The Hero Of The Odyssey By Homer, Louis Zamperini, And The...

The trait of heroism is something that has changed over thousands of years. Today’s heros have different traits than those heroes of the Trojan War. However, a few have survived the test of time. Many of modern day heroes, as well as past heroes, do hold these long enduring traits, like Nelson Mandela, Marcus Luttrell, Louis Zamperini, and the fictional Iron Man. Odysseus, the main character in The Odyssey by Homer, portrays the traits necessary to be dubbed a hero. One is a hero if he or she shows leadership, bravery, resilience, and creativity throughout their actions. Throughout the novel, Odysseus shows leadership as he sails over the oceans with his crew. For example, the crew must pass the massive whirlpool Charybdis and the six-headed monster Scylla. The monster will eat six men per ship. Odysseus knows that six men will die if they pass too close to Scylla, or Charybdis will devour the whole ship and crew. Odysseus, the leader of the crew, makes a decision that will benefit his crews mission. He motivates his men by assuring â€Å"this danger is no worse than what we faced† before (12:227). His leadership creates a courageous atmosphere that triumphs the fear in the hearts of his men. His men row on, despite the fear, following his orders, and only lost the six men they had to lose to pass this section of road on the pathway to home. Another example of strong leadership is the exploration of the cave of the cyclops Polyphemus. The cyclops is an unknown population,

U.S. Presidents of the 1990s and 2000s (41 to 44)

You probably remember the first Gulf War, Dianas death and maybe even the Tonya Harding scandal, but can you recall exactly who was president in the 1990s? How about the 2000s? Presidents 42 through 44 were all two-term presidents, collectively spanning nearly two and a half decades. Just think of whats happened in that time. Taking just a quick look at the terms of Presidents 41 through 44 brings back a lot of significant memories of what already might seem like not-so-recent history.   George H. W. Bush:  The senior Bush was president during the first Persian Gulf War, the Savings and Loan Bailout and the Exxon Valdez oil spill. He was also in the White House for Operation Just Cause, also known as the Invasion of Panama (and the deposing of Manuel Noriega). The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed during his tenure, and he joined all of us in witnessing the fall of the Soviet Union.   Bill Clinton:  Clinton served as president during most of the 1990s. He was the second president to be impeached, though he was not removed from office (Congress voted to impeach him, but the Senate voted not to remove him as President). He was the first Democratic president to serve two terms since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Few can forget the Monica Lewinsky scandal, but what about NAFTA, the failed health care plan and Dont Ask, Dont Tell? All of these, along with a period of significant economic growth, are marks of Clintons time in office.   George W. Bush:  Bush was the son of the 41st president and grandson of a US Senator. The September 11th terrorist attacks occurred early in his presidency, and the rest of his two terms in office were marked by wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Neither conflict was resolved by the time  he left office. Domestically, Bush may be remembered for the No Child Left Behind Act and the most contentious presidential election in history, which had to be decided by a manual vote count, and ultimately the Supreme Court.   Barack Obama: Obama was the first African-American to be elected as president, and even the first to be nominated for President by a major party. During his eight years in office, the Iraq War came to an end and Osama Bin Laden was killed by US forces. Less than a year later came the rise of ISIL, and in the following year ISIL merged with ISIS to form the Islamic State. Domestically, the Supreme Court decided to guarantee the right to marriage equality, and Obama signed the highly controversial Affordable Care Act in an attempt, among other goals, to provide health care to uninsured citizens. In 2009, Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize  for, in the words of the Noble Foundation, ...his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.

The Straight-Edge and the Scene Free Essays

Straight-Edge and the Scene For some youth it’s all about the scene. What is the scene? The scene is a general reference to the music venues in which these youth participate. The straight-edge subculture is one that many may not be familiar with. We will write a custom essay sample on The Straight-Edge and the Scene or any similar topic only for you Order Now Why is this? Probably because the straight-edge lifestyle is one of the few countercultures in which the youth that is involved tries to steer clear of drugs and overindulgence. It is closely related to the hardcore/punk music scene. The straight-edge lifestyle refers to people who are involved with the hardcore/punk lifestyle but they refrain from drinking alcohol, using drugs, smoking cigarettes, and promiscuous sex. This subculture was created as a social movement against authority, drug abuse, and any type of overindulgence associated with punk rock (Kirchner, 2009). Background: the 1970’s to the Present Individuals who are straight edge take a pledge to live a drug, promiscuous, alcohol, and cruelty free lifestyle. Sometimes, this even extends into vegetarianism and veganism and Hare Krishna, a belief based on Hindu scripture (Kirchner, 2009). The basic philosophy of the straight-edge lifestyle centers around self control and regaining as much of one’s personal control over their lives as possible, by getting rid of the negative influences (Kirchner, 2009). Straight-edger’s, a common nickname, usually are involved with the environment, animal rights and pride their counterculture on keeping their focus on higher learning and a positive outlook (Wood, 2006). The straight-edge subculture emerged in the late 1970’s (Wood, 2006). The term straight-edge was coined by musician Ian MacKaye in a song called â€Å"Straight Edge† which he wrote for his band, Minor Threat. Their music was fast and powerful with angry and thoughtful lyrics, which is how straight-edge seemed to be viewed as at first. With further understanding, it was found that the straight-edge lifestyle was the opposite. In the 1970’s only a slew of prominent artists rejected drugs and alcohol and influenced the straight-edge ideology (Wood, 2006). After the term straight-edge was thrown out into the music community, many people picked up on it and many other bands for decades to come centered their music and lifestyle on the straight-edge, drug free lifestyle. Minor Threat was the first band to use the term straight edge and adopt the letter X as a representation of being straight-edge and living the lifestyle. The X symbol was believed to originate from the use of the letter on people who were underage (under 21) to symbolize that they were too young to drink at the shows and became the symbol for straight-edge by being used on album covers, as body art, and other paraphernalia (Kirchner, 2009). In the 1980’s the influence of music on the straight-edge seemed to be at an all-time high. Many bands seemed to be using the straight-edge lifestyle as a stepping stone and inspiration for their songs. During the mid-1980’s many of the vegetarianism and veganism ideas stemmed out and gripped straight-edge community members (Cogan, 2008). This propelled a trend towards animal rights and vegetarianism that would reach its peak in the 1990’s. Straight-edger’s want to be directly involved with both the music community in which they support, by either playing in a band or writing a webzine or article for the music and their regular community by helping with any aspect of it. Straight-edger’s use this subculture to move away from the stigma of destruction that hardcore and punk music seems to have veiled over the industry. Militant straight-edger’s were first identified in the early 1990’s. These individuals were characterized by less tolerance for those who were not straight-edge, more outspokenness, and more willingness to resort to violence in order to promote clean living and fight against homosexuality and abortion (Woods, 2006). This willingness to resort to violence led to some parts of the United States paying close attention to the straight-edge subculture and the subculture being treated as a gang by law officials. However, â€Å"a study done in 2006 suggests that a small minority of individuals who identify with the straight-edge subculture are violent. † (Woods, 2006: 38). In the 2000’s the straight-edge movement has become less violent and more about promoting a positive lifestyle. Straight-edge has moved out into different genres of music instead of staying specific to the punk/metal scene. The decline of aggressive behavior has been linked to the lack of a well known band leading the straight-edge movement (Irwin, 1999). The amount of tolerance from people who are straight-edge to non-straight edge participants has grown as well (Irwin, 1999). Deviant Theories Applied: Straight-Edge and Theories First, we have to ask why the straight-edge subculture is deviant. The straight-edge culture embraces moral inclination in a positive way. This subculture does not fit the â€Å"norms† of society. By abstaining from substances, sex, and other negative things, it makes this subculture stick out. If, in society, something about a group or person sticks out, they become deviant, which is departing from anything that is socially accepted or â€Å"usual† (Clinard, Meier, 2011). In the early 1990’s violence that was related to the straight-edge movement was high. Some militant actors used violence against random people and other straight-edge members who were drinking, smoking, or doing drugs in order to try and spread their substance free message. This violence was brought on because of their direct relation with the straight-edge culture. Functionalism can be used to describe this time period for the straight-edge activists. Functionalism describes how different social occurrences uphold and disturb social stability. It also claims that society needs crime to be functional and for various other reasons such as attaining group unity, innovation, and setting and preserving moral limitations. The straight-edge subculture has many moral limitations. They have a strict set of requirements that they have to follow in order to be considered straight-edge. The violence that took place by the straight-edge subculture was due to the fact that many who committed the violence, to random people or other straight-edge members, was for the preservation of their morals. Any type of substance abuse, promiscuity, and meat eating is an implicit sin for members of the straight-edge community. The disregard of these rules by both participants and non-participants in the straight-edge subculture alike were reason for some members in this group to become violent (Woods, 2006). Militant straight-edger’s used violence to try and force a straight-edge lifestyle onto others because they viewed, and for those who still use violence today, still view their lifestyle as the most morally right. The straight-edge lifestyle also indirectly calls for unity by forcing its members to follow the straight-edge lifestyle’s specific guidelines, such as not drinking. When members conflict with this or associate themselves with people who drink, smoke, or indulge in anything morally incorrect violence usually followed. In this subculture the deviance mainly applies to the push against abusing drugs, alcohol, and overindulging in any way. Why do individuals in the straight-edge community take this approach? The social learning theory may be able to explain this. The social learning theory asks how people become deviant and whether it is learned (Clinard, Meier, 2011). With this particular subculture it can be said that the majority of the straight-edge lifestyle is learned from music and peers. Many individuals who are involved in the straight-edge lifestyle found out about this lifestyle from the music scene or their friends. Others, driven to take part in the music scene, joined and others who wanted to be a part of a positive influence on their society because of music joined the straight-edge subculture (Woods, 2006). Many members of the straight-edge community became a part of it because it represented a break away from the increasing sexuality of rock music and the sexual revolution. The sexual revolution offered youth freedom and an alternative to the dating script and the straight-edge counterculture did the same (Kirchner, 2009). The straight-edge understanding embodied freedom as well. The freedoms between the two are quite different as one gave the freedom to indulge in one’s inclinations while the latter gives the freedom to make an intentional habit out of their choices to refrain from overindulgence. In society, sexual behavior is socially learned. What is acceptable and unacceptable sexually is made clear through social informative (Clinard, Meier, 2011). The straight-edge subculture tries to take sexuality back into a time where hooking-up was not the social norm. Being sexually promiscuous is frowned upon in society as well as in the straight-edge subculture. In society heterosexual deviance is an ongoing topic. The straight-edge society wants to be known for exactly the opposite of this. In society, sexual deviance is generally negative. Sometimes, women are objectified and men are a number of different things, which is why the straight-edge community rejects these ideas in order to show society that they have exerted control over their life by abstaining and â€Å"saving† their bodies (Woods, 2006). In the straight-edge society, the double tandard holds true as well because a lot of the time men who proclaim to be straight-edge may be being promiscuous at the time but can still claim the straight-edge lifestyle. A woman doing the same would no longer be looked at as straight-edge (Woods, 2006). Conclusion The straight-edge counterculture is one most interesting, yet unheard of subcultures. The reason why this subculture is so fascina ting is because of the values it represents. Although this group is vague and there are fewer members than before, the preservation of values is one of the many reasons to continue and study this fascinating unconventional group. Overindulgence is something that is common in this day and age. Drug addictions, sexual promiscuity, alcohol abuse, and other substance abuse are not shocking to hear about. These are daily occurrences that the straight-edge culture is trying to remove from their lives. From the 1970’s until now this culture has been constantly changing and rearranging itself to match the attitudes and music of the time. The straight-edge counterculture has been excellent in integrating modern ideas in with more traditional values, all while supporting the music scene. References Clinard, Marshall B. and Robert F. Meier. 2011. Sociology of Deviant Behavior. Belmont, California: Wadsworth. Cogan, Brain. 2008. The Encyclopedia of Punk. New York: Sterling. Kirchner, Michael. 2009. Edge: Perspectives on Drug Free Culture. DVD. California: Halo 8. Irwin, Darrell D. 1999. â€Å"The Straight-Edge Subculture: Examining the Youths’ the Drug Free Way. † Journal of Drug Issues. 20(2): 365 – 380. Wood, Robert T. 2006. Straightedge Youth: Complexity and Contradictions of Subculture. New York: Syracuse University Press. How to cite The Straight-Edge and the Scene, Papers

A Short Overview Of Hurricanes Essay Example For Students

A Short Overview Of Hurricanes Essay Hurricanes are powerful atmospheric vortices that are intermediate in size. Hurricanes are unique and powerful weather systems. The word hurricane comes from a Caribbean word meaning big wind. Views of hurricanes can be seen from a satellite positioned thousands of miles above the earth. Hurricanes originate as tropical disturbances over warm oceans with trade winds. The tropical turbances intensify into tropical depressions, and eventually into a tropical storm. They only originate in the tropical trade winds because the ocean temperatures are quite warm there. Powered from the heat that the sea gives off, they are steered by the east trade winds and the temperate west ones, as well as by their own ferocious energy. Around their core, winds grow with a tremendous amount of velocity creating violent seas. As they move toward the shore, they move the ocean inward, while spawning tornadoes and producing torrential rains and floods. For a hurricane to form, the ocean temperature must b e warmer than twenty-six degrees Celsius, or eighty degrees Fahrenheit. Also, the air near the oceans surface must be filled with moisture. The seawater that is warmed by the heat from the sun evaporates to form vast storm clouds. As the warm air rises, the cooler air replaces it thus creating a wind. The rotation of the earth bends the wind inward causing it to rotate and spiral upward with a great amount of force. Around the Equator, the spin is the fastest. There, it can be faster than six hundred miles per hour. You cannot see a hurricane all at once, unless youre looking at it from above or are looking at a picture taken by a satellite, because it is too large. The whirling mass, shaped like a donut, can be two hundred to six hundred miles wide and forty thousand to fifty thousand feet high. Towns can be ripped from the land and small countries entirely devastated by the raging winds. The eye wall is a ring of fierce thunderstorms surrounding the center of a hurricane. As the air rushes toward the center, it becomes dense with water vapor. The vapor rapidly rises and condenses, forming towering thunderstorms. The rain fall is heaviest here. Within the eye wall, the winds are the strongest. They move around so fast that it is difficult to hear, see, and even breathe. While over the ocean, these winds can create waves that are taller than three story buildings. But while they are over land, they can tear apart homes, uproot trees, and cause an enormous amount of destruction. The eye of a hurr icane is the low-pressure region in the center. The size of the eye depends on the strength of the surrounding winds. Stronger winds wrap themselves more tightly around the eye so that it becomes smaller. The average eye of a hurricane is about twenty miles wide with an oval shape although they can be round, too. Even though the eye of a hurricane is calm and sunny, it can be dangerous. People are often fooled into thinking that the hurricane has passed. They come out of their homes or shelters and the fierce winds, wall of clouds, and downpour begins again. The other side of the storm arrives and it is as violent as it was before. When a tropical disturbance appears in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, or the Gulf of Mexico, the scientists at the National Hurricane Center are put on alert. Using weather satellites, they can find the exact location of the disturbance. Also, weather balloons equipped with measuring instruments are launched twice daily around the world to help de tect spot changes in temperature and water vapor in the atmosphere. When a disturbance grows and forms a tropical storm, meteorologists give it a name taken from a list of twenty-one common male and female names. They go down the list alphabetically, alternating with male and female names. A different list is used each year for six years at which point they are repeated. Once a storm causes severe damage, its name is removed from the list and is no longer in use. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 is an example of a hurricane name that is no longer in use, and so is Hugo in 1989 and Gilbert in 1988. Once the storm is named, hurricane hunters do the dangerous job of tracking it. .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706 , .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706 .postImageUrl , .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706 , .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706:hover , .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706:visited , .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706:active { border:0!important; } .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706:active , .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706 .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u5eef95f2ce330270c49eade446a99706:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Art Of Torture EssayNothing can divert a hurricane yet, however, meteorologists issue warnings so people in the path of a storm can evacuate the area or prepare themselves as much as possible. Strong sea defenses and hurricane shelters provide good protection.It can cost millions of dollars to evacuate an area, board homes and offices, close down businesses, and take other steps to prevent hurricane damage. If a storm doesnt arrive as predicted, people of that area are less likely to pay attention to the next hurricane warning. Scientists try to be as certain as they can about where and when a hurricane will strike before they issue watches and warnings. In the event t hat a hurricane does occur where you live, get an early start on evacuating the area. If you wait just a short amount of time, the roads and highways will be jammed with frantic people trying to reach safety. You should always listen and follow any given directions immediately. If you dont have to leave, put all the outside things that might blow away in a safe place such as lawn furniture, bicycles, and toys. Water mains can also break, so filling containers with drinking water is a good idea. Put enough to last several days. Once the storm arrives, stay inside and away from walls and windows that could collapse or be blown away. If it is during the night, have a flashlight near-by so that you can find your way around in case of a power failure. Dont use the telephone either unless its absolutely necessary. Many people may be trying to make emergency calls and the phone lines may be knocked down in some areas. Once, the All Clear is given on the radio or television by local officia ls, be careful if you have to go outside. Stay away from downed power poles, live wires, dangling tree branches, and broken water or sewer mains. Always be careful when a hurricane warning is called and dont joke around about it. dont forget to be safe and take all necessary precautions. Category: Science