The Last Remnants of Grizzly Bears

With all the new and advanced technology that is accessible today, who has time to enjoy or care about the great outdoors? Unfortunately, much of the wilderness and the animals within it are gradually fading away. There are many animals that have already been extinct and many more will soon be put on the list of extinction. In the second issue of Target Earth, Tim Stevens found in 1975, the grizzly bear was listed as a threatened species, under the Endangered Species Act. Stevens also stated, Today, the grizzly bear hangs on in the last remnants of wild places left in the U. S. –places like the Greater Yellowstone, Glacier Park, and Shelkirk Mountains of Northern Idaho. The survival of the grizzly bear depends on several factors such as: amount of food they need and amount of space they need to live. Grizzly bears have tremendous food requirements in order to survive–adult females average 300 pounds, and males around 450 pounds, stated Stevens. Furthermore, grizzly bears are opportunistic feeders thriving on roots, berries, pine nuts, insects, herbaceous vegetation, fish, small mammals, and occasionally wild ungulates and their young. With grizzly bears wide variety of provisions, they need a large area to sustain themselves. Stevens stated, a male grizzly bear will use up to a 500 square mile â€Å"home range† throughout its life. Glover and Johnson stated, a female grizzly bear will use up 11-490 square miles throughout its life. Being that the grizzly bear is a wide-ranging, slow breeding species, and as such, are very good indicators of the overall health of the ecosystems they depend upon. If the habitat is in good shape, one could assume the bear is doing rather well(Stevens, Target Earth). However, conservation biologist states, none of the current grizzly populations is large enough to sustain itself over time. Aldo Leoplod states, the most feasible way to enlarge the area available for wilderness fauna is for the wilder parts of the National Forests, which usually surround the Parks, to function as parks in respect of threatened species. Leopold goes on to state, they have not so functioned is tragically illustrated in the case of the grizzly bear. The Greater Yellowstone is isolated from other wildland ecosystems. These populations become vulnerable to inbreeding and other genetic problems, it is critical to have these grizzly bear ecosystems connected by â€Å"linkages† or â€Å"biological corridors. † Ecosystems are much larger than the designated national parks within them. At the core of the Greater Yellowstone National Park, which is 2. 2 million acres. The ecosystem is 18 million acres and includes 7 national forests, wilderness areas, national wildlife refuges and Bureau of Land Management land. Bears are not only dependent upon the National Park â€Å"core,† but also upon the surrounding lands. Scientists have long recognized that these species are dependent upon the health of the entire ecosystem(Stevens, Target Earth). The grizzly bears habitat is slowly diminishing. The Northeast part of Greater Yellowstone provides a good example of the overall cumulative effects that many activities can have on an area. This area has been one of the best and most productive regions for grizzly bears. However, the U. S. Forest Service has been steadily logging and roading many of the last non-wilderness public lands in the region. For example, in one area called the Sunlight Basin, nearly, 4,500 acres of trees have been harvested since 1986. All of this timber was in grizzly habitat. Unfortunately, more timber sales are planned for this are in the future(Stevens, Target Earth).. In addition, on our national forest lands, logging and mining companies and willing federal agencies continue the steady drumbeat of resource extraction. Logging, road building and other developments have begun to invade and alter these landscapes, reducing their ability to support grizzly bears in two critical ways: first, transforming large expanses of land into smaller patches that will be isolated from each other. If the remaining patches become separated by too great a distance, populations of grizzly bears will inevitably decline and may disappear altogether. Second, development brings humans in to the habitat of bears, which inevitably leads to more disturbance and illegal bear kills. It is this kind of scenario that is typical of the remaining 2% of grizzly habitat in the United States(Stevens, Target Earth). Furthermore, when we protect habitat for the grizzly bear, we are also protecting other non-game species, clean water, big game habitat and places for people to experience the wonder of creation. Protecting the last 2%of grizzly bear habitat in the lower 48 states is a delicate balancing act. In the 20 years since the grizzly bear was listed as a threatened species, habitat critical to its survival has been steadily eroded, through clear-cutting, excessive forest road building, oil and gas drilling and private development. Stevens states, proper balance and conservation of grizzly habitat is the key to the bears future. The grizzly bear is one of Yellowstone's most popular attractions. It is a symbol of the rugged west. At one time, populations were thought to be between 50,000 and 100,000 bears in the 1800s in North America. However, by 1900, only a few bears remained in scattered areas. In 1975, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed less than 1,000 bears remained. Today, biologist report 280-610 grizzlies inhabit the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. This estimate comes from a study team of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee(Glover and Johnson). Today, there are many organizations and efforts to preserve the grizzly bears for the generations to come. One such organization is the Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project. This project was initiated in 1994 to address the urgent need for scientific information about the cumulative effect of human development and activities on grizzly bears in this area. The ESGBP actively promotes the application of this information in management and conservation contexts. One of the objectives of the ESGBP is to focus on research efforts on the cumulative effects of regional land use and mortality factors on grizzly bears. Another objective is to contribute to the conservation of grizzly bear populations and their habitat in the Central Rockies Ecosystems and especially the eastern Slopes(Canadianrockies). If a plan is not devised to help promote and preserve the wildlife of the grizzly bears, it may not be long before they are taken off the Endangered Species list and placed on the extinction list. Author Edward Abbey stated, â€Å"It is my fear that if we allow the freedom of the hills and the last of the grizzly to be taken away from us, then the very idea of freedom may die with it†. And, â€Å"We must not allow our national parks and national forests to be degraded to the status of mere playgrounds†. Grizzly bears obviously need a large space for survival being their provisions range from a wide variety of nuts and berries. Also, the adult females only produce every three years due to the fact their young stay with them for two years. This is one reason why grizzly bears do not reproduce rapidly. Grizzly bears are the second slowest reproducing land mammal in North America. By keeping the grizzly bear from becoming extinct, it protects many other animals from becoming extinct as well.

You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 9~10

Chapter Nine It's Like Time Travel, Only You know, Slower†¦ THE CHRONICLES OF ABBY NORMAL: Tortured Victim of the Daylight Dwellers So here I am again, to open my veins and spill my pain onto your pages. My dark friend, after sixteen years of totally boring existence, I come to you at last with a glimmer of hope to break through the gloomth that is my miserable life. OMG! I have found him! Or I should say, he has found me. That's right, my Dark Lord has found me. A for-real vampyre. He is called the vampyre Flood, and he didn't say, but I think he is descended from European royalty – a viscount or a discount or one of those. I was in Walgreens with Jared when we saw him – and OMFG he's so hot, in a totally stealth way. I would have thought he was just a totally mainstream geek or something, with his flannel shirt and jeans, but he asked us about buying syringes and I totally saw his fangs come out. So, I was like, â€Å"I can hook you up with my dealer,† like that, and then he looked at my T-shirt and saw Byron's picture on it and he quoted â€Å"She Walks in Beauty,† which is like my favorite poem next to the one by Baudelaire about his girlfriend being nothing but worm food, except that Lily called that one first because Baudelaire is her fave poet and so she got the shirt with him on it, even though Byron is way more scrumptious and I would do him on sharp gravel if I had the chance. So I went home and changed my clothes and fixed my makeup, and when we got to Glas Kat we breezed by the door like we were twenty-five or something. Jared made our IDs himself at Kinkos and we both look so mature in our pictures, although I think he overdid it with the mustache. Anyway, we were there like ten minutes, and this song came on that I really like – â€Å"Boning You in the Ossuary,† by Dead Can Dub – which is so cool and macabre. And I tried to get Jared to dance, but this guy comes by and grabs Jared's cape and says, â€Å"Blacks fade much?† and that was it. Jared went into a level-five freak-out, and turned into a total fuckwit, trying to get me to hide him and stuff, and then just saying he couldn't take it anymore and he had to go home and redye right then. So he abandoned me to the dank loneliness that is the night and I bought a bottle of water and some chips and got ready to grieve my lost youth, when HE showed up. OMG! Check it, he actually knew Byron and Shelley! He used to party with them in Switzerland when they were all young. They all did laudanum and read ghost stories and stuff, and then they actually invented Goth, right there in this villa on some lake. He is like THE SOURCE! He took me for coffee and I wanted to give myself to him right there in Starbucks. Lily will be totally jealous. So he said I have to wait. He is connected to some ancient Celtic vampire countess and I'm supposed to find them an apartment in the morning. He even gave me the name of a rental agent to call and a big wad of cash. I have to prove myself worthy of his trust, otherwise there's like no way he'll bestow the dark gift on me, and I'll totally have to finish my sophomore year and probably end up in junior college or working at Old Navy or something. So, since we're off for Christmas break, I'm going to call this woman and go find an apartment for the vampyre Flood and the Celtic vampyre countess. And when Flood rises from the grave at sunset, I will get my reward. I'm totally freaked about meeting the Celtic vampyre countess. Flood says she has a temper. What if she hates me? Flood says he's not really into her – it's not like that. It's like, she's his vampyre sire, and they've been together for like five hundred years, so, you know, they have history, and I can respect that. Note: Make sure to find out if I need to move their native soil to the new apartment before we move their coffins. Note: Do I need to have a coffin made? Is it okay if it's purple? Oh yeah, my sister Ronnie has head lice. Chapter Ten Red, White, and Blue, Not Necessarily in That Order Snow White, thought Blue. With the seven to look after me, and me them, I could be just like Snow White. Granted, the Animals weren't exactly dwarves, Jeff Murray, the ex-high-school-basketball star was at least six five, and Drew, their resident pharmacologist, was pretty close to that height, but she wasn't exactly Snow White either. Still, they were all kind to her, considerate, and basically respectful of her, within their limits as a bunch of pot-head punani hounds. They did seem to have a decent work ethic, were loyal, didn't fight among themselves, and were relatively clean, as guys this age went. In a few days, she'd have the rest of their money, she knew it, and they knew it, but then what? It was a ton of money, to be sure, but it wasn't fuck-you money. (Defined as having so much money that you can say â€Å"fuck you† to anyone, anywhere, anytime, and not have to worry about the consequences.) She'd have to find something to do, somewhere to go. As the possibility of her getting out of the life finally loomed large, she realized that she was going to need a new life to live, and frankly, it was scaring the hell out of her. Time isn't kind to a girl living on her looks, and she'd already extended her sell-by date by going blue, but what now? Who knew that the future she'd been hoping for would show up with such sharp teeth. So Blue asked herself the question†¦ Can a fallen Cheddar princess of Fond Du Lac make a life with seven perpetually adolescent party animals from the Bay Area? Maybe it could happen, but she had her misgivings about dwarf number seven: Clint. In her experience, it took a lot of work to fuck the Jesus out of a guy, and even then, he was prone to come down with a bad case of the guilts a day or two later. Not really a problem when you were working outcall, but if you were going to high-ho a whole pack of dwarves on a semipermanent basis, one of them having a high-maintenance, holy-ghost haunting was going to be a problem. â€Å"Whore of Babylon,† Clint said as the Animals led her into the Safeway like they were presenting her at the palace. She paused in the automatic doors, despite the fact that she felt like she was turning blue under her blue, dressed as she was in a silver lam minidress and six-inch clear Lucite heels, none of it protecting her from the frigid wind coming off the Bay, whipping through the Marina Safeway parking lot. Thinking she'd probably spend most of her time naked, she hadn't packed for San Francisco weather. â€Å"I've never even been to Babylon,† she said. â€Å"But I'm open to new experiences.† She licked her lips and stepped to where her breasts were within an inch of Clint's chest. He turned and bolted to the office, chanting, â€Å"Get thee behind me, get thee behind me, get thee behind me,† the whole way. â€Å"However you want it, baby,† said Blue. She decided she'd think of him as Freaked, the paranoid dwarf. â€Å"Barry will show you to the break room,† Lash said. He'd become the new leader of the Animals, mainly because he tended to be the most sober. â€Å"Jeff, send the limo back and lock the doors. Drew, make some coffee. Gustavo, see what the situation is on the floors. We may need you to throw stock on the shelves.† They stood there, looking at him. Stoned. Drunk. Baffled. Blue would think of Barry, the little, prematurely bald guy, as her special dwarf, Baffled. She smiled. Clint peeked over the three-quarter wall of the office. â€Å"Hey, you guys. You should know that the Emperor was here last night. He says that Tommy Flood is a vampire.† â€Å"Huh?† Lash said. â€Å"He's a vampire. That girl of his, she didn't leave town. She changed him.† â€Å"Get the fuck outta here,† said Jeff. Clint nodded furiously. â€Å"It's true.† â€Å"Well, fuck,† said the others, in an unsynchronized chorus. â€Å"Meeting,† Lash announced. â€Å"Gentlemen, take your seats.† He looked apologetically to Blue. â€Å"This shouldn't take long.† â€Å"I'll make coffee,† she said. â€Å"Uh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lash seemed concerned. â€Å"Blue, we're kind of on a budget from here on out.† â€Å"Coffee's free,† Blue said. She turned and started heading to the back of the store. â€Å"I'll find it.† The Animals watched Blue walk away and, when she turned the corner, gathered by the registers. Clint unlocked the office door and came out. â€Å"So, we have to notify those cops, so they can help us hunt him down.† Lash looked at the Animals, who looked back. Lash raised an eyebrow. The others nodded. Lash put his arm around Clint's shoulders. â€Å"Clint, the guys and I have discussed it, and we'd all like to do something for you.† Clint ran back in the office and slammed the door. â€Å"No! We have to destroy the agents of Satan.† â€Å"Right. Of course. We'll get right on that. But first I'd like you to ask yourself something, Clint. And I'd like you to answer not as the born-again man that you are now, but from that little boy that's inside of all of us.† â€Å"Okay,† Clint said, peeking over the office door. â€Å"Clint, haven't you ever wanted to bone a Smurf?† Jody heard Tommy come in the security door downstairs and met him on the stairs with a big hug and a backbreaking kiss. â€Å"Wow,† Tommy said. â€Å"Are you okay?† â€Å"I'm really good now. I was just checking on William. I think he pooped himself.† â€Å"I'm so sorry, Tommy. I shouldn't have left you on your own this soon.† â€Å"It's okay. I'm okay. Hey, you have something on your dress.† Jody was still wearing the little black dress. Some of the dust that was James O'Mally was still clinging to it near the hemline. â€Å"Oh, I must have bumped up against something.† â€Å"Let me get that for you,† Tommy said, brushing at her thigh, then starting to raise the dress up past her waist. Jody caught his hand. â€Å"Horndog!† Chet the huge shaved cat looked up for a second, then put his head back down on William's chest and went back to sleep. â€Å"But you left me on my own,† Tommy said, trying to sound sad, but smiling too much to make it work. â€Å"You're fine.† She looked at her watch. â€Å"We only have about forty minutes till sunup. We can talk while we get ready for bed.† â€Å"I'm ready for bed now,† Tommy said. She led him up the stairs into the loft, through the great room, the bedroom, and into the bathroom. She grabbed her toothbrush off the sink and tossed Tommy his. She pasted, then chucked the tube to him. â€Å"Do we still have to floss?† Tommy asked. â€Å"I mean, what's the point of being immortal if we have to floss?† â€Å"Yeah,† Jody said, through a mouthful of pinkish foam, â€Å"you should just go lie in the sun and get it over with, rather than suffer the torture of flossing.† â€Å"Don't be sarcastic. I didn't think we could get sick at all, but your hangover proved that to be wrong.† Jody nodded and spit. â€Å"Don't swallow any when you rinse. The water will come right back up.† â€Å"How come your foam is pink? My foam isn't pink. And I went last.† â€Å"My gums might be bleeding,† Jody said. Jody wasn't ready to tell him that she'd taken someone tonight. She would tell him, just not now. So, to change the subject, she summoned her superhuman strength and pantsed him. â€Å"Hey!† â€Å"When did you get skull-and-crossbones boxers?† â€Å"I bought them tonight, when you were getting Christmas presents. I thought they would seem dangerous.† â€Å"You bet,† Jody said, nodding furiously to keep from laughing. â€Å"And you'll blend in – in case you're ever caught with your pants down in the pirate locker room.† â€Å"Yeah, there's that,† Tommy said, a little toothpaste foam dribbling down his chest as he looked at his boxers. â€Å"I have the whitest legs in the universe. My legs are like great white carrion worms.† â€Å"Stop, you're making me horny.† â€Å"I've got to use that tanning lotion we bought. Where is it?† Jody moved with catlike speed out to the kitchen, snatched the lotion off the counter, and was back sitting on the edge of the bed in only a couple of seconds. If she could just keep Tommy from asking any questions until sunup, she was sure she'd figure out a way to tell him about the old man. â€Å"Come over here, worm legs, let me put some lotion on you.† To emphasize her commitment to lotionization, she stood, pulled the straps of her dress off her shoulders, and let it fall to the floor at her feet. She stepped out of her dress and stood there, in just her pumps and a silver necklace with a tiny heart that he had given her. Tommy hopped out of the bathroom – his pants still around his ankles – one long hop, and he stood in front of her. Jody smiled. Give a geek supernatural agility and speed, and what you get is a superagile, speedy geek. â€Å"You went out commando, in that dress?† â€Å"Never again,† Jody said, grabbing the waistband of his boxers and pulling him toward her. â€Å"These are mine, now. I want to be dangerous.† â€Å"That's so, so slutty,† he said, lisping a little, his fangs coming out now. â€Å"Yep. Where do you want to start with the lotion?† He pulled her close and kissed her neck. â€Å"We have to be careful not to break the furniture this time.† â€Å"Fuck it, less to move,† she said, her own fangs coming out now. She raked them down his chest. â€Å"If we figure out a way to get a place before someone kills us.† â€Å"Oh, yeah, I found us a minion,† he said as she bit into his side and tore his boxers off in a single swift pull. â€Å"What?† But Tommy was finished talking for a while. Blue watched as the Butterball rocketed by her and slammed into a triangle of two-liter soft-drink bottles – the front bottle burst, sending a cola-brown eruption of foam across the floor by the meat case. â€Å"Strike!† Barry shouted. He danced in a tight circle among the Animals, pointing and chanting, â€Å"I own you, and you, and you,† to each as he passed. Blue looked to Lash, and raised a cobalt eyebrow. Lash shrugged. â€Å"It happens. That's why we use diet soda. It's not as sticky.† He had decided that they all needed to sober up some more before they started stocking the shelves; thus the turkey bowling. â€Å"Can someone bring a mop?† Clint said. Because he would not gamble, he was the designated pin setter. He was scrambling around trying to retrieve soda bottles even as Jeff Murray was warming up at the other end of the aisle, swinging a Foster's Fresh Frozen Homestyle in each hand. He believed that he got better pin action off the Foster's because of the savory gravy packet stuffed in its center. He claimed that Foster's had mastered superior poultry technology, and was, in fact, working on an oversized titanium turkey. The other Animals were forced to point out to him that he was completely full of shit as they sprayed root beer on him. â€Å"So you guys hunted vampires?† Blue asked Lash. She had come back to the front with coffee for everyone just in time to hear Lash lay out the scenario for the Animals. She'd held off asking any questions until now. A Fresh Frozen meat missile zipped down the aisle between them. Lash didn't even blink. â€Å"Yep. We didn't kill him. We just blew up his yacht and took his art. That's where we got the money.† â€Å"Yeah, right,† said Blue. â€Å"I got that part. It's the vampire part I'm not clear on. Like a real vampire. A real, blood-drinking, can't-go-out-in-the-day, live-forever vampire.† â€Å"We figured he had to be at least six hundred years old,† Troy Lee added, joining in the conversation. â€Å"Blue, you wanna skid the buzzard?† He nodded to the end of the aisle, where Jeff was offering his spare Fresh Frozen turkey like a sacrifice. â€Å"So you guys, who work in a grocery store, have seen a vampire?† â€Å"Two of them,† Lash said. â€Å"Our night-crew leader, Tommy, was living with one of them.† â€Å"She was hot,† Troy Lee added. â€Å"Vampire hunters?† Blue couldn't believe it. â€Å"Well, not anymore,† Lash said. â€Å"Yeah,† Troy Lee said. â€Å"Clint says that Tommy's a vampire now. We're not going to mess with him.† â€Å"Spawn of Satan!† Clint shouted from the end of the aisle. Drew, who Blue had decided to think of as Doc, because he always carried the pot, ran down the aisle and shot-putted a twelve-pound self-basting at Clint's head. â€Å"Shut the fuck up!† Clint ducked and covered. The turkey went over the meat counter and stuck in the drywall by the window at the back of the meat department. To Blue, Drew said, â€Å"Sorry, couldn't be helped.† â€Å"Well, that's gonna take all night to patch,† said Clint. Lash looked at Troy Lee. â€Å"Could you kill him?† â€Å"On it,† Troy Lee said, falling into a fighting stance, before taking off and chasing Clint around the corner. â€Å"Prepare to die, White Devil!† â€Å"So,† said Blue. â€Å"You were saying?† â€Å"Well, Clint says Tommy is a vampire now, and we should go stake him out or something, but he's one of us, so we've decided to pursue a policy of Buddhist tolerance.† Just then Troy Lee dragged Clint back around the corner in a headlock. Despite being six inches shorter and forty pounds lighter than Clint, he'd studied martial arts since he was six and that took size out of the equation. â€Å"Should I hypnotize the chicken?† Troy asked. â€Å"Make it so,† said Lash. Troy Lee adjusted his chokehold on Clint. The larger man's eyes bugged out, his mouth moved like a gasping fish out of water, and he went limp in Troy's arms, who then dropped him in the puddle of diet soda on the floor. â€Å"He'll come around in a second or two.† Lash leaned into Blue to explain. â€Å"We used to call it choke the chicken, but that sounded kind of gayish.† â€Å"Of course,† said Blue. That trick would come in handy in her work. She'd have to ask Troy Lee to teach it to her. â€Å"And you think that your friend and this girl are really vampires.† â€Å"I suppose. Clint said he heard it from the Emperor, and he was the one that turned us on to the old vampire guy in the first place. Either way, they're not our problem.† â€Å"What if I said they were?† Blue said. Her mind was putting it together like a sewing machine on crack. It was insane, but for once she could see a future stretching out before her, welcoming her. â€Å"What if I said I wanted you to go after them?† Lash blinked at her like she was speaking Klingon. â€Å"Huh?† He looked at the other Animals, who had stopped bowling and moved into range of the conversation. They stood there with frosty gobblers steaming in their hands like they were on wet-nurse duty for a group of headless infant snowmen. â€Å"Flood is our friend,† Lash said. â€Å"I don't want you to kill him,† Blue said. â€Å"Just catch him.† Lash looked to the others, who looked away – at the floor, at the cabbage and lettuce counter, at the turnips, at their frozen charges. â€Å"I'll make it worth your while,† Blue said. Jody lay on the bed watching Tommy turn slowly, back and forth in the air like a pale white-boy mobile. The loft had twenty-foot ceilings with open, industrial-style beams, and sometime during their lovemaking, they had both ended up hanging from them. Jody dropped to the bed after she came, but Tommy still hung by one hand. The bright side was that with the exception of the set of shredded sheets upon which she lay, they had kept the destruction to a minimum. The downside – well, she really could have gone a couple of lifetimes without seeing him from this angle. â€Å"We did good,† Jody said. â€Å"Hardly anything broken.† â€Å"You think that monkeys really do it that way?† Tommy replied. â€Å"I always thought you were just using that as an expression.† She'd thought she could remain detached enough about their lovemaking to stay in control – to enjoy it, but to use it, as it were – but since Tommy had changed, it wasn't like that anymore. She lost herself in it, she didn't just make love with him, she fucked him like a crazed monkey girl. It was good, but disconcerting. She had liked being in control. â€Å"You look amazing from this angle,† Tommy said. â€Å"You look like a man-shaped fluorescent lightbulb,† Jody said, grinning at him, then noticing a change. â€Å"Do not get wood, Thomas Flood. You will not get wood, do you hear me?† â€Å"You sound like my mom,† Tommy said. â€Å"Ewwwww,† Jody said, shuddering and covering her eyes. â€Å"Ewwwww,† Tommy said, realizing what he had just said and about what and whom. He dropped to the bed and bounced. â€Å"Sorry. Quick, put the self-tanning lotion on me, we only have a few minutes before sunup.† â€Å"Okay, but just the lotion.† â€Å"Right, go.† Jody took the lotion and squirted some on her hands. â€Å"Turn around, I'll get your back.† â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"Just point that thing the other way, writer boy, you have had all the monkey love you're going to get tonight.† She said it, but she didn't mean it – she'd go another round if he wanted, if they had time before sunrise. Then she remembered. â€Å"Did you say you found us a minion?† â€Å"Yeah, I did. She's going to start tomorrow – er, today. I gave her money to get us an apartment. Told her what we needed.† â€Å"Her?† â€Å"Yeah, you remember that girl we saw in the drugstore?† Jody stopped rubbing, grabbed his shoulders, and spun him around. â€Å"You gave our deposit money to a nine-year-old?† â€Å"She's not nine. She's sixteen.† â€Å"Still, Tommy. You trusted our secret to a sixteen-year-old girl?† â€Å"She already knew.† â€Å"Yes, because you let your fangs show like some doofus of the night. You could have explained that somehow, or better yet, never seen her again.† â€Å"Look, she's smart, and she'll be loyal. I promise.† â€Å"You could have just gotten us killed.† â€Å"What would you have done? Huh? You have to trust someone.† â€Å"But a sixteen-year-old kid?† â€Å"I'm only nineteen, and I was a great minion. Besides, she thinks I'm her dark lord.† â€Å"Did you even tell her about me?† â€Å"Of course, she knows all about you. Knows that you're my sire – that's what they call the vampire who made you. I even told her that you were older, that you had vast experience.† â€Å"Vast? Vast experience sounds like I'm a slutty old divorcee. How old does she think I am?† â€Å"Five hundred.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"But you look great for five hundred. I mean, look, you got my attention. Do my front.† â€Å"Do your own front.† She threw the lotion bottle at him and he snatched it out of the air. â€Å"Love you,† Tommy said, slathering self-tanning goo all over his face and chest. â€Å"I'm going to lock the bedroom door,† Jody said as the alarm on their watches started beeping, signaling ten minutes before sunrise. She'd gotten the alarm watches for both of them, just in case. â€Å"You didn't give her keys, did you?† â€Å"Not to the bedroom.† â€Å"Great. What if she finds William in the stairwell and stakes him out? You could have given our key to a Buffy wannabe – â€Å" â€Å"This stuff is supposed to take like eight hours to work, so by sundown I'll be sexy bronze.† â€Å"There's a bronze vampire in the living room. Why don't you go ask him how that's working out for him?† â€Å"He's impersonal bronze, not sexy bronze like I'll be.† â€Å"Come to bed. And put on a T-shirt. I don't want a sexy bronze stain on the sheets, even if they are torn up.† Tommy sniff-tested a half-dozen shirts, finally decided on one, climbed into bed, and was kissing Jody good morning when the sunrise put them out.

Literature reveiw for my dissertation. (how relationship marketing can Essay

Literature reveiw for my dissertation. (how relationship marketing can boost company images in the car industry with specific emphasis on the issue of trust.) - Essay Example The findings of this research will provide insight of the car industry that started as early as 1769. At that time having a car was something that was left for the rich thus the marketing strategies were not taken very seriously by those who were producing cars. This is because the industry was not ventured into by so many people thus competition was very low. The automobile industry started with steam cars, coal gas cars to recently where cars are using unleaded fuel. The car industry has continued to expand as very many companies have ventured in this business to meet the demand of cars world wide. Today, cars are not considered as a luxury but as a necessity. For this reason, car industries have seen the need of employing marketing strategies to ensure that their cars sell. In trying to attract customers, car industries keep coming up with new models of cars every time. There has been a consideration of all kinds of people in coming up with better and easy to handle cars. For inst ance, the automatic cars are made for the disabled people. Moreover, they can be used by any one who does not know how to drive because they are easy to understand and handle. Car industries have seen the importance of having strategic marketing plans thus the knowledge of what is going around in this industry. That is, what are the needs of their customers and what are their competitors doing to win very many clients. With such knowledge, this industry has seen the need of carrying out the SWOT analysis that helps the different car firms to know how they are going to differentiate their products and services from their competitors. This enables them to find out ways in which they are going to build customer trust as they carry out research, analyses it and then come up with new and better strategies of keeping their customers. Such research focuses mostly on what the customer needs and not the company (Ledgerwood, 2006, pp. 95-100). It is the quality of the car that matters and not the quantity and how cheap it is. Car industries are now bound to making cars that can last longer and are safe. Customers need to be assured that their vehicles will not breakdown after ten days of buying them. Once a customer buys a vehicle, they always want to know how long it can last on the road. Trust will be built if the car industry tells the truth. Customers become very disappointed when they are assured that a car will last for five to eight years then it only serves them for two years. If such a thing happens, then that brand is surely going to lose market (Ennew, 2006, pp. 94-100). Safety is another issue; customers need to be assured that the vehicles they are buying have the best safety products like safety belts and air bags. With the number of car accidents increasing world wide, safety has become a first priority when purchasing cars.

Internet as a social media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Internet as a social media - Essay Example Orkut emphasized on making social friends and brought the domain of Internet interactions closer than Microsoft Messengers and other instant messaging toolboxes. Social media websites were designed to be more intuitive for people to people interaction. During the days of Instant Messaging, the interaction was limited to a private chat box, which could only extend to a particular number of people at a time. It was not a theatre of people to people communication since communication on the Instant Messaging chat boxes was an instantly private affair. However, Orkut changed all that. Now, people were given the opportunity to create their identity on the Internet, which went beyond the possibility of a P2P interaction. People created their own user identities, which were open for others to have a look at them. This allowed like-minded people to come together and interact. The social media websites created a hub for humans to find each other and communicate just like they would in their real lives, by making new friends in their official or social circle and then indulging in various relationships. â€Å"Social media are Internet sites where people interact freely, sharing and discussing information about each other and their lives, using a multimedia mix of personal words, pictures, videos and audio.† Orkut was extremely open in the way it carried out its affairs. Social privacy was not given much of an importance and this was the root cause as to why people shifted their focus from Orkut to Facebook, which had just started off in the year of 2006. I joined Facebook from Orkut in 2007 and even that at that time Orkut was a big deal, as there were more number of people logged in on Orkut than Facebook, but Facebook was catching up fast since it provided an even more intuitive, and friendly user interface which gave the user better command at his user identity on

Health Information Flyer Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health Information Flyer - Article Example A myriad of studies conducted shows that about 90% of anogenital warts cases are caused by HPV. The infection has also been connected with the cancers of vulva, cervix, anus, penis, vagina and oropharynx. It is one of the leading viruses causing cervical cancer. Currently, there are two vaccines available; bivalent (HPV types 16 and 18 and a quadrivalent (HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18). Both vaccines have proved to be offering more than 90% protection despite the fact that its role in male is still controversial. (Nen, 2010) With the consistent prevalence in the new infections, it is necessary that both the affected persons and the government take necessary actions to control the infection which is one of the leading causes of cervical cancer. Cancer is currently one of the leading causes of death across the globe. It is therefore in order that relevant action is taken to control its upsurge. The information share to the public will be fundamental in controlling future deaths. (Nen, 2010) Finally, the flier below and the information provided will be addressed to the sexual active teenagers and parents. Most youths are ignorant about the disease and therefore the information will create awareness and take some necessary action. The parents will also benefit from the information which they can share with their children and advise them to take the vaccination to avoid future cancer incidences. Human papillomavirus is a name of group of virus that entails more than 100 different strains and is spread one person to another through skin to skin contact in the genital areas. It can be spread even without sexual intercourse. At least a third of HPV are sexually transmitted and affects the genital parts of both sexes Some strains are very dangerous as they cancer in vagina, vulva and cervix amongst women while others can cause genital warts. CDC is a government department website and is regularly updated after studies are conducted. Funded by

Social Networking Sites and Human Interactions Research Paper

Social Networking Sites and Human Interactions - Research Paper Example As such, young people can spend hours online without feeling bored or tired. This long time on the Internet is actually taken from the time that those young people may have spent with other people, experiencing social interaction. There are various scientists who realize that the time people spent online is ever increasing rapidly. In fact, most modern social studies concluded that "today, people spend more time using communication technology than they did twenty years ago" (Degord). Consequently, a heated debate has started to emerge about the possible negative effects of the Internet on the social interaction of young people. While some analysts undermine the effects that may be caused by the long time spent online, there are others who raise a serious warning about the deterioration of physical social interaction because of online activities. Despite the numerous benefits of the Internet, it can seriously hurt the physical communication process among young people, minimize social interaction, and push young people to live in isolation. The Internet has revolutionized people's lives in many positive ways. For young people, the Internet is an open window on the world, where they can do a variety of activities from the comfort of their own homes. Reading books and newspapers, searching for information about any topic, and involving in important discussions on billboards and newsgroups are some of the important activities young people can do online. Professor Thomas B. Riley, from the School of Law, University of Glasgow, argues that "the Internet is a revolutionary medium that has afforded the opportunity for millions of people to open themselves to a rich panoply of information and services" (Riley). In that sense, the Internet has become an important source of information for people. It enlightens navigators about any issue they research. If used adequately and insightfully, the Internet can widen the scope of knowledge for you people and prepare them for the ir future careers in life. In addition, online social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, help people socialize online, meet new people, and re-unite with their old friends. Actually, Facebook and Twitter are examples of the most popular online social networks over the Internet. The popularity of both programs increase rapidly as thousands of users join both of them daily. Preceding Twitter, Facebook has a started as a network for the students of Harvard and turned to be one of the most famous online social networks. Moderators of Facebook seem to have much to do. The network is in fact the second most visited site in the world. It knows no borders and can help spread the best and the worst. In that sense, the Internet and social networking sites may play important roles in enriching people’s knowledge and facilitating the process of online socialization. However, the overuse of the Internet by young people minimizes physical social interaction and promotes isolation and loneliness. Young people who spend hours and hours chatting with other online users over the Internet are not actually enhancing their social experiences (Snook). That's because they do not physically interact with other people and involve themselves in real life situations; rather, all what they do is to sit alone in front of their computers, using their fingers to type what they want to

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 23

English - Essay Example The absence of the physical identity of the individuals in the internet tended to loosened them up as they become invisible behind their digital personality. This has created problems such as; â€Å"the growing incidence of online fraud and identity theft, privacy incursions, copyright infringements, trademark violations, domain name disputes, spamming, computer viruses, inadequate or vaguely defined consumer protection laws, and terrorist-related and pornographic websites† (David 2006). These issues became so alarming that the idea of regulating internet came into mind. Many people are suggesting that perhaps it is now time for the government to step in to enforce its police power to stop these issues online. But one cannot help to think whether it is proper for the government to step in the cyberspace and whether it will be effective if ever it has to step in. Without doubt, the internet needs some sort of regulation of acceptable conduct but whether it should be the government who should enforce it is questionable. Governments are limited by geography and laws are relative depending on what country are you from. What is acceptable in one country may not be permissible in another. Say for example in China where it is not advisable to speak against the government while it is perfectly alright in the United States and such right is even protected by its laws. Given such relativity of laws, it would be difficult for any government to enforce its laws on other sovereign state for that would tantamount to conflict. Government is also a suspect in terms of policing the cyberspace. We have already seen in other countries how government can react when given the prerogative to regulate the internet. It abridges information and censures freedom of speech. Classic example is Libya where anti-government forces has to find creative means to access the internet just to share to the world what is happening there during its revolution. Libyan government literally

Germany During the Cold War (West Germany) Research Paper

Germany During the Cold War (West Germany) - Research Paper Example West Germany was inclined to the western allies such as America, France, and Britain. The west side of Germany was known as Federal Republic of Germany with Bonn as the capital city. West Germany managed to maintain a stable democracy and a tremendous economic expansion. The division of Germany continued for a long time with several policy changes to facilitate the dominance. However, Germany was again unified in 1989 (Arnold 377). This paper seeks to focus on West Germany during the Cold War. Western Democracy Although the Second World War ended in 1945 followed by the defeat of Germany, the allied forces controlled Germany from 1945 to 1949. This was meant to reduce the effects and influence of the Nazi party. During this time, the allied forces realized the importance of Germany becoming a democracy. Democratic institutions were established at all levels such as parish and municipal levels and then in counties and districts. Consequently, the whole of West Germany state had democr atic institutions in place. The allied forces wanted the German people to play a part in the formation of their government (Hiscocks 496-503). Britain established nominated councils in parishes that had to take a decision without authorization by political parties. The political party ban was lifted at the end of 1945 in the three zones. From this period, there was a rapid development of democratic institutions. Administratively, the German part increased, and the number of military officers significantly reduced. Furthermore, in the last period of 1946, the process of administrative unification had increased and Britain and United States decided on economic integration of their two zones (Hiscocks 497). According to Hiscocks, the other important step in democratization of West Germany was indirect means employed by America, Britain, and France (497). This was fundamental and incorporated Cultural, Education, and Information Division of the Allied Control Commission. In England, for example, prisoners of war were given lecture on democratic institutions and international civics. Moreover, the theories of Nazis were exposed during these lectures. Additionally, America relied on the press and print media whereby a number of journalists were taken to American universities for training on democracy. There were also other important materials on German newspapers. France facilitated democratization by ensuring Germany was acquainted with French culture. The democratization of Germany helped it to overcome challenges that were experienced before during preparation of the Reich Constitution of 1919 and the failure of the Weimar Republic. However, the bureaucracy employed in German civil service continued to be a threat for democratic ideals in the region. The other obstacle was the extreme authority vested in political parties. Federal Parliamentary Republic From 1949, Western Germany was controlled under the basic law that was authored by a German constituent assembl y. This was known as the Parliamentary Council and was authorized by occupying authority and was intended to allow participation of free will of the German people. These laws led to the establishment of a Federal Republic with a bicameral legislature and a parliamentary form of government. The majority of single member constituencies elected 60% of the lower house. The remaining 40% were chosen based on proportional representation from reserves drawn from party lists

Strategic Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Strategic Plan - Research Paper Example However, a good amount of investment can increase the profitability and revenues from the company products. It is a very old company in the processed food market that is the reason due to which people are used to buy their products as in their daily use groceries. The possible risks to the company and its products which is due to the unavailability and lack in marketing strategies are highlighted in the report. In addition, the suggested recommendations and contingency plans will help investors to understand the opportunities, possible solution plans and implementation strategies. Need to hire more employees for promotional activities and requirement for more budget investment is highlighted in this report. However, the maximum revenue generation and profit maximization opportunities are visible in this report for investors. It is because the B&G foods Company already have a good brand image and people are found of using its products. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the current strategies of the B&G Foods Inc. and suggest improvement in their strategic planning. It will help to propose investors to invest in the project to maximize the sales and profits. In addition, by providing the details about the current strategies, company background and other details of the strategic plan of the company, it will be easy to attract the investors about the trustworthiness of the B&G Company. The focus for strategic planning will remain on the recommendations to the board or venture of the capital firm to obtain approval for funding of the suggested plan. The selected company from Russell 2000 Index is B&G Foods, Inc. It is the distributor, manufacturer and seller of shelf-stable food products and household products in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. The Bloch and Guggenheimer founded B&G in 1996, and it is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. B&G grew its business by building large retail and food service within the