Is Freedom of Speech Really Free? :: Argumentative Essay

I sat in last period history class, my eye fixed on the clock. Twenty more minutes I mumbled to myself, twenty more minutes until uninvolveddom. I was hardly engaged in the days backchat topic which was the current status of a post 9/11 world. I casually listened to the ideas of my classmates as I chewed my grape flavored bubble gum and doodled on my notebook, blowing bubbles and quietly popping them with my tongue in an attempt to pass the time. My teacher rambled on about how Saddam Heusseins time to disarm is up and how Al Queda must be destroyed. One particular point of view from the boy sitting next to me brought my attention back to the discussion. Actually, the U.S. gave Saddam Hussein the chemical weapons he is using, and the CIA helped him find the targets to use them on. It is their own fault he has access to these weapons and President Bush is moron. He doesnt know how to get them back, he just negotiation big because he is trying to make a name for himself a s an active President. I was shocked by the boldness of the comment but it was stock-still an interesting perspective. I looked to our teacher to see his response. Our usually very open history teacher was obviously offended. The class was silent for what seemed like an eternity, before he snapped Actually you are wrong, and that kind of thinking will not be tolerated in this classroom. My teacher then dismissed my classmate from the discussion. I was shocked that a student was punished for having a valid opinion and for voicing it. I began to wonder if freedom of speech is actually free, or if there is in event always some consequence for having your own opinions. The recent debate over terrorism and Americas reaction to it, has stirred controversy over the rights of free speech. Since the events of September 11, 2001, a large number of people have admitted that they believe the organization should have a say over what is being broadcasted and printed The request for govern ment censorship and suppression of free speech following 9/11, is nothing short of an infringement on our Constitution. As Americans, how can we claim be such(prenominal) strong defenders of free speech, and then turn around and put limitations on what we can say regarding the

The Glass Ceiling Essay -- Gender Roles, Women, Minorities

The Glass Ceiling is the term giving to the invisible obstacles sometimes found in the workforce. The barriers that enclosure womens and minorities progress toward employment equity extend from the glass ceiling at the top of corporations to the floor of low paying jobs in the labor market. These barriers are created by a process at exclusion that continuously eliminates women, minorities, and other underprivileged groups from being candidates of higher positions. When a company exercises this type of discrimination, they look for the just about defensible explanation they can find to make this behavior seem acceptable. The glass ceiling is still very much a part of the bodied world today as it was many years ago. This is evident by the hindered progress of women and minorities seen in much of the corporate workforce. In order to develop the solution of influence of the invisible glass ceiling to the work place, it is important to rely on the background of this opinion. A ccording to the economical point of view, the glass ceiling is referred to as the unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from wage hike to the top of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualification or achievements. This metaphor was initially only applied to women, but quickly wide to minority men as well (Shedd).While legislation regarding discrimination based on gender prevents overt discrimination, subtle measures have been found to exist within many organizations which effectively prevent women from moving into the highest levels of heed. These include queryful success criteria, inaccurate perception of womens aspirations and progress, and cultural biases against working women (Miller 18).Blocked opportunitie... ...eeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder regardless of their qualifications or achievements. This barrier of blocking women and minorities from reaching top echelons reveals the extent of the problems faced by women. There is no doubt that the glass ceiling continues to plague talented women who struggle to reach the top positions in their career. The glass ceiling is also a problem for top management of corporations that need to recognize the changes in the modern age. By following the traditional way of hiring and promoting individuals, corporations are missing out on the vast talent pot of women. By opening higher management positions to women, corporations stand to benefit from the creativity, more interactional, more participative, and knowledge of women who will offer a unique perspective to ontogeny corporations.

Robert Browning’s Andrea del Sarto Essay -- Andrea del Sarto

Robert Brownings Andrea del SartoLucrezia del Sarto (To My Dear Husband) My dear husband, put away your plate of breadOr, pray you, hand it to the dogs the sun Has just now an hour to stumble its mid-way trek,And here sit you etching pewter with crust, And smearing cheese and jam with lazy thumbs.Ah, yes Kiss me so. Then kiss me better(p) To smother my lips. Your artlessness isWhat makes me smile so, dear, and not your kiss.No, I will speak. And should you be so kind As to listen, youll find me plainly spoken.Long work night, in my bed, I turned and turnedAs a good deal as Id suffered your words while theyTumbled from your lips, I suffered them once More, and more fresh, fettered fast inside my headLove, the night wore on, black, blank, and at last Thinned. But how you wear me Tell me you shallKeep your promise to each one of the threeTo myself, to my cousin, and to theeI will tell you how I mean Do looks work,Honor your wife, your word, and yourselfIf it pleases you. But be fi rst a manNoa husbandabove all else. Tell me,Tis possibly better to honor yourself?My dear husband, I have much in replyTo offer your last eves soliloquySo perhaps it shall turn you to gaze lessDumbly at my brow and more at my mouthWhilst I so plainly speak. Your talents doNot waste themselves on me. Do not doubt it.I am more certain of your skill than youMay think. And so I am less humored by The fickle errantry of a mind which onceWas sharp and sweet. My pride in you has waned.Pick, pick, pick, but never paint Well enough, You say we are all only but in Gods Hands Tis not God who binds you down, nor IYour works have touched heaven, but you are lowGod, you think, assign... ...ehind a hornswoggle of words or a psychological puzzle, tempting his reader to dig for it there, later. I have come to appreciate the rich expressiveness inherent in the salient mono-logue format. Without actually stating or describing very much, the poet is able to depict a scene and its props, a nimate characters, and imply swear out, emotion, and rhthym for the audience. I discovered that each time I implied challenge on the part of either Lucrezia or Andrea, (put away your plate . . . But even now you entwine me . . .), I was, at the same time, implying actionand its accompanying emotionon the part of the second character, as well. The poem becomes a dancea dense, complex web of subtleties and surprises. This poetic form is a pleasure to read and a pleasure to mimic. It carries an intimacy which embraces the poet, the characters, and the reader all at once.

Misconception On Hispanics :: stereotyping

Miss conceptions In todays society we stereotype the Latino race as being trifling and having lots of children. People perceive the Hispanic race this way but reality we ar all the same. We work hard to get were we ar today in society. Many people have bad images of the Hispanic race because they see one Hispanic person who dress a definite way or even acts a certain way and they assume we are all bad people. For example if you see a Hispanic objet dart that is baldheaded and has on baggie clothes people assume that he is a gangster by the way he looks. But what they wouldnt know is who he sincerely is he could be a straight a student but only assume he is bad by his appearance. As in brant goose Staples essay Black Men and Public Spaces when the man is short through the park and the women assumes hes going to hurt her because of the way he looks and how he is acting the woman starts to run away. That is peoples bad miss conception of others beside themselves.Garcia 2 Some H ispanic people experiment to go their whole life denying who they genuinely are. Like in Passing when Joan Steinau Lester tells us that all of us developed different ways of coping with stereotypes of our groups and of ourselves (260). Most Hispanic people chose to pass because they grew up around hardship and racial slurs from other that thought themselves to be better. Others chose to pass because they seen it done to other Hispanics and did not want to encounter the same reaction. So quite a than face who they are and were they come from these people chose to pass and avoid all the negative reactions. Instead of trying to pass Hispanic people should overcome and try to better themselves by getting a good education and get those good jobs. So they wouldnt have to pass they could be proud of who they are and were their family comes from. So they dont have to feel like an airborne plant, flourishing without roots (Holman 258). Hispanic people have avoided these harmful situations by passing our by staying far from those who belittle them and not getting into confrontations. Hispanics have not put themselves in an environment where they could be harmed. They surround themselves in all Hispanic communities were they feel comfortable and they dont have to feel like an outsider in their own community.

Students Need a Multicultural Classroom Essay -- Argumentative Persuas

Students Need a Multicultural Classroom I shadow identify with the multicultural concept of the classroom because I am African American, a woman, and a soon to be a teacher. This subject is atomic number 53 that is of organic importance. The multicultural classroom is a learning environment that should be approximately effective because of the simple fact that it should encompass everyone. As a future teacher one of my goals for my classroom is to make it as diverse as possible. Not only because it should be a standard operating procedure, but because I disembodied spirit students will be able to learn more effectively in an environment where they feel that their heritage is included. The definition of multiculturalism in Websters Dictionary is the existence, recognition or preservation of different cultures or cultural identities within a unified society. Therefore with this definition in mind a multicultural classroom is one that is the sum of all these things. A multi cultural classroom is a learning environment that strives to reach all of its students, especially those of non-dominant ethnicities. In this environment students learn virtually the curriculum as well as their own cultural history. The aim of multicultural education is to ensure equity in education for all students and to military service empower young people to make the world a better place both individually and collectively (Bigelow, 1993). Multicultural education is designed to aid all students reach their full potential. Just about all teachers should have a desire to teach in a multicultural class because most classes in the United States of America contain at least one or two students of a different race or cultural background. This should not be considered a problem, but an asset because h... ...icultural Education Development, Dimensions, and Challenges. Phi Delta Kappan. 75 (1), 22-28.Banks, J., and McGee, C. A. (Eds.). (1989). Multicultural Education Issues and Perspe ctives. Boston Allyn and Bacon.Bigelow, W. (1993). Limits of the New Multiculturalism The Good Childrens Literature and the Quincentenary. Unpublished manuscript. Available from NECA.DietrichFairtest. (1990). Standardized Tests and our Children A Guide to Testing Reform. Massachusetts National Center for Fair and Open Testing.Greenfield, E., and Little, L. J. (1979). Childtimes A Three Generation Memoir. New York Harper Collins.Hughes, L. (1960). The Dreamkeeper and Other Poems. New York Alfred Knopf.Lee, E. (1993). Strategies for grammatical construction a Multicultural, Anti-racist Curriculum. Presented at the Books Project Seminar, Washington, DC, May 8, 1993.

Students Need a Multicultural Classroom Essay -- Argumentative Persuas

Students Need a Multicultural Classroom I can identify with the multicultural concept of the schoolroom because I am African American, a woman, and a soon to be a teacher. This subject is one that is of extreme importance. The multicultural classroom is a learning environment that should be most effective because of the simple fact that it should encompass everyone. As a future teacher one of my goals for my classroom is to make it as diverse as possible. Not only because it should be a standard operating procedure, but because I feel students will be able to learn more effectively in an environment where they feel that their heritage is included. The definition of multiculturalism in Websters Dictionary is the existence, recognition or preservation of polar cultures or cultural identities within a unified society. Therefore with this definition in mind a multicultural classroom is one that is the sum of entirely these things. A multicultural classroom is a learning enviro nment that strives to penetrate all of its students, especially those of non-dominant ethnicities. In this environment students learn about the curriculum as well as their own cultural history. The aim of multicultural education is to ensure equity in education for all students and to help empower infantile people to make the world a better place both individually and collectively (Bigelow, 1993). Multicultural education is designed to help all students reach their full potential. Just about all teachers should have a desire to teach in a multicultural class because most classes in the joined States of America contain at least one or two students of a different race or cultural background. This should not be considered a problem, but an asset because h... ...icultural Education Development, Dimensions, and Challenges. Phi Delta Kappan. 75 (1), 22-28.Banks, J., and McGee, C. A. (Eds.). (1989). Multicultural Education Issues and Perspectives. Boston Allyn and Bacon.Bigelow, W. (199 3). Limits of the New Multiculturalism The Good Childrens Literature and the Quincentenary. Unpublished manuscript. Available from NECA.DietrichFairtest. (1990). Standardized Tests and our Children A Guide to interrogation Reform. Massachusetts National Center for Fair and Open Testing.Greenfield, E., and Little, L. J. (1979). Childtimes A Three Generation Memoir. New York Harper Collins.Hughes, L. (1960). The Dreamkeeper and Other Poems. New York Alfred Knopf.Lee, E. (1993). Strategies for Building a Multicultural, Anti-racist Curriculum. Presented at the Books Project Seminar, Washington, DC, May 8, 1993.

Revisiting the NASL

It is said that we are able to see the correctness, validity and impact of our actions only after the moment we act had passed. This article looks back into the experience of the northeastern American association football League. This is an attempt to revisit the rise and demise of the unify.A Brief HistoryThe North American association football League (NASL) was established as a extend of the merger of the unite Soccer Association and the National professional Soccer League. It was the culmination of the number one modern attempts to create a truly national association football federation in the United States. The NASL even had franchise teams from Canada. Prior to its establishment, soccer competition in the United States was primarily on the semi-professional and amateur level.The United Soccer Association (USA) was sanctioned by the Federation of International Footbal Association (FIFA) and established itself in twelve major cities across the United States. The National Professional Soccer League (NPSL), on the other hand, was non sanctioned by FIFA. It also did not abide by FIFA player transfer rules and had ten franchise teams. raw sienna interest for the two leagues was initially high and attendance was not bad for the first social class.The merger of the two leagues into the NASL, however, was an act of desperation. Fan interest had quickly faded, tv ratings were terrible and the teams of the USA and NPSL had experienced massive financial losses. The disastrous set outt was such that only five teams of the original seventeen teams that started the NASL survived the first two seasons (Holroyd, 2005).Teams folded only if new franchises took their place in the league. The turning points in league history took place in the 1971 to 1975 period. The New York Cosmos joined the NASL in 1971 and won the league in 1972. The entry of the Cosmos established the leagues presence in a major market and brought greater media attention to the league. Th e following year saw the Philadelphia Atoms joining the league. The Atoms also won the league title in their inaugural season. The team was bannered by Kyle Rote Jr., son of a former star of the National Football Leagues (NFL) New York Giants. Rote also won the leagues Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable fraud awards. By 1974, the NASL had grown and have fifteen teams competing (Holroyd, 2005).Before the start of the 1975 season, the New York Cosmos got Edson Arantes do Nascimento (more popularly known as Pel) to play for the team. This move rigid the league in the spotlight and significantly increased public interest in soccer in the United States. Pel, of course, is considered possibly the greatest soccer player ever. He gained the moniker King of Football or simply King Pel during his career. The attention snowballed through 1977 and culminated with 77,691 dishs for the 1977 playoff game between the Cosmos and the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers at Giants stadium. Pel retired from th e tout, and the league, in 1977 after an exhibition game between the two professional football clubs he had played for New York Cosmos and Santos FC from Brazil (Holroyd, 2005).The NASL followed its mastery by undergoing a major expansion, adding six teams in 1978. League competition was organized into a NFL-style divisional lineup with a 30-game season. Teams also went into an unprecedented expenditure spree to sign up planetary players in an attempt to match the Cosmos success or at least remain warring in the league (Litterer & Holroyd, 2003).Seven years after Pels farewell, the league started 1984 (its 17th season) smaller than it had been in over a decade with only nine teams. Also, four of these teams were on shaky financial ground. The league eventually closed down after the Chicago-Toronto best-of-three finals series in Toronto, Canada (Holroyd, 2006).Addressing the MistakesPolicy 1 Develop Homegrown Talents to Generate AwarenessWhat could have the league done to susta in itself? What could have been avoided? Among the team sports played in the United States, soccer had not yet reached the level of fan interest and media attention that is accustomed to professional baseball, basketball and football. As a result, the franchise teams that made the NASL were in shaky financial standing except for that brief golden period that spanned 1971 to 1977.In this regard, the first issue to address is generating awareness and increasing the interest of fans. Soccer was not, and is not yet, dear to the hearts of American sports spectators. It has not reached the manic-obsessive levels of fan interest outside of the United States. According to Paglia (2007), the nature of the game runs counter to the fundamental element required of a US spectator sport.A hallmark of the most popular outdoor spectator sports in America, for example baseball and football, is that fans try to anticipate the next plays, possible game outcomes and share these speculations with one a nother. Soccer, by its nature, is an extemporaneous sports with many improvisational plays. It is so changeful that speculating on outcomes is close to impossible.Fan interest could, however, be impacted by creating awareness. In 1975, fan interest and awareness of soccer went up when Pel played in the league. At the time of his entry, Pel was famous even in the United States. This tack is being duplicated again by the Major League Soccer when the LA Galaxy contracted David Beckham to play for the team. Paglia (2007) sees that Beckham will create an impact but this alone will not convert the curious to fans. Furthermore, the impact may not be at the same level as when Pel played in the NASL. The two players are not the same whether in stature or even in playing style.Giorgio Chinaglia, the former Italian international who played alongside Pel, does not think Beckham alone can promote the sport and league. Other big European names have to follow him to produce sustained success. Chi naglia even estimates that around 50 international soccer stars may be needed. (Adderley, 2007). But the NASL have already gone through this route before and it was with disastrous results.Some, even in 1978, had criticized the move to bring in more conflicting players as shortsighted. They said that it was more important to develop American talent. But those voices were lonely cries in the wilderness.A lesson could be learned from 1973 when the Philadelphia Atoms won the NASL combatantship. Fan interest was sparked by the emergence of Kyle Rote Jr. He was considered the first All-American soccer star. The American spectator wants a star to relate to and follow. And it would be better if the star was homegrown. The NASL should unify up with amateur, collegiate and semi-professional soccer leagues. It would even be better if it had its own developmental league.Policy 2 Cooperation and Fiscal DisciplineLooking back into the 1978 NASL spending spree, contempt the increased earshot base and interest, more money was being spent than what was being earned. Operating a sports league is an awkward venture. The owners have to co-operate and make many business decisions collegially despite the fierce team competition. Taking a page from the National Football Leagues business model, the NASL could have developed an internal incentive placement that would stabilize team expenditures and equalize revenue generation.Two sets of incentives used by the NFL are (1) the teams owners share roughly 70% of their revenues with each other and (2) they stick to a stringent salary roof that limits the amount each team can spend on players salaries. As a result of these incentives, all thirty-two teams in the NFL have an even chance of being financially viable and athletically competitive despite having different market base (The Economist, 2006). Admittedly, the NASL attempted to institute a salary cap in 1984 but by then it was to little to late.Policy 3 Align Game to Interna tional StandardsSoccers World Cup is the biggest sporting event in world. The third policy that NASL could have done was to align its tournament format to that of the World Cup and international competition.By establishing a tournament format aligned to international (or globally accepted/recognized) format helps the league in two ways. One is that the American audience is educated on the mechanics of the game, and consequently increases the level of storage area for the sport. Another is that the level of play of American players also gets aligned to that of foreign national teams.European football leagues hold inter-league competitions to determine the continental champion. For example, the Italian League champion plays against the French League champion. The NASL had already previously done this through friendly tours. The Ft. Lauderdale Strikers made a tour of England in February 1978. Foreign teams also toured the United States.Becoming competitive against foreign soccer teams could have helped in sustaining fan interest and support. Case in point is the impact of US National Teams action in the 1994 World Cup. The team surpassed all expectations and reached the quarterfinals. This accomplishment sparked greater interest in the sport.ReferencesAdderley, Nigel. 2007. Beckhams US Test. Accessed October 25, 2007 from http//news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/6294762.stmHolroyd, Steve. 2005. The Year in American Soccer 1984. Accessed October 25, 2007 from http//www.sover.net/spectrum/year/1984.html2006. The Year in American Soccer 1968. Accessed October 25, 2007 from http//www.sover.net/spectrum/year/1968.htmlLitterer, David and Steve Holroyd. 2003. The Year in American Soccer 1978. Accessed October 25, 2007 from http//www.sover.net/spectrum/year/1978.htmlPaglia, Jim. 2007. A Naysayer View of Pro Soccer. Accessed October 25, 2007 from http//www.socceramerica.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePageart_aid=22406The Economist. 2006. In a league of its own. Electronic version Accessed October 25, 2007 from http//www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=6859210

Darko Suvin’s “Metamorphoses of Science Fiction” Essay

In Darko Suvins Metamorphoses of Science Fiction, Suvin argues that science simile should be considered its own literary genre. The reason he believes science fiction is distinct from other literary genres is because of its transforming aspects. Suvin describes science fiction as the literature of cognitive estrangement, which includes a novum. It is his belief that both cognition and estrangement must be both present and interactive in science fiction.Although it can be argued that science fiction is not its own literary genre because of its similarities to myth, fantasy, and folktale, it is significantly antithetical from these genres because of its ability to cause the ref to think in a new way about something that is familiar to him/her. Science fiction should be its own literary genre because of its unique ability to cause readers to re-think everyday assumptions. This is important, because if we were not open to change, we would not be able to advance as a culture.Suvin call s this idea estrangement, which he defines as something that confronts a set normative system with a point of view or look implying a new set of norms (4) meaning something that appears normal, is make up with something unknown. Estrangement, thus, would be the process of separating or distancing ourselves from the actually world and allowing our minds to imagine or form something that doesnt exist or might exist in the future. It is taking things that atomic number 18 familiar and making them unknown or taking two things that are meant to be together and separating them from each other.So cognitive estrangement would be the separation or escape from our cognitive thinking or what the reader sees as the real world and allowing his/her mind to imagine and create something that is not of the real world. Suvin uses the example of the transforming mirror, which causes a reflection of but also on verity (10), which means a reflection of what is real and also how the viewer think s about reality from a strange or new perspective (through the introduction of the novum).This causes his/her view of reality to be transformed. In Metamorphoses of Science Fiction, Darko Suvin defends his cited definition of Science Fiction as its own literary genre, by providing examples and pointing out the similarities and differences arising from the comparison of science fiction to myth,folktale, and fantasy. Suvin says that myths are similar to science fiction in the aspect that they both incorporate the usage of estrangement.However, he points out that there are also many differences between them as well. Science fiction sees the norms of reality as transformable and changeable, whereas myths are the complete opposites. They conceive human relations as fixed and supernaturally determined(8). This mean that the lives of characters are already made for them and that they do not surrender the ability to change what will happen to them. Folktale is also similar to science ficti on where it defies the rules and laws of the empirical environment.However, folktales go above and beyond transforming the empirical environment, it creates a closed collateral world indifferent to cognitive possibilities(8). This means that in the world created in a folktale, anything is possible. He uses the example of a profligate carpet, stating, The flying carpet evades the empirical law of physical gravity(8). This quote shows the difference between folktale and science fiction because a folktale creates something that is completely unfamiliar whereas science fiction takes something familiar and makes it unfamiliar.Similar to folktale, fantasy causes tension between the arbitrary supernatural phenomena and the empirical norms they infiltrate. (8) This means things that are completely unfamiliar to the reader intrude into what they see as real. For example in Harry Potter, wizards and witches infiltrate the real world without non-magical people knowing. This can cause confusio n, because it does not completely create its own world, and it does not go by the rules and laws of our world, so it is in between the two worlds.Overall, in Metamorphoses of Science Fiction, Suvin creates a clear systematic show up to the defense of his definition of Science Fiction as the literature of cognitive estrangement and why it should be its own literary genre. He provides sufficient and convince evidence to reinforce his claim by using identifying principles of science fiction, making comparisons, and providing an insightful explanation of his views.

A reasoned evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses in Marxism, Functionalism and Feminism

A sociological theory is a set of ideas that provide an explanation for adult male confederacy.In undertaking an accurate interpretation of trey sociological perspectives, I will make a reasoned evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses in Marxism, Functionalism and womens liberation movement. From the three elect sociological perspectives I will also look at their individual views on trust and the family.SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVESMARXISMMarxism named after its founder Karl Marx (1818 1883) is very famous and influential. Marx regarded great deal as both producers and the products of community, he believed since spate made society, only they can change it. He argued that man makes his own history. Marx believed that the rich would get richer (bourgeois ruling class) and that the myopic would get poorer (proletariat subordinate /working class). He proposed that the proletariat would revolt in anger, leading to a revolution, resulting in the disappearance of the social class system and that people would live in a more equal society. Max Weber (1864 1920) agreed with Marx, however he also aired the importance of status and big businessman (i.e. an individual may be poor but have high status, such as a teacher). His views on holiness differed to that of Marx too, arguing that it could be a source of encroach and change rather than a source of stability or social control. Key Names Mark, Engels, Young and Taylor.FUNCTIONALISMSociety is viewed as a system, that is, as a set of interconnected parts that together form a whole. Functionalists believe that society has basic chooses, which must be met if it is to continue to exist. It believes the pattern of sh atomic number 18 i.e. the function of the family is to ensure the continuity of society by reproducing and socializing new members and the function of piety is to integrate the social system by reinforcing rough-cut values. Key Names Durkheim, Merton, Murdock, Malinowski and Parsons.FEMINISMThe basic assumption sh ared by all feminists is that women suffer certain injustices on account of their sex. Feminist sociology, stresses the importance of sex activity divisions in society and it portrays these divisions as working to the overall advantage to men. Although feminists are united by their common desire for sexual justice and their concern for womens welfare, thither is actually a wide spectrum of feminisms (Mitchell and Oakley, 1986). These can be divided into four broad tendencies liberal, radical, Marxist/socialist and Black.STRENGTHSMARXISMCritical of Capitalism. In favour of the average individual in society. Economic base or infrastructure and Political/Ideological superstructure. Social Structure (Macro Approach).FUNCTIONALISMFunctional Imperatives Goal Attainment, Adaptation, Integration and Latency. Functional sub-systems Economic, Political, Family and Religion.FEMINISMHas do a lot to improve things for women over the years. Focuses on male/female relations hips. Looks at laws needed/ used to redress male/female power balance (equal jural protection and social rights).WEAKNESSESMARXISMToo many inconsistencies and interpretations of Marxs work. Unscientific (the Faith of Marxism Popper). Conspiracy theory (especially aimed at instrumental Marxists). Communism does non appear active to happen. Forms of (non-economic) conflict (gender, ethnic group) ignored in favour of economic conflicts. Left Functionalism (Marxism is little more than a form of Functionalism that replaces the interest of society with ruling class Jock Young). Modern society is more complex than Marx predicted. Comparatively dated theories.Critics Popper, Weber, Young (Left Idealism), any New Right Theorist, Social biologists and Radical Feminists.FUNCTIONALISMFunctionalists find it hard to explain rapid social change. They believe that if something exists it has a function. It has a function because it exists. The mental picture that non- charitable things like s ociety can have human qualities such as needs and purposes. Over-emphasis upon the beneficial aspects of institutions and structures. Believing that society revolves around family unit but not willing to recognise that not all people worldwide belong to a family unit yet function well. Critics Marxist Sociologists, Radical and Marxist Feminists.FEMINISMWomen like working class men are at a fundamental economic disadvantage although Feminists hold up to see that. Legal changes mainly benefited middle class women. Legal equality not the same as status equality. Ignores take away of social structural factors (e.g. class). Feminism geared towards middle class feminists (Bourgeois). Men are seen as the enemy (Marxist Feminism). Critics Radical Feminists and New Right of Liberal Feminists and New Right, Marxist/Socialist Feminists of Radical Feminists. structural VIEWS ON RELIGION AND THE FAMILYReligions, families and societies have been around for a very long time. Unsurprisingly, we find family units and religions present in all known societies, and consequently, families and religion have a social impact. Everyone has their own view of what religion and the family consists of. These pre conceived ides are mostly to do with our own backgrounds, culture and life experiences. There is a lot of disagreement among sociologists about the roles of religion and the family within society we will look at three sociological perspectivesRELIGIONMARXISMIn Marxs view, Man makes religion, religion does not make man. In other words, religion is the self-conscious and the self-feeling of man who has either not found himself or has already lost himself again. Truly liberated individuals have no need of religion. Thus, if the alienation and exploitation associated with the classes are eradicated, and people are freed to develop their human potential and find themselves, as in a truly socialist society, religion will no longer be needed and will cease to exist.Marx and Engels believed that religion represented a protest against a dehumanising social world and human alienation, it also leads people into false hopes and direction, along with the solutions it promises that are illusory. It obscures and distorts the true nature of reality in ways that benefit the ruling class. Marx anticipated that when a egalitarian society was established, religion would disappear.FUNCTIONALISMWhereas Durkheim sees religion as an expression and celebration of peoples sociality. Religion creates order and stability in society it can be an agent of acculturation and create a sense of social solidarity. Malinowski accepted like Durkheim that religion creates social solidarity but he believed that religion is a response to peoples needs during stress (e.g. birth and death). Parsons believed the role of religion served two functions, one to provide guidelines (behaviour in society) and the other is to answer ultimate questions.FEMINISMReligion is seen as an instrument of oppr ession, as a product of patriarchy rather than a product of capitalism. Religion is used by oppressors (men) to control the oppressed group (women), and it also serves as a way of compensating women for their second-class status. In most typical religions of the last millennium women are subservient and secondary to men (i.e. Catholic church and Muslims).THE FAMILYMARXISMThe Marxists position asserts that the atomic family is not universal but a product of capitalism and that the family is an exploitative institution. Murdocks theory is critised because he didnt consider that other social institutions could have performed the functions and he does not examine other alternatives to the family. In Engels theory he suggested that the main reason that the family developed was to solve the problem of inheritance, also that the family was the most efficient device for insuring authenticity of the proposed heirs. Engels theory was largely based on a flawed interpretation of the family by Anthropologist, Lewis Morgan (1900).FUNCTIONALISMA strong plugger of the family is the Functionalist. Their belief is that the family is the cornerstone of society. A study was conducted on the family, studying 250 societies by George Murdock (Social Structure 1949). In his study, he concluded that the nuclear family is a universal human social grouping . It exists as a distinct and strongly functional group in every known society. Murdock identifies four basic functions that the family performs sexual, reproductive, economic and educational. Fellow functionalist Talcott Parsons would largely agree with Murdocks theories of the family.FEMINISMFeminists rap the family as the focus on the exploitation of women by men, they argue that men dominate family relationships. Radical feminists argue that in its most extreme form this center oppression and violence (Russell Dobash, 1980). Evidence to suggest that women are dissatisfied in their family life is portrayed in the rise of divorc es filed by women. Parsons theory of the family being a safe haven is more myth than reality for families today. Feminist Margaret Benson focuses mainly only the point that women are a source of cheap labour, as the woman of the house is unpaid for her work. In the family women are primarily seen as a housewife and mother, and in this environment men are given the control over womens sexuality and fertility.EVALUATIONThe different aspects of religion have a social impact and must be measured. Through out history there is considerable leaven to support Marxs ideology, that religion maintains the existing system of exploitation and reinforces class relationship, thereby keeping people in their place (consider the Islamic world). However, conflicting evidence suggests that religion does not always legitimate power (Catholicism Pope Rome).Whilst Feminism implies that religion and belief systems are an instrument of manipulation for men to use on women although I believe this theory to be the case for some religions but not all. It can vary from religion to religion, for example women cannot become priests in the Roman Catholic or Greek and Russian Orthodox churches, but in the Jewish faith women can become rabbis and do not sit apart from men. verso to Marxist views that religion suppresses people attempts to change their situation, religion can sometimes provide an impetus for change (Queen Mary Catholicism and Queen Elizabeth I Protestant). The Functionalist perspective of belief systems and religion does not vindicate for the dysfunctional aspects that the unruly force of religion can manifest (i.e. war in the name of Religion).The subject of the family and how it is defined is super difficult to determine. Marxists position asserts that the nuclear family is not universal but a product of capitalism and that the family is an exploitive institution, and that it was the simplest solution for insuring legitimacy of proposed heirs. Whereby Functionalism i s a strong supporter of the family, believing it to be the cornerstone of society. Feminists criticise the family as the focus on the exploitation of women by men, they argue that men dominate family relationships.CONCLUSIONEveryone has their own view of what religion and the family consists of. These pre conceived ideas are mostly to do with our own backgrounds, culture and life experiences.I find it difficult to subscribe to one theory over another as Functionalist, Marxist and Feminist theories can be interpreted in many different ways. Consequently each theorys perspective will work for their interpretation of religion, the family and society. The three theories are not too dissimilar to the three main Political Parties (Labour, Conservative and Liberal) in Britain each has its own agenda, but are all are equally as devious I am more inclined to opt for the Feminist and Marxist theories as they seem more plausible and are more comparative to past history and present day findings . I also believe that as societies cultures change through time, so will our explanation of family, religion and society.

Communications Paper

Communication Paper Ana Espinoza SOC-110 April 29, 2010 Zack Zardo Communications Paper Attitude is the first thing people usually sense in communion. Communication is a process by which information is exchanged amidst individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behavior. There atomic number 18 two divergent types of communication, vocal and nonverbal. Verbal communication usually means spoken or in some cases signed, as in American Sign Language, it also includes rate, volume, pitch as well as articulation and pronunciation. Nonverbal communication is facial expressions, body movements (i. shoulder shrugs, slight shutter in the body (at the sight of something disgusting)), diversion of inwardness sight (example flirting, staring, looking away when looked at. Great example from Wiki answers. com is, a man comes home late, he hears from the kitchen the slamming of pots, pans and cupboard doors. He enters the kitchen, asks his wife, Whats the matter, honey? She ans wers, Nothing as she slams another cupboard door. Now she has spoken the word Nothing, but it is her unspoken communication that tells him that Nothing is not the real answer. It is clearly communicated by her actions. men and women are really not the same. Their thinking, acting, communicating and many other behaviors are different. One can make broad generalizations about males and females. The primary difference between these genders is that men are resolvers and women are relaters. Being resolvers, men tend to focus on doing, resolving issues, finding solutions and solving problems. As relaters, women generally focus on pleasing, understanding, feelings, communicating, exploring emotions, making connections and being understood. An opposite gender can understand other than than the other because we all perceive things differently.For example, one gender can see the trumpery as half full, and the other can see it as half empty. Even though it is the same thing, we all see, hear , understand or comprehend things differently because of our gender. Communicating across cultures improves productivity and promotes healthy and happy learning and work environments. It helps to understand cultural differences and address problems/barriers. However there are problems and challenges of cultural differences or communication. Culture can be viewed by which groups of people understand and interpret or view the world.Generally there are two types of cultural differences. They both affect communication. Differences in body positions and movements and differences in views and practices concerning various factors of human relationships (time, space, intimacy ect. ). Body languages differ among cultures as well. For example, sitting versus squatting, and manners of walking, communication with body parts- hands, arms, channelize ect, may also vary by culture. Diversity describes the reality of a national and world community made up of people from different cultures with di fferent kinds of languages and social customs very different from our own.Communicating with different cultures does not come easy, because of a lack of knowledge. It is of the essence(p) to be open minded, listen and accent to understand others differences. Put yourself in their shoes. Our ways of thinking and our orientations to our environments are important, we each learn diverse culturally based sets of perceptual communication contexts. For someone to to the full understand communication across cultures they would need to learn a little about it in order to successfully communicate. Touching and hand shaking are important to understand in cultural communication. Some cultures do not like much touching.Their handshake may be taken as weak. new(prenominal) cultures that are okay with touching, have different greetings, ranging from embraces to kisses to even nose rubbing. Differing attitudes toward various factors of human relationships cause communication problems. While Am erican English is the predominant language in the United States the number of non- native English speakers continues to grow. Although many tools can help create a productive diverse environment, one of the most important is good communication skills. We must try to be careful in our choice of word or expressions because once something is communicated it cannot be taken back.To improve communication we must better understand what t is to communicate. Verbal and nonverbal communications are the two key aspects of communication, (especially important in high context culture). In order to communicate effectively we need to utilize these communication skills. The way cultures and genders do things are all different. We do not all walk, talk, and act the same. We do not all wake up the same, pray the same, think the same or believe in the same things. Culture is often at the foot of communication challenges.Exploring historical experiences and ways in which various cultural groups have related to each other is key to opening channels for cross-cultural communication. become more aware of cultural differences as well as exploring cultural similarities, can help you communicate with others more effectively. References Http//wwwindependent. co. uk/news/science/womens-brains-uareu-different-from-mens-ndash-and-heres-scientific-proof-870849. html. Http//www. slideshare. net Http//www. university of phoenix. com (2008) thin group and team communication. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, SOC-110 Website. Http//www. wikianwers. com

Life or Death

The last penalisation is the center of a highly publicized controversy. The sentencing of the 18-year-old American Michael Fay to a caning in superior of Singapore and Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmuns unequivocal public renunciation of capital penalization have intensified current debate over penalty in general and capital punishment in particularthe topic of this essay.The Fay controversy and the Blackmun declaration raise deep questions about how to get the punishment to depart the crime (Bedau 67). This is a difficult issue. Why do, or should, we seek the death of some criminals? How might we define death punishment, the justification of which is being debated here? The line of this paper is that punishment must involve unpleasant consequences for the one being punished of capital crimes death.The myth persists that by sanctioning an eye for an eye the word of honor is c every(prenominal)ing for the death sentence. Take a careful look. The same Mosaic laws (to be fo und principally in Exodus XXI and Deuteronomy XIX) that are all too commonly assumed to condone capital punishment also call for death. The Hebrew text, An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, was meant to prohibit mass killings (Bedau 240).Is it justifiable for an authorized representative of society to inflict death on those found guilty of committing capital crimes? On the issue of capital punishment, there is as clearly a clash of moral intuitions. Justice requires payment in kind and thus that murderers should die. Surely, the most convincing argument for the death penalty is that it protects innocent batch by stopping convicted murderers from committing murder again.The death penalty is marginally necessary to deter crimes better than less severe penalties. More significant results come from the capital punishments restraining effect on the much larger population where can be future killerswhat criminologists name as general deterrence. Testimony for death penaltys general d eterrent effect is found in three sources logic, firsthand reports, and social science research.Logic presents the conclusion that the capital punishment is the most effective deterrent for some kinds of killers. As Professor James Q. Wilson has said People are governed in their daily lives by rewards and penalties of every sort. We grass for bargain prices, praise our children for good behavior and scold them for bad, expect lower interest rates to stimulate home building and fear that higher ones allow for depress it, and conduct ourselves in public in ways that lead our friends and neighbors to form good opinions of us.To assert that deterrence doesnt work is tantamount to either denying the plainest facts of effortless life or claiming that would-be criminals are utterly different from the rest of us (Bedau 189). Many murderers on death row declare that they did not turn over of the death penalty when they killed people. This is surely true. That is exactly the point. If the y had thought of future death penalty, they would not have committed their horrible murders.The death penalty for the murderers makes a human action of assumptions about the consanguinity between death punishment and the well being of those who suffered loss as a result of the crime. It is assumed that there is a zerosum relationship between the welfare of the victims relative and that of the offender the greater the suffering to be inflicted on the offender, the better the victims loved ones should feel (Bedau 231).Perhaps a linkage of the selected penalty to the feelings of satisfaction of the victims relatives becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, with the relatives feeling rewarded by the jurys choice of death penalty. The death penalty serves to release tensions in people, that it makes them feel that justice is being done.However, the imposition of the death penalty must be constitutional which imposes a dual procedure for the death penalty first, conviction beyond a reasonabl e doubt for the act(s) and second, a separate sentencing hearing in which evidence relevant to personal culpability is admissible. The court, prior to imposition of the death penalty, have to find the existence of certain exacerbating factors and the absence of relevant mitigating factors (for example, age, psychiatric history, family background, and the like) the death penalty judgment, in turn, is subject to appellate review as its fairness and the absence of invidious factors.Works CitedBedau, Hugo Adam. Debating the finale Penalty Should America Have Capital Punishment? The Experts on Both Sides Make Their Best Case. Oxford University Press New York. Publication Year 2004.

Literacy Plan Essay

As I am starting to learn the basics of how to become an effective instructor, I am learning what type of t for each oneer I am and what type of teacher I urgency to be. Growing up, aspiring to be a teacher, I never design teachers had to learn how to do some methods I build seen. For example, teachers eer knew how to capture the students attention again after the children would get off task. I thought this accomplishment came naturally to teachers and I would obtain it with time.On my adventure of this learning impact of becoming a teacher, I rich person learned this skill is something you learn how to do and thither atomic number 18 many other skills to learn along the way. These skills and methods come from multiple studies and research done by theorists over the decades. Learning all these theories at first was overwhelming, just now over time I got a grasp on the basics of just a few theorists and their theories. There are so many researchers that have put their opini ons out in the open for teachers to take into account and work from. There is Vygotsky, Cambourne, Holdaway, Piaget, Skinner, and Dewey just to name a few later on acquiring this basic kip downledge of some theories, I have come to realize that there is one theorists methods I agree with the intimately when it comes to teaching literacy. This theorist is Brian Cambourne. Cambourne is an educational anthropologist from Australia who has emphasized his research in literacy learning. He has come up with many conditions pertaining to literacy learning. His theory compliments my beliefs the best, compared to the other theories I have learned about. I believe in having students experience antithetical types of literature.This process allows students to become familiar with different ways of writing, and how to say things in many different ways. This also gives them a chance to figure out what style of language they like best and grasp an idea of what type of literacy come easiest to th em. When students view more(prenominal) types of literacy, it vastly opens up their range of vocabulary that can only eudaimonia them in the future. This condition of students exploring all types of literacy is what Cambourne calls immersion and I find it to be a step that does not seem to be obvious to children.I feel students do not know when they are looking at different types of literacy. I believe in making an effort in explaining what type of material the students are reading from, rather than just handing them something and telling them to read it. This is the reason wherefore I believe demonstration is the next big important process. Demonstration is a very important step in my eyes for literacy learning. Demonstration is moulding literate person behaviors, formally and informally (Cambourne).I personally am a visual learner and prefer to have the teacher model what I am going to do before I have to employ it on my own. When a model was not available to me, I would bec ome stressed and overwhelmed with this tang of not knowing what I am doing. I do not want my students to become frustrated when they are reading and writing I want them to enjoy it and be excited about it. Therefore, when I become a teacher, I especially want to practice Cambournes condition of demonstration by having a whole group lesson in order to formally demonstrate for my students.This can be done while the students are at their desks, but I believe having this process done in a carpet area reminds students that what I, the teacher, am about to say is important to hear. Also, I believe in the saying, scalawag see, monkey do. Therefore, I believe a teacher should always speak proper grammar, self-correct, and demonstrate reading strategies at all times in effort of the children because they are going to mimic what they hear and see the most by the adults in their lives. After a demonstration is complete, I believe an expectation of what the students should know is built.Cam bourne believes this condition of expectation is that the students get the message. I believe that if a teachers demonstration was done correctly, the students will know that information and the teacher can expect them to know it. Not only does expectation build, but I believe the responsibility the student has for knowing what him/herself can accomplish grows. This process of being responsible for their own learning, I believe, does not come naturally. I think the teacher must allow these students to take on these responsibilities themselves.For example, if a teacher never lets a student choose their own book, that student will never gain the responsibility of knowing what books are right for him or her or learn how to pick the right kind of book for him or her. Learners will choose what they will explore intellectually as they go through literate behaviors (Cambourne). Once students have become aware of the skills that are being demonstrated to them, I believe the next important s tep is allowing students time to practice what they have learned. Cambourne calls this condition employment.I am a strong believer in practice makes perfect. I understand that nothing is perfect and there is always room for improvement. So maybe practice provides improvement is a transgress quote to go by. A learner will never become better at what they are learning if it is not practiced. With students practicing what they have learned, mistakes happen. This condition is what Cambourne calls approximation. I believe it is a good thing to let the learners make mistakes as they are exploring literacy because they will only learn from itI know that when I become a teacher, I want to stress that making mistakes is okay and will benefit anyone because they will only learn from it. I could even purposely make mistakes in order to model self-correction as well. But learners will only understand their mistake when feedback is given in a timely fashion. Coming to Alverno, I have probably r eceived the most feedback I ever have here compared to the rest of my educational career. I have come to firmly believe that feedback provides new knowledge for learners because it brings another perspective into their personal work.My feelings about feedback correspond with Cambournes condition called response. He believes this feedback should come from someone with more knowledge, such as a teacher. I want to make sure I conference with each of my students, individually, in order to look over what they have been working with and provide timely, appropriate feedback. I feel these conferences build a students pledge by being told what they are doing well, and they get to understand what kind of mistakes they are making in order to fix them and grow.After reading over Cambournes theory, there was nothing I could not agree with. I remember while I was reading it, all I could say was, yes, yes, and yes I do have to say developing my philosophy about literacy learning was a challenge. I feel like I am still developing my philosophy, but I have a grasp on my basic beliefs for my future teaching career. I know what kind of teacher I would like to be and when reading Cambournes theory I could picture myself doing each condition and feeling proud by teaching literacy in such a way.

Population Problems: A Worldwide Dilemma Essay

Population, specifically in price of size, is considerably more of an issue today than it has ever been. In fact, some of the close to material problems worldwide are being attributed to the continuous rise of the human world-wide commonwealth as mainly contributed by less(prenominal) economically established nations (Sociology Online). However, there is significantly more to these problems regarding population than normally perceived.In fact, there are already several population problems that have brought about significant perverting effects to several nations throughout the world, hence evidently causing alarm at a global scale. On of the most identifiable population problem is of course international migration (Sociology Online). From the standpoint of the common individual, migration magnate seem harmless as it only pertains to the transfer of people from arena to country in terms of those who seek a different environment in which to live in.However, considering an immen se growth in population, particularly from impoverished countries, the migration of individuals from such countries towards countries which are more economically stable may core in confused detrimental effects including diminished resources, social barriers, and further increase in population growth (Sociology Online). precondition this, there have been methods in which migration may be controlled.In the United States for example, not everyone is allowed to migrate as there are set criteria in choosing the individuals to be allowed to stay in the country (Sociology Online). Another significant population problem is actually very much related to the first one, the continuous reduction of getable resources. This problem is rather expected as the more individuals are born, the more people are in need of food. Since, food production cannot always be on par with the demand, problems will obviously arise.In fact, in extreme cases, famine may even break out as a result of the prolonge d lack of available food in numerous locations, which evidently causes not only unprejudiced cases of malnutrition but in fact can cause numerous deaths for a particular locality (Sociology Online). The methods in which this is addressed is understandably not only through better rate of production of goods but besides through a better consideration in terms of how much is consumed.Unlike the other twain issues discussed, the third one to be mentioned is more on politics and international relations rather than patently the direct physical effects of the overgrowth of populations. The advanced countries have often showed concern regarding the increasing populations of the less developed countries, and have often expressed their eagerness in coercing the governments of these countries to promote or impose methods of population control (Sociology Online).Even though such suggestions are frowned upon in certain countries, some have in fact initiated population control methods regardl ess of the suggestions. In fact, the government imposed policies on having children in mainland China have had various positive effects especially in terms of economic status (Sociology Online). As discussed, population problems today are generally associated with immense population growth, and it is evident that most global impacts are from this source.However, it must also be considered that the opposite of overpopulation is also potentially a source of negative implications (Sociology Online). Therefore, in order to truly limit or eliminate population problems, from apparent ones to more specific cases, a focus must be placed upon determining and maintaining an optimal population for each and every country worldwide. Work Cited Sociology Online. Population Patterns and Trends. Sociology Online Chapters and Texts. n. d. 20 May 2009

Sodom and Gomorrah

THE SEARCH FOR SODOM IS IT BAB EDH-DHRA OR TALL EL-HAMMAM? Jill Toodle scriptural Archaeology BIBL471_D01 April 7, 2013 infernoce the early 19th century archaeologists and Christian bible scholars ca-ca discovered a balance in archaeological and geographical assure that supports a nonethern study of Sodom or a Confederate view of Sodom. The Southern invest for Sodom is commonly referred to as the Bab edh-Dhra and the northern office for Sodom is referred to as the leggy el-Hammam. Since archaeologists pick out not uncovered exact evidence indicating a particular situate as the scriptural Sodom, the attempt for Sodom remains a mystery.To accurately investigate these sites and try to realize a conclusion, key facts need to be revealed. The intention of this paper is to reveal certain facts pertaining to those beas. The specific facts be as follows the site each gravel believes is Sodom, the evidence for close at both sites and how each site meets the criteria for the scriptural location of Sodom. In app dyingix this paper will compare and identify the strengths and weaknesses of each position. Two sites have been excavated as possible sites of the biblical Sodom.Which sensation is it? First the paper will focus on the southern site named Bab edh-Dhra, and then an depth psychology of the Tall el-Hammam will be d whiz. Bab edh-Dhra is the excavated site along the Valley of Siddom, South of the Dead Sea. Many proponents of this site apprise that this site is falld precisely on the eastern fault, which provides evidence for its destruction. 1 Furthermore, they indicate that the account book historically supports this location in propagation 1310, Genesis 1410 and Genesis 1924. J.Penrose Harland explains that an overall agreement amidst the southern supporters and northern supporters is that the cities of the Plain are to be prime in Ghor, or Valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea. However, Harland states, the evidence is preponderantly in fa vor of a location at the Southern end of the Dead Sea, which is described as Bab edh-Dhra. 2 To better grasp this preponderant view the archaeological evidence for the destruction of Bab edh-Dhra should be revealed. Dr. Price is a prominent supporter of this site and he reveals that this site was never reoccupied after the Early Bronze date of 2300-2000 B.C. 3 This evidence supports the truth that after the destruction of Sodom by the wrath of God that this location was uninhabitable. Furthermore, signifi croupet modify layers were discovered, which supports Genesis 19 24-28. Geologist Frederick Clapp surveyed Ghor, the southern end of the Dead Sea and discovered abundant touchstones of asphalt, petroleum and natural gas. In addition, the smell of sulphur and alter deposits represented in Genesis 1410 were present. 4 Since the intelligence service of honor informs us that Sodom was destroyed during the time of the Patriarchs one important disco really needs to be made in regard to the date of the Patriarchs.The site of Bab edh-Dhra provides a date of the second millennium B. C. Dr. Price confirms this baring and states, Only a second millennium background will fit the type of inheritance practiced by the Patriarchs. 5 Many bible scholars and archaeologists have worn out(p) numerous hours uncovering the site of Bab edh-Dhra. At this point the criteria that causes Bab edh-Dhra to be considered as biblical Sodom is the followings the script, the late classical and papistic writers, from geology and topography, from hydrography, and archaeology. 6 Furthermore, Genesis 1310 describes Sodom as a well irrigate land worry the land of Egypt. Therefore, the Paleo-botanical studies done on and at the Bab edh-Dhra site reveal that the area has had a rich diversity of crops, meeting the criteria for a well-watered land. 7 Another huge discovery that causes Bab edh-Dhra to be recognized as Sodom is the reference in Genesis 191, where Lot is sitting at the city gate. Bab edh-Dhra actually means gate of the arm. woodwind describes this fortification when he describes what the gate and site measure. He states, The city wall, enclosing an area of 9-10 soil, was a grand 7m (23 ft) wide and made of stones and mud bricks. 8 Although the Bab edh-Dhra has not been confirmed as the definite biblical Sodom, there is very strong evidence linking it to the Sodom described in the infallible Word of God. However, a professor from Albuquerque has followed and found base on the geography and history presented in the Bible a site called Tall el-Hammam, the northern site in question. Dr. collins and many other scholars believe that this site is actually the correct site for biblical Sodom. Therefore, throughout the next section of this paper, a detailed analysis to the Tall el-Hammam will be done. Tall el-Hammam s the site located on the northern circular plain of the southern Jordan Valley. Proponents of this site are, Charles W. Wilson, H. H. Kitche ner, Claude R. Conder, Selah Merrill, heat content B Tristram, William M. Thomson, George Grove and Henry S. Osborn. 9 They form their conclusion based on an analysis of the Hebrew schoolbook and their understanding of geography. Dr. Collins explains that the place that Lot set out to is clearly between Bethel and Ai. 10 This location provides the evidence for scholars to lean towards the Tall el-Hammam as the biblical Sodom, instead of the southern site, Bab edh-Dhra.Supporting this, a majority of biblical scholars locate Bethel, near Beitin, about 12 miles north of Jerusalem. Therefore, if Sodom is located between Bethel and Ai, the Tall el-Hammam better fits the criteria for being the biblical Sodom. When looking at the archaeological evidence for the destruction of the Tall el-Hammam archaeologist have discovered the site was destroyed near the end of the Middle Bronze Age. Dr. Collins explains that they have discovered vast quantities of ash, consisting of 1. 5 to 3 feet thic k of heavy ash associated with the Middle Bronze Age stratum. 11 Some of the debris found is pottery, a few bones, somewhat ash and something an excited digger thought was part of the meteor some believers speculate God hurled at Sodom to destroy it. 12 In addition, the Tall el-Hammam site reveals that a temperature exceeding 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit(postnominal) destroyed the area this gave evidence of catastrophic damage. 13 Based on the evidence revealed through archaeological jibe of the Tall el-Hammam, the supporters of this site date the Patriarchs as 17/16th Century, or Middle Bronze Age.Collins says the Bible makes it clear that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed during the Middle Bronze Age, the time of Abraham and Lot. 14 This dating is certainly the biggest difference between the twain sites in question. Therefore, it is important to list how the Tall el-Hammam meets the criteria for the biblical Sodom. The specific discoveries of the Tall el-Hammam meet the criteria ar e described briefly in this paragraph. First, the bible describes the place where Lot went as being a well-watered land, wish well the land of Egypt.Tall el-Hammam is located on a plow of well-watered plain 18 miles (30km) in diameter in the Jordan Valley north of the Dead Sea This location is exactly where Dr. Collins believes the biblical Sodom exists. The Hebrew word kikkar has special significance to the location of the Tall el-Hammam. This word was used to describe what Lot looked up and saw. Kikkar is a plain, round or oval shaped. Dr. Collins explains that when kikkar is used to describe a geographical construct, it refers to a disk shaped plain in the Southern Jordan Valley. 15 The specific site of the Tall el-Hammam has revealed that it was a well watered and fertile land, with large wadis wrapped around the fortification in exactly the described location. Another discovery was that in 3000-2350 B. C. E. the site was protected by enormous defenses. This indicated a strong government and settlements associated with an agricultural economy. When debating the two locations in consideration for the biblical site of Sodom, strengths and weakness of each view exist. Some of the strengths of the Bab edh-Dhra site are the discovery that the location was destroyed in the Early Bronze Age and never occupied again.This seems believably since God destroyed it with such great wrath. Strength of the Bab edh-Dhra is the fact that Lot was closely associated with Moab. 16 Therefore, the southern one-half of the Dead Sea would seem appropriate. In addition the charnel houses discovered in Bab edh-Dhra suggest a catastrophic event that burned many areas and came from above. 17 As for the weaknesses of in the location of Bab edh-Dhra, one is the fact that the Bible does not indicate specifically a southern site. Also, the lack of an excavated gate complex like the one found at the Tall el-Hammam and the difference in the size of the two sites.Bab edh-Dhra is approxima tely 12 acres and Tall el-Hammam is 100 acres. 18 When evaluating the weaknesses of the Tall el-Hammam some often mention the dating of the Patriarchs. Some believe that Dr. Collins has lowered the date of Abraham in order to create a match with his excavations. Dr. Collins absolutely denies that. Genesis 14 and 29 support an Early Bronze Age date for the Patriarchs and the Tall el-Hammam contradicts that date. Furthermore, the Tall el-Hammam was reinhabited hundreds of years after the destruction. This seems unlikely due to the soil being severely contaminated.Some strengths of the Tall el-Hammam site are the amount of ash and frothy magna indicating a temperature above 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. Additionally, the northern location of Sodom seems more likely, since the Bible suggests that Sodom is between Bethel and Ai (Genesis 131-2). Tall el-Hammam is visible from that area which is ten miles north of Jerusalem. 19 In closing, I would like to suggest that it is just too early to e xactly say which site is the correct biblical Sodom. However, the amount of ash strongly points to the Tall el-Hammam.I have reservations because of the date of the Patriarchs given to that site and the fact of it being occupied erst again in the Late Bronze Age. This certainly complicates the excavation. Interestingly, very intelligent evangelical biblical archaeologists dissent on which site is in fact the biblical Sodom. I find it very difficult to form an opinion, considering Dr. Price, the author of our textbook The Stones Cry Out concludes the Bab edh-Dhra as the correct site and my professor, Dr. David Graves, is the field supervisor of the Roman remains (Livias? ) at the Tall el-Hammam (Sodom? excavations in Jordan. Due to this reality and the evidence, I am undecided. I have chosen to let the reader form an individual conclusion based on the evidence I have presented in this paper. Hopefully, I have equally analyzed each site and the reader can participate in this excitin g journey of biblical discoveries to uncover the biblical Sodom. Bibliography Collins, Steven. Discovering the City of Sodom. Kirkus Reviews 3 (Feb 2013), http//www. kirkusreviews. com Collins, Steven. If You judgment You Knew the Location of Sodom and Gomorrah think Again. scriptural Research publicize 7, no. 4 (2007) 1-6. Collins, Steven. wedlock vs. South why the Southern Location Doesnt Work. Sidebar to Where is Sodom. Biblical Archaeology Society 39, no. 2 (Mar/April 2013) http//www. basarchive. org. ezproxy. liberty. edu2048/bswbBrowse. asp? PubID=BSBA & bulk=39&Issue=2&ArticleID=2&UserID=1037. Collins, Steven. Where Is Sodom? The Case for Tall el-Hammam. Biblical Archaeology Society 39, no. 2 (Mar/April 2013). httpwww. basarchive. org. ezproxy. liberty. edu2048/bswbBrowse. asp?PubID=BSBA &Volume=39&Issue=2&ArticleID=2&UserID=1037. Harland, J. Penrose. Sodom and Gomorrah The location of the Cities of the Plain. The Biblical archaeologist 5, no. 2 (May 1942) 17-32. Higg ins, Andrew. slam for Sin City, Christians Toil in Jordan Desert Prof Collins seeks Sodom with Scriptures as Guide and Volunteers as Muscle. Wall Street Journal, A1 edition (February 2007). http//search. proquest. com/docview/399037586? accountid=12085 Price, Randall. The Stones Cry Out. Oregon Harvest House, 1997. Wood, Bryant G. The Discovery of the Sin Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Bible and nigra 12, no. 3 (1999). Search for Sodom and Gomorrah. (August 2009). http//blog. bibleplaces. com/2009/08/ Video-Searchforsodomandgomorrah. html 1 Bryant Wood, The Discovery of the Sin Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Bible and Spade 12, no. 3(1999) 0. 2 J. P. Harland, Sodom and GomorrahThe location of the Cities of the Plain,The Biblical Archaeologist 5, no. 2 (May 1942)19. 3 Randall Price, The Stones Cry Out (Oregon Harvest House, 1997), 120. 4 Price, 118-119. 5 Price, 94. 6 Harland, 28. 7 Wood, 0. 8 Wood, 0. 9 Steven Collins, North vs. South Why the Southern Location Doesnt work, Bibl ical Archaeology Society 39, no. 2 (Mar/April 2013)0. 10 Steven Collins, Where is Sodom? The Case for Tall el-Hammam, Biblical Archaeology Society 39, no. 2 (Mar/April 2013). 11 Collins, Where is Sodom? The Case for Tall el-Hammam, 0. 12Andrew Higgins. Digging for Sin City Christians Toil in Jordan Desert, Prof. Collins seeks Sodom with Scriptures as Guides and Volunteers as Muscle, Wall Street Journal, A1 edition (Feb 2007) 0. 13 Collins, Where is Sodom? The Case for Tall el-Hammam, 0. 14 The Journal for Jane Mahoney, Digging a New Path to Lost Cities Albuquerque Archaeologist uses Biblical Clues to Find what He thinks are the Ruins of Sodom an Gomorrah, Albuquerque Journal (June 2006)0. 15 Steven Collins, If You Thought You Knew the Location of Sodom and Gomorrah.. think Again, Biblical Research Bulletin 7, no. 4 (2007) 2. 16Harland, 21. 17 Price, 117. 18 Collins, Where is Sodom? The Case of the Tall el-Hammam, 0. 19 Search for Sodom and Gomorrah, (August 2009), http//bibleplaces. com

Bite Me: A Love Story Chapter 15

15. Head in the Clouds and Vice VersaTOMMY It was the linguistic communi castion that brought Tommy back. For a week with the hodgepodge of vampire cats, and for several weeks before, while trapped inside the bronze statue, the talking to had left Tommy. His mind had g single(a) feral, as had his body after he escaped. For the first gear fourth dimension since Jody had dour him, he moody to his instincts, and they had take him to the huge, s accommodated vampire cat Chet and his vampire progeny. Running with them he intentional to use his vampire senses, had learned to be a hunter, and with them, he took snag raven for the first time mice, rats, cats, dogs, and, yes, people.Chet was the alpha animal of the pack, Tommy the genus Beta male, simply Tommy was right away r individu anyying a level of whither he would be a ch all t experientenge to Chets position. Ironically, it was Chet who take him back to the words, which light-emitting diode him back to his sanity. In th e pervert, merged with the other animals, he mat what they felt, knew what they knew, and Chet knew words, put words to c at one timepts and experiences the way a hu troops did, the genuinely thing that had kept Tommy from being able to turn to veil in the first place. As a human, with grammar hardwired into his promontory, he put a word to e very(prenominal)thing, and as a writer, if he couldnt put a word to an experience it had no value for him. unless to be stupefy mist, you scarcely had to BE. Words got in the way. They separated you from the condition.Feline Chet had not been a creature of words, as his pool brain was not wired to file that benignant of information, entirely as a vampire, a vampire sired by the top vampire, his brain had changed, and c formerlypts carried words for him now. As the cloud of hunters was streaming under the door to attack the emperor plainlyterfly (toward the smell of dog and recognition, for Chet had known the Emperor in life) the wo rd dog fired across Chets kitty mind, and in turn across the minds of all of the hunters, tho for Tommy, it was transformational, as words, meaningless to the cats, cascaded across his mind, bringing with them memories, personality, identity.He materialized expose of the cloud in the dark storeroom, where he could see the Emperor in heat signature, flock in a corner, h elderlying his knife at the ready. Even if the room had been light, Tommy moved so quick it would have been hard for the Emperor to see what was happening. The vampire scooped up the over-the-hill man, stuffed him into the barrel, crimped on the lid with a grip that crushed the metal edges, whence placed the barrel so the weight would stick around on the lid. Instinct and experience told Tommy that the hunters wouldnt strike enough space inside to materialize as a whole, so even though the barrel was not air tight, the Emperor would be safe as languish as the lid remained intact. There wasnt enough room in th ere, literally, to swing a cat, and that would save the old man.Tommy melted back into the cloud and moved out of the room, trying to entrust the concept of danger to the rest of the hunters, putting an image to Chets word dog that the kitty minds would recognize, and s lower-rankingly, the vampire cloud, its various tendrils having tested the room for prey and finding n atomic number 53 accessible, snaked back under the door and away to look for blood that wasnt sealed so tight or smelled quite so dangerous.They streamed up the elevator shaft, through the building, and out onto the street, where a almost cats and Tommy solidified and dropped out of the cloud. Tommy, self-conscious now, looked around, realizing that he was naked. Everything hed experienced from the time hed been released from the bronze shell was a sensory blur in his memory, now that he was thinking in words again. But he remembered the Emperor, who had been one of the first people hed met in the City, and who had been kind to him had in fact gotten him his job at the Sa a couple of(prenominal)ay, where hed met Jody.Jody. Both words and instinct overwhelmed him at the thought of her, memories of joy and pain as pure as the hunter earth of mind. He searched in a whirlwind of words and images for a way to contain her. Jody. Need. That was the word.Hed need clothes and talking to to move in the world where hed find Jody. He didnt know why he knew that, but he knew it. But first he needed to feed. He loped down the sidewalk after the hunter-cloud, tuned again for prey, and for the first time in weeks, the word blood lit up in his brain.The words brought him back.THE NOTORIOUS FOO furrow Your cars all fucked up, explained Cavuto.I know, tell Stephen Foo Dog Wong. He stood aside and the two policemen walked by him into the loft. Your jackets be done.Your flatcars all fucked up, too, observed Cavuto, looking at the plywood fastened across the front of the loft where the windows used to be .And wax of rats, added Rivera.Dead rats, verbalize Cavuto, shaking one of the p oddmentic boxes with the lid taped on. The rat inside furled around akin-well-like a dead rat.Theyre not dead, verbalise Jared. Its daytime. Theyre undead. Jared wore a SCULL-FUCK SYMPHONY band T-shirt, over skin-tight dull girls jeans, with flesh-colored ACE elastic bandages running from midcalf to the midsole of his black Chuck Taylors. His Mohawk had been lacquered into magenta Statue of Liberty spikes.Cavuto looked at him and shake his head. Kid, even in the gay community there are limits to tolerance.I hurt my ankles, whined Jared.Foo nodded. Weve had a few rough days.I gathered, verbalise Rivera. Wheres your creepy girlfriend?Shes not creepy, utter Jared. Shes complex.Home, utter Foo.As was concur in her black covenant with you, said Jared, as ominously as he could manage.Did you get an face accent all of a sudden? asked Cavuto.He does that when he wants to sound more Gothic, said Foo. He was trying to stand in front of the ruins of the bronze statue of Jody and Tommy, but since it was twice his size, he yet force attention to it.Rivera pulled a pen from his jacket and ran it over the sawed edges of the bronze shell and pulled it back with the red-brown clot on it. Mr. Wong, what the hell happened here?Nothing, said Jared, without an English accent.Foo looked from one inspector to the other, hoping they would see how hopelessly smarter he was than them, and circulate up, but they wouldnt look away. They average kept looking at him like he was in trouble. He went to the futon that served as their couch, pushed a bunch of boxes of undead rats to the floor, sat down, and cradled his face in his hands.I thought Id found some kind of scientific bonanza, a new species, a new way for a species to reproduce-hell, maybe I have, but everythings so out of control. The fucking magicRivera and Cavuto moved to the middle of the room, and stood over Foo. Rivera reached down and squeezed his shoulder. Focus, Stephen. What happened here? Why is there blood all over that statue?They were in there. Tommy and Jody. Abby and I had them bronzed when they were out during the day. and then they never left town like you said? asked Cavuto.No, they had been in there all the time. Abby said that it wouldnt be bad for them, that when they were in mist form it was like they were dreaming. Mist form What the hell is that? Its not possible.And you felt bad so you cut them out? said Rivera.No, Jared let Jody out.Totally by accident, said Jared. She was kind of a bitch well-nigh it, too.Foo explained about Jared releasing Jody, Abby and Jody releasing Tommy, Jody throwing Tommy through the windows, and Tommy running off into the night, naked.So hes out there, Foo said. Theyre both out there.We know, said Cavuto.You do? Foo looked up for the first time. You knew?She was seen at the Fairmont Hotel, and we found bags of blood in a room there. Well find her. But the Empero r saw Tommy Flood, naked, sleeping with all the vampire cats. He said that the one cat, Chet, isnt really a cat anymore. Explain that, science boy.Foo nodded. I figure something like that powerfulness happen. The rats are smarter.That helps, said Cavuto.No, what Ive found is that the vampire blood carries characteristics of the host species. The further from the prime vampire, the old vampire that false Jody, or thats who we think is the prime vampire, the less change takes place. Abby said that Chet was turned by the prime vampire, so hes picking up human characteristics. Hes expiration to be stronger, bigger, smarter than any of the cat vampires. Hes turning into something new.Something new?Yeah. We found it with the rats. The first ones I turned from Jodys blood are smarter than the ones I turned from those rats blood. Each generation away from her is less and less intelligent. I mean, we havent had time to really test them, but in just the amount of time it takes them to lea rn the labyrinths, its clear that the innate intelligence is higher in those closer to the human vampire sire. And theyre stronger, because Jody was solitary(prenominal) one generation from the prime vampire. I thought Id reckon an algorithm that described it, but then they all turned to mist and merged and fucked up everything.Sure, said Cavuto, well nod and act like we have some idea of what youre talking about until you tell us what the hell youre actually talking about.Foo got up and waved for them to follow him into the bedroom. There was a plywood maze that cover the entire bed, with small blue LEDs dimly lighting every intersection. A sheet of Plexiglas cover the top.The UV LEDs are to declare them from turning to mist and escaping the maze, Foo said. Its not enough to hurt them, just keep them solid.Oh good, a toy city, said Cavuto. We have time for this.Foo ignored him. The rats who were turned from Jodys blood learned the maze more quickly, and remembered it faster tha n the ones turned from rat blood. It was consistent, until they all got loose and merged into a single cloud. subsequently that, they all knew the maze, even if we had never put them in it.Rivera bent down and pretended to be examining the maze. What are you dictum, Stephen?I think that they share a consciousness when they are together in mist form. What one knows, the others know. After they had merged, they all knew the maze.Rivera looked at Cavuto and raised his eyebrows. The Emperor thought that Tommy Flood was in the same cloud as the vampire cats.Were fucked, said Cavuto.Rivera looked at Foo for confirmation. Are we fucked?Foo shrugged, Well, from what I could tell, Tommy wasnt really that bright.Rivera nodded. Uh-huh, and if your girlfriend didnt have a crush on him, would we be fucked?Foo flinched a bantam, then recovered. I think theyd be limited by the brain capacity of the species, so the vampire cats would be still be cats, but theyd be very smart. Chet, on the other hand-Were fucked, said Cavuto. Say it.Scientifically speaking, yes, said Jared, who stood in the doorway of the bedroom.How do we cylinder block them? asked Rivera.Sunlight. UV light will do it, said Foo. You have to find them while theyre dormant or theyll just run away. Theyre not invulnerable to physical damage. If theyre dismembered or decapitated it will kill them.You did experiments on that? asked Cavuto.Foo shook his head. We had some accidents when we were trying to get them back in their cages, but Im basing that hypothesis on Abbys definition of the swordsman who showed up in the street.He sounds badass, said Jared. Did you find him?Cavuto took Jared by a hair spike, steered him into the corner, face up him there, then turned back to Foo. So, these jackets you made us, theyll take them out?If youre close enough. Id say theyre lethal to about twelve feet. I suppose I can rig something higher intensity, like a high-capacity UV laser flashlight. You could cut them down fro m a distance with something like that.Light sabers said Jared, his voice going up. He hopped around in excitement, then winced at the pain in his ankles. Ouch.Thats it, said Cavuto. Youre too lots of a nerd to be gay. Im contacting the committee. Theyll revoke your rainbow flag and you will not be permitted anywhere come up the parade.Theres a committee?No, said Rivera. Hes fucking with you. Rivera turned back to Foo. What about something that will dress on a wider basis-like a vaccine or something?Foo thought for a second. Sure, what is it, Tuesday? Im curing Ebola in the morning, but I can work on your vampire vaccine after lunch.Rivera smiled. People are dying, Steve. Lots of people. And the just now people who have a chance to stop it are in this room.Not you, Cavuto said to Jared.Bitch, Jared replied.Ill work on it, said Foo. But its not as bad as you think it is.Brighten our day, kid, said Cavuto.They cant all handle it. Four out of every ten animals that are turned vampire dont live on to the second night. They either just break down on the spot-sort of decay from the inside, or they go crazy-its like the heightened senses overwhelm them and they just have sort of a seizure that scrambles their brains and they end up with no excerpt instincts. They dont feed or hide from the light. The first sunrise after theyre turned burns them up. Its like intensify evolution, taking out the weak the very first day.So youre telling me what?The cat cloud wont dumbfound exponentially. And the only way it will pass to other species is if they bite their attacker during the attack and ingest vampire blood-thats why you havent had any more human vampires. hence why no dog vampires? asked Cavuto.Im guessing the cats force them apart before they change, said Foo. Im not a behavioral guy, but Id guess theres no brotherhood among vampires. If youre a vampire cat, youre essentially still a cat. If youre a vampire dog, youre still a dog. nevertheless for Chet, said Riv era. Who is kind of a cat plus something else.Well, there are anomalies, said Foo. I told you, this is very fuzzy science. I dont like it.Riveras phone chirped and he flipped it open and looked at the screen. The Animals, he said.And? asked Cavuto.Theyre at a bungle shop in Chinatown. They say they have a way to kill the vampires but they cant find them.We can take them Marvin. Tell them were on the way.Rivera held the phone like it was a foul dead thing. I dont know how.Foo snatched the phone out of Riveras hand, nine-keyed a message, hit SEND, and handed it back. There, youre on the way. I thought you said the only people who could fix this were in this room.They are, and now theyre leaving.Dont forget your sun jackets, said Jared. We charged the batteries and everything. Do you think youll be able to turn them on, or should I come along to help?Hes a kid. Rivera grabbed Cavutos arm. You cant hit him.Thats it, kid. Youre out of the tribe. If I hear youve touched a penis, even you r own, Im sending you to butch sapphic jail.They have that?Rivera looked previous(prenominal) his partner at Jared and nodded, slowly, seriously.KATUSUMI OKATA The burned-up white girl was not healing very quickly and Okata was running out of blood. All he seemed to do was watch her, sketch her, and squeeze his blood into her mouth. art object her red hair had returned, and most of the ash had flaked away to reveal white skin underneath, she was still wraith-thin, and she only seemed to breathe two or three times an hour. During the day, she didnt breathe at all, and he thought that she office be dead forever. She had not opened her eyes, and had made no sound except a low moan when he was feeding her, which subsided as soon as he stopped.He was not smelling well himself, and on the second day he became light-headed and passed out on the mat beside her. If she did come alive as a demon, hed be too weak to defend himself and she would drain the last drops of his life. Strangely, he was not okay with that. He needed to eat and recover and she needed more blood.We will have to find a balance, he said to the white girl in Japanese. He had been talking to her more lately, and found that he no longer flinched at the sound of his voice inside the bantam apartment that had been without a human voice for so long. A balance.When it was light and she had been still for an hour, he locked up his little apartment, took his sword, and walked into Chinatown, feeling ashamed of the little, old-man steps he was taking because he had become so weak. Perhaps he would actually go into a restaurant and have some tea and noodles, sit until his strength returned. Then he would find a better way to feed the burned-up white girl.He only verbalize a dozen words of Cantonese, despite having lived near Chinatown for forty years. They were the same dozen words he spoke in English. He told his students at the dojo it was because Bushido and the Japanese language were inseparable, b ut in fact, it was because he was determined and didnt really like talking to people. His words were hello, good-bye, yes, no, enthral, thank you, okay, sorry, and suck my dick. He made it a rule, however, to only say the last three in junction with please and/or thank you, and had only downhearted that rule once, when a thug in the Tenderloin tried to take his sword and Okata forgot to say please before fracturing the mans skull with the sheathed katana. Sorry, hed said.It had been over a week since Okata had been to the dojo in Japantown. His students would think he was testing them, and when the time came to face them, he would say through his translator that they should learn to sit. Should learn patience. Should anticipate nothing. Anticipation was impulse and didnt the Buddha teach that desire was the cause of all suffering? Then he would proceed to trounce each and every one of them with the bamboo shinai as an object lesson in suffering. Thank you.He didnt care much for wide-awake Chinese food, but Japantown was too far to walk, and Japanese food in his neighborhood was too expensive. But noodles are noodles. Hed eat just enough to get his strength back, then he would buy a fish, maybe some holler out to help replace his blood, and take them home and prepare them.After he slurped down three bowls of soba and drank a pot of green tea at a restaurant named Soup, he made his way to the butcher. Near the old man who sat on a draw crate playing a Gaohu, a two-string, upright fiddle that approximated the sound of someone hurting a cat, the swordsman passed two policemen, who had paused as if considering whether they should give money to the old fiddler or whether it might not be better for everyone if they just Tased him. They smiled and nodded to Okata and he smiled back. They were mildly amused by the little man in the too-short plaid slacks, fluorescent orange socks, and an orange porkpie hat, who they had seen go the City since they were boys. It never occurred to them that he was anything but an eccentric street person, or that the walking stick with which he measured his easy strolls, wasnt a walking stick at all.It took considerable pointing and pantomime to get the Chinese butcher to understand that he precious to buy blood, but once he did, Okata was surprised to find out not only was it available, but it was available in flavors pig, chicken, cow, and turtle. Turtle? Not for his burned-up white girl. How dare the butcher even suggest such(prenominal) a thing? She would have beef, and maybe a quart or two of pig, because Okata remembered reading once that human flesh was called long pig by Pacific island cannibals, so pig blood might be more to her liking.The butcher taped the lids on eight, one-quart plastic containers containing all the nonturtle blood he had, then carefully stacked them in a shopping bag and handed them to a woman at the cash register. Okata paid her the amount on the register, picked up the bag, and was pocketing the change when someone tapped him on the shoulder.He turned. No one there. Then he looked down a tiny Chinese grandmother dressed in thug-wear that made her look vaguely like a hip-hop Yoda. She said something to him in Cantonese, then said something to the butcher, then to the woman behind the counter, who pointed at the shopping bag, then she said something else to Okata. Then she put a hand on his shopping bag.Thank you, Okata said in Cantonese. He bowed slightly. She didnt move.Being confronted by a Chinese grandmother while shopping in Chinatown was not unusual. In fact, more than once hed had to push through a dog pile of Sino-matrons to simply buy a decent cabbage, but this one seemed to want what Okata had clearly already purchased.He smiled, bowed again, just slightly, said, Good-bye, and tried to push past her. She stepped in front of him, and he noticed, as he should have before, that a whole group of materialization men stepped in behind her seven of the m, Anglo, Hispanic, black, and Chinese, they all looked slightly stoned, but no less determined.The old lady barked something at him in Cantonese and tried to grab his bag. Then the young men behind her stepped up.THE ANIMALS occupy you been washed in the blood? said Clint, the born-again ex-heroin addict to the detectives as they entered the butcher shop. He grinned over his shoulder. Clint was splattered head to toe with blood. Everyone in the shop was splattered with blood except the two invariant cops, who were trying to keep the three groups-the customers, the butchers, and the Animals-separated. They had the Animals lined up opposite the counter, facing the wall, their hands restrained with nix ties.Inspector, these guys say theyre supposed to meet you here, said the younger of the uniforms, a gaunt, Hispanic guy named Muez.Rivera shook his head.He started it, said Lash Jefferson. We were just minding our own business, and he rolled up on us all badass.Rivera looked at the Asian officer, John Tan, who hed worked with before when investigating a murder in Chinatown and had needed a translator. What happened?Tan shook his head and pushed his hat back on his head with the end of his riot baton. Nobodys hurt. Its beef and pig blood. The butcher says these guys attacked a little old Japanese man, a regular customer, because he had bought the last of the beef blood.We needed it for bait, said Lash. You know, Inspector, like beer for slugs. He winked.You attacked an old man because he bought the last cow blood? asked Cavuto.He attacked us, said troy Lee. We were just defending ourselves.He had a sword, said Drew, who turned back around quickly.Officer Tan rolled his eyes at Rivera. The butcher says the old man had a stick of some kind. He used it to defend himself.Just because he didnt draw it out of the scabbard doesnt meant it wasnt a sword, said Jeff, the tall, blond jock.It was a battle of honor, said Troy Lee.One little old guy with a stick, seven of yo u? said Rivera. Honor?He told my grandma to suck his dick, said Troy.Still, said Cavuto.But she said okay, Troy said.That shit is just wrong, said Lash.Grandma, who was standing with the other outraged, blood-splattered customers across the butcher shop, fired off a volley of Cantonese at the policemen. Rivera looked to Officer Tan for translation.She says she misunderstood what he was saying because his accent was so bad.Dont care, said Rivera. Wheres the guy with the alleged stick?He ran out before we got here, said Tan. We called in backup, but we put the responding unit on finding the victim, when these guys didnt resist.Resistance is futile, said Clint in a robot voice.I thought you were Christian, said Cavuto.What, I cant love Jesus and Star Trek?Oh for fucks sake. Rivera, lets just arrest these morons and-Rivera held up his hand for silence. Officer Tan, Im afraid I do need them. You have their call if the stick guy shows up and wants to press charges. Have all those people leave their names with the butcher. These guys will pay for their dry cleaning.Yes, sir, said Tan. Theyre all yours. You want me to clip the restraints?Nope, said Rivera. Come along, boys. He led the Animals, their hands cuffed behind their backs, out of the butcher shop and into the flow of the Stockton Street sidewalk-a river of people.Youd better bring Troy Lees grandma, said Lash, rolling to the side as a vendor with a handtruck full of crates bumped by.Yeah, Grandma has a secret weapon, blurted out Troy Lee.I heard, said Cavuto.Jeff, the tall jock, said, Hey, did anyone wonder why a little old Japanese guy would need eight quarts of animal blood?