Monday, May 25, 2020

Analysis Of The Movie How Father Time A Deadbeat

Saba - â€Å"ComfortZone† â€Å"How father time a deadbeat Maybe I m adopted That ll explain why all of my shit been so timeless†¦Ã¢â‚¬  When I woke up on the sunny morning of May 2, 2013 I had no clue that hip-hop, in my eyes, would change forever. But that’s exactly what happened when I hopped in my car, plugged in my iPod, rolled the windows down and turned the volume just past blaring as â€Å"Even better than I was the last time†¦Ã¢â‚¬  poured through my speakers. For a lot of reason’s Chance the Rapper’s critically acclaimed mixtape Acid Rap morphed the rap genre for me: No longer do rhymes have to be structured and/or neat. Beats don’t have to bang. And it really is okay for hip-hop, which has long been a â€Å"tough guys† genre, to be eccentric. Plainly put, Acid Rap was outside the box. Out of my comfort zone. Plus it acted as a flood gate – opening wide and unleashing a unending hoard of pent-up talent from Chicago into the realms of legitimacy on the national scene. The movement couldn’t have happened at a better time, either, as the popular â€Å"drill movement† had seemingly taken a strangle hold on the bloody streets of Chi-raq. One of those talents – A barely 19-year-old Tahj Chandler, aka Saba from the West-Side collective PivotGang, has had my attention ever since he spit the multifaceted lines above. Saba easily had one of the standout feature verses on Acid Rap, and closed out out of my favorite tracks â€Å"Everybody’s Something† with a self-fulfilling prophecy – his music really is

Friday, May 15, 2020

The Collapse of Gupta India

The Gupta Empire may have lasted only about 230 years (c. 319–543 CE), but it was characterized by a sophisticated culture with innovative advances in literature, arts, and sciences. Its influence continues to be felt in art, dance, mathematics, and many other fields today, not just in India but across Asia and around the world. Called Indias Golden Age by most scholars, the Gupta Empire was likely founded by a member of a lower Hindu caste called Sri Gupta (240–280 CE). He came from the Vaishya or farmer caste and founded the new dynasty in reaction to abuses by previous princely rulers. The Gupta were ardent Vaishnavas, devotees of Vishnu (the Supreme Being of Truth to the sect) and they ruled as traditional Hindu monarchs. Advances of the Golden Age of Classical India During this Golden Age, India was part of an international trade network which also included other great classical empires of the day, the Han Dynasty in China to the east and the Roman Empire to the west. The famed Chinese pilgrim to India, Fa Hsien (Faxien) noted that Gupta law was exceptionally generous; crimes were punished only with fines. The rulers sponsored advances in science, painting, textiles, architecture, and literature. Gupta artists created marvelous sculptures and paintings, perhaps including the Ajanta caves. The surviving architecture includes palaces and purpose-built temples for both Hindu and Buddhist religions, such as the Parvati Temple at Nachana Kuthara and the Dashavatara Temple at Deogarh in Madhya Pradesh. New forms of music and dance, some of which are still performed today, flourished under Gupta patronage. The emperors also founded free hospitals for their citizens, as well as monasteries and universities. The classical Sanskrit language reached its apogee during this period as well, with poets such as Kalidasa and Dandi. The ancient texts of the Mahabharata and Ramayana were converted into sacred texts and the Vau and Matsya Puranas were composed. Scientific and mathematical advances include the invention of the number zero, Aryabhatas astonishingly accurate calculation of pi as 3.1416, and his equally amazing calculation that the solar year is 365.358 days long. Establishing the Gupta Dynasty In about 320 CE, the chief of a small kingdom called Magadha in southeastern India set out to conquer the neighboring kingdoms of Prayaga and Saketa. He used a combination of military might and marriage alliances to expand his kingdom into an empire. His name was Chandragupta I, and through his conquests he formed the Gupta Empire. Many scholars believe that Chandraguptas family was from the Vaishya caste, which was the third tier out of four in the traditional Hindu caste system. If so, this was a major departure from Hindu tradition, in which the Brahmin priestly caste and the Kshatriya warrior/princely class generally held religious and secular power over the lower castes. In any case, Chandragupta rose from relative obscurity to reunite much of the Indian subcontinent, which had fragmented five centuries earlier after the fall of the Mauryan Empire in 185 BCE. Rulers of the Gupta Dynasty Chandraguptas son, Samudragupta (ruled 335–380 CE), was a brilliant warrior and statesman, sometimes called the Napoleon of India. Samudragupta, however, never faced a Waterloo, and was able to pass on a greatly expanded Gupta Empire to his sons. He extended the empire to the Deccan Plateau in the south, Punjab in the north, and Assam in the east. Samudragupta also was a talented poet and musician. His successor was Ramagupta, an ineffectual ruler, who was soon deposed and assassinated by his brother, Chandragupta II. Chandragupta II (r. 380–415 CE) expanded the empire still further, to its greatest extent. He conquered much of Gujarat in western India. Like his grandfather, Chandragupta II also used marriage alliances to expand the empire, marrying into control of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, and adding the rich provinces of Punjab, Malwa, Rajputana, Saurashtra, and Gujarat. The city of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh became a second capital for the Gupta Empire, which was based at Pataliputra in the north. Kumaragupta I succeeded his father in 415 and ruled for 40 years. His son, Skandagupta (r. 455–467 CE), is considered the last of the great Gupta rulers. During his reign, the Gupta Empire first faced incursions by the Huns, who would eventually bring down the empire. After him, lesser emperors, including Narasimha Gupta, Kumaragupta II, Buddhagupta, and Vishnugupta, ruled over the decline of the Gupta Empire. Although the late Gupta ruler Narasimhagupta managed to drive the Huns out of northern India in 528 CE, the effort and expense doomed the dynasty. The last recognized emperor of the Gupta Empire was Vishnugupta, who ruled from about 540 until the empire collapsed around 550 CE. Decline and Fall of the Gupta Empire As with the collapses of other classical political systems, the Gupta Empire crumbled under both internal and external pressures. Internally, the Gupta Dynasty grew weak from a number of succession disputes. As the emperors lost power, regional lords gained increasing autonomy. In a sprawling empire with weak leadership, it was easy for rebellions in Gujarat or Bengal to break out, and difficult for the Gupta emperors to put such uprisings down. By 500 CE, many regional princes were declaring their independence and refusing to pay taxes to the central Gupta state. These included the Maukhari Dynasty, who ruled over Uttar Pradesh and Magadha. By the later Gupta era, the government was having trouble collecting enough taxes to fund both its hugely complex bureaucracy and constant wars against foreign invaders like the Pushyamitras and the Huns. In part, this was due to the common peoples dislike of the meddlesome and unwieldy bureaucracy. Even those who felt a personal loyalty to the Gupta Emperor generally disliked his government and were happy to avoid paying for it if they could. Another factor, of course, was the near-constant rebellions among different provinces of the empire. Invasions In addition to internal disputes, the Gupta Empire faced constant threats of invasion from the north. The cost of fighting off these invasions drained the Gupta treasury, and the government had difficulty refilling the coffers. Among the most troublesome of the invaders were the White Huns (or Hunas), who conquered much of the northwestern section of Gupta territory by 500 CE. The Huns initial raids into India were led by a man who is called Toramana or Toraraya in Gupta records; these documents show that his troops began to pick off feudatory states from the Gupta domains around the year 500. In 510 CE, Toramana swooped down into central India and inflicted a decisive defeat at Eran on the Ganges river. The End of the Dynasty The records indicate that Toramanas reputation was strong enough that some princes voluntarily submitted to his rule. However, the records do not specify why the princes submitted: whether it was because he had a reputation as a great military strategist, was a blood-thirsty tyrant, was a better ruler than the Gupta alternatives, or something else. Eventually, this branch of the Huns adopted Hinduism and was assimilated into Indian society. Although none of the invading groups managed to completely overrun the Gupta Empire, the financial hardship of the battles helped hasten the end of the dynasty. Almost unbelievably, the Huns, or their direct ancestors the Xiongnu, had the same effect on two of the other great classical civilizations in earlier centuries: Han China, which collapsed in 221 CE and the Roman Empire, which fell in 476 CE. Sources Agrawal, Ashvini. Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1989. Chaurasia, Radhey Sham. History of Ancient India. Atlantic Publishers, 2002.Dwivedi, Gautam N. The Western Limits of the Gupta Empire. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 34, 1973, pp. 76–79.Goyal, Shankar. Historiography of the Imperial Guptas: Old and New. Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute 77.1/4, 1996, pp. 1–33.Mookerji, Radhakumud. The Gupta Empire. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1989.Prakash, Budha. Last Days of the Gupta Empire. Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute 27.1/2, 1946, pp. 124–41. Vajpeyi, Raghavendra. A Critique of the Huna Invasion Theory. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 39, 1978, pp. 62–66.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Future of Renewable Energy and RE Policy Mechanisms

Albert Einstein, the famed physicist, once noted that â€Å"We can’t solve our problems with the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.† Today’s world is faced with the dual threats of climate problems brought on by the use of fossil fuels and the economic challenge caused by the increasing scarcity and demand for those fossil fuels. It is time for society to look beyond the limited and dirty fossil fuels as the energy of choice and promote the use of the abundant renewable energy sources we are endowed with. Because the subsidies to wind and other alternative energies ultimately generate more income than their initial costs and because we continue to subsidize fossil fuels, we should modify governmental tax policy to incentivize†¦show more content†¦manufacturing jobs, even in the depths of the recession, †¦ with over 400 American manufacturing plants now producing †¦ all the major turbine components, towers, and blades† ( awea.org). Investments, stimulated by the PTC, have catalyzed advancements in wind technology, lowering the cost of wind energy installations by 90% since 1990 (Passero 132). With the use of PTC, wind has proven its competitive position relative to traditional fossil fuels and â€Å"provided 26% of all new U.S. electric capacity in 2010 †¦ and over the past four years †¦ more than 35% of all new U.S. electric capacity† (awea.org). With such dramatic growth, is the PTC still necessary? In order for renewable energies to compete with the established fossil fuels, the playing field must be level. â€Å"The Congressional Research Service notes that fossil fuel subsidies are †¦ as old as fossil fuels †¦ and for more than 90 years have taken subsidies via generous tax breaks† (awea.org). 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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Hypocrites by Imani Coppola free essay sample

It’s unfair that every review of anything Imani Coppola has ever recorded starts off with a mention of her sole, two-decade-old hit â€Å"Legend of a Cowgirl.† She’s come so far lyrically and musically since then. Still a teenager when she scored her 15 minutes of fame, Coppola won over a small fan-base with â€Å"Legend† and its parent album, 1997’s â€Å"Chupacabra,† which is best described as a set of cheeky short stories set to sample-happy hip-hop arrangements. Two decades later, Coppola is still making music, albeit for a smaller audience. Her latest release, â€Å"Hypocrites,† was crowdfunded via PledgeMusic and dropped this past summer. Not only is it among her timeliest records – it’s loosely a concept album mocking technology and hipsters – but it’s also among her best. Gone are the days of ’60s sampling and tales of cartoonish alter egos. In their place are wry commentary on our tech obsess ion and idiosyncrasies. We will write a custom essay sample on Hypocrites by Imani Coppola or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For this record, her twelfth, technology replaces racism and the work world as her #1 enemy. On â€Å"Facetime Continuum,† she plays the role of a techie who unplugs her boyfriend’s life support so that she can charge her iPhone; the Auto-Tune, though it has destroyed many a song, works well in this context: it evokes T-Pain and adds to the song’s technological focus. â€Å"Swipe,† meanwhile, employs the same Auto-Tune while mocking many of the cliches Coppola has noticed on Tinder: â€Å"Take me on your boat/I wanna ski down your slippery slope,† she mockingly begs, knowing full well that those images are selected solely to impress viewers. Unfortunately, the novelty of the Auto-Tune wears off, so by its third and fourth appearances, it’s more grating than entertaining. For one thing, it often makes Coppola’s vocals difficult to decipher, which is a real shame, given that her lyrics are so often amusing and insightful. Additionally, as the album winds to a close, many of the songs feel interchangeable with their tinny production. Not even a sample of the â€Å"Ghostbusters† theme can pull â€Å"Like You Didn’t Know† (a diatribe apparently directed at Coppola’s cat) from the Auto-Tune wreckage. It’s no coincidence, then, that the highlights are the songs on which she foregoes the Auto-Tune for an approach that, while not exactly stripped-down, is infinitely more listenable. The best track is â€Å"Mixed Nut,† on which Coppola mocks hipsters while commenting on her own multiracial origins. It makes â€Å"#Selfie† sound tame by comparison: â€Å"I talk in upspeak, so it sounds like I’m asking a question †¦ even when I’m not.† â€Å"Just Feels Good,† another standout, successfully navigates the fine line between a feel-good song and an irritating earworm. Its lyrics (â€Å"The sunshine’s feelin’ my vibe/I got sunglasses on, my happy face†) are simplistic, to be sure, but the song possesses the self-awareness and restraint needed to make it palatable. Despite the fact that the album occasionally veers to the overly conceptual – from the Auto-Tune to the incessant heckling of hipsters – it’s a fun listen nonetheless, and one of the better records in her discography. At best, the album will make you think; at the very least, it will make you chuckle.