Broadband Internet, Basic Understanding

In modern life, people actually will try to find any improvement that they get in any aspect of their life. For instance is in the aspect of getting information and conduct any activities online by using internet. People who live in modern era actually have recognized the function of internet in their daily life right? The fact is that nowadays, more and more people have their own internet connection in their house so that they can maximize their online activities in shopping online at ativ store. Whether for downloading files or conduct working.

Yet, sometimes people don’t understand yet about the type of internet connection that they have. It means that there are indeed some improvements that people can conduct in order to get better internet connection and speed. Commonly, people will use dial-up internet connection to go online. In this case, people sometimes may encounter problems when they need to conduct multitasking by using such kind of internet connection. It will be different when people use broadband internet as their service.

So, what is broadband internet actually? If people ask such question, they can understand it by acknowledging the benefits of such service. What they need to know is that such service has better internet connection than dial-up one. It is because it can cover multitasking task of online activity where people can both download and opening any sites at the same time.

Ancient Roman Wall Painting

The visual arts in ancient Rome included a long history of wall painting and much of what we know about it comes from the excavated ruins of Pompeii and the smaller nearby town Herculaneum.  Roman painting in general did not survive however the eruption of Mount Vesuvius near Naples in 79 AD buried the towns in volcanic ash, which served to preserve these works of art.

Rather than having windows, Roman homes were built around a central courtyard, therefore wall painting was both decorative and served the purpose of visually expanding the interiors.  They were expensive to commission and primarily found in the homes of the wealthy.

 
 

Dionysiac Frieze,Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, Second Style, 60-50 BC

While there was quite a variety in subject matter, Roman wall painting is generally broken down into four main types.Eve D’Ambra in her book Roman Art describes each of the types as follows*:

-The First Style, also known as the Masonry Style, represented walls dressed with faux paneling of marble and other stones (200-80 BC).

-The Second Style opened up the wall with architectural vistas (80-20 BC).

-The Third emphasized the decorative architectural frameworks and created the illusion of pictures hanging on the wall (20 BC-40 AD).

-The Fourth incorporated many elements of the Third Style (40-79 AD) to represent textile patterns of wall hangings or views of vaguely defined architectural forms that seem to hang in space, together with mythological panels and floating figures.

In this blog post we will look at some examples of each of these styles.

Roman Wall Painting- First Style (200-80 BC)

Herculaneum: First Style, painted wall decoration, 2nd Century BC

The above is a classic example of First Style wall painting with large rectangular areas painted to look like colored marble or stone.  In these there was no further decoration or narrative and as said above this was also referred to as the Masonry Style.  This style dominated Roman wall painting for over a century before it was replaced by the entirely different Second Style.


Roman Wall Painting- Second Style (80-20 BC)

Below right

Cubiculum from the Villa of Fannius Synistor

Boscoreale, Second Style, 40-50 BC

Above left:

Walled Garden, House of Livia at Prima Porta,

Palatine Hill, Rome, Second Style, late 1st century BC

This style began around 80 BC and here we start to see a trompe l'oeil affect.  Wall paintings are now being used to "create" windows with imaginary views into towns and gardens, or to create columns and other architectural elements. 

Let's look at our two examples above, the one on the left was from the House of the Empress Livia, wife of the Emperor Augustus.  Shown is one section of a wall, this effect continued throughout the room, thus the wall painting is used to give the illusion of an open space.  The other example, found at the Villa of Boscoreale near Pompeii, creates a cityscape outside of an imaginary window.  

Both versions use the entire wall space and include painted marble "columns" to enhance the visual effect that these are real spaces.

A completely different type of Second Style wall painting can be found in the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii, so named for its interesting painting of individuals performing an unknown series of rituals in the triclinium (formal dining room).

Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii. Dionysiac Frieze, north wall, left side: 

Draped Woman, Woman and nude Boy, Girl with an offering plate, 

and Figures around a table, Second Style, 60-50 BC

The meaning behind the paintings in this Villa have intrigued historians since they were excavated in the late 18th century.  Above is one section of the rituals, but the scene wraps entirely around the room and the life size figures are set against a vivid red background in an illusion of another interior space.  It is thought that the figures here are performing rituals associated into the initiation into the cult of the god Dionysus (Bacchus).  This type of figurative frieze was not as common as the typical Second Style wall painting had full size invented architectural elements.

Roman Wall Painting- Third Style (20 BC-40 AD)

Boscotrecase: Villa of Agrippa Postumus: Room 16: north wall 

Third Style, 11-7 BC

The Third Style of Roman wall painting was more comparable to modern day wallpaper, having a decorative effect.  It can also be seen as a type of painting gallery, alluding to the owner's taste in the arts such as in the above example found in Boscotrecase (also outside of Pompeii).  Though actual framed paintings from the ancient world have not survived they have been written about and it is assumed wealthy patrons had them in their homes.  In our example below, from the Villa of Marcus Lucretius a rather detailed landscape is shown.

Triclinium of the Villa of Marcus Lucretius,Third Style, Pompeii

This was a popular version of the Third Style, using some of these small framed "paintings" and placing them in regular intervals against a wall painted in a solid color, or in large areas of solid color with created architectural elements such as columns or cornices.

Roman Wall Painting- Fourth Style (40-79 AD)

The Fourth Style combines elements of the Second and Third Styles and expands upon both.

Pompeii: House of the Vettii: wall painting, Red occus early Fourth Style: 

det.: Apollo victorious over Python, 62-68 AD

As D'Ambra wrote, the Fourth Style "represents textile patterns of wall hangings or views of vaguely defined architectural forms that seem to hang in space, together with mythological panels and floating figures."*

Here we see a very wide variety in styles and designs, there are painted windows, columns and cornices of the Second Style, used in combination with the decorative elements and "painted pictures" of the Third.

Domus Aurea: Room of the Landscapes
Domus Aurea (Golden House of Nero), Rome, Fourth Style, 64-69 AD

As so many of these wall paintings were found in the Bay of Naples area due to their preservation in volcanic ash, the four styles of Roman wall painting end at 79 AD with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

For more information on this topic visit this link from the Met:

Metropolitan Museum of Art Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Thematic essay

*D’Ambra, Eve. Roman Art. (New York: Cambridge University Press,1998) p. 140.

We Can Easily Locate an Oil Spill Attorney with the Help from Internet

>Oil spill matter is not a simple matter which can be done in a minute. It is concerning about many important things in our life. Can you imagine that the fish that you eat at lunch is actually the victim of oil spill? Or can you imagine about what will happen for years later in the spot where oil spill happened?

It is true that we could not revert the time back. But we can do what we can in order to do oil spill recovery. But of course, we need money for that and oil spill attorneys are needed. We could not get bp gulf coast claims just like that right? We need to have oil spill lawsuit so the bad guy learn a lesson and our nature will always beautiful.

The oil spill lawyers are important to make the one who responsible for this matter by fulfilling the oil spill claim. At least with bp oil spill lawsuit, we teach the person who are responsible about the nature. There is nothing to worry about not being able to find a good oil spill attorney nowadays. We can use the internet anytime and anywhere to locate one to taking care the bp oil spill lawsuit for many people sake.

Electric Linear Actuator Application for Simple Automation

Technology is created and intended to solve most human problem; there are inventions that came up as the solution after the inventor have to deal with such problem. Automation technology also intended to provide solution for simpler control for doing various applications. The use of electric linear actuators for solving automation problem is very popular because of the simplicity in installation and application. The electric device is designed to make controlled linear movement; the energy of the linear movement is generated from electric motor which its circular motion is transferred to linear motion by traveling nut. This mechanism is also capable to deliver strong power from small electric motor. Another advantage from this device is its simple control, for single or several integrated actuators.

The application of electric linear actuators is very popular, this device is used for furniture application, industrial machinery and other engineering application. This device is small, easy to install and also easy to control. The installation of this device will only need simple screwing on its mounting holes. The power and control wiring is also simple. The small electric actuator will only need 12 volts DC electricity as the power source; this device also can be installed together for creating integrated or simultaneous movement. The simple installation and control system provide great advantage for anyone who wanted to involve electric actuators for furniture or engineering application.

How Can Trance Beats Help To Shape Music?

Even in the most solo of efforts, music is always a collaborative effort. The musician takes his personal collective influences and transforms these into sound, or music. Trance music, specifically was introduced as a genre of music in Frankfurt, Germany in 1993 and is primarily computer generated, although it is often manipulated by human beings. Trance is very popular in the "club scene" because much of the trance beats are designed to be very upbeat and motivating. When played in clubs, the preference is often to play the music on vinyl which gives the DJ the opportunity to manipulate the songs through bending and scratching the record and offering variance to the sound.

The "instrument" used in trance is the computer, which gives the music a very modern feel. Vocals may or may not be present, but when they are, it's usually a female voice with an operatic or ethereal quality that simply vocalizes rather than sings. However, ironically, it shares a lot in common with classical music, particularly the characteristic of repeating variations of short musical phrases throughout a piece. Most trance music, however, is much faster than typical classical music keeping a beat near 150 beats per minute. Many listeners are both captivated and uplifted by trance music.

While many people love trance music and love it on its own, it's not something everyone likes to listen to by itself. However, there are elements of trance beats that occur often within other kinds of music. One only has to listen to a few minutes of trance music to recognize that very similar beats have become the backdrop to many different pop and dance tracks as well as on film scores and music for television shows. Musicians and producers know the positive energy trance music brings to many people, and how it gives them an opportunity to feel and experience the music. Many musicians really embrace incorporating elements of trance sounds into their own.

Human beings have always had a fascination with music and their own ability to play and participate in music. Today, most of the music we listen to is played from digital files, and as a treat we may go to a club, a concert, or try playing an instrument ourselves. But of course, not everyone is musically gifted. With trance music, or other genres of music that features a trance beat there is an emphasis on making the listener a participant in the music, even if they have little talent.

Music and instruments are made from whatever we have available around us, and the things that are important to our lives. Our ears pique when we hear a cello in a rock band, or an electric guitar appearing in an orchestra. We crave "one-off" sounds that let us know music is still marching forward. With technology being such a driving force today, there is little doubt that elements of trance music will continue to infuse music of all genres for years to come.

The Other Sistine Chapel Frescoes

Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Ceiling frescoes are among the most famous paintings in the world.  However the entire Sistine Chapel is covered in fresco paintings, the walls were painted nearly thirty years earlier by some of the most famous artists of the late 15th century.  

Pope Sixtus IV commissioned the frescoes for the walls in 1481 and asked that the Chapel be completed within a year (named the "Sistine" Chapel in his honor).  He chose to hire several successful fresco painters from Tuscany and Umbria.  The Florentines included: Domenico Ghirlandaio, Sandro Botticelli and Cosimo Rosselli (assisted by Piero di Cosimo).  From Perugia came Pietro Perugino (who was assisted by Pinturicchio) and Luca Signorelli who worked in both regions.

 The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Matthew, Domenico Ghirlandaio,

Sistine Chapel, 1481-82

The Calling of the Apostles moves away from the stylization of his Last Supper and towards the later style he would become known for.  Look at the two halves of the painting, the figures on the right side are painted in a rather stylized way, mostly in profile while the figures in the center and on the left side are more naturalistic.  This fresco is filled with details and uses atmospheric perspective so that the objects in the background are painted in blues and grays.  The painting is also rich in color, no expense was spared in the use of pigments.

Christ Handing the Keys to St. Peter, Pietro Perugino (with Pinturicchio)
Sistine Chapel, 1481-82

Pietro Perugino was a key figure in the Italian Renaissance and a painter who emphasized beauty and harmony in his work.  Pinturicchio was his student and his assistant and worked closely with him.  The style of Pinturicchio (and also of the early Raphael) was very similar to their master Perugino who brought a new sense of gracefulness to the High Renaissance.  Here he shows Christ handing the keys of the church to St. Peter, which was an appropriate theme for the chapel attached to St. Peter's Basilica.

This is both a very famous work of art and also was a very influential work of art for later painters.  Unlike some other paintings and frescoes done at this time which were in private villas or small chapels, St. Peter's and the Sistine Chapel received thousands of visitors from all over Europe and beyond.  Perugino's graceful handling of human figures, use of one-point perspective and inclusion of harmonious 15th century Italianate architecture within a Biblical story would influence a wide variety of future artists.

Temptation of Christ, Sandro Botticelli
Sistine Chapel, 1481-82 

The Pope requested ten frescoes from the Old Testament (painted on the south wall) and New Testament (painted on the north wall) as well as many papal portraits near the clerestory windows.  Botticelli painted three of the large frescoes and around seven portraits.  Some of the frescoes on the altar wall were removed in the early 1530's to make way for Michelangelo's famous Last Judgement fresco which now covers the entire wall.

 

The Testament and Death of Moses, Luca Signorelli
Sistine Chapel, 1481-82

Luca Signorelli is perhaps most famous for his fresco of the Antichrist in the Cathedral of Orvieto, but that wasn't painted until 1499.  This is a much earlier work from this artist who was active in Tuscany, Umbria and Rome.  This fresco uses continuous narrative to show several scenes from the life of Moses including: Moses teaching the law to the Israelites, being shown the Promised Land from Mount Nebo and the descent of Moses from the mountain.

This was not the first time that several of these painters had met each other, both Ghirlandaio and Perugino were students in the workshop of Florentine Andrea Verrocchio along with Leonardo da Vinci.  Ghirlandaio as mentioned earlier would go on to train Michelangelo and Perugio would become the teacher of Raphael.  Botticelli may also have studied with Verrocchio (both painters studied under Fra Fillipo Lippi).  These artists would collaborate with one another in the future as well: Perugino, Ghirlandaio and Botticelli all worked on another fresco cycle together in a villa of Lorenzo di Medici in the mid-1480's.

The Italian "High Renaissance" is often said to have lasted from 1480-1520 and certainly these frescoes were painted in a style that had an enormous influence.  I have often thought that this interesting fresco cycle truly marked the start of the Italian High Renaissance.

The State of American Politics

It's hard to think of a more corrupting occupation than American politics. While it's by no means an illegal activity, as opposed to, say, operating a meth lab or running guns to Mexico, it nevertheless seems to systematically corrupt otherwise good men and women of stature and accomplishment.

Our system has, in the past 235 years, produced political leaders who have provided able national leadership during times of war, of economic strife, of civil unrest, and of growth and regeneration.

But something's not right in today's body politic. Its ability to produce leaders of quality has been severely diminished. Ironically, the world-class quality of our made-in-America products and services has risen steadily and inexorably over the last quarter century; ironically, too, the quality of our elected leaders had deteriorated steadily and inexorably over the same period. Or so it seems to me. We have philanderers and exhibitionists, bribe seekers and bribe takers, money launderers and sexual predators. We have a political class who has to beg for money virtually every day to keep their jobs. We have behavior from high elected officials that is routinely unethical, often immoral, and sometimes outright illegal. And then they have the nerve to complain about the political scruples of the Iraqi and Afghan pols.

We've always had our share of rascals in political life. I get that. And I realize our real-time, right-now, 24/7 news cycle exposes more of the underside of American life than ever before, to include political shenanigans. But heretofore we've always been able to produce political leaders to meet the challenges of the times. Someone has traditionally always stepped forward and led. Washington, Lincoln, TR, FDR, Truman, JFK, Reagan.

So where are they now? I can't find any already in national office, and I'm looking hard, believe me. Oh, maybe there's a leader in the military or private enterprise or state government who could provide quality leadership at the national level, but how long before they would be corrupted by special interests or re-election demands or the hyper partisanship or simply the arrogance that comes with raw power? And why would anyone in their right mind want to enter such a profession nowadays, what with the all-intrusive scrutiny and the pettiness and the begging and butt-kissing that go with it?

Bit of a conundrum, huh? Many good and talented Americans just stay away. And who can blame them? Those who do seek office seem to have to sell their souls to gain the office, only to be corrupted once there, swallowed by a relentless boa-like system. Not always, but seemingly often enough. And that is, if they weren't corrupt to begin with. Those moths have always been attracted by the bright lights.

Politics and Think Tanks, Can't We Separate the Two - No, and Yes I've Tried

After I retired, I became the coordinator for a think tank. Over the years we've tried to keep it nonpolitical. But we are finding more and more that just isn't possible. There are far too many events and important matters in our nation which are thrown into the political arena, thus, we are dragged through the mud just like everyone else. Okay so, I'd like to talk about this for second if I might.

The Hudson Group had an interesting discussion recently, the title of the talk and seminar was "Are Think Tanks Becoming Too Political?" The talk occurred on February 16, 2011 in Washington DC, here is the overview of what was discussed at the event;

"Over the past half-century, think tanks have come to play a central role in policy development - and even in the surrounding political combat. The balance between these two functions; policy development & political combat is steadily shifting. Think tanks continue to serve as homes for some academic-style scholarship regarding public policy, but many have also come to play more active (if informal) roles in politics. Every indication; political, financial, and professional points toward the further politicization of think tanks."

Meanwhile there was an interesting piece in National Affairs by a Hudson Institute fellow titled; "Devaluing the Think Tank," by Tevi Troy in winter of 2012, which sums up much of their argument, but I have some more of my own to discuss with you here today.

Okay so, "Are Think Tanks Becoming Too Political?" No, they already are, they are not becoming any more political than they have too, and the political over-reach into all aspects of the human endeavor, society, and thought is what's causing this you see, okay so, let me make a few more points. Politicians often call upon think tanks to help them make decisions, do reports, and ask them questions or help the political leadership with research on a particular topic. Then politicians defer the assessment and decision to groups of intellectuals, often in case they need a scapegoat, or to shield them from public ridicule from opponents.

Depending on who ordered the research or report, or asked a think tank to do the study, will depend on the sort of answer they're looking for, and most likely the politician will choose a think tank which has political leanings towards their viewpoints, and their voters and constituency. Is that really the Think Tank's fault? I would say it isn't, and if we step back and look at it, I believe you'll see that I'm right on this.

Indeed, I would submit to you that think tanks are no more political than they've ever been, but during election cycles they are brought into the crossfire. If a think tank supports a one candidate's position, or an incumbent's position, then they are taken to task by the other political party, and political adversaries. There's not much you can do about that, and then there is the media that likes to create a firestorm and incite sound and fury for bigger and bolder headlines.

In fact by the time it's all over everyone is riled up, and everything has been blown out of proportion. This is not the think tanks doing, rather it is the politic itself, it's how Americans settle their political differences. You can't get away from the politics, I've tried, you can't run fast enough, as that blob of bureaucracy, and the politicians driving those horses are coming after you one way or another. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.