Talisman Energy

Talisman Energy 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The following report outline research that will evaluate the goals and objective within organization. In doing so a series of interview with the relevant personal of Talisman (M) Sdn Bhd is done. Talisman Energy (Talisman) is an independent international upstream oil and gas company undertaking exploration, development, production, transportation, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Talisman was establish in 1992. The company primarily operates in North America, the North Sea, and Southeast Asia. It is headquartered in Alberta, Canada and employs over 2,600 people. The Malaysia branch is located at Menara Citibank Kuala Lumpur. Refer to appendix 1 for location and subsidiaries. Talisman is listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol TLM. Talisman is also part of the SP/TSX 60 Index. At year end, the company value was over $16 billion with 1,1019 million shares outstanding 2.0 INTRODUCTION The history of Talisman Energy (Talisman) dates back to 1953, when the company was established as BP Canada. It later became an independent company, in 1992. In the same year, Talisman Energy discontinued its mining operations in order to focus on its core areas. Talisman Energy (Talisman) is one of the largest independent oil and gas producers in Canada. Its main business activities include exploration, development, production, transportation, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). It has about seven operating subsidiaries. Talisman has ongoing production, development, and exploration operations in North America, the North Sea, Southeast Asia and Australia, North Africa, and Trinidad and Tobago. Talismans operations are conducted principally in five geographic segments: North America, UK, Scandinavia, Southeast Asia, and other. The company produced over 430,000 boe/d in 2008, approximately 50% oil and 50% natural gas. The North America segment includes operations in Canada and the US. The UK segment includes operations in the UK and the Netherlands. The Scandinavia segment includes operations in Norway and Denmark. The Southeast Asia segment includes operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. The other segment includes operations in North Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Peru, and Qatar as well as other international exploration areas. 3.0 ANALYSIS AND FINDING OF THE SUMMARY SCENARIO 3.1 Company Goal and objective In any planning process, objectives and goals must be carefully established. Starting from the proposed objectives and goals, the strategies to reach them will be outlined The lack of clarity of the proposed objectives can compromise the whole sequence. According to Oliveira (2002), the objectives serve the following company purposes: 1. provide to people the feeling of a specific and adequate role in the company 2. give consistency to decision making among a large number of different executives; 3. encourage dedication and fulfillment based on expected results; and 4. supply a base for corrective actions and control. In charting direction of the company Talisman Energy (Talisman) has set three priorities objectives. Refer Table 1 Developing long-term growth opportunities Building high impact exploration Continue focusing on current portfolio Table 1 Goal Strategy The main elements of Talismans objective are: †¢ To establish sustainable, profitable growth from its unconventional gas business in North America, as well as Southeast Asia, and Norway. †¢ To create an exploration portfolio, which contributes to renewal by finding material hydrocarbons over time. †¢ And to underpin this with sustainable sources of cash from mature areas, as well as focusing the portfolio. Two main reasons the objective was introduced were to lower finding and development (FD) costs, and to increase the reserve life index over time. FD costs will be bought down in several ways: †¢ The unconventional business model has structurally lower FD costs than the conventional gas business model. †¢ Talisman is looking to expand activity in Southeast Asia, where FD costs are generally lower. †¢ If the exploration shift to larger prospects is successful, FD costs will fall. 3.2 SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Strong market position Diversified geographical presence Lack of scale High debt Opportunities Threats Acquisitions and agreements New oil and gas production Economic slowdown in the US and Euro zone Environmental regulations Saturation of resources Table 2 Swot Analysis Table Strengths Strong market position Talisman Energy is an independent, international upstream oil and gas company whose main business activities include exploration, development, production, transportation, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The companys three core areas are North America, the North Sea, and Southeast Asia. In North America, Talisman is a leading deep gas explorer and has significant unconventional natural gas potential. In the North Sea, the company operates more than 40 oilfields and has extensive exploration acreage in Norway. In Southeast Asia, Talisman has substantial long-life natural gas reserves and highly prospective exploration acreage. Opportunity : A strong market position helps the company to leverage its market share. Diversified geographical presence Talisman Energy has ongoing production, development, and exploration operations in North America, the North Sea, Southeast Asia and Australia, North Africa, and Trinidad and Tobago. The companys operations are conducted principally in five geographic segments: North America, UK, Scandinavia, Southeast Asia, and others (comprising North Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Peru, and Qatar). Talismans aggregate production for the year ended December 31, 2008 was approximately 452,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), consisting of approximately 189,000 boe/d from North America, 117,000 boe/d from the UK segment, 33,000 boe/d from the Scandinavia segment, 92,000 boe/d from Southeast Asia, and 21,000 boe/d from the rest of the world. Opportunity : A diversified geographical presence enables the company to reduce business risks arising in a particular geography. Weaknesses Lack of scale The company lacks the desired scale to compete with large players in the industry. Many of the companys competitors are much larger in size in terms of revenue generated, number of employees, and their presence in Europe and other developing market. One of its key competitors, British Petroleum (BP), generated revenues of about $288,951 million and employed about 97,600 people worldwide for the financial year ended December 2007 (FY2007). Another key competitor of the company Exxon Mobil Corporation (Exxon Mobil) generated revenues of about $390,328 million and employed 81,000 people as on FY2007. However, Talisman generated revenues of about C$7,919 million during the FY2008, and employed about 2,600 people worldwide as of FY2008. Problem : Owing to its relatively small scale of operations, the company could find it difficult to face competition. High debt The company has a significant amount of debt. For the FY2008, the company has an outstanding debt of C$3,949 million. Even though it is a decrease of 9% from FY2007 which stood at CAD$4,341 million, this figure is still high especially during the credit crunch. The companys substantial debt could limit its ability to obtain additional financing to operate its business. Further, it would make it difficult for the company to satisfy its obligations including making interest payments on debt obligations. Opportunities Acquisitions and agreements The company has been expanding its geographic reach through acquisitions and agreements. In January 2008, Talisman announced that one of its subsidiaries have acquired all the shares of CNOOC Wiriagar Overseas from a subsidiary of CNOOC for a consideration of $212.5 million. CNOOC Wiriagar Overseas holds a 3.06% interest in the Tangguh LNG Project. The Tangguh LNG Project, located in West Papua, Indonesia, consists of a number of offshore gas wells, production facilities, pipelines, and LNG plant facilities with a nameplate capacity of 7.6 million tons per year. In June 2008, two wholly-owned subsidiaries of Talisman Energy entered into agreements with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) within Iraq for interests in Blocks K44 and K39 respectively. In the same month, Talisman Energy announced that its wholly-owned limited partnership FEI Shale (Fortuna) reached agreement to earn up to a one-third working interest in US properties owned by Hallwood Energy (Hallwood). Upon completion of the capital program, Fortuna will have earned a one-third interest in substantially all of Hallwoods assets, including properties in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana, for a total of 108,000 acres (net to Fortuna). These agreements and acquisitions would provide Talisman with growth opportunities and drive its revenue growth. New oil and gas production New oil and gas production Talisman Energy has considerably increased its oil and gas production in recent times. In December 2008, Talisman (Vietnam 46/02), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Talisman, announced first oil production from the Song Doc field in Block 46/02 offshore Vietnam. Gross production from five pre-drilled wells is expected to reach approximately 25,000 bbls/d by early 2009. An additional three development wells are currently being drilled. Talismans share of proved and probable reserves in the Song Doc field is estimated at six million barrels (mmbbls), with proved reserves of three mmbbls. Talisman Energy announced first gas production from the Rev Field in Norway, in January 2009. The field is expected to produce at a plateau rate of 100 mmcf/d of gas and 6,000 bbls/d of condensate and natural gas liquids from two subsea wells. A third producer, the Rev East well, is expected to be brought on-stream later in 2009. Talismans share of proved and probable reserves in the Rev Field at year end 2007 is estimated at 26 million boe, with proved reserves of 16 million boe.Talisman Energy Norge, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Talisman, has a 70% interest in the Field, with Petoro holding the remaining 30%. Production is transported via a nine kilometer pipeline to the Armada platform in the UK, operated by BG International (CNS), for processing and final export to the UK. The new oil and gas production would increase the companys output which in turn increases its revenues. Threats Economic slowdown in the US and Eurozone The US and European Union are the two key markets for Talisman. According to International Monetary Funds (IMF) World Economic Outlook, January 2009, the US and Eurozone economies could face slowdown in 2009. The GDP growth rate in the US has decreased from 2% in 2007 to 1.1% in 2008 and is projected to record a negative growth of 1.6% in 2009. The GDP growth rate in the Eurozone has declined from 2.6% in 2007 to 1% in 2008 and is projected to record a negative growth of 2% in 2009. A weak economic outlook for Eurozone and the US would put pressure on the revenues of the company. Economic slow down in the US and Eurozone could impact industrial development, which could adversely affect demand for Talismans products. Environmental regulations As a result of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and the worldwide Port State Control initiative, stringent new regulations have been enacted. These regulations pose the possibility of unlimited financial liability for pollution damages. Companies operating in the oil and gas industry are subject to strict environmental regulations. Distribution and storage houses need to strictly comply with environmental regulations which keep changing frequently. Compliance with these regulations forces distributors, such as Talisman, to incur high costs. These factors can have a potential negative impact on the companys margins. Saturation of resources The maturity of the North America basin reserve continues to give rise to increases in both replacement costs and operating costs. Larger companies are finding it increasingly difficult to increase their North American production as conventional production is declining in these more mature basins. Furthermore, output from proven natural gas reserves in Canada has been declining significantly. Although the development of Mackenzie Valley reserves would boost gas reserves to some extent, decreasing output is a long-term threat for Canadian oil and gas companies such as Talisman. In addition, offshore exploration space and the existing reserves are maturing and are slowly being saturated. There has been a succession of dry holes being drilled in the region in the last two years. The saturation of reserves in North America would severely impact the companys operations. 3.3 Current Year Performance Talisman generated a record $3.5 billion in net income in 2008, benefiting from high commodity prices during the year. Net income included a $1.7 billion recorded gain on held-for-trading financial instruments, primarily commodity contracts. Talisman entered into these contracts to protect 2009 cash flow and their capital program against a significant drop in prices. They also set a new record for cash flow of $6.2 billion, an increase of 42% over the previous year. Production from continuing operations averaged 419,000 boe/d for the year, 3% above 2007. Including non-core assets that were sold or are scheduled for sale, production was down 4%. Talisman used this record cash flow to strengthen the balance sheet, reducing long-term net debt to $3.9 billion, down from $4.3 billion a year earlier. In total, they paid down approximately $900 million in debt. The Company also spent a record $5.1 billion on exploration and development. North America accounted for 48% of spending, North Sea development projects 25%, Southeast Asia development 9% and international exploration 17%. Talisman replaced 75% of its production with proved reserves from drilling and non-price revisions in 2008. Refer to table 3 for further details (millions of C$ unless otherwise stated) 2008 2007 2006 Cash flow1 6,163 4,327 4,748 Net income 3,519 2,078 2,005 Earnings from continuing operations1,2 2,544 952 1,424 Per common share Cash flow ($)1 6.06 4.19 4.35 Net income ($) 3.46 2.01 1.84 Earnings from continuing operations ($)1,2 2.5 0.92 1.3 Oil production (mbbls/d) 3 224 241 262 Gas production (mmcf/d) 3 1,247 1,265 1,342 Total production (mboe/d) 3,4 432 452 485 Total production from continuing operations (mboe/d) 2,4 419 405 410 Average sales price ($/boe) 76.03 59.57 57.45 Exploration and development spending 5,106 4,449 4,578 Net debt1 3,949 4,341 4,496 Table 3 Current Year Performance 3.4 Recommended Strategies From the SWOT we found a few problems arising from the analysis below are the few strategies recommended in order to ensure the efficiency of the performance Weakness High Debt In order to reduce the high debt the company should emphasize on the strategic areas and exiting the non strategic areas. By selling of the non strategic area could increase the cash flow and therefore the company could drastically reduce greater amount of debt. Lack of scale In order to gain competitive advantages against the large scale companies such as BP (British Petroleum). The company should using the differentiate strategy. According to Micheal Porter differentiation advantage occurs when a firm delivers greater services for the same price of its competitors. They are collectively known as positional advantages because they denote the firms position in its industry as a leader in either superior services or cost. A firm possesses a sustainable competitive advantage when its value-creating processes and position have not been able to be duplicated or imitated by other firms Threat Economic slowdown in the US and Euro zone -This issue based on global issue the best way to mitigate the impact of economic slowdown is by improving the efficiency. During economic crisis the company must focus on their bottom line. Productivity, energy usage, etc. all must be made more effective. Environmental regulations Due to stringent and frequently change of oil pollution act the company might incurred high cost on compliance to the act. The best strategy for the company is to setup a team on monitoring closely on the compliance process. This is to avoid sudden change or adhoc changing process. Any sudden changes without a proper planning definitely incurred a very high cost. Saturation of resources Saturation of resources could have an impact on the company operation. The best way to deal with it is through Focusing on portfolio strategy. By focusing on high impact exploration area and exiting on depleting area or countries 3.4 Action programme The following action programme express on how Talisman could aligns with the goals and objectives of many diverse sites 1. Focus the Portfolio (core asset) Exit non strategic areas †¢ Potential non-core asset sales of 35,000-45,000 boe/d, with expected proceeds of $1.5-2.0 billion by the end of 2009. †¢ Exit some countries (i.e., the Netherlands, Denmark, Trinidad Tobago). †¢ Additional non-core asset sales in the UK and North America. 2. Grow Existing Base Maintain existing assets as firm base †¢ Size the UK to produce 80,000-100,000 boe/d through at least 2013 from existing assets. †¢ Continue to invest in core conventional North America natural gas areas with a view to keeping conventional production relatively flat. †¢ Southeast Asia production has doubled in the past five years and has the potential to double again in the next five (e.g. increasing Corridor volumes, Northern Fields development, Song Doc). 3. Findings on new Growth Opportunities Determine unconventional potential †¢ Talisman has built a large (2.5 million net acre) unconventional land base. †¢ The Company plans to spend $800-900 million on unconventional development projects over the next 18 months. †¢ An additional $300-400 million is planned for unconventional pilots over the same period. †¢ A total of 240-290 wells could be drilled as part of these program. Potential Future Growth in North Africa, South America †¢ Talisman has been active in Algeria since 1994. This is a very prolific hydrocarbon basin. †¢ The Company plans to drill up to eight exploration wells in Colombia and Peru through the end of 2009. 4. Optimize Global Exploration Support core area growth in the short term †¢ The Company will maintain active exploration programs in its core areas. †¢ Exploration spending is expected to average $700 million per year through 2010. Increase focus toward larger pool sizes †¢ Future focus areas include the Barents Sea (Norway), the central North Sea (UK), Colombia and Peru. †¢ The Company plans to drill up to 28 key exploration wells over the next 18 months. 3.4 Implementation Control Developing an effective company goals and objective is only half the battle. Getting it implemented is the other, and generally it is the tougher half. The most important part of implementation is monitoring taking a periodic look at how its going. Monitoring the implementation of objective is important for a number of reasons. First, it helps to assure that the efforts conform to the plan. Meaning the company is on track. Second, to make sure the results achieved align with objectives. Monitoring allows for corrective action and making the necessary changes along the way. To fine tune, not only strategies, but planning process as well. And since monitoring is part of a control process, it encourages improved performance. Knowing theyll be measured stimulates employees to do a better job. Finally, and most importantly, monitoring provides the essential link between the written plan and the day-to-day operation of your business. It demonstrates to all that the company are really managing the business according to plan. A significant benefit of the monitoring process is that it serves as your early warning system. It gives Talisman the opportunity to communicate how they are doing. For example, In Focus the Portfolio action program, the company may run into a technical problem such as delay on bidding process and slip its schedule by six weeks. The management needs to know about it. Through such feedback, the company can improve the implementation and reinforce the spirit of cooperation within organization. But lets be realistic. The company will run into implementation problems. Every company does. Some of the strategies may prove ineffective or strategies wont work as intended. The company can take one of four corrective actions. First, the company can change the schedule slipping in due date. Second, they can change the tactics in performing to implement the strategy. Third, by changing the strategy. Finally, as a last resort, the organisation can compromise the objective. Each of these corrective actions is applicable under specific circumstances 4.0 Conclusion Goals serve as a stimulus for effort by giving company something to strive for, the most important things must know where they are heading so they can effectively plan to get there. Goal setting, when supported by careful planning, provides a sense of direction to keep company focused on the most important activities. For Talisman they emphasize on three main objectives which are developing long-term growth opportunities, building high impact exploration and continue focusing on current portfolio. From the research we can conclude that goals serve as filters to eliminate extraneous demands. Over a period time, goals can bring to life order, meaning, and purpose that will sustain interest of stakeholder and motivation. By setting goals, an individual expresses their desire to achieve, to improve life, and to be more effective, more productive, and more successful tomorrow than today. Being a successful organization does not come by accident. It depends on following a practice of goal-setting and continuous growth (kaizen), as well as seeking predetermined goals. We could say then Success is the progressive realization of worthwhile, predetermined goals. Abbreviation Definitions bbl barrel bbls/d barrels per day bcfe/d billion cubic feet of gas equivalent per day boe barrels of oil equivalent boe/d barrels of oil equivalent per day C$ Canadian dollar LNG Liquefied Natural Gas mbbls/d thousand barrels per day mboe/d thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day mcf thousand cubic feet mcfe/d thousands of cubic feet of gas equivalent per day mmboe million barrels of oil equivalent mmcf/d million cubic feet per day mmcfe/d million cubic feet of gas equivalent per day Reference and Bibliography Goh Ing King, Lecturer Notes Purchasing Management Azlina Ghazaly, Senior Buyer Talisman Malaysia Sdn Bhd Menara Citibank CIPS Course Book. Level 5 study guide Management in the Purchasing Function Micheal E. Porter, From Competitive Advantage to Corporate Strategy Talisman Energy Inc. http://www.talisman-energy.com Appendix Appendix 1 : Location and Subsidiaries

Practical Demonkeeping Chapter 10-11

10 AUGUSTUS BRINE Augustus Brine sat in one of his high-backed leather chairs massaging his temples, trying to formulate a plan of action. Rather than answers, the question, Why me? repeated in his mind like a perplexing mantra. Despite his size, strength, and a lifetime of learning, Augustus Brine felt small, weak, and stupid. Why me? A few minutes before, Gian Hen Gian had rushed into the house babbling in Arabic like a madman. When Brine finally calmed him down, the genie had told him he had found the demon. â€Å"You must find the dark one. He must have the Seal of Solomon. You must find him!† Now the genie was sitting in the chair across from Brine, munching potato chips and watching a videotape of a Marx Brothers movie. The genie insisted that Brine take some sort of action, but he had no suggestions on how to proceed. Brine examined the options and found them wanting. He could call the police, tell them that a genie had told him that an invisible man-eating demon had invaded Pine Cove, and spend the rest of his life under sedation: not good. Or, he could find the dark one, insist that he send the demon back to hell, and be eaten by the demon: not good. Or he could find the dark one, sneak around hoping that he wasn't noticed by an invisible demon that could be anywhere, steal the seal, and send the demon back to hell himself, but probably get eaten in the process: also, not good. Of course he could deny that he believed the story, deny that he had seen Gian Hen Gian drink enough saltwater to kill a battalion, deny the existence of the supernatural altogether, open an impudent little bottle of merlot, and sit by his fireplace drinking wine while a demon from hell ate his neighbors. But he did believ e it, and that option, too, was not good. For now he decided to rub his temples and think, Why me? The genie would be no help at all. Without a master he was as powerless as Brine himself. Without the seal and invocation, he could have no master. Brine had run through the more obvious courses of action with Gian Hen Gian to have each doomed in succession. No, he could not kill the demon: he was immortal. No, he could not kill the dark one: he was under the protection of the demon, and killing him, if it were possible, might release the demon to his own will. To attempt an exorcism would be silly, the genie reasoned; would some mingy prelate be able to override the power of Solomon? Perhaps they could separate the demon from his keeper – somehow force the dark one to send the demon back. Brine started to ask Gian Hen Gian if it was feasible but stopped himself. Tears were coursing down the genie's face. â€Å"What's the matter?† Brine asked. Gian Hen Gian kept his eyes trained on the television screen, where Harpo Marx was pulling a collection of objects from his coat, objects obviously too large to be stored there. â€Å"It has been so long since I have seen one of my own kind. This one who does not speak, I do not recognize him, but he is Djinn. What magic!† Brine considered for a moment the possibility that Harpo Marx might have been one of the Djinn, then berated himself for even thinking about it. Too much had happened today that was outside the frame of his experience and it had opened him up to thinking that anything was possible. If he weren't careful, he would lose his sense of judgment completely. â€Å"You've been here a thousand years and you've never seen a movie before?† Brine asked. â€Å"What is a movie?† Slowly and gently, Augustus Brine explained to the king of the Djinn about the illusion created by motion pictures. When he finished, he felt like he had just raped the tooth fairy in front of a class of kindergartners. â€Å"Then I am alone still?† the genie said. â€Å"Not completely.† â€Å"Yes,† the genie said, eager to leave the moment behind, â€Å"but what are you going to do about Catch, Augustus Brine?† 11 EFFROM Effrom Elliot awoke that morning eagerly anticipating his nap. He'd been dreaming about women, about a time when he had hair and choices. He hadn't slept well. Some barking dogs had awakened him during the night, and he wished he could sleep in, but as soon as the sun broke through his bedroom window, he was wide awake, without a hope of getting back to sleep and recapturing his dream until nap time. It had been that way since he had retired, twenty-five years ago. As soon as his life had eased so that he might sleep in, his body would not let him. He crept from bed and dressed in the half-light of the bedroom, putting on corduroys and a wool flannel shirt the wife had laid out for him. He put on his slippers and tiptoed out of the bedroom, palming the door shut so as not to wake the wife. Then he remembered that the wife was gone to Monterey, or was it Santa Barbara? Anyway, she wasn't home. Still, he continued his morning routine with the usual stealth. In the kitchen he put on the water for his morning cup of decaf. Outside the kitchen window the hummingbirds were already hovering up to the feeder, stopping for drinks of red sugar water on their route through the wife's fuchias and honeysuckle. He thought of the hummingbirds as the wife's pets. They moved too fast for his tastes. He had seen a nature show on television that said that their metabolism was so fast that they might not even be able to see humans. The whole world had gone the way of the hummingbirds as far as Effrom was concerned. Everything and everybody was too fast, and sometimes he felt invisible. He couldn't drive anymore. The last time he had tried, the police had stopped him for obstructing traffic. He had told the cop to stop and smell the flowers. He told the cop that he had been driving since before the cop was a glimmer in his daddy's eye. It had been the wrong approach. The policeman took his license. The wife did all the driving now. Imagine it – when he had taught her to drive, he had to keep grabbing the wheel to keep her from putting the Model T into the ditch. What would the snot-nosed cop say about that? The water was beginning to boil on the stove. Effrom rummaged through the old tin bread box and found the package of chocolate-covered graham crackers the wife had left for him. In the cupboard the jar of Sanka sat next to the real coffee. Why not? The wife was gone, why not live a little? He took the regular coffee from the shelf and set about finding the filters and filter holder. He hadn't the slightest idea where they were kept. The wife took care of that sort of thing. He finally found the filters, the holder, and the serving carafe on the shelf below. He poured some coffee into the filter, eyeballed it, and poured in some more. Then he poured the water over the grounds. The coffee came through strong and black as the kaiser's heart. He poured himself a cup and there was still a little left in the carafe. No sense wasting it. He opened the kitchen window, and after fumbling with the lid for a moment, poured the remaining coffee into the hummingbird feeder. â€Å"Live a little, boys.† He wondered if the coffee might not speed them up to the point where they just burnt up in the atmosphere. He toyed with the idea of watching for a while, then he remembered that his exercise show was about to start. He picked up his graham crackers and coffee and headed for the living room and his big easy chair in front of the RCA. He made sure the sound was turned down, then turned on the old console set. When the picture came on, a young blond woman in iridescent tights was leading three other young women through a series of stretches. Effrom guessed that there was music playing from the way they moved, but he always watched with the sound turned off so as not to wake the wife. Since he had discovered his exercise program, the women in his dreams all wore iridescent tights. The girls were all on their backs now, waving their legs in the air. Effrom munched his graham crackers and watched in fascination. Time was when a man had to spend the better part of a week's pay to see a show like that. Now you could get it on cable for only†¦. Well, the wife took care of the cable bill, but he guessed that it was pretty cheap. Life was grand. Effrom considered going out to his workshop and getting his cigarettes. A smoke would go good right now. After all, the wife was gone. Why should he sneak around in his own house? No, the wife would know. And when she confronted him, she wouldn't yell, she would just look at him. She would get that sad look in her blue eyes and she would say, â€Å"Oh, Effrom.† That's all, â€Å"Oh, Effrom.† And he would feel as if he had betrayed her. Nope, he could wait until his show was over and go smoke in his workshop, where the wife would never dare to set foot. Suddenly the house felt very empty. It was like a great vacant warehouse where the slightest noise rattles in the rafters. A presence was missing. He never saw the wife until she knocked on his workshop door at noon to call him to lunch, but somehow he felt her absence, as if the insulation had been ripped from around him, leaving him raw to the elements. For the first time in a long time Effrom felt afraid. The wife was coming back, but maybe someday she would be gone forever. Someday he would really be alone. He wished for a moment that he would die first, then thinking of the wife alone, knocking on the workshop door from which he would never emerge, made him feel selfish and ashamed. He tried to concentrate on the exercise show but found no solace in spandex tights. He rose and turned off the TV. He went to the kitchen and put his coffee in the sink. Outside the window the hummingbirds went about their business, shimmering in the morning sun. A sense of urgency came over him. It became suddenly very important to get to his workshop and finish his latest carving. Time seemed as fleeting and fragile as the little birds. In his younger days he might have met the feeling with a naive denial of his own mortality. Age had given him a different defense, and his thoughts returned to the image of he and the wife going to bed together and never waking, their lives and memories going out all at once. This too, he knew, was a naive fantasy. When the wife got home he was going to give her hell for going away, he knew that for sure. Before unlocking his workshop he set the alarm on his watch to go off at lunchtime. If he worked through lunch he might miss his nap. There was no sense in wasting the day just because the wife was out of town. When the knock came on his workshop door, Effrom thought at first that the wife had come home early to surprise him with lunch. He ground out his cigarette in an empty toolbox that he kept for that purpose. He blew the last lungful of smoke into the exhaust fan he had installed â€Å"to take out the sawdust.† â€Å"Coming. Just a minute,† he said. He revved up one of his high-speed polishing tools for effect. The knocking continued and Effrom realized that it was not coming from the inside door that the wife usually knocked on, but from the one leading out into the front yard. Probably Jehovah's Witnesses. He climbed down from his stool, checked the pockets of his corduroys for quarters, and found one. If you bought a Watchtower from them, they would go away, but if they caught you without spare change, they would be on you like soul-saving terriers. Effrom threw the door open and the young man outside jumped back. He was dressed in a black sweatshirt and jeans – rather casual, Effrom thought, for someone carrying the formal invitation to the end of the world. â€Å"Are you Effrom Elliot?† he asked. â€Å"I am.† Effrom said. He held out his quarter. â€Å"Thanks for stopping by, but I'm busy, so you can just give me my Watchtower and I'll read it later.† â€Å"Mr. Elliot, I'm not a Jehovah's Witness.† â€Å"Well, I have all the insurance I can afford, but if you leave me your card, I'll give it to the wife.† â€Å"Is your wife still alive, Mr. Elliot?† â€Å"Of course she's alive. What did you think? I was going to tape your business card to her tombstone? Son, you're not cut out to be a salesman. You should get an honest job.† â€Å"I'm not a salesman, Mr. Elliot. I'm an old friend of your wife's. I need to talk to her. It's very important.† â€Å"She ain't home.† â€Å"Your wife's name is Amanda, right?† â€Å"That's right. But don't you try any of your sneaky tricks. You ain't no friend of the wife or I'd know you. And we got a vacuum cleaner that'd suck the hide off a bear, so go away.† Effrom started to close the door. â€Å"No, please, Mr. Elliot. I really need to speak to your wife.† â€Å"She ain't home.† â€Å"When will she be home?† â€Å"She's coming home tomorrow. But I'm warning you, son, she's even tougher than I am on flimflam men. Mean as a snake. You'd be best to just pack up your carpetbag and go look for honest work.† â€Å"You were a World War One veteran, weren't you?† â€Å"I was. What of it?† â€Å"Thank you, Mr. Elliot. I'll be back tomorrow.† â€Å"Don't bother.† â€Å"Thank you, Mr. Elliot.† Effrom slammed the door. His angina wrenched his chest like a scaly talon. He tried to breathe deeply while he fingered a nitroglycerin pill from his shirt pocket. He popped it into his mouth, and it dissolved on his tongue immediately. In a few seconds the pain in his chest subsided. Maybe he would skip lunch today, go right to his nap. Why the wife kept sending in those cards about insurance was beyond him. Didn't she know that â€Å"no salesman will call† was one of the three great lies? He resolved again to give her hell when she got home. When Travis got back into the car, he tried to hide his excitement from the demon. He fought the urge to shout â€Å"Eureka!† to pound on the steering wheel, to sing hallelujah at the top of his lungs. It might finally be coming to an end. He wouldn't let himself think about it. It was only a long shot, but he felt closer than he ever had to being free of the demon. â€Å"So, how's your old friend?† Catch said sarcastically. They had played this scene literally thousands of times. Travis tried to assume the same attitude he always had when faced with those failures. â€Å"He's fine,† Travis said. â€Å"He asked about you.† He started the car and pulled away from the curb slowly. The old Chevy's engine sputtered and tried to die, then caught. â€Å"He did?† â€Å"Yeah, he couldn't understand why your mother didn't eat her young.† â€Å"I didn't have a mother.† â€Å"Do you think she'd claim you?† Catch grinned. â€Å"Your mother wet herself before I finished her.† The anger came sliding back over the years. Travis shut off the engine. â€Å"Get out and push,† he said. Then he waited. Sometimes the demon would do exactly what he said, and other times Catch laughed at him. Travis had never been able to figure out the inconsistency. â€Å"No,† Catch said. â€Å"Do it.† The demon opened the car door. â€Å"Lovely girl you're going out with tonight, Travis.† â€Å"Don't even think about it.† The demon licked his chops. â€Å"Think what?† â€Å"Get out.† Catch got out. Travis left the Chevy in drive. When the car started moving, Travis could hear the demon's clawed feet cutting furrows in the asphalt. Just one more day. Maybe. He tried to think of the girl, Jenny, and it occurred to him that he was the only man he had ever heard of who had waited until he was in his nineties before going on his first date. He didn't have the slightest idea why he had asked her out. Something about her eyes. There was something there that reminded him of happiness, his own happiness. Travis smiled.

Fairytales May Convey a Hidden Message

As innocent as they seem, from the cute fairytales of Cinderella and her submissive character to the passionate story of Beauty and the Beast, a maiden who falls in love with a beast, the true meaning that lies beneath the pretty shell delivers a different message to children. The idea of the â€Å"traditional† role of women is constantly portrayed in many fairytales. Fairytales, although fantasy-like, still resemble aspects of the world and throughout history, women were considered inferior to men. †¦it is a fair assumption that in a world dominated by men, the fairy tale reflects the world as defined and organized by men†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Oliver 86). Stories such as The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson, Cinderella and Snow White by the Grimm’s Brothers, and Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bete) by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbet de Villeneuve, emphasize the different inequalities between men and women. â€Å"Girls in Fairyland do not triumph over male s; they obey. † (Oliver 86). An envious step-mother, a mistreated heroine, and a granted wish to go to the ball may not be the only meanings presented in the fairytale of Cinderella. A dangerous message sent to children, especially for young girls, is to be passive till a rescuer (in this case, Cinderella’s mother) to arrive and grant their wishes. Although obedience is a valuable lesson to be learned, Cinderella continues to be submissive to the extent which she is relentlessly abused by her step- mother. Yet, eventually, her passive role is rewarded and as a result, she lives happily ever after with her noble prince. †¦toying with the Cinderella motif, Gardner explodes the notion that every woman is simply waiting for a prince to come along and save her. † (Zipes A32). However, this message taught can be subconsciously embedded into children’s minds and during the periods of maturation, children will have the thought that suffering quietly will ultimately be rewarded. â€Å"While it m ay be true that fairytales offer metaphors for the unconscious (an argument as difficult to prove as to disprove) it is clear that they can affect cognition and belief. As the child absorbs environmental data, learns language, and develops cognition, she begins to say something to herself and about the world and her place in it. † (Oliver 86). Cinderella not only presents the idea of passiveness and femininity, but a message that step – mothers are evil. Throughout many fairytales, step – mothers, old, wise women are wicked and are meant to be overthrown or be rid of. â€Å"â€Å"Cinderella† is the supreme statement of the devastating nature of a parent’s [mother’s] unresolved and destructively acted out oedipal jealousy of a child. (Bettelheim 307). The oedipal mother acts out to destroy the daughter, but later, the daughter is rescued by a man from the evil. Everywhere in â€Å"Fairyland†, the domineering mother is set out to demolish the offspring. Eventually, the step-mother loses her power when trying to intimidate and becomes â€Å"silly†. (Bettelheim 307). Although many fairytales, inclu ding Cinderella, portray the mother in charge as tyrannical, it’s also common to see children having good relationships with their fathers as in Beauty and the Beast. Belle, the main character, has a close bond with her father unlike Cinderella, who poses as a threat to her step-mother. Not only does Belle share a good relationship with her father, but there is no mother figure in the fairytale. (Bettelheim 307). â€Å"†¦the girl’s oedipal father is the gentle, protective, loving man who hands her over to an acceptable suitor at the appropriate time. † (Oliver 87). Many fairytales other than Beauty and the Beast show the father as a caring man, while, on the other hand, mothers tend to have jealous, destructive feelings towards their children. Oliver 87). With the â€Å"loving father† and the â€Å"envious mother†, the message sent to children can be misleading and one-sided. Another example of the â€Å"wicked step-mother† is illustrated in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The innocent beauty, Snow White, and her feminine charms are similar to the common house wife by doing chores around the house while mai ntaining a certain image of perfection and beauty. Her step-mother is in â€Å"competition† with Snow White; activeness and power versus submissiveness and obedience. The competition between Snow white and the queen turns into a struggle for survival between two halves of a single personality: passivity and tractability as opposed to inventive and subversive activism. † (Barzilai 520). Once again, another fairytale shows the rivalry which the mother figure is set to destroy the daughter. The over-assertive woman (in this case, the queen) is represented as an envious monster. â€Å"The queen is characterized throughout in unremittingly negative terms: she is most often deemed â€Å"wicked†, but she is also proud, overbearing, and envious. (Barzilai 520). There are many examples in â€Å"Fairyland† which give a bad reputation towards the step-mother or the mother figure. Beauty and the Beast is a popular fairytale about a girl who falls in love with a beast and in return the beast becomes her prince. Luckily, for Belle, the beast’s true nature was a compassionate, kind- hearted man. However, it may not be the situation in the average lives of women who are constantly abused by their spouses. Young girls receive from this romantic love story that love will eventually change their partners. (Mangan 10). Beauty and the Beast, for example, is said to foster the notion that love can alter the nature of a man and make early absorbers of the information more inclined to stay with a violent partner in the hope that she can change his behaviour. † (Mangan 10). Fairytales deliver unrealistic ideas to young children, which send false hopes that can be hazardous. Little Mermaid, a young mermaid who risks all for her prince but suffers tragically in the end, conveys a message to young girls that in order to gain the love of a prince, one must sacrifice all and expect love in return. Still, any cursory sweep through childhood stories w ill reveal further examples of submissive women who were implicitly or explicitly offered up as role models during our formative years†¦The little mermaid who sacrifices her home, family and fishy tail for a crack at the oxygen-breathing prince. † (Mangan 10). In the fairytale, the young mermaid’s tail was traded for a pair of legs, but whenever she would walk, it struck her pain. She suffers throughout the story whenever she was asked to dance for the prince. Although the prince did not love her in return, the little mermaid continued to love him and was granted a soul. However, consequently, she became one with the sea or sea foam as punishment for not wedding the prince on time. Another example of inequality between the genders, why must the heroine suffer for the one she loves. There are many examples in â€Å"Fairyland† that convey the inequalities between genders. The step – mothers and the old witches are viewed as evil, overly- jealous women seeking destruction while the fathers and wise men are caring and compassionate. Cinderella, Snow White and Beauty and the Beast illustrate the different relationships between the heroine and her parents. Not only were women â€Å"evil† but the good ones were meant to be submissive and obedient. Cinderella’s passive example is later on rewarded which can deliver a misleading message to young girls. The Little Mermaid clearly points that she had to sacrifice all for her love. Beauty and the Beast is very dangerous for young girls that love will change their spouses. The innocent story which children for ages grew up to may not be innocent after all. Works Cited Barzilai, Shuli. Reading â€Å"Snow White†: The Mother’s Story. † Signs 15. 3 (1977): 274-300. Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Random House, Inc. 1976. Mangan, Lucy. â€Å"G2: Women: Happily never after: Comatose princesses, submissive floor-scrubbers and evil stepmothers may not be the best of role models. à ¢â‚¬  The Guardian 2 May 2005: 10. Oliver, Rose. â€Å"Whatever Became of Goldilocks? † Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 2. 3 (1977): 85-93. Zipes, Jack. â€Å"Children’s Books; Kissing Off Snow White. † The New York Times 22 Mar. 1987: A32. ———————– 1 2

Movie Analysis Film Crash - 1880 Words

Paul Haggis directed the Oscar winning film Crash in 2004, a movie based around race, class, gender, ageism, and institutional discrimination. The movie was located in Los Angeles, which many of us know is a giant melting-pot for stereotypes. Culture is a set of human-made objective and subjective elements that in the past have increased the probability of survival and resulted in satisfaction for the participant in an ecological niche, and thus became shared among those who could communicate with each other because they had a common language and they lived in the same time and place. The they show a diverse variety of cultures, from American to Chinese, including White, African American, Chinese, Hispanic, Muslim, Christian, wealthy, poor, law makers, law enforcers, law breakers, and more. These people are who they are because of how they were raised, their experiences, and the values, rituals, and beliefs of their culture that they grew up with.Throughout my final paper I will be e xplaining how the movie tied into our class discussion specifically towards race stereotyping and prejudice shown throughout the movie. The movie Crash has many examples of racial stereotyping and Prejudice which was a deeply held negative feelings associated with a particular group. From the very beginning stereotypes against multiple races are shown. Gender roles are culturally and socially acceptable gender identities. Rick Cabot is socialized to be successful, aggressive, and self-reliant,Show MoreRelatedThe Movie Crash Film Analysis1473 Words   |  6 PagesIn the film ‘Crash’ directed by Paul Haggis in 2004, several lives cross paths because of an adage, ‘it’s a small world’. 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