Surnames

As request by Prof. Stephen I will talk a little bit about health in Brazil and the “cliff analogy”. I don’t want to bother you too much, so I will try to do it in a nutshell, but eventually I will need to go back to our colonial history and race miscegenation for a better understanding. Brazil had some particularities among the European colonies, in 1808, as Napoleon invaded Portugal, the King John VI run away along the Portuguese Court to Brazil from where the Royal family reigned Portugal…

My name Sydney also spelled as Sydnee, Sydnie, Sidnie, or even Sydni. Sydney can be a boy or girl name. Sidney is variation of a surname, but was later changed the spelling to Sydney. Sydney is most commonly used in English and is french for Dennis. Helmes is my last name. Most people spell it Helms, which is English and is a variant for helm 1, Helmes is german and is patronymic for helm 3, somehow these are linked to one another and have probably changed in spelling over the years. Helmes…

Leonardo da Vinci is a world renowned historical figure. Known for being a genius inventor, designing parachutes and early flying machines, a talented artist, working in painting and sculpture, as well as an architect, and military engineer. Da Vinci was a leader of the Italian Renaissance and is often referred to as the ideal “Renaissance Man” with his many talents and his studies of science, nature, and anatomy. Da Vinci was born in a farmhouse on April 15, 1452 outside the village of Anchiano…

Redefining Blackness During the twentieth century, black people began to redefine what ‘blackness’ was and what it meant to be ‘black’ by reconnecting with African history and culture. This was a period of reflection and reconstruction of the black consciousness, and although the twentieth century didn’t produce a solidified interpretation of ‘blackness,’ it created the groundwork necessary to form an identity that was independent of the racist notions instituted by slavery and/or other systems…

LOGLINE: American Truck driver Paul Conroy finds himself capsulized in a state of Claustrophobia and manic fear when faced with his impeding surroundings six feet under in a wooden box. SYNOPSIS: Paul Conroy is a 35 year old truck driver in Iraq, but in this very moment, he is a man incased in a coffin struggle to both hold his sanity and find his way out of the dark, dank, depths of some unknown location in Iraq. Harnessing a lighter, phone, flask, a pen and pencil, and various other…

own choices in life is an issue dragged this way and that, for a long time in our country. Facing equal assault from the chauvinists who declare that women’s place is inside the house, and the feminists who condemn the idea of taking the husband’s surname after marriage, the idea finds a middle path here. There is after all a difference between possessing and protecting. The image of new women in recent writings has undergone a sea change. Her novels A Married Woman and The Immigrant deals with…

Douglass understands that the name he had picked for himself, "Frederick Johnson," is excessively regular. Since "Frederick" is a substantial piece of his personality, Douglass gives Johnson a chance to pick another surname for him; Douglass now formally changes his name to "Frederick Douglass." The solace and wonder of life in New Bedford bewilders Douglass, since he didn 't think such success would have been conceivable without owning slaves. He had erroneously accepted…

called the Nation of Islam. Their leader Elijah Muhammad argued that white society actively fought to keep African American from gaining power in any field be that political, social or economic. It is because of this movement that Malcolm changed his surname from Little to X to symbolize his identity that was stolen from his ancestors during slavery. After Elijah Muhammad broke one of his founding tenants, Malcolm feeling betrayed left the movement and formed his own known as the Muslim Mosque…

One might look at my last name and ponder at its origin. The name “Misel” is also an Americanized variant of “Maisel,” the name adopted by my forefathers when they immigrated to this land. Despite my German surname and heritage, there is little German about me. I no longer have any connections to the country of my origin and have had little exposure to German culture and traditions. When offered the opportunity to learn German in high school, I chose Spanish instead -- a language that I viewed…

Education is so important in our emancipation and development as human beings. It is important that we look holistically and start with the basics as a means to begin our exploration of developing ways of living in a kind of balance with our habitat and its inhabitants. Although our task ahead is monumental and difficult, sometimes impossible, the more we learn and educate ourselves, the more we find that there are many viable and alternatives to the current situation in which we find solutions.…