http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Mon, 21 Feb 2005 12:36:34 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/21/123634.php King of FoolsOn March 19, 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom began. Thanks to embedded reporters and video phones, the entire world watched as coalition forces wrestled control of Iraq from the iron grip of Saddam Hussein. Major combat operations were officially concluded on May 1, 2003.On January 30, 2005, national elections were held in Iraq. Again the world watched as her citizens braved the threat of terror, waited in long lines and proudly dipped their fingers in ink as they voted. Nearly 60% of the Iraqi people cast ballots to elect a 275-member national assembly that will be responsible for selecting both a president and a constitutional committee.In the 20 months between these two dates, the story of Iraq was largely untold. Certain events received airtime: the capture of Saddam and the abuses of Abu Ghraib were both heavily reported. The cease-fire and withdrawal from Fallujah as well as its subsequent recapture by coalition forces also made their way into our newspapers and 24-hour news networks.From the outside looking in, Iraq appeared to be a nation with a multiple personality disorder. The media served up stories of electricity shortages, looting, torture and abuse, insurgency and quagmire. The coalition and individual soldiers (via blogs) conveyed reports of rebuilt hospitals and schools, restored infrastructure, dredged harbors, trained policemen and terrorists removed from the battlefield.Yet the story that received little if any play is that of the day-to-day lives of the Iraqi people. Unheralded, they lived their lives through these months of anxiousness and uncertainty. Most of that story will never be known, but a glimpse is available thanks to In the Red Zone by Stephen Vincent.The book is an account of Vincent's two solo expeditions through the chaos of an Iraq between governments. Instead of staying with the rest of the foreign journalists in the relative safety of the Green Zone, he spent his time in the cities and village of Iraq, interacting with the people.There is content in here to shatter the preconceptions of any reader, regardless which political rung they swing from. He recounts events and stories that I did not want to hear; that did not line up with how I thought Iraq should be. But who am I to argue with how Iraq is.The author does not whitewash anything. His diary relates progress and failures, triumphs and tragedies. He chooses to tell the whole truth, favoring neither the pro- or anti- war side. Instead, he records the voice of the people of Iraq, and his evident compassion for them is the only bias that shines through.I believe that is the most important aspect of this book - the author's refusal to allow his own biases and opinions determine the content. He spends the majority of his ink relaying his genuine interactions with all types of Iraqi nationals. His own personal opinions on the military action and subsequent reconstruction are not spelled out until the concluding chapter. Yet, even then, Stephen's never spells out what the rest of us should think. He merely examines his beliefs prior to his trip and describes how they have been tempered and changed by his time in the Red Zone. This quote makes a very important statement:This is difficult to write, especially since on of my intentions in this book is to persuade readers that fighting for the Iraqi people is worth American blood and treasure. But we must be honest. The first step in knowledge is to see the Other as a distinct entity, not as an extension of oneself. Like many supporters of the war, I had perceived the Iraqis as I wished them to be: latent Jeffersonian, yearning for freedom and democracy. Like others I was blinded by my personal need to account for 9-11 - a desire that had sublimated itself into political idealism. An idealism, moreover, that was reflected back to me by reasonable Iraqis, the Westernized, English-speaking people I met. Unable to speak Arabic, I, like most foreign journalists, had little access to the millions of unreasonable Iraqis whose lives, thoughts and spirits are ground into passivity or resentment by religious obscurantism and tribal parochialism. The people, in short, who swell the armies of Islamofascism.This is both a humble admission as well as a very insightful look at how easily it is to view any event through the prism of our own ideology. It is too easy to listen to the evidence within our own echo chamber.No matter where you stand on Iraq, In the Red Zone is outside of your echo chamber. I highly recommend reading it.Stephen Vincent's blog is also available here. Books25787@blogcritics.org Mon, 21 Feb 2005 12:36:34 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/01/24/183455.php King of FoolsI recently finished reading The Arabian Nights. (Yes, there are so many versions and translations - this one was the "Aldine" edition as translated by Dr. Jonathan Scott - available in paper form or electronic.) It took a few months to get through this work, partly because I was busy some of the time and partly because of its sheer length.The book begins with the story of two brothers, Shahrayar & Shahzaman, who are Sultans. Through a series of events, both learn that their wives have been unfaithful to them. After having his wife executed, Shahrayar takes a vow that he will marry a new bride each evening and have her killed the following morning, thus ensuring that his bride will always be faithful.Shahrazad, the daughter of the Vizier responsible for procuring (and later executing) the wives of the Sultan, asks her father if she may marry the Sultan. After trying to dissuade her, he sees that her mind is made up and sadly presents her to the Sultan. On their wedding night, she begs the Sultan to allow her sister to stay with them since she is to be killed in the morning. He consents to this request, and her sister asks Shahrazad for a story to help pass the night. In the morning, the story is not finished and the Sultan puts off her execution until the following day so she can finish the story the following evening. She completes that story but immediately begins a new one which is also left unfinished by morning. 1001 nights and 90 plus stories later, the Sultan decrees that Shahrazad will not be executed and the women of the kingdom are saved.What makes this work so entertaining? For starters, the story within a story motif is entertaining, almost to excess. There are points where the reader is taken an amusing (and sometimes confusing) four or five stories deep. Another key factor is that the stories are fairy tales - where fantastic things like love, fame and riches happen to very ordinary people. Who hasn't considered what they would choose should a Genii offer three wishes?Finally, the sheer quality of the work is amazing. Of all the stories I read, each was creative and enjoyable original in plot save one or two - which were notably bad due to their contrasting lack of detail and plagiarism of events from other stories within the collection.In so many of the stories, the plots are centered around love and, as often as not, adultery. A tremendous amount of energy is spent to either preserve the honor of a maiden, or to take it from her. Love at first sight is a theme that also appears repeatedly, as is the power of a love so strong that those so stricken by the effects of love that they waste away and even die as they pine for the target of their affections. Another very common theme is the inability of men and women within the stories to resist either fate or curiosity.As I read through the stories, it was interesting to see how different people groups were portrayed. It is no surprise that with the story centered in Arabia (and to a lesser extent China), Moslems were given a very positive billing. However, I was surprised to only find one story which was explicitly Islamic in nature; that one made up for it by quoting extensively from the Koran.Christians were often represented in a negative light, but the worst characterizations were saved for Jews, who regularly play the role of the antagonist. They also have many side roles as magicians, corrupt bankers or conniving jewelers; yet ironically there is a tremendous deference and respect for King Solomon. Some have dated this work at around 1000 AD, which simply demonstrates how long the Arab/Jewish hostilities have been going on.One very surprising characterization was that of women. Today's Arab world is male dominated - there remain some countries where the fair sex is not even allowed to drive. Yet a great many of these stories have women as the heroine, constantly outsmarting men, defeating enemies and even serving as rulers (although usually in disguise).The final attitude I noticed was that towards blacks. Every black man within the stories served as the most heinous villains and the worst of the Geniis were also black in color. This was something I found very surprising. Some claim that the early translators are to blame for stereotyping blacks as evil and that the stories didn't actually convey that. Since I'm unable to read Arabic, I'm not able to confirm or deny this claim.I'm not noting these kinds of characterizations because I find them offensive, they are simply observations I made as I read the stories. I think they help to illuminate the culture and era from which the work is taken. In the same vein, I still find Huckleberry Finn an essential piece of literature, even though it has been banned from our schools because it contains language that was legitimate within the setting of the book, yet is offensive today.In closing, what would a review of the Arabian Nights be without mentioning a few favorites? Growing up, I had a book with the Seven Voyages of Sinbad, along with a few other stories from the Arabian Nights. While Sinbad doesn't thrill me like he used to, I'm still quite partial toward Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves as well as The Story of Alla ad Deen (which you might better know if we called him Aladdin - although the original is much richer than the Disney version). Aside from those two, three other stories captured my attention and my imagination: The Little Hunchback (and its associated stories), The Three Calenders, the Sons of Sultans and the Five Sisters and my favorite: The Story of Khaujeh Hassan al Hubbaul, which is buried within the Adventure of the Caliph Haroon Al Rusheed. Books24633@blogcritics.org Mon, 24 Jan 2005 18:34:55 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/11/15/124934.php King of FoolsThere are two new software releases tonight/tomorrow which have captured my attention. One of these you may have heard of: Half-Life 2 is a single player first person action game with what appear to be realistic physics. The game has been in production for years and the final product should be a very satisfying play. I purchased it a month ago and it has been downloaded and installed on my machine. The moment the game has been released, my copy will immediately become playable.If you are anxiously awaiting HL2, this development story might help pass the time until it is released. As for me, I'm thrilled about this new game but there is another release which I am even more excited about. Heresy? Yes, and you can burn me at the stake, but please wait until I've had a chance to try out both games.What could capture my attention more than Gordon Freeman's next adventure? It's not actually a new game. It is merely a new version of a total mod for an old game. A "total mod" is where a group of programmers and artists take an existing game and develop a new way to play based on the engine of an existing game. This has become popular enough that even HL2 comes with a Software Development Kit to encourage the development of mods. (It increases the life of the product and has a positive impact on sales.)Red Orchestra is an Unreal Tournament 2004 based multiplayer mod which trades the modern scope of that game for the battlefields of WW2. Hasn't that been done before? Over and over, but this is different in that it is based on the eastern front.UT2K4 was not a big seller. The game is enjoyable enough and the graphics are decent, but it is just one shooter among so many. Red Orchestra stands out because it actually feels real. The developers did everything they could to make the game look and feel realistic.The battlefields vary from bombed out cities (Warsaw, Berlin) to villages to factories to fields and trenches. Clear skies make target identification easy, but some battles are at night or in rain or even fog, making it far too easy to shoot a distant soldier only to find that it was one of your own. Most players are only concerned with finding the enemy, yet the artists crafted detail from the bottom of buildings to the top, even if it is three stories up. Rooms are filled with tables and desks, and lights hang from the ceiling. Every setting is believable and some are even haunting.Gameplay is not the typical shoot your enemies, die, respawn, begin again. If you run into the thick of battle looking to satisfy your bloodlust, you will soon be bleeding and waiting to join the next batch of reinforcements. You can only take one, maybe two hits before you are dead. There is no health lying around and the only extra ammo and weapons are those dropped by your fallen comrades.The weapons are dreadfully authentic. Most soldiers end up using a bolt action rifle which is fairly accurate but if you miss, you have to work the bolt until you can fire again. There is not an indicator of how many bullets you have left in your gun. Either count your shots or listen for the click. All weapons have to be manually reloaded. If you are making a long range shot, be sure and aim a little bit high. The game accounts for ballistics and the longer your shot is, the farther it will drop before it arrives at the target.Weapons are assigned according to rank and although there are weapons beyond the infantry rifle (machine gun, submachine gun, semi-automatic version of the basic rifle), the higher ranks are less common than basic infantry. Some ranks also get a sidearm and most everyone gets grenades. (Yes, the Germans get stick grenades.) How many of each rank is available varies from map to map, but because there are few top rank slots available, there will never be an army of machine guns.Each map has unique objectives for each side. Some must be captured or defended and sometimes certain landmarks must be blown up. As in a real war, almost every success is the result of a team effort. You have to work together and communicate with your teammates. To advance you have to use the available cover or crawl across open fields. You can run but only for short distances, and running does nothing against an opponent who is a decent shot.When you do die (and if you play, you will die), you have to wait for the next wave of reinforcements to come in. Each map has a limited number of reinforcements and if your team is reckless and loses them all before the time limit expires, then the other team is automatically victorious. Most rounds last between 10 and 25 minutes, although they never seem like they take very long.This is all barely scratching the surface. I have not even touched on machine gun recoil or the use of bayonets. Tanks and trucks were available before and their use will be expanded in this new release. There is a trailer for the new version...and a soundtrack. I could go on and on, yet what I really would like to convey is how real it feels. As enemy bullets hit nearby, you hear them hit and see dust from the impact. It is exciting to be running down a deserted street with 3 squadmates, heading toward the next objective. Suddenly all that bravado turns to fear as your fellow soldiers drop around you one by one, and you still have no clue where the enemy fire is coming from.If wargames are your thing, I highly recommend Red Orchestra. It is far from ordinary. If you do decide to play there are two things you need to know:UT2K4 is required ($29.99 new, $15.99 used).If I am online playing, it will be on the [CiA/CoR] server using the same name I use here.See you in the game. Gaming22249@blogcritics.org Mon, 15 Nov 2004 12:49:34 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/08/30/183118.php King of FoolsFor many, 'postal employee' would be considered a negative term. It might invoke memories of long waits at the post office or inconvenient holidays. Some might even remember the rash of postal shooting sprees from the late 80s. This book has the potential to turn those negative connotations on their collective heads.In The Fred Factor, Mark Sanborn relates first-hand events from years of extraordinary service from Fred, his mail carrier. This motivated mailman took the task of mail delivery far beyond his job description. The stories of Fred and Fred-like individuals (as well as a few anti-Freds) provide enough insight for a graduate level course on customer service.Any serious reader of motivational books will find little in this book which is new to them. The principles are strong, but are available in other places. The power of the Fred Factor is not the principles within the book but the motivation readers find to act upon them. The secret to this book is not content but perspective.John Maxwell's irrefutable 'Law of the Chain' specifies that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The law is presented as a leadership principle. It explains to leaders how to build a stronger organization: strengthen or replace your weak links.The Fred Factor ignores this law. It even ignores the chain, or at least the majority of it. Its focus is zoomed in on one specific link: yourself. It acknowledges that your link is always significant, and then gives compelling motivation to be the strongest link you can. This principle works regardless of the strength of the links around you. It explains how and why to excel, even in the most backwater organization.It also teaches one truth which so many people never learn: there is always a reward for being the strongest link you can, even if the organization never notices. Fred is a great role model because he is an ordinary man doing ordinary things, but in an extraordinary manner. He is no Superman; anyone can do the same.The other special aspect of the Fred Factor is that it applies to all people. Leadership principles are great, but they come with a prerequisite: a leader with a group to lead. Teamwork is important but it requires a team. The reader may not qualify for either of these roles but everyone is strategically positioned to be an effective Fred. Even if you know and have mastered every principle in the book, The Fred Factor is still a worthwhile read, if just to hear the stories about Fred. Books19239@blogcritics.org Mon, 30 Aug 2004 18:31:18 EDT