Internal Environment of Tesco Literature review

Internal Environment of Tesco - Literature review Example Quite understandably, there is a bright side to the picture and as well as a darker side which goes hand in hand, however, when talked about the corporate world, markets and industries, the darker side is more dark to offset the brightness of so-called bright side of the picture. The golden days for the business were when they could operate with monopolies and lesser competition. Consumer awareness was virtually zero and thus their bargaining power was extremely low (Senge, pp. 189-196, 1991). Â  However, with this revolution of information technology, the marketplace has changed into something, which no one could have imagined in his or her wildest dreams, some decades back. Statistics reveal that out of the Fortune 100 companies of 1900, only four of those corporations have been surviving and the rest is history. Furthermore, only General Electric (GE) is the only company, which still exists out of the top 12 companies that appeared on the Dow Jones Index in 1900. Quite clearly, the marketplace is now a brutal and ruthless place, which has no place for companies that fail to adapt, change, innovate, learn, and compete. In fact, the marketplace today is a bloody red ocean since all that companies do today, is make their competitors lose so that they can win. Â  For most companies, the pie is not growing or expanding and the only way to increase your share of the pie is to decrease the share of their competitors. More importantly, the companies that have failed to adopt proactive, calculated, informed approaches and have tried to remain mere spectators, the environmental forces have not forgiven them for the same and they are history. That explains why Nokia, which started it business as lumber company that made equipment needed to cut down the forests diversified, adapted, changed, and innovated to become the biggest seller of mobile phones in the world.

Are Asains Becoming White Essay Example for Free

Are Asains Becoming White Essay 1) Asian Americans have been stereotyped under the image of being a model minority from the mid-1960s to our present day (Macionis 2010:278). Being a model minority means â€Å"overcoming extreme hardships and discrimination to achieve success (Macionis 2010:278). † Success â€Å"economically, socially, and educationally†¦without resorting to confrontation with Whites (Schaefer 2009: 252). † Asian Americans have done this and the public has â€Å"attributed their winning wealth and respect in American society to hard work, family solidarity, discipline, delayed gratification, non-confrontation, and eschewing welfare (Macionis 2010:278). † Being labeled a model minority might appear to bring only prestige but in fact it brings consequences as well. One such consequence is that being a â€Å"model-minority holds Asian Americans to higher standards (Macionis 2010:279). † Situations that may be accepted for some aren’t accepted from them. They are â€Å"judged by standards different from average Americans (Macionis 2010:279). † Also because of the expectations placed upon them they are channeled to â€Å"specific avenues of success, such as science and engineering (Macionis 2010:279). † This leads up to another consequence of parents â€Å"often discouraging their children from entering fields they regard as unlikely to offer financial security, such as the arts (Schaefer 2009:252). † A child may have a gift as an astounding writer, yet the parents will still discourage it due to worries about job outlook and income in the future (Macionis 2010:279). Another consequence the label causes is that it â€Å"reinforces the myth that the United States is devoid of racism and accords equal opportunity to all (Macionis 2010:279). † This implies that â€Å"those minorities that do not succeed are somehow responsible for their failure†¦this attitude is yet another instance of blaming the victims (Schaefer 2009:252). † Although, not all bad, an advantage of the stereotype is that Asian Americans are more likely to attain a high-paying job. It is common to see â€Å"Asian Americans are concentrated near the top in professional and managerial positions†¦(Schaefer 2009:251). † Simply due to what they are known for Asian Americans are allowed more opportunity and they prove themselves over and over again; with the highest median household income of all racial groups, and the lowest poverty rate of all racial groups (Macionis 2010:278). 2) Min Zhou asks the question, â€Å"Are Asian Americans becoming white? † First off, what does it mean to be White? â€Å"White is an arbitrary label having more to do with privilege than biology (Macionis 2010:276). † Being white means different things to different people. To some becoming white â€Å"can mean distancing oneself from â€Å"people of color† or disowning one’s ethnicity (Macionis 2010:276). † To others becoming white is something to strive for because it means attaining a privileged status (Macionis 2010:280). The most common view accepted by Asian Americans is â€Å"that â€Å"white† is mainstream, average, and normal, and they look to whites as a frame of reference for attaining higher social positions (Macionis 2010:279). † Asian Americans are becoming white as I see it. They are gaining prestige, they working hard and they strive for something greater. Especially since being white is commonly associated with being an American (Macionis 2010:280). â€Å"Asian immigrants tend to believe in the American Dream and measure their achievements materially (Macionis 2010:279). † They share common interests with most Americans such as, â€Å"to own a home, to be my own boss, and to send my children to the Ivy League (Macionis 2010:279)†, as one Chinese immigrant stated. Of course, being an American is more than just these items, but it is a generalized American mentality that shows common ground. If Asian Americans choose to marry a partner of a different racial background, 87 percent of those marry whites (Macionis 2010:280). There are thoughts that some Asian Americans hold, such as, â€Å"You can certainly be as good as or even better than whites, but you will never become accepted as white (Macionis 2010:280). † I believe this to be incorrect. â€Å"According to a new Purdue University study, more than 94 percent would say that having United States citizenship makes someone truly American. http://phys. org/news64938913. html: 3)† If we were to relate being white to being American, most Asian Americans are already there. With the mentality, dedication and perseverance that Asian Americans display, I would say, Yes, Asian Americans are becoming white. 3) The Jews and Asian Americans had two different experiences that could be seen to relate in certain aspects despite the large difference in events. The Jews were intelligent and successful though looked down upon in the United States and they were seen as â€Å"members of an inferior race (Macionis 2010: 266). † It wasn’t until after World War II those things drastically changed. â€Å"Before the war, most Jews, like most other Americans, were working class. Already upwardly mobile before the war relative to other immigrants, Jews floated high on this rising economic tide, and most of them entered the middle class (Macionis 2010:272). † Like Asian Americans, Jews were always ahead of the other races. They were given difficult roads to face and large obstacles to climb, yet they achieved success, following the definition of the model minority. Similarly they struggled with the dilemma of being considered white. Before the war, â€Å"Columbia University took steps to decrease the number of entering Jews by a set of practices†¦(Macionis 2010:269). † It wasn’t until the war that there were â€Å"changes set in motion during the war against fascism that led to a more inclusive version of whiteness (Macionis 2010:270). † Though the struggle was different, it was still there for both groups. The Jews compared to Asian Americans benefited most from government programs that spurred upward mobility because after the war the government was in need of a rise in the economy and they created great programs to assist in that matter (Macionis 2010:270). The â€Å"Jews’ and other white ethnics’ upward mobility was the result of programs that allowed us to float on a rising economic tide (Macionis 2010:273). † Asian Americans on the other hand, upward mobility wasn’t based off of programs as much, as their heritage and culture. Instead, â€Å"In spite of these obstacles, Asian Americans students soldier on with strong support from their parents (Schaefer 2009:252). † As for comparison with African Americans and Asian Americans they are in two completely different categories. Both are minority groups, though they are on opposite sides of the court. Asian Americans have higher income rates than Whites, African Americans on the other hand, have their â€Å"household income of Blacks is still 60 percent that of Whites, and the unemployment rate among Blacks is more than twice that of Whites (Schaefer 2009:250). † Still to this day Blacks â€Å"remain significantly underrepresented, despite Senator Barack Obama†¦(Schaefer 2009:520). † Asian Americans are well represented due to being the model minority. Asian Americans are a very diverse group of people. â€Å"Their diverse origins include drastic differences in languages and dialects, religions, cuisines, and customs (Macionis 2010:278). † Because of this â€Å"all of these differences create obstacles to fostering a cohesive pan-Asian solidarity (Macionis 2010:278). †

Does Nuclear Deterrence Work In Preventing Conflict Politics Essay

Does Nuclear Deterrence Work In Preventing Conflict Politics Essay In the post world war II era there have been fewer wars (and no third world war since the second world war took place just 20 years after the first), today countries engage in dialogues in order to solve problems rather than blindly declaring war against each other. After the explosion of the first nuclear bomb by the US on Japan in Nagasaki and Hiroshima the world saw the destruction the bomb caused killing over 200,000 people in the two cities and the people who were affected by the bomb died because of radiation and the future generations were deformed at birth. The explosion of the bomb scared the world of the consequences of the bomb, no one not even the pilot of the plane carrying the bomb had any idea what would happen once he drops the bomb. He later wrote a book about the time during WWII, when the bombs exploded and he regretted the fact that he carried out the operation. The Nuclear deterrence theory is when a country which possesses a nuclear arsenal threatens its enemy nation (also a nuclear armed country) that it will retaliate if attacked. This theory is a strategy which is used to avoid armed conflicts between the countries. Examples of this is during the cold war (when this strategy was first adopted on a nuclear level) both the United States and the USSR used this strategy however this never resulted in the use of nuclear weapons. Another (recent) example of this is India and Pakistan (in 2001 the President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf had threatened India that it could use its nuclear weapons in case India attacks Pakistan) these countries use this strategy against one another . but both countries have never engaged in a nuclear war against one another. The total number of countries with nuclear weapons has increased to 7 the United States, Britain, Russia, China, France, India , Pakistan. However Israel has neither accepted nor denied the fact that they possess nuclear weapons although many analysts believe that they do. After 1945 the nuclear bomb has never been used again against a country. China built its nuclear arsenal in order to become a regional power and India built its weapon in order to threaten its enemy Pakistan. Pakistan also built its weapon in its defence, fearing a possible nuclear attack from the neighbouring India. It has been claimed that Israel has built a nuclear arsenal in order to defeat the threat of the Arab nations like Iran and Egypt whose President Nasser had threatened to attack the country at that time. Ever since the countries have built their weapons, there has been no serious war since each nuclear armed country fears that if they attack the enemy country, they will also suffer so, to some extent the possession of nuclear weapons has prevented a major war against the countries. However there has been nuclear standoffs between countries like India and Pakistan in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It is also said that both the countries had detonated their nuclear missil es ready to be fired. Today people also fear that the nuclear weapons may fall into the wrong hands example terrorist groups that could use the weapons for their personal gain and bomb their enemy countries this could lead to a conventional nuclear war that could harm the countries and lead to the deaths of millions or even billions of people. Israel has a reason to build a nuclear weapon since it is surrounded by enemy territory. Ever since the neighbouring countries have become aware of the fact that Israel has become a nuclear power, there has been no major or direct war by countries like Egypt and iran who always threaten to attack Israel. Also during the cold war period, there was no direct war against the USSR and the usa except for the mujahedeen war during the late 1970s to the 1980s. Even then the USSR refrained from using their nuclear weapons against Pakistan and the usa fearing retaliation from the USA. These are instances that have proved that nuclear deterrence has prevented nuclear conflict against countries. . This theory encourages proliferation since once a country possesses a nuclear weapon, they will always try and improve their weapons(in order to feel safe) and make duplicates, examples of this is both Pakistan and India who have conducted multiple tests of their missiles trying to improve their current models. Also countries like the US and Russia build missiles that could counter nuclear attacks. I fear for the future of the world today, the 6 billion people living on this earth today, if countries shed their nuclear weapons then the world will be a safe place again. I fear that this is not going to happen I fear that if a third world war breaks out, it will lead to the destruction of our planet resulting in over a billion deaths and the future generations of those affected to be deformed due to the radiation( all it needs is a spark that can be caused by an accidental activation of the nuclear weapon by a particular country and the country affected would retaliate leading to a nuclear war or if the leader of a nation possessing the weapon makes an irrational move by attacking its enemy would also lead to a nuclear war ). It could take us back to the Stone Age and destroy our civilization the reason being, over a thousand nuclear missiles would be detonated all around the world leading to destruction of land, loss of human life. Also the long term effects could also be deadly resulting in a change of the climate because of hyper global warming, food shortage due to destruction to agricultural land causing it to be infertile in fact poisonous. Therefore what needs to be done is that all the nuclear armed countries should decide before it is too late and regret like Albert Einstein ( who encouraged the then American President Roosevelt to develop the atomic bomb before Germany succeeds in creating the atomic bomb) the consequences of the nuclear bomb, therefore all the countries should take this problem seriously and should avoid ignoring it by eliminating and dismantling all their nuclear weapons and make the world a nuclear free , a safe world once again!

Woody Allen :: essays papers

Woody Allen "A plethora of people have written about Woody Allen", John Lahr said "and they either like him or dislike him. But no one has yet managed, I think, to interpret him." Woody Allen has been revered as one of the brilliant artists of the twentieth century and at the same time called a pervert. His works have been called jokes but also masterpieces. Many critics have tried to explain why Allen writes the things he writes but not one has had success. The drive and brilliance of Allen has not been understood yet. Seeing his movies gives us two opposing views. One is the screwball comedian who is obsessed with death and sex while the other is the serious artist commenting on and criticizing our society. The latter view is more difficult to grasp but is nonetheless there. Through different film techniques Allen mocks our society and film industry without us even realizing. His most widely used technique to do this is the film within a film. In movies such as The Purple Rose of Cairo, Play It Again Sam and Hannah and Her Sisters Allen uses this technique to show us his opinion on a particular subject, and also uses it as a driving force behind his movies.The most notable use of film within a film in Allen?s movies occurs in, The Purple Rose of Cairo. The time is The Depression and the scene a small town. Cecilia (Mia Farrow) is the central figure in the movie. She is married to an abusive gambler and heavy drinker. To cope and escape her problems, Cecilia constantly goes to a nearby movie theater called The Jewel. There she spends hours on end watching movies, sometimes the same one more than three times. When she gets fired one day from her job, she goes to The Jewel and watches a movie called The Purple Rose of Cairo "at least five times" (Blake 117). On her fifth time watching the movie, Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels) jumps out from the movie and enters the theater telling Cecilia that he has noted her faithful presence and is attracted to her. As they leave the theater together, the actors in the movie aimlessly wonder around bewildered by what had just transpired. Deeply concerned is the real life actor of Tom Baxter, Gil Shephard because this misfortune could "wreck his blossoming career"(Kauffmann 37). To add to the trouble, other cities have reported that the Baxter character has stepped out of The Purple Rose of Cairo in various theaters and has disappeared. Why would Woody Allen create such a unrealistic movie critics called "the most innovative

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

â€Å"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness† is the cornerstone of our nations Declaration of Independence. When considering this quote and identifying an individual or group of individuals who have continued to pursue this belief in the twentieth century and beyond, one must consider the name Cesar Chavez and the organization, The United Farm Workers, he was so instrumental in its formation, as being synonymous with this phrase. (U. S. Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776))Cesar Estrada Chavez was born March 31, 1927 on a small farm near Yuma, Arizona that his grandfather had homesteaded during the 1880's. Chavez was the second born of six children to Librado and Juana Chavez. At age 7 Cesar began school, but found it very difficult due to the fact that his family only spoke Spanish. Chavez preferred to learn from his uncles and grandparents who would read to him in Spanish and additionally he learned many things from his mother who believed that violence and selfis hness were wrong and stressed this with all her children.In the 1930's, at age 10, Chavez was forced to begin his life as a migrant farm worker when his father lost the land homesteaded by his grandfather during the Great Depression. These were bitterly poor times for the Chavez family and together with thousands of other displaced families, they migrated throughout the Southwestern United States, laboring in the fields and vineyards. Cesar in an effort to help support his parents and brothers and sisters dropped out of school after the eighth grade. (www. clnet. ucla. edu) At the age of 18, Chavez joined the U. S.Navy and served in the western Pacific front during the end of World War II. In 1948, Cesar married Helen Fabela, who he had met while working the vineyards in Delano, they later settled in the East San Jose barrio of Sal Si Puedes, where Chavez later authored a book entitled â€Å"Sal Si Puedes (Escape If You Can)†. Following his return from serving in the U. S. Na vy and his marriage to Helen, he returned to the fields as a migrant farm laborer, but he began to fight for change. That same year, 1948, Cesar took part in his first of many strikes in protest of low wages and poor working conditions.However, within several days the workers were forced back to the fields. In 1952, Chavez met Fred Ross, who was an organizer for a group known as the Community Service Organization (CSO), which was a barrio-based self-help group that was sponsored by a Chicago-based group which had been formed by Saul Alinsky called the Industrial Area Foundation. Chavez soon became a full-time organizer with CSO, coordinating and spearheading voter registration drives, battling racial and economic discrimination against Hispanic residents, and organizing new CSO chapters across California and Arizona.Chavez became the national director of CSO in the late 1950's and early 1960's, but his dream was to create an organization to help farm workers whose suffering he not o nly empathized with, but had shared and endured. After approximately 10 years of acting as the national director and continuing to organize Hispanic's throughout California and Arizona for the CSO, Chavez resigned his paid position, the first regular paying full-time job he had since being discharged from the Navy, as he was unable to convince the CSO to commit itself solely to farm worker organizing.Following his resignation he moved his wife and 8 children back to Delano, California where he became a full-time organizer of farm workers and founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) , and this newly founded organization grew rapidly. (www. clnet. ucla. edu) In 1965 the NFWA, headed by Chavez, began a boycott of grape growers in Delano, California, which lasted some 5 years. In 1966, during this boycott, Chavez led his followers on a 340 mile march to the state capitol in Sacramento, California to bring the plight of the farm workers to national attention.The march started with only 75 workers and supporters and the rally ended in Sacramento with over 10,000 people on the capitol steps. That same year Schenley Vineyards was the first grower to negotiate this nation's union contract with a farm union, the NFWA. In 1966, the NFWA merged with the mostly Filipino-American union, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) to form the United Farm Workers (UFW). As the strike continued and the story of the farm workers became more widely known in the United States and around the world, many Americans rallied to their cause and joined the boycott of all table grapes produced in the U.S.. By 1970 more than 65 percent of California grape growers had negotiated and signed labor contracts with the UFW. Also, to avoid a similar UFW boycott, many of the Salinas Valley lettuce and vegetable growers signed labor contracts with the Teamsters Union. In response to this Chavez and the UFW called for a boycott of lettuce and more than 10,000 farm workers in Ca lifornia's Central Coast went on strike. In 1972, as the UFW membership continued to grow and increase in numbers, the UFW became the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO.By 1979 the UFW had won pay increases for its members and had signed contracts with a significant number of growers of lettuce and other produce growing farms, and their membership grew to over 100,000. The UFW experienced numerous conflicts with the Teamsters Union which led to the murder of several UFW supporters. These events, coupled with the election, in California, of the Republican governor George Deukmejian whose administration supported the growers, led to many setbacks for the UFW movement as thousands of farm workers were fired, and their membership began to decline.From the mid 1980's through the early 1990's Chavez and the UFW continued their fight for improved conditions for farm workers. On April 23, 1993, Cesar Chavez died in his sleep at the home of a migrant farm worker in San Luis, Arizona. In commemoration of his life 35,000 mourners walked behind Chavez's casket during his funeral which was held 6 days after his death in Delano, California. In 1994, President Bill Clinton honored Cesar Chavez's fight for farm workers rights by awarding him the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.In his citation President Clinton praised Chavez for having â€Å"faced formidable, often violent opposition with dignity and nonviolence†. (www. ufw. org) Following his death, Chavez was succeeded as leader of the UFW by the veteran UFW organizer, Arturo S. Rodriguez. In 1994, in honor of Cesar Chavez, Rodriguez and his supporters retraced the steps of Chavez's historic march of 1966. By the time this commemorative march reached the steps of the state capitol in Sacramento it had amassed over 20,000 in UFW workers and supporters, thus marking the start of a new UFW campaign to unit, organize, and empower farm workers.This reinvigoration of the UFW movement has since si gned up more workers in California as well as Florida and the state of Washington. Since this rejuvenation of membership the UFW, in the early 21st century, has continued to fight for better wages, win better collective bargaining rights, and gain better housing and sanitation for its worker members as well as restrict the use of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and other dangerous pesticides which are commonly used by growers. Cesar Chavez, by his tenacity, drive, and personal efforts, left our world better than he found it, and his legacy inspires us still.He was for his own people, the farm worker, who labored in the fields and yearned for respect and self-sufficiency and who associated themselves and their hopes on this man who, with faith and discipline, soft spoken humility, and amazing inner strength, led a courageous life. Every day in California and in other states where farm workers are organizing, Cesar Chavez lives in their hearts and he lives wherever Americans far m workers, who he inspired, work nonviolently for social change. (www. ufw. org)

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 7

Elena woke to the sound of Damon impatiently rapping on the window of the Prius. She was fully clothed, clutching her diary to her. It was the day after Matt had left them. â€Å"Did you sleep all night like that?† Damon asked, looking her up and down as Elena rubbed her eyes. As usual, he was immaculately dressed: all in black, of course. Heat and humidity had no effect on him. â€Å"I've had my breakfast,† he said shortly, getting in the driver's seat. â€Å"And I brought you this.† This was a styrofoam cup of steaming coffee, which Elena clutched as gratefully as if it were Black Magic wine, and a brown paper bag that proved to contain donuts. Not exactly the most nutritious breakfast, but Elena craved the caffeine and sugar. â€Å"I need a rest stop,† Elena warned as Damon coolly seated himself behind the wheel and started the car. â€Å"To change my clothes and wash my face and things.† They headed directly west, which accorded with what Elena had found by looking at a map on the Internet last night. The small image on her mobile phone matched the Prius's navigation system readout. They had both shown that Sedona, Arizona, lay on an almost perfectly straight horizontal line from the small rural road where Damon had parked overnight in Arkansas. But soon Damon was turning south, taking a roundabout route of his own that might or might not confuse any pursuers. By the time they found a rest stop, Elena's bladder was about to burst. She spent an unashamed half hour in the women's room, doing her best to wash with paper towels and cold water, brushing her hair, and changing into new jeans and a fresh white top that laced up the front like a corset. After all, one of these days she just might have another out of body experience while napping and see Stefan again. What she didn't want to think about was that with Matt's departure, she was left alone with Damon, an untamed vampire, traveling through the middle of the United States toward a destination that was literally out of this world. When Elena finally emerged from the restroom, Damon was cold and expressionless – although she noticed that he took the time to look her over just the same. Oh, damn, Elena thought. I left my diary in the car. She was as certain that he'd read it as if she'd seen him doing it, and she was glad that there was nothing in it about leaving her body and finding Stefan. Although she believed Damon wanted to free Stefan, too – she wouldn't be in this car with him if she didn't – she also felt that it was better that he didn't know she had gotten there first. Damon enjoyed being in charge of things as much as she did. He also enjoyed Influencing each police officer who pulled him over for blasting the speed limit. But today he was short-tempered even by his own standards. Elena knew from firsthand experience that Damon could make himself remarkably good company when he chose, telling outrageous stories and jokes until the most prejudiced and taciturn of passengers would laugh in spite of themselves. But today he wouldn't even reply to Elena's questions, much less laugh at her own jokes. The one time she tried to make physical contact, touching his arm lightly, he jerked away as if her touch might ruin his black leather jacket. Fine, terrific, Elena thought, depressed. She leaned her head against the window and stared at the scenery, which all looked alike. Her mind wandered. Where was Matt now? Ahead of them or behind? Had he gotten any rest last night? Was he driving through Texas now? Was he eating properly? Elena blinked away tears, which welled up whenever she remembered the way he had walked away from her without a backward look. Elena was a manager. She could make almost any situation turn out okay, as long as the people around her were normal, sane beings. And managing boys was her speciality. She'd been handling them – steering them – since junior high. But now, approximately two and a half weeks since she had come back from death, from some spirit world that she didn't remember, she didn't want to steer anyone. That was what she loved about Stefan. Once she'd gotten past his reflexive instinct to keep away from anything he cherished, she didn't need to manage him at all. He was maintenance-free, except for the gentlest of hints that she'd turned herself into an expert on vampires. Not at hunting them or slaying them, but at loving them safely. Elena knew when it was right to bite or be bitten, and when to stop, and how to keep herself human. But apart from those gentle hints, she didn't even want to manage Stefan. She wanted simply to be with him. After that, everything took care of itself. Elena could live without Stefan – she thought. But just as being away from Meredith and Bonnie was like living without her two hands, living without Stefan would be like trying to live without her heart. He was her partner in the Great Dance; her equal and her opposite; her beloved and her lover in the purest sense imaginable. He was the other half of the Sacred Mysteries of Life to her. And after seeing him last night, even if it had been a dream, which she wasn't willing to accept, Elena missed him so much that it was a throbbing pain inside her. A pain so great that she couldn't bear to just sit and dwell on it. If she did she might just go insane and start raving at Damon to drive faster – and Elena might hurt inside, but she wasn't suicidal. They stopped at some nameless town for lunch. Elena had no appetite, but Damon spent the entire break as a bird, which for some reason infuriated her. By the time they were driving again, the tension in the car had built until the old clich was impossible to avoid: you could cut it with a folded napkin, much less a knife, Elena thought. That was when she realized exactly what kind of tension it was. The one thing that was saving Damon was his pride. He knew that Elena had things figured out. She'd stopped trying to touch him or even speak to him. And that was good. He wasn't supposed to be feeling like this. Vampires wanted girls for their pretty white throats, and Damon's sense of esthetics demanded that the rest of the donor be at least up to his standards. But now even Elena's human-sized aura was advertising the unique life-force in her blood. And Damon's response was involuntary. He had not even thought about a girl in this way for approximately five hundred years. Vampires weren't capable of it. But Damon was – very capable – now. And the closer he got to Elena, the stronger her aura was around him, and the weaker was his control. Thank all the little demons in hell, his pride was stronger than the desire he felt. Damon had never asked for anything from anyone in his life. He paid for the blood he took from humans in his own particular coin: of pleasure and fantasy and dreams. But Elena didn't need fantasy; didn't want dreams. Didn't want him. She wanted Stefan. And Damon's pride would never allow him to ask Elena for what he alone desired, and equally it would never allow him to take it without her consent†¦he hoped. Just a few days ago he had been an empty shell, his body a puppet of the kitsune twins, who had made him hurt Elena in ways that now made him cringe inside. Damon hadn't existed then as a personality, but his body had been Shinichi's to play with. And although he scarcely could believe it, the takeover had been so complete that his shell had obeyed Shinichi's every command: he had tormented Elena; he might well have killed her. There was no point in disbelieving it; or saying that it couldn't be true. It was true. It had happened. Shinichi was that much stronger when it came to mind control, and the kitsune had none of the vampires' detachment about pretty girls – below the neck. Besides which, he happened to be a sadist. He liked pain – other people's, that is. Damon couldn't deny the past, couldn't wonder why he hadn't â€Å"awakened† to stop Shinichi from hurting Elena. There had been nothing of him to awaken. And if a solitary part of his mind still wept because of the evil he had done – well, Damon was good at blocking it out. He wouldn't waste time over regrets, but he was intent on controlling the future. It would never happen again – not and leave him still alive. What Damon really couldn't understand was why Elena was pushing him. Acting as if she trusted him. Of all the people in the world, she was the one with the most right to hate him, to point an accusing finger at him. But she had never once done that. She had never even looked at him with anger in her dark blue, gold-spattered eyes. She alone had seemed to understand that someone as completely possessed by the master of the malach, Shinichi, as Damon had been, simply had no choice – wasn't there to make a choice – in what he or she did. Maybe it was because she'd pulled the thing the malach had created out of him. The pulsating, albino, second body that had been inside him. Damon forced himself to repress a shudder. He only knew this because Shinichi had jovially mentioned it, while taking away all Damon's memories of the time since the two of them, kitsune and vampire, had met in the Old Wood. Damon was glad to have had the memories gone. From the moment he had locked gazes with the fox spirit's laughing golden eyes, his life had been poisoned. And now†¦right now he was alone with Elena, in the middle of the wilderness, with towns few and far between. They were utterly, uniquely alone, with Damon helplessly wanting from Elena what every human boy she'd ever encountered had wanted. Worst of all was the fact that charming girls, deceiving girls, was practically Damon's own raison d'tre. It was certainly the only reason he'd been able to keep on living for the past half millennium. And yet he knew that he must not, must not even start the process with this one girl who, to him, was the jewel lying on the dungheap of humanity. To all appearances, he was perfectly in control, icy and precise, distant and disinterested. The truth was that he was going out of his mind. That night, after making sure that Elena had food and water and was safely locked into the Prius, Damon called down a damp fog and began to weave his darkest wards. These were announcements to any sisters or brothers of the night who might come upon the car that the girl inside it was under Damon's protection; and that Damon would hunt down and flay alive anyone who even disturbed the girl's rest†¦and then he'd get around to really punishing the culprit. Damon then flew a few miles south as a crow, found a dive with a pack of werewolves drinking in it and a few charming barmaids serving them, and brawled and bled the night away. But it wasn't enough to distract him – not nearly enough. In the morning, returning early, he saw the wards around the car in tatters. Before he could panic, he realized that Elena had broken them from the inside. There had been no warning to him because of her peaceful intent and innocent heart. And then Elena herself appeared, coming up the bank of a stream, looking clean and refreshed. Damon was stricken speechless by the very sight of her. By her grace, by her beauty, by the unbearable closeness of her. He could smell her freshly washed skin, and couldn't help deliberately breathing in more and more of her unique fragrance. He didn't see how he could put up with another day of this. And then Damon suddenly had an Idea. â€Å"Would you like to learn something that would help you to control that aura of yours?† he asked as she passed him, heading for the car. Elena threw him a sidelong glance. â€Å"So you've decided to talk to me again. Am I supposed to faint with joy?† â€Å"Well – that would always be appreciated – â€Å" â€Å"Would it?† she said sharply, and Damon realized that he had underestimated the storm he had brewed inside this formidable girl. â€Å"No. Now, I'm being serious,† he said, fixing his dark gaze on her. â€Å"I know. You're going to tell me to become a vampire to help control my Power.† â€Å"No, no, no. This has nothing to do with being a vampire.† Damon refused to be drawn into an argument and that must have impressed Elena, because finally she said, â€Å"What is it, then?† â€Å"It's learning how to circulate your Power. Blood circulates, yes? And Power can be circulated, too. Even humans have known that for centuries, whether they call it life-force or chi or ki. As it is, you're simply dissipating your Power into the air. That's an aura. But if you learn to circulate it, you can build it up for some really big release, and you can be more inconspicuous as well.† Elena was clearly fascinated. â€Å"Why didn't you tell me before?† Because I'm stupid, Damon thought. Because to vampires it's as instinctive as breathing is to you. He lied unblushingly. â€Å"It takes a certain level of competence to accomplish.† â€Å"And I can do it now?† â€Å"I think so.† Damon put slight uncertainty in his voice. Naturally, this made Elena even more determined. â€Å"Show me!† she said. â€Å"You mean right now?† He glanced around. â€Å"Someone might drive by – â€Å" â€Å"We're off the road. Oh, please, Damon? Please?† Elena looked at Damon with the huge blue eyes that altogether too many males had found irresistible. She touched his arm, trying once more to make some kind of contact, but when he automatically drew away, she continued, â€Å"I really do want to learn. You can teach me. Just show me once, and I'll practice.† Damon glanced down at his arm, felt his good sense and his will wavering. How does she do that? â€Å"All right.† He sighed. There were at least three or four billion people on this dust mote of a planet that would give anything to be with this warm and eager, yearning Elena Gilbert. The problem was that he happened to be one of them – and that she clearly didn't give a damn for him. Of course not. She had dear Stefan. Well, he would see if his princess was still the same when – if – she managed to free Stefan and get out of their destination alive. Meanwhile, Damon concentrated on keeping his voice, face, and aura all dispassionate. He'd had some practice at that. Only five centuries' worth, but it added up. â€Å"First I have to find the place,† he told her, hearing the lack of warmth in his voice, the tone that was not merely dispassionate but actually cold. Elena's expression didn't flicker. She could be dispassionate, too. Even her deep blue eyes seemed to have taken on a frosty glint. â€Å"All right. Where is it?† â€Å"Near where the heart is, but more to the left. He touched Elena's sternum, and then moved his fingers to the left. Elena fought back both tension and a shiver – he could see it. Damon was probing for the place where the flesh became soft over bone, the place most humans assumed their heart was because it was where they could feel their heart beating. It should be right around†¦here†¦. â€Å"Now, I'll run your Power through one or two circulations, and when you can do it by yourself – that's when you'll be ready to really conceal your aura.† â€Å"But how will I know?† â€Å"You'll know, believe me.† He didn't want her to ask questions, so he simply held up one hand in front of her – not touching her flesh or even her clothing – and brought her life-force in synchronization with his. There. Now, to set the process off. He knew what it would feel like to Elena: an electric shock, starting at the point where he had first touched her and quickly spreading warmth through her body. Then, a rapid montage of sensations as he went through a practice rotation or two with her. Up toward him, to her eyes and ears, where she would suddenly find she could see and hear much better, then down her spine and out to her fingertips, while her heartbeat quickened and she felt something like electricity in her palms. Back up her arm and down the side of her body, at which point a tremor would set in. Finally, the energy would sweep down her magnificent leg all the way to her feet, where she would feel it in her soles, curling her toes, before coming back around to where it had started near her heart. Damon heard Elena gasp faintly when the shock first hit her, and then felt her heartbeat race and her eyelashes flicker as the world suddenly became much lighter to her; her pupils dilating as if she were in love, her body going rigid at the tiny sound of some rodent in the grass – a sound she would never have heard without Power directed to her ears. And so, all around her body, once, and then again, so she could get a feel for the process. Then he let her go. Elena was panting and exhausted; and he'd been the one expending energy. â€Å"I'll never – be able – to do that alone,† she gasped. â€Å"Yes, you will, in time and with practice. And when you can do it, you'll be able to control all your Power.† â€Å"If you†¦say so.† Elena's eyes were shut now, her lashes dark crescents on her cheeks. It was clear that she'd been pushed to her limit. Damon felt the temptation to draw her to him, but suppressed it. Elena had made it clear that she didn't want him embracing her. I wonder just how many boys she didn't push away, Damon thought abruptly, bitterly. That surprised him a little, the bitterness. Why should he care how many boys had handled Elena? When he made her his Princess of Darkness, they would both go hunting for human prey – sometimes together, sometimes alone. He wouldn't be jealous of her then. Why should he care how many romantic encounters she'd had now? But he found that he was bitter, bitter and angry enough that he answered without warmth, â€Å"I do say you will. Just practice doing it alone.† In the car, Damon managed to stay annoyed with Elena. This was difficult, as she was a perfect traveling companion. She didn't chatter, didn't try to hum or – thank fortune – sing along with the radio, didn't chew gum or smoke, didn't backseat drive, didn't need too many rest stops, and never asked â€Å"Are we there yet?† As a matter of fact, it was difficult for anyone, male or female, to stay annoyed at Elena Gilbert for any length of time. You couldn't say she was too exuberant, like Bonnie, or too serene, like Meredith. Elena was just sweet enough to offset her bright, active, ever-scheming mind. She was just compassionate enough to make up for her self-confessed egotism, and just skewed enough to ensure that no one would ever call her normal. She was intensely loyal to her friends and just forgiving enough that she herself considered almost no one an enemy – kitsune and Old Ones of the vampire kind excepted. She was honest and frank and loving, and of course she had a dark streak in her that her friends simply called wild, but that Damon recognized for what it really was. It compensated for the naà ¯ve, soft, ingenuous side of her nature. Damon was very sure that he didn't need any of those qualities in her, especially right now. Oh, yes†¦and Elena Gilbert was just gorgeous enough to make any of her negative characteristics completely irrelevant. But Damon was determined to be annoyed and he was strong-willed enough that he could usually choose his mood and stick to it, appropriate or not. He ignored all of Elena's attempts at conversation, and eventually she gave up trying to make them. He kept his mind pinned to the dozens of boys and men whom the exquisite girl beside him must have bedded. He knew that Elena, Caroline, and Meredith had been the â€Å"senior† members of the quartet when they had all been friends, while little Bonnie had been the youngest and had been considered a bit too naà ¯ve to be fully initiated. So why was he with Elena now? he found himself asking sourly, wondering for just the slightest second if Shinichi was manipulating him as well as taking his memories. Did Stefan ever worry about her past – especially with an old boyfriend – Mutt – still hanging around, willing to give his very life for her? Stefan must not, or he'd have put a stop – no, how could Stefan put a stop to anything Elena wanted to do? Damon had seen the clash of their wills, even when Elena had been a child mentally just after returning from the afterlife. When it came to Stefan and Elena's relationship, Elena was definitely in control. As humans said: She wore the trousers in the family. Well, soon enough she could see how she liked wearing harem trousers, Damon thought, laughing silently, although his mood was darker than ever. The sky over the car darkened further in response, and wind ripped summer leaves from branches before their time. Cat's paws of rain dotted the windshield, and then came the flash of lightning and the echoing sound of thunder. Elena jumped slightly, involuntarily, every time the thunder let loose. Damon watched this with grim satisfaction. He knew she knew that he could control the weather. Neither of them said a single word about it. She won't beg, he thought, feeling that quick savage pride in her again and then feeling annoyance with himself for being so soft. They passed a motel, and Elena followed the blurry electric signs with her eyes, looking over her shoulder until it was lost in darkness. Damon didn't want to stop driving. Didn't dare stop, really. They were headed into a really nasty storm now, and occasionally the Prius hydroplaned, but Damon managed to keep it under control – barely. He enjoyed driving in these conditions. It was only when a sign proclaimed that the next place of shelter was over a hundred miles away that Damon, without consulting Elena, swung into a flooding driveway and stopped the car. The clouds had let loose by then; the rain was coming down in bucketfuls; and the room Damon got was a small outbuilding, separated from the main motel. The solitude suited Damon just fine.

Childhood and Pg

How did Eddie die and why did he put himself in such danger? (pg. 15) he got smashed by a fiberglass cart from the drop nd to save a little girl Today is Eddie's Birthday (#1) What decade in the 1900s was Eddie born? (pg. 19) in the 1920s Chapter 2: The Journey Did Eddie die trying to save the little girl? (pg. 21) Did Eddie save the little girl? (pg. 1) yes, we dont know Why do you think Eddie doesn't feel worry or pain?Explain your answer. (pg. 22)its a earthly feeling Today is Eddie's Birthday (#2)How old is Eddie? And what is his party like? (pgs. 23-25)eddie is 5 it was fun with cake and he whore a cowboy costume Chapter 3: The Arrival Where does Eddie wake up? How is it different from what he remembered at the end of his life? (pgs. 26-27) ruby pier, old rides are still there How is Eddied different? What can he do that he hadn't done (or been able to do) for years? (pgs. 27-28) he can run At the end of the chapter, who is waiting for Eddie? (pg. 31). the blue man Chapter 4: Th e First Person Eddie Meets in Heaven Why does Eddie feel like a child? pg. 32) Hes back at his childhood place Where does the Blue Man tell Eddie he is? (pg. 34) In Heavan Why isn't Eddie happy with the answer? (pg. 34) He didnt want to believe it, he doesnt think that place is heavan According to the Blue Man, what is the purpose of heaven and how does it tie into the title: The Five People You Meet in Heaven? (pg. 35) (important to the novel's theme) To explain your life on earth What killed the Blue Man? (pg. 36) Eddie did. Based upon what you know about Eddie thus far, how do you think the Blue Man's evelation about who killed him affected Eddie?Explain your answer. yes he felt guilty Today is Eddie's Birthday (#3)Based upon what happened in this section, who is braver: Eddie or Joe? Explain why. He gets the ball nd Joe runs off like a little Describe the Blue Man's childhood. Why doesn't his father care for him? (pgs. 39-40) he was shy and fidgety, He was ashamed of him for emb arassing him Why is the Ruby Pier in the 1920s the Blue Man's heaven? (pg. 42) he felt accepted Today is Eddie's Birthday (#4) Where does Eddie unwillingly go on his 8th birthday? he had to Childhood and Pg By hhectr64