Oregon State Printer Essay Example for Free

Oregon State Printer Essay The early history of the people who held the position of state printer reveals how closely tied the position was to the publication of newspapers. Asahel Bush (see photo) established the newspaper the Oregon Statesman, an important voice for the Democratic Party, in 1851 (Oregon Historical Society). He was named State Printer in 1859 (Morrison). Asahel Bush (1824-1913), first State Printer (Oregon Historical Society) Eugene Semple was the editor of the Oregon Herald from 1869-1873, and he assumed the position of State Printer in 1872 (Corning, p. 219). From 1894-1901 (at least), the State Printer was W. H. Leeds. Leeds founded the Tidings, a newspaper in Southern Oregon in 1878 and accepted the nomination for State Printer in 1894 (Larson). Others who held the position include Henry L. Pittock (1862), T. Patterson (1870), W. A. McPherson (1870), W. P. Keedy (1880), W. H. Byars (1885), Frank C. Baker (1893), and J. R. Whitney (1903). These names are found by perusing lists of works published by the State Printer, as these works bear the name of the printer in the bibliographic information. Oregon State Print Shop, 1890 Changes to the Position and its Oversight The 1857 Constitution calls for the State Printer to be an elected official, however this situation changed in 1913. In this year, the office of the State Printer became part of the Board of Control where it remained until the 1960s (DAS, p. 2). At this point, the State Printer was managed by the State Printing Board, a group comprised of Board of Control members (DAS, p. 2). The Printing Board was responsible for appointing the State Printer (DAS, p. 2). This is an important change in the position of State Printer, as previously this had been an elected position. In 1967, responsibilities for state printing were transferred to the Department of General Services (DAS, p. 5). From 1971 to 1973, there existed, as part of the Department of General Services, a Task Force on State Printing (DAS, p. 6). House Bill 2235 eliminated the position of State Printer and assigned the Oregon Department of Administrative Services to perform the duties of State Printer (House Bill 2235, 2001). The Department of Administrative Services was created in 1993 by combining the Department of General Services and the Executive Department (DAS, p. 1). Printing services are executed by the Procurement, Fleet, and Surplus Service Division of the DAS (DAS, p. 12). These numerous changes to the position and its oversight were discussed by the House Committee on E-Government in 2001. As Fariborz Pakseresht explained, mergers in the 1990s had essentially abolished the position of the State Printer (Minutes 2001). One problem with the position was the necessary experience, required by the Constitution. As State Printer Mike Freese asserted, the ten-year experience requirement for the position of State Printer was considered outdated (Minutes 2001). Additionally, Representative Lowe brought up economic and ecological issues when he questioned whether changes to the position would end up saving the state money and would be more ecological in reducing paper consumption (Minutes 2001). Despite all of these changes, in 2005, the position of State Printer still existed as Mike Freese is listed as State Printer in minutes from meetings in both 2001 and 2005 (Minutes, 2001 and 2005). Indeed, the 2008 version of the Oregon Constitution still provides for the position of State Printer: Laws may be enacted providing for the state printing and binding, and for the election or appointment of a state printer, who shall have had not less than ten years’ experience in the art of printing. The state printer shall receive such compensation as may from time to time be provided by law. Until such laws shall be enacted the state printer shall be elected, and the printing done as heretofore provided by this constitution and the general laws. (Oregon State Archives, 2008 Constitution). What is intriguing about the wording of this article from the Constitution is that it seems to be deliberately vague: the State Printer may be elected (as in the 1857 Constitution) or appointed (as it was since 1913). Furthermore, this article still calls for the ten-years mandatory experience in the field that Freese had questioned in 2001. Duties of the State Printer As noted in the Constitution of 1857, when the position was created, the State Printer is responsible for all public printing for the State of Oregon. According to House Bill 2235, priority is given to the publication of materials related to the work of the Legislative Assembly (including its officers and committees). In addition, the inaugural address of each new governor is required to be printed by the DAS. The Department of Agriculture may, but is not required to, use the DAS to publish reports and statistics. In accordance with House Bill 2235, any material that advertises or promotes products does not fall under the domain of this position (House Bill 2235, 2001). Another duty of the State Printer is revealed in House Bill 2235. This Bill reveals that the State Printer had previously held the task of printing the register of firearm ownership (House Bill 2235, 2001). This responsibility had been transferred to the State Police in 1991 (Senate Bill 32). The State Printer also published volumes containing biennial reports from the State Penitentiary, from 1868 to 1913 (Oregon State Archives, Department of Corrections). In House Bill 2235, the duties of the State Printer that the Department of Administrative Services is now responsible for include the following: control and manage all state printing, control all state printing purchases, determine and fix the price for all work done by those in this position, produce multiple copies of documents, purchase equipment for duplicating documents. Economic Issues As noted above, Representative Lowe had wondered in 2001 whether changes to the position of State Printer could save the state money. This seems to have been a concern for other government officials as economic concerns are frequently mentioned in debates about the position. In 1921, a law was enacted which allowed state offices outside of Marion County to do business with private enterprises that could underbid the State Printing Department (DAS, p. 3). It appears, however, that agencies had sought to do business with out-of-state companies. This ironic situation, with out-of-state businesses printing Oregon State documents, was addressed in 1931. In this year, this law was further amended with the provision that these outside contracts must be for businesses in Oregon unless the prices quoted by these businesses were â€Å"excessive and not reasonably competitive† (DAS, p. 3). House Bill 2235 still allows for some of the printing work to be contracted out to other businesses. This Bill reveals that state agencies are not required to use the services of the State Printer (or, in this case, the DAS) if they can demonstrate that the same quality work can be found for a lower cost (House Bill). This contingency is, as Mike Freese explained, a guard against individual agencies setting up small, inefficient printing shops (Minutes, 2001). The State Printer and Dissemination of Information In addition to fulfilling public printing for the state, the State Printer had other tasks that demonstrate how vital this position was to the dissemination of government documents and to making these documents available to the general public. In 1907, Senate Bill 136 was passed. This bill required the State Printer to deposit copies of state publications at the State Library (Wan). In the early history of the depository program, numerous copies of the documents were submitted – up to 50 copies of legislative bills and calendars, and 125 copies of legislative interim committee reports (Wan). However, in 1979, the number of copies that the State Printer was required to submit to the library was standardized. From this point, 45 copies were required to be sent to the State Library (Wan). In 1994, more changes were instituted to the depository program, led by members of the Documents Interest Group of Oregon (Wan). In 2001 (according to House Bill 2235), 45 copies were still required to be submitted to the State Library. Since July 2006, the Oregon State Electronic Depository has been in operation. This program aims to collect and archive electronic versions of state documents so that information that is held on the web does not get lost when pages are updated. Individual agencies are required to submit electronic copies of the appropriate documents to the Oregon State Library (Wan). However, agencies are still required to depose ten hard copies of each document (Wan). The publication of state documents is documented in the quarterly Checklist of Official Publications of the State of Oregon, published by the State Library beginning in the 1960s (Wan). This publication ended in 1979 and was replaced by a microfiche edition of the library’s catalogue (Wan). The microfiche catalogue, however, was short lived and stopped being produced in the 1980s (Wan). Through the interaction of the responsibilities of the State Printer with the library system, we can see how the tasks of the State Printer affected the general public. References 71st Oregon Legistlative Assembly. (2001). House Bill 2235. Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://www. leg. state. or. us/01reg/measures/hb2200. dir/hb2235. intro. html. Corning, H. M. (1989). Dictionary of Oregon History. Portland: Binfords and Mort Publishing. Department of Administrative Services. (2003). Administrative Overview May 2003. Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://arcweb. sos. state. or. us/recmgmt/sched/special/state/overview/20020011dasadov. pdf. House Committee on Advancing E-Government. (2001). Minutes. Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://www. sos. state. or. us/archives/legislative/legislativeminutes/2001/house/advancing_egovernment/HAEG02_2. htm. House Committee on General Government. (2005). Minutes. Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://arcweb. sos. state. or. us/legislative/legislativeminutes/2005/house/gengovernment/hgg0210. htm. Larson, T. (2006). W. H. Leeds. Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://boards. ancestry. myfamily. com/surnames. leeds/212/mb. ashx. Morrison, S. B. (2005). Salem Online History – Asahel Bush. Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://www. salemhistory. net/people/asahel_bush. htm. Oregon Historical Society. (2002). The Oregon History Project – Asahel Bush. Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://www. ohs. org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument. cfm? doc_ID=7FB69DC4-1C23-B9D3-684905C8E0A57C86. Oregon State Archives. (2009). Crafting the Oregon Constitution: Transcribed 1857 Oregon Constitution, Article XII to Article XVI. Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://arcweb. sos. state. or. us/exhibits/1857/learn/transcribed/trans9. htm. Oregon State Archives. (2009). Constitution of Oregon, 2008 Version: Articles XII through XVI. Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://bluebook. state. or. us/state/constitution/constitution12-14. htm. Oregon State Archives. Department of Corrections Records Guide. Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://arcweb. sos. state. or. us/state/odc/scope/scope. htm. Wan, J. (2007). History of the Oregon Document Depository Program. Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://www. oregon. gov/OSL/GRES/ordochst. shtml.

Music Essays English Music Hall

Music Essays English Music Hall A Short History of the English Music Hall. The term ‘Music Hall’ is used to refer to a venue, or to a form of entertainment taking place at that venue, typically featuring a number of miscellaneous acts, possibly including musical turns, comedy and acrobatics, in a relatively formalised programme. It is also often termed ‘variety’. This essay considers the early roots of Music Hall, its growth in the late 19th century, and its subsequent loss of popularity in the face of competition from other media in the 20th century. Taken into account are the socio-economic environment and also the development of musical styles within the Music Hall context. It will be shown that the influence of Music Hall is still widespread in popular culture today. Background Music Hall developed from a range of entertainments, some of which had been part of English culture for centuries. Broadsides first appeared in the 1500s (Gammond 1991: 82): they were an early equivalent of the newspaper. News stories and satire were printed in verse form with the instructions ‘To the tune of†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, with the intention that the text should be sung to a well-known musical theme, typically a folk-ballad. The music itself was rarely printed, and so broadsides relied on the tradition of passing tunes on orally. In later broadsides, tunes were often popular songs from plays, with the intention of promoting shows in return for sponsorship – an early form of advertising revenue. The ballad was engrained in culture, but the demand and resources of the populus were not yet sufficient to support the growth of a performance industry. Also influential were the many fairs which were trading and entertainment events. In his diary, Samuel Pepys mentions attending Bartholomew Fair in 1661 and â€Å"seeing the monkeys dance† (Pepys 1661), and a number of Music Halls in the late 19th century featured animal acts (Gillies 1999: 31). One-man shows, such as those offered by Charles Dibdin (1745-1814), show elements of entertainment that were later developed in Music Halls. Dibdin can be seen as a key link between earlier folk-art traditions and the increasingly commercialised musical world of the 19th century (Gammond 1991: 153-5). He was a prolific song-writer, who had considerable success with light operas and by selling rights to his songs. These were the early days of copyright law, which developed in the late 19th century firstly to grant exclusivity of performance rights to singers and subsequently to effect a royalties system for composers. Two types of venue preceded Music Halls and had a particular influence on them: taverns and song-and-supper rooms. In taverns, a working-class clientele participated in singing along with their drinking. In song-and-supper rooms, the middle-class man-about-town (no women were admitted) could enjoy a meal while singers entertained. Song-and-supper rooms typically opened around midnight, and entertainment could be bawdy. Some of the early stars of Music Hall began their careers in taverns and song-and-supper rooms. Sam Cowell (1820-1864) is an example, and can be considered one of the first professional singer-songwriters. By 1850, he was earning a good living from the song-and-supper rooms, but had begun his career as an actor and had also performed in opera. In ‘Villikins and his Dinah’, regularly performed by Cowell, we see characteristics that were to become widespread in Music Hall songs, in particular the use of ‘commentary’ between sections of the song to increase its drama. Thus prior to verse 8, where the ghosts of Villikins and Dinah appear to Dinah’s father, the performer sets the scene: â€Å"Now this is the superlatively supernatural wisitation [sic] which appeared to the parient [sic] at midnight after the disease of his only progeny.† (Davison 1971: 23) The affectations in the language and pronunciation suggest the creation of the narrator as a character in his own right, and characterisation is another important element of the Music Hall song, as will be seen shortly. The growth of Music Hall was dependent on an audience able to pay for it, and with an interest in what it had to offer. The growth of a potential market is evident by the mid-19th century, when a number of Music Halls were opened (Sadie 1980: XII/832). In the mid-1840s, Evans’, a former song-and-supper room was reopened as a Music Hall. In 1849, Charles Morton, a pioneer of Music Hall, took over the Canterbury Arms in Lambeth and developed it as a venue. He enlarged it in 1856, and in 1861 opened the Oxford Music Hall in Oxford Street (Sadie 1980: XII/832). This idea of having a chain of venues gained ground in the latter part of the century. Early Developments 1850-1870 The 1850s and 60s can be considered as a first phase of Music Hall. Programmes were varied, with classical and popular music appearing on the same bill. Extracts from Gounod’s opera Faust (1859) performed in Music Halls provided the first hearings of the work for English audiences. A number of early Music Hall songs use old musical themes with new texts: for example, ‘Sam Hall’ can be traced back to a ballad about Captain Kidd. Harry Clifton’s ‘Polly Perkins of Paddington Green’ (1863) uses what appears to be a folk-tune (possibly ‘Nightingales Sing’), but its lyrics possess a humour not seen in folk music: Polly doesn’t marry a ‘Wicount’ or a ‘Nearl’, but in the punchline of the song, weds a â€Å"bow-legged Conductor of a twopenny bus† (Gammond 1991: 411). The same tune is used for another well-known Music Hall song, ‘Cushie Butterfield’, which was particularly popular in the Newcastle area. Tyneside had its own strong Music Hall tradition, giving rise to songs such as ‘The Blaydon Races’ and ‘Keep Your Feet Still Geordie Hinney’ and all three songs display a similar humour to ‘Polly Perkins’. The lyrics draw on local diale ct – Cushie is â€Å"a young lass in Gyetsid [Gateshead]† who â€Å"likes hor beor [her beer]† (Davison 1971: 31). With ‘Champagne Charlie’ (1868), the development of the character song is evident. Performed and co-written by George Leybourne, the Champagne Charlie character is described as a ‘swell’: a well-to-do man-about-town with a taste for Moà «t. Unlike ‘Villikins’, the text is in the first person, Leybourne becoming the Champagne Charlie character in performance. The song is perhaps the first advertising jingle, and was used to promote Moà «t, with Leybourne rumoured to partial to the drink (he died prematurely of alcoholism). His salary at this time was around  £30 a week – certainly adequate to indulge in the Champagne Charlie lifestyle. However, the character was an act: Leybourne was not a ‘toff’, but a former mechanic who remained illiterate and spoke with a strong Black Country accent (Gammond 1991: 334) Concern was growing over the activities in Music Halls. Articles in The Tomahawk focus on the quality of the entertainment: it had been suggested that the Music Hall would â€Å"exercise a beneficial influence over the progress of music amongst the lower classes† but â€Å"Music Hall†¦is mischievous to the art which it pretends to uphold† (Anon 1867).   At the time, improvement of the working classes through access to the arts was promoted among some thinkers. Two years later, Music Halls are criticised for being dens of vice: â€Å"I am positively assured†¦that on certain recognised nights loose women are admitted to these places without payment.† (Greenwood 1869). The often poor reputation of the Music Halls contributed to later attempts by the authorities to regulate their activities. Heyday 1870-1900 The development of Music Halls should be seen in context of wider developments in the social and economic environment of Victorian England. Following the Industrial Revolution, workers migrated from rural communities to cities, and this pattern accelerated in the 1870s. By the mid-1880s, around half the population of London had been born elsewhere (Harris 1994: 42-3). Simultaneously, leisure time increased. In the late 1860s, a half-day holiday was introduced on a Saturday, and in the 1870s, the 9-hour working day was introduced (Harris 1994: 139). Leisure time became a larger part of life for the working classes, and Music Hall was one activity that benefited from this. Drinking had always formed an element of the Music Hall entertainment, but the ruling classes had sought to control this. In 1878, London County Council restricted the consumption of liquor to the back of the halls (Sadie 1980: XII/833), also demanding that a proscenium arch and fire curtain be installed at all venues (there had been a number of fires at Music Halls). A number of smaller operators were forced to shut down, while the larger operators built up chains of venues, with Music Halls growing in size and number. In June 1888, a House of Lords debate quoted a figure of 473 Music Halls in London alone (Gillies 1999: 23). Larger halls meant that some of the intimacy of earlier venues was lost. Instead of a Chairman introducing acts and enjoying banter with the audience, venues identified performers by use of an indicator board, with each act having a number. In this environment of larger audiences, the most successful performers were able to command substantial fees, and some became internationally famous. Up to this point, Music Hall stars had been almost exclusively male, but from around 1880, women appeared regularly at Music Halls and were among the most successful Music Hall stars. Marie Lloyd is probably the best known: by 1891, she was appearing at several venues each night and earning  £100 a week. At this time, a 2-up, 2-down house in Oldham cost  £150-180 (Harris 1994: 113). In 1911, twenty years later,   only just over 2% of the population earned over  £160 in a year (Harris 1994: 107). In comparative terms, therefore, Lloyd’s earnings were on a par with a Premiership footballer today. In her early career, she infamously fell foul of performing rights by adopting ‘The Boy I Love Is Up In The Gallery’ as a key song in her repertoire, and she is still strongly associated with it. However, Nelly Power, another singer of the day, had exclusive performance rights for the song, and Lloyd was forced to stop singing it (Gillies 1999: 18 et al). At this time, exclusive association with a particular song enabled a performer to generate bookings, as nobody else was allowed to perform it. Songwriters sold a song with performing rights to a singer, and were thereafter not entitled to any further income. They relied on writing more songs on the same basis, but campaigned for further payments and the royalties system of today developed.   Pantomime was also an outlet for Music Hall stars, who would appear singing the songs for which they were most famous. This had a profound influence on the development of pantomime, with traditional characters such as Harlequin and Columbine dropped in favour of interpretations of fairy tales built around the Music Hall personalities and their repertoires. The music publishing industry had grown alongside the development of Music Halls. By the 1830s, songs such as ‘He was such a nice young man’ and ‘All round my hat’ (a folk tune) were produced for sale at Pleasure Gardens or song-and-supper rooms. The music catalogues of publishers typically included a range of material including songs, operatic arias, hymns and dances. Charles Sheard was publishing Music Hall material from around 1852 as part of its Musical Bouquet series (Gammond 1991: 410). From 1850-1900, the price of a piano dropped and some manufacturers introduced monthly payment schemes, making the instrument more accessible (Gillies 1991: 66). This helped the Music Hall songs become firmly engrained in the popular musical culture of the time. Songs had an air of respectability about them until around 1860, after which many started to display more vulgarity. This was still subtle by modern standards: Dan Leno’s trademark song ‘The Swimming Master’ (by Herbert Darnley) makes much of the need for bodily contact with the ladies being taught to swim – if they feel they’re sinking, then â€Å"To my manly chest they cling† (Davison 1971:69) – but goes no further than suggestion. Some venues decreased the classical element of their music programmes. Dickens (1879) comments that â€Å"the operatic selections which were at one time the distinguishing feature of the Oxford have of late years been discontinued†, and evidence from Music Hall programmes from this time onwards shows a focus on popular idioms. However, other Music Halls continued to offer what might be considered as more ‘highbrow’ entertainment. The Alhambra in Leicester Square specialised in ballet, and Evans’ in Covent Garden offered â€Å"songs, glees, and part songs, executed by a well-trained choir† (Anon 1867). The ballets at the Alhambra continued to at least the turn of the century and it also staged a number of operettas. Decline 1900-1920 In its early days, Music Hall had been seen as a largely lower-class entertainment. In the early 1900s, it gained respectability, with knighthoods for some of its key personalities and the first Royal Command Performance, featuring Music Hall acts, taking place in 1912 (Sadie 1980: XII/833). A number of developments led to the decline of Music Halls. In 1914, eating and drinking in the auditorium was banned (Gammond 1991: 409 et al) and Music Halls in effect became theatres. Many continued to offer seasons of variety performances, and there was still great interest in the entertainment, but it was now required to compete with new media: first the cinema, then radio. New music styles such as jazz were also gaining in popularity. Its influence is evident in some later Music Hall songs: ‘Lily of Laguna’ (1898) uses syncopation and describes an idealised world of African Americans living in the Southern States of the US. Its use of language such as ‘nigger’ and ‘coon’ would be considered offensive today, but reflects the very different attitude to race at the time (Davison 1971: 95). The song was written by the English songwriter Leslie Stuart for Eugene Stratton, an American performer who appeared regularly ‘blacked up’ : this practice was widespread within the Music Hall, and continued for many years with The Black and White Minstrels a popular TV show as late as the 1970s. By the 1940s, Music Hall had largely disappeared. Gramophones provided musical entertainment in the home. The stars of variety diversified: Gracie Fields developed firstly a film career then focused on radio broadcasts in addition to appearances in variety (Gammond 1991: 189), and George Formby appeared in a number of films as well as continuing the work of his father (also George Formby, a popular variety singer at the turn of the century) in Royal Command performances and other revues (Gammond 1991: 203). The Legacy of the Music Hall The influence of the Music Hall is still very much evident in British culture. It played a major part in the development of stand-up comedy, and the Comedy Club, which has seen a revival in recent years with chains such as Jongleurs, owes an obvious debt to the Music Hall tradition. The variety show featured regularly on TV well into the 1970s on shows such as ‘The Good Old Days’, and the annual Royal Command Performance, with a range of acts, is still televised. Pantomimes too feature many characteristics of those in the late 19th century, with TV personalities taking the roles that Music Hall celebrities enjoyed a hundred years ago. The musical styles seen in Music Hall continue to influence artists. ‘Obladi, Oblada’ (Lennon and McCartney, recorded by the Beatles 1968) features a fourline verse with sequence-based melodies and a simple refrain, with a line repeated, reminiscent of the choruses inviting audience participation in Music Hall. More recently, Blur’s ‘Parklife’ (1994) uses the concept of performer taking on a personality, with club- and concert-goers joining in with the ‘Parklife’ motif at the end of each line, much like a Music Hall audience would have joined in with choruses. Music Hall should therefore be seen not just as a cultural phenomenon in its own right, but as a development in a long history of popular song and entertainment. Bibliography Clarke, Donald (Ed) (1989) Penguin Encyclopaedia of Popular Music (Viking, London) Davison, Peter (1971) Songs of the British Music Hall (Oak Publications, New York) Dickens, Charles Jnr (1879) Dickens Dictionary of London ‘Music Halls’, reproduced on www.arthurlloyd.co.uk Frith, Simon and Marshall, Lee (2004) Music and Copyright (2nd Edition, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh) Frow, Gerald (1985) Oh Yes It Is! A History of Pantomime (BBC, London) Gillies, Midge (1999) Marie Lloyd: The One and Only (Gollancz, London) Gammond, Peter (1991) The Oxford Companion to Popular Music (Oxford University Press, Oxford) Harding, James (1990) George Robey and the Music Hall (Hodder and Stoughton, London) Harris, Jose (1994) Private Lives, Public Spirit: Britain 1870-1914 (Penguin, London) Kilgariff, Michael (Compiler) (1998) Sing us One of the Old Songs: A Guide to Popular Song 1860-1920 (Oxford University Press, Oxford) Middleton, Richard (1990) Studying Popular M usic (Open University, Milton Keynes) Price, Richard (1999) British Society, 1680-1880 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge) Sadie, Stanley (1980) New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Vol. 12 pp831-834 (McMillan, London) Thompson, F M L (1988) The Rise of Respectable Society: A Social History of Traubner, Richard (1984) Operetta: A Theatrical History (Gollancz, London) Victorian Britain 1830-1900 (Fontana, London) Waites, Bernard, Bennett, Tony and Martin, Graham (Eds.) (1982) Popular Culture: Past and Present (Croom Helm, London, in Association with the Open University) Weightman, Gavin (2003) What the Industrial Revolution Did for Us (BBC, London) Websites www.arthurlloyd.co.uk Anon (1867) Extracts from ‘The Tomahawk, 14th and 21st September 1867   Dickens, Charles Jnr (1879) ‘Music Halls’ from Dickens’s Dictionary of London Greenwood, James (1869) The Seven Curses of London www.pepysdiary.com Pepys, Samuel (1661) Diary extract from 31st August 1661 Recordings Blur ‘Parklife’ (From the album ‘Parklife’, 1994, Food Records) The Beatles ‘Obladi, Oblada’ (From the White Album, 1968, Parlophone)

The Keys to Entrepreneurship Essay -- GCSE Business Marketing Coursewo

The Keys to Entrepreneurship What makes a successful entrepreneur? What can one do to put oneself in a position to succeed on their own? Jay Goltz, for example, is an extremely successful entrepreneur who started his business from the ground up. In the summer of 1978, Jay Goltz founded the Artist’s Frame Service. His business started by using his father’s basement as his office, but eventually moved to an old factory district in Chicago. Today, Goltz’s business in the largest retail, custom picture framing facility in the United States, with over 120 employees and more than $9 million in sales. This success has led Goltz to earn several awards, including being inducted into the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. What did Goltz do or possess to make his business venture so successful? Perhaps if one asks the right questions the answers will reveal themselves. Why do entrepreneurs like Jay Goltz succeed when so many others fail? Can a person develop the personality traits to become a suc cessful entrepreneur, and how would one attempt to do that? How important is a business plan when getting started in a business like Goltz’s Artist’s Frame Service? By examining Jay Goltz, and how he started his business, one should be able to identify the attributes that are required to be successful in entrepreneurship. Jay Goltz succeeded in business, I believe, because he was much more prepared than the average person was. Along with possessing key personality traits, Mr. Golt...

The Arab Baath Movement and The Rise of the Baath Party in Syria Essay

Contrary to popular beliefs, civil activism and civil society has managed to thrive in the Middle East. Social movements on a variety of topics have occurred despite the lack of democracy and democratic institutions in certain countries. One popular movement was the Arab Ba’ath Movement which eventually led to the formation of the Baath Party. By analyzing the movement’s history, ideological stance, goals, the actors, dissenters, and international aspect, one can determine how and why the movement flourished in Syria. Syria was granted de jure independence from the French in 1941. However, the country was not truly independent until 1946. For the next twenty-five years, the country would be launched into extreme political instability and party factionalism. In the beginning, the parties were moderate and pushed for economic and social reforms to match. But, as the 1940s came to an end, these liberal parties lost their legitimacy. The rural workers and urban poor were growing unhappy with the current state of affairs and started advocating for more radical changes in the political and economic realm. During this time period, Baathism, which eventually evolved into the Arab Baath Party in 1947, became very prominent in the Arab world. Started by Michael Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar, the movement was created in Damascus due to the intense nationalism that was sweeping the country in response to the British and French control of the area. The movement gained legitimacy by using sources that Arabians could identify with: history, religion, nationalism, development, freedom, and socialism (Gerner and Schrodt 112). However, Baathism didn’t appeal to everyone in Syria. The urban Sunni middle class especially wasn’t attracted to Baa... ...ersity of New York Press, 1991. Web. Galvani, John. "Syria and the Baath Party." Middle East Research and Information Project 25.Feburary (1974): 3-16. JSTOR. Web. 2 Apr 2012. Gerner, Deborah J., and Philip A. Schrodt. "Middle Eastern Politics." Understanding the Contemporary Middle East. 3rd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008. 85 -136. Print. Hinnebusch, Raymond. "Syria." The Middle East. Ed. Ellen Lust. 12th ed. Washington (D.C.): CQ, 2011. 675-701. Print. Kamrava, Mehran. "The Arab-Israeli Wars." The Modern Middle East: A Political History since the First World War. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 2010. 109-39. Print. Mufti, Malik. "The United States and Nasserist Pan-Arabism." The Middle East and the United States: A Historical and Political Reassessment. Ed. David W. Lesch. 3rd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview, 2003. 168-87. Print.

The Maltese Falcon :: essays research papers fc

Dashiell Hammett’s San Francisco: A Unique Setting in the Changing World of Early 20th Century Detective Fiction The Pacific coast port city of San Francisco, California provides a distinctively mysterious backdrop in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. Unlike many other detective stories that are anchored in well-known metropolises such as Los Angeles or New York City, Hammett opted to place the events of his text in the lesser-known, yet similarly exotic cultural confines of San Francisco. Hammett used his own intricate knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area - coupled with details collected during a stint as a detective for the now defunct Pinkerton Agency - to craft a distinctive brand of detective fiction that thrived on such an original setting (Paul 93). By examining the setting of 1920’s San Francisco in The Maltese Falcon, it becomes apparent that one of Hammett’s literary strengths was his exceptional ability to intertwine non-fictional places with a fictional plot and characters in order to produce a logical and exceedingly believable detective mystery.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dashiell Hammett called the San Francisco area home from 1920 until 1936. For a portion of those fourteen years, he shared an apartment on Eddy Street with his first wife Josephine Dolan. This apartment was located very near the San Francisco Public Library on Larkin Street where in 1921 Hammett first conceived the idea of his writing detective fiction. San Francisco historian and author Don Freeman explains: In the library he would read the magazines and the books and one day after reading several detective yarns he said, ‘I can do that.’ The truth is, he could. And he did. He wrote for Black Mask, a pulp detective magazine, and then as his skills increased he began to write novels. It was in this library that Dashiell Hammett saw his future. (79) Hammett contributed stories to Black Mask for ten years until The Maltese Falcon gained public and literary acclaim. Many of the stories that Hammett penned for Black Mask were set in San Francisco, as the city provided him with a unique atmosphere in which to observe and record different cultures, norms, and fads. In the 1920’s, San Francisco was thought of as an exotic melting pot of culture that was rivaled only by its eastern cultural counterpart of New York City. Therefore, it is no surprise that Hammett used San Francisco as the setting of The Maltese Falcon to further illustrate the exotic and striking nature of the plot and characters within the text (Dumenil 211).

Warlord – Creative Writing

â€Å"Half a year before you were born, a great battle was fought and many brave men lost their lives. Your father led his army of seven thousand men into battle, they were fighting the evil Rovonaga. It was a lost cause right from the start, only three thousand of the seven were trained warriors, the rest ordinary men trying to save their homes. The odds were four to one as Rovonaga had a force twenty-eight thousand strong, including five thousand cavalry and five thousand archers, each extremely well trained in what they did. It was said every archer could pierce an apple at four hundred yards. The other eighteen thousand were fully armoured samurai with swords so sharp they could cut a human torso clean in half. Our men fought bravely, but the outcome was inevitable, they lost and with it the land. Rovonaga gave no mercy, he murdered every last man until a river of blood flowed. Your father was killed last, they hung him from a tree at the top of a hill so everyone could see him. His body was left there and nobody ever took it down, it slowly decomposed over time and nothing is left, except the rope, which still hangs as a symbol to show what happens if you get in Rovonaga's way. That is how your father died son, he died an honourable man. A brave man, like your father, may die, but cowards do not live at all. † Akechi remembered when his mother told him that story when he was six years old. That same night Rovonaga's soldiers broke into their house, tied Akechi to a chair and made him watch as his mum was slowly tortured to death. He managed to break free and run from Yalu, a large province in Japan where he lived. When he was young he remembered his mother telling him what Yalu used to be like before Rovonaga took over. He pictured the image in his head now, a beautiful, free place. Miles upon miles of fields, covered in crops. The warm sun beaming down giving colour and growth to all. The place was alive with animals of every kind, freely running here and there. Butterflies filled the air and birds the sky as rabbits roamed the ground. Farmers tended to their crops happily, at one with the creatures. She said the air smelt so fresh and every breath was like new life rushing into you. The highest hill was covered with trees, its top barely visible. Flowers flourished in-between each tree and she said it was like walking through paradise. No sounds, except those of animals, no smell, except that of freshness. He remembered she once told him she climbed a tree on top of the hill. When she reached the top she was in the clouds, like being in heaven. She never climbed it again as she thought it was so holy it was only meant to be visited by God. Akechi desperately wanted to see this land, as it should be. Then he remembered what it was like before left. Chitu Village lay at the centre of Yalu, this was where Rovonaga lived. It was basically a huge palace for him and his generals. Not a nice place, an ugly place, too big and covered in statues of eerie creatures. Small men with horns and great, giant goblins on top of towers. Surrounding his palace was where his soldiers lived, another ugly place, but luxury compared to outside of Chitu. In the six and a half years Rovonaga had been in Yalu, he had sucked the life out of everything. The people were treated like slaves, only kept alive to serve Rovonaga and his soldiers. They grew all the crops, harvested them yet at the end they saw none of them. They were lucky if they got a meal a day and many died of starvation and exhaustion. The hill where the trees once grew and the flowers flourished was now where a big, black iron gate stood, the only way in or out of Yalu. Walls soared high all around the border, covered with spikes, just as much to keep people in as out. It was a huge prison and the people were prisoners in their own homes. All animals had fled, their habitats destroyed and no life lived inside of these walls. The land was suffocated and the air heavy. People breathed unwillingly, they only did because they knew they had to. Although the sun shone it appeared colourless and so did the land, everything black and white. The dead were not cared for and bodies lay here and there, some fresh others half decomposed. People did not live, they were merely bodies, without souls or spirits, all doing the same routine everyday. Nobody smiled, nobody laughed and most people did not even talk. Guards watched and drove the people on, whipping, beating and killing. When he was six Akechi escaped. He found a small gap in-between the land and the bottom of the wall. He dug furiously, earth flying out behind him. He heard guards coming and so surged on. The gap was now just big enough for him to get through, he did and he had made it, he was free. He ran and ran that night, too scared to stop, tears blurring his vision. Most of the way he cried for his mother, but she was never coming back. By sheer fortune he had run to the coast. There he saw a small trading vessel lying in the harbour. He sneaked upon board and hid himself inside a box. Inside he collapsed from exhaustion and slept for hours. He was in such a deep sleep he did not even know the boat had set sail. The boat took him to China and there he spent the next twenty years of his life. A family took him in and he was raised as if he were one of their own. He joined the Chinese army and with his father's spirit and his intelligence he rose higher. He became general of the whole of South-East China and many people looked up to him. He was a fine leader and a great strategist. He also became well known for his excellence with the blade. Like his father before him, Akechi was a true samurai warrior. Rovonaga became bored with hid palace life and one day he ordered his troops to got o Chinese ports and burn any ships they saw. He wanted a war, and a war he would get. The Chinese government reacted straight away and ordered Akechi to take his men over to Japan and crush Rovonaga. Akechi rallied his men and they boarded their ships. Under his command Akechi had ten thousand samurai, six thousand archers and two thousand cavalry. A total force of eighteen thousand, but he was outnumbered by Rovonaga's force. They landed in the same port Akechi had fled from twenty years ago. There the army camped and stayed for the night. The next day was spent unloading the ships and gathering provisions. That night they marched until they were just three miles from the walls of Yalu. Akechi's plan was one which relied on the element of surprise. He planned to camp for that day and attack at dawn of the next. Armour was strapped on, swords worn and bows carried. He gathered his troops together and told them this. â€Å"I know we are outnumbered in total force, but we will win. We will catch our enemy by surprise and overthrow them. We have more archers and this is a great advantage. Also I am sure you are all thinking that we cannot get past the Walls of Yalu. We will use ladders to get over, rams to smash the gate, any means possible. Have you thought the people of Yalu may help. When they see what is happening they will rise and rebel. Giving us time and maybe letting us in. Be brave all of you. Someone once told me: a brave man may die, but cowards do not live at all. Which one are you, I know my men and all of you are the first. Come on lets march on to victory. † Just as he planned Akechi attacked at dawn. He ordered his archers to fire, and his men to go and ram the gate. A storm of arrows went over the walls, many hitting targets. Ladders went up and men climbed over. Rovonaga quickly rallied his troops and sent them to meet this onslaught. The gate held and could not be breeched, men fell from the ladders and Rovonaga was winning, there was simply no way in. The solid iron gate could only be opened from the inside. The people in Yalu did do what Akechi had hoped, they rebelled and fought the soldiers. This gave Akechi some time, in which he thought and planned. The gap in the wall where he had escaped, it was just around the corner. He had a plan, a trap. He sent his foot soldiers to go down the hill and stay there, he did the same with his cavalry and archers. He took about a thousand men and five hundred archers around to the gap. There he ordered his archers to give covery fire and keep the enemy's heads down, and with his thousand men he ordered them to dig, but slowly. As he had hoped Rovonaga had seen them do this and assumed it was the whole army. He could not get to them, but he could not afford to let them in. So he chose to go and meet them. The gate opened and first out was Rovonaga and his five thousand cavalry, they galloped around the side to meet the army at the gap. As did the eighteen thousand men that followed. His archers stayed on top of the wall firing down upon Akechi and his men. The men did not see the main bulk of the army at the bottom of the hill, and the trap was set. The gates were left open and three thousand of Akechi's archers and a thousand of his foot soldiers went inside. Here they killed any remaining soldiers and all of the archers. Then Akechi's men did what Rovonaga's archers were doing and fired upon the enemy below. Meanwhile the cavalry and the remaining two thousand five hundred archers and eight thousand foot soldiers went to meet Rovonaga's force. They attacked the rear and the cavalry charged and chopped the men to pieces. The archers were very effective against Rovonaga's cavalry and foot soldiers, and severely weakened both. The samurai soldiers cam in to finish the fight off. Rovonaga surrendered and Akechi had won. His men were spared as was he. Rovonaga and his men were kept in prison for the rest of their lives and things slowly returned to normal. The walls were torn down as was the place and the great iron gate. Colour returned to Yalu and so did life. New trees were planted, animals returned and over the years things became increasingly better. Akechi retired from the Chinese army and became ruler of Yalu which China gave back to Japan. Life went on better than ever. Akechi was a great ruler and his people loved him, a true warlord.

Casestudy of admin user

The system to be implemented will be an arsenal system of SC Officers (SIT Student Council) containing all information regarding SC officers, task , schedules of duties, projects update, announcement and Adman messages for members and accomplishment report. The main functionality of this system Is to make It easy to distribute and view Information needed with Just a few clicks. 1. 2. 1 General Objective To provide services appropriate related to the priority of each task of officers. It may be important to ensure consistent service over a set of tasks. Member's schedules, personal information, task etc. Will be updated. 2_2 Specific Objectives The specific objective of the project is to support every member's need for real time information. By using a system like this, the members can easily view their specific task and important matters. 1. 3 Significance of the Study This will allow users to have a tool to access related Information that will help them In viewing their schedule and task, announcement and project updates. This can also help Adrian and president In monitoring the members progress. Members will also has a benefit from this system in terms of getting the information, announcements ND other concern of the adman.This tool will also help adman in assessing their members' standings and performing quick resolutions to augment their performance when they view their account from the scheduling system. 1. 4 Scope and Limitations This project will help the members view the following Information. Schedule Task Announcement Messages Project Updates This tool should be updated so that the members and adman can get accurate and credentials form to access the system, same with the adman for security purposes. This system is for the SC Officers only. This system cannot be access using mobile. . 0 Methodology of the Study The education sector is playing a vital role in shaping how the next generation of information technology market will lead with more advances to streamline every rules and specification process. School universities and colleges have adopting the aspect of developing systems and program applications for the advancement of opportunity for improvements. Like every other school institution SIT has also its own student organization that design to help other student of different level and courses address basic issues and encores.The organization comprises with selected students with dedicated and have a high sense of responsibility as a student from workplace and with the co- students. Our project team is composed of five members and one of the developers is an officer of SIT Student Council that initiates to propose and established a tailored and custom desktop application called â€Å"Scheduling System† that would benefit and streamlined its current process for (SC) SIT Student Council as our end user target client. The software like Visual Basic.Net as one of the in demand cutting edge littoral technology of Microsoft is the team choice to use by its advantages. With this kind of software and its capability it can create a more flexible user design and user experience as the front end leverage in working with different type of back end databases. However, team decide to use the Myself software as our database where we connect the tables and query we have created as our data source. It has different type such as the log in form where registered user can only access like Adman and officers.Next form is where you can see the personal information, schedule task, ember's logs, announcement, messages, password reset and projects. Next form can be seen each account of every officer, their task and schedules, announcement from the adman and projects. Next form is where can be seen project proposal and messages. The system designed to create a centralize information for each member to manage their workloads, task, events, and other assigned roles.Advantages: Officers can view listed task Officers can vie w scheduled events Adman can managed collaborative information of officers task Adman can view logs for attendance officers The system is windows base and hosted only at school Can be use for present and future batch of student council The system is limited for student council only Members can view at the school only The system cannot be implemented online Tailored desktop application implemented where the local server is hosted within the school infrastructure only.Maintenance is administered with the help of school staff and member of the council. The project development has its few high lights such as closely working with the team, scheduled a weekly meetings over nights, create a well documented task and to co's, dig the research and development, learn the team collaboration, increase technical expertise. 3. 0 Data Gather and Procedure and Output The team agreed to use the personal interviews by getting their statement and opinions from its current process with an opportunity of improvements.Provide like a survey form or questionnaires with some set of specific questions considering related concerns to the organization. The close coordination with the clients that help us gives the precise insights of how we are going to start the design, development, and implementation. The more important aspects are to ensure the well documented of every detailed business rules and specification requirements gathered from the end user.Project milestone and timeliness are closely monitored to meet the target deliverable of the project. An established high level to low level diagram process flow help sustain the development stage of the software life cycle. User acceptance testing is the crucial part by working closely with the client to ensure in meeting all the requirements upon deployment. Final implementation and deployment is happen after user acceptance testing provided with team maintenance and support.