The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions (1899), by Thorstein Veblen, is a treatise of economics and sociology, and a critique of conspicuous consumption as a function of social class and of consumerism, which are social activities derived from the social stratification of people and the division of labor; the social institutions of the feudal period (9th–15th c.) that have continued to the modern era.Veblen discusses how the pursuit and the possession of wealth affects human behavior, that the contemporary lords of the manor, the businessmen who own the means of production, have employed themselves in the economically unproductive practices of conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure, which are useless activities that contribute neither to the economy nor to the material production of the useful goods and services required for the functioning of society. Instead, it is the middle class and working class who are usefully employed in the industrialised, productive occupations that support the whole of society. Conducted in the late 19th century, Veblen's socio-economic analyses of the business...

Randall Herman Meisner (March 8, 1946 – July 26, 2023) was an American musician, singer, songwriter and founding member of the Eagles. Throughout his professional musical career, Meisner's main role was that of bassist and backing high-harmony vocalist as a group member and session musician. He co-wrote the Eagles hit song "Take It to the Limit", which he also sang. Early life Randall Herman Meisner was born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, the second child and only son of farmers Herman (1911–1995) and Emilie (née Haun) Meisner (1911–2010). All four of his grandparents were Volga German immigrants. Randy had an older sister, Carol, who died in 2005. He recalled that his mother was always singing around the house. His maternal grandfather, George Haun, was a violin teacher.The Meisner family grew corn, beans, alfalfa, and sugar beets on their farm. Young Randy developed an interest in the guitar at ten years old, after seeing Elvis Presley perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. He began taking lessons and playing in local bands. While attending Scottsbluff High School, one of Randy's teachers...

The photoplayer is an automatic mechanical orchestra used by movie theatres to produce photoplay music to accompany silent films. Operation The central instruments in a photo player were a piano and percussion; some machines also added pipe organs and methods for manually creating sound effects. Like a player piano, the photo player played music automatically by reading piano rolls (rolls of paper with perforations), but the photo player could hold two rolls: one that would play while the other was prepared. Common sound effects included gunshots, bells and drums, which were generated by pulling chains called "cow-tails". Some photo players feature electric sound effects, such as sirens, automobile horns, and other oddities. A photo player operator had to load the paper rolls, start the machine and add the manual sound effects and percussion using the cow-tails. History Approximately 8,000 to 10,000 photoplayers were produced during the boom era of silent films, between 1910 and 1928. Around a dozen manufacturers produced the instruments, including the American Photo Player Company, which...