text:
Our conference was held at this world class hotel & lodge, the choice of global market leaders. From the minute you enter through the gates, you forget that you are in one of the busiest cities. Breathtaking views of the Southern part of Joburg, friendly staff right down from the cleaners to the MD, everywhere we went we were greeted with a smile and someone offering to assist with luggage, finding the way, etc. Conference facilities must be the best in the world, with great food and snacks and lots to drink. Fantastic rooms, with everything you need & more, the food at The Kraal Restaurant outstanding. The highlight was our interactive session with the lion cubs, a mere 4 weeks old, climbing all over us. Truly an awesome experience.
- Official Description (provided by the hotel):
- Surrounded by the tranquil and picturesque Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve, one finds a piece of Highveld Heaven in the form of the impressive Thaba Eco Hotel. A decade of passion has resulted in brand renowned for world class customer service. Thaba Eco Hotel has recently been voted as the BEST 4 Star hotel in Gauteng at the Lilizela Tourism Awards, and is now also a registered FAIR TRADE tourism certified business. The design of Thaba Eco hotel was inspired by the historical and environmental elements of the Tswana Mountains. With the luxury, executive and Bushveld suites, guests have a variety of room types to choose from. As part of their Green Policy, Thaba Eco Hotel has incorporated several creative and positive measures to contribute to the sustainability of both the area and the planet as a whole. All hotel rooms have been designed with the environment in mind. Colours of the exterior of the buildings represents the stone and tree bark to reduce visual impact, and only 50% of the Bushveld suites floor plan touches the ground to ensure the maximum protection of the fauna and flora. Thaba Eco Hotel also has a variety of stunning venues for weddings, conferences and other functions, such as the Marquee, Lobola and Tswana Banquet Halls. Leisure activities include the Sinzinani Day Spa, Meditation Trail, Guided Hiking Trails and the popular Thaba Lions Educational Centre. For the future generation our Eco Kids Club provides educational nature walks and various other leisure activities.We have also realised that hospitality and tantalising food goes hand in hand, and have therefore put together a team of world renowned chefs to attend to everybody's culinary requirements. At our Olive Tree Coffee Shop one can indulge in a slice of freshly baked bar-one chocolate cake next to a 500 year old Wild Olive Tree, while enjoying an aromatic coffee or sipping on one of our herbal teas.The impeccable facilities and breath taking natural surroundings ensure that Thaba Eco Hotel is the venue of choice for both the corporate and leisure markets. ... more less
- Reservation Options:
- TripAdvisor is proud to partner with Low Cost Holidays, Booking.com, Travelocity, Priceline, Hotels.com, Expedia, Odigeo and South African Hotels so you can book your Thaba Eco Hotel reservations with confidence. We help millions of travelers each month to find the perfect hotel for both vacation and business trips, always with the best discounts and special offers.
- Also Known As:
- Thaba Ya Batswana Hotel Johannesburg


text:
A reader has sent us a little tip that MobileMe email aliases are now supported in iPhone OS 4. Apple describes MobileMe email aliases as "nicknames" for your account. When you join MobileMe you have a primary user name/email address, but Apple also allows you to create five "nickname" aliases that you can send and receive email with. The advantage of this is that if you go to a site that requires you to register your email address to log in, but you're worried about getting spammed, you can create an email alias in MobileMe and use that new email alias as your email address.
All emails sent to that alias show up in your primary account's inbox. If you suddenly start getting spammed, you can just delete the email alias and any emails sent to that old alias will not make it to your inbox. Aliases are also good for shopping sites or using as separate personal and professional email addresses.
Since Apple introduced email aliases in MobileMe, you could always use them to send and receive email, but it had to be done in the Mac's desktop Mail client or on MobileMe's webmail site. It looks like you will also be able to send and receive emails from your MobileMe email addresses using the Mail app in iPhone OS 4.
Apple iPhone 6
Buy from $50 *
- Key specs
- Reviews • 45
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- Type Smartphone
- Operating system iOS (8)
- Screen size 4.7 inches
- Internal memory 16 GB
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- Released 2014-09-19
Apple iOS 4

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LA Clippers head to China for more than just a game
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Doug McManaman balanced the flag of Canada on his chin for one minute, 1.34 seconds while attending a municipal government meeting.
Doug McManaman balanced a 12-foot step ladder on his chin for 28.06 seconds.
Pete Moyer balanced a guitar on his chin for two minutes, 4.72 seconds while hula hooping.
Doug McManaman balanced seven potatoes on top of a pole on his chin for two minutes, 34.78 seconds while listening to Bud the Spud. He dedicated the record to the late Stompin' Tom Connors.
Doug McManaman balanced a string of long-stemmed flowers on his chin for three minutes, 28.91 seconds. He dedicated the record to his wife, Karen McManaman.
Brian Pankey tossed a hat and caught it on top of an open umbrella balanced on his chin in 1.25 seconds.
Doug McManaman balanced a pole that held a 3 x 5.5 foot Indian Flag on his chin for one minute, 12.40 seconds while listening to Jana Mana Gana, India's national anthem. He set the record in celebration of India's Independence Day.
Doug McManaman balanced a bowie knife on top of two double-bitted axes on his chin for 25.25 seconds.
NOTE: This record can be dangerous. Please use caution when making an attempt.
Brian Pankey circled a basketball around his waist 31 times in 30 seconds while balancing a juggling club on his chin.
Kyle Petersen balanced nine wooden boxes on his chin for one minute, 18.52 seconds while hula hooping. The record was set at an event in the Dube Juggling showroom in New York City.
Brian Pankey balanced a broom on his chin for one minute, 56.53 seconds while lying on his back.
Doug McManaman balanced a pole with a spinning wheel on his chin for two minutes, 7.49 seconds.
Doug McManaman balanced a bowie knife dangling on top of a samurai sword on his chin for 10.94 seconds.
NOTE: This record is dangerous and should only be attempted by trained professionals.
Doug McManaman balanced a floor sweeper on his chin for three minutes, 32.59 seconds while kneeling
Doug McManaman balanced a Bluenose ship replica on his chin for 40.77 seconds while kneeling.
Doug McManaman balanced a 20-pound Singer sewing machine on his chin for 44.43 seconds.
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Chic Busy Mom Easter Kids Vacation view
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Word on the Street: President Obama and the Oil Spill view
Age: 30
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Age: 30
Occupation: Learning and Development Coordinator
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
"I'd feel bad. Depending on the circumstances, I'd probably take legal actions or whatever means or risks to get my job back."
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17820 Cold Springs Dr, Reno NV, 89508
Days on Website: 61
- 3 Beds
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- 1,440 SqFt
- 0.37 Acres
Reno ,NV
Status: Active/pending-loan
Area: Reno-Cold Springs
This home has huge potential and is a fixer upper you can live in as you make it your perfect home. This home has 1440 square feet. not including an additional 720 feet which was added on for bonus room and laundry closet. Home includes 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, family room, living room, dining room, kitchen, sun room, area for spa, workshop, 4 car carport, large fenced-in yard with RV access and plenty of room for all your toys. Call listing agent to ask about possible private financing.


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|(Reuters) - U.S. regulators directed five of the country's biggest banks, including B of A and Goldman Sachs, to develop plans for staving off collapse if they faced serious problems, emphasizing that the banks could not count on government help.
The two-year-old program, which has been largely secret until now, is in addition to the "living wills" the banks crafted to help regulators dismantle them if they actually do fail. It shows how hard regulators are working to ensure that banks have plans for worst-case scenarios and can act rationally in times of distress.
5 years after the financial crisis, concerns remain about whether blow-ups at big banks could lead to another round of taxpayer bailouts. Trading losses have cost JPMorgan nearly $6 billion so far, and scandals such as the alleged rigging of LIBOR rate benchmark have only highlighted the risks lurking inside big banks.
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on 01.12.2009
Christmas, Chozo, Chipettes, Panama
I participated in a Secret Santa event on another videogame message board for the second time this past Christmas, and decided to make the little guy above as part of my gift. Glue, cardboard, some scrap mat board my sister had left over, glitter glue, paint, marker, colored pencil, etc. I made the box and lid, and the hat came from a cheap stuffed animal. But what was in the box?
I had the ghost mushroom ball in the gift box, and sent the others along in another parcel in the shipping box. My giftee was pleased. I think he's using the Chozo to hold condoms now.
As for the gifts I received, one of them was
The Chipmunk Adventure
on DVD, chosen right off my Amazon wishlist. I finally got around to watching it last week and oh my God I felt like I was 3 again. It was the first movie I ever saw in a theater, and probably that I ever saw period. I don't think there's any single thing that takes me back as vividly as this movie, not even a videogame (although there is a fake videogame in the movie that I've always wanted to play.) Anyway, it had been somewhere around 7-10 years since I'd last seen it on TV on the Disney Channel, and I'd forgotten a few things, most notably a song the Chipettes sing to a bunch of snakes they need to get past to recover their stolen dolls...
. I was a bit taken aback. It's a catchy song, but I never picked up on the lyrics when I watched it before.* I thought to myself that this would never, ever fly in a cartoon made today, but then I remembered Bratz. So much for that theory! What probably wouldn't make the cut is a mildly un-PC depiction of some unnamed South Pacific/Amazonian tribe that captures the Chipmunks, leading to the famous "Wooly Bully" sequence.
In a move that can only be called "fucking
," the DVD comes with the soundtrack. If you haven't seen this movie or heard the songs from it and you are Chad Concelmo, please, by all means, do it. And show it to the children in your family, too.
*No wonder my generation is so fucked up, our first crushes were Jeanette and Gadget.
So hey, hi there, I'm going to make a sincere attempt to write more this year. After starting at the end of 2007 and then making the front page I kind of.... stopped, with a few BS updates throughout 2008. I have no good excuse for this, and resolved to pick it back up after meeting a few Dtoiders at Comic Con and seeing just how awesome everyone is in person. Then I failed. Then Y0jimb0 wrote a lamentation about people failing and complaining that everyone was failing. Then something happened last week, and there was some more failure. Then Necros wrote an impassioned battlecry to combat the failure. And so it goes.
Point being, I now feel sufficiently guilty about being one of the people who sort of dropped out of things after a short period of fervent activity. It's like I was playing an RPG, then put it down at some point, and the longer I was away the harder I felt it was to come back and do anything. Or maybe I was just lazy. I've gotten a lot out of this place and it's fun to participate. There seemed to be a number of people who actually enjoyed what I wrote and I feel like a douche for leaving them hanging. Anyway, this is getting to be too much of a sappy-explanatory-compliment-fishing-whatever post, but I just wanted to say I'm going to really try to pick up where I left off a year ago. Destructoid's been good to me. Also, cocks.
on 01.12.2009
A Time To Destroy: Substance
It all started with
Dig Dug
The primary goal of
Dig Dug
is to clear the screen of all the enemies, dispatching them with your air pump in a manner that makes the loins of certain people on deviantART quiver at the thought, or via the slightly more cerebral method of dropping boulders upon them. This is how you move from level to level and score the most points, and this progression provides ample feedback to point out the primary goal to the player even in the absence of proper documentation.
The secondary goal is to clear as much dirt from the screen as possible.
A minimal amount of points are awarded for digging through a section of dirt. There's no special reward for clearing a lot of dirt other than the marginal point award for clearing yet another section. It's comparable to playing pinball and caroming a ball off of some otherwise barren surface that still rewards the player with the chime of a bell and some paltry amount of points: a slight nod to an incidental action that serves doubly as a minor reward and as negative feedback, telling the player "Yes, good, you're doing something necessary, but don't expect to get anywhere on that alone." My comparison starts to fall apart here, though, for while I haven't ever played a game of pinball and attempted to shoot the ball repeatedly off of surfaces with no targets upon them, I've played at least a few games of
Dig Dug
where I largely ignored the main goal in favor of digging up the screen as much as possible. I haven't done a scientific study, or even an unscientific one, but I wager that a lot of gamers have done the same thing.
As I mentioned, the game doesn't do much to prompt you to do this by design. In fact it slightly discourages it, as in addition to the low points awarded you also waste a lot of time if you dig around and ignore the enemies as they tend to surround you and (if I recall correctly) get faster as time wears on. So I suppose I lied when I said this was the secondary goal, as the game itself could scarcely be less concerned with it. Again, though, I'd wager you didn't disagree with me when I said it was a goal. Why?
To me, it seems there's just something inherently compelling about seeing this wall of
and tearing through as much of it as possible and beyond what is strictly necessary, regardless of whether the game provides a clear incentive to do so or not. (My sister refers to this feeling as "yumminess.") And there are numerous examples in games of an environment filled with some substance just begging to be cleared:
Super Mario Bros.
Oh, how I love to smash bricks!
Super Mario World
sort of took the piss out of things a bit by making a hit from below simply cause the ubiquitous fodder blocks to spin momentarily, but spin jumps still destroyed them, and the designers gave us a whole level dedicated to smashing them.
Super Mario Bros. 2
's sand-digging sections are a mixed bag, being incredibly fun when one is playing as Toad and a godawful chore as Toadstool. Choose wisely.
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Yoshi's Island
gets a special nod because my sister particularly enjoys smashing through the soft dirt with eggs and jumps and buttstomps in a quest to obliterate it all. There's also a spikey material that can be destroyed with eggs, though rather than travel through the stuff unabated the eggs ricochet off of this substance.
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
I seem to remember that cement wall in Level E being longer. Regardless, this is another game I played early on where I recognized the enjoyment I got from simply tearing down that wall with the hammer.
I'm slightly dismayed no one wrote about this game in December. Since I'm already terribly late in writing this post, maybe I'll go ahead and write another after I'm finished. Anyway, Level 19 of
is entirely devoted to plowing through a giant, contiguous mass of stuff. I would like to thank Treasure for all but conclusively demonstrating with this level what I'm trying to get at and confirming that my sister and I are not weird, or at least are not alone in our weird compulsiveness.
Plenty more examples exist, but you get the idea by now. There are some games that have destruction of massive amounts of enemies or even the environment as their entire theme, but apart from that this special microcosm of obsessive annihilation can be found in many games, to the point that it's obvious designers recognize and exploit it, often by providing other rewards such has hidden power-ups to the thorough player or building a level around the concept. But, as in
Dig Dug
, the compulsion to destroy these masses of substance is often enough its own reward, and a pretty satisfying one.
on 10.31.2008
So I didn't really get into the Halloween mood early this year, but just before nightfall I carved a quick pumpkin. Then inspiration struck and I came up with a last-minute costume:
Pulled it off in time to answer the door for a few groups of kids anyway. OH YEAH!
Happy Halloween, Destructoid!
on 08.23.2008
What did I get this week? A lot.
This can't wait for Nihon's post.
From back, left to right:
-Super Scope in box with Super Scope 6 (no manuals)
-Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
-Kirby Super Star
-Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose (with box)
-Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge
-Gradius III & IV
-Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World
-Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition
-Tinstar [flashed]
-Space Megaforce
-Mega Man V (Game Boy)
-Mega Man Xtreme (Game Boy Color)
-Mega Man & Bass [flashed]
-G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor
-T&C Surf Designs: Wood & Water Rage
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project
-Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA (with manual)
-Garou: Mark of the Wolves
I averaged about 8-9 bucks per game, including the Super Scope. My jaw dropped when I saw Mega Man V for $10 and Space Megaforce for $5, and Subsistence at $15 was a must buy. It should be noted that roughly half of these came from someone else's collection on a forum I frequent, as he was getting rid of practically everything for older systems for a pittance. The other half were found at the same place I got a Dreamcast arcade stick for $20 in the box and Super Street Fighter II X for Matching Service for $10.
on 08.03.2008
Review: Toki Tori (Wii)
Released two months ago on WiiWare,
Toki Tori
is a remake of a Game Boy Color game that came out late in the system's lifespan. As was the situation with system stablemate
, also published by Capcom at the time, the game was largely ignored as everyone's attention had shifted by then to the shiny new Game Boy Advance. I was among those who had little clue of the game's existence, which would have been a shame if not for this excellent remake.
Toki Tori
is a puzzle-action game, much in the same vein as the
Adventures of Lolo/Eggerland
series, or
Lode Runner
. The eponymous player character is a fuzzy yellow chick who must traverse more than 70 stages spread across 4 themed worlds with the goal of rescuing his still egg-encased siblings. Each stage has a number of eggs, all of which must be collected, and collection of the final egg completes the stage. There are a number of obstacles in the way, including enemies and the layout of a stage initially rendering certain eggs inaccessible. To deal with these challenges, Toki Tori is given certain tools. These vary from level to level, both in which tools are available and how many times each may be used, but unlike in
Adventures of Lolo
all tools are given to the player at the beginning of a stage. The first tool encountered is the bridge, which allows Toki to place a small section of bridge across a gap while standing next to it, thus allowing Toki to cross without falling. Other tools introduced later include the stone that Toki can use to create a large immovable stone block, a limited teleport that can transport Toki in one of four directions at a set distance, and the freeze gun that stops enemies in place and turns them into ice blocks. The tools are introduced one at a time in simple tutorial levels just before the first level in which they are used, preceded by brief instructions on how to use the tool, and they can be replayed at any time. While most tools appear throughout the game, each of the four worlds also has it's own unique tool.
The core of the gameplay is figuring out how to use the tools to collect all of the eggs. At first this is relatively simple, with a small number of tools in small stages with limited opportunities to use them, but as the completed stages pile up things naturally get more complicated. Level design quickly becomes quite clever, forcing the player to think quite a bit about how to use the tools, both when and where, and in what order to collect the eggs; poor planning will often leave Toki stuck with no way to continue the puzzle, and force the player to restart the level. Each world has a unique enemy, but all behave in exactly the same way, walking left and right, only stopping and turning when there's a wall or an egg in their way. In general, there aren't very many stages where dealing with enemies is a frantic affair (contrast once again with
Adventures of Lolo
Lode Runner
,) though there are a couple that put enemy management in the spotlight for a change of pace. Indeed,
Toki Tori
on WiiWare is a pretty laid back, leisurely puzzle game, perhaps moreso than the Game Boy Color original, which apparently had a time limit on each stage that has been eliminated for the remake, and for the better. By pressing the minus button, the player can pause the action a view the stage as a whole to plan a route, but the relative complexity of later stages makes trial and error almost imperative, and this is where much of the challenge and addictive satisfaction in solving the puzzles lies. A strict time limit would potentially serve only to make stages more frustrating- imagine a situation where you make it about halfway through the puzzle, but come to a point where you need to assess the situation, but time runs out. Now you have to complete the early part of the puzzle again, and when you reach the point where you were stuck you've forgotten what you considered previously. Perhaps this happens a few times, with each attempt giving you a bit more time to think before the timer kills you again, until you finally complete the puzzle. I can see merit in requiring the player to think quickly, but the reward to the player is far outweighed by potential frustration. In the end, a timer would serve as an artificial way to lengthen a stage without really changing the dynamic of the puzzle solving, an unnecessary roadblock to the primary joy of solving the puzzles.
I just spent an awful lot of time talking about a mechanic that isn't in the game, which seems kind of stupid for a review, but I want to emphasize the ways in which
Toki Tori
serves to reduce frustration. One nice thing that wouldn't be noticed unless it wasn't there is the painlessness of restarting a puzzle when you know you're stuck, or get killed by an enemy or obstacle. A quick trip to the pause menu and selecting "restart" quickly resets the level to the beginning with no penalty and no insufferable loading or unskippable cutscene that's cute the first time you see it but grows tiresome almost immediately. Another good addition is the Wild Card. The main stages progress in a linear fashion, and must be completed in order. However, if the player is stuck on one puzzle and tired of trying to figure it out, the Wild Card can be played on that stage to skip it and allow the player to attempt the next level. There's only one Wild Card, but it can be reobtained by going back to the level it was used on and clearing the puzzle normally, at which point it can be used again. There are some stages that the Wild Card cannot be used on, and these are the "Hard" stages in each world, but this fact doesn't serve to undermine the whole point of the Wild Card. As I said, the main stages progress linearly, with about 7-10 of these in each world. Upon clearing all the stages in a world, the next world is unlocked, along with the hard stages in the previous world. These are available to play in any order and do not need to be completed to unlock any more stages, effectively making them bonus levels. It's a fantastic method of structuring the game, providing a nice sense of progression and leaving the more difficult, potentially game-stopping frustrating sections as secondary content that can be accessed at will. All of these things together serve to highlight the game's best points without anything getting in the way.
Speaking of good points,
Toki Tori
's presentation is very nice. Visually, there's nothing spectacular, but nothing needs to be. The graphics are crisp, colorful, and clean, with each world having its own visual theme. Aside from Toki and the enemies, there's not a lot of animation, but Toki has a lot of frames for his movements, and both he and the enemies move quite smoothly. The high point of the game is probably the music, with an appropriately bouncy main theme on the main screen and menu, and unique pieces for each of the four worlds that fits them nicely, the castle and underwater themes being highlights. As for controls, the game provides two options, either the remote and nunchuk or remote only. Using the remote only, movement is handled by pointing at a spot on the screen and pressing A, switching between tools by pressing left and right on the D-pad, and using items with the B trigger. I tend to play with the nunchuk, which leaves all the remote functions intact but allows you to move using the control stick, cycle through the tools by pressing C, and using them with Z. The only minor annoyances with the controls are a lack of Classic Controller/Gamecube controller support, and the need to point at the screen to handle menu choices.
My only real substantial criticism of
Toki Tori
is that it screams for a level editor and yet has none. A solid number of great levels are in the game, enough that I haven't yet finished it; however, I know the day will come when I'll crave more, with no way of satisfying my urge. I remain hopeful, though, as being a downloadable game the potential to patch in a level editor, for free or otherwise, is there, along with the possibility of downloadable levels. Should those dreams be dashed, I suppose that's what sequels are for. This one disappointment aside,
Toki Tori
is a wonderful game worthy of your 1000 Wii points (or 9000, for Europeans.) If you've already downloaded both
Adventures of Lolo
games on the Virtual Console and are suffering withdrawals while waiting for the third game to finally make an appearance, download posthaste. Those looking for unequivocally the best game on WiiWare right now, get it.
Screenshots courtesy of the official site,
on 07.31.2008
Video Games In Real Life photomanipulations
Some weeks ago Hamza linked to a couple of YTMNDs in his weekly feature that had images of real life scenes manipulated to include sprites of video game characters, as if they had leaped from the games into real environments similar to the ones they called home in their game worlds. On another forum I visit, someone started a thread off with a
link to a blog post containing these images
, and challenged people to make images of their own (wallpaper sized, if possible.) So far, I've made three images, and while they aren't standard wallpaper sizes they're close enough that you can make your own from them. I have the Super Metroid one as my wallpaper currently on a 1280x800 laptop display, and it isn't horribly distorted. I didn't do anything too fancy, as I'm still learning the ropes of Paint.NET, but I was reasonably happy with the results and my fellow forum dwellers seemed to enjoy them. I hope you will, too.
I think I'll do a StarTropics one next, but I can't find the sprites I want. Looks like I might have to not download not a ROM of the game and not take screenshots to not get what I don't want.
on 07.31.2008
A Cast Of Thousands: Michael Edwards
When this month's topic was initially announced, I went quickly through an informal list of characters in the games I have played, trying to recall one that particularly struck a chord with me; or, failing that, a semi-obscure character from a game I rented once that I could BS about for a few paragraphs. Due to laziness, I didn't try very hard, and all that came to mind were Mario, Link, Sonic, and the other usual suspects that I was certain would receive ample coverage. Fine choices, all of them, but I wasn't going to rouse myself from my de facto hiatus on substantial blog posts unless I felt I had something moderately interesting to present.
And then, last week,
found me. I happened upon GamesRadar's "Top 7 Lazy Character Clichés" article, part of their tongue-in-cheek, post-E3 "7/10 Week" focusing on mediocrity in video games and the industry that surrounds them. Along with each of the clichés, they presented an antidote character, one who embodies some of the attributes of the other characters but fails to be a cookie-cutter counterpart. Number Five on the list was "The Stereotypical Black Guy," and to their own embarassed admission the best antidote they could come up with was Carl Johnson from
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
. I laughed at this, but they had a few good reasons, and the choice served to highlight what is perhaps an even greater plight of one-dimensionality than that of
the half-naked woman
I couldn't help thinking, however, that they must not have thought long enough if CJ was the most believable black male video game character they could scrape up, for within a few seconds I recalled a much better example. Those of you wondering when I would get around to starting this article can start reading now.
Michael Edwards, as narrator Edward Roivas informs us in the penultimate chapter of
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
for the Gamecube, is a Canadian industrial firefighter. He's in Kuwait at the end of the Gulf War, helping to put out the huge oil well fires set by the Iraqi soldiers as they make their retreat from the country. Suddenly one of the explosives being used to cap the wells goes off early, taking the lives of a few of Michael's colleagues and plunging him and the bodies into the ancient ruins just below the surface. Stunned, Michael laments the loss of the people he knew, but his time for bereavement is short-lived, as a ghost appears to hand him an ancient relic and task him with its delivery to a house in Rhode Island. He soon also learns that he must destroy these ruins and the evil that flows from within them, which he manages by planting magically enchanted C-4 explosives [Side note: I love the phrase
magically enchanted explosives
] at a weak point in the underground structure. He then runs like hell as the timer counts down, and escapes the ruins before the explosion. Some time later in a cutscene, he hurriedly hands over the relic to Edward Roivas under cover of darkness, fearful that the evil he fought in the ruins is about to catch up with him, and takes off after completing this important task. This is all the game tells us of Michael Edwards.
Truth be told, there isn't a lot presented to characterize Michael in the relatively short time the player has control of him in
Eternal Darkness
, even compared to some of the other playercharacters. We can, however, determine a few things. For one, he's Canadian. Outside of Bear Hugger from
Super Punch-Out!!
on the SNES, I can't recall very many Canadian characters in games, and even fewer black Canadians. I'm not sure I even realized there were black Canadians before I played
Eternal Darkness
, as my perception of Canada growing up was shaped by The Kids In The Hall, Dudley Do-Right, and the Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen episode of
Ren & Stimpy
. While his nationality is a minor detail with very little effect on the game, it's one that stuck with me when I played. From the moment he's introduced, Michael avoids cliché by being black and yet not hailing from the streets of Los Angeles or New York, or somewhere in the southern United States.
Michael's other major character detail is that he's a firefighter. What does this say about him? First, that he carries a kickass molybdenum axe that's a lot of fun to use in the liberation of heads from walking corpses. Beyond that, what qualities are commonly attributed to firefighters? Bravery, certainly. Dedication to the job. Taking this further, consider the context in which the player meets Michael. He's an industrial firefighter, a civilian, and presumably a volunteer, thousands of miles from home in a war-torn area, doing a dangerous job necessary for reconstruction. A firefighter exists to help others and has compassion for other people. For Michael this comes to the forefront when his colleagues die in the accident. As he comes out of the shock of the explosion, he mentions them by name, and while the moment is cut short by the sudden appearance of the ghost of Roberto Bianchi, he's visibly and audibly upset by the loss of people he knew. Even in the short introduction to the chapter the player can readily infer that Michael possesses several admirable qualities and values.
As you'll recall, I chose to write about Michael as an antidote to the stereotypical black man cliché character in games. While he has muscles and wears a sleeveless shirt, these are attributable to his role as a firefighter, and he avoids or outright contradicts the other characterisitics of the trash-talking tough guy spotlighted in the GamesRadar piece. Not only that, he (easily) avoids other common black character clichés, such as the
afro-wearing wisecracker
, or the smooth-talking
Paradoxically, Michael is a remarkable character precisely because he isn't all that remarkable, in a sense. He's a positive human being rather than a cartoon character, which, damningly, is enough to distinguish him from almost any other black video game character I know.
on 07.30.2008
Comic Con 2008. Also, Cocks.
There's a guy in a robot helmet in this photo and yet I'm the one who looks like a retard. It's a gift.
I want to thank
aborto the fetus
for setting up the Dtoid meetup at this year's San Diego Comic Con. It was a blast to meet and hang out with complete strangers from the Internet for a few hours each day and not end up raped and murdered. Not like that last time. That bar we randomly selected was awesome, even though I didn't eat or drink anything. I knew it would be great when we walked in and Cartoon Network was on the TV.
I'd also like to thank Niero and Colette for their generosity, though I didn't take advantage of it. You guys are awesome. It truly was a highlight of my Con experience to get to hang out with everyone, and I hope to do it again some time.
Meanwhile, I posted pictures from the madhouse that was
SDCC 2008 on my Flickr
. I haven't taken detailed pictures of all the swag I got from the convention just yet, but I intend to highlight the more notable items in the near future. For now, here's the whole mountain of crap, minus a few crappy fliers and bags:
on 04.15.2008
My Capcom Fighter Collection
Inspired by
, I decided to photograph most of my Capcom fighting games (and a few related pieces.) There are some other bits, but this is what I could find at hand after midnight without digging through a bunch of crap in my room. On with it!
Let's start at the very beginning (a very good place to start):
The various editions of Street Fighter II- World Warrior, Turbo, and Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 (which contains The World Warrior, Champion Edition, and Hyper Fighting.)
Super Street Fighter II Turbo (X) three different times, including two copies on the 3DO. Not shown: the special Capcom controllers for the 3DO that make the game bearable to play on that system.
Alpha and III.
The Vs. games.
Not fighting games, but related. Not shown: Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo for GBA.
Ah, dammit, I should have put Saturday Night Slammasters in there somewhere. Oh well, maybe if I take photos of the rest of the crap I didn't feel like digging up tonight I'll slip that in there.
Oh fuck I forgot Tech Romancer too! Dammit! I even had it out with the others but forgot to put it in the last photo! Next time, Gadget.
on 04.06.2008
Not My Turning Point Gaming Rig
Coming in at the last minute!
My mom recently got a Toshiba Satellite laptop, so now I hijack it to play games that have been released in the last five years, as our desktop is a bit old (and my brother is always playing WoW on it anyway.) Here I am playing OutRun 2006, a pretty damn fun game.
I forget the exact specs, but it has 2 GB of RAM, AMD Turion 64X2... I think 1.8 GHz, and an ATI Radeon PCI card (128 or 256 MB, I forget.) The three main games I've played on it are OutRun, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Portal.
But I do most of my gaming here:
All 5 Nintendo consoles (with a Game Boy Player,) a black Sega Sports Dreamcast, and the white SingStar PS2. The Gamecube is also a Pok�mon XD limited edition. I didn't set out to own special versions of any consoles, they just happened to be available when I was in the market for them. Note the "Touching is Good" promotional mannequin hand, and the talking Tails I found at Goodwill. Also, I use a cassette adapter from the switchbox to the boom box when I want to play games in stereo, as the 13" Montgomery Ward that's been with us for some 20 years and now sits in my room is mono. Except for the sound of the tape reels turning, it works out beautifully.
I need a bigger shelf. And a place to hang that Phoenix Wright poster.
on 01.25.2008
Arcades? In my mall?
It's more likely than you think.
While accompanying my sister to a job interview yesterday, we decided to stop by the mall, as we'd arrived in the area early. As we walked into the entrance nearest the empty shell formerly known as Robinson's May, a glorious sight leapt out at me from my peripheral vision, a particular type of business establishment unseen in this shopping plaza for a decade or more, certainly before it became a Westfield.
"Um.... wow," I understatedly exclaimed to myself. Seeing the machines as I approached had left me in a momentary state of shock. Now, arcades aren't all that rare in the area, all things considered--there's a Boomer's even closer to my house than the mall, the bowling alley still has a few machines, and Nickel City and Dave & Buster's are a half hour down the freeway or so--but seeing one here, in this place, among the other shops (although at a currently dead end of the building) filled me with excitement. As we were drawn inside the establishment, my bristling expectations turned to "no fucking way!" ecstasy, as right inside the entrance, beckoning to be played, was a pinball machine. And not just any pinball machine, at that:
To understand why I was so excited, you need to know something about my previous experience with this machine. In 2000, when my family got our first real computer (I don't count the DOS machine handed down by our uncle in 1993) one of the first games we got for it, and one of the few worth a damn that would run on that old eMachines box, was Microsoft's
Pinball Arcade
. It was kind of novel for a PC pinball game, being a collection of recreations of actual pinball machines rather than some made-up garbage for a generic budget title. One of the games in this collection, and the most modern represented, was
Cue Ball Wizard
I never played this particular Gottlieb cabinet in real life--I'd venture to say the number of actual pinball machines I'd played in my entire life at that point was around 5--but I played quite a bit of it on the PC. To have the physical box greeting me on this random sojourn was incredible. I pulled the single one dollar bill I had in my pocket, and found the change machine.
Someone playing Cue Ball Wizard
Aside from some dirt and a few of the lights not working, the machine played damn fine, especially considering its age. 50 cents for 3 balls, more than a fair price given inflation since the last pinball renaissance of the early 90s, the era to which this machine belonged. I somewhat surprised myself by hitting the 49 million points required to earn a free game on my first play, reached after my last ball had tumbled between the flippers and the bonus points collected for that round were added to the total.
In a typical display of the fickle favor of the pinball gods, my free game lasted all of a minute or so, 1-2-3 right through the gap. So it goes.*
Two more pinball machines graced the premises, Sega's
from the same era and the more recent
game. Three pinball machines in one place, two of them relative oldies. I have a good feeling about this place. With the last-chance score matching failing to earn me another free game, I said goodbye to cowboys playing pool and cased the rest of the joint.
That good feeling? It wasn't misplaced. A brief rundown of what I can remember:
Samba De Amigo 2000
Keyboard Mania
Guitar Freaks
Gunbalina (Point Blank)
Gun Survivor 2: Biohazard Code: Veronica
Final Furlong
Rave Racer
Operation Wolf 3
Dance Maniax
Star Wars Episode I: Racer Arcade
-What appeared to be a Japanese
Silent Scope
-A bunch of stuff I can't remember right now
As I moved around, tears of joy welling up in the corners of my eyes, a thought occurred: The only thing this place is missing is a fighting game. Five seconds later, Ryu's silhouette appears next to the Capcom logo just off to my right. A generic sit-down cabinet tucked away in the corner. The attract mode begins as I stand still, now looking straight at the screen.... I catch a glimpse of Cyber Akuma, and I smile. The title screen appears:
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
. The Japanese version- I didn't even think about this last point until we were leaving the mall, but this means (probably) Norimaro is in the game!
By now I'm convinced this place has everything but the kitchen sink. Oh wait, no, it's occupying a space that recently belonged to a failed eatery, so there's still one of those tucked behind a corner, too.
Having looked around, and out of changeable dollars, we departed, vowing to return to this magical place some day. I feel there is only one way I can end this tale:
It's the best week
on 01.07.2008
Street Fighter: Eternal Challenge artbook back in stock at Capcom! But for how long??
A couple years ago
had the guys at
bring the previously Japan-only
Street Fighter: Eternal Challenge
art book to the English-speaking masses. The paperback version went for around $20-25, and for some reason I didn't pick it up when I had the chance. Then one day I was browsing my favorite online retail sites, and it was gone.
I looked around again today, and aside from some schmuck on Amazon selling the Japanese paperback version for 300 smackers, nothing. Then I checked Capcom's site, and lo and behold, they somehow found a few more copies of one of the limited edition hardbacks.
So I sucked it up and finally bought one. And, if you like Street Fighter and have any plans of ever owning or simply perusing this art book but haven't picked it up yet, then
now's the fucking time!
Unless UDON has saved some more of these or decides to print another limited edition with another cover for the convention circuit, I really doubt you'll have another opportunity to get this book for less than the $75 (+shipping and sales tax) Capcom is asking. I can't find any of the editions on eBay currently, not even the Japanese one.
I know I sound like a corporate shill, but that's because I SUPER SERIOUSLY BELIEVE that this book is only going to get harder to find from now on based on my searches online (that, and Capcom's scary urgency speak on the site worked on me.) Search elsewhere online for yourself, I'm not shitting you. As a Nintendo DS owner, I've been seriously burned by waiting to buy things and then having them go out of print (sorry, eBay sellers, Warioware isn't worth $50 used cart only) (goddamn you, Electroplankton) (Tetris DS? How the fuck is that out of print?) (Picross DS? Now you're just shitting me) (you see what I mean by now.)
So click the link below if you're a dumbass SF fan like me that waited this long to purchase this art book! Come on, you still have Christmas money, right?
Follow A New Challenger's c-blog
About A New Challenger
One of us
since 3:56 PM on 04.15.2007
You may have seen me commenting on things. I'm a nerdy dude in my mid 20s. Shocking!
My Articles:
The 3rd Party Memory Card
- In which I rip off Chad the C and expound upon my favorite moments in games.
It's A Secret To Everybody
- In which I highlight and babble on about various Easter Eggs, cheats, and so on.
I own:
Game Boy
Game Boy Color
Game Boy Player
Nintendo DS
I like:
Fighting games, scrolling shooters, puzzle, platformer, racing games, adventure.... actually, a little bit of everything, including an occasional sports game. Also, pinball. Pinball rules.
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Posted on 07/20/2011 12:09:02 PM
Many times in the Bible the Holy Spirit is referred to by a figure in order to help us understand some of His Ministries and works.1. DOVE - Matthew 3:16-17. John 1:13.A.) Pure (acceptable as sacrifice). First mentioned in the Bible when Noah used one to see if the water had dried up. Our body is th..
Posted on 07/20/2011 12:08:56 PM
Philippians chapter 4.1. Exhortations; 2. Commands; 3 Grateful acknowledgments; 4. Customary salutations.First Exhortations. 1. To stand fast in the Lord. 2. For two who apparently were alienated to be reconciled; 3. He entreats his 'true yoke-fellow to help those women who had laboured with him in ..
End Time Events: Jesus Christ - Coming for His Church
Posted on 07/20/2011 12:08:51 PM
Since every prophecy that has been fulfilled in the past, was literally fulfilled in every detailed as the Bible recorded the Word of God, we today can have complete confidence in the prophecies that have not yet been fulfilled.According to the plan and program of God for this earth and man, we are ..
Creation and the Second Coming of Christ - Part VII
Posted on 07/19/2011 01:09:44 PM
The Last Generation?In spite of Christ's warning against trying to set dates and calculating the time of His coming, many have tried. They have all been wrong.Ancient rabbis taught that there would be 6,000 years of history to correspond with the 6 days of creation, the seventh 1,000 year the time o..
Creation and the Second Coming of Christ - Part VI
Posted on 07/19/2011 01:09:03 PM
The Holy CityThe Last Judgment and the Lake of Fire.The final rebelling at the end of the 1,000 year reign of Christ will cause God to make an end of sins, reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in everlasting righteousness (Daniel 9:24).When satan leads an innumerable host to compass the holy city,..
Creation and the Second Coming of Christ - Part V
Posted on 07/19/2011 01:08:43 PM
Earth-shakingI Thessalonians 5:2,3For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say. Peace and safety: then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.The beginning of the 70th Wee..
Creation and the Second Coming of Christ - Part IV
Posted on 07/19/2011 01:08:25 PM
The AntichristSince the 1st century, Christians have found evil leaders that they chose to label as the Antichrist. Emperor of the Romans - Nero. Later the reformers so labeled the Pope, and even later Napoleon and Hitler and Mussolini. The most recent, Saddam Hussein. The main reason was their pers..
Creation and the Second Coming of Christ - Part III
Posted on 07/19/2011 01:08:09 PM
Back to BabelNext to Jerusalem, Babylon is the most frequently recorded city in the Bible, beginning at Babel.Jerusalem, the Holy City, is where the redeemed will dwell forever, to be made new.Babylon is the opposite: "the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth." (Revelation 17:5.) After th..
Creation and the Second Coming of Christ - Part II
Posted on 07/19/2011 01:07:05 PM
Middle East ConflictThere are various nations in the world whose religions are based on some form of God in nature called pantheism: Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto, Animism. Some included belief in many gods representing various forces of nature and heavenly bodies. None of the systems include a..
Creation and the Second Coming of Christ - Part I
Posted on 07/19/2011 01:06:44 PM
The greatest lie of evolutionism (evolution as a faith system) is that man is basically good and will continue to evolve positively, improving in every way and working toward a better society and world. This is part of the New Age movement, humanism (the belief that humans are the ultimate force and..


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39 reviews | 4.7 out of 5
I got this piano mat for my sisters triplets. It is large enough that they can all play on it without running into each other but not so big that it takes up the entire living room. The extra features on it are great for when they are older and actually want to play a tune rather than make noise.
This was a birthday gift for my 4 years daughter, also I have a 8 year old , both played with the piano for a few of minutes and forgot about . The piano is on the floor for a week and the girls don't play with it, they just walk by the piano when I need to go through.
so not so fun for my girls,also I think the volume is not very loud.
This is a great gift or the stand-offish child to the learning challenged to the can't keep still. Great purchase!!!
The grandkids love playing on their "dance on" pianos! I think getting them interested in music any way is great!
I liked this idea hence bought the mat. It is long and has many instrument options to chose from. Music and colors are very nice. Unfortunately my 5 year old did not take any interest in it. May be it will be more fun with two or more kids playing with it or it might be more interesting for even younger kids.
We got this for our 2 and 3 year old daughters, not only is the price great (i have seen basically the same thing else where for 64 bucks and that was on sale) but it works wonderfully. It is very sensitive on the keys ,wich is good ,not like the one of when i was younger wich had haard button you had to make sure you push to get the piano key to work. You would need two people who knew how to play piano to play a simple song as it is huge ,but it has all the funtions of a regular kids keyboard . very fun and easily fold up to store it away .Great buy.
A little less responsive than we would have thought (there is a lag in the keys) which isn't the greatest for what we wanted it for (my 5 year old son has Autism and gets disappointed when the keys sometimes don't work or delay) but still a pretty good product (my 1 year old loves it).
This product is a great idea. My daughter is only 1 1/2 and she loves to jump around so she knew exactly what to do with this. The mat is neat and easy to use, but it's a little quiet (I know right... who would have thought) and the instruments sound a little off. I thought I put dead batteries in it the first time because the instruments don't sound like they should or could, but overall my daughter loves it! Even the dogs get a kick when they walk over it.
My granddaughter loved this. She is quite active and enjoyed jumping all over. My son-in-law played Happy Birthday on it. She was absolutely thrilled.
My kids haven't got to use it yet since its a Christmas present, but I did take it out of the box to look and it seemed decent quality, can't really complain for $22
Purchased the Little Virtuoso Romping Stomping Piano Mat for my 17 month old grandson for Christmas. It looks very nice for the money. If it performs as well as it looks, I'm sure he will enjoy hearing the various sounds. Shar
It does what it says it does. I think everybody in the family has walked on this at one point or another, its pretty fun.
This was purchased as a Christmas gift for my 4-year old grandson. He has the most marvelous fun 'playing' with it. It is lots of fun - you can change the sounds is makes - although he is not quite a musically inclined as HE thinks. :) It is holding up well to the rough handling of this young man.
my babes love playing on this piano it's big enough so they can play on it together awesome purchase love this and love seeing them dance and sing on it
My granddaughter and grandson have a ball playing with this toy. They make different sounds and love to listen to it as much as making the noise
I know it says 4+ but I got it for my 9 month old. It says small parts (there are none unless they get into the batteries which are screwed in.) It is great, Her and my 4 year old have been playing with it for hours now. and They love it. I have been playing with it myself, the volume is loud enough I can hear it but low enough it doesn't interupt doing other things such as talking on the phone. It's bright and colorful, which is perfect for younger children (under 3) and it is complex enough to keep older children entertained. All in All the only downside I see is if you are buying this for a baby or child under the age of 2, I think they will enjoy pressing the record button to make it blink more then anything.
Kiddo's and adults had a blast. Folds up small. Easy to unfold, use and child friendly.
It's a get toy. Easy to get out and "set up" and we can fold it up and put it away quickly. Other than being a little slippery when he gets into his rhythm it's been the best gift of the holiday so far!
This was a Christmas gift for my 7 year old autistic granddaughter. She loves everything musical! She loves that she can play music with her hands and now her feet! Quality was much better than expected!
Gift for granddaughter at Christmas. Have not seen her using it, but her mother reports she dances on it every chance she gets. I think that indicates she likes it a lot. We'll have to wait and see if it holds up to a 4-year old's energy and exppectations.


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Registration takes less than 1 minute.
Complaints against shipping companies involve telex charges, container seal fees and terminal handling charges, according to state news agency Xinhua.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union said it will appeal the National Labor Relations Board decision, which requires the union to post to post a notice saying it will not encourage employees to engage in slow downs or work stoppages.
The parcel and logistics giant will offer direct access to its global service network, customs brokerage and management services to customers in the Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang, Guangdong provinces, and the Chongqing Municipality.
The Federal Aviation Administration will provide a $27 million grant to help the City of Williston, N.D., buy land for a new airport to replace Sloulin Field International Airport.
Brightstar Group and Unik Toyz Trading, both based out of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed in federal court to cease their imports of hazardous children's toys.
Data from shipment management software provider CargoSmart finds CKYHE carriers saw no transpacific vessels calls at four key U.S. ports delayed by more than 12 hours, outperforming the other major alliances.


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America. He started his life with petty crime in Brooklyn, New
York. After escalating his way up in Brooklyn, Capone moved to
Chicago for bigger and better things. There Capone had prominence
supremacy as one of the giant bootlegging forerunners. His
collected and composed ways, made crime into a business that we
see in today's mafia. Capone changed crime into a profession,
which in turn made it a business.
The word mob or mafia is a title that is often heard. When the
name Capone is associated with the title, most people think of
Capone as the true influence of the mob or mafia today. Capone
was a man who of the many prohibition leaders, lead the way for
the mafia in the early 19 hundreds. Due to the prohibition era,
Al Capone transformed the mafia into today's business like
criminal organization.
Organized crime in the 19th century, was an ever booming scene
for the average citizen. Since the 19th century, crime and
business seemed to have gone hand in hand since the prohibition
days of Capone. Long before Al Capone became involved in
bootlegging, his excitement in life was the economic opportunity
of being a gangster on the streets. As soon as Capone reached the
legal age of fourteen, he dropped out of school to live this
economic dream of making money as a gangster on the streets. 1.Al
Capone was convinced that the opportunities for personal
advancement and material success were not available through
legitimate means, and so Capone turned toward the crime
profession of bootlegging. Capone was a smart man with a mission.
2.His mission was to succeed as a criminal in a business like
matter. Although prohibition was clearly illegal, Capone used his
prohibition as a business. His attire was that of a rich business
man, along with his ways of talking were also that of a business
man. Everything Capone did was set to...


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All Posts
The First Race in Cologne, Germany to the Last Tortoise in St. Louis
Despite the dreary weather, nearly 1,600 participants and 200 breast cancer survivors gathered in high spirits for the first Race for the Cure in Cologne, Germany on June 16. Local survivor Bianca Knop shared that immediately after her diagnosis at the age of 38, she received Komen Deutschland's "Pink Infobag" with information about Komen's work and invaluable information about breast cancer. She shared that the support she received and the Affiliate's wonderful work made her proud to join the walk. Komen volunteer and Race Committee member Dirk Kleimann shared the story of his wife, who tragically lost her battle to breast cancer after receiving a late breast cancer diagnosis. He proudly presented Komen Deutschland with a check for 2,660 Euros at the Race, and continues to work to educate women and men about breast cancer.
More than 50,000 people came together this past weekend for the Komen St. Louis Race for the Cure. So far, the event has raised more than $2.45 million! Participants (and pooches!) were decked out in pink, proudly wearing bandanas, leis and tutus. Even Charlie the tortoise crossed the finish line in style. Check him out in the video below. The weekend included the Race, Dine Out for the Cure and Caliente for the Cure, making it an even more incredible weekend for the Affiliate and local women and men. STLToday (here as well), KSDK and Z6Mag all discuss the wonderful Race day.
Stay tuned! We'll be back in a few weeks to share fun memories from the Brainerd Lakes and Aspen Races. Until then, you can find your local Komen Race for the Cure here.
Susan G. Komen Community Grants in Action
Guest post by Tauane Araujo Cruz – Susan G. Komen for the Cure Program Manager, Latin America
Companies all over the world are actively encouraging female and male employees alike to take action for their health. In Latin America, Susan G. Komen has been privileged to deliver educational sessions detailing key breast self-awareness messages to more than 1,250 employees of companies such as American Airlines, Bank of America, Caterpillar, Cable and Wireless, Hologic, Maersk and more.
With the knowledge that breast cancer can affect anyone, anywhere, creating opportunities in the workplace that foster increased understanding of breast health is crucial to increasing prevention efforts in the industrial sector. That's why, with support from Komen's International Community Grants, community-based organizations are driving home this concept of workplace awareness and creating opportunities to empower those around them and further the mutual vision of a world without breast cancer.
Project "Empresa Amiga da Mulher", in other words, "Women Friendly Company", is a notable example of Komen community grants in action. The project, developed by Rede Rioclarense de Combate ao Câncer de Mama Carmem Prudente focuses on creating breast cancer awareness in companies throughout the city of Rio Claro in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Owens Corning, the world's leading producer of glass fiber materials used in composites, was the first company in Rio Claro to join the project realized in collaboration with CIESP (Center for Industry in Sao Paulo) and with funding provided by Komen this past May 2012.
Lectures presented by Fernanda Piazentini allowed 60 women employees, contractors and family members to clarify doubts, ask questions and obtain guidance on breast health issues. To emphasize their commitment, Renato Urvaneja, Director of Finance for Owens Corning, highlighted the importance of this partnership and noted that the health of employees is of vital importance for future projects.
In communities like Rio Claro and through partners such as Rede Rioclarense, Komen is promoting education, facilitating screening and building the capacity of the global community working to end breast cancer forever. To date, Komen has invested more than USD $27 million in funding for international breast cancer research and more than USD $17 million for international community education and outreach programs.
As Program Manager for Latin America, I am pleased with our advances, implementation and mobilization efforts. Even so, as I celebrate each accomplishment, I am thrilled about what the future holds!About Rede Rioclarense de Combate ao Câncer de Mama – The Rioclarense Network Against Breast Cancer, which is also known as the Network of Women Against Cancer is a nonprofit charity and volunteer organization whose goal is to create awareness in the medical care, hospital and pharmaceutical industries and provide support to those undergoing cancer treatment. About CIESP – The Center for Industry in Sao Paulo is a nonprofit civil organization founded in 1928 that brings together industry, its founders and linked associations in the production sector, as well as companies focused on activities directly related to the interests of industry.
Weekend Race for the Cure Recap – Western New York, Quad Cities, North Texas, NC Triangle
Dedicated Komen supporters came in every shade of pink this past weekend. Race participants stayed spirited through the rain, embraced their Texas pride, and survivors shared their inspiring stories.
WIVB reports that it was a sea of pink Saturday at Delaware Park as more than 6,000 people turned out for this year's Komen Western New York Race which raised over $500,000. WGRZ and Buffalo News covered the event as well, which featured a prerace Parade of Survivors and a post-race party. According to the Western New York Affiliate, "The rain could not dampen the spirit or enthusiasm of the 6,000+ participants who joined in the festivities."
On the streets of Moline, more than 8,600 people gathered under a beautiful sky for the Komen Quad Cities Race. Participants enjoyed a band, pink glove dance, Kids Zone and much more, and the event raised almost $4.9 million – pretty impressive for the event's first fundraising year. Quad-City Times, Quad Cities Online, KWQC and WHBF covered the event, pointing out that for many, the event brought hope and support.
The Plano Star Courier highlighted the 22nd annual Komen North Texas Race in Plano. The special survivor area had a western theme, and was decked out in cowboy hats, wagon wheels and bandanas. And, in true Texas style, the scenic Race course took participants right past longhorns and buffalo!
A cheering crowd kicked off runners at the Komen NC Triangle Race, and several survivors shared their personal ties to the cause with NBC 17. One special element of the NC Triangle Race was a "Wall of Hope" where survivors and their friends and family members left messages of courage, strength and love, and local residents decked their yards with pink lawn art. Local Duke University researcher Dr. Kimberly Blackwall spoke passionately to survivors about the "good news" that is coming from research and the importance of continued funding. WRAL, Examiner.com and News Observer also feature the Race and those that were excited to come out and enjoy the perfect weather while getting closer to ending breast cancer forever.
Komen Deutschland's Race in Cologne, Germany is coming up next weekend, so stay tuned!
You can find your local Komen Race for the Cure here.
Introducing: Komen TV!
Have you ever wondered what Susan G. Komen for the Cure and its more than 120 Affiliates across the country and around the globe work on when not gearing up for a Race for the Cure® event?
For the first time, we're taking audiences behind the scenes and beyond the sound bites to show everyone the depth, breadth and reach of the world's largest breast cancer organization!
Susan G. Komen for the Cure Television is a 20 minute monthly broadcast focused on the incredible people who utilize Komen resources and make an impact every day in almost every community across the U.S. and in more than 50 countries!
Each month, we will feature a new show that contains stories on how your dollars help Komen carry out its critical mission of saving lives and ending breast cancer forever. Komen TV shines a light on doctors, researchers, advocates, and the breast cancer patients benefiting from their work. In addition, Komen TV highlights fundraising successes across the Komen family, introduces you to valued corporate partners, and so much more!
You can watch April's broadcast here, but please join us and watch our latest broadcast below!
Weekend Race Update from Komen Connecticut, Puget Sound, SC Wisconsin and Deutschland
Passionate Komen supporters hit the pavement this past weekend, raising funds and celebrating each other during the Komen Connecticut, Puget Sound, South Central Wisconsin and Deutschland Race for the Cure events.
The Hartford Courant (here as well) reports that the Komen Connecticut Race drew an estimated 4,000 people (despite the pouring rain). A particularly touching moment was when 7-time breast cancer survivor Nancy Sousa sang the national anthem in the rain, prompting the entire crowd to become silent while she sang.
Attendees at the 15th Annual South Central Wisconsin Race enjoyed a beautiful day and a wonderful celebration of survivors as well.
With over 8,500 enthusiastic participants the Komen Puget Sound Race was an incredibly festive day. Kicking off the fabulous Race day, members of the survivor parade were escorted by members of the award winning Blue Devils drum and bugle corps. The Seattle Times (here as well) and KING5 covered the event which raised $1.1 million.
Washington, DC also had their share of fun with the Komen Global Race on Saturday morning. Approximately 27,000 participants , including Gabrielle Union, violinist Sarah Charness and country music singer Colby Dee met us at the Washington Monument to Race across the National Mall. Our full recap of the event is located here.
And across the pond, Komen Deutschland reported that nearly 2,500 participants gathered this year for the 2nd Komen Deutschland Race in Hamburg– almost double from last year's Hamburg Race! Komen Deutschland's website shares more details (as well as some photos) from the event.
Komen Races coming up next weekend:
– Western New York Race in Buffalo, NY
– Quad Cities Race in Moline, IL
– North Texas Plano Race in Plano, TX
– NC Triangle Race in Raleigh, NC
You can find your local Komen Race for the Cure here.


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We are now inviting applications for the 2016 CCI Digital Methods Summer School. The deadline for application is Monday 21 Sep. 2016.
Hosted by the QUT Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC), the 2016 event will focus on digital methods for sociocultural research. It is designed for university researchers at all stages of their careers, from doctoral students, postdoctoral and mid-career academics to established scholars.
The week-long intensive program will focus on new quantitative, qualitative and data-driven digital methods and their research applications in the humanities and social sciences, with a particular focus on media, communication and cultural studies and their applications in the creative industries.
Participants will work with leading researchers, engage in hands-on workshop activities and will have the opportunity to present and get feedback on their own work.
The Summer School will offer a range of introductory hands-on workshops in topics such as:
The program will be conceptually grounded in the problems of public communication and privacy, digital media production and consumption, and the ethical issues associated with big data and digital methods in the context of digital media environments. There will be talks on these topics in addition to the workshops.
It's been some time since I last posted an update on my latest publications – though you may have seen that on the front page of this site, I've updated the banner of the most recent books I've been featured in, at last. There is quite a lot more work in the pipeline for the immediate future, including a major new collection which I've edited with colleagues in Norway and Sweden – more on that soon.
For now, though, you wouldn't go wrong if you started by checking out the new journal Social Media + Society, which I'm delighted to be involved in as a member of the Editorial Board. We launched issue 1.1 with a collection of brief manifesto pieces that outline why the study of social media and their impacts on society is so important, featuring many leading researchers in this emerging field. And what's more, the whole journal is open access! For what it's worth, here's my contribution:
Axel Bruns. "Making Sense of Society through Social Media." Social Media + Society 1.1 (2015). DOI: 10.1177/2056305115578679.
Along similar lines, my QUT Digital Media Research Centre colleagues and I have also continued our critical engagement with social media and 'big data' research methods and approaches, which has resulted in two new book chapters recently.
Twitter has been in the news recently, for all the wrong reasons. Business media report that Twitter shareholders are disappointed with the company's latest results; and this follows recent turmoil in the company's leadership which saw the departure of controversial CEO Dick Costolo and the (temporary) return of co-founder Jack Dorsey until a permanent replacement is found.
All this has served to feed rumours that Google, having recently called time on its own underperforming social network Google+, might be interested in acquiring Twitter. From one perspective, this would clearly make sense – social media are now a key driver of Web traffic and a potentially important advertising market, and Google will not want to remain disconnected from this space for long. On the other hand, though, given its chequered history with the now barely remembered Google Buzz as well as major effort Google+, Twitter users (and the third-party companies that serve this userbase) may well be concerned about what a Google acquisition of the platform may mean for them.
I had the opportunity to explore these questions in some detail in an extended interview with ABC Radio's Tim Cox last week. In a wide-ranging discussion, we reviewed the issues troubling Google+ and Twitter, and the difficulties facing any player seeking to establish a new social media platform alongside global market leader Facebook. Here's the audio:
In addition to the PhD position I advertised last week, I am now also offering a two-year, full-time postdoc position on the same project at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia (international applicants are very welcome). If you're interested and qualified for the position, please submit a detailed application through the QUT jobs Website, responding to the selection criteria. Full details for the job can be found there, and below I'm including the key details from the job description:
This appointment supports an ARC Future Fellowship research project investigating intermedia information flows in the Australian online public sphere. The emergence of new media forms has led to a profound transformation of the Australian media environment: mainstream, niche, and social media intersect in many ways, online and offline. Increased access to large-scale data on public communication online enables an observation of how the nation responds to the news of the day, how themes and topics unfold, and how interest publics develop and decline over time. This project uses such observations to trace how information flows across media spaces, and to develop a new model of the online public sphere. It makes significant contributions to innovation in research methods in the digital humanities, and provides an important basis for policies aimed at closing digital and social divides. Research on the project commenced in April 2014.
The Postdoctoral Research Fellow will contribute to project management and undertake specific research tasks and will also be involved in the supervision of one of the PhD students associated with the project. The position will be based at QUT in Brisbane, and will support the timely analysis of public communication activities which relate to current debates. The presence of this full-time staff member will ensure the project's agility in responding to unfolding events, and substantially enhance its ability to engage in and impact on public debate over the lifetime of the Future Fellowship.
We're now looking for the second PhD student associated with my current ARC Future Fellowship project. The PhD student will receive an annual stipend of A$25,849 over the three years of the PhD project. If you're interested in and qualified for the PhD project, please contact me by 1 May 2015, directly at firstname.lastname@example.com with your CV, names of two referees, and a detailed statement addressing the Eligibility Requirements below. We'll select the candidate on this basis, and will then ask you to formally apply for the PhD place through the QUT Website.
Full details are below – please pay particularly close attention to the Eligibility Requirements.
We are seeking a highly motivated candidate to participate in an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship project which draws on several 'big data' sources on Australian online public communication.
This PhD project provides an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the flow of information across the Australian online public sphere at large scale and in close to real time, within a world-class research environment. With an ERA ranking of 5 (well above world standing), Creative Industries at QUT is the leading institution for Media and Communication research in Australia, and ARC Future Fellow Professor Axel Bruns is an international research leader in the area of Internet studies.
The final plenary on this somewhat eccentrically scheduled Saturday at ECREA 2014 begins with Kees Brants, who says his intention today is to debunk himself. There is a dominant discourse of mediatisation at present, and politicians have to respond to this – we may therefore be seeing a shift from a political to a media logic, as Kees has suggested in previous work. But is that perspective correct, or may it be challenged?
Historically, the concept of media logic emerged in 1979, twenty years later, mediatisation emerged properly as a concept. However, mediatisation must necessarily precede media logic: the increased shaping and domination of society by the media makes only possible the emergence of media logics. Witho mediatisation, we would not see European football competitions, Ebola panics, or the global response to the downing of MH17.
The next speaker at ECREA 2014 is Anssi Männistö, who shifts our focus to the Boston Marathon bomb attack. Mobile social media played an important role in covering this attact: tweets and mobile media were no longer just sources of information, but also tools to very facts and photos and to identify potential suspects, through image recognition software and other facilities.
In Boston, journalists rapidly discovered the first reports and images of the attack from Twitter, and soon came to use them in their own coverage. Such material was then used in official investigations, unofficial hunts for the culprits, and in the media coverage. These each drew on a massive amount of mobile photos; on the real-time publishing of such content in social media; and on crowdsourcing of activities through social media.
The next speaker at ECREA 2014 is Iñaki Garcia-Blanco, whose focus is on discussing the news on social media, and specifically on Facebook. This is important given the perceived crisis of democracy, which requires greater levels of deliberation. Social media bring together access to the news and facilities for discussing it, and Facebook is increasingly important in this.
The research examined the news stories published by leading UK news sources on their official Facebook pages over the course of a single working week (some 1650 articles in total). Human interest and lifestyle stories were strongest in numbers, while commenting on international politics was disproportionately strong.
The next speaker in this ECREA 2014 panel is Cédric Courtois, whose interest is in individual action and collective efficacy on Facebook. Within Facebook, there are plenty of constraints, but we are nonetheless navigating these constraints to engage in connective action. What motivates people to do so, and what is their perception of the efficacy of such activities?
Possible explanations for engagement through liking, commenting, and content creation could be genuine involvement in an issue, and a perception that such involvement will effect change. Self-presentation as someone interested in specific issues may also play a role.
The next panel on this marathon day at ECREA 2014 starts with Sascha Hölig, whose interest is in patterns of online political engagement in Europe. Democracy depends on structures that enable finding information, exchanging opinions, and negotiating decisions; the news is one key source of such information.
The Reuters Digital News Survey studies news consumption patterns across 10 European nations, drawing on surveys with some 19,000 users. There is a high interest in news, and frequent access to news, across Europe; more than 80% of users access the news at least once a day, especially from television.