Nat King Cole

David Chen MUEL 2752 Dr. Daniel Jones Pre-Rock Era Project: Nat King Cole There is no scrutinizing Nat King Cole’s place as one of the most persuasive and significant American well known artists ever. In spite of the fact that he was at first known as an imaginative and talented jazz piano player, his singing permitted him to turn out to be profoundly effective in the domain of well known music, all the more explicitly in the huge band and jazz types. Nathaniel Adams Coles was conceived in Montgomery, Alabama on March 17, 1919 (Ruhlmann standard. 3). His family moved to Chicago in 1921, where he started to play the piano at age four and took old style exercises at age 12 (Ruhlmann standard. ). At the point when he was 15, Cole dropped out of secondary school so as to seek after a profession as a jazz musician (Ruhlmann standard. 4). In 1937, Cole framed the King Cole Trio and started doing live exhibitions and periodic accounts for little marks just as some radio work. In the wake of discharging fruitful singles, for example, â€Å"That Ain’t Right† and â€Å"All for You,† the King Cole Trio was marked by Capitol Records in 1942 (Teachout standard. 15). Cole started to use his voice progressively, and pundits started to see the King Cole Trio’s expanding propensity to underscore well known music as ahead of schedule as 1945 (Teachout standard. 0). In 1951, Cole formally disbanded the King Cole Trio and proceeded with his effective profession as to a greater extent a standup artist than as a musician (Teachout standard. 25). Cole keeps on selling extraordinary amounts of music today. Be that as it may, regardless of his prominence, Cole has regularly been the subject of analysis. Many condemn Nat King Cole for trading off his masterful honesty as a jazz performer so as to make business progress. Some even consider his expanding notoriety and moving melodic style to be â€Å"betrayal† (Ruhlmann standard. 1). One article from NPR music contends that Cole’s â€Å"singing obviously sold out his jazz sensibilities,† while another even ventures to consider Cole a â€Å"failed jazzman† (NPR standard. 5, Teachout standard. 5). In opposition to these pundits, Nat King Cole’s change from unadulterated jazz into well known music just added to his enormity as a performer and as a conspicuous open figure. Cole despite everything must be viewed as one of the most significant and persuasive jazz performers in American music history, and his change from unadulterated jazz to the business domain of music in actuality permitted him to break significant racial oundaries in the realm of mainstream society. Regardless of allegations that his progress into famous music debilitated his honesty as an artist and a craftsman, Nat King Cole left a permanent imprint upon both jazz and well known music during his lifetime. Gunther Schuller, creator of The Swing Era, comments that Cole wa s â€Å"not just one of the most extraordinary jazz piano players of his day yet elaborately one of the most advanced† (Teachout standard. 4). Numerous significant jazz musicians were affected by the piano playing of Cole, including Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, and Hank Jones (Teachout standard. 4). Plainly while Cole is frequently referred to just as a well known vocalist, jazz artists value his colossal aptitude and masterfulness as a jazz piano player. Nat King Cole’s impact upon jazz didn't stop at his playing and improvisational aptitudes. When welcome to play at a Hollywood club called the Swannee Inn, Cole chose not to utilize a drummer (Teachout standard. 14). Incidentally, Cole had used the â€Å"jazz trio†, an arrangement that comprised distinctly of a piano, guitar and bass. While Cole was not the first to utilize this arrangement, jazz specialists frequently contend that he was the first to completely get a handle on the melodic prospects of this extraordinary instrumentation. As indicated by Terry Teachout of American Scholar, most piano players in bunches without drummers would in general exaggerate so as to occupy the melodic space and give extra beat; Cole, be that as it may, streamlined his playing and made another kind of jazz sound (Teachout standard. 15, HOWZE standard. 6). The King Cole Trio’s arrangement was imitated by various artists, including Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal, Charles Brown, and Ray Charles, and, some affirm, helped lead the path in little band jazz (Ruhlmann standard. ). Cole investigated a completely new area in jazz, outperforming the impact of other well known performers of his time. As opposed to remaining inside the limits of jazz as the world knew it, Cole really made new styles and novel methods of utilizing old instruments, in this way promoting the improvement of jazz as a fine art. Nat King Cole’s transformation from unadulterated jazz into well known music, while detested by a few, really expand ed his centrality in mainstream society and music. Cole’s status as a well known vocalist in reality permitted him to contact crowds and to break limits he would never have broken as an unadulterated jazz performer. Beginning during the 1930s, Cole’s piano style and jazz instrumentation characterized the jazz-piano trio; be that as it may, it was not until he started to sing that he turned into a â€Å"consummate and world-well known entertainer† (HOWZE standard. 1). Connaitre Miller, an expressive arts educator at Howard University, noticed that Cole was the primary jazz artist advanced on TV (Foster standard. 6). It was fundamentally Cole’s notoriety as a vocalist, and not as a jazz performer, that permitted him to be highlighted on TV. On the off chance that Cole had stayed inside the limits of instrumental jazz, he may have quieted jazz pundits who blame him for double-crossing jazz, yet he likewise would not have had the option to spread his jazz-affected singing to such a wide crowd as the one managed him by his TV appearances. Nat King Cole’s prominence as a jazz vocalist even permitted him to challenge racial limits of his time. The King Cole Trio was, as per Terry Teachout, about as famous as a dark unit could be inside the bounds of jazz and the entertainment biz, and â€Å"[broke] through the solid roof that kept most dark melodic acts from arriving at the most noteworthy pinnacles of celebrity† (Teachout standard. 14). On November 5, 1956, The Nat King Cole Show appeared on NBC and turned into the first of its sort facilitated by an African-American (Noble). On one prominent event, Nat Cole was not permitted to remain at specific inns or visit certain gambling clubs in Las Vegas. In the long run, Cole looked for legitimate activity against those lodgings and clubs, utilizing his superstar status to challenge Las Vegas’s prejudiced framework (HOWZE standard. 6). While Cole’s status as an unadulterated jazz performer may have been endangered by his progress into famous music, this very change permitted him to successfully assault critical racial issues, an endeavor he was unable to have longed for as a jazz artist with an a lot littler after. Nat King Cole might be the ideal case of a craftsman turned mainstream performer. As a jazz artist, Cole was practically unrivaled. Nat King Cole was absolutely considered by jazz fans, performers, and pundits to be a main jazz piano player, and regularly played in regarded jazz settings, for example, the principal Jazz at the Philharmonic shows (Murph standard. 8). Besides, Cole everything except spearheaded the â€Å"jazz trio,† an arrangement that was profoundly imitated and compelling in the advancement of jazz, demonstrating that he was not just an exceptionally talented and regarded jazz performer, yet in addition a creative and unique one. Afterward, as a mainstream artist, he increased a colossal financial and business accomplishment just as an enormous crowd. Despite the fact that he lost the regard of certain jazz idealists, he increased substantially more impact upon mainstream society, and utilizing this impact, Cole advocated and solidified jazz’s effect on well known music while in any event, tending to racial limits of his time. These achievements would have been considerably more troublesome, or even inconceivable, to accomplish if Cole had stayed an unadulterated jazz performer. In this sense, examining the vocation of Nat King Cole may yield significant bits of knowledge relating to the limit among traditional and mainstream music. As a simply traditional performer, an artist, for example, Nat King Cole might be significantly more regarded inside devotees of that specific melodic sort; in any case, since the beginning, melodic figures who have gone too far between old style, imaginative music and mainstream music are substantially more essential than the individuals who don't. By entering mainstream society, performers are substantially more liable to be able to influence huge issues of the time. For instance, Bono of U2 or Angelina Jolie have a moderately incredible range of prominence with regards to political causes. On the off chance that nor were as engrained in mainstream society as they seem to be, it is protected to state that they would not bring as much consideration regarding the issues they care about. By picking up notoriety, unmistakable figures likewise gain impact inside mainstream society and perhaps on the course of history. Albeit some of the time censured by jazz idealists, Nat King Cole’s business accomplishment in truth permitted him to influence American mainstream society in uncommon manners and made sure about his status as one of the most significant artists of his time. Works Cited Foster, Shivonne. â€Å"Cole’s Memory, Legacy is Unforgettable. † The Hilltop (2007). Walk 2010 < http://www. thehilltoponline. com> Howze, Margaret â€Å"Jazz Profiles from NPR: Nat ‘King’ Cole: the Pianist. † NPR 2010. 9 March 2010 http://www. npr. organization/programs/jazzprofiles Murph, John. â€Å"Nat King Cole: Getting their Kicks. † J azz TimesMay 2009. 9 March 2010 http://jazztimes. com Noble, Amy. â€Å"The Story of Nat King Cole. † March 1998. 9 March 2010 http://individuals. pcug. organization. au Ruhlmann, William. â€Å"Nat King Cole. † All Music Guide 9 March 2010 http://www. pandora. com Teachout, Terry. â€Å"Nat King Cole. † American Scholar 61. 3 (1992): 437-443. 6 March 2010 http://web. ebscohost. com/

Review of the Book Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner

Survey of the Book Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner Chris Gardner’s biography is amazing. Regardless of having never attended a university, and after a time of being destitute, he turned into an uncontrollably fruitful stockbroker and composed his journal, Pursuit of Happyness. It’s not amazing that Hollywood transformed his story into a blockbuster film featuring Will Smith. Quest for Happynessâ tracks this cheerful, clothes to newfound wealth story, beginning in youth and including Gardners grown-up movement through a couple of various vocations. About the Book Chris Gardner went from a ruined adolescence to turn into a well off stockbroker and business visionary and figured out how to shuffle single parenthood before it was socially acknowledged. His journal, Pursuit of Happyness, invests a great deal of energy relating that troublesome youth and his progress to the military and to time spent working in medication. The story gets a move on 66% of the route through when Gardner is living in San Francisco resolved to bring up his child and prevail as a stockbroker, in spite of having never set off for college. Gardner’s message can appear to be conflicting. From one perspective, he was moved by his own upset adolescence to pledge that he would be a decent dad to his youngsters. Then again, a gaudy red Ferrari got his attention one day, provoking him to receive the objective of turning into a stockbroker so as to gain enough cash to purchase his own Ferrari. The two objectives aren’t inconsistent, obviously, yet Gardner doesn’t notice any strain he may have felt between his magnanimous love for his child and his increasingly shallow appearing to be monetary objectives. Any self-reflection present in Gardner’s story is by all accounts for the most part the self-impression of an inspirational orator, which Gardner has become. There is a lot of conversation of striving to beat the scarcity of other African-Americans on Wall Street, also Gardner’s absence of an advanced education. The Pursuit of Happyness makes for a pleasant story, and a rousing one, however leaves the peruser searching for something else. What Makes the Book Worth Reading (or Not) Chris Gardners story is one of a kind in a bigger number of ways than one. A youngster who grew up to a great extent in child care, he found the diligence, quality of character, and ability inside himself to turn out to be remarkably effective. A dark man experiencing childhood in neediness, he constructed a notoriety that transformed him into a significant inspirational orator for individuals everything being equal. Maybe most altogether, Gardner is a dad (not a mother) who did whatever it took to guarantee that his child would experience childhood in a protected, cherishing home. In the event that you are battling against the chances, you may well discover consolation and inspiration in Gardners experience. On the off chance that you dont find inspirational life stories rousing, you may likewise need to peruse the book as foundation before review the film adaptation featuring Will Smith. The film incorporates just a segment of the full story, and skips or changes a portion of the subtleties. Both book and film, notwithstanding, have comparable upsides and downsides. Similarly as with numerous clothes to newfound wealth stories, the accentuation is on the coarseness and assurance of the individual and not on the foundational issues that put the person in a seeminglyâ impossible circumstance. Quite a bit of Gardners accomplishment is connected, not to relationship-building or self-revelation, yet to the capacity to discover a specialty where he could fit in and bring in the cash he longed for. For some individuals, Gardners story will be rousing; for others its liable to be disappointing.

The List List #57

The List List #57 This weeks List List is sponsored by  Biographile. Love true stories about fascinating people? So do the folks at  Biographile, a website dedicated to helping readers discover a rich mix of real lives through author interviews, news updates, reviews, essays, contests, and more. One of their latest QAs is an  exclusive interview  with the hilarious comedian and actor Jim Gaffigan, whose  explosively funny memoir  recounting the joys and horrors of raising five kids (in a two-bedroom apartment) is just out from Crown. _________________________ at The Hairpin, 10 Things That Happened While  Reading THE WOMAN IN WHITE at Terrible Minds, 25 Things You Should Know About Outlining at  Flavorwire, 10 Disappointing Film Adaptations of Classic  American Novels at The Guardian, Top 10  Books About Burma at USA Todays Pop Candy, 25  Favorite  Books from the Last 25 Years at PWxyz, 10 Biggest Book Adaptation Flops at  Flavorwire, 15  Books You Should Definitely Not Read in Your 20s at The AV Club,  13 Surprising Celebrity Novels

Characteristic of Kingship in Ancient Sumerians - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 899 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/10/10 Did you like this example? Introduction The entire story of Gilgamesh can be described as the one that embodies a lot of characters that makes Gilgamesh to be seen as a bad ruler. Basically, it is the tyrannical tendencies which makes his folk to seek intervention from their gods for a relief, and they send Enkidu in a bid of acting as the Gilgamesh’s foil. Bot of their friendship and also the adventures are some of the significant aspect that lead to the transformation of the Gilmaresh. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Characteristic of Kingship in Ancient Sumerians" essay for you Create order In this essay, we will discuss the features of the kingship among the ancient Sumerian society. Discussion The ancient Sumerian society, kings were highly placed people and they represented the will of gods. In Uruk which was the city located among the river Tigris and Euphrates, Gilgamesh was their fifth king and he is portrayed as possessing divine privileges and also responsibility as the king. The king was a revered person and often seen as a god and because they possessed divine privileges, they could sleep with their bride before the husband was permitted to do so. They also had slept with the virgins as they were accorded this right as the kings, and also due to their higher status as the god and also the old-birthright granted to them. Thirdly, kings were able to enforce the harsh work mandate uncensored. Kings also were granted human responsibilities as the ruler of the people. It was their duty to build and maintain the city. In most of the political meeting, the King’s Counsel was highly valued by the council of elders and the king was not subjected to the senate. For instance, there is an illustration when Gilgamesh talks about ‘the wise of the Uruk’. Conclusion We can conclude and say that the roles of a king was a divine one, it exhibited the significance placed to the religions and gods by the Sumerian people. Despite the fact that Gilgamesh was trusted to be a custodian of the will of the people, there was much exploits of the citizens by the king. The code of law for Hammurabi As far as the social structure Babylonians is concerned, they were governed by code of laws. These were a group of Semites who majorly communicated in Hammurabi dialect. The code of law was authored by Marduk their god. Under this code, men were granted powers over their families. In severe instances, men were given rights to sell their wives and also the children to such activities such as slavery in order to pay off their debt. Secondly, they had power to disinherit their son if they wished to do so. But for them to carry out these extreme cases, the laws provided that they have to prove their cases in a court of law so that they can be granted a go-ahead. The law never protected women and children enough. For instance, a son could have his hands cut off if he ever struck his father. When a child did a wrong once under the code, she or he was not punished but in the instance that the child made a second error, the code provided that the father was able to punish her or him as he wi shed. It can be drawn that the father was the center of the Babylonians life as the code gave them extensive powers over their families as far as the social structure was concerned. Features of pre-historic phase According to the pre-history notes, the term pre-history basically refers to ‘the time before civilization or the history itself’ which is in other word the period before the emergence of cities, before writing at around 3000 BCE just before the growth and development of ancient cities such as Mesopotamia. Let us examine some of the characteristic that were predominant in this time. Scientist such as Mary Leakey can be credited with working to provide the missing link concerning the evolution of human being from a certain period to another. One of the feature in this period was the domestication of specific animals and development of agriculture. This were what led to the growth of cities in the later stages as people were concentrated on similar locations. The author states that this was the ‘the transition from the Paleolithic to the Neolithicthat did not happen all at onceand that transition was traditionally dated as 3000 BCE.’ Secondly, in the Paleolithic duration, the discovery made by scientist in the caves of Gobekli in Turkey have shown the early man was very religious. In this site, they were able to discover religious shrines where the ancient man used to worship their gods. This has indicated ‘would push back the dating of how early mankind was engaged in any kind of formal, ritualistic religious observations.’ Also these co mmunity used to get their food majorly from being hunters and gatherers and lived in caves and trees. In this stage, man was just but an advanced ape that was bi-pedal and upright. The presence of an opposable thumbs was key for them being able to grasp and also manipulate things in a better way. Thirdly, his brain size has greatly increased making them to start coming up with new innovations so as to make their life better such as the discovery of fire. It can be concluded that man has come from a long way to the modern day human being.

Solutions for Persuasive Essay Topics Writing

Solutions for Persuasive Essay Topics Writing What You Should Do to Find Out About Persuasive Essay Topics Writing Before You're Left Behind Kids should have the ability to vote. Parents of bullies should need to pay a fine. Children should have the ability to use cellphones in school. They should be required to read more. How to Get Started with Persuasive Essay Topics Writing? The voting age has to be lowered. Some feel parents ought to be allowed to provide permission for their minor children to acquire tattoos, since they are making the decision for their own children. In order to get children, both parents ought to be certified. Prospective parents ought to be asked to take parenting classes. Persuasive Essay Topics Writing and Persuasive Essay Topics Writing - The Perfect Combination Persuasive essay writing isn't easy guaranteed. SATs ought to be eliminated. Persuasive essays share a whole lot of resemblance with argumentative essays. When prior brainstorming is finished, you can begin drafting your essay. What You Need to Know About Persuasive Essay Topics Writing Educated people ought to be asked to volunteer as literacy tutors. Cell phone use and texting allow it to be tough to concentrate. Students need to be careful about posting on social networking. 1 thing students ought to be aware of is the best way to distinguish legit services from scams. The Number One Question You Must Ask for Persuasive Essay Topics Writing Lastly, you have to know how to start writing your hypothesis. A conclusion is the previous region of the essay. For this reason, you've got to locate enough substantial evidence for the specific topic. Often it is crucial to go beyond your own wisdom and experience. The significant distinction is that the argumentative essay should demonstrate a discussion instead of a single opinion. Taking into account that lots of persuasive essays concern controversial topics, before writing, you can want to sit down and think of what your opinion on the topic actually is. They are a great way to encourage the reader to look at a certain topic in a different light. Literary criticism essay is solely based on your thinking but you maynot express it in your words, rather you must conduct research work to supply strong evidences and proofs to back up your thesis statement. Using Persuasive Essay Topics Writing There are legitimate writing companies which offer essays for sale at good prices and supply quality content. You are able to even check out several reviews and after that choose the business that most suits your requirements and very affordable budget. Our reviews contain details such as the score of the clients, our rating, starting prices, Disco unts, and caliber of the papers. Most likely, you truly feel as if you look after the difficulty I mean to pay today, also I've convinced one to understand the principles of developing a persuasive composition as it's essential for the faculty and faculty livelihood. These points are a couple different reasons to think about taking the time to locate a legitimate writing service to get essays from. Many students come online to discover persuasive essay topics for higher english simply to pick precise topics and get started writing about them. The review is going to teach you whatever you will need to understand and then you're able to place your purchase confidently. On the opposite side, obtaining a list of good persuasive essay topics is insufficient. It's extremely important to read carefully essay services reviews, because you wish to steer clear of low high quality services. The Death of Persuasive Essay Topics Writing If you're thinking that you will need a person to compose my essay at the moment, you can just rely on our honest reviews. By reading a few papers, you can secure plenty of new and intriguing ideas. The majority of the folks have a tendency to run away from politics and thus the politics essays too, therefore it is quite important to grab the interest of the readers till the conclusion of the essay and that would be much difficult I know. You've got to compose several academic papers over the duration of a year. Odds are, by the moment you finish your formal schooling, you'll be asked to finish a persuasive essay assignment. Then you have to refine that sentence as much as you are able to. Writing a persuasive essay wants a great deal more than the capability of convincing the readers. Always bear in mind an ideal persuasive essay needs to be persuasive. You may also compare two books or movies based on the way you wish to compose your criticism essays. R-Rated films ought to be made available for younger viewers. Finding the subject of your interest will allow you to work harder on your project and show your style in the easiest way possible.

The Life of a Slave in the 1800’s Free Essays

The Life of a Slave in the 1800’s Life as a slave was very difficult. As many as 4. 5 million slaves were working in Southern plantations in the early to mid-1800’s. We will write a custom essay sample on The Life of a Slave in the 1800’s or any similar topic only for you Order Now There were two types of slaves; field slaves and house slaves. People think that being a house slave was easier but this proves that theory wrong. Slaves had terrible environments, were separated from family and friends, and were sometimes beaten to death. Whites knew that slavery was wrong and immoral. Though, it still continued. Being a field slave was not at all easy. A field slave worked from sunrise to sunset, but during harvest, they worked an eighteen-hour day. A field worker was out in the field when the first sign of light shone until it was too dark to see. Women field workers worked the same hours as men. Pregnant women were expected to work until the child was born, and after the child’s birth the woman worked in the field with the child on her back. Field workers lived in tiny huts with dirt for a floor. These small huts gave absolutely no protection against the cold winter winds. Slaves slept on rough blankets inside the hut. After a day on a cotton plantation the slaves got in a line to have their cotton weighed and receive their daily food. The minimum amount of cotton to be picked in one day was 200 pounds. At about the age of twelve a child’s work became almost the same as an adult’s. The field slaves were watched all day long by a white person with a whip. If they did not work up to the expectations, they were beaten and sometimes killed. A benefit of a field slave, however, was that slaves got Sundays off and maybe parts of Saturday unless it was during harvest. Most house slaves were living under better conditions than field workers. However, house slaves did not get Sunday off and usually attended church with their owners. House slaves cleaned, cooked, served meals, and took care of the children. Some house slaves lived in attics, closets, or corners in the big house even if their families lived in the quarters. A cook’s day was long and hard. A cook got up early in the morning to cook breakfast, and the day ended with cleaning up after dinner and gathering firewood for the next day. These slaves sometimes stole food from the owner. A house slave had a better opportunity to learn how to read and write. They often listened in on their owner’s conversations so they were able to warn field slaves of the owner auctioning certain slaves and other important things. House slaves did many other things like waited on tables, washed, roned, took up and put down carpets, swept floors, dusted furniture, hoed and weeded gardens, and collected the chicken eggs. They also took care of the infants allowing the owner to do whatever they wanted. Although house slaves had more privileges, being a house slave was not much, if any easier than being a field worker. At the time, slaves were separated from their families and auctioned off to white families so that they could work as servants whether it was in the fields picking cotton and tobacco or working inside doing all of the house chores and practically raising the children. Slaves were most likely to have been in a family where they were beaten horrendously if they did not meet the expectations that the white folks had for them. Back then, society looked at slaves like they weren’t fully human and shouldn’t be treated as one. Like anyone else would say, it is very safe to say that having a life of a slave in the 1800’s was not easy. WORKS CITED: http://library. thinkquest. org/CR0215086/dailylife. htm How to cite The Life of a Slave in the 1800’s, Essays

The Bear Slayer and The Georgia-Russia Conflict an Example of the Topic Government and Law Essays by

Observations on The Bear Slayer and The Georgia-Russia Conflict The articles The Bear Slayer, by David Quammen, and The Georgia-Russia Conflict: Lost Territory, Found Nation, by Donald Rayfield, present themselves as good subjects in the study of East Europe with goals of further understanding the socio-political foundations that constitute one of the more important aspects of their cultures. The topics herein primarily involve three nations: Georgia, Russia, and Romania; and a glimpse of a period of their oftentimes tumultuous histories. Need essay sample on "Observations on The Bear Slayer and The Georgia-Russia Conflict" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Observations on these articles, based on its importance on the entire East European sphere such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Poland, Ukraine, Czech Republic, and other nations included in this geography are as follows: The first observation worth noting is in the article in The Atlantic, written by David Quammen, in the seventh paragraph, which goes: Nicolae Ceausescu ruled Romania for twenty-five years, with ever-increasing harshness and megalomania, eventually treating it as his personal kingdom. Like some other tyrants, he was an inherently uninteresting man whose life story ascended to drama only by way of woeful consequentiality and evildescribed him to a reporter as a man of native intelligence, phenomenal memory, and iron will, although other portraits are less flattering. (1) Revelations on a tyrant/dictator such as these, even if repeated throughout history, as personified in Hitler, Hussein, Mussolini, Marcos, Kim Jong-il, and other national leaders of the same mold, come as an astonishment. Their seeming uncontested grip on their national economic and military powers along with the evident, as least during the first years of their leadership, idol-worship of the masses are undoubtedly perplexing for the Western democracy standpoint. What is most mystifying of these leaders is that they had not exemplified characteristics expecting of a dictator. Mostly, these leaders had been average, if not failures, during their younger careers, and had only gotten power by their deft in manipulating the situation as well as the more influential people in their society, into their bidding. Although perhaps as a compliment, dictators throughout history had displayed characteristics of unparalleled charisma in their dealings with their respective nation. We had been witnesses to their public speeches, from the onset of the modern media, which were always greeted by wild/hysterical approval by the masses. The second observation worth noting is in the article by Donald Rayfield, particularly the tenth paragraph in the Open Democracy News Analysis, which states: In itself, Ossetia has little attraction for Russian acquisition: nobody builds villas there, and there are no tourist resorts or prospects of building facilities or visitors. More than 20,000 Georgians-who would not wish to be Russian citizens-also live there among a total population of 70,000if not to rejoin Georgia, then to live as if they were a part of it, and not a part of Russia. (1) A depressing reality surrounding every war, other than the numerous instances of human deaths, is the realization that some wars, such as the Georgia-Russia war of August 8-12, 2008, should not have happened at all (Rayfield 1). This failure of realization on the part of the leaders, or perhaps on mankind as well, had been the case with all the wars in history. The major reasons for the two World Wars have been petty ones, as history would reveal, and could have been avoided if greed and egotism were not to have prevailed among the leaders. Ancient issues regarding territories, racial supremacy and religious inclinations, often the main reasons for such wars, have also been the reasons for the occurrence of the Georgia-Russia War. Conclusion Since the term Eastern Europe was coined during the Soviet era, and since most of the countries belonging to the region were once a part of the U.S.S.R., the Western World sees them to this day as being backward, or developing. However, this is not what reality is, economically at least, as it is a fact that some of the countries in the region have attained economic superiority to be included in the worlds thirty richest nations. On the other end, since most of East European nations once belonged to the Soviets, and had adapted administrative systems similar to those of the USSR, the region had been beset by tyrant rulers and dictators. Even Russia itself, after making democratic reforms, possesses some traits similar to those practiced by the Soviets. It may be because for these reasons that the entirety of East Europe, without exception to any member-nation, may be susceptible of falling prey to totalitarianism, with the aid of the Russian government and other existing Soviet-style hardliner leaders. Works Cited Quammen, David. The Bear Slayer. The Atlantic.com August 2003. 28 July 2009 http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200307/quammen Rayfield, Donald. The Georgia-Russia conflict: lost territory, found nation. Open Democracy.net 18 August 2008. 28 July 2009 https://www.opendemocracy.net/article/the-georgia-russia-conflict-lost-territory-found-nation