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Vincent van Gogh Paintings
Between November of 1881 and July of 1890, Vincent van Gogh painted almost 900 paintings. Since his death, he has become one of the most famous painters in the world. Van Gogh’s paintings have captured the minds and hearts of millions of art lovers and have made art lovers of those new to world of art. The following excerpts are from letters that Van Gogh wrote expressing how he evolved as a painter.
In December of 1881, at the age of 28 just as he began his first paintings Vincent wrote to his brother Theo about becoming a painter,
“Theo, I am so very happy with my paintbox, and I think my getting it now, after having drawn almost exclusively for at least a year, better than if I had started with it immediately…
For, Theo, with painting my real career begins. Don't you think I am right to consider it so?”
Van Gogh worked at a feverish pace costing him money, causing him mental and physical stress and leaving him no time for any other source of income. But he was persistent. In a letter from March of 1882, Van Gogh wrote again to his brother Theo,
“Although I find myself in financial difficulties, I nevertheless have the feeling that there is nothing more solid than a `handicraft' in the literal sense of working with one's hands. If you became a painter, one of the things that would surprise you is that painting and everything connected with it is quite hard work in physical terms. Leaving aside the mental exertion, the hard thought, it demands considerable physical effort, and that day after day.”
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About a year before his death Van Gogh predicted that there would be a great “painter of the future” who would know how to use color like no one else and would become the future of painting. He expressed this in a letter to his brother Theo in May of 1888,
“As for me, I shall go on working, and here and there something of my work will prove of lasting value - but who will there be to achieve for figure painting what Claude Monet has achieved for landscape? However, you must feel, as I do, that someone like that is on the way - Rodin? - he does not use colour - it won't be him. But the painter of the future will be a colourist the like of which has never yet been seen.
But I'm sure I am right to think that it will come in a later generation, and it is up to us to do all we can to encourage it, without question or complaint.”
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An art film (also known as art movie, specialty film, art house film, or in the collective sense as art cinema) is the result of filmmaking which is typically a serious, independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass marketaudience. Film critics and film studies scholars typically define an "art film" using a "...canon of films and those formal qualities that mark them as different from mainstream Hollywood films", which includes, among other elements: a social realism style; an emphasis on the authorial expressivity of the director; and a focus on the thoughts and dreams of characters, rather than presenting a clear, goal-driven story. Film scholar David Bordwell claims that "art cinema itself is a film genre, with its own distinct conventions."
Art film producers usually present their films at specialty theatres (repertory cinemas, or in the U.S. "arthouse cinemas") and film festivals. The term art film is much more widely used in the United States and the UK than in Europe, where the term is more associated with "auteur" films and "national cinema" (e.g., German national cinema). Art films are aimed at small niche market audiences, which means they can rarely get the financial backing which will permit large production budgets, expensive special effects, costly celebrity actors, or huge advertising campaigns, as are used in widely-released mainstream blockbuster films. Art film directors make up for these constraints by creating a different type of film, which typically uses lesser-known film actors (or even amateur actors) and modest sets to make films which focus much more on developing ideas or exploring new narrative techniques or filmmaking conventions.
Furthermore, a certain degree of experience and intellect are required to understand or appreciate such films; one mid-1990s art film was called "largely a cerebral experience" which you enjoy "because of what you know about film". This contrasts sharply with mainstream "blockbuster" films, which are geared more towards escapism and pure entertainment. For promotion, art films rely on the publicity generated from film critics' reviews, discussion of their film by arts columnists, commentators and bloggers, and "word-of-mouth" promotion by audience members. Since art films have small initial investment costs, they only need to appeal to a small portion of the mainstream viewing audiences to become financially viable.
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Concussions are brain injuries that occur when a person receives a blow to the head, face, or neck. Although most people who suffer a concussion experience initial bouts of dizziness, nausea, and drowsiness, these symptoms often disappear after a few days. The long-term effects of concussions, however, are less understood and far more severe. Recent studies suggest that people who suffer multiple concussions are at significant risk for developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disorder that causes a variety of dangerous mental and emotional problems to arise weeks, months, or even years after the initial injury. These psychological problems can include depression, anxiety, memory loss, inability to concentrate, and aggression. In extreme cases, people suffering from CTE have even committed suicide or homicide. The majority of people who develop these issues are athletes who participate in popular high-impact sports, especially football. Although new sports regulations and improvements in helmet technology can help protect players, amateur leagues, the sports media, and fans all bear some of the responsibility for reducing the incidence of these devastating injuries.
Improvements in diagnostic technology have provided substantial evidence to link severe—and often fatal—psychological disorders to the head injuries that players receive while on the field. Recent autopsies performed on the brains of football players who have committed suicide have shown advanced cases of CTE in every single victim.
In response to the growing understanding of this danger, the National Football League (NFL) has revised its safety regulations. Players who have suffered a head injury on the field must undergo a “concussion sideline assessment”—a series of mental and physical fitness tests—before being allowed back in the game. In an effort to diminish the amount of head and neck injuries on the field, NFL officials began enforcing stricter penalty calls for helmet-to-helmet contact, leading with the head, and hitting a defenseless player. Furthermore, as of 2010, if a player’s helmet is accidentally wrenched from his head during play, the ball is immediately whistled dead. It is hoped that these new regulations, coupled with advances in helmet design, will reduce the number of concussions, and thus curb further cases of CTE.
Efforts by the NFL and other professional sports leagues are certainly laudable; we should commend every attempt to protect the mental and physical health of players. However, new regulations at the professional level cannot protect amateur players, especially young people. Fatal cases of CTE have been reported in victims as young as 21. Proper tackling form—using the arms and shoulders to aim for a player’s midsection—should be taught at an early age. Youth, high school, and college leagues should also adopt safety rules even more stringent than those of the NFL. Furthermore, young athletes should be educated about the serious dangers of head injuries at an early age.
Perhaps the most important factor in reducing the number of traumatic brain injuries, however, lies not with the players, the coaches, or the administrators, but with the media and fans. Sports media producers have become accustomed to showcasing the most aggressive tackles and the most intense plays. NFL broadcasts often replay especially violent collisions while the commentators marvel at the players’ physical prowess. Some sports highlights television programs even feature weekly countdowns of the “hardest hits.” When the media exalts such dangerous behavior, professionals are rewarded for injuring each other.
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The world’s scientists have given their starkest warning yet a failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions will bring devastating climate change within a few decades. As droughts effect more areas for more prolonged periods, it is estimated that global food production will by 10%. Conversely, we are experiencing more powerful hurricanes which result in both human tragedy and costly damage to infrastructure. There are dire predictions of 80 million more people being exposed to malaria and 2.5 billion to dengue fever.
The 2007 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that average temperatures could increase by as much as 6.4C by the end of the century if emissions continue to rise at the of 4C is more likely. The forecast is still higher than previous estimates because scientists have discovered that the Earth is less able to absorb carbon dioxide than previously believed.
What would a 4C increase in temperature mean? According to the IPCC, it would wipe out hundreds of species, bring extreme food and water shortages in vulnerable countries and hundreds of millions of people would be displaced as a result of catastrophic flooding. As warming is likely to be more severe towards the poles, the melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets would accelerate.
Dr Wainwright explained that the 2007 report painted a gloomier picture than the 2007 report because scientists have discovered ‘feedbacks’ in the global carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and producing a cumulative affect. She goes on to suggest that this could mean at least another 1C should be added to present estimates. Moreover, Dr Wainwright concludes that there is little room for doubt that human activity is to blame for global warming.
However, Mark Gibson of Environment Watch goes to great lengths to point out that such an outcome is not inevitable. If there were a significant switch to clean and resource efficient technologies, we could cut expected temperature rises by half. He stresses that what is needed is international political commitment to take action – something which has been absent so far.
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One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Great Pyramid of Giza was a monument of wisdom and prophecy built as a tomb for Pharaoh Cheops in 2720 B.C. Despite its antiquity, certain aspects of its construction make it one of the truly great wonders of the world. The thirteen-acre structure near the Nile River is a solid mass of stone blocks covered with limestone. Inside are a number of hidden passageways and the burial chamber for the pharaoh. It is the largest single structure in the world. The four sides of the pyramid are aligned almost exactly on true north, south, east, and west – an incredible engineering feat. The ancient Egyptians were sun worshipers and great astronomers, so computations for the Great Pyramid were based on astronomical observation.
Exploration and detailed examinations of the base of the structure reveal many interesting lines. Further scientific study indicates that these represent a type of timeline of events – past, present, and future. Many of the events have been interpreted and found to coincide with known facts of the past. Others are prophesied for future generations and are currently under investigation. Many believe that pyramids have supernatural powers, and this one is no exception. Some researchers even associate it with extraterrestrial beings of the ancient past.
Was this superstructure made by ordinary being, or one built by a race far superior to any known today?
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