Abuse of the First Amendment Essay

I can’t take on the world. However, a lot of the comments in websites and blog houses about Actor/Artist Lance Henriksen are very inappropriate and untrue. The majority of the comments attack Lance not only as a human being but also as an actor down to his choice of movies or film roles. Some comments attack his physical appearance. Well, let see how you look when you reach 66 years old. How can you attack a person that you do not know nor met? Things are said such as Lance took this role because he must have needed the money and that is all. So what, why does it matter why Lance took the movie or project? Is that your business or is that while writing your comments you were not creative enough to come up with anything else to write. Lance believes in the roles that he chooses; however, for the amateurs there a lot things that are out of an actor’s control regarding the rest of the movie or film and supporting cast including the final project. The sad thing is this is being done by highly indexed internet sites that come up in the top 5 to 10 web searches regarding Lance Henriksen. These are â€Å"Super Fans† of the Genres doing this. The Webmasters and/or Blogmasters of these highly ranked sites have a responsibility to cut the unnecessary crap out of the comments appearing on their sites. I thought public â€Å"character assassination† was during elections. I do not need to list the sites. You know who you are. Why are you so cruel? Your comments are not reviews that a person can decide whether they want to watch or buy a DVD with Lance Henriksen in it. They are so full of â€Å"potshots† at Lance the person, that the reviews are useless as far as the movie or film. We complain about what is said by the media and on television and printed in our newspapers then we crucify our own Genre actors via the Internet and worst than the tabloids. Are being hypocrites okay if it is done on the Internet? Be a Responsible Blogger August 22, 2006, 20:36 Due to the recent events surrounding the stalking of Actor Colin Farrell, in our opinion Fans, Bloggers, Blogmasters, and Webmasters must use the data obtained about the person or persons in their website responsibly. Do not allow yourselves to get caught up in the â€Å"indexing† race trying to get your site indexed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd and/or the most popular by disclosing private information or data on your sites. We are responsible for the content on our websites. Therefore, if you have the â€Å"real† address of your celebrity and/or a picture of their homes do not post them on your sites. If you have their personal home telephone or cell number do not post that information. Do your part to protect your celebrity in the same manner you would want to be protected. Being the most popular website on the internet at the expense of subjecting a celebrity and/or any other â€Å"public† person to â€Å"stalkers† and/or other sick people that want to harm them is not worth it. And please do not post non-public private pictures of their children. If you have not been stalked you have no idea of the emotions involved in the ordeal. In addition, do not be naive. Celebrities and other â€Å"public† figures are not the most stalked group of people. We are. Yes, â€Å"Joe Blow† public. The only difference is that the â€Å"public† figure’s stalking becomes a news event. This incident with Actor Colin Farrell is very disturbing for our staff because we have member(s) that have been stalked and eventually attacked by the stalker. So again please, we urge you Fans, Bloggers, Blogmasters, and Webmasters to join our cause to protect each other and the people that are the subjects of our websites. Please join La Femme Nikita07 and Associates in protecting the private information of those mentioned above and all people. Thank you for your cooperation from the staff of La Femme Nikita07 and Associates!!!!!!!

The Indigo Spell Chapter Thirteen

WADE TOLD ME EVERYTHING he knew. It was all useful, but I didn't know if it would be enough. First, I had to get to St. Louis . . . and that was going to be tricky. I braced myself for the phone calls I'd have to make, hoping I had enough Alchemist wiles to pull them off. Before I took on that task, I just wanted the normality and comfort of my own room. Eddie and I drove back to Amberwood, analyzing every detail of our meeting. He was chomping at the bit to make progress, and I promised I'd keep him in the loop. I had just reached my door when my phone rang. It was Ms. Terwilliger. I swear, sometimes I thought she had a sensor outside my room so that she'd know the instant I returned. â€Å"Miss Melbourne,† she said. â€Å"We need to meet.† My heart stopped. â€Å"There hasn't been another victim, has there? You said we have time.† â€Å"We do,† she replied. â€Å"Which is why we need to meet sooner rather than later. Reading up on spells is one thing, but you require some hands-on practice. I refuse to let Veronica get to you.† Her words triggered a mix of emotions. Naturally, I had my knee-jerk reaction against practicing magic. It was quickly squashed by the realization that Ms. Terwilliger cared about me and was so concerned about keeping me safe. My own personal desire to not be in a coma was also a strong motivator. â€Å"When do you want to meet, ma'am?† I asked. â€Å"Tomorrow morning.† I realized tomorrow was Saturday. Already? Where had the week gone? I was driving Adrian to pick up his car in the morning, which hopefully wouldn't take a long time. â€Å"Could we meet at noon? I've got an errand to run.† â€Å"I suppose so,† said Ms. Terwilliger, with some reluctance. â€Å"Meet me at my place, and then we'll go out to Lone Rock Park.† I was about to lie back on my bed and froze. â€Å"Why do we have to go out to the middle of the desert?† Lone Rock Park was remote and rarely saw many tourists. I hadn't forgotten how terrifying it was the last time she'd brought me out into the wilderness. At least this time we'd be in daylight. â€Å"Well, we can hardly practice on school grounds,† she pointed out â€Å"True. . . .† â€Å"Bring your book, and the components you've been working on.† We disconnected, and I jotted out a quick text to Adrian: Need to be fast tomorrow. Meeting Ms. T at 12. His response wasn't entirely unexpected: Why? Adrian naturally needed to know everything that was going on in my life. I texted back that Ms. Terwilliger wanted to work on magical protection. This time, he did surprise me: Can I watch? Wanna know how she's protecting you. Wow, Adrian actually asked? He had a history of simply inviting himself along on outings. I hesitated, still confused after our heated moment at the sorority. He'd never mentioned it again, though, and his concern now touched me. I texted back that he could come along and was rewarded with a smiley face. I didn't entirely know what to wear to â€Å"magical training,† so I opted for comfortable layers the next morning. Adrian gave me a once-over when he got into Latte. â€Å"Casual mode, huh? Haven't seen that since the Wolfe days.† â€Å"I don't know what she has in mind,† I explained, doing a U-turn on his street. â€Å"Figured this was best.† â€Å"You could have worn your AYE shirt.† â€Å"Wouldn't want to get it dirty,† I said, grinning. That was partially true. I still thought the fiery heart he'd painted was exquisite. But each time I looked at the shirt, too many memories seized me. What had I been thinking? That was a question I'd asked myself a hundred times, and every answer I came up with sounded fake. My preferred theory was that I'd simply been caught up in how serious Adrian had been about his art, how the emotion and passion had seized hold of him. Girls liked artists just as much as bad boys, right? Even now, something stirred in my chest when I thought about the enraptured look on his face. I loved that he possessed something so powerful in him. But, as I told myself constantly, that was no excuse for climbing all over him and letting him kiss me – on my neck. I'd bought and downloaded the â€Å"bad boy† book online, but it had been completely useless in advising me. I finally decided the best way – if not the healthiest one – was to act like the moment had never happened. That didn't mean I forgot it. In fact, as I sat beside him in the car, I had a difficult time not thinking about how it had felt to be pressed up against him. Or how his fingers had felt entangled in my hair. Or how his lips had – Sydney! Stop. Think of something else. Conjugate Latin verbs. Recite the periodic table. None of those did any good. To Adrian's credit, he continued to withhold any commentary about that night. Finally, I found distraction in telling him about my trip to San Bernardino. Rehashing the conspiracy, rebel groups, and break-ins pretty much killed any passionate feelings I still had. Adrian didn't like the idea of Alchemists working with Warriors or of the tattoo controlling me. But he also didn't like me walking into danger. I tried to downplay the near impossibility of breaking into the St. Louis facility, but he clearly didn't believe me. Ms. Terwilliger texted me twice not to be late to our meeting. I kept an eye on my watch, but the care of a Mustang was not something I took lightly, and I had to take my time at the mechanic's shop to make sure the Mustang was in pristine condition. Adrian had wanted to go with basic tires, but I'd urged him to upgrade, convincing him the extra cost would be worth it. And once I inspected them, I congratulated myself on the choice. Only after I was satisfied the car hadn't been unnecessarily scratched did I finally allow him to pay. We drove both cars back to Vista Azul, and I was pleased to see my timing was perfect. We weren't late, but Ms. Terwilliger was waiting on her porch for us. We designated Adrian as our carpool driver. â€Å"Jeez,† I said when she hurriedly got in the car. â€Å"Do you have somewhere to be after this?† The smile she gave me was strained, and I couldn't help but notice how pale she looked. â€Å"No, but we do have a schedule to follow. I cast a large spell this morning that won't last forever. The countdown is on.† She wouldn't say any more until we reached the park, and that silence unnerved me. It gave me the opportunity to imagine all sorts of frightening outcomes. And although I trusted her, I suddenly felt relieved that Adrian was along as a chaperone. Although it wasn't the busiest place, Lone Rock Park still had the occasional hiker. Ms. Terwilliger – who was actually in hiking boots – set off across the rocky terrain, searching for a suitably remote space to do whatever it was she had in mind. A few stratified rock formations dotted the landscape, but I couldn't really appreciate their beauty. Mostly I was aware that we were out here when the sun was at its fiercest. Even if it was almost winter, we'd still be feeling the heat. I glanced over at Adrian as we walked and found him already looking at me. From his jacket pocket, he produced a bottle of sunscreen. â€Å"I knew you'd ask. I'm nearly as prepared as you are.† â€Å"Nearly,† I said. He'd done it again, anticipating my thoughts. For half a heartbeat, I pretended it was just the two of us out on a pleasant afternoon hike. It seemed like most of the time we spent together was on some urgent mission. How nice would it be to just hang out without the weight of the world on us? Ms. Terwilliger soon brought us back to our grim reality. â€Å"This should do,† she said, surveying the land around her. She had managed to find one of the most desolate areas in the park. I wouldn't have been surprised to see vultures circling overhead. â€Å"Did you bring what I asked for?† â€Å"Yes, ma'am.† I knelt on the ground and rifled through my bag. In it was the spell book, along with some herbal and liquid compounds I'd mixed up at her request. â€Å"Take out the fireball kindling,† she instructed. Adrian's eyes went wide. â€Å"Did you just say ‘fireball'? That's badass.† â€Å"You see fire all the time,† I reminded him. â€Å"From Moroi who can wield it.† â€Å"Yeah, but I've never seen a human do anything like that. I've never seen you do anything like that.† I wished he didn't look so awestruck because it kind of drove home the severity of what we were about to attempt. I would've felt better if he'd treated it like it was no big deal. But this spell? Yeah, it was kind of a big deal. I'd once performed another spell that involved throwing a painstakingly made amulet and reciting words that made it burst into flames. That one had a huge physical component, however. This spell was another of those mental ones and essentially involved summoning fire out of thin air. The kindling Ms. Terwilliger had referred to was a small drawstring bag filled with ashes made from burnt yew bark. She took the bag from me and examined its contents, murmuring in approval. â€Å"Yes, yes. Very nice. Excellent consistency. You burned it for exactly the right amount of time.† She handed the bag back. â€Å"Now, eventually you won't need this. That's what makes this spell so powerful. It can be performed very quickly, with very little preparation. But you have to practice first before you can reach that point.† I nodded along and tried to stay in student mode. So far, what she was saying was similar to what the book had described. If I thought of all this as a classroom exercise, it was much less daunting. Not really scary at all. Ms. Terwilliger tilted her head and looked past me. â€Å"Adrian? You might want to keep your distance. A considerable distance.† Okay. Maybe a little scary. He obeyed and backed up. Ms. Terwilliger apparently had no such fear for herself because she stayed only a few feet away from me. â€Å"Now then,† she said. â€Å"Apply the ashes, and hold out your hand.† I reached into the bag, touching the ashes with my thumb and forefinger. Then I lightly rubbed all my fingers together until my whole palm had a fine gray coating on it. I set the bag down and then held out my hand in front of me, palm up. I knew what came next but waited for her instruction. â€Å"Summon your magic to call the flame back from the ashes. No incantation, just your will.† Magic surged within me. Calling an element from the world reminded me a little of what the Moroi did, which felt strange. My attempt started off as a red glimmer, hovering in the air above my palm. Slowly, it grew and grew until it was about the size of a tennis ball. The high of magic filled me. I held my breath, scarcely able to believe what I had just done. The red flames writhed and swirled, and although I could feel their heat, they didn't burn me. Ms. Terwilliger gave a grunt that seemed to be equal parts amusement and surprise. â€Å"Remarkable. I forget sometimes what a natural you really are. It's only red, but something tells me, it won't take long before you can produce blue ones without the ashes. Calling elements out of the air is easier than trying to transform one substance into another.† I stared at the fireball, entranced, but soon found myself getting tired. The flames flickered, shrank, and then faded away altogether. â€Å"The sooner you get rid of it, the better,† she told me. â€Å"You'll just use up your own energy trying to sustain it. Best to throw it at your adversary and quickly summon another. Try again, and this time, throw it.† I called the fire once more and felt a small bit of satisfaction at seeing it take on more of an orange hue. I'd learned in my very first childhood chemistry lessons that the lighter a flame was, the hotter it burned. Getting to blue anytime soon still seemed like a long shot. And speaking of long shots . . . I threw the fireball. Or, well, I tried. My control of it faltered when I attempted to send it off toward a bare patch of ground. The fireball splintered apart, the flames disappearing into smoke that was carried off by the wind. â€Å"It's hard,† I said, knowing how lame that sounded. â€Å"Trying to hold it and throw it is just like an ordinary physical thing. I have to do that while still controlling the magic.† â€Å"Exactly.† Ms. Terwilliger seemed very pleased. â€Å"And that's where the practice comes in.† Fortunately, it didn't take too many attempts before I figured out how to make it all work together. Adrian cheered me on when I successfully managed to throw my first fireball, resulting in a beautiful shot that perfectly hit the rock I'd been aiming for. I flashed Ms. Terwilliger a triumphant look and waited for the next spell we'd be moving on to. To my surprise, she didn't seem nearly as impressed as I expected her to be. â€Å"Do it again,† she said. â€Å"But I've got it down,† I protested. â€Å"We should try something else. I was reading the other part of the book – â€Å" â€Å"You have no business doing that yet,† she scolded. â€Å"You think this is exhausting? You'd pass out attempting one of the more advanced spells. Now.† She pointed at the hard desert floor. â€Å"Again.† I wanted to tell her that it was impossible for me not to read ahead in a book. It was just how I operated with all my classes. Something told me now was not the best time to bring that up. She made me practice the throw over and over. Once she was convinced I had it down, she had me work on increasing the fire's heat. I finally managed to get up to yellow but could go no farther. Then I had to work on casting the spell without the ashes. Once I reached that milestone, it was back to practicing the throws. She picked various targets for me, and I hit them all effortlessly. â€Å"Just like Skee-Ball,† I muttered. â€Å"Easy and boring.† â€Å"Yes,† Ms. Terwilliger agreed. â€Å"It's easy hitting inanimate objects. But moving targets? Living targets? Not quite so easy. So, let's move on to that, shall we?† The fireball I'd been holding above my hand vanished as shock shattered my control. â€Å"What do you mean?† If she expected me to start aiming at birds or rodents, she was in for a rude awakening. There was no way I was going to incinerate something alive. â€Å"What am I supposed to hit?† Ms. Terwilliger pushed her glasses up her nose and backed up several feet. â€Å"Me.† I waited for the punch line or at least some further explanation, but none came. I glanced behind me at Adrian, hoping perhaps he might shed some light on this, but he looked as astounded as I felt. I turned back to the singed ground where my earlier fireballs had struck. â€Å"Ms. Terwilliger, you can't ask me to hit you.† Her lips twitched into a small half smile. â€Å"I assure you, I can. Go ahead, you can't hurt me.† I had to think a few moments for how to phrase my next response. â€Å"I'm a pretty good shot, ma'am. I can hit you.† This earned an outright laugh. â€Å"Hit, yes. Hurt, no. Go ahead and throw. Our time is running out.† I didn't know how much time had passed exactly, but the sun was definitely lower in the sky. I looked back at Adrian, silently asking for help in dealing with this insanity. His only response was a shrug. â€Å"You're a witness to this,† I told him. â€Å"You heard her tell me to do it.† He nodded. â€Å"You're totally blameless.† I took a deep breath and summoned my next fireball. I was so frazzled that it started off red, and I had to work to heat it up. Then I looked up at Ms. Terwilliger and braced myself for the shot. It was more difficult than I expected – and not just because I was worried about hurting her. Throwing something at the ground required almost no thought. The focus there was on aim and little else. But facing a person, seeing her eyes and the way her chest rose and fell while breathing . . . well, she was right. It was entirely different from hitting an inanimate object. I began to tremble, unsure if I could do it. â€Å"You're wasting time,† she warned. â€Å"You're sapping energy again. Throw.† The command in her voice jolted me to action. I threw. The fireball flew from my hand, straight at her – but it never made contact. I couldn't believe my eyes. About a foot in front of her, it hit some kind of invisible barrier, smashing apart into small flames, which quickly dissipated into smoke. My jaw dropped. â€Å"What is that?† I exclaimed. â€Å"A very, very powerful shielding spell,† she said, clearly enjoying my reaction. She lifted up a pendant that had been hanging under her shirt. It didn't look like anything special, just a piece of unpolished carnelian wrapped in silver wire. â€Å"It took incredible effort to make this . . . and requires more effort still in order to maintain it. The result is an invisible shield – as you can see – that's impervious to most physical and magical attacks.† Adrian was by my side in a flash. â€Å"Hang on. There's a spell that makes you invulnerable to everything, and you only now just thought to mention it? You've been going on this whole time about how Sydney's in danger! Why don't you just teach her this one? Then your sister can't touch her.† Although it didn't seem like Adrian was about to attack her as he had Marcus, he was almost just as upset. His face was flushed, his eyes hard. He had clenched his fists at his side, but I didn't even think he noticed. It was more of that primal instinct. Ms. Terwilliger remained strong in the face of his outrage. â€Å"If it were that simple, then believe me, I would. Unfortunately, there are a number of problems. One is that Sydney, prodigy that she is, is nowhere near strong enough to cast this. I'm hardly strong enough. The other problem is that it has an extremely short time frame, which is why I've been so adamant about a schedule. It only lasts six hours and requires so much effort that you can't just cast it and permanently keep it on you at all times. I'm already worn out and will be even more so once it fades. I won't be able to cast it – or hardly any other magic – for at least another day. That's why I need Sydney to be prepared at all times.† Neither Adrian nor I said anything right away. I'd taken note of her weary state when she got in the car but hadn't thought much more about it. As we'd continued to practice out here, I'd observed her sweating and looking more fatigued, but I'd written it off to the heat. Only now could I fully appreciate the extent of what she had done. â€Å"Why would you go to so much effort?† I asked. â€Å"To keep you alive,† she snapped. â€Å"Now, don't make this a waste. We've only got one more hour before it wears off, and you need to be able to aim at someone without thinking twice. You hesitate too much.† She was right. Even knowing that she was invulnerable, I still had a difficult time attacking her. Violence just wasn't something I embraced. I had to push down all my inner worries and treat it exactly like Skee-Ball. Aim, throw. Aim, throw. Don't think. Soon, I was able to fight past my anxieties and throw without hesitation. She even tried moving around a little, just to give me a better feel for what it'd be like with a real foe, but I didn't find it to be much of a challenge. She was simply too tired and unable to run around or dodge me. I actually started to feel bad for her. She looked like she was about ready to pass out, and I felt guilty sizing up my next shot and – â€Å"Ahh!† Fire arced from Ms. Terwilliger's fingertips just as I released my fireball. My shot went wide, the ball disintegrating before it got anywhere near her. The fire she'd released passed me, about a foot away. With a weary grin, she sank to her knees and exhaled. â€Å"Class dismissed,† she said. â€Å"What was that?† I asked. â€Å"I don't have a magic shield on me!† She didn't display my same concern. â€Å"It was nowhere near you. I made sure of that. It was simply to prove that no matter how ‘boring and easy' this seems, all bets are off when someone is actually attacking you. Now then. Adrian, would you be kind enough to bring me my bag? I have some dried dates in there that I think both Sydney and I would appreciate right about now.† She was right. I'd been so caught up in the lesson that I hadn't noticed how exhausted I had become. She was in worse shape, but the magic had definitely taken its toll on me. I'd never worked with amounts this big for so long, and my body felt weak and drained as the usual blood sugar drop occurred. I began to understand why she kept warning me away from the really difficult stuff. I practically inhaled the dried dates she'd brought for us, and although the sugar helped, I was desperate for more. Adrian gallantly helped us both walk back to the parking lot at the park's entrance, keeping one of us on each arm. â€Å"Too bad we're out in the middle of nowhere,† I grumbled, once we were all in Adrian's car. â€Å"I think you'd be amazed at how much I could eat right now. I'll probably faint before we're back to some civilization and restaurants.† â€Å"Actually,† said Adrian. â€Å"You might be in luck. I think I saw a place not far from here when we were driving in.† I hadn't noticed anything, but I'd been too preoccupied worrying about Ms. Terwilliger's upcoming lesson. Five minutes after we were back on the highway, I saw that Adrian was right about a restaurant. He exited onto a drab little road, pulling into the gravel parking lot of a small but freshly painted white building. I stared at the sign out front in disbelief. â€Å"Pies and Stuff?† â€Å"You wanted sugar,† Adrian reminded me. The Mustang kicked up dust and gravel, and I winced on behalf of the car. â€Å"And at least it's not Pies and Bait or anything like that.† â€Å"Yeah, but the ‘Stuff' part isn't exactly reassuring.† â€Å"I thought it was more the ‘Pie' part that had you upset.† Despite my misgivings, Pies and Stuff was actually a cute and clean little establishment. Polka-dot curtains hung in the windows, and the display case was filled with every pie imaginable as well as â€Å"stuff† like carrot cake and brownies. We were the only people under sixty in the whole place. We ordered our pie and sat down with it in a corner booth. I ordered peach, Adrian had French silk, and Ms. Terwilliger went with pecan. And of course, she and I had the waitress bring us coffee as soon as humanly possible since we'd had to abstain, painfully, for the magic. I took a sip and immediately felt better. Adrian ate his slice at a reasonable rate, like a normal person, but Ms. Terwilliger and I dug in as though we hadn't eaten in a month. Conversation was irrelevant. Only pie mattered. Adrian regarded us both with delight and didn't try to interrupt until we'd practically licked the plates clean. He nodded toward mine. â€Å"Another piece?† â€Å"I'll take more coffee.† I eyed the sparkling plate and couldn't help but notice that inner voice that used to nag me about calories was quiet these days. In fact, it didn't seem to be around anymore at all. I'd been so angry about Adrian's food â€Å"intervention,† but his words had ended up having a bigger impact than I'd expected. Not that it had anything to do with him personally, of course. Lightening up my dieting restrictions was just a reasonable idea. That was it. â€Å"I feel pretty good now.† â€Å"I'll get you another cup,† he told me. When he returned, he even had a mug for Ms. Terwilliger. â€Å"Figured you'd want one too.† She smiled in appreciation. â€Å"Thank you. You're very astute.† As she drank, I couldn't help but notice she still looked tired, despite the fact that we'd just replenished with sugar. She no longer seemed in danger of passing out, but it was obvious she hadn't recovered as quickly as I had. â€Å"Are you sure you're okay?† I asked her. â€Å"Don't worry, I'll be fine.† She sipped more coffee, her face lost in thought. â€Å"It's been years since I performed the shield spell. I forgot how much it takes out of me.† I was again struck by all the trouble she'd gone through for me. Ever since she'd identified me as a potential magic user, I'd done nothing but resist her and even be antagonistic. â€Å"Thanks,† I told her. â€Å"For everything . . . I wish there was a way I could make it up to you.† She set her cup down and stirred in more sugar. â€Å"I'm happy to do it. There's no need to reciprocate. Although . . . once this is all over, I'd like very much if you'd meet my coven. I'm not asking you to join,† she added quickly. â€Å"Just to talk. I think you'd find the Stelle very interesting.† â€Å"Stelle,† I repeated. She'd never called them by name before. â€Å"The stars.† Ms. Terwilliger nodded. â€Å"Yes. Our origins are Italian, though as you've seen already the magic we use comes from a number of cultures.† I was at a loss for words. She'd gone to so much trouble for me . . . surely it wasn't a big deal just to talk to the other witches, right? But if it was such a small thing, then why was I terrified? The answer came to me a few moments later. Talking to others, seeing the larger organization, would kick my involvement with magic up to the next level. It had taken me a long time to come around to the magic I already used. I'd overcome many of my fears, but some part of me treated it as just some sideline activity. Like a hobby. Meeting other witches would change everything. I would have to accept that I was part of something so much bigger than just the occasional dabbling. Meeting a coven seemed official. And I didn't know if I was ready to be considered a witch. â€Å"I'll think about it,† I said at last. I wished I could give her more, but my protective instincts had seized me â€Å"I'll take what I can get,† she said with a small smile. Her phone chimed, and she glanced down. â€Å"Speaking of the Stelle, I need to talk to one of my sisters. I'll meet you at the car.† She finished her coffee and headed outside. Adrian and I followed a few minutes later. I was still troubled about the coven and caught hold of his sleeve to keep him back. I spoke softly. â€Å"Adrian, when did I reach this point? Trying to crack open the Alchemists and practicing magic in the desert?† Last summer, when I'd been with Rose in Russia, I couldn't even tolerate the idea of sleeping in the same room with her. I'd had too many Alchemist mantras running through my mind, warning me of vampire evils. And now, here I was, in league with vampires and questioning the Alchemists. That girl in Russia had nothing in common with the one in Palm Springs. No, I'm still the same person at heart. I had to be . . . because if I wasn't, then who was I? Adrian smiled at me sympathetically. â€Å"I think it's been a culmination of things. Your curious nature. Your need to do the right thing. It's all led you to this point. I know the Alchemists have taught you to think a certain way, but what you're doing now – it's not wrong.† I raked my hand through my hair. â€Å"And yet, despite all of that, I can't bring myself to have one tiny conversation with Ms. Terwilliger's coven.† â€Å"You have boundaries.† He gently smoothed one of my wayward locks. â€Å"Nothing wrong with that.† â€Å"Marcus would say it's the tattoo holding me back.† Adrian dropped his hand. â€Å"Marcus says a lot of things.† â€Å"I don't think Marcus is trying to deceive me. He believes in his cause, and I'm still worried about mind control . . . but honestly, it's hard to believe I'm being held back when I'm out here doing stuff like this.† I gestured outside, to where Ms. Terwilliger was. â€Å"Alchemist dogma says this magic is unnatural and wrong.† Adrian's smile returned. â€Å"If it makes you feel better, you actually looked natural out there – back in the park.† â€Å"Doing . . . what? Throwing fireballs?† I shook my head. â€Å"There's nothing natural about that.† â€Å"You wouldn't think so, but . . . well. You were . . . amazing, throwing that fire like some kind of ancient warrior goddess.† Annoyed, I turned away. â€Å"Stop making fun of me.† He caught my arm and pulled me back toward him. â€Å"I am absolutely serious.† I swallowed, speechless for a moment. All I was aware of was how close we were, that he was holding me to him with only a few inches between us. Almost as close as at the sorority. â€Å"I'm not a warrior or a goddess,† I managed at last. Adrian leaned closer. â€Å"As far as I'm concerned, you're both.† I knew that look in his eyes. I knew because I'd seen it before. I expected him to kiss me, but instead, he ran his finger along the side of my neck. â€Å"There it is, huh? Badge of honor.† It took me a moment to realize he was talking about the hickey It had faded but wasn't entirely gone. I pulled away. â€Å"It is not! It was a mistake. You were out of line doing that to me.† His eyebrows rose. â€Å"Sage, I distinctly remember every part of that night. You didn't seem that unwilling. You were practically on top of me.† â€Å"I don't really remember the details,† I lied. He moved his hand from my neck and rested a fingertip on my lips. â€Å"But I'll stick to just kissing these if it makes you feel better. No mark.† He started to lean toward me, and I jerked away. â€Å"You will not! It's wrong.† â€Å"What, kissing you, or kissing you in Pies and Stuff?† I glanced around, suddenly aware that we were creating a dinner show for the senior citizens, even if they couldn't hear us. I backed up. â€Å"Both,† I said, feeling my cheeks burn. â€Å"If you're going to attempt something inappropriate – something you said you wouldn't do anymore – then you could at least pick a better place.† He laughed softly, and the look in his eyes confused me further. â€Å"Okay† he said. â€Å"The next time I kiss you, I promise it'll be in a more romantic place.† â€Å"I – what? No! You shouldn't try at all!† I began moving toward the door, and he fell in step with me. â€Å"What happened to loving me from a distance? What happened to not, um, bringing up any of this stuff?† For someone who was allegedly just going to watch from afar, he wasn't doing a very good job. And I was doing an even worse job of being indifferent. He moved in front of the door and blocked my way. â€Å"I said I wouldn't – if you don't want me to. But you're kind of giving me mixed signals, Sage.† â€Å"I am not,† I said, amazed that I could even say that with a straight face. Even I didn't believe it. â€Å"You're presumptuous and arrogant and a whole lot of other things if you think I've changed my mind.† â€Å"You see, that's just it.† There he was again, moving into my space. â€Å"I think you like the ‘other things.'† I shook off my daze and pulled away. â€Å"I like humans.† Another Alchemist lesson came to mind. They look like us, but don't be deceived. The Moroi don't display the malice of the Strigoi, but creatures who drink blood and manipulate nature have no place in our world. Work with them only as you must. We are not the same. Keep your distance as much as possible. It's for the good of your soul. Adrian didn't look like he believed this either, but he stepped away and headed outside. I followed a few moments later, thinking I'd played with fire more than once today.

Emotional Intel Essay

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to present information regarding effects of globalization on the economy and the culture of the Norway, during the past few years. Five sets of research questions were used to form the bases of the paper. The intent is to illiterate the cultural dynamics and business culture of the Country. Knowledge of the influence of culture and business practices will assist one with understanding globalization as it pertains to Norway. Using the information in this paper, individuals like consultants and managers who interact with Norweigians can use this as a framework or perspective Summary of the case study â€Å"A Naà ¯ve Sahab In India† The case study â€Å"A Naà ¯ve Sahab in India† tells the story of Brian Moseley, an Aspen Automotive employee from the US who has just been relocated to India to become the new managing director for Bindi Brake Company that had been acquired by Aspen. Brian’s main goal at Bindi is to improve operations and to â€Å"make the Indians efficient†. During Brian’s visits to the plants he observed many employees socializing instead of working, and found out that performance review and pay for performance were unheard at Bindi and employees were rarely dismissed no matter how poorly they performed their jobs. Brian asked his managers, who were born and educated in India to come up with a strategy plan to improve operations. After many months of frustrating meetings, and episodes when Brian lost his temper with his managers, he announced to the managerial team his own strategic plan to take place immediately that included performance appraisal, personnel cuts, pay -for-performance increases and others. Bindi’s manager did not reinforce the changes and Brian became even more forceful of his ideas, increasing the tension between him and his managers. Briand was referred by his managers as the â€Å"sahab†, a term used to describe Brian’s â€Å"culturally imperialistic† style. Even with all the turmoil, Brain persisted and kept pushing his managers to apply the changes to their subordinates but instead of improving operations, Brian’s decisions pushed most of his managers to resign. All these obstacles made Brian wonder if changes and efficient operations would ever be a reality for the Bindi Brake Company. â€Å"A Naà ¯ve Sahab in India† clearly describes Deb Brian’s authoritarian managerial style and lack of  cultural knowledge of India hurt his goals to transform Bindi into an efficient operations plant for Aspen Automotive. Brian’s personal frame of reference made him judge his Indian’s managers based on his own American values and made his Indians co-workers to see him as an dictatorial man telling them what to do in a disrespectful away. By failing to understand the Indian’s culture in the workplace Brian created a hostile environment and conflicts between him and his managers. Many characters in the â€Å"A Naà ¯ve Sahab in India† can share the responsibility for the lack of change at the Bindi Brake Company. The first to be blamed is Aspen Automotive. Aspen should have better prepared Brian for his new position at Bindi. Aspen should also have directed Brian to attend multicultural training sessions where he could learn and better understand the Indian culture. Secondly, Brian should have taken the initiative to seek â€Å"cultural† assistance from Aspen human resources, from other expatriates or from Rajan in an attempt to find a more cultural sensitive way to approach his managers. Rajan, who had a better understanding of the Western culture due the fact that he was educated in a London University, felt attacked by Brian’s aggressive style but did little to help him. Rajan should have advised Brian that his aggressive managerial style would only bring conflicts to team instead of change in the company. The last one to be blamed is the Indian manager, who had Brian’s trust, and should have been the bridge between Brian and his managers, trying to advise both sides to be more receptive to changes and culturally sensitive. Before Brian can advance and apply his strategy at Bindi, he needs to learn how to be more culturally sensitive. He would benefit from cultural training sessions, which has been proved to be very effective to prepare professionals for intercultural work. By going through such training, Brian would learn how to better approach his managers without being too offensive. Brian will have to re-think his strategies before putting together a new manager team made up with old and newly hired managers, and only then carefully and slowly introduce the expected changes for the company. Male/Female Differences Disparities between males and females in society can be seen everywhere and the work place is no different. Women are expected to be vulnerable and sympathetic to others’ needs, while men are expected to be competitive, strong and rational. In business, these gender differences determine communication behaviors and interactions. A study published in the â€Å"Journal of Social and Development Sciences† confirms, â€Å"the gender of individuals engaged in negotiations will affect the communication style utilized by each individual† (Yu-Te Tu, 2012, p. 125). Women might rely more on non-verbal and indirect communication, which has been noted as a characteristic to those who have less power. Women are still pictured as the fragile gender by society, however many of the exclusive â€Å"female traits† are strengths that can make women more efficient managers than men. For example, women who are able to relate to others easily and possess the ability to empower will be successful mentors to those in their workplace. It has been noted that women also tend to avoid confrontations, as they prefer to seek solut ions to solve the problem. When it comes to emotional intelligence women, once more, they prove that they have an advantage over males. According to the study published by the â€Å"Journal of Business and Psychology†, it states that women scored higher than males on an emotional intelligence test which results imply â€Å"females might be better at managing their emotions and the emotions of others as compared to males† (Mandell & Pherwani, 2003, p.399). It is important to note that emotional intelligence is the key aptitude necessary for successful leadership, which should put women in a more advantageous position to assume managerial positions. Unfortunately the â€Å"glass ceiling† is not the only issue women have to worry about; sexual harassment in the workplace is another big concern for organizations and companies. The majority of victims of sexual harassment in the workplace are women. Studies have shown that more than half of women executives in the U.S. have been a victim of sexual harassment (Central Michigan University, 2008). Sexual harassment has many consequences, for instance, it can be financially costly to the company and cause severe emotional issues for the employee who suffered the harassment. To eliminate sexual harassment, companies are investing in training and have reinforced rules, policies and penalties regarding such inappropriate behavior. Women still have to go through many obstacles to prove themselves efficient as leaders, but big corporations are slowly realizing how much more women can do to improve their business. Differences in Self Disclosure Self-disclosure is the concept of divulging information about oneself with others, whether it is co-workers, family, or friends. According to S. A. Beebe, S. J. Beebe, Remond, Geerinck (2010), they define self-disclosure not only as a strategy of sharing basic information with others, but it is the sharing of information about oneself that may be out of the ordinary that would not necessarily be discoverable otherwise. There are different styles of self-disclosure that derive from the Johari Window, ranging from the turtle and interviewer to the bull-in-the-China shop and transparent. The differences between these styles are based on how much one discloses and depending on how much is disclosed, it will determine the kind and quality of relationship that is formed with another person. Those who are able to disclose much about his or herself are transparent, whereas those who keep to themselves are seen as â€Å"turtles,† which carry an imaginary bubble around them (Central Mic higan University, 2008). Interviewers are those who have no problem asking questions of others but are more likely to shut out to those who ask questions of them, whereas those who possess a â€Å"bull-in-the-China shop† style are those who have no problem giving feedback but shut out those who give them feedback (Central Michigan University, 2008). The information that Chapman (2003) presents on the Johari Window is very similar to the Central Michigan University’s (2008) information. They both discuss the breakdown of the Johari Window, including the discussion of the four panes, known area, hidden area, unknown area, and blind area, although Chapman (2003) does a better job as discussing what each pane means. In order to tie into emotional intelligence, Chapman (2003) give the relationship of the Johari Window to emotional intelligence, suggesting that the Johari Window has offered a new way to assess oneself and the relationships that are formed based on the openness level achieved. All readings offered the same conclusions about self-disclosure and the Johari Window, stating that being open with others offers risks and rewards, however in order to build strong relationships, one must be able to find a balance on the amount of disclosure one will allow. Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is the notion of understanding oneself and how one is  self-aware, how one self-manages, how one is socially aware and how one is able to mange their relationships. The common trend among all definitions of emotional intelligence is that it is the ability to understand and recognize not only one’s own emotions, but also other’s emotions and how they influence one’s relationships and behaviors (Bradberry, Greaves, 2009). The level of emotional intelligence one possesses can greatly influence the interpersonal communication skills one develops. Many could argue that it is important to have a strong sense of emotional intelligence in order to bring cohesion to the workplace, as well as be more understanding of those who come from a different background. In â€Å"Emotional Intelligence and competitive advantage: Examining the relationship from resource-based view,† by Voola, Carlson, and West (2004), the reader learns about Mahatma Gandhi’s influence on the world and how he possessed the emotional intelligence that gave him a competitive advantage over other leaders. Gandhi had the philosophy to provide strategic change, by â€Å"being the change you want to see in the world,† which translates to a crucial part of having a strong emotional intelligence; one must to take the time to understand the other cultures, people, and environments by being socially aware. Gandhi has be viewed as one of the most emotionally intelligent leaders of all time, the vision he created had a positive impact on effective changes among the world. Two scholars, Bradberry and Greaves (2009) have broken down what emotional intelligence into four components, self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management; whereas it has also been broken down into five components of self-awareness, managing emotions, motivating oneself, empathy, and social skill. These components comprise what skills need to be developed in order to achieve that high level of emotional intelligence. Once each of these components is understood, then the process of attaining emotional intelligence will become self-evident. Self-awareness is the ability to know oneself, inside and out; it is the ability to truly understand oneself as you really are (Bradberry, Greaves, 2009). Many people have a difficult time with this component of emotional intelligence because it takes courage and honesty to dig down deep and get in touch with ones  emotions. The component of self-management/managing emotion builds on how well ones self-awareness is developed; a weak self-awareness will produce weak self-management and vise versa. Self-management is the ability to manage ones emotions and understand when and how one should react to a situation before exploding into anger. Motivating oneself is also important when it comes to self-management because this is how one keeps optimistic when things may get tough. Understanding how to recognize and manage ones emotions is the underlying trend when it comes to self-awareness and self-management. As far as social awareness, relationship management, empathy and social skills, these components are what provide the basis for interpersonal relationships. Social awareness is the ability to understand those around you, by being aware of others emotions. This component can be developed by taking the time to observe others and the kinds of emotions they are giving off, whether it is by facial expressions or spoken words; a lot can be learned about another if one takes the time to interpret social cues a person is sending you (Bradberry, Greaves, 2009). Relationship management requires one to be able to demonstrate empathy and social skills, these two subcomponents are very important in building interpersonal relationships. The component of relationship management is built on the foundation of self-awareness, self-management, and social awareness. Each component naturally builds among each other and the stronger each is; the stronger the emotional intelligence one has will be (Bradber ry, Greaves, 2009). All of these components of emotional intelligence are crucial in terms of building strong and meaningful interpersonal relationships. A thorough understanding of emotional intelligence is needed for any workplace to achieve a high level of success. Emotional intelligence is an individual characteristic, however it is also up to that individual on how one will use their emotions to interact with others (Guillen, Florent-Treacy, 2011). As the reader has seen, emotional intelligence is a foundation on which one builds and develops their relationships; it is used to provide a deeper understanding of oneself and those around in and out of the workplace. A study done by Guillen and Florent-Treacy (2011) provided the basis that  emotional intelligence in the workplace is not directly correlated with how a leader is perceived, but is necessary for leaders’ collaborative capabilities, more so how they influence teamwork. Harms and Crede (2010) have also found this to be true in their studies, that emotional intelligence does not determine the outcome of a leaders leadership, but does have a positive impact on school and work performance. One could argue that emotional intelligence is a viable source of a workplaces success. Pearman (2011) presents a table with different situations and how those with a good grasp on emotional intelligence have an advantage in sorting the situation. For instance if one is working for any company that deals with customers, one may be presented with a situation where customers become unhappy. Those with a high emotional intelligence are able to help engage the individual who is unhappy by having a welcoming attitude, listening with an empathetic ear, and offering problem solving skills in order to help the satisfy the customer (Pearman, 2011). There are multiple examples about emotional intelligence in the workplace, whether it is in how one handles workplace relationships, interactions with customers, ineffective leaders and the list goes on an on. Emotional intelligence is a subject that is seeing an increase in studies as to how and if it correlates with job performance, leadership abilities, work relationships, etc. There have many studies that have proven one aspect or another as to how emotional intelligence ties into the workplace. It is importance to receive training on the topic of emotional intelligence because it is a growing subject that needs to be recognized as having a part in the successes of an organization or relationship. Pearman makes a great representation of how important teaching emotional intelligence is to leaders and employees alike. He states, â€Å"Emotional intelligence facilitates not just communication effectiveness (or other competing training topics) but also an increase in individual performance that affects all levels of the organization† (Pearman, 2011, p. 71). Emotional Intelligence Research This study is intended to assess whether there is a relationship between emotional intelligence and interpersonal communication with respect to  developing managerial capabilities. The study was done by using the survey that provides data for each of the five areas of one’s emotional intelligence – self-awareness, managing emotions, motivating oneself, empathy, and social skills. Students in graduate school completed the survey. This study was a qualitative design as well as a quantitative design. What this researcher is looking for is a person’s emotional intelligence at work. Who participated in the Survey? The instrument that used was the typical Liker scale survey. This particular Likert scale survey is called what’s your emotional intelligence at work? (See Table 1). According to the developers of the instrument, the Liker scale has a high reliability and validity. The following focuses on a research project, consisting of three employees who shared their experiences about emotional intelligence in the workplace. Each person volunteered to describe their interpersonal relationships in the workplace by responding to a set of questions. Below is a summary of each person’s responses. Person A is a career Military Soldier and currently serves as a senior Logistics manager for the U.S. Army as a part of an organization consisting of over 300 personnel. The organization is a very interpersonal cohesive atmosphere. Person B has served in the information technology field for over twenty years. Currently, works as an organizational IT applications manager ensuring IT compliance pertaining to Disaster Recovery Programs globally. Person C currently works for the Air Force, commanding communication satellites as a satellite vehicle operator and works closely with a crew to achieve the mission. It is imperative that the crew works well together and that cohesion is visible, since they are dealing with a multibillion-satellite constellation that provides secure communication not only to those overseas, but also to the president. Person C’s job is crucial to the Air Force and military in order to properly maintain the health of the satellite. Understanding the Survey The first part of emotional intelligence is self-awareness, which means being in tuned to your feelings, being cognizant of your internal feelings. The second part is managing emotions that are aimed at leaders calibrating their  attitudes and moods so as to not negatively impact the workplace climate. The third part is the ability to inspire and instill optimism in the workplace regardless of challenges. The fourth part is the capability to empathize with other and identify how others are feeling without them telling you how they feel. The fifth part means to have the ability to make a personal connection with others and influence others is in a way that is personally engaging. This survey demonstrates a sign of one’s emotional intelligence. If one receives a total score of 100 or more, one can expect to have high emotional intelligence. A scoring of 50 to 100 highlights one’s level of emotional intelligence as good. There are five different components of emotional intelligence that consist of the following; self-awareness, managing emotions, motivating oneself, empathy, and social skills. If one reaches a score of 20 they are considered to have a high level and a score of 10 is low. Each student scored well for self awareness, 19 (Person A), 18 (Person B), and 19 (Person C). For this survey managing emotions scores were slightly different because Person B scored 22 while person C scored 18 and person A scored 19. Motivating oneself tends to instill ones confidence person A scored 20, while person B scored 19 and person C scored 18. In this survey when it comes, empathy organizations are looking for managers who possess caring attitudes -person A scored 22, while person B scored 21, and person C scored 20. As it pertains to social skills are always a critical attribute to have in the workplace and person B scored 24, person A scored 21 and person C scored 20. Overall person A scored 101, person B scored 104, and person C scored slightly lower than the other at 95. Table 1: Emotional Intelligence Survey Results Table 2: Emotional Intelligence Survey Results Conclusion Only recently, has attention been directed to understanding the role of emotional intelligence in the work place and how the process may play in the development of manager’s abilities to improve work environments. The case study in this paper discussed communication problems that might have been avoided had the expatriate experienced intercultural, professional development, before visiting India. Focusing on one’s emotional intelligence in the workplace has beneficial outcomes for increasing trust and improving  interpersonal relationships. Results of the emotional intelligence survey indicated three participants effectively used empathy and social skills and effectively managed their emotion while engaged in the work place. Reference Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., Remond, M. V., & Geerinck, T. M. (2010). Interpersonal communication relating to others: Self-disclosure. Retrieved from http://wps.prenhall.com/ca_ab_beebe_intercomm_4/48/12319/3153764.cw/-/3153798/index.html Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional Intelligence 2.0. San Diego, CA: TalentSmart. Central Michigan University. (2008). Administration, globalization and multiculturalism. (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Chapman, A. (2003.). Johari Window: A Model for Self-Awareness, Personal Development, Group Development, and Understanding Relationship. Retrieved from http://www.usc.edu/hsc/ebnet/Cc/awareness/Johariwindowexplain.pdf Guillen, L. and Florent-Treacy, E. (2011). Emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness: The mediating influence of collaborative behaviors. Retrieved from http://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/research/doc.cfm?did=47210 Harms, P. and Crede, M. (2010). Emotional intelligence and transformational and transactional l eadership: A meta-analysis. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=leadershipfacpub&seiredir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Dthe%2520relationship%2520of%2520emotional%2520intelligence%2520and%2520transformational%2520%2520%2520leadership%2520behavior%2520in%2520nonprofit%2520executive%2520leaders%252C%2520meredith%252C%2520c.l%2520%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D2%26cad%3Drja%26ved%3D0CDAQFjAB%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fdigitalcommons.unl.edu%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1013%2526context%253Dleadershipfacpub%26ei%3DCNlUejyNKjk0QGMnYGYBA%26usg%3DAFQjCNGSndQRyR1zaThfaYfkv1b9hYdeLA%26bvm%3Dbv.45645796%2Cd.dmQ#search=%22relationship%20emotional%20intelligence%20transformational%20leadership%20behavior%20nonprofit%20executive%20leaders%2C%20meredith%2C%20c.l%22 Mandell, B., & Pherwani, S. (2003). Relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership style: A gender comparison. Journal of Business and Psychology, 17(3), 387. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.davenport.edu/docview/196904482?accountid=40195 Pearman, R. (2011). The leading edge: Using emotional intelligence to enhance performance. T+D, 65, 3 p. 68-71. Retrieved from http://eiinsider.wordpress.com/2011/02/09/the-leading-edge-using-emotional-intelligence-to-enhance-performance/ Sy, T and Cote, S. (2003). Emotional intelligence. A key ability to succeed in the matrix organization. Retrieved from http://hoosonline.virginia.edu/atf/cf/%7Bbda77a21-0229-499a-ae10-eadbe96789d6%7D/EI%20AND%20MANAGEMENT%20IN%20MATRIX%20ORGANIZATIONS.PDF Voola, R., Carlson, J.and West, A. (2004). Emotional intelligence and competitive advantage: Examining the relationship from a resource-base view. Strategic Change; 13, 2 Yu-Te Tu. (2012). Negotiation style comparisons by gender among greater China, Chungyu Institute of Technology. Retrieved from http://www.ifrnd.org/JSDS/Vol%203/3(4)%20Apr%202012/3.pdf

Film Analysis Trainspotting Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Film Analysis Trainspotting - Term Paper Example Trainspotting takes us through the lives of a group of Scottish drug addicts, who differ on many aspects but are bound together by their addiction. The movie starts with a statement made by the main protagonist about choosing to own or do things that are socially constructed as normal or ordinary. Renton states: Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television†¦But why would I want to do a thing like that? The last line was a clear expression of disdain towards the social convention, a conscious choice to disconnect from things that are owned and utilized by the mainstream society. Mark’s suggestion to take a trip to the â€Å"outdoors† was a methaphor towards making an attempt to blend and be a part of the ‘normal’ society. However, Mark’s refusal to conform to social norms disqualifies him to lead the group in their quest to give conventions a try. He lacked the spirit and the willingness to blend in. Renton finally decides to quit drugs and is forced to face the beautiful outdoors. The withdrawal forces Renton to reexamine the different facets of the society he is trying to be a part. This reexamination, as in all the observations he males on different subjects, he makes an observation with a wide perspective. He stated: I hate being Scottish. We’re the lowest of the fucking low, the scum of the earth, the most wretched, servile, miserable, pathetic trash that was ever shat into civilization. Some people hate the English, but I don’t. They’re just wankers. ... Renton states: Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television†¦But why would I want to do a thing like that? The last line was a clear expression of disdain towards the social convention, a conscious choice to disconnect from things that are owned and utilized by the mainstream society. Mark’s suggestion to take a trip to the â€Å"outdoors† was a methaphor towards making an attempt to blend and be a part of the ‘normal’ society. However, Mark’s refusal to conform to social norms disqualifies him to lead the group in their quest to give conventions a try. He lacked the spirit and the willingness to blend in. Feeling like an Outcast Just as When He is Trying to Blend In Renton finally decides to quit drugs and is forced to face the beautiful outdoors. The withdrawal forces Renton to reexamine the different facets of the society he is trying to be a part. This reexamination, as in all the observations he males on different subjects, he makes an observation with a wide perspective. He stated: I hate being Scottish. We’re the lowest of the fucking low, the scum of the earth, the most wretched, servile, miserable, pathetic trash that was ever shat into civilization. Some people hate the English, but I don’t. They’re just wankers. We, on the other hand, are colonized by wankers. We can’t even pick a decent culture to be colonized by. We are ruled by effete arseholes. It’s a shite state of affairs and all the fresh air in the world will not make any fucking difference. Renton feels that his race naturally makes him inferior. However, in order to understand this statement, it is important to delve into Scotland’s history past and its

Genealogy of Morality By Friedrich Nietzsche Essay

Genealogy of Morality By Friedrich Nietzsche - Essay Example This following quotes further supports my opinion: â€Å" ‘pure one’ is†¦merely a man who washes himself, who forbids himself certain foods that produce skin ailments, who does not sleep with the dirty women of the lower strata, who has an aversion to blood† 4, â€Å"†¦the concept ‘good’ is essentially identical with the concept ‘useful’† 2 â€Å"...they designate themselves simply by their superiority in power or by the most clearly visible signs of this superiority†3 . With how â€Å"useful† politicians had been to the society, the public undoubtedly sees them as good people and their well-painted reputations have earned them the label of â€Å"pure one†. All these vested superiorities, will earn them more supremacy and help them continue with their propaganda and declare themselves as the â€Å"good† people. An equivalence is provided by the creditor's receiving, in place of a literal compen sation for an injury, a recompense in the form of a kind of pleasure—the pleasure of being allowed to vent his power freely upon one who is powerless, the voluptuous pleasure of doing evil for the pleasure of doing it.. the enjoyment of violation 5.I do not believe that having someone who owes you something wins you any right to vent power over that person. Violation can never be justified by the pleasure a creditor gets from taking advantage or venting power over someone, particularly the debtor. Any form of abuse over someone should never be tolerated. The debtor is obliged to pay but it does entail having to take in any form of physical harm. First of all, it is going to be a violation of human rights. Although the next quote is applicable to some societies, there are certain human laws that defy the author's idea and, in opposition, vie to protect human rights in other communities: In "punishing" the debtor, the creditor participates in a right of the masters: at last he, too, may experience for once the exalted sensation of being allowed to despise and mistreat someone as "beneath him" or at least, if the actual power and administration of punishment has already passed to the "authorities," to see him despised and mistreated. The compensation, then, consists in a warrant for and title to cruelty 5. It was here, too, that that uncanny intertwining of the ideas "guilt and suffering" was first effected-and by now they may well be inseparable 6. With this inseparability, the incorrectness, if not immorality, of using pleasure as a justification for violating someone becomes even more visible and disagreeable. It was never proper to hurt anyone. Even statements like the following coul d raise eyebrows. On the contrary, let me declare expressly that in the days when mankind was not yet ashamed of its cruelty, life on earth was more cheerful than it is now that pessimists exist. 7

Youth Culture and Moral Panic Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Youth Culture and Moral Panic Portfolio - Essay Example This has left the public ill-prepared to consider the vital greater changes that affect identities across different ages. In his work, â€Å"Folk Devils and Moral Panics,† Stanley Cohen first introduced the term â€Å"moral panic† to refer to the idea as an irregular episode, which when it happens, subjects the society to spells of worry about the principles and values which it upholds that may be a threat. He described its features as â€Å"a situation, group, person, or episode who are viewed as a threat to societal interests and values† (Cohen, 1980). The â€Å"amplifications† that are portrayed by the media serve to appeal to the public to concur with pre-existing opinions on the course of action to be carried out. These opinions are frequently found among members of the â€Å"moral barricade† like the editors, bishops, and politicians. Combined with the views of the â€Å"experts† who are driven to offer their diagnosis, they come to a consensus on how to cope with the situation and the problem either deteriorates or disappears. Even though Cohen in his findings state that the media often exaggerated the occurrences and consequently inciting the panic to be assimilated by the police, some of these panics cause more serious consequences in the society. It is significant to note that â€Å"moral panics† are not just developed by the newspapers, but on many occasions they are debated in the papers. For example, the Guardian in 1993 stated, â€Å"The moral panic and the Facts†, an article that discussed a Conservative Party Conference on welfare expenses turned to be a moral panic on the side of single mothers. The single women thought they were being blamed for unruly youth. Ironically, the media criticized this conference for concentrating on myths which had been dealt with some time back in a Cabinet briefing paper, yet they themselves were accused of partaking in weird hunts.   

Biotechnological Applications of Cultivated and Uncultivated Marine Assignment

Biotechnological Applications of Cultivated and Uncultivated Marine Microorganism - Assignment Example Study of the application of a particular marine microbe is succeeded by a number of identification and characterisation studies. Marine microbes are studied and identified based on identification, enumeration, activity, colony structure. The study of microorganisms is based on the identification techniques. Identification is essential for the classification of microorganisms. The various identifications methods for the cultivated microorganisms include morphological identification, differential staining, differential media, serological methods and flow cytometry. Identification of uncultivated microorganisms is based on the protein analysis and the comparison of the nucleotide sequences. Enumeration is a methodology used to estimate the number of different microorganism in a given sample. It is either achieved through the direct enumeration technique and other modern filter techniques. Direct enumeration method utilises microscope to count the number of microbes in a given sample. Th ere are many other methods for enumeration, including minimum dilution, MPN method, most probable number methods, and plate count methods using agar media or silicic acid gels. The selection of any of the method is based on the species and nature of the microorganism being studied. For instance, the MPN method is used for the enumeration of the hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in the marine environment. In the marine environment, various microorganisms are related to diverse activities. For instance, biosurfactant producing marine bacteria can be studied through haemolytic assay (HA), modified drop collapse (MDC), tilted glass slide, oil spread method (OSM), blue agar plate(BAP), emulsification index(EI) and emulsification assays. Munn showed that the study of the community structure and the allocation of function to different groups of microorganisms could be achieved through microelectrodes and biosensor methods.

Measuring Economic Health Memo Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Measuring Economic Health Memo - Research Paper Example In general, markets go through boom-bust cycles about every twenty years (Mead, 1992). Knowing how GDP is doing now helps to predict if were in a boom or a bust, which is important to the business cycle. However, GDPs value as an economic indicator, and therefore a predictor of the business cycle, is coming under attack now. Roubini, for example, points out that, â€Å"The best advice I can give you is to realize that there is an unavoidable amount of uncertainty in the economy. This is even more true of firms and their financial statements. So what do we do? My choice is to get out of this game altogether, but not everyone has this option---a firm, for example, has to forge ahead the best it can. The first thing you should know is that theres a lot of uncertainty out there, and no amount of commercial forecasting is going to change that†. Roubini is saying that GDP isnt ever for certain: It can be determined one year then the same year can be revised a whole percentage point later! Its hard to predict things like wars or terrorist attacks. In fact, GDP is very easy to â€Å"game† (Ritholtz, 2010). â€Å"[Y]ou simply under-report inflation, and GDP appears to be better than it is†. Since inflation depends on counting the value of a good last year, and doing so across many goods to make sure that its not just one or two goods that grew in price for other reasons, theres a lot of subjectivity and uncertainty in making it. GDP is also not as helpful as it could be because it positively counts negative externalities (Ritholtz, 2010). That means that pollution, which is a bad thing, is counted as a good thing because it makes people spend money to go to the doctor or buy new houses to move. â€Å"If you buy a car, the GDP goes up. If you cut a tree, the GDP goes up. But if you preserve the tree, the GDP does not grow. Now you have to decide whether you need the tree or the GDP† (Sharma,

DOMMINO PIZZA MARKETING STRATEGY Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

DOMMINO PIZZA MARKETING STRATEGY - Coursework Example The paper tells that in recent decades, there has been need to improve the safety of food supply in Europe and other countries in the west and Domino company has not been left out. The laws governing public food safety have been reviewed and firms at various levels of the supply chain have come up with means of improving safety of food supply. As a result, there has been an improved standard of food safety rules at national, regional and international levels. A number of regulations have been put in place such as standards regarding the nature of the final product, the techniques of production in the food supply chain and the legal compliance of the supply chain. At the multinational level, there have been proposals on how the standards of food supply can be improved by the domino company or corrected in areas of weakness. Some of the issues that have been discussed include improvement of infrastructure, facilities and techniques of production, modes of processing as well as modes of quality assurance. There has been a great deal of competition in the pizza industry from pizza huts, papa john’s who are also distributors of pizza in different regions. This has reduced the profits in the business and has reduced the number of customers that are available for this company to deal with. Most of these customers have been shifting from one company to another and Domino Company has had a great deal of losses emanating from the high costs of operation and production visa reduced market share. There are other markets which are yet to be explored like those of china which are yet to be explored. ... As a result, there has been an improved standard of food safety rules at national, regional and international levels. A number of regulations have been put in place such as standards regarding the nature of the final product, the techniques of production in the food supply chain and the legal compliance of the supply chain. At the multinational level, there have been proposals on how the standards of food supply can be improved by the domino company or corrected in areas of weakness. Some of the issues that have been discussed include improvement of infrastructure, facilities and techniques of production, modes of processing as well as modes of quality assurance. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM There has been a great deal of competition in the pizza industry from pizza huts, papa john’s who are also distributors of pizza in different regions (Blythman, 2005). This has reduced the profits in the business and has reduced the number of customers that are available for this company to de al with. Most of these customers have been shifting from one company to another and Domino Company has had a great deal of losses emanating from the high costs of operation and production visa reduced market share. There are other markets which are yet to be explored like those of china which are yet to be explored. Te problem has been that the Chinese require places they can take pizzas while relaxing like in restaurants (Baldwin, 2009). This is not in line with what the company has been used to and therefore has to try and deal with that before the other companies establish themselves in such places. The company is developing marketing strategies that will ensure that this is dealt with including opening new businesses

Cultural Matrix and Summary Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cultural Matrix and Summary - Coursework Example The name of this Icon is The Savior Acheiropoietos. Speaking about Byzantine architecture, the paramount object is the Church of Hagia Sophia. By this unique building the whole period in the development of architecture could be depicted (Brooks). The Byzantium Empire fell, because of attack of foreigners. However, its fall was caused not only by external attack, but by many internal problems (Weitzmann). The main of them are the economic downfall of Byzantium, first of all the fall of its craft and trade connected with the penetration of empire by foreign traders, who undermined its economy; the poor life of peasantry and the citizens of the town; aggravation of class contradictions in the society and the struggle inside the dominating group; feudal wars, treacherous policy of feudals. The self-interested politics of the countries of Eastern Europe, which did not provide Byzantium with any help in danger, also contributed to the fall of the Empire (Bowersock). Byzantium created the outstanding culture, maybe even the most outstanding in the Middle Ages, the only existing in Christian Europe till XI century. It was the continuation of the richest antique culture and the beginning of the culture of the Middle Ages. During many centuries Constantinople remained the only great city of the Christian Europe, which did not have any analogues (Kazhdan). The literature and art of Byzantium imposed influence on other peoples’ culture. The remaining monuments and the great creations of art show to us the whole brilliance of the Byzantine culture. That is why Byzantium deservingly occupied the significant place in the history of the Middle

The diffusion of germ theory in the 19th Century Essay

The diffusion of germ theory in the 19th Century - Essay Example But Germ Theory proposed a amazing statement that the interactions with microorganisms would help us to get rid of certain diseases. â€Å"Germ Theory was developed in a social, cultural, and economic milieu increasingly centered on the values of mass production, mass consumption, standardization, and efficiency, all of which were compatible with Germ Theory science and popularization.† (Historical views of diseases and epidemics: Germ Theory, 2010). The important microbiologists in the history are Ignaz, Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch, Dmitri and Alexander Fleming. This outline needs to consider that Germ theory can be defined by way of taking three statements together and they are â€Å"Germ theory states that a disease causing microorganism should be present in animals infected by disease and not in health animals. Germ theory states that a disease causing microorganism should be present in healthy animals and not in infected animals. Germ theory states that a disease causing microorganism should be destroyed. Germ theory states that a disease causing microorganism cannot be destroyed.† (Besty 2005, p.20). There is a historical significance in developing the Germ theory. The entire world was affected by Black Death, plague and leprosy. There was no knowledge about the cause of the diseases. This kind of miseries in life make scientists think about cause of the disease and it resulted in the discovery of germ theory. With the invention of microscope the scientists started to focus on the minute part of a thing. So also the physicians began to conduct researches to discover the root cause of the disease. Looking through microscope the physicians identified the smallest microorganisms which is the cause of certain diseases. The life of the people became very difficult with the sporadic nature of various diseases. Small pox, leprosy, tuberculosis, cholera, plague

How to Write a Good Essay Essay Example for Free

How to Write a Good Essay Essay A standard essay establishes a writer’s personal understanding, recommendation, analysis, and explanation of a specific topic. This piece of writing is generally used to teach, inform, orient, inspire, refute, warn, or even entertain the reader. As such, a good essay is well-researched, informative, interesting, well-written and easy to read. In order to write a good essay, writers can follow these guidelines: First, the chosen topic must be extensively researched from credible sources such as libraries, academic databases, factual websites, surveys, and interviews. Through adequate research, the writer gains sufficient knowledge in dissecting and discussing the topic at hand. In this stage, other areas and sub-topics are also discovered while listing notes, important keywords and ideas. Upon completion of the research, the writer must digest all useful information to plan and write the essay in a systematic manner that clearly explains its topic while distinguishing the introduction, body and conclusion of the essay. The introduction contains the thesis statement or central theme of the essay which gives a general idea on what the written work is all about. Read more:Â  How to write diagnostic essay samples. Therefore, the writer must strive to make it interesting enough for the reader to continue reading the whole essay. After the thesis statement, the body is written by using the researched notes and summaries taken during research. Initial questions previously laid down to determine the outline of the essay must now be answered. Ideally, this is done by composing several paragraphs where each paragraph systematically tackles questions addressing who, what, when, where, why and how. Supplementary examples geared towards reinforcing the thesis statement such as statistical data and other studies can also assist in further expressing the idea of the essay. However, the writer must keep in mind to cite sources and acknowledge them accordingly to avoid plagiarism. Ideas and words borrowed from others, even if paraphrased, should be cited using the required referencing style. Widely used examples of these styles include the American Psychological Association (APA) and Modern Language Association (MLA). Since there are many existing styles, the writer must pattern the citation and format of the written piece according to the required style. Meanwhile, the conclusion is written by summarizing the important points, reiterating the thesis, and providing a call to action sentence for the reader to act on. A good essay imparts a lasting impression while encouraging the reader to think. In finalizing the essay, the writer must thoroughly edit and proofread the entire work. Spelling, grammatical, and structural errors should be checked again and again. One good way to do a spell-check is to read the essay backwards and check each word carefully. Most of the time, a good essay written by a good writer undergoes continuous editing, rephrasing, and rewriting until a cleaner and more concise copy is produced. For those aspiring to constantly write good essays, reading is a definite must to expand one’s vocabulary and exposure to other styles of writing. Careful research, effective writing, and thorough editing are essential stages of writing a good essay. By following these guidelines, together with constant learning, practice and dedication, one can develop the skills on how to write a good essay.

Middle Class in India Sociology

Middle Class in India Sociology Is there something called the Indian Middle Class? How does this manifest in everyday India ? Illustrate this from Mother Pious Lady Reference? Indian middle class; is it a group or a phenomenon? Who are the people who form the Indian middle class, what are their culture? The Indian middle class has grown from a minority in pre-independence era to a vast majority taking the grip of the whole nation and playing a major role in driving it towards development. The book Mother Pious Lady by Mr Santosh Desai portrays the Indian middle class in vivid detail. The following writing takes the headings of the book and tries to explain Indian middle class with illustration from the book. I have tried covering the topics which I was able to connect to. Economic reform has provided the Indian middle class the most needed the liberation in terms of living life to the most. There has been a constant shift in the cultural sign and symbols adapted through ages. Disappearance of girls pig tail, freedom of mobility through scooterette, providing the elders their own space of living, telecommunication evolution, explosion in the passenger car segment , changing clothing pattern are few of the visible patterns in society. Girls pony tail were a symbol of desired feminine reserved nature which has seen a change both in length and its handling. The shortening of hair gives a girl a sense of personal control displayed metaphorically. The scooty revolution has helped the female to expand her boundaries without being dependent on any family member providing her a sense of independence. Even the car owned has seen a shift towards adapting more compact cars. The recent shift from petrol to electric and LPG based cars not only signifies the change in attitude towards efficiency but also the urge to keep up technologically. Dhoni has been one the true middle class iconic figures which has altered the way Indian see a small town boy. The can do attitude along with the lack of fear of failure and unmindfulness of hierarchy has been the reason behind success of Dhoni. Any Indian middle class can draw inspiration from him in the way towards dealing with pressure and performing without fear of failure. The increase in disposable income has led to the change in attitude towards life, attitude towards savings. The Indian middle class is not afraid to take risks in life to get a bigger return. He is in constant search of avenues of making money. An age where money has its own language, and the person in possession of money is in possession of power. It has become the source of energy which drives the entire economy, of which Indian middle class has played the most important role. Arranged marriage in a typical middle class families is still not openly accepted, reasons may be preference for same caste bride which may not be guaranteed in love marriage. It may also be due to unfamiliarity or not being comfortable to other caste customs being brought and practiced in one family. Arrange marriage is not seen as marriage of two individuals but two families as well. The idea of prospective bride and groom to know each other before marriage is not given preference as the custom of these individuals having the luxury of spending time together is quite rare in any joint family. Also, the societal pressure is also a big factor which forces one to look into same caste bride or groom. The priority of selection bride or groom also is quite typical in middle class family and exchange of dowry which comes as unsaid package plays a major role in this decision. The education qualification in higher of engineer or doctor may fetch enough dowry to groom family to cover almost all the family members lifetime expenditure. Its agreed that many a times this money only changes hand in case the same family has a girl to be married away. All these factors doesnt provide the luxury to place the freedom to choose the bride in the hand of the prospective groom himself. The power to choose the family needs to be closely guarded and the sense of freedom even need to be made to felt to the groom. Also, the custom of preparing and matching kundli of prospective bride and groom to formally accept marriage proposal also affects the decision. The decision to go against the familys belief of marrying someone who technically doesnt match on paper may lead to social seclusion. The present has become poor indicator of the future indicates that current reputation, societal status, family acceptance takes preference over the prospective future of those two individuals living together happily. The middle path of arranged love marriage seems to provide the best possible solution in the current middle class society. It comes with best of both the worlds. Even though, this may not be happening at an encouraging level provides enough encouragement to other families to try to adapt for the benefit of those two individuals in question. Other reason for further acceptance of this phenomenon is the trend of growing number of nuclear families. The tradition of newly wed bride to stay with the family is becoming less frequent, leading to providing both the individuals to start their life with their own rules. The importance given to the caste is also decreasing due to importance given to education qualification and economic status in the society. The essence of middle class can be truly experienced while travelling across country via any means be it train, bus, jugaad or be it airplane. Out of all these means Train definitely displays the middle class in true sense. Indian Railways carries millions of Indians mostly middle class people through length and breadth of this huge nation on a daily basis. A typical middle class passenger takes a train journey not just as travel but as ritual. He is worried about the co-passengers destination more than his own. The train coupe forms a perfect blend of many cultures and their practices. It is clearly visible during the meal time. Any Gujarati family travels in a group of min 4-5 members with a plethora of food varieties in their stock. The ritual of cutting and preparing salad, preparing for the meal by arranging the plates and laying out the pre made food contents. The daily routine of having daily meal is still maintained irrespective of the place they may be. After Gold, probably Stainless steel is the metal which places itself highly in the life of typical Indian middle class family. The metal is a reliable carrier of memories. It stands for pride, trust and assurance. Stainless steel makes its presence very eminent in daily life of middle class family through vessels, utensils. It is the true representation of aspirations of middle class family, to be able to shine even after being put to test on a daily basis. It serves to utility to max. But due to recent advent of polymer technology and post liberalization era, Stainless steel is being slowly being replaced by more cheaper and easily replaceable elements like plastics, aluminium. This trend not only displays the changing attitude of the middle class towards daily life approach. There has been a constant shift from need for longevity, durability to alternatives which would serve the utility at best price. This change is evident of the fact of the fast changing life, non belief in long standing commitment. Ease of manufacturing, handling, disposal, multi utility and economy of use Need for Communication places itself on a very high scale for any Indian, specially a middle class family. The urge to stay connected through any possible means forms a strong bond among geographically spread and settled of the community. Even Post card saw its evolution in the form of launch of competition postcards, travel postcards etc, which formed an important part of a typical middle class family. Post card, in pre telecommunication era, was the perfect carrier of messages which contained message not for individuals but for the whole family from another family as such. Post card was like the facebook wall for the whole family. After the advent to telecommunication era, the ease of message transmission was shifted to audio content from textual content. But the current shift to electronic mail or e-mail has detached the flavour of writing letter to near and dear ones. Its well acknowledged that it has made life simpler, but the shift from paper letter to e-mail has shifted the le tter only as intention. Middle class is best known for its ability to excel at the time of scarcity. The backbone of this feat comes from the culture of staying in joint families. Joint family is a true representation of Marxist institute where the fruits of toil of the family is equally shared among the members. The belief in sharing everyone materialistic property among the members gives it a strong sense of binding. Every member works for the family not for his self individual. But, there has been a constant erosion in the concept of living through sharing. This is clearly evident in the rising conflict in land claiming issues in joint families. The constant shift from joint to nuclear families, constant movement of families from rural areas to urban areas, rising living costs and at the base of all the changing attitude of middle class towards living through sharing has led to this crude change. Summer break was usually associated with long break from school, summer holidays and trip to either native place or to a holiday destination with the family. It was a time to spend quality time with our near and dear ones. It was a time to take up some hobby at leisure be it reading comics, take up painting or music classes. But the true essence of the break was that it provided an opportunity to connect to our real self, to our places and culture of origin. It was a time to experience the new, refuel with fresh change of much needed air. There has been a constant shift in the attitude of middle class towards the summer break as well. The shift from leisure spending to time to more serious way on engagement has been created due to constant peer pressure and to prove oneself distinct from the lot. The mushrooming of summer camps for children for sports, music and arts classes is not due to self interest of children as such but also to satisfy the aspiration of typical middle class par ents to see their children develop a multi faceted personality. Mothers role is universally given the top priority in any human being relationship pyramid. Indian Mother plays an even more important role in any middle class family. Gender Role of mother is very prominent in a middle class family. She is the person responsible for binding the family, its health and even for counselling. She plays multiple roles in a family with varied responsibilities. She is the one who is more bothered about her sons exams. She portrays the true values of middle class through her aspirations for the family at the cost of sacrificing her own life. The affinity of a typical middle class family with white cloth reflects its aspiration levels of getting noticed in the society. This portrays the notion of purity in the era of corruption. The analogue of usage of ultramarine on white cloth is clearly with thin film of elite culture which every middle class aspires to be a part of. Ultramarine actually doesnt help in whitening the cloth but only provides a blue coat to cover up the real patches of yellow dirt resting on the cloth. It signifies the constant urge of Indian middle class to stand apart, its constant urge to excel through continuous trial. The recent adaption of dye based cloth dye from ultramarine depicts a change in time. The spike in demand of English medium school for middle class and associating children education with English displays the attitude towards thin film culture to hide their true image. The obsession with order and discipline is a typical characteristic of Indian middle class. The sense of belonging is one of the implicit needs of the Indian middle class. Well creased and iron clothes are one of the symbols used to strengthen the need for order. It gives them the strength to fight against the chaos of nature. Straight Line represents their triumph of humanness. In the pre-liberalization era when people were not suffering from ADD(attention deficit disorder), people had vivid means of entertainment ranging from coffee house debating, fishing, travelling or be it sitting idle with friends with corner tea shops and having friendly chat. Even the perception of viewing something in motion could be termed as entertainment. Here the house window played an important role in opening. It was the theatre of our imagination which would let your creativity do the talking. The recent expansion in the media domain has increased the options of entertainment but also reduced the interest in the outside real world. The role of window has changed from taking interest in real world to secluding oneself from the society. The ritual of visiting our relatives and near and dear ones without pre-announcement and even without a purpose was a common habit among middle class families having geographically scattered members. Even the purpose of the visit was not important. But recently due changing relationship among people and with growing linearity among it, the visit is associated with a purpose. Even the acceptance of un announced visit are not welcomed. The reasons of the trend can be varying ranging from improving communication technology to shrinking of family size to engulfing oneself in their own word. One place where the true middle class can be found congregating is the 4 pages of weekly matrimonial ads in daily newspapers. The ads are structured as per the caste requirement. The place becomes the marketing platform where packaging the individual in the form of few highlighted well seeked off words becomes the success criteria of finding any mate through those ads. A typical middle class arranged marriage doesnt takes place between individuals but between the families and in turn their relatives. It doesnt remains an event affecting 2 individuals but goes far beyond. The typical middle class phenomenon of intra caste marriage even at the cost of not finding suitable bride/groom can have unwelcomed effect. It not only affects those individuals but also the society. This menace can only be dealt with if the priority of suitability for partner selection is shifted from caste to their personal attitude matching. Any vehicle which is typically associated with a middle class family has to be a scooter. A scooter is analogues to a mule; comparable in strength and obedience for load carriage. A vehicle providing mobility with multi utility and an aura of safety around it was the perfect companion of any Indian middle class family. Scooter portrays the middle class persona to perfection. The ability of carry person well above rated number and weight, the ability to transform from people carriage vehicle to goods carrier in both front compartment and side deck, never asking for maintenance and providing the security of spare wheel made it the most suitable vehicle on Indian roads for any middle class family. Auto rickshaw has been an integral part of our lives which provides personalised travelling mode at near affordable price. Auto rickshaw was a vehicle which provided freedom from wait for public transport and provided door to door connectivity. The vehicle was a true image of the growing aspirations of the Indian middle class providing them the much needed differentiation in terms of image perception. The vehicle itself was positioned between the affordable but not comfortable mode of transportation , ie 2 wheelers and un-affordable 4 wheelers for a typical middle class. Of late due to improving public transportation in cities and increasing fares of auto transport, there has been a shift towards other modes but auto rickshaw is here to stay to its USP. In the pre-liberalization era, buying of any household appliance was an occasion in itself. The long term association with the appliances bought made it even further a special occasion. The appliances ranged from TV, fridge, Tape recorder, scooter, cooker, sewing machine etc. The appliance almost became a part of the family itself with special handling care taken care by the head of the family. The TV remote was the power centre which needs to be wrapped in polythene and handled only under guided supervision. Of late with the advent of consumerism and even increasing appliances buying and replacement rate, the importance of any appliance has reduced drastically. The role of appliance has shifted from being centrally used by the family to personalized usage. The concept of personalized appliance for every member of the family be it mobile phones, music systems or even vehicles has reduced the emotional elements attached with the appliance. The behaviour has changed from repair mentali ty to exchange mentality. This has further reduced the need for caring for the appliance as the life cycle of the technology considered upto date has also reduced drastically with new models being churned out every few models with better and improved features. The medical service was and is still considered luxury for many strata of our society. The affordability and notions attached with medical service and doctor are still alien in many parts of the society where the sole responsibility of the family health either lies in the hands of god or local medicine practitioners. But in other well off places doctors are almost next to god. The typical Indian middle class finds itself stuck between the affordability factor and belief factor. Of late a typical Indian middle class tries to over smart the well trained doctor through primary research on internet. To him the advice given by an unknown on internet appeals to him with greater truth factor than the advice given to him by doctor. Radio was a very strong binding medium in pre TV era connecting people from across the geography, occupation etc. There has been a constant shift in the methodology of popularity calculation of songs. Not only radio but also TV has been affected by the consumerism. The method of popularity is not only based on artists performance but also on the no. of sms send during the event. The Indian middle class is an upfront participant in the era of consumerism. The power of voting for their favourite performer has engaged the middle class into ever longer participation and increased its loyalty for the event. A typical Indian middle class finds pleasure in seeing someone alike performing well and progressing in the event. Cinema is trying to woo the middle class by providing much demand exclusive comfort through various class in shows. Typical Indian street food is a moving map of Indian culture whether you eat paani poori or idli dosa or Chinese. Its a place where hygiene is typically overlooked and is subsided by taste. Its a place for any typical calorie conscious individual to indulge and forget about extra calories. Its also a place where people across religion, caste and race are binded without issues. Indians love their cinemas and Songs and heroes are an integral part of it. Of late, there has been a constant shift from emotion based poetic songs to meaningless songs which are getting more encouragement from the society. Society doesnt have the quest for meaning through songs anymore, reasons may be varied. May be the middle class doesnt come to cinema anymore as a issue solver but as a mere entertainer. Cinema provides them escape from daily life issues for a couple of hours. And thats the reason, people look up to todays heroes as mere epitome of excess.The need of the hour is to encourage the real heroes to bring change in the society. Middle class need to rise to true heroism, be it being entrepreneur; helping generate jobs, generate income for people, be it working for societal development. Indian middle class is obsessed with power which really comes hard and short lived at times. The phenomenon is clearly evident in political hierarchy, power associated with official cars, its red sirens, the issue associated with security frisking. The reasons may be in the cultures acceptance of power distance, the need to show power at hand to society to gain importance. PSUs were set with mind set of socialism, but apparently they are the power house of the Indian industries. This scenario has been constantly shifting due to increasing entry of MNCs in India who preach exactly the opposite with its flat office structure, its open door policy, its transparency, its priority to performance over age based seniority etc. Film, politics and corporate are biggest institutions providing transfer of legacy through free passage of the baton to their next generation. License raj period was a black era where ones ability to survive directly depended on the bureaucratic contacts he/she had. T he Indian middle class was a complete misfit in this zone. The scene is also changing fast due to increased concern over the companys performance even at the cost of baton going to an outsider fit for the role. We need to watch for similar happenings in politics as well. Indian middle class are the true carriers of ancient Indian culture in todays Indian culture. This is represented clearly in the food and our existence around it. The food acts as the centre of our existence and stomach the seat of our soul. Food may be the barometer of our lives. The reasons could be due to immigration of varied cultures in India through ages, providing an enriching mix of food culture. One of unique form of food serving can be found in Thali. It forms a unique contrast with the western food culture of serving food in linear courses. The food itself is arranged all a time providing the connoisseur the option of selecting his course order accordingly. The reason why we enjoy Thali may be due to our finding pleasure in chaos. Another, interesting food form ie Pickle forms a central part of a typical middle class diet. Pickle tries to preserve its ingredient in interesting form. It acts like the culture distillate. The availability of thali food in restaurant and pickl e available in jars in retail stores reflect the changes in society. The hectic and fast moving lifestyle in urban areas doesnt provide an opportunity to families in either engaging in pickle preparation at home, neither do they find time to have meals at a time with the whole family at once. Even the food habits have seen constant change from Indian food to western food. The need to have the food on the move has seen shift in food and catering culture. Indians have always felt fuzzy in declaring their love towards their loved ones and the concept of expressing oneself through words, day celebration etc was of alien in nature. With liberalization and adoption of western culture, there has a constant shift towards need for verbal and visual expression of love and care. The growth of cards culture in form of Archies, Hallmark etc., celebration of fathers day, mothers day, and even valentines day has come under accepted and much needed norms. The major reasons may be increasing spatial, cultural and generation gap among the family members. The middle class in the run to keep up with the society has replaced bhai dooj with brothers day, the daily expressed silent care with valentines day, the parental respect with fathers day. The reason could be the need to make every occasion big and reason to celebrate with public display. The love in some cases may also be weighed in terms of the value of the gift exchanged. The Indian middle class obsession with English is not a new phenomenon, whether in the form of English pet names, obsession with English medium schools, the urge to communicate in English. This market is very well served by the growing tutorial classes promising to teach English in 30 days. Even though the excessive obsession has led to corrosion of native Indian culture but it also has a silver lining along with it. The booming IT outsourcing industry has been successful majorly due to the proficiency achieved by Indian middle class to international acceptable standards which has led to opening of job horizons for many. The Indian middle class believes in sharing and living, but sometimes at the cost of others inconvenience. This is clearly evident in the missing mobile etiquettes, throwing garbage in public places, listening TV at home at full volume. The lack of need to respect others space may be the outcome of the feeling of one with the society. This seem an issue of little relevance but with times there arises the need to educate people about respecting for others feeling and space essential for peaceful coexistence. Few rituals find peculiar adaptation in typical Indian middle class society. The traffic system portrays a system of chaos working perfectly in harmony. Every driver has his own meaning of traffic rule, he drives focused only on his objective. The myopic objective getting ahead of others even at the cost of creating traffic jam later. Honking is used for power display with safety put to backseat. Indian traffic is a perfect smaller version of Indian middle class culture. Many cities operate with no traffic signal nor with traffic policemen, which display almost magically the understanding amongst motorist. Indians always find hard to follow rules carved by someone else but are always apt to form their own. The rules are there to be bent which is evident in the way drivers do when they jus hang the seat belt to escape fine only to release it at the first possible opportunity, two wheelers carry helmets in hand only to be worn when faced with a traffic policeman. The chalta hai proves to be major deterrent to arrive at a lasting solution. The lack of desire for quality may be due to lack of desire for lasting solution. The major beneficiary is Indian politics where criminals are forgotten and re-elected, where scams are forgone with time. India has come a long way from 64 crore bofors scam to 1.76 lakh crore 2G telecom scam of which Indian middle class was a mere spectator. Indian middle seem to be good at forgiving and even better at forgetting. Even sports remains untouched when come to the scandals like cricket and recent common wealth games. The reason may be the attitude of disinterest of people towards apt punishment. The need of the hour is to educate the mass about the importance and benefit of following traffic rules. The need of the hour is to make the Indian middle class realize the power they have in their hands to elect capable and apt people. Liquor was always looked up as a menace in the Indian middle class and its association with ability to take the human out of oneself. The elite and extreme lower class always some occasion or reason associated with liquor consumption. But the middle class always took it as an unwinding tool, as a medium to hang out with. Our trip to Hill stations have always been associated with family, as a place to escape the heat and noise of the city. Indians always have been worshiping Sun, but also has always been looked with harshness of its nature which is quite opposite to western culture where they tend to welcome sun. Amitabh Bacchan is one those iconic figures who has lived through Indians for almost four decades now. He has lived almost all his characters too real life like. He has given every Indian the sense of his own existence through his reel characters. He has been the icon of credibility for most if the Indian middle class. He is the one who can be trusted by any brand either for publicity or damage control, ranging from Gujarat tourism to Cadbury worm controversy.