Who Was Franz Kafka - Fact Facts

By Paul Hooke

Franz Kafka is one of the most widely read and discussed authors of the twentieth century Europe. His stories are among the darkest in literature, with grotesque vision of the world in which alienated and disturbed characters make a futile search for salvation. His best known works are The Trial and The Metamorphosis.

Kafka was born on July 3, 1883 in Prague, into a middle-class Jewish family to Hermann, a successful businessman, and Julie Kafka. He had two younger brothers, both of whom died in infancy and three younger sisters Gabriele, Valerie, and Ottilie, who all died in concentration camps.

Kafka was educated in German schools, not Czech, although he understood Czech. He did well in schools, especially classes like Latin, Greek and history. When he went to University, he decided to study chemistry, but switched after two weeks to law. He obtained the degree of Doctor of Law in 1906.

During the university years he met a fellow Jew, literary artist, Max Brod, who became his lifelong friend and advocate.

After graduation, he worked for an insurance company for many years - a job he did not enjoy. But he didn't show any indifference towards it. As a safety professional he actually invented the safety helmet and received a medal for his invention.

During his lifetime, Kafka published only a few short stories and was known as a writer only within his small literary, intellectual circle in Prague. He never finished any of his novels and prior to his death asked his friend, Max Brod, to destroy all of his works after his death.

He wrote most of his works before WWI. The Metamorphosis is his most famous work. It's a masterfully written short story about a travelling salesman who wakes one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insect. Bizarre and thought-provoking like most of his writings.

Kafka was such a unique writer that his name inspired a term - Kafkaesque. The word means something resembling the literary work of Kafka - something absurd, bizarre, disorienting, opposite of reason and logic.

Kafka died from complications related to tuberculosis on June 3, 1924 near Vienna. He was buried in Prague.

About the Author:

Paul Hooke is a photographer and a book lover. Franz Kafka The Trial is his favorite book. To learn more about Kafka, take a look at Franz Kafka bio.

Want To Paint With Oils? - Here Is What You Ought To Know!...

By Anna Meenaghan

Oil painting itself dates back to ancient times in Europe. It was discovered in caves where men mixed together soot, earth and animal fats to make the earliest oil paints. These were at that time used to compose their imagery on the actual cave walls.

Later it was revealed that, if oils were taken from nuts plus linseed and were mixed along with pigment, it would make up bright oily colours. The beauty of oils is the fact that, if you do make errors on your canvas, you can get the colour off if you dip a piece of rag in turpentine and just wipe it off.

Therefore, what do you in actual fact need? First of all, I would advise you to wear a big apron, or some kind of overall, before you start to paint. A palette knife along with a palette. The knife you will discover very handy to move oil on to your picture, but you can what's more move the paint about with this.

Now, if you can afford an easel this will be an asset and there are various types to pick from. Old jam jars can be used for washing out your brushes or solvents. Old pieces of rag, or dippers also, are rather a good idea as they can be clipped on to the edge of your palette to contain solvent as well as painting mediums.

Solvents, for example distilled turpentine and white spirit, for thinning oil colours and also for cleaning your equipment and brushes, can be used to great effect. Charcoal too is useful for outlining the subject that you want to paint. For instance for your fundamental palette, colours I have listed now are a general type of palette which,needless to say, you can always add to.

Cadium lemon, yellow and red, raw umber, titanium white, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, viridian hue, french ultramarine, pthalo blue, permanent alizarin crimson, and permanent rose.

It follows that, besides paper or a canvas, you can lay oil paint on top of glass, hardboard, walls, wooden furniture and plaster if you prepare it to start with and make use of a primer.

Going to brushes, fine hog brushes are in all probability the best option as they maintain their form and are pretty good for fine detailing in your masterpiece. While for brush types, a large or medium sized flat brush works well. A medium no. 6, or a large no. 10 or 12.

These are good when you want to paint on large areas of colour. If you then want to do thinner, narrow lines you can use the tip of your brush. Very good too for blending your colour around your canvas.

Now for scumbling or dabbing on small patches of colour. You could use a medium sized round no. 6 brush, which would work well too for putting on broad areas of colour. For very fine details, and even highlighting, you could try a no. 2 small sized round brush.

If you would like to sketch outside, canvas boards are good, quite strong, and, I would say, are more manageable as they take up less space. Stretched canvases are in all probability the most used, but you can even construct these yourself.

The other alternative of surface left to you is oil colour paper which has a textured surface, but can be used for oils or acrylics.

About the Author:

If you liked this article by Anna Meenaghan then you can find a whole lot more at her online interactive art gallery website. Here you can find anything related to art ranging from realism to abstract paintings, as well as video interviews with artists etc.

Karaoke Songs - Nothing Beats A Good Karaoke Fun Night Out

By Pat Beagle

Ever thought that you were good at singing because you appreciated music but didn't think you had what it takes to go all the way? Well, nothing beats Karaoke for just getting up there, (usually after several drinks), and letting it rip.

One song you can be Elvis and the next you can be a country and Western star. It's all up to you, and that is the beauty of Karaoke. Some are too afraid to get up there, but those who have a great experience are usually the ones who wait until the end of the night when they've had a few before they get up and sing. They know that at that point no one is being judgmental because they simply don't care.

Then there are the ones who think they're good, and won't get off. They sound like they are being tortured, and, in fact they are torturing everyone else. However, Karaoke is for everyone and for all ages too. Parents love to watch their child be a star, and the kids love it because it is good for their self- confidence and esteem.

However, Karaoke isn't just for bars or restaurants, it is also for gatherings such as weddings or parties when people like to let off some steam and have a good time doing it. There is nothing like Karaoke to bind a group together through the enjoyment of laughing together, and talking about it the next day.

Another good aspect of Karaoke is that teenagers enjoy it as well. Instead of hanging around and doing nothing which can lead to trouble later on, teens like to get up and sing ? it makes them feel good to know that their parents are having fun watching them, it gives them a good sense of belonging to know that others are involved with hem in something everyone can enjoy together.

What Karaoke does is to make people feel good, pure and simple. We are social in nature and love to get together to enjoy ourselves with friends, and with strangers. Karaoke creates an instant bond between everyone because it is a natural de-inhibitor, and the result is that people come away feeling happy, having forgotten all about the grind for a while.

The reason karaoke has caught on and boomed so bid is that there is a budding star in all that says, ?I wonder what I would sound like if I got up and tried it?. Many people are surprised when they get up and try Karaoke for the first time.

What is even more surprising is the reaction they get when people applaud. It boosts confidence and esteem, and it makes then forget all the rat race nonsense, giving them a re-charged feeling of self worth. In short, Karaoke just makes you feel good.

Therefore, the next time you want to go out and you?re wondering what you can do that would be different, give Karaoke a try. You'll be surprised!

About the Author:

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