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The fantasy adventure Eragon, based on book one of Christopher Paolinis trilogy about a young Dragon Rider, has been drawing criticism for borrowing ideas from the Harry Potter series (Hagrids dragon eggs and baby dragons), Star Wars series (Lukes uncle killed by evil empire), and most notably The Lord of the Rings trilogy (darkly magical advisor, one young man must make a journey, etc). Another element that Eragon has in common with these other films is its use of dream sequences in this case false dreams sent by an evil sorcerer working for a corrupt king.

In the movie, a teenaged farm boy named eragon (Edward Speleers) finds what appears to be the last dragon egg. After secretly raising the animal, eragon reluctantly becomes a Dragon Rider in order to right some of the wrongs taking place in the kingdom of Alagaesia. In an earlier era, dragons and their riders soared through the skies keeping peace across the land until tragedy brought about the apparent extinction of the fire-breathing beasts.

In addition to keeping a low profile for his own protection and that of Saphira (his dragon), eragon struggles with other problems: when he was young his mother fled with no explanation; the uncle who raised him was murdered, despite his status as a Dragon Rider he receives little or no respect because of his young age; and he has disturbing dreams about a beautiful elf woman (Sienna Guillory as Arya) who is suffering in a prison and needs his help.

Each dream provides more information about her identity, situation, and location. eragon has no way of knowing that the dreams are not authentic, but are being sent to him telepathically by the darkly magical Durza the Shade (Robert Carlyle) who imprisoned Arya and hopes to set a trap for the young Dragon Rider.

In accordance to scientific thought, most comedies and dramas attribute the source of dreams to the unconscious mind of the dreamer, but the fantasy, science fiction, and horror genres rely almost exclusively on the supernatural, pre-scientific conception of dreams originating from an outside evil source. Take Harry Potters recurring dreams of Lord Valdemort and Anakin Skywalkers recurring dreams of his mothers death all provided supernaturally from sources outside themselves.

As with Harry and Anakin, Eragons dreams propel him towards his destiny. This destiny is unknown to the dreamers, but is understood by older, wiser, more magical beings. In addition, as Eragon director Stefen Fangmeier no doubt realized, if carried out successfully, dream sequences are an excellent means of providing background information and moving the story forward without bogging things down with lengthy explanations.

Copyright 2007 Leslie Halpern

The problem of obesity is a widespread problem in America. Check out the following startling statistics:

66% of U.S. adults were overweight or obese in 2003-2004.
80% of black women aged 40 years or over are overweight; 50% are obese.
16% of children and adolescents are overweight and 34% are at risk of becoming overweight in 2003-2004.

Its the sad truth: obesity affects every American whether rich or poor, male or female, young or old. Fortunately, weight loss clinics are being offered everywhere to help out these people. If you're from North carolina, whether in Raleigh, Wilmington or Huntersville, theres sure to be a weight loss clinic that can help you fight this problem.

The Body Mass Index
The Body Mass Index (BMI) is used as a gauge on whether a person is considered as overweight, underweight, or just right for their height and weight. The formula for measuring one's BMI is shown below:

BMI = ( weight in Pounds / ( Height in inches ) x ( Height in inches ) ) x 703

BMI = ( weight in Kilograms / ( Height in Meters ) x ( Height in Meters ) )

This chart shows you what your BMI results mean:
Below 18.5Underweight
18.5 24.9Normal
25.0 29.9Overweight
30.0 and aboveObese

weight loss surgery is seriously recommended for people who are considered obese. Thankfully, many weight loss clinics in the Huntersville area of North carolina offer programs to help you win the fight against weight gain.

Weight-loss programs offered in Huntersville Weight Loss Clinics

medical assessment and counseling During your diet program, your health will be constantly monitored by a health and fitness professional to check the general state of your health. This is especially helpful in seeing if the program that was recommended to you actually works or not.

Lifestyle education For many, this is the most difficult step in any weight loss program. To In this method, a doctor, nurse or nutritionist will look at the way you live and suggest some lifestyle changes that will help you lose weight.

Personalized consultations - most weight loss programs focus on one-on-one consultations between the client and the health professional.

maintenance support - To keep their clients on track, most weight loss programs still give support even after their participants have already reached their target weight goals.

Weight Loss Surgery Explained

For some, the strategies enumerated above are still not effective especially for those who have already reached the obese mark. The best solution for these individuals is weight loss surgery. Consult the nearest Huntersville weight clinic to you and inquire whether they offer the following procedures:

Gastric Bypass Surgery

In this procedure, the surgeon will create a smaller pouch in your stomach that will accommodate only a small amount of food. The food that leaves this new pouch will pass through a newly created opening and bypass the rest of the stomach and much of the small intestine. As a result, fewer calories will be absorbed by the body. This will also cause the patient to feel full quickly even with small amounts of food.

lap Band Surgery

Many patients prefer this procedure because its less invasive, and thus safer and quicker. For this procedure, the surgeon will place an adjustable band around the top section of the stomach to create a smaller pouch that can only hold a limited amount of food. The band is made of an inflatable silicone ring with a reservoir that is connected through it by a fine tube. The ring controls the flow of food from this smaller pouch to the rest of the digestive tract. Like the first procedure, this will make the patient feel full much quicker, which will limit his or her food intake. The procedure is fully reversible and will leave no permanent scars on your stomach.

To avail of the services of a Huntersville weight loss clinic, you can scan the city's yellow pages or browse the internet to see their programs, rates and other offerings.

Don't ever lose hope in achieving your weight loss goals. Get in touch with a health professional at the Huntersville weight loss clinic nearest you immediately. It might just save your life.

Phillip England is a weight loss expert and Author of the popular report "The Ultimate Weight Loss Secret". To receive your free information on the secret that doctors, and health companies either don't know, or don't want you to know, please see http://www.theultimateweightlosssecret.com/secret