... , however, is Jack Nicholson's performance in "About Schmidt", where he plays a mid-western retiree who suffers from a "late-life" crisis while on his road to self-discovery as he dreads the nuptials of his daughter. This is Nicholson's 12th Oscar nomination. Kathy Bates also stars in this film as she plays a sex-starved artist who just loves naked hot-tubbing (barf ... bag, anyone?). Nominees also include Nicholas Cage ("Adaptation"), Michael Caine ("The Quiet American"), Daniel Day Lewis ("Gangs of New York"), and Adrien Brody ("The Pianist"), who all had wonderful, to the point of bei...

• Word Count: 688
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... Did you know there is an estimated 300,000,000 pot smoker's world wide? Yes, pot has been an issue sense it was made illegal back in the 1920's. But why should it be legal? Well there are three great reasons I can think of. First if both beer and cigs are legal and they both get people ... near as bad as alcohol or cigs, then why shouldn't pot be legal? Second it would be a great source of revenue for the government. Pot has many uses in the medical field. I know you have asked yourself that if beer and cigs are legal, why not pot? Alcohol has lead to the death many people in car acciden...

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• Grade Level: High School

... can really dampen your lifestyle, so why not take a long vacation from it all? For example, if your job is putting stress on your life, or if your children are beginning to be to much for you, and mabye even school is putting your life into overload mode. The best medicine to treat these kind of ... vacation spots you can go to put a little ease into your life. For instance, take a Caribbean cruise where you can enjoy the heavenly waters and bathe in the warm sun. Another great place would be the mountains, if you like sitting in a comfy cabin in from of a nice fire and drink hot cocoa. ...

• Word Count: 260
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• Grade Level: High School

... This is one of the happiest and also difficult period in one's life. During this period, teens are more likely to go out. They feel like doing whatever they want without obeying anybody. It's the edge for rebellion. That's why we consider a large number of teens in the workforce. They feel ... that they can accomplish something by working. They are useful to the society. In this way, they become entirely citizen. Indeeed, they get ... recognition from people and at the same time respect. These are the main thing a teen ... self independence from their parents' authority. One significan...

• Word Count: 376
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• Grade Level: High School

... the Corn Belt with a manuscript in his suitcase and a pain in his heart,"" are some of the ambitious people that make up New York. Some others in Ozick's essay such as Willa Gather begin in Red Cloud, Nebraska, ended on Bank Street and Jackson Pollock, born in Cody, Wyoming, landed in New York. Why? New York-- whatever the ... season is "is ambition. The author states, ... "That here, right here, is importance, achievement, delight in the work of the world; that here, right here, is the hope of connection, and life in its fulfillment."" New York ... year-old would have to wait and wait...

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... why people abuse drugs because of their problems. When I refer to drugs, I mean things like cigarettes, prescription, and non prescription medications, narcotics, and even alcohol. To abuse something is to use it more than normal or misuse it in an inapproiate way. Abusing a drug is usually done every time the ... , but many abuse it. For example, when problems arise, people try to drown them out with alcohol. Most abusers start at the beginning of the day and drink all day until they are intoxicated. Others start midday and continue until night and consume so much that they also ... als...

• Word Count: 1260
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... skills, or obtained an education while in prison, and have not received adequate transitional services upon leaving prison. The current strategies to reduce recidivism include constructing more prisons and harsh sentencing. These methods have proven to be ineffective. This research focuses on the specific reasons why recidivism occurs at such a high rate, and how it is a problem for communities in terms of cost ... and violence. In addition, this research analyzes current solutions to reducing recidivism, why they have not been implemented, and proposes solutions that will reduce the re...

• Word Count: 616
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... have filled many multimillion dollar cases against various charges. In the article The Avengers General, Alan Greenblatt explains why Attorney Generals have filed these cases, and why the Republicans Attorneys General Association (RAGA) objects to these lawsuits. There are many reasons why some Attorney Generals, mainly Democrats, choose to pursue these lawsuits against large corporations. The main reason that Attorney Generals chose to pursue these lawsuits is ... for the money. They are making millions and billions of dollars from these ... ...

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... far J.D. Salinger's best short story included in the novel, Nine Stories. This story is about a Jewish family from New York. They are on vacation at a nice, quaint, little lake. The tale evolves around a mother and her son. The son always attempts to run away and the mother simply cannot comprehend why he does such a thing. The relationship between the two is very, very weak. Until one day ... when the son is on his father's boat, the mother approaches him. He is fascinated by the fact that her key chain holds ten ... keys, far more than his father. She first pretends to throw them int...

• Word Count: 326
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... . Gatsby was obviously unhappy, but the reader was not told why. When Nick goes to New York with Gatsby and meets Meyer Wolfshiem, the reader is given some suspicion that Jay is involved in illegal dealings, because of the hints that Meyer Wolfshiem drops and the things Jay tells Nick about Meyer. The reader is finally told why Gatsby is unhappy at the end of chapter four, when ... Jordan Baker tells Nick about Gatsby's love for Daisy. The next major revelation about Gatsby does not happen to Nick until much later ... , but the author decided to place it earlier in the novel so the reade...

• Word Count: 519
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Has technology shaped our society? When we look back to the mid 1930s, we"ll see that the US was facing a very difficult time. After the gigantic losses on the New York Stock Markets, the economy was on its way to an all time low. The unemployment rates were astronomically high, leading to even worse conditions. "But why did this happen?", we may wonder. Well, there is a very ... Martha's Vineyard. If we would not have been so hungry for wealth there wouldn't be so many poor people existent as today. In the US alone, over 17 per cent of the population lives life below the poverty line. And wh...

• Word Count: 604
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• Grade Level: High School

... compliance until September of 2006. This gives restaurants a delay before they are required to either add separately ventilated areas or go completely smoke free. Governor Henry said he would sign the legislation, saying it "represents a common-sense approach to a very important health issue." (Freerepublic.com) Opponents believe that this upcoming law violates individual rights and say that secondhand smoke risks ... have been exaggerated, but looking at the simple facts and the grueling effects of it, why should there be an individual right to destroy someone else's health? Exposure t...

• Word Count: 705
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• Grade Level: High School

... help put some unanswered questions to rest by reliving the events leading up to and after the battle of the Alamo in their book A Line in the Sand. One of the main purposes the authors were going for in this book was trying to separate fact from fiction by explaining some common myths and tracing how and why those fictions grew. They accomplished this by staying unbiased ... and telling both sides of the story. The book tries to keep an impartial perspective of events but it is clear that it favors Texas. In Jay Winik's review "Endless Siege ... more and there were no pictures or helpf...

• Word Count: 692
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• Grade Level: High School

... in an unconventional way. If Newland completely wanted and loved Ellen and Ellen completely wanted and loved Newland then why did nothing happen between the two besides a few kisses? Newland of course is married to May, a pure, submissive woman who trusts and believes the high society of New York's elite, which causes Newland some feelings of guilt but not many. It appears that ... have had to do what his heart told him to do, which was to break off the engagement with May and to marry Ellen. Even Mrs. Mingott says that early on! "Now why in the world didn't you marry my little Ellen?" ...

• Word Count: 628
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... passing grade in English that was taught by a teacher named Mr. Spencer. Holden learns the most valuable lessons about everyday life and wonders why he has to live the life he has. Holden had three siblings" back home that he thought of most of the time, two of which were older than he was. His oldest brother D.B. was ... a writer that moved away to Hollywood. One of the many books he wrote was The Secret Goldfish. It was ... money. His second oldest brother Allie died of leukemia at a very young age. His favorite sibling was his only sister Phoebe. He would talk about her the most aroun...

• Word Count: 575
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• Grade Level: High School

... New York. Only now that I have recently lost my Mother, these memories come back to me. I have begun to examine why I decided to move to Pennsylvania over a decade ago. It was because I enjoyed the playing in the snow as a child. During 1959 we moved from Queens to Suffolk County. We lived in a nice neighborhood in West Islip, New ... York. I recall waking up one morning to see the aftermath of an extreme storm. We had received more than twenty inches of snow. As fast as we could, my brother and I dressed in our snowsuits and ... boots. We ran out back to build a snow fort - I was only...

• Word Count: 429
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• Grade Level: High School

... to ask him some questions about Jay Gatsby and the mechanic. Interrogation: Nick Carraway Q: Since when do you know Mr. Gatsby? A: I first met him when I moved here two months ago from Minnesota. He invited me to one of his parties. Q: Why did you leave Minnesota? A: I got a ... Job recently in New York and found this bungalow next door through my relatives. Q: Do you happen to know anything about his background? A: He was born in Minnesota to a poor family. He joined the army and later served as a commander during the war. While he was in the ... your wife home? A: Yeah. (He leaves) No...

• Word Count: 1101
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• Grade Level: High School

... discover love and commitment. The gangsters in the musical, being avid gamblers, ultimately learn that love is the most sacred gamble of them all. Given the complexities of combining plot with singing and the orchestra, I think the cast did a good job ... for anyone to produce a genuine New York accent. As a result, the actors stayed in character and were convincing. I was impressed by how some of the actors are great singers. Emma Woodman, who played Sarah has a really great ... who played Benny Southstreet, to have an excellent singing voice as well. This musical has withstood many ve...

• Word Count: 589
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• Grade Level: High School

... his or her job and it is unwarranted stress for that teacher. To get around some of these problems schools have had the kids that will not do well on the tests just not come to school that day or suspend them so they can't be in school. That of course is ... feed instruction to get that student through the rest of the year and succeed in that content area. A really good to is if the test had a good break down of that content area so there is a better representation of where the weakness lay. There are a myriad of reasons of why we give standardized tests to students, ... unfortunately t...

• Word Count: 1047
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• Grade Level: High School

... , it helps prevent lawsuits as well as giving everyone an equal opportunity of freedom of religion. The Bill of Rights to the US Constitution gives public employees the right of freedom of expression of religion. Although private employees are not protected by the Constitution, there are state and federal laws that can. People should not be discriminated against because ... their sexual orientation or religion. While reading the article, "Religion in the workplace", I came across some very valid points on how companies can approach religion in the workplace. Some of these points include ...

• Word Count: 360
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... she was getting special treatment because of her nationality and didn't like it. When, as a child, she liked all the attention she could get, now she just wanted to fit in with all of the other kids; she didn't want to stand out. At one point, she was asked to make a speech for ... help figuring out who they were, why the Irish kids whose grandparents had been micks were calling them spics. Why had they come to this country in the first place?" This passage shows they were confused and upset with the prejudice and hatred they were presented with by the Americans. They needed and wanted h...

• Word Count: 968
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... she was getting special treatment because of her nationality and didn't like it. When, as a child, she liked all the attention she could get, now she just wanted to fit in with all of the other kids; she didn't want to stand out. At one point, she was asked to make a speech for ... help figuring out who they were, why the Irish kids whose grandparents had been micks were calling them spics. Why had they come to this country in the first place?" This passage shows they were confused and upset with the prejudice and hatred they were presented with by the Americans. They needed and wanted h...

• Word Count: 975
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... how he met Remi Boncoeur in prep school and also specifies: "The reason I'm going into everything that happened in San Fran is because it ties up with everything else all the way down the line" (Kerouac, 61). And, when he tells about Dean Moriarty at the beginning of the story, the reader has a complete understanding of why the main conflict is not solved: "Dean was out of reform ... school" (Kerouac 1). Or when he tells us: "Dean was the son of a wino, one of the most tottering bums of Larimer Street" (Kerouac ... , 37). In the story, Sal is always justifying the acts of his friends, w...

• Word Count: 3797
• Approx Pages: 15
• Grade Level: High School

... eluded us then, but that's no matter- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther- (p.189) This quote summarizes all of the hope that Jay Gatsby had. Money and success are one of the only reasons why Daisy ever began talking to Gatsby again. Daisy was infatuated with money and that's what Jay had. "He took out a pile of shirts and ... can get back with Daisy even though she is now married and has a daughter. Gatsby doesn't even quite grasp reality. ""I wouldn't ask too much of her," I ventured. "You can't repeat the past." "Can't repeat the past?" he cried incredulously. "...

• Word Count: 726
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... all time. It ranks number eight on the AFI's top 100 greatest movies of all time. The feeling of this movie is incredible. The entire feeling of this movie is grimy, dirty, and depressed. It conveys a sense of hopelessness and despair "perhaps this is why On the Waterfront is so effective. This is a movie that gives the viewer the sense of corruption, greed, and pain. In ... one of the most memorable shots, Terry shouts "I coulda ... been a contender!- to his greedy brother that made him throw the big fight of his career. Ever since then young Terry has been ... ...

• Word Count: 377
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School