The Medieval Crusades: Launched to Spread Worship of Dionysus :: European Europe History

The Medieval Crusades: Launched to Spread Worship of Dionysus Although it is a popular notion that the crusades of the Eleventh through Thirteenth Century Europe were launched to spread Christianity, it is a seldom realized fact that they were actually launched to spread the worship of the Greek God Dionysus. While many fundamentalist radicals and even some historians who ought to know better will dispute this,it is,nevertheless,true. During the Middle Ages in Europe,there were a series of ten religious crusades launched over a period of three centuries.It is commonly believed that these were organized and carried out by Christian religious leaders to unite more territory under the red and white flag of their cherished religion. The fact that accounts of the Crusades were recorded as they are in the history books is due to the overwhelming influence exerted by overzealous religious leaders on historians of the day.It is an unfortunate fact that little remains of the historical representations of what actually happened. While the Church leaders of the day destroyed all written account of who initiated the ten Crusades and what really occurred in the course of these religious conquests,the true story of what happened survives to this day.High in the mountainous terrain of Northern Turkey exists a tribe of dedicated monks who,with their female counterparts,still engage in the rituals of Dionysean worship,just as they have for centuries in their mountaintop isolation. These are the chosen few who engage in the festivals of uncontrolled drinking and the shared group enjoyment of their female members characterizing their worship of this fun-loving God.It is to these few that practice not the self-denial of the Christian Church,but rather the indulgent,free-spirited way of the Dionysean following that the true story of the Crusades is known. While the historical accounts of the participants and the motives behind the Crusades are inaccurate,they do correctly identify the routes taken by the Crusaders.Their objective was to come up through Europe,eventually arriving in Turkey,staging festival after festival along their way,in much the same manner as the original followers of Dionysus did. After that,however,they planned to return through what is now the Soviet Republics,so as to avoid angry festival-goers recovering from the ill effects of excessive alcohol consumption and various social diseases contracted during the festivities.After the tenth Crusade,after numerous military encounters with opposing religious groups occupying various territories,they had arrived in Turkey. There,a tremendous celebration and public orgy was held,as this would be their final destination before returning home. Unfortunately,however,the group lingered too long and was overrun by unruly,hung-over citizens.The Dionysean company's chariots and wagons were burned,and they were forced to flee into the mountains of

Americas Violence Fixation Essay examples -- Media Violent Crime Essa

America's Violence Fixation One of America's biggest problems today is violence. It is happening everywhere, in the households, out on the streets, even in our schools. When we watch the news and see these acts of violence, we hear the blame be put to one thing: entertainment. Movies and video games are supposedly causing young people to behave aggressively in society, and maybe even compelling them to kill. Some even believe that video rental stores should have policies, such as always requiring an ID, and that some TV programs, movies, and games glorify guns and violence, as well as the guns themselves (center4policy.org). True, some films do portray murder and violence as justifiable; films such as Blade, in which the title character killed vampires in an effort to protect the human race, or The Matrix, where the main characters used violence to free humanity from an artificial intelligence. Video games also have a considerable amount of violence in them as well. The main idea of Grand Theft Auto, one of the more popular video games, is to overtake a city, even if it means using violence. Players are allowed a various array of weapons from baseball bats to machine guns to assist them in missions. Ratings are placed on games, this particular one is rated "M" for "Mature". Retail stores are to check ID of customers in order for them to purchase such games. However, that does not stop children from borrowing the games from others, or even having unsuspecting parents buying them. The question, however, is: "Is entertainment really the cause of violence?" I have been affected personally by the media's claim that entertainment causes violence. One morning on the news program Good Morning... ...at some people disagree with some forms and aspects of entertainment is perfectly fine; not everyone will agree with some of it. Trying to overthrow what the masses enjoy is a completely different matter. As a race, we forget freedom of speech; one voice always has to be louder than the other. Personally, in terms of "Grand Theft Auto", "Pokemon", and " Harry Potter", people purchase these because they enjoy them, they are entertained by them, why not just let them do their thing? I suppose those who point the finger at these live such clean, wholesome lives. The bottom line is: there are things that are popular, people will buy them, be entertained, have, fun, and it will pass. Let them enjoy it. Sources http://www.pegmusic.com/violence-in-amer.html http://www.center4policy.org/violencec.html http://www.davekopel.com/Media/Irmassag.htm

Destiny in Romeo and Juliet Essay

Shakespeare refers to Romeo and Juliet as â€Å"star-crossed lovers.† We can not deny the fact that they are ‘destined to be together,’ it is just something that the reader must accept. Fate is inevitable throughout the whole play; Shakespeare never gives readers an explanation as to why there is a feud between the Capulets and the Montagues, it is rather an undeniable aspect of the world of the play. The events surrounding the love affair of Romeo and Juliet are not merely coincidences, but rather all elements that will bring out the unavoidable outcome of the young lovers’ deaths. When fate begins to work its magic, the events of the play and the work of Shakespeare begins to unravel itself. The only reason Romeo decides to attend the Capulet’s ball is entirely in the hands of destiny. By chance, a young knave of the Capulet’s, who could not read himself, had asked Romeo to read an invitation list for the ball. Young Romeo was hopelessly I love with Rosaline at this time, and he attended the party only in hopes of seeing her. However, at the ball, Romeo falls in love with fair Juliet the moment he lays eyes on her. We can easily say that Romeo and Juliet were ’destined’ to meet and fall in love. After meeting Romeo that night, Juliet is talking to her nurse; ridiculously desperate and dramatic. She has not known man for more than three hours, yet she is hinting that she will die if she does not marry him; as given when she says, â€Å"If he be married my grave be my wedding bed.† Acts I and II will appear completely ironic to those who know of the events yet to come. Juliet continues to talk about how their love will kill him, â€Å"Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing,† this being one of the most ironic of quotes, as it turns out that their love is the actual cause of their deaths. Act III’s fighting scene is a crucial turning point in Romeo and Juliet. In the Elizabethan era, it was not unusual to find men fighting in the streets. Commonly, the culpable side would be sentenced to death or as Romeo believes worse, declared banished. The battle between Mercutio and Tybalt begins in the hot streets of Verona. Mercutio is killed, but before he dies he curses both families, â€Å"A plague o both your houses.† What he is trying to express, is that he wishes both families would just settle their hostile feud. Once Romeo realizes what has happened he seeks revenge and kills Tybalt. He then recognizes what he has done and what effect it will have on him, â€Å"I am fortune’s fool,† he acknowledges the fact that nothing will ever be the same again, â€Å"The day’s black fate on moe days doth depend, this but begins the woe others must end.† Romeo is banished. We are left wondering whether or not Romeo and Juliet would have stayed together if it had not been for Romeo acting upon anger and killing Tybalt. Romeo and Juliet is a drama that overflows with the best works of fate, and the characters seem to know it. Romeo refuses to accept what destiny has dealt him, â€Å"I defy you stars,† and Juliet constantly tempts her own fate, â€Å"Give me Romeo and when I shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars.† I believe the reason many people still enjoy this play is because of the passion the young lovers have for each other. They both recognize they can’t be together in life, so they come together in death. Romeo and Juliet remains one of William Shakespeare’s best pieces, about two â€Å"star-crossed lovers† whose lives were driven by fate.

Positive Psychological Effects on Exercise

â€Å"Positive Psychological Effects of Exercise† Kelsey Leavitt Thomas G. Plante, C. C. (2006, April 10). Psychological Benefits of Exercise Paired with Virtual Reality. Retrieved from http://web. ebscohost. com. ezproxy. tntech. edu/ehost/detail? vid=5&sid=2e69bd11-298b-4674-98ca8d42db4513b4%40sessionmgr110&hid=126&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=pdh&AN=2006-04110-006 Introduction Numerous studies showed that a daily routine of exercise made people live longer lives, had healthier bodies, and were in a more positive psychological state than the people who did not perform exercise as part of their lifestyle.Majority of my family members were overweight and I witnessed many psychological effects that took a toll on their bodies and interfered with their work routine and also their social life. On the other hand, when I reached a certain age in my life, I knew that I did not want to have the health problems some of my family members did and decided to make exercise part o f my daily routine to decrease the negative psychological effects that it could have had on myself.Many people used the excuse; I do not have time for exercise or I didn’t have any money for a gym membership. To me, this was just an excuse because anyone can take thirty minutes a day and go for a walk through the park or jog through the neighborhood, which cost no money at all. â€Å"Research demonstrated that individuals who exercised with others, that involved virtual reality stimulation, or getting feedback aimed at improved self efficiency and enjoyment, greater increase in stress reduction, mood, and well-being, and reduced anxiety and depression† (Plante 1).In the database I researched, a sample of 112 psychology students participated in a study designed to measure momentary mood states which included, energy, calmness, tension, and tiredness. The participants in the exercise experienced the lowest level of tiredness. Overall, â€Å"this study suggested that the combination of virtual reality and exercise improved some of the positive psychological effects of exercise compared with virtual reality or exercise alone† (Plante 1). Purpose The purpose of this article was to investigate the role of virtual reality on the psychological benefits of exercise.The article showed forty-seven male and sixty-five female psychology students who participated in a study and were asked to complete the AD-ACL questionnaire which measured state energy, calmness, tiredness, and tension. â€Å"It was predicted that when virtual reality was paired with exercise, it would positively influence the mood benefits of exercise† (Plante 1). Participants were then randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a twenty minute brisk outdoor walk, combined virtual reality with walking on a treadmill, and virtual reality without exercise condition. Among all participants, there were no significant effects on energy, calmness, or tiredness. However, there were significant effects for tension† (Plante 1). The results of this study were determined by running a series of sample t-tests, which concluded a p-value that clarified whether the test had a significant effect or a non-significant effect. I learned from my adaptive class, that having a p-value less than 0. 5 is significant and anything above that is non-significant, which is how I determined the results from reading the chart of scores from this study. The results suggested support from the hypotheses as virtual reality did boost positive mood benefits when paired with exercise† (Plante 1). As mentioned earlier, the exercise environment contributed to psychological benefits of exercise by affecting well-being, confidence, enjoyment, mood, and self-efficiency. Problem A quote that I like to live by stated, â€Å"One can talk the talk, but can one walk the walk†? I believe that this had a lot to do with the problems with exercise. Despite all the physical and psychol ogical benefits associated with exercise, exercise involved a risk of serious injury.Exercise related injuries consisted of pulled muscles, sprains, strains, fractures, and dislocations. Individuals that were out of shape, failed to wear correct shoes, or improper use of the exercise equipment were more likely to be injured during exercise. Another problem with exercise was obsession. Believe it or not, one can exercise too much, which caused more harm than good mentally. Excessively exercising can cause one’s body to burn out, which had an increased risk of injury.If an individual became obsessive about their appearance, it would lead them to poor self-esteem and developed into a bad attitude about the psychological purpose of exercise. Solution There were many ways for individuals of all ages and sizes to improve and help cope with the psychological problems of exercise. Wearing proper protective equipment, proper clothing and shoes, and even having a gym owner show you the proper way to use their exercise equipment are all ways that helped reduce the risk of injury involved with exercise today.Also, creation of a comfortable, proper daily exercise routine reduced the risk of an individual becoming burnt out or becoming obsessive with exercise. Lastly, another solution to the psychological effects of exercise is the production of endorphins. Endorphins are produced from exercise and have relieved pain, stress, and enhanced the immune system. Based off the research, the environment that an individual chose to exercise in helped with the psychological benefits of exercise as well.The results from this article demonstrated that indoor  exercises  were more relaxing. An indoor environment proved to be more calming because it was an enclosed and secure area, and there were minimal distractions. Furthermore, â€Å"our findings suggest that an individual's decision to workout indoors or outdoors could be influenced by whether he or she is attempted to r elax or energize† (Plante 1). For example, one chose to run outside in the morning to increase energy levels or one chose to run indoors in the evening to wind down and decrease tension before bed.

Dickens uses language Essay

When Mrs Gradgrind passes away in chapter nine, Dickens uses language to create sadness. Victorians loved sadness and tragedy in books and the portrayal of her death is done very emotionally. She is firstly described in the chapter as â€Å"helpless† and â€Å"feeble† to which the reader empathises with her. All people hate to see people they love and cherish grow old and weak and Dickens is brilliant in displaying the image of this. â€Å"The poor lady was nearer truth then she ever had been† This shows how Dickens disliked the utilitarian system, stating that Mrs Gradgrind’s nearest point of truth was on her death bed. As well as showing Dickens’s view, it also saddens the reader to know how close to death she is. On being told that â€Å"Lady Bounderby† had arrived, she retorted that â€Å"she had never called Bounderby by that name since he married Louisa† and that her choice of name for him was â€Å"J†. This will take the reader back to when she had no idea what to call him, and the memory is a nice one which again makes it sadder that she is dying. It also shows that she has not changed and is still the woman she used to be. She seems to â€Å"have no pulse†, but when Louisa kisses her hand, she can see â€Å"a thin thread of life† left in her. This description is again emotional as it shows how little life there is left in Mrs Gradgrind. Within the conversation between Louisa and her mother, Mrs Gradgrind often goes very â€Å"silent† for periods of time and has an â€Å"awful lull on her face, like one who was floating away on some great water† and â€Å"content to be carried down the stream†. This clever piece of descriptions meaning is that Mrs Gradgrind is slowly allowing herself to be carried into the â€Å"abyss† of death. But Louisa â€Å"recalls her† to ask what it was she wanted to speak to her about. The use of this river terminology is used again as Louisa again tries to stop her mother from â€Å"floating away†. Mrs Gradgrind is troubled because of what Louisa has not learned. She has learnt all the â€Å"ologies† from â€Å"day until night† but there is â€Å"something that her father missed,† She asked Louisa for a pen but â€Å"even the power of relentlessness had gone†. Even so, she â€Å"fancied that her request had been complied with and that the pen she could not have was held in her hand†. From this she began to â€Å"trace upon her wrappers†. It is very sad to see how Mrs Gradgrind is finally seeing the truth and wants Louisa too to see it but she cannot tell her and â€Å"the light that had always been so feeble and dim behind the weak transparency, went out† The figurative language used to describe both her weakness and death creates a solemn, melancholy surrounding and although she was never made to be a character the reader was so fond of, it is still saddening that she has passed away. It ends with a quote of religious terminology from the Psalm, Mrs Gradgrind â€Å"emerged from the shadow in which man walketh and disquieteth himself in vain†. This quote has a definite platonic reference to it as in Plato’s analogy of the cave, the prisoners who have seen shadows all their lives (which symbolise the visual world) needed to escape from the illusion created by their senses and find the truth. Throughout this section of the book, Mrs Gradgrind is said to be â€Å"closer to the truth then ever before† and â€Å"emerged from the shadow† so the Platonic reference is defiantly there. Mrs Sparsit resented Louisa from the moment she accepted the proposal from Mr Bounderby. It had been her plan all along to marry Mr Bounderby but this had been taken from her and her envy towards Louisa was immense. In chapter ten, Mrs Sparsit’s envy and grief are shown to be getting out of control and she, in her mind â€Å"erects a mighty staircase† that she believes Louisa to be on. At the bottom is a â€Å"dark pit of shame and ruin† and â€Å"down those stairs, from day to day and hour to hour, she saw Louisa coming†. Her physiological instability can be seen as she becomes obsessed with this ides, â€Å"it became the business of Mrs Sparsit’s life, to look up at her staircase, and to watch Louisa coming down†. If Louisa had once turned back, â€Å"it might have been the death of Mrs Sparsit in spleen and grief†. Mr Harthouse was a big part of this scheme, as he seemed to be â€Å"wooing† Louisa and the more time she spent with him, the closer she got to the bottom. â€Å"Mrs Sparsit had no intension of interrupting the descent† and was â€Å"eager to see it accomplished†. â€Å"She kept her wary gaze upon the stairs, and seldom so much as darkly shook her light mitten at the figure coming down. This scene does not bring sadness to the reader, but instead a certain amount of empathy to Louisa. She seems to be in the crossfire of everyone yet she is one of the most innocent of all. As she has rarely experienced emotions due to her â€Å"ology† filled bring up, she does not know how to react to Mr Harthouse who except in kindness as she believes he is being kind and honest to her. Yet his plan is to seduce her, and this is not out of love or passion, but to give him a challenge to fulfil. Mrs Sparsit wants her to fall into a pit of â€Å"shame and ruin† out of her own jealousy yet again, Louisa has no knowledge of this and has done nothing wrong to provoke it. There is a definite repetition throughout the chapter of Louisa’s â€Å"downfall† from the top to the bottom of the stairs which shows that, although patient, Mrs Sparsit is in no way stable and is becoming more and more addicted to this allegorical image in her mind. She watches Louisa like a hawk, waiting for her to make a mistake and get â€Å"nearer and nearer to the bottom†. In chapter twelve, Louisa goes home to seek her father. The chapter is bares huge turning points in the book as it marks the spark of emotion ignite in Louisa and Mr Gradgrind see the error of his system. The storm outside creates a pathetic fallacy with the mood inside the room. Louisa is described as â€Å"dishevelled†, â€Å"defiant† and â€Å"despairing† which is a shock as she has never had such vast emotive descriptions until then in the book. She first states to her father that â€Å"he has trained her from the cradle,† It is sad to see that she uses the word trained instead of loved or cherished as it makes her sound more like a dog then a daughter to him. She then bursts out with â€Å"I curse the hour in which I was born to such a destiny†. Her emotions have been unleashed and she is now angry, in despair and confused of what to do. She is dishevelled and has returned home to question her father on her life and its meaning. This is not sad for the reader, but it is very traumatising for Louisa which again creates empathy for her as she has finally realised the error in how she has been brought up. She asks him â€Å"Where are the graces of my soul? Where are the sentiments of my heart? What have you done O father, what have you done with the garden that should have bloomed once?† This metaphoric language shows her outburst of imagination and her exercise of â€Å"fancy†. She is asking him where is the love and emotion she does not have, and what he has done to stop her â€Å"strive against every natural prompting that has arisen in her heart†. Mr Gradgrind is â€Å"so unprepared† that he has difficulty answering and when he does, it is only to say â€Å"Yes, Louisa†. She goes on to say that she does not â€Å"reproach† him, as â€Å"what he has never nurtured in her, he has never nurtured in himself†. This creates a lot of respect and empathy for her as she is not condemning her father after all the years of no emotion and too much learning. It can be seen that this strive to teach him his errors is making an effect as he â€Å"bows his head upon his hand and groans aloud† and calls her â€Å"poor child†, realising the mistakes he has made. She asks him whether he would have â€Å"doomed her† to a life of loneliness or â€Å"robbed her† of how she should have been had he nurtured her differently if he could see how she would turn out. She then states that if he had ignored and hated her, how better off she might have been as she would have been â€Å"free†. She has been won over to the world of imagination and fancy. Throughout the chapter, he moves to support her as she is letting herself out and he actually begins to give her attention and love as a good father should. It is ironic that his child who he has taught his system to is the child who shows how insensible it really is. To conclude, Dickens uses language and dramatic disasters to create sadness throughout the second book. In 1854, the time at which the book was written, people loved romantic tragedy and trauma which the second book has with both Rachel and Stephan, and Mr Harthouse and Louisa. The death of Mrs Gradgrind is another tragedy which Dickens portrays well and is very emotional. He uses the metaphor of life as a river in which we all just drift down until the end and these uses of language as well as others he uses throughout the book are methods which Dickens uses to sadden the reader. The final scene in which Louisa lets out her emotions upon her father, condemning the day she was born and questioning his motives which lead her to be so dispassionate.

Catfish and Mandala

The American novelist Thomas Wolfe once wrote, â€Å"You can't go home again†. Andrew Pham proved that wrong. â€Å"Andrew X. Pham, who came to the United States when he was ten years old as a ‘boat person,' returned to Vietnam 20 years later on an extended bike trip in order to understand better his cultural identity† (Pearl 208). Despite the fact that Pham, like so many others of his generation, were forced to flee Vietnam, somehow they never lost the sense of identity with the homeland they only remembered as children. Pham, as an insightful writer, decided it was time for him to find out if there still exists a bridge between him as a Viet-American and his homeland. Pham travels to Vietnam to search for his roots in hopes to construct his identity. For Pham in the search of his identity he flies to Vietnam to ride his bike, and also to find his roots. As he first gets off the airplane he is already is immediately receiving dirty aware of others who looks at him disdainfully because he is a â€Å"viet-kieu† which means foreign Vietnamese. Then as he is at the baggage claim while retrieving his luggage, to his amazement he sees the workers tear up his bike that had been stuck in the claim belt. That hit a soft spot in him because that bike had been through so much with Pham. From then on his impressions of Vietnamese people were bad, He developed a negative impression of Vietnamese people and he automatically thought of them as a lower class persons than Americans human than he was. Pham in order to go back to his roots needs to humble himself as a true Vietnamese. Then he will understand his identity and appreciate his culture.

Accounting Information System in Companies in Australia Research Paper

Accounting Information System in Companies in Australia - Research Paper Example The increasing role of AIS in strategic decisions of companies has drawn the attention of management and researchers towards the role of AIS in companies. Toluyemi (1999) argues that accounting information is important for the management of an organisation just like any large stock holdings therefore, to make informed decisions through this information, it should be distinctively stored, updated, retrieved and disseminated. Shareia (2006) adopted a different approach and he studies the present and potential role of AIS in improving the developments in developing economies especially in Libya and he argues that to achieve the goal of developments in the countries like Libya, development and use of accounting information systems and assessment of the factors affecting them is important. Hall (2001 cited in Valdez, 2008) argues that accounting information system which is well organised will make everyday business relatively easier and more effective. Carlson and Parker (1998) emphasises on the importance of computerised accounting information systems in success of businesses and argues that average number of companies facing computer outage for ten years will never fully recover and fifty percent of them are out of business within five years. Sajady, Dastgir & Nejad (2008) studied the role of accounting information systems in companies listed on Tehran Stock Exchange and found that AIS improved internal controls, decision making, companies’ transactions and quality of financial reporting.