...(-- removed HTML --) Hocus Pocus (-- removed HTML --) is another utterly in-a-room-by-itself novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It is told through the variegated, extremely cynical lens of Eugene Debs Hartke, who expresses his outlook on humanity through a jumbled recounting of his life. Hartke skips back and forth between different epochs of his past—his childhood, his time serving in the Vietnam War, and his time spent at Tarkington College and afterward. His life is a giant puzzle, becoming more complete with each chapter. Hartke endlessly searches for the meaning of his life, obsessed with completing the puzzle. When he realizes he can never find the last piece, he decides to instead believe in fate, which has controlled his entire life....
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...Elyse DeLaney Professor Kate Kelly Religious Studies October 28, 2012 Two Birds with One Stone: An Essay of War and Compassion in Three Vonnegut Novels It is only the dead who have seen the end of war. -Plato Vonnegut prides himself on writing novels with science fiction elements and three of his novels, Player Piano (PP), God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (GB), and Hocus Pocus (HP) are prime examples of war and compassion. Vonnegut’s critique of war reveals that he considers compassion to be the most sacred aspect of human life. In Player Piano, the novel’s protagonist, Dr. Paul Proteus (PP 23) is forced to choose between the successes of his company or become the leader of a rebellion against the machine society. People are slowly, but surely, being replaced by machines and artificial “workers,” such as automated tellers at banks and self-checkouts at groceries. Vonnegut uses this movement of mechanization in the 1950’s and responds to the dehumanization in this novel. Machines and computers have eliminated the need for industrial laborers after the Second Industrial Revolution and society is then split into two unequal classes: manager and engineers of the machines and the rest of the population that live without happiness or dignity. The two unequal classes is just one example of war in Player Piano. The two populations live in segregation, with the north side of the river saved for the upper class and the south side of the river, or Homestead, are where...
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...originally written by Jimmy Kennedy in 1942, but was originally called “cokey-cokey, the okey-cokey and the hokey-cokey” (Hokey-Pokey). It wasn’t until 1949 that Larry LaPrise was given credit for the United States version that used the name Hokey-Pokey; this is probably where the accusations of plagiarism came from (Hokey-Pokey). This proves how languages change throughout history, altering our view on words and their evolving uses for us compared to how we used to use these words before they evolved into their new meanings to fit today’s society. The original meaning of the word Hokey-Pokey was “a cheap kind of ice-cream sold by street vendors” (Hokey-Pokey). In the etymology of this word it was thought to have been altered from the word hocus-pocus...
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...Frightening Witches Yes, Halloween is fast coming. Soon those broom riding ladies with the pointed hats will be filling the skies. They are the most lasting symbols of this time through the years. Always considered ugly or evil they have always been feared. The main things which symbolize witches are broomsticks, cauldrons, and black cats. One of the witches which has always given me goose bumps is the Wicked Witch of the West in the classic “The Wizard of Oz”. I still can picture Dorothy and her friends going through that spooky forest as those flying monkeys filled the air. Dorothy getting locked up and the horrid green face of the witch screaming,”I’ll get you and your little dog too.” She gave me many a bad dream. Does she still scare...
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...Book Report Two: Paganism, an Introduction to Earth Centered Religions by the Higginbothams The Higginbothams’ book Paganism, an Introduction to Earth Centered Religions is a good explanatory book on not just what Paganism means and is but also about how it works. This book goes over the history and definition of not just the word, Paganism, but also give a bit of a synopsis and a little history of the different paths that are included in the umbrella term. I enjoyed the Scientific explanations of energy works and the out of the box personal experiences that they reference throughout the book. It gives the content not only a rational view of modern paganism and how people have reacted to finding out the Higginbothams were pagan but also gives...
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...I hit the flow, the girls come snappin' at me (they be snappin', baby) Now everybody wants some presto magic [Chorus] Well, take a journey into my mind You'll see why it's venom I rhyme Stay on the road, so I call my mama when I got time I hit the stage, go insane, then jump into that crowd See, see, when I rhyme, I flow on the beat like pidda-dow-dow See I deceive you with my intergalactic ego I sing just like Aretha, so respect me like I'm Caesar I kick it like Adidas, flowin' sticky like adhesive Be cautious 'cause what I be on'll leave you with amnesia I break all the rules like Evel Knievel It's a spectacular show 'cause my heart pumps diesel So whatever you're saying, it don't entertain my ego I do this everyday, Hocus Pocus...
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...3 Components To A Successful Concept July 17, 2008 The only way to create a financially successful restaurant, in any market, is to have sales great enough to cover your costs--including your development costs. Today’s blog topic is my follow up to last week’s thoughts on seeing the unseen. Sometimes coming up with a concept seems like magic, but generally it is a result of a lot of research because seeing the unseen is more than hocus pocus. There are three components to examining a market and coming up with a successful concept: Economic Feasibility The economic feasibility is first looking at demographics and psychographics (sometimes values and lifestyles), some of which is statistical and some of it is pure observation. As an example, if the per capita income for San Francisco and Berkeley are the same, what really separates the two neighboring cities? The answer: Lifestyles. In San Francisco, you see the car of choice being BMW’s and Mercedes Benz, in Berkeley it would be Saabs and Volvos; for clothing in San Francisco it is probably Armani and Zegna, in Berkeley it is Levis and Patagonia. San Francisco values urban cool environments and in Berkeley it is sustainable and responsible kitchens. Everything works but the kind of restaurant you would do in Berkeley may not be as successful if done in San Francisco, or Kansas City or Atlanta. Part two of the economic feasibility is looking for the “best demonstrated” performance. Examine your trade area to see...
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...I. Introduction In his foreword to a collection of the radio scripts of comedians Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. endorses these entertainers as somehow new and different—and relevant—since they draw their humor from the plight of the (American) Common Man. In the process, Vonnegut offers us an insight into his own writing, and the philosophies that inform it. “They aren’t like most other comedians’ jokes these days,” Vonnegut writes, aren’t rooted in show business and the world of celebrities and news of the day. They feature Americans who are almost always fourth-rate or below, engaged in enterprises which, if not contemptible, are at least insane. And while other comedians show us persons tormented by bad luck and enemies and so on, Bob and Ray’s characters threaten to wreck themselves and their surroundings with their own stupidity. There is a refreshing and beautiful innocence in Bob’s and Ray’s humor. Man is not evil, they seem to say. He is simply too hilariously stupid to survive. And this I believe. Jerome Klinkowitz, in the introduction to his essay collection entitled Vonnegut in America, has used this quote—as he certainly should—to support his claim that Vonnegut’s humor has its roots in the comedic response to the Great Depression. But of course there is much more to it than that. The reader is left with a nagging question: Were humanity’s case really as Vonnegut describes it, and were this truly his belief, wouldn’t it seem that the...
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...he “couldn’t afford it, and kept promising to sell it” (Wolff 50). Caught in the middle of his parents’ split, the boy literally becomes trapped in his father’s irresponsibility. Wolff describes the son having “considerable doubt” in regards to his father’s schemes, further revealing distance within the father and son’s relationship (Wolff 51). From this, the reader concludes that their relationships may fall apart with the marriage. It is not until later on that the boy realizes that he may as well enjoy the daring time with his father. On the other hand in The Palmist, Lam’s skepticism of the palm reader, allows the reader to better understand the young boy’s intentions. Initially, the boy doesn’t know if he believes in the “all that hocus-pocus stuff” (Lam 80). The young boy’s discomfort with the palmist reveals his hesitation. Although uneasy about the palmist’s intentions, the palmist feels a certain connection towards the boy, saying he reminds him of his lost son. The more the palmist speak, the more the old man’s voice reminds the young boy of his “long-dead grandfather, who also came from another country” (Lam 81). This...
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...The Man Behind the Mask Moliere’s incredible play Tartuffe, examines the differences between a character’s true face and the mask that they hide behind. Most apparent in this play is the mask of Tartuffe himself, who is seen as a holy, religious man in one scene, and in the next as a perverted hypocrite. Although Tartuffe’s mask is probably the easiest to spot among the characters, there is another character that wears quite a mask himself. Orgon, who is the naïve son, husband, father, and brother, wears such a mask that he himself can probably not even see through it. However, his family can see through the mask, whether they know his true intentions or not, I don’t know. I believe that there are several reasons, or options, if you will, that might explain why exactly Orgon wears this horrible mask and falls for the hypocrisies of Tartuffe. Whatever the reason though, his masked character certainly caused a fair amount of disruption and strife for everyone, including himself. Orgon, being the generous man he was, invited an incredibly unholy man by the name of Tartuffe into his home, offering him shelter, food, his daughter, and even his estate. Why though, would such a practical man as Orgon be so blinded by the true nature of Tartuffe? First, I believe that Orgon, who was of good standing, could have sought to improve his social status, by taking in Tartuffe, a holy faker, who, “By the deep fervor of his heartfelt prayer,” would “draw the eyes of everybody,” at the church...
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...ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE It is an intriguing question, to which we may never have a complete answer: How did we get from animal vocalization (barks, howls, calls...) to human language? Animals often make use of signs, which point to what they represent, but they don’t use symbols, which are arbitrary and conventional. Examples of signs include sniffles as a sign of an on-coming cold, clouds as a sign of rain, or a scent as a sign of territory. Symbols include things like the words we use. Dog, Hund, chien, cane, perro -- these are symbols that refer to the creature so named, yet each one contains nothing in it that in anyway indicates that creature. In addition, language is a system of symbols, with several levels of organization, at least phonetics (the sounds), syntax (the grammar), and semantics (the meanings). So when did language begin? At the very beginnings of the genus Homo, perhaps 4 or 5 million years ago? Before that? Or with the advent of modern man, Cro-magnon, some 125,000 years ago? Did the neanderthal speak? We don’t know. There are many theories about the origins of language. Many of these have traditional amusing names (invented by Max Müller and George Romanes a century ago), and I will create a couple more where needed. 1. The mama theory. Language began with the easiest syllables attached to the most significant objects. 2. The ta-ta theory. Sir Richard Paget, influenced by Darwin, believed that body movement preceded language. Language began...
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...driving the Wicca Movement is the desire to be formally recognized as a religion by society. There are a number of factors that the Wicca Movement is trying to achieve. Although Wicca is recognized as a religion within the United States government, the movement wants to be formally recognized and accepted by the public. They desire the same religious equality given to orthodox religions. Universally, Wiccans aspire to demolish all uneducated ideals which illustrate them negatively. Wicca is a Neo-Pagan nature based Earth worship religion. Gerald Gardener established the term Wicca for three reasons: “(1) to encompass the feeling of a grassroots movement, since ‘Wica’ was the old European word for Witches; (2) to avoid the fear, hocus-pocus, and disbelief associated with the word ‘Witchcraft;’ and finally (3) because the religion he wanted to spread was not actually ‘Witchcraft,’ but a reinvention of a Celtic-based tradition of Witchcraft to meet the spiritual needs of modern society” (D’Amaurot 1998). Today’s Wicca and Wiccan Movement were established by Gardener in the early 1950s. “Gardener supposedly first made contact with what he claimed were surviving witchcraft traditions…From the beginning, Gardener claimed that the origins of...
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...1. It is an intriguing question, to which we may never have a complete answer: How did we get from animal vocalization (barks, howls, calls...) to human language? 2. Animals often make use of signs, which point to what they represent, but they don’t use symbols, which are arbitrary and conventional. Examples of signs include sniffles as a sign of an on-coming cold, clouds as a sign of rain, or a scent as a sign of territory. Symbols include things like the words we use. Dog, Hund, chien, cane, perro -- these are symbols that refer to the creature so named, yet each one contains nothing in it that in anyway indicates that creature. 3. In addition, language is a system of symbols, with several levels of organization, at least phonetics (the sounds), syntax (the grammar), and semantics (the meanings). 4. So when did language begin? At the very beginnings of the genus Homo, perhaps 4 or 5 million years ago? Before that? Or with the advent of modern man, Cro-magnon, some 125,000 years ago? Did the neanderthal speak? We don’t know. 5. There are many theories about the origins of language. Many of these have traditional amusing names (invented by Max Müller and George Romanes a century ago), and I will create a couple more where needed. 6. 1. The mama theory. Language began with the easiest syllables attached to the most significant objects. 7. 2. The ta-ta theory. Sir Richard Paget, influenced by Darwin, believed that body movement preceded language. Language began as an...
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...Karen Horney-Pioneer in Woman Psychology Latascha Purdie PSY 310 June 4, 2012 Professor Meadowlark Karen Horney-Pioneer in Woman Psychology Men dominated the world of psychology but in 1885 a woman was born that was going to challenge his or her theories. Karen Horney was considered a pioneer theorist in personality, psychoanalysis and “feminine psychology.” Her life and works contributed to the change in how female psychology was looked at and studied. From birth to death Karen Horney was born September 16, 1885 in Blankenese, Germany that is near Hamburg, to a family of seven. Her mother Clothilde Marie was the second wife of widower Berndt Danielsen, and he was in his 40s when Horney was born (Hitchcock, 2005). She had little interaction with him because he was always away at work and during the times he was home, his four older children required most of his attention. She was very close to her mother and younger brother, so to her that was her family. In those times girls went to school up until 8th grade and after that they were groomed to be wife’s and mothers. This was not what Horney wanted to do and her opportunity came because in 1894 the first Gymnasium (our equivalent of high school) for girls opened in Baden, Germany, and finally in 1900 they started to offer classes for girls in the Gymnasium in Hamburg (Hitchcock, 2005). Horney was determined to join because the plans she had laid out for herself was to one-day attend a university. Both of her parents...
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...Review of Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament by Christopher J.H. Wright James Pruch Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary May 2012 Introduction Dr. Christopher J. H. Wright (Ph. D., Cambridge) is an Old Testament scholar, an ordained Anglican ministry, and is the director of international ministries with the Langham Partnership International. In Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament, Wright seeks to display the continuity between the Hebrew Scriptures and Jesus’ self-understanding. Wright maintains that Jesus’ self-understanding rooted in the history of salvation that God planned and worked for Israel. This review will show that Wright’s book provides the reader with a rich understanding of Jesus’ unique identity as the Hebrew Messiah and gives helpful insights for understanding how the OT should be viewed from the Christian perspective. Brief Summary Wright’s thesis is that one cannot fully know the story of Jesus unless he sees “it in the light of a much longer story which goes back for many centuries.”1 He works this out in five chapters, which he summarizes at the end of the book: We have seen that the Old Testament tells the story which Jesus completed. It declares the promise which he fulfilled. It provides the pictures and models which shaped his identity. It programmes a mission which he accepted and passed on. It teaches a moral orientation to God and the world which he endorsed, sharpened, and laid as the foundation for obedient discipleship.2 He argues...
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