Unit 2

11.127x Unit 2 is now live! This week we’ll think about how games can mean something. How can a game convey a concept? How do players learn from games? You’ll hear about characteristics and qualities of games and recognize some of the ways games are special. For this unit, you will create a pitch for your learning game and of course, provide feedback on other pitches.

The pitch is a very important assignment. You will be sharing your thoughts regarding the learning game you’ll be developing over the rest of the course. Just like in Unit 1, you’ll post in the forum for the assignment. However, we’d also like you to consider engaging with your working group (survey-based) and/or affinity group for the purpose of providing and receiving additional feedback. Don’t worry if you haven’t been active with a group yet; now is a great time to get involved! Complete the working group survey or check out the affinity groups.

Thank you for participating in the live Reddit event. Eric appreciated your thoughtful questions. The archive of the event is still available, and if you search for "profklopfer" you can easily find his responses. Our next live event will happen on Wednesday, April 29, 2015 2:30 PM UTC. Course staff will critique selected prototypes.

Welcome to Unit 2!

A digital game is often much more than just a game. In Unit 2, we’re going to attempt to outline how and why.

• Lenses: Dr. Ian Bogost introduces the concept of procedural rhetoric and Prof. Eric Zimmerman talks about games and instrumentality. These are both perspectives that will help you consider the meaning of games in new ways. 
• Unexpected Lessons: Prof. Kurt Squire explains to Prof. Eric Klopfer how players can sometimes learn unexpected, unplanned things from games, even from games designed for entertainment. He considers how this impacts game design and implementation. 
• Frameworks for Educational Games: Scot Osterweil and Eric present frameworks that they find to be valuable when thinking about educational games. 
• Learning in a Gaming Environment: Prof. Constance Steinkuehler discusses how massively multiplayer online game (MMO) players learn in and around the gamespace. Joel Levin describes ways players learn in the game Minecraft and also how the game has inspired interesting projects in the educational sphere.  

We will be reading excerpts of Quest to Learn: Developing the School for Digital Kids by Katie Salen, et al. and those who wish to dive deeper can read Ian Bogost’s “The Rhetoric of Video Games."

Presentations : Dr. Ian Bogost (a 2011 ScriptaLab taped event originally presented February 17, 2011),  Prof. Eric Zimmerman (taped at the Sandbox Summit in 2012) - Note: This content was not produced by edX, The Education Arcade, or Scheller Teacher Education Program.

Appearances by: Kurt Squire, Scot Osterweil, Constance Steinkuehler, Joel Levin

http://youtu.be/4gQX6eEom6w
Welcome to Unit 2! A digital game is often much more than just a game. In Unit 2, we’re going to attempt to outline how and why. Lenses: Dr. Ian Bogost introduces the concept of procedural rhetoric and Prof. Eric Zimmerman talks about games and instrumentality. These are both perspectives that will help you consider the meaning of games in new ways. Unexpected Lessons: Prof. Kurt Squire explains to Prof. Eric Klopfer how players can sometimes learn unexpected, unplanned things from games, even from games designed for entertainment. He considers how this impacts game design and implementation. Frameworks for Educational Games: Scot Osterweil and Eric present frameworks that they find to be valuable when thinking about educational games. Learning in a Gaming Environment: Prof. Constance Steinkuehler discusses how massively multiplayer online game (MMO) players learn in and around the gamespace. Joel Levin describes ways players learn in the game Minecraft and also how the game has inspired interesting projects in the educational sphere. We will be reading excerpts of Quest to Learn: Developing the School for Digital Kids by Katie Salen, et al. and those who wish to dive deeper can read Ian Bogost’s “The Rhetoric of Video Games." Presentations : Dr. Ian Bogost (a 2011 ScriptaLab taped event originally presented February 17, 2011), Prof. Eric Zimmerman (taped at the Sandbox Summit in 2012) - Note: This content was not produced by edX, The Education Arcade, or Scheller Teacher Education Program. Appearances by: Kurt Squire, Scot Osterweil, Constance Steinkuehler, Joel Levin
http://youtu.be/Qe4poKsy9lw
In this video, Dr. Ian Bogost addresses one way we might look at how games mean. He addresses his idea of “procedural rhetoric,” whereby the rules of a system create a model of reality, and that model is a kind of argument about the world. As Dr. Bogost describes, the game Animal Crossing enabled a key insight about how that game’s mechanic of house decorating enables a window to examine capitalism. While it can, at times, be a demanding talk to understand if you are new to these ideas, we promise that we assigned it because a) Dr. Bogost is a highly entertaining public speaker and b) we believe that his analysis and ideas are an important way to understand how a game can mean something - through its rules. (If you find it challenging, we suggest reading the transcript and/or reading the associated "Dive Deeper" chapter in this unit.) Think about this argument as you watch the other videos in this Unit - how does this perspective differ from Eric Zimmerman’s or Scot Osterweil’s, say? What is similar? Dr. Ian Bogost is an award-winning videogame designer and media philosopher and director of the Georgia Institute of Technology digital media graduate program. This is a recording of one of the 2011 ScriptaLab events originally presented February 17, 2011.
http://youtu.be/mReVUr_bvI8
In this talk, The New Art of Gaming (Presented at Sandbox Summit, 2012), Prof. Eric Zimmerman talks about the concept of “instrumentality.” This is a long talk, but a compelling one as Prof. Zimmerman cautions against treating games as mere vehicles for learning, but instead treating them as cultural objects in their own right. He asserts that this can be even more educational (and a better education!) than treating games as a content delivery mechanism. What do you think? How might his ideas be considered in light of the ideas of others in this unit? Are they at odds? Are they complementary? Prof. Eric Zimmerman is a founder of the NYU Game Center and, "a game designer, entrepreneur, author, and academic who has been working in the game industry for 15 years." Sandbox Summit is an annual idea forum at MIT that addresses how technology affects the ways kids play, learn and connect. For more information, visit sandboxsummit.org.
http://youtu.be/iVfFkIYXRHA
Prof. Kurt Squire talks about learning from his own early gaming experiences and how this has influenced his understanding of how games can foster learning, as well as how games can be utilized in the classroom. As you think about your project, consider things learners might take away from your game that may not be related to the subject matter.
http://youtu.be/iVfFkIYXRHA
Now that you have had the opportunity to hear Kurt Squire talk about how games can spark unintended learning, take a moment to reflect on your own game-playing experiences. Have you played a game that taught you things you didn't expect? What did you learn? Why was it unexpected? You are welcome to share your reflections with your classmates in the forum.
Scot Osterweil and Eric Klopfer speak about the nature of play and discuss what makes a good game. Scot breaks down these factors into his Four Freedoms of Play and provides illustrative examples. Remember the concept of "hard fun" as you work on your course project.
http://youtu.be/tuFRWwI-yxg
Eric and Scot's conversation continues and Eric identifies characteristics and qualities that make games "gamey." What do you think about the principles Eric talks about? As you go through this unit, think about whether certain ones are more important to you than others.
http://youtu.be/bemLRevyBKI
Play a game for about 15 minutes; it doesn't necessarily have to be digital. As you play, think about it in terms of the Four Freedoms of Play and the Five Principles for Games that Scot and Eric discussed. Did you have the freedom to explore? Did the game offer you interesting choices? These questions are just an example of the kinds of the things you might think about. Feel free to write your thoughts in the forum and discuss other participants' experiences.
Prof. Constance Steinkuehler describes a few ways learning occurs in and around massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) like World of Warcraft. She explains that spaces around MMOs, like forums, are fertile ground for discussion and analysis regarding social interaction and learning. It is important to consider the context in which games exist and the context they can generate for learning; don't forget about context as you work on your project.
https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015/courseware/ac7f69bfecde48198dfaa58ae1cb40b6/74a8e323054c4877b4f196e43145ab42/
Constance and Eric continue their discussion. Eric talks about some of his own experiences playing World of Warcraft and getting help in and around the game.
http://youtu.be/ujJ3gRPZcuI
Joel Levin discusses how learning in Minecraft has inspired implementation in the classroom.
http://youtu.be/DaFvvxEDkL4
http://youtu.be/Fb9M0bFpD4s
QUEST TO LEARN This book is a research and development document outlining the learning framework for the school Quest to Learn in New York. Read the "Game Based-Learning and Knowing Section," and browse through the "Curriculum and Instruction" section if you are interested. Salen, Katie, et al. 2011. Quest to Learn: Developing the School for Digital Kids. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. DIVE DEEPER: THE RHETORIC OF VIDEO GAMES Peruse this article to enhance your understanding of the video presentation. Bogost, Ian. "The Rhetoric of Video Games." The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning. Edited by Katie Salen. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008. 117–140. doi: 10.1162/dmal.9780262693646.117
http://q2l.org
http://dmlcentral.net/sites/dmlcentral/files/resource_files/Quest_to_LearnMacfoundReport.pdf
http://www.cogsci.rpi.edu/public_html/ruiz/EGDFall2013/readings/RhetoricVideoGames_Bogost.pdf
https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015/courseware/ac7f69bfecde48198dfaa58ae1cb40b6/25bedf9b46aa4dbfa9eaf5a0a27d4f4e/
For this week, we’re asking you to develop a pitch for a learning game you want to make over the duration of the rest of the course. Prof. Klopfer has addressed this in the introductory video, and Jason explains more above. Present the other members of the class with a brief explanation of a game you’d like to make (in the forums). You can do this in any form - text, video, slide presentation - just remember to make your links public before you share. Below are some important things to consider when making your pitch: Go With What You Know: For creating your first learning game, it’s probably a good idea to teach something you have some familiarity with. This will make it easier to generate content and come up with good ideas. Of course - this can backfire. If you’re too expert in your topic, it may be difficult to understand what might be challenging for novices to understand. Scope It Down: As Jason mentions in the video, don’t try to make a simulation of every aspect of a trip to Mars. Make as simple and small a game as you can to start. Make a simulator that will help understand climate on Mars instead. Focus Up: Make sure you get the most important details into your pitch: - Who is your audience? - What is your topic? Why is that interesting? - Briefly explain your game. What is the fun in your topic/game? - Where/how do you propose the game will be played? - Think about the curriculum assignment from Unit 1 - how do you think someone would use your game to teach? Remember, we encourage collaboration in this class, so be on the look out for people with similar interests - you might be able to team up and make an even more impressive project than you could make on your own. Guidance for Peer Feedback Provide feedback to at least three participants whose posts appear below yours. If those participants have already received feedback, look for participants who have not received any. Follow the Peer Review Feedback guidelines and consider the following: Do you think the game serves its purpose, meaning it is appropriate to the topic, audience, and how it will be used to teach? How can you help the participant improve his or game? You might suggest a change/addition (Ex.: Consider covering pre-alegra skills.) or a question (Ex.: Do you think this game could be used to assess learners' progress later in the year?). Did a participant's pitch prompt a change in your own thinking? If so, comment on it.

The goal of this assignment is for you to become more comfortable with Gameblox. We recommend that you pick a project and modify it in some way. You can pick a project from the demos page or any other Gameblox project you have seen. demo link Alternatively, if you have a simple game in mind, think of one small aspect of that game, and go ahead and build it in Gameblox. Don't make it fancy and don't make it elaborate. Just get it working and running so that you, the game designer, understand how that mechanic works and how your player will interact with it. If you are choosing to work in a different digital tool, do the same thing: get a very basic mechanic up and working. Post your game in the forums, and describe what changes you have made, and what challenges you ran into.

The goal of this assignment is for you to become more comfortable with Gameblox. We recommend that you pick a project and modify it in some way. You can pick a project from the demos page or any other Gameblox project you have seen. demo link Alternatively, if you have a simple game in mind, think of one small aspect of that game, and go ahead and build it in Gameblox. Don't make it fancy and don't make it elaborate. Just get it working and running so that you, the game designer, understand how that mechanic works and how your player will interact with it. If you are choosing to work in a different digital tool, do the same thing: get a very basic mechanic up and working. Post your game in the forums, and describe what changes you have made, and what challenges you ran into.

Hillary's Lesbian Lovers Named

Lesbian

Pamela Geller on Philadelphia TV

Philadelphia TV

Islamic Persecution of Christians

Persecution

Harvard Students Answer: what is a bigger threat to world peace?

Anerica's Future Leaders

Hammond, IN, Police Thugs Break Window, Taze Citizen

Thugs

St. Francis de Sales and Church Militant

St. Francis de Sales and Church Militant

Leading Catholic Theologian Nails Islamism

Killing is Muhammad's command.

Rate My Prof

Rate

Detention for Honoring Flag

Flag

How Americans Define Success

Success

Steve Harvey

College

Libertarian Rating of Governors

Rate

Assignment 1.2 Draft Curriculum

ASSIGNMENT 1.2: DRAFT CURRICULUM Suggested Due Date: 4/14/2015, 11:59 PM UTC For the second assignment in this unit, we’re asking you to draft a curriculum design - tell us how you would teach something with a game that already exists. Many of you may not have experience with designing curricula, but again this is a just a brief exercise to get you started thinking about how to teach with games. Here are some basic questions to consider (my game is Civilization IV):

WHO are your students? Consider their age, grade level, etc. My students are working age adults the average age about 35 And this is college level.

WHAT do you want them to learn? What are the content, skills, or ideas you want your students to come away with? ex: Underlying causes of the U.S. Civil War; Programming procedures; Pre-algebra understanding of variables I want them to learn history firsthand. The content is history but learning history skillfully through gameplay. The ideas I want them to come away with our depreciation of breaking difficult cultural decisions which may differ from the actual history, that is, counter history.

WHERE are students playing the game? What is the context? Are they playing the game and discussing it in more than one context? ex: At home; In a 6th grade Computer Science classroom; On the bus on their phone I would see them playing it for about one hour in a four hour class session. There is a possibility though which the game allows and that is to play online against other players.

WHY this game? What mechanics make it suited for this topic? ex: Role-playing as Abraham Lincoln, making decisions; Programming simple robots to complete game goals; Puzzles that require algebraic thinking to complete. The mechanics make it possible for students to make decisions about civilization and how history will unfold for them. They need to make decisions so that their civilization will survive and even flourish if possible.

HOW are you implementing the game? How are the learning goals of the game integrated into your activities and goals? ex: Before instruction, as a thought starter; As an in-class competition to stimulate peer learning; As extra credit or enrichment for a struggling student. The game is implemented as a part of the course in history. The game is integrated in that students are required to learn history but they should see it in a more personal way by building their own civilization. Peer learning is important because students need to learn the game and they can help one another and they need to compare their civilization with others.

As above, you need not create more than a page or a few minutes of video to make your point(s). Post your curriculum to a filesharing website (see our list if you don't already have a service you use), then post a link in your post in the forum. Check out how your peers responded. BE SURE TO MAKE THE DOCUMENT PUBLICLY VIEWABLE so that you classmates can see your work.

Guidance for Peer Feedback: Provide feedback to the two participants whose posts appear below yours. If those participants have already received feedback, look for participants who have not received any. Follow the Peer Review Feedback guidelines and consider the following: In your opinion, is this game suitable considering the subject matter and the identified students? Has the participant explained why this game will enable students to learn the desired subject/content? Do you think the game serves its purpose? Has the participant considered issues related to the implementation of the game? Examples: Would this game just be played once or would the students come back to it later? Would the students play the game with a limited population or everyone?

Percy Sledge, RIP

http://youtu.be/gOTRsq4Ogns

Mott The Hoople, Morgan Fisher

While on the subject of 70's albums, here's one I played on while I was with MTH. Every song is in a different style. Recorded in Nashville with Elvis' drummer and Dylan's bassist (or the other way round, can't remember). I think it's brilliant, even though it has a future Foreigner on it!   

"Rainbow Rider" by Mike Harrison

http://boyzmakenoyze.blogspot.jp/2011/0 ... inbow.html

Some videos here:

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22mike ... 42&bih=790

Enjoy!

Morgan

Games: Unit 1

Welcome to Unit 1!

• Case Study & Learning Games Landscape: Prof. Eric Klopfer and Scot Osterweil play and discuss MathBlaster and Zoombinis. They make some observations regarding the changing educational games landscape. 
• Meaning and Interaction - Prof. Sasha Barab explores several aspects of gameplay, including social interactions and how games can evoke emotions.
• Designer’s Perspective: Scot tells us about his experiences developing Zoombinis. 
• Evolution of Games for Learning: Eric and Prof. Kurt Squire talk about how games can contribute to learning and how educational games have evolved. 
• Analyzing Games: Eric introduces Dr. Konstantin Mitgutsch who talks about a framework for analysis that focuses on purpose and coherence. 

We will be reading James Paul Gee's "Learning and Games," a chapter in The Ecology of Games.  You may want to review the chapter prior to watching our conversations. 

Appearances by: Scot Osterweil, Sasha Barab, Kurt Squire, Konstantin Mitgutsch

http://youtu.be/b8AOpvAFcpI
https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015/xblock/block-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015+type@video+block@be6bd690d0f74649a7ddf3a3d03629cf/handler/transcript/download

https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015/xblock/block-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015+type@video+block@25622a94ac02454b942f9302e61304fe/handler/transcript/download
http://youtu.be/kyTnVfNhVZs
https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015/xblock/block-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015+type@video+block@10cd5dd9d793479b8e63b56ef9607d1b/handler/transcript/download
http://youtu.be/kyTnVfNhVZs
https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015/xblock/block-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015+type@video+block@67ccefbc02a740e58def02aecba67d7f/handler/transcript/download
http://youtu.be/duU9xLrrgFI
Another important piece in building your foundation is to understand that, until the advent of the personal computer, there were many more games that were for playing with others than there were for playing alone. In fact, many researchers are investigating whether playfulness in humans is (at least in part) a means of learning how to understand one another. It is only very, very recently in the history of humankind that we have played games alone for hours. In this video, Sasha and Eric explore the deep social power that games have.
https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015/xblock/block-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015+type@video+block@f8b1a983a36b45dbbb5f92de434af5f3/handler/transcript/download
http://youtu.be/MkNw4U50jCc
We have found a few resources that allow you to explore early digital games including early games for learning including:
PlayRetroGames - This site was suggested by a course participant.
http://www.playretrogames.com
Game-Oldies.com: Scot and Eric played the version of MathBlaster and Zoombinis found on this website.
http://game-oldies.com
Old-Games.Com: This website has an educational games section, but not all games are compatible with all computer set-ups/operating systems. If there is a game you're really interested in on this site, you might want to see if you can play it online somewhere else.
http://www.old-games.com/games/educational
America, a real-time strategy game similar to Age of Empires or Settlers, is set during the 90 years following the United States' Civil War. Choose to direct Settlers, Indians, Mexicans, or Desperados, and manage units and resources to colonize the land under their rule. Each group offers distinctive abilities and appearances, with ten unique missions available for each of the competing factions across fifteen different game maps. As the game progresses, individual units develop different morale, life, and experience statistics according to their situations. Horses are a particularly vital resource and players may choose to breed, buy, or steal them to develop a strong cavalry. America's multiplayer options support up to eight players across a network.
http://www.old-games.com/download/9069/a-m-e-r-i
Take a few minutes to play an early game (or games!) and reflect on how it might align more closely with MathBlaster or Zoombinis regarding mechanics, instructions, etc. What are the characteristics of the game that make it resemble one more than the other?
You are welcome to share your reflections with your classmates in the forum.


https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015/xblock/block-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015+type@video+block@d79092e158e24321b70d4a1e5921136c/handler/transcript/download
http://youtu.be/DG9NCol4KWI
Eric Klopfer talks with Prof. Kurt Squire of Games Learning Society (GLS) at the University of Wisconsin - Madison about influential educational technologies, what has made them valuable and how they can contribute to the learning process.
https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015/xblock/block-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015+type@video+block@265a3cd9f6fa4b84904ff28f5e60fd2a/handler/transcript/download
http://youtu.be/gfXejBle98c
Eric and Kurt continue their conversation about the history of educational games and how key technological developments have changed the focus and design of games.
https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015/xblock/block-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015+type@video+block@1ca7578d418c451cb896da5708db4c83/handler/transcript/download
http://youtu.be/adWpQuH6EVM
Use the list of games you created in Unit 0 to make a selective timeline of your own gameplay. As you make your timeline, note key events or technologies that may have influenced changes in your play. You can draw it on a piece of paper, make a presentation, or create a digital document, whichever is easiest for you. When you are done, review your timeline and highlight the educational games. Were your experiences playing these educational games more or less important than your experiences playing non-educational games? Did you play educational games in certain times of your life and maybe not in others?
You are welcome to share your timeline in the forum. If you choose to do so, be sure to save your document or take a picture of your work if you did it by hand. Then upload your file to your favorite filesharing site and select PUBLIC under your sharing settings. Post a link to your work and share any thoughts you have on the exercise.
Activity Break: Mapping Your Gameplay
https://voice.adobe.com/a/7jkZ8
Eric Klopfer introduces Dr. Konstantin Mitgutsch of Playful Solutions and his Serious Games Design Assessment Framework for analyzing serious games. This framework will provide some factors to consider as you reflect on some of the games we have discussed this week. It wil also be helpful as you begin to consider ideas for your final project. In addition, you are encouraged to use the Serious Games Desgin [sic] Assessment Framework for one of this unit's assignments: evaluating a game of your choice.
https://studio.edx.org/asset-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015+type@asset+block@Purposeful_by_Design.pdf
https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015/xblock/block-v1:MITx+11.127x+1T2015+type@video+block@4a3c65b608594b74913a2cbac12c4be0/handler/transcript/download
http://youtu.be/9p8pxMJK4U8
ASSIGNMENT 1.1: EVALUATE A GAME
Suggested Due Date: 4/14/2015, 11:59 PM UTC
For this first assignment, pick a game and try to evaluate whether or not you think it’s a useful learning tool.
We know you are not yet an expert - we are asking you to use the points of view presented in the videos and the readings to launch your own thinking. There is no perfect way to evaluate a game, and your opinion is valid. There are several ways to approach thinking about this assignment. You might compare and contrast the game with a more traditional curriculum or activity. You might use the video and tool provided by Mitgutsch and Alvarado as a jumping off point for evaluating the game.
This is intended to be a brief assignment to get you thinking. You need not create more than a page or a few minutes of video to make your point(s). As with last unit, post it to a filesharing website (see our list if you don't already have a service you use), then post a link to your evaluation in the forums. Check out how your peers responded. BE SURE TO MAKE THE DOCUMENT PUBLICLY VIEWABLE so that you classmates can see your work.
Guidance for Peer Feedback
Provide feedback to the two participants whose posts appear below yours. If those participants have already received feedback, look for participants who have not received any. Follow the Peer Review Feedback guidelines and consider the following:
What is your definition of a "useful learning tool?" Does the participant you are providing feedback to seem to share the same definition? If the participant's understanding seems very different or identifies a characteristic of a useful learning tool that you find to be interesting or valuable, comment on that. How did the participant analyze/evaluate the chosen game? Did their evaluation yield a surprising insight or change your thinking regarding the game?
ASSIGNMENT 1.2: DRAFT CURRICULUM Suggested Due Date: 4/14/2015, 11:59 PM UTC For the second assignment in this unit, we’re asking you to draft a curriculum design - tell us how you would teach something with a game that already exists. Many of you may not have experience with designing curricula, but again this is a just a brief exercise to get you started thinking about how to teach with games. Here are some basic questions to consider (my game is Civilization IV): WHO are your students? Consider their age, grade level, etc. My students are working age adults the average age about 35 And this is college level. WHAT do you want them to learn? What are the content, skills, or ideas you want your students to come away with? ex: Underlying causes of the U.S. Civil War; Programming procedures; Pre-algebra understanding of variables I want them to learn history firsthand. The content is history but learning history skillfully through gameplay. The ideas I want them to come away with our depreciation of breaking difficult cultural decisions which may differ from the actual history, that is, counter history. WHERE are students playing the game? What is the context? Are they playing the game and discussing it in more than one context? ex: At home; In a 6th grade Computer Science classroom; On the bus on their phone I would see them playing it for about one hour in a four hour class session. There is a possibility though which the game allows and that is to play online against other players. WHY this game? What mechanics make it suited for this topic? ex: Role-playing as Abraham Lincoln, making decisions; Programming simple robots to complete game goals; Puzzles that require algebraic thinking to complete. The mechanics make it possible for students to make decisions about civilization and how history will unfold for them. They need to make decisions so that their civilization will survive and even flourish if possible. HOW are you implementing the game? How are the learning goals of the game integrated into your activities and goals? ex: Before instruction, as a thought starter; As an in-class competition to stimulate peer learning; As extra credit or enrichment for a struggling student. The game is implemented as a part of the course in history. The game is integrated in that students are required to learn history but they should see it in a more personal way by building their own civilization. Peer learning is important because students need to learn the game and they can help one another and they need to compare their civilization with others. As above, you need not create more than a page or a few minutes of video to make your point(s). Post your curriculum to a filesharing website (see our list if you don't already have a service you use), then post a link in your post in the forum. Check out how your peers responded. BE SURE TO MAKE THE DOCUMENT PUBLICLY VIEWABLE so that you classmates can see your work. Guidance for Peer Feedback: Provide feedback to the two participants whose posts appear below yours. If those participants have already received feedback, look for participants who have not received any. Follow the Peer Review Feedback guidelines and consider the following: In your opinion, is this game suitable considering the subject matter and the identified students? Has the participant explained why this game will enable students to learn the desired subject/content? Do you think the game serves its purpose?

Has the participant considered issues related to the implementation of the game? Examples: Would this game just be played once or would the students come back to it later? Would the students play the game with a limited population or everyone?

Introduction to Gameblox In this Unit, we continue our exploration of Gameblox, the digital game engine we are using in this course. Gameblox is a blocks-based programming language, similar to Scratch or MIT App Inventor. It is currently being developed by the MIT STEP Lab and participants in this course will have early access to Gameblox. If you haven't done so already, we encourage you to explore Gameblox and become familiar with the platform (If you're new to the course, consider commenting on your experience in the Assignment 0.2 forum. Need help? Ask in the Gameblox forums.). The goal is to explain the basic interface, point you at the built-in Gameblox tutorials, and encourage you to read through the examples given in the Help function. Gameblox HelpIf you are looking for support in Gameblox beyond the basic help functions and interface walkthrough, please visit the course discussion forums. There, you’ll find the Gameblox Help forums. There are threads for FAQs, release updates, tips for getting started, and bug reports. There is also a Gameblox show and tell forum to show off anything you've created in Gameblox. Note that you can always find Gameblox by selecting Gameblox from the menu at the top of the edX page. The next pages of this section will detail the Gameblox website and screen, and show you how to navigate them.

THE HOME PAGE The Gameblox home pageWhen you first visit the Gameblox site, you'll see something that looks like the picture to the right. The My Games section may be empty. Once you've created games of your own, they'll appear in My Games. Featured Projects will appear underneath, and if you keep scrolling down, you'll be able to see the Demos section, which are essentially small examples demonstrating a particular game mechanic or action you can create in Gameblox. GAMEBLOX PAGE NAVIGATION Top of Gameblox Home Menu BarGameblox's navigation menu is at the top of the page. To create a new game, click CREATE NEW GAME. If you wish to jump directly to the small project code samples section, click DEMOS. Clicking ACCOUNT will help you find all of the games you have created. Gameblox logo Clicking the GAMEBLOX logo at the top of any page in the Gameblox website will bring you back to the Gameblox home page, where you can see your games, Featured Projects, and Demo projects. (You may have to scroll down to find some sections.) For example, if you select ACCOUNT and only your own games are listed, you can return to the main page by clicking the GAMEBLOX logo. You will, once again, be able to see the Featured Projects and Demo projects.

MY GAMES From the My Games section of the Gameblox site, you can easily start editing or playing one of your games. Click the Edit button on one of your projects to start editing; click the Play button to jump to the play screen. THE PLAY SCREEN Click inside of the game screen to start Gameblox. The game may also require other clicks or keystrokes to get started, depending on your design. If you choose to Stop Game, you will need to click Reset Game to restart playing. The Edit button will take you to the Gameblox editor. If you choose to Create A Copy of the game, that will also take you to the Gameblox editor with a fresh copy of the project you were looking at. This is useful if you are going to experiment with new ideas and would like to keep a backup of an earlier version of your game. The Delete Project button will delete your project permanently! Be careful with this button!

THE GAMEBLOX EDITOR As soon as you select Create New Game, or Edit an existing project, you will find yourself in the Gameblox Editor. From here, you can design the physical layout of the game, create and edit game objects, and put together code blocks to control the behavior of the game. That's a lot of functionality, and so the Editor screen has multiple buttons, menus, and submenus to allow you to work on every aspect of your game. After a quick walkthrough of the Editor's layout, it should make more sense and be easier to navigate. EDITING MODES There are three major modes available in the Gameblox Editor: Design, Blocks, and Play. You can tell which mode you are in by colour: the orange button is the currently selected view. The picture of the bar above was taken in Design view. Click on the Design button to go into Design mode. Design mode allows you to create sprites (objects in your game), labels (for text and numbers on screen), and text inputs (for your players to enter data). Design mode also allows you to place objects on the game screen as they will appear at the start of game. You can also change the background appearance of your game in Design mode. Click on the Blocks button to go into Blocks mode, which is where you can find code blocks for your game can put them together to make your game behave the way you want. Click on the Play button to go to the Play mode and try out your game. To give your game a unique name, type in the new name in the box that says New Game. If you are working with a game copy, the original game's name will be in the box instead. Periodically use the Save button to save your game and its new name. Any changes you make to your game will not be preserved unless you click Save! If you want to get right to the introductory walkthroughs and demonstrations, click on either of theHelp buttons in the Gameblox Editor.

GOAL Create a new game on the Gameblox website. Once you are in the editor, use the Help button to bring up the tutorials and walkthroughs. Complete the Getting Started Tutorial. You may choose to look through the other tutorials but they are not required for this assignment. Click the Launch Gameblox button Click the CREATE NEW GAME button on the Gameblox website to start a new project. Click the Help button in the Gameblox editor to bring up a menu of tutorials. Click on the blue links and complete the five Getting Started Tutorials for Assignment 1. There is no peer assessment for this assignment. However, please report your successes, challenges, and results in the Discussion forums.

National Security Breakdown on Islamism

Islamism

http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2015/04/13/listen-a-leading-national-security-advisor-and-islamic-law-expert-explains-how-and-why-america-is-losing-to-jihadists/

40 Presentation Tools

40

Islamic State Beheads Obama

Beheading

Cambridge Boston Mosque Reject Obama's Counter-Terrorism

Islamism

Rand Paul at the Values Voter Summit

Values Voter

Skateboard at 60 Crash

Skate

National Guard Violates the 1st Amendment

National Guard

KFC Customer Refused Hand-Wipe to Accomodate Islamic Halal Policy

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/ KFC Customer

Coexist with Islam: Kaboom!

9 Year Teaches Schoolboard

9 Year Old

Lamar Consolidated Independent School District Enforces Sharia Law

Teacher Tells the Truth

Not All For-Profit Colleges Default

University of Phoenix, ITT, Kaplan, and Devry are the worst.

Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque

Music appreciation

South Carolina Cop Murder, Shoots in Back

Dash cam car stop

South Carolina

Dancing with the Doggie Star

Dancing

D.C. Loses Power

D.C.

Games, Week 1, List of Games as Classified

Post a link to your list of games in the FORUMS (or just paste it in). Check out how your peers responded.

Childhood games
Simon Says
Jump rope
Marbles
Hop Scotch

Youth games
Baseball
Running bases
Basketball
Life
Strategy
Civil war
Football

Young adult/mature games 
Pong
Card games
Civilization
Rise of Rome

Games: Week 1

For this unit, we have an exercise to help you start thinking about games. This exercise has two parts and can take no more than 15 minutes (although you can work on it as long as you like). First, set a timer for 10 minutes and write down the name of every game you have ever played.  It doesn't matter what kind of game it is, just list every game. When your timer goes off, categorize the games according to whatever groupings you feel are meaningful - number of players, common mechanics, location, theme. Whatever groupings you think are important or interesting.

You can compile your categories for submission in text or visually, whichever works for you. Once you have your document, image or spreadsheet, post it to a filesharing website (see our list if you don't already have a service your use).  BE SURE TO MAKE THE DOCUMENT PUBLICLY VIEWABLE so that you classmates can see your work.

Post a link to your list of games in the FORUMS (or just paste it in). Check out how your peers responded.

Childhood games
Simon Says
Jump rope
Marbles
Hop Scotch

Youth games
Baseball
Running bases
Basketball
Life
Strategy
Civil war
Football

Young adult/mature games Pong
Card games
Civilization
Rise of Rome

* Please provide feedback to the 3 participants whose posts appear below yours in the Assignment 0.1 forum thread. We'd like everyone's list to receive feedback. *

Consider the Peer Review Guidelines (located in the Collaboration section of this unit) and the following prompts:

• Briefly compare and constrast your choice of groupings with the participant's. Comment on how the participant's list may have reshaped your thinking.
• Note one grouping you find to be particularly interesting and explain why. 

South Carolina Highway Patrol Shoot Man Complying with Law

South Carolina

Apple Watch

Watch

Dreamer Displaces American Kid at Harvard

Dream

Serious Games, Reacting to the Past, Civilization, Sid Meier

Reacting to the Past

Pedagogical Introduction

http://reacting.barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline/reacting_pedagogical_introduction-9-20-2010.pdf

Mark Carnes, Minds On Fire, Harvard University Press

Games in the Classroom

Gaming

Gaming the Past, Jeremiah McCall

Evidence for Nixon Cover-Up for My Lai: Standard Practice by Obama today, Benghazi, Fast and Furious, etc.

Standard Practice by Obama

Jade Helm: Military Invades America in Psych Ops Operation

Jade Helm Arrest

Counter Jade Helm Laptop Measures

Counter

No access to operations

Texans Wary

Ann Arbor, MI

Outside Flint, MI

Military Blows Up Flint, MI

45% of voters are concerned that the government will use U.S. military training operations to impose greater control over some states, with 19% who are Very Concerned. 

Just 20% of voters now consider the federal government a protector of individual liberty. Sixty percent (60%) see the government as a threat to individual liberty instead.  Only19% trust the federal government to do the right thing all or most of the time.

Congressman: Pentagon Practising War on States
The Texas State Guard is a militia--think 2nd Amendment--that does not answer to a president such as the state National Guard.
White House Says Stand Down
National Guard Riot Prepared
Governor orders Texas Guard to prevent Federal takeover.
Importing Islamic fighters
The Lt. Col. did not go over well with all members of the audience.
Pointed Question and Answer session, Bastrop County, Texas
Military Spokesperson at Bastrop County meetingpresents.
Troops Called into Baltimore
AARP Declares Martial Law
Marines Training for Riot Control Against the Americsns
http://youtu.be/Kge_G7gcKyE
The Marines, “Conducted an operational readiness exercise, which evaluates the team’s ability to perform riot control,” according to a description which accompanies the video. “The ORE determines of the marines are ready to take their final step in pre-deployment training. After completing and meeting the requirements of the ORE evaluation the Marines will go to Quantico, Virginia for their final phase of pre-deployment training.”
However, the video, which shows Marines taking on irate demonstrators with pepper spray, batons and rifles, will only serve to heighten concerns that the U.S. Army and the federal government are preparing for more civil unrest in America in the aftermath of the Ferguson, Missouri riots.
The fact that the training exercise has been presented for the consumption of the American public also raises questions as to its intended purpose.
Knoxville, TN, military and police train for riot control.
The official spokesperson, Thomas Meade, for the related Jade Helm training states:

"We are not training for Iraq or Afghanistan, we are training for a future fight and that's why we need the help of the world community."

When asked by the City Council if U.N. or international troops have been used previously the answer was "I am not sure if that has occurred."

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=71GPrClEssE

The evidence leads me to conclude that the future fight will be here in the United States assisted by international forces.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1L-U5oKo5Ig

Said Councilman Bobby McDonald: "The community will be aware sometimes that they're here, and sometimes the community won't be aware. Sometimes they will be in uniform, and sometimes they will not be in uniform."

Why does the military need to train and sneak up around American civilians? If this was training for an overseas operations we would not be tiptoeing in.

Training could not be done on a military base?

Stop Jade Helm in Arizona
Fight Like You Train
Are we being told the next fight is against the Americans?


Pico Rivera, CA Walmart
Minister Paul, Walmart, Pico Rivera
Ft. Irwin/I-15/Barstow massive military buildup
Ontario, Jade Helm

Corona, Pico Rivera, Turkish Pilots in Texas
Operation Jade Helm Secret Location; Live Fire 27th Field Artillery 3 27 HIMARS, 3:06
https://youtu.be/8NVgkwhH9aY
Operation Jade Helm Secret Loacation [sic]; 27th Field Artillery at National Training Center 3 27 HIMARS 3rd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery at National Training Center
This work, 3-27 HIMARS B-Roll at NTC - (Short Version), by CPT Devon Thomas, identified by DVIDS, is free of known copyright restrictions under U.S. copyright law.
Lakehurst, N.J.
Operation Jade Helm FEMA Region 1: Homeland Response to catastrophic Biological and Nuclear Attack, 1:00
Homeland Response Force Annual Exercise at Lakehurst, NJ Over 600 Army & Air National Guardsmen from New York and New Jersey took part in a 3-Day full scale urban search and rescue exercise at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ from April 16th to April 18th, 2015. The New York and New Jersey's Homeland Response Force's mission is to respond to catastrophic Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives events in FEMA Region 1.
https://youtu.be/8-PMvzfs0fE
North Caroline, Operation Jade Helm; 50 US and UK Paratroopers injured in Major Airborne Operation, 2:24
https://youtu.be/QGQhIUj00WU
Published on Apr 16, 2015
Operation Jade Helm; 50 US and UK Paratroopers injured in Major Airborne Operation About 50 paratroopers were injured Monday after a large-scale airborne operation conducted by the 82nd Airborne Division and the United Kingdom's 16 Air Assault Brigade.
About 2,100 paratroopers participated in Monday night's airborne operation. Most of the injured troops were Americans; about 10 were British paratroopers, said Lt. Col. Cathy Wilkinson, a spokeswoman for the 82nd Airborne Division.
The paratroopers were taken to Womack Army Medical Center on Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to be evaluated by medical personnel, the 82nd Airborne said in a statement http://www.armytimes.com/story/milita...
Staunton, VA
http://youtu.be/ooZ_vOdaXOk

California Too


Jonestown, PA

Iowa WMD drill

Michigan Dirty Bomb

Military Trains Against Civilians
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uVXj5Idii6s
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6u2P3jcvQrY
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PBFivBxOryo
Another Texas County Concerned About Jade Helm

History of the Phoenix Program and Now Jade Helm
Washington Post says nothing to see here folks.

Americans are the enemy.

Texas

Vid

Craig's List ad for victims to be rescued.

Jade Helm starting early


Military-Police Line Blur in Exercizes
Currently, there is a less lethal weapons solicitation advertised by Homeland Security.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intends to solicit responses to Request for Information (RFI) 20082225-JTC for Less Lethal Specialty Munitions (LLSM) for use by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). CBP is interested in incorporating commercial and industry practices that support this type of procurement. To accomplish this, CBP intends to make industry a partner in all facets of the acquisition process, specifically by considering existing market capabilities, strengths and weaknesses for the acquisition of this commodity.

The requested equipment includes:

Hand Delivered Pyrotechnic Canisters, including

• Smoke Canister for Training (Reduced Toxicity)
• Continuous Discharge Large Smoke Canister (Operations)
• Continuous Discharge CS Canister
• Orange Colored Smoke Canister
• Green Colored Smoke Canister
• Pocket Tactical Smoke Canister
• Pocket Tactical CS Canister
• Three Part Sub-Munitions CS Canister
• Non-Burning Internal Canister OC Grenade

Non-Pyrotechnic Indoor/Outdoor Use

• Flameless Expulsion Grenade (OC)
• Flameless Expulsion Grenade (CS)
• Flameless Expulsion Grenade (Inert)

Hand Delivered Rubber Ball Grenades

• Rubber Ball Grenade
• Rubber Ball Grenade (CS)

40mm Launched Specialty Impact Munitions

• 40mm Direct Impact Sponge Cartridge
  40mm Direct Impact Sponge Cartridge (OC)
• 40mm Direct Impact Sponge Cartridge (Marking)
• 40mm Direct Impact Sponge Cartridge (Inert)
• 40mm Sponge Training Rounds

Crowd Management Projectile Cartridges

• 40mm Smokeless Powder Blast (OC)
• 40mm Smokeless Powder Blast (CS)
• 40mm Long Range Canister (CS)
• 40mm Long Range Canister (Smoke)
• 40mm Cartridge Four Part Sub-Munitions (CS)
• 40mm Cartridge Four Part Sub-Munitions (Smoke)
• 40mm Aerial Warning Munitions (100 Meters)
• 40mm Aerial Warning Munitions (200 Meters)
• 40mm Aerial Warning Munitions (300 Meters)
• 40mm Aerial Warning Munitions OC (100 Meters)
• 40mm Aerial Warning Munitions OC (200 Meters)
• 40mm Aerial Warning Munitions OC (300 Meters)

Controlled Noise And Light Distraction Devices

• Distraction Device Compact
• Distraction Device
• Distraction Device Reloadable Steel Body
• Distraction Device Reload
• Command Initiated Distraction Device Reload
• Distraction Device Training Fuse
• Distraction Device Training Body
• Multiple Detonation Distraction Device
• Low Profile Distraction Device
• Command Initiator

Ferret Rounds

• 40mm Ferret Round (OC Powder)
• 40mm Ferret Round (OC Liquid)
• 40mm Ferret Round (CS Powder)
• 40mm Ferret Round (CS Liquid)
• 40mm Ferret Round (Inert Powder)

The ferret rounds are designed to penetrate barriers and deliver debilitating or disrupting chemicals:

“The projectile shall be designed to penetrate barriers of glass, particle board, and interior walls. Upon impact of the barrier, the nose cone will rupture and instantaneously deliver the OC liquid on the other side of the barrier. “

Separate "dirty bomb" exercise brings hundreds of soldiers to Northern California.

Methane over Four Corners Investigated








Marines in California and Arizona

DeKalb, Illinois, Police Violate Constitution

Constitution

Repairing Rio's Christ

Christ

Eight Books on How FDR Prolonged the Great Depression

8 Books

Global Warming Study Shows Not by Human Action

Study

Misleading Feminism

Misleading

Obama Haman

Haman

1962, Aldous Huxley at Berkeley, The Ultimate Revolution

The Ultimate Revolution

Youthful Radical Hillary Reaches Out to Agitator Saul Alinsky

Young Radical, Hillary

Mass Suicide Pilot Praised as Islamist

Pilot

Grover Norquist Islamist

Islamist

Liberty Beats Common Core

Liberty

Cornell Welcomes Islamic Terror

Welcome

Loch Aerie

The Library of Congress documented the mansion. Over the years the mansion has been the site of several interesting stories including spinster sisters, motorcycle gangs, and the owner himself.

Loch Aerie Mansion Tour from Old House Tours on Vimeo.

Housekaboodle

It was designed and built by Addison Hutton.

It was made into a gingerbread house.

Rare to Common Core: College Degree Over 40 Years

Common

Students Launch Facial Recognition Drone in a Day

Drone

What Is Your Learning Style?

Test

Natural Born Killers: Chimps

Chimps

Department of Injustice and Liberal Group Attack Free Inquiry

Injustice

How Much Obama Loathes Israel

Commentary

Drone with Arms to Turn

Drone

Death Panels Based on Economics Moving Forward

Death

Apple to Block Big Brother

Phone

Hillary's Emails

Hillary

Jets in Death Valley

Jets

Lie Witness News

Lie

St. Patrick

St. Patrick

Life:
http://youtu.be/FUwtpPLyRnk

http://youtu.be/FUwtpPLyRnk

Mic'd Up

Creativity and Insight

Creativity

More Bad Advice for Graduate Students

More

Thug Notes Wisecrack

Thug

LBJ: On His Nuts

Nuts

Welcome to Graduate School!

Welcome

Obama's Goal Achieved: Ferguson Violence

Ferguson

Rand Paul on Limiting Obama's War Mongering

Rand

CNN's Reza Aslan to Attack Jesus

Aslan, for one, has a long history of attacking Christians and Christianity. Late last year, for instance, he claimed that the Bible was full of “historical errors,” despite that he is not a historian or a biblical scholar.

But even as he has made a career of attacking Christians, Aslan does have support for one religion.

As comedian Bill Maher has increased his verbal assault on radical Islam, Aslan has come to Islam’s support and said that Maher is engaging in “frank bigotry.” In another case, Aslan claimed that Sam Harris’ criticism of Islam was paranoid, “uninformed,” and “unsophisticated.”


CNN to attack Jesus.

What Was the Worst School Massacre in American History? Hint: Not Newtown, CT

The worst school massacre in American history. Today, the media was be in a frenzy, there would be calls to ban guns, and politicians would exploit it against citizens who do not like paying taxes.

Obama Funding Islamist Nigerian Schools

Islamist Schools

Sharia Law Enforced in Paterson, N.J.

Sharia Law In Islam, dogs are haram, sinful. So what happens when a military vet with a service dog would like food? He is denied service, in violation of Federal law, then when interviewed the owners practice takiya, lying which is acceptable in Islam if it advances the faith. Sent from East of Eden

U.S. Jihadi Interview

Cincinnati News, FOX19-WXIX TV

Islamist Plot to Kill Obama

Islamist

Jersey Jihad Killing

Muslims Kill Random Americans

Islamists Support Hillary to Repress Women and Children

Islamists

Homosexuality, Natural Rights, Marriage

Homosexuality not genetic
Not hardwired
In classical antiquity, writers such as Herodotus, Plato, Xenophon, Athenaeus and many others explored aspects of same-sex love in ancient Greece. The most widespread and socially significant form of same-sex sexual relations in ancient Greece was between adult men and pubescent or adolescent boys, known as pederasty (marriages in Ancient Greece between men and women were also age structured, with men in their thirties commonly taking wives in their early teens). Though homosexual relationships between adult men did exist, at least one member of each of these relationships flouted social conventions by assuming a passive sexual role. It is unclear how such relations between women were regarded in the general society, but examples do exist as far back as the time of Sappho.
The ancient Greeks did not conceive of sexual orientation as a social identifier as modern Western societies have done. Greek society did not distinguish sexual desire or behavior by the gender of the participants, but rather by the role that each participant played in the sex act, that of active penetrator or passive penetrated. This active/passive polarization corresponded with dominant and submissive social roles: the active (penetrative) role was associated with masculinity, higher social status, and adulthood, while the passive role was associated with femininity, lower social status, and youth.
Same-sex attitudes and behaviors in ancient Rome often differ markedly from those of the contemporary West. Latin lacks words that would precisely translate "homosexual" and "heterosexual". The primary dichotomy of ancient Roman sexuality was active/dominant/masculine and passive/submissive/"feminized". Roman society was patriarchal, and the freeborn male citizen possessed political liberty (libertas) and the right to rule both himself and his household (familia). "Virtue" (virtus) was seen as an active quality through which a man (vir) defined himself. The conquest mentality and "cult of virility" shaped same-sex relations. Roman men were free to enjoy sex with other males without a perceived loss of masculinity or social status, as long as they took the dominant or penetrative role. Acceptable male partners were slaves, prostitutes, and entertainers, whose lifestyle placed them in the nebulous social realm of infamia, excluded from the normal protections accorded a citizen even if they were technically free. Although Roman men in general seem to have preferred youths between the ages of 12 and 20 as sexual partners, freeborn male minors were strictly off-limits, and professional prostitutes and entertainers might be considerably older.
Same-sex relations among women are less documented. Although Roman women of the upperclasses were educated, and are known to have written poetry and corresponded with male relatives, very few fragments of anything that might have been written by women survive. Male writers took little interest in how women experienced sexuality in general; the Augustan poet Ovid takes an exceptionally keen interest, but advocates for a heterosexual lifestyle contrary to Roman sexual norms. During the Republic and early Principate, little is recorded of sexual relations among women, but better and more varied evidence, though scattered, exists for the later Imperial period.
Opposition to marriage privatization, like its endorsement, is equally likely to be found arising from conservative or liberal sources and a wide variety of objections are made.
Some opponents of marriage privatization can argue that such a policy will simply shift the current debate over same-sex marriage to civil unions.
Conservative religious opponents of same-sex marriage may feel that privatizing marriage is still a state endorsement of what they consider to be immoral unions between homosexual couples. Thus many of the same religious arguments aimed against same-sex marriage might be applied to marriage privatization as well.[citation needed] Conservative evangelical Baptist R. Albert Mohler, Jr. has stated that he opposes the privatizaton of marriage because "markets do not always encourage or support moral behavior" and he believes the proposal would "[destroy] marriage as a public institution."
Princeton professor Robert P. George has argued that marriage has an important cultural role in helping children develop into "basically honest, decent law abiding people of goodwill– citizens– who can take their rightful place in society". Thus, he concludes, "Family is built on marriage, and government- the state- has a profound interest in the integrity and well-being of marriage, and to write it off as if it were purely a religiously significant action and not an institution and action that has a profound public significance, would be a terrible mistake". This position is seconded by Jennifer Morse of the Witherspoon Institute, who argues that if literally anyone can define marriage as whatever they want, the state forfeits the ability to sufficiently secure the best interests of children. She goes further, arguing that the logic of marriage privatization "at the expense of children, is a concept developed by adults that will benefit only adults."
Stanley Kurtz of National Review has written that privatization would be a "disaster". He argued that government "still has to decide what sort of private unions merit benefits... under this privatization scheme", and then "we also get the same quarrels over social recognition that we got before privatization." He commented that the government will have to deal with polygamous, polyamorous, and incestuous relationships attempting to obtain contracts under the new scheme as well as attempts by heterosexual acquaintances to make "marriages of convenience" to obtain things such as spousal medical insurance. His National Review colleague Maggie Gallagher has also called privatization as a "fantasy" since "[t]here is scarcely a dollar that state and federal government spends on social programs that is not driven in large part by family fragmentation: crime, poverty, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, school failure, mental and physical health problems."
•Marriage as existing solely between one man and one woman precedes civil government.
•Marriage is the preeminent and the most fundamental of all human social institutions... Society begins with marriage and the family.
Lola, Kinks
"Lola" is a song written by Ray Davies and performed by English rock band the Kinks on their album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One. The song details a romantic encounter between a young man and a possible transgender woman, whom he meets in a club in Soho, London. In the song, the narrator describes his confusion towards a person named Lola who "walked like a woman and talked like a man". The song was released in the United Kingdom on 12 June 1970, while in the United States it was released on 28 June 1970. Commercially, the single reached number two on the UK Singles Chart[2] and number nine on the Billboard Hot 100.[3] However, due to its controversial subject matter and use of the brand name Coca-Cola, the single received backlash and even bans in Britain and Australia.

"Walk on the Wild Side" is a song by Lou Reed from his second solo album, Transformer (1972). It was produced by David Bowie. The song received wide radio coverage, despite its touching on taboo topics such as transsexuality, drugs, male prostitution and oral sex. In the United States, RCA released the single using an edited version of the song without the reference to oral sex. The lyrics, describing a series of individuals and their journeys to New York City, refer to several of the regular "superstars" at Andy Warhol's New York studio, the Factory, namely Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Dallesandro, Jackie Curtis and Joe Campbell (referred to in the song by his nickname Sugar Plum Fairy). Candy Darling was also the subject of Reed's earlier song for The Velvet Underground, "Candy Says".

All The Young Dudes, Mott the Hoople's single, was released in July 1972 and made No. 3 in the UK charts, No. 37 in the US (in November) and No. 31 in Canada, and appeared on their album of the same name in September of that year. In November 1972, Bowie introduced the band on stage at the Tower near Philadelphia and performed the song with Hunter (released on All the Way from Stockholm to Philadelphia in 1998 and the expanded version of All The Young Dudes in 2006).

Even though the band was heterosexual, this became a gay anthem, at least in America, thanks to lyrics like "Lucy looks sweet 'cause he dresses like a queen." This was the nature of glam rock, a style that emerged in England in the early '70s where singers performed in makeup and feminine clothes while playing bombastic rock songs. The performers were not necessarily gay, but they definitely blurred gender roles. Bowie may have been the biggest influence on glam rock.

After the first recording session for this song, Bowie thought it was lagging at the end. Mott lead singer Ian Hunter responded with the idea for the one-way conversation, which begins with him saying, "Hey, you down there, you with the glasses!" Said Hunter: "I remembered an encounter I'd had with a heckler during a recent gig at the Rainbow [in London]. He was annoying me, and I ended up pouring beer all over him." In any case, Luther Grovesvenor join the band not long after this became a hit and Luther went by the nom de plume Ariel Bender which is British slang for a homosexual.

Ian Hunter, Is Your Love in Vain? Dylan cover

Is Your Love in Vain?

Lanny Davis Cleans Up After Hillary Emails

Cleanup

Islamist Recruiter at Harvard

Harvard

Delaware Radio Host Fired for Islamist Comments

Sharia Radio

Liberals Salute America: Robin Williams

Robin

Graphic Content: Christian Walks in Israel

Walking

Child Executed by Militia vs. Islamic State

Shia militia

Saudis Fund Cambridge & Boston Mosque

Saudis

Clinton's Islamist Emails

Judicial Watch Acts Quickly to Obtain Hidden Clinton Emails Hillary Clinton, as her new email scandal shows, thinks she is above the law. Why else hide emails for years from the American people? Her record is one of contempt for the rule of law and the people's right to know about what their government is up to - especially in the area of foreign relations. To quickly get to the heart of the Clinton email scandal and vindicate our nation's basic transparency law, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), we filed this week a FOIA lawsuit against the U.S. State Department seeking any and all communications - including emails - from then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Chief of Staff Huma Abedin with Nagla Mahmoud, the wife of ousted radical Islamist Egyptian president Mohammad Morsi, from January 21, 2009 to January 31, 2013. This could mark a major turning point because the lawsuit will require the State Department to answer questions about and conduct thorough searches of Hillary Clinton's newly discovered personal email accounts. Judicial Watch also has nearly a dozen other active FOIA lawsuits that may require the State Department to search these email accounts. Huma Abedin is also alleged to have a secret account on Hillary's personal email set-up as well. (Abedin, like many in Hillary's orbit, has a dubious ethical history that has previously attracted Judicial Watch scrutiny.) There's some additional drama here that could add some new twists to this now growing scandal. JidadWatch.org has reported that Ms. Mahmoud threatened Mrs. Clinton after Morsi was ousted. According to JihadWatch.org: In the words of El-Mogaz News, Morsi's wife "is threatening to expose the special relationship between her husband and Hillary Clinton, after the latter attacked the ousted [president], calling him a simpleton who was unfit for the presidency. Sources close to Nagla confirmed that she has threatened to publish the letters exchanged between Morsi and Hillary." And Ms. Abedin's family is no stranger to the Muslim Brotherhood, as her mother is a leading member of its offshoot, the Muslim Sisterhood. As one report explains, the Muslim Brotherhood operates "under a five-part credo: Allah is our objective; the Qur'an is our constitution; the prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; death for the sake of Allah is our wish." And, as JW uncovered, fronts for this terrorist movement seem to behind the Obama administration's censoring of anything remotely critical in federal counter-terrorism training of radical Islam. So now we know why the State Department didn't want to respond to our specific request for communications by Mrs. Clinton and Ms. Abedin. Instead of acknowledging that it couldn't and wouldn't search the private accounts that the State Department has known about for years now, the agency simply choose to violate the FOIA law. Once again, domestic politics have been elevated above the need for sound public policy. This lawsuit shows how the latest Obama administration cover-up isn't just about domestic politics but has significant foreign policy implications. These implications may lead to Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration possibly kowtowing to radical Islamists in Egypt, Libya, and in other parts of the Middle East, resulting in war and loss of American lives.

Obama Regime Targets Democrat Menendez

Melendez Criticizes Regime; Regime Retaliates

Muslim School Punishment

The children are our future.

Pro-Israel Students Arrested

Rabbi Danielle LeShaw told the Ohio University student-run newspaper The Post that the four students were charged with a fourth-degree misdemeanor of “disturbing a lawful meeting.” Under Ohio law, the charge can carry a maximum sentence of up to 30 days in jail and a $250 fine, the newspaper reported. The students, identified as Maxwell Peltz, 20; Rebecca Sebo, 22; Gabriel Sirkin, 20; Jonah Yulish, 19, were released after they were arrested and ordered to appear in court Thursday morning. Student senate President Megan Marzec last week posted video of what she called a “blood bucket challenge” — a take on the viral ice bucket challenge — to blast Israel for its actions in Gaza and demand that the university divest from Israel. She spoke at Wednesday’s meeting as well, though only the pro-Israel students were detained. Arrest

Hillary Whines About Secret Email Accounts, Now No Comment

Secrets

On June 20, 2007, Hillary Clinton complained about Bush officials shredding the US Constitution by having secret email accounts.

No comment

Even Chris Matthews Can't Defend Hillary's Email Coverup

Email

Egypt Closes 27,000 Mosques to Stop Islamists

Egypt

Death Imam Hired by Department of Justice

Death Imam