The Red Violin free essay sample

The wood of my violin used to be a deep red. It used to be polished and shiny, the rich color standing out among the other violins in the shop. I rented it a week after I had turned ten, as a birthday present to myself. I loved it more than the world, until I actually started playing it. That was when I had realized something: playing violin is really, really hard. My fingers couldn’t hold the bow correctly and I dropped it more times than I could count. My left hand, responsible for every note that I played, betrayed me every day. My fingers throbbed after every ten minute practice and the dent of the string marked my fingers for weeks afterwards. That first year, I hated violin more than anything. The second year was even worse. Everyone who had struggled with me the year before suddenly became Mozart as they flawlessly played everything our teacher gave us. We will write a custom essay sample on The Red Violin or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I was left behind, forced to blame my terrible playing on the prescription of my glasses, claiming that I couldn’t see the right notes. By this time, my fingers had grown calluses to help slide on the string but they still abandoned me every time I had to play C sharp. To make it all worse, my teacher refused to let me drop to the beginner class, even though I was probably closer to their level than the advanced level of my friends. What I didn’t realize, and what my teacher had known all along, was that my fear of being left behind by my rapidly advancing peers forced me to practice until my fingers bled and my hand couldn’t close all the way. There were sixty five of us that first year in fourth grade. By fifth, there were seven. Three went on to middle school, and by the time high school rolled around, there was only me. I begged my friends to continue on with me so that I wouldn’t be the only one, but they were tired of aching fingers and lugging the huge case to and from school everyday.I never quit playing, partly because after so long it had become part of who I am. I could never abandon my dear violin, who had moved with me and lived with me through all the dreadful practices, the adrenaline filled concerts, and hardships of balancing practice with homework and sports. My violin was an old friend, always supporting me and providing a stress reliever and a quiet moment in my hectic daily cycle of sleep-school-soccer-clubs-homework-swim. Freshman year I outgrew my red violin, along with my old group of friends, music, and style, and bought a new violin that was a deep orange color. This one didn’t have the peeling tape my old one had to remind me of where to put my fingers. It was different in almost every way, but then again, so was I. I had swapped long straightened hair for my short natural curls, and my priorities had shifted from ‘make time to play violin’ to ‘balance violin with sports, magazine editor duties, volunteer service, and homework’. Up until a year ago, I never understood why I continued to play the violin. It was annoying to bring to school, took up at least an hour of valuable homework time to practice, was loud and screeching at times and added a layer of stress to everything when concerts came around. But those countless hours I spent hunched over sheet music were unforgettable. The feeling of pride that filled me when I managed to play a hard verse correctly made me feel warm to my core. And at the end of every day, no matter if I got a bad test score or missed a goal in soccer or came in last in my swim race, I just take a deep breath, tune my violin, and start playing.

Income Redistribution Example

Income Redistribution Example Income Redistribution – Book Report/Review Example full Income Re-distribution (benefits and drawbacks) 12 June Response to the article – the current welfare system and in general, the overall type of income re-distribution in America has become much more complicated and very complex. It had over the years become distorted and skewed away from its original good intentions to help people who are less fortunate in life and help them become productive citizens in a near future such that they do not become wards of the state. Although there are many adverse and undesirable consequences of a socialist-oriented government welfare system, the original well intentions of those who designed these programs had thought of the excesses of a free market capitalist economy wherein the rich get richer while the poor gets poorer and gets left behind. It is unworkable for any liberal democracy for such huge gaps in inequality in both incomes and wealth to exist because it undermines the principle of equality. However, the article is to be comm ended for citing nineteen undesired consequences of such ill-advised social programs because it discourages people from seeking to increase their income due to excessive taxation in which the recipients of welfare are often undeserving of such help. A regressive tax system destroys the economy in the long term and also makes society poorer (Higgs para. 7).Response to a students post – although it is indeed discouraging to pay more taxes in which these are given to people as free benefits without working for them, the other side of an argument like this is to reform the entire system of American income re-distribution to make it much more equitable. The reforms should look at each income re-distribution payment to see whether it makes sense to continue it, reform it, or just abolish it altogether to avoid leakages. People less fortunate should be helped but only up to certain point and for a limited time only to prevent creating a culture of dependency and mendicancy but to pr omote meritocracy. Work CitedHiggs, Robert. â€Å"Nineteen neglected consequences of income redistribution.† The Independent Institute, 05 Dec. 1994. Web. 11 June 2014. . Due: June 12, 2014 @ 10:41 a.m.

How to Talk Politics and Still Stay Friends

How to Talk Politics and Still Stay Friends Is it possible to talk politics without the conversation ending in bruised egos and hurt feelings? Is politics, like religion, a  subject too taboo  for the holiday gathering or family function? And if someone does unexpectedly start to talk politics at your dinner table, what should you do? Republicans. Democrats. Libertarians. Greens. Neocons. Ultraliberals. Americans are a diverse bunch, and theyre growing increasingly polarized and seemingly more unable by the minute to talk politics in a civilized manner. Usually, a fight breaks out when the topic turns to the upcoming election. Here are five ideas for how to talk politics and still stay friends with your partisan pals. Cite Facts, Not Opinions If you absolutely must talk politics, one way to avoid messy confrontations is to steer clear of opinions and instead cite facts. Dont say, for example, that you think all Republicans are insensitive or all Democrats are elitists. Steer clear of painting everyone with such a broad brush. If you find yourself engaged in political debate while trying to enjoy the Thanksgiving turkey, use facts to gently back up your position. This will require some preparation and study the night before a get-together, but a policy discussion that centers on facts and not opinion tends to be one that is more thoughtful and less likely to end in a brawl. Disagree Respectfully Dont shake your head in disgust. Dont interrupt. Dont sigh like Al Gore did during his debate with George W. Bush in 2000. Dont roll your eyes. Dont be a jerk, in other words. There are at least two sides to every debate, two visions for the future, and yours isnt necessarily the right one. Let your sparring partner have his say, then explain in an even tone why you disagree. Do not use the phrase, You are wrong. This makes the disagreement personal, and it shouldnt be. Stick to the facts, be respectful, and your holiday gathering should be a smash. In a good way, of course. The bottom line: Agree to disagree. See the Other Side Lets face it: If you were right all the time, youd be president and not that other guy in the White House. Theres a chance youre wrong about some things. Its always good to see an argument through your sparring partners eyes. Occasionally, should you feel the need to extinguish what appears to be an escalation of the political rhetoric, stop and say to your friend, You know, thats a good point. I never looked at it that way. Dont Take It Personally So you and your pals or in-laws once disagreed over how President Barack Obama had handled the economy, or whether Mitt Romney really understood the middle class. Who cares? That shouldnt have an impact on your friendship. The bottom line: This is isnt about you. Get over your bruised ego or hurt feelings. Move on. Embrace your differences. Theyre what make America great. Keep Quiet If you really dont have anything nice to say, as the old maxim goes, dont say anything at all. This is especially true when talking politics. If a civil discussion of the issues is impossible with your friends and family, its best to keep quiet. Even if they raise force the issue, stay silent. Shrug your shoulders. Duck into the bathroom. Pretend to be distracted by the song playing in the background. Whatever it takes, keep your thoughts to yourself. For silence is the best policy of all in the long run.

A multinational company maximises its competitive advantage by Essay

A multinational company maximises its competitive advantage by controlling its own supply chain. Discuss - Essay Example According to Caves (2007) any business, which has showed potentiality of having varied number of chain stores located in different parts of the world is capable of achieving adequate economies of scale such as timeliness, humble use of global resources and market dominance amongst other aspects, which can only be relevant to the maintenance of supply chain. Globalization and FDI The globalization of commerce has a major impact on modern business (TOMAR, 2009). Globalization affects the way business is carried out and the geographical area where a business can operate. With globalization, even small businesses are able t operate in the global arena, which then leads to Foreign Direct Investment. Foreign Direct Investment affects and in turn is affected by the supply chain. It also affects the supply chain decisions which a firm is likely to make with regard to whether they are going to manage their entire supply chain or if they are going to outsource the supply chain to a third part. With regard to choosing a supply chain model, businesses look for the model which will offer them strategic edge over their competitors. It is therefore not a matter of choice, but it is a matter of choosing the most efficient way of survival in a marketplace that has been made even more competitive by the existence of globalization. Issues of competitive advantage simply entail an organization being able to dominate the market over other firms who trade in the same line of product. Firms that have numerous numbers of chain stores in different countries have got potentials of achieving increased sales volume. Besides proper choice of the location of an industry is the most practical way of distribution of production cost. Therefore, with very minimal cost of production a company can easily enjoy the competitive advantage. Moreover, with several advantages associated with supply chains, the company would be left with principal mandate of concentrating on other internal aspects of pr oduction, and this makes appropriate benefit to the maintenance of supply chain by an organization (working mother, 2001). The Coase Theory of Transactions Costs and Decisions Making The Coase theory postulates that in the absence of transactional costs, businesses would be able to share the property space without having to worry how resources are allocated (Jager, 2008). In regard to the supply chain, what this means is that if there are no negotiation costs between two firms which are at different levels in a single supply chain, the two firms would not mind continuing to depend on each other to complete the supply chain. The Coase theory was developed by Ronald Coase who tried to understand the free markets and why regulations are not necessary. According to the Coase theory, an organization would only then choose to control all its supply chain if there were costs of negotiating the terms of service with other firms in the supply chain. If these costs of negotiation do not exist , the costs of outsourcing some of the supply chain would not hinder a firm from outsourcing. In fact, according to the Coase theory, where transactions of negotiations do not exist, the two (or more) firms in a supply chain would naturally gravitate to the most efficient relationships with the most efficient supply chain. This implies that in the abs

The Emergence Of Jazz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Emergence Of Jazz - Essay Example It is at this age that the jazz music took over the country, and one would imagine that the Englishmen appreciated the culture of the Blacks. With 1919-1930 regarded as the Harlem Renaissance thanks to the spread of the culture of the Blacks, Jazz music spread exceptionally4. However, the Europeans would grab a section of the Jazz music lovers as they moved their music from New Orleans to Chicago so as they could accrue economic gain from their music5. It is evident that these whites enjoyed a huge deal from the Jazz market as it was crowded by African Americans in the times. For the Europeans, jazz music was a continuation of their Blues music. As seen in the work of Scaruffi, jazz musicians were simply singing like the Blue singing groups only that they played instruments as opposed to using their vocals6. The creativity in jazz music was then similar to that of the blues music. The voices of the musicians were simply fashioned to sound like that of the instruments. The instruments used explain what jazz music was for the Europeans and how the sounds played the role of the voices in the music7. The events that shaped the 1919 war played a huge role in the making of jazz music. The Europeans were motivated by their zeal to rise to power, and also they needed to define their style. Fitzgerald says that the generation of the time included teenagers in the course of the war and the events of the war motivated the youth and the jazz artists8. The war is still clear in the brains of numerous Englishmen. With this in mind, the jazz musicians then had the need to stimulate the nerves of its listeners. Fitzgerald says that the youth of the time were wild, while new types of audiences rose from the war9. Barker and  Barbara add that there involved the wealthy middle class’ kids, servicemen, bureaucrats, and women escalating to public service10. A close check of these audiences entails gender and class.

Directing a Scene from Act 3 of the The Crucible by Arthur Miller :: Essay on The Crucible

I will be directing a scene from Act 3, of the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The Crucible - Hello, my name is ...................................., and today I will be directing a scene from Act 3, of the play 'The Crucible' by Arthur Miller. Act 3 is probably the most interesting and important acts of the play, and I'm looking forward to writing it in the way I perceive it. The scene I've chosen is from when the girls enter the court room, to when Proctor says he beleives Abigail a murderer. I feel this scene is full of tension, and many different twists which will make it fun to plan and direct. The scene starts with Cheever entering the court with Sussanna Walcott, Mercy Lewis, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams. They are wearing dark grey dresses, slightly worn, with white aprons and hats. This is to show how Puritan ways were, as they beleived in wearing dull colurs to show their loyalty to God, and to show that they will not 'party' as they did not like anything 'out of the ordinary' and didn't even celebrate Christmas. The girls look solemn, and look very much like 'children'. They will walk in with slight puzzlement on their faces to show they do not know why they have been summoned, but Abigails face will twitch slightly when she sees Proctor. Abigail loves Proctor, and wonders why he is here. She had once said to him 'John - I am waitin' for you every night' meaning she desires him, and wishes him no harm. The first line is said by Cheever. 'Ruth Putnam's not in the court, sir, nor the other children' he says as he wzlks up to Danforth, leaving the girls behind him. He doesn't want to be near the girls,as everyone, including him, fear them. They have power, and can accuse him of being involved in witchcraft if he does anything they do not like. Danforth then walks up to them, and instructs them to 'sit you down children.' He has a sense of authority in his voice and says 'children' because they are very precious and pure to him, but as we've seen in Act 1, Abigail is not a child. She resents it when people call her that, especially Proctor, and replies 'how do you call me a child' showing her anger and frustration of the label. However, Abigail will sit down as commanded and will not flinch because Danforth is of high superior, and holds her life in his hands. The girls sit on the left side of the room, furthest from the door, so

Black Men and Public Space Essay

In Brent Staples’ personal essay â€Å"Black Men and Public Space†, he tells the readers what happen to a young black man in an urban setting. He pinpointed that people often stereotype you because of color, race, gender, culture or appearance. In addition, the author expresses to us that he notices the space between him and other people, such as women on the street. Some people may disagree that women set a certain amount of space when walking by a black man on the street. This statement is not true and public space is not about race, gender, color, culture, or appearance. Do we as a people stereotype other people because of race or gender? I believe that race plays a big role when viewing other people, either if were walking down the street or walking into the store. We have a specific view of people from other races and even their own. For example, a black businesswoman might stereotype another woman from her own race because she may not have the same attire as her or grew up in a different area. A white businesswoman might look down on another white women who make less money than her like she is no one, which is not true. But back to Staples’, he once said that a woman cast worried glance at Staples when she saw him walking down the street. Staples found this to be a little strange as he walks too close to the women she seems to pick up her pace of speed after a few glimpses of Staples. In this part of the essay, Staples had a sense that a woman who barely knows him was probably stereotyping him. In addition, he stated that when he would walk in front of a car when people were at a stoplight, men and women would lock their car doors. In recent news in the put exact month it happened year 2013, there was a famous story about a young boy named Trayvon Martin. Trayvon’s story can relate well with the author personal essay. Just like Staples, Travyon was a young African American boy who was stereotyped by the way he looked by someone of another race. The person that speculated young Trayvon to be dangerous was a Latino man, name George Zimmerman who was well over Trayvon’s age, and thought the young boy had a gun in his pocket and was going to shoot him. Zimmerman perceived Trayvon to be a dangerous threat to the person of a different race but in reality he was a young boy with a hoodie over his head and skittles in his pocket. Staples personal essay relates to this story because when he walks into a store or down the street people would look at him in a different light. Just because he is young African American man walking down the street or into the store doesn’t mean he will steal, kill, or rape someone. Instead looking down on people of other races than our own, we other need to be optimistic because not everyone is the same. People shouldn’t have to change their demeanor for other people not to be scared of them because of what they look like or their race. Brent Staples believed that the woman in his personal essay thought he was a rapist, mugger, or worse, he noted that there was a certain amount distance between him and women especially at night. This proves to show that when people are being stereotyped they pay close attention to gender as well as race. You’re less likely to be afraid of a black woman, or any woman, walking down the street at night. When the woman saw a black man it seemed as if she felt trapped and that the narrator closing in on her only made her more anxious and ready to run. Would the situation be the same if a black woman were walking behind her? I believe the situation would be nothing similar to what the narrator experienced. Most people see women as less intimidating than a man. I know if a woman was wearing a hoodie and walking behind me I would be less scared and intimidated than if a man was walking behind me. I think part of that is our perception of the opposite sex. I perceive men as stronger than women, no matter what their race is. It’s just the image that we get from the media, our parents, and our surroundings. Either way people are stereotyped everyday, it doesn’t matter if you are black/white or a man/woman. As a whole we need to stop labeling people by the way they look because one day we might mistake the wrong person that appears to be a good a person but in reality they are the rapist or mugger. So before you decide to give off any perception of anyone by the way they look, you should be optimistic and have an open mind towards other people, but still have guard up.