Ray Bradburys The Veldt and Franz Kafkas Metamorphosis...

Ray Bradbury’s â€Å"The Veldt,† and Franz Kafka’s â€Å"Metamorphosis† are prime example of how Americans take advantage of the little things in life. In today’s society people do not realize how easy they have it and will never fully understand the meaning of hard work. The children in â€Å"The Veldt† are disrespectful towards their family due to their disconnection to reality, and abandonment from their parents. â€Å"Metamorphosis† displays how the parents take advantage of their son and all the work he does for them. Both short stories display the lack of respect and abandonment towards their family members whether it’s taking advantage of them or under appreciating them due to being oblivious to their surroundings. Abandonment occurs on two levels in†¦show more content†¦Throughout this story the kids cannot live without this device and turn away from their parents when they try to take it away from them. Technology is supposed to make life easier; however it turns this family into a mess. The kids turn dependent on this room and disrespect their parents when they try to take it away. Wendy and Peter play devil’s advocate against their parent to get whatever they want. This is another way the kid disrespect their parents. George and Lydia agree that the kids need a break from the nursery and their smart house. They suggest the family goes on a vacation to get away from the technology. George suggests the idea to the kids and they immediately complain to Lydia and beg for the nursery. Lydia caves in and allows the kids a few more hours in the room. At this moment the kids know they have the parents in the palm of their hands and stray away from their rules. Wendy and Peter underappreciate everything their parents have given them and take everything for granite. Their thoughts never once think about why their parents got them everything. All they think about are themselves and not others. â€Å"Metamorphosis† exhibits the same type of disrespect towards their family members. In this short story, Gregor the main character is the sole provider for his family. Gregor works as a travel salesman and dissatisfied with his job. One day Gregor wakes up in his bed and realizes something is wrong with him. He glances down at his body and

War Is One Of The Biggest Atrocities That Man Must Commit Free Essays

After looking through the slideshow for this portion of the class I felt a mixture of sadness and hope, disgust and inspiration, confusion and clarity. These images bounce back and forth from a crying child to one who has had access to medical attention, a naked child screaming in terror in the streets to an image of the same woman as an adult, happy and healthy. War is one of the biggest atrocities that man must commit but at the same time people are never as beautiful or as courageous as when they are in the midst of crisis. We will write a custom essay sample on War Is One Of The Biggest Atrocities That Man Must Commit or any similar topic only for you Order Now Take the picture of the Young Beggar’s in Saigon for example. This picture is bittersweet. It is extremely sad but also really beautiful. The infant in the box makes me want to weep but I am comforted by the fact that these two young people are holding hands. They have each other. If nothing else these two have that little human contact that will make their situation bearable. Other examples of this include the shoeshine boys who have congregated together to form a young Saigon gang. Is this an ideal picture, no, but it is real. These children may have to grow up quickly but they have each other and they are living the only childhood they will ever know. But then there are photos of the young victims of war, bombing victims and women trying to smuggle her children out of the war zone. These are not pretty pictures but again they illustrate the beauty of the human spirit. Could I appreciate life if I had never seen with my own eyes the sadness of a life taken too soon? Could anyone ever know real strength and courage if they had never felt the tinges of fear? There were other pictures that were slightly confusing, such as the photo of the US Marine giving the young girl a cigarette. At first I thought, â€Å"Why would he give such a young child a cigarette? † But then I realized it was because that was all this soldier had to give. I am sure that being an American, used to children having the right to grow up healthy and safe, makes it difficult to see children growing up in the midst of a war zone. It makes one want to â€Å"rescue† each other. And again that is admirable. Look at the girls face in that photo. She is radiant. She is the lightness in an otherwise bleak world. In response, I really don’t know who the â€Å"good† guys are and who the â€Å"bad† guys are in these photos. And truly I don’t know that it matters. I was truck by the strength and beauty that was represented here. Look at the faces in these pictures and you see strength, perseverance, tradition and even love. For example, look at the woman in the photo A Vietnamese Woman, the trials and tribulations of life are etched all over her face. Ultimately these photos represent the good and the bad, the yin and yang of humanity. For some strange reason man does not appreciate life until life is taken away. And unfortunately the world is a better place after we have had to clean up the rubble of war and human greed. Somehow in the midst of destruction we find the strength to help each other, pick up where we left off. Yet, when all is well in the world we get greedy and seek to destroy. These images are timeless. Despite our disgust at seeing a young child tortured we, as a race, will continue to commit these crimes. Maybe as a species man has self destructive tendencies. Maybe we can only appreciate the beauty of life when we see the ugliness in death. How to cite War Is One Of The Biggest Atrocities That Man Must Commit, Essays

Positive Versus Normative Analysis in Economics

Question: Discuss about the Positive Versus Normative Analysis in Economics. Answer: Introduction: Primarily, the United Arab Emirates economy is an open market economy made up of various sectors. Essentially, it is made up of the producing, households, the government, financial sector, and rest the world sectors. These sectors operate intermittently and in association with each other. Notably, the countrys circular model comprises of the major exchanges and flow of money, services, and goods that occur between the economic agents (Mankiv, 2011). The actions of the various participants in the market economy generate national income, expenditure, and output, which then flow from one component to the other. Therefore, the circular flow model of the UAE involves the interactions between individuals, firms, the government and the rest of the world. The UAE has various households who act as consumers of services and goods produced within and outside the country. Primarily, households in the UAE supply firms with factors of production such as human capital, land, enterprise and real capital. Consequently, they receive rewards and income for the factors of production (Beggs, 2017). For instance, landowners in the country supply their land to firms and receive rent as compensation. In the same way, entrepreneurs provide their enterprise and in return they receive profits. On the other hand, the countrys labor force offer their human capital in various industries and firms and are paid in the form of wages and salaries. Lastly, capitalists within the state provide capital and in exchange receive interest as the factor payment (Beggs, 2017). Notably, the households may choose to consume all their income or save some instead of spending it all. The circular flow of income model for the UAEe Predominantly, firms in the country play the role of producing services and goods for the households and businesses within and outside the UAE. As such, local companies produce goods and services meant for domestic and export consumption. Often, they utilize the factors of production provided by the households to produce these commodities (Khan, n.d.). After they produce the commodities, they sell them to households who then pay for them with the income they earned from selling their factors of production. This way, the firms earn income. With the income earned, companies may invest in capital assets. Thus, they may purchase capital goods from other businesses. Mainly, the countrys public sector is controlled and managed by the government. Typically, the government earns its revenues through taxing households and firms within the state (Bogdan, 2010). The payment of taxes to the government represents a leakage from the economys flow of income. Nonetheless, it often injects money back into the circular flow by spending on public goods and services (Bogdan, 2010). Today, the UAE government spends on healthcare services, defense, and security among others. It also supports the poor and those that are unable to get employment within the prevailing market conditions. Predominantly, the countrys financial sector comprises of banks and non-bank institutions. Typically, these organizations act as intermediaries between economic agents. Often, they receive money in terms of savings. They also lend money to households and firms. Additionally, they engage in investment activities within the economy. Whereas savings is a leakage, investments is an injection of money into the countrys circular flow of income. As a whole, the UAE economy participates in international trade. For this reason, it pays for goods and services that are imported and earns income from commodities that are exported from the nation. Foreign consumers buy domestic products, thereby injecting income into the circular flow. Positive and Normative Statements Typically, in economic analysis, economic agents make various statements about the prevailing economic conditions. Characteristically, these statements may be classified either as positive or normative statements. It is imperative to note that positive statements are always based on what is happening in the economy and can be proven as true or false depending on the available facts (Beggs, 2015). More specifically, these statements use scientific principles to arrive at objective and testable conclusions. On the other hand, normative statements are subjective and opinion based (Caplin Schotte, 2008). For this reason, they cannot be proved or disapproved. Although they use factual evidence as support, they are often not factual. Instead, they incorporate the underlying morals and opinions of the individual making the statement. References Caplin, A. Schotte, A. (2008). The Foundations of Positive and Normative Economics: A Handbook. Oxford. Beggs, J. (2014). Positive versus Normative Analysis in Economics. ThoughtCo.com. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/positive-versus-normative-analysis-1147005. Beggs, J. (2017). The Circular-Flow Model of the Economy. ThoughtCo.com. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-circular-flow-model-of-the-economy-1147015. Blackhouse, R. Yann, G. (2010). Circular flow diagrams. In Famous Figures and Diagrams in Economics (222-229) Bogdan, D. (2010). Introducing the Circular Flow Diagram to Business Students. Journal of Education for Business, 85, no. 5: 276. Khan, S. Circular flow of income and expenditures. Khan Academy. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/macroeconomics/gdp-topic/circular-econ-gdp-tutorial/v/circular-flow-of-income-and-expenditures. Mankiv, G. (2011). Principles of Economics (6th Ed.). Europe: Thomson.

The history of sitcoms Essay Example

The history of sitcoms Paper My Family are immediately recognised as an upper middle-class family, as they are typical of West London, the soft underbelly of the South. The sofa and living room are used as the main setting in both of these 2 sitcoms, but the way that props and cameras are positioned further reinforces their different social classes. The Royles cramped living room is shown at awkward angles and no windows or open spaces are shown. This gives the impression of a pokey terraced house. The living room of My Family is airy and spacious, a wide area of it being shown and lots of carefully placed ornaments and windows. The Simpsons is also a working class family, whose standards lie between those of the two extremes; My Family and The Royle Family. The big difference, however, is that The Simpsons is set in a fictional area of America Springfield. As with the two English sitcoms, the living room is the main scene, but more of the outside world is explored than in My Family or The Royles, which are both quite inward. OCCUPATION: In this sense, the Simpsons and My Family are more conventional in work than the Royle Family. Ben and Homer the men of the families, both earn money for the rest of their family with quite advanced jobs (Ben works as a white-collar dentist and Homer as a blue-collar nuclear power plant controller). However, Jim, (the leading male of the Royles), is unemployed. His wife Barbara is the main earner, a blue-collar worker in a bakery. Both of the other women are between jobs, although sometimes Susan works as a tourguide, and rely on their husbands as a main source of income. Each of the three sitcoms have at least one child in school. We will write a custom essay sample on The history of sitcoms specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The history of sitcoms specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The history of sitcoms specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Bart and Lisa, the child characters of The Simpsons, are young and both attend primary school. Anthony of the Royles and Michael of My Family are the only child characters of these two sitcoms, and are in secondary school. Another similarity in occupations is that one character in all three sitcoms stays at home; The Simpsons baby Maggie, My Familys unemployed son Nick, and the retired Nana Royle. PRODUCTION BACKGROUND / AUDIENCE READINGS All three sitcoms are now shown on the BBC channels, but originally they were made in very different ways. My Family, the most recent of the three, was first shown in 2000, and was written as a BBC in-house production. The Royle family debuted in 1998 as a Granada production and The Simpsons, which first started out as 48 shorts in a separate program, first made its appearance as an independent sitcom in 1987, on American television. It is a C20th Fox Production. The Simpsons and MY Family are designed to appeal to the whole family, and are thus shown pre-watershed time. They are shown on mainstream channels, and entertain with more than one genre of comedy to suit children and adults alike. The Simpsons is probably the most widely enjoyed of the three, as it is a cartoon so it relates most to children, without losing out on adult viewers. The Royle family, however, appeals to a much more specified genre of people. It is shown late at night, and is put in the alternative comedy slot along with programs like Alan Partridge and The Office. Although its audience is small, the Royle Family has developed a loyal cult following with its unconventional situations and controversial humour. Some aspects of production, however, are true to all 3 sitcoms. An example of this is the inclusion of well-known actors. In each sitcom this is done for different reasons. Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston play the Royle Familys Barbara and Jim. This adds to the realism of the sitcom as these actors previously acted the realistic soap Brookside. The producers of MY Family have included a well-known cast aswell, for example Zoi Wanamaker starred in Harry Potter. The reason for this is to boost My Familys ratings and make it more popular. Adding familiar faces causes more people to relate to the sitcom. The producer of the Simpsons uses celebrities to add humour. As this sitcom is a cartoon, caricatures and deliberately bad voice-overs can be used to make the sitcom funnier to watch. CREDITS/TITLE SEQUENCE Each sitcom introduces their characters by showing them in their typical environments. Both the Simpsons and The Royle Family include the couch scene in their opening sequences, this Simpsons including originality by showing a different humorous sofa scene every time. My Family, however, ends their title sequence more conventionally, showing a family portrait of the characters. All three-title sequences are accompanied by music. The Simpsons and My Family are both introduced to an upbeat theme tune, whereas the Royles dreary Oasis song immediately sets the depressing mood. The lyrics, half the world away, suggest the Royle Families cut off, inward status from the outside world. Also, the Royle family uses black and white shots to complement this mood, whereas Simpsons and My Family are less explorative, shooting their credits and title sequence in colour. TYPES: Generic characteristics have been shown since the start of sitcoms MY Family, The Royle Family and The Simpsons being no exception. This point is most clearly portrayed in the men of the families. This point is most clearly portrayed in the men of the families. Ben of My Family is arrogant, cynical and delusional, and holds the dominant place in the family, as does Homer Simpson. Homer is blundering, immature and stupid, yet still a character that audiences sympathise with. The Royle Family is probably the odd-one-out, with its leading male Jim. Jim is seen mostly on the sofa watching television, therefore in that sense he is domesticated, and he also doesnt work, unlike the men of most sitcoms. Subtle role reversal is used with Jim and his wife Barbara, for uniqueness and humour. However, he is the dominant person of the household, as he has his own particular seat on the sofa whereas the other family members dont, and also has permanent possession of the remote control. These two characteristics are needed to establish Jim to the audience as the head-of-the-house man. The women of these 3 sitcoms also share generic characteristics. They are all domesticated, and hold their families together, but some of their traits are very different. Marge Simpson is a typical affectionate mother; she cleans, tidies, cooks for and looks after her children (and husband), trying to make hers the perfect family. She is also seen as the stereotypical nagging housewife, her discerning moaning acting as her motif throughout shows. Barbara, of the Royle Family, also cares for her family, but in a different way; she goes out to work. Given this, she is less domesticated than Marge, spending more time socializing with her family or working than cooking and cleaning. It could be said that she tries harder to hold her deficient family together, as she has the burden of an idle husband and immature yet adult children, and doesnt moan about it. This is effective as Barbara is a character that the audience will sympathise with and respect. Susan, of My Family, has very little maternal or loving characteristics and therefore doesnt make a very strong bond with the audience. She is not very domesticated, as she often states she cannot cook, and also she is more the head of the household than Ben, instructing her children and husband on what and what not to do. The fact that she works also takes any maternal nature out of her character, and her sarcastic, tempestuous and sometimes-immature nature is used to get laughter from the audience rather than to make a bond with them. In fact, there is no palpable affection shown between any of the rest of the Archer family either. Every character contains an element of sarcasm, and the main entertainment from My Family comes from The Families ridicule and general intolerance of one another. One thing that most sitcoms have in common is the inclusion of one normal voice a character that possesses no prominent qualities. This is effective in keeping some reality to a sitcom especially if in all other aspect its is unlikely that any of its situations would happen.

Stalen essay essays

Stalen essay essays To just concentrate on Stalins totalitarian terror does ignore his significant achievements, however the end doesnt justify the means. Stalin was a proud man and was proud of Russia, he realised that Russia was a backward country and without pushing USSR to modernise it would be crushed. Stalin in his speech stated All have beaten her because of her military, industrial and agricultural backwardness... We are 50 to a 100 years behind the advanced countries either we make the difference in 10 years or they crush us. Many historians have disregarded a number of Stalins various significant achievements of Russia and how he set the building blocks to raise Russia from a peasant community. Most historians disregard these significant achievements of Stalins, as many of his actual goals where rarely achieved. When he set out plans to modernise Russia it caused a great loss of life and terror among the people. To be able to demonstrate the superiority of socialism over capitalism, Stalin edu cated the uneducated and built gigantic constructions from nothing. His main plans were known as collectivisation and the Five-Year Plans. This came at a large sacrifice to the workers, which was their loss of freedom and extremely harsh work in dreadful conditions. Stalin used terror to keep the workers, working hard to build a better Russia; there was often constant exiling to Siberia. The Great Purges destroyed any sense of independent thinking and created terror around Russia causing many millions to die. If it werent for Stalins push for industrialisation the Nazis would have defeated them in the Second World War. When Stalin commenced his totalitarian regime he had two goals for Russia. They were to increase agriculture and industry. Stalin was working under his socialism in one country theory. The basic objective of his theory was to quickly transform Russia into a socia...

Table of Chemicals Used to Grow Crystals

Table of Chemicals Used to Grow Crystals This is a table of common chemicals that produce nice crystals. The color and shape of the crystals are included. Many of these chemicals are available in your home. Other chemicals in this list are readily available online and are safe enough for growing crystals at home or in a school. Recipes and specific instructions are available for hyperlinked chemicals. Table of Common Chemicals for Growing Crystals Chemical Name Color Shape aluminum potassium sulfate(potassium alum) coloreless cubic ammonium chloride colorless cubic sodium borate(borax) colorless monoclinic calcium chloride colorless hexagonal sodium nitrate colorless hexagonal copper acetate(cupric acetate) green monoclinic copper sulfate(cupric sulfate) blue triclinic iron sulfate(ferrous sulfate) pale blue-green monoclinic potassium ferricyanide red monoclinic potassium iodide white cupric potassium dichromate orange-red triclinic potassium chromium sulfate(chrome alum) deep purple cubic potassium permanganate dark purple rhombic sodium carbonate(washing soda) white rhombic sodium sulfate, anhydrous white monoclinic sodium thiosulfate colorless monoclinic cobalt chloride purple-red ferric ammonium sulfate(iron alum) pale violet octohedral magnesium sulfateepsom salt colorless monoclinic (hydrate) nickel sulfate pale green cubic (anhydrous)tetragonal (hexahydrate)rhombohedral (hexahydrate) potassium chromate yellow potassium sodium tartrateRochelle salt colorless to blue-white orthorhombic sodium ferrocyanide light yellow monoclinic sodium chloridetable salt colorless cubic sucrosetable sugarrock candy colorless monoclinic sodium bicarbonatebaking soda silver silver bismuth rainbow over silver tin silver monoammonium phosphate colorless quadratic prisms sodium acetate(hot ice) colorless monoclinic calcium copper acetate blue tetragonal

Ben&Jerry's VS. Haagen Daz Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ben&Jerry's VS. Haagen Daz - Term Paper Example On the basis of the entire analysis, this paper will provide some recommendation to Ben’s and Jerry’s regarding its marketing strategies. Review of Ben’s and Jerry’s- a competitive analysis Ice cream of Ben and Jerry has started their journey in a well to do manner. Actually there were two people named Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield who wished to make bagels, but they found their decision to be very expensive in order to fulfill it and so they opted to make ice creams instead of bagels. (Ben and Jerry’s p. 1) Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have used special characters in order to promote their brand and also which are simple to pronounce, recognize and also can be remembered for long time. Their brand logo had cow and green environment behind which depicts awareness of quality and benefits. Ben and Jerry have always tried to acknowledge their customers that they always use natural and fresh milk while keeping the environment completely clean and gre en at the time of producing ice creams. In order to prove and promote their mission, Ben and Jerry have used special slogan like â€Å"From cow to Cone†, â€Å"Lick Global Warming†, †Organic Ben & Jerry’s†, and â€Å"50 Ways to Promote Peace†. (Ben and Jerry’s p. ... Thus, it will be more interesting for them to see â€Å"Organics, low sugar, or low fat Ice Cream†. (MarketingWeek p.1) In order to promote and develop their brand, Ben and Jerry is using the brand extension policy. They have produced thousand of ice cream flavors under the name of one successful brand, which of course is â€Å"Ben & Jerry’s†. They have extended its brand to organic ice cream, original ice cream, scoops menu, bars original ice cream, single original ice cream, and single novelties with different choice of taste in each product. (MarketingWeek p. 1; Ben and Jerry’s p. 1) But the journey of Ben and Jerry was not so smooth as their ice cream blends. They had a hard and fierce competition with a brand named Haagen-Dazs. These two brands have dominated the global premium ice cream market and one would be shocked to observe that the two companies could be so similar yet so different in various angles. Haagen-Dazs does claim to use the best ingre dients, from all over the world.    They also claim to use pure ingredients.    Haagen-Dazs started out in the 1920’s and in 1983, Haagen-Dazs was bought by  Pillsbury.    Haagen-Dazs was the first to market ice cream bars for a more adult crowd. Haagen-Dazs were the pioneers in the market for creating distinctive and indulgent taste experiences by marketing to an untapped segment - the adult ice cream lovers. The Haagen-Dazs brand quickly developed a loyal following. Its early success was created by word of mouth and praise. They do not, however, have the fun and creative names, which means Vanilla Swiss Almond is not something that is going to catch your eye and make you remember it. But some of their flavors are

Physical Activity intervention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Physical Activity intervention - Essay Example A search of the references used in related studies shall also be conducted in order to consider related studies. Related studies shall then be set aside and critically assessed based on relevance in this study. In a paper by Nelson, et.al., (2010), the authors sought to come up with recommendations on the various kinds and amounts of physical activity required in order to improve and maintain the health of older adults. The study covered respondents who were skilled in public health, behavioral science, epidemiology, exercise science, and gerontology (Nelson, et.al., 2010). The authors reviewed evidence from various articles and came up with recommendations from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association in order to structure a final recommendation for physical activity among older adults. After reviewing evidence from the ACSM and the AHA, the authors came up with their recommendations for older adults, including: recommended intensity of physical activity based on older adult’s fitness; recommended activities are those which maintain or increase flexibility; and activities which improve balance are also recommended (Nelson, et.al., 2010). The author s also recommended that an activity plan which integrates preventive and therapeutic recommendations should also be conceptualized. In effect, physical activity for adults is recommended to focus on moderate intensity aerobic activity, muscle strengthening activities; and activities which minimize sedentary habits and those which reduce risk for falls and injuries (Nelson, et.al., 2010). Based on the ACSM, (1998) the combined frequency, intensity, and duration of chronic exercise can effectively create a training effect. These factors all contribute to the overload stimulus and the lower the stimulus, the lower the training impact, and the higher the stimulus, the higher the training impact (Pollock,

Political Aspects of Wireless Electricity Essay Example for Free

Political Aspects of Wireless Electricity Essay It is no secret that politics plays a big role when it comes to the introduction of the wireless electricity. Some parties are for it, as it can allow for slightly greener ways of powering devices, new jobs, and easier access. But others are against it, seeing the change as a threat to old ways of doing things, as well as a way for people to access electricity for free. Though wireless transmissions and the idea of wireless electricity have existed for quite some time, the actual possibility of creating usable, accessible wireless electricity is just now starting to become a reality. With wireless electricity looming on the horizon, more and more politicians, civilians, and companies are beginning to stand behind the idea; but that has not always been the case. Politics first began working their way into wireless electricity in 1905, when J. P. Morgan pulled all of his funding from Nikola Tesla’s Wardenclyffe Tower project when he erroneously began to believe that it could lead to free electricity for all (Haliburton, 2006). It is that same type of thinking that has helped to keep wireless electricity out of the mainstream for so long. However, information and general knowledge about wireless electricity has come far, and that type of thinking is quickly disappearing. With the recent surge of environmental and financial awareness, people are quickly beginning to gravitate towards the idea of wireless electricity. Even power companies are getting behind the idea, seeing a way to expand their business. Though the idea of wireless electricity has just begun to reemerge, it will quickly become a hot political topic, just as other forms of alternative energy have. The question is this: Will the general public and politicians continue to gravitate towards this new concept? And if they do, how long will it be until wireless electricity becomes the norm?

Spirits and Abraham Lincoln: Letters to President Lincoln Concerning S

In the late nineteenth century, American spiritualists maintained that Abraham Lincoln had been a spiritualist too. Whenever they drew up lists of prominent believers, Lincoln was foremost among the reformers, judges, governors, senators, and scientists whose stature lent credence to their movement. In this paper, I look at letters written to President Lincoln by spiritualists or about spiritualism, but it is not my aim to determine whether or not Lincoln was a spiritualist. Instead, I use these letters to reflect on spiritualism as a cultural phenomena. It captured the imaginations of many Americans in the years leading up to the Civil War, drawing them to sà ©ance rooms, to mediums, or to their family parlors to commune with the dead. The letters to Lincoln reveal how spiritualism evolved from older cultural traditions and what it came to mean for spiritualists. Letters to Abraham Lincoln are available on the World Wide Web, part of the Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress. The Lincoln Papers include a large number of incoming letters from a variety of correspondents: friends, political figures, and regular people. Most of the letters have been transcribed and annotated by scholars at the Lincoln Study Center . Very few letters—only ten—deal with spiritualism at all. The authors, however, represent the full spectrum of letter writers, from Lincoln ’s closest friend, to a well-known New York judge, to ordinary people—that is, ordinary people who received messages from spirits. Five of these ten letters came from avowed spiritualists, four men and one woman.[1] One man denied being a spiritualist, and another sent a tongue-in-cheek introduction to two mediums, leaving his sentiment... ...ttp://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/alhome.html, accessed [30 December 2014]. [16] The relationship is described in an annotation. Joshua F. Speed to Abraham Lincoln, February 13, 1849. Transcribed and annotated by the Lincoln Studies Center , Knox College , Galesburg , Illinois . Available at Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division ( Washington , D.C. : American Memory Project, [2000-01]), http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/alhome.html, accessed [30 December 2014]. [17] Joshua F. Speed to Abraham Lincoln, October 26, 1863. Transcribed and annotated by the Lincoln Studies Center , Knox College , Galesburg , Illinois . Available at Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division ( Washington , D.C. : American Memory Project, [2000-01]), http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/alhome.html, accessed [30 December 2014].

The World – Creative Writing

After the dreamless sleep of eons, the time had come for him to awaken, to view what was known only as The World. He traversed the nothingness of the desolate area around him, aimlessly trying to find something, someone, anything. Yet isolation was all he found. The World was a place where the order of time was non-existent and all of intelligent life's technology was lost for all eternity, all under a veil of turmoil. The more he searched, the less he found. The only sound to be heard was the sound of skulls crushed under foot. Yet his pointless journey continued. He became more frantic; he wanted to find something, a flower, a butterfly, or someone he could socialize with. Still, nothingness was all he found, himself was all he could socialize with. He became scared even though there was nothing to be afraid of. Fear had consumed him, just like fear had consumed The World. He believed too, he would become just a number. However, then he saw it. Pillars of blackness emanating from the horizon, piercing the sky above him, a fair distance away from him. He also saw faint figures, just like himself near the origin of the Pillars, and a city surrounding them. He started walking towards the city. A walk soon turned into run as he was struck with inconsolable relief. He knew, now, he was not the only person in The World. He thought he was alone, but now his fears were all except present. When became closer, inconsolable relief turned to inconsolable pain as he saw the figures close up. He did not see humans, people, or even animals. They were monstrosities. Turned to their state by their own greed and power hungry minds, only mutated organisms were left. One turned and slowly trundled towards him. It wore a long grey unblemished garment, with a hood obscuring its face. Diamonds, gold and other precious materials covered it, in a delicate and intricate pattern. He shivered as it put a limb, similar to a hand, on his shoulder. ‘You are lost, are you not?' it muttered to him. He nervously nodded, not able to open his mouth to speak. He continued ‘After many centuries of searching I have finally found the one I am looking for, the one I can call my own. You may not think you know me, however, you know me more than you think you believe, and more than you want to believe.' He was mystified. A figure he had never seen before that claimed to know him. It was too much for him. He started to back down, but then he saw someone behind the figure, someone he recognized. She was talking to someone, a figure just like him. ‘Orta, you know her do you not? She came here, only recently, to meet her friend. Her friend Vertigo, who knew her, just like I know you.' He was mystified, ‘Is this a dream, a nightmare?' He thought to himself. The figure stated ‘This is not a dream. I am as real as you or Orta.' He was puzzled, being driven to insanity by the information overload. He could not understand what was going on. The area around him had people around him arriving all the time, meeting mysterious figures just like him. ‘Look around,' the figure continued, ‘There is your friend Alambad with Insanity, your doctor Xenia with Death, your cousin Vyse with Paranoia, you are not alone.' He became hysterical, his eyes widening, his face as pale as the moon itself. He ran at his cousin, screaming and shouting. Yet Vyse did not notice him. ‘You attempts at communicating with beings other than me are futile. I am the only one you can converse with at The World.' He stopped, with tears in his eyes and dragged himself back to the figure. ‘What is your name?' he asked, as he tried to hide his emotions. When he received no response, he repeated his question louder with more infurity. It replied ‘The figure you see before you now, the figure you are conversing with now has no name. It is nothing. It does not exist except inside yourself. However as humans require a name for everything, you may refer to me, as Isolation.' He raised his claw like limbs to lift the hood that covered its face. As the hood fell behind it, he winched in disgust as he saw what the hood was hiding. On his face he had, nothing. ‘Victims of our own fear brought us here, there is no way out.' Isolation said with his none existent lips. He raised a boney finger towards the pillars of shadow and continued ‘You humans fuel The World through your fears and phobias. They are non-existent, yet prove useful to us. You feed the The World, governed by Chaos our king and ruler, you keep it open. Our apparent existence is created by you. The endless walk you had when traveling here, you created it, you made it. Orta entered The World through the Clouds above you. Xenia entered The World through a car accident, on Earth. I am sorry but you will never return to the place of your origin.' They looked up into the sky together, observing at the beauteous gem in the sky they knew as Earth. Walking along memory beach together, they were soon talking and joking together as if they were long lost friends, walking to the end of time.

Radiance Reconstructive Surgery

Reconstructive surgery, a trend that has been developed over the years has reached a new level; radiance reconstructive surgery. This new trend in reconstructive surgery is literally what the name suggests, radioactive. Radioactive waves are used to perform and complete the reconstruction process. There are various methods which can be used to achieve the objective of popularizing the method; campaigns to educate and inform the public as well as helping them understand the process and a question and answer session to give any further information needed.As well as procuring new clients, it will also help the company reassure and build confidence in the current clients. Lifestyle, sponsorship and even marketing are what Radiance should focus on; these are extremely important aspects to any company. These areas help to ensure a firm not only care about the community but garnering profit as well. The venues would include such places as training facilities and gyms.However, they should pl ace their marketing wisely as to not encourage children to believe their bodies are anything less than what they should be given the amount of influence that any type of media has on the perception of young people. Melissa should employ a number of damage control techniques to help change the perception of the company by its stakeholders.The steps to take would be; make absolutely certain the public relations are dealt with, build a campaign that show empathy but tell the story as the company sees it, take steps that will improve the image of the company. While waiting for time to pass would seem like the reasonable solution, â€Å"waiting for time to pass would be a bad idea (Kang & Sakai, 2000); the damage is done and the company has let it slide which gives the public the idea that the company is culpable. Radiance would see either positive or negative changes in as little as a few months by taking these steps.

Cause and Effect of Exercise Essay Example

Cause and Effect of Exercise Essay Example Cause and Effect of Exercise Essay Cause and Effect of Exercise Essay Essay Topic: Cause and Effect Exercise will have a huge impact in your life mainly because it improves your mood, weight loss, and you become healthier. First, while exercise improves your confidence, it also improves your mood. Improving you confidence is a huge plus to exercising because it shapes up your body and you also have a better complexion. I think you become less shy and more outgoing. With confidence you’ll do better in school and do great in any job interview. Working-out lets go any anger you have built up, it’s like a stress reliever. It’s proven to fight depression because it increases serotonin and it gets you in a better mood. When I go for my walks every night, I feel relaxed and nothing can bother me, which also helps me sleep better. When you feel better inside and out, surely you won’t have any fear to conquer anything. Second, while it improves your body shape, mainly you lose weight. Being in better shape, some tasks are easier for you, like simply going for a walk. It’s easier to go shopping because there’s more clothing stores for women that are thinner then there is for an overweight woman. You feel better about yourself, which is very important. Some people like to meditate or listen to music when they want to relax, but with exercising, while you are not only calming yourself, but also achieving your goals to a better and healthier life. Exercise, is a healthy way to lose weight. With a good portioned eating habit and daily work out you lose unwanted fat. People lose weight for numerous reasons. Some want changes in their life and are tired of carrying extra weight around or do it for health reasons. Whatever the reason may be, exercise can help you drop weight faster. Lastly, while not only does exercise give you energy, but it also helps you be a healthier person. Starting out, your energy levels are low and you’ll feel tired, but maintaining it every day you boost up your energy. Having the energy for everyday life is very much needed. You don’t need to depend on any caffeine, but it’s more of natural way to boost up your energy. In my case, when I have a chance to work out, I have more energy to do my homework, rather than being sleepy and tired most of the time. When you eat right and exercise you have less risk of heart disease, you have a better immune system, lowers blood pressure, and many other reasons. The United States is the top of the list of obesity. Why have extra weight, when it causes some many health risks? You can find great ways to exercise and actually enjoy them at the same time. You can start off easy by just going for walk and end up running, Another good way to lose weight is dancing. It’s fun and you forget your doing it for weight loss. New games these days incorporate physically activity, like Wii sports. There’s no excuse to not have some kind of workout. In conclusion, exercise is great for improving your mood, getting in better shape, and being a healthier person.

Some of the Worst Slang Terms From 2010

Some of the Worst Slang Terms From 2010 New slang words pervade language in popular culture every year, often times to much chagrin by literary figures and average joes alike. For as long as the written language has existed, colloquial errors and usages have appeared and been met by harsh criticism before eventually being adapted into the living, spoken English vernacular. People have various reasons for disliking (or downright loathing) certain words. It may be a  buzzword  that has worn out its welcome (such as paradigm  or   proactive). Or an overly familiar  redundancy  (like added bonus and future plans), mispronunciation (nuc-u-lar for nuclear), or  usage  error (between you and  I). Some of us have zero tolerance for elision (definally for definitely, malapropisms (mitigate for militate), minced oaths (like frak), blends (like bromance) or verbing (to effort or Incent). Sometimes the hostility gets personal - as with expressions favored by an ex-spouse like couch potato or a dimwitted boss who spouts buzzwords like bottom line.   These verbal peeves, known as logomisia, become the center of conversations about language in any given year. In 2010 alone, over 200 phrases came to be used in the common vernacular of United States culture. However, peeves such as these have existed as long as language has been shared between people. It was really only with the advent of the Internet that these slang words began to rapidly populate common discourse. Language Peeves of Famous People Throughout History English is a living, evolving language, so its only natural that it continues to expand every year. However, much of this expansion was and continues to be met by critical dissent. In fact, many of our modern common expressions were once the source of fierce debate by linguists and literary scholars. Sometimes, though, famous people simply disliked a word, usage or phrase.   F or instance,  Jonathan Swift hated the word bowels, and Gloria Swanson, star of the movie Sunset Boulevard, hated the word glamor  while the character she played, Norma Desmond, hated comeback. Chicago newspaper columnist Mike Royko hated the word relationship wherein he claimed it was the kind of sterile word used by lawyers and sociologists and other menaces. Even the very arts some people worked in had words the artists disliked. Even though she wrote both, Carson McCullers hated the words prose and poetry. British novelist V.S. Naipaul hates the word novel, documentary filmmaker Irving Saraf hates documentary, and news anchor Katie Couric describes the word panties as a cheesy word for underpants. Of course, many of us claim to hate the word hate itself, too. Confusing, right? Popular Slang Words and Phrases in 2010 Lets agree to disagree, popular slang is sometimes all the sudden absolutely† overwhelming in its misuse or misappropriation of commonly understood words. From using â€Å"access† as a verb to changing the name of illegal immigrants to â€Å"illegal aliens,† the slang of 2010 certainly did â€Å"aim high† at changing the face of modern discourse. Even â€Å"ASAP† and â€Å"Obamacare† entered the spoken vernacular of the â€Å"American consumer† in 2010. According to the logic of 2010, on your next â€Å"birfday† all you need to do is â€Å"chillax† and eat some â€Å"cold slaw† (instead of coleslaw - â€Å"brain fart!†). The next time someone asks â€Å"and you are?† when they’re trying to â€Å"conversate† with you, the blame will rest entirely on 2010 vernacular and not the person’s poor manners. They may even â€Å"axe† you a question, but they meant â€Å"no offense.† Just don’t take â€Å"are you serious?† seriously or you’ll get â€Å"gobsmacked† by some â€Å"iconic† irony. Just tell them, â€Å"I’m good† or their next big idea is â€Å"to die for† and you’ll be right on your way to the â€Å"basic fundamentals† of a good conversation. It â€Å"might could even† evolve into a â€Å"bromance!† Don’t forget to â€Å"friend† (as a verb) them on Facebook after if you really â€Å"heart† them. â€Å"Anyways,† â€Å"just so you know,† this entire section was written with slang from 2010 in quotes. â€Å"Awesome possum!† We’re done here.

Analysis of the integrated marketing communications mix strategies of Essay

Analysis of the integrated marketing communications mix strategies of your chosen smartphone brand - Essay Example With the help of analysis it is noted that Apple Inc. delivered attractive and best quality product designed for a finest price. Integrated marketing communication (IMC) mix is a process, designed for managing the consumer relationships that drive product value. More exclusively, it is defined as cross functional practice for generating and nourishing beneficial relationship with the customers and stakeholders (Koekemoer, 2004). Now the environment of marketing communication is changing: mass markets have been fragmented, thereby, causing marketers to move from mass selling to segment marketing; and shifting from mass media towards focused media. Integrated marketing communication activities entail a forward flow of communications. Producers communicate to the wholesaler, the retailer, and the end consumer. Resellers correspond to customers. Backward communication flow also exists but is crucial to understand markets and customers (Anderson and Vincze, 2006). The main aim of this report is to analyse the integrated marketing communication mix strategies of Apple Inc. The main elements of communication procedure are the sender, encoding message, receiver, medium, decoding, and feedback. A clear understanding of all these elements helps to design an effective communication programs (Jacobson, 1999). Sender: Sender is a person who starts the communication process by thinking about the idea to have a conversation with the receiver. During the communication, the body language, vocabulary and the voice tone of the speaker influence how the receiver accepts the message (Jacobson, 1999). Encoding: It is an act of creating an idea reachable to the entire mass. Before the message or an idea could be conveyed to receiver or the people, the sender requires encoding the message in a suitable code (Cleary, 2004). Medium: Once the idea of sender are translated or encoded, they are conveyed in the structure of message. Messages could

Informal interview Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Informal interview - Research Paper Example As human resource personnel, Mayjelyn had already encountered different people, personalities, characters, attitudes and more. Moreover, she already faced various challenges and opportunities as human resource development officer in the different companies she worked with. She is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She took up this degree program because of the belief that it is important to study human behavior. She always enjoys studying and observing people because it is here in this aspect of her life she learns more things. Human behavior for her is essential to be studied in every walk of life. She did not end up as psychologist in practice but ended up in the corporate world where hiring and understanding manpower has become more than just a lifestyle and passion of her life. Rationale The underlying principle of the proponent to interview a Human Resource and Development Specialist is the idea that there is substantial information that can be generated out from h er regarding hiring, managing and motivating people prior to the success of an organization. The proponent has in mind that in an organization it is important to understand the basic principle about hiring or recruiting manpower because every company requires different resources and the human resource is one of the most important resources that a company needs. Managing people is another important perspective that is taken into consideration by the proponent. In the corporate world, successful organizations have understood that there must be substantial knowledge to be given on how to manage the human resource. Another important goal of the proponent is to know exactly different strategies and factors that could motivate people. A successful organization is believed to have applied the best ways on motivating the human resource because employees are influenced to do things they are motivated at through taking care of their best interest (Bruce and Pepitone 2). Questions addressed to the interviewee Prior to the actual personal interviewee with the respondent, the proponent developed rapport and this created an impact why the interview had just flowed smoothly, allowing the proponent to generate important information for the following questions. 1. What is your own way of defining Human Resource Development? 2. So far, as HRD Specialist, what are the common problems you encountered? 3. What are the opportunities for Human Resource Development Specialists like you? 4. What do you think are factors that pulling away people to be motivated? 5. What do you think are the best strategies or options to motivate people? 6. How to enhance people’s learning and skills? Comments and Learning The proponent learned from the respondent that a Human Resource Department is a company’s portal to hiring, recruitment and taking care of the organization’s well being (Pasaol). The respondent encountered different problems within her four-year experience as huma n resource personnel. According to her, most of the difficulties she encountered are in line with hiring personnel and motivating them. According to her, it is difficult to hire excellent employees because excellent job applicants prioritize top calibrated organizations. On the other hand, organization is always faced with difficulty when it comes to motivating manpower. According to her this puts the Human Resource and Development Department in a substantially high pressure to think of different possibilities. Even though

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Essay

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Essay Example Arthur dent, the main character of this book has one lucky instance happening to him on a bad day. As he wakes up in the morning with a drunken hangover, Arthur finds a bulldozer outside preparing to demolish his house for making a new by-pass. While he thinks this day to be his worst, his alien friend Ford Prefect comes with the news that earth is being demolished by a Vogon construction fleet that is orbiting the earth to construct a new galactic bypass in the space. Arthur is lucky, as he along with Ford hitchhikes a lift aboard a Vogon spaceship. However, the good luck ends there as they find themselves in torturous condition, while they are finally thrown out into the open space debris. They are not perishing, as a spaceship piloted by the galaxy president Zaphod Beeblebrox along with his co-pilot Trillion spots them and picks them up into their ship. All the four along with a mentally unstable robot Marvin are now on a long search to find the lost planet, Magrathea. The meaningful chapter of the book stats next, when Arthur comes to know, in Magrathea, that the planet Earth had a purpose, to solve the riddle of life and universe. Accordingly, Earth served as a gigantic super computer, meant to find answers to these questions. As per the set calculations, the life of Earth was ten million years. However, the vogon construction fleet destroyed it 5 minutes before this. Since Arthur has survived as the only earthling, he gets a proposal to being a part of project to be named as â€Å"Earth Mark-II†. Arthur is not keen to join this research, as it requires the extraction of his brain. The question remains, as the novel has posed, about the existence of life and universe. Looking at the different adaptations of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the question does not get the serious attention that it deserves. Instead, the audience seems to laugh it away, taking the sudden destruction of Earth as a dream only. However, Author’s

Japans Policy on Nuclear Weapons

Japans Policy on Nuclear Weapons In 1945, the United States launched two nuclear attacks on both Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two attacks not only destroyed two cities, but also killed thousands of people. Although Japan was the only country that suffered from the devastating effects of nuclear attack in World War II, Japan did not give up using and developing this technology for other uses. Japan kept using the nuclear power and technology to provide a great amount of electricity and other resources to the country. This is because Japan is a country with only a small amount of natural resources, Japan needs to depend heavily on imports for their needs. However, relying heavily on imports brings a lot of stress because the costs of imported products are very high. Therefore, Japan has changed to rely heavily on the nuclear energy. The government believed that the peaceful use of nuclear power can help Japan to become a more powerful country and reduce its stress from imports. The use of nuclear energy provides many benefits to Japans society, but it also creates problems. Japan is a country that experiences frequent earthquakes and tsunamis that are caused by the high magnitude earthquake. In this case, it is very important for the Japanese government to consider the location of where to build nuclear power plants. But the Japanese government did not consider all factors carefully, which created huge disaster later. On March 11, 2011, a huge earthquake and tsunami caused extensive damage to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, which resulted in nuclear meltdowns, releases of radioactive materials into the atmosphere and oceans. Because of the release of radioactive materials into the air and ocean, the radioactive level in the atmosphere and ocean could cause huge pollution that would cause danger to people and marine life. To be specific, since it polluted the ocean, it raises the possibility that marine life and freshwater could be affected. In t his case, it causes concerns about the food safety because fish is the major ingredient of Japanese food and agriculture needs water for irrigation. If people keep eating these affected fishes and agricultural products, they might have greater possibilities of having cancers. In the end, people who lives in Japan, especially who lives near to this region, the radiation exposures could affect their health, both physically and psychologically. Therefore, it is clear that Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster brought great negative effects on society, which affects Japans environment, food safety and health. The Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster has caused environmental problems to Japan. Due to the accident, a large amount of radioactive materials were discharged into the environment, which polluted air, ocean, and freshwater system in enormous volume. In fact, according to Yasuo Onishi, the radionuclides with 31017 Becquerel (Bq is the SI derived unit of radioactivity) emitted into the air, and polluted land and marine life later. Some directly contaminated the Pacific Ocean[1]. Clearly, the accident caused high level of radioactive materials directly polluted the environment. And if this problem continues to be exacerbating, sooner or later it might cause greater problems like natural environment deterioration. Moreover, after this accident, radioactive materials were not only emitted into the air and ocean, but also affected the whole ecosystem later. Ecosystem divided the world into several different regions, but every region is also closely connected in certain ways. For examp le, lake aquatic ecosystem could connect with the terrestrial ecosystem, and all parts of terrestrial ecosystems like soil, forests, are connected in a very effective way through the atmosphere. In this case, if the marine, freshwater system and air were contaminated, the ecosystem would also be affected. In fact, Christopher Eddy and Eriko Sase point out in 2015, Fukushima nuclear disaster caused a catastrophic release of radiological hazards into the ecosystem. Extremely high levels of strontium, a bone-seeking radionuclide with a half-lefe of 28 years, are currently increasing in soil, groundwater, and ocean samples near the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.[2] Clearly, this shows that this disaster brings terrible impacts to the environment, and the situation is getting worse and worse. Therefore, Japan should put more efforts on protecting environment and finding an effective solution of reducing the level of radioactive material in the ecosystem. The negative effect of the Fukushima nuclear disaster for the environment is clear, but more importantly, it raises concern about food safety. Firstly, the food safety concerns caused by the pollution to agriculture. To explain that, this disaster caused high level of radioactive materials to directly contaminate environment, which caused great pollution to agriculture. In order to test the radioactive material contamination in agriculture, experts took some biological samples from different region to test the level of contamination. In fact, they found that in a small town in Fukushima prefecture, by testing samples from 10 rice fields, the contamination level are from 400 Bq per kilogram to 4,000 Bq per kilogram. Moreover, the result of some samples from the area named Iitatemura (20 to 30 km distant from the power plant) was very high, up to 15,031 Bq per kilogram[3]. Clearly, it demonstrates that this disaster has great negative effects on agriculture, which cause high level of c ontamination to agricultural products. In addition to the high level of contamination to agriculture, it also affected marine life. Japan is known as one of the biggest seafood consumers in the world. Seafood is often referred to as the main ingredient of Japanese food. Thus, if the marine life was contaminated by radioactive materials that have been directly discharged into the ocean, it would cause great concern about safety of fishery products. According to a report done by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) on August 1, 2012, in some fat greenlings samples from Ota Rive which is located in the north 20 km away from the nuclear power plant, the level of radioactive materials was 25,800 Bq per kilogram, which is significantly high[4]. This result proved that the Fukushima accident has greatly affected fishery products. Therefore, the Fukushima nuclear accident creates the food safety problems to Japans society. In addition to the negative effects of Fukushima nuclear accident to environment and food safety, it also affects peoples health. After the Fukushima accident, the local governments had evacuated all people who lived in or close to the Fukushima prefecture. Thousands of people were forced to leave their homes and some of them might never come back. Many people who experienced this disaster have developed psychological problems later on because the increased fear of death from radioactive diseases and social disruption. In fact, according to Claire Leppold and her colleagues, for those people whose lives were suddenly changed, they would have greater risks of having poor health conditions, which lead them to social isolation, psychosocial stress and have higher possibility of having diseases that is not infectious, such as high blood glucose levels and diseases related to high level of lipid in the blood. As may be expected, in Fukushima, they found the number of noncmmunicable diseas es increased[5]. Clearly, it demonstrates that peoples health is greatly affected by the accident, both mentally and physically. Although it seems that this disaster has greater effects on peoples physical health rather than mental health because they have greater chances of having serious diseases, people actually have more severe mental problems later. According to a research done by Kotaro Imamura and his colleagues in 2016, mothers with small children who lived near to the power plant have higher levels of depression. Moreover, due to the extremely fear of radiation exposure, some people were very likely to experience chronic depression and anxiety, which have great chance of affecting their normal life activities[6]. It clearly shows that the disaster affected peoples mental health, and their illness was being aggravated due to the extreme fear of radiation exposure. Therefore, it is clear that the nuclear accident affects public health. Sources [1] Yasuo Onishi, Fukushima and Chernobyl Nuclear Accidents Environmental Assessments and U.S. Hanford Sites Waste Management, Procedia IUTAM 10, no. Mechanics for the World: Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (January 1, 2014): 375. ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, accessed March 12, 2017. http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=3[emailprotected]hid=119bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ==#db=edselpAN=S2210983814000339. [2] Christopher Eddy and Eriko Sase, Implications of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster:Man-made Hazards, Vulnerability Factors, and Risk to Environmental Health, Journalof Environmental Health 78, no.1 (July 2015):29. General Science Full Text (H.W.Wilson), EBSCOhost, accessed March 12, 2017. http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/[emailprotected]vid=1hid=119bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ==#db=gftAN=103698161. [3] Hrabrin Bachev and Ito Fusao, Impacts of Fukushima Nuclear Disaster on Agri-Food Chains in Japan, IUP Journal of Supply Chain Management 10, no. 4 (December 2013): 10. EBSCOhost. Accessed February 13, 2017. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/[emailprotected]8vid=4hid=4205. [4] Kaoru Nakata and Hiroya Sugisaki, The Impacts of Fukushima NuclearAccident onFish andFishingGround, (SpringerOpen, 2015), (accessed February 13, 2017), 178. http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-4-431-55537-7. [5] Claire Leppold, Tetsuya Tanimoto, Masaharu Tsubokura, Public Health after a Nuclear Disaster: Beyond Radiation Risks, Bulletin of the World HealthOrganization 94, no. 11 (November 2016): 859. General Science Full Text(H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost, accessed February 13, 2017. http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=44563dba-77c9-4cd7-8765-ab644726f01d%40sessionmgr104vid=3hid=119. [6] Imamura Kotaro et al., The Effect of a Behavioral Activation Program on Improving Mental and Physical Health Complaints Associated with Radiation Stress among Mothers in Fukushima: A Randomized Controlled Trial, BMCPublic Health 16 (November 8, 2016): 2. Academic Search Complete,EBSCOhost, accessed February 13, 2017. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/[emailprotected]vid=1hid=4205bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ==#db=a9hAN=119467986.

The Power of the Unconscious Essay -- Term Papers Research Essays

The Power of the Unconscious Have you ever experienced a time when you were wracking your brain trying to come up with a thesis statement for a paper, an answer to a math problem, or the title of your new poem? You spend countless hours only to end up where you began – at ground zero. You find that your brain is starting to ache from the excessive thinking and you decide to get your mind off of the problem. You focus your attention on something else, perhaps on getting some R&R and all of a sudden...AHA! The solution to your problem just pops into your head out of nowhere, almost as if it sneaked its way into your thoughts! You then find yourself wondering how this happened and what was responsible for such a reaction. The culprit of such "sneaky" reactions is a force known as the "unconscious." Rollo May, author of Courage to Create, defines the unconscious as "the potentialities for awareness or action which the individual cannot or will not actualize." What role do you think the "unconscious" plays in your life or is it really a major contributor to the birth of creative thought? Thinkers in fields ranging from psychoanalysis to business management all seem to agree that the mystical force of the unconscious plays a central role in the creative process and the emergence of new ideas. WHAT IS UNCONSCIOUS THOUGHT? Saying thank you in response to a good deed, looking both ways before crossing the street, smiling back at someone when they smile at you--actions such as these are said to be done subconsciously, meaning that they are performed without the realization that they are being done. The same idea applies when referring to unconscious thought. Unconscious thought is that in which we are not aware of what we are thi... ...le of conscious factors in one's creative thought process. Everyone has experienced the evolution of unconscious thoughts into consciousness. I'm sure you can recall a time when "the light bulb flickered on in your mind," your ideas just seemed to "click," or you had an epiphany. Had it not been for the unconscious being hard at work, Sir Isaac Newton may have never formulated his laws of physics, there would be no such thing as Calculus, or even math for that matter. The Unconscious brings about the emergence of creative thought. It can not only be thought of as a major contributor to new ideas but also to a greater cause—mankind. The role of the "unconscious" is essential to our being as it allows us to expand upon things with which we are already familiar, leading to innovative ideas. The "unconscious" is one of the most significant aspects of our daily lives.

New Media Marketing Campaign Success Story Essay

Dove was one of the biggest global brands introduced and owned by Unilever since 1957. Dove started its life as a beauty soap bar that was clinically proven to be milder for dry, sensitive skin than other leading soaps: half of women have dry skin. Dove provides a wide range of cleansing and personal care products that make a genuine difference to the condition and feel of consumer’s skin and hair. Some products of Dove include; antiperspirants, deodorants, body washes, beauty bars, lotions and moisturizers, hair care and facial care products. During the 1990s, the group began to extend the brand across the complete personal care spectrum, and Dove now encompasses a wide range of products from bar soap to shower gel, and from deodorants to shampoo-conditioners. Dove has attracted widespread media attention since 2004 for its marketing. A new line of Dove for Men products was launched in 2010. Over the last few years, Dove has focused on delivering products that inspire women to enjoy their own beauty and individuality. As part of our Campaign for Real Beauty, the Dove Self-Esteem Fund (DSEF) demonstrates our commitment to the brand’s mission ‘to make more women feel beautiful every day, by widening today’s view of beauty and by inspiring women to take great care of themselves.’ The DSEF aims to educate and inspire young girls through a series of tools and workshops which ultimately protects and nurtures their body-related self-esteem and enables them to become fully realized adults. Campaign Introduction Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is campaign that focused not on the product, but on a way to make women feel beautiful regardless of their age and size. The point behind the campaign is to celebrate the natural physical variation embodied by all women and inspire them to have confidence to be comfortable with themselves. The launched campaign featured normal women of different shapes and sizes viewed in a number of ways’ one was approaches in the street another answered an ad which was placed in a local newspaper. The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is a global effort that is intended to serve as a starting point for societal change and act as a catalyst for widening the definition and discussion of beauty. The campaign supports the Dove mission: to make women feel more beautiful every day by challenging today’s stereotypical view of beauty and inspiring women to take great care of themselves.† In addition to changing women’s view of their bodies, Dove also aimed to change the beauty market. In an industry where the standard of beauty is often a size two blonde supermodel, Dove distinguished itself by using models that ranged from size six to fourteen. CRFB abandoned the conventional cynical method of portraying â€Å"perfect† women as beauty role models. Main goals of the online campaign were to bring awareness to the new product line, generate debate about the definition of beauty, receive media attention, gain market coverage allow consumer interaction with the brand, and call to join the self-esteem program partnership. . Type of New Media Used Website Through Dove’s website, the public is able to gain more insights about the campaigns. The Dove Self-Esteem Fund was developed as part of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty to help free the next generation from self-limiting beauty stereotypes. We have already helped over 5 million girls and we invite you to play a role in supporting and promoting a wider definition of beauty. Dove Self-Esteem Fund – Girls Only Interactive Self-Esteem Zone (Appendix 1.3) allows the public to do everything from take interactive quizzes, creating their own online magazine to get a reality check in art of image manipulation. Furthermore, they created a viral video (Appendix 1.4) – Evolution, showing the transformation of a normal looking girl into a stunning model and posted it on the website. Visitors can access new self-esteem building tools, take part in interactive self-esteem activities and join self-esteem discussion boards. Facebook As consumers nowadays are getting more IT savvy, the Dove Facebook page (Appendix 1.1) generally attracted 3,688,330 people liking it. From the page, Dove not only educates the campaign to the public, it also engages the public and users of Facebook to communicate with them. Dove has done so through the interactive panels (Appendix 1.1), where they asked â€Å"What does real beauty mean to you?† From there, the public will post their response or view up the wall of the page. The Dove Facebook page is able to reach mass audience of different languages and culture as they allow visitors to pick their current country and language choices. Thus, even if the visitor is not English speaking, they will still be able to understand the information stated on the page. YouTube YouTube is a social media platform that allows feedback from its viewers. By using YouTube, Dove has stimulated its customers to get involved by telling their own opinions about beauty concept. That helps the campaign more and more successful and well-known. With YouTube, Dove can also measure the effect of their campaign via the number of viewers. They created viral video and placed it on the CFRB website, the video – Evolution, shows the transformation of a normal=looking girl into a stunning model and it became a hot throughout YouTube by the name; Dove Evolution Video, 2006. Dove’s â€Å"Evolution† video (Appendix 1.2), which won both a Film Grand Prix and Cyber Lion (A Grand Prix for cyber-marketing) at the 2007 Cannes Lion International Advertising Festival, takes a different approach. By highlighting the extent to which pictures of models are often modified and retouched in advertisements, this video point out the unrealistic nature of many models’ appearances. Showing how much a model’s appearance can change from its natural state at the beginning of a photo shoot, thanks to make-up, stylists and computers, â€Å"Evolution† is intended to challenge women not to accept a type of beauty that is unrealistic and attainable only through the use of editing and retouching Conclusion Result of the Campaign Through the campaign, results stated that the campaign has been shown on over 25 major TV channels and in more than 800 articles in opinion leading newspapers as well as in popular women’s magazines. In the first six months of the campaign, sales of Dove’s firming products increased 700% in Europe and in the United States, sales for the products in the advertisements increased 600 percent in the first two months of the campaign. In 2004, the first year of the campaign, global sales surpassed $1 billion, exceeding company expectations. Dove’s public relations company built in news coverage for Asia with the Dove â€Å"models† appearing in 618 different newspaper clippings with a circulation of 139 million. By the end of 2005, sales in the Asian-Pacific market increased from 19 percent to 26 percent. In the United States, the campaign got free advertising space from media coverage on national television shows reaching 30 million daytime television viewers. These shows included The Oprah Winfrey Show, which included the campaign everyday for a week, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Today Show, The View and CNN. â€Å"Evolution† the viral video and the most famous execution of the campaign to date had global impact. The viral has been viewed more than 15 million times online and seen by more than 300 million people globally in various channels of distribution, including news coverage, by the estimation of Ogilvy Chairman-CEO Shelly Lazarus. Dove and Ogilvy have won awards for this campaign. These include the two Grand Prix Cannes Advertising Awards in 2007. This is an unprecedented number of awards to win. â€Å"Evolution† the viral won Film Grand Prix and a Cyber Grand Prix. Dove won a silver IPA for effectiveness with the campaign. In 2006 it was awarded a Grand EFFIE, which honors the most significant achievement in marketing communications effectiveness. Individual Opinion The success of the Dove campaign has been its agility in bypassing traditional mainstream media and entering popular culture through new media. Dove used YouTube to ask their consumers to help create the Self-Esteem Campaign. To get things started, Dove posted a fast-motion, one-minute film entitled, â€Å"Dove Evolution,† which races through the cosmetic artistry and Photoshop â€Å"plastic surgery† that ultimately transforms a model’s features into an ethereal face that then appears on a billboard. The film ends with the tag line: â€Å"No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted.† The YouTube Dove film has been viewed over three million times and has brought more attention to the Campaign for Real Beauty. Dove’s message and story then migrated to the entertainment media. The spot played on TV shows such as â€Å"Ellen,† â€Å"Entertainment Tonight† and â€Å"The View.† Dove, the brand with a point of view, now had customers with a point of view. The Dove Campaign opened marketer’s eyes to the importance of global consistency. The internet makes it easier for people to connect the dots and to share information. With the internet giving the consumer a voice and allowing user-generated media to have a real impact on our culture, marketers should be able to recognize this and realize how much power the consumer now holds.

The Secret of Ella and Micha Chapter 4

Micha â€Å"She's already got you all hot and bothered.† Ethan sips on his soda. â€Å"Look at you. Drunk after eight months of sobriety and I don't believe it's a coincidence it happened on the same night she showed up.† I slam another shot back and wipe my lips with the back of my hand. â€Å"I'm fine man. And I can't blame what I do on anyone else but myself. This isn't Ella's fault. â€Å" Ethan laughs, tipping his head back, bumping it on the edge of the cupboard. â€Å"Who the hell are you trying to convince? You know just as well as every single person in the room knows that you two are each other's problem and it's never going to be fixed until you fuck and get it over with.† I punch him in the arm, harder than I planned. â€Å"Watch it. You're walking on thin ice tonight.† He holds up his hands, surrendering. â€Å"Sorry, I forgot how you get when you're like this.† I grab a fist full of his shirt and jerk him toward me. â€Å"Like what?† Again, he forfeits up his hands. â€Å"Micha man, calm down and go drink some coffee or something. You're trashed out of your mind.† I release him and rake my fingers through my hair, frustrated with something I can't grasp. â€Å"Coffee's a myth†¦ And I need something else.† My eyes travel to the back door window, and suddenly I understand what I need. I pat Ethan's shoulder. â€Å"Clear everyone out before my mom gets home, okay?† â€Å"Alright, man will do,† he replies confoundedly. â€Å"But where are you going?† â€Å"On a walk.† I knock people out of my way, and stumble out the back door. Regaining my balance, I trip across the grass and climb over the fence. Ella's dad's Firebird is parked in the driveway, so he must be home from the bar. Doesn't matter, though. He won't notice or care if I sneak in. I've been doing it since we were kids. Although, my intentions did get a bit dirtier the older we got. I stare up at her bedroom window until I reach the tree. After a drunken struggle, I make it to the top and I inch along the branch to the window. Cupping me hands around my eyes, I peek inside. The lights are off, but the glow of the moon lights a trail to her bed. She's fast asleep. I inch open the window, slicing my finger on a rusty nail. â€Å"Mother†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I suck on my finger tip, the taste of blood and vodka bitter against my tongue as I head dive through the window and hit the floor with a soft thud. Her friend shoots upright from the bed on the floor, her eyes wide. â€Å"Oh my God.† I put my finger to my lips as I get to my feet. â€Å"Shh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She still looks worried so I dazzle her with my most charming smile. That seems to win her over and she settles back in her bed. As carefully as I can, I step over her bed and crawl in with Ella. She's always been a heavy sleeper and doesn't stir. I press my chest against her back, drape my arm over her waist, and feel the rhythm of her breathing. God, I've missed this way too much. It's not healthy. I burrow my face in her neck, smelling the scent of her hair, vanilla mixed with something that's only her. I shut my eyes and for the first time in eight months, I fall into a peaceful sleep. Ella I sleep horribly for half the night, tossing and turning, like the princess sleeping on a pea. Only I am far from a princess and the pea is my guilty conscience. I don't know why I feel guilty about blowing off Micha. I've done it breezily for the past eight months. Although, he wasn't living right next door with his sad puppy dog eyes and charming sexiness. My sleep deprivation only got worse when my dad stumbled into the house in the middle of the night, bumping over cups and bottles, drunk off his ass. Later, I heard him crying in the bathroom my mom died in. It still hurts to hear because his tears are my fault. Once I fall asleep, I am out and it ends up being the best night's rest I've had in ages. When I wake up in the late afternoon, I feel refreshed and calm. Until I realize why. Micha is in my bed and has me in his long, lean arms. His body is curved into mine, so every single part of him is touching me. I know it's him by the smell of his cologne mixed with mint and something else that only belongs to Micha. I pretend to be asleep, engulfed in a wonderful dream, refusing to wake up until he leaves. â€Å"I know you're awake,† he whispers in my ear. His voice is hoarse and his breath is stale with booze. â€Å"So open your eyes and quit avoiding me.† â€Å"You know it's illegal to walk into someone's house without permission,† I say with my eyes shut. â€Å"And sneaking into someone's bed – that's the move of a pervert.† â€Å"I didn't walk in. I fell in,† he says, amused. I pinch his firm chest and he laughs. â€Å"Now there's my feisty girl.† He brushes his soft lips across my forehead. â€Å"I've missed you, Ella May.† Opening my eyes, I wiggle in his arms. â€Å"Please don't start. It's too early.† His eyes are guarded and his hair is a mess. He chuckles lowly, a sound that ripples deep inside my core. â€Å"Pretend all you want, pretty girl. You and I know that deep down you're secretly glad to be pressed up to my body.† He urges our chests together as he snakes his legs around mine. My eyelids flutter against his warmth. God, I've missed this so much. Way too much and so has my body, evidently. â€Å"So where did you go?† he asks, crushing my moment of bliss. â€Å"To school in Vegas? Because it kind of surprises me. You never really liked school.† My mind snaps back to reality. â€Å"I don't want to get into this right now. I just want to have a relaxing summer and then I'm headed back to campus.† He blinks, his eyelashes fluttering against my forehead. The feel of him sends a warm tingle up my thighs and I seal my lips to keep from moaning. His eyebrows knit. â€Å"It's like you've been kidnapped by a bunch of nuns or something.† â€Å"Maybe I was,† I say submissively. â€Å"It wouldn't hurt anyone if I was.† He considers this and an artful smirk curves at his lip. â€Å"That's not true. Nuns can't have sex and I still haven't fulfilled my lifelong dream of having sex with you.† I open my mouth, my tongue locked and loaded with an equally perverted comeback, but I bite down, remembering I'm not that kind of a girl anymore. â€Å"I need to wake Lila up. She's got a long drive ahead of her.† With one swift roll, he has me pinned down beneath his body and my arms trapped above my head. His aqua eyes search mine and it's like staring at the endless ocean. He sucks on his lip ring, lost in thought. â€Å"You're going to tell me, pretty girl,† he asserts, tilting his head so his lips are next to my cheek. â€Å"You always tell me everything.† â€Å"Micha, please†¦.† I despise how breathless I sound. â€Å"You know why I left. You were there that night†¦ you saw me†¦ I can't do it again.† Anxiety claws up my throat and my muscles tense beneath the weight of his body. â€Å"Please let me up. I can't breathe.† He props up on his arms. â€Å"You could have talked to me, instead of running away. You know that.† I shake my head. â€Å"No, I couldn't. Not that time. That time it was different. You were part of the reason I had to leave.† â€Å"Because you kissed me?† he asks, dipping his voice to a husky growl. â€Å"Or because I found you that way†¦ that night.† I swallow the giant lump in my throat. The kiss was part of it. It was an earthshattering kiss, one that stole breaths, stopped hearts, and scared the shit out of me because it surfaced feelings I'd never felt before, ones that rendered me helpless. â€Å"I don't want to talk about it. Now get off of me.† I wiggle my arms between us and push on his chest. He sighs and rolls off me. â€Å"Fine, don't talk about it, but it doesn't mean you can run away from me again. I'll chase you down this time,† he threatens with a wink as he climbs off the bed, and the chain hooked to his studded belt jingles. â€Å"Get dressed and meet me out in the driveway. You have to go visit Grady today.† â€Å"No, thanks,† I decline and tug the blanket over my head. â€Å"And I told you last night I have stuff to do today. Besides aren't you hung over from last night? You were pretty wasted.† â€Å"Don't do that,† he says, aggravated. â€Å"Don't pretend like you have some deep insight into me anymore. You've been gone for eight months and a lot has changed.† I'm speechless. â€Å"Micha, I†¦ â€Å" â€Å"Come on, get out of bed. You're going to see Grady, whether you like it or not.† He yanks the blanket off me and tosses it on the floor, so I'm lying there in my plaid shorts and skin-tight tank top with no bra on underneath. He gives me a prolonged once over, with a dark, lustful glint in his eyes and goosebumps sprout all over my skin. I cover myself with my arms. â€Å"I'm not going to Grady's. I just got home and I have things to do.† â€Å"He's got cancer, Ella.† He backs for the door, tucking his hands into the pockets of his faded jeans. â€Å"So get your bratty, split-personality ass out of bed and go see him before you can't.† My arms fall to my sides as I sit up. â€Å"Why didn't anyone tell me?† â€Å"If you would have told someone where you were, we would have,† he says. â€Å"Although, I'm pretty sure your father knew where you were, he just wouldn't tell anyone.† I don't deny it. â€Å"Besides, I told you in the voicemail I left yesterday,† he says, glancing at my phone on the desk. â€Å"But I'm guessing you haven't listened to that?† I shake my head. â€Å"No, I was too surprised to see your number on the screen.† He bites on his lip ring, something he does when he's nervous. â€Å"Yeah, you should probably just delete that. I don't think you're ready for it yet.† My gaze moves to my phone. What the hell is on it? I climb out of bed, arching my back and stretching like a cat. â€Å"How bad is Grady?† He swallows hard. â€Å"He's dying, so you need to get dressed and let me take you to see him.† I begin to object, but rethink my initial stupidity. Grady is the one part of my past that I could never run from. At one point, he was like a father to Micha and me. I even called him from Vegas once, although I didn't tell him where I was. I nod. â€Å"Let me get dressed and I'll be out in a second.† â€Å"See you in a few.† He winks at me and vanishes into the hall, leaving the door wide open behind him. Lila quickly springs up from the trundle bed, clutching the sheet. â€Å"Oh. My. Hell. What was that about? I mean, he crawled in here through the window in the middle of the night, and just climbed into bed with you.† â€Å"That's what he does.† I open the window letting in the gentle breeze. Loose pieces of my hair dance around the frame of my face. â€Å"Oh, no.† Lila stretches her arms above her head. â€Å"What's wrong?† I reluctantly look at her. â€Å"I think someone might have confused your car for a canvas.† She jumps out of bed and elbows me out of the way to get a look at the damage done to her beautiful, nearly brand new Mercedes. â€Å"My poor baby!† I pull a skirt and a pink tank top out of my duffel bag. â€Å"Get dressed and we'll go check out the damage.† She pouts, looking like she might cry. â€Å"I can't drive it home like that. My parents will kill me.† â€Å"I know plenty of people who can fix it for you,† I say, opening the door. â€Å"Or I use to, but I'm sure it's all the same.† She nods and I go to the downstairs bathroom to change, avoiding the upstairs one. I turn on the shower so the mirror will fog up and hide my reflection. I comb my hair until it flips up at the ends naturally. Then I apply a light shade of lip gloss and head out the door, but run into my dad on the stairway. â€Å"When did you get here?† His breath smells like gin and his eyes are red. His cheeks have sunken in over the last eight months and his skin is wrinkled like leather with sores. He's in his late forties, but looks like he's pushing sixty. â€Å"Last night,† I tell him, taking his arm and helping him up the stairs. â€Å"I was in bed before you got home.† He offers me a pat on the back. â€Å"Well, I'm glad to have you home.† â€Å"I'm glad to be home,† I lie with a smile as we reach the top of the stairs. He moves his arm away from my hand and rubs the back of his neck. â€Å"Do you need anything? Like help carrying in your boxes?† â€Å"I think I can handle it on my own, but thanks.† I decline, sticking my arm out as he teeters toward the stairs. He nods and his eyes drift to the bathroom down the hall. He's probably thinking about how much I look like her. It hurts his eyes, at least that's what he told me the night I went to the bridge. â€Å"I guess I'll talk to you later then. Maybe we could go to dinner or something?† He doesn't leave me time to answer as he zigzags down the hall to his room, slamming the door shut behind him. My dad started drinking when I was about six, a few months after my mom got diagnosed with a bipolar disorder. His drinking habit wasn't that bad back then. He would spend a few nights at the bar and sometimes on the weekends, but after my mom died, beer and vodka took over both our lives. When I return to my room, Lila is dressed in a yellow sundress, with her blonde hair curled up and there is a pair of overly large sunglasses concealing her eyes. â€Å"I feel like crap,† she declares, putting her hands on her hips. â€Å"This place has that effect on most people.† I grab my phone, noting the flashing voicemail as I slip on my flip flops. We go outside, leaving the smoky air behind and step into the bright sunlight, surrounded by the scenery of rundown homes and apartments. The neighborhood is filled with motorcycle engines revving and far in the distance are the sounds of a lovers' quarrel and Micha is nowhere to be seen. A long time ago, it felt like home, back when street racing and running wild felt natural, but now I just feel lost. Lila starts biting at her fingernails as she gapes confoundedly at her car. â€Å"It looks worse up close.† I circle her car with my arms folded, assessing the damage. It looks like a fruit basket, only instead of being filled with fruit it's crammed with innuendos and colorful words. I'm on the verge of laughing for some reason. â€Å"They got you good.† She shakes her head. â€Å"This isn't funny. Do you know how much it's going to cost to fix this?† Lila's dad is a big shot lawyer over in California. Her parents are always sending her things like clothes, money, cars. She has never worked a day in her life and gave me a hard time for my waitressing job at Applebee's, begging me to take time off to go to parties. â€Å"So what do we do?† She chips at some green paint on the headlight with her fingernail. I point up the street. â€Å"There's an auto body shop not too far from here.† She glances down the road, which is covered in potholes and lined with filthy gutters. â€Å"But this is a Mercedes.† â€Å"I'm sure painting a car, no matter who the maker is, is all the same.† â€Å"But what if they do something to it?† â€Å"Like spray paint it again after they paint it?† I say sarcastically and she scowls. â€Å"Sorry. We'll find someone, okay? We can take it to someplace in Alpine. It's a little nicer over there.† â€Å"I can't drive it when it looks like this,† she complains, motioning at the car. â€Å"It's hideous.† â€Å"I'll drive it, then,† I offer my hand out for her to give me the keys. â€Å"Are you joking?† She pats the hood of her car. â€Å"This is my baby. No one drives it but me. You know that.† â€Å"I think your baby is in serious need of some plastic surgery.† Micha strides off the porch of his house and onto the driveway. He's changed into black jeans, a fitted grey t-shirt, and his blonde hair hangs in his eyes. Using his long legs, he jumps over the chain-linked fence between our yards. â€Å"I know the perfect place to get it fixed and it's here in town, so you won't have to drive it so far.† He gives Lila a wink. â€Å"I'm Micha, by the way.† â€Å"Hi, I'm Ella's roommate or old roommate anyway,† she says with a warm smile and slides her sunglasses down the brim of her nose. â€Å"We're not sure if we're sharing a dorm room next semester.† He presents her with his player grin. â€Å"Sharing a room with Ella? That had to be tough.† He shoots me a mischievous look, trying to get a rise out of me. She laughs and returns her glasses over her eyes. â€Å"No, she's a pretty great roommate, actually. She cleans and cooks and everything. It's like having my own house maid.† â€Å"Ella was always good at that stuff,† he agrees, knowing the real reason why. Even before my mom died, she was never good at taking care of the house. I had to learn how to take care of myself at a very young age, otherwise I'd have starved and rotted away in a rat-infested house. â€Å"So do you want me to take your car to that shop I was talking about? Like I said, it's really close.† â€Å"Yeah, that sounds great.† She shuffles her sandals against the concrete. â€Å"I'd rather go someplace close.† I mentally roll my eyes. Leave it to Micha. He can get any woman to contradict herself if he wants to. He swings his arm around my shoulder and kisses me on the forehead. â€Å"But I have to take pretty girl over here to see an old friend first.† â€Å"Please stop calling me that,† I beg. â€Å"I've never liked the nickname and you know that. I never even got why you called me it.† â€Å"And that's the appeal of it, pretty girl.† He tempts me closer to him and caresses my cheek with his lips, giving me a kiss that brings warmth to my skin. â€Å"Now are you ready to go see Grady? You can come, too, if you want†¦ is it Lila?† â€Å"Yeah, it's Lila. Lila Summers.† She offers her hand and Micha shakes it. â€Å"And sure I'll go. This place makes me a little nervous.† â€Å"Isn't your family expecting you to be home tonight?† I escape from underneath Micha's arm. â€Å"I'll text them and tell them I'm not leaving until tomorrow.† She retrieves her cell phone and scrolls through her contacts. â€Å"The car will be done by tomorrow, right?† â€Å"It's hard to say,† Micha says. â€Å"Ethan is the best, but a little slow.† Her head snaps up and there's delight in her eyes. â€Å"Ethan as in Ethan from the party last night? The one with the sexy hair and the really big hands?† Micha bites down on his lip, stifling a laugh, and flicks me a sideways glance. I can't help but smile. â€Å"Yep, that's the one,† he says. â€Å"Do you feel better about taking your car to him now?† â€Å"Well, yeah, if you think it's okay?† she checks. â€Å"I'm very picky about who works on my car or at least my dad is very picky about who works on it.† â€Å"It'll be fine,† he assures her with a wink. â€Å"I've never disappointed a girl yet.† â€Å"Oh yeah?† Lila laughs, glancing at me uneasily, like she's worried she's stepping on my territory. â€Å"So are we going to go or what?† A ping of jealousy pinches inside my chest. â€Å"Yep, let's go, beautiful.† Micha leads the way around the fence and up his driveway to the garage. When I step inside, my mouth falls open. Parked in the middle, between the walls lined with shelves and tools, is a shiny 1969 Chevy Chevelle SS. It's painted in a smoky black with a cherry red racing stripe down the center. â€Å"You finally fixed it up?† He pats the shiny flawless hood, his eyes sparkling with excitement. â€Å"I finally got around to it, after talking about it for four years.† His eyes find mine, seeking my approval. â€Å"So what do you think?† â€Å"It's kind of old.† Lila pulls a face at the car. â€Å"And really big.† â€Å"I thought you liked things big?† Micha teases. I punch him in the arm and he laughs. â€Å"Ow, I meant hands. Jeez get your mind out of the gutter.† I roll my eyes. â€Å"You did not, you pervert.† He shrugs, his eyes lustrous in the sunlight filtering through the gritty windows. â€Å"So what. It got you to lighten up, didn't it?† â€Å"Are we driving it to Grady's?† I opt for a neutral voice. He slips his keys out of his pocket and tosses them to me. â€Å"Yeah, go ahead. It's all yours.† I swiftly shake my head and throw the keys back at him, like they're scorching hot. â€Å"No thanks. I don't want to.† He cocks an eyebrow, looking sexy. â€Å"What do you mean you don't want to?† â€Å"I mean I don't want to drive it.† It nearly kills me to say it. I walk around the front of the car, open the door, and gesture for Lila to get in. â€Å"But it has a blown 572 Big Block in it,† he says astounded with the keys hanging loosely from his fingers. â€Å"How can you not want to drive it?† My insides twitch to drive it, but I won't buckle. â€Å"It's fine, Micha. I'd rather be the passenger.† â€Å"What does that mean? A blown big block or whatever you said?† Lila wonders as she walks to the side of the car. â€Å"Wait, are you guys talking cars? El doesn't like cars. In fact, she made us take the bus most of the time when we left campus.† â€Å"Oh really?† His tone implies otherwise. â€Å"That's news to me.† â€Å"It's a waste of gas,† I lie, attempting to mask the truth; that I miss it. The rush, the speed, the adrenaline high. Lila ducks inside the car and into the backseat. I climb into the passenger side and Micha opens the garage door. He revs up the engine, letting it rumble, teasing me, before backing down the driveway. â€Å"I'm starting to think that the Ella you knew isn't the same one as I know.† Lila buckles her seatbelt up. He spins the tires down the road. â€Å"I think you might be on to something Lila, because the one I knew loved cars. In fact she used to hang out in the garage all day with the guys while the other girls played with their hair and makeup.† He flashes me a dangerous grin. â€Å"She used to get all excited when we'd go racing.† No matter how hard I try to hinder myself from getting energized, I can't. Those hot summer nights, flying down the highway, neck and neck with another car, the rush soaring through my body. Micha trails his finger along my neck and rests it on my pulse. â€Å"You're getting excited just thinking about it.† His touch spreads a longing through my body. I swat his hand away, cross my arms, and focus on the window, watching the neighborhood blur by as he cruises over the speed limit. Micha shifts the gears and the engine thunders louder, begging to burn rubber. â€Å"Is it legal to be driving this fast?† Lila asks nervously. We glance back at her and she grips the edge of the leather seat. â€Å"It just seems like we're going really fast, especially in a neighborhood.† Micha holds my gaze resolutely as he downshifts and pumps up the rpms. â€Å"What do you think? Speed up? Or slow down?† I want to tell him to slow down, pull on my seatbelt, and look away, but a passion that was dead raves. He throttles the gas pedal, keeping his eyes on mine, venturing me to look away first. â€Å"Um†¦ I don't think this is a good idea.† Lila's voice is far away. The car surges faster down the narrow road and his eyes dare me to tell him to slow down and part of me wants to. Desperately. But as he shoves the shifter into the next gear, going faster and faster, my body pleads to let go. Suddenly, Lila screams, â€Å"Stop sign!† Micha's eyes sparkle like sunlight reflecting into the ocean. He slams on the brakes, squealing the car to a halt, and throwing us all forward. My hand shoots out and I brace myself from hitting the dashboard. â€Å"Are you crazy?† Lila's voice cracks as she situates back into the seat and realigns her dress over her legs. â€Å"What is wrong with you two?† Micha and I look at each other and my body is burning with a hidden desire that I won't admit exists. My heart beats in my chest, rock steady and alive again. For a second, I'm back in the place I lost. Then Micha ruins it. â€Å"See, the same old Ella still lives.† He grins arrogantly as he drives through the intersection. â€Å"She just needed a little push out.† I click the seatbelt locked, proving a point. â€Å"No, she doesn't. She's gone forever.† â€Å"Try all you want, but I'm bringing her back.† He bites his lip, refocusing on the street as he mutters, â€Å"I won't let that night ruin you forever.† But it did. It broke me into a million pieces and blew them away in the wind, like crumbled leaves. That night was one of the most incredible nights I've ever had. Then I quickly plummeted toward rock bottom.