As a writer I often seem to read about a story idea that is so obvious, yet so brilliant, that it seems like even a monkey poking at a typewriter could turn it into an award winner. But what amazes me even more is when the narrative itself is written in a clever way. So I present the five that have most wowed me. Some of the techniques in this list now seem hackneyed, but when they were first used they shocked readers and confounded critics. Others are far less widely-used these days. While one can probably never be used again. WARNING: This piece unavoidably contains spoilers.

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Ben Smith asked me for an abstract for an edited book on moral phenomenology. Combining two interests, I have come up with the following somewhat negative view based on a talk I gave at the relevant conference in Durham last year (see below). But in what is merely implicit in this is a further worry that goes back a long way in my understanding of McDowell.

My assumption (below) is that to count as a form of analytic phenomenology, an approach has to have a connection to subjectivity. Just such a connection seems to be part of McDowells discussion of platonism in his early paper on Wittgenstein: McDowell, J. (1984b) Wittgenstein on following a rule Synthese 58. But, like a similar worry about Lears use of the phrase we are so minded, it seems hard to know why the connection to subjectivity, which lies at the very limits of sense, does not merely cancel out.

Heres a another way of putting the worry. McDowell suggests that rampant platonism mistakenly characterises the norms of logic, say, in terms utterly independent of human subjectivity; and constructionism mistakenly explains merely ersatz norms in terms of norm-free human practices. The solution is a third way which gives up any attempt to gain a sideways on view of norms or practices and describes the practices in norm-presupposing terms. I can see how this works to correct the reductionist aspirations of constructionism (by denying that anything approaching norms can be reconstructed from norm-free terms). But I am not at all sure about the other direction. To what extent does a description of norms presuppose subjectivity? The problem is that, being the subjects that we are, explanations or descriptions of rules convey the rules without relying on us to guess their essential drift.

But do you really explain to the other person what you yourself understand? Don't you get him to guess the essential thing? You give him examples,--but he has to guess their drift, to guess your intention. Every explanation which I can give myself I give to him too. He guesses what I intend would mean: various interpretations of my explanation come to his mind, and he lights on one of them. So in this case he could ask; and I could and should answer him. [Wittgenstein 1953 210]

And thus it seems to me the mention of subjectivity (in McDowell, not Wittgenstein) should cancel out.

Abstract: McDowellian Moral Phenomenology?
Tim Thornton
I suggest that to count as an analytic form of phenomenology, an approach has to have some connection to subjectivity such as the characteristic experiences of a judging subject, or their form of life. But to count as moral phenomenology, it must be able to take account of a suitable kind of normative constraint on our thinking. Together this dual condition balances subjectivity and objectivity. There may be a number of moral philosophical approaches that could be described as moral phenomenology construed in this way. But I am interested in the way McDowells discussion of normativity might underpin a form in either of two ways.

Moral judgements might be disciplined by either exogenous or endogenous factors. McDowell himself advocates something that looks exogenous. Our eyes can be opened to values implicit in empirical situations. But his recent two-fold retreat both from the idea that experience is propositionally structured (ie shares the same conceptual form as the explicit judgements it can non-inferentially motivate) and that all the contents in the explicit judgements it can non-inferentially motivate are contained within it threatens this neat idea. If experience contains only the proper and common sensibles of vision, how is direct moral realism experienced?

Although McDowell himself advocates something that looks exogenous, his discussion of endogenous constraint would fit the dual condition outlined above. But there is something initially awkward seeming, at least, about the way McDowell rejects the dualism of endogenous and exogenous whilst attempting to maintain, against Quine and Davidson, analytic truths. Without a distinct endogenous factor, from what are such truths fashioned? I argue that this difficulty can be avoided providing that the rejection is construed as a rejection of a form of a particular kind of endogenous givenness. But whether this leaves space for a form of moral disciplining and thus for moral phenomenology depends on turning aside McDowells own arguments against moral principles. Thus neither route to a form of analytic moral phenomenology seems promising.

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Taking the preceding five papers in this special issue of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology as a starting point, this paper synthesizes key aspects of hyperfunctional voice disorders (HFVD). Aetiological and contributing factors, defining features, prevention, assessment and intervention are canvassed, while controversial issues and future directions in research and clinical practice are discussed. Despite disagreements and inconsistencies in terminology surrounding HFVD, there is broad agreement that musculoskeletal tension is the hallmark of these voice disorders. There is also reasonable consensus that the pathogenesis and persistence of HFVD are associated with multiple and overlapping factors, some of which are likely to interact in as yet unknown ways. In addition to dysregulated laryngeal muscle functioning, key processes in the psychosocial and sensory domains are canvassed as likely contributors to HFVD. Vocal fatigue is considered as an intriguing relative of HFVD, the role of laryngopharyngeal reflux is debated and the proposition that particular individuals are psychologically and/or physiologically predisposed to HFVD is discussed. New directions in assessment highlight the use of client-centred measures to consider insider perspectives of psychological factors, vocal effort and vocal fatigue. Emerging psychosocial and physical-manipulative interventions are emphasized and the future educational needs of voice care professionals are considered.

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Topic: Scrap the CCTs

A startling 85 percent of students in the education system want to scrap the CCTs; they feel that CCTs are not an effective way to gauge their academic performance. I choose to agree. I will proceed to explain why the CCTs are not an effective way to assess the students academic standard and these CCTs give students unnecessary stress. This may lead to detrimental effects on students. Though these tests are to ensure that students do their constant revision, they have their shortcomings.

Firstly, I feel that these CCTs do not reflect a students ability. These CCTs requires memorizing large amount of information in a short period of time. Some students are much better at memorizing information than others; therefore they score well during these CCTs. But these students may not be performing well in their daily work. CCTs encourage rote-learning without any form of creativity or thinking. CCTs require students to a few days before and they can expect to do well. This is unfair to pupils who put in consistent effort. On 1st Oct 2007, the Ministry of education announced that rote-learning will be discouraged. Creative thinking and the Teach less, learn more method will be introduced. But CCTs does not adhere to this concept. Therefore, we should scrap the CCTs.

Secondly, the CCT places undue stress on the students. Stress because of the percentage quota which is to be included to their Grade Point Average (GPA) at the year-end. Stress can also arise from intense revision and frustration build-up. This can have detrimental effects on the students. The stress may cause the students to underperform during the CCTs. This will reflect on their CCTs result. Stress can trigger other issues like discipline/behavioural problems, suicides attempts and so on. Teachers and parents add onto the pressure-cooker when they stress on the importance of these CCTs. A survey revealed that 61 percent of 18-24 year olds and 53 percent of parents of school-age children in Britain felt that tests are giving them too much stress. To scrap the CCTs will reduce the stress-related problems among students.

Though CCTs may not be the most effective way to gauge a student, it is also important to keep pupils in check. Teachers will know to what extend the students understand the lesson which is taught and to take the necessary remedial action during each term. It will be too late if the problems are detected only at the year end. CCTs will keep students on their toes and they will know which subject they are weak in and take corrective measures if necessary. Students must be given the opportunity to think constantly and the CCTs allow the student to do so while attempting the questions. Without CCTs, students will wait till the End- Of- Year Examinations (EOYs) to commence their revision on the entire year work. This will definitely result in too much cramming, more stress and frustrations as they will encounter many problems in their course of revision- problems which can be easily solved only if they are weeded out earlier in the year. Many parents in Singapore feel that constant revision of school work is important to prevent frustrated cramping of information at the last minute. This is taken from an online portal http://www.singaporemotherhood.com/. Therefore having the CCTs is important to ensure that pupils do well in their academics.

My solution to replace the CCTs is that we can have an Intelligence Test instead. The nature of this Intelligence test is that it does not involve any last-minute cramming. It will measure the potential of the student based on his constant revision. Intelligence test also allows teachers to keep track of each pupils ability in individual area. Regular evaluation of pupils daily work can be carried out. This is an effective measure to keep track of constant progress of pupils.

In conclusion, we should scrap the CCTs. This is not a meaningful way to assess the students academic standard. It will create harmful stress on students which may lead to others more serious detrimental effects. In spite of these, CCTs are still important to ensure that students do their constant revision. We can have other means to evaluate students. The Intelligence Test and Regular Evaluation can do the job too. The point is that students do not usually fervor tests and examinations. They fear such assessments because they are afraid of underperforming. But who knows, in the future, there may be a statistical reversal in the survey results.

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Thank you for submitting with your final paper a letter expressing your concerns about my grading rubric and its application to your writing. I always find it helpful to receive feedback from a thoughtful and ambitious student.

You don't say explicitly what the purpose of your letter is. You say you are "nervous" and it seems clear that this is because you received a BA rather than an A on your short paper and you are afraid that you will receive the same grade on your long paper, when you would prefer an A.

I appreciate that you have attempted to engage directly with the grading rubric that I provided. You say that you do not understand several of the comments I made on your short paper. This information is especially helpful because it tells me that as a teacher, I need to construct more detailed and explicit instructions and grading rubrics, and also that I need to be clearer and more elaborate in my comments. So thank you for alerting me to this need.

I am not going to take the time to respond in writing to your concerns about the short paper. The reason is that in my experience, in-person conversations are much more effective at resolving misunderstandings than written correspondence is. I understand that you did not have time to talk with me in person about the short paper during the semester. It is still possible to do so. I have plenty of time available in the next few weeks, so just let me know if you'd like to make an appointment. At that time I would be happy to discuss the concerns specified in your letter.

Here is an example of how I will take your concerns into consideration as I grade your long paper:

You have underlined your thesis statement (which is the entire first paragraph) in the long paper, I assume because you are afraid that I will not be able to identify it. Just glancing at your thesis statement, I see that it does not refer to either the author or the titles of the poems you will be analyzing in the paper. I consider this a serious omission, but I realize that nowhere in the instructions I have provided about thesis statements, nor in the grading rubric I provided with the assignment, have I stated directly that a thesis statement must mention these things. (Though the examples I gave you do include them.)

The question for me as a teacher: if I grade you down for this, am I (a) unfairly judging you by a criterion that I did not tell you about before you wrote the paper or (b) merely holding you to a standard of logic that I can justifiably assume any student could use and that doesn't need to be made explicit?

I think the answer is debatable, but because I have a strong personal and professional interest in learning to state my values and assumptions very explicitly, I am going to go with (a). The omission won't affect your grade, but my future assignments and grading rubrics will be very clear about this important element of thesis statements.

The thinking demonstrated by this example will be what I use as I read the entire paper.

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Click Here To Purchase Queen Isabella Treachery Adultery and Murder in Medieval England at Amazon.com
Isabella arrived in London in 1308, the spirited twelve-year-old daughter of King Philip IV of France. Her marriage to the heir to Englands throne was designed to heal old political wounds between the two countries, and in the years that followed, she would become an important figure, a determined and clever woman whose influence would come to last centuries. But Queen Isabellas political machinations led generations of historians to malign her, earning her a reputation as a ruthless schemer and an odious nickname, the She-Wolf of France.
Now the acclaimed author of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Alison Weir, reexamines the life of Isabella of England, historys other notorious and charismatic medieval queen. Praised for her fair looks, the newly wed Isabella was denied the attentions of Edward II, a weak, sexually ambiguous monarch with scant taste for his royal duties. As their marriage progressed, Isabella was neglected by her dissolute husband and slighted by his favored male courtiers. Humiliated and deprived of her income, her children, and her liberty, Isabella escaped to France, where she entered into a passionate affair with Edward IIs mortal enemy, Roger Mortimer. Together, Isabella and Mortimer led the only successful invasion of English soil since the Norman Conquest of 1066, deposing Edward and ruling in his stead as co-regents for Isabellas young son, Edward III. Fate, however, was soon to catch up with Isabella and her lover.
Many mysteries and legends have been woven around Isabellas story. She was long condemned as an accessory to Edward IIs brutal murder in 1327, but recent research has cast doubt on whether that murder even took place.
Isabellas reputation, then, rests largely on the prejudices of monkish chroniclers and prudish Victorian scholars. Here Alison Weir gives a startling, groundbreaking new perspective on Isabella, in this first full biography in more than 150 years. In a work of extraordinary original research, Weir effectively strips away centuries of propaganda, legend, and romantic myth, and reveals a truly remarkable woman who had a profound influence upon the age in which she lived and the history of western Europe.
Engaging, vibrant, alive with breathtaking detail and unforgettable characters, Queen Isabella is biographical history at its finest.
From the Hardcover edition.
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William S. Burroughs

This article is about the late 20th century American novelist. For the inventor, his grandfather, see William Seward Burroughs I. For his son, see William S. Burroughs, Jr.

William Seward Burroughs II (February 5, 1914(1914-02-05) August 2, 1997; pronounced /ˈbʌroʊz/) was an American novelist, essayist, social critic, painter and spoken word performer. Much of Burroughs's work is semi-autobiographical, drawn from his experiences as an opiate addict, a condition that marked the last fifty years of his life. A primary member of the Beat Generation, he was an avant-garde author who affected popular culture as well as literature. In 1984, he was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters

Birth of a writer
Burroughs later said that shooting Vollmer was a pivotal event in his life, and one which provoked his writing:

I am forced to the appalling conclusion that I would never have become a writer but for Joan's death, and to a realization of the extent to which this event has motivated and formulated my writing. I live with the constant threat of possession, and a constant need to escape from possession, from control. So the death of Joan brought me in contact with the invader, the Ugly Spirit, and maneuvered me into a life long struggle, in which I have had no choice except to write my way out.
Yet he had begun to write in 1945. Burroughs and Kerouac collaborated on And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks, a mystery novel loosely based on the Carr/Kammerer situation that was left unpublished. Years later, in the documentary What Happened to Kerouac?, Burroughs described it as "not a very distinguished work." An excerpt of this work, in which Burroughs and Kerouac wrote alternating chapters, was finally published in Word Virus, a compendium of William Burroughs's writing that was published after his death in 1997.

Before Vollmer died, Burroughs had largely completed his first two novels in Mexico, although Queer would not be published until 1985. Junkie was written at the urging of Allen Ginsberg, who was instrumental in getting the work published, even as a cheap mass market paperback. Ace Books published the novel in 1953 as part of an Ace Double under the pen name William Lee, retitling it Junkie: Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict. (it was later republished as Junkie or Junky). In any case, the fact remains that Burroughs did not become a full time writer until after the shooting.

Naked Lunch
During 1953, Burroughs was at loose ends. Due to legal problems, he was unable to live in the cities towards which he was most inclined. He spent time with his parents in Palm Beach, Florida, and New York City with Allen Ginsberg. When Ginsberg refused his romantic advances, Burroughs went to Rome to meet Alan Ansen on a vacation financed from his parents' continuing support. When he found Rome and Ansens company dreary, inspired by Paul Bowles' fiction, he decided to head for Tangier, Morocco. In a home owned by a known procurer of homosexual prostitutes for visiting American and English men, he rented a room and began to write a large body of text that he personally referred to as InterzoneBurroughs lived in Tangier for several months, before returning to the United States where he suffered several personal indignities - Ginsberg was in California and refused to see him, A. A. Wyn, the publisher of Junkie, was not forthcoming with his royalties and his parents were threatening to cut off his allowance.

All signs pointed him back to Tangier, a place where his parents would have to continue the support and one where drugs were freely available. He left in November 1954 and spent the next four years there working on the fiction that would later become Naked Lunch, as well as attempting to write commercial articles about Tangier. He sent these writings to Ginsberg, his literary agent for Junkie, but none were published until 1989 when Interzone, a collection of short stories, was published. Under the strong influence of a marijuana confection known as majoun and a German-made opioid called Eukodol, Burroughs settled in to write. Eventually, Ginsberg and Kerouac, who had traveled to Tangier in 1957, helped Burroughs type, edit, and arrange these episodes into Naked Lunch.
Whereas Junkie and Queer were conventional in style, Naked Lunch was his first venture into a non-linear style. After the publication of Naked Lunch, a book whose creation was to a certain extent the result of a series of contingencies, Burroughs was exposed to Brion Gysin's cut-up technique at the Beat Hotel in Paris in September 1959. He began slicing up phrases and words to create new sentences. At the Beat Hotel Burroughs discovered "a port of entry" into Gysin's canvases: "I don't think I had ever seen painting until I saw the painting of Brion Gysin." The two would cultivate a long-term friendship that revolved around a mutual interest in artworks and cut-up techniques. Scenes were slid together with little care for narrative. Perhaps thinking of his crazed physician, Dr Benway, he described Naked Lunch as a book that could be cut into at any point. Although not science fiction, the book does seem to forecast with eerie prescience such later phenomena as AIDS, liposuction, autoerotic fatalities and the crack pandemic.
Excerpts from Naked Lunch were first published in the United States in 1958. The novel was initially rejected by City Lights Books, the publisher of Ginsberg's Howl, and Olympia Press publisher Maurice Girodias, who had published English language novels in France that were controversial for their subjective views of sex and anti-social characters. But Allen Ginsberg worked to get excerpts published in Black Mountain Review and Chicago Review in 1958. Irving Rosenthal, student editor of Chicago Review, a quarterly journal partially subsidized by the university, promised to publish more excerpts from Naked Lunch, but he was fired from his position in 1958 after Chicago Daily News columnist Jack Mabley (1915-2006) called the first excerpt obscene. Rosenthal went on to publish more in his newly created literary journal Big Table No. 1; however, these copies elicited such contempt, the editors were accused of sending obscene material through the United States Mail by the United States Postmaster General, who ruled that copies could not be mailed to subscribers. This controversy made Naked Lunch interesting to Maurice Girodias again, and he published the novel in 1959.

After the novel was published, it slowly became notorious across Europe and the United States, garnering interest from not just members of the counterculture of the 1960s, but literary critics such as Mary McCarthy. Once published in the United States, Naked Lunch was prosecuted as obscene by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, followed by other states. In 1966 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court declared the work "not obscene" on the basis of criteria developed largely to defend the book. The case against Burroughs's novel still stands as the last obscenity trial against a work of literature that is, a work consisting of words only, and not including illustrations or photographs prosecuted in the United States.

The manuscripts that produced Naked Lunch also produced the later works The Soft Machine (1961), The Ticket That Exploded (1962), and Nova Express (1963). These novels feature extensive use of the cut-up technique, which influenced all of Burroughs' subsequent fiction to a degree. During his friendship and artistic collaborations with Brion Gysin and Ian Sommerville the technique was combined with images, Gysin's paintings, and sound, via Somerville's tape recorders. Burroughs was so dedicated to the cut-up method that he often defended his use of the technique before editors and publishers, most notably Dick Seaver at Grove Press in the 1960s and Holt, Rinehart Winston in the 1980s. The cut-up method, because of its random or mechanical basis for text generation, combined with the possibilities of mixing in text written by other writers, de-emphasizes the traditional role of the writer as creator or originator of a string of words, while simultaneously exalting the importance of the writer's sensibility as an editor. In this sense the cut-up method may be considered as analogous to the collage method in the visual arts.

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Boogers and snot
After reading a rough draft of my Morris Bobetter story, my friend Marisa commented that the characters conflict was too existential to be readily grasped by a reader. He needs a booger, she said.
She didnt mean it had to be a booger, but her point was that a reader needs a very up-front issue that anyone could relate to without any need for backstory or exposition. Only then will a reader have the patience for you to shift the focus towards the real existential conflicts that might require more character knowledge or exposition, be they philosophical, or the isolated and inner conflict of memory. Oh my god yes, being caught with a booger that wont go away would suck, can lure the reader in while he muses about life and death and all things in-between. Its all about balancing the esoteric with the tangible. And a great avenue for introducing humor into subjects that are obviously rather serious. Other excellent writers have known this and produced their own memorable boogers: Kafkas character in The Metamorphosis who turns into an insect, and Phillip Roths character who wakes up one morning to find he has become a disembodied female boob (clearly a play on Kafka).
In Morris Bobetters case, these larger conflicts are How does an aging Morris value and perceive time when lifetime lengths are predetermined?, and What happens when Morriss dead wifes instrument haunts him into finally loving her? Deep questions, surely, but wheres the immediacy? A booger itself is a bit out of left field for Morris though. After a bit of brainstorming it seemed that, in order to be appropriate, his booger would have to be related more to time or aging. The story already had a few scenes of Morris staring uncontrollably at the varicose spiderveins on an old womans legs at a fleamarket, so it became clear that giving Morris a little throbbing, pulsing spidervein in the first paragraph would be perfect. It does not become a personified annoyance, like the pimple in a Family Guy episode, but you can imagine the torture of a little purple puffy vein pulsing every time you try to cling to your youth. Im in the midst of writing a new draft that includes this boogervein.
But what are some other things that could be used like boogers?
This morning, while the showers wet heat woke me up, I spat, snorted, hacked, drooled, and blew a number of viscous fluids from my faceholes. And my first thought of the day was to give a character a mucous problem. Wherever he goes, whatever he does, fluids are being created and expelled through all available holes, escalating from hole to hole. Picture a cold gone very very wrong. Maybe it starts with tears spontaneously flowing without really crying. What would that do to your interactions that day? Then phlegm in the throat, but it builds so fast you can barely get a sentence out without something shooting from your mouth and grounding your voice into gravel. You cant even breath without snoring while youre awake. You can go through a box of tissues in 30 minutes with the amount of fluids your body is producing. Do they turn colors? Do they slowly become more solid and gooey, or thinner and more liquid? Does the fluid have its own properties, like an acid? Does it make papers and clothing stick to you? Maybe everything you touch sticks to you. Does it smell like the corpse of a moose, or does it smell strangely like roses? Maybe it smells like your grandmothers house. And what else is going on in your head while youre having this very tangible problem? I dont know, I havent written it yet.
Some other possible boogers, off the top of my head, might include the following. Play around.

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I have these growing nicely on my windowsill and somewhere earmarked in my garden for them to go, but until yesterday I had nothing to grow them up.  Last year I made a from some random twigs, because I couldnt afford one of those lovely willow obelisks.  I know theyre a bit ubiquitous, they even appear on the other side of the world (Alicia Paulson at Posy Gets Cosy is also in love with willow!), but I put that down to classic, practical style.  I love the texture of natural materials and wouldnt want anything else in my garden.  So when I had a bit of good news yesterday and discovered that my car had passed its MOT for the outlay of a mere £10 on a headlight bulb (plus the extortionate price of £54 for the actual test) I decided my garden could do with a treat.  It had to take the form of a 1.5m tall willow obelisk, obviously.  I was so excited by the prospect of how it would look, that I refused to do anything else until Id got home and it. Id made the perfect spot for it the other day when I decided to widen my south facing flower border and am mightly pleased with the height and structure it gives.  Now Im hankering for the summer to come along just so that I can see the sweet peas scrambling up ithopefully theyll have more than the three flowers I got last year!
One thing Id really like to do is to make my own obelisks and other structures, but its not a cheap option really, if you only want a couple, as you have to buy the materials in quantities.  Theres a good tutorial on the BBC website though and plenty of suppliers of willow on the internet, if youre keen to have a go yourself.  Let me know how you get on!  (Im just wondering now about making willow edging for the flower borders, that might help me use up a big bundle of willow)
Here are some photos of my garden yesterday, they look a bit fuzzy, but if you click on them to enlarge them, low and behold they become a lot sharper!  (No idea why, but there you have it.)  Doesnt look like Ill be out in the garden much tomorrow since heavy rains been forcast, so think a bit of crafting might be in order.  Or maybe Ill get my paints out and finish of a self portrait I started a couple of weeks ago.  Hope youre doing something fun too.

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In all of the readings covered this week, issues of childhood innocence are touched on. In Bluebond-Langner’s book, innocence is portrayed as “painless ignorance” (165), a desire to keep children protected from and unhurt by the reality of death by simply keeping them in the dark. Kitzinger’s article discusses innocence as one of the most defining aspects of childhood, pure, peaceful, asexual, and untouched. Childhood innocence in Solberg’s article seems to be tossed to the side as a “theme of the past” (Solberg, 140), another remnant of the pre-female integrated workplace, something that marrs children’s ability to be “capable agents of their own lives” (Solberg, 142). All three, though not explicitly, seem to be pushing for removing the label of “innocence” from childhood all together as it tends to be a limiting factor, almost a handicap, that is placed on children as part of their “oppression” (Kitzinger, 182). Innocence in the world of terminally ill children is one of the factors that keeps parents from explaining to children what is happening to them. Parents used the innocence of young children to explain why they were not telling their children the whole truth; Mrs. Andrews once, unrelated to her son Jeffrey, did not want to tell Jeffrey’s little sister Ericka about Jeffrey’s death because “she’s only five and a half.” Preserving her innocence becomes more important than telling her (and her brother and other patients) the whole truth. For these children, innocence is a barrier to their full education on their own condition, an education they show multiple times (according to Langner’s conclusion) that they are deserving of and capable of understanding. Innocence in Kitzinger’s article contributes to their “desirability as sexual objects” (Kitzinger, 168) as innocence is often portrayed as erotic outside of childhood. So then if innocence, which, as both of these authors define as an incredibly important aspect of childhood, is actually oppressing children, 1) how do we remove the label, and 2) with what do we replace it?
Solberg’s article seems to hint at possibilities for solutions – more of an open dialogue between parents and children of what reality consists of and what each member of the family’s obligations and responsibilities are. This acknowledgement of children as not simply passive, innocent members of society allows for their growth and development into strong, independent members of society, capable of “organizing and completing large tasks” (Solberg, 138). Yet as much as Solberg can advocate for changes in practices within the family, she does not provide possible new definitions for what childhood could mean in a world where children are trusted with more of their own socialization. I think that for innocence to be removed from the definition of childhood, we have to first figure out a new definition that fits today’s social world. And maybe even, as Kitzinger hints at, “reconstruct” (175) definitions for all members of the family so that a new definition of childhood can fit into the family.
This link is the home page for a camp called comfort zone camp that I worked at a few years ago, where children are encouraged to come together in an environment and actually discuss death, and go through grieving processes together. It’s an interesting perspective on a community, not of terminally ill children, but a community where the discussion of death is highly encouraged.
http://www.comfortzonecamp.

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Tom Weidig is host of the famousblog The Stuttering Brain. He is renowned for speaking his mind and is never one to shy away from controversy.
I caught up with Tom to find out more about about his blog,and todiscover what he really does think about the state of scientific research into stammering...
What made you start The Stuttering Brain?
That is a good question, and I am not even 100% sure myself. How were the apostles able to write the correct history on Jesus decades afterwards? Here is the story my brain suggests: I was reading a physics blog called The Reference Frame, and I thought why not do the same for stuttering. Blogging appealingly bypasses the gate keepers of the stuttering community like the editors of a stuttering journal or magazine, conference organizer, trustees or influential professors. I was tired of convincing people who did not understand science well. I had interesting and different things to say about stuttering and did not want to tone down my message. I also wanted to promote real debate in stuttering research and new areas like brain imaging and genetics. There was a lack of critical review of research accessible to all, and I thought that I am able to judge research better than many.
Did you ever anticipate that The Stuttering Brain would become so popular?
To be honest, I did expect my blog to do well if only I could keep up the motivation of posting. Luckily, I found this motivation. Blogging gives me a kick and liberates me because I am not hold back by my stuttering. I love blogging. Why did I expect success? First I was the first blog which gave me the first mover advantage. Second, I had the ability to get news on-line quickly and knew that could get the news first due to my big network of contacts in all areas. Third, I tend to have the ability to catch peoples attention for good or bad! Fourth, I felt that there was a real need for information, even researchers were badly informed about much research. There was no central place for news on stuttering.
What are your opinions about the stuttering research community?
There are very few really good scientists in the field. I guess stuttering is not as fashionable and cool as string theory, Alzheimer or AIDS. The result is that a lot of research is not very good and dead-end, and good debates are few. Moreover, the atmosphere is intellectually poisoned by therapists-turned-researchers, because they just dont get it due to their lack of rigorous scientific research training. Moreover, being therapists they live in a consensus-based and respect-everyones-opinion world that is lethal for a healthy scientific debate. But they all mean well.
Do you feel they produce results that can really make a difference in the services available for people who stutter?
They have been researching for decades. Progress is very slow, but there are professional scientists coming into the field, especially in brain imaging and genetics.
As a scientist, I say that I am not interested in making a difference for people who stutter, but I am interested in asking and answering the Why question. If the byproduct is helping stutterers, that is fine. As a stutterer, I do not really care about why I stutter. I just want to get cured or helped and move on to more exciting stuff like black holes, quantum mechanics, neuroscience, finance and so on. So my ultimate goal really is to improve therapy in the selfish goal to help myself!

What changes, if any, do you think need to occur within the stuttering research community to help advance the field in a positive direction?
In physics, we say: Progress never comes with professors changing their opinions, but professors with old opinions dying out! So time is the key! And critical debate. I am amazed at how little debates there are at conferences. It is all about giving your talk and other given their talk but no real debate. I am very confident that the new
generation of researchers are soon taking over from the older professors, most of them not real scientists. Of course, some professors are really good scientists, but other are not but are very good at networking, spreading messages, and politics and thereby blocking the system and misteaching their students.

I would like to thank Tom for his time and wish him the best.

Similar posts: narrative therapy

Fairy Tales as children, and read and discuss stories at school.� (Polkinghorne, 1988)
Merging a familiar set of events (oneâ??s life) to a familiar structure (a narrative story) is a useful strategy. The emotional, cognitive and spiritual perspectives of a person are usually combined in order to derive meaning to an event. In many instances, one or two perspectives will prevail over the other(s), and this will depend upon the particular scenario and the individualâ??s personality traits.
As an example, we can compare the perspective of two people who have different levels of emotional intelligence. According to Coleman (1998) â??intellectual and emotional intelligence express the activity of different parts of the brain. The intellect is based solely on the workings of the neocortex, the more recently evolved layers at the top of the brain. The emotional centers are lower in the brain, in the more ancient subcortex.â? Thus, individuals that are more â??emotionally intelligentâ?? will draw different conclusions, and behave differently in certain situations.
This is only an example of possible disparities in perception and decision-making. It is the protagonist responding to the setting, the characters, the theme and plot.
Techniques and Objectives
â??The techniques that narrative therapists use have to do with the telling of the story. They may examine the story and look for other ways to tell it differently or to understand it in other ways. In doing so, they find it helpful to put the problem outside of the individual, thus externalizing it. They look for unique outcomes: positive events that are in contrast to a problem-saturated story.â? (Sharf, 2004)
Externalising the Problem
In Narrative Therapy the problem becomes the antagonist of the story. Certain behaviours are based on particular â??unhealthyâ?? or â??undesiredâ?? characteristics â?? such as lack of patience, aggressiveness, etc. Thus, they are approached as not a part of the client but as an opposing force which needs to be â??defeatedâ??. An example would be a child that has a very bad temperament and tends to be aggressive to other kids at school and his parents. The child might feel guilty for his temperament and blame it on himself (â??I donâ??t knowâ?¦ it is the way I amâ?¦â?). The counsellor will work with him towards isolating that undesired trait (aggressiveness) and placing it as an external trait â?? not a characteristic of the individual.
This strategy helps clients re-construct their own stories in a way which will reduce the incidence of the problem in order to eliminate negative outcomes and reinforce personal development and achievement. The protagonist becomes the author and re-writes the story constructively.
Unique Outcomes
If a story is full of problems and negative events, the counsellor will attempt to identify the exceptional positive outcomes. When exploring unique positive outcomes in the story, the counsellor will assist the client in redeveloping the narrative with a focus on those unique outcomes. This assists the client in empowering him/herself by creating a notion that those unique outcomes can prevail over the problems. Think about this analogy: you are a novel writer. You were given a novel to review and publish the way you prefer. You have read it and found it generally poor, but there were some interesting ideas which you liked. You selected these ideas, and re-write the novel around them. You can make a flawed story become a bestseller.
Alternative Narratives
The focus of Narrative Therapy is to explore the strengths and positive aspects of an individual through his or her narrative. Therefore, the main objective of this therapeutic approach is to improve the personâ??s perspective internally (reflective) and externally (towards the world and others). Alternative narratives are a simple way to relate to this concept. This technique works in combination with unique outcomes. How? The individual will reconstruct a personal story using unique outcomes, therefore, focusing on the positive aspects of a previous story in order to achieve a desired outcome. This process is based on the premise that any person can continually and actively re-author their own life.
By creating alternative perspectives on a narrative (or event within the narrative) the counsellor is able to assist the client in bringing about a new narrative which will help combat the â??problemsâ??. This is similar to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as it aims to create a positive perspective of an event.
Boundaries of Narrative Therapy
Despite being a widely used approach, particularly when combined with other therapeutic approaches, Narrative Therapy has certain boundaries or limitations. In many occasions, diverse clients may expect the therapist to act as the expert, instead of having to â??conductâ?? the conversation themselves. For this reason, Narrative Therapy can be challenging when the individual is not articulate. Lack of confidence, intellectual capacity and other issues could also undermine the expression of the individual through a narrative.
Another common boundary of Narrative Therapy is the lack of recipe, agenda or formula. This approach is grounded in a philosophical framework, and sometimes can become a particularly subjective or widely interpretative process.
The Leading Role
The most important aspect of Narrative Therapy is to empower the client. Placing the client as an expert, and understanding his/her story instead of attempting to predict it, indicates the therapistâ??s mindset. The idea is to emphasise the therapeutic relationship, in particular the therapistâ??s attitudes. This standpoint encompasses many of the important aspects of good interpersonal communication, such as: demonstration of care, interest, respectful curiosity, openness, empathy, and fascination.
Once this collaborative relationship has been established, the counsellor and the client can move forward and work on how to improve the outcomes of the narrative:
â??Once upon a time there was an optimistic, content and productive personâ?
References:
Coleman, D. (1998). Working with Emotional Intelligence. (1st Ed.). London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Denning, S. (2004). Steve Denning: The website for business and organizational storytelling. (www.stevedenning.com/What_story.html)
Polkinghorne, D. (1988). Narrative Knowing and the Human Sciences. Albany N.Y.: State University of New York Press
Sharf, R. (2004). Theories of Psychotherapy Counselling. (3rd Ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Thomson Learning.

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Mercy Thompson is a mechanic that runs a small auto shop specialising in VWs. She lives nearby in a small caravan on a plot of land with her cat Medea. Mercy seems like an ordinary person just trying to make a living however she is a walker, someone who can shape shift, and turns into a coyote at will. Her neighbour just happens to be a werewolf (and very spunky). Her former boss is a goblin and she is currently working on a VW that belongs to a vampire. Mercys life is far from simple and is only going to get more complicated when she takes in a stray werewolf called Mac.

This is the first book in the Mercy Thompson series (I couldnt find anywhere a snazzier title to the series so I went with the obvious). This is a good light hearted chick lit, mystery, supernatural fare. I never know what genre these sorts of books technically fall into; maybe I can make one up something like Cosy Supernatural Chick? No? Ok wont give up my day job anytime soon then.

What really captured my interest the most was the folk lore that Patrica Briggs introduces into this series, I think it is very clever. She divides the entities into European Faye (eg vampires, werewolves, goblins etc) and the indigenous magical beings to North America (a walker being one of those). I really like the way she introduced the idea of colonization for the magical community and how it affected the indigenous magical community. I thought the concept really clever and hopefully Briggs will expand on that over the course of the series.

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Knowledge, to be called such, has to have two components: it has to be perceived as true (thus, it is true), and we have to be well-warranted in our belief that it is true. Knowledge, then, is justified true belief. Belief is described by Quine and Ullian in “The Web of Belief” as an assessment process of analysis by which we draw general conclusions. “It is this need to resolve conflicts that prompt us to assess the grounds of belief (Quine Ullian 9).” The process can include, but is not limited to, observation, self-evidence, testimony, hypothesis, induction, analogy, intuition, confirmation and refutation, explanation, persuasion and evaluation. All these tools make up the conclusions we come to know as beliefs. In our search for knowledge, we are able to come closer and closer to the Truth, though some authorities, such as C.S. Pierce ascertain that though we can make progress toward Truth, we will never achieve it in its purest form, though “our beliefs guide our desires and shape our actions (Pierce 59).” Using critical thinking to compare various views will allow us to decide for ourselves what to believe through evidence and examples. Just as one main objective of [this course] has been to evaluate knowledge and its implications, so is the contention of this paper.
To find Truth, we have to know what we are searching for. What then, can be defined as “knowledge?” We’ve already supposed that knowledge is justified true belief. To further explore the definition, it is necessary to look at what knowledge does and what knowledge implies to paint a more accurate picture. The code of ethics for knowledge seekers says this: that managing the search for knowledge is “wisely and responsibly” applying a proiri knowledge (previously known knowledge) to new knowledge, and then drawing conclusions through critical thinking, or abductive reasoning. This process may involve several other factors, including data, information, understanding and wisdom.

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Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5

Fried Eggs with Chopsticks is the tale of Polly Evans travelling around China for two months using only public/local means of transport. She braves massages in Beijing, public buses on remote dirt tracks, Donkeys in Sichuan, Bears in southern China and being constantly lost in translation.

China is a place that both fascinates me and horrifies me. I have heard many amazing and downright scary stories from friends who have traveled in China. So I was very eager to read this when mum said she had a week left before it was due back at the library and I jumped at the opportunity.

As usual Polly manages to convey a warmth and humor about the country she is traveling in and the people she was meeting, even when Polly seemed to struggle. She really did seem to find this trip difficult after awhile and it was probably from the isolation and constant struggle to communicate in this strange land. Even ordering a meal involved her walking around a restaurant with the waitress in tow pointing to other patrons dishes to convey what she wanted to order.

It was easy to see in her writing in On a hoof and a prayer that she had loved every minute of the trip. Similarly Evans emotions were out for show in Fried Eggs with Chopsticks, you could clearly feel her despair and growing depression as she travelled deeper within China. I was very impressed though she never seemed to blame the Chinese for her troubles, she instead focused inwards and spoke of her turmoil and frustration over being unable to communicate more effectively.

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Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5

Fried Eggs with Chopsticks is the tale of Polly Evans travelling around China for two months using only public/local means of transport. She braves massages in Beijing, public buses on remote dirt tracks, Donkeys in Sichuan, Bears in southern China and being constantly lost in translation.

China is a place that both fascinates me and horrifies me. I have heard many amazing and downright scary stories from friends who have traveled in China. So I was very eager to read this when mum said she had a week left before it was due back at the library and I jumped at the opportunity.

As usual Polly manages to convey a warmth and humor about the country she is traveling in and the people she was meeting, even when Polly seemed to struggle. She really did seem to find this trip difficult after awhile and it was probably from the isolation and constant struggle to communicate in this strange land. Even ordering a meal involved her walking around a restaurant with the waitress in tow pointing to other patrons dishes to convey what she wanted to order.

It was easy to see in her writing in On a hoof and a prayer that she had loved every minute of the trip. Similarly Evans emotions were out for show in Fried Eggs with Chopsticks, you could clearly feel her despair and growing depression as she travelled deeper within China. I was very impressed though she never seemed to blame the Chinese for her troubles, she instead focused inwards and spoke of her turmoil and frustration over being unable to communicate more effectively.

Similar posts: narrative therapy

I cannot endure this prisonhouse for my being very much longer. I will not google my soul (which is a new verb, defined as reducing the value of any intellectual production to precisely what gets represented by the proprietary algorithm for determining the cost and share value for others promoting their intellectual property, via advertizing links, which get paid for, ultimately, by the selling of products, likely made in China, which have no intrinsic value, because they're now so fully abstracted as to represent only want and no need). You may just have to read the book (now that's a really funny line right there, but I'm still and always the only one laughing. A vaguely insane laughter, you no doubt already heard.).

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Swingle bravely takes on a topic that has been fraught with controversy for some 40 years. He has practiced for 30 of those, drawing on the likes of Siegfried Othmer.Still, Neurotherapy, the principal component of which is neurofeedback, is a form of operant conditioning that is designed to change the activity of the brain as represented by the signals that are measured at the scalp by the electrodes, but is widely unaccepted by the general medical community. Referred to as EEG biofeedback, the object is to change the brain activity.One can debate the issue, but detractors have pointed out tha
Click here to read the full review.

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The will and ability to stop, to pause, or to take a break, stands out for me as one of the best achievements made by the couples I work with in therapy. This is Part 2 of a two-part piece on a couples work to interrupt a destructive pattern and opt, instead, for a preferred story of their relationship.



Part 1 of this two-part piece described how a married couple agreed to change a longstanding pattern by stopping a destructive, downward spiral of arguing and hostility before it took them down one more time. Instead, they developed the ability to pause or take a break and resume the discussion when they could be calm and compassionate with one another. Their ability to start taking these steps had begun to restore their hope in their relationship and allow the positive, loving, and caring qualities of their relationship to be more on display. In Part 1 I framed their agreement to stop as an act of standing up for their preferred story of their relationship. In Part 2 I want to return to this couple and describe in more detail the steps they took to get to the place where they were able to agree to stop, and stick with it. To give this fictitious-but-based-on-many-people-Ive-worked-with couple a little more life and personality, Im naming them Abe and Zoe.

The ability to say stop and have it mean something, resulted from considerable effort by both Abe and Zoe. Previous efforts had usually not helped, and often resulted in an escalation of their arguments and left them feeling demoralized. But when they showed up to a therapy session and told me of their recent successes at stopping before being pulled down, I was eager to document the factors or steps they took to make it happen. Here are some of the steps they identified:

1. They made changes based on the concerns raised in their previous arguments. A hallmark of Abe and Zoes downward-spiraling arguments was that neither one believed the other was listening. Consequently they found themselves repeating the same argument over and over, with emphasis, and defending against those arguments with well-honed rebuttals.

But as I talked with them about how they were able to interrupt the painful pattern it became clear that both Zoe and Abe had, in fact, heard some of the others key concerns. And not only did they hear, but they made changes that showed that they had listened. The changes were in areas like kitchen cleanliness, showing interest in each others day, the tones of voice they used with each other, their facial expressions while the other was on the phone, the amount of time spent on the computer or in front of the TV, and in their willingness to take on responsibilities for their kids activities and schedules. Zoe started noticing Abe making these changes, and Abe noticed Zoes changes and the changes sparked a sense of good will in one another.

2. They each reflected on their own processes and patterns and developed a greater level of awareness. At various points in our conversation, Abe and Zoe each reflected on something they had learned about themselves that helped them understand how their own actions had been fueling the downward spiral of their arguments.

For example, Zoe had a moment of clarity after a particularly difficult argument. She said, I realized that I had been getting mad in response to frustration and difficulty all of my life, but getting mad had never really accomplished anything. Zoes insight enabled her to consider doing something other than getting mad when frustration and difficulty hit.

Similarly, Abe reported that he was managing his annoyance better. After one argument where he strenuously objected to Zoe telling him that he was annoyed all the time (which, Abe argued, t possibly be true no one could be annoyed ALL the time), and having heard Zoe use the word over and over again, he started paying more attention to all of his gestures that indicated annoyance. He didnt like the impression his gestures were giving to Zoe or their kids, but even more importantly, he didnt like that he was being one of those constantly annoyed people for whom he had little respect. It was just no way to live, he said, and he started looking for ways to shift a moment of annoyance into something more positive or (that is, finding a way to take action to address the annoyance rather than just getting angry).

Zoe also acknowledged to herself, really for the first time, that stress was taking a big toll on her. So it became worth it to her to find ways to reduce tension in all areas of her life. And Abe realized that his insistence that they resolve this right now!, whenever they had a disagreement, grew much more from his anger and fear than from a real desire to work together with Zoe to resolve something. So he started to imagine other possibilities that could be more helpful than resolving it right now!

With their changes and insights, Zoe and Abe began to see a slowing of the spiral. They began to see small signs that one good turn did, often, lead to another one in return. Their story about their relationship started to shift a little. Whereas before they had begun to see themselves as helplessly stuck in the downward spiral, they now could see the possibility that even though there was tension in the air and an argument seemed to be brewing, there might still be a chance to have their interaction turn out well. For Abe and Zoe, the shift, small though it was, wasnt just theoretical or based on principle. They actually started to see one another differently. Simply put, Abe began to get glimpses again of Zoe his friend; and Zoe began to see, for the first time in a long time, Abe the good guy. These new pictures of one another, led to more changes and helped them start to see new, hopeful possibilities for their relationship.

3. They became more open to one anothers language and signals. From my perspective it seems to be a perennial challenge for couples who are stuck to be able to respond respectfully or compassionately to one anothers signals of having had enough, or being worried or afraid. Instead, like Zoe and Abe, when couples are stuck in a long-standing pattern of arguing and blame, they can be highly reluctant to respond warmly or graciously when the partner signals that theyre too worn out to talk, or too worked up to be able to focus, or too stressed to be able to resolve something right now. And if the relationship is highly stressed and has become hostile, then the request to wait until a better time to talk can actually be treated as a political maneuver, as an attempt to manipulate. If youve been there, I probably dont need to say anymore for you to understand how easy it is to be and to the others messages that they just arent able to do this right now.

Abe and Zoe had been deaf and blind to one another for a long time. But building on the new, positive movement in their relationship, they each tried to really pay attention, and treat at face value, what the other communicated about their readiness to talk. Instead of being suspicious of the others motives, they allowed the others words to carry weight. m not ready started to mean, m not ready, instead of m waiting for a more advantageous time, or since youre ready to talk, Im not going to give you the satisfaction of talking. And beyond just starting to trust the others words, they also started to the others body language and let themselves interpret it softly or with empathy. Zoes yawn in the early evening, which often maddened Abe, started to be seen by Abe as indicating Zoes tiredness or being ready for a break, not as anything personal about him. Zoe could now entertain the possibility that when Abe closed his eyes and started breathing deeply and slowly, it was to calm himself down and get perspective, rather than to indicate that Zoe was an idiot.

I dont want to give the impression that once they started down this path of greater empathy and respect that everything was smooth sailing for Zoe and Abe; it wasnt. But what they did say was that once they started to let themselves see the other in a good light rather than a critical light or suspicious light, they started to find evidence that this could be a good relationship. And they continued to kindle the hope that their efforts could actually pay off.

4. They started to change the for their arguments. Although most of their for arguing remained implicit, Abe and Zoe actually discussed and put in place a couple of rules that really made a difference.

One rule was that if a conversation was disrupted they needed to return to it and finish it up. Whether it was disrupted by conflict or hostility, a phone call, a work demand, or by their children, they agreed to come back together later and complete the conversation. It wasnt a highly formalized rule: they didnt specify that it had to occur within a certain time frame or follow any particular guidelines. But they did agree that they should return to the discussion as soon as possible, when they had the capacity to talk in a way that would make things better. With this rule in place (which for Zoe and Abe, was only really possible after they made the other changes discussed earlier), they started to gain a sense of confidence in the relationship. That is, they started to see the relationship as one that could get : not having a lot of loose ends dangling, fights unfinished, issues that couldnt be discussed or resolved. They werent there yet, but they could see that it was possible for them to actually raise an issue of importance and eventually come to a clean, friendly, satisfactory resolution.

The second rule went hand-in-hand with the first: no violent outbursts. For Abe and Zoe, had never meant doing physical harm to one another, but it had meant frightening outbursts of punching walls or the air (by Abe), yelling (by both), and threats to leave (by Zoe). In the past, such actions were so infuriating (and often frightening), that they immediately led to an escalation of hostility, and the increased probability that one of them would either storm off or threaten to kick out the other. A related rule to this one was that if they felt like they were in a place where the only option seemed to be one of the above violent options, then they had permission to leave the room, without being pursued or taunted by the other.

Zoe was particularly articulate in pointing out that their agreement to return to finish up a conversation allowed her to be much more comfortable in letting Abe walk away when he was too worked up. Before the new rules, she felt she had to keep Abe in the room, to keep the conversation alive, because at least they were talking (albeit loudly and unproductively) about something that mattered (and not ignoring it or addressing it only with snide remarks and sarcasm). Now she had a sense of confidence that if Abe left the room during an argument, he would eventually come back, and they could make progress. In essence, allowing each other to walk away kept a tense situation from become even more intense, and, thereby, limited the amount of damage they would do to the relationship in the name of working it out now!

5. Life helped them out. Just as the circumstances of a couples life can often add to their stress and make it difficult to find the time or energy or good will to work though difficulties, life circumstances can also help at times. For Abe and Zoe, a few good weeks in other areas of their lives helped them develop the ability to agree to stop.

Their young son finished teething and was becoming better rested and less fussy. Zoes work had calmed down, plus she got a raise, after a particularly stressful time in the life of her company. And Abe was coming out of a painful crisis in his own extended family the kind of time that always left him feeling torn between his loyalty to his current family with Zoe, and his desire to help his parents and siblings with their struggles. Abe also gave credit to having found the right dosage for his anti-depressants. He had been so low in recent months, that even thinking about different ways of talking with Zoe took more energy than he could muster.

6. They learned to stop before things got too heated. Building on all of the above, Abe and Zoe became much better at recognizing the signs that said they were headed toward a downward spiral, and now had the ability and permission to say to one another, s stop and come back to this later. Now, their words were far less likely to be met with suspicion. Now, they were much more likely to express themselves in ways that indicated their hopes for and trust in the relationship rather than despair. Now, they were much less likely to feel a sense of urgency or desperation: so a now, was more like a pause until a better time, and less like they were in the grips of a do or die, now or never situation.

From a narrative perspective

If we think of Zoe and Abe as having enacted their preferred story of stopping before the destructive, downward spiral sucked them down with it, we can see that their ability to do so did not emerge out of the blue. Instead, the preferred story of saying and having it mean something was actually built on top of several other stories that made it more and more likely that they could stop. These smaller stories included: the changes they made; their self-reflections and insights; their openness to one another; their new rules for arguing; some help from their life circumstances; and a greater understanding of a fast-moving downward spiral that was better stopped before it started.

Zoe and Abes ability to say is similar to a movie where the opening scene is actually from the of the story, chronologically. As we watch this opening scene, we can see that something has just been resolved, and can see the people or bits of evidence that have been key to its resolution. But if thats all we know, its likely to have little impact on us. If the movie actually ended at that point, wed be far less than satisfied. But if the movie then takes us back to the beginning, to the original crime or dilemma, and we can see the complexities of the situation. And then we see the pieces of the mystery put together in a way that points toward an understanding, a solution, or a conviction of the guilty parties, we gain a much greater appreciation of whats been accomplished. And then if the opening scene is re-played, what at first may have seemed like an interesting-but-not-compelling resolution, now takes on richness and depth and becomes highly satisfying.

Similarly, with Zoe and Abe, their ability to say stop, when we understand more of what went into it, becomes not just the application of a good-marriage principle that they read in a book or on a blog! Instead it reflects a rich, detailed story of how theyve made changes in their relationship to have it reflect their values and dreams. It becomes a story of how the small things add up to the big things. It becomes a story of how they each notice their thoughts and emotions and actions, and consider how well those are working toward what they want in their relationship. And it becomes a story of how they each allow the other to have influence: Together they build or construct the story of what this relationship is and what it is to become. So by the end, agreeing to stop, isnt a cheesy cliché, but a rich story capturing Abe and Zoes best efforts and intentions, reflecting and supporting their hopes.

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또 다른 신문엔 여성의 상체 누드(뒷모습) 사진이 전면광고로 실렸다. 이 광고는 한 아울렛을 소개하는 것으로 역시 여성의 알몸이 등장할 만한 제품과 거리가 멀었다.
A different full-page advertisement for a outlet store featuring only a womans nude back has already been in another newspaper, and in that earlier advertisement too the product(s) advertised had little to do with nor required nude women (James: not the one on the right for another Duoback chair, although it seems a strange coincidence that its the only other Duoback chair featuring nudity, and that the outlet store is unnamed; I think the report made a mistake).
최근 이처럼 일간지에 여성의 누드 사진이 활용된 광고가 눈에 띄게 늘자 독자들은 낯 뜨겁다는 반응이다. 아침부터 신문에 누드 사진과 다름없는 광고를 보게 돼 불쾌하다는 설명이다.
Recently, there has been a spate of advertisements featuring nudity in daily newspapers, and these have been making many readers embarrassed and uncomfortable when they encounter them. But these days, it is almost impossible to escape them.
박인숙씨는 신문광고에 누드사진이 실리면 시선을 집중시킬 순 있겠지만 너무 선정적인 광고로 인해 불쾌해지는 사람들도 많을 것이라며 상쾌한 기분으로 아침을 시작해야하는데 이런 광고는 달갑지 않다고 토로했다.
According to Park In-sook, Certainly advertisements featuring nudity will get many readers attentions, but sensational and shocking advertisements can also make many people uncomfortable. It is important to start every day with a fresh mind, and advertisements like these arent helping.
한 편으론 독자의 시선을 한 번에 끌어당길 수 있다는 측면에서 광고효과가 극대화된다는 평가다. 특히 요즘같이 불황에는 사람들의 감각을 자극하는 광고기법이 먹힌다는 속설대로 제품을 하나라도 더 팔려고 하는 회사들이 이런 광고를 자주 하고 있다는 분석이 나온다.
On the other hand, advertisements like this are more effective because they attract consumers attentions with just one glance. And as both modern analysis and a traditional saying advise, during a recession companies should use dependable advertisement techniques which are well proven to do so.

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