Last Samurai Review Essay Example for Free

Last Samurai Review Essay  « The last samurai  » is a compelling story of warfare, duty, and honour. It opens up in 1876 San Francisco; Tom Cruise plays the role of Nathan Algren, a former Captain whose participation to the military campaigns against the native Indians has left him scared with nightmares and remorse leaving alcohol as his only remedy. After being fired from the Winchester rifle company, he is recruited by Omura (Masato Harada) adviser of a weak-willed emperor, along with his former commanding officer whom he utmostly despises, Colonel Bagley (Tony Goldwyn) to train a conscript army to suppress the Samurai rebellion, who seem to threat the â€Å"modernization† of Japan. He once again finds himself having to wipe yet other tribal rebels. Algren is then captured by the forces of the legendary Kasumoto (Ken Watanabe) when he comes to realise he seems to have a spiritual affinity to them, soon adopting the Bushido code (The way of the warrior) and ends up fighting along side with them against his former troupes. As Algren spends his time in captivity, observing the people, watching them devote themselves to what they do, he starts to stop drinking and to shape up, and starts to be in harmony with himself after long years of self-loathing and remorse. He is eventually taught how to wield a sword like a true samurai, along with the Bushido code. Algren receives Yoda-like wisdom from Katsumoto â€Å" may the strength of the samurai be with you always† As time goes by, he starts to learn the Japanese language and is no longer seen as an enemy, when Katsumoto returns Algren’s personal belongings; he says â€Å"When I took these, you were my enemy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Algren is later faced with the difficult choice of going back to America, or staying to fight along side Katsumoto and face an almost certain death which he ends up choosing. He then along side the samurai go off to a last final battle as ‘savages with bows and arrows’ against the new western Japan with new riffl es and notably the Howitzers. This vividly recalls the guerrilla techniques of ‘Braveheart’ The Director Edward Zwick overcomes the problem of the language barrier ingeniously by having Katsumoto be a student of English preventing the movie from always being subtitled. Zick manages in an effective way in bridging the gap between today and the 1870 with great success. Edward Zwick may be one of the most underrated filmmakers within Hollywood. â€Å"The last samurai† is amazing to look at, with astonishingly beautiful landscape and scenery. The battle sequences in particular are very effective well captured, the editor (Steven Rosenblum) does not employ too many cuts making it clear and therefore much stronger. Hans Zimmer (Music composer) does an excellent job with the music enhancing the mood without it becoming too unbearable. If there was something to reproach to â€Å"the last samurai† it would be that the story is not of the most orginal, resembling strongly to Edward Zwicks fromer movie Glory, and Mel Gibson’s Braveheart, but â€Å"The last samurai’ is never the less a rousing tale that combines adventure with emotional effectiveness and differentiates itself from other movies with the astonishing good acting of both Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe. Tom cruise has never shown such emotional depth, he is so fercociously present as a character. Every emotion, even every thought can be read across his face. He truly gives life to Algren, he truly looks genuinely stricken by his past, haunted even. Although Tom Cruise is â€Å"The Last Samurai† undeniable star and main character, Ken Watanabe’s performance is even more memorable, persuasive, and above all breathtaking. Watanabe channels Mifune so forcefully that’s its hard, even impossible seeing anyone else then him to do a better job as Katsumoto. He brings out everything we could expect from a great leader: strength, courage, patience, the ability to dominate a fight, and most importantly, honour. Watanabe’s work dominates and outstands Cruise’s. The beautiful, graceful and discreet Taka (played by Koyoki) plays the husband of one if the man Cruise kills and eventually have the love of Cruise and vice versa. The strong Ujio (Hiroyuki Sanada) is a fierce warrior who objects to Katsumoto’s will of keeping Algren alive. Simon Graham (Timothy Spall) is a British photojournalist who speaks somewhat Japanese. Finally Colonel Bagley ( Tony Goldwyn) who also fits his role like a T. â€Å"The last samurai† is a movie you can watch from two important aspects; the story, or People can choose to look at â€Å"The last Samurai† from two different aspects You can watch â€Å"the last samurai† in two different ways. Either you can choose to ignore the messages or the story’s true meaning, concentrating only on the small imperfections, or you can choose to watch the movie’s story depth, admire the gorgeous landscape and scenery, the breathtaking characters, thrilling battles, and the beautiful moral values through the sacrifice of Samurai’s for â€Å"what seems to have become a forgotten word: Honour†. â€Å"The last Samurai† reminds us all of what true honour devotion and duty truly are through a truly inspiring movie.

Baderman Island Family Vacations Essay Example for Free

Baderman Island Family Vacations Essay Baderman Island Family Vacations: Advertising, Creative, and Media Strategies Advertising not only works but is often unmatched in its capacity to reach major audiences, build brand awareness and personality, as well as stimulate curiosity and desire. But, more than ever, companies today [in this very competitive environment] need the right creative messages and media choices in an effort to break through the â€Å"noise† in order to get noticed, and therefore, remembered. This paper will outline Baderman Island’s Family Vacations advertising plan, further expanding on creative decisions and effective media strategies in an effort to increase market share. Baderman Island Family Vacations Analysis Family getaways are one of the top reasons that guests stay at Baderman Island, regardless of whether the stay is a seven day excursion or a weekend family reunion. With so many activities to choose from such as: boat rentals, water skiing, snorkeling, scuba diving, tennis, golf, five secluded beaches, Oasis Spa, and gallery touring there is truly something for everyone in the family to enjoy, not to mention all the activities on the island are appropriate for visitors of all ages. The many unique selling points of Baderman Island Family Vacations consist of the island being self contained, all-inclusive, hosting an array of restaurants, three different hotels, and unlimited activities to entertain and relax all guests. Currently, the marketing situation consists of a website that is an excellent tool for attracting guests and showing them all the perks of the island through pictures and blogs. The blog is a new advancement to the website, but should prove to attract positively more guests through the testimonials of previous visitors. Target Audience The target audience for Baderman Island is the typical â€Å"family vacationers† who are looking for a resort that offers a variety of activities without having to leave the premises. These families will consist of parents with at least one child. The target family will be the family who consists of two adults within the household with at â€Å"least† 2-3 children to help maximize profits. All races, ethnicities and cultures are welcome. The target market will be an adult who enjoy warm weather vacations with family, spending quality time with each other enjoying activities and who have a love for the beach and fine art. The target audience will also consist of consumers who fall within the lower to middle class and above demographics searching for a family destination that does not require leaving the United States (U.  S. ). Not all families can afford the cost of securing passports and expensive air travel to the Caribbean. Creative Strategies A creative strategy is important to the overall execution of an advertising campaign. Team C will use a â€Å"positioning† approach as its creative strategy. In this approach Baderman Island will be clearly defined as the number one â€Å"all inclusive† destination for family travel. Brand image approach will also be incorporated into the strategy. This will help consumers correlate the Baderman Island brand as a top notch, high quality destination. This approach will be accomplish by using an easy to remember slogan, such as â€Å"Baderman Island Family Vacations, the Finest Place to Reconnect,† as well as further using the ever popular slogan, â€Å"Relax, Enjoy, Indulge. † Increased emphasis will be placed on marketing the concept that Baderman Island is a unique destination specializing in family activities. This will enable Baderman Island to distinguish themselves from other competitive resorts in the marketplace. All creative advertisement associated with the resort will be colorful and eye catching; it will feature pictures that depict happy families vacationing and spending time together, further providing a visual of what family vacationing could be for the potential customer. On radio spots sound bites will be used of customer testimonials of how happy they were when they vacationed on the island. TV ads will also depict families enjoying themselves on the beach, playing golf, in the spa, visiting the museums and art galleries, and participating in the many sports activities offered on the island. The television ads will also highlight the many pricing plans and payment options where applicable. Positioning Statement Baderman Island’s positioning concept will explain that Baderman Island Family Vacations is for vacationers with families who are seeking a luxury resort â€Å"experience† to reenergize from their busy lives and reconnect with family and friends, and that Baderman Island Family Resorts is one of the most luxurious destinations in the world. The island offers four star accommodations that highlight a world-class spa featuring a full range of treatments designed around the resort’s natural springs, sophisticated purpose-designed meeting facilities, and an assortment of other amenities all delivered with a high level of personalized service (University of Phoenix, 2008). All of this is made available on this self-contained, all-inclusive resort island that is surrounded by the beautiful Kelsey River. Golfing, fishing, spa facilities, museum excursions and a beautiful beach are all available to vacationers of this island. Message Platform Baderman’s message platform is to develop Baderman’s brand and when potential guest see the logo, they will envision the beautiful crystal clear waters, which symbolizes peacefulness as well as relaxation. Presently, Baderman Island is expanding the brand on the 1,600 acres of land they own. 750 acres are operational. See map below. (University of Phoenix, 2008). In an effort to increase brand recognition Baderman Island will rely heavily on word-of-mouth marketing. The expectation will be that satisfied guest will continuously sell the brand for the resort while Baderman Island continues to make capital improvements. Once the Baderman Island’s guest vacation experience is over and they leave, the hope is that they will tell their friends about the wonderful experience during their stay. Word-of-mouth advertising is one of the most effective advertising vehicles when feedback is 100% positive. Baderman Island will strive to be the number one vacationing spot. Baderman Island will be well known for the following attributes: Owning an island, which exclusively promotes their brand, and having facilities that offer excellent customer service. Baderman Island makes a point of listening to guests who have enjoyed previous stays and will continue to develop innovative ideas that include customer feedback on how to improve future stays. Media Strategies and Objectives Print media is one of the most efficient ways to reach potential customers. For example, magazines are a medium that has a number of special-interest publications segments that can reach Baderman target audience (Wisconsin Department of Tourism, 2009). As a result, print ads, billboards, and brochures will be Baderman Island’s priority media vehicles of choice. Baderman Island will also use a number of advertising campaigns which will run a variation of television commercials, all emphasizing family fun. An additional strategy that Baderman will use in order to develop a relationship with potential guests is through the use of [developing] creative brochures which will assist with enticing guest towards booking a vacation on Baderman’s Island property. After all, they are inquiring about Baderman’s vacationing experience, so brochures will bring Baderman’s Island Vacations upfront and personal to future guest. Guests will be able to look at full color ads while reading a wealth of information regarding services, pricing plans, recreation packages, spa schedules and a host of activities used to keep children occupied during the day. The objective is to have future guest pick-up and carry brochures with them so they can view the material at their leisure and share it with family and friends. Baderman will capitalize on the idea that the brochure is portable which gives the upper hand rather then relying on guest to remember a 60 second commercial. Lastly, radio air time will also be explored as a media option. There are seven times as many radio stations as television stations in the U. S. (Wisconsin Department of Tourism, 2009) therefore; this is a medium that Baderman will seek to explore with the assistance of a limited-service agency. Strategy RationaleThe rationale behind the creative strategies and campaign message is to ensure that Baderman Island Vacations stands out over the competition. Creating the easy to remember message of â€Å"Baderman Island Family Vacations, the Finest Place to Reconnect,† will capture the image of Balderman Island at its fullest. In addition, using vibrant colors within ads and â€Å"real† people will not only be an eye catcher, but also illustrates the fun side of Balderman Island. Using photos of smiling and happy families doing fun activities together as part of advertisement features will say it all. Baderman Island will use similar stock photos in all advertisements. By placing the emphasis on â€Å"family† the brand image that Baderman Island will be known for will be something that both existing and potential customers will relate too. The resort will also seek to create a feeling of nostalgia where people who see the billboards, magazines, website, or hear radio advertisements will wish and want to experience what Baderman Island offers. An addition strategy will be to choose air time during busy traffic hours to advertise services. What better time to dream being somewhere else than when a person is stuck in a traffic jam. As a family resort, Baderman Island believes in getting and giving the best. As customers, Baderman personnel staff expects the best on both products and services from providers, and it is only right that the resort gives the same respect, treatment and consideration to their customers. Baderman Island stands on the priority objective of treating customers â€Å"just like family. †Supportive ResourcesAlthough many companies have opted towards using outside advertising agencies exclusively for assistance with creative ideas, Balderman Island prefers to do it themselves. Baderman Island’s in-house creative teams provide a range of services depending on the resorts needs and are familiar with the resorts rich history and many products and services. The in-house team is also better equipped to handle adhoc problems regarding advertisements within a timely manner. Keeping creative development in-house will provide the resort more control with lower risks of having proprietary confidential information leaking into the wrong hands, also keeping in mind that external agencies have other clients to assist. In addition to risk management, in-house creative resources for creative support make it easier to coordinate and have a more â€Å"personal† touch with the service versus an outside agency. In addition to in-house support Baderman Island will seek advice from limited-services agencies which specializes in one aspect of creative process; usually providing creative production work or the purchase of media space (Wisconsin Department of Tourism, 2008). A limited-services agency will be used in order to coordinate radio air time and in some instances magazine space. ConclusionAs stated earlier, Baderman Island Family Vacations is striving to continue to compete in a very competitive environment. With the consistent advertising message, â€Å"Baderman Island Family Vacations, the Finest Place to Reconnect,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Baderman will further expand on that message by building upon a media strategy that emphasis family, fun, relationships, and value. Therefore, a media strategy that focuses on â€Å"awareness advertising,† where the attempts to build Baderman Island’s image and familiarity with the resort brand and excellent services will be their ticket towards marketing success. Baderman Island is confident that by using multi-media vehicles of print ads, billboards, brochures, television commercials, and radio spots their target audience will be effectively reached. Six months post campaign launch, Baderman will evaluate their advertising effectiveness through monitoring and post-evaluation tools and re-evaluate their marketing plan accordingly based on results.

Separation Between Church And State

Separation Between Church And State The concept of separation between the church and state refers to the strained relationship distance between organized religion and the nation state. The relationship between the Church and feudal state in the medieval era went through a series of developments, round about the end of Roman Empire down to the birth of Reformation. The Western world is shaped due to the struggle for power between the kings and Popes. With the idea of divine right monarchs ruled for centuries. Monarch began to use this to support the notion that king to rule not only his kingdom but also the churches within the kingdoms boundaries such notion can be known as caesaropapism. On the other hand, the catholic doctrine stating the Pope being the Vicar of Christ in earth is to have absolute power over the Church and also secondary over the state. Furthermore, the relationship between Church and State can be related as the institutional form of the relation between religion and politics(Answers). Due to this com plication, Church and State has been a remarkable concern of the Western and Christian. This is not only because Western secularization has desired a limit of powers that is to belong to the religious authorities, though its origins sprung form an earlier period, during the advancement of separate Church and State institutions in Christendom which were natural rivals to a level which was incomprehensible in the sphere of other well-known religions. Thus the conflict between Emperor and Pope was an important feature to Europe in the middle Ages of politics also during the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth century the rivalry between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines was one of the greatest contest in Italian politics. Western society therefore has a great past of conflict between Church and State, which has helped advance the movement in anticlerical and secular spheres. Countless modern states and parties embrace the separation of Church and State, but a suspicion has often been att ached to predominantly Protestant countries Catholic politicians, such as John F. Kennedy, that they are, whatever they may say, religiously committed to extending the influence of their Church over the State.(Cambridge University) In ancient civilizations the segregation of political and religious orders was not given meaning. With the occurrence of Christianity, the concept of two separate orders emerged, on the bases of Jesuss command to Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesars, and to God what belongs to God (Mark 12:17). The intense union of religion and politics, nevertheless, proceeded even after the victory of Christianity as emperors such as Constantine who exercised authority amongst both church and state. During the premature Middle Ages secular rulers claimed to rule by Gods grace, and later in the Middle Ages popes and emperors fought for global supremacy. During the Investiture Controversy the church clearly established distinct and separate secular and religious orders, which lead to the so-called papal monarchy foundation. The Reformation greatly weakened papal authority, and the pendulum swung toward the state, in addition many monarchs demanding to rule both the church and state by divine ri ght. Enlightenment thinkers, as evinced in the U.S and post-revolutionary France, influenced the concept of secular government. In Western Europe today all states protect and maintain freedom of worship along with the distinction between religious and civil authorities. However, during the Middle ages the Pope claimed the right to overthrow the Catholic Kings of Western Europe and often exercise these rights, because the kings where taking control over the churches in their border which turned out successfully sometimes and sometimes not, such cases were with Henry VIII of England and Henry III of Navarre. In the West, the matter of separation of church and state during the medieval period focused on monarchs who ruled in the secular sphere but violated the churchs rule of the spiritual sphere. For example, in 1530s Henry VIII, angered by the Catholic Churchs refusal to annual his marriage with his wife Catherine of Aragon, resolved to break with the Church thereby setting himself as the ruler of the new church of England; the Anglican Church, thereby ending the separation that had existed between Church and State in England. Of the many remarkable structural and ideological changes that have taken place in the European history, the French revolution renders an essential social shift in the relations between the people and the church as prosperous partner with the state. By discussing how the French Revolution produced a dramatic and structural restrain in the relation of the Church to the state, I do not intend to propose that the revolution ended in a complete separation of the church and state. It does, nevertheless, the contribution to the diminishing role of the Church in state and in public affairs are indicated by important factors such as the role of the nation-state has diminished. In early modern Europe, the churchs power over people was reduced by the birth of the sovereign state. In the role of religion in regards to a state, theres no doubt in mind that civil liberties for all citizens and the full protection of human rights can be endangered by religion. For instance, the rights of non-believers and supporters of other religions the right of homosexuals along with the rights of women, at the most basic level, this is mostly an issue of tolerance, we should not impose their moral values, beliefs, and practices on others if such people dont inflict harm, even if we think people act immorally from their religious point of view and neither should we draw a distinction among people when they think speak or act in ways that are conflicting with our own beliefs. But the problem goes beyond the level of relations between citizens. The question about the proper role and place of religion in a state isnt restricted to the dilemma of how we act toward each other in our daily lives. In a democratic state, the people interpret their beliefs in government policy and legi slation. Hence, I wonder to what extend people can use their religious beliefs as basis or reason for legislation. Religion appears in liberal theory first and foremost as an occasion for neutrality and tolerance. The initiation is supplemented by both the categorization of religion as essentially as a private issue and the belief that religion is in some sense survival from an earlier era not a field of vital growth within modernity. We should see religious internationalism both under the problematic structure of colonial and postcolonial missionary work and in the engagements shaped by Vatican II, peace movement and liberation theology.(Burleigh) To summarize all, the proper role of religion in a state is based on individuals and their distinctive religious beliefs and faith. It has become a stock phrase that the spread of modernity throughout the industrial west and much of the world beyond has developed a system of secular nation-states that actively promote science but refrain the advancement of religion. This idea is much in line with contemporary controversy over globalization, postmodernism, human rights and church-state relations. Yet the growing recognition that science is a cultural and social product would seem to weaken the asymmetry between religion and science upon which this modern notion of the state rests . Observers of politics in the early modern era took it for granted that a state conscious of its own interest would or at least out to guide the religious behavior of its subject. Until recently, similar hypothesis about the importance of state policy in religious activities have informed historical writing about Europes protestant and catholic reformation. But scholars of the last four decades or so has made it vivid that one cannot ima gine the religious life of the people as simply decided for by their rulers. The modern state advanced toward a concept of secularism, whereby a state or country purports to be officially neutral in matter of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. Most modern states claim to treat all its citizens equally regardless of religion, and claims to avoid preferential treatment for a citizen from a particular religion or non-religion over other religions or non-religion. Secular states become secular either upon establishment of the state or upon secularization of state, for example Frances religious monopoly was politically challenged by secular institutions, which lead to the comprehensive victory of secularism. Historically, the process of secularizing a state typically involves granting religious freedom, disestablishing state religions, stopping pubic funds to be used for religion, freeing the legal system from religious control, freeing up the education system, tolerat ing citizens who change religion or abstain form religion, and allowing political leadership to come to power regardless of religious beliefs. Many states of nowadays are secular in practice may have legal mark of an earlier established religion. Secularism also has various forms that may coincide with some magnitude of official religiosity. Thus, in the Commonwealth Realms, the head of state is required to take a Coronation Oath swearing to sustain the Protestant faith. The United Kingdom also retains positions in its upper house for 26 senior clergymen of the prominent Church of England known as the Lords Spiritual. While Scotland is part of the United Kingdom the Scottish Parliament proclaimed Scotland a secular state but conserves the religious monarch. The reverse sequence can also occurs, a state can go from being secular to a religious state as in the case of Iran where the secularized state of the Pahlavi dynasts was replaced by the Islamic Republic. Over the last few decade s, there has been a trend towards secularism. In the modern period, the separation of the church and state and the exercise of secularization have brought about a movement away form folk pattern of ordered religion. Migration of ethnic groups as an end result of colonial expansion, the rise of modern capitalism and individualism have also brought about a much greater recognition of the multi-cultural nature of society and a significance upon personal choice with respect to the issue of religious affiliation. One consequence of thee western world has been the tendency to convince religion as importantly a private rather than a pubic matter.

Making Money the Easy Way :: essays research papers

Slavery has been a very sensitive, touchy subject since, and even before, its abolition in 1865. There is no doubt whatsoever that its one, if not the, worst things to ever take place in the United States. However, this happened a long, long time ago in a different generation. The ancestors of those who were slaves have every right to be angry about what happened, but to try and claim money for it is absurd. Granted it was wrong, it was the way of life in those times. Wealthy white men owned slaves in those days. Paying back these slaves ancestors would not change anything. What’s done is done. Also there are many other needs in this country that this money could help greatly. Doing this would stir up more tension than there already is now. The fact that the country is paying back American Indians and Japanese-Americans is hard to comprehend. These people are being greedy only using their ancestors as an excuse to get their hands on some quick cash.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The world is an ever changing place with new customs, beliefs, and ideas being thought up every day. Times change, and people change. In the 1700’s and the 1800’s it was custom for the rich, white plantation owners to have slaves. As we look back now it is obvious to us that it was wrong but that is the way is was then. There was no law banning it. Think about alcohol. It is bad and causes bad things to happen sometimes, but its legal. So in 100 years will the government give money to anybody who was harmed due to alcohol? The same thing goes for cigarettes. One day down the road people will realize what alcohol and cigarettes do and they may ban them. The world evolves everyday and everyone uses the lessons they learned from past generations in order to fit in well with society and live life to the fullest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What does giving slaves ancestors money solve? Nothing. Slavery took place hundreds of years ago and paying back families does not make anything right. There is nothing that can be done to make what happened better. Paying reparations will not free the slaves. Anyone who is trying to collect reparations is a selfish fool who cares nothing about making things right, they just want money. Paying them back still would not make them feel better about slavery.

If Animals Were Human :: Pets Love Family Essays

If Animals Were Human Going home on the weekends, automatically the family is happy you’re home, having been gone for so long. Mom is prepared to fix a hot, home cooked meal, dad has a project for you and him ready to go, and the sister is anxious to tell you about her life in high school and get her big sibling’s advice. The one who is often forgotten is the dog. The most faithful one, who is most anxious to see you, stands in the yard jumping up and down, barking, and running, starving for attention. He is forgotten in the sense that you notice him when he barks, when he nudges your hand to be pet, or doing something too distracting or agitating. Even then, he is let outside when he barks, he gets pet for a little while when he nudges your hand, only until you become bored with him, and when he becomes a distraction he is told to go away and lie down. When the dog experiences these things, the dog constructs feelings within him. Of course, the dog has feelings, but it’s never taken into consideration how deep they are. This notion is presented in the excerpt, â€Å"Am I Blue?† by Alice Walker. (Forest of Voices) In the beginning, she rents a house, which has neighbors within the view of her front windows. The neighbors have a beautiful horse in the meadow behind the house and Alice watches, during the day, this beautiful creature they call, Blue. She notices that the children there pay little attention to the horse, riding him hard for 15 minutes or so and then simply becoming bored and going back into their house to disappear for another month or so. Alice goes to see the horse and befriends it by feeding it apples. At first he liked the apples because it was a good treat while the grass was becoming dry because of the season. Then the horse came to expect the apples. Blue would wait by the fence, signaling by stomping or whinnying, for someone to come and give him an apple. All the while, when she was feeding Blue the apples she was befriending the horse. Not only did the horse like the apples, but also he liked the attention, which is sometimes hard to comprehend when you think of

The Role of Polyglutamine Expansions in Huntington’s Disease Essay

‘Huntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by personality changes, motor impairment and subcortical dementia. It is associated with a selective neuronal cell death occurring primarily in the cortex and striatum.’ (Scherzinger et al, 1997). HD causes emotional problems, uncontrolled movements and the loss of thinking ability. It can lead to disability and death from the illness. There are two forms of this disease: adult-onset and early-onset (juvenile). Adult onset is by the far most common for HD; symptoms develop at mid 30s/40s, an individual will live an average of 20 years after symptoms and signs begin. Premature signs and symptoms are depression, involuntary movements, trouble learning new information, poor coordination and balance; this can all progress very severely. When HD develops into twitching or jerking this is referred as Chorea. HD can be referred to Huntington Chorea. ‘HD usually has a mid-life onset, but a juvenile form, defined by onset of symptoms before the age of 21 years, is present in about 7% of HD cases.’ (Nance, 2001) It has similar symptoms however the disease progresses more quickly than adult onset form. Gente (1985) results showed findings by others, that the most juvenile-onset patients inherit the gene from their fathers and that the late-onset form is more frequently inherited from affected mothers. ‘The disorder is caused by CAG/polyglutamine (poly Q) repeat expansions in the first exon of a gene encoding a large ~350 kDa protein of unknown function.’ (Scherzinger et al, 1997) Zhang et al state that due to the expansion of polyQ repeats within the protein causes neurodegenerative disease. Expansion of CAG repeats coding f... ..., C. and Bates, G, P. (2004). Huntingtin and the molecular pathogenesis of Huntington’s disease. EMBO reports 5. 958-963 Nance, M, A. and Myers, R, H. (2001) Panov, A, V., Gutekunst, C., Leavitt, B, R., Hayden, M, R., Burke, J, R., Strittmatter, W, J. And Greenamyre, J, T. (2002) Early mitochondrial calcium defects in Huntington’s Disease are a direct effect of Polyglutamines. Nature neuroscience. Volume 5 no 8 Ross, C, A. (2002). Polyglutamine Pathogenesis: Emergence of Unifying Mechanism for Huntington’s Disease and Related Disorders. Neuron, Vol. 35,819-822. Scherzinger, E., Lurz, R., Turmaine, M., Mangiarini, L., Hollenbach, Birgit., Hasenbank, R., Bates, G, P., Davies, S, W., Lehrach, H and Wanker, E, E. (1997). Huntington-Encoded Polyglutamine Expansions Form Amyloid-like Protein Aggregates In Vitro and In Vivo. Cell, Vol.90, 549-558. Zhang,

Honour & Shame Essay

One Sunday morning I was driving my children back from their regular soccer game. It was a warm summer day, sun shining ever so brightly, making the uneven town picturesque. As I drove along in my Holden with rigid brown seats and the windscreen wipers that didn’t work, I looked over to my sixteen year old daughter sitting next to menodding and shaking her head rhythmically to, in her words, ‘legendary’ music band One Direction. An image of Asreen flashed through my mind†¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Kiran?† the voice on my mobile phone was barely more than a whisper. â€Å"Kiran? Is that you?† .The train ride back home was a typical for Friday eveningIt was very busy Friday evening train ride back from work, â€Å"Are you able to speak up a little?† I asked, raising my own voice overagainst loud chatterschatters from fellow passengers and rattling noise from the train. â€Å"I found your number in Indus Age, My – † the line went suddenly went dead. Indus Age is a local monthly newspaper. iIt has largest circulation to Indian and South East Asian community in the country. I was interviewed a week ago concerning about my plight with honour based violence. After two years of lengthy legal proceeding over evidence of injury which included tampered medical records I managed to get a divorce. I was sure that such crimeshonour based violence against women was prevalent and practiced behind closed doors, after my divorce I wanted to assist other women in similar situation and have my phone number published in the newspaper. I thought I lost her but then, few minutes later, she was back. â€Å"Sorry I had to hang up I thought someone was coming. My parents are forcing me to marry a 35 year old man who I don’t even know. I am a prisoner in my own house. I can’t take it any longer. I need help.† She stopped for breath. â€Å"Please help me,† she said in a trembling voice. She sounded frantic; it seemed that she was at the mercy of her family. I didn’t know who I was talking to but I knew I had to help. I spoke quickly, â€Å"Can you get out? There are all sorts of help available if you can get out.† I knew from my own experience that if a girl has made up her mind to run she usually finds a way to do it. This woman could be anywhere in the country but she was desperate and I had to reassure her. â€Å"There is help for you,.† I said. â€Å"There are women refuge houses, people to support. I would support you. You’ll be okay.† â€Å"But how†¦Wait, that’s Dad. He’s coming. I have to go† Her phone went dead. I felt anxiousiety, my pulse shot up as I tried as best I could to get on with my daily household choresroutine and parental responsibilities. Later in thethat evening while I was preparing dinner my phone rang again. I tried hard to understand but couldn’t make out anything except the gasping sound panting. I turned off my range-hood and enquired, â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"It’s me, Asreen,† she spoke, her voice penetrating as if she was right next to me. â€Å"I did it, I ran away† â€Å"Where are you?† â€Å"Redfern.† â€Å"Asreen, you have to call the police. DailDial 000† I had put my phone on speaker as I washed my hands. â€Å"No, I don’t want police. My family will never see me again. My community will disown me,† she said claimed almost hysterical. I could imagine why Asreen didn’t want police to be involved. She was in a state of fear and frustration. Her parents who loved her dearly until very recently changed overnight and now consider family’s honour more important than that of their daughter’s well-being and happiness. â€Å"Meet me at Redfern railway station in 45 minutes,.† I said cleaning up my kitchen. â€Å"Please don’t be late,.† she hung up. I called on my children and explained them that I need to go out on an emergency. I drove as fast as I could past the motorway speeding up to maximum limit. I reached Redfern at 8 p.m. it was crowded, people pushing one another to get ahead in line. Few country trains hurried past while the intercity trains stopped at the platform for passengerss dark and deserted. I walked across the automatic ticket machine to find myself staring at a tall slim woman leaning against the closed door humming what I could understand a very popular song. from Justin Beiber. She looked no more than sixteen dressed in a traditional outfit her head was covered in a veil. I caught her eye and she smiled and then waved at me. â€Å"Kiran,† she said enthusiastically. â€Å"Yes.† I walked closer I could see her eyes swollen lips dried smeared make up over her face. I offered her a bottle of water and walked with her to my car. No one spoke, the two minute walk felt like an eternity. Breaking the silence she spoke softly, â€Å"Thank – thank you Kiran. You saved my life. I read your story and only after I spoke to you I found courage to leave my house.† I didn’t know what to say, I was in a state of shock. I felt rage I could barely focus on my driving I wanted to say something. Asreen continued, â€Å"There were bolts on all doors and someone from the family was always home. I didn’t know how to get out. And if I did, where would I go?† We talked about family, food, school, fashion and many other issues on our way back. We talked as if we were best friends and had known each other for many years. I introduced Asreen to my children Maya and Vicky and offered her rice and lamb curry for dinner. It was close to midnight she looked very tired and fell asleep as soon as she sat on the lounge. I imagined her situation; it was her mother who arranged her marriage. She grew up knowing that one day the subject of her marriage would come up but didn’t expect it when she was sixteen. She was one of the smartest girls in her school; she wanted to become a psychiatrist. One day when her parents woke her up and told her that she was going to get engaged Asreen said bluntly, â€Å"But I don’t want to.† For the next few days I enquired at women’s refuge centre, department of community services, legal aid and other community based organisations. What followed was another court proceeding lasting more than 12 weeks. I became Asreen’s foster parent while she continued her education. Later that year Asreen and I started Honour to help other women from South East Asian family facing honour based violenceI sat next to her contemplating on the events of the day. I wanted to help Asreen and reach out to other women in similar situations confronting criticism and oppression from inside their communities and often close family members for not being obedient to the traditional rules set by men for thousands of years. â€Å"Are you alright?† Asreen said waking up suddenly. I realised that I accidentally dropped my glass on the wooden floor breaking it into pieces. â€Å"Why can’t I live like any other sixteen year old girls? Why can’t I have boy-friends like girls from my school?† she cried while cleaning up broken pieces of glass. It was close to two, I was so exhausted I could barely feel any strength in my legs. I could hear Asreen’s voice slowly fading away. With my eyes closed I tried to seek explanation for such acts against own daughter. The issue of status of women is always in question in a patriarchal society. For thousands of years people from Indian sub-continent had considered daughter a painful burden, a potential source of shame to her father. Family is vital principal group and marriage hallowed as sacred. Women are deprived of their freedom and those who rebel or go against the norms faces threat the people of the community so much so that they are even killed for honour. †¦perhaps this comes out as it makes it like a newspaper article, not a narrative. †¦ As we arrived home I hugged my daughter tightly and said with tears running down my cheeks, â€Å"I love you.† The time frame here doesn;’t work, you’ve already taken the story on years but now go back to the present†¦