Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Legal but Deadly Essay

Legal but Deadly Essay Legal but Deadly Essay Legal but Deadly Prescription for Disaster 1/11/2013 The non-medical use and abuse of prescription drugs is a serious public health problem in this country. Although most people take prescription medications responsibly, an estimated 52 million people have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons at least once in their lifetimes. They are potentially deadly when taken in large doses or when combined with alcohol or other drugs. Take Gerald Levert, an R including Vicodin, Percocet, and Darvocet for his shoulder and Achilles tendon injuries, also Xanax for anxiety attacks. Just because they are legal does not mean that pharmaceutical drugs are any less dangerous than illicit drugs. There are several misconceptions about taking prescription drugs without a prescription. One is that people think because they are prescribed by a doctor and are legal that they must be safe. They tend to believe that they are safer than illicit drugs like heroin, cocaine, and marijuana. Individuals have confidence in that they are not as addictive. There is also the belief by many using prescription drugs, even recreationally, that they can quit whenever they want. Taking these drugs without knowing the warning signs and getting behind the wheel of a car or heavy machinery, could ultimately be fatal. The fact is prescription drugs are very powerful and that is why they require a prescription from a doctor, so their use can be monitored more closely. Doctors regulate use of these drugs so they can inform patients about the risk factors and side effects. Taking more than you are prescribed increases your chances of severe side effects and up to addiction. Drug abuse is discriminatory; it does not care about race, gender, age or social status. Prescription drugs are everywhere, they are advertised daily on television, easily purchased without a prescription online, and most people have them in their medicine cabinets. The younger generation has begun to use them as a way to self-medicate; they get them from home and through friends. Even drug dealers are selling them because they have become more popular than illicit drugs like cocaine and marijuana. People are becoming more susceptible to sharing their prescriptions with others, not thinking of the affects they could have. Individuals tend to believe that a pill can fix almost any problem they have because that’s how they are advertised everywhere you look. There continues to be a more social acceptance of using medications, so the misuse is not frowned upon by many as drug abuse. Many people, of all ages, misuse prescription drugs to relieve pain, if they have sleeping problems, have trouble focusing, or just want to get high. Every person has their own excuses for using. They may be finding different ways to cope with the pressures of life’s demands, dealing with stress that occurs because of adaption, frustration, and overload of daily problems. Peer pressure is and always has been a factor concerning drug abuse. Younger individuals have their own set of rules concerning authority figures and friends, having the mind set to be adventurous and be like others in the â€Å"group†. Users think that drugs help them by keeping them motivated, by enhancing their performance, to be more creative, relieve tension, and most commonly it makes them feel good about themselves. An analysis from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) showed that in 2008 emergency room records reported that more than 4.3 million visits were associated with some form of drug abuse. This number is up over an overwhelming 70 percent from2004. Almost half of the 4.3 million were results of drug misuse or abuse. The remaining 2 million were the result of legal medical use of prescription and over- the- counter drugs. ("Prescription Drugs More Dangerous Than

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Free Essays on Keeping Violence Out of Schools

Factors contributing to school violence are numerous, complex, and mostly community-related. For example, teachers perceive that major factors contributing to student violence are lack of parental supervision at home, lack of family involvement with the school, and exposure to violence in the mass media. Teachers are also believed that certain types of parenting produce children who contribute to school violence. America's children are exposed to a steady diet of verbal and physical violence that begins early and continues throughout their lives. In too many communities, children constantly send signals that they feel isolated from and maligned by society. These feelings know no geographic, social, or economic boundaries. Children often receive mixed messages from parents and other adults about what is right and what is wrong. The use of material goods to persuade children to behave in one way or to dissuade them from behaving in another is an example of mixed messages. These attitudes and actions convey strong lessons about roles, responsibilities, and the right that must be learned in odes to assume positions as citizens good in a democratic society. How children learn theses lessons is as important as what they learn. Victims of violence in schools cover the spectrum. For example, 900 teachers are threatened, and over 2,000 students and nearly 40 teachers are physically attacked on school grounds every hour of each school day each year (Stone, 1994). Younger students (grades 6-10) are much more likely to be victims of violence than are senior high school students (The American Teacher, 1993;U.S. Department of Education). The Department of justice reported that students whose families moved frequently are students from racial or ethnic groups that are minorities within the school are more likely to be physically assaulted. Students, who wear expensive or fashionable clothing or jewelry, or who bring cameras, cassette player... Free Essays on Keeping Violence Out of Schools Free Essays on Keeping Violence Out of Schools Factors contributing to school violence are numerous, complex, and mostly community-related. For example, teachers perceive that major factors contributing to student violence are lack of parental supervision at home, lack of family involvement with the school, and exposure to violence in the mass media. Teachers are also believed that certain types of parenting produce children who contribute to school violence. America's children are exposed to a steady diet of verbal and physical violence that begins early and continues throughout their lives. In too many communities, children constantly send signals that they feel isolated from and maligned by society. These feelings know no geographic, social, or economic boundaries. Children often receive mixed messages from parents and other adults about what is right and what is wrong. The use of material goods to persuade children to behave in one way or to dissuade them from behaving in another is an example of mixed messages. These attitudes and actions convey strong lessons about roles, responsibilities, and the right that must be learned in odes to assume positions as citizens good in a democratic society. How children learn theses lessons is as important as what they learn. Victims of violence in schools cover the spectrum. For example, 900 teachers are threatened, and over 2,000 students and nearly 40 teachers are physically attacked on school grounds every hour of each school day each year (Stone, 1994). Younger students (grades 6-10) are much more likely to be victims of violence than are senior high school students (The American Teacher, 1993;U.S. Department of Education). The Department of justice reported that students whose families moved frequently are students from racial or ethnic groups that are minorities within the school are more likely to be physically assaulted. Students, who wear expensive or fashionable clothing or jewelry, or who bring cameras, cassette player...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Strategic Knowledge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Strategic Knowledge - Essay Example al., n.d.). With the intention to determine that whether the idea of intellectual capital can be managed at the strategic level or not, it can be affirmed that intellectual capital aids an organisation to generate greater value to the customers and drive success at in the long-run. Contextually, it has been viewed that the success of several foremost organisations including Microsoft, Amazon and Google among others have been typically based upon their respective intellectual capital in terms of managing it in an effective manner (Marr, 2008). Samsung Group, popularly known as Samsung, is one of the biggest Information Technology (IT) based global organisation that deals with various products and services including consumer electronics, medical instruments, mobile phones and telecommunication related equipments (Samsung, 2012). Notably, the vision of the company is to incessantly develop its pioneering technological advancements as well as effectual business procedures with the intention of penetrating into new business markets, enhancing profitability and most significantly accomplishing superior competitive position over its chief business market competitors (Samsung, 2012). Thus, it can be stated that the group can attain its expected business goals within the context of KM by effectively managing its intellectual capital. Based on these considerations, the discussion henceforth will intend to present a comprehensive analysis of the statement concerning the issue that whether the perception of intellectual capital can be managed at the strategic level. Different important aspects that include knowledge management or environment related managerial concerns, intellectual along with social capital, communities of practice and soft systems thinking will also be portrayed in this discussion. The conception of Knowledge Management (KM) is

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Radical changes are needed in company reporting to cope with the rise Essay

Radical changes are needed in company reporting to cope with the rise of intangible assets. Discuss - Essay Example 1. Ability to be separately recognised: Since the asset can be separately quantified, relative commercial transactions such as sale, transfer or exchange could be carried out, Further, the creation of an intangible asset is out of an agreement or other legal imposition, 2. Ability to produce future benefits: Software development expenses is example of an intangible asset that has the ability to produce future benefits. For the same reason, special distribution and selling rights, trademarks and intellectual properties ownerships also constitute intangible assets Intangibles can be acquired either externally or through internal means. Intangible assets acquired externally are through buying, transfer or leasing process and the internally generated ones are established by way of the companies’ own efforts and market reputation. The main aspect to be considered with regard to intangible assets is that it must be compatible to quantitative analysis and future benefits. Whether the intangible assets are self generated or acquired externally. If this parameter is not met the investment would be â€Å"recognised as an expense when it is incurred [IAS 38.68]1† and not as an intangible asset. The aspect of intangible asset which is self generated refers to determination of goodwill and its accounting treatment. In real effect, goodwill represents â€Å"the excess paid for a firm over its adjusted net asset value.†2 (p.992). The goodwill amount refers to the special ability of the firm to generate revenue by way of its current market standing and also its future earning capacity. Goodwill is only seen in the context of business mergers and acquisitions representing the difference between the purchase prices and the net value of assets acquired. The aspect of goodwill in accounting cannot be undermined because â€Å"when Philip Morris acquired Seven Up for a price of $ 520 Million, approximately $ 390 million of the purchase price represented goodwill,†3

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Language in Anthony and Brutus’ Speeches Essay Example for Free

Language in Anthony and Brutus’ Speeches Essay Compare and contrast Henry’s use of rhetoric to affect others in his Harfleur speeches with the effectiveness of the language in Anthony and Brutus’ speeches In Henry V, Henry uses rhetoric very effectively as he persuades the Governor at Harfleur to surrender and encourages his troops onward with his ‘Once more unto the breach’ speech. This is very similar to Anthony and Brutus of Julius Caesar as they use rhetoric to influence the ‘mob’; firstly Brutus wins the crowd over and they believe the death of Caesar is a good thing and then Anthony turns them around and they end up hating Cassius and Brutus. Henry uses rhetoric to create a number of different effects one of them being to persuade the Governor to surrender. Rhoda Koenig suggests that this scene ‘points up the character of this immature and disaffected king’, which I disagree with as I believe that this speech shows just how the King has matured as he is able to bluff his way through as his army is, really, worn and battered. This speech shows how Henry’s words are more powerful than his army, which is similar to Anthony in Julius Caesar who turns the mob into a state of madness just through the use of his oratorical skills. For example, Henry starts his speech with short, sharp sentences: â€Å"How yet resolves the governor of the/ town?† This creates an assertive beginning and one that makes Henry seem powerful and stern. This coupled with the use of a rhetorical question puts the Governor in a situation where the mercy of Henry is in his hands, as if the outcome of his men depends on his decision. This also removes the responsibility from Henry’s shoulders which is a recurring theme throughout the play. Henry also describes what the outcome could look like if the Governor doesn’t surrender: â€Å"The gates of mercy shall be all shut up.† The use of a metaphor here, ‘the gates of mercy’, refers to Henry as if once he starts the battle there’s no goi ng back. This is used to scare the Governor so that he believes Harfleur will be desecrated once the battle has begun. This, of course, is a faà §ade as Henry knows full-well that his army is worn thin and lacking in strength. This demonstrates Henry’s good leadership, as he bluffs his way through with confidence. Also, this quote contains lots of monosyllables which make it very powerful and reinforces the threat which forces the Governor to surrender. Bernard Richards raised an interesting point where he said that Shakespeare ‘wanted to show the full range of war – the glamour as well as the squalid and obscene violence.’ This interested me as throughout this speech there is talk of atrocities of war such as ‘shrieking daughters’ while elsewhere in the play we see the French think of war as glorious. This is very similar to Brutus in Julius Caesar who has to use rhetoric to convince the crowd to surrender, as they are initially angry at the conspirat ors for killing their leader. For example, he uses rhetorical questions to force the crowd to realise that the murder of Caesar will benefit them: â€Å"Who here is so base [†¦] Who here is so rude [†¦] Who is so vile [†¦] for him have I offended.† The crowd are forced to ask themselves if they would want to be slaves, for example, which they of course answer ‘no’. The use of a three-part list also emphasizes this and would allow the crowd to remember this more accurately: â€Å"Let him be Caesar!† This quote shows that Brutus’s rhetoric successfully convinces the crowd, although they appear to have missed the point as they want Brutus to be ‘the new Caesar’ and the sole leader of Rome which is what the conspirators were fighting against. It is also interesting to note that Shakespeare’s main characters usually speak in blank verse, but here Brutus speaks in prose. This is because prose is the perfect way to persuade so has a stronger affect on the crowd. It could also be argued that because he speaks to the low-life characters, they will understand prose better than blank verse. Within his speech Brutus also uses repetition which reinforces his message: â€Å"Hear me for cause [] hear.† The use of framing repetition here grabs the crowd’s attention and makes them listen. He also repeats ‘honour’ throughout his speech: â€Å"Believe me for mine honour, and have respect for mine honour.† This repetition is used to emphasize to the crowd that the conspirator’s cause was honourable and that they have done the right thing while it also serves to remind the crowd how Brutus is an honourable man, which is a similarity with Henry who also takes great care in ensuring the cause for going to war is moral. The repetition would ‘grind’ it into the crowds’ heads so that it’s almost like subliminal messaging. The repetition also shows how Brutus is still unsure himself and that he is trying to convince himself that they have done the right thing. Henry also uses rhetoric to empower his army and urge them on at Harfluer in what Hal Hinson of the Washington Post calls ‘the greatest half-time speech in human historyà ¢â‚¬â„¢. Here, Henry is forced to persuade his army that they should not retreat but attack once again: â€Å"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.† Similarly to Brutus, Henry uses framing repetition to encourage his army to attack Harfleur once more. The repetition helps to reinforce the message and will stick in their minds through the battle. Also in this quote, he uses an endearing pronoun ‘friend’. This affects the army as they will feel that they are all friends of the King and will have a surge of confidence. This will help the army to conquer whatever they face, even though they have had to retreat. Interestingly, this contrast to what the Chorus says in the preceding scene as he states that the great British are invading France when really they are being forced to retreat. Henry also uses alliteration: â€Å"But when the blast of war blows in our ears.† The use of plosive alliteration here creates a powerful sound which suggests that the English army are powerful enough to defeat the French. This also shows Henry’s passion as if it’s bursting out of him as he desperately wants his men to survive as he feels guilty that the war may not have an honourable cause. Also is this speech, sibilance is used: â€Å"Stiffen the sinews.† This also creates quite an aggressive sound which would be passed onto the soldiers and make them feel aggressive and willing to fight. Henry also uses figurative language: â€Å"Let it pry [†¦] like the brass cannon.† This simile likens the mind prying to a cannon – an item associated with war – which would rile up the soldiers and also remind them that they are at war, its kill or be killed. Another simile used refers to Alexander the Great: â€Å"On, on, you noblest English [†¦] like so many Alexanders.† Here, Henry likens his army to a group of Alexander the Greats. Alexander the Great is a figure of Greek legend which states that he conquered the Persian Empire. It also says that he was often reckless with his own life and his soldiers as he believed he was indestructible. This would encourage his men and fill them with confidence as Alexander was a great warrior and Henry’s army will feel equally invincible. Shakespeare’s Elizabethan audience were very interested in Greek culture so the simile would have been more relevant and had more effect than it would on our society who have a lesser interest. Also, in this quote he addresses the ‘noblest English ’while further on he addresses the â€Å"good yeomen.† Henry directly addresses each social class as his army was compiled of a number of different classes, even nationalities. King Henry V was known for uniting people under him as he prevented a civil war between the Church and the Government and th is unity is shown in the scene between Gower, Fluellen, Jamy and MacMorris. This scene also, as James Shapiro suggests, ‘prophetically anticipates the notion of a united kingdom’. Although these nations were far from united in 1599, when the play was written as England and Ireland were at war, and some were very hostile during Henry’s reign. For example, James Shapiro criticizes that Henry says the Scots may attack yet here they are united. This would make each soldier feel important, needed and a friend of the king’s, which would, ultimately, provide the soldiers with confidence to fight, and beat, the French. Likewise, Mark Anthony in Julius Caesar also addresses his crowd individually while manipulating them until they run riot around Rome: â€Å"Friends, Romans, countrymen.† Anthony immediately begins with a three-part list which grabs his audience’s attentions and the first word used is ‘friends’. This instantly makes the crowd warm to him as he is speaking to them as equals. This is similar to Henry who calls his army the ‘noble English’ and ‘good yeomen’, while it contrasts with Brutus who says, â€Å"Romans, countrymen, and lovers†, as if ‘lovers’ is an afterthought. This may hint at why Henry and Anthony were successful at convincing their audience while Brutus failed, because Henry and Anthony allowed the audience to warm to them while Brutus did not. Another way Anthony wins his crowd over is by using repetition: â€Å"And Brutus is an honourable man.† This is repeated at regular intervals throughout his speech and each time it becomes more sarcastic. The sarcastic tone induces the crowd to question whether killing Caesar was an honourable thing. Here, in the same way as Brutus, he uses subliminal messaging; however he uses it against Brutus and to much better effect as the crowd end up rampaging across Rome. In conclusion, Henry and Anthony use rhetoric and their oratorical skills very well combining repetition, friendly language, and other techniques to persuade their respective crowds to see their way of thinking. Brutus, however, fails to convince his crowd (or is unable to deliver a speech worthy of Anthony’s) which goes to show how good Anthony’s speech is. Henry manages to convince the Governor to surrender, and convince his battered army to continue, while Anthony manages to convince an audience who love Brutus, to hunt him down. Brutus, on the other hand, cannot prevent the people of Rome from turning against him as he didn’t endear himself to the crowd.

Friday, November 15, 2019

The Great Gatsby - Chapter 1 Essay example -- English Literature

The Great Gatsby - Chapter 1 Read the beginning of the novel chapter 1 up to page 12 â€Å"Tom Buchanan in his riding clothes was standing with his legs apart on the front porch.† How effective do you find this as an introduction to Great Gatsby. In your response you should pay close attention to voice, language and style. The Great Gatsby was written by F Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, and is set during 1922, a period tinged with moral failure of a society obsessed with class and privilege. Fitzgerald presents us with the conflict between the illusion and the reality of the American dream. The novel begins in the present tense, and is told through the eyes of Nick Carraway, the narrator and moral centre of the novel. His tale is told in retrospect. Nick Carraway is a young man from the Mid West, introducing himself as a graduate of Yale and a veteran of World War One. He begins the first chapter by relaying his father’s advice: â€Å"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the same advantages as you’ve had.† He states that he is also â€Å"inclined to reserve all judgement† about people and be a tolerant listener; who is entrusted with people’s secrets. This encourages him to withhold formulating opinions about people until he gets to know them, demonstrating his caution. Nick puts himself forward explicitly, as someone with an above average â€Å"sense of fundamental decencies† which now manifests itself as a wish for â€Å"the world to be in uniform and at a moral attention forever†. This military perspective clearly shows Nick has something of an authoritarian character with a developed instinct for discipline and order. These first pages of Chapter one... ...ds the end of page 9 the reader is given a sense of time and a positive idea of how the modern world is progressing, through the metaphor of â€Å"growing trees† and the â€Å"burst of leaves† creating new life that has potential just like the American Dream. â€Å"Fast movies† (p.9) and the â€Å"telephone† (p.12) symbolise the Twentieth –century technological environment. The growth of cinemas, cars, boats is recognised by the twenties as a decade of mass media and mass production in America. The novel raises the issue of individual worth in such a context. In contrast to this materialistic world, Daisy’s name evokes a delicate flower. The irony here is that her life is conducted in an entirely manufactured environment, distant from the natural world. The key structure of the chapter is the combination of first person narrative and the gradual revelation of the past.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Grass Fed Beef vs. Grain Fed Beef

Matthew Buckman Carla Baku English 1A 10:45 September 23, 2012 Beef Grass Fed Beef vs. Grain Fed Beef Before World War Two (WW2), ranchers raised grass fed cows and that was the norm. But because of the high demand for beef after WW2 ranchers had to change the way they raised cows. Ever since WW2, cows have been raised on grain which has become the norm when it comes to raising cows. That means they are fed mainly corn instead of grass. With the cows being fed corn they get fatter quicker so that means that they are at the weight to get slaughtered quicker.That was until recently when people started questioning corn fed beef and the health risks and how humane it was for the cows. Every year there are millions of cows slaughtered in the U. S for humans to consume. Most of the cows that are slaughtered are grain fed cows. Although some people argue that grain fed beef isn’t worse than grass fed beef in fact we should start eating more grass fed beef because it is more humane fo r the cows, better for the environment and it is healthier than grain fed beef for the consumer and the cows.We should start eating more grass fed beef because it is more humane for the cows. The first way that it is more humane for the cows is that they aren’t cooped up in a feed lot. This means that the cows aren’t kept in a confined space with other cows. They are more freely able to walk around on pastures and have the choice to eat whenever they want instead of having specific eating times. This allows the cows to live as they were meant to instead of the way grain fed cows are just raised for a quicker slaughter.Also with feed lots being such a confined space it collects a lot of manure instead which causes a lot of air and water pollution because the wind blows it up and when it rains it seeps into the groundwater. With grass fed cows being able to roam around on pastures they naturally spread their manure around the pasture which fertilizes the land. Another wa y that grass fed beef is more humane than grain fed beef is that grass fed beef aren’t given antibiotics and hormones like grain fed beef. Grain fed beef needs ntibiotics regularly because of the conditions that they live in. With being cooped up in a feed lot the cows have a lot of health risks such as dust pneumonia and E Coli because of air pollution and water pollution. With grass fed cows being able to roam free on pastures there isn’t as much air and water pollution so there is no need for antibiotics. The last way that grass fed beef is more humane than grain fed beef is that the cows get to live longer lives to get to their slaughter weight.With cows being raised on grass, it takes them roughly twenty-two months to get to their slaughter weight. That’s almost two full years for a cow to live. With cows being raised on grain they only get to live for sixteen months. That’s a full six months less then grass fed cows. I know that if I was a cow, I wo uld want an extra six months to live. Another reason we should start eating more grass fed beef because it is better for the environment. With grain fed beef, the cows manure is scooped up from their cell block and taken to the closet place to the feed lot to be dumped.This ruins the surrounding land because with too much manure being dumped in one place it gives the ground too many nutrients. With there being too many nutrients in the ground, the excess nutrients pollute the soil and water. With grass fed cows being raised in pastures they create and spread fertilizer naturally. This means that less chemicals and pesticides have to be used to fertilize the pastures. With pesticides not having to be used to, that means that less pesticides have the chance to get spread through the air and pollute are water ways and contaminate our drinking water.If pesticides get in our drinking water, it increases the chance of the person drinking the water to have reproductive disorders, and it ca n lead to neurological damage such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease. If farmers continually use pesticides to fertilize their land it reduces the soil fertility. All of these things are bad for our environment and with all of the things that are already bad for the environment, why would we add more to it when cows do the same thing naturally? Another way that grass fed beef is better for the environment is grass fed cows use less fossil fuels.Grain fed beef requires more fossil fuel to make the diet of the grain fed cows such as dried corn and soy. With all the required burning of these fossil fuels more carbon dioxide is being released into the air which is contributing to global warming. With fossil fuels burning being directly related to global warming, I think that by using less fossil fuel burning with grass fed beef that grass fed beef is better for the environment. The last reason we should start eating more grass fed beef because it is healthier for the c onsumers and the cows.When eating grain fed beef, you are taking in high levels of bad fats and cholesterol and low levels of good fats and Vitamin E. Grass fed beef is the complete opposite way, you take in high levels of good fats and Vitamin E, and low levels of bad fats and cholesterol. Just by these comparisons here it is clear that grass fed beef is better for the consumers than grain fed beef. Grass fed beef contains iron and calcium and a heavy healthy dosage of protein. This is all healthy for the consumer to eat. This gives the consumers a better healthier option of beef. Dr. Steve Atchley is one of many health-conscious carnivores fueling the trend. ‘I got tired of telling my patients they couldn't eat red meat,’ says the Denver cardiologist. So three years ago, he launched Mesquite Organic Foods, which sells grass-fed beef to 74 Wild Oats stores nationwide. Mesquite's ground beef is 65% lower in saturated fat and its New York strips are 35% lower than conven tional beef, as measured by the USDA. â€Å"Any feedlot-fattened animal has a much higher level of saturated fat than a forage-fed steer,† says Atchley. Another reason we should start eating more grass fed beef is because it is healthier for the cow that we are eating. With grass fed beef the cows are eating what they were meant to eat. Their four stomachs are made to digest grass. With the cows not having trouble digesting grass, the farmers don’t have to give the cows antibiotics and hormones to make digestion easier. So it only makes sense that with grass fed beef being fed grass that they would be healthier than grain fed beef. With grain fed beef being fed corn, and etc. heir stomachs have a difficult time digesting it because their stomachs aren’t meant to digest it. John Robbins a supporter of grass fed beef states, â€Å"When cattle are grain fed, their intestinal tracts become far more acidic, which favors the growth of pathogenic E. coli bacteria, whi ch in turn kills people who eat undercooked hamburger. † With the cow’s stomachs not being able to digest the grain, the farmers have to regularly give them antibiotics and hormones. Farmers now just put the antibiotics and hormones in the grain. Also before he first big hit of the mad cow disease, farmers would feed cows meat from other cows. This practice was basically turning herbivores into carnivores. This is not healthy at all because things like this are not supposed to be changed because you can’t change the way a living animal’s stomach digests something. This made a lot of cows’ sick which in turn makes the consumers sick. Although some people argue that grain fed beef isn’t worse than grass fed beef in fact we should start eating more grass fed beef because it is more humane for the cows, better for the environment and it is healthier for the consumer and the cows.Growing up I used to go to my grandpa’s farm every summer and help him with all of his work. He raised cows and chickens. He raised his cows off of grass instead of grains. So growing up I would always have grass fed beef. I feel that I am a healthy person today because of my grandpa having raised his cows on grass instead of grains. Works Citied Robbins, John. What About Grass-fed Beef?. N. p. , 18 April 2010. Web. 30 Sep. 2012. Roosevelt, Margot. â€Å"The Grass-Fed Revolution. † Time Magazine. 11 Jun 2006: 1. Web. 4 Oct. 2012. .

Sunday, November 10, 2019

The Indigo Spell Chapter Twenty-One

SOME PART OF ME BEGGED FOR there to be a mistake. I watched the footage three more times, tossing crazy theories around in my head. Maybe Master Jameson had a twin who wasn't a fanatic who hated vampires. No. The video didn't lie. Only the Alchemists did. I couldn't ignore this. I couldn't wait. I needed to resolve this immediately. If not sooner. I sent Marcus a text as soon as my plane was on the ground: We meet tonight. No games. No runaround. TONIGHT. There was no response from him by the time I got back to my dorm. What was he doing? Reading Catcher in the Rye again? If I'd known what dive he was holed up in, I would've marched over there right then. There was nothing I could do but wait, so I called Ms. Terwilliger both as a distraction and to buy some freedom. â€Å"Nothing to report,† she told me when she answered. â€Å"We're still just watching and waiting – although, your extra charm is almost complete.† â€Å"That's not why I'm calling,† I said. â€Å"I need you to get me a curfew extension tonight.† I felt bad using her for something totally unrelated, but I had to do this. â€Å"Oh? Are you paying me an unexpected visit?† â€Å"Er – no. This is for something else.† She clearly thought that was funny. â€Å"Now you use my assistance for personal matters?† â€Å"Don't you think I've earned it?† I countered. She laughed, something I hadn't heard from her in a while. She agreed to my request and promised to call the dorm's front desk right away. As soon as we hung up, my phone chimed with the expected message from Marcus. All the text contained was an address that was a half hour away. Assuming he was ready for me now, I grabbed my messenger bag and got on the road. In light of my past meetings with Marcus, I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd led me to a department store or karaoke bar. Instead, I arrived at a vintage music shop, the kind that sold vinyl records. A large CLOSED sign hung on the door, emphasized by dark windows and an empty parking lot. I got out of my car and double-checked the address, wondering if my GPS had led me astray. My earlier zeal gave way to nervousness. How careless was this? One of Wolfe's first lessons was to avoid sketchy situations, yet here I was, exposing myself. Then, from the shadows, I heard my name whispered. I turned toward the sound and saw Sabrina materialize out of the darkness, carrying a gun as usual. Maybe if I showed her the one in my glove compartment, we could have a bonding moment. â€Å"Go around back,† she said. â€Å"Knock on the door.† Without another word, she returned to the shadows. The back of the building looked like the kind of place that screamed mugging, and I wondered if Sabrina would come to my aid if needed. I knocked on the door, half expecting some kind of speakeasy situation where I'd be asked for a password like â€Å"rusted iguana.† Instead, Marcus opened the door, ready with one of those smiles he kept hoping would win me over. Strangely, tonight it put me at ease. â€Å"Hey, gorgeous, come on in.† I stepped past him and found we were in the store's back room, which was filled with tables, shelves, and boxes of records and cassette tapes. Wade and Amelia stood against a wall in mirrored stances, their arms crossed over their chests. Marcus shut the door behind me and locked it. â€Å"Glad to see you back in one piece. Judging from your text – and your face – you found something.† All the rage I'd been holding in since my discovery came bursting out. I retrieved my laptop from my bag and had to resist the urge to slam it against a table. â€Å"Yes! I can't believe it. You were right. Your insane, far-fetched theory was right. The Alchemists have been lying! Or, well, some of them. I don't know. Half of them don't know what the other half's doing.† I expected some smug remark from Marcus or at least an â€Å"I told you so.† But that handsome face was drawn and sad, reminding me of the picture I'd seen of him and Clarence. â€Å"Damn,† he said softly. â€Å"I was kind of hoping you'd come back with a bunch of boring video. Amelia, go swap with Sabrina. I want her to see this.† Amelia looked disappointed to be sent away, but she didn't hesitate to obey his order. By the time Sabrina came back in, I had the video cued up to the correct time. They gathered around me. â€Å"Ready?† I asked. They nodded, and I could see a mix of emotions in all of them. Here it was, the conspiracy theory they'd all been waiting to prove. At the same time, the implications were staggering, and the three of them were well aware of how dangerous what they were about to see could be. I played the video. It was only a few seconds long, but they were powerful ones as that bearded figure appeared on the screen. I heard an intake of breath from Sabrina. â€Å"It's him. Master Jameson.† She looked between all our faces. â€Å"That's really the Alchemist place? He's really there?† â€Å"Yes,† said Wade. â€Å"And that's Dale Hawthorne with him, one of the directors.† That triggered a memory. â€Å"I know that name. He's one of Stanton's peers, right?† â€Å"Pretty much.† â€Å"Is it possible she wouldn't know about a visit like this?† I asked. â€Å"Even at her level?† It was Marcus who answered. â€Å"Maybe. Although, walking him right in there – even to the secure level – is pretty ballsy. Even if she doesn't know about the meeting, it's a safe bet others do. If it were completely shady, Hawthorne would've met him off-site. Of course, the secure list means this wasn't out in the open either.† So, it was possible Stanton hadn't lied to me – well, at least not about the Alchemists being in contact with the Warriors. She'd certainly lied about the Alchemists knowing about Marcus since he'd said he was a notorious figure to most higher-ups. Even if she was ignorant about Master Jameson, it didn't change the fact that other Alchemists – important ones – were keeping some dangerous company. Maybe I didn't always like their procedures, but I'd desperately wanted to believe they were doing good in the world. Maybe they were. Maybe they weren't. I just didn't know anymore. When I dragged my eyes from the frozen frame of Master Jameson, I found Marcus watching me. â€Å"Are you ready?† he asked. â€Å"Ready for what?† He walked over to another table and returned with a small case. When he opened it, I saw a small vial of silver liquid and a syringe. â€Å"What is – oh.† Realization hit me. â€Å"That's the blood that'll break the tattoo.† He nodded. â€Å"Pulling the elements out creates a reaction that turns it silver. It takes a few years, but eventually, the gold in your skin will fade to silver too.† All of them were looking at me expectantly, and I took a step back. â€Å"I don't know if I'm ready for this.† â€Å"Why wait?† asked Marcus. He pointed at the laptop. â€Å"You've seen this. You know what they're capable of. Can you keep lying to yourself? Don't you want to go forward with your eyes open?† â€Å"Well . . . yes, but I don't know if I'm ready to have some strange substance injected into me.† Marcus filled the syringe with the silver liquid. â€Å"I can demonstrate on my tattoo if it'll make you feel better. It won't hurt me, and you can see that there aren't any dire side effects.† â€Å"We don't know for sure that they've done anything to me,† I protested. He had a logical argument, but I was still terrified of taking this step. I could feel my hands shaking. â€Å"This could be a waste. There may be no group loyalty compulsion in me.† â€Å"But you also don't know for sure,† he countered. â€Å"And there's always a little loyalty put in the initial tattoo. I mean, not enough to make you some slave robot, but still. Wouldn't you feel better knowing everything's gone?† I couldn't take my eyes off the needle. â€Å"Will I feel any different?† â€Å"No. Although you could walk up to someone on the street and start telling them about vampires.† I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. â€Å"Then you'd just get thrown into a psych ward.† Was I ready for this? Was I really going to take the next step into becoming part of Marcus's Merry Men? I'd passed his test – which he'd been right about. Clearly, this group wasn't useless. They had eyes on the Alchemists and the Warriors. They also seemingly had the Moroi's best interests at heart. The Moroi – or, more specifically, Jill. I hadn't forgotten Sabrina's offhand remark about the Warriors being interested in a missing girl. Who else could it be but Jill? And did this Hawthorne guy have access to her location? Had he passed it on to Master Jameson? And would this information put those around her at risk, like Adrian? They were questions I didn't have the answers to, but I had to uncover them. â€Å"Okay,† I said. â€Å"Do it.† Marcus didn't waste any time. I think he was afraid I'd change my mind – which, perhaps, was not an unfounded fear. I sat down in one of the chairs and tipped my head to the side so that he'd have access to my cheek. Wade gently held my head with his hands. â€Å"Just to make sure you stay still,† he told me apologetically Before Marcus started, I asked, â€Å"Where'd you learn to do this?† His face had been solemn with the task ahead, but my question made him smile again. â€Å"I'm not technically tattooing you, if that's what you're worried about,† he said. I was actually worried about a lot of things. â€Å"These are just some small injections, just like being re-inked.† â€Å"What about the process itself? How'd you find out about it?† It was probably a question I should have asked before I sat down in this chair. But I hadn't expected to be doing this so soon – or suddenly. â€Å"A Moroi friend of mine theorized about it. I volunteered to be a guinea pig, and it worked.† He switched to business mode again and held up the needle. â€Å"Ready?† I took a deep breath, feeling like I was standing on the edge of a precipice. Time to jump. â€Å"Go ahead.† It hurt about as much as re-inking did, just a number of small pricks on my skin. Uncomfortable, but not really painful. In truth, it wasn't a long process, but it felt like it took forever. All the while, I kept asking myself, What are you doing? What are you doing? At last, Marcus stepped back and regarded me with shining eyes. Sabrina and Wade smiled too. â€Å"There you go,† Marcus said. â€Å"Welcome to the ranks, Sydney.† I took my compact out of my purse to check the tattoo. My skin was pink from the needle's piercing, but if this process continued to be like re-inking, that irritation would fade soon. Otherwise, the lily looked unchanged. I also didn't feel that changed on the inside. I didn't want to storm the Alchemist facility and demand justice or anything like that. Taking him up on his dare to tell an outsider about vampires was probably my best bet to see if my tattoo had been altered, but I didn't really feel like doing that either. â€Å"That's it?† I asked. â€Å"That's it,† Marcus said. â€Å"Once we get it sealed, you won't have to worry about – â€Å" â€Å"I'm not getting it sealed.† All those smiles vanished. Marcus looked confused, as though he might have misheard. â€Å"You have to. We're going to Mexico next weekend. Once that's done, the Alchemists won't ever be able to get to you again.† â€Å"I'm not getting it sealed,† I repeated. â€Å"And I'm not going to Mexico.† I gestured toward my laptop. â€Å"Look what I was able to pull off! If I stay where I'm at, I can keep finding out more. I can find out what else the Alchemists and Warriors are doing together.† I can find out if Jill is in danger. â€Å"Getting permanently marked and becoming an outcast kills all those opportunities for me. There's no going back after that.† I think Marcus almost always got his way, and this new development totally threw him off. Wade took up the argument. â€Å"There's no going back now. You're leaving a trail of bread crumbs. Look at what you've done. You already made inquiries about Marcus. Even if you haven't gotten super-friendly with the Moroi, the Alchemists still know you spend a lot of time with them. And one day, someone may realize you were there when the data was stolen.† â€Å"No one knows it was stolen,† I said promptly. â€Å"You hope they don't,† corrected Wade. â€Å"These little things are enough to raise red flags. Keep doing more, and you'll make it worse. They'll finally notice you, and that's when it'll be over.† Marcus had recovered from his initial shock. â€Å"Exactly. Look, if you want to stay where you're at until we go to Mexico, that's fine. Make your peace with it or whatever. After that, you need to escape. We'll keep working from the outside.† â€Å"You can do whatever you want.† I began packing up my laptop. â€Å"I'm going to work from the inside.† Marcus caught hold of my arm. â€Å"You're setting yourself up for a fall, Sydney!† he said sternly. â€Å"You're going to get caught.† I pulled away from him. â€Å"I'll be careful.† â€Å"Everyone makes mistakes,† said Sabrina, speaking up for the first time in a while. â€Å"I'll take that risk.† I slung my bag over my shoulder. â€Å"Unless you guys are going to forcibly stop me?† None of them answered. â€Å"Then I'm going. I'm not afraid of the Alchemists. Thank you for everything you've done. I really do appreciate it.† â€Å"Thank you,† said Marcus at last. He shook his head at Wade, who looked like he wanted to protest. â€Å"For getting the data. I honestly didn't think you'd be able to pull it off. I figured you'd return empty-handed, though I still would've broken the tattoo for you. A for effort, you know. Instead, you just proved what I'd thought before: you're remarkable. We could really use you.† â€Å"Well, you know how to get in touch with me.† â€Å"And you know how to get in touch with us,† he said. â€Å"We'll be here all week if you change your mind.† I opened the door. â€Å"I won't. I'm not running away.† Amelia called goodbye to me when I got into my car, oblivious to the fact that I'd just defied her beloved leader. As I drove back to Amberwood, I was amazed at how free I felt – and it had nothing to do with the tattoo. It was the knowledge that I had defied everyone – the Alchemists, the Warriors, the Merry Men. I didn't answer to anyone, no matter the cause. I was my own person, able to take my own actions. It wasn't something I had a lot of experience with. And I was about to do something drastic. I hadn't told Marcus and the gang because I'd been afraid they really would stop me. When I got back to Amberwood, I went straight to my room and dialed Stanton. She answered on the first ring, which I took as a divine sign that I was doing the right thing. â€Å"Miss Sage, this is unexpected. Did you enjoy the services?† â€Å"Yes,† I said. â€Å"They were very enlightening. But that's not why I'm calling. We have a situation. The Warriors of Light are looking for Jill.† I wasn't going to waste any time. â€Å"Why on earth would they do that?† She sounded legitimately surprised, but if there was one thing in all of this that I believed wholeheartedly, it was that the Alchemists were exceptional liars. â€Å"Because they know if Jill's whereabouts got out, it could throw the Moroi into chaos. Their focus is still on the Strigoi, but they wouldn't mind seeing thing go bad for the Moroi.† â€Å"I see.† I always wondered if she paused to gather her thoughts or if it was simply for effect. â€Å"And how exactly did you learn this?† â€Å"That guy I know who used to be with the Warriors. We're still friendly, and he's been having doubts about them. He mentioned hearing them talk about finding a missing girl that could cause all sorts of trouble.† Maybe it was wrong to drag Trey into this lie, but I seriously doubted Stanton would interrogate him anytime soon. â€Å"And you assume this is Miss Dragomir?† â€Å"Come on,† I exclaimed. â€Å"Who else would it be? Do you know any other Moroi girls? Of course it's her!† â€Å"Calm down, Miss Sage.† Her voice was flat and untroubled. â€Å"There's no need for theatrics.† â€Å"There's a need for action! If they might be on to her, then we need to get out of Palm Springs immediately.† â€Å"That,† she said crisply, â€Å"is not an option. A lot of planning went into getting her to her current location.† I didn't believe that argument for a second. Half our job was doing damage control and adapting to rapidly changing situations. â€Å"Yeah? Well, did you also plan on those psycho vampire hunters finding her?† Stanton ignored the jab. â€Å"Do you have any evidence at all that the Warriors actually have concrete data about her? Did your friend supply you with details?† â€Å"No,† I admitted. â€Å"But we still need to do something.† â€Å"There's no ‘we' here.† Her voice had gone from flat to icy. â€Å"You do not decide what we do.† I nearly protested and then caught myself. Horror set in. What had I just done? My initial intent had been to either get Stanton to take legitimate action or else find out if she might accidentally reveal knowledge of a Warrior connection. I'd thought mentioning Trey would give me valid backup since I could hardly tell her the real reason I feared for Jill. Yet, somehow, I'd gone from a request to a demand. I'd practically yelled an order at her. That wasn't typical Sydney behavior. That wasn't typical Alchemist behavior. What had Wade said? You're leaving a trail of bread crumbs. Was this because I'd broken the tattoo? This was no crumb. This was a full loaf. I was on the verge of insubordination, and my mind could suddenly imagine that list Marcus kept warning about, the one that kept track of every suspicious thing I did. Was Stanton already updating that list right now? I had to fix this, but how? How on earth did I take this back? My mind was racing frantically, and it took several moments for me to calm down and start thinking logically. The mission. Focus on the mission. Stanton would understand that. â€Å"I'm sorry, ma'am,† I said at last. Be calm. Be deferential. â€Å"I'm just . . . I'm just so worried about this mission. I saw my dad at the services, you know.† That would be a fact she could check on. â€Å"You had to have seen how it was that night I left. How bad things are between us. I . . . I have to make him proud. If things fall apart here, he'll never forgive me.† She didn't respond, so I prayed that meant she was listening intently . . . and believing me. â€Å"I want to do a good job here. I want to fulfill our goals and keep Jill hidden. But there have already been so many complications no one predicted – first Keith and then the Warriors. I just never feel like she's fully safe now, even with Eddie and Angeline. It eats at me. And – † I was no actress who could muster tears, but I did my best to make my voice crack. â€Å"And I never feel safe. I told you, when I asked to go to the services, how overwhelming it is with the Moroi. They're everywhere – and the dhampirs too. I eat with them. I'm in class with them. Being with other Alchemists this last weekend was a lifesaver. I mean, I'm not trying to dodge my duties, ma'am. I understand we have to make sacrifices. And I've gotten better around them, but sometimes the stress is just unbearable – and then when I heard this thing about the Warriors, I cracked. All I could think about was that I might fail. I'm sorry, ma'am. I shouldn't have flipped o ut on you. I was out of control, and it was unacceptable.† I cut off my rant and tensed as I waited for her response. Hopefully I'd given her enough to dismiss any thoughts of me being a dissident. Of course, I might have just come off as a totally weak and unstable Alchemist who needed to be pulled from this mission. If that happened . . . well, maybe I'd have to take Marcus up on Mexico. Her characteristic pause was especially painful this time. â€Å"I see,† she said. â€Å"Well, I'll take this all into consideration. This mission is of the utmost importance, believe me. My earlier questioning of your information was not some weakening of our resolve. Your concerns have been heard, and I will decide the best course of action.† It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but hopefully she would be true to her word. I really, really wanted to believe she was on the up-and-up. â€Å"Thank you, ma'am.† â€Å"Is there anything else, Miss Sage?† â€Å"No, ma'am. And . . . and I'm sorry ma'am.† â€Å"Your apology is noted.† Click. I'd paced while I'd talked and now stood staring at the phone. A gut instinct told me I really had driven Stanton to take some sort of action. The mystery was whether that action would prove beneficial or catastrophic for me. Falling asleep was difficult after that, and it had nothing to do with Veronica for a change. I was too keyed up, too anxious about what had happened with Marcus and Stanton. I tried to seize that feeling of freedom again, using it to strengthen me. It was only a spark this time, flickering with my new uncertainties, but it was better than nothing. I fell asleep sometime around three. I had a vague sense of a couple hours passing before I was swept into one of Adrian's dreams, back in the reception hall. â€Å"Finally,† he said. â€Å"I almost gave up checking in. I thought you were going to pull an all-nighter.† He'd stopped wearing his suit in these dreams, probably because I always showed up in jeans. Tonight he wore jeans also, along with a plain black T-shirt. â€Å"Me too.† I wrung my hands and began pacing here as well. The nervous energy from my waking self had carried over into the dream. â€Å"A lot of stuff's kind of happened tonight.† The dream felt real, solid. Adrian was sober. â€Å"Didn't you just get back? How much could've happened?† When I told him, he shook his head in amazement. â€Å"Man, Sage. It's all or nothing with you. Never a dull moment.† I came to a halt in front of him and leaned against a table. â€Å"I know, I know. Do you think I just made a huge mistake? God, maybe Marcus was right, and there was some compulsion forcing me to be loyal in the tattoo. I'm free for one hour and completely go over the edge with my superior.† â€Å"It sounds like you covered your tracks,† he said, though a small frown appeared on his face. â€Å"But I would be disappointed if they sent you somewhere less stressful. That seems like it might be the worst-case scenario from everything you said.† I started laughing, but it was the hysterical kind. â€Å"What in the world's happened to me? I was doing crazy stuff way before Marcus broke the tattoo tonight. Meeting with rebels, chasing evil sorceresses, even buying that dress! Yelling at Stanton is just one more thing on a long list of insanity. It's just like I said at Pies and Stuff: I don't know who I am anymore.† Adrian smiled and clasped my hands, taking a few steps toward me. â€Å"Well, first off, I'm the expert in insanity, and this is nothing. And as for who you are, you're the same beautiful, brave, and ridiculously smart caffeinated fighter you've been since the day I met you.† Finally, he put â€Å"beautiful† at the top of his list of adjectives. Not that I should have cared. â€Å"Sweet talker,† I scoffed. â€Å"You didn't know anything about me the first time we met.† â€Å"I knew you were beautiful,† he said. â€Å"I just hoped for the rest.† He always got this glint in his eyes when he complimented my looks, like he was seeing so much more than just my actual appearance. It was disorienting and heady . . . but I didn't mind. And that wasn't the only thing I suddenly found overwhelming. How had he gotten so close to me without me even realizing it? It was like he had secret stealth abilities. His hands were warm on mine, our fingers locked together. I still had remnants of that earlier joy within me, and being connected to him amplified those feelings. The green of his eyes was as lovely as usual, and I wondered if mine had the same effect on him. There was a little amber mixed with the brown that he had once said looked like gold. He's the only one who never tells me to do anything, I realized. Oh, sure, he asked me to do lots of things, often with cajoling and fast talking. But he made no demands on me, not like the Alchemists or Marcus. Even Jill and Angeline tended to preface their requests with, â€Å"You have to . . .† â€Å"Speaking of that dress,† he added, â€Å"I still haven't seen it.† I laughed softly. â€Å"You couldn't handle it.† He raised an eyebrow at that. â€Å"Is that a challenge, Sage? I can handle a lot.† â€Å"Not if our history is any indication. Each time I wear some moderately attractive dress, you lose it.† â€Å"That's not exactly true,† he said. â€Å"I lose it no matter what you're wearing. And that red dress was not ‘moderately attractive.' It was like a piece of heaven here on earth. A red, silky piece of heaven.† I should've rolled my eyes. I should've told him I wasn't here for his personal entertainment. But there was something in the way he was looking at me and something in the way I felt tonight that made me want to see his reaction. Breaking the tattoo hadn't affected anything between us, but it – and the deeds I'd done this weekend – had left me feeling bold. For the first time, I wanted to take a risk with him, despite my usual set of logical arguments. Besides, there was nothing dangerous in letting him look. I manipulated the dream the way he'd taught me. A few moments later, the lacy minidress replaced my jeans and blouse. I even summoned the heels, which bumped my height up. I was still nowhere near as tall as him, but the small boost brought our faces closer together. His eyes widened. Still holding my hands, he took a step back so that he could take in the whole look. There was almost something tangible to the way his gaze swept my body. I could practically feel every place it touched. By the time his eyes reached mine again, my breathing was heavy, and I was acutely aware that there really wasn't that much clothing between the two of us. Maybe there was something dangerous in letting him look after all. â€Å"A piece of heaven?† I managed to ask. He slowly shook his head. â€Å"No. The other place. The one I'm going to burn in for thinking what I'm thinking.† He'd moved toward me again. His hands released mine and moved to my waist, and I noticed I wasn't the only one breathing heavily. He pulled me to him, bringing our bodies together. The world was all heat and electricity, thick with tension that was only one spark away from exploding around us. I was balancing on another precipice, which wasn't easy to do in heels. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and this time I was the one who drew him closer. â€Å"Damn,† he murmured. â€Å"What?† I asked, never taking my eyes off his. He ran his hands over my hips. â€Å"I'm not supposed to kiss you.† â€Å"It's okay.† â€Å"What is?† â€Å"It's okay if I kiss you.† Adrian Ivashkov wasn't easy to surprise, but I surprised him then when I brought his mouth toward mine. I kissed him, and for a moment, he was too stunned to respond. That lasted for, oh, about a second. Then the intensity I'd come to know so well in him returned. He pushed me backward, lifting me so that I sat on the table. The tablecloth bunched up, knocking over some of the glasses. I heard what sounded like a china plate crash against the floor. Whatever logic and reason I normally possessed had melted away. There was nothing but flesh and fire left, and I wasn't going to lie to myself – at least not tonight. I wanted him. I arched my back, fully aware of how vulnerable that made me and that I was giving him an invitation. He accepted it and laid me back against the table, bringing his body down on top of mine. That crushing kiss of his moved from my mouth to the nape of my neck. He pushed down the edge of my dress and the bra strap underneath, exposing my shoulder and giving his lips more skin to conquer. A glass rolled off and smashed, soon followed by another. Adrian broke off his kissing, and I opened my eyes. He had an exasperated look on his face. â€Å"A table,† he said. â€Å"A goddamned table.† A few moments later, the table was gone. I was in his apartment, on his bed, and was glad that I no longer had silverware underneath me. With the venue change complete, his lips found mine again. The urgency in the way I responded surprised even me. I never would've thought myself capable of a feeling so primal, so removed from the reason that usually governed my actions. My nails dug into his back, and he trailed his lips down the edge of my chin, down the center of my neck. He kept going until he reached the bottom of the dress's V-neck. I let out a small gasp, and he kissed all around the neckline, just enough to tease. â€Å"Don't worry,† he murmured. â€Å"The dress stays on.† â€Å"Oh? Is that your decision to make?† â€Å"Yes,† he said. â€Å"You're not losing your virginity in a dream. If that's even possible. I don't want to deal with the philosophical side of it. And besides, there's no need to rush anyway. Sometimes it's worth lingering on the journey for a while before getting to the destination.† Metaphors. This was the cost of making out with an artist. I nearly said as much. Then his hand slid up my bare leg, and I was lost again. Maybe the dress was staying on, but he didn't mind taking liberties with it. That hand slipped under my dress, running along the side of my leg and up to my hip. I burned where he touched me, and everything within me became focused on that hand. It was moving far too slowly, and I grabbed it, ready to urge it on. Adrian chuckled and caught hold of my wrist, pulling my hand away and pinning it down against the covers. â€Å"Never thought I'd be the one slowing you down.† I opened my eyes and met his. â€Å"I'm a quick study.† All that burning and animal need within me must have shone through because he caught his breath and lost the smile. He released my wrist and cupped my face in his hands, bringing his face down only a whisper away from mine. â€Å"Good God, Sydney. You are – † The passion in his eyes turned to surprise, and he suddenly looked up. â€Å"What's wrong?† I asked, wondering if this was some weird part of â€Å"the journey.† He grimaced and began to fade away before my eyes. â€Å"You're being woken up.†

Friday, November 8, 2019

R.L. Stevensons Classic Essay An Apology for Idlers

R.L. Stevensons Classic Essay An Apology for Idlers Best known for his popular adventure stories (Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Master of Ballantrae) and the study of evil in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson was also a noteworthy poet, short-story writer, and essayist. The Scots-born author spent much of his adult life traveling, searching for a healthful climate until he finally settled in Samoa in 1889. There he lived on his estate of Valima until his death at age 44. Stevenson was not yet a well-known writer in 1877 when he composed An Apology for Idlers (which, he said, was really a defense of R.L.S.), but his own days of idleness were about to come to an end. Just a year after he wrote in a letter to his mother, Hows that for busy? It does me good. It was well I wrote my Idlers when I did; for I am now the busiest gent in Christendom. After reading Stevensons essay, you may find it worthwhile to compare An Apology for Idlers with three other essays in our collection: In Praise of Idleness, by Bertrand Russell; Why Are Beggars Despised? by George Orwell; and On Laziness, by Christopher Morley. An Apology for Idlers By Robert Louis Stevenson BOSWELL: We grow weary when idle.JOHNSON: That is, sir, because others being busy, we want company; but if we were idle, there would be no growing weary; we should all entertain one another. 1 Just now, when every one is bound, under pain of a decree in absence convicting them of là ¨se-respectability, to enter on some lucrative profession, and labour therein with something not far short of enthusiasm, a cry from the opposite party, who are content when they have enough, and like to look on and enjoy in the meanwhile, savours a little of bravado and gasconade. And yet this should not be. Idleness so called, which does not consist in doing nothing, but in doing a great deal not recognized in the dogmatic formularies of the ruling class, has as good a right to state its position as industry itself. It is admitted that the presence of people who refuse to enter in the great handicap race for sixpenny pieces, is at once an insult and a disenchantment for those who do. A fine fellow (as we see so many) takes his determination, votes for sixpences, and in the emphatic Americanism, it goes for them. And while such an one is plowing distressfully up the road, it is not hard to understand his resentment, when he perceives cool persons in the meadows by the wayside, lying with a handkerchief over their ears and a glass at their elbow. Alexander is touched in a very delicate place by the disregard to Diogenes. Where was the glory of having taken Rome for these tumultuous barbarians, who poured into the Senate-house, and found the Fathers sitting silent and unmoved by their success? It is a sore thing to have labored along and scaled the arduous hilltops, and when all is done, find humanity indifferent to your achievement. Hence physicists condemn the unphysical; financiers have only a superficial toleration for those who know little of stocks; literary persons despise the unlettered, and people of all pursuits combine to disparage those who have none. 2 But though this is one difficulty of the subject, it is not the greatest. You could not be put in prison for speaking against industry, but you can be sent to Coventry for speaking like a fool. The greatest difficulty with most subjects is to do them well; therefore, please to remember this is an apology. It is certain that much may be judiciously argued in favor of diligence; only there is something to be said against it, and that is what, on the present occasion, I have to say. To state one argument is not necessarily to be deaf to all others, and that a man has written a book of travels in Montenegro, is no reason why he should never have been to Richmond. 3 It is surely beyond a doubt that people should be a good deal idle in youth. For though here and there a Lord Macaulay may escape from school honors with all his wits about him, most boys pay so dear for their medals that they never afterwards have a shot in their locker, and begin the world bankrupt. And the same holds true during all the time a lad is educating himself or suffering others to educate him. It must have been a very foolish old gentleman who addressed Johnson at Oxford in these words: Young man, ply your book diligently now, and acquire a stock of knowledge; for when years come upon you, you will find that poring upon books will be but an irksome task. The old gentleman seems to have been unaware that many other things besides reading grow irksome, and not a few become impossible, by the time a man has to use spectacles and cannot walk without a stick. Books are good enough in their own way, but they are a mighty bloodless substitute for life. It seems a pity to sit, like the Lady of Shalott, peering into a mirror, with your back turned on all the bustle and glamor of reality. And if a man reads very hard, as the old anecdote reminds us, he will have little time for thought. 4 If you look back on your own education, I am sure it will not be the full, vivid, instructive hours of truancy that you regret; you would rather cancel some lacklustre periods between sleep and waking in the class. For my own part, I have attended a good many lectures in my time. I still remember that the spinning of a top is a case of Kinetic Stability. I still remember that Emphyteusis is not a disease, nor Stillicide a crime. But though I would not willingly part with such scraps of science, I do not set the same store by them as by certain other odds and ends that I came by in the open street while I was playing truant. 5 This is not the moment to dilate on that mighty place of education, which was the favorite school of Dickens and of Balzac, and turns out yearly many inglorious masters in the Science of the Aspects of Life. Suffice it to say this: if a lad does not learn in the streets, it is because he has no faculty of learning. Nor is the truant always in the streets, for if he prefers, he may go out by the gardened suburbs into the country. He may pitch on some tuft of lilacs over a burn, and smoke innumerable pipes to the tune of the water on the stones. A bird will sing in the thicket. And there he may fall into a vein of kindly thought, and see things in a new perspective. Why, if this be not education, what is? We may conceive Mr. Worldly Wiseman accosting such an one, and the conversation that should thereupon ensue:How now, young fellow, what dost thou here?Truly, sir, I take mine ease.Is not this the hour of the class? and shouldst thou not be plying thy Book with diligence, to the end thou mayest obtain knowledge?Nay, but thus also I follow after Learning, by your leave.Learning, quotha! After what fashion, I pray thee? Is it mathematics?No, to be sure.Is it metaphysics?Nor that.Is it some language?Nay, it is no language.Is it a trade?Nor a trade neither.Why, then, what ist?Indeed, sir, as a time may soon come for me to go upon Pilgrimage, I am desirous to note what is commonly done by persons in my case, and where are the ugliest Sloughs and Thickets on the Road; as also, what manner of Staff is of the best service. Moreover, I lie here, by this water, to learn by root-of-heart a lesson which my master teaches me to call Peace, or Contentment. 6 Hereupon Mr. Worldly Wiseman was much commoved with passion, and shaking his cane with a very threatful countenance, broke forth upon this wise: Learning, quotha! said he; I would have all such rogues scourged by the Hangman! 7 And so he would go his way, ruffling out his cravat with a crackle of starch, like a turkey when it spread its feathers. 8 Now this, of Mr. Wisemans, is the common opinion. A fact is not called a fact, but a piece of gossip, if it does not fall into one of your scholastic categories. An inquiry must be in some acknowledged direction, with a name to go by; or else you are not inquiring at all, only lounging; and the work-house is too good for you. It is supposed that all knowledge is at the bottom of a well, or the far end of a telescope. Sainte-Beuve, as he grew older, came to regard all experience as a single great book, in which to study for a few years ere we go hence; and it seemed all one to him whether you should read in Chapter xx., which is the differential calculus, or in Chapter xxxix., which is hearing the band play in the gardens. As a matter of fact, an intelligent person, looking out of his eyes and hearkening in his ears, with a smile on his face all the time, will get more true education than many another in a life of heroic vigils. There is certainly some chill and arid knowledge to be found upon the summits of formal and laborious science; but it is all round about you, and for the trouble of looking, that you will acquire the warm and palpitating facts of life. While others are filling their memory with a lumber of words, one-half of which they will forget before the week be out, your truant may learn some really useful art: to play the fiddle, to know a good cigar, or to speak with ease and opportunity to all varieties of men. Many who have plied their book diligently, and know all about some one branch or another of accepted lore, come out of the study with an ancient and owl-like demeanour, and prove dry, stockish, and dyspeptic in all the better and brighter parts of life. Many make a large fortune, who remain underbred and pathetically stupid to the last. And meantime there goes the idler, who began life along with themby your leave, a different picture. He has had time to take care of his health and his spirits; he has been a great deal in the open air, which is the most salutary of all things for both body and mind; and if he has never read the great Book in very recondite places, he has dipped into it and skimmed it over to excelle nt purpose. Might not the student afford some Hebrew roots, and the business man some of his half-crowns, for a share of the idlers knowledge of life at large, and Art of Living? Nay, and the idler has another and more important quality than these. I mean his wisdom. He who has much looked on at the childish satisfaction of other people in their hobbies, will regard his own with only a very ironical indulgence. He will not be heard among the dogmatists. He will have a great and cool allowance for all sorts of people and opinions. If he finds no out-of-the-way truths, he will identify himself with no very burning falsehood. His way takes him along a by-road, not much frequented, but very even and pleasant, which is called Commonplace Lane, and leads to the Belvedere of Common-sense. Thence he shall command an agreeable, if not very noble prospect; and while others behold the East and West, the Devil and the Sunrise, he will be contentedly aware of a sort of morning hour upon all sublunary things , with an army of shadows running speedily and in many different directions into the great daylight of Eternity. The shadows and the generations, the shrill doctors and the plangent wars, go by into ultimate silence and emptiness; but underneath all this, a man may see, out of the Belvedere windows, much green and peaceful landscape; many firelit parlours; good people laughing, drinking, and making love as they did before the Flood or the French Revolution; and the old shepherd telling his tale under the hawthorn. 9 Extreme  busyness, whether at school or college, kirk or market, is a symptom of deficient vitality; and a faculty for idleness implies a catholic appetite and a strong sense of personal identity. There is a sort of dead-alive, hackneyed people about, who are scarcely conscious of living except in the exercise of some conventional occupation. Bring these fellows into the country, or set them aboard ship, and you will see how they pine for their desk or their study. They have no curiosity; they cannot give themselves over to random provocations; they do not take pleasure in the exercise of their faculties for its own sake; and unless Necessity lays about them with a stick, they will even stand still. It is no good speaking to such folk: they  cannot  be idle, their nature is not generous enough; and they pass those hours in a sort of coma, which are not dedicated to furious moiling in the gold-mill. When they do not require to go to the office, when they are not hungry and hav e no mind to drink, the whole breathing world is a blank to them. If they have to wait an hour or so for a train, they fall into a stupid trance with their eyes open. To see them, you would suppose there was nothing to look at and no one to speak with; you would imagine they were paralysed or alienated: and yet very possibly they are hard workers in their own way, and have good eyesight for a flaw in a deed or a turn of the market. They have been to school and college, but all the time they had their eye on the medal; they have gone about in the world and mixed with clever people, but all the time they were thinking of their own affairs. As if a mans soul were not too small to begin with, they have dwarfed and narrowed theirs by a life of all work and no play; until here they are at forty, with a listless attention, a mind vacant of all material of amusement, and not one thought to rub against another, while they wait for the train. Before he was breeched, he might have clambered on the boxes; when he was twenty, he would have stared at the girls; but now the pipe is smoked out, the snuff-box empty, and my gentleman sits bolt upright upon a bench, with lamentable eyes. This does not appeal to me as being Success in Life. 10 But it is not only the person himself who suffers from his busy habits, but his wife and children, his friends and relations, and down to the very people he sits with in a railway carriage or an omnibus. Perpetual devotion to what a man calls his business, is only to be sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things. And it is not by any means certain that a mans business is the most important thing he has to do. To an impartial estimate it will seem clear that many of the wisest, most virtuous, and most beneficent parts that are to be played upon the Theatre of Life are filled by gratuitous performers, and pass, among the world at large, as phases of idleness. For in that Theatre, not only the walking gentlemen, singing chambermaids, and diligent fiddlers in the orchestra, but those who look on and clap their hands from the benches, do really play a part and fulfill important offices towards the general result. 11 You are no doubt very dependent on the care of your lawyer and stockbroker, of the guards and signalmen who convey you rapidly from place to place, and the policemen who walk the streets for your protection; but is there not a thought of gratitude in your heart for certain other benefactors who set you smiling when they fall in your way, or season your dinner with good company? Colonel Newcome helped to lose his friends money; Fred Bayham had an ugly trick of borrowing shirts; and yet they were better people to fall among than Mr. Barnes. And though Falstaff was neither sober nor very honest, I think I could name one or two long-faced Barabbases whom the world could better have done without. Hazlitt mentions that he was more sensible of obligation to Northcote, who had never done him anything he could call a service, than to his whole circle of ostentatious friends; for he thought a good companion emphatically the greatest benefactor. I know there are people in the world who canno t feel grateful unless the favour has been done them at the cost of pain and difficulty. But this is a churlish disposition. A man may send you six sheets of letter-paper covered with the most entertaining gossip, or you may pass half an hour pleasantly, perhaps profitably, over an article of his; do you think the service would be greater, if he had made the manuscript in his hearts blood, like a compact with the devil? Do you really fancy you should be more beholden to your correspondent, if he had been damning you all the while for your importunity? Pleasures are more beneficial than duties because, like the quality of mercy, they are not strained, and they are twice blest. There must always be two to a kiss, and there may be a score in a jest; but wherever there is an element of sacrifice, the favour is conferred with pain, and, among generous people, received with confusion. 12 There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. By being happy, we sow anonymous benefits upon the world, which remain unknown even to ourselves, or when they are disclosed, surprise nobody so much as the benefactor. The other day, a ragged, barefoot boy ran  down the street after a marble, with so jolly an air that he set every one he passed into a good humour; one of these persons, who had been delivered from more than usually black thoughts, stopped the little fellow and gave him some money with this remark: You see what sometimes comes of looking pleased. If he had looked pleased before, he had now to look both pleased and mystified. For my part, I justify this encouragement of smiling rather than tearful children; I do not wish to pay for tears anywhere but upon the stage; but I am prepared to deal largely in the opposite commodity. A happy man or woman is a better thing to find than a five-pound note. He or she is a radiating focus of goodwill; and their entrance into a room is as though another candle had been lighted. We need not care whether they could prove the forty-seventh proposition; they do a better thing than that, they practically demonstrate the great Theorem of the Liveableness of Life. Consequently, if a person cannot be happy without remaining idle, idle he should remain. It is a revolutionary precept; but thanks to hunger and the workhouse, one not easily to be abused; and within practical limits, it is one of the most incontestable truths in the whole Body of Morality. Look at one of your industrious fellows for a moment, I beseech you. He sows hurry and reaps indigestion; he puts a vast deal of activity out to interest, and receives a large measure of nervous derangement in return. Either he absents himself entirely from all fellowship, and lives a recluse in a garret, with carpet slippers and a leaden inkpot; or he comes among people swiftly and bitterly, in a contraction of his whole nervous system, to discharge some temper before he returns to work. I do not care how much or ho w well he works, this fellow is an evil feature in other peoples lives. They would be happier if he were dead. They could easier do without his services in the Circumlocution Office, than they can tolerate his fractious spirits. He poisons life at the well-head. It is better to be beggared out of hand by a scapegrace nephew, than daily hag-ridden by a peevish uncle. 13 And what, in Gods name, is all this pother about? For what cause do they embitter their own and other peoples lives? That a man should publish three or thirty articles a year, that he should finish or not finish his great allegorical picture, are questions of little interest to the world. The ranks of life are full; and although a thousand fall, there are always some to go into the breach. When they told Joan of Arc she should be at home minding womens work, she answered there were plenty to spin and wash. And so, even with your own rare gifts! When nature is so careless of the single life, why should we coddle ourselves into the fancy that our own is of exceptional importance? Suppose Shakespeare had been knocked on the head some dark night in Sir Thomas Lucys preserves, the world would have wagged on better or worse, the pitcher gone to the well, the scythe to the corn, and the student to his book; and no one been any the wiser of the loss. There are not many works extant, if yo u look the alternative all over, which are worth the price of a pound of tobacco to a man of limited means. This is a sobering reflection for the proudest of our earthly vanities. Even a tobacconist may, upon consideration, find no great cause for personal vainglory in the phrase; for although tobacco is an admirable sedative, the qualities necessary for retailing it are neither rare nor precious in themselves. Alas and alas! you may take it how you will, but the services of no single individual are indispensable. Atlas was just a gentleman with a protracted nightmare! And yet you see merchants who go and labour themselves into a great fortune and thence into the bankruptcy court; scribblers who keep scribbling at little articles until their temper is a cross to all who come about them, as though Pharaoh should set the Israelites to make a pin instead of a pyramid; and fine young men who work themselves into a decline, and are driven off in a hearse with white plumes upon it. Would you not suppose these persons had been whispered, by the Master of the Ceremonies, the promise of some momen tous destiny? and that this lukewarm bullet on which they play their farces was the bulls eye and centre-point of all the universe? And yet it is not so. The ends for which they give away their priceless youth, for all they know, may be chimerical or hurtful; the glory and riches they expect may never come, or may find them indifferent; and they and the world they inhabit are so inconsiderable that the mind freezes at the thought. * An Apology for Idlers, by Robert Louis Stevenson, first appeared in the July 1877 issue of the  Cornhill Magazine  and was later published in Stevensons essay collection  Virginibus Puerisque, and Other Papers   (1881).

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Definition and Examples of the Historical Present Tense

Definition and Examples of the Historical Present Tense In English grammar, the historical present is the use of a verb phrase in the present tense to refer to an event that took place in the past. In narratives, the historical present may be used to create an effect of immediacy. Also called the  historic present, dramatic present, and narrative present. In rhetoric, the use of the present tense to report on events from the past is called translatio temporum (transfer of times). The term translation is particularly interesting, notes German English literature educator Heinrich Plett, because it is also the Latin word for metaphor. It clearly shows that the historical present only exists as an intended tropical deviation of the past tense. (Plett, Henrich. Rhetoric and Renaissance Culture, Walter de Gruyter GmbH Co., 2004.) Examples and Observations It is a bright summer day in 1947. My father, a fat, funny man with beautiful eyes and a subversive wit, is trying to decide which of his eight children he will take with him to the county fair. My mother, of course, will not go. She is knocked out from getting most of us ready: I hold my neck stiff against the pressure of her knuckles as she hastily completes the braiding and the beribboning of my hair. ... (Walker,  Alice. Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self. In Search of Our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose, Harcourt Brace, 1983.) There is a famous story of President Abraham Lincoln, taking a vote at a cabinet meeting on whether to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. All his cabinet secretaries vote nay, whereupon Lincoln raises his right hand and declares: The ayes have it. (Rodman, Peter W.  Presidential Command, Vintage, 2010.) Verbs in the historic present describe something that happened in the past. The present tense is used because the facts are listed as a summary, and the present tense provides a sense of urgency. This historic present tense is also found in news bulletins. The announcer may say at the start, Fire hits a city center building, the government defends the new minister, and in football City, United lose. (Language Notes, BBC World Service.) If you introduce things which are past as present and now taking place, you will make your story no longer a narration but an actuality. (Longinus,  On the Sublime, quoted by Chris Anderson in  Style as Argument: Contemporary American Nonfiction, Southern Illinois University Press, 1987.) An Example of the Historical Present in an EssayI’m nine years old, in bed, in the dark. The detail in the room is perfectly clear. I am lying on my back. I have a greeny-gold quilted eiderdown covering me. I have just calculated that I will be 50 years old in 1997. ‘Fifty’ and ‘1997’ don’t mean a thing to me, aside from being an answer to an arithmetic question I set myself. I try it differently. ‘I will be 50 in 1997.’ 1997 doesn’t matter. ‘I will be 50.’ The statement is absurd. I am nine. ‘I will be ten’ makes sense. ‘I will be 13’ has a dreamlike maturity about it. ‘I will be 50’ is simply a paraphrase of another senseless statement I make to myself at night: ‘I will be dead one day.’ ‘One day I won’t be.’ I have a great determination to feel the sentence as a reality. But it always escapes me. ‘I will be dead’ comes with a picture of a dead body on a bed. But it’s mine, a nine-year-old body. When I make it old, it becomes someone else. I can’t imagine myself dead. I can’t imagine myself dying. Either the effort or the failure to do so makes me feel panicky. ... (Diski, Jenny. Diary,  London Review of Books, October 15, 1998. Report title At Fifty in  The Art of the Essay: The Best of 1999, edited by Phillip Lopate, Anchor Books, 1999.) An Example of the Historical Present in a Memoir  My first conscious direct memory of anything outside myself is not of Duckmore and its estates but of the street. I am adventuring out of our front gate and into the great world beyond. Its a summers day - perhaps this is the very first summer after we moved in when Im not yet three. I walk along the pavement, and on into the endless distances of the street - past the gate of No. 4 - on and bravely on until I find myself in a strange new landscape with its own exotic flora, a mass of sunlit pink blossom on a tangled rambler rose hanging over a garden fence. I have got almost as far as the garden gate of No. 5. At this point, I somehow become aware of how far I am from home and abruptly lose all my taste for exploration. I turn and run back to No. 3. (Frayn, Michael. My Fathers Fortune: A Life, Metropolitan Books, 2010.) The You-Are-There IllusionWhen the reference point of the narration is not the present moment but some point in the past, we have the historical present, in which a writer tries to parachute the reader into the midst of an unfolding story (Genevieve lies awake in bed. A floorboard creaks ... ). The historical present is also often used in the setup of a joke, as in A guy walks into a bar with a duck on his head. ... Though the you-are-there illusion forced by the historical present can be an effective narrative device, it can also feel manipulative. Recently a Canadian columnist complained about a CBC Radio news program that seemed to him to overuse the present tense, as in UN forces open fire on protesters. The director explained to him that the show is supposed to sound less analytic, less reflective and more dynamic, more hot than the flagship nightly news show. (Pinker, Steven.  The Stuff of Thought, Viking, 2007.) A Warning From the PastAvoid the use of the historical present unless the narrative is sufficiently vivid to make the use spontaneous. The historical present is one of the boldest of figures and, as is the case with all figures, its overuse makes a style cheap and ridiculous. (Royster, James Finch and Stith Thompson,  Guide to Composition, Scott Foresman and Company, 1919.)

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Lessons from Tribal People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Lessons from Tribal People - Essay Example According to ManKiller and Lyon tribal mind set is different from Other Americans as they are pure in their thoughts and feelings. They have the gratitude to life, nature and God. They value relationship and hard work. As per ( Spaid )â€Å"Mankiller says the Cherokees, who dont live on a reservation, are not as isolated and have more industries than most Indian peoples†. Mankiller suggest that the universal nature of tribal people is that they value their tradition and culture enormously.Living a simpler tribal existence means staying away from complexities of urban life. The life in the modern world is just a way to destroy nature. In the modern world, the natural resources are exploited and man has less consideration for nature and humanity. According to (Jayson,) â€Å"Primitive people lead self-sufficient lives that do not destroy the biosphere that supports them† .Simple tribal life is pure and living in alliance with nature and respecting earth its creature and God. Anistara, . "The Hopi and Kogi Tribes." http://worldnativesunited.tribe.net. Utah Street Networks, 2004. Web. 14 Feb. 2014. . Jayson, Ray. "SEA GYPSY TRIBAL PRINCIPLES." http://theseagypsyphilosopher.blog spot.com. Aw esome Inc., 2011. Web. 14 Feb. 2014. . Spaid, Elisabeth L. "Rebuilding a Nation : Cherokees: Chief Wilma Mankiller says her job like being president of a tiny country, a CEO and a social worker.." http://articles.latimes.com. The LosAngeles Times, 1992. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.

Friday, November 1, 2019

Should broadcasters be required to accept advocacy advertising Research Paper

Should broadcasters be required to accept advocacy advertising - Research Paper Example It is the duty of the media to convey only the facts to the public. If media has some interests in exaggerating certain issues or hiding certain issues, the public will never get the exact dimensions of such issues. In other words, public may become forced to take wrong stands on issues if they get inadequate information. For example, Obama’s bailout package or healthcare reform policies may have lot of advantages and disadvantages. It is the duty of the media to convey both the merits and demerits of these policies to the public. If the media tries to focus more on either the merit or the demerit, the public will not get the actual picture about these polices. In an advocacy advertising campaign, â€Å"although separate displays may be taken within a campaign are to different audiences, each of these advertisements should communicate the same central message of the campaign†(The Essentials of Advocacy Advertising, n. d). In short, advocacy advertising forces broadcaste rs to spread the same message to the audience through different types of advertising. Thus the audience or the public will get the same content in different forms while broadcasters engage in a advocacy advertising.