Introduction

Michelangelo Buonarroti – one of the most famous names in the history of arts. The name of this man became a synonym to the word “masterpiece”. His life was an amazing story of achievements that are even more amazing taking into account the ages he would live in.

However, one should not forget that in the time he lived the art and beauty were also highly dependant on patronage. Michelangelo was not an exception. His life and work were caught between two main powers: Medici dynasty that ruled Florence at that time and the pope’s power. It was only his incredible talent that allowed him to create all his magnificent works and not to be destroyed by either of powers in the very beginning of his life as an artist.

Birth and Youth

“Today March 6, 1475, a child of the male sex has been born to me and I have named him Michelangelo. He was born on Monday between 4 and 5 in the morning, at Caprese, where I am the Podesta.” (Bonner, 2001)

This note was made by his father on the day of his birth. Despite the fact that Michelangelo was actually born in a small village, he, as well as his father, always considered himself as the son of Florence. Continue reading →

Socrates in certainly one the most famous philosophers and his theories and quotes are known even nowadays. He is best known for the words: “Know thyself”. In Greek culture the most highly valued virtue was – arête, this word means “being the best one can be” or “getting close to the highest human potential”. As the necessary element for reaching this potential Socrates named knowledge. He also stated that no knowledge at all was more important than knowledge of oneself. Socrates was not actually a radical skeptic. To the notion of arête Socrates added his own definition – “virtue of knowledge”. He explained it very simply, if a person knows a lot about good or even only good things, then he will do only good. If somebody does something wrong, then he is not aware of what the good is. “This, for Socrates, justifies tearing down people’s moral positions, for if they have the wrong ideas about virtue, morality, love, or any other ethical idea, they can’t be trusted to do the right thing” (3). The main ideas of Socrates touched the matters of truth and wisdom.

The family of Socrates was rather poor, his was born around 470 bce. His father was a stonemason and his mother was a midwife. From the early years he paid a lot of attention to classics and learning the issues of wisdom. He spent a lot of time at the local markets where he was looking at things which he was not really going to buy and liked being called a “gadfly” – one who was constantly challenging and inspiring men to think: Continue reading →

Oil and gas production goes through four distinct phases that may take several decades to complete.

The exploration phase entails the search for a commercially exploitable hydrocarbon reservoir. This phase demands thorough research into the geology of the region, usually through the use of seismic surveys that give geologists a “picture” of the rock formations below the seabed.

Second, this phase requires exploration drilling from special vessels designed to remain stationary in virtually all kinds of weather. Most of the exploration drilling done in the North Sea, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, has been done by semisubmersible vessels. To simplify a bit, these ships consist of a drilling rig mounted on two submarines that can be lowered far enough below the surface to escape the wave action of the sea. Some semisubmersibles have now been thoroughly winterized to allow for year-round drilling above the Arctic Circle on the Norwegian shelf. Continue reading →

Introduction

Feudalism that existed in Japan in the period spanning the period between the 8th and 15th centuries A.D. left a lasting imprint on the national culture and development. The political, social and cultural life of the nation continues to bear the imprint of the samurai philosophy and code of ethics that continues to stir the imagination of people around the world, with the “Last Samurai” being the latest major example. Complex bureaucracy, division of society into classes, acceptance of death, and glorification of the warrior stem from that period and continue to impact modern-day Japan.

Source Commentary

The roots of Japanese culture. 14 February 2006 <http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/9151/culthist.html>.
The source provides an overview of the Japanese cultural trends and historical influences on them. It helps to understand how the Samurai culture and other developments of the feudal period influenced modern Japan. Continue reading →

My father owns a drugstore that makes traditional Indonesian herb medicine, “jamu,” produced by mixing natural herbs. From then on, I became intrigued by the effect of different medications. When I first had a chance to mix the ingredients myself, I realized that I wanted to connect my life with chemistry, with this world of secret combinations that are only available to the chosen ones.

I would often pester my father about the ingredients of his “jamu,” and go to his library to read more about it. Once, I discovered that “alang-alang,” a herb that belongs to the grass family, can be used to inhibit cancer growth. Remembering the agony my late grandfather suffered from terminal stage of lung cancer; I was determined to cure people of cancer. This discovery has made me even more determined to learn about the effects of “jamu” and medicines in general.

Early this year, I was elected event coordinator of the International Full Gospel Club (IFGC). Continue reading →

This article discussed the concept of community control and various aspects of it. Terms associated with community control are explained, and real life examples are provided in order to better grasp the meaning of this concept. The author of the article suggests that while community control is an attainable target, certain efforts need to be made in order to maintain it effectively.

Theme 1: One of the requirements needed for any community to attain community control is self reliance. Self reliance means ability to function based on internal resources and be able to supply the community with all the necessary things without referring to external providers. However, the author suggests that centralized government with its bureaucracy is coercing its way of life on the citizens. Continue reading →

Billy Bob Thornton is an excellent director, who enjoys wide popularity among people. Billy Thornton continues his work as a director in a beautiful film “All the Pretty Horses”. He made a screen version of Cormac McCarthy’s novel. The leading roles play Matt Damon, Henry Thomas, Lucas Black and Penelope Cruz. Matt Damon gives a superb portrayal of the main character, who under the circumstances leaves Texas and travels to Mexico. He faces all the difficulties and dangerous situations without any fear. He hopes to live like a real cowboy in the wild plains.

The two most wonderful things about this film are the following: with this film Billy Bob Thornton has achieved even more success that with his directorial debut “Sling Blade” and he has proved that Matt Damon is really a talented actor. Bob Thornton creates true-to-life images and Matt Damon brings to life everything the director had planned. Matt Damon is cast to advantage in this film. He had a great responsibility because Cole, as the main character, forms the entire film and Matt Damon has coped with the task perfectly. He managed to penetrate thoughts and feelings of the mind character. On screen we see what his character could have felt or thought in certain situation and know that Damon not plays but lives the life of his character. The screen version of the famous novel is a touching love story with interesting and enjoyable subject line. Continue reading →

Within the scope of this research, we will assess the contours of United States history in a period of 1607-1877 as well as elaborate on the effects of race, liberalism, and territorial expansionism on the historical process. The contours of US history at the given period are quite distinctive, which is partially explained by the rapid pace of development that America had taken on from the very beginning. Within a short period of time, the country had experienced a number of great changes and established itself as one of the most significant global forces.

The political systems of the American colonies, although having a lot of substantial drawbacks, were nevertheless democratic. The founders realized that men are not endowed with the right of equal status by another of the same status, but rather by a creator which then equalizes all men everywhere at all times. This fact made the American mind a new political creation.

Rationally following the recognition of equality among all men of the human species was the fact that legitimate government could only arise from the consent of the equal beings. Prior to this time government was always seen as something in which some men were entitled by social status, or what they would call divine right, to rule over or govern others. By the acceptance of the above recognition of equality the justification of one man’s natural right to rule over another falls. Continue reading →

The last two books I chose to read were: “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield. These are certainly two different books, but the some main themes are close in a way.

The book “One Hundred Years of Solitude” seemed to me rather unusual, the whole style of the author and the plot itself, and it was rather hard to remember all the names of the heroes.

This book is about 100 years of life of one family – Buendia. They live in an unnamed African country in jungles. It is called even a tale by some of the readers, as this novel is full of supernatural events and unusual characters. I would call it also a kind of a fairy tale, not a novel. Many layers of fantasy are mixed up in the lives of the main heroes of several generations of Buendia family. The story seems to have no plot, it is more like a collection of fantastic stories of each of the members of the family. All of them have their own obsessions, problems and insanity. When you start reading the book you might feel that all the events taking place are absolutely stupid and all the heroes are simply sick, but later on, the novel made me think more deeply about my life and about my relations with other people and even with members of my family. Probably everybody could find something interesting and new in this book. Continue reading →

I would like to start by saying that Kaiser company operates in the healthcare realm providing managed health care for the US customers. Kaiser company has already an integrated healthcare model that offers hospital as well as physician care through Kaiser network of hospitals and physician practices provided under Kaiser Permanente name. Kaiser company at present provides its member with access to more than 400 health facilities which operate under Kaiser foundation and Permanente medical group both of which employ over 12 thousand doctors (Chalk, 2004). In the following essay, I will speak about the value chain and the significance of technology to business strategy as applied to Kaiser.

One should understand that value chain analysis is an essential tool for assessing the overall corporate efficiency and competitiveness which is vital in modern day business. By knowing the activities that company undertakes and adjusting them to costs (activity costs) the company then would be able to precisely trace the values and make a judgment on how to improve profits.

Speaking about the value chain of Kaiser I would like to make the following note: Continue reading →