Descriptive Essay Essay Example for Free

Descriptive Essay Essay My nose is overwhelmed with the smell of hairspray, baby powder, and a fruity perfume. There are too many girls in here, all struggling and fighting for a space near the mirror that covers the entire back wall. It’s dim in here, but it’s a good kind of dim, almost calming. The only light is coming from the round vanity bulbs that line the top of the mirrors, making it so that the fluorescents don’t impair what natural light reveals. I make my way to the red lockers on the right, squeezing past two of my fellow giggling cast-members as they try to make their way out the swinging door. After opening my locker, personalized with my name stickered on the front in purple sparkly letters, I get out my bulking make-up bag and curling iron. My eyes dart across the room in search of an available outlet, hoping one even still exists within the chaos. I look around the base of the walls near the white and blue tiled floor, trying not to get annoyed at all the hair straighteners that are just sitting there unused and warming. I roll my eyes and sigh, I could be finished curling my hair by the time the straightener’s owner even picks it up to begin taming their frizzy head. I shouldn’t be surprised though, this is always how the dressing room is an hour before the first show. Arms full of beauty products, and attempting to keep my curling iron’s cord from dragging across the floor or getting stepped on by the constant rush of people moving about the small room. I finally spot someone unplugging her phone charger from the wall and jump on the opportunity to steal an outlet before anyone else notices. I set my curling iron on the highest possible heat and click â€Å"turbo-mode. † I will apologize to my hair later for the abuse. The counter beneath the mirror is covered in bronzer powder, used eyeliner pencils, and countless lost bobby pins. I slide my arm across the objects askew making them into messy pile in the corner. This isn’t my ideal â€Å"getting ready† station, but it’ll do. I’m just grateful to have secured a spot near the mirror and outlet; you’d be surprised how stressed one can become when they don’t have a place to get ready thirty minutes before it’s time to take places on stage. I look in the mirror, face naked and hair in a messy bun, and realize I have a lot of work to do. I spot my best friend and fellow lead in the corner near the sink, already in full costume and stage make-up, peering down at her script in concentration. I smile to myself; it’s so typical of her to be trying to memorize her song lyrics at the last minute, but I know she’ll be great. The stage manager walks in to announce that we only have a few more minutes to get ready before show-circle, urging us to get a move-on. In light of the excitement, I see one of my friends pull out her iPod and speakers and I know exactly what is coming. Nothing pumps you up before show more than rocking out to show-tunes and dancing while you pat blush on your cheeks and fluff your hair. One our unanimous favorites being the Disney song from Mulan, â€Å"I’ll Make A Man Out Of You,† in which literally everyone sings at the top of their lungs without hesitation or missing a beat. Mouth open wide putting on mascara, the finishing touch to my stage make-up, I start bursting out laughing as one of my friends jumps on a chair wearing nothing but a sports bra and boy-shorts and begins to dramatically sing into a hairbrush. I absolutely love these crazy theatre people. I quickly remove the hair-tie from my bun and brush out my ginger curls, swaying to the music at the same time. I’m so lucky to be playing the part of a horrible, mean, dirty, inn-keepers wife – meaning that I pretty much just have to make my hair into a rat’s nest in order to look the part. Perfect, considering I only have about ten minutes to transform. I pack up all my brushes and different shades of eye shadow, currently wearing the darkest shade of grey I could find, shove them in my bag without the intent to be organized, and head for the costume closet. Everyone is throwing off their t-shirts and athletic shorts and getting into their eighteenth century French peasant costumes. I open the door to the closet and find, not to my surprise, even more people digging around looking for lost items of clothing. The floor is covered with clothes and costume jewelry, and I can’t imagine how anyone is supposed to find anything in here. I keep my costume in the corner, all confined and zipped up in a dress-bag. Sifting through my multiple costumes I find my first outfit change. It consists of an ugly green dress with floral patterned strings lacing the top together, a white puffy shirt to go underneath, black tights, a hideous striped apron, and scraped black character shoes. I leave cramped closet and begin to feel slightly claustrophobic. Either from the heat of so many bodies in one place or due to the fact that I have to shove myself against the wall in order to have any space to lay my clothes out, I begin to get anxious and feel the need to just get this over with and escape the crowd. Once dressed and ready to go, I check myself in the mirror for the last time and apply a dark shade of lipstick that says: â€Å"I hate my life, love scamming people, and absolutely despise my husband. † A perfect fit for the role of â€Å"Madame Thenardier† whom I will be portraying shortly. I leave the dressing room to meet up with the rest of the cast, everyone looking like they just stepped out of a French battle scene in order to set the opening scene. Outside the dressing room it is open, cool, and quiet – quite a drastic change compared to the loud and stuffy dressing room. Our director announces that the show will start in five minutes and in one giant herd everyone rushes out of the dressing room, closets, bathrooms, and black-box and makes it back-stage. I can almost physically feel the energy of the cast seeping into my own skin giving me a boost. I hang back for a bit, muttering a few lines of excitement and encouragement to my friends before approaching the water fountain in attempt to cure my rather out-of-no-where dry throat. I gulp down a few mouthfuls and wipe the remaining water on my sleeve and follow the rest of the cast back-stage. It’s dark and my eyes take a while to adjust, guiding myself with the light that is coming from beneath the giant dark red curtains. Everyone is quiet, shuffling around looking for props on the labeled tables and attempting to put the finishing touches on their costumes. The only sound to be heard is the mumble of hundreds of audience members just a few yards away. A feeling in the pit of my stomach settles in, and my heart begins to race. My senses enhance, and I can hear individual conversations from across the curtain. I try to pick out any familiar voices that may be waiting behind the red wall, but I know it is unlikely with such a large amount of people. My stage manager whispers to everyone to get into place, the show is about to start. I feel my way across the dark stage and stand in my assigned position. No one says a word. Adrenaline begins to pump through my veins and I have to resist the emptation to peek under the curtain to see how many people will be watching. Silence slowly falls over the unseen audience. All I hear is the breathing of my fellow cast-members beside me, and a few footsteps as the last few people find their spots. All lights from beneath the curtain go off, and I am now standing in complete darkness. I can hear my heart pounding in my ears and my stomach feels as if it is about to fall through the floor. I rub my sweaty palms against my apron, close my eyes, and take a deep breath. The curtain opens.

The Prisoners Dilemma and the Ability of Firms to Collude :: Business Economics Management Essays

The Prisoners Dilemma and the Ability of Firms to Collude An oligopoly is a market consisting of a few large interdependent firms who are usually always trying to second-guess each other's behaviour. There is a high degree of interdependence between each firm in the industry meaning individual firms must take into account the effects of their actions on their rivals, and the course of action that will follow as a result on behalf of the rival firm which will also have consequences. The market as we will see is also allocatively inefficient as price is above marginal cost. There are barriers to entry and exit in an oligopoly meaning that potential new firms will have huge costs if they try to enter the industry and sometimes firms collude in order to prevent new firms from becoming any threat. For example if a new firm tries to enter the industry the cartel can quite easily reduce its prices in the short run so as to remove the new firm. An example of a heavy barrier to entry for new firms is the cost of National or even International adver tising. As a result of the firms being interdependent, there are various varieties of collusion in oligopolies to try and create some stable space for the firms to operate in. There are three kinds of collusion:  · cartel (contractual)  · covert  · tacit Cartels usually exist where there are agreements between incumbent firms with prices so that they can share what would be monopoly supernormal profits between them, acting as a monopoly. Firms will get together to decide to restrict the output and raise the price, for example OPEC (Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries). In the UK legally binding agreements in cartels are against the restrictive practices legislation and are therefore illegal. Some cartels last longer than others do as some cartels may break contracts. Some examples of cartels include Rowntrees, Cadbury's, the concrete industry with three firms (Rugby, Blue Circle and United). An example of covert collusion would be the cement industry, which was found guilty of rigging contracts and was fined eight million pounds. Tacit collusion is forming implicit contracts as if they are colluding; for example the soap powders industry. In this type of market rather than competing using prices, non-price competition occurs. Examples of non-price competition are special offers, advertising and quality of service, all of which are to establish their own brand loyalty and maintain a high concentration ratio of the market.

Oedipus the King Essay

One of the most important literary devices used by Sophocles in his play Oedipus the King is what is known to modern critics as the â€Å"Greek Chorus. † The chorus was an important part of Greek tragedy, not only in the plays of Sophocles, but in the work of many other playwrights as well. Sophocles, in addition to incorporating well-known myths and historical motifs into his play, used the chorus as an additional method by which to ensure the audience’s understanding of the action on the stage. He also used the chorus to help the audience to feel a sense of a participation in the action of the play and to direct their sense of the plot and to focus the audience’s sympathy on appropriate characters. The use of the chorus in Greek tragedy was, as mentioned, a common literary device, but Sophocles is well known for being a creative adapter of conventions and in his hands, the chorus functions in myriad capacities, some obvious and some subtle. In order to appreciate the importance of the chorus in a play like Oedipus the King, it is crucial to first have an understanding of how the chorus traditionally functioned in Greek tragedy. Physically, the chorus was made up of â€Å"an anonymous group of fifteen† (Taplin 12) who, in addition to functioning as characters within the play, proper, also participated in the orchestra, providing â€Å"musical accompaniment [†¦ ] on the aulos, a double pipe with reeds [†¦ ] the aulos-player stood in the orchestra, also in tragic costume† (Taplin 12). The chorus also chanted, snag, and danced â€Å"the choral odes which divide the acts of tragedy† (Taplin 12) while occasionally singing or chanting † in lyric dialogue with the actors† (Taplin 12) . In addition to these roles, the traditional chorus also featured a leader: â€Å"the koryphaios, probably distinguished slightly by costume† (Taplin 12) who might also contribute dialogue to the play. Furthermore, the chorus held a connotation for Greek audiences which is all but unknowable to modern observers and this connotation relates to the presence of â€Å"chorale† bodies of chorus-like arrangements in everyday Greek society. Even the rudimentary aspects of the chorus in its theatrical incarnation: singing and dancing, held for the Greeks, a very different social and cultural resonance than for moderns. In Greek life, † a chorus was an integral part of many communal occasions, religious and secular—festivals, weddings, funerals, victory celebrations,† (Taplin 13) and the chorus also helped to lend a sense of ritual and ceremony to â€Å"all ‘festive’ occasions in Greek life† (Taplin 13). As such, the chorus as a literary device held for the Greeks in relation to theater: â€Å"a prominent and important place [†¦ ] in the performance as a whole† (Taplin 13). The distinction between ancient and modern observers is a very important distinction to make when discussing the Greek chorus as a literary device. Quite simply, for the modern observer, the best understanding of the function of the chorus may well be that the modern observer should regard the chorus as a kind of bridge between the mythical action of the play and the audience who observes this action. In fact some critics assert that this â€Å"bridge† role was also intended by Greek playwrights who used the chorus and specifically intended to be used this way by Sophocles in Oedipus the King. For these critics, the chorus represents â€Å"an â€Å"ideal spectator† that directs our thought and attention† (Hogan 44) and this is an intentional function of the chorus as a literary device as adopted by Sophocles. Obviously, in its function as a bridge between the audience and the action on the stage, the chorus in Oedipus the King plays a pivotal, rather than decorative role. For example, in relating a sense of irony to the audience, the chorus is used by Sophocles specifically â€Å"On three occasions† (Hogan 21) to provide a focal point of ironic realization on the audience’s behalf. Therefore, when â€Å"Oedipus defends his innocence [†¦ ] both he and the chorus of Athenians remain profoundly sensitive to the pollution that still clings† (Hogan 21) while, similarly, when â€Å"Oedipus rationalizes the murder† (Hogan 21) he invokes the sense of the chorus-as-court-of-law. The irony, of course, being that both the chorus and the audience are sympathetic to the plight of Oedipus just as it is hoped on Oedius’ behalf that â€Å"A court of law would be sympathetic† (Hogan 21). Another example is when Oedipus speaks to the chorus and says: â€Å"I pray god that the unseen killer, whoever he is, and whether he killed alone or had help, be cursed with a life as evil as he is, a life of utter human deprivation. † (Sophocles 28, 297-300). Here, the coryphaeus, or leader of the chorus, also speaks lines which, ironically, indicate that he â€Å"is thinking of the killer, who is much nearer for questioning than he knows† (Hogan 36). Each of these uses of the chorus by Sophocles heightens the sense of irony in the play while simultaneously promoting a sense of audience involvement and, obviously, forwarding the plot of the tragedy. The chorus is exceptionally important as a device in helping to direct the action of the play to and through the climax. The verbal interplay between Oedipus and the chorus increases near the end of the play. By inspecting â€Å"Oedipus’ words (and to the Chorus’) during the final part of the play, we will learn what beliefs and allegiances have survived† (Sophocles 14) and what little glimmer of redemption can be said to exist in the play’s tragic climax and aftermath can be gleaned from the words of the chorus, which close the play. Although Oedipus’ closing speeches are filled with pain and lamentation, the human world remains to him as â€Å"he hears the voice of the Chorus. Clarity and poise return as he tells the Chorus it was Apollo who destroyed his life, but that it was he and no one else who chose to strike out his own eyes† (Sophocles 14). The chorus,then, emerges as the target Oedipus’s confession and the implied target of the â€Å"moral† of his story. The audience, of course, is the chorus and vice-versa, so that the closing lines of the play: â€Å"Don’t call a man god’s friend until he has come through life and crossed over into death never having been god’s victim† (Sophocles 67, 1765-1766) emerge as the cathartic â€Å"lesson† distilled from the mythic action of the story, by way of the chorus, to enrich the audience’s understanding. Works Cited Hogan, James C. A Commentary on the Plays of Sophocles. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1991. Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Trans. Robert Bagg. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1982. Taplin, Oliver. Greek Tragedy in Action. London: Routledge, 2003.

Mansa Musa Great Leader of the Malinké Kingdom

Mansa Musa was an important ruler of the golden age of the Malinkà © kingdom, based on the upper Niger River in Mali, West Africa. He ruled between 707–732/737 according to the Islamic calendar (AH), which translates to 1307–1332/1337 CE. Malinkà ©, also known as Mande, Mali, or Melle, was founded around 1200 CE, and under Mansa Musas reign, the kingdom leveraged its rich copper, salt, and gold mines to become one of the richest trading empires in the world of its day. A Noble Inheritance Mansa Musa was the great-grandson of another great Mali leader, Sundiata Keita (~1230-1255 CE), who established the Malinkà © capital at the town of Niani (or possibly Dakajalan, there is some debate about that). Mansa Musa is sometimes referred to as Gongo or Kanku Musa, meaning the son of the woman Kanku. Kanku was the granddaughter of Sundiata, and as such, she was so Musas connection to the legitimate throne. Fourteenth-century travelers report that the earliest Mande communities were small, clan-based rural towns, but under the influence of Islamic leaders such as Sundiata and Musa, those communities became important urban trading centers. Malinke reached its height by about 1325 CE when Musa conquered the cities of Timbuktu and Gao. Growth and Urbanization of Malinkà © Mansa Musa—Mansa is a title meaning something like king—held many other titles; he was also the Emeri of Melle, the Lord of Mines of Wangara, and the Conquerer of Ghanata and a dozen other states. Under his rule, the Malinkà © empire was stronger, richer, better organized, and more literate than any other Christian power in Europe at the time. Musa established a university at Timbuktu where 1,000 students worked towards their degrees. The university was attached to the Sankorà © Mosque, and it was staffed with the finest jurists, astronomers, and mathematicians from the scholarly city of Fez in Morocco. In each of the cities conquered by Musa, he established royal residences and urban administrative centers of government. All of those cities were Musas capitals: the center of authority for the entire Mali kingdom moved with the Mansa: the centers where he was not currently visiting were called kings towns. Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina All of the Islamic rulers of Mali made pilgrimages to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, but the most lavish by far was Musas. As the richest potentate in the known world, Musa had full right of entry into any Muslim territory. Musa left to see the two shrines in Saudi Arabia in 720 AH (1320–1321 CE) and was gone for four years, returning in 725 AH/1325 CE. His party covered great distances, as Musa toured his western dominions on the way and back. Musas golden procession to Mecca was immense, a caravan of an almost inconceivable 60,000 people, including 8,000 guards, 9,000 workmen, 500 women including his royal wife, and 12,000 slaves. All were dressed in brocade and Persian silks: even the slaves carried a staff of gold weighing between 6-7 pounds each. A train of 80 camels each carried 225 lbs (3,600 troy ounces) of gold dust to be used as gifts. Every Friday during the sojourn, wherever he was, Musa had his workmen build a new mosque to supply the king and his court with a place to worship. Bankrupting Cairo According to historical records, during his pilgrimage, Musa gave away a fortune in gold dust. In each of the Islamic capital cities of Cairo, Mecca, and Medina, he also gave an estimated 20,000 gold pieces in alms. As a result, prices for all merchandise rocketed in those cities as the recipients of his generosity rushed to pay for all kinds of goods in gold. The value of gold quickly depreciated. By the time Musa returned to Cairo from Mecca, he had run out of gold and so he borrowed back all the gold he could get at a high rate of interest: accordingly, the value of gold in Cairo mounted to unprecedented heights. When he finally returned to Mali, he immediately repaid the vast loan plus interest in a single astounding payment. Cairos money lenders were ruined as the price of gold fell through the floor, and it has been reported that it took at least seven years for Cairo to fully recover. The Poet/Architect Es-Sahili On his homeward journey, Musa was accompanied by an Islamic poet he met in Mecca from Granada, Spain. This man was Abu Ishaq al-Sahili (690–746 AH 1290–1346 CE), known as Es-Sahili or Abu Isak. Es-Sahili was a great storyteller with a fine eye for jurisprudence, but he also had skills as an architect, and he is known to have built many structures for Musa. He is credited with building royal audience chambers in Niani and Aiwalata, a mosque in Gao, and a royal residence and the Great Mosque called Djinguereber or Djingarey Ber which still stands in Timbuktu. Es-Sahilis buildings were built primarily of adobe mud brick, and he is sometimes credited with bringing the technology of adobe brick to West Africa, but archaeological evidence has found baked adobe brick near the Great Mosque dated to the 11th century CE. After Mecca The Mali empire continued to grow after Musas trip to Mecca, and by the time of his death in 1332 or 1337 (reports vary), his kingdom stretched across the desert to Morocco. Musa eventually ruled a swath of central and northern Africa from the Ivory Coast in the west to Gao in the east and from the great dunes bordering Morocco to the forest fringes of the south. The only city in the region which was more or less independent from Musas control was the ancient capital of Jenne-Jeno in Mali. Unfortunately, Musas imperial strengths were not echoed in his descendants, and the Mali empire fell apart shortly after his death. Sixty years later, the great Islamic historian Ibn Khaldun described Musa as distinguished by his ability and holiness... the justice of his administration was such its memory is still green. Historians and Travelers Most of what we know of Mansa Musa comes from the historian Ibn Khaldun, who collected sources about Musa in 776 AH (1373–1374 CE); the traveler Ibn Battuta, who toured Mali between 1352–1353 CE; and the geographer Ibn Fadl-Allah al-Umari, who between 1342–1349 talked with several people who had met Musa. Later sources include Leo Africanus in the early 16th century  and histories which were  written in the 16th–17th centuries by Mahmud Kati and Abd el-Rahman al-Saadi. See Levtzion for a detailed list of these scholars sources. There are also records about the reign of Mansa Musa located in the archives of his royal Keita family. Sources Aradeon SB. 1989. Al-Sahili : the historians myth of architectural technology transfer from North Africa. Journal des Africanistes 59:99-131.Bell NM. 1972. The Age of Mansa Musa of Mali: Problems in Succession and Chronology. The International Journal of African Historical Studies 5(2):221-234.Conrad DC. 1994. A Town Called Dakajalan: The Sunjata Tradition and the Question of Ancient Malis Capital. The Journal of African History 35(3):355-377.Goodwin AJH. 1957. The Medieval Empire of Ghana. The South African Archaeological Bulletin 12(47):108-112.Hunwick JO. 1990. An Andalusian in Mali: A contribution to the biography of Abu Ishaq al-Sahili, 1290-1346. Paideuma 36:59-66.Levtzion N. 1963. The Thirteenth- and Fourteenth-Century Kings of Mali. The Journal of African History 4(3):341-353.