The White Balloon Essays - Films, The White Balloon, Goldfish

The White Balloon T h e W h i t e B a l l o o n Moiz Bhinderwala I. Give a short summary of the film in which you tell: - where and when the story takes place - who the main characters are ? protagonists and antagonists - how their lives are affected by the culture they are in The story is set in a modern Tehran ? just two hours before the start of the traditional Persian New Year -the first day of spring, March 21st, is New Year's Day in Iran. The whole story revolves around Raziah, a determined seven-year-old girl who wants nothing more than a certain beautiful goldfish to decorate her family's house for the New Year- (the first day of spring, March 21st, is New Year's Day in Iran) Though it's tough to convey the excitement of such a simple plot in words, her quest for the fish is surprisingly moving. This is partly because the adorable Raziah, who shouts all her lines, is so utterly appealing; and partly because the market of Tehran, where she ventures out to buy the fish with her mother's money (under strict instructions to bring back change). seems like no place for a little girl to be wandering by herself ? (underlines the fact about restriction on women in this culture) A sense of threat accompanies Raziah on her journey. First, some snake charmers - a bunch of men that she has been warned not to look at, by her parents - manage to separate the seven-year-old from her note. With the help of her sturdy vocal chords she manages to get the money back, only to lose it again. There's a subtle feeling that Raziah might be paddled by her parents if she doesn't get her money back - her brother, who convinced their mother to give his sister the money in the first place, shows up at one point with a black eye. The adults who surround the two children can't seem to understand how dire it is that they get their money back, but the kids themselves are quite certain of the gravity of their task. With earnest concentration, they try a variety of techniques to retrieve the bank note that has fallen through a grating into a cellar. Her search to recover the cash becomes intertwined with the lives of vendors, merchants, an indignant tailor, a friendly soldier on leave far from home, an Afghan refugee selling balloons and Raziah's own brother. The film takes place in real time, heightening the sense of living inside a child's world. Though the adults can't understand how important it is for Raziah to get her goldfish or to retrieve her money, it becomes very clear to us that these are matters of immense importance. The White Balloon conveys that deep, even timeless, childhood feeling of being thwarted at something you really want, of how something like a bowl of goldfish can be a life-or-death matter! The movie also brings out the various aspects of the Iranian Moslem culture in which the plot is set. The very fact that Raziah's parents warn her of places that girls are not supposed to go ? indicates that in this culture there are restrictions on girls with regards to entertainment. The scene where Raziah engages into talk with the friendly soldier, she is shown re-arranging her dress time and again, this also points out the strict dress code that women in this culture are supposed to stick to. II. As an anthropologist you are trying to understand this culture based on what you have seen in this film. - What differences are there between your culture and the culture presented in the film? I come from India, which shares an Asian culture with Iran. Moreover since my religion is Islam which is the same as the one of all the characters in the movie, it is difficult to me to narrow down the differences between my culture and the culture portrayed in the movie. However, the one differences that I noticed between the two cultures, in the movie was the dress code. Women in Iran are supposed to follow a strict dress code in which they wear longer dresses so as

Repition in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy essays

Repition in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy essays Repetition in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy In Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, written by Douglas Adams, Arthur Dent is taken off the Earth seconds before it is demolished for a galactic freeway and seconds after his house has been demolished for freeway. Ford Prefect, the friend that has plucked him off the Earth, is a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. Together, they, along with two others, journey though the galaxy aided by The Hitchhikers Guide. They find out that the three smartest animals on Earth are mice, dolphins, and humans. Mice, the smartest creatures on Earth, are used by humans to conduct experiments and to gather new research. Arthur can not believe at first that these animals could are the smartest. But Slartibartfast, a native of the planet Magrathean, convinced him: How better to disguise their real natures, and how better to guide your thinking. Suddenly running down a maze the wrong way, eating the wrong bit of cheese, unexpectedly dropping dead from myxomatosis [. . .] You see, Earthman, they really are particularly clever hyperintelligent pandimensional beings. (Adams, 164) Slartibartfast explained to Arthur that the Earth was commissioned, paid for, and run by mice (163). He explained to Arthur that the mice had been experimenting on humans downing mans existence on Earth. At the end of the book, two mice want to steal Arthurs brain because they think that his brain might contain the Ultimate question.( ) Dolphins are the second smartest creatures on Earth, who man always felt were inferior to them: man always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so muchthe wheel, New York, wars, and so muchwhile all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent th...

Making Freelance Pitching Personal

Making Freelance Pitching Personal Recently, I had an impasse in my writing career. So I read more books on technique, critiqued other writers works when I could, and continued to fine-tune my query-writing skills. But I wasnt attracting the assignments that challenged me and filled my bank account. That is, until I got personal. Do Your Research I took to heart Dale Carnegies defining advice. In his seminal book, How To Win Friends and Influence People, he emphasizes the importance of knowing names. People love to hear the sound of their names. Businesspeople who act warm, according to Carnegie, are more successful. Acting on this advice, I learned that studying potential clients professional and personal triumphs does give you an advantage. For example, I wanted to write for a consumer magazine, and I learned through social media that the editor graduated from Stanford. My article talked about hotels near Ivy League colleges, so I mentioned Stanford in the query I sent. Even if the editor rejected my first query, knowing about his education makes future queries on similar topics a surer fit. Dont Give Up Yes means yes, and no means no, but in freelancing those yeses and nos may give you options. I contacted a potential client who previously had rejected one of my magazine-article queries. Her magazine only accepted advertorials, but I didnt accept that declarative answer. At her LinkedIn profile, she stated that another one of her companies operated inspirational retreats. I have written about my struggles with poverty and depression. So, I asked in another email, are you looking for speakers for your retreats? Ive written essays about how I overcame struggles in my life. Send a one sheet detailing your

Evaluation in human services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluation in human services - Essay Example Additionally, the staff may fear negative effects that evaluation can have on their employment. This negative implication of evaluation can include lost jobs for employees perceived to have underperformed or due to restructuring those results in elimination of some organizational functions and therefore role of some employees. Employees might also fear evaluation as it might result in increased workload for them especially when there is merging of some functions and roles. Therefore, fear and resistance to evaluation is as a result of employees not knowing the changes that this process will bring in the workplace; therefore, preferring maintenance of the status quo (Shell, 2002). Employee resistance to change is a widespread phenomenon in many workplaces since most of them do not want to be challenged by being asked to abandon routine and adopt new ways of doing things. Consequently, association of evaluation process to change in the way employees perform their duties is likely to en counter resistance (Austin, 2002). Evaluation has an important role in creating efficiency in organization functioning especially if it helps identify areas of waste, even in programs that seem to run successfully. Therefore, it is important that there is cooperation among everyone involved including staff and the management. When evaluation meets staff resistance, this indicates there is a problem that needs to be addressed through either the evaluation itself or prior to conducting staff evaluation. Therefore, the first area of concern when planning to undertake evaluation is to increase staff awareness of the process and possible actions based on results. Fear of evaluation is as a result of the unknown effect it will have on the staff especially as many of the employees wonder if they are going to lose their jobs, have increased workload or be held accountable for negative results. Consequently, evaluation should be done after employees have had adequate information access

Financing New Ventures Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Financing New Ventures - Assignment Example This has paved way for diversification in investment According to (Harrington, 1987) it allows the investor to avoid unsystematic risks such as poor management of the company which will automatically lead to returns not being realized. From this model a linear relationship has been developed to show the relationship between systematic risk and the expected return. As compared to weighted average cost of capital (WACC) this model gives a robust discount rate that can be used for assessing the investment. Using WACC a project can be turned down when its internal rate of return is less that of WACC. This is because WACC is based on the assumption that any investment doesn’t have an effect to financial and business risk. Using CAPM, gives internal rate of return that is higher than the security market line and a return that can minimize or eliminate system risk. CAPM is considered as the best tool to calculate the cost of equity as compared Dividend Growth Model (DGM). This is because it takes into account the systematic risk level of the business relative to stock market. Portfolio effect refers to the addition of other investment into the portfolio with aim of reducing risk. This can be termed as diversification of portfolio such that change in the value of one investment e.g. bond in the portfolio there will be a response to change in the value of other assets in the portfolio. Portfolio effect has the ability to minimize a specific risk attached to an asset in a given portfolio, but this depends or lies on the degree of correlation of assets held in the portfolio (Hirt & Block, 1990). Diversifying portfolio can be achieved in either horizontal or vertical diversification both will help to reduce the risk associated to a given asset, vertical diversification occurs when an investor decides to add different form of assets or securities in his portfolio e.g. cash, corporate bonds, and building. This is advisable since whenever a

The Physics of a Quality Espresso Essay -- Process Physics Essays

The Physics of a Quality Espresso There are many ways to get a good cup of coffee—through perculators, gravity systems, and steeping fresh gounds. However, espresso, which is usually considered a finer beverage, is made by taking about two ounces of espresso grind (ground arabica beans) packed tightly into the head of an espresso machine, and submitting it to high pressured hot water. An espresso machine is designed to force a small amout of water through tightly packed, finely ground coffee. The idea is to pull the best flavored and most consistent espresso from the espresso blend. In order to achieve quality espresso certain physical processes have to take place—namely the passage of pressurized water through the espresso grind, heat transfer, and correct packing of espresso into the head of an espresso machine. Acording to Gourmet Retailer, a monthly publication devoted to gourmet foods and services, the right amount of pressure is required to make a quality espresso: â€Å"To create the perfect crema [espresso], the actual pressure should be between nine and eleven atm (or bar) when the hot water passes through the coffee† (52). Now, the actual pressure capacity of an espresso machine is usually out of the users control, but an explination of the physical concepts may be the first step in defining a quality espresso. In Physics a World View, Larry D. Kirkpatrick and Gereld F. Wheeler write: â€Å"Pressure is the force exerted on a surface divided by the area of the surface—that is, the force per unit area† (171). P = F / A This defeniton applies to gases, liquids, and solids. In the case of pressurized water in an espresso machine, for instance, if the water had thirty newtons of force and the espresso grind had... ...e and bitterness is pulled from the espresso. As I have shown, there are three major physical concepts surrounding a quality espresso. When the espresso machine has the correct pressure quantity (between nine and eleven bar), and the water is hot enough, you can get a quality espresso. But remember, if the barista running the machine has no concept of this, or really hasn’t had a lot of experience making gourmet coffee, then the espresso may not turn out as you like. A good espresso pack in the head of the machine is required for an excellent espresso. Works Cited â€Å"Coffee Centers & Espresso Machines.† Gourmet Retailer Feb. 2003: 52. Schomer, David C. Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques. New York: Peanut Butter Publishing, 1996. 37. Kirkpatrick, Larry D. and Gerald F. Wheeler. Physics a World View. Orlando: Harcourt College Publishers, 2001. 171. The Physics of a Quality Espresso Essay -- Process Physics Essays The Physics of a Quality Espresso There are many ways to get a good cup of coffee—through perculators, gravity systems, and steeping fresh gounds. However, espresso, which is usually considered a finer beverage, is made by taking about two ounces of espresso grind (ground arabica beans) packed tightly into the head of an espresso machine, and submitting it to high pressured hot water. An espresso machine is designed to force a small amout of water through tightly packed, finely ground coffee. The idea is to pull the best flavored and most consistent espresso from the espresso blend. In order to achieve quality espresso certain physical processes have to take place—namely the passage of pressurized water through the espresso grind, heat transfer, and correct packing of espresso into the head of an espresso machine. Acording to Gourmet Retailer, a monthly publication devoted to gourmet foods and services, the right amount of pressure is required to make a quality espresso: â€Å"To create the perfect crema [espresso], the actual pressure should be between nine and eleven atm (or bar) when the hot water passes through the coffee† (52). Now, the actual pressure capacity of an espresso machine is usually out of the users control, but an explination of the physical concepts may be the first step in defining a quality espresso. In Physics a World View, Larry D. Kirkpatrick and Gereld F. Wheeler write: â€Å"Pressure is the force exerted on a surface divided by the area of the surface—that is, the force per unit area† (171). P = F / A This defeniton applies to gases, liquids, and solids. In the case of pressurized water in an espresso machine, for instance, if the water had thirty newtons of force and the espresso grind had... ...e and bitterness is pulled from the espresso. As I have shown, there are three major physical concepts surrounding a quality espresso. When the espresso machine has the correct pressure quantity (between nine and eleven bar), and the water is hot enough, you can get a quality espresso. But remember, if the barista running the machine has no concept of this, or really hasn’t had a lot of experience making gourmet coffee, then the espresso may not turn out as you like. A good espresso pack in the head of the machine is required for an excellent espresso. Works Cited â€Å"Coffee Centers & Espresso Machines.† Gourmet Retailer Feb. 2003: 52. Schomer, David C. Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques. New York: Peanut Butter Publishing, 1996. 37. Kirkpatrick, Larry D. and Gerald F. Wheeler. Physics a World View. Orlando: Harcourt College Publishers, 2001. 171.

Poverty In America Essay

Poverty has been on the rise in America, mainly because of the recession and now it is reaching new heights. Even though the government is trying to make more beneficial tax cuts, and find other various solutions, poverty levels continue to rise drastically. But to first find the solution ourselves we must first know what causes poverty and what it is. A simple definition of it is, poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or finances. Absolute poverty refers to the deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter, health care and education. People living in poverty have a much lower standard of living than those who are better off financially. Most people suffering from this deprivation have lost their homes and have difficulty finding things to eat and clothes to dress themselves with. People with money in this country do not have to worry about simple things such as where they will take a shower in the morning or how to ration the small amount of food they have to feed their whole family the day at hand. People with a substantial amount of money do not have to apply for government assistance such as food stamps or unemployment benefits. These also have things like insurance and healthcare to help them along as problems arise in life. People living in poverty do not get that luxury in insurance which gives them a sense of depreciated of self-worth. Because of this, it may be difficult to present themselves in a professional manner when searching for employment. America considers people who make less than 10,500 dollars a year, are a large part of why we have arrived at this dilemma due to the recent recession that has occurred. A lot of people go to desperate measures to provide food and other basic need for their families. For example many women become victims of trafficking, the most common form of which is prostitution as a means of survival for this economic desperation. Terrible living conditions can often compel children to abandon school in order to contribute to the family income, putting them at risk of being exploited too. This also causes many people that have lost their jobs and are making a fraction of what they are used to making for the job duties they are doing. People now work late past the time they are required to finish their daily task plus other extra work load because their coworker got let go due to the fact that their employer can not afford to pay both of their salaries. These same people now rely on unemployment checks and other government assistance programs to support their families and basic needs. It is estimated that one out of every seven houses have been taken by the banks in the last ten years alone. Because of this, America is seeing an all new kind of poverty. The middle class is slipping from steady ground and down to the bottom. People that used to make a decent living can no longer compete with this new economy. Poverty in today’s society has become a major issue and it affects more people than we think. People are losing jobs and cannot help it. In this economy we live in today it is very hard to make money and provide for our families. These people cannot get all of the help they need because some people are just working the system, so they either get rejected or reject the fact they need because they do not want to categorized with those people. An example, from where I’m from I use to be a cashier at Kroger for two years and so many people on food stamps and the WIC program (Women Infants Children) would come in to buy food and have iPhones and Coach Purses or even keys for Mercedes and if you have any of those thing you do not have your properties in order. This is just not fair for those people that are in dire need for food and using these programs the way they are supposed to be used for. And that is why it’s hard for normal people who work so hard for their money and still do not make enough to provide and the need for a helping hand in food programs such as these. With all this being said, people need to look into the Baptist Faith it is taught that all Christians will go through times of suffering and one of these suffering phases we go through is poverty. Many people now a days seem to be faithful to the church until they become unemployed or fall on hard times financially, and instead of looking to God they tend to blame him. God does not make bad things happen, it is not his plans to harm us but protect from the evil that is causing the suffering. I agree with the Baptist Faith on their view towards poverty. Furthermore, I believe if more people just trusted in God more faithfully and I know it is easier said than done but it would help many peoples walk with the Lord on the right path and further it.