Words Vs Weapons Essay Example for Free

Words Vs Weapons Essay Amadou Diallo was a 23-year old immigrant from West Africa who originally came to the United States to study Biochemistry. Upon reaching the country he was not able to enroll in university. Instead he opened a sidewalk stall selling gloves, videotapes and socks in the morning and went to school in the evening. In the early hours of February 4, 1999 (Amnesty International), Mr. Diallo was entering his building in the Bronx district after a meal. Four New York Police Officers, all members of the elite Street Crimes Unit spotted him. At that time the officers thought he matched the description of the serial rapist in the area. The officers were in plain clothes and approached Mr. Diallo. The following events were not clear but after everything, Mr. Diallo’s body was found riddled with bullets, 19 of which were considered fatal. There were 41 shots recorded in all, all coming from the four officers, none from the victim. A year after Mr. Diallo was defenselessly gunned down by four police officers in the Bronx district of New York, the case went to trial. In February 25, 2000 (Peet) the four police officers, Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward McMellon, and Kenneth Boss were all found not guilty of the death of the 23-year old West African. This case was to become one of the most controversial cases documented of police brutality in New York at the end of the century. After the verdict the World Socialist Website described the case as the â€Å"most appalling expression of the effective denial of basic democratic rights to working class and poor people†. Unfortunately the Diallo case is not an isolated case in the United States. In fact, it is a common situation that prevails between law enforcers and the public. International human rights organizations have put police brutality in the United States at the top of their priority. It is considered one of the most serious and divisive human rights violation in the country (Human Rights Watch). Although the Diallo case received nationwide attention because of the shear heinousness of the killing, there were other equally similar disturbing occurrences in other States. Atlanta alone recorded at least 12 shootings in the year 2000 (Wright). One of which was the shooting and killing of 18-year old Corey Ward. He was wrongly profiled as a criminal just because he was a young black man with a brand new SUV. It is also alarming that the same officer who mistook and gunned down Mr. Ward was involved in four other similar situations in the past. In another incident, a middle-aged woman, diagnosed with mental illness, was shot inside her own apartment. Barbara Schneider was killed in her own home after neighbors called the police to report that she had her radio too loud and they were concerned about her behavior. The police broke down her door and found her with a paring knife. Three shots and she was dead (Howell). Who could forget the case of Rodney King in 1991? Mr. King was repeatedly beaten by several police officers in Los Angeles after allegedly failing to stop when he was flagged down for a traffic violation. The whole world witnessed by videotape this horrifying ordeal of Mr. King. The acquittal of all the officers involved in the case triggered a stream of riots all over the city in 1992. The Los Angeles courts were forced to open up the investigation once again and this time the jury came back with a verdict of guilt of two officers, while the two others were acquitted for the second time. In recent times, police brutality and the use of excessive force seem to have become more rampant. In 2007 alone, the internet was bombarded with over 2,000,000 documented videos in this subject, all happening in the United States. The cases are of severe beatings, use of dangerous restraint techniques to subdue suspects (Amnesty International), unjustified shootings, fatal choking, and unnecessary rough treatment (Human Rights Watch) among other concerning interactions between police officers and the public they pledged to protect and serve.

Narrative Essays Are a Great Read Essay Example for Free

Narrative Essays Are a Great Read Essay Narrative essays and Descriptive essays can be similar but they are different in nature. The narrative essay â€Å"I Want a Wife† is more compelling than the descriptive essay â€Å"Homeless† because the narrative essay has a point of view, uses humor and satire, and uses tone and language that can draw the reader in. â€Å"Narration is storytelling from the perspective of a narrator and the story may be true, false, imaginary, or a combination. A narration can be about past, present, or future events, and it can be short or the length of a novel† (Connell Sole, 2013, sec. 6.3). A narrative can draw in the audience by telling the reader the story just how it happened or how they pictured it to be without losing someone in thought because they may not understand what they mean when they are using words to describe it a certain way. â€Å"Description is a pattern of writing that can be defined as painting pictures with words† (Connell Sole, 2013, sec. 6.4). A descriptive essay uses very expressive words to describe specific details. See more: what is narrative writing The reader will have to use the five sense in order to understand what the writer is trying to convey and may get lost especially if the reader doesn’t understand one of those descriptive words. The two essays in this paper that are being compared and contrasted are â€Å"Homeless† by Anna Quindlen and â€Å"I Want a Wife† by Judy Brady. Both essays are being told by the author but through someone else’s eyes but on what the author sees. The beginning paragraph from the narrative essay â€Å"I Want a Wife† reads, â€Å"Not too long ago a male friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh from a recent divorce. He had one child, who is, of course, with his ex-wife. He is looking for another wife. As I thought about him while I was ironing one evening, it suddenly occurred  to me that I, too, would like to have a wife. Why do I want a wife† (Brady, 1971)? This paragraph started off the essay with author’s point of view because she too is a wife. The author was able to identify this by what she does as a wife, how she acted and how she is treated. This can also be the point of view of a man because some men may feel that this is what a wife should do or how a wife should act or maybe someone else who is a wife, because it’s what they do. She made the essay seem like a wife is such a huge deal and that they have such a big job to complete throughout each day. This essay makes the reader stop and think about if this is the way they want their wife to be or if they want to be this way if they are a wife. The descriptive essay â€Å"Homeless†, the author tells her point of view because of a homeless lady she wanted to ask questions to. She perceived her point of view about homeless people from a portrait the lady showed her and what she sees when she looks at the lady and the picture. Both essays have a point a view a reader may agree or disagree with. Not everyone sees a wife as a person who does everything for the household, such as cook all meals, clean the whole house, take care of the kids, and take care of the man. Back in 1971 when the essay was written this may have held true, but in 2014 there are house-holds where the woman is the bread winner and the man will stay home and take care of everything. There are also other relationships where the house hold is 50-50. The husband and wife share duties. As far as homeless people, someone’s point of view may be different than when the author said: â€Å"People find it curious that those without homes would rather sleep sitting up on benches or huddled in doorways than go to shelters† (Quindlen, n.d. para. 7). That was her point of view of what she thinks other people think but in reality, the homeless people may not be able to get shelter so they have no choice but to sleep on benches. With these two essays, the point of view is stronger in the narrative essay beca use most people are wives, or they have a wife and can see this essay as true. The descriptive essay, not everyone is homeless or they may not be around homeless people or know how they interact so they may not understand the point the author is trying to make. The tone of â€Å"I Want a Wife† is written in a humorous, ironic mood. This is what makes this essay enjoyable to read and it’s not boring to the reader. The essay has a â€Å"sarcastic tone which is produced when someone uses heave-handed verbal irony. Verbal irony occurs  when one expresses the opposite of what one actually means (Connell Sole, 2013). The narrative essay is also of great humor and satire. To any woman reader and maybe some men, they may look at this essay and laugh. The reader may sense the sarcasm in the author’s words. For example, the author says â€Å"If, by chance, I find another person more suitable as a wife than the wife I already have, I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one† (Brady, 1971, para. 8). This paragraph alones makes you mad but makes you laugh. The whole essay in itself is also written in sarcasm. The writer depicts what a wife should be but is sarcastic in her approach of how she writes it. She always started off with â€Å"I want a wife who will†, and then talks about what she would want her wife to do if she wanted a wife, and how a wife should act. If you did not know the author, you would have th  ought this was written by a man. At the end of the essay, Brady (1971) states â€Å"My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?† shows that this whole essay was of great irony and satire because she talks about what she wants in a wife when she is a wife. This quoted sentence shows exaggeration, just like the rest of the essay. There was no irony or sarcasm or anything to make me laugh in the descriptive essay â€Å"Homeless†. Because of the nature of the essay, there wouldn’t be any humor or satire since it could be considered a sad essay. The authors tone in â€Å"Homeless† is very serious, yet tranquil. It is serious because the subject is also very serious subject, but serene because she knows that there is a solution for these problem s. Quindlen uses this tone to get through to the reader in order to deliver the purpose. The tone is also sad because of the problems of homelessness in the world today. The reader may feel a sense of sympathy when reading this essay because it can be controversial. There is some hyperbole language the author is using in homeless like: â€Å"It was like a thousand houses in a hundred towns, not suburb, not city, but somewhere in between, with aluminum siding and a chain-link fence, a narrow driveway running up to a one-car garage, and a patch of backyard (Quindlen, n.d. para. 2). Brady also uses different figurative language such as exaggeration and repetitiveness in her essay. Through the language you often felt the emotion of the essay especially if you are a wife because you may think about if you have done the things she is stating a wife does. This essay has an emotion appeal to it. It â€Å"has a purpose, its honest and not attempting to mislead, and not used just for  effect or for gratuitous reasons† (Connell Sole, 2013, sec. 7.3). It is not making personal attacks on wives, but showing how a wife is treated as such and how they are not appreciated. The narrative essay gave a more clear understanding as to the point the author was trying to get a cross. The narrative essay also used a descriptive writing pattern. The language was carefully and particularly chosen and it also evoked emotions to the reader. The narrative essay was of great humor and satire but it also made you think about life as a wife, as to where the descriptive essay was a serious essay that talked about a world issue and the attempt to take action to solve that problem. It lacked the senses a descriptive should have. There was no emotion and no feelings relating to the topic, because the descriptive essay was more of a journalistic essay that talked about problems that needed to be solved. It did not have many words to paint the picture of how homeless people live and what they look like, or how they smell how they get by day to day. The narrative essay had this creative tension that kept the reader interested in what a man or another woman may think of what a wife could be. It kept the writer of this essay interested because she is too, a wife. References Brady, J. (1971). I want a wife. Retrieved from http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/everythingsanargument4e/content/cat_020/Brady_I_Want_a_Wife.pdf Connell, C. M., Sole, K. (2013). Essentials of college writing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Quindlen, A. (n.d.). Homeless. Retrieved from http://pers.dadeschools.net/prodev/homelesstext.htm

Influencing Factors Of Foreign Tourism To Japan Cultural Studies Essay

Influencing Factors Of Foreign Tourism To Japan Cultural Studies Essay Over the last few decades, the international travel market has grown tremendously. According to the World Tourism Organization, number of international travelers reached a record of 842 million in 2006 and 898 million in 2007. The growth rate in 2007 reached 6%, which is 1.5% higher than the value of 2006. The strongest growth occurred in Africa; however, Asia Pacific region also had a great increase number of international travelers. In 2007 alone, 185 million people visited Asia. (Choi, Lee 1) International travel has become very accessible to many people because of technical advancement in transportation. For instance, it only takes about thirteen hours to get from JFK Airport in New York, United States to Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan. Japan Airline provides travel back and forth ticket at a price of $964.33. (www.jal.com) Before the advancement in technology, any international trip took longer time and was more expensive. However, the technical development in transportation system is effectively triggering and stimulating more people to travel internationally. Large numbers of people are now interested in Asia. (Choi, Lee 1) The number of international travelers is increasing every year. What are some convincible factors that trigger people to come to Asia? Because of its diverse cultural activities, Japan is one factor that influences people to travel to Asia. Japan is an island located in the East Asia, surrounded by North Korea and South Korea. It is a small island but has potential to captivate tourist from all over the world. Before moving ahead, it is important to define terms that will be continuously discussed in this paper. What is the definition of travel? Merriam Webster Online Dictionary defines travel as To move or undergo transmission one place to another. (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/travel) This indicates that travel is a peoples movement between relatively distant geographical location for any purpose and any duration, with or without any means of transportation. Travel also covers all the activities performed during a movement. It is a broader concept of trip. Travel can be local, regional, domestic or international. Then, who is considered a tourist? In the United States, the National Tourism Resources Review Commission (1973) defined tourist as one who travels away from home for a distance of at least 50 miles (one way) for business, pleasure, personal affairs, or any other purpose except to commute to work, whether he or she stays overnight or returns the same day. (Masberg, 67) Then why are international tourists interested in traveling to Japan? What is unique about Japan? First, knowing concise background of Japan would help to find the answers to these questions. Brief Description of Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is surrounded by the east of the Sea of Japan (also called East Sea), People of Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. Japan is composed of over 3,000 islands, making it an archipelago. The four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. These four main islands together accounts for 97% of Japans land area. It has sufficient rainfall for agriculture on the main islands, with no dry season. Hokkaido and northern Honshu have cold winters with good ski resorts but limited agriculture. In contrast, the two thirds of southern Honshu and the Shikoku Island and Kyushu have humid subtropical climates. Most of the islands are mountainous, many volcanic; for example, Japans highest peak, Mount Fuji, is a volcano. Japan has the worlds tenth largest population, with about 128 million people. The capital of Japan is Tokyo, located in Honshu. The government is a Parliamentary democracy. The size of Japan is about 145,856 square miles (slightly smaller than California) and Japan is homogeneous (0.6% Korean) with one language. Buddhism and Shinto are the major religions and only about 0.8% of the population is Christian. The currency of Japan is the Yen. Entering Japan is relatively easy because it is part of the visa waiver program, which means that a visa is not required for visits less than 90 days. Shopping is a main attraction in Japan; common items include Japanese handicrafts and art objects, jewelry, silks, furs, and pottery pieces. Japan has not historically looked to tourism as a major foreign income earner as it had such a huge trade surplus in the 1980s. However, from the 1990s, the government started to take an active role in promoting inbound tourism. The government is both involved in domestic and international tourism. It promotes and provides information about tourism in Japan and establishes a number of programs and offices to develop a broad variety of tourism attractions in Japan while maintaining quality of its natural environment setting. Japan also established a government organization, JNTO (Japan National Tourism Organization). JNYO is a non-profit organization established by a government, and it provides free multilingual information on travel in Japan. The most visited places by visitors are the following: Sapporo, Tohoku, Tokyo and its surrounding area, Chubu, Kansai, Chugoku, Island of Kyushu, and Okinawa Island. Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, hosted the 1972 winter Olympics, and it annually has a festival called the Snow Festival. It is a festival where people present gigantic snow images by famous artists. Secondly, Tohoku is located in the northeastern section of the main island of Honshu and is very famous for its hot springs. Tokyo and the surrounding areas are located in Honshu, where visitors can observe the unique blend of the East and West culture. Another most visited location is Chubu, which is the center of the main island, Honshu. The Japanese Alps are located in Chufu, and the Japanese Alps consist of beautiful scenery. Kansai, another metropolitan area in Japan besides Tokyo, also has many important temples (historical attractions) and interesting cultural festivals. Chugoku, the western end of the island of Hon shu, is known for its beautiful beaches. Many water activities are played here. The Island of Kyushu has a subtropical climate and operates 6 national parks that attract visitors. Lastly, the Island of Okinawa is a tropical island with the wealth of national beauty, such as the sunny skies and the subtropical plants. As one can see from above, Japan has a variety of attractions. It has been and will be the center of the Asian tourism market. As the center of the Asian tourism market, Japan has exclusive aspects that other Asian countries do not contain. Japan has preserved those cultural factors well enough to encourage foreigner to learn about it. Different aspects of Japan have made it possible for influencing numerous tourists to travel to Japan. Now, this essay will focus on each aspect that influences foreign tourists to travel to Japan. Those aspects include food/cuisine, Japanese traditional lodging, sports, and business. Food of Japan Japanese food is well known to the other parts of the world. Many foreigners are familiar with sushi and ramen, which are the major representation of Japanese food. Nevertheless, there are other types of Japanese cuisine that are still unknown to the foreigners yet can strongly fascinate the foreign travelers to Japan. Japanese cuisine that will be focused on this paper is Sushi, Sukiyaki and Nabemono, Tempura, Tofu and Natto, Menrui, Mochi, Tsukemono, and Ocha. Japanese cuisine is a piece of an art work. Aesthetic display of the food is considered very crucial while serving the food to the guests. Learning the context of the cuisine is one side factors that tourists can enjoy while eating the food: how the food fits into Japanese life, what its history has contributed, how it is properly chosen and consumed, and others. Japan remains one of the countries where food represents lineage, going back to history. Thus, an understating of Japanese cuisine helps one to understand the Japanese thoughts. (Donald 12) Sushi Sushi, as one of Japans most representative food, is fairly known to people. Most large cities around the world have sushi shops. Craig Claiborne defines sushi as an assortment of small morsels of freshest raw fish and seafood presents into cold rice lightly seasoned with vinegar. (Donald, 14) This definition perfectly correct; however, there are more factors to it. Sushi is a delight to the eye, a revelation to the tongue, and an engrossing culinary happening that those who have partaken will not soon forget. (Donald, 14) When one walks into a sushi shop in Japan, the master and the waiters loudly shouts Irasshaimase! This is a phrase to welcome the guests who enter the restaurant. There is usually a long counter of white cypress. Behind the counter, there are glass-cased, ice cooled array of fish fillets and shellfish, all fresh, sometimes alive. Before the main sushi dish, a waiter serves a cup of hot green tea, a small dish for soy sauce, Oshibori (hand towel), miso soup, and picked gingers to refresh ones mouth between bites. Most popular sushi menus are maguro (tuna), toro (the marbled underside of the tuna), chu-toro (a half marbled side section of the tuna), uni (sea urchin roe), ebi (shrimp, boiled or alive), tao (sea bream), ika (squid), akagai (aki shell), hamachi (young yellowtail), tako (octopus), ikura (salmon roe), anago (conger eel), awabi (abalone). The master also creates special menus that change as seasonal fish and shellfish changes. Upon hearing an order, the sushi master starts his performance. He cuts and slices the fish and shellfish delicately. Then, he scoops a double fingerful of rice, and add bits of washabi (horseradish) and quickly forms an oblong ball, firmly capped by the seafood. This is the most popularly known regional type of sushi, Nigiri sushi. Nigiri sushi originated from Edo (Tokyo) in the nineteenth century. Because of the fast speed, it is called the worlds first fast food. Sukiyaki Ronald Barthes describes Sukiyaki as a stew whose every element can be known and recognized, since it is made in front of you, on your table, without interruption while you are eating ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦It is the very essence of the market that comes to you, its freshness, its naturalness, its diversity, and even its classification, which turns the simple substance into the promise of an event. (Ronald 21) Sukiyaki is classified as a nabemono, which means food is cooked usually at the table in a single pot or pan, and is thought of as being a winter meal. There are few different ways to cook sukiyaki: Kansai (Osaka-Kyoto) area way, Kanto (Tokyo-Yokohama) area way, Nagasaki way, and others. The most well known sukiyaki is from Kansai area. In the Kansai area, a lump of beef suet is melted in the shallow iron pan over medium heat. Then very thin slice of beef are place in the bottom of the pan. After the beef color changed to brown, one put other ingredients such as tofu, mushroom, onion, and konnaku (Japanese style jelly). The liquid is then poured into the pan. The liquid is consists of soy sauce, water, little bit of sugar, and sweet sake. Knowing the right time to pour the liquid is the key to make a delicious sukiyaki. Meanwhile, one should break raw eggs into a bowl, and add little bit of soy sauce. This becomes the sauce for meat and vegetables in the sukiyaki. Meat and vegetables are dipped into this sauce right before eating. Sukiyaki gets delicious as the cooking progresses, because the juice from the beef and vegetables makes the taste fascinating. In Kanto area, the liquid is poured first, and the meat and vegetables are added to the heated liquid. This way of cooking makes Sukiyaki more like a stew that foreigners are more familiar with. In Nagasaki, the meat is grounded. This slight adjustment of meat distinctively changes the taste of the dish. Sukiyaki has been eaten since 1860, when the country was open to foreigners and the new Maiji emperor began his reign. Before, eating meat was prohibited in Japan, because the Japanese believed in Buddhism. However, Emperor Maiji changed the law and made beef and other meat available for Japanese citizens. Gradually, Japanese citizens enjoyed eating meat, and sukiyaki is one Japanese style cuisine that developed from this era. As people enjoyed eating meat, there was a famous aphorism, which said A man who does not eat beef is an uncivilized man. (Donald 25) Tempura Tempura is delicately deep-fried seafood and vegetables, served hot and crisp, lacy golden on the outside, juicy and succulent on the inside. (Donald 26) Tempura is not a traditional Japanese food. It was introduced by Portuguese when missionaries and merchants from Portugal actively visited Japan around sixteenth century. Common types of tempura that one can get in Japan are Kuruma ebi (prawn), shiba ebi (shrimp), ika (squid), kaibashira (scallop), anago (conger eel), kisu (a small fish known as sillago), haze (goby), ginpo (gunnel), megochi (flathead). Tempura should be made just before eating it. Besides being strict about the freshness of what goes inside of tempura (such as shrimp, and squid), the Japanese are picky about the batter, also known as koromo in Japanese. Koromo literary means clothes in Japanese. It should be lumpy and be filled with air bubbles so that the texture of tempura becomes lighter. Also, the coating should be thin rather than thick. Besides the crunchiness, Japanese wants to enjoy the natural taste of the material that is inside of the batter. Therefore, the batter should be practically see-through. Tofu and Natto Tofu is also well known to international community. It came from China very long time ago and became another food that represents Japanese cuisine. Tofu is one of the most protean foods. It can be boiled, broiled, baked, fried, steamed, marinated, dried, frozen, and eaten fresh. Interesting thing is that each method changes the taste of tofu completely. Baked tofu and boiled tofu tastes extremely differently. Kyoto is best known for a good tofu. Recently, there are restaurants opening up that only serve tofu. It is one food that is loved by vegetarian travelers to Japan. Natto might be unfamiliar to international travelers. It is made out of soybean, just like tofu. Natto is fermented soybeans which is rotten stinking slimly soybeans. It is somewhat similar to a ripe cheese. Natto is served in a small lump and should first be stirred with chopsticks to make it stickier. Then, raw eggs, sliced and chopped onions, soy sauce is mixed together with natto. This mixture is then eaten with hot rice. Even if the smell of natto is strong, it is still a typical breakfast menu in Japan. It is very healthy and diet helping cuisine. Menrui Menrui in Japanese means noodle types. This indicates that menrui includes all the types of noodle cuisine that is available in Japan. There are a great variety of shapes and sizes of noodle. The two most popular types of noodles are the wheat-based noodles which are associated with Osaka and the south of Japan, and buckwheat-based noodles associated with Tokyo and the north of Japan. (Donald 54) Wheat-based noodles come in a variety of shapes, but the best know type is called udon. Udon is somewhat flat and wide. Somen is another type of what-based noodle that is more slender and a bit of vegetarian oil is used in the preparation. Buckwheat-based is called soba, and it comes with a single variety: long, thin, brown in color. There are some variations of soba. People used green tea to make soba. Therefore, the color of the noodle becomes green, instead of brown. Soba and Udon can be served both hot and cold. For a hot noodle dish, a noodle is first boiled in water, then scooped out and place in a bowl. After that, toppings and other ingredients are added. Finally, broth is poured. There are great varieties for soup and toppings. For a cold dish, boiled noodle is rinsed with hold water, and served on draining screened plate that is made out of bamboo. The noodles are decorated with little bit of dried laver, and dipped into soy sauce then quickly removed from the sauce. Another major menrui is ramen. This is also originated from China; however, Japanese changed the food into its own style and taste. Now, each region of Japan developed their own style of ramen, and there are tours within Japan to go around each region and taste the different ramen. Many distinctive local version of ramen were established as the shops in each region concentrated on the varieties of soup seasonings and toppings appreciated by local people. (Naomichi, 252) Among the best known is Sapporo ramen, from Hokkaido, which features heavy noodles, a rich thick broth seasoned with miso instead of the more common soy sauce, and locally produced toppings of butter and maize. Mochi Mochi is made out of a one type of rice, mocha-gome, and it is regarded as a unique and special food. Freshly pounded mochi is very soft and easy to eat, but it quickly gets hard and must be grilled or reheated to become edible. It is eaten during the most important ritual ceremony, the New Year. On a New Years Day, a plain white mochi is toasted and served with soy sauce. A white mochi can also be put either in a soup or as is or is eaten along with the other ingredients of this festive soup. This soup is called ozoni. Mochi can be served as a dessert as well. Mochi stuffed with sweet red bean paste is called daifuku. This can be seen as the traditional Japanese dessert that was eaten with green tea. Tsukemono Tsukemono means preserved food in Japanese. Preserved food is an important part of most dietary tradition in Japan. It is pickled food, which means that the food is stored away with a quantity of salt and transformed into sour salty products that will keep for a long time. There are several type of method to pickle vegetables and fish. Kyoto is famous for its variety of traditional tsukemono. Ocha/Tea After the meal is done, the national beverage, ocha is served. Although green tea is usually associated with Japan, there are many types of teas available in Japan. Houjicha and genmaicha are two common teas that the tastes are slightly bitter. The color of those tea is rather brown than green, and it is the most affordable tea that is available in Japan. Sencha is one rank upper than houjicha and genmaicha. The leaves used in Sencha have been picked with greater care and there are no stems. The finest tea is called gyokuro. The oldest and finest bushes of leaves were used to make this tea. As one can see, Japan has a very diverse food culture. Sushi and Japanese noodles are well known cuisine that portrays the food culture of Japan. However, there is more variety of Japanese food that delivers the thoughts of Japanese. As foreign tourists find more about those cuisines, the number of tourists will continuously increase. Lodging of Japan Japan has the privilege of possessing two types of lodging: Japanese inns and western hotels. Japanese inn is called ryokan (ryo-journey, kan-mansion) in Japanese. Ryokans historical origins are strongly rooted in Japanese society, and ryokan resisted the introduction of Western forms of lodging. (Anguis, Moon 76) One can find enormous amount of information about these two types of lodging in Japan by just searching on the internet. Generally speaking, hotels show less variety, with only few categories such as resorts hotel, de luxe hotels, and so on. On the other hand, any travel magazine published for Japanese travel shows an amazing number of extremely specialized categories of ryokan, such as spa ryokan, ryokan associated with Japanese famous writers, secret ryokan, very famous ryokan, wooden built ryokan, ryokan visited by Japanese emperor, ryokan for Japanese cuisine associated with the seasons, etc. (Anguis 76) Japanese categorized ryokan into a very specific sector, so that p eople can easily find ryokan that they are looking for. Compare to the Western hotel room size, the size of ryokans room is relatively small. Moreover, the western hotels construction and management is sustained by huge capital investments, whereas ryokan does not have large capital to fund their operation. How can ryokan still compete with the western hotels in Japan? Instead of being the part of shelter along the road, ryokan has become the purpose of the travel itself. (Anguis 77) Staying in a ryokan usually follows the same pattern. Guests usually check in between three and four oclock in the afternoon. Shoes are deposited in the entrance, and picked up when guests are leaving the ryokan. Upon the arrival at ryokan, guests are greeted by a kimonoclad maid and she leads to their rooms, where she serves tea and sweets, while explaining the schedule of their stays. Visitors are encouraged to change their everyday clothes and dress on the cotton kimono, yukata. They can have an early bath time in either inside or outside baths. While the guests are away, the room is prepared for dinner. After the dinner, second bath might be encouraged while cleaning after dinner and futon spread on the tatami. (Cogswell 40) Each room is covered with tatami, straw mats. The main room has a little shrine, similar to an altar that is raised slightly from the floor at the one side of the room. Doors in ryokan are usually slide doors. Doors are made out of paper and framed in woodwork, and they are used to break up the space. Japanese architecture and design are clean and simple. Japanese buildings tend to harmoniously blend with the natural environment. Ryokan originated during Nara period (710-784). For much of the 20th century, it was just any Japanese inn that people had stayed. People somewhat had negative ideas about it since there were no privacy. For instance, the bath was communal. During steamy summers, everyone slept with their doors and windows wide open to the breeze. From the competition with the Western style hotel, the number of ryokan declined from 80 thousand in 1988 to fewer than 60 thousand in 2005. (Brown, 128) Recently however, the ryokan is trying to change the perception of people towards ryokan. For instance a group of thirty ryokan have formed The ryokan Collection to market themselves as boutique inns, with designer flourishes, architectural details and cultural authenticity. (Brown, 129) The ryokan of Kyoto, a former imperial city and a popular tourist destination, are among the first to have instituted modernizing touches-and with much flair and frills. English-speaking staff and Western-style breakfasts are now available even at the citys legendary Hiiragiya and Tawaraya ryokan-both centuries old and famed for their refined aesthetics, attention to detail, and guest lists that have included royalty and Hollywood stars. Sports in Japan (Sports Tourism) Baseball in Japan Baseball was first introduced by Horace Wilson, who was an American expatriate educator, in 1872. Since then, baseball has grown as the major sports played by Japanese. Baseball is called Yakyu ¼Ã‹â€ Ãƒ ©Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ã… ½Ãƒ §Ã‚ Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° in Japanese. It combines Chinese character for field (à ©Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ã… ½ ya)and ball(à §Ã‚ Ã†â€™ kyu). The major event that attracted the foreigner to focus ones attention on Japanese baseball was World Baseball Classic. Japan won the championship in both 2006 and 2009. This attracted peoples attention towards Japanese style baseball. Now, tourists are willing to tour the Japanese professional baseball league and baseball arena for the professional baseball teams became the major attraction destination. Japanese professional baseball has two leagues, just like professional baseball in United States. One is called Central League, and other one is called Pacific League. Each league has six teams. The professional baseball season is eight months long and it begins on April, and a Championship is held on October. Teams play 144 games in total. Teams that are included in Central leagues are: Yomiuri Giants (Tokyo), Tokyo Yakult Swallows (Tokyo), Yokohama BayStars (Yokohama), Chunichi Dragons (Nagoya), Hanshin Tigers (Osaka), Hiroshima Toyo Carp (Hiroshima). Teams that are included in Pacific leagues are Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (Sapporo), Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (Sendai), Saitama Seibu Lions (Saitama), Chiba Lotte Marines (Chiba), Orix Buffaloes (Osaka), Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (Fukuoka). The professional baseball teams representing major cities of Japan. For instance, Yomiuri Giant is a professional team that is located in Tokyo. It has a dorm called Tokyo Dome, which has 45,000 seats. The average viewers of each game are 40,755. Foreign tourists are now visiting these domes of professional baseball teams, and experiencing the Japanese baseball game. Sumo in Japan Sumo wrestling is a competitive contact sport where a wrestler, also known as a rikishi, attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or dohyo. The sumo wrestler also attempts to force the other to touch the ground with another body part other than the soles of the feet. Originating in Japan, it is the only country where this sport is practiced professionally. The tradition of Sumo is very antiquated. It still includes many ritual events, such as the use of salt to purify the dohyo, from the Shinto Religion. Rikishi follows the rule laid down by the Sumo Association, and professional sumo players are directed to live in sumo training stables, known as heya in Japanese. There are six Grand Sumo tournaments, also called honbasho, each year. Three of the tournaments take place at Tokyo in January, May, and September. The place where those three tournaments are held is called the Sumo Hall, Ryogoku Kokugikan in Japanese, and this place has become one of the major attraction places for people to visit in Tokyo. Another tournament is held at Osaka in March. Fifth one is held at Nagoya in July, and the last one takes place at Fukuoka in November. Each tournament begins on a Sunday and lasts for fifteen days. There are two teams in a professional sumo tournament. Each top wrestler, also referred as yokozuna, in the two divisions has one match per day, and other lower leveled wrestlers have one game every two days. The schedule is constructed in a way that the highest ranked wrestlers compete at the very end of the day. The top wrestlers match usually begins at six oclock in the evening. At the end of the fifteenth day, the wrestler who wins the most matche s wins the tournament championship. If there are ties in the score, those two wrestlers compete with each other and the winner of that game takes the championship. Since sumo is only professionally played in Japan, foreign travelers are eager to watch the game while they are visiting Japan. Japanese Festivals Festivals are called matsuri in Japan. A most eloquent form of worship, Japanese festivals are intimate, joyous encounters with the divine. (Vilhar, Anderson, 5) The image of modern Japan tends to minimize the significance of these ancient religious practices. Yet, matsuri has have been continuously provided people with a strong spiritual identity as Japanese. Although Japanese no longer perceive matsuri as a ritual ceremony, it still lays heavy emphasis on the Shinto religion originated from Japan. The act of worship culminated in the celebration of matsuri. Derived from the verb matsuru (to worship), matsuri serves as a means for the people to offer divine world their prayers, gifts, and joy. Matsuri is time for communication with their gods and ancestral spirits. Many of the matsuri is related to rice growing, the very foundation of Japanese culture. There are no certain set dates for matsuri. Dates vary from area to area. Almost every town has at least one matsuri in late summer or early autumn, usually related to the rice harvest season. During a matsuri, people go out in the streets for a memorable time. Almost every town in Japan prepares its own matsuri; however, the size of the festival varies from one town to another. Each year, approximately 100,000 people gather to attend some of the major matsuris. Major matsuris take place in large cities, such as Tokyo and Kyoto. Some people living in suburban or rural areas travel by airplane to go to the matsuris because they want to enjoy the once a year event. In contrast, some matsuris are really small, generally attracting only the local people. Indifferent of the size of the festival, one can learn about the culture and tradition of Japan through matsuris. First of all, most of the people coming to a matsuri wear Japanese traditional clothes, called Yukata. The word originates from Yukatabire, which means clothes that one wears after taking a shower. Therefore, they are made out of thin cotton. Since Japan gets very hot in the summer, people tend to were Yukata rather than other clothes. The color of the Yukata is another interesting factor that reflects Japanese culture. Women tend to wear bright colors, such as yellow, pink, and bright blue. Men tend to wear cool colors, such as grey and dark blue. These colors represent nature. Bright colors such as red and pink illustrate the flowers, and earthtone colors such as grey and dark blue represent the sky or earth. The Yukatas colors help create the very exciting and fascinating atmosphere of the Matsuri. It seems as if colorful lights are illuminating the dark summer streets of Japan. Food also makes the matsuri very interesting. All kinds of food can be found at the matsuri. There is Japanese style barbeque, ice cream, candy, Japanese style pizza, and numerous other dishes. One of the major matsuri foods is called yakisoba. The word literally means burned noodle. It is called burned since the noodle is placed on a hot steel plate, instead of being boiled with water. Cabbage, carrots, meat and special sauces are also put on the plate and mixed with noodles. Moreover, there is a lot of entertainment waiting at a matsuri. First of all, there is a game called catching the goldfish. A player is given a thin paper that has a plastic handle, which he/she uses to scoop goldfish from a small pool until the paper tears apart. This game is very difficult. However, catching the fish is no longer a goal of this game as people start playing. People cheer for the players as they watch, which provides a bonding experience with my friends and family. Japanese traditional music is played in Matsuri, and is another big part of matsuris entertainment. The special host plays Wadaiko, Japanese traditional drum, as the main instrument in the matsuri since it is the oldest instrument in Japan. Moreover, it is believed that the sound of drum motivates people. While the drums are played, many people sing the song that goes with the beat. Also, there is a dance that goes with the music. People enjoy the dance and claim to release their everyday stress through the dance. Last but not least, the fireworks are the highlight of the matsuri. In Japan, one counts the number of shots to describe the size of the fireworks. The number of the shots depends on the towns. Each shot had certain meanings. For example, there was one fireworks display that had the image of red leaves in fall. There is an urban legend. It is believed that a couple that sees the first firework in the matsuri will be able to stay together forever. However, it is important that they hold hands when they watch the fireworks. This mystical, yet adorable legend makes people want to participate even more in the matsuri. The matsuri is not just a fun event. The dress, food, games, and music of the Matsuri portrays the culture of Japan. The Matsuri has endured a long time and will continue to be celebrated by gener

Effective Use of Imagery in William Blake’s The Lamb and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s A Very Old Man Wi :: William Blake Lamb Essays

Effective Use of Imagery in William Blake’s The Lamb and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings "Sailboats as big as cruise ships/ Glide gracefully across the ocean's glassy surface." Have you ever read a piece of literature and found it to be immensely satisfying due to the enormous amount of descriptions used by either the poet or the author? As the opening line illustrates what is happening at the beach, the reader is able to really get to know what the author is trying to explain. These descriptions are referred to as imagery. Imagery is used to give a detailed portrayal of a person, place, or thing. In the short story, "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings," by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and in the poem, "The Lamb," by William Blake, both, author and poet, use imagery to depict to their audience their own perception of an angel. In the story, "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings," Marquez first lets the reader know that, "the fallen body with mute stupor" (828), was an angel by writing that he, "couldn't get up, impeded by his enormous wings" (828). Much of today's societies first initial thought of a man with wings are to believe that this person is an angel. People have many different beliefs of what an angel is supposed to look like. Marquez, not wanting his readers to stray away from what his own personal view of an angel in this story, uses imagery to clarify his perception of the angel. Marquez notes that the angel has an, "incomprehensible dialect with a strong sailor's voice," "he was dressed like a ragpicker," "huge buzzard wings, dirty and half-plucked," "only a few faded hairs on his bald skull and very few teeth in his mouth," and most likely the most significant, "his pitiful condition of a drenched great-grandfather had taken away any sense of grandeur he might have had" (828). Without the latte r details of the "angel", the reader would have the opportunity to use whatever they tend to believe and angel is. Marquez sets up the description of the angel to enable the reader to understand why the townspeople may have treated the angel as they had, "as if he weren't a supernatural creature but a circus animal" (829). In the poem, "The Lamb," Blake uses imagery to explain the way the, "Little Lamb" (Line 1), looks like.

Lightning Mine Vs Archangel :: essays research papers

The Australian novel, Lightning Mine, covers the development of an iron ore mine on a sacred land guarded by “Namarrkon'; in the Northern Territory. MDG/Global mining was very interested in the area, and sent their chief prospector, Aaron Shoemaker to investigate the land. Whilst Shoemaker is there, he sets off a chain of corporate and government tactics to ensure the development of the mine on the Aboriginal sacred site. These tactics, as you can imagine, were not overly fair to the Aboriginal people, and their only hope was through University of Sydney law graduate, Jarra Mariba. Quickly, the development of the themes and issues become clear, especially through the arrogant ignorance of the CEO of MDG/Global corporation portrayed by the author. “No stone is unturned in the name of progress';, states the CEO to Jarra, showing the clear message that nothing will stop the capitalist machine from destroying the sacred land. With full government support, the mine goes ahead, and quickly Shoemaker realises what this will lead to. The corporate tactics continue to ensure a smooth running of the mine, even to the extent of killing Mariba’s wife. The resolution of the book fits in well with the theme. Namarrkon: The Lightning Spirit, the guard of the sacred site, stirs up a freak electrical storm, and totally destroys the mine. Furthermore, the CEO, Sir Peter Gables, gets killed by the storm whilst in a helicopter trying to escape the wraith of the storm. Mariba gets shot, but is amazingly saved by Shoemaker, who is a changed man by this time. What the novel focuses on is that it takes a supernatural event to stop such capitalist progress, but it can happen. My International novel was set in a very different context, present day Russia. The book was extremely well done, and is about the opening of the Soviet achieves. Central to the story, is Fluke Kelso, a middle-aged former Oxford historian who comes into contact with an old NKVD guard who was present during Stalin’s final hours. The former NKVD officer tells Kelso of a little black oilskin notebook which stalin kept close, which lead into a race against time to find the book, as the news quickly spreads. The secrets to Stalin’s life open up, and soon a Stalinist/Marxist fanatic called Mamantov goes in search for Stalin’s famous unknown son, as well as Kelso, and an international reporter wanting a good story.

President Bill Clinton :: William Jefferson Clinton Essays

Bill Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946, in the small town of Hope, Arkansas. He was named after his father, William Jefferson Blythe II, who had been killed in a car accident just three months before his son's birth. Needing a way to support herself and her new child, Bill Clinton's mother, Virginia Cassidy Blythe, moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, to study nursing. Bill Clinton stayed with his mother's parents in Hope. There his grandparents, Eldrigde and Edith Cassidy, taught him strong values and beliefs such as "equality among all and discrimination to none". This was a lesson Bill never forgot. His mother returned from New Orleans with a nursing degree in 1950, when her son was four year old. Later that same year, she married an automobile salesman named Roger Clinton. When Bill was seven years old, the family moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas for it offered a better employment opportunities. Roger received a higher paying job as a service ma nager for his brother's car dealer-ship and Virginia discovered a job as a nurse anesthetist. In 1956, Bill Clinton's half-brother, Roger Clinton Jr., was born. When his brother was old enough to enter school, young Bill had his last name legally altered from Blythe to Clinton. Clinton's life continued and during his High school years he was awestruck by two successful leaders, John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was inspired by them so much that thrived on fulfilling their dreams. He raised money and organized charity events, but most of all he learned how to work with people and the concept of being a good citizen. In his spare time, he endulged himself in literature and played a saxophone. He loved music, and each summer he would attend a band camp in the Ozark Mountains. His hard work paid off when he became top saxophone player at his school and won first chair in state band. Bill Clinton recognized that although college would be expensive, it would give him the education he needed to accomplish his goals. His hard work in school, combined with his music ability, earned him many academic and music scholarships. With the aid of those scholarships and loans from the government, he was able to attend Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He chose George town because it had an excellent foreign service program and it was located in the nations capital.

Alcohol Laws

Three days ago, i attended the burial ceremony of my best friend. Not only do we do everything together, we have become family.Our parents were mates in college so the legacy continued with the children. We went to the same preschool, high school and as we planned it, we went to the same university. Jack did not die of any sickness neither was he murdered – he, like many Americans, lost his life in a highway accident as a result of drunk driving.In this essay, I will be making an exposition into alcohol abuse and the problems that come with it. I will also explain the extent to which this vice has eaten up into our lives as a nation.Furthermore, I will examine the major alcohol laws in America and probing into if these laws have actually helped in curbing the problems associated with alcohol use. I will also be making a comparison of the DUI laws in each state and how this directly or indirectly tells on the extent in which people abuse alcohol in these states. Finally, I will be using Las Vegas as a point of reference for alcohol abuse – the DUI laws that exist in the state, the people’s disposition towards alcohol use and the effect that this lifestyle has on the people of the state.For the purpose of clarity of this essay, it will suffice to make a conceptual definition of the major terms that will be used in this essay. Alcohol abuse can be defined as the act that involves the use of alcohol in an immoderate manner turning into an unhealthy habit. Alcohol abuse is not the intake of alcohol but the intake of alcohol everyday or excessively at a time.Many people confuse alcohol abuse to alcoholism. Alcohol abuse as an act is less severe to alcoholism. Although both of them are alcohol disorders, alcoholism is an extreme form of alcohol intake that leads a person to alcohol dependence – a state where an individual develops unusual cravings for alcohol, uncontrollable consumption of alcohol, physical dependence on alcohol to feel alr ight and tolerance.Alcohol abuse as an act is typified when an individual who is under the influence of alcohol is involved in some life threatening activities like driving and other activities that pose a threat on the life of the individual and people around him/her.The term DUI simply put is an acronym for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. In States in America, DUI is an alcohol laws that is set as a way of reducing casualties of highway accidents.This is determined by a test done on the blood of the person accused of the DUI offence. Although every state has a form of DUI laws that seek to keep alcohol consumers in check, the intensity of this law differ from one state to another. While some states have stricter and almost non-tolerant DUI laws, the DUI laws in other states are less strict and tolerant.â€Å"The 2001 survey shows 25 million (one in ten) Americans surveyed reported driving under the influence of alcohol. This report is nearly three million more than the pr evious year. Among young adults age 18 to 25 years, almost 23% drove under the influence of alcohol† (Drugs-rehabs.org, 2002).Alcohol abuse in America is not an individual problem but a national one. In America, alcohol remains the number 1 drug problem we face. According to statistics gotten from a study made in 2000, an average American consumes over 25 gallons of beer, 2 gallons of wine and 1.5 gallons of distilled spirits every year (Drugs-rehabs.org, 2002).Apart from this, it was discovered that The American government spends over $100 million in healthcare on alcohol and alcohol related problems. Perhaps the most appalling of these statistics is the fact that over 15 million people are dependent on alcohol and of these number, 500 000 fall between the ages of 9 and 12.Alcohol has made a nuisance of many families in America. As statistics have it that three out of four of cases of spouse violent victim incidents happened as a result of alcohol use/abuse by the offender. à ‚  Apart from this, it is reported that four in ten criminal offenders blame alcohol as reason for their violent behaviour. The younger generation are not excluded from this madness. In the same report, it is alleged that students in America spend over $5.5 billion on alcohol.This accounts for double of what they spend on beverages books and milk combined.   In addition to this, it was reported in a survey done in 200 that about 7 million persons between the ages of 12 to 20 was an excessive drinker (drug-rehab.org, 2002). With the death toll statistics by alcohol abuse rising each year, we are faced with a problem that we ourselves caused with our very own hands. We have become a prisoner of our own decisions and every day, someone somewhere in America has to pay the price.Alcohol has been woven into the fibres of our lives. Everyday, someone somewhere is being lured into the population of alcohol consumers. â€Å"Each year, a typical young person in the United States is inundat ed with more than 1,000 commercials for beer and wine coolers and several thousand fictional drinking incidents on television† (drug-rehab.org, 2002).  With the society being infused with this unhealthy habit, the family is the first contact of a victim to alcohol usage. According to drug-rehab.org, about 43% of Americans have been exposed to alcoholism in their families while growing up so they grow up consuming alcohol.