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(Pocket-lint) - To make a good RPG is to walk a tightrope. Make it too complicated, too fiddly, and only the hardcore will appreciate your work, but pander to the public too much and your game looses its credibility, and its soul. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning walks this line better than any RPG title we've ever seen and its secret is all in the blend.
As you might have guessed by the name - some land you've never heard of with kings and biblical sounding word - this game is firmly rooted in classic fantasy, and we mean classic. There are swords, potions, magic, the looting of chests, inns, blacksmiths, busty maidens, hidden treasure, giant spiders, elves, super elves, secondary skills, enchanted weaponry, power attacks, a force of good, an evil in the land, a world in chaos and the burden of being the chosen one who's job it is to sort it all out.
Taking a little bit from column A and a little bit from column B of pretty much every RPG of the last decade or so, it's familiar fare, with a hey-nonny-nonny and flagon of mead. It does have a mildly original beginning however and, without dropping any serious spoilers...
Amalur used to be a peaceful place, of course, with two houses of your more Lord of the Rings-style immortal super elves (only bluer and called the Fae) living quite happily in harmony with each other and the five mortal races of, essentially, men, nomadic men, normal elves, dark elves and gnomes. Then it all went a bit wrong when a particular nutter got himself in charge, as often happens, and decided to tool up an army of zealots with prismatic weapons and wage war with everyone else while waiting for their very evil god to turn up.
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By the time you're picking your face, tattoos and body type, this war has been raging for over a decade. While the goodies began the thing with high hopes, they did make the mistake of forgetting that their enemy is, in fact, immortal which has made defeating them in battle a bit tricky. Fortunately, the gnomes have come up with an idea of their own and you begin the game as their first, apparently, entirely successful shot at resurrection. So, fresh off a pile of rotting corpses - seriously - your adventure of seeking out people with punctuation marks over their heads and questing for whatever object they want brought back to them begins.
The first dungeon is your training and, with a series of NPC gnomes to guide you, it's a really good and highly playable way of getting used to all of the three main classes - or destinies as they are in KoA - of fighter, mage, thief and all three are top notch. In fact, it's rather hard to pick which route you'd like to go down but the good news is that it's a talent tree type approach of adding ability points to one section or another, so you can mix and match to quite a high degree.
Once the game proper begins, in the short term at least, your fate is to wander around some primitive villages, have slightly overlong conversation with the locals, and embark on a series of chores for them, from the mundane to the esoteric. Of course, while you're on your way to do one quest, you'll bump into some gnome who wants you to pick up some pixie dust, and before you know it you have a to-do list as long as your beard.
As is the norm, killing and questing brings experience, experience allows you to level up and levelling up grants you more ability points. Eventually, you'll have enough points in certain sections to choose a more advanced destiny - a simple Brawler can aspire to become a Warrior, a Rogue can advance to Assassin, an Acolyte to a Sorcerer and so forth, and with each passing tier of destiny you get more bonuses to your character. Just to make it really difficult to choose, there are even some interesting blends of the disciplines such as Spellcloak, Battlemage, Avenger, Polymath and many more. The good news, though, is that there are characters called Fateweavers in Amalur who will reset your abilities and allow you to pick again - at a very hefty price, of course.
On top of all of this, you also get secondary skills, much as you'll find in the likes of the Elder Scrolls series and MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft. Fortunately, they're a lot easier and more enjoyable to invest in than either of those two examples and probably any secondary skill scheme we've ever seen. You're rather forced to take up a few of these hobbies because there's a bit of a ceiling while you wait to advance to higher levels but, best of all, you can try them all out anyway. For example, you don't have to have invested any points in Blacksmithing to be able to make some kit or in Alchemy in order to harvest reagents from the land and even mix together a basic minor healing potion.
Where this really comes into play is with the Lockingpicking skill. Frankly, we'd rather have fun and worry about opening tricky chests when we get to them and the KoA skill system helps out here. You can still have a go at picking locks without any skill points in the category. It's not that hard either, it's just that you have a far larger margin of error than someone who's invested in it. Just carry around a lot of picks and you'll be fine. In fact, the whole lock picking sub game, which it just about is in this instance, is rather fun. You select an orientation where you think the pick ought to be and then slide across the bolt. If it begins to judder, then you've got it wrong and you pick is about to break. It's up to you how careful or reckless you feel like being. Either way, the bottom line is that you'll get the loot and that you can have a crack at any of the skills any of the time.
The fun of the fight
As for the main action itself, one of the real joys of KoA is the combat system. Whether Finesse, Might or Sorcery is your path, you're going to have a lot of fun. It's not a turn-based choose-your-moves-and-let-the-action-unfold kind of experience but very much a thumbs-on hack and slash experience. Think Fable but much more advanced and Oblivion but not half as fiddly.
Each time you level-up you can "Forge Your Destiny" depending on whether you prefer to hit someone in the head with a large hammer, put a spell on them from afar, or sneak up and stab them in the back.
Hand-to-hand weapons come in various sizes and at various swish speeds from colossal swords and hammers down to a flurry of daggers. As you invest in the abilities talent tree, you open up combos and special moves for each type - which take degree of practice to master but not so much that you never remember to use them. So, as you character grows, so does your repertoire of attack to the point where you really are tailoring your choices to enemy types, numbers and even your environment too. It's just about possible to ignore all this and go for random button pressing instead, but you'll need a big old stack of health potions if that's going to be the way you do it. You'll also be missing out on half the fun.
Thieves can get their hands just as dirty with the addition of spells and other abilities which you can access during the action with the trigger buttons. They draw upon your mana pool to work, so it's good to see that that doesn't go to waste altogether if you don't go down the path of the magic user.
Your bow and arrow and other ranged weapons are as much of a treat and even they too come with special moves and abilities to unlock but, best of all, the stealth and backstabbing system actually works. It's straight forward, effective and satisfyingly deadly when you pull it off.
The cherry on the icing on the cake of the whole combat system, however, is when your Fate bar fills up. The more kills you make, the bigger this thing gets and, when it's finally brimming, you enter Reckoning Mode which is rather like the fantasy world's answer to Bullet Time only, again, bluer and slightly less cinematic. Reckoning Mode allows you to run rings around your opponents, make them drop to their knees and then slay the lot in one big special move called Fateshifting that grants a big XP bonus that gets even bigger if you hammer the right button at the right time. Very, very enjoyable and entirely lethal.
Of course, all of the these items and abilities need to be managed somehow and, as ever, that's the job of the character sheet which is handled nicely enough but without any particular imagination. It's a fairly straight forward affair with the inventory the main part you'll be bothering with. It'd be nice to be able to use the triggers to shift around the various sections of your backpack rather than have to go backwards and forwards from the menus. Something more exciting than a list view might have been nice too but there you go.
Your pockets are by no means infinite and you will find yourself filling them up with nonsense items very quickly. Much like the Elder Scrolls series, you'll carry around a lot of junk to do with crafting and your various secondary skills and that's a bit of a drag. Combine that with an assortment of magic potions, which are generally too short lived to bother with, and you'll find that you only end up with a functioning 25-slot or so storage system when there's technically room for 70.
Naturally, a degree of ruthlessness will get that number up a bit but the annoying thing is that it's quite possible to destroy quest items by accident. Nothing is labelled as sacred which, okay, makes it more realistic but also a bit of a headache. Your one way out is that later in the game you start acquiring your own property - not in a money-making Fable way but more as a series of rest houses - and they come with storage chests in them which act like a fantasy version of Dropbox. It's a nice touch but it's still a bit of a stick in your soft bits when you realise that you don't have that Ring of Ages on you when you actually need it.
Fortunately, the travel system in KoA is pretty good. Again, a leaf out of many an RPG from years gone by, you have to run about the map until you discover towns, dungeons and points of interest which you can then fast travel to when you wish to revisit. It works. It's probably a touch too easy for the purist with a series of circular beacons to follow that make navigation a cinch. You never really get that satisfaction of a long journey well made but then take it too far the other way and you'll lose your audience before they make it to their second town. It's not as insulting as the infamous gold trail from the Fable games but it's not a long way off.
All the same, the world is a pleasant place to see. Graphics aren't astonishing but landscapes are pretty, if a little too similar to anything you'd find in Warcraft, or in fact just about any other fantasy RPG. One particular annoyance is that a lot of the NPCs are identical. There's no big money voice actors, which isn't a problem at all, but it does rather take the shine off when you realise that half the world are doppelagangers for another.
While we're on the subject, one of the let-downs of the game is that questing can get a little tedious. Now, that's going to be the curse of lots of these titles but you do have to fight a strong desire to just skip all the conversations, follow the beacons, kill without thinking, loot bodies and follow the beacons back again without ever taking notice of what you've actually been asked to do. Most of the stories behind the missions are not that compelling and they're very rarely simple there-and-backs which seems like it's somehow supposed to add depth to them but actually just makes them longer. There's also a fair old number of side quests, which makes the game quite overwhelming for the completest, but at least promises value for money.
On the plus side, the monsters themselves are nicely done. Their AI is such that they won't leave off just because you're bashing in one of their mates and many are as happy to hit you from range as they are hand-to-hand, meaning that you can't just chop your way through every encounter. The magic and abilities that they possess are also well thought out and will make quite a difference to you when you get shot with poison, trapped in spider's silk or when their mere presence means the enhanced power of their comrades. You'll find both the usual bandits, boggarts, trolls and assortment of more vicious woodland creatures as well as a clutch of original creatures to appreciate, figure out and, ultimately, run through with your blades of woe.
It's all very easy to control and enjoyable to play with nice touches like item sockets for enchanted gems, lorestones that sing tales to you as you wander the land and a nice theme of fate and destiny that runs all the way through. The only area it's really lacking is in serious originality but perhaps it's the combat system where you have to be satisfied with that.
If you like RPG fantasy adventure in the classic style then don't waste your time reading any more about KoA. Go out and buy the thing. You won't regret it. It's a really nice blend of straight forward adventures like the Fable trilogy but with the crafting and skills depth that titles like the Elder Scrolls series and World of Warcraft bring, plus just a dash of good fighting game too.
Its only real downfall is that it's such a good mixture that it really forgot to add that extra ingredient of its own to make Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning the true winner in its class that maybe it could have been. Not an easy thing to do though. As is the way with this type of game, the hours rapidly turn into days as you're kept in a state of near-satisfaction, a one-step-forward-two-steps back form of paralysis that keeps you pushing on to the next inevitably inconsequential event
Amalur is a mainly pleasant place to be however, And while KoA doesn't quite have Skyrim's epic scale, there's enough to keep you busy for the foreseeable future.
Steve Hill contributed to this review.


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God Withdraws His Revelation
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Forgetfulness is a major contributing factor to sin for the people of God. When we forget all that the Lord has done for us, it becomes easy to take Him for granted and to commit the very acts He condemns ...Read More
Judgments on the Nations
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The Hope of Restoration
God's grace to His people in the restoration is shown in two primary ways. First, He provides His Son to fulfill perfectly all the requirements needed for Him to restore all creation. Second, He elects a people to salvation, guaranteeing ...Read More
A Murderer from the Start
Scripture's emphasis on both the inward attitudes of evil and the outward deeds of wickedness results in a doctrine of sin that is both robust and realistic. The problem of sin is rooted within, and it takes an inward cleansing ...Read More
The Sixth Commandment
Ephesians 4:26 tells us that there are times when we may be righteously angry, but distinguishing this from the kind of malice forbidden in the sixth commandment can be quite difficult. We must be cautious when we find ourselves angry ...Read More
The Joyful Noise of Trumpets
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The Days of Purim
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Courageous Esther
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subset: commoncrawl


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I have become increasingly concerned about what is happening to our world. I don't know what to do about it but I believe it is crucial that information be disseminated. These are momentous times for which the necessity to stay informed is ever greater. I plan to post notes about recent publications on this site that help me think about what is going on. And I would welcome your comments.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Susan Boyle and the power of the moral imagination
Such a moment has just happened again, only this time it is a little different. A few days ago a 47 year old woman appeared on a talent show in Britain. Someone described her as fumpy. She wore her best dress, something worn earlier to a nephew's wedding. She had fixed her hair herself. And she came on stage to sing. The hosts and the audience were kind enough, but pervading the whole scenario was a palpable doubt, even condescension, about this woman. She was a pathetic figure, vulnerable. This was an aggressive audience, expressive; they were ready to drive a performer off the stage. The hosts, the talent judges, were clearly dubious. One of the judges asked this woman her name and where she was from. She was Susan Boyle from a small town -- well, a collection of villages, she said. Then he asked what her ambition was. She wanted to be singer. Who would she like to be like?, he asked. Like Elaine Paige. It was easy to regard this woman as tragically unaware of her own limitations, with aspirations that surpassed her ability. And she was now on stage, on TV. Before a huge audience. Here was a disaster in the making. This would be difficult to watch.
She chose to sing Fantine's song, "I dreamed a dream" from Les Miserables, when Fantine was left alone, unemployed and destitute.
Her first note changed everything. The audience was electrified. As she sang they began to cheer. One of the judges, Amanda Holden [whom I earlier called "a gorgeous blond"; decide for yourself -- certainly not "frumpy" like the woman on stage], folded her hands and held them up to her face, as if hoping desperately, praying, for this woman not to stumble. Everyone seemed to be rooting for her. Some people wept. This is what she sang:
There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong
I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted
But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame
He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came
And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather
I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.
When she was finished the judges were ecstatic. One of them said that at first everyone had been laughing at her but no one was laughing now. Amanda Holden said it was a wonderful moment for her because she knew that everyone there had been against Susan. Susan Boyle was showered with praise.
That was on April 11. On April 15, 2009, when you google "Susan Boyle singer" it gives you 132,000 sites. The clip of her performance, seven minutes, has been watched over 3 ½ million times.
Here is an event that so embodied something profoundly, even personally, gripping for thousands of people that the seven minute clip on UTube is being watched over and over again, by the same people. Susan Boyle's moment on stage objectifies something buried in the psyche, something in the human moral imagination. The discussion of how and what that could be will be going on for weeks.
Here is one instance:
On popwatch [http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/04/susan-boyle-why.html] Lisa Schwarzbaum writes that she is still crying. She plays the YouTube clip over and over again. And she asks herself what every anthropologist should ask: why are you listening again and again? And why are you crying? She proposes an answer, at least for herself: "In our pop-minded culture so slavishly obsessed with packaging -- the right face, the right clothes, the right attitudes, the right Facebook posts -- the unpackaged artistic power of the unstyled, un-hip, un-kissed Ms. Boyle let me feel, for the duration of one blazing showstopping ballad, the meaning of human grace. She pierced my defenses. She reordered the measure of beauty. And I had no idea until tears sprang how desperately I need that corrective . . ."
Buried within the human psyche are feelings, yearnings, anxieties too deep for words, usually. Only sometimes do we see it in ourselves. Always it is something outside ourselves that touches us, somehow, where we feel most deeply. At such moments we remember that we are humans -- not mere living creatures, but human beings, profoundly and deeply shaped by a moral sensibility so powerful that it breaks through our inhibitions; it can burst out, explode into public view, to our own astonishment. And sometimes that objective form -- a person, an event, an object, a song -- embodies deeply felt sensibilities for a lot of us at once, so that we discover how much we share in our private worlds, worlds otherwise inaccessible to anyone one else. It becomes a social event, so we can all rejoice, and weep, together.
51 comments:
- Bill Bittner said...
Thank you for the great article.
You hit the nail on the head
I enjoyed your thoughtful article immensely. Thank you.
Isn't it wonderful that some obscure, ordinary (former) nobody appearing for a few moments on a trivial light entertainment show can bring millions of people together and remind them of both the difficult bits of being human - Susan's learning difficulties, the ridicule she's endured, the sacrifices she's made, the thwarted dreams and stifled ambitions..... as well as the great bits - talent, tenacity, determination, courage and grace.
There's a moment in that video clip at 3:10 when Susan the ordinary, vulnerable, frumpy unkissed spinster suddenly transforms into a beautiful woman with a beautiful voice.
Seeing that happen before our eyes and in such a short space of time is astonishing, moving and truly insiprational.
Thank you for this wonderful article... well said. I had the same reaction as you and Lisa Schwarzbaum articulated much better than I. Such an uplifting piece at a time when we could all do with something to smile about from the inside out. Very touching. I had the same reaction to Paul Potts.
Thanks for this blog; I just found it, but I'll be back often. Yes, Dr. Canfield, I completely agree with your elegant assessment of why Susan Boyle moves us, and I want to add something more: for me, it wasn't just the unexpected and "corrective" beauty of Susan's voice, though yes, it was deeply honest and true, both in its vocal technique and its nuanced emotional expression. What makes me burst into tears every time I watch that video is her matter-of-fact, unassailable belief in her right to be there. The woman has a courageously self-contained presence that simply makes her mousy hair and lack of chic irrelevant. I imagine that she presents herself the same way in the grocery store, on the bus, and in the church foyer-- completely without apology or explanation for being exactly who she is. I want that kind of confidence, which is the essence of true humility-- knowing who I am and offering myself to the world, not because of any praise I might receive, but just because I'm here and that's what I need to do. Susan Boyle has made the world a better place just by insisting that we take her seriously.
- boredom & pride said...
i think what has been provoking is that this talent has made us all believe that we have the ability in us to amaze people - when did people stop thinking that?
so much of life is made-up these days that something honest & soulful catches us out - on any street, anywhere, we want hope, and she obliged us, all.
paris hilton beware, Ms Boyle rocks
- becxjo said...
Thank you very much professor for your insight. That was great.
Thank you for your article, and for helping us to understand this phenomenon at the meta level. It truly amazed me that the whole audience seemed to recognize the greatness of what was happening, that a woman whom society would carelessly cast off could be the one with the greatest beauty.
To me it was a redemptive moment, when truth pierced the burdensome lies we live with -- especially the lie that one's worth is equal to what others conferred upon you, rather than based on who you truly are. I am grateful that Susan Boyle has given us a chance to talk about these deep sensibilities we share as human beings.
I think Susan Boyle defines the meaning "Diamond in the rough" or "Rough diamond" - beneath a rough diamond's plain dull surface lies a sparkle so bright and so beautiful it leaves you breathless. I am humbled and I am priveleged that a woman I will never meet has reminded me to look deeper than superficial surfaces.Brava! Brava Susan Boyle!
And thank you for explaining how I feel so clearly!
Thank you for your wonderful article and what an amazing blog. I'm glad I found it as I searched to see if others were responding to Susan Boyle the way I have been. I agree with the previous comment that as we watched and listened with saw a beautiful flower bloom...and it was all of us who were so inspired by this lovely woman.
- aboutthejourney said...
Thanks for your post Bob. This is indeed an interesting phenomenon - particularly in terms of how fast information can travel and what is available to view.
With regard to the event itself, perhaps I am only being cynical, but rather than feeling inspired I feel manipulated, and skeptical about the authenticity of the reactions of the judges.
To me it seems that the media is trying to capitalize the successful Paul Potts experience. I am also concerned for Ms. Doyle, because I think she is being exploited and manipulated. However, it's likely that the benefit to her will outweigh the downside.
I'm also concerned because it seems that people seem desperate for the positive and reaffirming and they find it here, rather than closer to home.
I do think it's remarkable though that a person can get up and sing (in my opinion not especially remarkably) with such confidence and composure in front of so many people. I don't presume to know Ms. Doyle, but she certainly seems to have moxy.
Hope I'm not too much of a wet blanket, Cheers....
Susan Boyle is NOT mentally disabled. She suffered from oxygen deprivation at birth, and experienced some trouble because of it - but that doesn't necessarily result in 'mental disability', implying for one thing subpar intelligence. If you've read about her life story, it's clear she is well able, and in fact more so than many of us.
Thank you for this interesting analysis. I agree with the comment of Lisa Schwarzbaum that it reset our concept of beauty. There is something more as well: the scene of someone who is being mocked suddenly being recognized and lauded as a glorious and talented being. That is something that resonates for many of us...it's as if we secretly fear that we are flawed and worthy of derision while desperately longing to receive recognition and ovations for our particular talents.
Thank you for a wonderful article.
It drew my attention, standing out from the literal thousands of other articles detailing Susan Boyle's performance, because I noticed your reference to people watching her YouTube clip repeatedly--over and over again--and still finding themselves just as moved as the first time they watched it.
I am one of those people and I find that fact almost as shocking as Susan's unexpected performance.
I find myself, rarely given to sentiment, flooded with emotion each time I see it, literal tears creeping into my eyes, here in the dark of my study where my emotions can remain my own. I really do not want to have to answer if I am asked why I'm still watching, and crying, over this seven minute long piece of digital media. I am not sure of the answer, or that I would wish to give it to someone who knows me personally, but the question itself has been playing through my mind for two days now.
Why does this video move me so? Why am I more interested in watching it then in finishing my book, or watching something on television? The question is important to me if only to help me understand a bit better the underlying motivations that drive me.
I think I have, perhaps, found an approximation of an answer, at least for me, and the answer is this: Susan Boyle, in four notes, silenced her doubters and forced them to recognize the worthiness of her ability, even though they had already prejudged her, based upon her appearance, and written her off as a spectacle worthy of ridicule.
I notice that the moments I enjoy most, during the audition, are those moments where we are shown the faces of the judges and the audience and we can see how powerfully they are moved, even though they had just been mocking the woman only seconds before. The beauty of Susan's voice is a magic of its own, woven throughout her performance, and ready evidence of her talent, but it is the combination of that talent and reaction it caused that makes the video so compelling, at least to me.
The combination is, simply, inspiring.
Do most of us, perhaps, share a deep desire to prove our worthiness to the doubters among us and have them change their minds about us so completely that their scorn transforms instantly to appreciation? That desire is as close as I have come, at the moment, to a motive for my behavior.
Or I can simplify it and quite honestly say that I am just craving that inspiration.
If everyone had perceived Susan to be an eagle, what surprise would there have been in her taking flight? It would have been beautiful, but would it have been as inspiring? Few of us are eagles, whether in the eyes of others or just ourselves, but we all hold firmly to the wistful dream that we, too, can fly.
"mentally disabled woman"??? try some tact, "professor." she is a WOMAN with a learning disability. try to people first vocabulary.
- Matt Nolan said...
"Always it is something outside ourselves that touches us, somehow, where we feel most deeply"
Exactly - brilliant.
Thank you from Italy.
- Pam Nash said...
Wonderful article. I am in the UK and watched the show on TV on Saturday night - when she came on stage and spoke I could barely watch, so desperate was I that she not be treated cruelly. Of course, when she sang, the judges' and audience's reaction changed totally.
It is a sad indictment of our society that she had to sing wonderfully to be regarded as a useful member of society.
thank you very much for this great article!
Yuri Shabashov
- Unknown said...
There is a little of Susan Boyle in us all, and if there isn't... there should be. God bless her, and us all!
she was teriffic! i`ve seen the clip. gawd that was amazing! hands down Susan Boyle! way to go! Ü
You need to correct your post. Susan Boyle is not mentally disabled. -js
- Unknown said...
I enjoyed reading your article, but I have to ask - where has the information come from that she is mentally disabled?
Is that a documented fact or just another assumption? Was it in fact even necessary to put it in - was it to make her sound even more "pathetic"? I don't believe it was necessary.
Thank you to the annonymous identity who wrote
"Susan Boyle is NOT mentally disabled. She suffered from oxygen deprivation at birth, and experienced some trouble because of it - but that doesn't necessarily result in 'mental disability', implying for one thing subpar intelligence. If you've read about her life story, it's clear she is well able, and in fact more so than many of us."Each year, I have the opportunity to hear hundreds of amateur performing artists of all ages. It takes a very special quality to send shivers down the spine and bring tears to the eyes like Susan's performance. Her quality is pure and unadulterated and each time I have listened, I have the tears and the goose bumps.
Judge Amanda hit the nail on the head when she said everyone was cynical at first and it was the hugest wake up call.
Susan Boyle's dream was to sing in front of a large audience and that was the first of her dreams to be fulfilled. Getting the positive comments and the applause with standing ovations would have been a big bonus for her - and well deserved. I wish her all the best.
Oh dear, shame on you, Professor. You describe the female judge as 'gorgeous' and a 'babe' - identifying and objectifying her purely by her looks. In fact you, Professor, were doing exactly what everyone was doing to Susan. A columnist on The Guardian has pointed out that Paul Potts, a similarly unglamorous figure with a fantastic voice who was on the same show (and went on to win it) two years ago - but his reaction from the judges and the audience was more neutral. We judge women by their looks far more than men, and you, Prof, are no different. Shame on you!
Elegantly written, incisive article. Thanks from Australia!
This example, as with Paul Potts, strongly signifies the healing power of music. In each case, the illness was prejudice and scorn.
May God bless them both.
Oh my god, Dr Robert Canfield, go to the bottom of the class. You need to learn how we talk about other people in the 21st century. Susan is 'mentally disabled'? The female judge a 'gorgeous blond' (sic - blonde) and 'the babe'? This http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/16/britains-got-talent-susan-boyle should be required reading for you. Don't judge women by their looks. You included.
Susan Boyle is one of the bravest people I have ever seen.
To get up in front of millions of people, knowing how they would treat her at first, shows a strength of character I wish we could have in our "leaders."
And she even told off Cowell a bit. She has brass ovaries.
If only American Idol would look for people like her, I'd watch it.
Theatrical producers would never give her the role of Fantine or Eponine in LES MISERABLES, but she could walk into the role of Madame Thenardier tomorrow and blow the cast off the stage.
What a horrible judgmental self important and condescending article! She is not mentally disabled, there is no need to call the female judge 'babe' and you need to first look into your own eye...you really do!
I also was so moved by Susan and have watched the video numerous times and cry. There's something universal going on here that's created an overwhelming feeling across the planet and hopefully only good comes from it. But I also want to give credit to the song. I think I cry every time I hear it, no matter who is singing it.
Thank you for helping me understand why I cried
- Argider said...
It gives hope that we all have magnificent song to sing. Perhaps not with our voice but, with words, our hands or our love for another.
Sir, A very insightful article,but demeaned by your observations about the female judge being "gorgeous" and "a babe". So have you explored why you needed to use those descriptives, especially in an article on this subject? Was that a conscious choice or just penned without consideration? Perhaps that should be your next blog post?
I've seen it probably a dozen times, never sure exactly why I'm watching it. Goose bumps almost every time. Anyway I have one correction- she didn't sing the entire song, but rather she skipped the first verse. Thanks for the enjoyable article
You article is ALMOST great, I really enjoyed your analysis in the last paragraph. However, throwing the words "gorgeous" and "babe" when talking about the judge is completely tasteless and uncalled for especially in an article like this.
- Unknown said...
Thank you for your thought provoking analysis of the Boyle effect. I cried when I watched it, but mostly I cried because I knew that I was guilty of judging people by their appearance. I see your description of the female judge as an admission of your guilt too - your acceptance that you prefer an attractive woman. Hardly an earthshattering admission.
We like looking at beautiful things. We value things according to how beautiful they are, and people are similarly judged. How physically attractive we are accounts for a great degree of the sexual attention we attract.
I see the Boyle effect not as saying that appearance shouldn't matter (because it clearly does), but as a reminder not to write people off because we do not instinctively find them attractive. They may not be beautiful, but they may still be talented. Better, however, to be beautiful AND talented. The message is not so much in affirmation (of less attractive people) but in negation - appearance is not everything.
"Oh dear, shame on you, Professor. You describe the female judge as 'gorgeous' and a 'babe' - identifying and objectifying her purely by her looks. In fact you, Professor, were doing exactly what everyone was doing to Susan."
Exactly. Your article is hypocritical & completely superficial.
It's unbelievable how many people here don't have their eyes & ears truly open to themselves, or others.
What makes me cry is that Susan had these laughing eyes before she went on stage, then people pulled faces and for a moment the laugh in her eyes disappeared, but luckily it didn't drag her down enough and she got an encouraging smile from one of the judges, she started singing in a way that reflected her soul that could be seen in her eyes and face before. Now what makes me cry is that people, were honest about their initial misjudgement of her and had the guts to admit it so openly and give Susan what she deserved. So often in life people don't do this and would play what she did down just to protect their own misjudgement.
- Diane Shiffer said...
I am just in love with this woman myself.. and can't seem to get enough of her. Like so many others, I've watched the vid over and over again.. my girls have watched it over and over again. I've blogged about her, and pulled aside friends and mere acquaintances to ask them if they've seen her and direct them to her vid if they haven't. I've got my own ideas about why we are so entranced, although not quite so profound or scholarly as your own. I greatly enjoyed reading your thoughts.
Susan Boyle's performance has nuclear power as it was real and came from inside. It was beautiful. More important is the instant reaction from almost every human being on this planet. Susan managed within 3 seconds to synchronize everybody. When she delivered her last note, the hole planet was left with the same emotion. The same emotion that MSM has tried to destroy for decades
- damagnan said...
First, thanks for a very insightful read.
The cynic in me sees very little to be positive about in this tiny excerpt of life. It is vile that we should be surprised at the adage-worn, "beauty within."
This illustrative event, perhaps, should be less a bright-eyed awakening and more of a stern lashing with a still-green switch. How many are the things that we've left by the wayside because they are too much like Susan?
Society is a child, in every imaginable way...except that children eventually learn from mistakes and grow up.
- Ronnie Bray said...
Thank you for expressing in language that which we all feel in our hearts.
Susan's breakthrough is Chaplinesque, a noveau every-woman/man hero whose inner strengths and abilities lead inexorably to success in the face of, what is at times, an uncaring, often hostile, all-powerful, and judgemental world.
The spirit of the 'Little Tramp' against the world and succeeding against the odds is alive and well in Susan Boyle.
- snoekie said...
This is the best voice that I have heard in many a year.
Susan looked so unprepossessing I was afraid of what she would sound like but was won over after the first notes. What a voice, what a talent. I was in tears by the end, at the sheer raw talent.
I truly hope that any training will not remove any of the beauty of that voice.
I also listened to her version of 'I cried a river', the bst I have heard since Ella's version and every bit as good.
Long may she sing to us and thrill us with that hugely mature, but young, voice and she will be a smash hit.
I have shown the video of Susan Boyle to all my Middle School Students grades 6, 7, and 8 each time in every class there is a preliminary mocking of Susan Boyle then a profound silence. In a discussion we find transformations, the judges, Susan, the audience and ourselves; as a teacher I admit I cannot stop crying every time I watch the video. I have watched it more than 12 times. (Yes I am a straight male not afraid to cry for joy, for beauty and in wonder.)
I can honestly say I have watched the video clip at least a dozen times and I cry every single time. I cried just reading the good Doctor's commentary about the clip! AND IT HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL FEELING TO CRY OVER AND OVER!
Life itself feels different from having watched this vulnerable, fragile woman take the world into her hand, into her bosom and tell us that it's going to be ok, that hope will spring eternal, that dreams can be dreamed, if for no other reason that to simply celebrate the human spirit, the life spirit. It is a most intensely allegorical tale and the only comparison I can draw is the children's story of "The Selfish Giant" that used to play on Sunday morning radio when I was a child and which can still "pierce my defenses", as Lisa Schwarzbaum so poetically puts it.
Thank you for the article. I have watched the video many times and have realized that there is something very profound that is happening here, but I cannot grasp the meaning of it in its entirety. The experience is greater than experiencing a great vocal performance (I have seen those before) or even someone winning against the odds. She has tapped into something universal, eliciting the best from within us. In her special way, she has reminded us that inner beauty is the true beauty. Her success becomes our success and her inspired performance gives us inspiration to live our lives with confidence and grace. We have all been richly blessed by an unlikely source.
- Tric said...
Like many I too was moved to tears by her performance and still am on so many levels. Thanks for your elegant slant on this phenomenal experience!
- Dee said...
Great Article.. Nicely summed up!
- Shelby said...
Great article! I remember a similar occasion with "We Are the World" -- a feeling of joining together, of WE being greater than any one of US.
I agree 100%. It is a very humbling experience to view the video. Reminds me of how judgmental and superficial we can be and then just how wonderful things truly are, when we are not.
- coolingstar9 said...
Nice post.
From the video clip, I had learnt something that human beings are behave so badly for seeing the weak one.
But ordinary people are inspired by true, kind Susan boyle.


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Tagged: functional programming
Why I am so excited about Clojure and why I think its going to explode.
I am by no mean an expert on this matter, but I recently went to a company job interview which dealt with Clojure, so in doing my preparation I knocked up a lot of stuff which I wanted to write about.
It's kind of funny because it never easy to identify emerging technologies but it is possible to predict by looking at a variety of changes and how these changes come together.
There is very little doubt that big data is going to take off. Why wouldn't the National Health Service want to know what conditions effect the likely hood of cancer or high blood presurse or, an advertising company distinguishing which advertising campaign are most successful. The meaningful information we can retrieve is endless and it just makes sense.
In addition we need to look at our current hardware, companies such as Intel and AMD are finding it harder and harder to develop processors that are faster the exponential development was saw int he 90s is over, it is just not possible to develop CPU switches that move any faster. So instead we are living in an era, and will continue to, of multi-core processors. We can see this with quad cores and even dual processors in phones. Don't be surprised to see 1000 cores in your computer on day. In addition to this Google server developer strategy is horizontal, not vertical, meaning they are expanding by creating more server farms that they use to distribute the work load of their processing. Their not buying in more powerful servers, but instead have the challenge of dealing with computer across different network.
Over the past 20 years or so OO has dominated the landscape and rightly so. It provides structure and a simplified way of organising your code. OO design patterns such as MVC are going nowhere. But today with live in a world with events, mobile phones trigger events, more intricate interaction with UIs and apps all trigger a vast amount of events and traditional OO doesn't embrace this style of interaction as well. Instead functional programming copes better. http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/j-ft20/.The ability to add a load of functions that are triggered on events and then call another function which returns a function that can then be use as an argument for another function, allows for more dynamic, flexible programming. I am not saying this is the end of OO by any means, but rather functional programming is seems to be a better fit for many programming challenges.
Now you ask how does this all fit in to Clojure.
Clojure has an amazing ability to deal with data, since in essence everything in Clojure is data it become very easy to handle and manipulate data. For example a set of functions used to manipulate data structures work the same on all data structures, so you can transform data from one structure to another and still apply the same functions. This is essence is perfect for Big Data as the data mined by companies can come is all sort of formats and structures. Most instances they may be totally unstructured.
Traditional languages use mutable data, meaning you change the state of data in objects. Clojure uses immutable data structures, meaning you create a copy of the object and then make the change to the spefic data leaving the rest of the object the same. For example if you had an object Person which had data name you would, with mutable data structures, setName and the object state would now be changed. In Clojure you would make a "copy" of the object and then change the data in the new object leaving any other attribute the same. Of course now you would have a problem since you have two copies of the object Person which takes up a lot of memory if you were to create thousands of changes, so Clojure deals with this using a GitHub version control style system for tracking changes. So it's not that the Person object is copied when changes are made but rather a track of the changes are made which can be accessed as a object.
Clojure has a strong infrastructure for multi threaded programming. Like I said before the world we live in is strongly moving to distributed processing and multi-core processors. Clojure provides a perfect way in handling this not only in its multi threaded programming but also with the immutable data structures we talked about above. The problems arises with tracking data that is changed when streamed across different threads. If the object Person is accessed across 12 different threads and is changed the handling of that change can become very difficult when multiple threads are trying to access/set the same data. With immutable data types a tracked copy is made which can be accessed without the problem of collisions through accessing or setting data at the same time. Think of it much like a group of people modifying an excel spreadsheet at the same time.
Clojure is a functional language which provides many fun advantages to coding namely the dynamic, expressive nature of writing code. Yet Clojure has is that it still access to the full Java library because Clojure runs on the JVM. This means Clojure has the best of both worlds being fun, expressive syntax with the solid backing of a language like Java.
I probably haven't covered all the advantages of this new language and I certainly haven't covered the know dis-advantages but I have explained some of the pro's that considering where things are going, are hard to argue against.


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Sunday Funday
I went to the dog beach with my sister and a few of her friends today. Everyone brought their dogs so it was a whole lot of cute with a side of crazy.
I also cut my hair. Photo on the right was taken after the buzz. You can't even tell half of it's gone, right?
And I can FINALLY use a chopstick to hold it up (before it was too heavy). I used to be so jealous of my friends who held pencils in their hair during class. How convenient.
So great, so great. Did you do anything fun this weekend?!
raesock permalinkApril 22, 2012 6:43 pm
oh man i want to go to a dog beach! how cute!
and your hair looks great! i love that partly shaved look, and you can' even tell when it is down. i've always been jealous of the pencil in hair trick too. Mine is just never long enough.
April 22, 2012 8:21 pm
BEASTIE LIFE JACKETS! LOVE LOVE LOVE. Also, awesome hair. Makes me miss long hair.
April 22, 2012 10:12 pm
I never realized how thick your hair is! It's going to be nice to have so much of it gone when the summer hits.
I love that picture of Lily with the cloth Frisbee. Bean has one of those and she never can figure out how to carry it. She trips over it when she carries is like Lily and and she can't see if she holds it the other way. It's pretty funny.
April 23, 2012 12:31 am
Love the hair, it really suits you (and will look great with the leather jacket you just finished). I did something like that (only my hair was much shorter to begin with) last summer and it was sooooo easy to deal with the heat, loved it. Plus having it long on top creates such a cool contrast with the buzzed sides.
I really enjoy seeing all the Lily pics too. My frenchie (Bu) is such a lazy bones, he avoids water by whatever means and NEVER sleeps on his back! Worlds oddest dogs.
April 23, 2012 9:41 am
Hair = amazing
Day on beach = more amazing
Tattoos on your legs = the most amazing!
Trude permalinkApril 23, 2012 4:07 pm
OMG her little life preserver is just too freaking cute. Hooray for dog beach! I haven't been since November, I think it's time for a trip. 🙂 I'm jealous of how straight and perfect your hair hangs post-cut!


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Drinking the Bottom Shelf: Nova Schin Brazilian Lager
Will Gordon drinks his way through the bottom shelf of the liquor store...so you don't have to.
I've been in my 30s for so long that I can't really remember my 20s, but to the extent that I recall anything about that decade, it's that I spent most of it getting in my own way (and everyone else's way) because I hadn't yet figured out what I was good at. And worse than that, I wasn't even consciously trying to identify my strengths. I don't remember my full thought process, but I assume I just declared myself good at everything and then set about to do only the things that I enjoyed the most. This led to much debt and vomit.
I don't mean this as a blanket indictment of people in their 20s, because I think I was a late-bloomer when it came to self-awareness and skill-optimization. Bottom Shelf research coordinator Emily, for example, still has miles of her 20s to go, yet she's already figured out that she's really good at eating oysters and wearing dresses, so she doesn't waste a lot of time eating shrimp and wearing shorts. When I was her age, I still thought I could walk on water and hold down an office job.
I realize not everyone goes through my long, sticky learning curve, but however late I arrived at the functional adult party, I'm here now and having a fine time of it, even though I haven't learned any new tricks in the past decade. Any success that I enjoy these days doesn't stem from new talents I've developed in my 30s but rather from a firmer grasp of how to maximize whatever little tokens of competence Darwin awarded me at birth. I no longer focus on doing what I love; now I find contentment in simply doing what I can. And brothers and sisters, I can drink beer.
Oh, can I drink beer. And I don't mean I'm one of those perfect-storm beer drinking dilettantes who can choke back four light ones on a fishing boat full of friends on a 90-degree day. I hate to boast but I need you to know that I can drink beer in the morning, and in the afternoon, and oh lord can I drink beer at night. I can drink beer that is itself warm or cold, and I can drink beer when the ambient temperature is warm or cold. Right now I am drinking beer in my 73-degree apartment. I could turn on the AC or the heat, take off my shirt or put on two sweaters, and none of it would have any bearing on my ability to drink beer.
Do I prefer to drink cold, clean beer in the company of good friends and salty snacks? Well of course. Same way your mom preferred to feed your infant self on days when you weren't disgusting or annoying. But she fed you every day or at least almost every day, and I try to take the same approach to my beer-drinking. You rig me a calendar full of balmy Saturday nights spent listening to the Talking Heads on a meat-filled back porch, and I'll drink beer under perfect circumstances in perpetuity. But sometimes life hands you cloudy, lonely Wednesdays. I drink beer through those Wednesdays.
This is why I'm reluctant to call any beer "easy-drinking," because Serious Eats Sandwich Fest attendants may have noticed that I found it quite simple to drink 16 porters while toiling under the glare of a very angry sun and an only slightly less angry editor. But I must admit that I have stumbled upon a beer that is even easier to drink than the others: Nova Schin Lager, Brazil's third-favorite beer and, for the price, my new first favorite.
There's a store on the outskirts of Harvard Square that sells 12-packs of Nova Schin for $9.99, which is a couple bucks less than they get for PBR. I can't believe it took me two months to try it, and I was shocked that I managed to try 9 in one sitting without really noticing. This stuff goes down FAST. It's a fairly standard macrobrew in the American adjunct tradition, which means it's probably half corn or rice or something. It tastes just fine, not too special though a little unusual: It has the requisite simple malt blast, but not as much of the sour lemon these beers usually throw at you via desultory doses of crappy hops. The malt dominates but it's balanced by token resistance from a slight apple character reminiscent of 3-pound-for-$1 scratch-and-dent Macintoshes at the farmer's market in July. It's not the world's most pleasant flavor, but it adds an inch of musky depth to the proceedings.
If you come across Nova Schin, buy it. Don't be deterred by the weird packaging—normal bottles exist online, but my store sells 12-packs of 11.83-ounce cans shrink-wrapped together on a bed of floppy cardboard, and each can comes covered with an ominous chunk of aluminum foil. At first I wondered what they were hiding under the extra layer of aluminum, but now I realize they were just trying to slow me down.
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Calcium Supplements: Not All Are Equal
Author: Betty Kovacs, MS, RD
Medical Editor: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
Viewer Question: I've heard that not all calcium supplements are the same. Which over-the-counter vitamins or minerals help build bones? Which brands or types are better than others?
Dietician's Response: You heard right, not all calcium supplementsare the same. The supplements will differ by the kinds of calcium that they contain, the amount that they contain, and any thing else that is added to them (other minerals or vitamins). Along with that, there are other factors that will affect how much of the calcium you will actually absorb, including medications that you are taking, your age, your vitamin D levels, the amount of calcium that you are taking and if you are pregnant. If you have any concerns over any of these, it would be best to speak with your physician before taking anything.
The most common forms of calcium in supplements are calcium carbonateand calcium citrate. The differences between the two are...


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Of the car variety, that is. Have you ever noticed that phenomenon? Someone mentions they love VW beetles, and suddenly you see them all over? Or you see a witty bumper sticker for the first time, and the next thing you know, it seems that everyone at Whole Foods is sporting the same sticker? Well, it's been like that for me since starting this blog. Sometimes in very small ways, and sometimes in profound ways.
On the subject of bumper stickers, yesterday I encountered one that said simply "Support tenderness in men," or something perhaps a bit more elegant than my own butchered rephrasing. I thought to myself, "tenderness:" we've always known that our boy was tender in many ways. And I think that we've tried to nurture that tenderness, knowing that the world can use more gentle and tender men. More men who are in touch with their emotions and able to show them. And even though this sometimes means big crying fits for Q, it also means that he loves the simple beauty of a tender rose or the wonder of a butterfly's precious wings. So it's nice to know that there's at least a few others out there vocalizing their support for tenderness in men (and boys).
And then there's our dear friend X, who loves Q like no other can. And who, as you may have read in his comment, also struggles with the idea of Q wearing dresses on occasion, although he knows that deep down this is a learning opportunity for all of us (boy is it!). I know he's been thinking hard about this whole concept of Q in dresses, Q and his identity, and how Q's identity pushes at social boundaries at times. He related to us that he recently visited friends who have a boy near to Q's age. Who also likes to wear dresses. So it's not an isolated phenomenon, realized X. And he felt less alone, I think. And a bit more at peace, I think. And I think that's why I write this too, to reach out to find out that I'm not alone, to open my eyes to other boundary-pushing instances, which are popping up all around me, and to let others out there who have kiddos like Q or hope to raise kiddos like Q know that they are not alone.
So lately, in seeing things like other boys at Q's school outwardly embracing the fact that they love pink, visiting a classroom there and learning that it's the boys who most love to play with the dolls and that the teacher embraces this, and seeing another boy or two pushing the gender envelope with his clothing, I don't feel so much alone. I think it's that beetle phenomenon. I've been thinking so much about Q and his unique identity. And then made the leap to share that journey publicly. And now, that journey begins to cross paths with others who may be along similar pathways. I like the eye-opening that is happening here.


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Learning Centre
Welcome to the Miromaa "Learning Centre".
Over the last 12 months we have been very fortunate to provide IT Language training to Aboriginal language centres in Victoria and Queensland, these training workshops have taken place over 2 to 3 days and have been very successful. It is from these workshops that we have launched this "Learning Centre" to compliment the workshops. You can come back here anytime and get a refresher on the face to face training or maybe pick up more tips and tricks which you may have missed.
Please do note hesitate to provide us with feedback and suggestions, just remember we are not professionals at this we are just like you learners too.
The online lessons will cover Miromaa, Lexique Pro, Photostory, Toolbox plus more.
Learning Room
The Miromaa Learning Room is a collection of videos to teach you how to use Miromaa, they can compliment the face to face training that you may have received from us and also make learning from the Miromaa User Guide much better.
It is recommended that you have a broadband internet connection as some of these videos are up to 20mb in size, the average time for a video lesson is approximately 5 minutes. Resolution is at 640 x 480 so they are at a good size for watching.
If you do not have a broadband Internet connection please let us know and we will send you the videos on DVD
(There is also a lesson showing you how to install Miromaa if you have not done so)
Software not required initially but recommended:
Lexique Pro
Office 2003 or above
TIP: To make the most of these videos have Miromaa open ready to use so you can pause the lesson and then practise that step on your computer
Please note that the videos are currently based upon Miromaa 2 and will soon be upgraded to Miromaa 3, they are still an excellent resource in the mean time.


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Eldorado Red (Feat. O.J. Da Juiceman) - 3P's
Video For Eldorado Red "3P's" Featuring O.J. Da Juiceman. Directed By The Raw Report.
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


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Despite their slogans, U.S. cable news networks' prime-time schedules have settled on an ideological spectrum.
MSNBC says "Lean Forward," but hosts Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews and Ed Schultz clearly lean left.
Fox News is "Fair and Balanced," unless you're a liberal going into the lion's den with Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly.
CNN tries to claim the middle ground as "The Worldwide Leader in News," but its two newest hosts are known more for a tabloid scandal (Eliot Spitzer) and tabloid publishing (Piers Morgan) than for global news gathering.
American audiences acknowledge, and accept, this divergence from the objective news model.
But when it comes to an international news channel that's accused of framing events through an ideological lens, cable and satellite systems have had a different standard.
Such is the case with Al Jazeera, which is based in Qatar. Despite having 400 journalists from 60 countries reporting from 65 news bureaus, its English-language version is carried on only six small systems in America.
That's because of its initial image as a toxic TV option in the post-9/11 era. First came its controversial coverage of Al-Qaida -- it's usually the first to air statements from its leaders.
Then when the insurgency intensified in Iraq, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called Al Jazeera "vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable."
That almost completely curtailed carriage of Al Jazeera English when it launched in America in 2006. But two systems in Washington, D.C., were undaunted.
Many foreign-policy professionals in Washington, including Rumsfeld's Bush-era colleague, former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, are viewers.
Last August Armitage told PBS's Charlie Rose that he watches every day, "Because it's news. I'm not interested in what Lindsay Lohan is doing."
It's likely he and other D.C. elites have watched Al Jazeera nonstop recently, riveted by images of upheaval that has toppled tyrants in Tunisia and Egypt and appears to be spreading.
American leaders aren't alone in accusing Al Jazeera of being more a provocateur than professional journalism organization. The network is the scourge of the region's repressive regimes, which have alternately tried to discredit and disconnect.
"Do not listen to foreign television and radio broadcasters whose aim is to cause chaos and weaken Egypt," Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman pleaded to protesters on the eve of President Hosni Mubarak's capitulation.
It's too late.
In Egypt and elsewhere, "Al Jazeera is more influential than any media organization, any government and any individual" in the region, said Hugh Miles, who wrote the book on the network ("Al Jazeera: How Arab TV News Challenged the World"). "They are the most popular channel in every Arab country, and satellite TV is the most important way that Arabs get their news."
Al Jazeera's role even supersedes social networks such as Facebook and Twitter that many credit with sparking the revolutions.
Tweets and web posts are citizen journalism that Al Jazeera builds into a broader narrative, making social media a mass message. The resulting feedback loop may not only have swelled Tunis' and Cairo's crowds, but created them in other combustible capitals like Tehran, Sana and Manama.
In the process of targeting tyrants, Al Jazeera has become a target itself: Its journalists have been attacked in Egypt, Lebanon and other Arab hot spots, including the West Bank, where Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accused the network of trying to destroy him after it broadcast the "Palestine Papers."
The report revealed that the Palestinian Authority made deeper concessions to Israel than it had acknowledged. As a result, the Palestinian's chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, has resigned, and Abbas has called new elections.
Al Jazeera is a powerful transnational actor, but it's mostly missing from the American stage.This should change.
Events in the Mideast impact the Midwest, as well as every corner of our increasingly interconnected world. And pan-Arab nations will only grow in importance. The Pew Research Center recently reported that the number of Muslims worldwide will grow at twice the rate of non-Muslims over the next 20 years.
Cable and satellite systems wary over conservative backlash should instead worry about consumer backlash, as witnessed by the burgeoning "Demand Al Jazeera" campaign and the 2,500 percent surge in traffic to Al Jazeera English's website at the peak of the Cairo chaos.
Some community access stations briefly carry the feed, and it can sometimes be found on Link TV. But a permanent home is needed.
It shouldn't be too tough: Comcast estimates that many subscribers get up to 420 channels, yet when asked about Al Jazeera the cable company would only say it is constantly examining its lineup to best serve customers.
One need not approve of all of Al Jazeera's media methods to find it essential viewing.
There is some anti-Americanism on the network, and some anti-Israeli bias -- although it was the first Arab network to invite Israelis to appear, as it did with Hamas and Hezbollah and other political actors at odds with Arab monarchs and presidents.
But just as viewers can decode MSNBC, Fox and CNN, they can decipher Al Jazeera English. To truly understand events in the Middle East, it's important to have the key communications tools.
Just ask the experts. Over the last year, the Star Tribune has editorialized about Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel-Palestine and Pakistan-India.
Elites from a fleet of think tanks were consulted, and each acknowledged Al Jazeera as an incredibly influential voice in a region that itself is speaking up, loudly.
Al Jazeera's role in recording, amplifying and at times orchestrating the news shouldn't be a reason for it not to be carried. Indeed, it's the reason it should be seen.
The Rash Report can be heard at 8:20 a.m. weekdays on WCCO Radio, 830-AM. Follow John Rash on Twitter @rashreport.


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It sounds easy, but to a five or six year old, holding the mouse, clicking that left button, dragging and dropping while holding a finger down is darn difficult. I found four programs that will make it painless:
Mousing Around–learn clicks, multiple clicks. Don't be surprised when the kids start shouting out animal names.
Bees and Honey–shorter, but concentrates on clicks and dragging-dropping
Tidy the classroom while learning clicks, double-clicks (difficult for youngers) and drag-and-drop
Mouse Program–for olders who can read, but a thorough exercise of the mouse skills


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Sure, Super Mario 3D World is a great game — but how is it as a musical?
From the people that brought you Pokémon - The Musical, comes a musical tribute to the recently released Super Mario 3D World. It's energetic musical theatre, features a badass Princess Peach, and makes me wish these guys would get funding instead of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
AvByte via Tastefully Offensive
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The countdown is on. 3 weeks till kickball starts!!!!!
A Fat Girl's Journey To Health and Fitness
...Dispatches from Wyoming
Keeping You Happy & Healthy in Today's Crazy World
trying (again) to get it almost sort of together
because we don't want your creativity slow going.
Another blog about the weight loss journey


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I tried a new kind of cheese today. It's American made by a family company in Wisconsin called Sartori Cheese. They have several varieties and flavors but the one I fell in love with today was their award winning Espresso BellaVitano .
Each wheel of this lovely cheese is hand rubbed with freshly roasted espresso! It sounds like the oddest combination…coffee and cheese…but it works and it's delicious.
The flavor reminds me of one of my favorite cheeses Parrano. It's similar to a nice Parmesan but this one has a slightly softer feel and it's a bit creamier and then the subtle espresso flavor puts it over the top. Delicious and not overpowering. It's a great flavor combination. I am looking forward to pairing it up with something made out of chocolate. Also, it would be nice with a glass of red wine.
Looking for something new? If you are a coffee and a cheese lover, you can't go wrong with this one.


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Toyota RAV4 Prime Auto Parts at Superior Toyota near Ashtabula 44004
When you're looking for Toyota RAV4 Prime Auto Parts near Ashtabula, you want them as quickly as possible. Thanks to Superior Toyota's extensive inventory and knowledgeable staff members, we likely have the Original Equipment Manufacturer part you need, when you need it, as opposed to other parts stores, which sell aftermarket parts that may not be an exact match for your Toyota RAV4 Prime. Whether you're just looking to change your own oil or are a car aficionado with the sort of know-how to upgrade your own vehicle, we've got the parts to accomplish the task.
With convenient business hours and a convenient location, there's no reason not to come on in and get the auto parts you need for your vehicle today. If you're going to do your own tune-ups, there are multiple steps you'll want to take but, first, come by Superior Toyota's Parts Department to gather your array of supplies. Make sure you've got the year, make, and model of your vehicle, along with the VIN, so we can get you the proper equipment. You'll need a funnel to avoid spillage during your oil change, on top of the correct oil, don't forget! Checking your tires is a necessary part of vehicle ownership, and we've got pressure gauges for you, so that your tires' air pressure is always correct and you can get the most out of that rubber. You can find the maximum psi for your tires both in the Owner's Manual and on the tire placard in the door jamb!
We admire the do-it-yourself attitude, which is why we've got a Live Chat function, as well. If you have questions while repairing or tuning up your vehicle with auto parts from Superior Toyota, you can chat and ask us anything. Head on over to the Ask A Tech feature to submit questions directly to our highly-trained technicians. We'll respond in a timely and informative fashion, or feel free to give us a call. We're happy to confirm that we have a part, discuss repairs you're working on, or just chat about vehicles – it's our passion.
Whether you're looking for a cabin air filter, the plethora of fluids your vehicle requires regularly, replacement brake pads, or a new muffler, we've got Toyota RAV4 Prime auto parts for sale near Ashtabula. Come down to Superior Toyota and see for yourself! With our superb customer service and our well-trained staff, we pride ourselves on customer retention – we hope to see you soon!
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Erie, PA 16509 Get Directions
Mike is from Erie. He is happily married and has two children, Ben and Maddie. In his spare time he enjoys going to his children's sporting events and biking. On his dream vacation, Mike would like to take his wife to Bora Bora.
Roger was born and raised in Stockton, NY. Outside of work, he enjoys golfing and watching sports. One day he hopes to take his wife, Jen, to Vegas again. Roger's dream car is a 1993-1998 Supra Twin Turbo 6-speed. Roger is our Internet Manager and invites you to check out our online showroom! He looks forward to helping you with your vehicle needs!
Bruce has been a member of the Superior Toyota team since May of 2004. Outside of work, Bruce enjoys golfing, hunting, and bowling. On his dream vacation, he would take a trip to Hawaii to go golfing!
Bill grew up in Erie. He is a member of the Erie Yacht club and enjoys boating and reading. On his dream vacation, he would take his wife to Alaska! Bill would love for you to come in so that he can help you with all of your vehicle needs, new and used!
Tom Has been a member of the Superior Toyota team since January of 2005. He was born and raised in Erie, PA. He served in the U.S. Navy, after which he lived in San Diego, CA for 15 years. Tom enjoys hunting, boating, fishing and is a lifelong Steelers and Penguins fan! On his dream vacation, he would take his entire family to Australia.
Dan is from Erie, PA. He has over 30 year of Automotive Experience. Please feel free to come in and see Dan for all of your automotive needs, new and pre-owed!
Mike was born and raised in Stockton, NY. To recharge, he enjoys 4 wheeling and camping with his family. Mike is also a firefighter! One day, Mike hopes to take his wife to Vegas, again. His dream car is a Shelby GT 1000 horsepower. Come in and see Mike today for all of your vehicle needs!
Greg was born and raised in Harborcreek, PA. In his down time, he enjoys hunting, boating, and working around the house. Greg hopes to one day check owning a yacht off his bucket list. Greg's favorite part about working at Superior Toyota is that he gets to sell a terrific product. Please feel free to come in and see Greg for all of your automotive needs, new and pre-owed!
Brad has been a member of our sales team since May 2002. He was born and raised in Ridgeway, PA. Outside of work, Brad enjoys spending time with his golden retriever, Sadie. On his dream vacation, he would take his wife, Kathy, to New Zealand. One day, Brad hopes to check traveling all over the US off his bucket list! Stop by and see Brad for any of your vehicle needs!
Ann Richter has been with Hallman Auto Group for 25 years. She's Toyota Certified and grew up in the Erie area. In Anne's spare time she enjoys gardening. Ann is happy to help so please don't hesitate to call or visit Ann for any of your vehicle needs!Favorite quote: "Another day in paradise"
Casey was born and raised in North East. Outside of work, Casey enjoys snowboarding, fishing, and archery. On his dream vacation, Casey would go on a 3-month tour of the United States to visit friends and family. One day, he hopes to check taking his daughter to Disney World off his bucket list. Casey's dream car is a Ferrari F-40 because he says, "it is one of the most raw, visceral super cars ever produced."
Kevin was born and raised in Conneaut, OH. In his spare time, he enjoys watching Cleveland sports, going to the movies, and playing video games. Kevin's dream car is a Lamborghini Aventadoor. Please feel free to come in and see Kevin for all of your automotive needs, new and pre-owed!


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Shaanxi United Xingchuang International Co., Ltd.
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Water Treatment Chemicals
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Other Chemical Products
(Total 19 Products for Trisodium Phosphate)
Trisodium Phosphate Anhydrous CAS NO.7601-54-9
Transportation: Ocean,Land,Air
CAS NO 7601 54 9 Molecular Formula Na3PO4 Molecular Weight 164 26 Specification Appearance colourless or white crystals Purity 98 Min Product Use Trisodium phosphate is used as water softener in metallurgy chemical industry textile printing paper making mechanical and electrical industries clear boiler tube and...
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EDTMPA CAS No. 1429-50-1
Ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonic acid EDTMPA CAS No 1429 50 1 Alias Ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonic acid ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonic acid Molecular Formula C6H20O12N2P4 Relative Molecular Weight 436 1 performance and use EDTMPA is a white crystalline powder at room temperature melting point...
Trisodium Phosphate Anhydrous food additive
Chinese name Trisodium phosphate Foreign name trisodium phosphate anhydrous Chemical formula Na3PO4 12H2O or Na3PO4 When the crystals of trisodium phosphate dodecahydrate loses twelve crystal waters at 100 C they become anhydrate Na3PO4 Executive Standard HG T2517 2009 Appearance white or yellowish crystal The...
Trisodium Phosphate Anhydrous food grade food additive
Trisodium phosphate Chinese name Trisodium phosphate Foreign name trisodium phosphate anhydrous Chemical formula Na3PO4 12H2O or Na3PO4 When the crystals of trisodium phosphate dodecahydrate loses twelve crystal waters at 100 C they become anhydrate Na3PO4 Executive Standard HG T2517 2009 1 Appearance white or...
Sodium tripolyphosphate as a food improver
sodium tripolyphosphate Chemical formula Na5P3O10 Executive standard food grade GB25566 2010 FCC industrial grade GB T 9984 2008 Product traits white powder or granules soluble in water use 1 In the food industry it is mainly used as a quality improver for canned food dairy products juice drinks and soymilk water...
Ethylenediamine tetramethylene phosphate EDTMPS
Ethylenediamine tetramethylene phosphonate EDTMPS Alias Ethylenediamine tetramethylenephosphonate ethylenediamine tetramethylene phosphonate Molecular formula C6H15O12N2P4Na5 Relative molecular mass 546 33 1 performance and use EDTMPS is a nitrogen containing organic polyphosphonic acid which is a cathodic corrosion...
Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate CAS NO.7778-77-0
CAS NO 7778 77 0 Molecular Formula KH2PO4 Molecular Weight 136 086 Specification Appearance Colorless tetrahedral crystal or white crystalline powder Purity 98 Min Product Use 1 Potassium Phosphate Monobasic is mainly used in medicine and fermentation industry microorganism fungus medium and ph buffer to prepare...
Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate (MKP)
Potassium dihydrogen phosphate Chemical formula KH2P04 Execution Standard HG T2321 2016 Features Efficacy characteristics Potassium dihydrogen phosphate is a chemical with the chemical formula KH2PO4 Deliquescent When heated to 400 C it melts into a transparent liquid and after cooling it solidifies into an opaque...
Aminotrimethylene phosphate ATMP CAS No. 6419-19-8
Aminotrimethylene phosphonic acid ATMP CAS No 6419 19 8 Alias aminotrimethylenephosphonic acid ATMPA nitrilotrimethylenetriphosphonic acid nitrilotrimethylenephosphonic acid Molecular formula N CH2PO3H2 3 Relative molecular mass 299 05 1 performance and use ATMP has good chelation low limit inhibition and lattice...
Sodium Tripolyphosphate (STPP) CAS NO. 13573-18-7
Place of Origin: China
PRODUCT CAS NO 13573 18 7 Molecular Formula Na5P3O10 Relative Molecular Weight 367 86 Product Use 1 Isolation of multivalent ions and prevention of oxidation and corrosion Can also be used as a water retention agent and as a fat and protein emulsifier 2 Strengthen the feed nutrition 3 Mainly used as a water softener a...
Food grade trisodium citrate dihydrate
Sodium citrate Chinese name Sodium citrate dihydrate English name Trisodium citrate dihydrate Another name sodium citrate Chemical formula Na3C6H5O7 2H2O Product traits colorless or white crystalline particles or powder Executive standard GB1886 25 2016 BP USP FCC E331 Packing plastic woven bag paper plastic composite...
Potassium hydrogen phosphate anhydrous
Chinese name Dipotassium hydrogen phosphate English name Potassium hydrogen phosphate anhydrous Chinese alias dipotassium hydrogen phosphate anhydrous anhydrous dipotassium hydrogen phosphate potassium hydrogen phosphate Chemical formula K2HPO4 3H2O Appearance is white crystal or amorphous white powder soluble in...
Sodium dihydrogen phosphate (MSP)
Sodium dihydrogen phosphate also known as acidic sodium phosphate Abbreviation MSP The chemical formula is NaH2PO4 2H2O and NaH2PO4 and the relative molecular masses are 156 01 and 119 98 An anhydrate and a dihydrate the dihydrate is a colorless to white crystal or a crystalline powder and the anhydrate is a white...
food grade Disodium Phosphate anhydrous (DSP)
Disodium phosphate Name Disodium hydrogen phosphate Abbreviation DSP Aliase Dibasic sodium phosphate Foreign Name Dibasic Sodium Phosphate Molecular formula Na2HPO4 nH2O n 0 12 Traits Dodecahydrate is white crystal relative density is 1 52 easy to weather 35 C melting and lose 5 crystal water 100 C becomes anhydrous...
Food Additives Sodium Hexametaphosphate (SHMP)
Hexametaphosphate Chemical formula NaPO3 6 Executive standard food grade GB 1890 2005 FCC industrial grade HG T 2519 2007 Product traits white powder soluble in water insoluble in organic solvents strong hygroscopicity gradually absorbing water in the air showing a gelatinous form and forming a soluble chelate with...
Sodium Hexametaphosphate (SHMP) CAS NO. 10124-56-8
PRODUCT CAS NO 10124 56 8 Molecular Formula NaPO3 6 Relative Molecular Weight 611 82 Product Use 1 In food industry it can be used as an additive nourishing agent quality improver pH regulator metalions chelating agent adhesive and leavening agent 2 fodder 3 Used in the paper making textile printing and dyeing...
Dibasic Sodium Phosphate CAS NO.7558-79-4
PRODUCT CAS NO 7558 79 4 Molecular Formula Na2HPO4 Relative Molecular Weight 141 96 Specification Appearance white powder or particle Purity 99 Min Product Use Disodium hydrogen phosphate can be used to produce citric acid water softener fabric weight increasing agent fire retardant glaze flux welding flux medicine...
Sodium Dihydrogen Phosphate CAS NO.7558-80-7
PRODUCT CAS NO 7558 80 7 Molecular Formula NaH2PO4 Molecular Weight 119 98 Specification Appearance Colorless or white crystalline powder Purity 99 Min Product Use sodium dihydrogen phosphate is used for water treatment of boiler electroplating tannery baking powder fuel additives detergents mica penetration acid...
Dipotassium hydrogenphosphate CAS NO.7758-11-4
PRODUCT CAS NO 7758 11 4 Molecular Formula K2HPO4 Relative Molecular Weight 174 18 Specification Appearance White crystalline or amorphous powder Purity 98 Min Product Use Dipotassium hydrogenphosphate is Mainly used in medicine fermentation bacterial culture and preparation of potassium pyrophosphate etc Packing And...
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Jul 23, 2020
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Jul 15, 2020
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Jul 12, 2020
High Quality Products
Isothiazolinone for industrial sterilization
Scale and corrosion inhibitor
Anionic Polyacrylamide water treatment
Water soluble polyaluminum chloride
High purity polyaluminum chloride
Drinking water grade polyaluminium chloride
Polyaspartic Acid (PASPA) CAS NO. 181828-06-8
EDTA-4Na CAS NO. 64-02-8
Disodium EDTA (EDTA-2Na) CAS No. 139-33-3
Aluminium sulfate CAS NO. 10043-01-3
Cationoic Polyacrylamide CAS NO. 9003-05-8
Sodium acetate CAS NO.127-09-3
Sodium bisulfite CAS NO.7631-90-5
Aluminum sulfate is mainly used in papermaking
Potassium sulfate CAS NO.7778-80-5
HEDPA CAS No. 2809-21-4
Amino Trimethylene Phosphonic Acid (ATMP)
Disodium edetate (EDTA-2Na) CAS No.: 6381-92-6
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Check showtimes to see when Amanpour is on CNN where you are. Or watch online.
By Mick Krever and Ken Olshansky, CNN
Will politics exacerbate Australia's raging wildfires?
It's not supposed to be fire season yet in Australia, where summer hasn't even begun. But more than sixty devastating bush fires are already raging in a ring around Sydney.
Just a month ago, Australians elected a new prime minister, Tony Abbott, who once called climate change "absolute c**p." (He has since walked those remarks back, calling them a bit of "rhetorical hyperbole.")
Though it is unclear that climate change directly caused these wild fires – police arrested two teenagers for starting two of the Sydney fires –local officials do fear those hot, dry, and windy conditions this week could exacerbate the situation.
In the past 12 months, Australia has lived through the hottest summer, in the hottest year, on record.
"There is a real political debate about how to deal with this issue of climate change," Stan Grant, international editor of Sky News Australia, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Monday.
"Tony Abbot in the past has been citizen for being a climate skeptic, if not a climate change denier," Grant said. "Now he stepped back a lot from that hard line that he's taken, but he's been very ideological when it comes to how to deal with this."
The prime minister, Grant said, is trying to get rid of Australia's carbon tax, which was backed by the Labor Party.
"He's going to face a real struggle in the parliament to be able to do that," he told Amanpour. "If he isn't able to achieve that, he's threatened to go back to the electorate, dissolve parliament, and go back to another election to get a mandate to do that."
Abbott has also dissolved Australia's climate change commission.
"The fires that we're seeing right now are only going to increase that pressure and increase the volume of that discussion and debate," Grant said, "particularly once we're past the worst of the fires."
But for the moment, he told Amanpour, it looks like those fires will get worse before they get better.
"Wednesday is being talked about as D Day," Grant said. "That's when we're going to see high winds, we're going to see very high temperatures as well."
"There is a real concern here that the major fires that are burning in the Blue Mountains area, which is west of largest city in Australia, Sydney, could actually link together and cause form what they're calling a mega fire."
Fire fighters have been brought in from other states to assist in the battle, Grant said.
"It has, in every sense, been a living hell for people here."
There can be a question whether climate change is a factor here but it is one of the indicators. Australia is a country of stark contrasts, fires during dry periods and severe flooding during wet periods. The Carbon Tax is an attempt to reduce those particles that could lead to climate change.It had lead to electricity usage to fall and potentially less junk in the air. But it comes with a cost and that was higher electricity and energy charges. The new government said it would get rid of this tax but have no plans to replace it with another plan to do the same thing. Until they do have a new plan there is skepticism in the new governments ability to reduce climate change. Another reason for getting rid of the carbon tax was the states own the infrastructure of generating electricity.and need electricity generation to pay for it. Those electricity plants also are coal fired plants and generate plenty of pollutants in the air. An interesting sideline for these fires is that the new government said that they have no plans to help the displaced people who lost their homes or those farmers who have suffered from the fires. Australians have always been first to help their neighbors and governments have also helped but this move by the Abbott government has raised an eyebrow.
Blame it all on Climate Blame?
Why are YOU saying a crisis will happen when science only agreed it COULD be a crisis?
Mememine69. It's like the idiot driving down a major road at twice the speed limit on the wrong side of a major road, ignoring all the red lights and traffic signs, and into the oncoming traffic. The experts say that a fatal accident COULD happen but can't say that it definitely will. It's for this reason we have laws against it.
Throughout the earth's history the climate has continually changed, and will continue to do so, with or without us. While Australia is set for a very hot summer, Europe is bracing for the coldest winter in over 100 years. Global Warming was proven incorrect, as record cold snaps were evident to everybody. Climate Change is the latest cry that the sky is falling. When you look for something, you're bound to find evidence of it. Why not look at the economy collapsing all around us, supported by all sorts of smoke and mirrors, but not supported by anything tangilbe, like gold or silver. Anything to distract the public! Like it or not, the climate will always change, whether we are here or not. What is certain is that we have now got more accurate instruments and can more accurately measure the climate – but we are comparing these current results with scant crude data collected with far less accurate and less reliable instruments. There is bound to be a lot of error, and the data could be easily interpreted in different ways.
These bushfires are started by arsonists who start them. They are energized by vast amounts of fuel left growing on the ground. I grew up in Western Australia and around late August to early September we would always have controlled burns to reduce the risks of fires. It was a policy that worked well through the 60s and 70s. It was in the early 60s (when we were entering a new ice age as I recall) that the little town of Dwellingup burned to the ground and it was sever jolt to the whole state of Western Australia. It was in an area were we had not adequately prepared for the bushfire season. Since we gave into environmentalist's demands to cease the practice of controlled burns we have seen these monster fires. Australia needs to return to the policy of controlled burns. We need to return to that practice that was so successful.