Why and how do writers of English Literary and playful texts “break the rules of” English?

After having defined the terms â€Å"playful and literary†, I will then look briefly at foregrounding and the classification of the English Language. Then rhyme, rhythm and repletion would be examined followed by how writers break syntactic rules to show thought process. This will be followed by literary usage of the metaphor, collocation and iconicity. Then I will examine playful text in relation to graffiti, newspapers and advertising. Literary and playful usage of language is different from that of everyday language in that it draws attention to the language itself. Writers achieve this by being creative, original and imaginative. Moreover, by â€Å"skilfully manipulating language to create patterns and usage† to express ideas, which draws the readers giving them an original insight into the world of the writer. (Maybin and Mercer, 1996, p. 198) Writers of literary and playful text use language to draw attention to it by way of surprising the reader into an original perception of the language and the subject matter. This according to the Russian formalists is foregrounding (Maybin and Mercer, 1996, p. 163). Foregrounding is achieved, by breaking the rules of language, that is sound, grammar and meaning to place the reader in the text. Thus, the reader is surprised into seeing the image, hearing the sounds and feeling the emotions. The English Language is classified according to the way words are arranged in sequence and it is referred to as a subject verb object or SVO language. This is because the subject always comes before the verb and the object that is being referred to follows the verb. (Graddol etal. , 1994, p. 5) Looking first at rhyme, rhythm and repetition in literary usage, writers especially poets use this as a form of foregrounding. They use rhyme, rhythm and repetition in to make original observations. As in William Blake's poem â€Å"The Tyger†, one can see that there is an end rhyme with the first line rhyming with the second, and the third with the fourth in an aabb pattern. This is not something is common in normal speech or text. Therefore, Blake, whilst following the tradition of writing poetry in end rhymes is breaking the rules of English. Blake does this because he is not only foregrounding the symmetrical pattern of the verse in its aabb rhymes pattern, but he is also highlighting the eye symmetry of the text. This is done in the first and last stanza where both stanzas are symmetrical apart from one word. Thus, there is a sense of closure and we understand that we have arrived at an end, but because of the aabb pattern, there is also continuity and the idea of the circle of life. Blake also uses rhythm, with each line consisting of four alternating stressed and unstressed words, is used to emphasis the beat of not only the tread of the Tyger but also the rhythmical beating of the hammer on the anvil. The creator of the Tyger and the creator of the poem also use repetition and alliteration to foreground the symmetry of the design. (Maybin and Mercer, 1996, p. 165) Authors also use rule breaking to foreground their characters thought processes. William Faulkner In his novel â€Å"The Sound and the Fury† manipulates the language and surprises the readers into the thought process of the narrator Benjy, who thinks and voices his thoughts, as would a child. He achieves this flow of thought process by omitting the object after the verb. Thus, the reader is uncomfortable with the language, which is limited, showing and creating a sense of incompleteness. This is exactly what Faulkner is aiming for, because Benjy although being thirty-three, is incomplete and exhibits the thought and language process that of a child. Maybin and Mercer, 1996, p. 167) The Charles Dickens also breaks the rules governing the syntactic relationship between words. In his novel The Bleak House Dickens does not, use the verb â€Å"is† after the subject, which is the fog and the object, which is everywhere and everything. By doing this, he foregrounds the reader into an innovative outlook and the reader receives the impression that there is no escaping from the fog; it is all invasive invading the countryside, the social, cultural and political environment. (Maybin and Mercer, 1996, p. 167) Another distinctive feature of literary usage is the metaphor and collocation. Metaphors are comparisons that are not made explicit. They exploit the meanings of words and â€Å"are slipped into â€Å"the sentence (Maybin and Mercer, 1996, p. 165). The rules of English are broken by the metaphor by playing on the various meanings of a word and the paradigmatic relationship of a word. As in the use of â€Å"burning† and â€Å"burnt† in Blake's The Tyger the words not only refer to the eyes of the Tyger but also to the furnace and the stars when speared are also burning too such an extent that they water the heaven with their tears. Collocation refers to the combining tendencies of words† (Maybin and Mercer, 1996, p. 169) that is, the relationship words have with each other, the meanings that are associated with words and in the context that they are normally used. When this rule is broken, the writers are able to utilise our sense of word collocation to foreground â€Å"unusual and striking association of meaning† (Maybin and Mercer, 1996, p. 169). In Carol Ann Duffy's poem ‘Litany' metaphors and collocation is used when she writes â€Å"The terrible marriages crackled cellophane round polyester shirts†. Marriages do not crackle. The word crackle is usually associated with dry inanimate objects; it is this association, which surprises the reader into looking at the marriage in a new light. The metaphor of the cellophane and polyester shirts continue this theme of inanimateness, dead and lifeless as opposed to the marriage being alive and thriving. Collocation is also associated with playful usage of English as in Punning. This occurs when the different meanings of the words are exploited, as in â€Å"My Children! My Africa! Here the Playwright plays on the word ‘riot' to emphasis the difference in culture and explores the difference in meaning associated to a word by differing social groups. (Maybin and Mercer, 1996, p. 171) Another feature of literary usage is the iconic â€Å"where the sounds and shapes of words and phrases imitate particular objects or process† (Maybin and Mercer, 1996, p. 172) writers use this device in order for the reader to experience and hear the sounds being described. Wordsworth in ‘The Prelude' uses it to call upon the simple childhood pleasure of making oneself dizzy. He does this by having a long sentence where the subject and verb occur late in the passage. This achieves the effect of rushing and spinning to an abrupt stop. In addition, one can almost imagine that even though we have stopped the â€Å"solitary cliffs Wheeled by†¦ the earth rolled†¦ † (Maybin and Mercer, 1996, p. 172) e e cummings uses this technique in his poem I (Maybin and Mercer, 1996, p. 202) He relies on the visual effect of the poem to emphasis the falling of one leaf and its oneness. Playful text also uses language to draw attention to it this is achieved, by breaking the rules of language, that is sound, grammar and meaning Just like in literary usage. Graffiti although regarded as being antisocial and illegal is an area where English is used in a playful and entertaining way to highlight a particular comment on social issues or give voice to those sub groups that have been denied access to mainstream. Because of the very nature of graffiti, it tends to be short and succinct. The Graffiti â€Å"Glory to God in the High St† (Maybin and Mercer, 1996, p. 10) by deleting a single letter from the angel's message to the Shepard's, the graffiti satirises the original Christmas message and reflects the commercialization of Christmas. This is achieved by playing on the sounds and the meaning of the two words Highest and High St. An example of iconic graffiti that is a thought process would be â€Å"Dsylexia rules KO† The popular press also use puns and word play in their headlines e. g. â€Å"Belly Nice (model Naomi Campbell with bare stomach), Wedding Prez (President Clinton unexpectedly attends a wedding)† (Maybin and Mercer, 1996, p. 17). They by virtue of being tabloid newspapers need to capture the readers' attention quickly and be able to express in a short headline the nature of the article. Therefore, by using headlines like â€Å"Belly Nice† they play on the phrase â€Å"very nice† in referring to the bare stomach and associating it to her second name Campbell. Another area that breaks the rules of English in a playful way is advertising. Advertising uses all the literary techniques of foregrounding to sell the product, image or idea. In the P&O advertisement, the text is simple; it has rhyme, rhythm and repetition, and seems at first glance to be a simple, child's first reader. However, each line does not have the object. It is only at the end that one realises that the last word is the object of the previous lines. In conclusion after having looked at the various distinctive features of literary and playful usage of text one can see that writers, poets, graffiti writers, journalist and the advertisers use and break the rules of English to foreground there ideas in a creative, original and imaginative way.

Marx and Durkheim agreed about the nature of the problems of industrial capitalist society but disagreed about their cause and solution Essay Example

Marx and Durkheim agreed about the nature of the problems of industrial capitalist society but disagreed about their cause and solution Essay Example Marx and Durkheim agreed about the nature of the problems of industrial capitalist society but disagreed about their cause and solution Paper Marx and Durkheim agreed about the nature of the problems of industrial capitalist society but disagreed about their cause and solution Paper Essay Topic: Sociology Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) was a French, arguably quintessential, sociologist with his assertions that society sui generis is the subject matter of sociology. Treat social facts as things is a famous dictum of Durkheim by which he means social phenomena is an objective realm, external to individuals. Social facts are ways of acting, thinking or feeling that are external to individuals, having their own reality outside the perceptions and lives of individuals (Giddens, 2001, p9). These social facts exercise a coercive power over individuals. Durkheim considered sociology as a new science. By examining traditional philosophical questions empirically, sociology could be used to elucidate these questions. Durkheim was intensely concerned about the social pathology of contemporary industrial society (Anderson et al, 1987, p47). Durkheim was also particularly interested in social and moral solidarity and so studied what holds society together and what keeps society from descending into chaos. Durkheim approached modernity and the industrial revolution through the study of the division of labour (LaCapra, 1972, p82). In 1893 Durkheim wrote his first major works, The Division of Labour in Society in which he contrasted mechanical and organic solidarity and related them to the growth of distinctions between different occupations the division of labour. Durkheim argued that primitive societies were characterised by a mechanical solidarity with a limited division of labour. Social solidarity was based on shared values, all individuals performed similar tasks and were bound together by a common collective conscience. After a gradual move towards an organic society with an advanced division of labour, individuals had different occupational roles and social solidarity was based on moral individualism and cultural pluralism. Social integration was based upon the division of labour. Although Durkheim rejected ideas of both Comte and Saint-Simon, Durkheim did believe that the organic division of labour could provide the basis for individual freedom and social co-operation if the pathological features of contemporary society were eliminated (Anderson et al, 1987, p47). Durkheim introduced the concept of anomie to sociology, which literally means without norms. Anomie exists when society fails to provide a limiting framework of social norms, resulting in unhappiness and social disorders. Durkheim aimed to establish sociology as a science and to establish the requirements to maintain social order in modern societies. After witnessing the growth of industrial production and the inequalities that resulted from this growth, Karl Marx (1818-1883) sought to explain the changes that were occurring in society during the Industrial Revolution era. Marx saw the new and old societies, capitalism and feudalism, in stark contrast. Feudalism was based on the agricultural, rural society, the opposite of industrial capitalist society. Industrial capitalism is dominated by the market. In the production of goods for the market their intrinsic worth plays little part; the worth of any commodity is its exchange value. Everything in society is dominated by the cash nexus, including labour which becomes another commodity to be bought and sold (Anderson et al, 1987, p5). Marx argued that the capitalist property-owners form a ruling class, whom Marx called the bourgeoisie, employers of wage-labour, the property-less working class, whom Marx labelled the proletariat. As industrialisation developed, large numbers of peasants moved to expanding cities and so aided the formation of an urban-based industrial working class. The middle class of merchants and manufacturers (or capitalists) were bourgeois, as distinguished from the remnant of the feudal class, from the proletariat of industrial labourers, and from the peasantry (Smelser et al, 1976, p54). Marx argued that Capitalism is inherently a class system in which class relations are characterised by conflict (Giddens, 2001, p12). In Marxs view, the bourgeoisie were able to generate profit by exploiting the proletariat through oppressive devaluation of skilled labour and its experience. Ultimately, for Marx, this led to alienation the degradation of the workers to become a most miserable sort of commodity whose misery is in inverse proportion to the power and size of his production (Marx, 1848, p77). This commodity would become the social class, called the proletariat by Marx. Labour was organised solely with regard to efficiency and the pursuit of profit. These factors led to inequalities of the working class which increased dramatically the gap between the capitalists and the working class, as well as the wealth and lifestyles of property-owners. Shopkeepers, independent craftsmen and so on were undermined as capitalist production developed a competitive appetite. Marx claimed that it is not acquisitive and competitive individuals who produce capitalist society. It is capitalist society that produces competitive and acquisitive individuals (Hughes et al, 1995). Marx and Durkheim often had conflicting ideas. However, they did share similar views about some sociological ideas. Both believed that scientifically based knowledge of society could be used to improve the conditions of humanity. Both believed their task was to discover the laws that governed the organisation of the social order and draw parallels with the ways in which the natural sciences had revealed the laws of nature. When looking at the nature of the problems of industrial capitalist society, Marx and Durkheim share the argument that the individual and collective were in opposition to one another. They both believed that the individual is a naturally self-interested being which flourished only when exempt from any kind of control by society was a manifestation of modern society and, indeed, of the most pathological features of that society (Anderson et al, 1987, p132). Marx and Durkheim both viewed the individual as a being with a need for society. However, Marx suggested that Man has a nature that will eventually assert and fulfil itself and will do so at the expense of a decadent social order (Smelser et al, 1976, p123). Durkheim claimed that Mans need for society is met less by substantive principles of justice and more by social ties and normative limits (Smelser et al, 1976, p123). Marx and Durkheim argued that we live in societies, called organic by Durkheim and capitalist by Marx, in which people are increasingly, individually, able to do what they want to do but less and less part of social groups. The idea that people should be free from external constraint was opposed by neither Durkheim nor Marx but both believe that in modern societies, extreme freedom can be a bad thing for the individual. Marx and Durkheim tried to disclose the concept of freedom of the individual in western societies of the nineteenth century as an illusion. The freedom of the individual was, Marx argued, only apparent, a superficial kind of freedom (Anderson et al, 1987, p132). Although Marx and Durkheim showed agreement about the problems of industrial capitalist society they disagreed about the causes, as we have seen, and solutions, of this society. Durkheim displayed a particular avoidance of much of Marxs work. Durkheim did relatively little to build upon the integration with the work of Marx. The Marx whom Durkheim particularly abhorred was the Marx who advocated class conflict and violent revolution in modern society (LaCapra, 1972, p23). Durkheim believed that the conception of modern society proceeded through a pathological state of rapid transition, developing into normality. Durkheim was optimistic that modern society possessed the ability to resolve the severe problems produced by industrial capitalist society. Like the political and social theorist Rousseau, Marx desired a means to vanquish the inequalities and divisions of the society of his time and to constitute a true community. In place of the old bourgeois society, with its classes and class antagonisms, we shall have an association, in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all (Marx, 1848, p31). Marx, also like Rousseau, pinpointed the obstacle to attainment in the circumstantially developed divisions among people, particularly the division of labour. Marx argued that social change is primarily prompted by economic influences. Class conflicts provide the drive for historical development and change. Marx called this idea the materialist conception of history. The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles (Marx, 1848, p222). In accordance with his view of history, Marx argued that just like the bourgeois had united to abolish the feudal society, so too would the bourgeois be ousted and a new society installed. Marx believed that the proletariat would develop the capacity and the will overtime to revolt, resulting in the downfall of the capitalist system. This would enable a new society to evolve in which there would be no classes and so no vast divisions between rich and poor. Marx believed that inequalities would no longer contain the split of the mass of the population that were exploited by the ruling class who, in their small minority, monopolised the economical and political power. The revolution that would overthrow capitalism would lead to communism. This political ideology, derived from socialism, aimed to create a society in which private productive property, social classes and the state are absent. With the revolutionary defeat of capitalism, Marx envisaged the emergence of socialist societies in which the state would still play a role but only with the transformation of all property relations. Whereas Marx saw the solution to social problems in terms of direct political actions, Durkheim took a more Clinician-cum-managerialist view by emphasising the effective treatment of the pathological conditions which can afflict society through the deliberate reorganisation of its institutions (Hughes et al, 1995). Durkheim believed modern society would naturally evolve in the direction of normality, certainly without violent revolution (LaCapra, 1973, p22). Durkheim argues that individuals need to integrate forms of behaviour. Individuals now pursue varied lines of work, are not self-sufficient and must engage in multiple exchanges with others. The mechanical society, where individuals performed similar tasks and experienced shared values, is not enough for the individual, who wants to pursue different roles and experience freedom to do what the individual wants to do. The view of human nature held by Durkheim was that there is no natural limit to the desires, ambitions or needs of the individual. This view stands in the tradition of the English philosopher and political theorist, Thomas Hobbes. Durkheim argued that the required limits must be socially produced. Durkheims concept of anomie is a condition of society.. in which there exists little consensus, a lack of certainty on values or goals, and a loss of effectiveness in the normative and moral framework which regulates collective and individual life (Jary, 2000). Durkheim sees anomie as an abnormal social form, resulting from the failure of modern societies to move fully from a mechanical society to an organic society. What Durkheim called an anomic division of labour existed because occupations were not allocated according to skills or experience and so were obliterated. Economic activity in these societies remained unregulated by a coherent value system. Not only did Durkheim criticise the anomic character of the division of labour but also its forced and excessive character. It was forced because the inheritance of private property meant that individuals were not free to find the work most suited to their skills and talents; it was excessive because workers often had insufficient work to keep them occupied in a way that produced job satisfaction (Anderson et al, 1987, p48). Durkheim argued that these factors of the modern divisions of labour led to class conflict. Durkheims solution to the problems of industrial capitalist society was to properly regulate the division of labour. This would end class struggles, achieved through economic co-operation among modern guild associations and through the overall political and moral guidance of a liberal republican state whose power could be checked as necessary through these same guilds(Anderson et al, 1987, p48). Durkheim proposed that the organisation of intermediate groups, such as professional and occupational groups, would enable the individual to bind into the community. Both conflicting and confirming each other at various stages of their writings, Marx and Durkheim, when analysed, attract similar conclusions as to the nature of the problems of industrial capitalist societies. The theorists seem to recognise that capitalism is inevitable and both agree that inequality is the foreseeable outcome. Both Marxs and Durkheims work have attracted criticism and opposition. Marxs class analysis has been opposed for not sufficiently considering the rise of new middle class groups, or affluence. This suggests that Marxs theory of social change and revolution is wrong, although Marx never set a time scale for revolution. Durkheims work has attracted criticism for overstating general normative and social structural influences at the expense of individual agency, although it was always Durkheims intention to leave scope for the latter within his sociology (Jary, 2000). Marx developed a theory that generated specific predictions about the future of capitalism (Smelser et al, 1976, p259). Marx argued that society is a human product, that mens thinking and acting shape the social world, although he also claims that man is a social product. Marxs theory helped to shape sociology even as it was changing the world; Durkheims influence on sociology is unparalleled (Smelser et al, 1976, p70). Despite criticisms and opposing theories, Marx and Durkheim have left a major impression on the sociological world that has shaped and influenced modern sociology and its theorists.

Element Symbols List - Chemical Element Abbreviations

Element Symbols List - Chemical Element Abbreviations Its easier to navigate the periodic table and write chemical equations and formulae once you know the symbols for the elements. However, sometimes its easy to confuse symbols of elements with similar names. Other elements have symbols that dont seem to relate to their names at all! For these elements, the symbol usually refers to an older element name that isnt used anymore. History of the Abbreviations In fact, there are eleven of the abbreviations for the elements which dont seem to match the modern name. Those are subtle reminders of the history of the Periodic Table and the process of the discovery of elements over the millennia. Eight of these oddities are Au (gold), Ag (silver), Cu (copper), FE (iron), SN (tin), Pb (lead), Sb (antimony), and Hg (mercury): All were among the elements recognized by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and the abbreviations for those are based on a Latin or Greek term for the element.   Potassium was identified during the Middle Ages, and its K is for kalium, a medieval Latin term for potash. W stands for tungsten because it was first identified in 1780 within the mineral known as wolframite, by French scientist Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794). And finally, sodium gets an Na because it was first isolated by the English chemist Humphry Davy (1778–1829) in 1807 and he was referring to natron, an Arabic word for the salt used by the Egyptians to mummify people. Element Symbols and Names Below is an alphabetical list of element symbols with the corresponding element name. Keep in mind that the names for the elements (and their symbols) may be different in languages other than English. Ac Actinium Ag Silver (argentum in Latin) Al Aluminum Am Americium Ar Argon As Arsenic At Astatine Au Gold (aurum in Latin) B Boron Ba Barium Be Beryllium Bh Bohrium Bi Bismuth Bk Berkelium Br Bromine C Carbon Ca Calcium Cd Cadmium Ce Cerium Cf Californium Cl Chlorine Cm Curium Cn Copernicium Co Cobalt Cr Chromium Cs Cesium Cu Copper (cuprum  in Latin) Db Dubnium Ds Darmstadtium Dy Dysprosium Er Erbium Es Einsteinium Eu Europium F Fluorine Fe Iron (ferrum in Latin) Fl Flerovium Fm Fermium Fr Francium Ga Gallium Gd Gadolinium Ge Germanium H Hydrogen He Helium Hf Hafnium Hg Mercury (hydrargyrum in Greek) Ho Holmium Hs Hassium I Iodine In Indium Ir Iridium K Potassium (kalium in Medieval Latin) Kr Krypton La Lanthanum Li Lithium Lr Lawrencium Lu Lutetium Lv Livermorium Mc Moscovium Md Mendelevium Mg Magnesium Mn Manganese Mo Molybdenum Mt Meitnerium N Nitrogen Na Sodium (natrium in Latin, and natron in Arabic) Nb Niobium Nd Neodymium Ne Neon Nh Nihonium Ni Nickel No Nobelium Np Neptunium O Oxygen Og Oganesson Os Osmium P Phosphorus Pa Protactinium Pb Lead (plumbum in Latin) Pd Palladium Pm Promethium Po Polonium Pr Praseodymium Pt Platinum Pu Plutonium Ra Radium Rb Rubidium Re Rhenium Rf Rutherfordium Rg Roentgenium Rh Rhodium Rn Radon Ru Ruthenium S Sulfur Sb Antimony (stibium in Latin) Sc Scandium Se Selenium Sg Seaborgium Si Silicon Sm Samarium Sn Tin Sr Strontium Ta Tantalum Tb Terbium Tc Technetium Te Tellurium Th Thorium Ti Titanium Tl Thallium Tm Thulium Ts Tennnessine U Uranium V Vanadium W Tungsten (wolframite) Xe Xenon Y Yttrium Yb Ytterbium Zn Zinc Zr Zirconium Sources Rouvray, Dennis H. Elements in the History of the Periodic Table. Endeavour 28.2 (2004): 69-74. Print.Scerri, Eric R. The Evolution of the Periodic System. Scientific American 279.3 (1998): 78–83.  -. The Periodic Table: Its Story and Significance. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.Yeston, Jake, Nirja Desai, and Elbert Wang. Setting the Table: A Brief Visual History of the Periodic Table. Science, 31 January 2019.

A day in Buna (holocaust) essays

A day in Buna (holocaust) essays During the years of 1933-1939, the German Nazis party began the invasion of the Jewish people. Prior to the outbreak of World War II, Hitler had addressed that the Jews would have to be destroyed if war should come. The will to kill the Jews was embedded in their beliefs not infused by external conditions. Hitlers actions were carried out in many concentration camps. In 1939, Adolf Hitler began to move the Jews into ghettos as the war start. A ghetto, in Europe, is like a China Town or a Little Italy. Something where people of one race or one religion get together to live. Now, lets imagine what ghetto life was like. We are humans who only want to be treated like humans not animals. We have been here for a few weeks already, and the bad condition of living here is unbearable, which I interpret it as the following example. Suppose youre here, and in the next two hours, while youre looking and reading, it snows six inches and hour. So in two hours, the snow out there is going to be a good foot deep, which leads to great difficulty of getting home. Now there isnt enough food for you. Although there are enough restrooms, but we all have to stand in line in order to fit approximately ten families. Also, there arent any beds. Therefore, there arent any comforts. There are some water provided, but its a limited amount, which is about six gallons a day. The health and welfare of all who are here is extremely poor. They are depriving us of basic needs to survive. We hardly get any food as they only feed us bread, water and soup called gruel. It doesnt have much in it, it is only enough to keep us alive to work for them. The people who are running this place (S.S officers) are killing hundreds of us weekly for no reason. The Nazis are treating us inhumanely, torturing and killing us, using execution, poisonous gasses, forced labor, star ...

The Educational Value of Play as Work and Work as Play The WritePass Journal

The Educational Value of Play as Work and Work as Play Introduction The Educational Value of Play as Work and Work as Play , nicurriculum.org.uk/docs/foundation_stage/learning_through_play_ey.pdf Montessori, M. 1978. The Secret of Childhood. Orient Longman, Hyderabad Schools Kill Creativity, last accessed 8th December 2014, ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity/transcript?language=en#t-993000 Whitbread, D. The Importance of Play, last accessed 7th December 2014, importanceofplay.eu/IMG/pdf/dr_david_whitebread_-_the_importance_of_play.pdf

Meteorites from Other Planets

Meteorites from Other Planets The more we learn about our planet, the more we want samples from other planets. Weve sent men and machines to the Moon and elsewhere, where instruments have examined their surfaces close up. Given the expense of spaceflight, its easier to find Mars and Moon rocks lying on the ground on Earth. We didnt know about these extraplanetary rocks until recently; all we knew was that there were a few particularly strange meteorites. Asteroid Meteorites Almost all meteorites come from the asteroid belt, between Mars and Jupiter, where thousands of small solid objects orbit the sun. Asteroids are ancient bodies, as old as Earth itself. They have been little altered from the time they formed, except that they have been shattered against other asteroids. The pieces range in size from dust specks to the asteroid Ceres, some 950 kilometers across. Meteorites have been classified into various families, and current theory is that many of these families came from a larger parent body. The eucrite family is one example, now traced to the asteroid Vesta, and research into the dwarf planets is a lively field. It helps that a few of the largest asteroids appear to be undamaged parent bodies. Almost all meteorites fit this model of asteroid parent bodies. Planetary Meteorites A handful of meteorites are very different from the rest: they show chemical and petrological signs of having been part of a full-sized, evolving planet. Their isotopes are unbalanced, among other anomalies. Some are similar to basaltic rocks known on Earth. After we went to the Moon and sent sophisticated instruments to Mars, it became clear where these rare stones come from. These are meteorites created by other meteorites- by asteroids themselves. Asteroid impacts onto Mars and the Moon blasted these rocks into space, where they drifted for many years before falling on Earth. Out of many thousands of meteorites, only a hundred or so are known to be Moon or Mars rocks. You can own a piece for thousands of dollars a gram, or find one yourself. Hunting Extraplanetaries You can look for meteorites in two ways: wait until you see one fall or search for them on the ground. Historically, witnessed falls were the primary means of discovering meteorites, but in recent years people have started looking for them more systematically. Both scientists and amateurs are in the hunt- its a lot like fossil hunting that way. One difference is that many meteorite hunters are willing to give or sell pieces of their finds to science, whereas a fossil cant be sold in pieces so its harder to share. There are two kinds of places on Earth where meteorites are more likely to be found. One is on parts of the Antarctic ice cap where the ice flows together and evaporates in the sun and wind, leaving behind meteorites as a lag deposit. Here scientists have the place to themselves, and the Antarctic Search for Meteorites program (ANSMET) harvests the blue-ice plains every year. Stones from the Moon and Mars have been found there. The other prime meteorite hunting grounds are deserts. The dry conditions tend to preserve stones, and the lack of rain means they are less likely to wash away. In windswept areas, just as in Antarctica, fine material does not bury the meteorites either. Significant finds have come from Australia, Arabia, California, and the Saharan countries. Martian rocks were found in Oman by amateurs in 1999, and the next year a scientific expedition by the University of Bern in Switzerland recovered some 100 meteorites including a Martian shergottite. The government of Oman, which supported the project, got a piece of the stone for the Natural History Museum in Muscat. The university made a point of boasting that this meteorite was the first Mars rock that is fully available to science. Generally, the Saharan meteorite theater is chaotic, with finds going into the private market in direct competition with scientists. Scientists dont need much material, though. Rocks from Elsewhere We have also sent probes to the surface of Venus. Might there be Venus rocks on Earth as well? If there were, we could probably recognize them given the knowledge we have from the Venus landers. But its extremely unlikely: not only is Venus deeper in the Suns gravity well, but its thick atmosphere would muffle all but the very largest impacts. Still, there just might be Venus rocks to be found. And Mercury rocks are not beyond all possibility either- in fact, we might have some in the exceedingly rare angrite meteorites. We need to send a lander to Mercury for ground-truth observations first. The Messenger mission, which is now orbiting Mercury, is already telling us a lot. PS: Just to take things a little farther, consider this: impacts on Earth have undoubtedly knocked Earth rocks into space too. Most probably fell back, melted, as tektites, but some must be sitting on the Moon right now, while others could have landed on Venus and Mars. In fact, in 2005 we found a big iron meteorite on Mars surface- why not Earth stones too? If life really did exist on Mars, as some evidence suggests, it could have traveled there from Earth. Or was it the other way around? Or, indeed, did both come from Venuss early oceans?

Statistics on Victoria, the Capital of British Columbia, Canada

Statistics on Victoria, the Capital of British Columbia, Canada Victoria is the capital city of the province of British Columbia, Canada. Victoria is a gateway to the Pacific Rim, is close to U.S. Markets, and has many sea and air links that make it a business hub. With the mildest climate in Canada, Victoria is known for its gardens and is a clean and charming city. Victoria holds many reminders of both its native and British heritage, and views of totem poles combine with afternoon tea. The focus of downtown Victoria is the inner harbor, overlooked by the Parliament Buildings and the historic Fairmont Empress Hotel. Location of Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island.See a  map of Victoria Area 19.47 sq. km (7.52 sq. miles) (Statistics Canada, 2011 Census) Population 80,017 (Statistics Canada, 2011 Census) Date Victoria Incorporated as a City 1862 Date Victoria Became the Capital City of British Columbia 1871 Government of the City of Victoria After the 2014 election, Victoria municipal elections will be held every four years rather than three. Date of the last Victoria municipal election: Saturday, November 15, 2014 Victorias city council is made up of nine elected representatives: one mayor and eight city councillors. Victoria Mayor Lisa HelpsVictoria City Councillors Victoria Attractions Major attractions in the capital city include: Parliament Buildings, home of the BC Legislative AssemblyButchart GardensRoyal BC MuseumMaritime Museum of BCFairmont Empress HotelTrans Canada Trail Weather in Victoria Victoria has the mildest climate in Canada, and with an eight-month frost-free season flowers bloom year-round. The average annual rainfall for Victoria is 66.5 cm (26.2 in.), far less than in Vancouver, BC or New York City. Summers in Victoria are pleasantly warm and dry with an average maximum temperature in July and August of 21.8 °C (71 °F). Victoria winters are mild, with rain and the occasional light snow. The average temperature in January is 3 °C (38 °F). Spring can start as early as February. City of Victoria Official Site City of Victoria Capital Cities of Canada For information on the other capital cities in Canada, see Capital Cities of Canada.