In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes

15 minutes of fame is short-lived, often ephemeral, media publicity or celebrity of an individual or phenomenon. The expression was coined by Andy Warhol, who said in 1968 that "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." The phenomenon is often used in reference to figures in the entertainment industry or other areas of popular culture, such as reality TV and YouTube. It is believed that the statement was an adaptation of a theory of Marshall McLuhan, explaining the differences of media, where TV differs much from other media using contestants.

Origin

 

The expression is a paraphrase of a line in Warhol's exhibition catalog for an exhibit at the Moderna Museet, in Stockholm from February to March 1968. The catalog read, "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." In 1979 Warhol reiterated his claim, "...my prediction from the sixties finally came true: In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes." Becoming bored with continually being asked about this particular statement, Warhol attempted to confuse interviewers by changing the statement variously to "In the future 15 people will be famous" and "In 15 minutes everybody will be famous."

Interpretation

 

Benjamin H.D. Buchloh suggests that the core tenet of Warhol's aesthetic, being "the systematic invalidation of the hierarchies of representational functions and techniques" of art, corresponds directly to the belief that the "hierarchy of subjects worthy to be represented will someday be abolished," hence anybody, and therefore "everybody," can be famous once that hierarchy dissipates, "in the future," and by logical extension of that, "in the future, everybody will be famous," and not merely those individuals worthy of fame

 

International Sports Competition

 

International competitions are wonderful opportunities, especially for children, who get a chance to experience the exciting drama of athletes challenging their limits to the utmost. These are occasions that forge strong ties and bring people together. As an international sports city, Osaka welcomes sports lovers from all over the world with warm hospitality to share the joy of sports and goodwill. Many events are held here on a regular basis.

 

 

“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” – St. Augustine

 

Imagine being given the best book ever written, reading one page, then putting it on the shelf. Every day, you look at the book, and complacently watch it collect dust. Friends occasionally come by to visit and tell you stories from the book, regaling you with tales of adventure and places of beauty, yet still you do not open the book.

You convince yourself life is just fine without reading the book. You live each day in your comfort zone, never venturing too far from home. You fill your hours, days, and weeks with routine tasks and events. Most of the time, you are satisfied, doing the same things, interacting with the same people, and thinking the same thoughts. Both your sphere of influence and your world view remain small, and that is how you like it.

The book, you’ve been told, would open your eyes to people and places you never knew existed. It would open your mind to new ideas, and would open your heart to what lies beyond your own horizon.

 

What holds you back? What prevents you from opening the book, reading page after page, savoring each chapter, and waking up each day longing to read more?

 

As St. Augustine metaphorically suggests, the “book” is the world – our big, wide, wonderful world. Mountains and seas, deserts and swamps, prairies and beaches await our discovery. People from other lands, other cultures, or even other states within our own country are ready to welcome us.

 

And, as Augustine continues, “…those who do not travel read only a page.”

 

My brother frequently comments, “The best money you can spend is first on education, and second on travel.” When I think of my own travels, I never regret the money spent; in fact, I feel enriched by each experience. Travel broadens our perspectives, stretches our thinking, opens our eyes to how others live, and educates us in a classroom without walls and without limits.

Each new destination I have been exposed to has left an impact. Memories have been created; friendships have been forged. Bits and pieces of other ways of life have been incorporated into mine. I relive my travels through the photographs I take and the small mementoes I bring back that become part of my home.

 

If I had not traveled – to Germany, Great Britain, twenty-plus islands in the Caribbean, and a lot of the U.S. (with a lot more yet to see…) – I would be bereft. In many ways I would be a different person. It was in Germany that I learned to love coffee. In England, I gained an appreciation for a good cup of tea and scones.. And that’s just the beverage category!

 

If I had not focused on island travel, I would never have been able to pursue my love of scuba diving. I would not have the appreciation and understanding that I do of the undersea world.

 

When travel to a faraway destination is out of reach, I satisfy my feelings of deprivation by traveling closer to home, but with the same enthusiastic explorer mindset.

 

I have read many pages in the “book” that is the World and hope to read many more, but, alas, there are so many pages (places) and so little time. It is one book that I will never finish.

 

So what holds you back? I urge you not to make the mistake of living your life in a small, narrow, closed world.

Read more than one page.

 

Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde’s eternal youth has enjoyed mixed fortunes over the years, having gone from the centre of attention in 1945’s The Picture Of Dorian Gray to a mere bit-part in 2003’s The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

 

Oliver Parker’s new adaptation of Wilde’s 1890s novel lies somewhere in the middle and wins brownie points for remaining relatively faithful to the text.

 

Like other treatments, alas, it struggles to squeeze gothic thrills from a story that is more about ideas than action and a lead character that is basically just one big metaphor.

 

For those who dozed off in English lessons, the eponymous Dorian is a handsome young gent who stays miraculously unblemished while a portrait in his attic ages for him. Keeping the painting under wraps he embarks on a hedonistic binge that rots his soul, all the while remaining as dashing as, well, Prince Caspian’s Ben Barnes..

 

Barnes, upstaged by a mouse in Caspian, fares better here, capably conveying his rake’s progress from gullible naïf to venal libertine. Yet even when he’s grappling with moral guilt, he’s never as compelling as, say, Matt Damon’s Mr Ripley, ensuring we never really care what he gets up to or what becomes of him.

 

That’s a pretty big flaw in a movie that requires us to empathise with his plight and spend almost two hours in his company. Another is the portrait itself, which leaves the ‘bad’ Dorian looking like Nanny McPhee.

 

Verdict:

 

No better or worse than Oliver Parker’s previous Wilde adaps, this polished affair is easy on the eye but cold to the touch. You end up wondering why it was made at all, beyond giving lazy schoolkids a pre-exam crib.

 

More on this film

 

Oliver Parker, whose films include well-upholstered versions of The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband, now turns to Wilde's great Faustian fable, concentrating less on its philosophical aspects than on the gothic horror. Ben Barnes, good-looking but less than charismatic, plays Dorian;

 

Ben Chaplin is the fashionable painter whose portrait bears the sins of the ever-handsome hero and Colin Firth is Lord Henry Wotton, the epigrammatic cynic who leads Dorian astray. The film is nicely lit, costumed and designed, but depravity is better suggested than made explicit when it becomes vulgar, pornographic or comic, and possibly all three.

 

The screenwriter Toby Finlay unwisely stretches the 1890 novel's timescale, so that it extends through the first world war into the 1920s, with Wotton's daughter turning up as a suffragette trying to redeem Dorian. I much prefer Albert Lewin's undervalued, black-and-white 1945 MGM version, with Hurd Hatfield's hypnotic, mask-like Dorian, and the portrait rendered in colour by the American hyper realist, Ivan Le Lorraine Albright.

 

Are we all so busy making a living that in the end we forget to live?

 

All? No. Many, or most? Yes. Particularly in the United States where people have less leisure time as a consequence of their jobs and lifestyle than in much of the rest of the world. The USA didn't become the richest and most productive country in the world by being lazy, but the trade-off of prosperity is that there is greater materialism and things control us by demanding our limited time, attention and resources.

 

When you think about it, "stuff" owns us and controls us. We may believe that possessions our ours and we control them, but unless one is very wealthy and can hire others to care for our possessionss for us, we go to great lenghs to acquire them and keep them safely under our control. This requires a lot of effort both in and outside of work - time, energy and money expended for the sake of our stuff rather than the sake of ourselves. In effect, we have forgotten to live because we are living for our possessions. They may enhance our lives but at the expense of our time, life's most precious commodity. Some people see through this charade, but sadly many do not.

 

++++

This quote came to mind as my brother and I were making a decision about his career a couple of nights ago. He had been offered what seemed to be a very good position with a local company. There was excellent growth potential. There were a couple of catches though.

 

1. It was an advertising sales position. It was straight commission. For those of you blessed not to know what that means, it means that if you don’t sell, you don’t get paid. When you’re providing the only income, and there is no base salary, no draw on commissions, and no benefits, and you have a wife and four children, that’s risky.

 

2. It was a 45+ hour a week job, building someone else’s business, instead of building his own, and instead of building his family.

 

Funny, reading this, it’s not such a hard decision; but, it was then.

 

“Never Get So Busy Making a Living that You Forget to Make a Life.”

 

He chose to build his business, keep looking for another paying opportunity, and make a life.

 

This was all decided with much prayer, worship of God the Father, and prayerful advice from a dear friend.

 

Praise God in Heaven, for it is He who supplies all our needs.

++++++++++

 

Don't get so busy making a living you forget to make a life!

 

My brother has been at Grandmas house for a few weeks. What does that mean? We have extra time on our hands. Also the other day a rare event happened. My father and I had the day off togeather. So we went for a short drive down to Ogunquit. Years ago we used to vacation there, and we had forgotten how gorgous it is! Have you ever noticed that we get so busy living life that we forget to enjoy it? We also sometimes forget where we live. People travel thousands of miles to see the area we live in because of its beauty. So sometime this month I suggest taking a day off and became a "tourist". Even if it just means you walk around the Old Port for a few hours. One of my favorite quotes that I have to remind myself is "Don't get so busy making a living you forget to make a LIFE!"

treat the earth well. it was not given to you by your parents. it was loaned to you by your children. ~ kenyan proverb

 

yeah i know. i have been off the radar for awhile, but honestly, i think that it a good thing because it means that i actually got a real life outside this bit of webspace. a few weeks ago i gave a talk about pollutions to some business people. one of the modern day pollutants i spoke about was technological dependency. go figure.

 

Anyway, i was in a workshop for the past few days. you don’t want to know details about what it is about. just take my word on that. anyway, it is interesting to see that meetings are going eco these days. this must be like the dozenth gathering i’ve been to this year that has gone green.

 

if you ask me, i’d say that it’s awesome. and it really does not matter to me if the organisers are genuine in their green agendas, or if they are just doing it to be fashionable. just as long as it is environmentally conscious, no one should judge on intention.

and so what if they get some positive publicity for it, or if they want to rub the green into competitors’ faces, or if they splash pictures of their tycoon bosses planting trees all over the papers?

 

 

MEANING

 

This Kikuyu saying comes from Nyahururu, a part of the Rift Valley Province in Kenya. According to Kikuyu culture every member of the family must take care of the earth, cultivate it, and also make sure that the whole environment is taken care of. It was known from the beginning that God give the Kikuyu people a very good earth near Mount Kenya, the second highest mountain in Africa. The Kikuyu name for Mount Kenya is Kĩrĩ Nyaga (Kirinyaga) that literally translates as “God's Resting Place. ”It is considered a sacred mountain. The Kikuyu people believe that God (Ngai or Mwene Nyaga) lived on Mount Kenya when he came down from the sky and that he gave a guarantee that the Kikuyu people would take care of the earth for the generations to come after their death. The Kikuyu knew very well that the earth was given to them by God for their children. The earth is more important to the Kikuyu than many other things. It is a shameful that any Kikuyu children are lazy and don’t care for the earth. He or she is like a person who is cursed. So this proverb is very important and should be maintained forever more.

 

Our research shows that this is an ancient proverb in different parts of the world. In North America among the Native American Indians the Oglala Sioux people say: "Treat the earth well. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors. We borrow it from our children."

 

It is everybody’s duty to care for the earth as it was loaned to us by our children. It is better to plant many trees and to make the earth look better since it was given to us by God our creator. Following our Kikuyu culture before we hand over to our children everyone should take care of the earth for the generations to come.

 

A House is Made of Walls And Beams - a Home is Built With Love And Dreams

 

 

Peace full and comfortable living is the key ingredients of healthy and sumptuous living

 

Different people have different priorities of finding homes some want a school near their place for the convenience of the kids, some wants basic amenities at their disposal or some prefer best and approachable public transport which makes

 

” Home is not where you live, but where they understand you” ~ Christian Morgenstern

 

We human beings all have a universal desire to love and to be loved. I feel thankful for all the special people in my life. I feel very loved and supported. It’s a big world out there. What a blessing to have a loving and peaceful home to come home to. What can we do to nurture the sanctuaries of our lives that we call home?

 

Treat the members of your family as kindly and respectfully as you would with other people who are not in your family.

Keep your home clean, uncluttered, and smelling good.

Make sure each family member has his or her own special space for privacy and solitude.

 

Have welcoming gathering spaces in your home that invite family meals, conversation, games, watching movies together etc.

If you are a couple with children, be sure you remember to pamper and nurture your adult relationship. This is essential for your marriage and a gift you are giving to your children by modeling what a loving relationship is.

 

Cook and enjoy wonderful meals together. Invite people over once in a while and break bread with others.

Fill your home with things that truly please your senses: beautiful furniture, art work, house plants. If it does not please you and enhance your living space get rid of it.

Play music. I love to put music on when I am cooking. Experiment with different styles of music.

Enjoy silence. Is your television always on? Try turning it off except for when you actually want to watch a particular show.

Promote and live the most important values for what you want for yourself, family, and home.

 

 

 

USA VS UK Education

 

The American educational system can be one of the best in the world, but only if you make sure you and your children get the most out of it. The United States really has several systems, at different levels, from public elementary and secondary schools through universities and colleges of every variety. Trade and technical schools fill important needs. American educational resources are impressive, even if the delivery of educational services is haphazard no uniform is required in the US.

 

Every community in the United States has a public school system, responsible for educating children at elementary and secondary levels. Public schools are supported largely by property taxes, with additional aid from state and federal governments. Federal and state agencies set standards for local public schools, but local community school boards actually administer the schools. Among literally thousands of different public school jurisdictions, districts, taxing authorities, and administrations, educational procedures and standards can vary widely across the country.

 

Public schools are free. They are also mandatory starting with First Grade. Parents can be arrested for keeping their children from school, unless they go through a difficult process of proving that the children are receiving an adequate education at home.

 

Begins at Age Five. Some communities offer pre-school education or nursery schools for 3 and 4 years olds, but public school in America usually begins with kindergarten, for five year olds. Kindergartens children learn the basic elements of numbers and the alphabet, often by watching educational television programs like Sesame Street.

 

High school is a special experience in American culture with a mythology of its own. It's the time when boys and girls awkwardly discover each other. It is questionable how much actual education occurs in high school given these circumstances. The terms "freshman, sophomore, junior and senior" refer to the first through fourth years of high school (as well as the first through fourth years of college).

 

Private colleges can be extremely expensive. Students with financial difficulties have access to a well-developed system of financial aid, however, which can dramatically reduce costs through a combination of grants, loans, and work-study programs.

 

Types of Colleges. The most prestigious colleges in the eastern part of the United States--like Harvard, Princeton and Yale. Other colleges, especially some of the large state schools, are known as football or basketball schools due to their emphasis on athletics. Most colleges are co-educational ("co-ed"), meaning that they accept both men and women, though many single-sex colleges still exist.

Colleges and universities with religious affiliations are widely found in America. Some, though not all, give or require religious instruction along with academic subjects. Most major religious groups in America have their own systems of sponsored colleges.

 

Primary schools usually include both girls and boys as pupils. Secondary schools may be either single-sex or co-educational.

 

The relevant education departments in England, Scotland and Wales dispense funding for schools through a Local Education Authority (or Education Authority in Scotland). In Northern Ireland, schools are largely financed from public funds through five Education and Library Boards.

 

There are 114 university institutions (and 60 higher education colleges) in the UK, counting separately the constituent colleges of the federal universities of Wales and London.

 

in the UK

 

 

Universities and Colleges are reputedly the hallowed halls of intellectual development, the schools of maturation from where the leaders of our world emerge to set the world ablaze with the fruits of intellectualism. However, the produce all vary in flavours according the nature of the curriculum prescribed.

In the USA, no matter if one is enrolled in a state school or a private liberal arts college, it is expected that students will study academic subjects outside their intended field of study.

 

These structural differences influence changes within the deliverance of classes. Due to obligation of students to study outside their fields of study the US prescribes a broader, but less in depth of an enquiry of study. Whereas, breadth is shunned in favour of more narrowly focused, but deeper lines of study within British establishments.

 

Each system has its strengths and weaknesses. Critics of British education would point towards the enforced learning of unnecessary information, whereas defenders of the British universities may counter by accusations of dumbing down in college classes. My personal perception, based from studying in two small universities/colleges in the UK and the US, that aside from a divergence between curriculum's, there is a marked difference of ethos between UK and USA higher education institutions.

 

On American campuses, work is constantly requested from students on a daily basis. In contrast the British university calendar invites extra-intensive work in patches, separated by periods of lulls, thus creating large tracts of downtime between assignments. It this downtime that characterises the British university lifestyle where social life is the veritable engine of UK university life, pushing academia into the passenger seat. In contrast academia takes the fore in America colleges, largely due to structured system in American colleges brought by an emphasis upon teaching. Work is definitely more intensive in American colleges, which is to be expected given that American students pay significantly more than their British counterparts, and hence American students tend to be more motivated than their apathetic British counterparts.

 

So concluding with my personal endnote of bias, I would have to admit that American Colleges invite more of a rigorous, dynamic intellectually arousing ethos, though at the expense of cultivating an active social scene. The lessons derived within the UK university establishment arise from outside the classroom within the pubs and clubs, where social development rather than

 

 

Що таку дружба??

 

First of all, I'm not sure where you get the idea that friendship is an occupation. From what I can tell, friendship is a relationship that you enter into with other human beings (and other beings) because it enhances both of your lives. As we go through life, we meet however many people we meet, and some of them become friends; viewing that friendly relationship makes it sound like work. Why would you want to have friendships based on that?

 

 

I think it has a double meaning. One is that, as friends we're obliged to spent our time & money with our friends, whether it's for games, movies, dinner, lending money, etc. Second one is that, it maybe referring to the life-partner as being really friendly with somebody. And being married with someone is sort of full-time occupation.

 

 

If you are truly a friend to someone then you have to be there every hour of everyday. It isn't something that you can just do when you feel like it, not if you are true friend to them. If they need you, you have to be there for them.

It's a policy many of us need to adopt because for many of us we wouldn't be anywhere near where we are now without our frinds. I know that i certainly wouldn't be

 

 

A friend is a person who fulfills a need in you and one in which you fulfill a need in them. A friend is somebody who stands by you and believes in you--right or wrong. A friend is there FOR you, always. You can call a friend in the middle of the night, even on a work night, and this friend, knowing you are upset over something, will wake up and talk to you, or listen to you talk, or cry. Whatever the need is.

 

If a person is truly your friend they are there for you 24/ 7 /365. No questions asked. They love you in spite of your faults. They are loyal to a fault.

 

THOSE are the characteristics of a true friend. My mother always told me that you are lucky if you ever have three true friends in your life, and I have been very lucky.

 

The Internet will change the way we live and work

 

The Internet is one of the greatest inventions of our generation, prompting some people to suggest it has ushered in a new revolution as important as the industrial revolution. The Internet has changed the way we communicate with each other, shop and get our information. The influence of the Internet has spread beyond the confines of the online world and has affected every aspect of our lives.

The primary purpose of the Internet is to transmit information. As soon as the Internet came into being information could travel across the world almost instantly. This alone has impacted the practicalities of almost every industry in the world. It has changed the shape of administration and shortened the time it takes for documents to move from one place to another making industry more productive.

The way we consume information has changed drastically too, news and information can be accessed instantly from anywhere in the world. This not only means that we can get information quicker, but also that traditional information sources like newspapers have been forced to adapt to a new role by adding context rather than news.

One of the biggest impacts that the Internet has had is on the communication between normal citizens. Anybody can post something on the Internet that will can be seen by anyone else, it has essentially democratised mass communication. Websites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter have revolutionised the way we organise our social lives, while websites like Youtube have and iPlayer have changed the shape of our entertainment.

Media piracy and social media have changed our legal systems making so called super injunctions almost pointless and intellectual property laws seem equally toothless. People can download music, videos and computer programs without paying for them, and information can be published with minimal risk of incrimination.

 

Ukrainian culture.

 

Ukrainian culture refers to the culture associated with the country of Ukraine

 

Food is an important part to the Ukrainian culture. Special foods are used at Easter, as well as Christmas, that are not made at any other time of the year. At Christmas time, for example, kutia, a mixture of cooked wheat groats, poppy seeds, and honey, and special sweet breads are prepared.

 

An average Ukrainian diet consists of fish, cheese, and a variety of sausages. Head cheese is also quite popular in Ukraine, as well as Kolbasa (Ukrainian: Ковбаса́, Kovbasa), a type of sausage. Typically bread is a core part of every meal, and must be included for the meal to be "complete."

 

Popular foods in Ukraine include salo, borscht (national soup), sarmale, chicken kiev,pierogi, pilaf, vareniki, pączki, and crêpe.

 

Customs

 

Social gatherings like Vechornytsi have a long history in Ukrainian culture, and so do traditional holidays like Ivan Kupala Day, Maslenitsa, Koledaruvane, and Malanka, where people gather in large groups. "Razom nas bahato, nas ne podolaty" is a popular cultural and political statement of both traditional and modern Ukrainians. It translates as "Together we are many! We cannot be defeated!"

 

Weddings

 

Weddings traditionally take place in churches, the bride in white and the groom in black. Wedding celebrations are known to continue for days and even weeks. They are accompanied by lively music and dancing, drinking and eating, and fellowship.

 

Some particular wedding customs include:

Before the wedding, the groom goes with his friends to the bride's house and bargains with "money' to get a bride from her family.

When leaving the church, the bride carries a basket of candies or sweets to throw to children and the crowd.

The groom carries her down the stairs.

At the reception, the bride dances with each of the unmarried women present, and places a special veil on each of them. This veil symbolises that they are still pure, but that the bride hopes they will get married soon. She also throws her veil and the girl who catches it first will likely be the next to marry.

 

 

Traditional art forms

 

Every aspect of ordinary life is transformed into an art form on special occasions in Ukraine. Pysanka, rushnyk, korovai, vyshyvanka, and ochipok are examples that illustrate extensive decorative finishes used throughout.

 

traditional dress includes Vyshyvanka, Kozhushanka, Ochipok for married women, and Ukrainian wreath for unmarried girls.

 

Traditional dances are popular within Ukraine, many of which derive from rural Cossack villages.[1] One Ukrainian style of dancing is called the kalyna. Both men and women participate in this type of dancing.

 

The women wear colourful costumes, sometimes featuring a solid-coloured (usually blue, green, red, or black) tunic and matching apron, and under that an open skirt, and below that a white skirt with an embroidered hem that should reach an inch or so below the knee.

 

They also wear a flower head piece (vinok), that is a headband covered with flowers and has long flowing ribbons down the back that flow when they dance, and plain red coral necklaces.

The men wear baggy trousers (usually blue, white, black or red) and a shirt (usually white, but sometimes black) embroidered at the neck and down the stomach. Over the shirt they sometimes will wear a richly embroidered vest.

 

Some word about University…

 

 

Improving Concentration, Memory, and Motivation

 

Many students are surprised at the differences in studying for college courses versus how they studied in high school. Students frequently discover they need to adapt their study habits to the college setting. Here are some tips for getting started:

Tips for Effective Study

.

1)Take good notes. Very few students leave high school with this skill.

Always take the notes for a particular class in the same notebook. Spiral bound notebooks were invented because they solved the problem of keeping related information consolidated in one place. Take advantage of this.

Your notes should contain as complete a record of what the instructor said as possible. Of course, you should not try to write every word spoken, but don't leave out ideas. When you study, your notes should call back to your mind the entire sequence of ideas presented. Take care to spell all new words carefully. It you don't know how to spell a word, ask your instructor to write it on the board. Most will automatically do so for new or difficult terms.

2)Anything the instructor writes on the board should appear in your notes. If the instructor took the time to write it out, he or she considers it important. You should do the same.

3). If possible, try to take your notes in some kind of outline form. The organization of ideas is as important as the content of those ideas, especially when it comes to learning the material for an exam.

4) You might find it useful to have a second color of pen or pencil available for highlighting important ideas or indicating vocabulary.

5)Be involved in your classes. Don't simply pretend you are a sponge, ready to soak up whatever the instructor says.

.

1.

If the instructor is moving too rapidly for you, or if you don't understand what is being said, say something!

2.

Ask questions if you are confused. Confusion is definitely your worst enemy.

3.

If your class includes group activities, participate as fully as you can. Such exercises are done for your benefit, not to provide a break for the instructor.

 

C

 

Review your notes every day. This suggestion is one which we have all heard a thousand times. Unfortunately, most of us never really believe it until we actually try it. Spend 30 minutes or so each evening going over the notes from each class. There are at least two tremendous benefits to be gained from this discipline.

 

D.

It is excellent policy to give high priority to new vocabulary. Language is the most fundamental tool of any subject, and it can seriously handicap you to fall behind in this.

 

 

Using Your Textbook

A.

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Keep in mind that you want to be an active learner, not a passive one. The more you use and manipulate the information, the better you will understand it. Using and manipulating information in as many ways as possible also maximizes your ability to access your memory.

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A good first step in preparation is to read through your notes a couple of times. While you are doing this, you might also

1.

Highlight major topics and subtopics, with the goal of generating an outline of your notes. Even if you take your notes in outline form, this is a good practice. Major topics often extend through more than one day's lecture, and it is easy to lose track of the overall picture from day to day.

2.

With a second color, highlight all vocabulary terms.

3.

Outline the entire set of notes. When you study a large body of information, you should study from concept to detail, not the other way around.

 

I.

Never, ever pull an "All-Nighter" on the night before an exam. This is a "freshman trick," meaning that good students learn very quickly that it is futile. What you may gain from extra study time won't compensate for the loss of alertness and ability to concentrate due to lack of sleep.

 

On exam day:

1.

Try not to "cram" during every spare moment before an exam. this only increases the feeling of desperation which leads to panic, and then to test anxiety.

You may find it useful, on the night before an exam, to jot down a few ideas or facts which you wish to have fresh in your mind when you begin the exam. Read through your list a couple of times when you get up in the morning and/or just before you take the exam, then put it away. This kind of memory reinforcement not only improves your performance on the test, it also improves your long-term memory of the material.

2.

Be physically prepared.

a.

Get a good night's sleep.

 

 

 

Your taste in music is shaped by the crowd

 

 

People like a song more when they think other people like it too, a new study suggests. But the interactions between individual and group opinions are so complex that it is impossible to predict whether a good song will be a hit or a flop, according to researchers who asked people to rate the quality of music by unknown bands.

 

Children begin by loving their parents;

 

My favorite memory of my father is a bright spring morning, where the sunlight was shiny and squeaked when you came to fast around a corner. I was wearing my easter dress, as we had just come back from mass, this being way back in time when retail type people didn’t have to ruin every single day of the week letting other’s buy tchotckes. I can recall the sway of the ruffled hem, and the tiny, almost transparent hat on my head. We were walking down the main street of our tiny little town, just walking.

 

My father reached back, and up, and pulled me to his shoulders, my dress lifting in the breeze as I giggled. He grunted, let out a quick breath as I settled on his shoulder, and held my hands for a moment before I slapped them on the bare skin of his head.

 

“Last time babe. Your Dad can’t pull this off anymore.”

 

But despite his aching back, 45 or so, he let me ride in the sunlight one last time, proud of my new height. And we walked to the river, my mother beside us, quiet.

 

*****************

 

My father left us for another year today, and I, ungrateful child, couldn’t even rouse myself to say goodbye. I felt an ache at my rudeness, texted my brother to apologize when he landed.

 

But it’s more than being rude. Every year he arrives a little bit older, with more grey, more wrinkles. He’s not a young man. Ever year he leaves and I worry, will he be back? Will he return? Will the hug, the back slap, the joking nudge be the last time I see him, last time we touch in life?

 

It’s horribly morbid but I think it every year-how it’s only a matter of time before age robs me of him, steals my one last person, another inch of my family and soul. He’s finally taken to walking with a cane, after being hounded all winter. He’s admitted, to himself, that aging is inevitable.

 

But I have trouble. In my mind he is still the vibrant, witty and private man that raised me, the man so steadfast in his love and devotion for my mother that I have never once heard a complaint or regret over their life together. A man who did whatever, anything, he could do for me.

 

I know it’s not all true. I know my father has many faults, faults that have sliced me in hidden places. My father has been, a various times, a drunk. He hasn’t always been the best father, hasn’t always treated me well. But grief shows itself in many forms, and I knew that, even then.

 

What we have been to each other are companions on a road I wish on no one. With my brother out of the house at university when my mother died, it was merely Dad and I, facing the world, facing the terror. We closed ranks and marched together, one holding the other.

 

I left home at 16, and knew then, as I know now, that I helped drive him to drinking. I’ll never forgive myself for that. What was a problem we might have resolved exploded, and home was never home again. He couldn’ t be the same father to me anymore.

 

But we had seen the same jaded sunsets, written the thank you message for the paper after the funeral together, dealt with my period and posters of Corey Haim. We had been there, in the echoing no-man’s land of after, and had found a tenuous allowance. We understood.

 

When he leaves, I feel it. I practice for that last time, for the after again, the place without him, where only memory slips through my hands, instead of advice and wisdom, sadness and anger. I practice for imagining myself as an orphan, alone without the guidance of either parent. I imagine the loneliness, the wiped clean whiteness of it all, glimmering.

 

*********************

 

I’ve watched my father these few months, enjoying his granddaughters, their laughter, their reactions, their intelligence. I want so desperately for my mother to see him like this, unguarded, interested, mischievious, in love with the daughters of his daughters.

 

They take him for granted now, knowing he’ll be there. Tomorrow they’ll wake up and realize the bed really is empty, and the basement strangely quiet.

 

They’ll know then.*******

hildren begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes, they forgive them.” ~Oscar Wilde

 

My father is 90. I flew to Michigan recently to visit him. He needed cheering up after a mild heart attack and a stint in the hospital. He uses a walker now. While there, I shared lunches and dinners with him and the other residents at his assisted living facility (the most beautiful one in the world). Before or after mealtimes, I took him for rides in my rented Yaris.

 

Dad spent childhood summers in the area on property his grandfather purchased on a hill above Crystal Lake, not far from Lake Michigan. Dad brought us kids there every summer, as well. One of the family’s favorite places for sunsets on Lake Michigan is Point Betsie. One afternoon, our father/daughter excursion took us along Crystal Lake, toward the main road that leads to Point Betsie. I wasn’t sure how long he wanted to be in the car, so after the long stretch of road along the south shore of Crystal, I said, “I’ll just turn around here and we can go back and get a different perspective.” He spoke right up and pointed toward Route 31. “Can’t we go see…Lake Michigan?” “You want to go to Pt. Betsie?” “Yeah!” The roles had definitely reversed. I agreed, turned onto the main road, and drove several miles to Pt. Betsie. Since it was mid-March, not a single car or person was in sight. I pulled the car right up to the opening in the sand dune where we could watch the waves crash up on shore. We sat for a while until I told him I was just going to get out to take a picture on my cell phone to send to my sister. It was cold and windy, so this would be quick. No sooner than I got out of the car, I saw my dad get out of the car! I quickly got his walker out for support. With his arm hooked in mine, he proceeded to walk off the pavement and onto the sand. I knew where he was headed. I had to go with it, though I feared with every frail step that he would fall, and we were alone, and far away from help. I could feel how important this was to him, walker, wind and all. I watched his every step until he reached his favorite bench.

 

His spirit to continue to embrace life impressed me. At 90, he still has the drive to go forward and reach his goals. This spirit lives in me as a gift that he has passed down. He was not a perfect father; there is no such thing. He had a way of brushing off my childhood excitement with a simple, “Ok” and look away as if to say, “That’s enough.” He didn’t realize he was quieting my voice in the world. It worked for a long time. Now with tables turned, I model for him what it means to support and celebrate someone’s passion and drive. And I quietly thank him for instilling that drive in me.

 

 

 

THE Ministry of Communications is hoping that through the review of Television Receive Only (TVRO) systems in the country will improve the qualities of entertainment and information and better contribute to the moral development of the audience.

 

Minister Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Abdullah Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar said this yesterday.

 

With Brunei being the only country that allows 'open skies policy towards broadcasting', TVRO users are more likely to receive unfiltered content that could conflict with the nation's values or instill unwanted influences to its users.

 

The minister said other countries have enforced restrictions on the transmission and reception of content broadcast.

 

He noted that according to an ICT survey conducted by Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI), 99.6 per cent of households which have television sets throughout the country.

 

This has led to the ministry's to re-evaluate the use of TVRO and if necessary, introduce a policy for the use of TVRO systems in the Sultanate in collaboration with AITI, he added.

 

"What is hoped is that through this policy the broadcasting industry in this country will be more organised, competitive, dynamic, vibrant, controlled, an identity of its own, catered to public appeal as well as provide an establishment for locals," the minister said.

 

He went on to say that the Ministry of Communications and AITI are making efforts in developing the broadcasting industry in ensuring a higher quality of the programmes.

 

He hoped that with such developments and adjustments to the industry would allow it to be a contributor to the nation's economy.

 

The Brunei Times

 

media violence suggests negative effects, especially on children.

 

 

A

long-running debate since the 1950s has centered on the issue of media violence--in television, movies, music and video games--and its effects on society. Conclusions vary widely, but a growing number of scholars, psychologists, public health officials and others have suggested that exposure to media violence leads to violent behavior in children and adults, a more casual attitude toward violence in the real world, and higher levels of fear about the world outside the television or video screen.

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Pro & Cons of Violence in the Media

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Higher Aggression in Children

 

One of the most hotly debated and widely studied issues is whether exposure to televised violence makes children more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior. A 2003 article called "The Influence of Media Violence on Youth," written by a group of psychologists and other researchers, stated that research on violent television programs, films, music and video games has found that media violence increases the likelihood of violent behavior in children. The article's authors concluded that exposing children to media violence makes them more likely to be physically and verbally aggressive, as well as to harbor aggressive thoughts and feelings.

Increased Aggression in Adults

 

Higher levels of aggression resulting from exposure to media violence do not end with children; they might continue into adulthood, as well. The authors of the article on media violence and youth, which was published in the journal "Psychological Science in the Public Interest," stated exposure to media violence in childhood often leads to higher levels of aggression in adulthood, including physical assault and spousal abuse. The authors stopped short of suggesting, however, that media violence influences adults to engage in extremely violent crime, such as murder or rape.

 

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Desensitized to Violence

 

Studies since the 1970s suggest that people who consume a great deal of media violence become desensitized to violence in the real world. Often, people who are exposed to a high level of violent media content react with less shock or disturbance to incidents of real-world violence and might even show less sympathy for the victims of violence.

"Mean World Syndrome"

 

A long-running study of television violence suggests that people who watch a great deal of television begin to perceive the world in a manner consistent with the images they see on television. As a result, they become more fearful of the world in which they live, often overestimating their risk of being victims of violent crime or believing crime is a serious and growing problem, even when crime rates are declining. The study's author, George Gerbner, terms this the "Mean World Syndrome."************

 

Violence in the Media –

 

The American culture has glorified violence, thus leading to the desensitization of violent acts.

 

These days it is easy for children to be bombarded with violent images on television, in the movies, and in videogames. It is hard for them to escape scenes that shouldn’t be witnessed at young ages. Being exposed to violence often results in young people being deadened to violent acts in society. Even though the world we live in is becoming increasingly violent, there is only a limited amount that parents can control. Children will have access to violent scenes at other friend’s houses or when they witness news clips during the broadcast of their favorite cartoons. The media as a whole is probably the most responsible party in deterring this trend—they are the ones that can lessen the number of violent scenes shown on network television and in films with children’s ratings. The website Mediafamily.org describes many facts that demonstrate this disturbing trend of violence in the media. Studies conducted have shown that by the time an American child is 18 years old, they will have witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television. They will also have seen over 40,000 murders. It is not surprising that children become numb to scenes depicting violence; it becomes something they have seen over and over again.

The Impact of Seeing Violent Acts

 

There is also a great problem with the eventual impacts of seeing violence in the media. A study, also found on Mediafamily.org, was conducted by the Congressional Public Health Summit in 2000; the study found that young children who have witnessed media violence have a much greater chance of exhibiting violent and aggressive behavior. These viewings also directly correlate to violent video games. Individuals who are exposed to violent video games, like “Call of Duty” and “Grand Theft Auto,” have more aggressive thoughts, feelings and behaviors. These people also are less empathetic and display less helpful behaviors with their peers. A study featured on the website Psychologymatters.org details further significant influences violence in the media has—children who had watched a lot of television violence around the age of eight were more likely to be arrested and prosecuted for criminal acts as adults. These children became so familiar with violence that it became a part of life. Value of human life will become even more obsolete if children become desensitized to violence. Examples of movies filled with violent scenes are “Saving Private Ryan,” “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Reservoir Dogs,” and the “Saw” and “Hostel” series. These movies are often ‘edited’ when shown on television—but most of the violent scenes remain in the final cut, and the edited version is only for time constraints. Some violent television shows include “Prison Break,” “The Sopranos,” “Dexter,” and “CSI.”

 

 

One of the most violent areas of television would have to be the news programs. Brutal and horrific events (like beatings, car chases, accidents, etc.) that are captured on film are often broadcast without consideration of young viewers who might be tuning into that channel. The website, Bigmedia.org, details the many organizations that caution against showing violent scenes in news shows: the Surgeon General, American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychoanalytical Association, and the National PTA have all warned of the dangers of news programs airing disturbing violent clips. The website also describes a study that analyzed local television newscasts across the country. They found that “violent topics consistently comprise 40 to 50 percent of all the air-time devoted to news…murder, one of the least common crimes committed, is the number one topic on newscasts.”

Mediums that Foster This Desensitization

 

Movies and television are not the only culprits in this argument. According to Psychologymatters.org, teens who play violent video games are more likely to exhibit violent behavior because games are “interactive, very engrossing and require the player to identify with the aggressor.” Violent video games depict bloody scenes, shootings, and games where the player can beat up a virtual person. There is no doubt that these videogames are contributing to violence in the real world—several school shooters (including the Columbine attacks) cited playing violent videogames as favorite activities. Copycat violence is a troublesome trend that is increasing with time in our culture. Music is also an element of media that depicts violence. A study conducted in 2003 determined that violent lyrics “increased aggression-related thoughts and emotions and this effect was directly related to the violent content of the lyrics.” Examples of these lyrics can be found in songs by rappers like Eminem, 50 Cent, and Notorious B.I.G.

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Overall, there is a clear sign that something needs to be done in order to curb violence in the media. Parents should take responsibility for their children’s actions—it is a necessary step to check which movies, television shows, music, and videogames their kids are being exposed to. Although parents can’t control what their kids do outside the home, they can ensure that their children don’t watch inappropriate violence while under their roof. The media is the main party who should take steps to limit the violence seen in the media. Movie companies should insist on higher ratings for movies that feature violent scenes. Television stations should be aware of when they are airing violent content. Because violence is becoming so prevalent in our society, the media needs to take the first concrete steps to improve our society’s exposure to violence. Not all movies and television have to be completely wholesome, but the industry would be entirely remiss if they didn’t take action in solving the problem of violence in the media as soon as possible.

TV and Film Violence

 

Does the violence in films and on TV contribute to violence in society?

 

This question has been debated for decades. During that time some 2,500 books and articles have been written on the effects of TV and film violence on human behavior.

 

In this article we're going to summarize some the latest thinking on this subject.

The results of one of the most extensive studies ever done on the subject of violence and TV were released in 2003.

 

Researchers followed 329 subjects over 15 years. They found that those who as children were exposed to violent TV shows were much more likely to later be convicted of crime. Researchers said that, "Media violence can affect any child from any family," regardless of social class or parenting.

 

Girls who watched more than an average amount of violence tended to throw things at their husbands. Boys who grew up watching violent TV shows were more likely to be violent with their wives.

 

Researchers concluded in Developmental Psychology that, "Every violent TV show increases a little-bit the likelihood of a child growing up to behave more aggressively."

 

We'll look at more of the research in a moment.

Canada was one of the first countries to extensively research this issue. The results of their studies prompted some of their engineers to devise the "V-Chip." As you may know, the V-Chip allows parents to lock out TV programming they consider objectionable to their children.

 

Although the concern in Canada was primarily violence (hence the V-chip), in the United States there is also great concern about sexual content -- probably more than in most other industrialized societies. Hence, the V-chip can be programmed to screen out both violence and sex.

Cause-Effect Proof

 

A clear cause-effect relationship between media violence and violence in society is complicated by the fact that children are typically exposed to many stimuli as they grow up, many of which could play a role in later behavior.

 

For example, during a child's life we can't discount the role of such things as violent video games, the social values of parents and peers, or general living conditions.

 

If you eat something that you have not tried before and immediately get sick, you will probably assume there's a direct relationship between the two.

 

And if at some later date you forget about your first experience and eat the same thing again, and immediately get sick again, you can be fairly sure that whatever you ate makes you sick.

 

No rocket science here, just clear cause and effect.

Unfortunately, when it comes to violence in the media, the cause and effect is not as readily apparent.

 

A few decades ago you would see doctors in TV commercials endorsing a particular brand of cigarettes. Many medical doctors smoked.

 

Not today.

 

Today the evidence is clear: smoking is the number one cause of preventable heath problems and premature death in the United States. Although for years the cigarette manufacturers suppressed evidence that linked smoking to health problems, eventually the cause-effect relationship became obvious to anyone who wanted investigate the facts.

 

Unlike the cause and effect in the example of your eating something and immediately getting sick, the effects of cigarette smoking aren't immediately apparent. It's only years later that many smokers develop lung cancer, heart problems, emphysema, sexual problems, etc.

In the same way-after looking at years of accumulated data-we're now recognizing a relationship between violence in the media and social problems.

The results of a study released in March, 2002 that tracked 700 male and female youths over a seventeen-year period showed a definite relationship between TV viewing habits and acts of aggression and crime in the later life.

 

All other possible contributing environmental elements, such as poverty, living in a violent neighborhood, and neglect, were factored out of this study.

 

According to one of the authors of the study, the findings help cement the link between TV and violence. The study is detailed in Science.

 

Violence and TV Ratings

It's well known that TV violence holds an attraction for most viewers and this attraction translates into ratings and profits. Because of this, most media executives have been reluctant to admit that media violence is in any way responsible for violence in our society.

 

If it weren't for the ratings and profits involved, producers would undoubtedly be much more willing to acknowledge the harm in TV and film violence and do something about it.

After many high school students died in a shooting rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado in April, 1999, many people were quick to blame the media. Violent video games and a well-known film were seen as contributing factors.

 

Even so, a clear cause and effect is hard to establish. For example, millions of young people were exposed to both of these influences throughout their lives without going on a murderous rampage. But when you add extreme anger, easy access to guns, and an indifferent and amoral attitude toward the lives of others, the results can be very different.

 

In 1992, TV Guide commissioned a study of a typical 18-hour TV broadcast day to determine levels of violence. The networks and the more popular cable channels were monitored for "purposeful, overt, deliberate behavior involving physical force or weapons against other individuals."

 

There were 1,846 acts of violence that broke down this way.

cartoons 471

promos for TV shows 265

 

movies 221

toy commercials 188

 

music videos 123

commercials for films 121

 

TV dramas 69

news 62

 

tabloid reality shows 58

sitcoms 52

 

soap operas 34

 

In looking at the role of the broadcast outlets in the violence equation TV mogul Ted Turner said: "They're guilty of murder. We all are -- me too."

 

 

The Effects of TV and Film Violence

There are many problems in linking media violence to violence in society. First, as we've suggested, only a small percent of those who watch violence are responsible for violent acts.

 

Most of us are seemingly unaffected by it.