Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Real Presence: Eucharist

The Eucharistic Presence also known as the communion and the Last Supper is a significant part of the Christian religion . The Protestants believe that the communion is merely for the remembrance and the thanksgiving of Jesus’s sacrifice for the people. However the Roman Catholics and the Orthodox believe that the ritual is a physical union, becoming one with Jesus by partaking in the eating of the body and bread. Jesus spoke â€Å"My flesh is true food, my blood is true drink,†(John 6:55) when the disciples were gathered for the Last Supper before Jesus died on the cross.The intention of Jesus’s saying was not of a metaphor but to be accepted literally which is done so by the Catholic church. The Eucharist is a sacrament of the last supper. It involves sacred elements that go through transubstantiation, a change in the substance, essence. This theological concept can be referred to as a Real Presence, in which the bread and wine changes its substance into body a nd blood along with the soul and divinity of Jesus. The concept of Real Presence was opposed during the reformation period of 1500 when there was a division within the church.Before the concept of transubstantiation was officially codified, the term was already assumed and accepted in the literal sense. The oppositions and the divisions in the church lead the church into forming an Ecumenical council in Trent and the Vatican Council of 1962 where Episcopal powers aimed to defend and reinforce the belief in Real Presence. The Eucharist as the Real Presence of Christ can be seen through the Eucharistic dogma provided by the the Council of Trent, Vatican II.Certain excerpts from scripture can be used to display the consistency of belief in the Eucharist as the literal blood and body of Jesus Christ. John Macquarrie in â€Å"Paths in Spirituality† consist of concepts of temporal, spatial, and personal presence can be used to support the dogma of Eucharist as Real Presence. The Eu charist involves a theological concept of transubstantiation which was a term created to explain the mystery of the liturgy practice. It is a compound word consisting of two words that mean change and substance. Therefore the meaning of the word is a change of substance.The substance refers to the uniqueness and the very nature of anything that exists. The accident refers to the eternal qualities that are subject to the senses. The substance of the bread and wine which is refered to as the â€Å"breadness† and the â€Å"wineness† transforms into the substance of the body and blood of Christ. However the appearance and the physical state of the bread and wine, which can be tasted, touched, smelled, all do not change. There are numerous writings by significant church figures to support the literal interpretation of the Eucharist as the Real Presence of Christ.This can be seen in the works of Ignatius of Antioch, he writes â€Å"Strive then to make use of one form of tha nksgiving, for the flesh of Our Lord Jesus Christ is one and one is the Chalice in the union of His Blood, one alter, one bishop. † Saint Augustine wrote â€Å"It was in His flesh that Christ walked among us and it is his flesh that he has given us to eat for our salvation† The early fathers of the church attested the belief in transubstantiation. The concept of transubstantiation was officially codified at the Council of Trent.Even before the council of Trent, the Eastern church used a similar concept in Greek called metaousious â€Å"change of substance. † Variations in the interpretations regarding the liturgy of Eucharist started to form. The Protestant reformation gave a rise to Constantiation which was formed by Martin Luther. The protest with the universal faith of Christians in the Real Presence began during the Protestant Reformation when Zwingli and Calvin refuted the concept of the real physical presence of Jesus in the Eucharist using their subjective interpretation of the text. Zwingli believed the Eucharist was just a symbolic experience.Calvin refuted that it was more than a symbol, but less than Jesus’ physical presence. He prefered a â€Å"spiritual† presence and never explained how this differed from the omnipresence of God. On the contrary, Luther protects the concept the Real Presence. Luther wrote: â€Å"Who, but the devil, hath granted such a license of wrestling the words of the holy Scripture? Who ever read in the Scriptures, that my body is the same as the sign of my body? Or, that is the same as it signifies? What language in the world ever spoke so? It is only then the devil, that imposeth upon us by these fanatical men. . . Not one of the Fathers, though so numerous, ever spoke as the Sacramentarians: not one of them ever said, It is only bread and wine; or, the body and blood of Christ is not there present. † Luther believed in Constantiation which was when the substance of the bread and win e remain the same, coexisting with the substance of Jesus’s blood and body. Eucharist as Real Presence can supported through biblical scriptures. The communion is for the receiving of Jesus into our bodies by eating his body and drinking his blood. In John 6:56 â€Å"He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. The word abide is significant in understanding transubstantiation. Jesus also uses the word â€Å"abide† in chapter fifteen when he mentions the vine and the vinedresser. The word abide in greek can also be translated as living. So Christ is living in those that have ate his flesh and drank of his blood. John Macquarrie in Paths in Spirituality supports the Eucharistic as Real Presence through three concepts of present reality. Presence has several different significations that are fundamental in understanding the concept of transubstantiation. The first one is temporal presence. In the Eucharist there is a presence in time.But the confl ict in this understanding is that The Last Supper happened two thousand years ago. So how would the church bridge the time in between? Macquarrie writes, â€Å"The Council of Trent, incidentally, used the word repraesentatio in connection with the Eucharist in the sense that it makes present again Christ’s saving work. We live between the Christ of history, of the historical incarnation, and the Christ of the future, the Christ who will come again with glory. But between times’ Christ is not absent. † Therefore in the Eucharist, Christ is fully, and physically present.Many protestants such as Bultmann, does not believe in the real, physical presence of Christ, rather a genuine presence in which Christ can only be revealed through the Word of God. But that is limiting the very possibility in Christ being present in many other ways. Where is Jesus present? God and Jesus is both omnipresent. But if God is present everywhere then what is the significance of Jesus be ing present in the bread and wine? Macquarrie inquires â€Å"But how can this be reconciled with the idea of a particular presence? † A universal presence of God is very hard to detect and recognize because he is simply everywhere.But if his presence is densed, localized and particularized into one area there will be â€Å"moments of intensity and meeting or encountering of God. Even in the Old Testament, God’s presence was localized in the Ark of the Covenant, where His presence was experienced with intensity. The church can be an another example of sacred space. Macquarrie claims, â€Å"If there was no particular places where one might find Christ present, I do not think he would be present anywhere. † Summation of the presences leads to the personal presence. It is a multidimensional presence where it is not limited to time and space.Christ can be revealed in the actions of his people. He is revealed in the community of the faithful, the body of Christ, â₠¬Å"sometimes called the extension of the incarnation. † Protestants receive the Eucharist as spiritual presence. however the spiritual presence is inferior to the personal presence. Personal presence has no limitations and boundaries in the human experience which includes spatial, temporal and even spiritual. Because the accidents of the elements do not change, there is no empirical verification, leaving the presence visible only to those that have eyes of faith.Many Christians abstain from the practice of Eucharist because they refuse to believe that the Eucharist is the real flesh of Jesus Christ. Even great Christian thinkers like Calvin believed in a limited presence of Christ in the communion. In disputing over the real presence in Eucharist through biblical justifications, divisions in the church started to form. â€Å"Interpretation of certain verses has been a source of division between Christians, and not only in creating separation between Catholics and Protestants. Luther and Calvin also stood in fundamental disagreement over the doctrine of the real presence in the elements, and these verses played no small part in that dispute. † However this was good for the church because they were able to filter out the different interpretations of the Eucharist. The Eucharist as the Real Presence of Christ can be seen through the Eucharistic dogma provided by the the Council of Trent, Vatican II. John Macquarrie in â€Å"Paths in Spirituality† can also assist further supporting the idea of real presence through the concepts of temporal, spatial, and personal presence.CITATIONS – Pope Paul VI, Encyclical Mysterium Fidei. 1965, St. Paul Books and Media, Boston, MA. p. 354. – St. Ignatius â€Å"Letter to the Romans,† J. B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers, p. 405. – Luther’s Collected Works, Wittenburg Edition, Vol. VII, p. 391. – Foster, Paul. 2006. â€Å"Jesus, The Real Presence of God (John 6:35, 41 -51). † Expository Times 117, no. 10: 416-417. – Macquarrie, John. Paths in Spirituality. New York: Harper & Row, 1972. p. 83-93 ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Pope Paul VI, Encyclical Mysterium Fidei. 1965, St.Paul Books and Media, Boston, MA. p. 354. [ 2 ]. Luther’s Collected Works, Wittenburg Edition, Vol. VII, p. 391. [ 3 ]. Macquarrie, John. Paths in Spirituality. New York: Harper & Row, 1972. p 84 [ 4 ]. Macquarrie, John. Paths in Spirituality. New York: Harper & Row, 1972. p 83 [ 5 ]. Macquarrie, John. Paths in Spirituality. New York: Harper & Row, 1972. p 84 [ 6 ]. Macquarrie, John. Paths in Spirituality. New York: Harper & Row, 1972. p 84 [ 7 ]. Foster, Paul. 2006. â€Å"Jesus, The Real Presence of God (John 6:35, 41-51). † Expository Times 117, no. 10: 416-417.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Treaty of Versailles: Do Peace Settlements Create Conditions for New Conflicts?

â€Å"Peace settlements create conditions for new conflicts. † With reference to the Treaty of Versailles explain to what extent you agree with this statement. (2005) Peace settlements or treaties are set up to establish some ground rules between countries that are included within the settlement. Within these peace settlement restrictions that benefit some countries and harm others are imposed by the conferences that these settlements are created. In the Treaty of Versailles signed after the First World War Germany suffered of harm due to the restrictions it imposed on the country which included a loss of land, demilitarization and other restrictions. Germany was the country least benefited from this agreement while other countries like France who created the Treaty were benefited due to the extensive payments that Germany had to pay France due to the destruction it caused. This Treaty led to new tensions within new countries that were formed due to the division of land due to different nationalities forced to be enclosed within one newly formed country. After the end of World War One a peace conference was set up in order to determine how the destruction caused by the war was going to be handled in order to try and satisfy rival countries. In the conference of the creation of The Treaty of Versailles the major consensus that its members arrived to was that the blame for most of the destruction in Europe was to be blamed to Germany. Germany due to its diplomatic relations had no vote in the future of the country of Germany which included a reduction in its army to 100,000 soldiers, no U-boats, reduced navy, no air force. This was implemented due to fear of a new attack by the German power to weakened countries in Europe which led to these restrictions in order to have full militaristic control over Germany. Not only did militaristic control gain provide security to the rival countries but security that Germany would be isolated and weak was one ultimate goal of the treaty which stated that Germany could not join up with an allied of the war in order to defend itself, its most important industrial geographical section was taken away in order to prevent militaristic growth which could mean it could serve as a defense territory for France. This loss in an economic producing part of Germany caused tensions to arise between France and Germany because the Germans could not pay any of the payments to France due to the economic crisis that struck Germany after the treaty of Versailles was imposed. This caused a inflation growth in Germany where its currency lost total value and this caused France to begin tensions with Germany because Germany had no money to pay the installments and France demanded them in order to â€Å"recuperate† from the destruction produced by Germany. In order to establish control and enforcement of the following of the Treaty of Versailles the United States imposed the Dawes plan that lent money to Germany to pay the installments and recuperate from the economic crisis but it had to be paid back and this caused Germany to fall into a deeper problem since when the United States demanded the money to be returned in the Great Depression Germany did not possess any money available to pay this loan causing tensions with countries abroad Europe. The creation of new countries came about when the division of land was decided by the treaty of Versailles. These new countries were land recovered from the major powers and mostly were taken from Germany due to the main blame for the war. This caused several different types of tensions among the people of different nationalities within the newly formed countries due to the difference in nationalities of the people who were enclosed within these new countries due to constant clashes of racial, ethnical disagreements. This of course caused discontent in the countries that the land was taken away from most evidently and most explicitly shown in Germany under the power of Adolf Hitler in 1933. Hitler as a totalitarian leader has several goals he wishes to reach while he is in power and one of these was that he wanted to rejoin all the German speaking people into one country in order to create one strong Germany but this was a difficult job since the Treaty of Versailles caused many German speaking people to be separated from the main country and be put into newly formed countries. This caused the people to feel oppressed and Hitler grew a hate to the Treaty due to the oppression it produced on the people of Germany. Ultimately this peace settlement created a new condition for a new conflict which later became known as World War Two due to the discontent Hitler had towards it and the ultimate goal he had which was to abolish it with no matter how many lives it took or how much destruction it would take. And as history shows there was no opposition in the beginning of his destruction of the treaty ue to the fear that any obstruction in stopping Hitler might cause a war between a countries that began to grow against another who is recuperating from a devastating war. After analyzing and understanding the reasons and effects of the Treaty of Versailles it can be said with historical facts that the treaty of Versailles set up a scene for a new conflict that would become another total war in a proximity to the previous one that would have never been predicted. The treaty created oppression towards the people why were involved in it, mainly Germany, which caused clashes and opposition to arise in order to abolish the treaty. Hitler was a complete enemy towards the treaty since he saw the oppression it produced and it had to be destroyed no matter how many lives and destruction and despair it took in order to reach his goal of destroying the treaty. A pace settlement or treaty like the Treaty of Versailles at first shows a future of peace and prosperity at cost of oppression being imposed in enemy countries. The treaty of Versailles did not cause this wonderful future but caused another major conflict in a short time after this war that would be later called World War Two with the same or more destruction as the one that preceded it years prior. In order to impose a treaty oppression is used and can turn into chaos causing a new major conflict or can be a limit for the opponent in order to control every action it takes as the Treaty of Versailles proved.

Macbeth’s diary

On the day that the battle had ended, I galloped through the misted heath on my valiant steed. Along side my trust worthy, noble partner Banpuo. The battle had been against the traitors of the king's victorious country. As I galloped I looked apon the heath as if it was my own. Our clothes dripped with the blood or the rebels. One clear image remains, an image of McDonald, and I, Macbeth, unseaming him from the nave to the chop. In the distance were three figures. As they became clearer I sensed that Banpuo became unsteady on his horse. As we continued the figures also continued to become clearer. The figures were not man or women. Not black or white. An expeditious decision led me to believe that the figures were witches. At that point I became uneasy on my steed as my fear grew. I stepped down from my horse closely followed by the brother I never had. Banquo gasped I breathed in deeply and stepped forward. He then asked how far isn't called to Forrest. He rapidly stepped back, I followed his eye movement and it was at that moment I realised that they were not to be taken lightly. Then as I stared in horror and a slight fear, Banquo began to speak. I then stood straight demanded for them to speak unless it was beyond their ability. They stepped forward and then they began to reveal themselves to us. They called upon me as my thane name. I lowered my head a little so that they would know that this was I. I looked at Banquo, he seemed to be as confused as I was. Then a second stepped forward. It also called out but this time of a different name. ‘Thane of Cawdor' is how they addressed me. So many questions went through my head. How Thane of Cawdor – he still lived. Then before I could ask myself any more questions, a third stepped forward to join the other two. Only this time it said, â€Å"All hail Macbeth! That shall be king hereafter!† Those words where the so exhilarating but at the same time I had so many questions. How? The king had two sons. I was no relation. But what if it was true how would it happen I could only think of one thing. No it will not happen. The only reason I met the witches was because I was on my back form a battle in which I had fought for king and country. Then I looked at Banquo; he then asked me why I seemed to fear. After he spoke this he stepped forward and wanted to know his destiny (if that was what they spoke of or maybe it is truth.) Then all three witches hailed Banquo but I was put to rest when they said â€Å"Hail Banquo lesser than Macbeth† I let out a sigh, â€Å"But then greater†. How greater than king. If I was to become king I knew that he couldn't be better than be as I had been greater than he had all of my life. Then the witch's started to drift away but they would not. I demanded for them to stop but no such reply did I get from the imperfect speakers. I was shocked yet all I could think about was why would Banquo's sons be king and not my own. I looked back at were my horse stood. I climbed upon my trustful steed and galloped deep into the heath with Banquo aside me. I recall the sound of footsteps. In front of us were Ross and Angus bringing news of the king's greatest gratitude. I was showered with praise then I heard what would be some of the most memorable words in my intire life. † And, for n earnest of a greater honour. He blade me from him call thee thane of Cawdor† Banquo yelled out in my presence â€Å"What can the devil speak true?† A thousand questions trust trough my mind. How, Why. The thane of Cawdor still lived. Was it a joke? No truth was spoken. I asked them why they dressed me in borrowed robes. They told me how he was under heavy judgement. I remember asking Banquo if he hoped that his children would be kings. As the first part of the devils words came true for me. I thought about the two truths that they spoke off. I was rapt. I felt as if I cleaved not to their mould. I wondered whether the message was good or bad. I had a very sudden thought. A horrid image or death and murder, evil. I was given the titles Glamis and Cawdor with out killing but then again king is a much greater title. I wanted to see the king maybe to remind myself of the good man that he was. I stirred, I was horrid, Banquo seemed to want to go but I was still very weary of what Banquo was feeling. I felt anxious to be king for it was always my dream it brought back memories and dreams that I once had to be king. Would they finally come true? Before I left I sent a letter to my dear wife telling her of my encounter with the witches and my thoughts about Banquo's supposed future. As Banquo and I fled into the castle accompanied by Ross and Angus, King Duncun labelled me worthy cousin. At this point in time I was overwhelmed with emotions. I was proud because the king of Scotland said that I as his worthy cousin. But also that it was another reason for me not to kill him after all being labelled a worthy cousin of the king is reward in its self. I was smiling but I couldn't help but wonder to myself if I was just pretending to like when I knew that it would only fill me with more contrition than I already had. I told Duncun of how I owed him everything and that doing it was a reward in itself. How could I lie to my king? I told him â€Å"Is to receive our duties; and our duties are to your throne and state, children and servants.† Then to my complete amazement he announced that he would be coming to my house for a feast. I was over come with astonishment. The king at my house it was such an honour but then after thinking that It was an honour I thought of how uncomfortable I would be knowing that I was thinking about, about murdering the king. Then with out anyone knowing he announced that his son was the new prince of Cumberland. This meant that he was inline to be the next king. So any hopes that I had of me getting the title without doing anything had disappeared. It was at this moment I felt more strongly but also scared about killing the king after all he was my king. The man who gave me such titles as, Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor. As I left the room I tried to find something to hide my anger. So I looked to the stars and asked the solemnly, † Stars hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires.† I wanted to be hidden so that all of my raging anger was concealed. Then I solidly remember what was going through my mind I was thinking and looking at my hand, the hand that might possibly kill the king of Scotland. I wrote a second letter to my wife telling her that the king was coming to our house but also some of my thoughts I didn't want to trouble her with all of them. As I set off the king told everyone to follow me and that I would bid them all welcome to my home. As we all arrived at my castle my wife greeted me not by darling or husband but as great Glamis and worthy Cawdor. This one a exceedingly special occasion for me because my meant so much to me that I felt so proud and just happy. Then I told her when Duncun was coming and when he would hence. As we began to talk about the letters, the witches and all of the happenings she began to seem determined and different in someway I can't explain how. The banquet was set for the king but I could not stay in the Kings Company. The guilt of my thoughts was too much. I was struggling with my conscience. I remember thinking that is I was to it, it would have to be done quickly with no hesitation. But he was a fair king how could I do it, he was such a gentlemen. I was his host I was surpposed to close the door on the murderers not bare the knife myself. If I were to do it there would be tears all over the kingdom and everyone would mourn his death. How could I do it to such a dear and well thought of man? My wife came to speak to me and asked why I left the banquet, I didn't answer, I just wanted to know if he had asked for me. She said no but she also started to insult me because I told her that we would not proceed any further in the business. She was using language that she of all people knew would agitate me no end. I told her to stop but she wouldn't if I was to do. This then I would a monster. I tried to be the best that I could be but for some reason it was only now I felt as if it was insufficient. Then I began to wonder what had changed as she said, â€Å"Be so much the man†¦. I have given suck, and know how tender't is to love the babe that milks me.† Had she really changed or was she just trying to shock me into the action. Either way I felt as if it was working. But what if we should fail? My doubts grew yet as she answer they all began to dissolved like a drug in water. I began to feel as if my wife was stronger than I was. I was just filled with a feeling of confusion. Then out of nowhere she suggested to blame the guards that would lay outside the king's chamber. Then I told her that she should only give birth to males. I couldn't kill him; she must have seen my doubts in my expressions because once again she began to attack my manhood. Then putting my entire disbelief aside I settled on the decision that I would do it I would kill the king of Scotland. I would kill him but until then I would be like a flower hiding the great serpent. As I walked through the long corridors that seemed never ending, I recall seeing Banquo and his son Fleance. I felt so much guilt for the intense concoctions that brewed in my mind. When Banquo informed me of his dream about the witch's I was overwhelmed with guilt for lying to such a pure man. As I left Banquo I proceeded along the long and winding corridors, a fatal vision appeared before my eyes. Could the mind create such a false vision? I said to myself. As I looked closer it seemed to resemble a dagger of my own. I reached for my dagger grasping it but never taking my eyes of the dagger. Then I tried to grasp it but to my own amassment my hand went straight through it. It began to move, so I followed it my heart pounding like the drums at a beheading. I was short of breath and my mouth was completely dry. Whilst I was following the knife I realised that it was leading me to the king's chamber. I felt as if the witches were there, that they were influencing me but I still decided to follow the dagger. I felt that on a night such as the one that night there was evil in the air. Then out of nowhere gouts of blood appeared on the dagger dripping from the tip. This disturbed me because even though I have seen lots of blood before never the kings. I felt like a ghost, almost invisible as I walked through the passages getting closer to the King's room. All of a sudden the bell that invited me to Duncun's murder chimed. The bell of Duncun's death called me. I looked out of the and then for the first time taking my eyes of the bloody dagger. I peered out of the window and found myself lost in thought. I was sweating and was very hot I went into the room were the king lay asleep and the deed was done†¦ Then suddenly I heard footsteps I felt uneasy and quit scared. My mouth became dry once again and my palms became very sweaty. Then my wife appeared I was breathing heavily. With two bloodstained daggers in my hands. I told her that the deed was done. I began to hear things. I was extremely effected by the murder that I had committed that I had forgotten the instructions that my wife had given me. As I had still had the bloodstained daggers in my hand which dripped the blood of Duncun. I told her that I was never going in there again. I just couldn't go back in the room were the king had died, were he was murdered, by me. Her anger was immense she quickly took them from me and followed her own instructions. I remember feeling and knowing that I would be dammed for this dishonourable crime that committed. I was looking at my hands so red so wet†¦ so bloody. Such a sight will remain in my mind forever! I heard one of the guards screaming murder! He was saying prayers. I was so frightened. I was sweating; I could feel the river flowing down my back and trickling down my forehead down to my nose then into my mouth the salty sensation almost took my mind of the murder. Only to be interrupted by my oh so changed attitude from my wife. It was remarkable; I didn't know that someone so close to me, someone who I had known for so long could change so quickly and considerably. I would sleep no more. I felt so scared that I would never sleep or even be able to rest again. I could never of thought that this murder would effect me this much but it did and that in itself confused me. I was indescribable fear. No words can say what I was going through. It was the worst moment of my life. Suddenly there was knocking at the door, which gave me a fright, I yelled with no hesitance, â€Å"Wake Duncun with thy knocking! I would thou coulst!† I regret saying this, and then my wife dragged out me away. As I walked down stairs in a fresh set of cloths Macduff and Lennox were there. Macduff asked me if Duncun was awake, so I took them to Duncun as we walked Lennox and Macduff kept on asking me questions. Each time I was filled with dread and deep remorse. Almost every sentence from my mouth was a lie. Then we arrived at the door; I was the only one there who really knew what was inside. Macduff went inside the room, whilst Lennox and I stood outside. He was telling me about the weather last night, he was taking about hearing screaming and strange things happened. I was being eaten from the inside. Macduff ran out of the chamber and screamed â€Å"O horror! †¦ Horror! †¦ Horror!† We both asked what he was talking about, I felt expectant, and I was just waiting for him to say it was Macbeth who killed him but he didn't. Lennox was confused but I knew what he meant. We went into the room and we looked around. Outside I could hear Macduff shouting things like, † Ring the alarm bell!†¦ Murder and treason!† Everyone was outside so I killed the guards and made it look like an act of anger when I did this I thought that it would take the focus from me but to Macduff it just made it worse. He asked my why I did it, I thought that he was suspicious, I told him that I couldn't help it and that I was so angry that I saw the blood on them and their daggers that I just lashed out. My dear wife then fainted, I think she did this because she knew that I was not up to talking to anyone at the moment and I might have broken down. Then Banquo said something unforgettable to me, â€Å"And question this most bloody piece of work to know it further.† I knew that he would be suspicious. He thought that there was more to his death. This made me very worried I thought that I had very good reason. I thought that I was finished. I mean he was there when I met the witch's. Then with good reason the two sons of the king Donalbain and Malcolm fled the country afraid of their own lives. So I, Macbeth, was crowned the new king of Scotland my coronation was brief but for filling I was proud of myself even though I was not proud of what I did to do it. Then came the day after my egotistical coronation. I felt so much better because I was organising a banquet to celebrate my coronation. I saw Banquo in the morning and questioned what he was doing for the day. I told him that I wanted him to come to the banquet. Banquo and Fleance left for a day of hunting. I spoke to the rest of my men and told them that they could have the rest of the day of until seven o'clock when they would all attend the banquet. As everyone but one of my many servants left the room, I told my servant to fetch me those men. As I was left alone I began to speak to myself and re assure myself that I had to do this to keep my crown safe and that I needed to be done if I wanted to keep my crown. He was the competition he would produce a long line of kings, inless I stopped him and to do that I would have to kill him and his son. For the first time I felt determined but I also felt something's that had been frequent in my feelings like fear and anger. If I wouldn't keep the crown then it was fruitless. I was not willing to let that happen so I decided that when the murderers got back I was to give them the go ahead, to kill Banquo and Fleance. My servant and two murderers came through the door. I didn't want to speak with them for long so I just told him that Fleance's death was just as important as Banquo's and that it must be done far away from the palace also that it was to be done that very same night. Even th ough I was swamped with guilt and anger I also knew that it had to be done. I didn't tell my wife, I locked her out because I had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to deal another murder. I went to see her; she was my clueless wife. I was trying to protect her, I told her, â€Å"Thou know'st that Banquo and his Fleance lives.† Something would be done when the darkness came then I would be jocund. Then I left her to get ready for my Banquet to celebrate that I became king. The Banquet was ready everyone had arrived accept for Banquo, I walked swiftly into the room and the atmosphere was like no other. Everyone stood up and applauded me. This was the proudest moment of my intire life†¦ king such an achievement, I thought it could only be dreamed about until that moment in time. As my lords who were once my fellow fighters stood up I looked around but did not see Macduff. But at that moment in time I want bothered. I could feel my jaw aching from the full smile on my face. I looked around and saw a spare seat upon my men and lords so I walked over and sat with them. I did this so that they would think of me as a peoples king, a good king. As I began to sit down. Lurking in the doorway was one of the murderers walked over to him and said, † There's blood upon thy face!† To my greatest satisfaction he told me that it was Banquo's blood. I told him that it is better on him than inside Banquo. He told me of how he slit his throat. Relief ran through my veins. But before I got to excited I asked about his, but there was no such luck to be had there. He notified me that he had run away. I was filled with dread something had to be done but what I didn't know what. I was filled with complete horror I was shocked, mortified and extremely troubled. I melted into as much fear that was in my bones when I committed the murder of Duncun. As I turned round I tried my best to be strong; I fled back to the spare seat only to be greeted by the cold corps of Banquo. All I could do was shout which one of you has done this? â€Å"What my lord?† They were totally clueless; I reacted to the goast almost screaming at it, Thou canst not say I did it! . . . Never shake thy gory locks at me! My wife then whispered to me, â€Å"Are you a man?† I told her that I was but a bold one, she kept answering back so I told her to look and behold. Then the ghost disappeared, I told her victim's appered with twenty mortal murders on their crowns, and push us from our stools. This was stranger than such a murder was. Then I spoke to my company and told them not to look mutely at me. Then the ghost reappeared at first I didn't see it but when I did I quickly reacted by yelling avaunt and quit my sight! Let the earth hide me. The reason that I remember so much about it is because it was such an ugly sight that I will never forget what I had to say to him or it. My wife lied to my guests telling them that I was ill. Then I carried on shouting, screaming trying to scramble to safety in my mind. It disappeared so I said †¦why so †¦ being gone. I was still unaware that only I could see the ghost, I was speaking to my guests but I don't remember what I was saying. Ross then said, â€Å"What sights, my lord?† It was only now that I finally realised that only I could see the ghost, my wife told everyone to leave us and Lennox told me to have better health. After everyone had left I told my wife that there was no going back and that I would be punished for this. I decided to go back the witch's, I am determined to know what's going to happen to me next. I knew that I had to find out what was to come and if it was worse than had already come. Before I left I asked if she had noticed if Macduff was at the banquet that started of to be a celebration. She said no, so I began to worry about his suspicions and why he wasn't there. Having found no conciliation or help I decided to go to bed and then in the morning return to the heath where it had all started. After a restless night, I had decided to go to the heath to find the witch's. As I arrived at the heath upon where we had first met I saw the hags and addressed them for what they were. When I called them old hags it was to try and show them that I had more power than they did. I soon realised that they were not afraid when then replied, † A deed without a name.† This worried me slightly, I remember thinking what I was thinking trying to overpower such evil. I demanded to know what was coming I educated them with what I had to say. Then I told them that I demanded them to see their masters and not hear from them. As I was waiting the flashes of lightning and the lions roaring from above shocked me. Then all of the witches chanted, † Come high or low, thyself and office deftly show.† It was at this moment that I knew that I was going to find out what my future was. Then suddenly, out of the cauldron arose an armed head and spoke, † Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff!† I had come to the heath looking for good news, some informative information but so far all I had got was confirmed suspicions. I said a quick thank you and asked them to know more and to tell me of it. â€Å"He will not be commanded. Here's another more potent that the first.† One of the witches's quickly announced. Then another image appeared from the cauldron called on me just as the first but then said, † Be bloody, bold and resolute. Laugh to scorn the power of man; for none of women born shall harm Macbeth.† Why should I fear, all men are born of a woman then why should I fear? It was at this point I began to wonder if I was immortal, if I was blessed with the gift of ever lasting life. I will remember those words for as long as I shall live. Then I had an outburst and shouted and then live Macduff. What need I fear? But just in case I was to have him killed I remember feeling such relief, joy, delight, I had renewed bravery and a new spirit. Then another apparition arose from the cauldron and it was a child, crowned, with a tree in his hand. At first I remember not knowing what it meant so I asked the witch's what it was, they told me to listen but not to speak do I did and only to find out the best news so far. It said that I would not vanquish until the great Birnam wood moves. This only confirmed my suspicions about being immortal. Then the cauldron began to disappear and the next eight kings of Scotland appeared all resembling and carrying Banquo's spirit. I screamed out to the witch's and interrogated them on why they showed me this. Before I could ask them anything else they danced and vanished. All of a sudden Lennox appeared startling me, I asked if he had seen the hags, he replied with a simple no. Looking back I don't remember all that he said but I did hear the sound that triggered my anger and my fear, which was that Macduff had fled to England. This meant that I couldn't kill him. So instead I went to his ca stle were I was to kill his wife and babes. So of we went to the castle. I told all of my attendants not to bring me anymore reports that I didn't care, until the wood moves I shall not fear. I remember that no matter how many times I said it I didn't fear, if anything it made me stronger. I felt so succour, so safe and strong. Not just my heart but my mind, for the first time in a long time. I was interrupted by one of my servants, he informed me that there were English soldiers in their thousands. I began to realise the depth in which I had sunk. I called in my chief officer, Seyton, and I told him to tell me what was happening with the English. He said â€Å"All is confirmed, my lord, which was reported.† At this I recall asked him to bring me my armour, but he then went on to saying that it was not needed yet. I turned to my doctor and asked him how the patient was referring to my wife. He then said that she wasn't so sick but she did see fancies that stooped her from sleeping. I wanted it all to just go away, my wife did not deserve to not sleep. I did the deed so I should be punished. She did nothing so why was she suffering so much? Then I shouted out that I would no fear till the wood of Birnam wood come to Dunsinane. I met with my soldiers to tell them that I did not fear that they would not starve me out. I could feel my strength and my security. Then I heard an ear piecing scream from above, I had almost forgotten the taste and smell of fear itself. I was told that it was my wife's cry. This made me feel like falling to my knees. But I couldn't deal with it; the English soldiers were coming. After doing everything I now have no one to share it with no one. Then one of my servants rushed in and I told him that I didn't want to hear it. But still he told me, â€Å"I looked towards Birnam and anon the wood began to move. I screamed liar slave! I remember being in extreme anger and disbelief. Then I went with the messenger to see for myself and when I did I felt a shiver down my spine I began to doubt the witch's. Still with some respect left I took all my strength and went to the gate with my amour on to face the fiends. The alarms where sounded and I appeared to show my face to Macduff. I wasn't afraid of him because no man could kill me so I told him and the answer was not so nice as the question he told me that he was ripped from his mothers whom. This made me scared, the witch's had tricked me into thinking that I was immortal and that no man could kill me. But I was not a coward I told Macduff that I would fight only to lose. We fought our heavy swords dragging us down. I felt as if every muscle was being dragged out of my body and then Macduff drew his sword at me for one last time and†¦

Monday, July 29, 2019

Research paper about technological developments and adolescents Essay

Research paper about technological developments and adolescents gambling - Essay Example In United States and other parts, gambling is on the rise due to activities of gambling and increased acceptability of the routine. This has been due to the promotion of the available government lotteries, media exposure of poker tournaments, and accessibility of internet gambling. This is a significant change from what was there in the past years. However, problems exist in analyzing gambling in adolescents. Even after this weakness, it is necessary to consider gambling behavior in this growth phase due to the prevalence of risk taking behavior in this cohort. This will help in analyzing the extent to which the young gamble, influence of gambling on development, and other social aspects. Additionally, this will help with prevention and intervention strategies at a certain amount of gambling in adolescents. According to Wilber and Potenza (1), gambling is placing something of value at risk anticipating that one will gain something worthy. In adolescents, mostly gambling involves thin gs as flipping cards that eventually translates into problematic areas like sneaking to gamble in casinos. Recent studies have indicated that there are increased rates of gambling by the adolescents (Wilber and Potenza 1). In fact, a review conducted in United States and Canada indicates both a high level of adolescent is involved in gambling activities and increased rate of participation in the last one decade. For example in the united states between 1989 and 2002, the rate of gambling had increased to 65 % as compared to the past when it was hardly at 45% (DF, 24). In Canada, the rate of underage gambling is on the rise. There are key areas that adolescents engage in gambling. The critical areas include government promoted lottery, cards, dice, board games, sports betting, and games requiring skills. However, the actual rate of gambling depends on regions. Factors that affect the rate of participation include accessibility of gambling opportunities like the internet, types of gam bling available to adolescents and the general population (Wilber and Potenza 1). However, in comparisons to adults, adolescent’s gamblers agree to gamble with less money and less often as adults. This is primarily due to money constrains and lack of gambling opportunities. Moreover, they are most likely to engage in strategic gambling such as card games instead of nonstrategic gambling such as use machines (Wilber and Potenza 1). This is probably due to the diminished legal access to casinos and lotteries. Age sometimes limits adolescent’s participation, but it is less likely to eliminate the behavior. There exist challenges in studying gambling behaviors among the youths. This is because the study involves modification of the problem gambling criteria used to describe the behaviors in adults. The definition of problems in adolescents is likely to involve consideration of differences in the adolescent’s roles and responsibilities. However, the rate of adolescen ts gambling is yet to be established in concrete ways due to lack of consensus around definitions of adolescents involvements. The gambling problems include behavior that interfere with individual and have a negative outcome on their life (Wilber and Potenza 1). Statistics shows that the rate of gambling is high in males as compared to females and the gambling proble

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 5

Human Resource Management - Essay Example This essay stresses that motivation of employees is crucial for an organization to succeed, since they are the driving factor behind the employees’ commitment to their work and their endeavors towards obtaining the desired results. As the needs vary from individual to individual, it is necessary to make the motivational packages flexible enough to meet the needs of the maximum number of employees. This paper makes a conclusion that the Human Resource Management holds a key position in the progress towards the attainment of organizational objectives, and since the macro and micro environment in which a business operates undergo incessant fluctuations, it is necessary to ensure that the organization is flexible enough to be molded in accordance with these environmental changes, which could be done through the help of the Human Resource Department because they are responsible for managing the most valuable asset of any organization, that is people. When the employees of an organization are motivated and committed towards achieving a certain common target, then the company could withstand all forms of pressures from the environmental changes. The HR Department could manage the workforce diversity and help the workers of an organization adapt to rapid changes, technological advancements, increased globalization and other environmental changes. Furthermore, with the aid of the HR pr actices of managing workforce diversity through different programs and motivational approaches, an organization could gain sustainable competitive advantage and lead the firm into the future on stable grounds.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Psychology - Career Guidance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Psychology - Career Guidance - Essay Example There are a number of models and techniques being used to provide planning services to clients for career counseling and development. Most common ways of provision of career planning counseling is done through self-assessment, reality testing and decision-making techniques (Watts 1996). These are the most commonly used techniques which were used traditionally. However, modern models have been initiated in order to provide a wholesome manner of providing career counseling and development to clients. Moreover, self-directed manner for career counseling is another model which has been used by a number of counselors over the time which has had limited results previously. It is due to this reason that other types of models were coined (Watts 1996). Most recently, interviews were used as a cost-effective manner of providing effective career planning advises to clients. These interview based techniques and traditional techniques influence Gerarad Egan to create a model that could make use of all the techniques to make sure that development is noticed and undertaken in real manners unlike any other therapies being conducted for psychological practices. Working model of Egan covers development aspect as crucial to objective achievement (Watts 1996). Among different models that are applied for career planning and development of clients, Egan Model is considered as one of the most effective model for counseling purpose. It is because of three staged model mechanism that allows easy evaluation of clients’ choice, transition and different clients need (Watts 1996). The stage I of the Egan model allows effective relationship building process between the counselor and client. This will allow the client to focus on the options from which he or she can actually find out the best possible choices for themselves. In other words, it could be said that the stage I in Egan’s model, clients can actually set up priority chart and

Friday, July 26, 2019

Cognitive Aspect of the Mind at the Middle Age Research Paper

Cognitive Aspect of the Mind at the Middle Age - Research Paper Example In addition to that, physically, Berger (2007) stated that apart from the more fine lines and wrinkles around the forehead, eyes, and mouth uncovering themselves, sagging and discoloration of the skin also materialize due to the fact that the skin of the middle-aged is now less elastic as to compared when they were younger. Moreover, physical fitness decreases too. This, later on, affects the middle-aged through the manifestation of different ailments. These signs of aging are to be the most visible ones, though. On the one hand, the cognitive aspect of the middle-aged mind is also a subject to several criticisms.   Some argue that mental ability declines when people age. In fact, the brain function in the middle years has a reputation that it does not operate at a fast rate relative to the time of its youth.   However, despite such reputation, Phillips (2011) found out that the middle-aged mind is capable of preserving a number of capacities during its youth and all the more so, has the potential to foster some new strengths. In this regard, the focus of this research mainly delves into studying the middle-age process with a particular look at the mind of the middle age.   In particular, it intends to address three specific objectives. First, it aims to understand how the society perceives the middle-aged adult’s mental capacity.   Second, it targets to describe the perceived weak cognitive characteristics of the middle-aged adult. Third, it points to determining what the strong aspects of the mind at the middle age are. Indeed, society views aging negatively.   People attach a lot of negative images to those individuals who are no longer young.   These negative images include undesirably describing the mental capacity of the older individuals.   However, only a few researchers investigated the cognitive ability of the middle-aged adult.   It is in this regard why this research is of importance. Through grasping an understanding of the a bilities of mind of the middle age, this study can contribute to viewing the mental abilities of the human mind positively.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

CRITICAL APPROACHES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CRITICAL APPROACHES - Essay Example een from the scene that emphasizes on Emily’s status in being involved in teaching china painting which is considered to be done by the middle class and upper class people. With time we see Emily’s financial status deteriorate making her lose her respect with the high and mighty in her class. This led to an illusion by people of her class in the society because of the belief that everyone can make a success of themselves but their social status still remain no matter what happens. This is also seen from the fact that Emily still stayed at her parents’ home to maintain her class and feel as part of the class she was born in even though all was not well even though she was not getting any younger. When we analyze her relationship with Homer she accepted to go out dine and wine with him but refused to commit herself to him because of his low class status. She only became friends with Homer to make herself seem well behaved and not

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Eating and hunger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Eating and hunger - Essay Example Obesity and overweight can be generally defined as the state when the body mass index increases disproportionately vis-Ã  -vis standard set by the medical authority. ‘An overweight adult is defined as one with a BMI between 25 and 29.9, while an obese adult has a BMI of 30 or higher. In children and adolescents, overweight is defined as a sex-and-age specific BMI at or above the 95th percentile, based on revised growth charts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’ (HHS News, 2001, ref.2). Bad eating habits and erratic eating schedules are key proponents of obesity. The increasing trend of eating fast food and aerated drinks are the major reasons for overweight as they are high on calories and low on nourishment. Genetics and to some extent obese behavior can also be contributed to the socio-psychological paradigms of the communities at large. Researcher Smith says that fat intake of children in US has ‘inadequate amounts of fresh fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates, but excessive amounts of fats’(Smith, 1999, p. 84). Another very interesting observation is made by Birch et al. who say that some teachers also promote unhealthy food by using it to reward students for desired classroom behavior and ‘this practice leads children to attach great value to such treats’ (Birch et al., 1995). The alarming rise in obesity and overweight has become a serious problem because it promotes serious health hazards in the form of diseases, especially silent diseases like blood pressure, which may also prove fatal and cause death. It is common knowledge that diseases like heart problems, diabetes, are the by products of obesity which, if not diagnosed early and treated, may lead to death. Obese people are also prone to socio-psychological problems like depression which has now become a key issue and needs urgent attention. Overweight and obese children often become the

Research Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Research Methods - Essay Example me teachers functioning on a split site system since they spend more time travelling from site to site, thus losing contact time with other colleagues. Although departmental meetings are well attended, there are noticeably fewer discussions in the staff room, as break and lunch times are also travelling times. These issues, with their underlying themes, are generic in nature and are relevant in a variety of contexts and are listed below: Action research is about problem solving to extend knowledge (Hult & Lunnung, 1980, West et al., 1995, McConnell, 2000). My research question involves qualitative research, which lends itself to problem solving in a cyclic manner. It involves a planned reaction to a problem, followed by feedback, evaluation, critical reflection and discussion, to redefine issues concerned with the sharing of information. A greater awareness and understanding of an identified problem is developed over time, which should lead to a solution or improved practice. As Cohen and Manion (1994) point out, â€Å"An important feature of action research is that the task is not finished when the project ends. The participants continue to review, evaluate and improve practice.† However, Cohen and Manion’s approach of ‘review, evaluate and improve’ works well with quantitative research, or for one person trying to affect a change. It does not appear appropriate for uniform progression of a group and group activity over a longer period of time. Hence for a group to progress as a unit, emphasis on developing a consensus between its members is important. For these extended studies a conductor is necessary to form an extended cyclic approach including review, evaluate, conduct and improve. Improved practice and the opportunity to develop my own relationships within the group are important to me in order to develop a sense of worth. I have chosen action research as my method as it brings the interviewer closer to the interviewee, hence it lends itself to

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Jazz is a Unique Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Jazz is a Unique Style - Essay Example The crowd was generally dressed casually and had a wide variety of listeners, ranging from young people to much older ones. What I quickly noticed was that the environment was not as quiet as I had expected it would be. I had done a bit of research into Jazz music prior to the concert and I expected the audience to be dead quiet and listening attentively to the music. This was not the case as part of the crowd was unbearably noisy as compared to other concerts I have been to. This select part of the crowd did not seem to appreciate the truly beautiful music that was being performed. In past concerts I have been in, loud conversations and disruptive noises were not allowed as this was seen to be distracting the performers as well as the audience who were listening attentively. I was amazed though at how well the musicians performed despite this. It was almost as if they had anticipated it. I believe this goes to prove that these musicians can perform anywhere and still do a stellar jo b. The whole time I was there, I listened closely to the music, watched the performer go through the motions and I felt like my mind and emotions wandered in between the melodies. I must admit that I enjoy the guitar most since my childhood, so watching and listening to John Pisano playing it was very rewarding. I got wrapped up in his playing and got a thrill watching him strum the guitar. This song had a constant tempo; it was slow, funky and had an earthy sound to it which made it sound more like the blues.... I had done a bit of research into Jazz music prior to the concert and I expected the audience to be dead quiet and listening attentively to the music. This was not the case as part of the crowd was unbearably noisy as compared to other concerts I have been to. This select part of the crowd did not seem to appreciate the truly beautiful music that was being performed. In past concerts I have been in, loud conversations and disruptive noises were not allowed as this was seen to be distracting the performers as well as the audience who were listening attentively. The only time there was noise was when the performance was over and everyone applauded. I was amazed though at how well the musicians performed despite this. It was almost as if they had anticipated it. I believe this goes to prove that these musicians can perform anywhere and still do a stellar job. The whole time I was there, I listened closely to the music, watched the performer go through the motions and I felt like my mind and emotions wandered in between the melodies. I must admit that I enjoy the guitar most since my childhood, so watching and listening to John Pisano playing it was very rewarding. I got wrapped up in his playing and got a thrill watching him strum the guitar. I was hooked from the very first song they played. This song had a constant tempo; it was slow, funky and had an earthy sound to it which made it sound more like the blues. John Pisano seemed to be improvising during his  solo on the guitar. The bassist was also magnificent on this particular night and his performance was both strong and melodic. This was evident on the second song, in which he actually picked up his bow and employed the arco technique.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Poor Conditions At Military Hospitals Essay Example for Free

Poor Conditions At Military Hospitals Essay Soldiers are the real heroes of each country. They fought for the country and for there fellowmen. For the past years, soldiers have been able to provide the assistance that the people need and provided help through the years. The military and army helped in acquiring peace and prosperity amongst all. However, some were not given benefits that will help soldiers and those who are in militaries. One of the assistance that these heroes need is medical assistance. Soldiers in the same way that they help people should also have assistance especially on medical aspects. As they help other people, they are also in need of help.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The government promotes various programs or medical programs. There are medical assistance, housing or free service on hospitals and any other establishments. In United States, there are many government hospitals for soldiers, for there families and for those who have retired from the service. These hospitals provide help for the soldiers of our present and for the soldiers of the past. Such services are for healthcare and other forms of medical assistance. These hospitals provide whatever their patients need however; there are scarcity in providing good facilities and good services.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the military hospitals in the US is the Walter Reed Army Hospital or the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. According to their mission â€Å"they provide care to past, present, and future warriors and to all those entrusted to their care† however the WRAMC is in trouble now because of some scandals brought about by the soldiers who were neglected by the hospital and were disappointed by the service of the said services. According to an article by Dana Priest and Anne Hull of Washington Post Staff Writers, one of the soldiers who were evacuated to WRAMC from Iraq was neglected by the service of the hospital. As described in the article, â€Å"some part of the Room’s wall was torn and weighted down with black mole, the entire building smells like greasy carry-out, mouse and cockroaches are around, and cheap and stained carpets are also present.† These factors mentioned are the problems that a wounded army encountered during his stay in the hospital that supposed to help him recover from his wounds and provide good service from the hospital. The government promised to do some actions for the cases but still the victims are not yet satisfied from all the promises.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The WRAMC should provide what the patients need. In the same way that the government should support to help for the rehabilitation of the hospital and to also, provide the necessary facilities as to improve their service for the betterment and benefit of the soldiers. The people who are responsible for all these things should settle these issues and action should be done. The soldiers deserve to be treated well after risking their lives in wars and they deserve assistance coming from the government and from the local people who are in charge of them. They have done their jobs in sacrificing their own lives for the sake of their fellowmen and after the injuries that they got from the battle, they deserve to be treated well in a place where they can recover easily and rest as to manage to get back in shape for work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Such problems like this should have appropriate solution because it is frustrating to see helpless soldiers are wounded and neglected by the people who are responsible for them. There are many problems that the country is facing but there should also be ample time to settle the problems such like the assistance that the soldiers needed. In this way, there will be a harmonious relationship between the soldiers and to the administration of the hospital and to the government as well. Works Cited Priest, Dana., Hull, Anne. â€Å"Soldiers Face Neglect Frustration at Armys Top Medical Facility.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Washingtonpost.com. 18 February 2007. The Washington Post. 12 December 2007   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.washingtonpost.com. â€Å"Army fires commander of Walter Reed hospital.† 1 March 2007. 12 December 2007   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.cnn.com/2007/. â€Å"Walter Reed Army Medical Center.† 13 September 2006. National Institutes of Health. 12 December 2007 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

RES Subglacial Mapping for Extraterrestrial Colonization

RES Subglacial Mapping for Extraterrestrial Colonization RES Subglacial Mapping Used to Assess Extraterrestrial Colonization Eric Phelan Successful colonization of another planet involves countless variables being addressed prior to mission launch. Water, being essential to sustaining human life, must be available in sizable quantities in order to establish a fruitful, long-term colony. But even with water filtration systems operating at one hundred percent efficiency, a viable native source of water must be identified on the planet if the colony is ever expected to prosper. Radio Echo Sounding may provide a solution to this problem. Introduction Radio Echo Sounding, Ice Penetrating Radar, or more commonly Radioglaciology, has been used for many years to map the subsurface of glaciers all across the globe. From massive canyons to pockets of trapped volcanic ash, RES has been a valuable tool in understanding how glaciers form and what they contain. In more recent years, studies have been conducted on the identification of subglacial lakes. These results may prove valuable when locating viable and continuous sources of water on otherwise desolate planets. We have already identified large ice caps on Mars [1] and that Jupiter’s Satellite, Europa, is covered in water ice [2]. We have even discovered small pockets of ice in craters on the moon [3]. The issue is that we must somehow extract usable water from these locations. It would be too costly and inefficient to continuously melt ice for use, so the next option is to identify pockets of fresh water in the ice. Radioglaciology gets us one step closer to identifying ideal colony locations by first locating large subglacial lakes. These subsurface fresh water bodies could provide just enough water for a colony to grow steadily and flourish. While scientists utilize RES here on Earth, we get one step closer to colonization of other planets. Greenland: Beneath the Ice As early as 1964, advanced RES techniques were being used in Greenland to map the subsurface beneath the mile thick ice sheet. [4] Just last year, RES surveys helped make a discovery of massive proportions. A canyon 50 percent longer than Arizona’s Grand Canyon was discovered snaking its way north toward Petermann Glacier [5][6]. This allowed scientists to extrapolate subsurface river data proving that looking beneath the surface of the ice on our own world delivers extremely valuable information that we otherwise would have failed to acquire. If we can find ancient river systems and lakes on Earth using this technique, it should be viable on other planets. Antarctica: The Hostile Habitat As more research teams explore Antarctica, the use of RES surveying is becoming more extensive. The concept that is being tested here is that liquid water can form beneath these ice sheets due to the bed being above water’s pressure melting point. These surveys have found 379 lakes in Antarctica nearly 4000 meters beneath the ice [7]. While scientists are currently more interested in finding life that miraculously escaped extinction 35 million years ago, these lakes also are important in determining whether other planets may have enough liquid water housed in their ice caps to support a human population. Although the popular and most commonly used methodology of RES surveys employs airplanes with radio equipment, satellites are also viable tools for the job. A satellite deployed in orbit around a planet can map elevation changes in ice sheets that are indicative of subsurface water movements. The more movements there are, the more active the lakes and rivers are beneath the surface. Knowing this can help us determine whether lakes are replenishing quickly or have a limited source of water. As Antarctica is arguably the most hostile surface environment on Earth, it is a good training ground for setting up an extraterrestrial colony. Exposure to the inclement weather can cause irreversible damage to the human body within minutes, testing the boundaries of what our technology and potential colonists can handle. Establishing drilling projects to extract water from these subglacial lakes may be the natural â€Å"next step† in determining our capacity to survive on other planets. If we can manage to transport liquid water from 2.5 miles beneath the surface to an outpost above, we will have tested and proved a technology that could someday be used on other worlds. Space Colonization Figure 3: Artist’s conception of a moon base http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_colonization The moon is a likely first candidate for space colonization. With the discovery of large concentrations of frozen water in deep craters on the moon in 2009 [3], humanity may have more incentive than ever before to establish a colony there. With the ability to find pockets of water in these ice pits, we are well on our way to finding a viable location on the lunar surface to establish a new home. RES surveys of the moon can be conducted from Earth’s surface, but for greater resolution we must get closer. Placing RES satellites in orbit around the moon would allow us to pinpoint liquid water access spots. The same technique would be viable on Mars and, eventually, Europa. If we can establish a stable colony on the moon first, though, we will be one step closer to reaching our full potential as a species. Conclusion The number of planets out in space is immeasurable. If only a fraction of them had water ice on the surface, it would open us up to countless possibilities. With the advancement of RES technologies, we will one day be able to detect water in places that we would have otherwise missed. Finding pockets of water buried deep beneath the ice on Mars or Europa using RES techniques would go a long way toward expanding humanity’s reach into the known universe. We could finally establish colonies on planets that were once thought to be impossible to access. It may be the stuff of science fiction today, but someday in the future this data will be used by engineers and architects to plan out large scale cityscapes that support thousands of lives. It would be the dawn of a new golden age for human civilization, and all of it made possible through the advancement of RES technologies. [1] Bibring, J., Langevin, Y., Poulet, F., Gendrin, A., al, e. (2004). Perennial water ice identified in the south polar cap of mars. Nature, 428(6983), 627-30. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/204531038?accountid=14503 [2] Chyba, C. F., Phillips, C. B. (2002). Europa as an abode of life. Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres, 32(1), 47-68. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1013958519734 [3] Cowen, R. (2009, Oct 24). The damp moon: Team finds water on lunar surface. Science News, 176, 10. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/197505984?accountid=14503 [4] TURCHETTI, S., DEAN, K., NAYLOR, S., SIEGERT, M. (2008). Accidents and opportunities: A history of the radio echo-sounding of antarctica, 1958-79. British Journal for the History of Science, 41(3), 417-444. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0007087408000903 [5] Wayman, E. (2013, Oct 05). Introducing. Science News, 184, 4. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1441704876?accountid=14503 [6] Oskin, B. (2013, August 29). Grand Canyon of Greenland Discovered Under Ice Sheet. LiveScience. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/39289-greenland-longest-canyon-discovered.html [7] Davies, B. (n.d.). Antarctic subglacial lakes. antarcticglaciers.org. Retrieved from http://www.antarcticglaciers.org/modern-glaciers/subglacial-lakes/ [8] Space colonization. (n.d.). Princeton University. Retrieved from https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Space_colonization.html

Mountain Dew S Bad Cheetah Commercial Media Essay

Mountain Dew S Bad Cheetah Commercial Media Essay This is a campaign that has confined itself to barely three commercials. The common thing in all these commercials is the group of boys out on a safari. They are generally roaming about shouting   Do the Dew! The commercial shows a cheetah running in all its gusto, and one of our models following it on a bicycle. Finally, the lad jumps on the cheetah and traps him. Then he puts his hand inside the cheetahs mouthstraight down to his stomach, and pulls out a can of Mountain Dew. Bad Cheetah   he says. The other guys watching him say to each other Cheetah bhi peeta hain!  Then they show the cheetah with all the spots gone except for a few spots which spell out   Do the Dew. The commercial fails to follow some vital rules of advertising. There is absolutely no brand positioning. Which bracket of people is it targeting? What benefit is it giving  you? Secondly, their models seem possessed, running around jungles with colourful clothes, jumping on cheetahs and shouting at the top of their voices. The viewer shave no point of reference to identify themselves with either the product or the advertising tone. Thirdly, there is no advertising message at least nothing that makes any sense. Why would anyone want to drink something that a Cheetah allegedly drinks? How did the Cheetah get hold of the can of Mountain Dew in the first place? In fact, this advertisement has more environmental and wildlife ramifications than any connection with the product. Fourthly, it is a very paltry hand at humour. If the intention of the advertisers was to excite the audience and make them laugh, they have failed miserably. This advertisement has induced to people only to switch channels because of its senseless advertising message, theme and conception. Fifthly and most importantly, the advertisement says nothing at all about the drink, except, of course, to extol its endearing quality it to Cheetahs. What is the taste? Does it quench your thirst? Does it make you feel cool? Is it refreshing? If this advertisement is remembered at all, it is remembered for all the wrong reasons. From the very beginning of the Mountain Dews ad campaign, it has come under some very serious firing. When they launched their first ad featuring the infamous slogan Do the Dew, other aerated drink manufacturers immediately saw its potential by piggybacking on the fame and releasing a parody. The parody achieved what the original never did. Today, viewers instantly relate this slogan to No do here, go do  jhaadi ke peeche. The Mountain Dew advertisement failed at the ad mantra AIDA. Although it did catch the attention of the viewer the first time it was aired. It did not generate any interest or desire. It crashed so bad that not only was the ad campaign scrapped, sowas the product. Even if bottles of Mountain Dew line the shelves of stores today, itssales barely make a dent in the profits of the company. Advertisement 2 Kinetic Blaze Introductory Advertisement The Blaze is part of Kinetics Italiano series of scooters, comprises seven bestselling true-blue European scooter designs that Kinetic bought from Italian manufacturer Italjet. With its aggressive and glamorous Italian design, generous proportions and majestic presence, the very special Blaze makes an instant celebrity of its rider. The high-spec Blaze also has ample go to match the show with a powerful 165cc, 4valve engine that pumps out 11.6 bhp, coupled with automatic transmission. Kinetic Blaze was launched in 2006. The following is an analysis of the introductory advertisement. In this advertisement, a group of girls are seen going crazy in front of a house. A guy seeing the crowd of girls asks a nearby shopkeeper if Abhishek or John were around. The shopkeeper says it is Rohit Verma. He has Kinetics latest scooter and this is the source of all the commotion. This advertisement is clearly targeted towards the youth. Not only are the models used in the age group of 20-30, the entire look and feel of the advertisement is young and hep. This commercial scores on some points while it fails at others. First of all, the advertisement develops attention and generates interest. Viewers are kept in the dark as to the source of the commotion. Interest is heightened when the shopkeeper answers in the negative to the names of celebrities. When the name Rohit Verma is mentioned, viewers are all ears (and eyes) to find out more about  him. The presentation of the product, in this case the scooter, is also well done. It looks glamorous, and the difference in size and shape are also highlighted without words, heightening the impact. The product and the brand are not lost in the advertisement, and viewers not only identify the product, but also remember it. Its market targeting and brand positioning are clearly defined. The target is the middle income male youth. It is positioned as a scooter for men and the first in ushering in a new market segment for scooters with its innovative design and target  market. However, the advertisement itself fails to generate a desire for more information or for purchase. This desire is evoked by the fact that the scooter is new and innovative. If the same advertisement was broadcast for a scooter that had already been launched in the market, it would not have done well. So, in a way, this advertisement works for the product since it is new, but considered solely from the advertising point of view, it does not make a big impact. The advertisement also fails to answer some of the basic questions that consumer shave while watching the commercial. What sets this scooter apart from the other scooters in the market? It is obvious that the look and feel of the scooter is definitely innovative. However, all new products sport a new appearance, in fact, it is imperative that they do so. So in terms of performance, how does it differ? What is its USP? Why should the consumer choose to buy this product, when he can be sure of the performance of tried-and-tested scooters? From the advertising point of view, the commercial lacks originality and creativity. Showing a crowd of screaming girls to enhance the psychological value of a product is not new. Many advertisements for motorbikes, furniture, cars etc., showcase models to give the product an oomph factor and increase its appeal. Also, from a logical standpoint, why would the girls favour a guy based only on the fact that he has this scooter? How does it award him star status? The advertising message is vague and unappealing. It is understood that the product is being positioned as your Shortcut To Fame. But, how? Most motorbike advertisements try to project their product as one that will give the owner an edge with the ladies. The advertisement says much, but tells little. Advertisement 6 Surf Excels Advertisement (Brother Sister Duo) Hindustan Unilever Limited introduced Surf in 1959, introducing the first detergent powder into the country. At the time, housewives used laundry soap bars to wash clothes. Surf offered them significantly better clean, with much less effort. The promise of superlative whiteness the articulation of a great clean at the time, connected with consumers and helped to establish the brand. Surf was the first national detergent brand on TV; the brand used TV to effectively educate their consumers on how to use detergent powders in a bucket for a better  wash. Surf Excel made a big splash with their Daag Achhe Hain advertising campaign. The following is an analysis of the first such commercial. The advertisement features a brother and sister duo walking home from school, when the little girl falls into a puddle of mud. Crying, she looks to her brother for help. Her brother gets an idea and starts beating up the puddle of mud, demanding an apology. After a time and a lot of mud on his uniform, he stands up and says, Sorry bola. The narrator then removes all apprehensions of dirt and stains and says,Daag Acche Hain. This advertisement is universally well-loved. This is so because it does a lot of things right. It makes use of childrens appeal to get the advertising message across. The advertisement does what seldom others do cater to the emotions and sentiments of the viewers and succeeds with it. Not only do the children lower your guard to the advertisement, but the story, too, warms the heart of the viewers. The advertisement generates a sense of bonding. Viewers without siblings, too, can relate to the advertisement and the actions of the little boy. The advertisement also exudes certain warmth that reflects itself in the viewers. The advertising mantra, AIDA, is strictly adhered to. This is one of the reasons for its success. By showing a little boy and girl, the advertisement draws the attention of the viewers. When the little girl falls into the puddle and starts to cry, it creates interest in the minds of the viewers. When the tagline is spouted, it builds, in the viewers, a desire to know more. This desire often leads to action. Although there is no obvious targeting, it is done so through indirect means. Most mothers are concerned when their children come home in dirty and messy clothes. This advertisement, not only sends out the message that Surf Excel will help you was them out, but that also there is no need to fear stains. Although the advertisement does not centre on the product or brand, both are remembered. The product and brand are subtly introduced to the viewers such that it sub-consciously enters their minds without any jarring highlights on the product or  brand. This advertisement also does what the majority do not. It focuses on the people rather than the product. The sentiments, actions and emotions of the people are highlighted and showcased throughout the advertisement in one form or another. The product is kept discreetly tucked away and does not overpower the commercial. Although Surf Excel is a premium brand, this advertisement caters to all the income grades and all classes of people, across age groups. The brand and product are positioned as accessible to all people, whoever and however they may be. The brand image created through this advertisement is phenomenal. The advertisement leaves people with a warm feeling. This feeling also transfers to the product and brand. Thus, this advertisement can definitely be called and advertising success. Advertisement 4 Orbit White Chewing Gum Cow Advertisement Orbit is one of the worlds largest selling chewing gum brand. In India, the brand shares the market leadership with Center Fresh brand. Orbit was launched in India in2004. This was Indias first Sugarfree chewing gum and together with Perfettis Happydent, this brand has rejuvenated the chewing gum segment in India. Orbit can be termed as a functional chewing gum. The brand when launched differentiated itself from the existing chewing gums with its sugar free property. Globally the Orbit brand adopts the tagline For a good clean feeling no matter what in India, Orbit uses for healthy teeth and prevents tooth decay as its main message. Orbit White launched their most popular advertising campaign with the Cow series. The following is an analysis of the first advertisement in this series. The advertisement showcases a mad animal specialist, Dr. Bhatawdekar, who speaks in Butler-English. He expounds the special quality of Orbit White Chewing Gum that whitens the teeth of a cow that previously had yellow teeth. His conclusion is that if it works for the cow, itll work for you too. This commercial tries its hand at humour in drawing attention and generating interest. It succeeds to quite an extent in this intention, but also fails at few places. The caricature of the doctor succeeds exceedingly well. Viewers immediately recall the product, the brand and the entire advertisement on any reference to Dr.  Bhatawdekar. The product and brand are duly highlighted. They are not lost during the telecast of the advertisement. The commercials message is wound around the product, making the product and brand as much a part of the advertisement as the rest of the characters and the concept. The advertisement also successfully plays to the sense of humour of the viewers. Any reference to the product results in immediate association to the doctor and his cow volunteer.  This gives viewers a light-hearted view of the product. Nonetheless, there have been instances where the sentiments of viewers have been hurt. In such cases, it seems that the concept that starts out as funny, turns out to be a gross miscalculation of the sense of humour of the viewers. The characterization of the doctor and the way he speaks in English can be construed as offensive by many viewers. Since the doctor is a deliberate attempt at making fun of bad grammar, viewers who are insecure of their oral abilities may find the advertisement offensive. Overall, the advertisement has no class. Viewers can be put off by the commercial on grounds that it displays no sophistication. The attempt at humour can be seen as tending towards slapstick comedy and a very poor attempt at that. However, the advertisement does not fail completely. The product and brand are imprinted in the minds of the consumer. Any reference to the product brings remembrance of the humorous advertisement. And consumers purchase the product, even if only out of a sense of absurdity. Advertisement 5 VISAs Pierce Brosnan Advertisement Visa Inc. operates the worlds largest retail electronic payments network and is one of the most recognized global financial services brands. Visa facilitates global commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses and government entities. Visa gained the attention of television viewers in 2003 with a Tuk Tuk, featuring Pierce Brosnan in Bangkok. The following is an analysis of the advertisement. A limousine drives through the streets of Bangkok, only to be thwarted by a trafficjam. Pierce Brosnan winds down his window and catches the eye of a tuk tuk driver.The driver, delighted to have James Bond in the back seat, revs the engine and pullsa wheelie, beginning a stunt-filled and effects-laden ride through the alleyways, restaurants and shops of Bangkok. The tuk tuk arrives at the hotel just as Brosnans dining partner pulls up in a limousine. Zhang Ziyi steps out and apologise for being late. The tuk tuk collapses, totally exhausted by the trip across town. Brosnan reaches for his jacket pocket and throws his VISA card to the driver.  Later in the evening, the tuk tuk driver pulls up with a brand new tuk tuk, revving his engine and beckoning for Brosnan and Zhang Ziyi to join him. The tagline: Visa: All it takes. This advertisement can be considered a success. It does a lot of things right and gains not only the attention and interest of the viewers, but also builds a strong brand image and remembrance. The product is clear and highlighted. The brand, too, is not lost during the course of the advertisement. The product and brand is the core of the advertising message. Any attempt to analyze the commercial otherwise would prove fruitless. The advertisement retains a dashing air, quite literally. The commercial successfully draws on the sophisticated action of James Bond and highlights it exceedingly well in the tuk tuk mad-dash through the city. The advertisement stays true to the image of James Bond. The commercial maintains the charm of James Bond. It also includes a lot of stunts that can be immediately associated to James Bond. This succeeds in drawing the attention and generating interest among the viewers. The brand, VISA, is associated with sophistication and quality. With this advertisement, they reinforce this image and add to it a certain panache and active participation. If the advertisement comes under any criticism at all, it is from a purely logical standpoint. When Brosnan hands over his VISA card to the tuk tuk driver, the driver returns with a new and better powered tuk tuk. However, there are those who argue that anyone would have disappeared with the card and spent all the money. Nevertheless, for those who appreciate honesty, this advertisement succeeds. The commercial generates good feelings in the minds of the viewers. The product and brand are remembered. Additionally, the brand image is improved and remembered.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Lifes Many Obstacles - Catcher :: essays research papers

Life’s Many Obstacles   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In J. D. Salinger’s â€Å"The Catcher in the Rye† the protagonist, Holden, is faced with many obstacles. Like most tragic heroes, he is a man who is reasonably happy at the beginning of the tragedy, but as the tragedy develops, some failure in his personality begins to affect events, so that his progress is a movement from happiness to misery. The ultimate misery results from his final awareness of his personalities limits or failures. Much of Holden’s misery is a result of his inability to successfully handle particular problems regarding adolescence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Holden’s loneliness and overall low self-esteem are the primary adolescent motivaters for his breakdown. Holden’s general need for female companionship leads him to a reasonably accurate self-analysis: he thinks that he is the â€Å"biggest sex maniac you ever saw,† but later admits that he really doesn’t understand sex or know much about it. Holden, however, finds himself feeling rather â€Å"horny† and decides to call upon the service of Faith Cavendish. She â€Å"wasn’t exactly a whore or anything but she didn’t mind doing it once in a while...† Holden feels this experience will thrust him into what he considers the adult world. The conversation with Faith was a long one but inevitably led to nothing. An incursion into the adult world, or what Holden considers it to be, had been thwarted. In part, the failure happens because he doesn’t really know the rules, and also because loneliness is not a subs titute for experience.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Habitual lying is a trait not only found in adolescence but also in people of all ages. It is sometimes generated from a lack of self-esteem, boredom and self-preservation. Holden exaggerates many truths not out of a conscious decision to deceive, but rather to lend emphasis to facts he is unsure of as when he states, â€Å"Pencey Prep advertises in about a thousand magazines.† However, Holden also has no convictions against telling outright untruths if he can come out for the better on the other side of the exchange. â€Å"I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It’s awful. If I’m on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I’m going, I’m liable to say I’m going to the opera. It’s terrible. So when I told old Spencer I had to go to the gym to get my equipment and stuff, that was a sheer lie.

Friday, July 19, 2019

T.S. Eliot’s American Dream :: essays research papers

T.S. Eliot’s American Dream Thomas Stearns Eliot was born to a very remarkable New England family on September 26, 1888, in St. Louis, Missouri. His father, Henry Ware, was a very successful businessman and his mother, Charlotte Stearns Eliot, was a poetess. While visiting Great Britain in 1915, World War I started and Eliot took up a permanent residency there. In 1927, he became a British citizen. While living in Britain, Eliot met and married Vivienne Haigh -Wood and at first everything was wonderful between them. Then he found out that Vivienne was very ill, both physically and mentally. In 1930, Vivienne had a mental breakdown and was confined to a mental hospital until her death in 1947. Her death was very hard on Eliot and he died on January 4, 1965. Most of Eliot’s works were produced from the emotional difficulties from his marriage. Because of Eliot’s economic status, he attended only the finest schools while growing up. He attended Smith Academy in St. Louis and Milton Academy in Massachusetts. In 1906, he started his freshman year at Harvard University studying philosophy and literature. He received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy in only three years. Eliot went on to study at the University of Oxford and also at the Sorbonne in Paris. At the Sorbonne, he found inspiration from writers such as Dante and Shakespeare and also from ancient literature, modern philosophy and eastern mysticism. Eliot’s first poem he wrote was â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† in 1915. Eliot converted his religion to Anglo - Catholicism and in 1927, his poetry took on new spiritual meaning. Ash Wednesday was the first poem he wrote after his conversion in 1930. It is said that it traces the pattern of Eliot’s spiritual progress. It strives to make connections between the earth ly and the eternal, the word of man and the Word of God and the emphasis is on the struggle toward belief. Thus telling us that God is part of Eliot’s American dream. Other poems Eliot has written are Portrait of a Lady (1915), Mr. Apollinax (1916), Sweeny Among the Nightingales (1918), and Four Quartets (1943) which he believed to be his greatest achievement. Eliot also wrote the play "Murder in the Cathedral" (1935). It was about the murder of Thomas Becket and was later turned into a film in 1952. Other plays written by Eliot are "The Family Reunion" (1939), "The Cocktail Party" (1949), "The Confidential Clerk" (1953), and "The Elder Statesman" (1959). T.S. Eliot’s American Dream :: essays research papers T.S. Eliot’s American Dream Thomas Stearns Eliot was born to a very remarkable New England family on September 26, 1888, in St. Louis, Missouri. His father, Henry Ware, was a very successful businessman and his mother, Charlotte Stearns Eliot, was a poetess. While visiting Great Britain in 1915, World War I started and Eliot took up a permanent residency there. In 1927, he became a British citizen. While living in Britain, Eliot met and married Vivienne Haigh -Wood and at first everything was wonderful between them. Then he found out that Vivienne was very ill, both physically and mentally. In 1930, Vivienne had a mental breakdown and was confined to a mental hospital until her death in 1947. Her death was very hard on Eliot and he died on January 4, 1965. Most of Eliot’s works were produced from the emotional difficulties from his marriage. Because of Eliot’s economic status, he attended only the finest schools while growing up. He attended Smith Academy in St. Louis and Milton Academy in Massachusetts. In 1906, he started his freshman year at Harvard University studying philosophy and literature. He received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy in only three years. Eliot went on to study at the University of Oxford and also at the Sorbonne in Paris. At the Sorbonne, he found inspiration from writers such as Dante and Shakespeare and also from ancient literature, modern philosophy and eastern mysticism. Eliot’s first poem he wrote was â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† in 1915. Eliot converted his religion to Anglo - Catholicism and in 1927, his poetry took on new spiritual meaning. Ash Wednesday was the first poem he wrote after his conversion in 1930. It is said that it traces the pattern of Eliot’s spiritual progress. It strives to make connections between the earth ly and the eternal, the word of man and the Word of God and the emphasis is on the struggle toward belief. Thus telling us that God is part of Eliot’s American dream. Other poems Eliot has written are Portrait of a Lady (1915), Mr. Apollinax (1916), Sweeny Among the Nightingales (1918), and Four Quartets (1943) which he believed to be his greatest achievement. Eliot also wrote the play "Murder in the Cathedral" (1935). It was about the murder of Thomas Becket and was later turned into a film in 1952. Other plays written by Eliot are "The Family Reunion" (1939), "The Cocktail Party" (1949), "The Confidential Clerk" (1953), and "The Elder Statesman" (1959).

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Bite Me: A Love Story Chapter 20

20. Hunters TOMMY AND ABBY Somehow it had seemed to make sense that he follow Abby's interpretation of Madame Natasha's reading, but now, standing on the dock by the black ship, with the night almost gone, he wasn't so sure. â€Å"You think she's in there?† â€Å"She could be. I saw in the City Blog that this ship arrived-there was a picture, and it looked cool, and-oh, I don't know, I'm new at this. You can't expect me to be good at everything. Why don't you go all misty and sneak aboard?† They heard bare feet on teak and suddenly a gorgon of blond dreadlocks popped up over the top of the smooth black carbon fiber of the cockpit. â€Å"Irie bruddah. Irie sistah. Howzit?† A young man, very tan, heat coming off him, but with a thin black ring inside his life aura. Abby elbowed Tommy and he nodded to show he'd seen it. â€Å"What did he say?† Tommy asked. â€Å"I don't know,† Abby said. â€Å"It sounds Australian. If he goes off about going down under to have a go on his dirigity-doo I'm going to kick him in the kidneys with my forbidden love Chucks.† â€Å"Okey dokey,† Tommy said. The blond guy held up a pair of night-vision binoculars, looked quickly through them, then set them down again. â€Å"Shoots! You be deadies! Jah's love to ya, me deadies!† He vaulted up over the edge of the cockpit, landed on the deck eight feet below, then jumped over to the dock. He was very fit, very muscular, and smelled of fish blood and weed. â€Å"Pelekekona called Cap'n Kona, pirate of the briny science, lion of Zion, and dreadie to deadies of the first order, don't you know.† He extended his hand to Tommy, who shook it, tentatively. â€Å"Tommy Flood,† Tommy said, then, because he felt as if he should have a title, added, â€Å"writer.† Then the blond Rasta man took Abby in his arms, hugged her, and kissed her on both cheeks, then let his hands linger on her back and slide down. He let go when she bent one of his fingers back, driving him to his knees. â€Å"Back off, you fucking hemp Muppet! I am Countess Abigail Von Normal, emergency backup mistress of the Greater Bay Area darkness.† â€Å"Countess?† Tommy said out of the corner of his mouth. â€Å"And a slim and delicious deadie biscuit, too, as fine as a snowflake, yeah,† said Kona. â€Å"No harm, me deadies, I'n'I have grand Aloha for ya, but can't bring ya on the ship. That Raven ship will kill ya dead for good, don't cha know. But we can chant down Babylon right here, mon.† He produced a pipe and lighter out of the pocket of his baggies. Out of the other he pulled a sterile lancet, the kind diabetics use to poke their fingers for blood tests. â€Å"If one of me new deadie dreadies would donate to a mon's mystic. Jus' a drop two.† Abby looked at Tommy. â€Å"Renfield,† she said, rolling her eyes. Tommy nodded. She was talking about Renfield, the crazed blood slave of Dracula in the original Bram Stoker novel. The original â€Å"bug eater.† â€Å"Maybe we can help you with that,† Tommy said. Abby said, â€Å"You're not worthy of our aid, not worthy to be free, and we would surely both be tools, to help you, vampire fool.† She curtsied. â€Å"Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du Mal. I'm paraphrasing, of course.† â€Å"Nice,† Tommy said. She knew her romantic poetry, not very well, or accurately, but she knew it. â€Å"Ah, mon, I tried dat paraphrasing in Mexico one time. The boat, she stop too quick and dis brutha drop out da sky like one rock. No mon, Kona doan like de heights.† â€Å"Not parasailing, you imbecile, paraphrasing.† â€Å"Oh. Dat diffren.† â€Å"Ya think,† said Abby. Tommy said, â€Å"Kona, I will give you a drop of blood, but first, are you saying that this ship belongs to vampires?† â€Å"Ya mon. Me deadie masters, mon. Powerful old.† â€Å"Are they on the ship now?† â€Å"No, mon. They here to fix up this calamity. Vampire cats dat old one leave.† â€Å"Just the cats?† â€Å"No mon, dey clean it all up. All the peoples have seen them, or know about it. They cleaning house, brah.† Abby shook her head like she had water in her ears. Tommy knew how she felt. â€Å"So, these old vampires are here to take out witnesses and whatnot, and they left you in charge of this ship? Just you?† â€Å"Oh yeah, sistah. Kona ichiban top-rate pirate captain of briny science.† â€Å"Why would they do that? You're not even trying to keep a secret.† Kona let his good-time bravado slip, his shoulders slumped, and when he answered, the breezy island bullshit accent was gone, â€Å"Why would anyone believe a word I say?† â€Å"Good point,† Tommy said. â€Å"And besides, you two already knew about vampires. No heat in the night-vision goggles.† â€Å"Also a good point,† Tommy said. â€Å"So these are the vampires who came to get Elijah?† Abby had told Tommy that the Emperor had seen Elijah and the hooker, Blue, leaving with three vampires, taking a small boat out into the fog off the St. Francis Yacht Club. â€Å"Ya, mon. Dat old bloodsucka be locked up below now, air tight. Dat buggah stone crazy, him.† Tommy expected a chill of sorts, but instead of alarm, he felt his senses and mental acuity almost tightening down. There was no flight response, only fight. That was new. He said, â€Å"So Elijah, the hooker, and how many others?† â€Å"Just the three, mon. No hooker. She second gen vamp, mon. They doan make it long. Curl up and die for good, she.† Abby stepped up and tried to grab Kona by the throat, but her hand was too small and she just ended up knocking him over on the dock. â€Å"What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck are you talking about, Medusa?† â€Å"Oh, dey doan tink Kona know, but only dem vamps Elijah make live long time. How 'bout a drop of Zion, now, brah?† Kona held the lancet out to Tommy. Tommy was stunned. â€Å"One more thing. Why would they bring the ship back here? They had to know that we blew up Elijah's yacht.† â€Å"Ya mon, but the Raven, she ain't like dat. She protect herself.† Kona held up his arm and Tommy noticed for the first time he was wearing something that looked like a dog's shock collar on his wrist. â€Å"If I doan have dis here on, da Raven kill Kona dead dead, too. She knows. She knows them three. Anyone else, she send to Davy Jones.† Tommy took the lancet from Kona, unwrapped it, and pricked his finger with it. â€Å"Not going to happen,† Abby said, catching Tommy's hand as he was holding his bleeding finger out to Kona. â€Å"You are not getting dirty hippie mouth on you. You might be dead but you can catch heinous hacky-sac rot from someone like him.† â€Å"Gentle down, biscuit, Kona has him feelings, too.† She reached into her messenger and came out with a retractable pen. She unscrewed it, squeezed Tommy's blood into the cap, then handed it to Kona. â€Å"There.† The Rasta man sucked at the pen so hard he nearly aspirated it, then sat back on the dock and dazzled a wide, white grin. â€Å"Ya mon, takin' the ship home to Zion.† Abby's cell trilled. She checked the screen, said, â€Å"It's Foo,† then answered and turned away. Tommy could hear Foo Dog on the phone, begging Abby to come back to the loft right away. He shifted his focus to Kona. â€Å"Why?† he asked. â€Å"Shoots, brah, a mon love his blood ganga, so jumpin' ship be powerful hard, but when I sign on the Raven ship she have a crew of twenny. Dey say dem boys leave, but they ain't jumpin' ship when we out to sea five days. Dat Makeda deadie, full on African biscuit, too, she eatin' me shipmats, Jah's mercy. Only Kona left now.† â€Å"You? You're the only crew on a ship this size?† â€Å"Ya mon. That Raven, she sail herself.† Abby turned around. â€Å"We have to go.† â€Å"What?† Tommy asked. â€Å"Foo said all the rats are dead. All of them.† Tommy didn't understand. He looked at the sky, which was starting to lighten. â€Å"We can't get over there now.† Abby checked her watch. â€Å"Fucksocks! Sunup in thirty.† RIVERA The sky was lightening behind the Oakland hills and the pink light reflected in the glass front of the Marina Safeway made it appear to be on fire. The Animals stood around their cars, unslinging the tanks and Super Soakers of Grandma Lee's tea. Clint had Barry's spear gun, and was holding it as if it were a holy relic. â€Å"We're out,† said Lash Jefferson. â€Å"What are we going to tell Barry's mom? We don't even have a body.† Rivera didn't know what to say. He hadn't thought of the Animals as people, really. It was wrong in so many ways he didn't have time to count them up. Not just endangering the public, but actively drawing citizens into a secret operation that got them killed. Amid all the unreal things that had happened, having Barry plucked out of their ranks was too real. Too wrong. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Rivera said. â€Å"I thought we were prepared for them. They're just cats.† â€Å"The Emperor told you that it wasn't just a cat,† said Jeff, the big ex-power forward. He was scratching Marvin's ears and the cadaver dog was smiling. Rivera shook his head. It was the Emperor. He was a loon. How could you know that that part of the story was true? â€Å"Did he have a wife, girlfriend?† asked Rivera. â€Å"We could put together some money for her.† â€Å"No, he didn't have a girlfriend,† said Troy Lee. â€Å"He worked graveyard shift like the rest of us. Got high in the morning, slept until time to go to work at eleven. Girls won't put up with that shit.† The other Animals nodded, sadly, for Barry and for themselves. â€Å"You can't quit now,† said Cavuto. â€Å"You don't even know if your spray works. Don't you want to see? Get revenge?† â€Å"What's the up side?† asked Lash. â€Å"You save the City.† Lash slammed the car door. â€Å"We have two hours to get our whole night's work done. You guys need to roll out of here.† Rivera said, â€Å"Can we have a couple of those sprayers, then? And you guys should keep them with you. We know that Chet retraces his territory. You might be territory now.† Clint reached into the back of his Volkswagen, grabbed a Super Soaker, and threw it to Cavuto. â€Å"Great,† said the big cop, â€Å"I'm going to save the friggin' world with an orange squirt gun.† â€Å"Okay, in the car, Marvin,† said Rivera. He opened the rear door of the Ford and Marvin leapt in. â€Å"Call us if you need us.† The two cops drove off. On the roof of the Safeway, the vampire Makeda checked her watch and squinted at the eastern sky, which was threatening sunrise. OKATA Okata had never been to the Levi's store on Union Square, yet that's what the burned-up girl had drawn on the map, so that is where he went. It appeared to be a good place to find blue jeans. He handed a young girl the list the burned-up girl had given him. He paid in cash and left fifteen minutes later with a pair of black jeans, a cotton chambray shirt, and black denim jacket. The next mark on his map was the Nike store, and he left there with a pair of women's running shoes and a pair of socks. Then, about a block along the way to his next marker, he turned, went back to the Nike store, and bought a pair of running shoes for himself. They were bouncy and light and on his way to the next mark, he started skipping, but then caught himself and returned to deliberately pacing out his steps with his sheathed sword. People might ignore a tiny Japanese man in an orange porkpie hat and socks, with a sword, but if you went around expressing unrestrained joy, they would have you in a straitjacket before you could belt out a verse of â€Å"Zippity Do-Dah.† Next Okata found himself in the very soft and satiny world of a Victoria ‘s Secret boutique. It was nearly Valentine's Day, and the entire store was festooned in pink and red, with very tall mannequins standing around in very small swaths of underwear. It smelled of gardenias. Young women moved back and forth, trailing bits of silk, not really talking, each entranced with her own decoration, in and out of fitting rooms, back to shelves, touching, feeling, stroking the lace, the satin, the combed cotton, then moving on to the next soft scene. He imagined that this must be what it was like in the control room for a vagina. He was an artist, and had never been in a control room, nor a vagina for nearly forty years, but he was sure he remembered it having a similar sensation. This was embarrassingly public, though, and he sat on a round red velvet settee to conceal the sudden memory rising in his trousers. He was approached by a petite Asian girl with a name tag. He gave her his list and said, â€Å"Please,† and was shocked out of his fuzzy, separate world when she answered him in Japanese. â€Å"Is this for your wife?† she asked. He didn't know what to say. She was there in the room with him, this young girl, in a vagina control room with him and his distant erotic memories. He could feel his face go hot. â€Å"A friend,† he said. â€Å"She is sick and sent me here.† The girl smiled. â€Å"She seems to know exactly what she wants, and her sizes are here, too. Do you know what color she likes?† â€Å"No. Whatever you think is best,† he said. â€Å"You wait here. I'll go get some samples and you can pick.† He wanted to stop her, or bolt out the door, or crawl under the cushion of the settee and hide his embarrassment, but gardenia was in the air like opium, and there was music playing with the rhythm of slow sex, and the young women moved like diaphanous ghosts around him, and his shoes were very, very comfortable, so he watched the young girl picking out pairs of bras and panties, gathering them like rose petals to be sprinkled over a snowy path to heaven. â€Å"Does she like basic black?† said the girl, noticing all the black denim peeking out of the Levi's bag. â€Å"Red,† Okata heard himself saying. â€Å"She likes red, like rose petals.† â€Å"I'll wrap these up for you,† she said. â€Å"Will this be cash or charge?† â€Å"Cash, please.† He handed her two hundred dollars. He waited on the settee, willing away his whereabouts, the smell and the music, the women moving, and thought about kendo exercises, training, and how tired-how really exhausted-he felt. By the time the girl returned to press the pink bag and his change into his hand, he was able to stand without embarrassment. He thanked her. â€Å"Come again,† she said. He started to leave, and then looked at the burned-up girl's map and saw the pictures of the pig, cow, and fish, and realized that it was going to be an ordeal to explain to a butcher what he needed, so he called to the salesgirl. â€Å"Excuse me. Could you do me a favor, please?† On a fresh piece of pink stationery with red and silver hearts on it, she wrote in English: 4 quarts, cow, pig, or fish blood. It would be much easier dealing with a new butcher with an order slip to hand them. He thanked her again, bowed, and left the store. It was no small irony that when he finally found a butcher who could sell him blood, it was a Mexican in the Mission who had to have Okata's one-item shopping list translated into Spanish. Of course, he had blood. What self-respecting Mexican butcher didn't save the blood for Spanish blood sausage? Okata didn't understand any of that. He only understood that after walking half the City carrying jeans, sneakers, and a pink bag of underwear, he finally had a gallon of fresh blood for his burned-up gaijin girl. After he left the shop the butcher went to the phone and dialed the number on the card the police inspector had left for him. Okata went against his normal discipline and took the F car instead of walking. He rode the antique streetcar all the way down Market Street, past the Ferry Building, and a few blocks up the Embarcadero, where he got off and took a moment looking at the extraordinary black sailing ship that was docked at Pier Nine, before dragging his gallon of pig's blood home. He was sitting beside the futon with a big grin and a tea cup full of pig's blood when she awoke. â€Å"Hello,† he said, with a great grin. â€Å"Hello,† said the burned-up girl, her fangs showing when she smiled. Her hair had grown through the day, and now hung down to her chest, but it was dry and crispy. Okata handed her the cup and steadied her hand while she gulped the blood. When she finished he gave her a paper napkin and refilled the tea cup, then sat down and drank tea from his own cup while she sipped the blood. He watched the color move over her skin like there was a pink light moving there, and she began to fill out, the flesh coming up on her bones as if she was being inflated. â€Å"Did you eat?† she said. She made the motion of chop-sticks scooping rice and pointed to him. No, he hadn't eaten. He'd forgotten to eat. â€Å"No,† he said. â€Å"Sorry.† â€Å"You need to eat. Eat.† She made the motion and he nodded. While she drank her third cup of blood he retrieved a rice ball from his little refrigerator and nibbled it. She smiled at him and toasted his tea cup with her cup of blood. â€Å"There you go. Mazel tov!† â€Å"Mazel tov!† said Okata. They toasted and he ate and she drank blood, and he watched as her smile became full and her eyes bright. He showed her what he had found for her at the Levi's store and the Nike store, and at Victoria ‘s Secret, although he looked away and tried to hide a little-boy grin when he showed her the red satin bra and panties. She praised him and held the clothes up to her body, then laughed when they looked too big and took a big gulp of the blood, spilling it down the sides of her mouth and on the kimono. And she saw his new shoes, too, and pointed and winked. â€Å"Sexy,† she said. He felt himself blush and then grinned and did a little dance step, a universal Snoopy dance of ecstasy to show just how comfortable the shoes were. She laughed and ran her hand over them while rolling her eyes. After he had drank a whole pot of tea and she almost a whole gallon of blood, she sat up on the edge of the futon and threw her thick red hair back over her shoulders. She was no longer a charred skeleton, a burned-up wraith, a desiccated marble crone, but a voluptuous young woman, as pale as snow, as cool as the room, but as vibrant and alive as anyone he had ever seen. Her kimono fell open when she stretched and he looked away. â€Å"Okata,† she said. And he looked at her feet. â€Å"It's okay.† She closed her robe, then ran her hand over his cheek. Her palm was cool and smooth and he pressed into it. â€Å"I need a shower,† she said. â€Å"A shower?† She mimed washing, falling rain. â€Å"Yes,† he said. He brought her a towel and a bar of soap, then presented the shower, which stood open to the room next to a pedestal sink. The toilet was in a little closet on the other side. â€Å"Thank you,† she said. She stood and let the kimono slide off her shoulders, laid it carefully on the futon, then took the towel and soap and walked to the shower, throwing a smile over her shoulder at him as she stepped into the tray. Okata sat, dropped really, onto the little stool by the futon, and watched as she washed the last bit of ash from her skin, then let the water stream over her until the whole apartment was full of steam, weariness, and wonder. He picked up his sketch pad from the floor and began to draw. He watched her move like a spirit in the steam, drying herself and then combing her hair out with her fingers. She came out of the steam, dropped the towel on the floor by his workbench. He looked away as she approached and she knelt and raised his chin with her finger until he had to look at her. Her eyes were as green as a jade plant. â€Å"Okata,† she said. â€Å"Thank you.† Then she kissed him on the forehead, then on the lips, and ever so gently, she took away his sketch pad, and dropped it to the floor, then pushed him back on the futon and kissed him again as she unbuttoned his shirt. â€Å"Okay,† he said.