Hey, if anyone is reading this!

Would anyone want to read my writing? I do just some of my own style of fantasy. It’s nothing special but I feel like I might want to get it out. I’m gonna post it anyways because what can I lose, so let me know what you think 😬😄

Ansley’s Books

Magnus Spears: a young boy in his twenties who loves a book store (aptly named Ansley books)

Leonard Ansley: an old, mysterious man who runs a bookshop that always seems to be closed.

The world is magical and Mr. Ansley has quite the secret...

****

Magnus Sears was walking down the surprisingly quiet city street. For being right in the middle of downtown, the cobble-stone paved road was relatively barren, just the occasional stray cat that skittered across the street and under haphazardly parked cars.

Magnus could feel the magic emanating from here, some houses giving off more energy than others, but magic was here nonetheless. Although most beings here knew magic, the modernization of the city blocked the feel of it; the rubber and concrete and heavy metal absorbing the reverberations that the spells put off. But here, with basic houses and more trees and plants than anywhere else in the city, the magic was able to easily permeate the air.

No house or shop looked alike; with a lack of major city funding, homeowners were free to build and decorate the houses as they pleased, something that always pleased Magnus. The well maintained, put together city always seemed disingenuous to him. To Magnus, magic was a raw, beautiful practice, but the rest of the world only seemed interested in making it as easily accessible and user-friendly as possible.

Alder street was one of the very few remaining places in Ohio that denied the oncoming slought of modern magic, and that is why Magnus spent so much of his time here.

He passed a few more earth-toned houses and brightly colored shops before he came upon his favorite; a run-down looking building surrounded by the most beautiful arrangement of flower beds on the street. The one small window rested just besides the front door, adorned by a small planter box filled with rosemary, basil, cilantro, and one plant that looked unfamiliar to Magnus.

This was Ansley Books.

Magnus walked up to the door, not without stopping to smell the fragrant lavender and the potent eucalyptus that lined the gravel walkway. Through the small and grimy window, he saw the faint outline of a closed sign. It was always up since the owner was a bit of a hermit. How he kept bringing in enough money to run the shop, no one knows. But nonetheless, Magnus walked up to the door.

He knocked. This was mainly out of politeness for the owner; for Magnus had been here a few times a week for almost a year now. He waited for a response, although he knew he probably wasn’t going to get one. The old man was likely lost in an old manuscript of some sort, oblivious to the young brunette man knocking at his door.

Magnus opened the door, which protested the action with a loud whine. The sunlight from the outside briefly lit up the dark room, illuminating motes in the air like little dusty fireflies. He shut the door behind him, and suddenly he was surrounded with the stuffy scent of old books.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness, revealing he was surrounded by hundreds of books. Each shelf was stuffed so full, the wood beneath the heavy bound paper was bowing with the weight. No book was the same, each title more obscure than the rest. There was a large amount of bookcases in comparison to the size of the building, but even with the intricate, maze-like pattern of them, it felt cozy rather than cramped.

Like the street, the store was eerily quiet, and Magnus could feel the magic in the air more tangibly than the air outside. Each book, he sensed, had some sort of spell, incantation, or hex put on it, and he swore he could feel each one separately. His skin tingled with the feeling.

How, Magnus wondered, was it possible for someone to have so many books?

After casually weaving through a few shelves, he made his way to the cluttered desk in the back of the room. Behind a rather large mess of papers sat an old man, looking to be around 70 or so years old. The wrinkles around his mouth and eyes were deep set, creased like someone etched the skin with the knife. Whether or not the man noticed Magnus enter or not, he did a great job at not showing it.

Magnus gently cleared his throat, the sound slicing through the silence the way a knife passes through jell-o. The man didn’t even look up to acknowledge him.

“Make me your best offer on a book, and don’t stay here for too long, I’ll be closing up soon.” The old man continued looking through the faded yellow papers scattered in front of him, clearly not interested in probably the only customer he’d have that day.

“What, no hug?” Magnus asked teasingly. The man didn’t think that was very funny, although the stony look on his face softened slightly at the sight of the young boy in front of him.

“Greetings, Magnus. I meant what I said, don’t stay here for too long. I have important things I need to tend to and I can’t waste my precious time.”

The man had said this before, many times, but by the time Magnus successfully roped him into an engaging conversation, all thoughts of the apparently high importance tasks dissipated into nothing.

I wonder how long I can keep him here today, Magnus thought. He never knew exactly how much time in the bookstore he would be granted, some days he managed to keep the man talking until late into the night. Most of the other times though, Magnus could only extract a few sentences before being shooed back onto the street.

“I was wondering if you have any books about ancient religions. Specifically Celtic?”

****

Let me know if you like it or want to be added to the tag list! I do admit, I love a busy life and also struggle with procrastination so I may not post consistently but I will try to post as much as I can!

Join Us at Jack's Corner Tap in #Cornelius #NC from 12:30 - 4:30 PM on Sunday, June 24th PM for World-Class #Live #Entertainment from @MikieHuffman, Great #Food, #Beer, #Wine, #Spirits, & #Premuim #Cocktails 10% #Discount with Manager Card. Please Show this Card to Your Server. Mikie Huffman will perform at Jack's Corner Tap in Cornelius NC June 10th, 1-5 PM. Up-and-coming artists, Ansley Northmore and Eddie Kennedy will also make a special guest appearance to perform a few tunes! Mikie has worked as an actor for HBO and worked on an Emmy Award-winning project for Fox Sports and NASCAR with director Joseph Kahn. Mikie released his dedut album in 2015 and has sung many operatic and musical theater roles. He has been featured as a "Breakout Artist", performing live on major market radio and his music is featured on iTunes, GooglePlay, Spotify, and Amazon. Mikie performs an acoustic solo act featuring repertoire from many different genres and eras; including country selections from iconic artists such as Hank Williams, Don Williams, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Conway Twitty, The Judds, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert and Johnny Cash. He also performs rock hits such as "I Feel Like Making Love", "I Hear You Knocking" and pays homage to Marshall Tucker Band, Buffalo Springfield, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Tom Petty, Cyndi Lauper, The Five Stairsteps, Leonard Cohen, Elvis, Cat Stevens and many other artists who have influenced his unique and interactive musical style. Mikie founded a non-profit organization in 2015; Judy Hughes Music Foundation, Inc. (www.JHMFinc.com) provides musical instruments, lessons and tuition to those who might not otherwise afford these necessities. Contributions may be sent to https://PayPal.me/JHMFinc (at Jack's Corner Tap)

Explain and assess the view that men continue to dominate family life. (25 marks) [OUTLINE]

1. Key points in question

Patriarchy system in the family still existing & controlling the family life

Explain the terms: family, patriarchy

2. The word ‘continue’ in the question gives you the ability to question the view

View #1: men still dominate

View #2: men no longer dominate

Role of women has changed over time

3. Contents which should be included

Young and Willmott (1974): Symmetrical family

Introduced equal division between male and female within a household, in terms of domestic chores + childcare

Conjugal roles becoming joint

Rise in ‘new man’

This supports the view that there is increasing equality in family life between genders

CRITICISM

Ann Oakley (1974): Housework and childcare still primarily women’s responsibility

“Dual burden”: women’s employed labour + domestic work

.˙. Division of labour remains unequal

Unpaid role of housewife was still socially constructed, especially around the industrial revolution [becoming the norm] 

Delphy and Leonard (1992): All unpaid housework + childcare is done by women [Radical feminism] 

Margaret Benston (1972): Women are an unpaid workforce [Marxist feminism]

Duncombe and Marsden: ‘Triple shift’: paid work + housework + emotion work

Zaretsky: Family is used to cushion work pressure

SUpported by Ansley (1972)

However, there is change in status of women

More working wives/women

Gradual move from extended to nuclear families

CONCLUSION

Changes have been made whereby social women have progressed

Women now have the autonomy to be career-oriented & more equal in society

However, patriarchy is not fully eradicated

Gender role socialization still influences family life

Patriarchy -> domestic violence -> disadvantages women

More Than A Million Votes Determine The Voice SA's Top 5

More Than A Million Votes Determine The Voice SA’s Top 5

With only two weeks to the grand finale of M-Net’s prestigious singing contest The Voice SA, the Top 5 talent were announced tonight. Fans cast more than a million votes this week to take Caroline Brussow, Craig Lucas, Fatman, Josh Ansley and Samantha Leonard to next Sunday’s spectacular semi-finals. This means that PJ Pretorius (26) from #TeamKaren had to bid the show farewell tonight.

“Never…

View On WordPress

Family: A Feminist Perspective

Feminists focus on the conflict within family and how women are exploited through ‘traditional gender roles’ enforced and reinforced for the benefit of men. 

.˙. sees the family as an oppressive structure for women

MARXIST FEMINISM

Focuses on how patriarchy perpetuate the capitalist system

Margaret Benston (1972): Husband’s bargaining power at work is weak because he has responsibilities to take care of

Women are unpaid labour at home

Fran Ansley (1972): Wives act as a ‘safety valve’ for husband’s frustration caused by working for the capitalists

Criticisms: 

Failure to acknowledge variations in family 

Morgan (1975): Only focuses on very traditional families, which are less common now

Reluctance to concede that there may be positive effects of family to women

Portray women as passive in exploitation

RADICAL FEMINISM

Oppression of women viewed as the most significant aspect of patriarchal and hierarchal society

Delphy and Leonard (1992): Family and patriarchal and hierarchal

Laura Purdy (1997): Women is disadvantaged 

Resulted from childcare responsibilities and that motherhood has many disadvantages

Germaine Greer (2000): Wives remain subservient to husbands despite the increase in divorce rates

Women are better off separated from patriarchal families

Criticisms: same as Marxist feminists

LIBERAL FEMINISTS

Looks at the progress made by women in family life

Jennifer Somerville (2000): Many feminists fail to acknowledge the progress made by women 

There are more opportunities and choices open to them

Advocated for principled magmatism - policies to produce greater equality [opt for policy reforms rather revolutionary change]

Disagrees with Greer - does not believe that living in a household without a male adult is good

Criticism:

Claims are not backed up empirically

The Voice SA: Tender And Josh Saved

The Voice SA: Tender And Josh Saved

THE VOICE SA 2: Coaches save Tender and Josh! Fans pick Craig and PJ. Who will be saved this week?

#TeamLira’s Tender Mavundla (35) from Port Shepstone and #TeamBobby’s Josh Ansley (31) from Johannesburg tonight joined #TeamKahn’s Fatman (40) and #TeamKaren’s Samantha Leonard (24) in the safe group that are already through to the next round of The Voice SA Season 2, after their coaches Bobby van…

View On WordPress