Faith Evans :: essays research papers

In spite of the fact that Faith Evans carved out a recording career in her own right, her name will forever remain linked in the minds of many to her late husband the Notorious B.I.G. Evans was an active session singer and songwriter before signing her own solo deal and marrying Biggie, and while she never matched the level of his stardom, she continued to come into her own as a vocalist in the years after his untimely death. Faith Evans was born on June 10, 1973, and grew up in Newark, NJ, where she began singing in church at the mere age of two. A high school honor student, she sang in her school's musical productions before winning a full scholarship to Fordham University. After just one year, though, she left college to put her jazz and classical training to use in the field of contemporary RB. It didn't take her long to find work and over the next few years, she sang backup and wrote songs for artists like Hi-Five, Mary J. Blige, Pebbles, Al B. Sure, Usher, Tony Thompson, and Christopher Williams. Thanks to her work on Blige's 1994 sophomore effort, My Life, Evans met producer/impresario Sean "Puffy" Combs, who signed her to his Bad Boy label. In 1995, Evans released her debut album, Faith, which went platinum on the strength of the hit RB singles "You Used to Love Me" and "Soon as I Get Home." The same year, she met fellow Bad Boy artist the Notorious B.I.G. (some accou nts say at a photo shoot, others a phone conversation) and married him after a courtship of just nine days; shortly thereafter, she guested on a remix of his smash single "One More Chance." Over the next couple of years, Evans continued her behind-the-scenes work, performing and writing for records by the likes of Color Me Badd and LSG. She and Biggie also had a son, Christopher Wallace Jr., in late 1996; however, by that point, their marriage had already become strained. Biggie had publicly taken up with rapper Lil' Kim and rumors had been spreading about an Evans liaison with Biggie's rival 2Pac (alluded to on 2Pac's venomous "Hit Me Off"). The couple had unofficially separated when Biggie was shot and killed in March 1997. A grief-stricken Evans was prominently featured on the Puff Daddy tribute single "I'll Be Missing You," which with its cribbed Police hook zoomed to the top of the charts and became one of the year's biggest hits.

Violent Media Is Good for Kids

Violent Media is Good for Kids Analysis From infancy onward, parents and teachers have drilled into the young generation that violence should be avoided at all costs. They have preached cooperation, tolerance, and â€Å"using one’s words† as tactics to combat difficult situations. Although those lessons are valid, Gerald Jones claims there is an alternative way. In his essay, â€Å"Violent Media is Good for Kids,† Jones argues that â€Å"creative violence- bonking cartoons, bloody videogames, toy guns-gives children a tool to master their rage† (Jones).In other words, media violence, used correctly, can serve as an alternative method for powering through adolescence. By reading and writing violent stories, children are able to express themselves safely and even escape from the sometimes harsh reality. Jones effectively supports this stance using the three rhetorical appeals- ethos, pathos, and logos. To affirm his credibility on the matter, Jones employs t wo tactics. First, he goes into detail about his expertise and past history with media violence to confirm his credibility as the speaker. Then, he uses the powerful tool of rebuttal to show the credibility of his argument.Throughout the essay, Jones discusses his past with violent media. He begins with discussing his professional career as a comic book writer. Later, Jones mentions his three-year long project with Dr. Melanie Moore, a psychologist who works with urban teens. This project produced Jones’s most useful tool in using violent media for good. According to Jones, his program, Power Play, â€Å"helps young people improve their self-knowledge and sense of potency through heroic, combative storytelling† (Jones). Discussing his past with the realm of violent media makes the audience feel like Jones is a competent and trustworthy source on the matter.To further contribute to ethos, Jones uses a rebuttal. In his essay, he mentions that many psychologists argue tha t violent stories breed more violence- such as the recent increase in columbine shootings. They say people use media violence as a driving force for real life violence. Jones acknowledges these points. However, he refutes them by saying that â€Å"it’s helped hundreds of people for everyone its hurt, and it can help far more if we learn how to use it† (Jones). In other words, when we channel violent media into heroic battles of good versus evil, it can empower a child in need.This rebuttal contributes to the objectivity of the essay. It shows that the author did his research so well that he can recognize opposing viewpoints and refute them. The author also effectively supports his thesis through pathos. To evoke strong emotion in his readers, Jones appeals to the audience’s feeling of vulnerability in their youth. Recognizing that during adolescence most people feel powerless, he tells engaging stories of his own and his son’s rise to power through comic books to give the audience something to connect to.As these stories are told, readers reminisce about those days, and feel joy in knowing that there was a happy ending. The feelings created make the audience look positively at the essay and relate to it. Lastly, Jones uses logos to solidify his argument with concrete evidence. This is done by giving two real-life examples of girls that were helped through childhood by writing violent media. In both cases, Jones personally assisted these girls during a difficult time, and got them started on their path to future successes. The first example involves a little girl, Emily, whose parents were separated.Her main problem was her violent fantasies. Because she didn’t have a proper outlet, she acted out aggressively. Jones stepped in and channeled her fantasies into stories. At the end of the day, she was still fiery and strong, but she was able to control herself in public. In fact, she even became a student leader in her school. In this case, violent media gave a child an outlet for her aggression. The second example involved an older girl in a very chaotic family situation. She was surrounded by fighting, alcohol, and peer pressure. Jones stepped in with the power of writing.His use of the Power Play program helped the girl escape from her reality. In the girl’s stories, she was powerful and invulnerable. She was able to ignore the world going on around her for a period of time. This proved to be very beneficial. She stayed out of trouble, and grew up to be a writer and political activist. In this case, Jones showed how media violence helped someone power through adolescence and contribute to a very successful future. Jones uses the two examples above to drive home his argument. By employing real life examples, he is able to not only provide concrete evidence, but also put a face to the fact.Instead of spewing a list of facts, he gives two examples the audience could relate to and better visualize. Th is makes for a stronger use of logos. It seems that Gerald Jones had his work cut out for him in writing this essay. He had to take the hardwired belief that violence is bad and convince the world that â€Å"Through immersion in imaginary combat and identification with a violent protagonist, children engage the rage they’ve stifled, come to fear it less, and become more capable of utilizing it against life’s challenges† (Jones).By using ethos to give credibility to himself and his argument, pathos to evoke strong emotion and connect the reader to the essay, and logos to make the argument solid, Jones is able to effectively argue his thesis. Work Cited Jones, Gerard. â€Å"Violent Media is Good for Kids. † Current Issues and Enduring Questions. 9th Edition. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau, Eds. Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s Press, 2011. 195-199. Print.

Case Profile Of John Wayne Gacy - 1291 Words

Criminal Profile of John Wayne Gacy John Gacy was a serial killer and rapist who sexually assaulted, tortured, and murdered thirty-three teenage and young men, John’s method of his murders would be by strangling them. These crimes were done between the years of 1972 and 1978, he was convicted of his crime in 1968 and found guilty in 1980. Gacy was born on March 17.,1942 in Chicago, Illinois. Growing up John had a very abusive childhood and also had a hard time with his sexuality. His alcoholic father would beat him for no reason at all, sometimes so he would beat John so brutally that he would get knocked unconscious. Gacy was also sexually molested by one of his family’s friends. He wasnt the most flattering boy in school and was†¦show more content†¦Such as when he was rapped by a family friend, and constantly being tortured by his father. When it comes to being intelligent and clever with crimes and hiding murders, John is not the best. His lack of knowledge on how criminal investigations work and what is used for evidence, is very low. He would keep their clothing, one of his victims had a class ring, which he also kept. To add to all of that stupidity, he would then hide the victims bodies under his home as if the smell wouldn’t come up through the house and be a dead giveaway that he had murdered people. If we were to put Gacy’s murders/crime under a certain category it would most likely fall under the kidnap-murder and sexual homicide. This is because he would kidnap his victims, then he would rape them before killing them, which would be the sexual homicide part of it. One of Gacy’s victims, in particular, his name is Rob Piest, was a fifteen-year-old boy. Piest worked part-time at the Mission Pharmacy in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago. On December 11 at quitting time, Rob told his mother that he was going to talk to a man about a construction job, but he had never returned home afterward. His parents went to the police department to fill o ut a missing persons report on Piest. The police officer that was there the night the parents filed the report, told prosecutor Terry Sullivan that there was something strange about Rob being missing and that he did not think he was a runaway. Sullivan agreed,Show MoreRelatedEssay On The Killer Gangster1676 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction: Criminal Case Facts John Wayne Gacy, also known as â€Å"the Killer Clown,† was 36 years old and living in Des Plaines, Illinois when he was apprehended by police in 1978. By then, Gacy had murdered 33 young men and boys. He was originally arrested on a drug charge, when further investigation of his home, due to the connection that he had to several missing young men, revealed to investigators the horrible contents of the crawlspace underneath his home (Crime Stories, 1999). He was thenRead More They Call Him Mr. Gacy Essay2347 Words   |  10 Pagesdeeds of American serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who is thought to have sexually assaulted and murdered 32 boys between 1976 and his arrest in December 1978 (Cahill, 1978; Gacy, 1989). This profile of Gacy compiles a birth-to-death chronology of events and activities that may lend insight to the personality of a habitual liar, model citizen, and serial murderer. Born to Marion Elaine Robinson Gacy and John Hanely Gacy on St. Patricks Day in 1942, John Wayne Gacy was the second of three childrenRead MoreSerial Murders Are Not Indigenous, Nor Are They A New Phenomenon1157 Words   |  5 Pageslocations within a thirty day period while allowing for a â€Å"cooling-off period† between each murder. These murders show no apparent motive besides personal gratification for the killer (Johnston). Ambiguous repetitive murders are often the hardest cases to solve and murder analysts continue to search for explanations of these actions. Crime analyst William Anderson states that it s believed that a variety of biological and social factors correlate to such heinous acts (Anderson). Key traits thatRead MoreAdvantages And Disadvantages Of Forensic Psychology1406 Words   |  6 Pagesthe basic definition of a Forensic Psychologist is an individual that treats criminal- related people. Here is some information about everything there is to know of a Forensic Psychologist, their salary, types of jobs, well- known people, famous cases, and their disadvantages. First of all, when someone hears the terminology Forensic Psychology, they usually refer to it as psychologists studying criminals. However, there is more to the meaning than meets the eye. For example, the birth of ForensicRead MoreWhy Do Parents Behave? 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All of whom are white males between the age of 20-45 and who presented themselves as a normal person; living a double life. Serial killers are hard to identify they present to be normal people, some marriedRead More Serial Killers in the U.S. Essays4042 Words   |  17 Pagespolice departments often lack the modern equipment and technology needed to track and recognize connections between cases. It is generally accepted that many cases of serial murder have not been reported because of lack of evidence or the person murdered is never noticed to be missing. The U. S. has had more than 150 documented cases of serial killers since 1800. Retired FBI analyst John Doug-las believes that at any one time, there may be from 30 to 50 serial killers active in the U. S. Good locationsRead More Serial Killers: Monsters or Mentally Ill Essay1571 Words   |  7 Pagesunnoticed which is why the growth of the killer continues. A thing such as animal cruelty is one of many clues inside the growth of a serial killers mind â€Å"They often start out their careers by maiming, harming, and torturing small animals.† â€Å"In extreme cases, they have been known to spend hours inflicting a slow death on animals...this is a form of control that allows them the power to crave† (Kocsis,2008) . Many future serial killers also show a major interest in setting fires. Even though it is commonRead MoreHow Serial Killers came to be Essay1921 Words   |  8 Pagesframe of reference (Kevin Haggerty, p.1, 2009). The paper will seek to provide the readers with an explanation of how serial killers came to be and how they are portrayed in the media. Several serial killers have a definitive and common personality profile. Almost every major social, biological, psychological behavioural influence that has been seriously suggested as playing a role in causing crime has been thoroughly thought as potentially contributing to the behavior of serial killers (Levin, 2008)Read MoreBiology of Serial Killers Essay2206 Words   |  9 Pagesindividual could be facing easily influences the act he is going to carry out. Asocial and non-social are the other groups of serial killers. Asocial serial killer carries out his job in a disorganized way, he or she has no plan of what to do in many cases, he or she often feels lonely, and he or she often applies no skills on the act. In a fearful mode, he knocks the victim in an unconscious way before committing the murder. He further moves the victim to a new place. On the other hand, the non-social

Significance of the Copernican Principle

The Copernican principle (in its classical form) is the principle that the Earth does not rest in a privileged or special physical position in the universe. Specifically, it derives from the claim of Nicolaus Copernicus that the Earth was not stationary, when he proposed the heliocentric model of the solar system. This had such significant implications that Copernicus himself delayed publishing the results until the end of his life, out of fear of the sort of religious backlash suffered by Galileo Galilei. Significance of the Copernican Principle This may not sound like a particularly important principle, but its actually vital to the history of science, because it represents a fundamental philosophical change in how intellectuals dealt with humanitys role in the universe ... at least in scientific terms. What this basically means is that in science, you shouldnt assume that humans have a fundamentally privileged position within the universe. For example, in astronomy this generally means that all large regions of the universe should be pretty much identical to each others. (Obviously, there are some local differences, but these are just statistical variations, not fundamental differences in what the universe is like in those different places.) However, this principle has been expanded over the years into other areas. Biology has adopted a similar viewpoint, now recognizing that the physical processes which control (and formed) humanity must be basically identical to those that are at work in all other known lifeforms. This gradual transformation of the Copernican principle is well presented in this quote from The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking Leonard Mlodinow: Nicolaus Copernicus heliocentric model of the solar system is acknowledged as the first convincing scientific demonstration that we humans are not the focal point of the cosmos.... We now realize that Copernicus result is but one of a series of nested demotions overthrowing long-held assumptions regarding humanitys special status: were not located at the center of the solar system, were not located at the center of the galaxy, were not located at the center of the universe, were not even made of the dark ingredients constituting the vast majority of the universes mass. Such cosmic downgrading [...] exemplifies what scientists now call the Copernican principle: in the grand scheme of things, everything we know points toward human beings not occupying a privileged position. Copernican Principle versus Anthropic Principle In recent years, a new way of thinking has begun to question the central role of the Copernican principle. This approach, known as the anthropic principle, suggests that maybe we shouldnt be so hasty to demote ourselves. According to it, we should take into account the fact that we exist and that the laws of nature in our universe (or our portion of the universe, at least) have to be consistent with our own existence. At its core, this isnt fundamentally at odds with the Copernican principle. The anthropic principle, as generally interpreted, is more about a selection effect based on the fact that we do happen to exist, rather than a statement about our fundamental significance to the universe. (For that, see the participatory anthropic principle, or PAP.) The degree to which the anthropic principle is useful or necessary in physics is a hotly debated topic, particularly as it relates to the notion of a supposed fine-tuning problem within the physical parameters of the universe.

Comparing the Blues in Hughes The Blues Im Playing and...

The Blues: in Hughes The Blues Im Playing and Baldwins Sonnys Bluesnbsp;nbsp; In Langston Hughes The Blues Im Playing, the blues are the source of Oceolas life and her choices. Langston is trying to illustrate the conflict between life and art. The art in this story is represented in a confined manner, as a disciplined career with a white woman acting as the overseer in the young ladys life. Art to Oceola, with its profit, convenience and privileges offers an array of benefits, but being embodied in Dora Ellsworth, the art seems to drift away from lifes vitality. Life in Oceola sings itself in jazz and blues in Harlem, ignores the artistic East 63rd Street and the rules by which are claims its superiority. There is a†¦show more content†¦Oceolas final words, sketched according to mood, race, and sex, explain what blues are. She says, Listen!... How sad and gay it is. Blue and happy-laughing and crying...How white like you and black like me... Warm as Petes mouth... These are the blues... Im playing. In James Baldwins Sonnys Blues he deals with a man trying to find his identity in a very hostile society. The blues in this story is used in a more emotional manner which recollects the past. It also repairs the relationship between the two brothers who have chosen two different ways of coping in their ghetto environment. The blues also serves as a communication devise between the two brothers. Baldwin uses the blues to state a fact; the ugliness and meanness inherent in the human condition. In order to really understand the message of the blues you have to be one that has suffered just like Sonny and the elder brother. The blues that they play also communicates to other sufferers who have had their own trials, so they know what this music is all about. Sonnys suffering are within himself, but deep suffering is common to all his listeners. Even his brother can attune himself to this suffering, which is brought on by the death of his little daughter Grace. When the brother is at the c lub listening to the blues he recalls his mother, the moonlit road on

Ancient Roman Government Notes free essay sample

The â€Å"common-people† assembly which helped give the citizens more political power Empire- A dominating nation with extensive territories and a powerful ruler Laws of the 12 Tables- Guidelines for citizen’s behavior; a list of Roman customs about property and punishment Mercenary- A soldier who is hired for service in a foreign country Patrician- Member of Rome’s richest and most important families who served on the Senate for life Plebeian- The common person or lower-class citizen Roman Senate- One of the two houses of the early Roman republic Republic- A country run by the elected representatives of its people Tribune- A leader within the Concillum Plebus In 500 B. C the Roman government was forming into a republic; in which the people have the freedom to vote for their leaders. There were two parts, or two houses, to the Roman Republic: the Citizen Assembly and the Senate. The elected officials headed the two councils and they served one-year terms. We will write a custom essay sample on Ancient Roman Government Notes or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The republic was established in 509B.C and lasted 500 years. Differences between the Greek and Roman governments: In Greece all men were allowed to vote In Rome only men with money/property could vote The Senate was the most powerful part of the government; all senators were patricians. To obtain political rights, the common people (Plebeians) formed their own assembly, the Concillum Plebus and named their leaders tribunes. Establishing peace and order gave Rome stability: Rome’s first code of law was established in 450B. C. On ten tablets, ten legal experts wrote down a list of Roman customs about property and punishment. However, due to plebeian pressure, two more tablets were added to satisfy them. The final code was called the Laws of the Twelve Tables. By the end of the third century Roman law covered issues dealing with foreigners and eventually covered magisterial law to strengthen and correct existing law. The Roman Empire took its first steps of dominance in 27B. C when the law’s development was taken over by the emperors, who added and revised freely. As the law got more complex, the government had to literally train jurists who could understand and interpret the laws. The stability of the law, the military, and financial standing of Rom kept it powerful. Rome successfully battled the Carthaginians, the Celtics(British), the Etruscans, and the Samnites. The Roman Empire was established around 27B. C. The empire spanned three continents. The empire was divided into states that were ruled by governors who collected taxes and sent money back to Rome.

Old Essays - Hawaiian Cuisine, Marlin, Sport Fish, Santiago

Old Man And The Sea By Hemmingway This part of the story has to do with Santiago against nature and the sea. In this part of the story, he goes out and fights nature in the form of terrible forces and dangerous creatures, among them, a marlin, sharks and hunger. He starts the story in a small skiff and moves out in a journey to capture a fish after a long losing streak of eighty-four days. Unfortunately his friend must desert him due to this problem and a greater force, his parents. Santiago must go out into the danger alone. For three harsh days and nights he fights a fish of enormous power. This is the second form of nature he must conquer. Earlier in the story, the first part of nature is himself, for which he must fight off his hunger. This is a harsh part of the story. He manages though to get a few bites in the form of flying fish and dolphin of which he would like to have salt on. This part of the story tells of a cold and harsh sea, that is, one that has value and mystery as well as death and danger. It has commercial value as well as the population of life in it. It is dark and treacherous though, and every day there is a challenge. A similar story tells about a tidal pool with life called `Cannery Road'. This part of the story has to deal with figures of Christ. It mainly deals with Santiago as being a figure of Christ and other characters as props, that is, characters which carry out the form of biblical themes. On the day before he leaves when he wakes up, Manolin, his helper, comes to his aid with food and drink. Also a point that might be good is that he has had bad luck with his goal for a great period of time and is sure it will work this time. Later, though, when Santiago needs him for the quest he sets out to do, Manolin deserts him, although he may not have wanted to at this time. In the novel Santiago comes upon a force bigger than his skiff, the marlin which misleads him out far past his intended reach. This is where he starts to lose his strength against something which seems a greater force. Santiago has a struggle of three days, which is significent because of the three days in Easter, and continues to fight on though his goal may not aquire anything. This is another idea through which Christ did, a struggle to get a goal done even though it may mean certain destruction to himself. This might accomplish nothing but the satisfaction of doing this and also has great risks. Finally he comes upon a painful experience with his hand which is in great pain and won't move. This is useful in the place where Christ loses his physical self and has less to deal with. On the third day, he recovers himself and returns to his home even though his only remaining treasure was a broken skiff, experience, and a torn up marlin. And in the final conclusion, you can see him dragging the mast of his skiff, a cross-like object, in his hand. This story has a certain sequence of events, first it has a hunter vs. his prey. This hunter does respect th e prey. Throughout the book it has this series of events: encounter, battle, defeat, and respect for the prey. This is Hemmingway's `Code of Honor'. This part of the novel has to do with relationships between two characters. The first to discuss are Santiago and Manolin, Manolin being the small follower of the old man named Santiago. Manolin is a small person that follows Santiago and listens to his wisdom. They treat each other unfriendly though for Manolin calls the Santiago'old man' and he calls Manolin `boy' which seems to be absurd. In that situation I would consider both of them to go see a doctor. The next relationship to talk about would be that between Santiago and the village, which seems to be much better. He is given credit for food and he also is waiting to show his greatness to the villageby catching a great fish as soon as he can. His thought on that, though, is that any fisherman can ctach it during the easy season but only a few can go out and catch one during the