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ESSAY ARCHIVES

he Essay Archives were established in 2006 to give readers the opportunity to view other essays which have appeared on the website since its inception. This year's works also will be moved into this section after they have appeared in the "This Month's Essay" space. Please click on a link below to reach the item you would like to read. Also, PLEASE NOTE: Most of the essays have been "interactive" in the sense that a person can click back and forth between links embedded in the essay and the essay itself. The links were valid at the time the articles were written. Links for all essays were updated in 2008. Some links are no longer available. Where possible, substitutions have be noted for links which are no longer in existence.

     "The ancient Indian, Arabic and Persian tales known as "The Arabian Nights Entertainments first appeared in their present form as collected in a fifteenth-century Arabic manuscript. Because of the way they are related, the stories are also known as "The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night."

     Most readers are familiar with the framework: Shahryar, emperor of Persia and India, having observed the treachery of his brother's wife and his own, vowed that he would marry a new wife every day and have her executed the next morning. But when the wise Scheherezade [also written Shahrazad in translations] became the emperor's wife, she determined a scheme to save the young women of Persia.

     On the night of her marriage to Shahryar she began to tell him a tale which fascinated him so much that he postponed her death for one more night so that he could learn the end of the story. Scheherezade told him stories for a thousand and one nights [some 273 tales]. Convinced of her worthiness and goodness, he let her live . . ."

From Introduction and Preface, Easton Press Sir Richard Burton translation of The Arabian Nights Entertainments

2009 Series: Work in Progress - Stories for Summer 2009. Prior to the start of the summer series, a brief essay on the final transition to digital television in the U.S. appeared. Click on the link below to visit the essay.

• June 2009 - I Hooked Up Last Night - End of Story?. Click here to go to the June 2009 essay.

• July 2009 - Work in Progress - Stories for Summer 2009. Part I - Introduction. Click here to go to the July 2009 essay.

2008 Series: Petromorphosis. The summer of 2008 brought with it the highest gas prices Southern California has ever seen. The series was called "Petromorphosis," and the three essays took a look at issues concerning gas prices and the future of petroleum and other energy sources, with a focus on fuels. Click on the links below to visit the essays.

• Part I (June/July) - "Pay'n" at the Pump. Click here to go to the June/July 2008 essay.

• Part II (August) - "They Didn't Leave the Stone Age Because They Ran Out of Stones." Click here to go to the August 2008 essay.

• Part III (September) - "An Af-fuel-ent Future?" Click here to go to the September 2008 essay.

2007 Series: Putting the Pieces Together: Technological Change - Where We've Been, Where We're Going, and a Brief Introduction to the Future.. The 2007 series was entitled "Putting the Pieces Together: Technological Change - Where We've Been, Where We're Going, and a Brief Introduction to the Future. Also, prior to the start of the summer series, a brief essay on compact fluorescent light bulbs appeared. Click on the links below to visit the essays.

• "A Short Note on Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs)." Click here to go to the June 2007 essay.

• "Putting the Pieces Together: Technological Change - Where We've Been." Click here to go to the July 2007 essay.

• "Putting the Pieces Together: Technological Change - Where We're Going." Click here to go to the August 2007 essay.

• "Putting the Pieces Together: Technological Change - A Brief Introduction to the Future." Click here to go to the September 2007 essay.

2006 Series: "Digital Sunrise, Analog Sunset." The series began with a continuation of and update to the previous year's article on the transition to digital television in the United States. It continued with an introductory piece on the technology allowing phone calls to be made over the internet, or VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), and concluded with an exploration of Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID.

• "An Update on the Transition to Digital Television in the U.S." Click here to go to the June 2006 essay.

• "Phone Calls Over the Internet? Getting to Know VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol)" Click here to go to the July/August 2006 essay.

• "Something Old, Something New . . . The ABC's of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)" Click here to go to the September 2006 essay.

2005 Series: "Blue Roses, Green Cars and More. What Color is Your Future?" This series covered a number of topics. It began with an update and summary of information concerning genetically modified foods. The series then continued for the next two months with a look at "green" cars and hydrogen fuel cells. The summer concluded with an introduction to the transition to digital television in the U.S.

• "Golden Rice, Yellow Maize and Amber Waves of Grain: A 2005 Update of the Genetically Modified Foods Debate." Click here to read the June 2005 essay and Introduction to the 2005 Essay Series.

• "Green Cars and the Road Ahead: A Clear Future? - Part I." Click here to read the July 2005 essay.

• "Green Cars and the Road Ahead: A Clear Future? - Part II." Click here to read the August 2005 essay.

• Combined Bibliography for Parts I and II of "Green Cars". Click here to reach the bibliography.

• "Will You Be Singing the TV Black Box Blues? The Transition to Digital Television in the U.S." Click here to read the September 2005 essay.

2004 Series: "A Taste of the Genetically Modified Foods Debate." This series examined in depth the debate on genetically modified (GM) foods. The first essay in the series was an introduction to the topic. The second continued with specific examples of foods which either had been genetically modified or were being developed. The series concluded with a look at genetically modified foods and the biotechnology industry developing them, with a particular focus on California.

• "Genes, Beans and Greens: A Taste of the Genetically Modified Foods Debate, Part I". Click here to read Part I (June/July).

• "The Products and the Promise: A Taste of the Genetically Modified Foods Debate, Part II". Click here to read Part II (August).

• "Seeds, Industry Germination and California Roots: A Taste of the Genetically Modified Foods Debate, Part III". Click here to read Part III (September).

• Combined Bibliography for Parts I, II and III. Click here to reach the bibliography.

2003 Essays: The summer of 2003 was the first summer for the site. Two essays were included, but they were neither related nor part of any series. The August essay was a look at the student loan system, and the second discussed issues pertinent to what was then the upcoming recall election in California. Also included with the September essay is a poem which appeared on the site in October, just prior to the recall election.

• "Student Loans: Open Secrets of the System and What You Need to Know". Click here to go to the August 2003 essay.

• "Politicians, Personalities and California's October 7 Plebiscite: Do You Recall . . .?", plus website poem "The California Recall Raven." Click here to go to the September 2003 essay.


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