Casablanca Essays - English-language Films, Casablanca, Films

Casablanca In choosing the movie Casablanca, I looked forward to re-aquatinting myself with a wonderful old classic Noir film. I wanted to know more about this film for a better understanding of the plot and symbolism, as well as the powerful mystique behind the film that has made Casablanca so enduring. Casablanca (1942), a review by Damian Cannon, movie review UK 1998, provided the following information: Amidst the Second World War the African City of Casablanca becomes the backdrop for Rick's Caf? (where everybody goes), as well as the many dispossessed refugees, black marketers, and a variety of colorful characters, when resistance fighter Victor Laszlo enters the scene. The plot thickens and tension becomes palpable. Accompanied by his beautiful wife Ilsa (Rick Blaines' ex-lover), Laszlo soon finds himself immersed in the seamy underworld of Casablanca, and the constant menace of the Nazi occupation with Rick's Caf? as the only neutral focal point. As the movie draws to a conclusion Rick (Humphrey Bogart) is forced to take a moral stand which leads to an interesting ending, with unexpected twists. Based on the play, ?Everybody Comes to Rick's?, Casablanca was written by Murray Burnett, and directed by Michael Curtiz. Along with Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine, and Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Laszlo; Casablanca boasts a stellar cast among them; Paul Henreid as Victor Laszlo, Claude Rains as Captain Louis Renault, Peter Lorre as Ugarte, and Sydney Greenstreet as Senor' Ferrari. It is noted that the movie classic one-line comments are still somewhat of a mystery, in that its appeal remains so strong more than fifty years later! I found Mr. Cannon's review of Casablanca to be clear and concise. A quick overview of the Casablanca plot is meshed smoothly with interesting and lesser-known information concerning the behind the scenes directing from Mr. Curtiz. Mr. Cannon shows excellent insight into Casablanca's more prominent characters, and a good understanding of the movies plot and symbolism. I agree with Damian Cannon's question and puzzlement as to why Casablanca has remained so appealing through so many decades. No one working on the movie planned on making a classic, and yet Casablanca has endured. Is it the wonderful one-liners, Humphrey Bogart's hard-boiled persona, or maybe the chemistry between Rick and Ilsa? Personally, I enjoyed the continuous ebb and flow of humanity in Rick's Caf? and the wonderful ongoing atmosphere. In conclusion, my understanding of Casablanca has increased, with greater appreciation for the central characters, and the plot that developed around them. ?Here's looking at you ki d? now takes on a whole new meaning! Movies and Cinema Essays

How to Write Great Ledes for Feature Stories

How to Write Great Ledes for Feature Stories When you think of newspapers, you probably tend to focus on the hard-news stories that fill the front page. But much of the writing found in any newspaper is done in a much more feature-oriented way. Writing ledes for feature stories, as opposed to  hard-news ledes, requires a different approach. Feature Ledes vs. Hard-News Ledes Hard-news ledes need to get all the important points of the story - the who, what, where, when, why, and how - into the first sentence  or two, so that if the reader only wants the basic facts, he or she gets them quickly. The more of a news story he or she reads, the more detail he gets. Feature ledes, sometimes called delayed, narrative, or anecdotal ledes, unfold more slowly. They allow the writer to tell a story in a more traditional, sometimes chronological way. The objective is to draw the readers into the story and to make them want to read more. Setting a Scene, Painting a Picture Feature ledes often begin by setting a scene or painting a picture of a person or place. Here’s a Pulitzer Prize-winning example by Andrea Elliott of The New York Times: The young Egyptian professional could pass for any New York Bachelor. Dressed in a crisp polo shirt and swathed in Cologne, he races his Nissan Maxima through the rain-slicked streets of Manhattan, late for a date with a tall brunette. At red lights, he fusses with his hair. What sets the Bachelor apart from other young men on the make is the chaperone sitting next to him - a tall, bearded man in a white robe and stiff embroidered hat. Notice how Elliott effectively uses phrases like â€Å"crisp polo shirt† and â€Å"rain-slicked streets.† The reader doesnt yet know exactly what this article is about, but he or she is drawn into the story through these descriptive passages. Using an Anecdote Another way to begin a feature is to tell a story or an anecdote. Here’s an example by Edward Wong of The New York Times Beijing bureau: BEIJING - The first sign of trouble was powder in the baby’s urine. Then there was blood. By the time the parents took their son to the hospital, he had no urine at all. Kidney stones were the problem, doctors told the parents. The baby died on May 1 in the hospital, just two weeks after the first symptoms appeared. His name was Yi Kaixuan. He was 6 months old. The parents filed a lawsuit on Monday in the arid northwest province of Gansu, where the family lives, asking for compensation from Sanlu Group, the maker of the powdered baby formula that Kaixuan had been drinking. It seemed like a clear-cut liability case; since last month, Sanlu has been at the center of China’s biggest contaminated food crisis in years. But as in two other courts dealing with related lawsuits, judges have so far declined to hear the case. Taking Time to Tell the Story You’ll notice that both Elliott and Wong take several paragraphs to begin their stories. That’s fine - feature ledes in newspapers generally take two to four paragraphs to set a scene or convey an anecdote; magazine articles can take much longer. But pretty soon, even a feature story has to get to the point. The Nut Graph The nut graph is where the feature writer lays out for the reader exactly what the story is all about. It usually follows the first few paragraphs of the scene-setting or storytelling the writer has done. A nut graph can be a single paragraph or more. Here’s Elliott’s lede again, this time with the nut graph included: The young Egyptian professional could pass for any New York Bachelor. Dressed in a crisp polo shirt and swathed in Cologne, he races his Nissan Maxima through the rain-slicked streets of Manhattan, late for a date with a tall brunette. At red lights, he fusses with his hair. What sets the Bachelor apart from other young men on the make is the chaperone sitting next to him - a tall, bearded man in a white robe and stiff embroidered hat. I pray that Allah will bring this couple together, the man, Sheik Reda Shata, says, clutching his seat belt and urging the Bachelor to slow down. (Here is the nut graph, along with the following sentence): Christian singles meet for  coffee. Young Jews have JDate. But many Muslims believe that it is forbidden for an unmarried man and woman to meet in private. In predominantly Muslim countries, the job of making introductions and even arranging marriages typically falls to a vast network of family and friends. In Brooklyn, there is Mr. Shata. Week after week, Muslims embark on dates with him in tow. Mr. Shata, the imam of a Bay Ridge mosque, juggles some 550 marriage candidates, from a gold-toothed electrician to a professor at Columbia University. The meetings often unfold on the green velour couch of his office or over a meal at his favorite Yemeni restaurant on Atlantic Avenue. So now the reader knows – this is the story of a Brooklyn imam who helps bring young Muslim couples together for marriage. Elliott could just as easily have written the story with a hard-news lede something like this: An imam based in Brooklyn says he works as a chaperone with hundreds of young Muslims in an effort to bring them together for marriage. That’s certainly quicker. But it’s not nearly as interesting as Elliott’s descriptive, well-crafted approach. When to Use the Feature Approach When done right, feature ledes can be a joy to read. But feature ledes aren’t appropriate for every story in print or online. Hard-news ledes are generally used for breaking news  and for more important, time-sensitive stories. Feature ledes are generally used on stories that are less deadline-oriented and for those that examine issues in a more in-depth way.

Safeguards for Educational Records Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Safeguards for Educational Records - Essay Example If a student’s educational records appear incorrect, parents or eligible students have the right to review their educational records and request for changes to be made when appropriate. If the school disagrees to changing the student’s records, the parent or eligible student has a right to a formal hearing to discuss the matter. Divorced parents must provide custody information that is set forth from the court order. In cases where the parents are divorced, the courts may order for one of the parents to have full custody of the student. In this instance, the parent who has lost his or her custody may not have written permission to access the student’s educational records. In this situation, I will require the parent to provide documentation before the student’s educational records are released. Grandparents must provide a written statement that grants them permission to access the student’s records. Grandparents will be required to provide me with documentation for permission to access the student’s educational records. If the grandparents have custody of the student, I will require grandparents to provide a written statement that shows proof of custody. Foster Parents must provide the proper documentation for the student before the student’s information is released to them. The foster parents must prove that they have guardianship over the student. As a teacher, I will keep an updated copy of the current foster parent of the student to protect the student’s safety and educational records. Step-parents need permission from the student’s parent/legal guardian to discuss the student’s educational records with the step-parent. I will implement a system that requires the step-parent to provide proof of legal marriage to the student’s parent. As a safety measure, I will keep an updated copy of the step-parent authorization form to review the student’s records. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) help to enforce the privacy of the student’s educational records and alleviate unauthorized individuals from obtaining access to the student’s educational records.

Marketing - Real-World Write-ups Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marketing - Real-World Write-ups - Article Example 8). One of the crucial factors that should be considered in the development process is PRODUCT RESEARCH. Mansfield (2011) advised â€Å"does careful product research so you know exactly what your customers want† (par. 10). Other subsequent phases in the development process entails development of a customer list and implementing policies of regular customer contact, of which â€Å"E-MAIL MARKETING is one of the most devastatingly effective methods of keeping existing customers â€Å"in the loop† and warm for your future marketing efforts† (par. 15). The article discussed SURVEYS as effective methods to solicit customer information regarding the new product the organization envision launching. The experience of American Idol in launching singers and marketing them, soliciting feedback through diverse media have proven to be a successful marketing effort that generated millions of viewers all over the world. Definition of Terms E-MAIL MARKETING utilizes the World Wi de Web through the internet to market products and services. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT is the â€Å"creation of products with new or different characteristics that offer new or additional benefits to the customer† (Business Dictionary, 2011, par.

Marijuana Should Be Legalized Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Marijuana Should Be Legalized - Essay Example However, in a practical sense, marijuana should be legalized in the nation because citizens have the right to use marijuana for fun and medicinal purposes, without being bothered by legal hassles and wrong views about marijuana. As per the American Constitution, every citizen has the right to pursue happiness (Gerber 126). The Constitution of America allows the citizens to do things that add to their happiness (Gerber 126). It is a fact that there are many people who believe that using marijuana no way adds to human happiness. Such people consider marijuana to be an addictive substance that may make people sick and turn them into addicts. However, there are also many people who believe that using marijuana will make them happy. They think that the freedom to use marijuana will really add to their sense of happiness and well being. Many people may not agree with such views. Still, people who want to use marijuana do have the right to do so. Eventually, it is for the people to decide as to what they want to put in their bodies. Denying them the right to use marijuana by making marijuana illegal will certainly deprive them of their happiness. Besides, this is also against the spirit of the American Constitutio n. If people can be given the right to use alcohol or tobacco, there is no reason why they cannot be given the right to use marijuana. Hence, marijuana should be legalized so that the people who want to use marijuana may do so with ease. This will add to their pursuit of happiness and will respect their basic rights. This will allow people to use marijuana without being harassed or bothered by the police. The other thing is that the illegal status of marijuana is based on a number of lies and disinformation.

Traditions During the Halloween Period

Traditions During the Halloween Period Halloween Introduction Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31st. When people celebrate halloween they use some customes and hold the party, decorate their house, watch horror movies, visit haunted houses, bonfires, carving jack olantern, and also do trick or treat. Those are just some activities that usually happen in the halloween nowadays. But just several countries that celebrate it as a holiday. In my country, Indonesia, they dont celebrate it. I dont know why my country dont celebrate it as a holiday. I think the rational reason is because our country has its own perspectives about halloween. In my country there are many religions and most people choose Islam as their religion. This religion against eve to be our national holiday. Not just Islam but also some of the Christian. And this case is not only happen just in Indonesia, there are some other countries that against halloween. In the part of United Kingdom, police have threatened to prosecute parents who allow their children to carry out the trick element. The highest level of popularity about Halloween belong to North America and Canada. Every year, 65% of Americans decorate their homes, stores, and offices for Halloween. That percentage exceeded only by christmas. When Halloween happens the most candy is sold. And now Halloween is currently the 2nd largest commercial holiday. These are some country that celebrated Halloween; Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Czechoslavakia, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Latin America, Spain, and Sweden. That have different ways to celebrate Halloween. In Austria, some people will leave bread, water and a lighted lamp on the table before left on Halloween night. They have a reason for doing this, the reason is because it is once believed that such items will welcome the dead souls back to earth on a night. The custom in Belgium on Halloween night is to light candles in memory of dead relatives. The Belgian people do not open their doors to unknown persons including children and they do not welcome somebody who do â€Å"trick or threat† and ask for candies. Because only several people are welcomed to do the â€Å"trick or threat†, many children fight in the streets to steal candy from others during the halloween. In Canada and United States, they celebrate Halloween as usual but a little bit modern, for instance; Jack OLanterns are carved and the festivities are including parties, trick-or-treat and decorating their homes with pumpkins and corn stalks. The Halloween festival in China known as Teng Chieh. They celebrate it by placing some food and water in front of photographs of family members who have died while lanterns are lit in order to light the paths of the spirits as they travel the earth on Haloween night. Worshippers in Buddhist temples made boats of the law from paper, some of which are very large, which are then burned in the evening hours. This custom have two purpose: first, as a remembrance of the dead and the second, is in order to free the spirits of the pretas in order that they might ascend to heaven. Pretas are the spirits of those who died as a result of an accident or drowning and whose bodies were consequently never buried. And in Czechoslovakia, chairs are placed by the fireside on Halloween night. There is one chair for each living family member and one for each family members spririt. English people have another celebration which is similiar to Halloween. It is called the Guy Fawkes Day. The festival is held on November 5th and adopted many customs from Samhain. These festivities are marked by torchlight parades where children use masks made from beets and pumpkins. Scottish people practice their ancient pagan rites. Children wear costumes and cut scary faces into large rutabagas and place a candle inside them. They receive candies after they provide a nice entertainment to their neighbours. In Germany, the people put away their knives on Halloween night. The reason for this is because they do not want to risk harm befalling the returning spirits. And The Halloween celebration in Hong Kong is known as Yue Lan (Festival of the Hungry Ghosts). They believe that in this time, the spirits roam the world for twenty-four hours. Some other people burn pictures of fruit and money at the same time, believing that those pictures would reach the spirit world and bring comfort to their friends and family who have died. Irish children enjoy Halloween festivities by carrying lanterns cut into large rutabagas. They do â€Å"trick or threat† and receive sweet candies from their neighbours and Irish houses decorated with Halloween lights. Spanish people enjoy each kind of holidays and parties. Halloween in spain called as El Dia de los Muertos†. But not just in spain but also among Spanish-speaking nations. â€Å"El Dia De los Muertos†s purpose is to remember friends and families who have died. They believed that their friends and their families who have died will return to their home on Halloween. Because of this many families construct an altar in their home and decorate it with candies, flowers, photographs, fresh water and samples of the deceaseds favorite foods and drinks. Candles with incense are burned to help the departed find his or her way home. Relatives also tidy the gravesites of deceased family members including snipping the weeds. The grave is then adorned with flowers, wreaths or paper streamers. On November 2nd, relatives gather at the gravesite to picnic and reminisce. Some of these gatherings may even include tequila and a mariachi band although American Halloween customs are gradually taking over this celebration. In Japan, The Japanese have a similiar festival like Halloween. It is called Obon Festival (also known as Matsuri or Urabon). This festival is dedicated to the spirits of ancestors. This Festival is held during July or August. The Japanese prepared special foods and bright red lanterns are hung everywhere. Candles are lit and placed into lanterns which are then set afloat on rivers and seas. During the Obon Festival, a fire is lit every night in order to show the ancestors where their families might be found. Obon is one of the main occasions during the Japanese year when the dead are believed to return to their birth place. Memorial stones are cleaned and dances performed by the community. Korea also have a similiar festival to Halloween called as â€Å"Chusok.† This Festival take place on August. During this period of time the families thank their ancestors for the fruits of their labor, by visiting their tombs and making offerings of rice and fruits. In Sweden, Halloween is known as Alla Helgons Dag and is celebrated from October 31st until November 6th. In this celebration the time of work is shorten. This also applied for universities, while for schools, they are given a day of vacation. Those activities are being shorten because people need time to prepare the eve and also to respect their ancestors, families and friends who have died. Many countries in this world celebrated Halloween. How they celebrate it and what are the names of the festival itself is depend on the country in which the Halloween is held. The dates are also different for each country. Despite the differences from each of every country, the purpose of the event itself stays the same, to respect the ancestors, families, relatives and friends that have died. History Of Halloween Halloween Bonfire Long time ago Halloween celebrated at the end of the harvest season in Celts culture. Celts is an ethnic of old irish who lived in Great Britain, Northern France and some other part in Europe. The Celts worshipped nature and had many gods, with the sun god as their most respected god. Because sun made the earth beautiful and the crops grow. On October 31st after the crops were all harvested and stored for the long winter, thecookingfires in the homes would be extinguished. The Druids, the Celtic priests, would met in the hilltop in the dark oak forest (oak trees were considered sacred). The Druids would lighted new fires and offered sacrifices of crops and animals. As they danced around the fires, the season of the sun passed and the season of darkness would began. When the morning arrived, the Druids would gave an ember from their fires to each family who would then took them home to start new cooking fires. These fires would kept the homes warm and freed from evil spirits. The Celts celebrated their new year on November 1st. The November 1st festival was called Samhain. Samhainor â€Å"Samhuinn† is pronounced â€Å"sow-† as in female pig â€Å"-en† with the neutral vowel sound not â€Å"Sam Hain†, because â€Å"mh† in the middle of an Irish word is a â€Å"w† sound. But now, we know it as Halloween. This day mark the end of summer, the harvest, the beginning of the dark, cold winter and a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. The festival would last for 3 days, from October 31st until November 2nd. To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each others fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening from the sacred bonfire to helped protecting them during the coming winter. During the first century, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory, Britain. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain. The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona which called as Pomona Day, named for their goddess of fruits and gardens. The Pomona was invariably portrayed as a beautiful maiden whose arms were filled with fruit and who wore a crown of apples upon her head. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of bobbing for apples that is practiced today on Halloween. It was also celebrated around the 1st of November. After hundreds of years of Roman rule, the customs of the Celtics Samhain festival and the Roman Pomona Day mixed becoming one major fall holiday. The next influence came with the spread of the new Christian religion throughout Europe and Britain. In the year 835 AD the Roman Catholic Church would make November 1st a church holiday to honor all the saints. The day was called All Saints Day, or Hallowmas, or All Hallows. Years later the Church would make November 2nd aholyday. It was called All Souls Day and was to honor the dead. It was celebrated with big bonfires, parades, and people dressing up as saints, angels and devils. But the spread of Christianity did not make people forget their early customs. On the eve of All Hallows, Oct. 31st, people continued to celebrate the festivals of Samhain and Pomona Day. Over the years the customs from all these holidays mixed. October 31st became known as All Hallow Even, eventually All Hallows Eve, Halloween, and then Halloween. The Halloween we celebrate today includes all of these influences, Feralia and Pomona Days, the Festival of Samhains, All Saints Day and All Souls Day. Symbolic Of Halloween Halloween Costumes When the time comes, certain things of Halloweens decoration will be used, so that the house will looks like a haunted house. Symbols related with Halloween such as pumpkin, apple, black cat, skeleton, bat, owl, witch, etc. are also commonly use for the decoration. Those symbols came from a myriad of origins and traditions. And every symbols have different meaning. The most common symbol of Halloween is pumpkins. However, the original celts carved the frightening faces into gourds or turnips, not in the pumpkins. They put a candle inside the gourds or turnips to light the way for a bite to rousting neighbors door-to-door for a donation to their cause. Along with the irish mass migration to the United States the turnips then replaced by potato famine. However, due to the scarcity of this potato, they changed it into a more accommodating fruit, pumpkins. They used pumpkins because the color of pumpkins is orange which also the color of Fire. As a Fire color, orange can helps to create change and brings about action. And the candles inside the pumpkins, represent the power of illumination, bringing light to the darkness which is in our soul and mind. Apples also became one of the symbols in Halloween Eve. Apples have been long associated with female deities with immortality, resurrection and knowledge. One reason being that if an apple is cut through its equator, it reveales a five-pointed star outlined at the center of each hemisphere, also known as a pentagram. Apples being one of the symbols in Halloween since the Roman invaded Britian, They hold honored Pomona or Pomona Day. Pomona was the Roman Goddess who presided over fruits and gardens. The Pomona that decribed as a beautiful maiden whose arms were filled with fruit and who wore a crown of apples upon her head. It is generally accepted that its from Pomona that the association of apples became aligned with Halloween. Bat is the one of scary symbol in Halloween Eve, they eat mosquitoes and have sharp incisor teeth to suck blood from its victim. This mammals were thought to indicate the presence of spirits or ghosts. Halloween has always been a holiday filled with mystery, magic and superstition . There are some superstition related with a bat, the superstition is if a bat flew around a house three times on Halloween, death would be coming soon, but its just superstition. However in china red bats are symbols of long life, and amulets are worn as lucky charms to bring happiness. And Five red bats can also represent the five good fortunes of health, longevity, love, wealth and virtue. Black cats is the others of scary symbol in Halloween. Their so many reason why that animal being the symbols of Halloween. In this symbol the cat is black and black is a common color of mystery and the unknown. Black also considered to be an absorbing element- taking on off- kilter energies and transforming them into purer frequencies. Black cat described as Mysterious, precocious, sleuthy, and also able to see and stalk the darkest nights without aid of light. Because of that the cat has long been considered to be closely linked with otherworldly concepts. Indeed, many practitioners of energetic communication welcomed the company of felines as it was understood these creatures could serve as a facilitator to opening otherworld doors. Black cat have some superstition,and the superstition is if a black cat crosses your path its mean you have bad luck right now. Ironically if black cat walking towards you is considered lucky, while one walking away is said to be stealing your luck. The skeleton is a symbolic of Halloween that reminder of the remnants of life. And its also symbols of the death, disease and the shortness of earthly life. The part of skeleton is skull, bones, crossbones. The Skull represent the receptacle used in the process of transformation in alchemy, and it was powerful symbols invoking a heightened awarenees of our psychis potential. Bones considered with death, if we are death we just left the bones of our body. and the crossbones represent poision and danger to pirate. Owls have long been symbols of wisdom of an esoteric nature. Although the owl is a symbol of wisdom, it is feared by some cultures. Owls are related with night, sorcery, silence,death and the ability to seen the ghosts. Because owl hides in the darkness and fears the light it has often come to the symolize the â€Å"Prince of Darkness†. Usually owl are often associated with witches. At one time it was believed that the owls would swoop down on Halloween night and eat the soul of the dying. The Christians seen Gravestones are as a memorial to the people who already died, but others see it as the place where the world of the living meets the worlds of departed spirits. A long Times ago Gravestones actually is heavy rocks and boulders that were placed on graves, because they worried if the ghost rised from their grave, they used heavy rocks and boulders to keep the dead people rising from their grave. Blood also related with Halloween, because the Celts Culture as the origin this eve, believed that gods that controlled the forces of nature craved blood sacrifices human or animal. Just like Aztex culture when they priest lifting the heart he just cut from the chest of a living sacrifice. It could as well have been a Mayan priest or any other devotee of the cruel forces from the world of the occult. Another symbol that related with Halloween is Fire. Why fire become one of the symbol, it because one of the celts culture. During samhain the Druids used it for protection against bad spirits and they also doing ritual sacrifices to their gods. For the sacrifices they used animal or human. Fire also was symbolized warmth and protection as well as death and destruction to cultures around the world. Spider and Web has symbolized the weaving of life and the cyclical ways of nature. But in the Halloween, it point to dark, scary places, haunted by ghost and hidden from light and dust mops. Spiders are creatures considered to be endowed with supernatural qualities which make them harbingers of mystic energy. They so mystical because of their ability to weave webs, which has long been symbolic of time, fate progress and the representation of human journey (on both physical and philosophical levels). They also have eight legs, and the number eight is symbolic of cycles which would make the spiders presence during this time of year (symbolic of the transition between summer to winter) quite fitting. A universal symbol for departed spirits and occult visitations are Ghosts. These cookies, like the ghost-shaped sweets served at Mexicos Day of the Dead celebrations, tend to minimize the reality of spiritual warfare in post-Christian America. The decorative ghosts may be cute, but to the countless victims of demonic bondage and oppression, the spirit world is no joke. Witches have the power to preform rituals, evoke magic and concoct formulas and spells to connect with the spirit world and manipulate its forces. They called as mistress of the occult. Witches are gifted at energetic interpretations; and in ancient times their talents, perspectives and expertise would be called upon during this time of year for help in understanding messages from the non-physical side of life as well as forecasts for seasons ahead (long before the Farmers Almanac, there were soothsayers :-). And so, witches as a Halloween symbol are understandably vital to the occasion. From the Legends told, witches would gather twice a year when the seasons changed, before the end of April on the eve of May Day and on the eve of October 31st on the eve of Halloween. They would gather on that time because when the seasons changed Its a time to the Veil between mundane and magical are be quite thin and energies tend to take on more revealing forms. They came with their broomsticks, to celebrate with the devil. One of the superstitions told of witches casting spells on unsuspecting people, transforming themselves into different forms and causing other magical mischief. One of the superstitions also said that the only way to meet a witch, you had to put your clothes on the wrong side out and walk backwards at midnight, on Halloween night. Halloween Traditions When Halloween began there are some activities and common traditions that will be done at night. These activities already exists from long time ago, adapted from celts culture, and from other country that influenced with Halloween. Lets see the activities and common tradition when Halloween happen; v Bonfires On the night of Halloween, Celts would bring wood and start bonfires or fire festival on the hilltop. They would throw the bones of slaughtered cattle into flames, and young people would go from house to house asking for food offerings and kindling for the Samhain fires. The people would extinguish their heart fires and gather together to create large fires on sacred hilltops to honor and to give offerings to their gods. They used crops and the bones of animal as offerings to the gods which had been culled and then burnt in the fires. But thats not all, they also used personal and symbolic items for relief from sickness or bad fortune. They belived that Bonfires and sacrifices guaranteed the sun would shine brightly after a long, dreary winter. On that time it is only called as fire fest, but now in modern world, it become bonfire which comes from words bone and fire, meaning â€Å"fire of bones†. Long time ago Bonfires have superstition. The superstition of holding bonfires is to encourage dreams of who your future husband or wife going to be. When bonfires happen the person who want to see the future husband or wife, should drop a cutting of his hair into the burning embers and then, that person will dream about the future of his/her beloved one. v Halloween Costumes One of many traditions in Halloween is to wear costumes. This tradition is very common especially for children. On the night of Halloween, children would dress up in scary costumes and go to their neighbour, ‘Help the Halloween Party or doing ‘Trick or Treat. This tradition also related with celts, long time ago when celts held huge bonfires in hilltop, they dressing up in elaborate animal skins and heads to disguise themselves as spirit and devils so that the real ones couldnt distinguish them as being human. By distinguisting themselves, they hoped that they would be able to avoid being carried away at the end of the night. That ceremonies also consisted of dancing, telling stories, and reading fortunes. However popular histories of Halloween tell us the practice goes back to celts ancient, but in fact there is little primary documentation of masking or costuming on halloween before the twentieth century. Halloween costumes became popular for Halloween parties in America in the early 1900s, for both adults and children. Halloween Costumes are often designed to imitate supernatural and scary beings. The costumes are traditionally those of the symbol of Halloween such as ghosts, skeletons, witches, devils, and other. But now there are also customes of pop culture figures like presidents, from movie, televison, and also cartoon characters.  § Costumes for Children Children is the best object to try ware custome in halloween, they will look cute in many custome that related in halloween fest, but nowdays they will be used cartoon characters or movie and the others. Below here you can see the many customes that used by children when halloween;  § Costumes for Adult F:woman customes.jpgAnother popular trend for Halloween is for women and in some cases also for men, they use halloween costumes as an excuse to wear particularly revealing costumes, showing off more skin that would be socially acceptable otherwise. Below here you can see the many customes that used by women and men when halloween; v Carving Jack-O-Lanterns Halloween: Pumpkins on stepsThe traditions of carving jack-o-lanterns originated from the Celts. Jack-O-Lantern means â€Å"Jack of the Lantern†. This name is based on the Irish legend that tells a man named Jack who could not enter heaven or hell. Jack could not enter heaven or hell because of his own fault. According to the story, jack invited the devil to have a drink with him. But jack didnt have money to pay the drink, so he made the devil to changed himself into a coin so that jack could use the coin to buy drinks. And the devil did it, after the devil changed into a golden coin, jack paid his drink. Jack then decided to kept the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the devil from changing back to his original form. After that, Jack freed the devil, but in one condition, the devil must promised to him, that he would not bother him for one year and if jack died, the devil would not claim his soul and then he can entered the heaven. After one year, the devil came up and jack tricked the devil again to climbed a tree to pick a fruit. While the devil was climbing the tree, jack carved a sign of cross on the tree so the devil could not came down. Jack promised to the devil, he could erased that sign under one condition, that the devil would not bother him for ten more years. When Jack died, God would not allow such an unsavory figure like jack into heaven, and when jack tricked the devil he said that if he died, the devil would not claim his soul. And devil did his promise to jack and kept his words, not to claim his soul which means not to allowed Jack went into hell. Because of these situations, Jack could not enter heaven nor hell. So he was sent into the dark night. When he walked, he found a coal and put that coal into a carved-out turnip to lighted his way. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as Jack of the Lantern, and then, to put it more simply, Jack OLantern. To keep him away, local villagers would carve scary faces into turnips and place them in their windows. Thus, the flickering flames from the Jack-O-Lantern eventually became associated with the spirits of the dead. v Trick or Treat The custom of trick or treating evolved in Ireland, centuries ago. In preparation for All Hollows Eve, the the poor people would go door to door upon the rich folks and receiving money, gifts or food in return for prayers for the dead on all souls day. The food was gathered for a huge feast and celebration. But now Trick-or-treatingis acustom traditionforchildrenonHalloween. Children will come wear scary costumefromhouseto house, and asking for treats such ascandy, or sometimesmoney, with the question, Trick or treat?. The trick is an idle threat to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property, such as eggs and flour being thrown at householders windows if no treat is given. In the North America, trick or treating is one of the main traditions of Halloween and it has become common socially expected that if somebody lives in a neighborhood with children, they should gave treats in preparation for trick-or-treaters. Trick-or-Treats already existed in Britian and Ireland, where children and poor people would sing and say prayers for the dead in return for cake. This tradition is done in theUnited States,United Kingdom,Canada,Ireland,Puerto Rico, and centralMexico. In Mexico trick-or-treating called as calaverita, its a spanish language that meaning is â€Å"little skul†. Then the children will ask their neighbor â€Å"me da mi calaverita?†, in english means can you give me my little skull?. In the last twenty years, this tradition has spread to other countries, such asItaly,AustraliaandNew Zealand, possibly because of U.S. American TV shows and movies in those countries. v A Party Of Departed Spirits The idea is to ask your friends or relatives to come as the ghost of some famous deceased character. Each of them must bring a pumpkin lantern as their ticket of admission. When all guests are assembled, announce that the first game will be guessing the ghosts. Number each person, then furnish pen and paper for the contest. Award a prize to the one who guesses the most correctly. v Sailing Walnut Boat Boats are made from the empty walnut shells. In each is fastened a short piece of brightly-colored candle, along with the name of someone at the party. Light the candle and set it afloat with others in a tub. The boat bearing the candle first extinguished on its own will denote a bachelor or an old maid. v Ghosting, a.k.a. Boo-ing Ghosting is fast becoming a popular Halloween tradition in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and other countries as well. Depending on your location, the new custom may be known as Ghosting, or Boo-ing but the concept is the same. Ghosting is a fun way to spread the Halloween spirit among friends and neighbors. This activity can begin any time in October but the first or second week of the month is the best, allowing sufficient time for the entire neighborhood to be ghosted. v Halloween Games  § Apple Bobbing, Ducking For Apples or Snap Apple Apple bobbing also known as bobbing for apples, and its have different name in some county depend where do you celebrate Halloween. In Scotland Apple bobbing called as â€Å"Ducking For Apples†, and in Ireland, they called â€Å"Snap Apple†. It is a game customarily played on Hallooween. The game will be played if the tub or a large basin fill with water and apples. They chose apples as the material because apples are less dense than water, they will float at the surface. The players try to catch one apples inside the tub without use of hands to secure an apple in their mouth. Ducking For Apples in scotland, they play the same game with apple bobbing but before they throw the apple onto a basin they place a dime in one apple, a ring in another and a button in the third. These denote fortune, marriage and single blessedness. And Mix these apples in a large tub with as many others as will fit. After that the rule and the next step of the game is the same with the apple bobbing, the difference is that after they catch the apple., the player must then pare their apples, trying not to break the paring strip. The apple paring is thrown over the left shoulder and is then said to form the first initial of the parers life mate. bobbingIn Ireland, Snap Apples usually do not use tub or large basin, they only use apples. The apples will be suspended from a string and the players are blindfolded. The First players to get decent bite of the apple gets to keep the prize or reward. But sometimes they also played as the same game by placing apples in a basin of water and trying to get an apple with their mouth without using hands. This traditions came from the Roman goddess Pomona who presided over fruits and gardens. The Pomona that decribed as a beautiful maiden whose arms were filled with fruit and who wore a crown of apples upon her head. And this game is an important part of the celtic when families would gather for a communal feast at samhain fest. The people belived where whoever bites the apple first in the group will be the first to marry, and girls who place the apple they bobbed under their pillows are said to dream of their future lover.  § Candle Blowing Candle is related with Blowing. Candle is one of the very famous Halloween fortune game on Halloween. Light of the candle can set the mood for a mystical future predicting exercise, which can involve a lot of people, depend on the candles you have. For this game we can use colored candles. To make this game more exiting, you can call a lot of people to participate in this game. And you can get to know predictions on peoples personal life through this candle game. Blindfold the players and then let them blow out a candle, the number of puffs required to extinguish the flame governing the number of years before the players marriage. If you want to play this game, just prepare a silk cloth blindfold, a table, a matchbox and three candles. For the candles you can chose different color because every color have different meaning, but you should pick the candle pink, green, and orange colors. After you already prepared it all, light three cand

An Investigation of Literary Greatness: Still a Battle of the Sexes :: Argumentative Persuasive Literature Essays

An Investigation of Literary Greatness: Still a Battle of the Sexes "'I am an experienced writer and have some sense whether an idea can work or not...I wasn't sure it would work and I really thought about it for nine months before I put pen to paper. But I didn't feel intimidated by Melville's accomplishment. I felt inspired by it.'" Naslund quoted by Jamie Allen (CNN Interactive Senior Writer)(1999) For most people the mention of "great literature" stirs up the classic images of such authors as Shakespeare, Twain, Hemmingway, Salinger, Fitzgerald, and Melville among many others. Without belittling those very talented authors I would like to question their superiority over lesser acclaimed or widely known authors. What makes great literature and who gets to decide what qualifies? Perhaps a book such as Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund could be a "greater" book than its famous precursor, Herman Melville's Moby Dick. But who can one say that one book is greater than another? In the end the question of greatness comes down to who is measuring it. Well first off, what does it mean to be great at anything? Perhaps it means to have succeeded gracefully at whatever goal there was in mind. Perhaps it is to be liked by others, or to be meaningful. Perhaps it is represented by being carried on through time. Or perhaps greatness is whatever people make it to be and can never be fully defined. Most likely any or all of those things contribute to greatness. Given a flexible definition of greatness, what is great literature? Is it literature that has meaning (doesn't it all), invokes thought, is it defined by being likable, or achieving the authors goal, is it marked by the span of time and influence that the story has, or is a broad equation encompassing any or all, perhaps even none, of those characteristics? Many would say that Melville's Moby Dick is great literature. Moby Dick is a classic novel that surely has had, and continues to have, a huge influence on the collective evolution of writing and literary thought. Melville's story of madness and obsession combined with his realistic old English style of writing has been mimicked and transformed to give rise to hundreds, possibly thousands, of new stories and an infinite number of thoughts have been born. There is no question that Moby Dick has been a very influential book. Does that mean it's great?

Main Users of financial Reports and Their Conflicts Essay

Identify the main users of financial reports, explaining to what use(s) they may put such reports. To what extent is there a conflict between different uses? How far are these conflicts resolved in a single set of annual accounts? The financial reports are profit and loss account, balance sheet and cash flow statement. There are many users /parties interested in the accounts of a company /organization. These include the following: The owners / shareholders The directors / managers The employees The creditors, i.e. suppliers of goods on credit The tax authorities Lenders, such as banks or other financial institutions Government The users want the accounts for a variety of purposes, for example: The owners/shareholders are mainly concerned of the profitability of the business and they therefore use them to see if they are getting a satisfactory return on their investment, and also to assess the financial health of their company/business. They may also use financial statements to assess the performance of the managers and decide the pay of managers who are employed to run the business for owners, which is part of the stewardship role of the accounting. The directors/managers are the ones to conduct the day-to-day operations and decision-making of the business and they are, arguably, the most important users of the business because they require much more information in great detail on a more frequent basis than any other users. They normally use them for making both internal and external comparisons to evaluate the performance of business. They may compare their own financial analysis of their company with industry figures (competitors) in order to ascertain their company’s strengths and weaknesses. Management are also concerned with ensuring that the money invested in the company / organization is generating an adequate return and that the company / organization is able to pay its debts and remain solvent. The creditors want to know if they are likely to get paid, and look particularly at liquidity, which is the ability of the company / organization to pay its debts as they become due. They are also concerned with the viability of business. The tax authorities use them for value added tax, and income and corporation tax purposes. They are probably the one who concerned most with the genuineness of the financial statements as an underreported profit would reduce the amount of taxes being collected and the public would consequently be suffered as the money of government will have fewer funds to spend to improving the public transportation, pensions, reforms, etc. Prospective lenders use them to assess whether or not to invest their money in the company / organization. Government may wish to check whether the profit of the utility company are too excessive and thereby increasing the owner’s wealth too much while reducing the spending power the consumers in a whole. And the contractors of government’s profit shall be checked upon to see if they exaggeratedly quoted their prices during tendering and monitoring the progress of the contract being conducted. As having being identified above, different users have different concerns of  the financial aspect of the business and it would be listed as follows: The owners / shareholders: profitability & viability The directors / managers: profitability & viability The employees: viability The creditors, i.e. suppliers of goods on credit: viability: The tax authorities: profitability (net profit to be taxed) Lenders, such as banks or other financial institutions: profitability & viability Government: profitability & viability Owners / shareholders needs the generation of the profit on their investment and they expect a good return of their money they put in the business. And they also concerned with the viability because they want their business or business they invested to grow, to earn more money, instead of losing money, or going to liquidation (they may consequently loss all their money invested in the business!). The directors / managers because their pay may be linked to the performance of the business and the more profit they earned for the business, the higher their salary is likely to be. The viability is also important to them as they want to keep their current job as they are also employed by the business. Employees, if not shareholders of the business, are employed by the management to work for the business for various purposes. Their salary will be treated as an expense against gross profit so management may try to minimize this expense by employing an efficient worker who are reasonably paid and reducing the number of employees while at the same time add more  responsibilities to the remaining employees. Therefore, as long as the business remains, they could keep their job and secure their pay as a financial security, which is of great important to common employees. They would be happy to see the business grows via looking through the financial statements so that they would know that the can continuously work for the business. Creditors are concerned with the viability of business because they would like to know if they are likely to be paid by the business before too long. As long as the business has sufficient liquidity to pay them, they do not care and are not very interested in how much profit the business generated. Tax authorities always keep a keen eye on the profitability of the business because they want to the profit of the business to be taxed. They want to detect any underreported profit by examining the financial statements and attempt to discover any dubious items to be enquired and demanded details. Lenders, who provide long-term loan to the business, secured or unsecured, concern about the profitability and viability of the business as they want to know if they can be repaid in the schedule designated. Government may want business to sustain and therefore create more employment opportunities for the society. They would like to know the profitability of the business so as to impose regulations to keep the profit of business in a reasonable range to make it more afford and therefore increase the spending power of people and reduce the inflation. Although different users have different interests in business, the conflict can mainly be solved by the general-purpose and standardized format of financial statements. Because it is very costly and impractical to produce a different financial reports to each and every specific users, it is widely accepted that a general-purpose financial statements be produced to satisfy the most needs of the all users. Standardized format would provide a easier way to make comparison of the business with its competitors as well as with the past reports of the business itself.

Description of House essays

Description of House essays Until I was nine years old, I lived in Covington, Virginia in an old farmhouse. I remember vividly sights, smells, sounds, and feeling of the things in my house. In the tiny, country style kitchen the first things you see are huge sky blue water jugs. They were rough and the plastic was starting to wear away. When you picked them up the plastic would stick your hands. As your eyes wonder across the room the next thing you see, or hear, are the ancient washer and dryer we had. I would always think there was a tornado coming when the washer would turn to the spin cycle. Next you would see the mustard yellow stove top and refrigerator. Then as you look up you see what I called the Indian cabinets. They were painted white whit Indian designs on them. Finally when you would glance down at the brown floors, which I once spilled a whole can of molasses on. After walking through the kitchen, you would enter the bathroom. The bathroom was old and the tub was stained yucky yellow from the well water that filled it. Then as you exit the bathroom you see a door leading to the shed. The smell of wet dog overwhelms you. Then as you go back through the kitchen you enter the dining room. It has a gigantic table in the middle. Under the table sat an Oriental rug. I would hide under the table on the rug from my sisters. I remember getting rug burn all the time from the thick rough carpet. As you enter the living room you instantly smell the wintry smell of the fireplace. I would melt crayons on it because it would smell like a grape vineyard. There was a couch, and a recliner in the living room. We also had a television, but no cable. The house smelt like a burning wood stove. ...

The Case of Rice Smuggling Essays

The Case of Rice Smuggling Essays The Case of Rice Smuggling Essay The Case of Rice Smuggling Essay Smuggling seems to be rampant nowadays, as you listen the news today have you heard about the raid conducted In Appearance City? Where lots of fake products were confiscated Inside the warehouse owned by Mayor Olivarez of Appearance. Have you seen those branded shoes shown over the television those are fake products, We can compare this situation to our current Rice smuggling here in the Philippines. According to FINN Filipinos waste POP. Million Worth of rice Alone a day, this seems to be alarming because many were less fortunate to eat rice in a day while some Fullness were Just wasting Rice can you Imagine wasting food than giving your excess to the less fortunate? The Rice smuggling today were Just common to our past Philippine Government were they wasted budget importing rice from other countries which our country is named the Capital Rice of Asia way back 1995. Our country is not capable anymore supplying the demand of our people for rice thus the Government think of alternative ways to cope up with this demand by importing rice room our neighboring countries. But our corrupt and unscrupulous public politicians engage In several scams today Like the PDA scam which Involves many officials, I hope their conscience can take It even If they see some Filipino people who are poor, especially the marginalia people. If you see the news today have you heard the name Mr David Tan who is famous of becoming the lord smuggler in Dave, Mayor Deterred curse him to kill if caught because of eagerness to eliminate the smuggling in his province, if Mayor Deterred is Eke everyone else in the government do you think rice smuggling in the Philippines would exist? I heard Mayor Deterred also implements In his province shoot-to-kill policy when criminals tries to resist police force the force shall use lethal weapon to eliminate the criminal Immediately whichever the circumstances are. This policy is very helpful to our society nowadays, riding in tandems, robbery, extortion, smuggler, law invaders and others. If caught the Justice should immediately flourish by then criminals would be afraid of to cross the lines of law and order. You know excessive freewill sometimes lead us to destruction of our society but with limited freewill given on us the society may progress towards economic growth because of law abiding colleens of our nation the fear of punishment prevails. I hope the government officials would find ways to eliminate rice smuggling in the Philippines, I still believe on the motto of our government outdid an Dana but sometimes I doubt that we might end up to dead end. My hope and support to the free, All sins are equal in the eyes of god and we will be Judge by our works during our life here on earth. Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you John 20:21. So start the mission each of us has a task to do. The beginning of change starts from us, the Youth!

WHY ESTIMATING IN CONSTRUCTION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

WHY ESTIMATING IN CONSTRUCTION - Essay Example Only with such forecasts can clients be informed of the likely financial commitment. Designers need advice on the effect of their decisions on the cost of the project, and contractors need to be confident that the estimates that form the basis of their tenders are realistic. If their tender prices are consistently high they will fail to attract work, alternatively if their prices are too low, they will gain work at unprofitable rates. â€Å"Cost estimating methods have followed closely the division between the design phase and the construction phase† (Ogunlana, 19). During the design phase the cost estimate is the principal responsibility of the client’s cost estimator: the quantity surveyor or the design engineer. The estimate of detailed construction costs is seldom commenced until the tendering process is set in motion, and a contractor is requested to tender for the work. The level of detail included within the cost estimate will be dependent upon the client’s requirements and the stage within the project that the estimate is required. In the design stage the information available and the speed at which estimates are required precludes the preparation of a detailed estimate. It is not until the period immediately prior to the start of construction that the level of information available enables a detailed estimate to be produced. Where the work is put out to tender it becomes the responsibility of the client, or his representative, to provide sufficient detail of the project to enable a detailed estimate to be prepared. Construction cost estimating may therefore be divided into two categories: design phase cost estimating and contractor’s cost estimating. Within each of these two categories there are several different methods of producing cost estimates. This paper provides a description of the estimating methods used in the design phase and also describes

Budgets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Budgets - Essay Example Performance budget on the other hand classifies the expenditure on the basis of the administration units and by the functions of the units, and the items under such administrative unit functions (Rubin, 185). This makes the performance budget so detailed, since it entails a hierarchy of components, starting with the administrative unit, down to the functions under each administrative unit, and then to the items falling under each function of the administration unit. Performance budgeting entails the formulation of and programs to be implemented, their funding from the available revenue sources, and their execution (Rubin, 180). Therefore, activities are given preference over specific items under each activity, and the management of the performance budget is centralized. There are various reasons why the Congress might choose to use the line-item approach. First, it is a simple form of budgeting, since it requires just tracing the expenditure items and linking them to the revenue sources, eliminating unnecessary budgeting details and complexity (Rubin, 187). Secondly, this type of budgeting provides a greater relationship between sources of revenue and expenditure items, through linking