Colonization the Area in Florida by the Spanish Article

Colonization the Area in Florida by the Spanish - Article Example The Spanish colonized the area in Florida and were at war with Protestant England. They brought black African slaves to work in the dangerous areas of swampland where diseases abounded to which the Africans had an immunity. They were especially useful on the sugar plantations in the Caribbean. When Sir Walter Raleigh cam into the Carolinas, he went first through Florida and destroyed the settlements and free the slaves This situation did not stop British North Americans from using slaves. Most of them came here with no skills for survival and needed to have things done for them. At first, the slaves were indentured servants, brought for a price which they worked off. When their term was up, usually 7 years, they were given a small plot of land and supplies to get started. The early settlers did not even identify themselves by color at all. The most important divisions were social, religious and economic. Because of the development of rice as a cash crop, slave labor was becoming quite attractive. Runaway white servants usually had a year or two added to their time, but blacks often became lifelong slaves for the same offense. Eventually, plantation owners began buying slaves to work their land. With the invention of the cotton gin, slavery was an economic boon to the southern states, and they were loathed to give it up. So the abolition of slavery was removed from the agenda of the Continental Cong ress after the War of Independence was won. Congress lacked the power to abolish slavery. In fact, even though a number of the Northern delegates disliked slavery, no one at the convention suggested that Congress be empowered to abolish it. (Black 42) In addition, numerous other laws were made in different states to control the slave trade and the slaves.  

Why did World War II END the way it did Research Paper

Why did World War II END the way it did - Research Paper Example Why did World War II END the way it did? On August 6th, 1945, the world witnessed one of the rarest occasions in the history of warfare when the United States plunged an atomic bomb in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. With the number of casualties rising beyond 80,000, a second bomb was dropped on 9th the same month on the city of Nagasaki, claiming the deaths of more than 50,000 people. On the orders of the American president Harry Truman, the Japanese cities were destroyed by the only nuclear attack that has ever been recorded. The days following the attack witnessed massive deaths of nearly 100,000 people who were casualties of the bomb and it was clear that the poisoning had a horrendous effect on the country. Three years before the attack, the best scientists in the United States had embarked on building the bomb. Most of them derived from the Manhattan project, close to 100,000 scientists were involved in this development, making it the greatest scientific venture in history. It is plausible to note that the project involved more than 30 installations and the best university laboratories in the United States. Notable were the efforts of Nobel award winners like Harold Urey, who provided technical support and the whole project was overseen by the Army Chief engineer, Brigadier Groves. The initial stages of the projects were pursued in separate locations to maintain discretion of the whole project, and they were unaware of the magnitude of the undertaking they were part of.

Managing Multi-Agency Working in Elderly Care

Managing Multi-Agency Working in Elderly Care Managing Collaboration Multi-Agency Working for older people’s services Executive summary and introduction Collaboration in the field of both welfare and healthcare, on one level, can be expedient, efficient and economical. On another, more practical level, it can be a minefield of legislative, practical and interpersonal difficulties. (Arblaster. L. et al 1998) This report will consider these aspects in direct consideration of collaboration of the various aspects of care related to the elderly. It has to be viewed as being within the spirit and the legislative restriction of the NHS Plan (DOH 2000) and therefore considers the methods of collaboration with the PCTs in some detail, and also in the spirit and legislative requirements of the National Service Framework for the elderly. (Rouse et al 2001) What is collaboration between organisations? The transition from the concept â€Å"Empire† culture to the â€Å"Seamless interfaceâ€Å" culture is effectively based on the concept of practical and effective collaboration. (Powell, J. Lovelock, R. 1996) The changes that were proposed in a number of recent pieces of welfare based legislation (after the 1993 changes in the community care organisation and the National Service Frameworks to quote just two), have all espoused collaboration as their raison d’à ªtre. Clearly, in consideration of the elderly, there are numerous organisations that can potentially collaborate (Appendix Two), and all have their strengths, weaknesses and pitfalls. Let us examine one important area as an illustration. If we consider the welfare/health service interface. Primary healthcare teams control access to secondary and community health services through patient referrals. Social Services equally manage funding for home care and residential services including nursing home facilities and control access through assessment and care management. (Glendenning C et al 1998). When it is the case that, in terms of professional organisations, one depends upon another for access to services, their ability to obtain their own organisational or professional objectives can be severely compromised. (Haralambos M et al 2000). In practical terms, the GP is dependent on the social services to fund the appropriate facility whether it is a nursing home, domicillary enhancement services to keep a patient out of an acute medical hospital bed, or other forms of social support to facilitate the timely discharge of a patient from hospital. The arguments for collaboration are so overwhelmingly obvious that they hardly need repeating here. In real terms, the consideration of collaboration between organisations more analytically hinges on the question, â€Å"which organisations?†. The example that we have given is a fairly common collaboration and is therefore enshrined in both common working practice and also with legislative and regulatory boundaries. The advent of the National Service Frameworks have helped promote commonly recognised goals and objectives across the health/welfare spectrum of care, although a number of financial issues and problems with the organisational culture interface can commonly difficulty in everyday practice (Wierzbicki Reynolds 2001). Other organisations have to liaise and collaborate with the Social Services Dept. such as local and national voluntary support groups and specialist interest support groups, (often disease process based,) and these generally have much looser procedural issues and practices which may need different considerations. We shall discuss these in greater depth elsewhere in this essay. What are the problems? Taking a broad overview of the scope and possible nature of collaborative enterprises. Problems can arise from a number of organisational areas. Financial considerations, especially financial accountability, cause problems when this eventuality has not specifically been legislated for. Appendix Three sets out many of the potential pitfalls in this area. We observe that the health based services are essentially free to the patient whereas Welfare is largely means tested and thereby rendered vulnerable to changes of political direction and pressure. (Audit commission 2004) Another major area of potential difficulty stems from the historical development of professional language, terminology and working practices that each collaboration can interface. Client, patient , in need, deserving, dependent – all are terms frequently used by various healthcare professionals, but with different interpretations and nuances of meaning. Collaboration will inevitably require a more exact and specific vocabulary to be evolved and agreed. (Garlick C 1996). Collaboration inevitably means information sharing. The â€Å"Empire† concepts and constructs take a long time to die and be eradicated, but the seamless interface can only realistically be expected to work if all available information is shared. This raises serious problems of confidentiality if information is expected to be shared between healthcare professionals and collaborating agencies from the voluntary sector for example. (Cameron,A et al 2000). What are the solutions? Management solutions can be both complex and difficult to introduce or impose. By virtue of the potentially disparate nature of the collaborative partnerships that we are considering, there is clearly no â€Å"one size fits all† solution. It is for this reason that general principles are more useful than specific suggestions. The management of change (and therefore the solutions) is perhaps the most fundamental element in the discussion. Visions, ideas and directions are of little value if they cannot be translated into reality. (Bennis et al 1999). We can turn to the writings of Marinker (1997) who points to the fact that systems change, and indeed change management itself, are responsive to the acceptance of a division between concordance and compliance. People generally respond better to suggestion, reason and coercion rather than imposition of regulations and arbitrary change. The models that rely on publication and dissemination of information are generally more likely to be well received and more fully implemented, particularly if it is peer driven. (Shortell SM et al 1998) This is perfectly illustrated by the Davidmann Report (Davidmann 1988) on the debacle of the introduction of the Griffiths Reforms in the 80s. (Griffiths Report 1983). His major findings were that the Reforms failed because changes were imposed rather than managed Collaborative solutions should only realistically be made after a careful consideration of the evidence base underpinning that proposed change. (Berwick D 2005). Modern management theory calls for appropriate evaluation of the need for collaborative proposals by considering the evidence base on which the situation could be improved, its implementation by making managers aware of the need for change and proactively encouraging them in the means of implementation, and then instituting a review process to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures when they have been in place. (Berwick D. 1996) (Appendix five) Models of Collaboration There are a great many models of professional collaboration cited in the literature. In order to make an illustrated analysis, we will return to the specific example of the Health/welfare interface to consider some of the models in that area. In general terms, all of the models follow the functional structure Plan, Implement and Review (expanded in Appendix Five). The Outreach (or Outposting) model appears to be a commonly adopted model (McNally D et al. 1996), whereby a social worker is attached to a primary healthcare team. In terms of our analytical assessment here we should note that such arrangements, if subjected to process evaluation, generally promote progression towards a seamless interface in areas such as: The sharing of information and in mutual understanding of the different professional roles, responsibilities, and organisational frameworks within which social and primary health services are delivered. It is also noted that such benefits are generally greater if the implementation of such models is preceded by exercises including team building or joint training exercises. (Pithouse A et al 1996) Other models include the Joint Needs Assessments model in which service commissioning between primary health and social services teams have a common assessment base (Wistow G et al. 1998). This does not appear to have been as successful as the outreach model, and has had a rather variable history (Booth T 1999). Collaboration here has involved a variable number of agencies but not always the primary healthcare teams. The new primary care groups will have a strategic role in the commissioning of a broad range of health and welfare services. All NHS organisations have a clear imposed duty of collaboration and partnership with the local authorities (NHSE 1997) Collaboration in the form of joint commissioning models have also been tried. They tend to fall into one of three patterns including Area or locality as basis for joint commissioning Joint commissioning at practice level Joint commissioning at patient level None have been in place for long enough for a realistic assessment of their relative strengths and weaknesses to be evaluated yet. (Glendenning C et al 1998) Models- Interprofessional/teams One of the more successful models of collaboration is that of the multidisciplinary pre-discharge assessment team which, when it works well, can be considered a model of good collaborative working (Richards et al 1998). This requires all of the elements referred to above to be successfully implemented and to be in place if the optimum result for the client is to be obtained. Such a model calls for professional integration and collaboration of the highest order if National Service Framework Standard Two is to be fully realised. The framework calls for all concerned professionals to: Ensure that older people are treated as individuals and that they receive appropriate and timely packages of care which meet their needs as individuals, regardless of health and social services boundaries. It is, in our estimation, the crossing of these boundaries that, perhaps, is the key to collaboration. Review Collaboration as a concept is comparatively easy to define. Any dictionary will give a reasonable definition. As a workable model of practice, it is far more nebulous and hard to achieve. In this review we have tried to consider the barriers and management problems that make it harder to achieve together with the mechanisms which will militate towards successful implementation. We have identified financial and cultural barriers, as well as structural and organisational ones equally we have pointed towards models of collaboration which appear to be working well. It would appear to be the case that the prime factor in the success or ultimate failure of a collaborative exercise, is the success and management skills with which it is initially introduced.   References Arblaster. L. et al (1998) Achieving the impossible : interagency collaboration to address the housing, health and social care needs of people able to live in ordinary housing: Bristol Policy press and Joseph Rowntree. 1998 Audit commission (2004) Older People – Independence and well-being: The challenge for public services London: The Audit Commission 2004 Bennis, Benne Chin (Eds.) 1999 The Planning of Change (2nd Edition).. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York: 1999. Berwick D. 1996 A primer on the improvement of systems. BMJ 1996; 312: 619-622 Berwick D 2005 Broadening the view of evidence-based medicine Qual. Saf. Health Care, Oct 2005; 14: 315 316. Booth T. 1999 Collaboration between health and social services; a case study of joint care planning. Policy Polit 1999; 19: 23-49. Cameron,A. Brown H and Eby,M.A. (2000) Factors Promoting and Obstacles Hindering Joint Working; School for Policy Studies, Bristol. 2000 Davidmann 1988 Reorganising the National Health Service: An Evaluation of the Griffiths Report HMSO : London 1988 DOH 2000 Department of Health (2000) The NHS Plan. A Plan for Investment. A Plan for Reform. Cm 4818. London: The Stationery Office Garlick C. 1996 Social solution. Nurs Times 1996; 92: 28. Glendenning C. Rummery K, Clarke R 1998 From collaboration to commissioning: developing relationships between primary health and social services BMJ 1998;317:122-125 Griffiths Report 1983 NHS Management Inquiry Report DHSS, 1983 Oct 25 Haralambos M, M Holborn 2000 Sociology: themes and perspectives, Harper Collins 2000. Marinker M.1997 From compliance to concordance: achieving shared goals BMJ 1997;314:747–8. McNally D Mercer N. 1996 Social workers attached to practices. Project report. Knowsley: Knowsley Metropolitan Borough and St Helens and Knowsley Health , 1996. NHSE 1997 National Health Service Executive. Health action zones invitation to bid. Leeds: NHS Executive , 1997(EL(97)65.) Pithouse A, Butler I. 1994 Social work attachment in a group practice; a case study in success? Res Policy Plann 1994; 12: 16-20. Powell, J. and Lovelock, R. (1996), Reason and commitment: is communication possible in contested areas of social work theory and practice?, in Ford, P. and Hayes, P. (eds), Educating for Social Work: Arguments for Optimism, Aldershot, Avebury, pp. 76–94. Richards, Joanna Coast, David J Gunnell, Tim J Peters, John Pounsford, and Mary-Anne Darlow 1998 Randomised controlled trial comparing effectiveness and acceptability of an early discharge, hospital at home scheme with acute hospital care BMJ, Jun 1998; 316: 1796 – 1801 Rouse, Jolley, and Read 2001 National service frameworks BMJ, Dec 2001; 323: 1429. Shortell SM, Bennett CL, Byck GR. 1998 Assessing the impact of continuous quality improvement on clinical practice: what will it take to accelerate progress? Milbank Quarterly 1998; 76: 593-624 Wierzbicki and Reynolds 2001 National service frameworks financial implications are huge BMJ, Sep 2001; 321: 705. Wistow G, Brookes T, eds.1998 Joint planning and joint management. , London: Royal Institute for Public Affairs, 1998. ############################################################ 25.1.06 PDG Word count 2,290

The French Revolution Essay -- European History

The French Revolution The French Revolution was one of the most traumatic events in human history. Over seven million people may have died as a result. The immediate reason was the financial crisis caused by French support for the American Revolution. France invested 2 billion pieces of silver to win the war. Her tax system could only support the government during peace. A war called for extraordinary measures. This was the beginning of the first phase of the revolution, which is referred to as the Aristocratic Revolution. The aristocrats saw this crisis as an opportunity to reassert their power. The French Finance Minister, Necker (1776-1781) didn’t use new taxation to finance the war, he borrowed the money. In 1781, he published the Compte Rendu – which was the first budget the people of France had ever seen. It showed a budget surplus of ten million pieces of silver and Necker was hailed as a hero of the Enlightenment throughout Europe. His budget, however, was a fabrication. France was actually 80,000,000 pieces of silver in debt. When Calonne became finance minister in 1783, he found over half of France’s income went to pay the interest on the debt and the debt was increasing at the rate of 100,000,000 a year. Soon France would not be able to borrow any more money. She had to either repudiate the debt or find new taxes. Repudiating the debt was out of the question because governments have to be able to borrow money. They need to borrow to bridge the gap between the yearly arrival of tax revenues. The only course open was to find new taxation. The problem was who to tax? The peasants and artisans were already taxed to the limit. New taxes would have to be put on the aristocracy and the clergy. The Parlement registered new edicts and the nobility controlled it. The problem would be getting the taxes through the Parlement. Calonne called together an assembly of notables in 1787, hoping to gain momentum for reform. The notables refused to back the new taxes, because they didn’t believe there was a deficit. The notables believed Necker’s Compte Rendu. Calonne and Necker traded charges and insults and King Louis XVI fired Calonne. Louise XVI hired the head of the notables – Brienne – to be his new finance minister in 1787. Brienne reviewed the budget and realized that Calonne had been telling the truth, but when he presented his case to the notables, ... ...ear, not popular support. Executions continued to increase (258 in April of 1794, 345 in May, and 688 in June) and differences in the Committee became irreconcilable. On July 27, 1794 Robespierre was shouted down in the National Convention while giving a speech to answer attacks against his policies. Cries of "Down with the tyrant" were raised and Robespierre's arrest was decreed. Robespierre and his followers escaped, but were later captured. He and 19 of his followers were executed July 28, 1794. The frontispiece from this anti-Robespierre work, Almanach des Prisons, depicts the results of the Reign of Terror under Robespierre's leadership. The various stacks of heads are labeled as follows: "Clergy," "Parliment," "Nobles," "Constitution" (supporters of the Constitution), "Legislature," "Convention," and "People." Note that the largest stack is for the "People" or general public, rather than for the clergy or aristocracy, emphasizing one of the claims against Robespierre's regime. The figure on the scaffold is Robespierre guillotining himself! ________________________________________

How ICT can improve a business by speed and quality

In this project I am going to show how ICT can improve a business by speed and quality. I am going to show this by using a School's Sports Day as an example. When using ICT to create a booklet for this Sports Day it is improving the time taken to create it as it is much easier to make it by computer. If allows you to move pictures around so you can find the perfect position for them on the different pages. It also allows you print off as many copies as you want, rather than photocopying every page. It will not take as much time because you can insert any piece of information and you will be able to move things around to make everything be in its best position. For the Sports Day this year I will be creating an A5 programme. On the first page there will be the School's Crest along with two photographs of the school. The day and date of the event will also be on the first page. Two A4 sheets need to be produced and to be used as masters for the inside and outside of the programme. The output this Sports Day Programme will take would be in an A5 booklet. On the middle pages there will be a list of track events with the times. On the back page the will be a half- page advert of Helmcroft Hotel. A list of last year's record breakers will also be on that page. The information to be output would be the School's Crest, photographs of the school, an advertisement of Helmcroft Hall and photographs of the new sports hall. The data needed to be output would be record breaking list and the events. The data that would be needed for the programme as an output are as follows: * The events and times that they take place (excel). * Food cost during the day. * What time the actually starts and finishes. * Who's invited * The people who are running in the races. * Records of previous events. Testing is needed to make sure the data and the information is detailed, precise and specific on the document so that people can fully understand it thoroughly with ease. Although testing is not needed at this stage as you are only writing up information. Analysis for Task 2 For this task I will be using different programs for the different forms. The categories, records list and the list of beverages and food (and prices) would be produced in Excel. The entrance cost would be produced in PowerPoint so it can be created with lots of colours. The price of drinks to make a profit would be the information to be output. The data needed to produce the output would be the model on how many drinks are sold compared to the weather. I would like the best price to result in a profit. Design – Task 1 The problem that has to be solved is how to arrange the front and back page of the brochure for the school's Sports Day, and the software that might be useful to achieve this. I shall use Microsoft Word to solve this problem. This is because the functions of the features available on Microsoft Word are necessary for solving the problem. Firstly, to set about reaching the problem I will use the functions of Word to make titles and sub-titles bold, italic and using the appropriate font size. The reason for this is so they will stand out, allowing the readers to see them more easily as they would be more clearer and more alluring. Secondly, I will use boxes around the text to make them stand out clearer. The text boxes will also allow me to import, position and resize graphics a lot more easily. The boxes and their borders would have bright colours to make the programme less dull. Word also allows graphics (e.g. the Helmcroft Hall advert) to be kept in the same proportions. These graphics are very easy to import using ‘drag and drop'. Design – Task 2 For Design 1 of the spreadsheet I have shown the basic layout of the: * Fixed Incomes * Fixed Expenditures * Costs of drinks to buy * Costs of drinks to sell My design also shows a different layout to what I will be using to display the various weather conditions. For this design I have only shown COLD and COOL conditions, as the rest will follow in my own design. For my own design of the spreadsheet I will produce the spreadsheet in a horizontal way rather than the original design, provided by the teacher, which was shown vertically. To fit the whole spreadsheet I will make use Arial 10pt font for the main text, the main headline will be Comic Sans MS 18pt font. The sub headlines will be different fonts, two will be Showcard Gothic 14pt font and the others will be Tempus Sans ITC 12pt font. The total headings are produced in bold Arial Narrow 10pt font. The cells with the results of the formulae are formatted to be shown as currency. I varied the widths of the columns to allow the text to fit perfectly; in some parts I merged the cells. The formulae I used were simple, only addition and multiplication sums being used. For the spreadsheets I will produce I will use Microsoft Excel. The following table outlines the software features needed to produce my Price Pledge Model, and for each feature, the suitability of Excel has been examined. Excel has a simple-to-use replicate feature. I can select a cell (that contains text, a number or formulae), highlight a section to the right and copy the contents of the original cell into those selected to the right. It will automatically change the letter for the column being used as it's replicated across. Excel can carry out simple calculations.

Warhol: the Flatness of Fame

THANK YOU all for being here this brisk March afternoon. I’d like to thank the GRAM for the invitation to speak in conjunction with such a wonderful exhibition, and especially Jean Boot for all of her diligent coordination on my behalf. (There are 3 parts to my presentation. First, a virtual tutorial on the process of screen-printing; secondly, a discussion of the formal and conceptual potential inherent to printmaking, and the way in which Warhol expertly exploited that potential. Finally, I will conclude with an actual demonstration of screen-printing in the Museum’s basement studio. In coming weeks, you’ll have an opportunity to hear much more about the cultural-historical context for Andy Warhol’s work from two exceptional area scholars, beginning next Friday evening with a lecture by my colleague at GV, Dr. Kirsten Strom, and on _______ Susan Eberle of Kendall College of Art & Design. As Jean indicated in her introduction, I teach drawing and printmak ing at GVSU. In other words, I’m approaching Warhol’s work very much as a studio artist. As a printmaker in particular, I’m predisposed to note the large degree (great extent? to which the innate characteristics of the medium – in this case screen-printing – enable and inform the meaning of Warhol’s work. At the outset of each printmaking course I teach at Grand Valley, I provide students a brief overview of the social history of the print; I divulge its rich heritage in the service of dispensing and preserving our (collected cultural discourse, from†¦) verbal and pictorial languages, knowledge and history, cultural discourse, from ancient scripture to textile design to political critique. In addition I cite the formal qualities specific to the print – multiplicity, mutability, and its recombinant capabilities. I open with this background as a means of framing the work students will produce in the course. I’d like to provide a similar overview here, as a means of framing the work of Warhol, which is so richly informed by the native characteristics of his processes. As the expression goes: the medium is the message; form and content are inseparable. First I offer a brief tutorial on the process of screen-print, in the hopes of providing a bit of context and a richer appreciation for the images/discussion to follow. â€Å"With silk-screening, you pick a photograph, blow it up, transfer it in glue onto silk, and then roll ink across so that the ink goes through the silk but not through the glue. †) The Imagery Warhol screen-printed images onto canvas in the early 1960s, and he began simultaneously to translate this technique to printing on paper. His subjects related directly to his paintings of the same period: James Cagney, the Race Riots, and Ambulance Disasters. These works on paper were printed in monochromatic tones and screened in a method that retained the graininess and immediacy of the mass media images on which they were based. Warhol considered these works to be unique drawings. Changes in the ink saturation and/or in the composition during the printing process created variations in each work. Screen-printing was ideally suited to Warhol in two distinct ways: First – technically, it allows him to harvest images from a vast bounty of sources. Secondly – he fittingly adapted a â€Å"low culture†, commercial process for the production of images chronicling life in celebrity-crazed, consumer-driven, Post-War America. One of the well-known strategies of Pop Artists – Warhol and Lichtenstein, among them – was their appropriation of the visual characteristics of mechanical reproduction (which you can see clearly here in Lichtenstein’s Ben Day dots pattern. Warhol went further than borrowing the language, employing the means of commercial printing itself. As of the 1930s, screen-printing was a widely-practiced process for the printing of posters, t-shirts, and other graphics in the US. In other words, Warhol chose this medium for its associations with the culture of advertising and shopping/consumerism. I want everybody to think alike. Russia is doing it under government. It’s happening here all by itself. I don’t think art should be only for the select few. I think it should be for the mass of American people. † But how exactly does one represent â€Å"the mass of American people†? Through it’s proxies: (A) Through the objects of its consumption : Campbell’s cans, Coke bottles, Brillo pads and Mobil Gas (B) Through the media icons it reveres, and (C) Through the images of anonymous tragic figures Disaster and death were not his primary concerns, but rather the anonymous victims of history – the masses. D and D evoke this mass subject, for in a society of spectacle this subject often appears only in stories and images of mass death. â€Å"I want to be a machine†: The History of the Print as a means/tool for social and political critique) Although screen-printing as Warhol practiced it is primarily a 20th century advent, the tradition of the print as a vehicle for disseminating ideas and information (as the vox populi) is centuries old. Among the earliest surviving printed artifacts in Western civilization are these two contradictory images: a Holy Picture on the left, and playing cards on the right. Each dates from the mid-15th century, each is the product of the same â€Å"technological innovation†, the wood block (and in the eyes of the Catholic church, working at cross purposes with one another! ) Many of the most widely reproduced and well-known prints in the Western world are images of cultural unrest and political and social critique. These are a few examples: Francisco Goya, 18th C Spanish printmaker William Hogarth, 18th C English printmaker Honore Daumier, 19th C French printmaker Kathe Kollwitz, early 20th C German printmaker Jose Guadalupe Posada, late 19th C Mexican printmaker â€Å"All of what I have to say is right there on the surface – Remarks such as this one are at times misconstrued as superficiality – a dismissal of content – suggesting to some that Warhol’s choice of imagery was indiscriminate. Especially today, Warhol is often mischaracterized through his studied, stoic affect – as an artist who felt nothing more for his work than for the contents of his local grocery store. I would argue that Warhol’s imagery is anything but indiscriminate, and is instead engaged in the popular tradition/rich heritage of the print as a means of social and political critique, especially obvious in the years between 1962 and 1980, from the â€Å"Death and Dying† series to the â€Å"Endangered Species† series. (Over this prolific period, Warhol’s ouvre included references to the Civil Rights movement, the death penalty, and of course the Cold War. Even the artists’ early celebrity portraits are shrouded with both private and public tragedy: Marilyn, Elvis, Liz Taylor, JFK and Jackie O†¦ ) To me, Warhol’s deadpan cynicism has always seemed a calculated critique of the turbulent social and political climate. It’s an ironic persona reflected in his works – an expression of apathy intended to induce the appropriate response from his viewers: shock and bewilderment that any artist, could produce images of graphic violence and human trauma with such apparent passivity. Multiplicity – The first of three formal qualities innate to printmaking â€Å"I like boring things. † â€Å"I don’t want it to be essentially the same – I want it to be exactly the same. Because the more you look at the same exact thing, the more the meaning goes away and the better and emptier you feel. † Such statements suggest a strategic, pre-emptive embrace of the very compulsive repetition that a consumerist society demands of us all. If you can’t beat it, Warhol implies, join it. More: if you enter it totally, you might expose it; you might reveal its enforced automatism through your own excessive example. These remarks reposition the role of repetition in Warhol. Here repetition is both a draining of significance and a defending against effect. This is one function of repetition in our psychic lives: we recall traumatic events in order to place them into a psychic economy. Yet the Warhol repetitions are not restorative in this way; they are not about a neutralization of trauma, for his repetitions not only reproduce traumatic effects, but sometimes produce them as well. Repetition in Warhol is neither a simple representation of the world nor a superficial image. His repetition serves to filter traumatic reality, but it does so in a way that points to this reality nonetheless. Ultimately I would suggest that Warhol’s use of the multiple functions as a form of potent cultural critique, whether it emphasizes the horror, or whether it desensitizes us to the violence in many of his images. Mutability – (â€Å"With silk-screening, you pick a photograph, blow it up, transfer it in glue onto silk, and then roll ink across so that the ink goes through the silk but not through the glue. That way you get the same image, slightly different each time. It was all so simple – quick and chancy. I was thrilled with it. †) The screen-printing technique affords artists the latitude for simple yet dramatic changes, from impression to impression. With little trouble, one can shift color, and even scale. The image can be altered through adjustments to the matrix (or stencil, in this case), or during the printing process itself, through the irregular application of ink. When I originally conceived of this talk, I intended to speak primarily to this one formal aspect of Warhol’s prints: his exploitation of the process to produce deliberate imperfections that (reflect the true disposition of his subjects) (inform the meaning behind his images. ) (further enable the content of his work. ) contribute to the flatness of his subjects – thus emphasizing their artificiality. Purposefully crude printing and mis-registration disrupt the pictorial illusion, drawing attention to the flatness of each image that, in a metaphorical sense, speaks to the nature of fame. Warhol’s arbitrary colors suggest the un-reality and artifice of each subject. These aren’t real people, but products, and you can have them anyway you want them. We construct reality the way we desire it to be – the lips are larger, more red, the hair is more golden; they remain young and beautiful forever. Marilyn image that disintegrates and fades out. Elvis that overlaps. – (silver screen/motion Recombinant Potential – The screenprint is among the most versatile of print techniques in regards to substrate. In other words, one can print on a diverse array of surfaces, including paper, wood, glass, plastics, textiles. The exhibition here at the GRAM demonstrates Warhol’s affinity for the aesthetic of the print on canvas – a practice that effectively elevated screen-print – a low-art technology of commerce – to the privileged status of painting. Their visual translation into the language of screen-printing homogenizes every subject; the queen, a skull, a shoe, a can, Marilyn, all become part of the same glossy, colorful language. In addition to one’s ability to print on a wide spectrum of surfaces, screen-printing allows an image to be â€Å"saved† (one may simply store and re-use the stencil or matrix in a later situation. Thus we see Warhol’s â€Å"vocabulary† (lexicon? ) of celebrities and other iconic images juxtaposed in shifting circumstances – being exercised in a language of signs. These (printed signs) juxtapositions can homogenize even the most horrific of images, emphasizing our mediated relationship to the trauma depicted. T his homogenization leaves space for interpretation – it can be argued that Warhol has intentionally treated the car crash and the Campbell soup as equal – not as references to the actual world. Alternately, it might be argued that the images are intended to shock a complacent consumer culture back to reality through conspicuously violent juxtapositions. By positioning such horrorific images in the proximity of the celebrity portrait, in the â€Å"low art† language of the advertisement, Warhol critiques a consumer culture lulled into apathy since the War by the numbing effects of Television, advertising, glossy celebrity tabloids, and the veritable glut of shiny new objects available for purchase on every store shelf. I’d like to congratulate the GRAM on a wonderful exhibit. Curator Richard Axsiom has done a marvelous job of pulling together a broad spectrum of Warhol’s strongest/most resonant images†¦and I’d like to invite you all downstairs/to the museum’s studio for screen-printing demonstration. THE IMAGERY: Celebrities or anonymous – these are images to represent the â€Å"masses†. Art should be for the pubic, but how do you represent the â€Å"public body†? – through the icons they look to, or the anonymous Marilyn image that disintegrates and fades out. Elvis that overlaps. – (silver screen/motion Warhol’s remark that all of what he has to say is right there on the surface is misinterpreted as mistaken as superficiality – a dismissal of content – argued that it supports indiscriminate images and passivity. I would argue that Warhol’s imagery is anything but indiscriminate, and is engaged in the long history of the print as a means of social critique. I want everybody to think alike. Russia is doing under government. It’s happening here all by itself. I don’t think art should be only for the select few. I think it should be for the mass of American people. How does one represent â€Å"the mass of American people†? Through it’s proxies, through its object of consumption, soup cans, Coke bottles. Media icons stand it for the body of the masses. Disaster and death were not his primary concerns, but rather the anonymous victims of history – the masses. D and D evoke this mass subject, for in a society of spectacle this subject often appears only in stories and images of mass death. Celebrity and anonymity represent the mass subject. Enter into/immerse himself in the language of pop culture. With silk-screening, you pick a photograph, blow it up, transfer it in glue onto silk, and then roll ink across so that the ink goes through the silk but not through the glue. That way you get the same image, slightly different each time. It was all so simple – quick and chancy. I was thrilled with it. † Warhol hand-printed unique silkscreen images on canvas in the e arly 1960s, and he began simultaneously to translate this technique to printing on paper. He experiments with subjects that directly relate to his paintings of the same period, as in Cagney, Race Riot, and the Ambulance Disaster. These works on paper were printed in monochromatic tones and screened in a method that retained the graininess and immediacy of the mass media images on which they were based. Warhol considered these works to be unique drawings. Changes in the ink saturation and/or in the composition during the printing process created variations in each work. Popular impressions of Pop reduced to candy – it was almost too effective in its critique, ceased to function as a critique – irony and sardonic qualities become eye candy only – another commodified visual confection. The profound flatness of images such as the soup cans – these images exaggerate the lack of roundness – these are cylindrical objects – void of their substance/their mass. Warhol Prints Not to overlook the obvious Flatness Repetition Imperfection Juxtaposition The multiple, mutable, recombinant image – Warhol’s prints are responding/exploiting each of the inherent potentials of the print. Reality as a mediated phenomenon is the subject of Warhol. Private fantasy and public reality is a primary concern of Warhol’s brand of Pop.

Animal Rights Quotes by Alice Walker and Others

Animal Rights Quotes by Alice Walker and Others Supporters of the animal rights movement and their opponents often use quotes to bolster their arguments. Unfortunately, some of these quotes are taken out of context, misattributed, or otherwise incorrectly used. Famous quotes about animal rights, from Paul McCartney to the Bible, are explored and explained here. Alice Walker One quote taken out of context is attributed to writer Alice Walker. Its a beautiful quote clearly about animal rights: The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for whites or women for men. Its one of the most famous quotes bandied about in the animal rights movement. The fact that it is attributed to the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple, a book that inspired a  movie by the same name, as well as a Broadway musical, makes it all the more credible and poignant. The problem is the quote is taken out of context, and Walker wasnt expressing her own views. The source of the quote is Walkers preface to Marjorie Spiegels 1988 book, The Dreaded Comparison. In fact, the very next sentence is This is the gist of Ms. Spiegels cogent, humane and astute argument, and it is sound. So Walker was simply summarizing someone elses views, not her own. Its easy to see how something like this spreads. Its a great sentiment, coming from a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. And technically, Alice Walker did write it. Adolf Hitler Critics of the animal rights movement, and specifically the aspect of it that involves vegetarianism, are quick to point out that Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian. Buzz such as this is a phenomenon of the internet age where misinformation spreads like wildfire if said information furthers one’s agenda. This rumor allegedly started because in his article in Psychology Today writer Hal Hertzog  reported that Hitler was overheard telling a female companion who ordered sausage while they were on a date: â€Å"I didn’t think you wanted to devour a dead corpse†¦the flesh of dead animals. Cadavers!† Subsequent inquiry and research have proven that Hitler was not a vegetarian, a fact clearly indicated in a 1964 Gourmet Cooking School  Cookbook written by Dione Lucas, who spoke openly about Herr Hitler’s favorite meat dishes. So much for anti-animal rights people trying to demonstrate a link between vegetarians and the world’s most evil bastard. Other Quotes About Animal Rights Paul McCartney was a vegan who famously and openly discussed his vegan lifestyle. He actually did say: â€Å"You can judge a mans true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.† Paul and his late wife Linda McCartney were both proponents of animal rights. Linda wrote in her book Lindas Kitchen: Simple and Inspiring Recipes for Meals Without Meat wrote: â€Å"If slaughterhouses had glass walls, the whole world would be vegetarian.†Ã‚   Writer Ralph Waldo Emerson also spoke of slaughterhouses, saying: â€Å"You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity.†Ã‚   Other quotes about animals and vegetarianism have been borrowed from other social movements. The context of these quotes is not directly related to animal rights, but the message is applied to the argument in favor of animal rights. Dr. Martin Luther King said: â€Å"Lifes most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?† There are other quotes related to social movements that are attributed to Dr. King and used for animal rights. This includes: Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Animal rights critics are also famous for citing biblical references to support their claim that people are supposed to use animals any way they desire, including eating them. This often used argument stems from Genesis 1:26-28:   Let us make  man  in Our image, according to Our likeness; and ...let them have  dominion over  the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air.   Some theologians have suggested that the word â€Å"dominion† was translated incorrectly and should actually be â€Å"stewardship.† Though Susan B. Anthony  likely was not responding to the use of the Bible to oppose animal rights, she did say: â€Å"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.†Ã‚   While there is no evidence to support the idea that King or Anthony were vegetarians, their words are universal. Is there any harm in commissioning their moving words to inspire a kinder world? -Edited and updated by Michelle A. Rivera

Dothiepin Vs. Fluoxetine (Mechanism Of Action And Essays

Dothiepin Vs. Fluoxetine (Mechanism Of Action And Essays Dothiepin Vs. Fluoxetine (Mechanism Of Action And Pharmacodynamics) Comparison Between Mechanism of Action and Pharmacodynamics of Dothiepin and Fluoxetine Description of medicines Mechanism of action and pharmacodynamics Dothiepin Dothiepin is a tricyclic antidepressant. It acts by promoting the effectiveness of several amines (dopamine, norepinephrine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine, which is also known as 5HT and serotonin). It functions by inhibiting their reuptake at the terminals of nerve cells, thus leading to their prolonged presence at the synaptic cleft and an increased effect on the neuron.(1) The reuptake pumps for the above amines are responsible for reducing the concentration of these amines. Dothiepin works by blocking the pumps. According to the amine hypothesis, a decreased concentration of the amines and the resulting decrease in amine dependant synaptic transmission is associated with depression, therefore an increase in the above would help relieve the symptoms of depression. (2) Dothiepin has other actions as well. It reduces norepinephrine induced CAMP formation in the brain, as well as inhibiting the uptake of 5HT into platelets. It also has some anticholinergic and antihistaminic activity.(3) Dothiepin begins to take effect after approximately 2-3 weeks. Usual daily doses of Dothiepin range from 75mg to 200mg in the more severe cases. (2) Fluoxetine Fluoxetine belongs to a group of antidepressants known as the SSRIs, or Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. It functions is similar to that of dothiepin above. It also acts as a reuptake inhibitor, but is highly selective. It only inhibits 5HT reuptake, and lacks many of the less useful functions of dothiepin, such as the antihistaminic properties. (1) As above the result in increase in the presence of serotonin at the synaptic cleft results in a decrease in many symptoms of depression. Fluoxetine does however have some side effects including nausea, tremors, loss of libido and in some cases decreased sexual function. (2) It is also possible that it may have an effect on dopamine function. In some cases it also reduces sleep efficiency. (3) Daily doses of Fluoxetine range between 10mg and 60mg. However it has been found that effectiveness does not appear to be strongly related to dose. 20mg is as affective as 40mg, and there is some evidence to suggest that higher doses may be even less effective. However the lower doses result in fewer and less sever adverse effects.(3) Adverse effects or adverse drug interactions Dothiepin Adverse effects of dothiepin range from potentially life threatening to mildly discomforting. Fatalities associated with dothiepin include cardiac failure, neonatal cardio-respiratory failure, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, ventricular fibrillation, stroke, congenital heart disease, haematemesis, aplastic anemia, leukopenia, hepatorenal syndrome, cholestatic jaundice, coma, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, aggravated Parkinsons disease, intrauterine death, renal failure, respiratory arrest. These however are very rare. (1) Other severe side effects include hepatitis, inappropriate ADH secretion, hypomania, and convulsions. Psychotic manifestations, e.g. paranoid delusions, may be brought about or worsened if already present. These symptoms are also very uncommon, though less life threatening than those listed above.(3) The less dangerous side effects are a bit more common, found in many patients, particularly those on higher doses of the drug. These include dry mouth, tachycardia, constipation, drowsiness, sweating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, tremor, rashes, and interference with sexual function.(3) The greatest dangers in overdose stem from convulsions, and the cardiac and respiratory effects listed above. (3) Adverse drug interactions include MAO inhibitors and SSRI's as concurrent administration may lead to increased plasma tricyclic levels. CNS depressants, including alcohol will also have an increased effect when taken in conjunctions with dothiepin. Anesthetics may increase the risk of arrhythmia. Antihypertensive agent activity may be reduced by dothiepin. Barbiturates may decrease the serum concentration of dothiepin, while methyl phenidate may increase it. Smoking may reduce the serum concentration of dothiepin by increasing its metabolism. (1) Fluoxetine Fluoxetine appears to have a lower incidence of adverse reactions, and these appear less severe than those associated with dothiepin. (2) Up to 1990 a total of 11 deaths that may be associated with fluoxetine were recorded in patients. However these were not NECESSARILY associated with the drug. The potentially life threatening side effects included hyponatremia, which appeared to be reversible when the patients stopped taking the drug. A very few cases of vasculitis have also been diagnosed. Cases of seizures and seizure like episodes in fluoxetine patients have also been recorded. Some patients developed mania.

45 Idioms About Ordinal and Multiplicative Numbers

45 Idioms About Ordinal and Multiplicative Numbers 45 Idioms About Ordinal and Multiplicative Numbers 45 Idioms About Ordinal and Multiplicative Numbers By Mark Nichol The following is a list of idioms about ordinal numbers (first, second, and so on) and multiplicative numbers, or what the late English-usage expert Henry Watson Fowler called numeral adverbs (once, twice, and so on). (Because I have already devoted an entire post to idioms that include first, I’ve omitted them here.) 1. bottom of the ninth: the last minute, from the last segment of the last inning of a baseball game 2. break the fourth wall: speaking directly to the audience during a theatrical performance (or, by extension, a film or a television program) 3. cheap at twice the price: exceedingly inexpensive 4. don’t think twice: don’t concern yourself about it 5. eleventh hour: the last minute 6. even a stopped clock is right twice a day: someone who is usually mistaken can be correct on rare occasions 7. fifth column: collaborators supporting would-be invaders from within a country 8. fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me: a proverb expressing that one should be wary of the intentions of someone who has tricked one before 9. for once: on this particular occasion 10. Fourth Estate: journalists as a group (originally, a reference to the press in counterpoint to three other major demographic groups: the clergy, the nobility, and the common people) 11. give (one) the once-over: examine with interest 12–13. if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred/thousand times: a phrase expressing, with exaggeration, that one has repeatedly referred to something 14. lightning never strikes (the same place) twice: an unusual occurrence that has happened before won’t happen again 15. once and for all: permanently 16. once bitten, twice shy: a proverb expressing that one’s inclination is to avoid people who, or things, that have hurt them 17. once in a blue moon: very rarely 18. once in a lifetime: said of something likely to occur only once during one’s life 19. once over lightly: quickly 20. once upon a time: once in the past (used often as the beginning of a fairy tale to express that the story occurred long ago) 21. opportunity knocks but once: a proverb expressing that one may have only one chance to take advantage of an opportunity 22–23. plead/take the fifth: said humorously in response to a request for provocative information when one does not want to reveal it (a reference to the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects citizens against self-incrimination) 24. second banana: someone who plays a secondary role (from show business slang for a supporting comedian) 25. second best: something not as good as the thing desired 26. second chance: another opportunity 27. second childhood: a period later in life marked by renewed interest in things of interest to a child or by reduced mental capacity 28. second class: inferior, as in references to travel accommodations or disadvantaged citizens 29. second fiddle: one who plays, or is perceived to play, a subordinate role (from an informal reference to violinists in a music ensemble who are not the principal violinist) 30. second-guess: predict another’s action or decision 31. secondhand: as an adjective, not original, or previously owned; as an adverb, indirectly, or obtained from another 32. second nature: said of a behavior or habit that one seems to have been born with 33. second sight: clairvoyance, or the supposed ability to see something happening elsewhere or in the future 34. second thought: a reference to changing one’s mind, as in the phrase â€Å"on second thought† or to be inclined to do so, as in the phrase â€Å"having second thoughts† 35. second to none: better than anyone or anything else 36. second wind: restoration of easy breathing after physical exertion, or a renewal or energy or strength 37. seventh heaven: a state of bliss 38. sixth sense: a perceptiveness that cannot be achieved with the five physical senses 39. think twice: carefully consider 40. the third degree: intense questioning 41. third rail: something dangerous, like the electrified third rail of an electric railway system 42. third time’s the charm: one will succeed on the third try 43. Third World: the undeveloped world, first used to describe countries not aligned with the world’s democratic and communist nations during the Cold War 44–45. third/fifth wheel: a person thought to be unwelcome in the company of a pair or quartet of people; usually a reference to a single person with one or two couples Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Good At, Good In, and Good With"Wracking" or "Racking" Your Brain?5 Examples of Insufficient Hyphenation

IT SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT COURSEWORK PART 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

IT SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT COURSEWORK PART 2 - Essay Example The IT groups within the company are always working round the clock to put in place architecture and tools which will support the company process. Delma SSS has implemented the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) a technology which is meant to make re-orientation to their core technology that will ensure new consumption patterns are in place (Rajput 2000). Even though Service Oriented Software (SOA) has been used in the past to support data integration and system rationalization, SOA has been realized to provide a technical basis for the sake of business improvement processes of Delma SSS. SOA has characteristics that enhance simplification, flexibility, consistency, ease of change and encapsulation which are helpful in helping the IT department within Delma SSS implement constant improvements. The Service Oriented Architecture is quite valuable and its tools are fundamentally focused as it presents an atomic view of the functions and data that Delma SS supports. The only challenge i s that the business manager with a list of services of which they may not know how to operate some of them in the efforts of the company to improve in the future (Footen & Faust 2008). To help this challenge the SOA needs a partner in the equation to further improvements of the IT solutions. Delma SSS therefore integrates the Business process Management (BPM) technology to work in conjunction with the SOA for the sake of consistent improvement of the technological operations of the Company (Grembergen 2002). Business Process Management (BPM) is used by the company to enable their business teams to provide a competitive advantage when driving the improvement of operations of the company. The competitive advantage of Business Process Management (BPM) to aid SOA is realized through self sufficiency in terms of process discovery, better prioritization and requirement of the requests made to the technical teams. Furthermore, the BPM presents a more efficient environment for collaboration with the ability to drive requirements down in the SOA layer (Footen & Faust 2008). With the projected revenue growth of the company by 45% in the next few years, Delma SSS decided that it needs to improve its core business processes for the support of a high revenue realization with low staffing growth. A simple functional architecture of what this process looks like is as shown:- The red side components of the figure represent the familiar elements of SOA. This IT component provides an architecture that gives room for rationalizing of data across all its multiple stores. Just apart from ensuring there is cost reduction, SOA provides a model for abstracting out system-specific calls (Footen & Faust 2008). These services then are really better ways to expose and govern the hard-core IT assets so that they can be more easily consumed and therefore more easily re-used. The building of access to data as presented by the system means that a consolidation and dynamism specific underlyin g data structures and engines, this is not only easier now but in the future. SOA also provides the tools that technical teams will use to build out the services that implement a business process. However, at this point, technical teams need the input from their business counterparts about which events matter, who uses the specific business services and when. In short, how these services are

Health Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Health Report - Essay Example I had an opportunity to interview one of the directors. He narrated their foremost great achievement of implementing the healthy, hunger-free kids Act. The Act remains imperative in improving and reauthorizing child nutrition programs. They were to get rid of unhealthy food and beverage in school, and other social amenities. This legislation provides more than 31 million American children who need greater access to healthy amenities. Despite some challenges, about 90% of schools have reported to meet the set food and beverages standards. NANA has improved nutrition and physical resources at CDC. Funding amplified between $2 in 1998 to $45 million in 2010. This has helped improve their services to the targeted population in the USA. NANA has made great achievements and improved the lives of many, thereby reducing deaths and health related diseases amongst children. I would recommend the government to be part of the greater contribution to create room for better services. The merging organization have helped in ensuring that the preferred healthy living is met in local areas and gives back report to NANA for better servicing. Science-based nutrition guidelines for school foods have also reinforced parents’ efforts to help their children eat healthy, making NANA’s work much easier at times. Story, M., Nanney, M. S., & Schwartz, M. B. (2009). Schools and obesity prevention: creating school environments and policies to promote healthy eating and physical activity. Milbank Quarterly. 87(1): 71–100. doi:

What benefits does a childrens hospice service provide Essay

What benefits does a childrens hospice service provide - Essay Example Parents' perception about the children's hospice services play crucial role in determining the qualities of such palliative care providers, since the number of families obtaining the services of hospice homes are increasing. Thus the benefits derived from children's hospice services are awaiting the feedback from parent consumers to continuously change the shape and identity of services. The medical prognosis may assess the nature of a terminal illness but cannot ascertain the actual time of end of a patient. This being the strength of medical science, the palliative care cannot be rejected outright as redundant. It is an opportunity to provide a very special care to the loved kids, who face death in the near future or at a distance, thereby implying the acceptance of a poor prognosis. The National Academies' Institute of Medicine, USA, has boldly suggested that all physicians in paediatric medicine should well be trained in the field of palliative, end-of-life and bereavement care to children. (National Academies Institute of Medicine, USA). There exists a hairline demarcation between hospice services and palliative care services. Hospice services are based on the philosophy of providing comfort and support to terminally ill patients and their families when the life expectancy of the patients is in months. Hospiceprovides support for the emotional, social and spiritual impact of the disease on the patient and family through a team-oriented approach of specially trained professionals. Most hospices have a set of defined services, team members, rules and regulations. Hospice programs generally offer counselling and bereavement services to patients and families both before and after a patient's death. Palliative care services are rendered on the same principles as hospice care for patients with life-threatening illness. Palliative care looks at the emotional and social issues that occur as a result of a serious illness and the effect on the family as well as the patient. Palliative care for patients and their families also involves the comprehensive management of physical, psychological, social, spiritual and existential needs. Palliative care ideally begins at the time of diagnosis of a life-threatening or debilitating condition and continues throughout the person's life. Although palliative care may be an appropriate part of treatment of any complex or serious illness or injury, it is vital in the care of life threatening and/or incurable, progressive conditions. Palliative care is also integral to all health care delivery system settings like hospital, emergency department, home care, outpatient and non-traditional environments such as schools. The interdisciplinary team collaborates with all caregivers in each of these settings, in order to ensure coordination, communication, and continuity of palliative care across institutional and home care settings. Palliative care services generally provide Access to an interdisciplinary team Strategies to optimise pain and symptom management Help with communication between family and the primary care team Enhancing quality of life with emphasis on meaningfulness Assistance with decision-making Coordination of inpatient, outpatient, and home care

Race and the American Quest for Equality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Race and the American Quest for Equality - Essay Example The fact that German-Americans were not held in internment camps proves there was a racial dimension. Most African-Americans were brought to America against their will and enslaved. Slavery was not a new practice. In the ancient world, people could be enslaved if they were defeated in a war. The fact that Americans enslaved a specific race meant that society justified their actions by claiming that people of that race were inferior. Even after African-Americans were released from slavery, they still had to struggle against widespread racism and economic and political discrimination. Native Americans were horribly disadvantaged when the Europeans first came to America and began to take their land. In a long process, the United States took more and more land until they had taken virtually all the lands that had once belonged to the Native Americans. Discrimination continued against the Native Americans even after their lands had been stolen. They were forced onto small reservations whe re jobs were hard to find and alcoholism and psychological problems went untreated. Even though there has been great progress in reducing racism, these groups are still disadvantaged today. Racism still exists in America even though most people are now afraid to show they are racist or don’t even believe they are racist. One part of racism today is the stereotyping of members of minority groups. Comedians today joke about how Asian Americans are good at math and have small penises and African-Americans are violent and lazy and Native Americans are alcoholics and lazy.... Sometimes these jokes are funny and the comedian is making fun of his own racial group, but that does not mean that it is not racist. The jokers forget that members of a "race" are individuals who cannot be defined by their ethnic background. These groups are also disadvantaged today because of the economic and political discrimination their ancestors have already experienced. If your parents and grandparents were successful, then it is much easier for you to be successful because your parents are able to teach you how to succeed and they can provide support to help you take advantage of your opportunities. People in these groups who have been discriminated against do not have a fair chance to help their children be as successful as those who have not experienced discrimination. San Francisco includes many people in its vision of success, but it is still not perfect. I know many Asian Americans who are successful here, but that does not mean they are always treated fairly. I don't know as many African-Americans, but I know that some of them are successful and some are not as successful. For the ones who aren't as successful, part of the reason they are disadvantaged is probably because of their "race," and this is wrong. I don't know many Native Americans, which shows that they are still disadvantaged, since they used to be the only people here. I feel that the best way for me to change people's vision of who is included in my community is to celebrate my own culture and to try to learn more about others' cultures. Many of the differences that have been attributed to "race," which makes people believe the differences are biological, should be attributed to culture. For example, the comedian that says

Life of a nurse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Life of a nurse - Essay Example No matter what patients are going through, theyre always there to thank you. These are the basic reasons that motivate me to be and continue to grow in this profession. In this paper I would like to put my hectic experience as a nurse and how the team work helped me. It’s a typical Monday night and our census is high. We have twenty four beds, all of which were occupied and four of them were sent to the pediatric ward. Of the total twenty eight patients, twelve were postoperative surgeries cases which include complex spines, total hips and knees surgeries and couple of ORIF’s demanding special care. Each registered nurse in our team has five patients. In addition, due to overcrowding the charge nurse also have three patients. I was in charge of two fresh postoperative patients, one who is a 45 year old male who had the ORIF of right ankle and another a 77 year old female who is a status post posterior lumbar interbody fusion who was shifted to one of the pediatric unit room. The other patients that I was in-charge included a second day status post simple spine surgeries, and a 55 year old male with a diagnosis of ETOH abuse. Once I finished the inter-shift report, I realized that it is going to be a busy night. I normally start my shift by looking at the central oxinet monitor in the nurse’s station to reassure myself that my fresh postoperative patients are hooked up to the oxinet. Surprisingly, I noticed that my patient who is located in the pediatric unit is not on the central oxinet monitor, and I immediately went to the room to assess the patient. As a finish my assessment, I went back to supply room to look for an oxinet machine but unfortunately, there is no available oxinet machine at this time. The unit secretary contacted the central supply unit requesting for the machine but they informed that they have only the portable oxinet available. The problem with the portable oxinet is that it cannot be centrally

History of the Middle East Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

History of the Middle East - Research Paper Example The increased developments in Middle East had been pronounced since early decades, and can be traced back in the second half of 1500s when Ottoman Empire started expanding its domain (Fischbach 2013, 56). From inception, Islam had shaped politics in regions where it dominated, especially in Middle East. Despite the fragmentation of the political authority in Muslim land, Islam continued to be powerful and had a strong political solidarity bond. Collapse of Ottoman Empire facilitated the entry of Europeans in Middle East who aimed at colonizing them. British domination of local politics remained effective until early 1970s. Emergence of independent and sovereign states between 1940s and 1050s altered traditional foundations and domestic power equations in state-society relations. The modern states were unprepared for any competitive international environment and offer substantial support to the growing nationalist aspirations. Such aspirations appeared in response to political develop ments and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts that served as the catalyst for regional instability and conflict. This led to the political environment in 20th century characterized by political turmoil, extremism and conquests. Therefore, this paper investigates why the creation of the state of Israel failed to solve the Jewish problems (Gettleman 2012, 145). Creation of state of Israel The creation of state of Israel was predicated on the constitution of Jews as people of special identity and placed the nation on specific territory, as well as the juridical and territorial independence of the nation in modern country. The formation of state of Israel was enhanced by Zionism and deliberated by articulation from individuals who set to revive the ancient kingdom in a modern approach. This called for territorial and political independence for it to be successful. Soon after the end of World War II, the British evacuated Palestine and recommended partitioning of the Palestine into two states. Arabs rejected while Jewish accepted, though they advocated that they be given more than 55 percent of the land. This facilitated the War of control during which Israel declared its statehood in 1948. Such victory over the Arabs facilitated an influx of Jewish refugees from Europe and other Muslim word and outflow of fleeing Arab Palestinians (Klieman 1990, 63) One year after the partition plan by the general assembly, the resolution 94 was issued to offer right of return of the Arabs to the post-mandate Palestine. However, UN possessed no powers to enforce such resolutions since Israel was determined to prohibit Arabs to return to their homes after fleeing. Such unresolved problems remain the major source of conflicts for quite some time. In 1950, Israel’s parliament passed the law of return (Gettleman 2012, 148). Partition Plan Most states in UN General Assembly voted in the partition plan for the Palestine in 1947. Such a resolution called for the termination of the manda te by Britons and created two states; one for Arabs and the other one for Jews. City of Jerusalem was entitled to the enjoyment of special status under the international administration. The resolution was voted in by thirty one countries while seven voted against the resolution. Zionists accepted the resolution while Arabs opposed it since it advocated for a single state dominated by Arab majority. Traditionally, the twin objectives of the foreign policy in Israel of

Life of a nurse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Life of a nurse - Essay Example No matter what patients are going through, theyre always there to thank you. These are the basic reasons that motivate me to be and continue to grow in this profession. In this paper I would like to put my hectic experience as a nurse and how the team work helped me. It’s a typical Monday night and our census is high. We have twenty four beds, all of which were occupied and four of them were sent to the pediatric ward. Of the total twenty eight patients, twelve were postoperative surgeries cases which include complex spines, total hips and knees surgeries and couple of ORIF’s demanding special care. Each registered nurse in our team has five patients. In addition, due to overcrowding the charge nurse also have three patients. I was in charge of two fresh postoperative patients, one who is a 45 year old male who had the ORIF of right ankle and another a 77 year old female who is a status post posterior lumbar interbody fusion who was shifted to one of the pediatric unit room. The other patients that I was in-charge included a second day status post simple spine surgeries, and a 55 year old male with a diagnosis of ETOH abuse. Once I finished the inter-shift report, I realized that it is going to be a busy night. I normally start my shift by looking at the central oxinet monitor in the nurse’s station to reassure myself that my fresh postoperative patients are hooked up to the oxinet. Surprisingly, I noticed that my patient who is located in the pediatric unit is not on the central oxinet monitor, and I immediately went to the room to assess the patient. As a finish my assessment, I went back to supply room to look for an oxinet machine but unfortunately, there is no available oxinet machine at this time. The unit secretary contacted the central supply unit requesting for the machine but they informed that they have only the portable oxinet available. The problem with the portable oxinet is that it cannot be centrally

Two Dimensional Materials, Tools And Processes Essay Example for Free

Two Dimensional Materials, Tools And Processes Essay Introduction Artists throughout the centuries have utilized medium and formulated its distinction together with themselves. Understanding a work of art does not plainly rely on the history, the artist and the purpose or them, sometimes there is more to it that people fail to analyze. Some people disregard the materials and processes utilized in order to accomplish a specific artwork. Indeed there is more to materials than just things or medium used in order to accomplish art. The following will showcase two sample masterpieces that display meaning with the help of the materials, processes and other tools. â€Å"Prophet† by Emile Nolde (p. 217) Essentially, the heart of this piece revolves around the material conveyed and the message that it displays. Nolde used woodcutting that exposed a more recognizable effect of emotion as seen in the piece. Woodcutting is a relief process that creates a different form of line control due to the effect of the ink being pushed down the areas and wiped from its surface. It enhances the lines even more and produces a more deeper representation of texture. As seen in the â€Å"Prophet†, Nolde takes advantage of woodcuts to get a more expressed feeling of emotion in the face of the main element of the piece. The title and the piece correlates well with each other but the over-all effect wont be possible without Noldes use of woodcuts. In order for him to portray the more expressed feelings of spirituality and deep emotion, he needed to create lines and texture that arouse viewers. Most works that utilized this kind of medium showcases deeper effects in the aspect of emotions. The lines of these works show more feelings and the overall presence compels viewers. The boldness in the effect seen in the piece creates a critical dependency on the material and the process incorporated to accomplish the work.   Clearly, the masterpiece showcases a typical German Expressionist message. The jagged lines, the dented areas and the woods textured grain efficiently collaborates well with the main message being carried out from this faithful mans face. The â€Å"Prophet† is clearly one of the works that displays a definitive importance when it comes to materials and how it was processed just to be accomplished. Emile Nolde relied on a more deeper expression and a bolder portrayal of his message in the piece. He achieved it by incorporating woodcutting as the means. Clearly, if he used a different medium, the effect wont be as greater than this. â€Å"Hurricane Over Horsemen and Trees† by Leonardo Da Vinci (p. 195) In this masterpiece, Leonardo used pen and ink over black chalk with wash on grey washed paper. He skilfully made use of the effect of pen and ink on a grey washed paper that led to an assisting effect with regards to the subject of the work, which tangles with nature. His utilization of his great imagination is displayed along with the effect of the power of nature. This wont be realized without his expert choice of medium. Creating that natural occurrence effect shows a more descriptive form of representation. There is definitely a mythical touch to it as seen in the elements composing the work. Deeper understanding of why that material and medium is used can be concluded in such different ways, but as a viewer, there is such importance to its role that it dictates the whole effect of the artwork. Without his use of Pen, the lines wont be as fine as it looks like and the circular effects wont be as effective as it looks. The use of grey washed paper highlights the floating effect of the elements which in turn reflects a much stronger expression as seen in the textures and shadows. Conclusion Such is the importance of materials, tools and processes on artwork that it assists on a major scale. Its critical role emphasizes effectiveness and suggests a deeper representation or understanding regarding the masterpiece itself. REFERENCES Sayre, H. (2006). A World of Art. New York: Prentice Hall. http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/20th/expressionism.html http://www.universalleonardo.org/trail.php?trail=198work=354 https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/art001su08/course/lesson09/print.html

An efficient leader

An efficient leader Every organisation, be it big or small needs an efficient leader. And for an institution like Cardiff Business School, which has more than 50 taught courses and staff of more than 120, the challenges and responsibilities are even higher. Thus, the Director has to have certain specific leadership qualities. Leadership is a process of influencing others to achieve organizational goals, creating a vision for others and having the power to translate the vision in reality. A leader must be able to convince the co-workers, employees and subordinates that whatever work they will do not only affect the productivity of institution but also will help themselves. A leader needs to have a visionary approach and innovative ways of solving problems and dealing with tough situations. Leadership as described by Stogdill, 1950 is: The process of influencing the activities of an organized group in its efforts toward goal setting and goal achievement (Buchanan). Stogdills definition has three key components: It defines leadership as an interpersonal skill in which the leader tends to modify and shape the behaviour of others. Leadership is a social context where the members of group are followers or subordinates. It emphasises the effect of leadership in the achievement of institutional goals. In the process of selection of the Director for CARBS, there are certain key factors or elements which the candidate must possess; Honesty and Integrity are amongst them, a leader whose actions back up his words and words that are congruent with his action, is a man of integrity and thus liked by all. Keeping his words and being true to his values is very necessary for the leader if he wants his subordinates to follow him and support him in his vision of success. A leader is responsible to carry out the culture of ethics and values in the institution and because he is a leader, he has to set up an example from himself first. Values and integrity for an educational institution is vital, nobody wants to wake up one with a profitable institution that does not have a soul. I consider my life worth nothing to me . . . if only I may finish the race and complete the task . . . The Disciple Paul Acts 20:22. The Director has to be a leader with a vision and well defined purpose for his team and subordinates. Working without purpose can only be defined as mindless and heartless drudgery. The leader should always have his aim, goals and objectives very clear and he should direct integrated efforts to achieve the goals. The leader must be able to make the subordinate believe that the purpose he is working for is worth contributing to and by the time it will end he will be proud of the fact that he did. Lying is done with words and also with silence. Adrienne Rich. The Director has to communicate very clearly, effectively and efficiently in order to qualify as a good leader. The best ideas of the world will go useless if they are not communicated properly. Communication also includes being a good listener, orator and having an empathetic attitude. If there was no appropriate communication of overarching ideas, mission, and vision, many of the corporate would not have existed today. In todays competitive environment, the leader has to be well versed with all varieties of communication forums. Woolfe, Lorin. The Bible on Leadership From Moses to Matthew-Management Lessons for Contemporary Leaders. New York: AMACOM/American Management Association, 2002. Print. http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_communication.html

The Breaking Point: Woolf’s Views on Stael Essay -- women writers

No person is capable of perfectly articulating Virginia Woolf’s opinions on certain matters. However, through the observation of her works one might be able to gather her thoughts and form a more accurate description of her ideals. A Room of One’s Own contains Woolf’s ideals dealing with women in the arts, especially those associated with liberal arts. In this piece Woolf always describes a lack of strong women writers for her research but does name a few she deems worthy. It seems odd that Woolf would overlook Germaine de Stael while researching women with literary talent. The reasons for why Stael was disregarded could range from a language barrier at the time, Stael’s ideals on how a woman should behave within society, political propaganda, or Stael’s works might have simply gone unnoticed at the time. If Woolf had read Stael’s, On Women Writers, surely she would have mentioned it somewhere in her novel. Why would it be required tha t Woolf write about Stael? To simply answer this question, Stael was an intelligent woman in her time and many of Woolf’s main arguments coincide with Stael’s. Gender Inequality is one of these major themes where Stael shares similar views. They would both agree that this inequality feeds the other motifs described in their own works, such as: the individuality of truth, the importance of monetary means, or the hatred and ridicule that society directs at women writers. Woolf might not have agreed with all of Stael’s beliefs, but she would find Stael’s views on gender inequality and the causes of these inequalities to contain the essential oil of truth she was desperately searching for. Gender Inequality was what Woolf emphasized as the major downfall of women writers and Stael shared thos... ... Both Woolf and Stael were extraordinary authors of their times, especially when one considers the hardships they faced. Woolf would indeed find much of her arguments written within Stael’s work. In her reading she would be pleased to find agreement with many of the arguments brought up by Stael, but of course she would not agree to them all. The pity Stael says women should be shown would not consist in Woolf’s vocabulary. She would insist that women be treated as equals instead of looked down upon and pitied. â€Æ' Works Cited Stael, Germaine de. On Literature Considered in Its relationship to Social Institutions: â€Å"On Women Writers.† Trans. Vivian Folkenflit. Eds. Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007: 55-60. Print. Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One's Own. Ed. Mark Hussey. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005. Print.

Philosophy of Education Essay -- Education Teaching Teachers Careers E

Philosophy of Education In this paper, I wish to discuss my beliefs for education. These beliefs include my philosophy in a general manner, and the reasons why I want to become an educator. In this paper I will also describe what my furture classroom will look like, and how my classroom will be run. I also discuss my views on education reform in conclusion. I have found that my philosophy of education is a combination of two philosophies. They are Idealism and Realism. I also agree with two points in the Existentialism and pragmatism philosophies. L believe that a teacher should know their content very well. This is one of the most important things that I believe that I should do as a classroom teacher. I also believe that the classroom teacher is a model for the students. The students will watch them to see how they live their lives and how they react to situations that may arise in the classroom. I also believe that each child in the world today is a valuable contribution to society. Each child can fulfill any dream they may have, but I also believe that your dreams need to be reasonable. Each child can contribute something to society because the world needs farmers just as much as they need politicians. Another important thing that I believe should be focused on is to encourage students to seek the truth. I fee l that this statement means that a student need to establish their own beliefs on issues, and they also need to be able to back up why they believe what they believe. These beliefs need to be personal. The teacher does not need to focus on their own personal beliefs, but also on beliefs that are opposite of theirs. A teacher needs to focus on the good and bad things on eac... ...ectly. When the results of the reform are used correctly, reform will be effective. As an educator during reform initiatives, I will support the things that will make the education of students more effective. These are my beliefs for education. They include my general philosophy of education, and why I want to become an educator. Also I have described what my classroom will look like. This includes what my seating arrangement will be, and also what the bulletin boards in my classroom will contain. I have also discussed whether my classroom will be authoritarian or nonauthoritarian. I also discuss how I plan to manage the classroom, motivate the students, issue discipline, how I will teach, and how I will lead the students in my classroom. Lastly, I discuss my views on education reform, and whether it is effective or not to the education world.

Succubus Blues CHAPTER 14

â€Å"You called us together for biblical porn?† Hugh turned away with disinterest from where the vampires and I huddled around my kitchen table. Barely a bruise showed on him anymore. Putting a cigarette to his lips, the imp produced a lighter from his coat pocket. â€Å"Don't smoke in here,† I warned. â€Å"What do you care? Are you saying you didn't smoke throughout most of the twentieth century?† â€Å"I'm not saying that at all. But I don't do it anymore. Besides, it's bad for Aubrey.† The cat, sitting on one of my counters, paused mid-bath at the sound of her name and eyed him askance. Hugh, glaring back, took a long drag on the cigarette before putting it out on the countertop next to her. She returned to her cleaning, and he paced around the apartment. Beside me, Cody leaned over the table, studying my proffered Bible. â€Å"I don't get how these guys are actually angels. ‘Sons of God' seems like a generic term for humans. I mean, aren't we all supposed to be children of God?† â€Å"Present company excluded, of course,† called Hugh from the living room. Then: â€Å"Jesus Christ! Where'd you get this bookcase? Hiroshima?† â€Å"Theoretically we are,† I agreed, ignoring the imp and answering Cody's question. I'd done a lot of biblical perusal since my earlier discovery today and was growing tired of looking at the book. â€Å"But Warren's right – that term is used throughout to refer to angels. Plus, the women here aren't called ‘daughters of God.' They're called ‘daughters of men.' They're human, their husbands are not.† â€Å"Could just be good old-fashioned sexism.† Peter had finally taken the plunge and shaved his hair off. I did not find the look flattering at all, considering the shape of his head. â€Å"It's not like that'd be a new concept in the Bible.† â€Å"Nah, I think Georgina's right,† said Hugh, returning to us. â€Å"I mean, we know something made angels fall. Lust is as good a reason as any, and it beats the hell out of gluttony or sloth.† â€Å"So what's the point then?† Peter wanted to know. â€Å"How does this relate to the not-just-a-vampire hunter?† â€Å"Here.† I pointed to verse 6:4. â€Å"It says, ‘There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.' The key words here are ‘in those days' and ‘also after that.' It's saying angels have fallen for human women more than once. This answers our question about whether angels still fall anymore. They do.† Cody was nodding along with me. â€Å"Which backs up your theory that one is trying to fall right now.† â€Å"It doesn't sound like lust is going to be his catalyst, though,† Hugh noted. â€Å"I think assault and battery will do it first.† â€Å"Unless it's lust for Georgina,† suggested Peter dryly. â€Å"He seems to think you're pretty enough.† Something odd struck me at Hugh's observation. â€Å"Would assault and battery really do it, though? Especially of vampires and imps? It might be frowned upon by the other side, but I'm not convinced taking out evil agents would necessarily warrant an angel turning into a demon.† â€Å"Past evidence suggests the other side isn't exactly†¦ flexible with transgressors,† observed the imp. â€Å"And ours is?† wondered Peter. Cody gave me a sharp look. â€Å"Are you backing out of your own theory?† â€Å"No, no. I'm suddenly reconsidering the falling bit, that's all. The ‘rogue' or ‘renegade' part might be more accurate.† â€Å"But your note did mention angels falling,† Hugh pointed out. â€Å"Surely that's indicative of something? A meaningful clue and not just a bad attempt at humor?† I thought about the note. Yes, Hugh was right. I felt certain the note's content played a role here; I just couldn't yet grasp what it meant. â€Å"Bad humor is par for the course with angels,† Peter reminded us. â€Å"At least if Carter's any indication.† I hesitated a moment, nervous about bringing up my secondary theory. They all seemed to be going along with the angel idea, however, so I figured it was now or never. â€Å"Do you guys think†¦ do you think it's possible Carter might be the one behind all of this?† Three sets of eyes turned on me in astonishment. Hugh spoke first. â€Å"What? Are you crazy? I know you two spar a lot, but Christ, if you think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Carter's one of us,† agreed Cody fiercely. â€Å"I know, I know.† I proceeded to explain the reasoning behind my accusation, citing his weird shadowing of me and subsequent conversation at Erik's. Silence fell. Finally, Peter said, â€Å"All of that is strange. But I still can't buy it. Not Carter.† â€Å"Not Carter,† agreed Hugh. â€Å"Oh, I see. Everyone's quick to implicate me for Duane, but not perfect Carter?† My ire rose at their automatic solidarity, at the idea that Carter would be above reproach. â€Å"Why does he hang out with us then? Have you ever heard of an angel doing anything like that?† â€Å"We're his friends,† said Cody. â€Å"And we're more fun,† added Hugh. â€Å"You can believe that if you want, but not me. Going from pub to pub with a demon and his cronies is the perfect setup for sabotage. He's been spying on us. You're just biased because he's such a good drinking buddy.† â€Å"And don't you think, Georgina,† warned Peter, â€Å"there's just the slightest possibility that you're the one who's biased? I admit, this crazy angel theory makes more and more sense as time goes on, but where'd Carter come from?† â€Å"Yeah,† said Hugh. â€Å"Seems like you just sort of threw him in for no good reason. Everyone knows you two don't get along.† I stared disbelievingly at the three sets of angry eyes. â€Å"I have plenty of good reason. How do you explain him being at Erik's?† The imp shook his head. â€Å"We all know Erik. Carter could have been there for the same reasons you were.† â€Å"What about the things he said?† â€Å"What did he say really?† Peter asked. â€Å"Was he like, ‘Hey Georgina, hope you got my note'? It's all pretty flimsy.† â€Å"Look, I'm not saying I have strong evidence, just that circumstantially – â€Å" â€Å"I need to go,† interjected Cody, standing up. I gave him a cold look. Had I pushed them that far? â€Å"I understand if you don't agree with me, but don't just walk out.† â€Å"No, there's something I've got to do.† Peter rolled his eyes. â€Å"You're not the only one dating now, Georgina. Cody won't admit it, but I think he's got a woman stashed somewhere.† â€Å"A live one?† asked Hugh, impressed. Cody put his coat on. â€Å"You guys don't know anything.† â€Å"Well, be careful,† I warned automatically. The tense mood was suddenly shattered, and no one seemed to be angry with me about suspecting Carter anymore. It was clear, however, that no one believed me about him either. They were dismissing my ideas like one does a child's irrational fears or imaginary friends. The vampires left together, and Hugh followed soon thereafter. I wandered off to bed, still trying to put the pieces into place. The note writer had made a reference to angels falling for beautiful women; that had to be significant. Yet, I just couldn't reconcile it with this bizarre pair of attacks on Duane and Hugh, which had more to do with violence and brutality than beauty or lust. When I got to work the next day, my e-mail inbox revealed a new message from Seth, and I feared some sort of follow-up to his date request from yesterday. Instead, he merely responded to my last message, which had been one in an ongoing conversation about his observations of the Northwest. The message's writing style and voice were as entertaining as ever, and he seemed for all the world not to have minded – or even noticed – my wacky rejection yesterday. I verified this further when I went upstairs to buy coffee. Seth sat in his usual corner, typing away, oblivious to it being Saturday. I paused and said hello, getting a typically distracted response in return. He did not mention asking me to the party, did not seem upset, and indeed apparently didn't care at all about it. I supposed I should have been grateful that he'd recovered so quickly, that he wasn't pining or breaking his heart over me, but my selfishness couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. I wouldn't have minded making a slightly stronger impression on him, one that elicited some regret over my refusal. Doug and Roman, for example, hadn't let one rejection deter them. What a fickle creature I was. Thinking of both of them reminded me I was meeting Roman later to go to Doug's concert. I grew heady at the thought of seeing Roman again, though apprehension tinged the feeling. I didn't like him having this effect on me, and I had thus far demonstrated no aptitude in refusing his advances. We were going to reach a critical point one of these days, and I feared for its outcome. I suspected that when it did come, I would wish Roman had bowed out of my pursuit so easily as Seth seemed to have. Such worries vanished from my mind that evening when I admitted Roman into my apartment. He wore dress clothing all done in elegant shades of blue and silvery gray, every hair and fold perfectly in place. He flashed me one of those devastating smiles, and I made sure my knees didn't start knocking, schoolgirl style. â€Å"You do realize this is a post-grunge, punk rock, ska -type of concert we're going to. Most everyone else will be in jeans and T-shirts. Maybe some leather here and there.† â€Å"Most good dates do end in leather.† His eyes took in the sights of the apartment, lingering briefly on the bookcase. â€Å"But didn't you say this was a late show?† â€Å"Yup. Starts at eleven.† â€Å"That gives us four hours to burn, love. You're going to have to change.† I looked down at my black jeans and red tank top. â€Å"This won't work?† â€Å"That does wonderful things for your legs, I admit, but I think you're going to want a skirt or dress. Something like you wore swing dancing, only maybe†¦ steamier.† â€Å"I'm pretty sure I've never heard the word ‘steamy' applied to any of my wardrobe.† â€Å"I find that hard to believe.† He pointed down my hall. â€Å"Go. The clock is ticking.† Ten minutes later I returned in a clingy, navy dress made of georgette. It had spaghetti straps and an asymmetrical hemline, jagged and ruffled, that rose high on my left leg. I had taken my hair out of its ponytail and now wore it long over my shoulders. Roman looked up from where he'd been having meaningful, eye-to-eye communication with Aubrey. â€Å"Steamy.† He pointed to the King James Bible sitting on my coffee table. It was open, like he'd been perusing. â€Å"I never took you for the churchgoing type.† Both Seth and Warren had made similar jokes. That thing was ruining my reputation. â€Å"Just something I'm researching. It's only been moderately useful.† Roman stood up and stretched. â€Å"Probably because that's one of the worst translations out there.† I remembered the plethora of Bibles. â€Å"Is there a better one you'd recommend?† He shrugged. â€Å"I'm no expert, but you'd probably get more out of one meant for research, not devotional use. Annotated ones. Ones that they use in college classes.† I filed the information away, wondering if the mystery verses might still have more to reveal. For now, I had a date to contend with. We ended up at a small, hidden Mexican restaurant I'd never been to. The waiters spoke Spanish – as did Roman, it turned out – and the food had not been watered down for Americans. When two margaritas appeared on our table, I realized Roman had ordered one for me. â€Å"I don't want to drink tonight.† I recalled how flaky I'd been the last time we went out. He stared at me like I'd just declared I was going to stop breathing for a change. â€Å"You have to be kidding. This place makes the best margaritas north of the Rio Grande.† â€Å"I want to stay sober tonight.† â€Å"One won't kill you. Take it with food, and you won't even notice.† I stayed silent. â€Å"For Christ's sake, Georgina, just try the salt. One taste and you'll be hooked.† I reluctantly ran my tongue around the edge. It triggered a longing to taste tequila that rivaled my succubus urge for sex. Giving in against my better judgment, I took a sip. It was fantastic. The food was too, not surprisingly, and I ended up having two margaritas, instead of just the one. Roman proved to be right about drinking with food, fortunately, and I only felt mildly buzzed. I did not feel out of control and knew I could handle things until the sobering up began. â€Å"Two more hours,† I told him as we left the restaurant. â€Å"Got something else in mind?† â€Å"Sure do.† He inclined his head across the street, and I followed his motion. Miguel's. I racked my brain. â€Å"I've heard of that place†¦ wait, they do salsa dancing there, don't they?† â€Å"Yup. Ever tried it?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"What? I thought you were a dancing queen.† â€Å"I'm not done with swing yet.† Truthfully, I was dying to try salsa. Like Seth Mortensen's books, though, I did not like to burn through too much of a good thing too fast. I still enjoyed swing and wanted to run it into the ground before I switched dances. Long life tended to make one savor things more. â€Å"Well, now you'll just have to multitask.† Taking my hand, he led me across the street. I tried to protest but couldn't really explain my reasoning to him, and so, like the margaritas, I gave in fairly easily. The club was warm and packed with bodies, and the music was to die for. My feet immediately began counting out beats as Roman paid our entrance fee and led me to the dance floor. Just like with swing, he turned out to be an expert at salsa, and I found myself easily catching on after a few practices. I might not have demonstrated much talent for standing my ground against margaritas, but I had been dancing for centuries. The skill was fused into me. Salsa turned out to be a lot sexier than swing. Not that swing wasn't sexy, mind you, but salsa had a dark, sinuous edge about it. One couldn't help but focus on the closeness of the other person's body, the way hips moved together. I now knew what Roman had meant about steamy. After about a half hour, we took a break, and he led us to the bar. † Mojitosnow,† he told me, holding up two fingers for the bartender. â€Å"In keeping with our Latin theme tonight.† â€Å"I can't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But the mojitos appeared without my counsel and turned out to be pretty damned good. We finished them faster than we should have, so we could get back out on the floor. By the time we had to leave for Doug's concert, post-grunge, punk rock, ska -type music didn't sound so good anymore. I was exhilarated from dancing, hot and sweaty, and I'd gone through another mojito and a tequila chaser. I knew I'd found a new passion in salsa and silently cursed Roman for what would probably become a dancing addiction, even though I had exalted in the movement. His body had moved with a seductive grace, brushing against mine in a way that left me quivering and aching. We stumbled out into the street, holding hands, breathless and laughing. The world spun around me slightly, and I decided it was probably just as well we'd left when we did. My motor controls had stopped operating at normal levels. â€Å"Okay, where'd we park?† â€Å"You've got to be kidding,† I told him, jerking him around the corner where I could see the soft glow of a yellow taxi. â€Å"We have to take a cab.† â€Å"Come on, I'm not that bad.† But he had the wisdom to protest no further, and we caught the taxi up to the brewery in Greenlake. People milled in and out of the building; there had been two other performances before Doug's. As I had feared, our posh dancing clothing looked hopelessly out of place among the rough and tumble ware of the college-aged, but it no longer seemed the big deal it had when Roman picked me up. â€Å"Don't get caught up in fashion games,† he advised as we squeezed our way inside the packed brewery. â€Å"These kids probably think we're old, nark conformists or something, but really, they're just conforming in their own ways. They're conforming to nonconformity.† I scanned for the bookstore crew, hoping they'd secured a table. â€Å"Oh no. You don't wax political when you're drunk, do you?† â€Å"No, no. I just get tired of people always trying to fit a mold, trying to toe some line, regardless if it's right or left. I'm proud to be the best-dressed person in this room. Make your own rules, that's what I say.† I spotted Beth and dragged Roman over to a table on the other side of the room. Other bookstore natives sat with her: Casey, Andy, Bruce – and Seth. My stomach sank. â€Å"Nice dress,† said Bruce. â€Å"We saved you a seat.† Casey indicated a chair. â€Å"I didn't realize you'd have a†¦ friend.† The chair situation held little concern for me. All I could feel were Seth's eyes on me, his face thoughtful but neutral. Flushing, I felt like a complete idiot and wished I could just turn around and leave. After refusing him with my stupid tirade about not dating, here I was, hand in hand, drunk off my ass with Roman. I couldn't even imagine what Seth must think of me now. â€Å"Not a problem,† Roman declared, oblivious to my churning emotions and unfazed by my colleagues' bemused attention. He sat down in the chair, pulling me onto his lap. â€Å"We'll share.† Andy made a bar run, bringing back beers for all of us except Seth who, just like with caffeine, chose to abstain. Roman and I explained where we'd been, lauding salsa as the world's new greatest pastime, thus earning demands from the others that I start up a second wave of dance lessons. Doug's group soon came on stage, and we all cheered appropriately at the sight of Doug-the-assistant-manager turned Doug-the-lead-singer of Nocturnal Admission. Beer kept coming, and while continuing to drink was probably the stupidest thing I could have done, I was beyond the point where I could reasonably stop. Besides, I had too many other things to worry about. Like avoiding eye contact with a thus-far-silent Seth. And savoring the feel of being on top of Roman, his chest against my back and arms around my waist. His chin rested on my shoulder, giving him easy access to whisper in my ear and occasionally run his lips by my neck. The hardness I felt underneath my thighs suggested I wasn't the only one getting something out of this seating arrangement. Doug came to talk to us during a break, covered in sweat but thoroughly ecstatic. He took in the sight of me plastered on Roman. â€Å"You're a little overdressed, aren't you, Kin- caid?† He reconsidered. â€Å"Or under. Hard to say.† â€Å"You're one to talk,† I shot back, finishing my†¦ second†¦ or was it third†¦ beer. Doug wore tight, red vinyl pants; combat boots; and a long, purple velvet jacket left open to expose his chest. A ragged top hat perched jauntily on his head. â€Å"I'm part of the entertainment, babe.† â€Å"So am I, babe.† Some of the others chuckled. Doug's expression turned disapproving, but he said nothing to me, instead making some comment to Beth about the number of people who had turned out for the show. I entered that weird sort of tunnel vision that occurs sometimes with alcohol, where I became so consumed with my own buzzing, swirling perceptions that the conversation and noise around me blurred to an indistinct drone, and faces and colors faded out to an irrelevant background separate from my existence. Indeed, all I really felt was Roman. Every nerve in me was screaming, and I wished the hands he rested on my stomach would slide up to touch my breasts. I could already feel my nipples hardening under the thin fabric and wondered what it'd be like to turn around and ride him like I had Warren†¦ â€Å"Restroom,† I suddenly exclaimed, clambering ungracefully off Roman. It was weird how one's bladder could turn from tolerable to unbearable so quickly. â€Å"Where's the restroom here?† The others looked at me strangely, or so it seemed to me. â€Å"Back there,† pointed Casey, her voice sounding far away despite her close proximity. â€Å"You okay?† â€Å"Yeah.† I pushed a slipping strap up. â€Å"I just need to use the restroom.† And get away from Roman, I silently added, so I can think about things clearly. Not that that last feat would probably be possible in my current state. Roman started to rise, as drunk and fumbling as me. â€Å"I'll go with you – â€Å" â€Å"I will,† offered Doug hastily. â€Å"I need to get back there anyway before the next set.† Taking my arm, he wound us through the people toward a less-populated back hallway. I staggered slightly as we went, and he slowed his pace to help. â€Å"How much have you had to drink?† â€Å"Before or after I got here?† â€Å"Holy shit. You are trashed.† â€Å"You got a problem with it?† â€Å"Hardly. How do you think I spend most of my nights off?† We paused outside the ladies' restroom. â€Å"I bet Seth thinks I'm a lush.† â€Å"Why would he think that?† â€Å"You don't see him drinking. He's such a fucking purist. Him and his stupid no caffeine and no alcohol shit.† Doug's dark eyes flickered in surprise at my language. â€Å"Not all nondrinkers despise drinkers, you know. Besides, Seth's not the one I'm worried about. I'm more concerned about Mr. Happy Hands out there.† I blinked, confused. Then: â€Å"You mean Roman?† â€Å"You've come a long way from refusing to date to practically making out in public.† â€Å"So?† I countered hotly. â€Å"Can't I be with someone? Aren't I entitled to do something for a change that's actually something I want to do, not something I have to do?† My words came out with more bitter truth – and volume – than I intended. â€Å"Of course,† he soothed, â€Å"but you aren't yourself tonight. You're going to do something stupid if you're not careful. Something you'll regret later. You should ask Casey or Beth to take you home – â€Å" â€Å"Oh, you're a piece of work,† I exclaimed. I knew I was being irrational, that I'd never have turned on Doug sober, but I couldn't stop. â€Å"Just because I won't go out with you, just because I choose to fuck Warren or someone else, then you have to step in and try to keep me pure and untouched. If you can't have me, then no one can, is that it?† Doug blanched, and a few passersby stared at us. â€Å"Christ, Georgina, no – â€Å" â€Å"You're such a fucking hypocrite,† I yelled at him. â€Å"You have no right to tell me what to do! No fucking right.† â€Å"I'm not, I – â€Å" I didn't listen to what else he had to say. Turning, I stormed into the ladies' restroom, the only place I could go to escape these men. When I'd finished and gone to wash my hands, I looked up in the mirror. Did I look trashed? My cheeks were pink, some of the waves in my hair a little limper than when I'd started the evening. And I was sweating. Not too trashed, I decided. I could be a lot worse. I felt hesitant to leave the restroom, fearing Doug waited for me. I didn't want to talk to him. Another woman came in with a lit cigarette, and I bummed one off her, smoking it in its entirety while I crouched in a corner to kill time. When I heard the band kick up again, I knew it was safe. I walked out of the restroom and ran straight into Roman. â€Å"Are you okay?† he asked, his hands catching me around the waist to steady me. â€Å"I was worried when you didn't come back.† â€Å"Yeah†¦ I'm fine†¦ er, no, I don't know,† I admitted, leaning into him, wrapping my arms around him. â€Å"I don't know what's going on. I feel so strange.† â€Å"It's all right,† he told me, patting my back. â€Å"Everything's going to be all right. Do you need to leave? Is there anything I can do?† â€Å"I†¦ don't know†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I pulled away slightly, looking up into his eyes. Those blue-green depths were drowning me, and suddenly, I didn't care. I don't know who started it – it could have been either of us – but suddenly we were kissing, there in the middle of the hallway, arms pulling each other tighter, lips and tongues working furiously. The alcohol enhanced my base physical response yet numbed my awareness of succubus energy absorption. It must have still been working in spite of my inability to sense it, however, because Roman abruptly pulled away from me, looking aghast. â€Å"Weird†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He put a hand to his forehead. â€Å"I feel†¦ dizzy all of a sudden.† He hesitated a moment then shook it off, pulling me toward him again. Just like all the others. They never caught on that it was me doing it, me hurting them, so they still came back for more. His pause had been what I needed to gain some tiny sense of clarity in my drunken cloud. What had I done? What had I let myself become tonight? Every interaction with Roman had pushed me past another boundary. First I'd said we wouldn't date. Then I'd confined us to limited dates. Tonight I'd sworn I wouldn't drink, and now I could barely stand up from all the booze. Kissing was another taboo I had just broken. And it would only lead to the inevitable†¦ In my mind's eye, I could see us after sex. Roman would sprawl, pale and exhausted, drained of his life. That energy would crackle through me like an electric current, and he would stare at me, weak and confused, unable to comprehend what he no longer had. Depending on how much I stole from him, he would lose years off his life. Some sloppy succubi had even been known to kill victims by drinking too much life too fast. â€Å"No†¦ no†¦ don't.† I pushed him away, unwilling to see that future realized, but his arm still held me. Looking beyond him, I suddenly caught sight of Seth coming down the hallway. He froze when he saw us, but I was too preoccupied to pay any attention to the writer. I was a hair's breath away from kissing Roman again, from taking him somewhere – anywhere – where we could be alone and naked, where I could do all the things I'd fantasized doing with him. Another kiss†¦ another kiss, and I would not be able to stop. I wanted it too much. I wanted to be with someone I wanted. Just once after all these years. And that was exactly why I couldn't do it. â€Å"Georgina†¦Ã¢â‚¬  began Roman confusedly, hands still on me. â€Å"Please,† I begged, my voice a whisper, â€Å"let me go. Please let me go. You have to let me go.† â€Å"What's wrong? I don't understand.† â€Å"Please let me go,† I repeated. â€Å"Let me go!† The sudden volume of my own voice startled me, giving me a small boost of will to break from his grasp. He reached toward me, saying my name, but I stepped back. I sounded hysterical, like a crazy woman, and Roman was looking at me rightfully so. â€Å"Don't touch me. Don't. Touch. Me!† My anger was more at myself, at my life, than it was at him. A terrible rage and frustration, amplified by alcohol, coursed through me at the universe. The world wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that some people had perfect lives. That beautiful civilizations should fall to dust. That babies should be born with only a handful of breaths. That I should be trapped in this cruel joke of an existence. An eternity of making love without love. â€Å"Georgina†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Don't touch me. Ever again. Please,† I whispered hoarsely, and then, I did the only thing left to me. Escape. I ran. I turned from him and ran down the hall, away from Roman, away from Seth, away from the main seating area. I didn't know where I was going, but it would keep me safe. Would keep Roman safe. I might not be able to heal my own pain, but I could prevent any more from coming to him. My poor coordination and desperation made me run into people who responded with varying degrees of politeness to my mania. Was Roman behind me? I didn't know. He'd drunk at least as much as I had; his coordination couldn't be any better. If I could just be alone, I could shape-shift or go invisible and get out of here†¦ I burst through a door, and a wave of cool night air suddenly engulfed me. Gasping, I looked around. I stood in the back parking lot. It was packed with cars, and a few people smoking pot lingered around, most not paying attention to me. The door I'd come through opened, and I turned, expecting Roman. Instead, I saw Seth, looking anxious. â€Å"Stay away from me,† I warned. He held up his hands, palms forward in an appeasing gesture as he approached me slowly. â€Å"Are you okay?† I took two steps back, fumbling for my purse. â€Å"I'm fine. I just have to†¦ have to get away from here†¦ get away from him.† I pulled out my cell phone, intending to call one of the vampires. It slipped from my hands, dodged my attempts to catch it, and hit the asphalt with a sickening crack. â€Å"Oh shit.† Kneeling down, I picked up the phone, looking with dismay at the gibberish on the display. â€Å"Shit,† I repeated. Seth knelt by me. â€Å"What can I do?† I looked up at him, his face swimming in my blurred vision. â€Å"I have to get out of here. I have to get away from him.† â€Å"Okay. Come on. I'll take you home.† Seth took my arm, and I had a faint recollection of being led a few blocks to some dark-colored car. He helped me inside and drove away. Leaning back, I sank into the motion of the drive, letting it pull me under, the backward and forward of inertia, backward and forward, backward and forward†¦ â€Å"Pullover.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Pull over now!† He complied, and I opened the door, expelling the contents of my stomach onto the street outside. When I had finished, Seth waited a moment before asking, â€Å"Are you okay to keep going?† â€Å"Yeah.† But a few minutes later, I made him pull over and repeated the process. â€Å"This†¦ car ride is killing me,† I gasped once we were on the road again. â€Å"I can't stay in the car. The motion†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Seth's brow furrowed, and he suddenly made a hard right that nearly set me to throwing up inside the car. â€Å"Sorry,† he said. We drove a few more minutes, and I was on the verge of asking him to pull over again when the car stopped. He helped me out, and I looked around, not recognizing the building in front of us. â€Å"Where are we?† â€Å"My place.† He ushered me inside, straight to a bathroom where I promptly knelt and paid homage to the toilet, again releasing more liquid than I had realized was in me. I felt distantly aware of Seth behind me, pulling my hair out of the way. Dimly, I remembered that higher immortals like Jerome and Carter could be affected by alcohol as little or as much as they liked, choosing to sober up at will. Bastards. I don't know how long I knelt there before Seth gently helped me to my feet. â€Å"Can you stand?† â€Å"I think so.† â€Å"It's†¦ uh†¦ in your hair and on your dress. I think you'll want to change.† I looked down at the navy georgette and sighed. â€Å"Steamy.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Never mind.† I started pulling the straps down so I could get out of the dress. His eyebrows rose, and he hastily turned away. â€Å"What are you doing?† he asked in a forcibly normal voice. â€Å"I need to shower.† Naked, I stumbled over and turned on the water. Seth, still not looking at me, retreated to the door. â€Å"You won't fall or anything?† â€Å"I hope not.† I stepped into the water, gasping at its heat. I leaned against the tiled wall and just let the heavy stream power-wash me, the shock momentarily rousing my wits. Looking up, I saw that Seth was gone, the bathroom door closed. I sighed and shut my eyes, wanting to sink to my knees and pass out. Standing there, I thought again about Roman, about how good it had felt to kiss him. I didn't know what he would think of me now, not after how I'd acted. When I turned off the water and stepped out, the bathroom door opened a crack. â€Å"Georgina? Use these.† A towel and an oversize T-shirt were tossed through before the door closed again. I dried myself off and put on the shirt. It was red and had a picture of Black Sabbath on it. Nice. The activity took its toll, however, and a wave of nausea rolled over me again. â€Å"No,† I moaned, making for the toilet. The door opened. â€Å"Are you okay?† Seth came in and pulled my hair back once more. I waited but nothing came. Finally, I stood uneasily. â€Å"I'm all right. I need to lie down.† He led me out of the bathroom and into a bedroom with an unmade queen-sized bed. I collapsed onto it, pleased to be flat and stationary, even though the room continued to spin. He sat down gingerly on the bed's edge, watching me uncertainly. â€Å"I'm sorry about this,† I told him. â€Å"Sorry you had to†¦ do all this.† â€Å"It's okay.† I closed my eyes. â€Å"Relationships suck. This is why I don't date. You just hurt people.† â€Å"Most good things come with the risk of something bad,† he observed philosophically. I remembered the letter he'd sent me, about the long-term girlfriend he'd neglected for his writing. â€Å"Would you do it again?† I asked. â€Å"Go out with that one girl? Even if you knew things would turn out exactly the same?† A pause. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Not me.† â€Å"Not me what?† I opened my eyes and looked up at him. â€Å"I was married once.† It was the kind of drunken admission one made fully aware that it would never have been spoken sober. â€Å"Did you know that?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"No one does.† â€Å"It didn't work out then?† Seth asked when I didn't say anything for a minute. I couldn't help a bitter laugh. Didn't work out? That was an understatement. I had been weak and foolish, giving into the same physical urges that had nearly led me into disaster with Roman. Only with Ariston, I couldn't claim drunkenness for that slip. I had been dead sober, and honestly, I think I'd been planning it for a long time anyway. We both had. He'd come over one day for another visit, only this time we didn't talk much. I think we were past conversation by then. We'd both been restless, pacing and standing, making small talk that neither of us really listened to. My attention was on his physical presence – on his body and the powerful muscles in his arms and legs. The air was so thick with sexual tension it was a wonder we could move at all. I walked to the window, staring at nothing as I listened to him pacing the rest of the house. A moment later he returned, this time standing behind me. His hands suddenly rested on my shoulders, the first deliberate touch he'd ever made. His fingers burned me like a brand, and I shivered, making his hold tighten as he stepped closer to me. â€Å"Letha,† he said in my ear, â€Å"you know†¦ you know I think about you all the time. I think about what it would be like to†¦ be with you.† â€Å"You're with me now.† â€Å"You know that's not what I mean.† He turned me around to face him, and his gaze was like hot oil running over my body, slick and scorching. Trailing his hands up my neck, he cupped my face for a moment. He leaned down and held his mouth a breath away from mine. Then, his tongue darted out and lightly ran over my lips, the barest of caresses. My lips parted, and I leaned forward to take more, but he stepped away with a small smile. One of his hands moved down to my shoulder, to the clasp that held my gown together, and unfastened it. The fabric slid off me, pooling around me on the floor, so I stood naked before him. His eyes blazed, taking in every part. I should have felt embarrassed or shy, but I didn't. I felt wonderful. Desired. Adored. Wanted. Powerful. â€Å"I would do anything, anything at all to have you right now,† he whispered. His hands traveled down my shoulders to the sides of my breasts, to my waist, and then my hips. My mother had always said my hips were too skinny, but under his hands, they felt lush and sexy. â€Å"I would kill for you. I would go to the ends of the earth for you. I would do anything at all that you ask. Anything just to feel your body against mine and your legs wrapped around me.† â€Å"No one's ever said anything like that to me.† I was surprised at how calmly my voice came out. Inside, I was melting. I would hear variations of his promises for the next millennium or so, from a hundred different men, but at the time, the words were fresh and new. Ariston'slips turned up in a rueful smile. † Kyriakosmust say things like that all the time.† There was an arch tone to his voice, reminding me that even though the two men were longtime friends, there had always been a rivalry underscoring that friendship. â€Å"No. He makes love to me with his eyes.† â€Å"I want to use a lot more than my eyes.† In that moment, I suddenly understood the power women had over men. It was surprising and exhilarating. Never mind issues of property and politics; it was in the bedroom that women ruled. With flesh and sheets and sweat. The knowledge filled me, rushing through me with an arousal stronger than any aphrodisiac could produce. I thrived on it, liking this newfound clout. I think it was this revelation that would later make the powers of hell cast me as a succubus. I reached out trembling hands to him and began removing his tunic. He stood still as I undressed him, but every inch of him quivered with heat and longing. His breathing came heavy and fast as I studied his body now, noticing all the ways it was the same as Kyriakos ‘ and all the ways it was different. I moved my fingertips over him, lightly touching the tanned flesh, the well-defined muscles, the nipples. Then my hands moved lower, below his stomach, wrapping around the long, hard length they found there. Ariston emitted a soft groan but did not move toward me yet. He was still waiting for my consent. I raised my eyes from my fondling hands and looked into his face. He really would have done anything for me. That awareness increased my need for him. â€Å"You can do anything you want to me,† I told him finally. I made it sound like a concession, but truthfully, I wanted him to do anything he wanted. My words broke the spell that had been holding us apart. It was like a damn bursting. Like exhaling after holding your breath for too long. A rush. A release. My body nearly tumbled into his, like it had been straining and straining at bindings that had finally been cut. Touching him made me realize we should have been touching long before this. He jerked me into a harsh kiss, jamming his tongue into my mouth as his hands moved under me to grab the backs of my thighs. In one motion, he hoisted me up and pressed my back against the wall. My legs wrapped around his hips, needing him closer to me, and then with one hard thrust, he was inside. I don't know if I was too tight or he was too big – maybe both – but it hurt in a sort of pleasurable way. I let out a surprised cry, but he didn't stop to see if I was okay. The passion had seized him, that animalistic urge locked deep into our blood that ensures the continuation of our species. He focused only on his own pleasure now as he pushed into me, over and over, harder and harder, seeming to thrive on every moan and scream that crossed my lips. I wouldn't have thought I could find release in such rough sex, but I did – more than once. Each time, it came as a great, consuming wave of sensation, starting deep within me and spreading throughout my body, rubbing every nerve, covering every piece of me until I was completely saturated. Then the wave would explode into glittering fragments, leaving me warm and tender and breathless. Like being shattered then remade. It was exquisite. Each of these orgasms seemed to drive him more urgently until his own climax came. This time, I was the one thriving on his release, digging my nails into his back as tightly as I could, holding on to him, bringing the episode to a shuddering, gasping end. And yet, it wasn't the end because in only a little while, he was ready again. He took me to my bed and this time put me on my knees, leaning into me from behind. â€Å"I've heard the old women say this is the best position for conceiving a child,† he whispered. I had only a moment to ponder this before he was in me again, still rough and demanding. I considered his words as he pumped away, that maybe he would be the one who gave me a child after all, not Kyriakos. The realization made me feel strange, eager yet regretful. Aristonfelt no such regret when we lay back on the blankets later in the afternoon, both of us exhausted and spent as warm sun spilled in over us through the window. â€Å"The lack could be in Kyriakos,† he explained. â€Å"Not you. With as many times as I've had you today, you can't help but get pregnant.† He sucked my earlobe and wrapped his arms around me from behind, letting his hands rest on my breasts. â€Å"I've filled you up, Letha.† His voice was low and proprietary, like he'd just gained something more tangible than sex. Suddenly I wondered who really did have the power in the bedroom after all. I lay against him, wondering what I had done and what I wanted to do now. How did one go back to being a wife after being someone else's goddess? I never got to decide, however, because the next thing I heard was Kyriakos calling me from the front of the house, home too early. Ariston and I both sat up, startled. My fingers fumbled as I tried to get the blankets off me, tangling in the fabric. My dress. I needed to find my dress. But it wasn't here, I realized. I'd left it in the other room. Maybe, I thought desperately, I could get to it before Kyriakos found us. Maybe I could move fast enough. But it turned out I couldn't. In the present, all I said to Seth was: â€Å"Yeah. It didn't work out. Not at all. I cheated on him.† â€Å"Oh.† A pause. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because I could. It was stupid.† â€Å"That's why you don't date?† â€Å"Everything about that hurt too much. No good justified the bad.† â€Å"You can't know that the next one will turn out badly. Things change.† â€Å"Not for me.† I closed my eyes to hide the tears welling up. â€Å"I'm going to pass out now.† â€Å"Okay.† He might have left or he might have stayed; I didn't know. I simply slept, lost in black, numbing sleep.