Lais of Marie de France Essay

Love and Marie de France According to American mythologist, Joseph Campbell, â€Å"The greatest love was during the Medieval Ages, when noble hearts produced a romantic love that transcended lust† (Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers [2001]). The Lais of Marie de France are primarily concerned with this idea of love–specifically, courtly love–between a man and a woman. Courtly love, a union modeled after the feudal relationship between a knight and his liege lord, became a popular convention in the 12th century (â€Å"Backgrounds to Romance: ‘Courtly Love’†). Instead of proving loyalty to a lord, the man would have to prove his love to a woman. Marie de France, however, focuses not just on the idea of love, but also on the differing kinds of love that existed in medieval society. She recognizes love as a force that cannot be avoided and that can be executed correctly or incorrectly; not all love is equal. Marie begins her collection of lais with the story of Guigemar, a noble knight who is cursed with the task of finding true love to heal a physical injury. This lay introduces two types of love: selfish and selfless. Selfish love is not courtly love. It lacks devotion and true loyalty. It lacks suffering and self-denial. Marie de France portrays this kind of love in the old husband of the woman whom Guigemar loves. The man locks his wife away in an enclosure guarded by a castrated man. By doing this, the husband shows a mean, limited devotion to his wife; perhaps even worse, he limits her ability to experience true love. This kind of love does not last; in fact, the husband is cuckolded when his wife has a year-long affair with Guigemar. He is made a fool, the dupe of love. Guigemar, however, in contrast to the old husband, practices selfless love. He is kind and noble, and, although he suffers from his physical wound, the pain of love is keener: â€Å" Love had now pierced him to the quick†¦for the lady had wounded him so deeply†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (De France, Marie. The Lais of Marie de France. Trans. Glyn S. Burgess and Keith Busby [L ondon: Penguin Group, 1986.Print] p.48).† This type of love most closely resembles courtly love. Guigemar endures severe anguish to please his beloved, and his undying love inspires  him to prove himself to her. This lay provides a good example of what Marie de France considers wrong and right in love. We see another selfish love in the story of Bisclavret, a man with a werewolf alter ego who is betrayed by his adulterous wife. Ironically, although her husband is physically a beast, the real beast, as portrayed by Marie de France, is the wife, who not only betrays him, but also marries another man. She is selfishly concerned with her physical desires, something Marie de France considers ignoble and far worse than the jealousy displayed in the story of Guigemar. The selfish love in this story is inspired by sexual desire, a desire that Marie de France sees as a threat to selfless love. Selfish love is again shown in the lay of â€Å"Les Deux Amanz,† in which a young man has to carry his beloved to the top of a mountain without falling in order to prove his worthiness to her father. This seems to be an act of love, but, in fact, when the woman begs her lover to take a potion that will help him reach the top, he reveals another, vainer, motivation: â€Å"These people would shout at us and deafen me their noise†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Burgess and Busby 84). In other words, his desire to reach the mountaintop is motivated at least in part by a need to prove himself to others, and less by the desire to faithfully perform a trial for his beloved. The noble purity of courtly love is not present. Characters demonstrating pure, selfless—even self-denying–devotion are portrayed throughout the lais as examples of true love. In the story of â€Å"Eliduc,† a brave, loyal knight is forced to find a new lord in another land and temporarily leave his wife, Guildeleuc. Although Eliduc meets a new love (Guilliadun), he remains faithful to his wife, demonstrating loyalty, suffering, and therefore a more pure kind of love. He finally marries Guilliadun, but only after Guildeleuc decides to give herself up to God and leave Eliduc. By letting Eliduc marry his true love, Guildeleuc also shows love in its most giving form, but in this case it is a truly spiritual love. This story thus displays two types of selfless love represented by each of his wives: love of God and the love between a man and a woman. Significantly, at the end of the lay, â€Å"He placed his beloved lady with his former wife, by whom she was received honorably as a sister, . . . â€Å" (Burgess and Busby 126). This suggests that pure love can take both a spiritual and worldly form. Central to the Lais of Marie de France, then, is courtly love. While her lais are idealistic in their portrayal of loyalty  and romantic chivalry, historically, marriages among the nobility were dispassionate and practical (Joseph Campbell). Troubadours began to introduce stories of interpersonal relationships and the possibility of romantic love. Although this kind of love directly contradicted the views of the church, it inspired people to take matters of love and relationships into their own hands (Joseph Campbell). This is what Marie de France wants to inspire–the universal knowledge of love and how imperative an aspect it remains in society. The idea is important enough to her to make her text more accessible to society. She begins her prologue by stating: â€Å"When a truly beneficial thing is heard by many people, it then enjoys its first blossom, but if it is widely praised its flowers are in full bloom†(Burgess and Busby 41). She wishes to share her insights about love to everyone, not simply to write inaccessible stories available only to philosophers or the learned. Works Cited â€Å"Backgrounds to Romance: ‘Courtly Love’† Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers [2001]. De France, Marie. The Lais of Marie De France. Trans. Glyn S. Burgess and Keith Busby. London: Penguin Group, 1986. Print.

C-Direct Insurance Company

201KM GROUP PROJECT CASE STUDY 3 Case Study 3 The C-Direct- Insurance Company Developed by Peter Race, Henley Management College Call centres have fast become one of the most important channels for organizations and their customers to interact. There are around 4,000 call centres in the UK today,employing over 400,000 people. The direct sell insurance industry is increasingly using call centres to access and service its market. The C-Direct -Insurance Company has its call centre in Newcastle, England. The company itself is just 6 years old and specialises in selling automobile insurance policies direct to customers. The processAdvertising and promotion initiatives attract customers’ interest and generate enquiries to the CD Call Centre. These lead to the provision of quotations for personal car insurance. In order to provide the quotation, CD operators need to collect the customer’s personal and vehicle related data (in total 17 items) and input them to the computer. Th e process is as follows: Customers call the CDCall Centre (the focus of this case) by a freephone telephone number and submit the required information. This is entered directly into a computer terminal during the call, their questions answered, and quotation provided within 12 minutes.Customers can pay by credit card and receive immediate insurance cover. Customers receive their personal insurance offer confirmed in writing by mail, about 23 days after initial contact. Mr Small, the Operations Manager, is responsible for all operations in the Call Centre. The Call Centre employs 105 people in three shifts over a core day between the hours of 0800 and 2000. The resources for the Call Centre are:  · its facilities – for example the buildings and the staff’s workspace/workstations  · the equipment – for example, computers/systems the People who use them. Car insurance is compulsory in the UK, so customers are price sensitive and tend to shop around to compare t he company’s offer with those of competitors. Only about 17% of CD’s offers are converted into policies. The operations management strategies of scheduling, capacity and quality management were reactive rather than proactive; for example, poor forecasting of demand resulted in excess manpower being under utilised. Staffs were inflexible and showed little sympathy or understanding to frustrated and angry customers.The interfaces with support functions such as Marketing or Information Systems Department tended to be confrontational rather than supportive. Fortunately, in the early days, competition was not very tough and Mr Small had no special performance targets or formal control mechanisms – he was literally his own boss. The policy change After five years of high growth, over the last twelve months sales have only grown by 3% and the company is beginning to struggle with diminishing profits. The main reasons for the slowdown have been identified:  · New Entr ants: 15 companies in the last 2 years, producing a wave of ‘direct insurance startups’.These companies have targeted the same customer segment as CD, the market for which has remained stagnant.  · Customers are more price sensitive and new entrants offer extremely low prices.  · Substitute Products are unchanged – customers still require car insurance. The new situation has forced management to review business policy options to provide a competitive advantage. Research has shown that for direct selling insurance products, the key market drivers are to:  · Offer a wider range of insurance products, so minimising the need for customers to deal with many suppliers. Offer low prices  · Provide excellent service. A recent internal report showed that the CD Call Centre still had potential to improve service levels and cost efficiency. The decision was therefore taken to extend the product range and improve service by addressing: Product flexibility CD will res pond to customer’s demand by launching a new product – household insurance – and deliver it via the Call Centre, alongside car insurance. Household insurance is often requested by customers and they have been in the past disappointed not to source it from CD.Furthermore, the product margin for household insurance is high, thanks to low average claims. Since only a few competitors currently offer household insurance, management believed they could generate an above average profit margin in the first year after launch. Responsiveness In order to make the new product successful, it will also be necessary to fulfill customer expectations for ‘time’ response. Consequently, operations management will need to ensure quick access to the Cal Centre and efficient treatment of customers for both products.Quality Improve customer service – at least to match competitors’ standards. Internal analysis has shown that the auto insurance ‘lapse ra te’ (customers not renewing their policies) – which is an indicator of customer satisfaction – was above the market average. To avoid this trap with the new product, significant improvements in service delivery of all CD’s activities is needed (including settlement of claims, which is not part of the Call Centre’s responsibilities). Cost Ensure price decrease of insurance premiums by reducing internal costs.All possibilities for further cost reduction must be exploited to permit a price level lower than the top five price leaders. By launching this policy change, senior management believe a successful implementation will lead to higher customer satisfaction and consequently to profitable growth. Influences on the operations The change in business policy will have an impact on M. Small’s current operations strategies. The policy change has been developed at corporate level but the benefits will have to be delivered by Mr Small, the Operations Manager, in the future.Therefore, Mr Small will need to address the changes to operating systems structures and operations management objectives. The determination of the tradeoff between customer service and resource utilisation will be a key factor for sustainable operation, especially in this competitive environment. The new business policy decision will affect Mr Small’s current practice in two ways. First, he will have to interface with the project setup to manage the launch of the new product and modifications to the delivery processes.Second, Small will have to establish operations management strategies to allow the business to meet the objectives of the policy change. The Project phase Workforce The existing staff will be responsible for the new product, alongside the existing offering. Therefore an intensive training programme on Information Technology (IT); enhancements and new product features will be required. To improve the overall quality and service provision, customer acquisition techniques and friendly handling of difficult customers will be covered during the training.Mr Small will work with the training department to develop a training plan which will take at least four days per group to deliver (each group has about 10 employees). Therefore, he will have to schedule the training so that the normal business will not be hampered by too few staff in the Call Centre. The new training approach will also have a long term influence, because training updates for employees will be held at least once a year. One of the aims of the training is to reshape corporate culture so as to engender a commitment to high efficiency and excellent ervice. This will demand empowering the workforce to focus on customer service, together with better collaboration between staff, by using more teamwork, to raise the overall efficiency levels of the operation. Mr Small will also have to install a feedback process to evaluate the satisfaction level of the staff, to help identify continuous improvement areas. Better motivation will be achieved by introducing a new incentive system, using positive customer feedback as a measure for rewards. Facilities & equipmentThe current workspace/workstation for a Call Centre staff member is a small, open ‘boxlike’ area (less than one square metre), containing a terminal, keyboard and telephone. The boxes are very close together and do not have a proper noise protection. Staff complains about the workstations, because with the background noise of five or more colleagues, concentration is difficult, and the number of data input errors are high. Staff have little space to write notes, so for example, noting down a telephone number to return a call to a customer is very difficult.After looking at the staff’s workspace, Small realised they would have to modify the building in order to create more space and provide noise protection. He thought that only by providing a convenient and ergonom ic workspace would he be able to ensure his staff’s full commitment to performance improvements. A careful forecast of future demand will be necessary in order to install the right number of new workstations and avoid under/over utilisation of resources. Technology A new terminal mask (template or standard screen) for the Call Centre needs to be developed by the Information Systems Department (ISD).This mask must contain all questions that need to be answered by the customer. To ensure service quality, ISD would have to create a flexible IT system, which would enable the Call Centre staff to quickly switch from one screen to another, according to customer’s demand. The competitor benchmark for ‘time to switch’ screens is less than 3 seconds. Furthermore, high IT reliability is vital, because breakdowns in the past have stopped all activities of the Call Centre, (since they depend on online access to the mainframe) and customers could not be served during t hat time. Mr.Small wonders if an ISD/Call Centre staff taskforce should be setup to explore the main historical problems for poor reliability, define development areas and try to find the best possible solution. Organisation Experience in the past has shown that the first few months after a product launch to be critical. Therefore, a new role of a ‘first alert support person’ needs to be established. The ‘first alert’ person will help improve service by patrolling the Call Centre and helping the staff during busy times, in cases of difficult customer questions or with technical problems.Furthermore, they would have a coaching role for new employees and also support staff training. The Human Resource Department (HRD) will need to develop the job description, provide a career plan for that role, manage the necessary recruiting and training process and determine how this new position fits into the organisation. Questions 1. Prepare the Project Definition Repor t for implementation of the policy change. This report should cover: vision; purpose (including a stakeholder analysis); objectives; scope; strategy; project phases; and project organisation. 2. What are the risks for the project and how should they be managed?

Private Equity

Acova Radiateurs Corporation Due Date: Â  Nov 11, 5pm. Please include the names of all group members at the top of the report. For Lead Group: case write-up should be no longer than six pages of text (double space, Font 11, 1 inch margin on all sides). You should also include any additional financial analysis (i. e. tables) that you would like to attach. The lead groups will also help with classroom discussion and answer questions. For Other Groups: the write-ups should be no longer than three pages of text each (double space, Font 11, 1 inch margin on all sides).You should also include any additional financial analysis (i. e. tables) that you would like to attach. The objective of the case is to introduce students to the world of leverage buyout. Baring Capital is a private equity specializes in buyout, it is now targeting a subsidiary of Aacova Radiateurs. The problem at hand is to determine an appropriate price for the company in an international setting. The report should cover, but not limited to, the following aspects of the valuation process: 1) Is Acova a good candidate for leverage buyout? ) Use the FCFE method to evaluate Acova and determine what it is worth. Feel free to supplement your analysis with other valuation method. 3) Like many buyout funds, BCI requires a very high hurdle rate, 30% to 35%, from its expected investment project. Is such requirement reasonable in Acova’s case? For lead groups, the valuation method for this case is relatively straightforward, so again I look forward to you to present the case. Please prepare a 10-15 minutes presentation to discuss the case. PowerPoint slide is recommended, and feel free to provide Tables/Slides/Graphs to aid your discussion.

Case Analisys Report - Microsoft Antitrust Battles Essay

Case Analisys Report - Microsoft Antitrust Battles - Essay Example ses the primary stakeholders in the case, a legal analysis, as well as an ethical analysis of the different issues surrounding the antitrust case against Microsoft. It also includes a discussion of different factors that may have contributed to Microsoft’s display of unethical behavior as well as factors that need to be addressed to resolve the issues. The paper gives recommendations on what actions are needed to deal with the legal/ethical issues as well as policies that the company can adopt to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future. Although the partnership between William H. Gates (more commonly known as Bill Gates) and Paul G. Allen has been established in the year 1975, it was not until a year after that the trade name Microsoft Corporation was officially registered in New Mexico with the Office of the Secretary of the State (Microsoft, 2005). Since then, Microsoft has become renowned worldwide for their extensive range of original products and software as well as their laudable skills in marketing and advertising their products. As popular the reputation of Microsoft Corporations might be, they have been face with numerous cases regarding alleged violations of ethical and legal matters. These issues have cropped up in connection with Microsoft’s control of certain markets related to the selling of computer and software. The earliest inquiry was way back in the year 1990 regarding breach of the Clayton and Sherman antitrust laws. Since then, other complaints from several large corporations such as Apple Computer, Sun Microsystem, and Netscape Communications have been brought against Microsoft Corporation. The most recent antitrust complaint was from Opera Software ASA in the year 2007 with regard to Microsoft’s manipulation of web browser by combining the Windows operating system with Internet Explorer, thereby going against accepted web standards (Opera Software, 2007). These complaints have had an effect on Microsoft financially, when

Hate crimes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hate crimes - Research Paper Example Hate crimes include a diverse range of activities, however they are all intended to cause harm and embarrassment to the victims; bullying, verbal abuse, physical attack, destruction of property of the victim and hate mail. The victims may constitute of individuals, organizations or institutions. 2. Hate Crimes in US The authorities began collecting data about hate crimes in the early years of the last decade of the past century. United States of America has been considered as a land of opportunity in the history of the world, therefore it would not be wrong to explain it as an amalgamation of multiple ethnicities, cultures, races and religions. There exist extensive rights for the freedom of speech and expression that has given birth to alternate lifestyles, i.e. homosexuality. LCCR Education fund (2009) pointed out that due to the increasing homosexuals in the society; hate crimes, initiated out of bias against sexual orientation, have increased significantly for the past few years. All of these aspects have caused an increase in the degree of hate crimes in the country. FBI (2009) reported 6,598 hate crimes for the year 2009; the different types of hate crimes are as follows: 48.5 % crimes were initiated out of racial bias. 19.7 % crimes were motivated by religious bias. 18.5 % crimes were recorded as a result of sexual orientation bias. 11.8 % crimes took place due to national and ethnic bias. 1.5 % crimes involved disability bias. Stotzer (2007) also provided some interesting figures regarding the minorities or groups in US that are commonly targeted in the region: 8 in 100,000 African Americans face hate crimes every year. 12 in 100,000 Muslims become victims of hate crimes every year. 15 in 100,000 Jews have been recorded as victims of hate crimes every year. 13 in 100,000 homosexuals become targets of hate crimes every year. Figure 1: Estimated Hate Crimes in every 100,000 people (Stotzer, 2007) These figures have been issued by FBI; however American Psy chological Association (1998) stated that the correct statistics of hate crimes are not possible since numerous crimes are not even reported to the concerned authorities by the victims. Some of the reasons for such hesitancies include the consequences from the haters groups or criminals or the nature of the offense might not involve any physical harm or destruction of property. 3. Instances of Hate Crimes in History A massive scale of hate crimes initiated after the 11 September attacks in US in 2001. The terrorist acts killed thousands of innocent people and made even greater number of individuals victims of hate crimes in their daily lives. The individuals and communities who were made victims of the respective crimes in those days constituted of South Asians, Arabs and Muslims since the suspected terrorists belonged to those regions. African Americans have been made victims of hate crimes by having their churches burnt into ashes, bullied and harassed at numerous instances in the past history. 4. Effect of Hate Crimes on Individuals The victims are affected by hate crimes in differing ways. The duration and nature of the crime makes the experience different for the victims. Some of the affects are as follows: The victims feel vulnerable and insecure in the society as they start fearing for their own, as well as their family’s safety. The victims get suspicious of things and individuals around them, for example

Discussing the possible use of common property to address the commons Essay

Discussing the possible use of common property to address the commons problem - Essay Example Hardin argues that as part of human nature, each commoner will always attempt to maximize utility by either increasing the use of the resource by one more level at any given time. In so doing, the one unit increment in utility use carries with it both positive and negative components. In this case, he states that the positive part wills functionality of the one unit increment. The negative component is a function of one unit increment on the level of competition for that particular resource. The negative component is shared by all the commoners, and it is a fraction of negative one (-1). When all such partial utilities are put together, a rational commoner only finds profitable to increase his/her utility of the resource. As this happens among all the commoners using the resource, the tragedy of depletion and lack of sustainability comes in. As such every commoner will be faced with ruin in the attempt of pursuit of each individual’s best interest. He concludes "freedom in the commons brings ruin." He further postulates that, some school of thought has it that the tragedy is often put on halt by the forces of natural selection. It is argued that natural selection often propels the forces of psychological denial. As such a commoner will only benefit as an individual from the ability to deny the truth that such acts make the society as whole to suffer. In turn, in order to succeed in enabling sustainability, education provides the best platform for counteract the human nature to do the wrong thing. Such education must constantly be refreshed to remain relevant and for the inexorable succession of generations (Hardin 50-68). After several scientific and social studies have been conducted overstretched periods of time, it has been revealed that people will not restrain from use of a common property even if they are better poised to benefit mutually from such restraints. Most often than not,

Internet Banking in the United Kingdom Coursework

Internet Banking in the United Kingdom - Coursework Example One of the markets leading internet banks egg.com allows individuals to do all the above plus it allows for costumers to get insurance quotes for they're cars, homes, travels, lives & health and emergency cover against thefts or losses of keys, wallets and cards etc (Egg.com, 2006). HSBC are trying to cut counter opening times at branches as online customers are cheaper costing less than one tenth of normal branch customers, It is thought that many are in favour of online banking, while others are opposed to the thought of online banking, below are the views of a computer literate, middle aged working woman: 'I can manage fine with ATMs, internet banking and so on. But think about those who are elderly, visually impaired or otherwise struggle with technological advances. A friendly face at a counter is what they are used to and is probably what they want. My 80 year old father no longer uses an ATM out in the open. He gets his cash from a supermarket checkout, as he feels safer.' Carolyn Jones, UK (BBC News, 2002). Barclays also announced that they are closing 200 banks leading to the loss of around 6000 jobs somewhat due to the materialization of internet banking It is also believed this will result in cost reductions of 200m a year (BBC

Advertisement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Advertisement - Essay Example In this paper, the effects and purposes of an advertisement will be analyzed. The analyzation will be based on a fragrance advertisement from the international fragrance and designer clothing producer, Calvin Klein. In this advertisement there are various themes which have been put into consideration and have been considerably used to put forward the message intended by the seller to the probable buyers. Some of these themes include love and romance, relationships, and beauty or overall physical appearance. The purpose of these themes is to pinpoint and draw in an audience, one that is interested in the thing being advertised. The advertisement is meant for a new product in the market from the Calvin Klein chain of companies. The product in this case is a fragrance which is meant to be advertised in a magazine based on fashion, one that both sexes would read, such as Osmoz.. In this advertisement, the target audience is both sexes. According to the photographs on the advert, we can clearly see that both these people are young, so the advertisement is meant for the young generation.

Antitrust and Regulation Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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Homwork Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Homwork - Assignment Example This process involves gathering the ethically relevant facts about the issue and determining whose account of the facts counts. It involves obtaining all the relevant perspectives regarding the issue at hand. The step requires reviewing the organizations policies and guidelines to get guidance on the particular problem. The step may also identify if the policies and guidelines are consistent with the applicable state laws. Organization ethics issues include, The step involves considering the options and the consequences for the issue. It requires considering who may be affected by the decisions. It involves determining which option will produce the best results and do least harm. The step requires a lot of consultation with professional knowledgeable about the ethical issue in order to make the right decision. This involves identifying the candidate choice and testing its validity. It involves determining the impact of the decision to the staff, clients, stakeholders, the environment and the future generations. It requires identifying either the decision take cultural differences into account. It requires me as the decision maker to be free from external influence and to be calm and in an unstressed state of mind. The step requires my reflection on to whether the decision will seem to be a good idea in the future (Johnson, 2012). This step involves applying the ethical principle to the candidate decision. It requires asking myself questions such as to whether the choice will result in the greatest good, whether it’s fair and of benefit to all concerned. Moreover, if the choice would treat the others the same way I would want to be treated. This is the final step of the decision-making process. It involves making a decision after considerations such as willingness to accept responsibility for the decision. It requires confident communication of the decision and the rationale to the stakeholders. The next thing that follows

Institutional Racism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Institutional Racism - Essay Example In fact, just as the individual can act out of racism, so can an institution. The term "institution" can refer to a broad range of groups, such as the workplace, government and educational system. Institutional racism can have major effects on minorities, resulting in poorer education and medical assistance. First of all, many forms of racism still exist in today's schools and classrooms, affecting the education of ethnic groups. Institutional forms of racism are of major importance in education because they are built into the system and operate largely. For instance, the fact that most teachers are Caucasian causes schools to be run according to the values and beliefs of white society (Hickling-Hudson and Roberta 1). When this happens, black students are forced to feel that some of their behaviour is wrong, yet in fact it is only different by culture (Hickling-Hudson and Roberta 1). Unfortunately, the common school practice of standardized testing is an example of institutional racism. This is the way it occurs: children from all kinds of cultures come to school and are tested. Nevertheless, the tests mostly measure the degree to which children have attained the goals of the school according to a white society standard. Since minorities like lower class black children are the most soci ally distant from the school's goals, they show the lowest achievement on these tests (Jacobson, Olsen, King Rice, Sweetland and Ralph 34). Nevertheless, they may even be dismissed from schools. As . Alladin states, "In spite of the attempts to equalize educational opportunity for all groups, research on immigrant children's successful integration into the education system shows that there is a high drop-out rate among these students (15). Consequently, they are placed in homogenous groups, such as all ethnic groups being perceived as having the same learning characteristics, which are always ignored by teachers, as when learning differences are treated as a 'cultural' predisposition to not seek achievement (Jones 6). As highlighted in the racist discourse research of Maykel Verkuyten and colleagues: "[The] more liberal notion of equality stresses the idea that a society needs to assure that everybody has the opportunity to develop and improve him-or herself. Inequality then becomes a matter of not making the most of one's opportunities. The consequences of this principle is that the arrears of specific groups can be blamed on the groups themselves, rather than be a product of discrimination (441). Hence, students in ethnic groups then face then face a lot of pressure in the way they study, and that is how educational racism plays a role in our schools.In addition to education, the institutional racism in society has a great impact on the overall health of ethnic groups. The institutional racism that exists in many hospitals and clinics occurs in a number of ways, including the administration of policies that restrict admission of minorities, who are considered as unwanted patients (Randall 6). Many hospitals or clinics discriminate by telling minorities to look for a doctor. Discriminatory admission practices include, requiring pre-payment as a condition of obtaining medical care and refusing to obtain help by financing care for low-income patients, especially minorities (Randall 6). Such practices may have a destructive

A Modest Proposal Essay Example for Free

A Modest Proposal Essay This is a beautiful land for millions that grants its people plentiful opportunities to start a wonderful life. The United States of America is the most honorable country to live in; we have been credited for our vast amount of freedom to all. America can easily be claimed the greatest nation in the world. We do, however, have an issue, an issue with the homosexuals. The true American people need to do something about this blasphemy. It continues to frustrate me on a daily basis to see them everywhere. Homosexuals all over the place are an abomination. I was truly appalled to find out that they think they could gain equality rights to normal people; it is outrageous. Maybe, as a solution, for the greater good of our community, we take away this problem. Put them away; build isolated communities to house the gay. The government can go about this the same way they did the Japanese and the internment camps. Homosexuals are a threat to society, to the value of marriage and the proper structure of family. If we as a community let this stand, it will ruin the lives of thousands. Children will grow up wrong and heterosexual marriages will never be the same; this affects everyone. America has a history of poor civil rights decisions: slavery, segregation, women’s suffrage, racism, and discrimination. Now is this country’s chance to learn from history and protect the civil rights of heterosexuals! We cannot stand down and let the wrath of the seemingly harmless and loving Homosexuals need for â€Å"equality† reign down on future generations. The only solution, which is an obvious one, is to relocate any gay out of the public’s eye. This is a surefire way to handle such a controversial issue.

Gender Roles Influenced By Media And Society

Gender Roles Influenced By Media And Society One usually obtains their gender roles usually through social interactions rather than obtaining it genetically. When humans are born, one are endowed with a small concept of gender. Manners and proper behavior is mainly learned through the social interactions with others and also the relationships with one another. Our gender identity is build through the interactions or experience from our parents, media, people from school, work or at home and also society can influence our gender identity. Depending on how we are raised greatly affects on how one acts as they grow up. The media can influence every aspect of ones life, their lifestyle, fashion, physical appearance, and also behavior. Society has the power to change the behavior and peoples point of views way more than what genetics or biological can. The genetic make-up for all living beings mainly humans are usually born with might affect their physical abilities, but one usually learns how to act in specific ways by just watching the people around them. An example of this would be that when boys of a young age watches cartoons or anything that involves a male aspect, theses young boys are usually influenced by the characters or what they see on television. Usually these characters are portrayed to be in a violent and aggressive manner, which cause these children to act what they see. On the bright side mainly super heroes are the ones that influence young boys the most such as Superman, Spiderman, Iron or even Batman and they are usually portrayed to be a strong, very athletic and brave hero which can influence a boys every action. In cartoons like these there is also a downside to it to where boys are depicted to be destructive and usually aggressive as well to a point where it suggest that males should be very competitive to one another. Children at younger age are also more vulnerable to be influenced by television when compared to an adult due to the maturity level of one another. Not only just the boys also the older males are influenced by todays media, televisions, music and society. An example of this would be the music artist Eminem where he wants males to be very violent and rebel against homosexuality and also be dominant towards females. Usually the younger teens are influenced by this because of the lack of maturity to make their own choices or decisions and these young males are gullible to a point where they are influenced by what they see. There was a Columbine massacre or incident in 1999 that proved that the boys who killed all those innocent students derived all of their ideas from certain mo vies and television shows. This proves that teens at a very open age that can be easily manipulated by society to act in predictable or spontaneous ways. According to Diekman, author of Stereotypes as dynamic constructs: Women and men of the past, present, and future. states that typical characteristics for women are piety, submissiveness, and domesticity, while authority, and social behavior, are traits commonly held by men. When girls are young, they are usually given a Barbie doll to play with and are expected to grow up as the ideal Barbie girl who is very beautiful looking and supposedly very feminine. Girls are usually less athletic when compared to boys due to their genetic make-up; they just tend to not be athletic. Due to this genetic unfairness between males and females, parents would not treat each gender the same way when it comes down to sports. The boys are usually taught to be very aggressive because they are more athletic and competitive than girls while on the other hand girls are encouraged to express or release their feelings and its ok for them to cry openly. Boys are never encouraged to cry or complain about anyth ing. They are taught to replace the feminine feelings of fear and sorrow and replace them with excitement or anger. Boys or males in particular use the phrase be a man referring to being tough or strong and one that never shows his emotions. Children can also be influenced by their peers to act in specific ways at a very young vulnerable age. One can be made fun of easily if they are usually doing things that dont suit their gender. An example would be if a young boy or any male would easily be made fun of if they like to play with dolls, like shopping or just play in the kitchen. The society and media shows what types of things that certain gender should usually be doing for each gender. On television, it would usually have specific types of clothes, toys, jobs, etc for each of the genders and what they think each gender should follow. Due to these social influences, males and females act the way one does because of how society taught one to grow up to be. As for careers men are the dominant one because of how they can handle tougher jobs than a woman. Women are depicted to be caring for others or cooperative with anything and also just less valued. Woman careers are preferred to usually be models, nurses or even housewives. According to InfoRefuge on an article about Gender Roles and the Media, it states that our society continues to respect and represent men more than women in every aspect of our daily lives. People were raised by the society to think what men and women are capable of. Due to these circumstances these are usually the reasons why men mainly get better jobs than women do and also have a better chance of getting jobs in the work force. Gender stereotypes are everywhere and still occur today. For example, it is not acceptable in this society for a female to coach a mens sports team at any type of level professional, college or either high school team male oriented teams. This is a huge deficit and disadvantage because of the fact that females too can be amazing coaches sometimes way more superior to most males and therefore the players would miss out the chance from learning and gain experience this coach. The female coaches also suffers from not gaining or they miss the opportunity to coa ch these male players and are often force to pass down their knowledge to just female players. Society is unfair to judge solely on ones capabilities on gender. Therefore theses better jobs that usually pay a lot, females are solely at a disadvantage of getting the job due to their gender which is unavoidable. Another influence that society has on one is when people begin to date. There are certain specific behaviors that are supposedly expected by each gender because of the social influence, custom and usage in society. Men are the ones that should be expected to pay for the date, drive and also ask the girl out and many more outdated manners that guys should usually do for a woman. Women on the other hand, also have a specific role in the dating game. When two people get married, society assumes specific roles according to their gender. Men are expected go to work to pay for the bills, put a roof over their heads and also put food on the table. According to an article on CliffNotes on gender stereotypes, it states that Traditionally, the female stereotypic role is to marry and have children. This means usually women are the ones staying at home to take care of the children or plainly be a housewife. These stereotypical roles are starting to deteriorate because of the fact that its societ ys standards. Women are far more important that what society depicts, they also have the same capabilities as any other man or human being. They could also be working or doing the exact same thing as man could or even better. There are no biological or physical abilities that hold men and woman to these assumed roles in society. Humans are born knowing which gender they are, but one learns their gender identity through the interactions of what we grow up with and learn how society expects them to act. There is no possible way that one could learn what one believes in and behaviors through biological influences; society has a much stronger influence on the way people act solely based on gender. Everyone in this world is born with some kind of innate ability on how to act relative to gender, but the way on is raised, how one interact with others and also the influences that the media has is what influences ones gender identity.

Aspects Of Database Security Information Technology Essay

Aspects Of Database Security Information Technology Essay Many native methods of providing Database security have also been discussed along with a survey of database threats issues and its remedies. Mechanisms are discussed that propose strengthening the database security. It seems desirable to get an understanding of the complete set of security problems faced and their problems up-to-date to devise better methodologies for database security issues. The research study regarding Database Security is organized as follows: Section 1 highlights the native methods of Database Security which have been employed. Section 2 describes the threats faced by databases and Section 3 discusses varies proposed remedies to the Database security issues. Improper safeguarding of data might compromise database confidentiality, its availability and integrity. In order to prevent this, it is very important to form a comprehensive database security concept [term paper link]. Importance of Data The security of data has always been an issue, but with the increase of applications relying more on databases to store that information, the threats to the security have increased manifold. Security of data is a crucial issue today then ever and the importance of it is clearly understood as well. The three main objectives of Database security include Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability [1]. The databases have to be secured in any case since they contain bulk amount of data both confidential and public. The loss of integrity of data can not only have disastrous affect for a specific user, but the reputation of the whole organization comes at stake. Methods to perturb original data and are required in which data is converted to some anonymous form, in cases where the privacy of data itself is of utmost importance. Anonymization in that case is carried out in such a way that the original data integrity and its relationships are maintained while the data is perturbed for analysi s. Threats to Database Databases today face a growing risk of threats and vulnerabilities. Security breaches are typically categorized as unauthorized data observation, incorrect data modification, and data unavailability. Unauthorized data observation results in the disclosure of information to users not entitled to gain access to such information [2]. In case of unauthorized data observation, the data is seen by users for whom that data in not intended. For incorrect data modifications, once the data in the databases is modified, its integrity is lost and then the proper usage of data cannot be carried out. The true information is not available when it is needed. Countermeasures to Threats Some countermeasures that can be employed are outlined below: Access Controls (can be Discretionary or Mandatory) Authorization (granting legitimate access rights) Authentication (determining whether a user is who they claim to be)ÂÂ   Backup Journaling (maintaining a log file enables easy recovery of changes) Encryption (encoding data using an encryption algorithm) RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks protects against data loss due to disk failure)ÂÂ   Polyinstantiation (data objects that appear to have different values to users with different access rights / clearance)ÂÂ   Views (virtual relations which can limit the data viewable by certain users) [3]. Security Solutions for Databases To protect data from losing its confidentiality, integrity and availability, different mechanisms have been proposed and are currently in use by the Relational Database Management Systems. The protection mechanisms used to provide security to databases include Firewalls which act as the first line of defense. Intrusion Detection Systems are another form of security which detects intrusions in the database. Achieving high security for databases is a continuous and tough job. Data in the databases has to be secure so that no loss, leakage or unwanted access to it is made. The database security model is structured using the Access Control policy, authorization policy, inference policy, accountability policy, audit policy, and consistency policy [5]. The Access Control Policy for security of databases is focused with some research on the other mechanisms of security as well including Authentication, Inference avoidance, different levels of access control and the protection of data itsel f. 4.1 Access Control Policy: The access control system is the database components that checks all database requests and grants or denies a users re-quest based on his or her privileges. (Here we assume that the user has been authenticated.) [6] Discretionary Access Control in RDBMS Mandatory Access Control in RDBMS Discretionary Mechanism in OODBMS Discretionary Mechanism in OODBMS One of the main mechanisms to secure databases is the access control mechanism. In this regard the assurance that access is granted to authorize users has to be made to avoid compromising the security of the database. Some of the access control methods that are used are discussed, but the list is not exhaustive. Existing solutions for database security, which are defined for Relational Database Management Systems, are not appropriate for Object Oriented Database Management Systems. This is because OODBMSs are different in terms of the security models they follow. They are richer than the ordinary relational data models. This mainly refers to the authorization principles they follow. So either the relational data models have to be extended to incorporate the object oriented concepts as well or new data models have to be created for the object oriented data models. Object models provide a superset of the functionalities of relational database management system [5]. Discretionary Access Control In this case, the creator of an object becomes its owner and he has the full right over that object. The owner here then defines the rights to access the information. Mandatory Access Control Objects in this case are assigned labels, on the basis of which they have the right to access the information in a database. The security labels assigned could be top secret, secret, classified, unclassified. In this case, the system itself mandates the users their rights to access or modify data. Discretionary Access Control in OODBMS In case of object oriented database architecture, objects are stored in the database as compared to the relational database architecture in which strings, values or integers are stored instead. The objects have attributes as well as methods which are invoked to query data from the database. Mandatory Access Control in OODBMS In case of mandatory access control, the data in the databases are discussed in which are used the methods Inference Issue Avoidance In cases where legitimate data is accessed by the user through queries, it is a risk that he infers further information which is not concerned to him. In such cases the security of user data is compromised. Data Privacy Protection The user data becomes identifiable when paired with some existing information. Some mechanism has to be adopted that prevents leakage of confidential information from data that is publicly available. In this regards the process of data-anonymization is used which de-identifies the information for privacy preservation. Even with the technique of Anonymization, the inference problem still remains in the data mining field. Even though a database is sanitized by removing private information, the use of data mining techniques may allow one to recover the removed information. Several approaches have been proposed, some of which are specialized for specific data mining techniques, such as tools for association rule mining or classification systems, whereas others are independent from the specific data mining technique. In general, all approaches are based on modifying or perturbing the data in some way [2]. Security in Distributed Databases Some of the most, important security requirements for database management systems are: Multi-Level Access Control: Confidentiality, Reliability, Integrity, and Recovery [8]. Data mining systems are being extended to function in a distributed environment. These systems are called distributed data mining systems. Security problems may be exacerbated in distributed data mining systems [8]. Conclusion

The Effectiveness of Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Essay

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are eating disorders that severely affect both men and women around the world. The cause of the eating disorder usually derives from psychological, biological and social forces. Eating disorders have become an epidemic in American society, twenty-four million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S. (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.\, 2011). There are many ways to address and treat an eating disorder. There have been multiple studies conducted to test the effectiveness of different types of treatment. My central research question analyzes the relationship between the continuation of the eating disorder with the presence of intervention or some form of therapy. The use of therapy will take place as the dependent variable due to its relationship toward the termination of the eating disorder. There are social processes involved in the ceasing of an eating disorder or alleviating the symptoms of the disorder as shown through group therapy (Mclorb and Taub, 1987). I will review different sociological literature that approaches the relation between the continuations of eating disorders with the presence of treatment. In the observational case study by Mclorb and Taub, (1987), they interviewed participants of a group therapy session involving a group of fifteen young women battling a range of eating disorders. The therapy sessions were modeled after alcoholics anonymous meetings. The subjects would meet weekly in search of support, this was a form of therapy that allowed the subjects to involve or remove themselves at any point in time. The main purpose was to seek a sense of support from people dealing with the same issue. They discusse... ... IL: National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders. Retrieved November 30, 2011 (http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/). 6) Yager, Joel, Michael J. Devlin, Katherine A.Halmi, David B. Herzong, James E. Mitchell III, Pauline Powers, Kathryn J. Zerbe. (2006) Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with eating disorders, Third edition Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Association. (http://www.karwautz.at/documents/apaedsguideline2006.pdf ). Original Citation found in Bosch, Amanda, Raymond Miltenberger, Amy Gross, Peter Knudson and Carrie Breitwieser. 2008. "Evaluation of Extinction as a Functional Treatment for Binge Eating." Behavior Modification 32(4):556-576 (http://exlibris.colgate.edu/Mondo/remote-or-local-url.asp?http://search.proquest.com/docview/811355510?accountid=10207).

Essay --

There was also the isolation of the USA that was a problem. After all the problems they had while joining World War One, they wanted to be isolated and get away from European problems. They didn’t join the League of Nations, which was a disadvantage for them and made them weaker because the USA was a very powerful country. In addition, there was a problem of foreign policy and aggression. In the early 1930s, Hitler began to pursue many foreign policies. He increased his army by approximately 300,000 soldiers. The Treaty of Versailles only allowed him of 100,000. Hitler also rearmed, which was also against the Treaty and developed secretly an air academy to train pilots and built over 1000 aircrafts. Even though he was breaking several terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations was doing nothing to stop him, which showed how weak they were becoming. In the Treaty of Versailles, the Saar Land, which was part of Germany, was given to and ran by the League of Nations. In 1935, as the League promised Hitler, a plebiscite occurred. The people of the Saar were to vote if they...

The Problem with 6 Digits Dating

What started of as a noble act of saving some memory space turned out to be a quake, capable of trembling the world to its core. When maiden inventors set the year with two digits instead of four, little did they realize that by 1st January 2000 it would cause arithmetic delinquencies and confuses the entire system. For example, a bank transaction on the 25th of July 1997 would be recorded as 07/25/97. Many software add the value 1900 to the two digits code to calculate the actual year. A credit card charged on 1st of January 2000 would have to bear the interest of 99 years because the transaction date would read 01/01/00. This means the computers assume that the same transaction took place on 01/01/1900. Another major problem with six digits dating occurs when we tend to compare the pre and post – 2000 dates. For example, 01/09/99 and 01/01/00, when converted into a simple code they would read 990901 and 000101 respectively. Obviously 990901 is older than 000101, which in reality is not true. As the computers cannot process the current date as year 2000 marches in, it is also unable to calculate the leap year. All years divisible by 4 is considered as a leap year except for centuries. A century will be considered as a leap year only if it is divisible by 400. For example, 1996 is considered as a leap year because it is divisible by 4 (1996 4 = 499) wherelse 1997 is not (1997/4 = 499.25). On the hand the hand, 1900 is not a leap year for it is not divisible by 400 (1900/400=4.75). Year 2000 is a leap year for it is divisible by 400 (2000/400 = 5) (with reference to explanation from: http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/RGO/leaflets/leapyear/leapyear.html). As we step into the year 2000, existing computers will not be able to differentiate the two digits year anymore. The â€Å"00† date field might be assumed as 1900 instead of 2000. Thus calculations that involve a date would provide wrong answers. On the 1st of January 2000, computers will define this day as 01/01/00 and regards the year as 1900, leaving us 99 years behind time. This will interrupt public services, bank transactions, loan interest calculations and many more, causing formidable loss of billions of dollars. Only a few systems could be spared from the Y2K and it has been estimated that there are 500 billion lines of application code worldwide, with some 85% of which needs to be corrected. Various reports stated that by the turn of the millennium, as much as 50% of all businesses which failed to address the year 2000 challenge would fall apart. Besides being deadly, expensive and extensive, the year 2000 problem affects hardware (BIOS, real-time clocks), embedded firmware, languages and compilers, operating systems, random number generators, database management systems, transaction-processing systems, banking systems, PBX, flight scheduling and any other system that deals with dates. Surfing the net would prove that the Y2K's awareness level is growing with more more sites dedicated to this problem. Managers and IT resources are becoming heavy-hearted thinking about their future as 31st December 1999 rolls in. Knowing that there is going to be an IT disaster does not help much especially when there are few resources to handle the problem. A rough estimation to create solutions for the Y2K issue concentrated on something like US $400 -600 billion dollars worldwide. An additional 200,000 COBOL programmers will also be required. Organizations are not the only ones that are going to suffer from the virulent millennium bug, it can be anyone, even a personal computer user.

Pohela Boishakh Festival Essay

Pohela Boishakh is a Public festival of the Bengalis; it is celebrated among all Bengalis- irrespective of religious and regional differences. In Bangladesh, it is a national holiday celebrated around 14th April. The traditional greeting for Bengali New Year is â€Å"Shubhà ´ Nà ´bobà ´rsho†. Pohela Boishakh is also the beginning of all business activities. I am lucky enough that I am a Dhaka city dweller. Observance of Pohela Boishakh has become popular in Dhaka. People from all walks of life dressup in traditional Bengali attire in Pohela Boishakh. Men wear dhuti / payejama / lungi and kurta /Panjabi. Young women wear white saris with red borders, and adorn themselves with tip (bindis), churi (bangles) and fÃ… «l (flowers). I bought earlier Panjabi with white and red combination for wearing in Pohela Boishakh. The Pohela Boishakh celebrations and festivities reflect the life in rural Bengal. On this day everything is washed and cleaned. On that day I woke up early in the morning, bathed early in the morning and dressed my new clothes. Pohela Boishakh has now become an integral part of Bengali culture. In Pohela Boishakh special food items were prepared for the guests. I decided to spend much of the day time visiting relatives, friends and neighbours. In Dhaka and other large cities, the festivals begin with people gathering under a big tree. People also find any bank of a lake or river to witness the sunrise. Artists present songs to welcome the New Year, particularly with Rabindranath Tagore’s well-known song â€Å"Esho, he Boishakh†. First I went to Ramna Park. Large numbers of people gathered under the banyan tree at Ramna Park where Chhayanat artists opened the day with Rabindranath Tagore’s famous song, Esho, he Boishakh, Esho Esho. A similar ceremony welcoming the New Year was also held at the Institute of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka. Students and teachers of the institute took out a colourful procession and paraded round the campus. I felt happy joining the parade. At noon, I took panta bhat (rice soaked in water), green chilies, onion, and fried Hilsa fish. In the afternoon I along with some of  my friends visited a Baishaki Mela. I went around the fair and bought some earthen jewelry. At about 4 pm I went to Jatiya Press Club where a cultural  was held. I saw a lot of prominent and leading artists over there. They delivered their informative speeches on the significance of the day. At about 7 pm I came back home with a cheerful mind.  I enjoyed the celebration of Pohela Boishakh tremendously. It was a memorable ceremony. My personal impression about the festival of Pohela Boishakh can play an important role in developing the cultural unity without distinction between class, race and religious affiliations. Mixture of western culture and native or traditional cultural is the great example of cultural intrusion?  habit of reading books among the people. It is a device to spread culture, education and knowledge. It changes our outlook on life and widens our domain of learning. It broadens our mind. It is a part and parcel of our national life. We enjoyed the visit tremendously. It was a memorable trip.  Book fair is very important because the it upgrades our thoughts and expands our knowledge. I was very delighted visiting such a fair and gathered some new experience there. I think every celebration of Pohela Boishakh ensure proper security should be taken. The most colorful festival Pohela Boishakh ( Bengali New Year) By Bangladesh summer tour  · Updated over a year ago Let’s Join the most colorful Festival of Bangladesh † Pohela Boishakh ( Happy New Year in Bengali)† in Summer†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Bengali New Year or Pà ´hela Boishakh , occurring on 14th April, is the first day of the Bengali calendar, celebrated in Bangladesh. Bangla New Year or Pohela Boishakh connects all Ethnic Bengalis irrespective of religious and regional differences. Ethnic Bengalis across the world and from all walks of life unite to celebrate the Public or Universal Festival of Bengalis i.e. Pohela Boishakh; it’s the occasion to welcome the New-Year with a new hope of peace, prosperity and goodwill. In Bangladesh, it is a national holiday celebrated around 14th April according to the official amended calendar designed  by  the  Bangla  Academy. Pohela Boishakh celebration dates back to Mughal Emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar’s reign. Akbar the Great, the renowned grandson of Zahiruddin Muhammad Babar was the 3rd Mughal Emperor. As discussed earlier; the celebrations started from Akbar’s reign. But the Public celebration of Poyela Boishakh and the large-scale organizations of cultural  events  have  started  more  recently.  The Pohela Boishakh celebrations and festivities reflect the life in rural Bengal. Usually on this day everything is washed and cleaned; people bathe early in the morning and dress in fine clothes and then go to visit relatives and friends. Special food items are prepared for the guests. Starting as a rural festival, Pohela Boishakh has now become an integral part of Bengali culture. Boishakhi Fairs are organized in many parts of Bengal. The lifestyle of rural Bengal is showcased in almost all these fairs. Various traditional handicrafts, toys, cosmetics, agricultural products, as well as various kinds of food and sweets are sold at these fairs. The fairs also provide entertainment, with singers and dancers staging jatra (traditional plays), pala gan, kobigan, jarigan, gambhira gan, gazir gan and alkap gan. They present folk songs as well as baul, marfati, murshidi and bhatiali songs. Narrative plays like Laila-Majnu, Yusuf-Zulekha and Radha-Krishna are staged. Among other attractions of these fairs are puppet shows, merrygo-round and Giant wheels are also installed and are enjoyed by the children. The Bengali New Year begins at dawn, and the day is marked with singing, processions, and fairs. Traditionally, businesses start this day with a new ledger, clearing out the old.  People of Bangladesh enjoy a national holiday on Pohela Boishakh. All over  the country people can enjoy fairs and festivals. Singers perform traditional songs welcoming the new year. Vendors sell conventional foods and artisans sell traditional handicrafts. People enjoy traditional jatra plays. Village dwellers of Bangladesh traditionally clean their house and people usually dress up in new clothes. Like other festivals of the region, the day is marked by visiting relatives, friends and neighbors. People prepare special dishes for their guests. The rural festivities have now evolved to become vast events in the cities, especially the capital Dhaka.  In Dhaka and other large cities, the festivals begin with people gathering under a big tree. People also find any bank of a lake or river to witness the sunrise. Artists present songs to welcome the new year, particularly with Rabindranath Tagore’s well-known song â€Å"Esho, he Boishakh†. People from all spheres of life wear traditional Bengali dresses. Women wear traditional saris with their hair bedecked in flowers. Likewise, men prefer to wear traditional panjabis. A huge part of the festivities in the capital is a vivid procession organized by the students and teachers of Institute of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka. Nowadays, Pohela Boishakh celebrations also observe a day of cultural unity without distinction between class, race and religious affiliations. Of the major holidays celebrated in Bangladesh and West Bengal, only Pà ´hela Boishakh comes without any preexisting expectations. Unlike Eid ul-Fitr and Durga Pujo, where dressing up in lavish clothes has become a norm, or Christmas where exchanging gifts has become an essential part of the holiday, Pà ´hela Boishakh is about celebrating the simpler, rural roots of the Bengal. Eventually, more people can take part in the festivities without the load of having to reveal one’s class, religion, or finances. I am lucky enough that I am a Dhaka city dweller. Observance of Pohela Boishakh has become popular in Dhaka. On that day I woke up early in the morning and dressed in fine clothes. I decided to spend much of the day time visiting relatives, friends and neighbours. First I went to Ramna Park.  Large numbers of people gathered under the banyan tree at Ramna Park where Chhayanat artists opened the day with Rabindranath Tagore’s famous song, à ¦ Ã  ¦ ¸ à §â€¹, à ¦ ¹Ã  §â€¡ à ¦ ¬Ã  §Ë†Ã  ¦ ¶Ã  §â€¹Ã  ¦â€", à ¦ Ã  ¦ ¸ à §â€¹ à ¦ Ã  ¦ ¸ à §â€¹ Esho, he Boishakh, Esho Esho (Come, O Boishakh, Come, Come). A similar ceremony welcoming the New Year was also held at the Institute of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka. Students and teachers of the institute took out a colourful procession and paraded round the campus. I felt happy joining the parade. At noon, I took panta bhat  (rice soaked in water), green chilies, onion, and fried Hilsa fish. In the after noon I along with some of my friends visited a Baishaki Mela. I went around the fair and bought some earthen jewelry. At about 4 pm I went to Jatiya Press Club where a cultural was held. I saw a lot of prominent and leading artists over there. They delivered their informative speeches on the significance of the day. At about 7 pm I came back home with a cheerful mind.

A Dirty Job Chapter 17

17 WAS IT GOOD FOR YOU? The next morning, Jane's girlfriend Cassie heard someone in the hall and opened the door. Charlie stood there, covered in blood, black goo, and smelling of sandalwood and almond oil; he had a cut over his ear, blood crusted in his nose, the front of his pants were in shreds, and there were tiny black feathers stuck to him everywhere. â€Å"Why, Charlie,† she said, somewhat surprised, â€Å"it appears that I underestimated you. When you decide to get your freak on, you do not mess around.† â€Å"Shower,† Charlie said. â€Å"Daddy!† Sophie called from her bedroom. She came running out with arms thrown wide, followed by two giant dogs and a lesbian aunt in Brooks Brothers. Halfway across the living room she saw her father, turned, and went squealing out of the room in terror. Jane pulled up by the couch and stared. â€Å"Jesus, Chuck, what'd you do, try to fuck a leopard?† â€Å"Something like that,† Charlie said. He stumbled by her and went through his bedroom to the master bath. Jane looked at Cassandra, who was trying to keep her smile from breaking into laughter. â€Å"You wanted him to get out more.† â€Å"You tell him about Mom?† Jane said. â€Å"Thought that news should come from you,† said Cassandra. Well, guns suck, I can tell you that,† said Babd, the most recent of the three death divas to make an appearance Above. â€Å"Sure, they look great from down here, but up close – noisy, impersonal – give me a battle-ax or a cudgel any day.† â€Å"I like to cudgel,† said Macha, who had her claws up inside Madison McKerny's severed head and was working the mouth like a hand puppet. â€Å"It's your own fault,† scolded Nemain. She had one of Madison McKerny's silicone implants – bits of fuck-puppet gore still clinging to it – and was pressing it to Babd's wounds to heal them. Even as the black flesh regenerated, the red glow in the implant dimmed. â€Å"We're wasting the power in these. And after waiting years to get another soul?† Babd sighed. â€Å"I suppose in retrospect the hand job wasn't such a great idea.† â€Å"I suppose the hand job wasn't such a great idea,† mocked Macha's hand puppet. â€Å"I did that on the battlefields of the North, what, ten thousand times?† said Babd. â€Å"A final wank for the dying warrior – just seemed like the least I could do. I'm especially good at it, you know. It takes a powerful touch to keep a soldier hard when his guts are running between his fingers.† â€Å"She is good at it,† said Orcus. â€Å"I'll vouch for that.† He leaned back on his throne to display three feet of black, bull death-wood to show his enthusiasm. â€Å"Not now, I just did my lipstick,† puppeted Macha with the head, making its eyes bug out with her claws so it appeared that the dead girl was impressed by Orcus's prodigious unit. They all snickered. She'd had Orcus and her Morrigan sisters giggling all morning with her puppet show, putting the implants on a shelf and working the head above them. â€Å"Of course they're real, he really paid for them, didn't he?† They'd been giddy since pulling the soul vessels out of the fuck puppet's grave, that victory even overshadowing Babd's failure to kill the Death Merchant. But as the light ebbed out of the implants, their mood darkened. Nemain threw the useless implant against the bulkhead of the ship and it exploded and spattered the room with clear goo. â€Å"What a waste,† she growled. â€Å"We will take the Above, and I will eat his liver while he watches.† â€Å"What is it with you and eating livers?† Babd said. â€Å"I hate liver.† â€Å"Patience, Princesses,† said Orcus as he weighed the remaining implant in his talon. â€Å"We were a thousand years coming to this place, for this battle, a few more to gather our force will but make the victory sweeter.† He snatched the head away from Macha and took a bite out of it as if it were a crisp, ripe plum. â€Å"You really could have passed on the hand job, though,† he said, spraying bits of brain at Babd. I've got us on a flight to Phoenix at two,† Jane said. â€Å"We connect there to a commuter and we're in Sedona by suppertime.† Charlie had just come out of the shower and wore only a pair of fresh jeans. He was drying his hair with a beige towel, leaving red streaks on it from his still-bleeding scalp. He sat down on the bed. â€Å"Wait, wait, wait. How long has she known?† â€Å"They diagnosed her six months ago. It had already spread from her colon to her other organs.† â€Å"And she waited until now to tell us.† â€Å"She didn't tell us. A guy named Buddy called. Evidently they've been living together. He said she didn't want us to worry. He broke down on the phone.† â€Å"Mom's living with a guy?† Charlie was staring at the red stripes on the towel. He'd been up all night, trying to explain to Inspector Rivera what had happened in the alley, without actually telling him anything. He was bleeding, battered, exhausted, and his mother was dying. â€Å"I can't believe her. She flipped when Rachel moved in before we were married.† â€Å"Yeah, well, you can yell at her for being a hypocrite when you see her tonight.† â€Å"I can't go, Jane. I have the store, and Sophie – she's too little for something like this.† â€Å"I called Ray and Lily, they've got the shop covered. Cassandra will watch Sophie overnight and the Communist-bloc ladies can watch her until Cassie gets home from work.† â€Å"Cassie's not coming with you?† â€Å"Charlie, Mom still refers to me as her tomboy.† â€Å"Oh yeah, sorry.† Charlie sighed. He was nostalgic for the days when Jane was the freak in the family and he was the normal one. â€Å"You going to try to reconcile that with her?† â€Å"I don't know. I don't really have a plan. I don't even know if she's lucid. I've been on autopilot since I heard. I was waiting for you to get home so I could fall apart.† Charlie stood up, went to his sister, and put his arms around her. â€Å"You did great. I'm back, I got it from here. What do you need?† She hugged him back, then pushed back with tears in her eyes. â€Å"I need to go home and pack. I'll come by at noon with a cab to get you, okay?† â€Å"I'll be ready.† He shook his head. â€Å"I can't believe Mom is living with a guy.† â€Å"A guy named Buddy,† Jane said. â€Å"The slut,† Charlie said. Jane laughed, which is all that Charlie wanted right then. Lois Asher was sleeping when Charlie and Jane arrived at her home in Sedona. A potbellied sunburned man wearing Bermuda shorts and a safari shirt let them in: Buddy. He sat at the kitchen table with Charlie and Jane, and professed his love for their mother, told them about his own life as an aircraft mechanic in Illinois before he retired, then recited a play-by-play of what they had done since Lois had been diagnosed. She'd gone through three courses of chemotherapy, then, sick and hairless, she had given in. Charlie and Jane looked at each other, feeling guilty that they hadn't been there to help. â€Å"She didn't want to bother you two,† Buddy said. â€Å"She's been acting like dying was something she could do in her spare time, between hair appointments.† Charlie snapped to attention. That was the kind of thing he'd thought to himself several times when he was retrieving a soul vessel and had seen people who were so far in denial about what was happening to them that they were still buying five-year calendars. â€Å"Women, what are you gonna do with 'em,† Buddy said, winking at Jane. Charlie suddenly felt a great wave of affection for this sunburned little bald guy who his mother was shacked up with. â€Å"We want to thank you for being here for her, Buddy.† â€Å"Yeah.† Jane nodded, still looking a little dazed. â€Å"Well, I'm here for the whole shebang, and then some, if you need me.† â€Å"Thanks,† Charlie said. â€Å"We will.† And they would, because it was immediately evident to Charlie that Buddy was going to hang on himself only as long as he felt he was needed. â€Å"Buddy,† said a soft female voice from behind Charlie. He turned to see a big, thirtyish woman in scrubs: another hospice worker – another of the amazing women that Charlie had seen in the homes of the dying, helping to deliver them into the next world with as much comfort and dignity and even joy as they could gather – benevolent Valkyries, midwives of the final light, they were – and as Charlie watched them at work, he saw that rather than become detached from, or callous to their job, they became involved with every patient and every family. They were present. He'd seen them grieve with a hundred different families, taking part in an intensity of emotion that most people would feel only a few times in their lives. Watching them over the years had made Charlie feel more reverent toward his task of being a Death Merchant. It might be a curse on him, but ultimately, it wasn't about him, it was about serving, and the transcendence in serving, and the h ospice workers had taught him that. The woman's name tag read GRACE. Charlie smiled. â€Å"Buddy,† she said. â€Å"She's awake and she's asking for you.† Charlie stood. â€Å"Grace, I'm Charlie, Lois's son. This is my sister, Jane.† â€Å"Oh, she talks about you two all the time.† â€Å"She does?† said Jane, a tad surprised. â€Å"Oh yes. She tells me you were quite the tomboy,† Grace said. â€Å"And you – † she said to Charlie. â€Å"You used to be nice but then something happened.† â€Å"I learned to talk,† Charlie said. â€Å"That's when I stopped liking him,† Jane said. Lois Asher was propped in a nest of pillows, wearing a perfectly coiffed gray wig tied back in the style she had always worn her real hair, a silver squash-blossom necklace and matching earrings and rings, a mauve silk nightgown that blended so well with the Southwestern decor of the bedroom that it looked as if Lois might be trying to disappear into her surroundings. And she did, except the space she'd made for herself in the world was a little bigger than she now required. There was a gap between the wig and her scalp, her nightgown hung almost empty, and her rings jangled on her fingers like bangles. It was clear to Charlie that she hadn't actually been sleeping when they'd arrived, but had sent Buddy out with the excuse to give Grace time to dress and arrange her for presentation to her children. Charlie noticed that the squash-blossom necklace was glowing dull red against Lois's nightgown and he felt a long, sad sigh rise in his chest. He hugged his mother and could feel the bones in her back and shoulders, as delicate and fragile as a bird's. Jane tried to fight down a sob as soon as she saw her mother, but managed only to produce what sounded like a painful snort. She fell to her knees at her mother's bedside. Charlie knew it was perhaps the stupidest question one could ask the dying, yet he asked: â€Å"How are you doing, Mom?† She patted his hand. â€Å"I could use an old-fashioned. Buddy won't let me have any alcohol, since I can't keep it down. You met Buddy?† â€Å"He seems like a nice man,† Jane said. â€Å"Oh, he is. He's been good to me. We're just friends, you know.† Charlie looked across the bed at Jane, who raised her eyebrows. â€Å"It's okay, we know you guys are living together,† Charlie said. â€Å"Living together? Me? What do you take me for?† â€Å"Never mind, Mom.† His mother waved off the thought as if she was shooing a fly. â€Å"And how is that little Jewish girl of yours, Charlie?† â€Å"Sophie? She's doing great, Mom.† â€Å"No, that's not it.† â€Å"What's not it?† â€Å"It wasn't Sophie, it was something else. Pretty girl – too good for you, really.† â€Å"You're thinking of Rachel, Mom. She passed on five years ago, remember?† â€Å"Well, you can't blame her, can you? You were such a sweet little boy, then I don't know what happened to you. Do you remember?† â€Å"Yeah, Mom, I was sweet.† Lois looked at her daughter. â€Å"And what about you, Jane, have you found yourself a nice man? I hate the idea of you being alone.† â€Å"Still looking for Mr. Right,† Jane said, giving Charlie the â€Å"we've got to get away and have an emergency meeting† head toss that she had practiced around their mother since she was eight. â€Å"Mom, Jane and I will be right back. We can call Sophie and talk to her then, okay?† â€Å"Who's Sophie?† Lois asked. â€Å"She's your granddaughter, Mom. You remember, beautiful little Sophie?† â€Å"Don't be silly, Charles, I'm not old enough to be a grandmother.† Outside the bedroom Jane fumbled around and in her purse and produced a pack of cigarettes, but couldn't figure out whether to smoke one or not. â€Å"Holy Motown Jesus with Pips, what the fuck is going on in there?† â€Å"She's got a lot of morphine in her, Jane. Did you smell that acrid smell? That's her sweat glands trying to take the poisons out of her body that her kidneys and liver would normally filter. Her organs are starting to shut down, it means that there's a lot of toxins going to her brain.† â€Å"How do you know that?† â€Å"I've read about it. Look, she never lived in reality completely, you know that? She hated the shop and hated Dad's work, even though it supported her. She hated his collecting, even though she was just as bad. And the thing with Buddy not living here – she's trying to reconcile who she's always thought she was with who she really is.† â€Å"Is that why I still want to punch her lights out?† Jane said. â€Å"That's wrong, isn't it?† â€Å"Well, I suppose – â€Å" â€Å"I'm a horrible person. My mother is dying of cancer and I want to punch her lights out.† Charlie put his arm around his sister's shoulder and started walking her toward the front door so she could go outside and smoke. â€Å"Don't be so hard on yourself,† he said. â€Å"You're doing the same thing, trying to reconcile all the moms that Mom ever was – the one you wanted, the one she was when you needed her and she was there, the one she was when she didn't understand. Most of us don't live our lives with one, integrated self that meets the world, we're a whole bunch of selves. When someone dies, they all integrate into the soul – the essence of who we are, beyond the different faces we wear throughout our lives. You're just hating the selves you've always hated, and loving the ones you've always loved. It's bound to mess you up.† Jane stopped and stepped back from him. â€Å"Then how come it's not messing you up?† â€Å"I don't know. Maybe because of what I went through with Rachel.† â€Å"So you think that when someone dies suddenly like that, that this face-reconciliation thing happens?† â€Å"I don't know. I don't think it's a conscious process. Maybe more for you than for Mom, you know what I mean? You feel like you have to put things right before she's gone, and it's frustrating.† â€Å"So what happens if she doesn't integrate all that before she dies. What happens if I don't?† â€Å"I think you get another chance.† â€Å"Really? Like reincarnation? What about Jesus and stuff?† â€Å"I think that there's a lot of stuff that's not in the book. In any of the books.† â€Å"Where's this coming from? I never got the impression you were spiritual. You wouldn't even go to yoga with me.† â€Å"I wouldn't go to yoga with you because I'm not bendy, not because I'm not spiritual.† They'd gotten to the door, and when Charlie pulled it open it made the same sound a refrigerator door makes. When they stepped out onto the front porch he realized why, as a wave of hundred-and-ten-degree heat hit them. â€Å"Jeez, did you accidentally open the door to hell?† Jane said. â€Å"I don't need to smoke this badly. Get inside, get inside, get inside.† She shoved him inside and closed the door. â€Å"That's heinous. Why would someone live in this climate?† â€Å"I'm confused,† Charlie said. â€Å"Did you start smoking again or not?† â€Å"I didn't really,† Jane said. â€Å"I just have one when I'm really stressed out. It's like thumbing your nose at Death. Haven't you ever felt like doing that?† â€Å"You have no idea,† Charlie said. With Charlie and Jane there, they sent the hospice nurse home at night and watched Lois in four-hour shifts. Charlie gave his mother her medication, wiped her mouth, fed her what little she would take in, but by now she was mostly having sips of water or apple juice, and he listened as she lamented losing her looks and her things, as she remembered being a great beauty, the belle of the ball at parties before he was born, an object of desire, which clearly she loved more than being a wife or a mother or any of the dozen other faces she had worn in her life. Sometimes she would actually turn her attention to her son†¦ â€Å"I loved you as a little boy. I would take you to cafs in North Beach and everyone would just dote on you. You were so sweet. Beautiful. Both of us were.† â€Å"I know.† â€Å"Remember when we dumped all of the cereal out of the boxes so you could get the prize out? A little submarine, I think? Do you remember?† â€Å"I remember, Mom.† â€Å"We were close then.† â€Å"Yeah, we were.† Charlie would take her hand then and let her remember great times that they had never really had. The time had long passed for correcting facts and changing impressions. When she exhausted herself he let her sleep, and read by a flashlight sitting in the chair at her bedside. He was there, in the middle of the night, reading a crime novel, when the door opened and a slight man of about fifty crept into the room, stopped by the door, and looked around. He wore sneakers and black jeans, a long-sleeved black T-shirt – but for the oversized wire-frame glasses, he was just short a hand grenade and a survival knife from looking like someone on a commando mission. â€Å"Just be quiet,† Charlie said softly. â€Å"She's sleeping.† The little man jumped straight up about two feet and came down in a crouch. He was breathing hard and Charlie was afraid he might faint if he didn't relax. â€Å"It's okay. It's in the top drawer of that dresser over there – it's a squash-blossom necklace. Take it.† The little man ducked behind the door, then peeked around the edge. â€Å"You can see me?† â€Å"Yes.† Charlie put his book down and got up from the chair, and went to the dresser. â€Å"Oh, this is bad. This is really, really bad.† â€Å"It's not that bad,† Charlie said. The little man shook his head violently. â€Å"No, it's really bad. Look away. Look over there. I'm not here. I'm not here. You can't see me.† â€Å"Here it is,† Charlie said. He took the squash-blossom necklace from its velvet case in the drawer and held it up. â€Å"What is?† â€Å"What you're looking for.† â€Å"How did you know?† â€Å"Because I do what you do. I'm a Death Merchant.† â€Å"A what?† Then Charlie remembered that Minty Fresh said he had coined the term, so maybe only the Death Merchants in San Francisco knew it. â€Å"I collect soul vessels.† â€Å"No, you don't. You can't see me. You can't see me. Sleep. Sleep.† The little man was waving his hands up and down in the air like he was drawing a curtain of deception before him, or possibly clearing spiderwebs out of the room. â€Å"These are not the droids you seek,† Charlie said, grinning. â€Å"What?† â€Å"You don't have Jedi powers, you git. Just take the necklace.† â€Å"I don't understand.† â€Å"Come with me,† Charlie said. â€Å"It's time for my sister to watch her anyway.† He led the little guy out of his mother's room into the living room. They stood by the front window, looking at the sun coming up and casting shadows of the broken teeth of the red rock mountains around them. â€Å"What's your name?† â€Å"Vern. Vern Glover.† â€Å"I'm Charlie. Nice to meet you. How long does she have, Vern?† â€Å"What do you mean?† â€Å"How long on your calendar. How many days were left?† â€Å"How do you know about that?† â€Å"I told you. I do what you do. I can see you. I can see that necklace glowing red. I know what you are.† â€Å"But you can't. The Great Big Book says that horrible Forces of Darkness will rise if I talk to you.† â€Å"See this cut over my ear, Vern?† Vern nodded. â€Å"Forces of Darkness. Fuck 'em. Fuck the Forces of Darkness, Vern. How long does my mother have?† â€Å"It's your mother? I'm sorry, Charlie. She has two more days.† â€Å"Okay,† Charlie said, nodding. â€Å"Then we'd better go get a doughnut.† â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"Doughnut! Doughnut! You like doughnuts, don't you?† â€Å"Yes, but why?† â€Å"Because the continuance of human existence as we know it depends on us having doughnuts together.† â€Å"Really?† Vern's eyes went wide. â€Å"No, not really. I'm just fucking with you.† Charlie put his arm around Vern's shoulder. â€Å"But let's go get one anyway. I'll wake my sister for her watch.† Charlie called home from his mobile phone to check on Sophie. Then, satisfied she was safe, he returned to the booth at Dunkin' Donuts, where Vern and a cruller were waiting for him. Vern had taken off his stocking cap and had a wild mop of silver gray hair over large, aviator-frame glasses that made him look like a tan and wiry mad scientist. â€Å"So like she was really hot?† â€Å"Vern, you wouldn't believe. I'm telling you, body of a goddess. Covered with really fine feathers, soft as down.† Charlie innately recognized another Beta Male like he recognized another Death Merchant, so he nearly stumbled over himself to tell the story of his adventure with the sexy sewer harpy, knowing he had a sympathetic audience. â€Å"But she was going to put her claw through your brain, right?† â€Å"Yeah, she said she was, but you know something, I think there was some chemistry there.† â€Å"You don't think it was just that she had your crank in her hand at the time, because that can cloud a guy's judgment.† â€Å"Yeah, there's that, but still, you have to think, of all the Death Merchants in all of the cities on the planet, she chose me to share the death wank. I think she had a thing for me.† â€Å"Well, you're in the City of Two Bridges,† said Vern, brushing a little maple glaze from the corner of his mouth. â€Å"That's where it's supposed to happen.† â€Å"Where what's supposed to happen?† Charlie had really enjoyed being the senior Death Merchant, acting as the elder statesman to Vern, who had been called to recruit souls only six months ago. Now he was thrown. â€Å"In The Great Big Book of Death, it says that we can't talk about what we do, or try to find each other, or the Forces of Darkness will rise up in the City of Two Bridges and there will be a horrible battle and the Underworld will rise and cover the land if we lose. You guys have two bridges in San Francisco, right?† Charlie tried to hide his surprise. Vern had obviously gotten a different version of the Great Big Book than they got in San Francisco. â€Å"Well, two main ones, yes. Sorry, it's been a long time since I read the book. Remind me why the City of Two Bridges is so important?† Vern gave Charlie the big â€Å"duh† look. â€Å"Because that is where the new Luminatus, the Great Death, will take power.† â€Å"Oh yeah, of course, the Luminatus.† Charlie thumped himself in the side of the head. He had no idea what Vern was talking about. â€Å"You think that they won't need us anymore, after the Great Death takes power?† Vern asked. â€Å"I mean, will there be layoffs? Because the Big Book makes it sound like the Luminatus rising is a good thing, but I've been making a ton of money since I got this gig.† Yeah, that's going to be our problem, layoffs, Charlie thought. â€Å"I think we'll be fine. Like the book says, it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.† â€Å"Right, right, right. So this cop that shot the sexy-goddess babe, he didn't do anything?† â€Å"No, not nothing. First he put me in the back of his cop car and tried to get me to tell him what had been going on when he showed up, and what had been going on for these last few years he's been checking on me.† â€Å"And what did you tell him?† â€Å"I told him that it was as much a mystery to me as it was to him.† â€Å"And he believed that?† â€Å"No. He didn't. But he did believe it when I told him that if I told him more it would get worse, so we came up with a story that justified his firing his weapon. A guy with a gun taking a shot at me, then at him – descriptions, everything. Then when he was sure we had it straight, he took me to the station and I wrote out my statement.† â€Å"That's it, he let you go.† â€Å"No, then he told me stories about his career, and the weird stuff he's encountered, and why because of that, he was going to let me go. The guy is a complete nut job. He believes in vampires and demons and giant owls – he said that he once handled a call for a polar-bear attack in Santa Barbara.† â€Å"Wow,† said Vern. â€Å"You lucked out.† â€Å"I called him before we left the city. He's going to check on my building until I get home, make sure my daughter is okay.† Charlie hadn't told Vern about the hellhounds. â€Å"You must be worried sick about her,† Vern said. â€Å"I have a kid, she's a junior in high school, lives with my ex-wife in Phoenix.† â€Å"Yeah, so you know,† Charlie said. â€Å"So, Vern, you've never seen any of these dark creatures? Never heard voices coming out of the storm drains? Nothing like that?† â€Å"Nope. Not like you're talking about. We don't have storm drains in Sedona. We have a desert with rivers through it.† â€Å"Right, but have you ever missed getting a soul vessel?† â€Å"Yeah, at first, when I got the Great Big Book, I thought it was a joke. I skipped three or four of them.† â€Å"And nothing happened?† â€Å"Well, I wouldn't say that. I'd wake up early, and look up at the mountain above my house, and there'd be a shadow there, looked like a big oil slick.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"So, it would be on the wrong side of the mountain. It would be on the same side as the sun. And during the course of the day, it moved down the mountain. Oh, if you didn't look at it, watch it, you'd look right by it, but it was coming down into the city, hour by hour. I drove out to where I saw it going, and waited for it.† â€Å"And?† â€Å"You could hear crows calling. I waited until it got a half a block from me, moving so slow you could barely see it, but it got louder and louder, like a huge flock of crows. Scared the bejesus out of me. I went home, looked up the name I'd written down during the night, and they lived in the neighborhood I'd been in. The shadow was coming out of the mountain for the soul vessel.† â€Å"Did it get it?† â€Å"I guess. I didn't.† â€Å"And nothing happened?† â€Å"Oh yeah, something happened. The next time the shadow moved faster, like a cloud blowing over. And I followed it, and sure enough, it was heading right for a woman's house whose name was on my calendar. That's when I realized that the Great Big Book wasn't bullshitting.† â€Å"But the shadow thing, it never came for you?† â€Å"Third time,† Vern said. â€Å"There was a third time?† â€Å"Oh yeah, like you didn't think this was all a load of crap when it first started happening to you?† â€Å"Okay, good point,† Charlie said. â€Å"Sorry. Go on.† â€Å"So, the third time, the shadow comes down off a mountain on the other side of town, at night, during a full moon, and this time, you can see the crows flying in it. Not like really see them, but like shadows of them. Some people noticed it that time. I got in my car again, took my dog, Scottie, with me. I already knew where the thing was going. I pulled up a couple of doors down from the guy's house – to warn him, you know. I didn't realize yet what the book was saying about us not being seen, otherwise I would have just gone for the soul vessel. Anyway, I'm at the door, and the shadow is coming across the street, all the edges shaped like crows, and Scottie starts barking like mad, and runs at it. Brave little guy. Anyway, as soon as the shadow touches him he yelps and drops over dead. Meantime, a woman comes to the door, and I look in and see a statue, like a fake Remington bronze on the table in the foyer behind her, and it's glowing red, like red-hot. And I blow by her and grab it. And the shadow evaporates. Just like that, it's gone. That's the last time I was late getting a soul vessel.† â€Å"Sorry about your dog,† Charlie said. â€Å"What did you tell the woman?† â€Å"That's the funny thing, I didn't tell her anything. She was talking to her husband in the next room, and he wasn't answering her, and she runs back to see what happened to him. Didn't even look at me. Turns out the guy was having a heart attack. I took the statue, went and picked up Scottie's body, and left.† â€Å"That had to be tough.† â€Å"I thought I was Death for a while, you know, special. Because the guy croaked with me there, but it was just coincidence.† â€Å"Yeah, that happened to me, too,† Charlie said. But he was still disturbed by the whole â€Å"great battle† revelation. â€Å"Vern, would you mind if I took a look at your Great Big Book?† â€Å"I don't think so, Charlie. In fact, I think we'd better say goodbye. I mean, if the Great Big Book is right, and I don't have any reason to believe it's not, then we shouldn't even be talking.† â€Å"But it's a different version than I have.† â€Å"You don't think there's a reason for that?† Vern said. His eyes magnified in his big glasses made him look like a madman for a second. â€Å"Okay, then,† Charlie said. â€Å"But e-mail me, okay? That shouldn't hurt.† Vern looked in his coffee cup like he was thinking, as if by telling the story of the shadow that came down out of the mountains, he'd frightened himself. Finally he looked up and smiled. â€Å"You know, I'd like that. I could use some pointers, and if something weird starts to happen, we'll stop.† â€Å"Deal,† Charlie said. He drove Vern back to his car, which was parked around the block from his mother's house, and they said good-bye. Jane met Charlie at the door. â€Å"Where have you been? I need the car to go get her floss.† â€Å"I brought doughnuts,† Charlie said, holding up the box, maybe a little too proud. â€Å"Well, that's not the same, is it?† â€Å"As floss?† â€Å"Dental floss. Can you believe it? Charlie, if I'm still flossing on my deathbed, you have my permission to garrote me with it. No, I'm leaving you instructions to garrote me with it.† â€Å"Okay,† Charlie said. â€Å"So other than that, she's okay?† Jane was digging in her purse, had found her cigarettes and was looking for her lighter. â€Å"Like gum disease is the big danger at this point. Goddammit! Did they take my lighter at the airport?† â€Å"You still don't smoke, Jane,† Charlie said. She looked up. â€Å"So what's your point?† â€Å"Nothing.† He handed her the keys to the rental car. â€Å"Can you grab me some toothpaste while you're out?† She gave up searching for the lighter and threw the cigarettes back into her purse. â€Å"What is it with this family and the compulsive dental hygiene?† â€Å"I forgot to bring any.† â€Å"Okay.† Jane braced the keys in her hand, ready to go in the ignition, and tucked her purse under her arm like a football. She dropped into a crouch and pulled down her mirrored, wraparound sunglasses that, with her short platinum blond hair and Charlie's black pinstripe suit, made her look a little like a cyborg assassin from the future getting ready to dash out into the poisonous atmosphere of planet Duran Duran. â€Å"It's fucking hot out there, isn't it?† Charlie nodded and held up the doughnut box again. â€Å"The glazed have suffered.† â€Å"Oh,† Jane said, lifting her glasses again. â€Å"Cassandra called. After you called this morning she noticed your date book on the nightstand. Well actually, she said that Alvin and Mohammed dragged her in there and pushed it at her. She wondered if you needed it.† â€Å"What about Sophie, is she okay?† â€Å"No, she's been abducted by aliens, but I wanted you to digest the bad news about forgetting your date book first.† â€Å"You know, that right there is why Mom is ashamed of you,† Charlie said. Jane laughed. â€Å"Guess what? She's not.† â€Å"She's not?† â€Å"No, this morning. She told me that she always knew who I was, always knew what I was, and that she has always loved me, just the way I am.† â€Å"Did you card her? There's an impostor in our mom's bed.† â€Å"Shut up, it was nice. Important.† â€Å"She was probably just saying that because she's dying.† â€Å"She did say that she wished I wouldn't wear men's suits all the time.† â€Å"She's not alone on that one,† Charlie said. Jane fell back into assault mode. â€Å"I'm off on the floss mission. Call Cassandra.† â€Å"Done,† Charlie said. â€Å"And Buddy needs a doughnut.† Jane threw open the door and ran out into the heat screaming like a berserker charging the enemy. Charlie closed the door behind her so as not to let the air-conditioning out, and watched through the glass as his sister ran across the zero-scaped yard like she was on fire. He looked beyond her to the red rock mesa rising out of the desert. There seemed to be a deep crevasse in it that he hadn't seen there before. He looked again, and saw that it wasn't a crevasse at all, just a long, sharp shadow. Then he ran out into the driveway and looked at the position of the sun, then at the shadow. It was on the wrong side of the mesa. There couldn't be a shadow on this side – the sun was also on this side. He shaded his eyes and watched the shadow until he thought his brains were cooking in the sun. It was moving, slowly, but moving, and not the way a shadow moves. It was moving with purpose, against the sun, toward his mother's house. â€Å"My date book,† he said to himself. â€Å"Oh, shit.†