Posts Tagged ‘writing’

A Movie Fan’s Guide To The Most Important War Films Throughout History

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

When it comes to movies, one of the most revered genres is War. War films have a certain prestige to them, and are expected to be great. It is not a coincidence that so many of the best award winning films of all time happen to be based around historical wars and battles.

But which films regarding the topic of war are the best of all time? The following are some of my favorites.

I have to include Braveheart on this list. Even though I cannot stand Mel Gibson any longer, I can’t let him get the best of me and ruin this film. It is just too good. An absolute masterpiece and a must see for anyone who likes epic films.

Released in 1970, Patton was one of the best biopics of all time, about the controversial United States General of the same name. This film also won best picture of the year, and is considered a classic by any US film history enthusiast.

Schindler’s list is probably number one on my list. I feel that above all his other great films, this movie is Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece. Liam Neeson and Ben Kingsley are incredible in this movie, and it is no wonder it is ranked as a top 10 film of all time on iMDB.

Another Steven Spielberg directed film, also about World War II that certainly makes my list, is Saving Private Ryan. The first sequence in this movie is one of the most historically important war scenes of all time. A must see for any history enthusiast.

Full Metal Jacket focuses on the Tet Offensive, as well as the mental effects that boot camp had on many soldiers during the Vietnam War. Stanley Kubrick at his finest.

As it stands, these are the movies that I deemed worthy of making the list. A follow up article will be released soon with some other great ones.

Refer to additional educational articles penned by this same writer about topics including diesel exhaust tips and truck exhaust systems.

The Ancient History Of Barry, South Wales: Part Two

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Barry Castle belonged to William de Barri in the 12th. Century, but was destroyed by Llewellyn Bren in 1316. Some say it was later rebuilt and used by the Cavaliers only to be destroyed again by the Roundheads, never to be reconstructed.

The Normans were hated by the locals and they had to build large mansions to protect themselves from the frequent attacks carried out on them from the people of the valleys and mountains. During the time of Henry III, there were 12 castles within six miles of Barry. In Glamorgan, there were 30 castles and in south Wales as a whole, 150.

Porthkerry and its church which lies on the wooded hill to the west of it are said to have taken their name from Ceri, who, in turn, is said to have founded a port there, ie ‘Port Ceri’. People say that Ceri ap Caid, the King of Essyllwg, lived in Porthkerry before the Christian era and that his bard, Corvinor, was the first to build a ship with sails and a rudder for the ‘race of Cymru’. Some believe that Ceri was a nephew or grandson of Caractacus (Caradog) and that he took over the leadership of the government in South Wales when Caractacus had to journey to Rome.

John Wesley preached in the Porthkerry Church and sometimes outside in the churchyard too between 1741 and 1743. Today, there are two very old churches still in use in Barry: St. Cadocs Church in Cadoxton and Merthyr Dyfan Church in Merthyr Dyfan. One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, Cadoxton was the largest village in the Barry area: thus, in 1844 the Parliamentary register contained 25 names: 20 from Cadoxton and five from Barry. The one church was dedicated to St. Cadoc, who had been accustomed to spend Lent on Flat Holm and Barry Island. The village (Cadoc’s Town)took its name from the church, which was founded in 800 AD.

Merthyr Dyfan Church, which is situated in the north of Barry, was founded in 600 AD and the name means Dyfan The Martyr. There were two saints of this name. The one travelled to Barry to convert the local people to Christianity and the other lived in the sixth century. He was the son of a Welsh chieftain. His sister was also martyred and the town of Merthyr Tydfil is named in her memory.

The Christian faith grew exponentially in the Vale of Glamorgan and in the middle of the 2nd. Century, Llewrwg, Prince of Siluria, became the first king, anywhere in the world of all time, to be baptized into the Christian faith. He sent to Rome for more Chritian teachers and was sent Dyfan and Fagan. The former was martyred near the site of the church and the latter was canonized. St. Fagan’s just outside Cardiff was named after him.

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The Significance Of The Court Reporter Role

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

TV shows and movies do not accurately depict court reporters do much more than type court proceeding transcript. Not just relegated to court, they also help make accurate transcripts of conversations, speeches, legal proceedings, and other times when it is important to record verbal exchanges on paper. Often these are used for a record and sometimes as legal proof. They are an extremely important piece in legal proceedings. They ensure complete and accurate documentation. Sometimes they assist the judges and the attorneys by not only organizing the records, also searching through them for the information they need. Well versed in courtroom procedure and in administration, they sometimes even have suggestions for the judge and the attorneys. It has been increasingly common that they help provide services, like translation or closed captioning, for those who are hearing impaired so that they can know what is going on in the courtroom. The court reporter role has expanded from the person making written accounts of court proceedings, to doing so many other things.

There are a few different ways court reporting happens. The most often seen is the stenographic method where stenographers record all statements given during proceedings. This is also the kind seen in TV and the movies.

Real time court reporting is another method. This is where the stenotype machines that can be utilized for captioning link to a computer. The keys typed by the stenotypist is automatically displayed in the process Communications Access Realtime Translation (CART) which is used wherever the hearing-impaired needs it. The impaired can be a witness, as jury member, or even in the audience.

With the couple different ways to keep a record, there are also different areas in which court reporters are utilized. They can be used for hearings where the public is invited. This makes it easier to document the opinion of those people who are affected by specific decisions and/or legislation.

They are used for public hearings so that it is possible to know what the opinion of those affected by certain decisions or legislation. The court stenographer takes statements from individuals and from public speakers, ultimately writing to create a hearing record.

Insurance companies sometimes want investigation done into a person who filed a claim. An investigator is sent to question them. Stenographers are used to generate an accurate transcript of all of the questions and all of the answers given. This simple record can lead to a claim being either approved or denied.

Sometimes insurance companies would like more information from the person that filed a claim. Ultimately they send an investigator to ask questions. When stenographers are involved, they write everything down so that there is a clear accurate record of questions and answers. A claim may be either approved or it may be denied depending on how the interview went.

Court reporters are somewhat a jack of all trades. They don’t just stenograph and create accurate, easy to read transcripts for court cases, but they also organize them such that if some information is needed, they are expected to retrieve it. They are used for recording speeches, meetings, and anything else where word for word accounts being recorded are critical. It is often that their transcripts are needed in the appeals process. In addition, they set up assistance for those hard of hearing or otherwise handicapped. Needless to say, the court reporter role is much more important and involved than most people think.

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The Ancient History Of Barry, South Wales: Part Two

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

In the 18th. Century evidence of Neolithic man was discovered in the form of dishes, saws, knives, flints, a scraper, a prehistoric horn celt with obscure markings, a spokeshave and some arrowheads, amongst other things. Unfortunately, although these things reside safely in the Museum of Cardiff, no one thought it worth excavating at the time and now residences stand on the sites.

They also found an ancient Roman kitchen complete with utensils and food remains which appeared to have been abandoned in a hurry like the Marie Celeste. That wasn’t investigated either. In 1533, the King’s Antiquary, Leland, was told to tour all places where records were held. It took him nine years and his description of the island was as follows:

“It is about a mile in circumference and has good corn, grass and some wood, and there is no dwelling on the Island, but in the midst of it is a fair little Chapel of St. Baruch which is visited by many pilgrims. It took the name Barri from this holy man who was buried there and whose remains are yet on the Island”. (The Welsh name for Barry is Y Barri).

Vikings ravaged the coast of South Wales in the tenth century. They often took hostages from the monasteries, but they did not seem to want to live in the area. For a long tim, the island was known as the “Saints’ Retreat” or the “Island of Saints”. Afterwards, in the sixteenth century, it was inhabited by smugglers and pirates and was called the “Smugglers’ Fortress”. This became serious as it grew simultaneously with the rise of Bristol, Britain’s second largest port.

The island soon became the centre for smuggling and piracy in the Bristol Channel. In 1784, Barry Island became known as ‘The Fortress of Knight’. Kight was the most frequent and feared pirate in the channel but people were too afraid to speak out against him. He was also a local celebrity. His ship was armed and named ‘John O’ Combe’. The navy eventually routed him and he moved down to Lundy Island, which he also turned into a fortress. However, he and his successor, Arthur, went back to Barry so often that Customs requested the government to send a cutter to Penarth and 60 soldiers to Barry on permanent duty.

Rhoose was infamous for its wreckers and George II sent troops to break up the smugglers and wreckers. They landed at Aberthaw “the Rhoose men’s favourite landing zone, from where they could easily transport the contraband along Port Road to Cardiff, the main market for such things”. Several large caves were filled in while constructing the present day docks and it is likely that they were used by the pirates until they were moved on in about 1850.

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