Fifty Shades of Normal

Fifty Shades of Normal Since its publication in 1996, Robe Harrier's book It's Perfectly Normal has appeared on the American Library Association list of challenged books. It's Perfectly Normal was the LA'S #1 Most Challenged Book of 2005. The book is intended for ages 10 and up, and it explains the various physical and psychological changes that occur during puberty including information about sex and sexual health. The books text is paired with cartoonist illustrations by Michael Embezzler.Many religious institutions are posed to the information and the viewpoints discussed within because masturbation, abortion, homosexuality and other alternative sexual lifestyles are described as being â€Å"perfectly normal. † It's Perfectly Normal has been criticized for mocking religious beliefs by stating â€Å"some religions call masturbation a sin. But masturbating cannot hurt you† (48), and Harris then goes on to provide images of a young boy and young girl masturbating comple te with an explanation how to masturbate.In June 1996, John Chamberlain, a member of the Provo (Utah) Library aid It's Perfectly Normal â€Å"should be banned from the children's section because it's graphic illustrations of male and female anatomy, including sex organs, and its discussions of intercourse, masturbation, and homosexuality† (Forester 205). The Catholic Church believes that â€Å"masturbation is an intrinsically and seriously disordered act† (Vatican) and â€Å"any sexual act outside of marriage not intended for procreation is considered inappropriate† (Vatican).Harris explains that â€Å"sexual intercourse-having sex-can involve the penis and the vagina, or the mouth and the initials, or the penis and the anus† (15). While the book is factually correct, many challenges are based on whether this information is appropriate for children. In 2001, the book was restricted to elementary school pupils with parental permission in Anchorage, Alaska due to objections to the book's â€Å"value statements† and because â€Å"marriage is mentioned once in the whole book, while homosexual relationships are allocated an entire section† (ala. Org). Furthermore, the book was also challenged, but retained in 2002 after a conservative Christian group, the Republican Leadership Council, characterized the book as â€Å"vulgar† and trying â€Å"to minimize or even negate that homosexuality is a problem† (ala. Org). The book has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion chain in the USA, but in contrast, nowhere does the book describe the virtue of chastity or abstinence (American Life League). Critics say the book promotes abortion by listing nine reasons to have an abortion (Dudgeon).The book's description of the abortion process is very clinical, and it avoids any discussion about whether abortion is morally right or the various social views surrounding the epic. It's Perfectly Normal was challe nged but retained in the children's section of the Mexico-Durian County, Mo. Library in 1997 when a Baptist minister complained not only about this title, but also about other â€Å"material concerning family sensitive issues, such as sexuality, the death of a loved one, or the birth process† (ala. Org). As per a BBC report, â€Å"all the religions have taken strong positions on abortion; they believe that the issue encompasses profound issues of life and death, right and wrong, human relationships and the nature of society, that make it a major religious once† (BBC. Co. UK). Harris wrote the book with the intent to provide facts that â€Å"were accurate and up-to-date and that the text was age-appropriate† (arbitrators. Com).She later commented that â€Å"l knew that illustrator Michael Embezzler and I had created a book that provided kids and teens with honest and accurate information, which they have a right to and need in order to stay healthy as they enter and go through puberty and adolescence† (Crispin). Harris succeeded in this regard, and accordingly, the book has been highly recognized and honored by the ALA, Booklets, Child Magazine, The New York Times, Planned Parenthood, and Publishers' Weekly (Floorboards).While some religious groups assert that the book â€Å"goes too far and even boarders on child pornography† (American Life League), â€Å"removal of a book for political, social, or moral reasons is legally prohibited† (Forester 205). The American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights states that â€Å"librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents-?and only parents-?have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children-?and only their children-?to Barry resources† (Floorboards).

History of the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp

History of the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp The 1920 Olympic Games (also known as the VII Olympiad) closely followed the ending of World War I, being held from April 20 to September 12, 1920, in Antwerp, Belgium.  The war had been devastating, with massive destruction and monstrous loss of life, leaving many countries unable to participate in the Olympic Games. Still, the 1920 Olympics went on, seeing the first use of the iconic Olympic flag, the first time a representative athlete took the official Olympic oath, and the first time white doves (representing peace) were released. Fast Facts: 1920 Olympics Official Who Opened the Games:  King Albert I of BelgiumPerson Who Lit the Olympic Flame:  (This was not a tradition until the 1928 Olympic Games)Number of Athletes:  2,626 (65 women, 2,561 men)Number of Countries: 29Number of Events:  154 Missing Countries The world had seen much bloodshed from World War I, which made many wonder whether the wars aggressors should be invited to the Olympic Games. Ultimately, since the Olympic ideals stated that all countries should be allowed entrance into the Games, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Hungary were not forbidden to come, they were also not sent an invitation by the Organizing Committee. (These countries were again not invited to the 1924 Olympic Games) In addition, the newly formed Soviet Union decided not to attend. (Athletes from the Soviet Union did not reappear at the Olympics until 1952.) Unfinished Buildings Since the war had ravaged throughout Europe, funding and materials for the Games was difficult to acquire. When the athletes arrived in Antwerp, construction had not been completed. Besides the stadium being unfinished, the athletes were housed in cramped quarters and slept on folding cots. Extremely LowAttendance Though this year was the first that the official Olympic flag was flown, not many were there to see it. The number of spectators was so low- mainly because people could not afford tickets after the war- that Belgium lost over 600 million francs from hosting the Games. Amazing Stories On a more positive note, the 1920 Games was notable for the first appearance of Paavo Nurmi, one of the Flying Finns. Nurmi was a runner who ran like a mechanical man - body erect, always at an even pace. Nurmi even carried a stopwatch with him as he ran so that he could evenly pace himself. Nurmi returned to run in the 1924 and the 1928 Olympic Games winning, in total, seven gold medals. The Oldest Olympic Athlete Although we normally think of Olympic athletes as young and strapping, the oldest Olympic athlete of all time was 72 years old. Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn had already participated in two Olympic Games (1908 and 1912) and had won five medals (including three gold) before appearing at the 1920 Olympics.   At the 1920 Olympics, 72-year-old Swahn, sporting a long white beard, won a silver medal in the 100-meter, team, running deer double shots.

Heres the catch essays

Heres the catch essays I would have to say that Joseph Hellers Catch-22, was at least enjoyable to read. There were several aspects about it that made it good and bad at the same time. First, I think the most important thing aspect to look at, is that Heller makes death, a traditionally sickening topic, a humorous event. It is humorous because of the way he illustrates who is crazy. I assumed that Yossarian was the insane one in the beginning. Now, I cant say that I am sure. I like how this book makes the reader think. Who really is crazy? Does anyone know? Yossarian is doing anything he needs to, to survive. Does that make him insane? In my eyes, he is living on instincts, the way he should. The threat of death keeps him going. He is not insane. So who is insane, the reader, the writer? I dont feel that I can answer that. If anything, I think all of the above. It is neat to see how one would act when faced with death. I think what Heller was trying to say is that when someone knows they a re dying, nothing makes sense to them. When we see people that know they are dying, we think that they dont make sense. So, we cant really know who is making sense. Its very tricky in that way. This at least kept me awake and thinking while reading it. I think the main conflict of the story, was between humanity and the rules. We are forced to do something by law then we pay the ultimate price for it. The best part is that we do it all for the idea that we are protecting those laws. The idea of a Catch-22 is interesting. Its like saying, A person has the right to do anything that another person cannot stop them from doing. This catch appears throughout the entire book. It was quite evident when the Italian woman is talking about the Military Police. It is also clearly evident when Yossarian is walking down the stairs. He is cursing Catch-22, although he doesnt believe in it. Ther...

I have decided to conduct my research on comparing and contrasting the Essay

I have decided to conduct my research on comparing and contrasting the romanticism and enlightenment period. I plan on focusing - Essay Example As â€Å"the government has re imposed the Anglican Book of Common prayers and has debarred the Non Conformists from holding religious meetings outside the established Church .A series of religion-fuelled crises forced Charles to dissolve Parliament, and led to the division of the country between two new political parties: Tories, who supported the king, and the Whigs, the king’s opponents.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Norton Anthology Of English Literature).Everything including Science went through development ,Time and Space were explored, development of Microscope and telescope opened new sense of vision, the authority of Aristotle and Ptolemy was broken and a new concepts were explored .The writers of this reign called this period Augustan as they believed that the English life has reached to the culminating period of civilization which existed in Rome under the rule of King Augustus. The art was formalized and there was little appreciation of Nature or beauty. The men of this age exalt ed the reason and regularity. They carried dislike for the emotions, enthusiasm and strong individuality as exhibited in the previous generation literature they sought for a conventional uniformity in manners, speech, and in everything else, and were uneasy if they deviated far from the approved, respectable standards of the body of their fellows. Great poetic imagination hardly exists among them. The poetry was full of abstract expressions and was intended to secure the elegance it often found substitute in superficiality instead of significant meanings. In the pursuit of highest possible perfection in the literature, as the ancients have achieved, their work resulted in shallow formal smoothness. Their strong tendency of moralising was also not free from conventionality and superficiality. In contrast to this was a period of Romanticism that saw the end of dominance of the Renaissance tradition. It observed the â€Å"fragmentation of consciousness away from the cultural authority of Rome† (Claire Lamont, 274); there was rediscovery of local cultures and vernacular literature. Romantic Literature is strong in many vernaculars of Rome as suggested by Claire Lamont in The Oxford Illustrated history Of English literature. The Romantic period saw the change in philosophy, politics and religion. It observed change in the art such as painting, music and literature. The Romanticism was a direct reaction to the rationalism of the Eighteenth century; it was a reaction to the physical world dominated by the science and the mental world dominated by the theories of Locke. The romantic poets rebelled against the ‘emphases’ on the commonsense and material as dominated by the preceding age. As the Romantic period coincided with the French Revolution there is much enactment of revolutionary ideas in the work of some of the poets. There are two generation of poets that represent the Romantic period, William Blake, Wordswoth and Coleridge are the elder gen eration of poets, and they were fired with revolutionary ideas. William Blake, one of the elder generation of poets was an engraver by profession and he was a great painter, he supplemented his training as painter and engraver by wide reading of the works of Dante, Shakespeare and Milton. The first collection of

Developing Manager Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Developing Manager - Assignment Example In this respect, it can be recognised that the company follows transformational style of leadership and management However, in the present competitive business scenario, the company is identified to face different unavoidable challenges relative to its employment aspect, ineffective customer services, lack of appropriate advertisement and pricing policies. The company also faced immense challenges in meeting the requirements of disabled customers. In this regard, there are several management and leadership styles that can be adopted by the company in order to effectively deal with the identified challenges and issues. Few prominent leadership styles that can be integrated by the company are discussed below: Leaders following authoritarian leadership style develop effective policies and ensure that the employees conduct their operations in accordance with the formulated policies. The leaders develop policies along with procedures on the basis of which employees should be managed. Additionally, the leaders are also entrusted with the responsibility of determining that the objectives are accomplished suitably. The leaders scrutinise the activities of the employees and in this regard, the employees are unable to perform in an autonomous manner (SAGE Publications, 2012). Contextually, this leadership might be suitable for Ryanair as the leaders will possess utmost authority is devising policies, values, missions and visions that are to be accomplished in order to ensure that the company performs effectively along with better profitability. However, this leadership style is identified to develop hostile situation due to conflicts, employee turnover and guarded communication among others. Res pectively, this leadership style might not be efficient in improving the productivity of the company owing to the challenges it faces presently (Warrick,

Organisation and Management Different Perspectives Essay

Organisation and Management Different Perspectives - Essay Example Also, with such technologies the customers are more highly informed, like never before. Marketing is the principal undertaking by which links are forged between the customers and the industry. Therefore, it is evident that the marketing industry is constantly changing. Retail marketing has emerged as the need of the hour. The recent trends in marketing suggest that companies have greater accessibility to the end-consumer, eliminating the need for layers of middlemen. Consequently, retail marketing has been one of the fastest growing segments of the marketing industry. Recent developments in retail marketing in the hospitability sector suggest a very interesting trend. It is increasingly evident that many of the designer companies are seeking to penetrate the hospitality sector and to establish hotels in the commercial hubs like Dubai and London. Innovations in the business have led to increasing need for strategic planning for the purpose of effective assessment and monitoring of the business (Phillips & Moutinho, 1999). Among many of the major trends, it has been observed that the affluent society is becoming more sensitive about choosing the products that they purchase. This is primarily because today’s customers are deluged with a variety of products and a massive amount of information. Customers can easily gain access to information about the products that they are interested in. Also, the number of firms have grown which compete for the same markets in the same industry. With such a wide choice of alternatives, customers tend to look for establishments that would provide the service with the greatest value added at the most reasonable cost. (Escalera, 2007). With such trends prevailing in the industry it was inevitable that the designer companies like Missoni and Armani would attempt entry into the hospitality sector to create optimum value for the affluent society. The Varese

Kates children Essay Example for Free

Kates children Essay It is a dark damp day; the rain is beating down on the corrugated iron of my four-roomed cottage on Condobolin Road. It is still early hours, however my husband William has already left to visit his parents Frederick and Mary on their property, as the wind and rain has brought down two of their great gum trees. My children are still sleeping soundly. I am not feeling well again today, I have not felt well since Maggies death, some two years ago. My head has not felt right; it tells me to do things that women shouldnt even think of. I am not a well human being; I do not feel anymore, this haunts me. I feel great remorse and pity for myself. I am however fit to right my story, my life. My name is Catherine Ada Foster, however I am better known as Kate Kelly, sister of the renowned Ned Kelly. I was born in Beveridge on the 12th of July 1863, as the seventh child born to my parents John Red Kelly and Ellen Quinn. Mary, the eldest is the sister I never knew, as she passed away at infancy. Second born was Anne then came Edward- everyone knowing him as Ned, then Margaret, James and Daniel. At the young age of just three years old in 1866, many events took place that changed my life; my little sister Grace came into the world around the same time we as a family moved to Avenel. That year my father John Kelly also passed away of dropsy, an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the body tissues, or cavities causing swelling or distension of the affected parts. This left my mother a widow and seven children fatherless, so we moved in with my aunt in Greta. After living there for twelve months, mother took up her own selection on the Eleven-Mile-Creek in the Glenrowan district, and there we moved into a newly erected two-roomed hut built by Ned. In Greta, I attended school and upon finishing I spent my time helping mother with the younger children, as she had remarried George King in 1874, and had two more children, Ellen and John- making a family of eleven, most of us being exceptional horsemen. It was just five years before in 1969 when Ned was first bought before the police court for two cases, at just fifteen years of age. He was charged with assault of a fowl and pig dealer named Ah Fook, and secondly aiding a bushranger, Harry Power, in some of his robberies. Luckily for Ned and Mother, he was found not guilty in both cases. However before the end of that year, Ned was convicted again for assault and indecent behaviour resulting in six months hard labor. Our family name was becoming well known around our area, as the police were giving us a bad name for petty things my older brother did. When Ned was released from prison, just three weeks later he received a beautiful brown mare off a friend he met during his labor times. However the police were on to him and arrested Ned as the horse was stolen, Ned had no idea of this, but this didnt seem to matter to the police as he received three years hard labor. I was about fifteen years of age when the suitor Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick became attracted to me. He did not have a good name for himself, already fathering two children to different mothers. He tried to pose as a friend of the family, however my brothers were not fools to be reckoned with, and they did not trust him. On the 15th of April 1878, Fitzpatrick rode up to our house and Dan went outside. He asked Dan to go to Greta with him, as he had a warrant for stealing Whittys horses. Dan refused and asked to see the warrant, and Fitzpatrick said he had none. My mother told Fitzpatrick he had no business on her premises so he pulled out his revolver and said he would blow her brains out if she interfered. Mother said that Ned was present and he would come out and ram the revolver down his throat. It was obvious that Fitzpatrick had been drinking. As he was sitting on the stool waiting for Dan to finish his meal, I in my course of duties passed by him and he tried to kiss me. All my brothers tried to stop him. Fitzpatrick was drunk, they were sober but his story was believed above ours. He stated that my mother had struck him with a fire shovel, Dan had beaten him and Ned had shot him in the wrist and wounded him. He also incriminated William Williamson and Maggies husband William Skillion who he insisted on being there when the incident took place. The outcome resulted in long harsh sentences for mother, and our neighbours Skillion and Williamson. Ned and Dan hadnt waited for their arrest and fled into the Wombat Ranges. 1 I was very angry that even the doctor who attended Fitzpatricks wounds, did not confirm that there was a bullet wound, and also that there was a strong smell of liquor on his breath.