Music Has Lost Its Meaning

Back in the day a performance qualified as someone walking on stage and bearing their soul. It was about the music, and it was about the talent. Now an artist qualifies as someone who is so bizarre, so outgoing, so appealing they can sell anything. Lately the music industry has been lacking in real talent. Many artists are truly talented, that goes without saying. But this talent tends to be hidden because of the glamour and popularity of their appearance. The reason why certain artistes are so widely popular despite their lack of talent is because they appeal to the masses.Lady Gaga is someone who has entered the world of pop culture and has taken it by storm. Behind all the crazy makeup and fashion choices, Gaga has raw talent. She can actually sing, and her songs are Gaga original. But people don’t see Gaga for her vocals; they see the overexposure. Justin Bieber has found a way to go from a small town boy to one of America’s heartthrobs. Bieber is so widely known an d is selling out show after show because he appeals to the younger generation. It doesn’t matter whether he can sing or not. If the masses find him attractive, he will find a way to stay famous.It’s a popularity contest, and he is one of the winners. Now an artist is all about the hype. The music is lost behind all the glitz and glam. No one notices what an artist is trying to say when they’re distracted by fire and lights and the bizarre. It is entertaining, no doubt about that. It’s fun to see people suspended in midair doing flips, and it’s fun see people jump through flaming hoops. But where’s the music? Where are the lyrics? Where’s the heart? The definition of a musical artist has evolved and changed. Now it is not about the music, just the appearance. It is not about the talent, just the entertainment value.The music industry has lost most of its credibility and needs to find a way back to when it was about the feeling and the words, to when lyrics meant something and were not just random ideas strung together nonsensically. That was when music was the greatest it has ever been. First, you should orient yourself with a marketing term known as â€Å"positioning†. That will help to understand how products & styles get pigeonholed or stuck into a way of being perceived by the general public. Fundamentally, rap is very lyric dense poetry in tight syncopation with a rhythm. Like spoken word that rhymes, with a percussion track.So, lyrics can be about ANY subject. However, due to rap's typical lyric subject matter, based on the culture of those who started it, rap has position in society. Because of this position, it's difficult to create lyrical themes for rap that deal with other cultures or genres. Commercialism does manage to do this, however, this is the point where we wonder if an artform has lost its meaning. In other words, when McDonalds, Ford, Mountain Dew and Coors Light commercials include ho t guitar solos or hot hip hop grooves with lyrics merely selling a product, it's hard to maintain a special place in your soul for the genre.It's also hard for the artists themselves to feel good about their style, when they could be sounding just like another burger commercial. This is why things cycle out and new things have to come in. The advertising agencies never start artforms. They pick up what the people have their attention on and try to piggyback their junk food, clothing lines, cars, soft drinks– whatever onto anything that will give their stuff the same attention. Then they will sell more. Any â€Å"popular† form of communication art, is subject to exploitation. Then, you have to move onward, if you are depending upon communication arts to help you get meaning from life.So, obviously this isn't simply about rap. Every genre is in the same boat. Artists have to out-create and stay ahead of the commercialism in order to stay sane and maintain meaning. The go od news is that artists do keep creating. You just have to keep up with who the real ones are. Check out the real music magazines (not the lifestyle ; fashion ones). Find out who the artists are listening to and who they like. Skip the critics, because they often represent the commercial side. Serious rap artists have to stay ahead in order to survive and keep the meaning in rap.If they sell out, rap just becomes a product that people grow bored with. First, you should orient yourself with a marketing term known as â€Å"positioning†. That will help to understand how products ; styles get pigeonholed or stuck into a way of being perceived by the general public. Fundamentally, rap is very lyric dense poetry in tight syncopation with a rhythm. Like spoken word that rhymes, with a percussion track. So, lyrics can be about ANY subject. However, due to rap's typical lyric subject matter, based on the culture of those who started it, rap has position in society.Because of this posi tion, it's difficult to create lyrical themes for rap that deal with other cultures or genres. Commercialism does manage to do this, however, this is the point where we wonder if an artform has lost its meaning. In other words, when McDonalds, Ford, Mountain Dew and Coors Light commercials include hot guitar solos or hot hip hop grooves with lyrics merely selling a product, it's hard to maintain a special place in your soul for the genre. It's also hard for the artists themselves to feel good about their style, when they could be sounding just like another burger commercial.This is why things cycle out and new things have to come in. The advertising agencies never start artforms. They pick up what the people have their attention on and try to piggyback their junk food, clothing lines, cars, soft drinks– whatever onto anything that will give their stuff the same attention. Then they will sell more. Any â€Å"popular† form of communication art, is subject to exploitation . Then, you have to move onward, if you are depending upon communication arts to help you get meaning from life. So, obviously this isn't simply about rap. Every genre is in the same boat.Artists have to out-create and stay ahead of the commercialism in order to stay sane and maintain meaning. The good news is that artists do keep creating. You just have to keep up with who the real ones are. Check out the real music magazines (not the lifestyle ; fashion ones). Find out who the artists are listening to and who they like. Skip the critics, because they often represent the commercial side. Serious rap artists have to stay ahead in order to survive and keep the meaning in rap. If they sell out, rap just becomes a product that people grow bored with.

Fibromyalgia Good Days vs Bad Days

Fibromyalgia Good Days vs. Bad Days Michele Gay National American University January 11, 2012 Abstract Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disease that has â€Å"good† no pain days and â€Å"bad† excruciatingly painful days. The differences in the days are extreme. A good day is also a mentally bad day, knowing that the pain can come back at anytime, while an extremely painful day could be mentally a good day because the pain has to go away sometime. Fibromyalgia has many symptoms and there is not a known cause for the disease at this time. Keywords: fibromyalgia, good days, bad days, pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety or depression, physical appearance For people diagnosed with fibromyalgia, according to Moore (2011), on average, we feel, well, average. Average is whatever comes in the middle of a really good day and a really bad one. Or, to put it another way, good days get worse, and bad days get better. There is a seesaw effect going on with how a person feels physically. This seesaw effect can be very hard on an individual, but not just physically but psychologically. On the good days thoughts of wondering, just how long will the good feelings continue. Then when a bad day happens, there is excruciating pain, and all the while the realization that the pain can’t last forever and in time the person with fibromyalgia will feel better. According to MyFibro. com (2011) Fibromyalgia statistics, fibromyalgia is a chronic disease that about 1 in 50 Americans are diagnosed with. Symptoms of fibromyalgia can be primary and or secondary symptoms. Primary symptoms include but are limited to; musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and sleep disturbances like sleep apnea, grinding of ones teeth, restless leg syndrome and frequent waking during the deep, restorative phases of sleep or alpha-EEG anomaly. Some of the secondary symptoms are headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, TMJ pain, anxiety / depression, ear nose and throat problems, pelvic pain, skin roblems, paresthesias, fibro fog (cognitive changes such as memory problems, confusion and difficulty concentrating). Fibromyalgia is a disease that is not always visual to other people. Many people have fibromyalgia and do not realize that they do, let alone someone else knowing a person has it or that they are dealing with it. A few aches here and there, tenderness in certain areas, dizziness, a little anxious are a few of the symptoms, but when looking in the mirror at oneself a person could not see those symptoms. Unfortunately this makes it difficult for our peers to know if a person with fibromyalgia is having a good or bad day, unless they are told. Without knowing about the disease peers don’t realize that there could be some limitations physically, mentally and dietary as well. Depending on the severity of fibromyalgia, having a good day, could mean that there are no symptoms to medium symptoms. A feeling of going out for a walk or a run, slept great and feel refreshed. A person is back to their old selves or close to it. According to Schmidt (1990) a person with fibromyalgia needs to plan for the bad days – imagine it as a day off from work, take naps, allow an occasional bout of private self-pity – on those really worst-of-all-days cry if it helps, believe in the good days- no matter how severe the relapse is there are occasional good days, use a 50-percent solution – on a good day try to do about 50-60 percent of what is normally managed. , just do a little – on the days of mild energy, just do a little, it will be there tomorrow, schedule time for rest – even on a good day schedule time for rest each day. Bad days again range from the extent of your symptoms. A person with fibromyalgia and their worst days and nights, hurts everywhere including the hair on their head, clothing hurts physically to the extent of wanting to cry from the pressure on the skin. There is little to no good deep REM sleep, so the person continues to be tired and the body does not rejuvenate. There are muscle spasms that run all over their body and the spasms add an extra layer of pain to the already continuous muscle pain. A person’s anxiety level shoots up as well as psychologically, where the person diagnosed with fibromyalgia feels worthless, angry and loneliness. During a bad day others can not generally tell that a person with fibromyalgia is in pain. So when it is mentioned that that a person is having a great deal of pain or not able to concentrate, the person’s peers will look at a person with fibromyalgia say that, â€Å"You look fine. † If a person does not have fibromyalgia, then the there is no possibly way for them to imagine what it feels like and probably could not understand how someone feels not only physically but mentally as well. References: Moore, Dr Chris (2011). Fibromyalgia: Why good days get worse and bad days get better Fibromyalgia Doctor Medical Information for Fibromyalgia Sufferers, Retrieved from: http://docchrismoore. wordpress. com Schmidt, Patti (1990). Getting Through the Bad Days CFIDS & Fibromyalgia Self Help, Retrieved from http://www. cfidsselfhelp. org Site Writer (2011) Fibromyalgia Symptoms, MyFibro. com. Retrieved from http://www. myfibro. com/

Relationship Between Human Beings and Nature Essay

Now is the time for human beings and nature to collaborate. Normally, most people would say, â€Å"human beings always destroy nature.† It is true. However, only a few people know the truth of why human beings destroy nature. It is a huge mistake to think of nature individually. First of all, the main reason people destroy nature is to use trees as materials for paper. As everybody knows, cutting trees has been becoming a reason for global warming. In the past fifty years, the number of people increased more than ten times. Of course, ten times more paper is consumed. The number of the trees in the world has been decreasing rapidly and the environment of the world is getting worse. On the contrary, there was some good news for protected nature. For example because of advancements in the economy, distribution of electric books helped to decrease the consumption of paper. Also, people think of nature more than before. Even now, the numbers of people in the world are increasing, so to have a good relationship between human beings and nature is not easy, it probably the situation is getting worse. We have to keep changing something. When I was living in Canada, I heard the Canadians have pride in protecting the earth. For example, Canada has a lot of natural resources, but they never sell these. They think selling oil leads to the destruction of nature. They also have strict rules for themselves. It is a big violation if they hurt nature or animals. I often think about the world. Everybody knows how to collaborate with nature and how the world would change if we keep destroys. Individual power is really small, but nothing is changed if we do not change. So, now is the time for human beings and nature to collaborate.

German Automobile Industry Background

German Automobile Industry Industry Background The automobile industry in Germany was born on in the earlier 1886 when the first â€Å"vehicle powered by a gas engine† was assembled and registered. 125 years has passed, and with it the industry has acquired an incredible growth and global recognition. The industry now is one of the most powerful and reliable of the world that actually competes â€Å"vis a vis† with the one of the most dominant car industries of the world: Asian automobile industry.The German automobile industry is one of the stronger and successful industries in the world, it is the fourth global manufacturer in terms of volume (numbers of cars assembled) after China, United States and Japan. In fact, German automobile industry is responsible for of the manufacturing of 17% of the total global car production. Furthermore, it represents the main sector of Germany’s economy (main driver of growth) as well as the largest automotive market in the who le European continent.One of the key factors of success of this industry has been the large budgets invested in automotive development and research, which has allowed them to manufacture and offer vehicles with latest technology that in most of the cases fits better with consumer insights; in other words, an evolutionary process of application of innovation and cutting-edge technology has lead into one of the main industries in Germany. A good example of this fact is the development of environmental friendly vehicles, which makes â€Å"Germany the most innovative auto nation in the world†.German cars are known globally due to its attributes in terms of comfort, luxury, security, efficiency, reliability, design and image. In addition, the industry counts with one of the higher qualified labor forces, as well as modern infrastructures and research facilities. The industry actually employ 747,600 people just within Germany, and this rate is increasing sharply over the years. The result, Europe’s largest automobile market: about 5. 4 million passenger cars manufactured in 2012; 46 automobile assembly and engine production plants with a capacity over one third of the total automobile production in Europe.Giving the importance of German automobile industry is not a surprise to find some of the most influent companies of the world setting their headquarters and principal assembly plants in the country. The market is dominated by Audi, BMW, Ford Germany, Mercedes Benz, Opel, Porsche and Volkswagen. All these companies have a common characteristic: global demand. Therefore, even when domestic economy is huge –including Germany and the European Union- the industry growth is predominantly due to the exports of vehicles to other countries.Also, as well as the manufacturing of passenger cars, the industry in comprised in an important proportion by the manufacturing and trade of auto parts. The latest reports indicate that last January was a historic mo nth for German automotive industry in which they experienced a sharp increase in demand due to past few years’ trends that have been defining market behavior. Audi and Mercedes Benz sold more cars around the world in January than any corresponding month in the past. The Volkswagen subsidiary Audi sold 117,500 cars, the higher quantity of monthly sales in its history.Also, it increased the worldwide distribution by 16% the same month. The trend was indicating in the past years a significant growth in trade especially with the Asian market, last January the trend was confirmed. Even though the sales increase in all regions, in China the increase was of 38. 5%. Giving this, is possible to identify the markets that represent the clusters of largest demands of German cars as: Asia (mainly China), US and Europe. Bibliography Bibliography IANS. (2013, 02 13). German Cars in Global Demand. Retrieved from Zeebiz. com: http://zeenews. india. om/business/automobiles/auto-news/german-car s-audi-mercedes-benz-in-global-demand_69691. html Invest, G. T. (n. d. ). Automotive Industry. Retrieved from Germany Trade and Invest : http://www. gtai. de/GTAI/Navigation/EN/Invest/Industries/Logistics-mobility/automotive. html Invest, G. T. (n. d. ). The Automotive Industry in Germany. Retrieved from Ixpos. de: http://www. ixpos. de/IXPOS/Content/EN/Your-business-in-germany/_SharedDocs/Downloads/automotive-industry-in-germany. pdf ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Germany Invest and Trade: Automotive Industry.

Leading in a Changing world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leading in a Changing world - Essay Example McGarvie (2009) suggests that today, leaders should be able to attract multidimensional capital flows, read the roadmap for future innovation and participate in new markets, while effectively leading their organisation and their people. We now live in an era in which short- and long-term mismanagement of our environment, work worlds, economies, political situations, cyberspace, care priorities, family lives and values, natural disasters, and capabilities for mass destruction present new challenges for those who must lead in a changing world (Klein, 2009, Pp. 1 – 5). However, it is important to understand that an effective leader must not only select the right vision and the right strategy for attaining a shared vision for the future, but the leader should also effectively influence followers to achieve a shared vision (Boseman, 2008, Pp. 36 – 37). Although personal traits were emphasised earlier by those who researched leadership, Boseman (2008) suggests that the way in which leaders use leadership traits effectively to influence followers decides about effective leadership. Thus, leading effectively the group to attain a shared vision is important for leaders who must lead in a changing world and it is worth discussing how leaders should lead in a changing world. According to Goethals (2004) and Yukl (2010), organisational research domain often discusses leadership in terms of the use of interpersonal influence exercised in situations and directed, through communications processes, towards the attainment of a specific goal or goals. Thus, effective and practical leadership must emphasise the capacity for influencing followers and follower satisfaction is important. Goethals (2004) goes further to suggest that an effective leader has the capacity for influencing a work group to perform and that transformational leadership is more positively related

Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Economic - Essay Example For instance, oil products in global market are becoming scarce and volatile because of the continuing crisis in the Middle East, the primary suppliers of oil products. In lieu of this, oil prices rose to its highest point in just a very short period of time while demand is getting faster. Conversely, if this oil producing countries return in their normal business term, then the production of oil products will increase, thereby bringing a stability of price. This environment is one of the current examples of inflation and deflation that is happening in reality. The main thrust of this paper is to discuss the causes of inflation and deflation, and how these affect corporate decision-making. To have a better understanding on this anomaly, it is a requirement to study the complex movements of prices and their effects through current situations and events. Inflation and Its Causes Inflation is described by Mukherjee (2002, p.26) â€Å"as a process in which the price level is rising and money is losing its value.† As you can see in figure 1, if the aggregate demand (AD) is increasing faster than the rate of the aggregate supply (AS), the general price level also increases, and this phenomenon is known as inflation. Nowadays, many countries are suffering from higher rates of inflation and sometimes government had to compromise by paying the cost of the reduced productivity. However, many economists have argued that pouring too much money into the economy as a solution would only lead to a more serious inflation (McNeese, 2000, p.22). The main causes of this phenomenon include: Too much demand in the economy. If the demand is high and the available supply cannot meet the demand, general price level would eventually move upward, thereby bringing in inflation or particularly known as demand-pull inflation. This is a situation wherein the rate of demand is faster than the rate of supply leading to a shortage of supply which means that â€Å"an increase in demand will affect prices more than output because firms may not be able to recruit staff more easily or produce more...† (Gillespie, 2007, p.381). Cost-push, monetary, and supply shock inflation. This type of inflation occurred when the supply of money in the circulation is high, causing the purchasing power of people to increase and eventually lead to a demand-pull inflation. On the other hand, cost-push inflation happened when the level of productivity among workers is increasing, labour expenses are also increased and the rate will be added up to the general price level (Grant & Vidler, 2003, p.132). Lastly, supply shock is more or less interrelated with demand-pull inflation; however, this time the supply is generally scarce. For example, the steady increase in prices of oil products in the world market brought by subsequent events particularly in Libya have also contributed to the increase of prices in almost all of the basic commodities. Deflation and Its Causes â€Å"Deflati on is a sustained decrease in the average price level of the entire economy† (Saunders & Gilliard, 2000, p.32). The steady and continuous fall of prices sound interesting to those who are not fully aware of deflation, but this term is not good for the monetary economy because falling prices would adversely affect income that eventually to bankruptcy. As sale, profit and investment fall together, producers are forced to cut

Employment law Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Employment law - Term Paper Example Age discrimination can be experienced by all people of all ages but mainly between the older and the younger people mostly if the legal action is implicated for the older workers suffering discrimination. (Sargeant & Lewis, 2004, 87) Ageism encompasses a combination of institutional practices, individual attitudes and relationships Ageism and age discrimination are different from each other, as ageism is application of assumed age –based group distinctiveness to an person, regardless of individual‘s actual personal character. However age discrimination refers to the rough ‘age proxies’ in personal decisions in regards to selecting, hiring, discharging, promotion, transfer, training and mandatory training (Macnicol, 2006, p.3). The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) 1967 in the United States is applicable for all apparent groups. The Government’s consultation document identified both the direct and the indirect forms of age favoritism in employment and most obvious forms is the person’s ability to work or to be developed in relation to their age. When the US government had approved (ADEA) act it became a major issue from 1967.The act declared that the older people should be promoted on the basis of the ability than on the age, excluded the subjective age discrimin ation in employment and also facilitate the workers in solving problems arising from the impact of the age on the service (Sargeant, 2006, p.1-5). B) Describe how the changing demographic will continue to effect age discrimination claims? Age discrimination affects the employees at the later stage of their life when many people are not able to put their best effort in the performance due to disability. ADEA in 1967 has abolished the discrimination in recruitment, transfer and compensation for the people aged from 40-64.The law was further amended in 1978 when the private organization employees can work up to the age of 69 and in 1986 the law abolished the compulsory retirement for age together. According to a study in 1997, the inhabitant non-institutional populace of ages from 16 to 64 had suffered from a poor physical, mental health that lased for over 6 months and this prevented the people in carrying out a job. Two types of demographics in respect to the working-age and disability are age and race. Disability in work rises with age and the proportion of black employees in work disability exceeds the proportion of other rac e and Hispanics. (Seagal, 2002, p.385)Discrimination is also done on the basis of race and national origin hat involves the employment actions like hiring, promotion etc. Religion can also affect the work culture if the employee practices his/her religion art work. Sex discrimination is also another issue that includes hiring only male candidates or o the basis of marital status and it also includes sexual harassment among the women. (Bruce, 2005, p.21) C) Discuss whether or not an employer can consider an applicant's or employee's age when making employment decisions? On the basis if the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) an employer is prohibited to take decisions on the basis of age. Under this legislation an employer cannot force the employees to retire after a certain age, but it can apply seniority system that should not force an older workers leave the job. The law also includes all the list of employees to take a mandatory retirement like federal judges, pilots, enf orcement officers and executives with provision of pensions. (Duekar, 2000, p.118)The act is applicable in both the private and government organization and it can be unlawful if the management fail to abide by the following rules that are: a) if the employer rejects to recruit or discharge an individual with respect to the compensation, terms and condition on the basis of the age; b)to limit or segregate any employees and deprive any employees opportunities that affect the status because of the age factor, c) to reduce the wage or salary of the workers