Jim Henson
Jim Henson once said, “Follow your enthusiasm. It’s something I’ve always believed in. Find those parts of your life you enjoy the most. Do what you enjoy doing” (qtd. in Fionaurora). Jim did just that. He loved puppetry and made many others love it too. The creator and a performer of the Muppets, Henson is known worldwide for his creations, which include shows like Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, and characters such as Grover, Elmo, Big Bird, the Swedish Chef, Bert and Ernie, and Miss Piggy to name a few. Jim’s most famous character was Kermit the Frog. Kermit remains the Muppet with which Henson is most closely associated. Through television and feature films, Henson developed the art of puppetry to new heights of popularity and storytelling capabilities, especially the ability to create sympathetic and emotional characters that are humorous at the same time. Jim Henson’s countless movies and television shows were loved by audiences young and old, and they continue to have an impact on people nearly ten years after his sudden death.
James Maury Henson was born September 24, 1936, at King’s Daughters Hospital in Greenville, Mississippi. Jim was the second son of Paul Ransom and Elizabeth Marcella Henson. He grew up in nearby Leland, where his father, an agricultural research biologist, worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His father was busy working and his mother was more concerned with Jim’s brother Paul. As a result of this he was somewhat neglected. Jim turned to his grandmother, who he called Dear. She helped him develop his love of art and performing (“Biography”). He also enjoyed exploring the countryside near his house. He spent much of his time with friends by a little stream called Deer Creek. “Kermit always said he came from a small swamp in Mississi(WRITTEN BY ERIC G.*)ppi. Actually it wasn’t a swamp, it was a creek—Deer Creek” (St. Pierre 15). One of his childhood friends, nicknamed “Kermit,” would later become the name of Henson's most celebrated creation. When he was in fifth grade, his family moved to Maryland.
At the age of fourteen, Jim’s life was changed forever after the Henson’s got their first television. He was fascinated. He once said, “I loved the idea that what you saw was taking place somewhere else at the same time" (qtd. in Collins). Jim loved puppet shows like Kukula...
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...for his work that taught and entertained at the same tim(ERIC G.)e. His shows Sesame Street and The Muppet Show are two of the most watched shows ever. Jim Henson has touched three generations with his artistry and will continue to for many years to come.
Bibliography:
Andres, Natalie. “A Man of Great Imagination.” Jim Henson. 1997. Online. Internet. 3 Jan. 2000. Available http://www.avana.net/~bandres/Nat/jim_henson.html
“Biography of Jim Henson.” Henson.com. 2000. Online. Internet. 3 Jan. 2000. Available http://www.henson.com/creators/biography/index.html
Collins, James. “Time 100: Artists & Entertainers: Jim Henson.” Time.com. 1999. Online. Internet. 2 Jan. 2000. Available http://pathfinder.com/time/time100/artists/profile/henson.html
Fionaurora. “Jim Henson Biography.” Fionaurora’s Jim Henson Page. 1998. Online. Internet. 29 Dec. 1999. Available http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/3108/henson.html
Mc Farlin, Jim. “Jim Henson.” Detroit News. 17 May 1990, 1A.
Roush, Matt. “Like Deaths in the Family.” USA Today. 17 May 1990: 1A.
St. Pierre, Stephanie. Jim Henson, Creator of the Muppets. NY: Dell Publishing, 1991.
The great trumpeter Miles Davis once said that the history of jazz can be summarized in four words: “Louis Armstrong. Charlie Parker.” There is no doubt that the former is held in the highest regard with respect to jazz and its origins in the 20th century. Parker was a much different figure, yet he is still known to be one of the greatest jazz improvisers and innovators of our time. Charlie Parker was a jazz alto saxophonist who, through his work in bebop and his immense talent as a musician, inspired many performers and composers throughout the years.
Maltin, Lenard. Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, Revised and Updated Edition. 3rd ed. Plume, 1987. Print.
The cool jazz style arose after WW2. This new style of jazz was created by the great Miles Davis he is credit for this because of his Birth of Cool recording but in fact Lester Young is the face of cool Jazz. In spite of the fact that there were many other artists who made the cool jazz sound, a standout amongst the most compelling was Lester Young. This was a young saxophone player who had a more casual style than huge numbers compared to his peers, with an attention on smooth playing and an inclination to fall simply behind the beat as opposed to pushing it ahead. He was additionally more centered around investigating and creating tune, while bebop artists were more inspired by investigating and surprising rhythms. Another big standout amongst the most well-known figures in the early cool jazz development was trumpeter Miles Davis. Davis set the cool jazz kind via looking for a lighter, expressive, and more casual sound. He did a progression of recordings in 1949 and 1950 to explore different avenues regarding this sound, and these recordings, later
In addition to his playing and nurturing of excellent talent, Miles Davis was quite remarkable in his rare ability to continually evolve. Most jazz musicians generally performed their style early on and spend the rest of their careers refining their sound. In contrast Miles Davis every five years or so would forge ahead, and do to his restless nature he not only played bop but helped found cool jazz, hard bop, modal music, his own unusual brand of the avant-garde and fusion. Jazz history would be much different if Davis had not existed. If Miles Davis had retired in 1960, he would still be famous in jazz history, but he had many accomplishments still to come. In 1991 Miles Davis passed away, he was 65. Jazz lost a man that was more than a god.
It is impossible to think about the influence of jazz without thinking of Miles Davis. He was a game changer and innovator who altered the direction of jazz and transformed the musical landscape more than once. Miles Davis changed the course of jazz in result of his experience with oppression and prejudice. He represented a model for future musicians, and granted listeners a glance into the world of an oppressed American through his music.
Miles Davis started his career at the age of fifteen and continued this work for the next fifty years. He is considered to be not only an important figure in the history of jazz, but also a pioneer as many of new jazz genres came into existence thanks to him. Being a solo
Walt Disney is the greatest entrepreneur of all time in most minds of little people and big people everywhere. The reason for this is he started his ‘business’, selling sketches, at the age of around seven years old. He was a vibrant child, as well considering he painted the side of his barn with tar. To him schoolwork was boring which he actually said once he was a lot older. Walt Disney was a family man, considering he had so many children; his children even had lots of children. Walt Disney was a man with a lot of talent, character, and imagination, who deeply loved fairy tales.
He paved a new path for entertainment with animation. "His "uniquely American" vision as a creator and an entrepreneur lives on, through his animated and live-action films, music and also in his Disneyland and Walt Disney World theme parks" (Wasko, Philips, Meehan). Disney 's work used fantasy and imagination to speak of the nation 's most promising dreams and its deepest concerns. He shaped America with his films, that had ideas about multiculturalism, racial diversity, sexuality, political preference, or religious background. "While his accomplishments are remarkable and varied, what made Walt Disney an icon was his ability not only to reflect but to create a truly American culture and influence Americans ' views of their nation" (Disney 's Vision for
Walt Disney said "I can never stand still. I must explore and experiment. I am never satisfied with my work. I resent the limitations of my own imagination" (JD). In creating Disney stories and movies, Walt Disney demonstrated that he was a true visionary. His acclaimed imagination wasn’t always apparent, though. It has been said that Walt was fired from a job at the Kansas City Star newspaper because of a lack of creativity (Brown). Years later, Disney purchased ABC, which owned the Kansas City Star. How ironic that he was fired from a company because he wasn’t creative enough and then ended up owning it because of his creativity. Walt Disney is one of the most significant individuals of our time. His distinguished business acumen and abounding creativity enthused children for generations.
"Peter Jackson's King Kong; Great Ape." EGM [i] 2006: 116,116-117. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 4 Nov. 2011 .
“Davis worked on developing the improvisational style that defined his trumpet playing” (biography.com). Davis made music in several jazz eras and had a major influence on jazz eras such as bebop, hard bop and even fusion. Davis was not always an amazing player. For example, when he was playing in Charlie Parker’s band, Davis had many technical difficulties. Davis had issues such as playing too tentatively, finding the right pace, and performing powerful solos at the beginning, but that all changed after experience and time performing on stage. After playing with Parker’s band, Davis gained experience and confidence in his own music and performance which lead to him organizing a nine piece band with instruments such as the French horn, trombone and tuba, which became a major addition to modern jazz. This band then released the album “Birth of the Cool” (Biography.com). This was major because not only did Davis form a band with unique types of instrumentation, he even released a successful album with this band which influenced other artists that other instrumentation can be used in jazz music at the time. During this time period, Davis also went to Europe to perform at the Paris Jazz festival in 1949. By performing in other countries, Davis was able to spread his personal style of jazz and the style of jazz that he learned in New York to other parts of the world during his performance in Europe. With this performance
Everyone is deceived and believes Portia is truly a man therefore showing that she has the capabilities to exert the traits of a man. Portia is described as the “wise young judge” (IV, I, 228) and an “excellent young man” (IV, I, 252) by Shylock showing that he believes in the gender identity of Balthazar. Bassanio, Portia’s husband, is also fooled as he states that Antonio’s life is more valuable to him than Portia. Her credibility in turn gives her power over the men in the scene. She is able to use the balances of justice along with her knowledge in order to save Antonio. The turn in this scene is when she repeats, “A pound of flesh” (IV, I, 315) and states the specific words used in the document as no blood can be dropped from Antonio or else Shylock will be punished and strikes fear into Shylock. This shows that it is possible for a woman to obtain the masculine qualities of being powerful and intellectual. If Portia were to have not dressed as a man, but merely a woman, due to the social constructs of the time she would not have had any power in this situation. Portia tells Bassanio “I pray you, know me when we meet again” (IV, I, 432) which shows her feelings towards Bassanio not knowing her true identity, even through her disguise. Her actions were that of her individual, but due to her altering her appearance of gender it changed the way others viewed her
Walt Disney’s has had and still is having a large effect on television and writing today. He has made very memorable films. Many people will remember this 20th century folk hero and legend for many years to come.
I would love to write a critical essay about the role of Portia in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, hailing her as one of Shakespeare's greatest contributions to the society of the sane; however, I find this impossible after studying the text. At first, I hung on her every word and was amazed at her wit, but later I found her to be just another Shakespearean psycho. Basically, I understood Portia to be nothing less than an obedient daughter obeying the whims of her dead, over-protective father. She speaks in terms of respect about the coffinritual, and the reader believes her to be sincere. Later as her character
Also, books usually have more characters and give continued suspense so that the reader will be hooked or addicted to finish the book to find out the story. On the other hand, movie producers need to eliminate so many details about the story in order to squeeze everything into one to two hours. Due to this, those people who love detail information about stories usually prefer books than movies as movies does not have a detailed information about the story. Furthermore, reading books can not only enhance the reader’s vocabulary and creativity, but also increase their reading and writing skills, while watching movies only provides entertainment (Lee, wordpress.com).