The Impact of Divorce on Children :: Sociology Psychology

Notwithstanding age, race, sex or religion, separate has wrecking, frequently long haul, outcomes. The prompt impacts of separation, for example, hurt, outrage and disarray, are obvious in the two kids and grown-ups. The more drawn out term impacts are not all that simple to stick point. Grown-ups are typically ready to explain their feelings and verbalize their trouble, outrage, agony and disarray to help themselves through this time of progress in their lives. Also, grown-ups have the methods and capacity to look for outside expert help autonomously. Youngsters then again, are not as prone to be able to recognize the source or sort of strife they are encountering. In this manner, it is hard for us, as grown-ups, to be completely mindful of the outcomes of separation on our kids. It is evaluated that about one portion of youngsters conceived today will invest energy in a solitary parent family watching mother go down on her beaus. Albeit a portion of these kids are naturally introduced to single parent families, a lot more are the result of separation, and are made to persevere through the contention and passionate surprise that separation achieves. As of now, when kids need soundness and passionate help, the weights of growing up are regularly intensified by the pressure of separation and family breakdown. At the point when separation includes kids numerous inquiries must be replied. Questions, for example, With whom will the kids live? How frequently will the non-custodial parent approach, and under what conditions? Albeit easy to ask, these inquiries are never simple to reply, and youngsters as often as possible become pawns in a round of retribution. Today, moms make up most of guardians who are granted care, with fathers making up just 13%. Be that as it may, this was not generally the situation. Preceding the nineteenth century, fathers, under English customary law followed in North America , got programmed care of their kids when the marriage broke down. During the nineteenth century slow change happened. Moms were first given care of small kids and in the end of more seasoned youngsters also. Today, the pattern is evolving once more, with numerous couples settling on, or courts requesting, joint guardianship. A few investigations have been done to disentangle which care circumstance gives the most security and strength for offspring of separated from families, yet it remains that every circumstance is extraordinary and the distinction of the child(ren) must be the top thought in making these game plans. The choice for a couple to separate is, best case scenario, a sincerely troublesome and depleting time. The Impact of Divorce on Children :: Sociology Psychology Despite age, race, sex or religion, separate has decimating, frequently long haul, results. The quick impacts of separation, for example, hurt, outrage and disarray, are clear in the two youngsters and grown-ups. The more extended term impacts are not all that simple to stick point. Grown-ups are normally ready to express their feelings and verbalize their trouble, outrage, torment and disarray to help themselves through this time of progress in their lives. Too, grown-ups have the methods and capacity to look for outside expert help autonomously. Kids then again, are not as liable to be able to distinguish the source or sort of disturbance they are encountering. Hence, it is hard for us, as grown-ups, to be completely mindful of the results of separation on our youngsters. It is assessed that almost one portion of youngsters conceived today will invest energy in a solitary parent family unit watching mom go down on her beaus. Albeit a portion of these kids are naturally introduced to single parent families, a lot more are the result of separation, and are made to persevere through the contention and enthusiastic miracle that separation realizes. As of now, when youngsters need security and enthusiastic help, the weights of growing up are regularly aggravated by the pressure of separation and family breakdown. At the point when separation includes youngsters numerous inquiries must be replied. Questions, for example, With whom will the kids live? How frequently will the non-custodial parent approach, and under what conditions? Albeit easy to ask, these inquiries are never simple to reply, and youngsters habitually become pawns in a round of retribution. Today, moms make up most of guardians who are granted authority, with fathers making up just 13%. Be that as it may, this was not generally the situation. Before the nineteenth century, fathers, under English customary law followed in North America , got programmed guardianship of their kids when the marriage broke up. During the nineteenth century slow change happened. Moms were first given guardianship of small kids and in the end of more established youngsters too. Today, the pattern is evolving once more, with numerous couples settling on, or courts requesting, joint guardianship. A few examinations have been done to unravel which care circumstance gives the most security and soundness for offspring of separated from families, however it remains that every circumstance is remarkable and the singularity of the child(ren) must be the top thought in making these courses of action. The choice for a couple to separate is, best case scenario, a genuinely troublesome and depleting time.

Shri Ram Restaurant - Operations Management Essay

Shri Ram Restaurant - Operations Management - Essay Example Now and again the clients have been cited saying that, the administrations are moderate and the rooms pressed and that individuals should possibly go there when they are not in a rush or are longing for South Indian nourishments. They have constantly griped that the stylistic layout is shabby and the lighting exceptionally poor (tripadvisor, 2013). In spite of the fact that the eatery is all around outfitted and well furnished with Colorful painted dividers, such remarks from clients ought to be genuinely treated considering that ‘the client is consistently right’. Such issues have been causing moderate development of the business because of low client turnover. To manage these difficulties, Shri Ram Restaurant needs to recognize the territories with inconsistencies and think of legitimate arrangements. The principle gives that should be taken care of are; stock and limit the executives, flexibly chain the board, hazard the board, lean and waste administration, request g uaging and lining figurings, quality models, and worldwide and global issues. So as to finish the customer’s necessities, the eatery ought to deal with the stock adequately. Overseeing accounts by utilization of database is extremely pivotal for compelling and precise utilization of assets. Quality administration remains the key point that structures reason for the business’s backbone and a pacesetter for resolute development and expansion.According to Laird and McCutcheon (2002), hazard the board is the incorporated loom to the administration of the steady decrease of dangers to condition resources, creation and individuals in the modern setting... Reason for Case Study The motivation behind the examination is to better the administrations of the café through progress of clients and staff the executives and creation forms. At times the clients have been cited saying that, the administrations are moderate and the rooms pressed and that individuals should possibly go there when they are not in a rush or are desiring for South Indian nourishments. They have persistently griped that the stylistic theme is shabby and the lighting poor (tripadvisor, 2013). In spite of the fact that the café is very much outfitted and well furnished with Colorful painted dividers, such remarks from clients ought to be truly treated considering that ‘the client is consistently right’. Such issues have been causing moderate development of the business because of low client turnover. To manage these difficulties, Shri Ram Restaurant needs to distinguish the regions with inconsistencies and concoct appropriate arrangements. The fundamental issues that should be taken care of are; stock and limit the executives, flexibly chain the executives, hazard the executives, lean and waste administration, request estimating and lining computations, quality models, and worldwide and global issues. So as to finish the customer’s prerequisites, the café ought to deal with the stock adequately. Overseeing accounts by utilization of database is essential for viable and precise utilization of assets. Quality administration remains the key point that structures reason for the business’s backbone and a pacesetter for enduring development and extension. Hazard Management According to Laird and McCutcheon (2002), chance administration is the coordinated loom to the administration of the consistent decrease of dangers to condition resources, creation and individuals in the mechanical setting. Chandler (2003)

ChatWork Uses MindMeister to Decrease Meeting Time (Case Study) - Focus

ChatWork Uses MindMeister to Decrease Meeting Time (Case Study) - Focus ChatWork Co., Ltd. is the provider of a cloud-based business chat tool called ChatWork. As of June 2014, the tool is used by 46,000 companies in 170 countries* worldwide and the company is expanding further globally.  MindMeister Ambassador Yuki Kawazoe has interviewed the company’s marketing manager, Mr. Horie, to find out how  the company uses MindMeister to  dramatically decrease meeting time. As it turns out,  MindMeister is absolutely indispensable for the company. ChatWork has adopted MindMeister company-wide and is known as one of the Japanese companies that use it heavily in support of their everyday business. PowerPoint is forbidden. All our internal documents are mind maps. ChatWork has been using mind map creation tools for over 7-8 years. “Even at present, most of the in-house documents such as proposals, reports, meeting minutes and the like are created with MindMeisters business solution and all of our employees share these mind maps,” said Mr. Horie. At this company, PowerPoint documents are forbidden, as creating documents in PowerPoint requires much time.  Minutes are edited concurrently during meetings in the form of mind maps. At the end of the meeting the minutes are also ready.  Old minutes are also preserved on a map in chronological order, so, if necessary, they can be accessed any time. “By using MindMeister, it is easier to see our business operation. Our employees look at the mind map on the screen and edit the minutes together during meetings, explains Mr. Horie. We could also use Google Documents, but using mind maps is more visually attractive and easier to understand, as agendas, decisions, opinions, everything is connected in one map. It also makes it more difficult to leave out or forget details. If you train all the employees to get used to editing simultaneously, this  will  decrease meeting time considerably.” Even system specifications fit on one page. Although they do not create all system specifications with MindMeister, they do use MindMeister for most requirement definition documents. When you say system specifications, you usually think of huge piles of documents created in Word and it is kind of terrifying. If you create a mind map, however, it all fits on one page. “As long as a definition might be, in the end it all fits on one page one map so you can see the whole system while creating it,” said Horie. Instead of describing everything in words, as it has been done traditionally, by creating a map and making the connections visible through the branches, you can limit the text information to what is absolutely necessary and you naturally get a very clean requirement definition document. Using mind maps to manage tasks Mr. Horie also introduced several personal ways he uses mind maps. When Ambassador Yuki Kawazoe asked him what he uses to manage his to-dos he said,  â€œI use mind maps for individual tasks that are part of a bigger project. However, for smaller, daily tasks ChatWork works best. They both have their merits, so I use both.” With MindMeister, once you’ve finished a task, you can just check it off; it is very simple. You can also do this with the smart phone app. ChatWork also uses a number of other tools. For extremely important proposals for example, a picture created with Cacoo might be used to illustrate the main point. This picture is then pasted onto the mind map for a stronger impact, and the usually simple mind map proposal thus becomes a very refined map. The employees use these tools and their individual ingenuity in order to do their job best. ChatWork uses the tools that best fit the nature of the information. G Suite  and MindMeister are used for managing internal documents, while ChatWork the companys own chat software is used for daily information exchange. These tools are used for different purposes depending on their “flow” or “stock” characteristic and on the nature of business.  A very clear distinction is made and tools are truly used according to the nature of the information. The company has tried a big number of tools over and over again and has chosen the ones that best fit their present needs, not just blindly. They also do their best to make sure that business doesnt overlap. Everything has to be efficient, so that they can produce results within a limited amount of time. The embodiment of “small organization, big achievement” Although a small company with only around 30 employees, ChatWork has 46,000 customers by now*, businesses from around the world to which it keeps delivering value. ChatWork embodies the concept of “small organization, big achievement” and one important factor for their success is their use of ChatWork, MindMeister and other such tools. Company President Yamamoto has moved quarters to Silicon Valley since August 2012 and we are looking forward to seeing how ChatWork, which is presently actively involved in international business, will make more remarkable breakthroughs in the years to come. *Update: As of January 2016, ChatWork  has 86,000 companies from 204 countries using its service, according to TechCrunch. Discover efficient meetings Sign up for MindMeister Its free! Sign up for MindMeister ChatWork Uses MindMeister to Decrease Meeting Time (Case Study) - Focus ChatWork Co., Ltd. is the provider of a cloud-based business chat tool called ChatWork. As of June 2014, the tool is used by 46,000 companies in 170 countries* worldwide and the company is expanding further globally.  MindMeister Ambassador Yuki Kawazoe has interviewed the company’s marketing manager, Mr. Horie, to find out how  the company uses MindMeister to  dramatically decrease meeting time. As it turns out,  MindMeister is absolutely indispensable for the company. ChatWork has adopted MindMeister company-wide and is known as one of the Japanese companies that use it heavily in support of their everyday business. PowerPoint is forbidden. All our internal documents are mind maps. ChatWork has been using mind map creation tools for over 7-8 years. “Even at present, most of the in-house documents such as proposals, reports, meeting minutes and the like are created with MindMeisters business solution and all of our employees share these mind maps,” said Mr. Horie. At this company, PowerPoint documents are forbidden, as creating documents in PowerPoint requires much time.  Minutes are edited concurrently during meetings in the form of mind maps. At the end of the meeting the minutes are also ready.  Old minutes are also preserved on a map in chronological order, so, if necessary, they can be accessed any time. “By using MindMeister, it is easier to see our business operation. Our employees look at the mind map on the screen and edit the minutes together during meetings, explains Mr. Horie. We could also use Google Documents, but using mind maps is more visually attractive and easier to understand, as agendas, decisions, opinions, everything is connected in one map. It also makes it more difficult to leave out or forget details. If you train all the employees to get used to editing simultaneously, this  will  decrease meeting time considerably.” Even system specifications fit on one page. Although they do not create all system specifications with MindMeister, they do use MindMeister for most requirement definition documents. When you say system specifications, you usually think of huge piles of documents created in Word and it is kind of terrifying. If you create a mind map, however, it all fits on one page. “As long as a definition might be, in the end it all fits on one page one map so you can see the whole system while creating it,” said Horie. Instead of describing everything in words, as it has been done traditionally, by creating a map and making the connections visible through the branches, you can limit the text information to what is absolutely necessary and you naturally get a very clean requirement definition document. Using mind maps to manage tasks Mr. Horie also introduced several personal ways he uses mind maps. When Ambassador Yuki Kawazoe asked him what he uses to manage his to-dos he said,  â€œI use mind maps for individual tasks that are part of a bigger project. However, for smaller, daily tasks ChatWork works best. They both have their merits, so I use both.” With MindMeister, once you’ve finished a task, you can just check it off; it is very simple. You can also do this with the smart phone app. ChatWork also uses a number of other tools. For extremely important proposals for example, a picture created with Cacoo might be used to illustrate the main point. This picture is then pasted onto the mind map for a stronger impact, and the usually simple mind map proposal thus becomes a very refined map. The employees use these tools and their individual ingenuity in order to do their job best. ChatWork uses the tools that best fit the nature of the information. G Suite  and MindMeister are used for managing internal documents, while ChatWork the companys own chat software is used for daily information exchange. These tools are used for different purposes depending on their “flow” or “stock” characteristic and on the nature of business.  A very clear distinction is made and tools are truly used according to the nature of the information. The company has tried a big number of tools over and over again and has chosen the ones that best fit their present needs, not just blindly. They also do their best to make sure that business doesnt overlap. Everything has to be efficient, so that they can produce results within a limited amount of time. The embodiment of “small organization, big achievement” Although a small company with only around 30 employees, ChatWork has 46,000 customers by now*, businesses from around the world to which it keeps delivering value. ChatWork embodies the concept of “small organization, big achievement” and one important factor for their success is their use of ChatWork, MindMeister and other such tools. Company President Yamamoto has moved quarters to Silicon Valley since August 2012 and we are looking forward to seeing how ChatWork, which is presently actively involved in international business, will make more remarkable breakthroughs in the years to come. *Update: As of January 2016, ChatWork  has 86,000 companies from 204 countries using its service, according to TechCrunch. Discover efficient meetings Sign up for MindMeister Its free! Sign up for MindMeister

Biography of Helen of Troy, Cause of the Trojan War

Helen of Troy is a character in Homers classic epic poem, the Iliad, written in the 8th century about the Trojan War, imagined by the Greeks to have occurred about 500 years earlier. Her story is one of the most dramatic love stories of all time and is said to be one of the main reasons for a 10-year war between the Greeks and Trojans, known as the Trojan War. Hers was the face that launched a thousand ships because of the vast number of warships the Greeks sailed to Troy to retrieve Helen. Fast Facts: Helen of Troy Known For: She was the most beautiful woman in the ancient Greek world, the daughter of the king of the Greek gods, and the cause of the 10-year Trojan War between Troy and Sparta.Birth: In Sparta, date unknownParents: The king of the gods, Zeus, and the wife of the Spartan king Tyndareus, Leda; or perhaps Tyndareus himself and the goddess of retribution, Nemesis, who gave Helen to Leda to raiseDied: UnknownSiblings: Clytemnestra, Castor, and PolluxSpouse(s): Theseus, Menelaus, Paris, Deiphobus, Achilles (in the afterlife), perhaps five others In the Iliad, Helens name is a battle cry, but her story is not told in detail: the Iliad is chiefly a mans story of the conflicting passions and struggles of men on opposing sides of a great battle.  The Trojan War was central to the early history of ancient Greece. Details of Helens story are provided in a group of poems known as the epic cycle or the Trojan War Cycle, written in the centuries after Homer. The poems known as the Trojan War Cycle were the culmination of many myths about the ancient Greek warriors and heroes who fought and died ​at Troy. While none of them have survived to this day, they were summarized in the second century CE by the Latin grammarian Proclus and in the ninth century CE by the Byzantine historian Photius. Early Life The Trojan War Cycle is based on a story from the legendary period of ancient Greece, a time when it was common to trace lineage to the gods. Helen is said to have been a daughter of the king of the gods, Zeus. Her mother was generally considered to have been Leda, the mortal wife of the king of Sparta, Tyndareus, but in some versions, the goddess of divine retribution  Nemesis, in bird form, is named as Helens mother, and the Helen-egg was then given to Leda to raise. Clytemnestra was the sister of Helen, but her father wasnt Zeus, but rather Tyndareus. Helen had two (twin) brothers, Castor and Pollux (Polydeuces). Pollux shared a father with Helen and Castor with Clytemnestra. There were various stories about this helpful pair of brothers, including one about how they saved the Romans at the Battle of Regillus.​ Helens Husbands   The legendary beauty of  Helen  attracted men from afar and also those close to home who saw her as a means to the  Spartan  throne. The first likely mate of Helen was Theseus, the hero of Athens who kidnapped Helen when she was still young. Later Menelaus, brother of the Mycenaean King Agamemnon, married Helen.  Agamemnon  and  Menelaus  were sons of King Atreus of Mycenae and were therefore referred to as  Atrides. Agamemnon married the sister of Helen, Clytemnestra, and became king of Mycenae after expelling his uncle. In this way, Menelaus and Agamemnon were not only brothers but brothers-in-law, just as Helen and Clytemnestra were sisters-in-law. Of course, the most famous mate of Helen was Paris of Troy, but he wasnt the last one. After  Paris  was killed, his brother  Deiphobus  married Helen.  Laurie Macguire, writing in  Helen of Troy From Homer to Hollywood, lists the following 11 men as husbands of Helen in ancient literature, proceeding from the canonical list in chronological order, to the 5 exceptional ones: TheseusMenelausParisDeiphobusHelenus (ousted by Deiphobus)Achilles (Afterlife)Enarsphorus (Plutarch)Idas (Plutarch)Lynceus (Plutarch)Corythus (Parthenius)Theoclymenus (attempt, thwarted, in Euripides) Paris and Helen Paris (also known as Alexander or Alexandros) was the son of King  Priam  of Troy and his queen,  Hecuba, but he was rejected at birth and raised as a shepherd on Mount Ida. While Paris was living the life of a shepherd, the  three goddesses,  Hera,  Aphrodite, and  Athena, appeared and asked him to award the fairest of them the golden apple that  Discord  had promised one of them. Each goddess offered Paris a bribe, but the bribe offered by Aphrodite appealed to Paris most, so Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite. It was a beauty contest, so it was appropriate that  the goddess of love and  beauty, Aphrodite, had offered Paris the most beautiful woman on earth for his bride. That woman was Helen. Unfortunately, Helen was taken. She was the bride of the Spartan king Menelaus. Whether or not there was love between Menelaus and Helen is unclear. In the end, they may have been reconciled, but meanwhile, when Paris came to the court of Menelaus as a guest, he may have aroused unaccustomed desire in Helen, since in the Iliad, Helen takes some responsibility for her abduction. Menelaus received and extended hospitality to Paris. Then, when Menelaus discovered that Paris had taken off for Troy with Helen and other prized possessions Helen may have considered part of her dowry, he was enraged at this violation of the laws of hospitality. Paris offered to return the stolen possessions, even though he was unwilling to return Helen, but Menelaus wanted Helen, too. Agamemnon Marshals the Troops Before Menelaus won out in the bid for Helen, all the leading princes and unmarried kings of Greece had sought to marry Helen. Before Menelaus married Helen, Helens earthly father Tyndareus extracted an oath from these, the Achaean leaders, that should anyone try to kidnap Helen again, they would all bring their troops to win back Helen for her rightful husband. When Paris took Helen to Troy, Agamemnon gathered together these Achaean leaders and made them honor their promise. That was the beginning of the Trojan War. Updated by K. Kris Hirst Sources Austin, Norman. Helen of Troy and Her Shameless Phantom. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2008.Macguire, Laurie. Helen of Troy from Homer to Hollywood. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.Scherer, Margaret R. Helen of Troy. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 25.10 (1967): 367-83.

Ancient Philosophy - 737 Words

Platos early dialogues are referred to as the Socratic dialogues. During these dialogues there is nothing to suggest that the search for virtue and the human good goes beyond the natural realm. In the early dialogues the good and proper things are found through questioning. This however, changes in Platos middle dialogues. In his middle dialogues Plato leads us to the theory of knowledge. A shift toward the metaphysical guided by the first recognition of the Forms, that is, the true nature of all things. He claims Morals must be based on an appropriate political structure that can be upheld by leaders with strict scientific training. The theory of the Forms is not restricted to human principles; it however†¦show more content†¦Mankind has been duped. What they see and interact with is simply an outlined reflection of reality. Philosophers are the ones who have freed themselves from their shackles. Not only have they acknowledged the existence of the puppeteers, but they have ventured out into the real world and gleamed insight which they wish to share with humanity. Plato wants the reader to understand that the real or the perfected state does not exist in this world; however we access the immaterial though our own intangible souls. For Plato the true form of everything is perfect and therefore intangible and outside of time, so too is the immaterial human soul. In this same vein Philosophy, which to Plato is the study of the intangible, builds ones knowledge of the perfected state. Plato believes that in accessing the perfected forms through the immortal soul we build up knowledge that we will retain in our transcended immortal state; when we exist together with the forms. Question 3 Aristotle believed that all things dealt in Telos; Teleology being the study of ends and purposes. This is the principal building block of Aristotle’s greatest work, Nicomachean Ethics. The highest end a man can attain is happiness. To Aristotle â€Å"Happiness is an Ancient Philosophy Final Exam activity of the soul in accordance with virtue†. A complete soul to Aristotle is comprised of three parts eachShow MoreRelatedPhilosophy in Ancient Greece3782 Words   |  16 PagesBrandon John ADP, SCS/1108/029 Question 2: Philosophy in Ancient Greece and its Influence on Western Culture â€Å"My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you ll be happy; if not, you ll become a philosopher.† – Socrates, Greek philosopher Socrates, like many of the greatest minds in history, was rather different from others in his time. In the quote above,Read MoreAncient Greek Philosophy -Paper776 Words   |  4 PagesLovers of Wisdom Ancient Greek philosophy arouse in the 6th century BCE, some claim that Greek Philosophy was influenced by the older wisdom literature and mythological cosmogonies of the Ancient Greek Near East. 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Spirit Bound Chapter Thirteen Free Essays

â€Å"THE HELL YOU CAN,† I said aloud to no one. â€Å"No, you can’t,† said Lissa, with an expression that matched my own incredulity. â€Å"I know you’ve been learning to fight with fire, but you haven’t done any staking. We will write a custom essay sample on Spirit Bound Chapter Thirteen or any similar topic only for you Order Now † Christian’s face was adamant. â€Å"I have–a little. And I can learn more. Mia’s got some guardian friends here that have been teaching her physical combat, and I’ve learned some of it.† The mention of him and Mia working together didn’t do much to improve Lissa’s opinion. â€Å"You’ve barely been here a week! You make it sound like you’ve been training for years with some master.† â€Å"It’s better than nothing,† he said. â€Å"And where else are you going to learn? Rose?† Lissa’s outrage and disbelief dimmed a little. â€Å"No,† she admitted. â€Å"Never. In fact, Rose would drag me away if she caught me doing it.† Damn straight I would. In fact, despite the obstacles and staff that kept blocking me, I was tempted to march over there right now. â€Å"Then this is your chance,† he said. His voice turned wry. â€Å"Look, I know things aren’t†¦ great with us, but that’s irrelevant if you’re going to learn this. Tell Tatiana you want to bring me to Lehigh. She won’t like it, but she’ll let you. I’ll show you what I know in our free time. Then, when we get back, I’ll take you to Mia and her friends.† Lissa frowned. â€Å"If Rose knew†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"That’s why we’ll start when you’re away from Court. She’ll be too far away from you to do anything.† Oh, for the love of God. I would give them some lessons about fighting–starting with a punch to Christian’s face. â€Å"And when we get back?† asked Lissa. â€Å"She’ll find out. It’s inevitable with the bond.† He shrugged. â€Å"If she’s still on landscape duty, we’ll be able to get away with it. I mean, she’ll know, but she won’t be able to interfere. Much.† â€Å"It may not be enough,† Lissa said with a sigh. â€Å"Rose was right about that–I can’t expect to learn in a few weeks what it took her years to do.† Weeks? That was her timeline on this? â€Å"You have to try,† he said, almost gentle. Almost. â€Å"Why are you so interested in this?† Lissa asked suspiciously. â€Å"Why do you care so much about bringing Dimitri back? I mean, I know you liked him, but you don’t quite have the same motivation here that Rose does.† â€Å"He was a good guy,† said Christian. â€Å"And if there was a way to turn him back to a dhampir? Yeah, that’d be amazing. But it’s more than that†¦ more than just him. If there was a way to save all Strigoi, that would change our world. I mean, not that setting them on fire isn’t cool after they’ve gone on killing sprees, but if we could stop those killing sprees in the first place? That’s the key to saving us. All of us.† Lissa was speechless for a moment. Christian had spoken passionately, and there was a hope radiating off of him that she just hadn’t expected. It was†¦ moving. He took advantage of her silence. â€Å"Besides, there’s no telling what you’d do without any guidance. And I’d like to reduce the odds of you getting yourself killed, because even if Rose wants to deny it, I know you’re going to keep pushing this.† Lissa stayed quiet yet again, pondering the situation. I listened to her thoughts, not liking at all where they were going. â€Å"We’re leaving at six,† she said at last. â€Å"Can you meet me downstairs at five thirty?† Tatiana wouldn’t be thrilled when she heard about the new guest choice, but Lissa was pretty sure she could do some fast talking in the morning. He nodded. â€Å"I’ll be there.† Back in my room, I was totally aghast. Lissa was going to attempt to learn to stake a Strigoi–behind my back–and she was going to get Christian to help her. Those two had been snarling at each other since the breakup. I should have felt flattered that sneaking around me was bringing them together, but I wasn’t. I was pissed off. I considered my options. The buildings Lissa and I were staying in didn’t have the kind of front-desk curfew security that our school dorms had had, but the staff here had been instructed to tip off someone in the guardians’ office if I got too social. Hans had also told me to stay away from Lissa until further notice. I pondered it all for a moment, thinking it might be worth Hans dragging me from Lissa’s room, and then finally thought of an alternate plan. It was late but not too late, and I left my room for the one next door to mine. Knocking on the door, I hoped my neighbor was still awake. She was a dhampir my age, a recent graduate from a different school. I didn’t own a cell phone, but I’d seen her talking on one earlier today. She answered the door a few moments later and fortunately didn’t appear to have been in bed. â€Å"Hey,† she said, understandably surprised. â€Å"Hey, can I send a text from your phone?† I didn’t want to commandeer her phone with a conversation, and besides, Lissa might just hang up on me. My neighbor shrugged, stepped into the room, and returned with the phone. I had Lissa’s number memorized and sent her the following note: I know what you’re going to do, and it is a BAD idea. I’m going to kick both your asses when I find you. I handed the phone back to its owner. â€Å"Thanks. If anyone texts back, can you let me know?† She told me she would, but I didn’t expect any return texts. I got my message another way. When I returned to the room and Lissa’s mind, I got to be there when her phone chimed. Christian had left, and she read my text with a rueful smile. My answer came through the link. She knew I was watching. Sorry, Rose. It’s a risk I’ll have to take. I’m doing this. I tossed and turned that night, still angry at what Lissa and Christian were trying to do. I didn’t think I’d ever fall asleep, but when Adrian came to me in a dream, it became clear that my body’s exhaustion had defeated my mind’s agitation. â€Å"Las Vegas?† I asked. Adrian’s dreams always occurred in different places of his choosing. Tonight, we stood on the Strip, very near where Eddie and I had rendezvoused with Lissa and him at the MGM Grand. The bright lights and neon of the hotels and restaurants gleamed in the blackness, but the whole setting was eerily silent compared to the reality. Adrian had not brought the cars or people of the real Las Vegas here. It was like a ghost town. He smiled, leaning against a pole covered in paper ads for concerts and escort services. â€Å"Well, we didn’t really get a chance to enjoy it while we were there.† â€Å"True.† I stood a few feet away, arms crossed over my chest. I had on jeans and a T-shirt, along with my nazar. Adrian had apparently decided not to dress me tonight, for which I was grateful. I could have ended up like one of those Moroi showgirls, in feathers and sequins. â€Å"I thought you were avoiding me.† I still wasn’t entirely sure where our relationship stood, despite his flippant attitude back at the Witching Hour. He snorted. â€Å"It’s not by my choice, little dhampir. Those guardians are doing their best to keep you in solitary. Well, kind of.† â€Å"Christian managed to sneak in and talk to me earlier,† I said, hoping to avoid the issue that had to be on Adrian’s mind: that I’d risked lives to save my ex-boyfriend. â€Å"He’s going to try to teach Lissa to stake a Strigoi.† I waited for Adrian to join in my outrage, but he appeared as lax and sardonic as usual. â€Å"Not surprised she’s gonna try. What surprises me is that he’d actually be interested in helping with some crazy theory.† â€Å"Well, it’s crazy enough to appeal to him†¦ and can apparently overpower them hating each other lately.† Adrian tilted his head, making some of the hair fall over his eyes. A building with blue neon palm trees cast an eerie glow upon his face as he gave me a knowing look. â€Å"Come on, we both know why he’s doing it.† â€Å"Because he thinks his after-school group with Jill and Mia qualifies him to teach that stuff?† â€Å"Because it gives him an excuse to be around her–without making it look like he gave in first. That way, he can still seem manly.† I shifted slightly so that the lights of a giant sign advertising slot machines didn’t shine in my eyes. â€Å"That’s ridiculous.† Especially the part about Christian being manly. â€Å"Guys do ridiculous things for love.† Adrian reached into his pocket and held up a pack of cigarettes. â€Å"Do you know how badly I want one of these right now? Yet I suffer, Rose. All for you.† â€Å"Don’t turn romantic on me,† I warned, trying to hide my smile. â€Å"We don’t have time for that, not when my best friend wants to go monster hunting.† â€Å"Yeah, but how is she actually going to find him? That’s kind of a problem.† Adrian didn’t need to elaborate on the â€Å"him.† â€Å"True,† I admitted. â€Å"And she hasn’t been able to charm the stake yet anyway, so until she does, all the kung-fu skills in the world won’t matter.† â€Å"Guardians don’t do kung-fu. And how did you know about the stake?† â€Å"She’s asked for my help a couple of times,† he explained. â€Å"Huh. I didn’t know that.† â€Å"Well, you’ve been kind of busy. Not that you’ve even spared a thought for your poor pining boyfriend.† With all my chores, I hadn’t spent a huge amount of time in Lissa’s head–just enough to check in with her. â€Å"Hey, I would have taken you over filing any day.† I’d been so afraid that Adrian would be furious with me after Vegas, yet here he was, light and playful. A little too light. I wanted him to focus on the problem at hand. â€Å"What’s your take on Lissa and the charms? Is she close to doing it?† Adrian absentmindedly played with the cigarettes, and I was tempted to tell him to go ahead and have one. This was his dream, after all. â€Å"Unclear. I haven’t taken to charms the way she has. It’s weird having the other elements in there†¦ makes it hard to manipulate spirit.† â€Å"Are you helping her anyway?† I asked suspiciously. He shook his head in amusement. â€Å"What do you think?† I hesitated. â€Å"I†¦ I don’t know. You help her with most spirit things, but helping her with this would mean†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"†¦ Helping Dimitri?† I nodded, not trusting myself to elaborate. â€Å"No,† Adrian said at last. â€Å"I’m not helping her, simply because I don’t know how.† I exhaled with relief. â€Å"I really am sorry,† I told him. â€Å"For everything†¦ for lying about where I was and what I was doing. It was wrong. And I don’t understand†¦ well, I don’t get why you’re being so nice to me.† â€Å"Should I be mean?† He winked. â€Å"Is that the kind of thing you’re into?† â€Å"No! Of course not. But, I mean, you were so mad when you came to Vegas and found out what was going on. I just thought†¦ I don’t know. I thought you hated me.† The amusement faded from his features. He came over to me and rested his hands on my shoulders, his dark green eyes dead serious. â€Å"Rose, nothing in this world could make me hate you.† â€Å"Not even trying to bring my ex-boyfriend back from the dead?† Adrian held onto me, and even in a dream, I could smell his skin and cologne. â€Å"Yeah, I’ll be honest. If Belikov were walking around right now, alive like he used to be? There would be some problems. I don’t want to think what would happen with us if†¦ well, it’s not worth wasting time on. He’s not here.† â€Å"I still†¦ I still want us to work,† I said meekly. â€Å"I would still try, even if he were back. I just have a hard time letting someone I care about go.† â€Å"I know. You did what you did out of love. I can’t be mad at you over that. It was stupid, but that’s how love is. Do you have any idea what I’d do for you? To keep you safe?† â€Å"Adrian†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I couldn’t meet his eyes. I suddenly felt unworthy. He was so easy to underestimate. The only thing I could do was lean my head against his chest and let him wrap his arms around me. â€Å"I’m sorry.† â€Å"Be sorry you lied,† he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead. â€Å"Don’t be sorry you loved him. That’s part of you, part you have to let go, yeah, but still something that’s made you who you are.† Part you have to let go†¦ Adrian was right, and that was a damned scary thing to admit. I’d had my shot. I’d made my gamble to save Dimitri, and it had failed. Lissa wouldn’t get anywhere with the stake, meaning I really did have to treat Dimitri the way everyone else did: He was dead. I had to move on. â€Å"Damn it,† I muttered. â€Å"What?† asked Adrian. â€Å"I hate it when you’re the sane one. That’s my job.† â€Å"Rose,† he said, forcibly trying to keep a serious tone, â€Å"I can think of many words to describe you, sexy and hot being at the top of the list. You know what’s not on the list? Sane.† I laughed. â€Å"Okay, well, then my job is to be the less crazy one.† He considered. â€Å"That I can accept.† I brought my lips up to his, and even if there were still some shaky things in our relationship, there was no uncertainty in how we kissed. Kissing in a dream felt exactly like real life. Heat blossomed between us, and I felt a thrill run through my whole body. He released my hands and wrapped his arms around my waist, bringing us closer. I realized that it was time to start believing what I kept saying. Life did go on. Dimitri might be gone, but I could have something with Adrian–at least until my job took me away. That was, of course, assuming I got one. Hell, if Hans kept me on desk duty here and Adrian continued his slothful ways, we could be together forever. Adrian and I kissed for a long time, pressing closer and closer. At last I broke things off. If you had sex in a dream, did that mean you’d really done it? I didn’t know, and I certainly wasn’t going to find out. I wasn’t ready for that yet. I stepped back, and Adrian took the hint. â€Å"Find me when you get some freedom.† â€Å"Hopefully soon,† I said. â€Å"The guardians can’t punish me forever.† Adrian looked skeptical, but he let the dream dissolve without further comment. I returned to my own bed and my own dreams. The only thing that stopped me from intercepting Lissa and Christian when they met up early in her lobby the next day was that Hans summoned me to work even earlier. He put me on paperwork duty–in the vaults, ironically enough–leaving me to file and stew over Lissa and Christian as I watched them through my bond. I took it as a sign of my multitasking skills that I was able to alphabetize and spy at the same time. Yet my observations were interrupted when a voice said, â€Å"Didn’t expect to find you here again.† I blinked out of Lissa’s head and looked up from my paperwork. Mikhail stood before me. In light of the complications that had ensued with the Victor incident, I’d nearly forgotten Mikhail’s involvement in our â€Å"escape.† I set the files down and gave him a small smile. â€Å"Yeah, weird how fate works, huh? They actually want me here now.† â€Å"Indeed. You’re in a fair amount of trouble, I hear.† My smile turned into a grimace. â€Å"Tell me about it.† I glanced around, even though I knew we were alone. â€Å"You didn’t get in any trouble, did you?† He shook his head. â€Å"No one knows what I did.† â€Å"Good.† At least one person had escaped this debacle unscathed. My guilt couldn’t have handled him getting caught too. Mikhail knelt so that he was eye level with me, resting his arms on the table I sat at. â€Å"Were you successful? Was it worth it?† â€Å"That’s a hard question to answer.† He arched an eyebrow. â€Å"There were some†¦ not so successful things that happened. But we did find out what we wanted to know–or, well, we think we did.† His breath caught. â€Å"How to restore a Strigoi?† â€Å"I think so. If our informant was telling the truth, then yeah. Except, even if he was†¦ well, it’s not that easy to do. It’s nearly impossible, really.† â€Å"What is it?† I hesitated. Mikhail had helped us, but he wasn’t in my circle of confidants. Yet even now, I saw that haunted look in his eyes, the one I’d seen before. The pain of losing his beloved still tormented him. It likely always would. Would I be doing more harm than good by telling him what I’d learned? Would this fleeting hope only hurt him more? I finally decided to tell him. Even if he told others–and I didn’t think he would–most would laugh it off anyway. There would be no damage there. The real trouble would come if he told anyone about Victor and Robert–but I didn’t actually have to mention their involvement to him. Unlike Christian, it had apparently not occurred to Mikhail that the prison break so big in Moroi news had been pulled off by the teens he helped smuggle out. Mikhail probably couldn’t spare a thought for anything that didn’t involve saving his Sonya. â€Å"It takes a spirit user,† I explained. â€Å"One with a spirit-charmed stake, and then he†¦ or she†¦ has to stake the Strigoi.† â€Å"Spirit†¦Ã¢â‚¬  That element was still foreign to most Moroi and dhampirs–but not to him. â€Å"Like Sonya. I know spirit’s supposed to make them more alluring†¦ but I swear, she never needed it. She was beautiful on her own.† As always, Mikhail’s face took on that same sad look it did whenever Ms. Karp was mentioned. I’d never really seen him truly happy since meeting him and thought he’d be pretty good-looking if he ever genuinely smiled. He suddenly seemed embarrassed at his romantic lapse and returned to business. â€Å"What spirit user could do a staking?† â€Å"None,† I said flatly. â€Å"Lissa Dragomir and Adrian Ivashkov are the only two spirit users I even know–well, aside from Avery Lazar.† I was leaving Oksana and Robert out of this. â€Å"Neither of them has the skill to do it–you know that as well as I do. And Adrian has no interest in it anyway.† Mikhail was sharp, picking up on what I didn’t say. â€Å"But Lissa does?† â€Å"Yes,† I admitted. â€Å"But it would take her years to learn to do it. If not longer. And she’s the last of her line. She can’t be risked like that.† The truth of my words hit him, and I couldn’t help but share his pain and disappointment. Like me, he’d put a lot of faith into this last-ditch effort to be reunited with his lost love. I had just affirmed that it was possible†¦ yet impossible. I think it would have been easier on both of us to learn it had all been a hoax. He sighed and stood up. â€Å"Well†¦ I appreciate you going after this. Sorry your punishment is for nothing.† I shrugged. â€Å"It’s okay. It was worth it.† â€Å"I hope†¦Ã¢â‚¬  His face turned hesitant. â€Å"I hope it ends soon and doesn’t affect anything.† â€Å"Affect what?† I asked sharply, catching the edge in his voice. â€Å"Just†¦ well, guardians who disobey orders sometimes face long punishments.† â€Å"Oh. This.† He was referring to my constant fear of being stuck with a desk job. I tried to play flippant and not to show how much that possibility scared me. â€Å"I’m sure Hans was bluffing. I mean, would he really make me do this forever just because I ran away and–â€Å" I stopped, my mouth hanging open when a knowing glint flashed in Mikhail’s eyes. I’d heard long ago how he’d tried to track down Ms. Karp, but the logistics had never really hit me until now. No one would have condoned his search. He would have had to leave on his own, breaking protocol, and come skulking back when he finally gave up on locating her. He would have been in just as much trouble as me for going MIA. â€Å"Is that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I swallowed. â€Å"Is that why you†¦ why you work down here in the vaults now?† Mikhail didn’t answer my question. Instead, he glanced down with a small smile and pointed at my stacks of paper. â€Å"F comes before L,† he said before turning and leaving. â€Å"Damn,† I muttered, looking down. He was right. Apparently I couldn’t alphabetize so well while watching Lissa. Still, once I was alone, that didn’t stop me from tuning back into her mind. I wanted to know what she was doing†¦ and I didn’t want to think about how what I’d done would probably be considered worse than Mikhail’s deeds in the eyes of the guardians. Or that a similar–or worse–punishment might be in store for me. Lissa and Christian were at a hotel near Lehigh’s campus. The middle of the vampiric day meant evening for the human university. Lissa’s tour wouldn’t start until their morning the next day, which meant she had to bide her time at the hotel now and try to adjust to a human schedule. Lissa’s â€Å"new† guardians, Serena and Grant, were with her, along with three extras that the queen had sent as well. Tatiana had allowed Christian to come along and hadn’t been nearly as opposed as Lissa had feared–which again made me question if the queen really was as awful as I’d always believed. Priscilla Voda, a close advisor of the queen that both Lissa and I liked, was also accompanying Lissa as she looked around the school. Two of the additional guardians stayed with Priscilla; the third stayed with Christian. They ate dinner as a group and then retired to their rooms. Serena was actually staying with Lissa in hers while Grant stood guard outside the door. Watching all this triggered a pang in me. Pair guarding–it was what I’d been trained for. What I’d been expecting my whole life to do for Lissa. Serena was a picture-perfect example of guardian aloofness, being there but not there as Lissa hung up some of her clothes. A knock at the door immediately shot Serena into action. Her stake was in hand, and she strode to the door, looking out through its peephole. I couldn’t help but admire her reaction time, though part of me would never believe anyone could guard Lissa as well as I could. â€Å"Get back,† Serena said to Lissa. A moment later, the tension in Serena faded a tiny bit, and she opened the door. Grant stood there with Christian beside him. â€Å"He’s here to see you,† Grant said, like it wasn’t obvious. Lissa nodded. â€Å"Um, yeah. Come on in.† Christian stepped inside when Grant backed away. Christian gave Lissa a meaningful look as he did, making a small head nod toward Serena. â€Å"Hey, um, would you mind giving us some privacy?† As soon as the words were out of Lissa’s mouth, she turned bright pink. â€Å"I mean†¦ we just†¦ we just need to talk about some things, that’s all.† Serena kept her face almost neutral, but it was clear she thought they were going to do more than talk. Average teen dating wasn’t usually hot gossip in the Moroi world, but Lissa, with her notoriety, attracted a bit more attention with her romantic affairs. Serena would have known Christian and Lissa had gone out and broken up. For all she knew, they were back together now. Lissa inviting him on this trip certainly suggested it. Serena glanced around warily. The balance of protection and privacy was always difficult with Moroi and guardians, and hotel rooms like this made it even harder. If they were on a vampiric schedule, with everyone sleeping during daylight hours, I didn’t doubt Serena would have stepped into the hall with Grant. But it was dark outside, and even a fifth-floor window could be a Strigoi liability. Serena wasn’t keen on leaving her new charge alone. Lissa’s hotel suite had an expansive living room and work area, with an adjacent bedroom accessible through frosted-glass French doors. Serena nodded toward them. â€Å"How about I just go in there?† A smart idea. Provided privacy but kept her close by. Then, Serena realized the implications, and she blushed. â€Å"I mean†¦ unless you guys want to go in there and I’ll–â€Å" â€Å"No,† exclaimed Lissa, growing more and more embarrassed. â€Å"This is fine. We’ll stay in here. We’re just talking.† I wasn’t sure whose benefit that was for, Serena’s or Christian’s. Serena nodded and disappeared into the bedroom with a book, which reminded me eerily of Dimitri. She shut the door. Lissa wasn’t sure how well noise traveled, so she turned the TV on. â€Å"God, that was miserable,† she groaned. Christian seemed totally at ease as he leaned against the wall. He wasn’t the formal type by any means, but he’d put on dress clothes for dinner earlier and still wore them. They looked good on him, no matter how much he always complained. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because she thinks we’re–she thinks we’re–well, you know.† â€Å"So? What’s the big deal?† Lissa rolled her eyes. â€Å"You’re a guy. Of course it doesn’t matter to you.† â€Å"Hey, it’s not like we haven’t. Besides, better for her to think that than to know the truth.† The reference to their past sex life inspired a mix of emotions–embarrassment, anger, and longing–but she refused to let that show. â€Å"Fine. Let’s just get this over with. We’ve got a big day, and our sleep’s going to be all screwy as it is. Where do we start? Do you want me to get the stake?† â€Å"No need yet. We should just practice some basic defensive moves.† He straightened up and moved toward the center of the room, dragging a table out of the way. I swear, if not for the context, watching the two of them attempt combat training on their own would have been hilarious. â€Å"Okay,† he said. â€Å"So you already know how to punch.† â€Å"What? I do not!† He frowned. â€Å"You knocked out Reed Lazar. Rose mentioned it, like, a hundred times. I’ve never heard her so proud about something.† â€Å"I punched one person once in my life,† she pointed out. â€Å"And Rose was coaching me. I don’t know if I could do it again.† Christian nodded, looking disappointed–not in her skills but because he had an impatient nature and wanted to jump right into the really hard-core fighting stuff. Nonetheless, he proved a surprisingly patient teacher as he went over the fine art of punching and hitting. A lot of his moves were actually things he’d picked up from me. He’d been a decent student. Was he at guardian levels? No. Not by a long shot. And Lissa? She was smart and competent, but she wasn’t wired for combat, no matter how badly she wanted to help with this. Punching Reed Lazar had been a beautiful thing, but it didn’t appear to be anything that would ever become natural for her. Fortunately, Christian started with simple dodging and watching one’s opponent. Lissa was just a beginner at it but showed a lot of promise. Christian seemed to chalk it up to his instructive skills, but I’d always thought spirit users had a kind of preternatural instinct about what others might do next. I doubted it would work on Strigoi, though. After a little of that, Christian finally returned to offense, and that’s when things went bad. Lissa’s gentle, healing nature didn’t mesh with that, and she refused to really strike out with her full force, for fear of hurting him. When he realized what was happening, his snarky temper started to rise. â€Å"Come on! Don’t hold back.† â€Å"I’m not,† she protested, delivering a punch to his chest that didn’t come close to budging him. He raked a hand irritably through his hair. â€Å"You are too! I’ve seen you knock on a door harder than you’re hitting me.† â€Å"That’s a ridiculous metaphor.† â€Å"And,† he added, â€Å"you aren’t aiming for my face.† â€Å"I don’t want to leave a mark!† â€Å"Well, at the rate we’re going, there’s no danger of that,† he muttered. â€Å"Besides, you can heal it away.† I was amused at their bickering but didn’t like his casual encouragement of spirit use. I still hadn’t shaken my guilt over the long-term damage that the prison break could have caused. Reaching forward, Christian grabbed her by the wrist and jerked her toward him. He balled her fingers with his other hand and then slowly demonstrated how to swing a punch upward by pulling her fist toward his face. He was more interested in showing the technique and motion, so it only brushed against him. â€Å"See? Arc upward. Make the impact right there. Don’t worry about hurting me.† â€Å"It’s not that simple†¦.† Her protest died off, and suddenly, they both seemed to notice the situation they were in. There was barely any space between them, and his fingers were still wrapped around her wrist. They felt warm against Lissa’s skin and were sending electricity through the rest of her body. The air between them seemed thick and heavy, like it might just wrap them up and pull them together. From the widening of Christian’s eyes and sudden intake of breath, I was willing to bet he was having a similar reaction at being so close to her body. Coming to himself, he abruptly released her hand and stepped back. â€Å"Well,† he said roughly, though still clearly unnerved by the proximity, â€Å"I guess you aren’t really serious about helping Rose.† That did it. Sexual tension notwithstanding, anger kindled up in Lissa at the comment. She balled her fist and totally caught Christian off guard when she swung out and socked him in the face. It didn’t have the grace of her Reed punch, but it took Christian hard. Unfortunately, she lost her balance in the maneuver and stumbled forward into him. The two of them went down together, hitting the floor and knocking over a small table and lamp nearby. The lamp caught the table’s corner and broke. Meanwhile, Lissa had landed on Christian. His arms instinctively went out around her, and if the space between them before had been small, it was nonexistent now. They stared into each other’s eyes, and Lissa’s heart was pounding fiercely in her chest. That tantalizing electric feeling crackled around them again, and all the world for her seemed to focus on his lips. Both she and I wondered later if they might have kissed, but just then, Serena came bursting out of the bedroom. She was on guardian high alert, body tense and ready to face an army of Strigoi with her stake in hand. She came screeching to a halt when she saw the scene before her: what appeared to be a romantic interlude. Admittedly, it was an odd one, what with the broken lamp and swelling red mark on Christian’s face. It was pretty awkward for everyone, and Serena’s attack mode faded to one of confusion. â€Å"Oh,† she said uncertainly. â€Å"Sorry.† Embarrassment flooded Lissa, as well as self-resentment at being affected so much by Christian. She was furious at him, after all. Hastily, she pulled away and sat up, and in her flustered state, she felt the need to make it clear that there was nothing romantic whatsoever going on. â€Å"It†¦ it’s not what you think,† she stuttered, looking anywhere except at Christian, who was getting to his feet and seemed just as mortified as Lissa. â€Å"We were fighting. I mean, practicing fighting. I want to learn to defend against Strigoi. And attack them. And stake them. So Christian was kind of helping me, that’s all.† There was something cute about her rambling, and it reminded me charmingly of Jill. Serena visibly relaxed, and while she’d mastered that blank face all guardians excelled at, it was clear she was amused. â€Å"Well,† she said, â€Å"it doesn’t look like you’re doing a very good job.† Christian turned indignant as he stroked his injured cheek. â€Å"Hey! We are too. I taught her this.† Serena still thought it was all funny, but a serious, considering glint was starting to form in her eyes. â€Å"That seems like it was more lucky than anything else.† She hesitated, like she was on the verge of a big decision. At last she said, â€Å"Look, if you guys are serious about this, then you need to learn to do it the right way. I’ll show you how.† No. Way. I was seriously on the verge of escaping the Court and hitchhiking to Lehigh to really show them how to throw a punch–with Serena as my example–when something jolted me away from Lissa and back into my own reality. Hans. I had a sarcastic greeting on my lips, but he didn’t give me a chance. â€Å"Forget the filing and follow me. You’ve been summoned.† â€Å"I–what?† Highly unexpected. â€Å"Summoned where?† His face was grim. â€Å"To see the queen.† How to cite Spirit Bound Chapter Thirteen, Essay examples

Rituals and Festivals DBQ Essay Example

Rituals and Festivals DBQ Essay As you read the section, use your RUSH note-taking skills to Remove unnecessary words and keep the key Information you need to Hold onto list two or three key points about each of the people identified below. Then, Substitute your own words. L. Government Party Politics: Write 2 key facts for each A. The Government under Washington George Washington appointed Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State Washington depended on Hamilton to supervise domestic policy because he was Secretary of the Treasury B. Hamiltonians Financial Plan Stirs Debate Hamilton proposed new taxes on goods Hamilton reasoned that a national bank would promote the general welfare C. Democratic Republicans Challenge Hamilton Thomas Jefferson was against a national bank. Hamiltonians system favored merchants from the northeast so the south began to question why they are paying taxes 1) (Page 22): How did Hamilton and Jefferson differ In their Interpretations of the Constitution? Hamilton used the Constitutions elastic clause to make a national bank while Thomas Jefferson did not believe it was right to create a national bank because he believed it was unconstitutional. II. The Struggle Over Foreign Policy A. America Has Strained Relations With Europe 1979 French Revolution began. America declared neutrality with the French and continued to trade with them throughout the revolution. 1795 America could trade with the Spanish through New Orleans. B. The Allen Sedition Acts French and American ships were fighting full-scale naval war on the high seas. Allen Act- 1798 law that allowed the government to Imprison or deport aliens. (Page 23): Why did Jays Treaty offend France? Because we didnt aid France and instead we Joined with Britain. Ill. Jefferson, Madison, and the War of 1812 A. The Supreme Court Issues a Landmark Decision 1801 John Marshall served on the Supreme Court for 35 years Judicial review, the power to decide the constitutionality of federal law. B . America Purchases Louisiana France sold Louisiana to America in 1801 Lewis and Clark explored the west C. We will write a custom essay sample on Rituals and Festivals DBQ specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Rituals and Festivals DBQ specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Rituals and Festivals DBQ specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Jefferson Embargo Impressments policy of seizing people or property for military or public service Embargo government ban or restriction on trade D. The war of 1812 1812 war with Britain 1814 British burned down Congress and White House but we still won the war. 3) (Page 24-25): What were the causes and effects of the War of 1812? Some causes were that Americans were angry with the British barriers of trade with France and impressments. Some effects were that the Native Americans were weakened and there was a lot more patriotism throughout the states. Growing Differences Between North South A. Industry Grows in the North Factories were built in the states after the industrial revolution began in Britain. Industrialization helped cities grow and gave more Jobs to European immigrants. B. Cotton Boom in the South South had more agriculture and slave labor. The cotton gin reduced time of making cloth major. 4. (Page 27): Monroe Doctrine: Write the 5 Was below: Who: Quince Adams What: tells Europeans countries to stay out of the Western hemisphere When: 1823 Why: Europe was annoying and we stayed out of their business.

Using the Spanish ‘Estar’ With Prepositions

Using the Spanish ‘Estar’ With Prepositions The verb estar is frequently followed by a preposition in ways that are uncommon with the English equivalent to be. Here are some of the common combinations: Estar a Estar a doesnt have a consistent meaning, although it is used in a variety of contexts. It can often convey the idea of being at or in a situation. As in the first four examples, it is often used this way in the first-personal plural or we form. Estmos a tres dà ­as del inicio de los juegos. (We are three days away from the games. Literally, we are at three days from the start of the games.)Estamos a 14 de febrero. (Today is Feb. 14. Literally, we are at Feb. 14.)Estamos a 30 grados. (It is 30 degrees. Literally, we are at 30 degrees.)Mi hermana est a oscuras. (My sister is ignorant of whats going on. Somewhat literally, my sister is in the dark.) Estar con In addition to indicating who someone is with, estar con can be used to indicate illnesses, what a person is wearing, and other characteristics: Tengo un amiga que est con la influenza porcina. (I have a friend who has swine flu.)Hay dà ­as que estoy con dolor constante. (There are days Im in constant pain.)Estaba con pantalones cortos y una playera blanca. (He was wearing short pants and a white T-shirt.)Cuando estamos con prisa, es fcil pasar por alto algunas prcticas de seguridad. (When were in a hurry, its easy to overlook some safety measures.)La carne estaba con mal olor. (The meat smelled bad.)Estamos con duda sobre estos medicamentos. (We are in doubt about these medications.) Estar de Temporary situations including roles, employment, and emotions are often expressed using estar de. Some examples: La red social ms popular est de cumpleaà ±os. (The most popular social network is having a birthday.)No te pongas serio. Estaba de broma. (Dont take it seriously. He was joking.)Estoy de acuerdo contigo. (I agree with you.)Mi hermano est de chofer. (My brother is working as a driver.)Estamos de vacaciones. (Were on vacation.) ¿Quà © tipos de vestidos estn de moda? (What types of clothing are in style?)Los Smith estn de aniversario. (Its the Smiths anniversary.)Los conductores estn de huelga. (The drivers are on strike.)El jefe est de un humor muy feo. (The boss is in a very ugly mood.) Estar en Estar en is often used much like to be in. Est en buena condicià ³n la carretera. (The road is in good condition.)Las autoridades locales estaban en conflicto con los operadores de turismo. (The local authorities were in conflict with the tourism operators.)Esta pgina web est en construccià ³n. (This web page is under construction.) Estar por When followed by a noun, estar por typically means to be in favor of someone or something. Estoy por la inmigracià ³n legal. (I am for legal immigration.)No es verdad que todos està ©n por la democracia. (It isnt true that everyone is for democracy.) When estar por is followed by an infinitive, it can mean that the the infinitives action has yet to occur. Often, estar por followed by an infinitive suggests that the action will occur soon. Estoy por salir de viaje desde Buenos Aires a Asuncià ³n. (I am about to leave on a trip from Buenos Aires to Asuncià ³n.)Raquel estaba por comer cuando se dio cuenta de que todos la estaban mirando. (Raquel was about to eat when she noticed that everyone was looking at her.) ¡Estamos por comenzar nuevas aventuras! (Were on the verge of beginning new adventures!) Estar sin Estar sin is used much like estar con but with the opposite meaning. (Of course, it can also mean to be without): De momento estoy sin dolor. (At the moment Im not in pain.)Unas 8.000 personas estaban sin hogar en la ciudad. (There are some 8,000 homeless people in the city.)Estoy sin dinero y sin amigos. (I am penniless and friendless.) Estar sobre Although estar sobre is usually used literally to indicate being above a person or thing, it can also be used figuratively in a way similar to the English stay on top of, meaning to closely watch or supervise. En el trabajo no es necesario estar sobre los millennials. (On the job, it isnt necessary to keep a close eye on millennials.)Todo el tiempo estoy sobre mis hijos para que estudien. (Im always hounding my children so that they study.)

A Primer on Arc Elasticity

A Primer on Arc Elasticity One of the problems with the standard formulas for elasticity that are in many freshman texts is the elasticity figure you come up with is different depending on what you use as the start point and what you use as the endpoint. An example will help illustrate this. When we looked at Price Elasticity of Demand, we calculated the price elasticity of demand when the price went from $9 to $10 and demand went from 150 to 110 was 2.4005. But what if we calculated what the price elasticity of demand when we started at $10 and went to $9? So wed have: Price(OLD)10Price(NEW)9QDemand(OLD)110QDemand(NEW)150 First wed calculate the percentage change in quantity demanded: [QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / QDemand(OLD) By filling in the values we wrote down, we get: [150 - 110] / 110 (40/110) 0.3636 (Again we leave this in decimal form) Then wed calculate the percentage change in price: [Price(NEW) - Price(OLD)] / Price(OLD) By filling in the values we wrote down, we get: [9 - 10] / 10 (-1/10) -0.1 We then use these figures to calculate the price-elasticity of demand: PEoD (% Change in Quantity Demanded)/(% Change in Price) We can now fill in the two percentages in this equation using the figures we calculated earlier. PEoD (0.3636)/(-0.1) -3.636 When calculating a price elasticity, we drop the negative sign, so our final value is 3.636. Obviously, 3.6 is a lot different from 2.4, so we see that this way of measuring price elasticity is quite sensitive to which of your two points you choose as your new point, and which you choose as your old point. Arc elasticities are a way of removing this problem. When calculating Arc Elasticities, the basic relationships stay the same. So when were calculating Price Elasticity of Demand we still use the basic formula: PEoD (% Change in Quantity Demanded)/(% Change in Price) However, how we calculate the percentage changes differ. Before when we calculated Price Elasticity of Demand, Price Elasticity of Supply,  Income Elasticity of Demand, or Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand wed calculate the percentage change in Quantity Demand the following way: [QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / QDemand(OLD) To calculate an arc-elasticity, we use the following formula: [[QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / [QDemand(OLD) QDemand(NEW)]]*2 This formula takes an average of the old quantity demanded and the new quantity demanded on the denominator. By doing so, we will get the same answer (in absolute terms) by choosing $9 as old and $10 as new, as we would choosing $10 as old and $9 as new. When we use arc elasticities we do not need to worry about which point is the starting point and which point is the ending point. This benefit comes at the cost of a more difficult calculation. If we take the example with: Price(OLD)9Price(NEW)10QDemand(OLD)150QDemand(NEW)110 We will get a percentage change of: [[QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / [QDemand(OLD) QDemand(NEW)]]*2 [[110 - 150] / [150 110]]*2 [[-40]/[260]]*2 -0.1538 * 2 -0.3707 So we get a percentage change of -0.3707 (or -37% in percentage terms). If we swap the old and new values for old and new, the denominator will be the same, but we will get 40 in the numerator instead, giving us an answer of the 0.3707. When we calculate the percentage change in price, we will get the same values except one will be positive and the other negative. When we calculate our final answer, we will see that the elasticities will be the same and have the same sign. To conclude this piece, Ill include the formulas so you can calculate the arc versions of price elasticity of demand, price elasticity of supply, income elasticity, and cross-price demand elasticity. We recommend calculating each of the measures using the step-by-step fashion we detail in the previous articles. New Formulas: Arc Price Elasticity of Demand PEoD (% Change in Quantity Demanded)/(% Change in Price) (% Change in Quantity Demanded) [[QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / [QDemand(OLD) QDemand(NEW)]] *2] (% Change in Price) [[Price(NEW) - Price(OLD)] / [Price(OLD) Price(NEW)]] *2] New Formulas: Arc Price Elasticity of Supply PEoS (% Change in Quantity Supplied)/(% Change in Price) (% Change in Quantity Supplied) [[QSupply(NEW) - QSupply(OLD)] / [QSupply(OLD) QSupply(NEW)]] *2] (% Change in Price) [[Price(NEW) - Price(OLD)] / [Price(OLD) Price(NEW)]] *2] New Formulas: Arc Income Elasticity of Demand PEoD (% Change in Quantity Demanded)/(% Change in Income) (% Change in Quantity Demanded) [[QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / [QDemand(OLD) QDemand(NEW)]] *2] (% Change in Income) [[Income(NEW) - Income(OLD)] / [Income(OLD) Income(NEW)]] *2] New Formulas: Arc Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand of Good X PEoD (% Change in Quantity Demanded of X)/(% Change in Price of Y) (% Change in Quantity Demanded) [[QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / [QDemand(OLD) QDemand(NEW)]] *2] (% Change in Price) [[Price(NEW) - Price(OLD)] / [Price(OLD) Price(NEW)]] *2] Notes and Conclusion So now you can calculate elasticity using a simple formula as well as using the arc formula. In a future article, we will look at using calculus to compute elasticities. If youd like to ask a question about the elasticities, microeconomics, macroeconomics or any other topic or comment on this story, please use the feedback form.

Fair Values in Accounting for Financial Instruments Assignment - 1

Fair Values in Accounting for Financial Instruments - Assignment Example AASB 139 defines a fair value as â€Å"the amount for which a liability or an asset may be exchanged between willing and knowledgeable parties in an arms length business deal†. Therefore, fair value accounting is a financial measurement of liabilities and assets of a company at fair value (Kemp, 2005, pp. 1-2). As a consequence of the synchronization of international accounting standards and additional disclosure requirements regarding risk and volatility, companies are changing from historical cost accounting to fair value accounting. Fair value accounting provides the users of financial statements present economic state of affairs of a company and presents a better manifestation of market values liabilities and assets, and consequently, the actual company’s worth. The companys financial statements become more relevant and useful in the marketplace for decision-making. In addition, fair value shows changes in economic conditions; thus, application of fair value for all financial assets allows investors to obtain a fairer and truer view of the actual financial situation of a company (Ryan, 2008, pp.3-4). Fair value accounting offers more comparable, accurate and timely information to investors and reflects recent information regarding future cash flows. Furthermore, in view of the fact that fair value reveals current conditions of the market, it offers comparability of the financial instruments value purchased at dissimilar times in determining the risks and value of financial instruments range (Landsman, 2006, pp.4-5) Fair value accounting also comprises of the significance and probability of all promising future cash flows and brings up to date the sharing of cash flows in future for fresh information regularly. Consequently, stakeholders and capital providers become more up to date when there is an adverse sharing of cash flows in future. Fair value accounting

Socrates and Plato's Apology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Socrates and Plato's Apology - Essay Example Much of this trial is known through Plato’s Apology (Plato, 2009). Socrates is however, innocent of the charges that are levied against him since his beliefs are a practice of his own philosophy, something that was permitted in ancient Greece, and they accept and celebrate the existence of god and the choice of people to follow him or not. His actions, thus, in no way do any harm to the religious structures of Greece. The right to dissent within certain structures was allowed and it is only this right that Socrates exercises in his life and he upholds this right throughout the trial. According to Plato’s Apology, the reason that Socrates cites for his actions is the declaration of the Oracle at Delphi of his superior wisdom over other people. By making this clear, Socrates makes clear his belief in god. The god who is associated with the Oracle of Delphi, moreover is one that is a part of the Greek pantheon of gods. The Oracle of Delphi was associated with Apollo, the s un-god of the Greek pantheon and a very important figure in the mythology of the Greeks. This would make the charges of Socrates’ atheism baseless. By asserting the wisdom of god and his lack of the same, Socrates is able to prove his innocence when faced with the charges of atheism. Socrates points out to the jury that his quest for knowledge and wisdom was essentially based on his belief in his ignorance. This ignorance presented him with a paradox when viewed in the light of the predictions of the Oracle at Delphi (Plato, 2009). An attempt to solve this paradox does not necessarily constitute an offence against god or the laws of ancient Greece. The ideas that Plato and Socrates held regarding ideas and forms entailed the superiority of what lay in heaven rather than what was present on earth (Plato, 2004). This meant that they did not malign god or question the existence of god. What they did during their lives was to affirm the presence of god in a way that was in a lot of ways, scarcely different from existing perceptions. The charges of atheism that were leveled against them were thus, not true and were based on an incorrect or incomplete understanding of their philosophies and theories. Another aspect of the case against Socrates was the allegation that he corrupted the youth with the power of his ‘sophistry’, which in those days meant a glib manner of talking that was designed to persuade a person to perform certain actions. It also had negative connotations in those times. Sophistry was considered to be the practice of the orators of those times who sought to sway the masses and the jury for their own purposes. Socrates distances himself from such accusations right at the beginning by appealing to the jury to look at not his eloquence but at the truth of his statements. Socrates counters this claim successfully by appealing to the jury to look only at the truth of his statements and not at the manner in which it was communicated. He also points out that the perception of his sophistry was built up as a result of the works of people like Aristophanes who sought to mock him with what he perceived to be cheap attempts at comedy. A brief look at the works of Aristophanes would make it clear that the claims made by Socrates in the trial regarding the attempts of people to paint him and his followers in a negative light are true. The novelty of the ideas that Socrates thought of

Sonata Allegro :: essays research papers

Sonata Allegro form was a development of the classical era. It represents a more open form than many of the earlier Baroque forms such as fugues, rondeau form, etc. While there is a formula that can be applied, there was not a rigid, formal concept for the form. Rather it evolved over the classical era and beyond. Haydn was one of the early exponents of this form. It was named "Sonata Allegro," because the final Allegro movement of a Sonata was most often created in this form. It is by no means restricted to this general rule, however. In fact there are no hard and fast rules in writing a Sonata Allegro form. However many trends can be attributed to the form, generally, Sonata Allegro form can simplistically be described as an "ABA'" form. The first A section is called the "Exposition." ( This section is repeated verbatim in classical performance, actually making the overall form "AABA'"). The B section, or "Development" follows the Exposition. It usually uses some material from the Exposition, but in a more or less radically altered way. In the A' section or "Recapitulation," the A material returns relatively intact. Each of these sections has a relatively complex internal pattern as follows: The Exposition states the main thematic elements and has its own internal form as follows: 1) A Primary key section which contains: a. the Principal or Primary Theme which is a phrase or more in length and establishes home key, b. a Transition between the Primary Theme and the Related key section. The transition can modulate to the new key, develop ideas of first theme, change mood in preparation for related key section through mood metamorphsis, introduce new material, possibly contrasting with both primary and related key sections, anticipate of ideas in second theme, be omitted, produce a deceptive modulation, or be non-modulatory if in major. 2) A Related key section which contains the Secondary or Subordinate Theme which is most often in the dominant or relative key, and can be similar or contrast in content to the Primary Theme, the Closing section, which confirms the new key, and may be derived from other themes. Next comes The Development. This is an open and free-form section of the Sonata Allegro movement, usually based on thematic materials from the Exposition. The Development can be varied in length, sometimes short and little more than a re-transition to principal theme, sometimes a large dramatic section containing a theatrical climax, sturm und drang.

Stalin: Movie Review

Yousef Khalil Modern World History Research Paper Stalin Hollywood seems to portray most of the historical movies it produces inaccurately in order for them to sell. Movie producers twist the original story and make up some facts, translated into scenes, which would attract the audience to a particular movie. But should we blame Hollywood, or the audience for being less aware of our history, and just pay to watch movies for the sake of entertainment, not caring on how historically inaccurate it is?The idea of historical events literally being rewritten for the sake of an almost fictional retelling is something that can be regarded as controversial, but the fact of the matter is that Hollywood and film writers will always be able to take a historical story and spice it up simply for the sake of creating drama and subsequent revenue as a result. These films often contain the â€Å"based on a true story† message, but as long as it is not actually classed as a factual film, there is essentially nothing wrong with taking a historical event an re-telling it for the sake of a film.Not every event in history contained enough drama to be made into a film, but as long as the general basis of the event had the potential to create drama. Hollywood will always be able to take the story and make it into a blockbuster masterpiece just as they have done in the past and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future. As long as they continue to do so, the concept is something that will continue to be shrouded in controversy from both historical enthusiasts and film critics alike. Stalin (1992) was the movie of my choice that I think has the closest historically accurate content than any other movie.Narrated by Stalin's daughter Svetlana, this begins with Stalin joining Lenin and the Bolsheviks in their fight against the government, eventually setting up their own government themselves. Most of his biography is well known to us, however this movie brings out the chara cter of Stalin as a psycho villain who did not trust a single person, not even his associates, and took extreme measures to exterminate all of them. His ego and paranoia alienated him from his friends and his family, even to the point where his wife Nadya (Julia Ormond) commits suicide and young Svetlana hates him.But in the end, he does not change, and this leads to his downfall and death. This movie really wasn’t a cinema film, but a television movie that wasn’t going to play neither in theaters nor around the world, which might count for something. This film would have been ruined by a big studio production. There is no way to â€Å"Hollywoodize† Josef Stalin. He was perhaps the worst and most brutal tyrant of the 20th century. Estimates range from 20-40 million deaths he was responsible for (Rummel, 2006) He was in no way a nice man. In him there was not an ounce of decency, only a vast void of feeling that Robert Duvall conveyed very well.The film itself al most seemed hollow or lifeless at times, and generally moved slowly. Passer's meticulous method pays off, however, with powerful performances from Plowright, Schell, and Ormond complimenting Duvall's brilliance. My whole point is Duvall is â€Å"Stalin’s† embodiment. This film is historically excellent. What most reviewers seem hung up on are accents, make-up and costumes. Most comment that it is historically inaccurate but give nothing very specific. The film is a broad overview of the life of Stalin and could never include every element of his life.All the important historical is there: the Revolution, the power struggle between Trotsky and Stalin, Stalin's rise to power, The great famines, The Great Purges and WWII. The film gives great insight into Stalin and the paranoia that he experienced and how that paranoia influenced the way he ruled over the Soviet Union. Many of the other characters were somewhat glossed over, but the film is essentially about Stalin and w hat made him tick, not about the intricate backgrounds of other revolutionaries and supporters. If the viewers don't come away from the film thinking what a bastard Stalin was, then they simply missed the point.The way that he treated his family, friends and so-called counterrevolutionaries is illustrated correctly in this film. The end of the film brings up a very important question that I think many previous reviewers had difficulty with. Fact: under Stalin the Soviet Union industrialized to levels never seen before. With industrialization, this could enable the USSR to compete in the world on par with the US. It would also lead to the development of a nuclear and hydrogen bomb, on par with the US (Brainerd, 2002). The film brings up the critical question of whether or not Stalin was necessary for the USSR.That is a powerful and thought provoking question that one carries away from this film. Any film that lingers in the viewers mind and makes them think has merit. Is it a perfect film? No. Is it historically inaccurate to merit throwing it away? Absolutely not. Robert Duvall does an excellent and convincing job of portraying a monster. But this is one of the rare biopics that offers fewer opinions and more facts. Over three hours long, the movie covers the dictator's life from his exile in Siberia, when he took the name Stalin, up to his death in 1953.It does not try to feature the then world politics and even contemporary Russia as a whole, nor does it waste further screen time on the social reaction to Stalin's policies too much. It features Stalin and only Stalin. It focuses exclusively on his personal life (naturally, since the movie is narrated by his daughter Svetlana) and his take on the fellow comrades of the party. The filmmakers remain more-or-less true to the facts, giving neither imaginative shock moments nor just plain history. Stalin’s wife committed suicide, which made me think whether that affected him psychologically later on.It is h ard to know what effect did the death of Stalin’s wife had on him. Clearly the film needed an overarching plot structure to attempt an explanation of a complex man. Unfortunately, it is impossible to get inside Stalin's head. If anything, the man was driven by hatred and little else, a hatred that is difficult to articulate, but which was at least admirably displayed in the film. The portrayals of Stalin's wife and some of his associates were less convincing. This is the fault of the script or the direction or both, not the actors.For example, Stalin's second wife Nadya was not quite the principled heroine seen here who apparently took her own life because she saw no other escape from the evil that her husband was bringing to the country. The real Nadya brought some of her own problems to her marriage and these contributed to her death. (Marsolais, 2010) Bukharin, wretched in his final weeks, may have been the best of them but that was saying little. He was not quite the nobl e, tragic ‘swan' portrayed. He was prone to hysterics, about his own problems primarily. The suffering millions could suffer as long as he was approved of.During his final imprisonment, Bukharin wrote to Stalin offering to do anything, put his name to anything, if only Stalin would be his â€Å"friend† again. (Marsolais, 2010) Stalin takes all the heat and deserves plenty, but many of the rest of the people around him seem like innocents, fooled by him, finding out too late that they were caught up in his evil and were either corrupted or destroyed by it. But Stalin, like Hitler and any other dictator, was only possible because those around him saw advantage for themselves in supporting him. If there's a problem with this film it's that it lets some of Stalin's minions off the hook.It settles for extremes: Stalin and his chiefs of secret police on the one hand, and the good or loyal but naive on the other. But the only innocents were the people of the former Soviet Unio n, those far from power whose lives were destroyed according to the requirements of a command economy. So many deaths and so many slaves were required from every walk of life, like so many tons of iron, to meet quotas. They are acknowledged in the film's dedication. Those around Stalin, however, were all up to their elbows in blood just as he was, obsessed with their own positions, Bukharin, Zinoviev, and Kamenev included.This is perhaps something to bear in mind in watching a generally excellent and historically accurate film. When evaluating Stalin, I think of it in comparison to Nixon, another biopic with similar scope and ambition. And, quite honestly, this film comes out streets ahead, for one single reason: it tries to explain what Stalin was, but not ‘why’ he was like it. There is no feeble psychoanalysis, no looking inside his mind, and no needless and questionable reconstructions of his own self-reflections. What you see in this movie is the director's interpre tation of what you might have seen if you'd followed Stalin around.He gives you the dots. You can then join them by drawing your own conclusions. It works because Duvall is fantastic at Stalin, both in terms of appearance, voice characterization, and his general manner. Having read about Stalin for some years, I had no trouble accepting that the man on the screen was the ‘Man of Steel'. The film is essentially reconstructed from the diaries of Stalin's daughter, Nadya, and therefore some aspects are historically questionable. But as historic epics go it follows the research and convention thinking quite closely; it doesn't digress into wild peculation like Stone, and doesn't propagandize either. It does make the error of dichotomizing characters into ‘good' and ‘bad' – Bukharin, for example, is portrayed as something of a great man in this film, then again, that seems to be the standard modus operandi of historical films these days. The biggest problem anyon e making a film about a tyrant will face, is exactly how much they know (or don't know) about the atrocities their regimes commit, and to what extent do they get involved: do they sit, aloof, like Hitler at Bertchesgarten. Or do they lead slaughter brigades like Amin?Stalin seems to be quite detached from it all, even when on a train travelling through the freezing, starving villages of the steppes. A rabid paranoia about being overthrown, a distrust of others, and a fierce, almost inhumane determination to meet goals were at the core of Stalin's despotism. People meant little to Stalin: they were expendable, disposable and unreliable, even his wife and children, and this idea comes through loud and clear in this well put together and quite entertaining biographical epic. Stalin appeals as a protagonist in the first years of his Soviet leadership.The film portrays him as an outcast, but one who is a firm follower of Lenin and communism. One event after another pushes him up the Sovi et leadership ladder, until he becomes the â€Å"feared leader of Russia. † What truly stirs the emotions of the viewer is how he betrays his friends and family in his fight for leadership. He purges the nation of anti-Stalinist politicians, executing many of his best friends cold-heartedly in the process. In the end, Stalin is a monumental device of terror, the funeral scene at the conclusion of the film drips with irony.Stalin appeals as a protagonist in the first years of his Soviet leadership. The film portrays him as an outcast, but one who is a firm follower of Lenin and communism. One event after another pushes him up the Soviet leadership ladder, until he becomes the â€Å"feared leader of Russia. † What truly stirs the emotions of the viewer is how he betrays his friends and family in his fight for leadership. He purges the nation of anti-Stalinistic politicians, executing many of his best friends cold-heartedly in the process. In the end, Stalin is a monument al device of terror.Works Cited: Brainerd, Elizabeth. Reassessing the standard of living in the Soviet Union: an analysis using archival and anthropometric data. London: Centre for Economic Policy Research, 2006. â€Å"How Many Did Stalin Really Murder? † The Distributed Republic. 09 Dec. 2010 ;lt;http://www. distributedrepublic. net/archives/2006/05/01/how-many-did-stalin-really-murder/;gt;. Marsolais, By Jesse. â€Å"Facing Up to Stalin – Magazine – The Atlantic. † The Atlantic — News and analysis on politics, business, culture, technology, national, international, and food – TheAtlantic. com. 09 Dec. 2010 ;lt;http://www. theatlantic. com/magazine/archive/2004/07/facing-up-to-stalin/3390/;gt;. Stalin: Movie Review Yousef Khalil Modern World History Research Paper Stalin Hollywood seems to portray most of the historical movies it produces inaccurately in order for them to sell. Movie producers twist the original story and make up some facts, translated into scenes, which would attract the audience to a particular movie. But should we blame Hollywood, or the audience for being less aware of our history, and just pay to watch movies for the sake of entertainment, not caring on how historically inaccurate it is?The idea of historical events literally being rewritten for the sake of an almost fictional retelling is something that can be regarded as controversial, but the fact of the matter is that Hollywood and film writers will always be able to take a historical story and spice it up simply for the sake of creating drama and subsequent revenue as a result. These films often contain the â€Å"based on a true story† message, but as long as it is not actually classed as a factual film, there is essentially nothing wrong with taking a historical event an re-telling it for the sake of a film.Not every event in history contained enough drama to be made into a film, but as long as the general basis of the event had the potential to create drama. Hollywood will always be able to take the story and make it into a blockbuster masterpiece just as they have done in the past and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future. As long as they continue to do so, the concept is something that will continue to be shrouded in controversy from both historical enthusiasts and film critics alike. Stalin (1992) was the movie of my choice that I think has the closest historically accurate content than any other movie.Narrated by Stalin's daughter Svetlana, this begins with Stalin joining Lenin and the Bolsheviks in their fight against the government, eventually setting up their own government themselves. Most of his biography is well known to us, however this movie brings out the chara cter of Stalin as a psycho villain who did not trust a single person, not even his associates, and took extreme measures to exterminate all of them. His ego and paranoia alienated him from his friends and his family, even to the point where his wife Nadya (Julia Ormond) commits suicide and young Svetlana hates him.But in the end, he does not change, and this leads to his downfall and death. This movie really wasn’t a cinema film, but a television movie that wasn’t going to play neither in theaters nor around the world, which might count for something. This film would have been ruined by a big studio production. There is no way to â€Å"Hollywoodize† Josef Stalin. He was perhaps the worst and most brutal tyrant of the 20th century. Estimates range from 20-40 million deaths he was responsible for (Rummel, 2006) He was in no way a nice man. In him there was not an ounce of decency, only a vast void of feeling that Robert Duvall conveyed very well.The film itself al most seemed hollow or lifeless at times, and generally moved slowly. Passer's meticulous method pays off, however, with powerful performances from Plowright, Schell, and Ormond complimenting Duvall's brilliance. My whole point is Duvall is â€Å"Stalin’s† embodiment. This film is historically excellent. What most reviewers seem hung up on are accents, make-up and costumes. Most comment that it is historically inaccurate but give nothing very specific. The film is a broad overview of the life of Stalin and could never include every element of his life.All the important historical is there: the Revolution, the power struggle between Trotsky and Stalin, Stalin's rise to power, The great famines, The Great Purges and WWII. The film gives great insight into Stalin and the paranoia that he experienced and how that paranoia influenced the way he ruled over the Soviet Union. Many of the other characters were somewhat glossed over, but the film is essentially about Stalin and w hat made him tick, not about the intricate backgrounds of other revolutionaries and supporters. If the viewers don't come away from the film thinking what a bastard Stalin was, then they simply missed the point.The way that he treated his family, friends and so-called counterrevolutionaries is illustrated correctly in this film. The end of the film brings up a very important question that I think many previous reviewers had difficulty with. Fact: under Stalin the Soviet Union industrialized to levels never seen before. With industrialization, this could enable the USSR to compete in the world on par with the US. It would also lead to the development of a nuclear and hydrogen bomb, on par with the US (Brainerd, 2002). The film brings up the critical question of whether or not Stalin was necessary for the USSR.That is a powerful and thought provoking question that one carries away from this film. Any film that lingers in the viewers mind and makes them think has merit. Is it a perfect film? No. Is it historically inaccurate to merit throwing it away? Absolutely not. Robert Duvall does an excellent and convincing job of portraying a monster. But this is one of the rare biopics that offers fewer opinions and more facts. Over three hours long, the movie covers the dictator's life from his exile in Siberia, when he took the name Stalin, up to his death in 1953.It does not try to feature the then world politics and even contemporary Russia as a whole, nor does it waste further screen time on the social reaction to Stalin's policies too much. It features Stalin and only Stalin. It focuses exclusively on his personal life (naturally, since the movie is narrated by his daughter Svetlana) and his take on the fellow comrades of the party. The filmmakers remain more-or-less true to the facts, giving neither imaginative shock moments nor just plain history. Stalin’s wife committed suicide, which made me think whether that affected him psychologically later on.It is h ard to know what effect did the death of Stalin’s wife had on him. Clearly the film needed an overarching plot structure to attempt an explanation of a complex man. Unfortunately, it is impossible to get inside Stalin's head. If anything, the man was driven by hatred and little else, a hatred that is difficult to articulate, but which was at least admirably displayed in the film. The portrayals of Stalin's wife and some of his associates were less convincing. This is the fault of the script or the direction or both, not the actors.For example, Stalin's second wife Nadya was not quite the principled heroine seen here who apparently took her own life because she saw no other escape from the evil that her husband was bringing to the country. The real Nadya brought some of her own problems to her marriage and these contributed to her death. (Marsolais, 2010) Bukharin, wretched in his final weeks, may have been the best of them but that was saying little. He was not quite the nobl e, tragic ‘swan' portrayed. He was prone to hysterics, about his own problems primarily. The suffering millions could suffer as long as he was approved of.During his final imprisonment, Bukharin wrote to Stalin offering to do anything, put his name to anything, if only Stalin would be his â€Å"friend† again. (Marsolais, 2010) Stalin takes all the heat and deserves plenty, but many of the rest of the people around him seem like innocents, fooled by him, finding out too late that they were caught up in his evil and were either corrupted or destroyed by it. But Stalin, like Hitler and any other dictator, was only possible because those around him saw advantage for themselves in supporting him. If there's a problem with this film it's that it lets some of Stalin's minions off the hook.It settles for extremes: Stalin and his chiefs of secret police on the one hand, and the good or loyal but naive on the other. But the only innocents were the people of the former Soviet Unio n, those far from power whose lives were destroyed according to the requirements of a command economy. So many deaths and so many slaves were required from every walk of life, like so many tons of iron, to meet quotas. They are acknowledged in the film's dedication. Those around Stalin, however, were all up to their elbows in blood just as he was, obsessed with their own positions, Bukharin, Zinoviev, and Kamenev included.This is perhaps something to bear in mind in watching a generally excellent and historically accurate film. When evaluating Stalin, I think of it in comparison to Nixon, another biopic with similar scope and ambition. And, quite honestly, this film comes out streets ahead, for one single reason: it tries to explain what Stalin was, but not ‘why’ he was like it. There is no feeble psychoanalysis, no looking inside his mind, and no needless and questionable reconstructions of his own self-reflections. What you see in this movie is the director's interpre tation of what you might have seen if you'd followed Stalin around.He gives you the dots. You can then join them by drawing your own conclusions. It works because Duvall is fantastic at Stalin, both in terms of appearance, voice characterization, and his general manner. Having read about Stalin for some years, I had no trouble accepting that the man on the screen was the ‘Man of Steel'. The film is essentially reconstructed from the diaries of Stalin's daughter, Nadya, and therefore some aspects are historically questionable. But as historic epics go it follows the research and convention thinking quite closely; it doesn't digress into wild peculation like Stone, and doesn't propagandize either. It does make the error of dichotomizing characters into ‘good' and ‘bad' – Bukharin, for example, is portrayed as something of a great man in this film, then again, that seems to be the standard modus operandi of historical films these days. The biggest problem anyon e making a film about a tyrant will face, is exactly how much they know (or don't know) about the atrocities their regimes commit, and to what extent do they get involved: do they sit, aloof, like Hitler at Bertchesgarten. Or do they lead slaughter brigades like Amin?Stalin seems to be quite detached from it all, even when on a train travelling through the freezing, starving villages of the steppes. A rabid paranoia about being overthrown, a distrust of others, and a fierce, almost inhumane determination to meet goals were at the core of Stalin's despotism. People meant little to Stalin: they were expendable, disposable and unreliable, even his wife and children, and this idea comes through loud and clear in this well put together and quite entertaining biographical epic. Stalin appeals as a protagonist in the first years of his Soviet leadership.The film portrays him as an outcast, but one who is a firm follower of Lenin and communism. One event after another pushes him up the Sovi et leadership ladder, until he becomes the â€Å"feared leader of Russia. † What truly stirs the emotions of the viewer is how he betrays his friends and family in his fight for leadership. He purges the nation of anti-Stalinist politicians, executing many of his best friends cold-heartedly in the process. In the end, Stalin is a monumental device of terror, the funeral scene at the conclusion of the film drips with irony.Stalin appeals as a protagonist in the first years of his Soviet leadership. The film portrays him as an outcast, but one who is a firm follower of Lenin and communism. One event after another pushes him up the Soviet leadership ladder, until he becomes the â€Å"feared leader of Russia. † What truly stirs the emotions of the viewer is how he betrays his friends and family in his fight for leadership. He purges the nation of anti-Stalinistic politicians, executing many of his best friends cold-heartedly in the process. In the end, Stalin is a monument al device of terror.Works Cited: Brainerd, Elizabeth. Reassessing the standard of living in the Soviet Union: an analysis using archival and anthropometric data. London: Centre for Economic Policy Research, 2006. â€Å"How Many Did Stalin Really Murder? † The Distributed Republic. 09 Dec. 2010 ;lt;http://www. distributedrepublic. net/archives/2006/05/01/how-many-did-stalin-really-murder/;gt;. Marsolais, By Jesse. â€Å"Facing Up to Stalin – Magazine – The Atlantic. † The Atlantic — News and analysis on politics, business, culture, technology, national, international, and food – TheAtlantic. com. 09 Dec. 2010 ;lt;http://www. theatlantic. com/magazine/archive/2004/07/facing-up-to-stalin/3390/;gt;.