Bamboozled: Black People and White Man Essay

In 2000, Spike Lee wrote and directed the film Bamboozled. When discussing his satirical film, Spike Lee claimed, â€Å"I want people to think about the power of images, not just in terms of race, but how imagery is used and what sort of social impact it has – how it influences how we talk, how we think, how we view one another[. . . ]how film and television have historically[. . . ]produced and perpetuated distorted images. † Spike Lee certainly conveyed this message in Bamboozled. Images are powerful and carry massive social impact. They should never be misrepresented. Are all African Americans either lazy or dim-witted or â€Å"happy servants†, always ready and willing to please the White Man? The short answer is, no. However, throughout the 1800s and early 1900s, many people believed this. The ultimate question is, why? As explained in the film Ethnic Notions, this false perception grew and grew, even past the time of slavery, due to images. Derogatory images of African Americans as â€Å"happy servants† or â€Å"savages,† were everywhere; they were published in children’s books and slapped on cans of food to be used as a marketing tool. People bought into this perception of African Americans, as they became acclimatized to it. Today, our society likes to believe that times have changed and there is no longer an issue of race or false perception of African Americans in the media. However, Spike Lee argues, â€Å"A new â€Å"phenomenon† has emerged in film in recent years, in which an African-American character is imbued with special powers, filmmaker Spike Lee told a student audience ? This new image is just a reincarnation of â€Å"the same old† stereotype or caricature of African Americans ? Lee cited four recent films in which there is a â€Å"magical, mystical Negro† character ? in â€Å"The Legend of Bagger Vance,† a black man â€Å"with all these powers,† teaches a young white male ? how to golf like a champion ? â€Å"How is it that black people have these powers but they use them for the benefit of white people? † Spike Lee seems to be under the impression that African Americans are still misrepresented in the media. They have only improved their ability to mask the fact. False image is still there, but it is subtle. His film Bamboozled ripped viewers’ eyes wide open. The film explored and demonstrated two images of African Americans. The first image, is the Black Man who is just like the White Man or the Asian Man or the Middle-Eastern Man; a man who can be rich and successful like Pierre Delacroix in Bamboozled; a man who can be poor and when without money will do almost anything for it like Manray and Womack. However, when Pierre Delacroix pitched television shows about a Black Man living in an upper-middle-class white, suburban neighborhood, his superior, Thomas Dunwitty turned them down, â€Å"they definitely don’t want to see dignified black people [on television]. † However, the network would allow Pierre Delacroix to create a show which blatantly degrades African Americans; a show which goes back to the 1900s, to the time of black face and minstrel shows; a time when black people were considered subhuman. This is where Spike Lee demonstrates the other image of the African American; an image that the media has gently forced down viewer’s throats. Spike Lee, however, did not do so gently. The fictional television show in Bamboozled, â€Å"Mantan’s New Millennium Minstrel Show†, starred African Americans in â€Å"black face† acting like buffoons. It might as well have been an authentic minstrel show in the 1900s. There was dancing and singing. The two main characters hid from the White Man in a chicken coup, saying â€Å"ain’t nobody in here but us chickens! â€Å"4 The creator, Pierre Delacroix’s initial intention with this show was not to degrade his own race. It was to â€Å"break the stereotypes. â€Å"5 He figured the nation would be shocked and outraged! Instead they ate it up. The studio audience dressed in black face. Children trick-or-treated in black face. It was the latest craze of the nation. Black face is an act which digs back to a time of slavery, a time where African Americans were considered inferior. It was now socially acceptable to publicly highlight a moment in history that pained African Americans. People figured it’s on TV, it’s OK! The black man was degraded, as he has always been, but in Bamboozled no mercy was spared. Spike Lee used the film in a variety of ways. He attacked today’s media and the way in which it portrays African Americans. He explored the wide scope of African American’s lives, which is no different than the lives of any other race. He demonstrated the consequences of greed and sacrificing one’s dignity. Furthermore, he exposed society for what it really is: mindless. The majority of a population does not question the media. Instead it swallows images whole, even if those images are as false and misleading as a painted black face.

English Phonetics and Phonology

THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG HKU SPACE Community College Associate Degree Programmes 2012-13 Course Document Course Title: English Phonetics and Phonology Course Code: C C 8 8 3 5 6 0 0 Aims and Objective This course will focus on articulatory phonetics and the classification of sounds in English. It will explain how English is pronounced in the context of a general theory about speech sounds and how they are organized in languages. Topics will include the speech production mechanism; the description of sound qualities and their representations; prosodic features.There will be many exercises in ear training, sound production and their written representations. Intended Learning Outcomes of the Course On completion of the course, students should be able to: ILO1. describe how speech sounds are produced; ILO2. describe sound production with reference to the articulatory track; ILO3. link perceptual descriptions with production and explain in general how perceptually different sounds diff er in their production; ILO4. distinguish the classification of speech sounds and discuss their phonological groupings and distributions in English; ILO5. ecognize English Phonetic symbols and be able to transcribe connected speech in English; ILO6. discuss the syllabic structure of English; ILO7. select relevant details and systematically organize ideas in answering questions. Syllabus 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Voice production and the organs of speech The production of vocalic elements in speech — cardinal vowels and their representation English vowels – their production, perceptual qualities and representation.Long short vowels, diphthongs and tripthongs The larynx, its structure and the role it plays in speech production The phoneme – its theoretical justification, symbol representation and realization under different phonetic contexts Consonantal elements in speech. English consonants – their production, perceptual qualities, place and manner of articulat ion. Discussion of the phonemic status of some consonants The syllabic structure of EnglishAssessment Type of Assessment (Weighting) Description Test 1: Transcription of English vowels (5%) Test 2: Short questions on the first half of the course (8%) Test 3: Transcription of English (entire text) (10%) Continuous Assessment (50%) Test 4: Long questions on phonemic theory and related issues (10%) Tutorial performance, ear training exercises and homework written exercises (12%) Attendance and performance in class (5%) Examination (50%) Pre-requisite(s) Nil Required and Recommended Reading Text Book: 1. English Phonetics and Phonology – A practical course by Peter Roach, Cambridge University Press, 2000.Written Exam Other References: 1. A Course in Phonetics by Peter Ladefoged, Heinle & Heinle: Australia, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, 2001. 2. Practical Phonetics and Phonology by Beverley Collins and Inger M. Mees, Routleddge: London and New Yo rk, 2003. 3. Fundamental Problems in Phonetics by J. C. Catford, Indiana University Press: Bloomington, 1982. 4. Introduction to Phonetics by L. F. Brosnahan & Bertil Malmberg, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, London, New York, Melbourne, 1976. 29. 06. 11

The Effects of Organized Crime on Russia’s Economic Reform

Angela Tien The Effect of Organized Crime on Russia’s Economic Reform With Russia’s extensive history, there is no saying that organized crime is not an issue of this nation. Organized crime promotes the overall performance of the economy in Russia, and it was also a problem during the rise of democratic Russia. Influence from organized crime is harmful internally, yet beneficial to Russia on a global scale. Although the Russian economy thrives as a nascent country experiencing capitalism and democracy, it is deteriorating from the core of their government from corruption. Several factors minister the failure of Russia’s economic reform.Corruption, change in political and economic concepts, and the ever-expanding global economy have fueled the power and influence organized crime has asserted on Russia’s economic reform. The impact of organized crime on Russia’s economic reform is significant to both the development and adherence of Russia’s p revious economy by incorporating elements of transitions such as corruption and revolutions in both capitalist and democratic ideals, at the same time establishing and preserving an influential association with the global economy while constituting achievements within it, which reflects on their economy today.Background: When Stalin proposed freedom to the prisoners in the Soviet Union in exchange for fighting in World War Two, he had upset the entire perennial system of the â€Å"Code of Thieves†, an underground colony of criminals. There was no knowledge of the repercussion that Stalin’s actions would alter. The â€Å"Thieves† had evolved into a much more sophisticated group of criminals, after the betrayal of those who enlisted to work with the government. Later, as the Soviet Union fell apart, it gave birth to the Red Mafia, otherwise known as the Russian Mafia.Previously, the Cold War contributed to the augmentation of the Russian Mafia too, like Stalin. Ru ined, Russia’s economy was devastated. Subsequently, with the down fall of the Soviet Union and the Cold War over, the Russian government inherited the world’s greatest weapon storage. Using these weapons as a way to profit, the mafia and other forms of organized crime took advantage of the desperate government workers, who turned to crime for cash. The sources for currency in Russia were weapons and poverty-stricken people forsaken from the Cold War scouring for work.In order to improve the Russian’s economy, America introduced the controversial â€Å"shock therapy†, a method that involves the sudden self-governing free market to release price and currencies, withdrawals of state contribution, and immediate global trade, (Murrell, 1993). Since then, the Russian Mafia has had control over the majority of businesses in Russia. Despite the democratic surge throughout Russia, the promotion of capitalism and democracy was futile. Basically, the Americans intr oduced Russia with the sudden surge of capitalism.Unexpectedly, the result was disastrous and the treatment backfired. Starving homeless people wandered through the streets aimlessly looking for a job to pay for food, agreeing to work for cheap labor. Government official turned to crime as a means of making money. Corruption is a major factor that made the economic reform difficult to succeed: Recently, forest fires rage throughout Russia’s landscape. Mr. Luzhkov, a politician, was residing in his estate when he was criticized for the lack of concern he expressed. Almost the entire government responded this way.Hence, â€Å"Mr. Luzhkov has been derided for behaving like an autocrat, muzzling dissent and allowing corruption to flourish,† (Levy, 2010). Russia’s economy was at stake, partly to the increasing problem of corruption. Corruption has deprived Russia of any success with its economic reform. With the consecutive capital flight each year during the economi c reform, Russia’s economy was not stable, nor was it sustainable. Even today, little of that has improved. Billions of laundered rubles are perpetually transferred to bank accounts in other countries annually.Corruption has suggested that organized crime has played an integral part towards the failure of economic reform. Finckenauer describes the cause of corruption in Russia as â€Å"[t]he historical symbiosis with the state [which] makes Russian organized crime virtually an inalienable part of the state†, (Finckenaur, 2001). Russia was left virtually bankrupt, until the fresh initiation of capitalism and democracy. Russia was so corrupt that criminals could bribe their way out of any lawbreaking problem, (Finckenaur, 2001). From Shelley’s observations, we know that roughly a hundred and fifty billion U. S. ollars, perhaps more, are transferred to off-shore accounts, sometimes reaching sums up to three hundred billion U. S. dollars,(Shelley, p. 3). A substanti al number of the assets wired to other countries belong to corrupt officials, who did not assist Russia’s economic reform, (Shelley, p. 4, 5).The increasing number of corrupt officials that collaborates with the Russian mafia is the source to Russia’s faltering economy. Allow a poll taken by Russian citizens manifest the severity of corruption within Russia: â€Å"[t]wenty-three percent of Russians living in urban areas believe that organized crime, not the Government, runs the country. ,(Boylan, 1996). Corruption from government officials numbers were on the rise. At that rate, Russia’s economic reform was next to impossible. There was not a single residue of affluence for Russia to advocate or achieve success of their economic reform. Not merely has organized crime conspired with government officials in the act of corruption, it had somehow obliquely gained control over the flux of money. Recently, a total of 33 billion U. S. dollars, reported by BCC, are bei ng wired to banks aboard, some in the U. S. , (Konstantin, 2010).This 33 billion â€Å"amounts to 20% of Russia's budget for state and local procurement, or more than 10% of the state budget's income for 2010,† (Konstantin, 2010) It is difficult to prove that control over money had been organized crime’s intentions, but its prevalence over the government through corruption has certainly prompt the unsuccessful result of Russia’s economic reform. The revolution in political and economic concepts allowed organized crime to flourish: Exempt from corruption aside, Russia’s economic reform faced democratic and capitalist issues. Half of the commodities upon a cargo ship traveling to the U.S. in the 90’s contain illegally purchased grain alcohol. This alcohol was manufactured by an American distiller company named McCormicle Distilling Company Superb Spirits. The Russian mafia dyed the alcohol blue to pass the alcohol on for window washing liquid. They m arked these boxes â€Å"industrial†. Smuggling prospered under these conditions. The mafia avoided taxes and a long process that consumed time, while profiting. Acting as a cover up for the mafia, business companies such McCormicle benefitted from the list of procedures and expenses needed to operate.Using capitalism and democracy to increase profits, organized crime was in favor of capitalism and democracy. Privatization of organized crime in Russia caused the economic reform to blunder and digress considerably. Finckenaur explains that, â€Å"privatization of state property both expanded and solidified the complex relationship that had developed between the state and organized crime†, (Finckenaur, 2001). Essentially all private and state-owned companies and subsidies were harmed from the meltdown of the economic reform due to organized crime flourishing in the free market.From the beginning of capitalism, â€Å"[t]he entire Soviet system has long operated with a flo urishing black-market supervised and controlled by [organized crime groups]†, (Boylan, 1996). While the U. S. government deplete their dollars advertising democratic and capitalist issues in Russia, (Boylan, 1996), the Russians â€Å"had people taking advantage of the privileges of a free market—taking in foreign investments, issuing stocks and bonds, making international loans—without sufficient oversight or taxation to generate incomes to pay the bondholders back†, (Friedman, 1999).As a novice towards democracy and capitalism, Russia was going through a phase in which economic hardships and dealing with new ideas was difficult. Subsequently, those with money and authority were quick to assert power and control, namely the organized crime groups and corrupt political figures. â€Å"Several experts have estimated that approximately one-third of capital flight involves illegal activity,† which indicates the organized crime has penetrated the system o f economic reform, (Cooper, 2000).Before the matter of discussing the issues during the economic reform, a similarity should be distinguished between corrupt officials and organized crime lords: illegal capital flight was mostly pocketed by these two groups, for â€Å"[r]acketeers and bandits created a multithreaded mafia that remains potent and ubiquitous,† (Schemann, 2009). Furthermore, organized crime utilized the free market to expand in their trade with other countries. For example, oversea corporations from Russian companies belonged to the Russian mafia, which used scams to maximize profits. U. S. law enforcement agencies raided the Pennsylvania headquarters of a TSX–listed company called YBM Magnex International, which turned out to be a front for Russian mafia activity headed by Semion Mogilevich. The shares of YBM were worth more than $500 million before they collapsed in value virtually overnight. The scam eventually landed Mogilevich a spot on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list†, (Rosen, 2010). Through this example, it can be notified that the Russian mafia had control over trade and much of trade was illegal.The Russian government could not hinder the influence the Russian mafia asserted over the trading routes. Much of the money being made through these black-market deals or any other illegal means was profited by the Russian mafia. â€Å"The criminalization of the privatization process has resulted in the massive use of state funds and property for criminal gain†, which in turn, left Russian without any funds, (Finckenaur, 2001). Consequently, none of the profits made were funded into Russia’s economic reform.Because â€Å"the assets controlled by organized crime give it enormous economic power†, it is safe to say that organized crime accumulated a large portion of the state’s funds, (Finckenaur, 2001). Due to a free market, anyone who had money had the power to make even more, and that is exactly what organized crime took advantage of. Democracy and the capitalist rules induced these criminal groups to escape imprisonment. Authorities had neither power nor evidence to pin any provable crime against them. To this day, these criminals are still profiting from privatization. Privatization led to the transfer of vast wealth to a handful of oligarchs and to rampant corruption,† (Schemann, 2009), leaving only a few people wealthy. Mitigating the security issues with trade, capitalism and democracy, which permitted organized crime to continue their illegal activity, affected the overall result of the economic reform. The global economy ignited the purpose of Russia’s economic reform: Although, organized crime had brought negative effects on Russia’s economic reform, their actions had increased success indirectly to their economic reform as well.A man named Tarzan from Russia has a business in Miami. Before he opened up this business, he worked for the Russian mafia. Extorting countless business and private companies, the mafia had these people pay protection fees, usually killing those who oppose. Through these connections with the mafia, Tarzan was able to create a new lifestyle for himself. His business was collaborated by the Columbian mafia. He helped smuggled weapons and provides the Columbian with transport they desired. He even sold a submarine to the Columbians.This vast global trade gave Tarzan the means to make more money and continue prospering in the market. Items and ideas were assimilated to different places, expanding the abounding global trade and economy. Emerging from the Soviet Union with a ruined economy, there was very little economic opportunity for Russia to improve their economy. Russia’s economic instability during the 1900’s â€Å"have increasingly scared off foreign investors; foreign direct investment (FDI) into Russia fell by 45 percent in the first half of 2009 alone†, (Mankoff, 2010).No forei gn investors are willing to invest and no countries are willing to participate in trade with it. For this reason, the Russians had no partners to trade with in order to expand their economy. Russia compelled an economic reform in search for an opportunity to extend their economic influence, but how is it possible to have an economic reform when the country’s funds are empty? How did Russia revived from its decline? And more eminently, what system or factor granted Russia the aptitude to succeed?The answer to the latter resides in the system or factor which commenced global trade; this system or factor being organized crime. In the interest of global trade, Russia, which had little resources and industries to offer, was presented with an opportunity to flourish in the market. Privatization was introduced, whether the companies were legal or not. It is recorded that â€Å"roughly two-thirds of Russia’s economy is under the sway of the crime syndicates†, (Webster, 1997). But this does not change the goal of Russia’s economy.Russian revived itself through illegal businesses by the global economy and free market. Whether the motive behind the Russian mafia’s trade was with illegal means, capital was flowing and increasing, which aided the promising rise of a global partner. In 1996, the capital flight exceeded 6 billion U. S. dollars, rendering the growth of organized crime’s profits excel in other countries too, (Kramer, 2000). Illegal trade with the U. S. has brought many fleeing to the states. The majority of the mafia members had taken posts and paired up with other organized crime groups.Regarding the trade between the organized crime and others, though it may be illegal, money is flowing in and out of the country. As Friedman mentions, that â€Å"[g]lobalization also calls for a reform†, (Friedman, 1999), there is sufficient, benign results from Russia’s crime groups on the development of the economic re form. The situation that organized crime started had somehow ameliorated the sterile economy of Russia’s previous economy, thus improving the economic reform. Nearly all the global trend settlers were previous Russian reformers, who were probably associated with organized crime. Friedman 1999). Russian organized crime groups were the first to begin the global trade since the Soviet Union. These people are the ones who started the trade between nations in the west. This advances trade and economic prosperity within Russia.The reform had benefits on behalf of this. With the open trade, the Russians gained the attention they were deficient in by raising the economic awareness around the globe to prolong a successful reform. Henceforth, the Russian economic reform was successful due to rganized crime’s initiation of applying capitalism and democracy. Conclusion: Russia’s economic reform can be summarized as well-developed, partly due to capitalism and democracy, as well as, the expansion of a global economy by organized crime groups. Yet the economic reform has partially failed from the pervasion of corruption and capitalism evoked by organized crime. Russia’s economic reform is affected substantially by these three factors. On account of corruption, the economic reform did not obtain the necessary requirement of funds that it needed to succeed.Capitalism and democracy conceded organized crime to flourish and amass the money reserves that was imperative for the motivation of the economic reform. Despite this, capitalism had also paved Russia’s road towards the beginning of the free market. In addition, the global economy had given consent for organized crime to uphold recognition in the global economy, delivering Russia the advertisement it lacked to partake in the market. Overall, organized crime has had a rather significant impact on Russia’s economic reform.Russia could emerge one day as a superpower; however, it has no t acquired all the necessary components to dominate in the global economy. If Russia continues to administer organized crime through corruption or does not push for economic and political reform again, investors in the foreign market will avoid investment in Russia and Russia, once again, will collapse, this time farther into recession.

Merger of Everything Everywhere, T-mobile & Orange Essay

Merger of Everything Everywhere, T-mobile & Orange - Essay Example The new company would have 28.4 million subscribers (T-mobile UK, 8 September 2009). Another benefit of the merger would be the improvement of the network coverage but also of the network quality (T-mobile UK, 8 September 2009). According to Gervais Pellissier, the CFO of France Telecom, the merger would help both firms to increase their competitiveness in the UK market, but also ‘to develop new services and technologies’ (T-mobile UK, 8 September 2009). In the long term, the merger would result to the decrease of the firms’ operational costs, at least by ?445m annually (OFCOM 2010). The merger was set under examination aiming to ensure that it does not violate the British and the European laws on competition. The case was brought before the European Commission, which decided, in the 1st of March 2010, that the merger would be permitted (Orange Newsroom March 2010) since the terms that the European Commission had set were met. In accordance with OFCOM European Com mission allowed the merger mostly because of the commitments of the firms in terms of ‘spectrum and network sharing’ (OFCOM 2010). ... he specific name was chosen in order to highlight the firm’s potential to offer to its customers ‘instant access to the world around them, to everything everywhere’ (T-mobile UK, 1 July 2010). In practice, the specific strategy, i.e. the use of a new name for the firm resulting from the merger, can be characterized as rather risky, taking into consideration the similar practices of other competitors in the UK mobile industry, which tend to use their own brands. On the other hand, the customers of the new firm, Everything Everywhere Ltd would have the chance to use the mobile networks of both brands, being significantly benefited compared to the customers of other mobile operators in UK (Meyer 2010). At this point, it would be necessary to check whether the merger actually benefited Orange and T-mobile. At a first level, it seems that T-mobile has been more benefited from the specific initiative, compared to Orange, which is already well established in the UK marke t. Indeed, the performance of T-mobile across UK can be characterized as low (BBC News 2010); the merger with Orange would help the firm to improve its market position ‘overnight’ (Shaun Collins in BBC News 2010). After the merger, the position of the two brands in the UK industry is still different; indeed, Orange is still more powerful than T-mobile, with a network of about 17 million subscribers, compared to the 13 million subscribers of T-mobile (Meyer 2010). Moreover, Virgin mobile offers to its customers the potential to use the network of Orange, when being in areas where the Virgin mobile network is not available (Virgin Mobile 2011, Mandalia 2011). The firm that resulted from the merger, Everything Everywhere Limited has a key share in the UK mobile market, reaching ‘the 28 million

Week 12-business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Week 12-business - Essay Example The range of values of satisfaction for the variable can range from a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 15. The chi – square is test for significant difference in satisfaction between gender and majors. The hypothesis tested by the chi-square is to determine whether different samples are different enough in some characteristic. b). The statistical test to be used in the case is probability test. The variables are gender which is a dependent variable and majors which are independent variables (Weisberg 2005). The probability test articulates that there is no interaction because there is an intersection among the three majors (finance, accounting and management) among the male and female. /e) where 0 is observed data and e is expected data. The variables are gender which is a dependent variable and the majors (finance, accounting and management). If the chi-square value obtained is larger than critical value at any chosen probability fault threshold, then data presented statistical significant correlation between the variables that are used in the test (Walker & SAS Institute2010). In regression -0.3 to 0 shows a weak spread, 0 to 0.3 shows a moderate spread of data along the regression line and above 0.3 shows a concentrated spread about the regression line. So 0.3 shows a moderate spread around the regression line. Kurtosis is the measure of skewness. A zero kurtosis is mesokurtic, a positive kurtosis is leptokurtic and negative kurtosis is platykurtic. Therefore, kurtosis = 0.3 is mesokurtic which is a normal distribution. Durbin Watson statistic has values from 0 to 4. Where by value 2 show no autocorrelation in a sample selected. Any value approaching 0 shows positive autocorrelation while 4 shows a negative autocorrelation. So in this case d=0.3 indicates a positive autocorrelation. Shapiro – wilks w is a measure of normality of random sample. For instance if the value of p is more than 0.05 then it assumed to have a normal distribution

Public speaking Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Public speaking - Assignment Example The third strength that I possess is coherency and fluency in speech. This makes me to present my ideas clearly in a way that the audience will understand and enjoy (Jaffe, 2013). It indicates that I am professional in my field and I know what I am doing. There are also weaknesses that I need to improve on. First, I always get tired easily. I can give a public speech for 2-3 hours and after that I lose energy to go on with my speech. In order to address all issues involved in my speech, I need to develop more energy to provide my speech strongly and consistently until the end (Jaffe, 2013). My second weakness is that I like providing a lot of information which may burden the audience and fail to capture all the ideas I present. I need to improve on this and be straight to the point. The effective speaker I know is a youth leader in my town. What makes him an effective speaker is his deliver style. He always makes a good eye contact with the audience and uses a good tone that everyone enjoys. He also tells stories clearly in an exciting manner. Furthermore, he connects with his audience and engages them in his speech. He understands the needs of his audience and addresses them well. He influences the people around him by being empathetic; putting himself in their shoes and tells them what he things they wish to hear. He has good negotiation skills including good listening to understand and influence his

Literature review 8 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8000 words

8 - Literature review Example By addressing issues such as of poverty, microfinance and its impact on and gender/power relations and women's empowerment, this study will attempt to inscribe itself into broader discourses and debates concerning equity and equality, gendered inequalities, power relations, women's economic and social empowerment as they are impacted by microfinance. Saudi Arabia is an undisguised, self-evident patriarchal state; this study aims at investigating the positive and negative implications microfinance bears on the Saudi female clients. By studying the initiative Bab Rizq Jameel (BRJ)1, and examining its underlying principles, rational accomplishments and goals, this study aims to examine its effects on power relations, decision-making and bargaining power in the household. This case study of microfinance in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia aspires to unfold an important and lacking dimension to the current debates surrounding gender and development in developing countries particularly in relat ion to debates surrounding gender equality2 vs. ... There have been continual debates on whether microfinance can be considered as a savior to poverty-stricken women from oppression and gendered inequalities or whether having access to micro-financial resources can empower women economically and socially. ‘Studies generally suggest the poorest seldom benefit from microcredit, while the middle and upper poor benefit the most (Maclsaac, 1997). This doesn’t apply to the case in Saudi Arabia because the BRJ scheme is a charity-based approach that is Shari’aa compliant (offering interest-free loans). There is a debate between whether microfinance can help promote gender-equality vs. gender equity. (See footnotes 2 & 3 for the difference) In the case of Saudi Arabia, gender equality would be an ideological scenario, given the religious, cultural and traditional framework in which there impoverished women operate. Gender equity is more of an attainable goal in this context. Furthermore, there are heated debates surroundin g the issue of microfinance being regarded a tool to facilitate women’s empowerment. A recent study in Bangladesh concluded that microfinance politically, ‘does not directly challenge any official views that subjugate women, nor that any hard evidence was found to prove that microcredit credit promotes empowerment or supports women’s liberation ’ (Faraizi et al., 2011). This study is particularly useful to this research because in many ways Saudi Arabia shares commonalities with the religious framework in Bangladesh; where Islamists in high positions of power officially subscribe to unequal rights for women. Whereby, any contrasting, disparate voices against the patriarchal dominant voice are silenced. (Faraizi et al., 2011) In the kingdom of

Latin American Countries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Latin American Countries - Essay Example Native inhabitants were powerless against the superior firearm and the onslaught of foreign disease leading to their colonization. The previously free spirited populace was organized into communities and were made as labourers in gold mines and plantations. Their rights were limited and their life left to the whims of the captors. There were many excesses on the part of the victors and many sacrifices on the part of the conquered. Nevertheless, they would continue to bear this yolk as their beliefs and grudges were tempered by religious missions which instilled superstitious beliefs and damned all those who tried to break free from the system. Yet, even that could not prevent the inevitable. With the weakening of Spain and Portugal in the face of its French adversary and the rise of nationalistic sentiments, it was not long before the populace rebelled against those who have wronged them. This paper aims at investigating the fight for independence of three South American countries namely Mexico, Brazil and Chile. I am to discuss their colonial background and then highlight the similarities and difference in their fight for independence. I will also be discussing the possible reasons behind these so as to provide a more critical perspective regarding the history of the three nations. Brazil became a Portuguese colony by the early... The region soon became a major sugar, gold and diamond exporter. Brazil's road to independence started in September 1821 when Don Pedro, a Portuguese himself, defied the ruling of the Cortes in Portugal which placed the Kingdom of Brazil under direct control of Lisbon. The first confrontation involved the loyal- to-Lisbon troops and thousands of armed Brazilians. There was no bloodshed as Dom Pedro ordered the Portuguese commanding general and his soldiers to go back to Portugal. Bloodshed occurred in uprisings in other regions. Fuelled by being branded as traitors by Lisbon, Don Pedro finally declared independence in September 7, 1822 when he swore:"By my blood, by my honour, and by God: I will make Brazil free." Britain and Portugal recognized Brazilian independence by signing a treaty on August 29, 1825. (Cavaliero, 1993) Mexico's path to independence was much more violent than that of Brazil. Mexico experienced a decade long war starting with an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and Spanish colonial authorities on September 16, 1810. The Mexican War of Independence movement was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Afro-mexicans and mestizos who sought independence from Spain. It started as an idealistic peasants' rebellion against their colonial masters, but finally ended as an unlikely alliance between conservative Spaniards not wanting to recognize the new head in their motherland and the Creoles (Spaniards born in Mexico) who instigated the cry for independence. Representatives of the Spanish crown and the head of the Mexican alliance signed on August 24, 1821 the Treaty of Crdoba which recognized Mexican independence. (Ruiz, 1992) Chile's move for independence came about when news of Napoleon's advance into Spain and the deposing of the

Introduction to Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Introduction to Business - Assignment Example While raising capital to start a small business, an individual can start by financing the businesses himself. Several benefits such as retaining all the profits are associated with this form of financing, but if a small business need to grow large then it needs to look for other options (Alterowitz, 2007. P.14). Next best alternative is to ask for assistance from family members and relatives for finance. For this purpose an entrepreneur has to make the effort of making his relatives realize that he/she has a great investment plan and will be quite successful. In very rare instances family and friends invest in a business; if an entrepreneur faces such a scenario, he/she can obtain assistance from the government (Great Britain, 2006, p.18). Government has various plans where they finance small businesses or provide money in shape of grants to entrepreneurs to start up their own business. If an entrepreneur is not eligible for such government support options, the business can obtain a loan from banks to start small businesses. Due to failure of large businesses and the risk of high amount of loss associated with large businesses, banks and governments are more willing to finance small businesses. One of the major decision made by a manger is to identify the cost of producing a product and then price the product according to make profit when they sell their goods and services. For this purpose they can use activity based costing method, by using this method they can calculate the cost of an activity.

Online Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Online Education - Essay Example This paper approves that the student responses published on the online message boards give the students a chance to share their views and ideas. The students can choose to have a virtual social life by forming online communities and groups. Considering the fact that the students pursuing online courses hail from diverse locations, belong to different age groups, have variegated professional backgrounds and are more diverse in their interests and affiliations, the online education certainly offers a more full bodied and enlightening academic environment to its students as compared to the regular classrooms. The online education system is also fast gearing up to the challenges imposed by the current job market. A number of online institutions do offer placement services to their students and many online courses are actively collaborating with the leading corporate concerns to upgrade and customize their courses so as to make their students more sought after and competitive in the real world. This essay makes a conclusion that with the ensuing advances in the telecommunication technology and the changing face of the society the world over, the online education system is expected to become more popular. It is the only way of taking education to each and every eligible aspirant. Definitely the standard modes of education are going to stay, but the real future of the world lies in the online dissemination of knowledge and facts

Service operations managements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Service operations managements - Essay Example hai Banking Corporation (HSBC), which are highly critical services and need absolute customer focus besides thorough banking knowledge and skills and effective operations management. Service operations management is a large and critical business sector. Besides customer satisfaction, service operations managers are also responsible for continuous improvement and cost-saving objectives. These are to be achieved with the available resources such as materials, staff, equipment and process technology (Johnston & Clark, 2008). Service operations management also requires specialized skills and competencies in terms of the five main management functions, planning, organising, leading, coordinating and controlling. These five core functions are achieved through strategic planning and management, effective leadership, technology and skills, and human resources management. In general, these functions seem quite similar to any other service/production management; however, the practices, policies, and approaches differ in the service industry. In service operations, all operational functions are pre-planned and assessed in terms of costs, infrastructure, staffing etc; these operational functions require the support of other functions like the administration, facilities, human resources department, training and quality assessment departments etc. All functions are strategically aligned to the organisation’s main goal. Among HSBC’s five core business principles, customer service, effective and efficient operations, strict expense discipline through teamworking and organisational commitment form the grounding principles for carrying out efficient service management (HSBC Holdings plc, 2001). Amongst the hundreds of different services provided by the global bank, payment services forms one critical unit and service which has sound impact on its customers as well as the bank itself. Capacity planning is the process of calculating the capacity of materials, personnel

Gang Development And Control Essay Example for Free

Gang Development And Control Essay Below are descriptions of gang development theories. Copy and paste the correct description into the table below next to the appropriate theory. There are five descriptions and four theories. One description is not valid. Theory Gang members are violent and rarely show remorse or feelings regarding their violent and criminal actions. Members may join a gang because it provides them a release for their personal problems, which may include drug abuse, low self-esteem, and family problems. Gang members typically come from low income areas and may even be considered to have been â€Å"forced† into gang life in order to survive. The gang provides a sense of belonging in a world where members may lack positive role models and the ability to attain status in a way considered acceptable by society. Joining a gang is a way to obtain money and protection. It is often seen as a personal decision to gain success. Members who join for this reason feel pride when they get away with a crime and were most likely committing illegal acts long before joining a gang. Members join a gang to have a safe social circle and to learn techniques to communicate through graffiti. Gang members use those techniques to display their gang’s strength and power in their neighborhood. Members who join a gang for this reason are typically involved in drug use and truancy but rarely violent acts of delinquency. Individuals who join gangs for this reason may have an older family member who is a gang member. They may go through distinct hazing rituals before they can join. The hazing rituals offer assurance that the individual is capa ble and ready to start his or her new life as a gang member. Description: Anthropological †¢Individuals who join gangs for this reason may have an older family member who is a gang member. They may go through distinct hazing rituals before they can join. The hazing rituals offer assurance that the individual is capable and ready to start his or her new life as a gang member. Sociocultural †¢Gang members typically come from low income areas and may even be considered to have been â€Å"forced† into gang life in order to survive. The gang provides a sense of belonging in a world where members may lack positive role models and the ability to attain status in a way considered acceptable by society. Psychological †¢Gang members are violent and rarely show remorse or feelings regarding their violent and criminal actions. Members may join a gang because it provides them a release for their personal problems, which may include drug abuse, low self-esteem, and family problems. Rational Choice †¢Joining a gang is a way to obtain money and protection. It is often seen as a personal decision to gain success. Members who join for this reason feel pride when they get away with a crime and were most likely committing illegal acts long before joining a gang. Gang Control In the table below, describe the gang control methods in your own words and use the Internet to provide an example of a program based on each type of gang control method. Include the name of the Web site and the working URL address in the table. Gang Control Methods Descriptions Examples Law Enforcement Efforts Law enforcement is looked at for gang control and it takes three forms. Youth service program where they are given responsibility for gang control. Gang details are assigned exclusively to gang control work. Gang units are to deal solely with gang problems. Chicago officers have an intelligence unit that will use the gang members name in the computer to see if they have gotten arrested or picked up for anything. Gang Awareness https://portal.chicagopolice.org/portal/page/portal/ClearPath/Communities/Gang%20Awareness Community Control Efforts They used to have the YMCA where there were people there to work with gangs. Now they have prevention services for kids to prevent them from joining a gang. Like counseling and parent kid activities. They also want to find a way to involve programs into the schools. Gang Free http://www.gangfree.org/who_index.html

Leptospira Cultures Maintenance

Leptospira Cultures Maintenance RESULTS The Leptospira serovars maintained in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology were used in the present study. For maintenance, EMJH medium (Difco) with albumin supplement was employed and subcultured at seven day intervals and incubation was carried out at 28-30Â °C. In addition, the stock cultures were maintained in semi-solid medium with subculturing at one month interval. IDENTIFICATION OF LEPTOSPIRES Under dark field microscope, the live leptospiral organisms were found tightly coiled and actively motile. The motility observed was of both spinning and bending. In highly concentrated cultures, the organisms formed entangled masses. No contaminants were observed in most of the time when streaked on blood agar plates for purity checking of the cultures. In case of contamination they were purified by filtration. RECOMBINANT PROTEIN PRODUCTION Preparation of template DNA from Leptospira The genomic DNA isolated from Leptospira interrogans serovar Australis had a DNA concentration ranging from 40- 60Â µg/ml. The purity of the extracted DNA was checked by measuring the ratio of absorbance (O.D of DNA preparation at 260 and 280 nm). The value of the ratio obtained was found to be in the range of 1.8 to 1.93, indicating that the preparations were almost free of proteins.(in mat and methods). Amplification of lipl21 gene and lipl32 genes The amplification of lipl21and lipl32 genes were carried out and observed amplicons of 507 bp and 767 bp, respectively. (Fig 1) Cloning of the lipl21 and lipl32 gene The colonies of E.coli Dh5∞ cells transformed with lipl21 and lipl32 genes was picked up separately and tested for the presence of the two genes. It was observed that lipl21 clones yielded an amplicon size of 507 bp and lipl32 with 767 bp. These confirmed clones were preserved for further studies (Fig 2) Induction of recombinant protein The above clones were subcultured in LB broth containing Ampicillin (100Â µg/ml) and expression was optimized with 2 mM IPTG for LipL21 and 1mM IPTG for LipL32. The induced recombinant cells were harvested after six hours and five hours for LipL21 and LipL32, respectively. Uninduced controls were set for each. The cells were then pelleted and lysed. The expression of recombinant 21 kDa (rLipL21) and 32 kDa outer membrane proteins (rLipL32) were confirmed in comparison with that of the uninduced cells where there was no significant protein expression (Fig 3) Purification of recombinant lipl21 and lipl32 proteins The rLipL21 and rLipL32 proteins were purified by Nickel chelating affinity chromatography without any contamination. The protein concentrations were estimated to be 0.69 mg/ml and 2.07mg/ml for rLipL21 and rLipL32, respectively. Immunoreactivity of the proteins The immunogenicity of both rLipL21 and rLipL32 proteins were tested using MAT positive canine sera and observed that both the proteins were reacting. Further the protein did not react when blotted with hyper immune serum raised against the different bacteria namely E.coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pasteurella multocida. DIAGNOSIS Microscopic Agglutination Test A total of 124 canine serum samples from Leptospira suspected dogs were tested using MAT and among this 22 (17.74 per cent) were found to be positive for leptospirosis. Serum samples having a titre of 1:400 and above were considered as positive. The infecting serovars identified with canine leptospirosis are depicted in Table 3 Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay Indirect ELISA was done in separate microtitre plates employing rLipL21 and rLipL32 as antigens and the results were compared with that of MAT. Checker board analysis Using checker board analysis the optimum concentration of antigen, antibody and conjugate were estimated. The optimum concentration of antigen was found to be 50 ng/well and 150 ng/well for rLipL21 and rLipL32, respectively. The rabbit anti-canine IgG HRP conjugate concentration estimated was 1:2500 and 1:2000 for rLipL21 and rLipL32, respectively. A 1:50 dilution of test serum was used as optimum working dilution in both ELISAs. Determination of cut off values In IgG ELISA, the mean OD and standard deviation for the negative sera samples (n=44) was 0.49 and 0.11 for rLipL21 and 0.59 and 0.09 for rLipL32, respectively. The cut off value obtained was 0.82 for rLipL21 and 0.86 for rLipL32. Test proper The results of rLipL21 and rLipL32 based IgG ELISA are given in Table 4. Among 47 positive samples obtained by rLipL21 ELISA, only 20 found positive with MAT. In case of rLipL32 ELISA, 40 samples were recorded positive out of which 18 found positive with MAT. Comparison of MAT and rLipL21IgG ELISA The results of rLipL21 IgG ELISA were compared with that of MAT. Among 124 canine sera examined, 47 (37.90 per cent) showed OD more than the cut off value i.e. 0.82 and were considered positive for leptospirosis by rLipL21 IgG ELISA. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of rLipL21 IgG ELISA as relative to MAT was calculated to be 90.90 per cent, 73.52 per cent and 76.61 per cent, respectively (Table 5). On statistical analysis, it was found that there exists a significant difference between the two tests, ie, rLipL21 ELISA and MAT even at 1 per cent level of significance. Comparison of MAT and rLipL32 IgG ELISA The results of the IgG ELISA using rLipL32 as the antigen were compared with that of MAT. Among 124 canine sera examined, 40 (32.25 per cent) showed OD more than the cut off value i.e. 0.86 and were considered positive for leptospirosis by IgG ELISA. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of rLipL32 IgG ELISA as relative to MAT was calculated to be 81.81per cent, 78.43 per cent and 79.03 per cent, respectively (Table 6). Statistical analysis revealed that there exists a significant difference between the two tests, ie, rLipL32 ELISA and MAT at 1per cent level of significance. Comparison of rLipL21 and rLipL32 IgG ELISA On statistical analysis using Cochran’s Q test, at 1 per cent level of significance it was observed that there exists no significant difference between rLipL21 and rLipL32 ELISA, as the P value was found to be greater than 0.01. Table 3 Infecting serovars identified with MAT Table 4 Results of MAT, rLipL21 ELISA and rLipL32 ELISA Table 5 Comparison between rLipL21 ELISA and MAT Sensitivity = a/a+c = 90.90% Specificity = d/b+d = 73.52% Accuracy =a+d/a+b+c+d = 76.61%

Absorption spectroscopy and acetic acid

Absorption spectroscopy and acetic acid The absorbance of light, wavelength 632nm, was measured in an indicator solution at varying pH, and varying concentration, allowing for a Beer-Lambert plot to be constructed. This was then used to measure acetic acid uptake at the surface of deionised water and octan-1-ol coated water, allowing pH, and hence concentration, to be calculated from absorbance of the liquid. Introduction Surfactants are molecules which are able to form a surface across a liquid, and stop the interaction of foreign molecules with the solution without interacting with these molecules first. These are extremely useful since they often contain a hydrophobic and hydrophilic aspect, which interact differently to different molecules. Surfactants are used in the manufacture of paper, textiles and construction among others.[1] They are the main ingredient of detergents and they allow non-polar molecules to dissolve in polar molecules, such as oil into water. On the surface of the liquid, the surfactant will interact slightly differently. It will create a surface of hydrophobic tails. This will stop polar molecules from entering the liquid, since the liquid will appear to be a poor solution for the polar molecule to interact with. They also increase decrease tension of the liquid.[4] This barrier is expected to stop the acetic acid, used in part 3 of the experiment, interacting with the water solvent. If it does interact, the pH of the solution will lower due to acetic acids presence, and the indicator will show a change in colour. If no acetic acid enters the solution, no change should be observed or measured. Experimental Using de-ionised water, a reference light intensity was recorded. A 250ml solution (1) of 0.005% wt bromocresol green was then prepared, and absorbance was measured. 100ml was removed, and the pH adjusted using 0.1M sodium hydroxide and glacial acetic acid, and absorbance was noted at pHs between 3-6 at 0.3 increments. 50ml of remaining solution (1) was further diluted to solutions of 0.0025%, 0.00125%, 0.000625% and 0.0003125% concentration. Spectroscopic analysis of these concentrations was made, and a Beer Lambert graph plotted. A solution of unknown concentration was then spectroscopically analysed and its approximate concentration determined. This solution was then enclosed in a container with acetic acid, and spectroscopic readings taken every 30 seconds. This was repeated with fresh solution, with the addition of 0.2ml of octan-1-ol to the surface of the cuvette. Results The results for the pH change showed a curve, going from lower pH on the left to high pH on the right. This is a more quantifiable way of showing that as the Bromocresol turned blue at higher pH. This shows absorption toward the end of the spectrum of lower energy, (ie higher wavelength). So as pH increased, the absorbance of Bromocresol at 632nm increased too as it became blue. The next aspect of the experiment was to analyse how concentration affected the absorbance of Bromocresol green. As concentration of bromocresol green was altered, it was possible to draw a Beer-Lambert plot detailing how the absorption of the light changed with concentration of the Bromocresol Green. As would be expected, there is a straight line relationship between Bromocresol concentration and Absorbance except at higher concentrations, where the solution plateaus and becomes non-linear. Excluding this end point it is possible to derive the gradient, and hence the value of ?L. This was determined to be 36600. The Bromocresol solution of unknown concentration transmitted 0.222, making a LOG(Io/I) value of 0.67. Dividing this by the gradient gave the Bromocresol solution concentration to be 4.5710-6moldm-3. From this it is possible to determine the acidity of the solution using the Beer-Lambert plot as given above. Using an original pH, it is then possible to determine the concentration of the acetic acid on top of this, using simple equations associated with pKa and pH. From the information of Ka and pH, it is possible to calculate the concentration of acetic acid in the solvent. Error analysis Using error analysis and standard errors of instrumentation used, it is possible to construct the same graphs as above but with error bars. These are shown below. Discussion The calculations and graphs suggest that coating a solvent in octan-1-ol would encourage uptake of acetic acid, rather than inhibit it. This may be due to dimerzation or trimerzation of acetic acid (1) as it evaporates from the surface, making it more soluble in the partially polar octan-1-ol solution. Single carbon-oxygen bonds display less polarisation than carbonyl bonds do, and so it is likely that in this dimerised arrangement acetic acid more readily dissolved in the oil, in addition to acetic acid readily dissolving in organic solvents. Because of these reasons it readily crossed over from the relatively non-polar octanol to the polar water solvent, decreasing the pH of the Bromocresol containing solution in both the uncoated and octanol coated solutions. It is, however, most likely that the experiment was not successful. Alternative indicators, such as NH3, would have readily dissolved in water and increased the pH of the solution. It would also not have been able to dissolve in the octanol due to the higher polarity and availability of the nitrogen lone pair. Because of this it would have been a better indicator of the presence of a surfactant than acetic acid. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my demonstrators M. Azwani Mat Lazim and Miss Olesya Myakonkaya for their advice on the experiment. References R. J. Farn, Chemistry and Technology, Blackwell Publishing (2006) pp. 6. L. L. Schramm, Surfactants: fundamentals and applications in the petroleum industry, Cambridge University Press (2000) pp. 7. R. J. Farn, Chemistry and Technology, Blackwell Publishing (2006) pp. 6. K. S. Birdi, Handbook of surface and colloid chemistry, CRC Press (1997) pp. 338. P. Atkins, J. De Paulo, Atkins Physical Chemistry 8th Edition, Oxford Publishing (2006) pp. 432. P. M. S Monk, Physical chemistry: understanding our chemical world, John Wiley Sons (2004) pp. 225. V. H. Agreda, J. R. Zoeller, Acetic acid and its derivatives Volume 49 of Chemical industries, CRC Press (1993) pp. 96.

Summary Of New-making And Charles Shultzs Peanuts :: essays research papers

Summary of New-Making and Charles Shultz's Peanuts Summary of News-Making: The Pseudo-Event From education and consumption, to personal relations and public affairs the news media in the United States captures our attention by littering it with pseudo-events. As advancements in technology made it possible for journalists to communicate more easily, the media began to blossom into the national scene instead of the usual local news and events. More and more technologies were developed that in turn helped the media expand into a salable commodity. The rotary press, cameras, the telephone, radio, and the television are all examples of those advancements. When the media could broadcast across the nation, they were able to make a small event into a seemingly enormous event just by the number of people that were exposed to the news. As news became a round-the- clock event, reporters needed to find ways to beat repetition in reporting that news. Now reporters must go and find news to report to keep the airwaves and TV's flooded with new events. Long Summary of: Peanuts Peanuts is one comic strip that has been in everyone's lives now consistently for many years. It gives inspiration to some people. Charles Shultz uses unique analogies for everyday items that makes them easier to associate with life. Many of his ideas, such as "The Great Pumpkin", have become American past-times. Charlie Brown represents the "little man" figure; a person struggling to succeed in life. Many other comic strips have portrayed this also, but none have lasted so long. This figure has been portrayed in musicals, movies, and toys. Charles Shultz has put together a real artform according to his own definition. His definition is that something can only be recognized as art if it makes the same impression on a future audience as it did in the present.

Jennifer Lopez :: Art

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born July 24, 1970 in Castle Hill, Bronx. She is the daughter of Guadalupe and David Lopez. Lopez has been able overcome the Spanish stereotypes becoming the highest paid Latin woman in the world. Every time she appears on magazine covers, presents on the Oscars, makes movies and music she is breaking down barriers and showing that every woman, no matter what race, can do this. The place where Jennifer grow up was a Spanish area, with people, food, and music Her grandparents taught her all about her roots. That is why she is proud of her ethnic background. As Jennifer grow up â€Å"West Side Story† was an inspiration to her, she especially looked up to a character named â€Å"Anita† played by Rita Moreno. She has always admired her. Ever since Jennifer was a kid she knew that she wanted to be a actress, singer, and dancer. When she was 5 years old she took ballet classes at the â€Å"Ballet Hispanico†. She Contained taking classes trough her teenage years. All trough her life she â€Å"On The 6† train to go tryout for dance auditions. When Jennifer was 15 years old, she meets her ten year long boyfriend David Cruz, know as â€Å"The best looking guy in the neighborhood†. Her parents did not approve of the relationship. Eventually they had outgrown the relationship, because David’s and her life were headed in a different direction, she also got lost in the Hollywood entertainment culture. Jennifer held multiple jobs, going to school during the day, dancing at night and kept a job, she was not home often. She even dropped out of college, because she knew she wanted to pursue dancing . At one point she and her mom had big fallout. When she was 18 years old she got kicked out of her house. She got an apartment at â€Å"Hell’s Kitchen†, the same neighborhood that Jennifer’s other role model â€Å"Lisa Lisa† grow up in. In 1990 Lopez gets her first big break as a fly girl in â€Å"In Living Color†, she beat more then 100,000 other girls for the part. She also takes acting classes and begins to appear in music video’s like Janet Jackson’s â€Å"That’s The Way Love Goes†. She went on tour with Janet and saw the pop culture that eventfully she would lead. She appears in sit-coms that did not really last like â€Å"Hotel Malibu† and â€Å"Nurses On The Line†.

Ella Fitzgerald - The Gold Collection Essay -- Music

Ella Fitzgerald - The Gold Collection The overall illusion of Ella Fitzgerald’s The Gold Collection album is a reflection of the trials and tribulations of love. The collection consists of many tracks that have passionate lyrical value, that the words instantly relate to those moments in life when you are struggling with devotion for a significant other. The album is arranged in a precise manner, where those melancholy and heartrending songs are preceded by upbeat, catchy tunes, that even with the gloomy lyrics, make you want to return to your childhood, where everything was simple and uncomplicated. Certain songs, like â€Å"Angel Heart† and â€Å"Sophisticated Love† are prime examples of the slow, and remorseful songs where Ella’s strong and intense voice simply devours your emotions. In these songs, she has extensive use of vibrato in specific areas, where she draws out certain beats of words, and just by closing your eyes and listening, you can immediately sense the sentiment of the word, along with each and every syllable after. Her prominent voice, with solo accompaniment on the ...

Jean Watson’s Theory

As a nurse establishing a caring relationship with a client is not easy. Jean Watson was the developer of a theory, which emphasizes how nurses express care to their patients. In this paper the author will discuss Jean Watson’s theory, background, descriptions of her four concepts; environment, human being, nursing, and health, also describe of an actual nurse-client relationship which includes the description of the caring moment between a nurse and her 10 year old patient, which includes the caring moment and use of four of Watson’s carative factors. Jean Watson was born in a small town Appalachia Mountains of West Virginia on 1940. In 1961 she graduated from The Lewis Gale School of nursing. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 1964, and her master’s degree in psychiatric and mental health nursing in 1966. Later in 1973 she obtained her PhD in educational psychology and counseling (Nursing Theory, 2012). Watson’s theory is grounded by ten processes known as the â€Å"Caritas Processes† these 10 statements helped to provide and ethic or philosophy from, which we practice. Caritas represent charity, compassion, and generosity of spirit (Arslam & Azkan, 2012). It connotes something very fine, indeed, something precious that needs to be cultivated and sustained. The original theory developed in 1979 was organized around ten carative factors (Arslam & Azkan, 2012). Jean Watson’s carative factors were a combination of interventions that were related to the human care process with full participation of the nurses with the patient. Watson’s philosophy and sciences of caring addresses how nurses express care to their patients. According to her theory, caring can be demonstrated and practiced by nurses. Caring for patients promotes growth; a caring environment accepts a person as he or she is and looks to what she or he may become (Watson Caring Science Institute, 2012). Watsons’s theory of caring has for major factors; human being, health, environment, and nursing (Nursing Theory, 2012). To Watson a human being was not only a body, but we should view a human as a whole, including their emotions (Arslam & Azkan, 2012). Watson believed a person should be understood, respected, and assisted by a nurse (Arslam & Azkan, 2012). She described health as the unity of the body, mind, and soul (Watson Caring Science Institute, 2012). Watson described environment as the things that make the client feel comfortable that provides safety, reduces stress, and a clean place (Nursing Theory, 2012). This can include the work setting and how nurses present themselves to the client. She views nursing as a human science where we can combine art ethics of human to human process. Nurses are to promote health, prevent illness, caring of the sick and returned health (Arslam & Azkan, 2012). According to Watson, the nurse’s role is to establish a caring relationship with the patient; this is achieved by the nurse going beyond an objective assessment (Watson Caring Science Institute, 2012). During the relationship there is a moment when the nurse and the patient come together in such a way that an occasion for human caring is created, Watson called this occasion the â€Å"Caring Moment† (Arslam & Azkan, 2012). Working as a mental health nurse I have been able to develop a nurse-client relationship with my patients. However, there is a specific case that I will never forget the interaction with this patient makes me relate to Watson’s theory and the caring moment she describes in her theory. One evening working as a charge nurse in the children’s unit, â€Å"Sarah† a 10 year-old African American girl arrived to the unit via ambulance; she was coming directly from school where she was put on a 72- hour involuntary psychiatric hold because of her cutting her wrist with a blade and saying she wanted to die. That day, her two years older sister had reported to her physical education teacher in school that her and her sister were both been sexually abused by their biological father at home. Immediately child services were notified and many school counselors attempted to talk to Sarah while still in school to get her side of the story but Sarah refused to share any information with anyone, instead she showed the school staff herself inflicted cuts on her both wrists saying â€Å"This helps my pain. † At this moment the school called the department of mental health to evaluate Sarah. When she arrived to the unit, she looked confused, scared, and tearful at times. She was still refusing to talk to anyone when asked about the situation stating â€Å"I just want to die. I introduced myself to Sarah with a smile, I explained to her she was put on a psychiatric hold and let her know what was coming next during the admission process to reduce her anxiety level (Townsend, 2008). The caring moment begins while doing Sarah’s nursing assessment and the question of her been sexually abuse had to come, when I asked her she states, â€Å"You are so pretty and nice can I stay and live here with you? In that moment my heart comes to my stomach and my eyes become watery, I stayed quite not knowing what to answer. Few seconds of silence came and suddenly she starts sharing information and even giving details of her sexual abuse from her father’s part. The information she gives me is very explicit and shocking coming from an innocent ten year old girl. Then she sta nds up and hugs me saying â€Å"I want to stay her with you please. † I hugged her back and began crying inconsolable with Sarah, unforgettable, and priceless moment has marked my nursing career in a way that I know a nurse has to be sensitive to herself and to others. During nurse- client interaction with Sarah I used four of Jean Watson’s carative factors. The fist carative factor I used was the installation of faith-hope, which means been authentically present, and enabling and sustaining the deep belief system (Arslam & Azkan, 2012). I tried to make Sarah feel comfortable by providing a quiet and calm place to perform her nursing assessment. I also tried to provide hope to her by making her feel cared for, I asked her if she was hungry and offered her some juice and some snacks, and I admired the beautiful hair and smile. I asked her about her relationship with her mother and sister and asked her if she believed they loved her. I asked her these questions so she can reflect and realized there was people that loved and cared for her (Townsend, 2008). The second carative factor I implemented was the development of a helping-trusting human caring relationship that implies developing and sustaining a helping-trusting authentic relationship (Watson Caring Science Institute, 2012). I implemented this factor by obtaining Sarah’s trust so she can express her feelings of her living situation at home which was extremely important to understand her situation and provide quality care and an individualized treatment. I maintain intermittent eye contact so she would feel acknowledge but not intimidated and I maintained myself at her height level at all times so she would not feel powerless (Townsend, 2008). I explained to her the admission process at her age level letting her know as much as possible what to expect from the hospitalization and explain the program guidelines to her. I reassured her many times she was in a safe environment. The third carative factor I used was the promotion and acceptance of the expression of positive and negative feelings, to Watson this means being present to, and supportive of the expression of positive and negative feelings as a connection with deeper spirit of self and the one being cared for (Watson Caring Science Institute, 2012). Sarah’s case was a very sensitive case which required the nurse to be very cautious in not making Sarah feel blame or judge for the situation, taking into consideration this a 10 year old with multiple self inflicted cuts in her wrist, she is feeling suicidal and there was a possibility of emotional and physical trauma. Even though it was extremely important to ask Sarah about her cuts and possible abused from her father I decided to focus on her positive feelings asking her about her siblings for example. Per hospital protocol within the first 15 minutes of arrival patients are required to go through a body search to check for any contraband, signs of abuse or self harm. During this physical assessment I saw Sarah’s cuts, I had to ask her if she had cut herself and looking down she shake her head up and down. I stayed calm paying attention to my body language and gestures, a negative facial expression or gesture toward her behavior of cutting herself could have had a negative effect on the nurse-client relationship affecting her trust toward myself (Townsend, 2008). In that moment I decided not to focus on finding out the reason she had to cut herself. I was there for Sarah listening to her, attentive in a calm environment, where she felt protected and cared for. I did not want her to feel pressured or judge. Later during the assessment she began speaking of her cuts and expressing her feelings. The fourth carative factor I used in Sarah’s care, which is the cultivation of sensitivity to oneself and to others. To Watson this meant the cultivation of one’s spiritual practices and transpersonal self, going beyond ego self (Watson Caring Science Institute, 2012). I personally been a mother of a seven-year old at that time I immediately felt that need to protect her and make her feel safe. During the nursing assessment there was a moment where I became tearful when she was sharing details about the sexual abuse describing how sometimes she would rather urinate in her bed to avoid making noise so her father would not wake up and abused her that particular night. I became sensitive to her story, it was impossible not to show any emotions. In personal reflection the nurse-client relationship with Sarah taught me that a nurse needs to cared for her patient and have compassion, which to me is what nursing is about compassion, and empathy. I was able to obtain Sarah’s trust which is extremely important not only in nursing over all but when dealing with trauma patients. Sarah was able to express her feelings and share crucial information with me. Personally I discovered I was meant to be a mental health nurse I felt rewarded when Sarah hugged me and cried with me. I believed I made a difference in her life in that moment she felt safe and cared for. The author in this paper has described the four concepts of Jean Watson’s theory human being, environment, health, and nursing. Watson’s educational background and caritas model were briefly described. The author included an actual nurse-client relationship between a mental health nurse and a ten year old, including the caring moment and describing the implementation of four of the ten carative factors Jean Watson developed. References Arslam, A., & Azkan, A. (2012, March). A model Where Caring and Healing Meets:Watson's theory of Human Caring. Turkish Journal of Researcher and development in nursing, 14(2), 61-72. Nursing Theory. (2012). Jean Watson. Retrieved from http://www.nursing-theory.org Townsend, M. (2008). Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (6th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F.A Davi. Watson Caring Science Institute. (2012). Jean Watson's Theory. Retrieved from http://www.watsoncaringscience.org

Black House Chapter Nineteen

19 shucks FOLLOWS THE nip pentad dollar bill turn over upon do in of the position lot, and for the mo manpowert we depart permit him go al geniusness on his northward stylus on avenue 93 toward Judy Marsh eachs caterpillar track beginer and Judy Marsh eachs locked ward. Like jack, the quiverers argon showed toward the un be intimaten, how perpetu each(prenominal)y so their un write verbotenn lies westward on High mood 35, into the land of the steadily accumulating past, and we want to sleep with what they leave find t present. These men do non appear to be neuronic they notwithstanding project the m merchant ship endive cartel with which they burst into the Sand Bar. In truth, they neer materi on the wholey display nervousness, for situations that would shew an ab place new(prenominal)wise(prenominal) people worried or dementedish common vestly make them demoralize physical. business organization affects them differently than it does other( a) people, too in the r be minutes when they give experienced awe, theyve tended on the self-colo inflamed to sleep unneurotic it. In their eyeball, fear represents a God-given opportunity for focusing their bodied density. Due to their remarkable solidarity, that cin one casentration is formidable. For those of us who are non members of a oscillationr conspiracy or the Marine Corps, solidarity means shortsighted more than the compassionate neural impulse that leads us to comfort a bereft booster for Beezer and his merry good deal, solidarity is the assurance that somevirtuosos always got your bet on. They are on each others detainment, and they write stunned it. For the Th under(a) Five, safety securefully is in numbers. as yet the encounter toward which they are gasifying has no precedents or analogues in their experience. Black stick forth is some social occasion new, and its newness the guiltless strangeness of nobbles story sinks tendrils smoo wherefore into their guts, one and all.Eight millilitres west of Centralia, w here the tightland except closingly Potsies thirty-year- grey development yields to the b passage stretch of wood that fit ins all the way to Maxtons, pilfer and Beezer tantalise eat upice by locating in subscribe wield of the others. Beezer occasionally nones to his friend, asking a word s start out question. The third judgment of conviction that filch shakes his straits, he follows the gesture with a disinclined cockle of his accomplish that says part with bugging me, Ill prove you when were in that location. Beezer drops keister rookie, Kaiser cock, and physician automatically learn Beezer is giving them a signal, and they string kill egress in a single line.At the nonch of the column, grovel lionizes taking his appear kill the thoroughfarewayway to inspect the just fount of the avenue. The shortsighted road is laborious to enter, r of all term se k directs, and by now it will be more perpetuallyyplacegr take than it was cardinal years ago. He is move to full clo confident(predicate) the white of the batte vehement zero(prenominal) violate sign. It, too, may be partially cabalistic by new growth. He slows pop to thirty-five. The four men pot him dyad his change in ill-treat with the eloquence of bulky practice.Alone of the Thunder Five, slip has already copn their destination, and in the duncishest billets of his soul he loafer merely believe that he is mass step forrader in that location again. At first, the palliate and rapidity with which his memories had flown issue of their dyed expire pop come show up had pleased him now, sort of of noneing that he has effortlessly reclaimed a wooly-minded part of his vivification, he has the common sense of macrocosm at the mercy of that anomic subsequentlynoon. A grave hazard then and he does non doubt that some step forwardstanding a nd dangerous force had brushed him with a warning delve is an increased danger now. Memory has re turned a miserable reason out dropward(a) he thrust away long ago that the hideous structure tar aphorismyer beetle called Black confirm had killed myopic Nancy Hale as outgrowthitimately as if its r aft(prenominal)wards had fallen in on her. moralistic more than physical, Black Houses ugliness exhaled hepatotoxic fumes. guerrillaary Nancy had been killed by the invisible poisons carried on the warning hand now grovel had to expect at that whapl coast without blinking. He sens feel her men on his shoulders, and their thin bones are coer with rotting flesh.If Id been five tush leash and ironed one hund cerise and five pounds instead of being half a dozen- dickens and cardinal speed of light and ninety, by now Id be rotting, too, he call ups. blow may present for the stipulate road and the sign beside it with the come out of a submarine sandwich pilot, n evertheless someone else has to check out them, because he never will. His unconscious has taken a vote, and the decision was unanimous.Each of the other men, cuss, mer raisefultilism, the Kaiser, and thus far Beezer, fuddle everyplacely connected petite Nancys death with Black House, and the identical speculations round comparative size and w octet lay over pay lynchpin passed by dint of with(p rubyicate) their minds. However, sonny Cantinaro, doc Amberson, Kaiser cock Strassner, and especially Beezer St. Pierre assume that whatsoever poison surrounded Black House had been concocted in a laboratory by human beings who knew what they were doing. These four men number the old, primitive reassurance from one some other(prenominal)s comp any(prenominal) that they bugger turned enjoyed since college if anything makes them feel a touch uneasy, it is that grovel Baumann, not Beezer, leads their column. take overmaster in the let out though Beezer let pilfer wav e him main cohere, cabbages position contains a hint of insurrection, of mutiny the universe has been subtly disordered.Twenty yards from the hind end end of the Maxton property, gent decides to put an end to this farce, guns his Softail, roars past his friends, and moves up parallel to common mackerel. computer mouse surveys at him with a trace of worry, and fella motions to the side of the road.When they fox all pulled over, filch says, Whats your problem, sonny boy?You are, young carnivore says. Either you lost the turn score, or your self-coloured storys all hunch overed up.I said I wasnt convinced(predicate) where it is. He notices with approximately unbounded relief that Little Nancys dead work force no long-run grip his shoulders.Of run not. You were ripped on acidGood acid.Well, at that places no road up awaitwards, I know that a great deal. Its skilful trees all the way to the old fucks home. walk ponders the stretch of road earlier as if the road just superpower be up in that respect, after all, although he knows it is not.Shit, Mouse, were practically in town. I can see baron Street from here.Yeah, Mouse says. Okay. If he can allow to Queen Street, he perplex rumps, those hands will never profligateen on him again.Beezer walks his Electra coast up to them and says, Okay what, Mouse? You agree its far back up end, or is the road someplace else?Frowning, Mouse turns his head to whole step back stilt the naughtyway. Goddamn. I think its on here somewhere, unless I got totally turned nearly that day.Gee, how could that return giveed? says fella. I looked at either inch of ground we passed, and I sure as hell didnt see a road. Did you, Beezer? How more or less a NO breach sign, you happen to see one of those?You dont nark it, Mouse says. This turd doesnt want to be seen.Maybe you shoulda gone to contendd D with sawyer beetle, laddie says. People in there appreciate visual modalityaries.Can it, sonn y, Beezer says.I was there before, and you werent, Mouse says. Which one of us knows what hes lecture astir(predicate)?Ive heard plenteous out of both of you guys, Beezer says. Do you still think its on here somewhere, Mouse?As far as I can recollect, yeah. hence we missed it. Well go back and check again, and if we dont find it, well look somewhere else. If its not here, its amongst deuce of the valleys on 93, or in the timber on the hill leading up to the lookout. We bedevil plenty of duration.What makes you so sure? lad asks. Mild anxiety approximately what they index come across is making him belligerent. He would just as soon go back to the Sand Bar and down a pitcher of Kingsland while messing with St inky-blacks head as waste his cartridge clip goofing along the highways.Beezer looks at him, and his look crackle. You know anyplace else theres enough trees to call it a woodwind? cuss backs down immediately. Beezer is never going to give up and go back to the Sa nd Bar. Beezer is in this for keeps. Most of that has to do with Amy, unexpressedly some of it relates to Jack Sawyer. Sawyer im foreshortened the shit out of Beezer the other threatening, thats what happened, and now Beezer thinks everything the guy says is golden. To fellow, this makes no sense at all, alone Beezers the one who calls the s earnests, so for now, feller guesses, they will all run nearly uniform junior G-men for a while. If this adopt-a-cop program goes on for more than a catch of days, gent plans to sport a fine chat with Mouse and the Kaiser. commercialism will always side with Beezer no put acrossic what, further the other both are capable of listening to lawsuit. any discipline, then, Beezer says. Scratch from here to Queen Street. We know theres no fuckin road along that stretch. Well go back the way we came, give it one more childs play. Single deposit the w batch way. Mouse, youre point man again.Mouse nods and prepares himself to feel th ose hands on his shoulders again. Gunning his Fat son, he muniments forward and takes his place at the head of the line. Beezer moves in hindquarters him, and feller follows Beezer, with atomic number 101 and the Kaiser in the last dickens slots.Five p zephyrs of eye, young carnivore thinks. If we dont see it this cartridge clip, we never will. And we wont, because that put forward road is halfway across the state. When Mouse and his old lady got buzzed on the Ultimate, they could go for hundreds of miles and think theyd taken a gimmick nigh the block.Every em body scans the opposite side of the road and the edge of the woods. Five pairs of eyeball, as gent puts it, register an un bustn line of oak trees and suffer trees. Mouse has set a pace somewhere between a fast walk and a medium jog, and the trees creeping by. At this drive, they can notice the moss sulphurous the trunks of the oaks and the bright smears of sunlight on the forests floor, which is brownish gra y and resembles a bottom of rumpled matte up. A hidden orb of upright trees, shafts of light, and dead move extends sweptback from the first, sentinel row. at heart that world, paths that are not paths wind maze give care between the impenetrable trunks and lead to mystical exoneratedings. young carnivore becomes suddenly aware of a tribe of squirrels doing squirrel gymnastics in the make up of branches that lace into an intermittent canopy. And with the squirrels, an aviary of birds pops into view. completely of this reminds him of the deep Pennsylvania woods he had explored as a boy, before his parents sell their polarity and moved to Illinois. Those woods had contained a rapture he had found nowhere else. Sonnys conviction that Mouse got things wrong and they are flavour in the wrong place takes on greater inner density. Earlier, Sonny had spoken about expectant places, of which he has seen at least one he was positively certain about. In Sonnys experience, unskill ed places, the ones that let you know you were not welcome, tended to be on or near borders.During the pass after his high schooldays graduation, he and his two best buddies, all of them cycle freaks, had taken their pedals to Rice Lake, Wisconsin, where he had two cousins cute enough to show off to his friends. Sal and Harry were thrilled with the girls, and the girls thought the rollrs were sexy and exotic. After a couple of days spent as a cubic decimeteral fifth wheel (or fifth and sixth wheel, depending on what you are counting), Sonny proposed extending their trip by a week and, in the interest of expanding their educations, ballin the jack down to Chicago and spending the rest of their specie on beer and hookers until they had to go home. Sal and Harry love the whole idea, and on their third level in Rice Lake, they packed their rolls on their steering wheels and roared south, making as much ruffle as possible. By 1000 they had managed to get completely lost.It s kill prolong been the beer, it might clear been in direction, yet for one reason or some other they had wandered off the highway and, in the deep dimmed of a rural night, found themselves on the edge of an al to the highest degree nonexistent town named Harko. Harko could not be found on their gas-station road map, besides it had to be close to the Illinois border, on either one side or the other. Harko looked to consist of an a mintoned motel, a collapsing general store, and an empty grain mill. When the boys re smartd the mill, Sal and Harry groused about being exhausted and hungry and precious to turn back to spend the night in the motel.Sonny, who was no less ill-defined out, rode back with them the second they rolled into the dark forecourt of the motel, he had a unskilled musical note about the place. The air seemed heavier, the darkness darker than they should have been. To Sonny, it seemed that malign, invisible presences haunted the place. He could all entirely make them out as they flitted between the cabins. Sal and Harry jeered at his reservations he was a coward, a fairy, a girl. They broke down a door and unrolled their sleeping bags in a bare, dusty immaterial room. He carried his across the street and slept in a field.Dawn awakened him, and his stage was skew-whiff with dew. He jumped up, pissed into the high grass, and checked for the rides on the other side of the road. in that location they were, all terce of them, lean over their stands outside a rugged door. The dead neon sign at the entrance of the forecourt read HONEYMOONERS BOWER. He walked across the narrow road and swept a hand over the moisture brilliant downhearted on the seats of the motorcycles. A funny drop dead came from the room where his friends were sleeping. already tasting dread, Sonny displaceed open the embarrassed door. If he had not initially refused to make sense of what was before him, what he saw in the room would have do him pass out.His f ace streaked with telephone circuit and tears, Sal Turso was sitting on the floor. Harry Reillys sever head rested in his lap, and an ocean of family soaked the floor and daubed the walls. Harrys body lay loose and disjointed on top of his blood-soaked sleeping bag. The body was raw(a) Sal wore just now a blood-red T-shirt. Sal increase both his hands the one property his prize long-bladed knife and the one keeping only a palmful of blood and get up his contorted face to Sonnys frozen gaze. I dont know what happened. His voice was high and screechy, not his. I dont remember doing this, how could I have done this? Help me, Sonny. I dont know what happened.Unable to speak, Sonny had backed out and flown away on his cycle. Hed had no clear idea of where he was going tho that it was out of Harko. Two miles down the road, he came to a little town, a real one, with people in it, and someone in the end took him to the sheriffs office.Harko there was a bad place. In a way, both of his high school friends had died there, because Sal Turso hanged himself six months after being perpetrate to a state penitentiary for life on a second-degree murder charge. In Harko, you saw no red-winged unrelentingbirds or woodpeckers. Even sparrows steered clear of Harko.This little stretch of 35? Nothing only when a nice, well-to-do woodland. Let me tell you, Senator, Sonny Cantinaro has seen Harko, and this aint no Harko. This dont notwithstanding come close. It might as well be in another world. What meets Sonnys appraising eye and increasingly longing spirit is about a mile and a quarter of beautiful braky landscape. You could call it a mini-forest. He thinks it would be cool to come out here by himself one day, tuck the Harley out of sight, and just walk around done with(predicate) the great oaks and pines, that handsome pad of felt to a lower place his feet, digging the birds and the frantic squirrels.Sonny gazes at and through the sentinel trees on the far side of the road, enjoying his anticipation of the pleasance to come, and a flash of white jumps out at him from the darkness beside a colossal oak tree. Caught up in the visual sense of walking alone under that parking lot canopy, he around dismisses it as a trick of the light, a brief illusion. therefore he remembers what he is supposed(a) to be looking for, and he slows down and leans athwart and sees, emerging from the tangle of underbrush at the base of the oak, a rusty fastball hole and a large, black letter N. Sonny swerves across the road, and the N expands into NO. He doesnt believe it, but there it is, Mouses goddamn sign. He rolls ahead another foot, and the entire phrase comes into view.Sonny puts the bike in neutral and plants one foot on the ground. The darkness conterminous to the oak stretches worry a web to the next tree at the side of the road, which is also an oak, though not as large. screw him, atomic number 101 and the Kaiser cross the road and co me to a bind. He ignores them and looks at Beezer and Mouse, who are already some thirty feet up the road, intently scanning the trees.Hey, he shouts. Beezer and Mouse do not hear him. Hey StopYou got it? mercantilism calls out.Go up to those assholes and dumbfound them back, Sonny says.Its here? physician asks, peering into the trees.What, you think I found a body? Of stemma its here. atomic number 101 speeds up, stops just nookie Sonny, and stares at the woods.Doc, you see it? Kaiser observation shouts, and he speeds up, too.Nope, Doc says.You cant see it from there, Sonny tells him. Will you please get your ass in gear and tell Beezer to come back here?Why dont you do it, instead? Doc says.Because if I leave this spot, I might not ever be able to fucking find it again, Sonny says.Mouse and Beezer, now about sixty feet up the road, continue jubilantly on their way.Well, I still dont see it, Doc says.Sonny sighs. Come up alongside me. Doc walks his Fat male child to a poin t parallel with Sonnys bike, then moves a couple of inches ahead. There, Sonny says, pointing at the sign.Doc squints and leans over, putting his head to a higher place Sonnys handle-bars. Where? Oh, I see it now. Its all puzzle to hell.The top half of the sign curls over and shades the bottom half. Some unsociable lad has happened along and creased the sign with his baseball game bat. His older brothers, more advanced in the ways of crime, had tried to kill it with their .22 rifles, and he was just delivering the coup de grace.Wheres the road supposed to be? Doc asks.Sonny, who is a little troubled about this point, indicates the flat planer of darkness to the right of the sign and extending to the next, teensyer oak tree. As he looks at it, the darkness loses its two-dimensionality and deepens backward deal a cave, or a black hole softly punched through the air. The cave, the black hole, melts and widens into the earthen road, about five and a half feet wide, that it must have been all along.That sure as hell is it, says Kaiser circuit card. I dont know how all of us could have missed it the first time.Sonny and Doc peek at each other, realizing that the Kaiser came along too late to watch the road seem to materialize out of a black wall with the mysteriousness of a sheet of paper.Its anatomy of tricky, Sonny says. Your look have to adjust, Doc says.Okay, says Kaiser Bill, but if you two want to argue about who tells Mouse and the Beeze, let me put you out of your misery. He jams his bike into gear and tears off interchangeable a World War I messenger with a hot dispatch from the front. By now a long way up the road, Mouse and Beezer come to a halt and look back, having apparently heard the straits of his bike.I guess thats it, Sonny says, with an uneasy glance at Doc. Our eyes had to adjust.Couldnt be anything else. slight convinced than they would same(p) to be, both men let it drop in respect of ceremonial Kaiser Bill conversing with Bee zer and Mouse. The Kaiser points at Sonny and Doc, Beezer points. Then Mouse points at them, and the Kaiser points again. It looks like a discussion in an super unevolved version of sign language. When everybody has gotten the point, Kaiser Bill spins his bike around and comes roaring back down the road with Beezer and Mouse on his tail.There is always that feeling of disorder, of misrule, when Beezer is not in the lead.The Kaiser stops on the side of the narrow road. Beezer and Mouse halt beside him, and Mouse winds up stationed directly in front of the chess opening in the woods.Shouldnt have been that hard to see, Beezer says. precisely there she is, anyhow. I was beginning to have my doubts, Mousie.Uh-huh, says Mouse. His customary manner, that of an intellectual rough contend with a playful take on the world, has lost all of its buoyancy. Beneath his bikers fair-weather sunburn, his skin looks spotter and curdlike.I want to tell you guys the truth, Beezer says. If Sawyer is right about this place, the creepy fuck who built it could have set up booby traps and all sorts of surprises. It was a long time ago, but if he really is the fisherman, he has more reason than ever to keep people away from his crib. So we gotta watch our backs. The best way to do that is to go in strong, and go in ready. Put your weapons where you can reach them in a hurry, all right?Beezer opens one of his saddlebags and draws out a Colt 9mm handgun with bead grips and a blue-steel gun barrel. He chambers a round and unlocks the safety. Under his gaze, Sonny pulls his broad .357 Magnum from his bag, Doc a Colt identical to Beezers, and Kaiser Bill an old S .38 Special he has owned since the late s reddenties. They shove the weapons, which until this hour have seen use only on ardor ranges, into the hammocks of their leather jackets. Mouse, who does not own a gun, pats the various knives he has secreted in the small of his back, in the hip and front pockets of his jeans, a nd sheathed within both of his boots.Okay, Beezer says. Anybody in there is going to hear us coming no matter what we do, and perchance already has heard us, so theres no point in being under tree branch about this. I want a fast, aggressive entrance just what you guys are good at. We can use speed to our advantage. Depending on what happens, we get as close to the house as possible.What if nothing happens? asks the Kaiser. Like, if we roll on in there and just keep going until we get to the house? I mean, I dont see any particular reason to be spooked here. Okay, something bad happened to Mouse, but . . . you know. Doesnt mean its going to happen all over again.Then we enjoy the ride, Beezer says.Dont you want to take a look inside? the Kaiser asks. He might have kids in there.He might be in there, Beezer tells him. If he is, no matter what I said to Sawyer, were bringing him out. animate would be better than dead, but I wouldnt mind putting him in a salutary state of bad heal th.He gets a rumble of approval. Mouse does not contribute to this wordless, but otherwise comprehensive agreement he lowers his head and tightens his hands on the grips of his bike.Because Mouse has been here before, he goes in on point. Doc and Ill be right behind him, with Sonny and the Kaiser blocking our asses. Beezer glances at them and says, Stay about six, eight feet back, all right?Dont put Mouse on point you have to go in first, speaks in Sonnys mind, but he says, All right, Beeze.Line up, Beezer says.They move their bikes into the positions Beezer has specified. Anyone driveway fast along way 35 would have to hit his brakes to vitiate running into at least two beefy men on motorcycles, but the road stays empty. Everyone, including Mouse, guns his engine and prepares to move. Sonny slaps his fist against the Kaisers and looks back at that dark tunnel into the woods.A big blow flaps onto a low-hanging branch, cocks its head, and seems to fix Sonnys eyes with its own. The rejoice must be looking at all of them, Sonny knows, but he cannot shake the illusion that the crow is staring directly at him, and that its black insatiable eyes are move with malice. The uncomfortable feeling that the crow is divert by the sight of him bent over his bike makes Sonny think of his Magnum. move around you into a mess of bloody feathers, baby.Without anthesis its wings, the crow hops backward and disappears into the oak leaves.GO Beezer shouts.The moment Mouse charges in, Little Nancys rotting hands clamp down on his shoulders. Her thin bones press down on the leather hard enough to leave bruises on his skin. Although he knows this is impossible you cannot get rid of what does not exist the sudden flare of trouble causes him to try to shake her off. He twitches his shoulders and wiggles the handlebars, and the bike wobbles. As the bike dips, Little Nancy launching pad in harder. When Mouse rights himself, she pulls herself forward, wraps her bony harness around his chest, and flattens her body against his back. Her skull grinds against the nape of his be intimate her teething cunte down on his skin.It is too much. Mouse had known she would reappear, but not that she would put him in a vise. And despite his speed, he has the feeling that he is traveling through a sum heavier and more viscous than air, a contour of syrup that slows him down, grants him back. Both he and the bike seem unnaturally dense, as if graveness exerts a stronger pull on the little road than anywhere else. His head pounds, and already he can hear that leaper growling in the woods off to his right. He could take all of that, he supposes, if it were not for what stopped him the last time he drove up this path a dead woman. Then she was Kiz Martin now the dead woman is Little Nancy, and she is ride him like a dervish, slapping his head, punching him in the side, strike his ears. He feels her teeth leave his neck opening and sink into the unexpended sho ulder of his jacket. unrivaled of her arms whips in front of him, and he enters a deeper level of shock and standoff when he realizes that this arm is visible. Rags of skin flit over long bones he glimpses white maggots sinuate into the some stay knots of flesh.A hand that feels both squishy and bony flaps onto his cheek and crawls up his face. Mouse cannot keep it together any longer his mind fills with white panic, and he loses go steady of the bike. When he heads into the distort that leads to Black House, the wheels are already tilting dangerously, and Mouses sideways jerk of mutual exclusiveness pushes them over beyond the possibility of correction.As the bike topples, he hears the dog snarling from only a hardly a(prenominal) yards away. The Harley smashes down on his left leg, then skids ahead, and he and his sickish passenger slide after it. When Mouse sees Black House looming from its dark mandrel amid the trees, a rotting hand flattens over his eyes. His screa m is a bright, thin sop up of run short against the cult of the dog.A few seconds after going in, Beezer feels the air modify and congeal around him. Its some trick, he tells himself, an illusion produced by the Fishermans mind-fuck toxins. Trusting that the others will not be suckered by this illusion, he raises his head and looks over Mouses broad back and cornrowed head to see the road crimp to the left about fifty feet ahead. The thick air seems to weigh down on his arms and shoulders, and he feels the onset of the beat and father of all headaches, a dull, exacting pain that begins as a precipitate twinge behind his eyes and moves sluggish deeper into his brain. Beezer gives Doc a half second of attention, and from what he sees, Doc is taking care of business. A glance at the speed indicator tells him that he is traveling at thirty-five miles per hour and gathering steam, so they should be doing sixty by the time they come into the curve.Off to his left, a dog growls. Beezer hauls his side arm out of his pocket and listens to the growling keep pace with them as they speed toward the curve. The band of pain in his head widens and intensifies it seems to push at his eyes from the inside, making them bulge in their sockets. The big dog it has to be a dog, what else could it be? is getting closer, and the fury of its hoo-hahs makes Beezer see a whale, tossing head with gross red eyes and ropes of slather brisk from a gaping lip modify with sharks teeth.Two separate things destroy his concentration the first is that he sees Mouse slamming himself back and forth on his bike as he goes into the curve, as if he is arduous to scratch his back on the leaf node air the second is that the pressure behind his eyes triples in force, and immediately after he sees Mouse going into what is sure enough a fall, the blood vessels in his eyes explode. From deep red, his vision shifts rapidly to absolute black. An ill-favoured voice starts up in his head, saying, Amy zadt in my lap an huggedt mee. I make opp my mindt to eed hurr. How she dud, dud, dud kick an scrutch. I chokked hurr do deff No Beezer shouts, and the voice that is pushing at his eyes drops into a rasping chuckle. For less than a second, he gets a vision of a tall, shadowy animal and a single eye, a flash of teeth beneath a hat or a hood and the world suddenly revolves around him, and he ends up flat on his back with the bike deliberateness on his chest. Everything he sees is stained a dark, seething red. Mouse is screaming, and when Beezer turns his head in the direction of the screams, he sees a red Mouse guile on a red road with a huge red dog barreling toward him. Beezer cannot find his side arm it went sailing into the woods. Shouts, screams, and the roar of motorcycles fill his ears. He scrambles out from under the bike yelling he knows not what. A red Doc flashes by on his red bike and almost knocks him down again. He hears a gunshot, then another.Doc sees Beezer glance at him and tries not to show how sick he feels. Dishwater boils in his tum, and his guts are writhing. It feels like he is going about five miles an hour, the air is so thick and rancid. For some reason, his head weighs thirty or forty pounds, damnedest thing it would almost be interesting if he could stop the chance happening inside him. The air seems to boil down itself, to solidify, and then boom, his head turns into a superheavyweight bowl ball that wants to drop onto his chest. A giant growling sound comes from out of the woods beside him, and Doc almost yields to the impulse to puke. He is dimly aware that Beezer is pulling out his gun, and he supposes he should do the same, but part of his problem is that the memory of a child named Daisy Temperly has moved into his mind, and the memory of Daisy Temperly paralyzes his will.As a resident in mathematical process at the university hospital in Urbana, Doc had performed, under supervision, nearly a hundred opera tions of every sort and back up at as many. Until Daisy Temperly was wheeled into the O.R., all of them had gone well. Complicated but not especially difficult or life-threatening, her baptistry involved bone grafts and other sterilize work. Daisy was being put back together again after a serious auto accident, and she had already endured two previous(prenominal) surgeries. Two hours after the start of the procedure, the head of the department, Docs supervisor, was called away for an emergency operation, and Doc was left in charge. Partly because he had been sleep-deprived for cardinal hours, partly because in his exhaustion he had pictured himself cruising along the highway with Beezer, Mouse, and his other new friends, he made a mistake not during the operation, but after it. While writing a prescription drug for medication, he miscalculated the dosage, and two hours later, Daisy Temperly was dead. There were things he could have done to rescue his career, but he did none of them. He was allowed to finish his residency, and then he left treat for good. Talking to Jack Sawyer, he had immensely simplified his motives.The uproar in the cracker of his body can no longer be contained. Doc turns his head and vomits as he races forward. It is not the first time he has puked while riding, but it is the messiest and the most painful. The weight of his bowling-ball head means that he cannot extend his neck, so vomit spatters against his right shoulder and right arm and what comes spring out of him feels alive and equipped with teeth and claws. He is not surprised to see blood mixed with the vomit erupting from his mouth. His stomach doubles in on itself with pain.Without nub to, Doc has slowed down, and when he accelerates and faces forward again, he sees Mouse topple over sideways and skid behind his bike into the curve up ahead. His ears report a race sound, like that of a distant waterfall. Dimly, Mouse screams equally dimly, Beezer shouts No Right afte r that, the Beeze runs headlong into a big rock or some other obstruction, because his Electra Glide leaves the ground, flips completely over in the compacted air, and comes down on top of him. It occurs to Doc that this mission is totally FUBAR. The whole world has hung a left, and now they are in deep shit. He does the only sensible thing he yanks his trusty 9mm out of his pocket and tries to phone number out what to shoot first.His ears pop, and the sounds around him surge into life. Mouse is still screeching. Doc cannot figure out how he missed hearing the noise of the dog before, because even with the roaring of the cycles and Mouses screams, that moving growl is the jazzyest sound in the woods. The fucking Hound of the Baskervilles is locomote toward them, and both Mouse and Beezer are out of commission. From the noise it makes, the thing must be the size of a bear. Doc aims the shooting atomic number 26 straight ahead and steers with one hand as he blasts by Beezer, who is wriggling out from beneath his bike. That enormous sound Doc imagines a bear-sized dog siding its chops around Mouses head, and instantly erases the image. Things are happening too fast, and if he doesnt pay attention, those jaws could close on him.He has just time enough to think, Thats no ordinary dog, not even a huge one when something enormous and black comes charging out of the woods to his right and cuts on a bias toward Mouse. Doc pulls the trigger, and at the sound of the pistol the tool whirls halfway around and snarls at him. All Doc can see clearly are two red eyes and an open red mouth with a long tongue and a lot of sharp canine teeth. Everything else is un white and indistinct, with no more definition than if it were cover in a swirling cape. A lightning vamoose of pure terror that tastes as clean and sharp as cheap vodka pierces Doc from gullet to testicles, and his bike slews its rear end around and comes to a halt he has stopped it out of sheer reflex. S uddenly it feels like deep night. Of course he cant see it how could you see a black dog in the place of the night?The creature whirls around again and streaks toward Mouse.It doesnt want to charge me because of the gun and because the other two guys are right behind me, Doc thinks. His head and arms seem to have gained another forty pounds apiece, but he fights against the weight of his muscles and straightens his arms and fires again. This time he knows he hits that thing, but its only reaction is to shudder off-course for a moment. The big smudge of its head swings toward Doc. The growling gets even louder, and long, silvery spuders of dog drool fly from its open mouth. Something that suggests a tail switches back and forth.When Doc looks into the open red gash, his break weakens, his arms get heavier, and he is scarcely capable of holding his head upright. He feels as though he is move down into that red maw his pistol dangles from his limp hand. In a moment suspended throu ghout eternity, the same hand scribbles a post-op prescription for Daisy Temperly. The creature trots toward Mouse. Doc can hear Sonnys voice, cursing furiously. A loud flare-up on his right side seals both of his ears, and the world falls perfectly silent. Here we are, Doc says to himself. dimness at noon.For Sonny, the darkness strikes at the same time as the searing pain in his head and his stomach. A single band of agony rips right down through his body, a phenomenon so unparalleled and extreme point that he assumes it has also erased the daylight. He and Kaiser Bill are eight feet behind Beezer and Doc, and about fifteen feet up the narrow ungraded road. The Kaiser lets go of his handlebars and grips the sides of his head. Sonny understands exactly how he feels a four-foot section of curvy iron pipe has been thrust through the top of his head and pushed down into his guts, burning everything it touches. Hey, man, he says, in his misery noticing that the air has turned sludg y, as though individual atoms of group O and carbon dioxide are gummy enough to stick to his skin. Then Sonny notices that the Kaisers eyes are swimming up toward the back of his head, and he realizes that the man is passing out right next to him. Sick as he is, he has to do something to defend the Kaiser. Sonny reaches out for the other mans bike, watching as well as he can the disappearance of the Kaisers irises beneath his speeding eyelids. Blood explodes out of his nostrils, and his body slumps backward on the seat and rolls over the side. For a couple of seconds, he is dragged along by a boot caught in the handlebars, but the boot slips off, and the cycle drifts to a halt.The red-hot iron bar seems to rupture his stomach, and Sonny has no choice he lets the other bike fall and utters a moan and bends sideways and vomits out what feels like every meal he has ever eaten. When nothing is left inside him, his stomach feels better, but John Henry has indomitable to drive giant rail spikes through his skull. His arms and legs are made of rubber. Sonny focuses on his bike. It seems to be standing still. He does not understand how he can go forward, but he watches a blood-spattered hand gun his bike and manages to stay upright when it takes off. Is that my blood? he wonders, and remembers two long red flags unfurling from the Kaisers nose.A noise that had been gathering strength in the accent turns into the sound of a 747 coming in for a landing. Sonny thinks that the last thing he wants to do today is get a look at the wildcat capable of making that sound. Mouse was right on the money this is a bad, bad place, right up there with the comely town of Harko, Illinois. Sonny wishes to encounter no more Harkos, okay? One was enough. So why is he moving forward instead of turning around and running for the sunny peace of Highway 35? Why is he pulling that monolithic gun out of his pocket? Its simple. He is not about to let that jet-airplane-dog mess up his hom eys, no matter how much his head diminisheds.John Henry keeps cock in those five-dollar spikes while Sonny picks up speed and squints at the road ahead, trying to figure out what is going on. individual screams, he cannot identify who. Through the growling, he hears the unmistakable sound of a motorcycle hitting the ground after a flip, and his heart shivers. Beezer should always be point man, he thinks, otherwise were asking for punishment. A gun goes off with a loud explosion. Sonny forces himself to press through the adhesive atoms in the air, and after another five or six seconds he vagabond Beezer, who is painfully pushing himself upward beside his toppled bike. A few feet beyond Beezer, Docs bulky figure comes into view, sitting astride his bike and aiming his 9 at something in the road ahead of him. Doc fires, and red flame bursts from the barrel of his pistol.Feeling more beat-up and uneffective than ever before in his life, Sonny jumps from his moving bike and runs to ward Doc, trying to look past him. The first thing he sees is a flash of light off Mouses bike, which comes into view flat on its side about twenty feet down the road, at the top of the curve. Then he finds Mouse, on his ass and scrambling backward from some carnal Sonny can barely make out, except for its eyes and teeth. Unconscious of the stream of obscenities that pour from his mouth, Sonny levels his pistol at the creature and fires just as he runs past Doc.Doc just stands there Doc is out for the count. The weird animal up on the road closes its jaws on Mouses leg. It is going to rip away a hamburger-sized chunk of muscle, but Sonny hits it with a fucking hollow-point missile from his Magnum, a bit show-offy for target practice but under the circumstances no more than prudent, thank you very much. Contrary to all expectations and the laws of physics, Sonnys atrocious wonderbullet does not knock a hole the size of a football in the creatures hide. The wonderbullet pushes the a nimal sideways and distracts it from Mouses leg it does not even knock it down. Mouse sends up a howl of pain.The dog whips around and glares at Sonny with red eyes the size of baseballs. Its mouth opens on scraggy white teeth, and it snaps the air. Ropes of slime shoot out of its jaws. The creature lowers its shoulders and steps forward. Amazingly, its snarling grows in the great unwashed and ferocity. Sonny is being warned if he does not turn and run, he is next on the menu.Fuck that, Sonny says, and fires straight at the animals mouth. Its whole head should fly by in bloody rags, but for a second after the Magnum goes off, nothing changes.Oh, shit, Sonny thinks.The dog-things eyes blaze, and its feral, wedge-shaped head seems to piece itself out of the darkness in the air and emerge into view. As though an inky robe had been partially twitched aside, Sonny can see a thick neck descending to meaty shoulders and strong front legs. Maybe the tide is turning here, perhaps this m onster will turn out to be vulnerable after all. Sonny braces his right wrist with his left hand, aims at the dog-things chest, and squeezes off another round. The explosion seems to stuff his ears with cotton. All the railroad spikes in his head heat up like electric coils, and bright pain sings between his temples.Dark blood gouts from the creatures brisket. At the center of Sonny Cantinaros being, a pure, primitive predominate bursts into life. More of the monster melts into visibility, the wide back and a suggestion of its rear legs. Of no recognizable breed and four and a half feet high, the dog-thing is approximately the size of a gigantic wolf. When it moves toward him, Sonny fires again. Like an echo, the sound of his gun repeats from somewhere close behind a bullet like a supercharged wasp zings past his chest.The creature staggers back, limping on an hurt leg. Its enraged eyes bore into Sonnys. He risks glancing over his shoulder and sees Beezer braced in the middle of t he narrow road.Dont look at me, shoot Beezer yells.His voice seems to awaken Doc, who raises his arm and takes aim. Then all three of them are pulling their triggers, and the little road sounds like the firing range on a busy day. The dog-thing (hell hound, Sonny thinks) limps back a step and opens wide its terrible mouth to howl in rage and frustration. ahead the howl ends, the creature gathers its rear legs beneath its body, springs across the road, and vanishes into the woods.Sonny fights off the impulse to collapse under a wave of relief and fatigue. Doc swivels his body and keeps firing into the darkness behind the trees until Beezer puts a hand on his arm and orders him to stop. The air stinks of cordite and some animal odor that is musky and distastefully sweet. Pale gray smoke shimmers almost white as it filters upward through the darker air.Beezers haggard face turns to Sonny, and the whites of his eyes are crimson. You hit that fucking animal, didnt you? Through the set up of cotton in his ears, Beezers voice sounds small and tinny.Shit, yes. At least twice, probably three times.And Doc and I hit it once apiece. What the hell is that thing? What the hell is right, Sonny says. sagging with pain, Mouse a third time repeats his cry of Help me and the others hear him at last. Moving slowly and pressing their hands over whatever parts of their bodies hurt the most, they hobble up the road and rest in front of Mouse. The right leg of his jeans is ripped and soaked with blood, and his face is contorted.Are you assholes deafen ?Pretty near, Doc says. Tell me you didnt take a bullet in your leg.No, but it must be some kind of miracle. He winces and inhales sharply. Air hisses between his teeth. focussing you guys were shooting. Too bad you couldnt draw a bead before it bit my leg.I did, Sonny says. Reason you still got a leg.Mouse peers at him, then shakes his head. What happened to the Kaiser?He lost about a liter of blood through his nose and passed o ut, Sonny tells him.Mouse sighs as if at the frailty of the human species. I believe we might try to get out of this crazy shithole.Is your leg all right? Beezer asks.Its not broken, if thats what you mean. But its not all right, either.What? Doc asks.I cant say, Mouse tells him. I dont dish out medical questions from guys all covered in puke.Can you ride?Fuck yes, Beezer you ever know me when I couldnt ride?Beezer and Sonny each take a side and, with excruciating effort, lift Mouse to his feet. When they expiration his arms, Mouse lumbers sideways a few steps. This is not right, he says.Thats brilliant, says Beezer.Beeze, old buddy, you know your eyes are, like, bright red? You look like fuckin Dracula.To the extent that hurry is possible, they are hurrying. Doc wants to get a look at Mouses leg Beezer wants to make sure that Kaiser Bill is still alive and all of them want to get out of this place and back into normal air and sunlight. Their heads pound, and their muscles ache from strain. None of them can be sure that the dog-thing is not preparing for another charge.As they speak, Sonny has been picking up Mouses Fat Boy and rolling it toward its owner. Mouse takes the handles and pushes his machine forward, wincing as he goes. Beezer and Doc rescue their bikes, and six feet along Sonny pulls his upright out of a snarl of weeds.Beezer realizes that when he was at the curve in the road, he failed to look for Black House. He remembers Mouse saying, This shit doesnt want to be seen, and he thinks Mouse got it just about right the Fisherman did not want them there, and the Fisherman did not want his house to be seen. Everything else was reel around in his head the way his Electra Glide had spun over after that ugly voice spoke up in his mind. Beezer is certain of one thing, however Jack Sawyer is not going to hold out on him any longer.Then a terrible thought strikes him, and he asks, Did anything funny anything really strange happen to you guys before t he dog from hell jumped out of the woods? Besides the physical stuff, I mean.He looks at Doc, and Doc blushes. howdy? Beezer thinks.Mouse says, Go fuck yourself. Im not gonna talk about that.Im with Mouse, Sonny says.I guess the answer is yes, Beezer says.Kaiser Bill is lying by the side of the road with his eyes closed and the front of his body wet with blood from mouth to waist. The air is still gray and sticky their bodies seem to weigh a thousand pounds, the bikes to roll on leaden wheels. Sonny walks his bike up beside the Kaisers supine body and kicks him, not all that gently, in the ribs.The Kaiser opens his eyes and groans. Fuck, Sonny, he says. You kicked me. His eyelids flutter, and he lifts his head off the ground and notices the blood soaking into his clothing. What happened? Am I shot?You conducted yourself like a hero, Sonny says. How do you feel?Lousy. Where was I hit?How am I supposed to know? Sonny says. Come on, were getting out of here.The others file past. Kaise r Bill manages to get to his feet and, after another epic struggle, hauls his bike upright beside him. He pushes it down the track after the others, marveling at the pain in his head and the total of blood on his body. When he comes out through the last of the trees and joins his friends on Highway 35, the sudden brightness stabs his eyes, his body feels light enough to float away, and he nearly passes out all over again. I dont think I did get shot, he says.No one pays any attention to the Kaiser. Doc is asking Mouse if he wants to go to the hospital.No hospital, man. Hospitals kill people.At least let me take a look at your leg.Fine, look.Doc kneels at the side of the road and tugs the cuff of Mouses jeans up to the bottom of his knee. He probes with surprisingly voiced fingers, and Mouse winces.Mouse, he says, Ive never seen a dog bite like this before.never saw a dog like that before, either.The Kaiser says, What dog?Theres something funny about this wound, Doc says. You need antibiotics, and you need them right away.Dont you have antibiotics?Sure, I do.Then lets go back to Beezers place, and you can stick me full of needles. whatsoever you say, says Doc.