Venus Figurines as Early Human Sculptural Art

Venus Figurines as Early Human Sculptural Art A Venus figurine (with or without the capital V) is the name given to a type of figural art produced by humans between about 35,000 and 9,000 years ago. While the stereotypical Venus figurine is a small carved statue of a voluptuous female with large body parts and no head or face to speak of, those carvings are considered part of a larger cadre of portable art plaques and two- and three-dimensional carvings of men, children, and animals as well as women in all stages of life. Over 200 of these statuettes have been found, made of clay, ivory, bone, antler, or carved stone. They were all found at sites left behind by hunter-gatherer societies of the European and Asian late Pleistocene (or Upper Paleolithic) periods during the last gasp of the last Ice Age, the Gravettian, Solutrean, and Aurignacian periods. Their remarkable variety- and yet persistence- within this 25,000 year period continues to amaze researchers. The Venus and Modern Human Nature One of the reasons youre reading this may be because images of the physicality of women are an important part of modern human cultures. Whether your specific modern culture permits the exposure of the female form or not, the uninhibited depiction of women with large breasts and detailed genitals seen in the ancient art is nearly irresistible to all of us. Nowell and Chang (2014) compiled a list of modern-day attitudes reflected in the media (and scholarly literature). This list is derived from their study, and it includes five points that we should keep in mind when considering Venus figurines in general. Venus figurines were not necessarily made by men for menMen are not the only ones aroused by visual stimuliOnly some of the figurines are femaleThe figurines that are female have considerable variation in size and body shapeWe dont know that Paleolithic systems necessarily recognized only two gendersWe dont know that being unclothed was necessarily erotic in Paleolithic periods We simply cannot know for certain what was in the minds of Paleolithic people or who made the figurines and why. Consider the Context Nowell and Chang suggest instead that we should consider the figurines separately, within their archaeological context (burials, ritual pits, refuse areas, living areas, etc.), and compare them to other artwork rather than as a separate category of erotica or fertility art or ritual. The details that we seem to focus on- big breasts and explicit genitals- obscure the finer elements of the art for a lot of us. One notable exception is a paper by Soffer and colleagues (2002), who examined the evidence for the use of netted fabrics drawn as clothing features on the figurines. Another non-sex-charged study is by Canadian archaeologist Alison Tripp (2016), who looked at examples of Gravettian-era figurines and suggested similarities in the central Asian group indicate some kind social interaction among them. That interaction is also reflected in similarities in site layouts, lithic inventories, and material culture. The Oldest Venus The oldest Venus found to date was recovered from the Aurignacian levels of Hohle Fels in southwestern Germany, in the lowest-most Aurignacian layer, made between 35,000-40,000 cal BP. The Hohle Fels carved ivory art collection included four figurines: a horses head, a half-lion/half-human being, a water bird, and a woman. The female figurine was in six fragments, but when the fragments were reassembled they were revealed to be the nearly complete sculpture of a voluptuous woman (her left arm is missing) and in place of her head is a ring, enabling the object to be worn as a pendant. Function and Meaning Theories about the function of Venus figurines abound in the literature. Different scholars have argued that the figurines might have been used as emblems for membership in a goddess religion, teaching materials for children, votive images, good luck totems during childbirth, and even sex toys for men. The images themselves have also been interpreted in many ways. Different scholars suggest they were realistic images of what women looked like 30,000 years ago, or ancient ideals of beauty, or fertility symbols, or portrait images of specific priestesses or ancestors. Who Made Them? A statistical analysis of the waist to hip ratio for 29 of the figurines was conducted by Tripp and Schmidt (2013), who found that there was considerable regional variation. Magdalenian statuettes were much curvier than the others, but also more abstract. Tripp and Schmidt conclude that although it could be argued that Paleolithic males preferred heavier set and less curvy females, there is no evidence to identify the gender of the persons who made the objects or who used them. However, American art historian LeRoy McDermott has suggested that the figurines may have been self-portraits made by women, arguing that the body parts were exaggerated because if an artist dont have a mirror, her body is  distorted from her viewpoint. Venus Examples Russia: Malta, Avdeevo, New Avdeevo, Kostenki I, Kohtylevo, Zaraysk, Gagarino, EliseevichiFrance: Laussel, Brassempouy, Lespugue, Abri Murat, Gare de CouzeAustria: WillendorfSwitzerland: MonruzGermany: Hohle Fels, Gà ¶nnersdorf, MonreposItaly: Balzi Rossi, Barma GrandeCzech Republic: Dolni Vestonice, Moravany, PekrnaPoland: Wilczyce, Petrkovice, PavlovGreece: Avaritsa Sources Dixson AF, and Dixson BJ. 2011. Venus figurines of the European Paleolithic: Symbols of fertility or attractiveness? Journal of Anthropology 2011(Article ID 569120).McDermott L. 1996. Self-Representation in Upper Paleolithic Female Figurines. Current Anthropology 37(2):227-275.Nowell A, and Chang ML. 2014. Science, the Media, and Interpretations of Upper Paleolithic Figurines. American Anthropologist 116(3):562-577.Tripp A. 2016. A Cladistics Analysis Exploring Regional Patterning of the Anthropomorphic Figurines from the Gravettian. In: Mendoza Straffon L, editor. Cultural Phylogenetics: Concepts and Applications in Archaeology. Cham: Springer International Publishing. p 179-202.Tripp AJ, and Schmidt NE. 2013. Analyzing Fertility and Attraction in the Paleolithic: The Venus Figurines. Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia 41(2):54-60.Soffer O, Adovasio JM, and Hyland DC. 2000. The Venus Figurines: Textiles, basketry, gender, and status in the Upper Paleolithic. Current Anthropology 41(4):511-537.

Positivism in the Study of Sociology

Positivism in the Study of Sociology Positivism describes an approach to the study of society that specifically utilizes scientific evidence such as experiments, statistics, and qualitative results to reveal a truth about the way society functions. It is based on the assumption that its possible to observe social life and establish reliable knowledge about its inner workings. Positivism also argues that sociology should concern itself only with what can be observed with the senses and that theories of social life should be built in a rigid, linear, and methodical way on a base of verifiable fact. Nineteenth-century French philosopher Auguste Comte developed and defined the term in his books The Course in Positive Philosophy and A General View of Positivism. He theorized that the knowledge gleaned from positivism can be used to affect the course of social change and improve the human condition. The Queen Science Initially, Comte was primarily interested in establishing theories that he could test, with the main goal of improving our world once these theories were delineated. He wanted to uncover natural laws that could be applied to society, and he believed that the natural sciences, like biology and physics, were a stepping stone in the development of social science. He believed that just as gravity is a truth in the physical world,  similar universal laws could be discovered in relation to society. Comte, along with Emile Durkheim, wanted to create a distinct new field with its own group of scientific facts. He hoped that sociology would become the queen science, one that was more important than the natural sciences that preceded it. Five Principles of Positivism Five principles make up the theory of positivism. It asserts that the logic of inquiry is identical across all branches of science; the goal of inquiry is to explain, predict, and discover; and research should be observed empirically with human senses. Positivism also maintains that science is not the same as common sense, and it should be judged by logic and remain free of values. Three Cultural Stages of Society Comte believed that society was passing through distinct stages and was then entering its third. The stages included the theological-military stage, the metaphysical-judicial stage, and the scientific-industrial society. During the theological-military stage, society held strong beliefs about supernatural beings, slavery,  and the military. The metaphysical-judicial stage saw a tremendous focus on political and legal structures that emerged as society evolved, and in the scientific-industrial stage, a positive philosophy of science was emerging due to advances in logical thinking and scientific inquiry. Positivism Today Positivism has had relatively little influence on contemporary sociology because it is said to encourage a misleading emphasis on superficial facts without any attention to underlying mechanisms that cannot be observed. Instead, sociologists understand that the study of culture is complex and requires many complex methods necessary for research. For example, by using fieldwork, researchers immerse themselves in another culture to learn about it. Modern sociologists dont embrace the version of one true vision of society as a goal for sociology like Comte did.

PABLO PICASSO, Les Demoiselles dAvignon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PABLO PICASSO, Les Demoiselles dAvignon - Essay Example Picasso made use of different shades of color to bring out harmony within the brothel. For instance, the use of the light blue color is used to bring out the light and curtain and clothing the women are using to cover their bodies. The use of color is used in bring out the differences in the way these women look and the feel of the surrounding. The dark brown colors in some of the women shoe that they are darker than other women. While, two women behind the curtains are shown to have dark faces and this shows they are indigenous women. The colors used in the painting are a hue of light brown, brown and blue colors used to bring out the features of all the five women. These colors complement each other and they are used in perfectly showing the looks of all these women. In terms of space, Picasso did a great job in reducing the space within which the subjects of the painting were placed (Apollinaire 147). The foreground, he made use of dark colors and lighter in the middle ground while at the back, dark colors were also used. The figures of the women were modeled using different hues of light with women in the foreground having light features and those in the background having dark features. The perspective that we get from the picture is that, Picasso gives an expression of women who were standing close to one another. This is because; the light and color of all the women are nearly all the same. Picasso made of straight edged lines and cube like features to show the poor state in which the women were in (Bohm-Duchen 207). The first picture that a person gets when he sees the picture is that the artist has the intention of painting a certain scene in an enclosed room. This is because Picasso does not draw the whole room and only centers on the five women in the brothel (Apollinaire 165). Moreover, Picasso made use of two dimensional figures to

Dancom in Russia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dancom in Russia - Essay Example If they had been equals, administration would not have been easy. MNCs carefully avoid behaving like overlords and expect cooperation from native workers. Western countries, who were impressively successful in imperialism, had been unable to attain same level of achievement here while dealing with cultural syndromes. The provided case study of Dancom operating from Russia is an eye-opener, a situation in crying need of cross-cultural management. Study gives importance to the Russian voices of dissent heard in a Danish company. Russian workers, especially middle managers, who are 'united against headquarters in Denmark,' do not feel loyal for their company belonging to Danes. Problem of languages, lack of frequent/meaningful communication, poor and misguided interpretation, and isolated decision making with very little trust on the integrity and cleverness of Russians are the issues nagging this company. Another complex question is of insiders and outsiders, hosting insiders and hosting outsiders. Looking from Danish angle as the company belonged to them, Russians are workers from another dense culture, that too, ex-communists. From Russian point of view, overbearing Danish company is operating from Russian soil, and this should make Russians main players. There is a major difference in planning between Danish (long term activity, hence, important) and Russians (a short immediate task, not much to be bothered about), while Russians feel that Danes should have more trust in the knowledge and experience of Russian middle managers. What brings the differences other than culture, language and working pattern and natural bias How to reduce cross-cultural conflicts It had been a major challenge to Dancom. Russians are more tuned to the 'one authority' ordering, being under Communist rule for decades and Danes, being capitalistic in their approach, are more decentralised in their handling, even though they depend mainly on themselves. Years of mutual mistrust and prejudice about the other's capability (mainly due to political propaganda fed during days of Cold War) cannot be wiped out at one go. It takes time to develop trust, respect and mutual understanding and such an effort could be made through cross-cultural management. As a solution, cross-cultural relationships should be trusted and developed. Communication and co-ordination have to be developed. It is imperative to find out how Russians perceive themselves and this might be the key to many stagnating questions. Lamenting on not having research results, Jonson and Cullen argue: "Research on trust and its role in exchange has proliferated since the 1990s. However despite the insights offered by scholars, we do not yet have a generalizable and comprehensive model of trust in exchange," Jonson and Cullen in Gannon (2002, p.335). They hope to have much more research on the dynamics of trust, culture's role in the bases and evolution of trust and on business ethics across cultures. There are issues which showcase Danish approach being different from

History of Movie Theaters in Louisiana and the Surrounding Area Essay Example for Free

History of Movie Theaters in Louisiana and the Surrounding Area Essay When we think of the history of the traditional, American movie going, a number of images come to mind: the mighty organ accompanying a movie palace’s silent-era feature, the Iconic searchlights proclaiming a Golden Age Hollywood premiere, teenagers cruising at the local drive in, an audience of otherwise sensibly attired adults wearing cardboard, and young adults carrying five dollar bills to the Cineplex at the end of the mall in order to see the latest sequel. But while these iconic, even stereotypical, images suggest something of the truth behind the American movie theater’s history, they also omit much of the social reality that has co-existed along with these instances of the mainstream filmgoing experience. While Hollywood features and first-run urban theaters may have greater single importance than any other mode of exhibition, a number of other important alternatives have fleshed out audiences’ encounters with film. One such alternative, with a fascinating yet understudied history all its own, was the Black movie house circuit that existed in the United States from (at least) 1907 until the 1970’s (Crafton 412). With the project in mind of examining the cultural, social, and economic history of Black film theaters. I will discuss in this essay the development of Black film theaters in Austin, Texas, focusing especially on that city’s longest standing and most prominent â€Å"show†, the Harlem Theater. Although movies came to the Texas capital before the turn of the century and all-movie theaters began to proliferate there during America’s post-1905 nickelodeon boom, the first recorded â€Å"colored† film theater – the Dixie-Dale – opened in Austin in 1920 under the management of Joseph Trammell. I found no other details about Trammell or the Dixie-Dale, but it is recorded that after two years the theater was renamed the Lincoln and managed by A. C. Lawson until it closed in 1928 or 1929. Austin also supported a second Black movie house in the 1920s. The Lyric, which opened in 1922, just one block east of the downtown Lincoln, was owned and operated by Dr. Everett H. Givens, a practicing dentist (with an office next door) who would become Austin’s most prominent Black civic leader from the 1930s until his death in 1962. For reasons unclear at this point, Dr. Givens’ Lyric, which changed its name to the Dunbar when A. C. Lawson took over its management in 1929, survived the Lincoln by a few years, closing in 1931. Whether the fist Black film theaters in Austin closed due to the Depression, the cost of converting to sound, or some other reason, is impossible to judge given the paucity of data available about these enterprises. However, placing the existence of the Lincoln and the Lyric in the contexts of both African American life in Austin and the concurrent national Black film theater scene enhances a historical understanding of these two houses both as business and as entertainment venues. From a national perspective, we know that the motion picture theater, with its roots in the Jim Crow era, had always been subject to racial segregation. Sometimes Black patrons were restricted to balconies or other special sections of the theater, but Black-only theaters were common in the United States from at least 1910, a year when a Black newspaper in Washington wrote matter-of-factly that â€Å"there are separate motion picture theaters among the whites and blacks in this country†(Washington Bee 4). Although at the turn of the century â€Å"there was hardly a theater for colored people in the entire United States† (Negro Yearbook, 24), by 1925, there were at least 425 Black theaters (of all types), virtually all of which offered films â€Å"in whole or part. Of these, nearly half were, like the Lyric and possibly the Lincoln, Black-owned (Negro Yearbook, 379). But ownership of Black movie houses, in contrast to the first-run, White theaters of the day, was not done by regional or national chains, nor by affiliated circuits; because houses operated independently, the dynamics of local conditions of affected theaters like the Lincoln as much as national structure did. Historically, social and economic conditions changed greatly for Austin’s Black movie houses appeared. During and after Reconstruction, Black neighborhoods had existed in several locations around Austin: Clarksville in west Austin, Kincheonville to the south, Gregoryville in East Austin, Masontown in the southeast. Horse’s Pasture and Wheatville to the north, and so on (Austin American-Statesman, D41). Compared to other towns of the time, particularly in the South, race relations were fairly calm, albeit within the practice of institutionalized racism. The town boasted â€Å"three colleges and institutions for colored people,† maintained some neighborhoods (such as Masontown) that were racially integrated among Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, and Asians, and in general obtained a reputation as a town without the major problems of racial violence that plagued most American communities. But during the ‘teens segregation patterns began to develop’ (Freeman). In 1919 a White representative of the young NAACp was beaten by a White mob in the middle of downtown, and in the 1920s â€Å"the city of Austin created a ‘Negro district’ in East Austin†¦ inducing blacks to move there† by implementing though zoning laws elsewhere (Austin American-Statesman, D41). So it was that the majority of Austin’s African American population (which has consistently remained at just below 20 percent of Austin’s total) became concentrated in an area east of downtown and between 12th Street to the north and 7th Street to the south. Not surprisingly, then, both of Austin’s silent-era Black theaters were built on East 6th Street, near the racial dividing line of East Avenue, within the only downtown shopping and dining district that served Black patrons, yet away from the White theater district on the city’s main thoroughfare of Congress Avenue. I could uncover little information, however, that would indicate the nature or reception of these early movie houses. Longtime Austin resident I. C. Jones recalled visiting the Lincoln as a child, where he remembers a piano player accompanying the motion picture entertainment. Lonnie Bell, who wrote for the Black press in Austin for 50 years, indicates that in the 1920s both the Lyric and the â€Å"Lawson Lincoln Theater† were among the very few venues for Black entertainment in the city and so â€Å"did well before the Great Depression in ’29. † (10)Other information about Everett Givens also indicates that he made the Lyric/Dunbar into a focal point for the Black community, viewing the theater as a civic improvement projects as much as a business investment. Flachmeier 32) That these two movie houses were well received an supported by the Black community can also be inferred from the fact that a 1940 account of Austin history prepared by students at Tiltson College (a Black institution) referred to the era of 1905 to 1929 as a time when â€Å"privately owned amusement centers were developed† by Blacks – even though no other Black amusements of second were instituted during this period (Brewer 34). As I mentioned earlier , the cause for these theaters’ demise cannot be established absolutely, but several factors undoubtedly offer reasonable explanations. Bell’s assertion that it was the economic devastation of the Depression that closed the Lincoln and Dunbar makes logical economic sense. Black theater owners, like even the big-time operators, would have been hit hard as the US economy collapsed. Moreover, inasmuch as movie tickets are purchased with â€Å"disposable† income, Black patrons would have been especially likely to curtail their moviegoing since even before the Depression Blacks in Austin earned only one-half the wage of White workers. More specifically, both houses in Austin would have found it even more difficult to cope with the hard times if they attempted to make the costly transition to sound technology in the late twenties or early thirties. The Dallas Film Board o Trade’s statistics on Texas theaters indicate that many theaters, especially independently operated ones, closed in the early thirties, having no sound. (In Austin, two of the five White houses, the Crescent and Star, also went out of business in 1929 to 1931. Furthermore, one-third of Texas’ 30 â€Å"colored theaters† were listed as â€Å"closed, no sound† by the mid-1930s. Other factors may have led to the closure of the Lincoln and Dunbar, but, given the theaters’ dependence on the patron-age of a small, economically marginalized population, in the midst of a severe depression their failure is not surprising. But the history of Black film theaters in Austin did not end with the closing of the Dunbar in 1931. In that same year, real estate was purchased and construction begun on a new movie house that would serve as the hub of Black filmgoing in Austin for the next 40 years. The Harlem Theater, which opened on October 5, 1935 (Green 9), distinguished itself from the earlier theaters – and all subsequent ones – by being located in the heart of East Austin, at 1800 E. 12 Street, where it could better attract Black moviegoers. However, before discussing the reasons for the Harlem’s longevity, I point out that although it was Austin’s only exclusively Black theater, it was not without its competitor for Black audiences. All accounts of Austin in the 1930s and forties agree that the Ritz Theater was the only other house that admitted Black patrons on a regular basis, though customers there were limited to balcony seating and made to use a separate entrance. The Ritz, located on the same block of East 6th street where the Lincoln operated, opened in 1930 under White management, showing a variety of second-run Hollywood films. Manager J. J. Hegman (and his son after him) maintained the segregated seating policy until the Ritz’s closing in the early 1960s. More prominent Austin houses, such as those first-run members of the prestigious Interstate Theater Fircuit (the Paramount, Texas, State and Queen), advertised â€Å"colored midnight shows† from time to time as part of the chain’s overall marketing scheme (1942 Yearbook). Thus, while there was some competition for the Black filmgoing audience, segregated, White-managed theaters did not attempt to offer African Americans the filmgoing experience and environment of an all-Black house like the Harlem; however, the Ritz balcony and special events at other White movie establishments did continue to cultivate and maintain Black filmgoing in the Depression, when no Black Austin theaters were open. Harlem were filled by Black employees with the single exception of the projectionists. But for a small neighborhood theater like the Harlem, any sort of product differentiation whether it was with films, live acts, or ambience would have failed to produce enough box offices for the theater’s survival. As with any theater, the bulk of the profit came not from fifteen and twenty-five cent admissions, but from concessions. On this count, the Harlem again distinguished itself as unique among Austin theaters. In addition to the usual popcorn, candy and soft drink sales, the Harlem Theater operated a confectionery. When the Harlem opened in the midst of America’s Depression in late 1935, the theater soon established itself as one of Austin’s most visible and stable Black-owned businesses. In film industry terms, the Harlem’s success was small. With only 14,000 African American residents in 1935, Austin’s marketplace for Black films was extremely limited, and the theater never expanded nor led to a chain of others. But, through a combination of strategic location, product differentiation, managerial conservatism, and diversification, the Harlem Theater was able to become a profitable local business in the midst of an industry whose structure tended to favor national giants. Like the Lyric before it, the Harlem was established by a middle-class, Black Austin native who had been educated at Tillotson College and operated successfully in other local business before embarking on a risky career in the amusement industry. But George F. Jones, who was already in his forties when he opened the Harlem, also had some experience in programming films for Black audiences. His older brother Evie had purchased an Edison projector in the ‘teens and traveled to tent shows in the South and Black churches in Philadelphia showing â€Å"church movies† (that is, filmed passion plays) to all-Black audiences. After college, five years as a postal clerk, and ten years as a bookkeeper. George F.  Jones himself had worked as the head of Prairie View, Texas’ Auditorium (a film theater) while employed as a clerk at Prairie View State College (1925-35) (Brewer 7). With his wife, Sadie, a Prairie View graduate and educator, Jones was active in the Austin real estate market and their â€Å"co-partnership† became known for â€Å"accumulating valuable real estate holdings. † For the last two decades of his life Jones devoted most of his efforts to managing the Harlem, setting up residence next door to the corner theater upon his return to Austin from Prairie View. While his establishment may not have been unique for its time (there were more than three or four hundred Black theaters in the country), the Harlem was remarkable for being only one of seven US theaters owned and operated by Blacks (The Early Days in East Austin, D42). As an experienced theater manager, real estate buyer, and member of Austin’s African American community. George Jones no doubt realized the importance of the theater’s strategic location in determining its success at attracting movegoers. East 12th Street was essentially the Main Street of East Austin (Early Days in East Austin, D42). The area around the Harlem represented a microcosm of African American life: it was both a quiet neighborhood of residences, churches, grocers, drug stores beauty shops, and cafes, and a place to be â€Å"going up on the cuts† – a street where the action and entertainment were, in the form of taverns, beer joints, and (a block away) the Cotton Club and Paradise Inn for music and dancing. The Harlem was also part of â€Å"The End,† that area around 12th and Chicon Streets (one block away) where Austin’s streetcars, until their cessation in 1940, stopped and turned back toward downtown. In essence, those factors which determined that White theaters were centrally located along Congers Avenue – transportation proximity, pedestrian traffic, shopping convenience, high visibility – similarly made East 12th the choice location for a successful Black movie house.

John Donnes Unusual Conceits: Bizarre Imagery or Thoughtful Comparisons? :: Biography Biographies Essays

John Donne's Unusual Conceits: Bizarre Imagery or Thoughtful Comparisons?      Ã‚  Ã‚   What exactly do a flea and the intense emotion of love have in common?   Does the sun ever intrude upon you and your lover while in bed?   To most people these questions would draw nothing but quizzical or blank stares followed by perhaps a referral to one psychologist or another.   However, if one asked a certain young minister from seventeenth century London the same questions, he would have suddenly become inspired.   This exceptional personality was the metaphysical poet John Donne.    Many people debate whether Donne's metaphysical style of verse is genuinely contemplative comparison or merely eccentric imagery.   However, if one looks deep enough into the witty his witty works such as, "The Sun Rising," or "The Flea," they will find evidence to support both views.   It has been said of Donne's love poetry that it was "losing itself at times in the fantastic and absurd" (Grierson 25).   By using his unusual conceits, or far-fetched metaphors, John Donne utilizes his remarkable ability to draw a wistful sigh of love from any reader while shocking and twisting brain cells at the same time.   It is this innovative method of combining such passion and great intellect that entices poets like T. S.   Eliot to imitate him and others like Samuel Johnson to criticize him.    One example of John Donne's words coming off as a thoughtful and indeed intriguing comparison is presented in "The Sun Rising. "   In this composition, Donne proclaims in a conceit, " She is all states, and all princes, I, Nothing else is" (Line 21-22).  Ã‚   By this he is so boldly declaring that he and his own love are the center of the universe and all that is important (Carey 109).   He goes on to tell the "unruly sun," "This bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere" (Line 30).   By these lines we can see that Donne is portraying love as an all-empowering emotion.   He is telling us that being in love signifies a completeness, an obsession that makes all else negligible.      When the speaker asserts to the sun, "If her eyes have not blinded thine; Look, and tomorrow late, tell me, Whether both the Indias of spice and mine Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me," (Line 15-18), he is masterfully showing both his loves' superiority and the sun's inferiority. John Donne's Unusual Conceits: Bizarre Imagery or Thoughtful Comparisons? :: Biography Biographies Essays John Donne's Unusual Conceits: Bizarre Imagery or Thoughtful Comparisons?      Ã‚  Ã‚   What exactly do a flea and the intense emotion of love have in common?   Does the sun ever intrude upon you and your lover while in bed?   To most people these questions would draw nothing but quizzical or blank stares followed by perhaps a referral to one psychologist or another.   However, if one asked a certain young minister from seventeenth century London the same questions, he would have suddenly become inspired.   This exceptional personality was the metaphysical poet John Donne.    Many people debate whether Donne's metaphysical style of verse is genuinely contemplative comparison or merely eccentric imagery.   However, if one looks deep enough into the witty his witty works such as, "The Sun Rising," or "The Flea," they will find evidence to support both views.   It has been said of Donne's love poetry that it was "losing itself at times in the fantastic and absurd" (Grierson 25).   By using his unusual conceits, or far-fetched metaphors, John Donne utilizes his remarkable ability to draw a wistful sigh of love from any reader while shocking and twisting brain cells at the same time.   It is this innovative method of combining such passion and great intellect that entices poets like T. S.   Eliot to imitate him and others like Samuel Johnson to criticize him.    One example of John Donne's words coming off as a thoughtful and indeed intriguing comparison is presented in "The Sun Rising. "   In this composition, Donne proclaims in a conceit, " She is all states, and all princes, I, Nothing else is" (Line 21-22).  Ã‚   By this he is so boldly declaring that he and his own love are the center of the universe and all that is important (Carey 109).   He goes on to tell the "unruly sun," "This bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere" (Line 30).   By these lines we can see that Donne is portraying love as an all-empowering emotion.   He is telling us that being in love signifies a completeness, an obsession that makes all else negligible.      When the speaker asserts to the sun, "If her eyes have not blinded thine; Look, and tomorrow late, tell me, Whether both the Indias of spice and mine Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me," (Line 15-18), he is masterfully showing both his loves' superiority and the sun's inferiority.

Analyzing Strengths and Weaknesses of Amazon

Strengths Amazon has proven to be a successful and profitable organization in terms of growth, with a current net income in 2008 of 663 million dollars. The company uses Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Information Technology to record customer buying habits, investing a lot of time and money researching customer trends. Doing this they are able to locate and prepare for sales estimated from previous years. A high percentage of their customers buy during the holiday season; knowing this enables Amazon to offer different promotions and selling strategies tailored to meet the customers demand and needs. Amazon has a huge global brand and is listed as 130 on the Fortune 500 list. Amazon was one of the first companies in e-commerce; which has allowed them to hold a huge percentage of the market share. Amazon recently bought JOYO, Chin’s largest online retailer, creating an even bigger market share in China, but still left with room to grow. Amazon’s Inventory turnover rate is phenomenal, even in the current economy. They have been able to maintain a 34 day inventory to turn over, which equals out to over 10 times a year. This is beneficial, because it allows Amazon to adjust to seasonal products and different product trends, without large amounts of excess inventory. Adding to that; Amazon’s total debt has been decreasing year over to a low of $. 67 in 2008. This means that for every $1 Amazon has $. 7 in debt. This has been declining signaling company growth. Weaknesses Amazon has continually added new products and services to customers; and is known for their great customer service and quality products. Something for them to consider is, when adding new products or categories of products, they could damage its brand. In order to be competitive with other companies Amazon has to broaden the range of products, but cannot become a swap meet either.

Existentialism and Metamorphosis Essay

Existentialism is defined as a modern philosophical movement stressing the importance of one’s experience and accountability. Its focus is the make on the personal reflections that these make on the individual, who is seen as a free agent in a deterministic and seemingly meaningless universe. Its philosophy is meticulous that, in a nutshell, advocates a diverse arsenal of responses and solutions to the ‘existentialist attitude’; which, essentially, is what an individual feels when confronted by the absurdity of life. Throughout humanity, rumination and self-proclaimed ‘ultimate’ truths have assumed various forms: poetry, religion, and numerous other doctrines and textual works. In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka narrates the ramifications of a metamorphosis in which the subject and protagonist, a man named Gregor Samsa, is transformed into a bug. Despite the novella’s literary methods and influences, the most prominent being the way Kafka so nonchalantly describes such irregularity in his life, The Metamorphosis is also hailed as a prime textual work of existentialism, the previously mentioned philosophical movement. Both prior and subsequent to the transformation, Kafka portrays Gregor as a man who seems lost within himself, and lacking identity. The reminiscences of his past are neither nostalgic nor poignant: his human life is seen to revolve solely around trivial matters. His social life pays the price from this, his failure to assert a concrete and consistent existence. The extent of his lack of individuality is further exemplified by his reaction to the metamorphosis: finding himself â€Å"transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect† (K afka, 296), he prioritizes work over all else, even in his newly equated insect form. Furthermore, he panics because â€Å"the next train went at seven o’clock; to catch that he would need to hurry like mad and his samples weren’t even packed up† (297). Gregor’s identity crisis is a device for conveying Kafka’s belief of an impersonal society where individualism is drastically mitigated as a result of excessive materialism. Gregor, in the context of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Notes from Underground analogy, would be the ‘ant’ in the anthill— thus rendering his metamorphosis ironically. Another dominant theme prevalent throughout the novella is the absurd situation Gregor is confronted by. These nonsensical happenings (296-327) reflect the world as seen from the existentialist perspective: a world absent of a rational and comprehensive objective. Jean-Paul Sartre postulated that ‘every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness, and dies by chance’. This meaninglessness is precisely what Gregor is victim to in the microcosm of society that Kafka generates: Gregor flounders about, beleaguered by absurdity and helplessness, presumably because he is unaware of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard’s somewhat consoling conclusions that one must devise meaning for one’s own existence ex nihilo. Once again, Kafka utilizes a combination of plot and character to convey his angst concerning an apparently pointless existence. Freedom— or rather the lack thereof— is another existentialist tenet that Kafka addresses. Gregor is depicted as someone constrained by self-imposed burdens, the most demanding being the role as the financial pillar of the family. Despite having the freedom to repudiate this role, Gregor instead pursues it with feverish ardor to the extent that it becomes his ‘sole desire’ (310). Yet his harangue regarding his career (297-298) reveals that this is not due to personal desire, but rather the belief that he must replace his father financially, regardless of preference. Gregor’s delusion regarding an absence of choice contradicts what Kafka perceives as the truth: that freedom is ubiquitous in spite of any ethical obligations we may be expected to adhere to, and that the individual defines his or herself via one’s decisions. A quasi-motto of existentialism coined by Sartre, ‘existence precedes essence’. In conclusion, Kafka employs the fictional literary elements he constructs to address the very non-fictional, existentialist aspects of society and life. Akin to Dostoyevsky’s Notes from Underground, it can be interpreted as both a rumination and tirade against impersonal communities, restriction of freedom, and the absurdity of life.

Ochre - The Oldest Known Natural Pigment in the World

Ochre - The Oldest Known Natural Pigment in the World Ochre (rarely spelled ocher and often referred to as yellow ochre) is one of a variety of forms of iron oxide which are described as earth-based pigments. These pigments, used by ancient and modern artists, are made of iron oxyhydroxide, which is to say they are natural minerals and compounds composed of varying proportions of iron (Fe3 or Fe2), oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H). Other natural forms of earth pigments related to ochre include sienna, which is similar to yellow ochre but warmer in color and more translucent; and umber, which has goethite as its primary component and incorporates various levels of manganese. Red oxides or red ochres are hematite-rich forms of yellow ochres, commonly formed from aerobic natural weathering of iron-bearing minerals. Prehistoric and Historic Uses Natural iron-rich oxides provided red-yellow-brown paints and dyes for a wide range of prehistoric uses, including but in no way limited to rock art paintings, pottery, wall paintings and cave art, and human tattoos. Ochre is the earliest known pigment used by humans to paint our worldperhaps as long ago as 300,000 years. Other documented or implied uses are as medicines, as a preservative agent for animal hide preparation, and as a ​loading agent for adhesives (called  mastics). Ochre is often associated with human burials: for example, the Upper Paleolithic cave site of Arene Candide has an early use of ochre at a burial of a young man 23,500 years ago. The site of Paviland Cave in the UK, dated to about the same time, had a burial so soaked in red ochre he was (somewhat mistakenly) called the Red Lady. Natural Earth Pigments Before the 18th and 19th century, most pigments used by artists were of natural origin, made up of mixtures of organic dyes, resins, waxes, and minerals. Natural earth pigments like ochres consist of three parts: the principle color-producing component (hydrous or anhydrous iron oxide), the secondary or modifying color component (manganese oxides within umbers or carbonaceous material within brown or black pigments) and the base or carrier of the color (almost always clay, the weathered product of silicate rocks). Ochre is thought generally to be red, but in fact is a naturally-occurring yellow mineral pigment, consisting of clay, siliceous materials and the hydrated form of iron oxide known as limonite. Limonite is a general term referring to all forms of hydrated iron oxide, including goethite, which is the fundamental component of the ochre earths. Getting Red from Yellow Ochre contains a minimum of 12% iron oxyhydroxide, but the amount can range up to 30% or more, giving rise to the wide range of colors from light yellow to red and brown. The intensity of color depends on the degree of oxidation and hydration of the iron oxides, and the color becomes browner depending on the percentage of manganese dioxide, and redder based on the percentage of hematite. Since ochre is sensitive to oxidation and hydration, the yellow can be turned red by heating goethite (FeOOH) bearing pigments in yellow earth and converting some of it to hematite. Exposing yellow goethite to temperatures above 300 degrees Celcius will gradually dehydrate the mineral, converting it first to orange-yellow and then red as hematite is produced. Evidence of heat-treatment of ochre dates at least as early as the Middle Stone Age deposits in Blombos cave, South Africa. How Old Is Ochre Use? Ochre is very common on archaeological sites worldwide. Certainly, Upper Paleolithic cave art in Europe and Australia contain the generous use of the mineral: but ochre use is much older. The earliest possible use of ochre discovered so far is from a Homo erectus site about 285,000 years old. At the site called GnJh-03 in the Kapthurin formation of Kenya, a total of five kilograms (11 pounds) of ochre in more than 70 pieces was discovered. By 250,000-200,000 years ago, Neanderthals were using ochre, at the Maastricht Belvà ©dà ¨re site in The Netherlands (Roebroeks) and the Benzu rock shelter in Spain. Ochre and Human Evolution Ochre was part of the first art of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) phase in Africa called Howiesons Poort. The early modern human assemblages of 100,000-year-old MSA sites including Blombos Cave and Klein Kliphuis in South Africa have been found to include examples of engraved ochre, slabs of ochre with carved patterns deliberately cut into the surface. Spanish paleontologist Carlos Duarte (2014) has even suggested that using red ochre as a pigment in tattoos (and otherwise ingested) may have had a role in human evolution, as it would have been a source of iron directly to the human brain, perhaps making us smarter. The presence of ochre mixed with milk proteins on an artifact from a 49,000-year-old MSA level at Sibudu cave in South Africa is suggested to have been used to make the ochre liquid, probably by killing a lactating bovid (Villa 2015). Identifying the Sources The yellow-red-brown ochre pigments used in paintings and dyes are often a mixture of mineral elements, both in their natural state and as a result of deliberate mixing by the artist. Much of recent research on ochre and its natural earth relatives has been focused on identifying the specific elements of a pigment used in a particular paint or dye. Determining what a pigment is made up of allows the archaeologist to find out the source where the paint was mined or collected, which could provide information about long-distance trade. Mineral analysis helps in conservation and restoration practices; and in modern art studies, assists in the technical examination for authentication, identification of a specific artist, or the objective description of an artists techniques. Such analyses have been difficult in the past because older techniques required the destruction of some of the paint fragments. More recently, studies that use microscopic amounts of paint or even completely non-invasive studies such as various types of spectrometry, digital microscopy, x-ray fluorescence, spectral reflectance, and x-ray diffraction have been used successfully to split out the minerals used, and determine the type and treatment of the pigment. Sources Bu K, Cizdziel JV, and Russ J. 2013. The Source of Iron-Oxide Pigments Used in Pecos River Style Rock Paints. Archaeometry 55(6):1088-1100.Buti D, Domenici D, Miliani C, Garcà ­a Siz C, Gà ³mez Espinoza T, Jà ­menez Villalba F, Verde Casanova A, Sabà ­a de la Mata A, Romani A, Presciutti F et al. 2014. Non-invasive investigation of a pre-Hispanic Maya screenfold book: the Madrid Codex. Journal of Archaeological Science 42(0):166-178.Cloutis E, MacKay A, Norman L, and Goltz D. 2016. Identification of historic artists pigments using spectral reflectance and X-ray diffraction properties I. Iron oxide and oxy-hydroxide-rich pigments. Journal of Near Infrared Spectroscopy 24(1):27-45.Dayet L, Le Bourdonnec FX, Daniel F, Porraz G, and Texier PJ. 2015. Ochre Provenance and Procurement Strategies During The Middle Stone Age at Diepkloof Rock Shelter, South Africa. Archaeometry:n/a-n/a.Dayet L, Texier PJ, Daniel F, and Porraz G. 2013. Ochre resources from the Middle Stone Age sequence of Diepkloof Rock Shelter, Western Cape, South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science 40(9):3492-3505. Duarte CM. 2014. Red ochre and shells: clues to human evolution. Trends in Ecology Evolution 29(10):560-565.Eiselt BS, Popelka-Filcoff RS, Darling JA, and Glascock MD. 2011. Hematite sources and archaeological ochres from Hohokam and O’odham sites in central Arizona: an experiment in type identification and characterization. Journal of Archaeological Science 38(11):3019-3028.Erdogu B, and Ulubey A. 2011. Colour symbolism in the prehistoric architecture of central Anatolia and Raman Spectroscopic Investigation of red ochre in Chalcolithic Çatalhà ¶yà ¼k. Oxford Journal Of Archaeology 30(1):1-11.Henshilwood C, DErrico F, Van Niekerk K, Coquinot Y, Jacobs Z, Lauritzen S-E, Menu M, and Garcia-Moreno R. 2011. A 100,000-Year-Old Ochre-Processing Workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Science 334:219-222.Moyo S, Mphuthi D, Cukrowska E, Henshilwood CS, van Niekerk K, and Chimuka L. 2016. Blombos Cave: Middle Stone Age ochre differentiation through FTIR, ICP OES, ED XRF and XRD . Quaternary International 404, Part B:20-29. Rifkin RF. 2012. Processing ochre in the Middle Stone Age: Testing the inference of prehistoric behaviours from actualistically derived experimental data. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31(2):174-195.Roebroeks W, Sier MJ, Kellberg Nielsen T, De Loecker D, Pares JM, Arps CES, and Mucher HJ. 2012. Use of red ochre by early Neandertals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109(6):1889-1894.Villa P, Pollarolo L, Degano I, Birolo L, Pasero M, Biagioni C, Douka K, Vinciguerra R, Lucejko JJ, and Wadley L. 2015. A Milk and Ochre Paint Mixture Used 49,000 Years Ago at Sibudu, South Africa. PLoS ONE 10(6):e0131273.

Roy Cohn, Lawyer Whose Attacks Made Him Famous, Feared

Roy Cohn, Lawyer Whose Attacks Made Him Famous, Feared Roy Cohn was a highly controversial attorney who became nationally famous while in his twenties, when he became a prominent aide of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Cohns highly publicized pursuit of suspected communists was marked by bravado and recklessness  and he was widely criticized for unethical behavior. His stint working for McCarthys Senate committee in the early 1950s ended disastrously within 18 months, yet Cohn would remain a public figure as a lawyer in New York City until his death in 1986. As a litigator, Cohn reveled in his reputation for being extraordinarily belligerent. He represented a host of notorious clients, and his own ethical transgressions would result in his own eventual disbarment. Apart from his widely publicized  legal battles, he made himself a fixture of gossip columns. He often appeared at society events and even becoming a regular patron at the classic 1970s celebrity hangout, the disco Studio 54. Rumors about Cohns sexuality circulated for years, and he always denied he was gay. When he became seriously ill in the 1980s, he denied having AIDS. His influence in American life persists. One of his most prominent clients, Donald Trump, is credited with adopting Cohns strategic advice to never admit a mistake, always staying on the attack, and always claiming victory in the press. Early Life Roy Marcus Cohn was born February 20, 1927, in the Bronx, New York. His father was a judge and his mother was a member of a wealthy and powerful family. As a child, Cohn exhibited unusual intelligence and he attended prestigious private schools. Cohn met a number of politically powerful people growing up, and he became obsessed with how deals were struck in New York City courthouses and law firm offices. According to one account, while still a high school student he helped a family friend obtain an FCC license to operate a radio station by arranging a kickback to an FCC official. He was also said to have fixed parking tickets for one of his high school teachers. After sailing through high school, Cohn managed to avoid being drafted at the end of World War II. He entered Columbia University, finishing early, and managed to graduate from Columbias law school at the age of 19. He had to wait until he turned 21 to become a member of the bar. As a young lawyer, Cohn worked as an assistant district attorney. He crafted a reputation as an investigator by exaggerating cases he worked on to obtain glowing press coverage. In 1951 he served on the team that prosecuted the Rosenberg spy case, and he later claimed to have influenced the judge to impose the death penalty on the convicted couple. Early Fame After gaining some fame through his connection to the Rosenberg case, Cohn began to work as an investigator for the federal government. Fixated on discovering subversives in America, Cohn, while working at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. in 1952, tried to prosecute a professor at Johns Hopkins University, Owen Lattimore. Cohn alleged Lattimore had lied to investigators about having communist sympathies. At the beginning of 1953, Cohn got his big break. Senator Joseph McCarthy, who was at the height of his own search for communists in Washington, hired Cohn as chief counsel of the Senates Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. As McCarthy continued his anti-communist crusade, Cohn was at his side, taunting and threatening witnesses. But Cohns personal obsession with a friend, wealthy Harvard graduate G. David Schine, soon created its own enormous controversy. When he joined McCarthys committee, Cohn brought along Schine, hiring him as an investigator. The two young men visited Europe together, ostensibly on official business to investigate potential subversive activities in American institutions overseas. When Schine was called up to active duty in the U.S. Army, Cohn began trying to pull strings to get him out of his military obligations. The tactics he learned in a Bronx courthouse did not play well   in Washingtons corridors of power, and a gigantic confrontation erupted between McCarthys committee and the Army. The Army hired a Boston attorney, Joseph Welch, to defend it against attacks by McCarthy. In televised hearings, after a series of unethical insinuations by McCarthy, Welch delivered a rebuke which became legendary: Have you no sense of decency? The Army-McCarthy hearings exposed McCarthys recklessness  and hastened the end of his career. Roy Cohns career in federal service was also ended amidst rumors about his relationship with David Schine. (Schine and Cohn were apparently not lovers, though Cohn seemed to have an obsessive admiration for Schine). Cohn returned to New York and began a private law practice. Decades of Controversy Becoming known as a ferocious litigator, Cohn enjoyed success not so much for brilliant legal strategy but for his ability to threaten and bully opponents. His opponents would often settle cases rather than risk the onslaught they knew Cohn would unleash. He represented wealthy people in divorce cases and mobsters being targeted by the federal government. During his legal career he was often criticized for ethical transgressions. All the while he would call gossip columnists and seek publicity for himself. He moved in society circles in New York, as rumors about his sexuality swirled. In 1973 he met Donald Trump at a Manhattan private club. At the time, the business run by Trumps father was being sued by the federal government for housing discrimination. Cohn was hired by the Trumps to fight the case, and he did so with his usual fireworks. Cohn called a press conference to announce that the Trumps would be suing the federal government for defamation. The lawsuit was merely a threat, but it set the tone for Cohns defense. Trumps company skirmished with the government before finally settling the lawsuit. The Trumps agreed to government terms which ensured they couldnt discriminate against minority tenants. But they were able to avoid admitting guilt. Decades later, Trump skirted questions about the case by proudly asserting that he had never admitted guilt. Cohns strategy of always counter-attacking and then, no matter the outcome, claiming victory in the press, made an impression on his client. According to an article in the New York Times on June, 20, 2016, during the presidential campaign, Trump absorbed important lessons:   Decades later, Mr. Cohn’s influence on Mr. Trump is unmistakable. Mr. Trump’s wrecking ball of a presidential bid - the gleeful smearing of his opponents, the embracing of bluster as brand - has been a Roy Cohn number on a grand scale. Final Decline Cohn was prosecuted several times, and according to his obituary in the New York Times, he was acquitted three times in federal court on various charges including bribery, conspiracy, and fraud. Cohn always maintained he was the victim of vendettas by enemies ranging from Robert F. Kennedy to Robert Morgenthau, who served as Manhattans district attorney. His own legal problems did little to harm his own law practice. He represented celebrities and famous institutions, ranging from Mafia bosses Carmine Galante and Anthony Fat Tony Salerno to the Catholic Archdiocese of New York. At his 1983 birthday party, the New York Times reported attendees included Andy Warhol, Calvin Klein, former New York mayor Abraham Beame, and conservative activist Richard Viguerie. At social functions, Cohn would mingle with friends and acquaintances including Normal Mailer, Rupert Murdoch, William F. Buckley, Barbara Walters, and a variety of political figures. Cohn was active in conservative political circles. And it was through his association with Cohn that Donald Trump, during Ronald Reagans 1980 presidential campaign,  met Roger Stone and Paul Manafort, who later became political advisers to Trump as he ran for president. In the 1980s, Cohn was accused of defrauding clients by the New York State Bar. He was disbarred in June 1986.   By the time of his disbarment, Cohn was dying of AIDS, which at the time was considered a gay disease. He denied the diagnosis, claiming in newspaper interviews that he was suffering from liver cancer. He died at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where he was being treated, on August 2, 1986. His obituary in the New York Times noted that his death certificate indicated that he had indeed died of AIDS related complications.

High Speed Rail in United States Research Paper

High Speed Rail in United States - Research Paper Example The commitment of the USA government in the developing of high speed rail is captured in the recent speech by president Obama that: â€Å"We want to start looking deep into the 21st century and say to ourselves, There is no reason why other countries can build high-speed rail lines and we cant", Right here in Tampa we’re building the future’’ (Walsh, 2010)   "Building a world class transportation system is part of what made us an economic superpower."  Ã‚  "And now we're going to sit back and watch China build newer airports and faster railroads - at a time when millions of unemployed construction workers could build them right here in America." (US High-Speed Rail Association, 2011)  Ã‚  The above speeches by President Obama called for the creation of a high-speed rail so as to enhance economic productivity. According to Walsh (2010), on Thursday, January 28, 2010, the White House announced that it was to award $8 billion in efforts to stimulate the start ing of high-speed rail projects and improve 13 other corridors across the USA. President Obama and his deputy president Joe Biden traveled to Tampa, Florida in their campaign to announce the kicking off an 84-mile high-speed track project from Tampa to Orlando.  High-speed Rails brings about economic development creates employment and brings changes in land uses which are beneficial. nationalatlas.gov (2011) observes that Freight railroads are important for global competitiveness and the economic well-being of United States.