Readers Who Like this Book

I LIKE RECREATIONAL SUMMER reading and quickly go through the newest books of my favorite contemporary authors and look for titles with similar themes. Readers\u27 advisory librarians use a plethora of book resources to help readers like me find new authors and interesting titles. The books in the Genreflecting Advisory Series published by Libraries Unlimited are key resources, with over 20 volumes that provide a guide to reading in every genre--from historical fiction to Westerns to romances. Other well-established book-finding sites include NoveList and WhichBook

Factoring Large Numbers with Continued Fractions

The goal of my project was to gain a better understanding of the CFRAC algorithm and to be able to share my knowledge of factorization of large numbers as it relates to the national security of our country. In order to complete my goal I conducted research of the field of mathematics with a specific exploration of the CFRAC algorithm. With RSA being publicly described in 1977, major breakthroughs were established in message encryption. My goal was to find out if it was possible to crack the RSA code through utilization of CFRAC. In order to do this, I needed to explore the special properties of finite and infinite continued fractions. I also needed to further my knowledge of the program Maple which enabled me to work through the CFRAC algorithm much more quickly

Exploring Unusual Post-Graduate Careers in the Arts

Post-graduation job searching arrives too quickly in most college seniors’ lives, and many of us find ourselves unprepared when the time comes to actually find a career we want to commit to for an extended period of time. To commence this daunting quest, I have decided to explore a few alternative possibilities and options for professions that are related to my passions of theatre and music, but that are a bit more unorthodox, unexpected, and “outside the box.” To aid me in my search, I will communicate with several professional experts in their fields, gaining skilled and experienced opinions. In this thesis, I will look into alternatives for potential careers that attract degrees in the arts, yet are more uncommon. Some examples of these types of jobs I will examine are a performer on a cruise line, a voice actor for animated movies, or an entertainer at a unique venue like Disneyland. Through this thesis, I also plan to create a physical tool that I will have at my disposal to assist me in obtaining one of these careers after graduation. An example of this would be a personal website or a portfolio - something that I can present to a cruise line company or a voice actor casting director that will showcase both my performance and my professional skills. By the end of this process, I will be able to successfully attempt to pin down an unconventional and exceptional job in a field that I love

New Horizons: A Folk Song Cycle

The purpose of the project was to create a piece of music that transcended musical genres and told the story of my coming of age in the first decade of the 21st century. The work featured both original text and original music and culminates in a live performance of the work. I wanted to tell a story. More specifically, I wanted to tell my story. The story of coming of age in the 21st century. I was 11 in the year 2000, I was 21 in 2010. My formative years correlate directly with the formative years of the 21st century. In this time, we’ve seen world first teeming with hope and optimism at the turn of the century. This optimism was quickly overcome by fear in September 2001. Since then we’ve seen a world marred by terrorism, wars, Hurricane Katrina, and other disasters, man-made and otherwise. Along with this, is my journey in understanding my own personal development, learning to deal with these issues and grappling with personal issues, including religion and personal relationships. The central theme of the project became “How do we find beauty in a broken world?” This question became the focal point for the entire work. Throughout the twelve movements of the work, I explored my own experiences with the previous decade using a loose narrative structure. I reflected on very specific events, 9/11, my trip to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and watching war on television and counter them with abstract reflections. As the text progresses we move from questioning the world around me “I need to find a place of quiet contemplation/to stop the darker parts of my imagination” to an understanding, “we are the beauty we’ve been looking for”. To create the text, I worked closely with poet Linda Loomis, who helped me focus my thoughts and create a working framework for the project. The music also represents a coming together of two sides of my musical personality. While at Syracuse University, I’ve studied the art of classical composition, writing music for string quartet, art songs, and various other chamber ensembles. This work has been strictly in the classical domain. Additionally, I’ve lived a secret double life as a singer/songwriter, a hobby of mine since my teenage years. This work allowed me to unify these split sides of my musical life, creating a work that challenges definition and moves beyond the limitations of genre. By moving beyond these predefined genres, I’ve pushed myself as a composer, forcing myself to think outside the predefined boxes of “classical” and “folk” and instead create a music that is true to myself and my influences. My advisor, James Welsch, was instrumental in helping me move beyond preconceived notions of what I thought the music “should” sound like and find a more unique style. The final aspect of this project that really pushed my boundaries was the act of performing it myself. Since I began studying classical music, I’ve stopped performing. This project forced me to become a performer again, approaching music from a completely different angle than I had become used to. As part of this, I studied with voice professor, Jon English, who provided me with lessons to help build my vocal technique. Writing New Horizons has pushed my limits as a composer, performer, and all around musician. It has forced me to think outside of the box musically and helped me redefine what I think I can and can’t do as an artist. Between collaboration with poets, professors, and fellow musicians, New Horizons has broadened my sensibilities as an artist, has introduced me to phenomenal artists in the Central New York area and has been an incredible learning experience

Buddha

In an oriental clime, seated on a mystic shrine,Buddha dwells, and dispels hate.Came a maid, to him one day,With a troubled heart, they say,She was told he controlled fate. Oh, Buddha, listen to my plea,I bring my troubled heart to thee,so won\u27t you please tell me; Buhhda,does he really love me,Buhhda, is he thinking of me,At each dawn I\u27m awaking,And I find my heart still breaking;Buddha with the poppies blooming,He said he\u27d come back to me, Buddha, can\u27t you discover,My heart cries, there\u27s anotherBuddha with your mystic power,Buddha, take this faded flower,I know he\u27ll understand and ease my sad heart, why?Oh, why did he say good bye?Buddha listen to my plea,bring him back to me. Times changed quickly into years,still no word from him she hears,But each day, she would pray low. When her savings all were spent,magic messages were sent,She enthused at the news so. I came from, far awayWhile those near heard her softly say, now won\u27t you please tell me

American Jihad: Understanding The Social Backlash Against Muslim Americans through the Context of Ethnotheatre

I am a brown person. The color of my skin dictates much of how American society has and will interact with me. Whether it is to my advantage or my disadvantage, the cultural fabric of America will isolate who I am because of the color that I am. American culture has racial assumptions embedded within its grain, lending to the alienation and eventual discrimination of certain races. The idea of a marginalized race is no foreign concept in the Anglo American hegemony, but the ever morphing idea of the “other” is my point of inquiry. On September 11th 2001, the country’s attitude towards race changed drastically. The “other” quickly became the Muslim American male and the rooted assumptions quickly transformed to false declarations. The goal of my research is to investigate the current condition of the American social climate for Muslim Americans in relation to the adverse response after September 11th 2001. I will read articles in the news and race theory to develop a better understanding of the current state of societal status and definition of the American Muslim. In order to reach this goal, I will contact members from the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, the Ku Klux Klan and Islamic studies professors from various universities in Chicago to find stories and voices that would provide a better understanding of the current racial ethos. Once the individuals are selected, I will interview them and transcribe 5 to 7 meetings. My research will culminate in an Ethnodrama, consisting of significant selections from interviews and sections of news articles combined in a 60-minute one-act play

Describe the city you live in

I dive into the fields: frequency (sound), wavelengths (light), shapes (conversation): they build connections. What is action without reflection? Now I’m a city drifter. Through art making and dialogue I try to drop the anchor into the futuristic turbulent ocean (of society, speed, and the status quo ). Did I drop it? Not sure. I grew up in the most fast- paced city in China, Shenzhen. I feel pressured there. Do I feel that pressure here? of a precarious, unpredictable future? These questions push me out of the turbulent ocean to grab the present. There are three stages of time: past, present, and future. But these are always bouncing around like the flow of water; a fading point of flow, the infinite approach, and an eternal past. Hand me the trees that come along, hand me a history book, out and about death suffers the cold, conveying the power inscribed in the heart. Through art making and dialogue, this is what I do to live in the present. Like frequencies, wavelengths, and shapes, I am influenced by the quickly changing city- scape. Within this change, how do I live in the present and also make connections with the city I live in? I explore this question by resonating the Providence River with my home- town (Chapter 1), digging into the history of the Fox Point neighborhood through making an instrument about Interstate 95 (Chapter 2), and shaping conversations about the tension between being present and making progress (Chapter 3). How do I find my own way to live without the promise of stability and belonging? How to keep up with the irony of art and fight against capitalism but still operate with- in it? My work is my present. When they are standing, they also bring me experience back to the “present.” “The smell evokes sadness in the loss of summer’s easy riches, but it also calls up the sharp intensity and heightened sensibility of autumn.”Summer is in the past and autumn is in the future. I am 23 and I will not be 23 again. Please contact [email protected] for more information

Protecting the Right to Food in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond

On the sixteenth of March, 2020, I headed to Woolworths for my weekly grocery shopping. Unlike any other time I had experienced, what awaited me was not a store full of fresh and tasty food products. Instead, it was a horrific scene one often sees in apocalypse movies: hundreds of anxious shoppers were racing through the grocery aisles, loading all the food items they could find on the shelves into their shopping carts. As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was quickly spreading throughout Australia, it was expected that panic buying would eventually come to Armidale, a college town in rural New South Wales, Australia, where I live and work. It was apparent that this day had come earlier than expected. Over the following two weeks, the situation did not improve; grocery stores across Australia still struggled to keep up with the dramatically increased consumer demand. Meat, particularly ground beef, sold out immediately. Dry foods, such as rice and pasta, disappeared within minutes. Many shoppers had to visit several stores on a hunt for some of the most basic food items necessary to prepare a single meal