The Genius of Stanley Kubrick :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Genius of Stanley Kubrick Many movie directors have mastered a genre or two. Wes Craven and John Carpenter are two of the horror film legends. Alfred Hitchcock is probably one of the five greatest directors of all time, with thrillers being his primary claim to fame. George Lucas has been the reigning king of science fiction ever since the release of Star Wars. John Ford is arguably the premier director of westerns. In my opinion, however, Stanley Kubrick may be the person who mastered more genres than any other director. Kubrick was a movie-making genius, much like Steven Spielberg. Anyone you meet on the street can probably name five Spielberg movies. Not many people, however, are aware that Stanley Kubrick was the director of The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, and eleven other movies. For my money, The Shining is the greatest horror film ever made. The setting is a real hotel in an isolated area of Colorado. The movie starred Jack Nicholson and Shelly Duvall. The hotel is completely abandoned except for a man, his wife, and their young son. The movie is a master-piece. Under Kubrick's direction, Jack Nicholson gives the greatest performance of his career. The Shining will scare the hell out of anyone. In one scene the boy discovers the word "murder" written on a wall. He, however, views the word on a mirror, and thus reads it in reverse as "redrum". He then proceeds to mutter the word "redrum" in an eerie manner at various times throughout the movie. The crazed character played by Nicholson chases his son through a maze of tall shrub hedges during a blizzard. The scene is incredible and so is the entire movie. Any fan of horror and/or Jack Nicholson, who has not seen this movie, should rent it immediately. Amazingly, The Shining is the only horror film that Stanley Kubrick made during his forty-nine year career. In my opinion, it is the best of its genre, even better than Hitchcock's Psycho. Among the ten greatest war movies of all time, I would include Saving Private Ryan, The Bridge on The River Kwai, Platoon, and Apocalypse Now. Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket also belongs on this list. No other movie has depicted boot camp the way Kubrick did in this 1987 film. The hair on my arm was literally standing up by the time the movie had completed the segment dealing with boot camp.

Grandpa to Me

R Truby 1 Robert T. Truby Instructor Vincent Basso English 101. 064 30 January 2012 Robert H. Truby I have a grandfather named Robert Henry Truby. Before he was born in 1945, two of his uncles were shot and killed. One was named Bill and another was named Sam. In the early 1900s, there was a feud between my family and another up by Bondad, Colorado. A gangster rancher by the name of Ike Cox shot two of his uncles as a result of this family feud. The mother could not bear the chance of losing another son. Right after Sam’s death, she decided to move the family and their cattle to New Mexico.My bloodline moved to an unforgiving desert seeking survival. They moved to a remote location called Largo Canyon to raise their cattle and children. The dry summers were hot and the winters were cold. A presence of a prior civilization cultivated the surrounding landscape with Native American culture and evidence. Coyotes and cattle didn’t always get along so Henry, my great grandfat her, trapped coyotes. Coincidently, coyotes were worth more than cattle at the time. A lot of people lost their ranch to the bank or to the government because of tax foreclosures, but not Henry.Henry used his money to buy ranches surrounding his own for a small price. After that the Truby ranch reached sixty-six sections, totaling 42,240 acres. The amount of responsibility with that much land was staggering. For example, guarantying a thousand cows have what they need is like having a thousand babies R Truby 2 making certain they have what they need. To some, raising cattle was harder than raising children. My family was invested in cattle and did what they had to do to get by. Henry had one son named Robert Henry Truby, my grandfather. I call him Papo (Pah-Poe. ) Robert helped his father with the ranch since he could walk.Robert had an overwhelming love and trust towards his father. He left for Las Cruces to attend their university to study Animal Science; however, he would drive o ver eight hundred miles every weekend to help Henry ranch. To Robert, money couldn’t replace moments and time he shared with his father. One semester away from graduating with a degree, Robert learned he had to go back and help ranch. It was never a choice. His family needed him and he was okay setting aside personal goals. An analysis of my grandfather reveals his character; however, there is more to him than meets the eye.Nothing is dearer to my grandfather than family and everybody in this family treasures nothing more than his character. My dad’s attitude towards my grandfather is worth quoting. â€Å"I have never had more respect or trust towards a man. He gave me a foundation to live. He is a sense of home. I know I can always go to him for help. † You could not ask more from a father. My grandmother, Rachael, had her own words to describe my grandpa. â€Å"He is gentle. He is caring and loving. † Robert gave her his word when they got married that he would stay true and for that he will stay forever faithful.Challenges they’ve faced is a list that defines devotion and care towards one another. Grandma Rachael still gives him backrubs so he must be doing something right. After almost fifty years of marriage, Robert and Rachael have sealed the sanctity of their marriage. My family wouldn’t be a family without him and for that we are forever grateful. R Truby 3 Although Papo resembles a pioneer from an older generation, he still fits into today’s society in his own way. I’m about six inches taller than my grandpa right now and he still tells me I might be as tall as him one day.Papo always looks younger with a hat on because it covers up the part of his head that’s missing hair. It doesn’t matter where he’s at he’ll have on a pair of boots and a pair of wranglers. He’ll wear a polo shirt that buttons just at the top when he goes to town. When he’s working arou nd the house he’ll wear a shirt that may have everything from paint to sawdust on it. That’s my grandfather’s style and it’s never changed. Papo is stronger than he looks and smarter than he thinks. My grandpa doesn’t drink alcohol or smoke, but he drinks a lot of coke.After all the Coca-Cola he’s had in the past sixty-eight years, Papo is still working out on the farm. It hurts his back, but he still gets out there and does what needs to be done. He values his John Deer tractors. After mastering all the skills of farming, old age seems to take over just a little bit. It is quite humorous to watch Papo drive the tractor because he’s always running over stuff. It’s not on purpose. His perception is just off a little. He won’t take the obvious blame, instead he’ll jokingly blame it one someone or something else. He knows that his family won’t believe him and that’s what makes it even funnier.My grandpa has his own sense of humor that I find intriguing and different. I may have more respect for my father, but I feel closer to Robert. We’ve got the same name, but that’s not the reason. I have a connection with my grandpa that words cannot describe. He is my idol. I look up to him in all things, except when it comes to computers. He is not very good with computers. He holds a lot of feelings back in fear that he will upset someone. In order to find out if I’ve let him down, I have to know him on a deeper level. This can be quite difficult because he is so subtle and modest. My grandpa wants me to be the best I can be.I can’t tell you R Truby 4 how many times Papo reminded me to go to school and to do my homework so I can get a good job one day. I am his lineage and I am a direct reflection of this man. I am his only grandson. If I found out that I let my grandfather down, it would hurt me and I would beat myself up for it. It is my responsibility to make him proud. That is partly why I’m here. Even if his words of wisdom may at times become repetitive, I listen and respectfully nod my head. Whatever I do he somehow feels responsible for and he wants me to learn from his past and his mistakes that followed.Sadly my grandpa has to work at an old age without retirement because he has worked for himself his whole life. When he is too old to work anymore he will have to sell the farm. I’m sure he would like to keep the farm if he could. He’s guiding me in the right direction to be financially stable and he knows the rest will follow. I will always hear his voice in my head telling me what to do or which decision to make. I’ll hear him telling me to hang in there when times get tough. I hope I become half the man he is because he is more than my grandfather. He is my hero.

The Discovery Of The Perspective’S Rules In Visual Arts

The discovery of the perspective’s rules in visual arts is celebrated as one of the major turning points in human history, which fueled centuries-long advancement and developments in both artistic creations and scientific or engineering inventions as the foundation for many breakthroughs of the modern times. It was the bridge between the middle ages and the early modern period or more specifically the fifteenth century, during Italian Renaissance, when the law of perspective was first introduced, explained, published and started to become widely adopted by generations of artists, painters, artist-engineers and the like. Art historian and professor Samuel Edgerton, however, reminds that the event should be rather noted as the rediscovery of†¦show more content†¦Still, how was he able to accomplish the task? Long story short, he proposed to construct two domes inside one another during the contest for the dome’s design in 1418 and later claimed that â€Å"he wou ld bind the walls with tension rings of stone, iron, and wood† to control the outward pressure called â€Å"hoop stress† caused by the structures (Mueller 86). Moreover, Mueller notes that he invented several lifting-machines and didn’t use standard â€Å"ground-based scaffolding† for the dome’s construction, which made the process less costly and more efficient, giving him a great advantage over others, plus no one surpassed the lifts he invented for centuries that followed (86-87). Back to the discovery of perspective or particularly linear perspective in paintings, Brunelleschi actually figured one-point perspective through an experiment he performed near the unfinished Cathedral on which â€Å"11 years later, a huge dome from his designs would be raised,† by using a mirror reflection of a painting of the Florentine baptistry he drew, which was seen through a hole made on the painting (Edgerton 124-125). Professor Edgerton argues his mirro r demonstration of geometrical nature of pictorial space had implications that extended â€Å"to the entire future of Western art and to science and technology from Copernicus to Einstein† (4). The two event is different in a

Plagiarism - 2246 Words

Erik Estrada English 12 Julian 21 January 2014 Music Piracy Ever wondered how the music that you listen to probably every day of your life becomes the music that you love so much? Well there is a long and tedious process that goes into to making just one song. The artists does his or her best to make a song that he or she likes and also a song that all of the fans would enjoy too. It takes days, maybe even weeks to just make one single song; and there are so many components or people that go into its creation. To start, there are songwriters and audio engineers, computer technicians and also the actually artist or artists in the song, and all of those people profit off of that one song. So when a person goes online and decides to†¦show more content†¦He believes that it was only from 1970 to 1997 that recording artists earned significant revenue from records or compact discs. Prior to 1970 most revenue came from performing music live. Many now believe that we are returning to a period where live performances will be the main source o f revenue for musicians. This is because live performances are, the only unique, excludable, non-duplicable product left in the music business (Schultz). David Bowie concurs, advising current musicians that, Youd better be prepared for doing a lot of touring because thats really the only unique situation thats going to be left (Pà ¡reles). Musicians are having to tour more and more than they would like to because of the lack of money they should be getting from the songs they produce. Going on tour means that musicians have to be away from their families and friends for months at a time. Why just recently Eminem, released his new album The Marshall Mathers LP 2. A week before the album come out, Eminem himself sent out a public service announcement video onto Marshall Mathers YouTube page. Eminem states â€Å" due to a massive amount of bootlegging and constant downloading, people are no longer buying our CD’s so that we can get paid for our f**cking work†¦and being fo rced to tour, not being able to see my kids and causing more stress†. So as you can see the recording artists are also aware of the massive increase ofShow MoreRelatedPlagiarism : Plagiarism And Plagiarism815 Words   |  4 Pages There are many types of plagiarism, including several scenarios of inadvertent and deliberate plagiarism. This essay will discuss how plagiarism is defined, the various types of plagiarism, why plagiarism is such a serious problem, the impact of the internet on academic integrity, and how plagiarism can be avoided. It will also provide suggestions on ways to eliminate both inadvertent and deliberate plagiarism. There are several ways to define plagiarism. One such definition, according to the RegisRead MorePlagiarism And The Ethics Of Plagiarism926 Words   |  4 Pagesand parents have heard the term â€Å"plagiarism† while talking about writing essays, poems, and other works. Plagiarism is defined as â€Å"to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one s own† by Merriam-Webster dictionary. While plagiarism may be denoted as stealing one’s work without credit, a more vast and broad definition usually applies to college level work. Every college and university has their own handbook and code of conduct on what exactly â€Å"plagiarism† is defined as, and what are theRead MorePlagiarism : What Is Plagiarism?1583 Words   |  7 PagesWhat is Plagiarism? Plagiarism is using someone else’s work, words, production, researches and ideas without the approval or the acknowledgment of the writer or producer, and claiming the credit for himself. 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Webster’s online Dictionary defines plagiarism as â€Å"to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one s own: use (another s production) withoutRead MorePlagiarism And Academic Integrity : Plagiarism1305 Words   |  6 PagesPlagiarism is a topic that is consistently brought up in many areas of education.1 In every syllabus presented to students, there is a section that refers to plagiarism and academic integrity. Plagiarism can be defined as â€Å"the act or instance of stealing or passing off ideas or words of another as one’s own.†2 Despite this being an important piece of information; students may overlook this material and still plagiarize. In a study from the University of Toronto, 90% of senior pharmacy students admittedRead MorePlagiarism2189 Words   |  9 PagesPlagiarism: Why it Continues to Occur? Darian Camacho English 111, Section 11 Professor Coulter March 21, 2013 Plagiarism: Why it Continues to Occur? The increase in plagiarism has gained the attention of many institutions, administrators and educators, as well as researchers and the public. This increase has brought to attention the concern of why plagiarism continues to occur. In order to debate this concern we should first understand the definition and background of plagiarism, theRead MorePlagiarism Habits Of Politicians : Plagiarism876 Words   |  4 PagesReshma Shrestha Dr. Lynn R.Brink Government 2305-71001 11th September, 2016 Plagiarism Habits of Politicians The word Plagiarism means, it is an acknowledgement that something came from other source or imitates from other s work. Plagiarism is also considered as copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit. In these articles, Evan Osnos describes plagiarism in different field and their negative impact. Mainly, our society also practiced this even they know it is notRead MorePlagiarism605 Words   |  3 PagesTitle : A theft of works among the students : Plagiarism. During the antiquity, it exists an ancient concept called plagiarism. Plagiarism is happened when a student fail to properly document and give attribution to the source of ideas and text in his work. Alongside with the commercialization of writing, the concept of copyright and the rights given to authors has developed (VAIL Faculty Administrator, 1996-2003). However, the problem of plagiarism has been increased nowadays and became a highlyRead MorePlagiarism And Politics : Plagiarism927 Words   |  4 PagesSaroj Dahal Professor Dr. Sharon Manna GOVT 2305-71005 19 Sep, 2016 Plagiarism and politics Plagiarism is an act of stealing someone else’s original ideas or thoughts (either written or oral) and copying it either exactly in a same way or remixing it, without giving credit to the owner. In today’s world, Plagiarism is omnipresent. People try to imitate others watching them in TVs, movies, and songs which tend them to plagiarize knowingly or accidentally. It can be found in almost all fields likeRead MorePlagiarism Essay1649 Words   |  7 PagesI think there was far more plagiarism in the last century. It was almost an accepted part of writing. The ethics of writing has changed. Nobody gets upset about whether Shakespeare plagiarized something. But I think the standards have to be pretty high now, particularly for non-fiction writers. [1] Introduction to Plagiarism According to most leading authorities, including The Office of Research Integrity, plagiarism includes both the theft or misrepresentation of intellectual property and the

Essay about Slaughterhouse-Five A Peace Novel - 1419 Words

War is a tragic experience that can motivate people to do many things. Many people have been inspired to write stories, poems, or songs about war. Many of these examples tend to reflect feelings against war. Kurt Vonnegut is no different and his experience with war inspired him to write a series of novels starting with Slaughter-House Five. It is a unique novel expressing Vonneguts feelings about war. These strong feeling can be seen in the similarities between characters, information about the Tralfamadorians, dark humor, and the structure of the novel. Kurt Vonnegut is an American novelist from Indianapolis, Indiana, born in 1922. A very important part of his life was when he served in WWII where he was taken as a prisoner of†¦show more content†¦This kinship can further connect Billy and Vonnegut together. Since Vonnegut is a fourth generation German, it is possible that Vonnegut could also have a cousin that was a Nazi soldier (Biography). Though it may be a fa r stretch, a further connection the two have is the name of their hometowns. Billy was from the town of Illium, Illinois and Vonnegut was from Indianapolis, Indiana. The correlation between the two cannot be ignored. Billy could very easily be a way for Vonnegut to show the emotions that he felt during the war to the rest of the world. The anti-war message is upheld further with the ironies that Vonnegut provides in the book. One example is when one of the soldiers, a POW, survives the fire-bombing, but dies afterward from the dry heaves because he has to bury dead bodies (Vit). When Billy and one of his comrades join to other scouts the Vonnegut portrays as well trained, Vonnegut displays irony by killing the skillful scouts and allows the less competent Pilgrim and Roland to survive. Roland does eventually die because he is forced to walk around in wooden clogs that turn his feet to pudding. The greatest example of irony is seen in what Vonnegut claims to be the climax o f the story. He explains the situation before the story even begins. He is referring to the: Â…execution of poor old Edgar DerbyÂ…the irony is so great. A whole city gets burned down, and thousands and thousands of people are killed. And this one AmericanShow MoreRelated Slaughterhouse-Five Essay: Three Themes of Slaughterhouse-Five945 Words   |  4 Pages The Three Themes of Slaughterhouse-Five nbsp; Kurt Vonnegut did a great job in writing an irresistible reading novel in which one is not permitted to laugh, and yet still be a sad book without tears. Slaughterhouse-five was copyrighted in 1969 and is a book about the 1945 firebombing in Dresden which had killed 135,000 people. The main character is Billy Pilgrim, a very young infantry scout who is captured in the Battle of the Bulge and quartered to a slaughterhouse where he and other soldiersRead MoreThe Madness of War1458 Words   |  6 Pagesprisoner of war during World War II inspired his critically hailed novel Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), in which characters continually search for meaning in the aftermath of mankind’s irrational cruelty (Kurt Vonnegut: 1922-2007 287). Both the main character, Billy Pilgrim, and Vonnegut have been in Dresden for the firebombing, and that is what motivates their narrative (Klinkowitz 335). In his anti-war novel Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut expresses the adverse emotional effec ts of war throughRead MoreDeterminism in Slaughterhouse-Five by Billy Pilgrim Essay1460 Words   |  6 Pagesthe origin of creation controls when and why all events of the past, present, and future occur, which decisively contradicts the belief in free will of the majority of humans in today’s society. Slaughterhouse-Five follows the life of Billy Pilgrim, a young man who has become â€Å"unstuck† in time. The novel traces Billy’s experiences during the bombing of Dresden in World War II, an encounter with extraterrestrials, called Tralfamadorians, and throughout his domestic life as a father, husband, and optometristRead MoreWar in Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut and Catch-22 by Joseph Heller1074 Words   |  5 PagesSlaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut and Catch-22 by Joseph Heller both have a striking resemblance in the themes of anti-war and of free will. Both don’t come into full force right in the beginning but eventually become more evident. Both novels focus on one character throughout the entire novel, and each protagonist is affected by all the events around them. It changes their perspective and how they view life as a whole. Both Billy in Slaughterhouse Five and Yossarian in Catch -22, dislike warRead MoreSlaughterhouse Five: A Warning Against War Essay1716 Words   |  7 PagesKurt Vonneguts novel Slaughterhouse-Five; or The Childrens Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death is, as suggested by the title, a novel describing a crusade that stretches beyond the faint boundaries of fiction and crosses over into the depths of defogged reality. This satirical, anti-war piece of literature aims to expose, broadcast and even taunt human ideals that support war and challenge them in light of their folly. However, the reality of war, the destruction, affliction and trauma it encompassesRead MoreWar And Its Consequences : The True Reality1545 Words   |  7 PagesThe True Reality American veteran and novelist, Kurt Vonnegut uses his wartime experiences as a basis for his thought-provoking, antiwar novel, Slaughterhouse-Five. The novel follows Billy Pilgrim, an American chaplain’s assistant who serves near the end of World War II, through the horrific fire bombings of Dresden and his life after the war. In his novel, Vonnegut presents twentieth century war as traumatic and destructive, however; it is something that cannot be avoided so humans need to developRead MoreCoping with War: A Comparison Between Slaughterhouse Five and A Farewell to Arms1630 Words   |  7 Pagesmatter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime. (Ernest Hemingway: A Literary Reference) War is a gruesome and tragic thing and affects people differently. Both Vonnegut and Hemmingway discus this idea in their novels A Farewell to Arms and Slaughterhouse Five. Both of the novels deal not only with war stories but other genres, be it a science fiction story in Vonnegut’ s case or a love story in Hemingway’s. Despite all the similarities there are also very big differences in the depiction ofRead More Views on War in Vonneguts Slaughter House Five Essay1328 Words   |  6 PagesViews on War in Vonneguts Slaughter House Five    Many people returned from World War II with disturbing images forever stuck in their heads. Others returned and went crazy due to the many hardships and terrors faced. The protagonist in Slaughter-House Five, Billy Pilgrim, has to deal with some of these things along with many other complications in his life. Slaughter House Five (1968), by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., is an anti-war novel about a man’s life before, after and during the time he spent fightingRead MoreKurt Vonneguts Slaughter House Five Essay504 Words   |  3 PagesSlaughter House Five Expaination Based on Kurt Vonnegut Jr.s book by the same name, Slaughterhouse Five has been described by many as one of the best anti-war novels of the 20th Century. In Slaughterhouse Five, Billy Pilgrim finds unstuck in time jumping between several periods of his life. From his experience as a prisoner of war in World War II to his suburban family life in the 1950s and 1960s, and his experience as a human specimen in an alien zoo on a distant planet, Billy seemingly hasRead MoreAnalysis Of The Hobbit 3320 Words   |  14 Pagessomething. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after† (Tolkien). Certainly, when E.M Forster wrote A Passage to India or J.R.R Tolkien wrote The Hobbit or Kurt Vonnegut wrote Slaughterhouse -Five they were not looking for anything. However, they ended up finding a crucial link in their books–links to society at the time their books were published. 1924, 1937, 1969 or is it 1890, 2157 (Shire reckoning), 1945-It is not possible to be

College Scholarship Essays free essay sample

Why I deserve this scholarship Hi, my name is Stacey Burled and I currently attending Boston Arts Academy as a Junior theatre major. I believe its never too early to start looking at colleges and scholarships. My schools of interest include Jailbird, Colombia, and Dartmouth. I am not the first in my family to go to college but am apart of the first generation. My parents are from Jamaica and never fully completed their education. Ive always had to make the most of financial aid and luck. My parents are definitely not rich but weve always found ways to ay for what we need.My sister just enrolled at Cornell University almost entirely through financial aid and merit based scholarships. Feel as though I deserve this scholarship because my grades definitely reflect how important education is to me. I plan to major in Theatre Arts and minor in Education. We will write a custom essay sample on College Scholarship Essays or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Theatre has always been a huge part of my life. My goal for the future is to teach youth how. Important theatre is. It can tell stories that help people connect to one another. I also deserve this scholarship to prove to myself that can actually achieve my dreams. Ways set the bar high for myself as you can see in my choice of colleges; its always hard having an older sibling. And being compared to them all the time. This scholarship will just be one step closer to my dream of going to college and following in my sisters footsteps. This essay might not stand out to you because I know there are people out there with sickness and disease. Im in good health and I have a supportive family. All I have to prove that I deserve this scholarship are my grades and my determination to go to college.

Killer Whales Gentle Giants, Or Viscous Killers Essays

"Killer Whales: Gentle Giants, or Viscous Killers?" Killer whales are an important subject of mythology for many indigenous peoples, especially the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. The whales have not been hunted extensively by humans, although they have been hunted by some shore whaling operations, and some individuals have been taken as aquarium show animals from the waters around the Pacific Northwest and Iceland. Killer whales are perceived by many near-shore fishermen to be in competition with human fishing activity (Anheiser Busch 1). The killer whale, or Orcinus orca can be found worldwide in all seas from both tropics to Arctic and Antarctic oceans. They are one of the most well known whales because of the captivity of Shamu at Sea World and the other studies that are widely publicized (2). The male killer whale has an average length of 6.7 to 7.0 meters and can weigh between 4,000 to 5,000 kilograms (Knight 5). The female killer whales are smaller having a length of 5.5 to 6.5 meters and weighing 2,500 to 3,000 kilograms. They have 10 to 12 pairs of large conical teeth in each jaw (Evans 12). Their coloration is very striking. They have black on the back and sides and a white belly that extends as a rear-pointing lobe up the flukes and less markedly near the head, and around the throat (15). They are also white on the chin and underside of their flippers with a distinctive, conspicuous white oval patch above and behind each eye. This coloration varies depending on regional variations. Killer whales can have indistinct gray saddles over their backs just behind their dorsal fin (Evans 16). This is called countershading. Countershading enables the whales to be camouflaged from their prey (Wolfe lecture). They have a stout torpedo-shaped body with a conical-shaped head. Their flippers are large rounded and paddle-shaped with a centrally-placed dorsal fin. The dorsal fin is sickle-shaped in adult females, but very tall and erect in adult males. There are some variations in morphology between regional populations but vocal dialects vary more between pods than geographically. There is no exact known population size. But the largest numbers are in the Antarctic where the population is estimated at more than 160,000 (Wheelock Colege 1). Killer whales may be solitary or live in groups of 2 to more than 50 animals. Food items include squid, fish, skates, rays, sharks, sea turtles, sea birds, seals, sea lions, walrus, dolphins, porpoises, and large whales such as fin whales, humpback whales, right whales, minke whales, and gray whales. They are even known to attack the sperm whale and blue whale. On the Atlantic coast of South America, as well as on islands of the Indian Ocean, killer whales have been observed lunging through the surf and coming right onto the beach in pursuit of elephant seals and sea lions (Holt 17). After such an attack the whales have to wriggle and slide back into depths adequate for swimming. In captivity, killer whales eat about 45 kg of food per day but free ranging animals probably require much more. Although these are obviously proficient and voracious hunters, killer whales are not known to have ever attacked a human (Evans 123). At sea they are usually seen in pods of 5-20, although up to 150 have been seen together at one time. Large groups probably consist of several pods which have temporarily aggregated. Pods themselves appear very stable for many years, with little emigration or immigration (124). They are highly cooperative and the group functions as a unit when hunting, making these delphinids extremely efficient predators. Groups usually contain adults of both sexes but sometimes females with young will form their own groups (125). Although much research has focused on killer whale pods around Vancouver Island and on the mainland coast, very little is known about the whales often found in the Queen Charlotte Islands, known as offshore killer whales. This separate population of killer whales appears to share similar behaviors and the fish-eating lifestyle particular to resident whales but appear to maintain an offshore distribution and are unique in their vocal dialects ? indicating they're unrelated to any transient or resident pod. Offshore whales tend to be seen in large groups of 30 to 60, and are seldom seen in protected coastal waters. At present, there are limited details concerning the offshore population's range, social organization or life history. However, we hope that it will be possible to fill in many of these gaps in the future, and to determine if and how these offshore whales might be related to the well-known inshore