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Home » Human Rights Eye » Human Rights Violations
Stand for Human rights
Shahzaib Amin Malik
Human Rights Violations in Kashmir, Syria, & Palestine
For decades, Human Rights have been violated in Kashmir and Palestine. However, now the atrocities have spread the web in Syria as well. Each of this region is the living proof that violence has always been a serious infringement in the basic rights. The dispute began in 1947 with the partition of the British Indian Empire into India and Pakistan.
The situation of Kashmir gets worse as each year passes. Last year was the worst, yet the transgression only continues. Each year the body counts keep on rising. What's even more dismaying is, the barring of every effort done in order to make the situation better. In 2016, a rights activist from Jammu and Kashmir, Khurram Parvez, was going to Geneva to brief officials on the ongoing Kashmir issue at the UNHRC session but was held back from boarding a flight from Delhi to the said destination. A refusal to invite a mission and detention of rights activists is further proof of India's reluctance to let the violation of human rights in Kashmir be highlighted on any international forum. While Pakistan's letter to the UN has been acknowledged, India has refused to write one. In order to send any mission, the UNHRC chief requires an invitation from both countries.
Police torture in Kashmir
Torture, impunity, rape, murder, disappearances, use of violence in internal conflicts, executions and countless deaths are what sums up the atrocities in Kashmir.
The NHRC stated in its 1996-1997 report that 1,375 armed forces personnel had been killed and 2,237 injured in Jammu and Kashmir between January 1, 1988 and April 30, 1997. The totals were 918 civilians, 189 security force personnel and 1,114 militants, according to reliable press reports in 1997.
According to U.S. Department of State, India Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1998. Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, February 26, 1999. According to the Kashmiri-Canadian Council, 47,455 Kashmiris have died since October 1989.
Kashmiri-Canadian Council have put forward an alarming number of rape statistics too; 6,300 Kashmiri women have been raped. Indian security forces have adopted rape as a method to attack Kashmiri women who they accuse of sympathizing with the militants. By raping these women, the security forces are aiming to punish and humiliate the entire community."
-Human Rights Watch
"Impunity has been and remains a serious problem in Jammu and Kashmir. Security forces have committed thousands of serious human rights violations over the course of the conflict, including extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and torture."
-US department of state
Last year was a significant year as the International Community has finally taken notice of the torment and tyranny in Kashmir. Many countries have outspoken against the fascism rendered by Indian forces.
The situation of Palestine is no different.
Even in 2015 Israel continued to spread the horror by enforcing severe and discriminatory restrictions on Palestinians' human rights. Israeli authorities also irrationally held up peaceful Palestinian demonstrators. That included children too.
Israeli security forces killed at least 120 and injured at least 11,953 Palestinian civilians in West Bank, Gaza, and Israel as of the same date, including bystanders, protesters, and suspected assailants.
Israeli forces are also responsible for destructing homes and other property under discriminatory practices that severely restrict Palestinians' access to construction permits and forcibly displaced hundreds of Palestinian residents in West Bank areas under Israeli control, as well as Bedouin citizens of Israel. Israeli courts have been unwilling to rule on the legality of the settlements under international law.
Palestine also acceded to the International Criminal Court treaty and became an ICC member in April. Following a January 2015 declaration by the Palestinian government giving the ICC a mandate back to June 13, 2014, the ICC prosecutor opened a preliminary examination to determine whether the criteria have been met to merit pursuing a formal investigation.
The horror have spread its wings to the region of Syria as well. Once a peaceful country, Syria is one of those regions now that witness serious encroachments of the rights.
Greater United States and Russian engagement on Syria and efforts to reach a political settlement in 2016 failed to significantly reduce egregious violations of human rights and humanitarian law that have come to characterize the armed conflict there.
According to the Syrian Center for Policy Research, an independent Syrian research organization, the death toll from the conflict as of February 2016 was 470,000. The spread and intensification of fighting has led to a dire humanitarian crisis, with 6.1 million internally displaced people and 4.8 million seeking refuge abroad, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. By mid-2016, an estimated 1 million people were living in besieged areas and denied life-saving assistance and humanitarian aid.
More than 117,000 have been detained or disappeared since 2011, the vast majority by government forces, including 4,557 between January and June 2016, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights. Torture and ill-treatment are rampant in detention facilities; thousands have died in detention.
The Islamic State (also known as ISIS), and the former Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra, which changed its name to Jabhat Fath al-Sham, were responsible for systematic and widespread violations, including targeting civilians with artillery, kidnappings, and executions. Non-state armed groups opposing the government also carried out serious abuses including indiscriminate attacks against civilians, using child soldiers, kidnapping, unlawfully blocking humanitarian aid, and torture.
On October 28, Russia lost its seat at the Human Rights Council after failing to secure enough votes for re-election from UN member states. Various human rights and humanitarian relief organizations, including Human Rights Watch, had urged UN member states to hold Russia accountable for its involvement in possible war crimes.
In its fourth report, released this year, the Joint Investigative Mechanism between the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the UN concluded that Syrian government forces used chemicals in an attack in Idlib in March 2015. The inquiry also identified the military units responsible for flights connected to the attacks but could not name the commanders of the units due to the Syrian government's failure to respond to crucial queries. In an earlier report, the joint inquiry had reached the same conclusion for two other attacks, in 2014 and 2015. The inquiry also previously found that ISIS had used sulfur mustard gas in an attack on areas held by armed opposition groups in August 2015.
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Root byla česká black metalová hudební skupina z Brna, která byla založena v roce 1987 z členů skupiny Vega. Skupina je druhou vlnou blackmetalových skupin, následujících po skupinách Venom a Bathory.

Během své kariéry vydala 12 alb, 4 videoklipy a 2 DVD. Objevila se také kompilačních albech a jiných hudebních nosičích. Skupina koncertuje nejen v Česku, ale i v zahraničí, kde měla možnost hrát se skupinami Moonspell, Anathema, Cradle of Filth, Apocalyptica, Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, Nifelheim, Pungent Stench, Behemoth, Master, Deströyer 666, Enslaved, Testament, Napalm Death, Pestilence, Carpatian Forest, Impaled Nazarene, Satanic Warmaster, Amon Amarth, Legion Of The Damned, Skyforger, Sodom, Master's Hammer, Krabathor či Hypnos.

Založení
Skupina byla založena členy původní skupiny Vega. Původní členové byli Big Boss (bicí), Blackie (kytara) a Dr. Fe (vokály). Když se na začátku roku 1988 skupina Vega definitivně rozpadla, dva její členové Big Boss a Blackosh spolu s Mr. Zetem a Robinem "Dr. Fe" Krčmářem založili skupinu Root. Nově vzniklá formace se postarala o natočení první demonahrávky Reap Of Hell, která zaujala zpracováním básně Ch. Baudelaira Litanie k Satanovi.

Své první vystoupení měli v září 1988 na festivalu Metal Image v Mikulovicích. Významným vystoupením byla účast na listopadovém Death Metal sessionu ll v Praze. Koncem roku skupina natočila své druhé demo War Of Rats (Válka krys). V dubnu 1989 došlo ve skupině k personálním změnám. Bubeník Big Boss nezvládal hru na dva kopáky a protože byl frontman skupiny, tak propustil Dr. Fe a sám se ujal zpěvu. Za bicími ho vystřídal Rostislav Mozga. Mr. Zeta nahradil kytarista Petr Kříž. V této sestavě nahráli třetí demo, které dostalo název Messengers Of Darkness. Poslední předlistopadovou změnou bylo vystřídání Crosse, Petrem Pálenským, vedoucím již rozpadlé skupiny Insania. Ten se již podílel na posledním předlistopadovém demu The Trial, ze kterého pochází píseň Upálení, kterou na sklonku roku skupina natočila v Československé televizi jako klip.

Skupina se věnovala satanisnu. Big Boss byl v té době přesvědčeným satanistou a je autorem prvního překladu Satanské bible Antona Szandora LaVeye. Za své názory a rozhovory byl často perzekvován Státní bezpečností.

Historie
V roce 1987 Jiří Valter přezdívaný Big Boss spolu s Blackie založili skupinu Root. Po pár zkouškách nahráli první oficiální demo "Reap Of Hell". V roce 1988 odehráli svůj první koncert, poté bylo nahráno druhé demo "War Of Rats". V roce 1989 vydali třetí demo "Messengers Of Darkness" a čtvrté demo "The Trial", k tomu vystoupili na koncertě Death Metal Session II. V roce 1990 vydali singl 7 Černých Jezdců / 666 následovaný prvním LP s názvem Zjevení, které pokřtil Petr Janda. Během té doby také natočili svůj první klip v České televizi s názvem Upálení a u firmy Zeras klip Hřbitov. Ten také vyšel na LP Death Metal Session II. Druhé LP Hell Symphony vyšlo v roce 1991 znovu u firmy Zeras. Byla to první deska nazpívaná anglicky. Třetí LP vyšlo v roce 1993 u společnosti Monitor Records s názvem The Temple In The Underworld, tato deska byla již nahraná s novým bubeníkem Evilem. V letech 1994 vznikly ve skupině neshody, přesto se dále koncertovali, až v roce 1995 se skupina rozešla.

I přes osobní neshody v roce 1996 vydali čtvrté album s názvem Kärgeräs. Bylo vydáno u firmy Black Hole. Bylo natočeno v sestavě Big Boss, Blackie a Evil. Jednalo se o první koncepční album. Skupina pro přetrvávající neshody odehrála jen pár koncertů v různých sestavách. Až v roce 1999 se znovu sjednotila a podepsala smlouvu s firmou Redblack. Vydala reedici double CD Zjevení/The Temple In The Underworld. V témže roce skupina vydala páté album The Book. Novými členy skupiny se stali, kytarista Ashok a basista Igorr. V roce 2000 skupina poprvé vycestovala do zahraničí na koncert do Zwickau. Šesté album Black Seal vyšlo v roce 2001. Ve skladbě Salamandra zpíval Fernando Ribeiro ze skupiny Moonspell. Sedmé album Madness Of The Graves vyšlo v roce 2003. V roce 2004 ze skupiny odešel zakládající člen, kytarista a skladatel Blackie, jeho místo obsadil kytarista Poison. V roce 2005 přišel do skupiny Marek Fryčák. V dalších letech skupina vydala mini-CD Casilda u nové firmy Shindy Production. Big Boss v roce 2006 hostoval na albu Memorial skupiny Moonspell a na albu The Journeys and Experiences of Death skupiny Helheim. Skupinu opustil kytarista Poison a na jeho místo přišel bývalý bubeník a nyní kytarista Evil. Osmé album Daemon Viam Invenient vyšlo v roce 2008 opět u firmy Shindy Production. Skupina se účastnila festivalu No Mercy Tour 2007 spolu ss skupinami Napalm Death, Moonspell a Behemoth. Hrála na norském festivalu Nedlok Festival a podnikla finské mini-tour se skupinou Coliseu In Aeternum. Vrcholem sezóny 2007 byla účast na Halloween Party v portugalském Lisabonu, jako support skupiny Moonspell před 3 000 diváky. V roce 2008 hrála na festivalu Festung Open Air v Německu a na Caos Emergente Festivalu v Portugalsku. Po koncertech na festivalu Inferno Festival v Norsku, Black Curse Over Hellsinki ve Finsku, Kilkim Žaibu Festivalu v Litvě a festivalu Trash Assaultna v Německu skupinu opustil bubeník Deadly a jeho místo obsadil Peter Hrnčirík. V roce 2010 skupina koncertovala v Rakousku, Dánsku a poprvé v zámoří, v Kanadě na festivalu Noctis Metal Fest IV společně se Sodom. Na místo bubeníka přišel Paul Dred. V roce 2011 proběhla příprava na natáčení nového alba, které bylo natočeno hned po podepsání smlouvy s novým vydavatelem, polskou firmou Agonia Records. V červnu opustil skupinu Evil. Na jeho post nastoupil kytarista Hanz. V roce 2012 skupina oslavila 25 roků svého působení. Oslava proběhla v brněnském klubu Melodka za účasti bývalých členů. V červnu 2013 skupina hrála na festivalu Black Metal Invasion 3 ve Vídni.

V březnu roku 2022 vydala skupina prohlášení, že zpěvák, frontman a v té době jediný zakládající člen Jiří "Big Boss" Valter opouští Root ze zdravotních důvodů.

Členové

Poslední sestava kapely
 Igor Hubík (Igorr) – baskytara
 Aleš Dostál (Alesh AD) – kytara
 Zbyněk Husa (MrZ) – bicí
 Jiří Háb (Mr.G) – kytara

Bývalí členové
 Robert Krčmář (Dr. Fe) – zpěv (1988–1989)
 Zdeněk Odehnal (Mr. Zet) – kytara (1988)
 Petr Kříž (Mr. Cross) – kytara (1989)
 Petr Pálenský (Mr. Death) – kytara (1989)
 Dan Janáček (Mr. D.A.N.) – kytara (1990–1993)
 Radim Kafka (Franz) – kytara (1993)
 Petr Hošek (Blackosh) – kytara (1987–1995, 1997 – 2004)
 Aleš Dostál (Alesh AD) – kytara (1996–1999, 2014 – současnost)
 Rostislav Mozga (Black Drum) – bicí (1989–1991)
 Aleš Jedonek – kytara
 Marek Fryčák (Deadly) – bicí (2007–2009)
 René Kostelňák (Evil) – bicí+kytara (1991-2011)
 Marek Šmerda (Ashok) – kytara (1999–2014)
 Jan Konečný (Hanz) – kytara
 Pavel Kubát - bicí (2009-2019)
 Jiří Valter (Big Boss) – zpěv

Diskografie

Dema
 Deep in Hell (1988)
 Reap of Hell (1988)
 War of Rats (1988)
 Messengers from Darkness (1989)
 The Trial (1989)

Alba
 1990 – Zjevení
 1991 – Hell Symphony
 1991 – The Revelation
 1992 – The Temple in the Underworld
 1996 – Kärgeräs
 1999 – The Book
 1999 – Zjevení/The Temple in the Underworld (reedice)
 2001 – Black Seal
 2001 – Hell symphony/Kärgäras (reedice)
 2002 – Dema (reedice demonahrávek)
 2003 – Madness of the Graves
 2006 – Casilda (miniCD)
 2007 – Daemon viam invenient
 2011 – Heritage of Satan
 2013 – Viginti Quinque Annis in Scaena
 2016 – Kärgeräs - Return from Oblivion

Singl
 7 černých jezdců / 666 (1990)

Videoklipy
 Hřbitov
 Upálení
 Aposiopesis
 In The Heart Of Darkness

DVD
 Deep in Root (2006)

Odkazy

Reference

Externí odkazy

 Oficiální stránky skupiny

České blackmetalové hudební skupiny
Hudební skupiny 1980–1989
Hudební skupiny 1990–1999
Hudební skupiny 2000–2009
Hudební skupiny 2010–2019
Hudební skupiny založené v roce 1987
Hudební skupiny 2020–2029

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Advice Needed – MMO End Game Struggles
Posted on January 7, 2016 by Aywren Sojourner
This is a difficult post to write, but one that I've known has been coming for a while. I'm looking for advice on what you do when you feel a MMO's endgame really doesn't match your playstyle, and it's causing friction. I'm also using this to organize my thoughts and feelings on the matter some.
I know there's folks out there who have more experience with playing MMO end game than I do. In fact, FFXIV is the first game that I've actually reached endgame on. Because I was slow at leveling and progressing, this didn't become an issue until after Heavensward for me.
Up until the final patch of 2.0, I was still working to finish story for both of my characters, so the game was quite different – I always had story to look forward to, and I never cared about capping tomes, getting the end game armor, or Expert Roulette. I'd run Crystal Tower a few times a week because I was still earning rewards from it, but it was a pretty casual experience.
Once Heavensward dropped and that story was finished, the game became a different sort of beast. There were expectations of daily Expert Roulettes. There was the expectation of raiding Alexander Normal (which I've still not finished). I found myself struggling to try to keep up with friends and FC members so that I could group and do things with them.
But the truth is, I'm not a dungeon runner. I'm not a raid runner. I can do the content, but I easily burn out on FFXIV if all I do is run dungeons. I'll never be a fan of these things, and only tolerate them so that I don't get left behind too far. Sure, sometimes I had fun running things with FC people. But at end game, it feels like dungeons and raids were the only content people wanted to do for a while.
Still yet, I don't have a full set of Eso armor for Tai, and not a single piece for Zuri. When Void Ark came out, I gave up on daily dungeons and just started filling the holes in my set with Ark drops.
Finally, so many months after Heavensward, FFXIV is releasing content that isn't dungeon or roulette oriented (relic and beast tribe). The problem is, the calmer content tends to be strictly solo. I enjoy beast tribe quests and daily hunts, but due to their random nature, it's not something you usually group with friends to do. I had hopes for the Diadem, but as it stands now, my FC doesn't have a lot of interest in it, and running it in a group of strangers is the complete opposite of the experience I'm looking for.
What Was Lost
For me, a MMO experience is logging into a immersive world with lots of quests, lore, and story, which you can share with other people if you wish. But, strangely, that's not the way people seem to play FFXIV – almost by design, story and quests are mostly a solo thing. And once they're done, you can't go back and experience them again unless you roll an alt. I don't mind soloing to some extent, and prefer it over forced grouping of dungeons, but that doesn't give a lot of options for when you want to do things with a friend. It's pretty much dungeons or nothing.
Now, all that being said, there's a lot that I still love about FFXIV and I don't want to quit the game. I knew long ago that the forced grouping and endgame focus would eventually be an issue for me. I looked at it as something to overcome, but now it's become the central focus of everything everyone around me does. I have no issue putting time and effort into earning things like gear (I'm actually happy about some of the Relic quest because people are finally doing FATES again), but it wears me out to log in to only do dungeons every day.
I feel I've lost sight of the immersive world I used to enjoy. I feel like it's a struggle to keep up with everyone around me, doing content that I'd prefer not to… but giving up means that I won't have the gear to do the things that my friends want to (which are usually more dungeons/raids). It's a vicious circle.
Analyzing the Situation
Part of this is my own preferred playstyle. I don't mind a 24 man raid once or twice a week, but dungeons every day is a fast track to burn-out for me. I need quiet time and immersion in my game world, or it comes to feel less like a world I come to be a part of and more like something I log in to just to earn tokens. While I like goals in my games, I don't want my game to always be about goals. Maybe that's why I love the building and creativity of sandbox games, but FFXIV is pretty lacking in the sand area.
Part of this is in the design of FFXIV. With a focus on forced grouping even through the main storyline and dungeons at end game, it really isn't a fit for me. There aren't a lot of options for someone who wants to group with people, unless everyone is seriously into grinding FATEs… but even I can only do that so much.
FFXIV really doesn't offer a lot of group content aside from dungeons, which is what I think they were trying to do with the Diadem. I think they realize there's a lack of content that doesn't reside inside a dungeon roulette. Plenty of other games have introduced content in various ways to address this.
For example, I remember Skirmishes from LOTRO. While they weren't the best system for everyone, they did offer duo and trio players small group content to do while still working on goals. Some of it was quite challenging. GW1 allowed you to group with people by filling in holes in the party with Heroes – and the storyline and missions were always replayable if you wanted to go back and help friends (something I miss in FFXIV).
Looking for Advice
For a while, I thought maybe leveling my crafting would lead me to the possibility of crafting the gear I needed to get by. Except, the new system allows you to only specialize in 3 crafts, which means I'd need at least two crafters to cover the variety of gear I needed to make. Also, I've tried and tried to wrap my head around the whole end game crafting system, and I continue to come away feeling stumped and overwhelmed.
And before someone offers the thought that I need to take time away, I have taken a break from FFXIV and dungeon content for close to a month, especially over the holidays. I logged in a few times to do holiday quests and did some FATE running, but I put some distance between me and the game in hopes that I could figure out why I'm feeling disenchanted.
I suppose that time away has told me that I don't really miss the game and dungeon stress when I'm not playing it. I've already vowed to play less this year because I want to focus on creative projects and other things that got ignored due to nightly dungeon runs last year – I need a more balanced way of using free time. But now I want to figure out what I can do to enjoy the game again. I've put over 840 days of sub time into it, and I don't want to leave all that I've built on my characters and FC.
I definitely don't like the feeling of struggling to keep up at end game, and still feeling left behind despite my best efforts. Last year, I wasn't playing as a casual gamer who was there to enjoy the MMO world and the people in that world, and it's taken a noticeable toll on me.
So have you ever faced these kinds of feelings in a long-term game that you want to keep playing? What did you do? Any advice?
Tagged: FFXIV
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19 thoughts on "Advice Needed – MMO End Game Struggles"
Kiry says:
Plenty of times, in plenty of games. Took me awhile to understand that I have choices with my time, and stepping back, even for a little time is ok.
Sometimes it's just pulling back from the intensity of the game to find enjoyment in the game doing an alt, or trading or such. Sometimes it means not logging in from time to time, and doing something "else", whatever that may be, gaming or personal things.
Thanks for your thoughts!
I did consider an alt, though I already have several, and FFXIV isn't super alt-friendly once you get to higher levels. I think my FC probably considers me nuts because I keep rolling new characters in a game where one character can do it all. XD
I suppose my other fear is that taking time off from the end game means falling behind my friends in progress. While I'm not a speed player, and I'll never have the best in slot gear, I have tried really hard to keep myself equivalent enough to be able to join people in content they needed or stuff that everyone was clearing.
Sagacyte says:
What works best in this cases, I feel, is to take a breather. Play something else whenever you don't feel like playing XIV.
This is what I am doing myself. I am a raider currently attempting Alexander Savage, third floor. We've been at it for months. If I were still doing my roulette or pushing Primals on top of the raid I'd have been burned out ages ago. What I do now is that I only log in to raid, and do events and new stuff (like Thordan when it came out) when I feel like it; when I don't feel like running a dungeon for the new Relic I just play something else. It keeps things fresh and makes my jumps to Eorzea enjoyable.
My FC recently obtained a house and I was happily helping to build an airship, which was surprising to me because it is essentially crafting stuff, but my breaks helped it all feel fresh and good.
Thanks for your thoughts! 🙂
I actually did spend a good time away from the game over the holidays – mostly indulged in Wii U gaming, which is about as far from dungeons and raids as it can get. That's why I was coming back to tackle this question now that I've had a breather.
I think I'm most concerned about the talk of the introduction of new Tomes (in the next patch?). After running dailies for Eso, I don't know if I'm going to be able to handle doing it all over again for the new Tomes without burnout. I never used to worry about Tomes or capping or any of it because I was never at end game. Also, in the back of my mind, I know that Eso will become the new Law Tomes, and easier to get… and the cycle continues.
But I know that FC folks will probably want to work on that, and if I don't, (I feel) that puts me behind. If I ever figured out crafting, that could be a viable way of sorta keeping up, I guess? I mean, the Sky Pirate set a friend crafter made for me is enough to get me into Void Ark where I can run for better drops. I don't mind a weekly 24-man as much.
Anyhow, good luck with AS3. I've heard it's a really tough one to tackle. I'm nowhere near touching that kind of content, so you have my respect! 🙂
If you ever figure out what works, I'd like to hear it too. 🙂
I've never lasted long in a game whose endgame design just doesn't jibe with my playstyle – throw me in a competitive PvP or raid/gear-focused PvE environment and I lose the interest or will to play after a couple months.
The only thing I can think of is to voluntarily choose to prioritize what you feel you enjoy, nevermind the fear of falling behind or losing out, and go at your own pace.
Easier said than done, of course, but if you think you're into something for the long term, you'll get there eventually, while burnout is forever. The destination may even get easier to achieve with the passage of time, while the racing people peak early and then burn out like a star and stop playing for the time it takes a slower paced person to get there.
Try to do stuff in game that you enjoy to remember the feeling of what you liked and had fun with. Conversely, try something new that you think you might enjoy, the process of newness and learning might help make it fun.
(If either doesn't satisfy, especially if you need company with you, it may be time to acknowledge that the game and its endgame no longer fits, for the moment.)
These are good thoughts, thanks!
Luckily, I have so much to do that's not endgame gear grind in FFXIV, that it's not hard for me to find things to keep me occupied. In fact, there's so many things I've not finished or started yet because dungeon runs took up most of my time and energy for the last half year.
You're right that those who race forward burn out fastest. I was never in a rush to get things in any MMO I've played (rarely make it to level cap in most of them), but it felt like suddenly, that's what it all became in FFXIV about after the expansion hit. Probably that was due to being the first time I've ever experienced a MMO's end game.
I won't say that some of it wasn't fun. But I know with my personality, it's not sustainable. I'm thinking about making a list of those things I've never finished in FFXIV yet and dedicating some time to them. Fishing, for example, is always a great way for me to unwind.
pkudude99 says:
For me I'm an insufferable alt-aholic, so I've been working up all the various jobs. 2 more levels of MCH, then 10 levels of Dragoon, and 25 each for NIN and MNK to go……
When I 1st hit 60 on my SMN, I did the daily experts so I could get the Esoterics and all of that. And I've got the full Eso suit for summoner and a lot of it now upgraded to i210 from weekly runs of Void Ark. And that's good enough for me. Of course, all those daily experts that I used to do got me tons of law tomes, so I had fully upgraded i180 sets waiting for my for my healers, my tanks, and my ranged guys. But I stopped doing those, so while I have the i180 weapons for the 3 melee classes, I don't have sets of gear for them yet.
On the other hand… I don't really care either. I've never been one to be on the bleeding edge of gear and content in any game. The fact that I've got my summoner so close to full i210 right now is shocking even to me…..
I also play other games. Lately it's been a lot of Endless Legend, but I'm starting to feel the pull back to some other MMO's. Heck, I might even finally give Wildstar a real chance instead of just getting to level 7 like I currently have. gotta get some play time on that before it shuts down, right? 😉
I also have Civ5, TSW, still need to finish Pillars of Eternity, finish Shadowrun Returns: Hong Kong, and I'm even thinking about giving SWTOR another go….. plenty of stuff out there, nothing say I have to be locked in to 1 game and whatever its endgame is.
You have a lot more dungeon tolerance than I do, then! I also have way too many other games I still haven't finished yet. Need to keep working on that Steam list!
Well, this is the first time I've been remotely near an MMO's endgame, too, so… no advice here. XD
It's probably a good thing that you don't get caught up in all that, to be honest. It's best to play at your own pace. 🙂
Well, I suppose I was sort-of in the endgame before Heavensward came out when I was pushing to get my bow (which I still love glamoring onto any other bow I get :D)
It is a really cool looking bow!
Perhaps the mistake you are making is overestimating the amount or ilvl of gear you need to be able to do the group content? I know that many people have a "full best-in-slot or gtfo" mindset, and that is really anathema to your playstyle. If you feel like you are drifting towards or being pulled into that mindset then that could be your main problem.
I can't say for sure, not having any experience, but FFXIV group content can't be that finely tuned that you need to be as close to the bleeding edge as you can in order to not sabotage the group. Surely. I honestly doubt that, if you stopped dungeons altogether for the next 2 or 3 months, and only did the weekly raid about 1/2 the time, you would fall so far behind as to become a liability.
So, I would suggest just being in the moment. If you feel like running a dungeon, perhaps to help a new scholar through story content (:P), then go for it. If you don't like the idea, don't be afraid or ashamed to decline. "Sorry, I'm not in the mood for that today" is a perfectly acceptable response to requests imo.
As long as you enjoy interacting with the people around you (i.e. FC) then it doesn't really matter how much you are "progressing" through the end game. Which in this case is gear level and occasional raids.
Obviously it would be great to have more non-dungeon small-group content, but you have to work with what you have. I hope you find the right balance, Aywren.
It depends on what you want to do in FFXIV. For example, to be involved in the casual 24-man raid, Void Ark, you must have at least item level 175. You can't even enter the instance until you have the gear level, so the game doesn't allow ungeared folks to hold others back by design. Seeing that the top ilevel is 210 right now, it doesn't require the best in slot, but it does still require more than you can get from finishing just the Heavensward story.
Previous to this patch, you could only get that kind of gear through gathering Tomes in dungeons. The newest patch has made it so 2 star level 60 crafters can make gear that's ilvl 185, so that would be good enough to run it. It's just quite expensive if you're not the crafter or know someone who is.
Void Ark, by comparison, drops item level 200 gear, so that's a good equivalent to the highest in the game. You can only get one piece a week, so it does encourage you to pace yourself a bit more slowly.
FFXIV is actually quite friendly to those who wait or are gearing up from behind everyone else – it's just when you're running dungeons every day to get the best stuff that it wears me out.
It didn't help that the patch that brought the better gear and the raid was fairly late. The team took some time off after releasing Heavensward, so all there was to do at endgame for a while was run the same dungeon roulette. They're working on fixing it at this point, but it was something we needed months ago, honestly.
If you're like me (and in this case, i think you are), this sounds like a case of 'the journey is more important than the destination'. There are people for who the destination (endgame dungeons/raiding) is the meat of the game, so that's what they're racing off to. And then there's people like me, who care much more about the journey: when there is little left to explore and progress comes primarily through repeating the same content over and over, interest is quickly lost.
In my experience, most themepark MMO's offer little endgame other than dungeons/raids and/or pvp. As I see it, there are two ways about this. Option one is to go off the beaten track. Do the things you personally enjoy doing and don't do the things the game or other players tell you you 'have' to do. Option two is, as others have pointed out, to set the game aside, for now, until new content pulls you in again or you feel the urge to re-explore.
Yeah, I'm very much the Journey type player. I guess you could note that working on earning new gear is kinda a journey. But the thing about that is that in half a year, I know that gear is going to be outdated – that's the way FFXIV has worked since forever.
So the journey towards gear is not only never-ending, but it's never-ending type of content that is not my favorite to do, and achievements will always be replaced in short time. That's why I didn't bother with it much in the past. Those patches are yet to come, so I'll have to see how they work when they do. If the ilvl raised 5 or 10 levels, and what I have is still relevant enough to let me do content that I want to do when I do feel like it, then there's not a problem.
There's still tons of things for me to do in game that doesn't revolve around gear. Thankfully, big patches come every three months or so and include story to explore, which is a good thing.
Leaving the game isn't really an option, or something I want to do. I've played it less lately because I want to focus on other projects this year. But I'm a guild leader and I put a good bit of time into building the FC last year, so I don't want to leave it. Too many other people are playing the game because of me, like Al and Syn. Plus I'm a column writer for the game on MMOgames.com, and I don't want to give up that job.
So, I'm searching for what alternatives I can to make the game more fun for me again.
The gear grind is also not my kind of journey. I like to explore the dungeons in a game and try to tackle the tactical puzzles they present in a group. But when you have to run the same dungeons over and voer again to get better items in order to access the next tier of dungeons, it's not really a journey anymore.
I'd advise you to resist the pressure the game may put on you to acquire ever better gear. Always running the gear treadmill can be a shortcut to burnout. I don't know the game, so I can't really offer you any interesting alternatives. But perhaps you can go off the beaten path and explore some different/unconventional playstyles. Might result in some good columns, too.
Lucek says:
To be honest I am not sure if I should be giving any advice, as it might not really be relevant. I have not reached endgame in final fantasy so can't say anything there. Been playin on and off lately.
What I can do is try to answer your question.
I remember having the same issues with WoW when I still played it. Raiding didn't do it for me anymore as organizing raids and trying to keep the team together and not discouraged after each wipe was hard.
Same with running dungeons.
I had a lot of alts there at max level at the time, but making another char to grind was not fun in the slightest.
That was when I started looking at the game from a different angle, I mean, at the time I did not care for things like lore or locations, it was mostly go there do a quest etc.
I found what got me back into the game, as well as what was fun for me. It was the lore and locations. I mean it might sound not that impressive and not be up to what is fun for you, but at the time, finding something new, be it information or sights to see was the breath of fresh wind I needed.
Endgame in WoW became fun for me as I could explore a lot of places undisturbed by mobs or needing other people to get somewhere. With each new game I started I took more and more time to explore the backstory, locations, lore. Small details were fun to discover, and while I still find myself to grind a lot, I also can just sit back and go around the world and explore, looking for that one little thing I have not seen the last time I was there.
It might not do it for you, but I do hope you find something that will be a source of fun in the game. A step back to look around you is sometimes needed as all that haste and grind can make you blind to the things around you.
Hope that this had even an ounce of sense ^^;
That's something I wish FFXIV had more of, to be honest. I know they have the vista achievements and all, but I haven't been motivated to go around locating all of those at this point. That's the benefit of having a large world like WOW – there's a lot to find off the beaten path.
I've been focusing more on gathering and crafting the past few days, and that's been a big help. I was a little frustrated with crafting for a while, but now that I've got a clearer path forwards, I'm more inspired to work on that again. I also need to pay more attention to the Gold Saucer sometime – I've hardly touched chocobo racing/breeding and haven't yet started Lord of Verminion. So, there's still a ton of stuff for me to do.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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11/17/2020 | News release | Distributed by Public on 11/17/2020 16:15
If You Attend Thanksgiving with 25 People from Burleigh County, There's a 91% Chance 1 has COVID-19
Large gatherings, particularly events taking place indoors, have been shown to create a greater possibility of COVID-19 infection. As we get closer to the Thanksgiving holiday, where tradition is to gather with friends and family, planning should include a risk assessment for COVID-19.
An online assessment tool is attributing specific risk showing that Burleigh County individuals who attend an event, such as a Thanksgiving dinner, may be at a high risk for encountering at least one person who is COVID-19 positive. The online tool allows you to choose an event size on a sliding scale that ascertains risk. According to the tool, a Thanksgiving with 10 individuals creates a 62 percent risk level. When the event increases to 15 individuals, the risk level increases to 76 percent. A gathering with 25 individuals pushes the risk 91 percent, while gatherings over 50 individuals create a risk greater than 99 percent.
'Thanksgiving has always been a time for families to gather, but in this stage of the pandemic when our positive cases, hospitalizations and deaths are at all-time high, the risk of hosting a gathering should be the first consideration when planning to celebrate the holiday this year,' said Renae Moch, Public Health Director for Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health.
This COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool can be utilized at https://covid19risk.biosci.gatech.edu/ and allows planning for gatherings of various sizes and bases risk on COVID-19 rates by county. The online tool is a collaborative project led by Professors Joshua Weitz and Clio Andris at the Georgia Institute of Technology, along with researchers at the Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory and Stanford University, and powered by RStudio.
Due to the increased risk of COVID-19 infection during a holiday season in the midst of a pandemic, the Center for Disease Control recommends the following information to help try to reduce the spread of this potentially fatal disease:
Check the COVID-19 infection rates in areas where attendees live on state, local, territorial or tribal health department websites. Based on the current status of the pandemic, consider if it is safe to hold, or attend, the gathering on the proposed date.
Limit the number of attendees as much as possible to allow people from different households to remain at least 6 feet apart at all times. Guests should avoid direct contact, including handshakes and hugs, with others not from their household.
Host a virtual celebration. Families can gather around the table via Zoom to enjoy a meal together.
Host outdoor, rather than indoor, gatherings as much as possible. Even outdoors, require guests to wear masks when not eating or drinking.
Avoid holding gatherings in crowded, poorly ventilated spaces with persons who are not in your household.
Increase ventilation by opening windows and doors to the extent that is safe and feasible based on the weather, or by placing central air and heating on continuous circulation.
Require guests to wear masks. At gatherings that include persons of different households, everyone should always wear a mask that covers both the mouth and nose, except when eating or drinking. It is also important to stay at least 6 feet away from people who are not in your household at all times.
Encourage attendees to wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
Limit contact with commonly touched surfaces or shared items such as serving utensils. Clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces and any shared items between use when feasible. Use EPA-approved disinfectants.
Use touchless garbage cans if available. Use gloves when removing garbage bags or handling and disposing of trash. Wash hands after removing gloves.
Plan ahead and ask guests to avoid contact with people outside of their households for 14 days before the gathering.
Treat pets as you would other human family members - do not let pets interact with people outside the household.
Move information about hosting, and traveling to, holiday events is available from the CDC at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html. Specific information about Thanksgiving is available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/thanksgiving.html.
'With careful planning and consideration for the health and safety of your friends and family during the holidays this year, you're doing what you can to ensure your loved ones will be around for future holidays to come', said Moch. 'The safest thing to do is to stay home with the people in your own household.'
For ongoing response efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Dakota Department of Health has established a COVID-19 Hotline to help answer your questions. You may reach someone with your questions 1-866-207-2880, Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with questions. Please note that individuals seeking specific medical advice should contact their healthcare provider.
For COVID-19 inquiries, testing event inquiries, as well as questions about other health programs and issues, please call Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health at 355-1540, or you can connect with us through a variety of online platforms. Information is available at www.bismarcknd.gov, as well as through social media: via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For more info about COVID-19, visit the ND Department of Health website, NDResponse.gov, or CDC website.
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You are here: Home » Thesis » Thesis: Table of Contents » Literature Review » 1. What is visual literacy?
1. What is visual literacy?
Despite this sentiment, Elkins has elsewhere listed various competencies for what might constitute visual literacy and has edited a collection of essays on the subject (2008). John Debes has been credited with coining the term in 1969 (Horton, 1994, p. 5); however, Elkins (2008) has found otherwise: "A search of newspaper and magazine databases revealed that visual literacy has been in uncommon but intermittent use for over a hundred and fifty years" (p. 1). Perhaps, since visual literacy is a concept that has emerged from many different disciplines (Dwyer and Moore, 1994, p.3), its history varies from field to field.
While this definition seems straightforward, it is debatable whether visual literacy should be considered an area of literacy at all. There is a tendency to approach the understanding of visual images in the same way that language is approached, in terms of trying to impose a syntax or grammar onto visual language. In Visual Grammar (2006), Christian Leborg has written, "Visual language has no formal syntax or semantics, but the visual objects themselves can be classified" (p. 5). Lupton and Miller (1996) have suggested, "visual language is a metaphor" (p. 65). Elkins (2003) has also suggested that it is a mistake to think "that pictures have syntax and grammar in the same way writing does" (p. 125). Since visual modes of communication cannot be considered in the same terms as verbal modes, the use of the term literacy in visual literacy is problematic from the onset.
This definition of literacy moves toward inclusion of competencies in areas outside of traditional literacy. In addition to visual literacy, we now hear of scientific, economic, multicultural, and other literacies. In this way, visual literacy has become part of a larger debate around literacy itself.
Tompkins et al. (2008) also disagreed with Neil Postman in his assertion that children do not need instruction to watch television (p.321). In other words, this concept of visual literacy suggests that it cannot be attained simply through the naturally developed powers of visual perception that come through the stages of cognitive development.
The corporate graphic designer might think that visual literacy is separate from the media literacy proponents' focus on critical interpretation. In the definitions cited above, by Tompkins et al. and National Telemedia Council, there seems to be more concern with the content of the media message than its style. On the other side, graphic design programs are generally more concerned with aesthetic principles of design. Outside the mainstream of academia, graphic design programs are often offered at trade schools or in the context of non-degree programs. The programs teach students to satisfy client needs, and as such tend to be practical and aligned with industry. Maud Lavin has been critical of the lack of critical thinking within the graphic design field. She has described graphic design as a field that is "client- and product-oriented … bent like most fields around self-justification, forced to talk formal visual issues and ignore its own impotency" (2001, pp. 2-3). In the glossary of Visual Grammar (2006), Christian Leborg includes a fascinating list of words, which include action, address, angle, background, center, close, color, contrast, direction, displaced, economical, frequency, irregular, opaque, plastic, repulsion, uniform, value, visible, and warm. The words in the glossary might be looked at purely in a design sense, separated from the sociopolitical realm. Critical perspectives, however, will show how these very design principles can often have greater significance, and can be used to manipulate a message. In a later section of this literature review, theories from the field of visual culture will show how all images can be critically questioned. Still, it cannot be denied that renowned artists in history have been celebrated for purely visual reasons, and have not been expected to critically participate in the world of sociopolitical issues. The phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty (2007) wrote: "The reproach of escapism is seldom aimed at the painter; we do not hold it against Cezanne that he lived hidden away at L'Estaque during the Franco-Prussian War" (pp. 352-353). In the modern context, would Cezanne's 'escapism' be seen as impeding visual literacy development? Susan Shifrin (2008) has identified another approach to visual literacy "as being more 'art for art's sake'" (p. 108). Advocates of this approach suggest that art is something that has value in and of itself whether or not its skills translate into other academic domains (p. 106).
There are arguments that visual literacy comes naturally to a certain degree. Richard Jolley has pointed out that sophisticated cave paintings show that humans have an innate ability to represent objects through images (2010, p. 7). Edward H. Sewell has noted that symbolic artifacts, such as etchings on bone, can be traced back 35,000 years (1994, p. 135). Visual literacy theorists have even extended Noam Chomsky's ideas of a universal grammar to suggest that visual literacy is innate (Horton, 1994, pp. 7-8). The work of child psychologist Jean Piaget is also cited to suggest that visual processes play a key role in cognitive development (Horton, 1994, pp. 11-12). Rudolf Arnheim (1997) argued that cognitive development depends on sensory perception and particularly visual perception. His reasoning was that "unless the stuff of the senses remains present the mind has nothing to think with" (p. 1). He argued that the visual sense is the best one to think with, because vision "is not only a highly articulate medium, but that its universe offers inexhaustibly rich information about the objects and events of the outer world" (p. 18). He suggested that visual perception plays a key role in cognitive operations such as "active exploration, grasping of essentials, simplification, abstraction, analysis and synthesis, completion, correction, comparison, problem solving, as well as combining, separating, putting into context" (p. 12). Following Arnheim's reasoning leads to the conclusion that visual literacy skills are at least partially acquired naturally, through simply being in the world, provided of course that one is able to see. Thus, visual literacy is quite different from traditional literacy, because people do not learn to read or write without specific instruction or guidance.
We are left then with a muddle: what is visual literacy? Mixing together the different perspectives I have read, I would suggest that visual literacy involves a combination of traditional, media, and technological literacies, artistic and design abilities, basic and innate visual perception abilities, and a metacognition of how we visually perceive things. By metacognition, I refer to the idea espoused in information processing theories of cognitive psychology which suggests there is such a thing as cognition about cognition, which leads to planning, monitoring, and evaluating skills (Woolfolk, Winne, Perry, & Shapka, 2009, p. 264). Following the reasoning of Arnheim, it is reasonable to suggest that there can be cognition about visual perception. In short, I would argue that visual literacy is something that exists on a sliding scale. As we study both the visual realm in a conscious and reflective manner and simply experience the world, our degree of visual literacy increases.


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India tour of Australia 2018-19 »
KL Rahul should be sent back to India: Sunil ...
KL Rahul should be sent back to India: Sunil Gavaskar
Tags: India tour of Australia 2018-19, Australia vs India 2nd Test, at Perth, Dec 14-18, 2018, India, Australia, Kannaur Lokesh Rahul, Test Series, Sunil Manohar Gavaskar, Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay, Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri, opening
In the wake of India's Perth defeat, legendary Sunil Gavaskar has openly stated that the roles of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri
In the wake of India's Perth defeat, legendary Sunil Gavaskar has openly stated that the roles of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri must be re-assessed if India do not win the next two Tests. Gavaskar spoke in the wake of India's latest selection blunder which left them with four pacers and a long tail, which was exposed in both innings.
"We have been seeing this – the selection blunders that have been committed since the tour of South Africa. It has cost the team because it has lost matches which could've been won if the proper selection had been made," Gavaskar was quoted as saying in a PTI report.
"They have to look at the combination of their team, look at the hole that needs to be plugged and pick the men to. If they do that then they can certainly win the next two matches but if they don't, and that too against this Australian team which does not have Steve Smith or David Warner, then the selectors need to think whether we are getting any benefit from this lot – the captain, coach and support staff," Gavaskar told Aaj Tak according to the PTI report.
The former India opener went on to question the decision of add members to the squad, making it an unusually big one.. "I want to find out that who has authorised 19 players to go because the next question is why not three more? The BCCI is a very rich body, it can afford to send even 40 people down there. However, I feel that an India cap, an Indian blazer has to be made a lot more valuable," he went on to say.
Gavaskar was upright in his opinion that KL Rahul should be sent back as he is just not in the right frame of mind.. "He has no chance of playing in the remaining two Tests unless of course there is an injury to any player. I think that he should be coming back and playing Ranji Trophy for Karnataka," Gavaskar went on to say.


That was a huge Aw, Odie. What a great find.
Sandee, a little sappy for my tastes, but I did it anyway.
kisstastic! Fun little video! Thanks!
Hey- let's give dolphins a chance. Replace every Sen and Congress-member, let the dolphins run things & see how they do. Sort of like Caligula and his horse Incitatus. Meh - just a thought.
Kathe W. I hear they swim too.
David, there was a horse?