Epic Story Essay Example for Free

Epic Story Essay Epic Story I’d like to call upon the fiction gods to empower this story to be extravagant. The cold storm carried on with its overwhelming booms from the thunder shaking the house from the outside. Terrified, the blond haired Juliet sat in the corner of her darkened closet attempting to go unnoticed by the intruder stalking around her house. She sat there hugging her legs, praying that he wouldn’t hear her soft whimpers of fear. She listened quietly to the footsteps walking around her once safe home. They began to come closer, she could feel her heartbeat pick up, and he began to slowly approach her inadequate closet hiding spot. Her heart began to beat ferociously. Staring up at the door handle, she knew all of her efforts to escape this ordeal unharmed had been abandoned. The handle twisted, she looked for something, anything to protect herself with, and she came up empty handed. Sheepishly, she attempted to cover herself further with her father’s overcoat. The door began to open, she huddled as close to the corner as she could, wishing she could just sink through the walls to safety. She was in tears now, trying her hardest to muffle them, she thrust the jacket into her quivering mouth. Then, with just enough of an opening to see the intruder’s cold murderous eye; it stopped with a loud crash coming from the kitchen. Juliet froze, in anticipation of what was to come next. The intruder left her closet to investigate. Juliet knew this would be her one and only chance to escape; she quietly snuck out of the closet and began to run towards the backdoor. Halfway there she heard the deafening sound of a bullet leaving the barrel of the intruder’s gun. Looking around she caught a glimpse of her mother’s frail body crumple to the ground through the reflection of a mirror. In agony, she pushed herself to go on towards the freedom of the door. She grasped the handle and swung it open. Running out into the rabid storm, she scanned the yard for somewhere safe, glancing behind her, she saw the intruder catch sight of her, she ran as fast as her legs could take her towards the gate, away from this nightmare. Halfway there dividing her from escape, she felt a large mean hand catch her arm and swing her around. Fighting his grip she flailed her arms and punched him, but doing no harm, he dragged her back into the house. With one large blow to the right side of her head, she blacked out. She woke up to throbbing on the right side of her head. Attempting to grasp it, she found her hands were tied together against a pole, along with her feet, and tape over her mouth. She looked around and saw her sister tied up across from across the room, her head hung over. She also saw a large table in the middle of the dirty basement. On the right was a staircase, and coming down it was the intruder. He carried a large tool bag that clanged whenever he took a step. He walked over to her sister, untied her and laid her on the table. While he prepared to harm her sister, Juliet began to fidget out of the chords that held her hostage. She got one hand free, then the other, going unnoticed, she untied her feet. Waiting for the opportune moment, she charged towards the intruder, jumping on his back and strangling his neck with all her might. He was staggering about, he got close to a wall and crashed her into it; she crumpled to the ground in pain. He punched her again, and again, and again, until she was bloody and bruised. At the verge of consciousness, he stopped. Opening her eyes, she saw her sister hitting him with an axe. ~~~ They opened the door and the brightness from outside filled their heart with hope. They walked hand in hand towards freedom. (I figured out this was supposed to be a true story after I finished†¦.. whoops! )

Philosophy of Classroom Discipline Essay -- essays research papers

Philosophy of Classroom Discipline â€Å"Power is exercised only over free subjects, and only insofar as they are free. By this we mean individual or collective subjects who are faced with a field of possibilities in which several ways of behaving, several reactions and diverse compartments may be realized.† (Foucault) Foucault and Heidegger, modern philosophers, both describe power in these terms, as the facility to manipulate an object without force. Understanding this point of view is important, not only for state institutions who attempt to exert power over citizens and deviants, but also for teachers as they try to use disciplinary power to control the events in their classroom. Unfortunately, the majority of status quo disciplinary systems are entrenched in the mindset that power can be exerted over individuals through the use of coercive punishments and threats, actions which usually have the complete opposite result, less control over the students. A system that more closely mirrors Thomas Gordon’s view of discipline as self-control would be a far superior disciplinary model because it recognizes the true nature of power. Thomas Gordon’s disciplinary model specifically critiques the use of coercion and intimidation to exert power and control over students. Coercion to Gordon only reinforces a notion that violence is an acceptable form of control. Additionally, coerced and intimidated students will often retaliate against authority figures who attempt to exert coerciv...

Edgar Degas Paintings Comparison and Analysis

Edgar Degas has become known as one of the world’s most influential Impressionist, or Realist (the title he preferred), artists. Impressionism was one of the most important art movements in the nineteenth century and had great influences on Modern Art development. The first Impressionist exhibitions were held in 1874, but at the time, it still was not recognized as a real art. Impressionist artists, including Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, ignored details, revealed their brushstrokes, and placed unblended colors next to each other throughout their artwork. They were artists who were dissatisfied with Academic Art and opposed the Romantics idea that the main reason for art was to create emotional excitement for its viewers. Edgar Degas was one of these ‘rebels’ and one of the most prominent members of the group. Degas became known for his description of his subjects, which included depictions of ballet dancers and woman bathing which portrayed the ‘Impressionist’ label of experimental and vivid use of color. 1 As seen throughout many of his paintings, Degas consistently is seen to observe â€Å"laundresses, milliners and ballet dancers at work. 2 He employs in his artwork unusual perspectives and complex formal structures. His works, â€Å"Dancers, in Pink and Green† and â€Å"Woman Combing Her Hair† are two in particular pieces that are well-known and clearly depict the ‘Impressionist’ details of Degas. Both are very familiar in style, and in symbolism as well. â€Å"Dancers in Pin k and Green† and â€Å"Woman Combing her Hair† are two of hundreds of Degas pieces. They have significant similarities in style, mostly in part because they both reflect Impressionist artistic details. The charm of these two pictures are abstract- consisting in rhythm of light and shade, color and movement. Degas uses oil on canvas for â€Å"Dancers, in Pink and Green. † The vibrant colors, especially pink and green, are prominent in the painting and portray to the viewer a natural view of the ballerinas. The ballerinas appear natural and spontaneous rather than having a build up of composition with well-studied proportions and balance. Edgar Degas’ goal was to create a simple yet appealing image to the eye. Although Edgar Degas ignored details, revealed brushstrokes and placed unblended colors side by side, he still created a very realistic image of the ballerinas. If a viewer were to take a few steps back from the painting, the image itself seems to fall into place and seems real and intricate. His unusual perspectives and complex structures present in his artworks are also seen in his â€Å"Woman Combing her Hair. † Edgar Degas created â€Å"Woman Combing Her Hair† with pastels on a light green wove paper. The pastels helped establish a simple in theme, but complex in structure, composition. He depended upon vivid colors and purposeful gestures in his paintings rather than precise lines. 3 These characteristics added to the depiction of the subject of the painting. As seen in the previous Dancer art piece, the natural image of a woman is portrayed, but in this case it is a woman combing her hair. There is no build up of composition with studied proportions or balance as well- it is an image merely of a naked woman combing her hair. â€Å"The animal being that takes care of himself, a cat that licks itself. Up to this moment, the nude has been presented in poses that had a public in mind; my women, on the other hand, are simple honest people who bother with nothing but the very caring of their bodies. †(Edgar Degas)4 This quote reflects upon his view as an Impressionist artist. He did not want to portray his women as fixed poses that are established to create an image of a typical woman’s stance in the public mind, but to just provide the audience with a natural woman performing the mere routines of caring for her body. Within the two paintings, Degas expressed and categorized these women according to their profession: whether they be dancers or regular women of the household. They represented specific types of individuals. 5 Although completely different in themes, both paintings relay a similar message that not only characterizes Degas’ paintings, but characterizes Degas himself. It is evident through the collection of his works that Edgar Degas has developed obsessions, especially with woman in different forms. In these two cases, the women are either dancers or are regular woman performing daily routines such as combing hair. He is a keen observer to women and has cultivated complete objectivity in his paintings for he catches complete natural spontaneous poses of his subjects. These poses were very controversial at the time because it ‘exposed’ women in an uncommon way- a nude portrayal of them just in the means of their home. It could be nterpreted that Degas took regular woman routines, and added sexual depictions to them on purpose so that from then on, a woman combing her hair could be then be imagined as a woman combing her hair naked. As seen in â€Å"Dancers, in Pink and Green,† Degas reveals a simple image of multiple dancers getting ready to perform, and one in-particular dancer is just staring at her feet while others are prep ping for the performance. This simple depiction has more complex meaning in that the dancers are typically portrayed dancing. However, in this case, Degas shows one of them just staring at her feet- not dancing yet. Dance depicts structure, form and predetermined actions- a contradiction to his ideal of natural spontaneous poses. In â€Å"Woman Combing Her Hair,† the image is obviously simple- a woman performing a daily routine. This indicates clearly that Edgar Degas seems to pay much attention to women’s actions in detail. The ballet dancers and naked woman are like a film sequence of women in his collection. They are neither delirious or romantic figures, but instead are objects of obsessed study of their working movements and intimate daily activities. Both â€Å"Dancers, in Pink and Green† and â€Å"Woman Combing Her Hair† were painted to portray a very natural feel, as if the viewers have come upon the scene without the knowledge of the people engaged in it. Quality of unexpectedness and elasticity is evident, and this suits the expression of movement and life in the paintings. Every appears to not to be premeditated, but an instantaneous impression, unlike a camera because the action isn’t suspended- it retains elastic rhythm of moving life. Within these two pieces of art, Edgar Degas is seen to put emphasis on certain aspects. In the case of the ballet dancers, emphasis is placed on the dancers’ costumes through their vivid color and size in comparison to the dancers’ body. They seem to ‘stand-out’ from the body in the painting. Degas’ ballet dancers have no beauty in the face or grace of figure in an ordinary sense. Rather, the beauty of the painting is depicted through the vibrant unblended colors of the pink and green costumes. The colors of the costumes, although they are very visible, are simultaneously related to the background colors- the natural colors of the scenery in the painting. In â€Å"Woman Combing Her Hair,† emphasis is prominently placed upon the the length and color of the woman’s hair. The painting is dominated by light colors such as light vibrant green, and the white rug and the soft skin tones; however, the hair seems to be the prominent feature of the image that catches the eye the most. It’s length and dark luscious color grab the viewers’ attention and draws them to the focus: the woman combing her hair. Like the ballet dancers in â€Å"Dancers, in Pink and Green† Degas does not make an attempt to conceal the physical activity of this woman. Without seeing the woman’s face, it is difficult to identify her beauty for he has purposefully concealed it so that emphasis could be placed on the action and artistic expression rather than the details. This also applies to the â€Å"Dancers, in Pink and Green† painting. This unusual angularity was common in many of Degas’ pieces- it was a distinct characteristic of his innovative composition. He received many of his ideas from Japanese Print Art- this type of art heavily influenced his paintings; and his paintings and art style has in-turn influenced the artists following him. Edgar Degas has made history in the art world. His paintings have influenced and affected many, and have also been an inspiration for the next generation of artists. He made a huge impact on the effect that Impression had on the public and was known for it. His art had harmonious representation- aesthetic moments fixed on the canvas. : E. de Goncourt Jamal said on February 13, 1874 in commentary to Degas’ first exhibition: â€Å"Up until now, he is the person who best represents in a modern form what may be called the soul. †6

Profiling Metabolite Changes Within The Neuronal...

Profiling metabolite changes in the neuronal differentiation of human striatal neural stem cells using 1H-Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Yuen-Li Chung1, Gehan El Akabawy2,3, Po-Wah So4, Bhavana S. Solanky2,*, Martin O. Leach1, and Michel Modo2,5 1The Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden Hospital, Cancer Research UK and EPSRC Cancer Imaging Centre, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5PT, UK 2Kings College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, London, SE5 9NU, UK 3University of Menoufia, Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia, Egypt 4Kings College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroimaging, London, SE5 9NU, UK 5University of Pittsburgh, Department of Radiology, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Pittsburgh PA5203, USA Abstract Objective—Neural stem cells (NSCs) are playing an increasing clinical role for stroke. However at present, it is not yet possible to non-invasively monitor their differentiation once implanted into the brain. Methods—We here describe the use of high-resolution 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to define a metabolite profile of undifferentiated human striatal NSCs from the STROC05 cell line and their differentiation after 3 weeks of treatment with purmorphamine. Results—The undifferentiated conditions were characterized by ∠¼95% of cells expressing nestin and ∠¼77% being Ki67+, indicating that these were still proliferating. Phosphophocholine +glycerophosphocholine (PC+GPC)