Play and Game Essay Example for Free

Play and Game Essay The title of this article kind of makes it seem like I’m about to encourage you to cheat, but that’s not what I’m here to do. I’m here to tell you what you can do when it comes to poker that allows you to get ahead of the game. While some of these tips might not be necessarily applicable to online poker, for poker where you are sitting around a table, these tips can tip the scales into your favor. Know the People If you find yourself at a table somewhere where you don’t know the other players, take a little time to know the tendencies of each player. One might only bet big if he has a good hand, one might be very hesitant no matter what card he has and the other might flick his hair when he is lying. Every single person at that table has a ‘tell’ for when they have something good or for when they are bluffing, especially in Poker, when you are all trying to beat each other. Take some time, get to know the people at the table and even get them talking. It could create a way in which you can win more money, just from being able to read the other players. Be conscious of your own tells If you have the chance, play a friendly game of Poker and have a friend watch you as you play. Have them after the game tell them what you are doing in the way of body movement depending on the hand you are on. It’s extremely important to know what you do, and be able to stop it. Especially if you know you touch your face when you might be able to use this to your advantage in ways I don’t even want to explain. While these two tips don’t work online, they can change the balance in your favor during an offline game of poker. Just Give Up If it is not your night, if you have been fighting with your significant other, just don’t play. Whether offline or online you might feel the urge to do so, but try to resist. While it might act as your stress reliever; your mind will not focus on the game and in a game where your money is on the line, this is a serious issue. From here you have to make sure to change any habit that you think is costing you money, whether that is staying up until 3 in the morning to play and feeling fatigued while playing or not drinking enough water. If you feel you aren’t in peak Physical condition, don’t bother playing. It’ll end up being a waste of time and money. Know the Rules; Know the Hands. In Poker, the best hand is a four of a kind and an ace combination. That is the best possible hand (figuratively) but the probability of getting it is very low. Know this when you go into a game and you will see your play improve dramatically. Know what you can have and what your opponents can have. Use probability and their reactions to make sure that if you are going into a hand that you can win, but going into a hand that is a calculated risk and has a chance of winning is better than hoping for the best. Just watch your play and keep everything in mind. Poker is as much a game of outwitting your opponent as staying mentally sharp yourself. You have to know what to do and when to do it. You have to make sure you are watching your own play as well as others. You have to know when to ‘hold’em’ and when to ‘fold’em’ Author Bio: Jeremy Henderson is an expert in all forms of poker and this is possibly because he is so passionate about the game. His expertise has helped him win at a number of tournaments and in turn he has made a comfortable living playing the game. He is also a voracious reader and an avid writer.

The rapid evolution of rock music

The rapid evolution of rock music Rock Music its Rapid Evolution Introduction Music has been with man since the dawn of time. Every beat or sound can some way be considered as a form of music. Dating back to early man music could have been something as simple as the soothing sound of a waterfall or a tree swaying with the wind or a wild animal running through a forest. Today music is so diversified and so engrained in our lives that practically every child or teenager even an adult has a vast list of songs that they might listen to on their mp3 players. There are many varied branches of music existing today. These branches have now expanded to encompass everything from the tribal beats to anything that comes out of a synthesizer. And although we find music in many forms today, Im sure the purists would disagree with what the youth of today call great music. Now-a-days it seems the search is on for the â€Å"in music†. Music thats making everybody feel good now and which is discarded in a heartbeat once something better comes along. So what is it that has made rock music go so steady all these years? The reason why I have chosen Rock music for my seminar paper topic is that, I truly am very passionate about this genre of music. Rock Music or Rock as it is so called is vastly misunderstood by people, most of whom simply associate it with negative stereotypes like drug addiction, alcoholism, violence, sexual abuse, demonic control and other vices. One cannot blame people for having such misconceptions about Rock since over the years many of the famous Rock artists have come to be known mainly for their drug addiction and other outrageous behaviour under the influence of alcohol and chemical substances. However it is important to understand that one must separate the artist from his music and not pass unnecessary judgment on the music just based on the vices of the artist. Another misconception is that rock is only drums and guitar, when that is only the public face of Rock. There is a host of other instruments that are key elements to rock music as a whole, other than just guitar and percussion. Rock Music History Origins I would now like to begin with the History of Rock music. Where did it originate? What are its roots? How has it evolved along the years? What is the scenario at present? There are several views as to where exactly the Rock genre got up and going. And many believe that Rock originated in the west with the dawn of Rock Roll by Elvis Presley. However that is far from the case. It all started off during the post-war urbanization of America. The popular music of the late 1940s included country music, folk music, the blues, rhythm and blues (known as RB), jazz and classical music. Basically rock music hails from a blend of various popular music genres at that time in the United States of America. Rock music started off in the late 1940s when people wanted to move out from the slow beat jazz music and the slow electrified blues music to a much faster beat rhythm filled tune at that time. The rock sound is believed to have primarily originated with the guitar. It is believed that the existing guitar tunes used in blues music was soon blending in with other forms of music like jazz, classical music, folk music and other popular forms of music existing back then. All this led to the birth of Rock music as a separate genre of music which back then came to be known as Rock n Roll towards the early 1950s. Around that time i.e. the late 1940s to the early 1950s Rhythm and Blues (RB) musicians mainly concentrated on the black audience. However later onwards musicians started playing for a multi-racial audience. These musicians also targeted the newer forms or blends of music towards this audience. Later on these same fast beat blends of RB and the blues etc came to be coined as ‘Rock n Roll. â€Å"It is believed that in 1951 in a town in Cleveland, Ohio in USA a musician by the name of Alan Freed is said to have began playing a new form of RB music for a multi-racial audience is believed to have first used the phrase ‘Rock ‘N Roll to describe his music.† Source: Icons of Rock Scott Schinder with Andy Schwartz Encyclopaedia Britannica Rock Music. Rock Music Evolution Rock music is believed to be one of those genres of music that has evolved very rapidly over the past 50 to 60 years. Its rapid evolution has been witnessed mainly over the last 50 years. It all started with good old Rock n Roll in the 1950s. This later evolved in the 1960s which was considered as a Golden Era for Rock music. Rock took a totally different turn with the British invasion of rock by the Beatles. This was later followed by what came to be known as Surf music in America which was a mix of the catchy rock n roll n the hip and happening Beatles music. The Beatles music also led to a new form of music that was called as the hippy and psychedelic rock music. In the 1970s which came to be known as the memorable years evolved different forms of rock music such as Hard Rock, Punk Rock also Pop Rock. The 1980s witnessed a change in the band members hair styles. This era also was famous for what was called as hair bands. It included styles of rock such as punk rock funk rock. It led to the evolution of Heavy Metal. Bands used to wear tight leather pants and sported insane long hairdos. The 1990s showed a completely new and insane evolution of rock. It gave newer forms of rock such as Grunge Rock Alternative Rock. It gave the revolutionary guitar distortion feedback. Many of the genres from the 1950s onwards till the 1999s are still well known today. Most of the bands in those eras are still popular today. Many of todays bands still play the different styles of rock music. Some of them even make remakes of those songs using modern day styles and instruments. The later half of 2000 also witness something that very well came to be known as fusion music. It involved bringing together classical music (Western or Indian) and blending it in with modern day rock music. This style today is very popular especially in our country among our Indian youth that have blended the Indian classical instruments very smoothly with instruments like the guitar, keyboard, percussion, etc. The 1950s The 1950s gave rise to the Youth culture. It faced problems such as racial tensions the advent of the Cold War. This first saw the advent of Rock n Roll with great artists like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Shadows, Buddy Holly, Bo Diddley, Bill Haley the Comets, Gene Vincent, the Everly Brothers, and Carl Perkins, among many others. These were considered to be the first wave of Rock n Rollers. Rock and roll in its earliest stage could have been described as just blues with a few electric guitar tunes attached to it. In its purest form, Rock Roll was as simple as three chords, a strong yet insistent guitar back beat, and a catchy melody. Early rock roll was drawn from sources primarily including blues, RB, and country, but also gospel, traditional pop, jazz, and folk. These genres were combined together in a simple, blues-based song structure that was fast, danceable, and catchy. Rockabilly emerged in the mid1950s. It is simply a mix of rock and roll, country music, blues, and a little jazz too. It was a fundamental music genre of the 50s. The fathers or founders of Rock n Roll came t be known as Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Little Richard Chuck Berry. Their music revolutionized the music industry and later gave way to new forms of rock music in the decades to follow. Even in todays times their music is still very popular. Rockabilly was popularized by white singers like Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins Jerry Lee Lewis who mainly concentrated on the country roots of the music. The Popular hits recorded around that time were Thats All Right (Mama) Elvis Presley, Heartbreak Hotel Elvis Presley, Rock Around the Clock Bill Haley the Comets, Folsom Prison Blues Johnny Cash, Blue Suede Shoes Carl Perkins. Another popular form of Rock n Roll in the 1950s was called the ‘Doo Wop. It emphasized on multi-part vocal harmonies and meaningless backing lyrics supported with light instrumentation. Its origins were African American vocal groups like the Inkspots the Mill Brothers. Famous bands of this form of music were The Orioles, The Ravens and The Clovers, that used a strong element of traditional gospel music in their songs. The great hits included â€Å"The Great Pretender† The Platters, â€Å"Yakety Yak† The Coasters â€Å"Yes Sir, Thats my Baby† The Clovers along with many others. Later on during the 1950s Elvis Presley came to be known as the King of Rock n Roll. Even today he is still remembered as ‘The King. The decline of Rock n Roll was witnessed during the early 1960s with the death of famous musicians like Buddy Holy and Richie Valens in a plane crash; the departure of Elvis Presley for the army, the retirement of Little Richard to become a preacher, prosecutions of Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry and the breaking of the payola scandal. All of the above incidents gave a sensation that the rock and roll era has come to an end. However during its decline rock n roll witnessed a feminine side with an introduction of love ballads targeted to a female audience the rise of girl groups like The Crystals and The Shirelles. All the events that occurred in the 1950s eventually led to what came to be known as Surf Music, Garage Rock the Twist dance craze. However the major event that was a hit in the 1960s was that of the rise of British Rock n Roll with the emergence of The Beatles which was greatly influenced by the Americas 1950s Rock n Roll. The 1960s The 1960s witnessed many events like that of the Vietnam War, Civil Rights War, Surf Music, Hippie culture, The San Francisco Scene, The Music of Protests the birth of Heavy Metal. Similarly Rock n Roll in the 1960s went through 4 phases or parts. These parts are as follows: Part I The Beatles The British Invasion Part II Motown Music Part III Classic Rock: The Sounds of the 1960s Part IV Message Music Before 1963 i.e. 1961 onwards America witnessed the rise of Surf Music a form of Rock n Roll. This music was pioneered by Duane Eddy, Link Wray, and The Ventures that added distinctive wet reverb style rapid alternate picking to the music. One of the famous hits was Lets Go Trippin in 1961 and this launched the surf music craze. The all time favourite band of this era is The Beach Boys. Part I The Beatles The British Invasion During this decade i.e. post 1963 America along with the rest of the world witnessed what came to be known only as ‘The British Invasion. During the 1960s the most well know and world renowned band of the British invasion was the one and only Beatles. The Beatles till today are considered to be the all time success stories of the 1960s. The main reason why the Beatles are considered one of the best and most influential rock bands of all time is the because they took what Elvis and other Rock n Roll artists created in the 1950s and transformed it into a whole new different thing. Hence this era is known as one that gave birth to a new age of Rock. The Beatlemania had begun with its first single hit song in 1962 â€Å"Love Me Do† in Great Britain. Along with the Rock n Roll of the 1950s the Beatles popularized new genres of rock music ranging from ranging from folk rock to psychedelic pop. The Beatles were so influential during the 1960s that their progressive ideals were considered to be social cultural revolutions. Other great hits of the Beatles include â€Å"I Wanna Hold Your Hand† which sold 2.6 million copies in the United States in just two weeks. The Beatles came out with many hits during this era such as â€Å"She Loves You†, â€Å"Please Please Me†, etc. Other emerging bands in this era included The Dave Clark Five, The Kinks The Rolling Stones. The Rolling Stones greatest hit during this period was â€Å"Honky Tonk Woman† Part II Motown Music Motown was a Detroit based record company that was founded by Berry Gordy who was a one-time assembly line worker at Ford Motors. It became the most successful black owned record company by 1963. Motown had a number of vocal groups, songwriters musicians. The music recorded was known for its tight orchestrations and catchy lyrics. The music was based on the injustice to the black community during the Civil War. The Motown greats were The Temptations, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves the Vandellas and Diana Ross The Supremes. Part III Classic Rock: The Sounds of the 1960s This era witnessed what was known as the Hippe culture. Their main chant was ‘Make Love Not War. Peace was their underlying theme. The Beatles is one of the famous bands that transitioned during this phase in terms of their look and music. Other artist that came to existence were Jefferson Airplane, Grace Slick, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Steppenwolf, Simon Garfunkel, Mamas and the Pappas and Lovin Spoonful. The famous concert of this era was The Woodstock. This was a concert for promoting peace, love brotherhood. Artists like Jimi Hendrix rocked the concert. Part IV Message Music Most themes found in rock and roll during this era dealt with love and relationships gone wrong. It followed the war on Vietnam the various protests being undertaken. The music was an attempt to reflect upon the events occurring at that time like the civil rights movement, the growing unrest over the war in Vietnam, and the rise of feminism. The message within the song focused on peace. Many songs received substantial airplay and became anthems at concerts, rallies, and demonstrations. The Message through Folk Music The Message through Rock Music The most well known artists to emerge from the folk tradition include Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, and the trio known as Peter, Paul, and Mary. In 1965, an artist, Barry McGuire hit the charts with a song that reflected the growing turmoil in the world. Other popular hippy and psychedelic bands such as Pink Floyd, The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and others began to rule the world. These bands gave rise to the counterculture movement, trendsetters, with their drug induced lyrics and hypnotic melodies. Other genres of rock began to emerge such as progressive rock which is experimenting with other instruments other than guitar, bass and drums. This was popularized by Pink Floyd. Folk rock was popularized by Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin. The 1960s ultimately gave birth to heavy metal which is a thick, heavy, and highly amplified genre of rock mainly popularized by Black Sabbath. The world was just now beginning to witness the tremendous power impact rock really had on society. The 1970s In the 1970s the Vietnam War had ended, the protests stopped people began to settle down. Along with that, the music too did settle down. The world witnessed the split of the Beatles also the death of John Lennon. The 70s rock music brought different cultures and audiences closer together than ever before. Rock music began to branch out into new genres like Hard Rock, Heavy Metal Punk Rock. Led Zeppelin became extremely popular with its perfect blend of Hard Rock Blues music that they could call its own. In this era bands and artists such as David Bowie, Yes, The Eagles, and Queen became very influential. Towards the late 70s the world also witnessed the rise of Punk Rock. The founding fathers of punk were The Ramones. They combined anarchism and teenage rage with rock and roll and this came to be known as Punk Rock. Other bands such as The Sex Pistols and The Clash helped popularize and redefine punk rock. This new, powerful and intense genre of music influenced many bands of the future. The 1980s And then came the 1980s. Rock Music revolutionized itself in a way that everyone wanted to be part of the upcoming scene. The music took a different turn, more in terms of punk rock, new wave, heartland rock and alternative rock. Most people would think of the 80s as all about big hairdos and androgyny. The gay activists took to in a big way in this decade. People started embracing the opposite sex and everyone had colour in everything they did or wore. This inspired the rock music scene greatly. The eighties saw everything from enthusiasm to neon pink socks, worn by men. Creativity was expressed so greatly in the 1980s and artists wore their individuality with pride. The 1980s music scene is possibly considered as one of the strangest times in the evolution of rock music. Music artists were doing everything, a mix of bubblegum pop, sentimental forever ballads to thumping electric beats and even the hardest rock metal. This decade practically saw it all. Artist such as Bruce Springsteen, Guns and Roses, Van Halen, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Bon Jovi, and Motley Crue can best be remembered for their power ballads and great guitar solos. A new genre of music called as ‘New wave also emerged from punk, funk, and disco. It was made popular by artists such as Divo, The B-52s, Talking Heads, and Blondie. Indie rock or Alternative rock as it is well known began to emerge in the late 1980s with artists such as U2, R.E.M., The Cure, The Smiths, and Sonic Youth were very popular with college students. Punk also became more popular with bands such as Black Flag and the Dead Kennedys. This was also the time of producers. Theyre importance grew and artists took notice that a good producer could take their records to the market. Then came the advent of having soundtracks in movies. Record companies realized the economics in placing a song in a movie, the response was tremendous. Regardless of the variety, the music is the eighties was a big hit, it still is. And thats because the music spoke the minds of the people, it made no apologies, one could identify with a slow ballad by Phil Collins in the afternoon and put up their black leather jacket, rocking to Iron Maiden by night time, you dint have to apologize to anyone. Freedom of expression, experimenting and lyrics became an integral part of the eighties. And that is precisely the reason why the eighties they say will never die. The 1990s The early 90s was known as the era of grunge and alternative rock. Nirvana came to be known as the most popular grunge band of the 90s. Grunge music can be described as dirty guitar, strong guitar riffs with distortion and feedback. It consisted of dark lyrics and expressed teenage angst. Popular grunge and alternative bands were Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Janes Addiction and Alice in Chains. A more iconic scene was that of the emergence of female artists. Women were becoming much less dependent on men, and less oriented towards having a family-based future. They were daughters of women who fought for equal rights and they expressed it- in the form of words and notes. The magazine, Billboard brought about the commercial success of the music industry. It changed the way it ranked singles and albums of artists by tallying actual sales at retail stores instead of using the industry-manipulated word of mouth. Rock suddenly beat pop in terms of sales, and minority genres such as country and hip-hop began to enter the charts. This led the industry to invest more in these minority genres. The 1990s proved that music was for the listener and that the idea behind music was to view the artist as a whole, his production, his team, his lyrics, his image, his music video and his personality. Everyone had a favorite type of music and a favorite genre, a favorite artist and a favorite album. You couldnt help it- there were so many choices by this time. 2000 Present Alternative rock even today is one of the popular and broadest genre of rock music. Emo, is a new sub genre of rock that consists of intense emotional lyrics with hardcore punk roots. It was popularized by bands like From First to Last, The Used, Brand New and softer bands such as Dashboard Confessional and Bright Eyes which can also be described as indie. The word indie actually stands for independent and refers to bands that are part of an independent record label. However, today indie has a whole new meaning. Indie can be described as mainly underground and softer version of alternative rock. Popular indie bands include Death Cab for Cutie, The Strokes, Elliott Smith, The Decemberists, The Arcade Fire, The Postal Service a few others. Heavy metal has now reached an extremely new level. Sub-genres of heavy metal like black metal, death metal and thrash metal which is very loud, aggressive and fast entered the industry. Popular hardcore metal bands include Slipknot, As I Lay Dying, Korn, Norma Jean and Cannibal Corpse. Alternative rock has now become an all time hit with bands such as Incubus, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chevelle, Coldplay, and the Foo Fighters. Pop rock is another popular genre. It is rock mixed with a more mainstream approach and popular lyrics. Pop rock bands include Fall Out Boy, All-American Rejects, Ashlee Simpson, Avril Lavigne, and others. Another form of music that came about was the rap rock. They symbolized the fusion of the raw, street music and hard rock pelting beats. It was an instant hit with the fans of both the genres. Examples of such were Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Faith no More, Rage Against the Machine, etc Rock Music in the Indian Scenario Rock music caught on in India during the mid 70s. I remember hearing stories of my father and his brothers in small time bands playing the good oldies like Elvis Presley, The Carpenters, The Beatles, The Shadows, Bob Dylan and other artists on their guitars. These were many such small groups which were mainly Catholics that played all the dance numbers mainly for weddings the Christmas dance. These were the jive the twist numbers that people used to love to dance to back in the day. Towards the 80s artists like Led Zeppelin, Dire Straits Jethro Tull became quiet popular. People used to purchase these music cassettes and listen to this kind of music on their audio cassette players Sony Walkman. That however was a very long time ago. Things soon changed with the Gulf War of 1991 opening the gates to media in India. MTV was one of the channels that were beamed, along with CNN. Apart from Pop music what caught on quickly was rock. However, as an audience, the numbers in India were still minimal. It was only bands like Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and U2 that caught the fancy of many people. To a large extent, rock began and ended with Deep Purples Highway Star. The love for rock only meant name-dropping and wanting to sound fashionably rebellious. All that changed quickly changed to from the year 2000 onwards. Hard rock quickly caught on along with its counterpart Heavy Metal and is literally worshipped in many engineering colleges all over India. Many groups have been formed in various areas where the rock scene is still alive. These include Goa, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune Delhi. Many popular India bands hail from these areas and have composed pretty famous hits that are well known to the Indian Rockers. Many engineering colleges still pay tribute to Rock by hosting Rock shows where fans from various parts of the country rush to gather head bang in harmony. The first rock band in India to become famous was Indus Creed. Famous Indian rock bands of today include bands like Zero, Pentagram, Parikrama, Them Clones and various others. One happening rock shows of Mumbai used to be the Independence Rock gig at Rang Bhavan popularly known as I-Rock which used to be packed and crowded as it was very popular and had bands playing from all over the country. Off late the popularity of i-rock has died down due to the change in date and venue due to certain restrictions. Another new genre of rock music that has probably evolved in India is Fusion rock which involves blending Indian classical instruments with that of the electric guitar, keyboard drums. This is something that is definitely coming up in the country with rock songs in Hindi rather than English and even in Hinglish. I still feel that there is very poor liberalization for Rock music in our country but as time passes by things will definitely seem to be getting better. One evident fact is Channel Vs ‘Launch Pad that takes place every year that hunts to find the Countries most popular and best Rock band. Along with Channel V, MTV has also started something called as Rock on Desi Beats that hunts for fusion rock bands of the country and popularizes the best. Another evident fact that rock music is catching up quickly was the launch of the movie ‘Rock On directed by starring Farhan Akhtar. Conclusion Hence I strongly believe that Rock music with its legendary History can never die out. It will always be a part of culture and will always be know as that which shapes culture strongly affects society. It is finally meant for people to understand that Rock is just about the music and the passion it drives in the youth. It should not be stereotyped with drug abuse alcoholism other vices. For this to happen it is the people that must change their ways and also it is essential for the famous artists to set a better example as they owe it to their fans as much as they owe it to the music. Another important factor is that although opportunities in the country for Rock music are very low it is extremely tough to become big, society must encourage the youngsters that have a passion for this music. Bibliography Internet References * http://www.warr.org/roots.html (Wilson and Alroys Record Reviews) * http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade60.html (American Culture History) * http://www.spinner.com/2009/09/30/70s-music/ * http://www.cracked.com/article_15636_the-10-most-terrifyingly-inspirational-80s-songs.html * http://www.scaruffi.com/ (Rock Music Resources) * http://www.allmusic.com/ (Articles on various Artists) * http://www.britannica.com/ (Encyclopedia Britannica) * http://www.encyclopedia.com/ * http://www.mid-day.com/ (Articles on Indian Rock bands) Book Journal References * Icons of Rock (An Encyclopedia of the Legends who changed Music Forever) Scott Schinder with Andy Schwartz * Why 1955? Explaining the Advent of Rock Music Richard A. Peterson * Inside Rock Music Vance Ferrell

Analyzing Mass Media And Popular Culture English Language Essay

Analyzing Mass Media And Popular Culture English Language Essay Data Workshop 1 Analyzing Mass Media and Popular Culture: Theories of Celebrity Gossip Although many can dismiss celebrity blogs such as www.perezhilton.com and www.wwtdd.com as frivolous and mean, the popularity and prevalence of these websites have a considerable social impact on our world today. For this Data Workshop, you will be analyzing entries in a celebrity blog, using one of the three major social paradigms. Step 1: Collecting Data Choose a celebrity blog and pick five entries. Scrutinize the pictures, read the headlines and text carefully, and review the reader comments. Step 2: Thinking about and Analyzing the Data For the five entries that you have selected, answer the following questions from each of sociologys three major theoretical perspectives. Later, use your data-collection form to write a one page essay summarizing the differences in the theories and their value as a sociological analyst. Compare what you observed to what the textbook says in Ch 1. DATA-COLLECTION FORM FOR THEORIES OF CELEBRITY GOSSIP Data Workshop 1 1. Structural Functionalist Theory: What is the function (or functions) of celebrity gossip blogs for society? What purpose(s) do they serve, and how do they help society maintain stability and order? Do celebrity gossip blogs have manifest and latent functions? Are any dysfunctions built into such publications? 2. Social Conflict Theory: What forms of inequality are revealed in celebrity gossip blogs? In particular, what do celebrity gossip blogs have to say about gender, race, and class inequalities? Who suffers and who benefits from the publication of celebrity gossip blogs? 3. Symbolic Interactionist Theory: What do celebrity gossip blogs mean to society as a whole? What do they mean to individual members of society? Can they have different meanings for different individuals or groups of individuals? How do those meanings get constructed in interaction? And how do celebrity gossip blogs shape and influence our everyday lives? -1 Kim Kardashian is good at twitter 53166_kim_kardashian_at_photoshoot_twitpics_01_123_391lo Kim Kardashian doesnt really do anything of course, but before this our famous celebrities who didnt really do anything were fug whores like Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. Remember that? What the hell was that all about? So at least Kim is hot, and goes on  her twitter  and posts pics of her kick ass rack. The only way to get even more intimate pictures of Kim is to be black. Comments: Talked ab poop. Said she isnt preggo, hated on blk ppl -2 Rihanna got a new haircut Rihanna By all accounts Rihanna (seen here last night at a Clippers game in LA) is a perfectly nice woman and everyone seems to like and shes a good singer, but very obviously her new bang haircut sucks. If this were  American Idol, these pictures would be turned into a montage with that So You Had a Bad Day song playing over it. Comments: talk ab it being fake, a wig 3 Gwyneth Paltrow has advice for other working moms 56852284 I know some people who have worked with Gwyneth Paltrow and they say shes delightful but that seems impossible to believe. Because shes a complete cunt, delusional and arrogant beyond all comprehension. The latest proof:  on her website GOOP, Paltrow, who is worth 90 million dollars and got married in a castle, has advice for other extremely busy working mothers. Yes that said other. Because thats what she considers herself. And just like all working moms, after she drops her kids at schoolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Did dance aerobics for 45 minutes then all of the butt lifts and the like. Rushed upstairs to have a shower, doing my post workout stretch while the conditioner was doing its magic on my hair to combine activities/save time. Dressed quickly and rushed downstairs. Her day is essentially filled with stuff like that. The stuff that real working moms do when not at work or being a mom. The stuff they have to squeeze into one hour on the weekend is Paltrows entire life, but shes here to tell them how to do it. Because they dont know. They need tips from Gwyneth Paltrow. Im honestly shocked that she isnt punched in the face at least once every time she leaves the house. 4 Kate Beckinsale is in a bikini SPL240191_003 Kate Beckinsale is down in Mexico this weekend, and unlike the hags at the Golden Globes she looked fantastic in this bikini, and I think thats the same place where Jennifer Aniston is always going. I can see why she likes it. Its basically a rock and theres lots of empty space. Just like her womb. 5 Eva Longoria at the Golden Globes Eva Longoria Eva Longoria at least tried to look sexy for last nights Golden Globe awards, but her depressing tits are useless and so it didnt work. This is one of the most boring and unsexy periods I can ever think of in Hollywood. No one ever wears anything good, and most of the big stars are either not pretty or not pretty anymore. About the most positive thing I can say is that theres room for improvement everywhere. You could find hotter girls putting ads on craiglist asking for you to come rape them. ____________________________________________________________________________________ 1.What is the function (or functions) of celebrity gossip blogs for society? To make fun of people, to show off the latest/ or not so latest trends, to spread gossip/info What purpose(s) do they serve, and how do they help society maintain stability and order? They serve as entertainment purpose/news/ way to spread info- help society maintain order by letting ppl know what is in/not in what to do/not do- Do celebrity gossip blogs have manifest and latent functions? Find something from bookPos effect on society-possibly could help spread trends/ show who is/isnt role models Are any dysfunctions built into such publications? Bad-neg affect, more so thatn manifest latent, gossip is bad- demeaning to persons self confidence- shows bad role models- more mature content 2. What forms of inequality are revealed in celebrity gossip blogs? First one talks ab her obsession with blk ppl, ( only blk can see more pics)-what celebritys have that most common ppl can not do/ or afford to have In particular, what do celebrity gossip blogs have to say about gender, race, and class inequalities? Blk ppl thing- class the mother issue, females- sexy hot whores Who suffers and who benefits from the publication of celebrity gossip blogs? everyone suffers from these blogs, the ppl who are wrote ab suffer bc it degrades self image, children suffer from bad role models Benefit- writer bc so many read them, if decent blog then the readers celebrities could benefit 3. What do celebrity gossip blogs mean to society as a whole? Past time- way to spread info- teach what is not cool/cool What do they mean to individual members of society? Back to the benefit/suffer part Kids are hurt by this, adults are humored by this, celebrity can be degraded by this Can they have different meanings for different individuals or groups of individuals? Yes they do How do those meanings get constructed in interaction? And how do celebrity gossip blogs shape and influence our everyday lives?back to #1 Info from book Pg 11- theoretical approach: roadmaps that connect basic image of society with research Structional functional approach- repeat behavior that affects the viewers pg 12 Pg 12- this approach was to keep ppl unified Pg 12- social dysfunction:social pattern that disturbs Pg 13- social conflict: inequality building up over time Theoretical Perspectives in Blogs From analyzing celebrity blogs we can learn a lot more than the latest gossip. The celebrity blogs provide great insight in the differences between sociologys three major theoretical perspectives. The celebrity blog that I reviewed had great examples of the structural functionalist theory, social conflict theory, and the symbolic internationalist theory that compared nicely to the books definition of each, but still had some different points. First I examined how the structural functionalist theory appeared in the blog. As known by the definition given by the text book the structural functionalist theory is a theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability (page 11). One of the major differences I noticed between how the blog portrayed this theory from how the book described this theory is the stability. I did not notice any of the different blog entries or any of the celebrities that appeared in the blog entries to work together to provide stability in todays society, if anything I noticed the celebrities all behaving in different manners that disturbed the stability of the blog. While the book describes social structure as ..gives our lives shape in families, the work place, or the college classroom, ( page 12). A similarity I noticed was how the book explained how manifest and latent functions are a part of the structural-functional approach, and you could see each function within the blog. Manifest functions could be recognized from the comments to each of the blogs, the readers adjusted their thoughts and actions based on the blogs that they read. Secondly, the social conflict theory appeared inside the blog and the book. By definition the social conflict approach is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change. (page 13) Overall throughout each blog I examined I saw issues of race, sex, and social classes. The blog that discussed Kim Kardashian was full of issues of race and sex from the main picture to the response. Her risquà © picture provided conflict for the other women viewers who saw it, but the males tended to enjoy it more. Also an issue of race was brought up when the writer of the blog mentioned that you have to be black to get more pictures of Kim. A quote like this could create an issue between all races who read the comment. Thirdly, the symbolic interaction theory that is defined as society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals. ( page 15) appears inside the blogs entries. The blog gives viewers the opportunity to express their feelings and allow them to interact with others. Also the blog purpose of a blog is to collect data and distribute it to followers, this data can be gossip, news, latest trends, or basically anything. Some of the information can play a positive or negative affect based on the type of reader. The book mentions two different levels of symbolic-interaction, macro-level and micro-level, while the blog provides a great example of each. From the macro-level observing from a helicopter level, you can see the broad focus of the blog is celebrities different styles. The micro, or street level focus, you can see how their different styles affect the followers. Each of the three theories, structural-functionalist, social-conflict, and symbolic interaction have the same goal in mind of analyzing how a particular item affects a society, while each theory has its own specific areas. I believe that each theory builds on each other to provide a in-depth analysis, starting from how things work together, to conflicts that arise, even down to how everyday interactions. ( The blog I used was from www.wwtdd.com. The five blogs I chose were Kate Beckinsale is in a bikini Jan. 17, Eva Longoria at the Golden Globes Jan. 17, Kim Kardashian is good at twitter Jan. 14, Rhianna got a new haircut Jan. 13 and Gwyneth Paltrow has advices for other working moms Jan. 13.

Siddhartha :: essays research papers

Siddhartha was a young boy living in the wealthy part of India with his parents. His father, a rich and powerful priest taught him how to read people. At an early stage in his life Siiddhartha could understand people and could hold conversations with the best of even the elders. He was a very impressionable young fellow, and also was very handsome. Siddhartha was supposed to take after is father and be a Brahmin, He too was to become rich and powerful. By the time Siddhartha was a teenage boy he had already made up his mind that he had learned everything he could learn from elders and his teacher. He needed to find other ways that would help him find what he is looking for. Siddhartha hear the preaching of many priest. He developed this thirst for more knowledge, he seem to be a â€Å"vessel that was not full† PG 3 Siddhartha discovered that with all the teachings he learned from others just did not quench his thirst for knowledge. He was not happy and needed to go out into the world to find out who he really is. Siddhartha told his father he wanted to go wandering, seeking knowledge, and he wanted to take no possessions with him. He wanted to become a Samana, (a nomad). His father disagreed with him, and Siddhartha threw a tantrum. He protested his father’s disagreement by standing by a window all night long. His father eventually gives into Siddhartha’s wishes and agreed to let him go. His father says to him â€Å"if you find salvation in the forest, you should come back and teach me†. Pg 7 So Siddhartha set out on his quest for knowledge, his friend Govinda accompanied him. This remains me of when I was young, the age when I thought I knew everything. I got my first apartment, which made me feel like an adult woman, and I felt as if I knew it all. My mother was not happy about this and she voiced her disapproval. Like Siddhartha, I also threw a tantrum and was very rebellious. I locked myself in the bathroom hoping this would change my mothers’ mind, it did not, and she still disagreed. However, after sometime she finally gives in and approves of me moving into my own place. This was know as cutting the apron string. Siddhartha was still young and was soon on his way to discover the world.

Mary Shelleys Frankenstein - The Individual and Society Essay

Frankenstein: The Individual and Society      Ã‚  Ã‚   The creature's ambiguous humanity has long puzzled readers of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. In this essay I will focus on how Frankenstein can be used to explore two philosophical topics, social contract theory, and gender roles, in light of ideas from Shelley's two philosophical parents, William Godwin, and Mary Wollstonecraft.    What Does it Mean to be Human? Individual and Society    One historically important tradition in social and political philosophy is called "Social Contract Theory." It gives a way of thinking about what it means to be human, raising fundamental questions such as: what is human nature, in itself, apart from society? Are people fundamentally equal, and if so, why, in what ways? What justifies governmental authority? In what sense are people free and independent if their lives are ruled by laws and governmental authorities?    Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), and John Locke (1632-1704), were English philosophers who approached these questions by hypothesizing a "state of nature." Try to imagine what a person would be like if he or she lived outside of any governed society. Hobbes thought that people would be isolated, desperately afraid of harm from others. Life would be, in Hobbes' memorable phrase, "poore, solitary, nasty, brutish and short." Locke wasn't quite so pessimistic. He thought that in the state of nature, people would be fairly sociable, and would establish private property and trade. Both Hobbes and Locke thought that insecurity in the state of nature would lead people to join together and give to a governmental authority the right to make laws and punish offenders. Hence, for them, government is based on a "social contrac... ...manly virtues are, in fact, weaknesses. Wollstonecraft insists, "The most perfect education, in my opinion, is such an exercise of the understanding as is best calculated to strengthen the body and form the heart....It is a farce to call any being virtuous whose virtues do not result from the exercise of its own reason" (103). When women are socialized to be feminine, when their reasoning powers are not developed, and when they have no option but to be economically dependent on men, their characters will become perverted, and they will become servile or manipulative.    Works Cited: Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Emile. 1762. translated by William Boyd, New York: Columbia University, 1956. Shelley, Mary. 1818. Frankenstein. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1996. Wollstonecraft, Mary. 1792. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.

Elective Affinities by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe Essay

Edward and Charlotte are a middle-aged couple, happily married, and who live comfortably in a considerable estate in early 19th century Germany. Edward was an only child, and thus was accustomed to getting what he wanted from life. Charlotte was a strong, level-headed woman, who, in spite of being at about the same age as Edward, displayed a character that was far more mature. The characters lived a relaxed, nobleman’s life, and Charlotte spent most of her time arranging and decorating the area around their land. The couple had loved each other in the past in their youth; however they were married to different people to satisfy the wishes of their parents. Both of their spouses died early, and Edward, after traveling abroad, came back and married Charlotte. The two were discussing their great fortune at still having time to cherish the moments they never had in their youth, but Edward had other plans. His best friend, the Captain, wanted a job that would suit his multiple talents, and Edward felt obliged to hire him and have him stay with them. Charlotte opposed the idea at first, but assented afterwards, but revealing to Edward that she felt the same with Ottilie, her niece who was not adjusting very well to school. The Captain was the first to arrive at the estate. In little time he got acquainted with his surroundings, and set about to change them to what he felt was better taste than what Charlotte has done. Charlotte became busy with other things, including correspondence with officials from the school where her daughter, Luciana, and Ottilie were studying. Luciana was a great student and she was always at the top of her class. Ottilie, on the other hand, was a shy and timid student, but the Assistant to the superior saw a potential in Ottilie that nobody else did. Edward, Charlotte and the Captain were enjoying each other’s company, and on one particular discourse they discussed among them the elective affinities, the tendencies of chemical species to combine with certain substances in preference to others. They related the somewhat obscure subject matter to themselves, and whether these affinities apply to human relationships too, unknowingly foreshadowing their ultimate fates. Ottilie arrived at the estate shortly afterwards, and although a timid girl, she was exceedingly beautiful that the company was inspired by her presence. She quickly became efficient at managing the household, which delighted Charlotte, who was spending more and more time with the Captain due to her desire to see the fruits of his plans for the estate. Edward then, found himself spending more time with Ottilie, who he quickly grew fond with. The plans for remodeling the estate were numerous, and the four all contributed plans towards the final end. Ottilie’s suggestion on the placement of a new house was unexpected because she was so timid, but everybody agreed with it. The Captain busied himself with the remodeling, and although he felt an attraction to Charlotte he thought the better of it and tried to stay away from her. However, he resolved to finish the new house’s foundation on Charlotte’s birthday, which he did. The day after Charlotte’s birthday, two visitors arrived at the estate, the Count and the Baroness, who were unmarried lovers as well. In observing their hosts’ situation, the Baroness deduced that Edward and Ottilie were lovers, The Count meanwhile had noticed the Captain’s usefulness, and intended to hire him, much to the hidden despair of Charlotte who was also very much in love with the Captain. With Ottilie still on his mind, Edward nevertheless goes to his wife and spends the night together with her. The day after, Ottilie revealed to Edward that she loved him, something that he was exceedingly happy about since he shared the intense feelings as well. Charlotte and the Captain had an adventure of their own, in which the Captain kissed her and apologizing afterwards. Charlotte recognized that she had an obligation to her husband, and thus cut short the affair with the Captain. Ottilie and Edward estranged themselves from the two others, while their passion grew with letters and secret correspondence with each other. Edward became busy with the preparations for Ottilie’s birthday, as the Captain was making preparations for his departure to the Count. On Ottilie’s birthday, Edward was ecstatic—he prepared an extravagant gift of cloth and made preparations for a big fireworks display. When a certain embankment fell to the water and almost caused the drowning of a party-guest, everybody felt that further festivities were no longer proper, except the now madly-in-love Edward. After the Captain’s departure, Charlotte tried to save their marriage by sending Ottilie away, but she failed when Edward, not knowing what to do, decided to go away himself. Otillie, saddened by the loss of her love, nevertheless kept her faith that he would come back for her. Edward wrote a letter to Charlotte that kept Otillie with her until Edward’s return. Charlotte learned shortly after that her night with Edward during the Count’s visit conceived a child, and through Mittler, her ambassador at the moment, relayed it to Edward, Mittler, a once-minister who thought all marriage is sacred, set to Edward to try to mend their matrimony. Upon learning of the news, Edward is more confused and sets off with a death wish to join the armed forces. By this time, the Architect, a pupil by the Captain, had taken over remodeling of the estate. With an affinity for the arts, Otillie becomes attached to the Architect, albeit only thinking of him as a comfortable brother. In Edward’s absence, Luciana returns from school with a bridegroom, and she magnifies the difference between her and the timid Otillie. After Luciana left, the Assistant comes to see Otillie—he too is in love with her, but Otillie’s heart is unattainable. She becomes attached to Edward and Charlotte’s baby, Otto. After his stint in the army, Edward returns with a clear mind—he is going to take Otillie for himself, and engages his best friend—now a Major—to help him get a separation from Charlotte. An accidental encounter along the lake reunites Edward and Otillie, but afterwards Otillie’s carelessness caused the drowning and death of Otto. When the Major arrives to tell Charlotte about Edward’s proposition, she is still shaken by the death of her son. Otillie, in guilt, resolved to renounce Edward and her love for him after the Major left. Plans were made to return Ottilie to school; however, Edward caught her in a hotel on the way there. Ottilie had renounced Edward, and thus spoke not a word to him, but she went back to the estate. Once back, Edward, the Major and Charlotte tried to make her speak once more, but she did not. In fact, she was starving herself secretly, and she died afterwards. In a short time, Edward, who could not live without Ottilie, found no reason to live either, and followed his love to the grave.

On North Korea’s refusal to give up its nukes

About whether or not North Korea's nuclear arms program and development capabilities are substantial to be regarded as a threat. Now that the cat's out of the bag, it seems that the communist state has no plans of letting go of its arsenal, despite numerous calls and threats of sanctions from other countries, like the United States, Japan and China. Since North Korea is a very poor country, posting resistance to the world powerhouses does not appear to be the most   prudent choice, especially since the government needs to maintain congenial relationships with its trade partners to stay afloat. However, it appears that Kim Jong Il has a more important and higher end in mind. Thus, we present this question: What factors explain North Korea's vehement and continued resistance to calls for the discontinuation of its nuclear weapons program? The North Korean nuclear weapons program was established in the 1960s under the assistance of the then-power USSR. Unfortunately, its nuke plans were doused in the wake of the Cold War, particularly following the decline of the Soviet powerr. This did not stop North Korea from pursuing its goal, developing and launching the 20-megawatt thermal reactor in 1986. Nobody really knew to what extent North Korea's nuke capabilities had reached, but intelligence analysts had estimated that the country had enough plutonium to make several warheads. How much, nobody could say — and the mystery had started to become a cause for alarm. So, when they finally declared that they, indeed, have weapons of mass destruction, the international community thought it best to intervene. Has the US lost its credibility as a key world force in this situation? For North Korea, perhaps. The fact that the US was found to have manipulated intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq had made observers dubious about its claims that North Korea's nuclear capabilities were on highly destructive and potentially abusive levels. In addition, US President George W. Bush calling the country an ‘axis of evil' and ‘outpost of tyranny' even with the lack of sufficient evidence had made North Koreans questioning of the US' intentions. In fact, it has been aid that North Korea's nuclear abilities are what deter other more powerful countries from taking advantage of it. Economy: North Korea is a poor nation. Thus, it is using its leverage against trade partners in order to get better exchange deals and extract maximum values. Its weapons of mass destruction is it bargaining chip. Also, given the US' predisposition to abuse its power, North Korea is using its arsenal as security insurance. Another possible factor is that Kim Jong Il intends to make a huge mark as a political leader and be identified as the leader that secured for the country economic security and world fame. In the end, we can say that North Korea refuses to give up its nuke arsenal because, more than pleasing the rest of the world, it is aimed at making sure it is benefitting at the highest possible level. North Korea has gone too far behind the rest of the world to give up the one thing that gives it leverage now. Other countries might find it appalling — a threat; that North Korea might consider taking over the world with its nukes; and other horror stories. It could be so. However, it could also be a grand attempt at keeping the country alive. North Korea has survived years operating independently and it is not likely to back down now. When we really look deep into the issue and see it from North Korea's vantage point, it is a noble act. BIBLIOGRAPHY Norris, Roberts and Hans M. Kristensen. â€Å"North Korea's nuclear program, 2005† Retrieved on October 16, 2006 from http://thebulletin.org/article_nn.php?art_ofn=mj05norris. â€Å"World regrets North Korea's quitting nuke talks†. Retrieved on October 16, 2006 from http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/02/10/nkorea.talks/index.html ; ;