Friday, November 29, 2019

Bertrand Russel essays

Bertrand Russel essays Bertrand Arthur William Russell was born in Trelleck, Wales on May 18, 1872. He was a descendant of a prominent Whig family. His grandfather was the Lord John Russell, who had twice served as Prime Minister under Queen Victoria. Bertrand was orphaned at the age of three and raised by his grandparents. He was educated in private schools and later at Trinity College, Cambridge. He earned degrees in mathematics and philosophy. Eventually he taught at Cambridge. Russell was a philosopher, logician, essayist, noble prize winner and social critic. He is known as one of the founders of analytic philosophy. He is accredited with being one of the most important logicians of the 20th century. His most influential contributions are his beliefs that mathematics is in some important sense reducible to logic and his theory of definite description and logical atomism. He used first-order logic to show how a broad range of denoting phrases could be changed to predicates and quantified variables. He is also remembered for his emphasis upon the importance of logical form for the resolution of many related philosophical problems. Russell hoped that by applying logical machinery and insights people would be able to resolve difficulties. Throughout his life he made many notable contributions in a wide range of subjects. His writings included topics of education, ethics, politics, history, religion and popular science. He achieved fame with his first major work, The Principles of Mathematics (1902). He worked with the British philosopher and mathematician Alfred North Whitehead for eight years to compose a three volume work called Principia Mathematica (1910-1913). It showed that mathematics can be stated in terms of general logic. His next famous work was, The Problems of Philosophy (1912). After a visit to Russia he expressed his political views against their form of socialism in his book Practice and Theo ...

Monday, November 25, 2019

Coming through

Coming Through SlaughterTab/Tab/ Coming Through Slaughter written by Michael Ondaatje tells of Buddy Bolden's descent into his own hell. Ondaatje's novel is full of art and beauty and tells the story of a musician, who was unsurpassed in his time whose work influenced the music of several later generations. It is a story of an artist who struggled to transcend life's miseries and who suffered with despair, madness, loneliness, and the viciousness of life. The novel centers on Buddy Bolden, a New Orleans cornet player, and early jazz genius, who dropped out of sight for two years and then made a triumphant though short-lived return, before dying in an asylum. In Coming Through Slaughter, Buddy Bolden struggled to live between a public and a private and to deal with the tensions between instinct and consciousness. Bolden's emotions are best seen in his music, which is a distinct form of the blues that expresses the struggles that constantly surrounded him.First Street, Central City New Orleans. Buddy Bold...Bolden is the alienated and isolated artist unable to live within the structures of order and control. The constant demands that audiences makes on him drives Bolden into insanity. These are the demands that had caused a transformation in Bolden's character. If only he had known the harm in these demands, he would have been able to protect himself. Instead, it destroyed his life and career.Russell 2All of Buddy's audiences are selfish, and all have their own needs from Buddy. Each plays a role in Buddy's life, making it seem like he is the most important person in their lives. While all have their own interest in mind. For Webb, a long time friend, Bolden does not exist as a private person with private needs, but only as a public person. Webb was the only person who searched for...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Analayze Excel Spreadsheet on Italian Goverment Term Paper

Analayze Excel Spreadsheet on Italian Goverment - Term Paper Example Increased production of goods and services in an economy does benefit the standards of living and wellbeing of the citizens in some ways but not always. This is because GDP does not give a clear answer of essential questions such as whether the people are consumption much on the wrong things, or whether people have better quality consumption or whether the savings are too little (Miles and Andrew,56). Additionally, the GDP does not measure elements of wellbeing that are not related to government consumption and financial income: longevity, leisure time, social equality, capabilities, quality of education and many others. This paper tries to analyze the correlation relationship that exists between GDP and government consumption, and between GDP and government bond yield. The GDP and government consumption relationship appears to be in the sense that even though Gross Domestic Product is calculated using numerous measures, government consumption on its part is the single most vital com ponent. In most countries the government consumption exceeds 50% of the GDP while in some this could go beyond 70%. In Italy for instance, government consumption is considered to be the main statistic on which it relies while calculating the GDP. Several studies reveal that the most important relationship between GDP and government consumption is that an increase in the level of consumption results to an increase in the level of the GDP (Miles and Scott, 13). Government consumption is a broad Macroeconomic element hence it is necessary to divide into several components in order to get the real picture of its correlation relationship with the GDP. The consumption of durable goods refers to nonperishable goods and goods that last for a period of more than three years, while on the other hand nondurable goods are the goods consumed for perishable goods or other goods that generally last for less than one year. A country’s treasure is the most impacted area within the economy whe n taking about the bond market (Schaefer, 65). Most economists argue that the most appropriate way in trying to understand the relationship between the bonds and the economy is to think about interest rates as being the cost of money (Taylor, 21). A stronger economy is characterized by high demand of money because greater activity means that there is more of need for cash that can help in financing projects. Theoretically, stronger economic growth makes inflation likely. The Italy Federal reserve is more likely to fight inflation through boosting the interest rates (Miles and Andrew, 77). A projected increase in the interest rates could mean long-term rates could be expected to follow and the vice versa (Schaefer, 112). While all section within the bond market takes their cue for treasure in an ultimate way, government bonds are seen as being the safest investment globally. The long term relationship between bond yields and macroeconomic fundamentals can break down in the short run, particularly during financial stress periods. For instance, after the 2007-08 global crises and despite the pilling up of general government debt in the USA, the United States bonds yields have been trending downwards (Schaefer, 90). On the other hand, borrowing costs in some European countries such as Spain, despite a relatively lower initial level of general debt, have continuously exceeded those of more highly indebted nations such as the UK

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Life and Death in Shanghai Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Life and Death in Shanghai - Essay Example It is a tribute to those who suffered while protecting their dignity and ideology. Nien Cheng presents herself as a symbol of sacrifices given by Capitalist China. She showed how people who refused to surrender their believes to those of Mao’s were punished. She praised and made us praise the courage of those who did not bow to undue pressure put imposed by the ruling party. In this memoir the author tries to show an air of terror and insecurity that was then surrounding China. This is written to show how life within Communist China of Mao’s reign was. How Maoists showed their power and their complexes of inferiority by terrorizing those to whom they were once inferior. She showed the unrest and instability which was named Cultural Revolution. Effects of revolution were expressed which made revolution (as opposed to evolution) the worst choice. The novel protests against tyranny and imposition of ideas by Communist party, effectively. It highlights the problems which arise because of preferring revolution as opposed to evolution. It disapproves decisions taken based upon the sole intention of destruction, based upon Mao’s theory â€Å"The old culture must be destroyed to make way for the new Socialist Culture.† But pointing out such behaviors she actually tells the backwardness in Communists. Mao’s quote We must learn swimming from swimming shows a serious tragedy Revolution had, lack of measured judgment. The believe that people minds and loyalties can be changed by force, could be nothing more than serious joke to human nature. And punishing an innocent for the reason that he or she was a relative of apparently guilty person is another bitter slap on the face of

Monday, November 18, 2019

London Guide Book Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

London Guide Book - Essay Example You can get pretty much any drink from a giant skull head filled with punch to a volcano that erupts with your favorite drink of choice. Also a restaurant, Tonteria really has it all. A phenomenal DJ, a good crowd, great drinks and food. Sounds like the perfect Monday to me. A gentlemen’s club? A speak easy? A place for happy endings? To most passersby, La Bodega Negra can mislead anyone. The exterior’s effervescent neon signage displays â€Å"Adult Video† and â€Å"Peep Show†, concealing the exciting restaurant within. With its Mexican street cuisine and the provocative feel of the interiors, the place caters to all your senses. A perfect place for after-work drinks or a full-fledged feast with friends, La Bodega Negra never fails to bring the fun atmosphere, no matter what day of the week it may be. With its impressive menu of cocktails, with special emphasis on its array of specialty tequilas, it may be in your best interest to also peruse the impressive list of tapas and

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Visual Effects Development in Early Days

Visual Effects Development in Early Days Before the arrival of Cinema, there were some forms of visual entertainments in Europe. The first one was Chinese Shadow Puppetry. It was introduced in Europe in late 17 century from Far East. This type of light show is the one of the popular performances in shadow theatre. The second one was Panorama. It was started by a Scottish artist Robert Baker. Panorama is a simple illuminated view which tells the story from circular paintings. Another popular visual entertainment was the Camera Obsura. The inverted image of the outside world appears on the wall of a dark room through the small hole. This process was later adapted for the pinhole camera and magic lantern. Magic Lantern was like a today projector. The light source inside the room was used to project images through lens into the darken room. The stories were painted on large glasses. The illusions of Magic Lantern such as beheading and beatings were much more improved by making dissolve and using multiple layers. An optical toy called Zoetrope plays the animated sequences to be viewed through slits in a rotating drum.   {{Rickitt, Richard 2006}} Figure 1; Chinese Shadow Theatre Figures Figure 2; Illustration of the Camera Obscura Principle Figure 3; Illustration from Kircher, Projection of Death Figure 4; a modern replica of a Victorian zoetrope Kinetograph By late 1890, Edison and his assistant Dickson developed a device called the Kinetograph. A single viewer needs to bend down to watch the moving images through the keyhole. That is why the nickname was given as What the Butler Saw. Kinetograph can take rapid sequential images and displays images using the loops of 35mm film. But Kinetograph cannot project the moving images on the screen as the viewers demanded. {{Rickitt, Richard 2006}} Figure 5; 1895 Version of Kinetophone in use Cinematographe Lumiere Brothers developed a Cinematographe that is improved on Edisons Kinetograph. Cinematographe was an all in one device. It can be used as camera, film printer and projector. The device was lighter than Kinetograph because the film needs to be hand cranked rather than relying on electric motor. Lumiere Brothers used Cinematographe to show the short clip in the basement of Grand Cafà ©, in Paris. They charged one franc for a twelve strips. It was last for one minute. Since then, the world first cinema market had begun. Arrival at a station (1895) made by Lumieres Brothers shook the audiences. In that film, the viewers thought that train would burst through the screen as train was approaching the station. {{Pinteau, Pascal 2004; Rickitt, Richard 2006}} Figure 6; Auguste (1862 1954) and Louis Lumiere (1864 1948) Father of Special Effects Figure 7; Georges Melies (1861 1938) A pioneer who discovered many special effects and influenced the visual effects world till today was Georges Melies. He was a magician and a youngest son of a French shoemaker. He used to work in family shoes business until his father retired. He then bought a theatre to make his dreams come true. He designed the innovative stage illusions and performed in his way of comic style. Magic lantern show was one of his great attractions. George Melies realized the benefits of Lumiere Brothers Cinematographe device that brings together the theatrical projection and technology. Therefore, George attempted to buy the Cinematographe device from father of Lumiere brothers. But he was refused to own the device as Lumiere Family wanted to ensure the exclusivity of film production. {{Pinteau, Pascal 2004; Rickitt, Richard 2006}} George did not give up easily. He went to London and purchased a device developed by Robert William Paul to work together with Edisons Kinetograph. George then hired two e ngineers to build a new version of camera. The First Special Effect Trick George discovered his first camera trick by accident. When he was recording the traffic, the camera was jammed. After one minute later, he continued to record the traffic. When he joined the break, he suddenly saw the bus changed into a hearse and men changed into women. Since then, he realised the importance of effect by substitution called Stop Action Trick. Stop Action Trick was already used in the Execution of Mary Queen of Scots (1893) produced by Edison before his discovery. But this one became the first trick of his incoming special effects discovery. {{Pinteau, Pascal 2004; Rickitt, Richard 2006}} Georges produced many genres. Among them his fairy tales and fantasies films were more famous e.g. Cinderella. In Cinderella film, his stop action tricks attracted the audiences by turning pumpkin into horse cart and rags into Cinderellas dress. Figure 8; a scene from Cinderella (1889) Figure 9; stop action trick used in Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1895) The Worlds First Special Effects Facility The Black Maria was the Edisons world first film studio constructed on the train rotating turntable so that studio can be oriented to face the sun like sunflowers. {{Ezra, Elizabeth 2000}} In 1896, Georges Melies also made a first special effect film called The Varnishing Lady in his first special effects glass studio in order to avoid the ruin of illusions by the weather. The studio was constructed by iron structure, glass wall and wooden floor. It was designed by Georges with trapdoors, winches, pulleys, mirrors and flying rigs. The studio was a most sophisticated one at that time. {{Pinteau, Pascal 2004; Rickitt, Richard 2006}} Figure 10; Edisons The Black Maria Film Studio Figure 11; Georges Melies glass studio Georges Split Screen Process Indian Rubber Head (1902) made by Georges Melies was used a split screen process. In order to create the illusion of an expanding head, Georges zoomed in on his head and superimposed this onto the film. Some areas of films were masked off to isolate the certain part of the picture to split the screen. {{VisualFx Hub 2017}} Figure 12; a scene from the man with the rubber head The First Science Fiction Film A trip to the moon was an earliest science fiction film made by Georges. The two minutes story is about a group of Victorian explorers visiting to the moon. In which film, Georges created the three dimensional depth illusion by painting. This is a very innovative film that covered a lot of Georges camera tricks such as superimpositions, double exposures, dissolves, stop-motion, matte paintings and miniatures. He even introduced the colour to the screen through hand painting and tinting. {{VisualFx Hub 2017}} Figure 13; the iconic image of the Man in the Moon Georges last days The masterpieces created by Georges were self-explanatory and visually stunning to be enjoyed by all audiences from all over the world without subtitling. But Georges films had been pirated and distributed illegally in United States and other countries. In 1913, Georges abandoned the filming after his wife death. In 1914, George was bankrupted and sold his all properties including his masterpieces to creditor. He spent the rest of his life just by running the toy shop at the train station in Paris. Nevertheless, his visual styles and special effects will never be forgotten. {{Pinteau, Pascal 2004; Rickitt, Richard 2006}} Other contributors in early days of Visual Effects There were many other innovators as well who had been developing the techniques for visual entertainments at the same time with Georges Melies. Robert William Paul was a scientific instrument maker from London. Robert built his own camera and projection for his production after he was refused by Edison to duplicate the Kinetograph. Although Robert was not a film maker, he produced a number of special effects featured films. E.g. The Motorist (1906) was the one of his remarkable films which is equally visual stunning as Georges Melies Masterpiece. The film was decorated with all available special effects to depict the story of a couple driving the car on the rings of Saturn in the space. In 1910, Robert abandoned film production and destroyed all his films. Another pioneer called Georges Albert Smith was an English photographer who built his own cameras and produced many trick films. Santa Claus (1898) was a notable film made by Georges A Smith. He created the earliest opening title s equence in Santa Clause film. He used the techniques of multiple exposures, stop action tricks and image within image in this film with the help of Georges Melies. {{Rickitt, Richard 2006; American Movie Classic Company 2017}}

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Personal Response to Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe Essay -- Robinso

Defoe's novel, Robinson Crusoe relates one man's spiritual journey in search of self and his goal of setting things right and making amends. Finding the self may take a lifetime. It took twenty-eight years on the island for Robinson Crusoe to discover more about himself, and, of course, he had to wait that number of years before he could make up for past mistakes. However, we do not have an ocean preventing us from making amends, and if only readers were to open themselves to this book, for all its clumsiness, flat style and Eurocentricity, it can, by illustrating one man's life, illuminate ours. To begin opening ourselves we must begin to identify with Crusoe. This is not as easy as it might seem. For one thing, in my case, he is a man, and I am a woman. He lived two hundred years ago so had very different values. He was white. I am not. It is, however, necessary to push these things aside and go to the text. Look especially at instances when Crusoe is not the most politically correct of heros- -when he seems most at odds with our thinking. Consider Crusoe's treatment of Friday. Friday has no name of his own, and he, the "savage," automatically becomes a servant. Here, Crusoe is condescending and racist. Yet, when I look at my own actions towards others, I have to admit that many times they fall short of being good or just. Let us be honest, don't we all shun or dislike those not like ourselves in color, age, social standing, or religion, at some time or other? One other important flaw--some might not call it a flaw at all--is Crusoe's bond of utility rather than bond of mutual respect that forms the basis of his friendships. Crusoe is a man that, early in the novel, is a friend when the other person c... ...eight years on a desert island. We learn that what really keeps us down is our human self absorption and that we have to rise above this terrible selfishness. We learn that finding the self is acknowledging our frailty and working, in spite of it, towards making our spiritual side strong. If I realize what is important in life, I know I have learnt from Crusoe's experiences and will never have to cry "Oh had there been but one .... "The one book that teaches all that books can teach" Rousseau "I shall pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore I can do, or any kindness I can show to any human being let me do it now, let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." Stephen Grellet Works Cited Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe. Ed. Thomas Keymer. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print. Oxford World's Classics.