The Connections Between the Acts of Obsession, The Visual Outcomes and

The main focus of this essay is to explore the connections between the acts of obsession, the visual outcomes and the ideas behind it. The concepts and themes have been narrowed down into four groups for discussion. In the first group I examine two texts that deal with obsession as art, both texts include groups of artists working with obsession in their practice. The second group includes two examples of people dealing with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). OCD is a behavior pattern that is not a choice. These examples I have found unveil two completely different people who share the same disorder and share with you the ways in which they cope and live their lives. Next I will discuss Colour and form with three texts that help inform the thinking and making of my art. Last but not least I have three texts that about collecting everyday objects. These texts can all relate to one another through common threads of collections though I felt it was necessary to group them into themes to best explain the relationships between theory and my practice. Scrutinizing I started my annotations journey by looking at a renowned group of 35 artists who share the same obsessive need to acquire items for art making. Lynne Perrelle’s book Art making, collecting and obsessions reveals an insight into the art practices of artists working with the same idea of obsession I have been interested in with my art. This book has been a good starting point for my thinking about connections between my work and other artists. Perrelle outlines each artists practice with how their obsession is made into art. For example, artist Daniel Essig is obsessed with looking for tiny objects that look out of place along side the riverbank. To Essig there is ... ...oration of the mixed-media work and collections of 35 artists. Beverly Massachusetts. Quary Books. Porter, Gwynneth. (2004) Judy Darragh so†¦ you made it? Te Papa Press. Wellington, New Zealand. Pound, Francis. (2010) The escape from the frame, Richard Killeen’s cut-outs. Retrieved from: http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues11to20/killeen.htm Schaer Cathrin. (2009) Message behind pie charts. Retrieved from: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10566495 Turner G. (1999). Yayoi Kusama by Grady Turner. Retrieved from: http://bombsite.com/issues/66/articles/2192. Thornton, Nicholas. (2004) Karsten Bott, Museum of life. Retrieved from www.norfolkprepared.gov.uk/Consumption/groups/public/.../ncc081823.p. Porter, Gwynneth. (2004) Judy Darragh so†¦ you made it? Te Papa Press. Wellington, New Zealand.

Essay --

The introduction of LMO offers the potential to increase the productivity of staple crops. The International Consultative Group on Agricultural Research estimates that biotechnology can help surge world food production by 25% (Prakash, 2011). In several developing countries, subsistence farmers strive in poor living, and the ability to provide enough food for survival is often less than assured. In countries such as Africa and Indonesia, Cassava plant (Manihot esculenta) is a vital source of carbohydrates, protein, calcium and vitamins A and C (Prakash, 2011). Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is another essential food that provides source of calories and essential vitamins and minerals to millions of people in the developing world. Therefore, both of the crops have plays a key role in the diet and income for farmers worldwide. According to Prakash (2011), the people of Africa have lost almost 60% of cassava crop due to mosaic virus in the year 1998. Besides, sweet potato has losing up to 80% of expected yield due to sweet potato weevil and also the feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) (Prakash, 2011). On the other hand, the European corn borer too destroys approximately 40 million tons, of the world's corn crop every year. Picture 1: Sweetpotato russett crack caused by a strain Picture 2: Distinct yellowing of Ipomea setosa leaf veins due to of SPFMV(Forestry Images, 2010). SPMMV (Sweetpotato mild mottle virus, n.d.). In this case, production of pests and diseases resistance crop by biotechnology is working to solve these problems. Insect resistance (Bt) crop has improved protection form insect invasion. Genetically modified maize is able to produce its own p... ...entional breeding methods to improve the resistance to sheath blight. Therefore, Dr Indu noted that as there is no effective chemical or agricultural practice to control the disease Mardi is now developing GM rice that could withstand sheath blight and other diseases (Khoo & Shamsudin, n.d). According to Dr Indu, this research takes six to eight years and the success depends on the trials and the stability of the incorporated gene. This proves that LMO is needed to maximize efficiency and productivity of the rice. Conversely, the controversy of LMO also originated form the business intension. Skeptics believe technology of genetic engineering has sole purpose to make profit through GM food. The excuses of reduce use of pesticide, food price and as alternative to solve poor country famine issue are just fabrication of the intention of monopoly and make huge profits. Essay -- The introduction of LMO offers the potential to increase the productivity of staple crops. The International Consultative Group on Agricultural Research estimates that biotechnology can help surge world food production by 25% (Prakash, 2011). In several developing countries, subsistence farmers strive in poor living, and the ability to provide enough food for survival is often less than assured. In countries such as Africa and Indonesia, Cassava plant (Manihot esculenta) is a vital source of carbohydrates, protein, calcium and vitamins A and C (Prakash, 2011). Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is another essential food that provides source of calories and essential vitamins and minerals to millions of people in the developing world. Therefore, both of the crops have plays a key role in the diet and income for farmers worldwide. According to Prakash (2011), the people of Africa have lost almost 60% of cassava crop due to mosaic virus in the year 1998. Besides, sweet potato has losing up to 80% of expected yield due to sweet potato weevil and also the feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) (Prakash, 2011). On the other hand, the European corn borer too destroys approximately 40 million tons, of the world's corn crop every year. Picture 1: Sweetpotato russett crack caused by a strain Picture 2: Distinct yellowing of Ipomea setosa leaf veins due to of SPFMV(Forestry Images, 2010). SPMMV (Sweetpotato mild mottle virus, n.d.). In this case, production of pests and diseases resistance crop by biotechnology is working to solve these problems. Insect resistance (Bt) crop has improved protection form insect invasion. Genetically modified maize is able to produce its own p... ...entional breeding methods to improve the resistance to sheath blight. Therefore, Dr Indu noted that as there is no effective chemical or agricultural practice to control the disease Mardi is now developing GM rice that could withstand sheath blight and other diseases (Khoo & Shamsudin, n.d). According to Dr Indu, this research takes six to eight years and the success depends on the trials and the stability of the incorporated gene. This proves that LMO is needed to maximize efficiency and productivity of the rice. Conversely, the controversy of LMO also originated form the business intension. Skeptics believe technology of genetic engineering has sole purpose to make profit through GM food. The excuses of reduce use of pesticide, food price and as alternative to solve poor country famine issue are just fabrication of the intention of monopoly and make huge profits.

The Courage and Strength in All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Mar

The Courage and Strength in All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque As I enter my last week as a twenty-year-old, I find myself nostalgically looking back on the past two decades while wondering what life has in store for me over the next two. Where will I be in twenty years? What will I have accomplished? Where will I be living? Will I be married? Have chil†¦ wait a minute, no, that one will have to wait a few more years. These questions have all passed through my mind at one point or another over the last few weeks, but I realize that they are really quite a luxury. Paul, the narrator of Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, never had the opportunity to lean back from his desk and daydream about what the next twenty years of his life had in store for him. He was busy dodging bullets and artillery shells, trying to stay alive on Germany’s Western Front during World War I. Paul and I are united on the grounds of age and nothing more, yet somehow, while following him through his service in the War, I feel connected to him. After finishing the novel, I ruminated on this idea for some time and eventually came to the conclusion that the connection I feel with Paul is a mixture of empathy and envy. I empathize with him because he put down the pen and took up the rifle in service of his country, just as I would do if called upon. I envy him because he exudes the qualities of a brilliant soldier, meticulous narrator, and man of faith even in times of mortal danger, especially in times of mortal danger. In the midst of the worst bombardment he has yet to face, Paul shines his brightest by illuminating in vivid detail not only the hellish onslaught unfolding around him, but also the intr... ...helling becomes a wonderfully connected verse of one soldier’s struggle to preserve himself against all odds. What more can be said about Paul? Soldier, narrator, believer, he is the embodiment of each, and would not be complete as one or two without being the third. I do not envy his situation, but rather his ability. I hope I never have to experience the modern-day equivalent of his service, but I admire the courage and strength he pours into duty. Seeing what he went through makes me wonder if my generation would be capable of standing up to fight if we were called upon as he was. Would we persevere as he did? Would I? I believe the answer is yes and that is why I empathize with him nearly a century later: as one young man to another. Works Cited Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. Trans. A.W. Wheen. New York: Ballantine, 1982.

Bureaucracy in Public Service

As Weber noticed nearly a century ago, with the rationalization of society, bureaucracy becomes inevitable (Weber, 1968/1921) and in the contemporary society, bureaucracy – whether private or public – is ubiquitous. Without it, few of the routine features of our modern society would be possible; the collection of taxes and the production and distribution of goods and services, for example, would be difficult, if not impossible. (Dandeker, 1990) Bureaucracies control people by replacing human judgement with nonhuman technology, thus creating a formalistic impersonality of the system.Even bureaucracy itself can be seen as a huge nonhuman technology that functions more or less automatically. Rules, regulations, and institutional structures replace the adaptability of human decisions, that is, employees of bureaucratic organizations generally follow the rules and regulations in a predetermined sequence instead of evaluating each case separately. They must get their jobs don e in a certain way by a certain time without mistakes, and the role of informal systems of human action is diminished by the highly formalized structures.Bureaucracy controls not only employees of an organization but her clients as well. An organization provides services and one must apply for the services on a specific form by a specific date. One will receive those services only in a certain way and under strict conditions. (Ritzer, 1998) Client categories used by organizations decide what information a client is supposed to provide, and this information will generate a denial or a grant of a specific requested service. Snellen, 1998) Although bureaucracy is present in both public and private organizations, there are large differences between the two types of organizations and the services they deliver. The first difference is the monopolistic character of public organizations, i. e. , often a citizen does not have a choice between different public organizations (as is the case wi th private organizations) because there is only one public organization that provides a particular service. A second difference is that a citizen is not always a voluntary ‘client’ of public organizations because the nation state is responsible for the collective goods.Public services will thus not only increase personal benefits and rights, but will also consist of activities that address the duties of citizens (e. g. , tax collection). Third, citizens have a voice in the determination of public service delivery through voting, referenda, and public hearings. (Lips, 1998) The citizen (as citoyen, carrier of democratic rights) enters into debates with political-administrative organizations. When consensus has been established, politicians instruct the public organizations who execute these instructions.The citizen (now as client) uses the services provided by public organizations. (Zuurmond, 1996a; Zuurmond, 1996b) Fourth, public services are subject to specific norms a nd values, like legitimacy, legal certainty and equality of rights, as a consequence of the government’s responsibility for the collective good. This results in the fifth difference between public and private services: continuity in the deliverance of services to citizens and accessibility of public services to all citizens ought to be more important goals for public services than gaining profits.The services provided to the citizen (as client of public organizations) thus have a different character than the services provided to the customer (as client of private organizations). The view of the citizen as client is not an old view. A few decades ago, the political process of determining the ‘business of government’ (i. e. , determination of public products, services, and information provided to citizens) was perceived as the most important part of the public service delivery.The dominant focus was on the supplier- side of public service delivery; the government k new what was best for their citizens and the government decided what way and form of service provision was most appropriate to address these citizens. This focus shifted gradually to the production and delivery of public goods, services, and information. Standards like efficiency and effectiveness were introduced in public organizations and the functioning of the public organization became most important.During this period, the view of the citizen as a client of public organizations came into being. (Lips, 1998) Recently, the focus shifted to the feedback of citizens on both wanted and received public products, services, and information. This is at least the case in the Netherlands (Lips, 1998), but it is likely to apply to other national governments as well. Where the government’s attitude initially was ‘we know what is good for you’, it has changed to ‘let us know what is good for you’.This view is a result of increased attention to the spending of administrative organizations, and standards like efficiency and effectiveness have played a role as well. Also, concepts and methods with proven success in the private sector, like management, budgeting, marketing, but also service delivery itself, have been introduced in the public sector. This requires changes in the organization of public service provision. Governments perceive information and communication technologies (ICTs) as an important means to realize these changes.ICT applications in public service delivery potentially bring about not only increased effectiveness, increased efficiency, an improved client-orientation, and a reduction of cost, but also an improved comprehensiveness of information processes of public service delivery between government and the citizen. (Lips, 1998) The efforts of public organizations to administer to each of many citizens their precise ‘due’ in terms of the organizational treatments they ‘deserve’, results in a bu lk of demands for personal information. Rule, McAdam, Stearns, & Uglow, 1980) The large quantity of personal information does not take place solely for the benefit of the clients, but for the benefit of the organizations as well, for organizations are trying to manage risks by gathering personal information in order to establish the kind of person they are dealing with (Lyon, 2001). Today, one of the most obvious indicators of the pervasiveness of bureaucracy is the massive expansion of the personal information which is held by a range of public – and private – organizations. As Dandeker (1990) stated strikingly, â€Å"the age of bureaucracy is also the era of the information society†

The Negro Movement

Looking back at the history of the culture that has risen from the ashes; one may be quite surprised just how far the African American culture has come. The progression of the African American culture is indeed one to be proud of. From cotton fields to Harlem, â€Å"The New Negro Movement†, sparked a sense of cultural self-determination, with a yearning to strive for economic, political equality, and civic participation. This was a movement that sparked a wide range of advancements in the African American culture. Leaving footprints of great individuals as well as set a path way for future generations to follow; setting a trend for Black greatness. After the American Civil War there was a spark within the African American culture to diminish the legacy of slavery. It started in 1908, with the development of the NAACP (The National Association of Colored People), which led the fight against racial discrimination. What is known as â€Å"The Great migration† in 1914 was the migration of over 500,000 or more Blacks in a six year period; for industry jobs, and overall better opportunities. Blacks were leaving the South headed North in search for something new. This was the escape they longed for from oppressive living and social conditions that threatened life. New York was one of the more appealing states, considering New York schools prohibited separate schools for African Americans. Therefore, education was also made easier for African Americans. By 1819 Harlem, New York had the highest count of Black people in the world. In 1916-17, Hubert Harrison; whom is considered the father of â€Å"The New Negro Movement† established his first association â€Å"The Liberty League†, along with his first newspaper. During the 1920’s and 1930’s, African Americans expressed themselves through Literature, Art, Music, Drama, Movies, and protest. Mr. Harrison encouraged Blacks to expand and improve through education, awareness, and Afro-centric community programs. With â€Å"The Voice† of â€Å"The New Negro Movement† energized the Black community to demand equality. This was in fact the birth of the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance is the name given to the period from the end of World War I and through the 1930’s Depression era. During this time, there were many great literary works to come about. A group of writers produced a great group of Literature. Some of those writers include: Alain Locke, who described himself as the â€Å"midwife† to aspiring young black writers of the 1920s. In a 1925 essay entitled ‘The New Negro', Howard University Professor of Philosophy Alain Locke described this transformation as not relying on older time-worn models but, rather, embracing a ‘new psychology' and ‘new sprit'. Central to Locke's prescription was the mandate that the ‘New Negro' had to ‘smash' all of the racial, social and psychological impediments that had long obstructed black achievement. Six years prior to Locke's essay, the pioneering black film maker Oscar Micheaux called for similar changes. In his film Within our Gates, Micheaux represented a virtual cornucopia of ‘New Negro' types: from the educated and entrepreneurial ‘race' man and woman to the incorrigible Negro hustler, from the liberal white philanthropist to the hard core white racist. Micheaux created a complex, melodramatic narrative around these types in order to develop a morality tale of pride, prejudice, misanthropy and progressivism that would be revisited by Locke and others (Rhapsodies in Black: Art of the Harlem Renaissance (London/California: Hayward Gallery, Institute of International Visual Arts and University of California Press, 1997). Black-owned magazines and newspapers flourished, freeing African Americans from the constricting influences of mainstream white society. Charles S. Johnson's Opportunity magazine became the leading voice of black culture, and W. E. B. DuBois's journal, The Crisis, with Jessie Redmon Fauset as its literary editor, launched the literary careers of such writers as Arna Bontemps, Langston Hughes, and Countee Cullen(The Birth of the Harlem Renaissance: History & Timeline — Infoplease. com). Additionally, there were other aspects of Black greatness emerging from oppression. â€Å"†¦Through their artistry, the literature of this period helped to facilitate a transformation from the psychology of the â€Å"Old Negro† (characterized by an implied inferiority of the post-Reconstruction era when black artists often did not control the means of production or editorial prerogatives) to the â€Å"New Negro† (characterized as self-assertive, racially conscious, articulate, and, for the most part, in charge of what they produced). Landmark texts that marked this transformation and encouraged increased exploration of African American experience through literature included The Book of American Negro Poetry (1922), edited by James Weldon Johnson and The New Negro (1925) by Locke. The short-lived literary magazine Fire!! (1926) also had a significant impact on the literary production because it represented the efforts of younger African American writers (such as Hughes and Hurston) to claim their own creativity apart from older artists (such as DuBois and James Weldon Johnson), as well as to establish autonomy from potential white exploiters†¦ (Trudier Harris-Lopez, â€Å"Forward† Harlem Renaissance, Volume I. Janet Witalec, project editor. Farmington Hill, MI: Gale, 2003 Call and Response: The Riverside Anthology of the African American Literary Tradition. Ed. Patricia Liggins Hill. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998). The Spiritual Coming of Age was solely for African Americans to express thems elves and exert self-determination. To have a sense of race pride. White Literary establishments became fascinated and began to publish their works. African American Literature has impacted American culture in an enormous way. Their writings have inspired many African Americans to continue the legacy in Literature. At this same time, the Jamaican-born Marcus Garvey began his promotion of the â€Å"Back to Africa movement. † Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL), which advocated the reuniting of all people of African ancestry into one community with one absolute government. The movement not only encouraged African-Americans to come together, but to also feel pride in their heritage and race (http://www. biography. com/blackhistory/harlem-renaissance. sp). The Harlem Renaissance was a defining movement within the African American culture. 1929 marked the beginning of the end of the Harlem Renaissance. Due to the economic declines, many prominent writers departed Harlem. Although there was not much time during this period, this era influenced many writers to come. Its great moments in History like this that inspire and influence generations to come. The Harlem riot of 1935 was the final event. The progression of African Americans has come a long way. From slavery to Harlem, and beyond; African Americans have made their mark in History. Shortly after the Renaissance, many came into their own creativity. With the emergences of people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , Malcolm X, Sojourner Truth, the African American culture has gone far beyond what was imagined centuries ago. Many great musicians from jazz era contributed to the mass music frenzy we see today. With great musicians like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, we now have Kenny G, and Boney James. With Poets such as Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston, we have Maya Angelou, and Gwendolyn Brooks. The Harlem Renaissance has contributed too many great works among African Americans. The African American culture has blossomed in many ways. In the beginning of the 1970’s, African American literature went mainstream, and has continued to do well; moreover, books by Black authors continue today to receive best-selling awards. This also marks the era where African American writings were considered as a legitimate genre of American Literature. The Civil Rights movement made a powerful impression on black voices in the 1960s. Baldwin, whose fiction and essays dealt not only with race but sexuality, family, the ex-pat life, and his childhood in the Church, returned from many years in Paris to participate in the burgeoning movement. Many of Baldwin's most significant works were written in the 60s, including Another Country and The Fire Next Time (â€Å"African American Literature: History, Crossword, Quizzes, Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights. † Infoplease.  © 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease. 26 Apr. 2011http://www. infoplease. com/spot/bhmlit1. html).

Islamic Architecture

Structuralisms Architecture Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture. What is Islam? * The name of the religion is Islam, which comes from an Arabic root word meaning â€Å"peace† and â€Å"submission. † * Islam teaches that one can only find peace in one's life by submitting to Almighty God (Allah) in heart, soul and deed. * The same Arabic root word gives us â€Å"Salaam Alaskan,† (â€Å"Peace be with you†), the universal Muslim reediting.Geographical * The Moslem faith flourished in the countries of Southern Asia and North Africa. * Other important communities include Zanzibar, Madagascar and China. * In the 20th century mobility, Islam was brought throughout the world as far as Sydney and South shields. * The spread of Islam has been frequently associated with military conquest , racial movements and in some cases with the consequent displacement of established populations. * The most important were the Arab expansion northwards and westwards out of the Arabian peninsula, and the drive of the Turkish ND Mongol groups South, Southeast and Southwest of Central Asia.The Islamic world Geological * The countries into which Islam first expanded were already rich in building tradition and the important techniques of exploitation of natural resources for building work and trade in building materials had long been established. * Brick making and pipes' walling was almost universal in the alluvial plains * Cooling effect of structures with very heavy walls and high rooms has been widely exploited. * Unprotected circulation are common. History * A. D. 622 – the year of the Hegira, when Mohammed moved from Mecca to Medina.Immediately after his death in 632 – the concerted efforts of the Arabian Tibet carried death as conquerors into Central Asia and west ward towards the Atlantic. Social * The Arab group which were the spearhead of advanced Islam ,were essentially tribal, and in consequence the behavior patterns and attributes of emergent Islamic societies were based on traditions of the desert. * Public life was reserved for men. * Women play a secondary role, to be part of the household – the harem. In public, she is protected by the anonymity of the veil. * Equality was only granted to theAromatic groups. * â€Å"peoples of the book† -Jews and Christians * Freedom of worship and interval government. Religious * Islam is the last of the three great religions of the middle east. * Its essence is contained in a simple sentence, which is both the profession of faith and the credo of its adherents * There is only one God and his prophet Mohammed. * Philosophy of life and government. * The Koran – is regarded as the revelation through the medium of the prophet Mohammed. * The Width – is the collection of his sayings or injunctions and is of lesser weight.The law – is extracted from the prophet's instructions, from tradition and sample. * An acceptance of the transitory nature of earthly life; personal humility; an abhorrence of images worship. * The important architectural endeavor is normally expended on buildings having a direct social or community purpose, including worships; that decorations tends toward the abstract, using geometric, calligraphic and plant motifs , with a preference for a uniform field of decoration rather than a focal element; and that a basic conservatism discouraged innovations and favored established formsTerminologies * Massed (Persia, India) – mosque or a place of worship. * Jam – mosque, principal place of worship, or use of the building for Friday prayers * Messed (Turkey) – small * Salami – men's or prayer house * Madras (Egypt) * Menders (Turkey) – religious college and mosque. * Sara; Sera – palace Buildi ng Components * Miramar – niche oriented towards Mecca * Member – raised platform for ceremonial announcements open-fronted vault facing on to a court * ABA – gateway * Sans – courtyard of a mosque * Minaret – tower from which call to prayer was made.Harem – women's or private quarter's of a house or palace quest's quarters * Kibble; Kibble – axis oriented towards Mecca * Chatter (India) – kiosk Personnel * Muezzin – caller who summons the faithful to prayer * Imam – man who leads the congregation at prayer * ‘wan; Ivan (Persia) – * Caliph – successor to the prophet as military, Judicial and spiritual leader of Islam Architectural Character * Majority of Islamic buildings are fundamentally related to a principal axis. This axis is frequently extended into a formal landscape which is integral part of the sign. The prime axis was the kibble, the general concept was derived from the line of balanc e and symmetry implicit in the concept of perfect creation, as seen in gardens and buildings. * Islamic architecture is centered upon God. At its heart is the Mosque and inward – looking building whose prime purpose is contemplation and prayer. * Mosque may serve as a school, transactions may be made there and storage for treasures. * Minaret – a tower from whose top the Muezzin gave the call to prayer. * Miramar – a niche where the leader of the congregation (the Imam) sakes his prayers. Menders/Madras – college * Han/Caravanserai's – the hostel * The courtyard – the sides were punctuated with gateways, prayer chambers, or arched porches ‘wants. Architecture Forms and Styles of Mosques and buildings in Muslim countries Forms – Many forms of Islamic architecture have evolved in different regions of the Islamic world. These mosques are square or rectangular in plan with an enclosed courtyard and a covered prayer hall. Sheehan â⠂¬â€œ The traditional Islamic courtyard, a Sheehan in Arabic, is found in secular and religious structures.When within a accidence or other secular building is a private courtyard and walled garden. A Sheehan – courtyard is in within almost every mosque in Islamic architecture. The courtyards are open to the sky and surrounded on all sides by structures with halls and rooms, and often a shaded semi-open arcade. Arabesque – An element of Islamic art usually found decorating the walls and window screens of mosques and Muslim homes and buildings, the arabesque is an elaborate application of repeating geometric forms that often echo the forms of plants, shapes and sometimes animals (specifically birds).Calligraphy – is associated with geometric Islamic art (the Arabesque) on the walls and ceilings of mosques. Contemporary artists in the Islamic world draw on the heritage of calligraphy to use calligraphic inscriptions or abstractions in their work. Examples Mosque à ¢â‚¬â€œ A Muslim house of worship Minaret – A tall tower in, or continuous to a mosque arch stairs leading up to one or more balconies from which the faithful are called to prayer. Kiosk – a small pavilion, usually open, built in gardens and parks Pointed arch – a two- and four- centered and generally constructed a true arch, Hough corbelled examples were common in India.

Book Review on the Godfather by Mario Puzo

Submitted by Md. Jane Alam Sufian Assistant Director 29th BCS (Ansar) Ansar & VDP Academy Shafipur, Gazipur Book Review On The Godfather By Mario Puzo Submitted To: Hira Miah Course OIC Director (Training) Ansar & VDP Academy Shafipur, Gazipur Submitted by Md. Jane Alam Sufian Assistant Director 29th BCS (Ansar) Ansar & VDP Academy Shafipur, Gazipur Acknowledgement Book review is an important assignment for an officer. For the successful accomplishment all credits and praises are due to Almighty, the most merciful the most gracious Allah.To complete this very work I had to seek guidance and help from lot of persons who helped me without any hesitation, I am really grateful to them for their patience.. I had to take notes from the internet in this case I have used wikipedia as reference and As I had submitted the book name by Mario Puzo and it wasn’t available in our library so I had to collect this book from Nilkhet, Dhaka. I would like to express my sincerest and deepest resp ect to my course OIC Hira Miah, Director (Training) Bangladesh Ansar & VDP Academy and CC Deputy Director Kamrun Nahar Bangladesh Ansar & VDP Academy.Finally I would like to express my deepest sense of gratitude and heartfelt thanks to my course mates. Introduction The Godfather is a crime novel written by Italian American author Mario Puzo, originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons. It details the story of a fictitious Sicilian Mafia family based in New York City (and Long Beach, New York) and headed by Don Vito Corleone, who became synonymous with the Italian Mafia. The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955, and also provides the back story of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood.The book introduced Italian criminal terms like consiglieri, caporegime, Cosa Nostra, and omerta to an English-speaking audience. It formed the basis for a 1972 film of the same name. Two film sequels, including new contributions by Puzo himself, were made in 1974 and 1990. The first an d second films are widely considered to be two of the greatest films of all time. The cover was created by S. Neil Fujita whose design featured a large Gothic-style letter â€Å"G† with a long curl at the top emphasizing the first three letters of the title, accompanied by the hands of a puppeteer holding a set of strings over the â€Å"father† portion of the word.Title Some controversy surrounds the title of the book and its underworld implications. Although it is widely reported that Puzo was inspired to use â€Å"Godfather† as a designator for a Mafia leader from his experience as a reporter, the term The Godfather was first used in connection with the Mafia during Joe Valachi's testimony during a 1963 United States congressional hearing on organized crime. Main characters The Corleone family patriarch is Vito Corleone (The Don), whose surname (Italian for â€Å"Lionheart†) recalls the town of Corleone, Sicily.Vito has four children: Santino â€Å"Son ny† Corleone, Frederico â€Å"Fredo† Corleone, Michael â€Å"Mikey† Corleone, and Constanzia â€Å"Connie† Corleone. He also has an informally adopted son, Tom Hagen, who became the Corleones' consiglieri. Vito Corleone is also the godfather of singer and movie star Johnny Fontane. The godfather referred to in the title is generally taken to be Vito. However, the story's central character is actually Michael. Its central theme follows that it is Michael's destiny to replace his father as the head of the family, despite his determination to lead a more Americanized life with his girlfriend (and eventual wife) Kay Adams.The Corleone family is in fact a criminal organization with national influence, notably protection, extortion, gambling and union racketeering. Serving under the Don is his oldest son Santino, who serves as underboss. The operational side of the organization is headed by two caporegimes, Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio. Film adaptation Ma in article: The Godfather In 1972, a film adaptation of the novel was released, starring Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone, Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola.Mario Puzo assisted with writing the screenplay and with other production tasks. The film grossed approximately $269 million worldwide and won various awards, including three Academy Awards, five Golden Globes and one Grammy and is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. The sequel, The Godfather Part II won six Oscars, and became the first sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. The film is similar to the novel in most places, but leaves out some details, such as extended back stories for some characters. Some of these details ere actually filmed, and were included in later versions such as The Godfather Saga. A subplot involving Johnny Fontane in Hollywood was not filmed. The biggest difference was that the novel included a more upbeat ending than the film, in which Kay Corleone accepts Michael's decision to take over his father's business. The film, in contrast, ends with Kay's realization of Michael's ruthlessness, a theme that would develop in the second and third films, which were largely not based on the original novel. Vito Corleone's backstory appeared in the second film.Other adaptations Main article: The Godfather: The Game The video game company Electronic Arts released a video game adaptation of The Godfather on March 21, 2006. The player assumes the role of a â€Å"soldier† in the Corleone family. Prior to his death, Marlon Brando provided some voice work for Vito, which was eventually deemed unusable and was dubbed over by a Brando impersonator. Francis Ford Coppola said in April 2005 that he was not informed of Paramount's decision to allow the game to be made and he did not approve of it. 4] Al Pacino also did not participate, and his likeness was replaced with a different depiction of Michael Corleone. Sequels In 1983 Pu zo's literary sequel to The Godfather was published. Entitled The Sicilian it chronicles the life of â€Å"Guiliano† (Salvatore Giuliano) but the Corleone family is featured heavily throughout, Michael Corleone in particular. Chronologically this story sits between Michael's exile to Sicily in 1950 to his return to the USA. Due to copyright reasons the Corleone family involvement was cut from the Michael Cimino movie adaption.In 2004, Random House published a sequel to Puzo's The Godfather, The Godfather Returns, by Mark Winegardner. A further sequel by Winegardner, The Godfather's Revenge, was released in 2006. The sequel novels continue the story from Puzo's novel. The Godfather Returns picks up the story immediately after the end of Puzo's The Godfather. It covers the years 1955 to 1962, as well as providing significant backstory for Michael Corleone's character prior to the events of the first novel. The events of the film The Godfather Part II all take place within the t ime frame of this novel, but are only mentioned in the background.The novel contains an appendix that attempts to correlate the events of the novels with the events of the films. The Godfather's Revenge covers the years 1963 to 1964. Continuing Puzo's habit, as seen in The Godfather, of featuring characters who are close analogues of real life events and public figures (as Johnny Fontane is an analogue of Frank Sinatra), Winegardner features in his two Godfather novels analogues of Joseph, John, and Robert Kennedy, as well as an analogue for alleged organized crime figure Carlos Marcello (Carlo Tramonti).In The Godfather Returns, Winegardner also dramatizes the sweep of organized crime arrests that took place in Apalachin, New York, in 1957. Winegardner uses all of the characters from the Puzo novels, and created a few of his own, most notably Nick Geraci, a Corleone soldier who plays a pivotal role in the sequel novels. Winegardner further develops characters from the original nove l, such as Fredo Corleone, Tom Hagen, and Johnny Fontane. Real-life influencesLarge parts of the novel are based upon reality, notably the history of the so-called ‘Five Families', the Mafia-organization in New York and the surrounding area. The novel also includes many allusions to real-life mobsters and their associates, and Johnny Fontane is based on Frank Sinatra, Moe Greene on Bugsy Siegel, for example. Summary Ageless Books are boldly ignorant of the passage of time. The past and the future merge in the permanence of a timeless story. Years and decades pass us by, we grow up and grow old, and yet these books only become more enduring with time.The Godfather story is insurmountable, it is beyond a classic, it is unashamedly ignorant of cultural, geographical or age boundaries – it resonates with all of us and has so ever since it first appeared in print in Mario Puzo‘s epic novel in 1969. Nino Rota‘s world famous main theme song is etched in the depth o f my memory from my childhood days when the music filled my house in London. the Godfather has held a special place in my heart all my life. I knew the music many years before I watched the movie first, and that came many years before I read the novel.Now, and only now, after reading the novel do I understand why everyone loved this story so much and why they repeatedly watched and listened to the music. Now I feel closer to one of my friend Razib and marvel at his taste in what I find to be a remarkable story. How I wish he could be here today to tell me his thoughts on the Godfather, now that I can appreciate it. We may express the gratitude we feel toward our families while we have the chance, but why is it that the true understanding of that gratitude often greets us bitterly late in life?The ingenuous story and remarkable characters aside, the writing of Mario Puzo is of highest quality. Puzo’s novel speaks to every reader from every walk of life, and evidently through d ifferent generations. It runs through themes understood by all humans: family and brotherhood, sacrifice and justice, trust and betrayal, revenge and retribution, business and friendship – friendship that the Godfather held so tenderly and seriously, friendship that he offered openly and generously, friendship in the name of which he offered favors and collected them in due time.In the core of this magnificent story is Mario Puzo’s writing. On the surface, it mostly appears to be a crime novel with grotesque scenes and unhappy outcomes but it is only the surface. The writing is solid, authentic, lustful and obsessive through and through – it takes your imagination into the scene, it places you inside the situation with the character and it demands that you fully partake in the intensity of every moment. The story endures and the writing of this remarkable author is the solid foundation of support which upholds t. â€Å"Amerigo Bonasera sat in New York Court Num ber 3 and waited for justice†¦. † And so we enter the under world of Italian immigrants in New York city. We encounter characters we can never forget. The depiction of these unforgettable characters – Luca Brasi, Tom Hagen, Sonny Corleone, Kay Adams, Johnny Fontaine – while secondary to our main characters, paints a permanent picture before our eyes in the hands of Mario Puzo’s masterful prose.Through these characters, we get to know our heroes, Don Vito Corleone as the head of the Corleone family and business, and the mastermind of the ingenious mafia world, and Michael Corleone, the Don’s favorite son, who refuses to follow in his father’s footsteps, joins the army and keeps a distance from the family, until one day in the deep countryside of Sicily, he meets his ultimate fate. Perhaps, in its essence, in its very core, the Godfather is a story about father and son and their undeniable bond, which can be weakened but not broken, in the company of family loyalty and devotion reciprocating that of the Corleone family. I will reason with him. † – Don Corleone’s famous motto, a phrase that, when used, immediately translated to Tom Hagen, his consigliere, that the Godfather will not be persuaded otherwise, and that it would be in the best interest of the opposing party to acquiesce to Godfather’s terms because no matter what terms presented to them at this time, if they should fail to agree, it would most certainly be subject to harsher circumstances. Don Corleone is not a criminal man in his own world. He is a gracious, reasonable and honorable man.He has earned the respect of his family, his community, his workforce, the entire immigrant population from Italy, and all who know him through his distinguished reputation. When he first came to America, for the young Vito, this was the dream land of opportunity at a time when jobs were scarce in Sicily and the government was to be feared and no t trusted. He wore out his welcome quickly in America. He soon realized that the government and the authorities do not exist to protect him, to grant him justice in the face of adversity and to act in his best interest.They exist to protect the law, which often is lacking in reason and circumstantial exceptions. The young Vito’s turning point in life comes to him in the early days in America, when recently armed with this bitter knowledge, he had to protect himself against the corrupt and feared Fanucci in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. Vito Corleone makes the simple, logical, ingenious decision on the fate of Fanucci, and subsequently the fate of all those families and businesses from whom Fanucci extorted money for nothing in return. That marks the day when he realizes his own fate in life.He begins to believe that every man has one fate, something Michael always remembers about his father but does not fully comprehend until his hideout in Sicily later. The obsess ion and the reverence of the Godfather is stunning and undeniable. He is worshiped on a massive scale, and yet by society’s measures, he is a first rate criminal. Even as he commits the most heinous crime in all of the story, that of beheading of Khartoum, the magnificent horse belonging to Hollywood hotshot Woltz and the symbol of all beauty and innocence, the Godfather stands tall and respected.It is all understood and forgiven him as part of the business, necessary to reach certain goals and to protect certain interests. It is the legendary Marlon Brando performance engraved into a rock in our memory – standing erect and powerful, commanding his world and bringing justice where none can be achieved by society’s standard measures. The ethics of Don Corleone come to surface as he is first approached by Sollozzo, the â€Å"Turk† about the drug business. It makes perfect sense to get engaged in trafficking drugs as a guaranteed measure to long-term power a nd money.Tom Hagen lays it down clearly: If we do not get into it, someone else will. If it is not a main stream of income in the families now, it will be in 5 years, 10 years down the road. We must act quick, Tom tells the Godfather. Sonny, with his short and quick temper, makes a fatal mistake during the course of these negotiations by disagreeing with his father during the meeting with Sollozzo – words that have no doubt made a proud mark on the American pop culture when the Godfather tells him never to let anyone outside the family know what you think.Yet despite the advice of his consigliere and his most likely successor, Sonny, the Godfather stands strong if alone in refusing to engage in drug business on ethics and brilliant business vision. This decision along with Sonny’s foolishness to speak up at the Sollozzo meeting costs the Godfather 6 bullets. Even so, these bullets do not even come close to matching the merciless gunning down of Sonny that later follows . These harsh blows to the most powerful man in all of NYC at the time raise intensity among the mafia world, and yet the Don refuses to act on this with justified vengeance.It is with unwavering belief and rock-solid ethics that the Godfather then delivers a most unforgettable speech to the five Italian families in hopes of truce on the drug business. The judges and senators that hold his friendship dear would no longer wish to be associated with him if the business graduated from the small petty crimes around importing and exporting of olive oil and other goods, gambling, prostitution – a favorite of Tattalias – to a seriously debilitating substance.In all of this, he stands alone as visionaries often do. When all hell broke loose after Godfather’s shooting and his hospitalization, it took a mastermind planning session between Clemenza, Tom Hagen and Sonny and Michael to arrive at the perfect solution. It was risky but the only way to handle the situation and it was for Michael to kill the slimy NY cop, McClusky, and the head of drug business, Sollozzo, in a public restaurant. Michael flees overnight to a hideout in Sicily, and waits for the smoke to clear to come home.It takes almost three years before he is able to safely return home – during which time the Godfather tells Hagen every day â€Å"Remember to use all your wits for a plan to bring Michael home. † But it takes the genius of the Godfather’s sharp mind, even in his weakened condition, to find the only legitimate way to realize this – and that brings us to the story of Felix Bocchichio. This was omitted from the first movie but brilliantly told in the book. The Bocchichio family are the primitive borderline hostile generation who would take revenge – an eye for an eye – if anything were to happen to their clan.For that reason, having a Bocchichio hostage or having one arrange a meeting is absolute insurance on the impartial validity of the matter. And it is through a misfortune of the Bocchichio family that Michael is able to return home. When Felix Bocchichio has his wake-up call after the ruthless way in which his colleagues betray him, he has to pay for a crime he did not commit. After he served his term and was released, he shoots his enemies dead in broad daylight, and waits to be arrested. It is impossible to find a way out of this mess for Felix Bocchichio.The genius of Godfather arranges for Felix to confess to the murder of McCLusky and Sollozzo, for an exchange of large pension to his family for life. Felix confesses and Michael comes home at long last. The recurring theme of taking care of one’s family in exchange for a ‘favor’ to the Godfather is renewed at the turn of every page in this book. Some of the sub-plots running through the Godfather, non-central to the overall theme and missing from the movie, still make up my most cherished parts of this genius story.The indelible, lus tful, raw passion which Lucy Mancini and Sonny enjoy for a short while is on top of that list. Even the sweet brief romance of Michael Corleone and his first wife, the Italian bella Apollonia, deliciously described as it was, pales in comparison to the passages imparting the details of Sonny’s wild affair with Lucy. Mario Puzo proves no less a gifted author in his creation of the erotic love scenes between the impassioned lovers. The love making is predatory as Lucy and Sonny devour one another with voracious appetite.When Sonny dies, Lucy’s whole physical being aches for him, a loss and a wound that Sonny’s wife is far from experiencing. With the move to Vegas, thanks to Hagan’s arrangements to take care of â€Å"extended† relations of Sonny, Lucy embarks on a new life and adventures, including the nature of her relationship with Jules. Large or small, Puzo takes the time to first develop his characters fully – even if in isolation of other s – and then to carefully weave each into the central plot. There is a reason and time for each character to play their part, pay their dues, return a favor, or bestow an act of friendship to the Godfather.The Don, the mastermind of Mario Puzo’s creation, is the only one who knows well in advance of others – and that includes the reader – how and when each chosen one will be called to action. From the wide spectrum of the compelling personalities at his finger tips, Mario Puzo affords way too much time to developing that of the wasteful, whiny, incapable Johnny Fontaine, the Godfather’s Godson. If there is a more insufferable type in all of the Godfather, I must have missed the chapter – because Johnny Fontaine is it for me. To my disappointment, we delve into Johnny and peel layer after layer into his life, his career, and his psyche.The irony surrounding the deep love the Godfather feels for Johnny is blatant. He makes heaps of mistakes, b ut he also destroys the one singular value held of highest regards in the eyes of Don Corleone, that of family: He divorces and abandons his Italian wife and family in his drunken and desperate stupor of dealing with fame. Still the Don continues to love and support his Godson unconditionally. It is for the undeserving Johnny Fontaine that Jack Woltz pays dearly in the beheading of Khartoum, the finest, priciest, and rarest racehorse in the world.All of this sacrifice for the sacred bond of the Godfather to Godson relationship – one held very high in the eye of a Sicilian man – a bond for which the Godfather murders and destroys anything and anyone in order to protect. A sacred bond ever so wasted on a man such as Johnny Fontaine. Conclusion As a novelist and a masterful story-teller, Mario Puzo is gripping in every passage, every chapter and every book (total of 9 books in The Godfather). Movies 1 and 2 are no doubt classics of our time, and tightly capture the essenc e of the novel.Timeless movies as they be, with unforgettable theme music to pull us in even deeper into the elusive ways of the Italian mafia underworld, it is the writing that I prefer. It is in the riveting passages of Mario Puzo’s original book that his characters come alive in more riveting shapes and colors, although I admit that it is impossible not to associate them with the actors that have burned those names into our memories since the original Godfather movie. The Godfather is a masterpiece and a classic, and a story that once read and consumed, leaves its readers and viewers changed permanently.About the author Mario Puzo Mario Gianluigi Puzo (October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, including The Godfather (1969), which he later co-adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola. He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in both 1972, and 1974. Puzo was born into a poor family fr om Pietradefusi, Province of Avellino, Campania, Italy living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York. [1] Many of his books draw heavily on this heritage.After graduating from the City College of New York, he joined the United States Army Air Forces in World War II. Due to his poor eyesight, the military did not let him undertake combat duties but made him a public relations officer stationed in Germany. In 1950, his first short story, The Last Christmas, was published in American Vanguard. After the war, he wrote his first book, The Dark Arena, which was published in 1955. At periods in the 1950s and early 1960s, Puzo worked as a writer/editor for publisher Martin Goodman's Magazine Management Company.Puzo, along with other writers like Bruce Jay Friedman, worked for the company line of men's magazines, pulp titles like Male, True Action, and Swank. Under the pseudonym Mario Cleri, Puzo wrote World War II adventure features for True Action. Puzo's most famous work, The Godf ather, was first published in 1969 after he had heard anecdotes about Mafia organizations during his time in pulp journalism. He later said in an interview with Larry King that his principal motivation was to make money. He had already, after all, written two books that had received great reviews, yet had not amounted to much.As a government clerk with five children, he was looking to write something that would appeal to the masses. With a number one bestseller for months on the New York Times Best Seller List, Mario Puzo had found his target audience. The book was later developed into the film The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The movie received 11 Academy Award nominations, winning three, including an Oscar for Puzo for Best Adapted Screenplay. Coppola and Puzo collaborated then to work on sequels to the original film, The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III.Puzo wrote the first draft of the script for the 1974 disaster film Earthquake, which he was unable to continue working on due to his commitment to The Godfather Part II. Puzo also co-wrote Richard Donner's Superman and the original draft for Superman II. He also collaborated on the stories for the 1982 film A Time to Die and the 1984 Francis Ford Coppola film The Cotton Club. Puzo never saw the publication of his penultimate book, Omerta, but the manuscript was finished before his death as was the manuscript for The Family.However, in a review originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Jules Siegel, who had worked closely with Puzo at Magazine Management Company, speculated that Omerta may have been completed by â€Å"some talentless hack. † Siegel also acknowledges the temptation to â€Å"rationalize avoiding what is probably the correct analysis – that [Puzo] wrote it and it is terrible. † Puzo died of heart failure on Friday, July 2, 1999 at his home in Bay Shore, Long Island, New York. His family now lives in East Islip, New York. Works of PuzoN ovels †¢The Dark Arena (1955) †¢The Fortunate Pilgrim (1965) †¢The Runaway Summer of Davie Shaw (1966) †¢Six Graves to Munich (1967), as Mario Cleri †¢The Godfather (1969) †¢Fools Die (1978) †¢The Sicilian (1984) †¢The Fourth K (1991) †¢The Last Don (1996) †¢Omerta (2000) †¢The Family (2001) (completed by Puzo's girlfriend Carol Gino) Non-fiction †¢Ã¢â‚¬ Test Yourself: Are You Heading for a Nervous Breakdown? † as by Mario Cleri (1965) †¢The Godfather Papers and Other Confessions (1972) †¢Inside Las Vegas (1977) Short stories †¢Ã¢â‚¬ The Last Christmas† (1950) â€Å"John ‘Red' Marston's Island of Delight† as by Mario Cleri (1964) †¢Ã¢â‚¬ Big Mike's Wild Young Sister-in-law† as by Mario Cleri (1964) †¢Ã¢â‚¬ The Six Million Killer Sharks That Terrorize Our Shores† as by Mario Cleri (1966) †¢Ã¢â‚¬ The Unkillable Six† as by Mario Cleri (1967) †¢Ã ¢â‚¬ Girls of Pleasure Penthouse† as by Mario Cleri (1968) †¢Ã¢â‚¬ Order Lucy For Tonight† as by Mario Cleri (1968) †¢Ã¢â‚¬ 12 Barracks of Wild Blondes† as Mario Cleri (1968) Screenplays †¢The Godfather (1972) †¢The Godfather Part II (1974) †¢Earthquake (1974) †¢Superman (1978) †¢Superman II (1980) †¢The Godfather Part III (1990) †¢Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992)Summary:The book opens with the wedding of Connie Corleone, daughter of Don Vito ‘The Godfather' Corleone, head of the most powerful of the five great Mafia clans or ‘families' of New York. Don Corleone is shot at by a new contender for power in the city, Virgil ‘the Turk' Solozzo, who plans to obtain power by the lure of vast profits in the drug trafficking trade. After the Don is incapacitated by his assassination attempt, the book follows the Corleone family's progress as they must now adapt to the changing times and power dynam ics and maintain the Corleone empire.Santino ‘Sonny' Corleone is too blunt and brash a man to ever become Don while Freddie is weak and ineffective. The book follows the journey and transformation of the youngest, and hitherto the Don's most distant, son Michael as he realizes that though he may have tried to live by society's norms, rejecting what his father represented, inside lives a true Sicilian who will stop at nothing to get what he wants and protect those he loves. Michael has a tough task ahead of him, he has to locate his father's would-be assassin, crush the rival gangs and regain once more the respect that the name Corleone inspired in New York†¦