Sword Art Online free essay sample

A grey sword cut my shoulder. The thin line at the top left corner of my field of vision shrank slightly. At the same time a cold hand passed over my heart. The blue line —called the â€Å"HP bar†Ã¢â‚¬â€ is a visual rendering of my life force. There was still a little over 80% left. No, that phrase isnt appropriate enough. Right now, I was about 20% closer to death. I dashed backwards before the enemys sword even began its attacking motion. â€Å"Haaa † I forced a huge breath to steady myself. The  «body » in this world didnt need oxygen; but the body on the other side, or rather the body lying down in the real world, would be breathing heavily. My limp hands would be soaked with sweat, and my heartbeat would be off the charts. Of course. Even if everything I see right now is nothing more than a rendering of a 3D virtual reality, and the bar being reduced was nothing more than a bunch of numbers that showed my hit points, the fact that I was fighting for my life didnt change. We will write a custom essay sample on Sword Art Online or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When you think about it like that, this fight was extremely unfair. Thats because the  «enemy » in front of me —a humanoid with dully shining arms covered in dark green scales and a lizards head and tail— was not a human, nor was it really alive. It was a digital lump that the system would replace regardless of how many times it was killed. —No. The AI that controlled the lizardman was studying my movements and enhancing its ability to respond to them with every second that passed. However, the moment that this unit was destroyed, the data would be reset instead of being passed on to the unit that would regenerate in this area. So in a sense, this lizardman was also alive, a single being unique to this world. â€Å" right? † There was no way that it would have understood the word that I had muttered to myself, but the lizardman (a level 82 monster called  «Lizardman Lord ») hissed and smiled, showing the sharp fangs that protruded from its long jaw. This is reality. Everything in this world is real. Theres no virtual reality or fakery of any kind. I shifted the one-handed long sword in my right hand to waist-height and watched the enemy. The lizardman moved the buckler in his left hand forward and drew back the scimitar to his right. A chill breeze blew into the shadowed dungeon and the flame of the torch shook. The wet floor softly reflected the flickering torch-light. â€Å"Kraaah!! † With a tremendous scream, the lizardman leapt. The scimitar drew a sharp arc as it flew towards me. A blinding orange light lit its trajectory; a high-class one-hit sword skill of the curved sword  «Fell Crescent ». It was a formidable charge-type sword skill that covered a distance of 4 meters in 0. 4 seconds. But, I was already expecting the attack. I had slowly increased the distance to lure the AI into creating this situation. I closed in on the lizardman, my mind registering the burning smell that the scimitar left behind as it sliced through the air merely centimeters before my nose. â€Å" Ha! † With a short shout, I swung my sword horizontally. The sword, now covered in sky-blue light, cut through the thinly protected stomach and bright red light scattered instead of blood. There was a low scream. However, my sword didnt stop. The system assisted me through the programmed movements and chained the next slash with a speed that would normally have been impossible. This is the most important element in battles in this world,  «Sword Skill ». The sword sped off right from left and cut into the lizardmans chest. In this state, I spun my body in a full circle and the third strike stuck the enemy more deeply than before. â€Å"Raarrgh! † As soon as the lizardman recovered from being stunned briefly because it failed to hit with a big skill, it screamed with rage or perhaps fear, and raised its scimitar high in the air. But my chain had not ended. The sword that had been swinging right suddenly sprang, as if forced by a spring, left and up and hit its heart—a critical point. The sky-blue rhombus drawn by my four consecutive hits flashed then scattered; a horizontal, consecutive 4-hit skill,  «Horizontal Square ». The clear light shone strongly in the dungeon and then faded. At the same time, the HP bar above the Lizardmans head disappeared without even a single dot left. The huge body fell, leaving a long trail, then suddenly stopped awkwardly— With a sound similar to breaking glass, it broke down into infinite polygons and disappeared. This is the  «Death » of this world. It is instantaneous and short, a perfect destruction, not leaving even a single trace. I glanced at the virtual experience points and drop items I received, appearing in a purple font in the center of my vision, and swung my sword right and left before sheathing it in the scabbard on my back. I backed away a few steps and slid slowly down with my back against the dungeon wall. I spat out the breath I was holding and closed my eyes. My temple started throbbing, perhaps from the fatigue due to the long fight. I shook my head a couple of times to get rid of the pain and opened my eyes. The shining clock at the bottom right of my field of vision showed that it was already past 3PM. I should get out of the labyrinth or I wont make it to the city before dark. â€Å" Should I get started? † There was nobody here to listen, but I just spoke and got up slowly. I was done with making progress for the day. I somehow escaped the hand of death again today. But after a brief rest, tomorrow will come with more battles. When fighting battles without a 100% chance of victory, however many safety nets you prepare, theres going to be a day when you fall out of lady lucks favor. The problem is whether this game will be  «cleared » or not before I draw the ace of spades. If you value your life above all else, staying in a village and waiting for somebody else to clear the game is the wisest route to take. But I go to the front lines every day solo. Am I just simply an addict of VRMMO who keeps increasing his stats through countless battles, or— Am I an idiot who insolently believes that he can win the freedom of everyone in this world with his sword? As I started walking towards the labyrinth entrance with a slight smile of self-scorn, I thought back to that day. Two years ago. The moment that everything ended and began. Chapter 2 â€Å"Ahh The sword swinging to these strange shouts swished around, cutting nothing but air. Right afterwards, the blue boar (which moved surprisingly quick considering its bulk) charged fiercely at its assailant. I burst into laughter, watching him fly through the air and roll on the hill after getting hit by the boars flat nose. â€Å"Hahaha not like that. The first movement is important, Klein. † â€Å"Argh that bastard. † The complaining assailant, a party member called Klein, got up and glanced at me while answering plaintively. â€Å"But Kirito, even if you say that I cant do anything about the fact that its moving. † I met this person, who had reddish hair held up by a bandana and simple leather armor worn over his thin body, a few hours ago. If he had revealed his real name, it would have been hard to omit the honorifics, but his name (Klein) and mine (Kirito) were both names we had made up for our characters. Putting -san or -kun at the end of them would sound comical more than anything. The legs of the person in question started shaking. â€Å"Seems like hes a little dizzy. † I picked up a pebble from the undergrowth at my feet and raised it above my shoulder. As soon as the system detected the first motion of a sword skill, the pebble started giving off a slight green light. After that, my left hand almost moved by itself and the pebble went flying, drawing a straight line of light and hitting the boar between its eyebrows. *Ggiik! * The boar squealed in fury and turned towards me. â€Å"Of course they move, theyre not training dummies. But if you begin the correct motion, the system will put your sword skill into motion and hit the target for you. † â€Å"Motion motion † While muttering this like some spell, Klein raised the cutlass that he held in his right hand. Although the blue boar, officially named  «Frenzy Boar », was a level one monster, Klein had lost almost half of his HP from being hit by counterattacks due to his wild swings. Well, even if he died hed just respawn at the  «Starting City » near here, but coming all the way out to this hunting ground again was somewhat annoying. It seemed like there was one move left before the fight reached its conclusion. I cocked my head as I blocked the boars charge with the sword in my right hand. â€Å"Hmm, how should I explain Its not like one, two, three, then strike. But more like gathering a bit of energy and then, as soon as you feel the skill start, it goes BAM and you feel it hit the monster † â€Å"Bam, eh? † Kleins roughly handsome face grimaced itself into an unsightly image as he leveled his sword at his waist. Inhale, exhale; after taking a deep breath, he lowered his stance and raised his sword as if he was going to shoulder it. This time, the system sensed the pose correctly and the arcing sword slowly started shining orange. â€Å"Ha! † With his low yell, he jumped off the ground with a movement that was completely different from the ones before. *Swish—! * With this crisp sound, the sword drew its flame red trajectory through the air. The  «Reaver », a basic skill of the one-handed curved sword, struck the boar right in its neck as it was about to charge and got rid of the rest of its HP, which (like Kleins) was about half full. Guekk— it gave a pitiful cry and its large body shattered like glass and purple numbers appeared, showing how many virtual experience points I gained. â€Å"Ye~~a~~h! † Klein struck an over-blown pose of victory with a huge smile on his face and raised his left hand. I high-fived him and smiled again. â€Å"Congrats on your first victory  but that boar—its about as hard as slimes from other games. † â€Å"Eh, really? I thought it was some sort of semi-boss or something! † â€Å"Not a chance. My smile became a little forced as I sheathed my sword on my back. Even though I was teasing him, I understood what he was feeling right now. Since I had two more months of experience than him, it was only now that he could feel the exhilarating feeling of destroying his enemy with his own hands. Klein started to use the same sword skill over and over again yelling as he did so, perhaps as a way of practicing. I left him alone and looked around. The endlessly stretching plains gave off a beautiful red as the sun had started setting. Way up north, there was the silhouette of a forest, a sparkling lake down south, and I could just about make out the walls that surrounded the city to the east. To the west, there was a limitless sky going on forever with bunches of golden clouds drifting by. We were at the plains that stretched to the west of the  «Starting City », which was situated at the north end of the first floor of the colossal floating castle— «Aincrad ». There should be numerous players fighting monsters around here, but because of the enormous size none of them were visible. Finally seeming satisfied, Klein sheathed his sword and walked over while observing the area as well. â€Å"But really however many times I look around like this, I still cant believe that this is  «inside the game ». † â€Å"Well even if you say inside its not like our souls were sucked in or anything. Our brains just seeing and hearing instead of our eyes and ears with the signals that the  «Nerve Gear » is sending,† I said with a shrug. Klein pouted like a kid. â€Å"You might be used to it now, but for me its the first time doing a  «FullDive »! Isnt it awesome? Really its a relief that I was born in this era! † â€Å"Youre exaggerating. † But as I laughed, I totally agreed with him.  «Nerve Gear ». Thats the name of the hardware that drove this VRMMORPG— «Sword Art Online ». The basic structure of this machine is totally different from the older ones. Unlike the old-style man-machine interface hardware like â€Å"flat screen monitors† or â€Å"hand-held controllers†, Nerve Gear only had a single interface: a streamlined interface that covered your whole head and face. Inside, there were numerous signal transceivers. By using the electronic signals sent by those transceivers, the gear accessed the users brain itself. The user didnt use their eyes or ears to see and hear, the signals went directly to their brain. In addition, the machine could access not only sight and sound, but also: touch, taste, and smell as well—that is to say, all five senses. After slipping the Nerve Gear on, locking the strap under your chin, and speaking the initiation command ( «Link Start »), all noise fades away and youre swathed in darkness. As soon as you pass the rainbow colored circle in the middle, youre in another world made entirely of data. So Half a year ago, this machine (which started selling in May, 2022) successfully created a  «Virtual Reality ». The electronics company which created the Nerve Gear called the actual act of linking to the virtual reality  «FullDive ». It was a total seclusion from reality, fitting of the word â€Å"full†. The reason for this is that the Nerve Gear not only sent fake signals to the five senses, it also blocked and rerouted the orders that the brain sent to the body. This can be called the most basic requirement for moving freely in a virtual reality. If the body received the brains signals when the user was in FullDive, the moment the user decided they wanted to  «run » their actual body would run into a wall. Because the Nerve Gear could reroute the commands the brain sent through the spinal cord, Klein and I could both move our avatars around freely and swing our swords around. Weve completely leapt into the game. The effect of this experience captivated me and many gamers like me, to the point where we were sure that we could never go back to the old touch-pens or motion sensors. Klein was staring at the wind passing through the plains and the castle walls off in the distance with actual tears in his eyes. â€Å"So, SAO is the first game for the Nerve Gear that youve played? † I asked. Klein, looking like a calmly handsome warrior from the Sengoku period, turned his head my way and nodded. â€Å"Yeah. † If he wore a serious expression on his face, he had an impressive bearing about him worthy of an actor from a historical play. Of course, this was different from his actual body in the real world. It was an avatar made out of nothing, based on choosing from a list of options. Of course, I looked like a ridiculously handsome protagonist from some fantasy animation as well. Klein continued in his low vigorous voice, which (of course) was different from his real voice as well. â€Å"Well, to be exact, I sorta bought the hardware in a rush after I managed to get my hands on SAO. There were only ten thousand in the first batch, so I suppose I was really lucky. Well, if I think about it, you were ten times luckier when you got picked for beta testing. They only picked a thousand! † â€Å"Ah, yeah I suppose. † Klein kept staring at me. I unconsciously scratched my head. I remembered the excitement and enthusiasm that  «Sword Art Online » created when it was announced through the media like it was yesterday. Nerve Gear had realized the future foundation for gaming with FullDive. However, due to the innovation of the actual machine, only unremarkable titles came forth for the all-important software. They were all puzzles, education related, or environmental type games; causing discontent among game addicts like me. Nerve Gear can truly render a virtual reality. But you could only walk 100 meters before you hit a wall in that world, it was really a huge letdown. It was almost unavoidable that hard core gamers like me, who had been deeply absorbed in the experience of being within the game, started anticipating a certain game genre. We were waiting for a network response game, the kind that let millions of players log in and raise, fight with, and live as a character of their own—that is to say, an MMORPG. When the anticipation and craving reached its limit, the first VRMMORPG was announced just in time,  «Sword Art Online ». The stage for the game is a floating castle consisting of 100 floors. The players lived in a world with forests and lakes, relying only on their sword and drive to discover the route to the upper floors, defeat countless monsters, and make their way endlessly to the top.  «Magic », considered an indispensable part of fantasy MMORPGs, had been boldly left out. An almost endless number of skills, called  «Sword Skills », were created. It was part of a plan to let players actually feel the experience of fighting with their own bodies through FullDive as much as possible. Skills were varied, including productive skills (such as smithing, leather working, and sewing) and everyday skills (such as fishing, cooking, and playing music), allowing the player to not only adventure the huge game but also actually  «live » in it. If they so wanted, and if their skill levels were high enough, they could buy a house and live as shepherds. As the information was steadily revealed, the gamers enthusiasm only grew. The beta test only recruited a thousand testers. Its said that one hundred thousand people, the number of half the Nerve Gear sold at that time, volunteered to be a tester. Luck was the only reason that I got through the narrow gap and was picked. Beta testers also received the additional benefit of being able to pre-order the game. The two months of beta testing were like a dream. At school I thought endlessly of my skill set, equipment, and items. I ran all the way home as soon as school ended and dived till dawn. The beta test ended in the blink of an eye. On the day my character was reset, I felt a sense of loss as if half of my actual self had been cut away. And now— November 6, 2022, Sunday.  «Sword Art Online », after all the preparations were finished, officially started its online service at 1 PM. Of course, I had been waiting for 30 minutes and then logged on without even a seconds delay. When I checked the server, over ninety-five hundred people had already logged on. It seemed as if all of the people who had been lucky enough to get their hands on the game felt the same way I did. All the online shopping sites announced that the game was sold out seconds after it had gone on sale. The offline sales, which had started yesterday, had created lines of people who had queued up for four days, creating enough of a racket to get on the news. That meant that all the people who had been able to buy a copy of the game were almost all serious game addicts. Kleins actions showed this clearly as well. After I had logged onto SAO, I started running through the nostalgic stone paved roads of the  «Starting City », headed for the weapons shop. Realizing that I was a beta tester after seeing me start and dash, Klein ran over without any hesitation. â€Å"Hey, teach me a few things! † hed begged. I wondered how he could be so shameless and demanding to a person he hadnt met before. I was so lost for words it was almost amazing. â€Å"Ah, er, then why dont we go to the weapon shop? † I answered like some NPC. We ended up forming a party and I began teaching him some basics of fighting. And thats how we ended up in this current situation. To tell the truth, I didnt get along with people in real life; in games, perhaps even less so. During beta testing, I got to know a couple of people, but I didnt get close enough to anyone to actually call them a friend. But Klein had a side to him that grows on you, and I didnt find this uncomfortable either. Thinking that I might be able to get along with him, I opened my mouth. â€Å"So what do you want to do? Do you want to keep hunting till you get used to it? † â€Å"Sure! is what I want to say, but † Kleins delicate eyes looked at the bottom right of his vision. He must have been checking the time. â€Å" well, I should log off and eat. I ordered some pizza for 5:30. † â€Å"Pretty thorough,† I said at a loss for words. Klein thrust out his chest. â€Å"Of course! † he said proudly. â€Å"I promised to meet some mates at the  «Starting City » in a bit. I could introduce you to some of them and you could register them as friends. That way you could always send messages. How about it? † â€Å"Errr Hmmm † I mumbled subconsciously. I got along with Klein pretty well, but there was no guarantee that itd be the same for his friends. I felt like there would be a higher chance of not getting along with them and, as a result, fall out with Klein as well. â€Å"Should I? † Seeming to understand the reason for my not-so-confident answer, Klein shook his head. â€Å"Ah, I dont mean to force you. Therell be a chance to introduce them sometime anyway. † â€Å" Yeah. Sorry, and thanks. † As soon as I thanked him, Klein shook his head vigorously. â€Å"Hey, hey! I should be the one thanking you. I got a lot of help from you. Ill pay you back sometime soon. Mentally. † Klein smiled and took another look at the clock. â€Å" Well, Ill log off for a bit. Thanks a lot, Kirito. Be seein ya. † With that, he put his hand forward. At that moment, I thought this person would have been a great leader in  «another game » and shook his hand. â€Å"Yeah, see you around. † We each let go of the others hand. That was the point where Aincrad, or Sword Art Online, stopped being just some fun game for me. Klein stepped back a bit, put his right index finger and thumb together, and pulled downwards. This was the action that opened the  «main menu window ». Immediately afterwards, there was a ringing sound and a shining purple rectangle appeared. I moved a bit, sat on a rock, and opened my menu too. I started moving my fingers to organize the items that Id gotten from fighting the boar. Then â€Å"Eh? † Klein said in a strange tone. â€Å"Whats this? Theres no log out button. † I stopped moving my fingers and raised my head at that. â€Å"No button? No way, look a bit closer,† I said, a bit confused. The swordsman opened his eyes wide beneath the bandana and pushed his face closer to the menu. The rectangle, wider than it was high, had a bunch of buttons to the left and a silhouette showing what equipment you had on to the right. At the bottom of the menu, there was a  «LOG OUT » button that allowed you to escape from this world. As I was turning my head to the inventory that listed the items I had gained over hours of fighting, Klein started speaking in an unusually high voice. â€Å"Its really not there. You take a look Kirito. † â€Å"I told you that theres no way that its not there † I muttered with a sigh as I tapped on the button on the top left to go back to the menu screen. The inventory window on the right closed and the main screen re-opened. To the left of the silhouette, which still had quite a lot of empty spaces, there was a long row of buttons. I moved my hand down in a movement that had almost become a habit and My body froze. It wasnt here. As Klein had said, the button that had been there during the beta test —no, even right after Id logged on— had disappeared. I stared at the empty space for a couple of seconds then looked through the menu, making sure that it hadnt just changed its position. Klein looked up with â€Å"Right? † written on his face. â€Å" Not there, right? † â€Å"Yeah, its not there. † I nodded, although it felt slightly annoying to agree so easily. Klein smiled and started rubbing his thick chin. â€Å"Well, its the first day so these sort of bugs could occur. Around about now, the GMs should be crying by now from the number of messages flooding in,† Klein said calmly. â€Å"Is it all right for you to stand around like that? You said that you ordered some pizza, didnt you? † I asked teasingly. â€Å"Ah, thats right! † I smiled as I watched him jump around, his eyes wide. I threw away a couple of items I didnt need from the inventory, which had turned red from having too many items, and then walked over to Klein. â€Å"Argh! My anchovy pizza and ginger ale! † â€Å"Why dont you call a GM? They might cut you off from their side. † â€Å"I tried, but theres no response. Its already 5:25! Hey, Kirito! Isnt there some other way to log out? † After listening to what Klein, who was waving both arms, said My face became rigid. I felt a groundless fear send a chill down my back. â€Å"Lets see to log out † I said while thinking. To get out of this virtual reality and back to my room, I have to: open the main menu, press the Log Out button, and press Yes on the window that popped up on the right. It was pretty simple. But at the same time, apart from that procedure, I wasnt aware of any other way of logging off. I looked up at Kleins face, situated quite a bit higher than my own, and shook my head. â€Å"No theres none. If you want to log yourself off, you have to use the menu. Apart from that, theres no other way. † â€Å"Thats impossible theres got to be something! † Klein suddenly started shouting as if he was denying my statement. â€Å"Return! Log out! Escape! † But of course nothing happened. There were no voice commands in SAO of that description. After Klein shouted this and that and even jumped around, I spoke to him. â€Å"Klein, its useless. Even the manual doesnt have anything on emergency access terminations. † â€Å"But this is just stupid! Even if its a bug, I cant even go back to my room and my body when I want to! † Klein shouted with a bewildered expression on his face. I totally agreed with him. This was impossible. It was complete nonsense. But it was indisputably the truth. â€Å"Hey what is this? Its just really weird. Right now, we cant get out of this game! † Klein gave a desperate laugh then quickly started talking again. â€Å"Wait, we can just turn the power off. Or just pull the  «Gear » off. † As I watched Klein move his hands as if he was trying to take off some invisible hat, I felt the anxiety returning. â€Å"Thats impossible, both of them. Right now, we cant move our bodies our real bodies. The  «Nerve Gear » intercepts all the signals that our brain is sending here,† I tapped the back of my head, â€Å"and reroutes them to move our avatars here. † Klein slowly closed his mouth and put his hands down. We both stood speechless for a while, each lost in thought. To reach the FullDive state, the Nerve Gear intercepts the signals that our brain sends down our spines and translates them so that we can control our avatars in this world. So however wildly we swing our arm about here, the arm of my real body (lying on my bed right now) wouldnt move an inch, ensuring that I wouldnt hit my head against the corner of my table or anything. But because of this function, we cant cancel the FullDive of our own free will right now. â€Å" So unless the bug is fixed or somebody in the real world takes the Gear off, we have to wait it out? † Klein mumbled, still a little dazed. I silently signaled my agreement. â€Å"But I live by myself. You? † I hesitated slightly but told him the truth. â€Å" I live with my mom and my younger sister, a family of three. I think that Ill be forced out of the Dive if I dont come down for dinner † â€Å"What? H-How old is your sister? † Klein suddenly looked at me, his eyes sparkling. I pushed his head away. â€Å"Youre pretty calm right now, arent you? Shes in a sports club and hates games, so shes got nothing in common with people like us

Stephen King Shares His Writing Advice in This Guest Post

Stephen King Shares His Writing Advice in This Guest Post A Guest Blog from Stephen King- Yes, that Stephen King Okay, let’s get a few things straight right from the top: This is going to be a very long post, but I’m not going to apologize for it because: 1- I need to brag about how I know Mr. King; 2- I promise it’ll be content-rich; 3- You’re going to learn Voice merely by osmosis, beyond what he’s teaching overtly; and 4- You’ll be glad you invested the time. So grab your favorite beverage and settle in Though I work the inspirational side of the fiction writing fence and he the horror, we at one time happened to share the services of the same audio reader, the legendary Frank Muller, who remains, even post mortem, the unquestioned creme de la creme of that field. We first met by phone when Stephen called one day to discuss how we might aid Frank’s family after he suffered a motorcycle accident that would eventually take his life. Then Stephen and I met personally in 2004 when we visited Frank in rehab, where he lingered for several years. Stephen and I share a rabid love of baseball (he the Boston Red Sox, I the Chicago Cubs). I have been accused of trying to scare readers out of Hell. Stephen has been accused of trying to scare the hell out of readers. We read each other’s work and respect each other and still keep in touch via email. Writer’s Digest considered us strange enough bedfellows to feature us in a cover story. I will insert myself into Stephen’s blog only occasionally to adjust for the fact that the piece is nearly 30 years old, yet remains poignantly applicable. I expect it to stimulate spirited conversation, however be advised that my team and I will excise any off-topic comments. This is not the place to discuss Stephen’s use of naughty words, or his political, cultural, or religious views. Let’s stick to the subject of fiction writing. I asked if I could share with you sections of his iconic piece from the 1986 issue of The Writer magazine, wherein he promised to tell budding fiction writers everything they needed to know about writing successfully in ten minutes. Much of it has been floating around the Internet ever since, and you may have seen it. He kindly said, â€Å"Feel free to use as much of it as you’d like.† And so, with thanks for that generous offer, here is all of it with a few notes: Need help writing your novel?Click here to download my ultimate 12-step guide. Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully- in Ten Minutes By Stephen King I.The First Introduction THAT’S RIGHT. I know it sounds like an ad for some sleazy writers’ school, but I really am going to tell you everything you need to pursue a successful and financially rewarding career writing fiction, and I really am going to do it in ten minutes, which is exactly how long it took me to learn. It will actually take you twenty minutes or so to read this essay, however, because I have to tell you a story, and then I have to write a second introduction. But these, I argue, should not count in the ten minutes. II. The Story, or, How Stephen King Learned to Write When I was a sophomore in high school, I did a sophomoric thing which got me in a pot of fairly hot water, as sophomoric didoes often do. I wrote and published a small satiric newspaper called The Village Vomit. In this little paper I lampooned a number of teachers at Lisbon (Maine) High School, where I was under instruction. These were not very gentle lampoons; they ranged from the scatological to the downright cruel. Eventually, a copy of this little newspaper found its way into the hands of a faculty member, and since I had been unwise enough to put my name on it (a fault, some critics argue, of which I have still not been entirely cured), I was brought into the office. The sophisticated satirist had by that time reverted to what he really was: a fourteen-year-old kid who was shaking in his boots and wondering if he was going to get a suspension- what we called â€Å"a three-day vacation† in those dim days of 1964. I wasn’t suspended. I was forced to make a number of apologies- they were warranted, but they still tasted like dog-dirt in my mouth- and spent a week in detention hall. And the guidance counselor arranged what he no doubt thought of as a more constructive channel for my talents. This was a job- contingent upon the editor’s approval- writing sports for the Lisbon Enterprise, a twelve-page weekly, the sort with which any small-town resident will be familiar. This editor was the man who taught me everything I know about writing in ten minutes. His name was John Gould- not the famed New England humorist or the novelist who wrote The Greenleaf Fires, but a relative of both, I believe. He told me he needed a sports writer and we could â€Å"try each other out† if I wanted. I told him I knew more about advanced algebra than I did sports. Gould nodded and said, â€Å"You’ll learn.† I said I would at least try to learn. Gould gave me a huge roll of yellow paper and promised me a wage of 1/2 ¢ per word. The first two pieces I wrote had to do with a high school basketball game in which a member of my school team broke the Lisbon High scoring record. One of these pieces was straight reportage. The second was a feature article. I brought them to Gould the day after the game, so he’d have them for the paper, which came out Fridays. He read the straight piece, made two minor corrections, and spiked it. Then he started in on the feature piece with a large black pen and taught me all I ever needed to know about my craft. I wish I still had the piece- it deserves to be framed, editorial corrections and all- but I can remember pretty well how it looked before and after he had finished with it. Here’s an example: [Note: King’s original copy showed Mr. Gould’s edit marks.] Last night, in the well-loved gymnasium of Lisbon High School, partisans and Jay Hills fans alike were stunned by an athletic performance unequaled in school history: Bob Ransom, known as â€Å"Bullet† Bob for both his size and accuracy, scored thirty-seven points. He did it with grace and speed and he did it with an odd courtesy as well, committing only two personal fouls in his knight-like quest for a record which has eluded Lisbon thinclads since 1953. [With Mr. Gould’s edits applied.] Last night, in the Lisbon High School gymnasium, partisans and Jay Hills fans alike were stunned by an athletic performance unequaled in school history: Bob Ransom scored thirty-seven points. He did it with grace and speed and he did it with an odd courtesy as well, committing only two personal fouls in his quest for a record which has eluded Lisbon’s basketball team since 1953. When Gould finished marking up my copy in the manner I have indicated above, he looked up and must have seen something on my face. I think he must have thought it was horror, but it was not: it was revelation. â€Å"I only took out the bad parts, you know,† he said. â€Å"Most of it’s pretty good.† â€Å"I know,† I said, meaning both things: yes, most of it was good, and yes, he had only taken out the bad parts. â€Å"I won’t do it again.† â€Å"If that’s true,† he said, â€Å"you’ll never have to work again. You can do this for a living.† Then he threw back his head and laughed. And he was right; I am doing this for a living, and as long as I can keep on, I don’t expect ever to have to work again. III. The Second Introduction All of what follows has been said before. If you are interested enough in writing to be a purchaser of this magazine, you will have either heard or read all (or almost all) of it before. Thousands of writing courses are taught across the United States each year; seminars are convened; guest lecturers talk, then answer questions, then drink as many gin and tonics as their expense-fees will allow, and it all boils down to what follows. I am going to tell you these things again because often people will only listen- really listen- to someone who makes a lot of money doing the thing he’s talking about. This is sad but true. And I told you the story above not to make myself sound like a character out of a Horatio Alger novel but to make a point: I saw, I listened, and I learned. Until that day in John Gould’s little office, I had been writing first drafts of stories which might run 2,500 words. The second drafts were apt to run 3,300 words. Following that day, my 2,500-word first drafts became 2,200-word second drafts. And two years after that, I sold the first one. So here it is, with all the bark stripped off. It’ll take ten minutes to read, and you can apply it right away- if you listen. IV. Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully 1. Be talented This, of course, is the killer. What is talent? I can hear someone shouting, and here we are, ready to get into a discussion right up there with â€Å"what is the meaning of life?† for weighty pronouncements and total uselessness. For the purposes of the beginning writer, talent may as well be defined as eventual success- publication and money. If you wrote something for which someone sent you a check, if you cashed the check and it didn’t bounce, and if you then paid the light bill with the money, I consider you talented. Now some of you are really hollering. Some of you are calling me one crass money-fixated creep. And some of you are calling me bad names. Are you calling Harold Robbins talented? someone in one of the Great English Departments of America is screeching. V.C. Andrews? Theodore Dreiser? Or what about you, you dyslexic moron? Nonsense. Worse than nonsense, off the subject. We’re not talking about good or bad here. I’m interested in telling you how to get your stuff published, not in critical judgments of who’s good or bad. As a rule the critical judgments come after the check’s been spent, anyway. I have my own opinions, but most times I keep them to myself. People who are published steadily and are paid for what they are writing may be either saints or trollops, but they are clearly reaching a great many someones who want what they have. Ergo, they are communicating. Ergo, they are talented. The biggest part of writing successfully is being talented, and in the context of marketing, the only bad writer is one who doesn’t get paid. If you’re not talented, you won’t succeed. And if you’re not succeeding, you should know when to quit. When is that? I don’t know. It’s different for each writer. Not after six rejection slips, certainly, nor after sixty. But after six hundred? Maybe. After six thousand? My friend, after six thousand pinks, it’s time you tried painting or computer programming. Further, almost every aspiring writer knows when he is getting warmer- you start getting little jotted notes on your rejection slips, or personal letters . . . maybe a commiserating phone call. It’s lonely out there in the cold, but there are encouraging voices- unless there is nothing in your words which warrants encouragement. I think you owe it to yourself to skip as much of the self-illusion as possible. If your eyes are open, you’ll know which way to go- or when to turn back. 2. Be neat Type. Double-space. Use a nice heavy white paper, never that erasable onion-skin stuff. If you’ve marked up your manuscript a lot, do another draft. [Of course, today Stephen would say to use a large, serif type and transmit only work with which you’re entirely happy, spell checked and properly formatted.] 3. Be self-critical If you haven’t marked up your manuscript a lot [or, today, carefully edited and rewritten it], you did a lazy job. Only God gets things right the first time. Don’t be a slob. 4. Remove every extraneous word You want to get up on a soapbox and preach? Fine. Get one and try your local park. You want to write for money? Get to the point. And if you remove all the excess garbage and discover you can’t find the point, tear up what you wrote and start all over again- or try something new. 5. Never look at a reference book while doing a first draft You want to write a story? Fine. Put away your dictionary, your encyclopedias, your World Almanac, and your thesaurus. Better yet, throw your thesaurus into the wastebasket. The only things creepier than a thesaurus are those little paperbacks college students too lazy to read the assigned novels buy around exam time. Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule. You think you might have misspelled a word? O.K., so here is your choice: either look it up in the dictionary, thereby making sure you have it right- and breaking your train of thought and the writer’s trance in the bargain- or just spell it phonetically and correct it later. Why not? Did you think it was going to go somewhere? And if you need to know the largest city in Brazil and you find you don’t have it in your head, why not write in Miami, or Cleveland? You can check it- but later. When you sit down to write, write. Don’t do anything else except go to the bathroom, and only do that if it absolutely cannot be put off. 6. Know the markets Only a dimwit would send a story about giant vampire bats surrounding a high school to McCall’s. Only a dimwit would send a tender story about a mother and daughter making up their differences on Christmas Eve to Playboy- but people do it all the time. I’m not exaggerating; I have seen such stories in the slush piles of the actual magazines. If you write a good story, why send it out in an ignorant fashion? Would you send your kid out in a snowstorm dressed in Bermuda shorts and a tank top? If you like science fiction, read the magazines. If you want to write confession stories, read the magazines. And so on. It isn’t just a matter of knowing what’s right for the present story; you can begin to catch on, after awhile, to overall rhythms, editorial likes and dislikes, a magazine’s entire slant. Sometimes your reading can influence the next story, and create a sale. 7. Write to entertain Does this mean you can’t write â€Å"serious fiction†? It does not. Somewhere along the line pernicious critics have infested the American reading and writing public with the idea that entertaining fiction and serious ideas do not overlap. This would have surprised Charles Dickens, not to mention Jane Austen, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Bernard Malamud, and hundreds of others. But your serious ideas must always serve your story, not the other way around. I repeat: if you want to preach, get a soapbox. 8. Ask yourself frequently, â€Å"Am I having fun?† The answer needn’t always be yes. But if it’s always no, it’s time for a new project or a new career. 9. How to evaluate criticism Show your piece to a number of people- ten, let us say. Listen carefully to what they tell you. Smile and nod a lot. Then review what was said very carefully. If your critics are all telling you the same thing about some facet of your story- a plot twist that doesn’t work, a character who rings false, stilted narrative, or half a dozen other possibles- change that facet. It doesn’t matter if you really liked that twist of that character; if a lot of people are telling you something is wrong with your piece, it is. If seven or eight of them are hitting on that same thing, I’d still suggest changing it. But if everyone- or even most everyone- is criticizing something different, you can safely disregard what all of them say. 10. Observe all rules for proper submission Return postage, self-addressed envelope, all of that. [Obviously, this is different today, but the sentiment remains: follow editorial guidelines.] 11. An agent? Forget it. For now. Agents get 10% of monies earned by their clients. [Today 15% is standard.] 10% of nothing is nothing. Agents also have to pay the rent. Beginning writers do not contribute to that or any other necessity of life. Flog your stories around yourself. If you’ve done a novel, send around query letters to publishers, one by one, and follow up with sample chapters and/or the manuscript complete. And remember Stephen King’s First Rule of Writers and Agents, learned by bitter personal experience: You don’t need one until you’re making enough for someone to steal- and if you’re making that much, you’ll be able to take your pick of good agents. 12. If it’s bad, kill it When it comes to people, mercy killing is against the law. When it comes to fiction, it is the law. That’s everything you need to know. And if you listened, you can write everything and anything you want. Now I believe I will wish you a pleasant day and sign off. My ten minutes are up. Isn’t it interesting how much of this writing advice holds up after nearly 30 years? What is your favorite of Stephen’s tips? Need help writing your novel?Click here to download my ultimate 12-step guide.

Newspaper and Internet Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Newspaper and Internet - Case Study Example The first newspaper was published in Beijing in 748 (newspaper–industry.org, n.d.). The paper reported further that the first daily newspaper circulated in 1702 in London and was called The Daily Courant. It was further revealed that in 1754, the first commercial newspaper The Daily Advertiser was published in London. In the U.S. earlyamerica.com, (n.d.) revealed that their first daily newspaper Boston News-Letter came out of circulation in April 1704. Since its inception, the newspaper is strictly for news and it was only in 1856 that commercial advertisements were discovered as a profitable endeavor by newspaper New York Ledger (Bellis, 2008). The invention of the radio in 1920 and television in 1939 did not affect the popularity of the newspaper as the source of news and an effective ads placement alternative. Williamson (n.d. 23rd par.) revealed that â€Å"Most all the major stores are getting back to the basics and finding the print advertising to be the best return on i nvestment†. In 1973, the internet was discovered by Vinton Cerf (ideafinder.com, 2007). It is a known fact that the internet is also a provider of news and ideas much like the newspaper. Critics conclude that the internet will cause the slow death of the newspaper and the people economically dependent on it. The conclusion is based on the fact that the internet provides what the newspaper can for free. Based from this, one need not spend a dime to buy a newspaper just for the news and ads because there is the internet, providing them what they need free of charge. This paper 2 aims to document and analyze the strength and weakness of the newspaper compared to internet and come up with strategies in order to survive in the context of customer service operation and excellence. Business Management experts agree that the obvious first step in order to come up with strategies for survival of a business enterprise is determine the developed perception of the customers about the business. The general truth suggests that this is of prime importance for the reason that perceptions should be well addressed in the formulation of strategies and action plans. Burns (2000), a university professor and a web site owner said that in case of a daily traveler, newspaper is still the choice over the internet for the simple reason that he has to download and print the crossword puzzle in order to work at it while on a public transport going to office. He continued by saying "Well, now you have to print it out, or download it onto a laptop for the trip. You're back to hauling things around again." (24th par.). A blogger by the pen name Lockergnome (2005) reported that what he usually read from the newspapers today are the news he read from the internet site yesterday. The blogger continued by saying that if all readers will finally realize this, surely they will not buy newspaper anymore, waste their time reading because what they are reading is already history. In the end, the perception being shown here is with newspaper, the happenings are not in real time unlike with internet. Another blogger by the name of Farsha (2007) feels that internet is not effective as newspaper in areas where access to the World Wide Web is limited. Farsha further said that if continues presence in the mind of the customer is needed

Economic and financial aspects of business Essay

Economic and financial aspects of business - Essay Example & FESS, P.E., 2005] Environmental accounting: - It shows the role played by natural environment in economy. It provides data which shows contribution of natural resources in economy and costs born by economy due to pollution and other environmental factors. Financial accounting is purely related to the record of daily transactions. In it only those transactions are considered in which money is directly or indirectly involved. It provides information to the present and potential shareholders and stakeholders of a business such as investors, creditors, debtors, suppliers, customers, financial analysts and government agencies, about the financial condition of the business. As it has to serve the information needs of a diversified base of users who have diversified needs, so it presents the financial accounts in a very structured manner and strictly follows certain rules, these rules are called â€Å"Generally Accepted Accounting Principles† or GAAP. Managerial accounting is defined in following words â€Å"The process of identifying, measuring, analyzing, interpreting, and communicating information for the pursuit of an organizations goals.†[INVESTOPEDIA] It fulfills the information needs of internal stakeholders of business as managers and employees. It provides useful accounting information to management of organization, to support them in making more educated and informed decisions. It is mostly related with such decisions as continue or shut-down a factory, make or buy decision, drop a product or not etc.. Financial accounting information is generated for the use of external stakeholders of organization such as stockholders, investors, creditors, debtors, suppliers, customers, government agencies, financial analysts and other regulatory bodies. Managerial accounting system generates information for the internal stakeholders of organization especially for management to support them in effective

Juvenile Probation system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Juvenile Probation system - Essay Example Probation system is the means through which the juvenile court system ensures its purpose is achieved. The juvenile court guides juveniles considered to be a status offender or delinquent. The system works through probation officers who inform the juvenile court of appropriate steps to take (Torbet, 1996; Whitehead & Lab, 2012). The judge makes a decision on what conditions to include in the probation based on information provided by the probation officer. Probation may be used in three ways: It can be adjudication to a first time low risk offender, in which case it is used at the front end. It can be used in placement of a formal settlement if a youth agrees to comply with a period of informal probation, and it can be used at the back end of the system where it serves as a replacement to institutional confinement for more serious offenders (Torbet, 1996). Juvenile Probation System Creation The juvenile probation system is an evolution of the court and juvenile justice system, as a m eans of differentiating the adult criminals from the young lawbreakers. It was found that the institutions meant correct behaviors or confine criminals, were too harsh for the young ones; hence the change, and development of a new system. The idea came from common practice such as the use of placement societies, where delinquent and poor children would be taken to live with farm families, or serve apprenticeships instead of prisons. Keeping delinquent children out of jail and the idea of probation was however, obtained from John Augustus; a shoemaker from Boston. In the 1840s, he would bail adults and delinquent children out of jail, promising the judges that he would supervise their conduct, and ensure they go to school for the case of young people, and given honest employment for the case of adults. By 1859, Augustus had provided bail for 1900 adults and juveniles. He had made an impact in the justice system, and this was recognized as an important method of dealing with delinquen t young people and criminals. This has evolved over time with the current system having probation officers collecting data about the delinquent young people, and assisting the judge in informed decision making about the juveniles’ cases. It has also been established that communities need to be more involved in order to develop a preventive approach to juvenile crime (Livers, 2013). Standards and Goals Just like in prisons, jails and other correction facilities, American Correctional Association and other relevant organizations have established certain standards for juvenile probation and parole. These act as guidelines for best practices. These standards however, have not been adopted universally because probation services can be provided through various ways, and still meet the needs for rehabilitation and safety, and observe the legal rights of minors. According the standards, before placing a juvenile under probation, a needs assessment is necessary, accompanied by a servi ce plan. The standards further recommend that the needs assessment be done by a probation officer, with the help juvenile and his or her family members. The following areas of need should be assessed: proximity of the correctional program to the youth, medical problems, availability of placements, and the capacity of the youth to benefit from the program. There should also be availability of supplemental services that

The Fungus Rhizopus Stolonifer

The Fungus Rhizopus Stolonifer The fungus Rhizopus stolonifer is a widely distributed thread like mold which is commonly found upon bread surfaces and other food. This is why it has the common name of black bread mold. Due to the fact that it is so common and can easily grow upon bread substances it makes it a very appropriate fungal choice to experiment on. Rhizopus stolonifer grows rapidly when placed in a moist environment where the temperature stays between 15 and 30 degrees Celsius and can easily reproduce in these temperatures. Rhizopus stolonifer is capable of causing infections in humans and so it makes it appropriate to choose Dettol, Savlon, and Bleach as substances to apply to the fungus as these substances are known to kill pathogens, fungus and clean surfaces. Fungi are known to have a resistance to certain antiseptics however if sufficient concentration of a substance is added, the antiseptic can overcome such resistances. Aim: To determine the effect of certain household substances on the growth of the Rhizopus stolonifer fungus species. Hypothesis: From the research gathered in the literature review, it is expected that- if the variables of the fungus being tested such as species, size are kept constant- Dettol will have the greatest effect on the fungal growth. As it will most efficiently overcome the resistance of the cell membrane as it will be the the first to overcome the resistance of the cell membranes of the fungi due to two of its active ingrients (CHLOROXYLENOL and ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL). It is expected that Savlon will have little or no effect on fungal growth, as through previous research gathered ( stated in literature review) Savlon only has anti-bacterial properties. Literature Reviews: There is a research paper by Mahmood and Doughari from the African Journal of Biotechnology, from the Department of Microbiology, School of Pure and Applied Sciences, Federal University of Technology which was posted for peer review on 16 May 2008. It shows an experiment that was conducted in order to determine the effect of Dettol on the viability of some microorganisms associated with nosocomial infection such as Candidia albicans which is a fungus. The experiment sought to determine which concentration of Dettol the fungus would be more susceptible to destruction. Results showed that after adding Dettol little change occurred in the cell count of the fungus in 5 minutes however after 10 minutes there was a rapid decline in the cell count of the fungus. Cove and Holland suggested in 1983 that in order to completely kill all of the fungal cells, a sufficiently high concentration of the antiseptic must be in contact with the cells for longer than those cells resistance time. Cove and Holland also reported that microorganisms which were exposed to toxic agents will almost always show a constant death rate in the cells. Doughari found and then supported the idea of Cove who stated that there is a constant death rate of the cells when in prolonged contact with an antiseptic. What was good about the experiment/research? The same type of fungus was tested and all the fungi were grown to the same size. The fungi were all exposed to the same volume of antiseptic. Two types of water were used to dilute the Dettol. Bad things about the experiment/research: It was not repeated more than twice for each concentration. Our hypothesis stated that if fungi, with constant variables, were exposed to equal concentrations of Dettol, Savlon and Bleach, the Dettol would be the first substance to overcome the fungus resistance and therefore start decreasing the growth of the fungus by killing its cells. This report shows exactly how quickly the Dettol kills the cells and therefore supports our hypothesis. [1] Similarly there was another research paper by Emeka, Awodele, Agbamuche and Akintonwa which was peer review and posted on 16 April 2007 at the African Journal of Biotechnology, from the Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Idi-Araba. University of Lagos, Nigeria. Which was all about the antimicrobial activities of some commonly used disinfectants on several bacteria and fungi such as Candilida albicans. They tested Savlon, Jik and Methylated Spirit. The experiment showed that Jik and Methylated Spirit had inhibitory activities on both fungi and bacteria however Savlon had only antibacterial activity. Good things about the experiment: They inoculated and incubated each of the fungi and bacteria before the experiment to keep them sterile and to avoid cross contamination. Constant variables such as temperature were kept constant. A control was introduced. Bad things about the experiment They did not repeat the experiment enough times. In our hypothesis we expected Savlon to be weaker as an antifungal substance compared to Bleach because through this research we have come to realise that there is a potential issue that no matter how concentrated the Savlon is, it proves to be unable to kill the cells of the fungus and therefore it has no effect on the growth of the fungus. However we will still be incorporating Savlon in our experiment in order to test whether this result was valid and correct. [2] There was a third journal which had a similar experiment which was conducted in Nigeria by Oyewale, Mojeed and Oladapo at the Department of Applied Sciences. The experiment tested the effectiveness of antiseptic substances such as Savlon and Bleach on fungal growth. The results matched their hypotheses: both Bleach and Savlon managed to completely kill off the mould. Existing knowledge is that Pelczar observed that there was an initial time which enables penetration of chemical agents into the fungal cells and then this will interfere with those cells protein synthesis. The results relate to our hypothesis because it shows that Bleach can act as an effective antifungal antiseptic and therefore there is the potential that our original hypothesis is valid and correct however it opposes the experiment results of Emeka, Awodele, Agbamuche and Akintonwas experiment which stated that Savlon has no effect upon fungal growth. [3] Method: Data Plan: We will measure the size of the fungi using a series of utensils such as a square cm grid, as well as using a ruler to measure the area regularly. The growth of the fungi will be monitored and recorded daily. Then once the fungi have grown to a useable size we will measure and record the size of each fungus in each Petri dish using the same methods as before. We will then trim the fungi which are too large as we need to keep size a constant. Temperature will remain constant as well as light available to the fungi. We will then record exactly what the concentration of substance used on each fungus. This will be constant for every dish. We will then measure the change that this substance causes every 30 min for 6 hours. We will leave the fungi for a week longer, recording results and appearances daily. After a week we will restart the experiment but increase the concentration of the substances added to the fungi. Method: Prepare the bread which will be used to grow the fungus by cutting one slice into 4 equal pieces and then removing the crusts on all pieces. In this way the type of bread, thickness and size of the slice and the age of the bread is kept constant. The size of the bread should be 5 x 5 cm however this will differ according to chosen bread size. Place one piece into each Petri dish. Label the dishes A-D. Contaminate each piece with chosen fungus by using sterilized instruments. Each bread piece must receive spores of the same species of fungus. Monitor the fungi growth for about two weeks until it has grown enough to undergo the experiment with. These dishes must be left in the same environment therefore keeping light and temperature equal for all dishes, preferably a temperature/light controlled room. Trim the larger grown fungi so that the size of the fungi is constant in all dishes however this is not strictly necessary. Record the size of the fungi. Prepare the household substances which you will be treating the fungi with. The concentration of substance to water must be equal for all the substances; therefore if one substance is mixed with water, then all are mixed with the same volume of water. Using substance A, place 2ml of substance on every 1cm of fungus growth in dish A. Do the same for dishes B and C. Place the same amount of sterilized water onto the fungus in dish D. Record the size of the fungi every 30 minutes for 8 hours. Take note of any other observational changes such as colour and smell. Note: Replace the lid on the Petri dish and place back in a light/temperature controlled room. After an hour, leave the fungi for the night and take notes the next day. Record size changes again if available. Do this every day for the rest of the week. After a week, clean up the dishes and sterilize all equipment. Repeat the experiments however use a stronger concentration of substances this time. Results: Table showing the results recordings every 30 minutes for the size changes in the fungi after 3 different substances were individually placed in contact with the fungus.

Disability and the Theatrical Event :: College Admissions Essays

Disability and the Theatrical Event    When I was 10, I was hit by a car. Actually, I was 9 years old, got hit by the car and turned 10 in hospital.    I was walking home with my friends after school. It all happened in the blink of an eye. Someone was driving. Someone didn't look. Someone was careful but not careful enough. They ran. I waited. Not in the right place. And I was hit. Just like that. A piece of glass from the headlight pierced my skull and entered my brain. My brain was damaged. They call it ABI. Aquired Brain Injury. I was meant to die.    My fist did come down from my chin. I learnt relaxation processes by living and practicing Yoga in an Ashram. Yoga also helped me learn to walk with a reduced limp. I toned and strengthened my body through Yogic practice. I recommend Yoga to anyone who wants to work with his or her body. And I discovered theatre.    In the theatre I was magical. I could create a world where I was good enough. Moving my body to music was empowering. And when I feel empowered, disability and difference do not matter.    I become one with the music. I transcend to a plane of just . . . being. In drama my difference doesn't have to matter. But -- if I want it to matter -- my difference is treasured. I can use my difference to my advantage to say something to the world. I decided to help others through counseling work and began a Social Work degree at the University of South Australia. I graduated from my social work degree in 2000.    I have finally realized that only by celebrating disability and difference -- -- only by making our disability visible -- can we get out of the trap. We reconstruct ourselves through theatre and make choices. We create new opportunities. We turn the situation around.

Ethics case study Essay

1) What are Joseph’s ethical problems? Joseph is faced with some ethical problems such as honesty, conflicts of interest, fairness and bribes. He found out that Carl and other employees were using (kickback) with their customers. Even if the Alcon’s hand book didn’t say anything about the kickback, but it include this statement† our company stands for the right thing at all time and giving our customers the best products for the best price† so Joseph and the employees known that the kickback is unethical and do not represent the company policy of doing the right thing for their customer because he known that kickback reduce fair completion, which eventually leads to reduced quality and increase prices for customers. 2) Assume that you are Joseph and discuss your options? Joseph should address the situation with Carl and the other employees to explain to them the ethical problem with the kickback, try to inform them that is not acceptable to continue in it and the problems that it can cause, if this didn’t work he directly should report this behavior to the president of the company because not reporting this can make him lose his job or faces criminal charges. 3) What other information do you feel you need before making your decision? Some the information that are needed to make decision are to know for how long this action is going on is it for long time or not .how they mange to hide this act form the manger of the company, try to understand how, why and when this act started. 4) Discuss in which business areas the ethical problems lie. There are many ethical problems in this situation for example: Abusive behavior which can be seen in the respond of Carl when Joseph converts him with the information that he found. Conflicts of interest which exist when individual must choose whether to advance his own interest; Joseph was facing this because he was afraid that if he repots this it will affect his wife new job. He also facing bribery ethical problem which in retune of his silent his wife will having the job. Fraud Joseph could be engaged in deceptive practices to advance his own interests. Also he will be lying and not honesty.

Tim McGraw essays

Tim McGraw essays Set This Circus Down, released in April of 2001, has already received RIAA platinum certification. The album has resided on Billboards Charts for 13 weeks and has peaked at number 1 for several weeks. The success of this hit album goes to, Grammy winner and multi-platinum country artist, Tim McGraw. Samuel Timothy McGraw, the full name of this chart-topping singer, was born on May 1, 1967 to Betty McMom Trimble and Tug McGraw. Although, McGraw was born in Delhi, Louisiana, Monroe is the city he considers home. During his upbringing, McGraw was always interested in sports. He always wanted to be an athlete. This pursuit landed him a sports scholarship Northeast Louisiana University. Even though, McGraw received his first guitar at the age of eleven, it was not until college that his interest in playing it peaked it peaked. He bought himself a new guitar on holiday and began teaching his self to play. His interest changed to singing, which took him to Nashville in the early ninetys. He signed a contract with Curb Records shortly thereafter and released his first self-titled album in 1992. This album failed to reach country radio audiences and things didnt look so good for McGraw. As he is quoted, "I was told by one producer to pack up and go home. I would never make it." Though the album didnt make it, some of the singles, when played live, sparked something in fans. In 1994 he released his second album titled Not A Moment To Soon, which became his first major hit. It contained his breakthrough song Indian Outlaw which stirred up lots of controversy over the Native American stereotypes depicted in the lyrics. Nevertheless, McGraw continued his success with the release of All I Want. In 1996 McGraw teamed up with country singer, Faith Hill, on The Spontaneous Combustion Tour and later that year the two tied the knot on October 6...

Mastering Stress for Optimum Performance essays

Mastering Stress for Optimum Performance essays Mastering Stress for Optimum Performance Stress has been around from the beginning of time and it will be here till the end. Stress and challenges have brought about greats like Martin Luther King, Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X. Eustress is needed in our lives to make this world exciting and fulfilling. On the other hand, distress can be unhealthy and sometimes lethal. The American Association statistics show that 50% of all diseases are preventable, if people could learn to handle the emotional and physical stress in their lives. A century ago, infectious diseases claimed the lives of thousands around the world and this was mainly caused by poor environmental conditions. Today, the leading cause of death in America is chronic diseases and this is primarily based on a persons lifestyle. In this paper I will briefly discuss the history of stress and the different causes of stress. I will also mention several stress management techniques. According to the Websters dictionary, stress is a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension. Stress is the tension our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing environment. The stress that I am referring to is negative stress and it can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, and depression. There is also a positive stress and this type of stress induces us to action and it results in a new awareness or a new perspective. Stress comes in all shapes and sizes. There is the stress of divorce, bereavement, poverty, social isolation, child rearing and a few others. In order to live happy and healthy lives we must all learn to manage our level of stimulation so that our stress stays at an optimum level. (American Institute, 1994) In the 1930s, a biologist named Hans Selye was the first scientist to conduct a complete study of stress and its relationship to diseases. Selyes General Adaptation Syndrome had three sim...

Financial Accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Financial Accounting - Assignment Example 25,000 should be included in the revenue for the year ended 31 March 2013. ?50,000 for the paid goods by Witney limited should be included in the revenue for the year ended 31 March 2013. The amount of the sale of laptops that should be included in the revenue for the year ended 31 March 2013 is the full price for the contract with PC4U Ltd that is ?2,720,000. According to the IAS 18, the amount of servicing should affect the period in which the servicing takes place (Accaglobal.Com, 2013). To provide the true picture of the IBI Ryan Plc Company, adjustment of the amount included in the revenue and profit of the year ended 31 March 2013. The change will reflect a change in the overall profit and revenues for the year ended on 31 March 2013. The actual cost of electrical goods, which should be included in the revenue and profit, is ?25,000. This will less the final profit and revenue for the year ended on 31 March by ?25,000. The goods involved should be included in the closing invent ory. For the sale involving IBI Ryan Plc and Witney, for the sale made on 28 March, the amount of ?50,000 should be included in the revenue and profit for the year ended on 31 March. This entry involves the amount received for the period closed on 31 March. In this way, the company will avoid creative accounting and earning management. According to IAS 18, revenue is a measure of the fair value of the consideration receivable or received. The stated revenue amounting to ?3 million should not be included in the final revenue and profit for the year ended on 31 March. In the transaction, involving PC4U Ltd and IBI Ryan Plc for the sale of laptops should be adjusted. In providing the service for to any purchasers of the laptops over the period to 31 December 2015, the company incurs a cost of ?240,000 per annum. The incurred cost for three years is ?240,000 multiplied by 3 (?240,000 * 3 = ?720,000). The normal margin on the service for the laptops will equate the cost of maintenance (? 720,000) to ?959,999.99. The calculation reads as follow. Hundred percent less 25 percent is equal to 75%. A hundred out of seventy-five of ?720,000 is equal to ?959,999.99. The company will, therefore realize revenue from the sale of laptops amounting to 1,760,000 (?2,720,000-?959,999.99) at the time of delivery and service revenue of ?959,999.99 over the three years following the supply (Unknown, 2013).). The adjustment will reduce the revenue and profit of the IBI Ryan Plc Company to the true picture of the company’s transactions for the five years. The total revenue will read less the exaggerated amount. The false amount is ?3 million for the sale of laptops, ?25,000 involving Witney Ltd, and ?960000 involving PC4U Ltd. The amounts add up to ?3985000. This will now match the analysts’ forecasts for the company. According to the analyst, the company has expected revenue of ?4000 million and operating profit of ?50 million. The finalizing financial statement for the year ended 31 March, which is false following creative accounting and earning management will change to the actual figure. The cause of the irregularity is motivated by the remuneration package of the board of directors, which includes incentive bonus linked to the price of the company’s shares. According to the ISA 18, the transactions should be done to match the revenue. This will include income inflow for the period during the normal activities of the company (raptor1.bizlab.mtsu.edu, 2013). QUESTION 2 Business exploits the loopholes in

Remote Sensing - Design of a Spaceborne Sensor Essay

Remote Sensing - Design of a Spaceborne Sensor - Essay Example For these earthquakes prediction and monitoring, lots of works are being done and lots more are in progress. These include a wide range of technologies such as seismographs, accelerometers and satellite imagery. All provides information having vital importance depending on area and costs. The upcoming technologies are thought to have more significant features that hopefully are able to predict the earthquakes with more accuracy and vivid predictions that will help to mitigate the population even before the earthquake would have occurred. Earthquakes are occurred by the movement of ground due to insufficient stress and strain in the earth’s tectonic plates. It could cause devastating effect when it magnitudes are high and the duration of the earthquake is also high. The death toll could increase to thousands within seconds after the earthquake of high intensity has occurred. The devastating effect also depends on the quality of the infrastructure and more importantly the prepar edness for the disaster. In most cases, because of the rapid ground shaking without any warnings and early signs usually there is a lot of destruction because it is not easy to predict when the earthquake will occur. According to the EAS, The effect of earthquake includes landslides, shaking, tsunamis and liquefaction (EAS, 2011). Most of the death toll is due to the collapse of the infrastructure whereas other reasons also exist. The post traumatic stress disorder is also a reason for the death toll to rise even after the earthquake. Here are some pictures of earthquake destruction as follows There are different methods by which the earthquakes are determined. These methods includes the use of different wavelengths for predicting the change in the structures of the rock, the light that is reflected from the minerals present in the rocks and also the use of graphs that monitors different waves that are caused because of the movement of the tectonic plates. The different methods that are used are stated below that either monitor is used to predict the future earthquakes that are likely to happen. Space borne sensors:- The space borne sensors are used in many different fields and the one important filed is used to predict the earthquakes and study the behavior of rocks that are altered after the earthquakes. The land Sat satellite is used in different field that includes the field of the geologist. It travels in different directions and with the help of the earth’s revolving around the axis, with the help of electromagnetic waves it takes the snaps and are compared with previous data and experts by making calculations can predict where might the next earthquake could occur. The diagram below shows its behavior of working. With the help of geologic maps that are taken from the satellites, the seismologists evaluate the seismic activity and it helps them to predict the earthquake, though not utmost success but still helps to widen the knowledge. According t o NASA the magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck and these images were found very helpful in determining the earthquake destruction (NASA, 2007). Boeing Constant WC-135 Phoenix: - It is a military aircraft that is used by The United stated for determining the nuclear and seismic activity on the ground and it is found to be very helpful in determining the situations. In certain cases because of the nuclear activity is altered due to earthquakes because of