Present

The present (or now) is the time that is associated with the events perceived directly and in the first time, not as a recollection (perceived more than once) or a speculation (predicted, hypothesis, uncertain). It is a period of time between the past and the future, and can vary in meaning from being an instant to a day or longer. In radiocarbon dating, the "present" is defined as AD 1950.

It is sometimes represented as a hyperplane in space-time, typically called "now", although modern physics demonstrates that such a hyperplane cannot be defined uniquely for observers in relative motion. The present may also be viewed as a duration (see specious present).

Society and religion

Contemporary history describes the historical timeframe that is immediately relevant to the present time and is a certain perspective of modern history.

In Yoga

In Patanjali Yoga Sutras the first sutra defines Yoga as 'NOW'. By 'Chitta Vrithhi nirodha' (restraining the thought-streams) the present can be experienced. The moment a person thinks, he is recalling his past experience. He will never know the present. Being conscious or being aware is the only way to know the present.

Thomas Carlyle

Thomas Carlyle (4 December 1795 – 5 February 1881) was a Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher. Considered one of the most important social commentators of his time, he presented many lectures during his lifetime with certain acclaim in the Victorian era. One of those conferences resulted in his famous work On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History where he explains that the key role in history lies in the actions of the "Great Man", claiming that "History is nothing but the biography of the Great Man".

A respected historian in his day, his 1837 book The French Revolution: A History was the inspiration for Dickens' 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities, and remains popular today. Carlyle's 1836 novel Sartor Resartus is considered one of the finest works of the nineteenth century.

A great polemicist, Carlyle coined the term "the dismal science" for economics. He also wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, and his Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question (1849) remains controversial. Once a Christian, Carlyle lost his faith while attending the University of Edinburgh, later adopting a form of Deism. His philosophy, combined with his appreciation of the German culture, the Norse mythology and his anti-democratic views, is considered by some a prelude for fascism.

The Present

The Present is the eleventh album by The Moody Blues, released in 1983. It is the second album of the Patrick Moraz era. It provided three minor hit singles in the U.S. with "Blue World" (#62), "Sitting at the Wheel" (#27) and "Running Water". The album itself features strong compositions, but with a track sequence designed to capitalise on the legacy of the more successful Long Distance Voyager, with Justin Hayward's songs at the beginning and Ray Thomas's at the end.

The Present also became, in 1983, the first compact disc manufactured worldwide. In November 2008 the album was remastered and released on CD with two extra tracks.

The cover is a pastiche of Maxfield Parrish's famous painting Daybreak, with some subtle details: The "X" that the standing child is giving to the other is said to symbolise the Roman numeral "X", this being the Moody Blues' tenth album (with Lodge and Hayward).

Original track listing

Side One

Thomas Campbell (visual artist)

Thomas Campbell (born c. 1969) is a California-based visual artist whose work has appeared on the Ugly Casanova album Sharpen Your Teeth and in Juxtapoz Magazine's September 2006 issue.

Beyond his paintings, Campbell is also a filmmaker, sculptor and photographer.

Thomas grew up surfing and skating in southern California before moving to New York in the 1980s. In that setting he came to know and be associated with the artists that would go on to make up San Francisco's Mission School painters and the generation that would be at least loosely defined by the Beautiful Losers exhibition in 2004.

His first feature length surf film, The Seedling came out in 1999, his second release was a film called Sprout in 2004 and his third surf film is called The Present released in 2009.

Campbell is represented by the Roberts & Tilton Gallery in Los Angeles, California.

References

External links

The Present (2014 film)

The Present is a 2014 animated short film created and directed by German animator Jacob Frey, alongside with Markus Kranzler. It depicts the relation of a videogame-addicted teenager boy with his new present from his mother: a dog without a leg. It won several prizes in different awards ceremonies.

Plot story

A teenager boy is concentrated playing his Xbox between closed windows, when his mother arrives with a box. She opens the windows, releasing the outside's clarity which slightly stuns him, and puts the box at the table in his front, saying it contains a present for him. Soon after his mother go upstairs to use the telephone, he decides to open the box, revealing a happy dog cub. The boy is initially pleased with the present, but when he realizes the dog lacks his left front leg, he becomes annoyed and throws the animal away to return to play his videogame. The dog soon after finds a red rubber ball below a wardrobe and starts appealing to the boy to play with him by catching the ball and giving him back when he throws it. Despite reluctant, the teenager eventually changes his humour and cedes, deciding to play ball catching with the dog cub outside. The final scene reveals that the boy also does not have a leg and needs crutches in order to walk.