text:
Does Chrono Trigger Belong in the Video Game Canon?
Written by Dan Hughes on January 17, 2019
The following is part of Now Loading, a series that renders verdicts on whether or not your favorite video games deserve a place in the canon of works that have contributed to video-game storytelling in landmark ways. Read the series' full mission statement here.
Of all the words put to page, lyrics put to melody, or ideas put to screen in the twentieth century, there exists one story in particular that has had such a lasting impact on popular culture that it has no doubt shaped every story that has proceeded it in one profound way or another. This story, belonging to the genre of science-fiction, was given life by an eccentric, pensive, and intensely brilliant author whose sole reason for living, it seemed, was to reach out from his lonely perch with his cynical yet warm hand and gently touch the shoulder of each and every one of us who has ever pondered the true nature of humanity's place in this hurly-burly we call existence.
The story he penned was a truly remarkable piece of science-fiction that perfectly lived up to its genre by posing intensely haunting religious questions in a deeply fantastical world. This one story looked at the age-old question of predestination versus free will.
That story was, is, and will be the 1959 science-fiction classic Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut.
Aha! With each and every one of you hundreds of thousands of Dear Readers being avid, fanatical devotees to my work, you know doubt thought that I would open this article with some sort of time-travel based nonsense inevitably leading into the announcement that I would be talking about the inimitable Chrono Trigger for this article.
Well, you're half right. I did have an entire opening planned about introducing you to my flying time ship, Capacitor's A-Poppin,' but it stalled on me somewhen around the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and I just didn't have it in me to write that whole thing out. So, now I'm stuck with some awfully pungent radicals who keep asking me about how well democracy is doing in the future—you know, as a concept. I figured tackling one of video gaming's most beloved and brilliant masterpieces would be easier than swallowing that frog, so here we are.
Before we get into Chrono Trigger: I was serious about discussing Vonnegut's Sirens of Titan. As any fan of Watchmen knows, the landscape of modern science fiction was architected by this book in particular, and, frankly, I don't think any story in any genre has surpassed it when it comes to exploring the deeply religious problem of whether we have free will, or if we're all walking on the track laid for us by some invisible force somewhere.
Hmm. All right, well, maybe Chrono Trigger surpassed it. At the very least, it's rivaled it.
Regardless, before we jump into today's video game, let's dust off the bookshelves and take a brief look at Sirens of Titan.
I've already told you when it was published and who wrote it, but the most important question for the setup of my article still remains: What is Sirens of Titan about? Let's begin with what literally happens in the story, shall we?
Winston Niles Rumfoord, a wealthy New Englander, decides one day to put that wealth to use and construct a spaceship so that he can jettison himself out of Earth's orbit and explore the stars. While in the middle of said stellar exploration, Rumfoord's ship encounters a phenomenon known as a chrono-synclastic infundibulum, which results in him being "unstuck in time": he now perceives all of time simultaneously. Along with this inhuman perception comes the unfortunate side effect of repeatedly disappearing and showing up in different places all over the universe.
Rumfoord is a not a great person, we discover, and he uses this newfound omniscience to set in motion a number of events that irrevocably changes the course of not only the lives of our other two main characters, Malachi Constant and Beatrice Rumfoord, but also the entirety of human history. He causes an attack on Earth from "Martians" (who are really just brainwashed humans he abducted) so that he can broker world peace; he mocks and torments Malachi and Beatrice over the course of years out of petty jealousy, ultimately making them into effective devil characters in his global religion "The Church of God the Utterly Indifferent"; and, through his pitch-perfect predictions of the future due to his being unstuck from time, he sells himself as that Utterly Indifferent God to the whole of the human race.
Yeah, things are pretty good for ol' Rumfoord—until we meet Salo the Tralfamadorian.
On one of his jumps through space, Rumfoord lands on Saturn's moon, Titan, where he meets a sentient robot named Salo. Salo is from the planet Tralfamadore, and has been sent on a peaceful mission across the universe to meet other life forms. His ship, powered by the omnipresent force that shapes the universe, "The Universal Will to Become," has broken down in our solar system and he has been waiting for hundreds of thousands of years for a replacement part to be sent to him. Salo, an affable enough guy, explains that he used this "Universal Will to Become" to send messages back to Tralfamadore asking for the part. The messages took the form of human monuments like the Great Wall of China and the Egyptian Pyramids—and we slowly realize, as Rumfoord does, that all of human existence has been in the service of bringing this alien robot a spare part.
And who should bring him that part? Beatrice and Malachi's son, Chrono.
Beyond the plot of Sirens of Titan, what is the story really about? To answer that, we first have to explore how Vonnegut lays out the nature of time in this story. It's not strictly a linear progression of cause and effect, but rather a series of events that happens as it always happens, no matter what. Rumfoord doesn't gain control of time or develop the ability to change outcomes: he simply sees all of time as if it were a story laid out before him. In fact, one of the earliest moments in the novel is Rumfoord literally explaining what will happen beat-for-beat in the pages of this book. He has knowledge of time's construction, but no agency within it.
This invites the question of whether or not humans have free will, which is a question Western religions have pondered for centuries. On the one hand exists the belief that God, as the poet Drake tells us, has a plan, and that everything therefore has been laid out in advance. We are also told, however, that God granted Man free will, i.e. the ability to choose for ourselves. Naturally, these two concepts are at odds with each other, for how can we truly be said to choose if the story has already been written?
Vonnegut tells us that, yes, all of human existence is the setup to a cosmic joke, the punchline of which is literally delivered by a boy, named after the concept of time, in the form of a diminutive, meaningless-to-humanity spaceship part. But hope yet lives in Beatrice, folks. Beatrice comes to understand in her last days that, yes, all of human existence may be pre-ordained, but our thoughts and reactions haven't been. Whatever happens, is happening, and has happened, will happen again and again in the cosmic tapestry of the universe, but we choose how to view it. A Chinese peasant working on the Great Wall was in service of a plan he had no agency over, but how he carried himself, how he treated his loved ones, and how he reflected on those immutable experiences time gives us were all his choices.
All actions have consequences; but, unlike Salo the Robot, we are able to spit in the face of the "Universal Will to Become" and say, "I'll do it, but I don't have to like it."
But enough about all that—I'm sure that none of it will come back into play when I discuss Chrono Trigger in the article's subsequent sections. And awaaaaaaaaaay we go!
Take a trip back in time with me to 1995, back before Square Enix's resident nutbar was Tetsuya Nomura. Yes, back in the halcyon days of Square, we had an eclectic mix of nutbars whose inventive chemistry produced countless classics that we all still hold dear to this day. Most eclectic and inventive of these collaborations was no doubt that of Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii, and my main man, constant inspiration, and absolute madman: Dragon Ball's creator, Akira Toriyama.
Last Known Photo of "The Good Times."
This holy trinity came together and decided that they wanted to make a game the likes of which had never been made before. With the combined efforts of Sakaguchi's brilliant writing, Horii's iconic game design, and Toriyama's character design (and just…you know, his all-around vibe, or whatever), they decided to dig into Square's roots and create a game about time travel. And so, as if birthing a God from some holy brain-crevasse, they released Chrono Trigger for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and changed the RPG world.
That sounds hyperbolic, but it's not really. Certainly we all have fond memories of this game, but beyond being a special experience to everyone who has played it (if the Internet is anything to go by), Japanese role-playing games and the RPG genre more broadly never really looked the same once this game was released. We will naturally go more into why in the "Impact" section down below, but it cannot be stressed how important this game is—not only to the individuals who played and loved it, but also to the video game scene in general.
But after all that, does Chrono Trigger deserve to be remembered for all time in the annals of the Video Game Canon? Or should we bury it deep beneath the Earth and forget it until it inevitably bursts forth and destroys us all? Well come with me, Dear Reader, and we'll be in a world of pure analyzation.
Story and Characters: Jane, Get Me Off This Crazy Thing….Called "Time"
We've talked a bit about Chrono Trigger so far, but the question remains: What is it about?
Well, as long-time readers of this series know, taking a JRPG and breaking its story down is something of a bugaboo of mine because they can be so long and complicated. Naturally, I want to do them justice, but as with games like Final Fantasy VII or The Legend of Dragoon, to go through every single story beat can be a bit exhausting for both the writer and the reader. Luckily, though, despite being about time travel, Chrono Trigger has one of the more straightforward stories of any JRPG that comes to my mind, and it is so tightly-written that this story synopsis should be a cinch!
Now granted, I know that this game has about a dozen possible endings, and I won't be describing each of those in great detail. Rest assured, though, they'll get their due down in the "Impact" section.
Chrono Trigger is about our silent protagonist, Crono, and his gang of time travelers who set out on a quest to destroy Lavos, a creature that fell to Earth eons ago and has been slowly corrupting the planet from deep beneath its surface ever since. Crono and Co. travel to the distant past and the far-off future to learn the secrets of Lavos and how to ultimately stop it from destroying the world; in so doing, they set in motion a number of events that have lasting and critical impacts on the past, present, and future of the world. Huh. Feel like I may have been here before…
We open in the year 1000 A.D. as Crono, our avatar, wakes up to the sound of the Millennial Festival bells outside his window. His mother tells him to have fun at the fair and to behave himself, and so down he goes to the town square to partake in a number of seemingly innocuous mini-games. While running around the festival, he bumps into a young girl named Marle, who drops a rather conspicuous pendant on the ground. After collecting the pendant and then herself, Marle introduces herself to Crono and they begin running around the fair together, playing games and learning about each other.
But games cannot last forever: Lucca, Crono's childhood friend and local madcap inventor, is about to unveil her teleportation machine to the fairgoers. Well, wouldn't you know it, Marle volunteers for this totally unknown and apparently never-before-tested teleportation machine, and, following a strange reaction to her pendant, the machine causes her to disappear. Crono is distraught; Lucca is confused; the player is reminiscing about all the times teleportation has gone wrong in television and movies—it's a whole event.
Luckily, the pendant was left behind, so Lucca encourages Crono to step into the device and try to recreate what happened to Marle so that he can find out what happened to her. Our boy does just that, and we learn that whatever reaction occurred on that transport machine sent Marle and Crono back in time to 600 AD, where there is still a war raging and no such thing as a Millennial Fair. Crono finds Marle—who, it turns out, is a princess in Crono's time, and looks exactly like her ancestor, the queen, in 600 AD. The real queen has gone missing, and, mistaking Marle for the queen, the royal guard brought her back to the palace.
So begins the quest to find the real queen and bring Marle back to the future. Crono enlists the help of Frog, a sentient frog man who wields a sword. They find the queen, Lucca comes back to the past saying she knows how to control the portal now, and they all go back to their time to catch the end of the fair.
But there's no such luck! For history repeats itself, Crono is captured by the royal guard in his time for having kidnapped Marle, and so begins a trial in nothing short of a kangaroo court in which Crono—and, by extension, you, the player—is judged on his actions at the Millennial Fair. (More on this in the ever-fattening "Impact" section.)
The gang escapes to the far-off future, which has been decimated by that horrible creature, Lavos. What follows is quest after quest of trying to find out what Lavos is and how to stop it, with the cast of characters learning not only about the world, but also about each other.
We learn about Marle, the impetuous yet heavily put-upon heir to the throne who does not get along with her father and resents his wishes for her. Lucca, the brilliant inventor whose obsession with machinery and the betterment of mankind through invention is the direct result of a tragic event with her mother. Frog, the gallant and well-spoken knight errant who has every reason to be broken and defeated by his encounter with the wizard Magus, but who chooses instead to fight for others and ensure that nothing terrible happens if he can manage to prevent it. Robo, the simply-named yet wonderfully-written robot from the future who, through his adventures with Crono, chooses to embrace empathy and help humanity prosper instead of attempting to destroy it like his automaton brethren eventually do. Ayla, the fierce and indomitable warrior from the distant past who will do anything to protect her tribe, no matter how large or small that tribe might be. Finally, and perhaps most interestingly, Magus himself, whom we initially believe to be the reason that Lavos came to Earth in the first place, but who we eventually come to realize is simply trying to destroy the monstrosity that tore him from his time and family.
Every character that composes the party in Chrono Trigger feels fleshed out, important to the story, and, most notably, alive. JRPGs famously tend to fall into the "annoying side character" pitfall, but not this game. It is a relatively small cast for a role-playing-game party, but the different perspectives that these characters bring to the story because of their different origins in time make the player feel as if the entire world itself were coming forward to face this evil threat. This is not just a ragtag crew of characters: they are also living embodiments of different personal and temporal viewpoints that ultimately prove we are all making daily choices that, while not necessarily affecting the greater world around us, affect those whom we keep near to us in ways that we will never truly understand.
And that, Dear Reader, is why Crono's death at the hands of Lavos is so impactful.
File away another point for the "Impact" section, because this is a biggie. After a fair amount of travelling through time, the plot converges on a battle with the evil Lavos, and at the climax of this truly epic fight, our hero, the character which the player has controlled the entire game, is vaporized by Lavos.
"But Dan," I hear you say, "Game-Overs are inherent to game design: of course you're going to die." No, no, my Dear Reader in the know: the story continues after this death, and we see what happens to a JRPG party when the leader—when you, the player—ceases to be an input as they understood to in the world around them.
Each character's reaction to Crono's death is so palpably real not only because you feel as if they were calling out to you from behind the veil of the TV screen, but also because we have spent so much time, as Crono, getting to know them and helping them self-actualize. When that linchpin of characterization stops existing in their world, we see how they fall apart.
Well, luckily, some of that characterization sticks, and the gang finds a way to travel back to that exact moment in time and use what's called the Chrono Trigger (aha) to switch out Crono's body at just the right moment so that he doesn't die in the blast. The Chrono Trigger, we come to find out, is an egg-shaped device that can be used to save someone who is indelibly important to the structure of time—almost as if to say that without the input from the player being represented through Crono's actions, the story of Chrono Trigger cannot truly exist…
The gang defeats Lavos and we get our happy ending (or one of several endings depending on how you played it—and again, stay tuned for the "Impact" section) and our story comes to a close. But, Dear Reader, the question remains: What is Chrono Trigger about?
Well, keen-eyed players among you will know that there is more than a few hints at this game's story being heavily biblical, what with the devilish Lavos falling to Earth and corrupting it from beneath the ground like Lucifer falling from Heaven, or the slightly more blatant messianic example of Crono sacrificing himself for the good of humanity in the face of the devil, just as Jesus Christ and countless other messiah figures in religions around the world have done. And yet, like a particularly insightful PAX-West-goer pointed out so well to us, why put that stuff in there at all? Couldn't you tell a story like that of Chrono Trigger without shoving these religious allegories and symbolism into it? Why be so blatant about it?
Like anything that involves Religious Studies, there are a few answers.
The first and perhaps most obvious reason to do this is that this taps into a form of storytelling with which we are all at least nominally familiar. The so-called "messianic storytelling" that we see in so many different stories serves a twofold purpose.
Fold the First: Because it is a story template that we are familiar with, we are able to ground ourselves in this crazy time-travel plot by realizing that it is the story of one man and his disciples fighting against a great and unknowable evil.
Fold the Second: structuring a story like the Biblical tale of Christ makes us inherently think of certain morals quandaries and existential questions. For example, when you hear about the story of Christ, you may think about good versus evil, but you may also be prompted to think about temptation, the desire for self-preservation above altruism, or even the futility of mankind's existence if all of creation has been planned out ahead of time. Jesus was sent to die on the cross, just like Crono was sent to die in front of Lavos on a course that could not be diverted that first time around.
Framing Chrono Trigger in this Western religious framework allowed The Dream Team to construct a story that the player was already aware of in the deep recesses of their brain. With the groundwork of good versus evil and predestination versus free will in place due to the obvious connection to biblical tales, all they needed to do was mold the gameplay around the illusion of choice to make the player truly question her agency—not only in the video game, but in her own life as well. Chrono Trigger, through its excellently constructed story, asks that all-important video game question:
Are we really making choices if the story was planned out ahead of time?
Gameplay, Music, and Visuals: I Was a Victim of a Series of Accidents
I may have sufficiently blathered on about how Chrono Trigger is a brilliant story, but I have yet to blather poetic about why it is such a perfect video game.
When you look beyond the interpretation that the game is simply about good triumphing over evil through self-sacrifice and teamwork, you come down to the theme that no matter how much agency we think we have over events in our life, it is all pre-ordained by some outside force. Whether that force is some God, time itself, or, in this case, The Dream Team of developers who wrote out the story and turned it into an interactive experience, Chrono Trigger shows us that time, or narrative, is pre-ordained. So then, in an interactive medium that boasts player agency, how do we not come away from the game feeling broken, depressed, and like nothing we choose to do actually matters?
Well, let's go back to Vonnegut for a hot second.
Remember, Sirens of Titan ends with the somewhat optimistic view that although events in our lives have already been determined long ago, the way that we react or mentally go through them is up to us. Even if, the cynics amongst you say that those feelings and reactions are also pre-ordained, the fact that we retroactively look on them as views we chose to have means that we give them meaning. Sure, everything down to the last synapse firing in your brain may be planned out ahead of time, but that doesn't mean we can't extract meaning from it.
Chrono Trigger shares that same optimism, and it expands on it by actually giving you a number of actions and choices you can make in the game that add further meaning to your experience. In fact, the very first screen after you hit "New Game" provides you with a choice that carries on throughout your entire experience:
Not enough can be said about how brilliant Chrono Trigger's battle system is. Whereas many of this game's contemporaries bog down the player with level grind after level grind to add time to the game, Chrono Trigger cuts right to the chase and makes every single random encounter feel worthwhile and exciting. You are given the choice from the beginning between "Active" and "Wait" as your fighting styles—meaning that you are able to either move around the field and fight in real time, or have a more traditional turn-based battle system, respectively.
The customization is wonderfully simple in this game, while at the same time affording the player several different ways to let battles play out. Each character is assigned an element, like fire or water, and can gain different special abilities called "techs" as they level up. Here we see another example of predestination and linearity being juxtaposed with choice and free will: unlike many other JRPGs, you cannot change the element assigned to the character, and the techs that they learn are all planned out ahead of time. There are no skill trees, no switchable magic types, and no way to change how your character grows as they level up. However, you are able to choose when to use which techs, even down to the choice of mixing and matching your techs with another character's to inflict different types of elemental damage to different enemies. This not only makes strategizing fun and interesting: it also reinforces the ever-present idea that even when things are planned out ahead of time, you are still given the freedom to make choices here and there.
What's more, while the battles are exhilarating with all the different combinations you can make between techs, there are significantly fewer random battles than there are in other JRPGs. Most encounters are shown to you ahead of time as if they're scripted, or as if you're bursting in on a group of monsters who have been waiting for you. Everything, even down to the so-called "random battles," shows the developer's hand, reminding you that this is a pre-ordained experience you are walking through.
Everything is planned, mate, even if it doesn't seem it at first.
The music is by far some of the most recognizable in all of video game history. I'm going to list three song titles below, and I want to know if you can hum them or whistle them:
Guardia's Millennial Fair
Secret of the Forest
Battle 1
I imagine you are all humming each of these in a round of joy. If you aren't, I urge you to look these up on YouTube so that you can say, "Oh! That's what that song is from!"
The brilliant mind behind those hummable tunes is one Yasunori Mitsuda, a composer who cut his teeth at Square Enix in the sound design department. Around the time of Chrono Trigger's development, Mitsuda threatened to quit the company because he was unhappy with his pay and wanted to compose music instead of presumably just plugging away at a computer, adding battle music to the latest Square joint. Ever the benevolent creator, Hironobu Sakaguchi suggested Mitsuda try his hand at composing for Chrono Trigger, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Well, history combined with violent stomach ulcers, but history all the same.
Mitsuda immediately went to work on composing the soundtrack for Chrono Trigger with the intent of making its sound stand out from other Square titles like Final Fantasy. He truly put his heart and soul into the creation of the soundtrack, spending many sleepless nights working tirelessly to make sure the game was truly unique in its music. After working himself to the bone and developing painful stomach ulcers, veteran Square composer and all-around decent dude Nobuo Uematsu stepped in to lend a helping hand.
Yasunori Mitsuda was able to finish the soundtrack on time with the help of Uematsu, and what resulted is not only one of the best video game soundtracks of all time, but also one of the most emotional, exciting, and memorable collections of music to be produced in the last few decades.
There's not much else to say about the music apart from that fact that it's brilliant, so let's move on to visuals, shall we?
There is such a wide variety of amazing set pieces and sceneries in this game that it kind of blows my mind. If you're going to tell a time-travel story in which you go to multiple different points in time, this is exactly how you illustrate and animate it. Each time and area looks truly unique, with varying color palettes that make you immediately aware of where you are in which time period. The characters, designed beautifully by Birdman Toriyama, both exude his trademark style while being different enough from Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest that I would wager you could pick any Chrono Trigger character out of a lineup of other Toriyama creations. There's something about the past-meets-future aesthetic that gives this game a style all its own that has not been even close to replicated since.
I think this may be the first time I've used this phrase, but Chrono Trigger's visuals are, truly, one of a kind.
Impact on Video Gaming and Culture: As Are We All
Oh there were just so many pins in this entire article for this section, let me just go through my little pin-cushion here and pluck them out one at a time.
Not enough can be said about how important Chrono Trigger was, is, and will be to the interactive medium of video games. Yes, it brilliantly told a story that makes the player question whether or not their agency in a story that has been constructed for them truly matters at all; sure, it was beautifully composed and visually designed by some of the best people to have ever worked in the games industry; and, of course, it was fun as all hell to play; but, you know what? That's all just scratching the surface, baby.
There are, as I see it, two things that Chrono Trigger did so well that it got the wheels of change a-turning in the wide, wacky world of RPGs. Let's start small.
First, remember the trial that happens in the game after you come back from your first jaunt to the past? Well, that entire sequence is not putting Crono on trial for scripted things that happened in the game: it's putting you, the player, on trial for the choices you made in the opening sequence at the Millennial Fair. Maybe you decided to steal some lunch so you could heal yourself, or maybe you were impatient with Marle while she was talking to you and looking at candies and jewelry, or maybe you went to pick up that expensive-looking pendant before seeing if the girl who was carrying it was okay after you bumped into her. All of those little, seemingly imperceptible things that you chose to do in that scripted sequence at the beginning come back to either help or hurt you in that trial, and it makes you realize that although things are going to happen no matter what in this game, your actions may affect how people view you, or how you view yourself. Sure, things carry on as normal regardless of that trial, but you are now aware that your actions have consequences to those around you.
Second, and more obviously, this game had an amazing and meaningful "New Game Plus" option. Once you beat the game the first time as scripted, you can go back, restart the game, and do things differently with all the gear you had in the last playthrough. Maybe you beat Lavos at a different time, or maybe you decide to kill Magus instead of showing him pity, or maybe you don't resurrect Crono this time and go on without him. Who knows what you do, but hey, you're given another choice to see yet another planned out outcome for you, which no doubt makes you question the choices you made in your first playthrough.
Now, I cannot find substantial evidence that either the calling out the player for their actions in a previous scene or the concept of New Game Plus were completely unknown to the video gaming world before Chrono Trigger, but I can guarantee you that even if there are examples of these features existing before this game, no game before this used them to the effect that Chrono Trigger did. This game took the notion of time travel—going back and rectifying your mistakes—and took the logical next step: it allowed you to go back and play through after you had already beaten it, no longer with just your knowledge as a player guiding you through the events of the game, but now also with the progress you made in-game helping you along the way and making things easier.
This melding of story, gameplay, and feature gives Chrono Trigger a depth foreign to any game that came before it. The Dream Team once again included something in this game that breaks down the illusive veil, as if to say, "We all know it's a game—why not play it?"
BONUS LEVEL: The Hand That Guides Us
I have might have talked for too long about how Chrono Trigger blurs the lines between story and game, predestination and free will, and past, present, and future. However, I would be remiss if I didn't mention an excellent point that was brought up at our PAX West 2018 panel in which we discussed with the audience whether this game deserved to be in the Video Game Canon.
At this point in the panel, we had been discussing for quite some time the validity of injecting biblical metaphors into a game. We were fairly deep into discussing free will versus determinism when someone in the audience mentioned the campfire scene that takes place in 1000 A.D. after the gang meets up with Robo again after he's been tilling the fields for so long. By that point in the game, it has been established that Lavos, that devil creature that has been terrorizing Earth for time immemorial, has been opening his own time portals and causing havoc across the temporal plane for as long as the game has been going on. The gang discusses this, but they also mention that they have had the distinct feeling that there is another force propelling them forwards—something not directly related to Lavos, but some force that wants to see things keep moving and progressing.
This scene is touching, because it is the reunion between Robo and the gang after he has done a selfless deed for hundreds of years. However, it also offers up the idea that the characters in this story, much like ourselves in this life, often question whether or not there's all some plan behind what is happening to them, and that some benevolent force is acting on their behalf to see things through to a nicer end than Lavos would give them. Of course, they may as well be speaking to the player directly, telling her that even when we think we have control, there is always something behind it pushing us forward. Not necessarily to some horrible end, and not necessarily to some good end either. But just pushing us. Moving things forward.
Progressing the story.
VERDICT: I Mean, Come On
You know, I've been writing this Now Loading The Video Game Canon for over a year now, if you can believe it. We've also had the amazing pleasure of speaking about it at four different PAX conventions, in which we've asked the audience to pick a game and decide whether it should be in the Canon. We always try to emphasize at those talks that these articles aren't meant to be the be-all and end-all decision on that, but rather a sort of jumping off point that keeps the conversation about these games going so that we can keep learning from them and, ultimately, keep enjoying them.
I was so pleased when the good people of PAX West 2018 chose Chrono Trigger to discuss, because it has always been a game that I just assumed was amazing: I had never really put much thought into why it is so good and so beloved by nearly everyone who has ever touched it. Well, I can safely say that the conversation we had at PAX West certainly got the gears in my mind a-turning, and I think that I'm better off for having looked so deeply into the themes and construction of this truly wonderful story.
So thank you, PAX West, for engaging in the conversation. I hope to have many more with people about many more games, but in the meantime, I think we can all agree that it was predestined that Chrono Trigger would be remembered for all time in the Canon. Hopefully, you enjoyed the choices I made along the way.
Dan Hughes - Video Game Analyst
Dan Hughes has dabbled in everything from playwriting to religious studies to YouTube personas. He is the seriesrunner for With a Terrible Fate's "Now Loading... The Video Game Canon!" Learn more here.
Categories: Now Loading... The Video Game Canon!
Tags: chrono triggerdeterminismexistentialismfreewillKurt VonnegutPAXPAX Westreligious studiesSirens of Titansquare enixtimetime travel
Kevin	· January 18, 2019 at 3:47 pm
You forgot to mention the music was primarily done by Yasunori Mitsuda. Nobuo Uematsu did compose a few pieces when Mitsuda was out sick.
Dan Hughes	· January 19, 2019 at 6:06 pm
Thanks for pointing this out! I've gone ahead and changed up the music section to reflect Yasunori Mitsuda's work, and the interesting story behind it! Thanks again for reading!
Does Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Belong in the Video Game Canon?
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories set the tone for the form and content of the series. Does it hold up as one of gaming's great stories?
Now Loading... The Video Game Canon!
Does Knights of the Old Republic Belong in the Video Game Canon?
Knights of the Old Republic established Star Wars as more than a film franchise. How has it impacted gaming over the years?
Does Donkey Kong 64 Belong in the Video Game Canon?
Donkey Kong 64 combined everything from banana-inspired controllers to rap. How did it impact the storytelling of video games?


Cheer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with this limited Breshad Perriman jersey from Nike! Featuring Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Breshad Perriman graphics, this jersey is the perfect way to look great and show your pride.
Cheer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with this limited Chris Baker jersey from Nike! Featuring Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chris Baker graphics, this jersey is the perfect way to look great and show your pride.
Cheer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with this limited Deone Bucannon jersey from Nike! Featuring Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Deone Bucannon graphics, this jersey is the perfect way to look great and show your pride.
Cheer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with this limited Hayden Hunt jersey from Nike! Featuring Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Hayden Hunt graphics, this jersey is the perfect way to look great and show your pride.
Cheer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with this limited Hunter Dimick jersey from Nike! Featuring Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Hunter Dimick graphics, this jersey is the perfect way to look great and show your pride.
Cheer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with this limited Jeremiah Ledbetter jersey from Nike! Featuring Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jeremiah Ledbetter graphics, this jersey is the perfect way to look great and show your pride.
Cheer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with this limited Joe Callahan jersey from Nike! Featuring Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Joe Callahan graphics, this jersey is the perfect way to look great and show your pride.
Cheer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with this limited Kentrell Brice jersey from Nike! Featuring Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kentrell Brice graphics, this jersey is the perfect way to look great and show your pride.
Cheer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with this limited Shaquil Barrett jersey from Nike! Featuring Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Shaquil Barrett graphics, this jersey is the perfect way to look great and show your pride.
Cheer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with this limited Zach Triner jersey from Nike! Featuring Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Zach Triner graphics, this jersey is the perfect way to look great and show your pride.


text:
package http_test

import (
	"net/http"

	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo"
	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"

	"testing"
)

func TestHttp(t *testing.T) {
	RegisterFailHandler(Fail)
	RunSpecs(t, "Http Suite")
}

type transportClientInterface interface {
	Do(*http.Request) (*http.Response, error)
}

type mockClientTransport struct {
	ResponseStatusCode int
}

func (s *mockClientTransport) Do(req *http.Request) (res *http.Response, err error) {
	res = &http.Response{
		StatusCode: s.ResponseStatusCode,
	}
	return
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The German lyric basso profondo Kurt Moll has died in Cologne at the age of 78 after a long illness; his status as one of the greatest basses of the late 20C is surely unchallenged. He began his professional stage career with Cologne Opera aged only twenty, his international career blossoming throughout 1970's with performances in all the major European and American opera houses. After a career of nearly fifty years, he retired in 2006 to give master classes. He was a singer of formidable range and versatility, excelling in the more cantabile Wagner roles such as Gurnemanz, Pogner, Daland, the Landgraf, Hunding and the dragon Fafner, but also as an unmatchable exponent of the fruitier basso roles drawn form a range of operatic genres, including Ochs, Sarastro, Il commendatore, Osmin and even Sparafucile, with its saturnine low F. He was, however, equally at home in Lieder, first recording for the Orfeo label in 1982 a recital of a selection of the more philosophical Schubert songs and later that same year a superb "Winterreise"; both recordings are obligatory listening for lovers of Lieder.
His glorious voice is as sleek and smooth as a steel blade sheathed in black velvet; instantly recognisable and sui generis - you would never mistake Moll for another singer. The resonance of his tone gave the impression of huge size and power without necessarily being exceptionally loud, while his superb diction and seamless legato allowed him to create drama without percussiveness. The sonorousness of his low notes, produced in totally relaxed fashion without apparent effort, strain or tension in his vocal apparatus and apparent even in his speaking voice, was an aural marvel; he was a true "infra-bass". It was this rock-solid technique and reliance upon restraint which perhaps led him to eschew the more overtly demonstrative and declamatory Wagnerian roles such as Wotan, Hagen and Hans Sachs and also prolonged the longevity of his beautiful bass voice throughout his long career – although no doubt he could have sung those roles, albeit at a price, had he so chosen.
He leaves a large discography and an invaluable teaching legacy; aspiring basses could do no better than to take him as their vocal model if they wish to prolong the endurance of both their voices and their performing careers. For many opera aficionados, Moll, nicknamed "die Stimme Gottvaters" ("the voice of God the Father"), joins the select few of "immortal" basses such as Reizen, Chaliapin, Pinza and Journet.


Emergency Road Service (904) 389-7233 | Southern Tire & Fleet Service, LLC.
Southern Tire & Trailer offers service for tires and truck & trailer repair. Southern is a one stop shop for all your breakdown needs. Call us at 904-389-7233 for pricing. We serve Jacksonville and Southeast Georgia.


text:
Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications
中文 | 한글
About CQUPT
Schools and Programes
CQUPT Holds the Opening Ceremony of a Training Program for Its First Group of Overseas Teachers
On the morning of May 14th, 2019, English Language Training Program for Teachers of Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya held its opening ceremony in our university, with CQUPT's Party Secretary and President Li Lin, and Vice President Xu Guanghong attending the activity. Before the opening ceremony, Li Lin met with President Yongyuth Nuniem and other members from Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya.
Li Lin gave a speech at the opening ceremony, warmly welcoming the arrival of President Yongyuth Nuniem and other members, and introducing them some situations about our university's open education, scientific research cooperation and the international students' education. Li said that the university insisted on taking open education as an important way for the university to achieve a leapfrog development; the English training for Thai teachers was the first time that our university would train overseas teachers and also that the teachers of the first group of cooperative colleges would receive the training in professional education of CQUPT. Li believed that through this training, we would further deepen the understanding of each other and enhance the level of cooperation.
President Yongyuth Nuniem fully affirmed the educational development achievements of our university and China . He said that in modern society the broad economic prospects couldn't be separated from the support of the communication industry with the rapid development of the economy and social changes, that as a university featuring in information science technology, CQUPT had cultivated so many communication talents, and that the cultures between China and Thailand were connected and learned each other's civilizations. He hoped that through this project the Thai teachers could further understand China , her education and her communication industry, pushing the cooperation between the two universities to a new level.
In order to actively serve the national strategy and local development, and further promote the opening up of the university education, CQUPT takes overseas school running as one of the key tasks for opening education this year. The two universities plan to officially launch the 2+2 undergraduate dual degree program in 2020 through many consultations before. This training of Thai English teachers also reserves the teachers for the upcoming 2+2 program between our university and Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya. This project is the first time for our professional education to go abroad to carry out degree programs outside.
Then, President Yongyuth Nuniem and his party negotiated with leaders from School of Foreign Languages of our university on the implementation of the outside English-Chinese education 2+2 program and the students' exchange program of School of Economics and Management.
As one of the nine national royal universities in Thailand , Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya, with three campuses respectively located in Songkhla, Nakhon Si Tham and Trang and with nearly 20,000 students, has cultivated a variety of high-quality talents for information technology, tourism, fisheries, tourism and so on.
CQUPT's Party Secretary and President Li Lin meets with President Yongyuth Nuniem and his party from Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya. (Photo by Reporter Feng Zhengze)
English Language Training Program for teachers of Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya holds the opening ceremony in our university. (Photo by Reporter Cui Yixin)
Home | About CUPT | Schools and Programs | News & Events | International Student | Research | Campus Life | Employment |
Email:gjc@cqupt.edu.cn All Right Reserved © Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


And you thought the first Saturday in May was solely about Kentucky Derby betting. Think again as there's plenty of tradition that adds to the atmosphere of the whole event.
We all know about the importance of the hat tradition at the Kentucky Derby. There are also the roses, the singing of "My Old Kentucky Home" and a few other traditions worth mentioning, but one that many people may not know about as it isn't highly publicized is the mint julep. This is considered the official drink of the Kentucky Derby and has a rich history and it certainly has evolved over the years.
While the origins of the mint julep are a little sketchy at best, there is no denying its place in the history of the Kentucky Derby and in the southern United States as a whole. This is an enduring tradition that is going to go on along with the hats, the Kentucky Derby odds, the garland of roses and everything else that goes into "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports".
There are all kinds of theories as to where the mint julep came from but it seems like the most prevalent theory is that it came out of the southern United States sometime in the late 1700's – possibly around 1770 or so. In West Virginia at the Old White (which is now known as the Greenbrier, the site of a PGA Tour event and Ryder Cups in the past), the mint julep gained fame as their drink in the early 1800s.
However, some believe that the drink came from the Arabic part of the world even further back than the 1700's, consisting of rose petals and water before mint came into play. The mint seems like it would be quite an improvement over rose petals.
Some people even say it started in Louisiana, Virginia, South Carolina, and a number of other states from the southern part of the country that you can think of, so take any history you get about the mint julep with a grain of salt (or sugar). But it has really been adopted by Kentucky and that is the place where it is going to be connected to for the most part.
It was made the official drink of the Kentucky Derby in 1938 and there are estimates that over 120,000 mint juleps are sold during Kentucky Derby weekend, which also includes the Kentucky Oaks. That's the Derby for the fillies even though fillies are also allowed in the Derby should they be deserving of a spot.
Besides the rose petal fiasco, juleps consisted of whiskey or brandy when it was first made. However, after the Civil War, bourbon was used because quite frankly, it was cheaper and there wasn't a lot of money to go around. Water and sugar was added to cut through the alcohol and make it a little sweeter. That helps make the drink far more palatable, especially for those who aren't into the harsh tastes of strong alcohol.
There are some places in the United States that will substitute gin for bourbon when making their juleps but for the most part, bourbon is the alcohol of choice. Anyone betting on Kentucky Derby, or for those who have visited Churchill Downs, know that bourbon is definitely the first choice.
It seems as though the smart thing to do when making a mint julep on your own is to make the mint syrup first. It is quite simple to make this as all you have to do is crush some mint leaves in the bottom of a cup until it forms a nice paste. Then you only need a couple tablespoons of the syrup to make one serving of a mint julep. Don't overdo it or else you might need an immediate trip to the dentist.
Start off by making the mint syrup. Take your cup and fill it about halfway with the crushed ice, then put the syrup in, followed by the bourbon and the water. Then you stir the concoction until your cup has a frost on it. Add the mint sprig at the end as a garnish.
At the Kentucky Derby, mint juleps used to be served in a silver cup, which added to the frosted look that patrons were used to. Now, they are served in highball glasses or sometimes, a Collins glass. You may even find them to be served in pewter cups, which also helps with the frosting. Churchill Downs has been giving their patrons souvenir glasses since 1939 to give them something to remember.
Now that you know the recipe, you can make it at home while you bet on Kentucky Derby lines.
Then you move into the extra premium mint juleps that are custom made and these are for those who can afford to spend a solid thousand dollars on a drink. Obviously, that's the crowd that sits in Millionaire's Row and bets big amounts on the Kentucky Derby contenders.
This practice began in 2006 and the ingredients are a little different than what you would probably find in the drinks served to the regular folks. These are served to patrons in a gold cup (made by jeweler Tiffany's, no less) with a silver straw, with Woodford Reserve as the specific bourbon to be used. There is mint that comes straight from Ireland, crushed ice flown in from the Bavarian Alps and even the sugar is special, imported all the way from Australia. Does anyone really know the difference between regular and Australian sugar? Plunk down $1,000 and you can find out.
However, this is all for a good cause as the proceeds from the extra premium mint juleps go to charity, usually named after retired thoroughbreds that made their name at the Kentucky Derby. So at least it is being put to use.


T I B U R D O M U S. . . . . . . .
Lovely apartment of 80 square meters. composed of equipped kitchen, spacious living room, two double bedrooms, large bathroom and balcony.
Tiburtina area near the Rebibbia metro, connected to the railway station (high speed Tiburtina). Parking availability in the property. For those who land at Fiumicino "Leonardo Da Vinci" airport, the apartment is connected by shuttle / train and metro. . . . . . . . . . .
Isuledda 8 apartment in San Teodoro with private garden.
Nice little apartment. Very close to the Line A metro stop "Baldo degli Ubaldi".
Central and elegant apartment fully furnished in a stately building.


This blog is intended for drivers and low level software developers for Windows.
In the post ExAllocatePool (WithoutTag), I talked a little about the conflicts on using new APIs in drivers and making them incompatible with legacy systems. Our initial proposal was to have a single binary that would be able to run either in Windows NT and newer systems. We reached a solution that cannot be considered ideal, that old functions are always used on systems that support newer APIs.
Thinking about solving this limitation, the DDK brought us MmGetSystemRoutineAddress(). Analogous to GetProcAddress() exported by kernel32.dll, MmGetSystemRoutineAddress() dynamically obtains a function address from its exported name. But the world will not still be safe while Windows NT survives. This new function has only been implemented since Windows 2000.
We don't have an alternative to Windows NT, so let's make one. With one or two PE concepts, we implemented this function version. PE structure carries tons of rules, but for our need we can implement a light version. If you want details about the rules adopted by PE, you can take a look at the article An In-Depth Look into the Win32 Portable Executable File Format by Matt Pietrek.
Well, now that we already have read the entire article and already known everything about PE, follow the basic algorithm prototype about how to walk through PE structure, looking for a specific function exported by name. This function is not provided by Windows NT DDK and is written in the example source code available for downloading.
Notice that the input parameters are the base address, the name of desired function and ultimately the address to the pointer that will get the obtained function address. But where will I get this base address from? Remember the functions we are looking for are exported by ntoskrnl.lib and they are implemented in the ntoskrnl.exe module. To make sure the function we're looking for is in fact exported by this module, use the "Dependency Walker" to see this module export table. As I said before, some functions are implemented as macros, thus, its definition will be in a header file and not in the export table.
To get the module base address that exports these functions, we use ZwQuerySystemInformation() in which, although not documented by Microsoft, there are already several publications that comment about it. Thus, we'll define the RtlGetModuleBase() which will behave similar to the well-known GetModuleHandle(). This function is also defined in the example available for downloading.
There are many undocumented features and settings that can be extremely useful. The book Windows NT/2000 Native API Reference by Gary Nebbett is excellent to make use of these functions. He brings prototypes, enums, structures used in calls, descriptions of what each function does and each parameter. Here in our example, we only use the statements below for information about the modules loaded into the system address space.
The structure "Base" member above brings us the module base address containing PE structure. In the sample code, is RtlGetModuleBase() routine definition that has the following prototype.
With the union of its powers, now we can know whether a certain API is implemented in the current system and if so, get its address. So, it is perfectly possible to have a single binary that can run on both Windows NT using ExFreePool() and in later systems using ExFreePoolWithTag(). Below it is a very basic example as always. Of course, we can create a single allocation routine that would do the dirty work.
//      to allow the driver to be unloaded.
//      but not doing this can kill your system.
//      we get a success return code here.
//-f--> Who has no dog, hunts like a cat.
This entry was posted on Monday, October 2nd, 2006 at 12:55 am	and is filed under Kernel Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Anti-spam: How much is two plus nine?


text:
Cerebral Palsy Family Network
Milestone Quiz
How Cerebral Palsy is Diagnosed
Types of CP
What is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral Palsy Family Network TV
Life Care Plan
Cerebral Palsy Lawyers and Legal Advocates
CP Heroes
My Cerebral Palsy Hero Directory
Causes of Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral Palsy Information
Miss an issue? We've got you covered!
It's Never Too Late to Enjoy a Good CP Story…Again
Whether you've been with CPFN for a while, or you're new to the family, the CPFN quarterly newsletter is a great way to keep up to date with everything you need to connect, learn and share with others on this CP journey.
Miss an issue? Maybe you're looking for a story you loved but can't find it in your e-mail (don't worry, you won't hurt our feelings…much). It's right here! All our back issues are at your fingertips, ready for you to enjoy again.
Want to share a favorite story? Like it, print it, e-mail it…whatever works best for you! And if you have an idea for a story you'd like to see in an upcoming issue, just drop us a line!
October 2022 | July 2022 | April 2022 | January 2022
September 2021 | July 2021 | April 2021 | January 2021
September 2020 | June 2020
Enter your email address to receive the Cerebral Palsy Family Network newsletter. Get the latest in CP news, tips, articles, family stories and more!
We do not sell, rent, or lease our subscription lists to third parties, and we will not provide your personal information to any third party individual, government agency, or company at any time unless compelled to do so by law.
4 Reservoir Circle, Suite 200
families@cpfamilynetwork.org
Copyright © 2009-2023 CPFamilyNetwork.org | Disclaimer
Was Your Child's CP Preventable?


Precise readings to manage your inventory.
Inventory Management – save time and money by reducing unnecessary truck rolls.
Critical Customer Monitoring – feel confident you're getting accurate and consistent measurements for customers that can't afford to have empty tanks.


text:
Access to art, a human rights issue
Arts Access Aotearoa
Author: Richard Benge
Created: Mon 28 Sep 2015, 11:44 am
Category: Arts In Corrections
Arts Access Aotearoa was founded 20 years ago this year on the understanding that all people have the right to engagement with art and to express themselves in ways relevent to their culture. We were then and still are particularly concerned to represent and advocate for groups who would (because of their circumstances) be unheard or over looked. Indeed their rights may not even be known to themselves or others.
In this context it's relevant that Arts Access Aotearoa is the national organisation that advocates for prisoners to have access to arts. Creative and cultural activities, projects and events are provided by the Department of Corrections in order to aid rehabilitation and positively influence the chances of offenders to not reoffend. It's a human right to have access to cultural expression and creativity along with education, food and shelter, safety and many others.
In New Zealand we fulfil our obligations as parties to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that we signed in 1948. Since then additions have strengthened its intentions to provide a safe and fulfilled world.
Under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights from 1966 is Article 15 which states
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone:
(a) To take part in cultural life;
The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to respect the freedom indispensable for scientific research and creative activity.
I explored these subjects with my colleague and former Human Rights Commissioner, Robyn Hunt, where we led a workshop for delegates at the International Federation of Human Rights Museums held at Te Papa 22 – 24 September. 'How do you tell unsafe stories in safe places?' is a theme in which museums can play a role in reconciliation, bringing understanding (for example) to past conflicts. Museums can be a safe place to look at hard topics. New Zealand's Te Papa is an experiment (if you will) in how to tell the story of Aotearoa New Zealand - as a progression of peoples and events that have sometimes been very unsafe to talk about. However we are now known for our bi-cultural and multicultural cooperation and as a peaceful nation.
So where does Arts in Corrections fit in? Delegates at the conference were interested to learn that New Zealand has an NGO that works cooperatively with the Department of Corrections to help the Department ensure that our creative and cultural obligations to the UN are met and that prisoners have access to cultural and creative expression. There are too many countries that do not allow prisoners access to basic needs, let alone their human rights, and New Zealand's example is one of the better stories. However we should not be complacent. Often in times when governments are under economic stress (is there ever a time when they are not?) funding the arts and creativity is seen as a 'nice to have' when really it can bring much more than 'nice'. To understand the value that cultural and artistic expression brings to prisoners' rehabilitation requires a journey of discovery and innovation along with empirical analysis. We trust that which brings people joy and motivation and identity on the outside can bring the same benefits for offenders seeking or uncovering the same while 'inside'.
How fantastic it was then that 'Wellington on a Plate' project for prisoners at Rimutaka Prison offers offenders the opportunity to learn new skills with food preparation, design and cooking. A great opportunity to discover new skills in 'the art' of cheffing and food service, it was a pleasure to be invited by the Department of Corrections to attend one of the sold out nights that chef Martin Bosley and his associate's provided. This project, where prisoners work under leading chefs to prepare and serve restaurant quality food provides many things beyond culinary delights. Most evident to me is that it provides hope. I could see this in the eyes of the men allowed to participate. They had all been working their level best and the results were on out on show – the pressure was high. This was something they could do and do well. Creativity meets hard work meets trust. Sounds like a good recipe? It looked and tasted like fine art to me.
If you have any questions or feedback on this column, or if you would like to let me know about your art, organisation, group or project please email me on richard.benge@artsaccess.org.nz
Keeping your Arts in Corrections programme on track
Te Ora Auaha timely, says Minister
Workshops realise youth potential
Protecting your organisation for future generations
Acknowledging milestones
Queen for a day at Arohata Prison
Prison events showcase creative talents
Biting off more than we can chew
Working together for social change
Building networks and working effectively


Throughout time, there have been classic duos: Lenny and Squiggy, Cagney and Lacey, Hall and Oates. The Indigo Girls are no exception. Their pristine and luminary vocal harmonies alone make crowds hoot and holler. Each song has a totally different energy and tension. With their more lighthearted and witty songs, Emily Saliers and Amy Ray play off each other like a comedic duo. Other times, their songwriting and arrangements are so clever, you would think that the two fight crime on the side. Their musical relationship takes on many turns, loops, and jumps. Saliers' musical roots dig deep into Joni Mitchell's gentle song soil, while Ray's influences stem from a much harder background of influences, including the Pretenders and the Husker Dude, Bob Mould.


text:
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says he supports a return to the NFL for Colin Kaepernick.
In an interview with ESPN on Monday, the commissioner was asked by Mike Greenberg about how the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback — who has gone unsigned since 2017 after protesting racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem — figures into the league's plans.
"If he wants to resume his career in the NFL, then obviously it's gonna take a team to make that decision," Goodell said. "I welcome that, support a club making that decision and encourage them to do that."
Kaepernick and ex-49ers teammate Eric Reid sued the NFL — alleging that the 32 teams colluded to keep them out of the league. The lawsuit was settled in early 2019 for an amount said to be "considerably less" than $10 million.
Goodell came under criticism from many in the NFL over the fact that the league's statement against racial injustice following the killing of George Floyd made no mention of Kaepernick.
"We were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encouraging all to speak out and peacefully protest," Goodell said on June 5.
The statement also drew the anger of President Donald Trump.
"Could it be even remotely possible that in Roger Goodell's rather interesting statement of peace and reconciliation, he was intimating that it would now be O.K. for the players to KNEEL, or not to stand, for the National Anthem, thereby disrespecting our Country & our Flag?" Trump tweeted on June 7.
Watch above, via ESPN.
Colin KaepernickNFLRoger Goodell
Joe DePaolo - Senior Editor
Joe DePaolo is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Email him here: joed@mediaite.com Follow him on Twitter: @joe_depaolo
More Stories by Joe DePaolo


Contact Just Jayne Events, a creative San Francisco Bay Area event planner for Bar / Bat Mitzvahs, weddings, corporate events and parties.
Thank you for contacting Just Jayne Events! We will get back to you shortly.


Starting tthis week, women in California can get birth control pills at the pharmacy counter, without a physician prescription. In Oregon, women over 18 have been doing so since January. This policy strategy—adopting legislation that allows for pharmacist-prescribed contraception access for some hormonal methods (generally, pills and patches)—removes some barriers to access, but falls short of what evidence suggests makes the most financial and clinical sense: making effective contraception as readily accessible as possible to all sexually active women who wish to avoid pregnancy.
For example, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists supports over-the-counter (OTC) access to oral contraceptive pills, along with many other countries, with positive effects on outcomes. In the United States, we have some unique barriers and constraints, as well as some unique opportunities to improve contraceptive access in order to reduce our costly and stubbornly high rate of unintended pregnancy.
The experiences in Oregon and California provide hope for overcoming political gridlock around contraceptive access; both legislative efforts were bipartisan, and Oregon's bill was led by Republican legislator (and physician) Knute Buehler. However, women's health advocates as well as some Democrats are concerned that these bipartisan agreements don't go far enough to improve women's access to contraception, highlighting both the politics at play as well as the evidence supporting easier access than currently-enacted legislation allows.
While the current efforts underway in Oregon and California have the potential to reduce rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion, they may also reduce healthcare costs through efficiency gains. That is, allowing women pharmacy access to birth control means that physician time and resources are freed up to focus on the myriad other unmet primary care needs.
Yet, the laws don't reduce access barriers for all forms of contraception. Some of the most effective birth control methods are long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC), including intrauterine devices (IUDs) and birth control implants, which cannot reasonably be made available OTC but do have other modifiable access barriers. The use of LARC holds great promise for both individual and population-level efforts to reduce unintended pregnancy.
It's often difficult to find a clinic with the skilled personnel and supplies to provide LARCs.


FTE provides a variety of resources for educators, including curriculum outlines and accompanying lesson plans, Hot Topic inquiries into current issues, and an Economic Barometer for easy access to the U.S. federal government's latest quarterly economic data. All FTE curriculum resources may be viewed online or downloaded. Lessons include background information, source citations (linked when possible), readings, and handouts. Activities include teacher guides, materials masters, and video demonstrations. Copyright permission is given for educational use of all FTE resources. Download files are editable and the FTE encourages teachers to modify and adapt the materials as appropriate to their specific goals and classrooms.
All FTE lessons are correlated to the National Voluntary Content Standards in economics, the Common Core, and when possible, to the individual state standards. Our searchable interface facilitates alignment of lesson content and activities for standards- and mastery-based instruction.
The Professional Teacher Association (PTA) is open to all alumni of FTE teacher programs, both online and face-to-face. There is no charge for registration r membership. Benefits include a newsletter, advance notice of upcoming courses and programs, and eligibility to apply for annual PTA conferences.


text:
Tooth Size, Body Size, and Giants: An Analytical Issue that has Persisted for Eight Decades
The large teeth of a creature that would become known as Gigantopithecus were first encountered by science in 1935 after several were purchased from a Hong Kong drugstore. Those teeth -- without any other parts of the skeleton -- were interpreted by physical anthropologists working in Asia as the remains of a huge creature. While there were differing opinions as to whether the teeth had belonged to gigantic apes or gigantic humans, Ralph von Koenigswald, Franz Weidenreich, and W. C. Pei all agreed that Gigantopithecus was enormous.
Those large teeth still fuel discussions of what the anatomy of Gigantopithecus was like. Estimates of very large body size (1000 lbs . . . 1200 lbs . . . ) attract a quantity of attention from Bigfoot enthusiasts, Creationists, and other "fringe" theorists that far exceeds that paid to other fossil apes. But where do those estimates come from? As I discussed briefly in this post, all of our information about Gigantopithecus is based on isolated teeth and a handful of mandibles. That's something to go on, but not a lot. The complicated nature of the relationships between body size and tooth size, problematic when the first teeth of Gigantopithecus were discovered in the 1930's, remains an analytical issue today.
How do we go from tooth size to body size? Very carefully. Stanley Garn and Arthur Lewis discussed the matter in a 1958 paper in American Anthropologist titled "Tooth-Size, Body-Size and 'Giant' Fossil Man:"
"On the basis of morphology and size together, Von Koenigswald decided that the Hong Kong and Sangiran teeth and jaw fragments came from "giant apes." However, Weidenreich later concluded that both the 1935-1939 Hong Kong [Gigantopithecus] teeth and the 1939-1941 Sangiran [Meganthropus] tooth-jaw fossils were the remains of true men, though extraordinarily large men, from the early Sino-Malaysian fauna (Weidenreich 1945:123-24). Finally, in his recent article, W. C. Pei reverted to the idea of a giant anthropoid and estimated that the "giant" ape of Luntsai stood "some twelve feet" high (Pei 1957:836).
What is the evidence that these three sets of finds, separated from each other by space and time, all came from gigantic beings? How convincing is the evidence that big teeth necessarily indicate extraordinary stature? Lacking the postcranial skeletons, direct proof of body size does not exist. What remains is such indirect proof as can be gleaned from tooth-size relationships in man and apes. "This" admitted Franz Weidenreich . . . "is a very ticklish question. . . "
The question is "ticklish" because of the fact that tooth size, in addition to being related to body size, is also related to things like diet. Similar-sized animals that eat different things emphasize different teeth. Animals that have to grind a lot of tough plant food tend to have cheek teeth (molars and premolars) with large grinding surfaces. Animals whose diet consists of softer foods (like fruits) or involves lots of cutting and tearing (as in carnivores) typically don't have large chewing teeth relative to their body size because they don't need them (they're not selected for).
At the time Weidenreich wrote his 1945 monograph "Giant Early Man from Java and South China," the known fossil remains of Gigantopithecus consisted of just three teeth. Weidenreich's detailed comparative analysis of those teeth convinced him that Gigantopithecus was a hominid and a human ancestor. His discussion of the possible size of Gigantopithecus, while following from that conclusion, was cautious (pg. 111):
Plate 10 from Weidenreich (1945) showing the three original Gigantopithecus teeth (a, b, and c).
'In Gigantopithecus the length of the lower molar row is only twice that of modern man, not eight times, as in the lemur example. When the dimensions for the femur are calculated on the basis of the lemur ratio for the femur and the hominid ratio for the length of the molar row, the Gigantopithecus femur proves to be little longer than the femur of modern man and only slightly thicker. The same holds true for Meganthropus. Therefore, we can dismiss the body dimensions of the giant hominids, Gigantopithecus and Meganthropus, with the very general statement that they must have had large, heavy, and massive skulls, large strong trunks, but only slightly longer and stronger leg bones. No more precise statement can be made."
Weidenreich died in 1948 and never got to see the Gigantopithecus mandibles that were discovered in the late 1950's. Consideration of those mandibles (and the growing number of isolated teeth available for study), led Elwyn Simons and Peter Ettel to argue in a 1970 article in Scientific American that Gigantopithecus was a large, herbivorous ape weighing as much as 600 lbs (272 kg) and standing about 9' (2.7 m) tall when upright. Simons and Ettel reconstructed Gigantopithecus with a posture and body plan like a gorilla. The body size estimate of Simons and Ettel was somewhat informal, based on a general appraisal of the size of jaw and assuming a proportional relationship between jaw size and body size.
The 1980's saw the publication of studies that considered the allometry of tooth/body size relationships across primate taxa. A 1982 paper by Philip Gingerich et al. ("Allometric Scaling in the Dentition of Primates and Prediction of Body Weight From Tooth Size in Fossils") considered how tooth area scales to body weight among extant primates and used that information to estimate the weight of fossil primates. I have reproduced the figure from their paper that shows the logarithmic relationship and the regression formula based on that relationship.
Adapted from Figure 5 from "Allometric Scaling in the Dentition of Primates and Prediction of Body Weight From Tooth Size in Fossils" by Gingerich et al. (1982). Added data from the Denisovan molar discussed in the text below.
While there is a general, positive relationship between tooth area and body weight among extant primates (which is a good thing for those of us interested in fossils), Gingerich et al.'s (1982) analysis makes it clear that there's a lot more going on than a simple, direct relationship. What part of the relationship is based on geometry (bigger teeth as a result of bigger bodies) and what part is based on dietary adaptations (tooth size related to diet)? Good question. Gingerich et al. (1982:99) concluded that
"Much remains to be learned about allometric scaling of tooth size and body weight in the dentition of primates and other mammals. Our results demonstrate that there is a coherent pattern of differences in scaling at different tooth positions across the whole range of generalized primates. We have not investigated how this general pattern might change if primates were subdivided into smaller taxonomic groups or into dietary guilds."
As far as I can tell, that remains at least somewhat true today (I have yet to make a concerted effort to get into the current literature on tooth/body size scaling . . . hopefully I can get around to it soon). Although we clearly know more about tooth/body size relationships than we used to, the estimation of primate body size from isolated teeth remains problematic. While there are general relationships, they're not necessarily proportional. A big tooth doesn't necessarily mean a proportionally giant creature.
The large tooth from Denisova Cave is good example of how "big" is still equated with "giant" in the absence of other evidence. According to this 2010 paper, the Denisovan tooth (probably a second molar) is the largest human tooth ever discovered. Because of its size (and because there aren't any other Denisovan fossils that can tell us something directly about body size), it has been interpreted by the fringe as evidence of giants (I wrote a little about it here). The tooth reportedly measures 13.1 mm by 14.7 mm, giving an area estimate of 192.5 square mm. Notably, it is smaller than the corresponding teeth of some austalopithecines (who were smaller in body size than humans but had a very tough diet, and, hence, big chewing teeth). If I plug that area into the Gingerich et al. (1982) regression shown above (yes, I know it was based on areas of first molars, not second molars, but bear with me for the sake of general comparisons) I get a body mass estimate of about 200 lbs (91 kg).
Two hundred pounds: is that a giant? It's surely above average for humans today, but it's really a stretch to call a 200-lb individual a "giant." Even allowing for that 200 lbs to be an underestimate (because it's based on a second molar rather than a first molar), how do we know that the the large tooth size isn't somehow related to the evolutionary history and/or diet of Denisovan populations? There are just a few teeth to go on - that's it. Just like with Gigantopithecus, I think we've really got to be aware that we're effectively blindfolded on the issue of body size until we've got some decent postcrania to look at.
As a final note, I think it's fascinating that Weidenreich saw the East and South Asian fossil record as supporting the idea that body size decrease through time was a major trend in human evolution. That is, of course, opposite of what the African record from the last 4 million years or so has now demonstrated. Weidenreich was wrong, but he was no lightweight and no dummy. He based his ideas on the direct evidence that he had: fossils. We'll never know what he what he would have thought of the decidedly un-human Gigantopithecus mandibles that were discovered just a few years after his death, but I would bet a large sum of money that he would not have stuck with the "giant phase of Man" idea that he outlined in his 1945 monograph. Accepting that new evidence can falsify a hypotheses is part of doing science.
Weidenreich's published ideas about also give the lie to the fringe/Creationist notion that 20th century academics have conspired and are continuing to conspire to suppress the "truth" about giants in the past. Or maybe someone just forgot to send Weidenreich his conspiracy brochure. I guess that's possible, since I have yet to receive mine, either.
Next up: The history of body size estimates of Gigantopithecus.
Garn, Stanley M., and Arthur B. Lewis. 1958. Tooth-Size, Body-Size and "Giant" Fossil Man. American Anthropologist 60(5):874-880.
Gingerich, Philip D., B. Holly Smith, and Karen Rosenberg. 1982. Allometric Scaling in the Dentition of Primates and Prediction of Body Weight From Tooth Size in Fossils. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 58:81-100.
Simons, Elwyn L., and Peter C. Ettel. 1970. Gigantopithecus. Scientific American (January 1, 1970).
Weidenreich, Franz. 1945. Giant Early Man from Java and South China. Anthropological papers of the AMNH, Volume 40, Part 1.
There Are No Known Postcranial Remains of Gigantopithecus
I've occasionally been accused by those on the "fringe" side of being too hard on them and too easy on mainstream scholars and skeptics. I don't really think that's true. I think I call BS when I see it. I attribute the perception of unfairness to a couple of different factors. First, I'm probably a little more careful about my choice of words when I'm discussing the work of those who are genuinely interested in answering a question or solving a problem (rather than just selling books). That's much more common among mainstream scholars. Second, I think "fringe" theorists tend to be more sensitive to criticism because they're not used to having their ideas openly challenged on the basis of evidence. Sometimes, unfortunately, scrutiny hurts their feelings. Third, some "fringe" theorists probably assume that I'm part of some wide-ranging conspiracy to suppress their ideas.
If I'm part of a conspiracy, I have yet to be told about it. Maybe someday "they" will let me in on the secret and I can start writing blog posts on a laptop with a fully functional keyboard and a working battery, maybe even while not at home watching kids on evenings and weekends. Just think how effective I could be if I could work without also being responsible for wiping noses, stopping couch wrestling, and pretending to eat imaginary pasta.
The fact is, professionals get things wrong also. Today's "whoops" comes from Paolo Viscardi, a natural history curator at the Grant Museum of Zoology in London. This "Ask a Biologist" page includes Viscardi's answer to the question "Were there ever giant humans?, which includes the following:
"Next I would say that there were Pleistocene apes called Gigantopithecus that stood about 10 feet tall. Their remains are very similar to those of humans, particularly when the skull is damaged. Mammoth and elephant skulls are also remarkably humanoid in appearance when they are damaged."
The appeal to the remains of Gigantopithecus is as unfortunate as it is wrong.
While there was a genus of ape (that we call Gigantopithecus) that existed in South and East Asia during the Pleistocene, we only know of these creatures through a few mandibles and teeth. No-one has ever found a Gigantipthecus skull or any other part of the skeleton. Just teeth and mandibles. So how could we say the remains of a Gigantopithecus look like those of a giant human? We can't, because we've never seen them.
The teeth and mandibles of Gigantopithecus are large. Those teeth and mandibles form the sole basis of our estimates of body size. Big teeth and jaws mean a big primate, right? Well, sort of. The problem is that there is a lot of variation among primates in the relationship between tooth size and body size (I touched on this subject in this post about why the original owner of the large Denisovan tooth wasn't necessarily a giant). Tooth size alone doesn't necessarily tell us much because tooth size is related to diet. Relatively small-bodied australopithecines had large grinding teeth because they had a diet that included a lot of tough, low quality foods that needed to be heavily masticated. The teeth and jaws of robust australopithecines (which were also small-bodied compared to modern humans) were even larger and were accompanied by a skull and chewing muscles that were clearly designed to produce and resist massive chewing forces.
Liuzhou, China: fossils of Gigantopithecus waiting to be discovered?
So how do we estimate the body size of Gigantopithecus? If you model the size relationship between teeth and body based on something like a gorilla (a primate with a relatively soft, fruit-based diet and small chewing teeth) you get a very large primate. If you use a model more like a robust australopithecine (a primate with a relatively tough diet and large chewing teeth), body size estimates are smaller. Gigantopithecus was large, but I don't think we'll know how large until someone finds some postcranial bones. I'm sure they're out there somewhere. When I have the opportunity to talk about Gigantopithecus in my classes, I show pretty pictures of Liuzhou in China (image source) hoping they will inspire someone to go out and look. Finding some Gigantopithecus bones other than teeth and jaws would be sweet.
Grover Krantz and his reconstruction of the skull of Gigantopithecus.
Anyway, the figure of a 10' tall ape is repeated often. Maybe Gigantopithecus was that large, and maybe it wasn't. Bigfoot enthusiasts love a big Gigantopithecus, as do some advocates of the idea that humans have "degenerated" in size over time. There is zero evidence that Gigantopithecus is a human ancestor, and, in fact, we don't even know that it was a biped. As with body size, ideas about whether Gigantopithecus walked upright on two legs are based on a few jaws and teeth. Anthropologist Grover Krantz's celebrated reconstruction of a Gigantopithecus skull, beloved by Bigfoot enthusiasts, was based on the same tooth and mandible fragments as all of our other interpretations. Krantz extrapolated a bipedal posture for Gigantopithecus based on the morphology of the mandible. Not a lot to go on there, but I guess that doesn't matter much if you already know the answer. (See this post for more discussion.)
The academic imagineering was further amplified recently when Jeff Meldrum and Idaho State University produced a "full-size" skeleton of Bigfoot to help the History Channel create more schlock programming for its already crowded schedule of crap.
"Meldrum borrowed from the physical looks of extinct animals such as the Gigantopithecus blacki — an ancient ape that was twice the size of apes today — and the Neanderthal — a species of human that is said to have became extinct 40,000 years ago."
So this "Bigfoot skeleton" is based partially on the "looks of extinct animals such as the Gigantopithethecus blacki"? Oh my. If you've read this far, you know that we really don't know much about what those extinct animals actually did look like. We've got some teeth and mandibles - that's it. From those meager remains, wishful thinkers (including academics) have built up several real-looking reconstructions that will probably be cited for years to come as actual evidence. That's why Viscardi's statement ("Their remains are very similar to those of humans, particularly when the skull is damaged") is so unfortunate: he's reinforcing the incorrect notion that all of this business about the giant, bipedal Gigantopithecus is fact, established based on the existence of skeletons and skulls.
That's just not true.
Maybe Gigantopithecus was a 10' tall biped. But maybe it wasn't. What we don't know about Gigantopithecus far outweighs what we do know. That vacuum of knowledge is what allows all kinds of notions (not all of which can be correct) to survive. Some of those notions will be killed off when actual postcranial remains are found. In the meantime, I hope that academics will take care to convey to the public what we actually do and do not know about this creature.


text:
Johnno Casson aka Snippet – 'Future Melancholy Pop Music' (album review)
Published on March 9, 2017 March 9, 2017 by Flo Bannigan
Acquiring the title of "National Treasure" can be a double-edged sword. A bit like a Lifetime Achievement Award, it implies that the best is in the past. But when it is offered with the respect and affection of BBC veteran music presenter Tom Robinson, it's an accolade any musician would be proud to accept.
Enter Johnno Casson, aka Snippet and the aforementioned National Treasure of the indie music world. Yes, he has been making music for many years, whether as singer and main songwriter for trip-hop pioneers Deep Joy, working with the likes of Andrew Weatherall (Primal Scream), James Lavelle (Mo' Wax/UNKLE) and Adrian Sherwood (On-U-Sound), or creating his own solo projects – releasing five albums & six EPs. He keeps busy. Johnno gets around too – attracting a world wide following and picking up support from the likes of Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Amazing and an array of wonderful national and international radio stations. If that's not enough, his song "We Luv The Sunshine" features on the movie soundtrack of The Space Between. And he pays it forward, as part of the supportive team at Fresh On The Net and as producer of Colchester's own community music project, the Warm And Toasty Club.
National Treasure? I should say so. But not one to rest on his laurels.
On 7 April, Johnno releases his biggest, boldest and most thought provoking album to date, Future Melancholy Pop Music.
Opening with a one and a half minute dream track "Hold No Shame", Johnno sets the direction of travel for the album into an honest exploration of what has been and what is intended.
There's something deliciously British about Johnno's world. Exposure to the quintessential class system isn't necessary to appreciate the sentiment behind "Middle Class Ways". We've all bumped up against arrogance, but there is a gentleness to Johnno's tone and tune that turns protest into wisdom. The subject of class turns up again in "Follow", this time opening with aching emotion before offering another slice of advice "Follow your heart, don't waste your time on nobodies". "Ain't Got Time For" continues the theme, listing time-wasting tabloid fodder in one side of a conversation heard in pubs throughout the land "I ain't got time for The Government/Simon Cowell/Eamonn blinking Holmes". There's a counterpoint though, to "Shut down the haters..with music on the radio". A vision of a kinder place, with "so much time for you".
The signature single from the album, "Bad Man" is a chirpy tease of a track that reaches out to men of a certain age everywhere. "I've got so much to give, and I'm good for my years"…"I do the work like nobody else can". Whatever your age or gender, this will have you singing along. If, after that, there's any doubt that it's OK to be just who you are, "Being Yourself" reinforces the sentiment, with an upbeat Squeeze-meets-Lily Allen combo.
As anticipated by the album title, there is melancholy in the music. "Marvellous Life" offers choices, some good, some not so clever, some slightly sinister. Set against a wistful folk-pop arrangement, the option to dance, be happy and get a cat becomes surprisingly…marvellous. Turning melancholy up a notch or two, "F'All" is "Ain't Got Time For" turned inside on itself, souls bared and options reduced. Drums beat a slow march to nowhere. Take a breath, then immerse into "Mental Health", or rather our fear of the subject. Complex and engaging the music may be, but the lyrics pull no punches.
Emotion saturation? Not yet. "We Love You" hints at loss, perhaps the expected loss of a parent or an old friend who "always made it special", while "Some Kid" exposes the tragic consequences of street violence "Some kid he died, it was avoidable".
Not all songs are sad, and not all songs need lyrics, especially when they display the Madness-styled jazz-infused sax of "Dumbfounded". Is the title ironic? That's Britishness for you. It's never far from the surface, with images of English childhood bubbling through "I Remember" and trips into town for a "cup of tea and a piece of cake" in the cheeky love song "In Your Arms".
The unfulfilled bucket list of "I Leave It To You" draws the album to a close with a glimpse of simple, warm, domestic life shared behind front doors everywhere. Johnno's vocals, cosy and comforting, balance melancholy with nostalgia, providing resolution and a sense that love makes everything OK, after all.
With Future Melancholy Pop Music, Johnno offers an album that is thought-provoking and intimate. Speaking to issues and emotions that we British generally prefer to restrain behind a stiff upper lip, he opens a window upon elements of life and society that, left unaired, harbour pain. This is a brave collection, delivered through compelling vocals and wrapped in accomplished musicianship.
Future Melancholy Pop Music is released on the 7 April 2017 by Folkwit Records. Order your copy here, and make your way to the launch gig at Colchester's The Minories at 2pm on Sunday 9 April – tickets here.
Follow Johnno Casson, aka Snippet on Website |Facebook | Twitter
Share This Article On...
Albums, Music, The RevueColchester, Folkwit, Future Melancholy Pop Music, Johnno Casson, Snippet, UK
Melodic Tonic, vol. 14
Mundo 5: All-Star MLB Walk-up songs
The Matinee '18 March 23rd
Previous Previous post: Alyeska – 'Crush' (EP review)
Next Next post: The Matinee March 9th
The Matinee '22 v. 005 – Thyla, Bolywool, No Suits in Miami, Gracie Gray, Elanor Moss, Joshua Woo, CHAI, Trentemøller, Arctic Lake
Through the euphoria of long-time favorites, to the quirkiness of a great international band, to the intimacy of newer artists, […]
Just like the previous mini-playlists, The Matinee '22 v.004 is filled with songs from albums dropping soon (and in one […]
The Matinee '22 v. 003 – North America Edition
For the second helping of new music on this 12th day of January, The Matinee '22 v. 003 is focused […]
The Matinee '22 v. 002 – UK & Ireland Edition
With all the great releases this week, we're offering a one-two punch with The Matinee '22 v. 002 focused on […]
Send us your music on SubmitHub ⇒


Welcome to my maple pumpkin spice roasted pumpkin seeds recipe. Halloween in just around the corner and I can't wait to start carving pumpkins while munching on this sweet treat.
There have been a lot of traditions in my life but none of them have shown up as regularly as pumpkin seeds.
As a kid we always carved pumpkins while munching on pumpkin seeds. This continued through my teen years. In college I hosted numerous pumpkin-carving parties complete with crazy pumpkin-carving tools, roasted pumpkin seeds and wine (of course there was wine!).
Now I find myself in a household where I am the only one who likes pumpkin seeds. Baby M (very soon to be toddler M!) can't yet eat them, J finds them hard to chew and The Hubs, Brit that he is, never acquired a taste for them at all. And so every year I go about trying to find new ways to doctor them up and show my family just how good they are.
This recipe was designed to entice J.
These roasted pumpkin seeds are sweet as can be because of a douse of maple syrup. Plus, they have all those warm comforting pumpkin pie spices that I know he loves.
J's reaction: "Mommy! They're so sweet and yummy!" Yay!
Followed by: "But I can't chew them. Phhhh!" The phhh was the spitting out part.
*sigh* Well, I tried. The upshot is that The Hubs declared them the best roasted pumpkin seeds he's ever had. And he did eat quite a few. I, addict that I am, ate the rest. They really are that good (the chewy crunchy texture that my son hates, well, that's what the seeds are all about, and this recipe is all about the chew and the crunch. I'll convince him with the next batch for sure).
If you love pumpkin as much as I do, be sure to also check out my other seed flavoring recipes and my recipe for pumpkin soup with bacon and Parmesan crumbles.
It's time to make these maple pumpkin spice roasted pumpkin seeds!
Pumpkin seeds are roasted with sweet maple syrup and warm pumpkin pie spices in a 2-step process that makes them chewy and delicious.
Heat the oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the pumpkin seeds. It is inevitable that some water has clung to the seeds so stand back a bit and beware of spattering. Stir the seeds to coat them all with the oil. Cook stirring occasionally until well-browned, about 4-5 minutes.
Here's a nice-looking alternate seasoning for pumpkin seeds worth checking out from Season with Spice.
I used to love roasting pumpkin seeds in the fall when I was little (well, my parents were roasting them, not me :)). I haven't really done it since then, too busy or too lazy at times. I bet maple syrup goes great with pumpkin seeds flavor!
Julia, Do give it a try! I bet just the smell of roasting pumpkin seeds will take you back to those times with your parents. Happy Halloween!