HEY everyone , I hope you enjoyed my last blog entry ( http://mrtremix.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/pmoney_blacks/ ) .

I’ve been at my college for  a few eeks now  (The teachers are never  in or late) lol so i sa wthis boy  in my college last week and he recognisable that ive seen him before and i thought he was in practice hours dvd (ones of the best grime dvds ) . I  was right also all of his identical twins go to my college. Here’s the video of them they are in the back ground.

THEY STUDY SPORTS AT SOUTHGATE COLLEGE IF YOU WANTED TO KNOW.  THESE GUYS ARE IN GRIM HISTORY.

THE VIDEO FETURES JME,BOSSMAN AND  BIG H I’VE PUT THIS VIDEO UP ON MY BLOG BEFORE !!

One of the best freestyle’s ever  !!!!!

lol  Them guys are jokers !!!!!

BIG MIX BY :LENNY STILL

FOR PROMOTION FOR A NEW  16 PLUS NIGHT POISON !!!!! (THE NEW TOYS R US)

Drum and Bass/Dubstep/House. 30 minute mini mix with all 3 genres

DOWNLOAD HERE  !!!!!!!!!

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http://www.zshare.net/audio/686851379e151d18/

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Also im selling tickets  for Poison   message me  on facebook or leave  comment.  check  out my event page all details are there 16+  event !!!!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=177622823662&ref=ts

IF YOU HAVENT SEEN MY EXCLUSIVE MIX FOR MY BLOG CHECK IT OUT BIG SHOUT OUT TO LUKEY CEE

PART 1

PART 2

Also check out his sick clothing line  http://kraezy.bigcartel.com/

they do pretty tatsy urban clothing im going to do a massive feature with the guy who runs it really soon keep it on lock !!!!!!!!!

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Also xmas treat i will be chucking up all new / old smash vids up  for xmas  !!!!!!

www.youtube.com/mrtremix

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follow me on twitter !!!!!!!!!!!

http://twitter.com/mrtremix

MR.T REMIX

We have moved to TGN-Official.tk

Check it out ASAP to keep updated on Playstation news Xbox news and Nintendo News.

In Autumn 2009 Wiley collaborated with music producer Chew Fu on a new single called Take That, its due for release in december 28th.
It was annouced at the end of october that Wiley has signed a 4 album deal with record label Island Records.
The first single to be released under his new record label will be Take That.

This video and tune is going to be a chart banger,maybe top 3

Eiji Aonuma, productor de Zelda, reveló que Nintendo espera poder mostrar el nuevo y hermético juego de The Legend of Zelda durante el E3 2010, ya que los fanáticos de la serie realmente se lo merecen.

“Es algo que solíamos hablar con el señor Miyamoto y él y yo acordamos que si seguíamos la misma estructura una y otra vez, podríamos no ser capaces de darles una sorpresa fresca a los fanáticos de Zelda. Así que, en esta ocasión, hemos estado probando algo nuevo en términos de la estructura en la versión de Wii del nuevo juego de Zelda. Tengo bastantes esperanzas de que la gente se sorprenda con los cambios que hemos implementado para esta versión de Wii. Espero que podamos mostrarles algo durante el E3 del próximo año y es algo que esperamos sea sorprendente.”

via @levelup

Nintendo Magazine spoke with the main director of the previous Legend of Zelda titles, Eiji Aonuma, and confirms Nintendo has some surprises in store for E3 2010. Aonuma hints at Link’s new direction and expresses his view on the franchise facelift. “It is something we used to talk about with Mr Miyamoto,…he and I agree that if we are following the same structure again and again, we might not be able to give long time Zelda fans a fresh surprise,” says Aonuma. Miyamoto and Aonuma confirm Wii Motion plus support for the new Zelda title and look forward to showing the game this May.

Petite déclaration et grand effet de la part de Eiji Aonuma, le producteur du prochain Zelda.

« j’espère que nous pourrons montrer quelque chose au salon de l’E3 de l’année prochaine, et ce quelque chose sera des plus surprenant ».

“Le prochain Zelda sera radicalement différent.  Nous cherchons à surprendre le joueur avec une nouvelle structure de jeu”

le jeu sera pleinement compatible avec le Wii MotionPlus, « pour vous donner davantage l’impression de se battre en tenant une épée »

Il ne nous reste plus qu’à attendre le mois de juin prochain pour juger de ces propos.

Venezuela To Ban Violent Video Games

http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/wjw-news-venezuela-bans,0,6176663.story

Reading this reminded me of something that happened a while back. In 2004 I managed to make it to E3, the largest video game conference in North America. Besides running around to see all the game previews, fan fun, and tech demos, I attended a couple of game industry seminars where guest speakers discussed a variety of topics such as creating good games, and evaluating game markets.

One seminar I attended discussed the burgeoning video game market in China. This seminar only had one speaker, and instead of sending a game developer or someone at least connected in some way to the field to speak to the audience, the Chinese government sent a Communist bureaucrat. The bureaucrat explained how all games developed in China first had to receive approval by his office before they were allowed to be created and released. To this man censoring ideas and words was not only acceptable, it was natural.

It was something I had personally never witnessed before, but it was important to understand. This was different from occasionally hearing a few loud mouth U.S. politicians crying “Won’t somebody please think of the children!” and blaming the ills of society on things like a nameless pixilated space marine who blasts hordes of monsters with a chaingun. This was real censorship, real oppression: bold and shameless.

I value freedom of speech and freedom of expression. I feel that it must be protected, because there are people in the world that would take it away from you in an instant. Never forget it.

Oh and by the way, video games have a rating system. Developers are not responsible for what your children play, you as a parent are.

http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp

Counter Strike for Kids!

Neben neuer Vitality Software für die Wii, hofft Nintendo auf der kommenden E3 in Los Angeles “Überraschendes” zum neuesten Ableger der Zelda-Reihe zeigen zu können. Dies hat jedenfalls Eiji Aonuma, Produzent der Zelda-Spiele, dem britischen Official Nintendo Magazin mitgeteilt. Man habe versucht etwas neue hinsichtlich der Spielstruktur zu versuchen, erklärt Aonuma weiter. Neue Wege sollen das Franchise am Leben erhalten und auch weiterhin für ein breites Publikum interessant machen

Der neue Teil, der wieder für die Wii erscheinen soll, wurde von Shigeru Miyamoto auf der diesjährigen E3 mit obigen Artwork angekündigt.  Einen konkreten Titel hat das Spiel noch nicht. Fest steht aber, dass es die Vorteile von Wii MotionPlus nutzen soll – zum Masterschwert schwingen, höchstwahrscheinlich.

Eiji Aonuma da por terminada una gira por Europa en la que ha sido entrevistado sobre el proximo Zelda para Nintendo DS, que llegara en Diciembre.Como buen detalle Aonuma ha hablado sobre el proxima Zelda para Wii.

Eiji Aonuma espera poder mostrar este nuevo Zelda en la feria americana más importante del año, la E3; como ya han de saber dicho juego hará uso de Wii Motion Plus y parece que jugablemente sera muy diferente.

“Hemos estado intentando hacer algo nuevo en cuanto a la estructura ,espero que la gente quede verdaderamente sorprendida con los cambios que hemos implementado en esta versión de Wii”-Eiji Aonuma

Desde Universo Nintendero confirmamos que este nuevo Zelda tendrá un concepto totalmente diferente a los ya vistos, se centrará mucho en lo jugable, eso sin olvidar diversos aspectos del juego, eso dijo el señor Miyamoto y parece que estos dos estan de acuerdo en cuanto a la estructura del proximo  juego.

“es algo de lo que suelo hablar con Miyamoto, y estamos de acuerdo en que si seguimos la misma estructura una y otra vez, no seríamos capaces de dar algo sorprendente a los fans durante mucho tiempo”.Eiji Aonuma

Marconintendo

BIG H

BIG H was one of the innovators of grime !! you probably know him from the grime group merdian crew. The members of merdian crew were Jme,Skepta, big h, President t, Boss man , nine milli major.Merdian had the grime scene by the balls in the mid 2000’s.

The video below was taken from practice hours and the video features jme and boss man and big h. ITS probably one of the best free styles ever !!! (ENTITLED : CALM DOWN )

BIG h has been in out of jail for various crimes. A very notable incident involving big h’s cousin (Boss man ) and his brother (President T) and involved Meridian and big h is in the video but his face is blurred out that got a bit of media coverage also the police guy in the car is driving around near my house lol

IF YOU ARE MORE INTERESTED HERE ARE THE OTEHR LINKS I DONT WANT TO PUT UP ALL THE VIDEOS ON MY PAGE BUT HERE ARE ALL OF PARTS OF THE VIDS

PART 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aaa0spVwDJc

PART 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rD-U_8iH0E

PART 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-rBzh6tTJM&feature=related

PART 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-8hllLjcIM&feature=related

PART 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxxMVgixFAw&feature=related

Also i don’t think big h got charged for this, They caught president t stealing the car and bossman was charged for phoning giving death threats but not charged for attempted murder and sentenced for three years (also correct me if I’m wrong) . its actually terrible like this realy good talent in my opinion has went to waste because big H is one of the only ones who are still keeping it grimey and real. Also he doenst want to be comercialised but no offence to big H i don’t think a massive record label would sign him , like emi or something because of his negative lyrics and if he was main stream i think he would be badly portrayed in the media but he does actually glorify he supposedly sells crack and heroin and weed. well i do know he smokes weed lol im not sure if he is a Rasta but has the most famous dreds in the grime scene.

BIG H OUT SIDE A TAKE AWAY PROBABLY IN TOTTENHAM OR EDMONTON !

when it comes to a “road man mc ” I personally think he probably is one of the best road man mc’s ever ( ROAD MAN = GANGSTA MC ). also this is quiet meAN but its quite funny like if u watch the merdian vides above they stashed fucking 16 kilo’s of coke in Some girls house, like this is real gangsta stuff lol. I just hate all of these fake grime mc’s that say shit and its alot of bull shit but i realy dont agree with thes negative lyrics. also big h has the best flow in the scene aswell its just so amazing and energetic. It just hypes you up. also there would be no BOY BETTER KNOW with out big h because he said boy botter know in a lyric. Thats how jme made the label boy better know as a record label and a crew and now boy better know is the best crew in the grime scene at the moment and has been dominating 4 quite a few years now. big h formed a new crew called bloodine with his two brothers presisent t and paper pabs and big h’s cousin bossman who now has been out of jail for a while. here are a few tracks of big h’s best tracks and just listen to these tracks and if you know about his music , youll know but if not listen to them !!!!!

( Also i asked to interview for him on facebook i proper bigged him up and he didn’t reply what a par ! O well lol he’s still one of the best ! )

Big H – H Corperation Freestyle

Shottaz of the year

White wash

Real on road

Eastern jam free style

So thats why i think big h is one of the biggest mcs of all time and also he still lives in merdain. (he still lives in the bits lol ) so also what agreat mc to represent Tottenham and edmonton also buy his debut album steet crime uk which has been working on for years and probably the most anticipated grime album ever and one of the best grime albums of this year purchase it at

http://www.ukrecordshop.com

Check his Myspace

http://www.myspace.com/streetcrimecd

BIG H Street crime uk album cover

also check this video this skater is MERKING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER !

http://twitter.com/mrtremix
keep up to date with my blogs !!!!!!!!!!!!!

MR.T REMIX

My dorkness confirmed and coded

I realized that I haven’t posted on this blog in way too long.  So internet, here is what I have been up to:

Work:
Here is where a lot has been going on.  Last Winter, I put together a presentation for Agency Leadership on the value of gaming and how it can be beneficial to our clients.  After 3 presentations, I was granted approval to attend E3, the world’s largest gaming convention in Los Angeles in June. 
E3 was AMAZING.  I made a lot of great contacts and have since followed up with them on a monthly and even weekly basis.  I keep asking myself “Is this REALLY happening?”.  I have been playing games since I was 4 and I am now trying to turn it in to a career.  As far as next steps go, I am now working on getting a gaming/emerging media specialist position started at the agency.  EXCITING TIMES!

HOME:
Nothing much has changed since my last post at home.  Kristin and I recently celebrated our 3rd anniversary and I can’t believe how fast time has gone by.  We are now getting more and more questions about having children, but we are still waiting another year or so.  Yes, we could have a child now, but we still want to have fun, make more money, blah blah blah.

That’s pretty much it.  I will continue to update this with anything that is going on in my life.  For a more daily condensed view of what is going on in my life, check me out on Twitter.  ENJOY!
Twitter: brianmcclary

Quem não conhece a franquia God of War não deve jogar videogame há muito tempo. Os dois primeiro jogos para o PS2 são sucessos em vendas e em criticas, e, com o lançamento do terceiro jogo se aproximando os dois primeiro títulos voltam para o PS3 no God of War Collection.

O God of War III tem seu lançamento marcado para março de 2010, e nenhum demo foi divulgado na PSN, o único que tenho conhecimento é o mostrado na E3 deste ano e que felizmente eu consegui jogá-lo. Aqui vai minha opinião sobre o demo do God of War III.

No demo você não tem nenhum tipo de opção, não da para configurar os controles (da para configurar se você quer inverter os eixos na hora do vôo, mas só isso), volume nem nada do tipo, não que isso realmente importe. Também não é acessível a tela de habilidades em que você pode dar upgrades em suas armas e skills. Mas tudo que realmente importa está presente, e isso é a pancadaria e o sangue, muito sangue. Mas vamos começar pelo que mais chama a atenção logo de cara, os gráficos.

Pelas fotos não da para ter uma noção tão boa quanto jogando, mas os gráficos ficaram mesmo animais! Ainda não pude ver o Uncharted 2 para comparar, afinal parece que possui os melhores gráficos para o ps3 atualmente, mas posso dizer que God of War 3 destrói. Os efeitos de luz e sombra são incríveis, há partes mesmo durante o demo que tudo é tomado pelo breu e as únicas fontes de luz são as espadas de Kratos que ficam incandecente quando um golpe é dado. Nessa parte é facil de ver como os gráficos evoluiram do primeiro e segundo para o terceiro.

Outra coisa que achei demais neste demo do terceiro jogo, que faltou no segundo foi a violência. Qualquer um que tenha jogado o primeiro jogo e depois o segundo nota um abrandamento nesse quesito. Nada que realmente tenha prejudicado o segundo God of War, mas é muito divertido ver o Kratos tocando o terror geral, e quando você sai matando muita gente o corpo de Kratos fica coberto de sangue, muito legal.

Uma coisa que o vídeo mostra, além do fato de agora ser possível tomar o controle dos ciclopes, e é claro, sair matando tudo que estiver pela frente, é o fato que os botões de ações, sempre presentes na franquia quando algum feito cruel é executado, aparecem na tela em posicões diferentes dos jogos anteriores. Agora cada botão parece na tela na posições em que está posicionado no controle (triangulo na superior, X na parte inferior e assim por diante). De início eu não notei essa mudança e acabei apanhando, mas depois que a notei  ficou fácil. Uma outra coisa que o vídeo mostra são as manoplas de leão que Kratos usa para aniquilar seus inimigos, esse tipo de arma não é uma total novidade na série, afinal no Chains of Olympus para o PSP você também usa uma manopla como arma.

O arco também está presente, e se tornou essencial para proseguir no jogo. Há duas partes no demo em que você deve provocar harpias com seu arco para fazê-las se aproximarem o bastante para então Kratos poder se agarrar nelas e com isso atravessar áreas que só com o pulo e as asas não seria possível.

O demo é muito curto, não chega direito há vinte ou trinta minutos de jogo, mas é muito divertido. Tenho certeza que GoW 3 vai ser um jogo obrigatório para todos os donos de PS3. Qualquer um que queira ver o gameplay completo do demo é muito fácil de achar no Youtube, mas pra quem tem preguiça aqui está.

No vídeo é comentada sobre a edição de colecionador do jogo, ela já foi divulgada.

Além de vir nessa urna super maneira que é uma replica da Pandora’s Box, a edição de colecionador trás também um Art Book. Os outros itens dessa edição são para download, há uma arena de combate, com sete desafios para serem cumpridos, uma roupa diferente para Kratos, há também um documentário sobre a fraquia God of War, além da trilha sonora original e todo um cd de metal inspirado nas musicas do jogo.

Bem gente era isso, espero que tenham gostado do post, e do jogo é claro, não vejo a hora do lançamento. Então para finalizar deixo vocês com minhas dicas de compra da Play-asia. Valeu!

Dois jogos em um, sem falar que cada um dos dois têm suas próprias conquistas. Vale muito a pena, e o preço está em conta, menos de cem reais (o envio já não sei). Para ver a oferta é só clicar aqui ou na foto.

Ainda é pré-venda, mas para quem quer garantir o seu vale a pena dar uma olhada na oferta. Esse é um jogo que todo mundo devia ter. Para ver a oferta é só clicar aqui ou na foto.

Outro jogo que não pode ficar de fora de sua coleção. Eu infelizmente ainda não o tenho, mas não vejo a hora de comprar, o primeiro foi ótimo, o segundo parece muito melhor. Para ver a oferta é só clicar aqui ou na foto.

It’s the biggest selling console in the world today and loved by gamers of all ages, but has the Wii really lived up to the expectations it set on its spectacular arrival?

When the Wii was first released back in 2006, it was a phenomenon. When compared to other contemporary consoles, the Xbox 360 and the PS3, the Wii was totally different and something new in a rather predictable market. Whereas Sony and Microsoft had continued their hardware battle, trying to outdo each other with better graphics, bigger hard drives and generally more power, Nintendo had gone down a different path, and created a console that was completely out on its own. The Wii was all about the fun, and together with the revolutionary motion detection technology, it was the perfect console for the casual gamer. But now that the Wii is approaching its third birthday, it’s worth reassessing its success, and asking whether or not, despite its huge sales, it has been the massive leap forward it was marketed as.

Let’s start with the famous launch at the 2006 E3, where the Nintendo Wii stole the show. The critics at E3 awarded the Wii with Best of Show and Best Hardware, along with a never-ending stream of accolades and praise from journalists and gamers. During the months before its release, and the release itself, the Wii was draped in awards from every major corner of the press, with most heralding the Wii’s arrival as the most important step in video gaming history. Late in 2006 the Wii console and the motion gaming it showcased was considered to be the future of gaming, and the Wii was expected to lead the way for this technology and gaming as a whole. But has this really happened? Today, is the Wii still viewed as the top console, or at least the most advanced?

Let’s look at the motion technology; that on its release was considered to be the biggest leap forward since the introduction of the 16bit cartridge. This motion software has gone on to become a regular feature on a whole host of electrical devices. The iPod, iPhone, the Sony Yari and countless others now use the motion technology the Wii first developed, and Microsoft are working on a similar system for the Xbox 360, albeit far more sophisticated. The Wii’s motion technology has been a great success, but has it changed gaming like it was supposed to? Apart for the Wii, no other console has truly embraced motion gaming yet, and it is still considered too underdeveloped and numb to be used as a serious replacement to the trusty control pad. What was expected to become the future of gaming has rather faded with time, although whether motion gaming will finally take off in the future is yet to be seen.

Games-wise, it’s fair to say that developers haven’t really got fully behind the Wii, and some have openly admitted to having rushed through releases to coincide with the hype the Wii generated. Where both the PS3 and Xbox 360 have rich catalogues of games, with very few bad releases to speak of, the Wii’s bag is more mixed. There are some superb games out there, with titles such as Super Mario Galaxy, Zack and Wiki, Boom Blox, Mercury Meltdown Revolution, de Blob and of course the obligatory Wii Sports all being worthy of anyone’s money. But sadly, these titles are suffocated under a smouldering heap of garbage games, that were only made to make a quick buck off the back of the Wii hype. Apart from Wii Sports, has the Wii really had that many big titles to get behind? Perhaps it has, much too often, been forced to suffer the type of games that honestly shouldn’t warrant a stand alone release.

Another problem is that major games rarely make their way to the Wii, and if they do, they are usually lazily modified from the original version. The top 3 games last year (in no particular order) were Grand Theft Auto 4, Fallout 3 and Gears of War 2. These titles were massive successes for the 360 and PS3, but not the Wii, as they were never available on this platform. This is partly due to the fact that, apart from the Wii having graphically inferior hardware to the minimum these games would require, Nintendo have always targeted their games at the family market, and let’s face it – your Granny won’t enjoy Fallout 3. But saying that, Madworld is one of the nastiest games you’ll ever see, and that’s only available on the Wii.

A lot of the Wii’s success and the way it is viewed are also due to the way it is marketed. As I’ve said, Nintendo have always aimed their products at the family market, and with the Wii they have pursued this avenue further than with previous consoles. The adverts for the Wii have always featured a wide span of age groups, from the pre-school child to the grandparents. At no point has the Wii been aimed at the hardcore gamer, the type of gamer that has a PS3 or 360 for example. As a result of this, the Wii has always had a stigma as a console for the casual gamer, and as such has never been taken seriously by the hardcore of gaming.

There are a number of reasons why the Wii, in today’s high tech world, is not consisted to be the console of the future. If anything, these days it is considered as a bit dated, and if anything more of a gadget than a games console. To be honest, the Wii isn’t really taken that seriously anymore. With a catalogue of inconsistent games, most of which are very poor, and a fan base that although large, is mainly made up of young children or older adults. Sadly the Wii is seen more as a party toy, or a gimmick, which is a shame because the Wii is a fantastic console (albeit majorly unsupported by software) that has sold extremely well (52.62 million consoles have been sold worldwide and it has outsold the PS3 and Xbox 360’s shared sales, with sales of 24.6million and 21million respectively). The Wii has produced some exceptional games and has reintroduced a large percentage of the public back to the joys of gaming. But overall, could you honestly put the Wii above the Xbox 360 or PS3 as the leading console? Sadly, I’m guessing your answer is no.

Scott Tierney

for more news and reviews get your free subscription of Phonica Magazine UK online here!

Last night I downloaded and played the Left 4 Dead 2 demo from XBox Live.

... 17/11/2009 ...

I was a big fan of Valves orignal game realised 21st Nov. 2008 (yup, that’s right, just one year ago) but after a couple of months, and having played the campaigns multiple times, I began to get bored. What had been a brilliant concept (online, multiplayer, zombie, survival horror) began to get stale.

... 21/11/2008 ...

Yes, there was the AI engine that monitored how you were doing in the game and either eased up on you or threw additional hordes if you were doing poorly or well respectively. And yes there was cleaver bit of programming tech that analysed all the music you had heard so far in your campaign and would ensure it played something different to keep the atmosphere fresh. And yes there were the cool “special” zombie types and the cool level designs and everything else that made this game so addictive to start. And yes there was the free DLC (downloadable content) which added a new game style; but time took its toll and I eventually traded it in for something else (Fallout 3 I believe).

I was therefore a little shocked when it was announced at E3 that there would be a Left 4 Dead 2 coming out exactly one year (well, give or take a week or so) after the originals release. Also, to my disgust there was no mention of Valves other massive and eagerly awaited title; Half Life 2, Episode 3, but that’s a whole other rant.

So, returning to the point in hand, L4D2. The developers have thrown in a load of new extras: extra “special” zombie types (N.B. this article seems to have missed out the roaming witch, but I was unable to find a comprehensive list of the new zombie types), extra weapons / ammo types, extra pickups (Boomer Bile, adrenaline shots and even defibrillators), but this just gives the distinct impression that they are trying to cover up the games lack of originality or spark. Don’t get me wrong, I throughly enjoyed my play through of The Parish (the first two parts of this campaign make the demo, much like they did for the first game); it was fun and exciting and scary all in the right proportions, but this does feel very much like it could have been handled better as DLC, extending on the original game instead of marketing it as a new entity.

... The Parish - Demo out now ...

There is also one possible, and I do stress ‘possible’, downside to L4D2. Will peoples loyalty to the original game waver? I sit on the fence between being a casual and hardcore gamer, and as I have already stressed, I loved the original game, but I have no intention of picking it up again. I shall be picking up a copy of L4D2, play it until I get bored again and then move on to whatever the next big thing will be.

Having said this, the hardcore gamers / Left 4 Dead fans will own and continue to play and enjoy both games for many years to come.

_____________________________________________

EDIT: Further browsing for details on the demo, infected and plot points led me to an interesting article. It turns out that some of those very cleaver gamers out there have developed a PC mod for the demo that allows you to play Verses Mode and try out the new special infected before the game comes out. I have been purely a console gamer for quite a while now (my home computer just isn’t good enough to allow me to run newer games, even with the marvel that is Windows 7) but it’s little things like this that make me miss PC gaming. There is also the added benefit of the price! PC games in general are always cheaper than their console counterparts.

Joshua, the last two days we have heard about two important experiences that shaped your thinking about our responsibility as Christians, concerning the poor, and the necessity for community development in rescuing people from the horrible affects of extreme poverty.  You mentioned that we have a responsibility to get involved.  However, these problems seem way to big to wrap my head around.  I can’t imagine how someone like me can make much of a difference.  You seem to believe that I can.  Will you share more about this with us?

JOSHUA: First, I would encourage everyone to try focusing on their personal responsibility to share love and spread compassion to others around them and to the regions of the world that most need it.  It isn’t our responsibility to single handedly change the world.  That is much too big a task for any one person, one organization, or even one government to achieve.  God has commanded us to love our neighbor.  As I have wrestled with what it means to love my neighbor I have learned that there is transformational power in baby steps.  We take small achievable steps to do what we should and trust that God holds the bigger picture, causing us even unknowingly at times to do the necessary things that will result in the world He desires.  The beautiful truth in all of this is that God loves us, has our best intentions at heart, and even though this world will never be perfect He desires to use us to build a world that is ultimately for our benefit.

It is important along the way to educate ourselves on issues such as global poverty, injustice, our environment, and the people and organizations out there making a difference.  Our generation has access to more information than any other generation in the history of the world.  We can learn in seconds what would have taken months to learn in times past, and we have access to information that just didn’t exist several generations ago.  This means it is possible to become well informed without much effort.  There are wonderful websites out there that can serve as great starting points for you.  Some fun and attractive websites you may want to check out are www.charitywater.org, www.onedayswages.com, and www.GOOD.is.  If you get really serious about researching some of these issues I can point you to some other websites that can help you.

Becoming well informed will help you take the another necessary step in your life of activism.  We must grow beyond random acts of kindness.  I stated above that our responsibility is to love our neighbors.  Changing the world is God’s responsibility.  However, as we grow in our compassionate endeavors there is knowledge and skills that help ensure we maximize the potential of our acts of kindness.  Even if you never become an expert in economic development, community development, or disaster relief, through partnerships you can leverage your influence.  For example, if I want to maximize the potential of my financial investments I partner with an expert to ensure I get the greatest return.  I may never become a stockbroker or financial advisor, but I can benefit from their expertise and produce greater fruit financially than I could on my own.  We should approach our activism in the same manner.  As we partner with experts we can produce a greater return on our compassionate investments whether that be through giving financially, serving as a volunteer, or being an advocate for a worthy cause.

We believe that our organization is a great partner for those that desire to make a big impact with their “compassion investments.”  We have chosen a strategy that requires partnership because we know there is no other force as powerful as collaboration.  Every time a person enters into partnership with us the world gets a little bit better.  When the world gets better another orphan finds a home, another hungry person is fed, the oppressed are set free, and the sick are restored.  This sounds an awful like the parable of Matthew 25!

Our event on Saturday, November 7th is for people that are curious what such a partnership looks like.  We want to share an inspiring vision with you while demonstrating how you can collaborate with us in very practical and achievable ways.  We invite you to join us as we celebrate the launch of this new global initiative and to consider taking a journey with us towards rebuilding communities for God’s glory!

With little doubt, Robert Treat Academy in Newark is one of those charter schools that is doing well by common outcome measures and likely by even more important measures than state tests. What we know about are the tests. And even if one controls for a variety of factors about student populations, Treat’s test scores are pretty darn good.

Here’s a figure from a model I re-ran the other day (based on older work), using a variety of school, student population and community factors to control for expected differences in student outcomes. Schools above the line are those that outperformed expectations and those below the line fell below expectations. Charters are in red, and again, there are roughly equal numbers of traditional publics above and below the red line and charters above and below the red horizontal line. Treat is one of those above the line.

So the argument goes, Treat is producing these test scores with much less money, and therefore we should be able to do the same, with similarly less money across poor urban settings by emulating the Treat model.

I addressed in a previous post how charter schools receive less through the state aid formula than traditional public districts. Again, this should shift somewhat over time, but charters will remain relatively disadvantaged. Using Robert Treat’s IRS 990 for 2007 expenditures (instead of their NJDOE reporting of their expenditure of public charter funding only), Treat shows expenditures per pupil in 2007 around $12,600. I’m still not sure I’ve captured the full expenditure here, because Treat’s IRS 990s show unusually low levels of private contribution for a successful charter school.

That aside, is the Treat miracle replicable across Newark? Or, is Treat different in substantive ways that can’t be spread throughout the system. Here are a few numbers that raise concern.

First, as I noted on a previous post, Robert Treat’s student body is only 3.8% special education in a district with an average of 18.1%.  This is from the special education classification data from NJDOE. In the enrollment files, Treat reports 0%. At 100% additional average expenditure per special education pupil, matching district demographics would raise Treat’s expected spending to $14,868 (1.18 x 12,600 in 2007).

Second, while Robert Treat does show about 62.4% students qualifying for free (130% poverty level) and reduced (185% poverty level) lunch, the free lunch share is about 42.9%. That is, Treat’s free or reduced share is boosted by the share of children who are more well off among the less well off. Note that the model I used above used Free & Reduced shares, not Free alone or the ratio between them.

By contrast, Newark Public Schools in total has 82% free or reduced and 71% free lunch alone.

Treat also reports less than 1% limited English proficient students while Newark City schools report 8.7%.

It’s one thing for me to try to control for these differences in estimating who does and does not “beat” odds, but yet another to take a model that has been successful under certain circumstances and apply it widely under very different circumstances, at the same cost.

It’s all well and good to cite other studies from other cities  and states that show that charter schools on average aren’t “cream-skimming,” (where most of those comparisons are based either on student’s initial performance or on free + reduced shares) but the reality in this case is that Treat Academy is producing its current level of outcomes at its current price tag with a substantively different student population – most notably the absence of children with disabilities. Again, they’re doing well, and even in models I’ve run controlling for some of these things, they still stand out and should be applauded for their efforts and results.

But, given the demography of the entire student population of Newark in particular, replicating this model may prove difficult. Adding more schools that serve fewer of the poorest children and few or no children with disabilities may be significantly problematic for those schools which then serve the larger shares of both.

Yesterday, we talked about a fundraising event for Josh Yarbrough, coming up on Saturday, November 7th, as well as Josh’s personal experiences and how he began walking down this particular path in ministry.

Now, Josh, in yesterday’s post, you mentioned that there were other experiences that also shaped your thinking in regards to community development.  Can you elaborate on that? Tell us about one of those experiences and why you feel, especially for those who are Christians, why the work of transforming communities is so important?

JOSHUA: Like I mentioned yesterday, my experience in Belize exposed me to poverty for the first time and it had a profound impact on me.  However, even after coming to Christ it took me a little time to realize the seriousness of our responsibility as Christians to the poor and how much of Scripture is dedicated to them.  I have found that our personal experiences can cause us to discover themes in the Bible we didn’t see before.  I think that is what happened to me on a mission trip I took to Peru five years ago.

I was helping organize a church planting campaign to Peru.  We were working in a city called Tacna located in the southern tip of the country.  Just like in Belize, there were squatter settlements scattered around the outskirts of the city.  We were in one of these areas when a family approached us looking very upset about something.  Our translator told us that their mother was very old and suffering from some kind of sickness.  They had heard missionaries were in the area and pleaded with us to come and pray for God to heal her.

When we arrived at their home they welcomed us inside.  I saw a little old woman wrapped in a blanket lying on the dirt floor.  Because Tacna is in the desert these settlements had no rooftops because it almost never rained.  She was just lying in the hot sun too weak to even swat the flies away that covered her face.  The family sat her up and she began to moan in agony.  The daughter explained to her that we were missionaries and were there to pray for her.  It looked as if the left side of her face was paralyzed so I assumed she had suffered a stroke.

I visited the women every day and really wrestled with God about her situation.  I had never seen anyone suffer this terribly before.  In America we take for granted that we have healthcare and medicine to ease our pain.  She had none of these and no other choice but to lie on a dirt floor, baking in the sun, in a pain I couldn’t imagine.  I remember thinking that people shouldn’t have to live out their last days this way.  On the last day I was praying and I asked God, “why wont you heal this woman, why don’t you care about her, why wont you answer her prayers?”  Almost immediately, it was as if God said, “I did answer her prayers.  I have sent you to comfort her.”

When I returned from Peru I became much more concerned about people suffering from poverty.  I searched through the Bible and scriptures such as the Great Commandment began to take on a new meaning to me.  Loving our neighbor isn’t merely doing no harm.  Loving one’s neighbor also means protecting our neighbor, to defend them if they are weak, to speak up for them if they have no voice, to represent the powerless.  We are to work on their behalf and the Bible makes it clear that this is like loving God.  Christians that are living out their faith this way is what the world desperately needs.

Take a moment to consider that…

>> Nearly half of the world’s population lives on less than $2 per day
>> Human trafficking, modern day slavery, is the world’s fastest growing crime
>> 900 million people have no access to clean water
>> 75 million children have no access to education
>> One sixth of the world’s population live in slums, in dehumanizing poverty
>> 3000 children die from affects of Malaria every day
>> One third of the world’s population is illiterate
>> One person is infected with HIV every seven seconds

We could list out pages of statistics just like this.  However, the great opportunity in all of this is that these issues are highly preventable.  It is important that we not look at the problems of our world and assume that they must be accepted.  These issues can be addressed and it is up to us to do something about it.  Caring for that woman in Peru was a great thing.  However, what would be better is to help communities address problems in a holistic manner so that people have access to healthcare, clean water, education, employment, and security.  This is why community development is so important.

On Saturday, November 7th we will be discussing a global initiative that will impact hundreds of cities and communities that are suffering from problems just like these.  In order to combat our world’s biggest problems we must find a way to unleash the potential that lies within all people everywhere.  There are ways to connect people’s talents, passions, and resources with initiatives that are effectively rebuilding communities.  That is exactly what we intend to do.  Maybe we can speak more about that tomorrow.

Wow. I’m still processing some of those statistics. Absolutely incredible. So thus far we’ve learned about Josh’s experiences that shaped him and his passion for community development up until this point. Tomorrow we’re discuss where he, and we, go from here. He’ll talk about the work that he’s doing, but he’ll also talk about what we, personally, can do to get involved and impact positive change in our local communities as well as in countries the world over.

PS. If you would like more details about the event, you can check out the invitation here.

Fringe: Season 2: Episode 3: “Fracture”

Walter and Peter contemplate the case.

The Shadowy Organisation^TM just won’t quit with the weaponised people – it’s radio-triggered crystal bombs this week. The usual impossibilities aside, this episode was refreshingly easy to watch.

This episode is debunked at Popular Mechanics and Polite Dissent, and you can read more about it at Fox, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Random thoughts

The first scene in Walter’s laboratory, about five minutes in, was one of my favourite introductions to Fringe Division. Walter is heating a test tube over an open flame, which is quite unusual (due to the flammable chemicals that are generally found in a lab), and then proceeds to pour the contents into a Büchner funnel. It’s obvious from the speed at which the liquid runs through that there’s no filter paper in it, which renders it largely useless – until we see that Walter is actually making a cup of coffee.

Although Walter is only speculating, silica (SiO₂, probably quartz in this case) doesn’t taste salty and it’s a little presumptuous to proclaim something “as hard as diamond” after merely tapping it with a pair of tweezers.

Apparently, the chemical reaction that crystallised our human bomb “solidifies the water in the cells” – or, put another way, freezes them. Some other effect must also be at work, because otherwise the ice would just have melted (this may have made for a less-traceable weapon, though).

Cyanogen chloride

Cyanogen chloride is certainly dangerous enough to be a chemical weapon, but it’s not a neurotoxin. It prevents oxygen exchange between blood and cells, resulting in rapid cell suffocation and death from respiratory failure.

As everyone else in the blogosphere has pointed out, 331.6 MHz is not considered part of the VHF spectrum.

Joshua sharing the Gospel in Rwanda

For those of you who don’t know, my friend Joshua Yarbrough is a great friend of mine and a very cool guy. He’s also committed to transforming communities for the glory of God and making a tangible and positive impact there. As some of you may have heard, he and his wife, Monique, are hosting an event on Saturday, November 7th. From what I’ve heard, this is going to be an incredible event with live jazz, food (which you know I love), and plenty of cool people. There’s been a lot of talk circulating about it that I thought it would be a good idea to have Joshua share with us what this event is all about, so, I have asked him to do three posts over the next three days.  I’ll be asking him some questions that I thought people would be curious about.

Having said that, Josh, what can you tell us about the purpose of this event on November 7th?

JOSHUA: First, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to share with your readers what we are doing.  My wife and I have been working hard since March of this year preparing to launch a global initiative for an organization called e3 Partners (www.e3partners.org).  They are a church planting organization that is currently operating in 44 countries and in hundreds of cities.  I will be serving as their Director of Community Development Strategies which means its my job to build this new division that will empower thousands of churches to address issues such as poverty, education, healthcare, justice, and reconciliation.  The event on November 7th is a celebration of this new initiative to transform communities all over the world for God’s glory.  And, as you can imagine, a vision this large will require an army of people doing all kinds of things to get this moving forward.  We will share a little how people can get involved as well.

That sounds like an incredible idea and I cant wait to hear more about how you plan to make this vision a reality. But, before we talk about that there is a specific question I wanted to ask you today: Out of all the things you could be doing with your life, why did you decide to devote your life to rebuilding communities?

JOSHUA: Well, I would have to say it began in 1991.  My mom and I went on a trip to visit some friends in Belize.  As you know, Belize is in Central America and is very poor.  I grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta and was never exposed to poverty like this.  But, my trip to Belize exposed me to poverty in a very unexpected way.

We stayed in a nice home while in Belize.  And, as is common practice in countries like these a guard is usually stationed at the front gate to prevent theft.  The family we stayed with had hired a boy named Eckerd to guard their gate and we quickly became good friends.  We would play outside in front of the house during the day.  I imagine he was a young teenager at that time and I must have been about fourteen years old.

My mom told me not to wander from the house because it wasn’t safe for me to go walking around by myself.  However, one day Eckerd asked me to come see his new home.  He was very excited about this and in my mind I imagined a house similar to the one I lived in back home.  Because I was never one to turn down a great adventure Eckerd and I planned our escape and we left unnoticed.

The way to Eckerd’s home took through a maze of dirt roads and paths that I imagine are rarely seen by tourists.  As we continued our journey I saw the conditions people were living in and was totally blown away.  We eventually came to a muddy hillside full of little shacks that were made up of all kinds of miscellaneous items like tin, rocks, cardboard, and whatever else that could be found to create a shelter.  I saw children running around with no clothes on, I smelled horrible smells, and trash was everywhere.  We finally arrived at his home and he welcomed me inside.  It was large enough to have a hammock tied up from one corner of the shelter to the other.  He had no personal belongings, no drawer full of clothes, no CD’s or radio, no parents around to take care of him, none of the things I thought every boy on earth my age possessed.  He was prouder than ever, and my worldview was profoundly altered that day.

After returning home from Belize it wasn’t long after that my life began taking a turn for the worse.  By fourteen I had already experimented with drugs and alcohol and by the time I was sixteen years old most of my life revolved around getting high.  I lived this way until I met Christ at the age of 21.  However, as I threw myself into drugs and alcohol I would always remember Eckerd.  It was almost as if God was calling to me through it all and whispering, “I have more for you to do than this.  There are people suffering and I have created you for a great purpose.”  When I came to Christ this experience in Belize all made sense to me.  I knew almost immediately what God had called me to do.  When I look back at it, I think maybe I always knew it.

I would say Eckerd was the first of several experiences that shaped me into who I am today.  However, there was another experience that I think built upon this first one.  It helped me to further realize how critical of a state our world is in.

Love it. I can definitely see how that kind of an experience would impact your life in such a deep way, as it clearly has. I think I’ll conclude today’s post on that note, but stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog because I’m by no means done talking about the things that Josh and his wife, Monique, are doing.

I hate wasting so much time countering completely absurd claims, like those that spill out on the E3 Cartel commercials. This is a short reply this time. At the end of one of the commercials, the spokesperson slips in the claim that not only are we wasting a ton of money on our low graduation rates in poor urban schools (I discuss this claim here: http://schoolfinance101.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/cartel-recap/), but this whole inefficient mess is a “suburban taxpayer scam.” Yep, suburbanites (like myself) are being dreadfully over-taxed and our hard earned money is being thrown down the rat-hole. We don’t get any of it back.

A simple question to answer here is whether the property tax effort in suburban communities (however we are supposed to define suburban?)  is that much greater than in “urban” communities. An appropriate way to measure this is by calculating the percent of income paid in property taxes.

Here’s a quick snapshot of tax effort in Essex County by income level and in Monmouth county by income level. These data are taken from http://www.nj.com/news/bythenumbers/, and the data are generally from 2005. Most “Abbott” funding to school districts had scaled up between 1998 and 2005.

Hmmm… no systematic pattern here. Yep, some pretty big differences, but no systematic pattern between poorer and wealthier communities.

As it turns out, tax effort in Monmouth declines systematically as homeowner income increases. Perhaps this is the “urban tax scam” not suburban one?

Yes, the property tax bill in an affluent suburban community is larger – because it is the tax bill on a more expensive home!  (should I really have to say that?) Yes, low property value, low income communities receive higher rates of state subsidy through the state aid formula for schools. That’s generally how aid equalization formulas work. And yes, New Jersey’s aid is targeted to higher need districts, above and beyond typical equalization (but only since 1998-2003).

Let’s get this straight. If the idea of the funding formula was to send back to communities and school districts exactly the amount submitted to state coffers from residents of those communities – then why the heck would we be collecting it to begin with? This would be a particularly foolish exercise since it costs money to process the tax revenues and send them back. That’s how taxes work – whether collected at the municipal level, providing benefit to the people across the street whose house may be valued (taxable value) less than yours, and tax bill may be proportionately less, or across the state. For those who don’t quite understand this, I recommend the Schoolhouse Rock tune about the Taxman. Pretty good stuff!

In a previous post, I also explain how local media in NJ has distorted comparisons of New Jersey property taxes with other states - http://schoolfinance101.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/should-nj-really-try-to-be-like-de-md-mo-ga-wa/

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