Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings Chapter 1~2

For Jim Darling, Flip Nicklin, and Meagan Jones: extraordinary people who do extraordinary work Fluke (flook) 1. A stroke of good luck 2. A chance occurrence; an accident 3. A barb or barbed head, as on a harpoon 4. Either of the two horizontally flattened divisions of the tail of a whale PART ONE The Song An ocean without its unnamed monsters would be like a completely dreamless sleep. – JOHN STEINBECK The scientific method is nothing more than a system of rules to keep us from lying to each other. – KEN NORRIS CHAPTER ONE Big and Wet Next Question? Amy called the whale punkin. He was fifty feet long, wider than a city bus, and weighed eighty thousand pounds. One well-placed slap of his great tail would reduce the boat to fiberglass splinters and its occupants to red stains drifting in the blue Hawaiian waters. Amy leaned over the side of the boat and lowered the hydrophone down on the whale. â€Å"Good morning, punkin,† she said. Nathan Quinn shook his head and tried not to upchuck from the cuteness of it, of her, while surreptitiously sneaking a look at her bottom and feeling a little sleazy about it. Science can be complex. Nate was a scientist. Amy was a scientist, too, but she looked fantastic in a pair of khaki hiking shorts, scientifically speaking. Below, the whale sang on, the boat vibrated with each note. The stainless rail at the bow began to buzz. Nate could feel the deeper notes resonate in his rib cage. The whale was into a section of the song they called the  «green » themes, a long series of whoops that sounded like an ambulance driving through pudding. A less trained listener might have thought that the whale was rejoicing, celebrating, shouting howdy to the world to let everyone and everything know that he was alive and feeling good, but Nate was a trained listener, perhaps the most trained listener in the world, and to his expert ears the whale was saying – Well, he had no idea what in the hell the whale was saying, did he? That's why they were out there floating in that sapphire channel off Maui in a small speedboat, sloshing their breakfasts around at seven in the morning: No one knew why the humpbacks sang. Nate had been listening to them, observing them, photographing them, and poking them with stick s for twenty-five years, and he still had no idea why, exactly, they sang. â€Å"He's into his ribbits,† Amy said, identifying a section of the whale's song that usually came right before the animal was about to surface. The scientific term for this noise was  «ribbits » because that's what they sounded like. Science can be simple. Nate peeked over the side and looked at the whale that was suspended head down in the water about fifty feet below them. His flukes and pectoral fins were white and described a crystal-blue chevron in the deep blue water. So still was the great beast that he might have been floating in space, the last beacon of some long-dead space-traveling race – except that he was making croaky noises that would have sounded more appropriate coming out of a two-inch tree frog than the archaic remnant of a superrace. Nate smiled. He liked ribbits. The whale flicked his tail once and shot out of Nate's field of vision. â€Å"He's coming up,† Nate said. Amy tore off her headphones and picked up the motorized Nikon with the three-hundred-millimeter lens. Nate quickly pulled up the hydrophone, allowing the wet cord to spool into a coil at his feet, then turned to the console and started the engine. Then they waited. There was a blast of air from behind them and they both spun around to see the column of water vapor hanging in the air, but it was far, perhaps three hundred meters behind them – too far away to be their whale. That was the problem with the channel between Maui and Lanai where they worked: There were so many whales that you often had a hard time distinguishing the one you were studying from the hundreds of others. The abundance of animals was a both a blessing and a curse. â€Å"That our guy?† Amy asked. All the singers were guys. As far as they knew anyway. The DNA tests had proven that. â€Å"Nope.† There was another blow to their left, this one much closer. Nate could see the white flukes or blades of his tail under the water, even from a hundred meters away. Amy hit the stop button on her watch. Nate pushed the throttle forward and they were off. Amy braced a knee against the console to steady herself, keeping the camera pointed toward the whale as the boat bounced along. He would blow three, maybe four times, then fluke and dive. Amy had to be ready when the whale dove to get a clear shot of his flukes so he could be identified and cataloged. When they were within thirty yards of the whale, Nate backed the throttle down and held them in position. The whale blew again, and they were close enough to catch some of the mist. There was none of the dead fish and massive morning-mouth smell that they would have encountered in Alaska. Humpbacks didn't feed while they were in Hawaii. The whale fluked and Amy fired off two quick frames with the Nikon. â€Å"Good boy,† Amy said to the whale. She hit the lap timer button on her watch. Nate cut the engine and the speedboat settled into the gentle swell. He threw the hydrophone overboard, then hit the record button on the recorder that was bungee-corded to the console. Amy set the camera on the seat in front of the console, then snatched their notebook out of a waterproof pouch. â€Å"He's right on sixteen minutes,† Amy said, checking the time and recording it in the notebook. She wrote the time and the frame numbers of the film she had just shot. Nate read her the footage number off the recorder, then the longitude and latitude from the portable GPS (global positioning system) device. She put down the notebook, and they listened. They weren't right on top of the whale as they had been before, but they could hear him singing through the recorder's speaker. Nate put on the headphones and sat back to listen. That's how field research was. Moments of frantic activity followed by long periods of waiting. (Nate's first ex-wife had once commented that their sex life could be described in exactly the same way, but that was after they had separated, and she was just being snotty.) Actually, the wait here in Maui wasn't bad – ten, fifteen minutes at a throw. When he'd been studying right whales in the North Atlantic, Nate had sometimes waited weeks before he found a whale to study. Usually he liked to use the downtime (literally, the time the whale was down) to think about how he should've gotten a real job, one where you made real money and had weekends off, or at least gotten into a branch of the field where the results of his work were more palpable, like sinking whaling ships – a pirate. You know, security. Today Nate was actively trying not to watch Amy put on sunscreen. Amy was a snowflake in the land of the tanned. Most whale researchers spent a great deal of time outdoors, at sea. They were, for the most part, an intrepid, outdoorsy bunch who wore wind- and sunburn like battle scars, and there were few who didn't sport a semipermanent sunglasses raccoon tan and sun-bleached hair or a scaly bald spot. Amy, on the other hand, had milk-white skin and straight, short black hair so dark that the highlights appeared blue in the Hawaiian sun. She was wearing maroon lipstick, which was so wildly inappropriate and out of character for this setting that it approached the comical and made her seem like the goth geek of the Pacific, which was, in fact, one of the reasons her presence so disturbed Nate. (He reasoned: A well-formed bottom hanging in space is just a well-formed bottom, but you hook up a well-formed bottom to a whip-smart woman and apply a dash of the awkward and what you've got yo urself is†¦ well, trouble.) Nate did not watch her rub the SPF50 on her legs, over her ankles and feet. He did not watch her strip to her bikini top and apply the sunscreen over her chest and shoulders. (Tropical sun can fry you even through a shirt.) Nate especially did not notice when she grabbed his hand, squirted lotion into it, then turned, indicating that he should apply it to her back, which he did – not noticing anything about her in the process. Professional courtesy. He was working. He was a scientist. He was listening to the song of Megaptera novaeangliae (â€Å"big wings of New England,† a scientist had named the whale, thus proving that scientists drink), and he was not intrigued by her intriguing bottom because he had encountered and analyzed similar data in the past. According to Nate's analysis, research assistants with intriguing bottoms turned into wives 66.666 percent of the time, and wives turned into ex-wives exactly 100 percent of the time – plus or minus 5 percent factored for post-divorce comfort sex.) â€Å"Want me to do you?† Amy asked, holding out her preferred sunscreen-slathering hand. You just don't go there, thought Nate, not even in a joke. One incorrect response to a line like that and you could lose your university position, if you had one, which Nate didn't, but still†¦ You don't even think about it. â€Å"No thanks, this shirt has UV protection woven in,† he said, thinking about what it would be like to have Amy do him. Amy looked suspiciously at his faded WE LIKE WHALES CONFERENCE 89 T-shirt and wiped the remaining sunscreen on her leg. † ‘Kay,† she said. â€Å"You know, I sure wish I could figure out why these guys sing,† Nate said, the hummingbird of his mind having tasted all the flowers in the garden to return to that one plastic daisy that would just not give up the nectar. â€Å"No kidding?† Amy said, deadpan, smiling. â€Å"But if you figure it out, what would we do tomorrow?† â€Å"Show off,† Nate said, grinning. â€Å"I'd be typing all day, analyzing research, matching photographs, filing song tapes –  » â€Å"Bringing us doughnuts,† Nate added, trying to help. Amy continued, counting down the list on her fingers, â€Å"- picking up blank tapes, washing down the trucks and the boats, running to the photo lab – ; â€Å"Not so fast,† Nate interrupted. â€Å"What, you're going to deprive me the joy of running to the photo lab while you bask in scientific glory?† â€Å"No, you can still go to the photo lab, but Clay hired a guy to wash the trucks and boats.† A delicate hand went to her forehead as she swooned, the southern belle in hiking shorts, taken with the vapors. â€Å"If I faint and fall overboard, don't let me drown.† â€Å"You know, Amy,† Nate said as he undressed the crossbow, â€Å"I don't know how it was at Boston doing survey, but in behavior, research assistants are only supposed to bitch about the humiliating grunt work and lowly status to other research assistants. It was that way when I was doing it, it was that way going back centuries, it has always been that way. Darwin himself had someone on the Beagle to file dead birds and sort index cards.† â€Å"He did not. I've never read anything about that.† â€Å"Of course you didn't. Nobody writes about research assistants.† Nate grinned again, celebration for a small victory. He realized he wasn't working up to standards on managing this research assistant. His partner, Clay, had hired her almost two weeks ago, and by now he should have had her terrorized. Instead she was working him like a Starbucks froth slave. â€Å"Ten minutes,† Amy said, checking the timer on her watch. â€Å"You going to shoot him?† â€Å"Unless you want to?† Nate notched the arrow into the crossbow. He tucked the windbreaker they used to  «dress » the crossbow under the console. It was very politically incorrect to carry a weapon for shooting whales through the crowded Lahaina harbor, so they carried it inside the windbreaker, making it appear that they had a jacket on a hanger. Amy shook her head violently. â€Å"I'll drive the boat.† â€Å"You should learn to do it.† â€Å"I'll drive the boat,† Amy said. â€Å"No one drives the boat.† No one but Nate drove the boat. Granted, the Constantly Baffled was only a twenty-three-foot Mako speedboat, and an agile four-year-old could pilot it on a calm day like today. Still, no one else drove the boat. It was a man thing, being inherently uncomfortable with the thought of a woman operating a boat or a television remote control. â€Å"Up sounds,† Nate said. They had a recording of the full sixteen-minute cycle of the song now – all the way through twice, in fact. He stopped the recorder and pulled up the hydrophone, then started the engine. â€Å"There,† Amy said, pointing to the white fins and flukes moving under the water. The whale blew only twenty yards off the bow. Nate buried the throttle. Amy was wrenched off her feet and just caught herself on the railing next to the wheel console as the boat shot forward. Nate pulled up on the right side of the whale, no more than ten yards away as the whale came up for the second time. He steadied the wheel with his hip, pulled up the crossbow, and fired. The bolt bounced off the whale's rubbery back, the hollow surgical steel arrowhead taking out a cookie-cutter plug of skin and blubber the size of a pencil eraser before the wide plastic tip stopped the penetration. The whale lifted his tail out of the water and snapped it in the air, making a sound like a giant knuckle cracking as the massive tail muscles contracted. â€Å"He's pissed,† Nate said. â€Å"Let's go for a measurement.† â€Å"Now?† Amy questioned. Normally they would wait for another dive cycle. Obviously Nate thought that because of their taking the skin sample the whale might start traveling. They could lose him before getting a measurement. â€Å"Now. I'll shoot, you work the rangefinder.† Nate backed off the throttle a bit, so he would be able to catch the entire tail fluke in the camera frame when the whale dove. Amy grabbed the laser rangefinder, which looked very much like a pair of binoculars made for a cyclops. By taking a distance measurement from the animal's tail with the rangefinder and comparing the size of the tail in the frame of the picture, they could measure the relative size of the entire animal. Nate had come up with an algorithm that, so far, gave them the length of a whale with 98 percent accuracy. Just a few years ago they would've had to have been in an aircraft to measure the length of a whale. â€Å"Ready,† Amy said. The whale blew and arched its back into a high hump as he readied for the dive (the reason whalers had named them humpbacks in the first place). Amy fixed the rangefinder on the whale's back; Nate trained the camera's telephoto on the same spot, and the autofocus motors made tiny adjustments with the movement of the boat. The whale fluked, raising its tail high in the air, and there, instead of the distinct pattern of black-and-white markings by which all humpbacks were identified, were – spelled out in foot-high black letters across the white – the words BITE ME! Nate hit the shutter button. Shocked, he fell into the captain's chair, pulling back the throttle as he slumped. He let the Nikon sag in his lap. â€Å"Holy shit!† Nate said. â€Å"Did you see that?† â€Å"See what? I got seventy-three feet,† Amy said, pulling down the rangefinder. â€Å"Probably seventy-six from where you are. What were your frame numbers?† She was reaching for the notebook as she looked back at Nate. â€Å"Are you okay?† â€Å"Fine. Frame twenty-six, but I missed it,† he lied. His mind was shuffling though a huge stack of index cards, searching a million article abstracts he had read to find some explanation for what he'd just seen. It couldn't possibly have been real. The film would show it. â€Å"You didn't see any unusual markings when you did the ID photo?† â€Å"No, did you?† â€Å"No, never mind.† â€Å"Don't sweat it, Nate. We'll get it next time he comes up,† Amy said. â€Å"Let's go in.† â€Å"You don't want to try again for a measurement?† To make the data sample complete, they needed an ID photo, a recording of at least a full cycle of the song, a skin sample for DNA and toxin figures, and a measurement. The morning was wasted without the measurement. â€Å"Let's go back to Lahaina,† Nate said, staring down at the camera in his lap. â€Å"You drive.† CHAPTER TWO Maui No Ka Oi (Maui Is the Best) At first it was that old trickster Maui who cast his fishing line from his canoe and pulled the islands up from the bottom of the sea. When he was done fishing, he looked at those islands he had pulled up, and smack in the middle of the chain was one that was made up of two big volcanoes, sitting there together like the friendly, lopsided bosoms of the sea. Between them was a deep valley that Maui thought looked very much like cleavage, which he very much liked. And so, to that bumpy-bits island Maui gave his name, and its nickname became â€Å"The Cleavage Island,† which it stayed until some missionaries came along and renamed it â€Å"The Valley Island† (because if there's anything missionaries do well, it's seek out and destroy fun). Then Maui landed his canoe at a calm little beach on the west coast of his new island and said to himself, â€Å"I could do with a few cocktails and some nookie. I shall go into Lahaina and get some.† Well, time passed and some whalers came to the island, bringing steel tools and syphilis and other wonders from the West, and before anyone knew what was happening, they, too, were thinking that they wouldn't mind a few cocktails and a measure of nookie. So rather than sail back around the Horn to Nantucket to hoist noggins of grog and the skirts of the odd Hester, Millicent, or Prudence (so fast the dear woman would think she'd fallen down a chimney and landed on a zucchini), they pulled into Lahaina, drawn by the drunken sex magic of old Maui. They didn't come to Maui for the whales, they came for the party. And so Lahaina became a whaling town. The irony of it was that even though the humpbacks had starting coming to birth their calves and sing their songs only a few years earlier, and in those days the Hawaiian channels were teeming with the big-winged singers, it was not for the humpbacks that the whalers came. Humpbacks, like their other rorqual brothers – the streamlined blue, fin, sei, minke, and Bryde's whales – were just too fast to catch in sailing ships and man-powered whaling boats. No, the whalers came to Lahaina to rest and recreate along their way to Japanese waters where they hunted the great sperm whale, who would literally float there like a big, dumb log while you rowed up to it and stuck a harpoon in its head. It would take the advent of steamships and the decimation of the big, floaty-fat right whales (so named because they did float when dead and therefore were the  «right » whales to kill) before the hunters would turn their harpoons on the hum pbacks. Following the whalers came the missionaries, the sugar farmers, the Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, and Portuguese who all worked the sugar plantations, and Mark Twain. Mark Twain went home. Everyone else stayed. In the meantime, King Kamehameha I united the islands through the clever application of firearms against wooden spears and moved Hawaii's capital to Lahaina. Sometime after that Amy came cruising into the Lahaina harbor at the wheel of a twenty-three-foot Mako speedboat with a tall, stunned-looking Ph.D. sprawled across the bow seat. The radio chirped. Amy picked it up and keyed the mike. â€Å"Go ahead, Clay.† â€Å"Something wrong?† Clay Demodocus was obviously in the harbor and could see them coming in. It wasn't even eight in the morning. He was probably still preparing his boat to go out. â€Å"I'm not sure. Nate just decided to call it a day. I'll ask him why.† To Nate she said, â€Å"Clay wants to know why.† â€Å"Anomalous data,† Nate said. â€Å"Anomalous data,† Amy repeated into the radio. There was a pause. Then Clay said, â€Å"Uh, right, understood. That stuff gets into everything.† The harbor at Lahaina is not large. Only a hundred or so vessels can dock behind her breakwater. Most are sizable, fifty- to seventy-foot cruisers and catamarans, boats full of sunscreen-basted tourists out on the water for anything from dinner cruises to sport fishing to snorkeling at the half-sunken crater of Molokini to, of course, whale watching. Jet-skiing, parasailing, and waterskiing were all banned from December until April, while the humpbacks were in these waters, so many of the smaller boats that would normally be used to terrorize marine life in the name of recreation were leased by whale researchers for the season. On any given winter morning down at the harbor at Lahaina, you couldn't throw a coconut without conking a Ph.D. in cetacean biology (and you stood a good chance of winging two Masters of Science working on dissertations with the rebound). Clay Demodocus was engaged in a bit of research liars poker with a Ph.D. and a naval officer when Amy backed the Mako into the slip they shared with three tender zodiacs from sailing yachts anchored outside the breakwater, a thirty-two-foot motor-sailor, and the Maui Whale Research Foundation's other boat (Clay's boat), the Always Confused, a brand-new twenty-two-foot Grady White Fisherman, center console. (Slips were hard to come by in Lahaina, and circumstances this season had dictated that the Maui Whale Research Foundation – Nate and Clay – perform a nautical dog pile with six other small craft every day. You do what you have to do if you want to poke whales.) â€Å"Shame,† Clay said as Amy threw him the stern line. â€Å"Nice calm day, too.† â€Å"We got everything but a measurement on one singer,† Amy said. The scientist and the naval officer on the dock behind Clay nodded as if they understood completely. Clifford Hyland, a grizzled, gray-haired whale researcher from Iowa stood next to the young, razor-creased, snowy-white-uniformed Captain L. J. Tarwater, who was there to see that Hyland spent the navy's money appropriately. Hyland looked a little embarrassed at the whole thing and wouldn't make eye contact with Amy or Nate. Money was money, and a researcher took it where he could get it, but navy money, it was so†¦ so nasty. â€Å"Morning Amy,† said Tarwater, dazzling a perfectly even, perfectly white smile. He was lean and dark and frighteningly efficient-looking. Next to him, Clay and the scientists looked as if they'd been run through the dryer with a bag of lava rock. â€Å"Good morning, Captain. Morning Cliff.† â€Å"Hey, Amy,† Cliff Hyland said. â€Å"Hey, Nate.† Nathan Quinn shook off his confusion like a retriever who had just heard his name uttered in context with food. â€Å"What? What? Oh, hi, Cliff. What?† Hyland and Quinn had both been part of a group of thirteen scientists who had first come to Lahaina in the seventies (â€Å"The Killer Elite,† Clay still called them, as they had all gone on to distinguish themselves as leaders in their fields). Actually, the original intention hadn't been for them to be a group, but they nevertheless became one early on when they all realized that the only way they could afford to stay on the island was if they pooled their resources and lived together. So for years thirteen of them – and sometimes more if they could afford assistants, wives, or girlfriends – lived every season in a two-bedroom house they rented in Lahaina. Hyland understood Quinn's tendency to submerge himself in his research to the point of oblivion, so he wasn't surprised that once again the rangy researcher had spaced out. â€Å"Anomalous data, huh?† Cliff asked, figuring that was what had sent Nate into the ozone. â€Å"Uh, nothing I can be sure of. I mean, actually, the recorder isn't working right. Something dragging. Probably just needs to be cleaned.† And everyone, including Amy, looked at Quinn for a moment as if to say, Well, you lying satchel of walrus spit, that is the weakest story I've ever heard, and you're not fooling anyone. â€Å"Shame,† Clay said. â€Å"Nice day to miss out on the water. Maybe you can get back with the other recorder and get out again before the wind comes up.† Clay knew something was up with Nate, but he also trusted his judgment enough not to press it. Nate would tell him when he thought he should know. â€Å"Speaking of that,† Hyland said, â€Å"we'd better get going.† He headed down the dock toward his own boat. Tarwater stared at Nate just long enough to convey disgust before turning on his heel and marching after Hyland. When they were gone, Amy said, â€Å"Tarwater is a creep.† â€Å"He's all right. He's got a job to do is all,† Clay said. â€Å"What's with the recorder?† â€Å"The recorder is fine,† Nate said. â€Å"Then what gives? It's a perfect day.† Clay liked to state the obvious when it was positive. It was sunny, calm, with no wind, and the underwater visibility was two hundred feet. It was a perfect day to research whales. Nate started handing waterproof cases of equipment to Clay. â€Å"I don't know. I may have seen something out there, Clay. I have to think about it and see the pictures. I'm going to drop some film off at the lab, then go back to Papa Lani and write up some research until the film's ready.† Clay flinched, just a tad. It was Amy's job to drop off film and write up research. â€Å"Okay. How 'bout you, kiddo?† Clay said to Amy. â€Å"My new guy doesn't look like he's going to show, and I need someone topside while I'm under.† Amy looked to Nate for some kind of approval, but when he simply kept unloading cases without a reaction, she just shrugged. â€Å"Sure, I'd love to.† Clay suddenly became self-conscious and shuffled in his flip-flops, looking for a second more like a five-year-old kid than a barrel-chested, fifty-year-old man. â€Å"By calling you ‘kiddo' I didn't mean to dimmish you by age or anything, you know.† â€Å"I know,† Amy said. â€Å"And I wasn't making any sort of comment on your competency either.† â€Å"I understand, Clay.† Clay cleared his throat unnecessarily. â€Å"Okay,† he said. â€Å"Okay,† Amy said. She grabbed two Pelican cases full of equipment, stepped up onto the dock, and started schlepping the stuff to the parking area so it could be loaded into Nate's pickup. Over her shoulder she said, â€Å"You guys both so need to get laid.† â€Å"I think that's reverse harassment,† Clay said to Nate. â€Å"I may be having hallucinations,† said Nate. â€Å"No, she really said that,† Clay said. After Quinn had left, Amy climbed into the Always Confused and began untying the stern line. She glanced over her shoulder to look at the forty-foot cabin cruiser where Captain Tarwater posed on the bow looking like an advertisement for a particularly rigid laundry detergent – Bumstick Go-Be-Bright, perhaps. â€Å"Clay, you ever heard of a uniformed naval officer accompanying a researcher into the field before?† Clay looked up from doing a battery check on the GPS. â€Å"Not unless the researcher was working from a navy vessel. Once I was along on a destroyer for a study on the effects of high explosives on resident populations of southern sea lions in the Falkland Islands. They wanted to see what would happen if you set off a ten-thousand-pound charge in proximity to a sea lion colony. There was a uniformed officer in charge of that.† Amy cast the line back to the dock and turned to face Clay. â€Å"What was the effect?† â€Å"Well, it blew them the fuck up, didn't it? I mean, that's a lot of explosives.† â€Å"They let you film that for National Science?† â€Å"Just stills,† Clay said. â€Å"I don't think they anticipated it going the way it did. I got some great shots of it raining seal meat.† Clay started the engine. â€Å"Yuck.† Amy untied the bumpers and pulled them into the boat. â€Å"But you've never seen a uniformed officer working here? Before now, I mean.† â€Å"Nowhere else,† Clay said. He pulled down the gear lever. There was a thump, and the boat began to creep forward. Amy pushed them away from the surrounding boats with a padded boat hook. â€Å"What do you think they're doing?† â€Å"I was trying to find out this morning when you guys came in. They loaded an awfully big case before you got here. I asked what it was, and Tarwater got all sketchy. Cliff said it was some acoustics stuff.† â€Å"Directional array?† Amy asked. Researchers sometimes towed large arrays of hydrophones that could, unlike a single hydrophone, detect the direction from which sound was traveling. â€Å"Could be,† Clay said. â€Å"Except they don't have a winch on their boat. â€Å"A wench? What are you trying to say, Clay?† Amy feigned being offended. â€Å"Are you calling me a wench?† Clay grinned at her. â€Å"Amy, I am old and have a girlfriend, and therefore I am immune to your hotness. Please cease your useless attempts to make me uncomfortable.† â€Å"Let's follow them.† â€Å"They've been working on the lee side of Lanai. I don't want to take the Confused past the wind line.† â€Å"So you were trying to find out what they're up to?† â€Å"I fished. No bites. Cliff's not going to say anything with Tarwater standing there.† â€Å"So let's follow them.† â€Å"We actually may get some work done today. It's a good day, after all, and we might not get a dozen windless days all season here. We can't afford to lose a day, Amy. Which reminds me, what's up with Nate? Not like him to blow off a good field day.† â€Å"You know, he's nuts,† Amy said, as if it were understood. â€Å"Too much time thinking about whales.† â€Å"Oh, right. I forgot.† As they motored out of the harbor, Clay waved to a group of researchers who had gathered at the fuel station to buy coffee. Twenty universities and a dozen foundations were represented in that group. Clay was single-handedly responsible for making the scientists who worked out of Lahaina into a social community. He knew them all, and he couldn't help it – he liked people who worked with whales – and he just liked it when people got along. He'd started weekly meetings and presentations of papers at the Pacific Whale Sanctuary building in Kihei, which brought all the scientists together to socialize, trade information, and, for some, to try to weasel some useful data out of someone without the burden of field research. Amy waved to the group, too, as she dug into one of the orange Pelican waterproof cases. â€Å"Come on, Clay, let's follow Tarwater and see what he's up to.† She pulled a huge pair of twenty-power binoculars out of the case and showed them to Clay. â€Å"We can watch from a distance.† â€Å"You might want to go up in the bow and look for whales, Amy.† â€Å"Whales? They're big and wet. What else do you need to know?† â€Å"You scientists never cease to amaze me,† Clay said. â€Å"Come hold the wheel while I get a pencil to write that down.† â€Å"Let's follow Tarwater.†

Swot of Nescafe

Background Nestle is a Swiss multinational company which was founded in 1866 and finally formed in 1905 by merging two companies, and it is the largest food company in the world which products include breakfast cereals, pet care, ice cream, bottled water, dairy products, baby foods, chocolate and confectionery, sports nutrition, weight management, food service, culinary, chilled and frozen food, healthcare nutrition, drinks as well as coffee, and it launches a presence in almost every country in the world.And it aims at providing good foods, beverages to customers in order to enhance their lives. As we found that Nestle has nearly 8000 brands in worldwide, we decided to focus on Nescafe which is launched in 1938, a brand of instant coffee. The first instant coffee has been developed for seven years, and it has a huge successful after launching during World War II period. And it can be found in 43 countries in worldwide. And it has different types of products in Nescafe, for instance: single serve coffee, house blend, instant coffee in jars and aluminum packs, etc.It has also launched a coffee machine lately which is greatly helpful in expanding their market share in coffee market. Strengths As Nestle is a well known brand in the world, which means it has a certain and broad geographic coverage in world, so this is good for Nescafe to make any further development and it is believed that Nescafe is the major player in coffee market and it has a strong brand names because of associating with Nestle which has mass market share in the world.Besides, Nescafe has various products in different flavor and packing which can be fit into different market segment, for example, it has house blend coffee for customers who can make coffee at home whenever they want, also instant coffee in jars and aluminum packs which offer customers an experience in drinking coffee in everywhere at anytime. Moreover, Nescafe has a great position as UK’s No. 1 soluble coffee brand also dominant instant coffee market in some countries. So it has a certain amount of loyal customers and good word of mouth is guaranteed.Nevertheless, Nescafe is set at a reasonable price that consumers can afford it easily and it can attract more new customers. Weaknesses Although Nescafe has quite a lot of strength, it still has its weaknesses which are coffee market is nearly saturated and people starts concerning health problems; it is because Nescafe has already been introduced coffee in different forms which are no more new forms can be found, which means Nescafe can only expand their market share by extending the product line.Moreover, it has been recently claimed that caffeine is a central nervous system and metabolic stimulant and it has physically and psychological effect on people if consuming too much; and this can be found in coffee, thus, it may cause a decrease in consumption in coffee as people start caring health problems. Opportunity Even if Nescafe has a big success i n coffee market, there are always many opportunities waiting for it.As I have mentioned before that people start concerning their health problem, it will be a weakness also an opportunity for Nescafe. And it is believed that it will be new and long lasting trend for Nescafe to introduce some new kind of coffee, for example, it has already been launched sugar free coffee, it may also develop organic coffee bean or else coffee which has lower caffeine. Furthermore, Nescafe can open up a Nescafe store which is operating like Starbucks or Pacific coffee company.Actually it is a potential opportunity for Nescafe to maximize its profit and increase its market share, because it can sell Nescafe’s products in the store, also adding some food or new flavor of coffee for consumers. On the other hands, Nescafe should keep tracking on the latest trend which is helpful for it to innovate new flavors which can win acceptance, for examples, developing a new flavor like green tea latte in wh atever form. It will definitely gain consumers’ attention and keep strengthening customers’ loyalty.Last but not least, Nescafe can try to tie-up with some restaurants to provide its products, in order to spread its product all over the world and customers can buy and enjoy it everywhere. Threat Somehow, Nescafe is facing some threats like Starbucks which is an experienced and well known coffee shop that may drag its market share away. Besides, some coffee lovers may in love with the freshness of Starbucks which is selling just in time coffee.Plus, there will always be some instant coffee brands with relatively lower price; it is affecting Nescafe that some instant coffee lovers would like to choose the brands according to price instead of quality. And now the world is facing inflation, so does Nescafe is confronting the same problem. It is because inflation leads the cost of Nescafe rise, and Nescafe have to balance between cost and quality which it cannot lower the q uality standard to decrease the cost. Vice versa, it has a rising cost caused by keeping good quality standard.

Advanced Manufacturing Technology

The inspection process planning system is designed to produce an inspection process planning directly from CAD model. The prototype inspection process planning system includes  ®ve functional modules: the tolerance feature analysis, accessibility analysis, clustering algorithm, path generation and inspection process simulation. The tolerance feature analysis module is used to input tolerance information and establish the relationship between the tolerance information and surface feature. The accessibility analysis module evaluate all the accessible probe orientations for every surface feature. The clustering algorithm module groups the inspection probe and surface features into inspection group so that time for inspection probe exchange and calibration can be reduced to minimum. The path generation module determines the number of measurement points, their distribution and their inspection sequences. The inspection process simulation module animated display the inspection probe path and check whether a collision occurs between the part and the inspection probe. The methodology and theory for corresponding  ®ve functional modules are outlined. An example demonstrate the general process for the application of the inspection process planning system. The prototype inspection process planing system shown that the proposed theory and methods can be used in industry to generate an inspection process planning for a CMM. # 2000 Elsevier Science B. V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Inspection process planning; Co-ordinate measuring machines; Accessibility analysis; Clustering algorithm; Path generation 1. Introduction Recently, researches in inspection process planning have been increased [1]. Some prototypes inspection process planning systems have been developed. These systems include the task-decomposition inspection process planning system [2 ±5,11], the knowledge-based inspection process planning system [6,10] and some hybrid inspection process planning systems [7 ±9]. However, these systems are not satis ®ed by the industry. This paper outlined a prototype inspection process planning system. The inspection process planning system can be used to generate an inspection process planning for a CMM. It can be used as an integrated system starting from solid model and  ®nishing at production of inspection process planning  ®le. However, it can also be used as  ®ve stand alone function modules for the tolerance feature decomposition, accessibility analysis, clustering algorithm, path generation and the inspection process simulation, respectively. The inspection process planning system can be linked to a CAD system so that an inspection process planning can be produced directly once a part design has been  ®nished. It is expected that the laborious and error-prone manual programming currently used for a CMM can be replaced with the developed inspection process planning system. The lead-time for the CMM programming can be reduced signi ®cantly. . System framework The prototype inspection process planning system includes the tolerance feature analysis, accessibility analysis, clustering algorithm, path generation and inspection process simulation as shown in Fig. 1. The tolerance feature analysis module is used to input the tolerance information and then to decompose the tolerance features into individual surface inspection features. The accessibility analysis module evaluates all the possible probe orientations for a surface feature and represents these probe orientations with an accessibility cone. The probe orientation from the accessibility cone can guar- * Corresponding author. E-mail address: [emailprotected] co. uk (S. G. Zhang). 0924-0136/00/$  ± see front matter # 2000 Elsevier Science B. V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 9 2 4 0 1 3 6 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 7 2 6 3 112 S. G. Zhang et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 107 (2000) 111 ±118 Fig. 1. Flow chart of integrated applications of the developed system. antee a no collision between the probe stylus and the part during the inspection process. The clustering algorithm module arranges both the inspection probes into probe cells and the surface features into feature families so that the time for probe exchange and calibration can be reduced. As a result, the number of the inspection groups is reduced to a minimum. A knowledge-based clustering algorithm is used in the module so that a partial separated block diagonal matrix can be obtained if it is not possible to obtain a complete separated block diagonal matrix. The path generation module determines the number of sampling points, their distributions, and the sequences. Then, the inspection process simulation module is used to simulate the inspection process on a computer video display unit intuitively. The collision check is also implemented in the inspection process simulation module so that a no collision occurs during a real inspection process. Finally, an inspection process  ®le is produced, which is a similar  ®le as DMIS command codes. The generated inspection process planning can be used both for automated and manual inspections. On an automated inspection system, it generates the inspection instruction codes directly according to the format of the CMM instruction codes. On a manual inspection system, it guides the CMM operator for the part installation, selection of probe orientations, and determination of the distribution of the measurement points. Fig. 2 shows main menu for the prototype inspection process planning system. 3. Tolerance feature analysis The tolerance information representation in CAD model has been a bottleneck for manufacturing industry. The size of the tolerance value is too small to be presented in CAD model with its real dimension. It has been judged that it is very dif ®cult to represent this information with a CSG solid model. Some CAD system, such as the AutoCAD system, uses a facility of DIMENSION to represent the tolerance information in a CAD drawing. However, this tolerance information is for displaying on the computer screen or for printing as a hard copy only. The tolerance information and its relationships to the surface features are not included in the database of the AutoCAD system. It is not possible to apply the tolerance information in the subsequent operations such as manufacturing and inspection process. Fig. 3 shows a 3D solid model that is used as a test component for the inspection process planning system. Surface features F10, F11, F14, F17, and F24 apply the dimensional or geometrical tolerances and will be inspected with a CMM. Other surface features will not be inspected with a CMM because those surface features either have the general tolerances that can be guaranteed by general manufacturing method or those tolerances are not suitable to inspect with a CMM. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a methodology to represent the tolerance information and its relationship to the surface features. In the project, tolerance information and its Fig. 2. Accessibility analysis The accessibility analysis module includes three submodules: Gauss mapping; accessibility cone calculation; discretisation of the accessibility cone. The Gauss map is used to analyse and to represent the normal directions for a surface feature. The Gauss map represents all the normal direction of a surface feature with a unit sphere.

Breast cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Breast cancer - Essay Example 23-39) has indicated that body often starts creating wrong cells that damage the body by building a mass of damaged tissues called a lump or a tumor. Breast cancer refers to the disease when a lump or tumor forms in the part of breast. Particularly, this paper will focus primarily on breast cancer that has become one of the most common types of cancer affecting thousands of women in Australia and worldwide. In this regard, the paper has been divided into four sections of stages and types, risk factors, diagnosis and treatment, and conclusion. (Susang Komen, 2013) STAGES & TYPES Knowing the stage and type is very imperative for successful diagnosis and treatment of the breast cancer. Some of the factors that determine stage and type of the breast cancer are size of the lump, number of damaged lymph nodes, axillary area, and the amount of damage to other parts of the body (Link, Forsthoff, & Waisman, 2003, pp. 41-48). There are four stages of breast cancer; however, if one goes into th e sub-stages, then there are seven stages of breast cancer according to abovementioned factors. First stage is also known as Stage 0 breast cancer that refers to the condition in which cancerous cells exist in lining of milk duct (Brown, Freeman, & Platt, 2006, pp. 21-24). This stage is also called ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS (Brown, Freeman, & Platt, 2006, pp. 21-24). In types, physicians refer it as earlier cancer. When the development of cancerous cells continues, it reaches the stage two in which cells extend themselves toward adjoining lymph nodes. Physicians further divide this stage into two sub-stages that are determined by size and spread of the lump. (MedicineNet.com, 2013) When the lump spreads outside the breast area affecting neighboring muscles, it is referred as Stage 3 breast cancer, which is considered as treatable among the doctors. This stage has also been divided further into three sub-stages that are determined by the same two factors of size and spread of the tumor (Brown, Freeman, & Platt, 2006, pp. 21-24). The last stage is also known as metastatic cancer (Mansel, Fodstad, & Jiang, 2009, pp. 27-35) in which cancerous cells reach other parts and/or organs of the body. In today’s science, this stage is considered incurable; however, doctors prescribe therapies along with personal motivation that may allow patients to extend their life period to few years (Brown, Freeman, & Platt, 2006, pp. 25-32). Besides abovementioned stages, research has indicated few other types of breast cancer, such as triple negative breast cancer that refers to the type in which neugene, estrogen, and progesterone, the three cancer-attracting receptors are absent in the cancer lump. Another common type is inflammatory breast cancer (Mansel, Fodstad, & Jiang, 2009, pp. 37-55) that refers to the type where the cells affect skin and lymph vessels of the breast. RISK FACTORS Although there have been ambiguity regarding specific risk factors related to brea st cancer, however, research has shown few factors that have been linked with breast cancer. Particularly, age is one of the most imperative risk factors as studies have indicated breast cancer occurring more in older women as compared to younger women worldwide (McPhee & Tierney, 2007, pp. 37-43). However, this augmentation begins to decrease after the age of menopause. Besides, it has been an observation that women in developed countries have been

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Leading, Managing and Developing People in the Workplace Essay

Leading, Managing and Developing People in the Workplace - Essay Example From the discussion it is clear that the current competitive global economy requires companies to train and develop its employees of risk losing market share. Although there are high costs involved in training and developing the employees, the benefits of training will ultimately outweigh the associated costs. Several management practitioners have pointed out that training and development ensures that the organisation as the right mix of skills at all management levels.This paper discusses that ABB Company will be capable of attaining a competitive edge in the modern business environment through continuous training and developing the workforce especially on emerging engineering technologies. The attainment of the mission and vision of the organisation is dependent of the skills level of the employees. In addition, training and development will motivate the workforce thus leading to higher job satisfaction and productivity.  Competitive companies will engage in strategic planning th rough the use of acquired knowledge in order to meet the objectives and mission of the company. Accordingly, the human capital of the organisation can be viewed as a key success factor thus organisations must strive to train and retain the workforce.  Companies that commit resources to training and development ultimately enjoy an expanded market share, loyal employees and increased profitability thus facilitating the attainment of the organisational mission.... Competitive companies will engage in strategic planning through the use of acquired knowledge in order to meet the objectives and mission of the company (Bee 1994). Accordingly, the human capital of the organisation can be viewed as a key success factor thus organisations must strive to train and retain the workforce (Gary and French 2010). Companies that commit resources to training and development ultimately enjoy an expanded market share, loyal employees and increased profitability thus facilitating the attainment of the organisational mission. Some companies are committed to spending a certain percentage of their revenues towards employee training and development in order to meet the modern business challenges. In addition, the companies require the staff to dedicate a number of working hours towards improving their skills and attitudes through training and development. These companies will be in a position to attract qualified workforce, due to the good reputation associated wit h training and development of employees (Boydell & Leary 2006). The six ‘Es† of training Engage: - Training and development enables the employees to understand and appreciate the policies of the organisation. For instance, the employees of the company can be able to understand how new working methods will contribute to improvement in product quality. Accordingly, training and development is essential in embracing new organisational culture since the employees are able to enhance team work in the organisation. Educate: - The main purpose of training is to acquire knowledge that is essential in understanding work expectations and responsibilities. Since ABB employees may be moved from one country to the other, the companies must ensure that employees

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How Knowledge-Management Repositories are Used within Organizations - Essay Example Apart from that the essay will also highlight on the various types of storage systems. Finally the report will shed light on the advantages of the mentioned storage systems Table of Contents Introduction 4 Data Warehousing 5 Types of Storage system 6 References 8 Introduction Knowledge management can be defined as the set of methods that are responsible for arrangement, distribution, and deployment of knowledge. Knowledge management has a long history; however the form of knowledge management was different from time to time. Knowledge management is a broader topic and plays a significant role in today’s age of information technology. It hugely impacts the action we perform and the decision we make, as both are influenced by some form of knowledge. According to Thomas Bertels knowledge management can be defined as the management or supervision of the organization in the context of continuous regeneration of knowledge. Incorporating information technology within the organization , circulation of knowledge and developing the structure of organization are the examples of knowledge management (The knowledge management forum, n.d.). Thus knowledge management can be portrayed as the capability to manage knowledge. These days organizations have also started to view ‘knowledge’ as a type of resource. ... Such activities are principally carried out to preserve knowledge assets of the organization and also to facilitate group working. The next half of the report will present a brief description about data warehousing. Data Warehousing Data warehousing is the process by which an organization stores its historical data in a structured form, so that it can be used further. Data warehousing can be defined as the set of techniques, methods and tools that are employed to offer support to the knowledge workers such as managers, directors, and analysts. The primary function of a data warehousing is to facilitate availability of information which further helps in the process of decision making and also for enhancing informational resources. William H. Inmon defined data warehouse as an integrated, non volatile, issue oriented collection of data which helps in the decision making process of the management (Inmon, 2005, p. 32). Data warehouse is the base storage location, which contains data from a number of sources and then transforms it into a multi dimensional and informational model that can be used for the process of querying and investigation. A data ware house also holds the capability to carry out many activities. For example a training manager from an organization may ask ‘what are the best possible orientations for a newly recruited employee?’ Apart from that personnel from administration department may ask ‘which particular strategy is more likely to get success in the market place’. Each of the aforementioned questions needs information pertaining to the area of research and this information instigates from the data warehouse. In general, on regular basis information the operational systems are imported and extracted in the data

American Accounting Scandals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

American Accounting Scandals - Essay Example 55, 2009). Interestingly, this is not the first time in the history of United States that its accounting practices, approaches and system has received criticism and strict scrutiny from its stakeholders. After the bankruptcy of Enron and WorldCom in 2001 and 2003, respectively that was also the biggest accounting scandals of their time, the US accounting practices made the headlines all over the world (Ketz, pp. 234, 2003). This paper is an attempt to explore the accounting standards whether they are too flexible or too rigid. The discussion would include looking over the causes of Enron’s bankruptcy rooted in its accounting problem, debate between rules based accounting and principles based accounting and the problems with the possible convergence of accounting standards all over the world. ... 144, 2006). Non-transparent and unethical accounting was the most important cause attributed to the failure and downfall of Enron. In the year 2004, McLean wrote Enron scandal that, â€Å"The Enron scandal grew out of a steady accumulation of habits and values and actions that began years before and finally spiraled out of control† (Silverstone & Sheetz, pp. 22, 2007). Furthermore, another writer in an attempt to explain these â€Å"habits and values† wrote that, â€Å"the primary motivations for Enron's accounting and financial transactions seem to have been to keep reported income and reported cash flow up, asset values inflated, and liabilities off the books. (Duska, Duska, & Ragatz, pp. 74-75, 2011)† Without any doubts, Enron had some of the smartest minds in the company, as its executives and accountants, who were spot on in tweaking and twisting, the accounting laws to their advantages (Rapoport & Dharan, pp. 106, 2004). They used off balance sheet vehicles , complex financial structures and others to hide their debts and inflate their incomes. Furthermore, the mark to market accounting further allowed the company to manipulate its financial figures for deceiving the shareholders, creditors and other stakeholders. More importantly, Enron used the ambiguities and gaps in the mark to market accounting to inflate its income (Rezaee, pp. 175, 176, 2002; Mulford & Comiskey, pp. 44-46, 2005). Mark to Market accounting method requires showing the net present value of the cash flows from any long-term project and adjust the values of market assets according to the current market value. However, the problem with this method is that under certain situations and for certain projects, correct, accurate, and timely predictions about their future

Introduction to Networking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Introduction to Networking - Essay Example The part of the controller stack is usually implemented in a low cost device, which contains a microprocessor and a Bluetooth radio. The host stack is implemented as an installable package or an operating system. In integrated devices like Bluetooth headsets, the controller and host stack are run on the same microprocessor in order to reduce production costs. L2CAP is used in the Bluetooth protocol stack to pass packets to Host Controller Interface (HCI) or to the link manager. Communication between computers in a fibre channel network utilizes various elements of the fibre channel principles. Fibre channel communication is usually done in units of four 10-bit codes referred to as transmission word. The transmission words enhance passage of information between the systems. In transferring information, it is indispensable for fibre channel communication to comprise some meta-data. This facilitates setting up of links and sequence management. The fibre channel protocol usually transmits data in frames. In addition, the protocol has non-data frames, which are used for messaging and setup purposes (Matthews, 2005). File transfer protocol is a network protocol used in transferring files between two hosts over a TCP based network like the internet (Liang, 2011). It is mostly used in uploading web pages from a private development system to a public web-hosting server. It is built using client-server architecture and uses different control and data connections in the client and server. This protocol describes an internet standard for email transmission across the internet protocol networks. This protocol works best when the receiving and sending machines are connected to a network all the time. This protocol comprises three command sequences, which include mail command, RCPT and data commands. The mail command establishes the return address while RCPT command establishes the recipient of the message. On the other hand,

Amelie - Intercultural Film Review Essay Example for Free

Amelie Intercultural Film Review Essay Amelie is a French movie about a young twenty something girl who’s world opened up to her when her mother dies and she is allowed to venture out. After a health misdiagnoses at a young child Amelie is stranded in her home away from all people and relationships until her mother passes away and she finds herself free. She becomes a waitress and decides to help all the people around her until one day she herself finds love. This film shows a French cultural pattern where the people are open minded, whimsical, unique, and quirky. The main character Amelie, wants to get the most out of her life. She takes the viewer on a path through a series of subplots where she is trying to help people that surround her find happiness and joy. Paris and the people of France are shown in a whimsical and fairytale environment. All the while, Amelie, is removed from all human contact which makes for an interesting film if one is attempting to view this film through the lens of interpersonal communication. All the communicating in the movie is done through the use of metaphors, scheme, plots, tricks, and the like. It’s interesting because Amelie doesn’t directly communicate with people even though she is not anti-social. She is very social and likes to help people but she does so almost exclusively nonverbally. One exception to this is when Amelie helps a blind man to cross a busy street and, opposite to her normally silent nonverbal character, she proceeds to very quickly describe everything that she sees and everything that is happening to the blind man in exceptional detail. This is done as an act of kindness for someone who can’t see and not as a form of actual or real communication. All real communication in this movie, is done in a childlike fashion of cat and mouse. It feels almost like interpersonal communication in this movie is a game that is not to be taken seriously. When Amelie finds a boy that she is romantically interested in, she finds herself needing to communicate with him only from a distance. Amelie once again plays one of her games in order to conceal her identity. Nino, the object of Amelie’s affection, is a boy who collects old photos from an old photo booth. The use of pictures in this movie is overwhelming and must have some reason behind it. Itâ€℠¢s almost as if the characters are communicating through the pictures rather than with words. Even when Amelie was quickly describing the surrounding to the blind man she was helping across the street, it was as if she was creating a picture in his mind so he could connect with her. Perhaps Amelie can only  communicate through imagery like metaphors and photographs because she spent her entire childhood alone with only her parents because they thought she was too ill to be around others. I have mixed feelings about this film because I can appreciate a good romantic comedy and I understand the feeling the director was trying to create but I’m not a fan of the fanciful fairytale romances which I think this movie falls into. I would have preferred a movie with a real underlining tone and I could do without all the whimsy. Amelie felt like a child in a woman’s body, not unlike 13 going on 30 ¸ and for me the doe eyed cutesy character began to wear on me and I found myself more annoyed than anything by the end. The setting is Paris, but not the real Paris but rat her a fantasy version of Paris not unlike a dream or the Paris you can see in old movies. The story itself felt very Disney-like in that the mother dies in the beginning which is the impetuous to the main character being forced unprepared onto the world, the main character then helps many sub-characters out along the way to finding her true love. Very Disney indeed. I’m certain that I would not recommend this movie to my friends or my family, but maybe it would have a place in a cultural communications classroom. I think the only problem I would have with it is that it doesn’t portray an actual or real culture, and only portrays a fantasy like culture. The lead character is able to form relationships and make the audience care about her without having to say much at all, which can have some value when it comes to the study of nonverbal communication. Also, there might be a value to getting a feel for the French culture from this film, because even though I didn’t love the story or the film-making, there was something about the ‘sound’ in the film. The dialogue did draw me into the French culture which was interesting because I don’t speak any French. Even though I struggle to pinpoint the feeling or atmosphere of the film, I do think that something was captured even if it was just the Disney version of Paris and French Culture.

The Social Issues Of The Frankenstein Novel English Literature Essay

The Social Issues Of The Frankenstein Novel English Literature Essay The use of first person in the novel causes the responder to imagine themselves in the situation faced by the protagonist; this powerful technique is used to subconsciously force the responder to dwell on the consequences of Victors actions, drawing them into a debate of morals and ethics in their mind. Blade Runner is a product of the 80s where corporate greed through overindustrialisation has severed humanitys relationship with nature. Ridley Scott extrapolated these negative and dystopian views from the values he witnessed in the 1980s society and constructed Blade Runner as a warning. This warning is reflected through his profound use of film noir. From the opening scene the audience is immediately submersed into a post-modern, post-industrial and post-apocalyptic city resembling hell, this scene is an exaggerated reconstruction of society in the 1980s during which time people were fearful. America and Russia were both on the brink of nuclear war and had enough atomic weapons to utterly decimate the world; this potential global destruction is reflected in the opening scene of Blade Runner. This scene shows a hell that has come to exist on earth, an urban city extends as far as can be seen, a scarred world which has been devastated by us. The rising fire columns are symbolic of the fires of hell which have sprung forth on earth through our exploitation of the worlds resources though our ignorance and greed. Asian advertisements floating above the city on dirigibles serve as a constant reminder of the Asianisation of western civilization as a consequence of corporate greed. Frankenstein was composed during a time of major scientific developments; this is evident as science plays a central role in the story. Shelleys Frankenstein is based on the dogma of the Romantic Movement to create a world in which the protagonists desires for the omnipotent powers of God and creation have bypassed all ideas of conventional authority. Victors reflective words: how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, can be seen as her warning of the dangers of disrespecting authority and the order of things. The Tyrell Corporation is the ruling power in Blade Runner, producing replicants that are more human than human, by enabling them to have an emotional capacity. This is visible when Rachel angrily confronts Deckard: Are these questions testing whether Im a replicant or a lesbian, Mr Deckard? Ironically the replicants have a greater capacity for emotional responses, showing more compassion and love than the humans. Shelleys use of epistolary narrative adds a subliminal layer and speculates at the consequences of what Frankenstein has done; her warning is present throughout the story, forcefully questioning the ideas of scientists and science during the Romantic era, this reinforces the dangers of humanitys desires for playing the role of Creator. Frankensteins core completion imitates the Romantic Movements influence on Shelleys ideas, and her criticisms of the French and Industrial revolutions. The imagery of the patched corpse through the lexical chain of gruesome descriptions: his skin lustrous blackà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ yellow skinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ watery eyesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. shriveled complexion, and repeated use of terminology associated with the horror genre for referring to the monster bring about feelings of disgust for this scientific milestone. This physical unusualness is what makes it initially seem like the monster in society. However, Shelley brings forth a sympathetic response from the audience because the monster quickly portrays itself as misunderstood. The narrative, Frankenstein is one that allows the audience to realise a different side to the story as readers are able to understand the reasons behind the monsters murders, thus allowing further depth in the exploration of the human nature because of the different views presented in the novel. Frankenstein overflows with letters, notes and journals as Waltons letters envelop the entire tale; Victors story fits inside Waltons and the monsters inside Frankensteins. This is an important aspect of the structure of the book as the various writings serve as a concrete manifestation of attitudes and emotions within the characters. Victors warning to Walton: avoid ambitions of science and discoveries is symbolic of Shelleys hatred of the visionaries of the French and Industrial Revolution. Similarly, Scott expresses his heedfulness of the state of the human race. In particular global warming, the development of genetic engineering and nuclear weapons during the Cold War. During this time people were fearful of imminent doom by nuclear war, whilst at the same time fearful of the rapid developments science had made in the field of genetics and the controversy raised by its applications. Scotts warning present in Blade Runner is of the potential outcome if we allow certain actions to be taken without consideration of the consequences. By making the audience realise that by continuing on our current path can only bring about humanitys divorce from the natural world he leads us to ask the question what humanity is and is there a place for nature in an artificial world. Shelleys warnings are enhanced by the juxtaposition of Victor Frankensteins relationship with nature to that of his creation, whereas Victor, due to his unhealthy immersion in science is numb to its charms, and results in his near constant solitude. Frankensteins creation a more intimate connection with the pleasant showers and sunny warmth of spring, and many human qualities that Frankenstein lacks, this characterisation captures Romantics idolisation of nature, cautioning us against the dehumanising effect of removing ourselves from nature and natural order. We can see the reflections of Shelleys beliefs and the beliefs of Romantics in the novel Frankenstein, which looks to the social conventions of the time in order to warn us of the punishment for transgressing into the realm of God. Scott also draws upon the social conventions of his time. The dark scenes represent Scotts interpretation of the darkness within society, which in turn represents the ruthlessness of a material society.

Forgiveness In Dickens Great Expectations Essay -- GCSE English Litera

Forgiveness In Dickens' Great Expectations  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Miriam A felt completely choleric. She just could not forgive her husband's apologies anymore. Almon B was a drunkard. When he came home intoxicated, he was always extremely apologetic and told her that he'd never get drunk again. Miriam now knew that Almon was not really repentant. She could forgive him until she was blue, but unless Almon truly repented, their marriage would not work. Forgiveness is an important aspect in the family as well as in society, which is built on the family. In Charles Dickens' peerless novel called Great Expectations, many characters find it easy to pardon others, but some have to learn to forgive. Dickens uses the characters in his novel to illustrate how in society forgiveness is a desideratum to bring about peace and harmony. One character in the novel who lives a very serene life because of his great ability to forgive is Joe Gargery. Ever since he was a child, Joe demonstrated his amazing quality of forgiveness. He grew up having a father who was an alcoholic. When Joe's dad came home, he would beat Joe and his mother and they would run away. When they were away from Joe's dad, Joe would start school but his dad would always find his stray family, pull Joe out of school, and bring them home. For this reason, Joe lived most of his life an illiterate man. He could have been very angry and resentful about this, but Joe justified his father's actions which caused his illiteracy by saying that he pulled him out of school because he loved him. Joe shows "his natural virtue in the sincere quality of forgiveness in the epitaph he wrote for his dad."1 It said, "Whatsume'er the failings on his part, remember reader he were that good in ... ... 1O. Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc., 1980) 208. 11. Great Expectations, 347. 12. Jenkin, 69. 13. Great Expectations, 348. 14. The NIV Study Bible, ed. Kenneth Barker, et al, (Michigan: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1985) II Corinthians 2:7. 15. Jenkin, 70. 16. Great Expectations, 35. 17. Great Expectations, 35. 18. Great Expectations, 35. 19. Jenkin, 70. 2O. Colossians 3:13. 21. Jenkin, 87. 22. Miller, 257. 23. Miller, 257. 24. Miller, 258. 25. Miller, 257. 26. Charles Dickens, The Letters of Charles Dickens, ed. Laurence Hutton (New York: Bigelow, Brown, and Co., 1893) 279. 27. Dickens wrote many moving letters to friends and family besides the one quoted in the text. Check out The Letters of Charles Dickens (n. 26) for further reading.   

Arthur Machen’s The Great God Pan Essay -- The Great God Pan Essays

In â€Å"The Great God Pan† (1894) Machen uses ancient Greek god Pan to serve as a symbol of spiritual reality that lies beyond human perception and knowledge. Machen’s use of this divine entity and his success in rediscovering a minor figure of the classical pantheon, yet â€Å"mostly neglected by earlier authors of English literature† (Pasi 69), provide what Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari argue to be the significant value of a minor author, â€Å"†¦by using a number of minority elements, by connecting, conjugating them, one invents a specific, unforeseen, autonomous becoming† (106). â€Å"The Great God Pan† uses a detective plot and English upper class male characters’ search for an elusive figure, Helen Vaughan, who travels by assuming various identities. Helen, through her changeability of her identity destabilises the humanistic notion of identity as a stable phenomenon, and enters into the domain of becoming Pan. This fluidity a nd indeterminacy of Helen’s character is Machen’s attempt to undo the established notion of canonical subjectivity, and propose an alternative possibility of becoming. Helen’s insistence on entering into the zone of inhuman – god Pan- involves a position of alliance with the elements of her desire, which are beyond human accessibility and control. Helen, with this alliance with the god Pan, which has multiple forms and identities, enters into the flux of becoming Pan. Machen, through the experiment of Dr. Raymond, invokes to reveal the reality behind the veil in his supernatural tale â€Å"The Great God Pan†. In this attempt of removing the veil, Dr. Raymond’s practice of â€Å"transcendental medicine† provides the means to reach out the reality behind the veil: Dr. Raymond surgically changes the structure of a woman’s brain... ...e. How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernatics, Literature and Informatics. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1999. Hillman, James. "An Essay on Pan." Pan and the Nightmare. Trans. A.V. O'Brien. New York: Spring Publications, 1972. Jackson, Kimberly. "Non-evolutionary Dageneration in Arthur Machen's Supernatural Tales." Victorian Literature and Culture 41 (2013): 125-135. Navarette, Susan J. "The Word Made Flesh: Protoplasmic Predications in Arthur Machen's "The Great God Pan"." The Shape of Fear: Horror and the Fin de Siecle Culture of Decadence. Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 1998. 178-201. Machen, Arthur. The Great God Pan and The Hill of Dreams. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 2006. Pasi, Marco. "Arthur Machen’s Panic Fears: Western Esotericism and the Irruption of Negative Epistemology." Aries 7 (2007): 63-68.

DYSTHYMIC DISORDER Essay examples -- essays research papers

DYSTHYMIC DISORDER & BRIEF THERAPY DEPRESSION  Mild, chronic depression has probably existed as long as the human condition, although it has been referred to by various different names. The DSM-III replaced the term â€Å"neurotic depression† with dysthymic disorder--which literally means ‘ill-humored’-and it was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 1980  Dysthymic disorder, also called dysthymia, is a type of depression involving long-term chronic symptoms that do not disable an individual, but keep them from functional at full steam or from feeling good.  Despite the long-term nature of this type of depression, psychotherapy is effective in reducing the symptoms of depression, and assisting the person in managing his/her life better. SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS  Characterized by a chronic course (i.e., seldom without symptoms), with lowered mood tone and arrange of other symptoms that may include feelings of inadequacy, loss of self-esteem, or self-deprecation; feelings of hopelessness or despair; feelings of guilt, brooding about past events, or self-pity; low energy and chronic tiredness; being less active or talkative than usual; poor concentration and indecisiveness; and inability to enjoy pleasurable activities. IDENTIFYING DYSTHYMIC DISORDER  Negative thoughts and thinking are characteristic of depression. Pessimism, poor self-esteem, excessive guilt, and self-criticism are all common. ...

Counseling Class Final Exam Paper Essay

After this class and taking all the different assessments and inventories, my number one career choice as of right now is an Elementary School Teacher. The tests have actually helped me learn a lot about myself and helped me determine what certain fields of work I would succeed in. Being an Elementary School Teacher would be a fulfilling career, and would allow me to be creative and interact with children, which are two things that are very important to me. 2. On the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator, my four letter word was INFJ, which stands for introversion, intuition, feeling, and judgement (although my scores between extroversion/introversion and judgement/perception were a point off). According to the Myer-Briggs personality description, INFJs prefer occupations that involve the big picture, involve conceptual awareness, and lead to a better understanding of the spiritual, emotional, of future needs of people. They want their work to have impact or meaning and for it to bring them admiration and respect. Different occupations that seem to be attractive to INFJs include education consultant, English teacher, fine arts teacher, psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, scientist, and other occupations that allow INFJs an opportunity to make their own creative contribution. The list of occupations INFJs seem to enjoy include a lot of education type career choices, so elementary school education would be right up my alley, according to this assessment. Being an elementary school teacher would allow me to be creative and also allow me to help children learn, not only academically, but socially as well. My Holland Code was ISA which stands for Investigative, Social, and Artistic. Investigative people are known as â€Å"The Thinkers†. These are people who like to observe, learn, investigate, analyze, evaluate or solve problems. Artistic people are known as â€Å"The Creators†, They have artistic innovation or intuition abilities and like to work in unstructured situations using their imagination and creativity. Social people are known as â€Å"The Helpers† and are people who like to work with people to enlighten, inform, or help. Elementary education is a Social college major. According to the occupational scales on the Strong Interest Inventory, I scored a 56 for Elementary School Teacher, which means I share interests with women in that occupation and would probably enjoy the work. Teaching & Education was also number two on my tops five interest areas. The personal style scale reveals many different things. As for my work style, I prefer working with people, I enjoy helping others, and I am outgoing. In a learning environment, I prefer academic environments; I learn well through lecture and books, and I seek knowledge for its own sake. As for my leadership style, I am comfortable taking charge of and motivating others, I enjoy initiating action, and I express my opinions easily. I think being an elementary school teacher would be a good match for me, according to the Strong Interest Inventory. It would allow me to observe, investigate, and solve problems, as well as help and inform children, and it would also allow me to be creative; which fulfills all aspects of my Holland Code. My top five values according to the Work Values Inventory are Altruism, Way of Life, Prestige, Economic Returns, and Security. Altruism is present in work which enables one to contribute to the welfare of others. As an Elementary school teacher, I would definitely be contributing to the welfare of my students and helping them to blossom and thrive in academic and social settings. Way of Life is associated with the kind of work that permits one to live the kind of life she chooses and to be the type of person she wished to be. Elementary school teachers normally work nine months out of the year. Those other three months off would allow me to spend time doing other things I love, like vacationing or spending quality time with my family. Also, I plan on being a parent after I get married and find a stable job. My schedule would correlate with the schedule of my future children and allow me to spend more time with them, which is very important to me. Prestige is associated with work which gives one standing in the eyes of others and evokes respect. An elementary school teacher may not be the most prestigious job in the eyes of some, but it definitely is in the eyes of the students. When I was in elementary school, I admired all of my teachers greatly. Educating the next generation and giving them a solid foundation on which to apply further education, I believe, is a very respectable career. Economic returns is associated with work which pays well and enables one to have the things wanted. Elementary school teachers make a decent amount of money, and although it might not be the highest paying job, I’m willing to push this value to the side to fulfill the others and do something I would really truly enjoy. Confucius once said â€Å"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. † Security is associated with work which provides one with the certainty of having a job even in hard times. According to the Eureka program, there are very many estimated jobs in elementary education within the next 20 years and the estimated growth is above average. My top ten skills based on my skill assessment results were Integrity, Questioning, Synthesizing, Tact, Understanding, Dependability, Tenacity, Advising, Cooperating, and Investigating. As an Elementary School teacher, I think you definitely need integrity. Actually, i listed this skill as a Very Satisfying skill, and is also listed as a Very Satisfying skill for Elementary school teachers. I think as an Elementary School teacher you need to be able to synthesize many different elements into your lesson plans. As for tact (a keen sense of what is appropriate, and what to say or do to avoid giving offense), I think it is an important skill for every career choice. I listed tact as a Very Satisfying skill and many Elementary School Teachers listed tact as a Moderately Satisfying skill. Understanding and dependability are very important skills for any career choice and are especially important when working with younger kids. I listed dependability as a Moderately Important skill and many Elementary School teachers did as well. Advising could be a helpful skill while trying different methods of learning certain subjects. Also important if a student was seeking my help. Cooperating is an important skill, because as an Elementary school teacher, not only will i be working with children, but I will also be interacting with their parents and other teachers. 6. Going forward from this class, I plan on majoring in Liberal arts at either Cal State Fullerton or Cal State Long beach, and from there I plan on getting my teaching credentials and ultimately becoming an Elementary School Teacher!

Religions of the World Jesus/Mohammed

Two thousand years have come and gone, but still they remain the unfinished story that refuses to go away. Jesus of Nazareth, a Jew from rural first-century Galilee, and Mohammed from Mecca are without doubt the most famous and most influential human beings who ever walked the face of the earth. Their influence may at present be declining in a few countries of Western Europe and parts of North America, as has from time to time transpired elsewhere.But the global fact is that the adherents of Jesus and Mohammed are more widespread and more numerous, and make up a greater part of the world's population, than at any time in history. Two billion people identify themselves as Christians; well over a billion Muslims revere Jesus as a prophet of God (Freedman 2001). Unnumbered others identify themselves as know and respect his memory as a wise and holy man. This work begins with tracing the lives of Jesus and Mohammed historically. Then it deals with different aspects of the practice and th e teaching of Jesus and Mohammed. How their messages are being carried out in the world today will be considered in the conclusion.The personality of Mohammed remains obscure in spite of his sayings and the many legends about him. There have been almost as many theories about the Prophet as there are biographers. According to tradition, he was born in A.D. 570, about five years after the death of Justinian, into a cadet branch of one of the leading families of Mecca. His father died before Mohammed was born, and his mother died when he was still a small child. First his grandfather, then an uncle, who was in the caravan trade, reared him.As a youth in the busy center of Mecca he probably learned to read and write enough to keep commercial accounts; he also heard Jewish and Christian teachers and early became interested in their religious ideas. Mohammed must have suffered, in these early years, from hardships, and he evidently became aware of the misery of many of his fellowmen. The se early experiences were later to be the basis of his fervent denunciations of social injustice. At the age of twenty-five, he married a wealthy widow and probably went on some long caravan trips, at least to Syria.This gave him further contacts with Jewish, Christian, and Persian religious teachers. At the age of forty, after spending much time in fasting and solitary meditation, he heard a voice calling him to proclaim the uniqueness and power of Allah. Mohammed seemingly did not, at first, conceive of himself as the conscious preacher of a new religion. It was only the opposition from those about him at Mecca that drove him on to set up a new religious community with distinctive doctrines and institutions. In 632 Mohammed died, the last of all the founders of great world religions.Little is known of the early life of Jesus Christ. Born a few years before the year 1 A. D. in Bethlehem of Judaea, he lived in Nazareth, a city of Galilee, until he was about thirty years of age. We h ave no reason to doubt the tradition that after the death of Joseph, the head of the family, Jesus became the main support of Mary and the younger children. He worked at his trade, that of a carpenter, and lived the life which would be expected of a religiously-minded young Hebrew.At about the age of thirty Jesus suddenly appeared at the Jordan, where John, a cousin of his, was performing the rite of baptism on those who came professing a desire to amend their ways and live better lives. Jesus also came and, against the scruples of John, who saw that Jesus was in different case from the others, was baptized. It marked a turning-point, for with the outward ritual act came an inner spiritual experience of profound significance for Jesus. A voice assured him that he was in a unique sense his Father's â€Å"beloved Son,† in whom he was â€Å"well pleased† (Borg 1997). It seems to have been the consummation of his thought and prayer and eager yearning for many years.He had received his revelation; he would proclaim God as a Father and men as his sons. He was filled with a sense of mission, of having a work to do and a message to deliver, which to the end of his life did not leave him for a moment. He went from place to place in Palestine preaching in the synagogues and out-of-door places wherever the people congregated, and talking to individuals and to groups as they came to him with their questions and problems. He began to gather about him a little company of disciples, which soon grew to twelve and which accompanied him on all his journeys.He spent much time in giving them instruction and on several occasions sent them out to heal and to preach. Jesus came to establish a kingdom, and this was the burden of his message. But he never forgot that the form of the Kingdom and many things connected with its coming were of lesser significance than the inner meaning and the principles on which it was based. The first of these was man's relationship with G od.Jesus was not only a teacher; he was a worker of miracles. The Gospels tell us that he cured the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, fed the hungry, stilled the storm, and even raised the dead. Much was made of these wonders by former generations of Christians, who used them as proofs of the divine character of the One who performed them. Such use of these incidents does not produce the effect it once did and is being discarded.A closer study of the attitude of Jesus toward his own miraculous power clearly indicates that he minimized its significance. He would have men secure a better perspective and realize that moral power was on a higher level than the ability to work marvels. With this in view it scarcely seems congruous to use the miracles in a way which could scarcely be acceptable to Jesus himself. But of all the impressions Jesus made the strongest was that he was in touch with God his Father and that this was the explanation of all the wonderful things about him.Jesus, h owever, was not only winning followers and bringing them close to God; he had come into collision with the religious authorities of his people, and in the end lost his life at their hands. They were formalists and as such had not averted the danger of losing sight of the vital principles of their religion. Jesus was an innovator, and felt free to act in accordance with the inner spirit of the old precepts even when by doing so he ran counter to the letter of the law.When Jesus appeared in Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover, He was seized and, after having had a preliminary hearing before the Jewish high priest and Sanhedrin, was taken before Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator, and was condemned to death. He was crucified, together with two criminals, and died at the end of six hours' agony on the cross. His body was taken down by friends in the early evening and laid in a rock-hewn tomb. The hopes of his disciples were dashed to the ground, and undoubtedly the Jewish leaders a nd the Roman authorities thought they had rid themselves of an exceedingly troublesome creature (Allen 1998).But such was not to be, for a very remarkable thing happened the third day after. To the utter amazement of his disciples, who had not recovered from the paralyzing effect of their grief and disappointment, Jesus appeared to them so unmistakably that they were convinced that death had not been able to hold its victim and that Jesus was alive.Their new enthusiasm, the founding of the Christian Church on the assurance of the presence of the living Christ, the adoption of the first day of the week as a memorial of the day when Jesus reappeared alive -all these historic facts bear witness to the genuineness of the disciples' testimony that the same Jesus who had journeyed with them, who had died and had been laid away in the tomb, was raised from the dead, their living Master forevermore. They immediately went out to preach â€Å"the gospel of the resurrection,† and with t hat the history of the Christian Church was begun.Mohammed's teaching, from the beginning, shows strong Jewish and Christian influence. Mohammed learned the great stories of the Old Testament; especially was he impressed with the life of Abraham whom he later considered one of his own predecessors and who he claimed had founded the Ka' bah at Mecca. He, likewise, learned of the Christian Trinity whom he understood to be God the Father, Mary the Mother, and Jesus the Son.He was looking for common ground on which to found a faith for all monotheists. He had a profound respect for Jews and Christians, especially for the Jews, though when they refused to join him and when later they thwarted him, he attacked them fiercely. Mohammed took from Jewish, Christian, and also Persian teaching only what he wanted, and he combined all he borrowed in a set of ideas that always bore his own mark. In the Koran, for example, he uses the characters of the Bible as successful advocates in the past of the doctrines of Mohammed in the present. Mohammed called the Jews and the Christians the â€Å"People of the Book,† and he came to believe himself called to give his own people, the Arabs, a book.Soon after Mohammed's death in 632, a wave of conquest gathered in all of Arabia, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, and part of Persia. In less than a century all of North Africa, Spain, Asia Minor, and Central Asia to the Indus River were swept by the conquering armies of Islam. These conquests were as orderly as they were speedy; little damage seems to have been done, and immediately after the Arab armies entered an area they organized it. The Arab annexation, at first, meant little more than a change of rulers.Life and social institutions went on as before with little interference and no forced conversions; the conquered peoples could even keep their own religion by paying a tax. The Arab colonies planted in each new territory became the centers from which Islamic religious ideas spread a nd in which, at the same time, a new culture developed. Not until the new peoples, like the Seljuks, who were outside the Graeco-Roman tradition, were converted to Mohammedanism did Islam become fanatical. Indeed, no such militant intolerance as characterized the Christian attack on paganism was normally shown by the Mohammedans until into the eleventh century.The reasons for these fantastic conquests were various. To his own people, especially to the desert tribes, Mohammed offered war and booty, and to those who lived in the Arab towns he offered the extension of commerce. Caravans travelled in the midst of the Muslim armies. For those who died, Islam promised a glowing paradise. One drop of blood shed in battle, even a single night spent under arms would count for more than two months of prayer or fasting.Christianity and Islam have, like every other religion, developed their own mythology. These mythologies are at its height in the beautiful imagery that centers around the festi vals of Christmas, Easter and Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha (â€Å"Eid† or â€Å"Id† means festival). Indeed, there is today a rediscovery of the value of myth in human life. Today Christianity and Islam provide a good framework for the religious life. Some people, possibly lots of people, would claim that if Jesus and Mohammed were wrong, they can no longer be relevant. That claim can probably be disputed on theological grounds (Freedman 2001).The remarkable ‘footprint' of Jesus and Mohammed in history has strangely contradictory implications for an encounter with them today. On the one hand, it means that a true and adequate understanding of the men remains a vital task, even as third millennium has dawned. Just as in the first century Jesus was embraced as Saviour of the world by Jews and Gentiles excluded from religious and political power, so today he is welcomed above all by ordinary, poor and marginalised people – in the west and the east, and especia lly in the South. Like Paul, they see him, God's gospel, as having the power to liberate them from sin, their personal sins, the socio-political, cultural and structural sins of their nations, cultures and churches and the unjust economic and technological structures of the so-called ‘global village'.At least in the western world, it remains true that we can understand neither Christian faith nor much of the world around us if we do not come to terms with Jesus of Nazareth and the two millennia of engagement with his heritage. The followers of Jesus and Mohammed live in every country of the globe. They read and speak of these people in a thousand tongues. For them, the world's creation and destiny hold together in their gods, the wholly human and visible icon of the wholly transcendent and invisible God. Jesus and Mohammed animate their cultures, creeds and aspirations.ReferencesAllen, Charlotte. (1998).The human Christ: the search for the historical Jesus. Oxford: Lion.Borg, Marcus J., ed. (1997). Jesus at 2000. Boulder: Westview Press.Freedman, David Noel. (2001). The Rivers of Paradise: Moses, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus, and Muhammad as Religious Founders. Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, MI.