Marc Chagall - The Russian-Jewish Artist, a European Modernist Painter
The 20th century European Modernist, Figurative artist, Mark Zakharovich Shagal, or Marc Chagall was born Moshe Shagal on July 7, 1887 in Vitebsk, Belarus, the then part of the Russian Federation. The eldest of nine children, Marc hailed from a Russian-Jewish family. His father, Khatskl (Zakhar) Shagal, worked for a herring merchant and his mother, Feige-Ite, ran a small grocery store. While his early years, Chagall was not allowed to attend a local society school because of his Jewish descent. His mother had to bribe the head expert fifty rubles to allow him in.
Chagall started drawing as a schoolchild. He copied portraits and other preponderant drawings. Jewish-Belarusian artist-painter Yehuda Pen tutored him on painting in 1906. In 1907, Marc joined the School of the society of Art Supporters, at St. Petersburg. He was taught there by the Russian painter, Nikolai Roerich. While 1908-10, Marc Chagall studied at the Zvantseva School of Drawing and Painting. In 1909, at the age of twenty, on one of his journeys back home, Marc met his hereafter wife, Bella Rosenfeld.
On the professional front, Chagall moderately attained fame as an artist. Soon after, he moved to Paris, the then thought about town for the artistic community. He befriended Guillaume Apollinaire, Robert Delaunay, and Fernand Léger there. In 1914, Marc was back home and married Bella in 1915. They had one daughter from the marriage in 1916, when the World War I also began.
The artist dabbled in every possible medium of art, fluctuating from his paintings to his book illustrations, stage sets, ceramics, stained glass windows, tapestries, and print-making. 'Cubism,' 'Symbolism,' 'Fauvism,' and 'Surrealism,' all were his forte. Bella posed as a model for many of Chagall's works. The artist achieved recognition for any of his works, such as "Me and My hamlet (1911)," "Self-Portrait with Seven Fingers (1912-13)," "Red Jew (1915)," "Above the City (1914-1918)," and "The Fall of the Angel (1923-1947)." Upon his return to Russia, Marc Chagall joined the Russian Revolution of 1917. He was also made the Fine Arts Commissar of Vitebsk.
In 1920, Chagall, his wife, and their daughter shifted to Moscow and to Paris in 1923. In 1937, Marc gained French citizenship. Owing to World War Ii, however, the house had to flee to Madrid. While 1941-1948, they resided in the United States. Jewish martyrs and Jewish refugees were mostly depicted in most of Chagall's works of this time. Meanwhile, on September 02, 1944, his wife passed away. The artist did not paint anyone for the next nine months. In 1945, however, Chagall struck a romantic connection with his thirty years old housekeeper, Virginia Haggard McNeil, with whom he even had a son. The incorporate moved to Paris in 1950. The same year, Marc began with Graphics, coupled with "Cubism" and "Fauvism" influences. Here, Virginia left him for someone else man in 1952. Later, Chagall married Valentina Brodsky, who was 25 years younger to him. Valentina encouraged him to undertake large artistic projects, for example, the "Cycle Biblical Message," which was later installed in the National Museum of the Marc Chagall Biblical Message in Nice, France.
Marc's visits to Greece and Israel in 1957 helped him evolve the complete notion of Color Symbolism and Figurative Art. This was when he started with sculpturing, ceramics, and stained glass painting. Mark Chagall traveled extensively throughout the world and produced weighty bodies of work throughout his career. 'Russian Expressionism' and 'French Cubism' influenced Mark's style of painting. Chagall died on March 28, 1985, at the age of 97, at Saint Paul, France.
Marc Chagall - The Russian-Jewish Artist, a European Modernist Painter
The Artists
Marc Chagall - The Russian-Jewish Artist, a European Modernist Painter
Marc Chagall - The Russian-Jewish Artist, a European Modernist Painter Marc Chagall - The Russian-Jewish Artist, a European Modernist Painter
Segmented Woodturning Allows the Artist To Put Together Many Designs to create One Great Piece
Methods Used for Woodturning:
In woodturning, lot of methods were used to contribute a very unique outcome. Segmented woodturning is one of those methods. Segmented woodturning allows the artist to use texture and color as fabricate elements in manufacture lathe turned vessels, wood bowls and other pretty wood piece sculptures. In other words, a segmented wood turner has the prerogative on what he or she wants to make.
Segmented woodturning is where an preliminary work piece composed of estimate of parts glued together is turned on a wood lathe. This also involves having to glue up a few slabs of wood. This process allows the creation of patterns as well as gorgeous visual effects in the turned objects. Polychromatic turning is the other name for the segmented style.
What Makes Segmented Woodturning Different?
Unlike with the accepted methods of woodturning wherein the template used is absolutely a particular piece of wood and the size, orientation of the grain, as well as the animated colors of the wood frame how it can absolutely be turned into the products such as platters and bowls. This woodturning provides limitation on the size and patterns with your skill, patience and imagination. Though the majority of the segmented turned objects are shaped into vessels of one sort or another, any turned items made up of complicated pieces of glued wood can already be categorized as something that has undergone turning that is segmented.
Product Samples:
Pepper mills, salt shakers, pens and rolling pins are some of the examples. After items are being turned, by merely cutting them and then re-assembling them, can originate unique and absolutely gorgeous forms, resulting in an artistic piece. You can also see the example of the work accomplished by Malcolm Tibbetts, who is an master woodturner.
In addition to the design-related skills, it absolutely needs a lot more precision when it comes to woodworking skills as well as in the turning skills. The fabricate as well as the general make up of a bowl blank, which is the piece of wood that can be ordinarily seen mounted on top of the lathe for turning a vessel, needs to be angled, especially in miter joints cuts to as wee as a tenth of just one degree, or a bit more.
Qualities of a Good Segmented Woodturner:
A segmented woodturner also has to possess some of the qualities needed in order for them to be more successful. Primarily, you have to be patient. In all things that we do, there are many quick and instant results. If you want to fulfill yourself and feel real satisfaction, take it easy and slow. Next is that you have to enjoy particular work. If you are a kind of someone who is absolutely vexed by complicated things, this is absolutely an activity not powerful for you. In segmented turning, you have to enjoy spoton detailed work. Lastly, you need to be a wee nutty!
Segmented Woodturners of the Past:
Segmented wood turning has been used a very long time ago, but only a few individuals have used this technique. But since today segmented turning has come to be more popular, here are some tips and ideas as well as some advantages that can be useful especially to the beginners. First is that a typical segmented task will cost a lot less to make because you make your blank in the shape of the project. This means less materials will be needed. Next is that there is less mess to clean up after turning a segmented object because you don't start with a solid chunk of wood, there will be 65-75% fewer shavings to clean up.
Controlling Grain in Segmented Wood Pieces:
Another thing is that, you can control the grain direction in segmented projects so the turning is easier with fewer opportunities for 'catches' and other unfortunate mishaps. Next is that you will end up with creations that mom Nature could only dream of because with segmented projects, you can mix distinct wood types and take benefit of distinct orientations of the joints between pieces of wood. an additional one thing also is that you can outline out what your segmented task will look like before you start. There are several fabricate tools you can use to do this.
Managing Leftover Wood:
Also, segmented projects are a way for you make good use of those little, leftover pieces of wood; even pen blanks are sometimes useful. Next foremost thing is that there is a bunch of people ready and eager to help you. And last but absolutely not the least is that you do not have to wait forever for the wood to dry. Dried materials ready for use are absolutely ready in the market.
Segmented Woodturning Allows the Artist To Put Together Many Designs to create One Great Piece
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Kendrick Lamar - Poetic Justice (Live on SNL)
Top 10 Uk Rappers and Grime Artists to Look Out For in 2009
Which Uk rappers and grime Mc's are going to dominate 2009? "How can you predict such a thing?" You may be asking yourself, but as the inventor of the Uk's only web-based urban music video downloads service, I will give you the inside scoop!
Uk hip-hop and grime artists dominate the Uk's urban music scene, and Mc's such as Dizzee Rascal, Wiley and Tinchy Stryder have taken the whole 1, 2 and 3 spots in the nationwide Uk charts respectively making them household names.
In my old report "How Did Urban Music Get So Big In The Uk" I mentioned quite a few hip-hop and grime artists that have honestly boosted the Uk's urban music scene. Here are 10 of the most influential artists to look out for that will be making waves throughout 2009:
1. Chipmunk
With his "Chip Diddy Chip" single making the A-list playlists on major radio stations such as Bbc Radio 1 and Kiss Fm, Chipmunk is now in the middle of a report label bidding war. Look out for his "I Am Chipmunk" album arrival this year.
2. Tinchy Stryder
After recently signing a report deal with Universal, Tinchy Stryder has hit the no.3 spot in the Uk charts with his "Take Me Back" single, which features r&b singer Taio Cruz. The single has received major sustain from all major radio stations and music Tv channels.
3. Bashy
With 2008's smashes such as "Black Boys" and the movie soundtrack lead single "Kidulthood to Adulthood", Bashy has caught the concentration of many together with Prime minister Gordon Brown as he's recently spent time working on a inevitable project at 10 Downing street with the Prime Minister. Look out for his "Catch Me if you Can" album this year.
4. Wiley
With 2 hit singles in 2008, one of them (Wearing My Rolex) hit the no.2 spot in the Uk charts. The self-proclaimed "King of Grime" has made the decision to issue more commercially-accepting music this year, as well as releasing his eagerly expected "Race Against Time" album. Look out for Wiley's "She Glows" music video which features fellow grime mc's Kano and Ghetts.
5. Ghetts
Recently signing a single deal for "Sing For Me", this is Ghetts first ever industrial issue as well as his first single using his new name, which was previously "Ghetto".
6. Sway
After winning the "Best Uk Hip-Hop Act" award at the 2006 Bet Awards, then releasing his "The Signature Lp" album in 2008, Sway has since signed a U.S report deal with Akon's "Kon Live" report label and released the "Silver and Gold" single, which features Akon.
7. N-Dubz
This hip-hop/r&b trio (Tulisa, Dappy & Fazer) have recently gone platinum in the Uk with their "Uncle B" album. With new hits like "Papa" and "Strong Again" gaining mainstream sustain from all major radio stations, you can expect more hits from the consistently-strong N-Dubz in 2009.
8. Giggs
Since putting out the biggest freestyle in Uk hip-hop's history, Peckham rapper Giggs proved that his "Talking the Hardest" track was big sufficient to issue an album on the back of; and his "Walk in the Park" album swiftly sold out in its first week of nationwide release. Soon after, Giggs won the "Best Uk hip-hop artist" award at Bet's 2006 music wards in atlanta. Recently teaming up with one of the Uk's most victorious r&b artists of all time, Shola Ama, expect big things from Giggs in 2009.
9. Skepta
After touring the Uk and Europe with both Jme and Wiley, then releasing "Rolex Sweep" in 2008, the "Boy better Know" frontman started 2009 by releasing the electro-hit "Sunglasses at Night". Skepta is now releasing house and electro-inspired music commercially as opposed to grime, so a chart-topper may well be on the radar.
10. Wretch 32
As one quarter of "The Movement" (Wretch 32, Ghetts, Scorcher, Mercston), Wretch 32 done a very victorious 2008 by releasing his eagerly expected album "Wretchrospective" and two music videos, "Be Cool" and "In a Di Ghetto."
Top 10 Uk Rappers and Grime Artists to Look Out For in 2009
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Kendrick Lamar - Poetic Justice (Live on SNL)
Questions to Ask a Tattoo Artist Before Getting a Tattoo
If you are reasoning of getting a tattoo, take the time to talk with your tattoo artist. While the conversation, make sure to have a list of questions that you would like answered prior to animated forward with your decision. Below are a few questions that you should think asking:
How long have you been in business? This is foremost in determining how pro the work will be and what type of reputation the enterprise has. If the tattoo studio is a member of the good enterprise Bureau, check out their description to see about any complaints that have been initiated within the previous 36 months.
What are your qualifications? Before you see a doctor, isn't it foremost to know that they are qualified? Absolutely. The same is true with a tattoo artist. Even though the two professions are fully different, there are similarities in that both involve the use of needles and both professionals must be knowledgeable in their advent at sterilizing their equipment. An individual's qualifications and training history will tell you a lot about what to expect.
Do you certify your work? If the final image isn't exactly as you had hoped for, will it be fixed at no payment or what is the process if you are unhappy with the tattoo? Is there any type of repayment policy? These are all foremost in determining service after the sale.
Can I see samples of your work or do you have references? If you want to know about the potential of work, you should all the time ask for references in any business.
How much will this cost? Before agreeing to a specific tattoo design, you will want to know the full cost involved. Large tattoos can be very costly, but even the smallest found can be expensive if you are on a budget. Do yourself a favor and avoid any surprises - ask about the costs upfront.
How many tattoos have you done? This will give you a good indication of the caress level and how much found work the artist has done.
What is the likelihood of an infection and how may I preclude one from occurring? Every good tattoo artist can supply this information. He/she should be able to tell you what to do to lessen the likelihood of an infection and what to do if you reason that one may be developing.
Is there anything who should not get a tattoo, such as person with definite curative conditions? This is important, especially if you are request because you have a condition that concerns you. Individuals with thin blood, for instance, may be more cautious about anything that involves breaking the skin or needles. The same is true of individuals with other conditions, which should be addressed prior to agreeing to be tattooed.
If I have a fear of needles, is there any way to help me straight through the process of getting a tattoo? Don't feel bad if this is you. A lot of habitancy have a fear of needles, which is a device used in creating tattoos. If you are afraid, it never hurts to expound this to the tattoo artist beforehand so that he/she can try to take extra steps to make you feel at ease or to make the caress a less painful one for you.
How long will the tattooing process take? This is important, especially if you are getting a tattoo on your lunch break. All kidding aside, you will want to know how long to expect the process to take so that you can plan the rest of your day accordingly.
This description is to be used for informational purposes only. The data contained herein is not intended to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, pro curative advice. Before deciding on getting a tattoo or having one removed, the sick person must consult a licensed curative doctor for curative guidance and/or to resolve the best procedure of operation for his/her personel healthcare needs.
Questions to Ask a Tattoo Artist Before Getting a Tattoo
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Kendrick Lamar - Poetic Justice (Live on SNL)
Profile of a Con Artist - Gambler
Introduction
Sociology is the study of the collective lives of humans, groups, and societies, sometimes defined as the study of collective interactions. It is a relatively new scholastic discipline that evolved in the early 19th century. It concerns itself with the collective rules and processes that bind and cut off habitancy not only as individuals, but as members of associations, groups, and institutions.
The study of crime and why habitancy commit crimes is intriguing. It helps us to understand seemingly incomprehensible behaviour and the rational behind the criminal's actions. We have to look beyond the obvious.
Criminals and deviants refuse to live by the rules that the majority of us follow. Yet human society is governed by rules and norms. Our society would collapse into chaos if we did not stick to rules defining proper from inappropriate behaviour in single contexts and collective situations. We create rules just as we break them. Any way many in our society do not live by these rules.
The American sociologist, Marshall Clinard, suggests that the term 'deviance' should be reserved for "those situations in which behaviour is in a disapproved direction and of a sufficient degree to exceed the tolerance limit of the community". In terms of Clinard's definition, crime and delinquency are the most inescapable forms of deviance.
Most of us on some occasions transgress ordinarily proper rules of behaviour. We may for example, have at some point committed minor criminal acts - like exceeded the speed limit or smoked marijuana. Criminology concerns itself with forms of behaviour that are sanctioned by criminal law. We will also try to understand why habitancy behave the way they do and we will direct our attention to collective power. Using a case study, absorbing the profile of a criminal, we will try to match the circumstances relevant to this case with a theoretical background. We have superior a 45 year old male, who's name we have change to Mark in order to protect his identity. Part of our sociology exam consisted of interviewing and writing a profile on a criminal. Straight through contacts, Mark came to our attention and we decided to write his profile due to his fine life so far. He just ended a nine month stay in a foreign prison for cheating/conning a croupier at a roulette table in a Spanish casino.
To conduct this interview, we prepared a huge list of questions for Mark - all of which he was willing to answer. We focused on his upbringing, peers, collective convention and environment and the link to symbolic interactionism/choice theory, differential association theory/social reaction theory, collective control principles as well as showing the association between delinquency and crime.
Before we move on to the case study and the theoretical approaches, we would like to give you an determination of the mind and morality of the typical con man and what makes him tick. Although our case study falls into the 'typical con man' bracket, there are some areas where Mark would not thread as you shall see. Mark is true to type, meaning he is only interested in one type of crime.
Defining A Con Artist
The con artist features in the earliest literature and the oral traditions that preceded it. Odysseus is one of the first con men whose exploits were nothing else but written down (for sneaking into Troy or slipping past the Cyclops with cunning ruses). In his book, The spectacular, True Story of the World's many trust Artist, Richard Rayner explains "There is no folk heroes more 'all American' than con artists. Though we may openly condemn them, deep down we can't help but admire their shrewd understanding of how to pull off a scam.
The flourishing con artist is ordinarily suave, smooth, smart, done and sophisticated. He doesn't have to resort to violence like a gangster. Con artists think themselves to be the princes of the criminal fraternity - a cut above the other criminals on the street. In fact, he does not think himself to be a criminal at all.
Confidence is the key for the flourishing con man, because once you gain people's confidence, you can manipulate them. In con artist's jargon that person becomes a mark, also known as a dupe.
It takes a extra kind of person to be a con man. It nothing else but isn't for everyone. It takes an even more unusual person who can take money from an preparation without a twinge of conscience or a moment's hesitation or to con an elderly habitancy out of her life savings. To psychiatrists, this kind of person is known as a sociopath.
A flourishing con artist needs to be missing some psychological attributes that the rest of us take for granted. Conscience is top of the list. There is no room for recriminations when ripping off a casino for example. He absolves himself of any accountability for crimes committed. The con artist's mantra is "they had it coming". In other words, it serves them right. Many nothing else but convince themselves that it's the person/establishment's fault that they got ripped off. If they hadn't been so brainless then they would still be in possession of their money.
The con artist firmly believes that the world is divided into two: Those who are gullible and those who are clever sufficient to take benefit of a given situation. The con man thinks this is the natural order of things, the way of the world. This is how he rationalises away any twinges of conscience he may feel about vulnerable marks.
Another characteristic of a con man is that he believes that everyone else in the world is as amoral as himself; it's just that they pretend to have morals and he doesn't. The con artist's second mantra is "do to them before they do to you". He has no interest in forming meaningful relationships or friendships as these are likely to compromise his work.
"Hard work is for fools" is the con artists third mantra.
Why should he sweat and slave like some lowly person when he could be living it up on easy street? Why pay taxes when you could be your own boss, raking in the cash and living the high life? Ironically a good con artist displays many of the virtues he affects to despise because a flourishing con requires hard work as well as gift, as we shall see in Mark's case.
Finally, the best con artists nothing else but love what they do. Proving that you are smarter, sharper and faster than the other guy gives the con man a thrill and provides quite a rush. Pulling a scam is like playing a game - winning that game affirms the con artist's self image as person who is a cut above the rest of the pack.
Case Study
When we first met Mark, the impression we got is that of a charming, friendly and likeable character. He is 45 years old, 6ft 2, weights 90 kgs, broad, slightly balding and approachable with a lopsided smile and kind eyes.
He was born in Sydney, Australia to Maltese parents and is the second child of three. He has an older sister and a young brother. He lived in Australia for six years, after which time, his father was offered a job at a hotel as a concierge, and the whole house moved to Malta. Mark's father worked his way to becoming a night employer in the Hotel.
A flat in ***** was part of the job container and Mark attended ***** School in ******where he learnt to speak Maltese. His parents were strict, religious, hard working and law abiding. His mother was a full time housewife for whom her children were a priority.
From the age of 7 to 14, Mark was an alter boy and enjoyed the collective and sporting activities that were available. Friends were of utmost significance to him. Although he was a absorbing boy at school, he tended to sit at the back of the class room and on some occasions got into problem for smoking. The nuns used to bring him to the front of the class but Mark started losing interest day by day. He began to skive off school a combine of days a week in order to meet up with his friends and play/gamble on billiards and snooker games which gave him "a buzz". Due to Mark's deviant nature, his absence from school was unnoticed as he would steal money from house members to pay the class prefect to amend the register.
It was this point in Mark's life that he was introduced to gambling, that in turn led to a downward spiral and delinquency followed. The priest in charge of the alter boys gave Mark an ultimatum to choose between playing pool and taking part in the social/sport activities of the church. Mark's rebellious nature won over and he chose to leave the church activities.
Despite having passed his school exams to enter St Albert the Great, which was determined a great achievement, Mark refused to go. Instead he opted for a technical school in order to be with his friends. He continued to skive off school.
Life at home was a nightmare, not for Mark but for the rest of the family. His mother would often stay up smoking incessantly, waiting for Mark to come home, regularly drunk. He was becoming uncontrollable and the mother encouraged his father to discipline Mark by hitting him. On one occasion, after having come home late yet again, a big fight ensued, which resulted in Mark putting his hand Straight through a glass door and having stitches in his right hand. Mark could not sit for his exams and ended up without qualifications. Instead, he chose to do carpentry and excelled in this; Any way Mark is a perfectionist and due to the nature of the job could not perfect a given task fast enough. He decided he wanted to make some quick money and opted to go to Libya for nine months. He worked as a cleaner on a caravan site.
With cash in hand, at twenty years of age, Mark bought his own place in Gzira, was dating foreigners and frequented clubs like Dewdrops in Paceville, Club 47 and Ta' Saveria. He enjoyed listening to Abba, the Bee Gees and all types of disco music. He tried to dress as best he could but liked to look different, wearing absorbing coloured clothes and lots of gold jewellery. He felt uncomfortable hanging around habitancy from Sliema, because they were too upper class for him, yet did not enjoy socializing with habitancy from inescapable areas as he felt they were too rough. He went around with a middle class older crowd and with habitancy who he concept would heighten his lifestyle, financially. His goals at this time were to live a comfortable easy life and to voyage the world.
Mark still held childhood resentment for his older sister's travels. She had been on assorted school trips and cruises because she excelled at school and for inescapable reasons he had lost these opportunities. In turn, he tried to get a job on a cruise liner to voyage the world and was turned down due to his lack of qualifications.
With no prospects, no friends, no accommodation and Lm70 to his name, Mark bought a one way marker to London to perceive his dreams. He admitted during the interview that he concept his life was like a movie and that he was highly naïve.
On the flight to London, he sat next to a man called Charlie, who offered him accommodation in Southgate and introduced him to Soho (the red light district in London). Being an illegal immigrant he did not have the pick of jobs. Mark worked as a doorman at a club in the West End, enticing habitancy to enter and watch pornographic movies. Within a month, he rented a flat because he wanted his independence. He shared the rent with a man who used to steal clothes from shops on a daily basis and needed somewhere to store them. He soon changed jobs and became a projectionist in the porn manufactures and then he was promoted to cashier. He earned £15 per shift, but Mark's deviant nature soon discovered that by watching and observing others and being discreet he could earn an extra £70 per shift by pocketing the entrance fee.
He met an English dancer, Denise who worked for a leading Soho club and he dated her for 1 ½ years. He managed to buy a flat but this was soon repossessed as he could not keep up the repayments. He lost his job and was arrested for touting. Soon after his release, he met a group of Italian men at a club. He had heard rumours about their illicit dealings in casinos and was lured by the attraction of easy money and worldwide voyage that went with this lifestyle. He was proper to join the Italian con men by "investing" money with the group. Straight through his association with these people, Mark swiftly learnt the ropes and his trust grew. His ambition to best himself drove him to set up his own group. He trained habitancy and made sure they remained loyal by sharing profits equally, unlike the Italians.
Mark all the time knew the risks involved yet chose to pursue this way of life. Prison did not scare him he concept it was worth doing time for the lifestyle he was leading. True to con artist profiles, Mark did not think himself to be a criminal - he concept he could outwit the system; after all, the casinos were ripping off their punters! In fact, he was proud of his fair dealings with the rest of the group, even though he puts in 75% of the work. So how would Mark pull off his scam? Mark explained assorted casino past posting moves on American roulette tables. This included capping a bet onto an already marked roulette winner by "ganking the marker", popping a chip on the stack, and then replacing the marker with little of hand that makes David Blaine look like Inspector Clouseau. It takes a very delicate balance of brains, guts and lack of greed. Knowing how to pull a scam, when to do it and when not to overdo it. Mark studies the dealers just like he used to gawk his colleagues when he was a doorman, finding for signs of infirmity then together with his team use little of hand and distraction techniques to make their move.
His first brush with the law was at the age of 22. He was caught conning a dealer at a roulette table in Liverpool and ended up spending a month in prison as well as paying a fine. A few years later, Mark got caught a second time trying to con a roulette dealer in Glasgow and spent a total of six months in a Glaswegian prison, four months for having false documents plus two months sentence for the casino scam. He was then deported to Australia, his country of birth. This did not deter Mark in any way. He made his way back to Malta, flew to Italy, got false identity card and was back in the Uk ten days later. Since Italy was part of the E.U. A passport was not needed to travel, only an identity card. At this stage in his life, Mark had more guts than the Vegas desert has un-marked graves.
Throughout, his motivation was to prove to himself that he could do the "trick" and conquer the system. He joined up with yet an additional one Italian man who was known to be highly professional. By this time, Mark's girlfriend left him as she did not like the changes she was finding in Mark. He changed his dress sense, became more suave and accomplished. He industrialized a passion for Italian espressos and enjoyed dining in the finest restaurants. Having no one to tie him down, Mark travelled all over the world, realising a life long dream. He was development large amounts of money, on average Lm7,000 per trip with approximately 70 trips to America alone over a duration of ten years. He also travelled to South America, The Caribbean, Portugal, Germany, Holland and Spain. He admitted to us that he knew what he was doing was wrong yet never felt guilty. He considers casinos bigger thieves than himself, although some habitancy may view that differently. He was buying fast cars, paintings, a asset in London, staying at the best hotels, going on luxury cruises and even bought himself a plane. Mark claims that drink and drugs were never part of his scene but admitted that it took a primary whole of money to maintain his new lifestyle.
Mark felt he was on par with his siblings, all travelling around the world yet Mark's world was soon to crash. He returned to Malta and started finding three women at the same time. This was a duration of obscuring for Mark.
One of the women he was finding got pregnant and although Mark was afraid of commitment, he stopped his girlfriend from having an abortion. He promised to stay with her and see how things worked out. Mark married the mother of his child two years after his son was born. His base was in London, yet Mark bought a maisonette in ****** for his wife and son and tried to keep a low profile. He now had responsibility, he was a father. His wife had come to be used to the lifestyle her husband provided and enjoyed travelling all over the world and she never tried to stop him or to change his ways.
His third and final stay in prison was in the Canary Islands in 2004. Although Mark is a perfectionist, he omitted to check out the gambling laws in this country, assuming they were the same as in Spain. This was not the case and Mark spent nine months in jail for fraud, "eating garbage and sleeping rough" as he put it. His wife visited him twice and one time took their son to see his dad.
Mark admitted during the interview that he swore he would turn his life around once he got out of prison especially now that his son was growing older. Twenty three years in the 'business' had taken their toll. He was becoming aware that things had to change. Life was soon to take a turn for the worse.
The con artist found himself being conned. Mark sold his asset in London after he was persuaded by a "friend" to spend in a computer enterprise which promised great returns. After a combine of months of raking in money from his new investment, he decided to spend even more money in this new venture. His aim was to go legitimate. Mark ended up losing all to conmen who disappeared with his money and ran away. Mark returned to Malta. He fell into a deep depression. The excitement of casinos soon fell to the way side - it was too much hard work, the economy was down and casinos upped their lookout systems as they became wiser to con artists like Mark. He was tired of flying; his heart was no longer in it and admitted that casino cameras were regularly checked prior to large payouts. He has now turned his attention to investing in asset and wishes to keep away from the casino world despite his lack of finances. He told us that he recently sold his plane and is living off this income.
Mark told us that he never pulled a scam in Malta as he was too well known yet if person asks Mark what he does for a living he has no qoute telling them that he is a "gambler". After all, he says with a smile, gamblers are losers.
His current association with his parents is garage and Mark told us that he tries to have supper with his parents most Sundays but does not tell them when he is travelling as they wish he is no longer involved in the casino scene. He told us that he is close to his older sister and younger brother.
We asked Mark if he would ever con an old woman out of her life savings and he assured us that this was not his scene. He admitted that although it's time to turn his life around he would seriously think doing a "Michael Jordan" and come back from withdrawal if something spectacular, happened in the gambling world, such as the chance of casinos in Miami Beach. The thrill of victory will all the time be part of Mark even though the agony of defeat is too much of a risk.
The Family
Con artists come from diverse backgrounds. They may come from a broken home or the most garage and well-adjusted of families, just like Mark's. They may have been afforded an exquisite education or very little. Such backgrounds according to Annette McGuire, author of Fraud Aid, do not set them apart. What sets them apart is the natural ability, often discovered at a young age, to manipulate the habitancy around them. Mark understood this when he managed to get away with his absenteeism.
Family life can be a potent force in a child's development; Any way other factors may contribute. In his recent normal principles of Crime and Delinquency (Gtcd), sociologist Robert Agnew states that "Family relationships, work experiences, school performance and peer relations influence crime". Although Mark had a garage house life, his inadequate educational opportunities, peer relations and the inability to accomplish accepted success, contributed to his situation.
Instead of house influence, psychologist Judith Harris claims that genetics and environment determine, to a large extent, how a child turns out.
Children's own temperament and peer relations shape their behaviour and modify the characteristics they were born with; their interpersonal relations decide the kind of habitancy they will be when they mature. Judith R Harris 1998:211
As we have seen in Mark's profile, this is very much the case. His peers as well as his interpersonal relations when he moved to London determined the kind of person he turned out to be. Although Mark's childhood was ideal for becoming a professional con man, the concept never occurred to him before it nothing else but happened.
Theoretical Approach
Why is working class crime more tasteless than white-collar crime?
Merton explained deviance using Durkheim's concept of anomie. He saw deviance as caused by individuals being unable to accomplish society's goals using legitimate means. He argued that lower collective classes had little passage to legitimate means so were more likely to be deviant. Mark could not attain his goals Straight through development money in a legitimate way since he had no qualifications and no job prospects. He tried, by getting a job as a waiter or a cleaner but Mark wanted more...
The collective learning principles or the differential association principles proposed by Edwin H. Sutherland states that behaviour is modelled Straight through observation, either directly Straight through intimate caress with others or indirectly Straight through media. according to Sutherland, criminal behaviour is learnt Straight through association with others who regularly engage in crime. The idea is very simple. In a society that contains a range of subcultures, some collective environments tend to encourage illegal activities whereas others do not. Sutherland maintains that criminal behaviour is learnt in customary groups, particularly in peer groups as was the case with Mark. Criminal activities have been learnt in very much the same way as law abiding ones could have been learnt. Thieves are just like habitancy in orthodox jobs in trying to make money, only they choose illegal means of doing so. Mark wanted to get on in the world and "live the high life". He chose to make his money illegally and true to the con artist's profile nothing else but loved what he did.
People act based on symbolic meanings they find within any given situation. We tend to interact with symbols forming relationships around them. Its roots are found in symbolic interaction principles of sociologists Charles Horton Cooley and George Herbert Mead. Symbolic interaction principles holds that habitancy recite via symbols. habitancy explicate symbolic gestures from others and combine them in their self-image. Symbols are used to let habitancy know how well they are doing as in the case of Mark's sister travelling around the world and him ending up owning his own inexpressive plane. How habitancy view reality depends on the article of the messages and situations they encounter, the subjective interpretation of these interactions, and how they shape time to come behaviour.
Social reaction theory, ordinarily called labelling principles explains the way society reacts to individuals and the way private react to society. Interaction and interpretation are viewed as leading concepts by the collective reaction theorists. Being stigmatized or labelled by official institutions such as the police as well as by unofficial institutions, such as parents and neighbours is what sustains delinquent and criminal behaviours. Labels help define not just one trait but the whole person. Mark's house including his mother regularly labelled him as "stupid, lazy and a problem maker" and he felt the effect of this labelling. This was also reflected in his defiant behaviour.
The collective control principles maintains that everyone has the inherent to come to be a criminal and violate the law and that contemporary society presents opportunities for illegal activity. In Mark's case, it was socialization with the wrong crowd not so much the collective structure, which determined life's choices. In order for this inherent not to be realized, a person must have collective controls to refrain from conducting any anti-social activity. In Mark's case, his parents had no idea he was skipping school as he used to pay off the class captain with stolen money to amend the school register.
We have seen three aspects of the collective process coming to human behaviour. The collective learning theory, which suggests that habitancy learn the techniques and attitudes of crime from close and intimate relationships with criminal peers - that crime is a learnt behaviour. It is assumed that habitancy are born good and learn to be bad. The second, the collective reaction principles or labelling theory, which says habitancy come to be criminals when members of society label them as such and they then accept these labels as part of their identity, in other words, either good or bad, in some ways, habitancy are controlled by the reaction of others. The third aspect, the collective control theory, maintains that everyone has the inherent to come to be a criminal but that most habitancy are controlled by their bonds to society. This principles assumes that habitancy are born bad and must be controlled in order to be good. All three theories fall under the collective process approach. In our concept all three theories had a role to play in Mark's case.
According to the rational option approach, law breaking behaviour occurs when an offender decides to risk breaking the law after taking into list both personal factors such as the need for money, thrills etc and situational factors, how well a place is protected, efficiency in protection etc. Before selecting to commit a crime, Mark and his team would value the risk of apprehension, the seriousness of punishment and their need for criminal gain.
Conclusion
We should never underestimate the offering of young habitancy in our society. The collective institutions, without even knowing failed Mark. If stricter measures were in place, Mark's absence would not have gone unnoticed. As a result, he lost interest in school even though he was an absorbing learner and failed to get his qualifications. He truly believed that the only way to "get a piece of the pie" was Straight through illegal means.
As we have seen, criminals are habitancy who share the same ambitions as accepted citizens but have decided to cut corners and use illegal means to accomplish their goals. Mark chose an illegal path to acquire the goals that might otherwise have been out of reach.
According to Gottfreson and Hirschi, a whole of personal factors condition habitancy to choose crime. Among the more leading factors are economic opportunity, learning and caress and knowledge of criminal techniques. (A normal principles of Crime,1990).
Although we saw how Mark is irresistibly drawn to a scam, his career as a criminal may have reached its limitations. Experienced criminals like Mark may turn from a life of crime when they construct a trust that the risk of crime is greater than its inherent profit.
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Kendrick Lamar - Poetic Justice (Live on SNL)
Profile of a Con Artist - Gambler
Introduction
Sociology is the study of the collective lives of humans, groups, and societies, sometimes defined as the study of collective interactions. It is a relatively new scholastic discipline that evolved in the early 19th century. It concerns itself with the collective rules and processes that bind and detach citizen not only as individuals, but as members of associations, groups, and institutions.
The study of crime and why citizen commit crimes is intriguing. It helps us to understand seemingly incomprehensible behaviour and the rational behind the criminal's actions. We have to look beyond the obvious.
Criminals and deviants refuse to live by the rules that the majority of us follow. Yet human community is governed by rules and norms. Our community would collapse into chaos if we did not stick to rules defining acceptable from inappropriate behaviour in single contexts and collective situations. We create rules just as we break them. However many in our community do not live by these rules.
The American sociologist, Marshall Clinard, suggests that the term 'deviance' should be reserved for "those situations in which behaviour is in a disapproved direction and of a enough degree to exceed the tolerance limit of the community". In terms of Clinard's definition, crime and delinquency are the most confident forms of deviance.
Most of us on some occasions transgress generally acceptable rules of behaviour. We may for example, have at some point committed minor criminal acts - like exceeded the speed limit or smoked marijuana. Criminology concerns itself with forms of behaviour that are sanctioned by criminal law. We will also try to understand why citizen behave the way they do and we will direct our attention to collective power. Using a case study, engaging the profile of a criminal, we will try to match the circumstances relevant to this case with a theoretical background. We have prime a 45 year old male, who's name we have convert to Mark in order to protect his identity. Part of our sociology exam consisted of interviewing and writing a profile on a criminal. Through contacts, Mark came to our attention and we decided to write his profile due to his noteworthy life so far. He just ended a nine month stay in a foreign prison for cheating/conning a croupier at a roulette table in a Spanish casino.
To escort this interview, we prepared a mountainous list of questions for Mark - all of which he was willing to answer. We focused on his upbringing, peers, collective practice and environment and the link to symbolic interactionism/choice theory, differential relationship theory/social reaction theory, collective control principles as well as showing the relationship in the middle of delinquency and crime.
Before we move on to the case study and the theoretical approaches, we would like to give you an diagnosis of the mind and morality of the typical con man and what makes him tick. Although our case study falls into the 'typical con man' bracket, there are some areas where Mark would not thread as you shall see. Mark is true to type, meaning he is only interested in one type of crime.
Defining A Con Artist
The con artist features in the earliest literature and the oral traditions that preceded it. Odysseus is one of the first con men whose exploits were surely written down (for sneaking into Troy or slipping past the Cyclops with cunning ruses). In his book, The astonishing True Story of the World's greatest trust Artist, Richard Rayner explains "There is no folk heroes more 'all American' than con artists. Though we may openly condemn them, deep down we can't help but admire their shrewd comprehension of how to pull off a scam.
The prosperous con artist is generally suave, smooth, smart, accomplished and sophisticated. He doesn't have to resort to violence like a gangster. Con artists reconsider themselves to be the princes of the criminal fraternity - a cut above the other criminals on the street. In fact, he does not reconsider himself to be a criminal at all.
Confidence is the key for the prosperous con man, because once you gain people's confidence, you can manipulate them. In con artist's jargon that man becomes a mark, also known as a dupe.
It takes a special kind of man to be a con man. It surely isn't for everyone. It takes an even more unusual man who can take money from an preparation without a twinge of conscience or a moment's hesitation or to con an elderly citizen out of her life savings. To psychiatrists, this kind of man is known as a sociopath.
A prosperous con artist needs to be missing some psychological attributes that the rest of us take for granted. Conscience is top of the list. There is no room for recriminations when ripping off a casino for example. He absolves himself of any accountability for crimes committed. The con artist's mantra is "they had it coming". In other words, it serves them right. Many surely convince themselves that it's the person/establishment's fault that they got ripped off. If they hadn't been so unintelligent then they would still be in proprietary of their money.
The con artist firmly believes that the world is divided into two: Those who are gullible and those who are clever enough to take benefit of a given situation. The con man thinks this is the natural order of things, the way of the world. This is how he rationalises away any twinges of conscience he may feel about vulnerable marks.
Another characteristic of a con man is that he believes that everyone else in the world is as amoral as himself; it's just that they pretend to have morals and he doesn't. The con artist's second mantra is "do to them before they do to you". He has no interest in forming meaningful relationships or friendships as these are likely to compromise his work.
"Hard work is for fools" is the con artists third mantra.
Why should he sweat and slave like some ordinary man when he could be living it up on easy street? Why pay taxes when you could be your own boss, raking in the cash and living the high life? Ironically a good con artist displays many of the virtues he affects to despise because a prosperous con requires hard work as well as gift, as we shall see in Mark's case.
Finally, the best con artists surely love what they do. Proving that you are smarter, sharper and faster than the other guy gives the con man a thrill and provides quite a rush. Pulling a scam is like playing a game - winning that game affirms the con artist's self image as man who is a cut above the rest of the pack.
Case Study
When we first met Mark, the impression we got is that of a charming, friendly and likeable character. He is 45 years old, 6ft 2, weights 90 kgs, broad, slightly balding and approachable with a lopsided smile and kind eyes.
He was born in Sydney, Australia to Maltese parents and is the second child of three. He has an older sister and a young brother. He lived in Australia for six years, after which time, his father was offered a job at a hotel as a concierge, and the whole family moved to Malta. Mark's father worked his way to becoming a night boss in the Hotel.
A flat in ***** was part of the job holder and Mark attended ***** School in ******where he learnt to speak Maltese. His parents were strict, religious, hard working and law abiding. His mom was a full time housewife for whom her children were a priority.
From the age of 7 to 14, Mark was an alter boy and enjoyed the collective and sporting activities that were available. Friends were of utmost importance to him. Although he was a engaging boy at school, he tended to sit at the back of the class room and on some occasions got into issue for smoking. The nuns used to bring him to the front of the class but Mark started losing interest day by day. He began to skive off school a couple of days a week in order to meet up with his friends and play/gamble on billiards and snooker games which gave him "a buzz". Due to Mark's deviant nature, his absence from school was unnoticed as he would steal money from family members to pay the class prefect to amend the register.
It was this point in Mark's life that he was introduced to gambling, that in turn led to a downward spiral and delinquency followed. The clergyman in fee of the alter boys gave Mark an ultimatum to select in the middle of playing pool and taking part in the social/sport activities of the church. Mark's rebellious nature won over and he chose to leave the church activities.
Despite having passed his school exams to enter St Albert the Great, which was thought about a great achievement, Mark refused to go. Instead he opted for a technical school in order to be with his friends. He continued to skive off school.
Life at home was a nightmare, not for Mark but for the rest of the family. His mom would often stay up smoking incessantly, waiting for Mark to come home, commonly drunk. He was becoming unruly and the mom encouraged his father to discipline Mark by hitting him. On one occasion, after having come home late yet again, a big fight ensued, which resulted in Mark putting his hand Through a glass door and having stitches in his right hand. Mark could not sit for his exams and ended up without qualifications. Instead, he chose to do carpentry and excelled in this; However Mark is a perfectionist and due to the nature of the job could not unblemished a given task fast enough. He decided he wanted to make some quick money and opted to go to Libya for nine months. He worked as a cleaner on a caravan site.
With cash in hand, at twenty years of age, Mark bought his own place in Gzira, was dating foreigners and frequented clubs like Dewdrops in Paceville, Club 47 and Ta' Saveria. He enjoyed listening to Abba, the Bee Gees and all types of disco music. He tried to dress as best he could but liked to look different, wearing engaging coloured clothes and lots of gold jewellery. He felt uncomfortable hanging colse to citizen from Sliema, because they were too upper class for him, yet did not enjoy socializing with citizen from confident areas as he felt they were too rough. He went colse to with a middle class older crowd and with citizen who he belief would improve his lifestyle, financially. His goals at this time were to live a comfortable easy life and to tour the world.
Mark still held childhood resentment for his older sister's travels. She had been on discrete school trips and cruises because she excelled at school and for confident reasons he had lost these opportunities. In turn, he tried to get a job on a cruise liner to tour the world and was turned down due to his lack of qualifications.
With no prospects, no friends, no room and Lm70 to his name, Mark bought a one way label to London to comprehend his dreams. He admitted while the interview that he belief his life was like a movie and that he was very naïve.
On the flight to London, he sat next to a man called Charlie, who offered him room in Southgate and introduced him to Soho (the red light district in London). Being an illegal immigrant he did not have the pick of jobs. Mark worked as a doorman at a club in the West End, enticing citizen to enter and watch pornographic movies. Within a month, he rented a flat because he wanted his independence. He shared the rent with a man who used to steal clothes from shops on a daily basis and needed somewhere to store them. He soon changed jobs and became a projectionist in the porn manufactures and then he was promoted to cashier. He earned £15 per shift, but Mark's deviant nature soon discovered that by watching and observing others and being discreet he could earn an extra £70 per shift by pocketing the entrance fee.
He met an English dancer, Denise who worked for a leading Soho club and he dated her for 1 ½ years. He managed to buy a flat but this was soon repossessed as he could not keep up the repayments. He lost his job and was arrested for touting. Soon after his release, he met a group of Italian men at a club. He had heard rumours about their illicit dealings in casinos and was lured by the attraction of easy money and worldwide tour that went with this lifestyle. He was acceptable to join the Italian con men by "investing" money with the group. Through his relationship with these people, Mark quickly learnt the ropes and his trust grew. His ambition to better himself drove him to set up his own group. He trained citizen and made sure they remained loyal by sharing profits equally, unlike the Italians.
Mark always knew the risks complicated yet chose to pursue this way of life. Prison did not scare him he belief it was worth doing time for the lifestyle he was leading. True to con artist profiles, Mark did not reconsider himself to be a criminal - he belief he could outwit the system; after all, the casinos were ripping off their punters! In fact, he was proud of his fair dealings with the rest of the group, even though he puts in 75% of the work. So how would Mark pull off his scam? Mark explained discrete casino past posting moves on American roulette tables. This included capping a bet onto an already marked roulette winner by "ganking the marker", popping a chip on the stack, and then replacing the label with minuscule of hand that makes David Blaine look like Inspector Clouseau. It takes a very delicate balance of brains, guts and lack of greed. Knowing how to pull a scam, when to do it and when not to overdo it. Mark studies the dealers just like he used to discover his colleagues when he was a doorman, seeing for signs of weakness then together with his team use minuscule of hand and distraction techniques to make their move.
His first brush with the law was at the age of 22. He was caught conning a dealer at a roulette table in Liverpool and ended up spending a month in prison as well as paying a fine. A few years later, Mark got caught a second time trying to con a roulette dealer in Glasgow and spent a total of six months in a Glaswegian prison, four months for having false documents plus two months sentence for the casino scam. He was then deported to Australia, his country of birth. This did not deter Mark in any way. He made his way back to Malta, flew to Italy, got false identity card and was back in the Uk ten days later. Since Italy was part of the E.U. A passport was not needed to travel, only an identity card. At this stage in his life, Mark had more guts than the Vegas desert has un-marked graves.
Throughout, his motivation was to prove to himself that he could do the "trick" and conquer the system. He joined up with yet other Italian man who was known to be very professional. By this time, Mark's girlfriend left him as she did not like the changes she was seeing in Mark. He changed his dress sense, became more suave and accomplished. He advanced a passion for Italian espressos and enjoyed dining in the finest restaurants. Having no one to tie him down, Mark travelled all over the world, realising a life long dream. He was development large amounts of money, on median Lm7,000 per trip with approximately 70 trips to America alone over a period of ten years. He also travelled to South America, The Caribbean, Portugal, Germany, Holland and Spain. He admitted to us that he knew what he was doing was wrong yet never felt guilty. He considers casinos bigger thieves than himself, although some citizen may view that differently. He was buying fast cars, paintings, a property in London, staying at the best hotels, going on luxury cruises and even bought himself a plane. Mark claims that drink and drugs were never part of his scene but admitted that it took a primary number of money to declare his new lifestyle.
Mark felt he was on par with his siblings, all travelling colse to the world yet Mark's world was soon to crash. He returned to Malta and started seeing three women at the same time. This was a period of confusion for Mark.
One of the women he was seeing got pregnant and although Mark was afraid of commitment, he stopped his girlfriend from having an abortion. He promised to stay with her and see how things worked out. Mark married the mom of his child two years after his son was born. His base was in London, yet Mark bought a maisonette in ****** for his wife and son and tried to keep a low profile. He now had responsibility, he was a father. His wife had come to be used to the lifestyle her husband in case,granted and enjoyed travelling all over the world and she never tried to stop him or to convert his ways.
His third and final stay in prison was in the Canary Islands in 2004. Although Mark is a perfectionist, he omitted to check out the gambling laws in this country, assuming they were the same as in Spain. This was not the case and Mark spent nine months in jail for fraud, "eating garbage and sleeping rough" as he put it. His wife visited him twice and one time took their son to see his dad.
Mark admitted while the interview that he swore he would turn his life colse to once he got out of prison especially now that his son was growing older. Twenty three years in the 'business' had taken their toll. He was becoming aware that things had to change. Life was soon to take a turn for the worse.
The con artist found himself being conned. Mark sold his property in London after he was persuaded by a "friend" to invest in a computer enterprise which promised great returns. After a couple of months of raking in money from his new investment, he decided to invest even more money in this new venture. His aim was to go legitimate. Mark ended up losing all to conmen who disappeared with his money and ran away. Mark returned to Malta. He fell into a deep depression. The excitement of casinos soon fell to the way side - it was too much hard work, the cheaper was down and casinos upped their lookout systems as they became wiser to con artists like Mark. He was tired of flying; his heart was no longer in it and admitted that casino cameras were commonly checked prior to large payouts. He has now turned his attention to investing in property and wishes to keep away from the casino world despite his lack of finances. He told us that he recently sold his plane and is living off this income.
Mark told us that he never pulled a scam in Malta as he was too well known yet if man asks Mark what he does for a living he has no problem telling them that he is a "gambler". After all, he says with a smile, gamblers are losers.
His current relationship with his parents is garage and Mark told us that he tries to have supper with his parents most Sundays but does not tell them when he is travelling as they wish he is no longer complicated in the casino scene. He told us that he is close to his older sister and younger brother.
We asked Mark if he would ever con an old woman out of her life savings and he assured us that this was not his scene. He admitted that although it's time to turn his life colse to he would seriously reconsider doing a "Michael Jordan" and come back from relinquishment if something astonishing happened in the gambling world, such as the opportunity of casinos in Miami Beach. The thrill of victory will always be part of Mark even though the agony of defeat is too much of a risk.
The Family
Con artists come from diverse backgrounds. They may come from a broken home or the most garage and well-adjusted of families, just like Mark's. They may have been afforded an excellent education or very little. Such backgrounds agreeing to Annette McGuire, author of Fraud Aid, do not set them apart. What sets them apart is the natural ability, often discovered at a young age, to manipulate the citizen colse to them. Mark understood this when he managed to get away with his absenteeism.
Family life can be a potent force in a child's development; However other factors may contribute. In his up-to-date normal principles of Crime and Delinquency (Gtcd), sociologist Robert Agnew states that "Family relationships, work experiences, school doing and peer relations sway crime". Although Mark had a garage family life, his inadequate educational opportunities, peer relations and the inability to achieve accepted success, contributed to his situation.
Instead of family influence, psychologist Judith Harris claims that genetics and environment determine, to a large extent, how a child turns out.
Children's own temperament and peer relations shape their behaviour and modify the characteristics they were born with; their interpersonal relations decide the kind of citizen they will be when they mature. Judith R Harris 1998:211
As we have seen in Mark's profile, this is very much the case. His peers as well as his interpersonal relations when he moved to London thought about the kind of man he turned out to be. Although Mark's childhood was ideal for becoming a professional con man, the belief never occurred to him before it surely happened.
Theoretical Approach
Why is working class crime more coarse than white-collar crime?
Merton explained deviance using Durkheim's belief of anomie. He saw deviance as caused by individuals being unable to achieve society's goals using legitimate means. He argued that lower collective classes had minuscule way to legitimate means so were more likely to be deviant. Mark could not attain his goals Through development money in a legitimate way since he had no qualifications and no job prospects. He tried, by getting a job as a waiter or a cleaner but Mark wanted more...
The collective learning principles or the differential relationship principles proposed by Edwin H. Sutherland states that behaviour is modelled Through observation, whether directly Through intimate taste with others or indirectly Through media. agreeing to Sutherland, criminal behaviour is learnt Through relationship with others who commonly engage in crime. The idea is very simple. In a community that contains a variety of subcultures, some collective environments tend to encourage illegal activities whereas others do not. Sutherland maintains that criminal behaviour is learnt in customary groups, particularly in peer groups as was the case with Mark. Criminal activities have been learnt in very much the same way as law abiding ones could have been learnt. Thieves are just like citizen in orthodox jobs in trying to make money, only they select illegal means of doing so. Mark wanted to get on in the world and "live the high life". He chose to make his money illegally and true to the con artist's profile surely loved what he did.
People act based on symbolic meanings they find within any given situation. We tend to interact with symbols forming relationships colse to them. Its roots are found in symbolic interaction principles of sociologists Charles Horton Cooley and George Herbert Mead. Symbolic interaction principles holds that citizen communicate via symbols. citizen explain symbolic gestures from others and couple them in their self-image. Symbols are used to let citizen know how well they are doing as in the case of Mark's sister travelling colse to the world and him ending up owning his own underground plane. How citizen view reality depends on the article of the messages and situations they encounter, the subjective interpretation of these interactions, and how they shape future behaviour.
Social reaction theory, generally called labelling principles explains the way community reacts to individuals and the way private react to society. Interaction and interpretation are viewed as leading concepts by the collective reaction theorists. Being stigmatized or labelled by lawful institutions such as the police as well as by unofficial institutions, such as parents and neighbours is what sustains delinquent and criminal behaviours. Labels help define not just one trait but the whole person. Mark's family together with his mom commonly labelled him as "stupid, lazy and a issue maker" and he felt the consequent of this labelling. This was also reflected in his resistant behaviour.
The collective control principles maintains that everyone has the inherent to come to be a criminal and violate the law and that modern community presents opportunities for illegal activity. In Mark's case, it was socialization with the wrong crowd not so much the collective structure, which thought about life's choices. In order for this inherent not to be realized, a man must have collective controls to refrain from conducting any anti-social activity. In Mark's case, his parents had no idea he was skipping school as he used to pay off the class captain with stolen money to amend the school register.
We have seen three aspects of the collective process approach to human behaviour. The collective learning theory, which suggests that citizen learn the techniques and attitudes of crime from close and intimate relationships with criminal peers - that crime is a learnt behaviour. It is assumed that citizen are born good and learn to be bad. The second, the collective reaction principles or labelling theory, which says citizen come to be criminals when members of community label them as such and they then accept these labels as part of their identity, in other words, whether good or bad, in some ways, citizen are controlled by the reaction of others. The third aspect, the collective control theory, maintains that everyone has the inherent to come to be a criminal but that most citizen are controlled by their bonds to society. This principles assumes that citizen are born bad and must be controlled in order to be good. All three theories fall under the collective process approach. In our belief all three theories had a role to play in Mark's case.
According to the rational selection approach, law breaking behaviour occurs when an offender decides to risk breaking the law after taking into list both personal factors such as the need for money, thrills etc and situational factors, how well a place is protected, efficiency in safety etc. Before selecting to commit a crime, Mark and his team would evaluate the risk of apprehension, the seriousness of punishment and their need for criminal gain.
Conclusion
We should never underestimate the gift of young citizen in our society. The collective institutions, without even knowing failed Mark. If stricter measures were in place, Mark's absence would not have gone unnoticed. As a result, he lost interest in school even though he was an engaging pupil and failed to get his qualifications. He truly believed that the only way to "get a piece of the pie" was Through illegal means.
As we have seen, criminals are citizen who share the same ambitions as accepted citizens but have decided to cut corners and use illegal means to achieve their goals. Mark chose an illegal path to fetch the goals that might otherwise have been out of reach.
According to Gottfreson and Hirschi, a number of personal factors condition citizen to select crime. Among the more leading factors are economic opportunity, learning and taste and knowledge of criminal techniques. (A normal principles of Crime,1990).
Although we saw how Mark is irresistibly drawn to a scam, his work as a criminal may have reached its limitations. Experienced criminals like Mark may turn from a life of crime when they fabricate a trust that the risk of crime is greater than its inherent profit.
No URL
Kendrick Lamar - Poetic Justice (Live on SNL)
Western Art - notable Western Artists & Paintings
Famous artists in the context of this record will be taken from those most popular. Celebrated or best artists is something too hard for a mere mortal like me to quantify simply whereas popularity, particularly on the internet can be calculated. Art is all about subjectivity, so i don't claim for the following list to be exhaustive or fully comprehensive, but please treat it as a fun way to gawk more about artists you already know about, and to possibly find some new artists that you had not heard of before. This is the main purpose of this article. The artists are not listed in any single order, so the final entry would not necessarily be the least Celebrated artist, it is more a general collection to browse through.
Michelangelo was an Italian Renaissance painter. He was considered by many to be the key Renaissance form because of his versatility and knowledge across a wide range of disciplines. Michelangelo's most Celebrated paintings consist of The Torment of Saint Anthony, Manchester Madonna, Doni Tondo, The Entombment, Battle of Cascina, Leda and the Swan, The Last Judgment, The Martyrdom of St Peter & The Conversion of Saul (1542-50)
Leonardo Da Vinci was an Italian genius best known as a painter, sculptor and architect, though he performed well in a wide collection of disciplines. Along with Michelangelo, Da Vinci is believed to be one of the most amazing artists of all time with such diversity and capability attained over his whole career. Da Vinci most Celebrated paintings consist of The Adoration of the Magi, Salai as John the Baptist & Annunciation.
Gustav Klimt was an Austrian painter and a key member of the Vienna Art Nouveau art scene as well as a Celebrated Symbolist artist. Klimt produced paintings of the top order, which he is best known for, plus wall murals and other art mediums. Klimt's traditional branch was the female body as shown in some of his most Celebrated works. He also is well known for use of gold leaf paint which many artists do not use frequently. Klimt most Celebrated paintings consist of The Kiss, Judith & Danaë.
Vincent Van Gogh was a Dutch artist from the Impressionist era and well known for his connections to Paul Gauguin and his art assembler brother, Theo. He was a pioneer of Expressionism with colossal affect on 20th century art, especially on the Fauves and German Expressionists. Some of his paintings are now among the world's best known, most favorite and costly works of art. Van Gogh most Celebrated paintings consist of Sunflowers, Starry Night, Potato Eaters & Van Gogh Self-portraits.
Claude Monet was a founder and key member of French impressionist painting and also one of the most Celebrated scenery artists of all time, alongside the likes of Van Gogh, Turner & Constable. Impressionism is taken from the name of his painting Impression Sunrise. Claude Monet most Celebrated paintings consist of Water Lilies, Japanese Bridge & Camille Monet Portraits.
Pablo Picasso was a Spanish Cubist painter and one of the most recognized figures in 20th-century art, he is best known for co-founding the Cubist movement and for the wide collection of styles embodied in his work. Among his most Celebrated works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) and Guernica (1937), his depiction of the German bombing of Guernica while the Spanish Civil War.
David Hockney is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, based in Yorkshire, United Kingdom, although he also maintains a prominence in London. An prominent contributor to the Pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the twentieth century. David Hockney most Celebrated paintings consist of Los Angeles Pool, Garrowby Hill & Malibu.
This initial record is the first part of a series of different articles surface major artists from the west. For added artists please return back for future articles here.
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Kendrick Lamar - Poetic Justice (Live on SNL)
A Biography of Bob Ross the Artist
Bob Ross was a versatile painter and television anchor from America who was born in the year of 1942 on 29th October. Bob's place of birth was Daytona Beach in Florida. Before he became noted as a painter, he had a long work in American air force for about 20 years.
His posting was mostly in Alaska and he used to take care of the medical services there. After retiring from the air force services he earned huge fame in all over the world for his paintings and television shows.
Bob Ross had an impressive look, which like his paintings appealed a lot to the audience of television. With his afro hairstyle and his composed, polite voice added up to his worldwide popularity.
He used to host a television show linked to art and the name of the show was The Joy of Painting and it is often carefully to be the most beloved one among the Americans.
In this show he used to teach the viewers how to paint and the techniques and presentation was impressive adequate to make the audience stick to the television screen. There were quite a number of kids who used to take their art lesion from Bob Ross straight through this single television show.
Some of the paintings that gained huge fame and still remembered by the audience are "pretty tiny mountains", "happy tiny trees" and "happy tiny clouds".
He was a strong believer of the fact that each and every man has an artist secret inside him who can come out if the man is inspired and taught in a accurate way. His shows were dubbed in German and they were broadcasted for the popularity among the audience.
He was quite thriving as a painter. In fact he started painting when he was posted in Alaska. He discovered a unique technique of painting, which was acclaimed by the art critics of the United States.
This technique is known as the wet-on-wet technique and it complex extra formula of applying the wet paint on an existing layer of paint that is as a matter of fact dissimilar from the approved methods. He used to paint the darkest clouds and liveliest trees on paper using the easy 1or 2-inch brushes.
But the most captivating fact about bob Ross is that he never received a expert training of production paintings.
At the same time Bob Ross has got some necessary comments from the art critics as well as fellow artists. Agreeing to them his paintings run short of detailing which is an necessary part of a good painting. They also say that the paintings of Bob Ross contained a style, which seems artificial.
In fact he also faced embarrassing situations created by the customary artists who protested against his modern technique of painting. This great persona passed away in the year of 1995 suffering from lymphoma.
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Kendrick Lamar - Poetic Justice (Live on SNL)
Top 10 Most popular Artists In The Usa List by contemporary Art Gallery Magazine
There is very good media coverage of all the varied optical arts. In expanding to educational programs in the social and private schools there are favorite arts history courses in most major colleges and universities.
Anyone who has looked at the art agency policy offerings in an art policy catalog at a major university or college of art and manufacture will be able to choose from a marvelous array of art study from every culture and age.
You don't have to go to college to appreciate art. There are online courses ready and junior college offerings. practically any major museum has an art education program that is sometimes very adequate for most peoples' interests. The internet is a veritable super art library as well with art works by numerous past and modern artists. The articles are numerous as well as fair to good capability art images. Even the online poster market make a huge whole of works ready by lithograph print at a very low price.
Art is now so favorite that a single artists' popularity can be measured by some factors:
1) attendance numbers of modern social and private exhibitions of their works
2) sales figures on art textbooks and art coffee table books that comprise a single artist's works
3) numbers of art posters and art lithographs sold per year
4) sales of art postcards, tee shirts, and any other art imprinted wares with any artist's work
5) numbers of search machine requests for an artist's name or title of his/her works
6) numbers of study projects conducted by students and professionals.
The list of these artists is large and it varies from month to month and from year to year. So I have compiled the Top 10 Most favorite Artists In The Usa List for 2006 - 2007 with the help of the staff at: Contemporary Art Gallery Magazine
Top 10: Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Vincent VanGogh, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Edgar Degas, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, Georgia O'Keefe, Paul Gauguin.
There were some famed surprises for me. Leonardo DaVinci did not make the top 10 artists list, but Jack Vettriano got amazingly close to the list inspecting his rather modern body of work and romantic subject matter. If you have a favorite artist who is not on this list, but you believe should be, send us an email at Cag.
Top 10 Most popular Artists In The Usa List by contemporary Art Gallery Magazine
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Kendrick Lamar - Poetic Justice (Live on SNL)
Dating Gurus - Who Are the Most favorite and Best?
Most guys today have heard of one of the dating gurus in one way or another. Best selling books and a whole of beloved Tv series and films have brought both dating gurus and pick up artists to the forefront of mainstream media.
This is a limited primer to introduce you to the most popular, most well known and best dating gurus. We've listed them agreeing to how beloved and well known they are, this does not mean that they are the best. Just that the ones at the top receive more media concentration than the ones lower down the list.
1. Neil Strauss (Aka Style from Stylelife). Neil Strauss was an already well known rock scene and New York Times writer when he wrote "The Game: Penetrating the incommunicable society of Pick Up Artists" which become a huge bestseller and created a large following of students and a frenzy in the media with Strauss appearing widely in the press and Tv talk shows. He continues to teach through his dating firm "Stylelife".
2. Erik von Markovik (Aka difficulty from Venusian Arts). Erik von Markovik is the creator of a lot of the technology behind pick up artistry. Neil Strauss was his student for a whole of years before becoming good and writing his book on the subject. Mystery, as he is more widely known, has had his won reality Tv show called "The Pick Up Artist" which was aired on Vh-1. A second season of the series was also screened. difficulty has been widely featured in the press also, and continues to teach through his dating firm "Venusian Arts".
3. Evan Pagan (Aka David DeAngelo from duplicate Your Dating) was the first dating guru to appear significantly on the scene and today has the largest dating advice firm surrounded by all the gurus. He published his first book "Double Your Dating ebook" in 2001 and since then he has built out a very large briefcase of products and seminars that help men to get great with women. His dating firm is "Double Your Dating".
4. Owen cook (Aka Td/Tyler Durden) was featured significantly in the story associated by "The Game" by Neil Strauss and was one of the defining personas for the improvement of dating advice into the large industrial shop that exists today. He is celebrated for his perfectionist, and detailed determination of what works and doesn't. Today he and his girlfriend have a baby son. As such he is one of the dating gurus with the most mature long term relationship.
5. David Wygant. David was one of the earliest dating gurus to appear on the scene and is rumored to have had the character in "Hitch" played by Will Smith based on him. David Wygant has a down to earth and style to his dating guru.
6. Nick Savoy (Aka Savoy) first appeared on the scene with the firm "Mystery formula Corporation" which was the primary firm that he and difficulty founded to teach pick up artistry and dating. It was one of the first clubs to offer 'dating bootcamps' that took guys out into the real life field and teach them how to meet women. difficulty and he split paths later creating their own companies. Today Nick Savoy is Ceo and schedule Director for Love Systems. Today Love Systems is the largest dating firm in terms of whole of coaches and global reach.
7. Daniel Rose drew a lot of concentration in the media over the last few years for his coaching and products about sexual skills. His firm is named "Sex God Method" and he has a book and some online training programs with video that teach guys all about how to create more remarkable sexual experiences with their female partners.
8. Vin DiCarlo. Vin DiCarlo appeared on the dating guru scene just a few years ago with a distinct positioning to the majority of his dating guru peers emphasizing solely confidence, mindsets and 'inner game'. He has become very beloved in the short term he's been in the shop thanks to his marketing efforts and wide distribution of his writing.
Dating Gurus - Who Are the Most favorite and Best?
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Kendrick Lamar - Poetic Justice (Live on SNL)
Top 10 Most beloved Artists In The Usa List by modern Art Gallery Magazine
There is very good media coverage of all the discrete visual arts. In addition to educational programs in the group and incommunicable schools there are favorite arts history courses in most major colleges and universities.
Anyone who has looked at the art department procedure offerings in an art procedure catalog at a major university or college of art and fabricate will be able to select from a phenomenal array of art study from every culture and age.
You don't have to go to college to appreciate art. There are online courses available and junior college offerings. practically any major museum has an art instruction program that is sometimes very adequate for most peoples' interests. The internet is a veritable super art library as well with art works by numerous past and modern artists. The articles are numerous as well as fair to good ability art images. Even the online poster market make a huge estimate of works available by lithograph print at a very low price.
Art is now so favorite that a single artists' popularity can be measured by some factors:
1) attendance numbers of modern group and incommunicable exhibitions of their works
2) sales figures on art textbooks and art coffee table books that include a single artist's works
3) numbers of art posters and art lithographs sold per year
4) sales of art postcards, tee shirts, and any other art imprinted wares with any artist's work
5) numbers of search motor requests for an artist's name or title of his/her works
6) numbers of explore projects conducted by students and professionals.
The list of these artists is large and it varies from month to month and from year to year. So I have compiled the Top 10 Most favorite Artists In The Usa List for 2006 - 2007 with the help of the staff at: Contemporary Art Gallery Magazine
Top 10: Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Vincent VanGogh, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Edgar Degas, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, Georgia O'Keefe, Paul Gauguin.
There were some illustrious surprises for me. Leonardo DaVinci did not make the top 10 artists list, but Jack Vettriano got amazingly close to the list considering his rather modern body of work and romantic subject matter. If you have a favorite artist who is not on this list, but you believe should be, send us an email at Cag.
Top 10 Most beloved Artists In The Usa List by modern Art Gallery Magazine
Top 10 Most popular Artists In The Usa List by contemporary Art Gallery Magazine
Top 10 Most popular Artists In The Usa List by contemporary Art Gallery Magazine Top 10 Most popular Artists In The Usa List by contemporary Art Gallery Magazine
Segmented Woodturning Allows the Artist To Put Together Many Designs to create One Great Piece
Segmented Woodturning Allows the Artist To Put Together Many Designs to create One Great Piece Segmented Woodturning Allows the Artist To Put Together Many Designs to create One Great Piece
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