Audio Format Wars
Before buying a new car, getting married, or adopting a new audio format
it is wise to ask a few questions, peer under the hood, and ask the advice of
someone you trust. Will the new format satisfy your needs not only now but,
also in the future? Will it look (and sound) as good on all the mornings after
you first met?
The analogue cassette is an old and trusted versatile friend that went
with you on those morning jogs and cruised in the car with you on Friday nights.
However, the powers that be, have declared our trusted friend to be in the last
phase of the life cycle. It's successor must sound better, work better, and
have new features such as a digital display for song titles. There are
currently two formats competing to be the consumers next choice for sound on the
go. They are Philips' Digital Compact Cassette (DCC) and Sony's Mini Disc (MD).
What exactly is digital recording? The definition is, "An electronic
format that is designed to duplicate sound, while affording extremely accurate
control over any changes you might wish to make in the recording" (Mclan &
Wichman,1988). In simple terms it means that the digital circuitry samples the
signal and then reproduces what it has seen. The quality of the recording
depends on the sampling rate of the machine. The sampled signal is then encoded
to the tape or disc in 1's and 0's, just like a computer disk drive would encode
information. However, the biggest advantage of digital recording is the fact
that it eliminates tape "hiss" that is usually found present in analogue
recordings.
In the Eighties, a Philips invention captured the limelight. The
Compact Disc introduced us to a new era of digital sound, or "perfect sound."
In the nineties another Philips invention has taken centre-stage, the Digital
Compact Cassette (DCC). DCC is the marriage of the analogue cassette to Digital
Audio. Together they form a union that combines perfect sound, high convince and
greater versatility. " DCC is a medium on which audio information is digitally
encoded and which reproduces CD quality sound" (Philips Electronics, Sound &
Vision, 1995). A number of features have been incorporated into DCC tapes and
decks to achieve CD like sound and convince. DCC decks can locate a chosen
track on either side of the tape because track and time codes are recorded on
the tape. This combined with autoreverse, which is standard on all DCC decks,
makes track access effortless but, not as fast as a CD. Another attractive
feature of DCC is the text mode.
Based on modern American standard and their conception of morality, the order of which Dante assigns sin along with their corresponding values is out of arrangement. The sins that place those into the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Circles of Hell would greatly differ from a version of the last three circles if they were made by a modern American. These sins would differ in both order and grouping. I have come to this conclusion after comparing the sins detailed in Dante’s Inferno to modern American journals, legislation and text. The sequence these of sins in an American remake of the Circles would be Fraud, Treachery then Violence opposed to Dante’s Violence, Fraud then Treachery.
This notion of the suitability of God’s punishments figures significantly in the structure of Dante’s Hell. To readers, as well as Dante himself (the character), the torments Dante and Virgil behold seem surprisingly harsh, possibly harsher than is fair, Dante exclaims this with surprise. He doesn’t actually wonder who decided on these tortures. He knows it was god. What he is questioning is how these punishments are just, since they don’t appear to be just from a human’s point of view which views each punishment together with its conjugate sin only superficially. For example, homosexuals must endure an eternity of walking on hot sand, and those who charge interest on loans sit beneath a rain of fire. At first glance, each one seems too terrible for any sin. However, when the poem is viewed as a whole, it becomes clear that the guiding principle of these punishments is one of balance. Sinners suffer punishment to the degree befitting the gravity of their sin, in a manner matching that sin’s nature. The structures of the poem and of hell serve to reinforce this correspondence.
In the first bolgia of circle eight Dante describes one of the most provocative punishments, which is being beaten with lashes. The souls who reside here deceived women for their own advantage. Because of this they are stuck in a place where they have no advantage. Either way they turn they meet the same terrible fate. More provocative than lashes in The Inferno is being exposed to burning rain in the third round of the seventh circle of hell. In the third zone the usuers must sit under the fire rain with purses around their necks. These purses contain the family emblems that they stole while they were living. Burning constantly would be a terrible, painful punishment. In bolgia five of the eight circle yet another provocative punishment, being plunged into boiling pitch and tormented by black devils, is seen by Dante and Virgil. The demons take chunks out of their skin, much like the grafters too chunks of money from other people while they were alive. This punishment is appropriate when considering the sin, but the thought of enduring something so painful is what is what makes it provocative. After reading this poem it is obvious that it had an intended audience. Dante was trying to set people straight and put them on the right path. The fear of hell is a good way to do that because fear is what motivates people above all else. Dante was provocative at times, but it was only in order to reach his intended
The inferno takes the reader through Dante’s haunting journey in hell. On this journey Dante is guided by Virgil through nine circles that make up hell. Hell is shaped like a tunnel, and the further down it descends the worse the punishment is in each circle. Sinners are placed in the circles according to their sins. The more offensive the nature of the sin, the worse the punishment is, and the further down the tunnel is where the circle is placed. Dante illustrates his concerns and frustrations with the morality of his fellow countrymen and Christians by creating a specific circle and punishment for each type of sinner. He also shows his own personal belief that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. Allusions
In many low income communities, there are teachers that are careless and provide their students with poor quality education. These teachers are there just to make sure that they keep receiving their monthly paychecks and act in this way because they believe that low income students do not have the drive, the passion, or the potential to be able to make something of themselves and one day be in a better place than they are now. Anyon reveals that in working class schools student’s “Work is often evaluated not according to whether it is right or wrong but according to whether the children followed the right steps.” (3). This is important because it demonstrates that low income students are being taught in a very basic way. These children are being negatively affected by this because if they are always being taught in this way then they will never be challenged academically, which can play a huge role in their futures. This argument can also be seen in other articles. In the New York Times
Dante Alighieri's The Inferno is a poem written in first person that tells a story of Dante’s journey through the nine circles of Hell after he strays from the rightful path. Each circle of Hell contains sinners who have committed different sins during their lifetime and are punished based on the severity of their sins. When taking into the beliefs and moral teachings of the Catholic Church into consideration, these punishments seem especially unfair and extreme.
Inferno, the first part of Divina Commedia, or the Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri, is the story of a man's journey through Hell and the observance of punishments incurred as a result of the committance of sin. In all cases the severity of the punishment, and the punishment itself, has a direct correlation to the sin committed. The punishments are fitting in that they are symbolic of the actual sin; in other words, "They got what they wanted." (Literature of the Western World, p.1409) According to Dante, Hell has two divisions: Upper Hell, devoted to those who perpetrated sins of incontinence, and Lower Hell, devoted to those who perpetrated sins of malice. The divisions of Hell are likewise split into levels corresponding to sin. Each of the levels and the divisions within levels 7,8, and 9 have an analogous historical or mythological figure used to illustrate and exemplify the sin.
The Bible contains two parts, which are the Old Testament, the so-called the Jewish Bible, and the New Testament. Though many different writers involved in writing the Bible, the two Testaments are not independent; they are cross-referenced to each other. Christians often treat the Old Testament not only as the historical documents or literatures of the Israelites, but also as an important element of the foundation of the New Testament, because the writers of the New Testament lay strong emphasis on the relationship of Jesus with the prophecies of the Old Testament, which includes "the birth of Jesus, the place of His birth, the flight into Egypt, the return to Nazareth, the role of John the Baptist in preparing Jesus for His public ministry," the crucifixion of Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus.
The purpose of Dante including the reactions of the sinners upon meeting Dante has an important role. Dante wants the reader to know that committing a less severe crime results in better treatment in Hell, and therefore a want to be remembered in the real world. Dante is not saying that one should commit a less harsh sin. He is just saying that if one were to do so, the punishment is far better off than the lower depths of Hell. This puts in the mind of the reader a sense to examine his or her own life and urges him or her to not commit sin.
Sinners are placed in Hell according to the severity of their sins, lower for those who commit more grave sins. Dante’s placement of sinners can sometime be unjust and biased because of his personal beliefs and the beliefs of the Catholic church at the time. Dante unfairly places those who did not even have the option of being Christian in Hell and his little knowledge of mental illnesses combined with his old-fashioned Catholic beliefs prompts him to put those who committed suicide in Hell. Dante’s nationalistic and political bias also leads him put people he feels wronged him personally in the lowest circle of Hell. Dante speaks heavily about Divine Justice and God’s punishment but his choice of sinners seems too biased and ignorant to be the product of Divine
In High Fidelity, Rob, the protagonist and narrator, says “I find myself worrying away at that stuff about pop music again, whether I like it because I’m unhappy, or whether I’m unhappy because I like it” (168). It is obvious to the reader that Rob has a very strong relationship to pop music but also that this relationship is not as simple as the either-or dichotomy he describes it as. At first, it is an obsession that is almost pathological; by the end, it is an aid to his relationships and his idea of who he is. Rob’s relationship to music helps us understand Rob as a character through the different ways he uses it to interact in his environment – either as a crutch inhibiting his growth or as a way to aid his self-development.
In Dante’s Inferno, those who never repented for their sins are sent there after death. Like the old Latin proverb says, “The knowledge of sin is the beginning of salvation.” (“Latin Proverb Quotes” ThinkExist) The punishments in his Hell are decided by the law of retribution, which according to Webster’s Dictionary is the total effect of a person's actions and conduct during the successive phases of the person's existence, regarded as determining the person's destiny. (“Retribution” Merriam-Webster) Therefore, Dante creates a variety of reprimands for the three different types of sins: incontinence, violence, and fraudulence. These penalties can also be referred to as allegories because of their hidden moral meaning. The three best allegories in Dante’s Inferno describe the flatterers, fortune tellers, and suicides.
In my personal opinion I think that the first circle of Hell should be people who committed petty sins that would barely classify them as a “sinner”. This circle would contain a various amount of different people that told little lies and similar sins but still lived fairly good lives for the most part. In this circle it would include greedy people and wasters that did not affect anyone’s lives in a positive or negative way. The next layer I think should be slightly more severe fraud such as telling lies for gain. The third circle of hell I would say would be all types of betrayal. I would put those sinners here unless they committed murder along with betrayal, then they would be lower in hell. After betrayal in the fourth circle of Hell should be the lustful. In this circle there would be different degrees of lustfulness. These different levels would depend on the level, amount, and overall situation that caused one to commit lechery. For example a woman with an abusive husband who kissed another man would be really low in this circle. On the other hand a man married to a sweetheart who slept around with many woman would be punished worse. Next in the fifth circle of hell would be the violence sinners. Violence against self would not even be a sin in my Hell. The violence against god sinners would be punished worse than the violence against nature ones. The
Those who have power over us, in most circumstances, will use it to their own
Metaphysical wit and conceit are two of the most famous literary devices used in the seventeenth century by poets such as John Donne. Emerging out of the Petrarchan era, metaphysical poetry brought a whole new way of expression and imagery dealing with emotional, physical and spiritual issues of that time. In this essay I will critically analyse the poem, The Flea written by John Donne in which he makes light of his sexual intentions with his lover.