This is the story about a war veteran who has trouble readjusting to life and finds a gibbon to be the source of his problems. Your story is really unique and your readers can tell that you put a lot of time into researching the time period. I also like the idea of the duality of nature and violence that you tackle with Frank and Huckleberry. Your characters feel fleshed out, though I think one criticism may be how you handled Frank’s mental decline. I felt pretty detached from Frank and his motivations throughout the story, but I think that this could be fixed through a change in perspective. Maybe if you put the story into first person, the reader could get a better insight into Frank’s thoughts and a better understanding of why he feels this massive fixation on the gibbon. It also feels like there is a lot of filler, especially with the couples at the park. I feel like this takes away from the relationship between Frank and Huckleberry. I do agree with a few others who’ve mentioned this, but I feel like it’s a bit unrealistic for the zookeepers to not notice Frank’s obsession with Huckleberry.
Author: Alex (Page 14 of 21)
“The danger is that, in spite of in-built constitutional (for Burton, “racial”) resistances
to queerness in the native British body, homosexuality can jump the barrier (regionally, biologically). For a British man to have gay sex—even uncharacteristically, even despite his physical and psychological aversion to it—seems just as threatening to heteronormativity as if he were a “real” homosexual”-Harris Vernoy “Orgies of Nameless Horrors”.
“For a time I was no longer a man; my manhood was merged in his. I was, in the extremist sense, an example of passive obedience” (Richard Marsh, The Beetle, 54)
“You have killed my love. You used to stir my imagination. Now you don’t even stir my curiosity. You simply produce no effect. I loved you because you were marvelous, because you had genius and intellect, because you realized the dreams of great poets and gave shape and substance to the shadows of art. You have thrown it all away. You are shallow and stupid.” (Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray)
I think there are a few different ways to evaluate the successfulness of our program. Community feedback will be essential, as part of our project focuses on spreading awareness about environmental issues. We will also need some way to measure the population growth/decline of invasive species, so scientific data and “data expeditions” will be necessary.
- The purpose of the organization’s evaluation is to measure how successful our program was. It also serves to help the organization improve in the future by adjusting goals of new programs to be more cohesive or realistic based on previous evaluations. Specifically for our organization, we may find that our evaluation indicates that we didn’t reach our community involvement goal. This could signal to us that we need to lower our involvement goals or find new ways to reach the community.
- As stated above, the findings will be used to improve upon programs/proposals in the future. Whether the evaluation is positive or negative, there are always sections of an organization’s program that can be improved upon.
- After the evaluation, the organization will know what aspects of their programs work and what aspects don’t work. They will also have a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, which could lead to action on the part of individuals within the organization. In terms of our organization, we could discover how the community is involved in different seasons or how we may need more financial assistance to continue running our programs.
- Our organization can do many things after the evaluation, such as rework aspects of our program. Maybe we find that not many people want to read pamphlets based on low subscription rates, so we could shift our focus to updating our website to include a broader range of information. The evaluation, for our organization, can really highlight what community members actually care about, which could help us highlight these aspects in future grant proposals.
- The lives of the people and community served will improve after an evaluation because, as stated in number 4, our organization will get a better sense of what people respond to and care about. Upon seeing a community’s priorities, our organization can shift our goals to better suit the people and environment we serve. This will also raise support for our organization from the community, as they will see that our organization recognizes their wants and needs.
- Whether our organization uses the funds correctly is something that would be seen after the evaluation, but if we find that funds were mismanaged, our organization will have an opportunity to address how it can improved upon in the future. We would also have a better idea of what aspects of our programs require the most amount of money and which aspects may need less money.
- Going along with number 6, our organization won’t exactly know the answer of this question until after the evaluation component. Obviously, if we have thousands of dollars left over, then our budget was clearly inaccurate and we may need a financial advisor to be on board. At the same time, we could be searching for pennies on the street to fund our programs by the end of our program’s life, which means that our organization would have a better idea of what kind of grants to go for.
We have a lot to revise in each of our proposal components. Many of the critiques regarding our components focused on clarity and sentence structure. Some specific comments we’ve gotten in the past have been the following:
- Clarifying how invasive plants fit into YRFCA’s mission
- Fleshing out plans and means of evaluation
- Rethink community outreach through pamphlets (free vs. paid, etc.)
- Improve upon the general reasons as to why investors should care about our project.
- Rework many sentences to make them clear and concise.
- Regarding our goals and objectives, we need to find a better way to measure community involvement
- Statement of Need: Overall, there needs to be a greater focus on climate change rather than biodiversity
- Project Description: There are many sections that overlap and are restated, so consolidating similarities in each paragraph is a must.
- Organizational Background: We did pretty well with this one, though there are parts (like the list of names) that seem unnecessary.
Quote: “On the right was the majestic seated figure of a goddess. Her hands were crossed upon her knees, and she was naked from her waist upwards.I fancied it was meant for Isis. On her brow was perched agaily-apparelled beetle–that ubiquitous beetle!–forming a bright spot of colour against her coppery skin,–it was an exact reproduction of the creatures which were imaged on the carpet. In front of the idol wasan enormous fiery furnace. In the very heart of the flames was an altar. On the altar was a naked white woman being burned alive. There could be no doubt as to her being alive, for she was secured by chains in such a fashion that she was permitted a certain amount of freedom,of which she was availing herself to contort and twist her body into shapes which were horribly suggestive of the agony which she was enduring,–the artist, indeed, seemed to have exhausted his powers in his efforts to convey a vivid impression of the pains which were tormenting her.” (Marsh, Chapter 31)
Comment: This scene is when Marjorie stumbles upon an image of a human sacrifice to Isis. While the subject of this scene is only a painting, it troubles Marjorie because of the gruesome content. This passage jumped out to me because of the cultural implications. As shown in the painting, Isis is worshiped through human sacrifices, particularly of white women. In our present day mindset, we know that the act of human sacrifices were not regularly practiced in ancient Egypt. The only thing close to this was the act of retainer sacrifices in which some servants of a dead pharaoh or noble would be executed so that they could serve their masters in the afterlife. Even then, this wasn’t seen as human sacrifice and rather as a “duty” to their masters. This passage, therefore, shows a cultural bias that was present in Victorian England. Of course, we can look at this through a critical lens, as information wasn’t widely available during this time period and the idea of being politically correct wasn’t as big of an idea as it is today. I think that the inclusion of blatantly incorrect historical information shows the disconnect between individuals in Victorian society to the rest of the world. The majority of white men, like Marsh, took advantage of the “otherness” and “exoticness” of different cultures to make them into (no pun intended) Victorian monsters. Showing a human sacrifice, particularly of a white woman, indicates a feeling that Egyptians are “savages” in English minds.
Question: I wonder how our understanding of cultural insensitivity would change if the roles were reversed. Perhaps, if the main characters of this novel were Egyptian and the English were performing sacrifices on behalf of the queen, how might the vilified society respond?
This is a sweet story about being irreplaceable and the chaos of change. I thought your story was incredibly heartwarming and gave me some Studio Ghibli vibes, especially with the talking cat. The story overall is one that is relatable, because people you know can change and meet someone new, and honestly that’s a fact of life. Your story describes those feelings of neglect very well, especially as the story is character-focused. The dialogue feels natural at most parts, particularly the conversation between Thomas and Sam. I was honestly expecting the story to focus on the relationship between Thomas and Matthias, so seeing the story go in a different direction was also really satisfying to me. I do have a few comments though. Why did Thomas have to get amnesia? I understand that overall it’s a source of connection between him and Sam, but I feel like having Thomas enter into the apartment with no form of ID just raises more questions than answers. Thomas can still feel like he isn’t getting things right with his sister and nieces even when he doesn’t have amnesia, and honestly I think that would be a little more provoking to see a character who seems to be kind-hearted and level-headed struggle with supporting his family. I think if you go with that route, then Matthias and Thomas could meet through work or someplace else and the end result would be the same. Also, I had some questions about why Sam could talk, which doesn’t necessarily have to be answered, but I think that maybe if you put some background to Matthias and Sam it would clear some stuff up. What does Matthias do? How did he get Sam? etc. Overall, you’ve done a great job with your story!
This is the story of a woman being kidnapped from one horror story to another. You write horror stories so well Eve! Your descriptions of the blood and gore, especially near the middle and end, are really well done. It’s cliche to say this, but I could really see the blood smeared around the car and the other “prey” woman covered in wounds. Through a first read, I was very confused about the beginning with Tabitha going in and out of consciousness, but the more I think about it, the more I like that aspect of being almost drugged along with Tabitha. She doesn’t know what’s going on, and honestly, neither does the character. The whole act of the kidnapping isn’t the main focus of the story, and I think you made a good decision in making it vague to push the plot forward. That being said, I think there are a few places in the beginning where you could be a little more descriptive, because to a general reader, the whole vagueness of the situation may turn them off to the story. While I did enjoy your story, I had a few problems to Sol’s motivations. You have Sol tell us that they’re disillusioned with life and have begun to feel so numb to everything, but why do they believe Tabitha can solve their problems? Think about a character completely different to her, and then ask if that character would have the same impact on Sol as Tabitha does. I hate to say this, but it seems that Sol only seems to like Tabitha because of what she’s gone through rather than who she is. Don’t get me wrong, I already love these characters, so these are just a few questions I had about them because I’m interested in how they can be further developed. I really enjoyed Tabitha’s ending line of “Tell me how I can get a set of fangs like that”, and up until this point, the reader understands that she’s always held back from taking a stand against Xavier’s abuse out of a hope that he’d change. Again, I love this ending, but I think it comes off a little abruptly as Tabitha’s character has been more of a static character until that point. Maybe if you add some of her thoughts during the fight between vampires, you can add a sort of “snapping” moment where she realizes that she’s done with all the bullshit she’s gone through, which would lead her to wanting to become more powerful as a vampire. Overall, great story Eve! You should be super proud!
York Ready for Climate Action (YRFCA) was originally founded in 2006 as a citizens’ committee called ‘York Goes Green’. While our organization started small, our mission expanded beyond what we ever thought possible. This is why, in 2018, we became affiliated with the nation-wide Sierra Club initiative, also known as Readyfor100. Readyfor100’s goal is to motivate individual communities to commit to using renewable energy sources for all energy produced community-wide by specific target dates. As a small community in Maine, we felt ready to take on this challenge. Within one year of affiliating ourselves with Readyfor100, York Ready for Climate Action met this goal in July 2019. The town Selectboard voted to join The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, securing York’s commitment to using renewable energy sources for energy production. Even though our main goal has been completed, our priority here at YRFCA remains the same: to reduce greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere by eliminating the burning of fossil fuels wherever possible.
YRFCA not only greatly values combating climate change but also representing our community equitably, ensuring that our organization reflects the residences of York. Our organization consists of ten members that govern our nonprofit; those being Daphne Gignac, Susan Glick, Diane Kleist, Doreen McGillis, Carrie Mayo, Mac McAbee, Greg Norris, Michele Putko, Debby Rohnquist, and Fred Weston. We believe that in order to make substantial change within the climate crises, we need to not only address science-based, environmental issues but social justice issues as well. Therefore, the governing body of our organization is primarily led by women to encourage women and minorities to pursue STEM-related fields to further help their communities. Additionally, our board is made up of members from the community that consistently engage within York’s local government to foster stronger relationships with political leaders that may lead to significant environmental change.
In the past, our main programs have revolved around our goal to reduce York’s greenhouse gas by 50% by the year 2030. Our two main programs, EcoHomes and Waste Reduction and Diversion (WRAD), have been incredibly successful within the past few years. The EcoHomes program focuses on helping community members make environmentally-friendly changes within their homes at low or reduced costs. Some of these changes include switching home electricity to solar energy via our partner Community Solar, LED light bulbs, and composting and recycling with our partner Mr. Fox Recycling. There have been over 5,000 households in Maine that have made the commitment to becoming EcoHomes within the next few years. In 2021 alone YRFCA had 518 homes join The EcoHomes project. Even participating in one subprogram within the EcoHome project makes a big difference in the York community. For instance, there are 108 EcoHomes participants that have begun composting and recycling with our partner Mr. Fox Recycling. Participants have three options to help decrease the 7% of greenhouse gasses that come from food scraps in their garbage. They can deposit food scraps in the Mr. Fox food recycling bins at the Witchtroft Transfer Station. However, if a participant is unable to get to the station, Mr. Fox Recycling also offers a pick-up service. The last option is to create homemade compost from the food scraps to sustain home gardens. The Waste Reduction and Diversion (WRAD) project is another way for York residents to become engaged with the issue of food waste. WRAD’s objective is to diverge food waste from landfills and instead turn it into compost. With the help of our partner, Mr. Fox Recycling, this project has been successful in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that come from the surrounding landfills. While York Ready for Climate Action believes that we have made consistent progress with each of these projects, we also believe in creating a wider range of programs to reach more residents. This is why YRFCA is proud to have begun the first stages of implementing other projects that support climate change and environmental issues.
Of the hundreds of plant species in York, Maine, many of them are considered to be invasive and/or non-native. According to the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry, Maine has around 2,100 plant species, one-third of which are non-native or invasive species. Non-native and invasive plants can cause irreversible damage to the surrounding environment and to other indigenous species, especially in areas like York that consist of a variety of different environments that range from terrestrial to oceanic. Most of these species can become serious threats to indigenous species during the growing seasons of spring, summer, and fall. Not only do these threats include the loss of biodiversity and increases in the odds of food insecurity, but the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has stated that invasive and non-native species can weaken the resilience of natural habitats battling the effects of climate change, which can negatively impact the well-being of humans who reside in or rely on these natural areas. The lack of knowledge surrounding the spread of invasive species can also cause detrimental impacts on humans. Invasive species can spread new diseases, existing diseases, or other toxins into the environment, according to the U.S Department of Agriculture. York Ready For Climate Action seeks to mitigate these impacts by educating the public on the environmental and human consequences of invasive and non-native plant species.
Irresponsible gardening practices, such as using non-native species in gardens, methane-filled fertilizers, and gardening out-of-season plants decrease the biodiversity and environmental integrity of the city. This problem stems from a lack of knowledge within the community on sustainable gardening practices. If non-native and invasive plant species continue to outcompete native ones, then York is at risk to lose the majority of its natural ecosystems. Not only will this have vastly detrimental effects on the environment but younger generations will never get the opportunity to learn and interact with their native and natural environment. This will also lead to a decrease in York’s natural resilience to fight climate change, which could have devastating effects on the nearly 13,000 people who live there.
York Ready for Climate Action has a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase educational programs that are available to individual homes, and increase the number of individuals that are willing to take part in greenhouse gas emission reduction. Updates on our website, monthly informational pamphlets, and gardening events can establish a much-needed conversation about invasive and non-native plants, sustainability, and climate change. Widespread knowledge of sustainable gardening practices can help decrease greenhouse gas emissions in the community by preventing invasive species from taking over, which may alter the ability of native plants to participate in the carbon cycle. Other detrimental effects, like the loss of biodiversity and the possibility of the spread of diseases to humans, may also be mitigated by accessible information. York Ready for Climate Action has always “supported the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by supporting climate actions, enhancing awareness of the effects of climate change, and advocating for solutions that move us toward sustainable earth”, which includes the fundamental rights of humans to have access to environmental information in order to make educated decisions regarding the environment that they call home.
York Ready for Climate Action (YRFCA) strives to raise awareness for and provide education about invasive/non-native species within the York community while also combating negative impacts on local biodiversity.
Educate York, ME:
YRFCA has created a collaborative community to combat climate change impacts by encouraging households of York, Maine to subscribe in various subscription programs. We are extending this program to include a facet that addresses invasive species impacting our local environment to increase biodiversity and improve environmental wellness. We will distribute two pamphlet packages to all households (85,314) in York that will include educational materials about the local environment as well as include sustainable gardening tools and native species seed or bulb packets. After the initial pamphlets, households will need to subscribe to the program (at no cost) to continue receiving the materials.
This program will not only lead to more knowledge among the community but we are expecting a 25% increase in native plants and a 15% decrease in invasive plant species by the end of the first year (2022-2023). We will achieve a 30% increase of online interactions with our website as well as have 4,300 subscribers by the end of the first year to act as a measure of awareness and education within the community.
Goal: Distribute educational pamphlets and sustainable gardening supplies to all of York’s households.
Objective: Increase native plant species by 25% and decrease invasive plants by 15%.
Improve York’s Access to Eco-Friendly Tools:
This portion of the program involves the Grow Native initiative that begins at the end of 2022 to 2023, ensuring the community has access to the eco-friendly tools necessary to take the steps toward a greener community. 5 of YRFCA’s members will be contacting local businesses and organizations that sell eco-friendly gardening products and native plants; to ensure York households know all the places that provide the tools we recommend or inspire them in becoming greener members of the community. The list of stores and organizations will be listed not only on our website but on the monthly pamphlets, we will distribute to all households that have joined the YRFCA in becoming educated in invasive plant species and greener gardening practices. YRFCA will ensure the stores are accessible to at least 90% of the community to enable options between products and locations.
Another way in which YRFCA will be ensuring access to resources is through our pamphlets. Along with the monthly educational pamphlet will be a free test/sample of eco-friendly product which will allow the household to try using the sustainable product before buying it in-store. The free product will come from our organization, local businesses that want to promote their products, and the community themselves. Essentially the product from the community will be the food scraps that were given to us to be made into compost and then turned into fertilizer to replace the harmful chemical-filled fertilizers that are currently being made, sold, and bought.
The final accessible opportunity that we will be providing to the community will be the two Grow Native Initiative events that will be held ⅓ and ⅔ throughout the duration of the program. At these events, the local businesses, organizations, and community members will be showcasing various eco-friendly products at tables for one weekend at each event. YRFCA and our volunteers will also be there helping out and surveying accepting participants. The surveys will gather information on how much the community knows about invasive plant species, their thoughts on changing gardening practices to combat climate impacts from the invasive plants, and their thoughts on products they may have used. The eco-friendly products will include native Maine plants, gardening tools, and gardening supplies such as fertilizers, composting tactics, pots, and gloves. YRFCA will ask all the businesses to showcase both new and best products to ensure at least 45% of products are still being worked on and developed to be more sustainable. This event will not only provide the community access to eco-friendly products and options but will help show the community how important it is to combat the negative effect of nonnative and invasive plant species have on the climate.
Goal: Improve households’ access to eco-friendly tools and products within the local community by 40%.
Objective: Provide free eco-friendly products within all pamphlets, showcase at least 45 new sustainable products at the two Grow Native events, and create 2 public gardens with the necessary supplies to efficiently grow native plants.
Unite York
York Ready for Climate Action has seen the positive impacts of a united community firsthand, which is why our organization will commit to hosting two public events during the end of 2022-2023. These events will focus on low-cost and sustainable practices, gardening workshops, and local businesses. 15-20 volunteers from YRFCA will run tables and booths that have information regarding plants, herbs, gardening practices, and composting. At least two months prior to an event, YRFCA will contact at least 10 local businesses inviting them to table at an upcoming event. Our hope is that these interactive tables will incentivize members of the community to become more active within their local community while also supporting environmental causes.
Goal: Unite the York Community and increase reliance on local businesses
Objective: Two events will be hosted by York Ready for Climate Action from 2022-2023 with a target of 30% community attendance.
