#penn foster

[bufomancer]

Penne, one of the babies from our latest surrender of accidental litters, enjoying a little spring mix. Isn’t he the cutest thing??

Penne and his 9 siblings will be ready for new homes in about 2 weeks through Tiny Whiskers Animal Rescue in Minnesota.

[chocolatelovingbookworm]

Guess who just finished their Medical Coding Degree Program...😏😏😏

😁😁😁😁😁

[kennys-parka-jacket]

Listening to some of the directors commentaries and being woefully reminded that this show is not at all character driven

[florida3exclamationpoints]

Crazy random Saturday afternoon thought: what if I went back to school and switched careers

[bigotalented]

[girlpiner]

Penn foster answers for physics science 986051

#PENN FOSTER ANSWERS FOR PHYSICS SCIENCE 986051 DOWNLOAD#

Sometimes all it takes is a quick exam guide to relieve the negative self-talk, frustration, and panic caused by the little emergencies of everyday school life. Look, we all get frustrated when we know we are running into the eleventh hour of a deadline.

#PENN FOSTER ANSWERS FOR PHYSICS SCIENCE 986051 DOWNLOAD#

gives you the freedom to instantly download the help you need NOW! The research is already done for you and gives you a jump start on your studies. Instantly Download PF High School exam answers, PF Career school exam answers, exam guides and more! Get Better Grades Spending LESS Time! Are you stressed out trying to juggle school, work, friends, family, and a million catastrophes that just seem to pop up when you finally get a chance to study? Attending school online seems like a perfect solution to taking control of your life until it takes over your life. Individual Assignment: Interpreting What You Read 986008 986008RR TUTORIAL: Includes final exam guide with answers for final exam. Students are encouraged to check with the governing body in their state that oversees their vocational field to determine what their state’s requirements are.Penn Foster Exam Answers 986008 Interpreting What You ReadĬlick Here to Instantly Download exam 986008 This will depend on the program, as some states may require additional education or may have requirements our programs do not meet. Will I be able to use your program as certification to work in my state? Many programs also contain a work experience option, which allows students to apply the skills they’ve learned by doing real-life, hands-on exercises at a facility in their local community. In addition, several programs contain practical exercises, which are a combination of a suggested activity and a required examination. Penn Foster’s trade-related programs give students the functional knowledge and theories behind practical skills needed to work in their vocational field. How does Penn Foster teach trade-related programs online without hands-on training? Students should check with the governing body in their state that oversees their field of interest, to determine their state’s requirements. Once I complete my program, am I qualified to immediately enter my vocational field? If not, what other steps do I need to take to get certification or licensure?Ĭertification and licensure requirements will vary depending on the program, vocational field, and state. No form of accreditation guarantees that any learning institution will accept credits from any school as transfer credits. However, these decisions are up to the discretion of the colleges, universities, or individual employers, and students should check with those entities to determine if they will be able to transfer credits or use their degree in a satisfactory capacity. Penn Foster College is nationally accredited, and our college graduates have been able to gain employment and transfer credits to other colleges and universities upon completion of our degree programs. If Penn Foster College is not regionally accredited, will I still be able to get a job or transfer credits to another college after I complete a degree program? Department of Education (USDE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Penn Foster College is nationally accredited for our college programs by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), which is recognized by the U.S. Penn Foster has been accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). Penn Foster Career School is regionally accredited for non-degree granting postsecondary programs by the Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, 21, In addition, Penn Foster Career School is nationally accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), which is recognized by the U.S. Penn Foster High School is regionally accredited for grades 9 through adult by the Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (CSS-MSA) and nationally accredited by the AdvancEd Accreditation Commission and the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). National agencies accredit private, proprietary schools and specialty institutions such as correspondence schools. Regional agencies are responsible for accrediting public colleges and universities and major private, nonprofit institutions. The major difference between regional and national accrediting agencies lies in the type of institutions that they evaluate and accredit. What is the difference between regional and national accreditation?

[venussaidso]

who dafuq do venusian women frequently go for? 🗿

took a couple of venus nakshatra women i could name from the top of my head and quickly searched their ex/partner's placements to see some patterns.

Seems that Venusian women tend to go for Rahu, Ketu, Mercury nakshatra men. There are also other additions of course.

Zoe Kravitz, Purva Phalguni Moon, is currently married(?) to Channing Tatum who's an Uttara Phalguni Moon and Ashwini Sun. She dated Swati Moon Penn Badgley. She was also with Ardra Moon Karl Glusman. She'd also dated Ardra ASC & Swati Moon Ben Foster.

Christina Aguilera, Bharani Moon, whose ex husband Jordan Bratman has Uttara Ashada Moon. Her fiance, Matthew Rutler, has Revati Sun & Chitra Moon.

Demi Lovato, Bharani Moon, dated Chitra Moon Trace Cyrus. Had been with Ashlesha Sun Joe Jonas. She dated a Revati Moon and Mula Sun Mike Johnson. She was also with Mula Moon, Ardra Sun Max Ehrich.

Kelly Rowland who is Bharani Moon is currently married to Mrigashira Moon husband Tim Weatherspoon. She had dated Swati Moon, Uttara Ashada Sun Dwayne Wade. She'd been with Swati Moon & Mula Sun Roy Williams.

Hailee Steinfeld, Purva Ashada Moon, dated Mula Moon Cameron Smoller. She was with Ashlesha Moon Niall Horan. And now she may currently be with Krittika Sun Josh Allen.

Bella Hadid, Purva Phalguni Moon, was with Weeknd who is a Dhanistha Sun. She'd also dated Drake who is a Magha ASC, Ardra Moon and Swati Sun. She recently dated Shatabhisha Moon Mark Kalman. And right now she's currently dating Revati Sun Adan Banuelos.

Meryl Streep, Bharani Moon, is married to Jyestha Sun, Ashlesha Moon Don Gummer.

Ashley Tisdale, Purva Ashada Moon & Bharani ASC, is married to Ashwini Sun & Ashwini Moon husband Christopher French.

Florence Pugh, who's Purva Ashada Sun, and Revati Sun & Dhanistha Moon Zach Braff.

Hayley Atwell, Purva Phalguni Moon, with Ardra Sun Tom Cruise.

Bharani Moon Lucy Liu was engaged to Uttara Ashada Sun Zach Helm. She dated Uttara Ashada Moon George Clooney. She was also with Will Cormack who is Uttara Phalguni Moon & Uttara Ashada Sun.

Venusians also seem to like Jupiter men or they'll tend to attract them, so those are the honorable mentions. They can also go for Mars/Sun men as seen.

[todaysdocument]

Letter from Louis Wagner to C. W. Foster Regarding William H. Moore

Record Group 110: Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau (Civil War)Series: Letters SentFile Unit: Letters Sent, January 1864 to June 1865

(Endorsement)

200

Head Quarters. Camp William Penn

Chelten Hills Pa

July 10th 1864

Respectfully forwarded to Capt. W. von Bechtold

commanding 45th Reg. U.S.C.T

By Order of

Louis Wagner

Lt. Col. 88th Vols.

Comdg Post

Gen. Wagner

Capt 8th USCT

Post Adju.

Head Quarters Camp William Penn

Chelten Hills Pa.

July 10th 1864.

Major C.W. Foster A.A.G.

Chief of Bureau of Colored Troops.

Washington D.C.

Sir

In compliance with your endorsement on the accompanying I have the honor to report that William H Moore is in Co Fr 43rd Reg. US Colored Troops, that he was left behind sick on the departure of his company, that he is now convalescent and will soon join his company in the field.

He says that he was placed in the House of Refuge three years ago by his mother; that he remained there for six months, and was then discharged for good behavior, that he then went into the country near Harrisburg Pa. and worked with a farmer in the winter and on a canal boat in the summer that he entered the army as a waiter for a Captain in the 3rd Mich Vols. that he was enlisted at Harrisburg Pa by one Adjutant Clapp. received from the man that enlisted him $100— cash and a receipt $100. which receipt he has given to some one for collection that he does not expect to get the money due on it, that he is between 15 and 16 years of age, but that he told the Mustering Officer he was 18.

Our records show that he was mustered by Capt. Clement Provost Marshal Harrisburg Pa. He looks to be about 17 years of age, and the Post Surg says that he is fit for a drummer

I have the honor to be

Very Respectfuly

Your Obdt Servant

Louis Wagner

Lt. Col. 88th Pa. Vols. Comdg Post.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hey, I wanted to run a session of something like capture the flag with my group, like a PC group against PC group thing. Can you recommend a system for that? (Also, I love your blog, I found so many good games, so thank you!)

THEME: Capture the Flag.

Hello friend, your kind words are very much appreciated, and they encourage me to keep doing this thing! So I don’t have much that I think will allow you to play Capture the Flag out of the box, but I have a few competitive games that might work with a little bit of tweaking.

No Choice But To Win!, by Z.R. Capell.

With a focus on interpersonal relationships and teamwork, No Choice but to Win! is a tabletop RPG inspired by sports anime and dramas. Players form a team of competitors, while The Referee sets the scene and sets up the Matches with challenging Opponents. Win Matches by taking control of the Momentum, use powerful Moves to shift the tide, and deal with Hurdles that come between you and the Sport. When the bell rings out, when the ball goes up, when the cards are dealt, there's only one option: You have no choice but to win!

No Choice but to Win! is flexible, allowing you to make the Sport whatever you like: high school volleyball, life-or-death rock-paper-scissors, or giant robot basketball. Players can choose from six archetypes: the educated Ace, the flashy Diva, the trouble-making Firebrand, the supportive Libero, the scrappy Underdog, or the experienced Veteran.

This game looks like it’s an excellent option for what you’re looking for: the sport itself is up to the group, while the story takes place over a series of matches. While the base game expects the players to work together as a team, No Choice But To Win has a PVP addition! It’s called Scrimmage, and it has a free rules download to give you a quick peek at how it affects the regular game.

TheSpellJam, by Penn Van Batavia.

If there was time before the SPELLJAM, it’s been long forgotten. It has stopped wars, fostered peace, and became the only constant in our ever-changing universe. Today the SPELLJAM is the biggest event in sports-entertainment, it’s on air nearly every night . Every citizen craves this good, good bloodsport, though the inner workings are dicey. The threat of death on the circuit is close during every match. Will you gain fame & fortune before retiring into obscurity? Or will you succumb to the treachery that is the SPELLJAM!

This game is PbtA and it’s competitive, which stood out to me as two things that might make it a candidate. I think this game is going to need to be hacked in order to work properly, but I also don’t think you need to do a lot to make it work.

Some of the moves can be pretty well translated: you can Skate to get past an opponent, Jam to tag someone and send them back to their home territory, Prep to set up a strategy, and Flash to get the audience on your side. SpellJam also has the added bonus of magic that you can use during the game to give yourself an advantage, although I think it might also be easy to just eliminate this move from the set.

SpellJam runs with the expectation that all of the players are on the same team and might be experiencing conflict with each-other. That being said, PbtA games often shine when you allow players to turn the moves onto each-other, so if you add the ability to inflict consequences onto your opponents’ rolls, or set up obstacles for your opponents to have to overcome, SpellJam might have the potential to make the game you’re looking for.

Wacky Race, by DeReel.

A cartoonish demolition derby.

It's a narrative party-game where you adlib as sportcasters and play out wacky Contestants trying to take over each other and the ensuing mayhem.

This is originally a racing game, but I think it would be fairly easy to convert into a game about Capture the Flag - you just need to have the sportscasters improvise a number of moves that the supposed contestants are committing on the field. The mechanics mostly uses Rock, Paper, Scissors and a mini-game where the person who laughs first loses their advantage.

The sportscasters advice section can remain mostly unchanged (use incoherent metaphors, dive into odd contestant backstories, bringing up sponsors), while the contestants' vehicle descriptions might be changed out for descriptions of uniforms, flags, and game equipment.

All in all, if you want a goofy, funny game that prioritizes improv and running jokes, you might like Wacky Race.

Skates on the Street, by Filohazard.

It’s Summer 200X and the Jump City Metropolitan Area’s going to the dogs! With graffiti gangs roaming the city, divvying it between themselves, and corporate fat-cats pawing for the lion’s share, it’s on you to stake your claim and free the people!

This is another game that I think you could hack to play out a capture the flag kind of game, although I don’t know if it would work as good for a PVP kind of game. The rules feel inspired by Forged in the Dark, which is definitely a team kind of game.

I can imagine the players going up against a group of rival skaters to capture a flag in a city-spanning game that has obstacles like avoiding the police or resisting a corporation that wants to play rough. One thing I wish was different about this game is that the png file that you get when you download this game was a bit higher in resolution.

The Galaxy’s Greatest Gameshow, by fortwas.

You receive a mysterious letter in the mail. In glossy, sparkly lettering, it invites you to appear on “THE GALAXY’S GREATEST GAMESHOW” and advertises that you could win more money than you could possibly dream of. All you have to do is sign the waiver that releases the enigmatic “Funan Games LLC” from liability for injury, dismemberment, bankruptcy and/or death.  

The details are shockingly scant, the waiver is unspeakably long, and you’ve never even heard of this gameshow. Maybe the glitzy logo impressed you, maybe you’re desperate for money, or maybe you’ve just always wanted to be a winner. The reason doesn’t matter: you recognize this as a chance of a lifetime and sign your name on the dotted line.

Sometime later, you wake up in a strange room full of flashing lights, big band music, and mysterious doors.  

 The crowd goes wild.

If you want a long, drawn out game that has multiple pieces, you might find some use in this game. The game as written is structured as a gigantic game show that pits the player characters against each-other in order to earn “points” by forcing them to compete in various different kinds of challenges. If you wanted to make this a game about capture the flag, I think what you would need to do is create a mapped-out territory with different challenges for different zones. The characters would have to try to overcome the challenges in order to get closer to the zone that has the flag, while opposing players would get to have a say in what the challenge consists of or get a chance to react if their opponent fails.

Also...

I think Visigoths vs. Mall Goths has a lovely little set-up that would be great for pitting some teenage goths against each-other in a big day-long game of capture the flag. In fact, I think the included adventure Quoth the Raven: "Whatever" actually gives you a lot of tools that would go very far towards giving you a Capture the Flag kind of game!

[thegnomelord]

Normal chaos to the side.

I been struggling with my private online school for awhile cause my depression flared up and my everyday routine got changed (I'm autistic so I can't handle change). My friend since 3rd grade made me a custom made sign with 2024 and my name to inspire me to graduation this year so after a few sleepless nights and my family and friends cheering me on, I'm gonna graduate this October and I already have a few colleges sending me applications (A&M, Baylor, Penn Foster and a few others) even though I'm already 18, almost 19!

My life literally went to shit to an exciting mess in a matter of a few months! You and the awesome anons here have actually been a big part too because of the laughs and chaos, a little joyful side distraction along with your mutuals I'm following so thank you Gnome for your blog and thank you to the anons joining the chaos ❤

-🦆

Damn dude that's AWESOME! I'm so happy for you and I bet you'll do great in whatever direction you choose to go from here lol :Dd

[chocolatelovingbookworm]

Graduation in Duluth, GA. just from Saturday. Man, it was so much fun!! Special thanks to Penn Foster for allowing me and my family to take part in this awesome event!! Congratulations, everybody!! 🌠🎓

[astroartsya]

Scorpio Venus

-Scorpio venus-- These people are extremely seductive and sexy. Being hot is effortless and style is bit rebellious and transformative. This placement may create sex symbol because of mars and pluto being planets of sex and venus being planet of beauty and aesthetic. Leather , black and white combinations and red are common on this placement. Even tho venus is afflected in Scorpio I see it as intense in good way and it can make a person with magnetic quality and amazing for musicians as well.

Famous People with Scorpio Venus:

Jim Morrison, Doja Cat, Winona Ryder, Leonardo Dicaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Jenna Ortega, Joaquin Phoenix, Cardi B, Anne Hathaway, Vanessa Hudgens, Zoe Kraviz,Drake, Jay-Z, Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Zac Efron, Avril Lavigne, Snoop Dog, Emilia Clarke, Rachel Mcadams, Pete Davidson, Alicia Silverstone, Penn Dayton Badgley, Brittany Murphy, Ethan Hawke and many many more.

There are some infamous people with this placement cause pluto and mars and also be very harsh planets that have to do with death and war.

Eg:

Charles Manson - A cult leader with fans

Ted Bundy- Murderer who girls went nuts over

Vladimir Putin- Dictator

Here You can see the style and vibes of Scorpio Venus Women.

[riley-coyotl]

(Sorry if this has been asked before!) How did you decide to switch breeds? Did you always want to have these two breeds?

Also is Penne the only liver puppy? They are all so cute! <3

So I love my English Sheps dearly and I suspect I will always want to have at least one! They are really great dogs!! <3

But I have also always loved Dalmatians from afar my whole life. I had no personal experience with them though, and the fact that until relatively recently, the LUA project was not very widespread yet, plus having heard some negative stereotypes about the breed when I was younger, made me feel like actually getting one probably wasn't realistic for me.

As I learned more about the breed, and learned that LUA breedings were becoming more common, I started considering it more heavily as a potentially realistic option. Then, a couple years ago we had the opportunity to foster a deaf Dalmatian for a brief period of time when her owner was staying somewhere that didn't allow dogs. Karen the Dalmatian was a wonderful house guest, incredibly charming, sweet, and cuddly, and she seemed to fit in well with my crew, so I fell even more in love with the breed and decided I would definitely like to have my own in the future! It's finally happening now and I am super excited!!!

Penne is the only liver female in the litter. There is also one liver boy! The litter has 10 pups (11 were born, but the first pup sadly failed to thrive,) a total of 7 females and 3 males. I've just been posting pictures of just the girls because we're getting a female, but the boys are real cute too!

[bearterritory]

EUGENE, Ore. – Presented with the opportunity to carry on a proud hammer tradition for California track & field at Hayward Field, it took Rowan Hamilton just three throws to find himself in a position that no Golden Bear has in over a century.   The last Cal athlete to win a title in the men's hammer was Jack Merchant in 1922. Now, that distinction belongs to Hamilton, whose personal-best throw of 77.18m (253-2) surpassed 2023 champion Kenneth Ikeji of Harvard's top mark by just two inches; he also became the program's first NCAA men's champion in any event since 2011 (Mike Morrison, decathlon).   "Those are things that people take for granted, but that's hard to do, to keep stepping up when somebody else steps up," said Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Robyne Johnson.   Hamilton, who hails from Chilliwack, B.C., is also the first Canadian man to win the event since Scott Neilson in 1979. He was the favorite to win after leading the NCAA standings for nearly the entire season and climbing to No. 8 in the all-time men's collegiate hammer standings.   "Rowan was really stable today," assistant coach Mohamad Saatara said. "That's what we were trying to do – we were expecting these other guys to really get going, so for him to succeed, he had to be very stable and just execute. I think there are some really big throws in his future."

 "I think it's really special, just being able to carry on the legacy at Cal that was set by (women's hammer alum) Camryn Rogers, (who won) three consecutive national championships," Hamilton said. "I'm happy that I can come here, compete with Mo, the Cal Bears, and represent the school very well."   Teammate Ivar Moisander joined Hamilton in the men's hammer as the other half of Cal's first-ever duo in the event. Moisander's mark of 68.13m (223-6), while not enough to earn him another three attempts, still earned him a second-career Second-Team All-America nod and his highest career placement (13th) at the NCAA Championships.   The 4x100m relay squad of Chase Williams, George Monroe, Mason Mangum and David Foster followed up Hamilton's school record with one of their own, racing to a time of 38.90 in the semifinal to demolish the program's previous best of 39.11 that had stood since 1975 – old enough that the time itself had been adjusted from a 4x110y result. It was good enough for 12th place overall, earning Williams, Monroe and Mangum their first career Second-Team All-America honors and Foster his second. Foster then competed in the 100m semifinal just over an hour later, finishing third in his heat and 14th overall with a time of 10.28 to become a Second-Team All-American for the third time this season.   In the pole vault, Skyler Magula passed on the first two heights before clearing his first attempt at 5.37m (17-7.25), eventually matching his season best of 5.52m (18-1.25) to tie for sixth with Penn's James Rhoads and earn First-Team All-America status. It was the best overall finish by any Cal men's pole vaulter since Robert "Bubba" McLean in 2001, who was also the last to make the First Team (2002).

Jeff Duensing, who qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials at the Pac-12 Championships, closed out the night – and the Cal Athletics season – in the shot put, posting a mark of 18.99m (62-3.75) on his third attempt to finish in 13th place and notch a spot on the All-America Second Team; he became the first Cal men's shot putter to repeat as an All-American since Peter Simon in 2017-18.   In total, Cal's men collected nine All-America honors, tying a program record from 1982.   "I am so, so proud of this group," Johnson said. "They worked hard all year and they did what they needed to do at the right time."

[eretzyisrael]

by Zach Kessel

Last week, I wrote about the upcoming Palestine Writes Literature Festival, to be held at the University of Pennsylvania from September 22 to 24. Featuring as speakers noted antisemites, running the gamut from Marc Lamont Hill to Roger Waters, the festival promises to be a veritable cornucopia of hatred of Jews: calls for ethnic cleansing of Jews from the land of Israel, accusations of Jews being subhuman, insinuations that a Jewish cabal controls American media, you name it. If it’s a form of antisemitism, it’s sure to be found on Penn’s campus this weekend. I hope it’s a coincidence that the festival’s last day coincides with Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism.

There’s an update to this story, and for those familiar with the rising tide of antisemitism on college campuses across the country, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Since the festival began drawing attention over the past week or so, there have been strident responses from the university’s Jewish alumni and supporters. More than 2,000 such concerned individuals signed an open letter sent to the university’s president, Liz Magill, urging her to issue a statement — without equivocating or falling into both-sides-ism, as higher-education administrators often do when they lack the courage to condemn antisemitism — “specifically denouncing the event’s platforming of known antisemitic speakers.” The letter’s authors noted that, had a university department sponsored a festival promoting anti-black or anti-Asian racism, homophobia, or any other kind of bigotry, there’s no question that Penn would immediately distance itself from and condemn the event. Of course, within the academy and progressive intelligentsia more broadly, Jews are themselves oppressors, and antisemitism isn’t a legitimate form of hatred deserving of attention.

Though the University of Pennsylvania does and should aim to foster an environment of free expression, the letter notes, “neither academic freedom nor freedom-of-speech principles prevent the university from using its own voice to speak out against antisemitism wherever and whenever it occurs, especially on campus.” The Palestine Writes organizers have a right to voice their opinions, but they do not have the right to do so on Penn’s land.

It turns out that’s too much to ask of Magill. In a statement obtained by Jewish Insider, she made perfunctory comments about how the university opposes all forms of hate including antisemitism, how Waters has been roundly condemned for his past words and actions, and how she is “personally committed more than ever to addressing antisemitism in all forms.” You’d think part of that commitment might entail disallowing such vile displays from taking place on the campus she runs. Apparently, at least in Magill’s eyes, it doesn’t. She invoked the university’s “responsibility to foster open dialogue and cultural diversity on campus.” But there’s a massive difference between open dialogue and cultural diversity and tacitly endorsing speakers who traffic in this kind of antisemitism.

And then, Thursday morning, something at once entirely predictable and yet bone-chilling for Penn’s Jewish students happened: A student at the university vandalized the school’s Hillel building. As the Daily Pennsylvanian reported, “a regular attendee” opened the building’s doors for a morning service, and the culprit entered:

“When I walked into Hillel, I noticed that the lobby was completely trashed — one of the podiums was smashed, one of the tables was smashed. There was stuff everywhere,” [University of Pennsylvania student Marc] Fishkind said. . . . “He immediately started smashing things, yelling ‘F**k the Jews’ and ‘They killed JC,’” Fishkind recounted from what he was told by someone who was there, adding that eventually, the perpetrator ran out of Hillel as the police arrived.

Make no mistake: As university president, Magill bears responsibility. By allowing the Palestine Writes Literature Festival to take place on her campus, and by allowing multiple academic departments to co-sponsor the event, she has helped foster an environment of antisemitism at Penn that empowers people like the student who vandalized the Hillel building. Magill doesn’t seem to understand that her inaction has consequences and that by building a permission structure for antisemitism, she has allowed antisemitic acts to occur.

It’s insane that we have to keep writing about events such as these. From my May 2022 piece in National Review:

Last month, several student groups signed a statement written by NYU School of Law’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter defending terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and accusing Zionists of controlling the media, a well-worn antisemitic canard. On April 26, Georgetown Law School’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter hosted Mohammed El-Kurd, an activist who has accused Israelis of harvesting the organs of dead Palestinians and of having “an unquenchable thirst for Palestinian blood & land.” In recent weeks, the Rutgers chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi — a historically Jewish fraternity — faced multiple incidents of antisemitic harassment. First, activists waving Palestinian flags yelled antisemitic slurs and spat at fraternity brothers. A few days later, vandals threw eggs at AEPi’s house during the fraternity’s Holocaust Remembrance Day proceedings — the second year in a row the house was egged during Yom HaShoah. On Saturday, April 23, at Northwestern, where I am an undergraduate, the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter organized a candlelight vigil and painted messages across Northwestern’s “Rock,” a boulder on campus that student organizations paint for various promotional purposes. By Tuesday morning, alongside the SJP chapter’s Instagram username, the rock bore the slogan “From the River to the Sea.”

Hatred of Jews on campus, of course, didn’t end in May 2022. Antisemitic attacks at American universities have nearly doubled in 2023, and almost 60 percent of Jewish college students in the United States have either experienced or witnessed antisemitism at their places of learning, according to an Ipsos poll. Another Ivy League school, Princeton University, has included on a humanities course syllabus the book The Right to Maim, which claims that Israelis harvest Palestinians’ organs, a variant on the time-worn “blood libel” canard.

The longer academic institutions take to actually address antisemitism on their campuses, the longer they’re allowing it to flourish. By hiding behind rote affirmations of a school’s commitment to diversity, to equity, to whatever progressive buzzwords they like to emblazon on their overpaid and underworked administrators’ doors — and by refusing to act when the time comes, like right now — university presidents like Liz Magill create the conditions in which, for instance, Hillel buildings are vandalized. I’m left with only one question: What did she think was going to happen?

[betterbooktitles]

I went through a tough breakup one summer. I closed all the curtains in my apartment and played Wii games day and night. I’d like to believe games saved me from a few other self-destructive habits but I was participating in those at the same time. I was using games to escape working through any negative feelings. All I managed to do was delay those feelings. That was the summer I worked on a paint crew and I was fired for not showing up too many days in a row. We can count at least one job lost to gaming (and drinking/sleeping in). Also, the time spent on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess may or may not have precipitated the end of that relationship. Who’s to say?

When I think of the parties I’ve skipped, the hours of sleep I’ve lost, and the months of not reading or writing a word, video games account for a lot of lost time.

There were several games after that summer that I let eat up time. Fallout 3 shaved 4 hours of sleep a night off my regular schedule. Red Dead Redemption became a second job. By the time Dark Souls arrived, I bought it, decided it was ruining my life, and returned it to the store, only to repurchase it months later when I realized a mistake I had made that could be easily fixed and make the game more fun. It was not fun.

When The Last of Us came out, its main selling point to me was that you could finish it in under 15 hours. That’s a few more hours than the HBO miniseries based on the game! I don't believe this will be a trend in gaming. More likely, we’ll be stuck with all-encompassing games like Grand Theft Auto except worse because you’ll have a Meta Quest on your head. You'll have literal blinders on.

The book Reality is Broken explores the benefits of virtual worlds in the face of a deteriorating social structure and planet. Despite the games being used as a salve, other books like Johann Hari’s Stolen Focus and Adam Alter’s Irresistible, point out that the people making these alternate worlds actively disengage from them. Most especially World of Warcraft, a game tantamount to a slot machine. The people designing these pastimes won’t even get “high on their own supply” to quote Alter’s book. Some social media developers won’t let their kids use Instagram. Some Google employees try their hardest to unplug for long stretches and practice mindfulness. There are game designers who refuse to play certain games because they know people who spend 16 hours a day playing them. The issue with the “Do whatever you enjoy. Who cares??” attitude is that there are plenty of enjoyable habits and substances that will literally kill you if you do them too often. You might not succumb to World of Warcraft’s charms but I know I should not try it.

I know video game addiction is not as punk rock as substance abuse. A former coke addict can feel an intense urge from merely seeing a picture of the substance, like reading the word yawn and needing to yawn. It’s a trigger. If you’ve never played a game in the way I’m describing, my writing about it isn’t all that enticing, but my relationship to a game like Civilization 4, a disc I had to break in half in front of my wife to stop playing, or Dark Souls, which took up so much time when I was on a writing deadline, I took my well-worn copy and gift-wrapped it with a note saying “do not reopen until birthday” is all-encompassing. I can’t read a sentence in a history book that deals with troop movements now without getting the itch to turn on Civilization and kill 10 hours.

I feel like David Foster Wallace as played by Jason Segel in the movie version of the book about the profile of the writer called The End of the Tour.

“I am also aware that some addictions are sexier than others. My primary addiction my entire life has been to television. I told you that. Now television addiction is of far less interest to your readers than something like heroin, that confirms the mythos of the writer.”

I quit a job once after going to see Penn and Teller on Broadway, and reading in the playbill a fact I already knew: that the pair decided at a young age to only make money from entertainment, thus guaranteeing they succeeded or starved. It sounds scary but it worked. And Teller said the words (ironic) that I needed to hear: the true commodity in this life is time. They didn’t want day jobs interfering with their art. I realized an office job that expected me to work a 10-hour day plus commute was digging into my creative waking hours, but what happens when your fun takes anywhere from 4-18 hours a day?

To clarify: I don’t think video games are bad for you. I think they’re bad for me. There is a healthy way to consume games, but that’s like telling an alcoholic that one or two glasses of wine won't hurt. I start a new game the way Ken Erdedy gets stoned in Infinite Jest: I close the blinds and make myself dead to the world for a weekend. When I can’t get away with that, I spend hours away from the games thinking about what I’d like to do when I finally have the time to settle into one again. Every game is a bender.

Read the rest of the essay about video game addiction, Final Fantasy, and growing up in the 90s here.