The Olympics - Ancient Greek Funeral Games

The Olympics - Ancient Greek Funeral Games Its a curious aspect of sports that even when they are part of a celebration of global peace, like the Olympics, they are nationalistic, competitive, violent, and potentially deadly. Substitute panhellenic (open to all Greeks) for global and the same could be said about the ancient Olympics. Sports, in general, could be described as ritualized warfare where one power competes with another, where each hero (star athlete) strives to defeat a worthy opponent within a setting where death is unlikely. Rituals of Compensation for the Catastrophe of Death Control and ritual seem to be the defining terms. In coming to grips with the eternally present fact of death (remember: antiquity was a time of high infant mortality, death by diseases we can now control, and almost incessant warfare), the ancients put on shows where death was under human control. Sometimes the outcome of these shows was purposeful submission to death (as in the gladiatorial games), at other times, it was ​a  victory. Origin of the Games in Funerals The[re] are a number of possible explanations of the custom of funeral games such as to honor a dead warrior by reenacting his military skills, or as a renewal and affirmation of life to compensate for the loss of a warrior or as an expression of the aggressive impulses that accompany rage over the death. Perhaps they are all true at the same time.- Roger Dunkles Recreation and Games * In honor of his friend Patroclus, Achilles held funeral games (as described in Iliad 23). In honor of their father, Marcus and Decimus Brutus held the first gladiatorial games in Rome in 264 BCE. The Pythian Games celebrated Apollos slaying of the Python. The Isthmian games were a funeral tribute to the hero Melicertes. The Nemean games celebrated either Hercules killing of the Nemean lion or the funeral of Opheltes. All of these games celebrated death. But what about the Olympics? The Olympic games also began as a celebration of death, but like the Nemean games, the mythological explanations for the Olympics are confused. Two central figures used to explain the origins are Pelops and Hercules who are genealogically linked insofar as Hercules mortal father was Pelops grandson. Pelops Pelops wished to marry Hippodamia, the daughter of King Oenomaus of Pisa who had promised his daughter to the man who could win a chariot race against him. If the suitor lost the race, he would also lose his head. Through treachery, Oenomaus had kept his daughter unmarried and through treachery, Pelops won the race, killed the king, and married Hippodamia. Pelops celebrated his victory or King Oenomaus funeral with Olympic games. The site of the ancient Olympics was in Elis, which is in Pisa, in the Peloponnese. Hercules After Hercules cleaned the Augean stables, the king of Elis (in Pisa) welshed on his deal, so, when Hercules had a chance after he finished his labors he returned to Elis to wage war. The conclusion was foregone. After Hercules sacked the city, he put on the Olympic games to honor his father Zeus. In another version, Hercules merely regularized the games Pelops had instituted.

Editing - Definition and Guidelines

Editing - Definition and Guidelines Editing is a stage of the writing process in which a writer or editor strives to improve a draft (and sometimes prepare it for publication) by correcting errors and by making words and sentences clearer, more precise, and more effective. The process of  editing involves adding, deleting, and rearranging words along with recasting sentences and  cutting the clutter. Tightening our writing and mending faults can turn out to be a remarkably creative activity, leading us to clarify ideas, fashion fresh images, and even radically rethink the way we approach a topic. Put another way, thoughtful editing can inspire further  revision  of our work. EtymologyFrom the French, to publish, edit   Observations Two Types of EditingThere are two types of editing: the ongoing edit and the draft edit. Most of us edit as we write and write as we edit, and its impossible to slice cleanly between the two. Youre writing, you change a word in a sentence, write three sentences more, then back up a clause to change that semicolon to a dash; or you edit a sentence and a new idea suddenly spins out from a word change, so you write a new paragraph where until that moment nothing else was needed. That is the ongoing edit. . . .For the draft edit, you stop writing, gather a number of pages together, read them, make notes on what works and doesnt, then rewrite. It is only in the draft edit that you gain a sense of the whole and view your work as a detached professional. It is the draft edit that makes us uneasy, and that arguably matters most.(Susan Bell, The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself. W.W. Norton, 2007)Editing CheckpointsThe final step for the writer is to go back and clean up the r ough edges. . . . Here are some checkpoints:Facts: Make sure that what youve written is what happened;Spelling: Check and recheck names, titles, words with unusual spellings, your most frequently misspelled words, and everything else. Use a spell check but keep training your eye;Numbers: Recheck the digits, especially phone numbers. Check other numbers, make sure all math is correct, give thought to whether numbers (crowd estimates, salaries, etc.) seem logical;Grammar: Subjects and verbs must agree; pronouns need correct antecedents; modifiers must not dangle; make your English teacher proud;Style: When it comes to repairing your story, leave the copy desk feeling like the washing machine repair guy who has nothing to do.(F. Davis, The Effective Editor. Poynter, 2000) Editing in ClassA large portion of everyday editing instruction can take place in the first few minutes of class . . .. Starting every class period with invitations to notice, combine, imitate, or celebrate is an easy way to make sure editing and writing are done every day. I want to communicate with my instruction that editing is shaping and creating writing as much as it is something that refines and polishes it. . . . I want to step away from all the energy spent on separating editing from the writing process, shoved off at the end of it all or forgotten about altogether.(Jeff Anderson, Everyday Editing. Stenhouse, 2007)Tinkering: The Essence of Writing WellRewriting is the essence of writing well: its where the game is won or lost. . . . Most writers dont initially say what they want to say, or say it as well as they could. The newly hatched sentence almost always has something wrong with it. Its not clear. Its not logical. Its verbose. Its klunky. Its pretentious. Its boring. It s full of clutter. Its full of cliches. It lacks rhythm. It can be read in several different ways. It doesnt lead out of the previous sentence. It doesnt . . . The point is that clear writing is the result of a lot of tinkering.(William Zinsser, On Writing Well. Harper, 2006) The Slap-and-Pat Theory of EditingWhat I try to practice is what I call the slap-and-pat theory of editing. Almost everything thats written needs some criticism. Almost everything thats written needs some praise, or deserves some praise. So you try to mix praise with criticism. Ideally, you do it sincerely. That is, you dont praise what you really dont like; but you praise what you really do like. You dont write 12 pages of things that are wrong, without remembering to find something else you like, that is already right.(Editor Samuel S. Vaughan, in an interview with the online journal Archipelago)The Lighter Side of EditingI hate cross-outs. If Im writing and I accidentally begin a word with the wrong letter, I actually use a word that does begin with that letter so I dont have to cross out. Hence the famous closing, Dye-dye for now. A lot of my letters make no sense, but they are often very neat.(Paula Poundstone, Theres Nothing in This Book That I Meant to Say. Three Rivers Press, 2006) Pronunciation: ED-et-ing

Gambling in Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gambling in Australia - Essay Example This has impacted on families, government, the society and employee, due to the addiction provided by the gambling activities. To control the gambling activities in Australia, states have been passing legislations that are aimed at regulating the gaming activities. The Papua New Guinea in 2007 passed one of these resolutions aimed at regulating land based and online gaming activities. This regulation was aimed at granting casino license to any gambling service provider based in Australia or foreign (Diaconu, 2010). The Vanuatu parliament had enacted such regulations in 2000, seeking to limit the players’ age limit and controlling the gaming activities through strict control of the gambling criteria. The problem of alcohol intake and smoking has been that as passive gaming increases, the rate at which the gamers smoke and take alcohol drastically increase. The drug addiction has led the Australian Gaming Council to undertake initiatives of sensitizing the gamers concerning resp onsible gaming activities (Australian Gaming Council, 2008). According to Fabianson (2010), the gambling activities and the alcohol related intake in passive gaming have been on the rise in low level education class of people, with males dominating the gaming activities. ... The Australian National Drugs Strategy, ANDS argues that gambling has resulted to increased rates of social problems. Gambling as the ANDS elaborates affects a larger population than the individual and pathological gambling is listed as an impulsive control disorder. The disorders are driven by the arousal, pleasure and gratification. The ANDS report elaborates that recurrent gambling behavior that leads to addiction results to significant disruptions in family, personal, vocational, social lives. The compulsive behavior has resulted to job losses as employees are addicted, and they have to take the gaming activity to fulfill the string desired in gambling addiction. This is aggravated by the heavy drugs intake that results from the passive gaming activities, and has exposed many gamers to health risks (Diaconu, 2010). The Australian gambling sector has however been instrumental to the economy of the country despite the social impact it has created. It is estimated that in 2001-2002 Australians gambled away AUD 13.8 billion (Clark, Cho & Hoyler, 2010). The gambling industry created more than 9000 new jobs in three years from 2001, and as Fabiasnson (2010) argues, gambling has been a good source of income to the government through heavy taxation, and other levies that result from gaming activities. Gambling clubs as Fabianson further elaborates have been involved in many communal based projects in initiating developments in many parts of Australian communities, as a requirement to channel part of their proceed to the public good. The gaming activities have been instrumental in the economy and development as a source of income to the governments in Australia. Despite the positive side of

Comparison between India and Chinese political systems Essay

Comparison between India and Chinese political systems - Essay Example This does not mean that the communist and non-communist fronts do not means to discuss matters of national importance. In 1946, there was a call from the non-communist parties to hold a joint conference known as the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). China’s political system is defined by such fundamental aspects as the laws and the Chinese constitution, the political structure, rules, regulations and practices which are limited by the state power, relationship between the state and societies and the government. It is during the CPPCC that both communists and non-communists came together with the democratic personages and adopted a provisional constitution for the Chinese. Concurrently, the Central Peoples Government was founded and elected by the political elites in China leading to the foundation of the People Republic of China (Pomfret, 2007, p 91). The formation of the Chinese republic marked the beginning of democracy since the non- communi sts became active participants in decision making and consultants on issues facing the state and its political systems. Likewise democracy is observed by electing members from non-communist parties as deputies to the CPC and in committees of the CPPCC. The Chinese constitution provides for standing committees, national congresses and government organs for instance cultural, economic, educational, technological, scientific and economic departments which are mostly headed by non-communist party leaders. Such a step is pertinent since the non-communists are meant to be whistle blowers and watch digs to monitor government activities and expenditure. For a long time, the two fronts have had a peaceful co-existence while engaging in mutual... Comparison between India and Chinese political systems India as a country is faced by several political challenges which emanate from different communities some of which demand for social rights, economic empowerment, autonomy of cultures, autonomy of states and others make demands to the government to grant them independence to break from the Indian Union. Despite having these governance problems the country still survives as a democratic single state although there a number of political problems that remains unsolved by the Indian government. Similar to India, China is a communist state with many political parties with the lead part being the Communist Party of China (CPC). Despite having many political parties in both countries, India has more parties as compared to China. Many political parties translate into a high expenditure of time and resources and this are among the factors that have pulled behind the Indian economy since their political structure, functions and environment does not favor creation of multimillion empires invest ments from international firms. These differences have resulted in creation of a divide among the many Indians who are now lobbying for division of India into states or according to political fronts. According to Professor John Quiggin in his article entitled â€Å"Chinas Imminent Collapse†, China is set for tough economic and political times which will likely be caused by runaway inflation. It is a fact that communist economies are yet to face a hard time in the wake of economic crisis that are facing the world starting with European Countries such as Greece.

Free College Admissions Essays: Biology and Psychology :: College Admissions Essays

Biology and Psychology University has always appealed to me because of the wealth of experiences it has to offer as a student. Although I enjoy English Literature and Chemistry: two of my 'A level´ subjects, I am especially keen to study Biology and Psychology. For me, the main appeal of the course lies in the variety of topics that will be covered. The aspects of Biology I find particularly interesting are neuroscience and how the immune system functions and responds. In Psychology, I am very interested in what makes people unique and how different factors shape our personality. I have had two work placements (East Barnet Library in June 1998 and WH Smith in April 2000), both of which proved successful and productive. These experiences especially allowed me to use my interpersonal skills to the full. In my references, both employers remarked on my willingness to learn, my enthusiasm and initiative as well as my ability to work independently and as part of a team. One of the most interesting posts I have held in school is Deputy Managing Director of the 'Young Enterprise´ company, "Opus 21", I found the experience both rewarding and challenging. We encountered some problems at first, but the team worked together to solve them and I felt a real sense of pride to see the company succeed. My skills were further put to use when I helped represent my school in the 'Team Technology´ competition at the 'Logica´ headquarters in London. This involved solving problems in highly realistic business situations, within a limited time. My group was Runner-up, winning one week of work experience with 'Logica´ and prize money for our school. Throughout my schooling I have been closely involved in charity work. Being sponsored to speak French for a day proved to be one of my most innovative (and amusing!) methods of raising money. I have a variety of hobbies outside school. When time allows, I find playing the keyboard and creative writing, such as poetry, a change from my studies. I enjoy using computers as a hobby and to broaden the skills I have gained from my RSA word processing course. My other pursuits include more physical activities such as attending the gym regularly, dancing and cycling.

Life during the Great Depression Essay

The 1930’s were a time of depression, the Great Depression. The Great Depression lasted from the late 1920’s all through the 30’s. During this period, many people were unemployed, and many families didn’t have much food. When our company told me that they had to let me go I begged them not to. At some point I even thought about jumping from a skyscraper or a bridge like some others did, but I knew it would just give my family more problems to deal with. In this time, many other events occurred in our world, like the Dust Bowl, which lasted until 1936. The mud dried up and turned into dust, and that was the start of The Dust Bowl. Although the dust was bad there still was some good news, some of my farmer friends told me they heard that in California there was gold, so most of the farmers tried to go there. Daily life in the thirties was hard and stressful for everybody. Some of my friends I used to work with came home and their wife yelled at them because they had no job, which made some families fall apart. Most people in the thirties were miserable. The lines for bread were long and they lasted long too, because of the shortage of bread. The jobs were very hard to get especially in 1933, even for me even though I had lots of experience and had a master’s degree in business from Harvard. In 1931, the television was starting to come along and at this time we didn’t realize that in 50 years televisions would be the main entertainment object of the century. Another big hit in the 1930’s was for the whole family to gather around the radio. It was our main way to hear the news, except for going into town, which was a place people didn’t go every day. On May 1st 1931, the world’s tallest building, the Empire State Building, was opened by President Hoover in New York. It was and still is 380 meters high and 102 stories with a solid steel frame. It was an impressive structure for us at this time and to this day it still stands, used and improved. In 1937 the German Hindenburg air ship burned to the ground in less than two minutes by a spark the size of an ant, leaving 33 people killed, 12 people injured, and only 64 people got away not badly hurt. The development of new types of fibers in the early 30’s was finally bearing fruit. In 1937 the Du Pont Company in the USA was able to make nylon stockings for the first time, which became a big hit with the ladies, but they were not yet available in stores to the general public. In the 1930’s there was the first clinical use of Penicillin and insulin was used to control diabetes. In 1932 President Roosevelt was elected, and again re-elected in 1936. Roosevelt built our country’s economy and is known to be one of many people’s favorite presidents. The famous American women pilot, Amelia Earhart, disappeared on a flight around the world in July of 1938. She was two thirds of the way around when her plane was believed to crash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. She was an inspiration for many of us, especially for the women. The fashion we had in the 1930’s was very different than the fashion today. Women wore long halter topped dresses, lace frocks, negligees, and corsets, while we men wore suits with a matching top hat and over coats. For entertainment we had Shirley Temple, known for her blonde ringlets and her ability to sing and tap dance. She became a favorite celebrity in 1934 and by the end of the year she received an Academy Award, and was declared a favorite for the whole family! By the end of the decade, one of the first color motion pictures was released. Let’s not forget about sports like baseball, where the legendary Babe Ruth entertained our nation. At first the great depression was very tough on the whole nation, but with the great leadership of President Roosevelt and the people’s will power we were able to rebuild our economy.

ESL Dialogue About Having a Hard Time Finding a Job