Review performance about "Next to the Normal" Essay

Review performance about "Next to the Normal" - Essay Example Next to Normal takes one through an exhilarating journey of laughter and sorrow as one relates with the challenges of the actors (Brantley, 2009). Diana Goodman is a loving wife and mother who want the best out of her largely dysfunctional family. Their struggles typify the normal suburban neighborhood in an emotional manner, and the actors punctuate this with periodic musical breaks. In addition, Goodman has bipolar disorder, a form of mental illness, which affects the normal functioning of her already disunited family. The plot also explores Natalie’s drug abuse and her isolation from the family. The music and stage decoration is perfect. Through a lively pop/rock score, this intensely moving piece of theatre offers a breathtaking opportunity for the actors to investigate dramatic material and highlight their vocal talents. The timing of the lighting effects is in lieu with the message in the storyline and depicts the right emotion. As the musical starts, the lights go off and reveal Diana Goodman sitting alone, pondering about her future. Similarly, as the musical ends, Natalie, the daughter, walks in and turns on the light when he finds his father seated in darkness. She turns on all the lights in the house and reveals Diana who is visibly hurt, but happy to be alive. Apart from the lighting, the scenic and sound design augments the direction and mood of the musical performed on a three-story set that doubles as a doctor’s office, residence, and school. The actors and actresses do an excellent job in their performance. This is fortified by the numerous applauds and awards the musical has won as it endears itself to the public. Drama Desk Awards awarded Alice Ripley for Outstanding Actress in the musical. Of the eleven nominations in the 2009 Tony Awards, the musical won three, including Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Alice Ripley. Similarly, Aaron Tveit won Most Promising

Chessington History Essay Example for Free

Chessington History Essay Chessington Zoo was opened in July 1931 as a private venture by Reginald Goddard who invited the public to view his private animal collection. After the War Chessington soon became known for the different types of entertainment it could offer:- a circus, a funfair and a miniature railway as well as the zoo. Despite this in the early 1970s the attendance figures of over 800,000 began to decline. The Zoo was in need of further investment. In 1978 the Pearson Group bought Chessington and when they later bought Madame Tussauds, they put all their leisure interests together to form the Tussauds Group. 1981 saw the beginning of the planning for the transformation of Chessington. Six years and i 12m later the Park was ready. It was opened in July 1987 by H. R. H. Prince Edward. The opening coincided with the opening of the M25 which gives easy access to the Park from various parts of the country. Approximately 18m people live within a 2 hour drive of the Park. On 19th October 1998 it was announced that Pearson had sold the Tussauds Group to Charterhouse Development Capital for i 352m. The Tussauds Group Vision and Mission Vision: Entertaining People. Mission: To deliver real growth in profits to take Europes leading entertainment world-wide. The Marketing Department are a small team who work across both Chessington World of Adventures and Thorpe Park. It is the overall responsibility of the Marketing department to ensure that the brand identities of the two Parks are maintained in all communication both on and off the Parks. They do this through first identifying the brand identity, target market, and visual representation of the brand, i. e. the logo. For Chessington the target market is families with children under 12. Each year the marketing department will put together a marketing plan that covers the following areas: Product. Although almost without exception a new attraction is launched each year, and the main launch communication will focus on that, general communication about the rest of the Park is required. Theme Parks provide a whole day out for the family and its not just about the rides. The other attractions, places to eat, games, photography, the atmosphere, all play an important part in delivering a great day out. Pricing. There is a complex pricing structure for the Park which looks to maximise the revenue the Park can achieve with its targeted number of visitors. Marketing will review the pricing each year and along with the finance department look at how the budgeted targets can be achieved through the pricing matrix. Advanced sales are important to the business and for this reason tickets booked in advance are discounted, also those booked via the Internet are further discounted as this is a more efficient way for us to produce the tickets. Advanced tickets reduce the queues at admissions as visitors already have their tickets and can go straight in to the Park. Promotion. Promotion of the Park happens via a number of different communication channels. Advertising. This is generally broken down into two areas, the creative production of the advert and then the choice of where to place that advert, TV, Radio, Press etc. For the year 2002 communication for Chessington will focus on the new attraction, Hocus Pocus Hall. The main creative idea is all based around The New Adventure Starts Here. This new creative idea will be adapted for use on TV, Radio, Press and in Childrens comics, ie The Beano. Promotions. Promotions are very import in incentivising visitors to come to the Park. The incentive is generally either a Buy One get One Free mechanic or a discount off the full adult or child price. Chessington ran promotions on its own or in conjunction with the Tussauds Group, ie Tesco. Promotions can be run with a wide variety of partners, Esso, News of the World, KP Skips or solus via a direct mail campaign to surrounding homes. Public Relations. This area is all about getting positive exposure in the media, TV, Radio and Press. This is generally achieved through issuing Press Releases and conducting interviews with journalists. Measuring the Success. Throughout the year, how the Park is doing against its financial targets is constantly reviewed, but in addition Marketing conducts ongoing research into how the Park is performing on a daily basis. Questionnaires are handed out to visitors as they leave asking them to rank the rides experiences, eating places, how friendly and helpful the staff were, etc. This provides information on where things may be going wrong and how to put them right. New Media is a crucial area for involvement now and in the future. In addition to maintaining its own site: www. chessington. com, the Marketing department looks to exploit other opportunities for advertising, promotions and PR on other sites. Use of agencies. Chessington uses a wide variety of agencies as they bring different areas of expertise and experiences to the department. We use an advertising agency to create the TV, Radio adverts etc. and also for all the design work for the Gate Map. The space for the TV, Radio slots etc  is purchased by a Media Buying agency. We also use a Sales Promotion agency, PR agency and Internet design agencies. Corporate Hospitality makes it possible for businesses to entertain their guests at Chessington World of Adventures. Up to 3 000 corporate guests can be catered for at any one time. Education. An establishment like Chessington World of Adventures offers the opportunity for students studying the leisure industry, business or animals to visit the Park and find out more about their subject. For this reason, it is possible for groups to incorporate an educational talk into their visit. The Zoo enables guests to learn about the wildlife at Chessington World of Adventures. The Marketing Department ensure that the signage for the animals and around the Park are of a high quality and accessible by all the guests. Most often asked marketing questions Q Is the price of a new attraction affected by the viability of the ride? A Careful research is undertaken before a new attraction is bought. The attraction may be put in place to address a gap in guest numbers for a particular age range. The new attraction will encourage that element to visit the Park and therefore increase guest satisfaction.

To Be Is To Be Perceived

To Be Is To Be Perceived To be is to be perceived, esse est percipi. This empirical statement was made by the 17th century Irish philosopher Bishop Berkley. He was a foundationalist that aimed to restore the role of religion in philosophy and consequently eradicate scepticism. He was the first philosopher to coherently refute the Cartesian revolution. One generally assumes that empiricism and modern science go hand in hand. That anyone who aims to study the ways of our material world would empirically be studying it, and would thus be an empiricist. However, as we later will discuss, appearances are sometimes not as they seem. In order to critically assess Berkleys statement and his notion that reality is an infinite mind, we must first cover the influential material put forward by Locke and Descartes. These two philosophers from an epistemological point of view were in disagreement, however, from a metaphysical point of view both believed that matter furnished our world. Their only metaphysical difference was how each of them got to their metaphysics. They had opposed epistemological views due to their different opinions regarding the ways in which humans acquire knowledge. Locke was an empiricist, the view that the source and test of contingent knowledge is experience (pg 486 yellow book) Descartes on the other hand was a rationalist, believing that the chief route to knowledge is intellectual rather than sensory. (pg 486 yellow book) In a hypothetical conversation between Locke and Descartes, Descartes would for example ask Locke how he believes to have acquired the notion of infinity. The term Infinity being an idea that cant be experienced would thus leave Locke response less. However, Locke would probably claim that he could empirically sense that numbers for instance will exponentially continue forever, and forever presumes the idea of infinity. When analysing both their epistemological doctrines, it is inevitable that these fall into the area of metaphysics as well. One cannot discuss the ways of acquiring knowledge without mentioning the mind/body problem. This being the main focus of the rest of this essay. Lockes philosophy had a big impact on the world and to a certain extent on Berkleys philosophy, simply because his doctrines transcend empirical methodology. He attempts to prove in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding the relationship between knowledge and ideas. Ideas to Locke came about through sensation and reflection, thus there being no such thing as innate ideas. Sensation and reflection take into account various categories of material intuition for example: extension, solidity and duration. Resulting in simple ideas, which our mind later combines with two or many other simple ideas, creating as Locke calls it: complex ideas. He then makes the important distinction that later is re-interpreted by Berkley and opens the door to his theory of idealism. Locke points out that properties that make up an object are divided into primary and secondary qualities. Primary qualities belong not only to observable substances, but also to the minute corpuscles which make them up. Seconda ry qualities such as colour and taste belong to the substance but not to its corpuscles (Woolhouse, 1998, p.870) This reference of corpuscles in Lockes philosophy is remarkable, simply because of the prematurity of Newtonian physics at the time. Primary qualities are therefore the properties that Newtonian physicists analysed in objects. Whilst secondary qualities are for example those of colour, because its unreliability ceases to be a fixed quality of the actual object being perceived. When the lights go out the object ceases to have a colour. All of this experience then amounts to knowledge through intuition, logical entailment and sensation. However, the knowledge that one empirically deduces from experience, Locke claimed that due to our sensory limitations there are complex objects in the world whose essence will remain unperceivable. It is probable that they exist however empirically impossible to prove. He takes this concept of an objects unperceivable essence from Aristotles concept of substance. Berkley picks up on this notion and cunningly points out that declaring the existence of the unperceivable, strictly conflicts empirical rules. We now move the focus of the essay to Berkley and how from Lockes doctrines he develops his own. What Berkley counters in Lockes theory is: to what extent do objects or matter in general have the ability to cause these proclaimed ideas; and if these objects actually have independent qualities that can excite our perception of them. How can it be known, that the things that are perceived, are conformable to those that are not perceived, or exist without the mind? (A. C. Graylingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦p.509) Berkley uses Lockes and Descartes theories and rules concerning dualism and is able to demonstrate its flaws. For dualism to function it has to abide to three rules: 1. Material events have to cause neural brain events. 2. In order to have knowledge, ideas in the mind have to be represented by these material events that caused them. 3. Ideas in the mind consequently have to cause neural changes. Berkleys idealism is an outcome of proving that these three dualistic rules are in fact incoherent. It is bizarre, Berkley claimed, how there is a relationship between immaterial ideas that do not abide to physical laws and material objects in space. How can my immaterial idea of a beer take after its material conception of a beer. I cannot drink my idea of a beer. There is a flaw in dualism that isnt able to account for the transition between space and non-space. We are unable to think of any mind-independent properties; all properties that we are aware of exist in our minds. Therefore, since the only thing we can, with certainty, claim that we experience is our perceptions. It is thus irresponsible to claim that there is anything else but our own perceptions. Thus there are no primary qualities of objects/matter, everything is secondary, and everything is in the mind. Berkley has therefore destroyed Lockes distinction between primary and secondary qualities and due to his failed definition of primary qualities, Locke was judged as a contradicting empiricist. Now that dualism has been scratched out, either Berkley adopts a purely material view of the world or a purely immaterial one. Descartes proved, and Berkley agrees, that there has to be a mind I think therefore I am(R. Descartes, 1644, part 1, article 7) Berkleys dogmatic idealism was thus born. What we experience is in fact experience itself and in order to exist one has to be perceived. Having no matter means that in order for something or someone to exist, there has to be a mind to conceive of its existence. It is at this point that Berkleys doctrine becomes a theological one. He attempted to disprove matter because he viewed it as an atheistic doctrine. If matter exists, it is to say that it has a nature of its own, independent of God. His doctrine entails that we communicate with God through our experiences and that experience is Gods language and science and mathematics its grammar. God is the infinite mind that coordinates all of our finite minds. From a macro point of view and as far as research indicates: Berkleys immaterialism is a doctrine that was constructed on top of the building blocks that Descartes created. If we reject the Cartesian super-premise on which his project is groundedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦his views are not so resilient (A. C. Grayling, p. 516) Berkleys foundationalism was to disprove matter in order to remove scepticism and atheism, thus glorifying theology. The loophole in dualism and Descartes super-premise allowed him (in a very intellectual manner) to succeed in his aimed philosophical foundation. However, what if there is no such thing as an immaterial mind? The two main jointly agreed facts that the three philosophers agree on were: we posses an immaterial mind, independent of space; and that God is responsible for this immaterial mind. What if the super-premise to whom three philosophers dedicated their entire lifes work is false? If we reject the idea of an immaterial mind and substitute it with the idea of a mechanical intelligent body, the simple notion of matter is reborn. Lockes epistemology is once again viewed as valid, however not from the perspective of the mind but from the perspective of a material complex brain. Materialism does not rule out the existence of a God, it doesnt have to be viewed as atheistic. It however makes us finite beings whose laws of reality are Newtonian. For Descartes an infinite substance requires nothing but itself in order to exist. This brings us to my favourite and final philosopher: Spinoza. Spinoza like Descartes was a rationalist. However, unlike Descartes, he combined God with metaphysics and was able to supply a material solution to the mind/body problem. He claimed that Whatsoever is, is God, and without God nothing can be, or be conceived.(Ethics pt.1, prop15) In other words if God is infinite, there isnt anything that isnt God. For Spinoza a dependent substance cant exist, there is only one substance that can in fact be independent and that is the whole. God and Nature therefore are the same substance, and this substance is both material and spiritual. His theory on the surface might seem too poetic and similar to eastern philosophies; it however is a plausible and analytical metaphysical doctrine. He believed that mental and physical effects didnt cause each other, they happened in parallel; and God linked these paralle l chains of events. To conclude,

Resolving Conflict between Science and Religion: Reform Judaism and Sci

Resolving Conflict between Science and Religion: Reform Judaism and Scientific Thought    The relationship between science and religion is not easy to navigate. On the most basic level, they are viewed as different types of thought. Religion, it seems, deals with the subjective, spiritual realm. Science, on the other hand, seems to deal with facts. It may then appear easy to separate the two realms of thought, and philosophers, theologians and scientists have from time to time attempted to do this. Both science and religion make hypotheses about the fundamental nature of human existence and the nature of the universe, however, and inevitably the claims of each come into conflict. Whether this conflict occurs on a personal level or between opposing institutions, the claims of one often seem to place the other in dire jeopardy. We have seen demonstrations of such conflict throughout history, especially in relation to the Christian faith. For instance, few people have not heard about the adverse reaction of the Catholic Church when Galileo propounded his theory of a heliocentric universe. Even today, we are not free of conflicts that arise when religious doctrine conflicts with scientific theorizing. A prominent issue is creation, in which scientific theories about the big bang directly contradict the religious doctrine of the Christian faith, which understands creation through the story of Genesis in the Old Testament. It is an oversimplification to pit science and religion as bitter opposites, but it is undeniable that in many faiths there exists a continuing conflict between advancing scientific theories and the religious perspective. How, then, can one expect to be able to integrate a scientific understanding of the wor... ... faith that binds them to one another and to God. Bibliography Armstrong, Karen. A History of God. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1993. Barbour, Ian. Religion and Science: Historical and Contemporary Issues. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1997. "Human Stem Cell Research (5761.7)." CCAR Responsa. 30 April 2003 . Meyer, Michael A. and W. Gunther Plaut. The Reform Judaism Reader: North American Documents. Cambridge: UAHC Press, 2000. Nuesner, Jacob. Judaism in Modern Times: An Introduction and Reader. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, 1995. "On the Treatment of the Terminally Ill (5754.14)." CCAR Responsa. 30 April 2003 . Plaut, W. Gunther. The Rise of Reform Judaism. New York: World Union for Progressive Judaism, Ltd., 1963.

A Book Review on ‘A Man on the Moon’ Essay

Not all great authors can come up great educational book such as Andrew Chaikin’s ‘A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts’. Moreover, not all true-to-life-stories writers are lucky to deliver such factual account having first-hand information gained through interviews. As Chaikin have provided necessary details such as scientific technicalities, knowledge and feelings involved, running down from the role of politics, biographies, competitions, emotions, failures, accomplishments, trials, motives, sacrifices, faults, private thoughts and comments, up to the extent of constructing the blueprint, plans and programs of planetary explorations, his readers might not just be well-informed about it but completely aware of the ins and outs of manned space flight and landing on the moon. See more:Â  The Story of an Hour Literary Analysis Essay In this book, what the author wants is to expose most of the elements of the Apollo missions that only few people could know. He makes it possible as he did a thorough investigation of his craft. Doing a series of in-depth interviews to almost hundred percent of the people behind the Apollo missions especially the twenty four moon voyagers is never easy. Likewise, pretending that the time doing the interview is dramatically inflict as it is makes his audience feel very closely enough to the scenario if not apprehensively feel updated. Hence, to be hooked in this astonishing book is nothing but normal. The main argument of the author is set to make available for everyone his own discovery of the profound history behind the historical explorations and discoveries from the initial first manned flight of the Apollo 8 around the moon’s vicinity in 1961 to the successful first landing on the moon of the Apollo 11 in 1972 and even beyond that as he reveals reflections of the sixth landing on the moon of the Apollo 17, which is also the last landing as of today. This thesis is well-supported by first-hand interviews, academic reviews, scientific approach, and the legal and technical aspects which played very important roles in the Apollo missions’ golden age and its declination. Writing his work in a very comprehensible approach for easy reading and understanding of every historical detail paints the colorful adventures and voyages of every man and events behind the mission. Thus, it could also serve as a very rich reference for any research about space technology. Having been read ‘A Man on the Moon’ inspires me not to stop believing of my every potential. As Chaikin discloses man’s unlimited discoveries once ignite and properly supported of external factors, enlightens young minds to seek for the infinity. However, knowing that the final landing, as written on the book, happened decades ago can trigger the notion of stopping one’s eagerness to dream and explore. Personally, I could say that the book is not just a thought-provoking one but heart-stopping as well. With those vivid illustrations of the interviewees that are intelligently interpreted and written by the author, it could make me feel as if I myself have competed for the moon’s flight seat or even touched moon’s face. Therefore, making me feel reviving my innermost interest to liberate my wildest dream of becoming an astronaut is the best proof that this book is truly an amazing masterpiece. R E F E R E N C E Chaikin, Andrew. A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Atronauts. New York: Penguin, 1998.

Executive and Legislative Powers essays

Executive and Legislative Powers essays The Executive and Legislative powers of all three NAFTA countries share similarities and differences in their internal relationships. They are fundamentally the highest branches of government for law, policy making and many other roles that heavily influence the every day lives of their citizens. Unlike the United States and Mexico which have adapted democratic systems, Canada governs using a parliamentary style of government This is somewhat essential to the main differences of Canadas relationship between the executive and legislative branches and those relationships of the United States and Mexico. The relationships and powers between these seemingly separate branches are as distinct as the cultures of these nations. As we examine the legislative and executive branches of these nations we see how the placement and displacement of power have greatly influenced their ability to initiate change. The relationship between the executive branch and legislature often influence the decision making abilities of government and vary between the nations of NAFTA in a way that somewhat reflect their different cultures. Canadas parliamentary government is distinguished from the other NAFTA nations by the roles and responsibilities of the executive branch as well as the structure of the legislature. To understand the relationship between these two branches of government we first must understand their composition. The executive branch is comprised essentially of two parts. The Queen or monarch of England retains the power to appoint a Governor General who in turn appoints the other half of the executive, the Prime Minister pending the Queens consent. The Prime Minister represents the majority party in power and acts on behalf of both the crown and party. In the legislature there is again a division of power. While the House of Commons is comprised of democratically elected officials the Senate is appointed by...