Louis Armstrong His Childhood, And Early Years Of His Music Essays

Louis Armstrong: His Childhood, And Early Years Of His Music Brian McLaughlin History of Jazz 12/18/98 Professor Torff Louis Armstrong: His childhood, and the early years of his music He was born in the south at a time when a black boy could expect nothing but to grow up, work hard at the lowest jobs all his life, and hope somehow, somewhere manage to stay healthy and get a little out of life.(P.1 Collier) Get a little out of life Louis did, a pure genius he revolutionized America's first true form of art, jazz. Doing a paper on Louis Armstrong has been enjoyable to do and the information that is available on Armstrong is endless. So much that this paper is going to concentrate on Louis Childhood how he got involved with music and the early years of his music career with King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band and the recordings of the Hot 5's and Hot 7's. Satchmo, which is only one of his nicknames originated from people saying he had a mouth like a satchel, is a truly an extraordinary man. He started his life living in the slums of New Orleans, but would go one and play in front of some of the most important people in the world such as presidents, kings, and queens. Piecing together the facts around Armstrong's birth and childhood is difficult. What is known depends almost entirely on what he later told people. He was born sometime around 1900. Louie was raised by his grandmother Josephine Armstrong as an infant. His father abandoned him and his mother around the time of his birth. Louis spoke scathingly about his father when he spoke about him at all. He loathed his father so much that he told reporter Larry King, I was touring Europe then my father died. Didn't go to his funeral, didn't send nothing. Why should I He never had no time for me or Maryann (his mother). (p. 19 Coller) Louis had a genuine affection for his mother, though she was very undependable, leaving her son to take care of himself and his sister for days at a time. There is very little we know of Armstrong's family as you can see. Louis grew up in New Orleans in a tough area known, as The Battle Field where knife fights and gun play were common. At the age of about seven he moved to black Storyville. It consisted of dance halls honky tonks and brothels. It was an entertainment district like London's Soho. He grew up with music all around him. He could hear music from outside is house when he woke up and when he went to bed. It is recorded that Louis did attend school at the Fisk school where he learned to read and write. How long he attended this school is another mystery. One fact we do know about Louis is that he was arrested on New Years Eve 1912 for shooting a gun. Louis was around eleven at the time, and this was a very serious offense. He was sent to the Coloreds Waif House a reform school on the out skirts of New Orleans. Here Louis was introduced to organized music in the form of the school band. The school band was run by Captain Joseph Jones in a military fashion that was extremely strict. This is where Louis's life changed from delinquent to a disciplined young man this was also when Louis was introduced to playing a musical instrument. The teacher, Professor Pete Davis, first had reservations of letting Louis play in the school's brass band because he thought Louis was a bad kid. Finally Louis was let into the band, and received his first formal training on an instrument. More importantly th an the music training Louis received from Professor Davis were the real life lessons Lois received. Professor Davis had more to do with Louis' self respect and discipline than with musicianship. Even more important was that Louis finally formed a positive relationship with an older male, a father figure, whose discipline Louis was willing to except. Until this time, he had more or less acquiesced to the life into which he had been born, a world of pimps, thieves, hookers, and

Insults and Aspersions

Insults and Aspersions Insults and Aspersions Insults and Aspersions By Maeve Maddox Like the rabbit Thumper in Bambi, I was brought up on the admonition, â€Å"if you can’t say nuthin’ nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.† How times have changed! Not only has insult come to pervade public discourse, the Web abounds with insult generators to assist the invective-challenged. For instance, creative types who want to add a little class to their abuse can consult a Shakespearean insult generator. The word insult derives from Latin insultare, â€Å"to attack†; literally, â€Å"to jump on.† In medicine, an insult is anything that attacks or causes injury to the body. The verb insult means to display a scornful attitude towards someone by speech or behavior. As I have always understood the word, an insult is a deliberate attack on someone’s feelings, but there’s some evidence that for some folks, even a remark devoid of hurtful intention may be construed as an insult if it disagrees with one’s own views. This is from an article offering advice about how to respond to insults: It can be hard to know what to do when someone makes a thoughtful remark that is insulting to your convictions, values or beliefs I can see how one person’s â€Å"thoughtful remark† might be offensive to someone of differing beliefs, but I don’t see how it’s insulting. Here are some synonyms for the noun insult: jibe affront slight barb slur indignity injury libel slander declamation abuse [uh-BYUS] disparagement aspersion (usually in the plural) dig crack put-down slap in the face kick in the teeth cheap shot low blow Here are synonyms for the verb to insult: abuse [uh-BYUZE] be rude to slight disparage discredit libel slander malign defame denigrate cast aspersions on call someone names put someone down affront humiliate wound badmouth dis calumniate Note on aspersions: A reader asked me if one can do anything with aspersions other than cast them. The answer seems to be, â€Å"No.† The word aspersions comes from the verb asperse, â€Å"to besprinkle or bespatter.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Yiddish Handbook: 40 Words You Should Know11 Writing Exercises to Inspire You and Strengthen Your Writing55 "House" Idioms

Famous Office Space Quotes

Famous Office Space Quotes If you are looking for funny quotations about work or quotes from the movie Office Space, here is a page you will enjoy. These quotes are about working in an office. And they are hilarious! Peter Gibbons: What if were still doin this when were 50?Samir: It would be nice to have that kind of job security.Bob Slydell: What would you say ya do here?Tom Smykowski: Well look, I already told you! I deal with the goddamn customers so the engineers dont have to! I have people skills! I am good at dealing with people! Cant you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?Peter Gibbons: Our high school guidance counselor used to ask us what youd do if you had a million dollars and you didnt have to work. And invariably what youd say was supposed to be your career. So, if you wanted to fix old cars youre supposed to be an auto mechanic. Samir: So what did you say?Peter Gibbons: I never had an answer. I guess thats why Im working at Initech.Peter Gibbons: Hes going to ask me to work on Sunday and Im going to do it because Im a pussy, which is why I work at Initech in the first place.Michael Bolton: Hey, I work at Initech and I dont consider myself a pussy.Samir: Yes, I a m also not a pussy. Samir: No one in this country can ever pronounce my name right. Its not that hard: Na-ee-ana-jaad. Nayanajaad.Michael Bolton: Yeah, well at least your name isnt Michael Bolton.Samir: You know theres nothing wrong with that name.Michael Bolton: There was nothing wrong with it... until that no-talent ass clown became famous and started winning Grammys.Samir: Hmm... well why dont you just go by Mike instead of Michael?Michael Bolton: No way! Why should I change? Hes the one who sucks.

The Novel Kate Chopin The Awakening and the Short Story by Kate Chopin Essay

The Novel Kate Chopin The Awakening and the Short Story by Kate Chopin The Story of an Hour - Essay Example Sometimes cultural expectation or social conditions make people behave in a typical manner. Kate Chopin’s short story ‘The Story of An Hour’ and his novel ‘The awakening’ are two works in which the social conditions or the cultural expectations compel people to escape to the world of freedom (Petry, 1996) (Koloski, 1996). The protagonist of the novel ‘The awakening’ longed to take herself away from the expectations of her society (Telgen and Hile, 1998). While reading between the lines of ‘The awakening’, readers can find that the most crucial incident, the suicide of Edna (at the end of the book) is a consequence of her attempt to escape from everything and to tear herself away the social expectations to which she was strongly bounded to (Ewell, 1986). Her mentality was one of despair in which she does not wanted to live in the way she was supposed to be. Reading thorough the mind and sole of Edna, we can see that the decisi on that she has taken at the end was the one and only solution for her to escape from the internal struggles she suffered. She had violated the line that marks the norm of the society (and its conventions) of the late 1800s (Telgen and Hile, 1998). Edna’s despair that she will not be able to live in the ‘expected’ manner, leads to her take her own life. ... Edna was actually becoming free (recognizing her selfhood) attaining freedom and victory that was denied to her by Robert. Edna is a woman who should have born couple of centuries later; she would never fit in the life of the 1800s. Robert’s demand for Edna to be his wife, a ‘mother-woman’, following all the social conventions and followings, were unacceptable to Edna. As far as she was concerned, such a submission to his desires is a denial of her identity. Edna was unable to face this reality and she opted not to live rather than being submissive to the followings. She does not want herself to be locked inside the societal cage in which men others wanted her to reside. Her outlook and personality made her unfit for the life of her times. Edna’s life became quite unsuitable for the role her lover, husband and what the society demanded for her. Edna’s personal desire of freedom was denied in all her relationships, her father, her husband and even Rob ert (Ewell, 1986). Everybody denied her wish to live in her freedom and wanted her to submit her ‘sense of self’ in the role she was expected to play. Edna refuse to play these roles and her sense of self was too strong and very precious for her. "Edna's sense of self makes impossible her role of wife and mother as defined by her society; yet she comes to the discovery that her role of wife and mother also makes impossible her continuing sense of independent selfhood" (Chopin, 1982). She was found to be moving into the water and swimming away from the shore where she would remember "Leonce and the children. They were a part of her life. But they need not have thought that they could possess her, body and soul" (Chopin,

In class essay2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

In class essay2 - Essay Example It is highly necessary for the authorities to take action to bury the power lines underground, as this will avoid the chances of vulnerability of the power lines to natural disaster like storm and hurricane. The hurricane sandy has caused millions of people in Northeast to live without power for days. The Connecticut city had 90% living in darkness as hurricane sandy swept fiercely through the city damaging all the power lines. Considering this dangerous fact, it is strongly recommendable to the electricity providers to take action to bury power lines underground to avoid further mishaps. Being a super power, America need to be more thoughtful regarding their infrastructure and power providing system. If the power lines are laid outside then, any natural disaster can harm the electricity supply of the nation. But the government is not considering building power line underground as the cost for the same is high. Because the power lines where constructed above the ground, there was explosion of power station in the North east during sandy’s arrival. In recent times, America has been encountering numerous natural disasters like hurricane, typhoon, storms and wild fires. So the government keeping in mind of these disasters must make immediate strategy to combat catastrophe. Any government must priorities the citizen’s security and quality of life, as the government is by the people, for the people and of the people. North east America being a cold region needs power and electricity more than other areas of US. The government being cost conscious understood their mistake only when disastrous sandy affected the region. Now that the sandy has destroyed the power lines of North east America, the cost incurred by the government is more than imagined. Government’s ignorance and lack of alertness has caused much hassles and disruption in the life of millions of people. If the power lines of these region

Probability Theory Statistics :: essays research papers

The Collier Encyclopedia’s definition for probability is the concern for events that are not certain and the reasonableness of one expectation over another. These expectations are usually based on some facts about past events or what is known as statistics. Collier describes statistics to be the science of the classification and manipulation of data in order to draw inferences. Inferences here can be read to mean expectations, leading to the conclusion that the two go hand in hand in accomplishing what mankind has tried to accomplish since the beginning of time – predicting the future. It is the notion of science that this is the most accurate way to predict events yet to occur and this has lead to it being the most widely accepted “fortune telling'; tool in the world today. Probability and Statistics most widespread use is in the arena of gambling. Gambling is big all over the world and lots of money is won and lost with their aid. In horse racing especially the statistics of a horse in terms of its physical condition and winning history sway numbers of persons into believing that the mathematical evidence that is derived can actually be a good indicator of a race’s outcome. Usually it is if the odds or probability are great in favor of the desired outcome. However the future is uncertain and races can turn out any of a number of different ways. The field of medicine is another high subscriber to this forecasting technique. Potential diagnoses are frequently made based on a patient’s history or that of his ancestors and the calculated likelihood of him/her acquiring certain conditions. Statistics and probability aid in the decision making process of which test may be required for a given symptom and how a possible outbreak may be detected and contained. Strategies for isolating and dealing with diseases are often made with the aid of statistics on the percentage of a population that may have been infected and the probability of its escalation. The weather forecasters use probability and statistics just as much if not more than any other field on earth. As weather patterns are not fully understood and are dynamic, analysts have to rely heavily on past weather systems and patterns to “guess'; or estimate the possibility of present weather systems to behave in similar manners. If the probability of its behavior, subject to certain factors, in one manner over another is high forecasters make decisions as to how to advise the public.

A Critical Appreciation of Frost’s ‘The Oven Bird’

The Oven Bird is a pessimistic sonnet. The octave seems to describe mid-summer and how it is past its best. Whereas the sestet, which is marked by a rhyming couplet, brings a change, as Frost looks toward what will come in the future, and how to live with a life that is past its best. The bird sings ‘Loud' and predicts the inevitability of mid-summer turning into fall. Gloomy descriptions are used even though it's the middle of summer and everything should be bright and cheerful, ‘he says that leaves are old and that for flowers/ Mid-summer is to spring as one to ten'. The endstop after ‘ten', makes the fact that there are not as many flowers in summer as there are in spring, very definite and quite blunt. Even though winter is along way off, lots of nature is already past its best: The early petal-fall is past, When pear and cherry bloom went down in showers On sunny days a moment overcast The speaker constantly focuses on the shadows, although it is only a ‘moment', so much destruction seems to happen in it. While it's still mid-summer, the bird is already anticipating fall as he says ‘and comes that other fall we name the fall'. Perhaps in this poem Frost is talking about Darwin. The oven bird could be used to represent Darwin. Frost says ‘there is a singer everyone has heard'. Around the time Frost was writing, Darwin was teaching his theory, he was famous and everyone had heard of him. By placing ‘loud' at the beginning of the line and putting a comma after it, Frost focuses on this word, emphasising that Darwin is shouting and telling everyone about his theory. Frost then goes onto say the bird ‘makes the solid tree trunks sound again'. This could possibly be Darwin questioning all and bringing a new uncertainty to life. If we continue with the Darwin idea, perhaps when Frost refers to ‘that other fall we name the fall', he is referring to Adam and Eve and the fall of mankind. This is then followed by the bird saying ‘the highway dust is overall'. Read also Critical appreciation of the poem â€Å"Old Ladies’ Home†. The highway might represent mans progress and new scientific knowledge and how this now covers everything, nature and religion. Frost says, ‘the bird would cease and be as other birds/ but that he knows in singing not to sing'. I think this could mean that the bird is not as exuberant as other birds in spring, but he sings in mid-summer and knows the future isn't necessarily something to look forward to. With Darwin's new theory, the old certainty has been taken away and replaced by something new and radical that makes the future unsettling. The poem finishes on an unsure note as Frost says, ‘The question that he frames in all but words/ is what to make of a diminished thing'. Frost might be saying that, although life is past its best, like summer, how can we make the most of it? This is very characteristic of Frost's poetry, with Frost leaving the reader to make their own interpretation and decide for themselves. Although the tone of the last two lines is elegiac and ‘diminished thing' sounds very negative, Frost also asks ‘what to make' of it and this sounds more positive as though this is just a new, exciting challenge to face. The Oven Bird is also similar to Frost's other poetry because he uses nature to put across an idea. The Oven Bird is an unusual sonnet, Frost uses an old, accepted poetry style to express these new and bold ideas, the unconventional rhyme scheme also helps to emphasise these new ideas. This is another quality of Frost, to take a certain style of poetry and make it his own.