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A list to give educators advice on how to educate children to develop a good character.
I started this website to share ideas for sparking conversations about character with my kids. I knew as a mother one of my highest priorities was to offer character education in daily life, and so it was my goal to find ways to do this that both my kids and myself would enjoy.
Have you ever had one of THOSE years? I'm sure you know what I mean... the kind of year that makes you a little crazy? When you spend half your time on character education?
These FREE classroom posters are for you. Print them in colorful paint splatter, or in plain black and white.
This single poster is the foundation of our entire Virtues system. Hang it in a prominent place in your home or classroom for easy reference. You can send your kids to the poster to find the Virtue that they are using at any moment to encourage them, or to find the Virtue that they need to start using to Inspire a change in their attitudes and actions.
Character Counts! One pillar at a time, we are laying the foundation for a lifetime of good character choices. It is our goal to build 'value-able' citizens who will eventually become tomorrow's leaders. The Six Pillars of Character are integrated into everything we do.
Youtube has everything from music to videos, interviews to how-to manuals. Recently, I've come across several videos that are short clips teaching character.
Just before lunch I showed the kids a short video on how to subtly stand up for someone who is being treated mean or bullied. The following morning I had written, just one word on the board. mean. I then shared some more videos on how bullying happens and how it continues. The lessons were short, focused and sometimes intense. I didn't want to lecture, I wanted to inform. I wanted the kids to make the connection between the words and actions they choose and how those choices impact others.
The final theme decision: "BE" Yourself!
First, I created small signs with a whole bunch of words to go along with BE - to describe qualities the students should strive for. For example: BE - unique, smart, different, responsible, respectful, honest, trustworthy, etc. I used fun free fonts I downloaded (see my July 24th post - Fun Free Fonts). I printed many of the words on patterned cardstock that I found at the Dollar Store. I laminated all of them.
We all know how crucial it is to cultivate a strong and supportive classroom community, beginning on day one. When students feel comfortable and safe in their environment, they are able to express themselves, problem-solve effectively, and take healthy learning risks.
100 Books That Build Character Every now and then a situation presents itself where I find myself looking for that just-right book to read to my class - one that will serve as an example of good character or act as a literary pep talk for my students.
In honor of National Bullying Awareness Month, here are eight (8) character education lesson plans appropriate for grades five to eight. Each lesson includes nine sections: Section 1: Lesson Objectives Section 2: K-W-L MODEL discussion ('K' and 'W' questions) Section 3: Vocabulary Section 4: Story Section 5: Popcorn Review Section 6: Role-Play Section 7: Bloom's Taxonomy discussion questions Section 8: Writing assignment Section 9: K-W-L MODEL discussion ('L' questions) These field-tested lessons are totally self-contained.
Promoting good character in my students is so important to me. My school teaches character education and all the teachers choose one student each month to be the Kid of Character winner. They are honored with a certificate at a monthly assembly.
Social and Emotional Learning Use this roundup page to discover why educators must help students develop the skills to manage their emotions, resolve conflicts nonviolently, and make responsible decisions.
ARTICLE: Social and Emotional Learning Research Review Numerous research reports show that social and emotional learning (SEL) can have a positive impact on students' academic performance.
Lots of Character Education Lesson Plans for grades 6-9.
This expository, non-fiction lesson engages students in a discussion about self-esteem and the importance of failure. I have provided links to several articles and youtube videos that will challenge students to think critically about the topic. The questions provided require them to illustrate their comprehension of the readings and to extend their understanding as they make connections to their own lives. Options and rubrics are included for written assignments.
Teach kindness in the classroom with these well made lesson materials.
My class lesson for Grade 5 this month is teaching students the real definition of the word "cool". I got the idea from Naomi Drew's book No Kidding About Bullying and adapted it a bit to fit my needs.
Below are some of the inspiring videos made by teenagers at TedxTeen which is the adolescent version of TED talks. Show your students what other teenagers are doing apart from being glued to their mobile phone screens texting all the time.Let them see the potential inside of them that they are wasting when they only play games all the time.
This material is from the teaching guide
for the video "Friendship"
in the 12-part DVD series Big Changes, Big Choices. (Grades 5-9)
If you are using the video, ask the first two questions before viewing. 1. What qualities do you look for in a friend? 2. Are friends more important to you now than they were in elementary school? Why?
With four pairs of shoes, you can make a lasting impression on students about empathy.
Chapter 2 in a series of short videos in which animator, filmmaker, and whimsical genius Ed Stockham explores what empathy is, why it matters, and how we "start" it.
I believe in making a difference. I believe that if we teach our children about kindness, empathy and other important character traits, we will help make a brighter future for them. This special series was designed for parents, teachers or anyone else who wants to join in and read.
The 10 Days of Character Studies.
The NEW Character First elementary curriculum presents timeless character traits in a bold, fresh manner. These lessons are designed for students in public school, private school, home school, day care, summer camp, or any other educational setting.
Help your students succeed! Overcoming Obstacles is available for free nationwide. Register today or download our free app!
Read our article How to Do Character Education: An Overview The BIG PICTURE, made clear and simple You are a character educator. Whether you are a teacher, administrator, guidance counselor, custodian, or school bus driver, you are helping to shape the character of the kids who interact with you.


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More than 100 Languages!
Languages known by different names are listed under all these names, with the alternative names cross-referenced in parenthesis. Regional varieties and dialects of high diffusion languages are only listed for major countries. Varieties and dialects for other countries are also available. USA TRANSLATIONS offers professional translations & interpretations in:

subset: commoncrawl


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This weekend I went back to yoga, rearranged the living room, hunted for new props, finally hung that new piece of art, and took the time to drive out to the C&O Canal just because…
These past few months have been so rewarding, and I'm already looking forward to the next event and the next market, but right now I couldn't be more thankful for the calm.
I love the hard work, but somewhere along the way we lost the ability to also lead a normal life. Hard work is one thing, but letting everything else fly by without a wink is entirely another… so yesterday, with a weekend full of little accomplishments (like our rearranged living room that I love) Mark and I decided to purposely stop and take it all in.
We both love to take pictures – and you might've noticed we take a ton – but it's rare that we have the time to pull over on the road and just capture something great that we see… we always seem to be running to the next event. So this weekend, we created our own little Insta-date. We drove out, around sunset, to a part of the C&O Canal where we've never been… and we just wandered.
… on the way home we may also have taken advantage of that location's proximity to ice cream.
But that shouldn't be any surprise.
P.S. Did I mention that today is our second anniversary? How lucky am I to have this guy?
P.P.S. If you feel like reminiscing along with me, all of our wedding recaps (and the whole leadup to the day) are here. And the rest of our 52 dates are here!


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How to watch the NFL Draft at a bar, from your couch or in your bed
The NFL draft is about to kick off.
But I'm not ready, you may be thinking. Where do I watch it? How? When? Let us help.
For the first time since its inception, the NFL draft has left New York. Cities across the United States made bids for their chance to host the epic celebration with Chicago eventually winning out. The Windy City will host the three-day event starting on Thursday night.
The first round
The first round will be broadcast on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. You can watch online on WatchESPN if you have the appropriate cable TV package, or on the NFL Networks' free live stream (along with their dedicated channel). For those with a cable provider login, coverage will also be available through NFL Mobile.
You can also watch on Xbox, Apple TV and tablets if you have the WatchESPN or Watch NFL apps.
The other rounds
Rounds 2 and 3 will take place Friday at 7 p.m. ET. Both the NFL Network and ESPN will have pre-draft coverage beforehand on TV as well as online starting at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. ET, respectively, on Friday.
ESPN2 will televise the draft and cover it online with ESPN3. The NFL Network will provide coverage on its app and designated channel.
Rounds 4 through 7 begin on Saturday at 12 p.m. ET and can only be watched on the NFL Network and their apps. The NFL Network will also hold pre-draft coverage before the event starting at 9 a.m. ET.
The NFL will also have its Draft LIVE coverage that can be accessed through the NFL mobile app or its website. It tracks every draft pick and provides in-depth analysis and commentary on each — which will be a big help during every head-scratching Why did they make that pick? moment.
The NFL draft will be crazy this year if for no other reason than the fact that two Heisman winners — Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston — and future College Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks are sure to go within the first few picks.
Fingers crossed for no blackouts.


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You will have the task of getting them what they would require there such as beddings that they can pack and give the dorm rooms. To make things much easier for you and your grown kid, you can now quickly get student bedding sets. These are the beddings that are currently total so that you can quickly purchase these and they can quickly pack it to go. These sets normally include all their bedding needs such as pillowcase, duvet cover, fitted sheet, quilt and pillow. These can be found in different matching prints so they can quickly pick what they desire. Considering that it's a set, you dont have to worry about looking for each piece. It saves you the time and makes it much easier to obtain them prepared for the college. There are some sets that likewise supply bath towels, hand towels and face towels. Exactly what makes these student bedding sets great is that given that you purchase a set you likewise save up a lot. Sets are most often less expensive than the overall quantity that you would have to spend for getting individual pieces. Simply remember to purchase least 2 sets so that when the very first set is in the washer, they have a spare to alternate it with.
Exactly what is the most vital space in your residence? This would be the space that accountables for maintaining your peace of mind and comfort, where you may wish to simply relax and escape the family inconvenience at the end of a long day. Are you thinking the bedroom? You would be right; the bedroom is the most vital space in your residence. With the use of a down comforter you can make this space more comfortable and welcoming than ever.
Easy Ways You Can Obtain New Sheets Now
Search in areas you would least expect to be discounted items. Visiting your regional winter color sheets seller's web site could be your preliminary knee-jerk reaction. However, a little-known online supplier is more likely to provide even more cost effective prices. For example, it is rare to stumble upon luxury discount rate bedding sets in outlet store. This is since such business like to mark up prices of items that are known for their excellent quality.
When it concerns insulation qualities, Siberian goose down is at the top of the game and is most searched for. For luxury, Eiderdown is utilized. This type of down comes from the location of Iceland from Eider ducks, well known for its extravagant homes. The Hungarian goose is someone else popular selection of goose down. Lots of people opt for goose down comforters than other type of comforters readily available. They love goose down since it is soft, extravagant, comfy, and warm no matter what period you are presently going through.
The bedspread has to be the right size for the bed. From tiniest to biggest, the basic sizes are twin, full, queen, and king. Full is occasionally called double. There is likewise a California king, even larger than a basic king. Kids have their own sizes. Some beds are not basic at all. A king sized bedspread is going to be a problem if you have a twin sized bed.
Five Reasons Visitors May Laugh About Your Winter Color Sheets
The most popular luxury bed linens that are available on the marketplace today are sheets. Although this may not seem like luxury, these sheets offer an unparalled level of sophistication and comfort. The means that you can mention to if sheets are luxurious or not is by the thread count. In shorts, the higher the thread count, the more costly and luxurious your sheets are going to be. Many people feel that a 400 thread count is where luxury starts.
The perfect bedding for many would include a down comforter and a floral bed linen. Down comforters are thought about a glamorous piece of bedding. Utilizing it in combination with a high quality bed linen can assure it to last a life time. Although other bedding sets may cost a tab less, they can not compare to the luxury and feel of these sorts of bedding.
When you are searching for long-lasting value, the greatest quality goose down comforters are derived from the Hungarian Goose. The goose feathers are hand plucked then go through an intense examination to guarantee that have been wash thoroughly to eliminate dust and for quality. Each and every specific feather goes through the same examination. For those of you who might be wincing with the idea of hand plucking feathers, let us put your mind at ease. No geese are eliminated in order to make the goose down comforters. Additionally, the act of hand plucking the feathers is the most gentle method when compared with some other techniques.
What You Should Have Asked Your Mama About Sheets
Of all the styles, the most convenient one to sew is the flat bedspread. For this design, patchwork is an alternative. A flat spread should have a generous overhang on the foot and sides of the bed. Likewise, include enough to the length if the spread will be tucked under the pillows. Make sure and include seam allowances and hems on all sides and ends as well.
Trying to find comfortable and sound sleep? If yes, then a duvet is all that you require. Duvets offer you absolute comfort and guarantee that you enjoy sound sleep. But, not every duvet works just as well. Picking for an uneasy choice will just offer you sleep deprived nights. To see to it that you're shopping the right duvet, keep the below pointed out suggestions in brain.
The Reason I Detest Sheets
Fitted sheets are planned to fit the mattress snuggly and avoid the sheet from moving and exposing the mattress. A variety of choices are readily available for fitted sheets in numerous sizes. In addition there are lots of various selections readily available for designer winter color sheets in the fitted sheets category including a wide variety of colors and patterns.
Surprising Things About Sheets That People Don't Tell
Black and white paisley bedding can be a great choice for a slightly woman's room, because this timeless pattern permits a lot of innovative embellishing choices with the remainder of the rooms decor depending upon exactly what colors you use in the paisley design. Vibrant greens and pinks will be a mirror to the enjoyable and energy that your kid has, whereas paisley bedding in softer shades will be a more advanced bedroom, while preserving the style.
It need not be difficult to find affordable bedding online. If you know exactly what you desire, you must be able to find bedroom furniture and luxury bedding at costs that you can quickly afford by using the Internet to go shopping.
Questions That You Must Ask About Winter Color Sheets
Winter season, spring, summer season, or fall, goose down comforters will do the trick to keep you comfortable all night long. When absolutely nothing however softness, coziness, and pure luxury will do, your option must be a goose down comforter.
Silk sleeping products are really lightweight, smooth and soft. So, it enables the body to move into it comfortably. Silk drapes over the body and gets rid of single points of pressure and enhances the quality and comfort of sleep. As they are light, comforters put less pressure on the bones and joints.
Never Switching Your Sheets Will Eventually Destroy You
There are also a number of shapes that you can select from for upholstered headboards ranging from curvilinear feminine headboards to sturdy, big, square or rectangular-shaped, headboards. Another style choice would be wall-mounted upholstered headboards or ones that are connected to your bed frame. There is a large range of patterns and designs offered, when it concerns the furniture fabrics for upholstered headboards. Select patterns that would create an appealing medley of colors, concealing any obvious marks or spots, while nature-inspired complex designs can add a touch of harmony to your room.
When it happens for the bedding ensembles, it is greater for folks to select the natural cotton bedding ensembles with very good wetness absorption, along with the fiber cotton is in fact an excellent option. Such bedding ensembles are so comfortable and comfortable. And the bedding assortiment which can be made of Dacron together with other polyester supplies have pretty bad wetness absorption, these are simple to produce static electrical energy, and it can be simple for them to end up being stained with dirt. Consequently, if you genuinely want to pick the polyester-made bedding ensembles, you could pick those with scaled-down subject material of polyester. Also, the bedding ensembles shouldnt be too challenging or way too thick, for this type of bedding ensembles are simple to permit dusts deposit around the mattress pad.
You can get the best quality duvet from trustworthy dealerships online. They even provide appealing price cuts and a large collection of bedding products like pillows, bed mattress, bedding, and more. You can transform the appearance of your bedroom with a variety of luxurious products online. Duvets are not only in mulberry silk, however also in pure wool, pure cotton, microfiber, white duck down, white goose down, and more.
Demystify Sheets And Change Your Bedroom Decor
Since the wild Eider Duck is a maintained bird, to receive down coming from these birds small quantities will be removed out of their particular nests when the bird is moulting Every single handful of Eider down is plucked from small pockets within the ground precisely where Eider ducks inhabit, but it takes big total up to produce any king or queen size bed comforter.


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OK, then. I'm off to the beach to eat clam cakes and sit in the sun for a few days, so there will be naught for posts for perhaps a week or so. Please to entertain yourselves by going to see the new zombie flick and saving the season's box office. See you on the other side.
The newest update at Score, Baby! has a plethora of looks at some cool soundtrack stuff--I'll be buying Indiavision soon enough. I never posted about the big merger between AMC and Loew's in the theater biz. Given the way that ticket sales are going, let's just say I really hope they own the land upon which those theaters are built.OK, I know virtually nothing about the Brit TV show The Omega Factor, but it sure sounds a lot like the X Files some decade and a half before Cris Carter meandered down the path of governement conspiracy and psychic stuff. I may just need to import the new DVD release of this series if I can find out anything else about it.The Sunday Herald sits down with Maggie Cheung and has a lengthy talk with her about Clean and former husband Olivier Assayas.
How bad is this year's box office slump? For the LA Times, it's front page news.Did you ever play the twisted platformer for the PC called American McGee's Alice? If you haven't then you should, but if you don't get around to it then you can just take in the movie version. Though me, I'm still waiting for that American McGee game based on the Wizard of Oz.It's the English language website for Seven Swords! Lau Kar-leung and Tsui Hark together. Be still my beating heart.Bloody Disgusting interviews zombie maven George Romero just shortly before the fourth installment of the Dead series hits the big screen. I'm so excited.Richard Corliss has a few thoughts on movie monsters that spring from the wondrous substance which gives the planet life.Here's something to make you wish you lived in California: the Giant Japanese Monster Festival at the Egyptian. Henshin! Online has more.
DVD times lists the specs for the upcoming Val Lewton box from the geniuses at Warner Home Video. DVD Drive-In takes a gander at the newly released DVD for Mario Bava's Danger Diabolik. It's such a great disk--the film itself looks great, there's a commentary track with the star as well as Tim Lucas, a nice featurette is included, plus there's a Beastie boys video and the original trailers too. And I bought mine for under 10$ postpaid. I'm laughing.A pair of nice recent interviews of modern Japanese filmmakers: Midnight Eye's Tom Mes talks to Sogo Ishii while over at DVDTalk James Emanuel Shapiro chats with Kiyoshi Kurosawa.A Not-so-safe-for-work happy 39th birthday to Christy Canyon, late Golden Age star and autobiographical author.
The press releases are going out for Montreal's Fantasia Festival, though we don't get the schedule for another week.I say buzz buzz buzz and it's just because I'm a human fly and I don't know why. But I'll sure be picking up that SE, and the reasons should be clear. In Time, Richard Corliss pores over the current state of the documentary--and things are looking pretty good even if they've swung toward the subjective.In general, I subscribe to a program that says that genre movies should not run longer than 100 minutes. However, in the case of Tsui Hark's Seven Swords, I'll happily await the four hour cut for the DVD. (Hat tip to Hong Kong Entertainment News in Review).Oooooooh, scary. Universal is packaging together a raft of Hammer horror (including the old fave Brides of Dracula) into a great looking box set which is slightly shy on extras but still looks to be a great release.
Is anyone who attempted to watch the NBA Finals last night still awake? Anyone?With the DVD release of Rock and Rule now out, fps talks to some of the animators.Wow, was that bad. I'd never before seen Scorsese's New York, New York but since it just came out in a Special Edition DVD I figured I'd check it out. Then it turns out that it's nearly three hours long and....nothing....ever.....happens. It's not an utter loss--there are some nicely shot musical numbers and some good character actor work--but the whole thing is completely muddled and the tone of the film is so scattershot as to be completely distracting. This might be the worst Scorsese film I've ever seen.
You'll all be happy to know that a few library requests have solved my summer beach reading problem and now I've got horror to keep me busy for weeks: not only did I get the P.D. Cacek and Nick Mamatos books that I mentioned on Sunday but I also picked up Curfew by Phil Rickman, The Boys Are Back in Town by Christopher Golden (who also wrote Strangewood, one of my favorite horror novels of the last few years) and The Manor by Scott Nicholson. That all ought to keep me entertained for a little while, at least. Oooooooooh. The Masters of Horror site is live and it is cool. (Hat tip to Twitch).Would you like to be a zombie in the videogame George Romero's City of the Dead? Well, three lucky contestants will get just that opportunity--details here. Also on the zombie front is this nice blog post detailing how Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin would hold up in a zombie attack. (Thanx to Incoming Signals for the latter item).Now here's a release that makes me glad that I have an all-region player: it's a collection of shorts by an old Brit titled Geoffrey Jones: The Rhythm of Film, and it looks darn good.Via HK Entertainment News comes word of a Chinaview piece that says Tsui Hark's Seven Swords is ready for a July open. Also on the website there are some graduation pics for Kung Fu Hustle starlet Huang Shenyi.
Just a brief note today to point out an upcoming Turner Classic Movies festival of classic science fiction with their Future Shock series. Lots of solid gems to be shown throughout this one. Also on tap this month for their mini cult film festival is a Japanese don't miss golden oldie: The Manster.
Great, great news for domestic fans of international horror: Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Kairo (aka Pulse) will get a domestic release after all. Now me, I love me some Kiyoshi Kurosawa (well, except I did watch Charisma the other night and it was only OK) and I have to say that so far, Kairo is my most favoritest of all. It's creepy, it's thought provoking and it's a great argument for how restraint can work well with this sort of material. Don't miss it.Ever wonder where the world's most dangerous filmmaking hotspots were? Well, wonder no more. (Tip of the hat to Incoming Signals.I wish I could read this Japanese blog that I read about at Bitter Cinema. From the looks of the pics, it's a cool one...There's been far too little Vicky Zhao Wei on screens of late, so it's nice to see her back even on the small screen.
A completely apropos of nothing, off the general topic blog post for no apparent reason other than that it's the internet and therefore I can. Below please find voluminous links detailing the current state of various things that interest me of late.Reading: A-Frame by Chad Randl, Beach Houses: Andrew Geller by Alastair Gordon, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern #13 and the latest issue of Metropolis. This last led me to look at stuff like Angela Adams rugs, Nina Marquina's site, Maija Louekari's fabrics and the amazing floating sculpture made by Janet Echelman in Portugal. Not sure what's next on the reading list, it's summer time so it may be time for some trash. The Wind Caller by P.D. Cacek? Deep in the Darkness by Michael Laimo? Move Under Ground by Nick Mamatos? Somewhere in the midst of the 2004 Stoker Award nominees there must be some beach reading for me. If not, I'll go back to reading The Walking Dead and Sgt Frog. Sounds in heavy rotation(many thanks to Dusty Groove): Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends, the new album by Six Organs of Admittance, Love's a Real Thing: The Funky Fuzzy Sounds of West Africa, and the recent reissue of Together by Charles Wright and the 103rd St Rhythm Band. Older disks also being spun: Bob Dylan and the Band: The Basement Tapes, Take it From the Man! by the Brian Jonestown Massacre, and Since I Left You by The Avalanches. On order: L' Enfant Assassin des Mouches, Le Monde Fabuleux des Yamasuki, Nat Kendrick and the Swans (a pseudonym for James Brown), Thunder Lightning Strike by The Go! Team and The Milk of Human Kindness by Caribou. Pending library requests: Bye Bye Beaute by Coralie Clement, Muswell Hillbillies by the Kinks and Psychocandy by the Jesus and Mary Chain. I've got vinyl of these last two, but my turntable is busted...Quick DVD recap. Recently viewed: Decasia: A Symphony in Decay, Charisma by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Invincible Fist. In the wings: Warlock by Edward Dmytryk, New York, New York SE, Hana and Alice and Finger of Doom. Pending pre-order: Born to Boogie. Will order this week: Dirty Ho, Danger Diabolik, Varan the Unbelievable and the Jaws 30th Anniversary Edition.
Blogger ate my last post yesterday, so just a quick recap of the pointers to DVD Drive In--so you can read Casey Scott and George R. Reis' work under their bylines before it appears mysteriously in some print magazine. Anyway, check out the reviews of Fireball 500/Thunder Alley, Vibrations/Fluctuations/Submission and Zontar the Thing From Venus/The Eye Creatures.
A Dark Horizon batch of news 'n stuff includes a rumor that last year's Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins may be Supergirl.In other comic book type new comes the strange announcement that Matthew Vaughn is skipping out on X3. I'm already beginning to get a bad vibe about this one...Bloody Disgusting has the scoop on a passel load of good stuff for Montreal's excellent Fantasia Festival. Looks like some pretty promising stuff--I'd be most excited about Survive Style 5.
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Look past the city's skyscrapers and high-end malls and you'll find a land of busy souks, or markets, each specialising in a certain item – from exotic spices to gold If you were to...
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By Carol J. Williams, Times Staff Writer
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — If the walls of the Hotel Oloffson could talk, they would have to be silenced.
Reputations could be ruined with disclosures of hedonistic excess. In its heyday, the rich and powerful flocked to the gingerbread mansion on this raucous capital's outskirts to escape 1950s Communist witch hunts and to indulge appetites for rum cocktails, cocaine and trysts with minors.
The Oloffson was a stage for political intrigue in fact and fiction. The hotel's John Barrymore suite cloistered a friend of Lee Harvey Oswald and two strangers just a few months before President Kennedy's assassination. The hotel's pool was the dumping ground for a government official who came to a bad end in Graham Greene's novel "The Comedians."
"This house has always been at the center of things," said Max Sam, the hotel's 92-year-old owner and son of the man who built the mansion as a family home in 1896. Sam has owned the place throughout its myriad manifestations, from family home to conscripted military quarters to hot-destination hotel.
Sam sees the three-story clapboard home of his birth as a canvas on which history has painted the changing fortunes that have defined his country. Throughout the tumultuous decades of coups, insurrections, dictatorship and ecological disaster, the Oloffson was an oasis of art and intellectual banter, a gathering place with a whisper of intrigue and danger, a place from which to spy and be spied on.
Today, the hotel is as replete with mildew as it is with mystery. Mirroring a country lost in political turmoil and violence, the Oloffson is almost abandoned, its spacious suites a dilapidated shadow of their heyday.
Fretwork above the pillars is clogged with dust and grit. Chunks of the stone steps have broken off, forcing visitors to ascend with caution. Electricity is spotty, and chickens that have apparently escaped from nearby yards strut among the wicker furnishings of the lobby. Those who still come to dine on the veranda have to rap on the kitchen door to summon a waiter, and guests often must bestir the languid bartender from her TV shows to check in.
In the once-glamorous suites, not inexpensive today at $117 a night, tap water that smells of decay runs into stained sinks. Painted wooden floors are covered with matted, soiled carpet remnants. Mosquito nets draped around king-size beds on outdoor sleeping porches are torn and misshapen, leaving guests vulnerable to nocturnal insect invasions.
The hotel, now in the pulsating heart of a violent city, exposed to gang rampages and stray gunfire, was originally set in an orange grove. During the 1915-1934 U.S. occupation, it was used as an American military barracks and hospital. It became a hotel just before World War II.
"After the Americans left, it was too big to use as a private residence, and a lady from Scandinavia came and had the idea to create a hotel," Sam recalled of the first of many hoteliers to lease his mansion.
The mysterious Madame Oloffson — no one recalls her first name or ever meeting her seafaring husband — transformed the military quarters into a grand accommodation, decorating the whitewashed walls with paintings and embroidering linens with the initials of the hostelry she named for that absent husband.
A crocodile-keeping Dutchman, Maurice de Young, ruled Sam's residence during the war years, when Allied troops patrolling the Atlantic would put into port for the occasional respite and European surrealists began taking an interest in Haitians for their involvement in voodoo and the occult.
In the late 1940s, a Russian French photographer and art collector named Roger Coster acquired the Oloffson's lease and began attracting a Hollywood clientele keen on escaping the McCarthy-era cultural witch hunts. Errol Flynn, Lillian Hellman, Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote were among the first wave of glitterati to frequent the little-known oasis of 1950s Haiti, enraptured by the vibrant dance rhythms and verdant surroundings.
Meanwhile, assassinations and violent overthrows escalated to the point at which the rise of dictatorship stirred little worry. But Haiti's exotic image began to tarnish soon after Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier came to power in 1957, the start of a 29-year family tyranny during which suspected regime opponents turned up dead in odd places, rather like the fictional secretary for social welfare in Greene's 1966 novel whose body is discovered in the drained swimming pool of the "Trianon Hotel."
Oloffson history is often difficult to separate from literary flourish. In Greene's story and in reality, the mysterious woman who founded the hotel lived out her days in seclusion in an upstairs bedroom. Both the fictional Trianon and the Oloffson were frequented by a white-tuxedoed bon vivant alleged to have informed on foreign visitors to Haiti's father-and-son dictators.
"The hotel can't be separated from the personality of Aubelin Jolicoeur," said Port-au-Prince historian George Corvington, referring to the gadfly columnist who was the inspiration for Greene's character Petit Pierre. "He animated the place. He cultivated a lot of acquaintances and was the center of the hotel. Foreign artists and celebrities came to see him. He was a celebrity in his own right."
Jolicoeur, who died on Valentine's Day this year at age 80, patronized the Oloffson for 40 years, sporting a gold-tipped cane, tickling the ivories with such legends as Bobby Short and enlivening the jet-set clientele the Oloffson drew during its second era of chic, still referred to as "La Belle Epoque Creole," of the 1970s.
"Graham Greene made Aubelin more famous than he was," said Michel Beaulieu, a radiologist and erstwhile playboy who was a confidant of Greene's during the nine weeks the author spent in the coveted turreted corner suite.
Beaulieu attributes the Oloffson's renaissance after the death of Papa Doc in 1971 to the notoriety bequeathed by "The Comedians," which Greene researched and wrote in the early 1960s when Papa Doc's murderous tontons macoutes security agents had chased away even the most adventurous clientele.
During the pleasure-seeking years after Papa Doc's death and his son's ascension, Chicagoan Al Seitz and later his widow, Suzanne, renovated the hotel and recovered its postwar image as an exotic destination on the East Coast's doorstep.
Mick Jagger, Richard Burton, Liza Minnelli and Jackie Onassis visited. So did newly married Bill and Hillary Clinton. Bungalows and suites bear the names of artists, entertainers and journalists who stayed there: Jimmy Buffett, Jonathan Demme, Irving Stone, Ed Bradley.
Suzanne Seitz fondly remembers the Casablanca-like blend of allure and danger that pervaded the hotel during the 15-year reign of Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier.
"I dont know how we got away with what we did, even though we never did anything openly anti-political," Seitz said of the years that her hotel was a gathering place for figures later influential in the resistance that drove out Baby Doc in 1986. "I think the regime knew we were good PR for the country. If you stayed out of politics, they left you alone. It wasn't free, but it now seems like the good old days."
Some contend, though, that the guests fiddled while Haiti burned.
"I used to see how the tontons macoutes tortured people and threw their bodies in the streets," guide and driver Alex Toio said. While his countrymen were being hounded and killed, celebrities and sun-seekers sipped Barbancourt rum and danced until dawn, recalled Toio, who told of ferrying underage girls to the rooms of men staying at the hotel.
After her husband's death in 1982, Seitz ran the hotel for four years before falling out with Sam and handing it over to Richard Morse, whom the aging owner regarded as a stepson. Morse's mother, dancer Emerante de Pradines, had been involved with Sam four decades earlier, and they had a son together years before Morse was born.
Morse is now the guiding force behind the Oloffson and its signature entertainment, the African roots band RAM. Former patrons criticize him for focusing on the band to the hotel's detriment, and failing to invest in the Oloffson's upkeep.
"I wanted to take the Haitian voodoo rhythms I'd heard as a child and make dance music," the hotel's current manager said. Now in his 18th year at the Oloffson, Morse recounts the dark chapters that followed his arrival soon after the fall and exile of Baby Doc and continue amid the violent struggles for power that have yet to end.
"I figured if we had democracy, we'd have tourists, and if we had chaos, we'd have journalists. But when they started shooting journalists, I had nothing," said Morse, a Princeton graduate who recently had his long, graying hair plaited into cornrows.
Three months after arriving here, Morse married a Haitian singer. Together, they formed RAM, named for Morse's initials but also employing the zodiac symbolism of Aries. The band emerged in 1990, when the rise of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a radical priest who was soon elected president, was inspiring Haitians to take pride in their African heritage.
With its fevered rhythms, RAM quickly became the most popular entertainment in Haiti, breathing new life into the hotel as hundreds flocked to weekly concerts that quickly drew official suspicion.
"Politicians in Haiti think anyone going after an audience is a threat, and musicians need audiences," Morse said of his run-ins with police and gangsters over songs of subtle protest. His band represented resistance to the junta that ruled Haiti during the three years Aristide was forced into exile in the early 1990s, and it became a target of Aristide attacks years later when the musicians refused to use their popularity to promote him and his Lavalas Party.
The interim leadership in power since Aristide was flown into African exile in February 2004 differs little from its predecessors, Morse says, recalling a Nov. 4 police raid that picked up three of his musicians without a warrant.
These days, the hotel is sometimes full on Thursdays, when RAM plays. But encroaching security risks from the nearby slums and indifferent service have chased away all but a few tourists.
"Our tours are intended to open people's eyes to the reality of Haiti," said Elizabeth Marhone, a Canadian who recently spent the night at the hotel with 10 colleagues of the Friends of Haiti relief group to take in the RAM performance. The only guests the previous night included a journalist exploring the hotel's history and an Israeli photographer given a break on the rates for a monthlong stay.
Sam has lived at the more upscale Villa Creole for 25 years. At the end of a rare visit to the Oloffson, he cast disapproving looks at the cobwebbed ceilings, stained linens, bare light bulbs and power cords affixed to the walls with staples.
He has given up on his family home and wants to sell the Oloffson and leave the proceeds to a handful of nieces and nephews who are his last remaining family. "It's time," he said.
In Haiti's current circumstances, though, there are no takers.
HAITI LIFESTYLES HOTELS: Hotel Oloffson
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text:
The mother explained that he had called her his sister and that her daughter was too little to physically hurt her son. However, she said that her daughter did seem to enjoy getting her brother into trouble and seemed to be pleased when he was angry. I asked if this could be an intense sibling rivalry. She said that is what she thought until her son started asking to return his sister.
Next I asked if their family had ever discussed the "Sibling Return Policy". The mom immediately snapped back, "Well we aren't sending her back! I just want to know what we did wrong? Why hasn't our son bonded with her?"
Personally, my kids aren't that well-behaved. They would just make the comments behind my back. Therefore, our family has a "Sibling Return Policy" which basically says, "once you join our family, you are here forever and so are your siblings NO MATTER WHAT. Neither you or your sisters and brothers are going anywhere." Now a word of warning, if you set a policy, it will be tested....creatively, multiple times! I've had kids try to find loop holes like what if they run away or what if they wanted to go live with grandma. One child once asked, what if they hurt a sibling. I said, "You will be punished." Then this same child wanted to know what happened if they killed a sibling...now that question will make your heart race...so I turned the question back, "what do you think would happen?" The child had a better answer than I did AND I know this child AND I know how frustrated they were feeling so we focused on ways to deal with and cope with annoying siblings. Another child once asked me if the policy still held if my hubby and I died! Talk about looking for a loop hole! (I'm hoping I didn't scare this mom who called.)
The bottom line is adoptive families have sibling rivalries the same as biological. Its just that our kids can unleash the emotional equivalent of a nuclear bomb on siblings with attachment difficulties and the kids know it...at least mine do. Therefore, the parent has to neutralize the threat in whatever manner works in their home. Then, like any parent, we wait and watch closely to see if this is a serious problem that might require professional assistance or if this is a typical sibling adjustment issue.
Siblings are the people we practice on,
the people who teach us
about fairness and cooperation
and kindness and caring -
quite often the hard way.~~Pamela Dugdale


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| {{{title}}}
| [[File:{{{image}}}|frameless|alt=]]
|Abu Musa Jābir ibn Hayyān al azdi
|Islamic Golden Age
|Main interest(s)
|Alchemy and Chemistry, Astronomy, Astrology, Medicine and Pharmacy, Philosophy, Physics
|Notable work(s)
|Kitab al-Kimya, Kitab al-Sab'een, Book of the Kingdom, Book of the Balances , Book of Eastern Mercury, etc.
Influenced by
Geber is the Latinized form of "Jabir", with the full name of Abu Musa Jābir ibn Hayyān al azdi (Arabic: جابر بن حيان), (Persian: جابر بن حيان) (born c. 721 in Tous–died c. 815 in Kufa),[2] a prominent polymath: a chemist and alchemist, astronomer and astrologer, engineer, geologist, philosopher, physicist, and pharmacist and physician. He is considered by many to be the "father of chemistry."[3] His ethnic background is not clear;[4] although some sources state that he was an Arab[5], other sources introduce him as Persian.[6][7] Geber or Jabir is held to be the first practical alchemist.[8]
As early as the tenth century, the identity and exact corpus of works of Geber was in dispute in Islamic circles.[9] In 13th century Europe, an anonymous writer produced a non-trivial body of alchemy and metallurgy under the pen-name "Geber"; this individual is known today as Pseudo-Geber.
Life and backgroundEdit
According to tradition, Abu Musa (sometimes Abu AbdAllah) Jabir ibn Haiyan al-Azdl (al-Tusl, al-Artusl, al-Harram, al-Sufi, also al-Kufi or al-Tartusi) [10] was a Natural Philosopher who lived mostly in the 8th century, according to some sources he was from Kurdish origin from the city of Harran, and other sources say he was born in Tus (Iran), Khorasan, in Iran (Persia),[2] then ruled by the Umayyad Caliphate. In some sources, he is reported to have been the son of Hayyan al-Azdi, a pharmacist of the Arabian Azd tribe who emigrated from Yemen to Kufa (in present-day Iraq) during the Umayyad Caliphate.[11][12] Hayyan had supported the Abbasid revolt against the Umayyads, and was sent by them to the province of Khorasan (in present Iran) to gather support for their cause. He was eventually caught by the Ummayads and executed. His family fled to Yemen,[13] where Geber grew up and studied the Koran, mathematics and other subjects.[13] Geber's father's profession may have contributed greatly to his interest in alchemy.
After the Abbasids took power, Geber went back to Kufa. He began his career practicing medicine, under the patronage of a Vizir (from the noble Persian family Barmakids) of Caliph Haroun al-Rashid.
Geber may have been a student of the celebrated Islamic teacher and sixth Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq.[14][9] His connections to the Barmakid cost him dearly in the end. When that family fell from grace in 803, Geber was placed under house arrest in Kufa, where he remained until his death.
Jabir is mostly renowned for his contributions to chemistry. He emphasised systematic experimentation,[15] and did much to free alchemy from superstition and turn it into a science.[16] He is credited with the invention of over twenty types of now-basic chemical laboratory equipment,[17] such as the alembic[18] and retort, and with the discovery and description of many now-commonplace chemical substances and processes – such as the hydrochloric and nitric acids, distillation,[12] and crystallisation[3] – that have become the foundation of today's chemistry and chemical engineering.[12] Template:Failed verification [19]
He also paved the way for most of the later Islamic alchemists, including al-Kindi, al-Razi and al-Iraqi, who lived in the 9th-13th centuries. His books strongly influenced the medieval European alchemists[19] and justified their search for the philosopher's stone.[20][21]
He clearly recognized and proclaimed the importance of experimentation. "The first essential in chemistry", he declared, "is that you should perform practical work and conduct experiments, for he who performs not practical work nor makes experiments will never attain the least degree of mastery."[15]
Jabir is also credited with the invention and development of a number of chemical substances and instruments that are still used today. He discovered sulfuric acid, and by distilling it together with various salts, Jabir discovered hydrochloric acid (from salt) and nitric acid (from saltpeter).[Citation needed] By combining the two, he invented aqua regia, one of the few substances that can dissolve gold.[12] Besides its obvious applications to gold extraction and purification, this discovery would fuel the dreams and despair of alchemists for the next thousand years. He is also credited with the discovery of citric acid (the sour component of lemons and other unripe fruits),[3] acetic acid (from vinegar),[3][22] and tartaric acid (from wine-making residues).[3] Jabir also discovered and isolated several chemical elements, such as arsenic, antimony and bismuth.[17][23] He was also the first to classify sulfur ('the stone which burns' that characterized the principle of combustibility) and mercury (which contained the idealized principle of metallic properties) as 'elements'.[24] He was also the first to purify and isolate sulfur[24][25] and mercury[24][26] as pure elements.
Jabir applied his chemical knowledge to the improvement of many manufacturing processes, such as making steel and other metals, preventing rust, engraving gold, dyeing and waterproofing cloth, tanning leather, and the chemical analysis of pigments and other substances. He developed the use of manganese dioxide in glassmaking, to counteract the green tinge produced by iron — a process that is still used today. He noted that boiling wine released a flammable vapor, thus paving the way for the discovery of ethanol (alcohol) by Al-Kindi and Al-Razi.[27] According to Ismail al-Faruqi and Lois Lamya al-Faruqi, "In response to Jafar al-Sadik's wishes, [Jabir ibn Hayyan] invented a kind of paper that resisted fire, and an ink that could be read at night. He invented an additive which, when applied to an iron surface, inhibited rust and when applied to a textile, would make it water repellent."[28]
The seeds of the modern classification of elements into metals and non-metals could be seen in his chemical nomenclature. He proposed three categories:[29]
- "Spirits" which vaporise on heating, like arsenic (realgar, orpiment), camphor, mercury, sulfur, sal ammoniac, and ammonium chloride.
- "Metals", like gold, silver, lead, tin, copper, iron, and khar-sini;
- Non-malleable substances, that can be converted into powders, such as stones.
The origins of the idea of chemical equivalents can also be traced back to Jabir, who was the first to recognize that "a certain quantity of acid is necessary in order to neutralize a given amount of base." According to Jabir, the metals differ because of "different proportions of sulfur and mercury in them."[30]
In the Middle Ages, Jabir's treatises on alchemy were translated into Latin and became standard texts for European alchemists. These include the Kitab al-Kimya (titled Book of the Composition of Alchemy in Europe), translated by Robert of Chester (1144); and the Kitab al-Sab'een by Gerard of Cremona (before 1187). Marcelin Berthelot translated some of his books under the fanciful titles Book of the Kingdom, Book of the Balances, and Book of Eastern Mercury. Several technical Arabic terms introduced by Jabir, such as alkali, have found their way into various European languages and have become part of scientific vocabulary.
Geber became an alchemist at the court of Caliph Harun al-Rashid, for whom he wrote the Kitab al-Zuhra ("The Book of Venus", on "the noble art of alchemy").
Geber states in his Book of Stones (4:12) that "The purpose is to baffle and lead into error everyone except those whom God loves and provides for". His works seem to have been deliberately written in highly esoteric code (see steganography), so that only those who had been initiated into his alchemical school could understand them. It is therefore difficult at best for the modern reader to discern which aspects of Geber's work are to be read as symbols (and what those symbols mean), and what is to be taken literally. Because his works rarely made overt sense, the term gibberish is believed to have originally referred to his writings (Hauck, p. 19).
Geber's alchemical investigations ostensibly revolved around the ultimate goal of takwin — the artificial creation of life. The Book of Stones includes several recipes for creating creatures such as scorpions, snakes, and even humans in a laboratory environment, which are subject to the control of their creator. What Geber meant by these recipes is today unknown.
Geber's interest in alchemy was probably inspired by his teacher Ja'far al-Sadiq. Ibn Hayyan was deeply religious, and repeatedly emphasizes in his works that alchemy is possible only by subjugating oneself completely to the will of Allah and becoming a literal instrument of Allah on Earth, since the manipulation of reality is possible only for Allah. The Book of Stones prescribes long and elaborate sequences of specific prayers that must be performed without error alone in the desert before one can even consider alchemical experimentation.
In his writings, Geber pays tribute to Egyptian and Greek alchemists Hermes Trismegistus, Agathodaimon, Pythagoras, and Socrates.Geber professes to draw his inspiration from earlier writers on the subject.[31] A huge pseudo-epigraphic literature of alchemical books was composed in Arabic, among which the names of Persian authors also appear like Jāmāsb, Ostanes, Mani, testifying that alchemy-like operations on metals and other substances were also practiced in Persia. The great number of Persian technical names (zaybaq = mercury, nošāder = sal-ammoniac) also corroborates the idea of an important Iranian roots of medieval alchemy.[32] Ibn al-Nadim reports a dialogue between Aristotle and Ostanes, the Persian alchemist of Achaemenid era, which is in Jabirian corpus under the title of Kitab Musahhaha Aristutalis.[33] Ruska had suggested that the Sasanian medical schools played an important role in the spread of interest in alchemy.[32] He emphasises the long history of alchemy, "whose origin is Arius ... the first man who applied the first experiment on the [philosopher's] stone... and he declares that man possesses the ability to imitate the workings of Nature" (Nasr, Seyyed Hussein, Science and Civilization of Islam).
Geber's alchemical investigations were theoretically grounded in an elaborate numerology related to Pythagorean and Neoplatonic systems. The nature and properties of elements was defined through numeric values assigned the Arabic consonants present in their name, ultimately culminating in the number 17.
To Aristotelian physics, Geber added the four properties of hotness, coldness, dryness, and moistness (Burkhardt, p. 29). Each Aristotelian element was characterised by these qualities: Fire was both hot and dry, earth cold and dry, water cold and moist, and air hot and moist. This came from the elementary qualities which are theoretical in nature plus substance. In metals two of these qualities were interior and two were exterior. For example, lead was cold and dry and gold was hot and moist. Thus, Geber theorised, by rearranging the qualities of one metal, based on their sulfur/mercury content, a different metal would result. (Burckhardt, p. 29) This theory appears to have originated the search for al-iksir, the elusive elixir that would make this transformation possible — which in European alchemy became known as the philosopher's stone.
The elemental system used in medieval alchemy was developed by Geber. His original system consisted of seven elements, which included the five classical elements found in the ancient Greek and Indian traditions (aether, air, earth, fire and water), in addition to two chemical elements representing the metals: sulfur, 'the stone which burns', which characterized the principle of combustibility, and mercury, which contained the idealized principle of metallic properties. Shortly thereafter, this evolved into eight elements, with the Arabic concept of the three metallic principles: sulfur giving flammability or combustion, mercury giving volatility and stability, and salt giving solidity.[24]
Geber also made important contributions to medicine, astronomy/astrology, and other sciences. Only a few of his books have been edited and published, and fewer still are available in translation. The crater Geber on the Moon is named after him.
He also paved the way for most of the later Islamic alchemists, including al-Kindi, al-Razi, al-Tughrai and al-Iraqi, who lived in the 9th-13th centuries. His books strongly influenced the medieval European alchemists[19] and justified their search for the philosopher's stone.[20][21]
Max Meyerhoff states the following on Jabir ibn Hayyan: "His influence may be traced throughout the whole historic course of European alchemy and chemistry."[19]
The historian of chemistry Erick John Holmyard gives credit to Geber for developing alchemy into an experimental science and he writes that Geber's importance to the history of chemistry is equal to that of Robert Boyle and Antoine Lavoisier.[34]
The historian Paul Kraus, who had studied most of Geber's extant works in Arabic and Latin, summarized the importance of Geber to the history of chemistry by comparing his experimental and systematic works in chemistry with that of the allegorical and unintelligible works of the ancient Greek alchemists.[16]
The word gibberish is theorized to be derived from Geber's name,[35] in reference to the incomprehensible technical jargon often used by alchemists, the most famous of whom was Geber.[36] Other sources such as the Oxford English Dictionary suggest the term stems from gibber; however, the first known recorded use of the term "gibberish" was before the first known recorded use of the word "gibber" (see Gibberish).
- "My wealth let sons and brethren part. Some things they cannot share: my work well done, my noble heart — these are mine own to wear."[37]
Writings by GeberEdit
The Jabirian corpusEdit
In total, nearly 3,000 treatises and articles are credited to Jabir ibn Hayyan.[38] Following the pioneering work of Paul Kraus, who demonstrated that a corpus of some several hundred works ascribed to Geber were probably a medley from different hands,[39][Citation needed] mostly dating to the late ninth and early tenth centuries, many scholars believe that many of these works consist of commentaries and additions by his followers,[Citation needed] particularly of an Ismaili persuasion.[40]
The Arabic corpus of Jabir Ibn Hayyan can be divided into four categories:
- The 112 Books dedicated to the Barmakids, viziers of Caliph Harun al-Rashid. This group includes the Arabic version of the Emerald Tablet, an ancient work that proved a recurring foundation of and source for alchemical operations. In the Middle Ages it was translated into Latin (Tabula Smaragdina) and widely diffused among European alchemists.
- The Seventy Books, most of which were translated into Latin during the Middle Ages. This group includes the Kitab al-Zuhra ("Book of Venus") and the Kitab Al-Ahjar ("Book of Stones").
- The Ten Books on Rectification, containing descriptions of alchemists such as Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
- The Books on Balance; this group includes his most famous 'Theory of the balance in Nature'.
The Geber corpusEdit
The Latin corpus consists of books translated under the name Geber, for which original Arabic texts have not survived:
- Summa perfectionis magisterii ("The Height of the Perfection of Mastery")
- Liber fornacum ("Book of Stills")
- De investigatione perfectionis ("On the Investigation of Perfection")
- De inventione veritatis ("On the Discovery of Truth")
- Testamentum gerberi
The 2nd, 3rd and 4th books listed above "are merely extracts from or summaries of the Summa Perfectionis Magisterii with later additions."[41]
English translations of Geber/JabirEdit
- E. J. Holmyard (ed.) The Arabic Works of Jabir ibn Hayyan, translated by Richard Russel in 1678. New York, E. P. Dutton (1928); Also Paris, P. Geuther.
- Syed Nomanul Haq, Names, Natures and Things: The Alchemists Jabir ibn Hayyan and his Kitab al-Ahjar (Book of Stones), [Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science p. 158] (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1994), ISBN 0792332547.
- Donald R. Hill, 'The Literature of Arabic Alchemy' in Religion: Learning and Science in the Abbasid Period, ed. by M.J.L. Young, J.D. Latham and R.B. Serjeant (Cambridge University Press, 1990) pp. 328–341, esp. pp 333–5.
- William Newman, New Light on the Identity of Geber, Sudhoffs Archiv, 1985, Vol.69, pp. 76–90.
- Geber and William Newman The Summa Perfectionis of Pseudo-Geber: A Critical Edition, Translation and Study ISBN 9004094664
Geber problemEdit
The identity of the author of works attributed to Jabir has long been discussed.[9] According to a famous controversy,[42] pseudo-Geber has been considered as the unknown author of several books in Alchemy.[43] This was first independently suggested, on textual and other grounds, by the nineteenth-century historians Hermann Kopp and Marcellin Berthelot.[44] Jabir, by reputation the greatest chemist of Islam, has long been familiar to Western readers under the name of Geber, which is the medieval rendering of the Arabic Jabir, the Geber of the Middle Ages.[45]
A minority of scholars have maintained that Jabir is the pen name of a group of Ismaili writers in the ninth and tenth centuries, and that he died—if indeed he ever lived—a century before the writings attributed to him were composed.[46][47] In 1942, Paul Kraus argued that anonymous members of the so-called Brethren of Purity of the Ismaili sect of Shia Islam were the true authors of the works in Arabic that were attributed to Jabir, and that they were writing in the ninth and tenth centuries.[48] In 1991, Eric Holmyard argues for at least some Arabic origin, but not 8th century. Newman showed a distant relationship to the Arabic work of Razi.[49] He claimed that the true author of the most famous book by the Latin "Geber," the "Summa Perfectionis," was the little-known Paul of Taranto, writing shortly after the year 1300.[50] In 1994, Syed Haq proved, with evidence, the 8th century origin of at least one text.[51] The alchemical texts of Jāber (Geber) and Rāzi (Rhazes) which were in Arabic, were translated into Latin in the 12th century.[32]
It is said that Geber, the Latinized form of "Jabir," was adopted presumably because of the great reputation of a supposed 8th-century alchemist by the name of Jabir ibn Hayyan. About this historical figure, however, there is some uncertainty.[52][53] This is sometimes called the "Geber-Jabir problem".[54] It was considered difficult to reach definite conclusions until all the Arabic writings ascribed to Jabir have been properly edited and discussed.[45]
The chemistry historian Eric John Holmyard studied the Arabic and Latin corpuses more extensively and criticized Berthelot's original hypothesis. On textual grounds, Holmyard asserted that the Latin corpus has Arabic origins. In 1924, Holmyard stated: "[Berthelot] deliberately wanted to underrate Jābir […], the choice of Jābir's works made by Berthelot is entirely misleading." He also stated: "It is here that Berthelot's ignorance of Arabic led him astray. As a matter of fact, the Summa is full of Arabic phrases and turns of speech, and so are the other Latin works".[55] In 1931, Holmyard criticized the argument that "No Arabic originals have been found", pointing to the then recent discovery of Jabir's The Book of Seventy diminishing the weight of this argument.[13]
Geber's identity with Jabir was in dispute up until 2004.[56] In 2004, the historian Ahmad Y. al-Hassan disputed the existence of a "pseudo-Geber" based on his research of recently discovered Arabic manuscripts of Jabir which show strong similarities to the Latin corpus of Geber, proving the Arabic origin of the Latin "Geber" corpus.[57][58][59]
In 2005, the historian Ahmad Y. al-Hassan pointed out that earlier Arabic texts prior to the 13th century, including the works of Jabir and Al-Razi, already contained detailed descriptions of substances such as nitric acid, aqua regia, vitriol, and various nitrates.[60]
In 2009, the chemistry historian Ahmad Y. al-Hassan criticized Berthelot's original hypothesis and, on textual grounds, argued that the Pseudo-Geber Corpus was originally written in Arabic. Al-Hassan criticized Berthelot's lack of familiarity with the complete Arabic corpus and pointed to various Arabic Jabirian manuscripts which already contain much of the theories and practices that Berthelot previously attributed to the Latin corpus.[55]
Popular cultureEdit
- Geber is mentioned in Paulo Coelho's 1993 bestseller, The Alchemist.[61]
- There is a villain in the Japanese manga and anime series Bio Booster Armor Guyver by the name of Jearvill bun Hiyern (translated in various ways), who is most likely named after ibn Hayyan.
- Jabbir is said to be the creator of a (fictional) mystical chess set in Katherine Neville's novels The Eight and The Fire
See alsoEdit
- Alchemy
- Alchemy and chemistry in medieval Islam
- Chemistry
- Al-Kindi
- List of Arab scientists and scholars
- List of Iranian scientists and scholars
- List of Shi'a Muslims
- Muhammad ibn Zakariya ar-Razi
- Science in medieval Islam
- ↑ http://www.newtonproject.sussex.ac.uk/prism.php?id=94&loc=19
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 ""Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan"". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Derewenda, Zygmunt S. (2007), "On wine, chirality and crystallography", Acta Crystallographica A 64: 246–258 [247], Error: Bad DOI specified
- ↑ S.N. Nasr, "Life Sciences, Alchemy and Medicine", The Cambridge History of Iran, Cambridge, Volume 4, 1975, p. 412: "Jabir is entitled in the traditional sources as al-Azdi, al-Kufi, al-Tusi, al-Sufi. There is a debate as to whether he was an Arab from Kufa who lived in Khurasan or a Persian from Khorasan who later went to Kufa or whether he was, as some have suggested, of Syrian origin and later lived in Persia and Iraq".
- ↑ and student of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq
- History of Analytical Chemistry by Ferenc Szabadváry, p.11, ISBN 2881245692.
- The Historical Background of Chemistry by Henry Marshall Leicester, p.63.
- Alchemy, Eric John Holmyard, p.68.
- Dragon's Brain Perfume: An Historical Geography of Camphor, Robin Arthur Donkin, p.137.
- The Grand Contraption The World as Myth, Number, and Chance, David Allen Park, p.229.
- Cosmology in Gauge Field Theory and String Theory, by David Bailin, Alexander Love, p.181.
- The New Book of Knowledge, ISBN 0717205177, p.446.
- The Biology of Alcoholism by Benjamin Kissin, Henri Begleiter, p.576.
- Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine by Thomas F. Glick, Steven John Livesey, Faith Wallis, ISBN 0415969301, p.280
- A History of Chemistry by Forris Jewett Moore, p.15.
- E. J. Brill's 'First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936 by M. Th. Houtsma, E. van Donzel, ISBN 9004082654, p.989.
- In Old Paris by Robert W. Berger, p.164, ISBN 0934977666.
- Chemical Essays by Richard Watson, p.68
- Jabir, Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2007.
- ↑
- A Dictionary of the History of Science by Anton Sebastian, p.241
- The Alchemical Body by David Gordon, p.366
- The Structure and Properties of Matter by Herman Thompson Briscoe, p.10
- The Tincal Trail: A History of Borax by Edward John Cocks, Norman J. Travis, p.4
- William R. Newman, Gehennical Fire: The Lives of George Starkey, an American Alchemist in the Scientific Revolution, Harvard University Press, 1994. p.94: "According to traditional bio-bibliography of Muslims, Jabir ibn Hayyan was a Persian alchemist who lived at some time in the eight century and wrote a wealth of books on virtually every aspect of natural philosophy"
- William R. Newman, The Occult and Manifest Among the Alchemist, in F. J. Ragep, Sally P Ragep, Steven John Livesey, Tradition, Transmission, Transformation: Proceedings of Two Conferences on pre-Modern science held at University of Oklahoma, Brill, 1996/1997, p.178: "This language of extracting the hidden nature formed an important lemma for the extensive corpus associated with the Persian alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan"
- Henry Corbin, "The Voyage and the Messenger: Iran and Philosophy", Translated by Joseph H. Rowe, North Atlantic Books, 1998. p.45: "The Nisba al-Azdin certainly does not necessarily indicate Arab origin. Geber seems to have been a client of the Azd tribe established in Kufa"
- Tamara M. Green, "The City of the Moon God: Religious Traditions of Harran (Religions in the Graeco-Roman World)", Brill, 1992. p.177: "His most famous student was the Persian Jabir ibn Hayyan (b. circa 721 C.E.), under whose name the vast corpus of alchemical writing circulated in the medieval period in both the east and west, although many of the works attributed to Jabir have been demonstrated to be likely product of later Ismaili' tradition."
- David Gordon White, "The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India", University of Chicago Press, 1996. p.447
- William R. Newman, Promethean Ambitions: Alchemy and the Quest to Perfect Nature, University of Chicago Press, 2004. p.181: "The corpus ascribed to the eight-century Persian sage Jabir ibn Hayyan.."
- Wilbur Applebaum, The Scientific revolution and the foundation of modern science, Greenwood Press, 1995. p.44: "The chief source of Arabic alchemy was associated with the name, in its Latinized form, of Geber, an eighth-century Persian."
- Neil Kamil, Fortress of the Soul: Violence, Metaphysics, and Material Life in the Huguenots New World, 1517-1751 (Early America: History, Context, Culture), JHU Press, 2005. p.182
- Aleksandr Sergeevich Povarennykh, Crystal Chemical Classification of Minerals, Plenum Press, 1972, v.1, ISBN 0306303485, p.4: "The first to give separate consideration to minerals and other inorganic substances were the following: The Persian alchemist Jabir (721-815)..."
- George Sarton, Introduction to the History of Science, Pub. for the Carnegie Institution of Washington, by the Williams & Wilkins Company, 1931, vol.2 pt.1, page 1044: "Was Geber, as the name would imply, the Persian alchemist Jabir ibn Haiyan?"
- Dan Merkur, in The psychoanalytic study of society (eds. Bryce Boyer, et al.), vol. 18, Routledge, ISBN 0881631612, page 352: "I would note that the Persian alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan developed the theory that all metals consist of different 'balances' ..."
- Anthony Gross, The Dissolution of the Lancastrian Kingship: Sir John Fortescue and the Crisis of Monarchy in Fifteenth-century England, Paul Watkins, 1996, ISBN 1871615909, p.19: "Ever since the Seventy Books attributed to the Persian alchemist Jabir Ibn Hayyan had been translated into Latin ...."
- ↑ Sebastian, Anton, A Dictionary of the History of Science, (Casterton Hall: Parthenon Publishing Group Ltd, 2001),241.
- ↑ Julian, Franklyn, Dictionary of the Occult, Kessinger Publishing, 2003, ISBN 0766128164, 9780766128163, p. 8.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Glick, Thomas; Eds (2005), Medieval science, technology, and medicine : an encyclopedia, New York: Routledge, pp. 279, ISBN 0415969301, http://books.google.com/books?id=SaJlbWK_-FcC&pg=PA279&vq=&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0#PPA279,M1
- ↑ Names, Natures and Things: The Alchemist Jabir Ibn Hayyan and His Kitab Al-Ahjar (Book of Stones) Syed Nomanul Haq Edition: illustrated Published by Springer, 1994 ISBN 0792332547, 9780792332541
- ↑ Holmyard, E.J.; Russell, R. (1997). The Works of Geber. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 0-7661-0015-4.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Hassan, Ahmad Y. "Technology Transfer in the Chemical Industries". History of Science and Technology in Islam. Retrieved on 2008-03-29.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 E. J. Holmyard (ed.) The Arabic Works of Jabir ibn Hayyan, translated by Richard Russell in 1678. New York, E. P. Dutton (1928); Also Paris, P. Geuther.
- ↑ Haq, Syed N. (1994). Names, Natures and Things. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Volume 158/ Kluwar Academic Publishers, 14–20. ISBN 0-7923-3254-7.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Koningsveld, Ronald; Stockmayer, Walter H. (2001), Polymer Phase Diagrams: A Textbook, Oxford University Press, pp. xii-xiii, ISBN 0198556349
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Kraus, Paul, Jâbir ibn Hayyân, Contribution à l'histoire des idées scientifiques dans l'Islam. I. Le corpus des écrits jâbiriens. II. Jâbir et la science grecque,. Cairo (1942-1943). Repr. By Fuat Sezgin, (Natural Sciences in Islam. 67-68), Frankfurt. 2002 (cf. Ahmad Y Hassan. "A Critical Reassessment of the Geber Problem: Part Three". Retrieved on 2008-08-09.)
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Ansari, Farzana Latif; Qureshi, Rumana; Qureshi, Masood Latif (1998), Electrocyclic reactions: from fundamentals to research, Wiley-VCH, p. 2, ISBN 3527297553
- ↑ Will Durant (1980). The Age of Faith (The Story of Civilization, Volume 4), p. 162-186. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0671012002.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Ḥusain, Muẓaffar. Islam's Contribution to Science. Page 94.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Ragai, Jehane (1992), "The Philosopher's Stone: Alchemy and Chemistry", Journal of Comparative Poetics 12 (Metaphor and Allegory in the Middle Ages): 58–77
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Holmyard, E. J. (1924), "Maslama al-Majriti and the Rutbatu'l-Hakim", Isis 6 (3): 293–305
- ↑ Olga Pikovskaya, Repaying the West's Debt to Islam, BusinessWeek, March 29, 2005.
- ↑ Thomson, Thomas (1830), The History of Chemistry, Colburn and Bentley, pp. 129–30
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 Strathern, Paul. (2000). Mendeleyev's Dream – the Quest for the Elements. New York: Berkley Books.
- ↑ Hassan, Ahmad Y. "Transfer Of Islamic Technology To The West, Part III: Technology Transfer in the Chemical Industries". History of Science and Technology in Islam. Retrieved on 2008-03-29.
- ↑ George Rafael, A is for Arabs, Salon.com, January 8, 2002
- ↑ Hassan, Ahmad Y. "Alcohol and the Distillation of Wine in Arabic Sources". History of Science and Technology in Islam. Retrieved on 2008-03-29.
- ↑ Ismail al-Faruqi and Lois Lamya al-Faruqi (1986), The Cultural Atlas of Islam, p. 328, New York
- ↑ Georges C. Anawati, "Arabic alchemy", in R. Rashed (1996), The Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science, Vol. 3, p. 853-902 [866].
- ↑ Schufle, J. A.; Thomas, George (Winter 1971), "Equivalent Weights from Bergman's Data on Phlogiston Content of Metals", Isis 62 (4): 499–506 [500], Error: Bad DOI specified
- ↑ Julian, Franklyn, Dictionary of the Occult, Kessinger Publishing, 2003, ISBN 0766128164, 9780766128163, p. 9.
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 KIMIĀ ("Alchemy"), encyclopedia Iranica, Retrieved on 14 February 2009.
- ↑ Alchemy in Islamic Times, alchemywebsite, Retrieved on 14 February 2009.
- ↑ Ahmad Y Hassan. "Arabic Alchemy". Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
- ↑ gibberish, Grose 1811 Dictionary
- ↑ Seaborg, Glenn T. (March 1980), "Our heritage of the elements", Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B (Springer Boston) 11 (1): 5–19
- ↑ Holmyard, Eric John. Alchemy. Page 82
- ↑ Josef W. Meri, Jere L. Bacharach (2006), Medieval Islamic Civilization, Taylor and Francis, p. 25, ISBN 0415966914
- ↑ Jabir Ibn Hayyan. Vol. 1. Le corpus des ecrits jabiriens. George Olms Verlag, 1989
- ↑ Paul Kraus, Jabir ibn Hayyan: Contribution à l'histoire des idées scientifiques dans l'Islam, cited Robert Irwin, 'The long siesta' in Times Literary Supllement, 25/1/2008 p.8
- ↑ Quote from Marcellin Berthelot at 1911encyclopedia.org.
- ↑ Arthur John Hopkins, Alchemy Child of Greek Philosophy, Published by Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2007, ISBN 0548135479, p. 140
- ↑ "Geber". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved on 2008-12-09.
- ↑ Openness, Secrecy, Authorship: Technical Arts and the Culture of Knowledge from Antiquity to the Renaissance By Pamela O. Long Edition: illustrated Published by JHU Press, 2001 ISBN 0801866065, 9780801866067
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 Alchemy on Islamic Times, Retrieved on 14 February 2009.
- ↑ Newman, William R. (1991), The Summa perfectionis of Pseudo-Geber : a critical edition, translation and study, Leiden: E.J. Brill, pp. 61, ISBN 9004094644
- ↑ Ede, Andrew; Cormack, Lesley B. (2004), A history of science in society : from philosophy to utility, Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview Press, pp. 67, ISBN 1551113325
- ↑ Kraus, Paul (1942). Jabir ibn Hayyan: Contribution a l'histoire des idees scientifiques dans l'Islam. Institut Francais d'Archeologie Orientale.
- ↑ Newman, William (1991). The Summa Prefectionis of Pseudo-Geber: A Critical Edition, Translation and Study. Brill. ISBN 9004094644.
- ↑ Newman, William (1985). "New Light on the Identity of Geber", Sudhoffs Archiv fuer die Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften.
- ↑ Haq, Syed Nomanul; Jabir ibn Hayyan (1994). Names, Natures and Things: Jabir ibn Hayyan and His Kitab Al-Ahjar (Book of Stones). Kluwer Academic Publishers. ISBN 0792325877.
- ↑ "Geber". Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (11th). (1910). Ed. Hugh Chisholm. 545–546. Retrieved on 2008-12-09.
- ↑ Openness, Secrecy, Authorship: Technical Arts and the Culture of Knowledge from Antiquity to the Renaissance By Pamela O. Long Published by JHU Press, 2001 ISBN 080186606
- ↑ Thomas F. Glick, Steven John Livesey, Faith Wallis, Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopedia, Routledge, 2005, ISBN 0415969301, 9780415969307, p. 279-300
- ↑ 55.0 55.1 Ahmad Y. al-Hassan, Critical-Issues Studies in al-Kimya′: Critical Issues in Latin and Arabic Alchemy and Chemistry, published as book by Olms in 2009 and as article by Centaurus journal in 2011. Online versions are available at Geber Problem @ History of Science and Technology in Islam and at Scribd.
- ↑ P. Crosland, Maurice, Historical Studies in the Language of Chemistry, Courier Dover Publications, 2004, ISBN 0486438023, 9780486438023, p. 15
- ↑ Ahmad Y. al-Hassan (2004), "THE ARABIC ORIGINAL OF LIBER DE COMPOSITIONE ALCHEMIAE", Arabic Sciences and Philosophy: A Historical Journal (Cambridge University Press) 14: 213–231 [215-6], Error: Bad DOI specified
- ↑ Ahmad Y. al-Hassan (2009), "AN EIGHTH CENTURY ARABIC TREATISE ON THE COLOURING OF GLASS: KITAB AL-DURRA AL-MAKNUNA (THE BOOK OF THE HIDDEN PEARL) OF JABIR IBN HAYYAN (c. 721–c. 815", Arabic Sciences and Philosophy: A Historical Journal (Cambridge University Press) 19: 121–156 [124], Error: Bad DOI specified
- ↑ Ahmad Y. al-Hassan. "A CRITICAL REASSESSMENT OF THE GEBER PROBLEM". Retrieved on 2010-04-01.
- ↑ Ahmad Y. Al-Hassan, Cultural contacts in building a universal civilisation: Islamic contributions, published by O.I.C. Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture in 2005 and available online at History of Science and Technology in Islam
- ↑ Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. ISBN 006112416, p. 82.
External linksEdit
- Britannica
- Encarta Encyclopedia (Archived 2009-10-31)
- Columbia Encyclopedia
- Chemical Heritage
- Article at Islam Online
- Article at Famous Muslims
- Article at Islam Online
- Article at Al Shindagah (includes an extract of Jabir's The Discovery of secrets)
- The Time of Jabir ibn Haiyan section from "History of Islamic Science"
- Ibn Jabir Hayyan at the Iranian J. of Chem. & Chem. Eng. website.
- Islamic Medical Manuscripts- National Library of medicine, Bio-Bibliographies.
- Geber..., His Life and Works By Harold P. Gaw
- SHAC: Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry


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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has come to make its popularity since it started about 10 years ago. In the past when we talk about SEO, no body seems to know or bother about it. People brush it off and do not understand why they need the internet to do advertising. Those were the era of Yellow Pages and the Green Book, you look out for information from the free copy of the directory or search through the CD they provided you to look for the services you need.
But time has changed since then, gone are the days of the traditional media and now internet is taking over. The only major player now in the market when it comes to internet marketing is Google. Google is not only a powerful search engine, but also a source for useful information for online users. We simply just have to Google it. A common term used now a days when hunting online.
Because of the popularity of the internet, many companies have came online and having a web presence is a must for any businesses to succeed. If you are not seen or searchable online and do not have a website, then you will be missing out potential traffic and traffic means business. Its like you owning a retail shop front and having visitors to your shop. With a flood of visitors, you will get sales, but if there is no visitors, of course you will just get an egg for the day.
Being online doesn't simply mean you have a website is good enough, you will need to set your presence right as well, you will need to be everywhere and easily found. Your products or services might be a niche (small market competition) or a mass produce. Having said so, there are 2 ways which this can be accomplished. You could either do online advertising, also known as Search Engine Marketing (SEM) or Pay Per Click (PPC) or SEO.
SEM, or PPC works by having an advertisement listed on the search engines and you only pay when someone clicks on the ads. This is a fast way to see your business online but its also an expensive way. On average, one click is about $2.00 in year 2015 and having a traffic of 100 visitors a day to your website will means you will need to pay about $200 a day. And that is only for just one single keyword. What if you have a range of services and products and you have up to 10 keywords or even 50. You will go bankrupt before you even make money spending on advertisements.
Keywords are words we type in the search engines to search for something, if you are selling mobile phones, then your keywords will be "mobile phones", "hand phones", "portable phones" etc.
Another method of having an online presence is optimizing your website for positive search results. This is what we call SEO. SEO is a method of optimizing your website structure, content and building quality links to your website so that you can achieve top rankings in the search engines for your keywords. There is no high cost to pay and there is no limit to the number of clicks you can get. You do not need to pay anything for clicks and all traffic you get is entirely free.
Imagine the cost savings you will get should you have like a 50 keywords list, the amount of savings is substantial to pay off a new house or a brand new BMW or Jaguar premium car. SEO has gain popularity gradually over the past years and its the most common topic online.
At Bronze Media, we specialise in SEO and that is why we are able to perform under cover SEO services to SEO agencies around the world. We have been working under cover for SEO companies and helping their clients to rank on page one on the Giant search engine. Its been 3 years and we have decided to come out and to serve you directly. Reducing your cost in branding and online presence and achieve top ranks.
Our SEO services are currently available in Singapore, Philippines, China, Malaysia and USA (America). Bronze Media is a Singapore based Branding, Marketing & Communications company which specialized in local SEO services. All SEO works are done inhouse and in Singapore and we never outsource any work to other countires. (Outsourcing agencies from India, please do not approach us) you can find out more about us at www.bronzemedia.com.sg


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Three Areas Microsoft Crushes Rivals
At first glance, software as a service (SaaS) and open source are chipping away at Microsoft's empire. But take a closer look, and there are at least three areas where Microsoft's dominance remains unquestioned. Skeptical? Take a look.
At first glance, software as a service (SaaS) and open source are chipping away at Microsoft's empire. But take a closer look, and there are at least three areas where Microsoft's dominance remains unquestioned. Skeptical? Take a look.
1. SharePoint: The content management and collaboration system seemingly became an overnight hit. Now, so-called Master MSPs like Ingram Micro Seismic are hosting SharePoint for VARs and their customers. And you know you're successful when an open source company (in this case, Alfresco) builds its entire marketing strategy around being "an open source SharePoint alternative."
2. Small Business Server: Um, The VAR Guy is eating some crow here. In 2008 our resident blogger predicted SaaS applications would chip away at Small Business Server. But readers responded loudly, proclaiming SBS an ongoing hit with small business customers. And start-ups like Doyenz are helping VARs virtualize SBS deployments in the cloud.
Sure, open source companies — particularly Novell — have launched Linux-based small business suites, but for the most part those offerings haven't slowed Microsoft's SBS momentum. One reason: Most small business VARs continue to march to the Microsoft beat.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is looking to build a new small business empire with Response Point, a phone system for 1 to 50 employees. Our resident blogger wasn't too familiar with Response Point until Rex Backman, a senior business development manager at Microsoft, dropped The VAR Guy a note. Response Point runs on hardware from Aastra Telecom, D-Link and Syspine.
3. Xbox Live: The VAR Guy's kids — and roughly 17 million other members — are addicted to the online gaming service. Microsoft's software plus service team should go visit the Xbox Live team to learn a thing or two about addictive, intuitive SaaS platforms.
Oh, and an honorable mention: The VAR Guy hears more and more about VARs and MSPs profiting from Microsoft Dynamics. In fact, some solutions providers have been buying up channel partners that have Dynamics expertise.
Feeling the Pressure
To be sure, many of Microsoft's core businesses remain under attack — thanks to disruptive technologies like:
- Asterisk (the open source IP PBX)
- OpenOffice
- Linux (servers, desktops, notebooks and now netbooks)
- MySQL
- Virtualization
- SugarCRM
- And the list goes on
But don't weep for Microsoft. Plenty of companies would kill for the software giant's cash flow and installed base.
The VAR Guy is updated multiple times daily. Don't miss a single post. Subscribe to his newsletter, RSS feed, Twitter feed and Resource Center.
7 comments
1) Sharepoint if you want vendor lock-in to the extreme
2) SBS because even a lobotomy patient can install it, never mind the fact MS servers have the worst security track record of any server OS in history
3) Can't play Xbox live if you are gay/lesbian
The only thing M$ is crushing is their own foot as they continually step on it…
Chipping away is slow but sure.
To be sure, the locked-in folks are like money in the bank to M$ but I keep meeting folks who are willing to change. I just got back from a conference of teachers. Turnout to my display was a bit disappointing (food-poisoning, high wind chill, location amongst other things…) but every visitor was amazed at the performance of GNU/Linux on a terminal server, surprised by the price/performance of thin clients and unhappy with the performance of their existing solution. They are not solidly M$'s customers to take for granted. I will be converting a lab of too-tired-for-XP/2003 machines next week. I expect other calls.
It is all about growth. I see amazing growth in FLOSS but there is not the money to throw out for IT any longer. People from all over my school division are starving for IT but they cannot afford an upgrade to Vista/7 or whatever. They can afford to do things differently if they save money on software and get more bang for the buck on hardware.
One example… The conference was in a new school with a pretty computer lab. 30 machines running XP. 2.7 gHz processors and it still took 2 minutes to log in. We were given a conference userid/password. We just kept the machines logged-in. It saved a lot of time. So, in that room was the power of a small super-computer and no performance. Using several of those machines as a GNU/Linux terminal server I could give them fast login, apps all pre-loaded, RAID storage and much better performance with shared memory and file caching, for no additional expense except maybe a few new hard drives. They could run a bingo and buy a powerful new server to make things first-rate. They would have to do bingo for years to replace everything they have with something that runs what M$ sells. Even if M$ gave them free software, they could not afford all new hardware. Where is M$'s growth with these folks?
We see most end users relying on Sharepoint for file sharing, calendars, action item/to do lists, and discussions.
For companies that move their email/calendar/IM to Google Apps Premier Edition, Google Sites provides these capabilities (along with others) at no additional cost.
Take into account that you need separate infrastructure to secure your internal Sharepoint sites from your customer sites, and you have a cost/benefit equation that is tough for the SMB market to swallow.
Hosted Sharepoint services off-load much of the hassles and cost, but are not always the best cost/benefit mix.
The VAR Guy:
No secrets here … we started with Postini in mid-2006. We were invited to be part of the Google Apps pilot reseller program starting in September of 2008. In addition to our google relationship, we continue to evaluate other SaaS technologies for the SMB market. We are currently looking at Box.net, eBID, Jaduka, and others.
To complete the disclosure, we also have relationships with Mozy and AmeriVault for online backup services.
voip reviews…
[…]Three Areas Microsoft Remains Unstoppable | The VAR Guy[…]…


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Anyone else noticed the bundle price changes from ingame store tab to ps4 store tab?
Anyone else noticed the bundle price changes from ingame store tab to ps4 store tab?
Any idea of what is happening with this pack since it is the 4th
Unfortunately, it is still not available yet and we are still working with PS to have it available for an extended time given the delay.
Will the two other Halloween packs be postponed, or will only the creepy crawly be kept in the store for longer. Because I really wanted to use the credits from the pack to get the other two packs.
Hope the costume packs also return because that's why I wanted to buy the ccc-pack(credits).
Still no information on this?
It feels like you don't even care about PS4 players. :'(
Hello PS4 Trovians,
PS4 NA Creepy Crawly Cranium (CCC) Packs are now available for the next 3 weeks.
For PS4 EU, we are still working on having this pack available and will announce once it is ready.
When you say PackS do you mean the other Halloween packs because I do not see them
Yeah what about gourdzilla because I was going to get it with credits off the creepy pack


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Buck is looking kind of paunchy.
Buck is looking kind of paunchy.
The "supersonic rocketmobile" looks suspiciously like a VW microbus with a fake rocket strapped to the roof.
I want to stay at the Space Age Lodge, or eat at the coffee shop at the very least.
And here's the audio. I so, so love this.
In a 1964 essay for the New York World's Fair, Asimov looked ahead to a prosperous world of 2014 — 50 years in the future. Among his visions: Suburban houses would move underground, leaving the surface free to agriculture and parks.
In the real world of 2016, people are moving underground, but only where economics drive them there, in densely crowded cities like Beijing, says Megan Logan on Inverse.
Underground living has advantages, mainly natural, effective climate control. But human beings just like fresh air and natural light. Logan says:
Underground spaces aren't exactly inviting and homey by nature. More than that, though, being underground taps into a baser fear or instinct of being buried alive, which doesn't necessarily scream "rest and relaxation."
I think these are solvable problems, piping in fresh air and using fiber optics or some similar technology to direct natural light to where people are.
On the other hand: Our bedroom overlooks the backyard deck. A few years ago we decided to put a roof on the deck, which blocked out direct light in the bedroom. Our thinking at the time was, who needs sunlight in the bedroom? The only time you use the bedroom is at night, right? And we like sleeping late when we can, so more darkness in the bedroom is good, right? I still sometimes regret that decision — I underestimated the pleasures of waking up to sunlight.
I think Logan overlooks one major reason Asimov predicted underground housing in 2014 — and vast, closed-in cities in stories such as the novel "The Caves of Steel." Asimov was a self-described "claustrophile." He loved closed-in artificial spaces. That's one of the reasons he wrote so many hundreds of books; he was happiest alone in a small, windowless room, lit by artificial light, tapping at his typewriter.
Isaac Asimov's Suburban Subterranean Paradise Really Wasn't All That Implausible
Note the driver and passenger: Suits with pocket squares, fedoras.


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Course summary
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became EU law in May 2017 and comes into effect in the UK on 25 May 2018. While the scope of GDPR is similar to the Data Protection Act 1998, the requirements and penalties are considerably greater. The CIPD Understanding Data Protection Law course addresses the principles and conditions of collecting, processing and retaining personal data, with reference to GDPR requirements, providing delegates with the direction they need to comply with GDPR. The course is updated monthly, to include any further guidance provided by the Information Commissioner's Office before then.
HR practitioners responsible for employment law issues within their organisation. No prior knowledge of data protection law is required.
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During the course, the topics covered include:
Data Protection Overview
Data Protection Codes of Practice
Beginning and During Employment
Monitoring and Surveillance
Social Media
GDPR (EU legislation effective May 2018)
Programme is subject to change pending new developments.
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