Japan nears economy plan :: essays papers

Japan approaches economy plan TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese policymakers moved nearer Tuesday to a concurrence on measures to expel two long-standing hindrances to a financial recuperation - banks' sloping awful credits and securities exchange shortcoming. The decision alliance government is relied upon to finish by Wednesday a bundle fixating on steps to assist keeps money with discarding their non-performing credits and an exceptional reserve to assimilate deals of offers held by banks. While the cutoff time was deliberate and authorities have been hesitant to promise it would be met, in question is the believability of political and budgetary pioneers who have been not able to haul the country out of financial doldrums for 10 years. The nation's benchmark Nikkei share value normal, which shot up in excess of 3 percent at one point Tuesday on good faith about the monetary bundle, chances a retreat towards a month ago's 16-year lows if no dependable arrangement is reached. One key purpose of dispute has been whethe r citizens' cash ought to be utilized by a proposed store to purchase shares from banks. The Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan's budgetary controller, had been hesitant to channel open assets into the body, saying government mediation in the market ought to be as constrained as could reasonably be expected. Be that as it may, an individual from the alliance board examining the issue said the hole was narrowing. The FSA appeared to have inclined nearer toward us, despite the fact that there are still a few contrasts, he told journalists. The alliance has changed the name of the proposed body to a store to obtain banks' shareholdings from a progressively unrefined stock-purchasing reserve, determining that the point was to assist saves money with emptying enormous shareholdings, misfortunes in which are crushing their capital sufficiency proportions and choking loaning. The banks have developed tremendous arrangement of offers in bunch organizations and their customers as a way t o solidify business ties, however the drop in Japanese offer costs in the course of the most recent decade has carried calls to constrain banks' shareholdings. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun money related day by day announced not long ago that  ¥15 trillion, or $119 billion, of assets from the state-upheld banking security net, the Deposit Insurance Corp., could be diverted to the proposed stock-purchasing body. The legislature is booked to hold a gathering of its crisis team on monetary estimates Wednesday morning if understanding can be reached with the decision alliance parties on Tuesday, a LDP official said. Copyright  © 2001, CNN America, INC.

The Quiet American Essay -- Films Movies Vietnam War Essays

The Quiet American The film The Quiet American happens during the 1950’s in Vietnam. The film delineates the environment of Vietnam past to the Vietnam War and during the French control of the nation. The principle plot of the film spins around three characters: Fowler played by Michael Caine, Pyle played by Brendan Fraiser, and Phoung played by Do Thi Hai Yen. For the span of the film the three principle characters are engaged with a semi love triangle. This triangle and the feelings that the male characters feel towards Phoung start to describe the manner in which they feel about the nation of Vietnam itself. Vietnam becomes feminized, untouchable, and sexualized similarly as Phoung does in Pyle and Fowler’s eyes. The way where Fowler and Pyle battle over Phoung speaks to the methodology that Britain and America utilized in their battle to â€Å"save† Vietnam from socialism. Pyle’s’ goals toward Phoung, albeit comparable at times to Fowler’s, contrast extraordinarily simultaneously. The two men see Phoung as a kind of article that should be spared or requires a type of help with request to suffer life. At the point when Pyle begins to look all starry eyed at Phoung upon their first gathering, he concludes that he should do whatever he can or whatever he considers fundamental so as to â€Å"save† Phoung from a modest presence. This is precisely the same way that Pyle sees Vietnam and its current condition. He needs to safeguard Vietnam from what he accepts to be unadulterated shrewdness: socialism. Pyle does this in a...

Helping Kids Cope in a Time of Crisis and Fear

Helping Kids Cope in a Time of Crisis and Fear FutureFit RL RF ? Peruse an article that is intended for parents, but has useful advice for teachers. It details, by age levels, how to explain horrific events to children. Updated on: September 12, 2001 Helping Kids Cope in a Time of Crisis and Fear: Advice for Teachers and Parents by Katy Abel Editor's note: This article was written as a guide for helping children following the attacks of September 11, 2001. However, the content of the article will be useful for teachers and parents following any national or international tragedy. In times of national agony, as we sense our security vanishing in the flames and smoke of unforeseen terrorism and tragedy, many of us wonder whatâ€"and how muchâ€"to say to children. The very sudden and shocking nature of September 11 attack on America makes it all the more essential for Moms, Dads, and teachers to find the right words, and the right way to communicate a message of safety and family security. Here is family therapist Carleton Kendrick’s ages-and-stages advice for how to express thoughts and feelingsâ€"and listen to kids talkâ€"about what’s happened. Preschoolers: Limit Media Exposure During the Persian Gulf War and following the bombing of the Oklahoma federal building, many preschool teachers observed young children reenacting scenes from television news broadcasts in their classroom play. But while children may mimic scenes of tragedy, they lack the cognitive ability to fully comprehend what they see. Scenes of carnage may seem cartoon-like to some, truly terrifying to others. “Preschoolers are basically going to be mirroring what they hear and see around them,” observes Kendrick. “My strong suggestion is to keep preschoolers away from television images of what’s happened in New York and Washington.” Kendrick advises parents to share their own feelings with preschoolers on a “need-to-know” basis. No four-year-old can understand a terrorist plot, but she may think it’s her fault if Mom is upset and it’s unclear why. A simple explanation (“I’m sad because some people were hurt in an accident today”) may be all that’s needed. Other suggestions: Maintain the family schedule as much as possible. This is a time when a sit-down dinner and a bedtime story can signal young children that while big buildings are falling down, the family structure remains intact. oung elementary school students will get information about what’s happened from their peers, if no one else. “Just as you don’t want them to have knowledge of sex from the playground, so too you don’t want them to rely on their friends for information about these attacks,” cautions Kendrick. “You the parent have to filter the horror and the tragedy and somehow make it understandable and not paralyzing.” Since children this age are going to wonder first and foremost about their own physical safety, Kendrick suggests accenting the positive. “I’d say, ‘We’re going to be a lot safer now,’” Kendrick advises. “Tell kids that we’ve learned from this that we have to have better plans to protect buildings and planes. This is important reassurance because children may have fears about their parents flying off on a business trip, or the family’s upcoming visit to Grandma’s for the holidays.” ou can certainly initiate a conversation, but always with, ‘What have you heard?’ That tips you off to what kids bring to the table.” Children are also old enough by fourth grade to express their own feelings and hear about the full range of their parents’ emotions. At the same time, they still need reassurance that their parents are powerful caretakers who can protect them. “’I’m looking out for you as best I can, taking care of you and voting for leaders who will take care of our country,’” is one way to express a desire to protect a child from harm. Grade 7 and Up: Identity and Security Parents can expect many pre-teens and teens to feel a heightened sense of anxiety in the wake of Tuesday’s attacks, Kendrick believes. The current climate of uncertainty and fear mirrors the emotions that many teens are experiencing in their personal lives. “The adolescent needs a safe harbor to retreat to after going out and testing the limits,” Kendrick notes. “But now it appears to them that somebody’s gone out and blown up the harbor. So with teens it’s all the more important that you reinforce whatever you can about your family being the real safe harbor, even if there are choppy seas in the distance. This is a good time to tap into the strength of “we,” so they know they are not floundering out there.” Teens and even younger children will take comfort in hearing about the good deeds and heroics that always accompany human tragedy. Share accounts of successful rescues, and tell children about the many Americans who are lining up to donate blood. Children will also feel better when they themselves are given a chance “to do something.” Help children write condolence letters to the victims’ families, plant a tree or bush to honor their memory, or visit a local church to light a candle and say a prayer for comfort and peace. FamilyEducation

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Essay on Roosevelt and Hoover DBQ - 1428 Words

Roosevelt and Hoover DBQ The Great Depression quickly altered Americas view of liberalism and therefore, Roosevelt can be considered a liberal and Hoover a conservative, despite the fact that they did occasionally support very similar policies. The United States experienced political shifts during the Great Depression, which are described by Arthur Schlesinger’s analysis of eras in which public objectives were placed before personal concerns. It seems that the public view of what constitutes as liberal beliefs versus what is thought to be conservative beliefs shifts in a similar way. Laissez-faire ideas were considered liberal during the 1920s, but the coming of the Great Depression in 1929 altered the American view of liberalism.†¦show more content†¦The Second Industrial Revolution was ushered in with the invention of the production line. This made it possible for businessmen, such as Henry Ford, to prosper. Automobiles and a variety of other useful electrical appliances became accessible to the masses. The United States had become more success and this instilled a new confidence in the American people, which caused people to support the liberal policies of the 1920s. Hoover was beginning to demonstrate conservative beliefs even before the onset of the Great Depression. Document A shows Hoover’s wish to avoid being thought of as a complete supporter of laissez-faire ideas. He appeared irresolute when it came to preserving the capitalistic society of the 1920s. During this time, society was managed by corrupt political bosses, such as Tweed. The American economy had flourished under the private interest policies of Harding and Coolidge, which forced Hoover to promise the American people that he would not abandon the laissez-faire economics, which had been so successful during past presidencies. Hoover was sure, however, that working class Americans would not be opposed to restricting unfair business practices. Documents B an d C depict Hoover’s lack of support for private interest or public purpose policies. In these documents, Hoover stresses the significance of individual interestsShow MoreRelatedEssay on APUSH DBQ- Hoover vs. Roosevelt774 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿DBQ #3 President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the thirty-second president of the United States, was a central figure for the United States in the 20th Century. While leading his country out of The Great Depression, he also led the nation through World War II. Herbert Hoover, the thirty-first President, led the country during the Great Depression and his policies enforced at that time eventually led to his downfall because of their inability to end the downward economic spiral. Both of these PresidentsRead MoreSummary : Great Depression 1445 Words   |  6 PagesPhillip Durgin March 10th, 2016 G Block History Great Depression DBQ As â€Å"prosperity s decade† came to a symbolically harsh and sudden end on Thursday, October 24, 1929, the United States government, led by President Herbert Hoover, was thrown into the unknown. No such downturn had ever presented itself before, which compounded itself with the lack of economic understanding present at the time. Yet it had seemed that the economy was healthy before the crash. Employment was high and inflation wasRead MoreThe New Deal: DBQ1337 Words   |  6 PagesDBQ In 1929, the United States Stock Market crashed, heralding the tumble into world-wide depression. President Hoover tried to pacify the people by telling them it was temporary and would pass over. But a new figure rose out of the people, promising he would do anything and everything he could to restore their lives. In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to the presidency, and his new policies would soon sweep over the country. Roosevelts responses to the problems of the Great DepressionRead MoreApush Dbqs Essay2248 Words   |  9 Pages2011 DBQ: (Form A) 1. Analyze the international and domestic challenges the United States faced between 1968 and 1974, and evaluate how President Richard Nixon’s administration responded to them. (Form B) 1. Explain the ways that participation in political campaigns and elections in the United States changed between 1815 and 1840, and analyze forces and events that led to these changes. 2010 DBQ: (Form A) 1. In what ways did ideas and values held by Puritans influence the political

Lamb The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 2 Free Essays

Chapter 2 The angel wants me to convey more of Joshua’s grace. Grace? I’m trying to write about a six-year-old, for Christ’s sakes, how much grace could he have? It’s not like Joshua walked around professing that he was the Son of God every day of the week. He was a pretty normal kid, for the most part. We will write a custom essay sample on Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 2 or any similar topic only for you Order Now There was the trick he did with the lizards, and once we found a dead meadowlark and he brought it back to life, and there was the time, when we were eight, when he healed his brother Judah’s fractured skull after a game of â€Å"stone the adulteress† got out of hand. (Judah could never get the knack of being an adulteress. He’d stand there stiff as Lot’s wife. You can’t do that. An adulteress has to be wily and nimble-footed.) The miracles Joshua performed were small and quiet, as miracles tend to be, once you get used to them. But trouble came from the miracles that happened around him, without his volition, as it were. Bread and serpents come to mind. It was a few days before the Passover feast, and many of the families of Nazareth were not making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem that year. There had been little rain through our winter season, so it was going to be a hard year. Many farmers could not afford the time away from their fields to travel to and from the holy city. My father and Joshua’s were both working in Sepphoris, and the Romans wouldn’t give them time off work beyond the actual feast days. My mother had been making the unleavened bread when I came in from playing in the square. She held a dozen sheets of the flatbread before her and she looked as if she was going to dash it to the floor any second. â€Å"Biff, where is your friend Joshua?† My little brothers grinned at me from behind her skirts. â€Å"At home, I suppose. I just left him.† â€Å"What have you boys been doing?† â€Å"Nothing.† I tried to remember if I had done anything that should make her this angry, but nothing came to mind. It was a rare day and I’d made no trouble. Both my little brothers were unscathed as far as I knew. â€Å"What have you done to cause this?† She held out a sheet of the flatbread, and there, in crispy brown relief on the golden crust, was the image of my friend Joshua’s face. She snatched up another sheet of bread, and there, again, was my friend Josh. Graven images – big sin. Josh was smiling. Mother frowned on smiling. â€Å"Well? Do I need to go to Joshua’s house and ask his poor, insane mother?† â€Å"I did this. I put Joshua’s face on the bread.† I just hoped that she didn’t ask me how I had done it. â€Å"Your father will punish you when he comes home this evening. Now go, get out of here.† I could hear my little brother’s giggling as I slunk out the door, but once outside, things worsened. Women were coming away from their baking stones, and each held a sheet of unleavened bread, and each was muttering some variation of â€Å"Hey, there’s a kid on my bread.† I ran to Joshua’s house and stormed in without knocking. Joshua and his brothers were at the table eating. Mary was nursing Joshua’s newest little sister, Miriam. â€Å"You are in big trouble,† I whispered in Josh’s ear with enough force to blow out an eardrum. Joshua held up the flatbread he was eating and grinned, just like the face on his bread. â€Å"It’s a miracle.† â€Å"Tastes good too,† said James, crunching a corner off of his brother’s head. â€Å"It’s all over town, Joshua. Not just your house. Everyone’s bread has your face on it.† â€Å"He is truly the Son of God,† Mary said with a beatific smile. â€Å"Oh, jeez, Mother,† James said. â€Å"Yeah, jeez Mom,† said Judah. â€Å"His mug is all over the Passover feast. We have to do something.† They didn’t seem to get the gravity of the situation. I was already in trouble, and my mother didn’t even suspect anything supernatural. â€Å"We have to cut your hair.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"We cannot cut his hair,† Mary said. She had always let Joshua wear his hair long, like an Essene, saying that he was a Nazarite like Samson. It was just another reason why many of the townspeople thought her mad. The rest of us wore our hair cut short, like the Greeks who had ruled our country since the time of Alexander, and the Romans after them. â€Å"If we cut his hair he looks like the rest of us. We can say it’s someone else on the bread.† â€Å"Moses,† Mary said. â€Å"Young Moses.† â€Å"Yes!† â€Å"I’ll get a knife.† â€Å"James, Judah, come with me,† I said. â€Å"We have to tell the town that the face of Moses has come to visit us for the Passover feast.† Mary pulled Miriam from her breast, bent, and kissed me on the forehead. â€Å"You are a good friend, Biff.† I almost melted in my sandals, but I caught Joshua frowning at me. â€Å"It’s not the truth,† he said. â€Å"It will keep the Pharisees from judging you.† â€Å"I’m not afraid of them,† said the nine-year-old. â€Å"I didn’t do this to the bread.† â€Å"Then why take the blame and the punishment for it?† â€Å"I don’t know, seems like I should, doesn’t it?† â€Å"Sit still so your mother can cut your hair.† I dashed out the door, Judah and James on my heels, the three of us bleating like spring lambs. â€Å"Behold! Moses has put his face on the bread for Passover! Behold!† Miracles. She kissed me. Holy Moses on a matzo! She kissed me. The miracle of the serpent? It was an omen, in a way, although I can only say that because of what happened between Joshua and the Pharisees later on. At the time, Joshua thought it was the fulfillment of a prophecy, or that’s how we tried to sell it to his mother and father. It was late summer and we were playing in a wheat field outside of town when Joshua found the nest of vipers. â€Å"A nest of vipers,† Joshua shouted. The wheat was so tall I couldn’t see where he was calling from. â€Å"A pox on your family,† I replied. â€Å"No, there’s a nest of vipers over here. Really.† â€Å"Oh, I thought you were taunting me. Sorry, a pox off of your family.† â€Å"Come, see.† I crashed through the wheat to find Joshua standing by a pile of stones a farmer had used to mark the boundary of his field. I screamed and backpedaled so quickly that I lost my balance and fell. A knot of snakes writhed at Joshua’s feet, skating over his sandals and wrapping themselves around his ankles. â€Å"Joshua, get away from there.† â€Å"They won’t hurt me. It says so in Isaiah.† â€Å"Just in case they haven’t read the Prophets†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Joshua stepped aside, sending the snakes scattering, and there, behind him, was the biggest cobra I had ever seen. It reared up until it was taller than my friend, spreading a hood like a cloak. â€Å"Run, Joshua.† He smiled. â€Å"I’m going to call her Sarah, after Abraham’s wife. These are her children.† â€Å"No kidding? Say good-bye now, Josh.† â€Å"I want to show Mother. She loves prophecy.† With that, he was off toward the village, the giant serpent following him like a shadow. The baby snakes stayed in the nest and I backed slowly away before running after my friend. I once brought a frog home, hoping to keep him as a pet. Not a large frog, a one-handed frog, quiet and well mannered. My mother made me release him, then cleanse myself in the immersion pool (the mikveh) at the synagogue. Still she wouldn’t let me in the house until after sunset because I was unclean. Joshua led a fourteen-foot-long cobra into his house and his mother squealed with joy. My mother never squealed. Mary slung the baby to her hip, kneeled in front of her son, and quoted Isaiah: â€Å"‘The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den.'† James, Judah, and Elizabeth cowered in the corner, too frightened to cry. I stood outside the doorway watching. The snake swayed behind Joshua as if preparing to strike. â€Å"Her name is Sarah.† â€Å"They were cobras, not asps,† I said. â€Å"A whole pile of cobras.† â€Å"Can we keep her?† Joshua asked. â€Å"I’ll catch rats for her, and make a bed for her next to Elizabeth’s.† â€Å"Definitely not asps. I’d know an asp if I saw one. Probably not a cockatrice either. I’d say a cobra.† (Actually, I didn’t know an asp from a hole in the ground.) â€Å"Shush, Biff,† Mary said. My heart broke with the harshness in my love’s voice. Just then Joseph rounded the corner and went through the door before I could catch him. No worry, he was back outside in an instant. â€Å"Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat!† I checked to see if Joseph’s heart had failed, having quickly decided that once Mary and I were married the snake would have to go, or at least sleep outside, but the burly carpenter seemed only shaken, and a little dusty from his backward dive through the door. â€Å"Not an asp, right?† I asked. â€Å"Asps are made small to fit the breasts of Egyptian queens, right?† Joseph ignored me. â€Å"Back away slowly, son. I’ll get a knife from my workshop.† â€Å"She won’t hurt us,† Joshua said. â€Å"Her name is Sarah. She’s from Isaiah.† â€Å"It is in the prophecy, Joseph,† Mary said. I could see Joseph searching his memory for the passage. Although only a layman, he knew his scripture as well as anyone. â€Å"I don’t remember the part about Sarah.† â€Å"I don’t think it’s prophecy,† I offered. â€Å"It says asps, and that is definitely not an asp. I’d say she’s going to bite Joshua’s ass off if you don’t grab her, Joseph.† (A guy has to try.) â€Å"Can I keep her?† Joshua asked. Joseph had regained his composure by now. Evidently, once you accept that your wife slept with God, extraordinary events seem sort of commonplace. â€Å"Take her back where you found her, Joshua, the prophecy has been fulfilled now.† â€Å"But I want to keep her.† â€Å"No, Joshua.† â€Å"You’re not the boss of me.† I suspected that Joseph had heard that before. â€Å"Just so,† he said, â€Å"please take Sarah back where you found her.† Joshua stormed out of the house, his snake following close behind. Joseph and I gave them a wide berth. â€Å"Try not to let anyone see you,† Joseph said. â€Å"They won’t understand.† He was right, of course. On our way out of the village we ran into a gang of older boys, led by Jakan, the son of Iban the Pharisee. They did not understand. There were perhaps a dozen Pharisees in Nazareth: learned men, working-class teachers, who spent much of their time at the synagogue debating the Law. They were often hired as judges and scribes, and this gave them great influence over the people of the village. So much influence, in fact, that the Romans often used them as mouthpieces to our people. With influence comes power, with power, abuse. Jakan was only the son of a Pharisee. He was only two years older than Joshua and me, but he was well on his way to mastering cruelty. If there is a single joy in having everyone you have ever known two thousand years dead, it is that Jakan is one of them. May his fat crackle in the fires of hell for eternity! Joshua taught us that we should not hate – a lesson that I was never able to master, along with geometry. Blame Jakan for the former, Euclid for the latter. Joshua ran behind the houses and shops of the village, the snake behind him by ten steps, and me behind her ten steps more. As he rounded the corner by the smith’s shop, Joshua ran into Jakan, knocking him to the ground. â€Å"You idiot!† Jakan shouted, rising and dusting himself off. His three friends laughed and he spun on them like an angry tiger. â€Å"This one needs to have his face washed in dung. Hold him.† The boys turned their focus on Joshua, two grabbing his arms while the third punched him in the stomach. Jakan turned to look for a pile to rub Joshua’s face in. Sarah slithered around the corner and reared up behind Joshua, spreading her glorious hood wide above our heads. â€Å"Hey,† I called as I rounded the corner. â€Å"You guys think this is an asp?† My fear of the snake had changed into a sort of wary affection. She seemed to be smiling. I know I was. Sarah swayed from side to side like a wheat stalk in the wind. The boys dropped Joshua’s arms and ran to Jakan, who had turned and slowly backed away. â€Å"Joshua was talking about asps,† I continued, â€Å"but I’d have to say that this here is a cobra.† Joshua was bent over, still trying to catch his breath, but he looked back at me and grinned. â€Å"Of course, I’m not the son of a Pharisee, but – â€Å" â€Å"He’s in league with the serpent!† Jakan screamed. â€Å"He consorts with demons!† â€Å"Demons!† the other boys shouted, trying to crowd behind their fat friend. â€Å"I will tell my father of this and you’ll be stoned.† A voice from behind Jakan said, â€Å"What is all this shouting?† And a sweet voice it was. She came out of the house by the smith’s shop. Her skin shone like copper and she had the light blue eyes of the northern desert people. Wisps of reddish-brown hair showed at the edges of her purple shawl. She couldn’t have been more than nine or ten, but there was something very old in her eyes. I stopped breathing when I saw her. Jakan puffed up like a toad. â€Å"Stay back. These two are consorting with a demon. I will tell the elders and they will be judged.† She spit at his feet. I had never seen a girl spit before. It was charming. â€Å"It looks like a cobra to me.† â€Å"See there, I told you.† She walked up to Sarah as if she were approaching a fig tree looking for fruit, not a hint of fear, only interest. â€Å"You think this is a demon?† she said, without looking back at Jakan. â€Å"Won’t you be embarrassed when the elders find that you mistook a common snake of the field for a demon?† â€Å"It is a demon.† The girl reached her hand up, and the snake made as if to strike, then lowered its head until its forked tongue was brushing the girl’s fingers. â€Å"This is definitely a cobra, little boy. And these two were probably leading it back to the fields where it would help the farmers by eating rats.† â€Å"Yep, that’s what we were doing,† I said. â€Å"Absolutely,† Joshua said. The girl turned to Jakan and his friends. â€Å"A demon?† Jakan stomped like an angry donkey. â€Å"You are in league with them.† â€Å"Don’t be silly, my family has only just arrived from Magdala, I’ve never seen these two before, but it’s obvious what they were doing. We do it all the time in Magdala. But then, this is a backwater village.† â€Å"We do it here too,† Jakan said. â€Å"I was – well – these two make trouble.† â€Å"Trouble,† his friends said. â€Å"Why don’t we let them get on with what they were doing.† Jakan, his eyes bouncing from the girl to the snake to the girl again, began to lead his friends away. â€Å"I will deal with you two another time.† As soon as they were around the corner, the girl jumped back from the snake and ran toward the door of her house. â€Å"Wait,† Joshua called. â€Å"I have to go.† â€Å"What is your name?† â€Å"I’m Mary of Magdala, daughter of Isaac,† she said. â€Å"Call me Maggie.† â€Å"Come with us, Maggie.† â€Å"I can’t, I have to go.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because I’ve peed myself.† She disappeared through the door. Miracles. Once we were back in the wheat field Sarah headed for her den. We watched from a distance as she slid down the hole. â€Å"Josh. How did you do that?† â€Å"I have no idea.† â€Å"Is this kind of thing going to keep happening?† â€Å"Probably.† â€Å"We are going to get into a lot of trouble, aren’t we?† â€Å"What am I, a prophet?† â€Å"I asked you first.† Joshua stared into the sky like a man in a trance. â€Å"Did you see her? She’s afraid of nothing.† â€Å"She’s a giant snake, what’s to be afraid of?† Joshua frowned. â€Å"Don’t pretend to be simple, Biff. We were saved by a serpent and a girl, I don’t know what to think about that.† â€Å"Why think about it at all? It just happened.† â€Å"Nothing happens but by God’s will,† Joshua said. â€Å"It doesn’t fit with the testament of Moses.† â€Å"Maybe it’s a new testament,† I said. â€Å"You aren’t pretending, are you?† Joshua said. â€Å"You really are simple.† â€Å"I think she likes you better than she likes me,† I said. â€Å"The snake?† â€Å"Right, I’m the simple one.† I don’t know if now, having lived and died the life of a man, I can write about little-boy love, but remembering it now, it seems the cleanest pain I’ve known. Love without desire, or conditions, or limits – a pure and radiant glow in the heart that could make me giddy and sad and glorious all at once. Where does it go? Why, in all their experiments, did the Magi never try to capture that purity in a bottle? Perhaps they couldn’t. Perhaps it is lost to us when we become sexual creatures, and no magic can bring it back. Perhaps I only remember it because I spent so long trying to understand the love that Joshua felt for everyone. In the East they taught us that all suffering comes from desire, and that rough beast would stalk me through my life, but on that afternoon, and for a time after, I touched grace. At night I would lie awake, listening to my brothers’ breathing against the silence of the house, and in my mind’s eye I could see her eyes like blue fire in the dark. Exquisite torture. I wonder now if Joshua didn’t make her whole life like that. Maggie, she was the strongest of us all. After the miracle of the serpent, Joshua and I made up excuses to pass by the smith’s shop where we might run into Maggie. Every morning we would rise early and go to Joseph, volunteering to run to the smith for some nails or the repair of a tool. Poor Joseph took this as enthusiasm for carpentry. â€Å"Would you boys like to come to Sepphoris with me tomorrow?† Joseph asked us one day when we were badgering him about fetching nails. â€Å"Biff, would your father let you start learning the work of a carpenter?† I was mortified. At ten a boy was expected to start learning his father’s trade, but that was a year away – forever when you’re nine. â€Å"I?CI am still thinking about what I will do when I grow up,† I said. My own father had made a similar offer to Joshua the day before. â€Å"So you won’t become a stonecutter?† â€Å"I was thinking about becoming the village idiot, if my father will allow it.† â€Å"He has a God-given talent,† Joshua said. â€Å"I’ve been talking to Bartholomew the idiot,† I said. â€Å"He’s going to teach me to fling my own dung and run headlong into walls.† Joseph scowled at me. â€Å"Perhaps you two are yet too young. Next year.† â€Å"Yes,† Joshua said, â€Å"next year. May we go now, Joseph? Biff is meeting Bartholomew for his lesson.† Joseph nodded and we were off before he inflicted more kindness upon us. We actually had befriended Bartholomew, the village idiot. He was foul and drooled a lot, but he was large, and offered some protection against Jakan and his bullies. Bart also spent most of his time begging near the town square, where the women came to fetch water from the well. From time to time we caught a glimpse of Maggie as she passed, a water jar balanced on her head. â€Å"You know, we are going to have to start working soon,† Joshua said. â€Å"I won’t see you, once I’m working with my father.† â€Å"Joshua, look around you, do you see any trees?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"And the trees we do have, olive trees – twisted, gnarly, knotty things, right?† â€Å"Right.† â€Å"But you’re going to be a carpenter like your father?† â€Å"There’s a chance of it.† â€Å"One word, Josh: rocks.† â€Å"Rocks?† â€Å"Look around. Rocks as far as the eye can see. Galilee is nothing but rocks, dirt, and more rocks. Be a stonemason like me and my father. We can build cities for the Romans.† â€Å"Actually, I was thinking about saving mankind.† â€Å"Forget that nonsense, Josh. Rocks, I tell you.† How to cite Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 2, Essay examples

Take Care by Drake free essay sample

Take Careof this album. It was a chilly Novemburr afternoon when I heard Drake’s â€Å"Headlines† on the radio. It made me want to nod my head along and rap like a G and I knew right away that I wanted to hear the entire album. Famous rapper and Canadian hit-show actor? Yes. Native Canadian, Aubrey Graham’s rise to fame was on a TV show called Degrassi. Aubrey played a quadriplegic basketball player who was very popular and learned how to solve typical, everyday, teenage problems throughout the course of an episode. His role ended in 2009 where he went on to pursue his rapping career. Drake’s first few songs like,â€Å"Best I Ever Had† and, â€Å"Successful† were instant hits. â€Å"Sweatpants, hair tied, chillin’ with no makeup on, that’s when you the prettiest I hope that you don’t take it wrong† is a very popular line and made him famous with the ladies. We will write a custom essay sample on Take Care by Drake or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The tracks on Take Care all had a couple of themes in common like, his failures in love and his fears of living an unhappy life. In his song â€Å"Look What You’ve Done†, it features a voicemail from his grandmother at the end of the song. In â€Å"Shot For Me†, he is talking about how his ex-girlfriend left him and he says to her, â€Å"Girl I can’t lie, I miss you. You and music were the only things that I commit to.† I bet she’s really regretting that decision! Ha-ha. My overall opinion of this album is A-plus-plus. Although I wouldn’t play it at a party to dance along to, I would recommend it for having a chill night with your Bros. It’s full of introspection and some smooth beats perfect for a late night. Take Care by Drake free essay sample Rap. Hip hop. They have long been associated with demeaning of women, promotion of drugs, alcohol, crude language, and arrogancy. These views were challenged by a 25 year old from Toronto named Aubrey Graham, better known by his middle name: Drake. His new album, Take Care, not only is not filled with hate and arrogance, but is filled with powerful messages hidden in the lyrics of his music. The albums opening track, Over My Dead Body, is one of my favorites. He does use profane language, but he also appeals to the pain of being an underdog. In the song, he talks about how he had someone great, and then she was taken away by something. The song says that the girl is okay and everyone else but Drake is okay because these kids wear crowns, meaning they are the top crowd, the popular kids, the ones with power. Another significant track on the album is the albums namesake, Take Care featuring Rihanna. We will write a custom essay sample on Take Care by Drake or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In this song, Drake talks about a girl who he has known, and who he feels very strongly for, but is having difficulty with. He wants to be with her, but she pushing me away so I give her space, feeling with a heart that I didnt break. What hes saying is he would do whatever to please this girl, and he will use all his efforts to make that happen. Now how is that not beautiful? Its rap, it has swears in it, but it is filled with emotion, love, and struggle. In the song, Marvins Room, he talks about missing a past love. He says he is drunk, and even though she has a new man, he calls her and tells her how he feels, and that Im just saying you could do better. Tell me have you heard that lately? He talks about the struggles of fame and women. When you have fame you tend to abuse women, but Drake doesnt realize hes doing this before he is in very deep, and he wants his old life, his old girl. Doesnt everyone think like that once in a while? Doesnt everyone feel the rush of time? Doesnt that make people scared, and make them act out? Drake expresses themes that the young person who is coming of age deals with everyday. This album is by far, the best released in 2011, and the best Drake has ever done.