Friday, September 6, 2019
State Beer Industry Essay Example for Free
State Beer Industry Essay 1) The United States brewing companies has become more concentrated over the last two decades due to declining beer consumption from direct substitutes such as wine or spirits, also increased advertising has proven a disadvantage for smaller breweries, and also technology of canning and distributing of beer has increased advertising expenditures and most smaller breweries cannot manage to reap economies of scale. 2) A) Risk of entry for the US beer industry includes factors like high entry costs, high advertising costs, brand loyalty, established companies having an absolute cost advantage, and the switching costs of customers. B) Intensity of rivalry between larger companies like Anhesuser-Busch, SAB-Miller, and Molson Coors makes it hard for upcoming breweries to compete on the same level. Also shrinking industry demand at this time can cause failure for new companies looking to get into the industry. ’ C) the bargaining power of buyers in the U. S. beer industry could be a threat as it will lower prices and raise costs D) The bargaining power of suppliers could raise costs causing lower profits for those in the industry E) Close substitutes such as wine and spirits. 3) Implications of evolving competitive structure for profitability and strategy for a smaller mass market firm means that the smaller firms will have to become more competitive in price or follow the most dominant firms in the industry. 4) Yes there are different strategic groups in the industry some of these include marketing, research and development (technology), manufacturing and supply chain. I’m sure the nature of competition varies slightly between groups but they all want the same thing in the end to beat out their competitors.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Death of a parent: Effects on children
Death of a parent: Effects on children Death of a parent: effects on children Thesis: Apparently, the death of a parent can be a dramatic experience for all members of the family, particularly for children, and can often have both short-term and extensive effects on the children. Even if the effects of parents death are heartbreaking, to live healthy and balanced life, members of this type of family must cope the reality and go on with their lives, leaving the fear and emptiness behind. Audience: Doctor Costa Purpose: To show how difficult is for children to cope with the death of a parent. When we think of a family, we most often visualize that family must have children and two parents. Nowadays, this is often not an example in many families throughout the world; single parent families are increasing dramatically. No matter how hard single parent try, he/she cannot replace the natural demand of a child for both of parents. There are several causes of the rise of single parenting across the globe. This essay will concentrate on the death of a parent. Apparently, the death of a parent can be a dramatic experience for all members of the family, particularly for children, and can often have both extensive and short-term effects on the children. Even if the effects of parents death are heartbreaking, to live healthy and balanced life, members of this type of family must cope the reality and go on with their lives, leaving the fear and emptiness behind. If family lost one of the parents, this affected perhaps children in a same level (or much more) as a mother/father that been left behind. One of the most common short-term effects on the children is the fear. This fear could â€Å"drag†children to melancholy and lose of self-esteem. Children are incapable and completely helpless of surviving alone, as a result, they might have great fear of insecurity. Consequently, children might practice a devastating fear of the unfamiliar, fear of not acknowledging what the future might hold, and where they might live, and fear of being left alone in the world. As an example, after my uncles death, we could see the fear in the eyes of my all five young cousins. We could indeed â€Å"see†how their souls were broken; one could read the sorrow in their eyes. It took some period for my aunt to cope with tragedy and give hope for her children with the aid of other family members and the district society. It can be dense for a widower parent to build acceptance of this event and assist the child in having a pleasant and balanced life. The second, extensive effect is the feeling and living with emptiness. As life goes along, perhaps a widower parent and his/her children leave the fear behind and (deep in their heart) never let go of pain and sorrow. This tragedy could create a great impact of emptiness in children, which might leave a â€Å"gap†in their spirit forever. I assume that the emotional part of the childrens world is entirely divided apart with this emptiness. This feeling can take away the happiness of childhood and worse of all; emptiness could create emotional isolation within the childrens personality. Their pain and sorrow might forever engrave in a hidden place of their remembrance. Children carry on searching for the lost parent for an extended period, even until they became parents themselves. Perhaps one method of filling this emptiness can be the creation of fresh happy memories. Finally, in families where a parent died, it difficult to accept the circumstance that nothing is going to be the same; however, children in these families are in great deal of challenge. I believe, after sometime children might fight the fear by coping with reality and willing to commence a fresh beginning with the support of a parent, friend, or society. Moreover, it is not easy to fill the emptiness of their hearts and souls until the day of new happiness. To sum up, letting go of the fear, emptiness, pain and sorrow could allow children to look forward to happiness, understand, and accept the reality. Only then, joy can enter to their memories and guide them to start a new beginning.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Criminal Evidence Essays -- essays research papers
Evidence is the key element in determining the guilt or innocence of those accused of crimes against society in a criminal court of law. Evidence can come in the form of weapons, documents, pictures, tape recordings and DNA. According to the American Heritage College dictionary, evidence is the documentary or oral statements and the material objects admissible as testimony in a court of law (476). It is shown in court as an item of proof, to impeach or rehabilitate a witness, and to determine a sentence. This paper will examine two murder cases, O.J. Simpson and Daniel Taylor. Perhaps the most famous case in the 20th century was the O. J. Simpson double murder trial. On June 12, 1994, two people were brutally killed. Those two people were Nicole Brown Simpson, O.J. Simpson's ex-wife, and Ronald Goldman. O.J. was arrested the next day and charged with their murder. O.J. pleaded innocent to murder and went to trial in criminal court. There was a load of evidences at the residence of Nicole’s to charge him with two counts of first degree murder and it seemed almost impossible for O.J. to be found innocent. There were loads of evidences found at the scene and O.J.’s home. The bodies of both Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman, blood of the victims, shoe prints and other evidences. But, one of the main evidence was the questionable bloody glove found behind the guesthouse, which was proven by DNA testing to have O.J.'s, Nicole's and Ron's blood and hair on it. Fibers were also found on the glove that came from O.J.'s shirt and his Bronco (CNN). In addition, a bloody footprint which matched O.J.'s shoes, blood on O.J.'s Bronco door, on the console, on the interior side of the door, a bloody footprint in the Bronco, bloody socks in O.J.'s house, O.J.'s injured finger, blood found at Nicole's condo that matched O.J.'s, and so on (CNN). But, the defense claimed that the evidence had been planted. Eyewitnesses are also an important piece of evidence. Allen Wattenberg, a knife storeowner, testified during the preliminary hearing that O.J. bought a 14-inch Stiletto knife from his store. O.J.'s limo driver arrived to drive O.J. to the airport and saw a black man, with the same build as O.J. sprinting across the lawn towards O.J.'s house. When O.J. answered the door, he said he'd been napping (CNN). Simpson's houseguest stated that he saw Simpson pulled up in the white bro... ...ture on the bond slip appeared to be Taylor’s signature. Unlike O.J. there was no DNA linking him to the crime scene or the bodies. Again, all the evidences pointed favorably toward Daniel Taylor and despite the evidences presented, the jury found Taylor guilty of murder. In closing arguments, Needhand and Bishcoff sought to discredit the officers who had testified for Taylor, accusing them of covering up sloppy record keeping for fear they would be blamed for letting Taylor leave jail early to commit murders (Chicago tribune). In addition, the prosecutor used Daniel’s confession on tape to convict him. â€Å"Paperwork is not foolproof,†Bishcoff, the prosecutor, said. But I’ll tell you what is foolproof. And what is foolproof are the defendant’s own words†(Chicago tribune). REFERENCE â€Å"DNA Fingerprinting†(1997) Encarta Encylopaedia 1997 â€Å"Blood truths, Why the Police Want to Tag Your Body†Helen O’Neill, The Australian 6.12.1997 â€Å"Flaws in New DNA Database†Simon Kearny, The Sydney Telegraph 22.04.2001 â€Å"Jail For Rapist Caught by DNA†Noula Tsavdaridis, The Advertiser 21.10.2000 The American Heritage College Dictionary, 3rd edition, 1997, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston MA, 476. Criminal Evidence Essays -- essays research papers Evidence is the key element in determining the guilt or innocence of those accused of crimes against society in a criminal court of law. Evidence can come in the form of weapons, documents, pictures, tape recordings and DNA. According to the American Heritage College dictionary, evidence is the documentary or oral statements and the material objects admissible as testimony in a court of law (476). It is shown in court as an item of proof, to impeach or rehabilitate a witness, and to determine a sentence. This paper will examine two murder cases, O.J. Simpson and Daniel Taylor. Perhaps the most famous case in the 20th century was the O. J. Simpson double murder trial. On June 12, 1994, two people were brutally killed. Those two people were Nicole Brown Simpson, O.J. Simpson's ex-wife, and Ronald Goldman. O.J. was arrested the next day and charged with their murder. O.J. pleaded innocent to murder and went to trial in criminal court. There was a load of evidences at the residence of Nicole’s to charge him with two counts of first degree murder and it seemed almost impossible for O.J. to be found innocent. There were loads of evidences found at the scene and O.J.’s home. The bodies of both Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman, blood of the victims, shoe prints and other evidences. But, one of the main evidence was the questionable bloody glove found behind the guesthouse, which was proven by DNA testing to have O.J.'s, Nicole's and Ron's blood and hair on it. Fibers were also found on the glove that came from O.J.'s shirt and his Bronco (CNN). In addition, a bloody footprint which matched O.J.'s shoes, blood on O.J.'s Bronco door, on the console, on the interior side of the door, a bloody footprint in the Bronco, bloody socks in O.J.'s house, O.J.'s injured finger, blood found at Nicole's condo that matched O.J.'s, and so on (CNN). But, the defense claimed that the evidence had been planted. Eyewitnesses are also an important piece of evidence. Allen Wattenberg, a knife storeowner, testified during the preliminary hearing that O.J. bought a 14-inch Stiletto knife from his store. O.J.'s limo driver arrived to drive O.J. to the airport and saw a black man, with the same build as O.J. sprinting across the lawn towards O.J.'s house. When O.J. answered the door, he said he'd been napping (CNN). Simpson's houseguest stated that he saw Simpson pulled up in the white bro... ...ture on the bond slip appeared to be Taylor’s signature. Unlike O.J. there was no DNA linking him to the crime scene or the bodies. Again, all the evidences pointed favorably toward Daniel Taylor and despite the evidences presented, the jury found Taylor guilty of murder. In closing arguments, Needhand and Bishcoff sought to discredit the officers who had testified for Taylor, accusing them of covering up sloppy record keeping for fear they would be blamed for letting Taylor leave jail early to commit murders (Chicago tribune). In addition, the prosecutor used Daniel’s confession on tape to convict him. â€Å"Paperwork is not foolproof,†Bishcoff, the prosecutor, said. But I’ll tell you what is foolproof. And what is foolproof are the defendant’s own words†(Chicago tribune). REFERENCE â€Å"DNA Fingerprinting†(1997) Encarta Encylopaedia 1997 â€Å"Blood truths, Why the Police Want to Tag Your Body†Helen O’Neill, The Australian 6.12.1997 â€Å"Flaws in New DNA Database†Simon Kearny, The Sydney Telegraph 22.04.2001 â€Å"Jail For Rapist Caught by DNA†Noula Tsavdaridis, The Advertiser 21.10.2000 The American Heritage College Dictionary, 3rd edition, 1997, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston MA, 476.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
The Significance of Sound in Film Essay -- Cinematography Sound Analys
Movies ultimately engage two of the main senses, vision and hearing. Director Steven Spielberg once said, â€Å"The eye sees better when the sound is great.†Sound is just as imperative as an element as every additional component of film form. As stated in the textbook on page 41 â€Å"Any attentive filmgoer is aware of the enormous power music holds in shaping the film experience, manipulating emotions and point of view, and guiding perceptions of characters, moods, and narrative events†(Gorbman). The sound, in the majority of narrative films is the element that provides distinctive cues that assist the spectators from expectations with reference to significance; and in numerous occasions, sound essentially helps to shape the audiences analyses and interpretations regarding the film. For this final paper, I want to discuss the importance of sound in three of the films viewed this semester. These three films are: Bonnie and Clyde the 1967 film by Arthur Penn, The re Will Be Blood the 2007 film by Paul Thomas Anderson and Bamboozled the 2000 film by Spike Lee. With omission of the chase scenes, there was virtually no music heard in the film Bonnie and Clyde. There wasn’t an accompanying piano, orchestra or string quartet reminiscent of most other films. However, there is the hillbilly banjo music that is played merely throughout these chase scenes in the film. If there were not any music playing throughout these scenes, I think that spectators would construe the chase scenes as being nerve-racking and perilous getaways. But, the Barrow Gang as they called themselves, were an entertaining company that thought everything they were doing was comical. Another scene in Bonnie and Clyde that I found that vastly utilized sound was th... ...pleasant to watch, that is if it is done correctly. I always have found that sound and music help to move films along faster and smoother. Works Cited Barsam, Richard and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies: An Introduction To Film. Third Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Ltd., 2010. Bradshaw, Peter. There Will Be Blood. 8 February 2008. 7 December 2010 . Gorbman, Claudia. "Film Music." Gibson, John Hill and Pamela Church. Film Studies critical approaches. Oxford: Oxford University Press Inc., 2000. 41-48. Stevens, Dana. There Will Be Blood Paul: Thomas Anderson's deranged masterpiece. 24 December 2007. 7 December 2010 . Venicelion. Bamboozled (US 2000). 31 October 2008. 6 December 2010 .
Monday, September 2, 2019
Vocabulary :: essays research papers
Vocabulary: 1.     Amendment: Written change in the Constitution. 2.     Balanced Budget: Budget in which income equals expenses. 3.     Birthrate: Number of births per 1,000 persons during one year. 4.     Block Grant: Federal funds given to state and local governments for broad purposes. 5.     Brown v. Board of Education: Concerned eight-year-old Linda Brown, a black girl living in Topeka, Kansas. The school only five blocks from Linda’s home was for whites only. 6.     City: Largest type of municipality. 7.     Commander-In-Chief: Role of the President as head of the armed forces. 8.     Concurring Opinion: Statement written by a Supreme Court Justice who agrees with the majority but for different reasons. 9.     Counties: Subdivision of state government formed to carry out state laws, collect taxes, and supervise elections. 10.     Debt Limit: Limit on the amount of money a government may borrow. 11.     Delegated Powers: Power given to the federal government by the Constitution. 12.     Dissenting Opinion: Statement written by a Supreme Court Justice who disagrees with the majority decision. 13.     Double Jeopardy: Being tried a second time for the same crime. 14.     Draft: Policy requiring men to serve in the military. 15.     Due Process: Right of all people to a fair trial. 16.     Electoral College: Group of people who cast the official votes that elect the President and Vice President. 17.     Filibuster: Method of delaying action in the Senate by making long speeches. 18.     General Election: Election in which the voters elect our leaders. 19.     Glittering Generalities: Method uses words that sound good but have little real meaning. 20.     Home Rule: Power of a city to write its own municipal charter and to manage its own affairs. 21.     Immigrant: Person who comes to a nation to settle as a permanent resident. 22.     Implied Power: Authority not specifically granted to Congress by the Constitution but which is suggested to be necessary to carry out the specific powers. 23.     Interest: Payment made for the use of loaned money. 24.     Interest Group: Organization of people with common interests who try to influence government policies and decisions. 25.     Lobbyist: Person paid to represent an interest group’s viewpoint at congressional committee hearings and who tries to influence the votes of Congress members. 26.     Marbury v. Madison: The case involved William Marbury, who had been promised appointment as a justice of the peace, and Secretary of State James Madison. 27.     Major-Council Plan: System of local government in which voters elect a city council to make laws and a major to carry out laws. 28.     Misdemeanor: Less serious crime, such as a traffic violation. 29.     Personal Income Tax: Tax on the income a person earns. 30.     Plank: Each part of a political party’s platform. 31.     Political Action Committee: Political arm of a interest group that collects voluntary contributions from members and contributes it to political candidates and parties it favors.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Thorn Queen Chapter One
Sad fact: lots of kids know how to use knives and guns. I'd been one of them, but instead of pursuing a life of crime, I'd trained to be a shamanic mercenary. This meant that while my friends were at dances and football games, I'd been out banishing spirits and wrestling down monsters with my stepfather. On the upside, I grew up never fearing muggers or any other assailants. On the downside, an adolescence like that really screws with your social development. It meant I'd never really been like other kids. I'd had some friends, but compared to theirs, my world had been terribly stark and terribly deadly. Their dramas and concerns had seemed so petty next to mine, and I could never fully relate. As an adult now, I still couldn't really connect to kids because I had no shared experiences to draw on. Which made my job today that much more difficult. â€Å"Go ahead, Polly,†crooned the girl's mother, smiling with over-plump lips. Too much collagen, I suspected. â€Å"Tell her about the ghost.†Polly Hall was 13 but wore enough make-up to rival a 40-year old whore. She sat slouched against the back of a couch in her family's perfectly decorated house, chewing gum loudly, looking everywhere but at us. The more I studied her, the more I decided she probably did have problems. I suspected they had less to do with supernatural influences and more with having a mother who had named her Polly and let her wear thongs. It was an unfortunate side effect of Polly's low-cut jeans that I could see the aforementioned thong. After a minute of silence, Mrs. Hall sighed loudly. â€Å"Polly, dear, we've been over this. If you aren't going to help us, we can't help you.†Smiling, I knelt down in front of the couch so I could look the girl in the eyes. â€Å"It's all right,†I told her, hoping I sounded sincere and not like an after school special. â€Å"I'll believe whatever you tell me. We'll get it taken care of.†Polly sighed just as loudly as her mother had a moment ago and still refused to look at me. She reminded me of my unstable teenage half-sister who was currently MIA and wanted to conquer the world. â€Å"Mom,†she said, â€Å"can I go to my room now?†â€Å"Not until you've talked to this nice lady.†Glancing back to me, Mrs. Hall explained, â€Å"We hear strange noises all night: bangs, cracks, bumps. Things fall over for no reason. I've even†¦Ã¢â‚¬ She hesitated. â€Å"I've even seen things fly around the room. But it's always when Polly's around. Whatever this ghost is, it seems to like her†¦or be obsessed with her.†I turned my attention back to Polly, again taking in the sullen mood and thinly veiled frustration. â€Å"You got a lot on your mind, Polly?†I asked gently. â€Å"Problems at school or something? Problems around here?†Her blue eyes flicked to me ever so briefly. â€Å"What about any electrical issues?†This I directed to her mother. â€Å"Things shorting out? Stereos or appliances not working right?†Mrs. Hall blinked. â€Å"How'd you know that?†I stood up and stretched the kinks out of my body. I'd fought a wraith last night, and he hadn't been gentle. â€Å"You don't have a ghost. You have a poltergeist.†Both of them stared at me. â€Å"Isn't that a ghost?†asked Mrs. Hall. â€Å"Not really. It's a manifestation of telekinetic powers, often brought on by rage and other strong emotions during teenage years.†I'd evaded after school special mode, only to slip into infomercial mode. â€Å"I†¦wait. Are you saying Polly's causing this?†â€Å"Not consciously, but yeah. In cases like this, the subject – Polly – lashes out without realizing it, venting her emotions in physical ways. She probably won't stay telekinetic; it'll fade as she gets older and settles down a bit.†Her mother still looked skeptical. â€Å"It sure seems like a ghost.†I shrugged. â€Å"Trust me. I've seen this lots of times.†â€Å"So†¦isn't there anything you can do? Anything we can do?†â€Å"Therapy,†I suggested. â€Å"Maybe get a psychic to come out.†I gave Mrs. Hall the contact information for a psychic I trusted. Waiving my banishing fee, I simply charged her for the house call. Once I'd double-checked the cash she gave me – I never took checks – I stashed it away and made moves toward the living room door. â€Å"Sorry I couldn't be of more help.†â€Å"No, I mean, I guess this helps. It's just so strange.†She eyed her daughter with perplexity. â€Å"Are you sure it's not a ghost?†â€Å"Positive. These are classic symp–â€Å" An invisible force slammed into me, pushing me into the wall. I yelped, threw out a hand to keep my balance, and shot daggers at that little bitch Polly. Eyes wide, she looked just as astonished as I felt. â€Å"Polly!†exclaimed Mrs. Hall. â€Å"You are grounded, young lady. No phone, no IM, no†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Her mouth dropped open as she stared at something across the room. â€Å"What's that?†I followed her gaze to the large, pale blue shape materializing before us. â€Å"Um, well,†I said, â€Å"that's a ghost.†It swooped toward me, mouth open in a terrible screech. I yelled for the others to get down and jerked a silver-bladed athame out of my belt. A knife might seem useless against spirits, but they needed to take on a substantial form to inflict any real damage. Once solid, they were susceptible to silver. This spirit bore a female shape – a very young female shape, actually. Long pale hair trailed in her wake like a cloak, and her eyes were large and empty. Whether it was a lack of experience or simply some inherent trait of hers, her attack proved floundering and uncoordinated. Even as she screamed at the first bites of the athame, I had my crystal studded wand out in my other hand. Now that I'd regained my bearings, I could do a banishing like this in my sleep. Speaking the usual words, I drew from my internal strength and sent my own spirit beyond the boundaries of this world. Touching the gates of the Underworld, I ensnared the female spirit and sent her over. Monsters and gentry I tended to send back to the Otherworld, the limbo they lived in. A ghost like this needed to move on to the land of death. She disappeared. Mrs. Hall and Polly stared at me. Suddenly, in her first show of emotion, the girl leapt up and glared at me. â€Å"You just killed my best friend!†I opened my mouth to respond and decided nothing I had to say would be adequate. â€Å"Good heavens, what are you talking about?†exclaimed her mother. Polly's face twisted with anger, her eyes bright with tears. â€Å"Trixie. She was my best friend. We told each other everything.†â€Å"Trixie?†Mrs. Hall and I asked in unison. â€Å"I can't believe you did that. She was so cool.†Polly's voice turned a little wistful. â€Å"I just wish we could have gone shopping together, but she couldn't leave the house. So I just had to bring her Vogue and Glamour.†I turned to Mrs. Hall. â€Å"My original advice still stands. Therapy. Lots of it.†I headed home after that, wondering for the hundredth time why I'd chosen this mercenary shaman profession. Surely there were other jobs that were a lot less trouble than interacting with evil supernatural beings. Accounting. Advertising. Law. Well, maybe not that last one. About an hour later, I arrived back home and was immediately assaulted by two medium-sized dogs when I cleared the door. They were mutts, one solid black and one solid white. Their names were Yin and Yang, but I could never remember who was who. â€Å"Back off,†I warned as they sniffed me, tails wagging frantically. The white one tried to lick my hand. Pushing past them, I entered my kitchen and nearly tripped over a tabby cat sprawled on the floor in a patch of sun. Grumbling, I tossed my bag onto the kitchen table. â€Å"Tim? Are you here?†My housemate, Tim Warkoski, stuck his head in. He wore a tee shirt with silhouettes of Native Americans that said Homeland Security: Fighting Terrorism since 1492. I appreciated the cleverness, but it lost something since Tim wasn't actually an American Indian. He merely played one on TV, or rather, he played one in local bars and tourist circles, using his tanned skin and black hair to elude his Polish heritage. It had gotten him into trouble with a lot of the local tribes. With a garbage bag in one hand and a cat scoop in the other, he gave me a dark look. â€Å"Do you know how many boxes of litter I've had to change today?†I poured a glass of milk and sat down at the table. â€Å"Kiyo says we need one box for every cat and then an extra one.†â€Å"Yeah, I can count, Eugenie. That's six boxes. Six boxes in a house with 1500 square feet. You think your deadbeat boyfriend's ever going to show back up and help out with this?†I shifted uncomfortably. It was a good question. After three months of dating between Tucson and Phoenix, my boyfriend Kiyo had decided to take a job here to save the hour and a half commute. We'd had a long discussion and decided we were ready to have him simply move in with me. Unfortunately, with Kiyo came his menagerie: five cats and two dogs. It was one of the woes of dating a veterinarian. He couldn't help but adopt every animal he found. I couldn't remember the cats' names any better than the dogs'. Four of them were named after the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and all I could really recall was that Famine ironically weighed about 30 pounds. Another problem was that Kiyo was a fox – both literally and figuratively. His mother was a kitsune, a sort of Japanese fox spirit. He'd inherited all of her traits, including amazing strength and speed, as well as the ability to transform into an actual fox. As a result, he frequently got ‘the call of the wild,' making him yearn to run around in his animal form. Since he had downtime between jobs now, he'd left me to take a sort of wild vacation. I accepted this, but after a week of not seeing him, I was starting to get restless. â€Å"He'll be back soon,†I said vaguely, not meeting Tim's eyes. â€Å"Besides, you can get out of chores if you want to start paying rent.†That was our deal. Free lodging in exchange for food and housework. He wasn't deterred. â€Å"Your choice in men is questionable. You know that, right?†I didn't really want to ponder that too much. I abandoned him for my room, seeking the comfort of a jigsaw puzzle depicting a photograph of Zurich. It sat on my desk, as did one of the cats. I think he was Mr. Whiskers, the non-Apocalyptic one. I shooed him off the puzzle. Doing so took about half the puzzle pieces with him. â€Å"Goddamned cat,†I muttered. Love, I decided, was a hard thing. Well aware of my grumpy mood, I knew part of my anxiety over Kiyo stemmed from the fact that he was also passing part of his sabbatical in the Otherworld, spending time with his ex-girlfriend who just happened to be a devastatingly beautiful fairy queen. Fairies, sidhe, shining ones†¦whatever you wanted to call them, they were the tall, long-lived rulers of the Otherworld. I and most shamans referred to them as gentry, an antique term. Maiwenn, Kiyo's ex, was almost nine months pregnant, and although they'd broken up, he was still a part of her life. I sighed. Tim might have been right about my questionable taste in men. Night wore on. I finished the puzzle while blasting Def Leppard, making me feel better. I was just shutting off the music when I heard Tim yell: â€Å"Yo, Eug. Kujo's here.†Breathless, I ran to my bedroom door and flung it open. A red fox the size of a wolf trotted down the hall toward me. Relief burned through me, and I felt my heart soar as I let him in and watched him pace around in restless circles. â€Å"About time,†I said. He had a sleek orange-red coat and a fluffy tail tipped in white. His eyes were golden and sometimes bore a very human glint. I saw nothing like that tonight. A purely animal wariness peered out at me, and I realized it'd be a while before he changed back. He had the ability to transform to a wide range of foxes, everything from a small, normal-sized red fox to the powerful shape before me. When he spent a lot of time in this bigger form, turning human took more effort and time. Still, hoping he'd transform soon, I dumped another puzzle on my desk and worked it as I waited. Two hours later, nothing had changed. He curled up in a corner, wrapping his body in a tight ball. His eyes continued to watch me. Exhausted, I gave up on him and put on a red nightgown. Turning off the lights, I finally slipped into my bed, falling asleep instantly for a change. As I slept, I dreamed about the Otherworld, particularly a piece of it that bore a striking resemblance to Tucson and the Sonora Desert surrounding us. Only, the Otherworldly version was better. An almost heavenly Tucson, warmed by bright sunshine and ablaze with flowering cacti. This was a common dream for me, one that often left me yearning for that land in the morning. I always tried my best to ignore the impulse. A couple hours later, I woke up. A warm, muscled body had slid into bed with me, pressing against my back. Strong arms wrapped around my waist, and Kiyo's scent, dark and musky, washed over me. A liquid feeling burned inside of me at his touch. Roughly, he turned me toward him. His lips consumed me in a crushing kiss, blazing with intensity and need. â€Å"Eugenie,†he growled, once he'd paused long enough to remove his lips – just barely – from mine. â€Å"I've missed you. Oh God, I've missed you. I've needed you.†He kissed me again, conveying that need as his hands moved over me. My own fingers slid along the smooth perfection of his bare skin, reveling in its feel. There was no gentleness between us tonight, only a feral passion fueled as much by animal instinct as love. He had not, I realized, completely regained his human senses, no matter his shape. When I woke up in the morning, my bed was empty. Across the room, Kiyo pulled on jeans, meeting my eyes as though he had some sixth sense that I was awake. I rolled over on my side, the sheets gliding against my naked skin. Watching him with a lazy, satisfied languor, I admired his body and the sexy features gifted to him by Japanese and Hispanic heritage. His tanned body and black hair stood in stark contrast to the light skin and reddish hair my European ancestors had given me. â€Å"Are you leaving?†I asked. My heart, having leapt at his presence last night, suddenly sank. â€Å"I have to go back,†he said, straightening out a dark green tee shirt. He ran an absentminded hand through his chin-length hair. â€Å"You know I do.†â€Å"Yeah,†I said, my voice sharper than I'd intended. â€Å"Of course you do.†His eyes narrowed. â€Å"Please don't start that,†he said quietly. â€Å"I have to do this.†â€Å"Sorry. Somehow I just can't get all that excited about another woman having your baby.†There it was. The issue that always hung over us. He sat down beside me on the bed, dark eyes serious and level. â€Å"Well, I'm excited. I'd like to think you could support me in that and be happy for me.†Troubled, I looked away. â€Å"I am happy for you. I want you to be happy†¦it's just, you know, it's hard.†â€Å"I know.†He leaned over me, sliding his hand up the back of my neck, twining his fingers in my hair. â€Å"You've spent more time with her in the last week than with me.†â€Å"It's a necessity. It's almost time.†â€Å"I know,†I repeated. I knew my jealousy was unwarranted. Petty, even. I wanted to share his happiness at having a child, but something in me prevented it. â€Å"Eugenie, I love you. It's that simple. That's all there is to it.†â€Å"You love her too.†â€Å"Yes, but not in the way I love you.†He kissed me with a gentleness very different from the roughness of last night. I melted against him. The kiss grew stronger, filling with ardor. With great reluctance, he finally pulled away. I could see the longing in his eyes. He wanted to have sex again. That said something for my charms, I guessed. His responsible inclinations winning out, he straightened and stood up. I stayed where I was. â€Å"Will I see you there?†he asked, voice even and neutral. I sighed. â€Å"Yeah. I'll be there.†He smiled. â€Å"Thank you. That means a lot to me.†I nodded. He went to the door and looked back at me. â€Å"I love you.†The heat in his voice told me he truly meant it. I smiled back. â€Å"I love you too.†He left, and I pulled the sheets more tightly against me and made no motions to get up. I couldn't stay in bed all day, unfortunately. Other things – like my promise to Kiyo – demanded my attention today. There was a trip to the Otherworld ahead of me, one that would take me to a kingdom I'd reluctantly inherited. You see, Maiwenn wasn't the only Otherworldly queen in Kiyo's life. Yet, astonishingly, that wasn't the problem for me today. That was easy compared to what else lay in store for me. I had to go to a gentry baby shower.
Commercial Internet Sites Essay
Go to at least 15 commercial Internet sites such as Yahoo!, MSN, and About.com. Document information on the types of attempts (such as pop-up windows and advertisements) that influence the viewer, including counting the number of references toward social shaping. The websites you consult should be listed in a reference list at the end of the newsletter. Take the information you have gathered and write an article for your company newsletter summarizing your findings and drawing conclusions. The article should be at least 500 words in length and should demonstrate depth of thought as well as originality. The first commercial Internet web site that I am analyzing is the online social networking web site Orkut. It permits maintaining relationships through pictures, messages, music and videos. What seem interesting with Orkut are that is permits to establish new connections with people belonging to any part of the world, help to come in contact with old friends and family in any part of the world. Any individual interested in making friends can open an account on the web site and develop their own profile. What adds uniqueness to Orkut is the fact that any friend or family member can insert their own testimonials of that person. In the profile, personal, social and professional information can be demonstrated.  Another unique feature of Orkut is that any person can search for another by simply typing in the name in the search box. MSN is a community web site mainly concerned with email, messaging and social contacting. This web site is brought out my Microsoft. The users interested can open an account with the MSN web site and are given an individual username and password. The user would be getting personalized information from the MSN network. These include news, sports, weather, local news, etc. Each user can make changes to the layout, color, themes, etc to the individual web page. Yahoo is a social network web site that mainly provides email, news, searches, messenger, jobs, weather, Horoscope, Health and other information. The Web site concerns a wide range of areas. Yahoo has its sources in almost every nation of the world and these provide localized information. Each user can log into the web site with his or her usernames and password. Google, one of the strongest search engines in the world has extended its services to other areas such as book searches, computation, social network groups, news, maps, etc. People are mainly attracted towards Google as it search strategy is very strong and would permit the user to use their own initiative whilst search for various aspects in the Internet. Tagged.com is social networking that permits users from various parts of the world to get in contact with old friends and new friends. It was launched in the year 2004. The graphic interface of the web site is very appealing and has several innovations such as slides, videos and the music presentation. It has several reputed news sources such as Wall Street Journal, Business Week Online, Ad week, etc. Travellers Point is a social network that provides personalized information regarding traveling destinations and experiences, photo galleries, blogs, forums, maps, etc. Users can create their own usernames and passwords on the web site and get upload and download photos and videos of famous travel destinations throughout the world. The Web site works in association with another organization known as ‘Travel helpers’, which provides expert guidance to travelers. Hikut.com is a social networking web site that provides various features to the users, user such as galleries, blogs, music, videos, polls, groups, quizzes, events, classifieds, etc. The users can also use several other features on the web site such as chats, interfaces, scrapbook, etc. The users would have to register on the web site with a user name and a password. Linkedln is a professional social network web site that permits the users to share professional information with other experts and specialists throughout the world. More than 16 million users have registered from about 150 countries. Users who have registered include clients, partners and colleagues. Users can also search for jobs and get in contact with the job seekers. One of the main religious social networking web site in the world is My Church.com. This web site was launched in 2006 offering services to Catholics in the blogs, forums, messenger services, counseling, calendar events, sermons live telecasts, paying of thanksgivings, etc. The founders of this web site have combined Internet and technology in a very innovative manner to obtain one of the most advanced Catholic networking web sites in the world. More than 7000 Churches are associated with the web site. One of the major social networking web site in the world concerned with sharing music, videos, photos, etc, is Multiply. The web site also extends its services to other media other than the Internet including MMS and mobile services. The web site not only caters to the personal needs of the user, but also to the professional and the academic needs. Only individuals who are closely related to one another can share media information. Another social networking web site is Friendster that caters to the needs of small circle of friends. It is utilized more widely in Asia than in any other part of the world. It has been in competition with several other social networking web sites such as Yahoo 360 and Facebook. In the year 2006, the web site came out with an innovative discovery, which entitled it a patent. It demonstrated a method and an online tool to calculate and develop relationships between people. Facebook was a social networking web site launched in the year 2004, meant for the students of Harvard University. However, as the web site was a strong success, several other universities were added including Boston University, MIT, etc. Slowly any student belonging to any university in the world was allowed to register on the web site. More than 58 million users have been registered on the web site. The site offers the users several features including sending and receiving messages, gifts, placing ads, blogs, etc. References: Facebook (2007). â€Å"Facebook – Home Page.†Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from www.facebook.com Web site. Friendster (2007). â€Å"Friendster – Home Page.†Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from www.friendster.com Web site. Google (2007). â€Å"Google Help Center.†Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from Google Web site: http://www.google.co.in/intl/en/help/features.html HiKut (2007). â€Å"Hikut.†Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from www.hikut.com Web site. LinkedIn (2007). â€Å"Linkedin.†Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from www.linkedin,com Web site. MSN (2007). â€Å"MSN-Home Page.†Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from MSN Web site: http://www.msn.com/ Multiply (2007). â€Å"Multiply – Home Page.†Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from www.multiply.com Web site. My Church (2007). â€Å"My Church – Home Page.†Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from www.Mychurch.org Web site. Orkut (2007). â€Å"About Orkut.†Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from Orkut Web site: http://www.orkut.com/About.aspx Tagged.com (2007). â€Å"Tagged – Home Page.†Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from Tagged.com Web site: www.tagged.com Travellers Point (2007). â€Å"Travellers Point.†Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from www.travellerspoint.com Web site. Yahoo (2007). â€Å"Yahoo Company Information.†Retrieved on December 26, 2007, from Yahoo Web site: http://info.yahoo.com/
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