Adventures at a Jamily Gathering :: Personal Narrative Writing

Adventures at a Jamily Gathering â€Å"This is a little ridiculous,† my brother sneers, shivering. It’s three o’clock in the afternoon, 30 degrees and dropping; we’re about 40 people from the entrance gate, and the concert doesn’t start until 7:30 pm. At this point, I’d have to agree with him. This concert is the last to be held this year at the Alpine Valley Amphitheater, and rightfully so—by the time Pearl Jam takes the stage, the temperature’s dropped to 15 degrees, and the band walk out doused heavily with stocking caps and scarves, and Eddie Vedder, the band’s frontman, welcomes the audience to â€Å"The Ice Bowl.† The crowd erupts in a roar that is part â€Å"Damn straight!† and part, â€Å"Yeah, and your asses have been sitting cozy in the tour bus all afternoon!† Wait, maybe that last part was just me†¦ This is my third time seeing Pearl Jam in concert since I discovered the band in 1994, and though I am still dedicated enough to endure the cold in order to ensure a decent spot on the general admission hill, my enthusiasm for the band and its music has waned a bit since my first show. As I wander up and down the line of fans waiting somewhat patiently to be admitted into the amphitheater, I see myself circa 1995 in several of the people I meet: their fierce protectiveness of the band, suspicion of half-assed fans, and the competitive nature of their devotion aren’t foreign to me. The Jamily is strictly members only, and the fans that comprise Pearl Jam family will let you know quickly if you’re in or out. Thanks to my obsessive-pursuit-of-Pearl-Jam-related-information phase, I was able to get most of the hardcore fans to trust my credentials enough to talk to me about their fandom—but it wasn’t always easy. Some of the fans’ interrogation of me was much more thorough than mine of them. I was assaulted with a variety of questions covering everything from the distance I’d traveled to see a Pearl Jam concert, how many shows I’d been to, the duration of my fanhood, and obscure facts I was able to recognize about the band. Usually, I passed these credibility tests with flying colors; I think I may have even made a few people nervous. This resulted in the initiation of phase two in which the fan asserts the superiority of his/her fandom over that of any other living being.

The Roman Catholic Funeral Rite vs. the Jewish Funeral Rite

The Roman Catholic Funeral Rite vs. the Jewish Funeral Rite Funeral services in the 1990’s are more complex that they have ever been before. The modern funeral director must not only be aware of and comply with their own state and local rules and regulations, but also with the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule and a variety of Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) rules. Add to this the fact that the so-called â€Å"traditional funeral† has become less and less traditional. While the religious aspects still play a major role in the majority of the funerals held in the United States, changes in the attitude of the clergy and the families, changes in funeral home structuring and pricing, and changes in the funeral home facilities and services that they render have caused a great change in the funeral itself. There are several religions that practice funeral rites, however, in this paper I will attempt to compare/contrast the Roman Catholic Funeral Rite vs. the Jewish Funeral Rite. Introduction to the Roman Catholic Church Of all the Christian religions in the world, the Roman Catholic Church is the largest, claiming approximately one billion members worldwide. In the United States there are about 55 million members. Roman Catholics believe that since Jesus Christ brought salvation into the world, He was the founder of their Church. They also believe that the Church has preserved the teachings of Christ and that the Holy Spirit guides the Church through its ministry. In regard to funeral rites, the Roman Catholic Church believes that all Catholics should be buried from the Church with a Mass. There is no actual charge for being buried from the Church. The funeral director should be able to guide the family as to the practices if an honorarium is customarily given to the celebrant. Clergy Notification The practice of notifying the deceased’s clergyman when a death occurs was at one time a common as well as sensible practice. However, today, this practice can in no way be considered the usual. Factors such as time of death, place where death occurred, and the relationship between the family and the clergy, each play a role in the family’s decision as to the appropriate time to notify the clergy of the death. Many families would be hesitant to call the clergy in the middle of the night and may determine that more can be accomplished by waiting until morning. This may be especially true in cases where the death was expected or where the Sacrament of the Sick had been administered. Since many priests want to participate in the decision making process for the date, time, and location of the funeral service, the funeral directors may want to determine whether or not the family had contacted the priest, who is to celebrate the Funeral Mass, prior to entering into discussions concerning the scheduling of the Mass. Removal of the Remains There are generally no church restrictions that would prohibit the removal of the remains at the time of death. In cases where the deceased was a clergy or a member of a religious order, there may be delays in the removal should there be a desire for special prayers by members of the order before removal. Preparing the Remains There are no specific restrictions as to the preparation of the remains of the body. Religious articles worn by the deceased should be removed, recorded, and replaced after the preparation of the body. The family should be asked if the religious articles should remain on the body or removed and returned to them. If the deceased is a clergyman or a member of a religious order, there may be restrictions as to how the remains are prepared. Some groups may request that the embalming be done in the convent, monastery, or rectory rather than in the funeral home. In this case, the funeral home should check with the individual within the church, monastery, or convent to obtain proper instructions and authorization to prepare the remains. Dressing and Casketing the Remains The deceased should be dressed in clothing selected by the family. Members of the clergy will be dressed in the robes of the station of their priesthood, while members of religious orders should be dressed in the robes of their affiliated position. Religious objects may be placed in the hands of the deceased by family or church officials. Rosary beads are most commonly used, and usually placed in the hands. A crucifix, sacred heart, or other religiously significant objects may be placed in the head or foot panel, on or near the casket. The Wake A Rosary Service or Wake will usually be held in the funeral or family home, or church the evening before the funeral Mass. This is to provide friends and family of the deceased an opportunity to share a series of prayers with the family. It is meant to offer a time of reflection on the meaning of life, death, and eternal life. The service may be led by a priest, layperson, family member, or the funeral director. This is usually scheduled by the family and approved by the church during the funeral arrangements. The Funeral Mass and Recessional The funeral Mass actually begins when the casket is moved into the vestibule of the church. The casket bearers and family members accompany the casket to await the celebrant and the alter attendants. The procession to meet the body is led by the crucifer and two alter attendants, one who carries the Holy Water and one who carries the incense. The celebrant is last in the procession. Following the greeting and invocation, the celebrant conducts the blessing of the casket with Holy Water. Casket pieces are removed at this time (if applicable) and set aside, and the casket is covered with a pall. In the case that an American flag is covering the casket, prior arrangements would be made as to remove the flag and use a pall. If removed, it will be properly folded and set aside. ) The procession down the aisle is led by the crucifer, followed by the alter attendants and the priest. The family will follow the casket down the aisle. When the procession reaches the foot of the altar, the cele brant will proceed up the steps while the funeral director seats the family and casket bearers. The casket should be placed at right angles to the altar. Laypersons and nuns re placed with their feet toward the altar, while priests are placed with their heads towards the altar. After the funeral directors exit the church, the celebrant will conduct several Bible readings, consisting of the Psalms and the Gospel. Family eulogies are then read and Communion is offered to all. After this, the celebrant will say the final commendation and bless the casket again with incense and Holy Water. After this, the funeral directors will return to the church for the recessional. In the recessional, the celebrant moves toward the cross bearer and the funeral directors return to each end of the casket. With room permitting, the casket is turned making the sign of a cross and it once again placed in the center of the aisle. The recessional makes it way out o the church the same order it entered. Variations of the funeral mass are common, but it the responsibility of the funeral director to maintain constant contact with the clergy. Introduction to Judaism Judaism, thought to date back to the 16th century B. C. , was the first monotheistic religion. Founded by Abraham, Judaism was the foundation for Christianity and Islam. It is based in the doctrine of one God, ancient scriptures (Old Testament) and Talmud (oral teachings of the Torah). There are three religious Jewish groupings in the United States: the Orthodox, who continue the ancient traditions and beliefs; the Reform, who allow greater flexibility and have adapted to modern practices; and the Conservative, who fit in between the Orthodox and Reform. The Conservative still follow ancient traditions, but have accepted gradual changes as a natural growth of the religion. (For the sake of this paper, I will be using mostly the Conservative and Reform position to compare to the Roman Catholic. ) Notification of Death/Clergy It is of up most importance that upon receiving the initial call of the death, that the funeral home request verbal permission to remove the body from the place of death. Upon meeting with the family, written permission of often received. It is also necessary to inform the family that embalming is not required by law, but is desired due to natural biological changes that occur after death. There are often times, whether it be for personal or religious reasons, that the neither the family nor the Rabbi want the body embalmed. It is usually not necessary to contact the Rabbi at the time of death unless the family so chooses to do so. The Rabbi is usually contacted after the funeral arrangements are completed and advised of the time and place of service. Dressing and Casketing The deceased may be dressed in any clothing desired by the family and Rabbi. The family will sometimes request that a shroud be used under the regular clothing or in place of the deceased’s clothing. The casket is the choice of the family and there are no restrictions as to the material it is made from or the type. Most will choose the traditional orthodox wooden casket, but metals or other materials normally used to make caskets are permitted also. The Funeral No funeral services, whether it is Orthodox, Reform, or Conservative, are to be held on the Jewish Shabbat, which is from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday. The funerals may be held in the funeral home, the residence of the deceased, the temple, or the grave site. The Rabbi, often accompanied by a Cantor, will lead and direct the service. The Cantor will often chant and sing the readings. If the funeral is held somewhere other than the temple, the cortege will not normally stop at the temple on the way to the cemetery. In most cases the funeral home will provide transportation for the Rabbi and the Cantor. The Committal Service Burial may take place in any cemetery the family chooses. During the procession, the Rabbi may stop seven times to pray. Upon arrival to the cemetery, the casket is placed in wooden planks over the newly dug grave. The site around the grave is usually plain with no artificial grass, but if using artificial grass, a tent and mechanical lowering device is used. During the service, the Rabbi will say special prayers and led the mourners in the recitation of the Kaddish (a prayer recited for the deceased by parents, siblings, spouses, and children). The children will recite the Kaddish at every service for their parents for 11 months. Upon leaving the gravesite, mourners should wash their hands three times by pouring water on them, beginning with the right hand. The hands are then air-dried. As one can see there are numerous differences in the Roman Catholic and the Jewish funeral rites. However, these religions are only two of the thousands practiced in our world. While some may consider their religion healthier than others, everyone has the right to apply whatever religion they choose as well as participate in their own funeral practices. With all the available options, choices, and changes, the â€Å"traditional† funeral is basically no longer. Works Cited Curley, Terrance, P. Planning the Catholic Funeral. Liturgical Press, July 2005. Funeral Etiquette. Google. com. 13 April 2008. http://www. mountcastle. net/ funeral. htm#Funeral_Etiquette_. Gambrel, Leslie. Personal Interview. 12 April 2008. Greenberg, Blu. How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household. Simon & Schuster, September 1985. Conservative Judaism. Google. com. 13 April 2008. http://uscj. org/index1. html. Watson, Ron. A Time to Mourn, a Time to Comfort. Jewish Lights Publishing, New York. November 1995.

“Ode to a Nightingale” and “To Autumn” by John Keats. Essay

Romanticism is a movement in literature that came as a result of a revolt against the previous period â€Å"Classicism†. John Keats was an English poet who became one of the most important Romantic poets. William Wordsworth, another significant figure during Romanticism, described it as â€Å"liberalism in literature’, meaning the artist was free from restraints and rules, and was encouraged to write about his/her own experiences, rather than being a passive narrator praising an event or person. Romanticism emphasizes on passion rather than reason, imagination rather than logic, and intuition rather than science. The Romantics were drawn to the medieval past, myths and legends, supernatural being, and nature. Keats led a very tragic life. His poems can often be related back to his bitter and sad experiences in life. Many of the ideas in Keats’s works are quintessentially of Romantic nature: imagination and creativity, the beauty of nature, magical creatures or experience, and the true sufferings of human life. â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale† and â€Å"To Autumn† are two well known odes by Keats. They both reflect some of the concerns in its context. â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale† explores the sufferings of mortal life and ways of escape including alcohol, imagination and poetry, and death. The nightingale represents transcendence to a better world and its song is the means by which the narrator reaches this state. Other Romantic poets often used this type of escape. In stanza I the narrator hears the song of a nightingale and he expresses his â€Å"drowsy numbness pains† which are not the effects of alcohol, but rather, from being so happy in hearing the song that his heart aches and his senses numbs. In stanza II, the narrator longs for alcohol, so he can forget his troubles and â€Å"leave the world unseen† with the bird. This leads to stanza III, with a sombre description of the human life that the nightingale has never known: â€Å"The weariness, the fever, and the fret†, â€Å"Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies†, â€Å"Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes†. Miseri es and the true conditions of mortal life were popular themes in Romantic poems. In stanza IV the narrator feels a great desire to fly away with the bird, away from grim mortal life and into an ideal world not through alcohol, but  through imagination and the â€Å"viewless wings of Poesy† or poetry. In stanza VI, the narrator contemplates the idea of death. The narrator is attracted to the state of dying amongst ecstatic music, flowers, perfume and the soft darkness. At the end of stanza VII, the nightingale’s song portrays a completely magical and imaginary world. However, it is not like a paradise, instead, it is more like a destructive world of illusions â€Å"perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn†. Romantic poems often contained the fantasy element. In stanza VIII, the narrator is jolted back to his reality world by the word â€Å"forlorn†. He realizes the bird has deceived him by convincing him he can escape into the ideal, but temporary world, but in the end, he will always have to come back to reality. The narrator is left with one last question to ponder – â€Å"Was it a vision, or a waking dream? Fled is that music: – Do I wake or sleep?† After the music of the nightingale is finally gone, he is unable to distinguish whether he heard the bird in his dream, or whether he was awake then, and asleep now. The end relates back to his drowsy state of being in stanza I. This circular structure can be found in a number of Romantic poems eg. Wordsworth’s â€Å"Tintern Abbey†, Keat’s â€Å"La Belle Dame Sans Merci†, and a number of his other odes. Circularity gives a sense of completeness without giving precise explanation to this experience. This poem has many characteristics in a Romantic ode including the poet’s involvement in the poem, the seriousness of the issue being discussed, and a further insight into life. Also many language techniques used by Keats, including alliteration, rhythm, rhyme, onomatopoeia, synaethesia, and personification, were commonly used by other Romantic poets. Like most other Romantic odes, â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale† is written in ten line stanzas. However, this ode is different in rhyme and rhythm. The first seven and the last two lines of each stanza are written in iambic pentameter, the eighth line of each stanza has only three accented syllables instead of five. The  rhyme scheme is the same in every stanza: ABABCDECDE. Synaesthesia is a poetic device where a thing associated with one sense is described in terms of another. It can be found in stanza II: wine is being described as â€Å"draught of vintage†, it tastes of flowers and the country green (normally associated with sight and smell), dance (movement), song (sound), and sunburn and mirth (feel and touch). Synaesthesia can also be found in stanza V where the â€Å"coming musk-rose† (touch and smell) is associated with â€Å"dewy wine† (taste). Keats uses alliteration to convey the tone and personification to dramatize the poem. Hippocrene (wine of poetic inspiration) is described as blushful, with â€Å"beaded bubbles winking at the brim†. The alliteration of ‘b’ sounds conveys energy and suggests fuzzy champagne. The repetition of soft sounds in â€Å"fade away into the forest dim† leads us to stanza III where the first three words â€Å"Fade far away† has the repetition of ‘a’ sounds, this lengthens and makes the tone subdued and melancholy. The alliteration of â€Å"fever and the fret† is followed by a series of phrases beginning with â€Å"Where†, this emphasizes the fact all these problems are associated with the mortal world. Beauty is personified here with having â€Å"lustrous eyes†. The first two words in stanza IV: â€Å"Away! Away!† renews energy after a grim stanza III. â€Å"Already with thee!† also quickens the pace. In stanza V , there are a lot of ‘s’ and ‘c’ sounds, which reflects the quiet mood. Death is personified in stanza VI, and the nightingale is personified in stanza VII. The bird is described as â€Å"not born for death†. The poem finishes in a regretful, quiet tone. The narrator and the reader are left to ponder the experience of they’ve just gone through. It ends with a mysterious note that many Romantic poems including many of Keats’s other poems also have. â€Å"To Autumn† is an ode about the real world of harvest, maturity, and fruitfulness, transfigured by the imagination. This poem was one of the last poems Keats wrote before his death. In this, Keats acknowledges his life is near the end and he accepts that beauty is in all things. The theme of this ode is one of the most popular themes used by Romantic poets. The narrator opens the poem and stanza I by addressing Autumn as a dear friend of the sun  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun†. They plot to load the vines with fruit, bend trees with apples, fill all fruit with ripeness, plump the pumpkins and fill flowers with honey for the bees. In stanza II, the narrator describes Autumn as a woman sitting on a granary floor, or on a half reaped grain field, watching juice from apples being squeezed by a cider press. Stanza III associates Autumn as the season on the brink of desolated winter, the songs and sounds of summer are sad and quiet. Our lives can be desc ribed in terms of seasons: spring is the beginning, summer is the peak, autumn is the maturing years and winter is the final stage in life. The form of this ode follows the same structure as other Romantic odes but it is varied. It is in eleven line stanzas, each in relatively precise iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme divides each stanza to two parts, the first four lines follows ABAB, while the last seven lines either follow CDEDCCE (first stanza) or CDECDDE (second and third stanza). This poem takes up the themes of other odes including temporality, mortality and change, but it is full of warm, rich and calm images. Keats establishes the serene tone by use of enjambment (where an idea is carried over into a new line), onomatopoeia and personification. In stanza I, Autumn and the sun are given human qualities. The sun is personified by its maturity. A feeling of plentiful and abundance is created by what Autumn and the sun are conspiring to do. In stanza II, Autumn is completely personified, it is being described as a woman, sitting, sleeping, doing the things we humans do. This creates a feeling of warmth and familiarity. In stanza III, the day is personified as the â€Å"soft-dying day†, small gnats â€Å"mourn† in a â€Å"wailful choir† and the light wind â€Å"lives or dies†. These images convey a quiet, peaceful sleep (death). Keats demonstrates that in nature, there is the constant cycle of life and death and death is a perfectly normal, peaceful process. From this poem, we can learn that accepting our fate, destiny and our mortality does not affect our ability to appreciate beauty in our mortal world. Romanticism was a period that focused on emotions, the imagination, the  mortal world, myths and legends, supernatural beings and the place of the individual in this world. â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale† and â€Å"To Autumn† are typical Romantic poems. Their structure, language features, and themes reflects those typical during Romanticism. â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale† is about transcending to an ideal world, while â€Å"To Autumn† is about the real world changed by imagination. The moral of both is that there may be temporary escape from grimness of human life, but in the end everyone has to return to reality and accept our mortality, and this acceptance won’t affect our capability to appreciate beauty.

Battle of Shiloh in the Civil War

Battle of Shiloh in the Civil War The Battle of Shiloh was fought April 6-7, 1862, and was an early engagement of the Civil War (1861-1865). Advancing into Tennessee, Major General Ulysses S. Grants troops were attacked by the Confederate Army of Mississippi. Taken by surprise, Union forces were driven back towards the Tennessee River. Able to hold, Grant was reinforced during the night of April 6/7 and launched a massive counterattack in the morning. This drove the Confederates from the field and secured a victory for the Union. The bloodiest battle of the war to date, the losses at Shiloh stunned the public but were far lower than the battles that would come later in the conflict. Lead-up to the Battle In the wake of the Union victories at Forts Henry and Donelson in February 1862, Major General Ulysses S. Grant pressed up the Tennessee River with the Army of West Tennessee. Halting at Pittsburg Landing, Grant was under orders to link up with Major General Don Carlos Buells Army of the Ohio for a thrust against the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. Not expecting a Confederate attack, Grant ordered his men to bivouac and commenced a regimen of training and drill. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives Records Administration While the bulk of the army remained at Pittsburg Landing, Grant dispatched Major General Lew Wallaces division several miles north to Stoney Lonesome. Unbeknownst to Grant, his Confederate opposite number, General Albert Sidney Johnston had concentrated his departments forces at Corinth, MS. Intending to attack the Union camp, Johnstons Army of Mississippi departed Corinth on April 3 and encamped three miles from Grants men. Planning to move forward the next day, Johnston was forced to delay the attack forty-eight hours. This delay led his second-in-command, General P.G.T. Beauregard, to advocate cancelling the operation as he believed the element of surprise had been lost. Not to be deterred, Johnston led his men out of camp early on April 6. General P.G.T. Beauregard. Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives Records Administration Fast Facts: Battle of Shiloh Conflict: Civil War (1861-1865)Dates: April 6-7, 1862Armies Commanders:UnionMajor General Ulysses S. GrantMajor General Don Carlos BuellArmy of West Tennessee - 48,894 menArmy of the Ohio - 17, 918 menConfederateGeneral Albert Sidney JohnstonGeneral Pierre G.T. BeauregardArmy of Mississippi - 44,699 menCasualties:Union: 1,754 killed, 8,408 wounded, and 2,885 captured/missingConfederate: 1,728 killed, 8,012 wounded, 959 captured/missing The Confederate Plan Johnstons plan called for the weight of the assault to strike the Union left with the goal of separating it from the Tennessee River and driving Grants army north and west into the swamps of Snake and Owl Creeks. Around 5:15 AM, the Confederates encountered a Union patrol and the fighting began. Surging forward, the corps of Major Generals Braxton Bragg and William Hardee formed a single, long battle line and struck the unprepared Union camps. As they advanced, units became entangled and difficult to control. Meeting with success, the attack drove into the camps as the Union troops attempted to rally. The Confederates Strike Around 7:30, Beauregard, who had been instructed to remain in the rear, sent forward the corps of Major General Leonidas Polk and Brigadier General John C. Breckinridge. Grant, who was downstream at Savannah, TN when the battle began, raced back and reached the field around 8:30. Bearing the brunt of the initial Confederate attack was Brigadier General William T. Shermans division which anchored the Union right. Though forced back, he worked tirelessly to rally his men and mounted a strong defense. Major General John McClernand. Photograph Courtesy of the Library of Congress To his left, Major General John A. McClernands division was also forced to stubbornly give ground. Around 9:00, as Grant was recalling Wallaces division and attempting to hasten the lead division of Buells army, troops from Brigadier Generals W.H.L. Wallaces and Benjamin Prentiss division occupied a strong defensive position in an oak thicket dubbed the Hornets Nest. Fighting valiantly, they repulsed several Confederate attacks as Union troops on either side were forced back. The Hornets Nest held for seven hours and only fell when fifty Confederate guns were brought to bear. Johnston Lost Around 2:30 PM, the Confederate command structure was badly shaken when Johnston was mortally wounded in the leg. Ascending to command, Beauregard continued to push his men forward and Colonel David Stuarts brigade achieved a breakthrough on the Union left along the river. Pausing to reform his men, Stuart failed to exploit the gap and moved his men towards the fighting at the Hornets Nest. With the collapse of the Hornets Nest, Grant formed a strong position extending west from the river and north up the River Road with Sherman on the right, McClernand in the center, and the remnants of Wallace and Brigadier General Stephen Hurlbuts division on the left. Attacking this new Union line, Beauregard had little success and his men were beaten back by heavy fire and naval gunfire support. With dusk approaching, he elected to retire for the night with the goal of returning to the offensive in the morning. Between 6:30-7:00 PM, Lew Wallaces division finally arrived after an unnecessarily circuitous march. While Wallaces men joined the Union line on the right, Buells army began arriving and reinforced his left. Realizing that he now possessed a sizable numerical advantage, Grant planned a massive counterattack for the next morning. Major General Don Carlos Buell. Photograph Courtesy of the Library of Congress Grant Strikes Back Advancing at dawn, Lew Wallaces men opened the attack around 7:00 AM. Pushing south, Grant and Buells troops drove the Confederates back as Beauregard worked to stabilize his lines. Hampered by the previous days intermingling of units, he was not able to form his entire army until around 10:00 AM. Pushing forward, Buells men retook the Hornets Nest by late morning but met strong counterattacks by Breckinridges men. Grinding on, Grant was able to retake his old camps around noon, forcing Beauregard to launch a series of attacks to protect access to the roads leading back to Corinth. By 2:00 PM, Beauregard realized that the battle was lost and began ordering his troops to retreat south. Breckinridges men moved into a covering position, while Confederate artillery was massed near Shiloh Church to protect the withdrawal. By 5:00 PM, most of Beauregards men had departed the field. With dusk approaching and his men exhausted, Grant elected not to pursue. A Terrible Toll The bloodiest battle of the war to date, Shiloh cost the Union 1,754 killed, 8,408 wounded, and 2,885 captured/missing. The Confederates lost 1,728 killed (including Johnston), 8,012 wounded, 959 captured/missing. A stunning victory, Grant was initially vilified for being taken by surprise, while Buell and Sherman were hailed as saviors. Pressured to remove Grant, President Abraham Lincoln famously replied, I cant spare this man; he fights. When the smoke of battle cleared, Grant was praised for his cool demeanor in saving the army from disaster. Regardless, he was temporarily relegated to a supporting role when Major General Henry Halleck, Grants immediate superior, took direct command for an advance against Corinth. Grant regained his army that summer when Halleck was promoted to general-in-chief of the Union armies. With Johnstons death, command of the Army of Mississippi was given to Bragg who would lead it in the battles of Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga.

History of the Dust Bowl Ecological Disaster

History of the Dust Bowl Ecological Disaster The Dust Bowl was the name given to an area of the Great Plains (southwestern Kansas, Oklahoma panhandle, Texas panhandle, northeastern New Mexico, and southeastern Colorado) that was devastated by nearly a decade of drought and soil erosion during the 1930s. The huge dust storms that ravaged the area destroyed crops and made living there untenable. Millions of people were forced to leave their homes, often searching for work in the West. This ecological disaster, which exacerbated the Great Depression, was only alleviated after the rains returned in 1939 and soil conservation efforts had begun in earnest. It Was Once Fertile Ground The Great Plains was once known for its rich, fertile, prairie soil that had taken thousands of years to build up. Following the Civil War, cattlemen over-grazed the semi-arid Plains, overcrowding it with cattle that fed on the prairie grasses that held the topsoil in place. Cattlemen were soon replaced by wheat farmers, who settled in the Great Plains and over-plowed the land. By World War I, so much wheat grew that farmers plowed mile after mile of soil, taking the unusually wet weather and bumper crops for granted. In the 1920s, thousands of additional farmers migrated to the area, plowing even more areas of grassland. Faster and more powerful gasoline tractors easily removed the remaining native Prairie grasses. But little rain fell in 1930, thus ending the unusually wet period. The Drought Begins An eight-year drought started in 1931 with hotter than usual temperatures. Winter’s prevailing winds took their toll on the cleared terrain, unprotected by indigenous grasses that once grew there. By 1932, the wind picked up and the sky went black in the middle of the day when a 200-mile-wide dirt cloud ascended from the ground. Known as a black blizzard, the topsoil tumbled over everything in its path as it blew away. Fourteen of these black blizzards blew in 1932. There were 38 in 1933. In 1934, 110 black blizzards blew. Some of these black blizzards unleashed large amounts of static electricity, enough to knock someone to the ground or short out an engine. Without green grasses to eat, cattle starved or were sold. People wore gauze masks and put wet sheets over their windows, but buckets of dust still managed to get inside their homes. Short on oxygen, people could barely breathe. Outside, the dust piled up like snow, burying cars and homes. The area, which had once been so fertile, was now referred to as the â€Å"Dust Bowl,† a term coined by reporter Robert Geiger in 1935. The dust storms grew bigger, sending swirling, powdery dust farther and farther, affecting more and more states. The Great Plains were becoming a desert as over 100 million acres of deeply plowed farmland lost all or most of its topsoil. Plagues and Illnesses The Dust Bowl intensified the wrath of the Great Depression. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt offered help by creating the Drought Relief Service, which offered relief checks, the buying of livestock, and food handouts; however, that didn’t help the land. Plagues of starving rabbits and jumping locusts came out of the hills. Mysterious illnesses began to surface. Suffocation occurred if one was caught outside during a dust storm – storms that could materialize out of nowhere. People became delirious from spitting up dirt and phlegm, a condition which became known as dust pneumonia or the brown plague. People sometimes died from their exposure to dust storms, especially children and the elderly. Migration With no rain for four years, Dust Bowlers by the thousands picked up and headed west in search of farm work in California. Tired and hopeless, a mass exodus of people left the Great Plains. Those with tenacity stayed behind in hopes that the next year is better. They didn’t want to join the homeless who had to live in floorless camps with no plumbing in San Joaquin Valley, California, desperately trying to seek enough migrant farm work to feed their families. But many of them were forced to leave when their homes and farms were foreclosed. Not only did farmers migrate but also businessmen, teachers, and medical professionals left when their towns dried up. It is estimated that by 1940, 2.5 million people had moved out of the Dust Bowl states. Hugh Bennett Has an Idea In March 1935, Hugh Hammond Bennett, now known as the father of soil conversation, had an idea and took his case to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. A soil scientist, Bennett had studied soils and erosion from Maine to California, in Alaska, and Central America for the Bureau of Soils. As a child, Bennett had watched his father use soil terracing in North Carolina for farming, saying that it helped the soil from blowing away. Bennett also had witnessed areas of land located side by side, where one patch had been abused and become unusable, while the other remained fertile from nature’s forests. In May 1934, Bennett attended a Congressional hearing regarding the problem of the Dust Bowl. While trying to relay his conservation ideas to the semi-interested Congressmen, one of the legendary dust storms made it all the way to Washington D.C. The dark gloom covered the sun and the legislators finally breathed what the Great Plains farmers had tasted. No longer in doubt, the 74th Congress passed the Soil Conservation Act, signed by President Roosevelt on April 27, 1935. Soil Conservation Efforts Begin Methods were developed and the remaining Great Plains farmers were paid a dollar an acre to try the new methods. Needing the money, they tried. The project called for the phenomenal planting of two hundred million wind-breaking trees across the Great Plains, stretching from Canada to northern Texas, to protect the land from erosion. Native red cedar and green ash trees were planted along fencerows separating properties. The extensive re-plowing of the land into furrows, planting trees in shelterbelts, and crop rotation resulted in a 65 percent reduction in the amount of soil blowing away by 1938. However, the drought continued. It Finally Rained Again In 1939, the rain finally came again. With the rain and the new development of irrigation built to resist drought, the land once again grew golden with the production of wheat.

Family Dermestidae and Dermestid Beetles

Family Dermestidae and Dermestid Beetles The family Dermestidae includes skin or hide beetles, carpet beetles, and larder beetles, some of which can be serious pests of closets and pantries. The name dermestid comes from the Latin derma, for skin, and este, meaning to consume. Description Museum curators know dermestid beetles all too well. These scavengers have a reputation for devouring museum specimens. Dermestid beetles protein-eating habits make them equally valuable in museum settings, however, as colonies of dermestids can be used to clean the flesh and hair from bones and skulls. Many entomology students have encountered dermestids as pests, too, as theyre known for their rather bad habit of feeding on preserved insect specimens. Forensic entomologists look for dermestid beetles at crimes scenes when trying to determine the time of the death of a cadaver. Dermestids typically appear late in the decomposition process, when the corpse begins to dry out. Dermestid adults are quite small, ranging from just 2 mm to 12 mm in length. Their bodies are oval and convex in shape, and sometimes elongated. Dermestid beetles are covered in hair or scales, and bear clubbed antennae. Dermestids have chewing mouthparts. Dermestid beetle larvae are worm-like, and range in color from pale yellowish brown to light chestnut. Like the adult dermestids, the larvae are hairy, most noticeably near the hind end. The larvae of some species are oval, while others are tapered. Classification Kingdom – AnimaliaPhylum – ArthropodaClass – InsectaOrder – ColeopteraFamily - Dermestidae Diet Dermestid larvae can digest keratin, the structural proteins in the skin, hair, and other animal and human remains. Most feed on animal products, including leather, fur, hair, skin, wool, and even dairy products Some dermestid larvae prefer plant proteins and feed instead on nuts and seeds, or even silk and cotton. Most adult dermestid beetles feed on pollen. Because they can digest wool and silk, as well as plant products like cotton, dermestids can be a real nuisance in the home, where they may chew holes in sweaters and blankets. Life Cycle Like all beetles, dermestids undergo complete metamorphosis with four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Dermestids vary greatly in the length of their life cycles, with some species going from egg to adult in 6 weeks, and others taking as long as a year or more to complete development. Females usually lay eggs in a dark crevice or other well-hidden location. Larvae molt through as many as 16 instars, feeding throughout the larval stage. After pupation, the adults emerge, ready to mate. Range and Distribution The cosmopolitan dermestid beetles live in varied habitats, provided theres a carcass or other food source available. Worldwide, scientists have described 1,000 species, with just over 120 known in North America. Sources: Borror and DeLongs Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th Edition, by Charles A. Triplehown and Norman F. JohnsonKaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, by Eric R. Eaton and Kenn KaufmanFamily Dermestidae, Bugguide.net, accessed November 25, 2011Dermestid Beetle, Texas AM AgriLife Extension, accessed November 25, 2011Dermestids, Utah State University Extension fact sheet

Avatar Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Avatar - Assignment Example Likewise, folk tales are most conducive to short moral or humorous tales. But for epic battles and profound victories, the format of the legend is the most similar. Avatar’s celebration of heroism makes it equal to the tradition of legendary tales. And there is plenty of elements and events in the film that support claims of its legendary status. For instance, in legions of renown, we usually have a forthright protagonist confronted by an evil villain whom he successfully quells. This is exactly how the story of Avatar unfolds. Here the morally upright is Jake and his sympathizers irrespective of whether they assume a human or Na’vi physical form. The chief antagonist is played by Quaritch, whose obsession with acquisition of material wealth makes him lose his humanity. This sets up a legendary battle between the twines of morality and decadence. As is always the case in traditions of legend, it is the morally righteous who emerge victorious. At the center of legendary stories are one heroic figure that epitomizes moral virtue and human values. Jake is that heroic figure in Avatar. Despite being born human and being equipped to think like human, through his avatar he is able to empathize with a biologically distant race. Though he is not a Na’vi in substance, he merges into one with them in spirit. His successful integration into Na’vi society is indeed the stuff legends are made of. Ironically, this improbable transition was made possible by Jake’s deep sense of humanity. His sense of righteousness allows him to put considerations of justice and fairness above material gratifications. In stories of legend, valor is a recurrent feature. There is plenty of that in display in the film. Jake’s courage is exemplary, for he puts his life on the line several times so as to save his adopted race. Avatar is also congruent with the format of the legend due to its mythical quality. The heroism and