Vitamins (short Story)
"Vitamins" is a short story by American author Raymond Carver. It was originally published in the Spring 1981 edition of ''Granta'' magazine and later in 1983, in the short story collection ''Cathedral''. Plot "Vitamins" begins with an unnamed male narrator telling the story of how his wife starts a home business selling vitamins. His wife Patti starts selling vitamins because she wants a job for her self-respect. Patti takes her job very seriously and she feels hurt when girls quit on her. One night one of her employees, a girl named Sheila makes a pass at Patti by telling her she loves Patti. Then she grabs Patti's breast. Patti tells her she "doesn’t swing that way", but says that she loves Sheila, just not in the way Sheila loves her. After that incident, the narrator describes a party that he and Patti hold for all of Patti's employees. The vitamin business was not doing as well as before so Patti holds a party to cheer all her employees up. All the girls are dancing with ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Raymond Carver
Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He published his first collection of stories, '' Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?'', in 1976. His breakout collection, '' What We Talk About When We Talk About Love'' (1981), received immediate acclaim and established Carver as an important figure in the literary world. It was followed by ''Cathedral'' (1983), which Carver considered his watershed and is widely regarded as his masterpiece. The definitive collection of his stories, '' Where I'm Calling From'', was published shortly before his death in 1988. In their 1989 nomination of Carver for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the jury concluded, "The revival in recent years of the short story is attributable in great measure to Carver's mastery of the form." Early life Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mill town on the Columbia River, and grew up in Yakima, Washington, the son of Ella Beatrice Carter (née Casey) and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Granta
''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, '' The Observer'' stated: "In its blend of memoirs and photojournalism, and in its championing of contemporary realist fiction, ''Granta'' has its face pressed firmly against the window, determined to witness the world." ''Granta'' has published twenty-seven laureates of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Literature published by ''Granta'' has regularly won such prizes as the Forward Prize, T. S. Eliot Prize, Pushcart Prize and more. History ''Granta'' was founded in 1889 by students at Cambridge University as ''The Granta'', edited by R. C. Lehmann (who later became a major contributor to '' Punch''). It was started as a periodical featuring student politics, badinage and literary efforts. The title was taken from the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cathedral (short Story Collection)
''Cathedral'' is the third major-press collection of short stories by American writer Raymond Carver, published in 1983. It received critical acclaim and was a finalist for the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Reception ''Cathedral'' was enthusiastically received by critics. In ''The New York Times book Review'', critic Irving Howe wrote: ''The Washington Post'' wrote that "there are no arid places in ''Cathedral''. Instead there are a dozen stories that overflow with the danger, excitement, mystery and possibility of life." The stories The collection contains the following stories: *"Feathers" - A couple visit another couple who have a peacock and a baby. *"Chef's House" - Wes rents Chef's house by the ocean and asks wife Edna to come live with him again. *"Preservation" - Sandy's husband has taken to the sofa since he lost his job as a roofer three months before. *"The Compartment" - Myers, vacationing in Europe, takes a train to meet his son, who he hasn't seen in eight ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Home Business
A home business or home-based business (HBB) is a small business that operates from the business owner's home office. In addition to location, home businesses are usually defined by having a very small number of employees, usually all immediate family of the business owner, in which case it is also a family business. Home businesses generally lack shop frontage, customer parking and street advertising signs. Such businesses are sometimes prohibited by residential zoning regulations. Remote work has increased. Home offices compete with small commercial businesses and are cheaper to operate. It may also be possible to tax deduct some home expenses while running a home based business. High speed internet connections and smartphones help to make a home-based business a reality. Earlier home businesses had been where families lived on the second floor of their house while converting the first floor into a store, where upon close of business they would secure the first floor and retire t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vitamins
Vitamins are organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolic function. Essential nutrients cannot be synthesized in the organism in sufficient quantities for survival, and therefore must be obtained through the diet. For example, vitamin C can be synthesized by some species but not by others; it is not considered a vitamin in the first instance but is in the second. Most vitamins are not single molecules, but groups of related molecules called vitamers. For example, there are eight vitamers of vitamin E: four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. The term ''vitamin'' does not include the three other groups of essential nutrients: minerals, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids. Major health organizations list thirteen vitamins: * Vitamin A (all-''trans''- retinols, all-''trans''-retinyl-esters, as well as all-''trans''- β-carotene and other provitamin A c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, it is the county seat of Multnomah County, Oregon, Multnomah County, Oregon's most populous county. Portland's population was 652,503, making it the List of United States cities by population, 28th most populous city in the United States, the sixth most populous on the West Coast of the United States, West Coast, and the third most populous in the Pacific Northwest after Seattle and Vancouver. Approximately 2.5 million people live in the Portland metropolitan area, Oregon, Portland metropolitan area, making it the List of metropolitan statistical areas, 26th most populous in the United States. Almost half of Oregon's population resides within the Portland metro area. Named after Portland, Maine, which is itself named aft ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifteenth-most populous country. One of two communist states in Southeast Asia, Vietnam shares land borders with China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west. It shares Maritime boundary, maritime borders with Thailand through the Gulf of Thailand, and the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia through the South China Sea. Its capital is Hanoi and its largest city is Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam was inhabited by the Paleolithic age, with states established in the first millennium BC on the Red River Delta in modern-day northern Vietnam. Before the Han dynasty's invasion, Vietnam was marked by a vibrant mix of religion, culture, and social norms. The Han dynasty annexed Northern and Central Vietnam, which were subs ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Oral Sex
Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth). Cunnilingus is oral sex performed on the vulva while fellatio is oral sex performed on the Human penis, penis. Anilingus, another form of oral sex, is oral stimulation of the Human anus, anus. Oral sex may be performed as foreplay to incite sexual arousal before other sexual activities (such as Sexual intercourse, vaginal or Anal sex, anal intercourse), or as an Eroticism, erotic and physical intimacy, physically intimate act in its own right. Like most forms of sexual activity, oral sex can pose a risk for contracting Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infections (STIs). However, the transmission risk for oral sex, especially HIV transmission, is significantly lower than for vaginal or anal sex. Oral sex is often regarded as taboo, but most countries do not have l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alcohol Intoxication
Alcohol intoxication, commonly described in higher doses as drunkenness or inebriation, and known in overdose as alcohol poisoning, is the behavior and physical effects caused by recent consumption of Alcohol (drug), alcohol. The technical term ''intoxication'' in common speech may suggest that a large amount of alcohol has been consumed, leading to accompanying physical symptoms and deleterious health effects. Mild intoxication is mostly referred to by slang terms such as ''tipsy'' or ''buzzed''. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main Psychoactive drug, psychoactive component of alcoholic beverages, other physiological symptoms may arise from the activity of acetaldehyde, a metabolite of alcohol. These effects may not arise until hours after ingestion and may contribute to a condition colloquially known as a hangover. Symptoms of Substance intoxication, intoxication at lower doses may include mild sedation and poor coordination. At higher doses, there may be slurred ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alcoholism
Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated there were 283 million people with alcohol use disorders worldwide . The term ''alcoholism'' was first coined in 1852, but ''alcoholism'' and ''alcoholic'' are considered stigmatizing and likely to discourage seeking treatment, so diagnostic terms such as ''alcohol use disorder'' and ''alcohol dependence'' are often used instead in a clinical context. Alcohol is addictive, and heavy long-term alcohol use results in many negative health and social consequences. It can damage all the organ systems, but especially affects the brain, heart, liver, pancreas, and immune system. Heavy alcohol usage can result in trouble sleeping, and severe cognitive issues like dementia, brain damage, or Wernicke–Kors ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1981 Short Stories
Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, Karl Doenitz following his death on December 24. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán Department, Morazán and Chalatenango Department, Chalatenango departments. * January 15 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation led by Polish Solidarity (Polish trade union), Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa at the Vatican City, Vatican. * January 20 – Iran releases the 52 Americans held for 444 days, minutes after Ronald Reagan is First inauguration of Ronald Reagan, sworn in as the 40th President of the United States, ending the Iran hostage crisis. * January 21 – The first DMC DeLorean, DeLorean automobile, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Short Stories
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label that was previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |