point in the song, as the King and Queen can now be seen as President John F. Kennedy and the First Lady, with Kennedy's alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald . . . taking over the role of the court Jester. President Kennedy's idealism and wit, the First Couple's youthful vigor and good looks, and the popularity of the Broadway play "Camelot" during these early years of the 1960s inspired the media and the public alike to romanticize the Kennedy presidency as a model of King Arthur's court. President Kennedy's assassination in the fall of 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald could then be seen as the Jester stealing the King's crown, figuratively robbing him of his authority, but perhaps even going so far as to suggest the crown of the president's head being blown off by Oswald's bullet. The "no verdict was returned" would then be referring to the suspicious circumstances surrounding the president's murder, followed at the end of this verse by the "dirges in the dark" of his national mourning. But even more than the sobering reality of his murder, Kennedy's death dealt a harsh blow to the nation's morale, severing the old postwar innocence and optimism and replacing it with a growing cynicism towards American culture and government. With this interpretation, however, the music as the metaphor of change briefly collapses in the song. What is most likely here is that McLean chose these lines to reverberate off other historical events of the period—a tactic we'll encounter again as the song unfolds. But either way, the world the narrator once knew is changing.
And while Lennon read a book on Marx / The quartet practiced in the park
As the sixties revolution builds, rock moves towards a more political and social role, mirroring the changing political climate that would increasingly come to embrace a kind of socialism for America—hence (John) Lennon (of the Beatles, of course) reading a book on (Karl) Marx. And as the writings of Marx proved so influential in Russian leader Vladimir Lenin's thinking and his role in the Russian Revolution of 1917, the idea of a cultural revolution in the works is obvious. The "quartet" seems to be a reference to the Beatles, juxtaposed as it is to Lennon's name, and their famous 1966 farewell concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park, which marked a turning point in their musical development: retiring from the public eye and the simpler music they came to prominence with, the Beatles grew more and more experimental in their output around this time, and would soon come to significantly change the shape of rock 'n' roll, just as Dylan had done before them. Practicing in the park is preparing for this revolutionary role (as is Lennon reading a book on Marx), as their influence on the youth culture of America was about to become even more pronounced. Practicing in the park also foreshadows the football game of the next verse. But for now, Dylan remains the voice of his generation.
And we sang dirges in the dark / The day the music died
So the older musical order as symbolized by Presley and Holly had begun slipping away around this time; and in the wake of all the social unrest and generational conflicts emerging in the 1960s, so too was the older, simpler social order of the 1950s which they represent. The narrator sings a funeral dirge mourning one more step in the passing of the world he once knew: another day the music of that era dies—blow number three.
Verse 4:
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter / The birds flew off with a fallout shelter / Eight miles high and falling fast / It landed foul out on the grass / The players tried for a forward pass / With the jester on the sidelines in a cast / Now the half-time air was sweet perfume / While Sergeants played a marching tune / We all got up to dance / Oh, but we never got the chance / 'Cause the players tried to take the field / The marching band refused to yield / Do you recall what was revealed / The day the music died
The Players' Field:
We now move into the most explosive period of the radical sixties, between the years 1966 and 1969. Where only a few years before the social and political system had been solid (if a bit petrified) and largely unchallenged, by this time it had begun to come considerably undone; an unpopular, ill-defined war in Southeast Asia only served to fan the flames. Increasingly, the established American culture itself was being viewed as an enemy in need of transformation, and this generation responded by growing more and more revolutionary. And once again the music was mirroring these changes, as the Beatles—influenced by the emerging Counterculture and their own forays into eastern mysticism and drugs—began to significantly alter the shape of rock 'n' roll, much as Dylan had before them; they were, in fact, replacing Dylan as the voice of their generation.
As the sixties revolution gathered momentum, the youth movement itself also gathered more players, as the more organized and pragmatic unity of the Civil Rights Movement and the New Left (largely represented by the Students for a Democratic Society [SDS], and more or less symbolized by Bob Dylan in verse 3) began fragmenting into the Women's Rights, Black Power, Antiwar and Counterculture movements; the Progressive Labor and Revolutionary Youth Movements; as well as their militant sub-factions: the Black Panthers, The Weathermen, Up Against the Wall, M****rf*****s (yes, that was their name)—all seeking, to one degree or another, to influence the course of American culture. But of all of these it is the Counterculture that looms largest in our memory. Though they did not achieve much politically, their style of dress and behavior were enormously influential, as were the drug, sexual and spiritual freedoms they espoused—all of which were in-your-face affronts to the more staid, traditional values of the status quo. And it was their philosophies of peace and brotherly love—vague and ill-formed as they were—that seemed to best characterize this generation at this time, at least in the eyes of the general public. [Please read the following for an update on how members of these very same radical elements of the Sixties Counterculture rose through grassroots politics to become many of President Obama's present administration and advisors: Horowitz, David and Richard Poe. The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party. Thomas Nelson, 2006. Also, please read my post of 1.16.2012: Malcolm X's "The Ballot or the Bullet", which gives more on the violent nature of the radical and violent nature of these times. –SB]
In light of the growing conflicts of this period a football field is an appropriate setting, a battlefield on which the radical youth culture players and the forces of the establishment clash. But once again we find the songwriter mixing his metaphors, using the "marching band" to symbolize both the Counterculture (the Beatles) and the armed civil militia.
Helter Skelter in the summer swelter / The Byrds flew off with a fallout shelter / Eight miles high and falling fast
These opening lines are full of portent: chaos in the summer heat; the birds (nature), sensing danger, retreat to safety from an impending explosion—the helter skelter, explosive "long hot summers" of protest and rioting during this period. [Note that many are predicting another "summer of '68" for 2012, with the Occupy Movement, orchestrated, in fact, by many of the sixties radicals who are still alive and well. –SB] In 1967, youth culture hippies from across the country made an exodus to San Francisco's Haight Ashbury district to live out the Counterculture's mantras of brotherly love and drug-induced transcendence—the benign eye of the storm that was that year's self-proclaimed "Summer of Love." But these calm waters were to be short-lived, as events in the coming months challenged the Counterculture's euphoria: the violent Oakland anti-draft protests; the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King (and the ensuing riots by Blacks across the nation); the riots at Columbia University and the Democratic National Convention in Chicago—just to name a few. "Helter Skelter" aptly describes the chaotic events of this period, and also refers to the Beatles' song of the same name, released on their White Album of 1968. The Byrds' 1966 release, Eight Miles High—used here to suggest a bomb falling—seems strangely prophetic now: "Eight miles high / And when you touch down / You'll find that it's stranger than known" —lines that spoke to the drug culture of the period, but can also in retrospect be foreseeing the rapidly escalating anarchy about to erupt in America; not coincidentally, both songs speak of falling fast.
It landed foul out on the grass / The players tried for a forward pass
The ball is wild during these years, as the youth culture players begin to aggressively set themselves (the "forward pass") against the government they are attempting to transform; the civil authorities in turn do not take kindly to these challenges (the ball "landing foul on the grass"), and soon come to meet them with a fury of their own. But something of a free-for-all is also ensuing among the many radical political players struggling for field position (the "forward pass") in the American cultural dialogue. The more pragmatic agendas of the Civil Rights Movement and the New Left had by this time begun losing their original cohesion, sprouting the Womens' Rights, Black Power, Antiwar and Counterculture movements; and by decade's end, the more militant groups: The Black Panthers, The Weathermen—all striving to influence this generation towards their own particular interpretation of how American society should be. But it is the Counterculture, with its wholesale rejection of mainstream values, that comes to hold center stage. The musical players—Bob Dylan (symbolically representing the New Left/Antiwar contingent); The Beatles (carrying the torch for the Counterculture); and many others (the Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, the Byrds, the Rolling Stones), can all be viewed as competing on the playing field of rock 'n' roll, and symbolic of the contending liberal political forces at play during this period.
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Bob Dylan, sidelined by a nearly fatal motorcycle accident on July 29, 1966, and further overwhelmed by the pressures of his own success, retreated to Woodstock, NY to recuperate from his wounds, both physical and psychological. His output following this period (with the exception of 1967's John Wesley Harding) was not as critically well-received as his earlier work, as he retreated from the lyrical complexity and social commentary that had characterized his previous efforts, becoming less the spokesman for his generation. Increasingly sidelined too was the organizing arm of the New Left—the SDS—as other competing groups tended to dilute their political unity. Needless to say, like Dylan, they became less the dominant spokesmen for their generation—a role that, it can be argued, the Counterculture was now assuming (though the Counterculture really had no political agenda to speak of), and a role that musically the Beatles were filling as they began to take their music more seriously and embrace the drugged spirituality of the Counterculture.
Now the half-time air was sweet perfume / While Sergeants played a marching tune
Considered the high point of the sixties Counterculture movement, the brief Summer of Love, spanning the spring and summer of 1967, was viewed by many as the flowering of the movement—the "sweet perfume;" this year also more or lessmarks the midpoint (the "half-time air") of the sixties cultural revolution that gained momentum around 1964 and started winding down around 1970 (at least from McLean's perspective in 1971; strictly speaking, the radical sixties sputtered on into 1975). "Sweet perfume" would then obviously have another meaning too, as the "half-time air" was ripe with marijuana. Only a few months before, the Beatles had released arguably their best album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which became the defining musical statement for the Summer of Love, and figuratively the "marching tune" of the Counterculture. But the "marching band" also holds a double meaning, as the "Sergeants"—both civilian and military—can be viewed as figuratively waiting in the wings, playing their own "marching tune" in preparation for the rising tide of the youth culture's rebellion.
We all got up to dance / But we never got the chance
During the brief moment of youth culture harmony that was the Summer of Love, it may well have appeared to the narrator that a different kind of innocence had come along to replace the sort he had grown up with; getting up to dance would then be symbolic of embracing the current euphoria as a kind of throwback to the happier world he once knew. But as events in the coming months were to turn violent, he would not get the chance to dance to this new music. Rock music itself had also by now moved beyond its original dance-based roots towards more experimental and drug related influences—and in stark contrast to the simpler rock 'n' roll of the 1950s.
'Cause the players tried to take the field / The marching band refused to yield
As the radical youth culture players began attempting to wrestle civil authority away from the civil authorities (taking the field), they moved away from the peaceful, symbolic tone of the Summer of Love towards the confrontational violence that began with the anti-draft protests in Oakland, California later that fall. The "marching band" now becomes more clearly symbolic of the civil authorities, as the militia—the police in particular—pushed back, and pushed hard: the marching band refusing to yield. But if we are to keep the music as the metaphor of change, what could then be said here too is that the Beatles—a formidable musical force to be reckoned with by now—have at this moment in time supplanted Dylan as spokesmen for their generation, and in so doing gain the field advantage—the marching band refusing to yield. And as the Counterculture is represented by The Beatles in the song, it too briefly gains the high ground, their influence on American culture growing significantly at this time. Which brings us to:
Do you recall what was revealed
—the song's most ambiguous line. Some have suggested that it refers to John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1968 release entitled Unfinished Music No. 1—Two Virgins—on the cover of which stands the two artists, naked as the sun; others have said that it refers to the widespread rumors a little later of Paul McCartney's death; [I highly recommend the outstanding and definitive documentary on this incredibly fascinating "conspiracy theory:" Paul McCartney Really Is Dead: George Harrison's Last Will And Testament? 2010. Music Documentary. d. Joel Gilbert. [http://www.paulreallyisdead.com/] while most choose not to wrestle with this line at all. But in the context of the pivotal 1968 riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, this line is most likely speaking of the Chicago police department's brutality there, revealing the dark underside of one of our most cherished institutions.
But another incident around this time also bears mentioning. In the fall of 1968, as the Miss America contest was holding its annual beauty pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first protest in the pageant's history occurred. The fledgling Women's Liberation Movement, critical of the pageant's stereotyping of women as mere sex symbols and housewives, gathered outside of the Convention Center where the event was being held, carrying signs of "No More Beauty Standards" and "Welcome to the Cattle Auction," and even crowning a live sheep "Miss America." But the real focus of the demonstration centered on the "Freedom Trash Can" that the women protesters had set up, tossing into it false eyelashes, wigs, curlers, high heels, girdles and brassieres to symbolically free themselves from these sexual stereotypes. The discarded bras in particular garnered the most media attention, and given McLean's penchant for sexual innuendo in his lyrics during these early years of his career (see "Milkman's Matinee," "Narcississma" and "Birthday Song"), "do you recall what was revealed" could then be describing these (ostensibly) braless protesters, ending this verse on a humorously sly note and pointing to the Miss America protest as yet another rejection of the old mores and attitudes of 1950s America.
Blow number four—another day the music dies.
So as the sixties revolution starts coming to a head during these chaotic years, the battle lines are drawn and the inevitable bloody conflicts come to pass. And the youth culture players themselves grow increasingly diverse, all vying for a voice in the American cultural dialogue; but of all of them, it is the Counterculture that speaks the loudest. And the Beatles, embodying in their music much of the Counterculture's idealism and collective harmony, emerge as the dominant symbols of this period's revolutionary euphoria: all you need is love.
Verse 5:
Oh, and there we were all in one place / A generation Lost in Space / With no time left to start again / So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick / Jack Flash sat on a candlestick / 'Cause fire is the Devil's only friend / Oh, and as I watched him on the stage / My hands were clenched in fists of rage / No angel born in hell / Could break that Satan's spell / And as the flames climbed high into the night / To moonlight the sacrificial rite / I saw Satan laughing with delight / The day the music died
The Devil's Own:
American Pie now reaches its apocalyptic climax, as the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger takes center stage at the bloody concert held at Altamont Motor Speedway, California, in the fall of 1969. The flower children drew together here once more to re-stoke the communal goodwill of the successful Woodstock Music Festival of a few months earlier; but even as Woodstockwas seen as a landmark in the Counterculture movement, Altamont is widely regarded as the event that signaled its demise. Reality steps in.
And there we were all in one place / A generation Lost in Space / With no time left to start again
The flower children gathered at Altamont 300,000 strong, in a frenzy of drugs, alcohol and escalating violence. Woodstock it was not. The grand experiment losing steam, as the solutions endorsed by the drug culture—" turn on, tune in, drop out"—merely left them "lost in space," adrift, with no place left to go; with no momentum left to start the revolution over again.
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick / Jack Flash sat on a candlestick / 'Cause fire is the Devil's only friend
Jack Flash is a reference to the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and their song Jumpin' Jack Flash, in which the protagonist nimbly plays with fire to boast of his freedom. Darkness now reigned with The Stones, as evidenced by their albums Beggars Banquet in 1968 and Let It Bleed in 1969—works that embraced a more aggressive nihilism than their previous efforts, and which put them at the forefront of rock's growing cultural estrangement. This allows McLean to use Jagger as representative of someone freely pushing the social envelope and inciting rebellion—and in direct opposition to the values of a previous era. Given the theme of lost faith that runs through the song—and in this atmosphere of anything goes—it is an easy thing to see him as the Devil; the photograph above by Ethan Russell of Jagger onstage at the concert in a flowing red cape only serves to reinforce this imagery. To quote the Stones, "War, children, it's just a shot away."
In the documentary film of the concert—1970's Gimme Shelter (the title taken from the Stones song of the same name)—two concerned young men in the audience can be seen pleading with Jagger to end the show, which he defiantly refuses to do. By the end of the film Jagger is indicted as the key figure who could have brought the violence to a close by simply leaving the stage and ending the concert; whether this might have incited a riot in itself is difficult to say.
And as I watched him on the stage / My hands were clenched in fists of rage / No angel born in hell / Could break that Satan's spell
Watching Gimme Shelter one can see that the audience is spellbound by the Stones (just as many were easily carried along by the youth movement's promises), and many of them storm the stage throughout the day; the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang ("No angel born in hell"), hired as security for the concert, violently defend the stage, but to little avail. Jagger is used in the song as the catalyst for the anarchy unfolding, both at the concert and symbolically in the youth culture at large.
And as the flames climbed high into the night / To moonlight the sacrificial rite
As a black man in the audience wielding a gun moves towards the stage, Hell's Angels intercept and stab him to death—the "sacrificial rite." But the sacrifice being offered here is also the burning down of the remnants of the old social order. The Stones, unaware of what is happening, continue to play. And a song they performed shortly before this event—Sympathy for the Devil—serves to further underscore Jagger's satanic aura:
Pleased to meet you / Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah / But what's confusing you / Is just the nature of my game / Just as every cop is a criminal / And all the sinners saints / As heads is tails / Just call me Lucifer / 'Cause I'm in need of some restraint
To most observers, the violence and indifference of the crowd at Altamont spelled the end of the sixties cultural revolution, as author Todd Gitlin, in his book The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage (and himself an eyewitness to the concert), cogently describes:
…the effect was to burst the bubble of youth culture's illusions about itself. The Rolling Stones were scarcely the first countercultural heroes to grant cachet to the Hell's Angels. We had witnessed the famous collectivity of a generation cracking into thousands of shards. Center stage turned out to be another drug. The suburban fans who blithely blocked one another's views and turned their backs on the bad-trippers were no cultural revolutionaries. Who could any longer harbor the illusion that these hundreds of thousands of spoiled star-hungry children of the Lonely Crowd were the harbingers of a good society?
I saw Satan laughing with delight / The day the music died.
So Mick Jagger, symbolizing the indifference and self-centeredness of the crowd, is the focal point of the evening's proceedings, and for the narrator bears responsibility for not preventing—and perhaps even provoking—what occurred there. He also epitomizes a threatening, aggresive rebellion inherent in their music, and of how far removed we were from the more benign, harmonious America of the 1950s. He is the song's Antichrist, completing the apocalyptic work of tearing down the older, peaceful world that the other musical players of the sixties had figuratively already started. And he is one more blow—the final blow—against the innocence of another era.
The verse that follows finds the narrator walking through the aftermath of the 1960s cultural revolution.
Verse 6:
I met a girl who sang the blues / And I asked her for some happy news / But she just smiled and turned away / I went down to the sacred store / Where I'd heard the music years before / But the man there said the music wouldn't play / And in the streets the children screamed / The lovers cried, and the posets dreamed / But not a word was spoken / The church bells all were broken / And the three men I admire most / The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost / They caught the last train for the coast / The day the music died
A wistful resignation falls over the scene, as the narrator walks among the ruins of his generation, searching for any signs of the world he once knew. And to the numbed surprise of the flower children all was not well either, as their enormous hopes for a Good Society and an American culture of transcendent values had by now begun to seem like so much smoke. Their idealism shattered, what is left in its wake is something of a wasteland, as their illusions fade under the specter of their indifference at Altamont.
I met a girl who sang the blues / And I asked her for some happy news / But she just smiled and turned away
A cynical figure, who when asked for any "happy news"—any return to the innocence and stability of an earlier time—can only smile knowingly and walk away. This is most likely the rock 'n' roll blues singer Janis Joplin, whose death in 1970 of a heroin overdose seemed to reinforce—along with the drug overdose deaths of rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix a few months earlier and The Doors' Jim Morrison a few months later—the failures of the movement. The requested "happy news" also echoes the "maybe they'd be happy for awhile" music of the first verse, bookending the song.
I went down to the sacred store / Where I'd heard the music years before / But the man there said the music wouldn't play
The sacred store would be a record store, following on the religious/musical metaphor established in verse two. But the music of years before would no longer play: literally, the music stores that had once provided listening booths for their customers were by this time no longer offering this service. But even more than this, the cynicism of this generation had annihilated the innocent world the narrator had grown up in; that kind of music wouldn't play anymore. He can't go home again.
And in the streets the children screamed / The lovers cried and the poets dreamed / But not a word was spoken / The church bells all were broken
Beyond all the noise and violence of this tumultuous era, the America that survives this decade is not the America we knew a scant 10 years earlier. With so many of the assumptions of that older order undermined, little familiar remained to believe in, and our once buoyant faith in American culture appeared irrevocably lost. The old religion was dead: the church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most / The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost / They caught the last train for the coast / The day the music died
These three enigmatic figures resonate strongly with this period, and carry more than one association—the most obvious being the three performers (Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper) who died in an Iowa cornfield that fateful day in 1959. They could also be symbolic of the three political assassinations of the 1960s—John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King—whose violent deaths shook the foundations of American optimism and naiveté during these years. But given that the "Father, Son and the Holy Ghost" seem to be alive and well and living in the present tense of this verse (1970), we might look elsewhere to identify them. In a quote from a January, 1972 Life magazine article, Don McLean—speaking of Buddy Holly—gives us a better clue to the identity of this trio: "He was a symbol of something deeper than the music he made. His career and the sort of group he created, the interaction between the lead singer and the three men [italics mine] backing him up, was a perfect metaphor for the music of the 60s and for my own youth." So these three men could also be the Crickets, representing the surviving remnants of Holly's enthusiastic spirit, and by association symbolic of the happier optimism of their time.
But these religious figures hold an even greater symbolic importance: in the wake of this decade's disillusioning cynicism and fragmentation, the "Father, Son and the Holy Ghost" represent a faith in America that had once permeated American life, and that—hope against hope—might still redeem the disorder that had befallen us. But the holy trinity, finding no sympathetic hearing and resigning themselves to the inevitable (having held out for "the last train"), pack up their bags and retire to the coast: the believers had lost faith in their gods, and the gods can only retreat.
And they were singin'…
As American culture was transformed through the decade of the 1960s, the popular entertainment of the day registered these changes, just as it always has. But more than any other idiom, rock 'n' roll was its most accurate barometer: from the early social outrage of Bob Dylan, the Beatles' contagious countercultural idealism, or the fierce nihilism of the late sixties Rolling Stones, rock 'n' roll defined the generation coming of age in these turbulent years, giving it voice and charting its course as no other popular art form did. It was the perfect metaphor for these changes, and McLean found in it a way to describe the dislocating sense of loss we were feeling—to enduring effect.
Regarding the meaning of American Pie, the songwriter has remained characteristically silent, with a few exceptions—especially this one, giving some indication of his intentions:
"That song didn't just happen," said Don. "It grew out of my experiences. American Pie was part of my process of self-awakening; a mystical trip into my past."
Don called his song a complicated parable, open to different interpretations. "People ask me if I left the lyrics open to ambiguity. Of course I did. I wanted to make a whole series of complex statements. The lyrics had to do with the state of society at the time."
In the late sixties and early seventies, Don was obsessed with what he called "the death of America" —the loss of many things he believed in while growing up. "In a sense, American Pie was a very despairing song. In another, though, it was very hopeful. Pete Seeger told me he saw it as a song in which people were saying something. They'd been fooled, they'd been hurt, and it wasn't going to happen again. That's a good way to look at it—a hopeful way." *
In identifying its frequently overlooked theme of America's lost innocence, the meaning of American Pie becomes more evident, as its cast of characters are better placed in their historical and cultural context. Still, portions of the song remain cryptic, and as the songwriter readily admits, deliberately so: like any good poem, keeping the language suspended imparts a dreamlike quality to it, allowing the lyrics to resonate deeper in the listener than a more literal approach would. But it is also this ambiguity that has generated so much debate, and that has kept American Pie on the pop culture map these many years.
A good deal of what I've said here isn't new,** and for those of you who've heard it all before, my apologies—though I do feel that I've made some new contributions. But in drawing together and laying out the broader outline of the song, I hope that I have given those who may still have questions—or who haven't even considered its larger historical context—a more comprehensive understanding of American Pie.
* [As quoted from The Top Ten—1956-Present by Bob Gilbert and Gary Theroux. New York: Fireside Books, 1982.]
** [A special word of acknowledgement is due to radio personality Bob Dearbourn, whose 1972 on-air interpretation of American Pie laid the groundwork for all that have followed. His interpretation can be found online.]
Jim Fann
[For those who aren't familiar with Don McLean's other work, check out the song, Vincent, his homage to Vincent Van Gogh — another classic in its own right. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsxfvwuCqxo&feature=related –SB]
|Farber, David and Bailey, Beth. The Columbia Guide to America in the Sixties. New York; Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, 2001.
|Gitlin, Todd. The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage. New York: Bantam Books, 1987.
|Halberstam, David. The Fifties. New York: Villard Books, 1993.
|Hine, Thomas. Populuxe. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986.
|Kaiser, Charles. 1968 in America. New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988.
|Maysles, David; Maysles, Albert and Zwerin, Charlotte. Directors, Gimme Shelter. Home Vision Cinema, Janus Films and The Criterion Collection in association with Kit Parker Films, 1970, Color, 91 Minutes.
|Margolis, Jon. The Last Innocent Year: 1964 in America (The Beginning of the Sixties.) New York : William Morrow and Co., 1999.
|McWilliams, John C. The 1960s Cultural Revolution. Westport,CT.: Greenwood Press, 2000.
|Oakley, J. Ronald. God's Country: America in the Fifties. New York: Dembner Books, 1986, 1990.


text:
Photographer's Note
The Sarmiento Palace, better known as Pizzurno Palace is a National Historic Monument of Argentina, where is placed the Ministry of National Education and the National Library of Teachers.
It is popularly known by the name of the street on which it is located and it is an architectural landmark in the Recoleta section of Buenos Aires.
Both the street and the palace are named in honor of educator Pablo Pizzurno.
The construction of the palace took place between 1886 and 1888 as a project of the Argentine architect Carlos Altgelt, who was assisted by his cousin Hans Altgelt.
Located in the street Pizzurno between Paraguay and Marcelo T. Alvear , the headquarters of the Ministry of Education shows an eclectic mix of French style, reminiscent Versaillesque (as evidenced by the prominent mansard roofs), several Germanic touches, despite the predominance of French taste for monumental architecture in vogue in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century in Argentina.
According to the original layout of the building, three floors of the central body of it were occupied by the museum and the school library, while the left wing was dedicated to the school.
Surroundings, are also historical sites, including the "Jardins de los MAestros" (which is located in front of the ministry). All these lands, along with the land on which the main building was built, were owned by Spanish businessman Juan Antonio Rodríguez.
This was a difficult photo since the place have many tall buildings around and the sun made strong shadows around the building and on it. I took many photos of it, but only that was appreciable.
Critiques | Translate
imageme (1790) 2014-02-18 6:01
Hi Andre, Nice perspective with mixture of ancient palace and the nowadays skyscrapers. Awesome shadows on the ground from the trees. The blue sky as a nice backdrop and enhances contrast to the composition. Best regards
mirosu (16313) 2014-02-18 6:04
Hi Andre,
Excellent architectural photo in superb light. Very good angle of viewpoint, perfect contrast against clear blue sky.
Very well done.
Photo Information
- Copyright: Andre Bonavita (bona) (14735)
- Genre: Places
- Medium: Color
- Date Taken: 2013-08-05
- Categories: Architecture
- Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i, Canon EF 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM
- Exposure: f/9.0, 1/80 seconds
- More Photo Info: view
- Photo Version: Original Version
- Travelogue: Winter in Argentina
- Date Submitted: 2014-02-18 5:30