The Effects of Sir Thomas Malory’s Life and Culture on the Arthurian Le

The Effects of Sir Thomas Malory’s Life and Culture on the Arthurian Legends In many cases, authors write books in order to comment on the culture they live in. In addition, the personal life experiences of the author are also expressed in the work. In the case of the Arthurian Legends, the major contributor was Sir Thomas Malory, who lived from 1405 to 1471 (Abrams, 420). The first section of this paper will examine why Sir Thomas Malory should be considered the greatest contributor to the Arthurian Legends. The second section of this paper will examine many themes expressed in Malory’s work, Morte Darthur, such as courtly love, brotherly love, chivalry, magic, and resolution, showing how the culture and personal life of Sir Thomas Malory helped shape his commitment to translating and writing the legends of King Arthur. The final section of this paper will show how, even in the last century, writers have used personal life experiences and elements of the culture around them to create their works. One of the most taxing aspects of dealing with the Arthurian Legends is identifying the major contributors. Arthurian legends were in existence long before the lifetime of Sir Thomas Malory most notably Geoffry of Monmouth’s Historia Regina Britannia, which was written between 1136-1139. The fact that Arthurian legends were in existence several hundred years before Malory’s life makes it essential to show why the study of his life and culture are important. The major reason why the study of the life and culture of Sir Thomas Malory should be considered important is due to the fact that his work (Morte Darthur) was the first complete version of Arthurian legends ever produced in English. Another reason it is important t... ... that surrounded him. The final section of the paper deals with the idea that, even in our culture, writers are able to take their personal experiences and extend them to represent the culture as a whole. All of these sections are essential for understanding Morte Darthur, Sir Thomas Malory, and the elements he used from his personal experience and the culture around him to translate and write many Arthurian legends. Works Cited Abrams, M.H. Gen. Ed., Greenblatt, Stephen. Ass. Gen. Ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature 7th Ed. Vol. 1. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 2000. Ackerman, Robert W. â€Å"Sir Thomas Malory†. World Book Encyclopedia Vol. 13. Chicago: World Book Inc., 1989. Mckay, John P. Ed., Hill, Bennett D. Ed., Buckler, John Ed., A History of Western Society Since 1300, 6th Edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999.

Bacillus Cereus

B cereus has been discovered since 1955 as a cause of food poisoning (Luna etal 2007). 52 cases of food borne diseases connected with B cereus were reported in the interval between 1972 and 1986 and only two cases were reported in 2003 which represent about 2 % of the actual cases due to underreporting and many of the case go undiagnosed(Benenson 1990) . According to the south Carolina department of Health and Environmental control and CDC,close to 25% of state public health laboratory do not carry out B cereus testing routinely (Kramer& Gilbert 1989).The Centre for Disease Control estimates that 97% of all cases of food poisoning come from improper food handling; 79% of cases result from food prepared in commercial or institutional establishments and 21% of cases result from food prepared at home (Terranova & Blaker 1978). The most common etiologies are as follows: (1) leaving prepared food at temperatures that allow bacterial growth, (2) inadequate cooking or reheating, (3) cross-c ontamination, and (4) infection in food handlers (Blaker 1978).Cross-contamination may occur when raw contaminated food comes in contact with other foods, especially cooked foods, through direct contact or indirect contact on food preparation surfaces. Bacteria cause approximately 75% of the outbreaks of food poisoning and for 80% of the cases with a known cause in the United States (Blaker 1978). As many as 1 in 10 Americans has diarrhea due to food-borne infection each year. The 2 syndromes associated with B cereus food poisoning include short incubation or emetic syndrome with I.C=1-6 hours and the long incubation or Diarrhea syndrome with I. C=6-24 hours (Kramer 1989). Fried rice is the leading cause of emetic syndrome in the US (Bean 1990; Terronova 1978). Heat stable emetic toxin (ETE) is responsible for the short incubation period syndrome while the heat labile enterotoxin is responsible for the long incubation syndrome (Bean etal 1990) Syndrome Types of Bacillus Cereus food poisoning Bacillus cereus food poisoning has two varieties namely the emetic syndrome as well as the diarrhea syndrome types. B.cereus has some toxins responsible for its pathology and such toxins produces diseases that tally more with intoxication than absolute food poisoning. The emetic type can usually be confused with staphylococcal food poisoning due to its short incubation period (Luna etal 2007). However staph aureus being an important cause of food poisoning produces infection following growth in protein and carbohydrate foods. The enterotoxins of S aureus are super antigens and are heat stable making them resistant to the action of gut enzymes .As small as 25 microgram of enterotoxin B can produce diarrhea and nausea (Luna etal 2007). The emetic effect of this toxin is believed to be as a result of central nervous effect following the action of the toxins on the gut neural receptors (Ficker etal 2007). Some strains of staph aureus produce enterotoxins during their developme nt in meat, dairy foods and other food products and characteristically, this food usually has been recently prepared but has not been properly refrigerated. Almost 6 distinct types of staph enterotoxins exist.Following the swallowing of the preformed toxin, it is taken in by the gut mucosa and subsequently stimulates neural receptors and this stimulus is transferred to the vomiting centre in the brain and this projectile form of vomiting usually occur after few hours and it is less frequently associated with diarrhea and staph food poisoning is regarded as the commonest form. The food poisoning due to staphylococcus are usually associated with a smaller incubation period when compared with B cereus (from 1 to 8 hours).It is also associated with a very violent, copious nausea, diarrhea and vomiting all occurring in the absence of fever(Benenson 1990). It should be noted that with the emetic type where the incubation period is 2-8 hours, the prominent symptom is vomiting whereas in th e diarrhea type with incubation period of 8-16 hours the prominent symptom is diarhoea. Other species of bacillus are infrequently associated with human pathologies and difficulty arises in differentiating superficial contamination with B cereus from the authentic disease caused by this same organism .About 5 species of the Bacillus are aetiologic agents in insects and they include: B larvae, B lentimorbus,B sphericus,B papillae and B thurigiences and some of them have been taken advantage of by their use as insecticides(Fricker etal 2007) . Incorporation of the gene from B thuringiesis into some commercial plants has been recently achieved and this subsequently has generated a lot of controversies among the activists on environmental issues about the safety of these genetically fashioned food and plants products (Guerrant and Bobac 1991).Food types associated with food poisoning While the emetic type is associated with foods like fried rice and in fact the leading cause in the US ( Black low &Greeberg 1991), the diarrhea syndrome is associated with the likes of sauces and meat. The short incubation type is linked with fried rice that is cooked and kept warm for many hours and is also often associated with Chinese foods. A previous outbreak has revealed macaroni and also cheese from milk being the source of the bacterium.Incubation Period of the two syndromes of B. cereus that causes Food poisoning In the emetic type the diarrhea usually last for about 24 hours and it usually start 1-5 hours after the ingestion of the food substance like rice and it may also follow the ingestion of pasta foods. Food poisoning of the long incubation period i. e. 10 to 24 hours is the diarrhea type and this type may be confused with clostridia food poisoning. Mechanism of action ETE-forms small molecules, channels and holes in membranes.HBL-stimulates intestinal fluid secretion by various mechanisms including activation of adenylate cyclase and pore formation. Toxin of B-cereus i nclude emetic toxin (ETE), Nhe and EntK. Only 2 of the 3 enterotoxins participate in the causation of food poisoning and they consist of 3 different protein substitute acting together. HBL is a haemolysin while Nhe is not . EntK is a single component protein and not associated with food poisoning (Terranova&Blaker 1978). The 3 enterotoxins of B cereus have cytotoxic effect and they act on cell membranes forming holes and channels in them.People at risk of developing food poisoning The high risk population for food poisoning includes the older adults and this is due to the fact that as you get older, your immune system may not respond as quickly and as effectively to infectious organisms as when you were younger (Blacklow & Greeberg 1999). The Similar explanation goes for Infants and young children because of the immaturity of their gastrointestinal tract and also their immune systems haven’t been so fully developed.People with chronic diseases are also at risk of food poisoni ng because having a chronic condition, such as diabetes or AIDS, or receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer reduces your immune response. Clinical features The clinical symptoms produced by the emetic type include abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea and self limiting type of diarrhea. The clinical symptoms of the diarrhea or long term incubation syndrome include fever and vomiting in rare cases but most prominent symptoms are profuse diarrhea and abdominal pain.The intestinal toxin is usually preformed but it can be produced inside the intestinal tract (Kramer &Gilbert 1989). To make a meaningful diagnosis of this organism, one will require that a load of about 105 of the organism is present in the feaces and just the presence of the organism not up to this maximum concentration is not enough to diagnose. Also importantly, B cereus is an important aetiologic agent of eye diseases such as panopthalmitis, endopthalmitis and infection of the cornea too .This organism during a traumatic event is usually inoculated into the eye and it usually does this via the foreign body introduced into the eye. Both local and system problems have been reported associated with B cereus and it’s been associated with medical foreign devices such as braces, prosthetic valves, and some invasive procedures like passage of urinary catheter, nasogastric tube and chest tubes. Some of the associated systemic problems caused by the organism include meningitis and encephalitis, pneumonia, osteomylitis, as well as endocarditis.The use of intravenous drugs also predisposes to infections by B cereus (Bean &Griffith 1990). The organism lives inside the soil and it is a common finding that it contaminates foods like rice (Jones and Blicslayer 2002). The toxins production usually occur when large amount of rice is prepared and then allowed to cool down which subsequently lead to the growth of the spores and the vegetative form now synthesize the toxins and all these occur in th e log phase growth period or during the process of sporulation.Clostridium is the third leading cause of bacteria food borne epidemics following salmonella and staphylococcus aurues The enterotoxin it produces causes a self resolving gastroenteritis and it does this by binding to the brush border membrane receptor and therefore binding to abdominal wall mucosa, interrupting the exchange of ion and the resultant effect is the loss of ions and low molecular weight metabolic products (Benenson 1990). The time of onset of the clinical manifestation is usually between 8 and 16 hours i.e. earlier than that of B cerues and it follows the ingestion of the organism itself. Although it is also associated with abdominal pain and diarrhea but less commonly with systemic problems. Another species of the clostridium family is clostridium difficile is usually associated with over 25% of antibiotic associated diarrhea and 95% cases of psedomembraneous enterocolitis and the organism produces two ent erotoxins (exotoxin A&B). Some of the precipitant antibiotics include clindamicin and ampicillin.However the diarrhea of B cereus infection does not follow antibiotics use. The clinical picture of C difficile diarrhea includes nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain as well as greenish voluminously large amount of diarrhea (Blacklow and Greeberg 1991). Protoscopy will show pseudo membranes and microabscesses with an erythematous mucosa and the diagnosis is confirmed by demonstrating toxins in the stool and the current treatment of choice includes oral metronidazole (Fricker etal 2007). Other aetiologic agents of food poisoningOther bacteria organism toxins that have been implicated to cause food poisoning include those of Vibro cholera, Yersina enterolitica, and Aeromonas species. However the exact role of the organism and their toxins in pathogenesis is not well delineated except for V cholerae. C perfirigens is another aetiologic agent responsible for food poisoning (Jones&Blikslaker 200 2). Case Study 1 Father, mother and 2 children with respective ages 34, 28, 6 and 4 presented in a hospital because of passage of watery stool and fever all of 6-12 hours duration.There was history of eating green salad beans, ground meat and tortillas prepared by someone else in an encampment because they are migrant farm worker family. It was also found out later that another 7 month old child in the family had not taken the food and was found to be well. The children started having abdominal discomfort, diarhoa and fever 24 hours later and the symptoms have been continuous since the previous 12 hours and both affected children have been having bloody stool.The parents also started having similar symptoms 5 and 7 hours ealier excluding visible bloody stool. There was history that some other persons in the encampment had similar symptoms in the past 2 weeks and that the camp’s hygienic state is poor. Both children are warm to touch on examination as well as the parents and h ave increased heartbeat and the children also appeared to lack fluid . A mount of their stool revealed white cells that fight infections and the faeces of the children were blood stained. Comments and explanationGenerally speaking, vomiting, nausea, fever abdominal pain and diarrhea are the major key symptoms of infection of the gastrointestinal tract and the main symptom will depend on the cause whether it is a toxin or invasive or a combination of the two (Guerrant &Bobak 1991). Usually, nausea and vomiting are often related with preformed toxins in food. For instance, B cereus and staph aureus can generate enterotoxins in food and this usually happen few hours after the ingestion of the food substance (Guerrant &Bobak 1991).The likes of enterotoxins of enterotoxigenic E coli and Vibrio Cholera usually affect the superior aspect of the bowel to cause watery and massive diarhoea. As in the above scenario, invasive bacteria penetrate the colonic mucosal and cause abdominal pain with blood and mucous associated with fever and dehydration and this constellation of symptoms are regarded to as dysentery and the implicated aetiologic are for dysentery are:Entamoeba histolytica,Clostridium difficile ,enteroinvasive E. coli,salmonella ,campylobacter jejuni.The above children were admitted in the hospital and treated and parents were also treated as outpatients with fluids and drugs and this is followed by public health sanitary measures in the camp. In conclusion, food poisonings are very common most especially in the developing parts of the world with high morbidity and mortality most especially among infants and children (Kramer &Gilbert 1989). Therefore of value are public health preventive measures by the provision of good water supply as well as sanitary and hygienic water and food supply.(Guerrant RL, Bobak DA: Bacterial and protozoa gastroenteritis. N Engl J Med 1991; 325:32). Case study 2 A reported incidence of acute gastrointestinal infection occurred in Ju ly 21, 1993 among the members of staff as well as the pupils of a co-owned child day care school after a catered lunch. This lunch was served for eating to 82 pupils of the day care centre to children between the age of 6 and less and the children are 82 in number along with 9 staff members. Past dietary history was gotten from 80 individuals and 67 were said to participate in the lunch.An individual at the day care made a case definition of vomiting. Among those served and who ate at the lunch, 21 %( 14) became sick and 13 did not. The symptoms observed ranged from diarrheal in 14 %,pain in 30% case and nausea in 71% case. 12 out of the 14 instances occurred among the children from ages 2. 5-5 and 2 other members of staff. Stastical analysis reveals that the median incubation period was 2 hours(the range is 1. 5-3. 5 hours). The resolution of symptoms took place over median interval of 4 hours following the onset(range 1. 5-22 hours).Among the dishes served in the local restaurant, only chicken fried rice was linked with notable illness and the problem occurred among 14(29%) out of the 48 individuals who ate the chicken fried rice in comparison to none of the 16 individuals who did not eat. The implicated rice was prepared the night preceding the incidence on July 20 under room temperature before it was refrigerated. The report also confirms that the rice was heated in oil with the slices of the cooked chicken on the morning of the lunch, then handed over to the daycare centers at around 10:30 am without refrigeration and served at noon without rewarming it.As a subsequence to the outbreak the advice by the health personnel to the restaurant officials and daycare staff was to stop the custom of cooling of rice or any other food at room temperature henceforth and that food should be kept at appropriate temperature of 5 degree or above 60 degree and that the temperature should be confirmed by a thermometer. Analysis of the case study 2 This short incubation syn drome variety of the disease which featured in this outbreak is overseen by highly stable toxin that can withstand enzymatic effect as well as extremes of temperature and PH.The diarrhea syndromic type is mediated on the other hand by an acid and heat labile intestinal toxin affected by the effect of the proteolytic enzymes like pepsin, trypsin etc. To make a diagnosis of Food poisoning, it is essential to isolate more than 10 5organisms per gramme from the epidemiologically implicated food substance . The self resolving as well as the lack of severity in most cases account for the reason B cereus is underreported(qtd in Todar 2004). Moreover recent research reveals that close to 20 % public health laboratory do not have the facility for the routine test for B cereus.In the United States, the leading cause of the emetic syndrome type or the â€Å"Short incubation syndrome† type of B. cereus is fried rice. As discussed before that B cereus more often than not is found in uncoo ked rice where the heat resistant spores also withstand and survive cooking. The survival of the vegetative form is a possibility after cooked rice is placed in an incubator as it generates heat stable toxin substance which can withstand heating(Kramer &Gilbert 1989). In this described scenario, the vegetative form must have proliferated at the food joint and also at the day care centre while the rice was being kept at room temperature.The problem is the unawareness of the restaurant food workers that certain danger is associated with cooked rice potentially. It’s imperative from the report the need to properly inform food handlers about fundamental rules and customs for hygienic healthy and safe food management and handling (Benenson 1990). Web Review of Todar's Online Textbook of Bacteriology. â€Å"The Good, the Bad, and the Deadly†. (SCIENCE Magazine- June 4, 2004 – Vol 304: p. 1421). Retrieved from www. textbookofbacteriology. net on May20, 2009. Bibliograp hy Bean NH, Griffin PM.Foodborne disease outbreaks in the United States, 1973-1987: pathogens, vehicles, and trends. Journal of Food Protection 1990; 53:804-17. Benenson AS, ed. Control of communicable diseases in man. 15th ed. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 1990:177-8. Kramer JM, Gilbert RJ. Bacillus cereus and other Bacillus species. In: Doyles MP, ed. Foodborne bacterial pathogens. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc, 1989:21-70. Terranova W, Blake PA. Bacillus cereus food poisoning. N Engl J Med 1978;298:143-4. Luna, V. A. , King, D. S. , Gulledge, J. , Cannons, A.C. , Amuso, P. T. , Cattani, J. (2007). Susceptibility of Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus mycoides, Bacillus pseudomycoides and Bacillus thuringiensis to 24 antimicrobials using Sensititre(R) automated microbroth dilution and Etest(R) agar gradient diffusion methods. J Antimicrob Chemother 60: 555-567 Fricker, M. , Messelhausser, U. , Busch, U. , Scherer, S. , Ehling-Schulz, M. (2007). Diagn ostic Real-Time PCR Assays for the Detection of Emetic Bacillus cereus Strains in Foods and Recent Food-Borne Outbreaks. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 1892-1898Blacklow NR, Greenberg HB: Bacteria gastroenteritis Engl J Med1991; 325:252. Guerrant RL, Bobac DA: Bacteria and Protozoal gastroenteritis. N England J Med 1991; 325:327. Mckay DM intestinal inflammation and the gut microflora. Can J gastroenterocol 13:509, 1999. Jones SL, Blikslaker AT: the role of the enteric nervous system in the in the Pathophysiology of secretory diarhoea. J Vet Intern Med 16:222, 2002. Guerrant RL et al: Practice guidelines for the management of infectious diarrhea. Clin Infect Dis 2001;32:331. Guerrant RL, Bobak DA: Bacterial and protozoal gastroenteritis. N Engl J Med 1991;325:327.

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove Chapter 14~15

Fourteen Molly Pine Cove was a decorative town – built for show – only one degree more functional than a Disneyland attraction and decidedly lacking in businesses and services that catered to residents rather than tourists. The business district included ten art galleries, five wine-tasting rooms, twenty restaur-ants, eleven gift and card shops, and one hardware store. The position of hardware clerk in Pine Cove was highly coveted by the town's retired male population, for nowhere else could a man posture well past his prime, pontificate, and generally indulge in the arrogant self-important chest-pounding of an alpha male without having a woman intercede to remind him that he was patently full of shit. Crossing the threshold of Pine Cove Hardware and breaking the beam that rang the bell was tantamount to setting off a testosterone alarm, and if they'd had their way, the clerks would have constructed a device to at-omize the corners with urine every time the bell tolled. Or at least that's the way it seemed to Molly when she entered that Saturday morning. The clerks, three men, broke from their heated argument on the finer points of installing a wax toilet seal ring to stare, snicker, and make snide comments under their breath about the woman who had entered their domain. Molly breezed past the counter, focusing on an aisle display of gopher poison to avoid eye contact. Raucous laughter erupted from the clerks when she turned down the aisle for roofing supplies. The clerks, Frank, Bert, and Les – all semiretired, balding, paunchy, and generally interchangeable, except that Frank wore a belt to hold up his double knits, while the other two sported suspenders fashioned to look like yellow measuring tape – planned to make Molly beg. Oh, they'd let her wander around for a while, let her try to comprehend the arcane func-tion of the gizmos, geegaws, and widgets binned and bubble-wrapped around the store. Then she would have to come back to the counter and submit. It was Frank's turn to do the condescending, and he would do his best to drop-kick her ego before finally leading the little lady to the appro-priate product, where he would continue to question her into full humili-ation. â€Å"Well, is it a sheet metal screw or a wood screw? Three-eighths or seven-sixteenths? Do you have a hex head screwdriver? Well, then, you'll need one, won't you? Are you sure you wouldn't rather just call someone to do this for you?† Tears and/ or sniffles from the customer would signal victory and confirm superior status for the male race. Frank, Bert, and Les watched Molly on the security monitor, exchanged some comments about her breasts, laughed nervously after five minutes passed without her surrender, and tried to look busy when she emerged from the aisle carrying a five-gallon can of roof-patching tar, a roll of fiberglass fabric, and a long-handled squeegee. Molly stood at the counter, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Bert and Les squinted into a catalog set on a rotating stand while concentrating on sucking in their guts. Frank manned the register and pretended he was doing something complex on the keyboard, when, in fact, he was just making it beep. Molly cleared her throat. Frank looked up as if he'd just noticed she was there. â€Å"Find everything you need?† â€Å"I think so,† Molly said, taking both hands to lift the heavy can of tar onto the counter. â€Å"You need some resin for that fiberglass fabric?† Les said. â€Å"And some hardener?† Bert said. Frank snickered. â€Å"Some what?† Molly said. â€Å"You can't patch a trailer roof with that stuff, miss. You live down at the Fly Rod, don't you?† They all knew who she was and where she lived. She was often the subject of hardware store gossip and speculation, even though she'd never set foot in there before today. â€Å"I'm not going to patch a roof.† â€Å"Well, you can't use that on a driveway. You need asphalt sealer, and it should be applied with a brush, not a squeegee.† â€Å"How much do I owe you?† Molly said. â€Å"You should wear a respirator when you work with fiberglass. You have one at home, right?† Bert asked. â€Å"Yeah, right next to the elves and the gnomes,† Les said. Molly didn't flinch. â€Å"He's right,† Frank said. â€Å"Those fibers get down in your lungs and they could do you a world of harm, especially with those lungs.† The clerks all laughed at the joke. â€Å"I've got a respirator out in the truck,† Les said. â€Å"I could come by after work and give you a hand with your little project.† â€Å"That would be great,† Molly said. â€Å"What time?† Les balked. â€Å"Well, I, um†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I'll pick up some beer.† Molly smiled. â€Å"You guys should come along too. I could really use the help.† â€Å"Oh, I think Les can handle it, can't you, Les?† Frank said as he hit the total key. â€Å"That comes to thirty-seven sixty-five with tax.† Molly counted her money out on the counter. â€Å"So I'll see you tonight?† Les swallowed hard and forced a smile. â€Å"You bet,† he said. â€Å"Thanks then,† Molly said brightly. Then she picked up her supplies and headed for the door. As she broke the doorbell beam, Frank whispered â€Å"Crazy slut† under his breath. Molly stopped, turned slowly, and winked. Once she was outside, the clerks made miserable old white guy attempts at trading high-fives while patting Les on the back. It was a hardware store fantasy fulfilled – much better than just humiliating a woman, Les would get to humiliate her and get her naked as well. For some reason they'd all been feeling a little randy lately, thinking about sex almost as often as power tools. â€Å"My wife is going to kill me,† Les said. â€Å"What she don't know won't hurt her,† the other two said in unison. Theo Theo actually felt his stomach lurch when he went into his victory garden and clipped a handful of sticky buds from his pot plants. They weren't for himself this time, but the reminder of how much this little patch of plants ruled his life made him ill. And how was it that he hadn't felt the need to fire up his Sneaky Pete for three days? A twenty-year drug habit suddenly ends? No withdrawal, no side effects, no cravings? The freedom was almost nauseating. It was as if the Weirdness Fairy had landed in his life with a thump, popped him on the head with a rubber chicken, bit him on the shin, then went off to inflict herself on the rest of Pine Cove. He stuffed the marijuana into a plastic bag, tucked it into his jacket pocket, and climbed into the Volvo for the forty-mile drive to San Junipero. He was going to have to enter the bowels of the county justice building and face the Spider to find out what he wanted to know. The pot was grease for the Spider. He would stop by a convenience store on the way down and pick up a bag full of snacks to augment the bribe. The Spider was difficult, arrogant, and downright creepy, but he was a cheap date. Through the safety-glass window, Theo could see the Spider sitting in the middle of his web: five computer screens with data scrolling across them illuminated the Spider with an ominous blue glow. The only other light in the room came from tiny red and green power indicator lights that shone through the darkness like crippled stars. Without looking away from his screens, the Spider buzzed Theo in. â€Å"Crowe,† the Spider said, not looking up. â€Å"Lieutenant,† Theo said. â€Å"Call me Nailgun,† the Spider said. His name was Irving Nailsworth and his official position in the San Juni-pero Sheriff's Department was chief technical officer. He was five-foot-five inches tall, weighed three hundred and thirty pounds, and had taken to wearing a black beret when he perched in his web. Early on, Nailsworth had seen that nerds would rule the world, and he had staked out his own little information fiefdom in the basement of the county jail. Nothing happened without the Spider knowing about it. He monitored and con-trolled all the information that moved about the county, and before anyone recognized what sort of power that afforded, he had made himself indis-pensable to the system. He had never arrested a suspect, touched a firearm, or set foot in a patrol car, yet he was the third-highest-ranking officer on the force. Besides a taste for raw data, the Spider had weaknesses for junk food, Internet porn, and high-quality marijuana. The latter was Theo's key to the Spider's lair. He put the plastic Baggie on the keyboard in front of Nails-worth. Still without looking at Theo, the Spider opened the bag and sniffed, pinched a bud between his fingers, then folded the bag up and stuffed it into his shirt pocket. â€Å"Nice,† he said. â€Å"What do you need?† He peeled the marshmallow cap off a Hostess Sno Ball, shoved it into his mouth, then threw the cake into a wastebasket at his feet. Theo set the bag of snacks down next to the wastebasket. â€Å"I need the autopsy report on Bess Leander.† The Nailgun nodded, no easy task for a man with no discernible neck. â€Å"And?† Theo wasn't sure what questions to ask. Nailsworth seldom volunteered information, you had to ask the right question. It was like talking to a rotund Sphinx. â€Å"I was wondering if you could come up with something that might help me find Mikey Plotznik.† Theo knew he didn't have to explain. The Spider would know all about the missing kid. The Spider reached into the bag at his feet and pulled out a Twinkie. â€Å"Let me pull up the autopsy.† His fat fingers flew over the keyboard. â€Å"You need a printout?† â€Å"That would be nice.† â€Å"It doesn't show you as the investigating officer.† â€Å"That's why I came to you. The M.E.'s office wouldn't let me see the report.† â€Å"Says here cause of death was cardiac arrest due to asphyxiation. Suicide.† â€Å"Yes, she hung herself.† â€Å"I don't think so.† â€Å"I saw the body.† â€Å"I know. Hanging in the dining room.† â€Å"So what do you mean, you don't think so? â€Å"The ligature marks on her neck were postmortem, according to this. Neck wasn't broken, so she didn't drop suddenly.† Theo squinted at the screen, trying to make sense of the data. â€Å"There were heel marks on the wall. She had to have hung herself. She was depressed, taking Zoloft for it.† â€Å"Not according to the toxicology.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"They ran the toxicology for antidepressants because you put it on the report, but there was nothing.† â€Å"It says suicide right there.† â€Å"Yes, it does, but the date doesn't corroborate the timing. Looks like she had a heart attack. Then she hung herself afterward.† â€Å"So she was murdered?† â€Å"You wanted to see the report. It says cardiac arrest. But ultimately, cardiac arrest is what kills everyone. Catch a bullet in the head, get hit by a car, eat some poison. The heart tends to stop.† â€Å"Eat some poison?† â€Å"Just an example, Crowe. It's not my field. If I were you, I'd check and see if she had a history of heart problems.† â€Å"You said it wasn't your field.† â€Å"It's not.† The Spider hit a key and a laser printer whirred in the darkness somewhere. â€Å"I don't have much on the kid. I could give you the subscription list for his paper route.† Theo realized that he had gotten all he was going to get on Bess Leander. â€Å"I have that. How about giving me any known baby-rapers in the area?† â€Å"That's easy.† The Spider's fingers danced over the keyboard. â€Å"You think the kid was snatched?† â€Å"I don't know shit,† Theo said. The Spider said, â€Å"No known pedophiles in Pine Cove. You want the whole county?† â€Å"Why not?† The laser printer whirred and the Spider pointed through the dark at the noise. â€Å"Everything you want is back there. That's all I can do for you.† â€Å"Thanks, Nailgun, I appreciate it.† Theo felt a chronic case of the creeps going up his spine. He took a step into the dark and found the papers sitting in the tray of the laser printer. Then he stepped to the door. â€Å"You wanna buzz me out?† The Spider swiveled in his chair and looked at Theo for the first time. Theo could see his piggy eyes shining out of deep craters. â€Å"You still live in that cabin by the Beer Bar Ranch?† â€Å"Yep,† Theo said. â€Å"Eight years now.† â€Å"Never been on the ranch, though, have you?† â€Å"No.† Theo cringed. Could the Spider know about Sheriff Burton's hold over him? â€Å"Good,† the Spider said. â€Å"Stay out of there. And Theo?† â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"Sheriff Burton has been checking with me on everything that comes out of Pine Cove. After the Leander death and the truck blowing up, he got very jumpy. If you decide to pursue the Leander thing, stay low-key.† Theo was amazed. The Spider had actually volunteered information. â€Å"Why?† was all he could say. â€Å"I like the herb you bring me.† The Spider patted his shirt pocket. Theo smiled. â€Å"You won't tell Burton you gave me the autopsy report?† â€Å"Why would I?† said the Spider. â€Å"Take care,† Theo said. The Spider turned back to his screens and buzzed the door. Molly Molly wasn't so sure that life as Pine Cove's Crazy Lady wasn't harder than being a Warrior Babe of the Outland. Things were pretty clear for a Warrior Babe: you ran around half-naked looking for food and fuel and occasionally kicked the snot out of some mutants. There was no subterfuge or rumor. You didn't have to guess whether or not the Sand Pirates ap-proved of your behavior. If they approved, they staked you out and tortured you. If they didn't they called you a bitch, then they staked you out and tortured you. They might release starving radioactive cockroaches on you or burn you with hot pokers, they might even gang-rape you (in foreign-release directors'cuts only), but you always knew where you stood with Sand Pirates. And they never tittered. Molly had had all the tittering she could handle for the day. At the pharmacy, they had tittered. Four elderly women worked the counter at Pine Cove Drug and Gift, while above them, behind his glass window, Winston Krauss, the dolphin-molesting pharmacist, lorded over them like a rooster over a barnyard full of hens. It didn't seem to matter to Winston that his four hens couldn't make change or answer the simplest question, nor that they would retreat to the back room when anyone younger than thirty entered the pharmacy, lest they have to sell something embarrassing like condoms. What mattered to Winston was that his hens worked for minimum wage and treated him like a god. He was behind glass; tittering didn't bother him. The hens started tittering when Molly hit the door and broke titter only when she came to the counter with an entire case of economy-sized Neosporin ointment. â€Å"Are you sure, dear?† they kept asking, refusing to take Molly's money. â€Å"Perhaps we should ask Winston. This seems like an awful lot.† Winston had disappeared among the shelves of faux-antidepressants when Molly entered the store. He wondered if he should have ordered some faux-antipsychotics as well. Val Riordan hadn't said. â€Å"Look,† Molly finally said, â€Å"I'm nuts. You know it, I know it, Winston knows it. But in America it is your right to be nuts. I get a check from the state every month because I'm nuts. The state gives me money so I can buy whatever I need to continue being nuts, and right now I need this case of ointment. So ring it up so I can go be nuts somewhere else. Okay?† The hens huddled and tittered. â€Å"Or do I need to buy a case of those huge fluorescent orange prelubricated condoms with the deely-bobbers on the tip and blow them up in your card section.† You never have to get this tough with Sand Pirates, Molly thought. The hens broke their huddle and looked up in terror. â€Å"I hear they're like thousands of tiny fingers, urging you to let go,† Molly added. Between the four of them it only took ten minutes more to ring up Molly's order and figure her change within the nearest dollar. As Molly was leaving, she turned and said, â€Å"In the Outland, you would have all been made into jerky a long time ago.† Fifteen Steve Getting blown up had put the Sea Beast in a deep blue funk. Sometimes when he felt this way, he would swim to the edge of a coral reef and lie there in the sand while neon cleaner fish nipped at the parasites and algae on his scales. His flanks flashed a truce of color to let the little fish know that they were safe as they darted in and out of his mouth, grabbing bits of food and grunge like tiny dental hygienists. In turn, they emanated an electromagnetic message that translated roughly to: â€Å"I won't be a minute, sorry to bother you, please don't eat me.† He was getting a similar message from the warmblood that was ministering to his burns, and he flashed the truce of color along his sides to confirm that he understood. He couldn't pick up the intentions of all warmbloods, but this one was wired differently. He could sense that she meant him no harm and was even going to bring him food. He understood that when she made the â€Å"Steve† sound, she was talking to him. â€Å"Steve,† Molly said, â€Å"stop making those colors. Do you want the neighbors to see? It's broad daylight.† She was on a stepladder with a paintbrush. To the casual observer, she was painting her neighbor's trailer. In fact, she was applying great gobs of Neosporin oint ment to the Sea Beast's back. â€Å"You'll heal faster with this stuff on you, and it doesn't sting.† After she had covered the charred parts of the trailer with ointment, she draped fiberglass fabric on as bandages and began ladling roof-patching tar over the fabric. Several of her neighbors looked out their windows, dismissed her actions as more eccentricities of a crazy woman, then went back to their afternoon game shows. Molly was spreading the roofing tar over the fiberglass bandages with a squeegee when she heard a vehicle pull up in front of her trailer. Les, the hardware guy, got out of the truck, adjusted his suspenders, and headed toward her, looking a little nervous, but resolved. A light dew of sweat shone on his bald head, despite the autumn chill in the air. â€Å"Little lady, what are you doing? I thought you were going to wait for me to help you.† Molly came down from her ladder and stood with the squeegee at port arms while it dripped black goo. â€Å"I wanted to get going on this before dark. Thanks for coming.† She smiled sweetly – a leftover movie star smile. Les escaped the smile to hardware land. â€Å"I can't even tell what you're trying to do here, but whatever it is, it looks like you mucked it up pretty bad already.† â€Å"No, come here and look at this.† Les moved cautiously to Molly's side and looked up at the trailer. â€Å"What the hell is this thing made of anyway? Up close it looks like plastic or something.† â€Å"Maybe you should look at it from the inside,† Molly said. â€Å"The damage is more obvious in there.† The hardware clerk leered. Molly felt him trying to stare through her sweatshirt. â€Å"Well, if that's what you think. Let's go inside and have a look.† He started toward the door of the trailer. Molly grabbed his shoulder. â€Å"Wait a second. Where are the keys to your truck?† â€Å"I leave 'em in it. Why? This town is safe.† â€Å"No reason, just wondering.† Molly dazzled him with another smile. â€Å"Why don't you go on in? I'll be in as soon as I get some of this tar off of my hands.† â€Å"Sure thing, missy,† Les said. He toddled toward the front door like a man badly in need of a rest room. Molly backed away toward Les's truck. When the hardware clerk laid a hand on the door handle, Molly called, â€Å"Steve! Lunch!† â€Å"My name isn't Steve,† Les said. â€Å"No,† Molly said, â€Å"you're the other one.† â€Å"Les, you mean?† â€Å"No, lunch.† Molly gave him one last smile. Steve recognized the sound of his name and felt the thought around the word â€Å"lunch† Les felt something wet wrap around his legs and opened his mouth to scream just as the tip of the serpent's tongue wrapped his face, cutting off his air. The last thing he saw was the bare breasts of the fallen scream queen, Molly Michon, as she lifted her sweatshirt to give him a farewell flash before he was slurped into the waiting maw of the Sea Beast. Molly heard the bones crunch and cringed. Boy, sometimes it just pays to be a nutcase, she thought. That sort of thing might bother a sane person. One of the windows in the front of the dragon trailer closed slowly and opened, a function of the Sea Beast pushing his meal down his throat, but Molly took it for a wink. Estelle Dr. Val's office had always represented a little island of sanity to Estelle, a sophisticated status quo, always clean, calm, orderly, and well appointed. Like many artists, Estelle lived in an atmosphere of chaotic funk, taken by observers to be artistic charm, but in fact no more than a civilized way of dealing with the relative poverty and uncertainly of cannibalizing one's imagination for money. If you had to spill your guts to someone, it was nice to do it in a place that wasn't spattered with paint and covered with canvases that beckoned to be finished. Dr. Val's office was an escape, a pause, a comfort. But not today. After being sent in to the inner office, before she even sat down in one of the leather guest chairs, Estelle said, â€Å"Your assistant is wearing oven mitts, did you know that?† Valerie Riordan, for once with a few hairs out of place, rubbed her temples, looked at her desk blotter, and said, â€Å"I know. She has a skin condition.† â€Å"But they're taped on with duct tape.† â€Å"It's a very bad skin condition. How are you today?† Estelle looked back toward the door. â€Å"Poor thing. She seemed out of breath when I came in. Has she seen a doctor?† â€Å"Chloe will be fine, Estelle. Her typing skills may even improve.† Estelle sensed that Dr. Val was not having a good day and decided to let the assistant in oven mitts pass. â€Å"Thanks for seeing me on such short notice. I know it's been a while since we've had a session, but I really felt I need to talk to someone. My life has gotten a little weird lately.† â€Å"There's a lot of that going around,† Dr. Val said, doodling on a legal pad as she spoke. â€Å"What's up?† â€Å"I've met a man.† Dr. Val looked up for the first time. â€Å"You have?† â€Å"He's a musician. A Bluesman. He's been playing at the Slug. I met him there. We've been, well, he's been staying at my place for the last couple of days.† â€Å"And how do you feel about that?† â€Å"I like it. I like him. I haven't been with a man since my husband died. I thought I would feel like, well, like I was betraying him. But I don't. I feel great. He's funny, and he has this sense of, I don't know, wisdom. Like he's seen it all, but he hasn't become cynical. He seems sort of bemused by the hardships in life. Not at all like most people.† â€Å"But what about you?† â€Å"I think I love him.† â€Å"Does he love you?† â€Å"I think so. But he says he's going to leave. That's what's bothering me. I finally got used to being alone, and now that I found someone, he's going to leave me because he's afraid of a sea monster.† Valerie Riordan dropped her pen and slumped in her chair – a very unprofessional move, Estelle thought. â€Å"Excuse me?† Val said. â€Å"A sea monster. We were at the beach the other night, and something came up out of the water. Something big. We ran for the car, and later Catfish told me that he was once chased by a sea monster down in the Delta and that it had come back to get him. He says he doesn't want other people to get hurt, but I think he's just afraid. He thinks the monster will come back as long as he's on the coast. He's trying to get a gig in Iowa, as far from the coast as he can get. Do you think he's just afraid to commit? I read a lot about that in the women's magazines.† â€Å"A sea monster? Is that a metaphor for something? Some Blues term that I'm not getting?† â€Å"No, I think it's a reptile, at least the way he describes it. I didn't get a good look at it. It ate his best friend when he was a young man. I think he's running away from the guilt. What do you think?† â€Å"Estelle, there's no such thing as sea monsters.† â€Å"Catfish said that no one would believe me.† â€Å"Catfish?† â€Å"That's his name. My Bluesman. He's very sweet. He has a sense of gallantry that you don't see much anymore. I don't think it's an act. He's too old for that. I didn't think I would ever feel this way again. These are girl feelings, not woman feelings. I want to spend the rest of my life with him. I want to have his grandchildren.† â€Å"Grandchildren?† â€Å"Sure, he's had his days with the booze and the hos, but I think he's ready to settle down.† â€Å"The booze and the hos?† Dr. Val seemed to have gone into some sort of fugue state, working on a stunned psychiatrist autopilot where all she could do was parrot what Estelle said back in the form of a question. Estelle needed more input than this. â€Å"Do you think I should tell the authorities?† â€Å"About the booze and the hos?† â€Å"The sea monster. That Plotznik boy is missing, you know?† Dr. Val made a show of straightening her blouse and assuming a controlled, staid, professional posture. â€Å"Estelle, I think we may need to adjust your medication.† â€Å"I haven't been taking it. But I feel fine. Catfish says that if Prozac had been invented a hundred years ago there wouldn't have been any Blues at all. Just a lot of happy people with no soul. I tend to agree with him. The antidepressants served their purpose for me after Joe died, but I'm not sure I need them now. I even feel like I could get some painting done – if I can find some time away from sex.† Dr. Val winced. â€Å"I was thinking of something besides antidepressants, Estelle. You obviously are dealing with some serious changes right now. I'm not sure how to proceed. Do you think that Mr., uh, Catfish would mind coming to a session with you?† â€Å"That might be tough. He doesn't like your mojo.† â€Å"My mojo?† â€Å"Not your mojo in particular. Just psychiatrist's mojo in general. He spent a little time in a mental hospital in Mississippi after the monster ate his friend. He didn't care for the staff's mojo.† Estelle realized that her vocabulary, even her way of thinking, had changed over the last few days, the result of immersion in Catfish's Blues world. The doctor was rubbing her temples again. â€Å"Estelle, let's make another appointment for tomorrow or the next day. Tell Chloe to add it on at the end of the day if I'm booked up. And try to bring your gentleman along with you. In the meantime, assure him that my practice is mojo-free, would you?† Estelle stood. â€Å"Can that little girl write with those oven mitts on?† â€Å"She'll manage.† â€Å"So what should I do? I don't want him to go. But I feel like I've lost a part of myself by falling in love. I'm happy, but I don't know who I am anymore. I'm worried.† Estelle realized that she was starting to whine and looked at her shoes, ashamed. â€Å"That's our time, Estelle. Let's save this for our next appointment.† â€Å"Right. Should I tell the constable about the sea monster?† â€Å"Let's hold off on that for now. These things have a way of taking care of themselves.† â€Å"Thanks, Dr. Val. I'll see you tomorrow.† â€Å"Good-bye, Estelle.† Estelle left the office and stopped at Chloe's desk outside. The girl was gone, but there were animal noises coming from the bathroom just down the hall. Perhaps she had caught one of the oven mitts on her nose ring. Poor thing. Estelle went to the bathroom door and knocked lightly. â€Å"Are you okay in there, dear? Do you need some help?† The answer came back in high moan. â€Å"I'm fine. Really fine. Thanks. Oh my God!† â€Å"You're sure?† â€Å"No, that's all right!† â€Å"I'm supposed to make an appointment for tomorrow or the next day. The doctor said to pencil it in late if you have to.† Estelle could hear thumping noises coming from the bathroom, and it sounded as if the medicine cabinet had dumped. â€Å"Oh wow! Wow! Oh wow!† The scheduling must really have been tight. â€Å"I'm sorry. I won't bother you anymore. Call me to confirm, would you, dear?† Estelle left Valerie Riordan's house even more unsettled than she had come in, thinking that it had been quite some time, half a day anyway, since she had had her skinny Bluesman between the sheets. Dr. Val Val had a break between appointments, time in which to reflect on her suspicion that by taking everyone in Pine Cove off antidepressants, she had turned the town into a squirrel's nest. Estelle Boyet had always been a tad eccentric, it was part of her artist persona, but Val had never seen this as unhealthy. On the contrary, the self-image of an eccentric artist seemed to help Estelle get over losing her husband. But now the woman was raving about sea monsters, and worse, she was getting involved in a relationship with a man that could only be construed as self-destructive. Could people – rational adult people – still fall in love like that? Could they still feel like that? Val wanted to feel like that. For the first time since her divorce, it occurred to her that she actually wanted to be involved again with a man. No, not just involved, in love. She pulled her Rolodex from the desk drawer and thumbed through it until she found the number of her psychiatrist in San Junipero. She had been in analysis all through med school and residency, it was an integral part of the training of any psychiatrist, but she hadn't seen her therapist in over five years. Maybe it was time. What sort of cynicism had come over her, that she was interpreting the desire to fall in love as a condition requiring treatment? Maybe her cynicism was the problem. Of course she couldn't tell him about what she had done to her patients, but perhaps†¦ A red light blinked on the tiny LED panel on her phone and the incoming call, screened by Chloe, who had obviously taken a short break from her self-abuse, scrolled across the screen. Constable Crowe, line one. Speaking of squirrels. She picked up the phone. â€Å"Dr. Riordan.† â€Å"Hi, Dr. Riordan, this is Theo Crowe. I just called to tell you that you were right.† â€Å"Thank you for calling, Constable. Have a nice day.† â€Å"You were right about Bess Leander not taking the antidepressants. I just got a look at the toxicology report. There was no Zoloft in her system.† Val stopped breathing. â€Å"Doctor, are you there?† All her worries about the drugs, this whole perverse plan, all the extra sessions, the long hours, the guilt, the friggin' guilt, and Bess Leander hadn't been taking her medication at all. Val felt sick to her stomach. â€Å"Doctor?† Theo said. Val forced herself to take a deep breath. â€Å"Why? I mean, when? It's been over a month. When did you find this out?† â€Å"Just today. I wasn't given access to the autopsy report. No one was. I'm sorry it took so long.† â€Å"Well, thank you for letting me know, Constable. I appreciate it.† She prepared to ring off. â€Å"Dr. Riordan, don't you have to get a medical history on your patients before you prescribe anything?† â€Å"Yes. Why?† â€Å"Do you know if Bess Leander had any heart problems?† â€Å"No, physically she was a very healthy woman, as far as I know. Why?† â€Å"No reason,† Theo said. â€Å"Oh yeah, I never got your thoughts on the information I shared at breakfast. About Joseph Leander. I was still wondering if you had any thoughts?† The whole world had flip-flopped. Val had stone-walled up to now on Bess Leander because she had assumed that her own negligence had had something to do with Bess's death. What now, though? Really, she didn't know much about Bess at all. She said, â€Å"What exactly do you want from me, Constable?† â€Å"I just need to know, did she suspect her husband of having an affair? Or give you any indication that she might be afraid of him?† â€Å"Are you saying what I think you are saying? You don't think Bess Leander committed suicide?† â€Å"I'm not saying that. I'm just asking.† Val searched her memory. What had Bess Leander said about her hus-band? â€Å"I remember her saying that she felt he was uninvolved in their family life and that she had laid down the law to him.† â€Å"Laid down the law? In what way?† â€Å"She told him that because he refused to put the toilet seat down, he was going to have to sit down to pee from now on.† â€Å"That's it?† â€Å"That's all I can remember. Joseph Leander is a salesman. He was gone a lot. I think Bess felt that he was somewhat of an intrusion on her and the girls' lives. It wasn't a healthy relationship.† As if there is such a thing, Val thought. â€Å"Are you investigating Joseph Leander?† â€Å"I'd rather not say,† Theo said. â€Å"Do you think I should be?† â€Å"You're the policeman, Mr. Crowe.† â€Å"I am? Oh, right, I am. Anyway, thanks, Doctor. By the way, my friend Gabe thought you were, uh, interesting, I mean, charming. I mean, he enjoyed talking with you.† â€Å"He did?† â€Å"Don't tell him I said so.† â€Å"Of course. Good-bye, Constable.† Val hung up and sat back in her chair. She had unnecessarily put an entire town in emotional chaos, committed a basketful of federal crimes as well as breaking nearly every ethical standard in her field, and one of her patients had possibly been murdered, but she felt, well, sort of excited. Charming, she thought. He found me charming. I wonder if he really said â€Å"charming† or if Theo was just making that up – the pothead. Charming. She smiled and buzzed Chloe to send in her next appointment.

Barnados

Analysis of a Barnardo’s Advert: Stolen Childhood Why do charity adverts get complaints? Shocking, inappropriate, offensive- these words are often thrown at charities about their advertising. The Barnardo’s ‘Stolen Childhood’ campaign is typical of charity adverts, which engages people to donate, take action and make changes. Surely this means for people to support this charity, and not something to be complained about? The Barnardo’s campaign has created great controversy. This has made the public disapprove and to some what find disturbing.Thomas Barnardo’s established his charity in 1870; even then did it cause accusations. Barnardo’s opened many projects such as ‘Believe in Children’ and ‘Child Poverty’ and many more series of campaigns. During 2002 Barnado’s launched the campaign ‘Stolen Childhood’ to help children up to the age of 18, who have been abused through prostitution. Complain ts said audiences were left feeling disconcerted and disturbed. But making calls to stop child prostitution was a target for Barnardo’s; they wanted to create a new law allowing child prostitution to end.Barnardo’s produced posters for advertisements about the prostitution of children and altered their faces to illustrate the pain that they are going through. Noticing the complaints, has risen, Barnardo’s defended the decision to use shocking images: saying that these changes allowed them to get the message across to many people and allow Minsters to act quickly, providing enough protection for children. In this particular advert, it contains a picture of a little girl sitting on a sofa.Her face is digitally grotesquely old, but has a young body. Standing behind the sofa is part if a man and his fingers are running through her hair. The background is a subtle yellow, with curtains that are drawn. The advert includes a catchy slogan and information on how to dona te or get supplementary information about the campaign. The man in this image is placed behind a sofa, with his back towards a window. This arrangement gives me an idea he is hiding or protecting the little girl away from the public.This unknown man cannot be identified because the image does not allow the viewers to see his face because his face is deliberately hidden- this sets the audience eager to see his face. We are also not able to see his bottom half, as he is straightened up behind the sofa- Which suggests that the man may not be wearing any trousers. You can see the hairs upon the man’s chest, (as his shirt is seen to be undone) this straight away gives me a sense that this man is way beyond the age to be sexually connected with young girls.Plus I can identify that he is wearing a wedding ring which states the man might be either married or divorced. This proves that anyone can act in this behaviour, whether or not you’re married. Clenching his hand on the so fa expresses that the man is in anger and has force over the young girl. However, he is probably satisfied as well as incensed because, his other hand is touching the girl’s hair. Reminding ourselves that his shirt is undone, this can calculate that he may be ready to sexually abuse her, or that he has already done so.The terrified girl in the foreground is cramped up in the corner of the sofa: this shows that she is probably afraid and is trying to keep away. She looks as if she is trying to protect herself by holding both arms firmly around her. Through this I can sense that the girl may be in danger in some way perhaps, as she like to keep her self to herself. Her world might be very dark and cold so, therefore holding both arms is a way of keeping her pain within herself. Yet sitting in this position is also covering the lower part of her body, as she may not be wearing anything.This then shows me the young girls sensitive and emotional side as she may be a very shy perso n. The purple bruises on her legs must have a horrifying story behind them- A story that involves physical, brutal abusing conflict between the man and her, or maybe be she has self harmed herself which might be a way to relief her pain. The top that the girl is wearing stands out to me, it appears to be quite rigid as it looks almost washed out form a bright pink colour, this suggests a soft girly side that she once had, and has all been taken away from her.I can clearly say that this image of her clothing gives a sign of purity and innocence to contrast with her reality and the callousness of the room. Yet viewers who look at this poster are straight away drawn directly to her face. Her digital altered face appears to look old and wrinkly. Bug, heavy bags under her eyes are lined up with dark bruises, making her look stressed and tired, almost as if she has spent her hours crying with lack of sleep. From her droopy expression her mouth is weighed down with many defined lines which appear to be baggy wrinkles forming under her lips. Which is exaggerated on the amount of sexual abuse that she gets, hence it is equivalent to a life time and maybe it is difficult for her to relax and get some rest. This all results to how the child is being taken care of by the man –Not only does he abuse her but has no intention on her health and strength, she is some sort of shield for him, were she is being brutally knocked over, while he is safely fulfilled. The girl who once lived a happy life, with smiles and laughter, has almost faded away with a broken soul of worries, fear and pain.I think this altering of her face may reflect what she may look like in the coming years. The image of this lonely victim has been adjusted to make her look old with strands of grey hair. By doing this digital alteration the audience are led to believe that this young girl has been traumatised by suffering from too much sexual abuse from the man, resulting in ageing and loss of childho od. This image captures only a certain part of the room; this creates suspense and gives the audience thoughts about who else might be in the room†¦ nother abuser, or another child in a similar situation? The colour of the wall reflects the carpet, creating a sense of calm and a neutral atmosphere. This matches the colour of the curtains, and gives me an understanding that the main person living in the house has a sense of style, therefore can live in a decent looking way. Thus the soft colours clash with the situation of the trapped, dark story held between both characters in the image. Her disappointment and fear does not fit in well with the surroundings of the scene, which makes her prominent.Everything is in contrast to each other, the bright clean room to the dark filthy routine he portrays. Yet one may wonder what is really going on behind those doors and drawn curtains, where a little girl is forced to love with a man. There area different levels positioned in this phot ograph. The man in the background is standing behind her dominantly as if he is in control of his powerful actions committed against the frightened girl, (through his level of height) as she is sitting and being touched by him. Abuse through prostitution STEALS CHILDRENS LIVES’ is a slogan used in the poster. These effective, emotive words make the audience want to put a stop to prostitution, to give everything the child need which has been taken away from them. Their hope would want the audience to act quickly and efficiently, due to words ‘prostitution and children’ oddly put together (which is normally not relevant to children) it is a short powerful message that loiters onto to you after you have read it.The slogan also highlights the key points about the campaign, letting the audience know what prostitution can lead to. In this poster there is enough information needed, for instance the image is very vivid, followed by a catchy slogan, symbolising that the a udience’s awareness can make a difference. Overall, Barnardo’s feel they can be more daring with their use of images to a younger age group. Even though, the text on this advert is very limited, the images illustrate an understanding of the charity, as it is well explained, using lack of words.I agree with the fact that Barnardo’s has used visual distressing images- this will encourage and expose how neglect and abuse can bring horrifying consequences to children in the UK. The resulting of the poster will wake the public up, to the children’s distress. If not, the charity still received publicity through the complaints that were made, and will acknowledge them. However, this advert revolts me, and makes me aware of what is actually happening around me. I feel sympathy for the young girl; trying to understand what its like to be in her position and in this uncomfortable situation.No child should experience an outrageous, despicable act like this! The post er lets the viewers create the rest of the room in your mind. Which makes me think that the rest of the world might me suffering from the same situation? This sets me a sudden erg, an eager to help the juvenile girl, and try to stay connected to her, letting her know that there can be help being made. In addition to this, I reckon the more eye-opening and clear the advert is, the more successful that campaign will be!

Cultural Event: Pan’s Labyrinth

XI LIU Cultural Event Paper: Pan’s Labyrinth I like watching movies, and I want to learn about different cultures from different countries. So I attended the cultural event of 2012 Foreign Film Series at 7:00 pm in October 9th. I was so excited that the Art History Organization gave us a chance to watch a Spanish film called Pan’s Labyrinth. I had heard of it before, but I had never watched it. This film combined the fantasy world and the real world perfectly. That is to say, it is a film of magic realism.I was attracted by the plot of the film, and I was astonished by the director’s conception and the visual effects even though a few scenes were a little bit disgusting and scary. The background of the story was traced to 1944, five years after the end of the Spanish Civil War. Spain was shrouded under the haze of fascist dictatorship. Those who were communist party members and the democratic persons were hunted down and killed savagely by the army. The plot of t he movie develops with resistance against forces of General Francisco Franco, whose leader was Captain Vidal and who ruled Spain as dictator.The protagonist Ofelia entered a magic world with three challenges that Pan gave to her. The film opened with the sound of a faint melody which was accompanied by the sound of Ofelia’s breathing and the frames of blood streaming from Ofelia’s nose while she was lying on the ground. With the background of white words showing on the screen and the voiceover telling us Ofelia’s status of princess in underground realm, the story started. Ofelia, who was twelve years old, took her pregnant mother to the north to rendezvous with her stepfather Vidal, whose real identity was a fascist officer responsible for repression of the local guerrillas.The purpose of Vidal’s living with Ofelia and her mother was his flesh and blood son to be born, and Vidal’s only pleasure was to study all kinds of ways to torture people who w ere caught. After watching her cold stepfather doing evil for fun, her sick mother and witnessing violence, Ofelia, who was surrounded by loneliness and fear, became addicted to fantasy for consolation. She was led to a deserted mill which was the entrance to the labyrinth by an insect elf, and the labyrinth porter who had long horns with goats and transparent eyes was waiting for her arrival.Pan told Ofelia that she was actually a lost princess from the underground kingdom and she had to accept three challenges and complete the tasks in order to go back to her kingdom. The first task was to save an old tree. Because there was a huge toad living in the root of the tree, the tree was on the edge of death. She had to take out a golden key from the toad’s stomach. The second task was to use the golden key to retrieve a dagger. In that room, there was an evil creature sitting at a table with a feast of beautiful foods which she could not eat.She was within an inch of her life aft er giving in to temptation. At the same time, her stepfather began more offensive activities of killing people above ground. Ofelia’s struggling with nightmares blurred the boundaries of reality and fantasy. The third task was to use her half-blooded brother’s pure blood to open the door of underground. Ofelia refused this requirement due to her virtuous heart. She didn’t realize that her stepfather had followed her, and she got shot by him.The scene was back to the initial scene of Ofelia’s streaming blood from her nose lying on the ground at the start of the movie. The ending of the movie can be interpreted in two ways. If it was real, she rejoined the kingdom using her own pure blood and opening the door of entrance. If not, then she ended the movie happy and certain that she was going to a better place, with the dictator powerless to stop her. Pan’s labyrinth is a movie based in a real historical background. It is clear to show us the antiwar a ttitudes with the development of the two main plots.However, it combines the cruel reality and the beautiful fantasy world perfectly to indicate the damages and hurt of the Second World War from the angle of a girl’s point of view. The role of Ofelia represents the whole group of children who were the victims who suffered most at that time. They were eager to live in a world of fairy tale. However, the war destroyed their real dream, leaving despair, hate and agony. One of the director’s obvious artistic characteristics is that he did well in applying contrasts to achieve great artistic effects.He uses the nice fairy tale to contrast the cruel reality and the darkness of humanity. The scene at the end of the movie, which was the same as the beginning, gives me a deep impression of an innocence girl. Thus it clarifies the abhorrence to the war and spiritual sustenance of longing for beauty. The question at issue that Pan’s labyrinth brings to us is whether fantas ies can rescue us from fascism. Around this theme, the director set out two main lines of the plot; one is the reality and the other is the girl’s fantasy world. Three challenges that the girl aced with and the atrocities of Captain Vidal which center on the question at issue reveal that fantasies cannot rescue us from fascism finally. In terms of importance, relevance and sufficiency, a very famous writer Justin Zhang for Slant Magazine stated that this film used a large number of symbolisms of blood to unveiled Pan’s labyrinth god’s mysterious veil (Zhang 24). This movie provides us sufficient and detailed content to reflect the inhumanity of Captain Vidal and the innocence of the little girl. The military executed justice with brutality, violence, cruelty, and no respect for civil rights.The examples of Vidal executing the man that was telling the truth about hunting rabbits, the doctor without any trial, and shooting Ofelia for no real crime, in addition to the brutal interrogation methods, embodies the inhumanity of Vidal. When Ofelia’s mother was in dystocia, he chose to save his baby son’s life but not his wife. These examples are important and relevant to reflect the character of Vidal. The example of Ofelia’s giving up using her half-blooded brother’s pure blood to open the door to the underground kingdom indicates her essence of innocence.All these examples of Vidal and Ofelia are important and relevant to the question at issue and the purpose. Pan’s labyrinth is a movie with deep understanding and implications. At first, it conveys a meaningful anti-war topic. The three tasks that Pan gave to Ofelia were to see if she dared to question when she realized that she was wrong. Eating grapes without resisting temptation in the second task and her refusal of handing over her brother indicates that she was an innocent girl with a rebellious spirit. All the settings of the roles and scenes have their u nique meaning.For instance, the scene of Vidal having his mouth cut open by Mercedes is derived from a tradition of Chelsea Smile. British people will cut the traitors’ or the enemies’ mouth as the shape of smile for punishment. The painting of Saturn Devouring One of his Children which was drawn by Spanish painter Goya, hung on the wall in the room where Ofelia finished her second task, is derived from a legend of Greek Mythology. It’s a painting with dark humor to interpret anti-war means. The design of the name of the leading role Ofelia is from Hamlet, written by Shakespeare. This may imply the tragic destiny of the little girl.In short, it is a film that has deep meaning regarding anti-war believing, rebellious spirit and challenges. Not only does it set out an issue that is worth thinking, but it also eulogizes justice and bravery. All these symbolism and settings reflect on its depth and make it a perfect film. However, Pan’s labyrinth does not exi st. It was made up by the director, but it is based on a real background. It is precise in describing all the characters of the roles in detail. And, also, it describes the violent scene more directly, such as the face with bloody pile of flesh and the scene of Vidal’s sewing his own mouth which was cut open.It has a visual power to make us know the cruelty of the reality. The scenes switch with accuracy and precision so that we do not feel the movie boring and long. It arranges all three challenges which interlace with Captain Vidal’s atrocities within two hours. So, I think that the movie is a success in its precision of characterization and mysterious scenes. In all, I like this movie. It gives me both visual impact and strong emotional shock. It’s a fantasy story based on the real history. The fantasy world gives me an illusion of beauty, but the cruel reality makes me sober enough to rethink profoundly and see the history clearly.This movie arouses peopleâ €™s thinking about whether fantasies can rescue us from fascism. The director used the deep symbolism and settings to make the film more thoughtful and have anti-war meaning in depth. The film also gives me a chance to do some research on the background and analyze the implications that the director made. I wish I could watch more movies like this in the future. Work Cited Zhang, Justin. â€Å"The Esoteric Interpretation of â€Å"Pan’s Labyrinth†. †Ã‚  Slant Magzine. 06 2006: 24. print

Memorandum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Memorandum - Essay Example The agreement between the parties was solely directed towards the two parties involved innovative cancer treatment and the hope hospital. The exhibits bearing proof to this consent are the claimant’s exhibit number 6,which is the sales and licensing agreement of the two parties involved. An active scanning technology equipment was purchased by the seller and a license showing that the equipment was indeed sold was issued out. The license also revealed the terms to which the claimant was entitled to and their permanent use of the software equipment sold. In addition, the exhibit also show cased that the claimant was expected to co-operate in the development of the software equipment purchased by the buyer. A copyright of the agreement was also availed to innovative cancer treatment allowing them to sell the software equipment under their ownership and without bearing any liability. The claimant was also entitled to file a case against the purchaser in cases where the agreement is neglected or not followed in the courts of Mediterraneo which was within their jurisdiction. Claimant’s exhibit number 7 also attest to the agreement between the two parties. It clearly states that innovative cancer treatment did not stick to the terms of the agreement. They sited that the engineers who were tasked with ensuring the effective operation of the software equipment did not play their role as they did not check the equipment for repair of defective parts. Secondly, the exhibit also states that the sold software could not perform as guaranteed since an example was that room number was left unused because patients did not receive effective health care services of treatment from the software equipment. Lastly, the exhibit also pointed that hope hospital was running on losses is stead of finding the use of the equipment cost effective as promised by the seller,

How are the ideas of legitimacy and identity used in politics and Essay - 1

How are the ideas of legitimacy and identity used in politics and social movements - Essay Example They seemingly claim to fight for minority rights, equity, or fairness but on the sidelines, they advocate for external interests like cessation, revenge, exploitation of foreign resources, political supremacy, or independence. One of such groups may include the whites in the world. Indeed, the Whiteman is arguably the most powerful ethnic group in the world and is physically set apart from other groups. Actually, the whites enjoy many privileges in the world as compared to other groups though they constantly deny that (McIntosh Web). We have seen in various occasions, the whites receiving favors in accessing resources like education, health care, and even employment. At the same time, they hold a certain identity from their language, color, and way of doing things, and quest to remain powerful, and most innovative (McIntosh Web). Indeed, when the whites went to Africa and other nations during the colonial period, they had the pretense of spreading Christianity and discovering new things yet it is logical that they sought to expand their dominance in the world, exploit resources in those countries, acquire free labor, spread their western culture, and influence the political direction in those countries. M ost recently, the whites in America will always seek to have their say in the politics and public debates of the most powerful nation on the world. Indeed, when Obama was seeking presidency questions of whether he is white or black took center stage. Additionally, the white in America influences world politics in the name of advocating for democracy. Indeed, most Arab countries that experienced the Arab Spring equally encountered the white influence where the whites called for and aided the removal of political leaders in those countries. In doing this, the whites presumably occupied a strategic position to benefit from the woes of such nations. Actually, the whites claim to fight for and hold the world democracy yet they only assent to laws that