Sir Thomas Malory :: Essays Papers

Sir Thomas Malory Sir Thomas Malory was an "English translator and compiler" (Encarta) who wrote "the first great English prose epic, Le morte d'Arthur (Encarta). However, little is truly known about Maloryà ­s personal life. We do know that the title of his most famous work, "Le Morte D'Arthur", was first seen on William Caxton's illustrated edition in 1485. In the first chapters, Malory "refers to himself as a knight-prisoner" (Paula Barker) which has led many historians, according to Paula Barker, to believe that at least some of Le morte d'Arthur was written while his incarceration. The work is a collection from French sources, The Vulgate-the Arthurian Prose Cycle (1225-1230), which Malory so delicately "reduced", in addition to Maloryà ­s own writings, additions, and compilations to produce Le morte d'Arthur. Today Maloryà ­s collection has become "the basis of most modern tellings of the Arthurian story. " Because it occurs just past the age of chivalry, the 15th century, Maloryà ­s work has the opportunity to evaluate the "elegance and leisure of the antecedents in chivalric literature." (Tara Knapp) It was written in English and consists of eight intertwining tales of King Arthur and his different knights, and is packed with "compassion for human faults and nostalgia for the bygone days of chivalry." (Encarta) Each tale flows from one to the other which allows better understanding for the reader. However some of that understanding is lost because it seems to be a tale told in a series of flashbacks which would allow for Maloryà ­s memory loss at times. Despite this loss, the story has cohesion because of its compilation from many different fragments of different stories. It is speculated by Tara Knapp, J. S. Brown, and numerous others that Malory was born in the year 1400. Although it is possible, his birth date could range from 1400 to as late as 1405. Little true facts are known of his personal life, although there has been some speculation concerning a Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revel in Warwickshire. According to Knapp, this knight served with a Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, who "had some difficulties with a local priory" resulting in a period of imprisonment for Malory as well as Beauchamp. More specifically this violent and vagrant individual committed several crimes such as robbery, murder, and extortion.

Paternalistic Family Essay

I have came from a strict family. My household was based of 2 boys and three girls. But I would say that yes, I came from a paternalistic family. Even though it was more girls than boys, my brothers was older and things were different. My father having a strict background he raised me and my siblings by strict rules. The men were to protect the women. And the women was raised to cook, clean, and become a ideal housewife. Growing up I wouldn’t think that I had a good childhood because I couldn’t have many friends. I couldn’t hang with any males even male cousins, uncles, or whoever. And my father would always tell his girls† Im just giving you the tools you need to protect yourself.† I never understood that. Until now. I would say that my brothers had more freedom than the girls, and it wasn’t because of their age. It was because of their sex. And my father wasn’t the only one who was that strict it was all my uncles and great cousins. So that kind of destroyed my relationship with my family when I grew up. Because I just don’t raise my daughters to cook and clean and become a good wife to a man. I raise all my kids the same boys and girls to grow up and take care of their things. My kids have the same curfew and same responsibilities. But growing up in a paternalistic family have some advantages too. There are things you could do now that would benefit your future self, at the expense of your present self. If a paternalist really does have a lower discount rate in this way, they could justify all kinds of interventions that benefit someone’s future self: preventing suicide, reducing smoking, encouraging exercise, requiring people to save for emergencies and retirement, and so on.

American Film Revised

If one were to sit up and pay attention to Jon Lewis' American Film: A History, they would realize that the history of American cinema is not merely a linear progression of historically significant dates or landmark moments, but a story in which history shaped the motion pictures and motion pictures shaped history. Like history, the story of cinema is not a dead thing – an easily understood as the story of artifacts left behind, but a story in which relationships bring things to the surface.Film is shaped by history as it chronicles the fears and hopes of an era, and its zeitgeist, just as it skews and re-frames, like any other form of artistic expression, our perception of our own history. In Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) director Stanley Kubrick makes satirical work of Cold War geopolitics by hypothesizing an absurdly inadvertent nuclear attack. Kubrick and his screenwriters also milk the material for a good puerile laughs by dep icting war imagery as a series of comical psycho-sexual symbols.While the film was produced and released at a time when few outspokenly criticized geopolitical thinking, its timeliness has accorded it a relevance that cannot be said for similar war satires produced in later decades. Contrast that with D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915), a politically charged interpretation of post-Civil War events. Unlike Strangelove, it was produced a whole five decades after the events it depicts. The Birth of a Nation functions as historical retrospective – conjuring up a period-based narrative openly hostile to the African-American people.Griffith's film rejects the notion that black people could ever be integrated into the civilized Aryan world by portraying them as savage Other infiltrating respectable white living. One novel form of historical signficance is the referential motion picture, which gives topical emphasis on film making itself. This is best exemplified by Singin g in the Rain (1952) in which glamorous star Lina Lamont's voice proves to be utterly unappealing for the ears and hearts of potential moviegoers and gets dubbed over by voice Kathy Seldon, an under-employed chorus girl.A historical picture in its own right, Singing in the Rain is set in the period after Jazz Singer (1927) brought sound to the movies, and gives audiences a comical look at the awkward transition from silent pictures to talking features in the late 20s. Other films, like Blade Runner (1982) are historical in how they hypothesize the future. It would be a mistake to call the film a majestic exercise of futuristic prognostication. Instead, it functions as a historical document by examining present concerns and where they may go if they continue their course into tomorrow.A rather uncomplicated romance mystery involving synthetic humans infiltrating Earth, Blade Runner examines society's xenophobia towards immigrants while contrasting it against an ironic reliance on tec hnology. All this happens in Los Angeles, 2019 – where the world is highly globalized, politically corporatized and environmentally devastated. Presenting history in film is also a means to reconcile the neuroses of individuals, if not generations with past events. Using advanced technology, director Robert Zemeckis revises history to assuage the boomer generation's discomforts in Forrest Gump (1994).A low IQ simpleton manages to stumble his way into just about every important event in American history from the 50s to the 80s. Armed with nothing but good old Southern morals, he survives three decades of social tumult in America while his self-aware peers succumb to AIDS, war injuries and other sorts of misfortune. History is smoothened out by digital technology, allowing a static view of history to prevail: one where the survivors never question their assumptions about the ways of the world.

Medicare Advantage Plans Essay

According to the article, Health insurer stocks slip over possible Medicare Advantage payment cuts, after a bad week at the stocks it may lead to Medicare Advantage Payment cuts in 2014. That could lead to reduced coverage or fewer buying plans for persons 65 years and older, the disabled and people who have end-stage renal disease. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said after markets closed â€Å"costs per person for Medicare Advantage plans to fall more than 2 percent in 2014, a bigger drop than many analysts who cover the industry anticipated† (Associated Press, 2013). Medicare Advantage plans could see payment reductions topping 5 percent, considering they are also facing cuts from the health care reform and from steep federal budget cuts known as sequestration that are slated to start in March (Associated Press, 2013). Medicare Advantage plans are a key source of growth for insurers. It allows Medicare to offer basic coverage topped with vision or dental coverage, or offer premiums lower than standard Medicare Rates (Associated Press, 2013). The Advantage plans help cuts costs and negotiate reimbursement with providers to help keep costs down. A Medicare Advantage Plan is a type of Medicare health plan offered by a private company that contracts with Medicare to provide the citizen with all their Part A and Part B benefits. Medicare Advantage Plans include Health Maintenance Organizations, Preferred Provider Organizations, Private Fee-for-Service Plans, Special Needs Plans, and Medicare Medical Savings Account Plans. If enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan, Medicare services are covered through the plan and aren’t paid for under Original Medicare (Medicare.gov, n.d.). Under each plan there are different coverages. For example under a PPO you pay less for use of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers that belong in your plan’s network. If you choose to go elsewhere you’ll pay a larger premium. With an HMO, you can’t get your health care from any doctor, other health care provider or hospital. You must get your care and services from providers in that network (Medicare.gov, n.d.). Per Medicare News Watch, the annual estimated out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Advantage Plan members in 2013, including applicable copayments, deductibles, and premiums will vary from state to state. This website ranks all plans within the state and gives you an average on how much you’ll play per plan whether your health is â€Å"good, fair or poor†. For Massachusetts, a citizen can pay anywhere from $727-6712 on average per year depending on their health status. In the West Palm Beach area of Florida, it will costs between $106-4178 a year (Hmos4seniors.com, 2013). Considering a good majority of these patients don’t have much expendable income it’s hard to think that these prices may increase and that there will be fewer options as well. I personally know elderly and disabled on these types of plans and they have expressed that any increases will be a hardship on all of them. The health status is defined per the chart below (Hmos4seniors.com, 2013): Health Status: GOOD Requiring occ. routine care| Health Status: FAIR Requiring episodic care for non-chronic conditions| Health Status: POOR Requiring chronic disease care and management| Low annual utilization- 4 Doctor office visits (in-network) – 1 Urgent care visit (out-of-area) – 0 Inpatient admissions – 0 Home health visits – 6 Prescriptions (30 day supply) – 1 Vision, hearing exams – 1 Dental prevention visit| Moderate annual utilization- 12 Doctor office visits (in-network) – 1 Emergency room visit – 1 Inpatient admission (5 days) – 4 Home health visits – 24 Prescriptions (2 per month) – 1 Vision, hearing exam – 1 Dental prevention visit| High annual utilization- 24 Doctor office visits (in-network) – 2 Emergency room visits – 3 Inpatient admissions (15 days) – 12 Home health visits – 72 Prescriptions (6 per month) – 1 Vision, hearing exam – 1 Dental prevention visit| References Hmos4seniors.com (2013). MedicareNewsWatch.com – Medicare Advantage Plan Cost Comparisons in Major Cities throughout the United States. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.hmos4seniors.com/costcomparisons.html [Accessed: 25 Feb 2013]. Medicare.gov (n.d.). Medicare Advantage Plans | Medicare.gov. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.medicare.gov/sign-up-change-plans/medicare-health-plans/medicare-advantage-plans/medicare-advantage-plans.html [Accessed: 25 Feb 2013]. Associated Press (2013). Health insurer stocks slip over possible Medicare Advantage payment cuts. The Washington Post, 19th February.

Africans in the Berlin Conference

Africans in the Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 established most of the borders of contemporary nation-states on the African continents today. The Conference set in motion the â€Å"scramble for Africa. † Out of the 14 African states no African leader was present at the conference to assert claims to territory and to agree to regulations on trading. Five of the states at the conference did not even end up with any colonies but had more of a say than all the African leaders. The boundaries in Africa, drawn during the Berlin Conference, greatly attributed to the political unrest in Africa.During the Berlin Conference all the participants signed a notion that said they could not have colonies unless they have full control of the territory they encompassed. The European powers had to send expeditionary forces to pacify what were called their African â€Å"spheres of influence. † This process was bloody and ugly due to the amount of Africans fighting bac k. These pacifications lasted all the way up to World War 1. These uprisings caused anarchy in some places in Africa. Only Ethiopia successfully kept their freedom militarily. But all across Africa, hundreds of polities large, and small fought to destroy these superimposed boundaries.Pre-existing political entities found themselves arbitrarily or deliberately divided in two, three, or even four parts. The main Hausa territories were split between French Niger and British Nigeria, the Maasai suddenly had to practice nomadic pastoralism across a line between German and British East Africa. Conflicts in Africa could definitely were partly caused by boundaries drawn during the Berlin Conference. Uganda’s numerous civil conflicts are pure evidence. Also the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1971 can partly be traced back to the Berlin Conference.Conflicts between states also can be traced to the Conference because of the ridiculous political geography they put in place. Examples of these conflicts are Cameroon and Libya’s with Chad. The finger of Namibia that sticks out across the top of Botswana, known as the Caprivi Strip has been a geopolitical hotspot ever since it appeared on the map. The Berlin Conference was a very unjust and unethical. They drew out boundaries for Africa without the African leaders consent and then took over all of the nations. The Berlin Conference was definitely connected to the political unrest in Africa.

Recycling as a Way to Cleaner and Healthier Environment Essay

Recycling as a Way to Cleaner and Healthier Environment - Essay Example If each of them sorts the litter and support recycling programs, they will save more forests in the whole world. Forests are important for natural ecosystems, clean air, and environmental sustainability. Every recycles sheet of paper will greatly contribute to the world’s ecology. The not only paper need to be recycled, but plastic as well. 28 billion bottles are thrown away every year; all of them pollute the environment because their process of decomposition is very slow (EPA, 2013). Â  25,000,000,000 Styrofoam cups are thrown away as well and the term of their decomposition is the same length (EPA, 2013). People only need to separate these things from other garbage to make their recycling possible. It is not a great effort which can pay back twice by the cleaner environment. Recycling is a successful way to a cleaner and healthier environment. Recycled paper and plastic can reduce the amount of garbage and prevent extensive landfilling. All people need to be aware of the issue and support recycling by separating their garbage into different groups.

The Blockbuster as the Defining Characteristic of Post-Classical Essay

The Blockbuster as the Defining Characteristic of Post-Classical Hollywood - Essay Example Bordwell (2006) explains that blockbuster is often used not to denote a genre of film per se but to describe the performance of a movie on the market. In simple terms, blockbuster is often associated with hit or good movies that generate a lot of revenue for filmmakers. One would then ask whether in the pre-blockbuster era there were no good movies. The answer is no. there were good and hit movies but after movies like Jaws started showing the possibility of amassing so many profits from the box office, the focus of filmmakers now shifted to finding the trick of making huge box offices in each and every movie they made and that started the blockbuster era. So in general terms, the writer agrees that blockbuster came to take off as the defining characteristic of post-classical Hollywood. However, the writer refuses to agree to the often negative connotation given to blockbuster as the defining characteristic of post-classical Hollywood. In the opinion of the writer, therefore, blockbu sters came as a good and positive phenomenon and continue to remain so. One of the first reasons why the writer disagrees with the argument that the blockbuster is a negative defining characteristic of post-classical Hollywood is that blockbuster actually came in to serve a dying situation. This is to say that the trend of the blockbuster was very important in saving the Hollywood film industry from absolute and total collapse. Clearly, bankruptcy was taking over the film industry and so there was every justification for a process that would salvage the situation. Two clear examples can be given in the cases of Heaven’s Gate, which was produced in 1980 by Michael Cimino and One from the Heart, which was produced in 1982 by Francis Ford Coppola. Heaven’s Gate actually made a loss of 40.5million USD after earning $3.5 million in box-office as against a $44 million production cost. One from the heart earned merely $636,000 out of $26 million. The said now that such giant players behind the film industry actually run into bankruptcy since those losses. Without any doubt, the industry would have been seriously affected if the pursuit for profit-making through the production of ‘hit’ films was not followed as what was earned in 1975 with the making of Jaws. On the grounds that blockbuster was necessary to rejuvenating the efforts of filmmakers to seek ways of producing films that were good enough to make them stay in the industry is thus a positive rather than a negative phenomenon of the blockbuster as the defining characteristic of post-classical Hollywood. It is even interesting to note that blockbusters do not necessarily have to be of good quality to make profits but there have been newer introductions such as technology backed publicity by the use of social and popular media to ensure that blockbusters sell. The second point that makes the writer take a stand against the idea that blockbuster is a negative defining characteristic of post-classical Hollywood is that not much has changed in terms of concept.