Wow! It's great to see an org like the WFP have a marketing success like this and it seems really interesting on a lot of different levels:
SURPRISE HIT HUMANITARIAN VIDEO GAME REACHES ONE MILLION PLAYERS
New York, Jun 1 2005 2:00PM
(UN News Centre)
Launched by the United Nations only six weeks ago, the first video game designed to teach children about global hunger has surpassed all expectations in the gaming world by reaching more than one million players in 40 countries.
What makes this achievement highly unusual is that no android attackers are blown away in the game, “Food Force,” released by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in April. Instead, kids race against time to feed thousands of people on the fictitious island of Sheylan, alongside a crack team of emergency aid workers.
They pilot helicopters while looking out for hungry people, negotiate with armed rebels blocking a food convoy, and use food aid to help rebuild communities. Along the way, they learn about the real world where over 800 million people are plagued by hunger each day.
“Finally! An educational game that rocks!” comments Watercoolergames.com
Available as a free download in MAC and PC formats through a dedicated website where information on global hunger can also be found, the world’s first humanitarian video game contains six different missions aimed at children 8-13 years old. Evidence of the response to the game includes thousands of comments posted on the site along with highest scores.
As of today, “password300” of China leads with 148,952,869 points.
According to John Powell, WFP Deputy Executive Director, the game is reaching 40 countries even though it is currently available in English only. Powell is looking for partners to help translate the game into other languages.
The WFP is also focussing on free distribution in schools around the world, backed by Yahoo! and Internet2, a Washington-based high-speed educational network. In addition, the game is supported by a community web site which includes lesson packs on world hunger in seven languages provided by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
I just saw the recent film adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe and enjoyed it immensely. It was particularly interesting to see how the filmmakers chose material from a book whose content is sometimes not altogether easily filmed. I'm also interested in the quantity of 'Douglas Adams-ness' in the screenplay since he was working on an adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide when he died, though I'm not sure exactly how close to completion he felt it was.
In other news, I have stumbled upon Conversations with History an extremely wide-ranging archive of fascinating interviews with people of remarkable insight and experience in global issues that reach much deeper than most similar programs I have seen. Anyone interested in world events should browse widely within the literally hundreds of recorded interviews.
I just finished listening to Timothy Garton Ash discuss his deep insights gained from being at the epicenter of the collapse of Soviet Communism's influence on Central Europe. The whole interview is excellent but listen especially for the description of how he helped Lech Walesa communicate with Margaret Thatcher.
I also really enjoyed a fabulous interview with Thomas Goltz. Listen to how he came to get out of Samashki, the Chechen village he lived in for several weeks during the wars in Chechnya.
I also recommend that you visit Thomas Goltz's own site(thomasgoltz.com) and take a look at the beautiful slide show he has put together of his trip, by motorcycle (and sidecar), along the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline route in 2002.
Well, I guess I should get back to work... more soon!
In other news, I have stumbled upon Conversations with History an extremely wide-ranging archive of fascinating interviews with people of remarkable insight and experience in global issues that reach much deeper than most similar programs I have seen. Anyone interested in world events should browse widely within the literally hundreds of recorded interviews.
I just finished listening to Timothy Garton Ash discuss his deep insights gained from being at the epicenter of the collapse of Soviet Communism's influence on Central Europe. The whole interview is excellent but listen especially for the description of how he helped Lech Walesa communicate with Margaret Thatcher.
I also really enjoyed a fabulous interview with Thomas Goltz. Listen to how he came to get out of Samashki, the Chechen village he lived in for several weeks during the wars in Chechnya.
I also recommend that you visit Thomas Goltz's own site(thomasgoltz.com) and take a look at the beautiful slide show he has put together of his trip, by motorcycle (and sidecar), along the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline route in 2002.
Well, I guess I should get back to work... more soon!
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Friday, May 27, 2005
A bunch of miscellaneous but interesting stuff:
Spying on the Government: A UC Berkeley geographer maps the secret military bases of the American West -- where billions of dollars disappear into creepy clandestine projects.
Trevor Paglen The protagonist of the preceding story-- Includes Secret Bases, Secret Wars and Recording Carceral Landscapes.
Secret Service Visits Art Show at Columbia from the Chicago Sun-Times
A fascinating collection of historical airline and airport information
Spying on the Government: A UC Berkeley geographer maps the secret military bases of the American West -- where billions of dollars disappear into creepy clandestine projects.
Trevor Paglen The protagonist of the preceding story-- Includes Secret Bases, Secret Wars and Recording Carceral Landscapes.
Secret Service Visits Art Show at Columbia from the Chicago Sun-Times
A fascinating collection of historical airline and airport information
Building a Better Spy
Advice for John Negroponte: Go for broke. Face down Rumsfeld. Your country needs you.
Richard A. Clarke writes directly (and quite sharply) to Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte here in a very interesting shot across his bow.
It's also amazing to think that Negroponte has been in this new office of 'Director of National Intelligence' for a month. It's amazing how seamlessly the bureaucracy has swallowed him up.
Advice for John Negroponte: Go for broke. Face down Rumsfeld. Your country needs you.
Richard A. Clarke writes directly (and quite sharply) to Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte here in a very interesting shot across his bow.
It's also amazing to think that Negroponte has been in this new office of 'Director of National Intelligence' for a month. It's amazing how seamlessly the bureaucracy has swallowed him up.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
How prescient!
As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents more and more the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal: On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.
--H.L. Mencken (1920)
As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents more and more the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal: On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.
--H.L. Mencken (1920)
Some very sad news:
Andrew J. Goodpaster, 90, Soldier and Scholar, Dies
The New York Times
May 17, 2005
Gen. Andrew J. Goodpaster, a soldier and scholar who fought in World War II, commanded the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and came out of retirement to lead the United States Military Academy in a time of crisis, died on Monday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here. He was 90 and a resident of Washington.
The cause was prostate cancer, said his granddaughter Sarah Nesnow.
General Goodpaster was NATO commander from 1969 to 1974, after serving as deputy commander of American forces in Vietnam. Before beginning his Vietnam service in 1968, he was the third-ranking member of the United States delegation to the Paris negotiations with North Vietnam.
He retired as a four-star general after his NATO command but came out of retirement in 1977 to become superintendent of West Point and deal with the aftermath of a scandal involving cheating. General Goodpaster voluntarily gave up a star, assuming the rank of lieutenant general as superintendent. He retired again in 1981.
Andrew Jackson Goodpaster was born on Feb. 12, 1915, in Granite City, Ill. He attended McKendree College in Lebanon, Ill., for two years before transferring to West Point, where he graduated second in his class in 1939. That year, he married Dorothy Anderson.
In World War II he was twice wounded while leading a combat engineer battalion in North Africa and Italy. In addition to two Purple Hearts, he was awarded the Army's second-highest decoration for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross, for making a reconnaissance under heavy fire through a minefield, and a Silver Star.
Returning to the United States after being wounded for the second time, he served for three years on the general staff of the War Department. Early in that assignment, he helped plan for an invasion of Japan that became unnecessary after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In the late 1940's, he studied at Princeton University, earning a master's in engineering and a doctorate in international relations. In the early 1950's he was attached to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, then served with Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.
From 1954 to 1961, he was an adviser to President Eisenhower. He then served as assistant commander of the Third Infantry Division and, later, as commander of the Eighth Infantry Division. He held several Pentagon posts and served as commandant of the National War College before becoming deputy commander of American forces in Vietnam.
When he came out of retirement to become West Point's superintendent, the academy was reeling from a cheating scandal that involved 151 cadets. In his four-year tenure there, the general sought to substitute ''positive leadership'' for hazing and personal abuse, to bolster the academy's courses in humanities and public policy, and to ease the admission of women to the academy.
General Goodpaster was a senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Eisenhower Institute, which studies foreign and domestic policy issues.
He was a member of the American Security Council and a founder of the Committee on the Present Danger, groups whose central thesis was that the Soviet Union's military threat was underestimated and that the United States needed a correspondingly strong defense.
A West Point classmate, Lt. Gen. Edward L. Rowny, retired, said General Goodpaster was working on his memoirs until a week ago.
He is survived by his wife; two daughters, Susan Sullivan of Alexandria, Va., and Anne Batte of Salisbury, N.C.; and seven grandchildren.
This amazing man spoke at my conference and was actually cracking jokes, despite having gone through at least two rounds of radiation therapy relatively recently.
And the things that he had done and seen! A certainly full life!
Rest in peace, sir!
Andrew J. Goodpaster, 90, Soldier and Scholar, Dies
The New York Times
May 17, 2005
Gen. Andrew J. Goodpaster, a soldier and scholar who fought in World War II, commanded the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and came out of retirement to lead the United States Military Academy in a time of crisis, died on Monday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here. He was 90 and a resident of Washington.
The cause was prostate cancer, said his granddaughter Sarah Nesnow.
General Goodpaster was NATO commander from 1969 to 1974, after serving as deputy commander of American forces in Vietnam. Before beginning his Vietnam service in 1968, he was the third-ranking member of the United States delegation to the Paris negotiations with North Vietnam.
He retired as a four-star general after his NATO command but came out of retirement in 1977 to become superintendent of West Point and deal with the aftermath of a scandal involving cheating. General Goodpaster voluntarily gave up a star, assuming the rank of lieutenant general as superintendent. He retired again in 1981.
Andrew Jackson Goodpaster was born on Feb. 12, 1915, in Granite City, Ill. He attended McKendree College in Lebanon, Ill., for two years before transferring to West Point, where he graduated second in his class in 1939. That year, he married Dorothy Anderson.
In World War II he was twice wounded while leading a combat engineer battalion in North Africa and Italy. In addition to two Purple Hearts, he was awarded the Army's second-highest decoration for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross, for making a reconnaissance under heavy fire through a minefield, and a Silver Star.
Returning to the United States after being wounded for the second time, he served for three years on the general staff of the War Department. Early in that assignment, he helped plan for an invasion of Japan that became unnecessary after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In the late 1940's, he studied at Princeton University, earning a master's in engineering and a doctorate in international relations. In the early 1950's he was attached to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, then served with Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.
From 1954 to 1961, he was an adviser to President Eisenhower. He then served as assistant commander of the Third Infantry Division and, later, as commander of the Eighth Infantry Division. He held several Pentagon posts and served as commandant of the National War College before becoming deputy commander of American forces in Vietnam.
When he came out of retirement to become West Point's superintendent, the academy was reeling from a cheating scandal that involved 151 cadets. In his four-year tenure there, the general sought to substitute ''positive leadership'' for hazing and personal abuse, to bolster the academy's courses in humanities and public policy, and to ease the admission of women to the academy.
General Goodpaster was a senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Eisenhower Institute, which studies foreign and domestic policy issues.
He was a member of the American Security Council and a founder of the Committee on the Present Danger, groups whose central thesis was that the Soviet Union's military threat was underestimated and that the United States needed a correspondingly strong defense.
A West Point classmate, Lt. Gen. Edward L. Rowny, retired, said General Goodpaster was working on his memoirs until a week ago.
He is survived by his wife; two daughters, Susan Sullivan of Alexandria, Va., and Anne Batte of Salisbury, N.C.; and seven grandchildren.
This amazing man spoke at my conference and was actually cracking jokes, despite having gone through at least two rounds of radiation therapy relatively recently.
And the things that he had done and seen! A certainly full life!
Rest in peace, sir!
Here's something that I think people would enjoy:
CONELRAD
- an often 'over the top' look at Cold War propaganda, design and politics.
CONELRAD
- an often 'over the top' look at Cold War propaganda, design and politics.
Plowing through a lot of work while I'm fighting off this damn cold but I decided that I had to stop to let the rest of the world know about a book I happened across:
On Bullshit
by Harry G. Frankfurt
Princeton University Press, 2005
The video interview is disappointing as only Princeton University Press could make it.
Anybody out there read it, so you can tell me whether it should drop the 'On' in its title?
On Bullshit
by Harry G. Frankfurt
Princeton University Press, 2005
The video interview is disappointing as only Princeton University Press could make it.
Anybody out there read it, so you can tell me whether it should drop the 'On' in its title?
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Harumph!! I'm stuck in bed with a bad cold when I could be listening to Vaclav Havel speak in person at the Library of Congress.
At least the LoC is broadcasting the presentation via live webcam. If you want to watch it from home, click here and follow the directions. It's going to start in a few minutes, so I'd better go...
At least the LoC is broadcasting the presentation via live webcam. If you want to watch it from home, click here and follow the directions. It's going to start in a few minutes, so I'd better go...
Thursday, May 19, 2005
For all of you out there in need of an Esperanto fix, or if you want something to go with the poetry you have gotten from a Tajik guide in Afghanistan, take a look at Radio Polonia's Esperanto page!
You can listen to today's news by clicking on the red link in the top left of the page.
Or maybe you can go to Rebecca-stan or maybe to Symi-stan. ;-)
You can listen to today's news by clicking on the red link in the top left of the page.
Or maybe you can go to Rebecca-stan or maybe to Symi-stan. ;-)
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Sometimes I wonder what some parents were thinking when they name their children certain things.
Most of you know my feelings about people who call their children 'Chastity' but there are some people whose names must make their lives a living hell just because of their resemblance to other people or fictional characters.
Of course, there is the character in the movie Office Space named Michael Bolton but I have talked to a lot of other people with bizarre connections:
There is a Toni Braxton working at the National Park Service.
I had to get a guy named Jim Crow to send me some info from Atlanta a few months ago in order to finish a project I was working on...
I went to high school with a Benjamin Franklin and have since met another one.
One of the people I competed against in Academic Decathlon was named Travis Tritt.
And many, many others...
There are also a few people whose names just conjure up unpleasant references:
A really good British professor of mine decided to change his name after moving to the US because his family name happened to be 'Barff.'
I can also go to what looks to be an interesting lecture on Operations Research, Military Consulting and the Growth of Tyson's Corner, Virginia: 1945-1970 given by Paul Virus, Curator of Aerospace Electronics & Computing, Division of Space History at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.
I just feel sorry for them...
Most of you know my feelings about people who call their children 'Chastity' but there are some people whose names must make their lives a living hell just because of their resemblance to other people or fictional characters.
Of course, there is the character in the movie Office Space named Michael Bolton but I have talked to a lot of other people with bizarre connections:
There is a Toni Braxton working at the National Park Service.
I had to get a guy named Jim Crow to send me some info from Atlanta a few months ago in order to finish a project I was working on...
I went to high school with a Benjamin Franklin and have since met another one.
One of the people I competed against in Academic Decathlon was named Travis Tritt.
And many, many others...
There are also a few people whose names just conjure up unpleasant references:
A really good British professor of mine decided to change his name after moving to the US because his family name happened to be 'Barff.'
I can also go to what looks to be an interesting lecture on Operations Research, Military Consulting and the Growth of Tyson's Corner, Virginia: 1945-1970 given by Paul Virus, Curator of Aerospace Electronics & Computing, Division of Space History at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.
I just feel sorry for them...
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