ESSAY ARCHIVES
The 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 and will be updated again as soon as time permits. Some links are no longer available. Where possible, substitutions
have been noted for links which are no longer in existence.
YEAR OF THE DRAGON: In China and throughout much of Asia, the Lunar New Year is celebrated each year in January or February. A particular animal is associated with each year in accordance with the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. 2012 is
"The Year of the Dragon." The divisions and subdivisions of the Chinese zodiac relate each year with reputed attributes of a particular animal, but often within a different context than the animal might have in the West. Some qualities associated with the
animals are said to govern everything from leadership to luck -- and even compatibility for love or marriage with those born in different animal years.
As said before, 2012 is "The Year of the Dragon." The dragon is considered to be one of the most
auspicious creatures of the Chinese zodiac and was used throughout history by the Emperor of China as a symbol of imperial power. Though dragons were generally thought of as evil in European lore, dragons in China were also symbols of strength and good luck. Dragons
are also associated with water and have been considered to be the rulers of bodies of water such as rivers or seas. As a result, each of the essays in this year's series (with possible exception of the last one), will touch in some way on something that has
a relationship to water. Essays from this year will be added to the Archives in the month after they appear on the "This Month's Essay" page.
2012 Series: "Animal Magnetism." The 2012 Theme is "Animal Magnetism." Essays will be moved here to the Archives following the month in which they appear
on the "This Month's Essay" page. The essays of the two-part Algal Biofuels series can now be found in the Essay Archives.
• June 2012 - Algal Biofuels Part I: Who You Callin' Pond Scum? Click here to go to
the June 2012 essay.
• July 2012 - Algal Biofuels Part II: Green-In' the Gas Tank? Click here to go to
the July 2012 essay.
• August 2012 - A Sprinkling of Thoughts on Water Click here to go to
the August 2012 essay.
2011 Series: "Game Changer." The 2011 summer theme was "Game Changer," and the essays covered topics from Jeopardy to soccer-playing
robots!
• July 2011 - A Game-Changing Milestone: The Garry Kasparov-Deep Blue Chess Match and Beyond. Click here to go to
the July 2011 essay.
• August 2011 - Where Scrabble Meets Lego in the Building Blocks of Life: Synthetic Biology. Click here to go to
the August 2011 essay.
• September 2011 - Is America in Jeopardy? Click here to go to
the September 2011 essay.
2010 Series: Music - Summer - Style. The site theme for Summer 2010 was "OCTAVE: Music, Summer-Style." Each of the essays reflected, in some way, on the three parts of
that theme.
• June 2010 (MUSIC) - For Your Listening Pleasure . . . Recorded Sound and Technological Change. Click here to go to
the June 2010 essay.
• July 2010 (SUMMER) - Here Comes the Sun (Part 1) . . .. This is Part 1 of a two-part series looking at solar energy basics. Click here to go to
the July 2010 essay.
• August 2010 (SUMMER) - Here Comes the Sun (Part 2) . . .. Part 2 of the two-part series looks at the California Solar Initiative and a few uses of solar energy in some of the
cities covered on the site. Click here to go to
the August 2010 essay.
• September 2010 (STYLE) - Clothes Make the Man . . . Or Man Makes the Clothes . . . Or What?. The closing essay of the summer was a few passing thoughts about the clothes everyone
wears and the fibers from which they are made. Click here to go to
the September 2010 essay.
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.
• August/September 2009 - Work in Progress - Stories for Summer 2009. Part II - Stories Skirting the Edge of Science. Click here to go to
the August/September 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 I and II Bibliography Click here to go to
the Bibliography for Parts I and II.
• 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.
To return to the top of the
page, click
here.
Follow www.dorothyswebsite.org on TWITTER!
"Like" www.dorothyswebsite.org on FACEBOOK!
Home | Poetry | Essays |
Free Concerts | Links | 2012 Extras |
About the Site
Featured Artists | 2012 Website Special Guests | News
|
