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I was listening to Bolero the other day. by Ravel. I was trying to dance to it, but it was very complicated, because you can not clearly hear every beat. Also, because the music is very slow. The reasons I stated above are the dislikes of this song. I like the way the composer starts the music. I imagined a fairy or some creature slowly waking up, and getting her or himself ready forthe beginning of the day. Somewhat in the middle of this piece, you can here a horse trot sound.

 

Most people always want more. The need to be successful, to get ahead of the game, is at the heart and core of almost every human being. However, most are never satisfied, never fully certain that we are as successful as we can be; we can therefore become greedy. This greed can motivate us; it can push us to be as powerful as we can be. Nowhere is greed more present than in politics. As leaders take the reigns of power for the first time, they find themselves unwilling to let go of their newfound power. And so it is that great leaders, like the woman pharaoh Hatshepsut of Egypt, go further than their limits and attempt to gain more and more power. Though driven by greed for power, Hatshepsut did much good for her country socially, politically, and economically.

            Hatshepsut, born in 1540 B.C., during Egypt’s 18^th dynasty, was able to rise through the social ladder with ease, going from princess to queen to pharaoh.  She was the oldest daughter of Thutmose I and queen Ahmose. It is believed that her father favored her over her two half brothers. Hatshepsut was also known as the King’s Daughter, King’s Sister, God’s Wife and the King’s Greatest Wife.  She married Thutmose II. During Thutmose II lifetime, she was hardly an important queen. Thutmose II was the son of Thutmose I by a lesser queen, Mutnofre. At age ten, she became obsessed with horses and chariots. Her interest with horses began to increase as she grew older. In 1987, Former Egyptian President, Anwar El Sadat, documented that Hatshepsut initially never thought she would become pharaoh until she realized she could, so she seeked to improve her education. As a small child, a royal scribe taught her how to read and write hieroglyphics.

            Living in a royal family with other male contenders to the throne, one sister, two brothers, and one half-brother was not that easy, especially when you were girl and considered a shadow compared to your two brothers. Hatshepsut’s sister was named Princess Netkuhheb. Her two brothers, Wadjmose and Ahmennose, died at a young age. Her half brother, Thutmose II, later became her husband. Her father and mother were Thutmose I and Queen Ahmose Nefertari. She had a close relationship with both parents.

            Thutmose II died in 1490 B.C. Thutmose III was going to inherit the throne, but he was too young to rule. Here was her chance! As Hatshepsut grasped the reigns of power it was clear that she wasn’t going to let go, as the public was expecting her to do. Later, she crowned herself pharaoh, alongside her stepson. Hatshepsut justified her new role by claiming to be the god Amon’s daughter. She had herself represented and then crowned as a man on monuments. Now Thutmose II was in Hatshepsut’s vacant spot, her shadow.

            Hatshepsut had a fascinating adult life. Kings wore false beards to symbolize their power, royalty and authority. Hatshepsut, trying to do the same, wore a false beard and male clothing. She was depicted in statues as a pharaoh. She did this in order to make a “transition to kingship and the acceptance of the priesthood more convincing.” Her way of doing things seemed to work.

            As Hatshepsut grew older, her accomplishments grew greater in number. In 1473 B.C., she crowned herself queen and king of Upper and Lower Egypt. Hatshepsut was intelligent and not evil. She staged beginning struggles for women’s rights. “Shortly after, women were given the rights to inherit from deceased family members and were allowed to present their cases in court.” Hatshepsut set this stage for many to follow her. She gave birth to a child whom she named Princess Neferure. Hatshepsut had to take care of her child, be a mother and a pharaoh. Hatshepsut encouraged trade and sent expeditions over sea and land to an elegant country, Punt, located northeast of Africa. She sent ships to trade with foreign countries. She brought back goods such as leopard skins, ebony, gold, and feathers. Hatshepsut had built a funerary temple at Deir el Bahri which was a masterpiece of Egyptian architecture.  Later, she had obelisks installed in the Temple of Amon-Re at Karnak. She sponsored various construction projects at home and built herself a memorial temple known today as Deil el-Bahri.

            Hatshepsut had a long and unique reign. She ruled from 1503 to 1452 B.C. The time in which she ruled was a period when women were allowed to own property and to hold official positions. Priests supported her reign as pharaoh. Trade expeditions brought wealth; especially the ones to Punt. Her role started with the death of her father in 1492 B.C. Her peaceful reign was marked by trade and construction. The expedition to Punt was a large scale expedition.

            Hatshepsut never had a close relationship with Thutmose III. He ruled alone for about thirty-three years, after he overthrew Hatshepsut in 1458 B.C.  His greed for power, unlike Hatshepsut’s drove him to send her into exile and then kill her. He hated and feared Hatshepsut so much that he destroyed or defaced her statues and monuments.

            People in modern days sometimes dislike the ruler of their nation. That is not how the public thought of Hatshepsut. Egyptian people accepted her behavior and appreciated her achievements. She was loved by many, especially the thousands that supported and worked for her every day during her reign. She wanted to make peace with other nations rather than to expand Egypt’s borders by going to war. This clearly shows that she cared about her nation and ended her rule in a peaceful manner.

            Hatshepsut became the forerunner for many rulers. Cleopatra used similar strategies and techniques, such as expanding Egypt and its trade. Their reasons for ruling were different, because Cleopatra relied on men for assistance during her reign. On the other hand, Hatshepsut kept all the power to herself. Hatshepsut tried to hide the fact that she was a woman, unlike Cleopatra who dressed as an elegant and fancy woman. Thutmose II was different from Hatshepsut because he centered most of his work and time on continuing to control the Egyptian army. Hatshepsut focused on trade, not expanding Egypt’s borders. “Thutmose III was the Napoleon of his time.” He seemed more concerned with the popularity of his name and achievements, rather than those of his country. Hatshepsut’s reign was similar to that of her father’s. She expanded territory and maintained religious, social, and political order. Both Hatshepsut and her father, Thutmose I, were taught from the same scribe. This makes them equal in knowledge and education. Their only difference was gender.

            Hatshepsut’s reign (accompanied by her greed) allowed Egypt to flourish. Through Hatshepsut’s success, her nephew, Thutmose III, had an extreme type of greed. This greed motivated him to put himself in Hatshepsut’s place and rule. This way he was able to take her place, try to erase her name from history, and continue to build her success.   

 Beethoven, Bach, Chopin, Sibelius, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Haydn are the seven most famous classical composers. Beethoven wrote one opera, and was born in Bonn, Germany. Beetovens most popular songs are Appassionata, Moonlight, and Pathetique. Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany. He had twenty children (in total), from his two wives. Chopin music is romantic. He was born in Zekazowa Wola. Sinelius was born in Hammeenlinna, Finland. He was initially inspired by Wagner’s music. Mozart was born in Austria, and used almost the same type of style of the music like Hyden. Overall, All these composers had an interesting life, and unique style of music that they composed.

 

 

                  Shirley Temple received the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement award on January 29, 2006 with the grace and humility that has been associated with her entire career. But her complex and strong character is not only associated with these two gracious traits. From early childhood, this cheerful actress has been known to lift the spirits of even the most depressed people, causing the frowns of even the harshest reviewers to turn upside-down. With such traits, it is of no surprise, that young Shirley used to be the top box office star.

“Shirley’s heroines always looked danger and sadness straight into the eye, and finally won against all odds. Many actresses played similar stories, but nobody succeeded in making theirs as real and believable as Shirley did,” said Bill RoseForton.

In 1939, she was not a child any more, she was a teenager. When 1940 arrived, Fox decided they did not need Shirley Temple any more. She seemed happy to go to high school and go out on dates with boys. When she went on dates, she acted like any other normal teenager, not like a modern world famous teenage celebrity. That’s when Shirley began making the transition to an adult star.

“When I was fourteen, I was the oldest I ever was…. I’ve been getting younger ever since,” says Shirley Temple. Shirley married John Agar. It was during filming when Shirley learned that she was pregnant. In 1948, she gave birth to her first daughter, Linda Susan. Shirley divorced John and slipped away from the public’s eye. She never acted in another movie again. Around this time, she went to Hawaii with her daughter. There she met the true love of her life, Charles Alden Black.  They were a great match and soon married. They had two children, Charles Jr. and Lori. Shirley spent time taking care of her new family.

 

One of her brothers had developed Multiple Sclerosis, which lead Shirley to start speaking on behalf of the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. She was appointed delegate to the United Nations General Assembly in 1969. From 1972-1974 she was a special assistant to the chairman of the President’s Council for Environmental Quality. She was appointed the United States Ambassador to Ghana in 1974.  In 1972, Shirley was diagnosed with breast cancer, and became the first celebrity to go public with the diagnosis. She did this because she wanted to encourage other women not to be afraid to fight this disease and to convince them that they could beat it. By doing this, she most likely saved many women’s lives by making them aware of breast cancer and encouraging them to take action against the disease.

“A remarkable actor who used her fame to do great things in her adult life to help the world.” says Sussanah Harpisty. Recently Shirley has been seen at the 1998 Oscars in a section devoted to Oscar winners. She also hosted a TV special titled The 100 most Famous Movie Stars of all Time. Shirley Temple still shines even though her acting career is long done. Throughout Shirley Temple Blacks life, she has proven to be a great mother, humanitarian, and actress. Because of this, she still shines!

 

Give Me Five Minutes and I’ll Give You Shakespeare

 

Madeline- Welcome, to Give Me Five Minutes and I’ll Give You Shakespeare, and thanks for being with us today. Please give it up for Romeo, Hamlet, and Pertrucio. (Audience claps fanatically) Let’s start with the questions for Hamlet.

 

Announcer- All guests appear except Romeo.

 

Madeline- Hamlet, Why do people call you insane, foolish and so many other synonymies for crazy?

 

Hamlet- (standing up and getting ready to fight) Are you trying to insult me, young lady because if you are…

 

Madeline- (frightened) No not in any way, it’s just… Anyway, please answer my question. It takes just a few words.

 

Pertruchio - Of course he is crazy, what are you going to believe the truth or a lie?

 

Hamlet- (sitting back down) I am not insane, who do you think you are, and who are you going to believe?

 

Madeline- I will see who I shall believe very soon. Why do you think your kind uncle would kill his own brother? Just to become king?

 

Hamlet- (starting to shout louder and louder by every word) He did this because Claudius is wicked, wicked, wicked I tell you!

 

Madeline- In your opinion, why do you think your uncle Claudius is wicked?

 

Hamlet- Before I answer your question, I would like to make this simple and clear for you, my uncle Claudious is not kind but wicked, as wicked as a devil. It’s a fact, not opinion.

Madeline- If you had a good chance to kill your uncle while he was not praying or anything of that sort, would you kill him?

Hamlet- Of course I would.

 

Madeline- Thank you, Hamlet. Pertruchio will go next so he can go back to his wife.

 

Pertruchio- I reckon that you made a good choice.

 

Madeline- Pertruchio, why have you chosen to find a wealthy, unbearable wife, instead of finding a polite wealthy wife?

 

Pertruchio- Well indeed that is a hard question to respond to. She seemed to be the one for me, after I would be spending my precious and priceless time taming her to be a noble woman.

 

Madeline- That is a fine answer. Do you think it was worth your time taming Katherine?

 

Pertruchio- Yes, because now I not only have received a lot of money and land, but a noble wife.

 

Madeline- I can easily imagine how much you love your life and wife now! If you were a great friend of Katharina’s father and he gave you a chance to either marry Katherine or Bianca, who would you marry?

 

Pertruchio- I would still marry Katherina, because once I glanced at her I knew she was my true love for my life.

 

Madeline- I bet you will both be two great lovebirds forever. How did you tame Katherine?

 

Pertruchio- That was easy, I just had to not let her eat or sleep until she had better manners.

 

Madeline- Why that’s absurd, outrageous, and truly insane.

 

Hamlet- (looking toward Pertruchio) Looks like you are the crazy one now!

 

Petruchio- You scoundrel, mind your own actions!

 

Madeline- (whispering quietly to all two talk show guests) Let’s not fight, or else the show may have to stop. (Unluckily he ignores her whisper conversation and continues arguing with Madeline). (Thinking to herself) I think now is a great time for a commercial break, because I am so tired of these wild men.) We will be right back, after this commercial.

(Commercial Break)

 

Katharina- Watch closely for the next 90 seconds, because that’s all I have to tell you about the new fashionable hat named Tamedicious that all stunning and wealthy woman shall soon be wearing. (Ophelia pretending to be a super model walks back and forth wearing the splendid hat.)

Ophelia- (turning back and forth, pretending to be on a cat walk) To prove its coziness, once you try the Tamedicious on you will never want to take it off because it is so comfortable.

 

Katharina- (talking while Ophelia leaves the room) It could be yours for only $100. No, wait, if you call and order within the next ten minutes, we will give you the Tamedicious hat for only $50 plus free shipping. Our number is (310) 323-8288.

(Continuation of talk show)

 

Madeline- We’re back with Give Me Five Minutes and I’ll Give You Shakespeare, and getting ready to ask our last few questions to Romeo. Romeo, Romeo, Where art thou Romeo?

 

Romeo- I am here, Juliet.

 

Madeline- Perhaps you have made a mistake for there is no Juliet in our show.

 

Romeo- Perchance I have made a mistake, for I probably am still dreaming. (Audience stares at Romeo and starts chuckling).

 

Madeline- Romeo, I hope you understand that you are not dreaming and have just been transported from the Shakespearean era to the century of 2008.

 

Romeo- I do, I do

 

Madeline- Glad you understand. You know people say I do, I do at weddings, and we are not at a wedding right now!

 

Romeo- Obviously I did not intend it in that way.

 

Madeline- Have you received Juliet’s’ letter?

 

Romeo- How could she send me a letter if she has been dead for one day?

 

Madeline- She is not, if you found the letter I am talking about you could have understood. The letter was about how she took a sleeping potion and if you came in 48 hours, she would awaken and you two could run away to a land far off in peace, and happiness!

 

Romeo- So, you have been reading my mail without my permission? No wonder I did not receive this letter! You probably read it and then misplaced it away from my dwelling.

 

Madeline- No, you have got all the information incorrect. You’re a character in a play, so therefore I cannot read stage props.

 

Romeo- I must be real otherwise I could not be here answering your questions.

 

Madeline- You are a breathing human being, but your life is not based on the plot of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo- I do not understand nor wish to understand what you are trying to say. Go, go, your questions with a wicked tongue.

 

Madeline- (In an angry tone) Anyway, why did you fall in love with a Capulet, in spite that your families are enemies?

 

Romeo- Love is not just a word or a command nor an expression, though it is a figure of speech. As with myself, love had lured me to Juliet, a lovely Capulet.

Madeline- I understand. Please give another round of applause for our three guests we had today! (audience claps) Thank you Hamlet, Pertruchio and Romeo for being with us today.

 

Hamlet, Pertruchio, and Romeo- It was a pleasure.

 

Madeline- Thanks for being here today and I hope to see you all next time. Remember to stay tuned for our next show.

 

1. The Shakespeare Stealer, by Gary Blackwood

2. The Theif, by Megan  Whalen Turner

3. Welcome to the Monkey House, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

4.  Sabriel, by Garth Nix

5. Planet of the Apes, by Tim Burton

6.  Swindle, by Gordon Korman

7. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Princey, by J.K. Rowling

8. Turnabout, by Margaret Peterson Haddix

9. Running Out of time, by Margaret Peterson Haddix

10. Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Clofer

Homer’s Odyssey and Illiad  (unabridged) is a good book for adult readers. The abridged version seems very easy to read and understand. I think that this is book is very interesting, and fascinating to read about.

Here some recent pieces i am playing. One of my favorites is prelude in B minor by Chopin. I love Fantasy Imprompt one and two, by  Schubert, and Furalease, a great melodic piece by Beethoven. If you like to warm up your hands, a scale is a great exercise for your fingers. In my opinion, Bach’s music is very sad, but that may not be your point of view. Before I start my piano lesson, i play Etudes. Chopin is a very romantic composer, while Schubert pieces include a variety of different styles. I’ve listened to Chopin - “Fantaisie-Impromptu and it sounds great!

There are many great books in the world! I loved reading The Thief, Turnabout, Sabriel, and much more. All three of these books are so interesting, that when you pick it up and start reading it, it is almost impossible to put it down!