William Gibson’s Neuromancer: the Creation of a Language :: Essays Papers

William Gibson’s Neuromancer: the Creation of a Language Published in 1984, Gibson’s Neuromancer, with its vision of technological and impersonal life in the twenty-first century, echoes George Orwell’s ironic commentary on the controlling and dehumanising bureaucracy associated with post-war society. Writing in an era when technological and scientific advances are increasingly prominent, often to the detriment of humanity, Gibson differs from other science fiction writers in that he uses existing contemporary themes and issues, forecasting a possible and believable future and simultaneously providing a commentary on late twentieth-century society which his audience can relate to. His version of this not-so-distant future stems from an observation of contemporary post-colonial society in which national identity is shown to be insignificant, as uniformity reigns supreme. Speaking of the influences on his fiction, he states: I see myself as a kind of literary collage-artist, and sf as a marketing framework that allows me to gleefully ransack the whole fat supermarket of 20th century cultural symbols (Maddox, Tom. â€Å"Cobra, She Said: An Interim Report on the Fiction of William Gibson.† Fantasy Review 4: April 1986, 46- 8). Through the novel Gibson was responsible for creating the terms â€Å"virtual reality† and â€Å"cyberspace†, and in an increasingly computer literate age these terms would be adopted by a generation of users, becoming an independent and universal language. Within the novel cyberspace is described as a consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphic representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. (Gibson, William. Neuromancer, 67). As technology has advanced with inventions such as the Internet and computer simulated images, the possibility of existing within this alternative world has become a reality. Therefore it can be argued that Gibson’s futuristic vision has in fact been realized, within a few years of the novel’s publication, and reinforces the view put forward by Maddox: â€Å"If the 20th century has a distinct narrative voice, this is it† (Maddox. Fantasy Review, 46-8). Gibson addresses global concerns with his depiction of advances in technology leading to the computer becoming an independent life form. Despite the intentions of those responsible for creating this technology, it is this artificial intelligence which triumphs at the end of the novel. Echoing the viewpoint of Jean Baudrillard, who believes that reality is shown to be irrelevant in contemporary society due primarily to technological advances, the simulated world of cyberspace is shown to offer individuals greater possibilities and rewards than the harsh reality ever could.

“Birthday Party” by Katherine Brush Essay

In the â€Å"Birthday Party,† Katherine Brush portrays what at first glance seems to be an innocent dinner between a happily married couple; however, when viewed closer is obviously a dinner gone wrong. Her use of metaphor, along with other literary devices, help show how things aren’t always as they seem. The story starts off in a happy, light-hearted manner, describing a charming married couple. The detail of the â€Å"round, self-satisfied face† of the man and the â€Å"fadingly pretty† woman help describe their attitudes and mannerisms. The â€Å"self-satisfied face† of the man gives off an impression of arrogance, which makes the reader dislike him. The woman on the other hand, pulls the reader in. Her â€Å"big hat† a metaphor for her big heart. The first paragraph is also where Brush introduces the growing contrast between big and little, which is carried on throughout the story. The â€Å"little narrow restaurant† in which the â€Å"unmistakably married† couple dined at conveys just how simple the date was suppose to be by emphasizing how little it was. Brush refers to the intimate atmosphere when she describes that the couple sat â€Å"opposite [of] us,† which makes the reader feel as if he/she were also in the narrow restaurant about to watch the scene unfold. The word â€Å"little† is repeated again when Brush depicts the â€Å"little surprise† the wife had set up for her husband to again touch upon how small the gesture was. The cake is portrayed to be â€Å"small but glossy,† which adds to the littleness of the surprise and how low key is was meant to be. Just a little reminder of her feelings towards her husband. When the orchestra played â€Å"happy birthday to you,† â€Å"the wife beamed with shy pride over her little surprise.† The wife beaming over her â€Å"little† surprise is paralleled with the â€Å"one pink candle burning† on the cake, representing the wife’s loneliness even though she is in a relationship. It is obvious that the wife’s â€Å"little surprise† was taken out of hand when the author explains that â€Å"help was needed† in order to calm the husband down. This conveys how mad he was, and how he didn’t appreciate his wife’s kind, little gesture for him. The author brings the intimate elements back around when she adds that â€Å"you looked at him, and you saw this and you thought.† The repetition of â€Å"you† emphasizes the intimate atmosphere, making the reader feel as if she/he were experiencing this with the onlooker. Everyone around them sensed the tension and the anger felt by the husband towards his wife. Brush uses cacophony when describing the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"quick and kurt and unkind† comment the husband made to his wife in order to show how bitter and angry the husband was. We see just how upset the wife is because, even after the bystander â€Å"waited for quite a long time† before looking, she was still crying. She cries â€Å"all to herself,† showing the loneliness â€Å"under the gay big brim of her best hat,† which is happily hiding her from the terrible remarks of her selfish, rude husband. The intimate mood of the restaurant is cut through with the harsh diction of Brush’s word choice and the nasty remarks made by the husband. The couple that seemed so perfect in the beginning is now torn apart and weeping. The simple surprise that the wife made is ruined leaving her feel lonely even though she is in a relationship.

How Laughter Benefits Our Health

It is a known fact that laughter is advantageous and useful to our health. Many specialists agree that laughter brings to numerous positive effects of psychological nature, and also it improves our physical condition. For example, according to a recent study of medical researchers from the University of Maryland, laughter helps to keep our facial muscles in tonus, lowers the risks of heart attack, improves our immune system, etc. Besides, it was discovered that laughter can play the role of an analgesic, relieve pains, increase pain tolerance threshold, and this effect is a psychological one, because no prove of a related chemical reaction was found (Reader’s Digest, 2005). At the same time, there are other psychological outcomes of laughter. Elisabeth Scott, a stress management and family therapy specialist, points on various positive effects of laughter as one of the most effective tools to control and manage our stresses. Those include opportunities to distract and to divert one’s attention from anger, depression, tension, or other distressing emotions to funny and joyful things, and this way to avoid possible harmful aftereffects of stresses. In addition, â€Å"..laughter provides a physical and emotional release,† it helps to relax, feel more comfortable and hopeful (Scott, 2007). Finally, laughter can be a good exercise to improve own self-perception and abilities to interact, because it helps us establish good contact and socialize more effectively. Undoubtedly, laughter is very healthy for human psychology and mind, because it helps to develop positive and enthusiastic disposition, forms optimistic perspectives, as well as stimulates good and cheerful mood. Specialists found out that young children laugh about 400 times a day, however, adult people laugh only about 17 times a day (Scott, 2007). That is why it is vital to incorporate into our daily routine more and more of good but controlled laughter, which will help to take this life less seriously and focus on positive or encouraging ideas. References Laugh Your Way to Good Health. (2005, September). Reader’s Digest. The Reader's Digest Association Inc. Retrieved January 19, 2008 Scott, E. (2007, November 7). The Stress Management and Health Benefits of Laughter. About. About Inc., The New York Times Company. Retrieved January 19, 2008, from ;http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/laughter.htm;.

The Legality of Use of Force against Iraq in 1991 and 2003 The WritePass Journal

The Legality of Use of Force against Iraq in 1991 and 2003 Abstract The Legality of Use of Force against Iraq in 1991 and 2003 . Jervis Ray ‘Cooperation under Security Dilemma’ (1978) 30 World Politics 167 Lublan Derrick‘Preventive War’ (2004) 32(3) Philosophy and Public Affairs 230 Michael Reisman‘Assessing Claims to Revise the Law of War’ (2010) 97 Murphy, Sean, ‘Assessing the Legality of Invading Iraq’ (2003) 4 Georgetown Law Journal 4 Nicholas Kralev, ‘Russia Vows Pre-emptive Terror Hits’ (2004)The Washington Times

5 Tips to Understand Hyphenated Words

5 Tips to Understand Hyphenated Words 5 Tips to Understand Hyphenated Words 5 Tips to Understand Hyphenated Words By Mark Nichol The complexity of rules about those little dashes that separate many words for various reasons causes so much misunderstanding that many writers just leave them out of the recipe or spill them randomly into the mixing bowl. But your compositional cuisine need not be so undisciplined. The rules may seem complicated at first, but soon you’ll be able to put hyphens in their place. 1. Adjectives Hyphenate two adjectives united to modify a noun: â€Å"a well-trained writer.† But do so only before the noun: â€Å"a writer who is well trained.† Keep in mind, though, a convention that has arisen in which permanent open compounds, words that have been bonded together to form perpetual concepts, like â€Å"income tax† or â€Å"ice cream,† don’t take a hyphen even in phrases like â€Å"income tax records† and â€Å"ice cream cone.† How do you know which compounds have bonded and which remain free agents? If an open compound is listed in the dictionary, it’s permanent. 2. Adverbs But notice that these rules apply to adjectives but not to a similar-looking class of words; adverbs ending in â€Å"-ly† aren’t hyphenated to the verbs they modify: â€Å"a brightly colored shirt,† â€Å"a quickly memorized poem.† But most other adverbs are (â€Å"little-known fact,† â€Å"best-kept secret†); compounds with â€Å"least,† â€Å"less,† â€Å"most,† and â€Å"more† are exceptions. 3. Nouns Nouns are usually compounded, too, of course (â€Å"footstep,† â€Å"mountaintop†) but some, like â€Å"life-form† and â€Å"mind-set,† resist the closure that most of their like have accepted. Compounds that can be used as verbs and nouns alike differ in that the former are often hyphenated (â€Å"I had to jump-start his car†) and the latter aren’t (â€Å"He asked me for a jump start†). Another example is â€Å"fast track†: â€Å"We fast-tracked the project,† but â€Å"It’s on the fast track.†) 4. Multiword Coumpounds Multiword compounds like â€Å"right-of-way,† â€Å"back-to-back,† and â€Å"up-to-date† always include hyphens. Beware, though: â€Å"Head to toe,† although a common expression, does not appear in the dictionary with or without hyphens, so omit them (unless the phrase modifies a noun: â€Å"a head-to-toe inspection†). Familiar word strings that modify nouns are usually hyphenated before and after: â€Å"next-to-last person in line,† â€Å"the reply was matter-of-fact.† 5. Confusing Words Some words in which you wouldn’t expect a hyphen to persist remain to avoid confusion with a similar word with a different meaning (â€Å"re-cover,† as opposed to â€Å"recover†; â€Å"re-creation† instead of â€Å"recreation†). Had enough? We haven’t even covered every hyphen rule yet, but I’ll save some for later. The bottom line about this floating line, though, is: â€Å"When in doubt, look it up.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Greek Words You Should Know75 Synonyms for â€Å"Talk†10 Tips About How to Write a Caption

SAB 310 UNIT 1 DICUSS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SAB 310 UNIT 1 DICUSS - Essay Example On the other hand, in October 1987 one of the most vocal religious speakers Jerry Falwell praised an athlete Kevin Edwards; a praise that led the congregation cheer (Rader, 2008). Today, Americans participate in the Super Sunday termed as the country’s biggest religious holiday. Such a revolution has brought about pros and cons of hosting sporting events on Sunday. Most games played on the Lord’s Day reflect devotion to sports and faith through deeply spiritual themes. Through hosting sporting events on Sunday like the Super Bowl, the non-observant persons cram in for spectacle. Event elements such as event fighter jet flyovers, national anthem, and awards integrate a liturgy that brings participants together. The event ends into a festal offering. Sunday sporting events offer convergence for sports, and politics, reuniting all aspects of social life. As a result, more revenue is raised from Sunday hosted sports. The Super Bowl has continued to get bigger and bigger each year banqueted with elaborate and well-articulated food traditions as well as broadcast reaching most people. Religious aspect of football is substituting the deteriorating religious practices and social engagements. It is noted that for two decades, the number of people attending religious services on Sunday has been declining while those attending Sunday sports increase. A steep and steady decline in civic engagement continues to increase. American sports history indicate a fervent revolution turning sports into a religion. The spirit driving the importance of sports in the contemporary American culture depicts sports as a religion. Marin Marty’s definition of an atheist as one who does not care about the outcome of a football match. This implies that Sunday sports will continue to be beneficial in the sport

Equity and Trusts Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Equity and Trusts Law - Essay Example The researcher states that a will is normally made in the presence of two witnesses who are not beneficiaries of the will. In a situation where the witnesses become beneficiaries, the will can be contested and invalidated under court’s guidance. After making the entire necessary directive, the testator should append their signature at the end of the will to indicate that everything else above the signature should be followed to the latter. If a clause or any kind of statement is made under the signature, such is considered null and void and cannot be implemented by the court. On 2nd January a one Mr. Clive made a will bequeathing Jamie and Muhammad  £100,000 absolutely. He also bequeathed his sister  £ 50, 000 indicating that he had communicated to her the purpose of this amount. A day before he made the will he had explained to Muhammad that he wished that the  £100,000 be held in trust for Ruth an old friend of his. He, later on, informed Karen that he had an illegitim ate child named Katherine whom he wanted to be taken care of after he was gone. He asked Karen to be his administrator and Karen Obliged. The law of equity states that equity seeks to deliver justice and not in halves. This means that where there is a need for justice such will be given; no more or less. The courts have been noted over the years to strictly observe the wishes of a dead man more than those of greedy relatives left behind fighting for something they did not create or help in any way to create. Despite the fact that Katherine is an illegitimate child, the will left behind by his father is enough indication that the deceased wanted the child taken care of when they are going to. Mr. Clive’s will has not left any ground for a challenger to stand on in court and an attempt by the widow Jane to challenge the will might turn out tone a big undoing for the widow. Once a will has been made and parties have been allocated gifts or any other kind of inheritance, the only way to nullify such a will is by proving that the testator made the will under duress and or was not in the right frame of mind when he was making the will.