Leisure Time Essay Example for Free

Leisure Time Essay In the mid-1800s Americans started to receive a lot of extra time in their hand and had more time to do fun activities. Businesses declining working hours was a major reason for the rise of leisure time but what also had a huge impact was installation of the electric lighting in the city’s streets which made Americans have more time to perform activities at later hours (Lund). So what did Americans decide to do with this time? The recommendation of physical exercise as a way to relive of all the stress raised the importance of physical actives and to also attend spectator sports became part of the leisure activities in the United States. Vaudeville, dance halls, and motion pictures became popular, while new modes of travel allowed Americans to go visit the mountains, seaside resorts and county fairs (Lund). To begin with after the Civil War, the popularity of sports as leisure activities grew as people began to see the importance of exercise to health. While initially only the wealthy could take part in most sporting events because the middle and lower classes couldn’t afford most of the activities .The opening of public available gymnasiums, courts, and fields allowed the middle class to participate in those activities as well (Lund). Athletic clubs such as the New York Athletic Club were organized and the YMCAs began to institute sports programs. These programs mostly focused on track and field events, introduced by communities of European descent, and gymnastics, heavily influenced by German athletics. Gymnasiums, which included exercises using Indian clubs, wooden rings, and dumbbells, were opened in many Eastern cities which helped expand exercise. Also With the extra time Americans gained American sought out to find new ways to keep themselves occupied and entertained. Americans began to seek out new ways to distract themselves so they started to experiment in making new activities to do. As a result of Americans seeking for a new past time they invented Americas greatest past time today, baseball. Different types of Baseball have been played throughout time and before the 1800s but the rise of the sport didn’t come until after the civil war (Bluett). While at war the soldiers had a lot of extra time in their hands the soldiers from New York introduced the game to their comrades from their camps and soon the game also spread to other camps over the north and south. It was said that because of this baseball expanded from the north to the south baseball was recognized more after the civil war ended. After all the soldiers from the camps were taught how to play, they went back home and introduced their sport to their families and friends which helped expand they name of the game (Bluett). In 1870 the first professional team were founded but didn’t last for more than five years. In 1876 the first major professional league that was formed was the National league of baseball clubs which still exist today. Another sport that was created by Americans in the 19th century which they invented to perform as a leisure activity was Basketball. The game was created from the mind of James Naismith in 1891, while he was an instructor at the School for Christian Workers, later called the International YMCA Training School, in Springfield, Massachusetts (McComb). The YMCA was an international organization that focused on the idea that physical as well as religious training was important for humans. Naismith had graduated from McGill University, and after leaving a Presbyterian seminary jo ined the YMCA school in Massachusetts. When he arrived the director of the YMCA name Luther asked Naismith if he could design an interesting indoor sport for physical activity in a gymnasiums Americans can exercise while having fun in the winter when it was cold and couldn’t be outside (McComb). He thought that people were bored of just working out with weights and running around without a purpose. James considered the thought of throwing a ball into a box, like the warm-up exercise he had used when he played rugby but only this time the box was ten feet up and had to dribble the ball (McComb). The game was a success Americans all over the country were playing it and it even expanded internationally. In the 1880s women didn’t really perform any  sports but after they were introduced with basketball they were so fascinated that it became one of women’s favorite sport in the 1880s. Furthermore although men performed the majority of sports activities around the 19th century. Opportunities for women beg an to appear as the century ended. Some of the most popular sports for women in the 19 century were basketball and lawn tennis. Also by the end of the century schools began to offer even more sports activities for females, such as gymnastics and basketball. One of the most popular sports for women was basketball. Girls and womens basketball flourished in the early years of the game. Two days after the invention of basketball, some female teachers who had heard the shouts of players coming from the gym, asked Naismith to instruct them (Woolum). Naismith did so and the women became very fund of the sport. In 1892 after the women new the game better the YMCA hosted the first tournament for women (Woolum). The game for women spread and they even got to play in college, in 1896 the first intercollegiate game was played in Berkeley between the University of California and Stanford. No male spectators were allowed at the Berkeley match because it was considered improper for male viewers to attend (Woolum). Also the other sport the women were very fund of was lawn tennis. Mary Ewing Outerbridge has been credited with introducing lawn tennis to the United States in 1874. When she went to Bermuda she watched as British Army officers were hitting a rubber ball with spoon-shaped paddles strung with catgut across an outstretched net. Fascinated by the game, Outerbridge brought a box of the tennis equipment with her and returned to New York (Woolum). When she got home she introduced the game to her friends and family. The game rapidly got popular and became very popular not just with women but with men as well and rapidly spread throughout the Northeast as a favorite national pastime (Woolum). In addition Americans didn’t just past their times with sports they also enjoyed other activities like attending vaudeville shows. Within cities, people attended vaudeville shows which would include many acts. The vaudeville shows were usually watched by the middle class, the shows often ran for many hours so the people could come and go whenever they wanted (Ushistory). In the Vaudeville shows the viewers could enjoy a performance consisting of Shakespeare plays, acrobatics, singing, dancing, and comedy (Lund). Vaudeville shows weren’t just for entertaining they also talked  about economic and ethnic situations. Other popular shows of the time included circuses and Wild West shows, one of the most famous plays was Buffalo Bill Codys by William F. Motion pictures also served as entertainment during leisure time for urban audiences. Initially the movies were originalities in kinescope viewers, until they became acts in their own right on the vaudeville stage. As motion pictures became longer, they moved into storefront Nickelodeon theaters and then into even larger theaters (Lund). Finally another activity Americans did as for their leisure time was to go on vacations. Some people wished to go further afield on their vacations and leave the city now that they invented a new way to travel faster which was by trains (Ushistory). Many with limited budgets went to the countryside or the beaches which mostly included the lower and middle class. Towards the late nineteenth century resorts opened in the outskirts of cities, such as the beach area of Asbury Park in New Jersey which was founded in 1870 (Lund). Amusement parks opened in places like Coney Island in New York was founded in 1897.the Park offering rides, fun houses, and scenes from foreign life, and the latest technological breakthroughs, such as motion pictu res. National parks were created by the federal government to preserve nature and many began to tour these areas on vacation (Lund). One such example was Yellowstone Park where people camped or stayed at the hotels, the park was built there in the late 1880s. Worlds fairs and expositions held in different U.S. cities offered Americans a chance to tour the world in one place. The fairs celebrated progress and featured exhibits of science and technology, foreign villages, shows, rides and vendors. The first major one was the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876 (Lund). All in all Americans in the 19th century performed a large variety of activities for their leisure time. Men performed many different physical activities especially when clubs like the YMCA was introduced which helped more Americans become more active, also American performed sports like baseball and basketball in their leisure time. In the late 19th century even women were starting to take place in the sports and other activates. Another major activity Americans did for leisure time was to go to vaudeville shows which had all sorts of acts from Shakespeare plays to comedy acts. Finally after traveling was easier Americans started to go on vacations outside the city and go to resorts and world fairs for their leisure time. Bibliography 1. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awlhtml/awlleis.html a. Leisure after the civil war b. Lund, Karen C. America at Work / America at Leisure, 1894-1915. America at Work / America at Leisure, 1894-1915. Memory.loc.gov, 01 June 2000. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. 2. http://www.pacivilwartrails.com/stories/tales/baseball-and-the-civil-war a. Baseball and the civil war b. Bluett, Terry. Baseball and the Civil War. Welcome to the Pennsylvania Civil War Trails. Civil War Trails, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. 3. http://www.elibrary.com/elibweb/elib/do/document?set=searchdictionaryClick=onsecondaryNav=groupid=1requestid=lib_standardresultid=1edition=ts=FA9DBE62F456E22634A15DC6F7B76C44_1385528175587start=1publicationId=urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B171337845 a. The Great Spectator Sports of North America b. McComb, David G. ELibrary: Login. ELibrary: Login. Proquest, 01 Dec. 1998. Web. 18 Dec. 2013. 4. http://www.ushistory.org/us/39b.asp a. Leisure time b. Ushistory.org. 39b. Sports and Leisure. Sports and Leisure [ushistory.org]. U.S. History Online Textbook, n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2013. 5. http://www.elibrary.com/elibweb/elib/do/document?set=searchdictionaryClick=onsecondaryNav=groupid=1requestid=lib_standardresultid=3edition=ts=FA9DBE62F456E22634A15DC6F7B76C44_1385528175587start=1publicationId=urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B28013995 a. Women in America sports b. Woolum, Janet. ELibrary: Login. ELibrary: Login. Elibrary, 05 Aug. 1992.

Prayer in Schools :: Religion Faith Beliefs Essays

Prayer in Schools Recently the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would not hear the appeals of a case banning the traditional dinner prayer before the meal at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). The court decided not to hear this appeal mainly due to procedural rules regarding the retirement of the school’s former superintendent before the case, but two of the justices, Rehnquist and Scalia, felt that the case needed to be tried in order to make a determination regarding prayer in universities, especially those with military affiliation (Biskupic 3A). Unfortunately, they did not have the required number of justices to carry the case to the court, but those outside of the court system do not have such restrictions upon their decision regarding organized prayer in universities. They can make their own decisions on what to believe. One must change the general opinion of the people in order to find resolution of this issue so they in turn can prompt a revision to the Constitut ion. This may be the only true solution to clarify this problem and this revision will need the support of the public in order to succeed. Prayers and other religious elements in government will be the focus of this revision. Those who would act to ban these prayers have made the mistake of misinterpreting the original intent of the framers of the Constitution regarding the First Amendment, they have misunderstood what it means to rank among those who call themselves an adult American, and have failed to comprehend the complexities of military training. The Constitution fails to ban prayer in government run areas with conscientious Americans under the special circumstances involved with military affiliated educational institutions. The people in favor of the ban on organized prayer in colleges make the claim that the 1st Amendment makes it unconstitutional. In order to make this claim, one must analyze the text of the amendment and the history behind the original intent of the Constitutions framers. The text of the amendment contains the following concerning religion, â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Constitution). This amendment should rightfully be interpreted as meaning that Congress does not have the power to regulate the religious institutions or prevent anyone from practicing their own religion.

Rise of Modern Drama

The Rise Of Modern Drama It is known as one of theatre's greatest periods today. The modern drama period is shaped by world-changing forces, such as industrial-technological revolution, democratic revolutions, and an intellectual revolution that would disrupt earlier conceptions of time, space, the divine, human psychology, and social order. As a result, a theatre of challenge and experimentation emerged.Realism, the movement with the most pervasive and long-lived effect on modern theatre, was conceived as a laboratory in which the ills of society, familial problems, and the nature of relationships could be â€Å"objectively† presented for the judgment of impartial observers. Its goal, of likeness to life, demanded that settings resemble their prescribed locales precisely and seem like rooms from real life in which one wall have been removed. Related article: What Led to the Rise of Political Parties in the 1790sHenrik Ibsen, a playwright, initiated the realistic period with plays focused on contemporary, day-to-day themes that skillfully reveal both sides of a conflict through brilliantly capturing psychological detail. An independent but concurrent movement, naturalism, would be an even more extreme attempt to dramatize human reality without the appearance of dramaturgical shaping. While realist plays would address well-defined social issues, naturalist plays offered a simple â€Å"slice of life† free from dramatic convention.With the same reverence for nature, the human being was conceived as a mere biological phenomenon whose behavior was determined by heredity and environment. A counterforce to realism, initiated by symbolism, began in the late nineteenth century that would expand into what might be called antirealism theatre. Symbolism would contest realism's apparent spiritual bankruptcy with a form that wou ld explore, through images and metaphors, the inner realities of human experience that cannot be directly perceived.A focus on traditional aesthetic values, such as poetry, imagery, and profundity would reflect the importance of purity of vision over observation, abstraction and enlargement over the mundane and ordinary. The movement spread quickly and affected every aspect of theatrical production. Symbolism's contestation of realism gave rise to an era of â€Å"isms,† during which the aesthetics of dramatic art assumed a new social and political significance.Such â€Å"isms† became, in time, used consciously as stylization in new dramatic formats. Such antirealistic theatre does not discard reality but enhances it with symbol and metaphor, elucidates parable and allegory, deconstructs and reconstructs subjects through language, scenery, and lighting, and finally uses the theatre's own theatricality explicitly. Briefly examining eleven of these movements makes the div erse qualities and perspectives within naturalism theatre apparent.From the emotional and â€Å"irrational† perspectives of Theatre of Cruelty to the rational and thought-provoking nature of Intellectual Comedy, pre-World War II naturalism approaches such as Expressionism, Theatricalism, and the French Avant-Garde challenged and extended the limits of theatrical art. Through redefining the importance and function of language, extending the concept of character to include abstract forces or archetypes, reconstructing stage imagery through metaphoric scenery and lighting, and exploring themes often tinged with anxiety, such isms and stylizations have created much of the theatrical language used on today's stages.Following World War II, the modern Theatre would introduce new theatre practices and reawaken theatre's sense of social responsibility, while the Theatre of the Absurd would express the futility of all action and pointlessness of all direction. Philosophical Melodrama a ccepted the Absurd's premise that humans are alone in a silent universe, but takes it as a challenge to creating an effective life.The Comedy of Contemporary Manners would unmask the ridiculousness of social convention, while Political Satire ruthlessly reveals the hypocrisies and exploitations of political and economic systems within a comedic and often highly stylized framework. The Case Study uses, most often, medical problems as a perspective for philosophical investigations, frequently taking the audience into and back out of the â€Å"patient's† experience. By contrast, the ostensible realism of Surrealism is actually suffused with a menacing obscurity and mythic symbolism that seeks out

Safely Viewing Solar Eclipses

Solar eclipses are among the most dramatic celestial events anyone can witness. They give people a chance to witness parts of the Suns atmosphere they otherwise never get to see. However, looking directly at the Sun can be hazardous and viewing solar eclipses should only be done with safety measures firmly in place. Its worth taking the time to learn how to view these spectacular events without harming ones eyes. For many people, theyre a rare event and worth taking the time to understand how to view safely.   Why Take Precautions? The most important thing to remember about solar eclipses is that looking directly at the Sun at any time is unsafe, including during most eclipses. It is only safe to do so during the few brief seconds or minutes of a total  solar eclipse  when the Moon blocks the light from the Sun. At any other time, viewers need to take extreme precautions to save their eyesight. Partial eclipses, annular eclipses and the partial phase of a total eclipse are never safe to view directly without taking precautions. Even when most of the Sun is obscured during the partial phase of a total solar eclipse, the portion that is still in sight is very bright and can not be viewed without eye protection. Failure to use appropriate filtration may result in permanent eye damage or blindness.   Safe Ways to Gaze One safe method of viewing a solar eclipse is to use a Pinhole Projector. These devices use  a small hole to project an upside-down image of the Sun onto a screen located a half-meter or more beyond the opening. A similar view can be created by interlacing the fingers of both hands and allowing the light to shine through to the ground below. Its also very safe to direct the Sun through the large end of an amateur-type telescope and allow it to project out  of the eyepiece onto a white wall or piece of paper. NEVER LOOK THROUGH THE TELESCOPE unless it has a filter, however!   Filters Never use a telescope to look at the sun without a proper filter. This is especially important if someone is using a telescope to photograph the event. Both eyes AND cameras can be harmed without proper filters attached. Filters can also be used to look directly at the sun, but use caution. People can use welders goggles with a rating of 14 or higher, but no one should use them to look through binoculars or a telescope. Some telescope and camera manufacturers sell metal-coated filters that are safe for viewing the Sun. There are also specialty glasses which can be purchased for eclipse viewing. These can often be found advertised in astronomy and science magazines. People have often remarked that  looking at the Sun through a CD is safe. Its not. NO  one should even think about doing so. Its important to stick to products that are marked safe for eclipse viewing. Its important to always be careful when using filters, glasses, or pinhole projection during the partial phases of a total eclipse. People should  only look for a moment before looking away. Tiny holes in the filters can still subject a persons eyes to possible damage if viewed for extended periods.   How to View During Totality   The moments during a total eclipse when the Moon is completely obstructing the Sun are the only safe times that people can look directly at an eclipse without eye protection. Totality can be very short, only a few seconds up to a few minutes. At the beginning and end of totality, the last stray rays of the Sun can cause some harm, so its best to keep the eye protection in place until the so-called diamond ring has flashed. Thats the last bit of sunlight passing between the peaks of the lunar mountains. Once the Moon moves completely in front of the Sun, then its safe to remove eye protection.   Close to the end of totality, another diamond ring appears. Thats a great signal that its time to put the eye protection back on. It means the Sun will soon be slipping back into view, in all its fiery fury.   Misconceptions about Eclipses Every time theres a solar eclipse, wild tales start to circulate about them. Some of those stories are based on superstitions. Others are based on a lack of understanding of eclipses. For example, some schools locked their children inside during eclipses because school administrators were afraid that harmful rays from the Sun would hurt the students. There is nothing about sunbeams that make them different during an eclipse. Theyre the same sunbeams that shine all the time from our star. Of course, teachers and administrators should allow kids to view an eclipse, but that means they need to be trained in safety procedures. During the total eclipse of August 2017, some teachers were too afraid to learn the procedures, and stories did circulate of kids being forbidden to witness one of these amazing sights. A little scientific understanding would have gone a long way toward providing a wonderful experience for the kids who were in the path of totality.  The most important things to r emember are to learn about eclipses, learn to view safely, and above all — enjoy the view!   Edited and updated by  Carolyn Collins Petersen.