The Catcher In The Rye Is A Story Of An Emotionally Disturebed Young S

The Catcher in the Rye is an account of a genuinely disturebed youthful multi year old kid named Holden Caulfield. Holden is telling this in first individual, in spite of the fact that the entire thing is every one of the one major flashback. The story is one of a little youngster attempting to experience childhood in an Adult world. Holden, being the Idealist that he is, looked to see everything that needs as changed, however never gives an option in contrast to the circumstance or thing. In the four absolute days that the story spread, Holden winds up getting himself from Pencey to New York where he and his sister meet. While with his sister, he sees the young lady in her, so inocent to the world around herm that he believes is so discouraging. He attempts to protect Phoebe from the world by not letting her do things that he is doning. So in a sence, Holden is himself, a faker, by doing specific things and afterward turing around and advising her to do them. The story starts and end in the Mental Hospital or Resting Home as he called it. The story finishes as Holden is conversing with a specialist as though he were recounting to this entire story to the specialist. This is a representative consummation of this story, on the grounds that Holden consistently felt that he didn't have to impart his discouraging stories to others. Additionally, he didn't care for tuning in to others disclose to him their discouraging stories.

Financial Accounting and Banking Industry †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Examine about the Financial Accounting and Banking Industry. Answer: Presentation The fundamental thought of the business is to start a field-tested strategy for building up an android and iOS application for Australians that depicts the law and offenses of each nation around the globe. This will be unique business in the whole nation. The application will furnish the clients with a chance to pursue a 24 hour free preliminary before really purchasing the item. At first, Arpund the World will have the option to give the laws of a portion of the significant goals, for example, Japan, China, UAE, U.S., France, Russia, Germany and Switzerland. The application will slowly give the clients update in this manner expanding the rundown of nations. The principle thought of building up this application will concentrate on giving the laws and offenses of each of the 195 countries which exists on the planet at present. Area in Australia where advertising must be done The fundamental area of showcasing the items in Australia will be done in all the districts of the nation. Channels to advertise the procurement of boosted client download will enable the Management to organization in developing the client base of the application and top rundown rankings. This has been considered as one of the best methods for channel to advertising for posting the absolute number of introduce rates in a limited capacity to focus time. It is additionally recognized as one of the most cost productive methods and perfect for a new company. The non-boosted CPI will be embraced by the organization for having an effect of high lifetime esteem which will have the option to convert into increasingly number of dynamic clients a month and better monetisation for the organization. The other viable system for the channels to promoting has been recognized in type of online networking and Facebook publicizing. The organization for the anticipates receive co-special associations which will permit commonly valuable organization for decreasing the general expense of the endeavor (Brus Me dia, 2017). Client sections The fundamental type of the client portion isolation has been finished with individuals matured 19-80 years. As the principle part of the administration has been distinguished in type of giving legitimate data of the considerable number of nations, it will be especially helpful to individuals who do a ton of voyaging. This specific pattern of voyaging is for the most part distinguished among the abroad understudies, recently joined representative in an abroad nation, experienced experts, universal columnists and a few different classifications of individuals. Client relationship The client relationship will be kept up in a client relationship the board programming. The organization will additionally utilize the data of clients through the criticism given in the application stores of both Android and Apple clients. This will permit the organization in arrange the client base in spreadsheets and records. The information will be additionally put away in type of CRM application named vtiger. This will permit the organization to build up a total arrangement of highlights and capacities required for CRM and help with keeping up both new and existing client connections (The Vtiger Blog, 2014). Showcasing consumption A huge segment of the promoting use is additionally observed to be considered in type of in type of online life and Facebook publicizing. The organization likewise tries to put resources into YouTube investigation to realize the client pattern of preferring and demography. It can screen the presentation of the channel that have exhibited the data about the application and give the designers exact traffic sources and socioeconomics report (Hochman, 2017). The publicizing costs for the application has been additionally determined dependent on cost per mile (CPM) and cost per click (CPC) rates in both android and iOS stages. This is the expense per thousand rates a promoter needs to pay for showing the advertisements and for unfailingly and client taps on the promotion. This is significant for considering the publicizing costs related to the application. Promoting Expenses for CPC and CPM Parameter Normal Rate Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 CPC $ 2.14 1400 1600 1700 1700 1800 CPM (Government Politics) $ 1.33 1800 1,696 1,695 1,797 1,802 Complete 3,200 3,296 3,395 3,497 3,602 Table: Arpund the Worlds publicizing Expenditure (Source: Johnston, 2014) Authoritative arrangement Assets to be utilized: The primary assets required prerequisite for the organization are found in type of a group of programming designer, online salesperson, activities office, promoting division, HR office and records office. What number of laborers: The complete prerequisite of the faculties has been found in type of 15 specialists workers altogether. The principle type of the isolation of the laborers has been found regarding 4 work force as programming engineers, 4 staff as online salesperson, 2 faculty in the activities office, 1 staff in the promoting division, 2 work force in HR office and 2 faculty in the records office. Anticipated wages: The normal wages of the individual laborers has been seen with the yearly compensation got by the representatives. It has been seen that the normal yearly pay of the 4 programming designer is AUD 106614 separately per annum, 4 work force as online salesperson is AUD 30000 exclusively per annum, 2 staff in the tasks division is AUD 65000 for each annum, 1 faculty in the showcasing office is AUD 45000 for every annum, 2 faculty in HR office is AUD 60000 for every annum and 2 staff in the records office is 75000 for every annum (Glassdoor, 2017). Withstand arrangements The Company needs to stick to the different kinds of privacy understanding. It needs to additionally make a copyright security as it will give the proof and demonstrate that responsibility for (Deegan, 2013). The following stage is to make an application engineer contract with the goal that the organization can guarantee it doesn't pass the last codes to the outsider application designers. Recruit puts The principle type of the employing exercises for the different positions, for example, the product designers, online sales rep, tasks division, advertising office and HR office has been recognized in areas, for example, Melbourne, Greater Sydney, Newcastle, IIlawara, Hunter Valley, Richmond Tweed, Central West, Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven locales (Financial Review, 2014). Plan of action the fundamental parts of the plan of action figured for the organization has had the option to address the primary procedures for clients, innovation, individuals and development in the items. The primary patterns of the plan of action has been additionally observed to be clarified dependent on the way of life, conduct, authority, preparing, motivation, peer surveys and checking (Pratt, 2013). The total rundown of the exercises of the plan of action has been appeared beneath as follows: Endorsements required from Australian Gov: The fundamental type of the administration endorsement has been found regarding clinging to the copyright laws, Internet, importation of programming into Australia, hostile to confide in arrangements and restriction of risk (Australia.gov.au, 2017). Monetary arrangement Beginning cost-The expense of the all out costs has been seen with $ 100000 for the all out month to month costs, this is distinguished as the complete proprietors financing. It has been additionally observed that so as to satisfy the expense of the fixed resources and the significant compensation of the representatives the organization needed to take a complete advance adding up to $ 20000. Proposed valuing system The items are estimated for the individuals having a place with upper white collar class it has been seen that the principle evaluating methodology for the items are believed to skim technique. In light of the different sorts of valuing methodology embraced by the organization it has been seen that in the initial two years organization would make an overal deficit of $ 5380 and $ 4270. Be that as it may, in the resulting years it will have the option to expand the business volume for the paid highlights and by including laws of progressively number of nations. Along these lines, Arpund the World will have the option to accomplish a net benefit of $ 27239 in the third year, $ 86186 in the fourth year and $ 187908 in the fifth year separately. Technique to be followed to make due in the market-The primary procedure followed to make due in the market has been seen type of separation of the administrations from other android designers. It has been seen that Arpund the World is distinguished as a one-stop application for thinking about laws and offenses over all the significant countries of the world. This is distinguished as the principle main thrust towards a separated showcasing methodology. The organization further stands separated by giving the clients chance to pursue a 24 hour free preliminary before really purchasing the item (Bushman, 2014). Breakeven point The breakeven purpose of deals dependent on the budgetary information has had the option to show that the organization needs to sell administrations worth $1231046.8 to make a base benefit of $ 123104.68. Fixed expense and variable cost The fixed expense of the organization has been found in wording rent for the premises and purchasing of electronic types of gear. A portion of the principle types of the variable expense of the organization have been additionally found as far as Direct Labor Costs, outsider designer of the application, Direct Material Costs and Electricity cost. The fixed expense has been apparent in type of $ 8500 paid for the lease of the premises. This rate has been sourced from the Gumtree, where the week after week lease for an office space around Hall at Sydney is $ 200 (debatable) seven days. This rate has been haggled to $ 158 every week, and thus the all out lease is $ 8500 for each annum (Gumtree, 2017). End The principle translations made for the field-tested strategy has been believed to be practical in nature. It has been additionally seen that the principle area of showcasing the items in Australia will be done througho

HOW TO Use Social Media To Promote Your blog

HOW TO Use Social Media To Promote Your blog Make Money Online Queries? Struggling To Get Traffic To Your Blog? Sign Up On (HBB) Forum Now!HOW TO: Use Social Media To Promote Your blogUpdated On 07/10/2019Author : Alicia ATopic : Featured Social MediaShort URL : http://bit.ly/2ozjqk9 CONNECT WITH HBB ON SOCIAL MEDIA Follow @HellBoundBlogRegardless of whether you are a newbie or a season blogger, I am sure you could always do with more traffic to your blog. And Social Media is a great marketing tool, if you havent noticed it already. Chances are you may be using some of these social media platforms. But there are still many who are not in a hurry to jump into the bandwagon yet. Perhaps they are afraid of the unknown or maybe because they do not know how to use the social media to their advantage. Well, thats what this article is all about, to list down the different social media and how they could help promote your blog.Wikipedia defines social media as the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into a n interactive dialogue. Examples of social media include the undisputed heavyweights Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as well as LinkedIn, Digg and MySpace, just to name a few. Does social media marketing works? Well, according to Nielson, the world population spends 22% of online time at social networks and blog sites. Given this and the fact that social media attracts millions of users every day, it is thus safe to say that social media sites are one of the cheapest and most effective internet marketing tool available today. So the next question will be how to use these social media sites to promote your blog.Get An AccountThe first step is obviously signing up an account with the relevant social media. Some allow you to set a business accounts page like Facebook while others are networking on a professional level like LinkedIn. And then there is Twitter whom many online businesses and bloggers love for its simplicity and the speed at which information can be sent. It is advisable t o check beforehand the rules and regulations regarding the setting up of your own account.Linking Your Blog Posts To The Social Media SitesThe next step is to link up your blog posts to the social media sites. Whenever you publish a new post, update it on your social media account. Tweet about your latest post or perhaps ask a question and then place a link back to your blog. Alternatively, you can include an interesting extract of the post into your Facebook wall. You will be bound to create some curiosity. Just remember to provide a link back to your blog.READWhich Blogging Platform Is Best For You?Add Social Media Buttons In Your PostsThere are WordPress plugins which you can install to have social media buttons in your posts. Generally, most bloggers would prefer to have them at the bottom of the posts but you can place them anywhere in your post. The idea is to allow your readers to easily share your posts through the social media platforms. You can check out SexyBookmarks, an increasingly popular WordPress plugin which places cute social media buttons on your posts and pages.Engage and Convert ReadersInteresting blog content is a must. Think carefully about the topics that you want to write on. Remember that quality is more important than quantity. You need to engage your readers first before you can convert them into followers and subsequently, to get them to help you spread the word about your blog. Be approachable and friendly, and reply to comments and questions. This will encourage your readers to share your blog and its contents.Automatically Feed ContentSome Social Media sites has settings to automatically feed content from your blog to their network so that you can save a good amount of time and effort. This is a great way to entice your readers and friends to check out your blog or your social media accounts. At the same time, it provides a platform for them to share your blog with their friends.There you go, some of the steps that you can take to benefit on social medias popularity to promote and market your blog. They will help you improve your blogs traffic and subsequently SEO. This in turn will translate into credibility and from there, you may even experience exponential growth in your blogs traffic and readers.This article is written by Alicia. She is a web designer and developer. Loves WordPress themes and plugins. If you wish to write for us, kindly check this.

Euthanasia Perspective from Theory of Personality Virtue

Theory of personality virtue or, more commonly known as virtue ethics, is a moral school of thought which emphasises the personality attributes towards attaining a good life. Alternatively, it emphasises the role of one’s character and the virtues that one’s character embodies for determining or evaluating ethical behaviour. Aristotle has made a significant contribution in developing this theory through his book Nichomacheaen Ethics. The theory does not deal with neither the behaviour itself nor the consequence resulting from the behaviour, in order to decide whether something is regarded as right or wrong, as what concerned in consequentialism and deontology. Rather, it teaches to define good people and to identify the virtues that make them good. In exploring theory of personality of virtue, Aristotle contended that eudemonia or genuine happiness lies in action that leads to virtue. To him, habitual repetition and correction are the only way to produce good habits, or more precisely, the personality virtues. He believed that personality virtues were to be found, in compromise, between the opposed vices of excess and deficiency. To illuminate this, a good example would be the quality of courage, which lies between the rashness and cowardice. Aristotle stated that every person should work to develop his or her own character by developing a habit out of virtue. This will automatically lead to good actions, as a good person will always make good decisions. He believed thatShow MoreRelatedEuthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide2367 Words   |  10 PagesGeneral Overview â€Å"Euthanasia is directly or indirectly bringing about the death of another person for that person’s sake; it is thought to provide a benefit or a good for the person by ending a life deemed no longer worth living-a situation that typically arises when someone has an incurable or terminal disease that causes great suffering or when someone experiences an irreversible loss of consciousness,† (Vaughn, 2010, p. 292). â€Å"Related to, but distinct from, active voluntary euthanasia is physician-assistedRead MoreMedical Ethics: an Inclusice History2719 Words   |  11 Pagesto physicians as guardians of the soul and body. One of the features in medieval Muslim medicine that separated their practices from their colleagues was their higher standards of medical ethics. Hospitals of the Islamic world made it their duty to treat patients regardless of their wealth, religious, and ethnic backgrounds. Even the Islamic hospitals employed staff from Christian, Jewish and other marginal backgrounds. After reading a portion of Conduct of a Physician I came across this passageRead MoreEthical Decision Making3508 Words   |  15 Pagespresented scenario (Appendix) which guide the conduct for decisions based on theories about what is morally right or wrong (Reamer, 1993). How this situation dealt with relies on how I make sense of what I believe about ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and what factors I believe are worthy of consideration. In this paper, first the ethical dilemma presented. Then principles and ethics at risk are discussed. Different ethical theories applicable to scenario for acknowledging the influences on decision making areRead MorePortfolio Integrative Essay : Portfolio3159 Words   |  13 Pagesbe addressed: Theory, Human Development, Assessment, Clinical Skills, Ethics, Research, Clinical Application and Integration. Theory will be discussed by reviewing Structural Family therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Couple Therapy and comparing and contrasting them. Human Development competencies will be displayed in a summary of Japanese culture and a comparison to the stereotypes of elders in the U.S. Assessment will demonstrated by reviewing the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and ClinicalRead MoreWhy Should We Be Ethical? the Relevance of Ethics in Life8703 Words   |  35 Pageslimit before or after which an ethical base can or cannot be formed. We will like to present the various categori es of ethical dilemmas that we come across in our day to day lives and consequently we look at the various approaches towards ethics i.e. from the point of view of profit, law and general principles. We take a look at a few ethical practices that have been adopted in the recent past and judge their effectiveness by comparing the desired effect with the actual consequences. We will scrutinizeRead MoreSources of Ethics20199 Words   |  81 Pagesinfluence behaviour and ethics: 52 2.3- PHILOSOPHICAL: 55 2.31- Contribution Of In Ethics By The Source Of Philosophical Systems: 55 2.32- Contribution of Aristotle: 57 2.33- Contributions By Other Important Philosophers: 58 2.34- Rights Theory: 64 2.35- Contribution By KANT: 65 2.36- Contribution By ROSS: 66 2.4- CULTURAL: 68 2.5- LEGAL SYSTEM: 71 2.6- CODES OF ETHICS: 74 2.61- Company Codes: 74 Code of ethics (corporate or business ethics) 74 code of ethics(business

Essay about 1984-Is There Privacy - 1396 Words

Is there Privacy? In 1984 George Orwell describes how no matter where you go in Oceania there is a telescreen right there watching you. Everything you do say or sometimes even think, Big Brother will know. 1984 was written in 1949 and Orwell hinted at technology which never even existed. Perhaps he saw it coming because of how popular the television was becoming. There are many ideas in this novel that Orwell predicts. Some came true in 1984, some did not, but today in United States there is an issue of privacy similar to the one that is described in 1984. Of course technology didnt develop exactly the way Orwell predicted it would, but he wasnt too far off. In Oceania, Big Brother was in control. No†¦show more content†¦This just shows how simple it is to pretend to be someone else online. Some times its the good guys who are pretending, sometimes its the bad 58-year-old man from Oregon introduced himself to a 12-year-old boy from the B.C. interior as another 12-year-old, eventually persuading his target to buy a bus ticket to Seattle (the youngsters father intervened before he boarded the bus, and the Oregon man was arrested). (Wood) Privacy is very hard to protect in a virtual world, and it gets harder and harder with every new program, every new version. Some programs spend countless hours trying to make you believe it is doing one thing, and yet its true purpose is gathering information about you. Even your work place and your local stores are becoming smaller and less private every day Â…companies are also spying, on workers as well as on customers. (Wood) There is virtually no more privacy even in your home. Theres someone always trying to hack into your computer to steal things like credit card numbers Criminals hide their own identity online; they can also steal yours -- or at least enough personal information to masquerade as you. Data banks containing credit- card information are high on hacker target lists -- and routinely breached. (Wood) There are programs made for protecting yourShow MoreRelatedPrivacy And Privacy In 19841630 Words   |  7 PagesIn the book 1984, by George Orwell, privacy was a very rare thing and not a lot of people were able to have it. The book was based in a city named Oceania, which was controlled by a totalitarian government with its leader being Big Brother. In this dystopia, the citizens have no control over their lives. Privacy was never fully granted by the totalitarian government. To make sure the citizens were being loyal to their government, they were constantly being watched whether they liked it or not. TheyRead More1984 and Privacy877 Words   |  4 Pagesbeing watched, in great detail, by the government. In its ongoing battle against crime and terrorism, the U.S. has ramped up its surveillance on individuals over the years. As in the book, 1984, by George Orwell, Big Brother Is Watching You. Many people feel that this surveillance is a major invasion of privacy and a violatio n of their rights. The USA PATRIOT Act was rushed through Congress 45 days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by ProvidingRead MorePrivacy In 1984 Essay805 Words   |  4 Pages In the novel 1984, George Orwell uses imagery and word choice to demonstrate how much people value their privacy. This is proven when the citizens learn that the Police Patrol and the government are spying on them in their homes without them knowing. George Orwell states that he knows there is someone snooping in his windows all the time. Night or day, it does not matter. He knows for a fact they are watching his every move. This goes to show that the Police Patrol and government have no boundariesRead More Theme of Privacy in 1984 Essay examples1353 Words   |  6 Pages In 1984 George Orwell describes how no matter where you go in Oceania there is a telescreen right there watching you. Everything you do say or sometimes even think, Big Brother will know. 1984 was written in 1949 and Orwell hinted at technology which never even existed. Perhaps he saw it coming because of how popular the television was becoming. There are many ideas in this novel that Orwell predicts. Some came true in 1984, some did not, but today in United States thereRead MoreGovernment Control and Privacy Issues in 1984 by George Orwell1203 Words   |  5 PagesToday’s modern world may not be exactly like 1984, but there are some issues that are very similar to it. Some of the biggest issues that is becoming compromised today is the issue of privacy, which in the book 1984 was something that the people did not have much of because of things like telescreens. Not only is our privacy compromised but the government is also being too controlling. Ways today’s privacy is being compromised are through things like game consoles, phones, social media, and dronesRead MorePrivacy And The Right Of Privacy993 Words   |  4 PagesEveryone should have their own privacy in order to secure our personal and business. Most people do not like when some stranger is keep looking at you anything you do and talk. In 1984, that is called Big Brother is watching you through the telescreen. Telescreen c an always see and hear whatever people are doing and privacy setting. There are no such as privacy and secrets because telescreens were everywhere such as streets, houses and restrooms. In 1984, the main character is Winston Smith who worksRead MorePrivacy Is Not The State Or Condition Of Being Free1038 Words   |  5 Pages　　Privacy means the state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people. Privacy is something that we all take for granted because we don’t know how to live our lives without it and in most cases we never have, well not like in the 1984 and The Circle. Without privacy, people would not be comfortable doing most of the things that they do on a daily basis. If we were being watched and listen to day in and day out then we would be living like prisoners. We would be limitedRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwell s 1984 1122 Words   |  5 PagesPrivacy is an important issue, especially in the United States where the N SA looms over the internet, tracking your every move. Privacy is what allows you to maintain your own individualism, what makes you a person and especially your freedom. A growing debate concerning Orwell’s 1984 relevancy is quickly on the rise. Orwell’s fear of a totalitarian society led him to write this book as he lived during the totalitarian movement in Russia. The fear of a totalitarian society spreading sparked his fearRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwell s 1984848 Words   |  4 Pagesthe George Orwell’s novel 1984, much of the society is watched and have no privacy of any kind. Every person in the Party is under surveillance. In effect, these people cannot live freely and independently, but it seems to be an impossible task because of of the Party surveillance, and how they limit thinking and manipulate reality. We can similarly see these concerns and their effects in today s society and the ways the novel also acts as a warning for the future. In 1984 a man named Winston livesRead More1984 Research Paper On 1984 Essay1026 Words   |  5 PagesOllie Pearson Mr Funk English 2 HN 2 October 2017 1984 Research Paper Thomas Jefferson once said that â€Å"Everyone has the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.† If the government spied on its citizens, the citizens would carry the burden of having the government constantly watch every move being made, interfering with citizens pursuit of happiness. With that being said, if a citizen’s privacy was invaded then their pursuit of happiness would be demolished. The government

The Aeneid By Virgil Between 29 And 19 Bc - 1434 Words

The Aeneid is an epic poem written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC. This works tells of the Trojan hero Aeneas and his journey from Troy to Italy to settle a new city for his people. The first half of the book entails Aeneas making his way to Italy while the second half describes the battle between the Latins and the Trojans. Both of these endeavors require the hero of the story to have a motivated disposition. These motivations come in the form of depictions of Roman history. The two significant depictions are told to Aeneas from his father, Anchises, who has gained the gift of visions that tells about the future of Rome and the shield that Aeneas’s mother gives him along with other battle gear for the upcoming battles. The shield and Anchises’s visons are pivotal and irreplaceable parts of Virgil’s epic; they both function for the plot’s sake as well as for use as an immortalization of Roman folklore. The first telling of Roman legendary history/future ha ppens in the Underworld with Aeneas’s father, Anchises. Anchises is gifted the ability to see visions of Rome’s future in the afterlife. His visions detail the relationship of Aeneas to successful founders and leaders of Rome. The most important of these relationships are Augustus Caesar who will be a part of Ascanius’s line, the two people named Menelaus, and Romulus. Ascanius â€Å"led his son / Through every detail and enflamed his soul / With longing for the glory that was to come, / He told him of the wars he next mustShow MoreRelatedThe Aeneid A Kind Of Propaganda, Cicero s Second Philippic1351 Words   |  6 Pagesdiscuss Virgil’s Latin epic ‘The Aeneid’, a kind of propaganda, Cicero’s ‘Second Philippic’ a piece written with personal and political intentions in mind, and Plutarch’s Rome in Crisis regarding Antony. One must treat these sources with caution, not least because of the inherent bias present in their writing. It is necessary to take into account the context, type of source and how the author has shaped material for their own personal or political gain. Limitations. Virgil shapes material for his ownRead MoreEssay on Fate of the Passionate in Virgils Aeneid1176 Words   |  5 Pages Virgil’s The Aeneid, to this day, remains one of the most influential epics to ever grace the merciless limitations of manuscript, inspiring, in pop culture as well as literature, an onslaught of themes, mythology, values, and the general sense of what a hero must be-or do- in order to overcome the obstacles of the gods and man. Written somewhere between 29 and 19 BC, consisting of twelve books (although never completely finished), The Aeneid takes us through the turbulent journeys

Transition between Life and Afterlife Analyzing The Triumph of Death in the Camposanto of Pisa Essay Example For Students

Transition between Life and Afterlife: Analyzing The Triumph of Death in the Camposanto of Pisa Essay What is more vivid and earthly than death? It is very easy to represent death as the landing place of a process, as we can see in many works of art of the Western world. One thinks of the Death of Marat painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1793 à °fig. 1Þ, where the wan body of the revolutionary man, with a visible wound on his chest, lies in his bathtub just after his murder. The bloody dagger, abandoned by the killer, Charlotte Corday, lies near the leaning arm of Marat. Jacques-Louis David, Death of Marat, 1793, oil on canvas, Musà ©es Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels. day, lies near the leaning arm of Marat. This is one of the most popular representations of a dead body, which is directly linked with the Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio (1602–3) for the position of the arm in the foreground. David introduces the quotation from Caravaggio to sublimate hispolitical hero into an â€Å"alter Christus,† a new unreligious martyr. Nevertheless, both artists painted the body of the two protagonists—Jean-Paul Marat and Jesus Christ—as seen soon after death. We can see corpses in various works of art of different ages and different subjects, religious or not: battles, wars, depositions, entombments, Pietà  , slaughters of the innocents, and many others. A dead body itself does not involve problems of representation of transcendence. If, however, death is meant not as an ending point but as a transformation, a transition between life and afterlife, the theoretical problem is more complex. The passing away of a human body clearly shows signs of death as a process: but the visual arts—except cinema— cannot represent the exact moment of expiring; they can only get very close to it. This is a specific case of a general problem concerning the representation of time in â€Å"planar semiotics.† Literary art and visual art work in different ways, as Gotthold Ephraim Lessing recognized studying the Laocoà ¶n à °1766Þ: the narration of the former can follow the story in its process, while visual art must have a simultaneous narration, because its planar medium is, in some way, a limit to expression. Being a still medium, painting concerns spatial but not temporal dimensions; for instance, to correlate events happening in different times, the categories â€Å"before† and â€Å"after† are inferred by the beholder thanks to the logical relations between the places where static signs are arranged by the painter. But the artist who wants to re present a single action knows that it contains different phases, which can be schematized as â€Å"beginning,† â€Å"climax,† and â€Å"the end.† Climax is the moment of maximum tension—an instant infinitely short—and, concentrating on it, the artist summarizes the two extremities of the action, â€Å"before† and â€Å"after† à °Calabrese 2006cÞ. It is an excellent expedient to introduce the passing of time in the still medium of painting à °Corrain 1987Þ. Even photography has the same semiotic problem. The famous picture Loyalist Militiaman at the Moment of Death à °1936Þ by Robert Capa shows the effect of shooting on the body of an anarchist during the Spanish Civil War.4 Looking at this work in 1954, Louis Aragon admired the incredible ability of his friend â€Å"to capture forever, thanking his camera, the thin line between life and death† à °Whelan 2001Þ. Because of the exceptional nature of this picture, it was supposed not to be a live shot but the result of a mise-en-scà ¨ne sought after by the Hungarian photographer. Nowadays, after long research in local archives and interviews with veterans this interpretation has been demolished, and it has been confirmed that this picture was taken exactly in the instant of shooting.5 The militiaman did not pose for this photograph, and Capa came incredibly close to the point of no return, the climax of the action. Getting back to painting, the iconography of Crucifixion is one of the most vivid examples of the challenge of representing the infinitely short instant of passing away. In different ages artists have tried to approach the final act à °the climaxÞ, emphasizing some important signs of suffering, such as tension, contortion of the body, and pale skin tone à °Calabrese 2006bÞ, characteristics, among others, of the famous Grà ¼newald Crucifixion à °fig. 3Þ. Indeed, the rep resentation of the moment of death is a problem of passions, â€Å"because it involves a certain aspectuality of suffering à °inchoateness of agony, punctuality of the act of dying, durativeness of being deadÞ† à °Calabrese 2006a, 101Þ. These linguistic categories, adopted by generative semiotics for the visual arts, could be used to refine the three phases of an action à °Ã¢â‚¬Å"beginning,† â€Å"climax,† and â€Å"the end†ÃƒÅ¾.6 While the above-mentioned Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio and the Death of Marat by David concern the last phase—the durativeness of being dead—many Crucifixions focused on the punctuality of the act of dying. In general, this iconography stimulates the viewer to think about the suffering of Christ as a man, but also of his forthcoming resurrection. Trying to capture the exact moment of expiring means that death is conceived of as the crucial point of transformation from life to afterlife. And in most Crucifixions this process is supposed to be seen in the body of the actor à °the suffering ChristÞ. These theoretical aspects are fundamental to the analysis of the medieval representation of death—expressly its personification—which, ho wever, is very different from the above-mentioned iconographies. We are talking about the Triumph of Death à °fig. 4Þ frescoed by Buonamico Buffalmacco in Pisa, probably between 1336 and 1341. Traditionally, the unusual presence of the evil figure, fluttering with its large scythe under groups of people, dead and alive, was supposed to be the main subject of the painting; so it was wrongly interpreted as a depiction of the terrible plague of 1348, and its dating has only recently been corrected.8 The aim of this article is to demonstrate that the real subject of this work of art is the representation of a nonrepresentable transcendence, the passage from life to afterlife: the meaning of Death does not lie properly in its feature but in its function, because it acts as an agent of transformation between two realms.9 Also, the Crucifixion leads to the hereafter, but it concerns the life of the Son of God as an exemplum for everyone. In the Buffalmacco fresco, on the other hand, the transition acts from the life of humankind to its future salvation or damnation. In both cases death is meant as a transformation, but while the Crucifixion shows it in the climax of the suffering Christ,Buffalmacco shows it in a very complex arrangement of spaces and times. Outline1 The Workyard of the Graveyard2 The Vanishing of Earthly Times and the Eternal Consistence of Heavenly Life3 What Is Written Here?4 The Other Narration of the â€Å"Figures of Framing†5 The Consequences of Death The Workyard of the Graveyard In order to understand the Triumph of Death it is necessary to be reminded of its original destination: the Camposanto of Pisa, the monumental cemetery built in the Piazza del Duomo after the Cathedral, the Baptistery, and the Leaning Tower à °Baracchini and Castelnuovo 1996Þ. It was commissioned by the archbishop Federico Visconti and was begun in 1277 by the architect Giovanni di Simone. It is a roofed-over building, because it was conceived of not just as the burial place of important people but also as the storage for Roman sarcophagi gathered around the cathedral in the early Middle Ages à °Carli and Arias 1937; Settis 1984Þ. The Camposanto has a rectangular shape with a central courtyard and four galleries all around. As we can see from the map à °fig. 5Þ, along the inside walls of the galleries different artists realized the largest cycle of frescoes of the time: it is a well-structured program, composed of different subjects coming from the Old and the New Testaments, the lives of local saints, and two interesting â€Å"exceptions.† The pictorial decoration of the Camposanto started with the local painter Francesco Traini à °Caleca 1986Þ. Around 1330 he was asked to fresco the great Crucifixion à °fig. 6Þ behind the altar, where religious functions were celebrated at the beginning of the fourteenth century.10 Inside this building Traini did not execute more than this fresco. In fact, the Florentine Buffalmacco, a friend of Giovanni Boccaccio and Franco Sacchetti and protagonist of some of their tales,11 was probably invited to realize three stories of the life of Christ after death o n the left side of Traini’s painting: Resurrection, Incredulity of Saint Thomas, and Ascension of Christ à °fig. 7Þ. On the other side of the Crucifixion, on the southern gallery, Buffalmacco painted the most famous and largest cycle of frescoes of the Camposanto: the Triumph of Death, the Last Judgment à °fig. 8Þ, and the Thebais à °fig. 9Þ, showing several episodes from the lives of the Holy Fathers in the desert. The Triumph of Death and the Thebais are the iconographic â€Å"exceptions† of the whole program; in fact, these stories are taken neither from the Old and the New Testaments nor from the lives of saints. Many other painters followed, and the main decoration ended with Benozzo Gozzoli, who worked in Pisa for almost twenty years in the second half of the fifteenth century.12 The high humidity of the place and the exhalations coming from the graves seriously damaged all the frescoes inside the Camposanto, which has been continuously restored and partially altered. Since the beginning, the graveyard has been a never-ending workyard. Between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Camposanto became a favorite place of travelers, and we have a large number of descriptions in literature and the figurative arts.13 In 1812 the scholar Carlo Lasinio à °1759–1855Þ etched all the frescoes in forty plates,14 intending to record their status, but obviously giving his own int erpretation to these works of arts. Lasinio drew every single story, avoiding reproducing the frames painted around each one of them. Carlo Lasinio, Last Judgment by Buonamico Buffalmacco in the Camposanto, 1812,engraving. Reproduced from Lasinio Lasinio’s books of etchings were published in many languages, and travelers doing the Grand Tour arrived in larger numbers year after year, mostly to see the Triumph of Death, described by the Baedekers. At the end of the nineteenth century, a detailed photographic campaign of every story, illustrating also the painted frames, was realized with the same conservative purpose of the engravings. This is a fundamental documentation left to us, because on July 27, 1944, during the Second World War, a terrible fire destroyed the roof of the building, ruining many sarcophagi and most of the frescoes, some of which soon collapsed. These old pictures became the only sources available for restoring the image of the paintings and part of the architecture. After the war, but still in a situation of emergency, the restorers first—because of its celebrity—detached the Triumph of Death from the wall, and afterward the Last Judgment and the Thebais, bringing them to their labora tories à °Baracchini 1996Þ. They forgot the painted frames, while the other frescoes were detached in the following years; and in the 1960s a special exhibition room was built next to the Camposanto in order to display these stories by Buffalmacco.Recently, a new restoration is bringing the frescoes back to their original place within the external galleries, as will also happen in the near future to the Buffalmacco cycle. The Vanishing of Earthly Times and the Eternal Consistence of Heavenly Life Entering the Camposanto before July 27, 1944, we would have found the wide painted surface of the Thebais on our right hand à °fig. 5Þ. Walking along the gallery, seeing the Crucifixion in front of us, we would have reached first of all the Hell with the Last Judgment, and then the Triumph of Death. Apart from the Crucifixion, the narrow gallery did not allow a frontal general view of all the frescoes, and the viewer had to concentrate only on single episodes à °Caleca 1996Þ. This cycle was conceived by Buffalmacco to be seen in this way because he decided to use all the space available, without dividing it in two stories as he did on the eastern gallery for the Resurrection and the Incredulity of Saint Thomas. This interesting morphological choice invites us to examine the relation between the movement of the beholder and the architectural space of the gallery in connection with the medieval conception of time and space. Buffalmacco arranged the stories of Christ after death in order to let the beholder have a complete overview in spite of the narrowness of the gallery. But why did he not make the same choice for the cycle of the Triumph of Death? Probably one of the answers is Buffalmacco’s unusual subjects. The audience of that time was used to recognize the Resurrection, for example, as a singular scene with a specific iconography, isolated from the other episodes of the New Testament. The same audience was not equally familiar with the advent of death and its consequences, neither with the episodes of the Holy Fathers in the desert. At this point the movement of the beholder becomes crucial, because this part of the southern gallery was a sort of nave with the main altar underneath the Crucifixion. Several processions of Flagellants’ brotherhoods are documented in the first half of the fourteenth century, and the faithful walked along the nave from the Thebais to the presbytery, thus having a partial view of singular episodes.16 The peculiar architectural space and its religious function suggested to Buffalmacco to set several stories in different places, where various groups of people play a single act of th e whole drama. This arrangement reproduces the traditional setting of medieval theater called loci deputati à °designated placesÞ where single episodes of the story were staged à °Molinari 1961; Mervyn 1983; Bernardi 1991Þ. During Holy Week, for instance, a procession passed through the town, every square became the stage for a particular episode of the Passion, and the spectator could move from one place to another following a discontinuous temporal line; we can find visual translations of this theatrical conception in several paintings, as well as in later Northern European works such as The Passion of Christ by Memling à °fig. 10Þ. In the medieval conception, space and time are phenomenal categories in strict correspondence with transcendence à °Schlosser 1923Þ. Any episode of the Triumph of Death works as an exemplum à °moral exampleÞ, a warning to the faithful to look within and to think about our fleeting nature: this is the general theme that brings all the episodes toget her, although they do not necessarily have a narrative consequence. Some of the episodes, instead, are connected with other frescoes that Buffalmacco realized in the southern gallery à °Last Judgment, Hell, and ThebaisÞ, summarizing or anticipating their iconographies Hans Memling, Scenes from the Passion of Christ, 1470–71, oil on panel, GalleriaSabauda, Turin. Present time echoes metaphysical time; and the Triumph of Death represents both, arranging the external world in the lower level and the transcendent world in the higher level. This is very clear from looking at the historical photograph, because it is the only way to get a general overview, otherwise impossible. In fact, the faithful, just as the modern visitor, could only get a view of groups of characters or â€Å"squares,† starting from the so-called Three Dead and Three Living à °fig. 11Þ, on the very left side of the Triumph. Here is depicted the durativeness of death: a group of twelve young noblemen, riding horses during a hawking expedition, meet three corpses in different stages of decomposition.17 The corpses lie in superimposed coffins showing the ravages of time: the first corpse, most recently dead, shows a fresh-skin face and is smartly dressed with an elegant hat and footwear; the second wears a crown, being probably a king, and its appearance looks very de teriorated; the third is already a skeleton and lies very close to the beholder, turning the gaze toward him. In the central scene a group of beggars à °fig. 12Þ invokes the personification of Death, hanging in the air not so far from them. They turn their back on the preceding scene à °Three Dead and Three LivingÞ and orient their gestures, gazes, and a long scroll to the right side,18 with the following rhymes in early Italian: â€Å"Because prosperity has left us / Death, cure for every pain, / Come and give us the last supper!†19 This part of the fresco acts as a turning point, and it is marked also by a rocky landscape à °fig. 13Þ. At the foot of the triangular cliff of the mountain various corpses are amassed. Shrek is love Shrek is life EssayThe other side of this definition is â€Å"to show, to exhibit something present† à °352, emphasis addedÞ, and this process is an act of self-presentation by the image identifying the thing represented as such: â€Å"In other words, to represent means to present oneself representing something. Every representation, every representational sign, every signifying process thus includes two dimensions, which I am in the habit of calling, in the first case, reflexive—to present oneself—and, in the second case, transitive—to represent something† à °Marin  ½1994 2001, 352, emphasis addedÞ. The frame facilitates the mimetic or transitive dimension of representation; at the same time it takes charge of its reflexive dimension. Because every frame completes the picture in its finality, as it is to be seen, shown, and exhibited, it concerns a process of communication or, better, a relation with the beholder. So the frame activates a process of â€Å"presentation† and â€Å"putting on stage† the work, indicating what to look at. The presentative role of the frame could also be played by other elements, very different from a visual point of view, like painted curtains or figures that indicate something in the scene or look at the beholder. They can be inside the space of the narration and not necessarily inside the large space of the painted frame à °as in the Buffalmacco frescoÞ, but their function is the same. These elements are what Marin calls â€Å"figures of framing†: â€Å"This is also how the frame à °by this I mean the processes and procedures of framing, the dynamics and power of positioningÞ will delegate some of its functions to a particular figure, who, even as he participates in the action, in the story that is ‘told,’ ‘represented,’ will utter by his gestures, his posture, his gaze, not so much what is to be seen, what the vi ewer must see, as the way to see it: these are pathetic figures of framing† à °Marin  ½1994 2001, 358Þ.56 If the mimetic dimension prevails, the work of art seems to be able to speak by itself, creating an â€Å"effect of objectivity.† On the contrary, if the presentative dimension prevails, the work of art shows the mechanism that makes the representation happen and there is an â€Å"effect of subjectivity.†57 These concepts recall the theory of â€Å"visual enunciation† that Marin elaborated based on Benveniste’s â€Å"written enunciation† à °Benveniste 1966, 1974Þ: in language, the effects of objectivity à °Ã¢â‚¬Å"narrative enunciation†ÃƒÅ¾ and subjectivity à °Ã¢â‚¬Å"discursive enunciation† Þ depend, among others, on the personal forms of the word â€Å"he† à °effect of objectivityÞ as well as â€Å"I/you† à °effect of subjectivityÞ and on the circumstantial demonstrative adverbs linked with them à °Ã¢â‚¬Å"that† for â€Å"he,† â€Å"this† for â€Å"I/you†ÃƒÅ¾.58 Inside a work of a rt, for example, characters looking at us or pointing out something establish a relationship â€Å"I/you,† creating an effect of subjectivity. They also appear in the Triumph of Death, inside the space of the narration and inside the rhombus within the horizontal frames. These â€Å"figures of framing† build a second level of narration, guiding us to a deeper comprehension of the painting. First, the nine angels with scrolls inside the lower frame are painted at the height of the viewers’ gaze, establishing a dialogue with them. In particular, the one under the greyhound glances up, pointing out what to look at; his inscription builds a communication with the pronominal â€Å"you,† referring to the beholder and to the group of the hunters; one of the hunters is looking at us.59 The result of this connection is a visual and written communicative circuit. The same circuit, realized in different ways, concerns the three central angels of the lower frame. They gaze in our direction, but every mark of enunciation of their inscriptions is strikingly different. In fact, the verses on the scroll of the angel under the beggars echo the content of the one immediately above inside the narration, but in the frame the angel uses the sacred words of the Old Testament in Latin.60 While his eyes establish a discursive enunciation à °I/youÞ with the viewer, his scroll realizes a narrative enunciation à °heÞ, and his inscription brings to life a voice outside the narration. Looking directly at us, the following angel admonishes the beholder producing a discursive enunciation. Also, the third angel in the middle of the lower frame, just under Death, stares at us while holding a short inscription in Latin taken from the Old Testament: â€Å"Nobody knows when his hour will come.† Once again his voice is from outside the narration, and it properly refers to the indeterminable advent of Death, painted above. On a visual level â€Å"not knowing† the exact moment of its arrival, it corresponds to the representation of Death â€Å"getting on the point of using its scythe†: it is what we have called the inchoateness of the act of cutting down. The scroll of the eighth angel, under the group of people in the orchard, talks directly to one of the young ladies and to every woman of the audience à °youÞ, warning against earthly sins.63 Unlike the three previous angels, this one is represented in profile, and the direction of his eyes, underlining the content of the inscription, guides us to the next fresco à °Last JudgmentÞ. This angel, like the one under the greyhound, has the same visual function as the demonstrative pronouns à °this and thatÞ, because—just like the frame—he indicates to us what to look at. But the eighth angel guides us outside the framed scene of the Triumph of Death, and this unusual aspect finds explanation in the entire Buffalmacco cycle inside the Camposanto, that could be read just following a determined itinerary. We must remember here that the huge dimension of these scenes never permits an overall view.64 The painted frame by itself is not a guide to the eyes. In fact, in this cycle several â€Å"figures of framing,† play the same role as, for instance, the group of two cupids bringing a roll with a long inscription in the middle of the fresco, above the three central angels under the beggars and the heap of corpses. This group is another â€Å"figure of framing,† and just like the angels these cupids look at us: they are external to the mimeti c dimension of the representation and they have a presentative function. The Consequences of Death The frame is a borderline between the representation and everything that does not concern it: denying the space of the outside it affirms the one of the inside. Nevertheless, looking at the frame by itself, it clearly appears like a composite space, neither internal nor external to the representation.65 Therefore, it is has a neutral status,66 which derives from the double negation inscribed in the mechanism itself: occupying the limit of representation, the frame articulates the spaces that prove its being à °Marin 1982Þ. The neutral status immediately refers to the perceptive dimension of the frame because it has to be gazed upon without being seen; but it also refers to an immanent dimension that concerns the logical relations activated by the frame itself. Buffalmacco’s frame explains very well the neutral status of the margin. It is a geometric squaring of the space of representation, so it has a different nature, but it was realized on the same wall and with the same technique. Its ambiguous status, neither internal nor external, is very evident. But today we can talk about it only on the basis of historical pictures, because most of the frames of the entire cycle got lost; indeed, it is interesting to note that the detachment saved just the privileged space of representation. This loss is still heavier if we think that inside the margin we could find â€Å"figures of framing† that gave us a metatheoretical interpretation of the fresco, disclosing to us to the moral and theological explanation of the scene. The comprehension of the whole meaning would not have been otherwise impossible without these elements, but the â€Å"figures of framing† and, in particular, their inscriptions permit a true exegesis of what was painted on this wall. Every inscription talks about the transcendence meant as a passage to a new life, hellish or heavenly, places of eternal salvation or damnation. But how did Buffalmacco translate this theological concept in painting? Looking at the fresco as it appears today à °fig. 14Þ, we are impressed by the figure of Death not just for its horrendous aspect, but first of all because of its central role in the middle of the scene. The main subject is not Death that inevitably cuts off every life, but the afterlife opened by the intervention of Death. This metaphysical space is displayed in the higher part, while episodes of the earthly world, with different phenomenal times, stay closer to the beholder. There is a very significant area that corresponds to the corridor created by the arrival of the woman with the scythe, connecting two semantic fields: /life/ and /nondeath/.68 This is the real meaning of the fresco, not the Triumph of Death but its consequences, not the act of dying but the process of transformation from /life/ to /nondeath/, from /low/ to /high/. Also, the personification of Death—half human and half devil—connects these worlds. Compared to other Italian Triumphs of Death, the Buffalmacco fresco highlights the role of the old woman as a go-between toward a new life. In a later fresco, today in the Museo di Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo à °ca. 1446Þ, this personification is a skeleton riding a haggard horse à °fig. 15Þ: it is not flying and its earthly nature prevails.69 Remaining in Tuscany in the second half of the fourteenth century, in the church of San Francesco in Lucignano à °ArezzoÞ there is another fresco representing a similar iconography, but Death here is an old woman with claws and long white hair, riding a black horse à °fig. 16Þ.70 She does not stay in midair, as in Pisa, because her horse brings her to the earth, and she pronounces terrible words.71 This fresco has several elements in common with the Buffalmacco painting—the beggars with their invocation to Death, the heap of corpses, two hunters—but we find a very important difference: Christ appears in the sky under the horrible woman. Pointing to her, Christ talks to the beholder in the vernacular and in rhyme: â€Å"Oh You, reader, pay attention to the blows of / This Lady that killed me / Since I am the Lord / Of her.†72 In the Pinacoteca of Siena there is a similar iconography of Death represented together with Christ, traditionally entitled Allegory of Redemption à °fig. 17Þ. It is a tempera on wood panel attributed to Ambrogio Lorenzetti, and scholars are convinced that the author of this little painting drew inspiration from the Buffalmacco fresco in Pisa, dating it at the middle of the fourteenth century à °Frugoni 2002Þ. Christ crucified above a heap of corpses dominates the scene, but over his head flies Death, represented as a black devil with bat wings. This is a very unusual composition: the devil overlooks the Son of God, and its scythe hovers just above his head. Moreover, Death appears at another time: the same devil with the scythe accompanies the first two sinners on the very left side of the background, under the Creation of Adam and Eve and the Original Sin. In the foreground we can recognize Cain and Abel à °the first homicideÞ and two anchorites with a long scroll at the feet of the Cross. On the very right side Christ Judge, surrounded by angels, overlooks the Cross, between the Virgin and St. John, and, at the bottom, other angels are driving back the damned. Apparently the Lorenzetti narration is very different from that by Buffalmacco, above all for the presence of Christ. In Siena, the death of Christ is followed by his Ascension à °his â€Å"triumph over death†ÃƒÅ¾, the allegory of redemption that is possible to everyone who erases their sins. So the painting must be read from left to right: from the first sinners à °prehistoric timeÞ to the saved and the damned à °metaphysical timeÞ, passing through the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross à °historical timeÞ. In this sense the Crucifixion functions as a gobetween from life to afterlife, the same role played in Pisa by Death. The monumental fresco in the Camposanto was adjacent to the Crucifixion and to the stories of Christ after death on the eastern wall à °fig. 6Þ. This sequence could hardly allow the faithful an interpretation of the whole cycle as an allegory of redemption. Moreover, our fresco can be freely read, or better, there is no direction from left to right but a leap in time in every episode, from phenomenal à °lowÞ to metaphysical à °highÞ. And in Pisa, inside the space of narration, apart from the angels disputing the souls, divinities are not represented. Why? The answer remains in the frame: as related by Cosimo Bartoli, in the lower margin two inscriptions come from the Old Testament à °EcclesiastesÞ while in the higher margin two other verses refer to Abel and Cain: Cain was the first human born and Abel the first human to die, Cain committed the first murder by killing his brother, and Abel is often compared to Christ as being the first martyr.74 If we look more closely at the historical picture of the Triumph of Death, the third character with a scroll in the higher frame stands out from the others and seems to be the Redeemer, young and bearded, holding the palm of martyrdom. Also, the next character, older and with a longer beard, looks like a sacred figure, possibly God or a prophet. Confining the sacred to the â€Å"neutral† space of the higher margin, the Camposanto fresco privileges an earthly point of view. For this reason it is traditionally called Triumph of Death, but it would be more appropriate to rename it —in comparison with the Lorenzetti painting—Allegory of Redemption.

MADMAXs Home Automation System Essays - Microcontrollers

MADMAX's Home Automation System Anosa, Tiara Kristy S. Ma. Jessica Catipunan Garillo, Abigail Joy B. Jainar, John Benedict T. Perez, Joanna Micaela S. Engr. Gil R. delas Alas Jr. CPE Faculty Jose Rizal University Mandaluyong City Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u CHAPTER 1 PAGEREF _Toc500277596 \h 3 1.1. Project Description PAGEREF _Toc500277597 \h 3 1.2 Project Objectives PAGEREF _Toc500277598 \h 3 1.3 Project Scope and Limitation PAGEREF _Toc500277599 \h 3 CHAPTER 2 PAGEREF _Toc500277600 \h 4 2.1 Design Framework PAGEREF _Toc500277601 \h 4 2.2 Design Constraints and Trade Offs PAGEREF _Toc500277602 \h 4 2.3 System Development Process PAGEREF _Toc500277603 \h 4 2.4 Design Standards PAGEREF _Toc500277604 \h 5 CHAPTER 1 The Project 1.1. Project Description This automation project will allow the user to control and monitor his home with the aid of a website. The user will be able to know his energy consumption, garbage container status and the amount of his laundry ahead of time. 1.2 Project Objectives The main objective of this project is to design and implement a home automation system that is capable of monitoring, controlling and automating the house through an easy manageable web interface. Develop a monitoring system by using Arduino which acts as an interface between the user and the devices. Design a laundry basket which will calculate the weight for the laundry price to be determined. Implement a garbage container which will automatically open if it detects a hand and will have an indicator for the user to know if the container is already full. Test and evaluate based on functionality and accuracy of the system. 1.3 Project Scope and Limitation The user can monitor the energy consumption and bills from the webpage, control the switches on it and also retrieve reports or logs that has been done. The prototype will consist of two floors. The ground floor will be the basement and the second one will be the user's bedroom. The minimum pricing for the laundry is 25 pesos per kilo. One of the limitations of this project is that the user cannot control the light intensity coming from the bulb to low, medium or high. Another limitation that this project has is that the load cell sensor has a maximum weight capacity of 3kg. CHAPTER 2 Conceptual Framework 2.1 Design Framework 1 . Analyze the materials to be used - Microcontroller - Sensors (weight and ultrasonic sensor) - Motor - Bulb . Software/s to be used 2 - Arduino IDE - HTML - CSS INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT 1 . Circuit design implem entation . 2 Hardware and so ftware interface with one another Home Automation System 1 . Analyze the materials to be used - Microcontroller - Sensors (weight and ultrasonic sensor) - Motor - Bulb . Software/s to be used 2 - Arduino IDE - HTML - CSS INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT 1 . Circuit design implem entation . 2 Hardware and so ftware interface with one another Home Automation System 2.2 Design Constraints and Trade Offs PIR Sensor Instead of using this, the project will make use of an ultrasonic sensor. PIR sensors detect occupants' presence by sensing the difference between heat emitted by moving people and background heat. Ultrasonic sensors detect the presence of people by sending out ultrasonic sound waves into a space and measuring the speed at which they return. Load Cell Sensor This project will make use of a Piezoresistive because it is cheaper than a load cell sensor. 2.3 System Development Process Define Code Test Iteration Final Project Figure 2.3 Agile Method Define Code Test Iteration Final Project Figure 2.3 Agile Method 2.4 Design Standards This section will discuss the specifications of the hardware materials to be used during the project development. Arduino Uno R3 ATmega328P Microcontroller 5V Operating Voltage 7-12V Input Voltage (recommended) 7-12V 6-20V Input Voltage (limit) 14 (of which 6 provide PWM output) Digital I/O Pins 6 PWM Digital I/O Pins 6 Analog Input Pins Ultrasonic Sensor Detecting range: 3cm-4m Best in 30 angle Electronic brick compatible interface 5VDC power supply Breadboard friendly Dual transducer Arduino library ready Load Cell Sensor Model: YZC-131 Dimensions: 60x13x13mm/2.36 x 0.51 x 0.51(L x W x H) Rated Load: 3 (kg) Rated output: 1.0 0.15mV / V Operating temperature range:

How To Pass Your NCLEX-RN Exam

How To Pass Your NCLEX-RN Exam Nursing school is hard. And the stress of passing your â€Å"boards,† or the NCLEX exam, is intense. Not to mention that the test itself is expensive, at $300 or more per shot. This comprehensive test for  professional licensure is  difficult- and is required to enter a career as an RN or LPN. Instead of stressing, which will be counterproductive, here are some strategies to help you pass.1. Relax- you’ve got this.You just finished nursing school, which was was hard enough. The material you covered on your school exams will be harder than about 70% of what you’ll encounter on the NCLEX- really. If you put in the time throughout your studies, you should be well on your way to a passing score.2. Understand that you can’t cram.Don’t even bother taking the test if you can’t budget yourself some time before to study. Get yourself an NCLEX Review Study Guide book, join a study group, take review quizzes and practice tests. Pay special attention to areas you had trouble with in nursing school. There are a ton of great products available online (NRSNG.com, the Medmaster course, the Lab Values course, the Cardiac Essentials course, Picmonic, Brilliant Nurse, Board Vitals, RNQuiz.com, and Kaplan’s nursing materials are a few to check out).3. Use your phone/tablet to its advantage.There are a ton of apps that you can use to study and prepare while on the go. Try NCLEX Mastery, NCLEX PREP, ATI RN Mentor- NCLEX Exam Preparation, UWORLD Qbank, RN Crush!, and the NCLEX ® Prep App. There are also lots of practice question resources out there, from NRSNG, GraduateX, Lippincott, and BoardVitals.4. Don’t overstudy.Once you’ve got something down, move on. Do general review from time to time to keep older material fresh. But put the books down the night before the test. Get a good night’s sleep, and don’t crack the books open again on test day. Just trust your gut and your preparation will get you th rough.5. Don’t second guess yourself.The computer adaptive testing module (CAT) is predictive, giving you questions at different levels based on your correct or incorrect answer to the previous question. Don’t freak out about the level of your next question. Just focus on getting the right answer. Don’t try to overthink what the system is giving you.6.  Know that you’re ready and able to ace this thing.Don’t go into the test thinking it’s an obstacle. Instead, use it as an opportunity to show the world what you’ve learned. Ace it!7. Practice active studying.Rather than just copying notes or reading through texts, rewrite those notes and texts in your own words. Take practice tests. Really stretch yourself to make sure the information sticks.8. Memorize where you have to.On the NCLEX-RON, you’ll mostly you’ll need to engage your best critical thinking skills. But there are a few things you’ll have to have memoriz ed cold. Get started on these early: disease symptoms, normal lab values, and drug side effects.9. Come prepared and relaxed.Show up early, in comfortable clothing, with all the things you’ll need to take the test: your ID, a snack, a water bottle. Make sure you aren’t chewing gum, and plan to leave your bag and electronics outside the testing room. Make sure you’ve eaten and rested and are mentally prepared.10. Stay cool.Try first to visualize the situation. Let your muscle memory help you get the answer. Next, eliminate all the answers you know to be false. Then take a deep breath, and go with your gut.Remember to prepare and believe in yourself. You’ve got this!

Dose Trade with Low-Wage Countries Cause a trade Deficit in the Assignment

Dose Trade with Low-Wage Countries Cause a trade Deficit in the High-Wage Country - Assignment Example This is because; absorption of U.S domestic demand for goods by exporters in china and oil exporting countries has widely suppressed domestic job creation in the U.S. In 2011 and 2010, the increasing U.S trade deficit with China led to 2.8 million jobs displacement in U.S (Bordon, 2011). Other factors that have led to the shrinking of the manufacturing sector include rising technological changes which have increased labor productivity, forcing firms to hire few workers. It is incorrect for the Business and Industry Council to blame imports alone for the international imbalance that have led to manufacturing crisis. Manufacturing crisis refers to the long-run trend of falling employment in the manufacturing sector in the United States. The macroeconomic policies that China has adopted of currency devaluation, increasing U.S dollar holding and, subsidies advancement to a range of industries are the major cause of the high trade deficit. By 2011, China had accumulated $3.26 trillion in foreign reserves in U.S treasuries. In Chinese auto-parts industry, both domestic and foreign owned plants have received $27.5 billion in government subsidies. In 2006, 58.2 per cent of China’s exports were from the foreign firms operating in China. These firms are taking advantages of the subsidy policy and availability of cheap labor in China. China and other low wage rate countries enjoy availability of cheap labor, relative to their counterparts in the US and other developed countries. This is the area where they have a comparative advantage in manufacturing. Undervaluing the Chinese currency, yuan, has expanded the U.S trade deficit hurting the U.S manufacturing and depressing the U.S employment. According to the congress research service report (2008), China’s foreign exchange rates reserves increased from $403 billion to $1.5 trillion between 2003 and 2007.in 2010 the reserves were $3.2 trillion. Lutes argue that, lax U.S financial regulations that have fueled over

Home Schooling Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Home Schooling - Research Paper Example This project stresses that the family which study together stays together. Home schooling is the common thread woven throughout their lives that pulls the family together. It also allows giving quality education to the children .Home as always been the heart of a child’s education. One need not be a professional teacher to home school a child as they are natural learners and parents are natural teachers. Parents are the best teacher a child could have as no one knows the children better than them. The parents knows the strength and weakness of their children and can train them accordingly .Rather than teaching home schooling should be treated as a guiding a child for their future development. This report declares that from the earliest days, a child’s education took place inside the home. Children learned from parents, from a large extended family, and from everyday life. In his book writes that â€Å" History shows that today’s home education sprang from a rich heritage of family based learning† Families made sure that the children learned important life skills, reading, writing, math skills and socializing skills. In the beginning times, school education was not mandatory for children. Many children were taught home as they could not walk the distance to and from school and mass transportation was not yet an option. Some children were kept at home by bad weather, snowstorms and floods. As industrial revolution swept the country, school transportation improved and so did attendance at public schools.

Richer Sounds Case Essay Example for Free

Richer Sounds Case Essay The measures above effectively increased the valence, which highly motivate employees so they can give the best. Equity theory: the fact that the pay level in Richer Sounds is at the highest in the hi-fi industry + benefits given to employees is actually rarely seen in other organizations. Richer Sounds employees enjoy a higher ratio of input to output that of staff in other hi-fi retailers, which is actually positive inequity. When people realized the over-reward they received, they tend to reduce the inequity by working harder, according to Buchanan and Huczynski. Good work recognition, gratitude: very present in the case. The trust put by the management to its employees is actually a kind of recognition in itself for the honesty and credibility. The fact that the staff is working for a reputable company + great pay = pride from employees, which is also a strong motivator. Richer sounds = formal group: people are formally allocated to form into psychological groups to work together for their common goals as a basic function unit of the organization. Cohesiveness of group: in the case, we see the efforts put on the cohesiveness establishment of groups and the whole organization. To achieve good results, Richer Sounds tried many methods: 1) Membership: small teams better than big temps (big = reduction of communication, higher absenteeism rate). Richer sounds only hire candidates with similar interest, knowledge and enthusiasm in the hi-fi industry 2) Work environment: the nature of tasks given by Richer Sounds is similar in different stores and the fact that some of the surveyed staff claim that they laugh a lot implies that the communication among group members is good. That improves the cohesiveness of the work groups within Richer Sounds. 3) Organizational elements: The sense of trust increase cohesiveness of groups. The success that has been achieved so far by Richer Sounds contributes to the cohesiveness. Leadership: The company leader, Julian Richer, tends to establish a sense of trust between the employees and him via the trust culture and policies in the company. Richer also shows his respect to his employees, calling for a mutual respect as well. That way, the staff will be more inclined to work harder in a very enthusiastic way. The combination of transactional and transformational leadership approaches worked well and led to good performance of the whole organization, which is why Richer sounds has the highest record in sales per square foot amongst retailers. In Richer Sounds, many organizational behaviors are consolidated as rules, procedures policies and contracts. This tends to shape the good behavior of employees. Success of Richer Sounds: motivation strategies, group and team building strategies and the proper leadership adopted by the organization play a significant role. In the motivation area, appropriate measures like professional training programs could be adopted to improve the instrumentality and the expectancy to motivate employees. Performance management with clear set goals may also be helpful. Regarding the groups and teams, outdoors activities could be introduced. To what extend do you think that this leadership/management approach is replicable to other organizations? Google Apple Facebook?

Essay --

We as young adults, deal with many social and emotional issues, which can be seen through depression. Depression, is a state of having low moods and can be described as feeling â€Å"blue†or unhappy. Depressed people may feel so sad at times that they withdraw and lose interest in activities that they once loved to do. In worst cases, some people even commit suicide. Generally, depression does not result from a single event but from a combination of multiple events in life and other personal factors. The number of factors that may cause depression varies from person to person. There could be abuse that happened in the past, conflict from family disputes and personal factors. It could also be from a death or loss and the person cannot get over their grief. Some depression just comes from having an illness. The normal ups and downs in life means that everyone feels sad or "blue" from time to time, but if emptiness and absence of hope have taken place and will not go away, there may be depression in life. When depression is in someone's life they can get very hopeless and not even enjoy thin...

Succubus Revealed Chapter 9

It wasn't until I landed in Seattle on Sunday evening that the full surreal nature of my weekend in Las Vegas hit me. Being there had felt so . . . natural. I suppose part of that was just having old friends like Bastien and Luis around. Yet I'd been pleasantly surprised at how easily I got along with my newer acquaintances, like Phoebe and Matthias. I'd even grown to like Jamie, though I never did see him after that night. Despite my efforts to find him and ask him about Milton, the imp had remained elusive for the rest of my trip. And the show . . . how had that happened? I couldn't even get a solid job here in my current hometown, yet hours after walking off the plane in a strange city, I'd landed what was, in many ways, my dream job. By the time we'd finished our second practice, Matthias was already talking about a special part he planned on creating for me, and several of the other dancers were so disappointed at me leaving for a month, you'd think we'd known each other for years. It had, in spite of my misgivings, been a fantastic weekend. Reality set in when I walked into my condo. Roman was out, with only a note reading Bowling practice tomorrow night to mark his passage. Naturally, the cats were as happy to see me as always. Scratching their heads in turn, I began to think about the logistics of moving both of them with me across state lines. I'd be taking them away from Roman, whom they loved, but there was nothing to be done for that. He couldn't come with us. As a nephilim, he was in constant danger of being hunted down by other immortals, and it was only Jerome's protection that allowed him to have a seminormal life in Seattle. Roman certainly wasn't going to give that up, and besides, Las Vegas was probably the worst place in the world for him to attempt to hide out. A vase of pink-tipped white roses sat on the kitchen table, filling the air with sweetness. I opened up the card and read Seth's scrawled writing: Welcome home. I've been counting the minutes. – S I texted him that I was back and received an answer urging me to come over to Terry and Andrea's for dinner. After leaving a note for Roman assuring him I'd be at practice, I headed out, my mind still spinning with more of the consequences of moving. The condo. I'd have to sell it. Unless I wanted to rent it to Roman? Hell would likely compensate any moving costs, but it'd be up to me to start making the actual arrangements now for things like movers and whatnot. I was good at making plans and organizing things, but all of my skills were useless against the one thing I wanted to bring with me to Las Vegas the most: Seth. I still had no solution for what to do with him. I was met with the usual outpouring of love from his nieces when I arrived, just in time for a chaotic family dinner. With the additional family members, they'd given up any pretense of eating at the kitchen table and had simply taken their paper plates and homemade pizza off to the living room. The casualties of food and furniture were ones Terry and Andrea were long since used to, but Margaret couldn't focus on her dinner for fear of constantly watching the girls and what she perceived as imminent tomato-stained disaster. I was happy to see Andrea out with the family, which wasn't something that happened very often lately. She looked tired but was in good spirits, and from the way the girls vied for position next to her, it was clear they were delighted to have her up and around too. â€Å"Seth says you were out of town,† she told me. â€Å"Anywhere fun?† â€Å"Las Vegas,† I replied. â€Å"Visiting friends.† â€Å"Man,† said Ian. â€Å"I wish I had friends in Las Vegas.† â€Å"I figured it'd be too commercial for you,† said Seth, deadpan. Ian swallowed a bite of his pizza – it apparently wasn't a vegan day – before responding. â€Å"Only if you stay on the Strip and their overpriced luxury hotels. If you poke around in some of the out-of-the-way places, you could find some really cool and obscure dives.† It took nine-year-old Kendall to say what the rest of us were thinking. â€Å"I'd rather stay in luxury. Why would you want to stay in a dive, Uncle Ian?† â€Å"Because it's nonmainstream,† he told her. â€Å"Everyone stays at the nice places.† â€Å"But I like nice things,† she argued. â€Å"Don't you?† â€Å"Well, yes,† he said, frowning. â€Å"But that's not the point – â€Å" â€Å"Then why would you want to stay at bad places?† she pressed. â€Å"You're too young to understand,† he said. Seth chuckled. â€Å"Actually, I think she understands perfectly.† Andrea decided to rest shortly after that, but not before extracting a promise that someone deliver her dessert later on. After doing dishes (which was pretty easy with paper plates), our group dispersed into separate activities. Kendall, Brandy, Margaret, and Terry started up a game of Monopoly while Kayla and the twins settled down to watch The Little Mermaid. Ian joined them, excited for the chance to show how the movie was an example of capitalism destroying America. Seth and I curled up on a nearby loveseat, ostensibly to watch the movie, but instead used the time to catch up. â€Å"How was it, really?† he asked me in a low voice. â€Å"I've been worried about you. Was it as bad as you thought?† â€Å"No,† I said, leaning my head against his chest. â€Å"It was actually . . . pretty good. Would you believe I have a job already ? Like . . . one that's not on Hell's payroll.† â€Å"You can't even get one of those here,† remarked Seth. â€Å"Yeah, the irony's not lost on me. I'm going to be a Vegas showgirl, complete with sequins.† Seth trailed his fingers through my hair. â€Å"That's actually kind of awesome. And hot. If you want to practice, I'd be more than happy to give you some constructive criticism.† I smiled. â€Å"We'll see.† There was a long pause. â€Å"So . . . it's real. This whole thing.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said in a small voice. â€Å"It's real.† I felt him tense and sensed the worry radiating off of him. â€Å"It's okay. We'll figure this out. It's still a month away.† â€Å"I know we will,† he said. â€Å"You and I have overcome crazier things than this, right?† â€Å"Crazier doesn't always mean harder,† I pointed out. â€Å"I mean, when Peter tried to make a ‘retro candle sconce' out of a Pringles can last month, that was pretty crazy – but it was also pretty easy to deal with once we found his fire extinguisher.† â€Å"You see?† said Seth. â€Å"This is what I love about you. I don't even consider that crazy. I consider that ordinary life with you, Georgina. You change all the definitions.† He pressed a kiss to my forehead. We fell silent and watched the movie, though I suspected Seth was paying as little attention as I was. We were both lost in our own thoughts, and I didn't really snap out of it until I heard Ian telling Morgan, â€Å"I like the original fairy tale better. It's pretty alternative, so you've probably never heard of it.† I glanced at the clock and sat up. â€Å"I'm going to go check on Andrea and see if she wants her dessert.† Both Margaret and Terry were quick to offer to do it instead, but I waved them off, assuring them I was fine and that they should return to their game. Andrea was awake, propped up on pillows and reading a book when I came in with the pie. â€Å"You didn't have to do that,† she told me. â€Å"You should've asked Terry.† â€Å"He's busy buying and selling property,† I told her, helping her settle the plate on her lap. â€Å"I couldn't ask him to interrupt that. Besides, he does plenty.† â€Å"He does,† she agreed, smiling wistfully. â€Å"They all do. Even you. It's so strange, having others take care of me. I'm too used to looking after everyone else.† I settled down on a chair near her bed, wondering how often it must be filled lately. Andrea always had someone watching over her. â€Å"It's just for a little while longer,† I said. That got me another smile as she chewed a bite of pie. â€Å"You're very optimistic.† â€Å"Hey, why shouldn't I be? You look great today.† â€Å"Great ‘ironically,' as Ian would say.† She ran a hand through her limp blond hair. â€Å"But I do feel better than I have for a while. I don't know. It's deceptive, Georgina. There are days I feel confident I've beat every cancer cell in my body and others when I can't believe I'm still managing to walk this earth.† â€Å"Andrea – â€Å" â€Å"No, no, it's true.† She paused for more pie, but her eyes took on a vast, knowing look that reminded me eerily of Carter. â€Å"I've accepted it, come to terms with the fact that there's still a good chance I'll die. No one else has. No one else will talk about it. I'm okay with that. If that's what God wills for me, then so be it.† I felt a knot clench in my stomach. I couldn't say much about God, but I'd seen enough of Heaven and Hell to get angry when I heard humans accept their fate as part of some higher purpose. Half the time, it seemed to me the divine powers were making up this game as they went along. â€Å"I'm not worried about me,† Andrea continued. â€Å"But I am worried about them.† That serenity faded, replaced by very real human concern, a mother's fear for her children. â€Å"Terry's strong. So wonderfully strong. But this is hard on him. He can't do it alone, which is why I'm so glad Seth's here. I don't know what we would have done without him. He's the rock supporting us all right now.† The anxiety inside me eased for a few moments, replaced by a spreading warmth as I thought about Seth. â€Å"He's wonderful.† Andrea set down the fork, finished, and extended her hand to me. â€Å"So are you. I'm glad you're part of our family, Georgina. If something happens to me – â€Å" â€Å"Stop – â€Å" â€Å"No, listen. I mean it. If something happens to me, I'll rest easy knowing the girls have you in their lives. Seth and Terry are great, but the girls still need a strong woman role model. Someone to help them through growing up.† â€Å"I'm not that good of a role model,† I said, not meeting her eyes. I was a creature of Hell, someone full of weakness and fear. What could I possibly have to offer such bright, promise-filled creatures like the Mortensen girls? â€Å"You are,† said Andrea adamantly, squeezing my hand. â€Å"They love you and admire you so much. I know they're in good hands.† I swallowed back tears that were threatening to overwhelm me. â€Å"Well,† I said. â€Å"They're in even better hands with you, since we all know you're going to get well soon.† Andrea nodded, giving me an indulgent smile that I suspected she'd perfected after weeks of listening to others insist she was on the verge of recovery. A yawn soon betrayed her, and I carefully took the plate away and asked if she needed anything else. She assured me she didn't. I crept back downstairs and returned the plate to the kitchen, where I found Brandy and Margaret eating pie of their own. I did a double take back toward the living room. â€Å"What happened to Monopoly?† â€Å"Kendall bought us out,† said Margaret. â€Å"Man, I hate playing with her,† grumbled Brandy. â€Å"No one her age should be that good.† â€Å"Don't knock it,† said Seth, strolling in. â€Å"She's going to be supporting us all in fifteen years.† He rested a hand on Brandy's shoulder. â€Å"Did you ask Georgina?† Brandy looked at her feet. â€Å"No.† â€Å"Ask me what?† â€Å"It's nothing,† she said. â€Å"Clearly it's something,† I replied, exchanging looks with Seth. â€Å"What's up?† â€Å"Is this the Christmas dance you were talking about before ?† asked Margaret. Brandy flushed. â€Å"A holiday dance. It's nothing.† â€Å"No way,† I said. â€Å"I'm a big fan of dances. But isn't school out?† â€Å"Yeah, but this is at church. It's a formal they have every year.† She was using a It's no big deal tone, but her expression betrayed how interested she was. The church part surprised me, since last I knew, the Mortensens didn't attend one. But obviously that had changed. Maybe Andrea's illness had played a role. Whatever it was, I could see faith wasn't on the line here, so much as a teenage girl's simple desire to participate in something fun with other people her age. It was a normal rite of passage, one I was guessing she didn't feel worthy of, in light of everything else going on right now with her family. No wonder she was hesitant to mention it. I wondered if maybe there was a boy involved too but certainly wasn't going to ask. She looked mortified enough to be having this discussion in front of her uncle and grandmother. â€Å"You need to shop for a dress?† I guessed. People always called me for shopping. I used to be bothered by that but then figured I should accept what I'm good at. Brandy nodded, still looking embarrassed. â€Å"When is it?† â€Å"Tuesday.† â€Å"Tuesday . . .† I frowned, thinking of my schedule. Tomorrow, Monday, was taken up with work and bowling practice. That didn't leave a lot of time. â€Å"We might be cutting it close.† â€Å"If you don't have time, it's fine,† Brandy assured me. â€Å"Really.† â€Å"No way,† I told her. â€Å"We can do it Tuesday morning.† Brandy looked down again. â€Å"My dad can pay you back†¦. I'll ask him how much we can spend.† â€Å"Forget it,† said Seth, rustling her hair. She squirmed out of his reach. â€Å"Send the bill to me. You know where I live.† Brandy protested this, but Seth was firm in his offer – as well as his urging that Brandy not mention it to her father. But once Brandy and Seth were in the other room, Margaret caught hold of my sleeve and pulled me back into the kitchen before I could follow. Our interactions hadn't exactly been antagonistic (aside from our initial meeting with the baseball bat), but they hadn't always been pleasant either. I braced myself for some admonishment about dressing Brandy like a whore. â€Å"Here,† said Margaret, shoving some cash into my hands. I looked down and found two fifty-dollar bills. â€Å"Seth's not the only with income around here. He can't keep funding the whole family. Is that enough for what she needs?† â€Å"Er, yes,† I said, trying to hand it back. I'd actually planned on cutting Seth out as well and carrying the bill myself. â€Å"Definitely. You don't have to do this.† Margaret's response was to give me another bill. â€Å"Get her shoes too.† She closed my hand around the cash. â€Å"I don't know what girls her age need when it comes to clothes, but I know you do. The money I can provide. The rest I rely on you for.† That sentiment – that faith in me – was too much, too fast on the heels of the conversation I'd just had with Andrea. â€Å"It's not enough,† I blurted out. â€Å"What I'm doing, compared to everyone else. They're all giving so much. What's a shopping trip next to that?† Margaret fixed me with a piercing gaze that bore no resemblance to the conservative, sweatshirt-wearing matron I'd categorized her as. â€Å"For a girl growing up too fast, whose life is crumbling around her? Everything.† â€Å"I hate this,† I said. â€Å"I hate that this is happening to them.† â€Å"God only gives us what we have the strength to endure,† she said. I'd always hated that saying, largely because it too seemed to go along with the idea of a universe having a plan for everyone, something I'd seen no evidence of. â€Å"They have the strength to get through this. And they have our strength to help them.† I smiled at that. â€Å"You're a remarkable woman, Margaret. They're lucky you're here.† I meant it. She and I might have different philosophies about premarital sex, but her love for them was undiminished. I wasn't the only role model in the girls' lives. She shrugged, looking both flattered and embarrassed by my praise. â€Å"Like you, I'm just trying to do enough – without wearing out my welcome at Seth's.† â€Å"He loves having you,† I said promptly. She rolled her eyes. â€Å"I'm not stupid. I want to keep helping, but I know I can't stay with him forever. He's a grown man, no matter how much I'd like to pretend otherwise.† That made me smile even more. â€Å"Don't worry. I won't tell him you said so.† Nonetheless, I went home with a heavy heart that night. Seth expected to be up late and hadn't wanted me waiting around for him. We were both conscious of how little time we'd had together recently, though, so he told me he'd join me for tomorrow night's bowling practice. As a general rule, he tried to avoid immortal goings-on, but I think he had a morbid fascination with the idea of bowling for Hellish honor. â€Å"Thank God,† said Roman, when I walked in the door. â€Å"I thought you were going to stay at Seth's. There's soup on the stove.† â€Å"No, thanks,† I said. â€Å"I already ate.† â€Å"Your loss,† he said. Judging from the way the cats were circling him for handouts as he settled down on the couch with a bowl, I guess they agreed with him. â€Å"How was it?† My mind was still on the Mortensens, and for a moment, I thought that's what he meant. Then I remembered his single-minded focus and knew he was referring to Las Vegas. â€Å"Surprisingly good,† I told him, sitting down in an armchair. His eyebrows rose. He hadn't expected that answer. â€Å"Oh? Tell me about it.† I did, and he listened attentively while eating his soup. When I'd finished the weekend's recap, he grilled me on nearly everyone I'd met there, immortal and mortal alike. In two days, I didn't have that much life history to report but gave him what I could. â€Å"Well,† he said, â€Å"isn't that lovely.† He made no effort to hide his sarcasm. I sighed. â€Å"You still think this was part of some greater conspiracy ?† â€Å"I think it's terribly convenient that this seemingly routine transfer is fulfilling every possible wish you might have.† I scoffed. â€Å"Aside from the fact that I'm being transferred in the first place. That's hardly something I wanted.† Roman straightened up, and the cats ran for his abandoned bowl. He ticked off points on his right hand. â€Å"Well, let's do a tally, shall we? When I first met you, I asked what your dream job would be. What did you say? A Vegas dancer. And wow! Look what conveniently falls into your lap. And who put it there? In a city full of conniving, backstabbing succubi, you were fortunate to find one as levelheaded as you, complete with the same sense of humor and interests. Funny thing . . . did you even run into any other succubi that entire weekend? In a city packed with them?† â€Å"Roman – â€Å" â€Å"No, no, wait. There's more. How'd you meet this wonder succubus anyway? Through your closest immortal friend, who just happened to have been coincidentally transferred to Las Vegas, hired on by your favorite boss of all time. Are you following this fantasy so far?† â€Å"But why would – â€Å" â€Å"And,† he continued, â€Å"lest you grow homesick for the wacky idiosyncrasies of your friends back here, Vegas is ready to supply you with new ones. A zany drunken imp. Seth 2.0. If you'd stayed longer, they probably would have unearthed an angel and a couple of vampires for you. And let's not discount the fact that you're going to Las Vegas in the first place! The single easiest place for a succubus to get by.† â€Å"Okay, I get what you're saying.† I threw up my hands in exasperation. â€Å"It is perfect. Maybe too perfect. But you're missing one fundamental point. Supposing this is true, that someone has set up the most perfect scenario for me ever, a situation designed to keep me happy, why would they do it at all when the thing that would make me the most happy is to stay in Seattle? Why bother with this alternative? Why not leave me as I am?† Roman's eyes gleamed. â€Å"Because that's the one thing they don't want you to have. They want you out of Seattle, Georgina. They want you out, and they don't want you to complain or look back.† â€Å"But why?† I protested. â€Å"That's what I can't figure out.† â€Å"Give me something else to work with,† he said. â€Å"Hell's not that good. Even the most picture perfect setup has to have a flaw. Was there anything, anything at all this weekend, that felt disingenuous? That smacked of a lie?† I gave him a wry look. â€Å"I was in Las Vegas, hanging out with servants of Hell. Everything was disingenuous.† â€Å"Georgina, think! Anything that seemed legitimately odd. Any contradiction.† I started to deny it but then paused. â€Å"The timeline.† He leaned forward even more. â€Å"Yes? What about it?† I thought back to my first hours in Las Vegas. â€Å"Luis and Bastien both went out of their way to act as though my transfer and Bastien's had been in the works for a while – like Jerome said. But once, Bastien slipped. He sounded like he hadn't been there for very long at all – not nearly as long as they'd said before.† â€Å"Like that maybe he was suddenly pulled in on a moment's notice – to coincide with your transfer?† â€Å"I don't know,† I said, not liking the thought of Bastien being part of some potential conspiracy centered around me. â€Å"He corrected himself, said he misspoke.† â€Å"I'm sure he would say that.† Roman leaned back now, letting all of this sink in. â€Å"Bastien wouldn't lie to me,† I snapped. â€Å"He's my friend. I trust him. He cares about me.† â€Å"I believe you,† said Roman. â€Å"And I believe that he wouldn't lie to you about something that he thought might harm you. But if his higher-ups asked him to tell a white lie – fudge a few days here and there – don't you think he would?† I nearly denied it – but then had to wonder. Bastien had been in trouble off and on with our superiors, his Seattle venture last year a desperate attempt to restore status. If he were pressured enough – threatened, even – to tell me he'd been transferred longer than he actually had, would he? Especially if he thought it was harmless and knew of no nefarious reason behind it? â€Å"But what nefarious reason would be behind all this?† I muttered, not realizing I'd spoken my thoughts aloud until Roman straightened up again. â€Å"That's what we have to figure out. We have to figure out what's happened to you that would've gotten someone's attention – and that happened recently, to spur such a fast response. We know about your slacker record. And we know about Erik looking into your contract.† I blinked. â€Å"Milton.† I quickly told Roman about Hugh's information, about Milton's secret assassin status and trip to Seattle lining up with Erik's death. I also told him about briefly mentioning Milton to Jamie. Roman leaped to his feet. â€Å"Jesus Christ! Why didn't you tell me about this sooner? I could've investigated Milton while you were gone. Shit. Now I'm trapped here under bowling duty.† Nephilim had the same travel limitations as lesser immortals. They had to physically travel to places. No teleportation like greater immortals. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I said. â€Å"I wasn't thinking. I didn't connect it. And I didn't get a chance to ask Jamie more about Milton. He wasn't around the rest of the time I was in town.† Roman was nodding along with me as he paced. â€Å"Of course he wasn't. I'm sure they made certain he was unavailable before he could tell you any more. And explain again why your initial conversation with him didn't go that far?† I shrugged. â€Å"He was drunk. He got distracted by a debate over gin with Luis.† â€Å"One that Luis initiated, no doubt.† â€Å"I – † I thought about it. â€Å"Yeah. I guess he did. But you're not saying . . . I mean, that's idiotic. Using gin as a distraction to cover up some plot?† Roman's sea green eyes were gazing off in the distance, thoughtful. â€Å"It's not the most ridiculous distraction I've known a demon to use. He could've brought up bowling.† â€Å"Not that again.† Roman snapped his attention back to me, frustration all over his face. â€Å"Georgina, how can you be in denial about this? How can you refuse to believe that Hell is playing some larger game here? After all you've seen and been a part of?† I shot up, angry at the insinuation that had been creeping along here, that I was too oblivious to see what was going on. â€Å"I know! I know they're capable of it. I know they can use means both ingenuous and simple – like gin and bowling – to get what they want. I'm not denying that, Roman. What I just can't grasp yet is the why. Show me that, and I'll get on board with any crazy scheme you want. I need to know why.† Roman came to stand in front of me, resting his hands on my shoulders as he leaned close. â€Å"That is exactly what I intend to find out. And when we do, I have a feeling we'll have blown the lid off of the biggest conspiracy Hell's had in centuries.†