The three types of traditional Japanese theater are Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku. Noh is the original Japanese theatrical form, and uses music and symbols to allude to past events or myths in Japanese history. There are five different types of Noh plays, ranging from focusing on Gods to the loss of a loved one. Kabuki is a theatrical form developed in 1596 to appeal to the mass public; that is, the common people and merchants. Women were forbidden to perform in Kabuki plays, though it was founded by a woman. Kabuki plays traditionally feature bright costumes and lots of makeup. Topics for the play can range from love stories to comedies (Bowers and Logan). Bunraku is a form of puppet theater, designed so that the puppets cast a shadow on the screen rather than be shown openly. Bunraku plays use traditional myths and legends as their main subjects, and they are quite popular with younger children (Akihiko).
In 2009, Kanye West caused a huge controversy when he leapt onto the stage of the Video Music Awards when Taylor Swift was receiving the Best Female Video award (Harris). West took the microphone from a very humble Taylor Swift, and said that Beyoncé’s video of “All the Single Ladies” was the best video of all time. West was booed by the audience, and it sparked one of the biggest controversies in VMA history. Many celebrities rallied around Swift, including the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama. This event started a feud between Swift and Kanye West that continues to this day, though not because Taylor has ever antagonized West. Rather it helped or hurt Kanye’s career, no one can say, but he seems to have learned a trick that every washed up Hollywood actor has: when you are not getting enough reviews or publicity, cause a scandal to attract the attention of the paparazzi. In Kanye West’s defense, he did apologize on the Jay Leno show (Cullen), though most believed him to be insincere.
Babe Didrikson is widely considered one of the greatest female athletes of all time. She was voted the Greatest Female Athlete from 1900-1950 by the Associated Press. She was five feet five inches tall, and married George Zaharis eleven months after meeting him (Conmire). Her first name was actually Mildred, and she is most famous for her amazing feats in golf, which is ironic considering that golf is actually an acronym for “gentlemen only, ladies forbidden”. Sadly, she had been fighting off cancer for a few years, and she died of it in in 1956.
Five paintings not by European artists: Filipino artist Damian Domingo was a famous 19th century painter, none for following the romantic style. In my opinion, his greatest work was his La Sagrada Familia, which is one of the most unique pieces in European influenced Asian art (“La Sagrada Familia”). Domingo’s fame is that he helped establish the first Philippine Academy of Arts (Santiago). James Jean is a Taiwanese artist and painter who uses profoundly vivid colors to create beautiful images. His panting Adrift is stunningly beautiful, and my personal favorite. A Chinese artist by the name Hua Tunan creates brilliant colored paintings via ink, and his painting Crouching Tiger is stunning. Latin America also produced many artists, and my favorite is Diego Rivera, who painted The Flower Carrier. Frida Kahlo’s paintings were usually of herself, and The Two Fridas is really interesting, as she always paints herself with a unibrow.
Mathew Shepard was an American homosexual brutally beaten and killed my two men in Wyoming. The “hate-crime” launched a nationwide attack on homophobia, though some believe that it wasn’t a hate crime at all, but a robbery that occurred, as one of Shepard’s assailants allegedly knew each other and had had sexual intercourse together before (Bindel). The play based off of the story is called The Laramie Project, named after the town where he was killed, and it is a documentary style play, meant to tell the story about what happened to Shepard. Shepard’s death created a ripple effect throughout the homosexual community, increasing fears and tensions (Noelle), much like the brutal murder of Emmett Till did for the African American community.
More people in the world are scared of public speaking than death. Three out of four individuals suffer from speech anxiety, and the fear is actually an evolutionary response, but studies have also shown it is learned in childhood. The most common problem with delivering a speech is making it sound like it was read off a paper. The English language places important not on each syllable, but at a different area depending on the word. Body language can account for up to 55% of the power of a given speech. Only 7% is the actual words you say. Eye contact and gesturing are the two most important aspects of body language required of a good public speaker. Standing while speaking conveys authority (Nicholls). You can beat your fear of public speaking by practicing the material.
Guten Tag (German), bonjour (French), hola (Spanish), dobry den (Czech), privet (Russian), Merhaba (Arabic), kinichiwa (Japanese), ni hao (Chinese), jambo (Swahili), and buon giorno (Italian). (Stojic).
Death with Dignity is an organization that supports assisted suicide, and also an act that Oregon’s legislature created (Ball). The article I found, other than information from the book, is from the online version of NBC, and the title of the article is “Death with Dignity Advocate Britney Morgan Dies in Oregon”. The thesis was a little difficult to pinpoint, but I would say it is this line: “She was 29. She was diagnosed earlier this year with a fatal brain tumor — told the cancer likely would kill her in six months. But she had no intention, she said, of allowing the disease to control how she lived, or how she died.”
An Indian man in New York spoke to NBC about his plans to receive citizenship by claiming he was abused by his parents, revealing the ease at which some noncitizens can obtain citizenship through non-ethical means, and the man also revealed how he entered the US illegally (Russo). CNN details the unfortunate deportations of many illegal immigrant women and children, describing some of the difficult decisions that are necessary to be made in following the law, but which leave a heavy stain on the conscience of politicians, border patrol, and employers (Gomez). Fox news recently published an article about the executive actions President Barack Obama created in regards to illegal immigration, and how they are currently being challenged in front of the Supreme Court (FoxNews.com). This demonstrates the current difficulty political leaders have in reaching an agreement about immigration. ABC’s article demonstrates what the Republican Speaker of the House is proposing to do to fix immigration, while also highlighting on Donald Trump’s immigration ideas (News). MSNBC wrote a great piece about how the Democratic Party is changing their platform to be more focused on immigration matters.
Babe Ruth is loosely tied into two Broadway plays: “No, No Nanette” and “The Curse of the Bambino”, which revolve around the sale of Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees, creating a curse where the Red Soxs did not win a world series for eighty years (Wann). Ruth wanted a higher salary and was reportedly insubordinate, so after the 1919 season the manager of the Red Sox sold him to the Yankees. The Red Sox have not won a single World Series since, lending credence to the idea of an actual curse (Prakash).
Works Cited:
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Harris, Keith. “Taylor Swift vs. Kanye west: A beef history.” Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, 16 Feb. 2016. Web. 11 June 2016.
Cullen, Shaun. "The Innocent and the Runaway: Kanye West, Taylor Swift, and the Cultural Politics of Racial Melodrama." Journal of Popular Music Studies 28.1 (2016): 33-50. Web.
Commire, Anne. Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. New York: Yorkin, 2007. Yorkin Publishers, 2007. Web. 12 June 2016.
“La Sagrada Familia.” VCM. 2013. Web. 11 June 2016.
Santiago, Luciano. "DAMIAN DOMINGO AND THE FIRST PHILIPPINE ART ACADEMY." Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society. University of San Carlos, Dec. 1991. Web. 12 June 2016.
Bindel, Julie. “The Truth Behind America’s Most Famous Gay-Hate Murder.” The Guardian 26 Oct. 2014. Web. 11 June 2016.
Noelle, M. "The Ripple Effect of the Matthew Shepard Murder: Impact on the Assumptive Worlds of Members of the Targeted Group." American Behavioral Scientist 46.1 (2002): 27-50. Web.
Nicholls, Anne. “Mastering Public Speaking: How to Prepare and Deliver Winning Presentations and Successful Speeches.” eBook. 1999. Web. 11 June 2016.
Stojic, Manya. Hello World!: Greetings in 42 Languages around the Globe!New York: Scholastic, 2002. Print.
Ball, Howard. At Liberty to Die: The Battle for Death with Dignity in America. New York: New York UP, 2012.
Briggs, Bill. “Death with Dignity Advocate Brittany Maynard Dies in Oregon.” NBC.com 3 Nov. 2014. Web. 11 June 2016.
Print.Russo, Melissa. “Undocumented immigrant on how he plans to pay for green card.” NBC New York. NBC New York, 16 Feb. 2016. Web. 11 June 2016.
Gomez, Archbishop José H. “The Moral Urgency of Immigration Reform.” CNN 27 Jan. 2016. Web. 11 June 2016.
News, ABC. Ryan stresses border control, immigration in security plan. ABC News, 9 June 2016. Web. 11 June 2016.
Gamboa, Suzanne. “Democrats Urged to Make Immigration a Priority in Party Platform.” MSNBC 8 June 2016. Web. 11 June 2016.
Wann, Daniel. "Sport Team Identification and Belief in Team Curses."Journal of Sport Behavior. N.p., 1 Dec. 2009. Web. 13 June 2016.
Prakash, Abhijay. "Comprehending the Narrative Power of the "Curse of the Bambino"." NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture 13.1 (2004): 118-32. Web.
