Saturday, January 25, 2020
Pepsi Co History and Company Analysis
Pepsi Co History and Company Analysis Pepsi Co Inc. has established itself as a dominant snack food and soft drink distributor with its PepsiCo North America, Pepsi Co International, Frito-Lay, and Quaker Oats segments. (Refer to exhibit 1) In 2007, PepsiCo became the worlds largest snack and beverage seller bringing in revenues of more than $39.5 billion and with its Frito-Lay merger brands accounting for 29 percent of the companys total revenues and 36 percent of the companys operating profits. The company emphasizes maintaining spectacular performance operations that were accomplished thorough strategies aimed at product innovation, creating and sustaining close relationships with distributors, international growth, and beneficial acquisitions. The company sported an impressive business portfolio in 2008 which included its brands such as Pepsi soft drink products, Frito-Lay, Quaker Oats products, Doritos, Gatorade, Tropicana, SoBe, Lipton Brisk tea, Propel, Hickory Sticks, SunChips Multigrain snacks, Aquafina, the acq uisition of Pizza Hutt, Gatorade, and several other consumer goods. The PepsiCo International division is an ever-growing sector in emerging markets such as Russia, The Middle East, China, and Turkey. The company grew by 9 percent in 2007 with volume gains and acquisitions that allowed the company to attain a 22 percent increase in division revenues and 15 percent increase in operating profits. (Gamble 433) The Quaker Oats division attained 2007 sales of $1.8 billion, and held a 58 percent market share in its North America division since 2006 (Gamble 435). PepsiCo has successfully diversified itself with different product lines and methods to improve those product lines so that they ensure customer satisfaction. The company has developed a diversification strategy that is executed through acquisitions of similar or complimentary products. Expanding into these markets not only creates consumer satisfaction, but increases shareholder value as well. With well established, diverse markets PepsiCo has secured business affiliations that benefit the company and allow it to compete better than they would alone. Since 2008, they have focused on new product innovations that addressed consumer health and wellness concerns. PepsiCo has diversified into a multi-business corporations, offering products through their four main business segments; PepsiCo North America, PepsiCo International, Frito-Lay, and Quaker Foods North America. Refer to exhibit 1 to see a complete list of products PepsiCo has been able to offer through their diversification stra tegy. A key competitive strength of PepsiCo is that it has close relationships and partnerships with distributors. PepsiCo has also established successful strategic acquisitions and continues its expansion into profitable markets. The company has adjusted its product innovation to create healthier products in response to consumer demands, thus creating better consumer value and a higher rate of return. The company capitalizes on its consumer research and development which helps it to apply strategies such as the Power of One strategy which increases the opportunity for consumers to purchase more than one PepsiCo and Frito-Lay product at a time on each visit. Dominant corporate strategies that support their many acquisitions of well know products have led to diversification of the company. Products are customized to suit the consumers preferences; for example, the company has designed their product tastes to country specific satisfaction. Because PepsiCo has created and maintained strong br and loyalty with its consumers, it continues to possess a significantly large portion of the food and beverage market shares.  The companys business units have been able to successfully cut costs. Frito-Lay and Quaker had savings of  $40 million for their joint distribution and Quaker Oats saved $ 160 million in innovative packing materials and sharing specific product ingredients. The company also redesigned their shipping methods to reduce stock-outs in retail stores.            There are many ways companies try to maximize the value of their shareholders. Some of the strategies that CEOs of companies may use to maximize the value of their shareholders are reducing company costs while at the same time maintaining a stable revenue levels. Another way that companies maximize shareholder wealth is by partaking in acquisitions of companies. Acquirin companies however is an often risky business venture for a company to undertake. PepsiCo is an example of how acquiring various business ventures in turn benefited the shareholders of the company. The various acquisitions that PepsiCo partook in had a gross value of two billion nine hundred and twenty two dollars. This increased the revenues of PepsiCo substantially by a twenty billion dollar increase from 2000 to 2007. This increase in revenues being brought in, in turn increases the value of the issued stock. You can see the gradual increase in the price of commo n stock in exhibit ____.            A strong driving factor in the maximization of shareholder value is the CEO Indra Nooyi. Her tenure as an employee of PepsiCo has yielded only improvements for the company as a whole. She was seen as a negotiator and involved in many of the acquisitions that were very profitable for PepsiCo. She built her reputation with various acquisitions such as the Tropicana acquisition in 1998 and the 2001 acquisition of Quaker Oats. She also spearheaded the public offering of Pepsis bottling operations. The hard work of Nooyi at PepsiCo has made the company a multi-billion dollar company. Bringing in the substantial additional revenue increased PepsiCos net worth which also made the stock of Pepsi rise in value also which is beneficial for those who invested good deals of money in this company.            PepsiCo appeared to always have a handle on their revenues and knows at what levels to price their goods at as to not lose customers base. Looking at their financial summary, exhibit ___ you will notice that from 1998 to 2007 there has been a steady increase in the revenues brought in which affects the value of the shares of common stock as well that are increasing at a corresponding rate. Pepsi Co has proved to be a company that truly does have the resources to remain a leader in the carbonated beverage industry. Even when Coca-Cola tried to be the leader in the carbonated beverage market holding a little more than forty percent of the market shares, PepsiCo held a little over 30 percent of the market shares.            Looking at Exhibit ____ you will see the break down of PepsiCos net cash provided by operating activities. You will notice that they have a decent amount of Management operating cash flows that can be disbursed or used for benefit of the company. Part of the managers operating cash flows could be used to try and acquire more food or beverage products that would make their product base more diverse. They could also use part of the money to put towards having Pepsi or Tropicana products served in new restaurant chains. PepsiCo clearly have a surplus of money from operating activities that could be put toward their Research and development team so that they can improve the products that they are already have. Another way they could disperse their managements cash flow is by looking to acquire or merge with a manufacturer of candy or a sweet of some sort. PepsiCo is well versed in the variety of snack foods that they offer when it comes to sal ty snack spending the time and money to find a sweet snack would benefit them. This would in turn would bring in more money to Pepsi and increase their stock prices which would in turn increase the value of their shareholders. If a sweet snack was added to Pepsis line of products it would compliment the notion of wanting to eat something sweet after you eat something salty, and vise versa. This would bring in more revenue which in turn would give PepsiCo more operating cash flows to work with n the future and become a very powerful company. We do not recommend PepsiCo to divest any Quaker brands since the acquisition provided PepsiCo a stable platform to enter the health foods and isotonic beverage market. PepsiCos portfolio is established in 2011 with a good mix of carbonated beverages, isotonic beverages, fruit flavored beverages, fruit juices, salty and savory snacks, cereals and other health foods and drinks. (Refer to exhibit __ If they were to divest any Quaker Oats brands. PepsiCo could harm its portfolio and decrease its shareholder value, lower stock prices and lower economies of scale. Also, it is possible that the brand could be acquired by another company and pose as a threat to PepsiCo. We recommend PepsiCo to acquire or form a merger with RedBull. Red Bull holds a 70 percent share of the world market for energy drinks, or functional beverages, a category it was largely responsible for building (Red Bull GMBH). The biggest isotonic beverage brand Gatorade is already under PepsiCo. Adding Red Bull to their portfolio would create higher shareholder value and increase revenues. The volume share for energy drinks on the PepsiCo portfolio was only 1% in 2007. We believe that there is great potential for an increase if Red Bull is acquired or merged with. Also, with PepsiCos strategy of better-for-you and good-for-you products, PepsiCo could encourage Red Bull manufacturers to use different types of healthier sweeteners which would increase sales and publicity for Red Bull and PepsiCos health awareness. Having Red Bull on their portfolio of products would also give PepsiCo a better market share and add value to the brand for appealing to various consumer demands. Refer to exhibit___ to see PepsiCos current market share.      PepsiCos current portfolio has a wide variety of snacks, beverages, and cereal catering to all types of demands including health conscious consumers. Refer to exhibit 1 to see a full list of PepsoCos snacks,  beverage and Quaker Oats Brands. We recommend PepsiCo to acquire or merge with a candy company to add a different product to their portfolio. Mars Incorporated, has strong brands such as Mars, Snickers, MMs, Whiskas, Uncle Bens, Dove, Extra, Orbit, Flavia, Pedigree, and Royal Cannin on their portfolio. A merger or acquisition with Mars incorporated would give PepsiCo a wide variety and add to their existing brands which will make them achieve greater economies of scale. Through such a merger or acquisition, PepsiCo will be able to cater to the consumer population that they are unable to reach with their existing products. They will also be able to cater to consumers with pets with popular brands like Pedigree and Royal Cannin that are a part of Mars Incorporated.                       The corporate strategy recommended for PepsiCo is the Best Cost Provider Strategy. The essence of a best cost provider strategy is giving customers more value for the money by satifsying buyer desires for appealing features/performance/quality service and charging a lower price for these attributes compared to rivals with similar caliber product offerings (Gamble111). We recommend PepsiCo to implement this strategy into their business by cutting costs and lowering prices to cater to those who enjoy PepsiCo products but are not able to afford them any longer due to the current recession. Also offering those products at a lower price will give them a competitive edge against Coca Cola which is one of their biggest rivals. In order for the Best Cost Provider Strategy to work, a company must have the capability to incorporate attractive or upscale attributes at a lower cost than rivals (Gamble111). PepsiCo has the capability to out compete Coca Cola by focusing on their core competencies through the value chain and by eliminating costs that do not add value. In addition to the recommendations above, we also recommend PepsiCo to focus more on their Good-for-you and Better-for-you products. With an increasing population of health conscious citizens, PepsiCo should enter a line of Organic ready to eat products and beverages apart from the Naked Juice products. Quaker Oats brand is already known for healthy food like oatmeal, cereals, granola bars, and etcetra. We recommend PepsiCo to focus more attention to ready made, ready to eat foods like noodles, organic tv dinners, and quick organic lunch options. EXHIBIT 1 Breakfast Bars/Granola Bars   ² Quaker Chewy Granola Bars   ² Quaker Dipps Granola Bars   ² Quaker Fruit Oatmeal Bars   ² Quaker Fruit Oatmeal Toastables   ² Quaker Oatmeal-to-Go Bars   ² Quaker True Delights Bars   ² Quaker True Delights Squares Coffee Drinks:   ² Starbucks Doubleshot   ² Starbucks Frappuccino   ² Starbucks Iced Coffee Energy Drinks:   ² Amp Energy Energy Drinks   ² No Fear Energy Drinks   ² SoBe Energy Drinks Tea/Lemonade:   ² Brisk   ² Lipton Iced Tea   ² Lipton PureLeaf   ² SoBe Tea   ² Tazo Tea Juice/Juice Drinks:   ² Amp Energy Juice   ² Dole Juice/ Juice Drinks   ² Dole Plus Fortified Juices   ² Dole Sensation Juice Drinks   ² IZZE Sparkling Juice   ² Ocean Spray Juice/Juice Drinks   ² Naked Juice   ² SoBe Juice Drinks   ² SoBe Lean Diet Juice Drink   ² Tropicana Trop50 Beverages   ² Tropicana Pure Premium Juices   ² Tropicana Twister Juice Drinks   ² Tropicana Tropics Oatmeal/Cereals:   ² Capn Crunch Cereal   ² King Vitaman Cereal   ² Kretschmer Toasted Wheat Germ   ² Life Cereal   ² Mothers Ready-to-Eat Hot Cereals   ² Quaker Essentials   ² Quaker Grits   ² Quaker Instant Oatmeal   ² Quaker Natural Granola Cereal Oatmeal/Cereals Cont:   ² Quaker Oatmeal   ² Quaker Oatmeal Breakfast Squares   ² Quaker Oatmeal-to-Go   ² Quaker Oh!s Cereal   ² Quaker Puffed Rice   ² Quaker Shredded Wheat Cereal   ² Quaker Squares Cereal   ² Quisp Cereal Other:   ² Amp Energy Gum   ² Aunt Jemima Mixes Syrups   ² Quaker Baking Mixes Rice Snacks:   ² Quaker Large Rice Cakes   ² Quaker Mini Delights   ² Quaker True Delights Rice Snacks   ² Quaker Tortillaz   ² Quaker True Delights Fiber Crisps Side Dishes:   ² Near East Side Dishes   ² Pasta Roni Side Dishes   ² Rice-A-Roni Side Dishes Snacks:   ² Baked! Doritos Tortilla Chips   ² Baked! Lays Potato Crisps   ² Baked! Ruffles Potato Chips   ² Baked! Tostitos Tortilla Chips   ² Baken-ets Pork Skins and Cracklins   ² Cheetos Snacks   ² Chesters Popcorn   ² Cracker Jack Candy Coated Popcorn   ² Doritos Tortilla Chips   ² El Isleno Plantain Chips   ² Frito-Lay, Fritos and Cheetos Snack Crackers   ² Frito-Lay, Fritos and Tostitos Dips Salsas   ² Frito-Lay Nuts Seeds   ² Fritos Corn Chips   ² Funyons Onion Flavored Rings   ² Gamesa Cookies and Wafers   ² Grandmas Cookies   ² Hickory Sticks   ² Hostess Potato Chips   ² Lays Kettle Cooked Potato Chips   ² Lays Potato Chips   ² Lays Stax Potato Crisps Snacks Cont:   ² Matador Meat Snacks   ² Maui Style Potato Chips   ² Miss Vickys Potato Chips   ² Munchies Snack Mix   ² Munchos Potato Crisps   ² Natural Cheetos   ² Natural Lays   ² Natural Tostitos   ² Quaker Soy Crisps   ² Quaker Quakes   ² Rold Gold Pretzels   ² Ruffles Potato Chips   ² Sabritones Puffed Wheat Snacks   ² Santitas Tortilla Chips   ² Smartfood Popcorn   ² Spitz   ² Stacys   ² SunChips Multigrain Snacks   ² Tostitos Tortilla Chips   ² TrueNorth   ² Wavy Lays Potato Chips Soft Drinks:   ² Diet Pepsi   ² Diet Mountain Dew   ² Diet Sierra Mist   ² Mountain Dew   ² Mug Soft Drinks   ² Pepsi   ² Sierra Mist Sports Drinks:   ² Gatorade Prime 01   ² Gatorade Thirst Quencher Perform 02   ² G2 Perform 02   ² Gatorade Recover 03 Water:   ² Aquafina   ² Aquafina FlavorSplash   ² Aquafina Sparkling   ² Ethos Water   ² Propel Vitamin Enhanced Water Beverage   ² SoBe Lifewater Vitamin Enhanced Water Beverage EXHIBIT 2 PEPSICO TIMELINE 1965 PepsiCo, Inc. is founded (Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay) The new company reports sales of     $510 million and has 19,000 employees. 1966 Doritos brand tortilla chips are introduced. Pepsi enters Japan and Eastern Europe 1968 Growth through acquisition 1970 PepsiCo sales pass the $1 billion mark. The company has 36,000 employees.. Pepsi is the first company to respond to consumer preference with lightweight, recyclable, plastic bottles. 1974 PepsiCo sales pass the $2 billion mark. Pepsi-Cola becomes the first American consumer product to be produced, marketed and sold in the former Soviet Union. 1976 Pepsi-Cola becomes the single largest selling soft drink brand sold in U.S. supermarkets. 1977 Acquisition of Pizza Hut Passes $3 billion in sales. 1978 Acquisition of Taco Bell 1984 Diet Pepsi is reformulated with 100% NutraSweet. Pepsi-Cola makes advertising history as Michael Jackson and his brothers usher in a new generation of Pepsi-Cola advertising. 1985  PepsiCo is now the largest company in the beverage industry. The company has revenues of more than $7.5 billion, more than 137,000 employees. Pepsi-Cola products are available in nearly 150 countries and territories around the world. Snack food operations are in 10 international markets. 1986 Acquisition KFC Purchases 7UP International PepsiCo is listed on the Tokyo stock exchange. 1989 PepsiCo enters top 25 of Fortune 500 ranking with sales of $15.4 billion, it is number 23. The company has more than 300,000 employees. 1992- Pepsi-Cola begins distribution of Liptons line of ready-to-drink teas nationwide. 1994 PepsiCo and Starbucks form the North American Coffee Partnership to jointly develop ready-to-drink coffee beverages. PepsiCo sales reach $30.4 billion. There are 470,000 employees worldwide, making PepsiCo the third largest employer. 1997 Frito-Lay announces plans to buy the 104-year-old snack, Cracker Jack, a candy-coated mix of popcorn and peanuts from Borden Foods Corp. 1998 PepsiCo acquires Tropicana Products 2001 Acquisition of the Quaker Oats 2002 Frito-Lay announces it is eliminating trans fats from Doritos, Tostitos, and Cheetos. 2005  Quaker Introduces Weight Control Instant Oatmeal PepsiCo Donates $2 Million to Pakistan Earthquake Victims 2006 PepsiCos brand SoBe Launches New SoBe Life Water Cold Stone Creamery announces a multi-year agreement making Pepsi its exclusive beverage supplier Frito-Lay North America signed agreement with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation for a new policy for selling foods in schools Federal Trade Commission clears PepsiCo for Naked Juice Co. purchase 2008 PepsiCos diversification strategy built into three new divisions. PepsiCo agrees to buy Bulgarias Leading Nuts and Seeds Company EXHIBIT 3- SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS WEAKNESESS OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
Friday, January 17, 2020
The Host Chapter 26: Returned
Without ever actually agreeing to do it, I became the teacher Jeb wanted. My â€Å"class†was informal. I answered questions every night after dinner. I found that as long as I was willing to do this, Ian and Doc and Jeb would leave me alone during the day so that I could concentrate on my chores. We always convened in the kitchen; I liked to help with the baking while I spoke. It gave me an excuse to pause before answering a difficult question, and somewhere to look when I didn't want to meet anyone's eyes. In my head, it seemed fitting; my words were sometimes upsetting, but my actions were always for their good. I didn't want to admit that Jamie was right. Obviously, people didn't like me. They couldn't; I wasn't one of them. Jamie liked me, but that was just some strange chemical reaction that was far from rational. Jeb liked me, but Jeb was crazy. The rest of them didn't have either excuse. No, they didn't like me. But things changed when I started talking. The first time I noticed it was the morning after I answered Doc's questions at dinner; I was in the black bathing room, washing clothes with Trudy, Lily, and Jamie. â€Å"Could you hand me the soap, please, Wanda?†Trudy asked from my left. An electric current ran through my body at the sound of my name spoken by a female voice. Numbly, I passed her the soap and then rinsed the sting off my hand. â€Å"Thank you,†she added. â€Å"You're welcome,†I murmured. My voice cracked on the last syllable. I passed Lily in the hall a day later on my way to find Jamie before dinner. â€Å"Wanda,†she said, nodding. â€Å"Lily,†I answered, my throat dry. Soon it wasn't just Doc and Ian who asked questions at night. It surprised me who the most vocal were: exhausted Walter, his face a worrisome shade of gray, was endlessly interested in the Bats of the Singing World. Heath, usually silent, letting Trudy and Geoffrey talk for him, was outspoken during these evenings. He had some fascination with Fire World, and though it was one of my least favorite stories to tell, he peppered me with questions until he'd heard every detail I knew. Lily was concerned with the mechanics of things-she wanted to know about the ships that carried us from planet to planet, their pilots, their fuel. It was to Lily that I explained the cryotanks-something they had all seen but few understood the purpose of. Shy Wes, usually sitting close to Lily, asked not about other planets but about this one. How did it work? No money, no recompense for work-why did our souls' society not fall apart? I tried to explain that it was not so different from life in the caves. Did we not all work without money and share in the products of our labor equally? â€Å"Yes,†he interrupted me, shaking his head. â€Å"But it's different here-Jeb has a gun for the slackers.†Everyone looked at Jeb, who winked, and then they all laughed. Jeb was in attendance about every other night. He didn't participate; he just sat thoughtfully in the back of the room, occasionally grinning. He was right about the entertainment factor; oddly, for we all had legs, the situation reminded me of the See Weeds. There had been a special title for entertainers there, like Comforter or Healer or Seeker. I was one of the Storytellers, so the transition to a teacher here on Earth had not been such a change, profession-wise, at least. It was much the same in the kitchen after dark, with the smell of smoke and baking bread filling the room. Everyone was stuck here, as good as planted. My stories were something new, something to think about besides the usual-the same endlessly repeated sweaty chores, the same thirty-five faces, the same memories of other faces that brought the same grief with them, the same fear and the same despair that had long been familiar companions. And so the kitchen was always full for my casual lessons. Only Sharon and Maggie were conspicuously and consistently absent. I was in about my fourth week as an informal teacher when life in the caves changed again. The kitchen was crowded, as was usual. Jeb and Doc were the only ones missing besides the normal two. On the counter next to me was a metal tray of dark, doughy rolls, swollen to twice the size they'd started at. They were ready for the oven, as soon as the current tray was done. Trudy checked every few minutes to make sure nothing was burning. Often, I tried to get Jamie to talk for me when he knew the story well. I liked to watch the enthusiasm light up his face, and the way he used his hands to draw pictures in the air. Tonight, Heidi wanted to know more about the Dolphins, so I asked Jamie to answer her questions as well as he could. The humans always spoke with sadness when they asked about our newest acquisition. They saw the Dolphins as mirrors of themselves in the first years of the occupation. Heidi's dark eyes, disconcerting underneath her fringe of white-blond hair, were tight with sympathy as she asked her questions. â€Å"They look more like huge dragonflies than fish, right, Wanda?†Jamie almost always asked for corroboration, though he never waited for my answer. â€Å"They're all leathery, though, with three, four, or five sets of wings, depending on how old they are, right? So they kind of fly through the water-it's lighter than water here, less dense. They have five, seven, or nine legs, depending on which gender they are, right, Wanda? They have three different genders. They have really long hands with tough, strong fingers that can build all kinds of things. They make cities under the water out of hard plants that grow there, kind of like trees but not really. They aren't as far along as we are, right, Wanda? Because they've never made a spaceship or, like, telephones for communication. Humans were more advanced.†Trudy pulled out the tray of baked rolls, and I bent to shove the next tray of risen dough into the hot, smoking hole. It took a little jostling and balancing to get it in just right. As I sweated in front of the fire, I heard some kind of commotion outside the kitchen, echoing down the hall from somewhere else in the caves. It was hard, with all the random sound reverberations and strange acoustics, to judge distances here. â€Å"Hey!†Jamie shouted behind me, and I turned just in time to see the back of his head as he sprinted out the door. I straightened out of my crouch and took a step after him, my instinct to follow. â€Å"Wait,†Ian said. â€Å"He'll be back. Tell us more about the Dolphins.†Ian was sitting on the counter beside the oven-a hot seat that I wouldn't have chosen-which made him close enough to reach out and touch my wrist. My arm flinched away from the unexpected contact, but I stayed where I was. â€Å"What's going on out there?†I asked. I could still hear some kind of jabbering-I thought I could hear Jamie's excited voice in the mix. Ian shrugged. â€Å"Who knows? Maybe Jeb†¦Ã¢â‚¬ He shrugged again, as if he wasn't interested enough to bother with figuring it out. Nonchalant, but there was a tension in his eyes I didn't understand. I was sure I would find out soon enough, so I shrugged, too, and started explaining the incredibly complex familial relationships of the Dolphins while I helped Trudy stack the warm bread in plastic containers. â€Å"Six of the nine†¦ grandparents, so to speak, traditionally stay with the larvae through their first stage of development while the three parents work with their six grandparents on a new wing of the family dwelling for the young to inhabit when they are mobile,†I was explaining, my eyes on the rolls in my hands rather than my audience, as usual, when I heard the gasp from the back of the room. I continued with my next sentence automatically as I scanned the crowd to see who I'd upset. â€Å"The remaining three grandparents are customarily involved†¦Ã¢â‚¬ No one was upset with me. Every head was turned in the same direction I was looking. My eyes skipped across the backs of their heads to the dark exit. The first thing I saw was Jamie's slight figure, clinging to someone's arm. Someone so dirty, head to toe, that he almost blended right in with the cave wall. Someone too tall to be Jeb, and anyway, there was Jeb just behind Jamie's shoulder. Even from this distance, I could see that Jeb's eyes were narrowed and his nose wrinkled, as if he were anxious-a rare emotion for Jeb. Just as I could see that Jamie's face was bright with sheer joy. â€Å"Here we go,†Ian muttered beside me, his voice barely audible above the crackle of the flames. The dirty man Jamie was still clinging to took a step forward. One of his hands rose slowly, like an involuntary reflex, and curled into a fist. From the dirty figure came Jared's voice-flat, perfectly devoid of any inflection. â€Å"What is the meaning of this, Jeb?†My throat closed. I tried to swallow and found the way blocked. I tried to breathe and was not successful. My heart drummed unevenly. Jared! Melanie's exultant voice was loud, a silent shriek of elation. She burst into radiant life inside my head. Jared is home! â€Å"Wanda is teaching us all about the universe,†Jamie babbled eagerly, somehow not catching on to Jared's fury-he was too excited to pay attention, maybe. â€Å"Wanda?†Jared repeated in a low voice that was almost a snarl. There were more dirty figures in the hall behind him. I only noticed them when they echoed his snarl with an outraged muttering. A blond head rose from the frozen audience. Paige lurched to her feet. â€Å"Andy!†she cried, and stumbled through the figures seated around her. One of the dirty men stepped around Jared and caught her as she nearly fell over Wes. â€Å"Oh, Andy!†she sobbed, the tone of her voice reminding me of Melanie's. Paige's outburst changed the atmosphere momentarily. The silent crowd began to murmur, most of them rising to their feet. The sound was one of welcome now, as the majority went to greet the returned travelers. I tried to read the strange expressions on their faces as they forced grins onto their lips and peeked furtively back at me. I realized after a long, slow second-time seemed to be congealing around me, freezing me into place-that the expression I wondered at was guilt. â€Å"It's going to be okay, Wanda,†Ian murmured under his breath. I glanced at him wildly, searching for that same guilt on his face. I didn't find it, only a defensive tightening around his vivid eyes as he stared at the newcomers. â€Å"What the hell, people?†a new voice boomed. Kyle-easily identifiable by his size despite the grime-was shoving his way around Jared and heading toward†¦ me. â€Å"You're letting it tell you its lies? Have you all gone crazy? Or did it lead the Seekers here? Are you all parasites now?†Many heads fell forward, ashamed. Only a few kept their chins stiffly in the air, their shoulders squared: Lily, Trudy, Heath, Wes†¦ and frail Walter, of all people. â€Å"Easy, Kyle,†Walter said in his feeble voice. Kyle ignored him. He walked with deliberate steps toward me, his eyes, the same vibrant cobalt as his brother's, glowing with rage. I couldn't keep my eyes on him, though-they kept returning to Jared's dark shape, trying to read his camouflaged face. Melanie's love flowed through me like a lake bursting through a dam, distracting me even more from the enraged barbarian closing the distance quickly. Ian slid into my view, moving to place himself in front of me. I strained my neck to the side to keep my view of Jared clear. â€Å"Things changed while you were gone, brother.†Kyle halted, face slack with disbelief. â€Å"Did the Seekers come, then, Ian?†â€Å"She's not a danger to us.†Kyle ground his teeth together, and from the corner of my eye, I saw him reach for something in his pocket. This captured my attention at last. I cringed, expecting a weapon. The words stumbled off my tongue in a choked whisper. â€Å"Don't get in his way, Ian.†Ian didn't respond to my plea. I was surprised at the amount of anxiety this caused me, at how much I didn't want him hurt. It wasn't the instinctive protection, the bone-deep need to protect, that I felt for Jamie or even Jared. I just knew that Ian should not be harmed trying to protect me. Kyle's hand came back up, and a light shone out of it. He pointed it at Ian's face, held it there for a moment. Ian didn't flinch from the light. â€Å"So, what, then?†Kyle demanded, putting the flashlight back in his pocket. â€Å"You're not a parasite. How did it get to you?†â€Å"Calm down, and we'll tell you all about it.†â€Å"No.†The contradiction did not come from Kyle but from behind him. I watched Jared walk slowly toward us through the silent spectators. As he got closer, Jamie still clinging to his hand with a bewildered expression, I could read his face better under the mask of dirt. Even Melanie, all but delirious with happiness at his safe return, could not misunderstand the expression of loathing there. Jeb had wasted his efforts on the wrong people. It didn't matter that Trudy or Lily was speaking to me, that Ian would put himself between his brother and me, that Sharon and Maggie made no hostile move toward me. The only one who had to be convinced had now, finally, decided. â€Å"I don't think anyone needs to calm down,†Jared said through his teeth. â€Å"Jeb,†he continued, not looking to see if the old man had followed him forward, â€Å"give me the gun.†The silence that followed his words was so tense I could feel the pressure inside my ears. From the instant I could clearly see his face, I'd known it was over. I knew what I had to do now; Melanie was in agreement. As quietly as I could, I took a step to the side and slightly back, so that I would be clear of Ian. Then I closed my eyes. â€Å"Don't happen to have it on me,†Jeb drawled. I peeked through narrowed eyes as Jared whirled to assess the truth of Jeb's claim. Jared's breath whistled angrily through his nostrils. â€Å"Fine,†he muttered. He took another step toward me. â€Å"It will be slower this way, though. It would be more humane if you were to find that gun fast.†â€Å"Please, Jared, let's talk,†Ian said, planting his feet firmly as he spoke, already knowing the answer. â€Å"I think there's been too much talk,†Jared growled. â€Å"Jeb left this up to me, and I've made my decision.†Jeb cleared his throat noisily. Jared spun halfway around to look at him again. â€Å"What?†he demanded. â€Å"You made the rule, Jeb.†â€Å"Well, now, that's true.†Jared turned back toward me. â€Å"Ian, get out of my way.†â€Å"Well, well, hold on a sec,†Jeb went on. â€Å"If you recall, the rule was that whoever the body belonged to got to make the decision.†A vein in Jared's forehead pulsed visibly. â€Å"And?†â€Å"Seems to me like there's someone here with a claim just as strong as yours. Mebbe stronger.†Jared stared straight ahead, processing this. After a slow moment, understanding furrowed his brow. He looked down at the boy still hanging on his arm. All the joy had drained from Jamie's face, leaving it pale and horrorstruck. â€Å"You can't, Jared,†he choked. â€Å"You wouldn't. Wanda's good. She's my friend! And Mel! What about Mel? You can't kill Mel! Please! You have to -†He broke off, his expression agonized. I closed my eyes again, trying to block the picture of the suffering boy from my mind. It was already almost impossible not to go to him. I locked my muscles in place, promising myself that it wouldn't help him if I moved now. â€Å"So,†Jeb said, his tone far too conversational for the moment, â€Å"you can see that Jamie's not in agreement. I figure he's got as much say as you do.†There was no answer for so long that I had to open my eyes again. Jared was staring at Jamie's anguished, fearful face with his own kind of horror. â€Å"How could you let this happen, Jeb?†he whispered. â€Å"There is a need for some talk,†Jeb answered. â€Å"Why don't you take a breather first, though? Maybe you'll feel more up to conversation after a bath.†Jared glared balefully at the old man, his eyes full of the shock and pain of the betrayed. I had only human comparisons for such a look. Caesar and Brutus, Jesus and Judas. The unbearable tension lasted through another long minute, and then Jared shook Jamie's fingers off his arm. â€Å"Kyle,†Jared barked, turning and stalking out of the room. Kyle gave his brother a parting grimace and followed. The other dirty members of the expedition went after them silently, Paige tucked securely under Andy's arm. Most of the other humans, all those who had hung their heads in shame for admitting me into their society, shuffled out behind them. Only Jamie, Jeb, and Ian beside me, and Trudy, Geoffrey, Heath, Lily, Wes, and Walter stayed. No one spoke until the echoes of their footsteps faded away into silence. â€Å"Whew!†Ian breathed. â€Å"That was close. Nice thinking, Jeb.†â€Å"Inspiration in desperation. But we're not out of the woods yet,†Jeb answered. â€Å"Don't I know it! You didn't leave the gun anywhere obvious, did you?†â€Å"Nope. I figured this might be comin' on soon.†â€Å"That's something, at least.†Jamie was trembling, alone in the space left by the exodus. Surrounded by those I had to count as friends, I felt able to walk to his side. He threw his arms around my waist, and I patted his back with shaky hands. â€Å"It's okay,†I lied in a whisper. â€Å"It's okay.†I knew even a fool would hear the false note in my voice, and Jamie was not a fool. â€Å"He won't hurt you,†Jamie said thickly, struggling against the tears I could see in his eyes. â€Å"I won't let him.†â€Å"Shh,†I murmured. I was appalled-I could feel that my face was fixed in lines of horror. Jared was right-how could Jeb have let this happen? If they'd killed me the first day here, before Jamie had ever seen me†¦ Or that first week, while Jared kept me isolated from everyone, before Jamie and I had become friends†¦ Or if I had just kept my mouth shut about Melanie†¦ It was too late for all that. My arms tightened around the child. Melanie was just as aghast. My poor baby. I told you it was a bad idea to tell him everything, I reminded her. What will it do to him now, when we die? It's going to be terrible. He'll be traumatized and scarred and devastated – Melanie interrupted me. Enough. I know, I know. But what can we do? Not die, I suppose. Melanie and I thought about the likelihood of our survival and felt despair. Ian thumped Jamie on the back-I could feel the motion reverberate through both our bodies. â€Å"Don't agonize over it, kid,†he said. â€Å"You're not in this alone.†â€Å"They're just shocked, that's all.†I recognized Trudy's alto voice behind me. â€Å"Once we get a chance to explain, they'll see reason.†â€Å"See reason? Kyle?†someone hissed almost unintelligibly. â€Å"We knew this was coming,†Jeb muttered. â€Å"Just got to weather it. Storms pass.†â€Å"Maybe you ought to find that gun,†Lily suggested calmly. â€Å"Tonight might be a long one. Wanda can stay with Heidi and me -â€Å" â€Å"I think it might be better to keep her somewhere else,†Ian disagreed. â€Å"Maybe in the southern tunnels? I'll keep an eye on her. Jeb, wanna lend me a hand?†â€Å"They wouldn't look for her with me.†Walter's offer was just a whisper. Wes spoke over the last of Walter's words. â€Å"I'll tag along with you, Ian. There're six of them.†â€Å"No,†I finally managed to choke out. â€Å"No. That's not right. You shouldn't fight with each other. You all belong here. You belong together. Not fighting, not because of me.†I pulled Jamie's arms from around my waist, holding his wrists when he tried to stop me. â€Å"I just need a minute to myself,†I told him, ignoring all the stares I could feel on my face. â€Å"I need to be alone.†I turned my head to find Jeb. â€Å"And you should have a chance to discuss this without me listening. It's not fair-having to discuss strategy in front of the enemy.†â€Å"Now, don't be like that,†Jeb said. â€Å"Let me have some time to think, Jeb.†I stepped away from Jamie, dropping his hands. A hand fell on my shoulder, and I cringed. It was just Ian. â€Å"It's not a good idea for you to be wandering around by yourself.†I leaned toward him and tried to pitch my voice so low that Jamie wouldn't hear me clearly. â€Å"Why prolong the inevitable? Will it get easier or harder for him?†I thought I knew the answer to my last question. I ducked under Ian's hand and broke into a run, sprinting for the exit. â€Å"Wanda!†Jamie called after me. Someone quickly shushed him. There were no footsteps behind me. They must have seen the wisdom of letting me go. The hall was dark and deserted. If I was lucky, I'd be able to cut around the edge of the big garden plaza in the dark with no one the wiser. In all my time here, the one thing I'd never found was the way out. It seemed as if I'd been down every tunnel time and again, and I'd never seen an opening I hadn't eventually explored in search of one thing or another. I thought about it now as I crept through the deepest shadowed corners of the big cave. Where could the exit be? And I thought about this: if I could figure that puzzle out, would I be able to leave? I couldn't think of anything worth leaving for-certainly not the desert waiting outside, but also not the Seeker, not the Healer, not my Comforter, not my life before, which had left such a shallow impression on me. Everything that really mattered was with me here. Jamie. Though he would kill me, Jared. I couldn't imagine walking away from either of them. And Jeb. Ian. I had friends now. Doc, Trudy, Lily, Wes, Walter, Heath. Strange humans who could overlook what I was and see something they didn't have to kill. Maybe it was just curiosity, but regardless of that, they were willing to side with me against the rest of their tight-knit family of survivors. I shook my head in wonder as I traced the rough rock with my hands. I could hear others in the cavern, on the far side from me. I didn't pause; they could not see me here, and I'd just found the crevice I was looking for. After all, there was really only one place for me to go. Even if I could somehow have guessed the way to escape, I would still have gone this way. I crept into the blackest darkness imaginable and hurried along my way.
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Was Leonardo da Vinci Gay
No, were not saying Leonardo Da Vinci was gay. We dont know if Leonardo was gay. Frankly, its none of our business who (if anyone) or what (if anything) titillated Leonardos libido 500 years after the fact, but lets give those who do care some information. Freuds Take Smarter people have said that, yes, Leonardo was gay. Sigmund Freud outed him (and blamed his mother) back in 1910. One must, of course, take a post-centuries-mortem psychological analysis with many grains of salt. Sir Kenneth Clark, an art historian, more recently opined that Leonardo was probably a passive homosexual. In other words, the jury is out and will remain so until we discover a tell-all biography dating from Renaissance Italy. The Da Vinci Code Version What is absolutely untrue is the reference in The Da Vinci Code to Leonardos reputation as a flamboyant homosexual. He was not known as such. Historical evidence is sketchy about the latter, and the only thing Leonardo was flamboyant about was his inability to finish projects he started. Rumors During Da Vincis Lifetime Da Vinci was rumored to have been homosexual by his contemporaries. He was, in fact, twice charged with sodomy in 1476. Though he was imprisoned for two months, the charges were dropped for lack of witnesses. It must be duly noted that he was one of four people charged with sodomizing the individual in this particular case, which was subsequently dropped. Additionally, accusing someone of sodomy, in 15th century Florence, was not an infrequent tactic used to cause someone else trouble. Da Vinci was anonymously accused, and its quite tempting to speculate that the accuser was a lesser-talented artist. Da Vincis Works and Personal Life Leonardo Da Vinci never married. If he had female lovers, they have some really, really carefully hidden identities. None of that would make him gay by default. (It would go some ways toward explaining, however, lack of a readily available nude female model.) As mentioned elsewhere, he drew a lot more young men in his notebooks than women. One might assume, from this, that the male figure was more interesting to Da Vinci than was the female. Some of the young men he drew were nude. One might assume that this was either (a) a reflection of Leonardos interest in human anatomy, (b) a reflection of Leonardos interest in naked men, (c) a combination of the two or (d) none of the above. There is always a danger of (d) being the case when it comes to assumptions.​ Sources and Further Reading Andersen, Wayne. Freud, Leonardo Da Vinci and the Vultures Tail.New York: Other Press, 2001.Clark, Lord Kenneth. Leonardo da Vinci.New York: Penguin Books, 1989.Freud, Sigmund.Leonardo da Vinci and a Memory of His Childhood [1910].Translated by Alan Tyson with an introduction by Brian FarrelLondon: Penguin Books, 1962.Rocke, Michael. Forbidden Friendships: Homosexuality and Male Culture in Renaissance FlorenceNew York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
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