The Compiled Sync List of The Wizard of Oz :: The Wizard of Oz Movies Music Films Essays

The Compiled Sync List of The Wizard of Oz 001-Echoes 1) The first indicator that everything is going right is the change from "Speak to Me" to "Breathe" which coincides exactly with the fade-in appearance of the name of producer Mervyn LeRoy *Note: In the prologue the word "Time" (one of the songs on the CD) is written with a capital letter even though it isn't at the start of the sentence. Also you will find the word "Heart" capitalized in the middle of a sentence (a sound particular to "The Dark Side of the Moon"). 2) "Leave, but don't leave me ..." Auntie Em appears to say "... Leave ..." to Dorothy and then Dorothy turns to leave looking a bit down in the mouth. 3) Right after the words "... Look around ..." Dorothy looks around. 4) "... Smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry ..." Two men above (Cowardly Lion and Tin Woodsman) are smiling and the man below (Scarecrow) is crying. This one is sort of not on time but worth the mention. 5) "... All you touch ..." Dorothy touches the man (Cowardly Lion) holding a bucket on his arm. *Note: "All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be" Dorothy's life will only really be all she touches and all she sees in her Kansas home because Oz exists only in her pretty little head. 6) "... When at last the work is done ..." the man (Scarecrow) hits his finger with the hammer (to the beat of the drum no less) and is done with his work. 7) Right after "... Dig that hole ..." the farm hand (Scarecrow) points to the ground as if telling Dorothy to dig a hole. 8) "... Balanced on the biggest wave ..." Dorothy is balancing herself on the fence. 9) "... Race towards an early grave." is said at the moment just before Dorothy falls off the fence rail. ["... Down in the pig-pen sayin' 'keep on diggin' ..." Lyrics from "Pigs (Three Different Ones)" by Roger Waters on the "Animals" CD] *Note: "... Race towards an early grave ..." Perhaps a reference to Judy Garland's untimely death? *Note: Judy Garland died in 1969, the same year we put a man on the moon ... "I'll see you on the Dark Side of the Moon." 10) Song shifts from "Breathe" to "On the Run" at the same time (actually just slightly before) Dorothy falls off the fence.

The Origin of Gender Roles Essay -- Essays Papers

The Origin of Gender Roles The root of all gender issues which presently exist in society may be traced back to The Creation Story in Genesis. This crucial chapter of the Bible provides evidence supporting that God intended for man and woman to exist as equals, yet he assigned gender roles once Adam and Eve disobeyed him by eating the fruit from the forbidden tree of good and evil. Thus, men have been characterized as the â€Å"breadwinners† and women as â€Å"child bearers and housekeepers† since the beginning of humanity. The story of Lilith as Adam’s supposed first wife suggests Adam took on a patriarchal role from the beginning, yet Lilith refused to accept his assumed superiority. She initially challenges him, and then leaves him; she represents a rebellious, yet independent woman. Although these two stories on the first man and woman are significantly different, the two convey that men and women have been trapped in certain roles since the beginning of time, and have always had a power struggle between them. Gender issues have not evolved over time; they have always existed. â€Å"Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man† (Gen. 2:22). The order of human creation in Genesis calls into question whether it was intended for a hierarchy to exist between genders. Since Eve is created from Adam’s rib, and as his helper, it is argued she is created merely to support him, and that she derives from him. These claims have connotations of inferiority. However, other evidence in the Bible proves God did not intend for man to be put above woman. He created both in his image, from the earth, and with the intention they would come together to form one flesh. Therefore, sinc... ... patriarchal text. It argues for women’s presence in the Bible, and deeply explores the stories of prominent female biblical characters. Swidler, Leonard. Biblical Affirmations of Woman. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Westminster Press, 1979. Swidler compares the status of women from the biblical period to that of women from the post-biblical period. The author also evaluates the positive and negative aspects of Jewish and Christian biblical traditions, yet puts more effort into exploring the positive elements of the biblical tradition as far as women are concerned. The Bible. This is the King James Version which is most commonly used and analyzed. It is the core to many religions, and narrates the stories of all prominent biblical figures from the Old Testament to the New Testament.

1720s and 1820a :: American History

In the 1720’s to the 1820’s there were several events, changes, and processes that occurred in America. The three events I am choosing to analyze are: The Great Awakening, The Revolution, and The Market Economy. Each one of these events had a cultural, social and economic aspect. Each one of these events had different impacts and was manifested in several different ways. The first event I will be analyzing is The Great Awakening. â€Å"The Great Awakening cut across lines of class, status, and education† (Boyer â€Å"Bonds of Empire†, P. 86). â€Å"The American Protestantism was split† (Boy â€Å"Bonds of Empire†, P. 87). â€Å"In 1741 Old and New Light Presbyterians formed rival branches that reunited in 1758 when the revivalists emerged victorious† (Boyer â€Å"Bonds of Empire†, P. 87). â€Å"Members of Anglican churches started leaving and going to New Light Presbyterians and Baptists† (Boyer â€Å"Bonds of Empire†, P. 87). â€Å"The Great Awakening stimulated the founding of new colleges unscarred by religious wars† (Boyer â€Å"Bonds of Empire†, P. 87). With the Great awakening for the cultural effect was that they found different churches for others to go to and enjoyed more. They also found colleges that are really well-known colleges today. The next event I chose to ana lyze is The Revolution. During the Revolution, there were social changes that affected several different races, classes and genders. The four groups that the Revolution had an effect on the social changes were: white men, White women, Black Americans, and Native Americas. With the Revolution effecting the white men by â€Å"wearing homespun clothing in support of boycotts of British goods (Boyer, â€Å"Defining Nationhood†, p. 128). When the Virginia planters organized militia companies in 1775, they wore plain hunting shirts so that they didn’t embarrass the poorest farmer for his clothes so that they could enlist† (Boyer, â€Å"Defining Nationhood†, p. 128). While men were out in the war the â€Å"women stayed home and managed families, households, farms and businesses on their own† (Boyer, â€Å"Defining Nationhood†, P. 129). For the Black Americans, it started to show others that slavery was not a good thing. â€Å"The war, nevertheless, presented new opportuni ties to African-Americans† (Boyer, â€Å"Defining Nationhood†, P. 130). â€Å"The slaves were even trying to escape as all the confusion that was going on and pose as a freeman† (Boyer, â€Å"Defining Nationhood†, p. 130). Even though the Revolution showed new opportunities to the African-Americans it â€Å"didn’t end slavery nor brought equality to free blacks, but it did begin a process by which slavery could be extinguished† (Boyer â€Å"Defining Nationhood†, p.

Death of a Salesman Willy Loman’s Mental Breakdwon Essay

In Death of a Salesman Willy Loman was a man made of false dreams. Willy Loman was a man who destroyed himself with his false hopes and dreams. Throughout his whole life he was trying to become a Salesman like his father and he thought he would die a rich and successful man. Willy Loman was a man who tried so hard to achieve the American dream but failed to do so due to the multiple circumstances throughout his life. Environment around Willy Loman has had a huge affect on him which is causing him to be instable. Willy is not only destroyed by his own ideals but destroyed by his own two children Biff and Happy and Howard firing him also broke him down even more. Willy Loman is destroying himself trying to achieve the American Dream and trying to become a salesman like his own father but is failing to do so. He wants to own his own business. Willy also wants to be â€Å"bigger† then Uncle Charlie and that is why he never takes a job under Uncle Charlie even after getting fired. He wishes to die the â€Å"Death of a Salesmman† where many people to mourn for him and remember him as a great salesman. Willy has spent his whole life trying to achieve all these dreams of his but he still hasn’t really achieved any of them which is causing him to have a mental breakdown. However Willy aims in life have been useless as he hasn’t really achieved anything. Willy Loman is constantly lying to himself and his family to escape from being a failure. He is constantly trying to achieve his dream of becoming a great salesman but is lost in reality and is running out of time. In the play Charlie said to Willy â€Å"When are you going to grow up. † Even though Charlie was made fun of by Willy he still is his only friend and cares for him and even offers him a job after Willy gets fired by Howard but Willy refuses to take the job because of his high standards and his dreams which he hasn’t be able to accomplish yet. Willy knows he hasn’t accomplished anything yet and that is why he is guilty and starts lying to himself and to his family and even goes on and has an affair with another woman. He has the affair with the other woman to give himself a â€Å"boost† or to go into another world because he feels he has been a failure at not achieving the â€Å"American Dream. † Having an affair also caused Willy to breakdown because Biff caught him cheating and Willy feels guilty about it. Willy put in his whole life for his sons, Biff and Happy and they turned their backs on him. Willy always loved Biff and thought he would be an amazing business man but after Biff saw Willy cheating it tore Biff apart. Biff failed math and went to Boston to get his dad to talk to his math teacher but at that time he caught his father cheating which made him not get along with his dad for the rest of his life. Willy knows deep down it his fault that Biff never became a successful business man. The fact that he feels guilty is also a huge factor in his mental breakdown. The psychoanalytic theory describes how the environment around a person has an effect on the person. In Willy’s case it his sons and his failiures in life which is causing him to be unstable. From the multiple causes of Willy’s mental breakdown the biggest thing that broke him down was when Biff at the end of Act II shows him the rubber tube he found and explains to him that he was never what Willy wanted him to be. After all that Willy realizes his sons actually do love him even though they aren’t successful businessman. When will realizes he is almost finished is when Biff says â€Å"Pop, I’m nothing! Im nothing Pop. Cant you understand that? There’s no spite in it anymore. Im just what I am, that’s all. † Biff also says â€Å"Will you let me go for Christ’s sake† Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens? After this situation Willy realizes he has not accomplished much in life and his life is almost finished but Biff does love him. Willy has been chasing the American dream for ever trying to follow his father but has never succeeded which has caused him to fail throughout his whole life because he never really did what he was good at which was using his hands. After Willy committed suicide biff tells us what Willy could have been which could have made him successful. Biff says â€Å"Charley, there’s more of him in that front stoop than in all the sales he ever made. † This shows that Willy was never a salesman but was good with his hands. The played concluded with Willy committing suicide so his sons could collect the insurance money and because he had realized he was a failure in life but still wanted his children to be happy and successful. The multiple complications lead to the destruction of an American Dream. Willy wanted a dream that seemed materialistic and unimportant which caused his own life and destruction of his kids. Willy trying to chase the American dream and trying to be better then Charley and trying to be like his dad caused him to be a failure and eventually take his own life. Him not being able to achieve his dreams throughout his life caused him to be a failure and destroying his kids as well.

Bob Ewell Character Analysis Essay Essay

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee emphasizes the horrors of prejudice that allows one man to destroy another based solely on skin color. Lee portrays Bob Ewell as an embodiment of racial hatred and lack of moral integrity. The story takes place in a small southern town where prejudice is a way of life. When faced with the possibility of his daughter wanting a black man, Ewell beats her out of enmity towards the black race and blames the man for Ewell’s own actions. Bob Ewell suffers no guilt for the lies he spreads due to his abusive behavior, unprincipled mindset and prejudiced outlook. Bob Ewell’s behavior is characterized best when Miss Stephanie explains â€Å"this morning Mr. Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat in his face, and told him he’d get him if it took the rest of his life’. Ewell’s initial reaction to seeing Atticus is to disrespect him and spit on him. This reflects deeply on his character, as it shows that he is probably abusive and disrespectful to everyone no matter what their background is. Fischler 2 Ewell lived without a conscience and made immoral decisions without a hint of guilt. Ewell demonstrates his unscrupulous mindset when he attempts to kill Atticus’ children* to get revenge on Atticus for defending a black man, even though Ewell won the trial. Of every one of Ewell’s malevolent traits, his prejudice is his most predominant. Ewell clearly states his racism when he says â€Å"He stood up and pointed his finger at Tom Robinson. ‘I seen that black negro yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!'† He refers to Tom as an animal by using the term â€Å"ruttin’† and uses vulgar language to further show his disgust in people different than him. In the story, Bob Ewell gets a man sentenced to prison/death not because of his wrongdoings, but because of his ethnicity. I believe this morally wrong and that being able to show your hatred publicly and acting on it should be stopped at all costs. This book is a prime example of why.

Discrimination in fairytales

What do you think about fairytales? Do you think about a pretty little princess waiting for her prince or a dark sensual world of make-believe that revolves around violence? I seriously doubt it's the latter. This is because fairytales have drastically changed over the centuries. The modern versions we know today were preceded by a much darker kind of story, one that played heavily on the ideas of superstition, the devil and violence. Genders weren't as heavily criticised. Heroines used to save themselves and others too, usually with brains or charm opposed to brawn. But at least they were trying. An example of this could be â€Å"Sleeping Beauty†, Perrault's version, where the Princess saves herself and her two children from her husband's evil stepmother, by cooking a goat; instead of one of the children as the ogress requested. Her husband then comes in to save her. She played a crucial part in the story: saving her children from the cannibalism of their father's step-mother. Cannibalism is certainly frowned on in society, but is in fact actually a rather common theme in fairytales: Red Riding Hood also originally included cannibalism. The Wolf left the Grandmother's blood and meat for the girl to eat. After she unwittingly cannibalises her grandmother, she sometimes strips for the wolf and gets into bed with it. He then either eats her or ties her to a piece of string. She usually escapes using her own cunning. This is quite different from the grandma-loving biscuit-carrying Red Riding Hood of today. It actually comes across as a story more about child molesting, or at the very least, lust. The story is sometimes seen as a parable of sexual awakening. The red cloak symbolises the blood of the menstruation cycle or the hymen, although earlier versions of the tale do not state the cloak is red. The anthropomorphic wolf can symbolise a lover, a seducer, a rapist, or a molester. This is clearly a rather different take on the Red Riding Hood than we're used to. It seems to be a rather mature disturbing tale. I don't think it's necessarily something we would want our children exposed to. But that was how they were originally written. At least until they were bowdlerised by the Grimm brothers. Fairy stories were originally gothic tales and scary stories about what might come and take you in the night; they were far removed from the Disney classics. The Grimm brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm, were born in Germany in the late 18th century. In an effort to preserve Germany's heritage and promote cultural unity, they collected a vast array of folk and fairy tales from their fellow Germans-mostly middle- and upper-class friends. Although their original intent was to preserve the stories exactly as told, one edit led to another, and soon they had given the stories a literary style and released them as Kinder- und Hausmirchen (Children's and Household Tales. ) Because their intended audience included children, the Grimms selectively bowdlerised the tales they published, notably removing evil mothers and replacing them with step-mothers (as in the case of †Snow White†), and removing implications of sex and pregnancy (as in †Rapunzel†). However, because standards of child-friendliness have shifted in the past 200 years, some of the Grimms' stories are now considered family unfriendly and the deaths written in them are considered to be shockingly violent. This was not the view at the time. So basically they took a fornicating girl in a tower, and turned her into a damsel in distress. This was not quite the same idea. This gave rise to the dependent needy princesses and maidens that feature so heavily in today's fairytales. These are characters that belittle everything that women fight and give their lives to achieve. And ironically it is the past stories that show less anti-feminism even though people were actually more sexist in that period. At least those women had some self-respect and the ability to plot, and in rare cases, use weapons. The blonde stereotype of women in modern fairytales is unparalleled. From a young age, it's almost as if we are being trained to indulge in the ideals of vanity and sexual dependence. Well excuse me†¦ but I'd rather not. It seems to me that this is the start of young girls' urge and desperation for ‘the look': this is something that many women will diet and exercise to achieve. Although as girls age they graduate off pretty princesses and onto fashion icons and models. I'm completely against this idea, partly because I'm a perpetrator of wanting ‘the look' myself, and the fact that I will never achieve it. In other fairytales, a heroine is willingly bound by a spell, whereas a male character may be cursed because he has refused to yield something, for example shelter, in ‘Beauty and the Beast'. If the female character is cursed unwillingly, she is cursed by a malignant character that is as ugly as her personality. This is the exact opposite of the maiden who is cursed. This amplifies the idea that beauty is idyllic and good and ugliness is evil and unforgivable. This isn't a very good role model for children and I find this interesting because it seems to reflect our desire for beauty. However, the reality is that women are not all beautiful and if they aren't, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are nasty unpleasant people. Some villains do have a sort of beauty, but this is usually a sharp-featured frightening beauty that terrifies the younger generation. A wronged women in a fairytale may take the form of a particular animal to escape an evil stepmother or an unwanted marriage. The animal they take is usually reflective of their main traits. For example a graceful and delicate woman may take the form of a swan or a doe. These are animals that are considered to be beautiful. Their fellow animals will provide some company and will somehow help the character to regain what they have lost. This animalistic form gives the character a connection to nature and separates them from society. They become wilder and less sophisticated, embracing a more instinctual kind of beauty. So characters have also gone from blonde to beast, the opposite of the current situation-where blondes prevail far more than beasts. Beastly women, however, are often considered to be connected the Devil, like ‘wild woman' who is the devil's offspring. Lots of hair or fur seems to show some relation to evil, perhaps as it isn't very attractive. This can be compared with the Elizabethan saying ‘Bush natural more hair than wit' which means that people with lots of hair or fur are supposed to be primitive, inferior, sexual and beastly. These weren't exactly desirable traits either at the time or now. Nowadays there seems to be a teeming population of blondes in fairy stories. An example could be â€Å"La Belle aux cheveux d'or† who had hair ‘finer than gold' that was ‘marvellously wonderfully blonde' and was ‘curly and fell to her feet'. This is a rather pleasing image: a beauty with long wondrously blonde hair. The story claims ‘you couldn't look upon her without loving her'. A rather amazing claim: that a woman or man may just gaze upon her and find themselves desperately in love with her, whether in a sexual way or not. This seems to be an illustration of the power possessed by mere appearances. The word blonde comes from the Latin ‘blandus' meaning charming. So in the past it had no implications of sex or great femininity. It also comes from the Medieval Latin ‘blundus' meaning yellow, which only serves to describe the colour not the appeal. In the 14th century, Chaucer began to use the word ‘blondinet' or ‘blondin', which was an affectionate diminutive. In fact it was mainly used for boys. Nowadays we don't think of boys being blonde in the same way girls are. Blonde began to become exclusively female and suggested sweetness, charm and youthfulness: everything a young princess would desire. Only in the 30's and 40's did the word acquire ‘hot' vampirish undertones and begin to be desired almost obsessively. The word blonde symbolises femininity and beauty; things that women crave beyond reason. However, the reality is that it's just a hair colour and that there are women of all hair colours- black, brown, red, grey†¦ white, if you count albinos- that are as beautiful as blondes. More disturbingly perhaps, in recent years the word blonde has been yoked with ‘dumb' to depict a particular character type. Not only is the heroine nearly always blonde, but she is always young. This seems rather ageist to me and isn't the sort of idea that we would want our children brainwashed with. Do we want them to idolise the youthful and not respect that the elderly can achieve things themselves? No. They should understand from a young age that you can't use people and that OAP's are not a step of the stairway of success, as people is fairy stories often do. The heroine never possesses great wisdom and seems to get things and assistance by flicking her hair and batting her eyelashes. Wow†¦ that's very useful. I don't think that that should be something that children aspire to be like. Intelligence and knowledge are more important than beauty, and fairytales seem to miss this. So the prince can slay a dragon, but can he win a game of checkers? I wouldn't count on it. It seems to me that in fairytales, only the villains seem to possess a decent IQ, as they're the only characters that use their brains or cunning to conjure up a scheme. Heroes rely on courage. I think it's almost sad that in the stories strength and beauty are idolised and seem to triumph over intelligence. This is similar today, however, if we think about how the bullies of the world act all big and tough, but aren't the brightest bulbs around. They tend to pick on the weak, so in today's world that would be the geek. Rather sad, don't you think? The stereotype of a maiden in fairy stories is dependent, needy and waiting for her happily-ever after. This is not exactly an image to aspire to. After all why would a woman need a man? She could get on perfectly well on her own. As the feminist saying goes, â€Å"A women needs a man, like a fish needs a bicycle. † However, I think this is a little extreme. Perhaps this dreadful stereotype of women could be remedied if half the time the women went out to save the men. Perhaps it would ruin the men's egos, but at least the women could be portrayed with a little self-respect and not a day-dreaming ditz who has the attention span of a goldfish. The 90's Disney movies tried desperately to do this. Ariel, Belle and Mulan who rush to the aid of their lovers are the examples of this. I decided to write about fairytales because there are so many issues surrounding them. I remember them with fondness from my childhood, and I would want to read them to my children and grandchildren. I think gender discrimination is a serious issue. Just because someone has an X and a Y chromosome or two X's, it doesn't mean they are any better than the other. I think feminism is a step too far in the other direction however. Being co-dependent isn't necessarily a bad thing. Men need women too. Fairytales show both sides of this as well. The prince rescues his princess as he can't live without her and the maiden loves the man because†¦ well who can resist a man on a white horse? Not me! They are simple stories that are debated hotly because of the context of them. Are they too violent? Are they too idealistic? Are they too perfect? Fairytales are all about love and romance. They are about good triumphing over evil in a series of unlikely events. They tell us of deeds of valour and bravery in a time that we can only imagine. They show us how a poor little maid can fall in love and become a princess. The characters may be seriously flawed and have many issues, but they are stories. Wonderful stories. Stories that we read time and time again so that we can dream of being that brave knight or that damsel in distress. I think that my childhood would not have been the same without Chicken Licken or the Princess and the Pea. I think that even though they are unrealistic and give people impossible expectations and dreams, they are a part of our culture. To edit them, as the Grimm brothers did, would destroy a time long-forgotten. I think that they still exist today. The royalty of today is the celebrities-actors and models. We look at them and wish we were like them, just as the people of the Renaissance would have looked at a princess and thought ‘I wish I was her†¦ ‘ Dreaming is in our nature and to change that for the sake of a few misconceptions would be unforgivable.

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 16

He walked for a long, long time, though it seemed his surroundings never changed. The same dim light filtered through a constant cloud of ash. He plodded on through grime, through mud, through ankle-deep pools of dark water. Occasional y, he unclenched his fist and gazed again at the locks of hair. Each time, the magic liquid cleaned them a little more, changing a scrap of fibrous blackness to two locks of shining hair, red and gold. He walked on. Everything hurt, but he couldn't stop. If he stopped he would sink back below the ash and mud, back to the grave back to death. Something whispered around the edges of his mind. He didn't know quite what had happened to him, but words and phrases spun in his head. Words like abandoned, words like alone. He was very cold. He kept walking. After a while, he realized he was mumbling. â€Å"Left me al alone. They'd never have left him here.† He couldn't remember who this him was, but he felt a sick sort of satisfaction from the glow of resentment. He held on to it as he continued his march. After what felt like an unchanging eternity, something happened. Ahead of him he could see the gatehouse he had imagined: spired like a fairy-tale castle, black as night. He walked faster, his footsteps shuffling through the ash. And then the earth opened suddenly beneath his feet. In the space of a heartbeat, he was fal ing into nothingness. Something inside him howled, Not now, not now. He grabbed and clawed at the earth, his arms holding him afloat, his feet swinging into the emptiness below him. â€Å"No,† he moaned. â€Å"No, they can't†¦ Don't leave me here. Don't leave me again.† His fingers slipped, mud and ash sliding beneath his hands. â€Å"Damon?† an incredulous voice roared. A great muscular figure stood above him, silhouetted against the moons and planets in the sky, his chest bared, long, spiraling tangles of hair spil ing over his shoulders. This statue of a man reached down and grasped him by the arms, lifting him up. He yelped in pain. Something beneath the earth had latched onto his legs and was pul ing him back down. â€Å"Hold on!† The other man grunted, muscles rippling. He strained and heaved against whatever was clinging onto Damon – Damon, the man had cal ed him, and that felt right, somehow. The other man gave a great tug, and final y the force below released him, and he shot out of the earth, knocking his rescuer backward. Damon lay panting on the ground, spent. â€Å"You are supposed to be dead,† the other man told him, climbing to his feet and holding out a hand to steady Damon. He pushed a long lock of hair away from his face and gazed at Damon with serious, troubled eyes. â€Å"The fact that you are not†¦ wel , I am not as surprised as I should be.† Damon blinked at his savior, who was watching him attentively. He wet his lips and tried to speak, but his voice wouldn't come. â€Å"Everything has been disturbed here since your friends left,† the man said. â€Å"Something essential has shifted in this universe. Things are not right.† He shook his head, his eyes troubled. â€Å"But tel me, mon cher, how does it come to be that you are here?† Final y Damon found his voice. It came out rough and quavering. â€Å"I†¦ don't know.† The man immediately was al courtesy. â€Å"I think the situation cal s for some Black Magic, oui? And some blood, perhaps, and a chance to clean up. And then, Damon, we must talk.† He gestured toward the dark castle ahead of them. Damon hesitated for a moment, glancing at the emptiness and ash around them, then trudged after him toward the open doors. After Stefan swept out of the room so suddenly, everyone could only stare after him as the front door banged, signaling that he had left the house just as quickly. Bonnie hugged her arms around herself, shivering. A little voice in the back of her head told her that something was very, very wrong. Celia final y broke the silence. â€Å"Interesting,† she said. â€Å"Is he always so†¦ intense? Or is it a vampire thing?† Alaric chuckled dryly. â€Å"Believe it or not, he's always seemed very low-key and practical to me. I don't remember him being so volatile.† He ran a hand through his sandy hair and added thoughtful y, â€Å"Maybe it was the contrast with his brother that made him seem so reasonable. Damon was pretty unpredictable.† Meredith frowned thoughtful y. â€Å"No, you're right. This isn't the way Stefan usual y acts. Maybe he's emotional because Elena's threatened? But that doesn't make sense†¦ she's been in danger before. Even when she died – he was heartbroken, but, if anything, it made him more responsible, not wilder.† â€Å"But when Elena was dead,† Alaric reminded her, â€Å"the worst thing he could imagine had already happened. It's possible that what's making him so jumpy is that he doesn't know where the threat's coming from this time.† Bonnie took a sip of tea, zoning out as Meredith hmmmed thoughtful y, and Celia raised one skeptical eyebrow. â€Å"I stil don't understand what you mean when you say Elena died. Are you suggesting she actual y rose from the dead?† â€Å"Yes,† said Meredith. â€Å"She was turned into a vampire, then she was exposed to sunlight and physical y died. They buried her and everything. Later – months later – she returned. She's human again, though.† â€Å"I find al that very hard to believe,† said Celia flatly. â€Å"Honestly, Celia,† said Alaric, throwing up his hands in exasperation. â€Å"With everything you've seen since we got here – your scarf nearly choking you, then spel ing out a name, Bonnie having a vision, Stefan practical y flying to save you – I don't know why you're drawing the line now and saying you don't believe a girl could come back from the dead.† He paused and took a breath. â€Å"I don't mean to sound harsh, but real y.† Meredith smirked. â€Å"Believe it or not, it's true. Elena came back from the dead.† Bonnie wrapped one long red curl around her finger. She watched as her finger turned white and red against the strand of hair. Elena. Of course they were talking about Elena. Everyone was always talking about Elena. Whether she was with them or not, everything they did or thought centered on Elena. Alaric turned to address the whole group. â€Å"Stefan seems convinced that ‘he wants you' means Caleb, but I'm not sure that it does. From what I've seen of Bonnie's visions, and what you guys have told me, they're hardly ever about what's right in front of her. Caleb's appearance – if it even was Caleb – could have been a coincidence. Don't you think so, Meredith?† Oh, don't bother to ask me about the visions, Bonnie thought bitterly. I'm only the one who has them. Wasn't that the way it always was, though? She was the one everyone overlooked. â€Å"It could be a coincidence,† Meredith said doubtful y. â€Å"But if it's not Caleb she was talking about, who is it? Who wants Elena?† Bonnie glanced under her eyelashes at Matt, but he was staring out the window, apparently completely detached from the conversation. She could tel that Matt stil loved Elena, even if no one else knew. It was too bad: Matt was awful y cute. He could date anyone, but it was taking him a long time to get over her. But then, no one ever seemed to get over Elena. Half the boys at Robert E. Lee High School had gone around gazing wistful y after her, as if she might suddenly turn around and fal into their arms. Certainly most of the boys Elena had dated had stayed a little bit in love with her, even after Elena had more or less forgotten their names. It isn't fair, Bonnie thought, twirling her hair more tightly around her finger. Everyone always wanted Elena, and Bonnie had never even had a boyfriend for more than a few weeks at a time. What was wrong with her? People always told her how cute she was, how adorable, how fun†¦ and then they looked past her to Elena, and it was like they couldn't see Bonnie anymore. And while Damon, amazing, sexy Damon, had been fond of her, sometimes, when she wasn't trying to kid herself, she knew he hadn't real y seen her, either. I'm just the sidekick, that's my problem, Bonnie thought glumly. Elena was the star; Meredith was a hero; Bonnie was a sidekick. Celia cleared her throat. â€Å"I have to confess I'm intrigued by the appearance of the names,† she said stiffly. â€Å"It does seem like they point to some kind of threat. Whether or not Bonnie's purported vision comes to anything† – Bonnie shot her best nasty look at Celia, but Celia ignored it – â€Å"we should definitely investigate any background or context we can find for the unexplained appearance of the names. We should find out if there's a recorded history of this kind of thing happening before. The writing on the wal , if you wil .† She gave a thin-lipped smile at her own joke. â€Å"But what would we investigate?† Bonnie said, finding herself unwil ingly responding to Celia's teacherlike manner. â€Å"I wouldn't even know where to start looking for something like this. A book on curses, maybe? Or omens? Do you have anything like that in your library, Mrs. Flowers?† Mrs. Flowers shook her head. â€Å"I'm afraid not, dear. My library, as you know, is mostly herbals. I have a few more specialized books, but I can't recal anything that might be helpful with this problem.† When she mentioned â€Å"more specialized books,† Bonnie's cheeks got hot. She thought of the grimoire on communication with the dead, stil tucked under the floorboards in her bedroom, and hoped Mrs. Flowers hadn't noticed it was missing. After a few seconds, her cheeks had cooled enough that she dared to glance around, but only Meredith was looking at her, one elegant eyebrow raised. If Meredith thought something was up, she wouldn't rest until she got the whole story from Bonnie, so Bonnie gave her a bland smile and crossed her fingers behind her back for luck. Meredith raised her other eyebrow and looked at her with deep suspicion. â€Å"Actual y,† Celia said, â€Å"I have a contact at the University of Virginia who studies folklore and mythology. She specializes in witchcraft, folk magic, curses, al that kind of thing.† â€Å"Do you think we could cal her?† said Alaric hopeful y. Celia frowned. â€Å"I think it would be better if I went up there for a few days. Her library isn't as wel organized as it could be – I suppose it's symptomatic of the kind of mind that studies stories rather than facts – and it might take a while to discover if there's anything useful there. I think it would be just as wel for me to get out of town for a while, anyway. After two brushes with death in two days† – she sent a pointed glance toward Meredith, who blushed – â€Å"I'm beginning to feel that Fel ‘s Church isn't the healthiest place for me.† She looked at Alaric. â€Å"You might find her library of interest, if you'd like to come with me. Dr. Beltram is one of the best-known experts in her field.† â€Å"Uh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Alaric looked startled. â€Å"Thanks, but I'd better stay here and help Meredith. With her sprained ankle and everything.† â€Å"Mmm-hmmm.† Celia glanced at Meredith again. Meredith, who had been looking steadily more delighted every second since Celia had announced she was leaving, ignored her and smiled at Alaric. â€Å"Wel , I suppose I should give her a cal and get my things together. No time like the present.† Celia stood up, smoothed her sundress, and walked out the door, head high. As she passed, she brushed against the table near Mrs. Flowers's chair, sending her knitting to the floor. Bonnie let out a breath as Celia left the room. â€Å"Wel , real y!† she said indignantly. â€Å"Bonnie,† said Matt warningly. â€Å"I know,† said Bonnie angrily. â€Å"She could have at least said ‘excuse me,' right? And what was that with asking Alaric to come with her to UVA? He just got here, practical y. He hasn't seen you for months. Of course he's not going to leave again with her right now.† â€Å"Bonnie,† said Meredith, in a strangely choked voice. â€Å"What?† said Bonnie, catching the oddness in her tone and looking around. â€Å"Oh. Oh. Oh, no.† Mrs. Flowers's knitting had fal en from its table, and the skein of yarn had rol ed across the floor, unwinding as it went. Now, in the curls of soft pale pink, they could al clearly read one word written across the carpet: bonnie