Personal Narrative †Singing Poorly :: Personal Narrative Writing

Personal Narrative – Singing Poorly It was a year like any other, or, at least I suppose it could have been, but, it wasn't. It was actually 1965. This particular year, the Beatles released Help! the movie; for the second time, Jack Nicklaus won the Masters golf title; on Palm Sunday, 51 reported tornadoes touched down in the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Iowa resulting in 256 deaths and over 1500 injured; and, a young boy in Smalltown, USA was turned away from his school choir. "Some people just aren't right for choir. Son, you couldn't hold a note with a bucket." And so began a life-long career in singing poorly. Singing poorly. It's an art. It takes feeling, passion. The chanteur/chanteuse in question must believe in herself, in the song, in the very message she is projecting. Not just anyone can do it. In fact, believe it or not, there are those who can even sing poorly, poorly. Now, there are many different angles from which I could attack this topic, but, I'm not sure I want to pick one just yet...so, bear with me. As well as there being different levels and "classes" among talented, quality singers, there are different levels and "classes" among talented, poor singers. Stay with me now. When I say poor singers, I mean they sing poorly, not sing without any money. Although, I suppose that there could be those out there who are poor enough singers, that they could actually be, poor poor singers. The first class of poor singers I would like to discuss is a little group I like to call the "Hello, my name is Britney Spears and these are my various other counterparts of the female and male persuasions† posse, or, simply "Biapse" for short. This group of artists is famed the world over. They own Top 40 radio and are infamous for paying as much as possible, for as little as possible (when it comes to their clothing, that is). They play "idol" for the young and the...not so young (both of which, disturb me equally) despite their obvious lack of singing talent, which they cleverly cover up by showing off their "range" using different techniques, like wailing, moaning, sighing, and combinations thereof. Despite their shortcomings, however, I must give credit where credit is due. These people are doing their jobs, and doing them well.

Differences Between Capitalism And Marxism

In the wake of the current – and unprecedented – economic recession being felt not only across the United States but also the world over, it merits noting that the once-sound structures of modern economies are, more and more, being placed under the lenses of theoretical review and scrutiny. Concretely, there are those who seek to inquire – notwithstanding the risks of proffering politically unwelcome ideas about the current crisis – whether or not the world’s unqualified embrace of the principles of Capitalism has reached its limits, if not has finally backfired.Anthony Faiola for instance contends that the American â€Å"hands-off† – read: deregulated – style of handling its market economy is the sufficient explanation to the range of its present economic problems (2008, p. A01). Faiola’s review, more than anything else, should invite people to seriously question the structure of modern economies which has been in place for the longest time.In view of such felt need, what this paper attempts to do is to bring into the fore the contrasting themes of Capitalism and Marxist Socialism, in the hope of gleaning from such juxtaposition certain insights as to which economic structure best addresses the present crisis haunting the affairs of world economies in the present and in the near future. Differences between Capitalism and Marxism Capitalism is catchall term which pertains to the conduct of market economies marked by adherence to the laws of free trade and private operation.Under such scheme, private individuals act as the primary controllers of the prices of goods and services within a given economy; albeit, such control is confirmed by laws that stipulate the parameters and range of the conduct of free trade. Capitalism is thus a principle of economic affairs. And any country can adapt such principles according to its exigencies and needs, depending on which expression of Capitalist approach would benefit the people in the process.For as long as an economy subscribes to the fundamental affirmation of a private citizen’s right to freely conduct the nature, type and scope of his or her business affairs, such structure must be deemed an expression of Capitalism. Key to understanding Capitalism, as indeed any type of market economy, lies in identifying the locus of control being exercised between the private citizens on the one hand and the State regulators on the other hand. In a Capitalist economic structure, the locus of control leans towards the side of the private citizens.This is because private citizens have a right to dictate on the forces of the market economy according to their desire – e. g. , they can decide outright on the amount of the goods and services which they want to produce, inasmuch as they can demand the correlative prices which shall be exacted in view of the volume of their production. Conversely, the State does not enjoy significant latitud e in determining the prices of goods and services under the Capitalist model.While they can frame limits in respect to fair trade, it nevertheless cannot directly interfere with the more intricate details of a market economy, such as those that pertain to the determination of prices and volumes of goods. In a manner of speaking therefore, any market economy which operates under the banner of Capitalist foundation appears to operate a world of its own. Samuelson and Nordhaus, in evaluating the merits of Adam’s Smiths The Wealth of the Nations, have this to say:But of all his (Smith’s) contributions to economic analysis, the boldest was his recognition that the market mechanism is a self-regulating natural order that the price system organizes the behavior of people and does so in an automatic fashion without central direction. (Samuelson & Nordhaus, 1989, p. 824). In other words, most Capitalist economies operate under the a scheme where private individuals are free to take in as much as they want, so long as their efforts and resources permit. By way of contrast, the Marxist economic model – which too often is called Socialism – takes cue from Marx’s criticisms of unregulated Capitalism.It should be pointed out however that Marx’s critical take of Capitalism stems largely from his embrace of socialist ideologies. Early on in life, germinal seeds of anti-Capitalist leanings have already peppered much of Marx’s writings. Chief to his contentions lies in his belief that human persons are creatures necessarily called towards greater societal function. Says Marx: â€Å"man’s nature makes it possible for him to reach his fulfillment only by working for the perfection and welfare of his society† (as qtd.in Giddens 1).This is his basic ethical principle; i. e. , that persons are measured by how well they contribute to the wellbeing of society. And by putting higher premium than most on the welfare of the s ociety over the capricious desires of the individuals, Marx had therefore set the record straight about his stance on economics. According to Marx, the most viable way by which the world can ensure communal progress lies in the adoption of the communist ideals.This entails implementing a radical form of socialism – i. e., where private control is supplanted by State bureaucracy, where the right to own is overtaken by the State’s prerogative to allocate resources, as indeed where individual welfare is taken secondary only to the welfare of the majority (Samuelson & Nordhaus, 1989, p. 833). Marx further believes that this type of socialism must give way to Communism, where not only all productive individuals are considered as rightful citizens of a country, but all people – including those â€Å"which do not exist for a political economy† such as beggars, thieves, the unemployed and the underprivileged – are made to share the fruits of the economy (G iddens 10).By Way of Conclusion: A Path that Treads in Between Having presented thus the theories of Capitalism and the socialist ethics of Marx, it behooves us to therefore inquire – now that most Capitalist economies are at the brink of recession, if not already in a state of recession, which economic paradigm best represents the solution to our problem: Capitalism or Communism? I believe that the answer lies in how well our world governments are able to integrate the reasoned premises of Capitalism with the moderate truths espoused by Communism.Put in simpler terms, I believe that there is a wisdom that lays in taking both theories in moderation. On the one hand, the world needs to acknowledge that an unregulated type of Capitalism is bad for the country. This is what, in part, Fiola has in article contended. The extremely liberal conduct of economics, so much so that world governments are left in no position to regulate much of the affairs of a market economy, would end u p wholly unmanageable in the long run.The recent turn of events is a witness to this. The fact that many private companies are seeking for bailout only goes to show that government intervention is needed, not only in times when privately-owned companies are at the brink of collapse, but also in times when it is expansive and prolific. In this way, world governments can check whether the principles of free trade are translated into beneficial returns for all citizens.On the other hand, it is certainly not wise to adopt, in its entirety, the principles of Communism. Surely, governments cannot take over all private ownerships in a manner being radical and swift. Given that the operation of market economy is fueled by free trade, any hostile takeover would spell doom for all the constituents of a given country. Instead, world governments must learn that liberal trade does not give private citizens full and inviolable right to determine all the forces of a given economy.What this present economic turmoil teaches is summed in the idea that leaving private citizens to conduct all areas of the economy by themselves cannot serve the best interest of the society. Thus, there are reasons to think that what is needed right now is to correct the extremely liberal principles of Capitalism, by giving world governments greater latitude to regulate free trade in a manner that serves greater interests well.

Praying Mantis Egg Case

Have you ever found a brown, polystyrene-like mass on a shrub in your garden? As the leaves begin to fall in autumn, people often find these odd-looking formations on their garden plants and wonder what they are. Many people guess that its a cocoon of some kind. Although this is a sign of insect activity, its not a cocoon. This foamy structure is the egg case of a praying mantis (an insect in the family Manidae). Soon after mating, a female praying mantis deposits a mass of eggs on a twig or other suitable structure. She may lay just a few dozen eggs or as many as 400 at one time. Using special accessory glands on her abdomen, the mother mantis then covers her eggs with a frothy substance, which hardens quickly to a consistency similar to polystyrene. This egg case is called an ootheca. A single female mantis may produce several oothecae (the plural of ootheca) after mating just once. Praying mantises typically lay their eggs in late summer or fall, and the young develop within the ootheca over the winter months. The foamy case insulates the offspring from the cold and provides them with some protection from predators. Tiny mantis nymphs hatch from their eggs while still inside the egg case. Depending on environmental variables and the species, the nymphs may take three to six months to emerge from the ootheca. In spring or early summer, the young praying mantises make their way out of the protective foam case, hungry and ready to hunt other small invertebrates. They immediately begin to disperse in search of food. If you find an ootheca in the fall or winter, you may be tempted to bring it indoors. Be forewarned that the warmth of your home will feel like spring to the baby mantises waiting to emerge. You probably dont want 400 miniature praying mantises running up your walls. If you do collect an ootheca in the hope of watching it hatch, keep it in your refrigerator to simulate winter temperatures, or better yet, keep it in an unheated shed or detached garage. When spring arrives, you can place the ootheca in a terrarium or box to observe the emergence. But dont keep the young mantises confined. They emerge in hunting mode and will eat their siblings without hesitation. Let them disperse in your garden, where they will help with pest control. Its usually possible to identify the specific species of mantid by its egg case. If youre interested in identifying an egg case you find, check out Bugguide.net, an online community of naturalists who continually share images of insects, spiders, and other related creatures they find in North America. Here you will find numerous photographs of the most common mantid oothecae found in North America. The egg case  at the beginning of this article is from a Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis  sinensis). This species is a native of China and other parts of  Asia but is now well established in North America. Commercial biocontrol suppliers sell Chinese mantis egg cases to gardeners and nurseries who want to use mantises for pest control. Sources Carolina Mantid Ootheca. North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, nationalsciences.org. Accessed 15 Sept. 2014. Cranshaw, Whitney and Richard Redak. Bugs Rule! An Introduction to the World of Insects. Princeton University Press, 2013. Eiseman, Charley and Noah Charney. Tracks Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates. Stackpole Books, 2010. Ootheca. Amateur Entomologists Society, www.amentsoc.org. Accessed 15 Sept. 2014. Ootheca. Museums Victoria.  museumsvictoria.com.au. Accessed 15 Sept. 2014. Praying Mantid Care Sheet. Amateur Entomologists Society, www.amentsoc.org. Accessed 15 Sept. 2014. Subspecies Tenodera sinensis - Chinese Mantis. Bugguide.net. Accessed 15 Sept. 2014.