EXAM #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

EXAM #2 - Essay Example Richard Nixon was the President of the United States from 1969 to 1974 and Kissinger who serves as his security advisor together formed the Dà ©tente policy with the Soviet Union. This policy was made to ease the tensed situation internationally (whitehouse.gov,  History of the National Security Council, 1947–1997). In terms of Realism, The Dà ©tente policy was an extension of the containment policy which was made by Kennan, the only difference being the reality of the situation. That is the Containment theory which was formed during post World War II whereas the Dà ©tente was formed during the Vietnam War. The political realism of twentieth century was born to counteract the idealistic approach that was dominating the international relationship after the World War I (plato.stanford.edu, Political Realism in International Relations). Nixon and Kissinger’s national security process resembled Kennan’s and was also consistent with the past thought of Kissinger’s (Worley). It was between 1945 and 1960 when George F. Kennan made and implemented the containment doctrine which helped the United States to dominate over Soviet Union in the cold war. Keenan observed that all America needed was a global tactic that had the capacity to unite the American and the opinion against Soviet Union. Many people favored Nixon and Kissinger’s policy more because it dealt with crisis management on a much better scale and had set their target to meet the bigger picture. But Gaddis also believed that both Nixon and Kissinger took the containment theory and altered them to be used during the times of Vietnam War. The approaches of Nixon and Kissinger were based on the realist tradition which is why they designed their foreign policy on this theory. People do question the Cambodian bombing but Kissinger and Nixon are both appreciated for their dedication and hard work that restored the orders to the

At the Edge and Coffee Nerves Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

At the Edge and Coffee Nerves - Essay Example I can appreciate the experimental nature of the music, but I couldn’t help but think to myself†¦ â€Å"What was the composer thinking when he/she wrote this?!?† I thought maybe the composer was on drugs. It was just not a compelling piece at all—even though I understood the fact that the composer was trying to do something new and different, almost like for the shock value of it. The harmony of At the Edge was minimally fair at best. I wouldn’t almost even go so far as to say that At the Edge was even minimally fair, but rather, very poor. The harmony was bad because there was no harmony. The dueling instruments—the piano or organ (whichever it was), the flute, and the tuba—they just did not harmonize at all. I don’t think that was the point to harmonize anyway, because the way the piece was composed, I believe it was composed to frighten the audience. Man, was I scared. I thought the Phantom of the Opera was going to come out of the shadows with a cloak and dagger. Let’s just say, needless to say, that the harmony really left a lot to be desired. The melody was horrible. The tuba and the flute were dueling for the spot of worst instrumental music ever. The flute, I believe, was playing a melody counter to the tuba’s harmony. Don’t ask me why the composer did this, because I have absolutely no idea. Not even halfway through the performance, I put earplugs in intermittently because my ears literally hurt so bad because the sound was that irascible. I took them out occasionally to hear the progression, but there was not much progression in terms of getting better with this piece. It was ominous at the beginning and it only got worse. Frankly I found this type of experimental piece horribly jarring, very scary, and entirely way off-base in terms of being a pleasant experience. It was exactly what you would go to a concert not to hear. I simply could not listen to the piece in its entirety b ecause it was that bad. The timbre was tinny. The piece started out most ominously at the beginning, and I had expected that it might get lighter in tone as the music went on, but no such luck. Here, the piece At the Edge has been critiqued according to its rhythm, harmony, melody, and timbre. Unfortunately, much as I regret to say it, I did not enjoy this performance at all, although I can appreciate what the composer was trying to achieve musically. â€Å"Coffee Nerves† Critique (500 words) Coffee Nerves will be critiqued according to its: rhythm; harmony; melody; and timbre. It was a wonderful piece that exemplified everything that’s right with a good piece of music that’s composed in a pleasant manner. The rhythm of Coffee Nerves was very upbeat and intriguing. It started off right from the get-go with a defined rhythm and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. The harmony in Coffee Nerves was very pleasant. My only critique of the entire piece i s that it seemed quite repetitive in its composition. This repetition of sorts happened a variety of times—although thankfully there were a few little interludes here and there, not to mention a couple of â€Å"surprise elements† to the music, thus making it not entirely predictable as a piece. The harmony was very lovely, in fact, even if a bit repetitious at points, but it was one that bore repeating due to its very beautiful sounds. The piano was played very fast, and the main flautist had to play (I believe) even faster in order to get the notes out on time. The melody nicely of the