What went well:
I felt like I knew the information very well, so I was confident in the material facilitating the transition from presenting specific ideas to expressing the main theme of the paradigm shift. By knowing and also enjoying my topic, I knew I would not forget the material, which helped the presentation flow well. I think I executed the information well by speaking loudly and clearly. I used a lot of hand motions and varying inflection in my voice. This not only engages the audience, but it also shows that I am excited to talk about my topic, which keeps the audience more interested. Each slide transitioned into the next one. This kept the presentation flowing consistently and showed that all of my thoughts correlate to my main paradigm shift.
Areas of improvement:
In the beginning I talk very fast because I was getting a feel for the atmosphere of the audience and the presentation itself. Once I got more comfortable presenting, I was able to slow down to a conversational pace. Because I talked so fast in the beginning, my presentation as a whole was two seconds short. If I slowed down from the beginning, I would have been able to stay within the suggested time and the audience would be able to comprehend my ideas better. I also could have provided more eye contact with the audience. I felt like I kept looking at Professor Hamilton or the camera instead of my audience. A part of that is because I’ve never filmed one of my presentations live, so I needed to get used to being on camera. If I looked at my audience more than the camera or Professor Hamilton, the audience would have been more engaged in the presentation and it would have felt more personal to them.
Bastille began as a solo project for Dan Smith, a singer/songwriter from London. He started out by recording songs in his college dorm using his laptop and a synth. It wasn’t until his last year of college where his talent was finally discovered. His roommate entered him into a music contest, and he won professional recording time as well as his first show. However, his solo career turned into a band when Chris Wood, William Farquarson, and Kyle Simmons joined him in 2010 to create Bastille. They first gained fame by uploading some of their tracks online, which helped them gain spots at local music festivals like Glastonbury and Isle of Wight. In 2011, they signed a deal with a hip indie label, the Young and Lost Club, and released their first single “Flaws/Icarus”. In 2012, Bastille released “Overjoyed”, which was their first single with EMI Records. Once they released “Pompeii” in 2013, Bastille conquered all radio stations in the United Kingdom as well the United States.
Bastille is known for commemorating history into their music. The name of the band recognizes Bastille Day, which also happens to be Dan Smiths birthday, and they chose that title because of those facts. The song Pompeii describes the experiences told about the destruction of Pompeii and the human remains found when Mount Vesuvius erupted. “I just thought it would be such an interesting idea to try and imagine the conversation that could obviously never happen between the two of these bodies that were stuck in this pose,” says Smith. “I guessed probably they’re a bit bored. In the line, ‘How am I supposed to be an optimist about this?’ I guess it’s a bit of a joke because how could a charred, ashy corpse be an optimist about anything?” The song “Icarus” describes the Greek mythology behind Icarus, the man who flew too close to the sun on wings made of feathers and wax. Their single “Laura Palmer” is based off of the character Laura Palmer in the TV show “Twin Peaks”. In the show, Laura is a high school student that lived a double life as a popular high school student who lives a double life as a cocaine addict, a victim of child abuse, and a prostitute. In the show, she is murdered and her death is the catalyst for the other events that occur in the show. The song describes her death and the metaphorical meaning behind both her life and death.
Bastille is known for their both their pop and soft indie sounds. Regardless of one’s personal taste in music, many people enjoy their sound and the meaning behind their lyrics. They have the ability to make serious historical events fun, like making a hit pop song about the destruction of an ancient city. However, they also have talent in describing profound thoughts through soft, powerful music. Songs like “Flaws” and “Oblivion” touch on the choices that people make. Lyrics like “Are you going to age with grade? Are you going to leave a path to trace?” and “All of your flaws and all of my flaws are laid out one by one, look at the wonderful mess that we’ve made, we pick ourselves undone” allow their audience to not only think about the song itself, but also their own lives and how they see themselves. This sense of awareness coupled with excellent instrumentals is what entices people to keep listening.
Stasis theory allows writers and speakers to stay no track with their topic when making an argument. Writers are able to organize their thoughts into sections that can emphasize their points and help them understand what is appropriate or inappropriate to include in the argument. Stasis addresses the facts, the meaning or nature of the issue, the seriousness of the issue, and the plan of action. These sections not only benefit the writer, but also the audience is able to understand the information better which allows them to make a legitimate opinion on the argument at hand.
In the case of the Redskins mascot controversy, the arguments is that the Redskins should eliminate their mascot because it is demeaning to Native Americans to consider them “redskins”. The fact is that the term “redskins” was originally used as a derogatory term to identify Native Americans. American settlers formed competitions to determine who could scalp the most Native Americans, a horrendous act that used to be rewarded by a monetary stipend. The meaning or nature of the issue is that the Washington Redskins is named after a nickname given to Native Americans, but people feel that that it the term “redskin” is derogatory, not respectable. The severity of the issue could be seen from various perspectives. One may say that it is an important issue because underrepresented minorities are not receiving the respect they deserve, especially since they are the only indigenous peoples of the United States. On the other hand, others are against the change due to the tradition encompassing the NFL. Especially in this case, the feeling of the Native Americans must be taken into account. If they do not care about the mascot, is this argument really worth fighting for? The final piece to stasis is the call to action or something to impose to ensure that this type of inequality. By emphasizing the poorly executed decisions made by past football teams’ actions, one call to action is to ban the name and encourage Washington to create a new team name. Another call to action could be to keep the name the way it is because current Native Americans do not feel offended by the title.
It’s almost impossible to encompass the influence the Beatles had on music culture on the world. They completely changed the way music is presented to audiences, the dynamic of rock and roll, and the strength of fan bases. They were one of the first rock and roll bands to broaden their musical background and experiment with sounds that were the polar opposite of their previous works. These new sounds have influenced a majority of artists today and have made songwriting a necessity rather than a rarity.
In 1957, John Lennon met Paul McCartney while performing with his band at a church picnic. McCartney joined Lennon’s band and the two quickly began writing songs together. By the end of ’57, George Harrison joined their group and they changed the name of their band to Johnny and the Moondogs. One of Lennon’s friends, artist Stu Sutcliffe became the band’s bassist even though he couldn’t play a note of music. However, Sutcliffe sold one of his paintings for a copious amount of money that they used to purchase more equipment, and the name of the band was changed to the “Silver Beetles”. Soon after, the “Silver” was dropped and “Beetles” was changed to “Beatles”.
When manager Brian Epstein first tried to land the Beatles a record contract, no one wanted to sign them to their label. Once they signed with EMI’s Parlophone subsidiary, Ringo Starr joined the group as their drummer. By 1963, the Beatles began touring Europe, Beatlemania was born. The band was constantly followed by screaming fans, which was a first for the music industry. When their first movie A Hard Day’s Night released in the United States August of 1964, it grossed $1.3 million in its first week. The Beatles established a British Invasion market in the United States with groups like the Dave Clark Five, the Rolling Stones, and the Kinks. McCartney’s “Yesterday” is the one of the most often covered songs ever written. The Queen of England awarded the Beatles the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). Throughout the rest of the late 60s and early 70s, the Beatles continued to release a plethora of hits still cherished today, such as “Hey Jude”, “All You Need is Love”, “Hello Goodbye”, and “Let it Be”. As the 70s changed to the 80s, the 80s to 90s, and the 90s to the turn of the millennia, the Beatles lost two core members of the group, John Lennon and George Harrison. Long after their deaths, their individual contributions to the music industry will be appreciated by artists and audiences alike for many generations to come.
The Beatles are also included on my childhood playlist. Since my Dad is a huge Beatles fan in addition to other musical groups of the same time period, music of the 1960s and 1970s is what I consider “good music”. All road trips with my family consisted of the Red and Blue albums being played on repeat with the rest of our CD case (that really puts a time stamp on this memory), which included Frank Sinatra, the Eagles, and Eric Clapton, and others. I still associate the Beatles’ songs with my family and all of the adventures we have experienced together.
References
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/the-beatles/biography
Where did man come from? It’s a simple question with an extremely complicated answer. Was it Adam and Eve? Did evolution play a role? Another unknown source? Since the beginning of civilization, people have relied on religion to answer the incomprehensible. Religion enables people to understand their upbringing, the journey from life into death, and what extends beyond death. By recognizing one’s path through life, people are able to put their life span in perspective and perform civil duties that facilitate their entry into the next life. But who can say that one religion is more accurate than another? This issue has been prevalent since religion began; families have been ruined over it, wars have broken out, lives have been destroyed. In the heat of a religious society, one man rose up and claimed that God did not take part in the creation of man, it was nature. After completing his research in the Galapagos Islands, Charles Darwin revealed his theory of evolution and completely changed the way people perceive the world and is inhabitants. His ideas challenged all preceding theories about the creation of man, and generated debates around the world. According to researchers at Stephen D. Nash/Conservation International, Karl Marx, founder of communism, claimed it was a “bitter satire on man.” William Herschel, creator of fingerprinting, called it “the law of higgledy-piggelty” (Conservation Internaltional). Imagine someone disclaiming every idea you have had about the fundamentals of the world; you would be skeptical too if your lifetime beliefs were refuted by one man. However, Darwin’s studies provided logical support for unanswered questions that could now be seen, not just believed. As scientists make more discoveries that promote a better understanding of Earth’s environment, the world continues to evolve from a religious society to a secular society because questions originally answered through religion can now be answered through scientific theory.
Religion is a vital sector of people’s lives that represent their perspective and appreciation for life. Of course, different religions have different ways of looking at life. Christians believe in everlasting life and the presence of heaven and hell, while Jews believe in heaven and purgatory, but not hell. Hindus believe in reincarnation and the idea that the soul never really dies. Buddhists believe in karma; what goes around comes around and the decisions you make in life will ultimately determine your fate in the afterlife. According to David Barrett of the World Christian Encyclopedia, there are two theories that explain the origin of man. Faith-based theories use the power of deities and gods to describe how life on earth and the rest of the universe came to be (Barrett et al http://www.religioustolerance.org/rel_theory1.htm). For example, Christian-based religions recognize the story of Adam and Eve and the idea that they were the first the first two people on Earth. The story is meant to explain the God placed Adam and Eve on Earth to not only procreate, but to also test the purity of man. Greek mythology explains that Prometheus shaped man out of mud, while Athena breathed life into the clay (http://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/The_Myths/Creation_of_Man_by_Prometheus/creation_of_man_by_prometheus.html). Regardless of one’s personal belief, pairing these unknown questions with one’s religion allows the person to grasp an understanding of the creation of man while maintain a strong bond with his or her faith. Many scientists believe in a secular approach and explains that Homo sapiens are the descendants of Australopithecus apheresis that originated in Africa. This indigenous species walked upright and had opposable thumbs, just like modern humans (Barnett et al). The brain structure of our descendants showed major advancements that provided them the ability to reason and plan for the future (Barnett et al). Due to this higher level of thinking, scientists believe that these people were able to share their knowledge and idea with others, formulate societies, and even start their own faith system. Scientists are able to make observations and create these conclusions based off of the idea of the adaptation of species and the theory of evolution.
Charles Darwin, founder of the theory of evolution and author of the Origin of Species, was the ultimate facilitator of the paradigm shift. His biological research and establishment of the phrase “survival of the fittest” earned him the reputation as a God-hater in some eyes, and a father of science in others. Darwin began his world-renown research at the age of 22 in 1831 (Scobie http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/science-of-natural-history/expeditions-collecting/beagle-voyage/). He traveled around South America while taking notes regarding observation on various animals, plants, and geology of specific regions. His most famous work emerged in 1835 during his voyage to the Galapagos Islands (Scobie http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/science-of-natural-history/expeditions-collecting/beagle-voyage/). He observed the physical attributes of various species of finches that lived in the area. He claimed that the finches originally colonized the mainland of South America, then migrated to islands surrounding the continent (Truth in Science http://www.truthinscience.org.uk/tis2/index.php/evidence-for-evolution-mainmenu-65/53-darwins-finches.html). Since the islands are far enough distance from each other that the finches could not interbreed, a new species of finch diverged on each island (Truth in Science). The different populations adapted to the specific environments of their respective islands, which differentiated them one species to another. Darwin remained confused regarding the “why” factor of the adaptations. Darwin said:
“Seeing this gradation and diversity of structure in one small, intimately related group of birds, one might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds… Unfortunately, most of the specimens of the finch tribe were mingled together, but I have strong reasons to suspect that some of the species of the sub-group are confined to separate islands (Darwin, http://www.truthinscience.org.uk/tis2/index.php/evidence-for-evolution-mainmenu-65/53-darwins-finches.html).”
According to BBC, the changes in beaks allowed the finches to be well adapted to the food sources on the island. For example, thin, sharp beaks was correlated with a diet of insects and grubs. Large claw-shaped beaks represented a diet of buds, fruits, and nuts (BBC GCSE Bitesize Revision Biology). Genetically, random mutations occurred within few finches that allowed them to feed off the food available on the island. The others without the mutation died off while the mutated finches reproduce and create a whole generation with the mutation. Regardless of the degree at which Darwin understood the interworking of evolution genetics, this was the first time in history that evolution could truly be seen and pondered, which assisted Darwin greatly when introducing the theory of evolution for the first time.
After centuries of accepting that religion holds the answer to unknown questions, it was difficult for people to trust and convert to Darwin’s deductions. This period of conflict continued even in 1968, when the Epperson v. Arkansas court case prohibited teachers from teaching evolution in schools (https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/search/display.html?terms=epperson&url=/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0393_0097_ZS.html). The plaintiff, Epperson, an Arkansas public school teacher, claimed that teaching evolution in schools violated the 1st Amendment because the U.S. Constitution does not allow a state to mend education curricula to the principles of any religious policy (http://ncse.com/taking-action/ten-major-court-cases-evolution-creationism). By 1982, the McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education case required public schools to include a balance of “creation-science” and “evolution-science” in the science curriculum (http://ncse.com/taking-action/ten-major-court-cases-evolution-creationism). By providing both options, student were exposed to both sides of the controversy and were provided all sectors of science education. By 1990, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that a school district can prohibit a teacher from teaching creation science to students during the Webster v. New Lenox School District http://ncse.com/taking-action/ten-major-court-cases-evolution-creationism). The case ensured that the First Amendment is not broken and that specific religious beliefs are not forced upon the school and its students (http://ncse.com/taking-action/ten-major-court-cases-evolution-creationism). In more recent years, evolution science has been the most prominent aspect of science education. While some teacher may touch on creation science, the difference lies whether or not the teacher deems creation science as more correct than evolution determines when the First Amendment is violated.
Outside of the classroom, there has been an overall decrease in religious activity in the United States.
Figure one represents the decline began around the 1960s and continued to slowly decrease throughout the 70s and 80s. By the 1990s, the decline becomes steeper and maintains that steep slope. According to Tobin Grant of the Religion News Service, the survey includes information regarding worship service attendance, prayer, and feelings toward religion, among other factors. During the 60’s, the decline began due to the rising popularity of the counter-culture and questioning of authority/religious institutions (http://tobingrant.religionnews.com/2014/01/27/great-decline-religion-united-states-one-graph/). The counter culture movement focused on diverting away from ideas accepted from society and converting to a liberal form of living. Also, it is difficult to believe in an unknown god watching over you, or any unseen belief for that matter, throughout the trials and tribulations of life. During the economic downfall in the 70s, people became less hopeful of a prosperous future, which could have caused them to lose touch with their religion feelings and other beliefs. As the graph becomes more present, the graph gets steeper due to religious service attendance becoming significantly less frequent and the increase in people who do not identify themselves with a religious affiliation (http://tobingrant.religionnews.com/2014/01/27/great-decline-religion-united-states-one-graph/). All in all, less and less people consider religion to be an important part of their lives.
As scientists make more discoveries, the world continues to evolve from a religious society to a secular society. Questions originally answered through religion can now be answered through scientific theory, which allows people to see rather than believe. Ideas regarding the formation of belief systems vary depending on which theory one believes. The faith-based idea revolves around the thought that religion is based off of human fear, and that people figured that a higher power controlled the fundamentals of the past, present, and future of the universe. It was more comforting to think that this higher power is responsible for all unanswered questions. The power of this deity humbled people and caused them to rely on the deity to distribute an everlasting prophecy to the humans. The secular-based theory suggests that an ancient ancestor of humans inhabited Africa. They has many of the same evolutionary advantages modern humans have, including advanced brain function. The ability to think with reason, have personal ideas, and share those ideas with others facilitated communication with others within the same species. By sharing ideas with others, those with common thoughts created their own belief systems and lived by those systems. Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species sparked a serious controversy between people globally. A majority of people believed in God as the creator of the universe, instead of supporting the theory that humans derived from apes. A major contribution to evolution occurred when Darwin presented his research on the South American finches. Their evolution from one mainland species to multiple island species was the first time scientific theory was tangible compared to religious theory. The shift from the acceptance of scientific theory over religious theory was especially prominent in the 20th century. From 1968 to 1990, schools progressed from prohibiting all evolution science education, to a balance between both evolution-science and creation-science, to limiting the science curriculum to solely evolution education. The overall decline in religious activity in the United States began in the 1960s, most likely due to the counter-culture movement influencing people to divert away from previous ideas accepted by society, and to pursue unconventional ways of thinking. By the 90s, the decline became greater due to people losing touch with their religion and the halt of people attending religious services, praying, or any other religious affiliation. As scientists continue to find the answer to previously unknown questions, people accept scientific theory over religious theory because it is more comfortable to see rather than believe.
Panic! at the Disco was formed by three childhood friends; Ryan Ross (lyricist, guitar, backup vocals), Brent Wilson (bass), and Spencer Smith (drums). The trio first created a band called Pet Salamander, then Summerleague Rock. They began as just kids covering Blink-182 songs together. After continuously playing another band’s music, they added Brendon Urie (guitar and vocals), another classmate, to the group. Once he joined the group, the band was renamed Panic! at the Disco to tribute a line from the band Name Taken’s Panic.
The Urie, Ross, Wilson, and Smith were barley graduated from high school when their first full length album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, released. Their single, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” made its way to MTV and the Billboard Top 40. In the middle of the Nintendo tour in 2006, Brent Wilson was fired from the group and was replaced by Jon Walker. Throughout the years, the band has been trying to move away from their original emo pop sound. They introduced a more Beatles-esque psychedelic rock sound with their album Pretty. Odd., which included the song “Nine in the Afternoon” This caused the band members to drop the exclamation point in their name as a sign of their newly found maturity as a musical group.
In June of 2009, Ryan Ross and Jon Walker left Panic at the Disco to form their own band, the Young Veins. Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith took over the band and continued as a duo. However, when they went on tour, they filled the gaps with musicians Ian Crawford and Dallon Weekes. In 2011, Panic at the Disco released their third album Vices & Virtues, including their song “The Ballad of Mona Lisa”. In 2013, Dallon Weekes joined the bad full-time and accompanies Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith in their fourth, Las Vegas-themed album, Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die.
Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die was inspired by a quote in the novel Fear in Loathing in Las Vegas; it encompasses the central theme of the album, as well and Urie and Smith’s hometown of Las Vegas. The lyrics throughout the album describe the characteristics of the city. “When we did our first record, we were really bitter toward the whole Vegas scene,” Urie says. “We weren’t old enough to experience all of what Vegas is really known for. Even the shows, most of them were twenty-one and over. There was a lot of hostility…I’ve started to get rid of that cynicism and see it in a new light…I wanted to celebrate it.” The opening song, “This is Gospel”, was written by Brendon Urie and Dallon Weekes regarding Smith’s drug addiction. The album’s lead single, “Miss Jackson”, was written about Urie’s sexual experiences when he was younger. “Vegas Lights” described carefree nights in Vegas as well as Urie’s thought on clubbing and the freeing feeling of “dancing like no one’s watching”. As a whole, the album turns away from Vegas stereotypes and focuses on the beauty of the city’s atmosphere.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Too_Weird_to_Live,_Too_Rare_to_Die!#Name_origin
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/panic%21-at-the-disco-mn0000318085/biography
The top two TED talks of this group were Victor’s and Olivia’s both were very well put together and delivered articulately. Both presentations represented shifts in society that may not seem major, but actually have a significant impact once you sit down and really comprehend the change.
Top five moments:
Sarea’s presentation on the evolution of the tan was really insightful. It’s a comedic topic, but a very real shift. At first, fair skin was ideal because it showed that you didn’t have to work outside.Now, tans are classy because it shows that either you have the time to lay out and tan, or that they have the means to get fake tans. Also, I thought it was interesting that Coco Chanel was the first to embrace the tan and that she made it famous.
Olivia’s topic regarding the increase in STEM importance in the American education system is extremely important to all of us. Personally, I felt more motivated an hopeful for the future after her presentation because of the statistic that jobs for biomedical engineers are expected to increase 62% by 2020. The personal appeal to the cohort was really important to the presentation and helped keep the audience interested.
I really liked how David referred to his friends’ business “Heat Check 412” and their success. It represented the unconventional appeal to shoes; they used to be used just to protect feet, but now people are buying them for the sole (no pun intended) purpose of selling them for profit instead of wearing them.
Matt did a really good job of adapting to the situation when he realized that he used the wrong presentation. The content was still delivered very well and I wouldn’t have known he used the wrong one if he didn’t mention it at the end.
Maddie’s connection to Wall-E pertained to the content well and made the theme more understandable to the audience, regardless of whether or not they have seen the movie. I’m also very proud of her for powering through after she forgot her train of thought. It’s very difficult to gain the confidence to restart after something like that and she did a great job.
Mumford & Sons has become an extremely popular band in America over the last decade. They have a very well-rounded sounds that encompasses folk, rock, country, and bluegrass. They have had multiple chart-topping songs and albums that all Americans seem to connect with. But how did a British folk band become just as famous as artists like Justin Bieber?
Marcus Mumford is a singer, guitarist, and drummer who collaborated with vocalist, and banjo and Dobro player Winston Marshall, vocalist and keyboardist Ben Lovett, and vocalist and bassist Ted Dwane. The four musicians began playing together in 2007 while each member played with other bands. They all shared a love for rustic music and became a part of London’s “underground folk scene”, similar to a group of up-and-coming English folk bands that play small gigs around the city. Mumford and Sons slowly gained fame in England and released their first single “Little Lion Man” in the summer of 2009. The single was even named “Hottest Record in the World This Week” that July. They released their debut album, Sigh No More, in winter of 2009 and it earned the number two spot on the Billboard 200 (currently it holds the number three ranking). According to the Atlantic Monthly Group, Mumford & Sons gather crowds that reach a near spiritual intensity during their shows. I enjoy listening to live versions of songs, especially Mumford & Sons. I can assure that their live performances produce uproars through the audience, especially when they begin guitar and banjo solos. “Mumford transforms into gutsy, gravelly frontman,” claims Rick Pearson, journalist for the Atlantic Monthly Group, “while his Sons – who aren’t really his sons at all, but contemporaries [Lovett, Dwane, and Marshall] – provide hearty harmonies and barnstorming backing: it’s an irresistible combination.” I think all music listeners, whether they are fans or not, feel the same way. The blend of sounds enlightens everyone around and intrigues them to listen.
But what makes them so appealing? Americans have an admiration for sophisticated Brits: “They’ve been instilled with the old-fashioned, upper-middle-class British values of politeness, respect for others and hard work,” says Will Hodgekinson, head music critic at The Times newspaper, “Those values are the bedrock of American culture… they’re an arcane aspect of British that has somehow survived in the States.” This is where their combining sounds again come into play: the polite personality of the musicians paired with the rambunctious and rowdy instrumentals excite the audience. Why does this combination work? “I think the recession has something to do with it,” says Cherbourg bassist Kevin Jones. “People tend to look a little more inwardly when money’s tight and respond to more heartfelt lyrics. In the 80’s there wasn’t a lot of folk kicking around.”
The fact that Mumford and Sons is one of the first bands to introduce folk-rock to the United States, and the level of popularity the band has gained shows that they have the potential to stick around for a long time. Hodgkinson claims “the good thing about getting big in America, as opposed to Britain where we’re fickle and more trend-based, is: if the love you, you’re in there for a while. That’s why Alice Cooper is still rocking 40 years down the line.”
References
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/03/mumford-sons-how-a-british-folk-band-became-almost-as-popular-as-justin-bieber/72215/
http://www.billboard.com/artist/311935/mumford-sons/biography
Where did man come from? It’s a simple question with an extremely complicated answer. Was it Adam and Eve? Did evolution play a role? Another unknown source? Since the beginning of civilization, people have relied on religion to answer the incomprehensible. Religion enables people to understand their upbringing, the journey from life into death, and what extends beyond death. By recognizing one’s path through life, people are able to put their life span in perspective and perform civil duties that facilitate their entry into the next life. But who can say that one religion is more accurate than another? This issue has been prevalent since religion began; families have been ruined over it, wars have broken out, lives have been destroyed. In the heat of a religious society, one man rose up and claimed that God did not take part in the creation of man, it was nature. After completing his research in the Galapagos Islands, Charles Darwin revealed his theory of evolution and completely changed the way people perceive the world and is inhabitants. His ideas challenged all preceding theories about the creation of man, and generated debates around the world. Karl Marx, founder of communism, claimed it was a “bitter satire on man.” William Herschel, creator of fingerprinting, called it “the law of higgledy-piggelty”. Imagine someone disclaiming every idea you have had about the fundamentals of the world; you would be skeptical too if your lifetime beliefs were refuted by one man. However, Darwin’s studies provided logical support for unanswered questions that could now be seen, not just believed. As scientists make more discoveries that promote a better understanding of Earth’s environment, the world continues to evolve from a religious society to a secular society because questions originally answered through religion can now be answered through scientific theory.
Frank Sinatra has been considered an American icon since the beginning of his career. He not only encompassed the ideal American lifestyle during the forties and fifties, but the way people perceive “vintage America” today as well. He music is associated with class and poise, two traits that Americans hope to attain. His legacy and appeal stands through his own words: “When I sing, I believe. I’m honest.”
Sinatra’s solo career began in 1943 with 17 different top ten singles. He gained many nicknames over the years, like “The Voice” and the “Sultan of Swoon”. Sinatra claims that people related to him because he was personable. “It was the war years, and there was a great loneliness,” he said. “I was the boy in every corner drugstore who’d gone off, drafted to the war. That was all.”
Throughout the forties and fifties, “Sinatramania” was in full swing. He was the interest of all teenage girls as well as multiple record companies. His career boomed during the 1943 musician’s strike, since all other musicians refused to work. During this year, he recorded nine songs, seven of which were charted as best-sellers. Sinatra also co-starred in a show called Anchors Aweigh with Gene Kelly, another famous musician of the forties. After a leave of absence for two years, Sinatra returned to the music scene in the fifties and sixties. As he grew older, his appeal to the new teenage generation declined, but his acting career prevailed. After winning an Academy Award for his role in From Here to Eternity, Sinatra restored his fame and became the top recording artist in the world once again.
After his brief acting career in the 1950s, Sinatra turned back to music and founded the Rat Pack with Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. His classy aura and youthful appeal made heads turns whenever he began to sing. Among his well-known lifestyle of hard partying, gambling, and womanizing, he maintained his classy reputation and influence. Even Jim Morrison of the Doors once said, “No one can touch him.” After a multitude of collaborations with artists like Ella Fitzgerald and the Rat Pack, Sinatra announced his retirement in 1970 at age 55. After three years under the radar, he came out of retirement with a new television show an album both titled Ol’ Blue Eyes is Back. In 1980, Sinatra released his first album in six years: Trilogy: Past Present Future. The compilation of his greatest hits as well as new material earned six Grammy nominations and won for best liner quotes, an award that completely encompasses the appeal to his music.
Frank Sinatra’s music hold a special place with my family; it’s tradition that we play his music whenever we drive up to Penn State. This started as my dad’s tradition with his father, who both went to Penn State. He kept the tradition alive as our family visits campus, so his music is very important to me and my connection to my family and college.