Core training or exercise that specifically targets the core muscles has become one of the hottest topics in the fitness and exercise world lately. Unfortunately, its surge in popularity has also given rise to several “core training myths”. This article unearths the some of the more popular myths and offers corrective “truths” for each.
10. “The core is the abdominal muscles”
While this statement is not entirely false, the core is definitely much more than just the abdominals. The core is actually a collective term for about 29 muscles that work together to stabilize the connection between your hips, pelvis and low back (the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex or LPHC) - so muscles like your glutes (butt) and deep back muscles also play an important role.
9. “If you have a “six pack” then you have a strong core”
This myth builds from the previous one. While it is possible to have washboard abs it does not automatically mean you have a strong core. A six-pack simply means that you have developed the rectus abdominis muscle - quite possibly too much even, causing muscle imbalances in the core. The rectus abdominis is more suited to move the spine than stabilize it since it is actively used when flexing the spine or rounding the upper back like in a sit-up or crunch.
8. “If I do curl-ups on an exercise ball then I am strengthening my core”
Doing sit-ups or curl-ups on an exercise ball will do little to strengthen the core because it again involves movement of the spine and LPHC - not stabilization. Stabilization is muscles bracing and holding a body part still while mobilization involves muscles moving the body part.
It is not possible to specifically target the core stabilizing muscles in an exercise that causes movement of the LPHC. (This is the same reason why squatting on an unstable surface like a BOSU ball is unlikely to target the core to a great degree).
The only real benefit of curl-ups on an exercise ball is possibly the ability to work the rectus abdominis and oblique muscles through a larger range of motion, since the exercise is begun with the spine curved backwards (extended) over the ball.
7. “If I do leg lifts or scissor kicking on my back on the floor I’m strengthening my core”
This situation is similar to doing crunches. For the abdominals to work during leg lifts or scissor kicks, they have to pull the pelvis backwards so that the low back is pressed into the floor - again mobilizing the LPHC. Even though the lower abdominals muscles may be working isometrically to hold the low back on the floor, the exercise does little to target the twenty-some other muscles making up the core. Besides the LPHC is also resting on a very stable surface - the earth!
6. “I should feel a “burn” in my core area when I do core training”
The most important stabilizing muscles of the core work at a very low intensity when working correctly. This makes sense, as stabilizing muscles are often your anti-gravity and postural muscles, which have to work for long periods of time.
You may get the impression that core training is not doing anything worthwhile, but it is important to remember that increased strength is more an improvement in communication between a muscle and its nerve rather than an increase in muscle size. If the activating signal a muscle receives from its nerve is clear and strong, it results in the activating of more fibers and motor units - generating more stabilizing force.
What is actually more likely to happen is that your brain will feel fatigued, as training the core correctly requires extreme concentration.
5. “If I practice “pulling my navel to my spine” or “scooping my abs” I’ll activate the deep abdominal muscles of the core”
This is a common “tip” given by personal trainers and yoga or Pilates instructors to help their clients activate the deep abdominal muscle called the transversus abdominis (TVA). Unfortunately, this drawing in maneuver tends to activate the mobilizing muscles like the obliques and the rectus abdominis more than the stabilizing TVA. The TVA by design cannot cause actual inward movement of the abdominal wall but rather causes a narrowing of the whole waist.
A more appropriate pointer to help activate and strengthen the TVA is to imagine contracting the pelvic floor muscles (like stopping urine flow mid-stream) or pinching the hipbones together.
4. “If I do exercises like “superman” on a Swiss ball then I’m strengthening my core”
The superman exercise involves lying on your stomach over a Swiss ball, lifting the trunk and raising an alternate arm and leg.
Any time the LPHC is supported by some surface or external support, it no longer needs to work hard stabilize - even if the surface is an exercise ball! Some of the best core exercises are those that place the LPHC suspended in an unstable, anti-gravity position - stabilizing in the “neutral position” (the pelvis is neither tilted forward, backward, sideways or rotated). Exercise examples are quadruped (on all fours), bridging and planking exercises.
3. “I can do core training on my own because technique is not that important”
Actually core training is all about technique and maintaining perfect form and control of the LPHC. For example, if you poke your chin while doing supine Swiss ball bridge, this causes the LPHC to move out of the stabilized neutral position and into the mobilized position. External feedback from a partner or personal trainer can help you be aware of slight deviances in technique that minimize core exercise effectiveness.
2. “You need to actively scoop you abdominals or pull your navel up and in when performing exercises like standing chest presses and free weight work”
The TVA is the most important of all core-stabilizing muscles as it “braces” the low back with natural corseting action. In healthy people (without low back pain) this muscle works in a reflex (non voluntary) feed forward action even before movement of the arms or legs begin. So in my opinion, it is unlikely that consciously drawing or scooping the abs (which is incorrect anyway!) will have much benefit to improving core strength.
1.“Core training is for ladies and wimps”
Au contraire Mon frere! Core training exercises are possibly some of the hardest and most physically challenging to perform and yet are also some of the most logical to include in an exercise and conditioning program. Remember the core acts as the anchor for all the muscles of the body to “pull off” so even if you look like Swartzenegger, if your core is weak, then functionally you will be weak too.
We have seen many athletes at our facility with all the appearances of being fit and strong crumble when asked to perform simple Swiss ball exercises. Besides I doubt many people would call Tiger Woods, Australian rugby players and the New England Patriots wimps!
David Petersen is a Personal Trainer/Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and the owner and founder of B.O.S.S. Fitness Inc. based in Oldsmar, Florida. More articles and exercise video clips can be found at http://www.bossfitness.com.
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What is your worse fear as a self-publishing writer? For many, it’s finding mistakes after publication.
Imagine receiving boxes of books from the printer only to discover a glaring typo. After countless hours of editing and revising the document, followed by editing and revising the proof, followed by another blue-line final, how did it get by?
How do you prevent errors before they wind up in your book? No matter what editing procedures you undertake, mistakes happen.
But employing these 5 methods can drastically decrease the chances of mistakes finding their way into your published book.
1 - Employ an editing service.
The most common mistakes are minor, for example incorrect word use (their, they’re, there) and simple misspellings.
2 - Get a second (and third) set of eyes.
Even if you don’t wish to pay a professional, anyone who reviews your document will find mistakes you invariably miss. It’s a function of the brain called “cerbrainiumitis.” Okay, okay, that term is made-up - but the truth is, you’re much more familiar with your manuscript than anyone else, and as a result, apt to miss obvious mistakes simply because your eyes glaze over them.
3 - Read your manuscript backwards.
Backwards reading is the antidote to “cerbrainiumitis” because a critical view of the English language cannot be corrupted by the flowing exposition you’ve massaged into sparkling prose. When you read your manuscript backwards, it’s just a bunch of words, and those mistakes literally jump off the page.
4 - Read your manuscript out loud.
When you’re forced to say the words your brain is forced to slow down and concentrate on the material. Bonus - you may discover stumbling blocks like awkward sentence structures and choppy dialogue when hearing your book read aloud.
5 - Use the right kind of publisher.
What do you do when that 5,000 print run costs $10,000 and features a grave error that cannot be dismissed? Your best recourse upon discovering an error is typically a sticker and a sense of humor. But a publisher that allows you to revise your book after publication (for a reasonable fee) means you’re never stuck with your blunders.
About the Author
Brent Sampson is the President & CEO of Outskirts Press Publishing at http://www.outskirtspress.com and author of Publishing Gems: Insider Information for the Self-Publishing Writer. Information at http://outskirtspress.com/publishinggems
“Hitting the wall”, “Writer’s Block”, “Brain Cramp”, “Drawing a blank”…whatever name it goes by, it’s every writer’s worst nightmare. “It” defies logic and spits in the face of reason. We’re writers for writing out loud! Words are our dearest, closest friends. We’ve been very good to them, and they are normally very good to us. Then, when we least expect it, we can no more string coherent words together than we can fly. It’s that evil presence with multiple nicknames, and even when we aren’t in its grip, it hovers in the back of our minds, letting us know it can spring on us at any time.
There’ve been enough books written on the subject to pave a road from Des Moines to Miami. Truth be told, there are enough on my own shelves to cover Iowa alone.
Every writer has his or her own “take” on writer’s block. The common consensus seems to be: get away from what you’re working on for anywhere between several minutes to several days. The belief behind this advice is that the longer you try to work through a total blockage of the mind, the more frustrated you’ll get. While there’s a great deal of truth behind these teachings, and following this path would be the one of least resistance (not to mention a sanity preserver), sometimes this just isn’t an option.
For example, if you’re working on a deadline, you can’t kill valuable time. And if you’re working for someone else, it isn’t your time to kill. You simply haven’t the luxury of leaving your blank page behind and getting back to it when you’re able to fill it up with brilliance. The brilliance had better darned well come right now!
If wit and wisdom are being elusive, you have to coax them out of hiding. I’ve found two “coaxing techniques” that I swear by. The first one is so simple and obvious that it’s often overlooked. It’s www.thesaurus.com. You type in a word you’re working around and you’re given pages of snazzy words, categorized by synonyms, antonyms, and parts of speech. This is the one tool that instantly takes your vocabulary from here to THERE, and can plow through that proverbial wall.
The other remedy I use? Quotations. I’ve collected quotes since bell bottoms first pealed. It’s mentally intoxicating when someone takes words for a joy ride, and I collect the especially memorable rides. They prove invaluable at times when I’m stuck. Never more so than when I haven’t a clue how to begin a piece. Unbeknownst to him, Mark Twain alone has launched many an article all on his own! When you find a really great quote, it serves as a mental spark plug to get your motor started.
For example, if you’re writing about originality, you could use another great launcher, Booker T. Washington’s quote, “Do a common thing in an uncommon way.” You could begin by giving the quote and the quoter, then go on to elaborate. Mr. Washington did the hard part already.
Keep in mind, no matter how frustrating it makes you feel, experiencing writer’s block is proof that you are exactly what you always wanted to be. You’re a writer!
About the Author
This article is excerpted from http://www.thementalsparkplug.com, a website offering a comprehensive book featuring brilliant quotations and phrases. Feel free to e-mail the author at joi@thementalsparkplug.com
Finding the time to write a novel is one of the major issues confronting writers, particularly those who haven’t been published yet. How does one justify to themselves, or to their loved ones, that they need time to write if they have demands on their time, like a job, or a house to be cleaned, a family to be fed, or shopping to do? They make the time.
To make time, one would have to sit down and plan it. If this is not done, then writing will become a haphazard event, dictated by a whim, or a passing urge, rather than a scheduled time. This often results in the book never really being finished. You do want to finish that book, don’t you? Below, I have my own suggestions as to how to make time.
- Think about your daily schedule, just like when you do a budget, only instead of money, you’ll be budgeting time.
- Then get a nice large desktop calendar, the ones that cost about two dollars. Begin filling in the mandatory slots for the week. Do you have a work schedule, or a doctor’s appointment, a meeting to go to, etc.? Then write these times down.
- Next, fill in the times for meals, showers, shopping, socials, etc.
- Now look at the times that you are free. Please don’t say there isn’t any time left! There will probably be some time available somewhere. Maybe it’ll be at lunchtime, if you are working, or after dinner, or even during the day if you’re a stay-at home parent (when junior is napping).
- If you are a new writer, start slow. Maybe find one hour a day and reserve that for your writing. Go ahead and write the date in the calendar. You just made an appointment with yourself. Now do it for every day of the week. You decide if you want to work the weekend or not.
- If you are a more seasoned writer, you will probably need more time. I find that I need a minimum of three hours a day to write. Sometimes I may also use this time doing research for my book.
Once you make that appointment with yourself, that’s the easy part. Next, you have to keep that appointment. There are so many instances when something else interferes with your designated time. I know, I’ve been there. Therefore, you need to have some flexibility. Always have a reserve time slot handy in case you don’t make your date. Although I was pretty regular and rarely strayed from my afternoon schedule, there were times that I just couldn’t stay on track. I learned to be flexible and wrote in the evenings. The important thing to remember is to not stray too far from your schedule, because it defeats the purpose.
Once you’ve scheduled your writing dates, then prepare your work area. Try and have it ready before your designated time. If you have a computer, make sure the printer has enough paper, and there’s a floppy disk available to save your Word files in. If you use a pen and paper instead, make sure you have them handy. Also, make sure you have enough lighting in the room. You wouldn’t want to strain your eyes. Make your writing area as comfortable as you can.
Now try writing for a week. How did it feel? If you’re like me, it felt great. Not only did it feel great writing, but I quickly found out it wasn’t enough time! One does need time to get into the story, to think about the dialogue, to write that chapter. Sometimes you’ll be so absorbed in your writing, that you may surpass the hour you designated, and that’s fine if you go beyond your scheduled time (unless it affects your other activities). There will be other times when you’ll sit there doodling, trying to write something, and it won’t be easy, so you’ll probably finish quicker than the allotted time.
The important thing is to write on a consistent basis. It’s similar to exercise. In order to see results, you have to do it persistently and over a long period of time. A novel can never be written in one sitting! Over the course of your writing, you’ll be learning valuable skills that can only come from experience. Also, you’ll notice that the more you write, the easier it’ll become.
As you follow your daily writing schedule, you will show your loved ones that you are serious about your work, and more importantly, prove to yourself that you can write that novel!
I wrote my first novel in 1- years. Being a stay-at-home mother gave me the opportunity to write during my baby’s naps, which averaged about 2-3 hours each afternoon. It is very rewarding to see your novel taking shape. If I could do it, then so can you!
Patty Apostolides is author of Lipsi’s Daughter. She has published several articles and poems. Her website showcases her works: http://www.geocities.com/10500bc/index.html
Liendou@Writing.com
South Plainfield, New Jersey, July 2005 - Dallas Contracting Co., Inc., (website: http://www.dallascontracting.com) a specialized contractor providing demolition, onsite concrete aggregate crushing, equipment salvage and scrap metal recycling to various industries, completed a 5,000 ton concrete and asphalt crushing project for a client in New Jersey.
The project scope consisted of Dallas Contracting Co., Inc. (Dallas Contracting) providing an excavator and an onsite concrete crushing plant to crush 5,000 tons of concrete, asphalt and brick into 2 inch minus material to be used for onsite backfilling. The work had to be completed quickly as the client had a backfilling deadline that had to be met.
To accomplish this task, Dallas Contracting utilized a Komatsu PC220LC excavator with bucket attachment and an UltraMax 1000-15CV Plant (manufactured by Eagle Crusher Company, Inc.). The Ultramax is a 3 stage portable crushing unit that has a feed hopper size of 11 cubic yards and is powered by a 275HP Diesel and 75KW generator. The typical throughput for the crushing plant on material of this nature is about 1000+ tons per day.
The materials were first sized to 2 feet x 2 feet in order to fit into the feeder. The materials where then fed into the hopper utilizing the Komatsu excavator. Rebar from the concrete is sorted out from the aggregate material via an onboard magnet. The rebar is discharged to the side and the crushed materials are discharged towards the rear. The crushed aggregate material was sized to 2 inch minus.
Due to the client’s timetable, all materials needed to be crushed as soon as possible in order to meet their backfilling schedule. Dallas Contracting was able to meet the client’s tight schedule and all 5,000 tons of materials were crushed in five (5) days. The crushed aggregate was immediately utilized by the client for onsite backfilling. The project was completed on schedule and without incident or injury.
Our concrete aggregate and asphalt crushing services offered the client many benefits including:
Environmentally friendly - conserve landfill space
By utilizing the crushed aggregate materials onsite as fill material, it saved the client a substantial amount of money by not having to import backfill materials or send the original materials offsite for disposal.
Dallas Contracting Co., Inc. is an expert in onsite concrete aggregate crushing, asphalt crushing and recycling. Additional information on our onsite crushing services can be obtained at our website http://www.dallascontracting.com/concrete_crushing.html
About Dallas Contracting Co., Inc.
Dallas Contracting Co., Inc. has been in business for 26 years, is financially sound (D&B Rating of 3A2), is bondable, and works on a nationwide basis. Dallas Contracting Co., Inc. offers a turnkey approach to demolition, concrete recycling and remediation projects by offering the following services under one roof:
Demolition, Onsite Concrete Aggregate Crushing and Recycling, Environmental Remediation, Rigging, Brownfield Redevelopment, Surplus and Used Equipment Sales, Interior Demolition, Equipment Removals, Dismantlement, Equipment Salvage and Scrap Metal Recycling.
Dallas Contracting Co. Inc. sells used and surplus equipment and inventory at their storefront on EBAY (http://stores.ebay.com/Dallas-Contracting?refid=store).
Contact:
Dallas Contracting Co., Inc.
1260 New Market Avenue
South Plainfield, New Jersey 07080
P: (908) 668-0600
F: (908) 668-0601
Contact: Damon Kozul, PE, CHMM
Email: dkozul@dallascontracting.com
Website http://www.dallascontracting.com
About the Author
Operation Manager
Dallas Contracting Co., Inc.
Female Code of Conduct in the Court Life of France
The Heptameron is a collection of seventy stories told by five men and five women, including discussion of the stories. Taken together, these tales depict the lives of women in sixteenth-century France. Like their Eastern counterparts, women were expected to be governed by the men in their lives, either husband or father. The dominant attitude is that “women are made solely for [men’s] benefit” (Navarre 119). The men assert that “it becomes [women] so well to be soft and gentle” in their relationships with men (Navarre 187). A lady who withholds her love and favors from a man is deemed ‘cruel.’ One of the storytellers compares this withholding of love to starvation from lack of food:
Saffredent: Nevertheless, if a lady refuses to give bread to some poor wretch dying of hunger, then she is regarded as a murderess.
Oisille: If your requests were as reasonable as those of the poor begging bread in their hour of need, then a lady would indeed be extremely cruel to refuse them. But the malady you are talking of only kills those, thank God, who would die anyway within the year!
Saffredent: Madame, I cannot think that a man can have any greater need than that which makes him forget all other needs. Indeed, when love is truly great, a lover knows no other bread, knows no other meat, than a glance, a word from his beloved. (Navarre 426)
Like Genji, the men in The Heptameron employ the rhetoric of lovesickness in attempts to gain favors from women. If a woman doesn’t love a man who purports to love her, she is accused of inflicting “diabolical torture” that is more painful than “all the torments in Hell” (Navarre 283). Also like Genji, sixteenth-century French men believed their “honour ruined” if they failed in their conquests (Navarre 97). Therefore when a man is faced with a woman who is “too sensible and good to be tricked” and “too well-behaved to be won around by presents and talk,” he is “justified” in taking her “by force” (Navarre 219).
The double standard prevalent in sixteenth-century France was promoted by women as being the proper conduct for women. Parlamente (the character who is thought to be Marguerite de Navarre) asserts that:
Women who are dominated by pleasure have no right to call themselves women. They might as well call themselves men, since it is men who regard violence and lust as something honourable. When a man kills an enemy in revenge because he has been crossed by him, his friends think he’s all the more gallant. It’s the same thing when a man, not content with his wife, loves a dozen other women as well. But the honour of women has a different foundation: for them the basis of honour is gentleness, patience and chastity. (Navarre 397)
It’s interesting to note some of the male storytellers refuse to believe “the hearts of men and women [are] any different” (Navarre 254). Since women desire the same things as men, i.e. love and passion, a man is able to destroy “the fortress of the heart where Honour dwells” if he only perseveres long enough to persuade the lady to give “herself up to that which she had never wished to resist” in the first place (Navarre 214).
The male storytellers and the male characters have difficulty believing a woman whom they desire might not desire them also. They ascribe female reluctance to their sense of modesty, not faithfulness to their husbands if she is married or chastity if she is not married. While social standards of female conduct in sixteenth-century France are very similar to those of tenth-century Japan, the female storytellers and women depicted in the stories possess an important difference from their Eastern counterparts: They are more assertive in resisting male dominance, particularly in controlling their own sexuality.
Female Resistance to French Code of Conduct
Although some of the male storytellers advocate rape if the woman refuses all sexual advances, in the majority of the stories told in The Heptameron rape and attempted rape rarely go unpunished, unlike The Tale of Genji. In Story Five after the ferrywoman escapes the two friars’ attempted rape, she rounds up a mob from her village to return to the islands and seize the two friars (Navarre 99). All the villagers were “anxious to join in the hunt and have his share of the fun” (Navarre 99). The two friars were tied up and paraded through the village streets “to the shouts and jeers of every man and woman in the place” (Navarre 99).
Some women in the stories are threatened into submission, like the nun in Story Seventy-two who “dare[s] not resist” the monk whom she considers “the most pious man in the place” (Navarre 540). However, the majority of the women actively resist unwanted advances. Unlike the women in The Tale of Genji, most of the female characters will physically fight with their male oppressors. In Story Four, the Princess fends off her attacker by biting and scratching his face horribly (Navarre 92). Also in Story Forty-Six, a wife of a judge kicks a friar down the attic stairs when he refuses to heed her warning not to follow her into the attic (Navarre 406). These are only two of the many instances when women will physically engage in fights with men; in this regard, they are very different from the women in tenth-century Japan.
The women agree it is “reasonable” that husbands should govern their wives but stipulate that husbands should not “abandon them nor treat [them] badly” (Navarre 361). The majority of the wives who are treated badly resist their husbands’ ill behavior in some manner. Some women try to change their husbands’ behavior, and others seek out means to avenge themselves.
In Story Thirty-seven, a wife embarks upon a campaign to win back her husband’s love after he begins cheating on her. When he returns to his wife in the morning, she gives him a bowl of water to wash his hands, saying it is “only decent to wash one’s hands when one had been somewhere foul and dirty” (Navarre 359). She hopes to induce her husband to “acknowledge and abhor his wicked ways” (Navarre 359). This ritual continues for a year, but the husband’s behavior does not change. The wife then decides more drastic measures are needed; she hunts all over the house until she discovers her husband in a bed with “the ugliest, dirtiest, and foulest chambermaid in the house” (Navarre 359). She sets fire to straw in the room and when the husband fails to wake, the wife shakes him awake. She tells him if he does not change his ways, she doesn’t know if she “shall have it in [her] power a second time to save [him] from danger” (Navarre 359). Her husband promises “never again to give her cause to suffer on his account” (Navarre 359).
Other wives in the stories attempt to shame their husbands for their philandering by conspiring with the women their husbands have been pursuing. In Story Eight and Story Fifty-Nine, wives instruct the chambermaids to set up a rendezvous with the husbands. In the first, the wife takes the place of the chambermaid (Navarre 109), and in the second the wife arrives at the rendezvous and catches the husband in the act of seducing the servant (Navarre 467). These two examples reflect a growing resistance to the double standard of sexual conduct. No such resistance to this double standard is seen in The Tale of Genji. In the court of Japan, it is a given that men will have more than one wife and/or concubines.
In the circumstance of cheating husbands, some women decide to avenge themselves by taking lovers also. The wife in Story Fifteen tried “everything in her power to win [her husband] around,” but he refused to give up his illicit affairs (Navarre 190). The lady became depressed, and earned the pity of a noble lord who attempts to console her. The King puts this friendship to an end, but she soon discovers another man willing to be her lover. Her husband, finally realizing his wife’s beauty and desirability, begins to pay more attention to her; but it is too little, too late. By this time, the wife has “a desire to pay him back for the sorrows that his lack of love had brought her in the past” (Navarre 192).
French women also attempted to seclude themselves from men who had dishonorable designs upon them. In Story Forty-two, a townswoman is pursued by a young prince who believes she would be an easy conquest. The prince sends a messenger to declare his intentions, but the young woman feigns disbelief and insists the messenger must have made it all up without his master’s knowledge (Navarre 382). The prince begins to court her by letters, but she refuses to answer. She also avoids attending events in which she might see him. When he arranges a ploy to gain access to her house, he pleads with her to “give [him her] love in return,” admonishing her for her “spite” in continuing to refuse him (Navarre 384). However she says she “would rather die” than do anything that would damage her virtue (Navarre 384). She continues to remain chaste, earning the enduring respect of the prince who arranges an honorable marriage for her.
In The Heptameron, one can discern rising levels of consciousness that women should be allowed to choose their own husbands. One example of this resistance to others determining a woman’s marital state occurs in Story Forty. In this story, the Comte de Jossebelin refuses to let any man marry his sister. She and a young man who lives in the household fall in love and are secretly married (Navarre 368). Even though the sister is old enough to marry whom she wants and is legally allowed to do so, her brother has the man killed when he becomes knowledgeable of the marriage. The Comte, wary that his sister might “seek revenge or would appeal to the law” has a castle built in the middle of the forest in which he locks her away “forbidding anyone to speak with her” (Navarre 370). After a time, he attempts to “regain her confidence” and even insinuates he will allow her to marry (Navarre 370). But his sister resists all appeasement and, in effect, places a curse upon her brother for his evil actions with the result that he and his six sons “all die[ ] miserably” (Navarre 370). Although the common social custom is still that women should seek guidance and permission in their choice of husbands, there is a growing attitude that women should marry for love and not as a matter of convenience or financial gain.
In The Heptameron, there are many women who resist the customary sexual norms imposed upon them. The majority of these women though usually experience punishment for their transgressions; one of the few exceptions to this occurs in Story Forty-Nine, which also depicts the extremity of female promiscuity. A foreign Count and Countess are visiting the court of King Charles, when the King becomes enamoured of the Countess (Navarre 417). King Charles sends her husband away on business so he can have the Countess “to himself” (Navarre 417). But the wayward Countess is not content with the King only; she ‘imprisons’ a succession of men in her dressing room for a week at a time, installing another one whenever she releases the one currently hiding there (Navarre 418).
Each of the men knew that the others desired the Countess, but they each believed that he was the only one to “have his wishes granted” and each man “secretly laughed at the others for having failed to win such a prize” (Navarre 418). Eventually however the six men who were the Countess’ captives could no longer keep from bragging about their sexual conquests, and so they all learned what the Countess had been doing (Navarre 419). They decide to punish her by accosting the Countess on her way to Mass, all dressed in black and wearing an iron chain around their necks to signify their ’slave’ status (Navarre 420).
The Countess realizes she has been found out, but she refuses to let the men succeed to humiliate her; she does not “become angry or change her behaviour in any way” (Navarre 421). The six prisoners of the Countess “were so abashed at this that the shame they had desired to bring down on her fell upon them and remained in their hearts” (Navarre 421). The Countess’ evenness of temper conveys to the men the idea her behavior is no more shameful than their own had been. While the female storytellers condemn the Countess’ actions harshly while not commenting on the men’s behavior, this story and many others exhibits an increasing hostility towards the double standard of male and female sexuality.
If one compares male attitudes towards women in The Tale of Genji and The Heptameron, one will see little difference regarding their views of female inferiority and subjectivity to males. The primary difference exists in how the females themselves comprehend their roles in society. Women in tenth-century Japan are taught to be completely docile and submissive to the male figures in their lives. The only resistance they exert is of the passive kind, i.e. with admonitions, feigning illness, and concealing themselves as much as possible from men. In contrast, the women of sixteenth-century France are much more assertive in defending themselves from physical abuses and ill treatment from men. However the prevailing attitude is still that women should be submissive to their fathers, brothers, and husbands as long as those men do not treat them badly. A woman is only justified in opposing male authority if she is not treated with the kindness and consideration that is due to her.
Bibliography
Navarre, Marguerite de. The Heptameron. Trans. P.A. Chilton. London: Penguin Books, 1984.
Shikibu, Murasaki. The Tale of Genji. Trans. Edward G. Seidensticker. New York: Random House, 1990.
Earning a living as a writer is next to impossible. Even when you’re published, the amounts received for the majority of writers are far below poverty level in the course of a year. When you have a book published, you receive an advance, but that advance has to last until the book earns back the money. That could take about three years for a successful book. Divide your advance by three, and that will give you your annual writing income per year. A $6,000 advance will net you $2,000 a year. Can you live on that? A less successful book might go out of print before the advance is paid back. The answer, of course, is to have more than one book publisheda book a year would probably be worthwhile. But having one book published doesn’t necessarily mean your next book will be accepted.
The solution to this problem is simple. You must decide why you’re writing in the first place. If you just want to get rich, you might think about entering the entertainment field. Once you’re known throughout the world, publishers will be knocking on your door to publish anything you want to write. Otherwise, you have to make a commitment to write and market your manuscripts every day. If you spend enough time and effort, eventually you will be published, and, ultimately, you will probably make a living at writing. But you won’t be rich.
If, however, writing is in your blood and you find yourself continuing to write whether you get published or not, consider submitting your work to an e-magazine article market. It’s a wonderful place to see your non-published article collection in print. Some of these markets even pay you, but regardless, if you are good at your craft, the nonpaying editors will jump on your submissions and beg for more. There is a benefit involved here that could lead to fame and fortune as it relates to Google and being showcased on the Internet. If you enter your name on the Google site, what do you find? If you’ve had any publishing success, you should be there. But if you aren’t there, and even if you are, it’s to your benefit to consider e-publishing. A previous paying market in this field that unfortunately is no longer active is http://www.writeforcash.com. This market paid only $15 an article for all rights, but if you were accepted, you could submit as many articles as you wanted to submit. The site offered numerous subjects for which two- or three-page articles were needed. At the beginning of each month, your earnings would be deposited in your PayPal account. And, yes, this was done without fail. The link to the articles I had published with them continues to be active, and if you wish to see one, please go to: http://www.pagewise.com/articles/train-basenji-dog.htm.
The closest I could find to this type of market is http://www.ezinearticles.com. Unfortunately, there is no pay for articles submitted here, but unlike Write for Cash you retain the rights (in case you want to put all your published articles into book form at a later date). You can also submit to other markets as long as you add a link to ezinearticles.com. If you’re really good, your article will not only be accepted, you will be designated an expert writer, which greatly increases your online image. As a regular writer you are limited to 10 submissions, but if you are an expert writer, you can submit as many articles as you wish. If you haven’t entered the online marketplace yet, I would suggest that you start here. It will offer writing credits you can use when submitting to paying markets. This site also offers a list of various subjects for which they will accept articles. I would further suggest that you self-edit your articles and make sure there are no misspelled words, no typos, and that you follow the format set forth. Don’t hesitate to use a spell checker and make sure you use the correct grammar.
One e-magazine that pays for articles is Brady magazine. Go to: http://www.bradymagazine.com. The payment here is $20CDN for first electronic rights and $10CDN for reprints. In American funds that is about $15/article. The manuscripts accepted by Brady must, however, be about writing. It’s very important to know what prospective editors want for their online publications. It is further important to know what rights you’re selling. Read the guidelines carefully.
“Writer’s Magazine” has published a list of online writers’ markets in its September 2005 issue. These sites are intended for writers looking for writing markets online. Some are gateways into other sites, and others offer articles about writing, while a few seem to be limited to articles by the owner of the site. The one site I found to be useful is http://www.freelancing.com. It lists several subjects with prospective markets. The best way, I think, to locate a market for your articles is to enter “article guidelines” or “article submissions” in Google or Yahoo. It will take some time to winnow out the chaff, but it’s worth it.
If you decide to follow this path to publication, it is best if you have your own website. That way every article you have published can link back to your website. My website is listed below, and I invite you to check it out.
Stay away from any site that says you can earn a lot of money. Not that easy. If you have good writing skills and have learned your craft well, you can become a published writer and ultimately a paid writer. Good luck.
Marjorie N Allen is an award-winning author of several books and has taught writing at a community college. She has presented school workshops in writing, and has written book reviews for “The New York Times Book Review,” travel articles for the “Boston Globe,” and is a longtime freelance editor. Her website is http://www.marjorienallen.com
If you are not creating articles for your website and your affiliate programs, you should. Why? Even though it may seem like a lot of work, and it may take you time to build — articles add a valuable commodity to your site — content. And my friend, the search engines and people alike are always on the lookout for good content.
If you are creating articles, you are always looking to find ways to get your article out to the masses - and the more exposure your article has the greater the opportunity that people will read your article and want to visit your website. Should you submit your articles manually or should you use an article marketer submission service that will choose for you — where your article goes? Is an article submission service a good option for you when submitting articles? I hope to show you both the pros and cons of this service and let you be the judge.
Pro to Article Submission Service
Article Submission Service can be a great help when your time is limited and you want to get your articles to all the article sites and groups. However, when the service is tiered, based on what you pay and don’t pay - you have to be aware of what you are getting..
All services give you a sampling with a free service - and I did find the free service to be on the, well, expected side. After submitting to the free service of an article submission service I received the following:
1. I received several emails that stated my article had been received by a site and would be looked at. This is usual, and a good sign.
2. I received emails from the yahoo groups, which is a good sign but I didn’t partake because I knew that I would be receiving articles from other authors on a regular basis and did not want to overwhelm my private email address. Thus, be aware, use a yahoo email address and keep your private email address separate.
The article submission to the article sites such as Ezine Articles (Which, by the way, is one of my favorite sites) and Go Articles will require a small outlay of money for each article on a monthly basis. Thus, I would use a submission service if:
1. I had a separate email address to catch the other authors’ articles that I would be receiving from the yahoo groups.
2. I wanted to part with my money to take advantage of the service.
3. Needed more time.
4. I have a desire for a wider exposure of my articles and thus, more traffic to my site.
Cons of Using an Article Admission Service
When looking at anything new, you must determine when it is to your advantage to use a service or to do it yourself. These are some of the issues I would have to overcome:
1. If I do the submission myself, I know that the article or articles have reached it expected destination or destinations - but the exposure my article gets will be limited by the sites that I know.
2. If I’m restricted by General Titles will the article sites kick my article out because of not possibly abiding by the rules.
3. If I do it myself, I can target my article to the specific, intended audience.
For me, I will use the paid submission service when I am low on time and I have the money in hand. However, I will not waste my time on the free service because the return is very limited and from what I have seen offers little benefit to my site.
To conclude, you need to try different methods of getting your articles out to the masses. And the success of these different methods is dependent on your own satisfaction or lack there of, of the results rendered by such services. My advise, experiment and determine for yourself what services will help your business, who knows, that one service may be the punch in the arm your business needs to grow. And if you want to try an article submission service or would like additional information, you can go to my site at http://www.myaffiliateplace.biz/Affiliate_Free_Tools.htm and take a look at the Article Submission Service and what it has to offer for yourself.
To your success.
Vickie J Scanlon has a BBA degree in Administrative Management and Marketing. Visit her site at: http://www.myaffiliateplace.biz for free tools, articles,
ebooks, how to info, affiliate opportunities, services and products - to meet your budget and needs.
Your yoga practice and the way you breathe are intertwined. You won’t fully experience the benefits of yoga without first learning how to breathe properly.
Different types of yoga practice call for different types of breathing, so it is important to note from the beginning that there is no one right way to breathe in yoga. If, in your yoga practice, your goal is total relaxation then your breathing should reflect that. This means long deep breaths meant to slow your heart rate and allow you to fully relax into the yoga pose. Here are a few tips:
* The diaphragm is where the breath originates in yoga and in everyday life. When you breathe in, your stomach puffs slightly because your diaphragm is filling with air. When you breathe out, your stomach flattens as your diaphragm empties itself of air. When you breathe, be sure that your stomach is moving, that you aren’t restricting this movement in any way.
* It’s important to relax every muscle in your chest, your face, your neck, your shoulders - even your jaw - in order to benefit from a relaxing breath in yoga. One way to do this is to clench the body part in question and then let go entirely. You may not even realize that your muscles are locked until you try to contract them.
* Keep your breaths smooth and easy during your yoga practice. Everyone breathes at their own natural rate, but becoming conscious of your breath does not mean controlling it in any way. Notice your breath and relax into your own natural rhythm.
* Breathing faster, in and out, is a natural reaction to stress or excitement. It stands to reason then, that relaxing breath in yoga should accentuate the exhalation. Breathe in naturally and make sure that your exhalation is longer than your inhalation and fully empty your diaphragm and lungs of air.
* Pausing between breaths will allow you to relax even further in yoga. No need to rush through your relaxation.
* When you breathe, feel the oxygen in the lungs and visualize it reaching every extremity, every toe and finger. Let your whole body enjoy the relaxing breath in your yoga practice.
When you learn how to breathe, you will find that it comes naturally in your yoga practice and in time, will continue in your everyday life.
Outdoor camping has received much recognition over the years to be a complete alternative from your accustomed hectic life. Having days away from busy timetable gives much enjoyment and amusement choice than any other vacation plan. If you are thinking to have a camping trip this winter then it is suggested that you try and find the best of camping gear to carry with for the best pleasant camping experience.
Outdoor camping gear usually come in the shape of camping beds camping stoves, camping gadgets and so on. Since the camping locations selected are often different so are the camping equipment that are used for certain jobs. A great number of people prefer to go camping in the plains, whilst some like to go in the mountain areas, some in fields & some in woods. This means that the camping gear needed will in the end depend on the place you have selected to camp in.
To enjoy the fun and excitement totally, it?s critical to carry camping tools that you will need during your camp stay. There are loads of hikers & campers who enjoy to camp and discover the most extreme parts of the world. So the camping needs vary from person to person. Find superb deals on camping lanterns.
Thus before going camping outdoors it is vital that you procure the gear that you will need. To locate the best camping gear it is better to find a cheap camping equipment e-tailer and request the equipment you want to carry along. The light weight tents, transportable camping stoves, handy weightless chairs, disposable tools, sleeping bags, walking shoes light fabric weightless clothes and additional camping accessories can be bought online at the highest discount rates. It’s crucial to carry camping gear that weighs as least as possible so as to provide you as much freedom whilst trekking and hiking.
Several kinds of camping equipment are not cheap to obtain & can be afforded only when you have a very big budget. So you ought to make a list of items that you cannot do without while camping. Depending upon how commonly you go for camping, renting camping gear is a wise choice. Otherwise if you are a camping nut then having a stock of your own camping accessories is worthwhile. Have a brilliant camping experience this season by keeping all your camping requirements toned up.