Saturday, November 30, 2019

Stress Essay Example

Stress Essay Stress is a word we are all familiar with, some of us maybe too familiar. There are many everyday factors that contribute to stress levels. Everyday things like work, raising children, paying the bills, and running errands are stressors that people tend to get wound up about. There are also much bigger pressures in life that people don’t have to deal with on a daily basis, things like divorce, marriage, getting fired, and death of a loved one. To deal with stress, you must first identify your own sources of anxiety. People can create their own stress by putting things off to the very last minute or not dealing with things correctly and efficiently. To identify your own sources of stress you must examine your life and habits. Many times people find things to help them deal with life that is worse than the actual stress. Numerous people smoke, drink, do drugs, and over or under eating. Many people also turn to medications. This stress management article, lists many other ways of dealing with it that are bad for you. But there are also good ways to deal with stress. A lot of people take bubble baths, read a book or have a nice, invigorating work out. In the article â€Å"How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with Stress† there are six strategies that help dealing with stress. The first tip is to avoid unnecessary stress. This advises you to avoid people and situations that may elevate your anxiety level. Strategy 2 Alter the Situation: This one I feel is an important one. It encourages you to deal with your feelings and to communicate effectively. Also, be willing to compromise when you do state your feelings. We will write a custom essay sample on Stress specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Stress specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Stress specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This strategy also advises that you manage your time more effectively to avoid being anxious over deadlines and other looming priorities. Strategy 3: Instead of getting upset about things try to look at them form a more positive stand point. Also evaluate how important what you’re worrying about is. If it isn’t that important then why stress? Another good point this article makes is, don’t set yourself up for failure. This means don’t set your standards too high for yourself. Lastly learn to appreciate your life and positive things around you. Strategy 4: Learn to see things as a learning experience and be more positive about it. Talking about it also helps whether it is a professional or a good friend. Accept the fact that things aren’t always going to go your way and deal with it. Strategy 5: My favorite is take time to relax and have fun taking care of and pampering your self is a great way to relieve stress and avoid it. There are thousands of ways to relax and just enjoy life Strategy 6: Exercise is important to preventing stress as is eating healthier. This article recommends staying away from caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, and sugar. Sleep is also very important to dealing with stress everyone gets cranky when they haven’t had enough sleep. Following this advice will lead to a more productive and less stressful life. http://helpguide. org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping. htm Melinda Smith, M. A. , Ellen Jaffe-Gill, M. A. , and Robert Segal, M. A contributed to this article. Last modified on: December 2008.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Using Technology To Deliver Career Development Services Article

Using Technology To Deliver Career Development Services Article Using Technology To Deliver Career Development Services – Article Example Using Technology to Deliver Career Development Services Task Career service experts are largely involved in decisions making in issues relating to learning. The advancement of technology has made it possible for the student’s online learning, especially to students who are working. Their learning process is simplified and they are able to do work within given time limits. Over the recent years, technology has changed gradually with time and needs. It has become a requirement in many schools especially in the developed countries like the United States, with some having a requirement that students complete an online course before graduating from high school. Technology can be either asynchronous or synchronous. Asynchronous technology is one that allows individuals to communicate over a different time and different place method for example emails, discussion boards, videos, audio or video recordings and websites whereby people post things on blogs and discussion boards. This has helped in student’s relation. Synchronous technology In turn allows people to communicate in the real time. For example text chats and virtual learning environments. Telephone conversations are also part of this and are applied when an individual cannot reach the physical location. In virtual learning rooms, students are able to communicate online or even listen to lectures online. Universities have developed online career services that help students make decisions at a wider scope and take their time with making of decisions. This is governed by the idea that most of the employers use online services to advertise jobs and communicate with potential students. Some employers have considered the use of internet and social networks to assess students (Venable, 2010). The costs of implementing technology can be great, the implementers can consider limiting the amount of information they display online. The information provided online by students should be confidential and nobody else should access it. Strategic planning should be included in practice in which outsourcing should be part of it. The provision of online services should be properly coordinated so that all the needs of the students are met. Technology helps provide more services in short a period that has been of help in the provision of online career services.ReferenceVenable, M. (2010). â€Å"Using Technology to Deliver Career Development Services: Supporting Todays Students in Higher Education†. The Career Development Quarterly, Volume 59.

Friday, November 22, 2019

16 Sweet Quotes About First Love

16 Sweet Quotes About First Love The first brush of love is a delicious feeling. You feel fresh energy surging in your body, and you become constantly aware of your own appearance, attitude, and behavior. The effect of new love may last for the courtship period, where both partners put their best foot forward. You enjoy the romantic overtures, the subtle body language, and the anticipation of passionate love. You could fall in love many times during the course of a lifetime, but the first rush of love always holds a special place in our hearts. The novelty of the feeling, like the first drops of dew on an untouched leaf, makes it special and unforgettable. These first love quotes develop on the theme of this treasured rush called first love. George Bernard Shaw First love is a little foolish and a lot of curiosity. Branislav Nusic First love is dangerous only when it is also the last. Rosemary Rogers First romance, first love, is something so special to all of us, both emotionally and physically, that it touches our lives and enriches them forever. Benjamin Disraeli The magic of first love is our ignorance that it can never end. Thomas Moore No, theres nothing half so sweet in life as loves young dream. Alfred Lord Tennyson In the spring a livelier iris changes on the burnished dove;In the spring a young mans fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. Leo Buscaglia Love is always bestowed as a gift - freely, willingly, and without expectation... We dont love to be loved; we love to love. Blaise Pascal We conceal it from ourselves in vain: we must always love something. In those matters seemingly removed from love, the feeling is secretly to be found, and man cannot possibly live for a moment without it. Nietzsche Love is the state in which man sees things; most widely different from what they are. William Shakespeare As sweet and musicalAs bright Apollos lute, strung with his hair;And when Love speaks, the voice of all the godsMakes heaven drowsy with the harmony. Lady Murasaki The memories of long love gather like drifting snow, poignant as the mandarin ducks who float side by side in sleep. Leo Buscaglia The heart is the place where we live our passions. It is frail and easily broken, but wonderfully resilient. There is no point in trying to deceive the heart. It depends upon our honesty for its survival. Richard Garnett Sweet are the words of love, sweeter his thoughts:Sweetest of all what love nor says nor thinks. Bayard Taylor The loving are the daring. Francois Mauriac No love, no friendship, can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever. Alexander Smith ï » ¿Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition. Rekindle the Romance in Your Relationship First love is not just for first-time lovers. You can even feel the magic with your spouse. Some  couples  have claimed that every time they stay apart for a while, their reunion is as if they just met on a first date. Some  married couples  renew their  marriage  vows to rekindle the old flame. Have you felt the same way about your partner? If you havent, you need to rekindle the  romance and walk down memory lane. Visit romantic cities like Paris or Rome, and  fall in love  in the presence of the gods of love.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Econ assignment 2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Econ 2 - Assignment Example Sweden has comparative advantage in Volvos while Norway has a comparative advantage in fish. The free trade relative price is different from the autarkic relative price and thus both countries gain. Both countries specialize in their comparative goods and thus they gain. The minimum expenditure that is needed to attain the autarkic level of utility at autarkic prices is lower than the minimum expenditure required in achieving the free trade level of utility at autarkic prices. The external economies of scale are important in production of semiconductors and the industries are concentrated in certain locations. Thus if a semiconductor industry is established in a certain location, the export of semiconductors by the country will not be due to comparative advantage but the economies of scale. It is true, and Scotch only comes from Scotland since it requires skilled distillers who are mostly found in the region. The region also features favorable climatic and soil conditions for the grains used in the production of scotch. The production subsidy creates an imaginary shift of the supply curve to the right since producers are willing to supply larger quantities at every price due to the subsidy. The rightward shift crosses the $10 line at the quantity, 170 and producers gain in the area, which is given by (120x5) + (50x5/2)= 725, the government will lose an amount = (170x5) = 850 and the social benefit = (10x50) = 500 Goldberg, Linda S., Michael W. Klein, Jay C. Shambaugh, and Paul R. Krugman. Study guide to accompany International economics, theory and policy, sixth edition, Paul R. Krugman, Maurice Obstfeld. Boston, Mass.: Addison Wesley, 2003. Web. 8 July 2014

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Tell me about the relationship of religion and science Essay

Tell me about the relationship of religion and science - Essay Example This cannot be denied that both religion and science contradict each other in many important ways. There has been fierce completion between the two since the time of Galileo. This essay aims to illustrate the extent to which this statement could be held true that religion and science are mutually exclusive. To achieve this end, religion and science will be compared to each other on different levels discussed in following section of the essay. It will be explored why science and religion appear to be at odds with each other and if there is any chance of creating harmony between these two entities or not. It is important to mention the name of Ian Barbour when exploring the relationship between religion and science. This is because Barbour is an expert of demonstrating the position of religion in an age of science. He has explored many troubling issues in science and religion. He also demonstrated how science promotes secularity which is inhibited by religion. Religious societies do everything in their capacity to uphold religion and smother secularity. It is not as if they disregard science, rather they accept it. But, too much science can be dangerous for religion as one of the most important scientific concepts like evolution questions the religious significance of Adam and Eve. According to Barbour, there are four ways of relating religion and science namely conflict, independence, dialogue, and integration. Each of these ways helps to understand the relationship between religion and science. On a level of conflict, it has to be understood that there are many conflicts between cl assical religious dogmas and modern science. Differences are not respected by either school of thought. Modern science swallows religion and religion does the same to science. Barbour stresses that fight between the two groups â€Å"can be avoided if they occupy separate territories† (Barbour). On a level of

Saturday, November 16, 2019

To Grade or Not to Grade Essay Example for Free

To Grade or Not to Grade Essay Sweaty hands, racing heartbeat, trouble breathing. These are a few of the things some students may experience right before, or even during a test. Jerry Farber brings some very interesting alternatives to testing and to the whole grading process in an article he wrote called, â€Å"A young person’s guide to the grading system†. (Farber 1969) In A young persons guide to the grading system (Farber 1969) Farber has some radical ideas for change that unfortunately, may not be taken seriously enough to invoke change. Although in my opinion his ideas are certainly something that could benefit many students in many ways. In brief, what Farber says is, instead of grading with A’s and F’s, schools could use something he calls the â€Å"credit system†. He goes on to say â€Å"If you meet the minimum requirements of a course, you get credit for it. No A’s or C’s or silver stars, just credit†. (Farber 1969) The best part of this is if you do not meet the minimum requirements nothing happens. As a student that certainly struggles when it comes times for a test, I would like to see some of his ideas implemented in schools. The way school works now, if you try your best but still don’t meet the minimum requirements of the course, it can greatly affect your grade point average. It can even affect your financial aid or get it taken away completely. Also, students will have to pay again to re-take the class, thus adding more money on to your student loans. What a turn off to learning this becomes. Instead of really wanting to learn, school becomes more of learning only what you have to learn to pass a class. Is this what school is supposed to be about? Only learning what we must? I believe Farbers ideas would certainly make school a lot more stress free, thus opening up the doors to free learning. Looking at this from the point of view of the student who struggles with test anxiety or grades in general, but is very smart and puts forth great effort, Farbers ideas make all the sense in the world. A great number of the jobs in the world today require a college degree when on the job training and apprenticeships would be so much more practical. Is it really a good idea to pay for four years of college, graduate and then get training? I think not. To me it makes perfect sense to skip to the on-the-job training. After all, that’s where we learn the most about the job we are doing. And what about all the money spent on college? Is this necessary? According to the Project on student Loan Debt, â€Å"The average amount of student loan debt was $24,000 in 2010. And the unemployment rate is up for college grads too. Given that the average job for a person fresh out of college was approximately 27,000 a year in 2011, according to an article in the New York Times. (NY Times) Does it make sense to burden our young people with a debt that will take years to pay off? Apprenticeships would be so much more beneficial to people and to the government as well. No more student loans or finical aid! Well, at least not as much money going towards them. High schools may see a decrease in the drop-out rate and could turn out smarter, more confident students with a genuine eagerness to learn. I believe Farbers eagerness to teach his students out-of-the-box may have been the reason for him writing this article. Farber is a professor at San Diego University to me that says a lot. He may have gotten tired of seeing his own bright students not meet the requirements of the school and offered a new solution to the problems of the current grading system. Farber has developed a unique new alternative to the current rigid grading system. Wouldn’t it be a great thing to see a study done in a large university that implemented these ideas? It may work. No one will know until it’s tried and tested. Unfortunately this article was written in 1969 and through my research online I was not able to find a single school that was ever willing to take a chance and give more students the chance to â€Å"learn without restriction†. (Farber 1969) References Farber, J. (1969). A young person’s guide to the grading system. In Baker College composition: A custom approach (Revised Edition) (pp. 184-188). Boston, MA: Pearson. [Grads today]. (2011, January 10). Retrieved January 31, 2013, from http://www.nytimes.com/business/ economy/19grads.html [Student loan debt]. (2011, April 7). Retrieved January 31, 2013, from http://projectonstudentloandebt.org/

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Shakespeares Portrayal of Henry V as the Model Monarch Essay -- Papers

Shakespeare's Portrayal of Henry V as the Model Monarch In this essay I intend to show that Shakespeare portrays Henry as the Classic Sovereign as he is patriotic, brave, cunning, religious, natural leader & in touch with the lower class of the country. I will use quotes and remarks in the play to show this and present it. I shall firstly do a summery of the play and give a basic image of what it contains, and then give a detailed analysis, which will give a more detailed view of particular scenes to show how Shakespeare shows Henry's character and finally I shall make a conclusion to present my evidence, to show that Henry is presented as a model monarch. The play is based around Henry V's later life after he has become monarch. He is shown in the plays forerunner Henry IV were he is a young prince he is shown as an insurgent young future king. He Drinks with a group of lowlifes from the criminal underworld of London and visits Brothels with them. However he is shown to have fitted into the role of King perfectly, and the play Henry V shows the most successful years of his life, in his campaign to gain France. The Chorus asks the audience to excuse the limitations of the theatre and to use their imaginations to conjure up the great events, which are to be presented in the play. ACT I. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Ely are anxious about a proposed bill, which would transfer a vast deal of the Church's property to the King. The Archbishop hopes that he may have averted this by the offer of a sizeable amount of money. We hear that the Kings disposition has significantly enhanced since he has come to the thron... ... military commander and avoids useless loss of life such as at Harfleur. In matters of state Henry is firm and decisive. His reply to the Dauphins "tennis balls"insult is angery but restrained and he listens to the advice of others. He dispences justice in a fair and impartial manner. The three traitors are condemned to death because they have threatened the safety of the kingdom and does not seek personal revenge & also has qualities which encoiurage us to believe in him as a human being, not just a paragon of kingly virtues. He has a sense of humour and is awkward and blunt when speaking to Katherine. I have done an Introduction, General summery, Detailed analyasis and a Conclusion and have put forward all my views and fulfilled the question criteria and have proven that Henry V is portrayed as a model monarch.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Reynolds Construction Case Study Essay

1. Ben Lawson’s Custom Fabricators, Inc., creates value for Orleans by making the custom control panel for the elevators. Later on, the business has grown bigger. Ben’s company provides special brackets and panels for the plant. Since â€Å"outsourcing†, Ben also makes the entire control panel, complete with the buttons and the wiring harness. 2. Ben Lawson has some big competitive advantages in keeping the Orleans business. They have been working together for a long time so Ben‘s company could easily understand what the customer need like delivering in time, great quality products. After few changes, Ben still provide good products for Orleans so that help Ben to gain trust in doing business, which strengthens their relationship. 3. In the past, Orleans’ priorities were only about quantity, doing the same business with familiar suppliers. Now Orleans has change that. They want to make profit, reduce cost associated with the elevators by cutting raw materials cost, and  that would affect Ben’s business. 4. Ben should change his business model so that it would have him gain advantages. Even though Ben has long relationship doing business with Orleans, it may not help much with Orleans’ new priorities. 5. In the value chain, Ben’s company is an efficient manufacturer because they build a factory that has full of tools to bring out the best products. Besides, those products are always delivered in time since Ben understands Orleans’ business. 6. Ben’s company has to prove that they will always bring high quality products that in Orleans’ need. Compared to a loyal customer as Ben, it would be safer to doing business with, both relationship and physical distance. Besides, Ben has to prove that hiring Mexican labor could help cutting cost but cannot compare with Ben’s company of experiences. Case: Lasik Vision Corporation 1. Lasik Vision’s competitive priority is to offer the lowest price of eye surgery and high volume at the same time. They also run advertisement of big discounts to attract customer, which is â€Å"$1,475 per eye† and then â€Å"$1,598 for both eyes†. 2. As showed in the case, Lasik Vision did attract lots of customers and helped them gain profit but only in short-run. Because they cut out the fees for expensive equipment, it may not good care enough for the patients. Besides, their high volume of surgery may gain big profit but also bring higher risk, which is unsatisfied patients filing lawsuit. 3. If Lasik has chosen to be in this market, they have to guarantee their quality service to the customers. Also, they need to invest in some expensive equipment or train the employees. With that, they could grow their business in reliability of customers.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 1

An Infinite Amount of Days Until My Inevitable Reunion with Nikki I don't have to look up to know Mom is making another surprise visit. Her toenails are always pink during the summer months, and I recognize the flower design imprinted on her leather sandals; it's what Mom purchased the last time she signed me out of the bad place and took me to the mall. Once again, Mother has found me in my bathrobe, exercising unattended in the courtyard, and I smile because I know she will yell at Dr. Timbers, asking him why I need to be locked up if I'm only going to be left alone all day. â€Å"Just how many push-ups are you going to do, Pat?† Mom says when I start a second set of one hundred without speaking to her. â€Å"Nikki – likes – a – man – with – a – developed – upper – body,† I say, spitting out one word per push-up, tasting the salty sweat lines that are running into my mouth. The August haze is thick, perfect for burning fat. Mom just watches for a minute or so, and then she shocks me. Her voice sort of quivers as she says, â€Å"Do you want to come home with me today?† I stop doing push-ups, turn my face up toward Mother's, squint through the white noontime sun – and I can immediately tell she is serious, because she looks worried, as if she is making a mistake, and that's how Mom looks when she means something she has said and isn't just talking like she always does for hours on end whenever she's not upset or afraid. â€Å"As long as you promise not to go looking for Nikki again,† she adds, â€Å"you can finally come home and live with me and your father until we find you a job and get you set up in an apartment.† I resume my push-up routine, keeping my eyes riveted to the shiny black ant scaling a blade of grass directly below my nose, but my peripheral vision catches the sweat beads leaping from my face to the ground below. â€Å"Pat, just say you'll come home with me, and I'll cook for you and you can visit with your old friends and start to get on with your life finally. Please. I need you to want this. If only for me, Pat. Please.† Double-time push-ups, my pecs ripping, growing – pain, heat, sweat, change. I don't want to stay in the bad place, where no one believes in silver linings or love or happy endings, and where everyone tells me Nikki will not like my new body, nor will she even want to see me when apart time is over. But I am also afraid the people from my old life will not be as enthusiastic as I am now trying to be. Even still, I need to get away from the depressing doctors and the ugly nurses – with their endless pills in paper cups – if I am ever going to get my thoughts straight, and since Mom will be much easier to trick than medical professionals, I jump up, find my feet, and say, â€Å"I'll come live with you just until apart time is over.† While Mom is signing legal papers, I take one last shower in my room and then fill my duffel bag with clothes and my framed picture of Nikki. I say goodbye to my roommate, Jackie, who just stares at me from his bed like he always does, drool running down off his chin like clear honey. Poor Jackie, with his random tufts of hair, oddly shaped head, and flabby body. What woman would ever love him? He blinks at me. I take this for goodbye and good luck, so I blink back with both eyes – meaning double good luck to you, Jackie, which I figure he understands, since he grunts and bangs his shoulder against his ear like he does whenever he gets what you are trying to tell him. My other friends are in music relaxation class, which I do not attend, because smooth jazz makes me angry sometimes. Thinking maybe I should say goodbye to the men who had my back while I was locked up, I look into the music-room window and see my boys sitting Indian style on purple yoga mats, their elbows resting on their knees, their palms pressed together in front of their faces, and their eyes closed. Luckily, the glass of the window blocks the smooth jazz from entering my ears. My friends look really relaxed – at peace – so I decide not to interrupt their session. I hate goodbyes. In his white coat, Dr. Timbers is waiting for me when I meet my mother in the lobby, where three palm trees lurk among the couches and lounge chairs, as if the bad place were in Orlando and not Baltimore. â€Å"Enjoy your life,† he says to me – wearing that sober look of his – and shakes my hand. â€Å"Just as soon as apart time ends,† I say, and his face falls as if I said I was going to kill his wife, Natalie, and their three blond-haired daughters – Kristen, Jenny, and Becky – because that's just how much he does not believe in silver linings, making it his business to preach apathy and negativity and pessimism unceasingly. But I make sure he understands that he has failed to infect me with his depressing life philosophies – and that I will be looking forward to the end of apart time. I say, â€Å"Picture me rollin'† to Dr. Timbers, which is exactly what Danny – my only black friend in the bad place – told me he was going to say to Dr. Timbers when Danny got out. I sort of feel bad about stealing Danny's exit line, but it works; I know because Dr. Timbers squints as if I had punched him in the gut. As my mother drives me out of Maryland and through Delaware, past all those fast-food places and strip malls, she explains that Dr. Timbers did not want to let me out of the bad place, but with the help of a few lawyers and her girlfriend's therapist – the man who will be my new therapist – she waged a legal battle and managed to convince some judge that she could care for me at home, so I thank her. On the Delaware Memorial Bridge, she looks over at me and asks if I want to get better, saying, â€Å"You do want to get better, Pat. Right?† I nod. I say, â€Å"I do.† And then we are back in New Jersey, flying up 295. As we drive down Haddon Avenue into the heart of Collingswood – my hometown – I see that the main drag looks different. So many new boutique stores, new expensive-looking restaurants, and well-dressed strangers walking the sidewalks that I wonder if this is really my hometown at all. I start to feel anxious, breathing heavily like I sometimes do. Mom asks me what's wrong, and when I tell her, she again promises that my new therapist, Dr. Patel, will have me feeling normal in no time. When we arrive home, I immediately go down into the basement, and it's like Christmas. I find the weight bench my mother had promised me so many times, along with the rack of weights, the stationary bike, dumbbells, and the Stomach Master 6000, which I had seen on late-night television and coveted for however long I was in the bad place. â€Å"Thank you, thank you, thank you!† I tell Mom, and give her a huge hug, picking her up off the ground and spinning her around once. When I put her down, she smiles and says, â€Å"Welcome home, Pat.† Eagerly I go to work, alternating between sets of bench presses, curls, machine sit-ups on the Stomach Master 6000, leg lifts, squats, hours on the bike, hydration sessions (I try to drink four gallons of water every day, doing endless shots of H2O from a shot glass for intensive hydration), and then there is my writing, which is mostly daily memoirs like this one, so that Nikki will be able to read about my life and know exactly what I've been up to since apart time began. (My memory started to slip in the bad place because of the drugs, so I began writing down everything that happens to me, keeping track of what I will need to tell Nikki when apart time concludes, to catch her up on my life. But the doctors in the bad place confiscated everything I wrote before I came home, so I had to start over.) When I finally come out of the basement, I notice that all the pictures of Nikki and me have been removed from the walls and the mantel over the fireplace. I ask my mother where these pictures went. She tells me our house was burglarized a few weeks before I came home and the pictures were stolen. I ask why a burglar would want pictures of Nikki and me, and my mother says she puts all of her pictures in very expensive frames. â€Å"Why didn't the burglar steal the rest of the family pictures?† I ask. Mom says the burglar stole all the expensive frames, but she had the negatives for the family portraits and had them replaced. â€Å"Why didn't you replace the pictures of Nikki and me?† I ask. Mom says she did not have the negatives for the pictures of Nikki and me, especially because Nikki's parents had paid for the wedding pictures and had only given my mother copies of the photos she liked. Nikki had given Mom the other non-wedding pictures of us, and well, we aren't in touch with Nikki or her family right now because it's apart time. I tell my mother that if that burglar comes back, I'll break his kneecaps and beat him within an inch of his life, and she says, â€Å"I believe you would.† My father and I do not talk even once during the first week I am home, which is not all that surprising, as he is always working – he's the district manager for all the Big Foods in South Jersey. When Dad's not at work, he's in his study, reading historical fiction with the door shut, mostly novels about the Civil War. Mom says he needs time to get used to my living at home again, which I am happy to give him, especially since I am sort of afraid to talk with Dad anyway. I remember him yelling at me the only time he ever visited me in the bad place, and he said some pretty awful things about Nikki and silver linings in general. I see Dad in the hallways of our house, of course, but he doesn't look at me when we pass. Nikki likes to read, and since she always wanted me to read literary books, I start, mainly so I will be able to participate in the dinner conversations I had remained silent through in the past – those conversations with Nikki's literary friends, all English teachers who think I'm an illiterate buffoon, which is actually a name Nikki's friend calls me whenever I tease him about being such a tiny man. â€Å"At least I'm not an illiterate buffoon,† Phillip says to me, and Nikki laughs so hard. My mom has a library card, and she checks out books for me now that I am home and allowed to read whatever I want without clearing the material with Dr. Timbers, who, incidentally, is a fascist when it comes to book banning. I start with The Great Gatsby, which I finish in just three nights. The best part is the introductory essay, which states that the novel is mostly about time and how you can never buy it back, which is exactly how I feel regarding my body and exercise – but then again, I also feel as if I have an infinite amount of days until my inevitable reunion with Nikki. When I read the actual story – how Gatsby loves Daisy so much but can't ever be with her no matter how hard he tries – I feel like ripping the book in half and calling up Fitzgerald and telling him his book is all wrong, even though I know Fitzgerald is probably deceased. Especially when Gatsby is shot dead in his swimming pool the first time he goes for a swim all summer, Daisy doesn't even go to his funeral, Nick and Jordan part ways, and Daisy ends up sticking with racist Tom, whose need for sex basically murders an innocent woman, you can tell Fitzgerald never took the time to look up at clouds during sunset, because there's no silver lining at the end of that book, let me tell you. I do see why Nikki likes the novel, as it's written so well. But her liking it makes me worry now that Nikki doesn't really believe in silver linings, because she says The Great Gatsby is the greatest novel ever written by an American, and yet it ends so sadly. One thing's for sure, Nikki is going to be very proud of me when I tell her I finally read her favorite book. Here's another surprise: I'm going to read all the novels on her American literature class syllabus, just to make her proud, to let her know that I am really interested in what she loves and I am making a real effort to salvage our marriage, especially since I will now be able to converse with her swanky literary friends, saying things like, â€Å"I'm thirty. I'm five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor,† which Nick says toward the end of Fitzgerald's famous novel, but the line works for me too, because I am also thirty, so when I say it, I will sound really smart. We will probably be chatting over dinner, and the reference will make Nikki smile and laugh because she will be so surprised that I have actually read The Great Gatsby. That's part of my plan, anyway, to deliver that line real suave, when she least expects me to â€Å"drop knowledge† – to use another one of my black friend Danny's lines. God, I can't wait.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

The Truth About Its

The Truth About Its The Truth About Its The Truth About Its By Maeve Maddox The first article I submitted to DWT was on the error of writing its for its. I was too late. Michael (Its or Its?) had beaten me to it. No doubt about it the error of writing its for its is on everybodys list of top ten errors that damage a writers credibility. So why do so many of us keep making this error in our drafts? As well as I know the rule, as many times as I have corrected the error in the manuscripts of others, the occasional its for its creeps into my own writing and must be caught in the final revision. Why do we do it? Because our subconscious mind tells us that the spelling its as a possessive is not un-English in the way that other errors are. We write the houses roof, so why not write its roof? The error its for its is the result of an instinctive mirroring of the possessive apostrophe s we use to form the possessive of nouns. Heres the kicker: when the third person neuter possessive adjective came into the language in the 16th century, it was spelled its for the very reason that the new form was modeled on the s of the possessive noun. The spelling its for the possessive adjective was acceptable down to about 1800 (A.C. Baugh, A History of the English Language, p. 295). Nowadays, however, to write its roof instead of its roof marks a writer as pitiably ignorant of the rules of punctuation and orthography. Im not suggesting for a minute that we throw the rule out the window. Its too firmly established for us to disregard it. All I wish to point out is that the errorwhile a mark of carelessness if permitted to escape the final revision of your manuscriptis the result of linguistic instinct, not obstinacy. Moral: Rules of behavior are often arbitrary, like driving on the right side of the road in a given country. Arbitrary or not, we ignore them at our peril. 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 Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Avoid Beginning a Sentence with â€Å"With†The Difference Between "will" and "shall"10 Tips for Clean, Clear Writing

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

It Ends When…

It Ends When†¦ It Ends When It Ends When By Maeve Maddox A reader is puzzled by a line in a movie: While watching The Bourne Ultimatum, I observed a CIA officer saying It ends when weve won . [I’m] a bit confused with this construction as it does not indicate future though the context of sentence [indicates that] the officer is talking about some time in future. If the statement stood alone, one would expect the verb in one of the clauses to be in future tense: â€Å"The killing will end when we have won.† However, the statement â€Å"It ends when we’ve won† refers to a previous sentence that contains or implies the antecedent of the pronoun it. The example from the movie is the second half of this exchange: Pamela Landy: Noah, shes one of us. You start down this path, where does it end? Noah Vosen: It ends when weve won. â€Å"It ends when† + present perfect is a common idiom in such contexts as these: Each week we watch/review 2 films. When will it all end? It ends when we’ve seen all the movies. Affordability doesn’t end at the bottom of our pockets.  It ends when we’ve counted all the costs.   The weekend course starts at 2 pm on Friday and 9 am on Saturday and Sunday. It ends when we’ve covered the material. â€Å"It ends when† can also be followed by present tense: All right: where is the poison? The battle of wits has begun. It ends when you decide and we both drink, and find out who is right and who is dead. 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 Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Types of LanguagePrecedent vs. PrecedenceEnglish Grammar 101: Sentences, Clauses and Phrases

Saturday, November 2, 2019

The Profession of Woman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Profession of Woman - Essay Example On the other hand, she advised the teachers to prepare students in such a way that they communicate their intellectual ideas with the third party who might either be an ignorant child or a friend ready to give a listening ear. The article was written by Catherine Beecher who was a member of an illustrious family that was new in England. She was also the founder of Hartford female seminary. She wrought this article because she wanted to create awareness of the female education. She wanted to promote and encourage the provision of female higher education in the United States. She had had the intention of promoting girls to pursue their education to higher levels. She also intended to make people know that it is the responsibility of the parent, teacher, and friends to shape the social, moral and intellectual character of an individual. The intended audience of Catherine is the teachers, parents and the girl child. She says that it is up to mothers and teachers to shape up and guide the growth of the female children, but it is up to the children themselves to form their physical habits and influence their friends positively. There are three major points that come out strongly in this article. The first one is teachers should prepare the students to share their knowledge with others. In the article, it is written that â€Å"†¦.defect in education is that it has not been made a definite object with teachers to prepare their pupils to instruct others. For of how comparatively little value is knowledge laid up in the mind if it is never to be imparted to others, and yet how few have ever been taught to communicate their ideas with facility and propriety. That there is the best way of teaching as well as of doing everything else cannot be disputed, and this can no more be learned by intuition than can any of the mechanical arts.