The Origins of Industrial Music

The Origins of Industrial Music: With the arrival of Nikolaus Otto's internal combustion engine (ICE) in 1862, factory work became increasingly automated (more so than in the days when steam engines reigned supreme). Factory workers, especially in Otto's home country of Germany (which did not officially unify until 1871), began to incorporate the rhythmic sounds and vibrations of ICEs into their daily routines. The types of sounds that workers often heard included the engine's compression hiss and metal on metal clanging. In other words, the ICE was perhaps the earliest source of industrial music. Although James Watt's steam engine had existed in mills and factories for about 100 years at that point, it proved very inefficient when compared to Otto's ICE. And considering the mass production of automobiles (with ICEs) after the turn of the twentieth century, the industrial sound became both personal and widespread. However, it was not until the 1970s microcomputer revolution that bands like Kraftwerk and Tubeway Army could electronically re-create industrial sounds with their synthesizers.

QUESTIONS!!!

QUESTIONS!!!: Do I exist? How do I know I exist? Why do I exist? What does it mean to exist? For what larger purpose(s) do I exist? When will I not exist? Does existence precede essence? Why is existence temporary? How does existence relate to Faith? Will the length of my existence heighten or lessen my Faith? Is Faith without works dead? Will Faith alone (sola fide) bring my soul to eternal life? What is the soul? Does every body possess a soul? Do animals have souls? What happens to the soul upon death? What if I doubt the existence of death? How does doubt affect my Faith? Is doubt the origin of wisdom? Does doubt beget sin? Does doubt lead to despair? How does despair prevent me from 'dying the good death?' Will despair lead to revelation? Is revelation the origin of wisdom? Does revelation beget conversion? Is conversion the final determinant of salvation in the Faith-building process? What have I become? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Am I dead? Does God exist? No, He is eternal.

Jonathan Swift and Anglo-Irish Satire

Jonathan Swift and Anglo-Irish Satire: As a literary genre, satire is perhaps one of the most effective tools for social commentators to use while critiquing society. In Jonathan Swift's eighteenth-century writings, a unique blend of irony and sarcasm is certainly present. By ridiculing some of the more pervasive problems in Anglo-Irish culture, such as poverty and prostitution, Swift seeks to shame his readers (fellow countrymen) into improving Britain's lot. For example, in his 1729 A Modest Proposal, Swift famously argued that Ireland's poor ought to sell their children as food to the wealthier classes in British society. In doing so, the poor would eradicate their biggest economic burden while simultaneously feeding others. Swift even outlines a variety of ways to prepare children for cooking, so as to obtain maximum flavor potential. This kind of political satire not only mocked British policies toward Ireland's poor, but also specifically derided the methodologies of noted seventeenth-century English economist William Petty. In fact, some of Petty's early ideas contributed to the development of modern economic concepts like the "division of labor" and the "labor theory of value." Yet Swift merely understood Petty to be a bureaucratic pawn in Oliver Cromwell's government: someone who fudged socioeconomic data to support public initiatives.

Resocializing the Imprisoned

Resocializing the Imprisoned: Resocialization is the unique psycho-social process by which prisoners get re-integrated into regular society. The process occurs during incarceration whereby psychologists and sociologists have a set period of time to study the changes which define an inmate's personal outlook. Parole boards, in particular, take into consideration the degree of change in prisoners' attitudes as they prepare to re-enter regular society. But critics of resocialization see it as an oppressive process that undercuts a prisoners' true individuality. Forcing change upon someone is neither natural nor organic. Fundamental change, especially in someone's personal disposition, must be an internal process, and resocialization seems to constitute an externally coercive regime. The idea of eroding an inmate's individuality through mandatory haircuts and uniform clothing only appears to create a perverted system of dependency in prison settings. Yet I suppose that's the price one pays for being convicted of a crime. I wonder how French critical theorist Michel Foucault might react to resocialization. Similarly, how much does resocialization really help former criminals transition into regular society? That is the primary question which parole boards and other prison officials ought to be asking themselves.

Nietzsche's 'Ode to Eternity'

Nietzsche's 'Ode to Eternity': At two distinct points in Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883), Nietzsche offered an ode to express his love of eternity. It went as follows: "O man, take care! What does the deep midnight declare? I was asleep - From a deep dream I woke and swear: The world is deep, Deeper than day had been aware. Deep is its woe; Joy - deeper yet than agony: Woe implores: Go! But all joy wants eternity- Wants deep, wants deep eternity." For Nietzsche, eternity was the only 'woman' he ever loved. And through Zarathustra's futile attempts to find the Overman (Der Übermensch), Nietzsche conveyed his philosophical doctrine of eternal recurrence. Rooted in the idea that science had already determined time to be cyclical, eternal recurrence was a wholly Romantic doctrine. It longed for simpler times when both lies and truths were obvious to the common man. And likewise, when relativism served no legitimate purpose in the development of national cultures. But as German-American existentialist philosopher Walter Kaufmann discovered, Nietzsche's 'Ode to Eternity' was eerily similar to Friedrich Schiller's "Ode to Joy" (Ode an die Freude), which placed man's earthly sufferings and God's eternal rewards at the center of its poetic thrust.