Jazz Essay Example for Free

Jazz Essay Raised in a home where melodies are often played in the instruments we have or even just hummed by a family member while doing chores, I have grown to love pieces of music especially opera, orchestra and the classics. So when my friends, who are musicians themselves, invited me to one of the performances of a jazz band during the celebration of the University’s anniversary last July 9 at The Technopark, I was feeling rather apprehensive. It is not as what you would expect my genre of choice. I have always typified this particular field as an African-American influenced rhythmic and instrumental form of music. My ears were almost involuntarily programmed to have an distaste to these tunes. But since they started to play, I forgot my earlier impression because I was already enjoying the concert. Savoring the pleasure of listening to the upbeat of jazz music, I was jazzed up and entirely enthralled with the soulful performance of the Jazz Ensemble. In the hands of trumpeter Roy Barja, trombonist Marko Geron, bassist Jeff Flores and saxophonist Brad Cruz, the contrivances took on a unique character, and one whose ebullience can hardly be contained. The ensemble started with a bang of Jazz Story playing different types of jazz music that evolved within the through time until the modern jazz of today. Then, the members of Jazz Ensemble played classics like Victor Young’s â€Å"When I Fall in Love†, George Gershwin’s â€Å"Someone to Watch Over Me† and â€Å"Pink Panther†. With the variety of instruments involved, lush harmonies and textures satiated my ears’ desire for excellent sounds. Each artist had a chance for a nippy glare of publicity. He would play short melodic fragments meant to be repeated by a section of the band with growing passion. They masterfully serenaded and entertained the audience through vocalist Mara Duran who did vocals on â€Å"Orange-colored Sky† and â€Å"It had to be You†. The group kept the crowd swaying and crooning on our seats in time with the beat. Jazz took my heart out from the first notes that had drifted from the instruments up until the faintest tune that was whispered by the wind. That night, I closed my eyes with a trace of smile upon my lips as I hum a segment from the song Love is Here to Stay.

Police and Abuse :: essays research papers

POLICE AND ABUSE When discussing police efforts and juvenile delinquency one can only imagine the difficulty officers encounter while performing their primary duty which is to protect the public. But how can or does one (officer) efficiently protect the community while preserving the rights of the juvenile criminals as well. We as a public have become more and more aware everyday of how hard it is for the police to work effectively, but now we are faced with a larger dilemma. The juvenile justice system was enacted to help juveniles who commit crimes learn from their mistakes or actions and to make them better citizens for our communities. The dilemma we face is having a criminal justice system that wants criminals to pay for their actions and a juvenile justice system that wants to help those who commit crimes. And who do we have in the middle of these two remarkable systems†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the police. The concept of proper policing has changed over the years and has incorporated the assistance of concerned citizens. We are leaving the crime fighting to the communities for policing. No we’re not deputizing communities, but we are involving those concerned citizens who see the downfall of not being involved anymore. We are no longer crime fighters, but we maintain order and discipline. We are not necessarily here just to stop an armed bank robbery in progress, but we are more visible in the community whereas this acts as a deterrent to commit most crimes in communities. And we let the members of the community know we are accessible at all times to be the deterrent or visible whenever they should need us. POLICE AND ABUSE Since officers cannot treat juveniles in the same manner as adults the idea of community policing is the greatest tool conceived. Imagine a community who is involved in every child’s life that when this particular child misbehaves in any way members of the community are the first responders and handle this situation without police involvement. Dream on I know, but when we are discussing juveniles and police officers I often believe we are too late in rehabilitating a child. Let’s look at a simple statistic of juvenile arrests in our nation: 1. 500 juveniles are arrested. 2. Of them 320 are referred to juvenile court. 3. 140 are informally handled and released. 4. 25 referred to criminal court. 5. 10 are referred to welfare. 6. 5 are referred to other police department agencies.

Cultural Theory Essay

Culture is an essential component for human development. Culture cannot be evaded from and its implications are of importance to the human life. In this study, I shall address the aspects of culture as presented in sculptures. A distinct sculpture will be identified and well analyzed in respect to its cultural impact to the entire human life growth and development. It will involve the contribution the cultural entities have and how culture is perceived by man. The impact of cultural change in line with the sculpture will be addressed. In this case, the sculpture in limelight was done back in 1927 and it represents a figure of a floating woman. This is an indication of the cultural aspect of gender and male chauvinism. It was assessed and described on the basis of its nature, cultural values and the overall importance. Gender sensitivity has been on the light in the current society and the sculpture assisted in analyzing the context today. In order to conceptualize this concept, let analyze the sculpture of a floating woman by Gaston Lachaise in 1927. Consider the sculpture below: Source: NGA, 2013 In regards to this sculpture, the cultural theory indicated that the issue of gender sensitivity is of much age in the society. Male chauvinism and the act of feminism have dominated the social life. As depicted in the above sculpture, the female gender had been of intimidation and not usually accorded the desired respect as social being. Exposing the female body in this sculpture shows how culture had being portraying women as the ‘object’ deserved only to perform only feminist roles assigned by the society. Essentially, this sculpture has been used in this study to depict the cultural aspects of gender disparity. The culture of the society entails artistic forms and practices and thus, the sculpture has been modeled in order to expose a cultural practice in the society. The beliefs and values that prevail in society are well represented. The culture theory represents the practices and roles of people within the society (Anderson, 2008, p. Xv). The cultural theory as Johnson (2009) surfaced from the mounting identification of the â€Å"ideological underpinnings of putative scholarly ‘objectivity’† (p. 1). The introduction of the cultural theory was necessitated by a massive swing which shifted the idea of culture in the society. The study seeks to unravel and explain why the society is conflicting over the entire risk coupled. In congruence with the sculpture, changes that have occurred to sculpture and indication that the aspects of gender and cultural values have also changed from the former tradition approach to the current modernization approach. Essentially, the culture existent in the society in which this sculpture was modeled values the different aspects which have been addressed in cultural theory specifically the aspects of gender and esthetics. The sculpture is depictive of the female gender as being more passive in the society in performing the most essentials roles in the society. This forms the basis of the beliefs that people in the society have regarding the gender are part of the culture of the society (Anderson, 2008, p. Xvi). Culture theory as from the evolution of the feminist and muted group theory have been shaping the ideas that women should be gazed no less than their male counterpart (Johnson 2009, p. 2). The beliefs that people have about the female gender are well depicted by the pose figured by the sculpture which gender as a mitigating aspect of culture. Culture theory thus outlines the specific aspects that prevail in the society. They may include gender, sexual harassment, discrimination, inferiority, and sexual torture. Although there is notable changes which have occurred in the sculpture since 1927, for example the texture as the current sculpture is more smooth (Karen 2007, p. 25), the main core purpose of the sculpture has not changed yet. There is still gender disparity and inequality in the sculpture. The changes might have occurred on the equipment and materials used in the making of the current sculpture, but the aspect of male dominance and chauvinism is still the order of the sculpture. The sculpture has being portraying some conceptualization which range from the time this sculpture was developed. Presently, the sculpture presents females as passive members of the society who are not supposed to contribute in the growth and development of the society and deserve to be doomed by the males. In this aspect, it is regarded that a male gender must be the one responsible for the major family chores and responsibilities (Karen 2007, p. 30). Leadership and economic power are majorly linked with the male gender as the female gender is considered more family and house like person. As Goodenough said, â€Å"a society’s culture consists of whatever it is one has to know or believe in order to operate in a manner acceptable to its members. Culture is not a material phenomenon; it does not consist of things, people, behavior, or emotions. It is rather an organization of these things. It is the form of things that people have in mind, their models for perceiving, relating, and otherwise interpreting them (1957, p. 167). The cultural theory is of much significance in this sculpture. People were culturally identified based on the importance they attach to certain roles. Through culture people attaches meanings thus causing cultural conflict. For instance, chauvinism was highly upheld in most communities across the globe. Feminism was regarded in its appropriateness. Both female and males attached similar importance to the notions that developed in the minds of the people (Karen, 2007, p. 5). Exposing the female body is culturally and traditionally perceived as a gender inequality and an act of feminism. In addition, the cultural aspects should be perceived as the structural system which is constructed in the minds of the people and has a sweeping effect (Keesing 1974, p. 78). The sculpture has being the perception of many as the indication of gender inequality and a humiliation to the female gender. To summarize, sculptures have significant roles in enhancing cultural aspects and values in the society. They communicate distinct messages across the members of the society. Currently, the roles that the female gender could not play decades back have been shared between the two genders. Thus, sculptures themselves are also currently changing in the light they are depicting both gender sharing the core roles which might only be seen as manly there before. There is cultural mix and with the evolution of much gender based theories the perception and the roles perceived to be feminist are eroding. As changes have been witnessed in the current ‘floating woman’ sculpture, it is in line ith the current cultural change as culture is dynamic. Things which were previously viewed and adopted as being of certain gender only are gradually discarded. Gender-based conflicts are reducing sustainably with much campaign of gender equality and affirmation. The current society is composed of much enlightened individuals and groups who have enabled implementation of the cultural changes that h ave occurred over time, thus making culture an entity of human social life and one cannot say that he/she does not feel the impact of culture.

Living In a Concentration Camp As a Jew

Living In a Concentration Camp As a Jew By: Sheena Xu Auschwitz was the largest concentration camp to created by the German Nazis in April 1940. It was located by a town called O?wi?cim, Poland. It was one of the most dangerous Nazi camps and was called the â€Å"final solution†. 1, 095, 000 Jewish men, women, and children were deported to Auschwitz and 960 000 died intotal at the camp. Auschwitz was divided into 3 sections. One was a prison camp, one was used as a killing and extermination center, and lastly there was a forced labour camp. Only about 11% of children who were still alive in 1933 had survived the Holocaust. The prisoners had 3 small meals a day. Breakfast was half a litre of imitation coffee or a herbal â€Å"tea† which was always unsweetened. Lunch was a litre of watery soup and you would be considered lucky to have a few pieces of turnip or potato peel, and many newcomers had a difficult time eating it. The evening dinners were around 300 grams of black bread with either sausage, margarine, marmalade, or cheese on top. It had to last until the morning so prisoners would hide it somewhere while they slept, but the starving prisoners would usually eat it all right away. Prisoners had many duties both inside and outside of camp like working in factories, farms, and coal mines. Work was every day except Sunday and they woke up at 4:30 in the summertime and at 5:30 in the wintertime and the nighttime silence was at 9:00. They worked for German companies and were used as slave-labour. The Sonderkommando were Jews selected for their strength and fitness to work in the crematoria. Their job was to dispose of dead corpses coming from the gas chambers. The Kanada Kommando was another job where prisoners were assigned to sort through the valuables of Jewish people so they could be sent back to Germany. Canada was a country that symbolizes wealth to the prisoners, so that's why they named it Kanada because of all the clothing and jewelry. Anyone who worked for the Kanada Kommando had much better living spaces in barracks than the other prisoners, but if they were caught stealing anything, they would be killed.Doing anything wrong or not to the standards could be risking your life. Most prisoners were sent to the gas chambers immediately after arriving. Different punishments they would use was the â€Å"post† or flogging. The â€Å"post† was where you're hung in the air for a long time, so your arms become paralyzed and you are sent to the gas chambers because of being unfit for work. Flogging is when a prisoner is bent over a stool with their arms stretched forward and they would be whipped for about 25 times. A hanging would take place during roll call and it was meant to intimidate other prisoners. A shooting was where prisoners had to strip naked and they were shot in the back of the head. Smoking, relieving yourself at the wrong time, or attempting suicide meant punishment or death. On January 27, 1945, the Soviet Union soldiers had liberated the remaining prisoners from Auschwitz. Intotal, 135, 000 Jewish prisoners were liberated but most died soon after. Many relief workers and physicians tried to save the prisoners but many were too weak to digest food and they couldn't be saved. Since they had gone without food for so long, the food was too rich for the prisoners, so they had to eat little by little. Even though so many had died, there were still those who fought to survive, and they are the people that could still live to tell their story.

Jesus Christ Superstar vs. The essays

Jesus Christ Superstar vs. The essays Jesus Christ Superstar vs. The Passion of The Christ There are a handful of movies made to date, that depicted the controversial subject of Jesus Christ of Nazareth in his final days, the two most successful films that retold this historical tale were written by authors with contrasting religious beliefs. The diverse way that the same storyline is portrayed in these films makes it easy to compare Jesus Christ Superstar and The Passion of the Christ. Jesus Christ Superstar was written more than thirty years ago as a musical. It has a lighthearted 1970s style. Andrew Lloyd Weber was the composer for the project and breathed life and vibrancy into characters through song. Though the story is about a serious matter the play counts on comic relief to ease some tension from the touchy topic. One of the biggest differences in the movie is the fact that Mary, the mother of Jesus, does not appear due to the fact the author was not Catholic. This musical has been on the scene for years and still remains a classic tale of the last days of Christ. The Passion of the Christ was released in February 2004, and was written as a true story, according to the bible, of the last seven days of Jesus of Nazareth. It is such an intense drama that you hardly notice any background music, which is usually a main focus of a movie. This movie is nothing to laugh at. It is an emotional violent, blood-splattered movie that requires a box of tissues to accompany you to see it, and weak stomachs need not attend. Unlike Jesus Christ Superstar, Mary, the mother of Jesus is one of the main characters in this movie due to the Catholic influence of the author. This is a story unlike any other of the last days of Christ. These two movies have the same basic story line, but very different content. The music in Jesus Christ Superstar is phenomenal and has you singing along and although the power of music is overwhelming to the soul it does not com ...

Mecca - Holy Pilgrimage Site for Muslims

Mecca - Holy Pilgrimage Site for Muslims The Islamic religions holiest city of Mecca (also known as Mekka or Makkah) is located in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its importance as a holy city for Muslims harks back to it being the birthplace of the founder of Islam, Mohammed. The prophet Mohammed was born in Mecca, located approximated 50 miles from the Red Sea port city of Jidda, in the year 571 CE. Mohammed fled to Medina, now also a holy city, in the year 622 (ten years prior to his death). Muslims face Mecca during their daily prayers and one of the key tenets of Islam is a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a Muslims life (known as Hajj). Approximately two million Muslims arrive in Mecca during the last month of the Islamic calendar for the Hajj. This influx of visitors requires a great deal of logistical planning by the Saudi government. Hotels and other services in the city are stretched to the limit during the pilgrimage. The holiest site within this holy city is the Great Mosque. Within the Great Mosque sits the Black Stone, a large black monolith that is central to worship during the Hajj. In the Mecca area are several additional sites where Muslims worship. Saudi Arabia is closed to tourists and Mecca itself is off limits to all non-Muslims. Roadblocks are stationed along roads leading to the city. The most celebrated incident of a non-Muslim visiting Mecca was the visit by the British explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton (who translated the 100 stories of the Arabian Knights and discovered the Kama Sutra) in 1853. Burton disguised himself as an Afghani Muslim to visit and write Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Mecca. Mecca sits in a valley surrounded by low hills; its population is approximately 1.3 million. Although Mecca is definitely the religious capital of Saudi Arabia, remember that the Saudi political capital is Riyadh.

W5D 590 Colin Powell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

W5D 590 Colin Powell - Essay Example Powell, the role of the leader is to create the most suitable environment for the followers and let everyone to contribute the common business goal with all their best (Karissa, 2013). To best bring the leader’s view about the organizational goal can be done through collaboration, an effective part of which is communication that creates unity without consensus. Here loyalty means to give one’s honest opinion and if the decision is been made, give no chances for the debate (Johnson, et al., 2008). The importance of truth-telling and safety where people are able to tell the truth create the atmosphere of unity and lead to the high performance of the corporate culture. Another view on how leader sees meeting of organizational goals is through creating a winning team (Schawbel, 2012), which is able to give business everything it needs. Here people should be trained in order to get connected to the common strategy, and have certain equipment to achieve the goals. There is al so philosophy of leadership which Powell shared with hundreds of business students. The central consideration about leadership is about getting people to make the most out of them, which is possible by creating conditions of trust, absence of fear or anger and constant presence of optimism. He also states (Stanford GSB Staff, 2005) that effective leaders are not born; instead they are capable to learn from their experience. Johnson, et al., (2008). The New leadership challenge: removing the emotional barriers to sustainable performance in a flat world, Ivey Business Journal, Retrieved from http://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/the-new-leadership-challenge-removing-the-emotional-barriers-to-sustainable-performance-in-a-flat-world/ Karissa, R., (2013). AIA 2013: Top Ten Lessons of Leadership by General Colin Powell, Architecture News Daily, Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/392879/aia-2013-top-ten-lessons-of-leadership-by-general-colin-powell/ Schawbel, D., (2012). A Conversation