The Theme of Patriotism in Persepolis - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 680 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/07/01 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Persepolis Essay Did you like this example? Persepolis is an extended description of the historical conditions during Marjanes life. Marjane had a patriotic passion for her country Iran. When she was a young girl, there was a cultural revolution in Iran. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Theme of Patriotism in Persepolis" essay for you Create order Students (including Marjane) were forced to were a veil during school. Marjane didnt quite understand the reasoning behind this and thought she should have her own choice in religion. Many were teetering this concept of the cultural revolution. Eventually, the French non-religious school she attended is halted and the sexes are schooled separately. Growing up, Marjane and God have several conversations, and she is set on being a prophet when she grows up. Throughout this graphic novel, Marjane always exemplifies a spirit of patriotism, boldness, freedom, love, and individual thought. Her pure, childlike heart desires both equality and an elimination of suffering. When she expresses her intention of becoming a prophet, Marjane is mocked, but her parents support her and are unalarmed by her wishes. After she hears her parents concerned about the fire that killed 400 people at a nearby theater, Mr. Satrapi decides to explain the events of the Revolution to her. During this story, Marjan e learns that her grandfather was a prince prior to Reza Shahs rise of power, which would excite any child. Her grandfather became a communist and was imprisoned. While in prison, her grandfather was tormented by going into cells overflowing with water, which Marjane has a difficult time processing. During her grandmothers visit, she explains to Marjane the poverty and hardships they faced during her husbands imprisonment. The Satrapis maid Mehri was given into their care as a child. Marjane and Mehri grew into a sisterly bond. Mehri falls in love with the boy next door and has Marjane write her love letters since she didnt know how to write. Once Mr. Satrapi discovers this love connection, he talks to the boy and tells him Mehri is a maid. Then, the boy is no longer interested. In this time, social classes arent combined. This initially upsets Marjane significantly. She believed her father to be a good man and felt his actions were unjust and unloving. Therefore, she and Mehri attend marches, which aggravates her parents since the marches were formidable. As Shahs rule worsens, many lose their life. Shah travels to the United States and eventually relinquishes his rule. The previously imprisoned Siamak and Mohsen visit the Satrapi family and explain their experiences in prison. Soon after, Marjane discovers that even her Uncle Anoosh was held captive. However, her Uncle Anoosh was identified as valiant for his position in government to hinder the power of Shah, which ultimately declared independence from his brutal rule. Unfortunately, Anoosh is later arrested and killed for a false accusation about being a Russian spy. Due to this event, Marjane completely rejects God and her desire to be a prophet. Around this time, the Iran-Iraq War starts. From this event, her life seems to spiral into a world of pain and shattered expectations. Marjanes hopes of traveling to the U.S. are squandered when the Americans are coerced out of Iran. Those of religious authority closed schools to make alterations, which also harms Marjanes hopes. Shes even assaulted because her veil isnt on. The war only worsens, and her friend Mali comes to live with her as a result of it. Murdered children, bombing raids, deaths of millions, and the death of her hopeless Uncle Taher become enough hardships for Marjane to become a rebel. After her parents return from Turkey, Marjane becomes westernized and is nearly arrested but let off without arrest. One day, her neighborhood was bombed, and her neighbors house was wrecked. She even noticed her friends arm protruding from the debris. After all these disastrous events, her parents make the executive decision to send her to Austria for her safety. She spends the last night with her beloved grandmother and hea ds to the airport the next day. When she turns back to see her parents from afar, her mother had fainted. Yet, she hoped to see her parents again one day.

Queer Centric Love Stories By John Bebe - 1234 Words

However, when it comes to queer-centric love stories, the most common reaction follows the lines of â€Å"this is a gay story, about two gay people, and is about them being gay†, due to the lack of substance to the plot. Even if a work does have a complex plot, the public’s reaction and treatment of the work as â€Å"a gay story† is harmful to perceptions of queer life. Specifically, the manner in which many queer stories, and â€Å"Brokeback† (with the death of Jack) tragically end. These tragic ending, tragedy that is rooted in the character s sexual orientation, only further sends the message that you can’t live as a queer person without pain and consequences, that there is no legitimate way for a happy ending to occur for queer characters. In†¦show more content†¦Integration of Female Characters: The â€Å"Damage† of The Closet The most notable difference between the film adaptation and the short story is the film’s additional emphasis and integration of female characters. In the film, Alma has more of a focus, becomes more complex of a character, and has more lines than in the original story. Additionally, Laureen is a developed character with a personality and character arc, which was also something not found in the original story.This additional emphasis on females provides the audience with a new perspective from which to view the story. However, it is a perspective that is essentially harmful to the queer community. By having a focus on the female characters, the film â€Å"hedges against relying too much on gay-masculinity-as-realism both by cyclically returning point of view to the women in the film, and by draping a light scrim of comedy over Jack and Ennis’s relationship. The moment when Michelle William’s Alma sees her husband locking lips with his â€Å"fishing buddy† has achieved its own iconic status: Oprah Winfrey, when she hosted the cast for a pre-Academy Awards endorsement of the film’s power, focused first on how hard it must have been for Heath and Jake to kiss each other—heavens!—but then insisted that the film was a lesson in the damage the closet wreaks on the lives of women who love closeted men (Joshua Clover)†.

Night World Huntress Chapter 14 Free Essays

string(68) " figure out is what it means by ‘where two eyes are watching\." Did you have trouble getting away?† Hugh said It was the next morning, a very different sort of day from yesterday. The sky was overcast and the air was heavy. Everyone Jez had passed at the Concord BART station looked a little depressed. We will write a custom essay sample on Night World : Huntress Chapter 14 or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"Eh, a little,† she said, and sat down by Hugh on the platform. They were at the far end of the station, beyond the covered area with benches, beside a little concrete security house. It was a safe and private meeting place since the station was almost deserted after the morning commute. â€Å"They chained up my bike with this huge chain. Claire drove me to school-she’s been watching me like a werewolf guarding dinner. And Aunt Nan called the office to make sure I didn’t cut† Hugh shifted in concern. There was a tiny breath of warm wind, and it stirred his fair hair. â€Å"So what did you do?† Jez grinned. â€Å"I cut.† She shrugged and added, â€Å"I got a guy from my auto shop class to drive me here. It wasn’t hard.† He smiled at her sadly, his gray eyes distant. â€Å"But they’re going to find out. Jez, I’m really sorry for completely messing up your life.† She shrugged again. â€Å"Yeah, but if I don’t do it, everybody’s life is going to be even more completely messed up. Every human’s.† â€Å"I know.† He shivered slightly. Then he drew up his legs, clasping his arms around them. He looked at her with his chin on his knees. â€Å"So what did you find out?† â€Å"That the girl Morgead thought was the Wild Power isn’t.† He looks so cute that way, Jez thought helplessly. So-compact. Morgead would never sit like that. Hugh winced. â€Å"Great. You’re sure?† â€Å"Yeah. It was a little kid, eight years old, and she was something special-but not that. She was†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Jez tried to think of a way to describe it. Hugh watched her with eyes that were clear and fathomless, sad and wry and gentle all at once. And suddenly Jez got it. She gasped. â€Å"Goddess-I know! She was like you. That kid was an Old Soul.† Hugh’s eyebrows went up. â€Å"You think?† â€Å"I’m sure of it. She had that same way of looking at you as if she’s seen all of history and she knows that you’re just a little part. That†¦ trig picture’ look. As if she were beyond stupid human things.† â€Å"But not a Wild Power,† Hugh said softly. He looked half discouraged and half relieved. â€Å"So then the Morgead connection is useless.† â€Å"Actually, no. Because he’s got evidence for the Wild Power on videotape.† Jez explained about the movie and the fire and the blue flash. â€Å"So somebody around that kid is probably it. I know that area and so does Morgead. We may be able to find out who.† Hugh chewed his lip. Then he looked directly at her. â€Å"It sounds dangerous. Just how is Morgead taking tins-you coming back and all?† Jez stared out across the BART tracks. They looked like regular train tracks, except for the big one labeled danger electric third rah.. There was a sound like faraway thunder, and then a train came whizzing up like a sleek futuristic white dragon. It stopped and a few people got on and off in the distance. She waited until it left again to answer. â€Å"He†¦ wasn’t very happy at first. But then he kind of got used to it. I don’t think he’s going to make any trouble-unless he finds out, you know.† She wasn’t sure what else to say. She didn’t want to talk to Hugh about Morgead-and she certainly didn’t want to explain what had happened. Especially not when she was so confused about it all herself. â€Å"You still think he’d hate you if he found out you were half human?† Hugh’s voice was quiet. Jez laughed shortly. â€Å"Believe it. He would.† There was a silence, while Hugh looked at her. Suddenly Jez found her mind posing an odd question. If it were Hugh or Morgead, which would she take? Of course, it was a completely ridiculous question. She couldn’t have either of them. Hugh was an Old Soul, and beyond her reach. Not to mention that he only thought of her as a friend. And Morgead might be her soulmate, but he would murder her if he ever discovered the truth. But still, if she did have a choice†¦ Hugh or Morgead? A day ago she’d have said Hugh without question. How strange that now it came up the other way. Because, impossible as it was, deadly as she knew it to be, it was Morgead she was in love with. And she had only just understood that this moment. What a pity that there was no hope in the world for them. Jez found herself giving another short laugh- and then she realized that Hugh was still looking at her. She could feel color rise to her cheeks. â€Å"You were miles away again.† Tm just foggy. Not enough sleep, I guess.† Plus all that fun yesterday. She was still sore from the stick fight and the fall with Iona. But that wasn’t Hugh’s problem. She took a breath, groping for another subject. â€Å"You know, there was something I wanted to ask you. Morgead said the Council had dug up another prophecy-about where each of the Wild Powers is from. Have you heard it?† When he shook his head, she quoted: â€Å"One from the land of kings long forgotten; One from the hearth which still holds the spark; One from the Day World where two eyes are watching; One from the twilight to be one with the dark.† â€Å"Interesting.† Hugh’s gray eyes had lit up. † ‘One from the hearth’†¦ that’s got to be the Harman witches. Their last name was originally ‘Hearth-Woman.’ â€Å" â€Å"Yeah. But the line about the one from the Day World-that one’s a human, right?† â€Å"It sounds like it.† â€Å"That’s what Morgead thought-that’s why he thought the little girl might be a Wild Power even though she was human. But what I can’t figure out is what it means by ‘where two eyes are watching. You read "Night World : Huntress Chapter 14" in category "Essay examples"'† â€Å"Mmm†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Hugh gazed into the distance, as if he liked the challenge. â€Å"The only thing I can think of that combines the idea of ‘Day* and ‘eyes’ is a poem. It goes something like ‘The Night has a thousand eyes, and the Day only one.’ The one eye being the sun, you know, and the thousand eyes the stars at night.† â€Å"Hmpf. What about the moon?† Hugh grinned. ‘I don’t know. Maybe the author wasn’t good at astronomy.† â€Å"Well-that doesn’t help much. I thought it might be a clue. But the truth is that we don’t even know if it’s the human Wild Power we’re after.† Hugh put his chin on his knees again. â€Å"True. But I’ll let Circle Daybreak know about that prophecy. It might help eventually.† He was silent a moment, then added, â€Å"You know, they dug up something interesting, too. Apparently the Hopi Tribe predicted the end of the world pretty accurately.† â€Å"The Hopi?† â€Å"I should say, the ends of the worlds. They knew that it had happened before their time, and that it would happen again. Their legend says that the first world was destroyed by fire. The second world was destroyed by ice. The third world ended in water- a universal flood. And the fourth world-well, that’s ours. It’s supposed to end in blood and darkness- and end soon.† Jez murmured, â€Å"The first world-?† â€Å"Don’t remember your Night World history?† He tched at her, with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. â€Å"The first civilization was the shapeshifters’. Back when humans were scared to go out of their caves, the shapeshifters ruled and the humans thought of them as gods. Animal spirits, totems. It was Shapeshifter World. That lasted for about ten thousand years, until a bunch of volcanoes suddenly became active-â€Å" â€Å"Fire.† â€Å"Yeah. The weather changed, people migrated, and the shapeshifters lost control. After that it was really Witch World. The witches did better than everybody else for ten thousand years, but then there was an Ice Age-â€Å" â€Å"And the Night Wars,† Jez said, remembering. â€Å"When the vampires fought the witches.† â€Å"Right. And after all that, the vampires were in control; it was Vampire World. Which lasted about another ten thousand years, until the flood. And after the flood, human civilization really started. It was Human World, and it has been for a long time. The Night People have just been hanging on around the edges, hiding. But. . .† He paused and straightened. â€Å"That started about eight thousand B.C.† â€Å"Oh.† â€Å"Yeah. The millennium marks the end of our ten thousand years.† He gave his gentle, half-mocking smile. â€Å"We humans are about to lose our lease. Something’s going to happen to bring blood and darkness and then there’ll be a whole new world.† â€Å"Only if we don’t stop it,† Jez said. â€Å"And we will- because we have to.† Hugh’s smiled changed, softening. â€Å"I think we’re lucky to have people like you trying.† Then he lost the smile completely. He looked uncertain. â€Å"Jez- you know, Old Souls aren’t really beyond ‘stupid human things.’ We’re as human as anybody. And we †¦ I mean, and I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Jez’s heart was beating uncomfortably fast. The way he was looking at her-she’d never seen Hugh look like that at anything or anyone. Another rumble in the distance, and then a train came rushing in. Hugh blinked, glanced up at the digital clock display above the platform, then checked his watch. He cursed. Tm supposed to be somewhere. I’m late.† Jez’s heart gave a strange thump. But not of disappointment. Weirdly, it was more like relief. â€Å"Me, too,† she said. â€Å"I’m supposed to meet Morgead before everybody else gets out of school. I ought to take the next train to San Francisco.† He still hesitated. â€Å"Jez-â€Å" â€Å"Go on,† she said, standing up. â€Å"Ill call you if I turn up anything. Wish me luck.† â€Å"Be careful,† he said instead, and then he was hurrying away. Jez watched him go. She couldn’t help wondering what he had been about to say. Then she turned to walk back to the central part of the station. She was partway around the concrete guardhouse when she heard a noise on the other side. A stealthy, sneaking noise. Not the kind a security guard would make. Jez didn’t hesitate. Smoothly, completely soundless herself, she changed course, turning back and going around the structure the other way to get behind the sneaker. The instant she had a clear view of the intruder’s back, she jumped. She landed on top of her quarry, with a control hold on the person’s wrist. But she already knew that this wasn’t going to be a fight to the death. â€Å"Jez-ow-it’s me!† Claire spluttered. â€Å"I know it’s you, Claire.† â€Å"Let go of my arm!† â€Å"I don’t think so, Claire. You having an interesting morning? Hear any good jokes?† â€Å"Jez!† Claire struggled, hurting herself, then got mad and hurt herself more trying to hit Jez. Jez allowed her to sit up, still keeping hold of her. Claire’s face was flushed and wrathful, her dark hair sticking in strands to her cheeks. Her eyes were shooting sparks. â€Å"Okay, so I’m sorry for eavesdropping. I followed you when Greg Ludlum drove you here. I wanted to know what you were doing. I didn’t know that you were completely freaking insane!† â€Å"Well, it’s too bad you didn’t figure it out earlier. Because unfortunately I have to kill you now to keep you from talking.† Claire’s eyes widened and she choked. Jez suddenly realized that underneath all the sparks and the yelling her cousin was terrified. She let go of Claire’s arm and Claire slumped away from her, rubbing it. â€Å"You-you are insane, aren’t you?† Claire looked at her sideways, through clinging strands of hair. â€Å"I mean, all that stuff about the world ending-it’s some kind of bizarre game you’re playing with your weird friends, isn’t it? Some kind of Dungeons and Dragons stuff†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"What do you think, Claire?† Jez stood up and offered Claire a hand, worried that someone might notice them. She kept that hand on Claire as she herded Claire back behind the guard house. The truth was that this situation wasn’t funny. Claire really was in trouble-because Jez was in trouble. Her entire cover was blown. Everything she’d worked for in the past year-Claire could destroy it all. Claire knew way too much, and Claire hated her enough to use it. â€Å"I think †¦ I don’t know what to think.† Claire swallowed. â€Å"Who was that guy?† â€Å"One of my weird friends. Right?† â€Å"He didn’t seem so weird. When he said things- I don’t know. They sounded†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Claire’s voice trailed off. Finally it came back, almost inaudibly. â€Å"Real.† â€Å"Great.† I am going to have to kill her. What else can I do? â€Å"It’s not a game, is it?† Claire said, looking at her. All the anger was gone from the dark eyes now. They were simply bewildered and frightened. Then Claire shook her head. â€Å"But, I mean, it’s impossible. Vampires and shapeshifters and witches-it’s all just†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her voice trailed off again. Jez was simply looking at her, with eyes that might be less silvery than a year ago, but that she knew were still pretty strange. And after a few moments Claire’s gaze lost its focus and her whole body seemed to fall in on itself, as if it had lost something vital. Innocence maybe, Jez thought grimly. â€Å"Oh, God, it is true,† Claire whispered. ‘I mean, it’s really true. That’s why you’re gone all the time, isn’t it? You’re off-doing something.† Jez said, â€Å"Yeah.† Claire sagged against the guardhouse. â€Å"Oh, God. I †¦ God. I feel so strange. It’s like-nothing is what I thought.† Yeah, I know the feeling, Jez thought. When the whole world turns around and you have to adjust in two seconds flat. It happened to me, too, a year ago. But none of that was going to help Claire. All she could say was â€Å"I’m sorry.† Claire didn’t seem to hear her. She was speaking in a voice that was just a breath. â€Å"That’s why†¦ that’s why all that weird stuff with your father. Nobody knowing anything about his family and all. I knew from the beginning that there was something about you; I just couldn’t tell what it was.† Oh, great, Jez thought. Here it comes. She tried to keep her face impassive as Claire faced her squarely, raising her eyes with a look somewhere between wonder and dread. â€Å"That guy-he said you were only half human. Which means you’re half†¦ something else?† â€Å"I’m half human and half vampire,† Jez said quietly. The interesting thing was that it was so easy to get out. She’d only ever spoken the words aloud to one person before: Hugh. Now she looked to see if Claire would actually faint or just fall down. Claire did neither. She just shut her eyes. â€Å"You know the really insane thing? I believe that.† She opened her eyes again. â€Å"But-I didn’t know you could be. Half and half.† â€Å"Neither did anybody else, till I was born. I’m the only one.† Jez examined her cousin, realized that she really wasn’t going to faint. When she spoke again, her voice came out more challenging than she meant it to. â€Å"So now that you know, Claire, what are you going to do about it?† â€Å"What do you mean, what am I going to do?† Claire glanced around, then her voice dropped as her eyes glinted with interest. â€Å"Look-do you, like, have to drink blood and everything?† â€Å"Not anymore,† Jez said shortly. What was this? Who would have thought that studious, straitlaced Claire would have such an interest in vampires? â€Å"But you mean you used to?† â€Å"Before I came to live with you guys. I thought I was a full vampire then. But I found out that I could live without it, as long as I didn’t use my powers.† â€Å"You’ve got powers? Really? What kind?† â€Å"No kind. Look, enough with the questions. I told you, I’m not a vampire anymore.† â€Å"And you’re not evil.† Claire said it flatly. Jez looked at her, startled. â€Å"What makes you say that?† â€Å"I heard what you were talking about, saving the world and all. I didn’t understand it, but it sounded like you were on the right side. And-† Claire hesitated, then shrugged. â€Å"And I know you, okay? I mean, you’re arrogant and stubborn and you never explain anything, but you’re not evil. You just aren’t-inside. I can tell.† Jez laughed. A real laugh. She couldn’t help it. Of all people, Claire. She’d misjudged this girl who was her own age but had nothing else in common with her. Her cousin had unexpected depths. â€Å"Well, thanks,† she said. â€Å"I try not to be too evil- these days.† Then she sobered. â€Å"Look, Claire, if you really think that, and if you really believe that the stuff you heard was true-â€Å" â€Å"About the end of the world? I don’t believe it. I mean, I heard it, and I believe you believe it-and when I first heard it I kind of believed it, but-â€Å" â€Å"Just-skip the rest and plain believe it, Claire. It happens to be the truth. And I’m trying to do something about it.† â€Å"Something about a Wild Power, right?† Claire wasn’t sagging anymore. She looked almost excited. â€Å"But what’s a-â€Å" â€Å"You don’t need to know. The point is that if you want to, you can help me.† â€Å"I can? Really?† â€Å"You can help me by going back to school and forgetting that this ever happened. You can help me by keeping my secret and not ever saying a word about this to anybody. And, incidentally, you’ll be keeping your family safe at the same time.† Claire looked away, worked her jaw. â€Å"This stuff you’re doing is pretty dangerous.† It wasn’t a question. â€Å"Very dangerous.† Jez stepped back. â€Å"And I’m late for it right now. So do we have a deal? Will you help me or not? Can I trust you?† â€Å"Or otherwise you’re gonna kill me, right?† Claire looked at her sarcastically. Jez rolled her eyes. â€Å"Don’t tempt me. Seriously, are you going to help?† â€Å"No.† Jez froze, looking down at the shorter girl. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Jez-don’t get mad, but I don’t think I can. Not that way.† Claire was looking back up steadily, her small face serious and surprisingly determined. ‘I mean how can I possibly just walk away, after hearing all that? If everything you said is true, how can I forget?† â€Å"You can because you have to. We all do what we have to do.† Jez looked around the station. Another train should be coming any minute. She simply didn’t have time to spend convincing a human to stay out of business that would kill her. To properly explain it to Claire would take days. All she could do was ask for something she never would have imagined Claire could give her. â€Å"Claire†¦ there’s no way I can convince you or make you do what I want. But I’m asking you-† She let out her breath and went on: â€Å"I’m asking you to trust me. I’m asking you to walk away and at least try to forget this. And to believe that I’m trying the best I can to do the right thing.† Claire kept looking at her steadily for a moment. Then, all at once, the dark eyes filled. They turned away, and Claire’s throat moved once as she swallowed. Then, slowly, she nodded. â€Å"Okay,† she whispered. â€Å"I mean-it’s okay for now. I mean, I guess I can talk to you later about it.† Jez let out her breath. â€Å"That’s right.† Claire stood there for another second, then straightened her shoulders and turned away. But just as suddenly she turned back, looking tense and almost explosive. â€Å"There’s something I have to say to you.† Jez glanced down the tracks. No train. â€Å"Okay.† â€Å"It’s-it’s†¦ that I’m sorry. I’m sorry I bugged you and tried to get Mom mad at you and everything. I was just-I was jealous because they let you get away with anything, and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She shook her head fiercely and then went on, shrugging grimly as if she hated to admit it. â€Å"And, yeah, because you’re so gorgeous and confident and everything. It made me feel bad and I wanted to hurt you. So. Anyway. There. I’m sorry.† She started to walk away, wobbling a little. â€Å"Claire.† Claire paused, then turned around. Jez spoke a little hesitantly around the obstruction in her throat. â€Å"It’s okay. And thank you.† â€Å"Yeah.† Claire grinned and gave a little shrug. â€Å"See ya later.† She turned around and started walking again. See ya, Jez thought. She felt suddenly tired and strangely emotional. There was too much inside hen sadness and relief and worry and a new feeling for Claire. She crossed her arms and looked around the station, trying to relax, taking deep, even breaths. And saw two werewolves coming straight for Claire. How to cite Night World : Huntress Chapter 14, Essay examples

College Athletes Should Not Be Paid free essay sample

?Amongst the controversy surrounding the NCAA’s recent crackdown on violations with regards to college programs compensating players and players accepting compensation from universities and outside sources, one question has understandably been brought up. It is a question that was bound to be asked sooner or later, and one without an obvious answer: should college athletes be paid? It is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, question that surrounds the world of college sports. The answer, quite simply put, is no. Allowing universities to pay students athletes to participate in sports would require a complete overhaul of the NCAA rule book. At this stage, too many questions need to be answered: how much would athletes get paid? Where would the money come from? Would athletes in certain sports get paid more than others? This is just the tip of the iceberg. The amount of time that it would take to (re)write this part of the rulebook would be ridiculous. Not only do NCAA officials have to write the new rules, but there would also have to be many revisions made before a final copy is finished. Then the new regulations would need to be approved by the majority of the NCAA universities. And there is no guarantee that would happen with the first edition of the rules, so the process would continue to repeat itself until an agreement is reached. On top of that, the Title IX Act would need to be amended in order to accommodate the new rules in order to ensure equality across all genders. All the time it would take to create a set of rules and regulations and amend the necessary laws to make paying college athletes possible would use up many NCAA resources and cost a lot of money. It is one thing to spend time to make money or spend money to save time, but creating new rules and/or amending old ones would be spending time and money just to give even more money away from the university (to pay the athletes). The fact that the NCAA and its affiliates would have to allocate such a large amount of money to creating the new rule book raises another important question: where will the money come from? Initially, it would not come from the NCAA: they would most certainly be in some amount of debt after spending copious amounts of time and money on the rulebook. So why not use the revenue brought in by the athletes? First of all, that is the money the NCAA would have spent on the creation of the new rules and regulations. Secondly, even without incorporating the costs creating a new rulebook would require, that money is reserved for the colleges and universities, the NCAA and NCAA subsidiary conferences (Big Ten Conference, South Eastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, etc. ) in order to pay for coaches, training staff, officials for competition, construction and uptake of facilities, advertising, and a per diem for athletes and staff on road trips, among many other countless expenses. Not only do the numbers not work financially, there are also questions on the morality of using revenue to pay players. The main argument behind changing the rules to allow compensation for players is that they bring immense amounts of revenue into colleges and universities but receive nothing in return. While this is a valid argument, it usually only applies to the big money making sports such as football and basketball. The NCAA’s mantra is fairness and equality across all sports and genders, which makes compensation for revenue generation a touchy subject. In terms of morality, you could not rightfully pay the athletes in the â€Å"big two† sports but not in others. Conversely, you could not fairly pay athletes in the other sports for the revenue that they had very little part in creating. For example, think about running a lemonade stand and having to share the profits with your siblings who had no part in it. Or consider seeing your brother get paid for mowing the lawn while you get nothing for shoveling; neither of these would be fair to student athletes. The NCAA would take too much flak if compensating players came down to revenue. If universities were to compensate based on the amount of money brought in to the school by each sport, they would be indirectly saying that they believe certain student athletes to be more valuable than others. Some schools also bring in considerably more money than others from their sports programs. Schools like the University of Florida and the University of Alabama would have no problem using the money brought in by football and basketball to pay all of their athletes (which would still be going against the aforementioned sports ethics, but let’s pretend for a little bit). That is all fine and dandy, but what about smaller market schools like Bethune-Cookman University and the University of Montana? These schools bring in more than $50 million less than the previously mentioned schools. Not only does this limit the amount of money these schools could use to spend on paying athletes, it puts them at a great disadvantage from a recruiting standpoint. This is an extremely important piece of information. Aside from the idea of maintaining amateurism, the entire reason that the NCAA has rules against paying players and players accepting said compensation for play is to keep the recruiting game fair. As nice as it would be, it would be nigh impossible to compensate athletes with the revenue that they bring in, which further muddies the discussion on where money would even come from if athletes were to be paid. Some people would say, ‘raise tuition’. To put it nicely, institutes of higher education would have mutiny on their hands if that was their answer. Speaking for myself and other college students I can and will say that this would not be a favorable or accepted idea. I would never pay more for my education so that someone else can be paid to play a sport, let alone an amateur sport that I do not have any interest in. Just imagine having your taxes raised in order for your local bar league softball teams to get paid for their ‘service’. Not even the most leftward-leaning liberal would agree to that nonsense, yet some people have proposed the same thing, (in principle), for college sports. In a world where a college degree is becoming more and more valuable, the cost is already becoming increasingly unaffordable; and that is without the additional pay that has been proposed by many. The worst part of it is that this proposal comes from the people that would be least affected by it: university officials, university boosters, etc. Another idea that has been proposed is to re-classify athletic roster spots as â€Å"jobs† and athletes as â€Å"employees† in the Federal Work Study program. In theory and on paper this idea sounds great, but in reality it is not as great as it seems. First off, employees in the FWS program are only allowed to work twenty hours a week. Every college athlete in every sport, male or female, spends much more than 20 hours on their respective sports each week. From practice, to film sessions, to weightlifting and conditioning, not to mention competition, that time adds up. What would the athletes â€Å"overtime† be considered? Would the FWS program or NCAA be liable for the athletes at that point? Since the sport would fall under both, it is a tough question to answer. To this point, no one has answered it either. All of that is before the financial aspect of the proposal is even discussed. Over $1. 2 billion was given to 750 thousand students last year. There are almost 170 thousand Division One athletes in the country right now. If each one of those athletes were to collect the maximum of $7,000 from FWS, it would require an additional $1. 2 billion dollars of federal funding, and that is without even having Divisions Two and Three in the discussion. $1. 2 billion is a whole lot of money, and it is very unlikely that such a substantial increase in the FWS budget would be approved. One of the best parts of college sports is the fact that they are amateur athletics. Not only are these athletes getting a college education, but they are also getting to continue their athletic careers in the sports that they love, and many of them are doing so on a scholarship. Is that not enough? More than half of the student body at any given university would give almost anything to have that chance; and athletes are asking for more? It reminds me of Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the child who has everything but keeps asking for more. At many colleges and universities, student athletes are already given preferential treatment over their non-athlete peers. Just one example is Oklahoma State University, where there are numerous reports and admissions of athletes having school work done for them by tutors and professors giving athletes grades they do not deserve in order for them to be eligible for competition. Not only is this against NCAA rules and unethical, it is also sending the wrong message to student athletes. By allowing this to happen, or even by just standing idly by, universities are telling athletes that as long as they are good at sports they will not have to do any work in life; and on top of this, people want to pay them? In no way does that seem like it would be a good idea or end well for the athletes later in life. Most student athletes’ drive and motivation comes from wanting to keep their roster spot, wanting to move up on the depth chart, pride, the fear of losing a scholarship and the possibility of playing at the professional level (which is often the biggest factor). If college athletes were to be paid, that would take away much of their drive, they already have what they wanted: money. If they are guaranteed money in college and the professional level, why would they try their best and risk injury? The level of competition would decrease, which would decrease fan interest, which would in turn decrease revenue brought in by athletics. This case scenario happens in the world of professional sports all the time: a player inks a new deal with a team after a season of hard work, only to slack off once they are guaranteed money: the same would happen to a college athlete as well. All of these signs point towards not paying college athletes. Compensating college athletes for play would not only be financially unrealistic, a legal mess, and against sports and business ethics, it would ruin amateur sports. If that is not enough to convince someone that paying college athletes is a bad idea, then I do not know what would be.

Epistemology

Education philosophies are philosophical thinking and ideas that are used in the field of education to develop curriculum and improve instruction. One such philosophy is the use of education to enhance critical consciousness and enabling human beings to pursue completeness by acting consciously upon their abilities and limitations. This basically implies using education to enhance human creativity.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Epistemology specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Creativity as a concept signifies the ability to cause to exist or bring into being something that never existed before. The second philosophy entails epistemology or the concept of knowledge. Education basically involves acquisition of knowledge, skills, and other type of information by the learners. Therefore epistemology entails, examining the nature, condition and extent of knowledge in the learners. The concept of epistemology used in ed ucation influences several aspects about education such as development of curriculum, teacher learner interaction, and methodology. Knowledge that is gained in the classroom takes two forms: knowledge involving practical skills and knowledge involving the mind. The knowledge involving the mind is basically theoretical and is expressed as ideas in propositions and statements. When applied in education the concept of knowledge is important in both forms of theoretical and practical. Theoretical knowledge is necessary for general knowledge while practical knowledge is important for providing evidence to theory. The source of learner knowledge will come through both empiricism and rationalism. The learners have to be engaged to use their minds to extract knowledge from experience they go through in their daily lives. In the development of curriculum, there has to provision for learners to make use of their experiences and come to the knowledge of things. At the same time, practical sess ions especially for certain disciplines help the learners acquire knowledge by getting their hands on experience. Every other discipline creates uses practical means to explain concepts; these are the circumstances that the learners experiences on daily basis, and also the objects that they interact with in their immediate surroundings.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However in the field of mathematics, rationalism is the main source of knowledge among learners. Even though mathematics tries to relate problems to real life situations, the way in which the mind creates ideas mathematically is through rational thinking. Based on the concept of epistemology, it therefore means that the teacher needs to develop a teaching strategy that is centered on the learners. This is giving the learners the opportunity to discover ideas and concepts on their own with little involvement of the teache r. The teacher only offers guidelines to the learners. The curriculum is also developed in a way that allows the learners to acquire knowledge through rationalism and empiricism Creativity on the other hand is a concept that would allow the learner to be more human by exploiting their humanly abilities. It is only through creativity that human beings are able to make the environment around them a better place of living and a place that meets their needs. Human beings have to therefore assume a subjective role in their immediate environment by being involved in creation of objects and ideas that never existed before. This concept can be applied in the execution and implementation of curriculum especially during instruction. The curriculum gives the learners opportunity to exploit their abilities and create ideas or improve on the ideas that already existed. K-12 students are already advanced and can be co-researchers with their instructors. This essay on Epistemology was written and submitted by user Libby Blake to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Saving Private Ryan Essays - English-language Films, War Epic Films

Saving Private Ryan Essays - English-language Films, War Epic Films Saving Private Ryan Saving Private Ryan is a movie that generates strong responses from most people that see it. While interviewing four individuals and reading three movie reviews, I found that each of my subjects would recommend it, not one of the individuals interviewed felt the violence was senseless, and all of them left the movie with a strong emotional response of some kind. It appears that Saving Private Ryan is the kind of movie to which many can relate. Saving Private Ryan is not a romantic, feel-good movie, but it is probably one of the best movies released this year. It is without a doubt one of the most realistic films produced. Each person that I spoke with, and all three of the internet criticisms that I read voiced positive opinions about this movie. It has different types of entertainment for all kinds of viewers. It has elements of violence, patriotism, sentimentality, and heroism all rolled into one film. All of my subjects, including the internet critics, feel that Saving Private Ryan will receive many awards, and that it is a credit to Steven Spielberg as a director. When asked if they would recommend the film to another each of my interviewees responded positively. One widely talked about part of this film is the huge degree of violence. In this case however, contrary to the usual attitudes, the violence is not described as senseless or excessive by anyone that I spoke with. This movie is obviously set against the backdrop of World War II, beginning with D-Day and the battle of Omaha Beach. The killing appears to be overdone as the young men step off the transport boats only to be killed one after the other, but when consulting the history of this battle, it is almost exactly how this battle took place. The beaches were indeed covered with bodies, and the water was red with the blood of the slaughtered soldiers. The recreation of this battle by Steven Spielberg has succeeded in bringing this war, this battle in particular, out of the history books and into larger than life color on Americas movie screens. Everyone I interviewed already knew of the terrible acts of the Germans during World War II, but hey had not, however, ever really been able to comprehend the degree of loss that many families experienced. They had also never really been able to picture the battles of the soldiers themselves in quite the detail that Saving Private Ryan provided them with. This is one movie that should not be negatively reviewed because of the degree of violence. Saving Private Ryan is about a horrible war, that took place because of a madmans craziness, and this war was an ugly thing that happened very much like this movie portrayed it. The continuous gore is difficult to watch at times, but leaves the viewer with a greater appreciation of their nations military, and the sacrifice of the soldiers who serve willingly. It is clear that above all else, Private Ryan is intended to create an awareness of the sacrifice of the soldiers that gave their lives during World War II. In doing that, Steven Spielberg very successfully in brings out intense emotions in the spectator. While this movie had a great deal of violence that was sometimes difficult to watch, the sheer sentimentality behind the mission of the soldiers who have to find Private Ryan and bring him back was heart wrenching to say the least. It would take a cold-hearted individual indeed to feel no sorrow for the pain of the mother of Private Ryan when the military officials arrive at her home to tell her that three of her sons have been killed in battle. The way she falls to her knees on the porch and begins sobbing at the sight of the military vehicle is without a doubt a mirror of any mothers reaction to the same situation. Simply said, the moviegoer feels her pain. Even the hard-core attitude of the soldiers during the capture of the Germ an soldier that has just shot their friend, the medic, brings on conflicting emotions. The German, while digging graves for the dead American soldiers, pleads for his life, insults Hitler, and

Macroeconomics Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Macroeconomics - Case Study Example Due to this fact among others, there has been a suggestion that the unemployment rate that has been released by the government are not exactly accurate and may actually be higher than the numbers stated (Nutting). However, taking this mode of argument means that one has to consider a number of factors before they are in agreement with the authors of these articles. For instance, the fact that one may be hindered from looking for a job by circumstances such as other duties and responsibilities like childcare and homecare does not mean that given the chance these individuals would actively search for employment opportunities. One has to factor in the issue of willingness as well as determination especially in a time where one can easily search for jobs online without having to leave the comfort of their homes. There are also various jobs that one can perform from their homes and thus if these individuals have not tried to get these kind of employment opportunities it can be established that they would look for the more traditional forms of work had they had an opportunity. The issue of being discouraged by the current economic situation and perhaps their failure in the past can also not be seen as a serious hindrance as this is a factor that can be overcome by willpower and determination. It can thus be correct to come to the conclusion that the real unemployment rate is not as accurate as one would think (Nutting). The issue of long term unemployment is also another subject that should be considered in matters of unemployment in relation to the available job opportunities that currently exist in the market. It has been seen that those who experience longer periods of time without employment have a lesser chance of getting a job as time goes on. This is because many employers tend to favor individuals who have a smaller gap between their status of unemployment and their last job (Coy). Long term

Factors Affecting Presidential Leadership Essay

Factors Affecting Presidential Leadership - Essay Example Presidential leadership can be affected by the personal capacity of the individual for leadership (Patterson 338). This is especially the case where the nation is facing a crisis and it needs the leadership of the president to see it through. The personal leadership capacity of a president often proves to be a decisive factor in the exercise of executive power because it determines whether or not his leadership is a success. The current expectation of presidential leadership in the United State is for the president to be very assertive in his actions because it can be considered to be a show of strength. This was especially the case where after the 9/11 attacks, President George Bush took the decisive action to launch the war on terror and go after al Qaeda by invading Afghanistan (Patterson 342). Therefore, the exercise of presidential power can be considered to rely heavily on the president’s personal leadership as well as how he conducts himself in diverse situations that a rise.National and international conditions have a significant effect on presidential leadership (Patterson 361). This is especially the case considering that the United States has become the most powerful country in the world and that it has to show leadership in order to not only serve its own national interests, but also those of its allies. In times of crises, both national and international, the president of the United States is often expected to display leadership and to chart the way towards finding a solution.

Astronomy - Black Holes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Astronomy - Black Holes - Research Paper Example A black hole is a section in the space-time that traps everything passing across the area because of its exceptionally strong gravity force (Raine, & Thomas, 1). It is significant to note that light is also absorbed by the gravity. It is proven and established that an adequately compact mass is capable of distorting space-time to create a black hole. ‘Event horizon’ is a section around the black hole that is mathematically known as a ‘point of no return’. The absorption of light that passes the region resulted to the name ‘black’ hole since there is total darkness at the region. Astronomers are still making expeditions, and have managed to discover the largest black hole referred to as abyssal a yawn that is believed to be 10 times the size of the solar system. The black hole is believed to have absorbed billions of suns existing in the galaxy (Raine, & Thomas, 1). Black holes are created from heavy stars that have a mass of 20 to 25 times compared to the sun. Their gravity overpowers any force that is holding the stars up, making the cores collapse when the heavy stars ‘die’ (Raine, & Thomas, 1). Next, the star collapses exceptionally that is forced to be contained within its Schwarzschild radius, or event horizon, a region where light is absorbed. It is remarkably tiny, and is believed that a black hole fitting a town is probably having a mass of the sun, and the one fitting on a palm of a person has a mass of the earth. At this point, the materials that are enclosed within the Sachwarzschild radius will continue to fall and collapse indefinitely. The collapsing of the materials will reach a point where laws of physics shatter. Finally, ‘super-massive’ black holes are formed differently from the combination of earlier smaller black holes that were formed at earlier stages of the history (Merloni, Nayakshin & Sunyaev , 18). It is believed that small black holes had grown and sucked in gas from their nearby environment (Merloni, Nayakshin

Geography of the Hoh Rainforest

Geography of the Hoh Rainforest Brian Moody The Hoh Rainforest The Hoh Rainforest is located on the Olympic Peninsula in Northwestern Washington state, USA (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014). It lies on the west side of Olympic National Park, surrounded by the Olympic National Forest (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014). The absolute location is between 47-48 degrees North latitude and 123-124.5 degrees West longitude (Broker, 1994). Temperatures within the Hoh Rainforest range from the 20s (Fahrenheit) up to 80 Fahrenheit (USDA, 2014). The temperature ranges fluctuate by season with nighttime winter temperatures reaching the coldest point into the 20s. Winter daytime temperatures hover in the 40s (USDA, 2014). Spring temperatures range from 35-60 Fahrenheit (USDA, 2014). Summer temperatures range from the low 50s at night to daytime temperatures range between 65-80 degrees Fahrenheit (USDA, 2014). Fall temperatures can fluctuate between 35-65 degrees Fahrenheit (USDA, 2014). As the name suggests, the Hoh Rainforest experiences an extensive amount of precipitation. The precipitation can take the form of rain or snow, with the latter typically occurring significantly only at higher elevations (Marietta College, 2014). The Hoh Rainforest experiences 140-170 inches (12-14 feet) of annual precipitation (National Park Service, 2014). Temperature and precipitation in the Hoh Rainforest are influenced primarily by mountains and the Pacific Ocean (National Park Service, 2011). While not a part of the Olympic National Park, home of the Hoh Rainforest the Cascade Mountains play a major role in temperature regulation within the park (National Park Service, 2011). The Cascade Mountains protect the Hoh Rainforest from masses of cold air brought down by polar jet streams from Canada (National Park Service, 2011). As a result, most of the polar air stays east of the Cascades, resulting in warmer temperatures within the Hoh Rainforest (National Park Service, 2011). The Pacific Ocean is simply the largest temperature moderator of the Hoh Rainforest (National Park Service, 2011). The Pacific Ocean also plays a critical role in precipitation levels experienced in the region as maritime polar air masses are pushed inland by westerly wind patterns (Christopherson, 2010). The Olympic Mountains are another major influence over temperature and precipitation levels in the Hoh Rainforest. The mountain range causes orographic lifting to occur (National Park Service, 2011). As air is pushed inland from the ocean, air pressure decreases, pushing it upward as it approaches the mountains (Christopherson, 2010). Simultaneously, the air increases in elevation and gets colder (Christopherson, 2010). Precipitation then occurs when the atmosphere reaches 100% relative humidity as a result of moisture entering it from the ocean (Christopherson, 2010). Most of this precipitation is experienced on the windward side of the Olympic Mountains (National Park Service, 2011). The Hoh Rainforest has not experienced any extreme weather events, with the exception of flooding which will be addressed in an upcoming section of this paper. It is worth noting, that while the Pacific coast of Washington is susceptible to tsunamis, the Hoh Rainforest is situated far enough inland to be protected from such an extreme weather event. The Hoh Rainforest is classified as a marine west coast climate type (Christopherson, 2010). It is therefore characterized by few temperature extremes and plenty of precipitation in all month of the year (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014). The Hoh Rainforest is made up geologically of sedimentary and extrusive igneous rock (Christopherson, 2010). Sedimentary rocks are formed from the processes of weathering, transportation, and deposition (Christopherson, 2010). Within the Hoh Rainforest, the sedimentary rock make up consists of shale and limestone (Broker, 1994). The outward igneous rock composition is a result of lava seamounts (Broker, 1994). The major tectonic activity experienced in the Hoh Rainforest was plate tectonic activity (Broker, 1994). The land altering processes of faulting and glaciations are responsible for the formation of the peaks and valleys of the Hoh Rainforest (Broker, 1994). Additionally, the creation of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound are results of glacial advances and retreats (Broker, 1994). The topography and prominent features of the Hoh Rainforest and surrounding area consists of valleys, lakes, and mountains. There are 5 major valleys in the Olympic Peninsula region: Soleduck Valley, Bogachiel River Valley, Hoh River Valley, Queets River Valley, and Quinault River Valley (Broker, 1994). There are also 5 lowland lakes made by glacial activity: Lake Ozette, Lake Crescent, Lake Cushman, Lake Wynoochee, and Lake Quinault (Broker, 1994). The Olympic Mountain Range provides a mountainous terrain associated with the surrounding area (Broker, 1994). The major structural controls of the Hoh Rainforest are the mountains within and surrounding the area, primarily the Olympic Mountain Rang. The structural formation of the mountains helps develop a radial drainage pattern (Christopherson, 2010). This pattern occurs when streams flow off a central peak or dome (Christopherson, 2010). As streams within the area flow down the Olympic Mountains, they drain into the Hoh River. The peak discharge ever estimated for the Hoh River is 60,000cfs occurring on October 17, 2003 (US Department of the Interior, 2004). The mean daily flow of the Hoh River is 2,524cfs (US Department of the Interior, 2004). The Hoh rainforest is subjected to flooding by the incumbent Hoh River (NIFC, 2007). While flooding occurred only 1-2 times per decade prior to 1970, the recurrence has elevated to 3 times per year (US Department of the Interior, 2004). The increase in flooding has been blamed primarily on human influence through the introduction of rip rap for bank stabilization; the rip rap while stabilizing the bank also speeds river flow creating higher discharge rates and flood conditions downstream (NIFC, 2007). Other factors contributing to increased flood recurrence include changes in weather patterns and deforestation (US Department of the Interior, 2004). The increase in deforestation for road construction and timber harvesting has not only created impervious surfaces that speed stormwater flow into the Hoh River, but has also decreased canopy cover which helps slow the speed of precipitation reducing the amount of runoff reaching the river system (US Department of the Interior, 2004). The Hoh Rainforest is belongs to the temperate rainforest biome (Marietta College, 2014). The vegetation characteristics of the ecosystem are evergreen and deciduous trees on windward slopes and redwoods (Marietta College, 2014). Indicator plant species of the temperate Hoh Rainforest are mature strands of conifers, including: Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Mountain Hemlock, Western Hemlock, Sitka Spruce, and Lodgepole Pine (Marietta College, 2014). The dominant deciduous tree species is the Big-leaf Maple, while mosses, lichens and epiphytes are also hey indicator species of the biome (Marietta College, 2014). The indicator animal species of the temperate Hoh Rainforest include slugs, birds such as the Clark’s Nutcracker and Blue Grouse, and Roosevelt Elk (Marietta College, 2014). The ecosystem of the Hoh Rainforest is characterized primarily by rain or precipitation and moderate temperatures (National Park Service, 2014). Other key characteristics include: large old trees, dead wood, epiphytes, nurse logs, and Roosevelt Elk (National Park Service, 2014). The temperate rainforest is the fourth most productive ecosystem type; it has a net primary production rate of 600-2500g/sm/yr (Christopherson, 2010). The ecosystem provides an abundance of ecosystem services. The trees of the rainforest filter air by capturing carbon dioxide and other pollutants (National Park Service, 2014). Additionally, the trees help manage stormwater by capturing and slowing precipitation in the canopy and water absorption and filtration by plant roots (National Park Service, 2014). The Hoh Rainforest provides much to animals and humans in the way of habitat and recreation (National Park Service, 2014). There are four distinct habitats in the Olympic National Park and Forest (Broker, 1994). First, there are the marine and estuarine coastal areas (Broker, 1994). Second is the temperate rainforest (Broker, 1994). The third habitat is the alpine meadows and unvegetated glacial peaks (Broker, 1994). Finally, the national park and forest contains the rain shadow forest and field habitat (Broker, 1994). The dominate plant communities within the Hoh Rainforest are large old coniferous trees, including Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Mountain Hemlock, Western Hemlock, Sitka Spruce, and Lodgepole Pine (Broker, 1994). Dominant deciduous trees of the Hoh Rainforest include Big-leaf Maple, Vine Maple, Red Alder, and Black Cottonwood (Broker, 1994). Ferns, mosses, and lichens are also dominant plant types within the ecosystem (Broker, 1994). The dominant animal species within the Hoh Rainforest are fish, such as trout, amphibians, and primary consumers, such as Roosevelt Elk and Black-tailed Deer (Broker, 1994). The Hoh Rainforest follows a food chain and web similar to that of all temperate rainforest. The food chain and web progress beginning with producers like grasses and blackberries (Christopherson, 2010). The primary consumers such as deer and elk consume the producers (Christopherson, 2010). Secondary consumers, such as black bears, tick, or insects then feed off or on the primary consumers (Christopherson, 2010). Meanwhile, tertiary consumers like birds feed on the secondary consumers (Christopherson, 2010). Decomposers, such as soil bacteria and fungi feed on each of the previously mentioned members of the food chain and web, as they breakdown the plant animal remains (Christopherson, 2010). The producers are then fed by the decomposers, starting the chain and web over again (Christopherson, 2010). The Spotted Owl is an example of an animal occupying a niche within the Hoh Rainforest (Broker, 1994). To thrive, the Spotted Owl has very specific habitat requirements consisting of. â€Å"dense, mature strands of trees and a minimum of 3000 acres of contiguous forested land with mature, multi-layered, multi-aged canopy, large snags, deformed branches for perches, and internal defects for nest cavities,† (Broker, 1994). The Hoh Rainforest therefore is the ideal place for this animal population to exist. Many symbiotic relationships exist within the Hoh Rainforest. Such relationships are often illustrated by fungi and plant species. An example occurring in the Hoh Rainforest are the fungi, Conk’s and Turkey Tails feeding off organic matter on trees (Broker, 1994). The Human-Land relationship within the Hoh Rainforest can be both positive and negative. Recreational activities like camping, hiking, birding, and fishing are all examples of the positive relationship between humans and the rainforest (National Park Service, 2014). Conversely, clear-cutting and logging illustrate the negative relationship between man and the Hoh Rainforest (National Park Service, 2014). Such actions are responsible for landslides, the choking of rivers and streams with sediment caused by downed logs, and diminished wildlife habitats (National Park Service, 2014). The ecosystem of the Hoh Rainforest is of stable, high quality. The area is home to many endangered species, such as Spotted Owls, Marbled Mureletts, fishers, salmon, and Bull Trout (Olympic Coast Alliance, 2005). Each of these species depend on the highest quality forest conditions and their presence reflects the stability and quality of the Hoh Rainforest (Olympic Coast Alliance, 2005). The major threat to the Hoh Rainforest ecosystem and the species within is logging (Olympic Coast Alliance, 2005). Many conservation strategies have been implemented in an effort to control logging in the rainforest. The most successful strategy has been to include the Hoh Rainforest in the Olympic National Park, Olympic National Forest, Olympic Experimental Forest, and Quinault Indian Reservation (Olympic Coast Alliance, 2005). Inclusion in these larger systems provides rigid and strict regulation over logging within the Hoh Rainforest. References: Broker, Stephen P. (1994). Climate and Ecology. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Retrieved from http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1994/5/94.05.04.x.html. Christopherson (2010), Elemental Geosystems, 7th Ed. Marietta College, Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences. (2014). Biomes of the World. Retrieved from http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/temprain.htm. Marine West Coast Climate.(2014). InEncyclopà ¦dia Britannica. Retrieved fromhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/365348/marine-west-coast-climate. Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NIFC). (2007). Hoh River Flooding: Needs of Fish and People Must be Balanced. Retrieved from http://nwifc.org/2007/12/hoh-river-flooding-needs-of-fish-and-people-must-be-balanced/. National Park Service. (2014). Olympic National Park Washington. Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/visiting-the-hoh.htm. National Park Service. (2011). Olympic National Park: Weather and Climate Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/upload/weather.pdf. Olympic Coast Alliance (2005). Olympic Coast Rainforest. Retrieved from http://www.olympiccoast.org/rainforest.html. Olympic National Park.(2014). InEncyclopà ¦dia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/428124/Olympic-National-Park United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. (2014). Olympic National Forest. Retrieved from http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/olympic/about-forest/?cid=fsbdev3_049559. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation Technical Service Center (2004). Geomorphic Assessment of Hoh River in Washington State. Retrieved from http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/sma/cma/pdf/Hoh_CMZ.pdf. Radical Botany (2014). Restoring the Connection Between Native Plants and Humans. Retrieved from radicalbotany.com/category/fungi-and-mushrooms/.

Distance Education Essay -- Essays Papers

Distance Education Distance learning is a form of education in which the instructor and student are separated. As advances in technology rapidly progress, the interest in distance education has grown as well and has thus become more common. Technology has given this kind of learning numerous possibilities. There are various forms of distance education used alone or in combination. These technologies provide many opportunities for education, but not with out a few restrictions. There is a wide range of technological options for delivering information to the distance learner. There are many different forms of communication and media to contain course material and to overcome physical distance of the teacher and student. These methods include various types of voice, video, data, and print. Instructional audio tools include audio-conferencing, tapes, and radio. Instruction is delivered through lectures and discussions. Tapes and radio allow the student to listen to lectures one way, whereas audio-conferencing allows students to participate and interact with others. Audio tools allow access to the learner from their choice of location; however, with audio-conferencing there is usually a scheduled time for discussions. Another form of distance education is visual learning. This includes broadcast television and compressed video systems. â€Å"Broadcast television delivers distance education by sending analog or digital audio and video signals by microwave relay over short distances or by satellite over longer distances† (Ludlow and Duff 13). Television broadcasts can be used for one-way video and audio presentations. This can also be used in conjunction with by audio conferencing in which the stude... ...cators and institutions to examine the positives and negatives involved (Ludlow and Duff 10). Works Cited Clark, Tom and David Else. Distance Education, Electronic Networking, and School Policy. Bloomington, Indiana: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. 1998. Cox, Lois. â€Å"A Descriptive Analysis of the Opinions of College Students and Faculty Toward Distance Learning.† Diss. U of Dayton, 1997. Feyten, Carine M. and Joyce W. Nutta. Vitrual Instruction: Issues and Insights from and International Perspective. Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. 1999. Ludlow, Barbara L. and Michael C. Duff. Distance Education and Tomorrow’s Schools. Bloomington, Indiana: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. 1998. Mood, Terry Ann. Distance Education. Englewood, Colorado: 1995. 3 Nov. 2001. http://emedia.netlibrary.com/reader.

A Dirty Job Chapter 16

16 THE CALL OF BOOTY II: REQUIEM FOR A FUCK PUPPET Ray threw the door open so hard that the little bell went flying off its holder and tinkled across the floor. â€Å"Oh, jeez,† Ray said. â€Å"You won't believe it. I can't believe it myself.† Lily looked at Ray over her half-frame reading glasses and set down the French cookbook she'd been looking at. She didn't really need reading glasses, but looking over the top of them conveyed instant condescension and disdain, a look that she felt flattered her. â€Å"I have something I need to tell you, too,† Lily said. â€Å"No,† Ray said, looking around to make sure there were no customers in the store. â€Å"What I have to tell you is really important.† â€Å"Okay,† Lily said. â€Å"Mine's not that important to me. You go first.† â€Å"Okay.† Ray took a deep breath and launched. â€Å"I think Charlie may be a serial killer with ninja powers.† â€Å"Wow, that is good,† Lily said. â€Å"Okay, my turn. A Miss Me-So-Horny called for you. She wanted you to know that she's packing eight inches of luscious man-meat.† Lily held up Ray's cell phone, which he'd left under the register. â€Å"Oh my God, not again!† Ray cradled his head in his hands and fell against the counter. â€Å"She said she was eager to share it with you.† Lily examined her nails. â€Å"So, Asher's a ninja, huh?† Ray looked up. â€Å"Yes, and he's stalking a fuck puppet from my gym.† â€Å"Think you're living a rich enough fantasy life, Ray?† â€Å"Shut up, Lily, this is a disaster. My job and my apartment depend on Charlie, not to mention that he has a kid, and the new light of my life is a guy.† â€Å"No, she's not.† Lily wondered about herself, giving in so early – she didn't enjoy torturing Ray the way she used to. â€Å"Huh? What?† â€Å"I'm just fuckin' with you, Ray. She didn't call. I read all of your e-mail and IMs.† â€Å"That stuff is private.† â€Å"Which is why you have it all here on the store's computer?† â€Å"I spend a lot of time here, with the time difference†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"And speaking of privacy, what's the deal with Asher being a ninja and a serial killer? I mean, both? At the same time?† Ray moved in close, and talked into his collar, as if revealing a huge conspiracy. â€Å"I've been watching him. Charlie's been taking in a lot of stuff from dead people. It's gone on for years. But he's always having to take off on a moment's notice, having me cover his shifts, and he never explains where he's going, except soon after that happens, one of the dead people's things shows up in the shop. So today I followed him, and he was after a woman who goes to my gym, who we might have seen the other day.† Lily stepped back, crossed her arms, and looked disgusted with Ray, which was fairly easy, since she'd had years of practice. â€Å"Ray, did it occur to you that Asher handles estates, and that we've been doing much better business since he started doing more estates – that the quality of the merchandise is much higher? Probably because he gets there early?† â€Å"I know, but that's not it. You're not around as much now, Lily. I was a cop, I notice these things. For one thing, did you know that there was a homicide detective keeping track of Charlie? That's right. Gave me his card, told me to call if anything unusual happened.† â€Å"No, Ray, you didn't.† â€Å"Charlie disappeared, Lily. I was watching him, and he just blinked out of existence, right before my eyes. And last I saw him he was going into the fuck puppet's building.† Lily wanted to grab the stapler off the counter and rapidly drive about a hundred staples into Ray's shiny forehead. â€Å"You ungrateful fucktard! You called the cops on Asher? The guy who has given you a job and a place to live for what, ten years?† â€Å"I didn't call the black-and-whites, just this Inspector Rivera. I know him from when I was on the force. He'll keep it on the down low.† â€Å"Go get your checkbook and your car,† Lily barked. â€Å"We're going to bail him out.† â€Å"He probably hasn't even been processed yet,† Ray said. â€Å"Ray, you pathetic toss-beast. Go. I'll close up the store and wait for you out front.† â€Å"Lily, you can't talk to me that way. I don't have to put up with it.† Because he couldn't turn his head, Ray wasn't able to avoid the first two staples Lily put in his forehead, but by then he had decided it was best to go get his checkbook and his car, and backed away. â€Å"What's a fuck puppet, anyway?† Lily shouted after him, somewhat surprised at the violent intensity of her loyalty to Charlie. The policewoman fingerprinted Charlie nine times before she looked up at Inspector Alphonse Rivera and said, â€Å"This motherfucker got no fingerprints.† Rivera took Charlie's hand and turned it palm up, and looked at his fingers. â€Å"I can see the ridges, right there. He's got completely normal fingerprints.† â€Å"Well, you do it, then,† said the woman. â€Å"‘Cause alls I got on the card is smooth.† â€Å"Fine, then,† Rivera said. â€Å"Come with me.† He led Charlie over to a wall that had a big ruler painted on it and told him to face a camera. â€Å"How's my hair?† Charlie said. â€Å"Don't smile.† Charlie frowned. â€Å"Don't make a face. Just look straight ahead and – your hair is fine, though now you've got ink on your forehead. This is not that hard, Mr. Asher, criminals do this all the time.† â€Å"I'm not a criminal,† Charlie said. â€Å"You broke into a security building and harassed a young woman, that makes you a criminal.† â€Å"I didn't break into anything and I didn't harass anyone.† â€Å"We'll see. Ms. McKerny said you threatened her life. She's definitely going to press charges, and if you ask me, you're both lucky I showed up when I did.† Charlie wondered about that. The fuck puppet had started screaming and backed into her apartment, and he had followed her, trying to explain, trying to figure out how this was going to work, and at the same time paying way too much attention to her breasts. â€Å"I didn't threaten her.† â€Å"You said she was going to die. Today.† Well, they had him there. Charlie had, in all the confusion and screaming, mentioned that he had to get hold of her breasts because she was going to die today. In retrospect, he felt he probably should have kept that information to himself. Rivera led him upstairs and into a small room with a table and two chairs. Just like on TV, Charlie looked for a one-way mirror but was disappointed to see only concrete-block walls painted in easy-clean moss-green enamel. Rivera had him sit, but then went to the door. â€Å"I'm going to leave you here for a few minutes, until Miss McKerny comes down to file charges. It's more hospitable here than the holding cell. You want something to drink?† Charlie shook his head. â€Å"Should I call an attorney?† â€Å"It's up to you, Mr. Asher. That's certainly your right, but I can't advise you one way or another. I'll be back in five. You can make your call then if you'd like.† Rivera left the room and Charlie saw the inspector's partner, a gruff, bald-headed bull of a guy named Cavuto, standing outside the door waiting for him. That guy actually scared Charlie. Not as much as the prospect of having to retrieve Madison McKerny's breast implants, or what would happen if he didn't, but still scary. Cut him loose,† Cavuto said. â€Å"What, cut him loose? I just got him processed, the McKerny woman – â€Å" â€Å"Is dead. Boyfriend shot her, then, when our guys responded to the shots-fired call, did himself.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Boyfriend was married, McKerny wanted more security and was going to tell the wife. He flipped out.† â€Å"You know all that already?† â€Å"Her neighbor told the uniforms as soon as they arrived. Come on, it's our case. We need to roll. Cut this guy loose. Ray Macy and some Goth-chef chick are waiting for him downstairs.† â€Å"Ray Macy is the one who called me, he thought Asher was going to kill her.† â€Å"I know. Right crime, wrong guy. Let's go.† â€Å"We still have him on the concealed-weapon charge.† â€Å"A cane with a sword in it? What, you want to go before a judge and tell him that you arrested this guy on suspicion of being a serial killer but he plea-bargained it down to being a huge fucking nerd?† â€Å"Okay, I'll cut him loose, but I'm telling you, Nick, this guy told McKerny that she was going to die today. There's some weird shit going on here.† â€Å"And we don't have enough weird shit to deal with already?† â€Å"Good point,† Rivera said. Madison McKerny looked beautiful in her beige silk dress, her hair and makeup perfect, as usual, her diamond-stud earrings and a platinum-diamond solitaire necklace complemented the silver handles of her walnut-burl casket. For someone who wasn't breathing, she was breathtaking, especially for Charlie, who was the only one who could see her hooters pulsing red in the casket. Charlie hadn't been to a lot of funerals, but Madison McKerny's seemed nice, and fairly well attended for someone who had been only twenty-six. It turned out that Madison had grown up in Mill Valley, just outside San Francisco, so a lot of people had known her. Evidently, except for her family, most of them had lost touch and seemed somewhat surprised that she had been gunned down by her married boyfriend who had kept her in an expensive apartment in the city. â€Å"Not like you vote ‘most likely' for that in the yearbook,† Charlie said, trying to make conversation with one of her classmates, a guy he'd ended up standing next to at the urinals in the men's room. â€Å"How did you know Madison?† said the guy, a condescending tone in his voice. He looked like he'd been voted â€Å"most likely to piss everyone off by being rich and having nice hair.† â€Å"Oh, me? Friend of the groom,† Charlie said. He zipped up and headed to the sink before hair guy could think of something to say. Charlie was surprised to see a few people at the funeral whom he knew, and each time he walked away from one, he'd run into another. First Inspector Rivera, who lied. â€Å"Had to come. It's our case. I've gotten to know the family a little.† Then Ray, who lied. â€Å"She went to my gym. I just thought I should pay my respects.† Then Rivera's partner, Cavuto, who didn't lie. â€Å"I still think you're kinky, and that goes for your ex-cop friend, too.† And Lily, who was also honest. â€Å"I wanted to see a dead fuck puppet.† â€Å"Who's running the store?† Charlie asked. â€Å"Closed. Death in the family. You know Ray called the cops on you, right?† They hadn't had a chance to talk since Charlie had been released. â€Å"I should've figured,† Charlie said. â€Å"He said he saw you go into the dead chick's building and just disappear. He thinks you have ninja powers. That part of the thing?† She bounced her eyebrows – a Groucho Marx conspiracy bounce – made less effective by the fact that her eyebrows were pencil thin and drawn on in magenta. â€Å"Yeah, it's kind of part of the thing. Ray doesn't suspect about the thing, does he?† â€Å"No, I covered for you. But he still thinks you might be a serial killer.† â€Å"I thought he might be a serial killer.† Lily shuddered. â€Å"God, you guys need to get laid.† â€Å"True, but right now I'm here to do a thing regarding the thing.† â€Å"You still haven't gotten her thing thing?† â€Å"I can't even figure out how to get it. Her thing is still in the thing.† He nodded to the casket. â€Å"You're fucked,† Lily said. â€Å"We have to go sit now,† Charlie said. He led her into the chapel, where the service was beginning. Behind him Nick Cavuto, who had been standing three feet away with his back to Charlie, made a beeline for his partner and said, â€Å"Can we just shoot Asher and find cause later? I'm sure the fucker's done something to deserve it.† Charlie didn't know what he was going to do, how he was going to retrieve the soul implants, but he really thought something would occur to him. Some supernatural ability would manifest itself at the last minute. He thought that all through the ceremony. He thought that when they closed the casket, during the funeral procession to the cemetery, and all through the graveside ceremony. He began to lose hope as the mourners dispersed and the casket was lowered, and by the time the ground crew started throwing dirt down the hole with a backhoe, he'd pretty much given up on having an idea. There was grave robbing, but that really wasn't an idea, was it? And even with his years of experience in the death-dealing business, Charlie didn't think he was up for breaking into a cemetery, spending all night digging up a casket, then cutting the implants out of a dead woman's body. It wasn't the same as swiping a vase off the mantel. Why couldn't Madison McKerny's soul be in a vase on the mantel? â€Å"Didn't get the thing, then,† said a voice beside him. Charlie turned to see Inspector Rivera standing not a foot away. He hadn't even seen him since they'd left the funeral home. â€Å"What thing?† â€Å"Yeah, what thing?† Rivera said. â€Å"They didn't bury her with those diamonds you saw, you know that, right?† â€Å"That would have been a shame,† Charlie said. â€Å"Sisters got them,† Rivera said. â€Å"You know, Charlie, most people don't stay to watch them actually cover the box.† â€Å"Really?† Charlie said. â€Å"I was just curious. See if they used shovels or what. How about you?† â€Å"Me? I'm watching you. You ever get over that thing with the storm sewers?† â€Å"Oh, that? I just needed a little adjustment in my medication.† It was an expression that Charlie had picked up from Jane. She wasn't actually on medication, but the excuse seemed to work for her. â€Å"Well, you keep an eye on that, Charlie. And I'll keep an eye on you. Adios.† Rivera walked off. â€Å"Adios, Inspector,† Charlie said. â€Å"Hey, by the way, nice suit.† â€Å"Thanks, I bought it from your store,† Rivera said without turning around. When was he in my store? Charlie thought. For the next couple of weeks Charlie felt as if someone had dialed his nervous system up past the recommended voltage and he was nearly vibrating with anxiety. He thought that perhaps he should call Minty Fresh, warn him of his failure to retrieve Madison McKerney's soul vessel, but if the sewer harpies weren't rising because of that, maybe the contact with another Death Merchant would put them over the top. Instead he kept Sophie home and made sure that she was never out of sight of the hellhounds. In fact, he kept the hellhounds locked in her room most of the time; otherwise they kept dragging him to his day planner, which had no new names. Only the overdue Madison McKerny and the two women – Esther Johnson and Irena Posokovanovich – who had appeared on the same day, but still had some time left before expiration – or whatever you called it. So he started his walks again, listening as he passed storm drains and manhole covers, but the darkness didn't appear to be rising. Charlie felt naked walking the street without his sword-cane, which Rivera had kept, so he set out to replace it, and in the process found two more Death Merchants in the city. He found the first at a used-book store in the Mission, Book 'em Danno. Well, it wasn't really a bookstore anymore – it still had a couple of tall cases of books, but the rest of the store was a bricolage of bric-a-brac, from plumbing fittings to football helmets. Charlie understood completely how it happened. You started with a bookstore, then you made a single innocent trade, a set of bookends for a first edition maybe, then another, you picked up a grab-all box at a yard sale to get one item – pretty soon you had a whole section of unmatched crutches and obsolete radio tubes, and couldn't for the life of you remember how you'd acquired a bear trap, yet there it was, next to the lime-green tutu and the Armadrillo penis pump: secondhand out of hand. In the back of the store, by the counter, stoo d a bookcase in which every volume was pulsing with a dull red light. Charlie tripped over a spittoon and caught himself on an elk-antler coatrack. â€Å"You okay?† asked the proprietor, looking up from the book he was reading. He was maybe sixty, skin spotted from too much sun, but he hadn't seen any in a while and he'd gone pasty. He had long, thinning gray hair and wore oversized bifocals that gave him the look of an educated turtle. â€Å"No, I'm fine,† Charlie said, ripping his gaze off the soul-vessel books. â€Å"I know it's a little cluttered in here,† the turtle guy said. â€Å"I've been meaning to clear it out, but then, I've been meaning to clear it out for thirty years and I haven't managed it yet.† â€Å"It's okay, I like your store,† Charlie said. â€Å"Great selection.† The owner looked at Charlie's expensive suit and shoes and squinted. It was clear he recognized the worth of the clothes and was qualifying Charlie as a rich collector or antiques hunter. â€Å"You looking for anything special?† he asked. â€Å"Sword-cane,† Charlie said. â€Å"Doesn't have to be antique.† He wanted to buy this guy a coffee and share stories of snatching soul objects, of confronting the Underworlders, of being a Death Merchant. This guy was a kindred spirit, and from the size of his collection of soul objects, all of them books, he'd been doing this longer than Minty Fresh. Turtle guy shook his head. â€Å"Haven't seen one for years. If you want to give me a card, I'll put out feelers for you.† â€Å"Thanks,† Charlie said. â€Å"I'll keep looking. That's part of the fun.† He started backing down the aisle, but he couldn't leave without saying something else, getting some kind of information. â€Å"Hey, how is it, doing business in this neighborhood?† â€Å"Better now than it used to be,† said the guy. â€Å"The gangs have settled down some, this part of the Mission has turned into the edgy, artsy-fartsy neighborhood. That's been good for business. You from the City?† â€Å"Born and raised,† Charlie said. â€Å"Just haven't been to this neighborhood much. You haven't had any weird stuff on the street last couple of weeks, then?† The turtle guy looked fully at Charlie now, even took off his giant glasses. â€Å"Except for the thumper sound systems going by, quiet as a mouse. What's your name?† â€Å"Charlie. Charlie Asher. I live over in the North Beach – Chinatown area.† â€Å"I'm Anton, Charlie. Anton Dubois. Nice meeting you.† â€Å"Okay,† Charlie said. â€Å"I have to go now.† â€Å"Charlie. There's a pawnshop off Fillmore Street. Fulton and Fillmore, I think. The owner carries a lot of edged weapons. She might have your cane.† â€Å"Thanks,† Charlie said. â€Å"You watch yourself, Anton. Okay?† â€Å"Always do,† said Anton Dubois, and he looked back to his book. Charlie left the store feeling even more anxious, but not quite as alone as he had five minutes before. The next day, he found a new sword-cane at the pawnshop in the Fillmore, and he also found a case of cutlery and kitchen utensils that pulsated with red light. The owner was younger than Anton Dubois, late thirties maybe, and wore a.38 revolver in a shoulder holster, which shocked Charlie less than the fact that she was a woman. He'd envisioned all the Death Merchants as being men, but of course there was no reason to think that. She wore jeans and a plain chambray shirt, but was dripping with mismatched jewelry that Charlie guessed was a self-indulgence she justified for being â€Å"in the business† the same way he justified his expensive suits. She was pretty in a lady-cop sort of way, with a nice smile, and Charlie found himself wondering if he should maybe ask her out, then heard an audible pop in his head as that bubble of self-destructive stupidity exploded. Sure, dinn er and a movie, and release the Forces of Darkness on the world. Great first date. Everyone was right, he really needed to get laid. He bought the sword-cane for cash, without quibbling, and left the store without engaging the owner in conversation, but he took a business card from the holder on the counter as he left. Her name was Carrie Lang. It was all he could do to not warn her, tell her to be careful of what might be coming from below, but he realized that every second he was there, he was probably increasing the danger to all of them. Watch yourself, Carrie, he whispered to himself as he walked away. That evening he decided to take action to ease some of the tension in his life. Or at least it was decided for him when Jane and her girlfriend Cassandra showed up at the apartment and offered to watch Sophie. â€Å"Go, find a woman,† Jane said. â€Å"I got the kid.† â€Å"It doesn't work that way,† Charlie said. â€Å"I was gone all day, I haven't spent any quality time with my daughter.† Jane and Cassandra – an athletic, attractive redhead in her midthirties, who Charlie promised himself he would have asked out if she hadn't been living with his sister – pushed him out the door, slammed it in his face, and locked it. â€Å"Don't come home until you've gotten some,† Jane shouted over the transom. â€Å"Does that work for you?† Charlie shouted back. â€Å"Just go find someone to do you, like a scavenger hunt?† â€Å"Here's five hundred dollars. Five hundred dollars works for anyone.† A wad of bills came flying over the transom, followed by his cane, a sport coat, and his wallet. â€Å"This is my money, isn't it?† Charlie shouted. â€Å"It's you that needs to get laid,† Jane shouted back. â€Å"Go. Don't come back until you've done the dance of the beast with two backs.† â€Å"I could just lie.† â€Å"No, you can't,† Cassie said. She had a sweet voice, like you'd want her to tell you a bedtime story. â€Å"The desperation will still show in your eyes. And I mean that in a nice way, Charlie.† â€Å"Sure, how else could I take it?† â€Å"Bye, Daddy,† Sophie said from the other side of the door. â€Å"Have fun.† â€Å"Jane!† â€Å"Relax, she just came in. Go.† So Charlie, thrown out of his own home, by his own sister, said good-bye to the daughter he adored and went out to find a total stranger with whom to be intimate. Just a massage,† Charlie said. â€Å"Okay,† said the girl as she arranged oils and lotions on a shelf. She was Asian, but Charlie couldn't tell from where in Asia, maybe Thailand. She was petite and had black hair that hung down past her waist. She wore a red silk kimono with a chrysanthemum design. She never looked him in the eye. â€Å"Really, I'm just tense. I don't want anything but a completely ethical and hygienic massage, just like it says on the sign.† Charlie stood at the end of a narrow cubicle, fully dressed, with a massage table on one side of him and the masseuse and her shelf of oils on the other. â€Å"Okay,† said the girl. Charlie just looked at her, unsure of what to do next. â€Å"Clothes off,† said the girl. She placed a clean white towel on the massage table near Charlie, nodded to it, then turned her back. â€Å"Okay?† â€Å"Okay,† Charlie said, feeling now that he was here, he needed to go through with it. He'd paid the woman at the door fifty dollars for the massage, after which she made him sign a release that stated that all he was getting was a massage, that tipping was encouraged, but did not imply any services beyond a massage, and that if he thought that he was getting anything but a massage he was going to be one disappointed White Devil. She made him initial each of the six languages it was printed in, then she winked, a long slow wink, exaggerated by very long false eyelashes, and performed the internationally accepted blow-job mime, with round mouth and rhythmic tongue pushing out the cheek. â€Å"Lotus Flower make you bery relax, Mr. Macy.† Charlie had signed Ray's name, not so much as a small revenge for calling the cops on him, but because he thought the management might recognize Ray's name and give him a discount. He kept his boxers on and climbed on the table, but Lotus Flower slipped them off him as deftly as a magician pulling a scarf from his sleeve. She draped a towel over his bottom and dropped her kimono. Charlie saw it fall and glanced back to see a tiny, seminaked woman rubbing oil on her palms to warm it. He looked away and slammed his forehead into the table several times even as he felt his erection struggling for freedom beneath him. â€Å"My sister made me come here,† he said. â€Å"I didn't want to come.† â€Å"Okay,† she said. She rubbed the oil into his shoulders. It smelled of almonds and sandalwood. There must have been menthol or lavender or something in it, because he felt it tingle on his skin. Every place she touched hurt. Like he'd dug a ditch to Ecuador the day before, or pulled a barge across the Bay with a rope. It was like she had special sensory powers, she could find the exact spot where he carried his pain, then touch it, release it. He moaned, just a little. â€Å"Bery tense,† she said, working her fingers up his spine. â€Å"I haven't slept well in two weeks,† he said. â€Å"That nice.† She reached across to work his rib cage and he felt her small breasts press against his back. He stopped breathing for a second and she giggled. â€Å"Bery tense,† she said. â€Å"I had this thing happen at work. Well, not at work, but I'm afraid I did something that could put everyone I know in danger, and I can't make myself do what needs to be done to fix it. People could die.† â€Å"That nice,† said Lotus Flower, kneading his biceps. â€Å"You don't speak English, do you?† â€Å"Oh. Little. No worries. You want happy ending?† Charlie smiled. â€Å"Can you just keep rubbing?† â€Å"No happy ending? Okay. Twenty dollar, fifteen minute.† So Charlie paid her, and talked to her, and she rubbed his back, and he paid her again, and he told her all the things that he couldn't share with other people: all the worries, all the fears, all the regrets. He told her of how he missed Rachel, yet how sometimes he would forget what she looked like and would run to the dresser in the middle of the night to look at her photo. He paid her for two hours in advance and dozed off, feeling her hands on his skin, and he dreamed of Rachel and sex, and when he woke up Lotus Flower was massaging his temples and tears were running into his ears. He told her it was the menthol in the oil, but it was the lonely coming up in him, like the pain in his back that he hadn't known he'd had until it was touched. She massaged his chest, reaching over his head and letting her breasts rub against his face as she worked, and when he rose again under the towel, she asked, â€Å"You want happy ending now?† â€Å"Nah,† he said. â€Å"Happy endings are so Hollywood.† Then he caught her wrists, sat up, kissed the back of her hands, and thanked her. He tipped her a hundred dollars. She smiled, put on her kimono, and left the cubicle. Charlie dressed and left the Happy Relax Good Time Oriental Massage Parlor, which he had walked by a thousand times during his life, always wondering what was behind the red door with brown paper taped over the window. Now he knew: the pathetic puddle of lonely frustration that was Charlie Asher, for whom there would be no happy ending. He made his way up to Broadway and headed up the hill into North Beach. He was only a few blocks from home when he sensed someone behind him. He turned, but all he saw was a guy a couple of blocks back buying a newspaper from a machine. He walked another half block and could see the activity on the street up ahead: tourists out walking, waiting for tables in Italian restaurants, barkers trying to lure tourists into strip clubs, sailors barhopping, hipsters smoking outside of City Lights bookstore, looking cool and literary before the next poetry slam, which would go off in a bar across the street. â€Å"Hey, soldier,† a voice at his side. A woman's voice, soft and sexy. Charlie turned and looked down the alley he was passing. He could see a woman in the shadows, leaning against the wall. She was wearing an iridescent body stocking or something and a mercury light at the other end of the alley was drawing a silver outline of her figure. The hair rose on his neck, but he felt something twinge in his loins as well. This was his neighborhood, and the hookers had been calling to him since he was twelve, but this was the first time he'd ever stopped and paid more attention than a wave and a smile. â€Å"Hey,† Charlie said. He felt dizzy – drunk or stoned – maybe all the toxins had broken loose from the long massage, but he had to lean on his cane to steady himself. She stepped away from the wall and the light silhouetted her, highlighting outlandish curves. Charlie realized he was grinding his teeth and his right kneecap began to bounce. This was not the street-worn body of a junkie – a dancer maybe, a goddess. â€Å"Sometimes,† she said, hissing the last s, â€Å"a rough fuck down a dark alley is the best medicine for a weary warrior.† Charlie looked around: the party a block ahead, the guy reading his newspaper under the streetlamp two blocks back. No one down the alley waiting to ambush him. â€Å"How much?† he asked. He couldn't even remember what sex felt like, but all he could think about right now was release – a rough fuck down a dark alley with this†¦this goddess. He couldn't see her face, just the line of a cheekbone, but that was exquisite. â€Å"The pleasure of your company,† she said. â€Å"Why me?† Charlie said, he couldn't help himself – it was his Beta nature. â€Å"Come find out,† she said. She cupped her breasts, fell back against the wall, and propped one heel up on the bricks. â€Å"Come.† He walked into the alley and leaned the cane on the wall, then took her uplifted knee in one hand, a breast in the other, and pulled her against him for a kiss. She felt like she was wearing velvet, her mouth was warm and tasted base, gamy, like venison or liver. He didn't even feel her undo his jeans, just a strong hand on his erection. â€Å"Ah, strong meat,† she hissed. â€Å"Thanks, I've been going to the gym.† She bit his neck, hard, and he squeezed her breast and thrust against her hand. She threw her uplifted leg around his back and pulled him hard against her. He felt something sharp, painful digging into his scrotum and he tried to pull away. She pulled him tighter with her leg. She was incredibly strong. â€Å"New Meat,† she said. â€Å"Don't fight me or I'll tear them off.† Charlie felt the claw on his balls and the breath caught in his throat. Her face was an inch from his now, and he looked for her eyes, but could see only an obsidian blackness reflecting the highlights from the streetlight. She held her free hand in front of his face and he watched as claws began to grow out of her fingertips, reflecting the streetlight like brushed chrome, until they were three inches long. She poised them over his eyes and he reached for his sword-cane against the wall. She knocked it away, and the claws were at his face again. â€Å"Oh no, Meat. Not this time.† She hooked a claw into his nostril. â€Å"Shall I drive it into your brain? That would be quickest, but I don't want quick. I've waited so long for this.† She released the pressure on his balls, and to his horror, he realized that he was still hard. She started rubbing his erection, pushing the claw deeper into his nose to hold him steady. â€Å"I know, I know – when you come, I'll put it in your ear and yank. I've taken off a half a man's head that way. You'll like it. You're lucky, if Nemain had been sent you'd be dead already.† â€Å"Bitch,† Charlie managed to say. She was stroking him harder and he was cursing his body for betraying him this way. He tried to pull away and her leg wrapped behind him crushed the breath out of him. â€Å"No, you come, then I'll kill you.† She pulled the claw from his nose and put it next to his ear. â€Å"Don't make me leave unsatisfied, Meat,† she said, but in that instant her claw caught the side of his scalp and he hit her as hard as he could in the ribs with both of his fists. â€Å"You fuckface!† she shrieked. She let her leg fall; yanked him aside by his penis, and reared back for a full slash of her claws to his head. Charlie tried to raise his forearm to take the blow, but then there was an explosion and a piece of her shoulder splattered on the wall, spinning her around. Charlie felt her release his penis, and he threw himself across the alley. She rebounded off the wall with both claws aimed at his face. There was another explosion and she was knocked back again. This time she came up facing the street, and before she could brace to leap, two more shots hit her in the chest and she screeched, the sound like a thousand angry ravens set afire. Five more quick shots and she was danced backward by the impacts; even as she went she was changing, her arms getting wider, her shoulders smoothing. Two more shots, and the next screech wasn't even remotely human, but that of a huge raven. She rose into the night sky trailing feathers and spattering a liquid that might have been blood, except that it was black. Charlie climbed to his feet and staggered out of the alley to where Inspector Alphonse Rivera was still in shooting stance, holding a 9 mm Beretta aimed at the dark sky. â€Å"Do I even want to know what the fuck that was?† Rivera said. â€Å"Probably not,† Charlie said. â€Å"Tie your coat around your waist,† said the cop. Charlie looked down and saw that the front of his jeans had been shredded as if by razors. â€Å"Thanks,† Charlie said. â€Å"You know,† Rivera said, â€Å"this could have all been avoided if you'd just taken the happy ending like everybody else.†