Concert Review Essay Example for Free

Concert Review Essay The rhythm, which was continuously steady seemed to get faster like a heart beat by the climax of the song. It was also at this point that the dynamics of the song were increasingly getting louder until all instruments met at the top with a bang and then changed the dynamics again to a moderate level until the song concluded. â€Å"Waltz for Debby†, written by Bill Evans and arranged by Don Sebesky, was a consonant, slow-beat waltz. The texture of this piece remained the same through its entirety and the 1,2,3 pattern was also very noticeably throughout the piece as well. The saxophone, trumpet and electric guitar took turns at the melody and did so through this performance in the form of solos. The dynamics throughout this song were soft and then increased to a moderate level before a decrescendo to a softer level once again. The ensemble did a fabulous job of keeping with the beat. â€Å"Ancient Memories†, by Fred Hamilton and arranged by Paul Ferguson, was played the night of the concert by guest trumpeter, Darryl White. Mr. White played this song because it is the title track on his 1999 album, also called â€Å"Ancient Memories†. Mr. White is a professor of trumpet at the University of Nebraska. This piece began by having very dissonant tones within the harmony with the introduction of a piano and drums. The song then changed into a more consonant harmony, which remained throughout the rest of the song. The texture of this song was polyphonic between the trumpet and the piano. The melody of this song was bright and happy in some places within the song and more cool and relaxing in other parts as the tempo changed and the notes of the trumpet were held for emphasis. There were many dynamics used within this song. The song began with a crescendo from very soft to very loud and then remained in this pattern until the end when the pattern was reversed. â€Å"Fly Me to the Moon† was for me a song of romance from the time the first note began. The song was passionate and sexy and displayed dialogue without using any words. The ensemble played this piece with steadiness and the solo by Cassi Lee provided the extended dialogue that sounded like dancing and twirling in the moonlight. This song reminded me of â€Å"My Heart Will Go On† in that the instrumental nature of it tells a story, just as much as when Celine Dion is singing the lyrics. I found listening to this song a worthwhile experience and it was a fantastic beginning to the jazz concert in that it was familiar to the audience. â€Å"Waltz for Debby’ made me wonder who Debby was and why someone would write such an old-sounding song for someone they loved. The song was very pretty, but it was of a different genre than that of the other pieces within the concert. It is honestly hard for me to recommend this song to anyone, for I thought it was dull and lacked the depth of the other songs throughout the evening. â€Å"Ancient Memories† was a beautiful piece. I am not sure what I enjoyed more, the fact that Mr. White played with such passion and made the song his own life force or that this piece reminded me of my childhood. This piece reminded me of something Bill Cosby would have on the Cosby Show in one of the jazz clubs. The song was fun and although the song had a lot of repetition, I loved listening to the changes over and over again. The Jazz Ensemble concert at Tarleton was an enjoyable evening full of great music and intellectually stimulating experiences of music that I would not have listened to if not for this assignment. Diversification is an important lesson to learn when viewing music because all music has roots from another genre and recognizing this makes you more diversified as an individual.

An expository sermon on holy living

An expository sermon on holy living An expository sermon on Holy Living Introduction How many of you feel Holy this morning? Dont worry you dont have to lift up your hands. When some one talks about Holiness the first thing I think about it God and His holiness. This morning I want to talk about our call to a holy livinglife. We all know that we are called to live a holy life but what do we do about it. DO we make any effort towards it or are we just praying for God to make us Holy and waiting for fire to fall down from heaven to make us Holy. We live in a world where holiness has lost its meaning. In this contemporary society everything goes, we can do anything as long as we feel good about it. What is our responsibility in this world, What are we called to do in this un holy situation? So we are going to look at the reasons why we are called to live a Holy life. Main Points 1. We are called to live a holy life because He is holy (1: 16) A] Real meaning of holy The word Holy is derived from a cluster of words in Greek. It means to be pure, to be set apart, sanctify and so on. But no meaning of this word can describe it properly.[1] Christ was the perfect example for Holiness. Be Holy for I am Holy is mentioned for about 5 times in the Bible. Holiness is not a new thing which the apostles discovered in the New Testament, it was present from the beginning of the Old Testament. He God gave Moses all the laws not to make their life difficult but to bring them one step closer to holiness; one step closer to Himself. B] One of the fundamental characteristics of God Gods Holiness can neither be understood nor grasped by our human minds. Holiness is one of the images of God which was lost in the garden of Eden. It could be only replaced by God Himself, by dying on the cross and making us pure. HE is always Holy. We are called to live like Him. So we are called to be Holy. When we were made we were made in the image of God. One of His fundamental images is holiness. So we were obviously made Holy. But we fell from our holiness because of our disobedience. We are missing out in one of the fundamental images of God. We have to be made into his image so one day we can see His face. If we are not made into His image we will not see Him face to face. It is just as simple as that; if we are not holy, we will not see God. C] Illustration Once, as an experiment, the great scientist Isaac Newton stared at the image of the sun reflected in a mirror. The brightness burned into his retina, and he suffered temporary blindness. Even after he hid for three days behind closed shutters, still the bright spot would not fade from his vision. I used all means to divert my imagination from the sun, he writes, But if I thought upon him I presently saw his picture though I was in the dark. If he had stared a few minutes longer, Newton might have permanently lost all vision. The chemical receptors that govern eyesight cannot withstand the full force of unfiltered sunlight. There is a parable in Isaac Newtons experiment, This is what the Israelites experienced in the wilderness. They had attempted to live with the Lord of the Universe visibly present in their midst; but, in the end, out of all the thousands who had so gladly fled Egypt, only two survived Gods Presence. They were all revealed and called to be Holy as God. But only two survived in the end.[2] 2. We are called to live a holy life because we do not conform to evil desires (1: 14) A] We also have our share in Holiness (Hebrews 12: 14) It is true that when we come to salvation in Christ He washes all our sins away and makes us Holy. We become perfect and clean through Jesus, but it is our duty to then keep ourselves clean. Holiness is not only what God can give to us but it is also what we can manifest with what He gave us. Paul says it quite clearly in Hebrews 12 : 14 (NIV) To make Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be Holy. ; Without without which we cannot see Godholiness no one will see the Lord. Holiness is a serious matter. We tend to take God for granted. When we give in or conform to the evil desires of the world, we say that it wasnt our fault but it is our flesh. We blame it on our human nature. Paul challenges us not to try to be holy but take every effort possible in other words we must strive or even fight to be Holy. Effort means to use energy to get something done.[3] Holiness should be such a longing of our heart that we would put our whole energy to get it done. B] No compromise in Holiness Holiness is being spotlessly clean. Without Holiness we can never enter the presence of God. The Old Testament priests were the perfect example of this. The priest entered the presence of God only once a year. They dreaded that moment. Thought it was regarded very high to enter the Holy of Holies, it was dreadful at the same time. In that moment if they were found guilty of sin , there was no time for explanation they were just struck dead. They prepared themselves for the whole year for that one day in Gods presence, the presence of the Holy God. We are so privileged that there is no curtain between God and us, we dont need a high priest to stand in for us anymore, Christ has already done it for us. We can enter Gods presence anytime anywhere we want. As for us its not a once a year thing its an every day thing. WE are living in the age of grace, God does not strike us dead anymore, though grace is available for free it is not cheap, so let us not take it for granted. C] Illustration In the forests of northern Europe and Asia lives little animal called the ermine, known for his snow-white fur in winter. He instinctively protects his white coat against anything that would soil it. Fur hunters take advantage of this unusual trait of the ermine. They dont set a snare to catch him, but instead they find his home, which is usually a cleft in a rock or a hollow in an old tree. They smear the entrance and interior with grime. Then the hunters set their dogs loose to find and chase the ermine. The frightened animal flees toward home but doesnt enter because of the filth. Rather than soil his white coat, he is trapped by the dogs and captured while preserving his purity. For the ermine, purity is more precious than life. HGB[4] It doesnt always cost our lives to be Holy. But most of the time it could cost things or people that are dear to our hearts. When we are of this world, we make the things of the world our own. We usually cling to things and people which could take Gods place in our lives. So when we come to Christ we ought to replace them with Christ. When we do the right thing, even our own friends might not understand us, their there might even come times where we have to give them up for holiness, for there is no compromise on Holiness. 3. We are called to live a holy life because we were redeemed by the precious blood. (1: 23) A] Free access to Holiness The way of Holiness (Isaiah 35 : 8) It is true that we dont have to do anything to become Holy because we are washed by His blood. But we have to take effort in keeping it. It is quite clear in Isaiah 35: 8 that the way to God is holiness, there is no other way. Christ has done his part, by making the way. But to keep our self on the highway or to get kicked off lies on our hands. There is no place for unclean or wicked people on this road. B] Set Apart to be an example We are set apart and called to be holy not to seclude ourselves from the world but to be the light. D.L. Moody, A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns, they just shine. One of the misconceptions in the churches today is that they become holy and they become literally set apart. They dont associate or mingle with the people of this world. They develop something which is famously called as the Holy huddle. They become so holy that the people of this world cannot even get close to them, they just have to be set apart. But that is not what God has called us to be. The difference between the Pharisees and Jesus was that Jesus toughed touched the unclean but they didnt. The Pharisees where were Holy as well, they did everything God commanded them to, but they didnt understand it. We are not called to be a Pharisee but we are called to be more like Him. We are not made Holy to be set in museums as specimens but to reach out to the unclean in turn. When we be come holy day by day let us be humbled by the fact that we dont deserve it , but it is through grace. Reach out to make them Holy. As the story of Isaac Newtons experience let our holiness hurt their eyes, not to chase them away from us but to draw them closer to Him who has called us to be Set apart, to be Holy. In conclusion let us make every effort to be more like Him every day. Let us just not sit back and pray for holiness but take every effort to be holy. Holiness is not only what God gives us but it is what we manifest with what He gave. Let us not compromise with the things of the world. Are we willing to lay down everything to pursue holiness? Holiness is not only works and deeds but is also passionately pursuing a relationship with God. Let us never compromise with holiness. If you are thinking that you have done all these all through out your life. Youve always been pursuing God for holiness and have a wonderful relationship with God, then dont become a Pharisee. Let us not settle down in that place in a holy huddle but let us affect others with our holiness. Let us be a light shining in this unholy land. We are set apart not to be in a museum but to be a light, that hurts the eyes but still draws them closer. Bibliography http://bible.org/illustration/ermine [03 September 2009] Fwd. Ogilvie, L. J. Nelsons Three in One Bible Reference Companion Nashville: Thomas nelson Publisher, 1982 [03 September 2009] Ed.. Martin Ralph p. and Davids, Peter H, Dictionary of the Latter New Testament and its development Leicester: Inter Varsity Press, 1997. [1] Ed. Ralh P. Martin and Peter H. Davids, Dictionary of the Latter New Testament and its development (Leicester: Inter Varsity Press, 1997), p. 485. [2] [03 September 2009] [3] Fwd. Dr. Llyod John Ogilvie, Nelsons Three in One Bible Reference Companion (Nashville: Thomas nelson Publisher, 1982), p. 206. [4] http://bible.org/illustration/ermine [03 September 2009]

The Partition Of India And Pakistan

The Partition Of India And Pakistan August 15th was marked as the date for the formation of the two independent countries India and Pakistan. The ceremony which took place for the transfer of power was held in Karachi which was made the capital of the newly formed nation (Pakistan) and the reason behind holding the ceremony was so that the viceroy at that time of the partition of India was Lord Mountbatten who could then easily attend the ceremonies of both the nations. Thus this lead to the formation of two separate entities and thus lead to Pakistan celebrating its independence day on the 14th of august followed by India celebrating it on the 15th. In the year 1906 the All India Muslim league was formed in the district of Dhaka and this league was formed by a group of Muslims. Who thought that they were not given equal rights and power in the nation as much as the Hindu majority which was the Indian national congress. The Muslims believed that they were not given the rights in the nation, thus wanted to make certain changes among the Muslim league the first person to have brought up the topic was Allama iqbal who in his presidential address said that they required a formation of a new nation separately for the Muslims and the reason behind this demand was the same thing about the Muslims feeling that they were not given the equal rights which they deserved and thus wanted the partition to happen as they felt that they will not be granted their rights in a Hindu dominated country. The Muslim league then by 1935 when their demand was approved thought that they needed a well reputed Muslim who would lead their this mission and tur n it into success thus they thought of making Mohammad Ali Jinnah the leader of their mission who once was the guy who was involved in the peace treaty between the two nations (India and Pakistan) thus they urged him to head the Muslim project and thus he stared to lead the mission from the front. Mohammad Ali Jinnah started to argue with many of the important parties including the congress party of which once before he was a part of and he argued for the less of interest shown towards the demands of the Muslim party and fought for them being a minority and raised the issue of the partition. By the year 1940 Mohammad Ali Jinnah who was the leader of the Muslim party had put forward his statement at the Lahore conference asking for a complete different nation and for the partition of India , the letter that Jinnah had written was quite vague and not that clear about the demand for a different territory and thus it was not given that much of importance in the start. Later on after like seven years the idea of Jinnah regarding about the partition was given importance and thought about by the Muslim parties and specially by the Hindu parties( like the Hindu Mahasabha). Thinking about the partition all the Muslim parties also thought that there was no point in the partition of India due to many reasons and some Muslim parties like the Khaksar Tehrik of Allama Mashriqi were completely against and opposed this idea of the partition. Even the Hindu parties were against the partition and thought that it was much better if the there would be peace settled amongst the Hindu and Mus lims. During the 1937 during a meeting of the Hindu Mahasabha there was this one speaker who was Mr veer Savarkar who stated that India can be cannot be considered as an homogenous or an identical nation but on the contrary there are two main nations within it which consist of the Hindu and Muslims. There were these secularists who were a part of the congress in India and thus were totally against the partition of the nation on the lines of religion. Great leaders at that time like Mohandas Gandhi and Allama Mishriqi stated that they did not want the partition to happen and that the both parties the Hindu and the Muslims should just live in peace and not disrupt the nations harmony. There was another statement of Mohandas Gandhi who stated that My whole soul rebels against the idea that Hinduism and Islam represent two antagonistic cultures and doctrines. To assent to such a doctrine is for me a denial of God. Following Ghandis footsteps his followers and he himself tried to retain the Muslims in the congress party form leaving but by the year 1930 many of the Muslim activist left the congress which in a way acted like a catalyst and angered the Hindu nationalist and the Indian Muslim nationalist. Soon after the partition Mohandas Gandhi was assassinated by the one of the Hindu activist whose name is Nathuram Godse and he shot Gandhi for his reason that he thought that during the partition of India Gandhi was just trying to comfort the Muslims interest on the cost of all the Hindus. The political leaders from both the sides also initiated allot of controversies that lead to allot of destruction and violence like the riots which took place in Calcutta in august in the year of 1946 and thus as the civil war broke down it destructed many of the territories within the nation like majorly the Bengal issue which later lead into the partition that took place within it, this was done in a way to avoid the war which was breaking out within the two parties. By the year of 1946 the demand of the definition of Pakistan as a separate nation was so flexible that the it could have been assumed that it already was a separate nation. Some of the historians believed that Jinnah who was the leader of the Muslim party who had initiated the partition of India, used this partition as an excuse or a key to attain more independence for the Muslim dominated areas which lied in the western region which were in the Hindu dominated regions. Some other great thinkers laid their thoughts forward stating that the true vision behind Jinnahs idea of the partition was to create a separate nation Pakistan which would enter into the Hindu majority regions. Some of the demands that Jinnah also had was relating to the annexation of different regions to Pakistan were of the west Bengal, the east Punjab, part of Hyderabad and the region of junagadh to be a part of Pakistan. Jinnah also was very much interested in the annexation of the state of Kashmir and mainly because it is a Muslim dominated state with a Hindu ruler. The Indian political parties were: All India Muslim League, Communist Party of India, Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam, Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari, Hindu Mahasabha, Indian National Congress, Khaksar Tehrik, and Unionist Muslim League (mainly in the Punjab). The partition 1947 The division of the two countries was done according to the plan which was known as the Mountbatten plan and the partition done in the supervision of the British and also the line which was drawn between the two countries was name the Radcliffe line after a London lawyer. On 18 July 1947, the British passed the Indian independence act that finalized the partition arrangement. The government of India act 1935 was adapted to provide a legal framework for the two new dominions. Following partition, Pakistan applied for membership of the united nation, which was accepted by the General Assembly on 30 September 1947. The union formed from the combination of the Hindu states assumed the name India which automatically granted it the seat of British India (a UN member since 1945) as successor state. The states affected majorly due to the partition: Punjab Bengal Sindh Kashmir Lakshadweep Punjab: The year of 1947 marked the development of the state of Punjab, which eventually got disrupted due to the partition of India. The state of Punjab originally when it was united was anyways divided into two regions as the western part of Punjab was a majority of the Muslim community and then the eastern part of Punjab consisted of the majority of the Sikhs and Hindus but due to the partition of India, the state was left to face the riots by both the communities and thus the creation of two parts of Punjab. The western part which had a majority of Muslims was divided and given to Pakistan and the eastern part was retained by India and kept within its territory. Even when the partition was done within the state of Punjab there were a significant number of Hindus and Sikhs who lived in the majority of Muslims within the western part and same goes with those Muslims who lived in the eastern part dominated by the Hindu category, this partition of the state thus brought many of the Muslim an d Hindus who were caught up in the opposite parts to create riots and disrupt the harmony within the state of Punjab . Bengal: Like the division we saw in the state of Punjab the state of Bengal had a very similar outcome which resulted the state to be divided further into two district parts, the east Bengal and the west Bengal. The west Bengal was retained by India and kept in its territory and the east Bengal was taken away by Pakistan and was name as the east Pakistan. The East Pakistan was later landed up becoming an independent nation which was called Bangladesh and this was done during the Bangladesh liberation war which was fought. While Muslim majority districts of Murshidabadh was given to India, Hindu majority district Khulna the Buddhist majority Chittagong division was given to Pakistan by the award. Sindh: The situation that occurred in this state was that the sindhis were told to reside in India itself as it was seen that the sindhis community did not have any such kind of a conflict when it came to Hindu and Muslim, this decision of the sindh community residing in India made many of them in Pakistan or the ones who were thinking of goin to Pakistan think that there was much of a risk involved by going to Pakistan due to the uncertain future of the newly developed country and thus since their community did not have any problem as such in India they all decided to stay back in India, this further lead to an increase in the number of the Pakistani refugees who wanted to come and reside in India. Kashmir: The conflict within this state was that the state was as usual divided into a hindu majority and muslim majority, with the hindu having a majority in Jammu and the muslims having their majority in Kashmir. This division of the the two communities broke of into riots and thus lead to the ruler of the state to accede to India due to the immense violence. This issue did not just have the violence in form of riots but also lead to the 1947 war of the two countries India and Pakistan. Lakshadweep: These are a bunch of islands toward the south of India and they main guy who is to give credit to make these islands a part of India and give the integration with the republic of India is Mr Sardar Patel, who after the partition realised and laid emphasis on the islands and thought that the inhabitants of the islands did not know anything about the partition until after the August 15th. Sardar Patel thought that the islands that are there towards the south are far from Pakistan but yet they would try to claim the land and make it theirs by giving the Muslim majority as a reason. Thus Sardar Patel sent a navy ship to the islands of Lakshadweep to hoist a Indian flag there and make the territory in Indias favour. Once the mission was successful there were Pakistani vessels which were tracked near the islands which did obviously went back to Karachi as they had seen the Indian flag mounted on the islands.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder In Veterans :: Post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD

For more than twenty years, Patricia Dietz, a wife of a Vietnam veteran, has suffered along with her husband the effects of post traumatic stress disorder. She has stated that, "It has changed everything; it has affected the rest of his and her life." Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is when a person is haunted by his memories so badly that it affects not only the rest of his life, but others close to him as well. Any time there is a traumatic event, physical danger, or threat or personal danger, this disorder is able to appear in ones' life (USA Today Magazine). "A key factor is the persons' response to this event, whether it happens to them or they are witnesses to feelings of intense fear, helplessness, or horror" (USA Today Magazine). "To be classified as PTSD the symptoms must last longer than one month, and usually appear within six months to a year after the event" (USA Today Magazine). Jim Dwyer describes Traumatic memories as "frozen in time, waiting to thaw" (Block, Norris). "PTSD has become a common condition among the armed forces as well as the police, and it has spread throughout society" (Fitzpatrick). "After Vietnam, PTSD appeared and was rapidly taken over from the veterans" (Fitzpatrick). There are a large number of symptoms of PTSD. The Veterans symptoms can be identical to those symptoms experienced when the actual trauma was occurring (Panzarino). "[symptoms include] May be prone to insomnia, irritability, or outbursts of anger, difficulty concentrating, and an exaggerated startled response when shocked" (USA Today Magazine). Michael Wheeler, a Vietnam veteran, is divorced because of PTSD, he was having thoughts of suicide, he couldn't handle life, he thought he was going crazy (Block, Norris). More symptoms are night terrors (dreams), flashbacks, and recurrent/intrusive thoughts of traumatic events (USA Today Magazine). "Many PTSD sufferers develop depression and anxiety or obsessive/compulsive disorder, in addition to alcohol or drug problems" (USA Today Magazine). "Of all the Wars in which Americans have fought Vietnam was without a doubt the one in which soldiers experienced the greatest psychological difficulties" (Welsh 58). In the Vietnam war the enemy didn't have a uniform, they could be hidden in with some of your allies this caused a lot of confusion and led to the saying "I wasn't really sure what was going on," and is probably the key reason why there are so many PTSD sufferers (Welsh 58). Post Traumatic Stress Disorder In Veterans :: Post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD For more than twenty years, Patricia Dietz, a wife of a Vietnam veteran, has suffered along with her husband the effects of post traumatic stress disorder. She has stated that, "It has changed everything; it has affected the rest of his and her life." Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is when a person is haunted by his memories so badly that it affects not only the rest of his life, but others close to him as well. Any time there is a traumatic event, physical danger, or threat or personal danger, this disorder is able to appear in ones' life (USA Today Magazine). "A key factor is the persons' response to this event, whether it happens to them or they are witnesses to feelings of intense fear, helplessness, or horror" (USA Today Magazine). "To be classified as PTSD the symptoms must last longer than one month, and usually appear within six months to a year after the event" (USA Today Magazine). Jim Dwyer describes Traumatic memories as "frozen in time, waiting to thaw" (Block, Norris). "PTSD has become a common condition among the armed forces as well as the police, and it has spread throughout society" (Fitzpatrick). "After Vietnam, PTSD appeared and was rapidly taken over from the veterans" (Fitzpatrick). There are a large number of symptoms of PTSD. The Veterans symptoms can be identical to those symptoms experienced when the actual trauma was occurring (Panzarino). "[symptoms include] May be prone to insomnia, irritability, or outbursts of anger, difficulty concentrating, and an exaggerated startled response when shocked" (USA Today Magazine). Michael Wheeler, a Vietnam veteran, is divorced because of PTSD, he was having thoughts of suicide, he couldn't handle life, he thought he was going crazy (Block, Norris). More symptoms are night terrors (dreams), flashbacks, and recurrent/intrusive thoughts of traumatic events (USA Today Magazine). "Many PTSD sufferers develop depression and anxiety or obsessive/compulsive disorder, in addition to alcohol or drug problems" (USA Today Magazine). "Of all the Wars in which Americans have fought Vietnam was without a doubt the one in which soldiers experienced the greatest psychological difficulties" (Welsh 58). In the Vietnam war the enemy didn't have a uniform, they could be hidden in with some of your allies this caused a lot of confusion and led to the saying "I wasn't really sure what was going on," and is probably the key reason why there are so many PTSD sufferers (Welsh 58).

Latino Youth and Politics :: essays research papers fc

We The Americans... As inhabitants of the United States and the world, we the young hispanics, latinos, and chicanos of America need to take a stand against those who would rule this country with disregard for our development as an appreciated and respected culture. Our parents have fought their whole lives to give us what we need to survive, but now is our time to fight. Even today, in our nation that is so focused on "equality" there is a silent prejudice that is tearing our country apart at the seams. As a country, we have made great strides toward learning to understand each other, but understanding is not enough. Our president George W. Bush and many others in power today are only doing what has to be done in order for us to maintain silence and keep working. Now, through education, political activism, youth leadership, and action, we will grow as a people. I fully believe that education is the key to the progression of our civil and human rights. Hispanics are a very intelligent people, now we must use the opportunities available to us to teach ourselves and our children how to be strong. According to the National Council of La Raza, the leading organization dedicated to the betterment of hispanic lives, "no issue is of greater concern to the latino community than the low educational status of its children." In today's schools, latinos are becoming a large minority in many schools due to the fact that "more than one third (35.7%) of Hispanics are under 18 years of age"(NCLR 9). Did you know that the "number one candidate to drop out of high school is latina girls"(NCLR 3). These are our mothers and daughters, the ones who teach and care for our children. How can we let our children be raised by uneducated women? Our children are learning in schools that are "overcrowded, underfunded, and ill-prep ared to provide rigorous academic instructional and intervention services"(NCLR 9). Since George W. Bush has basically shown in his budget proposal that he is not interested in helping latinos with their education, by this I mean he has not chosen to increase funding of any of the latino focused educational budget items, and he has even chosen to cut the funding of the number one college preparation program for low income areas GEAR-UP by 68 million dollars or 1/4 of their budget (White Paper 5).

Mesolithic Religions Essay

Prior to this time in human existence people did not practice an organized form of religion. Everything was considered sacred and and there were no gods being worshiped. All this began to change in the Mesolithic time period. A shift in culture is evidenced by the building of the Stone Temple at Urfa. Up until this point in time, humans lived a mostly hunter gather lifestyle. People would have followed the herds of animals and lived off the land as they came to it, moving on once the resources were all used up. With the advent of the Stone Temple signaled a new way of life. With people needing to eat while the temple was being built and later when they came to worship, humans began practicing farming, herding, and hunting. With these new roles humans had a shift in thought from just passing through living on the land to masters of the land with the ability to own it and change it as needed. This new thought led to a shift in religious practices. Mesolithic people now began to see the world from the perspective that mankind had control over prosperity through religious practices. Herders could sacrifice some of the herd to a god to ensure the herd continued to grow. A farmer needing to have a good crop would have sacrificed people, fasted, or engaged in ritualistic sex. Much of this is evidenced by the artifacts that have been uncovered and the stories that have survived from the Mesolithic time. At the site of Urfa wild forms of the first domesticated plants and animals have been found. Inside the ruins animal bones were uncovered suggesting animal sacrifice may have taken place in there. The giant stone pillars have carvings in them one being a woman in a sexual pose that may suggest a room for ritualistic sex. The story of the first family illustrates some of the mentality of the time period. In the story two of the sons, representing farming and herding, gather to sacrifice. The herder sacrifices an animal while the farmer sacrifices some plants. The plants are rejected. Leaving the farmer to find another way to sacrifice which in the story is illustrated by him killing his brother. The third type of person, the hunter, is absent during all this suggesting the hunter still clung to the old ways and may have disapproved of the new religious thought. The hunter may have been the one telling the story, which is why the story has a negative tone.

Cheating in Sports Essay

Cheating occurs everywhere. Somebody right now in a classroom, baseball park, football field, basketball court, or a workplace is secretly cheating to be one step ahead of his competition at all times. Some say it is the nature of competition that arises these cheaters, but others believe it is the enormous amount of pressure that is put on these athletes. Although many current athletes secretly follow the cheating paths of Barry Bonds and Lance Armstrong to excel in their respective sports, they fail to realize the culture of cheating changes the way people look at the sport. Performance enhancing drugs are used by professional athletes to improve their efficiency. Performance enhancing drugs, or steroids, increases testosterone in the body and helps athletes recover from injuries quicker and most importantly it promotes muscle growth. Steroids quickly transforms these athletes to superstars who continually break records with relative ease. With the expectations of fans nowadays on these athletes, winning has become more important than being loyal to the game. Remember, this is their career that these athletes are putting in jeopardy but many forget that and look at the high risk high reward, with the high reward being the millions of dollars they will receive for being the top performer. The use of these steroids have become a major concern for the United States Anti Doping Agency because these athletes and trainers are always finding different ways to get passed the testing system. What convinces these athletes that cheating is fair? Is it the trainers who amaze these athletes by showing the freakish results they can achieve by using steroids? Are they intrigued by the millions of dollars a Most Valuable Player award surely will translate. Is it the will and determination to win every game? Some will cheat just to stop their rivals from achieving greatness. Arguably one of the greatest baseball players of all time Barry Bonds is one of the biggest cheaters in sports history. A major league baseball player for twenty one years for the Pittsburgh Pirates and mainly the San Francisco Giants, Bonds holds numerous records including Most home runs of all time, single season home run record, seven Most Valuable Player awards, four consecutive, and many more. Bonds started his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates where he was a slim speedy outfielder with moderate power. He single handedly led the Pirates to several deep playoff runs but he just could not get his team over the hump of winning the championship. In 1993 Bonds left the Pirates to join the Giants on at that time the highest paid contract in baseball. In San Francisco, he became one of the best sluggers in history. Each year fans expected him to be in the final voting for the Most Valuable Player award and Bonds did exactly that. Throughout his years it became noticeable how his body physique was drastically changing. Barry Bonds transformed from a moderate powerful batter combined with speed to steal bases into a bodybuilder body that took pleasure in abusing opposing star pitchers. Since 2003, Barry Bonds’ name has been a key figure in the BALCO scandal. Just like any athlete he denied that the use of performance enhancing drugs were the reason why he had such a career. In 2007, he was indicted because he allegedly lied under oath in court about his involvement with steroids. During this scandal there were many allegations that proved Bonds had failed drug tests back in 2001 and 2000 after having his most productive seasons. These paperwork showed that even his trainer at the time, Greg Anderson, was indicted by the grand jury for distributing anabolic steroids to many of his baseball clients. Even with all of this information, Barry Bonds denied and said the change of his body was not because of steroids but a strict diet and workout program. He was convicted on April 13, 2011 on the obstruction of justice charge for trying to avoid a question when asked under oath. Although his sentence did not include prison time, he lost every ounce of respect from h is beloved fans and his complete career now has an asterisk next to it. With the evolution of steroids in baseball it may be inevitable before every athlete is cheating. You may think if everyone used steroids the game would be more entertaining with more home runs and action packed games, but fail consider the health risks these drugs have. The use of these drugs are not accidental they are used to gain an advantage over the opponent. If every athlete was using drugs it would be natural for them to knowingly increase the dosage and potentially damage their bodies fatally. Easily the most dangerous cheater of all time goes to the cyclist by the name of Lance Armstrong. Mr. Armstrong is a cancer survivor and 7 time Tour de France winner. At age 25 he was diagnosed with cancer and had immediate surgery and chemotherapy to save his life. Doctors said that Lance Armstrong had less than a 40% chance of survival during this stage in his life. Despite all of this he remained focused on his secret doping to make a return to the sport of cycling and he did just that. Lance came back to win 5 more Tour De France titles and went down as the best cyclist of all time. For much of his career many doubted that Lance Armstrong could achieve all of this without the use of some type of performance enhancing drugs. Just like Barry Bonds, Lance Armstrong worked with a controversial trainer who was linked to distributing steroids. Armstrong continued to deny every single true allegation that was thrown at him by using the excuse that he had passed over 600 drug tests throughout his career. Then came the USADA investigation in 2011-2012 that accused him of not only using steroids but trafficking drugs based testimonies that were submitted by former teammates and friends. He was accused of putting pressure on his teammates to take steroids to make sure the team would win the Tour de France. Lance Armstrong turned out to be the biggest bully in sports history because he would sue every person that allegedly said he took performance enhancing drugs. He lied continuingly in court and took the money of these people who were speaking the truth. These people were his teammates and friends that were there for him when he had cancer. In January 2013 Lance Armstrong finally came clean and admitted to Oprah Winfrey in a television interview that he was guilty of using all the drugs he was accused of taking. The scariest part of the interview was when he said at the time he felt like there was nothing wrong with what he was doing because everybody else cheated also so it felt like fair game. After all these cruel years of lying, cheating, and tainted titles, Lance Armstrong has rightfully been banned from participating in sports. In conclusion, there is nobody out there that can stop these grown male and female athletes worldwide to stop cheating and play the game how its supposed to be played. There is no doubt, however, that all this increased cheating has tainted every sports’ reputation and all time records mean nothing now. The only solution that could combat the cheaters is to give out lifelong bans for positive cheating tests. Nowadays the only penalty these players receive is a lengthy suspension, but by the time these athletes have been caught the outcome of the games and records have been broken.