text:
“The fireplace is the only remaining piece of the original house. The only thing that survived the fire,” the real estate agent tells them. “You can see the char on some of the bricks. Our records indicate it’s almost 200 years old. Quite historic, no?”  Mark Bradbury ran his hand across the coarse, red bricks and smiled at his wife, Karen. He could already tell she was in love with the place. “Fire?” he asks. “Oh, yes, but it was a long, long time ago. The house has been remodeled several times since then, including just this year. Still though, the fireplace is original, and quite impressive. A testament to the original builder.”

The house was a blend of modern architecture and old world charm. Everything was new, yet designed to look old. The floors were hardwoods, which came from the nearest home megastore, but were made to look like they were pried from the deck of the Mayflower. In the kitchen, modern appliances were hidden in clever ways and the sink was a dimpled brass. The house itself was set back on the edge of a deep wood, in the fog-obscured outskirts of Mansfield, Pennsylvania. Everything about the “four bed, three point five bath” home was perfect for the designs of a man of his wife looking to start their life here. Mark walked aimlessly around the main living area of the first floor, dreaming of his sons and daughters.

From the back porch there was some shouting and a slamming of doors.  Coming around the corner to investigate, Mark saw an older man eye him through the kitchen window. Something about the man’s sad eyes made him look much, much older than the rest of him. Mark felt instantly uneasy and was glad that Karen was upstairs, presumably mentally measuring rooms for cribs and bunk beds. “Sorry.” The real estate agent looking slightly nervous closed the porch door behind her. “Who was that?”  An awkward few seconds passed as the real estate agent beat her fingers on the marble counter top, as if trying to drum up the right answer.  “Oh, no one. He had made an offer on the house, but it didn’t go through?” The way she phrased the answer as a question was suspect, but Mark wasn’t going to let a wayward old man ruin this for them. She recovered quickly with her water to a well smile and said, “So what are you thinking?”

Three months later the moving trucks were following Mark and Karen’s two but soon to be four door Audi up the driveway of 462 Morningstar Drive.  Mark put his hand on his wife’s knee and looked in his rearview mirror. In the cloud of dust he thought he saw the same man from the day they were shown the house. He was leaning against a tree at the edge of the property eyeing their new home in earnest. The intensity in the man’s eyes was unnerving. Mark jerked his head around to look out the back of the car, but saw only dust and trucks. “What’s wrong?” And even though he didn’t like to be untruthful to his wife he said, “Nothing.”
				…
The last clutching fingers of the sun released their fleeting grasp on the outer fields and darkness swelled quickly. A day, a week, a life’s worth of dust on his boots. Everyday the same walk to the same house where he shared his life with nobody but their memories, the dark woods and the gray days. Twenty years of toiling had left him with next to nothing to show for it, except he was alive and his family was dead; smiling ghosts in the early morning fog and tortured memories in the stillness of night.

The coach arrived in that same half dream state in which his family was forever fixed, drawn by a white horse with ruddy eyes.  Its windows were closed tightly with purple and red shades made of the most elaborate velvet and trimmed with gold drawstrings. As if the intent was to make unbearable the mystery of what lay behind them. The grandeur of the coach had a spellbinding effect and he hadn’t noticed its driver already standing beside him where he had stopped. “John Moulton. My employer wishes to have a word with you.” It wasn’t until some time after that John pondered how the driver knew his name, but by then, in truth, he already knew.

Inside the coach he found a slender man in a form fitting black suit, sitting with his left leg crossed over his right. “Please, sit.”  The coach was tall enough inside for John to stand, but he obliged. “ Do you know who I am?” John knew but did not want to nor know how to give answer. The man leaned forward and answered for him. “Good.  Now that that bit of un-pleasantry is behind us, we can get down to my offer. I can tell a great deal about a man from his boots.” The man in the suit tapped John’s filthy working boots with the steel tip of his slim black cane. “You have worked your whole life, morning to night. You have been a dutiful and faithful servant, and yet, where has this trust gotten you?” John felt the words stirring up resentment in his breast. From under the bench the man in the suit was sitting on, a chest appeared. It was pushed up to the tips of John’s soiled boots by a shining black leather shoe. Using his the cane, the man in the suit opened its lid, revealing scores of gleaming gold coins. John reached to touch one, but was stopped by the cane’s steel tip. “These are not for you. Not yet. They are a show of my good faith, that I am able to make good on my end of the bargain.” John prepared his lips to ask what was expected of him in return, but again the man in the suit answered before the question could be asked. “I am a recruiter, I seek out men and women who need my assistance, and in return I ask only that when my favor has been fulfilled, you join my Organization.” The deal was simple enough and John understood. He felt like he saw without being shown, directly. An image entered into his mind; a scale balanced exactly even, on one side a pile of gold and on the other the part of John Moulton that was invisible, but not weightless. His brain buzzed and his heart hummed. It took no more than a few seconds for him to accept.

Back in his home he went over and over the conversation in his mind. All he had to do was place his boots in his fireplace. He was assured first that his boots would go unharmed by the flames and of this he felt confident, the arrangement having been agreed upon by their master. If he were to honor the agreement, he was to put his boots in the fire before going to sleep and in the morning he would find them filled with gold. He took one look at his boots. They were covered in a life’s worth of honest dust. Brushing them off he prepared the kindling and logs and started a roaring fire. Holding the boots close to his chest and looking into the hypnotic flames, he had an idea.  He rushed to the small shed behind his house, grabbed several tools and quickly got to work.
For years after people wondered and gossiped on the sudden change of fortunes for John Moulton. Secondary to the speculations of where his seemingly never ending spring of wealth had bubbled from was the question of why he remained in his small and modest home. Some thought it was because he had built the entire place with his own hands. Others said he couldn’t leave the ghosts of his family behind. What was known was that John Moulton had gone from a lowly farmer to one of the most successful, and ruthlessly so, businessmen in the Northeast, a region marked for its prominence in industry. His desire for more was unquenchable and he quickly had controlling interests in many of the most powerful organizations in the country. The man himself was still an enigma. The people, who worked with John, or more accurately, for John, noted an unnamable absence about him. He was a private man who despite his great fortune and notoriety kept almost exclusively to himself. When the fire finally died of its own accord, and the neighbors found his unrecognizable remains among the rest of the burned wreckage, no one was sure what to make of the situation. His body was buried near the edge of the woods on the back of his property and his business endeavors were sold at auction since he had no family to succeed him.

On the night he set fire to his house John Moulton thought about his deal with the man in the suit. “And when the last piece of the gold has changed hands, that is when my part of the favor will have been fulfilled. That is when you will become a member of my Organization.” He had made his peace with his fate. The room smelled heavy of lamp oil. John pulled a chair he had made in front of the fireplace. He struck a match and watched it as it burned down to his fingers. When the heat of the flame began to cause him pain, he let it go. As he watched the match’s slow spiral to the floor he pulled the last of the gold pieces from the breast pocket of his suit’s vest. The blaze of the fire glinted on the shiny gold surface as everything around him ignited. Even the chair beneath him began to burn. Feeling neither heat nor pain he stood and turned to look where he had been. The ornate and finely crafted workmanship consumed in the simple elegance of the flames. The world was ablaze.  He pulled the gold piece from his now lifeless hand and flipped it into the fireplace, where it fell with a thud.  He walked to where the door of his home stood once proud and exited through a veil of fire into the waiting day. Morning drew opened its curtains with no sunlight and he walked into the early blue smoke.

He turned to watch his entire house become engulfed in flames and watched as it crumbled piece by piece. All was gone but the fireplace. It never fell.
				…

A work van pulled up in front of his house and Mark let the three men inside. They had been working on inspecting the foundation and crawl space to see if it was possible to add a basement, laundry room and wine cellar under the house. About thirty minutes had passed when one of the workmen came up the stairs shouting for Mark. “I think you will want to see this.” Mark followed the man down into the crawl space that was just high enough to inch on hands and knees in. “We got around to inspecting the area under the fireplace when we found this.” The workman showed Mark a chamber that was about four feet wide and extended down about five feet deep, directly underneath the fireplace. “Looks like whoever did the remodeling just walled this area in and put a false bottom in the fireplace upstairs.  I wonder what this was for?“ Mark crawled over to the exposed pit. He stuck his hand into the ancient ashes and pulled it out with jerk. “Everything ok?” the workman asked him. He put his hands back in and raked out handful after handful of the old soot. After a few minutes he pulled out a pair of boots. Through their tops ran an iron rod.  Their soles had been almost completely removed so they were bottomless. Intrigued and confused Mark dug some more. Then he saw it. Sitting in the very bottom of this hidden compartment, a solitary gold piece. He could tell by looking at it that it was very old, but it surprisingly looked no worse for the wear, having spent countless years covered in ash and concealed in a dank basement. Even though there was no light down here, Mark saw the gold gleam as he reached for it. It seemed to recognize the advance of his hand and for a fleeting second Mark recalled the sad eyes of the old man leaning on the tree. He paused for a brief moment, then picked it up.

title: Burned Bricks

question: Where is the house located?

answer: The house was located on the outskirts of Mansfield, Pennsylvania.

question: Was the man at the door a cause of concern for Mark and Karen?

answer: This information can't be found.

question: What makes Mark buy the house?

answer: Mark liked everything about the house, its four bedrooms, three point five bath, and kitchen. He thought this was the perfect place for him and his wife to start their life.


split: test

text:
I am breakfast's baron.
I am the fluffy flat flapjack master.
I am the panned pastry prince.
I am Jacob Greenfield, but you may call me The Pancake God.
I stood in my royal house at the corner of Lafayette and Duncan, waiting for the fated ring of the bell.

"Tttttrrrrrrrrrrring," sounded the door.

Visitors had entered my sacred realm. Hiding myself in the protective darkness of the kitchen, I listened to the familiar poem that falls upon all visitor's ears.

"Welcome to IHop. Just two?"

I moved closer hopeful to hear the response.

"Yes please," replied a chirpy northern voice.

A mischievous grin spread across my face. Northerners were often more appreciative of my unique art. Perhaps The Pancake God's skills would be required soon.
I watched keenly as strangers were led to their seats and fake smiles were exchanged with my frontman, Rodger.

Rodger was always the raisin to my cookie, rain to my parade, or poop to my party. Never satisfied and ever unpleasant, his advice was often taken to sore and ignorant ears of mine. Bearing the nickname Rapscallion Rodger, a name of my own choosing, he had taught me the ways of patience.

Rodger placed two menus before our new guests and turned to return to his typical post before the doors, but atypically turned to the entrance of my domain.
The gray kitchen doors swung open, and I hurried to busy myself with the tedious task of readying my tools, as if to seem not to have heard of our visitant's arrival.

"Okay buddy, lets talk."

I turned to Rodger bearing a surprised look on my face.

"Rodger, what a delight it is to unexpectedly host you. Do we have guests?"

Rodger stared at me, visibly trying not to roll his eyes.

"Cut the shit, Jacob. I know that you watch every person who comes in. All I'm asking is that you behave, alright?"
I nodded politely.

"No more of this creepy God of Breakfast or whatever it is, okay? Don't get me wrong, man. You're a great cook, but stop putting random crap in our food, and don't destroy the kitchen again."

"Rodger," I began to explain, "The battles held during the creation of the perfect pancake are beyond my control. I cannot pro-"

"Dude, shut the hell up," Rodger cut in, "All I'm saying is if you wreck the kitchen one more time you're fired, okay?"
I nodded politely once more.

"Roger that, Rodger."

This time Rodger actually rolled his eyes, He vacated my kitchen-like kingdom muttering under his breath.

"Swear to God, I'll flay him with his own spatula if he tries to-"

The gray kitchen door swung shut cutting him off.
I turned my ear once more to Rodgers's transaction with the transients.

"Okay, ya'll ready to order?" he asked as he approached.

"Yeah, I'll have a ham cheese and spinach omelet," said a low gruff voice. I winced.

What kind of man orders an omelet?
While I did not know this person, nor know his appearance, I could say one thing with absolute certainty. This poor man suffered a terrible disability. He surely had no tastebuds.
There was a long pause filled with only "ums" and "uhs" from the northern woman.

"I guess I'll have the chocolate chip pancakes, please."

Those words sounded like music to my ears. It was my clarion call to arms. I manned my spatula and spoon like a warrior mans his sword and shield. They would serve me well, and I would serve our guest the same.
It was time for war.

I danced in my kitchen with the confidence beauty and ability akin to an artist. Like a madman, I whipped around the kitchen, letting my trained hands lead me to the ingredients. I painted my bowl with precision and prestige only compareable to great artists like Van Gough, Beethoven, and Shakespeare. Explosions of flour, sugar and other mysterious and personal ingredients colored the counters.
The gray doors separating my joyful empire and the cruel outside world were breached as Rodger emerged from his unholy bubble of dissatisfaction.

"Okay, one omelette and one choc- JESUS WHAT HAPPENED IN HERE?" Rodger cried out.

He stalked around my kitchen with an unappreciative and frankly horrified gaze.
I watched him and whisked a wondrous whirlpool of batter while sprinkling in chocolate and a few favorite flavors of my own. I will not disclose them to you now for neither I nor a magician shall explain his greatest trick.

"Jacob, I told you not to ruin the kitchen, man," Rodger said, in the most calm and collected tone he could muster.

I ignored him and turned on the pancake hot pad.

"Dude, I'm not cleaning this up. You have to clean after our shift," he pointed out, growing more frustrated.

I continued ignoring him and spooned a sizable circle of batter onto the flat hot stove top. I watched as the white creamy batter cooked and browned into a golden pancake. I gazed upon it with a father's pride. My little babycake had grown into a risen johnnycake.
It almost brought a tear to my eye.

I wasted no time. I delicately flipped my flapjack, and baked its bottom. I gently placed it on a plate to add additional decorations. This had grown from a mere makings of a pancake to the hotcake that was forming in my masterful finger. With last touches completed, I stepped back for a final observation.
It was a masterpiece.
I was truly The Pancake God.

I grabbed the batter bowl, still full of supplementary dough, and turned it over onto my head. It oozed into my hair and over my face. I wore it like a crown. I deserved this. I was a king today.

"What the fuck, Jacob?" sounded a voice to my right.

Rodger stared at me with a dumbfounded look splattered across his face. I grabbed a handful of the batter and splattered it across his face to cover it up.

After a short flurry of curse words and the assistance of a towel to reveal a scowling Rapscallion Rodger, he turned his attention back to my plate.

"Alright, I'll take this out, and you clean up this mess."

I had done so well ignoring him until now, I felt it only natural to continue.
I walked past Rodger and through the gray push doors, plate in hand. Time almost slowed as I approached the table. Rodgers vain desperate calls to usher me back into the kitchen seemed distant and mute, like a vague memory. I wanted to show our guests my craftsmanship and see their joyous reaction.
They stared mortified up at me. They watched as a wild madman wearing a mixing bowl of pancake batter for a hat arrived holding a grotesque plate of chocolate chip pancakes. I set it before the horrified woman, and gave her a crazed smile. I opened my mouth and heard a dark devilish voice speak.

"Breakfast is served. Pancakes."

Super-cool pro writer's subtext:
I haven't really shared my stories much, so I wasn't sure where to post this.
Sorry for existing lol

title: [HM] Pancakes

question: What makes Jacob crazy and ready to wreck the kitchen?

answer: Jacob thinks that he is the flapjack king. Any order of pancakes sets him off. He totally wrecks the kitchen much to Rodger's dismay. Jacob sees pancake-making as his call to arms. He's a crusader in the pancake kitchen.

question: What does Jacob think of omelets for breakfast?

answer: Jacob cannot believe that anyone would order an omelet for breakfast. Though he doesn't know the man who ordered the omelet, he's pretty certain that the man suffers a terrible disability. He has no tastebuds.


text:
DELAY NAMGYAL BARFUNGPA (Delay Kazi Barfungpa) is an Indian politician and the incumbent president of Sikkim National People’s Party (SNPP).

Political career

Delay Namgyal Barfungpa was former member of the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee (SPCC. Sikkim branch of Indian National Congress) which was led by Nar Bahadur Bhandari. Barfungpa contested the Sikkim Legislative seat from Rumtek Constituency, but he was defeated by the candidate of the ruling party Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF). After this election, he seceded from SPCC at some point from 2004 to 2008.

In 10 October 2008, Delay Namgyal Barfungpa joined Sikkim National People’s Party (SNPP), which was established by Biraj Adhikari (former general secretary of SPCC and spokesperson of Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad (SHRP)) for fighting with SDF. Barfungpa was appointed to the treasurer of SNPP.[1] In 2009 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election, Barfungpa changed his constituency from Rumtek to Gangtok. But SNPP had not been able to be registered in the List of Political Parties of Election Commission of India (ECI). Barfungpa had to run as an independent candidate, and lost by less than 3% votes.

Delay Namgyal Barfungpa was promoted to the vice president of SNPP at some point from 2009 to 2012. In December 2012 Barfungpa petitioned the Supreme Court with corruption allegations against the SDF Government.[2] In August 2018 Adhikari resigned from the president and seceded from SNPP.[3] Barfungpa didn't follow Adhikari, and Barfungpa was elected to the SNPP president by party members.[4]

In 2019 Sikkim Legislative Assembly election, SNPP had not been able to be registered in the List of Political Parties of ECI before election period, Delay Namgyal Barfungpa and other 2 SNPP candidates had to run as an independent candidates, again. Barfungpa lost and received only 1.31% in Gangtok constituency.

In the By-Election of Sikkim Legislative Assembly 2019 (3 constituencies), Delay Namgyal Barfungpa was planning to contest from Gangtok constituency as an independent candidate third times. Before this By-Election, the candidate of Hamro Sikkim Party (HSP) from Gangtok constituency, Bhaichung Bhutia proposed a pre-poll alliance to Barfungpa, but Barfungpa didn't accept it.[5]

Just as that time, SNPP had finally been registered to the List of the Political Parties of ECI as the State Party (Unrecognized) on September 25, 2019.[6] As the result, this is the first election that Delay Namgyal Barfungpa could contest as the candidate of SNPP.

In this By-Election from Gangtok constituency, the candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Yong Tshering Lepcha elected by 2,508 (40.88%) votes. At the same time, Delay Namgyal Barfungpa became a runner-up candidate by 1,498 (24.42%) votes, and he could refund his deposit of candidacy.

Delay Namgyal Barfungpa is a candidate with the 2nd highest declared assets (Rs 57,79,62,986), contested in Sikkim Legislative Assembly Election 2019.[7]

Electoral record

Sikkim Legislative Assembly election

  Year                 Constituency   Political Party   Result   Position   Votes   % Votes   % Margin   Deposit     Source
  -------------------- -------------- ----------------- -------- ---------- ------- --------- ---------- ----------- --------
  2004                 Rumtek         INC               Lost     2nd/2      4,323   43.39     -13.21     refunded    [8]
  2009                 Gangtok        IND               Lost     3rd/5      148     2.62      -58.56     forfeited   [9]
  2019                 Gangtok        IND               Lost     4th/6      97      1.31      -51.37     forfeited   [10]
  2019 (by-election)   Gangtok        SNPP              Lost     2nd/6      1,498   24.42     -16.46     refunded    [11]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]  SNPP was registered in this list with No.2463.

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

title: Delay Namgyal Barfungpa

question: Who was leading the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee?

answer: Nar Bahadur Bhandari.

question: Did Barfungpa win the Legislative seat?

answer: No, he lost the seat to a candidate from the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF).

question: Which constituency did Delay stand from in the 2009 Legislative elections?

answer: He stood from Gangtok.

question: How many votes did Delay get in the By-Elections?

answer: Delay became the runner-up candidate by 1,498 votes.

question: Write a ~6 sentence summary.

answer:
Delay Namgyal Barfungpa is an Indian politician, from the state of Sikkim. Selay had first contested for the Sikkim Legislative seat from Rumtek Constituency but was defeated by an SDF candidate.

In 2008, Barfungpa joined SNPP but had to run as an independent candidate since SNPP was not registered in the List of Political Parties of Election Commission of India (ECI). He lost the election.

In 2019 By-Elections, SNPP had been registered by the ECI and hence Delay contested as an SNPP candidate. A BJP candidate was elected in these elections.


text:
One of two high school students accused of opening fire at STEM School Highlands Ranch near Denver in May, killing an 18-year-old, allegedly told police he targeted students who made fun of his gender identity and had been planning the shooting for a few weeks.

Court documents released Thursday shed new details on the May 7 shooting that killed Kendrick Castillo, 18, who has been called a hero for acting with others to stop one of the shooters at the STEM school, which is in a community south of Denver.

Alec McKinney, 16, was arrested after a shooting at the STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado. McKinney has been charged as an adult.Obtained by NBC News
Devon Erickson, 18, and Alec McKinney, 16, who according to the documents told police he was transitioning and whose attorney says prefers male pronouns, have been charged with more than 40 counts including murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors have said both are being tried as adults.

Probable cause documents released Thursday are redacted and include only Erickson's name, but officials have said Erickson and McKinney are the only people charged in the shooting.

The documents portray the second suspect, not Erickson, as the person who planned the attack.

The documents say that suspect in interviews with police "said he wanted the kids at the school to experience bad things, have to suffer from trauma like he has had to in his life,” and that “he wanted everyone in that school to suffer and realize that the world is a bad place.”

That suspect allegedly said he got Erickson involved in the plan. He also told police that students were targeted and that they made fun of him, "called him names and said he was disgusting for trying to be a guy" as well as referring to him as "a she," according to the probable cause documents.

McKinney has been charged as an adult, and his attorneys have said they plan to ask a judge to move the case to juvenile court, the Associated Press reported. Neither suspect has entered a plea yet, and their attorneys opposed the unsealing of records associated with the criminal cases.

Devon Michael Erickson appears at the Douglas County Courthouse for his advisement hearing on May 8, 2019 in Castle Rock, Colorado.Joe Amon / Pool via Getty Images
A judge sealed both court records after Erickson and McKinney made their initial court appearances, preventing police or prosecutors from discussing almost anything about the case.

Both suspects allegedly told police they talked on Snapchat the night before the shooting. Erickson told police the other suspect said he was suicidal and wanted revenge, according to the documents.

Both suspects allegedly told police that they went to Erickson's home during lunch and broke into a parent’s gun safe with an ax and a crowbar and got three handguns and a rifle as well as ammunition and magazines from the safe.

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They both took cocaine, although Erickson said he was threatened into doing so, according to the documents. They allegedly put the guns in a guitar case and a backpack and went back to school.

The accounts of the two suspects in the probable cause documents differ, including who had which guns and where they were kept.

[]

Erickson told police he pulled out the Glock handgun out of a guitar case and told everyone to get down, that the gun went off when he was rushed by two students in the classroom, and that he surrendered the gun and heard more shooting and yelling, according to the documents. He also claimed that he pulled out the gun after seeing the other suspect go for his gun, and that after being taken down he tried to warn people.

The other suspect told police that Erickson "pulled the magnetic strip and shut the door to prevent it from being opened from the outside," that they both pulled out their guns and said "nobody move," and he believes Erickson shot first.

The other suspect claimed he then started shooting his own two handguns and was also tackled by students and a teacher, but got away and grabbed a third handgun from his backpack and fled with the intention of killing himself but couldn’t work the gun's safety, according to the documents.

That suspect was confronted by an armed security guard and was ordered to the ground and taken into custody.

Erickson was being held down by another student who had been shot in the leg and was arrested, according to the documents. Police found a rifle, identified as a Ruger 22, in the guitar case, the documents say.

The police documents released Thursday also allege that a security guard at the school, who has not been identified, fired a shot that wounded a female student in another room. The security guard "stated he saw a muzzle come around the corner," according to the documents.

Robert Burk, attorney for the unnamed guard, said he had no comment.

The private security guard is under investigation, NBC affiliate KUSA of Denver reported, and the owner of the company he worked for told the station that he had not heard of the allegations in the court documents.

Aside from Castillo, the student who was killed, eight others were wounded in the shooting, authorities have said. All survived.

Police said in the affidavit that while Erickson repeatedly claimed he was going to stop McKinney he "couldn't articulate how or why he never told an adult."

question: What does the article say about why Erickson and McKinney opened fire at SEM School Highlands Ranch?

answer: One of them tells the police he targeted students who made fun of his gender identity. Erickson says he wanted the kids at the school to suffer from trauma like he has had to in his life and that he wanted everyone in that school to realize that the world is a bad place. He says the kids made fun of him, called him names, said he was disgusting for trying to be a guy, and were referring to him as "she". Erickson tells the police McKinney was suicidal and wanted revenge.

question: What does the article say about how Erickson and McKinney prepared for the attack?

answer: They went to Erickson's home during lunch and broke into a parent’s gun safe and got three handguns and a rifle as well as ammunition and magazines. They both took cocaine and put the guns in a guitar case and a backpack and went back to school.

question: What does the article say about Erickson's and McKinney's families?


text:
_Will & Grace_ is an American television sitcom that was created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the relationship between best friends Will Truman, a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler, a straight interior designer. The show was originally broadcast on NBC from September 1998 to May 2006, for a total of eight seasons, and restarted its run on NBC in September 2017. During its original run, _Will & Grace_ was one of the most successful television series with gay principal characters.

Despite initial criticism for its stereotypical portrayal of homosexual characters, it went on to become a staple of NBC’s Must See TV Thursday night lineup and was met with continued critical acclaim. It was ensconced in the Nielsen Top 20 for half of its network run. The show was the highests-rated sitcom among adults aged 18-49, from 2001 and 2005. Throughout its eight-year run, _Will & Grace_ earned 16 Primetime Emmy Awards and 83 nominations. Each main actor, with the exception of Morrison, received an Emmy Award throughout the series. In 2014 the Writers Guild of America placed the sitcom at number 94 in their list of the 101 Best Written TV series of all time. Since the final episode aired, the sitcom has been credited with helping and improving the public opinion of the LGBT community, with former U. S. Vice President Joe Biden commenting that the show “probably did more to educate the American public” on LGBT issues “than almost anything anybody has ever done so far”. In 2014, the Smithsonian Institution added an LGBT history collection to their museum which included various items from _Will & Grace_. The curator, Dwight Blocker Bowers, stated that the sitcom used “comedy to familiarize a mainstream audience with gay culture” that was “daring and broke ground” in American media.

During its original run, _Will & Grace_ was filmed in front of a live studio audience (most episodes and scenes) on Tuesday nights at Stage 17 in CBS Studio Center. Will and Grace’s apartment was put on display at the Emerson College Library, donated by series creator Max Mutchnick. When the set was removed in 2014, rumors had come up about a cast reunion, but the actors involved denied that such a reunion was planned, explaining that it was merely being moved. A long-running legal battle between both the original executive producers and creators and NBC took place between 2003 and 2007.

In September 2016, the cast reunited for a 10-minute special (released online), urging Americans to vote in the 2016 Presidential election. After its success, NBC had announced that the network was exploring the idea of putting _Will & Grace_ back into production. In January 2017, NBC confirmed the series’ return for a ninth season, for the 2017-2018 television season, which was eventually expanded to 16 episodes. This was followed by renewals for 18-episode tenth and eleventh seasons.

[]

THE SERIES ITSELF (4/5):

Picking right back up where they left off, the revival of _Will & Grace _gives audiences exactly the same energetic performance from the cast members as they live their day to day lives with each other.  Making a variety of jokes that reference pop culture, being heavily opinionated about various things, and just giving each other a tough enough time (you know, like best friends do); this new season was absolutely great!  Sure, it may feel as if the folks over at NBC have started to run out of creative ideas since they brought back a show that ended over ten years ago; but, let me tell you, with the chemistry that the cast share in this show, they are certainly not without creative thought.

[]

PICTURE QUALITY (3/5):

Being that my wife and I watched through this season on DVD, _Will & Grace _looked just as I would have expected it to look had I been able to watch this season as it aired.  Everything about the show is presented cleanly, and everything is able to be seen and understood without any added focus being required.  It just didn’t really have that visual pop that accompanies a standard Blu-ray release.

[]

AUDIO QUALITY (3/5):

Bundled with a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 audio mix, the revival season of _Will & Grace _offers audiences a semi-clean, but overall not very powerful experience as they follow along with the characters.  While there really weren’t any parts of the audio track that stood out, the sound had just enough power behind it to allow everything to be heard and understood without having to adjust the volume controls.  Dialogue was clean and clear, despite having to turn it up a notch in the beginning; but other than that, it was just your run-of-the-mill DVD release.

[]

THE PACKAGING (2.5/5):

The DVD release for this season of _Will & Grace _comes packaged in a two-disc standard DVD case.  Within that case is the two DVD discs that make up this season; both discs featuring artwork that matches that of the case art and has been made available using a technology that’s very similar to the old LightScribe feature that was made available in older generation CD-R drives.  The inside does feature some artwork, as well as a brief synopsis of each episode that makes up the season.  There are no digital copy redemption pamphlets included with this release; but, there is a slipcover that’s been made available during the original pressing of the release.

[]  []

SPECIAL FEATURES (3/5):

There are only a handful of special features that have been included with this season of _Will &_ Grace.  The content that’s been included not only shows how much fun that each of the cast members had getting back together; but there is also a nice look at some of the work that went on behind the scenes as they worked together to get everyone back together again.  Included with this release is:

-   Gag Reel
-   Reuniting The Team
-   Back To The Beginning
-   Classic Comedy

[]

TECHNICAL SPECS:

Video

Codec: MPEG-2

Encoding Format: 16:9

Resolution: 480i (NTSC)

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Original Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1, 1.33:1

Audio

English: Dolby Digital 5.1

Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1

Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles

English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish

Runtime

Original Series: 337 minutes

[]

FINAL THOUGHTS:

_Will & Grace _was a television show that I had grown up watching throughout my adolescent years.  The fact that they decided to bring this back, especially with the extreme politically correct society that we live in today, really had me wondering how they were going to pull it off.  And they did an absolutely great job.  If you’re considering grabbing this season for your collection, I would definitely recommend grabbing it if you’re a fan of the series.  The revival season of _Will & Grace _was released to Blu-ray and DVD on June 12, 2018.

[]

_NOTE: This DVD was sent to us for review. This has not affected our judgement or editorial process in any way. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this process._

question: Why is Will & Grace culturally significant?

answer: Will and Grace is culturally significant because it introduced mainstream American to LGBT issues, despite an at times stereotypical portrayal of homosexual characters. Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden commented that the show “probably did more to educate the American public” on LGBT issues “than almost anything anybody has ever done so far”.


text:
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Slowly, quickly, coldly he spoke to his mother. "Fine," he would say. "You're not my mother," he would say. It hurt her, but she knew it was only the function of his young mind. She had understood him. She knew what he wanted and she gave it to him. And he was off to experience the world. Motherless. "But he would be back," she thought. "I'll see him again," she would say. And so her life went on.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But the pain she had was not quenched by her mind's reasoning of the events that took place. She knew why he had left, but she wouldn't lie to you or to me. It hurt her and she wouldn't hide it from us.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The first day I saw her after he came back I didn't recognize her. You wouldn't have either. He just walked back in. She had missed him, but he had left her broken.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When the last drop of water leaves the cloud the cloud is not gone. It is simply empty. It understands that this is the cycle: grow up, rain down, grow up, rain down. It wouldn't argue with the cycle. She wouldn't argue that things hadn't happened for a reason, but the rain poured when he left. Her understanding soon escaped her. She thought he would be back sooner. "Today is the day," she would say. She talked to the pastor and he agreed. "Any day now," he would say. They hoped together.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That day that I saw her I could tell something in her had been restored, but she was not like before. The rain had poured down but I didn't see her being filled up again. I only saw a foggy mass, sitting in her house, wondering when the water would come to fill her again. So she sat, she cared for him, and her life went on. "My little boy will be back any day now," she repeated to herself. But he was not. She didn't know who the broken down man sitting on her couch was. She knew he needed a mom, but she knew not who he was.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;One cloud, raining into another. So who fills up the first cloud. I wonder. The pastor said, "Jesus, of course." She said, "Yeah, Jesus will fill it up." So they waited for Jesus. The empty women with her son. He was empty too. He was a tropical storm. He wouldn't hold onto what she gave him.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She laughed and she smiled. She remembered her boy. She remembered how she had understood him that day.  She told God that she was ready, and that she had run out. The fog disappeared. The boy lived on, and so would she. She would live on with the boy. She would watch him change. And she did. "So that's how the cycle works," she exclaimed. I hoped that she had finally found what she needed, but I wouldn't be the one to know. Neither would the pastor. Only the boy. He would speak and we would listen, but we would never be sure. But the cycle goes on.

title: The Boy and the Mother

question: How do the boy and the mother feel about each other?

answer: The mother loves the boy; the boy takes from his mother, but he emotionally hurt her.

question: Is there a conflict between them? Is it resolved?

answer: The conflict is that the boy emotionally takes from his mother and doesn't give back. The behavior doesn't change, but the mother resolves that it is the cycle of how things work.

question: What is the setting of the story?

answer: The setting isn't described.

question: Are there any other important characters?

answer: There aren't any other important characters.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The story is about a mother who loves her son; the boy emotionally takes from his mother, and he emotionally hurts her. One day he leaves and she feels very empty; she waits for his return. He finally returns as a broken down man; he's empty. He continues to take from his mother, and she resolves that it is the cycle of how things work.


text:
_jQuery Templates is no longer in active development, and has been superseded by JsRender_.

JsRender functionality is a superset of the jQuery Templates feature set, and brings many improvements. The template tag syntax is similar. Rendering and compiling performance of JsRender is considerably better than jQuery templates performance.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Note: This is the original official jQuery Templates plugin. The project was maintained by the jQuery team as an official jQuery plugin. Since the jQuery team has decided not to take this plugin past beta, it has been returned to the principal developer's GitHub account (Boris Moore). For more information on the history of jQuery Templates, and the roadmap going forward, see jQuery Templates and JsViews: The Roadmap_

------------------------------------------------------------------------

See vBeta1.0.0 tag for released beta version. Requires jQuery version 1.4.2.

jQuery templates contain markup with binding expressions ('Template tags'). Templates are applied to data objects or arrays, and rendered into the HTML DOM.

Note that documentation for the _jQuery Templates_ plugin is NO LONGER MAINTAINED ON THE JQUERY DOCUMENTATION SITE.

An archive copy of the original documentation (previously at api.jquery.com/category/plugins/templates/) can be found here.

See also http://www.borismoore.com/2010/10/jquery-templates-is-now-official-jquery.html for more background.

Live versions of some of the demos from this repository can be found at http://borismoore.github.io/jquery-tmpl/demos/step-by-step.html.

The beta1 version of jQuery Templates is available on CDN at:

-   http://ajax.microsoft.com/ajax/jquery.templates/beta1/jquery.tmpl.js
-   http://ajax.microsoft.com/ajax/jquery.templates/beta1/jquery.tmpl.min.js

------------------------------------------------------------------------

_The following is a restoration of jQuery's official documentation on tmpl() as it was on 12/28/2012. jQuery is Copyright 2012, John Resig_

Source

Description:

RENDER THE SPECIFIED HTML CONTENT AS A TEMPLATE, USING THE SPECIFIED DATA. version added: 1.4.3 jQuery.tmpl( template [, data] [, options] )

TEMPLATE The HTML markup or text to use as a template.

DATA The data to render. This can be any JavaScript type, including Array or Object.

OPTIONS An optional map of user-defined key-value pairs. Extends the tmplItem data structure, available to the template during rendering.

This documentation topic concerns the _jQuery Templates_ plugin (jquery-tmpl), which can be downloaded from: http://github.com/jquery/jquery-tmpl.

The jQuery.tmpl() method is designed for chaining with .appendTo, .prependTo, .insertAfter or .insertBefore as in the following example.

Example:

        $.tmpl( "
${Name}
", { "Name" : "John Doe" }).appendTo( "#target" );

The template parameter can be any of the following:

-   A string containing markup.
-   An HTML element (or jQuery object that wraps an element) whose content is to be used as the template.
-   A string corresponding to the name of a named template (see jQuery.template() and .template()).
-   A compiled-template function (see jQuery.template() and .template()).

If data is an array, the template is rendered once for each data item in the array. If data is an object, or if the data parameter is missing or null, a single template item is rendered.

The return value is a jQuery collection of elements made up of the rendered template items (one for each data item in the array). If the template contains only one top-level element, then there will be one element for each data item in the array.

To insert the rendered template items into the HTML DOM, the returned jQuery collection should not be inserted directly into the DOM, but should be chained with .appendTo, .prependTo, .insertAfter or .insertBefore, as in following example:

        $.tmpl( myTemplate, myData ).appendTo( "#target" );

See also .tmpl().

Example

The following example shows how to use jQuery.tmpl() to render local data, using a template provided as a string:

          var movies = [
              { Name: "The Red Violin", ReleaseYear: "1998" },
              { Name: "Eyes Wide Shut", ReleaseYear: "1999" },
              { Name: "The Inheritance", ReleaseYear: "1976" }
            ];

          var markup = "
${Name} (${ReleaseYear})
";

          // Compile the markup as a named template
          $.template( "movieTemplate", markup );

          // Render the template with the movies data and insert
          // the rendered HTML under the "movieList" element
          $.tmpl( "movieTemplate", movies )
              .appendTo( "#movieList" );

Using Remote Data

Typically the data is not local and is instead obtained using an Ajax request to a remote service or page, as in the following example:

        var markup = "
${Name} (${ReleaseYear})
";

        // Compile the markup as a named template
        $.template( "movieTemplate", markup );

        $.ajax({
          dataType: "jsonp",
          url: moviesServiceUrl,
          jsonp: "$callback",
          success: showMovies
        });

        // Within the callback, use .tmpl() to render the data.
        function showMovies( data ) {
          // Render the template with the "movies" data and insert
          // the rendered HTML under the 'movieList' element
          $.tmpl( "movieTemplate", data )
            .appendTo( "#movieList" );
        }

The Markup for the Template

You can get the markup for the template from inline markup in the page, or from a string (possibly computed, or obtained remotely). For an example of how to use inline markup, see .tmpl().

Caching the Template

When a template is rendered, the markup is first converted into a compiled-template function. Every time $.tmpl( markup , myData ).appendTo( "#target" ) is called, the template is recompiled. If the same template is to be used more than once for rendering data, you should ensure that the compiled template is cached. To cache the template when using markup that is obtained from a string (rather than from inline markup in the page), use $.template( name, markup ) to create a named template for reuse. See jQuery.template().

Template Tags, Expressions, and Template Variables

Template tags such as the ${} tag can used within jQuery templates in addition to text and HTML markup to enable a number of scenarios such as composition of templates, iteration over hierarchical data, parameterization of template rendering, etc. Template tags can render content based on the values of data item fields or template variables such as $item (corresponding to the template item), as well as expressions and function calls. See the documentation topics for each template tag: ${}, {{each}}, {{if}}, {{else}}, {{html}}, {{tmpl}} and {{wrap}}.

The options Parameter, and Template Items

Each template item (the result of rendering a data item with the template) is associated with a tmplItem data structure, which can be accessed using jQuery.tmplItem() and .tmplItem(), or the $item template variable. Any fields or anonomyous methods passed in with the options parameter of jQuery.tmpl() will extend the tmplItem data structure, and so be available to the template as in the following example:

        var markup = "
Some content: ${$item.myMethod()}.
"
               + " More content: ${$item.myValue}.
";

        // Compile the markup as a named template
        $.template( "movieTemplate", markup );

        // Render the template with the movies data
        $.tmpl( "movieTemplate", movies,
          {
              myValue: "somevalue",
              myMethod: function() {
                  return "something";
              }
          }
        ).appendTo( "#movieList" );

Examples:

Example: Render local data using jQuery.tmpl().

      <!DOCTYPE html>

Example: Render data from a remote service, using jQuery.tmpl().

      <!DOCTYPE html>

question: What does the text say about temple tags?

answer: Examples of a template tag is ${}, {{each}}, {{if}}, {{else}}, {{html}}, {{tmpl}} and {{wrap}}. A template tag can be used within jQuery templates to allow composition of templates, iteration over hierarchical data, and parameterization of template rendering.

question: What does the text say about the websites that use jQuery?


text:
It was a very warm day in August that year. Even the birds refused to fly and expend any energy in this heat. as usual I was sprawled in my office, occasionally peeking through my eyelids at the various bugs and flies hopping around my grass carpeted office.
Luther, my tall friend and neighbor, chose this moment to slide the top nailed plank on the western wall  and enter  my office. He ambled along on his extremely long legs and sidled next to me and plopped.
"Mrs. Kit, mother of Morris and Rosie did not make it home last night." He bellowed in my ear with his bass like voice. He added "That make it two feline families missing the neighborhood this week"
"Well, a good morning to you too." I replied.
"Yeah, yeah good morning, I'm upset that the neighborhood I chose to live in, for its diversification, is losing its, well, diversification."
Sighing, I replied, "Guess we have a new mystery on our hands and it's up to me to solve it. Go ahead put out you're feelers in all the usual places."
"I intend to."
"Luther, this time make it sure that you do so on the down low. The last time you were loud and scared away some of the smaller species."
"Yes definitely, I'm just going to leave messages, that too, only on the soft boards."
"Good, leave the hydrants, lampposts and trees alone. Remember only bushes and fence posts, we want the smaller species picking up the messages only."

Luther stood up and slowly walked over to the loose plank on the fence, turned around, and complained, "Man, with my long legs I got to bend low and leave messages."

"Make sure you drink a lot of water, it's hot and you have  lot of messages to leave, and Luther, quit complaining,  waiting here, for results, is just as difficult for me."

I slowly rose from my sprawl and walked towards the loose plank on the western fence and peeked out. Luther was moving down the alley, bending low, and peeing in the bushes every few feet, leaving silent messages for the smaller species in our turf.

The first to arrive was Chewy, the black Chihuahua. We greeted each other by sniffing and soft yelps. Chewy wanted to know what the commotion was about? He had sniffed the same message over and over again.

I replied, " I want to know if you have heard about the missing felines."

"Why should I know? Just cause I'm small and I do like to eat some of their food doesn't mean I'm an expert or had anything to do with them."

"No, no Chewy, don't get me wrong. I'm not blaming you for their disappearance, I just need information."

"Ok, ok sorry about that, I'm touchy and nervous as I'm small and always being picked on.  Maybe you should talk to Wiley, he's all over the neighborhood at all sorts of times."

"The Rottweiler? not a good idea,  he's very taciturn and rarely speaks, his size alone intimidates everyone."

"Ok then, I'll be on my way, until next time."

Chewy turned around and silently left. I sat down again and pondered if I should approach Wiley. After all he was huge and getting information from him was a real workout. I had nothing else to do and the whole day loomed ahead of me, I decided to be brave and approach the Rottweiler.

"I see things in the hood but I don't like to talk about it "  Wiley said even before I could ask him about the disappearance.

Wiley was huge, black all over except his paws and mouth, golden brown, and he bellowed more than spoke. He was quite intimidating. I swallowed my fear and realized that he had spoken first, something must be troubling him.  "Wiley, I just stopped by to chat with you,  but if you know a secret you know I know how to keep it. So, what is it that you've seen in the hood and don't want to talk about?"

Wiley kept staring at me  with his dead eye expression.  I kept quite and let the silence build around us, finally the silence got to Wiley and he blurted, "Maybe you should talk to Brad."

"Why?"

"Brad was upset about something last night."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Well, you know Brad is very vocal and paces all over the turf, last night he was sprawled flat in his house and didn't join me on our usual prowl."

"Thanks Wiley, I'll go and talk to the Labrador."

After our customary mutual sniffing we parted, I crossed over to Kibble Corner and made my way to Purina Place. From there I went east on Iams Blvd.  Constantly looking over my shoulder for any danger. My pal, Luther, was leaving messages on the soft boards of shrubs, bushes, plants and fences. I did not want the big dogs to know that I was looking for the missing felines, not yet, anyway. I wanted to look them in the eye and see their reaction when I brought the disappearance up.

From my experience, the big macho dogs found it beneath them to sniff the soft boards, for them trees, light posts and fat fence poles  were the boards they frequented.  Of course a water hydrant was the most common posts for all species. For that reason it had to be avoided at all costs. Once a message was peed on a hydrant, everyone and everyone's uncle was privy to it and that would make all wonder, 'Who let the dogs out'. That would never do in an investigation.

I made it to Alpo Avenue, Brad's neighborhood. Brad was planked half in and half out of his Igloo home.

"Brad, what's up?"

"Oh, it's you. How are you and what are you doing out and about in the daytime?"

We approached each other and after our customary sniffs, I replied, "I don't see you laying around often, is everything okay?"

"Just resting up, the nighttime tired me out."

"I heard that you witnessed something disturbing last night."

"Oh, you heard."

"Yes, tell me I'm investigating and need all the information you can give me. So, do you know anything?"

"Maybe, last night I was with Honey, she was very upset and wouldn't let me near her. That has upset me a great deal. Honey is always loving and vocal and shares everything with me.  But not last night, I was quietly pushed away and she refused to spend the night with me."

"Honey,  the Bison Frise? I didn't know you and her were an item."

"So now you know. It's not like I hide it, I'm very happy with her, it's just that if Honey is upset I get upset and last night I didn't sleep a wink. I'm tired now, go away, let me rest."

"Just tell me where I can find her?"

"Probably in her yard. She must be tired too."

"i'll head out there, thanks for your help."

After our usual sniffing and horsing  around, I crossed Iams Blvd.  and headed south to Eukaneba Street, Honey's place was in the middle of the block. Slipping into her yard I noticed Honey flat on her tummy with just one eye opened.

"Hi Honey, seems something is bothering you. Care to share?"

"I'm upset and don't know where to begin."

"Start from the beginning, that always helps."

"So last night, Brad was supposed to come over and he was late, anyway, I was anxiously waiting for him and peeking under the gate by the alley. The gap is very narrow , however I noticed a feline, guess it was Mrs. Kit, jump on the dumpster foraging for leftovers. Soon I heard heavy thumping from the end of the alley, approaching the dumpster.  All I could see was tan and white huge paws, powerful legs and a short tail leap right into the dumpster. Next, I heard mewling, yelping and growling and then just silence. Oh, I can't go on."

"Come on, Honey, you're doing so good, please continue."

"Give a minute. OK, I saw powerful legs and paws leap off of the dumpster trot away to the right and away from my sight. I waited, peeking but did not see or hear anything after that. I can only imagine the fate of Mrs. Kit."

"So, heavy and powerful, tan and white paws."

"Yes I think Mrs. Kit was lifted, now I must rest, please go."

I turned around and left by the alley. I looked over the dumpster that faced Honey's home. It looked like any dumpster, no signs that a struggle had occurred the night before.  I was shocked, never had I heard a feline being attacked in my neighborhood. Tan and white, heavy and powerful paws and legs, meant only one thing, someone not from our turf had entered and violated our code.

In my haste to investigate, I had neglected to do our customary sniff and lick with Honey, next time I saw her I'd make up for it. I walked the length of Eukaneba Street to Beneful Blvd., to gather my thoughts. I, now knew what had to be done. I had to leave my neighborhood, walk over to someone else's turf, look for tan and white paws and legs, confront the guilty party and demand some answers.

First I needed help, from my own turf, I needed someone also with heavy and powerful paws and legs. Bull, the Mastiff was huge had humongous paws and legs, not tan and white but black and tan. Bull was also my friend and had my back whenever I needed him.

The sun was still bright, I left a message for Bull, outside his home, by the trunk of his shade tree. Tonight Bull and I would trek outside our neighborhood. Later that night Bull and I walked down Purina Place to the end of our turf at Pedigree. From there  we were all alone in a new area, an area that was unfamiliar and very dark.  While walking on Friskies Street I noticed some tan and white paws sticking out from under a Jacaranda tree. Bull and I cautiously approached the legs.

It became quite apparent that there would be no sniff and greet with this massive canine. Tan and white stood up and growled, but upon seeing Bull and his massive form, the growls quickly died down and only curiosity was in his eyes.

"I'm Pitt, how dare you violate the canine treaty and enter my domain uninvited."

"We had a report that last night you violated the treaty and entered our turf and lifted or worse one of our citizens, a Mrs. Kit."

"So what, felines are dog food, fools, be gone before I attack you with my powerful jaws."

Bull stretched to his full height and said, "I pity you, Pitt,  If you try anything funny with my friend here, I'll stomp you like the fat rat you are."

"Ha, ha ha just try it. I'm short but I'm very very strong, I'm sure I'll be more than enough for the two of you."

"Ok, ok." I cut in. "I'm sure you're strong and you'll try to fight the two of us. But it doesn't have to get there. All we want is information and the whereabouts of the feline."

"Why should I just roll over and do that?" "What is it in for me?"

"What are you hoping for?" I replied.

"I've not made up my mind, I know I'm the strongest and I'm sure I'm the fastest too.  Since the two are not here to fight, maybe we can race?"

Bull stepped up close to Pitt and said, "We're not the fastest in our turf but we do have the fastest canine in our group that can run circles around you. If you're game you can race with him."

"And if I win?"

"Then you can name your prize."

"All right, when and where?"

"Tomorrow, at the Science Diet Park by the westside dog run. Meet us and our team member at dusk."

Again, no sniff and lick, Bull and I returned to our turf. Once there silent Bull left on his way to wherever Mastiffs retire.
I had my work cut out for me. I had to see Doc, my favorite Dachshund.  He was a winner in all the Wiener races.
Doc was happy to see me. We sniffed and licked and pranced around each other. Then I told him what I wanted. Together we scouted the S.D. Park from one end to the next.
On the left side of the park an old metal culvert ran about half ways and then went underground. Doc and I , both being of short stature entered this metal drain. It narrowed as it went underground from about 3 feet to maybe a foot, foot and a half. Then it abruptly rose up and out of the ground into an abandoned area.  An idea was forming in my head, as things stood now Doc may or may not be as fast as Pitt, I had not seen Pitt run. But Doc was definitely shorter than Pitt. I whispered my plan to Doc and asked him to come to the park at dusk.
That night as dusk settled in we all went to the park. Pitt was there already.  Seeing Doc Pitt said. "Ha, ha ha, is this the best you can do? When I win, I'm going to eat him up for my snack and then I'll demand my prize."

"We'll see who wins, let's set some ground rules. Doc runs along that metal pipe and you follow him till the end.  After that the two of you race back to here."

"I'll gobble him up way before then, say your final goodbye to him now. And lets get on with this."
Doc took off, his short legs were a blur, his legs were pumping away fast and furiously.  His tongue was hanging out and his tail was pointed straight back. Pitt followed, his powerful legs leaping high and eating up the park fast, flecks of saliva spraying from his huge jaws, his stubby tail rigid and pointed upwards. Doc's legs were a blur as he entered the broken metal pipe, Doc went under and only the rapid tapping was heard.
Pitt slowed down as he came toward the entrance of the broken pipe. Sniffed for danger, but the strong whiff from Doc and his trail enticed him to speed up and enter the metal culvert.
Bull and I lost sight of both Doc and Pitt. We walked over to the midway point of the buried pipe. We could hear tapping and scrapping from the ground.

I imagined Doc scampering into the narrower and narrower pipe and Pitt following him. The deeper they ran the narrower the pipe became. Soon I could see Doc running out from under the pipe and ground.  There was no sign of Pitt yet.  Next we heard howling from under the ground. Pitt was bellowing, "I'm stuck, I'm stuck, dig me out quickly."

"Bull and I'll dig you out, only if you concede the race and tell us what happened to Mrs.Kit."

"Alright, alright don't get your panties in a bunch. Just get me out of here."

Bull and I started digging to free Pitt, he kept up the howling and chattering, "Mrs. Kit is unharmed, in my yard. I only wanted a playmate."
Soon Pitt was free and walked over with us to his yard. Mrs.Kit, Morris and Rosie were there too. Then we made sure that the feline and her loved ones were free to come and go.

"Pitt why did you do this?" I asked him.

"Look at me, I've a big mouth, very prominent jaws, stubby body and huge legs,  who could come near me and be my playmate? I have to always take weaker and smaller species than me. I, too, want someone to play with. I never harm them, just play with them."

"If that's true than you can come into our turf. We all would love to have you with us and be our friend. I'm sure we can only benefit with you're big and powerful jaws."
 A few days later Pitt has settled in, the felines are back and all is well. There's just one more thing left for me to do.  I've to go and complete my sniff and lick with Honey.

title: [MS][FN] Doggy Detective

question: What is the plot of the story?

answer: A large dog from a neighboring territory, Pitt, enters the narrator's and ambushes cats. The narrator wants to figure out what happened to the cats. With the help of his friends, Bull the mastiff, and Doc the dachshund, he manages to learn that Pitt only wanted playmates. He didn't harm the cats, just kidnapped them so that they can be his playmates. The narrator then gives access to Pitt into their territory, saying that they will be his friends.

question: What does the story say about the cleanliness of cats versus dogs?


text:
--Wrote this half asleep last night. Please ignore the atrocious grammar e.e"--

Ashley sat her desk and stared at her high school  history book.

“Ugh. Two more years of this crap.” She groaned as she laid her head in her hands. The wooden chair squeaked when she got up to refill her empty glass with more sweat tea. It had been 6 months since her mother was found dead in the bedroom down the hall. They ruled it an accidental over dose, a mix of old and new medications. It really didn’t make sense considering she was only taking two medicines, one for her heart and the other for strange delusions she started having a few months before. She claimed the house was haunted and there was a man that talked to her every night and wanted her to be with him.

The beautiful two story farm house was built in the mid 1700’s by a farmer for his family that had 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. A giant screened in semi wrap around porch with an added outdoor barbecue area her dad built a couple years ago, is where Ashley and her parents spent most of their time.   After her mom died, Ashley’s dad picked up an extra job and was rarely home anymore leaving her alone a lot. Random friends and family would come to check on her here and there but mostly it was a couple hours of awkward silence then a made up excuse for why they had to leave. Instead of just saying it creeps them out to be in a house a person died in.

The teen poured her tea then sat cross legged  on the counter by the stove with the pitcher beside her. With only the dim glow of the clock on the stove, she sat in the dark as she listened to the crickets and whipper wills through the closed kitchen window. She imagined the summer nights her and her mother spent in the hammock outback together under the Oak trees. They used to count the stars and make their own constellations or count the craters on the moon. Her phone broke her flashback by singing her ringtone and she hopped of the counter, put the pitcher up, grabbed her glass then headed up the wooden spiral stair case.  Her boyfriend of 5 years usually called her about this time on his way home from work to check on her and  if she didn’t answer he would come over and use the key she gave him on the side door.

When she reached the top of the steps something caught her eye making her stop in the middle of the hallway and stare at the bedroom down the hall. The door was cracked which was odd because her dad forbid anyone go in there and installed a bolt on it. No even he has been in there since her mom died. Her heart raced a little and her phone stopped ringing then started again. She sprinted towards her door spilling some tea on the way and slammed her  door shut while also locking it. Her cell phone was on her desk across the room but she could read the name on it clearly, Mom.

At this point she dropped her tea glass and covered her mouth with her hands. Her phone stopped ringing but she just stared at it. She didn’t know what to think or even what to do. After a few seconds she launched herself to her desk, snatched her phone up and dialed her boyfriends number. It rang and rang and then a voice answered.

“Ashley?” It was a woman’s voice; her mothers voice. She sounded tired and weak as she spoke but Ashley couldn’t reply. Her body was gripped in fear, confusion, and anger was eating at her. She couldn’t believe Tim would play such a prank on her.
“Who is this?! This isn’t funny!” She screamed and cried into the phone.
“Ashley, the door is open for you. Come see me.” Her voice was heard through the phone as well as through Ashley’s door. She stared at her bedroom door unable to move or even breathe. The handle on her door started to turn and then it flew open, but, there was no one there. She looked at her phone but there was only her lock screen, as if there was never a call. Slowly, with her whole body shaking, she walked to her open door and peered out of it to the room down the hall. The bedroom door was open wider now and she could see an outline of something in the doorway with the faint light of the moon through the window in there. Ashley gripped her phone to her chest as she ventured down the hallway, scared completely out of her mind, yet un able to control her body. The outline got clearer the closer she got and she could tell it was the man her mother always talked about. He smiled a smile of pointed teeth  and glowing eyes before he lunged towards her, passing through her body. She felt her breath leaving her body and heard her mothers voice whispering to her.
“Now we will always be together.”
As everything faded into darkness she could here Tim yelling her name from the kitchen; but she would never see him again.

title: [MS] The man down the hall

question: What made Ashley's house especially lonely?

answer:
Ashley's mom was found dead in her bedroom down the hall about six months ago. It was ruled as an accident. The house is large with five bedrooms and four bathrooms so it made sense Ashley's dad had to get an extra job which leaves him away from the house much often.

Ashley's friends occasionally come around but do not like staying. Ashley figured they do not want to stay because they are scared of lingering in a house where someone died. All in all, the whole situation makes Ashely quite lonely.


text:
US authorities are reported to have prepared charges to seek the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. This overreach of US government toward a publisher, whose principle is aligned with the U.S. Constitution, is another sign of a crumbling façade of democracy. The Justice Department in the Obama administration could not prosecute WikiLeaks for publishing documents pertaining to the US government, because they struggled to determine whether the First Amendment protection applied in this case. Now, the torch of Obama’s war on whistleblowers seems to have been passed on to Trump, who had shown disdain toward free speech and even called the U.S. media as “enemies of the people”.

Earlier this month, CIA Director Mike Pompeo vowed to end WikiLeaks, accusing the whistleblowing site as being a “non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia”. He also once called Edward Snowden a traitor and claimed that he should be executed. This declaration of war against WikiLeaks may bring a reminiscence of George W. Bush’s speech in the aftermath of 9-11, where he said, ‘either you are with us or against us’, and urged the nation to side with the government in his call to fight global ‘war on terror’.

In a recent interview on _DemocracyNow!_, journalist at _The Intercept_, Glenn Greenwald put this persecution of WikiLeaks in the context of a government assault on basic freedom. He spelled out their tactics, noting how the government first chooses a target group that is hated and lacks popular support, for they know attacking an idea or a group that is popular would meet resistance. He explained:

  …. they pick somebody who they know is hated in society or who expresses an idea that most people find repellent, and they try and abridge freedom of speech in that case, so that most people will let their hatred for the person being targeted override the principle involved, and they will sanction or at least acquiesce to the attack on freedom because they hate the person being attacked.

Demonizing and scapegoating of a particular group or organization is an alarming tendency toward an authoritarian state. At a news conference last Thursday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions also chimed in to emphasize how Assange’s arrest is a priority. This targeting of WikiLeaks is a threat to press freedom and could be seen a slippery slope toward fascism.

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

Recall the Weimer Republic just before the rise of Adolf Hitler. He was successfully able to install hatred in the minds of Germans and carry out massive crimes against humanity. Americans often wondered what made many ordinary Germans accept these horrendous acts that led to the holocaust. Now, in Trump’s America, it is not so far a stretch to say that Muslims, Mexicans and other immigrants are becoming like the new Jews, to be scapegoated under this right wing administration.

Once he gained power, Hitler made his word to be above the law. Trump, in his first 75 days in office, turned the rhetoric of hatred into action through passing executive order barring refuges and citizens from seven majority Muslim nations from entering into the United States and enacting mass deportation with the ICE agents acting like Nazi Gestapo to track immigrants. Draconian policies that were more under the radar during the Obama administration are now becoming overt. More and more, Americans might now be able to get under the skin of those ‘Good Germans’.

In Hitler’s Germany, persecution of Jews didn’t happen overnight. It was a gradual escalation. The first thing Hitler did was to control media and create an arm of propaganda. By using this weapon of mass deception, the Nazi Regime garnered popular support on a platform of racial identity and nationalism and managed to brainwash citizens with the Nazi-Auschwitz ideology of anti-Semitism. Under the guise of fighting communism, the Party suppressed civil liberties, free speech and association and expanded its power by demonizing whoever stood in their way.

IDENTITY POLITICS AND MACHINATION OF POWER

The Trump campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” spoke to middle class America and disfranchised populations who were fed up with corporate plunder enacted under Democrats. His message of putting America first also struck a chord with white nationalists. By channeling their frustration and desires, Trump successfully created a fertile soil to harvest identity politics that is now coming to resemble Nazi’s emphasis of nationalism and racial supremacy.

No one can deny how the Trump victory empowered white supremacist groups that until now were more on the fringe. These identity politics that seem to be spreading around the world tend to contract one’s heart. Whatever the ideology is, progressive or conservative, anyone gripped with it falls into a narrow vision of humanity and loses perspective. This identity, fixed by ideology, becomes a point of manipulation, to be exploited by those in power and used to divide everyone into ‘Us vs. Them’.

When people lose capacity for dialogue, they become deaf to their own humanity. Then, the state can easily exert control over the masses and seize power through manufacturing wars of all against all. We are now seeing a new civil war unfolding in America. The city of Berkeley is becoming a battleground. In February, riots erupted on the UC Berkeley campus when protesters shut down an event scheduled for right wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos. Also, at the recent free speech rally on Patriot Day, Trump supporters, along with members of far-right nationalists clashed with local activists and anti-fascist groups. Ironically, the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement in the 60’s turned into a bloody fight, devolving into violence, with each camp acting totally contrary to the principles of free speech.

HEIGHT OF MCCARTHY ERA HYSTERIA

This attack against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks is not something new. Consorted efforts to delegitimatize the organization through character assassination and smearing of Assange have been persistent, ever since the site came to public prominence. Assange was called a high tech terrorist by former vice President Joe Biden and incitement for his murder came from high US officials.

Assange has been holed up in asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy for 5 years, despite a UN ruling clearly stating his detention is unlawful. This is not the first time he and his organization were declared to be enemies of the State. In 2012, the US military had designated them as such enemies.

So what is different now? The head of the CIA and the Department of Justice’s declaration of war against WikiLeaks comes in a particular political climate. These efforts to arrest Assange, now backed by President Trump are taking place at the height of a kind of McCarthy era style hysteria.

Just like the recent US government cruise missile attacks on Syria, carried out without any investigation or evidence that Assad was the one using chemical weapons, the echo-chamber of the liberal media has been amplifying their own speculation of WikiLeaks alleged source of DNC leaks and Podesta emails. With the narrative that Russia meddled in the US election, they branded Assange as a Putin sympathizer and/or Russian agent without backing it up. The Left’s seeming irrational obsession with Russia is also rooted in these identity politics, namely their allegiance to the Democratic Party and America’s post-cold war national identity, defined by a hysteric red scare and its mission of defeating communism.

WHISTLEBLOWERS AS DEMOCRACY’S LAST LINE OF DEFENSE

In the wake of the possible arrest of Assange, the ACLU noted that, “prosecuting Wikileaks would set a dangerous precedent that the Trump administration would surely use to target other news organizations.” We must never forget where hatred-driven identity politics led Nazi Germany. Martin Niemöller, the famous Protestant pastor who spoke against the rise of Hitler and spent years in concentration camps, reminds us of this:

  First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out –Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out –Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out –Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.

Fascism begins in the mind. Its seed grows whenever we accept hatred toward someone who has different or opposing views. Enclosure happens when we suspend critical thinking in the hype of fear and turn the other into an enemy. It happens every time we close our hearts, shunning those who have been made into our enemies. Democracy dies whenever we choose to pick up the sword of ideology, rather than choosing to uphold our common humanity and instead engage in a self-righteous crusade of defeating the enemy.

When Trump signed a Muslim ban into law, outrage spread nationwide and people rallied at airports. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit refused to reinstate Trump’s travel ban and so the solidarity of the people won. As Trump pressured to cut funds in sanctuary cities, these cities defied the order, assuring to maintain their immigrant policy. Now, the US government is coming after WikiLeaks, a transnational journalistic organization, who has no allegiance to any nation, governments or corporations, only to the conscience of ordinary people around the world.

In the darkness that hovers in the veil of ideology, whistleblowers shine a light through which we are able to recover perspectives that were lost. WikiLeaks, through their act of publishing, lets everyone see views that are forbidden, marginalized or shunned. They are last line of defense and are on the front line in this battle for democracy. One may dislike WikiLeaks and disagree with Assange, but whatever one’s opinion is, we all need to stand up against this erosion of our civil liberties. Prosecution of WikiLeaks is persecution of free speech. Setting this precedent moves us down a dangerous path.

• First published in Common Dreams

This article was posted on Monday, April 24th, 2017 at 6:19pm and is filed under Activism, Barack Obama, Censorship, CIA, Civil Liberties, Democrats, Donald Trump, Fascism, Freedom of Expression/Speech, Germany, Media, Narrative, Propaganda, United States, Whistleblowing, WikiLeaks.

question: What does the text say about Julian Assange's family?

question: What does the text say about Wikileaks?

answer: WikiLeaks is a transnational journalistic organization that has no allegiance to any nation, government, or corporation, only to the conscience of ordinary people around the world. The U.S. authorities have prepared charges to seek the arrest of its founder, Julian Assange, for publishing documents pertaining to the U.S. government, but the Obama administration could not prosecute due to the First Amendment issues. CIA Director Mike Pompeo accused the whistleblowing site of being a "non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia". Journalists feel that the persecution of WikiLeaks by a government is an assault on basic freedom, press freedom, and could lead toward fascism. There has been a concerted effort to delegitimize WikiLeaks through the character assassination of Assange, and now the Trump administration's head of the CIA and the Department of Justice has declared war on the organization. There has been speculation that WikiLeaks was the alleged source of the DNC leaks and Podesta emails. The ACLU has noted that prosecuting WikiLeaks would set a dangerous precedent that the Trump administration would use to target other news organizations.

question: Summarize everything about Julian Assange.

answer:
Julian Assange is the founder and publisher of WikiLeaks. U.S. authorities under the Obama administration tried to prosecute him for publishing documents about the government but struggled due to First Amendment legalities. Vice President Joe Biden called Assange a high-tech terrorist. The liberal media has also branded him a Putin sympathizer and/or Russian agent without evidence.

The Trump administration was reported to have prepared charges to seek Assange's arrest, with Attorney General Jeff Sessions emphasizing it as a priority. The WikiLeaks founder has been on the receiving end of character assassinations and smear campaigns for years and sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy for the last five years, despite the UN ruling his detention is unlawful.

question: What are the comparisons between Trump's Muslim ban, Nazi Germany, and the attack on WikiLeaks?

answer: Comparisons can be drawn from the latest government attacks on Assange and WikiLeaks with that of Nazi Germany. Adolf Hitler was successfully able to install hatred in the minds of Germans and carry out crimes against humanity and accept the horrendous acts that led to the holocaust. Now, Trump's ban on refugees and citizens from seven Muslim nations and the mass deportation of illegal immigrants show that Muslims, Mexicans, and other immigrants are becoming like the new Jews - the scapegoats of the new right-wing administration. In Hitler's Germany, the persecution of the Jews was a gradual escalation and the first thing he did was to control the media and create a propaganda arm under the guise of fighting communism. In Trump's America, the Justice Department and CIA declaring war on WikiLeaks are a direct attack on freedom of speech and civil liberties, much like what Hitler did.


text:
**The Tale of the Monster from the Luncheonette Set**

Back in the olden days, everyone would possess luncheonette sets.

They consisted of utensils, baskets, cups, plates, bowls and the like. But, in 1932 there were also monsters. They would hide in things and pop out and scare people. One such monster lived in the Stanley family's luncheonette set. The monster's name was Todd. Todd had yet to scare the Stanley's since they had yet to use the lunceonette set.

Time dragged on and Todd waited for his moment to scare the Stanley's. He thought to himself, "Gee, why won't the Stanley's open up their luncheonette set".

But, the joke was on Todd: the Stanley's had been brutally murdered by another monster - the people kind. His name was Travis Jagger. He was a transient. This should tell you something about the nature of monsters.

**The Spooking of NW Spook Street**

Have you ever heard a ghost story that really scared you? I remember one from when I was a kid that made me cry when it was told to me.

It was 1983 and me and my Dad were out fishing late at night. He told me the story of The Spooking of NW Spook Street. As he told the story he held a flashlight up to his face. Then, he started putting on some fake blood, then he started drinking whiskey, then he hit me across the face for crying. Finally, he passed out in the boat and I had to row us back home in the pitch black and wonder how I would get home before bed time. That was the scariest story I was ever told.

**The Ghost of the Haunted Mansion**

Once upon a time there was a real estate agent named Tim. Tim had a knack for selling property quickly and his commissions made him a very wealthy man.

Soon, he was wealthy enough to buy a mansion. But, not any old mansion. For you see, Tim made a large amount of money, but not enough to buy a, say, 4 million dollar home, or a 8 million dollar home. No, Tim only had enough to buy a 400, 000 dollar home. But, he wanted it to be a mansion. So, the only mansion that was in that price range was a haunted one. But, Tim bought it anyway, even though it was haunted by a ghost.

Tim moved in and the ghost scared him, but it wasn't a 4.6 million dollar scare. So, in the end, Tim made a wise decision.

**The Witches of the Bell Tower and More!**

Once upon a time there were these women who were witches. They would dress in old clothes and carry broomsticks and say magic curses to strangers. But there's more!

The End.

**Colonel Graphton and the Sea Monster that Ate Colonel Graphton**

You can call me Elmer. I guess I've seen everything in my day. The land. The sea. The space above the land and the sea. But, I've never seen anything as terrifying as the Sea Monster that ate Colonel Graphton. It was about the size of a snail. It looked a lot like a snail, in fact. It had a shell and it moved real slow. Oh, wait! Colonel Graphton is the one who ate the other. OK. OK. OK.

**The Wolfing of Hollow's Cove and Other Stories**

The Wolfing of Hollow's Cove

I don't have much time to detail my account. For you see, I'm being wolfed. I live in Hollow's Cove and we've been attacked by marauding werewolves. Presently, there is one at the door and he's trying to break in. Please tell my story! Werewolves exist! And they want human blooooooooooooooooooooodkjagdakj

Other Stories

Warewoolfves du not exist. Totally lyes. That guy is suck a jurk.

Werewolves are quite friendly to humans. In fact, if you meet a werewolf, you should be kind to him or her. It's the 2000s - haven't we made any progress?

**The Dark and Terrible Wizard and His Magic Water**

There was once a Dark and Terrible Wizard who created a magic water. The water held all the properties of regular water, but it was magic.

The Dark Wizard would use this magic water to sate the thirst of The Thirsty King.

So you can see how this all worked out according to plan.

But the Dark and Terrible Wizard never factored in the Searing God of Arid Wind.

**The Count of Marmaduke Hill**

When you think of evil, I mean pure evil, you probably don't think of Jim Thurber. Jim was the terrible Count of Marmaduke Hill and here is his story.

Jim grew up in Marmaduke Hill. His father was the Count there and when he grew up he became the count.

And he was evil.

**The Lake Monster of the Pond**

In the year 2008, a researcher and his assistant were studying fly larvae in a pond behind a corporate campus when they came upon a large tooth. The researchers found the tooth to be astonishing and they took it home for examination.
Back at the home, they examined it.

"Yep, that's monster tooth, baby."

The End.

**The Wind that Talked to Maggie**

In Nebraska, back in the 1890s, there was a girl by the name of Maggie. She learned to live by the gun and made her money robbing banks with Errol Marvin, the toughest cattle rustler in the Nebraska area. But one day she had a turn of heart and decided to give up her life of crime and settle down with Parson Felding.

Oh, yeah - and she talked to the wind.

**The Mysterious Case of the Mystery**

The room was locked from the inside. The bodies were inside the room. The murder weapon was also inside the room. There were no windows and no other passageways in or out of the room...

So we didn't take the case.

**Kubra Kah's Last Breath**

I met her in the Kubra Kah on Nordom street. She smelled of day old gin and lipstick. She looked like the kind of dame that was trouble. I asked her for a matchbook and she pulled out a package of hotdogs.

She was hearing impaired is what I'm trying to tell you.

**The Lady of Seville Road**

He grabbed her by the arm and swung her body into his embrace. "Lady, this isn't the time for fooling around! There's too much at stake!"

"You would say that - you only care about the money!" She said as a tear ran down her face.

"You're wrong, baby. I don't care about the money. But SRO theaters does and you need to have a ticket."

**The Cliffs of Burma**

"Roger?"

"Here."

"Sandy?"

"Here."

"Cliff?"

"Cliff?"

"Cliff? Damn. All three of them are gone."

**The Stalking of Raymond Mathers**

The stench was overpowering. I looked in the bag and I cannot begin to describe what I saw. I remembered the last note he left on the refrigerator and glanced at it.

Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, it all came back to me: the pens, the stationary, and that wobble in his cursive.

I had been writing the notes.

The chill that went through my body reduced me to tears as I read the last one.

Take out the garbage!!!

**The Unusual Case of the Lady on the Ridge**

Why was Thompson so interested in the blueprints to the refinery? He'd checked them out nine times in the last month. The guy works in a Dairy. How's a man like that gonna purchase a refinery? I'm thinking he pulls 2 or 3 bills a month. That's enough to buy coal, but no refinery.

Something just wasn't adding up.

I called Marissa and told her the news. She was less than pleased. Sure, her old man was trying to kill her, but I'm the one who ends up getting cursed.

Wait! Old man? Cursed? Refinery?

Nope. That's not it.

**Duncan Hammer: P.I.**

"Lady, you wanna tell me what you're here for? Or do I have to shake it outta ya?" He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.

"Please, Mr. Hammer! Don't...don't..." She began to sob.

"Ah, lady, I'm sorry. Tell me what the trouble is."

"It's my husband. I think he's cheating on me." She bit her lip and looked up at Hammer.

"Why do you think he's cheating on you?" Hammer sat back down and lit a cigar.

"Well, he's late to home every night and...he smells like perfume."

"Maybe he's been bowling?" Hammer smirked.

"Men don't bowl until 2 in the morning?"

"I do."

"Oh, really?"

"When I'm cheating on my wife!" Hammer then grabbed the woman and shook her again.

**Bodega Drive**

One thing you learn about being a cop is how to drive around, seemingly aimlessly. But there's another thing you learn as well: how to iron.

**Duncan Hammer: P.I.**

Duncan put the muzzle of the gun up to Romero's face. "You still think I'm fat?"

title: [HM] Several Short Stories About Mechanical Fruit

question: What does the text say about how to write short stories?

question: Summarize the story about the Monster from the Luncheonette Set.

answer: Back in the old days, everyone had luncheonette sets consisting of utensils, cups, and bowls. However, in 1932, the sets also had monsters that would hide and pop out to scare people. One such monster lived in the Stanley family's luncheonette set, and his name was Todd. Todd hasn't scared the Stanley's because they haven't used the luncheonette yet. Time went by and Todd wondered when he would get to scare the family. That time would never come though, as the Stanley's were brutally murdered by another monster - the people kind - and his name was Travis Jagger, a transient.

question: Explain what made "The Spooking of NW Spook Street" the scariest story ever told.

answer: The Spooking of NW Spook Street was the scariest story ever told because the recipient of the story, a boy, had several things to be scared about. Scare number one happens when the boy's father told the story while they were on a boat fishing, holding up a flashlight up to his face and putting on fake blood. Scare number two is when the boy cries because of the scary story (and fake blood) and his dad, now drunk on whiskey, hits him across the face (the boy was scared of his drunk dad). The third scare happens when the boy's father passes out on the fishing boat. The fourth scare is when the boy realizes he has to row them both back home in pitch-black darkness while wondering how he would get home before bedtime.

question: What does the text say about Tim from "The Ghost of the Haunted Mansion"?

answer: Tim was a real estate agent who had a knack for selling homes quickly. His commissions made him a wealthy man, but not wealthy enough to buy an average mansion in the 4 - 8 million dollar price range. Tim only had $400,000 to spare for a home, but he wanted it to be a mansion. The only mansion he could buy with his money was a haunted one. Tim bought it anyway even though it was haunted. A ghost haunted Tim when he moved in and he was scared, but it wasn't a $4.6 million dollar scare. In the end, Tim made a wise decision.