erias's New Writeups

How to steal a street sign (idea)

2003-01-30T02:25:26Z

It would seem logical that any person thinking of stealing a traffic sign would consider the following first. But then again, having left my teens a few years behind, I already find myself wondering what the logic for stealing a traffic sign was in the first place.

From CNN.com:
TAMPA, Florida (CNN) -- Three defendants were sentenced to 15 years each in state prison Friday for uprooting a stop sign at an intersection where three teen-agers were killed in a crash a few hours later.

Nissa Baillie, 21, Thomas Miller, 20, and Christopher Cole, 20, each faced 27 to 46 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter in the incident. It is believed to be the first U.S. case in which the removal of a traffic sign has led to a manslaughter conviction.

Cole, Baillie and Miller were each sentenced to 30 years in state prison, with a suspended sentence after 15 years, and five years of probation Friday on four counts of manslaughter. Under Florida law, convicts…

The Hatfield and McCoy family feud (idea)

2002-10-22T00:28:03Z

A Durkheimian Analysis of the Hatfields and McCoys

During the final decades of the nineteenth century, tremendous social changes swept through the United States. With technological innovation came new power structures and personal relationships. Norms of behavior were suddenly outmoded. The old social order confronted the as yet unformed new, and conflict often arose. Isolated Appalachia was no exception. The Kentucky-West Virginia border witnessed a series of events that riveted national attention. Tensions between Randall McCoy of Kentucky and Anderson Hatfield of West Virginia erupted into violence and murder in the 1880s.

Incorrectly characterized as a family feud, the clashes were the result of uncertainty in the social structures. Interpretations from outside observers failed to understand this. National urban interest was piqued, however, and stereotypes that last through today promulgated. Appalachians were painted as uncivilized,…

Half Lord of the Fishes (thing)

2002-01-26T20:37:30Z

No, it's not a rejected Tolkien Title, it's a yoga posture.
Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose) is desgined to strengthen the spine and stimulate the digestive track. It is also used to treat menstrual pain, backaches, and to exercies the neck, liver and kidneys. Others use it as a treatment for asthma and even infertility.

Forming the Pose:

Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you.
Bend both knees sliding your feet up until they are flat on the floor.
Slide your left leg under your right so that your left ankle rests at the outside of your right hip.
Step your right leg over the left so it now rests next to your left hip.
While exhaling deeply, twist to your right so that your right hand rests on the floor behind your right buttocks. Assist the twist by placing your left elbow around your right knee and thigh. Use this to gently pull your thigh and torso

…

School for Scandal (thing)

2002-01-26T05:54:18Z

Written in 1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan's School for Scandal is considered one of the best comedies of the English Restoration Theatre. Indeed, some critics consider one of the finest comedies ever written. Despite being written less than two generations after Shakespeare's peak work, Sheridan's comedies are considerably more approachable in both langauge and content.

The English Restoration in theatre is remembered primarily for the creation of highbrow comedies. Indeed, this period finally saw comedy elevated to the same respect given to tragedy. Despite this, most of the work from this period is sentimental and trite. School for Scandal along with another of Sheridan's comedies, The Rivals and the works of William Wytcherly and William Congreve may be the only exceptions to this rule, and probably the only truly enjoyable works of the period.

Scandal, a comedy of manners, takes aim at London's new high-society and its preoccupation…

Alice's Restaurant (thing)

2002-01-04T06:28:24Z

YOUTHS ORDERED TO CLEAN UP RUBBISH MESS

LEE -- Because they couldn't find a dump open in Great Barrington, two youths threw a load of refuse down a Stockbridge hillside on Thanksgiving Day.

Saturday, Richard J. Robbins, 19, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and Arlo Guthrie, 18, of Howard Beach, N. Y., each paid a fine of $25 in Lee District Court after pleading guilty of illegally disposing of rubbish. Special Justice James E. Hannon ordered the youths to remove all the rubbish. They did so Saturday afternoon, following a heavy rain.

Police Chief William J. Obanhein of Stockbridge said later the youths found dragging the junk up the hillside much harder than throwing it down. He said he hoped their case would be an example to others who are careless about disposal of rubbish.

The junk included a divan, plus nearly enough bottles, garbage, papers and boxes to fill their Volkswagen bus.

"The stuff would take up at least half of a goodsized pickup truck,"…

Arlo Guthrie (person)

2002-01-04T05:58:01Z

Everything Arlo Guthrie

Expectations were high for this teenage musician growing up in Greenwich Village, New York during the 1960s. After all, Arlo Guthrie was the son of American folk legend Woody Guthrie and had grown up surrounded by other folk heroes such as Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, Fred Hellerman and Lee Hays (The Weavers), Leadbelly, Cisco Houston, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee. But the young singer/songwriter would soon exceed all expectations, becoming the leader of Ameirca's next generation of folk musicians and an outspoken social and political activist.

It was 1967's classic anti-war ballad, Alice's Restaurant and the 1969 movie of the same name that launched Arlo's career. Like his father, Arlo was able to expertly craft a catchy tune, a great story and progressive politics into a memorable ballad. However, Guthrie never experienced true commercial success.…