Darren Skanson Essay -- essays research papers

Overview From a very early age Darren Skanson had a burning passion for music. His passion grew deeper when realized how much excitement a crowd has when watching a musical performer. In 1989, Darren graduated from Moorhead State University with a BA in music. Darren’s career first began by being a lead guitarist in a heavy metal band. The band, Mata Hari, split up in 1993. Darren then joined Malcolm Watson, who was a classical violinist, at Watson and Company. Darren and Malcolm produced the third CD for Watson and Company. Shortly after the success of producing this CD the duo traveled nationwide performing. Within a year the sales had increased from $100,000 to $250,000. Malcolm wanted to move a little more slowly than Darren in expanding their business to greater heights. Since Darren was ready to move on, he left Watson and Company to form his own company. Darren had a vision to record, produce and sell his own music, as well as the music of other artists. Jennifer, a long time friend of Darren’s was the booking agent for his tour. Jennifer did not share the same vision with Darren so they parted ways and moved on. Trying to perform, handle CEO duties and handling the promotional marketing aspect of his business was getting to be too much for Darren. Business was getting to be complicated. He decided to hire a guy named Andy Harling, who was a classical guitarist to help with the office duties of the company and to suggest/implement ways to make CCM function more efficiently. Darren turned down two performances offered by Jennifer since he was already booked. However, he did not want to lose the business and the chance to get his name out there. Darren sent Andy to perform at the two shows. Andy was very successful and gained the knowledge of how the performances operate. Darren became a little nervous when he realized that Andy could leave him and become his competition. Darren then signed Andy to a contract and launched Andy’s first CD. Over time, Andy’s responsibilities grew with his performances that Darren hired an assistant for him. Recording and productions costs were high for musicians to produce their records/CD’s. Digital then came into existence and cut the costs of production. Music is sorted by labels. Because of the low costs in digital recordings it was possible for sma... ...erent marketing segment and would need to establish their resources and overall marketing clientele. Buyers †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Darren’s buyers are mostly between the ages 40 and 60 years old. Suppliers †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Distribution centers from which he buys his supplies for inventory. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One-stop centers Substitute Products †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Acoustitherapy †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Andrew Thomas Harling †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Music for candles Recommendations †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Darren should get rid of Jennifer and find someone who is more compatible in helping him reach his goal of expanding nationally. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Increase product lines. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hire someone to operate his marketing, promotion, inventory and production costs and issues so that he can devote his time to tours and concerts. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Try signing a contract with an artist of the Independent Label level in order to help increase his branding label. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hire an agent to sign on new artists rather than doing it himself.

Management Techniques For The Red-cockaded Woodpecker On Federal Lands :: essays research papers

Management Techniques For The Red-Cockaded Woodpecker On Federal Lands ABSTRACT The red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) has been listed as an endangered species since October, 1970. This species inhabits pine forests in the southeastern United States where the majority of prime timberland is privately owned. Private ownership of preferred habitat and historically destructive silvicultural practices create unique problems for federal wildlife managers. This report analyzes three management techniques being used to assess and augment red-cockaded woodpecker populations on federal lands in the region, primarily military installations. Seeking cooperation between diverse government agencies, wildlife managers attempt to accurately assess species abundance, alter woodpecker nesting cavities, and construct nest sites in an effort to enhance red-cockaded woodpecker habitat on limited federal holdings in the American southeast. Key words: Picoides borealis, Global Positioning System, Geographic Information System, cavity trees, cavity restrictors The red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) is an endangered species that inhabits pine forests in an historical range from Texas to the Atlantic coast (Jackson, 1986; Reed et al., 1988). Picoides borealis nest in clans or family groups that usually consist of one breeding pair and 2 non-breeding male helpers (Jackson, 1986 ). This group establishes and defends a territory that includes foraging habitat and nesting "cavity trees" (Copeyon et al., 1991; Jackson et al., 1986; Rossell and Gorsira, 1996). Red-cockaded woodpecker clans excavate cavities in living pines, and have established a living and foraging routine in conjunction with the southeastern pine forests and the historical occurrence of fire, which reduces hardwood understory while sparing fire-resistant pines (Jackson, 1986). Much of the prime nesting and foraging habitat for this species has been systematically eliminated due to development, timber harvest and intensive fire suppression (Jackson, 1986). The emergence of dense hardwood understory and midstory as a result of fire suppression in red-cockaded woodpecker habitat has resulted in the abandonment of many otherwise undisturbed areas (Jackson, 1986; Kelly et al., 1993). The red-cockaded woodpecker has been listed as endangered since 1970 (Federal Register, 1970 as cited by Ertep and Lee, 1994). Four requirements for sustained red-cockaded woodpecker populations that are lacking in the species historical range are identified as critical to species stabilization and recovery: 1.) Open pine forests with shade tolerant understory controlled by cyclical fire seasons; 2.) Old growth Pinus palustrus aged > 95 years and Pinus taeda aged > 75 years; 3.) Approximately 200 acres for nesting group or clan; 4.) Multiple clans per area to maintain genetic stability and variability (Jackson, 1986). The opportunity to establish or preserve these habitat qualities on private timberland is largely lost due to historical harvest practices and development, and research on expanding populations on federal

Interview with President of Medela Corporation

For this interview, I was so fortunate to have President of Medal Corporation Dry. Quickens with me on Monday. Dry. Quickens as a guest speaker for course ASSESS operation management invited by Professor Burger. Medal Corporation is a company provides quality products like breastplate and breastfeeding accessories for the needs of nursing mothers around the world. Medal is a Swiss privately held company; it based in Machinery, IL, has more than 600 of employees with about $400 million revenue last year.They are business-to-business based company have about 6,000 customers around 35 countries worldwide. He mentioned their product flow process, the first two steps kind like the Chapter 3 in the textbook. First, they will do Forecasting which also means estimate how many PANS retail customers will order so their supplier â€Å"MINCE† can buy parts to build product for them. The reason for that is because Medal products only when they get an order, also known as â€Å"make-to-ord er†, not â€Å"make-to-stock†.Second step is Demand Planning; elect all PANS' forecast by all departments, retailers, hospitals and hundreds of MINCE Stock keeping units as well. Then is Supply Chain using lead times ERP software calculates parts to order and when, also the pre-step of purchasing. After that they Purchasing, taking Customer orders, making Production Planning, then having Warehouse ready and finally they start Production process and shipping them to customers around nationwide.Then Medal realized getting breast milk from mom to baby is not enough for them from the marketing point of view. As its target market evolves, they should continue to stay relevant to their customer's needs, which is mom. Mom nowadays is very different from any pried of time with different values, behaviors and media habits. The things like social media and smartness. These Moms are true digital native people. So, in order to truly connect their special needs, Medal come up the id ea to build a social media system.By using this way, they not only could give mothers' access to the information and education about the benefits o proper use their feeding system, but also as part of company's social media strategy, it also essential for facilitating their brand relationship with mothers' values and trusts. Medal's development plan is focusing on helping mothers meet their breastfeeding goals, and support their efforts, which is to breastfeed longer. Mothers can communicate their experiences to each other through this software. Also by providing this software 2417 all day ability support and available for all the mothers.The benefit from the marketing point of view on the one hand could attracted more mothers using this, on the other hand could help them to build a biggest and activist mother social communities ever. Mothers actually get points according to how active they are on the site. By reaching certain points Medal will send they some coupon online. And for the company later could use this to lunch their new products with low cost of advertising all thanks for this brilliant system. Dry. Quickens mentioned â€Å"its not about price for our products, its about the products experiences and what can do for all their customers. †

Catherine II was Russia’s first ruler, who was considered as enlightened

Catherine II was Russia's first ruler, who was considered as enlightened. As a child growing up in Germany, she was given an enlightened education. She enthusiastically read ‘enlightened' literature, and soon became a disciple of the enlightenment. As Empress she continued to read the works of Locke, Montesquieu, and Voltaire. Although it is widely accepted that Catherine II was an enlightened despot, it has also been argued that she did nothing more than allow the continuation of policies that had began in the reign of Peter I; â€Å"Although she claimed to be an enlightened despot, Catherine II did no more than continue the policies of her predecessors. † Another argument as to why Catherine didn't carry out more enlightened reforms was due to her not wanting to make these enlightened reforms; the policies that Catherine II adopted were not adopted because of her beliefs, and/or her desire to create an ‘enlightened society', but were instead taken out to maintain her power, and to satisfy her vanity. Historians like Harris claim that Catherine only appeared to be enlightened to enhance her reputation with the philosophes. This view is also taken by R. Charques, who states that the â€Å"enlightenment in Catherine was not much deeper than her vanity; despotism on the other hand was implicit in her ambition. â€Å"1 There has also been the case that Catherine had recognised the danger of going too far and/or too fast. She had experience the downfall of her husband for doing just that. As H. Nickelson puts it â€Å"No despot was ever more subtly aware that politics is the art of the possible and that everything can be lost if a states mangoes too far, or too fast† Another valid argument is that Catherine became more conservative, and less willing to change the laws of Russia, on the lines of the enlightenment, as she got older, and had come to realise the scale of problems which faced Russia. The enthusiasm with which she began her reign soon faded as the reality of Russian backwardness and it's intolerance to change sank in. Harris sums up this point: â€Å"she coarsened with the exercise of power, her early idealism was abandoned as she learnt to understand the complexities of the Russian situation, and thus her enlightenment was only skin deep† A Key limitation to her ‘enlightening' Russia was the role that the nobility played in supporting and maintaining her power. Although the aristocracy were glad to be rid of the ‘insane' Peter III, Catherine had no claim to the throne. Many in Russia believed that she should only be regent for her son Paul, or that the ex Tsar Ivan IV should be re appointed. However with the support of the nobility Catherine could retain power for herself. But without the support of the nobility there was always the danger of the army who had so easily placed her on the throne could just as easily displace her. With all these limitations on her power Oppenheim asks: â€Å"would she attempt to put into practice some of her modern ideas about which she had read, or would she continue to govern Russia in the traditional mannor. â€Å"4 Since the death of Peter I, the nobles had slowly begun to increase their powers. Their compulsory state service, which Peter I had set up, was firstly cut to twenty-five years in the reign of Anna, and later in the reign of Peter III it was completely abolished, for that of hereditary peers, thus securing the role of the nobility in Russian society. Immediately after the death of Peter I there was an attempt by some nobles to restrict the power of the crown, via a supreme secret council. Cowie claims, † It consisted of six members drawn from the old and the new nobility. It's powers included complete control of legislation, but it aroused such opposition from the nobility that these had to be restricted. â€Å"5 It is clear to see that the nobility then were powerful enough to attempt to limit the autocracy, which Peter I had established. However their own class opposed them, which left the councils power restricted. The supreme council tried some years later to limit the power of the monarchy. Upon the nomination of Anna as Empress, she was presented with a document that she had to sign in order to be crowned. This document would have allowed the nobles to have a share in how the state was run. â€Å"This would have been to turn her into a constitutional monarch. â€Å"6 Cowie also agrees with this statement; â€Å"If put into practice these proposals would have replaced Russian autocracy by an oligarchy. â€Å"7 However the document didn't carry the mass support of the nobility. Again the nobility, which had the power to initiate a constitution, also had the power to stop its implementation. The ‘constitutional rights' they requested in 1730 were more restrictive on the crown than those they had asked for in 1725, which supports the idea that the nobles had increasingly gained power after the death of Peter I. In 1730 the Privy Council itself went against the wish of Empress Catherine I (who had nominated her daughter Elizabeth if Peter II should die) and instead choose and crowned Anna Duchess of Courland. Not only was central government under more influence from the nobility, but local government too was rapidly falling back into the hands of the nobility. During the reign of Peter II the nobles who ruled on behalf of the boy- tsar, began to take back some powers in local government which Peter I had taken away. As Harris Puts it † if Peter II had lived long, all of the work Peter the great had done would have been undone. â€Å"8 Cowie also argues this point; â€Å"the reign of this boy czar was a triumph for the conservative nobility. † After the death of the Empress Elizabeth in 1762, Peter III became Tsar, and Catherine became his Tsarina. During his short reign Peter managed to alienate the Russian nobility in particular the guards and the army. He even antagonised the church and the senate. Dukes claims, â€Å"the guards could still make an empress or break an emperor. â€Å"10 He goes on to say that Catherine had the support of these valuable guards and could control them through Orlov, her lover at the time, and that she used this power to overthrow her husband Peter III. Madarianga agrees with Duke's statement, she claims that â€Å"Catherine's many friends in the army joined in a plot to dethrone Peter III, and seized power with her full approval and participation†11 During the coup of 1762 the support of the nobility ensured the quick and efficient disposition of Peter III, which according to Oppenheim was virtually bloodless, and an easy victory for Catherine, in which the crown was practically offered to Catherine. Oppenheim the claims that the experiences of a poor ruler like Peter III meant that â€Å"Catherine could only expect to retain as long as she able to demonstrate that she was an effective ruler. This argument has also been supported by Lentin; â€Å"as such she remained permanently dependant on the good will of the nobility who could dethrone her as easily as they had raised her up. â€Å"13 I too agree with both Lentin and Oppenheim, as Catherine's first priority was to safeguard her own position, because those who had enthroned her could just as easily dispose of her. Harris on the other hand claims that Catherine could rely on the devotion of those who had gotten her in to power, and also on the fact that Russia was accustomed to an autocracy, and therefore would not have had to worry about appeasing the nobility. I disagree with this claim, although Catherine could rely on the devotion of the conspirators she still had to maintain the support of the rest of the nobility. As Lentin writes â€Å"It was after all, for antagonising the nobility that her husband and her son each met his death. â€Å"14 Catherine had watched the downfall of Peter III, and wasn't going to make his mistakes. On coming to power Catherine had inherited a nation whose workforce was predominantly conscripted. The serfs worked for the nobles, and although in theory Catherine was against serfdom, she knew few nobles would support her in any move to free the serfs. Oppenheim claims that Catherine knew that â€Å"abolishing or even reducing serfdom would entail enormous social upheaval and violent protests from the nobles; and that she lacked the administrative machinery and armed forces to enforce such a reform against their wishes. â€Å"15 Princess Dashkora also tells of the noble's unwillingness to emancipate the serfs she wrote, â€Å"a noble would have to be out of his mind to voluntarily surrender the source of his own prosperity. Madarianga disagrees with Oppenheim she says that Catherine is criticised â€Å"for giving away thousands of free peasants to her favourites and public savants, thus enserfing them†. This view is also taken by Harris who claims that the Russian occupation of the Ukraine â€Å"brought with it the oppressions of state power, taxation, forced labour and serfdom†17 Lentin takes neither views he instead takes the view that the circumstances prevented Catherine from helping the serfs not the nobles; â€Å"The gulf between noble and serf was had grown too wide for Catherine to bridge it. Faced with such an impasse she could do nothing. â€Å"18 I agree with both Harris and Madarianga because Catherine introduced serfdom to parts of her empire where it did not exist, where the nobles would not have pushed for it. On her own estates and lands the condition of the serf also worsened. By the end of her reign over a million people were enserfed by Catherine. Catherine was brought closer to the nobility in 1773-75, during the Pugachev revolt. Lentin states that the revolt made the â€Å"autocracy and the nobility wield together in a common self defence. â€Å"20 Harris also suggests that the Pugachev revolt aligned Catherine with the nobility; â€Å"her autocracy had been shown to rest squarely upon the support of the nobility. Stephen Lee has commented that the Pugachev revolt was an important stage in her reign, which made her see the extent of Russia's problems. This is said to have forced her to abandon radical social reform, and instead maintain the existing social structure. Oppenheim has also claimed that the Pugachev revolt made Catherine more dependent on the nobility â€Å"the revolt undoubtedly increased social division and made both Catherine and the nobles aware of their dependence on each other. â€Å"21 The Pugachev revolt prompted Catherine to declare that she was â€Å"an aristocrat, it is my duty, and my profession. † The Pugachev revolt showed Catherine that she needed the nobility to maintain peace, stability, law and order. Thus at this point much of her enlightened were abandoned in order to appease the nobility and to reward them. The Pugachev revolt showed the need for a more efficient local government, as Pugachev's early successes were due to poor local administration. Catherine changed Peter I' system of government, which brought the nobility under the central government, to a system which enlisted the co-operation of the nobility in the running of local government. This gave the nobles the authority to govern the provinces in co-operation with central government. Harris sums up this point â€Å"Central government was recruiting from the nobility; they appointed the nobility to be governors and councillors, and the latter ruled the provinces in co-operation with the local nobility. â€Å"22 Oppenheim argues that Catherine had not given away any significant power away in the reforms of 1775 â€Å"since it was still the governor appointed by her who made all the noteworthy decisions at a local level. â€Å"23 Treasure sums up Oppenhiem's point â€Å"skilfully Catherine presented the with the semblance of government†¦. She preserved the real power for those she chose the governors. † I agree with Treasure that Catherine retained the real power herself, while appearing to appease/ give in to the nobles. The reforms of 1775 bound the nobles to the crown closer than ever before. The reforms of 1775 led directly to the charter of the nobility 1785. â€Å"Her recognition of the shared interests of Tsar and the nobles was made explicit in the charter of the nobility. â€Å"24 The charter established the social pre-eminence of the nobility, and recognised them as a privileged caste with defined rights. Harris claims that â€Å"by recognising the privileges of the nobility, her own autocracy was left unchallenged, and with the support of the nobility she made Russia the dominant state in Eastern Europe†25 Oppenheim takes the viewpoint that â€Å"to her the charter meant that there was a firm legal basis for the social structure in Russia, instead of the archaic social system of Peter the great. For a ruler intent on giving Russia an enlightened and rational system of government this was a necessity. â€Å"26 Alexander claims that the charter didn't increase the power of the nobility it merely confirmed in law the power they already had. I agree with Harris that the charter had aligned Catherine with the nobility. Any threats of a coup by the noble receded. The nobles had received what they wanted, secured privileges and status. Catherine had ensured that she retained all significant power. As Oppenheim puts it â€Å"The nobles now worked as willing junior partners of state, instead of unwilling servants of Peter I. Catherine II's achievements in her reign were coniderable. However she is often critised for being insincere e. g for not bring about the sweeping reforms that she had advocated at the start of her riegn. Many of her critics question just how genuine Catherine really was. Many historians now believe that Catherine wasn't a true disciple of the enlightenment, but instead used the principles of the enlightenment to advance her own popularity, and to satify her own vanity. Lentin supports the idea that Catherine wasn't a genuine enlightened despot. He goes as far to say that Catherine was a hypocrite, who used â€Å"enlightened slogans as amask to conceal unenlightened policies†27 Harris supports the notion that Catherine was not truly an enlightened despot, but was instead concerned with her reputation with the philosophes and Western Europe. He tells us that Catherine was at great pains to show herself as an apt pupil of the disciples. Oppenhiem also agrees with Harris that her policies contradicted many of her writings. The Nakaz in particular was hypocritical, designed purely to impress the western philosophes. This helps to explain why very few of her ideals which shehad once read about were ever put in to practice. In some cases Catherine actually did the opposite to what the enlightenment proposed. Catherine made Russian society even more unfair. She cemented the privileges of the Russian nobility in law. As Shennen puts it â€Å"The liberties of the nobles constituted the liberties of a state or class and had significance precisely because other segments of the population, notably serfs, did not share them†28 On the other hand Blackwood suggests that Catherine was a genuine reformer, however the problems that faced Russia prevented her ideas from becoming a reality. James White supports Blackwoods claim, and he writes â€Å"altogether it is fair to describe Catherine as almost certainly enlightened in her wishes. 29 Andrews sums up both Blackwood and white's argument; â€Å"Catherine was evidently influenced by the ideas of the philosophes but the size of Russia, the political power of the nobles and her own programme of conquest all prevented their being put into practice. † I personally agree with the argument that Catherine was genuinely ‘enlightened', and that the reason why she couldn't incorporate enlightened reform into Russian law was the complexities of the Russian situation. Catherine herself put this predicament well, when she wrote to Diderot; â€Å"With all your great principles which I understand very well, one would make fine books but very bad business. You forget in all your plans of reform the diference in our positions; you only work on paper which endures all things, but I poor Empress, work on the human skin which is irritable and ticklish to a very different degree. † â€Å"The most important reason why Catherine II could not achieve her enlightened ambitions was her dependence on the nobility. † To what extent do you agree with this view?

Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 9

â€Å"I don't understand this,† said Seth good-naturedly. â€Å"I catch you stripping in front of other men, yet I'm the one who gets punished.† Clasping his hand, I led him onto the ice skating rink. Just like with dancing, I glided with practiced ease. Seth's movements were jerky and uncertain. Without my hand, I suspected he would have fallen already. â€Å"This is good for you, Mortensen. You sit at a desk – or table or whatever – all day. This'll get your muscles working again. Get the old blood pumping.† His teasing smile turned into a grimace, his hold on my hand turning into a death grip. â€Å"There are a hundred other ways I could do that.† â€Å"But none as fun,† I assured him. Seth was brilliant and funny, but coordinated he was not. During the early days of our acquaintance, I'd tried to teach him to dance. It had been grueling. After a very long time, he'd learned the basic steps, but the process had never been easy – or, I suspected, enjoyable – for him. I'd let him off easy since then, only making him go out dancing once. He'd grown complacent now, which was why I felt this experience would be so good for him. â€Å"Men were not meant to wear blades on their feet,† he told me as we trudged further toward the rink's center. We were outdoors, at a small park, and our breathing made frosty clouds in the air. â€Å"Women weren't meant wear to stilettos,† I told him. â€Å"But you don't hear me bitching about it.† â€Å"That's different. They do great things for your legs. This? This just makes me look stupid.† â€Å"Well, then,† I said. â€Å"You better learn. Time to take off the training wheels.† I released his hand. â€Å"Hey! What the – â€Å" But I was gone, slipping away from his grasp with a laugh. He stood there frozen while I skated away, circling the rink in graceful loops and figure eights. After a few rounds, I skated back up to him, finishing with a neat pirouette. He hadn't moved from the spot where I'd left him, but he no longer appeared annoyed. â€Å"Look at you,† he said, touching my face. â€Å"Rosy cheeks. Snowflakes in your hair. You're the Snow Queen.† â€Å"God, I hope not. That's a depressing story. Hans Christian Andersen had issues.† â€Å"All writers have issues,† he assured me. I laughed and took his arm, leading him around in more awkward skating. My legs and feet protested the slow movement, but the rest of me was happy to have quality time with Seth. â€Å"Speaking of writers with issues,† I said. â€Å"How can I get in trouble for stripping in front of other men when you have a date with another woman?† If not for the fact he would have fallen over, I suspect Seth would have elbowed me. â€Å"That's your own fault,† he said. â€Å"You made me do it, so don't get all jealous now.† â€Å"I'm not jealous – but I think Maddie does have a crush on you.† â€Å"Unlikely. It's probably just author worship.† He gave me a pointed look. â€Å"Like some people I know. If anything, she's got a crush on you.† â€Å"Oh, for God's sake, stop with the lesbian fantasy thing.† â€Å"Nah, nothing like that. She just idolizes you, that's all. You're chipping away at that insecure exterior of hers, and I think she's starting to really see how much she's capable of. You're sort of setting the example.† I hadn't considered that. â€Å"Really?† â€Å"Yup. Keep training her up, and we'll have a mini-Georgina on our hands.† Seth chuckled as we made a painstakingly slow turn. â€Å"Between her, that new succubus, and my nieces, you should start a Ladies Finishing School. How can you be such a good influence and have such a†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Demeaning job?† I supplied. â€Å"Something like that. Of course, I suppose it could be worse.† I gave him a sidelong glance. â€Å"Could it?† â€Å"Yeah, you could, like, sell Amway or be trying to get me to move large amounts of money out of Nigeria.† â€Å"Definite deal breakers in any relationship,† I said solemnly. He looked over at me, rather brave considering the intense attention he'd been giving his feet. Under the rink's soft lights, his expression was tender. His lips curled into a small, fond smile, and his eyes shone with an affection that almost made me go weak in the knees. Maybe it was a trick to get me to fumble my skating. It nearly worked. â€Å"For you?† he said, coming to a stop. â€Å"It might be worth it.† â€Å"Worth cleaning out your bank account?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Worth being part of a pyramid scheme?† â€Å"They say they don't do that anymore.† â€Å"What if they're lying?† â€Å"Thetis,† he said with a sigh. â€Å"I'm going to say something to you I've never said before.† â€Å"What is it?† â€Å"Be quiet.† And then he leaned down and kissed me, bringing warmth to my cold lips. Nearby, I heard children giggle at us, but I didn't care. I felt the kiss down to my toes. It was brief, like always, but when Seth pulled away, my whole body was filled with heat. Every nerve in me tingled, alive and wonderful. I barely noticed the chilly temperature or the way our breathing formed frosty clouds in the air. He laced his fingers through mine and lifted my hand to his lips. I had gloves on, but he kissed exactly where I wore his ring. â€Å"Why are you so sweet?† I asked, my voice small. My heart beat rapidly, and every star peeping through the clouds seemed to be shining just for me. â€Å"I don't think I'm that sweet. I mean, I just told you to be quiet. That's one step away from asking you to wash my laundry and make me a sandwich.† â€Å"You know what I mean.† Seth pressed another kiss to my forehead. â€Å"I'm sweet because you make it easy to be sweet.† We linked arms again and continued our circuit. I had a sappy urge to rest my head against his shoulder but figured that might be asking too much of his coordination. â€Å"What do you want for Christmas?† I asked, my thoughts spinning ahead to next week. â€Å"I don't know. There's nothing I need.† â€Å"Oh no,† I teased. â€Å"You aren't one of those, are you? One of those people who are impossible to shop – â€Å" One of Seth's feet slipped out from under him. I managed to stay upright, but he went down, his legs crumpling underneath him. â€Å"Oh my God,† I said, kneeling down. â€Å"Are you okay?† â€Å"I think so,† he said. The tight set of his lips informed me things were a bit more painful than he was letting on. Putting my arm around his hip, I helped him up. The leg he'd fallen on started to buckle, but he managed to keep it steady in the end. â€Å"Come on,† I said, steering him toward the gate. â€Å"We should go.† â€Å"We just got here.† â€Å"Oh, suddenly you're a fan, Scott Hamilton?† â€Å"Nope, but you are. It was just a fall.† Maybe it had been just a fall, but the thought of Seth getting hurt had made my heart seize up. â€Å"No, no. Let's go. I'm hungry.† The expression on his face informed me that he knew I wasn't that hungry, but he didn't fight me anymore. When we'd shed our skates for normal shoes, I was pleased to see he didn't walk with a limp or anything. That would have really been too much: him getting hurt and having it be my fault. â€Å"I'm not made of glass,† he told me as we drove to dinner. He was remarkably good at guessing my thoughts. â€Å"You don't have to protect me.† â€Å"It's instinct,† I said, lightly. But in my mind, I recalled the grim conversation he'd had with Erik. They were mortal. They could get hurt. They could die. It was something I'd witnessed over and over throughout the centuries. Each time I grew close to a new mortal, I'd try to pretend that it wouldn't happen to him or her. But it always did, and eventually that cold reality would hit me, no matter how hard I tried to push it aside. In fact, that knowledge consumed me for the rest of my night with Seth. I knew it was stupid to make such a big deal out of one fall, but I'd seen too many small things lead to disaster in my life. Lying in bed beside him later on, I found myself thinking back to a series of events that had also started small and ended in tragedy. Several centuries ago, I lived in a small town in southern England. I'd called myself Cecily then and worn a body with flaming red hair and big, man-eating eyes the color of sapphires. Funny thing about the Middle Ages. Modern folk always harbor this image of devout, God-fearing people strictly adhering to the letter of divine law. While they were certainly devout back then, that whole adherence thing left something to be desired – even among the clergy. No, scratch that. Especially among the clergy. Powerful churchmen often lived very well in an age where commoners desperately tried to scratch out a living. Ironically, that desperation contributed to the Church's wealth since the population hoped their lots would improve in the next world and gave money accordingly. Wealth and power lead to corruption, however, and the bishop of the town I lived in was one of the most corrupt around. And I was his mistress. Ostensibly, I worked as a servant in his household, but most of my laboring occurred in bed. He fawned over me and kept me supplied with nice clothes and other trinkets, and everyone knew about our relationship. People accepted that it was technically wrong, but most just lived with it. A lot of other bishops – and popes – had mistresses too, and like I said, not everyone was as devout as modern romantics like to believe. Simply living in sin with a crooked bishop didn't satisfy my job requirements. After all, I was a real go-getter in those days, and it hadn't taken too much to lead him astray. If I hadn't done it, someone else would have. So, I slept around on him when I could, getting regular fixes and a great deal of entertainment along the way. One day of said entertainment came from two monks who pulled knives on each other after discovering I'd slept with both of them. I don't know what good they thought it would do. I hardly ever saw them anyway since their monastery lay so far outside of town. Besides, considering how mediocre both liaisons had been, I didn't have much interest in revisiting either one. Nonetheless, they fought ferociously, drawing a lot of blood until a local priest managed to separate them. I watched the conflict with an innocent face, hidden among the enthusiastic crowd. No one suspected my involvement, save the intervening priest. His name was Andrew, and I adored him. Bishops performed masses and other sacraments, but they also had administrative responsibilities. Consequently, Andrew performed a lot of day-to-day ministering. He frequently visited the house where I lived and would speak to me both as a friend and a pastor while traveling to and from his duties. â€Å"Do you hate me?† I asked him after the fight. We sat in the garden outside the bishop's house. A couple other servants tended the grounds nearby but were still too far away to overhear us. Andrew hadn't specifically cited my involvement in the fight, but he had mentioned the incident when he arrived, lamenting what a shame it was that two brothers had been driven to such extremes. Closing his eyes, he tipped his head back into the sunshine. A heavy gold cross – a gift from my bishop that Andrew continually wanted to sell – rested on his chest, gleaming in the light. â€Å"No, of course not.† I studied him, admiring his young, handsome face and thinking the real shame was his celibacy. Wind ruffled his silky brown hair, and I imagined running my fingers through it. â€Å"You sound disapproving.† â€Å"I disapprove of sin, not of you.† He straightened back up and opened his eyes. â€Å"You I pray for.† I shifted uncomfortably. I didn't like being prayed for. â€Å"What do you mean?† He smiled at me, and I nearly sighed at his beauty. I longed to have him as a conquest, but he'd proven resistant so far. Of course, that only added to his appeal. I sometimes felt that if I could ever taste it, the energy from his soul would feed me for a lifetime. â€Å"I pray for your physical and spiritual health. I pray you will sin no more. I pray you will find some man you can marry and have children with.† He hesitated. â€Å"Although, I'd prefer it more if you took vows.† I arched an eyebrow of surprise. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Why not? You read and write. You're more educated than half the brothers at the monastery. You'd be a great asset to the abbey.† I tilted my head so that some of my hair spilled over my face, knowing how the light would set it ablaze. I held onto his gaze tenaciously. â€Å"Is that the only reason why? Or do you just like the idea of me never being with another man?† Andrew looked away and took a long time answering. â€Å"I'd like you to be my sister in Christ,† he said finally. â€Å"We all struggle with temptation, and I would like to see you removed from it.† With that, he stood up and straightened the kinks from his body. I remained sitting. â€Å"I should leave. It's getting late.† He started to walk away, but I called after him. â€Å"What about you? Do you struggle with temptation?† He stopped walking and glanced at me over his shoulder. A small smile, rueful and sad, played at his lips as he regarded me. â€Å"Of course. You are my great temptation, and you know it. I'd like to be free of that as well.† â€Å"Are you sure?† I asked softly. Shaking his head, still smiling, he left the garden. That had been our last truly happy day together†¦. Back in the present, in bed, sleepiness started to take over and interrupt my recollections. I put a bookmark in my thoughts, reluctant to leave the memory of when life with Andrew had still been sweet and good. I hadn't been able to stop that story's ending, but as I rolled over and studied Seth's sleeping form, I vowed history wouldn't repeat itself.

American history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

American history - Essay Example This part of the study will discuss about several successes that were achieved by the government of the United States of America under the articles of the confederation. Under this article of the confederation, the colonists of America fought against the soldiers of Great Britain with their full strength and achieved independence. The government of the United States of America succeeded to maintain a strong unity by keeping 13 different states together. In addition to this, these states stayed together for a longer period of time in order to realize the importance of unity. The Land Ordinance of the 1785 was the most effective territory expansion plan introduced by the government of the United States of America under the articles of confederation. The government of the United States of America raised huge money by selling the lands. It helped government to source and allocate required fund for several planned projects and development programs. In addition to this, this sourcing of fu nds or capital helped the government of the United States of America to repay the previous debt account (Collins 136). It helped the country to achieve significant economic growth rate. Under this article of confederation, government of the United States of America introduced several public development projects. For example, government initiated Section 16. It was the designated for the development of several public schools. Northwest Ordinance is also considered as one of the key successes of the government under the articles of confederation. The government of the country planned for the establishment of governments in different territories. It helped the government of the Unite States of America to maintain discipline and sustainability in these territories (Kellogg 58). Government of the country developed several processes for these territories to become a state. It helped the government of the country to reform and improve overall economic and social condition of these territor ies. In addition to this, government of the United States of America succeeded to expand fundamental democratic rights into the Northwest region. Aspects like Freedom of speech for common people, no slavery, trial by jury and freedom of speech for press were guaranteed by the Congress. In addition to this, government of the United States of America succeeded to prepare a constitution for the country including these territories and states which approved by the Congress. Several developed laws and regulations developed by the government of states helped to maintain peace and control the social life in the newly developed states. Failures of government under the Articles of Confederation The inherent weakness in the Articles of Confederation arises from the fact that it is called a confederacy. The sovereign power was placed in the hands of the states of the America. This fact was explicitly stated in Article II of the confederation which states that each state will retain the freedom, sovereignty, independence, jurisdiction, power and right. Such distribution of power was chosen by the Founding Fathers since Americans colonist were very wary of the national governments (Feinberg 78). They have to deal with the British Crown for many years; the American colonies did not want to make another out-of-touch national government. During this short lifespan, the Articles of Confederation became ineffective at governing the growing American states. The main cause for this

Capitalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Capitalism - Essay Example In the political context, capitalism is the system of  freedom and legally it rules of law  opposed to rule of man. Economically men’s freedom is applied to the sphere of production. In the modern time, economists argue that capitalism works as a system of natural forces with the supply and demand that tends toward equilibrium. Governance here serves as the main distortion of capitalism and any opposition to capitalism is equal to the opposition to the markets. While Scott (2006) argues about the capitalism to be defined as an economic system with private actors to own and manage the use of property, the pricing mechanism coordinates supply and demand in the markets in the best interests of society. Government, in this view is responsible for tolerable taxes. In the simple word, Murray (2012) considers capitalism lifted the world out of poverty since it gave people to be richer as they create value and reaping the rewards. Thus, the concept of capitalism is perceived as th e indirect governance for economic, political and administrative relationship where organized markets exist with the set of institutional foundations with various rights and responsibilities that are created and regulated under the protection of a political authority (Rand, Branden, Greenspan & Hessen, 1986). While capitalism is taken for granted for many people, Wright (2007) states that certain behaviors of economic policies of the government may receive great criticism where capitalism as such is able to develop the negative consequences. Some bad effect of capitalism involves human misery and thwarted lives (Wright, 2007) and in general capitalism generates unnecessary human suffering. It raises the question of greed with exaggerated single-minded pursuit of self- interest which is in the context of capitalism to be the economic system that is driven by the profits.